I was diagnosed with low-grade lymphoma in 1989, and have lived far beyond how long mainstream doctors say I should have. I am still in very good health today, and I would call it excellent, except that I have periodic bouts of bronchitis.
In my opinion, one of the very MOST IMPORTANT things I have done to maintain my good health, and to keep the lymphoma in remission, if not out-right shrinking, is an exercise known as REBOUNDING. The tremendous value of rebounding is that it exercises the lymphatic system like no other exercise can except that of jumping rope. (But with rebounding there is far less impact on the joints than there is with jumping rope.) The lymphatic fluid travels through the body via a system of what can be likened to "one-way straws", connected by valves, and each jump up-and-down on the rebounder moves the lymph along, causing it to travel through the body as much as 15 to 30 times as efficiently as when the body is at rest.But even better than that is that rebounding can cause a state of non-disease-induced neutrophillia, which is an increase in the number of white cells circulating through the body, particularly neutrophils, which are one of the types of white cells most responsible for destroying cancer cells.
While gentle bouncing may possibly cause a slight increase in neutrophils, and jogging a little more, by sprinting in place for just one minute on the rebounder you can cause your neutrophil count to as much as double what it normally is,(based on Dr. Arthur C. Guyton's "Textbook of Medical Physiology," Fifth Edition, Page 74, Paragraph 5), and to remain at that level for about an hour! Any middle-aged adult who tried to sprint in place on anything but a rebounder would soon end up with shin splints or some foot, ankle or knee injury.
Rebounding looks very simple, and it is. It consists of gentle bouncing on a special mini-trampoline. When you do what's called the "health bounce," your feet don't even leave the mat. If you wish, you can of course jump higher than that. Also, if you wish, you can jog or run in place. The rebounder stands about 9 inches off the ground, and has a special "soft-bounce" mat attached to the frame with 4" long springs, the total surface diameter being 40".
There is a REAL, SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE between the cheap, Asian-made mini-trampolines that are sold at Sears and at K-Mart and the USA-made Rebounder that I use. The cheap mini-rebounders do NOT have a soft-bounce mat, they stand only 4-6 inches off the ground, and they do not have the necessary 4-inch long springs. For those reasons, you cannot do proper rebounding on a cheap mini-trampoline, and in fact you can hurt your ankles, knees or back. Such cheap models will not avail you of the kind of "lymphasizing" exercise I am talking about.
I keep my rebounder near my desk, and get up as often as possible to bounce on it for anywhere between 1 and 30 minutes at a time. Even just a minute or two can be sufficient to stir up the circulatory and lymphatic systems, which tend to settle down and to "pool" in the legs, ankles and feet when one is sitting for an extended period of time.
The ability to do it at any time throughout the day and evening is one of the very significant advantages of rebounding over other exercise. If you go out walking in the morning, and you walk briskly 2, 3 or 5 miles, you will certainly be getting some good exercise. But an hour or maybe two hours after you've finished your walk, your lymphatic and circulatory systems will be back to the rate of flow they were at before you took your walk, and they'll remain that way till the next morning. The same is true for any other once-a-day type exercise. However, if you have a rebounder at your office or in your home, (or both), you'll be able to get on it and do some bouncing or gentle jogging throughout the day, so as to keep your blood and your lymph circulating continually, thereby doing the maximum job of keeping yourself healthy, or, if you are dx'd with cancer, of fighting the cancer.
There is no special clothing required for rebounding---you don't even have to take off your shoes! And you can of course rebound no matter what the weather is like outside. On the other hand, if the weather is nice outside, you can take your rebounder outdoors, so as to avail yourself of the fresh air and sunshine! ;+))
There are several companies that sell rebounders. But my favorite is Needak Rebounders. They've been in business for decades, they're made in the USA, their customer service is outstanding, and they sell a 1/2 fold rebounder that comes with a carrying case so you can take it wherever you go. For those who have balance problems, they also sell a "stabilizer bar" that bolts securely onto the rebounder that you can hold on to.
I feel so good about Needak Rebounders that I have become one of their distributors. If you would like information on purchasing one at a great price, please contact me by phone at 309-367-6002 or 309-635-1577, or email me at aug20@mtco.com.
Here's an example of why I decided to do business with Needak: Years ago, before I knew about the quality and integrity of Needak, I was using a rebounder I'd bought from another company, when two of its springs broke. I called that company, and they gave me a difficult time, and told me they'd send me two replacement springs if I sent them the broken ones, and that shipping both ways would have to be paid by me!
I knew about the Needak company but had never done business with them. Just to see what they'd say, I phoned them and told them about the problem I was having with that other company due to the broken springs. The customer service person at Needak immediately offered to send me SIX new springs,(that would fit the other company's rebounder), for free! Ever since then, I have been a loyal Needak customer. I might add that every time I've had occasion to phone Needak, a LIVE person, not a recording, has answered the phone on the first or second ring. That's hard to find nowadays!
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Thursday, February 11, 2010
WHAT YOU PUT OR DON'T PUT IN YOUR SHOPPING CART SIGNIFICANTLY AFFECTS YOUR CHANCE OF DEVELOPING CANCER
I've written a post on this blog titled, "WHY CANCER BEGINS IN YOUR SHOPPING CART." In it, I promised to write another post about what you can buy at the store to eat and drink that will lessen your chance of developing cancer. Depending on whose opinion you're reading, you will find that diet is responsible for, or at least plays a significant part in, anywhere from 30 to 60 percent of cancers.
