Better eating well balanced diet

Published Jan 2005 by Joan Toth Written by Joan A. Toth, Chartered Herbalist President, Nahanni River HerbsCopyright © 2004 - 2010

Natural Health Article

CONTENTS

• ABCs of Health - "D" is for Diet
• Smoking-related diseases -worse than we all think?
• Tip of the Month - Keep romaine lettuce from rusting
• The Herbalist  - "O" is for Olive Leaf

ABCs OF HEALTH

 "D" is for diet, in order to keep your body clean and functioning well.

Develop a balanced diet

The goal is to educate you on how to eat more balanced meals. Research over the past decade, has shown that the 40-30-30 principle of balance has proven to be helping with weight loss and permanent weight loss. If, like most people, you have been following the high-carbohydrate, low-or fat-free recommendation of the so-called experts, you are probably are not burning stored body fat as efficiently as possible, but are burning sugars (carbohydrates) instead. The secret is balance. It always has been and always will be.

MEAL TIPS AND HINTS:

• Have protein first (a bite or two) before eating carbohydrates with each meal.
• Eating protein first helps to slow the absorption and digestion of carbohydrates in the meal.
• Get Omega 6 fats in your meals when you can.
• Make a point during the weight loss process to limit starches to one per meal.
• Too many carbohydrates with your meal can easily elevate blood sugar levels and stimulate insulin, slowing down or stopping fat burning.
• When you go out to eat, avoid carbohydrate appetizers such as rolls, breads, and chips. Choose fresh vegetables or a protein appetizer.
• Don't deprive yourself. When occasionally having dessert with dinner, limit or avoid all starches like bread, pasta, potatoes, and rice. Increase your green vegetables instead.
• Eat protein at each meal. Supplemental protein can help supply protein in meals that do not contain meat.
• Take a day off of the diet now and then and eat what you want. You should feel good with your new lifestyle and enjoy what you are eating. Make this fun, not restrictive.

The high carbohydrate diet has left many North Americans in the early stages of metabolic disaster

EAT BALANCED MEALS EVERYDAY

SMOKING-RELATED DISEASES: WORSE THAN WE THINK?

I have compiled the following excerpt from our local newspaper, via Journal News Services Washington and thought that it was appropriate to share with all of you, as in some way or another whether we smoke or not, smoke affects all of us. Individuals who choose to smoke, do not realize by lighting up exactly what a dangerous trade off it can be to themselves and those around them (second hand smokers). A non-smoker breathing second hand smoke is exposed to roughly to 3,700 different chemicals.

THERE IS NO SAFE CIGARETTE

The list of diseases linked to smoking just got longer. U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona released his first official assessment of smoking Thursday May 27, 2004. The first report linked smoking to lung and larynx cancer and chronic bronchitis. This surgeon general's report concluded that smoking causes a number of diseases not previously attributed to tobacco use. These include acute myeloid leukemia and cancers of the cervix, kidney, pancreas and stomach, cataracts, periodontitis and pneumonia.

"Everyone knows how bad smoking is," Carmona said, but it's actually worse than we all think. The report is not conclusive enough to say smoking causes colorectal cancer, liver cancer, prostate cancer or erectile dysfunction.

The evidence suggests smoking may not cause breast cancer in women overall, but that some women may increase their risk of getting breast cancer by smoking, depending on genetics, the report said.

Diseases previously linked to smoking include cancer of the bladder, esophagus, larynx, lung, mouth and throat. Smoking also has been linked to chronic lung disease, chronic heart and cardiovascular disease, as well as reproductive problems.

About 440,000 Americans die of smoking-related diseases each year. An estimated 45,000 Canadians die each year, and tobacco use is responsible for one in five deaths among Canadians overall, Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada says on its website.

Now for the good news, the number of Americans who smoke has dropped form about 42 percent in 1965 to 22 percent in 2002.

The science is clear: The only way to avoid the health hazards of smoking is to quit completely or to never start smoking. If you do smoke and want to quit visit our smoking cessation page on the website for access to smoking aids, suggestions, and recommendations to quit smoking today!

You are worth it!

TIP OF THE MONTH

Romaine lettuce - has six times as much vitamin C and eight times as much vitamin A as iceberg lettuce. Keep leaves fresh by bathing them in cold water and wrapping each leaf in a paper towel then place the bundle in a plastic bag - this will prevent "rusting".

 THE HERBALIST

I promised I would give you some information on a specific herb, its origin and its uses. I really enjoy this part of our newsletter, as I always learn something new and exciting. This month we will discuss:

Olive Leaf

Latin Name: Olea europa (Oleaceae [olive]family)

Other Common Name: lucca

General Description:

Olive is a small evergreen tree native to Mediterranean regions. Throughout history, the use of its fruit and oil is well documented. Hippocrates, the Greek physician known as the "father of medicine", prescribed olive oil for ulcers, cholera, and muscular pains some 2,500 years ago. Over the ages, numerous folk medicine applications for olive oil have been described. In the early 1900s a bitter compound from the leaf, called oleuropein, was isolated and determined to be part of the olive tree's powerful disease-fighting properties. In the late 1960s another compound from the leaf called elenolic acid, which could kill many kinds of viruses, bacteria, and parasitic protozoans, except when taken internally, was rendered ineffective. Today, scientific research has solved the problem. The olive leaf appears to be a true antiviral compound, as it can penetrate infected cells and stop viral replication there.

Excellent For: Chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia - Patients have been often helped by olive leaf extract. People with these syndromes have reported recovery within one month of taking the supplement. They have reported higher spirits, more energy, and a stronger sense of well being.

Benefits of Olive leaf for specific health conditions include some of the following:

Heart disease and high blood pressure: The powerful anti-oxidant properties of the olive leaf help to protect the heart and circulatory system from free-radical damage. It can significantly decrease blood pressure.
Herpes infection: A 1993 study using a relatively weak alcohol-based form of olive leaf extract reported that this treatment provided relief of herpes symptoms. Three of six subjects reported that their lesions had disappeared in thirty to forty-eight hours.
Yeast infection: Candida is a single-celled fungi that lives in the bloodstream, releasing powerful poisons and toxins as they multiply. A sixty day double-blind placebo study of thirty subjects found that the symptoms of Candia albicans were reduced by 50%.

CONTRAINDICATIONS: Some individuals when taking Olive Leaf  extract; have experienced an adverse reaction called "detox reaction"; where the the body deals with dead microbes, the liver, the kidneys and the skin become overburdened.  Sometime the individual maybe break out in a rash, have fatigue, diarrhea, headaches or muscle/joint pains.  To counteract the reaction drink four plus cups of water in between doses or discontinued the dose.  Detox effect is only temporary.

This concludes another exciting issue of Natural Health. REMEMBER YOU HAVE TO READ TO WIN!

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