Healthy Tips for Real Families
So…..less fluoride must be ok for us, right?
Poison is Poison, whether it’s a little or a lot. It’s just that low-level poisoining is not as quick to show up, and may not be obvious as to the source. But the damage it does in your body STILL HAPPENS.
I began doing some research in preparation for this blog post on fluoride, and there’s just SO MUCH info out there. I just don’t have the time to learn most of it, and I don’t like super long posts. So, here are my 5 main points. The longer, original post with more info and links is below:
1. Fluoride is a man-made TOXIC BYPRODUCT. Meaning, it’s chemical waste that would cost billions of dollars to dispose of properly.
2. Fluoride is the active toxin in rat poisons and cockroach powder. It has been proven to be deadly, and harmful even in small doses.
3. Your body is not capable of metabolizing fluoride. Whatever goes in, stays in. It gets stored in your fat, where most toxins are kept. The only way to rid your body of it is through a purposeful detoxification.
4. Fluoride in small doses added topically to your teeth MAY help reduce cavities. There seem to be more studies showing that it causes tooth decay. (And whatever is happening to your teeth is also happening to your bones–you just don’t see it) The problem is, we get MUCH more than just a little, and if we’re drinking it, it’s not just topical.
5. Adding fluoride to your water without your consent is, in my opinion, horribly unjust. If you have fluoridated water, everything you drink and cook, and even bathing adds fluoride to your body. Call your water company to find out if you have fluoridated water.
Scroll down to the end of the post to see what we can do.
I found many informative videos on YouTube. This is the best overall short one. 5 minutes, see what a dentist has to say about fluoride.
Here’s my full(er) post:
Fluoride is added to the water supply of most American cities for the ostensible purpose of dental hygiene. You will be amazed to find out that such a thing is not only unlikely, but actually the opposite of reality.
What would you do if you suddenly found out that fluoride was not safe at all, but was actually a carcinogenic industrial waste? What would you think if you suddenly found out that fluoride doesn‘t stop tooth decay at all, but actually causes teeth to rot and crumble, and by the same mechanism also causes osteoporosis?
Below is the trailer for a longer (about 45 min) production called “The Fluoride Deception”. Click here to see Part 1 part 2 part 3 It’s available on YouTube. I’ve watched 3 of the 4 parts and have found it very interesting. It tells the story of fluoride, from the political aspects.
Most of the following information came from articles I found at Mercola.com.
What Is Fluoride?
Fluorine is an element. It is a gas, never occurring in its free state. In microscopic amounts complexed with other minerals, it is often listed as a trace mineral, a nutrient for human nutrition.
This has nothing to do with fluoride or fluoridation. The fluoride added to 90% of drinking water is hydrofluoric acid which is a compound of fluorine that is a chemical byproduct of aluminum, steel, cement, phosphate, and nuclear weapons manufacturing. Such fluoride is manmade. In this form, fluoride has no nutrient value whatsoever. It is one of the most caustic of industrial chemicals. Fluoride is the active toxin in rat poisons and cockroach powder. Hydrofluoric acid is used to refine high octane gasoline, to make fluorocarbons and chlorofluorocarbons for freezers and air conditioners, and to manufacture computer screens, fluorescent light bulbs, semiconductors, plastics, herbicides, — and toothpaste.
It also has the ability to burn flesh to the bone, destroy eyes, and sear lungs so that victims drown in their own body fluid.
Yeah. I want to drink that.
Once in the body, fluoride is a destroyer of human enzymes. It does this by changing their shapes. In human biochemistry, thousands of enzymes are necessary for various essential cell reactions that take place every second we‘re alive. Without enzymes, we‘d die instantaneously.
Here‘s the short version: fluoride is a toxic byproduct in the manufacture of nuclear arms, aluminum, cement, steel, and phosphates.
Millions of tons of this poison are produced every year. Imagine the cost of containing and disposing of those mountains of waste every year. It‘s in the billions.
But what if lobbyists from these industries could present “scientific studies” paid for by the industries, and provide for a continual stream of media presentations about the health benefits of fluoride, and create unimaginably lucrative positions for “research” and “education” within the American Dental Association and the AMA, and do all these things in a consistent and unending way, year after year?
What are the economic advantages of that? Simple: instead of paying money to dispose of toxic waste, money could now be made by selling fluoride to the water companies of the nation.