Nearly all vegetables and fruits have some anti-cancer properties, as do legumes, nuts, seeds, such as sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds, and healthful oils, such as flax oil, olive, grape, walnut and avocado oils.
Here are some of the best anti-cancer vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds :
TOMATOES and tomato sauce,(WITHOUT added sugar and salt)---tomatoes contain lycopene, a powerful cancer-protective phytochemical
RED ONIONS, APPLES and SPINACH ---all of these contain "quercitin," which is a powerful antioxidant that protects against cell damage from free radicals
CHILI PEPPERS---these contain "capsaicin," a substance that can cause cancer cells to self-destruct.
CARROTS, CANTELOUPE, SPINACH and ---these contain plenty of beta carotene, a substance that has been shown to reduce the incidence of cancer.
CRUCIFEROUS VEGETABLES---BROCCOLI, BRUSSELS SPROUTS, CABBAGE AND CAULIFLOWER, TURNIPS and RADISHES being the most well known ones. This category of vegetables contains a variety of nutrients and phytochemicals that help protect against cancer.
These are also cruciferous vegetables: KALE, COLLARD GREENS, KOHLRABI, MUSTARD GREENS, ARUGULA, HORSE RADISH and WATERCRESS.
BERRIES---BLUEBERRIES, STRAWBERRIES, RASPBERRIES and virtually all other types of berries are very high in antioxidants and are an excellent source of phytochemicals that aid in blocking the growth of cancer cells. One of these is called anthocyanin, which has been shown to inhibit the growth of lung, colon and leukemia cancer cells.
BEETS, SWEET POTATOES, AVOCADOS, ASPARAGUS, RED GRAPES,(buy domestic or organic grapes---grapes from Chili and elsewhere are loaded with pesticides), TAPIOCA, ORANGES, LEMONS, GRAPEFRUIT and SHITAKE MUSHROOMS are other fruits and vegetables with significant anti-cancer properties.
DANDELION GREENS---Young dandelion greens, as in the ones that grow in your lawn, are loaded with vitamin C and other anti-cancer elements. Before you spray your dandelions, try adding some,(make sure they are YOUNG and SMALL), to salads, or lightly stir-frying or steaming them.
GARLIC---contains several compounds that help protect against cancer, particularly cancer of the skin, lungs and colon.
WHOLE GRAINS---Substitute WHOLE grain products for those made from white flour, which contains almost no fiber or nutrition, and promotes the conditions that can cause cancer. WHOLE grains contain fiber, of course, as well as antioxidants and phytoestrogens. Evidence is accruing that phytoestrogens may have protective action against prostate, breast, colon and other cancers,(as well as against cardiovascular dis-ease, brain function disorders and osteoporosis.)
Nearly all vegetables and fruits have some anti-cancer properties, as do legumes, nuts, seeds, such as sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds, and healthful oils, such as flax oil, olive, grape, walnut and avocado oils.
Here are some of the best anti-cancer vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds :
TOMATOES and tomato sauce,(WITHOUT added sugar and salt)---tomatoes contain lycopene, a powerful cancer-protective phytochemical
RED ONIONS, APPLES and SPINACH ---all of these contain "quercitin," which is a powerful antioxidant that protects against cell damage from free radicals
CHILI PEPPERS---these contain "capsaicin," a substance that can cause cancer cells to self-destruct.
CARROTS, CANTELOUPE, SPINACH and ---these contain plenty of beta carotene, a substance that has been shown to reduce the incidence of cancer.
CRUCIFEROUS VEGETABLES---BROCCOLI, BRUSSELS SPROUTS, CABBAGE AND CAULIFLOWER, TURNIPS and RADISHES being the most well known ones. This category of vegetables contains a variety of nutrients and phytochemicals that help protect against cancer.
These are also cruciferous vegetables: KALE, COLLARD GREENS, KOHLRABI, MUSTARD GREENS, ARUGULA, HORSE RADISH and WATERCRESS.
BERRIES---BLUEBERRIES, STRAWBERRIES, RASPBERRIES and virtually all other types of berries are very high in antioxidants and are an excellent source of phytochemicals that aid in blocking the growth of cancer cells. One of these is called anthocyanin, which has been shown to inhibit the growth of lung, colon and leukemia cancer cells.
BEETS, SWEET POTATOES, AVOCADOS, ASPARAGUS, RED GRAPES,(buy domestic or organic grapes---grapes from Chili and elsewhere are loaded with pesticides), TAPIOCA, ORANGES, LEMONS, GRAPEFRUIT and SHITAKE MUSHROOMS are other fruits and vegetables with significant anti-cancer properties.
DANDELION GREENS---Young dandelion greens, as in the ones that grow in your lawn, are loaded with vitamin C and other anti-cancer elements. Before you spray your dandelions, try adding some,(make sure they are YOUNG and SMALL), to salads, or lightly stir-frying or steaming them.
GARLIC---contains several compounds that help protect against cancer, particularly cancer of the skin, lungs and colon.
WHOLE GRAINS---Substitute WHOLE grain products for those made from white flour, which contains almost no fiber or nutrition, and promotes the conditions that can cause cancer. WHOLE grains contain fiber, of course, as well as antioxidants and phytoestrogens. Evidence is accruing that phytoestrogens may have protective action against prostate, breast, colon and other cancers,(as well as against cardiovascular dis-ease, brain function disorders and osteoporosis.)
