Five Foods that Feed Cancer

Some foods can speed you to your grave. Rather than promote health and healing, some foods are known to feed cancer more than they feed you.

Soda

Sodas are known to be bad for you, but did you know they can cause cancer? Sodas are loaded with sugar, artificial flavors, artificial colors, and preservatives as well as other chemicals. Caramel coloring agents are added to the drinks to give it that brown color. This process can produce a possible carcinogen called 4-methylimidazole. Surprisingly enough, the FDA has yet to limit the amount of this chemical byproduct allowed in sodas. Researchers have found that just drinking one can of soda a day raises the risk of cancer and this affects between 44% and 58% of all Americans.

Processed Meat

Processed meats that include artificial preservatives, flavorings, and colors include bacon, sausage, hot dogs, salami, beef jerky, ham, canned meats, and meat-based sauces. The WHO found that daily consumption of 50g of processed meat results in an 18% increase in the risk of colorectal cancer. This is roughly equal to eating about 2 pieces of bacon a day. While this is not much, and eating processed meats does not directly translate into getting cancer, frequently eating large amounts of it does increase your risk. In order to lower your risk, it is better to avoid this type of meat. If you choose to eat lunchmeat, choose the brands that do not include nitrates, nitrites, and other chemicals.

Sugar

Sugar is highly processed and stripped of minerals. As a result, it is very acidic. An acidic pH benefits cancer growth. But sugar does more. It impairs the immune system and directly feeds cancer cells and tumors.

GMO’s

There are now many animal studies that show long-term consumption of GMOs to be harmful. A variety of deleterious effects have been documented: kidney damage, liver damage, infertility, reduced birth weight, birth defects, and cancer. GMOs also damage gut health, feed cancer, and lead to other illnesses.

Artificial Flavors, Colors, Sweeteners, Preservatives, and MSG

If you’re thinking of trading in the sugar laden soda for the zero calorie stuff, you may want to reconsider. Food-like products, that aren’t really food at all do more damage to the body and even promote more cancer growth than sugar and other junk food. Anything artificial is bad news for the body’s overall function, and this can be disastrous when battling cancer. For instance, MSG is a neurotoxin; it kills brain cells. In addition, all of these food-like products dramatically disrupt the function of the beneficial bacteria in our gut. If we eat processed foods filled with artificial ingredients, we are giving cancerous cells a chance to prosper.

Many chemicals are known to cause cancer, so it should not surprise us to find chemical laden food causes cancer – in more ways than one. Cancer doesn’t just happen due to some bodily malfunction. In order for cancer to progress to the point that it poses a threat, something is horribly wrong. More often than not, environmental toxins, usually from one’s diet, have caused imbalances in the body that have enabled cancer to grow. If you’re facing cancer or any other serious disease choose food wisely. If it’s not real food, don’t eat it.

For anyone who’s sick, whether it be cancer or almost any other disease, the first steps to eliminating disease are to fix the diet and heal the gut. Check out 80% Raw Food Diet and Gluten, Candida, Leaky Gut Syndrome, and Autoimmune Diseases.

Recommended Reading:
Sources:


Wild Caught? Maybe Not – Salmon Sold to You May Have Been Farm-Raised

The wild caught salmon sold to you in restaurants and grocery stores may have been farm-raised. Unfortunately, the results of a new study suggest that unless you catch it yourself, you can’t be sure it wasn’t farm raised.

Using DNA testing techniques, the non-profit ocean conservation group Oceana examined numerous samples of fish being sold as wild caught salmon both from restaurant menus and grocery stores. Of the restaurant samples, 2/3 of the “wild-caught” salmon was farm raised. Retail salmon fared better, with one out of five incorrectly labeled. The study also revealed instances of chum salmon being sold as king salmon and rainbow trout sold as wild salmon.

A startling 43% of the salmon tested, collected in New York, Washington, Chicago and Virginia from upscale and takeout restaurants and from various neighborhood and chain groceries, was mislabeled. The most common deception was Atlantic salmon being sold as wild salmon.

These Scientists Say We Need to do Something About It

The researchers authoring the study recommend that new policies be implemented to protect both the public and fishermen from mislabeling.

