The Importance of Vitamin D

Vitamin D Deficiency Called Major Health Risk
By Rob Stein, Washington Post Staff Writer

Many Americans, particularly African Americans, may be suffering from unrecognized deficiencies of a key nutrient -- vitamin D -- that increase the risk of bone problems and perhaps a host of other diseases, a growing number of scientists say.
Pediatricians scattered around the country have been surprised to see children suffering from rickets, a bone disorder caused by vitamin D deficiency that had been largely relegated to a bygone era.

The Swine Flu Vaccine Song

Song Lyrics to The Swine Flu Vaccine Song by Mike Adams:

The swine flu's comin' back
like a viral attack
It's like '76, you gotta cover ya back
But not with a vaccine don't give in to that
Because those medical quacks
are makin money off that

They wanna inject you, infect you with the vaccine
They say they protect but they reject your immunity
And if you protest they arrest you and they lock you down
Can't have people like that walkin' around

Swine Flu Vaccine Concerns

What is the Swine Flu? We know that it spreads among people easily and is affecting younger people disproportionately. We also know that a number of people, many with underlying health conditions, have died from this virus.

This virus was originally referred to as “swine flu” because laboratory testing showed that many of the genes in this new virus were very similar to influenza viruses that normally occur in pigs in North America. But further study has shown that this new virus is very different from what normally circulates in North American pigs. It has two genes from flu viruses that normally circulate in pigs in Europe and Asia and avian genes and human genes. Scientists call this a “quadruple reassortant” virus.

With a swine flu vaccine expected to be ready in October, the debate over mass vaccination of children has been rapidly growing. The panic which occurred over the swine flu might soon be even more dangerous than the virus itself. The infected persons are shunned as if they have the plague. We are bombarded with new information about

The Sugar in Our Drinks

Soft drinks are not the only commercially sold beverage that is loaded with sugar these days. There are alarmingly high amounts of sugar in the different popular drinks, including a popular organic soy milk and good old orange juice. A friend of mine shared this link to a site that compares various beverages by serving size, total calories, and calories from sugar. I was quite shocked to see how much these popular drinks contain. What's fascinating is what a difference it makes to better understanding the sugar content concept when you see a picture showing you exactly what those numbers mean in terms of sugar cubes.

The website owner (or author) took the time to stack up sugar cubes and the drinks to help the reader understand the concepts. I also noticed some corrections that were made (based on reader feedback) to some items that have been changed by the manufacturer. I think that shows that the author is not trying to mislead anyone into avoiding or banning these beverages, but willing to present the facts so that we all can make informed decisions about our food and beverage consumption.

Vitamin Facts We Need To Know

To be able to make informed decisions about our nutritional and dietary needs, we must get all the facts. There are some vitamins that can be toxic when taken in large doses (i.e., vitamins A, D, E or K). The body does not need these every day and stores them in the liver and fatty tissues when not used. They are also eliminated much more slowly than water-soluble vitamins (B-complex and C). How do we know how much is considered too much?

Yes, we're safer with supplements now...

According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) there have been 450,000 adverse event reports reported in pharmaceutical-related cases in the last 6 months. In comparison, there have only been 604 adverse event reports related to dietary supplements in the same six months.

Vice president of scientific and regulatory affairs of the Natural Products Association, Daniel Fabricant said, "As it stands now, the number of mandatory AERs (adverse event reports) is well within - and even a bit below - the normal range that the FDA expected to receive from dietary supplements based on last year's guidance," he said. "To put the number in perspective, the FDA received more than 450,000 mandatory AERs in 2007 from prescription pharmaceuticals."

Water Is Life

This is a learning tool regarding alkaline water. This video is in Japanese with English subtitles, however, the information provided in it is remarkable and well worth the 9 minutes it takes to view. It is called "Water is Life." The video shows the results of several different experiments with alkaline water.

There is no marketing in the video to try to convince you to use one type of alkaline water product over another. The choice is yours. Look for the product that works best for your situation - your budget and lifestyle.

Acid-Alkaline Balance

"The cells of a healthy body are alkaline, while the cells of a diseased body are acidic."
- Arthur C. Guyton, M.D.
Textbook of Medical Physiology

If you suffer from a pH imbalance, it can:

* Thicken your blood and increase your risk of heart problems.
* Block vitamin absorption and starve your body of essential nutrients.
* Create toxic buildup in clogged cells.
* Slow down organ function and make you feel sluggish and weak.
* Prevent proper digestion and create excess gas and bloating.
* Cause unhealthy weight gain.
* Speed the aging process and make you look and feel older.

