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6 Beverage Industry Secrets They Don't Want You to Know

2010-07-23T05:35:00.000-07:00

I have a drinking problem. You do too, friend. Liquid calories now account for a whopping 21 percent of the average American's daily intake—more than 400 calories every single day, which is twice as much as we drank 30 years ago and about 40 pounds a year that we have to figure out how to work off, or live with. These statistics are good news for the beverage industry, which is always looking for new, tasty ways to lure customers and increase profits. Unfortunately, these techniques include covering our bottles with misleading information and filling them with chemicals that often wreak havoc on our bodies.

In our new book Drink This, Not That!, we aimed our nutritional magnifying glass at the beverage industry, and found dozens of products we wouldn't want filling out our bodies—not anymore, at least. Before you take another sip, check out these six secrets we found lurking in your bottles, cans, and cups. Know the score and decide when and where to indulge—and how to lose weight effortlessly whenever you choose to.

1. Baskin-Robbins doesn't want you to know... it takes a degree in food chemistry to engineer one of its milkshakes!

Think about the first milk shake you ever drank. Chances are it was chocolate or vanilla, blended in front of you by a young man wearing a paper hat and a toothy grin. And how many ingredients did he plop into that metal cup? Well, there was ice cream, milk, maybe a little syrup. Now contrast that with the Frankenshakes at Baskin-Robbins. Many have more than two dozen ingredients. One, the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Shake, requires more than four dozen.

How did Baskin-Robbins transform the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Shake into a 50-ingredient science fair project? Well, sugar, in its various forms, graces the ingredient list seven times. Partially hydrogenated oil, the source of trans fat, shows up three times. Then there's a smattering of flavoring agents such as artificial butter flavor, vanillin, and salt, and behind that comes the cabal of emulsifiers, thickeners, colors, preservatives—not to mention industrial items like guar gum (do I really need gum in my shake?), carrageenan, polysorbate 80, and sorbitan monostearate.

Just as dismaying as the ingredient list is the nutritional breakdown: The large Cookie Dough Shake packs in 1,690 calories and 46 grams of saturated fat. That's two and a half days' worth of saturated fat. So much for an innocent summer indulgence.

2. The dairy industry doesn't want you to know... a hormone given to cows has been linked to cancer!

You've probably noticed that some milk jugs carry this claim: "from cows not treated with rbST." You might have also noticed a smaller claim: "No significant difference has been shown between milk derived from rbST-treated and non-rbST-treated cows."

Seem contradictory? It is. Here's the deal: rbST (also known as rBGH) is a hormone given to cows to increase their milk output by 10 to 25 percent. It was developed by biotech monolith Monsanto, and after an unsuccessful attempt to convince consumers of its safety, it was sold to Elanco, a company that specializes in agricultural pharmaceuticals. Monsanto fought hard to prevent dairy farmers from telling consumers whether their cows were treated with rbST. Dairy farmers who don't use the hormone fought back, and the result is the two statements appearing together on milk cartons.

The concern with rbST is that it produces milk with higher-than-normal levels of the insulin-like growth factor called IGF-1. Studies at the Channing Laboratory in Boston have shown that high levels of IGF-1 increase risk of several cancers, including breast, prostate, and colorectal. In the study, those with the highest levels of the hormone were four times more likely to develop cancer. True, other studies contradict these findings, but until the issue is resolved, we recommend playing it safe. Especially when so many big players—Starbucks, Kroger, and Wal-Mart among them—have agreed to sell only hormone-free milk.

3. The coffee industry doesn't want you to know... the average latte is worse than a double-scoop ice cream cone!

No source of sugar is more stealthy than the caffeine kicks dished out at coffee shops across America. Even an unflavored 16-ounce latte has close to 200 calories, and for the average person that represents nearly 10 percent of your daily energy requirements. Starbucks alone sells about two dozen drinks with more than 500 calories apiece. Drink something like that once a day, and you're facing at least an extra 50 pounds of flab each year! So, make coffee a habit more than coffee "drinks", and discover the secrets that help you eat, drink, and be healthy at your local coffeehouse.

4. 7Up doesn't want you to know... it takes a centrifuge to produce its "all natural" soda!

This might be the most flagrant abuse of the term "natural" we've seen. Even if you can overlook the fact that a 20-ounce bottle of 7Up has nearly as much sugar as five Breyers Oreo Ice Cream Sandwiches, that still leaves the issue of corn-derived sweeteners—which are about as natural as a Mickey Rourke expression.

To obtain the high-fructose corn syrup that spikes this bottle, corn is crushed into a slurry of fiber, protein, and starch. Everything is stuffed into a centrifuge to spin out the starch, which is then blended with enzymes that convert it to dextrose. The dextrose is then blended with more enzymes to convert it to fructose. Finally, glucose and fructose are stirred together to create a substance that has a flavor similar to table sugar.

Granted, many sodas contain high-fructose corn syrup, but 7Up is the only manufacturer that we've come across that's brazen enough to call its product natural. We call foul!

Bonus tip: For other "health" food imposters, check out the 30 “Health” Foods that Aren’t to learn how the rest of the food industry is secretly sabotaging your waistline, your wallet, and possibly your health.

5. The soda industry doesn't want you to know... some aluminum cans are lined with a toxic plastic!

You may have already heard of bisphenol A, or BPA, a chemical found in plastics that's been linked to myriad maladies. University of Cincinnati researchers found that low doses of BPA suppress a hormone that protects against diabetes and obesity. Another study at the Yale School of Medicine discovered that BPA disrupts brain function and leads to mood disorders in monkeys. Add that to the growing pile of evidence that show it lowers sperm counts and increases your risk of heart disease and breast, prostate, and testicular cancers, and you have many great reasons to avoid plastic bottles altogether.

But even if you've replaced your plastic food containers with glass, you're still susceptible to a BPA bludgeoning from aluminum cans. Aluminum is highly reactive, so manufacturers use a BPA-loaded epoxy lining to keep contents safe. The USDA is evaluating the safety of aluminum cans, but don't expect action anytime soon—the beverage industry will fight hard to keep its cheap fix.

In fact, in 2009, the Washington Post uncovered internal documents from Coca-Cola that outline a public relations strategy for persuading consumers that BPA is safe. Part of the plan: using fear tactics and targeting young mothers who make the most household purchasing decisions. Pretty scary stuff.

6. Juice companies don't want you to know... what goes into 100 percent juice!

Thanks to lax FDA regulations, fruit juice makers have a lot of wiggle room when it comes to labeling their bottles. One loophole they love: the "100 percent juice" claim. Yes, the bottle may have 100 percent juice, but not 100 percent of the juice you think you're buying.

Some juices—notably apple, grape, and pear—are cheap, abundant, and loaded with sugar, so manufacturers use them as fillers to stretch and sweeten more nutritious and expensive juices. You might think your bottle contains 100 percent blueberry or pomegranate, but it's just as likely to be a blend of inexpensive juices along with a splash of what you really want.

Last year, the FDA chastised Nestle for sticking 100 percent juice claims on its grape- and orange/tangerine-flavored Juicy Juice products. Turns out, these products were mostly apple juice. The only consolation: Juicy Juice said it'd fully cooperate with the FDA to find a resolution. We're not satisfied, though, at least not yet: Juicy Juice is just one of dozens of inauthentic products in the juice aisle.

But here's the good news: The smoking gun is often right on the bottle—in the case of Juicy Juice, it was small print that called each product a "flavored juice blend." Remember: The nutrition label doesn't always tell the full story. Read the ingredient list, too. That's how I'm beating my drinking problem. And you can too.

FACTS ABOUT BOTTLED WATER

2009-12-31T18:15:00.001-08:00

12 habits for better SKIN

2009-11-07T17:02:00.000-08:00

12 habits for better skin

Looking for skin care solutions that really work? These everyday habits can have a big impact on your skin.

Are you worried about how well your brain, heart and other organs work, or how they look? The answer may seem obvious, but when it comes to our body's largest organ we're often more concerned about appearance than function. However, healthy skin isn't necessarily a product of the latest skin care products or make-up. As with other organs, it's our lifestyle choices that can make all the difference.

