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Pregnant Woman Avoids Diabetes Drugs with Real Food

Kristen attended my class, Weight & Wellness...we learn how to eat REAL food.

Kristens Story as told to Erin Chamerlik MT(ASCP)

For eight years of my life, during high school and college, I was anorexic and had to try to like food.

When I joined the navy I was not accepted at first because at 5’8” I weighed just 104 pounds. I put on the pounds by eating McDonalds and pizza.

I weighed 112 pounds when I got pregnant and gained 100 pounds by the time I had the baby. I lost the extra weight but when I was pregnant with my second child I gained 100 pounds again.

I used to eat out a lot, not fast food but we went to places like Olive Garden or Vegas for dinner. At home I ate anything that was fast and easy. We ate Hamburger Helper, Spaghetti, tacos and a lot of pasta. The faster and more convenient it was, the better. I felt awful. I was tired all the time and I was always eating every 2 to 3 hours because I was bored or hungry. At night I snacked on chips.

I am pregnant now, expecting my third child any day. I was trying to be healthy this pregnancy and NOT gain 100# like I did with each of my previous two pregnancies. At my 12 week doctor appointment I failed the one hour glucose test and I also failed the 3 hour test that followed. My glucose was in the 200’s.

My doctor wanted to put me on medication for the high blood sugar.

About this time I was starting the Weight and Wellness class, June 2010. My friend, Carolyn, had taken the class previously and showed me the eating plan and recipes. My doctor agreed to let me try this eating plan for 4 weeks. If I didn’t improve then my doctor said we were doing it their way, with medication.

My husband encouraged me to follow the eating plan by saying, “This is what we’re doing. I’m doing it with you 100%.” I would pack his food to take to the fire station when he was on duty. There was no gray area; if it wasn’t on the list we didn’t eat it. We followed the eating plan 100%.

At first I felt locked in the kitchen preparing food.

Cooking was foreign to me. I didn’t know how to cook real food so I followed the recipes from class exactly. It seemed like it took a lot of time to cook real food, but after week one I could plan more and I had learned how to make meals faster.

I would cook food in big batches. I would take a day to prepare food for several days. I would wash vegetables and bag them; I would cook all the meat for the week on that one day including beef, chicken and pork. I cooked 3 meals at a time, every time I cooked. In the beginning I focused on cooking a few basic meals. We ate stir fry a lot at first, but now I am expanding and trying new recipes.

The cravings for sweet foods and bread were not bad after the first day.

I had taken a big black garbage bag through my kitchen and emptied out the entire pantry and got rid of everything that wasn’t good for us to eat. It seems overwhelming at first and it seemed like I would never be able to eat anything. But you will learn what tastes good and what your body actually needs. For the first four weeks I recorded everything I ate. It made me accountable for what I was eating. It would help me to think, “Am I really hungry?” I also read a 30-day devotional book at the same time by Sheri Rose Shepherd called, “Fit for my King.” These daily readings helped me focus on the fact that my body is a temple and I need to take care of it.

I returned to my doctor after one week on the eating plan and my blood sugar had dropped.

The 3 hour glucose test after 3 weeks showed over 60 point drop from my first test. It has been about 3 months since I changed the way I eat. I now feel a lot better. For being full term with this pregnancy, I feel pretty good! I do not need to take naps anymore. I used to live, breathe and die by naps. I used to nap one hour a day.

During this pregnancy I have not gained 100 pounds like I have in the past. I have gained only 8 pounds and the baby is tracking right along, growing at a healthy rate! My husband has lost 34 pounds on this eating plan and now weighs what he did in high school while playing sports! He used to run 2 miles a day and now runs 5 miles a day. I have found that my moods have improved along with my energy levels.

Now I get to be a mom instead of a cranky, crabby tired person!

IN THIS ISSUE Pigs, Cattle and Turkeys Drugged for Profit Kristen's Story - Using REAL food to avoid medication for diabetes

COMPANY BUZZ Get Better Wellness offers classes on-line or in Round Lake Beach. On-Line - The Food Sensitivity Elimination Plan Round Lake Beach - Weight & Wellness. Last chance to jump in this class is September 28. Next session will start in January 2011! Please visit GetBetterWellness for more information on classes or email me if you have questions! Erin Chamerlik Email Erin

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Pigs Drugged For Profit by Erin Chamerlik MT(ASCP)

Pigs, Cattle and Turkeys Drugged for Profit

I have been visiting my Farmers Market lately for farm fresh eggs. You don’t need to be afraid of salmonella when you purchase right from an organic farmer with pasture-raised chickens. The eggs are delicious and nutritious.I buy from Farmer Nicks LLC at my local farmers market. He also sells meat that I buy.

