Doctor Scott Warner took the time out of his busy schedule to talk to us about chiropractic medicine – what it is, what it isn’t, and why he chose it as a profession.

What made you want to become a chiropractor?

The main reason is that when I started going to the chiropractor, it really changed my life. Not only did it help me with my pain, but it made me feel better, and it really helped me with my allergy and sinus problems. So at that point, I was like,  why would I want to do anything else? Chiropractic did wonderful things for me. At that point I knew I was going to be a chiropractor.

Now most people don’t think of allergies and sinuses as being related to the spine. Could you explain a little bit of why it is?

Well, the brain and the nervous system runs and controls every single thing in the body. All right, so right now it’s telling your heart how to work, your lungs, your kidneys, your stomach, everything, how to work. So it also controls the immune system and if your brain is functioning at a100% and there’s no interference with the nervous system, which is the communication between the brain and the body, then everything should function at 100%. But when the bones go out of place they put pressure on the nerves. That’s called a subluxation. Now, the brain is sending out messages at a 100% but it’s not getting there at a 100%, so a lot of times symptoms can happen. And if your nervous system and immune system aren’t functioning properly, it can make you more susceptible to having allergies and sinus problems.

How many years of schooling does it take to become a chiropractor?

In most states it requires eight years with four years of undergraduate mostly focusing on the sciences and four years of chiropractic school. In some states, it’s a more abbreviated course where you just focus completely on science and you get it done in a little less time, six and a half to seven years total.

What kind of continual training do chiropractors receive?

Every year we have to get a minimum 20 hours of continual training to keep your license active but most chiropractors get more.

What are the licensing requirements for chiropractors?

There are national boards and state boards, some of which you can take while still in school. There’s also a national board in physical therapy that chiropractors can take.

You’re a physical therapist as well?

I am nationally certified by the national board of chiropractic examiners in physical therapy.

What are the specializations or special certifications chiropractors might get?

Well, there’s a lot of things you can do. You can specialize and earn advanced training in x-ray, but they also have advanced training for neurology, children, and a lot of other things, too. But you have to go get more coursework to be able to achieve chiropractic specializations.

How does chiropractic care work? Some of our readers are not real familiar with chiropractic care.

Well, again, as a chiropractor, our job is to make sure your nervous system is functioning at 100%. So almost everybody could be checked for that. You don’t necessarily need to be in pain or have a particular ailment.

So we check spines because most doctors don’t check the spine. It’s where the brain goes into the spinal cord and through those bones in the back; that’s why they’re very important because they go out to the entire body. So as chiropractors, we’re going to be checking that your spine is in alignment and is functioning properly for the purpose of making sure there’s no nerve interference.

When you go to a chiropractor, like with most doctors, you’re going to be filling out a lot of paperwork. A lot of it is going to be talking about your previous history and also what you’re complaining of at that particular moment. So chiropractors take a very detailed history of your concerns and your individual problems, along with your family history. At that point, we’ll do very specific examinations. They might be just plain chiropractic examinations, palpations, and things like that, but we can also do orthopedic and neurological testing.

Most chiropractors utilize x-ray as well as MRIs, cat scans, surface EMGs, conduction velocity tests, so a whole lot of extensive testing can be done. At that point we’d be coming up with a proper diagnosis and treatment, specific chiropractic adjustments to realign the bones, get the joints functioning properly and to remove the nerve interference and get your body to function at 100%. In some cases physical therapeutics can also help them with pain, and some rehabilitation can help with the process as well.

Before chiropractic, our oldest son used to get chronic ear infections. Most people don’t think of the ears and the spine as being interconnected. Can you take a moment and explain how they are?

In regards to the ear infection, again our job is to make the body function at a higher level, by removing nerve interference. So a lot of different conditions like ear infections can be helped, because if we remove the interference, then the brain now can tell the body how to function at 100%, the way it is meant to function. So again if you look up a lot of ailments, you’ll find that we don’t treat any of those ailments, except by getting the pressure off the nerves, that tells the body how to work right. That’s the only thing that will tell the body how to work and the only thing that will tell the body how to heal.

How is osteopathic medicine related to chiropractic care and how is it different?

Well in 2015, it has almost nothing to do with chiropractic care, but back in the days of 80, 100 years ago they were very similar to chiropractors in the sense that they did manipulations. They did it for a different reason. We dealt more with the nervous system, they dealt more with the arterial system. But in 2015, it has almost nothing to do with chiropractic care; it’s basically very similar to medical doctors at this time. Some of them do some manipulations, but they don’t do specific chiropractic adjustments. Most are very similar to medical doctors and have very little to do with chiropractic nowadays.

If you go to an osteopathic doctor with back pain, he’s probably going to prescribe you a muscle relaxer right?

Well, that could happen, but you could go to the osteopathic doctor for anything. They’re basically licensed to do everything a medical doctor can do with very few exceptions.

How can chiropractic care help pregnancy and labor?

Well, again we don’t help with pregnancy and labor. We help with the same thing. We’re going to make sure the spine is in proper alignment. We make sure that it’s functioning at 100%. So again, a chiropractor is able to help with a lot of things by getting the body to function properly, because that’s the only thing that knows how to deliver the baby; the life inside the brain. So again, we’re just here to make sure there’s no interference with the nervous system. In the case of pregnancy, we also want to make sure the pelvis is aligned properly because the baby has to go through the pelvis.

