Food Matters

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.

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

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.

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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 ...

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).

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7 benefits of regular physical activity

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

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

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