Big Pharm

As a country, we are more reliant on pharmaceuticals (i.e. drugs) than ever and yet we're sicker than ever! A connection? Probably. There is a ton of new information emerging about how the drug companies are actually behind creating the reasons for these drugs (it always comes back to money). If you read my post of the American Cancer Society, you know I'm a bit of conspiracy theorist, but only when well-founded. There are drugs for everything from depression to anxiety to diabetes, etc. And many of them have un-researched interactions with the potential to have dangerous side effects. Did you know that several research studies have found that exercise is as effective as the leading drug in fighting moderate depression? And so many of the "diseases" that drugs are aimed at fixing could be cured with healthy eating, exercise, and weight loss? Don't even get me started on how over-medicated our kids are. There is a bunch of research out stating that kids with ADD/ADHD actually have significant improvements in behavior and attention span when they eat a healthy, whole foods diet (read: low in sugar) and get adequate exercise (and sleep too!), yet our doctors continue to medicate these children. Why don't we take the time to educate parents on a healthy diet for their children? I get so frustrated by how much of a "fix-it now" society we are (although I'm super guilty of this too), that we don't take the time to take care of ourselves. Instead, we turn to our doctors to fix us. History tells us that we won't even know the dangers of many of these drugs until after they've been on the market for a long time (because the FDA does no long term research on these guys). I'm blogging about this just to put the bug in your ear. I'm not saying that there aren't legitimate reasons for prescription and OTC drugs. I just want to help all of us be more aware of what we are putting in our bodies and to realize that our doctors do not know all. Do not be afraid to ask questions, ask for second opinions, and alternate therapies.

http://www.pharmedout.org/
http://www.doctoroz.com/overdosed-america

I apologize for this blunt post, but I am so tired and the words are beginning to run together :) Ah, how life has changed after baby...

Are Carbs the New Cocaine??

So I DVR just about anything I can get my hands on, and delete whatever I don't want to watch, which is 90% of it. However, an occasional Dr. Oz will catch my eye. He did an interesting episode on Autism and another on medical marijuana. And just recently, he addressed the effects of processed carbohydrates on the body. He was acting on recent research that came out stating that the same pleasure centers in the brain are affected by cocaine and by processed, white carbohydrates.  Again, if you've read my blog before, you know my personal struggle with food dating back to college. Carbohydrates ARE addictive. The more you eat, the more you crave, and then the more you need to feel good. I do strongly believe that everyone has their own individual response to both protein and carbs, but I will say from personal experience, when I eliminated white flour and rice and began to limit (not restrict because I LOVE my pasta) complex carbs and added a bit more protein in, I began to see my weight decrease a bit, but I also began to feel better. I craved carbs less. And for anyone who truly understands craving something you know you shouldn't be eating, but you crave it so much you can't focus on anything else, you know how wonderful this is! I strongly encourage everyone to make this adjustment in their diet. There is so much evidence to support eating whole grains as opposed to refined grains...give it a try! The first ingredient should be 'whole wheat' on the product label. This does not mean that 'whole grain' equals whole wheat, because it doesn't, so be careful. There are now so many whole wheat products on the market now and all of the pastas are amazing. Plus, if you swap your white flour for fine whole wheat flour during your baking, you'll get a heartier tasting product that's a little bit healthier (go ahead and have TWO cookies!). Let me know if you need a little guidance or suggestions in this area...Go For It!


http://www.details.com/style-advice/the-body/201103/carbs-caffeine-food-cocaine-addiction
http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/are-carbs-new-cocaine-pt-3

Stepping Out On A Very Lonely Branch...

This is something that I read about a while ago, but never took the time to really pursue (nor was I brave enough to share my newfound discovery with others). But it has popped up in my life again, so here it goes. The American Cancer Society is an association riddled with conflicts of interest and is not looking out for those diagnosed with cancer. Here's why:

First of all, it is the most profitable non-profit, although that in and of itself isn't a crime. However, it has ties to the pesticide and mammography industry and it places a huge emphasis on chemotherapy and radiation because it has ties to those industries as well. They stress treatment versus prevention (as does most of our health care industry)...don't forget that treatment generates a heck of a lot more money than prevention does. In 2005, Dr. Samuel Epstein, the former head on the congressional committee against cancer, charged that the ACS deliberately withheld information on the environmental causes of cancer. That was SIX years ago...did you hear about it? Neither did I.

