Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Fructose Could be the Key to Your Weight Loss


Here is some good news for anyone who is struggling to lose weight.  It’s not the calories you consume that sabotage your weight loss; it’s the sugar – particularly the FRUCTOSE. 
Dr. Richard Johnson, chief of the Division of Renal Diseases and Hypertension at the University of Colorado, is the author of The Fat Switch presenting a new approach to preventing and reversing obesity.
Dr. Johnson’s research shows that a high fructose diet is the key to developing metabolic syndrome – what leads so many dieters to give up.
“[O]ne group [of animals] is getting a number of calories that an animal would normally eat, but it’s high in fructose. Another group will get the same amount of food – exactly the same amount of food, but with a different carbohydrate, like glucose.
It’s the fructose-fed rats that develop metabolic syndrome. Suddenly they get fatty liver. They get visceral fat. Their blood pressure goes up. Their triglycerides are high. They actually develop all these features, whereas the glucose-fed rats don’t—and they’re eating the same number of calories!
We even did a study two years ago that was even more remarkable. We took laboratory animals and we put them on a diet. We gave them 90 percent of what they normally eat, but one diet had 40 percent sugar. (Now remember, some kids are eating 30 percent of their diet as sugar right now)... The control rats were eating the same [amount of calories] in starch. What was amazing was that the sugar-fed animals developed fatty liver – like massive fatty liver – and even became diabetic. The control animals did not.
There’s something special about fructose. It’s not just a calorie. This led us to try to figure out why... It was a big challenge to figure out how fructose was causing diabetes and obesity through a mechanism that doesn’t really require excessive calorie intake.”
Some people are more susceptible to the effects of fructose and may have high uric acid levels and insulin resistance. You can get your uric acid level tested. Ideally it should be no greater than 3.5 mg/dl for women and 4.0 mg/dl for men. If you fall into the susceptible group you’ll want to avoid fructose completely  - even avoiding honey which is up to 70% fructose and agave nectar (60% -70% fructose). My new favorite is coconut sugarwith only 3% fructose and a glycemic index of 35 making it a low-glycemic food.  It looks and tastes like brown sugar.
So don’t despair if you dieting is getting you no where.  I can help you come up with a diet that is more specific to your body type and needs.  Getting rid of the sugar (especially fructose) is one way for most people to have more success.
Be well always,
Mary

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Monday, August 20, 2012

Natural Remedies for Pelvic Organ Prolapse


(Below is a guest post by blogger Elizabeth Carrollton)

Pelvic organ prolapse (POP) is a condition that will affect a great number of women during their lifetimes, most commonly as menopause approaches. If you have had children, POP is something you should educate yourself about, since nearly half of women who have given birth will be affected to some degree.
Symptoms to watch out for include feelings of pressure or fullness or a noticeable bulge in the vagina. Urine leakage when you cough or laugh can be a sign of POP, as can pain during sex, frequent constipation, irregular vaginal spotting or bleeding and frequent urinary tract infections. If you have experienced any of these symptoms, it is important to see your doctor, but if you do have POP, don't rush into surgical solution. Many women can be helped with natural remedies, so make sure to discuss less invasive options with your doctor before resorting to surgery.

Pelvic Organ Prolapse
Pelvic organ prolapse results from a weakened pelvic floor, which is the support structure made up of muscles and connective tissues that keep pelvic organs in place. When the pelvic floor is stretched or weakened, it can allow pelvic organs like the bladder, uterus and rectum to drop lower than they should be in the pelvis, placing pressure on the vagina. Weakness in the pelvic floor is most often linked to childbirth, but anything that places pressure on the pelvic floor can contribute, such as heavy lifting, high-impact sports, a chronic cough, obesity or the straining that comes from chronic constipation.

Natural Remedies
Most doctors will recommend that women try non-invasive natural remedies to alleviate the discomfort of prolapse before considering surgery. A daily routine of gentle exercise is a measure that eases the symptoms of many women. Speak to your doctor for instructions on Kegel exercises, which have proven very helpful in building strength and tone in the pelvic floor. Walking, Pilates and yoga can also help.

Addressing constipation is an important step in relieving POP symptoms. Add fiber to your diet by eating more whole grains, fruits and vegetables. If constipation is still a problem, fiber supplements and stool softeners can help. Weight management is important as well, since excess weight stresses the pelvic floor. Also, avoid heavy lifting and high-impact activities, like running and jumping. If you have done all of these things and still have discomfort, your doctor may suggest a pessary, which is a medical device placed in the vagina to support prolapsed organs.

Surgery
If natural remedies fail, your doctor may recommend surgery if your POP is severe enough to significantly affect your quality of life. It is important that you discuss all surgical options, since some POP repair procedures involve more risk than others.

Over the past decade, many procedures have involved the use of transvaginal mesh implants. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued alerts on these devices, since reports of serious complications with their use have been growing at disturbing rates. The most common problems reported are mesh erosion, mesh shrinkage, organ perforation and infection. Further surgeries are often required to correct these complications, and they are not always successful. For many women the complications will affect them for the rest of theirs live, many have therefore sought compensation through the filing of a transvaginal mesh lawsuit against manufacturers of the mesh products. So, be sure to ask your doctor about surgeries that do not use mesh.

Elizabeth Carrollton writes to inform the public about defective medical devices and dangerous drugs for Drugwatch.com.

Saturday, August 4, 2012

More on Water

So we are back to drinking RO water doctored up with liquid minerals. Still searching for the perfect solution. I remember our visit to Manitou Springs, CO and taking a tour of all the natural springs in town. I've never tasted anything better. Amazing! Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could all have delicious, healthy mineral water every day?

Meanwhile I continue to search for the best, fluoride-free, chemical free, heavy metal free water. I did find one possibility at Pure Water Freedom.   It's quite an elaborate system that uses a form or aluminum to attract the fluoride, then takes the water through 6 other layers to remove chemicals and the aluminum and other heavy metals. Let me know if you have used or are using a system that removes fluoride please.

Sure would be nice if our city councils would stop poisoning us by adding the fluoride in the first place. It's been proven to be a neurotoxin and is banned in many countries. We just don't need it. If you want to avoid tooth decay brush your teeth and stop drinking soda. Not rocket science folks. It's time for us to take responsibility for our health and stop relying on someone else to fix us when we keep getting sick. We are smart enough to know better. We can do this.

If you want ideas on where to start, let me know. I'd love to help.

Be well always,
Mary
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/fluoridated-water

http://www.fluoridealert.org/health/cancer/osteosarcoma.aspx

http://www.fluoridealert.org/caseagainstfluoride-appendices.html