I have another farmer that comes in town from Iowa once a month, Wallace Farms. My farmer also raises pigs and steer and sells pork, beef, chicken and wild caught fish.  

My third farmer delivers right to my door, grass-fed beef, raw cheese and more.

Want to find a farmer raising food the right way? You can find one near you at EatWild.com

Why go to all the trouble of tacking down your own farmer?

Pasture-raised, organic pork tastes good and is better for you than commercially-raised pork. 

I’m not a big fan of pork personally, but I like bacon occasionally. We were quite amazed how different pasture-raised bacon tastes and cooks compared to grocery-store bacon. 

First, it cooks evenly and doesn’t spatter like regular bacon.

 

It has more nutrients in the meat, the fats are higher quality. You can see this in the way the bacon looks – it looks like meat, not like curled up fat. 

The pan cleans up with water when the bacon is organic, pasture-raised.

The list of bad chemicals used in grocery store pork is long but here is one little thing I learned this past week from the local farmer. 

Commercially raised pigs are given

• antibiotics
• lysine to promote fast growth
• hormones for growth promotion
• Paylean

$$$ Paylean as the trademarked name suggests, makes the pigs leaner, thus paying the pork producers more. $$$

Paylean is a product of Elanco technology, a company owned by Eli Lilly. It is fed to pigs during their final 45-90 pounds of gain before going to market.

Paylean is a money maker for producers.

The only reason to feed this to pigs is to increase carcass gain. (Paylean is not just for pigs! Paylean is marketed as Optaflexx for finishing beef and Tomax for fattening your Thanksgiving turkey).

This is the equivalent of steroids for body builders, only this chemical makes the pigs agitated, irritable and aggressive. It changes their body composition and messes with their brains too. 

This chemical remains in the meat!

20% of Paylean, given to pigs, Optaflexx, given to cattle and Tomax, given to turkeys remains in consumer meat says author and veterinarian Michael W. Fox 

We can thank the FDA for approving this drug for animals right before slaughter when it has already been declared “not safe for use in humans.” 

Other countries have banned Paylean in animals including Europe, Taiwan and China. 

Chemicals like Paylean and bovine growth hormone are commonplace in the food supply and they are harming people. 

The fine print on Paylean (aka ractopamine hydrochloride) is telling:

Paylean Caution:

Ractopamine may increase the number of injured and/or fatigued pigs during marketing.

Not For Human Use

Warning!

The active ingredient in Paylean, ractopamine hydrochloride, is a beta-adrenergic agonist. 

 Individuals with cardiovascular disease should exercise special caution to avoid exposure. Not for use in humans. Keep out of the reach of children.

You are your own food advocate. The government has strong ties to the food industry and puts corporate profits before your health and food safety. When it comes to animal products like meat, milk, and eggs, buying products directly from an organic producer will help you to eat high quality, safe food from animals that are raised by caring local farmers.

Beef from a trusted organic farmer, really green-fed, Beyond Organic.

Processed foods = poor health by Erin Chamerlik

We don’t need to look very far to find people that are diseased, obese, sick and tired. In a country where we have supermarkets brimming with food we find a population that is overfed and malnourished at the same time. Consuming more processed and refined foods and fewer whole foods contributes to a decline in health. Whole foods provide vital nutrients – vitamins, minerals, enzymes, phytonutrients, and fiber – that are used to build healthy cells and in turn healthy tissues and healthy bodies. Choosing processed and refined foods devoid of critical nutrients will result in poor health in the long run.

Processing destroys the valuable elements in whole foods while adding harmful chemicals that tax our systems. Our bodies react to these foreign substances causing reactions and sensitivities. Over time, eating a deficient diet will result in illness and disease. The body must have the proper fuel to perform and to maintain homeostasis. Regularly eating processed foods stripped of nutrients will take a toll on the human body and lead to unnecessary health consequences.

Kombu for blood pressure reduction by Erin Chamerlik, MT(ASCP)

Have you tried Kombu?

I buy Kombu at the health food store. It is a dried sea vegetable that is easy to add to soups and stews. Add it when cooking dried beans to reduce the gas-producing properties of beans!

Here's a great recipe that makes a HUGE batch of Magic Mineral Broth - a recipe by Rebecca Katz. See the recipe at her website.

One of the ingredients is kombu - a sea vegetable.

Use kombu when cooking soups, brown rice and beans by adding a 4-6 inch strip to as they cook. When cooking time is short, soak kombu for 20 minutes first.

