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Health Tips: Your Source for Optimal Health......... Naturally!

May 2008 Health Tip!

Hi there! Well, this is interesting information I found on msn April 30th. I had planned on sending another tip, but this kindof shook my trees as it more than likely will yours. It is US information/stats, but sure relates to Canadians as well!
What if no one were fat?
Imagine a lean and healthy America: The savings on medical, fuel, food and other costs would be enough to give every U.S. household more than $4,000.

by: Shirley Skeel
In the United States today, 66% of adults are overweight. Almost 33% of adults are obese, and 4.7% are morbidly obese, or more than 100 pounds overweight. But . . .

What if nobody in America were fat?

We'd save billions of dollars in gas. Airlines would double their profits. A dearth of diabetes and other diseases would save billions of dollars more -- and put thousands of doctors on the street. McDonald's would sell not Big Macs but little steamed chicken snacks -- or watch its profits melt away. Productivity would rise, potentially creating tens of thousands more jobs or higher wages all around.

Add up the savings up on health, food, clothing and efficiencies, and you could buy a professional home gym for every U.S. household -- or hand each $4,270 in cash.

$487 billion in gas, sweat and stretch pants
Yes, it sounds a little wild, but the implications of a leaner, meaner country add up to a weighty $487 billion. That's almost 3.5% of gross domestic product, no small sum.

Mind you, only 1.8% of that is new growth. The rest is a radical shift in resources, away from the needs of our bigger citizens to . . . well, whatever we and our overlords would spend these extra billions on.

First, let's put the meat on that $487 billion. The estimates below assume the average American adult is at least 20 pounds overweight, a figure nutritionists see as fair.
Savings on fuel for cars and airlines due to their lighter loads would top $5 billion, according to industry studies. Researchers say each overweight driver burns about 18 additional gallons of gas a year, or just under a billion gallons altogether. Savings in the air are far greater: The jet-fuel savings alone could double North American airlines' forecast 2008 profits to $3.8 billion and maybe persuade them to stop stranding passengers because they can't afford the fuel for flights. As for oil imports, they'd be dented by less than 1%.

Plus-sized clothing costs 10% to 15% more, so shoppers would save $10 billion on shirts, pants and dresses. And clothes might fit better too. Cynthia Istook, an associate professor in textile apparel at North Carolina State University, says the economies of making fewer sizes would be tremendous. Clothing makers could then afford to offer more variety in hip and bust sizes, rather than asking every woman to squeeze into an hourglass shape.


The bottom line on obesity
Overweight employees are affecting the health of corporate America, costing companies an estimated $45 billion a year.

Because 3,500 calories translates into a pound of fat, somewhere along the way, America's 227 million adults have eaten 16 trillion calories too many. That's 14 billion Big Mac meals, with fries and a soda. Eliminate those and you wipe out $81 billion, or McDonald's past four years of sales.

If Americans were slim and maintained their weight by eating 150 fewer calories a day (half a slice of pizza), that could snip roughly 6.5%, or $20 billion a year, off U.S. farmers' sales (assuming no extra exports). Bob Young, the American Farm Bureau's chief economist, says farmers would cope. They'd switch some land from fattening seed oils and sugar beets to fruits and vegetables. Or they might grow corn for ethanol, or even open a hunting resort.

The medical costs of obesity-related problems such as diabetes, stroke and heart disease run near $140 billion, or more than 6% of all health-care costs. That ballpark figure was calculated by Joel Cohen, an economic researcher for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, using data from a 1998 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study. Cohen reckons that if no one were fat, medical insurance costs would fall -- to everyone's delight -- and doctors and drug makers could do more preventive care. That sounds good, but Roland Sturm, a senior economist for Rand in Santa Monica, Calif., doubts anyone would pay for preventive care. More likely, he says, some doctors would be on the street. "They could drive cabs," he suggests.

