Needful Things

Lose 2 Pounds Per Week - Fast!

2009-02-20T15:59:00.009-05:00

The 2 Pounds Per Week Rule and How to Burn Fat Faster

By Tom Venuto
www.BurnTheFat.com

Why do you always hear that 2 pounds per week is the maximum amount of fat you should safely lose? If you train really hard while watching calories closely shouldn’t you be able to lose more fat without losing muscle or damaging your health? What if you want to lose fat faster? How do you explain the fast weight losses on The Biggest Loser? These are all good questions that I’ve been asked many times. With the diet marketplace being flooded every day with rapid weight loss claims, these questions desperately need and deserve some honest answers. Want to know where that 2 pounds per week rule comes from and what it really takes to burn more than 2 pounds of fat per week? Read on.

Why Only 2 Pounds Per Week?

The truth is, two pounds is not the maximum amount you can safely lose in a week. That’s only a general recommendation and a good benchmark for setting weekly goals. It’s also sensible and realistic because it’s based on average or typical results.

The actual amount of fat you can lose depends on many factors. For example, weight losses tend to be relative to body size. The more body fat you carry, the more likely you’ll be able to safely lose more than two pounds per week. Therefore, we could individualize our weekly guideline a bit by recommending a goal of 1-2 lbs of fat loss per week or up to 1% of your total weight. If you weighed 300 lbs, that would be 3 lbs per week.

Body Weight Vs Body Composition

Weight loss is somewhat meaningless unless you also talk about body composition; the fat to muscle ratio, as well as water weight. Ask any wrestler about fast weight loss and he’ll tell you things like, “I cut 10 lbs overnight to make a weight class. It was easy - I just sweated it off.”

You’ve also probably seen people that went on some extreme induction program or a lemon juice and water fast for the first week and dropped an enormous amount of weight. But once again, you can bet that a lot of that weight was water and lean tissue and in both cases, you can bet that those people put the weight right back on.

The main potential advantage of any type of induction period for rapid weight loss in the first week is that a large drop on the scale is a motivational boost for many people (even if it is mostly water weight).

Why do you hear so many diet and fitness professionals insist on 2 lbs a week max? Where does that number come from? Well, aside from the fact that it’s a recommendation in government health guidelines and in position statements of most nutrition and exercise organizations, it’s just math. The math is based on what’s practical given the number of calories an average person burns in a day and how much food someone can reasonably cut in a day.

How Do You Lose More Than 2 Pounds Per Week?

Can you lose more than 2 lbs of pure fat in a week? Yes, although it’s easier in the beginning. It gets harder as your diet progresses. How do you do it? My rule is, extraordinary results require extraordinary efforts. An extraordinary effort means a particularly strict diet, as well as burning more calories through training because you can only cut your calories so far from food before you’re starving and suffering from severe hunger.

Simply put, you need a bigger calorie deficit.

If you have a 2500 calorie daily maintenance level, and you want to drop 3 lbs of fat per week withe diet alone, you’d need a huge daily deficit of 1500 calories, which would equate to eating 1000 calories per day. You would lose weight rapidly for as long as you could maintain that deficit (although it would slow down over time). Most people aren’t going to last long on so little food and they often end with a period of binge eating. It’s not practical (or fun) to cut calories so much and in some cases it could be unhealthy.

The other alternative is to train for hours and hours a day, literally. People ask me all the time, “Tom, how is it possible for the Biggest Loser contestants to lose so much weight? Well first of all they’re not measuring body fat, only body weight. Then you have the high starting body weights and the large water weight loss in the beginning. After that, just do the math – they’re training hours a day so they’re creating a huge calorie deficit.

But without that team of trainers, dieticians, teammates, a national audience and all that prize money, do you think they’d be motivated and accountable enough to do anywhere near that amount and intensity of exercise in the real world? Would it even be possible if they had a job and family? Not likely, is it? It’s not practical to do that much exercise, and it’s not practical to cut your calories below a 1000 a day and remain compliant. If you manage to achieve the latter, it’s very difficult not to rebound and regain the weight afterwards for a variety of physiological and psychological reasons.

