Did 10 Liters of Coca-Cola Kill New Zealand Woman?
April 23, 2012
Take Part
By Allan MacDonell
“Even though she also smoked like a fiend, 10 liters of Coke a day also played a part in her death. There is no way you could argue against that.” –KTRN
A 30-year-old New Zealand mother of eight has died. Actually, Natasha Harris of Invercargill died 26 months ago of a heart attack. Her February 2010 passing is news today because pathologist Dr. Dan Mornin has testified at an inquest to Harris’s death that she suffered from hypokalemia, or low potassium. Mornin attributed the low potassium to what he deemed excessive consumption of the syrupy carbonated beverage Coca-Cola. The pathologist further noted that toxic levels of caffeine, a go-to ingredient in Coke, may have contributed to Harris’s cardiac arrest.
Harris, the Associated Press reports, downed 8 to 10 liters (2.1 to 2.6 gallons) of Coke a day.
“The first thing she would do in the morning was to have a drink of Coke beside her bed and the last thing she would do at night was have a drink of Coke,” said Harris’s partner, Chris Hodgkinson, in a deposition. “She was addicted to Coke.”
Defenders of Coca-Cola will be quick to note that Hodgkinson is not a doctor, and his diagnosis of addiction is to some extent a layman’s hunch. Hodgkinson further noted that Harris smoked approximately 30 cigarettes per day, that she experienced blood pressure problems in the months prior to her fatal heart attack, ate very little food, and lacked energy.
Forget Sports Drinks: Coconut Water Is The Perfect Fluid To Replenish Your Body’s Electrolyte Balance After Heavy Exercise
March 8, 2012
Natural News
By Mike Adams
“If you are still drinking Gatorade, you are obviously not paying attention.” –KTRN
In most cases, the best way to restore your body’s fluids and electrolytes after exercise is simply with water and food, particularly fruit. In cases of severe exertion or illness, however, a quick electrolyte boost may be necessary. For those reluctant to consume sports drinks with all their added colors, flavors, sweeteners and preservatives, nature has provided the perfect rehydrating drink: coconut water.
Coconut water is found inside the cavity of a young, unripe coconut (in contrast with coconut milk, found inside the mature fruit). The balance of electrolytes in coconut water is nearly the same as that in the human blood — so close, in fact, that coconut water is the only natural non-blood substance that can be safely injected into the human bloodstream. Ancient peoples knew this, and sometimes used it as an emergency intravenous fluid.
Most of the time there’s no need to go to such lengths: just drink it, and you’ll be rewarded with 15 times as much potassium as a typical sports drink, along with potent antioxidants. And unlike sugary sports drinks or coconut milk, coconut water is low in calories and fat free.
Click here for the full report.
The Top 10 Best Foods For Burning Belly Fat
March 7, 2012
Natural News
By Aurora Geib
“Who wouldn’t want to burn some belly fat? Here are some foods that can help you shed the pounds. If only donuts were on this list.” –KTRN
1. Apples – There is wisdom to the saying, an apple a day keeps the doctor away. In a Brazilian weight study, subjects who ate three apples a day while dieting lost more weight than those who didn’t. This fruit contains pectin, a compound that is known to inhibit colon cancer. Apples are packed with nutrients and are a rich source of vitamin C, beta-carotene, dietary fiber, phytosterol, flavonoids, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals.
2. Watermelons – In a study conducted by the University of Kentucky, watermelon was found to have a significant effect on artery plaque deposition because it altered blood lipids and lowered the risk of developing belly fat. The researchers in the study observed that animal subjects in the experiment who had diet-induced high cholesterol were given a supplement of watermelon juice while another group was given a typical diet with water. Eight weeks later, the animals given watermelon juice had lower body weight than those who were just given water. It appeared that there was no decrease in muscle mass and the weight loss was due to abdominal fat loss.
3. Tomatoes – A large tomato contains only around 33 calories. Moreover, a recent study identified a compound extracted specifically from the fruit called 9-oxo-octadecadienoic (9-oxo-ODA) which was shown to influence the amount of blood lipids in circulation.
According to Dr. Teruo Kawada, the study leader, “finding a compound which helps the prevention of obesity-related chronic diseases in food stuff is a great advantage to tackling these diseases, and tomato allows people to manage the onset of dyslipedemia through their daily diet.” According to Wikipedia, Dyslipedemia is a condition where there is too much lipid in the blood. This normally caused by diet and lifestyle.
