The World’s Worst Cereals

Source: www.flickr.com/photos/wafflewhiffer/924700200/

Some breakfast cereals currently being marketed to U.S. children are more than half sugar by weight, according to Consumer Reports.

A single serving of 11 popular cereals, including Kellogg’s Honey Smacks, can carry as much sugar as a glazed doughnut. And some brands have even more sugar and sodium when formulated for the U.S. market than the same brands have when sold in other countries.

Post’s Golden Crisp and Kellogg’s Honey Smacks are both more than 50 percent sugar by weight, while nine brands are at least 40 percent sugar.

• Consumer Reports October 1, 2008

Unfortunately breakfast is typically one of the worst meals to eat out. Most restaurant options are simply not consistent with a healthy meal. The most notorious offenders though are probably breakfast cereals, which were initially developed to increase convenience, and now have mostly morphed into highly processed packages filled with synthetic vitamins and are a mere fantasy of a healthy food.

Breakfast cereals, along with waffles, pancakes, bagels and other high-carb, high-sugar foods, are some of your absolute worst breakfast options. And cereals that are aggressively marketed to kids have the worst nutritional quality of all cereals, according to an analysis of 161 brands earlier this year.

The analysis, published in the Journal of American Dietetic Association, found that children’s cereals have more sugar, sodium, carbohydrates, and calories per gram than cereals not marketed to kids. They also have less protein and fiber.

On average, sugar accounts for more than one-third of the weight of children‘s cereals compared to less than one-quarter of adult cereals.

The food industry spends about $229 million annually advertising these nutritionally void cereals to children. Colorful cartoons and other cheery tricks are meant to stimulate your child into wanting these “fun” foods, but the damage they can do to your child’s health is no laughing matter.

Obesity has become a major concern for American children, with excess sugar and carbohydrates being two of the major culprits contributing to this growing problem.

In the last two decades, the prevalence of overweight adolescents has nearly tripled, and current statistics show 16 percent of children are overweight or obese.

Sugar is Not a Healthy Breakfast, Fiber is Ignored!

There are two major problems with breakfast cereals:

1. Their high sugar content
2. The refined grains (carbohydrates, which also break down into sugar)

On average, just one serving of a typical children’s breakfast cereal equates to more than 90 percent of the daily sugar intake for sedentary girls aged 9 to 13.

In fact, “feeding infants cereal may be associated with an increased risk of developing type-1 diabetes mellitus autoantibodies, according to a study.

Children at an increased risk of type 1 diabetes who were fed cereals between the ages of 0 and 3 months and at age 7 months or older had an increased risk of developing type 1 diabetes later in life.

The results suggest that exposing susceptible children to cereal during certain ages increases their risk of type 1 diabetes.”

• Journal of the American Medical Association October 1, 2003;290(13):1713-20

Regardless of the “healthy fiber” content of the cereal, consuming that much sugar is not going to promote good health. Foods high in added sugar contain little in terms of essential vitamins and minerals, and the calories they contain are not made up of important micronutrients needed for health and growth.

Reducing sugar intake should be on the top of your list regardless of whether your child is currently overweight or not, because it’s been proven over and over that sugar increases insulin levels, which can lead to:

• • High blood pressure and high cholesterol
  • Heart disease
  • Diabetes
  • Weight gain
  • Premature aging, and more

Be Radical, but Not Unreasonable, About Sugar Elimination

Now, I understand that completely eliminating sugar from your child’s diet is probably not feasible, so don’t beat yourself up too much. While high sugar consumption will clearly have a negative impact on your child’s health, eating sugar in moderation is likely not going to cause any significant damage.

Moderate sugar consumption would be somewhere in the neighborhood of five pounds per year, or just over 6 grams per day, which is considerably less than the U.S. average, which is closer to a staggering 175 pounds per year (about 52 teaspoons a day)!

To accomplish this, taking a close look at the sugar content of your child’s cereal, which is consumed on a daily basis, is therefore necessary.

Just how much sugar are you feeding your child each day?

One 2005 study that analyzed the daily sugar intake of 5,000 toddlers ranging in age from 2 to 5, found that, on average, 2- to 3-year olds consumed around 14 teaspoons (~58 grams) of added sugar a day. This number jumped to 17 teaspoons (~71 grams) daily among 4- to 5-year olds (Journal of Pediatrics January 2005;146(1):105-11).

That’s clearly too much!

Striving to limit your child’s added sugar consumption to between 1.5 and 2 teaspoons (6-8 grams) per day will likely save them lots of health problems later on.

• Mercola News 10.01.08

Diverticulosis: A Prevalent Disease In Older People

Diverticulosis -- Source: www.drmarkbowles.com/gi4.html

So you’ve had a colonscopy and found out you have diverticulosis. Your doctor prescribed Benefiber, then left the room and never returned. Now what? Will you have this forever? Are you unhealthy? How does one develop diverticulosis? And what is the difference between “osis” and “itis?”

