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Cell Phone Dangerous!

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I appreciate one of Oprah’s projects which is to basically ban cell phone texting while driving. Texting while driving is dangerous. And so is talking on the phone while driving unless you have a headset or use the car’s stereo system. Get this however! It’s dangerous to place the cell phone against your head while talking. Apparently, there are cell phones that give off high levels of radiation. And of course, excess radiation causes free radical formation. Free radicals in turn causes DNA damage and abnormal cell formation. If this happens in the brain area, you could potentially get brain cancer. There is still some debate in the scientific community whether this could really happen. It’s better to err on the side of caution and take preventive measures to avoid unnecessary radiation exposure. Anyway, in a surprising first in the US, San Francisco my beloved US home city is passing a bill that requires cell phone retailers to post the amount of radiation emitted by cell phones they are selling. Fortunately, there are tools available that can actually neutralize the harmful effects of electromagnetic radiation. I’ve been using these tools for years and they’re very popular in Japan and Germany. Interestingly enough, they’re manufactured right in our own backyard in Santa Rosa, California. Check out http://www.wholehealthworldwide.com for more info.

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I Hate Radicals!

The lipid peroxidation mechanism shows a singl...

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Free radicals, that is! Free radicals are highly unstable atoms or molecules that have unpaired electrons. In order to maintain stability, they steal electrons from other molecules such as our cells thereby causing cell damage. A good analogy would be a codependent/clingy person. He or she always has to be with someone to thrive or even survive. That ain’t fun! Anyhow, excessive free radical formation leads to premature aging and nobody wants that. To fight against free radicals, we need to take antioxidants. Antioxidants are molecules that basically donates electrons to free radicals which then neutralize them and prevent them from damaging other cells. Antioxidants come in the form of vitamins (Vitamins A, C and E), minerals (zinc, selenium), amino acids (glutathione), herbs (ginkgo), essential oils (clove essential oil) and other nutrients (resveratrol). Antioxidants typically turn into free radicals once they donate their electrons. That’s why it’s always a good idea to take a good mix of antioxidants rather than just taking an isolated one. Among the antioxidants by the way, glutathione is the only one that doesn’t turn into a free radical. Neat, huh?

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Breast Alert! Women Beware…..

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Annual breast radiation ain’t hot! Yup, you read it right. That’s what you call the standard procedure used to screen for tumors in the breasts. More benignly called “mammograms”, the procedure actually involves the use of ionizing radiation. And what does ionizing radiation do? It damages the DNA, causes cell mutation and voila, tumor formation. The studies are found in prestigious journals such as the Archives of Internal Medicine, as mentioned in NaturalNews.com. There are other ways to screen for breast tumors. Besides self-breast exams, other procedures include breast thermography, ultrasound or even MRI. What things can one do to prevent problems in the breasts anyway? Simple things such as going bra-less at night, wearing bras without metal wires, avoiding the use of anti-perspirants, intake of cruciferous vegetables, avoiding environmental toxins (such as xenoestrogens from plastic containers since they accumulate in fatty tissues such as the breasts) and regular detox. So, smart up women (and that goes for men too)! Be informed! Ask questions!

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The Darker Side of Beauty

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What’s up with mercury in skin whitening agents, toluene in nail polish, lead in lipstick and other sorts of toxins found in beauty products? The fact is that a lot of personal care products such as shampoos, lotions, make-up and hair styling products contain ingredients that are linked to asthma, cancer, infertility and birth defects, among many others. Why do you think there’s a surge in incidence of chronic degenerative diseases? Aside from the fact that our food is not as nutritious (because of farming practices and the extensive use of pesticides), we are seeing a deluge of synthetic chemicals that have not been tested for safety. And even if they have, they’re usually tested singly and not in combination with other chemicals. This toxic soup of chemicals have harmful synergistic effects. Scary! Therefore, go natural as much as possible. Read labels too! Explore http://www.cleanbodycare.com for all natural body care.

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Toxic America

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Now on CNN….. Interesting how a taboo subject is now in the mainstream media. Remember watching the Julia Roberts’ movie called Erin Brokovich? In that movie, corporate polluters were getting away with it until a nosey woman starts meddling with their affairs. Movie ended well. Hope it happens in real life too. It appears that corporate polluters are getting a slap in the hand and pay a measly fee for their misdemeanors (compared to the billions they earn in profits). Anyway, it’s timely that Dr. Sanjay Gupta discusses about this growing problem of toxic pollutants affecting our environment. Among those mentioned are arsenic, chromium and dioxins. Unfortunately, what happens is that people just abandon toxic communities. I don’t blame them. Nothing is really being done to clean the affected areas. What happens when our environment is toxic? We should clean it up. What happens when our bodies are toxic? We should clean them up even more so. What are the symptoms of a toxic environment? Plants, wildlife and people get sick. What are the symptoms of a toxic body? Headaches, fatigue, brain fog, premature aging, autoimmune disease, cancer, etc. Too numerous to mention. Should symptom relief be the goal? Yes, but that’s not enough. How about detoxifying the body? That would be the smart thing to do. Our food, air and water are not as clean as they used to be. We need to detox regularly or else….

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No More Shopping….

