An Apple A Day Helps Keep The Doctor Away
Yes it’s true, eating an apple a day, really will keep the doctor away. In fact, according British researchers, if individuals ate just one extra apple a day, approximately 8,500 deaths from vascular disease could be prevented in the UK.
The reduction in cardiovascular deaths by adding an apple to the diet is equal to the reduction that would be observed if all UK individuals over 50 years of age were prescribed statin therapy. In that scenario, 9400 deaths from vascular disease could be prevented if these adults were started on simvastatin 40 mg.
They add that prescribing statins to all those eligible would lead to 1200 cases of myopathy, 200 cases of rhabdomyolysis, and 12 300 new diagnoses of diabetes mellitus.
Here’s Why …
Over the last twenty years, the pharmaceutical companies have promoted cholesterol-lowering statin drugs with such fervor that they’ve become household names: Lipitor, Crestor, Vytorin, Zocor, and others. Sixteen million Americans take Lipitor, the most popular statin drug. Statin sales in the U.S. alone are over $20 billion a year. No doubt, the statins lower cholesterol levels and perhaps do lower the risk of dying from a heart attack–at least in patients who already have had one–but the size of the effect is unimpressive. For instance, in one of the experiments, the CARE trial, the odds of escaping death from a heart attack in five years for a patient with manifest heart disease was 94.3 percent, which improved to 95.4 percent with statin treatment. This difference of 1.1 percent is surely not worth all the hype these medications have received, especially since the potential side effects from these drugs may include congestive heart failure.
The acknowledged side effects of statins include muscle pain and weakness, nerve damage, and a potentially fatal muscle-wasting disorder called rhabdomyolysis. One statin, Baycol, has been withdrawn because it was linked to 31 deaths from rhabdomyolysis. Interference with production of Co-Q10 by statin drugs is the most likely explanation. The heart is a muscle and it cannot work when deprived of the essential nutrient, Co-Q10.
A deficiency of CoQ10 can lead to nerve damage and congestive heart failure. I recommend anyone taking statins consider stopping them and begin taking CoQ10.
For those who’ve recently been on satin drugs or who elect to continue to take them, start to immediately take 100-200mg of CoQ10 a day. If you do you may find you have more energy, less achy pain, increased mental clarity, and other health benefits related to increasing CoQ10 levels back to normal.
While heart attacks have slightly declined, CHF (congestive heart failure) has more than doubled since Lipitor and other statins were first prescribed in 1987.
Taking statins for one year raised the risk of nerve damage by about 15 percent. Researchers studying CoQ10 have estimated that as little as a 25 percent reduction in bodily CoQ10 will trigger various disease processes, including high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, cancer, immune dysfunction, and fatigue.
If you want to know more about the medical myth associated with high cholesterol-hint for 98% of population high cholesterol means nothing, read my book, Heart Disease What Your Doctor Won’t Tell You.
“Say and do something positive that will help the situation; it doesn’t take any brains to complain.”
Robert Cook
Red Yeast Rice
Ok one last thing, if you decide you must lower your cholesterol (maybe due to fearing what your doctor will say-I know he or she is still brainwashed), then I recommend a good optimal daily dose multivitamin, CoQ10, 2,000mg-6,000mg of fish oil, and Choleaste, a red yeast rice formula.
Studies have shown that red yeast rice can significantly lower levels of total cholesterol and specifically LDL, or “bad” cholesterol. One showed that taking 2.4 grams per day of red yeast rice reduced LDL levels by 22% and total cholesterol by 16% in 12 weeks. Another study showed that taking 1.2 grams per day lowered LDL levels by 26% in just eight weeks.
Red yeast is far healthier than taking life robbing stain drugs, however please know they can, though considerably less than statins, reduce CoQ10 levels. For this reason I recommend taking CoQ10 along with a red yeast rice formula.
And please know that for 98% of folks, I don’t recommend treating elevated cholesterol levels, especially with dangerous statin drugs.
You can read more about the myths of heart disease, high blood pressure and other cardio issues on my website: The Medical Myths of Heart Disease.
Gluten Free Alternatives
The growing, some might say fad, information on potential negative health effects of eating gluten, poses a good question-what can I eat?
Coconut Flour
Coconut flour is a sweet-tasting, low-GI (glycemic index) flour derived from coconut meat. Though it doesn’t taste strongly of coconuts, it does contain all their health benefits. For example, one tablespoon of coconut flour contains a whopping 10 grams of fiber, which is double the amount of fiber as wheat bran and 20 times as much fiber as white flour. Coconut flour is also high in protein and low in fat. Long-term consumption of it has been linked to reduced blood pressure and blood sugar, improved thyroid function, increased energy and even boosting testosterone levels.