They‘ll use the public water supply as a sewer for industrial wastes. And now with these new billions added instead of subtracted, there‘s plenty to go around, for everyone involved. Out of the Red, into the Black.
Fluoridation In Other Countries
If fluoridation is as safe and effective as the American Dental Association says it is, why don’t other countries do it?
The U.S. is nowhere near the top of any health list which compares other countries of the world. So what are the healthy countries doing?
If fluoride is so great, why have the following countries either never fluoridated or else stopped when they found out how bad it was:
West Germany
The Netherlands
France
Belgium
Finland
Sweden
Norway
Denmark
Japan
Italy
Scotland
Only about 2% of the population of Europe is subjected to fluoridated water.
So, what can we do?
First, find out if you have fluoridated water. Not everyone does. I don’t know if we do here in Israel; I assume yes, but need to find out. If you don’t, you are in good shape to be able to easily control your intake.
If you want to remove the fluoride from your water, you can distill it or use reverse osmosis. This also removes all minerals from the water, and some folks think that’s no good for you. I’d rather go without the fluoride, personally. There are also some high end filters that do remove it, but you need to check carefully.
Complain to your water company; they are not under law (yet) to poison your water; they are doing it because they think you want them to! If enough people voice their differing opinion, they may remove it.
Consider a fluoride free toothpaste for yourself, and I would DEFINITELY NOT give fluoride toothpaste to children. Remember the warning label on the tube about swallowing?
DETOX your body. This is the most important thing you can do. You have this stuff in you, and you must get it out; even if you don’t put any more in (which is nearly impossible). Go to DetoxOrDie and find out how to do this.
No, I don’t get as much sleep as my body wants (although I am SO thankful that my baby sleeps through the night after some training her to do it). No, I don’t get much “real” exercise (unless you count chasing after little ones, carrying them and going up and down and up and down stairs all day). I wish I had the time to do better with those things. I’m sure I’d feel better if I did.
The one major impact on my health (and the health of my family, of course) that I can really influence without trying to find more time in the day is DIET.
Why is it so hard to eat right? Well, for many, it’s due to lack of knowledge. We are poorly educated about what we should eat. All we know is from how we were raised. I grew up eating meat of some kind for dinner almost every night. Once I was grown, I continued that habit; the meal just didn’t seem complete without it.
It was only in Chiropractic School that I learned to think much more logically about the body and how it works. To respect it as the marvelous machine that it is, and to trust its ability to heal and function properly, given the right conditions. I’ve continued to learn more since then.
One of the main things I’ve learned is that most, if not all, illness or sickness results from a toxic environment inside the body. Translation: there’s garbage in there. How it got in there is a topic for another day. Just trust me. The garbage needs to come out. And your body knows how to get it out, all on its own. Your body knows how to heal its sick cells, all on its own. It only needs you to not interfere.
One of the biggest way that we interfere with our body’s ability to heal is by taking the energy that it wants to use on that healing and forcing it to use it for something else. Like handling whatever we decide to put in (translation: food). Did you know that ONE THIRD of your body’s energy is used for digestion? Can you imagine if you were able to use that energy to heal instead?
The best way to enable your body to heal or detox thoroughly is by fasting. Dr. Jeff Hazim, a good friend of mine, has an excellent teaching on this. It is a free 1 hour video available at DetoxOrDie.com I highly recommend it.
But, fasting isn’t always practical.
There is something else you can do, not as good, but still excellent. Eat Live Foods (raw).
Imagine your body like a furnace, needing to burn something for fuel. You put the food in, light it, it burns, you go. But it needs to be dry. It needs to be chopped up. It needs kindling, it needs to be lit, maybe lighter fluid, fanned….you get the picture. If you put in a piece of meat or even cooked whole grains, your body needs to supply the necessary help to light it.
BUT….if you put in a LIVE piece of fruit, vegetable, nut, seed, etc, it’s like an all in one package. Those live enzymes contained in the live food have all you need-the starter fluid, the kindling, the lit match, everything. Your body gains without needing to spend.
Some people opt for an all raw food lifestyle. I believe this is the most healthful, but I am just not there yet. However, when I or any of my family members are not feeling well, we do eat only raw for a day or 2 or as long as we need to. It really does wonders.