CANCER & OTHER DIS-EASE DEVELOPS IN A STAGNANT BODY
Before I start on this topic, allow me to explain why I spell the word "disease" this way: "dis-ease." I do so in order to give the word back its original meaning: "a lack of ease." The spelling "disease," and the pronunciation "duh-zeze," leaves people clueless about the fact that in most cases, the reason they are sick is due to the "dis-easeful' functioning of one or more parts of their body, and that in the majority of cases, the most important thing they need to do, in order to heal, is to restore easeful functioning to the parts of them that are dis-eased.
Now, everyone knows it's a good thing to exercise, and most people, if asked why it's good to exercise, would give reasons such as, "to lose weight or maintain a healthful weight," "to exercise and strengthen the heart," or "to become stronger or to maintain your strength." Those people with arthritis would say exercise is important for relieving some of their pain, and to slow the progression of the arthritis. Some people might even say, "to prevent dis-ease," and they would be right, along with the people who gave the other answers. But I wonder how much any of those people would know about just why exercise helps prevent dis-ease, including cancer.
The reason is that the lymphatic system, (the part of our bodies composed of white cells, one of whose functions is to destroy and devour germs, viruses and cancer cells), is a network of vessels, much like blood vessels, with one highly significant difference between them: The HEART pumps the blood, while MUSCULAR ACTIVITY, not the heart, pumps the lymph.
Each time you breath out, or expire, your diaphragm, the primary muscle of breathing, pushes upward, an action that pumps lymphatic fluid through your body and keeps it circulating constantly.
EXERCISE causes your expiration to become more active. New sets of muscles are used: Muscles of the abdominal wall contract, pushing the diaphragm upward more vigorously, while the contraction of the internal intercostal muscles, in opposition to the external intercostal muscles, pulls the ribcage downwards. These combined actions accelerate the expulsion of air, which increases the speed and efficiency of the circulation of your lymph. Furthermore, exercise increases the number of killer cells, or neutrophils,in your lymph, killer cells being the white cells that destroy bacteria, viruses and cancer cells.
In the 3rd edition of his Textbook of Medical Physiology, Dr. Arthur Guyton states that 1 minute of vigorous physical exercise increases the number of killer cells in the lymphatic system by 6 to 7 times normal, and maintains them at that level for about an hour.
So, getting your daily exercise is even more important than you might have realized.
Research appears to indicate that in the development of colon cancer and some other cancers, the combination of being overweight as well as being inactive, greatly increases one's chance of cancer, and the research also appears to show that inactivity alone may be MORE significant, with regard to cancer, than overweight alone.
By the way, gardening, or cleaning house or other activities that cause one to be active, do not count as exercise. Certainly, gardening and house-cleaning are far better for you than is bed rest. But I myself have tried substituting gardening for regular, specific exercise, and it didn't take long before I could feel that my body needed more than gardening for me to feel energetic and generally healthful.
The specific exercise I particularly prefer and enjoy is rebounding, which is bouncing, jogging and occasionally sprinting in place, on a mini-trampoline. The advantages to rebounding are many, just a few of which are that it is very low-impact, and it can be done in any kind of weather and at any time of day.
For lots more information about rebounding, please scroll up this page till you come to the post titled, "Rebounding: The Very BEST Exercise For The Immune System!"
Now, everyone knows it's a good thing to exercise, and most people, if asked why it's good to exercise, would give reasons such as, "to lose weight or maintain a healthful weight," "to exercise and strengthen the heart," or "to become stronger or to maintain your strength." Those people with arthritis would say exercise is important for relieving some of their pain, and to slow the progression of the arthritis. Some people might even say, "to prevent dis-ease," and they would be right, along with the people who gave the other answers. But I wonder how much any of those people would know about just why exercise helps prevent dis-ease, including cancer.
The reason is that the lymphatic system, (the part of our bodies composed of white cells, one of whose functions is to destroy and devour germs, viruses and cancer cells), is a network of vessels, much like blood vessels, with one highly significant difference between them: The HEART pumps the blood, while MUSCULAR ACTIVITY, not the heart, pumps the lymph.
Each time you breath out, or expire, your diaphragm, the primary muscle of breathing, pushes upward, an action that pumps lymphatic fluid through your body and keeps it circulating constantly.
EXERCISE causes your expiration to become more active. New sets of muscles are used: Muscles of the abdominal wall contract, pushing the diaphragm upward more vigorously, while the contraction of the internal intercostal muscles, in opposition to the external intercostal muscles, pulls the ribcage downwards. These combined actions accelerate the expulsion of air, which increases the speed and efficiency of the circulation of your lymph. Furthermore, exercise increases the number of killer cells, or neutrophils,in your lymph, killer cells being the white cells that destroy bacteria, viruses and cancer cells.
In the 3rd edition of his Textbook of Medical Physiology, Dr. Arthur Guyton states that 1 minute of vigorous physical exercise increases the number of killer cells in the lymphatic system by 6 to 7 times normal, and maintains them at that level for about an hour.
So, getting your daily exercise is even more important than you might have realized.
Research appears to indicate that in the development of colon cancer and some other cancers, the combination of being overweight as well as being inactive, greatly increases one's chance of cancer, and the research also appears to show that inactivity alone may be MORE significant, with regard to cancer, than overweight alone.
By the way, gardening, or cleaning house or other activities that cause one to be active, do not count as exercise. Certainly, gardening and house-cleaning are far better for you than is bed rest. But I myself have tried substituting gardening for regular, specific exercise, and it didn't take long before I could feel that my body needed more than gardening for me to feel energetic and generally healthful.