While there are some factors we can't control -- like age, genetics and hormones -- there are many things we can do to keep our skin healthy and looking younger for years to come:

Handle with care. Taking more care with your lingerie than your skin? According to experts, the same rules apply: gentle washing and gentle drying. You don't need expensive products – a gentle cleanser like glycerin soap will do the trick. Warm water is better than hot or cold, and don't linger too long in the tub or you'll actually lose moisture. When you reach for the towel, avoid rubbing your skin and pat dry instead.

And don't skip the bedtime wash. Before your head hits the pillow, make sure your skin is free of all the oil, dirt and make-up you accumulated during your waking hours.

Shave with caution. Razors are a budget-friendly way to get rid of unwanted hair, but they can also cause irritation (especially in delicate areas.) You can keep your skin soothed by shaving after a warm shower or bath or putting a warm cloth over the area first. Keep your tools sharp and clean, and shave in the direction of hair growth rather than against it if your skin is sensitive. Shaving gel, shaving cream or lotion can provide some much needed lubrication for dry skin.

Avoid irritants. Even if you don't have sensitive skin, the harsh chemicals in cleaners and detergents -- not to mention perfumes, dyes and additives in personal grooming products -- can aggravate your skin. Cleaning products can strip moisture from your skin, even if it doesn't react to them. In addition, your skin can absorb chemicals with which it comes in contact -- allowing potentially-dangerous toxins to enter your body.

How to dodge the risks? Read the labels carefully: a good rule of thumb is to avoid any ingredients you don't recognize or can't pronounce. (Some natural health experts advise that if you wouldn't eat it, don't put it on your skin.) Wear gloves when handling or using products that contain harsh chemicals, like cleaning products.

Moisturize regularly. Does your skin feel tight after a shower? Chances are you need a moisturizer to nourish and protect your skin. What product you buy and how often you use it will depend on a number of factors, including where you plan to use it (face or body), your age, skin type (dry or oily) and any skin issues you have.
For daytime wear, the Mayo Clinic recommends a moisturizer with at least SPF 15. Beauty experts recommend something a little heavier on the face and neck for night time use to combat the affects of aging. Baby oil is another option for extra-dry skin, and aloe vera and anti-oxidant ingredients provide benefits too. Avoid products with alcohol -- they'll dry the skin.

Skip the sun. Aside from the dangers of skin cancer, the sun is responsible for most of the signs of aging on our skin, according to experts. We already know how to protect against this hazard: stay indoors during peak hours, sit in the shade, cover up with clothing, don a hat and sunglasses and regularly use sunscreen or sun block.

If you're in charge of youngsters, make sure they cover up too. The damaging effects of the sun start at an early age.

Provide shelter from the elements. There's some truth behind the term "weather-beaten complexion". In addition to the harmful effects of the sun, the wind can dry skin too (think of how well moving air dries our hair and clothes). Extreme hot and cold won't help either.

What's the remedy? Avoid extreme temperatures (when possible), and put your fashion sense to work with a scarf, wrap or other protective clothing to cover exposed skin.

Control the climate. Dry air draws moisture from any source possible -- including exposed skin. While we can't control the weather, we can control our indoor environment, and that's where we usually spend most of our time. Experts note that 35 to 50 per cent humidity indoors is ideal. (A humidity gage from the hardware store can help you keep track). If your home is too dry, a humidifier can help keep your skin nourished.

Exercise. Get your blood pumping -- it's good for your entire body, including your outer layer. The skin also benefits from the good circulation that comes with a good workout, like increased oxygen and vitamins to help it look refreshed and younger.

Exercise also mitigates the effects of other ailments -- like stress and fatigue-- which can add years to your look due to puffy, dark eyes and sallow skin.

Nourish from within. Your skin is more than just an outer shell: it's part of a complex system and it needs good nutrition too. The good news: the foods that are good for the heart and waistline are good for the skin too – like vitamin-packed fruits and vegetables, anti-oxidants, vitamin D and essential fatty acids. But beware: some foods can cause inflammation that shows in your skin.

In addition, drink up! There's still some debate about how much fluid we need each day and how this affects our skin, but some experts note that getting plenty of fluids keeps skin hydrated and plump, and even helps to flush out toxins.

Manage stress. There's no way around it -- stress negatively impacts health and your skin is no exception. Stress can rob the skin of water, making it difficult to repair itself and heal. Studies have also shown that stress triggers the release of certain chemicals like cortisol that can trigger or worsen skin conditions like atopic dermatitis and acne thanks to increased oil production. Cortisol can also break down collagen -- which your skin needs for elasticity.

Prolonged stress can also affect the dilation of blood vessels in our skin – meaning too much or too little blood is reaching the cells. Too little blood can give the skin a pale, dull appearance and make skin less supple. Too much blood makes the skin appear flushed, and can worsen conditions like rosacea.

We can't avoid stress, but taking steps like exercising more, employing relaxation techniques and keeping our relationships healthy can make sure it doesn't get the better of us.

Keep an eye out for changes. Skin care ads tell us to "love our skin", but one of the best things we can do is get to know it. Rashes, blisters, dark spots, wounds that don't heal and changes to our moles can signal trouble, whether it's allergies, dermatitis or melanoma. Experts agree that checking your skin on a regular basis should be part of your at-home screening routine, and any changes should be examined by a doctor. Have a spouse or trusted friend or family member check hard-to-see places like your scalp and back.

Seek medical advice. Conditions like acne, rosacea, psoriasis and eczema can affect more than just the skin's appearance. They can cause considerable discomfort and result in interrupted sleep, loss of productivity, missed days at work and even permanent damage if left untreated. They can erode self-confidence and impact quality of life.

While there isn't a cure for these conditions, a health care professional can recommend lifestyle changes and medications to help. Allergies and chemical sensitivities may be the unknown culprits.

These lifestyle changes will help keep your skin looking its best, but one habit you'll want to break is smoking. Smoking can hasten the effects of aging and make skin look years older than it actually is. It shrinks the blood vessels that supply oxygen and nutrients to the outer layers of our skin, depriving it of oxygen and vitamin A. Also, because your skin is losing elasticity, repetitive motions like pursing your lips and squinting to keep smoke out of your eyes will leave their mark -- in the form of lines and wrinkles.

Overall, it doesn't have to take a lot of time, cash or trial-and-error to get better skin. Whether you use a lot of skin care products or not, building these steps into your routine can help improve your skin.

Sources: Canadian Dermatology Association, Mayoclinic.com, the National Post, ScienceDaily.com.

Prunes for anti-aging

2009-11-07T16:57:00.000-08:00

Prunes have an ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity) score of 5,770.

Did you know prunes were once considered almost as precious as salt in Europe. And that people would even work for prunes. In the 15th Century, the French even had a phrase for this: “travailler pour des prunes”. To this day, they are considered a delicacy in France and other parts of Europe. Expensive vintage Ports are described as being “superbly integrated with lush prune and raisin nuances” or “multifaceted aromatics led by smoky prunes”.
Not Just Your
Grandmother’s Fruit Anymore

Prunes aka dried plums need no longer be relegated to the backbench of culinary fruits only available as a rather bland stewed side dish for breakfast. Instead you might want to try them in such exotic ways as prune and Armagnac(brandy) ice cream or serve them with a citrus fruit like kumquats or oranges, or even with chocolate. Some people even describe the moister prunes now available as being better than chocolate. More about that later…

Although prunes have long been known for their value in promoting regularity and preventing constipation due in part to the high fiber content, research has now shown they have many remarkable health benefits.

* Prunes are an excellent source of potassium, a nutrient important to our bodies for muscle strength. This is of particular concern as regards our heart muscle… So much so that doctors routinely check your level of potassium when doing blood tests. Even a slight downward deviation from the norm, can be very serious.

* Because prunes are also low in sodium they can promote lower blood pressure. A 4-year study of 40,000 professional men who ate diets higher in potassium, magnesium and cereal fiber showed a substantially reduced risk of stroke.

* Prunes also help reduce cholesterol

* They play an important role in maintaining normal blood sugar levels, making them an excellent food for those who have (or are at risk of developing) Type II diabetes.

* As it ferments in the intestine prune fiber provides food for friendly bacteria.

* Just a quarter cup of prunes will provide 16.9% of the daily value of Vit. A and 9% of the daily value of copper.

