How I Fuel Myself With a Plant-Based Diet as a Competitive Bodybuilder

BY TORRE WASHINGTON

I did not grow up eating meat because my mother was a Seventh Day Adventist and health and vegetarianism are part of the religion. We moved to Jamaica for a few years to live with my grandparents, and it was during that time that we did eat some meat. After a while, I did become vegetarian again, but this time it was due to the Rastafari belief in an “ital” vegetarian diet.

I went full-force vegan in 1998. When I first decided to stop eating all animal products, I didn’t even use the term ‘vegan.’ Veganism is huge now, but I didn’t know the name for it then. It’s been my lifestyle for so long that I don’t know any different, and I don’t want to. People within the bodybuilding industry encourage me to eat meat or drink whey protein shakes to get even bigger. But I’m happy with where I am. I’m winning competitions and my lifestyle does no harm to others.

My Journey to Becoming a Professional Bodybuilder

When my brother and I first moved to Jamaica from Alabama, we had thick Southern accents. Other kids picked on us, so I needed to have an outlet and to get strong. I started to do push-ups and work out with free weights. After we moved back to the States, I continued to work out. I’ve always loved comic books, Wolverine, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and that super-fit physique.

I played football and ran track during high school, but never competed as a bodybuilder. It wasn’t until after college that I thought about getting on a stage. I watched a friend of mine compete as a bodybuilder and I was inspired. I decided that I didn’t want to lie on my deathbed and regret never having tried, so I told my friend that I wanted to compete the next year. This was in 2008.

My friend couldn’t help with my diet since I didn’t want to start eating meat, but he did encourage me with training. In 2009, I competed in my first show and got third place. I was so excited and signed up for another one. I won that second show and I’ve never stopped. Now, four pro cards later and an incredible win at Musclemania, I’ve decided to do this full-time. I left my day job as an engineer for Honda earlier this year.

Plant-Based Performance

I’m an all-natural bodybuilder, which means I don’t take performance-enhancing drugs. I recently competed in the Arnold classic, which is not a natural show (meaning that they don’t test you). I was thrilled to be accepted to compete in it as an all-natural athlete. For many years, I just enjoyed competing but was very private about it. I never had any intention of becoming known as a “vegan athlete.”
But as time went on, people within the community began to ask me for tips and for training help. As the conversation went on, I’d find myself talking about my vegan lifestyle and dispelling myths about building muscle mass on a plant-based diet. It’s been an amazing experience now, seeing that something I love to do is an inspiration to others.

Food and Fuel

People ask me about protein, nutrients, and how many carbohydrates I get everyday because they want specifics. But I never track any of these things. Some days I eat three times a day, and other times I eat five times. Overall, I just continue to work out and eat a variety of healthy vegan foods. I believe in keeping it simple and not complicating things. Eat to live, and don’t live to eat. Eat nutrient-dense foods, sleep a lot, and drink water. Don’t eat empty calories.

My diet doesn’t change much during competition or the off-season. If I’m competing, I increase my water intake and activity and might lower my overall calories a bit. But I also know my own body. I look at my physique and adjust from there. For my clients, I preach simplicity. Learn what works for your own body. I want to create leaders, not followers. So I want to teach people to eat effectively for their own bodies.

I’m not a picky eater, so if it’s healthy and vegan, then I’ll probably eat it. I could eat beans all day, and there’s not a green leaf that I don’t like. I love fruit, oatmeal, pancakes, wraps, sandwiches, and grilled tempeh with veggies. I tell my son all the time that there is someone in this country who is eating out of the trash right now. I want to teach him to be grateful for the bounty that we have; I don’t believe in wasting food.

Although I might grab a power bar or a shake if I’m at the airport or on-the-go, I don’t take any bodybuilding supplements. And I’m not going to promote anything that I don’t take. That’s not me.

Feature Photo [Left] by m.a.farrington
Inset Photo (above): VisUalize Photography by Kelvin Johnson

http://www.forksoverknives.com/vegan-bodybuilder-plant-based-diet/

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We all need to stop eating meat now, and this is why

If even Alex Proud, a half-German meat lover, thinks it's time to embrace vegetarianism, perhaps we all should.

I am thinking of becoming a vegetarian and I blame Professor Stephen Hawking.

A bit of a leap, I know, but bear with me. Last week, it was announced that the Russian technology billionaire Yuri Milner was stumping up $100m to search for extraterrestrial life and that Professor Hawking was on board. Go, science. However, Professor Hawking has long had grave concerns about actually finding intelligent life. The gist of his thinking is that aliens who are much more advanced than us might see us as “no more valuable than we see bacteria.”

For what very little it’s worth, I disagree slightly with Prof Hawking here. With a touch of anthropocentric pride or hubris, I imagine that our new galactic overlords might view us as we view farm animals. Pigs if they were feeling generous, chickens if they weren’t.

^{'I have described vegetarianism as an eating disorder' (Photo: Alamy)}

The trouble is, this thought won’t go away, not least because exobiology is pretty hot at the moment. In our own solar system we’ve discovered oceans beneath the ice of Europa and Enceladus (and possibly on Pluto and Ceres) where life could exist. There is now a very good chance that alien life will be found in the next decade or so; nowadays the bookies will only give you odds of 100-1 of ET being discovered in any given year whereas 10 years ago, you’d have got 1000-1 or better.

To be fair, the denizens of these nearby worlds are likely to be fishy and should have more to fear from us than we do from them. But it’s the billions of other potentially habitable worlds in the Milky Way that I’m concerned about. Worlds like current planet of the month Kepler-452b (AKA Earth 2.0) which has a 1.5 billion year head start on us. I mean, can you imagine what we could do in 1.5 billion years? We’d probably have an app that was like Uber for faster than light travel.

