For a long time scientists believed genetics was the underlying reason for the higher incidence of prostate-related discomforts among men living in “western” countries. But after further study, scientists began to believe that diet and lifestyle may play a more crucial role in prostate health than we ever thought.

The western diet consists of more red meat and saturated fats. Typically, vegetables, fruits and whole grains comprise a very minimal part of the western diet.

In contrast, eastern cultures enjoy a diet that consists predominantly of vegetables, more whole-grained foods and less meat. Globalization, however, has exported the “western” diet to other parts of the world, and today the incidence of prostate health discomforts is gradually rising for Asian men, as well. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: pistachio nuts, palmetto berries, healthy prostate, Nutrition, prostate health, beta sitosterol

Maqui berry is a berry that is found in the southernmost region of South America, known as Patagonia. This area includes Argentina and Chile and is one of the most fertile regions in the whole world. It is probably because this land is so fertile that the Macqui berry which grows there is one of the greatest tasting fruits you will ever encounter. But I am not telling you about the Maqui berry just because it tastes good. This amazing berry is probably going to become the greatest and most effective weight loss supplement in the world!

The Maqui berry, just like the Acai berry, first started to gained notability in the West after it was briefly mentioned by Rachael Ray during one of her shows. She did not say much about the Maqui berry except “what an incredible fruit it was”. But since that day, the Maqui berry has gradually increased in popularity within the health and fitness market and is particularly well-known to dieters and weight watchers.

If the word Maqui berry is new to you, then you may be wondering, What on earth is it and what does it do? Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: harmful toxins, acai berry, Nutrition, Alternative Therapies, maqui berry, Vitamins, fitness market, maqui

There is something disturbing about nutrition books. Is it just the contrast between the smiling picture on their cover and readers’ earnest expectations? Is the gap between promises and results coincidental or are we facing a more sinister and disquieting phenomenon?

The effect of hundreds of books, magazine articles, and television programmes on nutrition has been negligible. In our days, the great majority of the population continues to eat in ways that sharply increase their risk of major illness and shorten their lifespan.

Social scientists have come up with three explanations for this fact, but are still discussing which one is exact. To make things worse, these three theories leave us little margin to react:

1.- IT IS TOO COMPLICATED. Nutrition advice, some argue, is so abstruse that will always remain dry and unappealing to most men and women. Recondite knowledge is destined, by its very nature, to the chosen few. In other words, this is how it is and there is no way around that.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: health risk, Weight Loss, Nutrition, lifespan, Longevity

Image via Wikipedia

By Oz Zeldom

Fat burners and creatine supplements do different functions within your body.

Creatine supplements can significantly increase lean muscle mass, improve performance in high-intensity exercise, increase energy levels, enhances muscle growth and accelerates fat loss. Creatine super-hydrates muscle cells with water.

Fat burners raise your metabolism and burn more calories each day even while resting, helping you to lose fat fast. Fat burners cut the calories needed for muscle growth and maintain your muscle.

Some people like to gain muscle while burning fat. Gaining muscle and losing fat simultaneously is a very difficult thing to do without the help of certain substances. So, they try both fat burners and creatine supplements at the same time. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: creatine, fat burners, gain muscle mass, Weight Loss, fat loss, lose fat, Nutrition, muscle loss

For years we have been told that soy is the new wonder food. Better for us than meat, milk, and a host of other foods.

The Dark Side of Soy

Authors Sally Fallon and Mary Enig, PhD, have investigated the available medical research findings and discovered that we have been dangerously, horrifyingly wrong. Soy is bad for us! And very, very bad for our babies!

You can read their complete article “Soy, the Dark Side of America’s Favorite Health Food at http://www.westonaprice.org/soy/darkside.html. Meanwhile, here is a quick summary.

Even a Little Bit Hurts

New research shows that eating soy even a couple of times a week can suppress the thyroid, causing Alzheimer’s-like symptoms in younger people. In very sensitive people, even the small amount of soy flour that is in bread can cause problems.

Medical research shows that if you are taking thyroid medication, even a tiny bit of soy can cancel it out. Soy has long been known to cause thyroid enlargement in women and children. If medical researchers knew that, why were we not told?

How Much Is Too Much Soy?

If you think you never eat soy products, think again. Soy is in much of our food. Start reading labels in the grocery store, and try to find a loaf of bread that does not contain soy flour. Good luck!

Here are some of the common foods that contain soy, typical quantities, and how many milligrams of soy each contains:

Bread with added soy flour, 2 slices 4 mg
Meatless chicken nuggets, 1/2 cup 15 mg
Soy hot dog 15 mg
Soymilk, 8-ounce glass 20 mg
Miso, 1/4 cup 21 mg
Tofu, 1/2 cup 28 mg
Soy cheese, 1/2 cup 31 mg
Soymilk skin or film , cooked, 1/2 cup 51 mg
Tempeh, cooked, 1/2 cup 53 mg
Soybean chips , 1/2 cup 54 mg
Revival soy-based meal replacement, 1 serving 160 mg

Is it Alzheimer’s, or Is it Soy?

Symptoms of severely low thyroid include mental symptoms similar to Alzheimer’s disease, such as memory loss, confusion, slowness, paranoid depression and even hallucinations. Other symptoms of low thyroid (hypothyroidism) include fatigue, loss of hair, difficulties at menopause, digestive problems, constipation, infertility, brittle bones, and heart disease.