* High in antioxidants that will help reduce the damage of free radicals

* Because their soluble fiber promotes a sense of satisfied fullness after a meal, prunes can also help prevent overeating.

Natural Cancer Prevention by Consuming Prunes

* In a Swedish study of 51,823 postmenopausal women conducted over 8.3 years, it was shown the risk of breast cancer can be reduced as much as 50% with a diet high in fruit and cereal fiber. And prunes is a perfect fruit with high fiber content.

* The fiber in prunes can reduce risk for colon cancer and hemorrhoid problems.

* Research by Tufts University and USDA scientists placed prunes and raisins atop a list of the best cancer-fighting fruits. Recommended amount – ½ cup daily

Natural Treatment for Osteoporosis

According to a recent article, published in the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry, prunes may help combat osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is common in postmenopausal women, which results in the bones becoming brittle creating a higher risk for fractures.

In two separate studies Florida State University scientists have been looking at how the antioxidants in prunes work in the body to promote the enzymes responsible for bone formation.

While the studies are on going, considering the other nutritional values of prunes it certainly would be wise to make them a part of your regular diet.
Healthy Ways to Enjoy Prunes

* Stuff them with your favorite nuts for a filling low calorie snack

* Add them to pancakes and muffins

* Substitute them for dates in Date Nut Bread

* Stuff them with cheese

* Make a fruit salad with prunes, oranges or other citrus fruits, and fresh strawberries, raspberries, or blueberries. Leave out the sugar and use plain yogurt. If you prefer it a little sweeter drizzle on a small amount of honey.

* Make your own healthy trail mix with prunes, roasted almonds, sunflower seeds and unsweetened chocolate nibs.

* Create a cinnamon spiced orange sauce with walnuts and prunes to serve over oatmeal or polenta. You can find this delightful recipe at whfoods.

Store your prunes in an airtight container. They require no refrigeration but will keep up to 6 months in the refrigerator. When shopping for prunes look for them in a see through container so you can evaluate the quality. They should be plump and shiny. Look for prunes that are dried to 35% humidity instead of the more normal 21-23%. At 35% humidity, no rehydration is needed. They can even be frozen this way. Because of the high sugar content, they won’t freeze solid and can be eaten straight from the freezer.

Food Matters

2009-10-15T23:11:00.000-07:00

In our society it is very important to watch what you eat. Food matters because there are too many medications out there to break your immune system. You have to watch what you put into your body, because at the end you are what you eat.

Check out this video to give you some ideas and reasons why you should try to change your eating habits, because the big food corporations don't care about your health.

Food Matters.

10 DIRTY LITTLE RESTAURANT SECRETS

2009-09-28T20:07:00.000-07:00

There's a reason most restaurants keep the kitchen doors closed -- and it's not just because it's so hot back there.

It can be tough for restaurateurs to turn a profit and Slashfood has uncovered some of the ultra-dirty deeds even the best restaurants commit in order to pinch pennies.

Read on for 10 true stories about the subtle, sneaky and sometimes downright disgusting ways restaurants cheat to save a buck -- and how you might be paying the price.

10. Using Cabbage in Place of Seaweed

Says a former maître d' at an expensive Chinese restaurant known for its celebrity clientele: "The owner figured his customers knew nothing about Chinese food (he was right) and was a genius at saving money. A specialty supplier used to provide edible seaweed for the popular seaweed appetizer, but when that got too expensive the boss began experimenting.

"The 'seaweed' on the menu ended up becoming thin strips of cabbage leaf, deep-fried, and then rolled in equal amounts of salt and sugar. It's possible even cardboard would taste good if prepared like that, but the dish remained a bestseller."

9. Deep-Frying Everything

But that's not all! At the same celebrity-friendly restaurant: "In addition to the 'Chinese seaweed,' the other two most popular dishes on the menu were a 'Mongolian lamb' main course and caramelized banana dessert," the insider says.

"Often a diner would order all three, and not realize that every item was cooked in exactly the same deep-fry basket. Although the restaurant denied the lamb was fried, in fact the cabbage (ahem, 'seaweed'), lamb shank and sugared banana would all go into the same oil."

8. Substituting Top-Shelf Alcohol with Generic Booze

One of the most common scams at restaurant bars is to replace premium vodka with generic brands, subscribing to the theory that most customers can't tell the difference. (We know of one restaurant which even did that with Scotch, but experienced whiskey drinkers could often tell and the scam was not so effective.)

A New York City bartender says, "The way of doing that is to start them on the bad vodka right away. You can't sub it in once they started drinking the top shelf brands or they'll notice. But if you serve the cheap stuff from the beginning they never know."

7. Topping Pitchers of Beer with Seltzer Water

Don't think the fiddling is restricted to top-shelf liquors, either. "In sports bars that sell pitchers of beers, the thing to do is to top the pitchers off with seltzer after the table has ordered like the third one," a source says. "The drunker the guys, the more seltzer they get."

6. Refilling Pricey Bottled Waters with Tap

It turns out not all water bottles are created equal. You might already suspect that some restaurants refill water bottles with tap water, but some places turn it into an art form. "Where I worked we served Voss water because it has the easiest screw top to re-seal," a waitress says. "You can't do that with the brands that have a bottle cap."

5. Recycling Baskets of Chips

One diner at a landmark cafe in Bethlehem, Pa., reported digging in to some bagel chips and finding they contained old pineapple rinds.

"Someone else got served the chips, didn't eat them all, threw their rinds from some other dish into the basket, the waiter picked it up without looking and threw more chips on top and re-served it to us," the customer claimed on an online ratings Web site. "Yeech!"

Management didn't seem to care and the patron says "they were trying to economize their chip ration, and it was probably standard practice to re-use uneaten chips."

4. Serving Rotten Meat

A steakhouse employee in New York says that sometimes not all the meat is as fresh as it should be. "It's an old trick to keep the steak that's past its prime and wait until somebody orders it well done or medium-well," the insider says. "The more you cook the meat, the more you disguise its flavor. When I'm eating out I never order anything higher than medium rare, because I know how the kitchen gets rid of bad meat."

3. Using Fake Creamer

A former waitress at an upscale restaurant in Philadelphia reports that one of the daily duties of staff was to mix a large pot of non-dairy, powdered creamer. When coffee or tea was ordered, the small milk jugs were to be filled halfway with fake creamer, and then topped off with the more expensive real milk.

2. Serving Caffeinated Coffee as Decaf

If your body has a problem with caffeine, it might be safer to make your own coffee at home. The same Philadelphia source also reports coming back to the kitchen with a cup of regular coffee when an elderly customer had requested decaf. "The head waiter took the cup from my hand, handed it right back to me and said, 'There -- now it's decaf,'" she says.

1. Souping Up Big Ticket Items

The most shocking story came from an internationally well-known West Coast restaurant -- trust us, you've heard of this place. Part of the shtick of this very fine-dining establishment is the presentation of a truffle at the table, so that customers have the opportunity to order some (super expensive) shavings to be added to their food. But while white truffles are more expensive than black truffles, their aroma is more subtle, meaning that they make less of an impression when presented during the sales pitch. "What the staff would do is add black truffle oil, which is more pungent, to the white truffle, to give it more 'pop,'" the insider says. "It's an absolute no-no to do, especially at those prices. But who's going to know?"

The 6 things you need to know before you take the swine flu vaccine

2009-09-27T21:27:00.000-07:00

Although the Swine flu virus has been identified in over 70 countries, it has not been as deadly as expected

The world wide number of swine flu cases currently is 209,500 with 2,185 deaths

The common flu is more deadly

In the US there have been 40,000 cases identified with 1,876 deaths. This is quite low when you compare the death rate to the typical flu virus which kills over 30,000 people per year.

Most cases of Swine flu have been mild

Most people have had mild self-limited symptoms that resolve without any medical intervention.

Vaccines often contain additives that can be dangerous

Vaccines contain ingredients that boost the immune response. They can be made from toxins like anti-freeze (ethylene glycol), formaldehyde, or chemicals like mercury (thimerasol) and squalene, a type of fat found in olive oil that is also present throughout the nervous system and the brain. These ingredients can be harmful to the body.

Studies have shown that Mercury (thimerasol) may lead to autism. Specifically, a study in autistic children found elevated levels of mercury in their urine compared to children without autism.

