Covenant Natural Health Care

Health News Roundup

• With your help - Free speech in health science may become a reality: The Free Speech about Science (FSAS) Act, HR 1364, would change FDA regulations so that legitimate, peer-reviewed scientific studies can be referenced without changing the food's regulatory category to an unapproved drug. This will protect access to scientific information, and will protect your right to know about the healthy benefits of food and food supplements. The bill amends the appropriate sections of current law to allow the flow of legitimate scientific and educational information while still giving FDA and FTC the right to take action against misleading information and against false and unsubstantiated claims.

• Obesity Surgery Even Worse than Previously Thought: "Researchers concluded that the adjustable gastric band surgery, which is growing in popularity in the United States, 'appears to result in relatively poor long-term outcomes.' The results 'are worse than we expected,' said Dr. Jacques Himpens ... lead author of the new study."

• Oakland officials threaten to shut down urban gardener growing food on her own land: The city of Oakland, Calif., which is marked largely by blight and crime, has decided to go after a backyard gardener for growing and occasionally selling the fruits of her labor. According to a recent report in the San Francisco Chronicle (SFC), Oakland city officials are summoning Novella Carpenter to either pay a costly permit fee and penalties for providing locals with backyard produce items like Swiss chard without government approval, or face city sanctions.

• Want to Burn Away Those Excess Pounds? Heed This Lesson From the Afghans... : The organs of the Canadians, Americans, and Europeans he treated were encased in fat.  Afghan civilians and soldiers had little or no fat or adipose tissue underneath the skin. Patterson has become convinced that the effects of urbanization are making people everywhere in the world both fatter and sicker.

•  The Surprising Benefits of Drinking This 'Unhealthy' Everyday Beverage...:


• Are New 'Healthier' Potato Chips Really Any Better For You?: "Making snacks with natural ingredients doesn't necessarily make them healthy, nutritionists and industry critics caution, even if they are potentially less bad. That includes potato chips."

• Do You Practice These 4 Habits of Some of the World's Healthiest People?:  Eating a "Mediterranean diet" could prevent or even reverse metabolic syndrome, a cluster of risk factors for heart disease and diabetes. Scientists believe that a Mediterranean-style diet has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects on your body.

• Last-minute budget deal narrowly avoids the Big Government shutdown America desperately needs to balance its budget: The difference between the Democrats and the Republicans is that the Democrats want to spend us into oblivion while the Republicans only want to spend us into purgatory. The idea of actually running a balanced budget has never seriously occurred to either party. Government, after all, increases its popularity by confiscating money from some people and redistributing it to other people while keeping at least half of all that money for itself.

• What's Lurking in Your Meat and Poultry? Probably Staph: Researchers were surprised to find that nearly half of samples of beef, pork and poultry tested from popular grocery stores were contaminated with Staphylococcus aureus, a bacteria that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) doesn't even monitor in the food source, because it's not known as a common food-borne pathogen.

Why we need whole food supplements

 

Health News Roundup

I'm amazed every week by the news articles I read, but this week, some of these videos and articles left my jaw on the floor. There is a lot of great information in this post. Take a few minutes to soak it all up and share this information with friends and family.

NZ Farmer Beats Swine Flu With Vitamin C: ... his family refused to give up. They demanded the doctors try high doses of Vitamin C, an apparently radical treatment well outside mainstream medicine. The hospital told them it wouldn’t work but the family insisted. It turned into a fight, the family even hired a top lawyer. But in the end, as Melanie Reid will show you, the farmer is now very much alive.
 


"Sooner or Later, Most American Men Will Need Extra Support for this Very Sensitive Area of their Bodies": Prostate health is widely-realized to be important for men 50 and over, but in recent years, the importance of prostate health to men in their 30s and 40s has become more widely known.  Some factors known to affect prostate health include diet and environmental factors.
 


Docs on Pharma Payroll Have Blemished Records, Limited Credentials: But an investigation has uncovered hundreds of doctors on company payrolls who have been accused of professional misconduct or lacked credentials as researchers or specialists.

High fructose beverages tied to gout: New research derived from the larger Nurses' Health Study has found a new connection between drinking fructose-rich beverages like soda and developing joint arthritis. According to Dr. Hyon Choi and colleagues from Boston University, drinking high fructose beverages increases uric acid levels in the blood, which eventually deposits into the joints where it causes gout.

Scientists develop GMO plant that produces pharmaceutical drugs: Splicing and dicing natural plant compounds and patenting them for profit may be a thing of the past for drug companies, at least in terms of them having to do it manually in a laboratory. It might seem like something out of a science fiction movie, but a team of scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has actually developed a way to genetically engineer plants that are programmed to create pharmaceutical drugs instead of their natural healing compounds.

Birth Interventions Impair the Ability of a Baby to Breastfeed: Breastmilk is the best form of nutrition for a baby but many women struggle to breastfeed and have problems in the early days after birth: including difficulties with latch, problems with milk supply or baby being sleepy. Many of these problems can be caused by birth interventions which can decrease babies' ability to coordinate their suck/swallow reflex.