Cut up cooked kombu and add it back to the soup or beans.

Kombu is a good source of Iodine and Potassium as well as vitamins A, and C.

Kombu contains enzymes that help to break down the sugars in beans that cause bloating and gas.

It increases digestibility, reduces blood cholesterol and hypertension.

Recipe for BBQ Sauce - Gluten-Free!

Erin’s Gluten-free BBQ Sauce

2 Tbs. gluten-free tamari sauce (wheat-free soy sauce)
6 oz organic tomato paste
½ cup Bragg’s raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
¼ - ½ cup raw honey
½ tsp organic chili powder (watch the artificial ingredients in the non-organic versions)
1/8 – ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
1/8 tsp black pepper
½ tsp onion powder
1 tsp Real salt
½ Tbs. Bragg’s or Lewis Labs Nutritional Yeast (for your B vitamins!)
1 tsp ground ginger
Juice from ½ a lemon
1+ tsp olive oil or coconut oil

Is this ingredient causing your headaches?

This Hidden Ingredient May Be Causing Your Headaches
So you think you don't eat MSG? - Erin Chamerlik, MT(ASCP)

I used to think that MSG was only a problem in Chinese food.

I was aware of “Chinese Restaurant Syndrome”, a group of symptoms caused by a food additive, monosodium glutamate (MSG).

MSG is ubiquitous

• If you use prepared, packaged, boxed or canned foods you are eating MSG.
• If you eat in restaurants you are eating MSG.
• MSG is commonly found in soups, dressings, bouillon, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, frozen food, ice cream, Doritos, Potato Chips, Ramen Noodles, Hamburger Helper, Canned gravy, Frozen meals, Accent, Natural Meat Tenderizer, frozen pizza, salad dressing, jerky, barbecue sauces, steak sauce, and many more processed foods.

This chemical is added by the food industry to trick the taste bud receptors.

The brain is fooled into thinking that the food tastes better than it actually does.

Studies dating back to 1957 have shown the adverse effects.

The first study showed that cells in the retina are damaged by MSG.

In 1968 studies showed that the neural connections in the brain were killed.

Dr. John Olney used the term “excitotoxicity” to refer to the way that MSG killed nerve cells by exciting them to death.

Our bodies were created with a system to keep naturally-occurring glutamate from entering the brain. The problem is, there is so much glutamate in our food that the safety system in our bodies is being overwhelmed, allowing glutamate to seep into the brain and cause great harm.

A child’s brain is four times more sensitive to the adult brain.

When our children snack on foods containing MSG their brain is stimulated to such a degree that behavior changes may be observed within 30 minutes.

MSG is hiding in snack foods children enjoy and many infant formulas.

What’s in a McNugget?

Consult the McDonald's “nutrition” information and you will not see the words “Monosodium glutamate” or “MSG” and yet it is there hiding!

I’ll tell you how to be a sleuth and find hidden MSG on food labels.

Chicken McNuggets®:

White boneless chicken, water, food starch-modified, salt, seasoning (autolyzed yeast extract, salt, wheat starch, natural flavoring (botanical source), safflower oil, dextrose, citric acid, rosemary), sodium phosphates, seasoning (canola oil, mono- and diglycerides, extractives of rosemary). Battered and breaded with: water, enriched flour (bleached wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), yellow corn flour, food starch-modified, salt, leavening (baking soda, sodium acid pyrophosphate, sodium aluminum phosphate, monocalcium phosphate, calcium lactate), spices, wheat starch, whey, corn starch. Prepared in vegetable oil (Canola oil, corn oil, soybean oil, hydrogenated soybean oil with TBHQ and citric acid added to preserve freshness). Dimethylpolysiloxane added as an antifoaming agent.

Is hidden MSG making us fat?

MSG causes gross obesity in animal studies.

Neurosurgeon Dr. Russell Blaylock, MD says that the human brain is five times greater than the mouse and 20 times greater than the rhesus monkey.

Shocker: The food label may claim, “MSG-free” and yet contain equally dangerous “free glutamates” or other MSG alias names.

This harmful neurotoxin leads to and/or worsens many health problems ranging from:

• Headaches
• Mood change
• Nausea
• Joint pain
• Sleep disorders
• Chronic post nasal drip
• Heart irregularities
• Asthma
• ADD
• Depression
• Obesity
• Brain fog

MSG...

• is potentially toxic to everyone.
• can cross the placental barrier.
• is most toxic to the unborn, to infants, to children, and to the elderly.
• is found in medications - including vaccines.
• is hidden in most restaurant food and many processed foods

Restaurants may not realize that the sauces and packaged food they purchase contain these hidden ingredients. Asking the question, “does this food contain MSG” will not help.