Productivity in the workplace would jump as people took fewer sick days and spent less time at work feeling unwell. Ross DeVol, the director of health economics at the Milken Institute, says the loss of productivity due to people showing up at work sick is "immense." Using a recent Milken report on the subject, he calculates that if no one were obese, the added output from workers and their caregivers would give the country a $257 billion boost. That's 1.8% of GDP, enough extra output to allow businesses to hire tens of thousands more workers or to raise wages, economists say. Or at least, that's the theory. Given bosses' love of expanding their profits and their own pay, you can count on some of this being spirited away. Just look at 2000 to 2005, when worker productivity rose 16.6% while median wages rose less than half that amount.

"Jenny Craig would be very unhappy" if everyone were slim, says Rand's Sturm. And so she would, along with the rest of the $55 billion weight-loss industry. Trimmed-down citizens would be swapping their diet pills for bikinis and their gastric-banding for nose jobs.

What to do with all that money?
On top of these savings would be billions of dollars more. Manufacturers and builders wouldn't have to make doorways bigger, car seats wider, furniture stouter. Some even argue that global warming would slow a mite, as consumption of gas, energy, fertilizer and methane-producing cattle decreased.

Even without those extras, the $487 billion reshuffle of the economy would put us on the spot. Exactly how would we spend all this freed-up cash? Optimists sing about improving education or medical research. Others figure we'd fritter away the money.


It seems, in fact, that economists have a word for our usual behavior: suboptimal. That's what we do. We suboptimize. We think short term instead of long term, reducing our chances of living healthily and happily ever after.
So assuming we didn't behave like angels, the net effect on the economy of a slimmer population would be a lot of reshuffled resources, with a nice rise in productivity that should take our living standards up a notch.


The social gains are more difficult to predict. Research has shown that people who are not obese marry more, are paid more, are promoted more, sleep better and have better sex lives. We don't yet know whether people earn less because they're fat, or whether they're fat because they earn less. Researchers suspect it is the former because there's some evidence of discrimination against the obese.

Overweight employees are affecting the health of corporate America, costing companies an estimated $45 billion a year.

Either way, a slimmer society would, arguably, seem to be more secure and content.

But, of course, then we have the awful question: Can we all be paid more and promoted more and marry more? Only to a limited degree.

Jay Zagorsky, a sociology researcher at Ohio State University, is convinced that society would adjust. We might lose an awful lot of people to pick on, but he concludes: "They will find something else. If it's not the size of your waist, it may be the size of your nose."

Published April 23, 2008

So, how do we really get healthy and lose weight so it actually stays off? I would need to SEE your live blood and know your blood type (I can type you!) to get you and your family members on the right path.......and from there get you alkaline and we chat about perhaps some improved food choices/vitamins/herbs and cleanses. Let me know when you really do want to drop that weight and look and feel better in your summer bathing suits and other attire!


ps.....do you have your Oil of Oregano ready to do battle against flu and cold viruses? Let me know if you need some! (or want to check on the status of your immune system)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Call Deborah at Blood-Link Inc. to have yourself and your family blood health checked, so you know how your immune system really does look right now- get through this season in a healthy way!

Deborah, I just wanted to thank you. I really enjoy your monthly Health Tips, and find them very helpful to staying at my physical best. Keep it up- you are very much appreciated. Cheers, Meg- Whistler B.C.

Your link to Worldwidehealth.com is:
http://www.worldwidehealth.com (Health Directory, Articles, News and Information.)

Ever wondered if there is an organic meat and veggie farm nearby? Well, there is- near Acton! Call the Whole Circle Farm at 519-856-1384, or e-mail Johann/Maggie at wholecirclefarm@gto.net

I added the article I received recently for your interest.....

Fluoride And Aggression
By Mary Sparrowdancer
c. 2005 Mary Sparrowdancer
3-29-5

The United States is in the wake of yet another horrific school shooting - another shooting carried out by another boy reportedly taking a fluorinated pharmaceutical, Prozac. Another fluorinated drug, Luvox, was reportedly taken by one of the shooters in the Columbine tragedy. Similarly, there have been reports from US troops that bizarre, psychotic, aggressive behavior has been observed in individuals after taking Lariam, which is a fluorinated antimalarial. According to a January 2004 article in the Archives of Internal Medicine, cholesterol-lowering statins have now also been linked to aggressive, violent behavior. Lescol, Lipitor, Baycol and Crestor are all fluorinated. Baycol was removed from the market, following at least 31 known deaths from adverse symptoms.