Dr. Marc D’Andrea mentioned online, that his patients average only four hours of labor. I know one of your other patients only labored for 15 minutes.

Anecdotally, pregnant women come here because they do tend to have better results. Scientifically, I can’t say anything about that, but anecdotally we have a lot of patients who will swear by their chiropractor during pregnancy and childbirth. So in regards to pregnancy, almost any doctor doesn’t want you to take any medication at any time. So when they’re dealing with back pain, which can typically happen, patients love the chiropractor because we’re very effective with back pain, and we do it without drugs. So the doctor’s hands are tied in regards to treatment without medication. That’s why chiropractors are a very effective tool for pregnant woman with back pain.

Between the time of this interview and its publication, we welcomed a new baby into the family. My wife, who received regular chiropractic care from Dr. Warner throughout her pregnancy, delivered naturally after a 3½ hour labor.

What are the most common reasons people have for beginning chiropractic treatment?

Headaches are probably one of the most common reasons, back and neck pain, as well as general health issues. We talked about stomach issues, menstrual issues, sinus and allergy problems. They’re finding that they’re not getting completely relieved by what they were doing, taking drugs and seeing a medical doctor. You know because if they were getting 100% results, most likely, they would not try chiropractic. A lot of them go to the chiropractor because they realize they’re just taking medications to deal with the symptoms which just keep coming back, again and again, and the doctors aren’t doing a whole lot to correct that and they seem to be getting good results from chiropractic care.

What are the most common reasons people have for ending chiropractic treatment?

Well, some people end because we put them on maintenance care. So, that’s the game plan, to get their spine working, functioning at 100% and then they just need to come in for check-ups. Same reason why people would want to go to the dentist. The goal of the dentist is not to never see a patient again, the goal of the dentist is to see you twice a year for check-ups and for two reasons. Number one is if you do have a problem, we checked you six months ago, the worse the problem is, is six months old. Also, they’re going to educate you on proper techniques of brushing, flossing, and limiting sugar and all the other things that they do because that’s the game plan, to keep your teeth healthy for the rest of your life, and the best way to do that they’ve found out, is to go every six months for check-ups and for cleanings and education. And if you go every six months, most likely you’re not going to have major problems, need root canals, and so on down the road. Same thing with chiropractic care – people go on maintenance care because their problems are all fixed. At that point, we’ll check them periodically to make sure they don’t have any problems and also to educate them on proper stretching, strengthening, and other things like that at home.

Does maintenance care vary from patient to patient?

Sure, if you start with what’s called spinal hygiene very early in life, just like dental hygiene, at that point it’s very easy to achieve barring any major injuries or things like that. For instance, if you wait to go to the dentist in your 40s and you go every six months, there could already be damage in there that may take years and years to fix before you can even get to get to the point where you have healthy teeth and gums and go every six months. Same thing with chiropractic care, a lot of people before they come in they’ve dealt with their back pain by taking over the counter medications and they help with the pain but they do nothing for the problem and now they come in here and they have arthritis and degenerative changes and it takes them a whole lot longer to get to maintenance care.

My wife has mild scoliosis and I have mild degenerative arthritis. Why are chiropractors better at treating these conditions than other practitioners of medicine?

Well, in regards to mild scoliosis, doctors don’t do anything to treat mild scoliosis. They would monitor to make certain it doesn’t worsen to moderate or severe scoliosis; they have treatment methods for that. So for mild scoliosis, there really isn’t much they can do, except maybe some home exercises. In regards to arthritis, degenerative otheoarthritis, which is what you’re probably referring to as opposed to rheumatoid arthritis or scoriatic arthritis. Those are diseases wherein you might need to see a medical doctor. But degenerative osteoarthritis is usually due to alignment issues and to wearing away, degeneration. As chiropractors, we realign the bones, get pressure off the nerves, and get joints functioning properly. That’s the cause of degenerative arthritis. By properly aligning the spine, it doesn’t continue to degenerate. That’s why chiropractors are so successful with that as opposed to treating it with medication, which only treats the symptoms. One of the best treatments for degenerative arthritis in the medical community is thelebrex which is a cocktail inhibitor. Even on the label, it says it treats the symptoms related to arthritis as opposed to treating the actual arthritis. The spine continues to degenerate with drug treatments; this is why chiropractic is so successful.

Why do chiropractors use x-ray machines?

Well, one of the things about x-rays is that it really gives us a clear picture of the spine, that and MRIs give us all the puzzle pieces we need to see. One of the things is I don’t like to guess with my patients. We can’t see degenerative arthritis. We can’t see a lot of things that we could see on the x-ray. It also tells me the integrity of their spine and I can actually draw lines and angles that will actually show how to adjust as specifically as possible.

You mentioned MRI machines. What are some of the other tools that chiropractors use?

Well, we have the same ability to refer out to any tests we want to, with some exceptions. So with each individual patient, if they require more specific testing, we go ahead and do that. So whatever is the best we can do, number one is for the patient’s safety and to make sure they’re in the appropriate medical facility, but also to make sure we give them the best possible adjustments.