Our 3 year old has been exhibiting symptoms indicating something going on in his body. We have decided that he needs to detox and are going to feed him an all raw diet for at least a few weeks. Today is day 3.
I’ve been looking around for raw food recipes. I came across this for granola. I am looking forward to trying this, since I always make granola for Saturday morning breakfast, and I didn’t know what I was going to make this week. I’m also going to start soaking my almonds before making the milk. They are much more nutritious after they’ve begun the sprouting process.
Did you ever see the movie Innerspace with Martin Short and Dennis Quaid? It’s a great classic movie. These guys get shrunk down and enter a person’s body, their ship flowing along with the red blood cells. You get to see some of what goes on in there; as someone who loves learning about the human body I found it fascinating. It’s also just a great flick.
Most of us don’t think about what’s going on in there as we go about our day to day life. But the things we do really do impact us, right away, for better or for worse.
I came across this description of what happens in your body after drinking a soda. Consider it a journey of sorts. Unfortunately, it’s not nearly as humorous as the movie.
What Happens To Your Body Within An Hour Of Drinking A Coke, According to the Nutrition Research Center
In The First 10 minutes: 10 teaspoons of sugar hit your system. (100% of your recommended daily intake.) You don’t immediately vomit from the overwhelming sweetness because phosphoric acid cuts the flavor allowing you to keep it down. (By the way, phosphoric acid steals calcium from your bones. Hello, osteoporosis)
20 minutes: Your blood sugar spikes, causing an insulin burst. Your liver responds to this by turning any sugar it can get its hands on into fat. (There’s plenty of that at this particular moment)
40 minutes: Caffeine absorption is complete. Your pupils dilate, your blood pressure rises, as a response your livers dumps more sugar into your bloodstream. The adenosine receptors in your brain are now blocked preventing drowsiness.
45 minutes: Your body ups your dopamine production stimulating the pleasure centers of your brain. This is physically the same way heroin works, by the way.
>60 minutes: The phosphoric acid binds calcium, magnesium and zinc in your lower intestine, providing a further boost in metabolism. This is compounded by high doses of sugar and artificial sweeteners also increasing the urinary excretion of calcium.
>60 Minutes: The caffeine’s diuretic properties come into play. (It makes you have to pee.) It is now assured that you’ll evacuate the bonded calcium, magnesium and zinc that was headed to your bones as well as sodium, electrolyte and water.
>60 minutes: As the rave inside of you dies down you’ll start to have a sugar crash. You may become irritable and/or sluggish. You’ve also now, literally, pissed away all the water that was in the Coke. But not before infusing it with valuable nutrients your body could have used for things like even having the ability to hydrate your system or build strong bones and teeth.
Of course, now your sluggishness and irritability causes you to consider…..having another one. Sound like fun?
Then again, after watching this classic commercial from 1971, those warm fuzzy feelings you will have are very convincing. It even makes me want to have one. Who wouldn’t want to join those happy folks? This is my earliest Coke memory.
And here’s how far they’ve come…
I’m not perfect. I’m not going to pretend that I never drink soda. But not every day, or even every week. If you drink this stuff on a regular basis….well, think about it.
By the way, this is what happens with a regular, sugar-filled soda. With a sugar-free “diet” soda, there’s a whole other bunch of bodily reactions to that poison. By the way, artificial sweeteners besides being poisonous, actually will cause you to eat more, usually causing you to gain weight, which defeats the probable reason you chose to drink a “diet” soda to begin with. But that’s a subject for another post :0
For more great info about soda you can go here.
The Flu Shot.
Everybody’s talking about it. Should I get it? Should I give it to my children?
Vaccinations have always been a controversial topic. But this specific flu shot raises even more concerns.
Have you noticed the hype? The urgency with which you are being encouraged to get “The Shot”? Even kids are being encouraged to do so. Here’s a public service announcement directed at children. Jim Henson was on board to create this fun looking ad:
A good friend of mine, Dr. Jeff Hazim, is hosting a web seminar to help you decide whether or not to get the flu shot. I always learn a great deal from him; check it out! Info is below; follow the link to register.
Should I Get the Swine Flu Shot?
