Five Foods Toxic to the Liver

Five Foods Toxic to the Liver

1. Fast Food: No surprise here, right? A study from Europe showed that eating too much fast food—a diet high in fat and sugar (including high fructose corn syrup)—could cause serious damage to the liver. Follow-up studies also showed, however, that that damage could be reversed by giving up the unhealthy diet.
2. Alcohol: Another no-brainer. Too much alcohol can lead to liver disease.
3. Salt: You know that too much salt can increase blood pressure, but did you know that it can also lead to fatty liver disease? Look out for high-salt processed foods like bacon and sausages.
4. Artificial Sweeteners: Aspartame, Splenda, NutraSweet, and Equal can all create toxic reactions in the body. The government advises pregnant woman and children to avoid them.
5. Monosodium Glutamate (MSG): A form of concentrated salt, MSG was found in a 1994 study to cause headaches, irritable bowel syndrome, and asthma attacks, and in animal studies, to be toxic to the liver. Researchers commented, “There is considerable evidence to suggest that consumption of MSG is a serious public health problem….”

Raw Foods to Clean Up the Damage
Fortunately, even if you fall off the wagon now and then, raw foods can bring you back.

1. Garlic and onions: they help rid the body of toxins, assisting the liver in its cleansing duties.
2. Freshly squeezed lemon in hot water: drink it first thing in the morning to encourage detoxification.
3. Beetroot: it’s got the antioxidant anthocyanidin, which has shown some anti-tumor effects in studies. Healing phytonutrients help counteract the bad effects of fatty foods.
4. Apples: they contain pectin, which helps escort heavy metals like mercury out of the body.
5. Artichoke: it actually increases bile production, revving up the toxin-cleansing engine.
6. 

The widespread use of anti-depressants

• One in 10 American adults suffer from depression, and 11 percent of the US population over the age of 12 is taking at least one antidepressant medication
• Antidepressant use has been linked to thicker arteries, which could contribute to the risk of heart disease and stroke. In one study, the thickness of the main neck arteries in men taking antidepressants was about five percent thicker than that of those who were not using the drugs
• Last year, the FDA issued a safety alert on the antidepressant Celexa, warning it can cause abnormal changes in the electrical activity of your heart, which can lead to abnormal heart rhythm and fatal heart attacks
• In another large study, menopausal women taking tricyclic antidepressants and SSRIs were 45 percent more likely to suffer a fatal stroke than those not taking an antidepressant. Their overall mortality rate was also 32 percent higher
• Other serious side effects of antidepressants include: suicide, violence and homicidal tendencies, type 2 diabetes, brittle bones, stillbirths, immune problems, conversion from unipolar depression to the more severe diagnosis of bipolar illness, and cognitive decline with long-term use

Should You Take Fish Oil for Depression: Part 1

While many people are helped by prescription antidepressants, the idea of trying a "natural" approach to treat depression can be appealing. One option that's been gaining attention in recent years is fish oil containing omega-3 fatty acids. These supplements are already well known for their potential to protect the heart, but they're also garnering interest for their effects on the brain.   

The value of omega-3s. Also known as essential fatty acids, omega-3s are a type of polyunsaturated fatty acid and are one of three kinds of naturally occurring fats in the human diet. (The others are saturated and monounsaturated fats.) 

Your body cannot manufacture omega-3s; they are found mainly in seafood but also in nuts, some oils and eggs, and to a small extent, red meat. Omega-3s contain large amounts of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), which are believed to have numerous health benefits, such as maintaining proper functioning of the nervous system. 

Omega-3s are a building block of cell membranes, and it's thought that increasing omega-3 levels makes it easier for serotonin (a chemical that relays impulses between nerve cells) to pass through cell walls. Consuming more omega-3s can also increase serotonin in the body; low levels of serotonin are linked with depression. In countries with high consumption of fish and omega-3s, there tend to be low depression rates. The opposite is true, as well, as is the case in the United States. 

Some experts have blamed American eating patterns for the rise in depression. 

• As we have tried to adopt a heart-healthy diet, we have cut back on red meat and eggs -- two good nonseafood sources of omega-3s.
• We use a lot of oils like corn, soybean and sunflower, which are low in omega-3s.
• And we're now eating more omega-6 fatty acids than ever before in fast food and processed foods.