MSG hides under many alias names:

• Free Glutamate, Glutamic Acid,

• Monopotassium glutamate,

• textured protein,

• hydrolyzed vegetable protein

• plant protein extract

• sodium caseinate

• TVP (textured vegetable protein)

• autolyzed plant protein,

• autolyzed yeast, yeast extract,

• soy protein isolate,

• natural flavors, artificial flavors

• often MSG hides under the name “spices” or “seasoning”

Take Turmeric, D3 and Fish Oil for Alzheimer's

3 of my favorite things for Alzheimer's Disease.

I take them because I want to keep my brain healthy.

Turmeric, Vitamin D3, Cod Liver Oil

Turmeric

Turmeric root -- also known in its extract form as curcumin is a powerful spice that has anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties

o Shown to be as effective as over the counter anti-inflammatory drugs like Motrin, but without the side effects

• It enhances liver function and inhibits cancer cell growth (Biochemical Pharmacology (September 2005) and (August 2006 issue of Clinical Gasteroenterology and Hepatology.)

• Combining cruciferous vegetables with turmeric inhibits prostate cancer cells (cauliflower, cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, kale, turnips, kohlrabi)

• Prevents oxidation of cholesterol. According to whfoods.com:

o "In research published in the Indian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology, when 10 healthy volunteers consumed 500 mg of curcumin per day for 7 days, not only did their blood levels of oxidized cholesterol drop by 33%, but their total cholesterol droped 11.63% , and their HDL (good cholesterol) increased by 29%! (Soni KB, Kuttan R)."

• Curcuminappears to prevent the onset of Alzheimer's disease and even cure it.

• Amyloid beta is a sticky plaque found in the brain of Alzheimer’s patients.

o Amyloid is a word that means protein fragments. These are normally formed in the body, but it healthy people the body can deal with them, break them down and eliminate them

o In Alzheimer’s Disease the amyloid fragments don’t get eliminated so they build up and harded between the brain cells.

o Curcumin actually prevents the fragments from clumping

o Turmeric eliminates these plaques before they form and and after they are formed

• Animal studies and observational studies have shown the effectiveness of turmeric

o We know that in countries where people eat large amounts of turmeric they never get Alzheimer's.

o In India and Southeast Asia, Alzheimer’s is rare. In the US the disease is common.

Alhzeimer’s Disease

• The most common form of dementia first described in 1906 by Dr. Alzheimer, a German psychologist
• Alzheimer's is a progressive degeneration of the neurological system
• Affects 24 million world-wide and is expected to double in 30 years (Ferri, CP, Prince, M, Brayne, D. et al. “Global prevalence of dementia” Lancet 2005, 366:2112-7.)

Why don’t we hear more about this?

• Selling spices doesn’t generate cash

• Drug companies are trying to develop drug versions of turmeric

"A challenge that we face is that drug companies…can't patent turmeric root," he said. "So they will continue to try to develop something else. [But] eating turmeric, eating its extracts…appears to be protective against one of the most horrific and debilitating diseases we know."

What to do?

• Buy organic turmeric spice (non-organic spices are often irradiated and this has negative effects on the nutritional properties of herbs and spices) and add it to your cooking.

o Eggs, vegetables, soups, stews

o Use it to season meat, fish, chicken

o Add to dips

o Add it to brown rice

• A supplement is available.

o I use NSI Turmeric Extract from Vitacost.com, providing 1160 mg of turmeric standardized to 95% curcuminoids

Combine Curcumin with Vitamin D3 and Fish Oil

Science Daily article, "Vitamin D, Curcumin May Help Clear Amyloid Plaques Found In Alzheimer's Disease" http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090715131558.htm
I recommend taking 2,000 - 4,000 IU Vitamin D3 per day.

UCLA scientists showed that fish oil deters against Alzheimer’s

· http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071226003611.htm

· Anti-Alzheimer's Mechanism In Omega-3 Fatty Acids Found

I recommend taking 3 tsp of Carlson's Cod Liver Oil per day.

Trying to Quit Coffee - Here's the Secret

Trying to quit coffee, coke or tea?

Erin Chamerlik, MT(ASCP)

Maybe you think you have no willpower and fail in your effort to quit drinking coffee, coke or tea. Caffeine is a powerful drug that stimulates the release of adrenaline giving us that nice little boost that we are all after. An occasional cup isn't going to cause an addiction but a steady dose of caffeine every day certainly can cause a powerful addiction. A few cups of coffee, a few cans of Coke, day after day.

