Low Vitamin D Increases Flu Death Risk in Kids

Low Vitamin D Increases Flu Death Risk in Kids:

So far, Swine flu, H1N1, has killed thirty-six children in U.S. and analysis of CDC data indicates Vitamin D deficient children at higher risk of death. The CDC did not realize they discovered this. However, anyone familiar with the Vitamin D literature will recognize it.

Almost two-thirds of the dead children had epilepsy, cerebral palsy, or other neurodevelopmental conditions like mental retardation. All of these neurological conditions are associated with childhood Vitamin D deficiency. Exacerbating the problem further, many of these kids take anticonvulsant drugs, which lower Vitamin D levels.

58 million American children are Vitamin D deficient; 7.6 million are severely deficient. When researchers looked at more than 6,000 American kids (age one to 21) who were carefully selected to be representative of the average American child. 9 percent of the kids had 25(OH)D levels less than 15 ng/mL and 70 percent had levels less than 30 ng/mL.

This blog entry was taken from Mercola.com

Alzheimer Rate to DOUBLE in Next 20 years

This link, from Mercola.com,  gives further incentives for us all to engage in preventative measures and familiarize ourselves with symptoms of AD so you can recognize the disease in its early states in your friends and loved ones if needed. See my original Alzheimer's Disease post here

Alzheimer Rate to DOUBLE in Next 20 years:
The number of people worldwide with dementia and Alzheimer's disease is soaring, and will nearly double in the next 20 years, according to a report.
By next year, there will be 35 million people globally with dementia. By 2030, that will have risen to 65.7 million, and the steep rise will continue to more than 115 million by 2050.
The proportion of older people affected has risen in south Asia, Latin America and western Europe. The biggest increase in future years is expected to be in low- and middle-income countries, as people start to live longer.

Rectum? Damn near killed 'um.

Told ya sooo...
My Vit D post #1

Vitamin D Doubles Colorectal Cancer Survival Rates:
"Higher blood levels of vitamin D may double survival rates of colorectal cancer patients, according to a new study. People with the highest average levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D had a cancer-specific mortality half that of people with the lowest average levels. What’s more, high levels of the vitamin were associated with an overall mortality level 40 percent lower than people with the lowest average levels. Knowledge of the link between vitamin D intake and protection from cancer dates from the 1940’s, when Frank Apperly demonstrated a link between latitude and deaths from cancer, and suggested that sunlight gave “a relative cancer immunity”."

D for Deficient

In the United States, it has been estimated by some that over 85% of our adult population is considered Vitamin D deficient.  Some estimate that this number is even higher for our senior-citizen population, for a variety of reasons.  The problem with this is that Vitamin D is arguably one of the most important vitamins (although some refer to it as a hormone because of its active properties) to obtain optimal functioning of our bodies, and for the prevention and recovery from hundreds of diseases and disorders.  Some examples of the diseases on which vitamin D can have a positive and-or preventative effect on are:

- inflammatory diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease
- multiple sclerosis
- osteoporosis
- cancer
- diabetes (60% of type II diabetics are vit D deficient)
- heart disease
- rheumatoid arthritis
- psychiatric illness

Get your O's

 By now I'm sure you've all heard of Omega-3's (especially if I know you personally) on the news, ads, retail places, and hopefully your family doctors.  Unfortunately despite the widespread attention, most of us are still significantly deficient in Omega-3 fatty acids, especially those of us who follow a traditional American-based diet.  The Harvard-based study below concluded that somewhere between 72,000 and 96,000 deaths a year in our country could have been prevented by appropriate intake of Omega-3 fatty acids.  More to come on this issue in future posts.  For now, check out the article here:

Omega-3 deficiencies and preventable deaths

Your hidden food intolerances are making you....

fat? cranky? tired? bloated? have migraines? irregular? frequently urinate? gain 5lbs overnight? The list goes on for words that can complete this sentence.  One of the most common causes for somatic complaints, although often one of the most overlooked and under diagnosed, is food intolerance.  I myself suffer from various food intolerances, which I discovered after being tested about a year ago per a good friend's recommendation (of course, she'll tell you it was after I made fun of her for being allergic to beer -- and guess who joined her in that category! Kharma?)

World Alzheimer's Day

September 21st is World Alzheimer's Day.  It is currently estimated that if rates of Alzheimer's Disease (AD) continue to rise as they are now, by 2050 11-16 million Americans will have the disease.  The purpose of the dedicated day is to both raise awareness of the disease's current state for lay people, medical communities, and members of congress, and to raise funds and create research-based guidelines to help combat the disease's current dismal progression. 
Many people mistakenly view Alzheimer's as a normal part of aging -- perhaps because it has become so increasingly commonplace among our elderly (albeit increasingly younger elderly) population.  The truth is that Alzheimer's is not a normal part of the aging process, and is a progressive disease that attacks the brain from the moment of onset until the individual's death.
Here are the 10 warning signs of AD, as issued by the Alzheimer's Association, and my own 2-cents on each:

