In this Issue:
Greetings
[[firstname]],
Protect Your Liver
from Pesticides & Other Chemical Dangers
Eat your fruits and vegetables is still
good advice, but this kat's got a couple of caveats for you. First, when
possible, opt for organic or home grown -- more nutrients and fewer pesticides
with every bite.
Second, if you’re a big consumer of
peaches, nectarines, apples, and pears consider peeling and slicing before
slipping those sweet, succulent gifts from the gods into your mouth.
Why you may ask? In a word: pesticides. A
recent study by the USDA ranked pesticide contamination in 47 popular fruits and
vegetables. Six different measures of contamination were used to arrive at a
composite score.
The “dirty dozen” worst
offenders were: nectarines, peaches, apples, strawberries, cherries,
imported grapes, pears, celery sweet bell peppers, carrots, kale, and lettuce.
Nectarines had the highest percentage of samples test positive with a whopping
97.3%. Peaches had the most pesticides overall, with an astounding 53 pesticides
found on the samples tested. And sweet bell peppers won the prize for the most
pesticides tested on a single sample with 11. Yikes.
Indeed, Tess, who is only 26, recently had
a nasty reaction after eating some seemingly innocent red grapes. Within 10
minutes, Tess started noticing her vision blurring, light-headedness setting in,
and nausea coming on. She did a little research and found that her
symptoms were consistent with pesticide reactions. Scary stuff and she doesn't
have the decades of ingestion of pesticides that many seniors have.
That’s the bad news. Now for the good
news. The USDA also found the “Clean Fifteen.” The fruits and veggies
least likely to have pesticides include: onions, sweet corn, asparagus, sweet
peas, cabbage, eggplant, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, avocados, pineapples,
mangoes, kiwi, papayas, watermelon, and grapefruit.
For more
results, and a free shoppers
guide.
And here’s more good news: Congress just
passed the first “farm-to-fork” oversight legislation since the Great
Depression.
The new bill ups the number of
inspections at high-risk facilities and empowers the FDA to order recalls. The
goal: dramatically lower food recalls. The bill still needs to pass the Senate,
so
write your Senators today.
Pesticides can wreak real havoc on your
body. In animal studies (no felines, I hope!), they have been shown to increase
cancer, cause nervous system damage, impair reproduction, and cause skin, eye
and lung irritation.
Children, who are still developing, are
especially at risk. These poisons are extra tough on your already over-taxed
liver.
Let’s take a quick trip back to basic
biology 101. Your liver is roughly the size of a football and is one of the
largest organs in your body (your skin is the largest organ).
Your liver performs all sorts of critical functions
including filtering blood, converting sugar into triglycerides, controlling
blood clotting, and, of course, eliminating toxins.
You know this kat’s big on the war on
toxins. Lucky for you humans, the Co-op has several great products that support
your liver's work in detoxifying your system of nasty pesticides and other
toxins.
Let’s start with
Milk Thistle, the supplement of choice when it comes to healing and
detoxing your liver. Clinical trials have shown milk thistle to be effective in
combating a range of liver disease, including cirrhosis, hepatitis, and fatty
liver.
Add to this
Alpha Lipoic Acid, the universal antioxidant that is uniquely both
fat and water soluble. This, too, promotes detoxification and also protects the
liver from free radical damage.
Turmeric, found in our
Arthro3, has also been shown to be a superb anti-inflammatory and
detoxifier.
Lastly, consider
SAMe,
which has been shown to promote bile flow and spur on a sluggish liver.
While we’re on the subject of your liver,
the kat also has several dietary suggestions for you. The cabbage family
(broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kale), artichokes, rhubarb, apples, garlic,
onions, turnips, sesame seed, sunflower oil, walnut oil, and wheat germ all
promote liver health. Just be sure you wash them first!
You’ll want to avoid white sugar, white
flour and fried foods and, obviously, keep those cocktails under control.
Lastly, consider staying away from
your favorite pain-killer Tylenol.
Researchers at the University of North
Carolina, Chapel Hill have discovered that taking Tylenol
for
as little as four days as directed may put you at risk for serious
liver damage.
So fair members, take care of your liver and your liver will take care of
you.
One Member's Cholesterol Health Story
A couple weeks ago this kat talked
healthcare plans and made the case for prevention above all others. We
asked you to share your self-health-care stories, and below we have one
member who wrote in about grabbing control of her cholesterol. Read on.
---------------------------------------------------------
In January my doc told me that I had high
cholesterol. Not terribly high, but the good was low and the bad was
high, which means my ratio was not good either.
My doctor wanted to put me on meds. I pleaded for some time to work
on it myself, so she gave me six months. However, she warned my
condition was probably inherited, as she did not think me overweight and
knew I was trying to be healthy and exercise.
Well, July was six months, and she did a double take as she said my
ratio is now "fantastic." So, I am going to tell you what I did for
those six months in hopes that it will help someone else.
I had already been taking Heart Plus for a couple of years, so I
was a bit discouraged as it did not seem to do enough alone, but I
e-mailed Teri on one of your "live support" chats. She asked me if I read
the paper by Mike Ciell, RPH, and I said yes, as I had, but I
decided to go through it again.
After reading it again, I increased my vitamin C on a daily basis. I
took Probiotics so my system would not be too upset, as I'm sensitive to
too much vitamin C. I also increased my vitamin D.
I also used cinnamon on my oatmeal each morning and I cut out the
nice fresh farm milk, and resigned myself to using skim milk on my
cereal.
Lastly, I went on a diet to lose a little weight. I wasn't
overweight, but still weighed more than it was 10 years ago. I lost 15
lbs. At my age (66) it was not an easy thing to do, but worth it.
That is all I did and I improved my cholesterol so much that my doc
said I sure don't need any meds now! So, I achieved my goal. Hopefully
others will too! -- Ingrid
Health in the News
'Til next time, fair members!
Still purringly yours,
Guido
Guido Housemouser,
Chief Kat and Community Manager
Our Health Co-op, Incorporated
4188 Westroads Drive, Unit 123
Riviera Beach, FL 33407
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