Historically, humans have eaten omega-3s and omega-6s in equal proportions. Now, most of us eat far more omega-6s, and the resultant rise in this type of fatty acid has paralleled the rise in depression rates. 

However, the increase in the depression rate is almost certainly the result of many factors, with these dietary issues as one possible contributor. 

Protect your memory

8 Key Strategies Focused on Saving Your Memory
With Evidence-Based Research to Support Each Step

YOUR EXPERT -- Dr. Peter V. Rabins, acclaimed author and geriatric psychiatrist at Johns Hopkins - and one of the nation's leading experts on the care and management of patients with Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia.

If someone told you there were eight straightforward steps you could take to dramatically enhance your quality of life and reduce or delay your chances for memory deterioration, what would you do?

Many experts believe that once you understand your various risk factors for cognitive decline... take control of them... and follow through with the evidence-based strategies detailed in How To Protect Your Memory and Brain Health, you'll be in a better position to keep your memory strong well into later life.

For example, do you know...

• What's the best way to guard your memory and prevent dementia?

If you answered, stay heart healthy, you'd be right. And Dr. Rabins explains why with evidence from recent studies in the Archives of Internal Medicine. Controlling high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease are absolutely critical to cognitive function. Dr. Rabins explains how to take charge.

• What are the effects of too little sleep on keeping your memory sharp?

Many of us have trouble sleeping at night. No big deal -- right? Now new studies show that getting adequate sleep plays an essential role in learning new information, relating to names, dates, faces, facts, specific events - in short forming memory.

• What's so special about the Mediterranean diet?

For years the marketing and promotion of dietary supplements that claim to enhance memory have left many people confused and wary. Now recent evidence-based research reported in the Annals of Neurology suggests that people who closely follow the Mediterranean diet have a 40 percent lower risk of Alzheimer's disease. The take-away: The food you eat, not the pills, can prevent or slow the rate of cognitive decline.

• How does regular physical activity protect memory and reduce the risk of Alzheimer's?

Studies investigating the exercise/memory/dementia link have shown positive outcomes in recent years. Dr. Rabins provides an in-depth look at a number of key studies to show you the benefits of regular exercise... and how to incorporate exercise into your schedule.

• How does stress affect memory?

We all know that living a stress-filled life is unhealthy. Turns out stress is worse for us than we thought. Johns Hopkins researchers have linked high levels of the stress hormone cortisol with poor cognitive performance in older adults. And another study, reported in the journal Neurology, found that depressed and anxious people are 40 percent more likely to develop mild cognitive impairment

Omega-3 may just be found in your back yard!

Omega-3 Levels in Common Foods:
Romaine lettuce, 1 cup, 53 mgPurslane, 1 cup, 300-400 mgFlaxseed oil, 1 Tbsp., 7196 mgBroccoli, raw, 1 stalk, 147 mgChia seeds, 1 ounce, 4915 mgCauliflower, ½ cup, 104 mgWalnuts, 1 ounce, 2542 mgSpinach, 1 cup, 41 mgWalnut Oil, 1 Tbsp., 1404 mg 
Found in your back yard:

Every part of the dandelion is edible and full of nutrition. Dandelion, or Taraxacum officinale, is part of the Sunflower Family (Asteraceae). It also goes by other common names, including priest's crown, Irish daisy, monk's head, blowball and lion's tooth. Dandelions have antioxidant properties and contain bitter crystalline compounds called Taraxacin and Taracerin, along with inulin and levulin, compounds thought to explain some of its therapeutic properties.Dandelions offer you a wealth of nutrition!

They contain:

One of the richest sources of beta caroteneof all herbs (10161 IU per 100g, which is 338 percent of the RDA)	Numerous flavonoids, including FOUR times thebeta carotene of broccoli; also lutein, cryptoxanthin and zeaxanthin	Possibly the HIGHEST herbal source of vitamin K 1, providing 650 percent of the RDA
Vitamins, including folic acid, riboflavin, pyroxidine, niacin, and vitamins E and C	Great source of minerals, including magnesium, calcium, potassium, manganese, and iron	Leaves rich in dietary fiber, as well as a good laxative

Where have all the bees gone?