Soldiers who served in the gulf war were given anthrax vaccine which contained squalene. When squalene is injected it stimulates an aggressive immune response that causes an auto-immune reaction that can attack all cells that contain squalene. e.g., the nervous system. Studies found that soldiers who were diagnosed with gulf war syndrome received anthrax vaccinations that contained Squalene

There has been less time to test the H1N1 Vaccine

Because of the fear of a pandemic, the vaccine manufacturers have fast tracked the current vaccines coming to market next month. That means very little testing has been done. This leads to huge unknowns about the side effects

The vaccine manufactures have the potential to make windfall profits with little risk

Vaccine manufacturers stand to gain by the fear ginned up by the "pandemic". The US government has already awarded 2 billion dollars to the 5 companies that make the H1N1 vaccine.

The Congress has passed a law that protects vaccine manufacturers from being sued. If they had 'no willful knowledge' then they cannot be sued for damages.

All in all people should be very cautious about taking these vaccines. It is important to discuss the risks and benefits with your doctor. If the risk of getting the disease and having a severe complication is not very high, then it may not be in the interest of the individual to take the vaccine. At the very least, these vaccines should not be mandated.

Dr Elaina George is a prominent Board certified Otolaryngologist who practices in Atlanta. She started her practice Peachtree ENT Center with a mission to practice state of the art medicine that is available to everyone, and has come to be known as, the patients’ advocate. Dr. George graduated from Princeton University with a degree in Biology. She received her Masters degree in Medical Microbiology at Long Island University, and received her medical degree from Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York. She completed her residency at Manhattan, Eye Ear & Throat Hospital. Her training included general surgery at Lenox Hill Hospital, pediatric ENT at The NY-Presbyterian Hospital, and head and neck oncology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. She has published in several scientific journals and presented her research at national meetings. She has appeared as a guest on The Michael Baisden Show. You can listen to her radio show Medicine on Call, and read her blogs as a medical correspondent for Your Black World .

THE CANCER PROJECT ~ Healthy Eating for Life ...

2009-09-21T17:17:00.000-07:00

Healthy Eating for Life: Food Choices for Cancer Prevention and Survival

Are you ready to start enjoying the powerful benefits of a vegetarian diet?

Get started now by ordering a FREE copy of Healthy Eating for Life>.

Some dietary changes have a preventive effect for many types of cancer. Boosting your intake of vitamin-rich vegetables and fruits, for example, strengthens your immune system and helps knock out cancer cells. To help prevent cancer, it is also smart to avoid meats, dairy products, and fried foods. Choosing fiber-rich legumes, grains, vegetables, and fruits helps keep many types of cancer at bay. Plant foods also contain a wide variety of cancer-fighting substances called phytochemicals. These facts all point to choosing a vegetarian diet to help prevent cancer and improve cancer survival. Studies of vegetarians show that death rates from cancer are only about one-half to three-quarters of those of the general population.
Or download a copy of Healthy Eating for Life (PDF).

Read more

Watermelon 'has same effect as Viagra'

2009-09-21T13:04:00.000-07:00

Eating watermelon has a similar effect on the body to Viagra, according to researchers in the US.

It's down to a chemical called citrulline which is found in the juicy fruit.

Citrulline is an organic compound which affects the body's blood vessels in the same way as the sex enhancement pills.

It helps relax the blood vessels which means blood gets around the body more easily.

The research comes from the US' Texas Fruit and Vegetable Improvement Centre.

Dr Bhimu Patil led the research. He said: "We've always known that watermelon is good for you, but the list of its very important healthful benefits grows longer with each study.

"Watermelon may not be as organ specific as Viagra... but it's a great way to relax blood vessels without any drug side-effects."

It's also claimed watermelons are good for your heart and immune system.

The vast majority of watermelon (92%) is made up of water. But the remaining 8% is loaded with the anti-oxidant lycopene which is also good for your skin.

Story from BBC NEWS: link

7 benefits of regular physical activity

2009-09-18T14:58:00.000-07:00

You know exercise is good for you — but do you know how good? From boosting your mood to improving your sex life, find out how exercise can improve your life.

By Mayo Clinic staff

Want to feel better, have more energy and perhaps even live longer? Look no further than old-fashioned exercise.

The merits of regular physical activity — from preventing chronic health conditions to promoting weight loss and better sleep — are hard to ignore. And the benefits are yours for the taking, regardless of age, sex or physical ability. Need more convincing? Check out seven specific ways exercise can improve your life.

1. Exercise improves your mood.

Need to blow off some steam after a stressful day? A workout at the gym or a brisk 30-minute walk can help you calm down.

Physical activity stimulates various brain chemicals that may leave you feeling happier and more relaxed than you were before you worked out. You'll also look better and feel better when you exercise regularly, which can boost your confidence and improve your self-esteem. Regular physical activity can even help prevent depression.

2. Exercise combats chronic diseases.

Worried about heart disease? Hoping to prevent osteoporosis? Physical activity might be the ticket.

Regular physical activity can help you prevent — or manage — high blood pressure. Your cholesterol will benefit, too. Regular physical activity boosts high-density lipoprotein (HDL), or "good," cholesterol while decreasing triglycerides. This one-two punch keeps your blood flowing smoothly by lowering the buildup of plaques in your arteries.

And there's more. Regular physical activity can help you prevent type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis and certain types of cancer.

3. Exercise helps you manage your weight.

Want to drop those excess pounds? Trade some couch time for walking or other physical activities.

This one's a no-brainer. When you engage in physical activity, you burn calories. The more intense the activity, the more calories you burn — and the easier it is to keep your weight under control. You don't even need to set aside major chunks of time for working out. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Walk during your lunch break. Do jumping jacks during commercials. Better yet, turn off the TV and take a brisk walk. Dedicated workouts are great, but physical activity you accumulate throughout the day helps you burn calories, too.

4. Exercise boosts your energy level.

Winded by grocery shopping or household chores? Don't throw in the towel. Regular physical activity can leave you breathing easier.

Physical activity delivers oxygen and nutrients to your tissues. In fact, regular physical activity helps your entire cardiovascular system — the circulation of blood through your heart and blood vessels — work more efficiently. Big deal? You bet! When your heart and lungs work more efficiently, you'll have more energy to do the things you enjoy.

5. Exercise promotes better sleep.

Struggling to fall asleep? Or stay asleep? It might help to boost your physical activity during the day.

A good night's sleep can improve your concentration, productivity and mood. And you guessed it — physical activity is sometimes the key to better sleep. Regular physical activity can help you fall asleep faster and deepen your sleep. There's a caveat, however. If you exercise too close to bedtime, you may be too energized to fall asleep. If you're having trouble sleeping, you might want to exercise earlier in the day.

6. Exercise can put the spark back into your sex life.

Are you too tired to have sex? Or feeling too out of shape to enjoy physical intimacy? Physical activity to the rescue.

Regular physical activity can leave you feeling energized and looking better, which may have a positive effect on your sex life. But there's more to it than that. Regular physical activity can lead to enhanced arousal for women, and men who exercise regularly are less likely to have problems with erectile dysfunction than are men who don't exercise — especially as they get older.

7. Exercise can be — gasp — fun!

Wondering what to do on a Saturday afternoon? Looking for an activity that suits the entire family? Get physical!

Physical activity doesn't have to be drudgery. Take a ballroom dancing class. Check out a local climbing wall or hiking trail. Push your kids on the swings or climb with them on the jungle gym. Plan a neighborhood kickball or touch football game. Find a physical activity you enjoy, and go for it. If you get bored, try something new. If you're moving, it counts!

Are you convinced? Good. Start reaping the benefits of regular physical activity today!

Photos By Andre LaVelle: LVIStudios

The Power of Berries

2009-06-21T23:17:00.000-07:00

Studies show that many berries, including these Olallie blackberries, are packed with nutrients and may be a weapon against cancer. (David Karp for The New York Times)

Several studies show that people who eat diets high in fruits and vegetables have lower cancer rates. Now a large body of research suggests that berries may be among the most potent cancer-fighting fruits.