For Fast Fat Loss: Less Food Or Harder Training?

Trainers are becoming more inventive these days in coming up with high intensity workouts that burn a large amount of calories and really give the metabolism a boost. This can help speed up the fat loss within a given amount of time. But as you begin to utilize higher intensity workouts, you have to start being on guard for overtraining or overuse injuries.That’s why strict nutrition with an aggressive calorie deficit is going to have to be a major part of any fast fat loss strategy. Unfortunately, very low calorie dieting has its own risks in the way of lean tissue loss, slower metabolism, extreme hunger, and greater chance of weight re-gain.

My approach to long term weight control is to lose weight slowly and patiently and follow a nutrition plan that is well balanced between lean protein, healthy fats and natural carbs and doesn’t demonize any entire food group. To lose fat, you simply create a caloric deficit by burning more and eating less (keeping the nutrient density of those calories as high as possible, of course).

But to achieve the extraordinary goals such as photo-shoot-ready, super-low body fat or simply faster than average fat loss, while minimizing the risks, I often turn to a stricter cyclical low carb diet for brief “peaking” programs. I explain this method in chapter 12 of my e-book Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle (it’s my “phase III” or “competition” diet).

The cyclical aspect of the diet means that after three to six days of an aggressive calorie deficit and strict diet, you take a high calorie / high carb day to re-feed the body and re-stimulate the metabolism. Essentially, this helps reduce the starvation signals your body is receiving. It’s also a psychological break from the deprivation which helps improve compliance and prevent relapse.

The higher protein intake can help prevent lean tissue loss and curb the hunger. A high protein diet also helps by ramping up dietary thermogenesis. A high intake of greens, fibrous vegetables and low calorie fruits can help tip the energy balance equation in your favor as fibrous veggies are very low in calorie density and some of the calories in the fiber are not metabolizable. Healthy fats are added in adequate quantities, while the calorie-dense simple sugars and starchy carbs are kept to a minimum except on refeed days and after (or around) intense workouts.

There’s No Magic, Just Math

In my experience, a high protein, reduced carb approach in conjunction with weights and cardio can help maximize fat loss – both in terms of increasing speed of fat loss and particularly for getting rid of the last of the stubborn fat. It helps with appetite control too. But always bear in mind that the faster fat loss occurs primarily as a result of the larger calorie deficit (which is easily achieved with sugars and starches minimized), not some type of “low carb magic.” If your diet were high in natural carbs but you were able to diligently maintain the same large calorie deficit, the results would be similar.

I’m seeing more and more advertisements that not only promise rapid weight loss, but go so far as saying that you’re doing it wrong if you’re losing “only” two pounds per week. “Why settle” for slow weight loss, they insist. Well, it’s certainly possible to lose more than two pounds per week, but it’s critically important to understand that there’s a world of difference between rapid weight loss and permanent fat loss.

It’s also vital to know that there’s no magic in faster fat loss, just math. All the new-fangled dietary manipulations and high intensity training programs that really do help increase the speed of fat loss all come full circle to the calorie balance equation in the end, even if they claim their method works for other reasons and they don’t mention calories burned or consumed at all.

Beware of The Quick Fix

Faster fat loss IS possible. My question is, are you willing to tolerate the hunger, low calories and high intensity exercise for that kind of deficit? Do you have the work ethic? Do you have the supreme level of dietary restraint necessary to stop yourself from bingeing and putting the weight right back on when that aggressive diet is over? Or would you rather do it in a more moderate way where you’re not killing yourself, but instead are making slow and steady lifestyle changes and taking off 1-2 lbs of pure fat per week, while keeping all your hard-earned muscle?

Remember, 1-2 pounds per week is 50-100 pounds in a year. Is that really so slow or is that an astounding transformation? You don’t gain 50-100 pounds over night, so why should anyone expect to take it off overnight? Personally, I think short-term thinking and the pursuit of quick fixes are the worst diseases of our generation.