Hydration is a Key

A lot of research reports point to hydration as a key factor to maintaining good health. Nutrition experts such as Brad King (best-selling author of Fat Wars) and well-known fitness professionals such as Clark Bartram (author of Spiritually Fit) frequently emphasize the importance of water in our diets. After all, our bodies are composed of nearly 70% water. If you lose that water, you are losing part of what your body is made of.



The late Dr. Batmanghelidj, MD, the best-selling author of Your Body’s Many Cries for Water has also published literature regarding the effects of improper hydration. There is a published interview with Dr. Batmanghelidj wherein he shares answers to such questions as how dehydration impairs mental functioning, why the body produces cholesterol and how water keeps it in balance, and which common ailments and "diseases" are actually caused by dehydration. You can check out the interview here: The Water Cure: An interview with Dr. Batmanghelidj

Note the following symptoms of dehydration in the body:

• Feeling tired when it is not the result of strenuous work (in its extreme form, chronic fatigue)
• Excessive hunger and cravings
• Feeling flushed
• Feeling irritable and easily angered
• Feeling anxious without a justified cause
• Feeling depressed

Imagine how many of the health problems we experience today are actually resultant conditions of the lack of proper hydration. So if you need a place to start in improving your health (without having to compare and analyze vitamins and other supplements), start by drinking more water. Water hydrates the body...and hydration is a key to better health, energy, and longevity.



NOTE: As I am not yet used to moderating comments on this blog, I accidentally rejected a comment posted by TC. I am copying here from an email notification I received. I thought it was worth sharing. (Sorry, TC, I didn't mean to delete it).

TC has left a new comment on your post "Hydration is a Key":

Hey Liggy. It is true. To many people don't really understand the significance of being adequately hydrated especially when it comes to eliminating many of the generalized ill health conditions. I have written extensively on the water issue in my book - Live Smart and have posted about it as well. I even have an insightful Squidoo page about water if your interested. http://squidoo.com/clean-drinking-water. Some good info there. Your site is looking great.

Please look at his suggested page, too, for more information regarding this subject. Thanks!!!

Organic Foods - More or Less for Your Money?

When you see signs for organic food and a grocery section devoted entirely to organic foods that are priced higher than your average food store item, you wonder if maybe organic foods have better nutritional value. But if you review the research that has been published on both types of foods, it seems that the higher price of organic foods has nothing to do with nutritional content.

Chasing Miracles

Pictured (from L to R) - Mrs. Burdick (friend), Tommie Weber, Liggy (me), and Mr. Burdick (friend)  
Let's face it. In our quest for perfect health, we are all "chasing miracles". What works for one does not always work for another, and what scientists or medical professionals tell us we need are not ever real "cures". Most medications out there only relieve or rid us of one system, but never truly stops what caused the symptoms to begin with. What we really need is to get to the root of it all and find a way to stay healthy. And that's the challenging part.

Java Lovers Will Love This

More and more research are coming out with positive news for coffee lovers. In fact, the latest issue of SELF magazine (August 2009) has a feature article titled "Brava, Java" in the Food & Diet section. The article, written by Beth Janes, gives us a little history of coffee as it comes from the coffeeberry bean up to the time we consume it in our coffee cups. Gone are the days when your only choices for coffee were black or with cream and sugar. Now coffee afficionados can enjoy the drink hot or cold as well, thanks to the successful marketing efforts of food and beverage establishments like Starbucks.
The SELF article outlines some of the many benefits of java and caffeine:

The Benefits of Coffee

A recent article in the BBC News Health Section reads Coffee 'may reverse Alzheimer's.' The report states that a Florida study showed that caffeine slows down the growth of plaque that is responsible for dementia and that leads to Alzheimer's Disease. It also tells that previous research indicates that caffeine may even reverse the progress of the disease. Very interesting.

God's Pharmacy

(Note: Some of you may have seen this come across in the form of a forwarded email message. I thought I'd post it because it contains a lot of interesting information very suitable for this blog).

A friend sent this to me. It's been said that God first separated the salt water from the fresh, made dry land, planted a garden, made animals and fish... All before making a human. He made and provided what we'd need before we were born. These are best & more powerful when eaten raw. We're such slow learners...

God left us great clues as to what foods help what part of our body!
God's Pharmacy! Amazing!

A sliced Carrot looks like the human eye. The pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like the human eye...And YES, science now shows carrots greatly enhance blood flow to and function of the eyes.