Out of all the chiropractors I’ve been to over the years, your adjustments are the most gentle and effective. The only chiropractor I’ve met that was on your level was a chiropractor that you trained. When I told you this, you said chiropractic is an art and science. Can you explain a little more about that? Why does it feel so different getting adjusted here?

Sure, the actual physical techniques of adjusting the spine are an art form like surgery is. Not all surgeons are as skilled as other surgeons. The skill of the surgeon is going to play a big role in how effective your surgery is going to be. Same thing with chiropractic care. People get experience, they tend to be better at the art of chiropractic later on in their career than they are when they’re in their first couple of weeks working on their first couple of patients. Experience means a whole lot, so every chiropractor needs to focus on becoming the best adjuster they can be.

And how long have you been a chiropractor?

This is my 25th year.

Is there anything we haven’t covered in this interview that you’d like to let the general public know about chiropractic.

We’re here to make sure people’s bodies can be as optimal as possible. So again, I have nothing against doctors or anything with that at all. My job as a chiropractor is to get your body functioning at 100%, so well in fact that your results come out that you’re feeling well. At that point, if you have no symptoms and your test results come back normal, you won’t consider taking symptom-only medications for that, because you’re healthy, you’re feeling good, and your test results are good. So again, we’re not necessarily opposed to drugs or medications or surgery; the whole point is to get you so healthy that you don’t need those things. Our game plan is to get you healthy, instead of treating chronic ailments.

Check out Dr. Scott Warner at Warner Family Chiropractic.

Vaccines get all the glory, but most plumbers will tell you that it was water infrastructure – sewage systems and clean water – that eradicated disease, and they’re right.

Disease Before Plumbing

After the fall of the Roman Empire, Europeans despised all things Roman, including bathing. There was a widespread belief that getting wet caused illness. This contempt and fear of bathing persisted through the Dark Ages.

Some Europeans defied local customs by bathing, but this was usually done over great protest. When Queen Elizabeth bathed, her servants panicked, fearing she would become ill and die.

This resistance to bathing was brought across the Atlantic to America, influencing habits all the way into the 1800s. In 1835, Philadelphia almost passed an ordinance forbidding wintertime bathing. Ten years later, Boston did outlaw bathing, except by medical directive. (Though this law was not widely enforced, it does illustrate the American resistance to bathing as late as the mid 1800s.)

Related: How To Detoxify and Heal From Vaccinations – For Adults and Children

How Plumbing Eradicated Disease

Before plumbing was widely used, indoor facilities consisted of a washstand and a washbowl, a pitcher, and a chamber pot or commode. Human waste was thrown into the street or anywhere convenient.

This total lack of sanitation in urban areas filled with rats and other vermin provided the perfect environment to spread disease. The Black Plague alone killed 75 million – 200 million people – including 1/3 of Europe’s population. Though this disease is not entirely eradicated, human infection has become a rare occurrence. The last plague epidemic in America was in the early 1900’s.

Polio and Plumbing

Polio thrives in fecal matter and is easily transmitted through human waste. Plumbing and water sanitation in India is way behind the rest of the industrialized world. In areas where sanitation and hygiene are good, polio is rare. In areas where sanitation and hygiene are poor, the disease can spread rapidly.

Immunization efforts have received a lot of publicity and have garnered most of the credit for India being declared “polio free” by the World Health Organization. As recently as 2009, India reported 762 cases of polio, and at that time, these numbers made India the polio capital of the world. In 2014, there are currently no “official” documented cases of polio, but without proper sanitation there is no way this can last.

Recommended: Sugar Leads to Depression – World’s First Trial Proves Gut and Brain are Linked (Protocol Included)

A Polio Breeding Ground

India is the second most populous nation in the world, with an estimated population of 1.2 billion. Currently, 780 million Indians do not have a toilet; 96 million Indians do not have access to clean drinking water. In rural areas, open defecation is still more common than attempting to dispose of human waste in a more sanitary fashion, such as burying it.

There have been some efforts to improve sanitation, but they pale in comparison to the extensive efforts to vaccinate Indians. Over 9 billion has been spent in this vaccination public health campaign. In some parts of India, children have received as many as 30 doses of the oral polio vaccine before their fifth birthday. Bill Gates, the World Health Organization, and GAVI have ardently been pushing vaccines on people who still don’t have access to clean drinking water or the sanitary means to dispose of human waste.

They Say Tomato, I say Tomatoe

The current polio vaccine campaign in India is highly controversial due to the high rate of vaccine injury and death. There were 53,000 cases of NPAFP, a non-polio acute flaccid paralysis, among those vaccinated. NPAFP is a disease that is clinically indistinguishable from polio and twice as deadly that is caused by the live, weakened, polio viruses in the vaccine. Incidences of the disease rose and fell with the number of doses of the vaccine administered. To call this disease anything other than polio is semantic subterfuge, a whitewash for Big Pharma’s image.

