While processed food manufacturers may claim that margarine and other butter “alternatives” are healthy options for your diet, Donna Gates debunks these myths in “The 20 Health Benefits of Real Butter.” Gates’ article reveals the truth behind the margarine versus butter debate: butter is better.

For anyone familiar with the development of processed foods, you know that the additives and methods used in creating much of the food in grocery stores are toxic for our bodies. In the butter debate, though, so many of us believe that processed margarines are better for our diets because they are lower in fat and cholesterol. However, fat and cholesterol are not evil. In fact, they are vital to our existence. We just need to consume them in moderation. Eating margarine eliminates some of the healthy fats we need in our diets and replaces them with hydrogenated and processed polyunsaturated oils that create serious health risks.

From protecting against tooth decay to providing Vitamins E and K, Gates’ list of the 20 benefits of butter reveals that butter, in its natural state, is naturally good for us. While some cholesterol-free and fat-free food manufacturers want us to believe that eliminating fats and cholesterols from diets is good, the cholesterol in butter is vital to children’s brains and nervous system development.

It’s no secret that America has a serious obesity problem, and much of this issue can be attributed to our reliance on processed foods – even the foods that are fat-free. When the body is clouded with unnatural food additives and chemicals, the digestive system cannot function properly. Gates suggests that replacing that jar of margarine in the refrigerator with homemade raw and organic butter provides relief from some of these toxins.

Read all of Gates’ article HERE, and discover one of the keys to detoxifying your body on the way to better living.

About Company

A Santa Monica, California Hydrotherapy Colonics company, TransformYourHealth.net specializes in internal body cleansing, nutrition education and wellness promotion. As a Santa Monica Hydrotherapy Colonics specialist and Palos Verdes Hydrotherapy Colonics specialist, many California residents rely on TransformYourHealth.net for hydrotherapy products, resources and information. For more information and to browse a selection of high-quality natural products, please visit TransformYourHealth.net.

While most of us associate bacteria with something harmful, our bodies need bacteria to function properly. Dr. Joseph Mercola’s “The Case for Healthy Bowels: The Vital Connection Between Your Gut and Your Health” discusses how the human bowels affect a body’s overall health and the factors that contribute to healthy bowels. Mercola’s article reveals that a healthy and clean digestive system often means a healthy and clean mind and body.

“The Case for Healthy Bowels” declares that the human body is home to about one hundred trillion bacteria. Wow! There are both good and bad types of bacteria included in this count, and an appropriate ratio (85% good: 15% bad) is essential to good health. For the billions of people throughout the world that deal with intestinal issues and stomach discomfort, these problems are often attributed to a disproportionate number of bad bacteria in the digestive tract.

Our daily food decisions affect this ratio. Most of us are guilty of consuming processed foods: frozen dinners, fast food value meals and sweet candies and cakes that are high in sugar and trans fat. Not surprisingly, these foods wreak havoc on our digestive systems. The first step to maintaining a healthy set of bowels is making smart diet choices. Rather than a package of two cupcakes, pick up a bag of raisins. Instead of drinking an extra large soda, drink a glass of fresh squeezed juice.

In addition to a balanced diet full of vitamins and minerals, probiotic dietary supplements help keep good bacteria alive and well in the intestinal tract. Probiotics help regulate the pH balance in your stomach, which creates an environment where good bacteria flourish. When taken daily, probiotic supplements can help keep your bowels working on a regular basis, which will help your immune system remain strong, too.

Good bacteria have four important duties to perform: digest and absorb certain carbohydrates for energy, keep bad bacteria under control, prevent allergies and provide vital support to the immune system. With around 80 percent of our immune cells located in our digestive tracts, maintaining this ratio is key to a healthy lifestyle. If you are experiencing stomach problems, be sure to examine your daily food intake and explore the probiotic supplements available to help get your digestive tract on the right track.

About Company

A Santa Monica, California Hydrotherapy Colonics company, TransformYourHealth.net specializes in internal body cleansing, nutrition education and wellness promotion. As a Santa Monica Hydrotherapy Colonics specialist and Palos Verdes Hydrotherapy Colonics specialist, many California residents rely on TransformYourHealth.net for hydrotherapy products, resources and information. For more information and to browse a selection of high-quality natural products, please visit TransformYourHealth.net.

You’ve heard of it. You may eat it everyday. Most likely, you aren’t aware of the serious consequences it can have for your body. Monosodium glutamate, or MSG, is found everywhere: grocery store shelves, restaurant menus and your kitchen pantry. While MSG’s use in Chinese take-out restaurants is well-documented, it is not confined to one type of cooking.