Anyway, this constant bombardment of alien life teasers means it’s hard to get the idea of a shimmering green alien stepping out of its spaceship to size me up (like a butcher might a cow) out of my head. And the natural corollary to this is: Christ, we treat farm animals badly. So perhaps when our galactic overlords rock up, they’ll look at the way we treat pigs and think, pfft, savages, before chucking us all in a slow oven to make a delicious dish of pulled person.

All of this has forced me to take a long hard look at my own meaty diet – and, slowly, I am coming round to the idea that the enormous piles of beautifully browned sausages, the perfectly grilled steaks, the crisp, delicious bacon and rest of the mixed grill that comprises at least 50 per cent of my diet, may be just be a little bit wrong. This has not been an easy journey for me to make. I am half German. I used to play rugby. I am 6’2”. I am designed to run on heavy fuel. And yet, I can’t shake this thought. It’s like I have a little winged pig on my shoulder whispering, “If you eat a variety of pulses, you need never turn another of my friends into a sausage.”

^{Going vegetarian is one of the very best things you can do for the earth' (Photo: Alamy)}

So, over the last year I’ve been looking at meat. Reading about meat. Watching meat documentaries and lurking in online meat forums. I can’t say it’s made me feel any better.

I keep stumbling across books ranging from Donald Griffin’s The Question of Animal Awareness (1976) to Carl Sarfina’s Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel (2015). It seems abundantly clear to me that animals feel as we do and suffer as we do. Crows use tools, whales have culture, pigs can learn and cows interact socially. Moreover, the difference between us and the animals is one of degree, not type. Christianity teaches us we are apart from the animals, but these days only the most deluded zealot could believe we are anything other than very clever monkeys.

Once you take this on board factory farming becomes pretty much unconscionable. It’s disgusting for the animals – from the mutilation and the crowding to the lazy cruelty and artificially accelerated growth. And its disgusting for the environment: 10,000 slurry ponds can’t be wrong. It’s even disgusting for human health because life’s going to get a lot more interesting when antibiotics stop working. Indeed, the only way you can eat factory-farmed meat is to not to think about it – or not to care.

So, you wonder, could organic, high-welfare farming be our get-out-of-jail-free card? Well, it’s better, sort of. But even so, you’re still keeping thinking, feeling beings in some sort of captivity in order to turn them into nuggets and burgers. Besides, organic food is expensive and, while I can afford it, I’m loathe to advocate Farrow & Ball solutions to people on Dulux budgets.

^{'The idea of a vegetarian diet fills me with dread' (Photo: AP)}

In the end, though, free range is no real solution. By some environmental metrics free range is actually worse than factory farming. And while I get the argument that many upland areas of the UK are suitable only for grazing, so they either produce meat or nothing at all, were we to make everything free range, there wouldn’t be enough land in the world. Add this to the fact that half the world’s wild animals have disappeared in the last 40 years and you start to see why middle-class herds of organic cows roaming free in fields from Boden catalogues just can’t work for everyone.

What does work for everyone though is not eating meat. It’s basic maths. Estimates vary, but it takes around 7 kilos of grain to make one kilo of beef. Pigs are about 4:1 and relatively thifty chickens are around 2:1. Then there’s the vast water consumption (15,415 litres for a kilo of beef, some of which goes into growing the feed) and the CO2 emissions (27kg for a kilo of beef). If, however, humans were to eat the kilo of grain themselves, that would be that. A kilo of lentils creates only 0.9 kg of CO2. Along with not flying and driving, going vegetarian is one of the very best things you can do for the earth.

Anyway, I know all this. You probably know all this. The little voice still won’t go away (although I’ll allow that the little voice may actually be my vegetarian wife whispering “meat is murder” as I sleep). But even so, deep down, I know she’s right. The trouble is, down, I also love Beef Wellington and foie gras and veal. I am a loud, booming alpha male. I have described vegetarianism as an eating disorder – and worse. Spending the next 40 years on mung beans strikes me as both off-brand and off-putting.

So what am I going to do? I’ve already done the easy middle-class thing. I buy organic meat from cows called Rachel who spent their time on farms in the right part of the Cotswolds. The next thing is a bit harder. I run three restaurants so I’m going to move to organic, low-impact meat as much as possible. I’m going to offer several veggie options – and promote them and make sure they’re genuine, excellent alternatives rather than miserable afterthoughts at the bottom of the menu.

I’m also going to eat a lot less meat. The average Brit eats 80 kilos a year. I suspect at the moment I’m more like the average American (125kg) but I’m going to try and be like the average Thai (28kg). But ultimately, I think even that’s a bit of a cop-out. The inescapable conclusion is that I have to become more like the average Indian – that is, a vegetarian. Frankly, the prospect fills me with dread. It puts butterflies in my burger-filled stomach and causes beads of sweat that taste curiously like gravy to pop out on my forehead. It makes me hate Professor Hawking.

Still, if I manage it, I’ll feel a lot better about myself. The planet will feel a lot better about me. Animals will feel better about me. And, if advanced aliens from Kepler 452b ever pitch up on our doorstep, I’ll be able to say, “Look, I saw the error of my ways – and quit 15 years ago. And no, I didn’t eat any of those of delicious fish fingers from Europa either.”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/thinking-man/11761701/We-all-need-to-stop-eating-meat-now-and-this-is-why.html

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The Man who cures all known diseases with Supreme Court Ruling to prove it! - Video

The Man who cures all known diseases with Supreme Court Ruling to prove it!