The specific exercise I particularly prefer and enjoy is rebounding, which is bouncing, jogging and occasionally sprinting in place, on a mini-trampoline. The advantages to rebounding are many, just a few of which are that it is very low-impact, and it can be done in any kind of weather and at any time of day.
For lots more information about rebounding, please scroll up this page till you come to the post titled, "Rebounding: The Very BEST Exercise For The Immune System!"
Monday, February 8, 2010
SLEEP ~ MELATONIN, CORTISOL & CANCER
If you wish to do your best to keep from being diagnosed with cancer, it is imperative that you realize the importance of proper sleep. Good sleep is as important for your immune system as is fresh air, sunshine, pure water and whole food.
Two of the most important reasons you need proper sleep are the hormones melatonin, which is,(supposed to be), secreted by your body at night, and cortisol, which is ,(supposed to be), secreted during the day. You are welcome to do as much research as you like on these two hormones, but for the purpose of preventing cancer, it is sufficient to know these few things:
Melatonin not only helps you fall asleep and to sleep more soundly, it is of much importance in your body's defense against the development of cancer.
For melatonin to function at its best, you need to sleep in the darkest room possible---pitch black is in fact the very best---and you need to be in bed with the lights out well before midnight. In fact, 9:30 PM would be excellent. But if you can't manage that, then 10 PM is next best. Those hours before midnight are some very choice hours for sleeping. Going to sleep at 10 AM and waking at 6 AM is far better for your health than going to bed at midnight and waking at 8 AM.
Because Cortisol is supposed to be secreted during the day, your best work and life situation so as to get the best hormonal protection against cancer, is to sleep at night, in a pitch black room, if possible, from 9:30 or 10 PM to 5:30 or 6 AM. If you can't make your room pitch black at night using a black-out shade and/ thick curtains, then get yourself a comfortable sleep mask and use it to shut out all light while you sleep.
If you have to work at night, then melatonin and cortisol will not be able to function for you the way they ought to, and research shows that nurses, for instance, who work the night shift, are significantly more likely to be diagnosed with cancer than those who work during the day. One study says night workers are 5 times more likely to be diagnosed with cancer.
If you must work nights, it's important for you to do as many of the other things mentioned on this blog to protect yourself from cancer as you can. Eat plenty of whole foods, drink plenty of pure water, sleep regular hours, even if you can't sleep at night; get regular, moderate exercise, avoid prolonged, negative stress situations, get regular fresh air and sunshine; if you're overweight, do your best to get down to or as close as possible to your ideal weight, and consider taking the supplements I will be suggesting elsewhere on this blog.
I am going to do some more research on what night shift workers can do to minimize, as much as possible, their chance of developing cancer. Best of health to you!
Elliot
Two of the most important reasons you need proper sleep are the hormones melatonin, which is,(supposed to be), secreted by your body at night, and cortisol, which is ,(supposed to be), secreted during the day. You are welcome to do as much research as you like on these two hormones, but for the purpose of preventing cancer, it is sufficient to know these few things:
Melatonin not only helps you fall asleep and to sleep more soundly, it is of much importance in your body's defense against the development of cancer.
For melatonin to function at its best, you need to sleep in the darkest room possible---pitch black is in fact the very best---and you need to be in bed with the lights out well before midnight. In fact, 9:30 PM would be excellent. But if you can't manage that, then 10 PM is next best. Those hours before midnight are some very choice hours for sleeping. Going to sleep at 10 AM and waking at 6 AM is far better for your health than going to bed at midnight and waking at 8 AM.
Because Cortisol is supposed to be secreted during the day, your best work and life situation so as to get the best hormonal protection against cancer, is to sleep at night, in a pitch black room, if possible, from 9:30 or 10 PM to 5:30 or 6 AM. If you can't make your room pitch black at night using a black-out shade and/ thick curtains, then get yourself a comfortable sleep mask and use it to shut out all light while you sleep.
If you have to work at night, then melatonin and cortisol will not be able to function for you the way they ought to, and research shows that nurses, for instance, who work the night shift, are significantly more likely to be diagnosed with cancer than those who work during the day. One study says night workers are 5 times more likely to be diagnosed with cancer.
If you must work nights, it's important for you to do as many of the other things mentioned on this blog to protect yourself from cancer as you can. Eat plenty of whole foods, drink plenty of pure water, sleep regular hours, even if you can't sleep at night; get regular, moderate exercise, avoid prolonged, negative stress situations, get regular fresh air and sunshine; if you're overweight, do your best to get down to or as close as possible to your ideal weight, and consider taking the supplements I will be suggesting elsewhere on this blog.
I am going to do some more research on what night shift workers can do to minimize, as much as possible, their chance of developing cancer. Best of health to you!
Elliot
Friday, February 5, 2010
WHY CANCER BEGINS IN YOUR SHOPPING CART
In my post titled "Race For the Cure???"(also on this blog) I said that for far too many people, cancer begins in their grocery store shopping cart, and that the majority of them are unaware of that fact. They do not know that one of the greatest areas of control over cancer they have lies in what kind of food and drink they put on their table.
Here are the cancer-promoting grocery items I mentioned in my previous post: doughnuts, pepperoni, sausage, hot dogs, "lunch meats," smoked foods, white bread, white crackers, white spaghetti, white pastries and all white flour and otherwise refined flour products, white sugar, brown sugar, dextrose, fructose, high fructose corn syrup, refined honey, candy, cookies, pasteurized, homogenized milk, potato chips, high fat cheeses, nearly all margarines, sugar-sweetened jams and jellies, ice cream, soda-pop,(diet or non-diet), antibiotic and hormone-laden beef, chicken and pork, farm-raised fish and non-organically produced items that are boxed, canned, bottled or otherwise processed and preserved.
