Learn More About You

Learn more about your body and your psychological well being in this interactive section of the BBC web site.

Here's things you can do:

• Build a skeleton, stretch some muscles and organise the organs in the interactive body.
• Discover how the body changes during puberty. And put your senses to the test in the senses challenge.
• Explore your memory
• Learn more about personality types
• Spot the fake smile.
• Take a personality test.
  

Acid Alkaline Balance

Almost all foods that we eat, after being digested, absorbed, and metabolised, release either an acid or an alkaline base (bicarbonate) into blood. Grains, fish, meat, poultry, shellfish, cheese, milk, and salt all produce acid. The mass consumption of these foods have caused our bodies to become overly acidic, which strips it of minerals. Over the long haul, those who do not balance their diet with alkaline foods (vegetables and fruits, primarily) become prone to weak bones, joints and muscles, heart disease, diabetes, kidney disease, and a host of other health problems. In other words, long-term health and longevity have everything to do with acid-alkaline balance.
Read more>>

Don’t take health advice from unhealthy people

I gave a friend some health advice. Then she discussed her problem with another friend. Later she told me that she’d been given very different advice by this mutual friend. In theory the other friend was slightly more knowledgeable on this subject than I am.

She was obviously uncertain what to do. I told her to look at him and look at me and decide who was healthier.

I told her: “Don’t take health advice from unhealthy people.”

She laughed and said: “In that case it’s clear whose advice I should follow.”

Fruit is even better for you than previously thought

We know eating fruit is good for us, but some recent research suggests it's even more beneficial than previously thought:

An international team of scientists has found that the polyphenol content of fruits has been underestimated.

Polyphenol content in fruits usually refers to extractable polyphenols, but a Spanish scientist working at the Institute of Food Research in Norwich analysed apple, peach and nectarine. She found that nonextractable polyphenol content is up to five times higher than extractable compounds. This work has been published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

“These polyphenols need to be treated with acid to extract them from the cell walls of fruit in the lab,” said Sara Arranz from the Spanish Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) in Madrid. “If non-extractable polyphenols are not considered, the levels of beneficial polyphenols such as proanthocyanidins, ellagic acid and catechin are substantially underestimated.”

Dr Paul Kroon from IFR explains: “In the human body these compounds will be fermented by bacteria in the colon, creating metabolites that may be beneficial, for example with antioxidant activity.”

The Spanish research group, led by Professor Fulgencio Saura-Calixto, has been working to show that nonextractable polyphenols, which mostly escape analysis and are not usually considered in nutritional studies, are a major part of bioactive compounds in the diet.

“These polyphenols are major constituents of the human diet with important health properties. To consider them in nutritional and epidemiological research may be useful for a better understanding of the effects of plant foods in health,” says Professor Saura-Calixto.

The study was funded by a scholarship to Dr Arranz from the Spanish Ministry of Science and through the Institute Of Food Reaerch's core strategic grant from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council.

Fish oils and diabetes

I recently added some research gighlighted by the Physicians For Responsible Medicine on a possible link between fish oils and diabetes.

Lyn who follows this blog made a comment:

"Interesting...There are so many benefits to fish and fish oil that are not mentioned here. Wonder if the benefits of eating once or twice a week along with an otherwise healthy diet wouldn't outweigh the possible risk discussed here."

I've only just started allowing comments and I inadvertently rejected the comment! More haste less speed. Unlike other aspects of computers, I can't find an undo button. (Sad that life doesn't have an undo button either!)

So, I decided the easiest thing was to print it in the blog itself.

My comment on Lyn's comment is:

Yes, there are well documented benefits of fish oils, but this research and concern about heavy metal contamination of oily fish and fish supplements suggests a degree of caution may be appropriate. Flax seed oil can give similar benefits without having to kill fish either. Better for the fish and possibly better for us too.

Fish and Fish Oil Linked to Diabetes Risk

A new Harvard study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition links fish and omega-3 oil consumption to type 2 diabetes. Following 195,204 adults for 14 to18 years, researchers found that the more fish or omega-3 fatty acids participants consumed, the higher their risk of developing diabetes. The risk increase was modest for occasional fish eaters, but rose to a 22 percent increased risk for women consuming five or more fish servings per week.

Prior studies have suggested that fat accumulation within muscle cells can lead to insulin resistance which, in turn, contributes to diabetes. People who eat no animal products have less fat in their cells and much less risk of developing diabetes. A low-fat vegan diet has been shown to improve type 2 diabetes.

Kaushik M, Mozaffarian D, Spiegelman D, Manson JE, Willett WC, Hu FB. Long-chain omega-3 fatty acids, fish intake, and the risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Am J Clin Nutr. 2009 Jul 22. [Epub ahead of print]

Goff LM, Bell JD, So PW, Dornhorst A, Frost GS. Veganism and its relationship with insulin resistance and intramyocellular lipid. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2005;59:291-298.

Barnard ND, Cohen J, Jenkins DJ, Turner-McGrievy G, Gloede L, Green A, Ferdowsian H. A low-fat vegan diet and a conventional diabetes diet in the treatment of type 2 diabetes: a randomized, controlled, 74-week clinical trial. Am J Clin Nutr. 2009;89:1588S-1596S.