A true healthcare reformer, who stood up against the American Medical Association in court, the list of diseases he can cure stretches to some of the most unsettling conditions people face today including: bipolar disorder, depression, ADHD, Mesothelioma, acid reflux and drug addiction. Everyday it seems to become evermore clear that the human body has a powerful ability to heal itself naturally. One man in America took this notion all the way, changing history and widening the path towards the cure of all disease, his name is Dr. Sebi. A healer, pathologist, herbalist, biochemist and naturalist who immigrated from Honduras,...

http://soulspottv.com/blog/man-found-cures-for-all-diseases-and-has-the-supreme-court-ruling-to-prove-it/

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7 Natural Herbs For Every Thyroid Condition

Your thyroid gland is responsible for a number of critical functions, so it is important that you do everything possible to keep it healthy. Millions of people have a thyroid that is either overactive or underactive, meaning that it is not able to effectively carry out its work. There are things that you can start doing today to ensure that your thyroid is working at an optimal level.

This improves your overall health and works to ensure that you are at a lower risk for experiencing thyroid dysfunction.The thyroid gland works by secreting certain hormones that a number of body functions require to work properly. If your thyroid is putting out too many hormones, it is said to be overactive.

When it is not putting out enough, it is said to be underactive. Both states of thyroid dysfunction have a significant impact on your health and can be quite disabling when the hormone level changes are severe. Because of this, you want to quickly work to correct any thyroid issues so that you can enjoy a high quality of life.

Exploring Herbs to Aid in Thyroid Health and Function

When your thyroid is working properly, it does a lot in the body to ensure that a number of body systems and functions are going as they should. Some of the most important functions that the thyroid hormones help to regulate include:

– Electrolyte transportation
– Regulate muscle and cardiac activity
– Repairing bones
– Regulate growth during the childhood years
– Helping to regulate a woman’s menstrual cycle
– Helping to regulate sex drive and libido
– Cellular protein synthesis
– Ensuring the body is able to take food and convert it to energy
– Regulating metabolism
– Making vitamin A by converting beta-carotene
– Helping to regulate your mental processes

When it comes to promoting thyroid health, there are a number of herbs that can help. You will consume these herbs orally, either as a tea or via a capsule or pill. It is critical that you are taking the right dose to ensure safety and so that you get the most health benefits for your thyroid. Since there are so many herbs that improve the health of the thyroid, you should learn about several of them and then narrow it down to determine the best one for your thyroid health needs.

1. Bladderwhack
This herb has a funny name, but it has a lot of potential for those who are experiencing an underactive thyroid. This is because it has a high iodine content and iodine is one of the most important nutrients for your thyroid. By replacing iodine, it can help to improve an underactive thyroid.

2. Flaxseed

You often hear about flaxseed when it comes to digestive health and while it is important for this because it is high in fiber, it also aids your thyroid. Those with underactive thyroid can help to boost their thyroid hormone ratio by consuming this herb on a daily basis. What is ideal about this herb is that you only need about one tablespoon every day to reap the full benefits.

You can add it to a liquid or your food to consume it, making it a very convenient choice.

3. Echinacea
This herb is popular for promoting immunity and this is partially why it is ideal for better thyroid health. This is best for those who have an overactive thyroid and you want to focus on using the root of the herb. Because of this, many of the over-the-counter options will not be good because they do not use the herb. You can use the roots to make a tea by steeping the roots in boiling water.

4. Ginger
You probably already use ginger for helping to calm nausea and upset stomach, but it is also ideal for the thyroid. This is because this herb is rich in zinc, magnesium and potassium, all of which are nutrients that the thyroid requires for optimal health. You must use the fresh ginger herb to reap the full benefits.

You can eat a little fresh ginger or make a ginger tea. Ginger tea with a little organic honey mixed in is soothing and will help your thyroid to function optimally.

5. Licorice
If you have an underactive thyroid that is causing you to experience fatigue, this herb can help. In addition to helping to promote thyroid hormone regulation to improve your thyroid, it also gives you a gentle boost in energy. As a bonus, this herb contains what is called glycerrhetinic acid. This may have some potential for inhibiting the growth of certain types of thyroid cancer cells.

6. Nettle
Nettle can be beneficial for those with both an underactive and overactive thyroid. It is often referred to as a thyroid tonic because its high iodine content can aid in reversing a deficiency of this nutrient. Consuming this in tea form is usually the easiest and most beneficial.

7. Evening Primrose Oil
This herb is popular for women’s health, but it is also highly beneficial for the thyroid. In addition to aiding with underactive thyroid as a whole, it can also aid with the symptoms of this condition, such as reducing hair loss and heavy menstrual periods. It is often recommended to drink this as a tea for the most benefit.

You can see that if your thyroid gland is not working properly, you can experience a number of health issues. Look at the herbs above and what they are capable of and make a list of those you think will help you. Then, talk to your doctor about these herbs. Your doctor can help you to choose the best one for you.

He or she can also help you to determine the proper dose, depending on the thyroid issue you have and how severe it is. Your doctor will also help to ensure that the herb, or herbs, that you choose are a safe choice for you.

http://www.healthandhomeremedies.com/7-natural-herbs-for-every-thyroid-condition/

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This Woman Ate Nothing But Bananas For 12 Days, Here’s What Happened

Alright, I love bananas, but I don’t think I could do anything like what Yulia Tarabath decided to do. She went 12 days straight without eating anything besides bananas.

Bananas are a great source of nutrients. They can help improve vision, increase weight loss, relive hypertension, and much more. But are they everything our body needs? Probably not.

Yulia ate nothing but bananas for 12 straight days. She drank plenty of water, got ample amounts of rest, and exercised regularly. This type of diet is known as “mono-fruiting.” She claims she noticed in improvement in her overall emotional and physical health. The first thing she said she noticed was an improvement in her digestion and that she no longer experienced stomach pains.