4. Bananas – This is a fruit you can enjoy as a nutritious snack without ever worrying about gaining weight. Like apples, it contains a fiber called pectin that is known to inhibit colon cancer. It also contains vitamin A, C, E, B6 as well as potassium, calcium and magnesium. Bananas, depending upon the size, contain calories between 75 calories to 135 calories only.
5. Seafood – Seafood, when included in the diet, could result in a slimmer waist and better health. For those enjoying excellent health and ideal body weight, having seafood on a regular basis may even prevent possible future poor health and weight gain. Studies have shown that seafood has been found to contain monounsaturated fat (MUFA). Studies have also shown that having a regular diet with foods containing MUFA can prevent belly fat.
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National Peanut Butter Day! 5 Reasons Why The Comfort Food Is Healthy, Too
January 25, 2012
Huffington Post
By HP
“Who new there was a national peanut butter day. Wonder is Congress took a vote and made this into law? Either way, peanut butter rocks. Almond butter is probably better, but have you have tried it? It’s not nearly as tasty.” –KTRN
If you didn’t know, today is National Peanut Butter Day. So we thought we’d take a moment to honor the humble spread, not only for its role in our childhoods and its deliciously rich taste, but also for its nutritional power. Sure, the stuff is yummy, but did you know that peanut butter can also play a role in preventing everything from heart disease to Alzheimer’s?
Keep in mind that all-natural peanut butter without added ingredients is the healthy option — many brands include added sugar. And, as with all good things, everything in moderation: a spoonful may be healthy, but a whole jar is certainly not.
Here are some top health properties for peanut butter:
It’s Heart Healthy
Yes, peanut butter has saturated fat and some sodium, but that doesn’t automatically disqualify it as a good-for-you treat. As nutrition expert Dr. Walter C. Willett wrote in the Havard Heart Letter, one serving of peanut butter (about two tablespoons) contains 3.3 grams of saturated fat, but a whopping 12.3 grams of unsaturated fat. That ratio of about 80 percent unsaturated fat is akin to olive oil, a known heart booster. Explained Willet:
The body’s response to saturated fat in food is to increase the amounts of both harmful LDL and protective HDL in circulation. In moderation, some saturated fat is okay. Eating a lot of it, though, promotes artery-clogging atherosclerosis, the process that underlies most cardiovascular disease. In contrast, unsaturated fats, which make up the majority of the fat content in peanut butter, help reduce LDL cholesterol and lower the risk of heart disease.
It’s High In Potassium, The ‘Good’ Salt
A high-sodium diet is associated with high blood pressure, stroke and a host of other conditions, but a high-potassium diet can actually reduce risk of heart disease and improve health. One 2010 study even found that eating just 4.7 grams of potassium had the same health benefit as cutting out 4 grams of sodium. (Of course eating enough peanut butter to reach 4.7 grams of potassium would be excessive, but try combining it with a banana, for a double punch.)
Click here for the full report.
The International Salt Secret That Could Save Your Heart – and Your Life
November 16, 2011
Townsend Letter
By Jonathan V. Wright, MD
The Miracle That Could Have Saved 353,000 Americans in One Year!
According to the American Heart Association: “Coronary heart disease caused 445,687 deaths in 2005 and is the single leading cause of death in America today.”2 If this 2005 death rate could have been reduced by 60%, 267,412 of our friends, neighbors, and family members would still be with us. Also according to the American Heart Association: “Stroke killed 143,579 people in 2005. It’s the third largest cause of death, ranking behind diseases of the heart and all forms of cancer. Stroke is a leading cause of serious, long-term disability in the United States.”3 A 60% reduction in deaths from stroke would cut 143,579 deaths to 57,432 – still too many, but very significantly less.
The International Salt Secret That Could Save Your Heart – and Your Life
Can you imagine deaths from stroke and heart disease plummeting by 60% throughout an entire country? It would be a “public health” dream! And, yet, it’s absolutely for real … Just not here in these United States. At least, not yet.
So where did this remarkable decrease in deaths from heart disease and stroke occur? Botswana? Kyrgyzstan? Some other obscure “third world” country? No. It happened in a major industrialized European country – Finland.1
So why hasn’t this amazing “public health” feat been publicized? Well, if I had to guess, I’d say it’s because the amazing improvement had very little to do with any sort of patent medication. In fact, 85% to 90% of this dramatic reduction in deaths is due entirely to simple diet changes – reduction of saturated/unsaturated fat ratio and, according to the study on this phenomenon, a nationwide “… replacement of common salt by a novel sodium-reduced, potassium-, magnesium-, and l-lysine HCI-enriched salt, both in home kitchens and in the food industry.”