In the past 13 months, India has reported 53,563 cases of NPAFP at a national rate of 12 per 100,000 children—way above the global benchmark set by WHO of 2 per 100,000.” – Jan, 13 2014 quote from LiveMint Newpaper, the second largest business newspaper in India.

It would be less expensive in human cost and far more effective to improve India’s water infrastructure, improving India’s sanitation and hygiene.

London England and Cholera

In the 1800’s the European infant mortality rate was very high, from 25% to 70%. In the early-to-mid 1800s, London had little in the way of water infrastructure. The majority of people used town pumps and communal wells to get their drinking water. Waste disposal was far from adequate. Most Londoners dumped raw sewage and animal wastes into open pits known as “cesspools” or directly into the Thames River. Unfortunately, the Thames River was also the source of drinking water for many Londoners.

Cholera spreads easily through contaminated water and food and kills very quickly; it often proves fatal within hours of the first symptoms of vomiting or diarrhea.

In 1854, yet another outbreak struck London, claiming the lives of tens of thousands of Europeans. In Soho, a suburb of London, there were more than 500 fatal cases of cholera in ten days.

Dr. John Snow, who lived near Soho, was able to directly investigate what was causing the outbreak. Five years earlier, Dr. Snow had written an article about what he believed caused cholera. It was in the water, he argued. This idea flew in the face of the “wisdom” of his time. In the 1850s, doctors believed that bad vapors, or a “miasma in the atmosphere” caused disease. Dr. Snow dared to believe something different, to try something different, believing he might see different results.

Recommended: Best Supplements To Kill Candida and Everything Else You Ever Wanted To Know About Fungal Infections

Dr. John Snow Traced Cholera To Its Source

Dr. Snow traced the cholera outbreak to the Broad Street pump. He persuaded the town officials to remove the pump handle, and the cholera outbreak abruptly ended. Some time later, the outbreak was traced back to a woman cleaning a dirty diaper in the well.

Correction 3/1/17: 

According to Wayne W. LaMorte, MD, PhD, MPH of Boston University School of Public Health, the mother had emptied the baby’s diarrhea into the cesspool next to the well, and the cesspool’s wall was decayed, so the sewage was seeping into the well.” – Thanks Heather!

Though it took some time, Dr. Snow convinced the authorities that fecal matter was contaminating the water supply. Today Dr. John Snow is widely regarded as the father of epidemiology.

Refugee Camps, Dysentery Epidemic, and Poor Sanitation

The Rwandan refugee camps set up in Zaire in 1994 struggled with outbreaks of dysentery. Sanitation was poor; the refugees defecated openly in common areas. Human waste built up in the same areas where the refugees drew water that was used for cooking and drinking. Heavy rain flooded the area and dysentery became epidemic, at its peak it was killing 2,000 people a day.

Refugee camps have always been a haven for diseases related to poor sanitation. Once U.S. and UN officials brought in purified water and encouraged people to use outhouses and latrines for defecation, the incidences of dysentery fell.

Chicago’s Population Grew from 350 in 1835 to More than 60,000 by 1850

The industrial revolution drove rapid population growth. Chicago’s water infrastructure wasn’t designed to handle such a rapid rise in population. Chicago was dealing with many different diseases, but it had especially high rates of typhoid fever. The source of the rapid increase in disease was traced to the city’s water and sanitation.

The majority of the city’s sewage was directed to the Chicago River, which flowed right back into Lake Michigan, which provided the city’s drinking water. This, of course, contaminated Chicago’s drinking water and created a cycle of disease.

It took many years to solve the problem, but in the early 1900s Chicago modernized their water infrastructure. They reversed the flow of several rivers and streams, and as a result, typhoid fever and all other infectious diseases plummeted.

Conclusion

Sanitation prevents disease by removing the cause of disease transmission, but this is not new information. Moses taught sanitation. He made many rules for encampments. The Greeks and the Romans created elaborate systems of aqueducts, baths, and drainage. When the Roman Empire crumbled, sanitation became a lost art. Civilization paid the price: plague after plague struck areas of dense population.

Smallpox continued to infect Europe’s population until plumbing infrastructure became commonplace. Although, sanitation ended this disease, the smallpox vaccine takes the credit.

When most of us think of a conscientious objector, we think of someone who refused military service for moral or religious reasons. In the 1800s, the term came into use for someone who refused vaccinations for their children. There was a great deal of resistance to the smallpox vaccine. Some statistics placed fatalities from the vaccine as high as 1 in 200

In modern times, objections to vaccines are mounting. Refusing to vaccinate is as controversial today as it was when the first vaccines were forced on British citizens almost 200 years ago.

Vaccines often contain toxins like aluminum and mercury, and many vaccines contain aborted fetal tissues. The reality of vaccine injury and death is making the news, though the propaganda and out and out lies from pharmaceutical companies cause a polarized division between those who are pro vaccine and those who are against.

If you are reading this, you probably have access to running water and a working toilet. If you choose to forego vaccines for yourself or your children, bear in mind that you will need additional protection to avoid contracting illnesses. Exercise, sleep, stress management, and a truly healthy diet are all essential for an immune system to work at optimal efficiency.

While the medical professionals and the pharmaceutical companies are quick to take credit for our increased life expectancy, in truth, they are not the heroes. Have you thanked a plumber lately?