In the past several months, three separate studies have added substantial weight to the growing body of evidence showing that widespread use of nicotine-based insecticides called neonicotinoids is linked to Colony Collapse Disorder. One study found that colonies exposed to neonicotinoids produced 85 percent fewer queens, meaning the creation of 85 percent fewer hives. United States Department of Agriculture bee expert Jeffery Pettis rightly calls the findings “alarming.”

Bayer markets its neonicotinoids widely to growers of corn, soy, wheat, cotton, sorghum, peanuts, and other crops. Research by the Pesticide Action Network of North America showed that a minimum of 142 million acres were planted in neonic-treated seeds in the year 2010. 142 million acres is equivalent to the size of California and Oregon combined! And that number is likely to be even higher this year. On top of that, neonics are widely used in home garden and landscaping products. 

EPA registration of Bayer's neonicotinoids was primarily based on a study funded by the Bayer Corporation itself, and that study has been discredited by the EPA's own scientists.

The EPA must act now to ban the sale of Bayer's neoniconitoid products. When the bees suffer, we all suffer.  We must do everything possible to protect this essential pollinator. Our bees, and the plants that depend on them, can't wait.

Warning!

What happens when you lose fat?

High protein diet good for you? Some answers to common questions.

 http://www.isagenixhealth.net/blog/2011/03/10/the-power-of-protein-for-staying-lean-battling-aging/                           www.fatbgone.org

Does a High-Protein Diet Lead to Bone Loss?
Let’s talk about the high protein diet, ingested by most Americans, but also popular with athletes and bodybuilders. A high protein diet combined with intensive resistance training builds muscle. But if you’re sedentary and already sick, there are also consequences of too much protein.

In a recent paper from France, a country noted for rich foods and healthy people, the high protein diet was evaluated in order to separate fact from myth.

• Myth: Too much protein influences calcium metabolism and can have a negative impact on bone health.
• Fact: No clinical research supports the hypothesis that a high protein diet has a detrimental effect on bone mineralization.

Bodybuilders, as a group, don’t have more osteoporosis than those on a low protein diet. In fact, my clinical experience shows that those eating a low protein, high plant-based diet have a higher incidence of osteoporosis. A low protein diet increases the levels of parathyroid hormone, which leads to less intestinal calcium absorption. It appears that low protein–induced changes in calcium metabolism are detrimental to bone health, where as high protein is not the cause of osteoporosis.

Long-term high-protein intake increases bone mineral density and reduces bone fracture incidence. The beneficial effects of protein, including increased intestinal calcium absorption and higher IGF-I levels, while lowering serum parathyroid hormone, offsets any negative effects of the acid load of protein on bone health. The research agrees: High protein intake promotes bone growth and retards bone loss, while a low-protein diet is associated with higher risk of hip fractures.

Does a High-Protein Diet Increase the Risk of Kidney Disease?

• Myth: High protein causes low pH due to increased urinary acid, which accelerates calcium excretion and may cause kidney disease.
• Fact: Too much protein does cause increased urinary acidity, but there is no data to support the concern that it causes kidney problems, except in people with existing disorders of calcium metabolism or kidney disease.

Diet can modulate kidney function, including filtration rate. High protein increases plasma concentration of uric acid and calcium, but the kidney still clears creatinine, urea, and albumin with ease. It appears that high protein intake does not impair kidney function in well-trained athletes and even in normal, healthy subjects. In fact, studies suggest that hyperfiltration in response to various physiological stimuli, including a high protein diet, is a normal physiologic adaptive mechanism.

Bottom Line
You have to have a sufficient amount of amino acids from biologically efficient protein sources to survive and thrive. The role of protein in the body is more complex than previously thought. It depends on many dietary factors and the presence of adequate nutrients in the diet, as well as exercise, and the existence of previous disease. Balance is the rule. For example, if you increase your protein intake above and beyond normal levels—as during intensive weight training—you need to take a calcium and magnesium supplements.

* * *

Source:
Calvez J, Poupin N, Chesneau C, Lassale C, Tomé D, “Protein intake, calcium balance and health consequences.” European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2012 Mar:66 (3): 281–295; doi:10.1038/ejcn.2011.196; http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22127335.