Saturday, May 31, 2008

Fiber helps blood sugars

Health Tip of the Day
"Getting Fit. . . One Step at a Time"

Eating fiber early in the day has many health
benefits.It will prevent spikes in blood sugar
and lead to greater satiety, so you are less likely
to snack or get excess calories later in the day.

Friday, May 30, 2008

Chipotle Hummus

I love hummus and have just made up a new recipe by adding chipotle to it. YUM! And, you know, jalapenos are actually good for you! Thank heavens because I eat a lot of them. :)

Chipotle Hummus

2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
5 level Tablespoons tahini paste
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tsp sea salt
1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 can (15 oz) of chick peas (garbanzos) strained-reserve the juice
(if you want to you can cook up dried garbanzos in filtered water and then put in 2 cups of them instead of the can)
2 heaping Tablespoons of chipotle in adobe sauce
1 Tablespoon of the adobe sauce

Put a little of the garbanzo juice in the bottom of a VitaMix and then the rest of the ingredients.

Blend until smooth, use extra juice if it is too dry. Enjoy!

Saturday, May 24, 2008

Eating late at night?

I've read that one should not eat later than 6PM (which is fairly impossible for most of us). The reasons for this are many but one is that it helps with weight control.

I try to eat before 8PM, my compromise. But, sometimes I get really hungry and I've discovered a way to stop the hunger.

Let me back up and say that I used to have very bad acid reflux. I became a Univera distributor and began using Aloe Gold from our product line. I take 2 ounces every night just before bed and have never had another acid reflux episode. Wow!

Well, last night I was extremely hungry but it was 9PM and I didn't want to eat that late. So, I took 2 ounces of Aloe Gold and the hunger left.

I was able to not eat, which is better for my body.

Now I'm wondering: is this a new weight control tip? Could be!

If you would like some Aloe Gold, just contact me and I can help you with that. ellouise@ececonsultants.com

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Trans Fat Danger

Yet another reason to avoid those French Fries (or anything fried, for that matter).

Health Tip of the Day
"Getting Fit. . . One Step at a Time"

Did you know consuming 4 grams of trans fat per day will significantly increase your risk of cardiovascular disease?
One serving of French fries has 5 grams of trans fat.

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Mangoes? YUM!

Mangoes taste so good but don't eat them just for the taste!

Health Tip of the Day
"Getting Fit. . . One Step at a Time"

Mangoes contain vitamin C, vitamin E and beta-carotene.
No other tropical fruit contains all three of these powerful antioxidants.

Monday, May 19, 2008

Another tip for Summer colds

Health Tip of the Day
"Getting Fit. . . One Step at a Time"

According to a recent study, researchers found people
who consistently engage in moderate exercise five times
a week improve their immune function and keep colds away.

Saturday, May 10, 2008

Trying to get "greener" with your child's environment?

Here's a helpful article by Dr. Leila Masson that I found on www.vegsource.com regarding cleaning up your child's environment. I have bolded some points so that it's easier to read in the blog format. As usual, I have Dr. Masson's OK to reprint her article.


Clean Up Your Kids' Environment
by Leila Masson, M.D., MPH, DTMH, IBCLC
PaediatricianLactation Consultant
PoBox 25930
St. Heliers
Auckland

Use natural, biodegradable and perfume free detergents and cleaning agents. Ecostore products are a good substitute and available at many supermarkets. They work out cost effective as you use much less of them. You can also contact them directly and ask for a catalogue. There are also new cleaning cloths for which you do not need to use any detergents – for example the ENJO system (quite expensive, but cheaper versions are available).

Do not use fragrant or anti-mosquito sprays in the home.

Avoid chlorine: use water filters, limit pool and spa pools. The ocean is a great place to spend time, as the minerals are very detoxing. There are some products suitable for spa pool treatments. Consider installing a shower filter, as a lot of chlorine is inhaled when showering and bathing.

Wear 100% cotton clothes where possible. Avoid flame retardant materials (antimony).

Most personal care product contains many chemicals and can be avoided and replaced with safer alternatives. Sodium Lauryl Sulphate (SLS) is another thing to watch for, this is carcinogenic.

Use fluoride-free toothpaste, (tin, titanium). Weleda do good toothpaste. This needs to be SLS free too.

Use natural shampoos, soaps etc. (Ecostore and Living Nature are good alternative).

Avoid playing on pressure treated wood (arsenic).This applies to many of the play grounds with a woodchip base. and decking.

Eliminate exposure to mercury and thimerosal products.