If you’re looking to increase your body’s ability to protect itself against disease, check out Best Supplements To Kill Candida and Everything Else You Ever Wanted To Know About Fungal Infections. Also, see  How To Detoxify and Heal From Vaccinations – For Adults and Children

Further Reading:

• Vaccines, Retroviruses, DNA, and the Discovery That Destroyed Judy Mikovits’ Career
• Influenza Vaccine – A Comprehensive Overview of the Potential Dangers and Effectiveness of the Flu Shot
• The MMR Vaccine – A Comprehensive Overview Of the Potential Dangers and Effectiveness
• Autism and Vaccines: CDC Whistleblower Exposes Vaccine Dangers, Lies, and Cover-ups

Sources:

• Taps and Toilets Essential to Maintain India’s Polio Free Miracle – The Lancet
• Polio Vaccine Fails in India Due to Polluted Drinking Water – The Refusers
• John Snow and the Broad Street Pump: On the Trail of an Epidemic – UCLA
• Sanitation, Not Vaccination The True Protection Against Small-Pox – William Tebb
• The End of Smallpox – History Today
• 53,000 Paralysis Cases in India From Polio Vaccine In A Year – NPAFP Identical to Polio But Twice as Deadly – Child Health Safety
• Understanding Your Western European Ancestors: Demographics: Death and Illness – Understanding Your Ancestors

Polytunnels seem to be popping up all over the place – and with good reason! They’re a fantastic gardening tool that can increase crop size, extend the growing season, and protect your plants from the elements. And, you get all of these benefits without the hassle that comes with erecting a permanent structure such as a greenhouse. Around 90% of people who purchase pre-made polytunnels choose to erect them themselves, because it’s incredibly simple to do, and can save a significant chunk of cash compared to hiring a handyman or builder to do it for you. So here’s an easy guide to walk you through the process of building your very own polytunnel.

What Is a Polytunnel?

Basically speaking a polytunnel is constructed from a metal-framed semi-circular tunnel covered in hardwearing polythene with UV inhibitors to maximize its lifetime. A large amount of air is enclosed by a polytunnel, so it stays warm much longer than a greenhouse – and also does not suffer from such dramatic temperature fluctuations in summer. During the winter you can regulate temperature and maintain heat very simply by lining the inside of the tunnel with bubble wrap and then removing it in spring. The polythene film has a lifespan of between five and ten years, but the cost to replace it will be only 15%-20% of the cost of the original tunnel.

Lay the Foundations

As with building any structure, you need to start by laying the foundations. Correctly placed foundation tubes are absolutely vital to the safety and longevity of your tunnel, so it’s crucial to get this step right. Start by marking the base positions around the site of the polytunnel – these will form the outline of the tunnel and will provide the base structure for you to build your aluminum frame. You should make sure the positions are evenly spaced and that the corners are at right angles, otherwise your tunnel might not be stable. You should then simply drive the foundation tubes into the ground at those marked positions. You can do this with a large hammer – but make sure to place a wooden block between the hammer and the tops of the tubes to avoid damaging or distorting them. You can either use tubes provided in a pre-fabricated polytunnel kit, or if building your own tunnel from scratch, offcuts of scaffolding poles or mains water pipe provide the perfect inexpensive substitute.  These should be cut to about six feet in length and driven into the ground to a depth of about three feet, depending on your desired polytunnel size. The bigger the tunnel the deeper the poles should go. Once they’re securely in the ground, check to be sure the tubes are level with a spirit level.

Build the Frame

Whether you’re constructing a pre-fabricated polytunnel or building one from scratch, you’ll need a series of aluminum hoops to make up the frame of your tunnel. To build the frame, simply connect the hoops together (they generally come in multiple sections) and simply slide them over the foundation tubes, bolting each in place. Finally, fit the ridge pole down the centre top of the tunnel, corner bracing and doorframes. Check that the hoops are all straight and in line, then tighten all the joints carefully.

Add the Cover

Now your framework is securely in place, it’s time to attach the cover and add the ‘poly’ to your tunnel. Most pre-fabricated polytunnels will come with some sort of cushioning to put over the hoops, to ensure the polythene sheet doesn’t snag or tear – but if you’re building one from scratch you can use foam coverings or anti hot-spot tape (which can be sourced from larger garden stores). This isn’t absolutely vital, but will increase the lifespan of the sheet by around a year – so it’s a good investment. Clear any stones from the ground around your frame and unroll the cover, sliding it over the hoops so it sits evenly over the frame. To secure it you can either attach it to the base rail if you have one (as most pre-made kits will), or  simply bury a skirt of polythene in a trench approximately 30cm deep. If your model is supplied without a base rail, but you don’t have space to dig a trench, you can make one using lengths of 70 x 45mm timber, cut to length, then bolted on to the foundation tubes. Whichever you choose it’s important to keep the plastic sheet as taut as possible during fitting. Now simply either cut a V shape in the sheet where you’d like the entrance to be, or use whichever door system is provided in your kit. There you have it, your very own polytunnel!