Now, here are some reasons the above items are cancer-promoting, or carcinogenic:
Pepperoni, sausage, hot dogs and "lunch meats" contain nitrates or nitrites, artificial food coloring, loads of saturated fat, (meaning loads of heart-injurious calories), loads of salt, and miscellaneous animal parts---possibly even cancerous animal parts. Close-up photographs of hot dogs and bologna show the nasty globs of fat, as well as particles of unidentifiable "black stuff" that does not appear to be black pepper...
The danger of nitrates and nitrites is that they convert to nitrosamines in your body, and nitrosamines are potent carcinogens. They have long been suspected of being a cause of stomach cancer. You can buy nitrate/nitrite-free hot dogs in the health-food section of the grocery store, but they will still contain plenty of fat, loads of salt and unidentified animal parts and other "stuff."
Nearly all smoked foods you buy at the grocery store also contain nitrates/nitrites, but they also contain something else: "polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons" (PAH's.) PAH's are formed whenever there is incomplete combustion or burning. This incomplete burning occurs in cigarettes, and PAH's are the main cancer causers in cigarettes. But such incomplete burning also takes place in charcoal grills and in the smoking of food. The fat drops on the charcoal, partially burns and spatters up onto the meat. Charcoal grilled meat contains large quantities of such chemicals, which the body mistakes for cholesterol, and so pumps it to every vessel and organ. Some researchers have found that one large char-broiled steak provides the amount of PAH's you'd get from smoking a pack-and-a-half of cigarettes.
That's not to say you should never again eat char-grilled or gas-grilled steak, hamburger, chicken or pork. Just be aware that when you do, you're ingesting carcinogens, so don't make a regular habit of it, and be especially careful not to feed your children lots of char-broiled or gas-grilled meat.
Broiling meats in the oven, where the heat source is above, rather than below, the food, does not allow partially burned juices to spatter up onto the meat, and so does not produce PAH's. Also, keep an eye out for a product called the "Safe Grill," in which the heat source is above, rather than below the food being cooked, so that the drippings do not spatter up onto the meat from the flames below.
"White" products provide you with precious little nutrition, which of course you know you need, and almost no fiber, which you may or may not know you need. If you do know you need fiber in your diet, you very likely don't know how much fiber you need.
For good health, you need 30 to 50 grams,(about 1-2 ounces), of fiber a day. But chances are very good you're like most Americans, who get only 4 to 12 grams,(1/7th to 3/7ths of an ounce) of fiber daily. If that's the case, chances are good you suffer from constipation at least occasionally, in which case you're increasing your chances of developing diverticulitis,(a very serious inflammation of the intestines), and colon cancer. But you're also increasing your chance of diabetes, heart problems, arthritis, high blood pressure and a host of other serious illnesses. Please paste this link into your browser and read as much as you like about refined white foods: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=active&q=white+flour+cancer&btnG=Search&aq=f&aqi=&oq= Then, if you still want to go on eating white, refined foods, at least you will no longer be doing so in ignorance.
What's the alternative to white bread, white rolls, white spaghetti, white crackers and other white flour products? It's not something you're not already aware of. It's whole flour products---whole wheat, of course, but also whole rye, whole oat, whole corn and other ground grain products that haven't been meddled with so as to remove the nutrition and fiber from them.
Don't be fooled by the word "enriched" on white bread and other white flour products. It's ridiculous for baking companies to make their bread from flour that's been stripped of its nourishment, and then to try to add back that nourishment with artificial vitamins and minerals. Also, "enriched" refined flour products still won't provide your body with the fiber it needs.
Here's a link to an E-book, (written by T. L. CLEAVE, M.R.C.P. Surgeon-Captain Royal Navy (Retd.)Formerly Director of Medical Research, Institute of Naval Medicine), about the very serious health problems associated with the refined diet the majority of Americans eat. Please paste it into your browser and click "enter":
http://www.journeytoforever.org/farm_library/Cleave/cleave_toc.html#Preface
Cleave, whose responsibility it was to keep the sailors on naval vessels healthy, gives very credible evidence that eating a refined diet is responsible for dis-eases of the colon, for hemorrhoids, varicose veins, deep vein thrombosis, dental caries, obesity, diabetes, coronary dis-ease and peptic ulcers. A couple of excellent points he makes are that:
1) The use of machinery for refining grain and sugar-containing plants is so very recent that the human body has had virtually no time to adapt to processing and properly utilizing the resultant concentrated and devitalized white flour and white sugar.
2) The amount of refined, concentrated sugar the average American eats daily---both straight and baked or processed into foodstuffs---is about 7 ounces---nearly half a pound---and is equivalent to the sugar contained in 18 apples, 16 medium bananas, 2.5 pounds of red grapes or 21 oranges. No one would eat that much fruit in one day, but the average American eats the sugar contained in that much fruit in concentrated form every day. That is a terrible assault on the pancreas and the rest of the body!
Incidentally, refined white flour products are equivalent to eating sugar, so when, for instance, you eat a piece of birthday cake with icing, you're ingesting straight sugar. Or when you eat a chocolate-covered doughnut, you're ingesting straight sugar, as well as carcinogens that were produced when the dough was fried in extraordinarily hot fat so as to produce the doughnut.
