Cow's Milk . . . Is For Cows

Dr. T. Colin Campbell, Ph.D., a nutritional biochemist at Cornell University is convinced that cow's milk is responsible for a share of American's medical problems. Here are a few reasons why:

• It is unnatural to drink milk. Nature formulates mother's milk for different species. What's good for a calf is not necessarily good for a human baby or an adult human. We are the only species that suckles from another, even if it comes from a milk carton.
• Dr. Campbell theorizes that cow's milk unnaturally stimulates enzymes and growth hormones that increase the risk of various diseases.
• Various vegetables and legumes may be a better source of calcium than cow's milk
• In a series of experimentes at Cornell University and Virginia Tech Dr. Campbell found that it was possible to turn cancer growth off and on by increasing the amount of casein (milk protein) feed to laboratory animals.
• He found that the threshold amount of casein required to switch on turmor growth averaged about 10 percent of diet; the average American diet is about 17 percent protein.
• Speaking about milk, Dr. Neal Barnard, head of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine has said that, "It would be hard to imagine a worse vehicle for delivering calcium to the human body."
• Epidemiological research suggests correlation between breast and prostate cancer and milk consumption.

Evidence about the adverse health effects of milk has been around for some time but few are listening. For example,

• A 1989 study showed that higher breast cancer rates were correlated with the higher milk consumption in Scandinavia and the Netherlands.
• A 1977 study indicated that for every one man who dies in Asiz (where milk consuption is very low) from prostate cancer ten men die of prostate cancer in Western Europe.
• The 2000 Harvard University Physicians' Health Study of 20,885 male doctors discovered that those who consumed at least 2 1/2 servings of dairy products per day were 30% more likely to develop prostate cancer than those who consumed less than 1/2 serving.
• The 1997, 12-year Harvard Nurses' Health Study of 78,000 nurses found that the nurses who drank two or more glasses of milk a day had a slightly higher risk of arm fracture (5%) and a much higher risk of hip fracture (45% higher risk). And you though that milk builds strong bodies . . .

I give all of my wellness coaching clients a copy of the book The China Study: The Most Comprehensive Study of Nutrition Ever Conducted and the Startling Implications for Diet, Weight Loss and Long-term Health. If you're not one of my wellness coaching clients then get a copy and read it . . . or become one of my coaching clients and I'll send you a copy. Email me for more information.

Corn Syrup is Just Sugar, Right?

A new study using mice, not people, that was recently published in Science Daily (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090303123802.htm) explains in part at least why insulin resistance can result from diets high in high-fructose corn syrup, a sweetener found in most sodas and many other processed foods.

Fructose is much more readily metabolized to fat in the liver than glucose. This process can lead to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease which in turn leads to hepatic insulin resistance and type II diabetes.

Please, avoid artifact food products that contain high-fructose corn syrup. Your body wasn't designed to metabolize it correctly. It is a non-food, food artifact.

Time for Spring Cleaning

Spring has sprung here in Virginia. The little bit of snow that we had has melted, the rains have started and the trees in our yard have budded. It’s time to clean out the garage or the basement, put away the heavy winter drapes and put the shears back up to let the sunlight in. It’s also a good time to clean your body.

You probably change the oil in your car every 3,000 miles to keep it running smoothly. Do the same with your body. Your body is exposed to harmful and toxic substances every day including pesticides in produce, formaldehyde in carpets, cosmetics and baby products, PCBs from plastics (a good reason by the way to drink filtered water in a glass glass and avoid water bottled in plastic), and dioxins from bleached paper. In addition it has been estimated that most people carry up to fifteen (yup 15) pounds of un-eliminated waste in their large intestine.
The waste and toxic substances that is stored in your liver, lungs, kidneys, fat cells, intestines, blood and skin can result in chronic illness. Detoxification gets these substances out of your body.