She also said she began to feel very relaxed and stress free. This means she was able to focus on her passions and creativity. Other than just noticing health improvements, she also noticed that some of her previous aliments began to go away.

Check out her video below… Is she full of it? Is this actually dangerous? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

http://www.healthandhomeremedies.com/this-woman-ate-nothing-but-bananas-for-12-days-heres-what-happened/

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The Truth About Cast Iron Pans: 10 Facts You Need To Know The Truth About Cast Iron Pans: 10 Facts You Need To Know

Cooks seeking alternatives to toxic non-stick cookware often find themselves in a bind. Stainless steel, which seems to be the healthiest alternative, is expensive, and it does not lend itself well to cooking eggs, pancakes and other dishes that non-stick cookware typically excels at. If you have not yet discovered the benefits of cast iron cooking, here are 10 reasons to buy and use a cast iron skillet.

1. Replacing a non-stick skillet with a cast iron one allows you to avoid the toxic fumes that accompany most non-stick cookware. Cast iron can also replace aluminum cookware, which may also pose health hazards.

2. Besides the stove, you can use a cast iron skillet in the oven, at any temperature. This comes in handy for making corn bread, frittatas, and flat bread.

3. It is nonstick. Surprisingly, a preheated cast iron skillet rivals the qualities of non-stick cookware, as long as it is properly seasoned and cared for. You can quickly move up this short learning curve by talking with employees at your local cookware store or by reading a book or Internet article about cast iron care.

4. Cast iron is easy to clean up. Not only does food easily lift off from cast iron cookware, soap is not needed or recommended, since it erodes the seasoning.

5. There are health benefits. You can actually boost your iron intake from eating food cooked in cast iron cookware. This vital mineral is crucial for maintaining energy levels, and it helps strengthen immune systems.

6. It is inexpensive. Cooks looking to replace non-stick cookware often investigate stainless steel. However, a high-end, 12-inch stainless skillet runs well over $100, while a similar-sized cast iron one costs less than $30.

7. Food cooks beautifully. Using a cast iron skillet you can create restaurant-quality, homemade fish sticks, potato pancakes and French toast, complete with golden brown, crispy exteriors. Contrast this with non-stick cookware, which makes browning nearly impossible.

8. Cast iron is sturdy and wears well. Since it does not scratch, there is no need to use plastic utensils, and there is no fear of using your silverware to stir or scoop. It lasts for so long that many people still use cast iron cookware inherited from their parents and grandparents.

9. In an emergency, cast iron cookware can be used over any heat source. As such, many disaster planning lists include cast iron as the survival cookware of choice.

10. It has been used for thousands of years. Natural News readers already understand how new technologies are often the least healthy, while those used by earlier generations are often more beneficial and more in line with how we are designed. Our cookware choice is no exception.

Although there are many benefits to cast iron cooking, make sure to understand the drawbacks before you start: cast iron pans are very heavy; they require intentional maintenance in order to keep them rust-free and non-stick; and care is needed if you have a glass-top stove. But once you take the plunge, you will wonder why it took you so long to start!

http://www.healthandhomeremedies.com/the-truth-about-cast-iron-pans-10-facts-you-need-to-know/

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Moringa, magical tree can end world hunger?

Its green leaves contain more calcium than cow's milk
and more iron than spinach
HAROLD CASTRO & GISELLE PAULINE ( TEXT AND PHOTOS ) |
 DO RIO OMO VALLEY , ETHIOPIA

Karo woman removes green leaves of Moringa stems to prepare meal 
( Photo: © Haroldo Castro / season )

Few Brazilians have heard of a plant called Moringa. Native to 
Asia and Africa, the tree of up to 12 meters high provides abundant
 branches laden with small green leaves. 
Considered as a panacea for many ills - treatment of malaria 
stomach pains - and a food with high nutritional value and an 
excellent composition of protein, vitamins and 
minerals, the Moringa tree is one of those that all inhabitants
 of the tropics should 
have in the backyard.

Of the 14 identified species, two are the most popular. Native 
to the Himalayan slopes, Moringa oleifera has been recognized 
by Ayurvedic medicine as an important medicinal herb for four 
thousand years. The Indian plant was eventually spread 
throughout the world and came to Brazil.

A related species is the Moringa stenotepala, native to eastern 
Africa. According to 
researchers at the University of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, researching 
the plant for nearly two decades, moringa has a high ability to 
fight different tropical diseases such as 
leishmaniasis.

But what haunts nutritionists is its composition as food. 
Researchers concluded that, 
gram for gram compared with other products, moringa has seven times 
more vitamin C than oranges, four times more vitamin A than carrots, 
four times more calcium than cow's milk, three times more iron than 
spinach and three times more potassium than bananas. What's more, 
the composition of its protein shows an excellent balance of 
essential amino 
acids (those who need to eat because the human body does not 
produce them).

In a country remembered for malnutrition images, note that 
the Ethiopian moringa - 
Moringa stenotepala kind - is abundantly planted in the tropical 
zone of the country 
gives us great enthusiasm. On the road out of Arba Minch towards 
the south, the tree is spread in various fields of corn, as well 
as around the straw huts of the inhabitants of the region.

About 90 km later we arrived in Konso, the gateway to the native 
territory of the people of the valley of the Omo River. The 
traditional villages of Konso ethnicity were 
proclaimed by UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2011 due to the 
terraces created for 
agriculture and stone walls that protect human settlements.

Not only that the ingenuity of Konso with their terraces, 
enabling sustainable 
agriculture in arid mountain slopes, the ethnic leaders plant, 
for generations, moringa trees around their homes. Thus, the so 
nutritious green leaflet no shortage to anyone in the community 
and brings a minimum of nutrients to the entire population, 
especially to children.

