Don't drink cow's milk to get calcium!

We all know we need calcium.

We are bombarded with "calcium enriched" products on the shelves everywhere, from milk to cereal!

Why do we need to if calcium is the most abundant mineral found in your body?Approximately 99% of the calcium in your body is found in your bones and teeth while the remaining 1% is found in your blood and remaining tissues.

• Calcium helps to form strong teeth and bones
• Calcium allows muscle tissue to grow and contract properly during physical activities
• Calcium helps regulate blood pH, which is essential to your body's ability to properly transport oxygen and carbon dioxide
• Calcium allows for proper blood coagulation
• Calcium allows for proper functioning of your heart and nerves

Your bones and teeth serve as reservoirs of calcium that your blood taps into for its ongoing need for calcium. In the end, the amount of calcium that your blood gets from your bones and teeth is determined by the amount of calcium that your blood receives from your diet.

Obviously, the health of your bones is closely linked to how many calcium-rich foods you eat and how well you digest and assimilate them.

Here are some healthy, whole food sources of calcium:

Whole Food Sources Serving Calcium (mg)
Sardines 3 ounces 372
Chinese cabbage cooked 1/2 cup 239
Spinach cooked 1/2 cup 230
Rhubarb cooked 1/2 cup 174
Wild salmon canned with bones 3 ounces 167
Kale cooked 1 cup 122
White beans cooked 1/2 cup 113
Bok choy cooked 1/2 cup 79
Broccoli cooked 1 cup 70
Pinto beans cooked 1/2 cup 45
Red beans cooked 1/2 cup 41

Four additional healthy food sources of calcium are:

• Broths made with organic bones
• Organic, unpasteurized dairy from properly raised goats, cows, or sheep
• Super green food products that contain a variety of organic green vegetables
• Sesame leaves and sesame seeds

Eating plenty of healthy, calcium-rich foods does not guarantee that you will have healthy bones and teeth.

There are, however, a few concrete steps that you can take to promote healthy calcium and bone status:

• Strive to eat some of the calcium-rich foods listed above on a regular basis. Don't forget to apply principles of how to eat for optimal digestion and assimilation of nutrients.
• Do some weight-bearing exercise every day. I don't know of a single better weight-bearing exercise than walking outdoors.
• Ensure that you have a healthy amount of vitamin D in your system by getting some exposure to sunlight and eating foods rich in vitamin D on a regular basis.
• Choose to eat iron-rich and zinc-rich foods before resorting to synthetic supplement forms of iron and zinc.
• Soak whole grains overnight before preparing them to eat.
• Find ways to effectively manage emotional stressors in your life. Be on the lookout for a new article on this topic that I will post in the near future.
• Don't use large amounts of flesh meats, flour products, salt, and caffeine. Sugar is best avoided completely.

Industry push to curb trans fats | Health | The Australian

This is great news for Australians!

Trans fats are found in foods that contain hydrogenated oils, usually added to make fried food crisper, and has been linked to several health concerns including increased LDL (bad) cholesterol and an increase in heart disease risk. Denmark banned food with more than 2 percent trans fats two years ago, but thus far has been the only country to impose such a severe restriction.



Industry push to curb trans fats | Health | The Australian

Sugar Buster Diet

Sugar Busters! was originally self-published in 1995. With very little marketing, the book became a runaway success. In 1998 it was re-published by a large publishing house, and continues to be a bestseller.

The diet is based on cut sugar to trim fat. Excess refined suager is blamed for our global obesity problems. Similarly to the Glycemic Index, a rise in blood glucose, and the following insulin production, is blamed for weight gain.

But where the Glycemic Index is an accurately measured scale, Sugar Busters is more subjective. Absolutely no refined sugars are allowed; corn syrup, molasses, honey, sugared sodas, dextrose, glucose, maltodextrin, and beer. Also out are carbohydrates like refined flour, white rice, potatoes, corn, and carrots.