In numerous laboratory studies, researchers at Ohio State University have found that black raspberries inhibit the development of oral, esophageal and colon cancers in rats. Some human studies have also suggested a benefit from berry consumption. In one small study of patients with familial adenomatous polyposis, a genetic condition that raises risk for colon cancer, patients given black raspberry extract had up to 59 percent fewer rectal polyps than those taking a placebo; the findings were published in November’s Cancer Prevention Research journal. Another study showed black raspberry powder reduced symptoms for patients with Barrett’s esophagus, a precancerous condition.

The main berries being researched include black and red raspberries, blackberries, strawberries and elderberries. Although blueberries have numerous health benefits, they don’t appear to have the same cancer-fighting properties as other berries, researchers say. Berries contain a number of healthful compounds including vitamins A, C, E and folic acid; selenium; calcium; polyphenols; and compounds called anthocyanins, which give berries their color.

While berries, particularly raspberries, look like a promising super food, many people may not find it practical to eat them on a regular basis. A human would have to eat about a pound of berries a day to ingest the equivalent doses used in the rodent studies. Another concern is whether variations in climate and growing techniques may alter the concentration of the beneficial compounds found in the fruit. Although frozen berries can substitute for fresh when they are out of season, the fruits are expensive and may be too costly for most people to eat daily.

As a result, researchers are trying to identify the key ingredients that make berries cancer fighters. In a study published this month in Cancer Prevention Research, scientists compared rats who ingested a diet of whole black raspberries or a concentrated powder of black raspberry anthocyanins to rodents who ate a regular diet. The study found that the anthocyanin powder worked just as well as whole raspberries for slowing tumor growth. Both groups of rats consuming either whole berries or anthocyanin powder developed 50 percent fewer esophageal tumors compared to untreated rats.

“We’re quite encouraged by that,” said Gary D. Stoner, professor emeritus and former head of the Cancer Prevention Program at Ohio State University. “It’s not total inhibition, but it was pretty substantial. It tells us the anthoncyanins in the berries are pretty important and they are deserving of more research.”

Although the verdict on berries as cancer fighters is still out, Dr. Stoner says more people could benefit by eating them. Studies already show people with diets high in fruits and vegetables are healthier, and berries are a particularly tasty fruit. Dr. Stoner says frozen berries are a good option, because they won’t spoil, can be eaten year round and often are cheaper than fresh berries. Concentrated berry powders are also available at health food stores.

Dr. Stoner says he starts every morning with a shake made with strawberries, blackberries and blueberries mixed with yogurt and milk.

“We think for the average American, probably the consumption of three to four helpings of berries every week is a good thing,” he said. “We know berries have so many effects on processes related to cancer development. They are one of the food stuffs you probably should consider consuming every day, or at least a few times a week.”

Berries, Beans top "Best Antioxidant List"

Antioxidants fight damage to cells from rogue molecules called "free radicals." Experts believe this assault on cells may fuel killer diseases such as heart disease and cancer, and even aging itself.

The new Top 20 list, published in the June issue of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, "is a relative ranking of the capacity of foods to interfere with or prevent oxidative processes and to scavenge free radicals," explained list co-creator Ronald L. Prior, a USDA nutritionist and research chemist based in Little Rock, Ark.

Their Top 20:

Small red beans (dried).
Wild blueberries.
Red Kidney beans.
Pinto beans.
Blueberries (cultivated).
Cranberries.
Artichokes (cooked).
Blackberries.
Prunes.
Raspberries.
Strawberries.
Red Delicious apples.
Granny Smith apples.
Pecans.
Sweet cherries.
Black plums.
Russet potatoes (cooked).
Black beans (dried).
Plums.
Gala apples.

Colonel's secret ingredient for KFC grilled chicken? Beef!

2009-06-19T11:26:00.000-07:00

El Pollo Loco, the California-based restaurant chain, seems to take delight in pulling Colonel Sander's leg, and now it has called out KFC (or is it KGC? Grilled chicken complicates everything) over its use of beef products in the making of its new grilled chicken.

According to the Los Angeles Times, El Pollo Loco discovered that the new KFC grilled chicken is made with beef powder and rendered beef fat.

A spokesperson for KFC saw no problem with this, telling the paper, "Small amounts of beef flavors are commonly used in seasonings." The spokesperson said that the seasoning used on the new chicken product contains only 0.2% beef powder.

I checked out menus for McDonalds, Wendy's, Burger King, Taco Bell and Arby's. None of them list beef products in their chicken.

For the record, KFC Grilled Chicken is made of chicken, salt, sodium phosphate, MSG, maltodextrin, bleached wheat flower, partially hydrogenated soybean and cottonseed oil, spices, palm oil, natural flavor (?), garlic powder, Soy sauce, chicken fat, chicken broth, autolyzed yeast, beef powder, rendered beef fat, extractives of tumeric, dehydrated carrot, onion powder, calcium silicate, silicon dioxide. Just like Mom used to make, right?

Kudos to KFC for posting its ingredients, however. El Pollo Loco doesn't. So what does it have to hide?

KFC's mixture of meats presents a problem for me. I'm not a vegetarian, but I'm an aesthetic omnivore. I prefer to eat ugly animals whenever possible; chickens, pigs, crab or halibut. I try to avoid cute meat, such as beef (is there anything lovelier than the eyes of a Jersey cow?), lamb and rabbit.

Of course, many people choose to not eat beef for ethical or religious reasons, and for them, this is no laughing matter. The KFC spokesperson's assertion that beef powder is widely used strikes me as reasonable, and leaves me wondering how much I've eaten in my life. Or perhaps I don't want to know.

Thanks to The Consumerist

The World's Healthiest Foods

2009-06-12T16:08:00.000-07:00

Of course, there are many other nutritious foods other than those that we have included on our list that we feel are wonderful, health-promoting foods; if there are other whole foods - such as fruits, vegetables, nuts/seeds, whole grains, etc - that you like, by all means enjoy them. Just because a food is not on our list doesn't mean that we don't think that it can be included in a diet geared towards the Healthiest Way of Eating as long as it is a whole, natural, nutrient-rich food.

To find out why some of your favorite nutritious foods are not included in our list, read The Criteria Used to Select the World's Healthiest Foods.

Vegetables
Asparagus
Avocados
Beets
Bell peppers
Broccoli
Brussels sprouts
Cabbage
Carrots
Cauliflower
Celery
Collard greens
Cucumbers
Eggplant
Fennel
Garlic
Green beans
Green peas
Kale
Leeks
Mushrooms, crimini
Mushrooms, shiitake
Mustard greens
Olives
Onions
Potatoes
Romaine lettuce
Sea vegetables
Spinach
Squash, summer
Squash, winter
Sweet potatoes
Swiss chard
Tomatoes
Turnip greens
Yams
Seafood
Cod
Halibut
Salmon
Scallops
Shrimp
Tuna
Fruits
Apples
Apricots
Bananas
Blueberries
Cantaloupe
Cranberries
Figs
Grapefruit
Grapes
Kiwifruit
Lemon/Limes
Oranges
Papaya
Pears
Pineapple
Plums
Prunes
Raisins
Raspberries
Strawberries
Watermelon
Eggs & Low-Fat Dairy
Cheese, low-fat
Eggs
Milk, 2%, cow's
Milk, goat
Yogurt
Beans & Legumes
Black beans
Dried peas
Garbanzo beans (chickpeas)
Kidney beans
Lentils
Lima beans
Miso
Navy beans
Pinto beans
Soybeans
Tempeh
Tofu
Poultry & Lean Meats
Beef, lean organic
Calf's liver
Chicken
Lamb
Turkey
Venison
Nuts & Seeds
Almonds
Cashews
Flaxseeds
Olive oil, extra virgin
Peanuts
Pumpkin seeds
Sesame seeds
Sunflower seeds
Walnuts
Grains
Barley
Brown rice
Buckwheat
Corn
Millet
Oats
Quinoa
Rye
Spelt
Whole wheat
Spices & Herbs
Basil
Black pepper
Cayenne pepper
Chili pepper, dried
Cilantro/Coriander seeds
Cinnamon, ground
Cloves
Cumin seeds
Dill
Ginger
Mustard seeds
Oregano
Parsley
Peppermint
Rosemary
Sage
Thyme
Turmeric
Natural Sweeteners
Blackstrap molasses
Cane juice
Honey
Maple syrup
Other
Green tea
Soy sauce (tamari)
Water

FAQs about the World's Healthiest Foods

Criteria for The World's Healthiest Foods

Among the thousands of different foods our world provides, the majority contain at least several of the nutrients our bodies need but to be included as one of the World's Healthiest Foods they had to meet the criteria listed below.