By age 60, half of the people in North America will have diverticulosis. By the time they reach 80, this number mushrooms to two-thirds. A diverticulum is a bulge of the inner colon lining through the colon’s muscular wallto its outer surface. A diverticulum looks like a small soap bubble and is only 1/5 to 2/5 inches (0.5-1 cm) in diameter.

If you’ve been eating a diet devoid of fibrous foods, then someday soon you also will be welcomed to the world of diverticulosis. Too many foods today are refined – lacking enough fibre to effectively sweep out the colon and keep it clean. This is especially true of grains, where we throw away the bran – the outer coat. In countries where 100% whole grains are used, diverticulosis is a rarity.

“Diverticulosis has been considered a degenerative disorder in the past. However, there is compelling evidence that, in many patients, it develops as a result of longstanding irritable bowel syndrome: chronic constipation; alternating constipation and diarrhea; abdominal cramps and tenderness; mucus; abdominal bloating and gas; incomplete evacuation; etc. Many patients with diverticulosis have, unfortunately, been the recipients of bad advice regarding their diets. In many cases, high fiber foods have been severely restricted, only making the condition worse. I would submit that most of the symptoms of diverticulosis are actually symptoms of spastic colon/irritable bowel syndrome and are particularly aggravated by fatty foods and emotional stress. (www.drmarkbowles.com/gi4.html)

Bran and other fibre hold water in undigested food, making stools soft. Without sufficient fibre, undigested foods become hard and dry, causing the colon walls to strain to keep the matter moving. In some, the diverticulum breaks and causes a local infection in the colon. This condition is called diverticulitis, with subsequent pain in  the lower left corner of the abdomen. Sometimes there is also an accompanying fever and chills.

Source: www.drmarkbowles.com

“This picture shows small ulcerations in the colon representing inflammation. The two most common types of colitis we encounter are ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. The more difficult of these two to treat is Crohn’s as it may involve the small bowel as well as the large intestine.There is an increased risk of colon cancer with longstanding (10-20 years) ulcerative colitis and to a slight degree with Crohn’s.” (www.drmarkbowles.com). So practice prevention today! Eat at least 30 grams of fibre daily, consisting of fruits with edible skins, vegetables and whole grain products such as oatmeal, 100% whole grains, baked flatbreads such as Ryvita and brown rice.

How Your Body Works: Simple Overview Of Organ Systems

Editors Comment: The following is a fairly easy to digest article on the organ systems of the body, by Dr. Ben Kim. It provides an overview of the systems that keep you well, giving enough information about your health so that you don’t have to rely on others to make decisions for you. If you can teach the basics yourself, then you have enough knowledge to avoid disease.

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How Your Body Works: Overview Of The Body’s Organ Systems

By Dr. Ben Kim

August 19, 2008

Source: http://drbenkim.com/organ-systems.htm — Experiencing your best health as you age doesn’t have to be complicated. Actually, the secrets to staying healthy as you age are profoundly simple. But don’t expect the majority of licensed physicians to share this opinion.

Some health practitioners understand that using complicated medical jargon tends to establish themselves as authority figures who should be respected and obeyed. Explaining simple truths on how to stay healthy isn’t a good technique for building a reputation as a brilliant physician.

If you want to be relatively free of the fear of not knowing enough about your health that you have to rely on others to make big decisions for you, it’s critical that you take some time to learn about how your body works.

The goal of this series of articles is to give you a broad look at the major organ systems in your body and how they work together to keep you well. As you read this series, I encourage you to adopt the mindset of having to learn this material well enough to teach it to a group of junior high school students – this mindset should lead to an excellent understanding of how to care for your health.

Before we look at the major organ systems that work to keep you well, let’s first review some basic definitions.

You’re likely familiar with most or all of the major organs in your body. Your brain, heart, lungs, kidneys, stomach, liver, gall bladder, spleen, and pancreas are well known examples of organs. Less well known as organs are your bones and skin.

Your organs are collections of specialized tissues, and your tissues are collections of groups of cells. So in reverse order, a simple, big picture look at your anatomical make-up looks like this:

Your cells are the basic living units that make up your body.

Groups of cells come together to form specialized tissues.

Groups of tissues come together to form your organs.

This bird’s eye view of your physical make-up is important because it highlights the following point:

The health of every organ in your body is determined by the health of the cells that make up your organs. When the majority of cells that make up any organ in your body are healthy, that organ is likely to be healthy; the converse is true as well – when most of the cells that make up one of your organs are dysfunctional or diseased, that organ is likely to be dysfunctional.

Given all of the above, it makes sense, then, that taking care of your organs requires that you take care of your cells.

