Yet, in the twenty-first century, our kitchens (and our taste buds) have been hijacked by the food industry. In 1900 only 2 percent of meals were eaten outside of the home; today that number is over 50 percent.

The food like substances proffered by the industrial food system trick our taste buds into momentary pleasure. But our biology rejects the junk forced on our genes and on our hormonal and biochemical pathways.

Your tongue can be fooled and your brain can become addicted to the slick combinations of fat, sugar, and salt pumped into factory-made foods, but your biochemistry cannot handle these foods, and the result is the disaster we have in America today—70 percent of us are overweight, and obesity rates are expected to top 42 percent by the end of the next decade (up from only 13 percent in 1960).

Today one in two Americans has either pre-diabetes or diabetes. In less than a decade the rate of pre-diabetes or diabetes in teenagers has risen from 9 percent to 23 percent.

Really?

Almost one in four kids has pre-diabetes or type 2 diabetes?

Yes, and, perhaps even more shocking, 37 percent of kids at a normal weight have one or more cardiovascular risk factors such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or high blood sugar, because even though factory food doesn’t necessarily make you fat, it does make you sick! The food industry taxes our health and mortgages our children’s futures. Obese children will earn less, suffer more, and die younger.

It is time to take back our kitchens and our homes. Transforming the food industry seems like a gigantic undertaking, but it is in fact an easy fix. The solution is in our shopping carts, our refrigerators, and our cupboards—and on our dining room tables. This is where the power is. It is the hundreds of small choices you make every day, choices that will topple the monolithic food industry.

We need a revolution. Cooking real food is a revolutionary act. We have lost the means to care for ourselves. We have now raised the second generation of Americans who don’t know how to cook. The average child in America doesn’t know how to identify even the most basic vegetables and fruit; our kids don’t know where their food comes from or even that it grows on a farm. Cooking means microwaving. Food “grows” in boxes, plastic bags, and cans. Reading labels is supremely unhelpful in identifying the source of most foods—the ingredients are mostly factory-made science projects with a remote and unrecognizable lineage to real food.

We are brainwashed into thinking that cooking real food costs too much, is too hard, and takes too long. Hence, we rely on inexpensive convenience foods. But these aren’t so convenient when we become dependent on hundreds of dollars of medication a month, when we can’t work because we are sick and fat and sluggish, or when we feel so bad we can’t enjoy life anymore.

The average American spends eight hours a day in front of a screen (mostly the television) and spends more time watching cooking shows than actually cooking.

Convenience is killing us.

I believe in the power of collective intelligence. Within my community are hundreds, if not thousands, of unheralded chefs experimenting with food and creating extraordinary meals and recipes. Within our individual and our national communities is the cure for what ails us. We are the answer. We are the revolutionaries who will change the face of food in America and around the world.

Yes, we need all that and more to take back our kitchens and our health. But each of us can start at home with a kitchen makeover. Three simple actions can change everything:

1.    Do a fridge makeover.

2.    Do a pantry makeover.

3.    Do a shopping cart makeover.

Once you have taken back your kitchen, then you can start something really revolutionary.

Source: http://drhyman.com/blog/2013/02/22/why-cooking-can-save-your-life/

Source: Designs for Health, Gamma-tocotrienol induced apoptosis is associated with unfolded protein response in human breast cancer cells

It was exciting to me when my daughter came home with an article titled “Dying to Look Good,” in the October 8^th, 2012 issue of Science World magazine. It is about young Ava, who is spreading awareness of the health concern of skin products and creating her own line of chemical free products. Your skin is the largest organ in the body.  The products that you are putting on it can get absorbed into the skin.  They can disrupt your hormones increasing risk for hormone related problems and cancers.

We use about a dozen different products on our skin a day. More and more research is being done on the effects of the chemicals they contain on our health. Some substances to be cautious of are phthalates or fragrances,  parabens, polyethylene glycol (PEG),  retinyl palmitate (Vitamin A), Petrolatum, sodium laureth sulfate, and Triclosan.  The retinols (Vitamin A) can possibly even cause genetic malformations in  the growing fetus.  If you are looking for the skin enhancing effect; Retinaldehyde, the storage product, is much better choice. It can be broken down naturally to retinoic acid by the body as it is needed still creating more collagen and elastin.  Other products like Ava Anderson and Noble Natural are out there. You just have to do your research.  You can evaluate your products through the environmental workers group Skin Deep Database.

But do not forget that the most important place to start with beautifying your skin, is through a healthy diet and clean living.  Improving gut health, proper nutrition, detoxification, stress reduction, sleep and hydration are the key to not just looking good; But feeling great too.