The criteria we used will also help you understand why some of your favorite (and also nutritious) foods may not be included on our list. For example, Readers have asked why pomegranate, a very nutritious food, is not included on our website. While pomegranates taste great and are rich in vitamins and flavonoid phytonutrients, they are still rather expensive which makes them not as widely available to many people.

1. The World's Healthiest Foods are the Most Nutrient Dense

The World's Healthiest Foods have been selected because they are among the richest sources of many of the essential nutrients needed for optimal health. We used a concept called nutrient density to determine which foods have the highest nutritional value.

Nutrient density is a measure of the amount of nutrients a food contains in comparison to the number of calories. A food is more nutrient dense when the level of nutrients is high in relationship to the number of calories the food contains. By eating the World's Healthiest Foods, you'll get all the essential nutrients that you need for excellent health, including vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, essential fatty acids, fiber and more for the least number of calories. Read more about Our Food and Recipe Rating System.

2. The World's Healthiest Foods are Whole Foods

The World's Healthiest Foods are also whole foods complete with all their rich natural endowment of nutrients. They have not been highly processed nor do they contain synthetic, artificial or irradiated ingredients. And whenever possible, The Healthier Way of Eating recommends purchasing "Organically Grown" foods, since they not only promote your health, but also the health of our planet.

3. The World's Healthiest Foods are Familiar Foods

The World's Healthiest Foods are common "everyday" foods. These include the fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and seeds, lean meats, fish, olive oil, herbs and spices that are familiar to most people.

4. The World's Healthiest Foods are Readily Available

Although there are many foods that are exceptionally nutritious, many of them are not readily available in different areas of the country. The World's Healthiest Foods are foods that the majority people can easily find at their local market.

5. The World's Healthiest Foods are Affordable

We have selected foods that are not only familiar and available, but also affordable, especially if you purchase them locally and in season. This is also the time when they are the freshest and of the best quality.

6. The World's Healthiest Foods Taste Good

The World's Healthiest Foods are also some of the world's best tasting foods. We have created recipes using the World's Healthiest Foods that do not overpower, but enhance, the unique flavor of each food. Each recipe provides a flavor adventure so you can discover new ways to experience and enjoy the great natural tastes of these foods.

Squat exercise dog

2009-06-01T21:36:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone,

well i was browsing the internet. Unbelievable what you can find. But this one I had to post. It was too cute and motivating. You know the dog is the Man's best friend but like that? Working out with you? Check out the video, you will love it.

Everyone needs a work out partner!

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=4a3_1243135393&p=1

Know what you are eating

2009-05-28T23:11:00.000-07:00

McDonald’s

The egg’s reputation is recovering, but scrambled eggs as a part of McDonald’s breakfast include much more than egg. Their pasteurized whole eggs have sodium acid pyrophosphate, citric acid, and monosodium phosphate (all added to preserve color), and nisin, a preservative. To top it off, the eggs are prepared with liquid margarine: liquid soybean oil, water, partially hydrogenated cottonseed and soybean oils (trans fats), salt, hydrogenated cottonseed oil (trans fat), soy lecithin, mono- and diglycerides, sodium benzoate, potassium sorbate (preservatives), artificial flavor, citric acid, vitamin A palmitate, and beta carotene (color). Though not all bad, these added chemicals may be the reason why homemade scrambled eggs taste so much better than McDonald’s.

For coffee drinkers, it would seem fairly safe to just grab a quick cup of coffee at McDonalds on the way to work. But many health conscious people would object to it also including this list of ingredients: sodium phosphate, sodium polyphosphate, Di-Acetyl Tartrate Ester of Monoglyceride, sodium stearoyl lactylate, tetra sodium pyrophosphate, sodium hexametaphosphate, sodium citrate, and carrageenan. Do health nuts still drink coffee?

Salads can usually be counted on to be a “what you see is what you get” item. But McDonald’s adds some interesting ingredients. The salads with grilled chicken also have liquid margarine.

Several salads have either cilantro lime glaze, or orange glaze added. Along with many of McDonald’s sauces, both the cilantro lime glaze and the orange glaze contain propylene glycol alginate. While propylene glycol is considered "GRAS" for human consumption, it is not legal for use in cat food because the safety hasn't been proven yet [10]. Proplene glycol is also used "As the killing and preserving agent in pitfall traps, usually used to capture ground beetles" [10].

The chili lime tortilla strips that are included in the southwest salads have several ingredients used to hide MSG. They also contain two ingredients that advertise the presence of MSG: disodium inosinate, and disodium guanylate.

The chicken has sodium phosphates (of an unspecified variety). It could be trisodium phosphate (a cleanser), monosodium phosphate (a laxative), or disodium hydrogen phosphate [11]. Why would McDonald’s add sodium phosphates (a foaming agent), and dimethylpolysiloxane added as an antifoaming agent in their crispy chicken breast filets? It isn’t dishwasher detergent.

The Decision to Be Remarkable

2008-11-19T13:39:00.000-08:00

re•mark•able [adjective]: worthy of being noticed, especially as being uncommon or extraordinary

If you want to break out of the mold of average, the first thing you need to do is to make a decision to be radically different. Most remarkable people are people of action, and for a good reason: if you don’t take decisive action, nothing will ever change. But this first step is entirely mental. It calls for a clear decision to rise above the culture of mediocrity.

And then, of course, it does call for action.

How do you decide to be remarkable?

1. Stop making excuses. Just stop. No one wants to hear why you couldn’t do something, so make a conscious decision to stop talking about it.

2. Take responsibility. This is the opposite of giving excuses. Take responsibility for your own success, and take responsibility for the success of projects you work on. When something goes wrong (it usually does), take responsibility for that too.

3. Start questioning rules and expectations. Always ask questions and pay close attention to the answers you hear back. Some good starting questions are: Why is this rule in place? Who benefits from this rule being followed? What are the consequences if I don’t follow this rule or meet this expectation? What is the worst thing that could happen if I don’t follow this rule?

4. Find work that you love and do it well. Depending on who you are, this requires up to two big changes in your life: first, you have to find work that you love, and second, you have to do it well. Do it better than expected and people will be amazed.

5. Begin living your own life. This is what it’s all about—the life you were meant to live. If you don’t know what that is yet, start looking for it. Why would you want to live someone else’s life?

6. Take it up a level. Take what’s already working well and exponentially add to it. Grow your business 300%. Apply for the position of CFO when you’re the Accounts Payable Clerk. Visit five countries instead of one on your next trip (or if you want to explore one place well, stay three weeks instead of one).

Beware of Excellence

But watch out: being remarkable is addicting. It’s like regular exercise or healthy eating. When you first start a new exercise routine or diet, the adjustment is hard for a while. But after about 3-6 months of following it consistently, you build up a natural addiction to it.

Once you get used to regular exercise, you’ll feel bad when you’re not doing it. The same is true with being remarkable: do it once, and it’s scary. Do it a few times, and you love it. Stop doing it, and you’ll get depressed.

Many remarkable people deal with depression and anxiety all the time because they see the world differently than average people do. Their own failures and perceived failures are magnified. When others say, “Don’t worry about it,” they can’t understand why someone would think something like that. For this reason, a lot of geniuses throughout history have been chronically depressed.

Those are the hard things—and you also have to think about the critics, the skeptics, and the competition. We’ll come to those later. On the other hand, there are some great benefits to being remarkable:

HELP FROM A COMMUNITY

As you proceed with your plans for world domination, or whatever you want to do, you’ll be naturally drawn to others who have made the same decisions to be different. Even better, they’ll be drawn to you. You’ll learn from them and vice versa.

Whether you live in the Dilbert Cube, the Ivory Tower, the public sector, or are out there on your own somewhere, there are lots of ways to be remarkable. The specific application is up to you, and when you choose to make your own way, other people who “get it” will seek you out.

Remarkable people are all minorities in a world of average living.

HELP FROM THE UNIVERSE

You’ll find help in all kinds of unexpected places and from people you never knew before. No one really knows how this works, practically speaking. It’s okay; just accept the gifts that are given to you. They are given for a reason.