Coconut flour is best suited for baked desserts such as muffins, pancakes and waffles. You can find a big list of coconut flour recipes here.
Buckwheat Flour
Buckwheat flour is a gluten-free flour ground from buckwheat, an Asian fruit plant with edible, triangular seeds. It has a pronounced, earthy taste and a fine texture. Like coconut flour, buckwheat flour is healthier than white flour in every aspect. It is high in fiber and protein (including all eight essential amino acids), rich in trace minerals like magnesium and copper, low in fat and calories, and contains two flavonoids – quercetin and rutin – that protect us from cell inflammation and damage.
The heavier grains (including pseudo-grains like quinoa) tend to contain more protein. Think of flours like buckwheat, quinoa, millet, cornmeal, nut meal (almond flour), and bean/legume flours as akin to baking with whole-wheat flour. You get a similar denser product, often darker in color, and with less rise.
Medium flours are similar to an ‘all purpose flour’- and include sorghum flour, certified gluten-free oat flour, and superfine brown rice flour. Brown Rice flours tend to be gummy, unless proper fiber and starch is added.
Light, starchy GF flours include these gluten-free starches- tapioca starch, cornstarch, potato starch (NOT potato flour) and arrowroot starch.
“The mind is everything. What you think you become.”
Buddha
Dangers of Excess Chlorine
A hot, steamy shower or bath is a great way to relax and unwind but doing so without a shower filter can cause some real health problems.
According to the Global Healing Center post “Chlorine, Cancer, and Heart Disease”:
“There is a lot of well-founded concern about chlorine. When chlorine is added to our water, it combines with other natural compounds to form Trihalomethanes (chlorination byproducts), or THMs. These chlorine byproducts trigger the production of free radicals in the body, causing cell damage, and are highly carcinogenic. The Environmental Defense Fund warns that, ‘Although concentrations of these carcinogens (THMs) are low, it is precisely these low levels that cancer scientists believe are responsible for the majority of human cancers in the United States.”
A study done in Hartford, Connecticut, found that those with breast cancer have much higher levels of chlorine byproducts (by 50 – 60 percent) than women who are cancer-free.
Research in Spain reveals a higher incidence of bladder cancer in people exposed to chlorine through bathing, showering, ingestion, and swimming in chlorinated pools.
As stated by the EPA, chloroform exposure affects the central nervous system and liver. It can also provoke depression and irritability. Unfortunately, chloramine (ammonia combined with chlorine) is often added to the water supply as well, creating an even heavier toxic load.
My family and I use special showerheads that filter out the chlorine. Simply Google chlorine free shower and you’ll find several products that work well. I like the Culligan RDSH-C115 Rain Disc Showerhead with Filter, Chrome Finish-it isn’t perfect the head itself is plastic, although it looks like polished metal. It is inexpensive and provides filtered water delivered as rain shower with good flow.
Toxic Water
A study released by Ralph Nader’s Center for Study of Responsive Law in Washington, DC, shows that much of the nation’s drinking water is unsafe: Tests conducted in 38 states found over 2,000 toxic chemicals in the drinking water.
About 10 percent of these chemicals are associated with causing cancer, cell growths, neurological damage, and birth defects. Thousands of chemicals found in our water supplies have never even been tested for safety.
A joint study by the EPA and the National Academy of Sciences has attributed 200–1,000 US deaths each year to the inhalation of chloroform from water while bathing.
SO WHAT’S IN THE WATER AMERICANS ARE DRINKING?
Here is a partial list of the unwelcome additions that have been found in drinking water:
- arsenic, a known carcinogen and poison
In 2009, The New York Times report, “That Tap Water Is Legal but May Be Unhealthy”, brought to light the fact that Safe Drinking Water Act was sorely out of date and that the EPA’s lenient standards allowed small amounts of contaminants to creep into our water. The article outlines multiple findings of high arsenic levels, but that’s no surprise to the CDC. Their 2013 report revealed, according to The Center for Public Integrity, revealed that “ most Americans regularly consume small amounts of arsenic.” And arsenic levels deemed acceptable by the FDA in foods like rice are making matters worse.
- asbestos, a known carcinogen,
- cadmium, a cause of arteriosclerosis, kidney damage, and cancer,
- lead, which causes learning disabilities in children,
- mercury, which causes nervous-system and kidney damage,
- nitrites, which are a possible carcinogen that also interfere with the body’s oxygen metabolism, viruses and bacteria,
- 1,1,1-trichloroethane, a cause of liver damage and depression,
- 1,1-dichlorethylene, which causes depressed central nervous system and cancer,
- benzene, which causes chromosomal damage in humans, anemia, blood disorders, and leukemia,
- chloroform, which causes cancer,
- dioxin, an extremely toxic carcinogen,
- ethylene dibromide, which causes male sterility and cancer,
- polychlorinated biphyl (PCB), which causes liver damage, skin disorders, and GI problems and is highly suspected of causing cancer
Atrazine is also an endocrine disruptor, with negative effects on reproduction including miscarriage and birth defects, and has been linked to cancer. It’s also pervasive, showing up in samples more than a decade after being banned in France.