The fast-food industry’s $4.2 billion marketing blitz: But there's a particular type of fast food that goes back just a half-century, dating to the post-war rise of car-centered cities and suburbs. It relies on regimentation, weird additives, flavor "engineering," super-cheap (but highly subsidized) ingredients, and super-expensive marketing. I won't bore you with why I think this type of fast food sucks; wouldn't want to be labeled a food snob!

Obama White House Hands Out 111 Obamacare Waivers- Hides It on Website:
 


S 510 is hissing in the grass: “If accepted [S 510] would preclude the public’s right to grow, own, trade, transport, share, feed and eat each and every food that nature makes.  It will become the most offensive authority against the cultivation, trade and consumption of food and agricultural products of one’s choice. It will be unconstitutional and contrary to natural law or, if you like, the will of God.”  ~Dr. Shiv Chopra, Canada Health whistleblower

Changing seasons: 7 tips for a healthy you

Fall is definitely here! Warm days and cool nights, nightfall around 8pm and sunrise around 7am, leaves changing colors, and delicious autumn produce are all glorious things. But for some, like me, autumn flies buy too quickly and old man winter is knocking at my door—old man winter and I have a love/hate relationship. So, I take the time in the fall to prepare my body, mind, and soul for the cold days ahead by checking off the things on this list:

1. Fall Cleaning
Just like Spring cleaning, it's good to get in all the nooks and crannies getting rid of allergens like dust and dirt. It's challenging to deep-clean all year round with a busy schedule, but a clean home is a good first step in staying healthy during the winter.
- It may be a good time to get the carpet and rugs cleaned by a comapny who uses natural cleaners and no chemicals or do it yourself. Dust mites and other bugs like to hide in carpet and furniture, so vaccuming often is a good thing.
- Now is a great time to scrub out the fridge and freezer, especially if you're going to stock them good for the winter. These are places you definitely don't want germs to call home.
- Make sure you are changing your furnace filters. They can trap lots of allergens.

2. Get Outside
- During the winter months, we tend to hibernate. I don't know too many people who like to be out in negative temperatures. Now is a great time to soak up the sunshine and breathe all the fresh, crisp air we can. Take long walks or go for a run. Clean up the flower beds and gardens and prepare the beds for Spring. Nature proves to be a huge stress reliever for people, so enjoy the weather while it lasts.

3. Preserve
Now's the time to preserve fresh summer and fall foods for the winter by canning, freezing, or drying. Even if you don't have the time to properly can foods, lots of foods can be frozen like herbs, applesauce, tomatoes, beans, etc. Preserving your own food is easy and the health benefits are amazing as you skip all the perservatives, sugar, and salt in processed foods.

4. Build up your immune system
The weather is changing and every one starts to get their first cold of the season. Germs are everywhere.
- Wash hands thoroughly and use a paper towel to dry your hands first, turn off the faucet, and then use it to open the door to exit the bathroom. It is a fact that people are not washing their hands or not washing them thoroughly and leaving germs behind on the faucet handles and door handles.
- Eat whole foods like fruits and vegetables and eat protein that is hormone and antibiotic free. Pesticides, processed foods, sugar, added hormones and antiobiotics all weaken the immune system. Sugar is your worst enemy, but is even worse when you are sick—it will keep your immune system down and slow the recovery.
- Skip all sugary drinks and opt for purified water or warm tea instead
- Eating well is the first step in preventing illness, but sometimes your body needs extra help in staying healthy. Schedule an appointment if you'd like nutritional counseling and help figuring out what supplements your body needs for optimal health.
- Click here to read about the dangers of flu shots and vaccines.

5. Get plenty of rest
You're busy. I'm busy. But, our bodies must have time to rest and rejuvenate. Getting by on little sleep can last for a little while, but it may have some serious side effects when it comes to your overall health and immune system. A good 7-8 hours of sleep a night is ideal. Trouble sleeping? Here are 33 great tips for a good nights sleep!

6. Take some time just for you
It's easy to get wrapped up in life and taking care of others, but good emotional health comes from taking good care of you, too. Do something you love or that you have put off all summer because you were too busy. Get a massage, spend time with friends you haven't seen in awhile, journal ... find your happy place and visit it often.

7. Be thankful
Let's be honest. Even though we may not always have everything we want, we've been blessed with everything we need. Finding complete joy comes with being satisfied and thankful for all we've been given—when we are whole-heartedly thankful for each breath and each new day we're given. When we're thankful no matter our circumstances we have a healthy spirit.

Our health is not just determined by our physical health, although that plays a big role. Our whole body works together to function and we need to love and nurture each aspect: Body, Mind, and Soul. For example, being extremely healthy physcially, but also stressed out will lead to a weakened immune system and a not-so-healthy emotional state. At CNHC, we're dedicated to taking great care the whole body so it functions just as God created it.

Breaking News Regarding Supplements—Take Action NOW!

A brand new bill has just been introduced in the Senate. It’s supposed to hold accountable those who taint our food supply on purpose. But as drafted, it actually gives license to the FDA to target supplement and natural health product companies. (read the whole article here)—Alliance for Natural Health

Please tell your senators to oppose the Food Safety Accountability Act of 2010. I encourage you to tell your senators how natural health has helped you or someone in your family and how crucial it is to have access to vital nutrients. It's our stories, when shared, that can truly make a difference!

I've contacted my senators, will you?