Posts Tagged ‘Mercola.com’

So, winter’s nearly here and many are fighting off that first seasonal cold and some are dreading the flu.  I have many friends that get it every year, sometimes more than once and some are constantly battling sicknesses throughout the autumn and winter seasons.   With my friends in mind and for those looking for a more natural way to boost your immune system without getting vaccines,  I’ve collected a few lists from reputable sites sharing foods that are known “Immunity Boosters”.  Remember to always eat the best foods possible, organic farmed produce, wild fishes and like, grass-fed beef, bison, free-range chickens and eggs and cook the food as little as possible.

This first list is from Mercola.com.  It contains a few items that are a bit more difficult to find in some areas but try your best for they are by far the most effective.  You can read the full article with complete explanations here: Top 12 Foods for Healthy Immune Response

1. Unpasteurized Grass-Fed Organic Milk; or Whey Protein as an Alternative

2. Fermented foods such as kefir, natto, kimchee, miso, tempeh, pickles, sauerkraut, yogurt (watch for sugar), and olives.

3. Raw Organic Eggs from Free-Range Chickens

4. Grass-Fed Beef or Organ Meats

5. Coconuts and Coconut Oil

6. Locally Grown Organic Vegetables Appropriate for Your Nutritional Type the amount and type of vegetables you should eat daily will depend on your nutritional type.

7. Blueberries and Raspberries

8. Mushrooms

9. Chlorella [Chlorella water..Yum!  Seriously, I enjoy it a lot]

10. Propolis

11. Teas [Green and Tulsi]

12. Herbs and Spices [click here for the list]

The 15 best foods for your Immune System from AlterNet.Org. This list may be a bit more practical for most.  I myself find that my daily diet incorporates items from both lists.  Again, follow the link for the full article and explanations. 

1. Oysters; Yep.  Oysters produce cytokines, a protein that’s known to ward off illnesses.

2. Yogurt

3. Green Tea

4. Oranges

5. Crab; Like oysters, crab meat is rich in selenium, a nutrient that strengthens your immune system.

6. Garlic

7. Carrots

8. Spinach

9. Sweet Potatoes

10. Mushrooms

11. Salmon

12. Kiwi

13. Bell Peppers

14. Broccoli

15. Oats & Barley

Ok, before you read this, stop.  Go and get your shampoo, conditioner, body wash, facial cleaner, shaving cream and toothpaste.  Go ahead, I’ll give you a few minutes.  Look at the ingredients.   Do you see either Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) or Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES) listed? Or one of their cousins: Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate, Sodium Myreth Sulfate, etc.?  Did you know SLS is so strong that it’s also used to scrub garage floors?  It caught my attention too.

Nearly two years ago now, my husband and I started removing anything in our personal care items that contained SLS (or its relative SLES).  We had read numerous reports that they are cheap chemicals found in our personal care products that are exactly the same as you would find in a car wash or even a garage, where it is used to degrease car engines-just a lower percentage is found in our personal products.  Earlier this year we noticed it was even in our ‘natural’, ‘safe’ toothpaste to our surprise.

I sat down earlier this week to write this article but I wanted to research both sides of the story for I found it amazing that this toxic chemical would be found in so many everyday beauty/health products, even in “green” products.  So, I began my search and wow, what a whirl wind of confusion for a few hours.  Whom does one believe?  Some sources make outrageous claims to scare you one way or another, some try to give you just the “facts” to support their claims and others are clearly trying to sell you a product.  What I found even more frustrating was that to my surprise many of the trusted sources I usually turn to had completely different outlooks on the subject.

So, I am not going to tell you it is terrible for you NOR am I telling you to continue to use it.  I want you to do the research yourself and make up your own mind. But here is what I have decided on.  SLS and SLES will NOT be allowed into my home again.  We decided as a family earlier this year to live as toxin free as we could.  We are not willing to knowingly put anything that ‘could’ be hazardous to our health into or onto our bodies, especially when there are safe alternatives.   I have gathered the more complete sources, a few with additional links you should review, and have posted them below for you to begin your research.  Here’s an excerpt [and my main argument for not bringing these chemicals into my home] from the first source listed below:

“SLS and SLES are esters of Sulphuric acid – SLS is also known as “Sulfuric acid monododecyl ester sodium salt”, however there are over 150 different names by which it is known – see them here. In fact, SLES is commonly contaminated with dioxane, a known carcinogen.

Although SLES is somewhat less irritating than Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, it cannot be metabolised by the liver and its effects are therefore much longer-lasting.

A report published in the Journal of The American College of Toxicology in 1983 showed that concentrations as low as 0.5% could cause irritation and concentrations of 10-30% caused skin corrosion and severe irritation. National Institutes of Health “Household Products Directory” of chemical ingredients lists over 80 products that contain sodium lauryl sulfate. Some soaps have concentrations of up to 30%, which the ACT report called “highly irritating and dangerous“.  Read more about the potential implications of SLS and SLES on Human Health

So please, follow the links in this article, do your research and decide for yourself what you are comfortable with.  All I wish for is that you and your family live as healthy as possible and you can only do that by making intelligent decisions, not by just doing the ‘norm’, convenient or expected behavior.

