Did You Know? Important Health Info for the Healthy Lifestyle Conscious

(1) according to a new study, almost 70 percent of United States adults over the age of 60 are overweight or obese?

(2) a laboratory study shows that when fructose is present when a child's fat cells mature, more of these cells mature into belly fat, and less able to respond to insulin?

(3) the United States, Colombia, Ireland, Israel, Malaysia, New Zealand, and Singapore are the only nations that fluoridates over 50 percent of their water supply?

(4) the three must-have ingredients for prostate health are: bee pollen, the mineral boron, and 5-Loxin?

(5) more and more girls are reaching puberty before the age of 10? (A 2007 study found that many girls reached puberty by the age of 8.)

(6) people who are depressed are two times as likely to develop certain forms of dementia such as Alzheimer's disease?

(7) According to CNN, 27 percent of Americans are obese? (This statistic was brought to life when CNN broadcast that cancer rates are rising among the obese. This broadcast was aired August 6, 2010.

I posted this medical alert because alternative medical websites, blogs, and journals have long publicized the obesity/cancer connection. It now seems that mainstream news sources are now compelled to air this alarming trend.

CNN also stated that as obesity rates skyrocket, so does the rate of cancer.)

(8) hot peppers raise your core body temperature causing it to burn more calories? (This is the result of a study published in the International Journal of Obesity. The hotter the pepper, the greater the calorie burn.

In terms of 'hotness,' here's how peppers rank:

• mild: Pimiento
• medium: original Tabasco brand pepper sauce, Jalapeno, Pobiano
• hot: Cayenne, Serrano, Chipotle
• super hot: Habanero
• extremely hot: pure Capsaicin)

(9) CNN reported on a test which reveals if you will develop Alzheimer's disease? (The test is a spinal tap to detect the presence of certain proteins in the fluid.)

(10) Ben & Jerry's All Natural ice cream is anything but 'natural'? (According to CSPI [Center for Science in the Public Interest], Ben & Jerry's premium ice cream uses artificial and chemically-altered ingredients in its product.

CSPI says that at least 90 percent of the flavors of Ben & Jerry's 'natural' ice cream are not actually natural.

It cites as a few examples corn syrup, alkalized cocoa, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, vanillin, maltodextrin and dextrose. A few of these require some type of chemical processing while others are simply artificial.

Alkalized cocoa, for instance, involves a chemical process that changes cocoa's natural flavor, texture and chemical structure, as well as eliminates some of its acidity and healthy antioxidant content. And vanillin is just an artificial version of vanilla.

Executive director of CSPI Michael F. Jacobson says, "Ben & Jerry's sylvan labels notwithstanding, these ingredients come from the factory, not the farm. And slapping an 'all natural' label on the products certainly implies that the products are top quality and deserve to fetch a higher price. It's a stretch to call any of [these ingredients] 'natural'.

(11) over one-half billion eggs have been recalled by the FDA due to salmonella contamination (as of August 23, 2010)? (But what you may not know, and what the industry doesn't want you to know, is that commercial chicken is just as infected with salmonella. Why isn't the FDA recalling the chicken you purchase at your local supermarket, and the chicken products you buy at fast food restaurants?

Poultry is a huge industry. It is huge and powerful. If the FDA were inclined to institute a recall of chicken, the filthy and brutal practices of the poultry industry would come to light. The salmonella chicken poisoning results from filth and uncleanliness, just as it does for eggs.

Chickens as well as other meats which Americans eat tons of are factory farmed. This inhumane practice naturally breeds harmful bacteria.

Salmonella is killed by heat. That's why people don't get this type of poisoning from eating chicken--it is all cooked. In order to avoid salmonella poisoning don't eat raw eggs. Cook them at least until the whites and yolks are firm.

Right now shelled eggs are not pasteurized. But be aware that pasteurization will not only kill bacteria like salmonella, but destroy much of egg's healthy nutrients.

We would have nothing to fear if factory farming were to be abolished. Harmful practices such as pasteurization would not be necessary.

It is unfortunate that the federal agency created to protect the American people (FDA) from harmful food and drugs seems hell-bent on instituting food practices which cause harm in the long run. Milk is pasteurized to protect against harmful bacteria which is created by factory farms. Almonds are irradiated to again supposedly protect the public from harmful bacteria.

I suspect that the FDA would like to eventually pasteurize or irradiate raw eggs.)

(12) farms that produce and sell healthy raw milk are being targeted and persecuted by federal authorities?

(13) the alcohol poison methanol is in nearly all fruit and vegetables? (In this form it is practically harmless because it is bound to pectin. But once the fruit and vegetables are placed in glass or aluminum containers the methanol separates from the pectin. The methanol can then build up to very high levels and contribute to diseases like multiple sclerosis.)

(14) a protein-type individual requires more salt than a carbohydrate-type?

(15) continuing research is pointing towards vitamin K being the next vitamin D?

(Some authorities say that vitamin K is most likely where vitamin D was 10 years ago in terms of known benefits. And according to Dr. Cees Vermeer, one of the world's leading researchers of vitamin K, nearly everyone is deficient in it.

