Very helpful products if you are already in this category.http://www.marketamerica.com/annanathankagan/categories-450/digestive-health.htmFORT WORTH, Texas — High-fructose corn syrup isn’t completely responsible for the nation’s 6 million overweight children — but Dr. George Bray says it’s a big part of the problem.
Nurture trumps nature in the current childhood-obesity epidemic, says Bray. It’s the environment we’re creating for our kids that’s the problem, and that environment includes increasing numbers of products high in high-fructose corn syrup, or HFCS.
Bray, who served as founding president of the North American Association for the Study of Obesity and organized the first international congress on obesity in 1973, points out that between 1970 (when HFCS was introduced) and 2000 (when average yearly consumption of the ultra-sweet liquid sugar hit 73.5 pounds per person in this country), the prevalence of obesity more than doubled, from 15 percent to almost one-third of the adult population.

And worse, much worse, obesity among children 12 to 19 — who consume a disproportionate amount of the soft drinks, fruit juice, sports drinks and packaged cookies and other baked goods that are sweetened with HFCS — increased from 4.2 percent in 1970 to 15.3 percent in 2000.

A nutrient that the body needs in small amounts to function and stay healthy. Vitamin D helps the body use calcium and phosphorus to make strong bones and teeth. It is fat-soluble (can dissolve in fats and oils) and is found in fatty fish, egg yolks, and dairy products. Skin exposed to sunshine can also make vitamin D. Not enough vitamin D can cause a bone disease called rickets. It is being studied in the prevention and treatment of some types of cancer. Also called cholecalciferol.
1. What is vitamin D?
Vitamin D is technically not a vitamin. It is the name given to a group of fat-soluble prohormones (substances that are precursors to hormones that usually have little hormonal activity by themselves). Two major forms of vitamin D that are important to humans are vitamin D2, or ergocalciferol, and vitamin D3, or cholecalciferol. Vitamin D2 is made naturally by plants, and vitamin D3 is made naturally by the body when the skin is exposed to ultraviolet radiation (in particular, UVB radiation) in sunlight. Vitamin D2 and vitamin D3 can also be manufactured.
The active form of vitamin D in the body is 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D, or calcitriol, which can be made from either vitamin D2 or vitamin D3. To make the active form, vitamin D2 and vitamin D3 are modified in the liver to produce 25-hydroxyvitamin D, which travels through the blood to the kidneys, where it is modified further to make 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D.
Vitamin D is involved in a number of processes that are essential for good health, including the following:
· It helps improve muscle strength and immune function.
· It helps reduce inflammation.
· It promotes the absorption of calcium from the small intestine.
· It helps maintain adequate blood levels of the calcium and phosphate needed for bone formation, mineralization (incorporating minerals to increase strength and density), growth, and repair (1–3).
Most people get the vitamin D they need through sunlight exposure. It can also be obtained through the diet, but very few foods naturally contain vitamin D. These foods include fatty fish, fish liver oil, and eggs. Smaller amounts are found in meat and cheese. Most dietary vitamin D comes from fortified foods, such as milk, juices, yogurt, bread, and breakfast cereals. Vitamin D can also be obtained through dietary supplements. Fortified foods and dietary supplements usually contain either vitamin D2 or vitamin D3.

By Steve Mills, Tribune reporter

February 9, 2010

Thousands of times each year, government inspectors test the meat and trimmings that become ground beef for E. coli, a potentially deadly pathogen that has led to outbreaks of food-borne illnesses and massive product recalls.

But when those inspectors get a test result indicating the dangerous pathogen is present, as records show they do dozens of times a year, officials at the U.S. Department of Agriculture do not conduct a full investigation like those done in response to disease outbreaks.

After a routine test comes up positive, officials and the processor try to prevent tainted meat from reaching consumers, either by making sure it does not leave a plant or by bringing back products that have been shipped. But inspectors do not try to pinpoint the source of contamination or track down additional meat that might be contaminated.
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For the first time sold in the United States, exclusively distributed by Market America, Matriskin™ Collagen MP Serum visibly reduces the look of lines and wrinkles. Its advanced peptide technology helps to firm and revitalize the skin.

The Collagen MP Serum is a new collagen based formula with micro-collagen and patented peptides that help counteract the aging process. A special skin penetration element is added (palmitoic acid), in order to help the collagen molecules and the peptide to be instantly absorbed. Thus, the cellular regeneration, and the structure of the skin are promoted.

The viscoelastic properties of the hyaluronic acid have drawn attention to the cosmetic industry. This is one of the main components of the extracellular matrix that makes it possible for the skin to maintain hydration, due to its great capacity to retain water.

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The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), America’s main law governing chemical safety, requires the government prove chemicals are harmful instead of requiring manufacturers to prove they’re safe. As a result, virtually every American is exposed to hundreds of toxic chemicals every day.