The most important determinant of the health of every cell in your body is the quality of blood that is supplied for ongoing nourishment and removal of waste products. The blood that your heart pumps to all of your cells delivers nutrients and oxygen to fuel ongoing energy production within your cells. Steady blood flow also ensures regular removal of waste materials from your cells, which keeps your cells uncluttered and free to function properly.

The cells that make up your heart no different than the rest of the cells in your body – your cardiac cells also require a steady supply blood, nutrients, and oxygen, and your cardiac cells receive these things via your coronary arteries. So just as your heart delivers nutrients and oxygen to the cells of your kidneys, stomach, and liver, your heart also delivers nutrients and oxygen to its own cells.

If, over time, your coronary arteries become damaged and less capable of delivering a steady supply of blood to the cells of your heart, you may experience chest pain, shortness of breath, and other symptoms that are typical of a heart attack. Heart attacks are usually caused by some degree of blockage in the coronary arteries. If the cells of your heart don’t receive steady, quality blood flow, your heart will eventually lose its capacity to pump blood, nutrients, and oxygen to the rest of your body.

The main point here is this: all of the cells that make up the many organs in your body have the same basic requirements to stay healthy, with the first and most important requirement being steady blood flow. Clearly, the healthier your diet and lifestyle are, the healthier your blood will be. And the healthier your blood is, the healthier your cells will be.

It’s true that certain foods and substances are known to have specific effects on specific organs. For example, we know that eating foods that are rich in the omega-3 fatty acid, DHA, is good for promoting optimal brain function. We also know that eating foods that are rich in vitamin D can help promote healthy bones and teeth. But it’s incorrect to think that these nutrients produce only these specific results. When you eat foods that are rich in DHA and vitamin D, these nutrients touch all of your cells, not just the cells that make up your brain, bones, and teeth.

In the same vein, when you expose yourself to prescription drugs, recreational drugs, and other environmental pollutants, all of your cells are touched – there is no such thing as a “side” effect.

So now that we’ve hammered home the principle that the health of your organs is determined by the health of your cells, and that the health of your cells is determined by all of your daily food and lifestyle choices, let’s move on to an overview of your organ systems.

You have eleven organ systems that govern all of your physiological activities. They are as follows:

1. Nervous System
2. Endocrine System
3. Cardiovascular System
4. Respiratory System
5. Digestive System
6. Urinary System
7. Muscular System
8. Skeletal System
9. Integumentary (Skin) System
10. Immune System (includes Lymphatic System)
11. Reproductive System

Aside: Not included in any of the organ systems listed above are “special sense” organs that you need to see, hear, smell, taste, and maintain your balance.

Each of your organ systems are groups of organs that work together to carry out specific duties in your body. For example, your digestive system is an organ system that requires contributions from a number of organs, including your stomach, small intestine, large intestine, liver, pancreas, and gall bladder; all of these organs work together to digest the foods that you eat, and transfer the nutrients in the foods that you eat from your small intestine to your cells.

Some organs contribute essential work to more than one organ system. For example, your pancreas plays an important role within your digestive system by secreting digestive enzymes into your small intestine, but your pancreas is also an irreplaceable component of your endocrine system, as it produces three important hormones that are secreted into your bloodstream and have system-wide effects.

Finally, it’s important to point out that all of your organ systems affect one another. We’ve already looked at one example of this: Your cardiovascular system keeps all of your other organ systems going by supplying blood, nutrients, and oxygen to all of your cells.

Here are more examples that illustrate the interdependence of your organ systems:

• All of your organ systems are regulated by your nervous and endocrine systems – these two systems are co-directors of all of your body’s moment-to-moment activities.
• Your urinary system is essential to maintaining fluid and pH balance within all of your organ systems.
• Your respiratory system brings in the oxygen that your cardiovascular system delivers to all of your cells. Your respiratory system also plays a vital role in maintaining your blood pH.
• Your integumentary (skin) and immune systems play critical roles in preventing life-threatening infections of all of your other organ systems.
• Your muscular system allows you to move (making the rest of your organ systems relevant to your existence). Your muscular system also serves as an important reservoir for your endocrine system.
• Your skeletal system provides physical protection and structural support for your other organ systems.
• And perhaps the most obvious example: Your digestive system provides fuel for all of your other organ systems to use to produce energy.

We’ll look at each of your organ systems in more detail in future articles in this series on how your body works.

Here are the main points to take away from this article:

1. All of your organs are influenced by all of your food and lifestyle choices. There’s virtually no way to affect just one organ system via a specific diet or therapy. Whenever one of your organ systems improves or declines in health, the rest of your organ systems follow suit to some degree.
2. The health of each of your organs is determined by the health of the cells that make up your organs. And all of your cells have the same basic requirements to stay healthy.