Thanks to abundant moringa and cereals and legumes planted in 
Konso terraces , the 
malnutrition ghost departs increasingly from southern Ethiopia. 
In fact, in all the weekly markets in the region , we always 
find bunches and bunches of fresh moringa being 
sold to those who do not have a tree in your yard.

Thamyres Matarozzi , a São Paulo photographer traveling with 
our small group of Brazilians already knew the fame of moringa 
since 2011 when he lived in London. For being vegan and seek a 
conscious power , Thamyres bought in Europe dozens of moringa 
powder bags to complement a possible lack of proteins or 
vitamins for his trip to Ethiopia. What was 
his surprise to see that almost all of the restaurants where 
we ate offered moringa - 
or, in the local language , aleko - in various forms, from 
soup to stew!

Moringa provides yet another gift to rural communities. 
Due to a particular composition of the oils and proteins 
contained in seeds, when ground and mixed with a blurred and 
non-potable water, extraordinary reaction takes place: the 
water becomes clear. How does this happen? The powder of 
Moringa seeds has the property of attracting clay, sediment 
and bacteria, which end up in the bottom of the container and 
leaving the clear, clean 
water.

Both the seeds of Ethiopian species (Moringa stenopatala) and 
Asian (Moringa oleifera) 
have the same characteristics of decant water. Researchers at 
the Institute of 
Agricultural Sciences, Federal University of Minas Gerais 
proven in laboratory tests 
that the seeds of the Asian moringa can remove 99% of the 
water turbidity.

With all these attributes, it is not difficult to consider 
the moringa as one of the 
most generous plants on the planet. Therefore, several human 
development NGOs that fight poverty and hunger call it 
"super plant", "miracle tree" or "sheet that saves lives."

Once you know all this, our next step will be to buy seeds 
and planting moringa at home!

Source:http://epoca.globo.com/colunas-e-blogs/viajologia/
noticia/2015/06/moringa-arvore-magica-que-pode-acabar-
com-fome-no-mundo.html

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Wisdom Teeth Dental Scam & Why You Need Your Wisdom Teeth

BY ANYA V

The truth is, I am writing this article about the importance of wisdom teeth while all of mine have been extracted. They have been gone for years. I am pretty sure many of yours have been long gone as well. I didn’t know any better. We trust our dentists to do the best job possible while often not even questioning their methods. I should’ve questioned and should’ve researched myself. But now I can share my research and finding with you so you can make the decisions for yourself and not just listen to your dentist just because he tells you so.  Many of us have been told that wisdom teeth need to be extracted just because they are not really needed. According to the dentists, they are just unnecessary teeth that just inconveniently crowd out mouths.

 What are wisdom teeth

Wisdom teeth, also called the Third Molars, are the furthest back teeth. They usually come in when you are in your late teens or early twenties.  According to a report published  in the American Journal of Public Health, more than 67 % of preventative wisdom teeth removals are unnecessary. Out of 10 million wisdom teeth extractions in America each year, only 20 proved to be necessary. You have to understand that the old tale about wisdom teeth causing all kind of illnesses, is simply not true. Let’s look at it realistically, it’s a big money maker (around a billion dollars a year) for the dental industry.

In the 1900s, Dr. Weston A. Price did extensive research on the connection between oral health and diseases. He discovered native tribes, with their traditional diets, that were almost 100 percent free of tooth decay. He came to the conclusion that dental and overall health lie in nutrition. Fortunately, this discovery is practiced by holistic dentists nowadays whom understand that when you supply enough nutrients to the jaw bone during its development, all 32 teeth will have proper space in your mouth without crowding. This means that proper nutrition is the key behind trouble free wisdom teeth.

Dr. Weston Price also discovered that once these tribes started consuming sugar and white flour, their perfect healthy teeth, quickly deteriorated.

I highly recommend reading his fascinating and eye-opening  book Nutrition and Physical Degeneration

Why You Need Your Wisdom Teeth

Our teeth are vital, living organs within and connected to the body as a whole. Wisdom teeth are connected (according to acupuncture meridians) to our small intestine and the front of our pituitary gland.  In fact, 46 percent of the motor and sensory nerves in your brain’s cerebral cortex are interconnected to your mouth and face.  So any time a tooth is removed, it disturbs and breaks an acupuncture meridian that flows through the area of that tooth.  The meridian acupuncture system, known in Traditional Chinese Medicine for more than 5000 years, shows the vital relationship between your teeth and your  joints,  spinal segments, vertebrae, organs and endocrine glands.

Wisdom teeth extractions can be dangerous.

Did you know that between 57,000 and 175,000 people after wisdom teeth extractions  have had permanent tingling, prickling or numbness caused by nerve damage. This, again, proves the point that all of our teeth are connected via nervous system pathways to every part of our body.  Though it is a common surgery for a lot of  Americans, wisdom tooth extraction involves very serious risks which can lead to sudden death.

 So for all these reasons, I do not recommend removing wisdom teeth unless there is a good reason to do so. According to Jay Friedman, a California-based dental consultant, more than two-thirds of all wisdom tooth extractions are medically unnecessary, and that most patients would be perfectly fine if they just left their wisdom teeth alone. 

http://livingtraditionally.com/wisdom-teeth-dental-scam-need-wisdom-teeth-1/

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This Is For Everyone That Still Eats at McDonald’s (Even if they won’t admit it!)