According to this same 1996 report: “Adherence to anti-hypertensive drug therapy has been quite good. However, the drug treatment does not seem to account for more than 5-6 percent of the observed fall of blood pressure, and 10-15 percent of the decrease in deaths from strokes and ischaemic heart disease.” The report went on to note that during the same time period “… marked increases in the intake of alcohol, obesity among men, and smoking among women have been observed.”
Wow! While male obesity, female smoking, and alcohol intake all increased to a “marked” degree, the death rate from heart disease and stroke still declined by 60% – and only 10%–15% of the over-all decline could be attributed in any way to patent medicines. If that situation were reversed, and patent medications were responsible for such a positive change, you can bet we’d be overrun with publicity about how they “save lives.”
So maybe the lack of attention this breakthrough received means that it was a fluke. After all, the study was published in 1996 – the situation must have changed for the worse again … and that’s why we haven’t heard about it, right?
Well, I’m very happy to tell you that’s not the case! Not only has this decrease in the death rate from stroke and heart disease continued, the situation has gotten even better!
According to a follow-up study published in 2006, there has been “… a 75 to 80 percent decrease in both stroke and coronary heart disease mortality in Finland.” And by 2006, there was an increase in life expectancy of both male and female Finns of six to seven years.
Click here for the full report.
Raw Foods Fight Pain
November 14, 2011
Natural News
By Michelle Bosmier
“Instead of reaching for ibuprofen for your pain, try some raw food. What have you got to lose? Is your headache really that bad to begin with?” –KTRN
Sometimes you’ve exercised too much and your muscles hurt. Sometimes, you’ve got a terrible headache – perhaps you’ve slept too much, or too little? And sometimes, you’re tired, weary, and desperately in need to rest your sore, tired body after a long day. Pain is something we cannot avoid, no matter how healthy our diets and lifestyles are. But that doesn’t mean that pain should be lived with – research shows that there are some everyday foods that work like a charm to ease pain and replenish our systems.
Let’s start with bananas… if you have cramps, then this is the fruit for you. Cramping is usually the result of an imbalance in the body’s potassium supply. Because bananas are potassium-rich, including as little as one banana in your diet a day can help to replenish your daily needs and reduce cramping.
Ease arthritis and joint-pains with a few dashes of cinnamon. Researchers from the Nanjing University in China have discovered that cinnamon is highly effective in reducing inflammation, and also uric acid – the prime culprit for arthritis flare-ups.
Spice it up with Ginger and Turmeric. These two glorious spices have the same analgesic properties as aspirin or ibuprofen – without savagely attacking your stomach line or putting too much pressure on your kidney functions. On the contrary… both ginger and turmeric’s analgesic properties are amongst many of their favorable health benefits: the most important being that they will actually protect your digestive system, from oral to renal.
Get rid of that headache with a handful of cherries. Researchers from Michigan State University say that eating around twenty of these delightfully sweet little fruits will ease a headache. What’s more is that cherries have been discovered to ease muscular pain after a bout of weight-training.
Click here for the full report from Natural News.
Six Amazing Facts You Need To Know About Sweet Potatos
November 14, 2011
Natural News
By: Tara Green
One of the most nutritious foods on the traditional Thanksgiving menu is the sweet potato. These orange-skinned root vegetables offer a host of health benefits (especially when cooked without the unnecessary sugar and marshmallows). If you want to raise health consciousness around the dinner table this holiday season, try throwing some of these six sweet potato facts into the conversation:
1. High nutritional value
A 7-ounce (1 cup) serving of sweet potatoes contains 65% of the minimum necessary daily amount of Vitamin C. Sweet potatoes are also high in calcium, folate, potassium and beta-carotene. Beta-carotene is an antioxidant which converts to Vitamin A in the body: one serving of sweet potatoes can provide you with as much as 700% of the US RDA for Vitamin A. The Center for Science in the Public Interest rates sweet potatoes as the number one most nutritious vegetable because they such are so nutritionally rich.
2. Low glycemic index
If you are unfamiliar with this term, the glycemic index indicates the impact a food substance has on blood sugar levels. A high glycemic index means blood sugar levels can spike. Diabetes and others who monitor their blood sugar levels seek to avoid foods with a high glycemic index or load. Sweet potatoes have a glycemic load of only 17. (By way of comparison, a white potato has an index of 29.)