“Our results are consistent and wide enough to know that this is a problem that can occur anyplace, anytime, with any type of seafood,” said Kimberly Warner, a senior scientist at Oceana.

Oceana definitely knows what they are talking about. From 2010 to 2012 they conducted an extensive seafood fraud investigation, collecting more than 1,200 seafood samples from 674 retail outlets in 21 states. The objective was to determine if the seafood was honestly labeled. DNA testing found that a full one 1/3 of the 1,215 samples analyzed were mislabeled.

In that earlier investigation, seafood sold as snapper and tuna had the highest chance of being mislabeled. The majority of the samples identified by DNA analysis were not consistent with the labeling. In fact, only seven of the 120 samples of red snapper purchased nationwide were actually red snapper. The other 113 samples were another fish.

Accuracy in Labeling Also Depends on the Time of Year

The current study revealed that the time of year was a big factor in whether or not a restaurant would sell mislabeled salmon. During the winter months, fresh wild salmon is less available, creating a motive to substitute readily available, farmed salmon. The researchers found that large chain groceries were less likely than small grocers to offer mislabeled salmon to the public.

The authors of the study have a few suggestions for consumers looking to protect themselves from purchasing the wrong types of salmon. They suggest consumers ask their sellers about their seafood’s exact point of origin, its species, and whether or not the merchandise was fresh or previously frozen.

Salmon can travel halfway across the world and back before we get a chance to eat it. For instance in 2013, U.S. fisheries exported roughly 85,000 metric tons of salmon to China while importing 37,000 metric tons of salmon from China. Much of this import was the same fish that was shipped to China for processing.

To cut down on salmon mislabeling, the report’s authors are calling for comprehensive tracking of all seafood sold in this country from catch to point of sale.

What’s Wrong With Farm Raised Fish?

The first and obvious difference between farm raised and wild caught salmon is the cost. You are being overcharged if you are paying the price for wild caught salmon and not getting what you paid for. But there are other issues at stake. First there is taste, and secondly there are health concerns associated with farm raised fish and shrimp. Pathogens, contamination, and GMO feed are serious quality issues with fish and shrimp being raised in an unnatural and crowded environment. The virulent diseases spread through the salmon farms are suspected to have spread to the wild, severely impacting the wild salmon population. Factory farming raises unhealthy animals, and fish farms are nothing more than factory farms for fish. Stick to wild caught fish – if you can find a trusted source.

Sources:


New Study Shows Pumping Iron Might Make You Smarter

Everybody knows that exercise is good for the whole body, and is an integral part of total wellness. Some studies have examined how exercise affects the brain, cognition, and even mental health, though they often focus on cardio. For the first time, scientists are taking a closer look at what happens to the brain when people embark on a weight lifting or resistance training regimen. Though more studies will need to be conducted, the preliminary results suggest more people should be headed to the gym if they want to beef up their brains.

Our Brains are Plastic and Malleable

The human body is absolutely remarkable, and when given the nutrients it needs, it runs efficiently. It fights infections, manages toxins, and even repairs the damage we subject it to. The brain does this, too, and continually sheds and adds connections and neurons throughout the course of our lives. This type of adaptability is why some people recover from strokes or brain injuries particularly well. When one pathway stops working, another will open up, and information continues to flow freely.  Generally speaking, a person who lives a healthy life and provides the brain with healthy nutrients while limiting toxins and avoiding damage, has a higher chance of recovery from a serious incident.

Unfortunately, the Brain’s Ability to Repair Itself Tends to Decline with Age

By late middle age, most people start to notice the effects of age on their bodies. Vision starts to fade, the skin loses some elasticity, and fine lines begin to form. One symptom people can’t see, however, are age-related brain lesions within the white matter. In more youthful years, these lesions or holes would likely repair themselves, but with age, they often widen or multiply. The white matter is responsible for passing messages from one section of the brain to another, so as damage progresses, memory begins to fade. While the presence of lesions does not necessarily mean that cognition has declined, studies have shown that those who have more lesions have less mental dexterity.