Vitamin and Mineral Deficiencies Caused by Soy

Part of the problem with soy is caused by phytoestrogens, plant substances that mimic estrogen. But there are other problems. One is phytic acid which blocks the absorption of zinc. You need zinc for your brain to work properly.

And there is more: Modern processed soy foods have high levels of MSG, fluoride and aluminum, which are toxic to the nervous system. And food processing creates at least two kinds of carcinogens: lysinealanines and nitrosamines.

Soy products also contain certain enzymes that make it difficult to absorb protein and that irritate the digestive tract.

Even rats that were fed soy protein isolates (which are in many foods) became deficient in vitamins E, K, D and B12 and in the minerals calcium, magnesium, zinc and many others.

Asians Actually Do Not Eat Much Soy

Soy enthusiasts say that soy is a staple food in Asia, but that is not true. Asians use soy only as a condiment.

People in China average only two teaspoons of soy a day. People in Japan average about 1/4 cup of soy a day, but they also eat large quantities of seaweed, which is very high in iodine. That somewhat protects them from the negative effects of soy.

But that is not the worst. Americans often eat much more soy than Asians, because it is hidden in so many foods. It is even in baby formula. At the rate at which many Americans eat soy, it can cause hormone disruption in women and developmental problems in children.

Bad for Babies

Even worse, infants who are given only soy-based baby formula are taking in 4 to 11 more soy than most adults in proportion to their body weigth. Babies who are fed soy-based formula have been found to have 13,000 to 22,000 times more isoflavones in their blood than babies fed milk-based formula.

In fact, a New Zealand toxicologist, Dr. Mike Fitzpatrick, estimates that a baby that is fed only soy formula is getting the equivalent in phytoestrogen of five birth control pills per day—or more.

Are you wondering if Asians give their babies soy-based baby formula? Well, they don’t. They use cow milk or buffalo milk instead.

What We Thought We Knew Was Wrong

For awhile, researchers thought that premature development of menstuation and sex characteristics in children was caused by meat. Well, the evidence is in. The actual culprit seems to be soy-based baby formula.

New research links soy baby formula learning disabilities, extreme emotional behavior, depression, asthma, immune system problems, pituitary insufficiency, thyroid disorders and irritable bowel syndrome.

News of Soy Effects Repressed by Researchers?

But here is what is really scary: Some researchers have suppressed the negative findings about soy because they were assured by the soy industry that soy was perfectly safe!

What to Do if You Are Hurt by Soy Products

Consumer groups in Canada and New Zealand are working to ban soy infant formula. The law firm of Johnston Lawrence in New Zealand is collecting the names of victims for a class action lawsuit in New Zealand. They will then follow up in the US.

If you believe your child has been hurt by soy infant formula, or if you have suffered thyroid problems from ingesting soy, write to PO Box 1213, DX SP 20004, Wellington, New Zealand or roger@johnlaw.co.nz and tell them your story.

In America the Weston A. Price Foundation is working to have soy baby formula taken off the market. If you think your child may have been harmed by soy baby formula, write to the following congressmen, and send a copy of the letter to the Weston A. Price Foundation:

Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA)
United States Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee
328A Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510

Senator Orin Hatch (R-UT)
Senate Subcommittee on Health Care of the Finance Committee
Caucus of Complementary and Alternative Health Care
219 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510

The Honorable Dan Burton (R-IN)
Chairman, House Committee on Government Reform
Caucus of Complementary and Alternative Health Care
2157 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515

The Honorable Dennis Kucinich (D-OH)
Caucus of Complementary and Alternative Health Care
U.S. House of Representatives
1730 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515

The Weston A. Price Foundation
PMB 106-380 4200 Wisconsin Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20016

Reference Sources

www.csa.com/hottopics/thyroid/oview.html
soyonlineservice.co.nz
www.westonaprice.org

Who Are Sally Fallon and Mary Enig?

Sally Fallon is the author of Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats, with Mary G. Enig, PhD (NewTrends Publishing 877-707-1776). She is the founding president of the Weston A. Price Foundation (www.westonaprice.org) and founder of A Campaign for Real Milk (www.realmilk.com).

Mary Enig, PhD is the author of Know Your Fats: The Complete Primer for Understanding the Nutrition of Fats, Oils and Cholesterol (Bethesda Press 301-680-8600). She is President of the Maryland Nutritionists Association and Vice President of the Weston A Price Foundation, Washington, DC.

Tags: mineral deficiency, medical research, Nutrition, Babies & Children, Hormones, Altzheimer's disease, thyroid suppression, babies, Vitamins

You’ve probably heard or read that eating less can help you live longer. I had, too, but never with a good explanation of just why that would be. It turns out that medical researchers didn’t really know why, but now they think they do.

As the news story explained, it is not enough just to eat less. Starving yourself will not work. You have to lower your calorie intake but keep the same level of nutrients.

The only way I know of to do that (assuming you don’t live on junk food) is to take vitamins and other nutritional supplements. How about you?

Tags: Weight Loss, News, Vitamins, Longevity, medical research

“Would you like fully customized nutritional info with that?” How about full nutritional information on your fast food (or other restaurant) receipt that even tells how many calories you saved by holding the mayo? Or how much fat you added by ordering extra cheese and bacon?

It may be coming soon to a drive-thru near you. Several restaurants are offering such receipts in California, and their customers love it. Business is up, and more restaurants plan to offer the customized receipts.

Tags: Weight Loss, customized-nutritional-information, restaurant-receipts, fast-food-nutrition, Nutrition