Natural Health Information Center

Hall Gold

Mercola

The Natural Skin Care Company

Ingredient Myths

Seventh Generation Q&A

American Cancer Society

Snopes

NICNAS of Australia

A personal message:

I wanted to take a moment to share this information with you.  Vaccination, whether for yourself or your children, is a very personal decision.  Many Americans today are comfortable getting medications and vaccinations without a second thought, but there is a growing number of citizens and medical professionals that are finding reasons for everyone to stop and take the time to do research on what is being put into your body.  There are two very different opinions on the current H1N1 vaccination and on the actual flu itself.  One from the general mass media that is in many ways terrifying Americans.  The other from natural health specialists and a growing number of scientists that are trying to inform the public of the downfalls of the vaccination and to shed light on the actual H1N1 flu.  I am not suggesting you get the vaccine, nor am I suggesting that you not get it.  I am asking that before you make your decision you take the time to research the topic thoroughly.  Here’s a fantastic place to start, a recent article from from Mercola.com entitled “Common Links in Swine Flu Deaths.”  You can read the website of the doctor featured in the article here: Dr. Russell Blaylock, M.D.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/10/31/CDC-Says-Kids-That-Die-From-Swine-Flu-Have-Coexisting-Bacterial-Infections.aspx

The article has numerous links to additional sites for more information, but here are a few more to help with your research:

ALERT: Special Swine Flu Update

NPR: Debate Over H1N1 Vaccine

CBS News: Unplugged H1N1 Vaccine Dangers

World Health Organization [WHO]

60 Minutes: Swine Flu

British Medical Journal

CDC

Earlier this week, we took a look at the basic fundamentals for one to follow in order to get themselves into true wellness. They were:

1. to minimize the use of drugs, other toxins in our life and surgery;

2. to eat as best we can to ensure ourselves quality nutrition;

3. to maximize oxygen and lean muscle through regular exercise;

4. to live a life of peace with positive and strong relationships; and

5. maximize nerve supply through chiropractic maintenance.

Remember, each of these fundamentals is important and they all work optimally together.

So, let’s now take a look at the first fundamental, removing drugs, toxins and surgery from your life.
This is an area that is highly overlooked in other “health” regimes. You’ll eat very well and exercise as you should, but never realize that our bodies are our largest organ and anything it is exposed to is absorbed into our systems. Our bodies are constantly being bombarded by chemicals in the home and outside.

The CDC’s “National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals”, [found here] third report (the fourth is due out in the 4th quarter of 2009) reviews studies ranging from 1999-2000 and 2001-2002 of levels for 148 environmental chemicals measured in people who participated in CDC’s National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Chemicals measured included lead, mercury, cadmium, tungsten and other metals; polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; dioxins, furans and polychlorinated biphenyls; organophosphate pesticides, organochlorine pesticides, pyrethroid pesticides and herbicides; phthalates; phytoestrogens; and environmental tobacco smoke. These chemicals are toxins that find their way into the body through pollution or consumer products. Exposure was measured through blood and urine samples of a group of volunteers. The report found positive results for at least eighty-nine chemicals. [Daily News Archives]

These toxins accumulate in our body tissues over time and this accumulation is now believed to be the heart of modern day disease. Columbia University’s School of Public Health reported that 95% of all cancer is caused by diet and environment, referring to the slow accumulation or stockpiling of chemicals over decades, leading to disease. Read that sentence again…and remember, this accumulation begins in the womb. [Summarized from Mercola.com]

While you can’t remove all toxins from your body, you can trust your body to do what it was created to do when working at its optimum level; clean itself. It is made to process and remove a certain amount of poison.

So, let’s look at the “Toxic Top Ten” found in “Maximized Living Makeover” by Dr. Ben Lerner, Dr. Greg Loman, and Dr. Charles Majors.

1.Household Cleaning Products; dishwashing detergents, oven cleaners, laundry detergents, floor and furniture polishes, air fresheners, hard-surface cleaners (esp. kitchen cleaners), antibacterial cleaners and soaps, dry cleaning, carpet and upholstery cleaners, toilet bowl cleaners. Solution: Use natural cleaning products.

2.Pesticides and Herbicides. Solution: Buy organic bug and weed-killing products.

3.Steroids, Growth Hormones and Antibiotics (found in dairy products, chicken, beef and pork). Solution: Buy raw milk products, organic free-range chicken and grass-fed beef. Avoid pork.

4.Preservatives, Additives, Colorings, Hydrogenated Oils, Rancid Fats, an Others…found in refined, fast, fried and packaged foods. These include excito-toxins (neurotoxins) like MSG (monosodium glutamate), aspartame and other artificial sweeteners, and hydrolyzed vegetable protein. Solution: Read labels and avoid products containing these chemicals.

5.Teflon Cookware. Solution: Buy stainless steel cookware. Use extra virgin olive oil at low to moderate heats and coconut oil at high heats to reduce sticking.

6.Tap Water. Full of heavy metals, contaminants and other toxins. Solution: Drink purified water.

7.Personal Care Products: soaps, conditioners, shampoos, toothpaste containing toxic ingredients like Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS), DEA, Propylene, Glycol, and fluoride. Solution: Use natural products that do not contain these chemicals.

8.Heavy Metals: Mercury found in vaccinations, flue shots, silver (amalgam) fillings and fish. Also lead and aluminum found in old paints, toys and kitchenware. Solution: Educate yourself on the ingredients and contents of these items and make informed decisions about whether to use them.

9.Biotoxins: Mold is the most common infiltrator in our homes. Solution: These require specialized testing from natural physicians that work specifically in this area.

10.Medicine: The purpose of these unstable chemicals is to radically alter body function and change physiology. They are so toxic that it is a fact that medicine without a side effect isn’t a medicine. Solution: Work with your doctors to take as few medications as possible, if any.