Quite the opposite from America's ongoing lack of awareness pertaining to fluorides, fluoride toxicity has been well-known, studied and well-documented in other countries for almost a century.

Andreas Schuld, who is the founder of Parents of Fluoride Poisoned Children headquartered in Canada (http://www.bruha.com/pfpc/), is considered by many at this time to be among the world's leading experts on fluorides. He states, "IG Farben chemists discovered that fluorides were potent anti-thyroid substances back in the 1930s."

Following this discovery in Germany, thousands of patients in one clinic alone had their thyroid activity decreased through the administration of minute doses of fluoride compounds. One proven, effective method of administering this anti-thyroid medical treatment was by having the patients bathe in water dosed with minute amounts of fluoride compounds.

While weight gain and obesity are perhaps among the more well-known and visible signs of thyroid dysfunction, there are other signs of thyroid crisis that are not as visible, and may not become apparent until the affected person reaches a "breaking point."

The "silent" signs of thyroid crisis can include profound behavioral changes, neurological problems, sleep and memory disturbances, dementia, psychoses, depression, lethargy or loss of initiative, increased cholesterol levels, and according to the Thyroid Foundation of Canada, "general intellectual deterioration."

In addition, violent and uncharacteristic episodes of rage are reported with enough frequency that those suffering from one thyroid disorder, "Grave's disease," refer to this disturbing symptom as "Grave's rage."

Sometimes accompanying the depression are feelings of emotional detachment and emotional numbness, both of which have been repeatedly described by, or attributed to the boys involved in the school shootings.

The number of citizens now suffering from thyroid problems in the US is unknown because many are thought to be undiagnosed at this time. In addition, most people do not realize that the above emotional and psychological symptoms might actually be signaling a thyroid malfunction.

According to information found on the website of the National Institutes of Health, two-thirds of US adults are now struggling with their weight. On the website of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is a report stating that approximately two-thirds of the people in the US are being fluorinated via their drinking water. Also indicative of a national thyroid epidemic is the fact that Synthroid, a drug used to treat thyroid malfunction, is one of the most-prescribed drugs in the US.

While many try to avoid drinking fluoridated water by purchasing bottled water, two-thirds of the population have no choice but to bathe in "water dosed with minute amounts of fluoride compounds" - the same method of delivery once used in Germany to decrease thyroid functioning.

The full effects of fluoride's dark side are not yet known in the United States, nor is it known yet if fluoride affects people differently according to their race and, therefore, skin color. Schuld states that research indicates tooth mottling or "dental fluorosis" is actually a sign of thyroid disorder, and that in at least one test conducted by the Bureau of Dental Health in New York, it was noted that the risk for fluorosis was greater in African-American children than in whites.

Perhaps the ongoing occurrences of rage and other unexplained, bizarre behaviors in the US, as well as the numerous epidemics now plaguing us, are, in fact, all related to the fact that two-thirds of our population is being dosed on a daily basis with a known thyroid toxin, at an unknown dose. Poison the thyroid, and the entire body as well as the mind will be affected.

The continued dosing of US waters as well as pharmaceutical products with fluoride compounds without full inquiry into fluoride's effects on mental capacity - especially in children - amounts to reckless endangerment.


Previous Health Tips kept for your interest.......

Do you suffer from Liver Problems? How would you know?

Liver problem identification through Live Blood Analysis will help us decide the best route for you to improve the health of your liver and help it detoxify. It is a very large filtering organ- filters toxins from outside your body (polluted water/air, cigarette smoke, alcohol, medications, food additives, and household chemicals), and/or from inside your body (undigested food that petrifies, creating toxins that damage cells/tissue/organs in the body).

Live Blood Analysis clearly indicates liver stress and the severity of it. Often it appears as a spider-web-like effect that blocks the movement of the red blood cells and hence affects circulation and the ability of the body to heal itself. We will identify the sources of the stress in order to eliminate further Liver stress in the future and decide on the best approach to eliminate it from your system. Further, we plan a follow-up appointment to be sure it has cleared up!