It has been estimated that Breast Cancer affects 70 million women today. One in 8 or more are being diagnosed yearly. The treatment can be disfiguring surgery, illness provoking chemotherapy, uncomfortable radiation and hormone inhibition. It is disappointing to me that there is so much focus on treatment and less on prevention these days. It seems to take so many years to change our thinking. Do we have to continue to wait for every double blind, placebo controlled study with 16,000 or more enrolled patients to be published before we can offer our patients a better alternative?

If you knew of a simple way to lower your risk of breast cancer, wouldn’t you want your daughter, mother, sister or best friend to do it? I know I would.  Yes, we do not know enough about everything that causes breast cancer. But we do know that there are some simple ways to know your risk and then take steps to reduce it.

For instance, we have 3 different types of estrogens: Estriol (E3), Estradiol (E2)and Estrone (E1).  Once you go through menopause, your adrenal glands make E1.  Both estradiol (E2) and Estrone  (E1) have cancer producing effects; Whereas,  their breakdown product, Estriol (E3) has been shown to have some protective effects or no risk.  E3 is mainly produced during pregnancy or is affected by your diet. You can test the balance between these estrogens, the Estrogen Quotient (EQ), thru a 24 hour urine study done on day 19 to 23 of your cycle if you are still menstruating. Getting this EQ higher than 1 can help you lower your risk.

In addition, making sure your cancer producing Estrone is broken down along the right pathway can also help with reduction in risk.  Estrone is  produced by your adrenal glands after your ovaries fail in menopause and from adipose/fat cells. It can be broken down to 2, 4 or 16 hydroxyestrogen. We want more of the 2 and less of the 16. Therefore, we can again do this 24 hour urine study and find the ratio of 2/16. Keeping it greater than 1 is the key to lower risk.

In addition, ensuring that the enzyme, catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) can detoxify these estrogens is essential.  Making sure you have adequate B vitamins, B12, folic acid, certain amino acids and eating enough vegetable from the brassica plant family can all assist in the process of increasing your ratios and detoxification abilities. If these don’t do the trick after 3-4 months of therapy, you can take dindolylmethane (Noble DIM) or indole-3-carbinol (I3C).  If still unresponsive, we can even test how well this enzyme is functioning thru genetic testing.  So even though we do not know everything about why breast cancer occurs, Let’s change the focus to prevention!

James J. DiNicolantonio, PharmD, from Wegmans Pharmacy in Ithaca, NY, and colleagues conducted a systematic literature review and meta-analysis of 13 controlled trials (3,629 participants) that evaluated the effects of L-carnitine vs. placebo or control on mortality, ventricular arrhythmias (VAs), angina,heart failure, and reinfarction.

The researchers found that, compared to placebo or control, L-carnitine was associated with a significant 27% reduction in all-cause mortality (odds ratio, 0.73; risk ratio [RR], 0.78; P=0.05), a highly significant 65% reduction in VAs (RR, 0.35), and a significant 40% reduction in the development of angina (RR, 0.6). There was no reduction in the development of heart failure (RR, 0.85; P=0.21) or myocardial reinfarction (RR, 0.78; P=0.45).

“Further study with large randomized controlled trials of this inexpensive and safe therapy in the modern era is warranted,” the authors write.

Source: http://www.empr.com/l-carnitine-found-to-improve-heart-attack-outcomes/article/290816/?DCMP=EMC-miscellaneous&CPN=mpr_flppr&spMailingID=6073260&spUserID=MzA3NTI5MTA3MjQS1&spJobID=72589057&spReportId=NzI1ODkwNTcS1#

This week on NBC news they spoke about Pfizer and the known side effects of Bextra, a Cox 2 Inhibitor, that is similar to Vioxx (Merck and Co.) and Celebrex.  It was shown to cause heart attack and stroke in preliminary studies and could cause Steven Johnson Syndrome.  It has also been found at times be fatal and very painful skin disorder that can cause skin blisters and sloughs off.  Vioxx was taken off the market in 2004 after a study confirmed that it raises heart problems.  Pfizer was found guilty and was fined over 3 billion dollars for questionable knowledge that they knew this sister drug could also cause heart problems.  Unfortunately, the fine was only 3 weeks of Pfizer’s huge income. They closed the episode by stating that there are over a billion other cases of fraudulent data on other drugs that are being investigated at this time. Celebrex, the same class of drug, is still being prescribed today.  Why would this drug be any different? Will you eventually find out that the drug you’re on has new warnings of liver failure, suicide, heart attack and stroke? Why not protect our hearts instead of harm it by some drug with future unknown side effects? The best way to prevent these side effects is to prevent needing that drug.  Start by just cleaning up your diet.  As Hippocrates, the father of medicine stated, “Let Medicine be thy food and food be thy medicine”.  Too many of us, are not getting enough nutrients from our food. One example of this, is not enough Vitamin K. Studies have shown that Vitamin K, especially the long chain menaquinones (Vitamin K2), can reduce the incidence of coronary artery disease in women and has been shown to have positive benefits for cardiovascular health.  Optimal levels of Vitamin D have been shown to also be crucial for many reasons and have been linked to a healthier cardiovascular system.  The list can go on. However, the possibility of a having vital nutrients like these can be obtained by shopping in the periphery of the grocery store and staying away from processed foods. Eating foods such as wild salmon, organic eggs, and increasing vegetable intake by greater than 50 percent of each meal contains a significant source of nutrients.  I do not feel that there is one specific diet that’s best for all.  But I do know that regardless of our issues, following an anti-inflammatory diet instead of the (SAD) Standard American Diet is the way to go.