Like Pavlov's dog you have been conditioned. You long to just hear that comforting familiar noise that a fresh can of soda makes when opened, "cusssshhh" (ahhhh!). Your brain signals your body to expect the rush of bubbles, the sting of the phosphoric acid in your throat, and the rush of chemicals into your bloodstream. High Fructose Corn Syrup or some artificial chemical sweetener is delivered quickly along with the jolt of caffeine. Our daily drinks are not innocuous. Daily use wears down the adrenal glands and instead of feeling peppy you start to feel tired all day long.

Is there good news? Of course, and you know me, it is related to your food! The amino acid tyrosine comes packaged in your food by our Creator because it has important jobs in the body.

• Energizes
• Helps us cope with stress
• Supports positive moods
• Important for the adrenal gland and thyroid gland
• Precursor to skin pigment (vitiligo connection?)

DING DING DING ---> Tyrosine increases dopamine, a neurotransmitter involved in addictions and pleasure.

If we are like most Americans, our response is..."well give me the tyrosine pill!"

No...think nutrition! Eat tyrosine foods if you want to kick your addictions, improve your mood, have better energy, and improve your ability to deal with stress.

What are tyrosine foods?

Setting aside the hard-to-get Alaskan whale and bearded seal meat (darn), there are many foods rich in tyrosine that are easy to add in to your diet:

• Eggs
• Spirulina (add Nutrex-Hawaii Spirulina powder to your green smoothie for less than 20 cents)
• Cod
• Beef, pork
• Chicken and turkey
• Dairy products
• Avocados
• Almonds
• Sesame and Pumpkin seeds

Food is your best source for amino acids. Here's the secret:

Eat a protein breakfast. Amino acids come from protein and tyrosine levels will be raised during a good breakfast, making you more alert. Always eat breakfast before drinking caffeine since the chemical will ruin your appetite for protein and vegetables. Who knew!?

Eat a breakfast that contains

1. animal protein
2. healthy fat (like real butter, olive oil, and coconut oil)
3. complex carbs, (vegetables mostly and some fruit, some steel cut oats)

What does your tyrosine breakfast plate look like?

Try 2 farm-fresh eggs (hard boiled or cooked anyway you like)

Saute fresh baby spinach, asparagus and/or bell peppers in butter or coconut oil. Have a few left over sweet potatoes? Toss them in the pan too.

Notice that bread, bagels, cereal and donuts are missing from the list of foods to eat. Simple carbs do nothing more that shoot your blood sugar up briefly. The spike is followed by the dip and the end result is less energy.

Try eating protein, healthy fat and complex carbs three times a day for a week and see if you can't notice a big difference in your energy levels.

Tyrosine helps you kick your addiction.

If you want a little boost from a supplement, Julia Ross, author of The Mood Cure, recommends a tyrosine supplement, about 750 mg per day taken in the morning. I take this amount to help with my thyroid and it does seem to give me a lot of energy. Not bad for 7 cents a day. Here's a source from Vitacost.

"Eat a meal before you drink any beverages containing caffeine. Caffeine suppresses serotonin and ruins your appetite for mood- and appetite-regulating low carbohydrate foods like protein and vegetables. Use L-tyrosine (500 – 1000 mg) anytime you would typically use caffeine for a lift, to stop caffeine cravings and make yourself naturally alert." Julia Ross, The Mood Cure

"We act as though comfort and luxury were the chief requirements of life, when all we need to make us happy is something to be enthusiastic about."
-Charles Kingsley

Type 2 Diabetes Can Be Cured!

If you are already on insulin, absolutely do not stop taking insulin, and do not stop measuring your glucose levels, without your doctor's involvement.

Warning: Changing your diet and making the following improvements may result in a decreased need for medication to manage diabetes. It may even result in complete reversal of the disease.

What Causes Type II Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes can be cured!

First of all, being overweight does NOT cause type 2 diabetes.

The reason there appears to be a correlation is that the same things that cause overweight can also cause type 2 diabetes. Here's what to CUT OUT of your daily diet forever (if you want to get better, that is!):

• Bad fats (margarine, spreads, vegetable oils like corn, safflower, soy, sun, peanut)
• Refined carbohydrates (bread, pasta, bagels, chips, cereal, cookies, cakes, scones, muffins, donuts, crackers)
• Processed foods (artificial ingredients, artificial color, artificial sugar, bad fats, preservatives)

What to do? Simple!
Eat whole foods - they way they were created.