The only carbohydrates included in the diet are stone-ground grains and high-fiber vegetables, and some fruits. Brown rice, oats, and sweet potatoes are allowed in small quantities.

Sugar is Toxic
Counting Calories aren't necessarily the answer to weight loss. But this is nothing new - banning foods like carrots and reducing calorie intake are commonplace.

Alkalizing Diets

All tissues and cells that make up the human body are composed of 16 chemical elements.

The balance of these chemical elements in the body is an essential factor in the maintenance of health and healing of disease. The acid-alkaline balance plays an intrinsic role in this balanced body chemistry.

All foods, after digestion and absorption leave either an acid or alkaline "ash" in the body depending on their mineral composition. The acid-alkaline balance for a normal body chemistry is approximately 20% acid and 80% alkaline.
In normal health, the blood is alkaline and that is essential for our physical and mental well-being.

Carbohydrates and fats form about nine-tenths of the normal fuel of the body. Normally, this is converted into carbon dioxide gas and water. Half of the remaining one-tenth fuel is also converted into the same gas and water.
This huge amount of acid is transported by the blood to the various points of discharge, mainly the lungs. Because of its alkalinity, the blood is able to transport the acid from the tissues to the discharge points.

Acidosis (accumulation of acid in the tissues) occurs whenever the alkalinity of the blood is reduced, even slightly, and its ability to transport the carbon dioxide gets reduced.
It is also known as hypo-alkalinity of the blood.

Its symptoms are hunger, indigestion, burning sensation and pain in the pharynx, nausea, vomiting, headache, various nervous disorders and drowsiness.
Acidosis is the breeding ground for most diseases.
Nepthritis or Bright’s disease, rheumatism, premature old age, arteriosclerosis, high blood pressure, skin disorders and various degenerative diseases are traceable to this condition.
It significantly impedes the functions of the glands and organs of the body. It increases the danger of infectious diseases.

The main cause of too much acid is faulty diet, in which too many acid forming foods have been consumed.
Acidosis can be prevented by maintaining a proper ratio between acid and alkaline foods in the diet.

For example, eggs leave alkaline ash and help in maintaining the alkalinity of the food, while others foods leave highly acidic ash and lowers the alkalinity of the body.
Cereals of all kinds, including all sorts of breads are also acid-forming foods , though much less than meats.
All fruits, with exceptions like plums and prunes and all green and root vegetables are highly alkaline foods and help to alkalinize the blood and other tissue fluids.

So - on an alkalizing diet your daily intake should consist of 80% alkaline-forming foods such as juicy, ripe fruits, tubers, legumes, green, leafy and root vegetables and 20% of acid-forming foods with concentrated proteins and starches such as meat, fish, bread and cereals.


The most agreeable and convenient means of alkalizing the blood are citrus fruits and fruit juices. The alkalizing value of citrus fruits are due to large percentage of alkaline salts, mainly potash, which they contain. Each pint of orange juice contains 12 grains of potassium, one of the most potent of alkalis. Lemon juice contains nine grains of the alkali to the pint and grape seven grains.

What is melanoma

I know what basal cell cancers are - I've got more of those than you can poke a stick at (as my dermatologist so eloquently puts it!) - but I wanted to know what a melanoma is...

Melanoma is a type of skin cancer that begins in the part of the skin called melanocytes, which produce and contain the skin pigment melanin. Frequently, the first sign of melanoma is a change in the size, shape, color, or feel of an existing mole.

In men, melanoma is often found on the trunk (the area between the shoulders and the hips) or the head and neck.
In women, it often develops on the lower legs but for both men and women it can occur on any skin surface.

So now you know too.

How to treat heel calluses

Heel calluses are usually heavy calluses extending along the inside of the heel from near the back of the foot to the front part of the heel.

Now I've just read that heavy heel calluses is a sign of insufficient vitamin A over a prolonged period of time. The recommendation is vitamin A (not beta carotene) supplementation for individuals with this problem.