Remember that diet is the most important factor when trying to prevent and beat cancer. There are many natural medicine doctors who have had significant success with eliminating various foods that feed cancer cells.

http://www.preventcancer.com/losing/acs/wealthiest_links.htm
http://www.corporations.org/cancer/boycottacs.html
http://www.naturalnews.com/010244.html
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/05/24/american-cancer-society--more-interested-in-wealth-than-health.aspx

Updates in the News

FLUORIDE
http://dentalcare.mercola.com/

This is a marketing tool for Dr. Mercola's toothpaste, but it is a 14 min video that is SO worth your time. I learned so much about the fluoride industry. He interviews a dentist who has practiced for 30 years and he has lots of good information. He even made a claim about how fluoride potentially damages sperm and eggs and may be resulting in damaged DNA that may even be contributing to such diagnoses as Down Syndrome.

PREGNANCY AND PESTICIDES
I'm a STRONG proponent for eating a diet high in organic foods...this is why!

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/04/21/pesticide-exposure-in-womb-affects-i-q/?partner=rss&emc=rss

http://www.mnn.com/family/babies-pregnancy/blogs/babies-conceived-in-march-are-more-likely-to-have-autism

FOOD DYES
I wish I could get my hands on someone who works for the FDA...wait until you read the second article here. There is a picture of NutraGrain bars comparing ingredients between the US and Europe. I won't spoil the picture, but it just angers me!!

http://healthychild.org/blog/comments/food_dyes_and_kids/
http://healthychild.org/blog/comments/toxics_in_our_kids_foods_where_is_the_fda/

Happy Mother's Day!

There's nothing like a Sunday morning in May to remind us of how important mothers are. Mom's are like the glue that holds a family together (not that dads aren't important!) There is something so special about the mother-child relationship that I didn't fully appreciate until I had a child of my own. There's something about bonding over 3am feedings, cleaning up spit-up, dealing with absolutely disgusting diapers, and trudging through the mounds of information of what's safe and not that makes you feel incredibly close to your own mother. Many, many times I've found myself asking my own mom for advice, and while I don't always agree with her, it's so nice to be able to ask her any question that pops to mind, and more often than not, she has some tid-bit of useful information that only a seasoned mom could provide. Having parenthood in common has brought my mom and I closer than we were before, and I just love having her as my best friend.

After becoming a mom, I soon realized that all any mother wants to hear is that she's doing a good job. From the day the first baby is born, a mom's identity shifts from her own ego and concern for self, to absolute concern for her child's well being and happiness. It's not an easy shift, but it does happen, a little bit at a time (and eventually has to shift back a bit to include the dad as well) :) I do believe our generation has it better than the one before us. Our society is much more warm and fuzzy that during our parents generation (I'm making a GROSS generalization here). But we live now in a era where expressing emotion is much more acceptable than in generations before us, and this has made being a mom a tad bit easier, because it has become a team effort. Grandparents want to be more involved in their grandchildren's lives, and if you are lucky enough to have family close, you get to reap the benefits of having built-in babysitters.

Having a strong family unit is so important today, and I sometimes feel that the importance of this is overlooked by many. In a society that placed so much emphasis on STUFF, I often feel that technology has become a stand-in for good parents. On more than one occasion, I've seen families at lunch or dinner and all the kids are plugged in to their ipads or ipod touches. Or I'll be driving down the street and see kids watching movies in the back seat of the minivan. And I think to myself, where are the parents? Why aren't they enjoying the amazingness that is their children? Why aren't they enjoying the time they get to be together as a family? My husband will relay stories to me about what many high schoolers are doing in their spare time (hint: it's not playing Scrabble) and it just makes me so sad. Where are the parents?

I'm constantly reminded of what I don't want to do as a mom. That's the easy part. The hard part is trying to do all the right things to shape our child's life so that he is respectful, responsible, happy, and genuine. That's a lot of pressure! I have to remember that I will not always do the right thing. I will not always be perfect. As my mom said at my wedding: "I was not always the perfect mom, but I loved you perfectly." This is my mantra. Thanks Mama, for reminding me that, just as you taught me growing up, I can only do my best. I may not be the perfect mom, but I am the perfect mom for my son. Happy Mother's Day to all of you....

Sugar: Friend or Foe?