It has been estimated that Breast Cancer affects 70 million women today. One in 8 or more are being diagnosed yearly. The treatment can be disfiguring surgery, illness provoking chemotherapy, uncomfortable radiation and hormone inhibition. It is disappointing to me that there is so much focus on treatment and less on prevention these days. It seems to take so many years to change our thinking. Do we have to continue to wait for every double blind, placebo controlled study with 16,000 or more enrolled patients to be published before we can offer our patients a better alternative?

If you knew of a simple way to lower your risk of breast cancer, wouldn’t you want your daughter, mother, sister or best friend to do it? I know I would.  Yes, we do not know enough about everything that causes breast cancer. But we do know that there are some simple ways to know your risk and then take steps to reduce it.

For instance, we have 3 different types of estrogens: Estriol (E3), Estradiol (E2)and Estrone (E1).  Once you go through menopause, your adrenal glands make E1.  Both estradiol (E2) and Estrone  (E1) have cancer producing effects; Whereas,  their breakdown product, Estriol (E3) has been shown to have some protective effects or no risk.  E3 is mainly produced during pregnancy or is affected by your diet. You can test the balance between these estrogens, the Estrogen Quotient (EQ), thru a 24 hour urine study done on day 19 to 23 of your cycle if you are still menstruating. Getting this EQ higher than 1 can help you lower your risk.

In addition, making sure your cancer producing Estrone is broken down along the right pathway can also help with reduction in risk.  Estrone is  produced by your adrenal glands after your ovaries fail in menopause and from adipose/fat cells. It can be broken down to 2, 4 or 16 hydroxyestrogen. We want more of the 2 and less of the 16. Therefore, we can again do this 24 hour urine study and find the ratio of 2/16. Keeping it greater than 1 is the key to lower risk.

In addition, ensuring that the enzyme, catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) can detoxify these estrogens is essential.  Making sure you have adequate B vitamins, B12, folic acid, certain amino acids and eating enough vegetable from the brassica plant family can all assist in the process of increasing your ratios and detoxification abilities. If these don’t do the trick after 3-4 months of therapy, you can take dindolylmethane (Noble DIM) or indole-3-carbinol (I3C).  If still unresponsive, we can even test how well this enzyme is functioning thru genetic testing.  So even though we do not know everything about why breast cancer occurs, Let’s change the focus to prevention!

Our MIC blends contain:

• The amino acid Methionine which helps break down fat, and increases energy lean muscle mass.
• The vitamin Inositol which is vital for the metabolism of fat and cholesterol.
• Vitamin B12, necessary for proper digestion, protein synthesis, and the metabolism of carbohydrates and fats.
• Choline which contributes to cardiovascular health.
• Chromium, a mineral that plays a vital role in the synthesis of fats, cholesterol and proteins. It is an energy source

The Myers’ Cocktail was originally developed by Dr. John Myers, a Maryland physician who used intravenous injections of several different nutrients to treat a wide range of conditions.

The theory behind the Myers’ Cocktail is that by injecting this “cocktail” of nutrients directly into the bloodstream, there is no interference from the digestive system. This makes it an ideal form of treatment for patients with any digestive problems, including bloating, irritable bowel syndrome and Crohn’s disease.

Dr. Noble uses her own blend of nutrients to meet the need of each individual.   Myers’ Cocktail has been found to be a safe and effective treatment for a wide range of clinical conditions such as:

• asthma
• migraines
• allergies
• chronic pain
• fibromyalgia
• fatigue
• depression
• cardiovascular disease
• acute muscle spasms
• upper respiratory tract infections

Myers’ Cocktail also provides a natural energy boost that can last for several days or weeks and can significantly improve a patient’s quality of life.