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I have heard the following statement many times, "you can get all the nutrients your body needs by eating a well balanced diet". While I believe this may have been true over 50 years ago, I have serious doubts about the validity of the above statement at this time.
The quality of the soil has a large effect on the amount of nutrients found in produce, grains, etc. Soil that is tired and full of chemicals is probably nutrient deficient. The widespread use of petrochemical fertilizers has increased crop yields in the short term but is causing other concerns. It encourages the overuse of the land which depletes the potential nutrients. In addition, the plants are sprayed with herbicides and pesticides during the farming process. These chemicals get into our air, water and the food chain. Many are considered carcinogens.
Food processing removes even more nutrients from the food. It is interesting the way it works; processing strips out the nutrients and then some are added back in and the product is then called "fortified". Unfortunately, the trace elements are gone forever and most nutrients added are probably synthetic and of questionable quality and quantity.
There is a growing concern about the quality of food we consume. People are starting to realize that some of the disease and illness is traceable back to the food we eat. They are becoming aware that most commercially grown food is full of pesticides, herbicides, and is of questionable nutritional value. These chemicals can cause a wide range of health problems. The public is also learning that there are other choices.
The organic food industry has been growing at a rapid rate. Between the years of 1989 and 1995, sales have grown by over 20% per year. Organic growing practices are better for the environment and better for the soil. Organic products are free of the dangerous chemicals and are more nutritious and tasty. One thing that has kept the organic industry growth from "exploding" are the relatively high shelf prices. What consumers don't realize is that the real cost of NON organic food is as high or higher than organic food. This is because of government subsidies, the cost of cleaning up the polluted air and water, and the effect on the health care system (of both farmers and the public eating the products). These hidden costs are NOT added to the shelf price of cheaper non organic foods. As the demand for organic produce increases and more farms switch to more organic methods, the price will probably come down.
Here are some suggestions for people who want to take steps to improve their health:
Of course, there is a lot more to proper nutrition than the information presented above. Use your common sense and become an educated consumer.
Source: Environmental Working Group, A Shopper's Group Guide to Pesticides in Produce
** Ranked in order from HIGHEST to LOWEST **
1. Strawberries
2. Bell peppers: Green peppers/red peppers
2. Spinach (tied for 2nd place)
3. Cherries (U.S.)
4. Peaches
5. Cantaloupe (Mexican)
6. Celery
7. Apples
8. Apricots
9. Green Beans
10. Grapes (Chilean)
11. Cucumbers
** Ranked in order from LOWEST to HIGHEST **
1. Avocados
2. Corn
3. Onions
4. Sweet Potatoes
5 Cauliflower
6. Brussel Sprouts
7. Grapes (U.S.)
8. Bananas
9. Plums
10. Green Onions
11. Watermelon
12. Broccoli
The term premenstrual syndrome has been attributed to many things in medicine, but from a natural healing standpoint it is understood basically as the symptoms of a toxic and imbalanced body chemistry, and oftentimes a sign of low calcium, iron, and potassium.
The reason this causes depression and withdrawal is that when a women goes through menstruation it is also a time used by the body as an escape door for the expulsion of toxins and waste. And, if a women is already so low in calcium, iron and potassium, the loss of blood will then cause further depletion of these elements in the menstrual flow, and thus ill feelings and depression.
In natural healing, the approach to alleviation of the symptoms would be to clean up the body by eating a high fiber, low fat diet. It would also concentrate on high calcium, iron, and potassium-rich foods (i.e. fruits, vegetables, grains, rice, low-fat dairy products, meat, fowl and fish).
The withdrawal the body feels is a result of further loss of calcium, iron and potassium, and also the release of toxins from the bloodstream into the menstrual flow. The body will naturally get a little sicker the more pronounced the toxicity, or imbalanced the body chemistry is.
As one slowly cleans up the body chemistry, and gets it in balance, these symptoms will gradually pass away slowly, sometimes quickly. Clean the body up and re-balance the mineral, vitamin situation, and the depression and withdrawal will normalize. It is only natural for the body to react as it does to the degree of health a person is really in.
Water retention is also a natural part of this process. Taking a diuretic is directly opposing the body's normal functioning. It needs to retain extra water to help the flow and process of ovulation. Excess water retention will only be commensurate with the degree of imbalance and toxins that exist in most cases. Reducing water retention may be nice for the appearance, but it opposes the natural process that demands a lot of water, and puts even more stress on this functioning.
Depending on the severity of this cramping, it would probably be best to stick with a couple of aspirin type products, drink lots of water, eat a light diet with regular meals to avoid low blood sugar (which will exasperate this situation to madness)---this is important for the sake of one's husband, boyfriend, or even pet dog or cat in severe cases!