For information about nutrition and health, please visit www.pcrm.org/.

Fo alternatives to fish oils check out flax seed oil supplements.

How to kill bacteria without harsh chemicals

We are being told to wash hands regularly with soap and water and to keep hard surfaces (door handles, telephones, remotes, etc) clean.

If soap and water are not readily available, then use Green People’s lathering Organic Foaming Hand Sanitizer (made with over 95% certified organic ingredients)

This organic breakthrough product is designed to kill germs using natural anti-microbial activity from combining the extracts of Australian Tea Tree and New Zealand Manuka.
These ingredients create a natural alternative to conventional alcohol-based hand sanitizers. Studies have shown that at the level used in this product this ingredient combination kills bacteria E. coli, S. aureus, S. faecalis and S. pyogenes instantly, and kills S. typnimurium, and P. aeruginosa within 10 minutes of contact.

Keep one in your car, gymbag or handbag, and one by your sink so you can stay “bacteria free” all day long. Why not also give your child one when they go back to school?

Chunky Nut & Vegetable Roast

I am a long term vegetarian and love nut roasts but very rarely make them. The Vegetarian Society give this recipe for an easy chunky nut and vegetable roast:

Ingredients

1 carrot, scraped
1 onion, peeled
1 stick celery
200g mixed nuts (e.g. almonds, peanuts, brazil nuts)
2tsp Marmite
2 free range eggs
1 or 2 tsp mixed herbs
salt & pepper
Dried breadcrumbs (for coating tin)

Method

1. Set oven at 190°C/375°F/Gas Mark 5.
Put all the ingredients into a food processor and process until vegetables and nuts are chopped into chunky pieces.
Put into a bowl and mix with remaining ingredients.

2. Line a 450g/1lb loaf tin with a strip of non-stick paper, grease well and sprinkle with dry breadcrumbs.
Spoon mixture into tin and level the top.

3. Bake uncovered for 45 mins until set.

Serves 4.

Haven't made this yet but looks so easy I'm going to give it a go. The Vegetarian Society list it as a recipe for new vegetarians but us oldies can learn a thing or two too.

31 Ways to Jump Start the Local Economy

There's some great ideas in an article with this title on the web site Yes!

Here's just two of them:

Tip 3
Take your money out of predator banks and put it into a credit union, local bank, or an institution like Shorebank Pacific that supports sustainable businesses.

Tip 18
Do home work parties. Each month, go to a different household to do major home greening, a garden upgrade, or some deferred maintenance.

Read the rest of these thought-provoking tips here >>

Swallowing Big Tablets

We sell nutritional supplements in our online health store and from time to time I get questions about how big the tablets are. This sort of query comes from someone who has difficulty taking tablets.

Of course, it is possible to cut most tablets in half, but that’s a bit laborious and you can end up with bits of tablet flying all over your kitchen.

A different approach is looking at it from a psychological angle. Most people who say they cannot swallow big tablets can swallow a large piece of pizza crust (for example), so I tell them to think about that when they are attempting to swallow a tablet – to tell themselves it is no different from swallowing a large piece of food. Some people find this trick really helps.

Help With Remembering To Take Your Meds

Many older people find it difficult to remember if they've taken their tablets. Here's a great idea from researchers to help seniors do just that:

Doing something unusual, like knocking on wood or patting yourself on the head, while taking a daily dose of medicine may be an effective strategy to help seniors remember whether they've already taken their daily medications, suggests new research from Washington University in St. Louis.

Read more about this>>

Children short of vitamin D

Seven out of ten U.S. children have low levels of vitamin D, raising their risk of bone and heart disease, according to a study of over 6,000 children by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University. The striking findings suggest that vitamin D deficiency could place millions of children at risk for high blood pressure and other risk factors for heart disease.

Read more about this study.

The American Academy of Pediatrics, which recently updated its vitamin D guidelines, now recommends that infants, children, and teens should take 400 IU per day in supplement form.

Improve Your Digestive Health

Heather Caruso has a new book out - Your Drug Free Guide To Digestive Health

Heather has written articles for my web site www.healthandgoodness.com such as;

What Is detoxification?

and

Colon Cleansing

Check out Heather's book for lots more information on digestive health.

The Benefits Of Water

One of my favourite health supplements is water!

It's free and does great things for us - models swear by drinking lots of water to ensure a clear, radiant skin. Constipation sufferers often find increasing wtare intake makes stools easier to pass.

Here's an easy-to-read summary of the benefits of water.

How green is your medicine?

I like this quote from Genie Rowson:

Green medicine stimulates the body's own healing mechanisms to repair and rebuild itself, and help reverse illness and encourage healing. This approach differs considerably from the more conventional medicine we know so well, which suppresses our symptoms (which are actually the body's healing mechanisms). But does green medicine really work? The answer is yes. Absolutely! Greener systems of medicine such as acupuncture, Chinese medicine and homeopathy are gaining new converts every day, because they really do work! Millions of people worldwide have been healed through these gentler, safer, non-toxic alternatives. There is a wordwide movement towards greener options in every aspect of life.

If you're into homeopathy, check out Genie's web site - There's A Remedy For That. She has a great ailments page with suggestions for homeopathic remedies for a whiole host of complaints.