Healthy FATS!
Include organic butter, extra virgin olive oil, unrefined organic coconut oil, olives, nuts, seeds, avacados.

Include Carlson's Cod Liver Oil in your daily diet.
Take 4,000 IU of Vitamin D3.

***At all cost, avoid vegetable oils like canola, sunflower, soy, peanut, safflower etc. These oils create unhealthy cells that cannot handle sugar properly.***

Healthy Protein
Eat organic when possible and choose meat that is pasture-raised, hormone and additive-free.
Make it your mission to hunt down a local farmer to supply your meat.
You can even get monthly deliveries with some farmers. Check the link below and visit your local farmers market now before they close for the winter!

Healthy Carbs
Mostly vegetables. Lots of leafy greens (Kale, spinach, chard).
Sweet potatoes instead of white potatoes.
Only eat whole fruit (but limit to 1 piece a day), never fruit juice and certainly not any soda.

Eat cinnamon! Great for balancing blood sugar.

Sign up for my weekly newsletter for more tips on healthy eating and healthy living:
http://www.GetBetterWellness.com


Find real food:
www.eatwild.com

Avoid Antibiotics - They Cause Weight Gain

Dr. Al Sears wrote an article,
“How to Avoid the Hunger Hormone”

Key points:

Antibiotics kill off H. pylori. This bacteria has a job in the body to keep ghrelin in check.
Ghrelin is one of the hunger hormones that tells the brain when it is time to eat. If the H. pylori can't keep the hormone in check it increases and you want to eat more and more.

This was shown to be true in a Study

1. Lee ES, et al. “Eradication of Helicobacter Pylori Increases Ghrelin mRNA Expression in the Gastric Mucosa.” Journal of Korean Medical Science. 2010 Feb; 25(2):265-71.

· Researchers assigned 30 people to two groups.

· They gave antibiotics to one group to kill H. pylori bacteria.

· The other group received no drugs.

· After five weeks, the researchers performed a biopsy to determine ghrelin levels.

o The group that took antibiotics to kill H. pylori experienced a big increase in ghrelin.

Dr. Sears lists 6 steps to help you maintain an 85/15 ratio of good and bad bacteria in your gut.

1. Eat natural foods to

· boost your immunity

· rid your system of toxins

· protect you from inflammation and insulin resistance, which can also cause weight gain and chronic disease.

· Make sure you eat plenty of fruits and veggies, fiber, protein, and healthy fats.

2. Don’t overfeed bacteria.

· Sugar and starches are bad bacteria’s favorite meal.

· the more you feed these bacteria, the faster they’ll multiply in your body. That can lead to

a. fungal infections,

b. yeast overgrowths

c. disease.

d. gas and bloating.

3. Super-charge your immunity.

· Choose supplements carefully.

a. 500 mg of vitamin C,

b. 50 mg of Selenium,

c. 10 mg of quercetin, and

d. 50 mg of the ubiquinol form of CoQ10 a day.

4. Keep your bowels moving.

· eat plenty of fibrous foods.

a. prevents undigested food from building up in your system and turning into bad bacteria that can make you sick.

b. If you have a problem with dairy, look for a supplement with lactase. And be sure to take a supplement with each meal.

5. Take probiotics.

· probiotics slow the growth of bad bacteria

· help maintain the right balance of good bacteria

· Take at least one a day.

6. Drink filtered water.

· Water utilities have found more than 315 pollutants in tap water – including antibiotics.₂

· The easiest way to avoid consuming them unintentionally is to buy a filter for your sink and shower.

· Look for one that removes chlorine, volatile organic compounds (VOC’s), and trihalomethanes (THM’s).

Can't I have my Chocolate Soy Milk?

Question:

Hi Erin, I do so like chocolate soy milk from WalMart or Kroger..........yummy to me, yet you say that anything soy is not good for you......aarrgghh...I like my soy chocolate milk

Answer
Well, I guess there are worse things to drink ... like soda, Hershey’s syrup in milk, and Ovaltine! I wrote about soy in general in past newsletters.

Soy has isoflavones that can act like estrogen. It is extremely harmful to infants when fed soy formula and it is very risky for adults to consume unfermented soy.

The phytic acid in soy can block the absorption of calcium, magnesium, iron and zinc. Soy is very hard to digest and may cause GI distress. Soy is one of the top 8 allergens.

Soy can cause problems with your immune system and your thyroid gland. Eventually, this could lead to hypothyroidism - fatigue, brain fog, sluggishness.