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…in plastic bags, that is. In an interesting article on AOL News, it stated that California may be the first state in the nation to totally ban plastic bags. San Francisco enacted a decree banning plastic bags a couple of years ago. Anyway, it’s about time that plastic bags are banned altogether because as environmentalists and anti-littering advocates say, they are unnecessary, unsightly and dangerous to wildlife. More importantly, plastic gives off chemicals that act as hormone-disruptors in the body, otherwise known as xenoestrogens. We are seeing a lot of hormonal imbalances as early as the pre-teen years because of the environmental toxins that are all around us. Thank goodness, people are now becoming more aware of how the environment influences our planetary and personal health. The use of paper bags however, may not be the best solution. It takes 14 million trees to create 10 billion paper bags, according to the article. The solution is to use recyclable bags or better yet, a Y3 tote bag (or your favorite designer bag) when shopping. Fortunately, there are different ways to detoxify the body of the harmful chemicals that come from plastic. Among these include the use of an infra-red sauna and if this is not available in your area, make sure that you do sweat regularly (through exercise, using a sweat lodge, dry sauna or steam bath). Another way to detox the body of xenoestrogens is through the intake of cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, kale, brussel sprouts, cauliflower or my favorite, bok choy. This can be accomplished through supplements such as Calcium D-glucarate or glutathione as well.

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What A Hot Oily Mess!

Alternative Energy Galore

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Finally, I’m making a comment about the oil spill that’s happening in the Gulf of Mexico. What does this have to do with health in general? A lot! What’s happening is an environmental disaster of epic proportions (not trying to be dramatic here). It’s going to affect everything up the food chain eventually. What strikes me as odd is the way the emergency response has been all this time. The “topkill” solution didn’t make any sense at all. It’s like putting a band aid on a gushing wound hoping that by some miracle, it’s going to stop. Hello? This is a good example of treating the symptom, rather than addressing the root of the problem. We need to end our dependence on oil (not just foreign oil). There are a lot of alternative energy sources out there that we haven’t tapped as extensively as we could (like geothermal, hydroelectric or solar; not a fan of nuclear though). As far as our personal health is concerned, we also need to find out the root causes of symptoms, rather than just treating the symptoms alone. A good example is that of high blood pressure. Diet, exercise, weight loss, herbs and medications do help. But, we need to find out whether factors like nutrient deficiencies, stress, heavy metal toxicity or hormonal imbalance play a role in the situation.

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A Chocolate A Day…….

….may keep the doctor at bay. Interesting thought, huh? When I say doctor though, I meant staying away from someone who’s always ready to prescribe medications for any ailment. You may want to work with a doctor (originally derived from Latin word “doctoris” meaning teacher, by the way) who actually works in partnership with you and is open-minded to other forms of healing. As far as chocolate is concerned, I’m referring to cocoa and/or organic, unrefined, dark chocolate and not the milk chocolate variety (lots of sugar and saturated fat). It has been found out in numerous studies that the polyphenols found in cocoa (as well as tea and blueberries) help improve endothelial function therefore preventing atherosclerosis. They also combat free radicals thus proving to be one of the best nutrients to use for anti-aging purposes. A French study showed that people greater than 65 years old with a diet rich in these bioflavonoids had less cognitive decline over a 10 year period. There’s also a Finnish study of more than 1,000 men in which a high polyphenol diet was linked to healthier arteries. More clinical studies (even double blind studies required by the authorities here) are found in Life Extension magazine. Ever wonder why cocoa is considered “food of the gods” (named “Theobroma cacao” by botanist Linnaeus) in the Aztec culture?

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HGH for Optimal Health

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One of the hormones that decline as we age is HGH (human growth hormone). This hormone is responsible for growth and development in children and teens and for regeneration and repair in adults. It has been used traditionally for dwarfism but it is now being recommended for adult growth hormone deficiency. There are a lot of signs and symptoms associated with low HGH levels in adults. Among the physical signs of HGH deficiency are sparse/thin hair, sagging cheeks, droopy eyelids, loose skin under the chin, prematurely aged or obese body, droopy abdomen, and generalized muscular atrophy. Mental symptoms of low HGH include a poor quality of life, chronic anxiety, low self-esteem or self-confidence, lack of concentration and self-control and a tendency to social isolation. Physical complaints include decline in physical appearance, poor health, exhaustion, cold intolerance, erectile dysfunction in men, light or poor sleep and a low appetite for protein. There are different ways to boost HGH production. Exercise of course, does that. Sleep and certain amino acids also trigger the release of HGH from the pituitary. There are certain peptides such as Sermorelin, GHRP-2 and GHRP-6 that also stimulate the release of HGH but this is given in an injectable form. Last but not least is the use of actual HGH. This is now made by recombinant DNA technology, unlike previously, when it was sourced from cadavers. There are various ways to check for HGH deficiency and they include checking your blood for IGF-1, IGF-BP-3, basal GH and stimulated GH (using HGHRH, insulin, arginine, clonidine, glucagon, propanolol) or doing a 24 hour urine collection for HGH. It’s important to work with your doctor to minimize side effects and optimize results. Common side effects are carpal tunnel syndrome and hyperglycemia, which can easily be reversed by fine tuning the dosage of the hormone.

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Move Your Body

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All these years, we are led to believe that we need to spend hours at the gym to improve our cardiovascular health or improve our body composition (less fat, more muscles). Well, it’s not actually the amount of time that you spend at the gym that improves your overall health. I, for one, would listen to my body and spend 30 minutes max at the gym. Intuitively, I felt that this was healthier for me. So, when one of my clients told me about a book by Dr. Al Sears called the PACE Revolution, I knew I was on to something. Dr. Sears explains how doing vigorous exercise for short periods followed by rest improves cardiovascular health, body composition as well as improve objective parameters such as pulmonary function tests, which is one of the best predictors of longevity. We no longer need to be guilty about not spending an hour or more of long, boring, repetitive exercises. Enjoy training again!

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