My protocol for spring cleaning includes the following:

1. Nature’s Sunshine Clean Start. This is a 14-day colon cleansing product that consist of three components. The first component is a fiber-rich drink packets that includes Bentonite (a natural clay that attracts and neutralizes toxins in the colon) and psyllium hulls that act as a bulk forming laxative. It also includes two LBS II capsules with a lower bowel cleansing formula and one Enviro-Detox capsule designed to cleans the intestines, kidneys, liver, lungs and skin. E-mail me for more information about Clean Start.

2. Three glasses of fresh lemon juice every. Lemon juice helps clean the liver of stored toxins. Squeeze the juice from one lemon into a 12 ounce glass of filtered water and enjoy. Please, don’t add sugar and turn it into lemonade.

3. Go vegetarian for two weeks . . . yes you really can do it! Eat lots of legumes, brown rice, and homemade leek or fresh vegetable soup. Avoid polished, white rice, it has a high glycemic index and no fiber. Add some turmeric[1] to your rice while it cooks.

[1] Turmeric contains curcumin and curcuminoids, which are powerful anti-inflammatory phytochemicals that act as natural cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitors in the body, and inhibit the production of the prostaglandins that cause inflammation and swelling. Indian researchers found that tumeric relieved joint pain and swelling in people with arthritis as well as prescription nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) without side effects such as abdominal bleeding or stomach upset. Turmeric is a natural antioxidant, and thus protects the body from oxidative damage. Laboratory studies have found that tumeric inhibits the development of cataracts, breast cancer, colon cancer, and lymphoma. In one study, smokers that took just 1 teaspoon of tumeric a day for 30 days had lower levels of cancer-causing mutagens. In another study, just 500 milligrams of curcumin each day significantly reduced participants' cholesterol levels in as little as 10 days. Some studies indicate that turmeric's ability to lower cholesterol may provide the same heart-protective benefits as its close relative ginger, including blood clot prevention and reduced blood pressure. It helps detoxify the body, and protects the liver from the damaging effects of alcohol, toxic chemicals, and even some pharmaceutical drugs. Turmeric stimulates the production of bile, which is needed to digest fat and also guards the stomach by killing salmonella bacteria and protozoa that can cause diarrhea.

Eat Your Fruit and Vegies

The Standard American Diet is SAD. Poor lifestyle and dietary habits are a major cause of the escalating rates life-style illnesses like diabetes. A recent study conducted at the Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine and the Harvard School of Public Health demonstrates that one's risk of type 2 diabetes may be reduced by consuming more whole fruits and green leafy vegetables on a daily basis.

The study used data from the Nurses' Health Study, which ran for 18 years from 1984 to 2002. Diet and health information from 71,346 women between the ages of 38 to 63 years were used in the study. The nurses completed food frequency questionnaires once every 4 years. About 7.4% of the nurses included in the study developed diabetes during the study period. The subjects of the study, which was published in Diabetes Care, were also free of cancer and cardiovascular disease at the beginning of the study.

The researchers discovered that eating three more servings of whole fruits each day was associated with a lower risk of developing diabetes. Just eating one more serving of green leafy vegetables was also linked to lower diabetes risk. Such correlations existed even after factors such as family history, smoking and weight were taken into account.Fruit juice, however, did not fare so well. "Based on the results of our study, people who have risk factors for diabetes may find it helpful to fill up on leafy greens like lettuces, kale and spinach and whole fruits, like apples, bananas, oranges and watermelon rather than drink fruit juices, which deliver a big sugar load in a liquid form that gets absorbed rapidly," said Lydia Bazzano, an assistant professor of epidemiology at Tulane.

Sources
Fresh Vegetables, Fruits Reduce Diabetes Risk (http://www.sph.tulane.edu/pressroom...)

Lydia A Bazzano, Tricia Y Li, Kamudi J Joshipura and Frank B Hu. Intake of Fruit, Vegetables, and Fruit Juices and Risk of Diabetes in Women. Diabetes Care 2008;31:1311-1317.

Feeling Blue?