Joseph Mercola recently devoted his attention to the dangers of MSG in “MSG: Is This Silent Killer Lurking in Your Kitchen Cabinets?” Mercola’s coverage includes the many tests that have been conducted on the food additive over the past five decades, most of which share one common thread: a healthy diet does not include MSG.

The article uncovers the way that MSG affects your taste buds and your body by exploiting the fifth basic taste, umami. Because of this savory taste, foods with MSG taste more robust. However, this perceived extra flavor comes with extra costs to the millions of people whose bodies cannot process MSG.

Studies in the 1970s supported that up to 30 percent of the U.S. population was intolerant to MSG. With such a large portion of people adversely affected by this unnatural food aid, shouldn’t all of us be concerned with its place in our daily diets? Some medical experts, including neurosurgeon Russell Blaylock, believe that MSG can be linked to brain damage and may trigger the causes for debilitating diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

Perhaps the most alarming fact regarding MSG is the Food and Drug Administration’s seemingly carefree attitude about its place in our food. While the FDA lists a number of symptoms that people with MSG Symptom Complex can experience that includes headaches, nausea and rapid heartbeats, the organization does little to ensure that shoppers know what foods carry MSG.

Mercola’s article reinforces the importance of reading the nutritional labels and ingredient statements on your food with extra caution. The article’s list of 37 ingredients used as masks for MSG prvoes that food manufacturers are aware of the negative impact MSG can have on a shopper’s opinion of the food’s safety. Looking out for these ingredients is essential to maintaining a healthy diet.

About Company

A Santa Monica, California Hydrotherapy Colonics company, TransformYourHealth.net specializes in internal body cleansing, nutrition education and wellness promotion. As a Santa Monica Hydrotherapy Colonics specialist and Palos Verdes Hydrotherapy Colonics specialist, many California residents rely on TransformYourHealth.net for hydrotherapy products, resources and information. For more information and to browse a selection of high-quality natural products, please visit TransformYourHealth.net.

Normal Bowel Function

The function of the colon is to reabsorb water, store, and evacuate stool. About two quarts of fluid and residue enter the colon from the small bowel each day. The lining of the colon actively reabsorbs water and minerals, leaving a solid, formed stool. Stool is stored in the left side of the colon. Contractions in the sigmoid colon hold the stool above the rectum. When the colon fills with stool, the stool moves into the rectum: This is sensed as an urge to defecate. The anal sphincter muscles relax and a wave of contraction in the colon pushes out a large amount of stool. This is termed a mass movement. What is Constipation? Constipation is a common problem with a variety of possible causes. This term may be used to describe several different symptoms. The normal frequency of stool passage is from three times a day to a movement every three days. Going more than three days without a bowel movement is therefore considered abnormal. Some people feel miserable if they do not defecate on a daily basis. Hard stools, straining to pass a bowel movement, or a sense of incomplete evacuation may also be termed constipation. If a person is uncomfortable as a result of bowel problems, then treatment is justified to relieve or minimize these symptoms.

Laxatives used to alleviate constipation

Laxative dependence is a frequent problem associated with constipation. Ideally, constipation should be managed solely with fiber, and laxatives should rarely be used.  Stimulant laxatives bypass normal reflexes involved in defecation. They work on the nerves and muscles in the colon. The result is strong contractions that push the stool out of the colon. With continued use, they gradually become less effective. Some examples of stimulant laxatives are senna, bisacodyl and cascara sagrada. Many herbal preparations contain various combination of stimulants. If a patient has been taking a stimulant laxative on a regular basis, it may be impossible to abruptly stop taking it. It may be necessary to continue a mild stimulant such as senna every night in addition to Miralax and adequate dietary fiber. Once a normal bowel habit has been established, the senna should be gradually tapered and eventually stopped completely. There are many long-term side-effects of abusing laxatives, such as diarrhea, abdominal cramps and flatulence.  The more serious dangers include persistent constipation (because the body becomes dependent on laxatives for a bowel movement), chemical imbalances in the blood and dehydration.  Laxative abusers risk chemical imbalances due to the loss of salts and minerals. These chemical imbalances can seriously affect the body’s electrolyte system and hinder the body’s ability to absorb vitamins.  Laxative abuse can also lead to gastrointestinal tract damage and the weakening of the intestinal musculature.  Liver disease in extreme cases is possible. Laxative abuse is particularly common with stimulant purgatives, which raises several concerns. The first concern is laxative dependence (mentioned above), in which the peristalsis (wave-like contraction of the colon) can no longer be achieved naturally and must be stimulated through various substances.  Another concern is potassium imbalance, resulting from the force movement of digestive materials and the inability of the intestines to absorb the nutrients fast enough.  Yet another concern is the possibility that laxatives could permanently damage the digestive tract after years of abuse.