Much of this toxicity stems from the intestines, so adding some fiber laxative (one tablespoon morning and night) to the diet may help in the long run to clean out the intestinal tract, and thus prevent it from polluting the bloodstream. Note: fiber laxatives should be taken for from two to four weeks at a time, and then discontinued for a few weeks, and then used again in this sequence---maybe twice more initially---then maybe once or twice a year.
So, as in most cases, natural healing would say, "clean up the body, and re-balance its deficiencies, and if that doesn't work in a few months to a few years, then start to consider other means, and medical specialists, drugs, hormones, or whatever." The list is endless, costly and generally useless except for the symptoms in the long run.
Natural healing says it is probably the body that is imbalanced and toxic to some extent, and it can be cleaned up and re-balance with something as simple as the foods one eats. So, if you haven't given up hope, this may be a long-term plan for you, and one in which you won't have to worry about the side effects, from cancer to whatever you can and can't think of when it comes to medications.
Hope this didn't interrupt your diet soda, potato chips and chocolates. I just hate to interfere with someone's meal. Especially when they are enjoying it so much. And keep the Midol on hand...for the parakeets sake! Bon appetit.
Michael Jonas Kahn is a Holistic Doctor with a Ph.D. in Nutritional Science and twenty five years experience in the study, teaching and practice of natural healing. His self-evaluative health and diet education program has helped countless people over the years to take an objective look at their health, and also provide them with a simple common sense nutritional approach to bring themselves back into body chemistry balance, ...and optimum health. He also has a website that can be visited at http://www.zphbalance.com/
Recent investigations into why some people get Aids and others don't are pointing towards gene theory and the immune system. The thinking is that these genes or the immune system are somehow able to prevent Aids from duplicating.
This raises the questions: Why do some people have genes or immune systems that are able to handle Aids for so long and why do others not get it at all, even though exposed?
I would make the supposition that having this gene or immune system, which is able to deal with Aids (or for that matter even influenza's, pneumonia, flu's, and the common cold), is probably a great deal dependent on your overall balance of minerals and vitamins---that make up the very building blocks of your genes (DNA, RNA) and immune system.
Thus, if we refuse to obey the dietary laws of a wholesome, high fibre (fruits, vegetables, grains, rice and beans), low fat (moderation in our consumption of animal products) diet, we will be eating our way to the junkpile of future catastrophe, as we slowly pollute our bodies (our supposed temples) by imbibing, or should I say inhaling lots of fat, oil, fried stuff, sugar, nutrasweet, caffeine and salt.
In other words, coffee for breakfast, a sweet roll at ten, a burger for lunch and put on the feed bag for dinner, just isn't going to be healthy in the long run. Does it sound like it should?
Actually, if you must put on the feed bag, do it for breakfast or lunch instead of dinner. Then you have the whole day to work it off.
With this daily dietary regimen of fasting to feasting, we ignore the dietary laws of several small meals a day, while our energy levels and immune defense slowly degenerate.
"Oh well, we're all just going to die anyway. I'll just drop dead one day. So what's the big deal with all this nutritional stuff?" we rationalize.
Well, the big deal is this: The overwhelming majority don't just neatly fall asleep forever one day and float on up to heaven. In cold, hard reality, and for those more unhealthy then others, we slowly fall apart over a very long period of time---suffering many illnesses on our way to just "dropping dead" one day.
You see, it is inevitable that biological life must be affected by the accumulation of an unhealthy, immoderate diet, which will eventually add up to functional organ disorders, clogged arteries or some sort of disease situation. That really is a polluted body, and not anything we happened to catch, but something we ate ourselves into.
Speaking of clogged arteries, it was recently reported in the "muse media" that Transcendental Meditation (TM) could lower blood pressure up to l0 pts. in people with elevated levels. Does this mean you can go ahead with your high fat, high cholesterol "Zone" type diet?
Well, lets suppose you were an over inflated tire and we could reduce your pressure by 10 lbs. through TM. But then we slowly added more pressure overtime as we continued our high fat eating ways. My guess is you'll slowly return to your former pressure and beyond.
Of course, it will be l0 points less if we continue the TM. That's right up to the time it gets to 150 over 100---Indeed, right up to the time we have a stroke or heart attack.
Maybe even while meditating. AUMMMMYOWWWW, right into the "The Zone " all right, the "Twilight Zone." Get real.
Meditate on this: Eat like a monkey and not as an oink, oink. Moderation in your desires will let you enjoy all life's bounties. Bon Appetit...and pass the steak sauce, after I'm done with my salad of course!
Michael Jonas Kahn is a Holistic Doctor with a Ph.D. in Nutritional Science and twenty five years experience in the study, teaching and practice of natural healing. His self-evaluative health and diet education program has helped countless people over the years to take an objective look at their health, and also provide them with a simple common sense nutritional approach to bring themselves back into body chemistry balance, ...and optimum health. He also has a website that can be visited at http://www.zphbalance.com/
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