Well, if you ask me at the end of a long work day on Friday, I'd say Friend! However, by Saturday morning I'll be lamenting that sugar binge. Throughout Lent, I gave up the processed type of sugar, the kind you find in jelly beans and candy bars. I wasn't able to give up the sugar in homemade treats, but I figure that it's less processed and organic, so I feel less guilty about it. With the arrival of Easter, I was able to enjoy the pure delight in opening a bag of Starburst Jelly Beans, reserved only for the spring. My husband went through our eggs, eating the candy out of them one by one. Ah, sweet joy!

Oh, sweet, short-lived joy....within minutes I began to feel sick and utterly nauseous. I hadn't even eaten that many jelly beans. And really, they didn't taste as good as I remembered. My body was screaming at me, STOP! While my head kept telling me push through it, they will start to taste better and that gross feeling will go away. Well, I stopped because I began to feel like I'd gained 10lbs just after that mini binge.

Over the next few days, as the Easter candy has been slowly diminishing, I noticed that it took eating more and more to get to that same gross feeling as I felt on that Easter Day. Hmmmm...Another interesting tid-bit is that my interest in eating fruit, really yummy sweet fruit totally diminished. I eat an apple every day and love mango and strawberries with my breakfast. But during the days since eating the processed sugar again, my taste buds weren't satisfied by the natural sugar. All I craved was the processed crap. Here again is proof to me that sugar is addictive and that sugar (HFCS or not), can change what you crave. Additionally, I believe that the more you eat this type of food, the more you want it. Processed food is chemically designed this way.

Fructose is the number one source of calories in American diets. It's cheap and makes food taste extra sweet, so it's therefore in nearly every processed product you can find. (A side note: now that many people are starting to avoid high fructose corn syrup, many companies are beginning to use palm oil, which is NOT a healthier alternative, and may be just as awful as HFCS). Many will say "Everything in moderation," but this may not be the way to go with sugar. The use of fructose as an additive to foods corresponds directly with the increase in diabetes and obesity in this country, but I'll let you draw your own conclusions.

Sugar may in fact be linked to even cancer. I remember way back when I started seeing my naturopath and I learned about how sugar can create an environment in your cells that promotes abnormal cell growth (which is why changing your diet is so crucial if you are diagnosed with cancer). The cells of human cancers, according to Dr. Taubes (who I LOVE), rely on insulin to survive and grow, which is produced when you eat an excess of sugar (and although I dislike white bread products, a calorie of sugar from them is glucose, which our bodies metabolize differently than fructose). There is reason to believe then, that pre-cancerous cells may never become cancerous if there is no insulin present for them to feed on. And as if you needed another reason to get rid of the soda, when our bodies metabolize the fructose in liquids, the result is compounded. Another reason to forgo the sugar. (I also found out reading about this that Vitamin water has a TON of sugar!)

Sadly, fructose is found in some fresh fruits. However, you can keep your fructose levels low by only eating fresh fruits and forgoing the processed foods.

A few placed to be careful about finding sugar: ketchup, salad dressings, and even mustard. There are so many more, but the mustard surprised me! We've now switched to a mustard that is not made with sugar or any sweeteners (and my husband has no clue) :)

I also want to make a note about sweeteners. These are just as bad for you as sugar. They also can alter your taste buds because they are sweeter than sugar. Eventually you end up needing more and more to meet your fix, and as I mentioned before, you'll begin to appreciate naturally sweet foods less. (I also think the same argument goes for when people complain they don't like the taste of water--stop eating soda and sweetened drinks and pretty soon you're taste buds will get back to normal and water should start tasting good again). They are also incredibly toxic to our bodies. It has been linked to cancer and premature birth. If you have more questions (or don't believe me) please read this two articles which spell out the research on this issue. http://aspartame.mercola.com/; http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/09/15/aspartame-side-effects.aspx

Another thing that just astounded me, is that infant formula can be up to 50% sugar (from corn syrup solids, gross!) This is just APPALLING to me! How can we be giving this crap to our babies! No wonder obesity is on the rise...we are altering our babies taste buds from the get-go! Make sure you read your labels and try to find one that is low sugar (and if you do, let me know so I can pass on the word).

I could go on and on and on, but I won't. Your time is precious and I need to get a few more things done before the little guy gets up. All three articles below are worth a read, but they are long. Take the challenge: give up the sugar. We are trying it in our house. We're not going cold turkey, but we're really trying to reduce how much we eat. Join us :)


http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/05/02/is-sugar-toxic.aspx
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/magazine/mag-17Sugar-t.html?_r=1
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/01/26/sugar-may-be-bad-but-this-sweetener-is-far-more-deadly-part-2.aspx