If you want to be one of those “results not typical” fat loss transformations, it can be done and it may be a perfectly appropriate short-term goal for the savvy and sophisticated fitness enthusiast. It’s your call. But when you set your goals, it might be wise to remember that old fable of the tortoise and the hare, and buyer beware if you go shopping for a fast weight loss program in today’s shady marketplace.

Train hard and expect success,

Tom Venuto
Fat Loss Coach
www.BurnTheFat.com

About the Author:
Tom Venuto is a fat loss expert, lifetime natural (steroid-free) bodybuilder, independent nutrition researcher, freelance writer, and author of the #1 best selling diet e-book, Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle: Fat-Burning Secrets of The World’s Best Bodybuilders & Fitness Models (e-book) which teaches you how to get lean without drugs or supplements using secrets of the world's best bodybuilders and fitness models. Learn how to get rid of stubborn fat and increase your metabolism by visiting: www.burnthefat.com

Lose The Last 10 Pounds

2009-02-19T01:25:00.009-05:00

How To Lose The Last Few Pounds Of Ab Flab
By Tom Venuto
www.burnthefat.com

"Stubborn Fat." You know what I'm talking about - the kind of flab that sticks to you in those hard-to-lose places: The lower abs, the lower back, the "love handles," the back of the arms, the upper-thigh/butt area - yeah, THAT fat!

How do the bodybuilders and fitness models do it? I mean, how do they get that hyper-ripped, thin-skinned look that reveals every ripple and sinew and mound of chiseled muscle definition?

I can tell you this- the answer is NOT drugs. I've never taken a steroid or physique-enhancing drug in my life, and I routinely hit 3-4% body fat for bodybuilding contests without difficulty. Some drugs work, but they are NEVER more than a temporary solution, and the nasty side effects just aren't worth it.

The answer is NOT fad diets. It's a FACT - 95% of all diets fail. If you diet the way most people are doing it, you might even be slowing down your metabolism and making yourself FATTER!

The answer is definitely NOT supplements, either. Some of my protégés were spending $300.00 or even $400.00 a month on worthless supplements and they now get BETTER results, FASTER with my new system - with absolutely no supplements whatsoever (or just the bare basics like multi vitamins, protein powder, etc).

After 14 years of trial, error and experimentation, I finally discovered the answer and developed a fool-proof system to reach outrageously low body fat levels the natural way - no drugs, no crash diets and no supplements necessary. And now I'm finally revealing my secrets in this new "Bible of fat loss" called, BURN THE FAT, FEED THE MUSCLE (BFFM)

These advanced, mega-powerful fat burning secrets do not appear to you magically just because you started working out. These insider nutrition and training techniques are not casually discovered on your own. You need a guide who has been there... done that...

I will be your own personal coach, take you by the hand, and lead you through the lousy advice, marketing B.S., hype, fads and gimmicks...and directly to the sort of physical condition that will make your body a specimen of magnificent proportions and flawless symmetry - The type of body that is envied, admired and noticed by everyone.

Don't even THINK about buying any supplements or going on any diet until you read my revealing, no-holds barred fat loss report... Click here to read it now!

Lemonade Diet - Update

2007-10-21T19:09:00.000-04:00

Sorry for not updating lately!! I use my other blog more often...

You can catch up on my progress with the Master Cleanse Fast here http://sassifer.wordpress.com/

My Lemonade Diet

2007-10-18T17:28:00.001-04:00

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Day #2 Evening:
-----------------------
So here is an update of what's going on with the cleanse:

My glands are no longer swollen.
My tongue is still white. No matter how much you brush that baby, it won't stay away! Don't even bother!!
I've lost about 3lbs already. I didn't even notice! But I admit I feel a lot lighter right now.
I discovered that using warm water in the drink makes it extra goooooood. Yummier than before!
I've only had 4 drinks so far today and I have experienced no hunger issues. Amazing!
My complexion and hair have not changed yet.. we'll see in the days ahead what happens with them!