If you are not aware of the damage white sugar does to your health, here's just a bit about it and the harm it does:
The average American consumes between two and three pounds of sugar every week, (approximately 105-156 pounds a year.) The sugar is being processed into a great many foods we eat, foods that are not just sweets. Sugar in large quantities can be found in peanut butter, mayonnaise, bread, ketchup and many other categorically “non-sweets” products.
Refined Sugar havoc on the insulin level in your blood. Raised blood insulin levels depress the immune system. If your immune system is depressed then your ability to fight disease is weakened.
Raised blood insulin levels can cause weight gain. Insulin promotes the storage of fat; so, when you eat foods high in refined sugar,(and refined flour), you increase fat storage. Obviously, the result is rapid weight gain.
Refined Sugar contains no vitamins or minerals, so in order for sugar to be metabolized, it must draw on the body’s reserve of vitamins and minerals. When these reserves are depleted, metabolization of cholesterol and fatty acid is impeded, contributing to higher blood serum triglycerides and cholesterol, promoting obesity due to higher fatty acid storage around organs.
Sugar intake is a strong risk factor that contributes to high breast cancer rates, particularly in older women. Not only can a diet high in sugar and refined flour boost the risk of type 2 diabetes and contribute to obesity, it may also lead to colon cancer.
For another 50 reasons to stay away from white sugar, white flour and foods that contain white sugar, paste this link into your browser and click "enter": http://ezinearticles.com/?Why-is-Refined-Sugar---Known-As-White-Sugar---Bad-for-You?&id=119462 Be aware, however, that brown sugar, refined honey, high fructose corn syrup, fructose, dextrose and all other such sweeteners are no different from white sugar.
Here are some other names for refined sugar: barley malt beet sugar, brown sugar, buttered syrup, cane-juice crystals, cane sugar, caramel, carob syrup, corn syrup, corn-syrup solids, date sugar, dextran, diastase, diastatic malt, ethyl maltol, evaporated cane juice, fruit juice, fruit-juice concentrate, glucose, glucose solids, golden sugar, golden syrup, grape sugar, honey, invert sugar, lactose, malt syrup, maltodextrin, maltose, mannitol, molasses, raw sugar, refiner's syrup, sorbitol, sorghum syrup, sucrose, turbinado sugar.
Don't be fooled by names.
Also, these sugar substitutes for white sugar---aspartame, saccharine and sucralose---are not safe, either.
However, don't lose hope. You can still "have your sweetener and eat it too" because there are two sugar substitutes that thus far, appear to be safe: "Stevia," which is an extract from a particularly sweet-tasting herb, and "Xylitol," which is made from birch trees. Stevia is mainly good for sweetening tea and other beverages, while xylitol, in granulated form, is easy to cook with, because 1 measure of xyletol is equivalent to 1 measure of refined sugar.
Pasteurized/homogenized milk from the grocery store contains hormones and antibiotics with which the cows have been injected, and the pasteurization and homogenation processes change the whole milk as it came from the cow into something very difficult for your body to digest. A great many people do not even have the enzyme in their body they must have to be able to digest milk. Also, feeding cow's milk to young children has been linked to type 1 diabetes.
Potato chips are simple carbohydrates,(no better than sugar), that have been fried in hot oil that has likely been used many times over. They and "french fries" have definitely been linked to cancer.
High fat cheeses don't need much of an explanation. Though they taste good, they are 100% fat, and are obviously not good for your health, contributing to high cholesterol, obesity, heart ailments, constipation and colon cancer.
Nearly all margarines are something the body does not know what to do with. Margarine can scarcely be considered a food, as it is almost entirely man-made. Butter, in reasonable amounts, is certainly better. Extra virgin olive oil, canola oil, grape seed oil, avocado oil and walnut oil are all good for you in reasonable amounts.
Ice cream is another one of those foods that taste wonderful, but contain much refined sugar and fat. You're far better off making your own fruit ice or sherbert at home. It's a fun thing to do, either by yourself, or with the children. Sugar-sweetened jams and jellies contain much sugar, of course. So if you are going to eat jams and jellies, at least buy the 100% fruit kind, and don't overdo it.
Soda-pop contains either large amounts of sugar or nutra-sweet/aspartame, both of which are harmful. If you drink four 12-oz colas you have already met your average of 7 ounces of daily sugar. Also, the carbonation in soda-pop is harmful over the long run. It's an excellent idea to go back to and get used to drinking pure water. Pure water is what we were originally meant to drink, and it's the very best thing for your body when it comes to carrying out its millions of daily functions that keep you healthy.
Unless you specifically look for wording on the label that says otherwise, the beef, chicken and pork you buy at the grocery store has hormone and antibiotic residues in it that you don't want yourself or your family to be eating. Also, the health standards for large, commercial beef, chicken and pork industries are more lax than they ought to be. I have read that those who work in meat packing plants are allowed to cut out any cancer they find and use the rest of the animal. Whether or not that's true, wouldn't you rather spend a little more and buy your meat and poultry locally, so as to know how it's been raised, what's been done to it, and that it's clean?
Be careful also of farm-raised salmon and other fish, because they are raised in close quarters so that the water in which they live is unclean. Also, in order to guard against infection, they're given antibiotics.
That's not nearly all I could include in this post about cancer-promoting/cancer-causing foods, but I have to end somewhere. The next post will be about foods and beverages, as well as personal behaviors, that help lessen your chance of developing cancer.