3. Accessing sweet potatoes’ nutritional benefits is easy
To gain the maximum health benefits from eating sweet potatoes, avoid discarding their skins — much of their healing potential resides in this portion of the tubers. Also, following the common dieters’ fallacy of avoiding all fats reduces your ability to access sweet potatoes’ benefits: beta-carotene absorbs more thoroughly into the body when consumed with a small amount of fat. Recent research seems to indicate that steaming or boiling sweet potatoes rather than roasting them helps preserve their low glycemic index.
Click here for the full report.
Kelp – Find Health In This Sea Vegetable Powerhouse
November 7, 2011
Natural News
by: Dr. David Jockers
Kelp is a group of large sea algae that is commonly referred to as seaweed. This amazing plant species has been used for many years by sea dwelling cultures. It is renowned for its powerful nutritional benefits.
Kelp is part of the brown algae family in the order of Laminariales. There are about 30 different genera of this form. In the 19th century, the word “kelp” was used to describe seaweeds that were burned to form soda ash (sodium carbonate).
Kelp grows in shallow, underwater oceanic forests. It depends on cool temperatures between 43-57 degrees F (6-14 degrees C). Some kelp species grow well over a foot a day and can reach heights of 250 ft. These kelp species are easily harvested due to their surface canopy and underwater growth rate.
Kelp is extraordinarily rich in alkaline buffering nutrients such as sodium, potassium, magnesium and calcium. It is also a phenomenal source of chlorophyll to boost blood cell formation and purify the body.
Powerful Source of Iodine
Kelp is considered the world’s most potent source of naturally occurring iodine. Some species have been known to concentrate iodine by up to 30,000 times the amount in sea water. Iodine deficiencies are becoming increasingly common throughout the world. The areas with the least amount of iodine deficiencies are typically coastal regions where seaweed is readily available. Iodine deficiencies are known to cause hypothyroidism and goiter formation. Kelp has been used for many years as a remedy for these problems.
The Japanese call several Pacific species of kelp Kombu. These cultures use Kombu in many traditional dishes such as soups, stews & sushi. Kombu is a powerful source of natural glutamic acid, which is a precursor to the body’s master anti-oxidant glutathione. Kombu is often used to soften beans during cooking and to help convert challenging sugars into a more digestible form, thus reducing flatulence.
Sea vegetables like kelp are also a great source of the mineral vanadium. Vanadium helps form the haloperoxidase enzymes that help provide a natural antioxidant defense, which has allowed these sea vegetables to flourish.
Vanadium is a critical trace mineral that enhances insulin signaling and blood sugar balance by inhibiting the tyrosine phosphatase enzyme. This process also reduces glucose formation and enhances the body’s ability to store sugar in the form of muscle and liver glycogen. This is an important adaptation that helps the body withstand stress more effectively.
Click here for the full report from Natural News.
New Research Says Increasing Salt Decreases Heart Attacks
October 20, 2011
The Great Fitness Experiment
By Charlotte Hilton Andersen
Pop quiz time! Salt: life-giving nutrient or heart attack in a ceramic shaker? If you grew up like I did then you probably think of salt as a no-no for a healthy lifestyle but research is now saying that not only does salt not cause heart attacks like we’ve all been told for the past 20 years, but that slashing salt intake increases incidence of cardiovascular death. Surprised? You shouldn’t be – this ”new” research that’s been making headlines over the past few weeks is based on studies over 20 years old. And yet one of the first things people generally do when they’re trying to get healthy is cut back on sodium. Whole diet programs are based almost solely around this one principle.
Me being me, I took this advice to heart and removed almost all salt from diet several years ago. I never added even a smidgen of salt to foods and if a recipe called for it I just omitted it (yet another reason my cookies turned out like turds?). My self righteousness knew no bounds as I handed the salt shaker back to the waiter telling him we wouldn’t be needing that murderous mineral at our table.
So imagine my surprise when during my Great Over-Exercising Debacle Where I Suppressed My Thyroid, Gained Ten Pounds and Lost My Freaking Mind one of the first things my doctor told me to do was to eat more salt. Her recommendation was based on the fact I needed more iodine – a nutrient commonly added to table salt – to support my floundering thyroid but when I told her I’d cut all salt out of my diet years before, her jaw dropped. “Why would you do that?” she gasped. “You need salt!”
I should have known that salt wasn’t all evil when my infant son used to get super excited to see me after a hard workout – so he could lick the salty sweat off my shoulder and neck. Yeah, my 10-lb baby boy that I pushed out my nethers and therefore owes me big time for the rest of my life, only loved me as a salt lick. Babies may shoot poop up their backs but they’re not dumb, especially when it comes to feeding. Humans need some salt.