Previous Studies Have Shown  Aerobic Exercise Slows Cognitive Loss

Research has shown cognitive loss can often be prevented or at least slowed. Prior studies have shown that people who exercise regularly have fewer lesions, and those who begin an exercise routine can actually slow down the formation of new lesions. Professor Teresa Liu-Ambrose of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver likens the brain to muscles. Both tend to shrink with age, but if a person uses them, they will stay stronger.

People often notice the change in gait that comes with age, which is usually attributed to a loss of muscle mass. After all, it’s difficult to walk smoothly and steadily when muscles begin to shrivel. However, scientists have now discovered that there’s a link between gait and white matter lesions. Whether the loss of steadiness leads to a decline in brain health or both are symptoms of the same cause remains unclear. In any case, both cognitive ability and gait are improved with aerobic exercise.

The New Study Indicates that Resistance Training Helps Maintain Brain Health

Professor Liu-Ambrose hypothesized that if aerobics can help maintain brain health, perhaps weight lifting can, too. She gathered together a group of women between the age of 65 and 75 who already had lesions in their white matter. With the assistance of nursing care, each participant’s speed and gait were measured. A control group was instructed to engage in balance training and stretching. The rest worked both the upper and lower body with light weight training. Half of the weight training group worked out once a week; half worked out twice a week.  After a year, gait and speed were measured again, and another brain scan was performed. The control group experienced an all-around decline and developed more lesions. Weekly weight training participants also declined and developed more lesions. However, those who hit the gym twice each week developed fewer lesions. Their speed and gait was better than those in the other groups, too.

More research still needs to be done to see how much improvement can come from lifting weights. It’s possible that additional time at the gym can produce more dramatic results, though benefits might cap off at two visits per week.

Recommended Reading:


How are Ayurvedic Oils Healthy for Your Skin?

Ayurveda is the oldest science for healing and improving health using plant fats and essential oils that provide nourishment and rejuvenation to the body, mind, and spirit.

The following benefits of Ayurvedic oils make them an effective skin care regimen.

Ayurvedic Oils Create Good Vibrations in the Body

As per the wisdom of classical Ayurveda, natural plant-based oils have high vibrational frequencies, which are much needed for the skin to thrive. Ayurveda says that the human body is electrical and requires natural fats and oils to work at its optimal vibrational levels.

Everything in the universe works at a specific frequency and even the essential oils vibrate at a high frequency.

For example, therapeutic-grade rose essential oil has an average frequency of 320 MHz, and lavender has an average frequency of 118 MHz, whereas fresh produce vibrates at 15 MHz and fresh herbs between 20-27 MHz.

Human beings also have their own electromagnetic frequencies. If you consider the frequency of a healthy person then you will find it to be between 62 and 78 MHz. Using high-frequency ingredients like essential oils for our skin care helps the body achieve its optimal vibration.

Skin and plants contain high levels of prana and using them together can help to increase the skin’s frequency.

According to Ayurveda, dead or tamasic food such as canned or processed items have zero prana levels, which means they possess no measurable vibrational frequency. Therefore, they aren’t beneficial to our body in any way.

If one understands the way frequency works in the universe, one can easily heal and prevent diseases and using these high energy oils from plant extracts that raise the vibrational frequency of the body and improve our overall health.

Perfect Superfoods for Skin

Our digestive system is capable of preventing chemicals or synthetic additives from mixing with our bloodstream and cells. But when we apply chemicals directly on our skin, they are absorbed into our blood, organs, tissues, and cells without any filtrations. This excess dead waste can get accumulated in the liver and lead to health problems in the future.

If we understand the need of our skin and importance of fatty acids for it, we would never apply chemical-laden products on our skin and use only plant-based oils containing antioxidants, omega-3 fats, vitamins, minerals, and living enzymes.

Feeding your skin with a good amount of fatty acids helps to improve the health of skin cells and makes the skin look radiant, supple, and rejuvenated.

Immunity Booster

Essential oils are laden with natural antiviral, antibacterial, and antifungal properties, which guard the skin against invading organisms and infections. Essential oils have the power to remove toxins from the body and their aromatic therapeutic properties help to calm the nervous system and help the body to cope up with stress and rejuvenate. Moreover, a relaxed nervous system can help the cells to repair themselves.