Fight Cancer With These Phytochemicals

Editors Comment: below is a list of cancer fighting phytochemicals everyone would do well to keep in their daily arsenal. Disease runs rampant today because of ignorance of basic cause. This list should add to your knowledge base and help prevent disease.

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Source: Cancer Fighting Phytochemicals
From © Sat Dharam Kaur N.D. 2007
www.healthybreastprogram.on.ca

Phytochemical: Allyl Sulfides

Effect: Increases liver enzymes to detoxify carcinogens

Food Sources: garlic, onions, leeks

———-

Phytochemical: Capsaicin

Effect: Prevents carcinogens from binding to DNA

Food Sources: Chili peppers

———-

Phytochemical: Carotenoids

Effect: Act as antioxidants, neutralize free radicals, enhance immunity; high
intake associated with low cancer rates; promote cell
differentiation

Food Sources: parsley, carrots, spinach, kale, winter squash, apricots, cantaloupe, sweet potatoes, seaweed

———-

Phytochemical: Polyphenols

Effect: Act as antioxidants Reduce damaging effects of nitrosamines; kill human cancer cells

Food Sources: brocolli, carrots, green tea, cucumbers, squash,
mint, basil, citrus

———-

Phytochemical: Flavonoids

Effect: Prevent attachment of cancer-causing hormones to
cells by blocking receptor sites

Food Sources: Most fruits and vegetables, including: parsley, carrots, citrus,
broccoli, cabbage, cucumbers, squash, yams, eggplant, peppers, berries

———-

Phytochemical: Curcumin

Effect: Assists the liver in detoxifying carcinogens; arrests cancer cells

Food Sources: turmeric

———-

Phytochemical: Ellagic Acid

Effect: Neutralizes carcinogens in the liver, Antioxidant
Inhibits cancer cell divisions

Food Sources: red raspberries, walnut skin

———-

Phytochemical: Isoflavones (genistein and daidzen)

Effect: Bind to estrogen receptor blocking harmful hormone disruptors; block formation of blood vessels to tumors; inhibit enzymes that might cause cancer; inhibit activation of breast cancer genes

Food Sources: Soybeans, tofu, miso, lentils, dried beans, split peas, garbanzo beans,
green beans, green peas, mung bean sprouts, red clover sprouts

———-

Phytochemical: Indoles

Effect: Induce protective enzymes, stimulate C2 estrogen production; Decrease
estrogen that initiates breast cancer

Food Sources: raw cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, kale,
cauliflower, bok choy, kohlrabi, mustard, turnip

———-

Phytochemical: Isothiocyanates

Effect: Prevent DNA damage; block tumor production induced by chemicals in
environment; act as antioxidants assisting liver detoxification

Food Sources: mustard, horseradish, radishes, turnips, cabbage, broccoli,
cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, kale, bok choy, watercress, garden sorrel

———-

Phytochemical: Limonoids

Effect: Induce protective enzymes in liver and intestines that fight cancer

Food Sources: citrus fruit rind, essential oils of lemon, orange, celery, lemongrass

———-

Phytochemical: Linolenic Acid

Effect: Regulates production of prostaglandins in cells

Food Sources: flaxseeds and flaxseed oil

———-

Phytochemical: Lycopene

Effect: Protects from cell damage

Food Sources: tomato, kiwi, grapes, spinach

———-

Phytochemical: Lutein

Effect: Protects from cell damage

Food Sources: tomato, kiwi, grapes, spinach

———-

Phytochemical: Monoterpenes

Effect: Antioxidant properties, induce protective enzymes, inhibit cholesterol
production in tumors, stimulate destruction of breast cancer cells, inhibit
growth of cancer cells

Food Sources: cherries, lavender, parsley, yams, carrots, broccoli,
cabbage, basil, cucumbers, peppers, squash, eggplant,
mint, tomatoes, grapefruit

———-

Phytochemical: Phenolic Acids

Effect: Block effects of free radicals; inhibit formation of
nitrosamine (carcinogen)

Food Sources: berries, broccoli, grapes, citrus, parsley, peppers, soy, squash,
tomatoes, grains

———-

Phytochemical: Plant Sterols (beta-sitosterol)

Effect: Prevent cells from becoming cancerous; lower fat levels in body

Food Sources: broccoli, cabbage, soy, peppers, whole grains

———-

Phytochemical: Protease Inhibitors

Effect: Block the activity of enzymes involved in tumor growth

Food Sources: beans and soy products

———-

Phytochemical: Quercetin

Effect: Slows down cell division

Food Sources: onions, apples, green cabbage

———-

Phytochemical: Quinones

Effect: Neutralize carcinogens

Food Sources: rosemary, pau d’arco tea

———-

Phytochemical: Sulforaphane

Effect: Antioxidant, enhances detoxifying effect of liver’s enzymes
to remove carcinogens

Food Sources: broccoli sprouts, broccoli,
cauliflower, Brussels sprouts