Join WellWithU.com for a Webinar on December 14
Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/759595776
The relentless PR campaigns from the US government, the medical/ pharmaceutical industry, and the mainstream media, claim Swine Flu (H1N1 influenza virus) is an epidemic, and advocate vaccine shots as an almost mandatory social responsibility.But what you choose to inject into your body and the bodies of your children is a highly personal decision, and should be determined through significant education and forethought, and not because of news hype and psychological pressure.Like pretty much everything in life, there is more than one-side to the story, and (believe it or not) the general public is not being told everything we genuinely need to know.
Join Dr. Jeff Hazim and vaccination expert April Renée for a live 60+ minute online seminar as they separate health fact from media fiction.
This not-to-miss health information event will be webcast worldwide on Monday, December 14th, begining at 8pm ET (7pm CT, 6pm MT, 5pm PT).
Space is limited and pre-registration is mandatory.
At this webinar you will learn:
1. What is “flu” (influenza virus) and how do you get infected?
2. What is the history of Swine Flu (H1N1), and how is it different from “normal” winter colds and viruses?
3. Is Swine Flu a modern-day pandemic and how is the Center for Disease Control (CDC) getting its statistical data?
4. Are children, pregnant women, and the elderly especially at risk?
5. What are vaccines and how do they work in your body?
6. What’s in the Swine Flu vaccine that makes it different?
7. Are there any potential health risks to getting the Swine Flu vaccine?
Plus…straightforward answers to YOUR questions!
The seminar itself will last approximately one hour, followed by Q&A from the webinar audience.
Space is limited and pre-registration is mandatory.
Please sign up immediately to reserve your spot, and then forward this email to everyone you care about!
Title: “Should I Get the Swine Flu Shot?”
Date: Monday, December 14, 2009
Time: 8:00 PM – 9:00 PM EST
After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.
I love making soup. It’s an easy to make, filling, and inexpensive meal. And the variations are endless. I usually don’t follow a recipe for soup, but just take the ideas of the ingredients and then run with it. This is an exception. I tried this recipe and loved it so much that I don’t want to change a thing. Except that I switched from white rice as originally called for to whole grain. And since there are also chickpeas in the soup, you get a complete protein.
Add a salad and/or some fresh homemade bread, and you’ve got yourself a fantastic meal. Remember “The Soup That Eats Like A Meal”? Well, this one does. Only without the MSG and bad food combining.
The recipe was adapted from The Occasional Vegetarian by Karen Lee.
1 cup chopped onion
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 c chopped carrots
1/2 c chopped celery
3 garlic cloves, minced
5 c vegetable stock or stock of your choice ( use my easy chicken broth, stored in frozen 1/2 cups)
2 tsp salt (I find this to be a little too much; try 1 tsp)
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp black pepper
1 bay leaf
1/3 c rice
1 16oz can chopped tomatoes
1 c cooked chickpeas
Garnish
lemon wedges
chopped fresh cilantro
grated parmesan cheese
It’s REALLY good. And very easy to make. And filling. And has unique flavors….Can you tell that I really like this soup?
Tell me what you think of it!
I grew up in Miami, eating Cuban food. Fried plantains, guava pastries, cafe’ con leche….not the healthiest things, to say the least. But mmm.
Good black beans and rice, though, is a good thing. Arroz Con Frijoles Negros, Cuban style. Healthful, a complete protein (with whole rice only, of course), and inexpensive, you can feel good about preparing this for your family.
And when you make extra beans, you can make my favorite black bean burgers with them later in the week.
This recipe comes from Three Guys From Miami. Here it is:
2 1/2 cups dried black beans
9 cups water **note: I have always found this to be WAY too much liquid. Try 8 cups or even less.
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1 1/2 cups chopped green bell pepper
3 cloves garlic, peeled, and mashed with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
Olive oil for sautéing
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 bay leaf
3 tablespoons vinegar
3/4 cup dry Spanish wine (I use Emerald Reisling. Any white wine will do.)
2 teaspoons sugar
Olive oil
Cover dry beans with water and let stand covered overnight. Drain and discard water.
Place the cleaned black beans in a large 6-quart saucepan. Add water and olive oil—this will prevent the beans from foaming. Bring the beans to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover, and cook until the beans are tender, about 1 hour.
Do not add salt to the beans when they are cooking. Salt at this stage of the game will make your beans very tough.