Your skin has the capacity to heal itself regardless of whatever it has been exposed to in the past because skin cells regenerate every 40 days. This allows exposed cells to heal.

Nourishing your skin with Ayurvedic oils improves health and helps your body and mind to heal quickly. Plants are full of life and possess natural properties that can help your skin to thrive, glow, and vibrate with health. So, start using them today.

Recommended Reading:
Sources:


Five Vegan Drinks To Try This Winter

We’re a world of coffee lovers aren’t we? The coffee culture is strong and for many of us our day hasn’t started unless we’ve grabbed our favourite hot beverage from our local Starbucks. The caffeine kick is one that can’t always be denied and a morning coffee is a solid addition to many a morning routine.

Sometimes it’s easy to forget about the calorie content of a drink. We think of it as a liquid and therefore don’t always associate it with its devilish side effects. A hot chocolate from a coffee chain can have as many as 400 calories in it. Pretty shocking right? You might as well just chomp into a bar of chocolate.

And then there’s the extra cost.  In the long run, you could save yourself around £500 (about 750 American dollars) per year just by cutting your coffee shop habits. So how can you save calories, save cash, and still enjoy a delicious hot drink to start your day?

There are plenty of healthier alternatives that will not only cost you less but also save on calories, increase your health, and battle against the dreaded winter cold. So without further ado, here are the best vegan friendly drinks to give a try this winter:

Simple Ginger Tea

There are some amazing benefits from consuming ginger, including anti-inflammatory properties, nausea reduction, and increased circulation.

Add 2-3cm of fresh root ginger to a mug of warm water for added warmth, and be sure to drop in a stick of cinnamon for an extra kick! It’s a quick and easy festive drink that is low in calories.

Honey Lemon Warmer

This one is especially handy if you’re trying to recover from a sore throat or head off a winter cold. Honey has many amazing health-enhancing benefits. It’s great for soothing a sore throat while giving your immune system a boost. This is particularly handy at this time of the year when colds are spreading like wildfire.

You might be concerned about the sugar levels of honey, but don’t be too worried. These natural sugars won’t harm you in small doses. Add 1-2 teaspoons of organic honey (depending on your sweet tooth) to a mug of warm water, and add a few slices of fresh lemon for an added zing

A Nutty Treat

One of my personal favourites is a gorgeous nutty winter warmer! Simply heat a mug of almond milk and add a drizzle of date syrup for a gorgeous toffee-like taste. This drink comes closest to rivaling drinks from the coffee chains, and it’s low in fat too! If you do want to add a naughty twist (we all deserve a treat now and again after all) grate your favourite vegan chocolate to finish it off. Yum!

Pumpkin Spice Latte

Okay. So Halloween may be over, but who can resist a pumpkin spice latte over winter time? It’s a definite favourite amongst the coffee lovers of the world. Why should vegans have to miss out? Simply add two tablespoons of pumpkin puree to your morning cup of coffee along with two tablespoons of almond (or coconut) milk, a drizzle of vanilla extract, and any fancy toppings you wish to include! My favourite is cinnamon, but you could also add vegan whipped cream or maple syrup.

Cranberry Cider

Combine cranberry juice (the proper stuff) with apple cider in a saucepan and heat, stir in 1-2 teaspoons of brown sugar and add flavourings of your choice. Popular flavours include cinnamon or ginger for additional warmth and a slight kick, adjust the amount of flavouring to your taste. To make it even more festive, add some sliced orange and a Christmas themed mug!

Will you be cutting down on the coffee chain purchases this winter in favour of your own, healthier homemade recipes? I’d love to hear about more vegan drink recipes to try!

Recommended Reading:


Foods that Fight Cancer

Everyone has heard the phrase, “You are what you eat,” but did you know that you can combat and prevent cancer through healthy food choices? The number one thing to focus on when trying to create a cancer-fighting diet is to follow a diet that includes at least 80% raw, fresh, organic fruits and vegetables. Many pesticides are known carcinogens. The best way to lower your exposure to pesticides in your food is to buy organic. Raw produce is key in any cancer-fighting diet. Eating a variety of raw organic produce is the optimal way to access all the key nutrients your body needs to stay healthy, heal, and if need be to fight cancer. Here’s a short list of some of the top foods that are known to help fight cancer in the body.