Vitamin K is necessary for blood clotting. Dr. Vermeer says that most people get enough of this vitamin in their diet for this purpose. However, to offer protection against: (1) arterial calcification, cardiovascular disease, varicose veins (2) osteoporosis (3) prostate cancer, lung cancer, liver cancer, leukemia and (4) brain health problems, including dementia, people are not getting enough.

Vitamin K comes in two forms: K1 and K2. Vitamin K1 comes from plants such as spinach, kale, and broccoli and vitamin K2 is bacterially produced. The gut contains a lot of K2 but it is not absorbed there, and passes unused through your stool.

Vitamin K2 is in fermented foods -- particularly natto which is the richest source. It goes straight to vessel walls, bones, and tissues other than your liver.

There are different forms of vitamin K2. MK8 and MK9 come mainly from dairy products. The most important forms are MK4 and MK7 though.

MK4 is a synthetic product, very similar to vitamin K1, and your body is capable of converting K1 into MK4. However, MK4 has a very short half-life of about one hour, making it a poor candidate as a dietary supplement. After reaching your intestines, it remains mostly in your liver, where it is useful in synthesizing blood-clotting factors.

MK7 is a newer agent with more practical applications because it stays in your body longer; its half-life is three days, meaning you have a much better chance of building up a consistent blood level, compared to MK4 or K1. MK7 is extracted from the fermented soy product natto. You could actually get loads of MK7 from consuming natto as it is relatively inexpensive, and is available in most Asian food markets. Few people, however, tolerate it’s smell and slimy texture.

A German research group discovered in a study that took place in 2008 that vitamin K2 provides great protection againt prostate cancer. Dr. Vermeer says that men taking the highest amounts of K2 develop 50 percent less prostate cancer.

A Rotterdam study in 2004 showed that people who take 45 mcg of K2 daily live seven years longer than those who take 12 mcg a day.

The Prospect Study which followed 16,000 people for 10 years showed that for each additional 10 mcg of K2 in the diet, 9 percent fewer cardiac events followed.

Evidence suggests that K2 is essential for bone health. It protects against osteoporosis.

This is what is known about K2's bone protection from studies thus far:

• a number of Japanese trials have shown that vitamin K2 completely reverses bone loss and in some cases even increases bone mass in people with osteoporosis
• the pooled evidence of seven Japanese trials show that vitamin K2 supplementation produces a 60 percent reduction in vertebral fractures and an 80 percent reduction in hip and other non-vertebral fractures
• researchers in the Netherlands showed that vitamin K2 is three times more effective than vitamin K1 in raising osteocalcin, which controls the building of bone

Your body can convert vitamin K1 into vitamin K2. However, studies show that the amount made from this process is insufficient to make a difference. Even though you may being getting enough K1 from your diet, most of it is used by the body for clotting factors. There is too little left for your bones.

The recent European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study, published in the October 2009 issue of the New England Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that a high dietary intake of K2 leads to a reduced cancer risk. Vitamin K2 leads to a 30 percent lower risk of dying from cancer too.

If can tolerate natto, many Westerners cannot, you can get all the K2 you need by eating 15 grams daily (1/2 ounce.) An option is to take a vitamin K2 supplement. K2 is fat soluble so that if you take a supplement, use fat along with it. Extra-virgin olive oil is a good choice.

As to dosage, Dr. Vermeer recommends geting between 45 mcg and 185 mcg daily for adults. Exercise caution on taking higher dosages if you are on anticoagulants.
Source: Mercola.com.)

(16) chickens raised in unsanitary conditions are far more likely to be contaminated, and to lay contaminated eggs? (The British government did a study on the level of salmonella contamination based on the living conditions of chickens. The results of the study found that:

• hens caged: 23% farms tested positive for salmonella
• organic flocks: a little over 4% farms tested positive for salmonella
• free-ranged flocks: 6.5% farms tested positive for salmonella

Factory farming is notorious for the unsanitary and inhumane conditions experienced by not only chickens, but pigs and cattle too. Unfortunately, the majority of commercially purchased poultry and red meat comes from factory farms.

The British study showed that the highest rates of contamination occurred in farms with the most chickens. Factory farms cram chickens in cages or pens with no room than that taken up by letter-sized sheet of paper. These farms typically cage and process 30,000 to millions of chickens.

While the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) and health authorities scratch their heads over America's continuing food recalls, a simple solution exists. This solution though is one which the poultry, dairy, and meat industries will fight against tooth and nail.

The solution? Get rid of factory farms. Raise poultry and beef the way farmers did 100 years ago.

Of course this will never happen. The FDA will allow a flawed system to remain in existence, and merely apply a band-aid to the problem. That band-aid might be the recommendation of egg pasteurization or irradiation.

But you don't have to sit still for contaminated food from sick animals. Buy organic eggs from local farms who raise free-ranged hens.)

(17) the United States is the second largest egg producer in the world?

(18) Tyson Foods was ordered by a federal judge to withdraw its "raised without antibiotics" ads when it was found out they were injecting eggs with antibiotics and using antibiotics in chicken feed?