By Food Babe
Someone recently asked me what I think the worst ingredients are at McDonald’s and my first thought was… “Um, where do I start?!” The 37-page ingredient list for McDonald’s reads like an encyclopedia of nutrition-less, additive-filled, processed food. It should be pretty obvious that I don’t eat at McDonald’s (and many of you may not either) but I still have family members and friends that eat there on a regular basis (and I can guess you probably do too!).

According to a recent Morgan Stanley report, young adults eat at McDonald’s more than any other restaurant. What I found funny about their report is that while they eat there, they won’t admit it to their friends because they consider the food there so low quality.

Although most of us realize their food isn’t healthy and McDonald’s reports that their sales are struggling – they continue to feed thousands of Americans, day in and day out and that’s why it’s so important for you to share this information with all your friends and family members.


Do the people that eat at McDonald’s realize how many questionable chemicals they are eating in one meal?
McDonald’s announced recently that they are going through some major menu changes, and will be nixing some unnecessary ingredients. They also are finally listening to us, and will stop using chickens that are injected with growth-promoting antibiotics, along with dairy products raised with the growth hormone rbST but they still are using a lot of factory farmed meat and the beef is still raised with antibiotics.

McDonald’s even said they might add kale to their menu, by putting it in salads or in a smoothie. I LOVE kale, and I hope they don’t find a way to ruin it. You know the saying, “You can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig”. So, they need to do a lot more than just add kale to their menu before I’d ever eat there. The problem is that millions are still eating there and consuming several questionable food additives that McDonald’s could remove entirely if they really wanted to.

I know this because McDonald’s is already doing it for our friends overseas.
If you compare their ingredients with what they serve in London, you’ll see that many of the food additives used in the U.S. aren’t used over there at all, such as TBHQ, BHA, propyl gallate, azodicarbonamide, sodium phosphate and artificial colors. Instead of frying their food in partially hydrogenated oils laced with dimethylpolysiloxane like they do in the U.S., they use a non-hydrogenated vegetable oil blend instead. They also serve organic milk and don’t use GMO ingredients overseas – all while serving us GMOs here in the States. What they’re serving in other countries isn’t perfect, but it’s better.

When you eat just ONE single menu item at McDonald’s, even a “healthy” item like their Premium Southwest Grilled Chicken Salad, you’re really eating ingredients like powdered cellulose, soybean oil, autolyzed yeast extract, and high fructose corn syrup – and that doesn’t even include the dressing that’s loaded with more soybean oil and refined sugars. It’s no wonder that America is struggling as a nation with obesity, diabetes and heart disease. What would happen if McDonald’s took the lead here and finally ditched the worst ingredients on their menu? How much would the health of our nation improve?

My “Hit List” of the WORST 12 ingredients at McDonald’s No One Should Be Eating (8 of them aren’t even used in the UK at all)!
I compiled a little hit list of the biggest offenders on McDonald’s menu. If they got rid of these ingredients, dozens of menu items would be transformed for the better. Inform your friends!


1.  Partially Hydrogenated Oils (19 menu items):  These oils have no place in our food, as the main source of trans fats in our diet that has been unequivocally linked to heart disease and death. Until the FDA finally bans it, this ingredient should be voluntarily removed. Why should they wait for the FDA to force them to take it out when they already don’t use it in other countries? McDonald’s uses partially hydrogenated oil in their “liquid margarine” that’s used to cook their eggs – and even their “egg whites” that are advertised as a healthier option. You’ll find it in virtually all of their breakfast items with either an egg or biscuit, like Egg McMuffins, Bacon, Egg & Cheese Bagel, and even in their low-calorie “Egg White Delight”.

2.  Artificial Colors or Caramel Color (31 menu items):  Artificial colors are an easy ingredient to ditch, since they don’t serve a purpose other than making “food” look better. These ingredients are on EWG’s Dirty Dozen Food Additives list, because caramel coloring is associated with cancer and there’s ongoing debate about the effects of artificial colors on children’s behavior. I’m a sucker for good ice cream, but McDonald’s doesn’t have it. McDonald’s chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry shakes are all artificially colored with either Red 40 or Yellow 5. Their “McCafe” mochas and chocolate chip frappes are tainted with artificial color Red 40 and caramel coloring. They also add caramel color to their “healthy” items like oatmeal and 8-Grain English Muffin (that’s used in the Egg White Delight), probably to make them look darker and more healthful.

3.  Azodicarbonamide (aka The Yoga Mat Chemical) (30 menu items):  This ingredient has been dropping like flies ever since I petitioned Subway to remove it from their bread. Pizza Hut, Bimbo Bakeries, Martin’s Potato Bread, Nature’s Own, Olive Garden, Starbucks, and Publix Grocery Store have announced they also have plans to remove the chemical from their products – and I think McDonald’s should be next. The EWG supported my petition because, “It is an industrial chemical added to bread for the convenience of industrial bakers,” and “EWG recommends that consumers take steps to avoid the industrial additive ADA in their food. It is an unnecessary ingredient, its use has raised concerns about occupational exposure, and questions remain about its potential risk to consumers. EWG also calls on all manufacturers to immediately end its use in food”. Nearly every sandwich at McDonald’s is still made with a bun that contains azodicarbonamide, from their most basic hamburger to the classic Big Mac.

4.  Carrageenan (44 menu items):  The Cornucopia Institute, has completed an in-depth analysis regarding the safety of this ingredient and subsequently petitioned the FDA to remove carrageenan from the “Generally Regarded As Safe” or GRAS determination. According to Cornucopia, animal studies show that “food-grade carrageenan causes gastrointestinal inflammation and higher rates of intestinal lesions, ulcerations, and even malignant tumors”. McDonald’s adds carrageenan to “crispy chicken” items like the Crispy Chicken Classic Sandwich and the Crispy Chipotle BBQ Snack Wrap. You’ll also find carrageenan in their vanilla ice cream, McFlurries, Shakes, and in some breakfast sandwiches like the Sausage, Egg & Cheese McGriddles.