According to the Pesticide Action Network of North America, it’s present in 94% of US drinking water as per USDA testing. The NRDC found that many drinking water systems across the Midwest and the South have been contaminated with it as well.
Recently, evidence of imidacloprid, a neonicotinoid pesticide, has been found in drinking water, as reported by the Washington Post. Scientists warn that this should be “cause for alarm”. Imidacloprid is one of the world’s best selling pesticides. In a study linked neonicotinoids to the decimation of bee populations.
For decades, we’ve been taught that fluoride is healthy for you and your family, and is an essential tool to prevent tooth decay. But is that the case? New studies show that claims of fluoride’s safety and usefulness may have been overstated by the dental community.
The University of York conducted a review of the existing studies of the benefits of fluoride and found that the scientific evidence was weak at best. They determined that more studies need to be done to see if the benefits of fluoride outweigh the risks. That said, fluoride is toxic if you are exposed in large quantities and babies should not be exposed to it.
That might not be so easy. Today, fluoride is being added to our drinking water in cities and towns across America. Often, fluoridation is introduced at higher than recommended levels, because oversight and regulation are lacking as towns rush to add it.
Washington’s Blog did an expose on this and discovered that “neither the EPA or any other government agency has studied the effects of long-term ingestion of fluorosilicic acid.” The article also shows that this chemical has been shown to increase the uptake of lead in children, and its use correlates to an increase in violence. In addition, fluoride, in general, may lower IQ. Residents across America are opposed to this medicine being added to our water supply but have no say in the matter.
“No longer can anyone assume the 500 chemicals in the average U.S. municipal water supply are without side effects on the body…. When the brain is unable to detoxify some of these chemicals, it actually manufactures chloral hydrate in the brain… [producing] the symptoms of brain fog.”
—Sherry Rogers, MD | author of Tired Or Toxic
NBC News reported on an Associated Press (AP) study that found pharmaceuticals in the drinking water of 41 million Americans, including antibiotics, anti-convulsants, mood stabilizers and sex hormones, although in very low levels.
The New Republic reported on a 2013 EPA study which found that wastewater treatment plants contained pharmaceuticals ranging from oxycodone to Tylenol, with at least 25 drugs found in affected samples. This contaminated runoff can come from pharmaceutical companies, improper disposal of drugs in your home and hospitals, farms, cemeteries, sewage, and anything that runs down our drains. Prior studies have shown that wastewater treatments don’t necessarily remove all the drugs from the water.
CR and the Guardian selected 120 people from around the US, out of a pool of more than 6,000 volunteers, to test for arsenic, lead, PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), and other contaminants. The samples came from water systems that together service more than 19 million people.
A total of 118 of the 120 samples had concerning levels of PFAS or arsenic above CR’s recommended maximum, or detectable amounts of lead. Testing of the samples showed:
- More than 35% of the samples had PFAS, potentially toxic “forever chemicals”, at levels above CR’s recommended maximum.
- About 8% of samples had arsenic, at levels above CR’s recommended maximum.
- In total, 118 out of 120 samples had detectable levels of lead.
- A study from Johns Hopkins raises newfound concerns about the most common water treatment found in American tap water.
- Researchers identified new toxic and carcinogenic byproducts that are produced when chlorine is added to regular drinking water. Their findings were published in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Sciences & Technology.
Do I really need to continue? I think you get the message. Our drinking water is not safe!
One thousand deaths occur every year from chloral hydrate poisoning while taking a shower.
Here’s what you can do:
- Have your water tested. Several companies will run a laboratory test to see if your water is safe. Look in your local phone book under “water quality” or “laboratories, testing.”
- Don’t rely on just any purchased bottled water as a solution. Sixty million plastic bottles a day are disposed of in America alone! Massive amounts of greenhouse gases are produced from manufacturing these bottles, and millions of gallons of fuel are wasted daily transporting filtered tap water across America and around the world. Good grief!
- Filter your water at home. Home water filtration is the most logical, most economical, most convenient, and healthiest alternative to tap or bottled water.
The Clearly Filtered® Water Pitcher with Affinity® Filtration Technology changes everything, removing up to 99.9% of 365+ harmful and dangerous tap water contaminants. That’s more than the 3 leading brand name pitchers combined. Targets Fluoride, Lead, BPA, Glyphosate, PFOAs, Hormones & over 365 of the most harmful tap water impurities.