Soles for Souls

Looking to do some fall cleaning? Why not start with your shoe closet.  Come on, you're never going to wear those pink pumas again.  This could be your chance to finally get rid of those shoes you wish your spouse would've stopped wearing a decade ago, using the "it's for a good cause" excuse ;)
"Soles for Souls" is a non-profit organization dedicated to donating shoes to those in need across the globe.  Thus far the organization has given away over 3 million pairs of shoes worldwide, averaging out to a pair every 28 seconds!
The best part of it all is that its easy as pie... just load up a box of your unwanted shoes and either bring them to one of your local drop-off centers (Drop-off locations) or ship them to:

Soles4Souls, Inc.
315 Airport Road
Roanoke, AL 36274

Remember to add postage and your return address to the shipping label. The organization will send you a receipt for your tax-deductible donation in the mail within a month.

Do not trouble yourself much to get new things, whether clothes or friends.... Sell your clothes and keep your thoughts.  ~Henry David Thoreau

Tax Junk Food, Drinks to Fight Child Obesity: Report - ABC News

Tax Junk Food, Drinks to Fight Child Obesity: Report - ABC News

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This post is dedicated to my friend Kaveh, the nation's top junk food tax lobbyist. 

To the 9

When discussing the benefits of organic produce, I've often been asked for the best way to identify whether or not produce has been classified as officially organic. There is actually a very easy way to figure it out, which apparently is not common knowledge as was brought to my attention by a friend last night.
Many products have whats called a PLU sticker attached to them (PLU = Price Look Up), which I'm sure many of you have seen. This is the annoying little white sticker that is on individual pieces of fruit/veggies, or on produce that is marked by its weight in containers (blueberries, herbs, etc.). An easy way to figure out if your produce is actually organic, based on the standards of the USDA National Organic Program, look for a "9" in front of a 4-digit code. For example, if a regular apple code is 3101, an organic apple will be 94101. On the contrary, any foods which have been genetically modified (usually abbreviated GM) will have an "8" in front of the code.

Points to consider:
- The purpose of the PLU code is not to inform consumers, but to facilitate grocery transactions between organizations and at the checkout counter. Regardless, anything labeled as organic must comply with the National Organic Program standards.
- There are NO labeling requirements for Genetically Modified (GM) foods as of now, so this is really the only way (to my knowledge)that we as consumers have to differentiate between the two. That being said, don't panic too much -- genetic modification is mostly limited to corn and soybeans, and hasn't yet infiltrated individually-sold produce such as tomatoes, apples, etc. Lucky us!

A Change of Heart

'France's Nigella' renounces foie gras | Life and style | guardian.co.uk

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The above is an article publicizing the recent decision of a French culinary master to "silently" boycott Foie Gras by refraining from it and leaving it out of her cookbooks and recipe publications in the future. For those of you who don't know, Foie Gras is French for "fatty liver" and has been considered a culinary delicacy for hundreds of years. What you may not know, is that this "fatty liver" is obtained from male geese and ducks by some beyond-abysmal means. In order for the liver to become "fatty", geese and/or ducks are force-fed by feeding machines (depicted in the above article and video below) which basically involve a placing a long tube down the birds throat and pouring in an average of 20-30 percent of the animal's body weight in food two to three times per day . This would be the equivalent of an average sized person ingesting 40lbs of pasta three times per day! The livers become so enlarged that they can be seen through the skin of the animals, which is unfortunately when you know they are "ready" to be killed for this product. The other disturbing consideration is that the birds are kept either in extremely small cages or are literally stapled or nailed to wooden boards shortly after birth to keep them from moving too much. The rationale for this being that the more they move, the more of the precious force-fed bird feed they will lose to expanded energy. Most geese on Foie Gras farms will never spread one wing, except when flapping in anguish during their feeding times. I am posting a video below for those of you who eat or have eaten this product in the past. Although I do not believe the vegetarian lifestyle is easy for everyone, nor do I strictly & religiously practice it myself (although getting closer with each passing day), I do believe that we should all know where our food is coming from before making ethical and educated decisions on what we put into our mouths. If you can watch this and continue to consume it, then at least you have made an informed decision. (There's that informed consent again!) The video below is disturbing, at best, but is unfortunately not modified nor falsified.

The chef who made this decision took a bold risk in stepping apart from the culinary norm, and although I have dedicated this post to respecting and praising her decision, the sentiment is likely unshared by her esteemed peer circle.

A mind stretched by a new idea can rarely regain its former dimensions.

Foie Gras Video

Labor fruits

I would like to dedicate today's post to the Kharma police for gifting us with this beautiful day with which to end our volatile-weathered summer. I hope all you readers have the opportunity today to reward yourselves for your own laborious contributions to our world through any means which bring you peace and repletion.

"The strongest bond of human sympathy outside the family relation should be one uniting working people of all nations and tongues and kindreds." ~Abraham Lincoln

You are what you eat??