In many cases it can take three to four months to begin to see results, and complete disappearance of the calluses can take eight months or more.
Adults should take 75,000 units a day of Vit A until the calluses are gone. Then you can cut back to a "maintenance dose" of 15,000 to 25,000 units a day.

Please note, though, that heel calluses are not the same as having dry, cracked, and occasionally bleeding heels: That's a different problem.

What is the Atkins Diet?

The primary concept of the Atkins diet is a strict restriction of carbohydrate intake including foods with sugar, bread, cereal, some starchy vegetables and pasta.

Weight loss on the Atkins diet is based on the process of Ketosis:

Reducing the main source of energy for our bodies (carbohydrates) forces the body to look elsewhere for another source of energy. The next obvious source of energy is stored body fat, thus forcing the body to burn fat. This process is called Ketosis.

Carbohydrates stimulate the creation of insulin. Insulin converts excess carbohydrates (carbs) to fat - less carbs - less insulin - less new fat.

Can you eat all you want?
There are no restrictions on portion size - you can eat a huge range of low-carbohydrate foods including chicken, steak, shellfish, pork chops, eggs, duck, turkey - any kind of meat, tasty salads, cheeses, high-fat salad dressings, some nuts, and of course high protein bars and shakes.

High Fat - High Protein
One of the most controversial issues with Atkins is that it is a high-fat diet. Most government health agencies recommend no more than 30% fat in our diet - yet with Atkins you can easily consume more fat than this. Atkins is not just low carb it is very low carb. It is difficult to see how a person could maintain healthy muscle mass on a diet such as this.

Diet.com Advantage: Get your FREE Diet Personality Assessment today!

Ever been on a Ketogenic Diet?

A ketogenic diet is a diet high in fat and protein, and virtually no carbohydrate. This will force the body into a state of ketosis whereby ketones are used as a fuel source - rather than glucose.

Ketogenic diets have been used to treat epilepsy and for weight loss. Many body builders also use a ketogenic diet during their 'cutting' phase (attempting to burn as much fat as possible while retaining muscle mass).
Ketogenic diets have gained some popularity due to the extensive media coverage of low/no carb diets such as Atkins.

How healthy is a ketogenic diet?
A ketogenic diet is suitable for some people - but most definitely not all. Depriving the body of carbohydrates can place significant strain on the body - particularly liver and kidney function.

Many people will feel quite tired during the first few weeks of ketosis - the body will try to adapt to using ketones as a fuel source. Ketones are a byproduct of fat burning.

There are many opposing schools of thought about the safety of a ketogenic diet - but the fact that many epilepsy sufferers have successfully been using ketosis for years surely gives the diet some authority.

Follow the diet carefully. Many people who start the diet stop it within a few days due to the fatigue and difficulty encountered.

Do you also undermine your diet?

Here are a few things we subconsciously do that undermines our dieting efforts!

• Giving food power - it can't make you eat it. YOU have the power to say no.
• Thinking there are "good" and "bad" foods. Wrong! Food is just food!
• A diet is something you "go on." Permanent weight loss can only be achieved if you make your new eating and exercise habits part of your lifestyle!
• Eating the exact same fruits and vegetables day after day. Increased variety will provide better nutrition.
• All fats are BAD. Fact: you need some fats to stay healthy (e.g. omega-3 fatty acids). Trans fat - now there's BAD!! Beware of fast food and packaged foods - New York City recently banned the sale of any fast foods that contains trans fats - Way to Go!!

Make your diet easier

Like many people who are trying to lose weight while improving their health too, I'm finding the healthy eating part the most challenging.

It takes some effort and time to plan and balance your nutrition, and it takes some knowledge about what foods to choose. Mostly, it takes a commitment on my part to make my health a greater priority than the inevitable daily obstacles that keeps me from eating well and exercising.

I found some simple rules that you can follow when you don't feel like keeping track of different foods, planning meals, or you just don't have time (or inclination) to buy the right foods:

• Choose lower fat foods - People who eat diets of lower fats, higher carbohydrates diets often have lower body mass indexes.
  