Here are the cancer-promoting grocery items I mentioned in my previous post: doughnuts, pepperoni, sausage, hot dogs, "lunch meats," smoked foods, white bread, white crackers, white spaghetti, white pastries and all white flour and otherwise refined flour products, white sugar, brown sugar, dextrose, fructose, high fructose corn syrup, refined honey, candy, cookies, pasteurized, homogenized milk, potato chips, high fat cheeses, nearly all margarines, sugar-sweetened jams and jellies, ice cream, soda-pop,(diet or non-diet), antibiotic and hormone-laden beef, chicken and pork, farm-raised fish and non-organically produced items that are boxed, canned, bottled or otherwise processed and preserved.
Now, here are some reasons the above items are cancer-promoting, or carcinogenic:
Pepperoni, sausage, hot dogs and "lunch meats" contain nitrates or nitrites, artificial food coloring, loads of saturated fat, (meaning loads of heart-injurious calories), loads of salt, and miscellaneous animal parts---possibly even cancerous animal parts. Close-up photographs of hot dogs and bologna show the nasty globs of fat, as well as particles of unidentifiable "black stuff" that does not appear to be black pepper...
The danger of nitrates and nitrites is that they convert to nitrosamines in your body, and nitrosamines are potent carcinogens. They have long been suspected of being a cause of stomach cancer. You can buy nitrate/nitrite-free hot dogs in the health-food section of the grocery store, but they will still contain plenty of fat, loads of salt and unidentified animal parts and other "stuff."
Nearly all smoked foods you buy at the grocery store also contain nitrates/nitrites, but they also contain something else: "polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons" (PAH's.) PAH's are formed whenever there is incomplete combustion or burning. This incomplete burning occurs in cigarettes, and PAH's are the main cancer causers in cigarettes. But such incomplete burning also takes place in charcoal grills and in the smoking of food. The fat drops on the charcoal, partially burns and spatters up onto the meat. Charcoal grilled meat contains large quantities of such chemicals, which the body mistakes for cholesterol, and so pumps it to every vessel and organ. Some researchers have found that one large char-broiled steak provides the amount of PAH's you'd get from smoking a pack-and-a-half of cigarettes.
That's not to say you should never again eat char-grilled or gas-grilled steak, hamburger, chicken or pork. Just be aware that when you do, you're ingesting carcinogens, so don't make a regular habit of it, and be especially careful not to feed your children lots of char-broiled or gas-grilled meat.
Broiling meats in the oven, where the heat source is above, rather than below, the food, does not allow partially burned juices to spatter up onto the meat, and so does not produce PAH's. Also, keep an eye out for a product called the "Safe Grill," in which the heat source is above, rather than below the food being cooked, so that the drippings do not spatter up onto the meat from the flames below.
"White" products provide you with precious little nutrition, which of course you know you need, and almost no fiber, which you may or may not know you need. If you do know you need fiber in your diet, you very likely don't know how much fiber you need.
For good health, you need 30 to 50 grams,(about 1-2 ounces), of fiber a day. But chances are very good you're like most Americans, who get only 4 to 12 grams,(1/7th to 3/7ths of an ounce) of fiber daily. If that's the case, chances are good you suffer from constipation at least occasionally, in which case you're increasing your chances of developing diverticulitis,(a very serious inflammation of the intestines), and colon cancer. But you're also increasing your chance of diabetes, heart problems, arthritis, high blood pressure and a host of other serious illnesses. Please paste this link into your browser and read as much as you like about refined white foods: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=active&q=white+flour+cancer&btnG=Search&aq=f&aqi=&oq= Then, if you still want to go on eating white, refined foods, at least you will no longer be doing so in ignorance.
What's the alternative to white bread, white rolls, white spaghetti, white crackers and other white flour products? It's not something you're not already aware of. It's whole flour products---whole wheat, of course, but also whole rye, whole oat, whole corn and other ground grain products that haven't been meddled with so as to remove the nutrition and fiber from them.
Don't be fooled by the word "enriched" on white bread and other white flour products. It's ridiculous for baking companies to make their bread from flour that's been stripped of its nourishment, and then to try to add back that nourishment with artificial vitamins and minerals. Also, "enriched" refined flour products still won't provide your body with the fiber it needs.
Here's a link to an E-book, (written by T. L. CLEAVE, M.R.C.P. Surgeon-Captain Royal Navy (Retd.)Formerly Director of Medical Research, Institute of Naval Medicine), about the very serious health problems associated with the refined diet the majority of Americans eat. Please paste it into your browser and click "enter":
http://www.journeytoforever.org/farm_library/Cleave/cleave_toc.html#Preface
Cleave, whose responsibility it was to keep the sailors on naval vessels healthy, gives very credible evidence that eating a refined diet is responsible for dis-eases of the colon, for hemorrhoids, varicose veins, deep vein thrombosis, dental caries, obesity, diabetes, coronary dis-ease and peptic ulcers. A couple of excellent points he makes are that:
1) The use of machinery for refining grain and sugar-containing plants is so very recent that the human body has had virtually no time to adapt to processing and properly utilizing the resultant concentrated and devitalized white flour and white sugar.
2) The amount of refined, concentrated sugar the average American eats daily---both straight and baked or processed into foodstuffs---is about 7 ounces---nearly half a pound---and is equivalent to the sugar contained in 18 apples, 16 medium bananas, 2.5 pounds of red grapes or 21 oranges. No one would eat that much fruit in one day, but the average American eats the sugar contained in that much fruit in concentrated form every day. That is a terrible assault on the pancreas and the rest of the body!
Incidentally, refined white flour products are equivalent to eating sugar, so when, for instance, you eat a piece of birthday cake with icing, you're ingesting straight sugar. Or when you eat a chocolate-covered doughnut, you're ingesting straight sugar, as well as carcinogens that were produced when the dough was fried in extraordinarily hot fat so as to produce the doughnut.