Do not allow amalgam (grey) fillings, use composite instead.

Use an air purifier especially in the bedroom if any concerns over air quality in the home e.g. close to busy road, mouldy

Ventilate your house. Many synthetic products in the home emit gasses and your house can be a toxic place. Open windows, and air bedding in the sun.

When purchasing new furniture, and carpet allow for time to off-gass (At least 24 hours). Many carpets are full of pesticides as well as solvents.

Encourage a habit of removing shoes when entering your home especially if you have carpets. You end up tramping in lead, pesticides and other nasties.

Delay redecorating till you are sure everyone is well prepared to deal with the toxic effects or source alternative eco-friendly products.

Avoid prolonged handling of batteries.

No plastic furniture (polyvinyl chloride).

Use aluminum-free baking powder and deodorant.

Do not cook in aluminum foil or drink from aluminum cans or foil–lined cardboard juice containers.

Cooking should be done in stainless steel, glass or enamel pots.

Avoid Teflon.

Avoid use of herbicides or pesticides, on lawns, garden, or home.

Do not dry clean clothes.

Do not reuse the plastic pump drink bottles. They degrade quickly, so you drink a portion of plastic. Use polycarbonate drink bottles. These can be obtained at I.E. Produce or Katmandu (great when they have their 50% off sale).

Avoid wrapping food in gladwrap/plastic bags, use greaseproof paper where possible.

Avoid heating food in plastic such as take away containers.

Microwaves are best avoided.

Consider how you heat your house. Radiant heat is the healthiest. Gas is a moist heat, and should be avoided. It not only gives off fumes, but is a great breeding ground for mould.

Dust your house with a damp cloth.

Nasty Additives
COLOURS

Artificial
102 tartrazine
104 quinoline yellow
107 yellow 2G
110 sunset yellow
122 azorubine, carmoisine
123 amaranth
124 ponceau, brilliant scarlet
127 erythrosine
128 red 2G
129 allura red
132 indigotine, indigo carmine
133 brilliant blue
142 green S, food green, acid brilliant green
151 brilliant black
155 brown, chocolate brownNatural
160b annatto, bixin, norbixin

PRESERVATIVES
200-203 sorbic acid, potassium & calcium sorbates
210-213 benzoic acid, sodium, potassium & calcium benzoates
220-228 sulphur dioxide, all sulphites, bisulphites, metabisulphites
249-252 all nitrates & nitrites
280-283 propionic acid, sodium, potassium & calcium propionatesAntioxidants
310-312 all gallates
319-321 TBHQ, BHA butylated hydroxyanisole, BHT butylated hydroxytoluene

FLAVOUR ENHANCERS
620-625 glutamic acid and all glutamates,
MSG monosodium glutamate
627 disodium guanylate
631 disodium inosinate
635 ribonucleotidesYeast extract, HVP HPP hydrolysed vegetable or plant protein

FLAVOURS
Unregulated
ARTIFICAL SWEETENERS
951 aspartame (Nutrasweet, Equal)

To learn more about Dr. Masson and read other articles, visit her website:www.LeilaMasson.com

Friday, May 9, 2008

From Dr. McDougall about bypass surgery

Here's an article with some little known facts about by-pass surgery, written by Dr. McDougall. I found this on http://www.vegsource.com/ I have added some bolding to make it more readable in the blog format. As is usual, I have Dr. McDougall's permission to reprint his article.


McDougall Breaking News
Bill Clinton’s Madness: A Consequence of Heart-Bypass Surgery Brain Damage

We Need to Understand and Show Some Compassion
One of the savviest politicians of our generation, known for his wit, charm, and calm under extreme pressure, Bill Clinton appears out of character in the speeches and interviews televised since his bypass surgery September 6, 2004—and his mental deterioration may be accelerating.

Remember, this is the president who withstood public impeachment before the entire world for his relationship with Monica Lewinski without once losing control. Now, he is easily angered by hecklers, and makes factual mistakes and racial slurs while aggressively defending his wife’s campaign for presidency.

Everyone sees his mental and emotional decline, yet to date, no medical professionals have spoken out about the cause or offered help.

Not a single one—not one bypass surgeon, cardiologist or psychiatrist—has stepped forward in his defense; even though all of them are trained to recognize “post bypass surgery cognitive dysfunction.”

One of the best-kept secrets in medicine is the brain damage caused during bypass surgery. During my 40 years of medical practice I have never heard a doctor warn a patient before bypass surgery that an expected complication is memory loss.