Be sure to check out our website, premierpolytunnels.co.uk

In the late 1970s, a senate committee pushed its “Dietary Goals for the United States” urging Americans to eat less fat. It was thought that red meat, eggs, and dairy were killing Americans.

By the 1980s, nearly a million Americans were dying of heart disease each year.

Again, Americans were told to eat less fat and eat more carbohydrates. These recommendations were built into a monument and lauded to the public as the salvation for American health: The Food Pyramid.

The Food Pyramid recommended carbohydrates as the staple of a healthy diet. Fat was a killer, or so we were led to believe, therefore recommendations for fat intake were drastically reduced. A $150 million dollar study, which pushed the same message, came fast on the heels of these recommendations. The study said to eat less fat and avoid foods high in cholesterol in order to reduce your risk of heart disease.

Americans followed this advice and carbohydrate consumption rose. Not produce consumption, we increased consumption of grains and sugar. Americans are now sicker than before. Deaths from heart disease have dropped a bit, but obesity and diabetes is on the rise.

Whole milk has been banned from most of our public schools, but strawberry milk, chocolate milk, and soda machines are usually available. Whole plain yogurt is usually difficult to find in a grocery store, but low fat, sugar filled, artificially flavored, artificially colored options are everywhere. The prevailing belief is that these low fat options are healthier, even when loaded with sweeteners, than whole milk.

Deaths from heart disease have indeed slightly declined, but its close cousin, cardiovascular disease, remains the nation’s number # 1 killer and the leading cause of death for individuals with diabetes. According to Time Magazine, diabetes has increased 166% from 1980 to 2012. The low-fat trend was directed toward lowering cholesterol. Today the high fructose corn syrup found in nearly every processed food is the reason cholesterol remains high.

American Health is on a Downward Trend

In every measurable way, Americans are in worse health than ever before. It is widely predicted that our lifespan is shortening; the generations that came before us will outlive us, and we are likely to outlive the generations who succeed us.

Despite the variety of diets, popular and obscure, safe and dangerous, on average, Americans are fatter than ever before. Most Americans eat slightly less red meat and eat more lean meat, but they eat more sugar and more highly processed and refined foods. The CDC predicts that by 2030 up to 42% of the U.S. population will be obese, and 11% will be severely obese.

Over time, some foods have gone up in demand, while others have fallen in popularity. Sugar consumption from sugar cane has dropped 35% while corn-based sweeteners (mostly high fructose corn syrup) consumption has risen by 8,853%. It’s not that Americans choose to eat corn syrup, they choose to eat processed foods, and high fructose corn syrup is added to nearly every processed food.

The current government guidelines are only a little different than the original food pyramid. The current recommendations are still high in grains, but the recommendation for fruits and vegetables is higher.

Conclusion

A truly healthy diet is a diverse, whole food, plant based diet. A full 80% of your diet should consist of raw, fresh, organic produce – more vegetables than fruits. Meats should be organic. Nuts and seeds should be soaked or sprouted. Grains should be limited and gluten should be avoided if any illness is present. Dairy should be organic and raw or limited. Omega 3 fatty acids from flax seed oil, fish oil, or a blended oil and oily fish should be added to your diet.

You should avoid all artificial flavors, colors, and preservatives; MSG; high fructose corn syrup; and GMOs. Seriously limit or eliminate all processed sugar.

For more information about a truly healthy diet, read the 80% Raw Food Diet. Boost your nutrition with increased vitamins, minerals, and nutrients, learn how to make your own Total Nutrition Powder.

Further Reading:

• The Way We Used To Eat – The Real Paleo Diet
• 80% Raw Food Diet
• Make Your Own Homemade Total Nutrition Formula
• Is the Paleo Diet a Fraudulent Fad or the Healthiest Diet To Hit Mainstream? Could It Be Both?

Sources:

TEDxHarvardLaw – Stephan Guyenet – The American Diet – You Tube

Ending the War on Fat – You Tube

We often hear that professional football players are in the best shape of their lives. Their level of fitness cannot be denied, but what about their overall health, specifically their brain health? There has been increasing concern over the long-term effects of the concussions football players routinely suffer from collisions on the field. A professional football player will receive 900-1500 blows to the head during a single season and will have a 75% chance of suffering a concussion.

Previously, players sacrificed their brain health for the love of the game, for money and opportunities, or because they felt they had no choice. Now a 24-year-old professional football player named Chris Borland has decided the risks of football aren’t worth it. He’s not the first, but he is the youngest and the one who has shocked a country that is still actively resisting the idea of putting their health first until it’s too late. There is an important distinction between a young athlete protecting himself and an aging athlete trying to preserve whatever brain function he has left. It’s an example of a new mindset, one concerned with health and armed with more information than ever before.

The Football-Concussion Connection

Common sense says that being hit over the head with a heavy object is not a good idea. It follows that the effect of football on players has been a concern for a long time, but determining the level of damage and consequences of repeated trauma has been harder to do. In 1994, the NFL formed the Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Committee, paying lip service to health concerns over players and giving the NFL the opportunity to control the concussion narrative.