Have you ever noticed that a lot of fruits and veggies are shaped like human body parts? Many plant foods, including tomatoes, walnuts, celery, and others look just like certain body parts, and it turns out that their appearance may hold clues to what they can do for you. Check this out:

• Tomatoes have four chambers and are red, just like the heart. Tomatoes are loaded with lycopene, a powerful antioxidant that may be heart-protective.

• Mom was right when she said that carrots are good for your eyesight! Have you ever noticed that a carrot sliced the “round way” looks like a human eye? Science shows that carrots greatly enhance blood flow to the eyes as well as the function of them.

• Walnuts look like little brains, and they are brain food indeed! Walnuts help develop more than three dozen neurotransmitters needed for brain functioning.

• Kidney beans weren’t named that for nothing. They heal our kidneys and help them function.

• Celery, bok choy, and rhubarb resemble bones, and they can help make yours strong. Just like bones, these foods are 23 percent sodium. If we don’t get enough sodium, our bodies pull it from our bones, which can make them weak. These foods can help replenish our skeletal system.

• Avocadoes, eggplants, and pears are shaped like the female cervix and womb, and these foods can work wonders “down under.” Get this: It takes exactly nine months for an avocado to grow from a blossom to a ripened fruit. According to research, eating one avocado a week can help women balance their hormones, shed unwanted baby weight, and even prevent cervical cancer! Guacamole, anyone?

• Figs are loaded with seeds and hang in pairs. Sound like anything else? These sexy fruits increase sperm counts and improve sperm mobility in men, which can help overcome infertility.

• Sweet news for diabetics! Sweet potatoes, which look like the pancreas, can actually help balance diabetics’ glycemic levels.

• Oranges, grapefruits, and other citrus fruits resemble mammary glands and help keep breasts healthy by promoting the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts.

• Onions look like cells, and they help clear waste from all the body’s cells. The tears we shed while cutting onions even help wash the outer layers of our eyes. The cousin of the onion, garlic, also helps our bodies eliminate waste materials and dangerous free radicals.

Seems to me these aren’t just coincidences. After all, according to biologists and anthropologists who study our anatomy and our evolutionary history, humans are natural herbivores. So if you want to be your healthiest, pass up meat, eggs, and milk (and the pharmacy!) and head to the produce section instead!

Thanks to PETA for the too-good-not-to-share info!

Pet Health

If you're like me (and my husband, whether he admits it or not), you consider your pet a beloved member of your family, not just an accessory. See my attached picture to brighten up your day (Molson, age 1.5). It's no surprise that I want to give him every opportunity to live a long, healthy, and active life. Most of us may not realize that most commercial pet foods are actually harming our pets rather than nourishing them... mostly because we are too trusting of the dog food (and all food, for that matter) industries and don't have the time or resources to know any better. The main problem with today's store-bought pet foods is that they are processed. Our dogs and cats did not evolve eating processed pet foods, nor did they evolve eating the same foods every day.

In December 1995, the British Journal of Small Animal Practice published a paper contending that processed pet food suppresses animals’ immune systems, and causes:

• Liver disease
• Kidney disease
• Heart disease
• Other disease, including cancer and metabolic diseases

Many owners have actually switched to a primarily raw-food diet for their pets in an attempt to mimic the eating patterns of their pets' ancestors to provide optimal health. Another case in point: In one animal study, performed by Dr. Kollath of the Karolinska Hospital in Stockholm, young animals that were fed cooked and processed foods initially appeared to be healthy. But once they reached adulthood, they began aging quicker than normal and developed degenerative disease symptoms. A control group raised on raw foods aged less quickly and did not develop any degenerative diseases!

There are the two major problems with an entirely dry food diet:

Musak

Good morning friends. As you will notice in a few seconds, I've added a playlist to my blog where I can share music with you all. I am letting you know first as a warning, in case you are at work (working tremendously hard, I see) and dont want it to begin playing out loud, and also to get you feedback on how the player is working. Any bugs, kinks, glitches? The box is on the sidebar of my blog and you can scroll through songs there (otherwise they will shuffle) using the up and down arrows, and you can use the stop/play function there as well. Any bugs, kinks, glitches? Let me know. Otherwise, enjoy the music. Hopefully you'll now have a reason to keep my blog even longer. ;)
Happy Wednesday....

Egg-Free Baking

For those of you who might be cursed with the high cholesterol gene (thanks, dad), enjoying baked goods can be difficult to achieve knowing they are loaded with ingredients such as butter and eggs. The butter problem, I have not yet solved -- thus far I am still searching for a substitute which is equal in taste and doesn't disrupt the consistency of things that are meant to be butter-based such as shortbread and crumb topping. If anyone has any suggestions, please share! However, as a substitute for eggs I recently discovered the most marvelous concoction.
Instead of using an egg, mix together 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseeds in 3 tablespoons of water until dissolved into a thick, slightly sticky mixture. Do this for each egg in the recipe (2 eggs = 2tbsp flax/6tbsp h2o). Make sure the seeds are ground, not whole. You will not notice the difference in the recipe, and your arteries (and the chickens) will thank you later.