You may also cook the beans in a pressure cooker. Follow the manufacturer’s directions for exact times, but our pressure cooker takes about 20 to 25 minutes to cook the beans completely.
Whichever method you use, do not drain the water from the cooked beans.
Meanwhile, chop onion and green pepper. Mash the garlic with salt and peppercorns in a mortar and pestle.
Sauté the onions and green pepper in olive oil until the onions are translucent. Add mashed garlic and sauté another minute or so.
Add the cooked beans, oregano, cumin, bay leaf, vinegar, and wine. Cover and simmer over low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove bay leaf.
Some cooks—including us—like to thicken the beans by taking about 1 cup of beans and mashing them to make a thick paste. Mix the mashed beans back into the pot.
Add additional salt and pepper to taste.
Stir in the sugar; then drizzle a couple of tablespoons of olive oil over the beans. Immediately cover the pot, remove from heat, and let stand for 10 minutes.
Serve the by now fantastically prepared black beans over white rice.
You may garnish the beans with cilantro and chopped white onions. Not only do they look good presented this way, they taste even better than they look.
Buen Provecho!
I have read many people’s testimonies stating that, in their area, their doctors have been told to assume that any flu-like sickness is in fact H1N1(known as “Swine Flu”). That H1N1 testing has been suspended due to high cost, and that with the cost being high, it would be a waste to do such testing since it’s probably H1N1 anyway.
(Image from CBS News)
Where is the CDC Getting Their Data?
Why Is the CDC Purposely Misinforming the Public?
More information on this here.
That’s what my Nana used to say. And it must be true; my afternoon nap has ALWAYS been sacred to me. I mean, when I was in college, I used to put a sign on my dorm room or sorority house door that said “Please Don’t Knock! Kimmy needs her Beauty Sleep!” it didn’t really work, the sign. People would knock anyway. Grrr.
With a new baby who doesn’t yet sleep through the night and other little ones to care for, preventing me from “sleeping when the baby sleeps”, I’m tired. And that’s an understatement.
How much sleep do we really need? And what are the effects of chronic sleep deprivation?
I just finished reading a chapter in the book Nurture Shock called “The Missing Hour”. It showed how children getting an hour less sleep a night than what they need contributes not only to crankiness in younger kids, but that the rebelliousness & moodiness in teenagers accepted by most as normal behavior is actually caused by lack of sleep. I was surprised to learn that child obesity was also found to correlate with lack of sleep, as well as lower school grades and test scores.
While the lower grades thing was not a surprise, the degree to which it is a factor was. Sleepy 6th graders performed two full grades lower. Like fourth graders. And obesity? Apparently not only from lack of exercise and poor diet.
I definitely believe that most of the crankiness and belligerence in young children comes from tiredness. Many parents stop insisting that their children nap simply because the child doesn’t want to and seems to be able to stay awake all day without it. I think this is a big mistake. All of my children still take naps (even the 5 1/2 year old) except for the 6 1/2 year old, who rests on the couch with a book. And at times, we do insist that he naps when we can tell that he really needs it, if we know we’ll be staying up later, like on the weekend.
As a parent, I’m interested in this stuff. I know both my 6 1/2 year old and my 3 1/2 year old are not getting enough sleep. I want them to have it, but getting that schedule exactly right is tough, especially when children share a bedroom.
If you want help figuring out whether your kid’s getting enough sleep, the following might be helpful.
The American Academy of Pediatrics Guide to Your Child’s Sleep provides some helpful guidelines regarding just how much sleep children need at different stages in their development. Keep in mind that these numbers reflect total sleep hours in a 24-hour period. So if your son still naps, you’ll need to take that into account when you add up his typical sleep hours.
Between Birth-Six Months, children need 16-20 hours
Between Six-Twelve Months, children need 14-15 hours
Between Ages 1-3, children need 10-13 hours
Between Ages 3-10, children need 10-12 hours
Between Ages 11-12, children need about 10 hours
Teenagers need about 9 hours of sleep per night
SOME INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT SLEEP:
I apologize for the formatting problem above. I’ve tried to correct it but am unable and cannot spend more time on it.
I never outgrew my nap. I have a good excuse for needing one now, but I think that when the kids are grown, I’ll still be enjoying an afternoon siesta. Maybe I’ll enjoy it even a little bit more.