About 20-25% of women and 12% of men will experience serious depression at least once in their lifetimes so if you are feeling blue then you are in good company. The symptoms of depression include

• Prolonged sadness, unexplained crying spells, feeling hopeless
• Irritability, anger, worry, agitation, anxiety, restlessness
• Pessimism, indifference, feelings of guilt or worthlessness
• Significant changes in sleep or eating habits
• Persistent lethargy, loss of energy, inability to concentrate, indecisiveness
• Social withdrawal, loss of interest or pleasure in former fun activities
• Unexplained aches and pains
• Recurring thoughts of death and/or suicide

The Pharmaceutical Response

Several decades ago when researchers discovered that a person’s mood was largely affected by the concentrations of certain neurotransmitters in the brain—especially serotonin and dopamine. Pharmaceutical companies wasted no time developing drugs to fool with brain chemistry and eventually came up with drugs called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). These drugs alter brain chemistry and change the balance of these two chemicals in the brain and improve mood. SSRI’s include are Prozac, Celexa, Zoloft, Luvox, and Paxil.

The pharmaceutical companies have aggressively marketed SSRIs. Their marketing efforts have focused both on expanding the definition of depression and spreading the belief that depression is a biochemical-based problem that can be solved chemically. It looks like their efforts have been successful because doctors wrote more than 150 million prescriptions for antidepressants.

The Good and the Bad

Consequently millions of people are taking powerful prescription drugs on a long-term basis. I would highly recommend reading a 2005 report of researcher Janet Currie. Her report is one of the very best reports I’ve seen detailing how the pharmaceutical industry literally created a market for SSRI drugs, while at the same time covering up the fact that they are generally ineffective, costly, and loaded with dangerous side effects as well as addictive properties. You might come to the conclusion that pharmaceutical companies are more motivated by profit than by improving your wellbeing.

To see the complete document, The Marketization of Depression: The Prescribing of SSRI Antidepressants to Women, visit www.whp-apsf.ca/pdf/SSRIs.pdf.

An All-Natural Alternative

A natural and safe alternative to SSRI drugs is the compound inositol. While inositol is considered to be a part of the vitamin B complex, but not truly a vitamin. Inositol’s primary use in the body is in the formation of cell membranes. However, it is also involved in the systems that deliver messages from hormones and neurotransmitters to individual cells, and this is how deficiencies of inositol can be related to neurological problems like depression.
Numerous studies have shown that inositol can be equally as effective as the SSRI drugs in the treatment of conditions like depression, bulimia, and obsessive-compulsive disorder, and without any of the dangerous side effects.

Most of the studies have utilized 12 grams a day for depression and 18 grams a day for problems like panic and obsessive-compulsive disorders. Some doctors report excellent results in these same type cases using doses in the range of 3 to 6 grams daily.

Inositol is considered very safe. In a few cases, individuals experience temporary diarrhea and large doses may cause uterine contractions. Thus I do not recommend that you consider taking inositol if you are pregnant.

If you decide to try inositol, I suggest starting with 3 grams mixed with either juice or water and taken each morning. You can also just put the powder in your mouth. It doesn’t matter if you take inositol with or without food. From there, you can gradually increase the dose by an additional 3 grams every 4 or 5 days until either you reach 12 to 18 grams daily or you begin to experience beneficial effects.

In most studies individuals began to see positive results within 4 to 6 weeks. Some people actually see a difference in a matter of days, but it’s worth continuing for at least a couple of months if you don’t get a response that quickly.

Inositol can be purchased in capsules or in a more economical bulk powder. For example, 8 ounces of inositol sells for about $11 at www.allstarhealth.com (I'm not affiliated with All Star Health and don't receive commissions or any other form of compensation from them). At a dose of ¼ teaspoon (600 mg) that’s 378 servings, making inositol inexpensive in addition to being safe and effective. One ounce is about 28.4 grams so an 8 ounce package of inositol contains about 227 grams or about 75 three gram servings.