• Eat more vegetables - Scientific studies found that greater consumption of vegetables was a major factor in maintaining healthy body weight.
  
• Read food labels - It was found in another study found that people who read nutrition labels of foods reported improved nutritional habits.

Remember this rule: Look for packaged meals that contain 15 grams of fat or less per meal, and look for packaged "side dish" or desserts that contain about 5 grams of fat or less per serving so that you don't get too much fat at one time.

I'm going to not let the blur of life become an obstacle to achieving my weight loss goals - I'll choose one of these three things to stay on track.

Am I gaining weight because I eat late at night?

This is a questions that has come up again and again lately as I'm striving to find a balance between my weight loss plan of choice and my lifestyle!

As the blur of life becomes more frenetic as we approach the end of the year, it seems my household eats later and later every night - does that have anything to do with my increasing girth?

Thankfully - a little bit of research later - it appears not!

It apparently doesn't really matter when you eat, only how many kilojoules you eat and burn (or not!) in a day. Whether you're eating at daybreak or at midnight, your body turns any extra kilojoules into fat regardless!

It is actually more beneficial eating a light snack - like cheese and crackers - before going to bed - it may help you sleep better.

Food colourings to avoid if you have ADD / ADHD

Avoid all foods containing these colours for children and those sensitive to additives according to the Hyperactive Children's Support Group ( HACSG )


E120 Cochineal, Carmines and Carminic Acid
E102 Tartrazine - linked to intolerance/allergic reaction. Widely thought to cause hyperactivity
E110 Sunset Yellow - thought to cause allergic reaction, some evidence of gastric upset and some inference affects kidneys
E122 Carmoisine - linked to intolerance/allergic reaction
E124 Ponceau 4R - linked to intolerance/allergic reaction
E129 Allura Red AC - some evidence of hypersensitivity
E104 Quinoline Yellow
E127 Erythrosine - may affect thyroid hormone levels in children. Adverse effects on thyroid
E131 Patent Blue V - linked to intolerance/allergic reaction
E132 Indigo Carmine - linked to allergy/allergic reaction
E142 Green S - low incidence of testicular cancer has been reported in a study
E151 Brilliant Black ( Black PN ) - Potential allergic reaction.
E123 Amaranth - Potential allergic reaction.
E128 Red 2G - Potential allergic reaction.
E154 Brown FK - Potential allergic reaction.
E155 Brown HT - Potential allergic reaction.
E133 Brilliant Blue FCF - Potential allergic reaction.
E180 Litholrubine - Potential allergic reaction.
E173 Aluminium - Potential allergic reaction.
E174 Silver - Potential allergic reaction.
E175 Gold - Potential allergic reaction.

Curcumin halts colorectal cancer, breast cancer by inducing death of cancer cells

Curcumin, the yellow "bits" in tumeric, can stop the growth and spread of colorectal and breast cancers!

Curcumin has long been known to be one of the most potent antioxidants available today. Previous lab studies have found curcumin to be effective against skin and breast cancers. Now a study published in the October 15th issue of Clinical Cancer Research found that curcumin halts the progression of colorectal and breast cancer.

The study by researchers from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMB) found that curcumin repress the production of an inflammatory protein that promotes cancer cell growth by deterring the signals of the hormone neurotensin, which spur production of the protein.

Researchers believe that because the incidence of cancer is so low in India -where curry is widely used as a cooking spice and a traditional medicine -curcumin can be used as a potent anti-cancer medication.

More than 70,000 men and 69,000 women in the United States were diagnosed with colorectal cancer in 2002, killing nearly 57,000 men and women combined.
In Australia nearly 54 new female cases of colorectal cancer per 100,000 population in Australia and 80 new male cases of colorectal cancer per 100,000 population in Australia was diagnosed in 2000 (Australia’s Health 2004, AIHW).

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention list common risk factors as lack of regular physical exercise, high-fat and low-fiber diets, low consumption of fruits and vegetables, obesity and the use of alcohol and tobacco.