Athletes who are willing to ignore, or those who don’t know, the long-term health effects of what they’re doing are essential to the financial well being of professional football. The growing wealth of information available on concussions and brain health is available to anyone with the Internet, and it’s impossible to avoid the identification of sports and football as a major cause of these issues. The Internet’s ability to disseminate information has taken the latter away from the NFL, and the public and players are beginning to ask if football is worth the health risks. It’s also posed the question of trust. Are the people receiving the financial benefits from a 9 billion industry really the ones players should trust to care for them and their quality of life?

Degenerative Brain Disease Links

A concussion is an injury to the head that leads to a temporary loss of brain function. While the effects of a mild concussion are usually temporary, people who have had a concussion are more likely to suffer from another, and the damage from repeated brain injuries does accumulate. Recent research has found that NFL players who have suffered from multiple concussions have increased rates of memory and attention deficits and are more likely to develop Parkinson and Alzheimer like symptoms. Older athletes who experienced concussions were tested. It was found that the cortex had thinned, which combined with the presence of abnormal proteins in the brain, echoes the brains of those with Alzheimer’s. Technology has made studies like this possible and provides a great resource for people who are concerned about the effects of playing an aggressive and violent sport like football.

Degenerative Disease Can Strike Anyone’s Brain

There are a few ways to look at these findings. An increasing number of players are retiring while they are still relevant and able to play at a high level. Chris Borland, Patrick Willis, and others are hanging up their cleats early because they feel like the game is no longer worth the health risks. On the flip side, playing sports professionally is a huge opportunity for others, and trading their potential quality of life in their later years for the shot at sports fame and fortune is something they’re willing to do. Concussions can have a serious effect on the brain. As people weigh the benefits of football against the costs, more people, especially parents, are deciding that it’s simply not worth it.

For more on brain health, intelligence, and for repairing brain damage, check out  Increase Your IQ With The Right Foods, Herbs, and Vitamins (check out the brain tonic recipe).

Further Reading:

• Candida and Depression
• How Insomnia Leads to a Filthy Mind
• Increase Your IQ With The Right Foods, Herbs, and Vitamins

Sources:

• 49ers player retires at age 24, says football isn’t ‘worth the risk’ in groundbreaking decision – Business Insider
• How do you determine that an athlete is OK to Return to Play? – Concussion Treatment
• Chris Borland’s retirement shows concussion awareness makes a difference – Chicago Tribune
• Tom Brady’s Balls: Why They Matter – Natural News
• Concussions Cause Long-Term Effects Lasting Decades – Medical News Today

According to the National Psoriasis Foundation, psoriasis is a disease that begins with a genetic predisposition that is set of by one or a combination of triggers: stress, skin injury, specific medications, or infection (in particular, strep).

In December of 2014, a new study was published that concluded superantigens and toxins from Candida “…may play various roles in the exacerbation and the persistence of psoriasis.” A full 60% of the psoriasis patients tested positive for Candida versus 20% of the control group in oral tests and 15% of the psoriasis patients tested positive verses 4% of the control group in skin tests.

The more we learn about Candida, the more we find it is a common factor in many if not all autoimmune diseases.

What Is an Autoimmune Disease?

The simple definition of autoimmune disease is that the immune system became confused, stopped working correctly, and began attacking healthy body tissue. Why would this happen? Persistent, chronic infection is sometimes thought to be the cause, and chronic Candida certainly fits in this scenario. But looking at the body holistically, we know that Candida filaments actually drill into tissue as Candida wreaks havoc in the gut, spewing toxins into the system, destroying the balance of healthy to unhealthy bacteria, and ultimately deteriorating the gut itself, resulting in leaky gut syndrome.

Leaky gut syndrome allows proteins and other particles to be dispersed directly into the bloodstream, setting up the immune system for a disastrous onslaught on foreign particles it is unequipped to handle. This is believed to be part of the process that triggers celiac disease and gluten sensitivity, as gluten proteins are also released into the bloodstream.

How To Heal The Body

In order to heal the body, regardless of the disease, the body needs an abundance of nutrition, to be cleansed of toxins, and to be rid of Candida overgrowth along with other parasites. And the gut needs to be healed.

What should you eat? A truly healthy diet includes a wide variety of whole, organic foods with lots and lots of raw produce – 80% of more of the diet – more vegetables, than fruits. Seeds and nuts should be soaked before they are eaten. Omega 3 fatty acids should be added to the diet. When dealing with any autoimmune situation, gluten and dairy should be removed from the diet until the gut is healed and only eaten thereafter if completely tolerated with no sign of autoimmune symptoms.

Of course, a healthy diet has no room for processed foods or their chemicals. No BHA, BHT, or MSG. No artificial flavors, colorings, or preservatives of any kind. No GMOs. No high fructose corn syrup. No wheat. Limit caffeine, and eliminate processed sugar. Yes, that’s right- no sugar. Sugar is the sworn enemy of the immune system and it feeds Candida as well. If you want it to heal, get rid of the sugar.

To learn more about how to eat healthy, read the 80% Raw Food Diet and check out Kill Candida and Balance The Gut Quickly.