5.  High Fructose Corn Syrup (30 menu items):  This type of sweetener has been shown to contribute more to obesity and diabetes than regular cane sugar (sucrose). Even if you don’t drink a Coke at McDonald’s, you’ll likely eat something with High Fructose Corn Syrup. It’s in most of the sauces that are slathered on their burgers, the Southwest Chicken wrap, and it’s mixed into their shakes and frappes. Not included in my count, but it’s also found in some of the dipping sauces that come with Chicken McNuggets such as the Sweet n’ Sour, BBQ, and ketchup.

6.  Soybean Oil (65 menu items):  Soybean oil is processed to death (usually with toxic hexane) and is very high in omega-6 fatty acids that are associated with an increased the risk of inflammation, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and autoimmune diseases. I was downright shocked at the number of items that contain soybean oil at McDonald’s, and it would be a shorter list if I just summarized where you won’t find it! That’s because soybean oil is used in their fried items, buns, eggs, tortillas, and sauces – it’s pretty much impossible to avoid at McDonald’s.

7.  TBHQ & Dimethylpolysiloxane (27 menu items):  They use both of these ingredients in the oil in their fryers – but only in North America! TBHQ is a synthetic preservative that McDonald’s competitor Chick-fil-A is finally dumping, as it’s truly unnecessary. TBHQ is derived from petroleum and eating only 1 gram has been shown to cause all sorts of issues, from asthma to allergies, dermatitis, dizziness and it has even been linked to cancer. Dimethylpolysiloxane, the “silly putty” ingredient, simply doesn’t belong in food, and McDonald’s doesn’t use it in their fryers in other countries. So, why use it here? You’ve probably heard about its use in McDonald’s french fries and McNuggets, but you may not realize that it’s in other fried items like the Filet-O-Fish, Crispy Chicken Salads and Crispy Chicken McWraps.

8.  BHA & Propyl Gallate (10 menu items):  You’re not starting your day off right with these risky preservatives found in many breakfast items at McDonald’s. These preservatives are used together by McDonald’s and are both on the EWG’s Dirty Dozen List of Food Additives to avoid. BHA has been shown to be an endocrine disruptor and is believed to be a carcinogen, as BHA has caused tumors in animal studies. Propyl gallate has also been associated with tumors and endocrine disruption. You’ll find both of these ingredients in their Sausage Egg McMuffins, Sausage McGriddles, and Big Breakfasts.

9.  Hidden MSG, Yeast Extract, Hydrolyzed Protein (23 menu items):  Instead of adding straight-up monosodium glutamate (MSG) to their food, they sneak in other additives (yeast extract and hydrolyzed proteins) that contain free glutamic acid, the main component of MSG. These ingredients are purely used to make you crave their food and eat more than you should, and are excitotoxins that are associated with neurodegenerative diseases. McDonald’s adds these to Chicken McNuggets and Chicken Selects chicken strips, along with some burger sauces like the Big Mac sauce and Buttermilk Ranch sauce. You’ll even find it in salads with crispy chicken.

10.  Sodium Phosphate (56 menu items):  This preservative is so commonly used that if you eat processed food, you likely eat it daily. That doesn’t mean it’s safe. When you eat phosphate additives often, it can lead to excessive levels of phosphate in the blood and puts you at risk of chronic kidney disease, increased mortality, heart disease, and accelerated aging. The EWG also warns that sodium phosphate is an additive to avoid. This preservative is used in all of their cheese slices and in their ice cream, so all burgers with cheese and shakes contain it. It also preserves the crispy chicken used in McWraps and salads.

11.  Cellulose (30 menu items):  Ground breaking research links this additive to weight gain, inflammation and digestive problems. As reported by CBS News, “A new study, published Wednesday in the journal Nature, finds evidence that these chemicals in food can alter the gut bacteria, or microbiome, potentially causing intestinal inflammation which makes a person more likely to develop inflammatory bowel disease, metabolic syndrome and significant weight gain”. McDonald’s adds cellulose to the shredded cheese in their McWraps, their Sausage Breakfast Burrito, biscuits, shakes, smoothies and ice cream.

12:  DATEM (30 menu items): The acronym “DATEM” stands for “Diacetyl Tartaric Acid Esters of Monoglycerides”, and it’s a dough conditioner that is usually derived from soybean or canola oil (GMO crops). This ingredient can be a hidden form of deadly trans fat in our food that most people don’t know about. Just like partially hydrogenated oils, these artificial trans fats have been linked to heart disease and the CDC attributes them to up to “7,000 coronary heart disease deaths each year in the U.S”! This chemical invention is clearly not a necessary ingredient in bread, but you’ll find it in most of McDonald’s buns and in their english muffins.

If you’re like me and still have loved ones eating at McDonald’s, please share this post with them!
The more awareness we can bring to these chemicals that are being served up to thousands of Americans everyday as “food”, the faster these companies will change! I have something new and really exciting coming out next week that can transform your lunchtime eating habits. Make sure you’re subscribed to email updates so that you don’t miss out!

http://foodbabe.com/2015/03/27/everyone-still-eats-mcdonalds-even-wont-admit/


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How Certain Drugs Affect Vitamins and Minerals

Various combinations of drugs/vitamins/minerals may negate the effect of either the drugs or nutrients, while some of them may be potentially dangerous when taken in at the same time.

ALCOHOL
Alcohol weakens the body’s absorption of thiamin, riboflavin, niacinamide, pyrixodine, folic acid, calcium, iron, zinc, magnesium, selenium, and vitamin B12, C, A, and D.