Several indicators that are from Liver stress are:

- fatigue, jaundice, pale stool, PMS, metallic taste in the mouth, constipation, headaches, chemical sensitivities, discoloured whites of the eyes, dark rings under the eyes, digestive complaints, mood swings, allergies, drowsiness after eating, weak tendons, ligaments and muscles, difficulty losing weight, nausea

-skin problems such as acne, excema, psoriasis, roseacea

You can purchase the liquid Milk Thistle/Dandelion Combo from Blood-Link to ease/eliminate the liver stress you may be experiencing.

Do you want to witness the change to your immune system? Call for an appointment to track your live blood health!

We will discuss various options, products, and track the exciting effects in your blood health. Please call Blood-Link to book your appointment soon!

-Water Benefits- how much is good for us?

-Parasites- many of us have them! Blood Analysis shows the severity in your system.

-Infertility- having difficulties getting pregnant? Try the healthy approach!

-Allergies- we can help you eliminate/ greatly reduce them!

-Yummy Soup Recipe- and healthy too!

-Boost Your Immune System

-Advice from a Dog- yes, we can learn from them!

-The Importance of your Food

-Beat the Flu and Colds

-Get into a Healthy "Groove"!

-Summer Recipes- BBQ and salad dressing good for all blood types!

-Winter Skin Care

-Power Drink Benefits

-Japanese Green Tea

-Autism

MS/Lupus and the Dangers of Aspartame:

Diet Coke or Not?? A Scary story to be passed along......

In October of 2001, my sister started getting very sick, she had stomach
spasms, she was having a hard time getting around, to walk was a major
chore. It took everything she had just to get out of bed, she was in so
much pain. By March 2002, she had undergone biopsies, and was on 24
various prescription medications. The doctors could not figure out what
was wrong with her. She was in so much pain, and so sick, she knew she
was dying.

She put her house, bank accounts, life insurance, etc., in her oldest
daughters name, and made sure her younger children were to be with her
oldest daughter. She wanted her last hooray, so she planned a trip to
Florida (basically in a wheelchair) for March 22nd. On March 19th I
called her to ask her how one of her tests went, and she said they
didn't find anything on the test, but they believe she had MS. I thought, oh,
my....then I recalled an article a friend of mine emailed to me...and I
asked her....Do you drink Diet pop? She told me yes, as a matter of fact
she was getting ready to crack one open that moment, I told her not to
open it, and stop drinking the diet pop....and I emailed her the following
article. She called me within 32 hours after our phone conversation and
told me she stopped drinking the diet pop, and she can walk...she went
up the stairs, and the muscle spasms went away. She said she didn't feel
100% but sure felt a lot better. She told me she was going to her doctors
with this article and would call me back when she got home.

She called me, and her doctor was amazed, he is going to call all of his
MS patients to find out if they consumed artificial sweetener. In a
nutshell, she was being poisoned by the aspartame in the diet soda,
dying a slow death.

When she got to FL March 22nd, all she had to take was one pill, and
that was a pill for poisoning....she is well on her way to recovery.....and
she is walking!!!!! No wheelchair!!!!
This article saved her life!!!! The life saving article:

If it says "SUGAR FREE," on the label, DO NOT EVEN THINK ABOUT IT! I
have spent several days lecturing at the WORLD ENVIRONMENTAL CONFERENCE
on "ASPARTAME" marketed as 'NutraSweet,' 'Equal,' and 'Spoonful.' In the
keynote address by the EPA, it was announced that in the United States in
2001 there is an epidemic of multiple sclerosis and systemic lupus, that
it was hard to understand what toxin was causing this to be rampant. I
stood up and said that I was there to lecture on exactly that subject.