WHAT GOES UP STAYS UP

Instead of shrinking over time, your vision will actually get bigger. The funny thing about big goals is that they often take less time to achieve than you expect, and once you achieve them, you’ve already mentally moved on to bigger and better goals. As you proceed with questioning authority, building your army, achieving your goals, and helping others, the vision keeps expanding.

This is why it is not much more difficult to grow a business from $1,000 a month in sales to $10,000. The challenge is in getting that first $1,000 together.

This is why artists scrape together a meager living for an average of seven years before being noticed. Most of them drop out along the way, but for those who stick with it, all of sudden they’re selling paintings for $8 a square inch. (And by the way, art that sells for $10,000 isn’t always better than $100 art hanging in the coffee shop.)

This is your personal tipping point—not when everyone else starts adopting a new trend and makes it mainstream, but when everything comes together for your own vision. But you have to get in the game first, and you can do that by being remarkable.

***

Of all the steps required to change the world in the way you see fit, the decision to be remarkable is the most important. With this decision in place, other variables can be changed. Don’t rush this—it’s a big commitment.

Once you make the commitment, you need a vision to change the world. What will it be? Whatever you choose, make sure it’s remarkable enough to suit every gift you have ever been given. Once you decide to defy the expectations of being average, there will be a lot riding on your ultimate success.

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8 Reasons Why People Drink Soda & 16 Reasons To Give Up Soda Drinking

2008-10-13T23:20:00.000-07:00

1. It's Very Tasty!

The taste could be one thing that gets us addicted to drinking soda, it is delicious. In fact, it is so good, that many people drink it with every meal!

2. It's Everywhere!

Even if you wanted to drink something else, you would be hard-pressed to find it as prominently displayed in vending machines, at fast-food chains, and supermarket checkouts. You might not realize how ubiquitous Coke, Pepsi, and the like are in our society until you try to stop drinking soda.

3. Convenience, "Grab-n-Go"!

The most addictive thing about soda is the convenience. If you want something quick or are in a hurry, it is so easy to grab and convenient to drink.

4. Promotion and Advertising

Soft drinks are heavily consumed in part because companies promote them vigorously - Billions of dollars are spend on advertising sodas - and market them everywhere - in stores, restaurants, gas stations, museums, and even schools.

5. Soda Habit

For some people, drinking several sodas a day is a force of habit. You know drinking soda is a habit when you find yourself going to the grocery store at 10 p.m. because your refrigerator is tapped out.

6. It Is Cheap

Soda may be pretty inexpensive when compared with fruit juice and milk. With combo meals, a large soda is only an extra dollar, and you get fries!

7. Thirst

Often people drink soda to quench the thirst. However, this is probably the worst time to drink soda, because when you are very thirsty or dehydrated you have low levels of saliva. And saliva helps to neutralize acids (soda is the most acidic beverage you can buy) and wash your teeth clean.

8. Caffeine Addiction

Many soft drinks contain caffeine and caffeine is mildly addictive. This fact is part of the reason soda is such a hard habit to break. If you're addicted to the caffeine in soda, you're really having two habits - the soda habit and the caffeine habit.

16 Reasons To Stop Drinking Soda

These were reasons why we drink soda and here are 16 powerful reasons to give up soda drinking.

Do you know the extent to which drinking carbonated, caffeinated, sugared, or artificially sweetened beverages harms your body? Giving up soft drinks can be one of the best things you can do to improve your health.

1.Soda Is Useless.

First of all, there are no nutritionally beneficial components in soft drinks. Soft drinks mostly consist of filtered water and refined sugars. Yet the average American drinks about 57 gallons of soft drinks each year.

2. Weight Gain & Obesity

Many people either forget or don't realize how many extra calories they consume in what they drink. Drinking a single 330 ml can a day of sugary drinks translates to more than 1lb of weight gain every month.

Several scientific studies have provided experimental evidence that soft drinks are directly related to weight gain. The relationship between soft drink consumption and body weight is so strong that researchers2 calculate that for each additional soda consumed, the risk of obesity increases 1.6 times.

According to the results of high quality study3 reducing consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages helped reduce body mass index in the heaviest teenagers.

3. Diabetes

This is a consequence of #2. Anything that promotes weight gain increases the risk of diabetes. Drinking soda not only contributes to making people fat, but it also stresses the body's ability to process sugar5. Some scientists now suspect that the sweet stuff may help explain why the number of Americans with type 2 diabetes has tripled from 6.6 million in 1980 to 20.8 million today.

Rapidly absorbed carbohydrates like high fructose corn syrup put more strain on insulin-producing cells than other foods. When sugar enters the bloodstream quickly, the pancreas has to secrete large amounts of insulin for the body to process it. Some scientists believe that the unceasing demands that a soda habit places on the pancreas may ultimately leave it unable to keep up with the body's need for insulin. Also, insulin itself becomes less effective at processing sugar; both conditions contribute to the risk of developing diabetes.

Researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and Harvard Medical School4 analyzed data from the Nurses' Health Study II, a trial tracking the health of more than 51,000 women. None of the participants had diabetes at the onset of the study in 1991. Over the following 8 years, 741 women were diagnosed with the disease. Researchers found that women who drank one or more sugary drinks a day gained more weight and were 83% more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those who imbibed less than once a month.

4. Weakened Bones And Risk Of Osteoporosis

Frequent consumption of soft drinks may also increase the risk of osteoporosis,6 especially in people who drink soft drinks instead of calcium-rich milk7. High soda consumption (particularly cola15) in children poses a significant risk factor for impaired calcification of growing bones.

In the 1950s, children drank 3 cups of milk for every 1 cup of sugary drinks. Today that ratio is reversed: 3 cups of sugary drinks for every cup of milk. Tellingly, osteoporosis is a major health threat for 44 million Americans. Most experts now say that the real culprit is soda's displacement of milk in the diet, though some scientists believe that the acidity of colas may be weakening bones by promoting the loss of calcium.

5. Dental Caries And Erosion

Soda eats up and dissolves the tooth enamel8. Researches9 say that soft drinks are responsible for doubling or tripling the incidence of tooth decay.

The acidity can dissolve the mineral content of the enamel, making the teeth weaker, more sensitive, and more susceptible to decay. Soda's acidity makes it even worse for teeth than the solid sugar found in candy.

Dental experts continue to urge that people drink less soda pop, especially between meals, to prevent tooth decay and dental erosion.

6. Kidney Damage

There is good evidence that cola beverages can increase the risk of kidney problems, more so than non-cola sodas.

Researches clearly demonstrated that large quantities of cola result in enhanced kidney stone formation16-17. If you're wondering exactly how soft drinks cause kidney stones, it's because of their acidity and radical mineral imbalances. Your body must buffer the acidity of soft drinks with calcium from your own bones. As this calcium is eliminated through your urine, it slowly forms kidney stones.

In a study published in the journal Epidemiology14, the team compared the dietary habits of 465 people with chronic kidney disease and 467 healthy people. After controlling for various factors, the team found that drinking two or more colas a day (whether artificially sweetened or regular) was linked to a twofold risk of chronic kidney disease.

7.Increased Blood Pressure

Experts have reasons to believe that overconsumption of fructose, particularly in the form of soft drinks, leads to an increase in blood pressure22.

8. Likely To Cause Heartburn

Soft drink consumption is a strong predictor of heartburn20-21.

9. Metabolic Syndrome Risk Factor

Soft drink consumption is a significant risk factor for developing of metabolic syndrome18, a combination of the symptoms such as high blood pressure, obesity, high cholesterol, and insulin resistance.

10. Harmful Effects On Liver

There is evidence that consumption of too many soft drinks puts you under increased risk for liver cirrhosis similar to what chronic alcoholics have19.

11. Impaired Digestive System

Soda, no matter who makes it, is the most acidic beverage you can buy, with a pH of about 2.51, about the same as vinegar, but the sugar content disguises the acidity. To put that into perspective, consider that battery acid has a pH of 1 and pure water has a pH level of 7.