After surgery when the family complains of dad’s fits of anger, I have never heard a doctor admit that personality change is a common consequence of surgery. Yet these well-recognized side effects have been reported in medical journals since 1969.1

Brain damage during bypass surgery is so common that hospital personnel refer to it as “pump head.” The primary cause is emboli produced during surgery from clamping the aorta and from the “heart-lung machine.” This machine pumps blood to keep the patient alive while the heart is stopped during the operation.

Unfortunately, this pump also introduces toxic gases, fat globules, and bits of plastic debris into the bloodstream of the patient under anesthesia. Once they are in the bloodstream, these particles migrate to the brain where they can clog capillaries and prevent adequate amounts of blood and oxygen from flowing to the brain. Essentially, all patients experience brain emboli during surgery and for many the damage is permanent.

In 2001, an article in the New England Journal of Medicine reported that 5-years after bypass surgery 42% of patients showed decline in mental function of approximately 20 percent or more.2 A study published this year (2008) in the Annals of Thoracic Surgery using MRI testing just after bypass surgery found brain damage in 51% of patients.3

Three years after their time on the bypass pump, significant permanent reduction in mental capacity was identified in 31% of patients.

I am not talking major stroke here; but these patients can't remember names or numbers as they once did, experience sleep disturbances (including nightmares), suffer mood swings, and lose intellectual acuity. Approximately 30 percent of people suffer persistent depression and some even contemplate suicide.

Our former president needs our understanding and support. A simple explanation by his doctors of the cause of his recent aberrant behaviors should bring peace of mind to Hillary and her campaign staff.

If Mr. Clinton better understood his current limitations, he and his staff could take precautionary steps to avoid embarrassments. A long-overdue explanation would help his adoring public more easily accept his mistakes and readily forgive him. It is not your fault, Mr. Clinton.

As importantly, public recognition of the harm done to Bill Clinton by the heart surgery business would help the patients who undergo bypass surgery, and their families, to better understand similar changes they have experienced.

A little attention from the media could also shine some light on the lack of survival benefits from this $90,000 procedure performed nearly half-a-million times annually in the US, and the superior benefits coming from diet and lifestyle changes.

I am saddened to see our former president suffer from public humiliation, but I am disgraced that my profession has thus far failed to come forward with a long over-due explanation and an apology to the Clintons and our nation for the harm they have done and the secrets they have kept.

John McDougall, MDhttp://www.drmcdougall.com/

1) Hill JD, Aguilar MJ, Baranco A, de Lanerolle P, Gerbode F. Neuropathological manifestations of cardiac surgery. Ann Thorac Surg. 1969 May;7(5):409-19.
2) Newman MF, Kirchner JL, Phillips-Bute B, Gaver V, Grocott H, Jones RH, Mark DB, Reves JG, Blumenthal JA; Longitudinal assessment of neurocognitive function after coronary-artery bypass surgery. N Engl J Med. 2001 Feb 8;344(6):395-402. 9Link: http://content.nejm.org/cgi/reprint/344/6/395.pdf)
3) Knipp SC, Matatko N, Wilhelm H, Schlamann M, Thielmann M, Lösch C, Diener HC, Jakob H. Cognitive outcomes three years after coronary artery bypass surgery: relation to diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging. Ann Thorac Surg. 2008 Mar;85(3):872-9.

Does Your Child have a Spring Cold?

Here's some information on colds, whether it's Spring or any other time of the year. This info was given to me when I owned my school and it talks a bit about caregivers. But, you can apply it to any situation with children.

THE COLD FACTS ABOUT COLDS
By Childcare Resource and Referral

Colds are NOT the result of going outside in bad weather and getting a chill. Colds are caused by viruses which are spread through the air when someone with a cold coughs or sneezes, or by direct contact when someone with a cold touches their respiratory secretions and spreads them to others by touching or sharing objects.

Most colds are contagious 2-4 days before signs and symptoms appear. Excluding a child from your child care who has a cold will not prevent colds from spreading. The consistent practice of good handwashing and environmental cleanliness are your best prevention measures.

Colds will not be cured by antibiotics.

Most cold viruses cause coughing, sneezing, and a runny nose. Some cold viruses cause more serious symptoms than others; high fever, lack of energy, loss of appetite and the overall appearance of being very ill.

Colds sometimes lead to complications that need medical treatment and may require antibiotics. A few of these are: bronchitis symptoms: coughing, noisy breathing, fever), ear infections (symptoms: pain, fussiness, pulling at ear, and fever), or pneumonia (symptoms: coughing, difficult breathing, fever).