Chocolate soy milk probably is very tasty! It is loaded with sweeteners.
I'm not sure what brand you like, but all the brands I checked had several kinds of added sugar including cane sweetener, brown rice sweetener, barley malt, etc.
For an 8 oz glass of chocolate soy milk you are getting about 5 tsp of sugar. This is a highly processed, hard to digest dessert, at best!

Other ingredients might include:
Natural vanilla flavor with other natural flavors
Read my blog: Is your vanilla the byproduct of a paper mill?
http://choosetotransform.blogspot.com/2010/04/is-your-vanilla-made-from-byproduct-of.html
Natural chocolate flavor - who knows what this is?
Carrageenan - an inflammatory agent that may contain MSG and is found in ice cream, beer and toothpaste.

For more information please read The Whole Soy Story by Kaayla T. Daniel, PhD
I have also written a fully referenced paper on soy that I am happy to share with my readers, just ask. I know this isn't the news you wanted to hear. Bottom line on soy milk? Adios!

There is a multi-billion dollar soy industry pumping out lots of propaganda and marketing to get folks to believe that soy is beneficial to health.

So, what should you drink?

Water!
Herbal tea!
Green smoothies! (frozen fruit mixed with equal amounts of raw baby spinach. I mix it with unsweetened almond milk. You can make your own almond milk with almonds and water and a blender and avoid the additives!)

Getting the sugar out of your diet and getting out the breads and flour products will cut your craving for sweet drinks like this.

Be healthy! You are worth it!

Don't Go on a Vacation From Your Health

Don’t Go on a Vacation From Your Health
By JJ Virgin

Having trouble losing weight and keeping it off?

Could be your on-again, off-again relationship with food. Curling up with quinoa and fresh veggies one week, then rebounding with ice cream and French fries the next is often a recipe for weight loss resistance. Don’t assume you can easily work off those extra calories at the gym following a weekend of sweets or a carbo-loaded vacation.

These short-term lapses in healthful eating habits can have a long-term impact on your health and well-being. A recent study out of Sweden found that people who upped their caloric intake and dropped their fitness regimen for just a month still retained some of that weight gain two and a half years later, even after they’d returned to their normal fitness and nutrition plans.

The study authors said this could be because overindulgences boost your body fat levels and even change your body composition. I suspect there may be additional factors at work as well, because the more you treat yourself to sweet, salty, or fatty foods, the more you crave them and the harder it is to stop.

Higher carb and damaged-fat food can also contribute to leptin and insulin resistance, which then makes you better at storing fat and worse at burning it off and adds to the problem. And by quitting the exercise, you lower your ability to handle stress well and could lose precious metabolism boosting muscle mass.

The easiest way to avoid this situation is to not let it happen in the first place. You may be thinking that is easier said than done, but there are a few easy strategies that you can deploy to keep you on the straight and narrow:

1. Keep a food journal
2. Hire a coach
3. Follow the “three bite rule”
4. Weigh and measure weekly

It’s often a self-defeating pattern, but you can bust out of that pattern by focusing on clean, nutritious foods like lean protein, healthy fats and non-starchy fruits and vegetables. When you make that shift, substituting more nutritious foods for your former fall-back foods and staying focused on your new lifestyle, those stubborn extra pounds often disappear AND stay off because you are healing the damage done to your metabolism.

If you want to attain and maintain your ideal body weight, then think of healthful eating, burst training and resistance exercise, stress management and consistent high quality sleep as long-term commitments, not a one-night stand. If you cheat by sneaking soda or candy, then you’re really cheating on yourself!

©2010 JJ Virgin & Associates, Inc. Celebrity Nutrition and Fitness Expert JJ Virgin is a the author of Six Weeks to Sleeveless and Sexy and the co-star of TLC’s Freaky Eaters reality series. Visit her at http://www.jjvirgin.com to grab her free audio: 7 Steps to Break Your “Freaky” Food Habits Fast & Forever.

Natural Cure for MRSA by Erin Chamerlik

Natural Cure for MRSA and Other Skin & Wound Infections

by Erin Chamerlik, Holistic Nutrition Educator
www.GetBetterWellness.com



According to Russell Blaylock, MD, the best treatment for all wounds, even those infected with MRSA is a 50:50 mix of Hydrogen Peroxide:Betadine (Povidone Iodine).

Buy these two items at any drugstore or Wal-Mart and keep them on hand.


Mix the two in equal parts and flood the wound or soak the wound the best you can.

Dr. Blaylock used this extensively ever since he was a resident in neurosurgery.
Mix half hydrogen peroxide with half betadine. Make up enough to use for each treatment.