Laxatives used as colon cleansers

Many colon cleanse products on the market contain harmful or addictive laxatives. A true cleanse should make your body stronger, not make it dependent. Supplements and do-it-your-self cleanses represent a big market nowadays and large pharmaceutical companies join the selling campaign. Unfortunately, to feed consumer's need for 'instant gratification', laxatives are added to many cleansing products, because the result is rapid bowel evacuation. Aside from being a harsh way to evacuate the bowels, laxative use can be habit forming, bringing the opposite effect desired by those who cleanse. Read the rest of this entry »

Very cute clip about one of our favorite subjects…colon cleansing!

We live in an age of constantly evolving health fads, 'wonder' foods and scientific discoveries relating to how we are supposed to eat. A lot of this information is confusing, passionately argued and often unsubstantiated! One of the most topical foods of the millennium is soy: it has alternately been claimed as the save-all food for the future, a virtual replacement for HRT, a super-protein, a complete alternative to meat, a dangerous carcinogen, a hotbed of GE trouble – you name it, it's been claimed! While science plays its part to work through these claims and separate fact from fiction, the following two videos delineate most of the popular claims about soy consumption, broadly, the pros and cons. We believe that (like most things in life) moderation is key and highly processed/concentrated soy (like all processed/concentrated edible goods!) should only be eaten occasionally. Video discussing health benefits of soy, particularly for post-menopausal women. Video discussing the possible dangers of soy consumption.

A documentary introducing the benefits of pilates by an instructor based in Los Angeles.

MONDAY, May 5 (HealthDay News) — The overproduction of a protein may be what starts harmless colon polyps on their journey to becoming malignant tumors, Finnish researchers report.
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The University of Helsinki research, published online in Cancer Cell, reveals that PROX1, a protein that controls formation of normal organs in embryos, is produced in excess during the early stages of cancer development. PROX1 even encourages tumor cell growth without additional signals from surrounding normal tissues.

The removal of PROX1 from cancer cells appears to reverse their malignant behavior, suggesting that future research may focus on the protein’s use in colon cancer therapies.

Men and women face a lifetime risk of nearly 6 percent for the development of invasive colorectal cancer, making it one of the most common malignancies in the Western world. Past epidemiologic studies have cited obesity and several dietary factors — including fat, red meat and a lack of vegetables and fiber — as increasing the risk of the disease.

—Kevin McKeever

SOURCE: University of Helsinki, news release, May 5, 2008

A great client of mine sent me an email today, I thought it would be nice to share this inspirational, and slight funny quote with you.

Quote for  the day: ‘Whatever you give a woman, she’s going to multiply. If you give her a  house, she’ll give you a home. If you give her groceries, she’ll give you a  meal. If you give her a smile, she’ll give you her heart. She multiplies and  enlarges what is given to her.’ So – if you give her crap, you will receive more  shit than any one human being can handle.”

Probiotics reduce colon cancer risk

Colon cancer is the second most commonly diagnosed cancer in American men and women. Although colon cancer is responsible for approximately 56,000 deaths annually, the death rate from this form of cancer has been dropping steadily for the past 20 years. Some researchers speculate that the lowering death rate is due to prevention and early treatment of the disease.

Lactobacillus acidophilus,a probiotic or “friendly” bacteria that inhabits the intestinal tract, may play a role in preventing colon cancer. In order to further examine L. acidophilus strains that may aid in the reduction of colon cancer risk, researchers assessed the potential anticancer properties of L. acidophilus NCFM® in rats.

Groups of rats with chemically-induced colon cancer were fed an experimental diet containing L. acidophilus NCFM for 10 weeks. Upon conclusion of the study, it was shown that cancerous lesions were reduced by 29% and 39% after rats were given a diet that contained 2% and 4% L. acidophilus NCFM, respectively. In addition, researchers concluded that the activity of beta-glucuronidase, a bacterial enzyme whose excess activity is indicated in the development of colon cancer?was also significantly reduced.

According to Dr. C. Rao and colleagues in the International Journal of Oncology, “These findings are significant because as one of the widely used probiotic organisms, NCFM has these inhibiting effects in rats without affecting the body weight, or other signs of toxicity and inflammation.”

While its full potential should be further evaluated, these results suggest that L. acidophilus NCFM may reduce the risk of colon cancer development.

Int J Oncol 1999;14(5):939-44.

Want to learn how to incorporate probiotics and other nutritional supplements into your lifestyle? You can schedule a nutritional counseling session with Jessica Zaccaro in our Santa Monica location by calling our office seven days a week, 310-399-1722.