Recommended Supplements:

• Floramind-Prime by Thorne
• Shillington’s Intestinal Cleanse
• Formula SF722
• MicroDefense – Pure Encapsulations

Further Reading:

• The Fascinating Bacteria in our Gut, and How it Affects Our Whole Lives
  
• How to Kill Candida and Balance Your Inner Ecosystem
• After taking antibiotics, this is what you need to do to restore healthy intestinal flora
• Fermented Foods Optimize Your Health
  
• Healthy Skin

In every measurable way, Americans are in worse health than ever before. It is widely predicted that our lifespan is shortening; the generations that came before us will outlive us, and we are likely to outlive the generations that succeed us.

Most Americans simply want to lose weight, but some aspire to be healthier as well. For either goal or both goals, many Americans have lost confidence in government guidelines and have begun to look for other diets to follow. In the absence of sound advice from the government, many have turned elsewhere for ways to lose weight or to improve their health.

This has led to waves of diet fads, diets that rise and fall in popularity. These are some of the more popular diets:

• The Pritikin diet
• The Atkins diet
• The Gluten Free diet
• The South Beach diet
• The Mediterranean diet
• Weight Watchers
• The Zone Diet
• Volumetrics
• Raw Food Diet
• NutriSystem
• Macrobiotic Diet
• The Paleo Diet

Many of the diets have been designed and championed by doctors.

The Pritikin diet basically echoes government recommendations, with less meat. The South Beach diet is very similar, with fewer carbs and more lean meats like fish and poultry. The Atkins diet is a protein-based weight loss plan that is low in nutrition and very unhealthy. It has been called a nutritionist’s nightmare. The gluten free diet works best if there is a reason for one to avoid gluten. Otherwise, unless one cuts back on carbs, it is unlikely to be beneficial to anyone trying to lose weight. Weight Watchers stresses eat what you want but in moderation and constantly count calories.

The Mediterranean diet is a seafood, wine, veggie, and whole grain weight loss plan similar to South Beach. The Zone diet suggests a rigid focus on macronutrients in regards to protein, carbs, and fat. Nutrisystem is the ultimate have someone else do it for you plan with all meals pre made and pre measured. Volumetrics promotes a focus on fruits and vegetables. Because of their fiber content, they make you feel more full. The raw food diet allows for unlimited raw vegan food.

These were among the most popular diets. Many diet fads were highly restrictive, absurd, dangerous, and downright scary like the grapefruit diet, the cabbage soup diet, the vinegar diet, and the liquid diet. Other approaches included the T.V. frozen dinner diet and even a Twinkie diet. The most dangerous and harmful diets were the diets that weren’t even based on food like the cigarette diet (whenever you’re hungry, just smoke), the eat sweets before a meal diet, or, even more crazy, the tapeworm diet, the baby food diet (substitute some of your meals with baby food), and worst of all the cotton ball diet, which recommended that you actually eat cotton balls dipped in juice. This is a choking hazard and can cause intestinal blockages, both of which can kill you. It was crazy, but these were all diets were practiced by some Americans.

Despite the variety of diets, popular and obscure, safe and dangerous, on average, Americans are fatter than ever before. Most Americans eat slightly less red meat and eat more lean meat, but they eat more sugar and more highly processed and refined foods. The CDC predicts that by 2030 up to 42% of the U.S. population will be obese, and 11% will be severely obese.

Experts do not agree on the health effect of grains and sweets. In Georgia, the only cereals WIC will pay for are cereals that contain some kind of sugar – corn sugar, sugar cane, or sugar from beets. Fruit juice sweetened and unsweetened cereals are considered health food and are not eligible for purchase under the program.

Over time, some foods have gone up in demand, while others have fallen in popularity. Sugar consumption from sugar cane has dropped 35% while corn based sweeteners (mostly high fructose corn syrup) consumption has risen by 8,853%. It’s not that Americans choose to eat corn syrup, they choose to eat processed foods, and high fructose corn syrup is added to nearly every processed food.

The current government guidelines are only a little different than the original food pyramid. The current recommendations are still high in grains, but the recommendation for fruits and vegetables is higher.

Conclusion

A full 80% of your diet should consist of raw, fresh, organic produce – more vegetables than fruits. Meats should be organic. Nuts and seeds should be soaked or sprouted. Grains should be limited and gluten should be avoided if any illness is present. Dairy should be organic and raw or limited. Omega 3 fatty acids from flax seed oil, fish oil, or a blended oil and oily fish should be added to your diet. Clean water is also essential.

You should avoid all artificial flavors, colors, and preservatives; MSG; high fructose corn syrup; trans fats; and GMOs. Seriously limit or eliminate all processed sugar.

For more information about a truly healthy diet, read the 80% Raw Food Diet. Boost your nutrition with increased vitamins, minerals, and nutrients, learn how to make your own Total Nutrition Powder.

Further Reading:

• The Way We Used To Eat – The Real Paleo Diet
• 80% Raw Food Diet
• Make Your Own Homemade Total Nutrition Formula
• Is the Paleo Diet a Fraudulent Fad or the Healthiest Diet To Hit Mainstream? Could It Be Both?

Sources:

• The 10 Most Famous Fad Diets of All Time – Everday Health
• Processed Foods History: 1910s to 1950s – Modern Pioneer Mom
• History’s Craziest Diet Trends – YouTube