I will explain why Aspartame is so dangerous: When the temperature of this
sweetener exceeds 86 degrees F, the wood alcohol in ASPARTAME converts
to Eformaldehyde and then to formic acid, which in turn causes metabolic
acidosis. (Formic acid is the poison found in the sting of fire ants.)
The methanol toxicity mimics among other conditions multiple sclerosis.
People were being diagnosed with having multiple sclerosis in error.
The multiple sclerosis is not a death sentence, where methanol toxicity is!

Systemic lupus has become almost as rampant as multiple sclerosis,
especially with Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi drinkers. The victim usually
does not know that the aspartame is the culprit. He or she continues its
use, irritating the lupus to such a degree that it may become
life-threatening. We have seen patients with systemic lupus become
asymptomatic once taken off diet sodas. In the case of those diagnosed
with Multiple Sclerosis, (when in reality, the disease is methanol
toxicity), most of the symptoms disappear. We've seen many cases where
vision returned and hearing improved markedly. This also applies to
cases of tinnitus.

During a lecture I said "If you are using ASPARTAME (NutraSweet, Equal,
Spoonful, etc.) and you suffer from fibromyalgia symptoms, spasms, shooting pains,
numbness in your legs, cramps, vertigo, dizziness, headaches, tinnitus,
joint pain, depression, anxiety attacks, slurred speech, blurred vision,
or memory loss-you probably have ASPARTAME DISEASE!" People were jumping
up during the lecture saying, I've got some of these symptoms: Is it
reversible?" Yes, Not drinking diet sodas and keeping an eye out for
aspartame on food labels, yes!

We have a very serious problem. A stranger came up to Dr. Espisto (one
of my speakers) and me and said: "Could you tell me why so many people
seem to be coming down with MS?" During a visit to a hospice, a nurse
said that six of her friends, who were heavy Diet Coke addicts, had all
been diagnosed with MS. This is beyond coincidence! Diet Coke and Diet
Pepsi etc. IS NOT A DIET PRODUCT! The Congressional Record states that
it makes you crave carbohydrates and will make you FAT. The formaldehyde
stores in the fat cells, particularly in the hips and thighs. Once off
these products with no significant increase in exercise, etc., Dr.
Roberts in his lecture stated that he had patient who lost an average of
19 pounds over a trial period

Aspartame is especially dangerous for diabetics. We found that
physicians would believe that they have a patient with retinopathy, when in
fact the symptoms are caused by aspartame.
The aspartame drives the blood sugar out of control. Thus diabetics may
suffer acute memory loss due to the fact that aspartic acid and
phenylalanine are neurotoxic without the other amino acids found in
protein. Thus it passes the blood brain barrier and deteriorates the
neurons of the brain, causing in diabetics (as well as in patients not
suffering from diabetes) various kinds of brain damage, seizures,
depression, manic depression, panic attacks, rage, violence. (The
Aspartame in thousands of pallets of diet Coke and diet Pepsi consumed by
men and women fighting in the Gulf War, may be partially to blame for the
well-known Gulf War Syndrome.)

Dr. Roberts warns that it can cause birth defects i.e. mental
retardation if taken at the time of conception and early pregnancy.
Children are especially at risk for neurological disorders and should NOT
be given NutraSweet. I can relate different case histories of children
having mal seizures and other disturbances being on NutraSweet.
Unfortunately it is not always easy to convince a mother that aspartame
is to blame for her child's illness. Only by trial and success will she
be able to warn other mothers to take their children's health in their
own hands.

Stevia, a sweet herb, NOT A MANUFACTURED ADDITIVE, which helps in the
metabolism of sugar (which would be ideal for diabetics) has now been
approved as a dietary supplement by the FDA. For years the FDA has
outlawed this sweet food because of their loyalty to MONSANTO. Books on
this subject are available: EXCITOTOXINS: THE TASTE THAT KILLS - written
by Dr. Russell Blayblock (Health Press 1-800-643-2665) and DEFENSE
AGAINST ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE - written by DR H. J. Roberts, also a
diabetic specialist. These two doctors will be posting a position paper with
some case histories on the deadly effects of Aspartame on the Internet.