Why does that matter? Throughout the digestive system, that starts from the mouth and ends up at the anus only the stomach can resist an acidic environment up to pH 2.0. But before the acidity of soft drink reaches the stomach it passes through all the other organs involved in the digestive system thus causing an abnormal acidic environment. The linings of the mouth, pharynx and esophagus are highly sensitive to acids.

The phosphoric acid present in soft drink competes with the hydrochloric acid of the stomach and affects its functions. When the stomach becomes ineffective, food remains undigested causing indigestion, gassiness or bloating (swelling of stomach).

12. Dehydration

Another problem with sodas is that they act as dehydrating diuretics. Both caffeine and sugar cause dehydration.

Caffeine is a diuretic and causes an increase in urine volume. High concentration of sugar is drawing off water because your kidneys try to expel the excess sugar out of the blood. When you drink a caffeinated soda to quench your thirst, you will actually become thirstier.

13. High Caffeine Content

Another advantage of avoiding sodas is that you will avoid the unnecessary caffeine. Soda drinks are a major source of caffeine in the American diet.

High doses of caffeine can cause irritability, restlessness, tension, insomnia, high blood pressure, gastrointestinal disturbance, excessive urination, irregular heartbeat and other side effects.

14. Toxins - Aspartame

If you think diet soda is better think again. The poison in diet soda is an artificial sweetener aspartame. Aspartame is made up of three chemicals: aspartic acid, phenylalanine, and methanol. It is used because it's about 200 times sweeter than table sugar.

Despite US FDA approval as a "safe" food additive, aspartame is one of the most dangerous substances added to foods. After you drink an aspartame-sweetened product, aspartame breaks down into its starting components: phenylalanine, aspartic acid, and methanol (that further converts to formaldehyde and formic acid, which are known carcinogens.). There are over 92 different health side effects associated with aspartame consumption10-13.

15. Possible Cell Damage Ability

A new health scare erupted over soft drinks recently amid evidence that they may cause serious cell damage. Research from a British university suggests a common preservative E211, known as sodium benzoate, found in drinks such as Fanta and Pepsi Max has the ability to switch off vital parts of DNA.

Sodium benzoate occurs in small amounts naturally in berries, but is used in large quantities to prevent mould in soft drinks.

16. There Are So Many Healthy Alternatives!

Soda replaces healthier drinks. By drinking soda, you cut the intake of fresh juices, milk, and even water and deprive yourself from essential vitamins and minerals.

* Water. Water is the best drink in the world.
* Tea. Any kind of tea - herbal, green or black - is rich in antioxidants, which were shown to protects the body form many health problems.
* 100% Juice. Fruit juice can be also useful for flavoring your water and teas.

Reality: Training is like auto insurance; otherwise get a big strong dog

2008-09-06T14:43:00.000-07:00

We would all like to live in a world of peace and unconditional love but the reality of our existence through out history has been one of hostility and violence. So we must continue to evolve emotionally, physically and mentally expanding our knowledge and abilities to deal with the various threats and adverse situations we may inadvertently encounter.
The thought of being accosted or having to face the potential for physical violence is the reality of the world we live in. Kidnapping, car jacking, robbery, rape, assault, murder and domestic violence flood the news media.
The code of ethics by todays criminal is null, women, children, the elderly have all become targets, it is with this in mind that we have developed the PCW boot camp training method.
We all appreciate fitness training for a variety of reason, strength, health, body image, weight lose, conditioning, etc; But how often do consider the potential of having to face our deepest fears? What would you do? What can you do? What should you do? For training that goes beyond the physical, that taps into the base of survival tactics, that strengthens the mind, body and spirit.... PCW
We don't train with the intention of fighting, no more then purchase insurance with the notion of getting ill, or having an accident. It's a precautionary necessity. Sure we could rely on weaponry for defense, guns, pepper spray etc; but as I always make a point to tell my clients. "Unless you are prepared to walk around with them in your hand in a ready position 24-7 weapons are only as practical as your ability to get to them." It is better to prepare and strengthen your mind, body and knowledge of self defense techniques, practice under real life conditions and learn to adapt than to develop poor habits and a false sense of security around a weapon or gadget.

Are you living?

2008-09-03T22:05:00.000-07:00

What does it mean to live life to the fullest?
Can this be achieved if we allow ourselves to be limited or restrained by antiquated social views as it pertains to any variety of judgmental or divisive thinking or attitudes toward age, skin pigment, or sexuality.
As we progress we should hope to obtain wisdom and knowledge with a higher understanding of self and the world around us. We should aspire to be and do better, lead by example and set a path for future generations.
But how can we hope to enlighten others if we are not willing to step out of the shadows cast upon us by customs and traditions, closed minds and ignorance.
It is time to step up and step out of the past and venture forward toward a new vision of the future, one that presents us with endless opportunity, creativity, friendships, love, wealth and knowledge.
Now is the time, today, this moment let us begin to unite, set goals, start on a new path and follow the vision that comes from your dreams. Live in optimism, walk in faith, obtaining knowledge of self and all things to manifest a safe and successful journey.

Limitations are perceptions

2008-07-13T23:05:00.000-07:00

I lost myself; I got caught up in the economics and lost my artistic integrity.
I found myself doing what I thought was necessary to acquire the finance rather then stay true to my passion and just do me, the me that initially broke through and received the accolades.
I had to take a few steps back in order to proceed forward and now its all clear. I now know the wall that blocked my progress was not as big as it appeared, stepping back from it I realize it too has limitations and I longer feel the need to have to break though it, stepping back from it I see there are ways around it and over it. I couldn’t see this before because I was to close to it.
I use my personal example as an artist, but it applies to all things. Removing our selves if only momentarily from a situation can offer an alternate perspective as we allow the dust to settle.
Take time for a moment of clarity free from the emotion of the situation at hand, breath deeply, release the anxiety and try to free yourself of any personal attachment so that you might visualize the situation or circumstance differently.
These are the first steps of many in a journey toward endless possibilities.

A. LaVelle

An image in a cracked mirror can’t be repaired

2008-07-11T17:12:00.000-07:00

(Not a failed relationship, but further growth in the knowledge of what a relationship should and shouldn’t be.)

When you are dreaming with an open heart
Reality is the hardest part of waking up
Realizing the inevitable pain as the blinding haze clears
And you are no longer walking blindly following your heart
Bruised once again, so deeply that it can no longer be ignored
Bleeding, torn and split by to many deeply stabbing words
Not enough action to prove otherwise
A one sided desire to make it work seems too obvious now
The writing on the wall glowing red from the heated flames of countless innuendo
My love is no longer strong enough to hold the reigns of two
My passion though overflowing feels as if falling upon barren wastelands
Never to harvest a reciprocal level of understanding and growth
I now see the light and it no longer shine upon my image of Eden, but resides on a continuous struggle to no avail and to continue this fight seems futile
The casualties are too great as I see my dreams slowly dying and my inspirations wane
My optimism, creativity and motivation feel as if they are fading and I feel ill inside
Emotionally drained, exhausted and in physical pain I feel I’m losing myself to hold on to an illusion
I took steps in my past to be a better person and made a conscious effort to change, I can’t go backward or allow others to lead me back into the darkness…
Life is motion and growth, positive development.
We are meant to be nomads on a continuous quest for improvements mentally, physically, and economically.
Once we become stagnant, sedentary, complacent we are out of sync with nature; hence depression, frustration and despair.

A. LaVelle

A lifestyle of change...

2008-07-10T18:02:00.000-07:00

Fitness is a lifestyle, a commitment to change, to be better today than you were yesterday.
Not just physically, but a commitment to emotional, mental, and spiritual growth.
Fitness goes beyond the body temple; we should strive to obtain fitness of mind as well, seeking knowledge for it is the key to growth and enlightenment. To become enlightened and knowledgeable one must be open to change and have a willingness to challenge their way of thinking for continued development and understanding. Understanding of our selves is the key to making progress. Progress only comes with commitment and a desire to see beyond our perceived limitations as we begin to visualize all that we can, will and hope to be. This seemingly radical way of thinking is not new and we have all done it at some point in our life, rather consciously or subconsciously, we have all in one way or another altered a situation in our life by changing our perception or way of thinking toward it.
The powers of prayer, meditation or positive thinking are all ways of altering karma or life energies. As children we were told to make a wish, this is no different than speaking our desires into fruition, this completes the cycle.

A. LaVelle