Dark Green, Leafy Vegetables

Leafy greens are the basis for every great salad. They also contain high levels of important vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients. While iceberg lettuce may be the most widely used salad vegetable, it is almost completely empty of nutrition and it tastes very bland. Better choices that not only taste better but also are nutrient dense include spinach, collard greens, turnip greens, mustard greens, arugula, Swiss chard, and kale. These powerhouse vegetables are high in carotenoids, fiber, folate, vitamin K, and vitamin C. Carotenoids have been shown to slow the growth of certain types of cancer including breast, lung, stomach, and skin cancer. There are many other nutrients in leafy greens, and many of them act as antioxidants and help to remove free radicals from the body before they can do much harm. Leafy greens are vital to a healthy diet.

Berries

Berries are a versatile powerhouse source of nutrition. While popular varieties include blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, cranberries, cherries, and blackberries, less well-known varieties such as acai, bilberry, and elderberry are also great sources of cancer-fighting nutrients. These deeply colored fruits have high levels of antioxidants including anthocyanins and other flavonoids. These antioxidants work to remove free radicals from the body, making them important in fighting cancer. Berries also have anti-inflammatory properties, which can help the body heal itself.

Tomatoes

Tomatoes are probably one of the better-known types of food that fight cancer, but many people do not understand why. Tomatoes are high in lycopene, which helps protect the body’s DNA from cancer-causing damage. Cooking tomatoes makes the lycopene more readily available to the body. Tomatoes are also high in alpha-tomatine, a phytonutrient that has been shown to hinder growth of cancer cells as well as kill fully formed cancer cells. Everyone should eat tomatoes, raw and cooked.

Cruciferous Vegetables

Some popular cruciferous vegetables include broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, and cabbage. These vegetables are high in sulfur-containing compounds called glucosinolates. These phytonutrients help the body remove carcinogenic compounds before they damage the body’s DNA and they help repair damaged cells. The benefits of these compounds are accessed when the vegetables are chopped up and the glucosinolates are broken down by enzymes called myrosinase. These vegetables are also high in fiber.

Watermelon

Watermelons are a powerhouse source of important cancer-fighting nutrients. Higher than tomatoes in lycopene by 40%, they also have high levels of beta-carotene, fiber, vitamin C, and citrulline. The lycopene in watermelon is readily bio-available. Watermelon’s antioxidants remove free radicals from the body and protect DNA from damage. It helps hydrate the body and is very alkaline, which can help detoxify the body and prevent cancer. Many nutritionists believe watermelon to be both a fruit and a vegetable.

Conclusion

We all have cancer cells in our bodies, every day, all the time. The state of our health determines whether we “get cancer.” Beating cancer is something we can do every time we eat, depending on what we eat. Most of us have had friends or family who have died of cancer, and all of us can think of better ways of passing away than being slowly consumed by abnormal cells.

Almost all produce kills cancer in some way. Raw, fresh, organic (ideally home grown) produce creates the healthiest gut flora, provides enzymes to reduce aging and repair injuries, and heals the body from the inside out. The most important aspect of any natural health protocol is diet. The first step to reversing diseases like cancer is to repair the gut.

Recommended Reading:
Sources:


Hear No Evil, See No Evil – Chantix, Drug Advertising, and the FDA

In 1997, the FDA decided to relax the guidelines pertaining to televised pharmaceutical ads. In the following years, direct-to-consumer ads took off from a $12 million dollar business to a $4.1 billion dollar business by 2006. In 2011, it was estimated that 1 billion per year was being spent.

The amount of money spent is a boon to the television stations and one of the reasons mainstream news media often buries news that is unfavorable to pharmaceutical companies. They don’t want to bite the hand that feeds them.

Aside from obvious corruption, the naiveté of the American people regarding pharmaceutical companies is astounding. Although some reports of the pharmaceutical companies’ flagrant disregard for human lives are publicized and stories of them being fined billions of dollars for civil and criminal activities should concern us, somehow we don’t connect the dots. The same company that may have been fined billions for corruption regarding another drug also makes vaccines, but we are told vaccines are safe and, therefore, believe what we want to hear.