According to the Conference of the American College of Physicians "we are
talking about a plague of neurological diseases caused by this deadly
poison." Here is the problem:
There were Congressional Hearings when aspartame was included in 100
different products. Since this initial hearing, there have been two
subsequent hearings, but to no avail. Nothing has been done. The drug
and chemical lobbies have very deep pockets. Now there are over 5,000
products containing this chemical, and the PATENT HAS EXPIRED!!!!!

I assure you, MONSANTO, the creator of Aspartame knows how deadly it is.
They fund among others, the American Diabetes Association, the American
Dietetic Association, the Conference of the American College of
Physicians. This has been exposed in the New York Times - to no avail.
These Associations cannot criticize any additives or convey their link to
MONSANTO because they take money from the food industry and have to
endorse their products. Senator Howard Hetzenbaum wrote a bill that
would have warned all infants, pregnant mothers and children of the
dangers of aspartame. The bill would have also instituted independent
studies on the problems existing in the population (seizures, changes in
brain chemistry, changes neurological and behavioral; symptoms). It was
killed by the powerful drug and chemical lobbies, letting loose the hounds
of disease and death on an unsuspecting public.

Please print this out or e-mail to family and friends. Here are some more
links to websites.
http://www.nancymarkle.com/
http://www.ethicalinvesting.com/monsanto/markle.stml
http://www.aspartametruth.com/

Scary

The many Benefits of Vitamin C - What it does:

Researchers have long known that vitamin C is an essential building block of collagen, the structural material for bone, skin, blood vessels and other tissue. Failing to get enough vitamin C causes inflammation of the gums, scaly skin, nosebleed, painful joints and other problems associated with scurvy.

In addition, many studies show that eating foods rich in C can reduce the risk of developing cancer, particularly cancers that strike the mouth and digestive tract, according to Jane Higdon, a nutrition scientist at the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University. Vitamin C is a potent antioxidant, able to neutralize unstable oxygen molecules that might otherwise damage DNA. Recent findings suggest it may also protect against Helicobacter pylori, bacteria linked to both stomach cancer and ulcers. A 2003 study at the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center reported that people with high blood levels of vitamin C are less likely to test positive for infection by H. pylori. The vitamin appears to inhibit bacterial growth.

Vitamin C is also proving to be friendly to the heart and arteries. Analyzing data from more than 85,000 women in the Nurses Health Study, researchers at Children's Hospital, Boston, reported in 2003 that those with the highest intake of C had the lowest risk of heart disease over a 16-year period. Here, too, the antioxidant effect may be at work, preventing damage to artery walls that can promote cholesterol buildup. But vitamin C seems to protect in other ways as well. In 2004, scientists from the University of Oslo reported that after volunteers ate two or three vitamin-C-rich kiwis a day for 28 days, platelets in their blood were less likely to clump together and form small blood clots that can jam arteries and lead to heart attack or stroke. Eating kiwis also lowered triglycerides, or fats in the blood, by 15 percent, an effect that scientists credit to kiwis' vitamin C, E and polyphenol content.

Getting plenty of C may be especially important for pregnant moms and infants. Last year a study in Seoul, South Korea, reported higher birth weights among babies born to mothers with high vitamin C levels. This year a report in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggests that vitamin C in breast milk may reduce the risk of allergic dermatitis in predisposed infants.

How much you need:

The current recommended daily intake for men is 90 mg and for women it is 75 mg. "Don't waste your money on megadoses of vitamin C," says Higdon. A National Institutes of Health study showed that the body can only absorb a maximum of about 400 milligrams a day; more than that simply washes out of the system (the upper tolerable limit for vitamin C has been set at 2,000 milligrams per day). Follow the latest advice to eat between five and nine servings of fruits and vegetables a day and chances are you'll get all you need—especially if you choose several foods high in C.

Food Sources of Vitamin C:

Virtually everything in the produce section boasts some vitamin C. Excellent sources (per 1/2 cup serving) include:

green bell pepper = 60 mg

orange = 48 mg

strawberries = 45 mg

broccoli = 39 mg

cantaloupe = 29 mg

tomato = 23 mg

turnip greens, cooked = 20 mg

sweet potato, baked with skin = 20 mg

okra, cooked = 13 mg