ASPIRIN/NONSTEROIDAL ANTIINFLAMATION DRUGS
They affect absorption and activity of Vitamin C, folic acid, and iron.

ANTICONVULSANTS
Anticonvulsants such as phenytoin (Dilantin), phenobarbital, and primadone (mysoline) may obstruct the body’s use of folic acid (folacin) and vitamins D and K.

ANTACIDS
If used regularly, antacids, which contain aluminum, may interfere with the calcium status in the bones.

CHOLESTEROL-LOWERING DRUGS
These drugs may interfere with the status of Vitamin A, B12, D, E, K, folic acid, calcium, and iron in the body.

DIURETICS
Diuretics may cause potassium, magnesium, and zinc deficiencies.

FIBER
Long-term use of products such as Metamucil can negatively affect the body’s absorption of zinc, iron, manganese, copper, beta-carotene, and vitamin B2 (riboflavin).

LAXATIVES
Use of some stool softener can negatively affect vitamins A and D in the body, while mineral oil may lead to vitamins A, D, E and K deficiencies.

ORAL CONTRACEPTIVES
Birth-control pills may interfere with pyridoxine (vitamin B6) and folic acid.

STEROIDS
Cortisone-type steroids may cause breakdown of protein in bone and may lead to osteoporosis-like disorders. Calcium supplementation is needed if a person uses steroids.

SUNSCREEN
Sunscreens with sun protective factor (SPF) of eight and higher may block formation of Vitamin D in the skin. If a person uses sunscreen with high SPF, dietary intake and supplementation of Vitamin D is needed.

http://medicalobserverph.com/adulthealth-how-certain-drugs-affect-vitamins-and-minerals/

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The Eye-Opening Parasite That Can Get In Through Your Contact Lens

by Hany Elsheikha

A recent eye infection suffered by 18-year-old Nottingham University student Jess Greaney is the kind of story that fills us with horror. Greaney had keratitis, an inflammation of the cornea, caused by Acanthamoeba castellanii, a parasite that was living and feasting on her eye.

A. castellanii is a ubiquitous organism, found in many eco-systems worldwide. It is able to survive in harsh environmental circumstances – even in some contact lens solutions – and this is not the first occurrence of A. castellanii appearing in the eye. Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK) is a neglected malady frequently associated with contact lens wear and it is thought Greaney caught the bug after splashing tap water on her contact lenses.

Not A Great Friend To Have

Acanthamoeba infection of the cornea causes severe inflammation, intense pain and impaired vision, which is blinding if left untreated. Infection begins when the parasite is at its active feeding trophozoite stage and sticks to the corneal tissue before penetrating the lower stromal layer. The resulting opacity leads to less sharp vision and eventually blindness.

Even more worrying is that besides the painful progressive sight-threatening corneal disease, the parasite can cross the blood brain barrier and cause granulomatous amoebic encephalitis, a progressive disease of the central nervous system) that often results in death.

Greaney was lucky – if you can put it that way – because she was able to receive treatment. After a week her eye was red, painful and bulged, “it looked like a huge red golf ball,” she said. Treatments included clamping her eye open, keeping her awake, scraping off layers of tissue and repeated eye drops.

How Does It Get In?

Hope you washed your hands. n4i, CC BY

Lenses can be contaminated by exposure to water during swimming, using a hot tub, washing with tap water or as a result of poor personal hygiene or inappropriate disinfection regimes, which can promote the growth of bacteria on lenses onto which amoebae in turn adhere and proliferate. In the case of Greaney it was suggested that the parasite was trapped between the eye and the lens before it burrowed.

As contact lenses continue to gain popularity (including for recreational purposes) the proportion of the population at increased risk of developing Acanthamoeba keratitis may rise.

Other Acanthamoeba Infections

Acanthamoeba infections (not just in the eye) are being detected by clinicians with increasing frequency, especially as opportunistic infections in patients whose immune system is already compromised. This at-risk population is expanding as a result of increasing use of immune-suppressing therapies for cancer treatment and the global HIV/AIDS pandemic.

No vaccine is available, and the current drugs used to treat these inflammatory infections is largely insufficient, has undesirable side effects and doesn’t work well in the later chronic stage of infection. Treatment also requires the application of a mixture of drugs for prolonged periods, with mixed results. New drugs, either for this or for other neglected parasitic illnesses that afflict millions of people worldwide, are not being developed. The development of cheaper and more efficient, preferably A. castellanii-specific, chemotherapies would be highly advantageous.

Practice Good Hygiene

When it comes to contact lens wearers, there have been previous efforts looking at whether contact lens care solutions can counter against Acanthamoeba. Contact lenses treated with an antimicrobial peptide have also been developed and tested in human and rabbits, but more clinical trials are still needed before they can be worn by humans.

However, there are some cardinal rules for contact lens wearers: always wash your hands and follow all instructions in handling and storing contact lenses properly. Reusable lenses should be cleaned and disinfected with powerful lens disinfecting solutions every day. Contact lens wearers should also apply make-up only after lenses are put in to avoid contact with eyeliner or mascara and lens. These are some of the “golden rules” that contact lens wearers should stick to.

Millions of people use contact lenses to improve their vision and to enhance the ability to focus or to do activities unencumbered by glasses. And overall, the risk of Acanthamoeba keratitis – and other infections – is low with proper hygiene and care. In the very near future we might even see smart lenses that can monitor the body’s health conditions and measure glucose levels in the tear fluid of the eyes of diabetes patients. So don’t let the horror story lead you to ditch them just yet.

Hany Elsheikha is Associate Professor of Parasitology at University of Nottingham

http://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/eye-opening-parasite-can-get-through-your-contact-lens

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