"Hydrogen peroxide and betadine will kill just about any organism and known virus, no organism can develop resistance to it," said Dr. Blaylock in an interview with Raymond Francis, Beyond Health.

Dr. Blaylock used this on all surgical wounds he encountered, even those that went very deep into the spine.

You will notice bubbling as the Hydrogen Peroxide debrides (remove dead, contaminated or adherent tissue) the wound. Put some betadine on a bandage and cover the wound. Repeat a 3 or 4 times during the day.

Dr. Blaylock said, "I never had a wound that wouldn't heal. It always cleared the infection immediately. In fact I could close the wound primarily, which is almost never done in surgery. It would sterilize the wound so completely that you could close the wound primarily. I never had a wound re-infected after treatment with that. It is something anyone can do."

MRSA is resistant to antibiotics, but it is not resistant to antiseptics.

This is the most powerful antiseptic.

Usually within a week of treatment most wounds should be clean.

Raymond Francis says improve overall health and immunity by getting off sugar, processed oils, white flour and get on a good program of supplements like Vitamin C.

You shouldn't have these infections if your immune system is doing its job.

Another thing Dr. Blaylock suggested is Beta Glucan (purchase at Vitacost).
It stimulates your cellular immunity and that's what is used mainly to fight bacteria.

The other thing is Vitamin D3. In high concentrations Vitamin D causes your body to secrete anti microbial peptides which fight bacteria. Most people as they get older get severely Vitamin D deficient, so it takes 5,000 - 10,000 U of vitamin D for a few weeks, then cut back to 2,000 - 5,000 units of D3 per day.

Beta glucan plus D3 can drastically improve your immune system, but you need to cut out sugar, high fructose corn syrup etc.

Bacteria live off sugar.

That's why diabetics are so easily infected, because their tissues are filled with sugar.
Sugar suppresses the immune system.

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Brian's Story - 28 pounds in 4 months

Brian attended the April/May Weight Loss & Wellness Class. Here is his story today 9/1/10:

I was 30 pounds overweight, stiff, sore and out of breath with little activity. Besides floor hockey I was not exercising. The first week was difficult coming off caffeine since I usually had 2 cups of coffee and 2 cans of diet Coke every day. Now, I’m not drinking any soda, primarily just water and a cup of coffee in the morning.

Before taking the class I usually ate toast and jam or a bagel with coffee for breakfast. Lunch was primarily fast food and dinner might be chicken, a stir fry, pasta, tacos or a casserole. Sometimes I had dessert.

I took the class (Weight & Wellness, 4/10) and determined to be “all in” and follow the plan. The decision had been made. I changed to eating whole foods including more vegetables and fruit. For breakfast, I regularly have a bowl of steel cut oatmeal, with raisins and a banana. I eat chicken, fish and red meat. Buffalo Burgers on Ezekiel buns are very satisfying now. I don’t eat much dairy and don’t drink milk. I haven’t had ice cream and I have not had pasta unless it is an occasional pasta salad at a party. I don’t have any craving for these foods anymore. I take a lunch to work. Instead of a sandwich it might be leftovers like grilled chicken and sweet potato or chicken on a salad with vegetables.

We make brown rice ahead of time and use it for a fast stir fry with chicken, vegetables, and slivered almonds. To me, this is a gourmet meal. It’s not bland and it really is very enjoyable to eat this way. It is very satisfying to eat whole foods. This isn’t a radical diet and I don’t feel like I am depriving myself. If I am offered something that isn’t on the plan I remind myself, “This isn’t going to get me where I want to go.”

The class taught me to get away from processed food and eat whole food. I eat healthy fat like olive oil, butter, nuts and red meat. I encourage people to be open-minded. I enjoy the simple concept (of the eating plan). The more we can eat the food the way God intended it to be eaten, the better off we are.

I was the only guy in the class but it wasn’t awkward. It seemed like some of the other people in the class were dealing with issues like how to get the other family members on board with the eating plan. I attended the class with my wife and we were both on the same page. Coming with your spouse would be great and encouraging for one another.

Regarding movement, I don’t have stiffness anymore. I feel like I subtracted 10 -15 years off my life! I lost 28 pounds so far. Instead of feeling stiff, sore and out of breath with little activity I began to feel like exercising. I heard about P90x. I don’t know if this program is meant for people in their late 40’s, but I did the 90 day program and that helped me get down to where I am today. Now I feel 100% better. I feel a lot more energy. No heart burn and I feel healthy.

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Would you like to start eating better but don't know where to begin?

Please visit my website, www.GetBetterWellness.com

I offer on-line and live classes as well as tele-coaching.

Erin