We recently had the opportunity to speak with two EDF scientists in this field: Richard Denison, EDF’s Senior Scientist specializing in policy, hazard and risk assessment and management for industrial chemicals and nanomaterials; and Caroline Baier-Anderson, EDF’s Health Scientist providing technical and scientific support on chemical regulatory policy, air toxics and nanotechnology.

Read more: http://www.edf.org/page.cfm?tagID=52312

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An interesting article. Is it really an eye opener?

National Institute of Aging

Regular exercise and physical activity are important to the physical and mental health of almost everyone, including older adults. Being physically active can help you continue to do the things you enjoy and stay independent as you age. Regular physical activity over long periods of time can produce long-term health benefits. That’s why health experts say that older adults should be active every day to maintain their health.

In addition, regular exercise and physical activity can reduce the risk of developing some diseases and disabilities that develop as people grow older. In some cases, exercise is an effective treatment for many chronic conditions. For example, studies show that people with arthritis, heart disease, or diabetes benefit from regular exercise. Exercise also helps people with high blood pressure, balance problems, or difficulty walking.

One of the great things about physical activity is that there are so many ways to be active. For example, you can be active in short spurts throughout the day, or you can set aside specific times of the day on specific days of the week to exercise. Many physical activities — such as brisk walking, raking leaves, or taking the stairs whenever you can — are free or low cost and do not require special equipment. You could also check out an exercise video from the library or use the fitness center at a local senior center.

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 The Journal of the American Dietetic Association, researchers found that calories stated on fast food menu items tended to be inaccurate, averaging 18% MORE CALORIES per item than listed in the menu. Example: Wendy’s grilled chicken wrap listed 260 calories, but was found to have 344 (a 32% overage).

” Some individual restaurant items contained up to 200% of stated values and, in addition, free side dishes increased provided energy to an average of 245% of stated values for the entrees they accompanied. These findings suggest that stated energy contents of reduced-energy meals obtained from restaurants and supermarkets are not consistently accurate, and in this study averaged more than measured values, especially when free side dishes were taken into account. If widespread, this phenomenon could hamper efforts to self-monitor energy intake to control weight, and could also reduce the potential benefit of recent policy initiatives to disseminate information on food energy content at the point of purchase.”

If a supposedly 2000 calories-a-day diet is actually 18% higher in calories, that means 2360 calories or an extra 360 calories a day consumed. Since every 3500 calories are equivalent a pound to our body weight, approximately every ten days we’d gain one pound of body weight. In one month, we’d be up 3 lbs. In one year, a whopping 36 pounds!

So enjoy your meals but don’t overdo it! But here is help if you do.

Stabilizers

Include Propylene Glycol.  Propylene Glycol is used in antifreeze, hydraulic fluids and as a solvent. The material safety data sheet on this ingredient warns to avoid skin contact. Propylene Glycol is implicated in contact dermatitis, kidney damage and liver abnormalities; it can inhibit skin cell growth in human tests and can damage cell membranes causing rashes, dry skin and surface damage. Is this in your moisturizer? You can find it in cosmetics, toothpaste, shampoos and conditioner, lotions, deodorants, baby wipes, processed foods and many more personal care items. Studies have shown that it is retained in your system.  Find more about it and other risks of cosmetic ingredients in: www.ewg.org.

Preserving Ingredients

These appear in almost all cosmetic creams, and include triclosan, and methyl paraben (other forms are: propyl, ethyl, and butyl). Following is an excerpt from an article in the September 2002 issue of Happi (Household and Personal Products Industry) — a chemical industry trade journal “Cosmetic Product Preservation” by Jabbar Mufti:

“Typical preservatives used in the cosmetic industry include methyl paraben, ethyl paraben and propyl paraben and their derivatives. They disable activity in the bacterial wall to prevent fungal contamination. This action continues when the product is on the skin and may be absorbed into the skin tissue, taken up by the blood stream and ultimately reside in the major organs. The preservative action is so stable, it continues to work while inside the body, limiting the normal enzyme activity of the body. How do we know this? Autopsies performed on cancerous tumours have shown residues of methyl-, ethyl- and propyl parabens.”

What Alternative Do We Suggest?

What is so important about using whole leaf aloe vera?Modern chemical analysis of aloe leaves shows that the active agents that are responsible for the plant’s widely celebrated health properties are concentrated in the green skin (rind) and yellow sap (latex) which is found just under the skin. The same and many other studies show that the gel (thick center of the leaf) should be included in all aloe products because it acts as a buffering agent to soothe and cool body tissue.* 

The juice of aloe contains at least 99.1 percent water, which means that the polysaccharides (acemannan and other polypeptides), glycoproteins, and other components constitute less than one percent of the juice. To date, over 200 active components have been identified including fatty acids and immune-stimulating compounds. Therefore, we know that the amazing benefits of aloe are produced by relatively small amounts of many components, acting together synergistically to produce benefits that no single agent can produce alone.