Even when whistleblowers come forward to reveal that their company falsified claims that their vaccine worked and even falsified lab work to back up their claims, and the government decides to prosecute, the majority of Americans still believes pharmaceutical companies to be benign – to be the good guys! And worse yet, Americans believe the FDA holds its citizens in a sacred trust – that the FDA looks out for us. This belief is so ingrained we can’t even read an insert or hear a frightening list of possible side effects to a drug and weigh the possible consequences. Somehow we hear only what we want to hear.

Chantix claims to be the number one best selling drug to stop smoking. This is the script to one of their television commercials.

Chantix Ad

Testimonial: My name is Louis and I quit smoking with Chantix. I tried to do it in the past and I wasn’t successful. Quitting smoking this time was different because I talked to my doctor, and I – I got a prescription for Chantix.

Narrative: Along with support, Chantix varenicline is proven to help people quit smoking.

Testimonial: It was important to me that Chantix was a non-nicotine pill. The fact that it reduced the urge to smoke helped me… get that confidence I could do it.

Narrative: Some people had changes in behavior, thinking, or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood, and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping CHANTIX. If you notice any of these, stop Chantix and call your doctor right away.

Tell your doctor about any history of mental health problems, which could get worse while taking CHANTIX.

Don’t take CHANTIX if you’ve had a serious allergic or skin reaction to it. If you develop these, stop Chantix and see your doctor right away as some can be life-threatening.

Tell your doctor if you have a history of heart or blood vessel problems or if you develop new or worse symptoms. Get medical help right away if you have symptoms of a heart attack or stroke.

Use caution when driving or operating machinery. Common side effects include nausea, trouble sleeping, and unusual dreams.

Testimonial: I’m very proud. I love myself as a non-smoker.

Narrative: Ask your doctor if Chantix is right for you.

So What Did You Hear?

Did you hear anything other than the fact that this drug may help smokers quit? Did you dismiss the warnings, thinking they only happen to the other guy?

Let’s break this down. The entire ad from start to finish is 242 words of which 58%, 141 words, are exclusively used for the warning. We were warned that this drug may cause the following:

  • Changes in behavior
  • Changes in thinking
  • Changes in mood
  • Hostility
  • Agitation
  • Depressed mood
  • Suicidal thoughts
  • Suicidal actions
  • Exacerbation of mental illness

All of the above can happen when you are using the drug and after you quit using it!

It also has a vague warning related to blood vessel problems, heart attacks and stroke.

It might be dangerous to operate machinery.

Allergic reactions have occurred including skin reactions, some of which can be fatal.

And then it tells you the common side effects:

  • Nausea
  • Trouble sleeping
  • Unusual Dreams

None of these side effects or warnings would be listed if trial subjects had not experienced them. We aren’t told how many went through trials. We are not told what percentage experienced these side effects. We have no idea if this drug is safe for us. All we do know for sure is that the risk ratio of how many may sue the company compared to profits from sales is favorable enough for this drug to be on the market.

So what is a good margin? How many people can die? How many might be killed by the person taking the drug? You see, even though they took up more than half of the commercial with warnings, they still didn’t cover everything! And compared to their website warning, they also watered it down a bit.

Chantix Website Warning

On the Chantix website, the warning section, titled the “Important Safety Information and Indication,” is 474 words long. It includes more warnings: drug interactions, seizures, intensified effects of alcohol, blackout episodes (amnesia), and more. The web warning also stresses the “hostility and agitation” by mentioning it twice along with stating the words “aggression and anger.” So along with many health warnings, including death, consumers may turn hostile and aggressive.

Does this mean they may abuse their spouses, children, neighbors or strangers before killing themselves? Is this a fairly clear warning that this drug may be the catalyst for a mass shooter event?

The consumer who wants to pop a pill to quit smoking probably doesn’t hear this. On the website, the only symptoms with a percentage is nausea – 30%. This alone may cause a consumer to think twice. But other warnings, life threatening and life altering warnings with no percentages will be dismissed.

It is time we look at these drugs critically and demand full information. Most of all, it is time we opened our eyes to the truth.

Recommended Reading:
Sources: