Thursday 30 June 2011
sunburn tip
Tuesday 28 June 2011
transcendental meditation for health - dont miss out
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/8601795/How-meditation-could-help-your-health.html
Monday 27 June 2011
coconut oil - truths and lies
Heart Diseases:
There is a misconception spread among many people that coconut oil is not good for the heart. This is because it contains a large quantity of saturated fats. However, coconut oil is beneficial for the heart. It contains about 50% lauric acid, which helps in preventing various heart problems including high cholesterol levels and high blood pressure.
Weight Loss
Coconut oil is very useful in reducing weight. It contains short and medium-chain fatty acids that help in taking off excessive weight. It is also easy to digest and it helps in healthy functioning of the thyroid and enzymes systems. Further, it increases the body metabolism by removing stress the pancreas, thereby burning out more energy and helping obese and overweight people reduce their weight. Hence, people living in tropical coastal areas, who eat coconut oil daily as their primary cooking oil, are normally not fat, obese or overweight.
Digestion
Internal use of coconut oil occurs primarily as cooking oil. Coconut oil helps in improving the digestive system and thus prevents various stomach and digestion related problems including irritable bowel syndrome. The saturated fats present in coconut oil have anti microbial properties and help in dealing with various bacteria, fungi, parasites, etc., that cause indigestion. Coconut oil also helps in absorption of other nutrients such as vitamins, minerals and amino acids
Liver: The presence of medium chain triglycerides and fatty acids helps in preventing liver diseases as they substances are easily converted into energy when they reach the liver, thus reducing work load on the liver and also preventing accumulation of fat.
Kidney: Coconut oil helps in preventing kidney and gall bladder diseases. It also helps in dissolving kidney stones.
Stress Relief: Coconut oil is very soothing and hence it helps in removing stress. Applying coconut oil to the head followed with a gentle massage helps in removing mental fatigue.
Diabetes: Coconut oil helps in controlling blood sugar, and improves the secretion of insulin. It also helps in effective utilization of blood glucose, thereby preventing and treating diabetes.
Also coconut oil is often preferred by athletes and body builders and by those who are dieting. The reason behind this being that coconut oil contains lesser calories than other oils, its fat content is easily converted into energy and it does not lead to accumulation of fat in the heart and arteries. Coconut oil helps in boosting energy and endurance, and enhances the performance of athletes.
In one word: economics. Beginning with a flawed study four decades ago, continuing through the 1950s, intensifying in the 1980s, and again in the 1990s, the misinformation about coconut oil has been promulgated by such economically motivated organizations as the American Soybean Association (ASA), the Corn Products Company (CPC International) and the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI). They are aided by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), many of whose key personnel are recruited from and return to the vegetable oil industry. Previously, coconut oil was widely used in baked goods and fried goods until their publicity campaigns, based on erroneous information, totally discredited coconut oil and caused its nearly complete elimination from the American diet.
The studies were done to show that coconut oil, and all saturated fats, were bad for one's health because they raised serum cholesterol levels. However, these studies were done on hydrogenated coconut oil, and all hydrogenated oils produce higher serum cholesterol levels, whether they are saturated or not. Recent research shows that it is the presence of trans fatty acids that causes health problems, as they are fatty acid chains that have been altered from their original form in nature by the oil refining process.
Although many studies at the time had also shown research to the contrary, the mud stuck and by the mid 60’s the reputation of all saturated oils in America had been destroyed.
Critical modern research is starting to show that dietary changes based on the evidence presented by these early studies were at the very least premature and at worst placed the health millions of people at risk. However, time will only tell whether the greatest crime of this initiative will have been the bundling of all saturated fats, whether from meat, dairy or vegetable source together under the one label: Deadly Diet.
The travesty of this action was that one of nature’s most amazing resources, tropical oils, and especially coconut oil with all its functional, nutritional and pharmaceutical possibilities, has been lost to modern medicine for decades.
Finally, after years of denial, The FDA and CSPI are now talking about the harmful effects of trans fatty acids, evidence of which has been accumulating since the 1950s. Nonetheless, they continue to disparage coconut oil and take no effective action to limit TFAs, which already have been banned in some European countries. TFAs will finally be listed on food labels, starting in 2006 — why has it taken them so long! TFA dangers have been known for decades and continue to cause disease! News items coming from the USDA and FDA still lump TFAs with saturated fats, which are natural and do contain nutrients vital for our bodies. The current FDA Consumer's Guide to Fats was last updated in 1999 and consistently warns against (all) saturated fats, while failing to mention any harmful effects of trans fatty acids.
How effective is this brainwashing? Many of you will not believe the facts on these pages and will continue to avoid coconut oil and coconut milk out of health concerns. Despite the proven benefits. We invite you to investigate further.
2. How much coconut oil should I take ?
Researchers state that the optimal amount for an adult is between 3 and 4 tablespoons per day. This equates to the amount of medium chain fatty acids a nursing child would consume in one day from mother's milk. It is best to use coconut oil three times a day at meal times. I recommend that you begin with a smaller amount and build up to the recommended dosage if necessary.
thanks to Kiran Patil et al
magnesium oil
To say that magnesium is important in health and medicine is certainly an understatement. Magnesium is required for over 300 biochemical reactions in the body. Today's dietary intake is woefully deficient in this essential mineral with Western diets containing more and more processed foods and longer transport times. Not only is magnesium lost through these processes but foods rich in the mineral do not appear as often in our diets as they used to (wholegrains, nuts, seafood, dark green vegetables). The result is that normal consumption levels are only half they were 50 years ago! Magnesium Oil offers supplementation in a completely natural, safe and easily absorbable way. By applying Magnesium Oil either topically or in a soak, magnesium can be absorbed 5 times faster tan if taken orally.
- Essential for the effective absorption of calcium, maintaining healthy teeth and bones.
- Enhances the efficiency of the body’s immune system.
- Eases discomfort from joint and muscle pains when applied directly.
- Reduces muscle spasm, over-excited nerves and relaxes blood vessels.
- Encourages dramatically improved sleeping patterns. Recommended for sufferers of Restless Leg Syndrome.
- Essential for fundamental cellular production and storage of energy and protein synthesis (ATP)
- Ideal for sportsmen and women to help relax muscles and keep them oxygenated, reducing damage and speeding up recovery time.
- Helps to lower blood pressure and reduce bad cholesterol levels, enhancing heart health.
Signs of Magnesium Deficiency
The classic physical signs of low magnesium are:1 2 3
Neurological:Behavioral disturbances Muscular:Weakness | Metabolic:Increased intracellular calcium Cardiovascular:Irregular or rapid heartbeat Among children:Growth retardation or “failure to thrive” |
statin dangers
I hope Dan will forgive me for copying this post :
HEART ATTACK ENTREES AND SIDE ORDERS OF STROKE
A study found that statin drugs are associated with destroying heart muscle function. Statin use is known to be associated with heart muscle disease, muscle weakness and rhabdomyolysis, a breakdown of muscle fibers resulting in the release of muscle fiber contents into the bloodstream. For the study, myocardial function was evaluated in 28 patients. According to Green Med Info:
“There was significantly better function noted ... in the control group vs the statin group”.
Clinical Cardiology December 2009; 32(12):684-9
(resource information below from Mercola.com).
Statins Fail Miserably at Heart Attack Prevention
Lies, lies, and more lies! The JUPITER study, which was published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2008,boasted that statin drugs could lower the risk of heart attack by 54 percent, the risk of stroke by 48 percent, the risk of needing angioplasty or bypass surgery by 46 percent, and the risk of death from all causes by 20 percent. As you might suspect, the funding for this study came from none other than Astra-Zeneca, the maker of statin drug Crestor -- and once again, we find that industry-funded claims of health benefits for highly profit-producing drugs need to be viewed with a healthy dose of skepticism. Two years after the original study came out, three articles were published in the Archives of Internal Medicine refuting the claims laid down by the industry-funded JUPITER study.
One of these studies titled “Cholesterol lowering, cardiovascular diseases, and the rosuvastatin-JUPITER controversy: a critical reappraisal,” carefully reviewed the methods and the results of the JUPITER trial and concluded that the trial was flawed and the results "do not support the use of statin treatment for primary prevention of cardiovascular diseases …"In addition, a second study, a meta-analysis of 11 randomized controlled trials, found no evidence to back up the JUPITER trial claim that statins can reduce your risk of death when used as primary prevention against heart disease.
Increased Risk of Stroke, Serious Side Effects: A new study found that statin drugs actually increase your risk of having a type of stroke caused by bleeding in the brain if you've already had one before. Among such patients, the risk of a second stroke was 22 percent in those who took statins compared with 14 percent in those who did not. There are two reasons why this might happen: the drugs may either lower your cholesterol too much, to the point that it increases your risk of brain bleeding, or they may affect clotting factors in your blood, increasing the bleeding risk.
At GreenMedInfo.com you can see 71 diseases that may be associated with these drugs, and this is only the tip of the iceberg. There are actually over 900 studies showing the risks of statin drugs, which include: Cognitive loss, acidosis, sexual dysfunction, immune system depression, neuropathy, frequent fevers, increased risk of cancer, serious degenerative muscle tissue condition, anemia, cataracts, pancreatic dysfunction, liver disease.
Are You Taking a Statin for No Reason?
For certain individuals who are at very high risk of dying from a heart attack, statin drugs may be useful -- but this is only true if you have strong heart attack risk factors (NOT if you simply have "high" cholesterol levels). It is important to note that it is also not necessary for you to remain on the drug for the rest of your life. Once your cholesterol ratios have been optimized by a course of treatment on statins, you can safely go off them if you have changed your diet, started exercising, and are getting chiropractic adjustments/removing nerve interference on a regular basis.
Dr. Mercola states: “I have seen a number of people with total cholesterol levels over 250 who were actually at low risk for heart disease due to their elevated HDL levels. Conversely, I have seen many people with cholesterol levels under 200 who had a very high risk of heart disease, based on their low HDL. Further, if you take statin drugs unnecessarily, there's a good chance your cholesterol levels will become too low, which is dangerous since your body NEEDS cholesterol -- it is important in the production of cell membranes, hormones, vitamin D and bile acids that help you to digest fat. Cholesterol also helps your brain form memories and is vital to your neurological function. There is also strong evidence that having too little cholesterol INCREASES your risk for cancer, memory loss, Parkinson's disease, hormonal imbalances, stroke, depression, suicide, and violent behavior – so keeping your cholesterol high enough is important”.