Having a cold should not prevent a child from playing outdoors. Include outdoor play and air out the rooms where children play and sleep with fresh air each day.

Young children have not developed immunity against most cold viruses. They may develop more immunity each time they have a cold, but there are more than 100 cold viruses!

To reduce the spread of colds, teach the children thorough handwashing techniques and make sure all the children and adult caregivers wash often. Have a good supply of Kleenex to keep little noses wiped and keep the environment clean and sanitized. Teaching children to cough or sneeze INTO THEIR ELBOW instead of into their hands will also help (sneezing into the hand provides an opportunity for that hand, and the germs, to touch something and spread the germs).

Try to prevent little ones from putting toys other children have been playing with into their mouths. Disinfect toys at least daily during the cold season and keep an extra supply of clean toys to trade for ones which have been used by a child with a cold.

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Fresh Ground Whole Wheat Basil Onion Bread

I have developed many bread recipes but this one is my favorite to smell while it's cooking! In my cookbook, Yummy 4 the Tummy, it is labeled "the best smelling bread in town!" Making bread in a breadmaker is like a science project so be sure to follow the directions exactly.

2 tsp SAF yeast
2 cups Whole wheat kernels (makes approximately 3 cups of flour after grinding).
1 tsp sea salt or Celtic salt
1 Tablespoon Tofu White Drink Mix (available at Fred Meyer nutrition section)
3 Tablespoons Vital Wheat Gluten (also at Fred Meyer)
1 heaping Tablespoon Shirley J's All Purpose Onion Seasoning
1 heaping Tablespoon dried basil
2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Tablespon honey or pur maple syrup
Filtered Water

Place the yeast into the Zozirushi bread pan (a Zo is the very best breadmaker). Grind the wheat kernels into flour and place 3 cups of flour into the bread pan. Add the sea salt, Tofu White Drink Mix, gluten, basil and Shirley J's. Measure oil first and put into bread pan and then honey and put into the bread pan (by putting in the oil first, the honey will slide out easily). Add 1 Cup plus 5 Tablespooons filtered water and put into bread maker. Put onto full cycle (on a Zo, it's called the white bread cycle). Watch and listen to be sure there is enough wter in the mix. The mix should look soft and not jerk around in the bread pan. If it's jerking or looks lumpy, add more filtered water, a tablespoon at a time and watch it while it mixes. The dough should never just sit on the bottom in a mushy mass, that means you've added too much water. Adding flour at this point can make it better but then the loaf isn't exactly the same consistency. So, just add the water a little bit at a time.

This is truly the very best smelling bread as it bakes! When I had my school, I made about 8 loaves of bread a day (I ran three Zo's at all times) and absolutely everyone commented on how wonderful our school smelled when the bread was baking.

If you are interested, I have an article on why fresh ground whole wheat is so much better for you and I will be glad to send it to you by email. Just email me and I'll send it.

Monday, May 5, 2008

Autism on the rise?

An alarming study has shown that:

Today, as many as one in 150 children are diagnosed with autism, up from three to four out of 10,000 a decade ago.

Although the study says it's hard to differentiate between better diagnostic tools and an actual rise, it seems to me that a rise of that magnitude, in only 10 years, is a truly alarming statistic. It's hard to really believe that it's just better diagnostics!

And, Seattle may be a leading center for autism research and treatment, but its therapists and the medical community can't handle the growing number of families dealing with the disorder (thus says the article in today's Seattle Times).

What can we do to help these families?

Sunday, May 4, 2008

Organic truly IS better!

I've been a fan of organic fruits and veggies for a long time. I have felt that it must be better to eat our foods without the pesticides, etc. that are on the regular ones. Now a scientific study proves me right......again!


Health Tip of the Day
"Getting Fit. . . One Step at a Time"
According to a four-year European-Union study, organic
fruits and vegetables contain 40% more antioxidants than conventionally grown produce.

Saturday, May 3, 2008

Walking!

I have been walking, or race walking, for a very long time. I can remember walking to the mall when my first son was just about 1 year old many years ago.

I just moved from a house which was across the street from the Chambers Bay Golf Course. I walked around the golf course every day, 3.2 miles and a very steep hill at the end!

I always knew I felt better afterwards and now there is proof!


Health Tip of the Day
"Getting Fit. . . One Step at a Time"

A study at Duke University Medical Center found
that walking increases brain chemicals serotonin
and norepinephrine. These chemicals have been found
to make you feel happy and lead to greater mental clarity.

Wow! Get out there and walk!