But like anything in nature, salt doesn’t operate in a vacuum. (When I was a kid I thought the adage was “Nature whores a vacuum” which if you’ve ever seen a Kirby Vacuum sales presentation, is kinda true.) Sodium needs to be balanced with potassium for our bodies to function properly on a cellular level. This is the idea behind those “electrolyte replacement” drinks sweaty exercisers are pushed to drink and all the banana-pimping at races (wow, could I have made that sound any worse?). Note: while bananas are a good source of potassium they’re not dietary rockstars in that nutrient. Apricots, tomato puree, raisins and figs take top honors with apricots containing more than 3 times the amount of potassium.
And yet, research still shows that salt can increase blood pressure and that some people are genetically sensitive to the white stuff. In addition, conventional medical wisdom still advises all adults to cut sodium intake. Plus salt makes you bloat and that’s the last thing we girls need. Even more confusing are all the different types of salt with their different medicinal properties and how table salt is processed into impotency. So which is it? And if we do eat salt, what kind? And how much? And isn’t it kinda gross and unhygienic to let your baby lick you after a workout?
For myself I have decided that salt has long been considered essential for humans and I’m going to eat it and not worry about limiting it in my foods. I also make sure to eat plenty of potassium as well. My only caveat is that I try to only eat salt I add myself rather than buying sodium laden processed foods. I trust my Celtic sea salt. I don’t trust that can of soup giving me the evil eye on aisle 13.
What’s your opinion on salt? Were you as surprised by these findings as I was? Anyone want to educate me on which type of salt I should be using?
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Can Potatoes Reduce Blood Pressure?
September 12th, 2011
Natural News
By: Michelle Bosmier
A new study conducted by chemistry professor Joe Vinson at the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania has revealed that spuds may be suffering from an undeserved, ill reputation as a fattening, nutritionally empty food. Although they rank high on the glycemic index, potatoes are mistakenly considered unhealthy, when they are, in fact, loaded with vital nutrients that may help fight against obesity and hypertension.
“Mention ‘potato’ and people think ‘fattening, high-carbs, empty calories’. In reality, when prepared without frying and served without butter, margarine or sour cream, one potato has only 110 calories and dozens of healthful phytochemicals and vitamins. We hope our research helps to remake the potato’s popular nutritional image,” said Vinson.
A raw potato, however, contains higher amounts of indigestible fiber, in the form of starches, and will only provide about 77 calories per 100 grams. Aside from an assortment of minerals and vitamins, such as vitamins C, B6, B1 and B3, potatoes (especially colored ones) are also high in potassium, magnesium, iron, zinc and phosphorus, as well as carotenoids and natural phenols. Surprisingly, 100 grams of raw potato can provide nearly a quarter of the daily requirement of vitamin C for an average individual.
Professor Vinson tested the health benefits of purple potatoes on a group of 18 overweight and hypertensive individuals, who were given 6 to 8 potatoes with skins, twice a day, over the period of a month. Vinson explained that he picked purple potatoes as they are especially rich in carotenoids – the plant pigments that are found in most colored vegetables, including apricots, carrots, algae and dark leafy vegetables.
Since the human body cannot synthesize carotenoids on its own, these precious phytochemicals must be obtained directly from food sources. They are involved in a wide array of metabolic processes, and most have important antioxidant activity, reducing the risk of cancers and prolonging life-span.
Vinson’s science team closely monitored the patients’ systolic and diastolic blood pressure during the trial period, and they recorded a drop of 4.3% in average diastolic pressure and of 3.5% in average systolic pressure by the end of the month. These figures are especially impressive, considering the short time-span of the trial. More notably, none of the participants involved gained any weight or reported any other negative health changes.
Professor Vinson based his hypothesis for this research on previous studies which had shown that phytochemicals in potatoes may have proprieties that rival synthetic ACE-inhibitor drugs, who are famed for their numerous adverse reactions. Vinson also believes that potatoes, along with other organic vegetables, including broccoli, spinach and Brussels sprouts, may provide an effective, natural way of managing hypertension. In addition, the professor warns against consuming fried potatoes, as high cooking temperatures destroy the precious phytochemicals in them, while leaving only the starches, saturated fat, and some minerals.
For the near future, Vinson is preparing to test the health benefits of white potatoes, which, although lacking in pigment, may also harbor unexpected health benefits.