If you are not aware of the damage white sugar does to your health, here's just a bit about it and the harm it does:
The average American consumes between two and three pounds of sugar every week, (approximately 105-156 pounds a year.) The sugar is being processed into a great many foods we eat, foods that are not just sweets. Sugar in large quantities can be found in peanut butter, mayonnaise, bread, ketchup and many other categorically “non-sweets” products.
Refined Sugar havoc on the insulin level in your blood. Raised blood insulin levels depress the immune system. If your immune system is depressed then your ability to fight disease is weakened.
Raised blood insulin levels can cause weight gain. Insulin promotes the storage of fat; so, when you eat foods high in refined sugar,(and refined flour), you increase fat storage. Obviously, the result is rapid weight gain.
Refined Sugar contains no vitamins or minerals, so in order for sugar to be metabolized, it must draw on the body’s reserve of vitamins and minerals. When these reserves are depleted, metabolization of cholesterol and fatty acid is impeded, contributing to higher blood serum triglycerides and cholesterol, promoting obesity due to higher fatty acid storage around organs.
Sugar intake is a strong risk factor that contributes to high breast cancer rates, particularly in older women. Not only can a diet high in sugar and refined flour boost the risk of type 2 diabetes and contribute to obesity, it may also lead to colon cancer.
For another 50 reasons to stay away from white sugar, white flour and foods that contain white sugar, paste this link into your browser and click "enter": http://ezinearticles.com/?Why-is-Refined-Sugar---Known-As-White-Sugar---Bad-for-You?&id=119462 Be aware, however, that brown sugar, refined honey, high fructose corn syrup, fructose, dextrose and all other such sweeteners are no different from white sugar.
Here are some other names for refined sugar: barley malt beet sugar, brown sugar, buttered syrup, cane-juice crystals, cane sugar, caramel, carob syrup, corn syrup, corn-syrup solids, date sugar, dextran, diastase, diastatic malt, ethyl maltol, evaporated cane juice, fruit juice, fruit-juice concentrate, glucose, glucose solids, golden sugar, golden syrup, grape sugar, honey, invert sugar, lactose, malt syrup, maltodextrin, maltose, mannitol, molasses, raw sugar, refiner's syrup, sorbitol, sorghum syrup, sucrose, turbinado sugar.
Don't be fooled by names.
Also, these sugar substitutes for white sugar---aspartame, saccharine and sucralose---are not safe, either.
However, don't lose hope. You can still "have your sweetener and eat it too" because there are two sugar substitutes that thus far, appear to be safe: "Stevia," which is an extract from a particularly sweet-tasting herb, and "Xylitol," which is made from birch trees. Stevia is mainly good for sweetening tea and other beverages, while xylitol, in granulated form, is easy to cook with, because 1 measure of xyletol is equivalent to 1 measure of refined sugar.
Pasteurized/homogenized milk from the grocery store contains hormones and antibiotics with which the cows have been injected, and the pasteurization and homogenation processes change the whole milk as it came from the cow into something very difficult for your body to digest. A great many people do not even have the enzyme in their body they must have to be able to digest milk. Also, feeding cow's milk to young children has been linked to type 1 diabetes.
Potato chips are simple carbohydrates,(no better than sugar), that have been fried in hot oil that has likely been used many times over. They and "french fries" have definitely been linked to cancer.
High fat cheeses don't need much of an explanation. Though they taste good, they are 100% fat, and are obviously not good for your health, contributing to high cholesterol, obesity, heart ailments, constipation and colon cancer.
Nearly all margarines are something the body does not know what to do with. Margarine can scarcely be considered a food, as it is almost entirely man-made. Butter, in reasonable amounts, is certainly better. Extra virgin olive oil, canola oil, grape seed oil, avocado oil and walnut oil are all good for you in reasonable amounts.
Ice cream is another one of those foods that taste wonderful, but contain much refined sugar and fat. You're far better off making your own fruit ice or sherbert at home. It's a fun thing to do, either by yourself, or with the children. Sugar-sweetened jams and jellies contain much sugar, of course. So if you are going to eat jams and jellies, at least buy the 100% fruit kind, and don't overdo it.
Soda-pop contains either large amounts of sugar or nutra-sweet/aspartame, both of which are harmful. If you drink four 12-oz colas you have already met your average of 7 ounces of daily sugar. Also, the carbonation in soda-pop is harmful over the long run. It's an excellent idea to go back to and get used to drinking pure water. Pure water is what we were originally meant to drink, and it's the very best thing for your body when it comes to carrying out its millions of daily functions that keep you healthy.
Unless you specifically look for wording on the label that says otherwise, the beef, chicken and pork you buy at the grocery store has hormone and antibiotic residues in it that you don't want yourself or your family to be eating. Also, the health standards for large, commercial beef, chicken and pork industries are more lax than they ought to be. I have read that those who work in meat packing plants are allowed to cut out any cancer they find and use the rest of the animal. Whether or not that's true, wouldn't you rather spend a little more and buy your meat and poultry locally, so as to know how it's been raised, what's been done to it, and that it's clean?
Be careful also of farm-raised salmon and other fish, because they are raised in close quarters so that the water in which they live is unclean. Also, in order to guard against infection, they're given antibiotics.
That's not nearly all I could include in this post about cancer-promoting/cancer-causing foods, but I have to end somewhere. The next post will be about foods and beverages, as well as personal behaviors, that help lessen your chance of developing cancer.
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