The only thing I am so not looking forward to is... drinking my tea tonight and waking up at god awful hours of the night with another emergency!! If there is anything worse than being stuck in the washroom with an emergency.. it's being half awake for it!!

Alright, *holds up glass of lemonade* here's to success in the days ahead!

Stay Sassy ;)

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Day #2 Morning:
-----------------------
Alright. That tea does what it says it will... and then some. After having my cup of tea before going to bed, I awoke to incredible pressure and discomfort in my lower abdomen 3 hours before my usual waking time. I ran to the bathroom... crawled back into bed... then ran back. This continued about 3 times. But when it was over, the discomfort was gone entirely.

I finally fell back asleep and woke up refreshed.

Now, after finally getting up.. I made my Saline wash and drank it.. 30 oz out of 32. I just couldn't get the rest in there.. I'm tiny! Anywho... after the Saline wash, i've been in and out of the bathroom about 7 times since. Maybe it's 6? I don't know, I've lost count. I had my Saline Wash about two hours ago and it's still working. Amazing...

What's even more amazing... is what comes out. I'm not going into details... just a general idea. I was wondering to myself today... where the hell was I hiding this stuff?! Because honestly, after the first few bathroom visits.. you can not imagine there being anything left. But oh, there is... trust me.It's a bit disturbing to know all these years you've been walking around with this extra gunk in your trunk. ICK!

"What you gonna do wit all that gunk, all that gunk inside yo trunk! Ima g-g-g-get me drunk! Get me love-drunk off of the master cleanse!" (yah okay very bad attempt... leave me alone)

Aaaand back to earth. So, my swollen neck gland is going down now, thank god! I felt so lop-sided.

I'm feeling significantly better than I did yesterday... and I'm actually finding myself more than satisfied with the lemon drink, I'm craving it!

My white tongue is still as it was yesterday... we'll see how it is by the end of today.

Tomorrow, however, I will test out birth control pills with the diet. I've researched it and have read that if you need to take pills while on the diet, then take them an hour or more AFTER the saline wash. This means I must wake up earlier than I usually do... what a joy that is. I mean, c'mon... after losing my guts in the bathroom.. you think I'd atleast be able to sleep as much as I want. But Noooooooooo. *sigh*

Anywho. Time to try to work out... see how my energy levels are. I'll update later!
Over and out ;)

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Day #1 Morning:
-----------------------
So... Day 1 of the Master Cleanse Lemonade Fast.

I had my Senna Leaf tea before I went to bed last nite. Woke up this morning and had some activity down below... Made my lemon drink and saline wash. I've had as much of the saline wash as I can handle... almost all 32 oz of it, I've got half a cup left. I just can't finish it.

No action from saline wash yet... but we'll see in the next half hour.

For those curious of starting this yourself... here are some excellent resources.
http://therawfoodsite.com/mastercleanse.htm
http://www.yestheyrefake.net/lemonade_diet_cleanse_journal.htm
http://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/Spa/7244/master_cleanse.html
http://master-cleanse.info/

I'll update this later today.

Wish me luck!!!

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Day #1 - Afternoon:
--------------------------
Okay so.... shortly after my post this morning, the saline wash went to work. And did it ever "work". lol! I won't go into details as to spare those without iron stomachs, but let's just say... this stuff goes right through you.

Strangely enough, when most people have something that goes "right through them" it's typically when you're sick.. You know what I'm talking about, we've all had it once or twice. But with this.. it didn't feel wrong. I didn't feel sick. It felt like a healthy release of toxins. So i've been in and out of the bathroom since the saline drink.

I feel great right now, despite being really tiiiiiiired. Drowsiness is to be expected, however. My body is using all of it's energy on cleaning me out, rather than making me feel wide awake.

The "white" tongue coating is starting... my tongue is always clean... so this is easy for me to notice.

Funny enough, I'm not hungry. I've thought of bagels and NY Fries poutines... mmmmmmmmmmm metling cheeeeeeeeese....... but i'm not actually hungry.

So far so good. I'll keep updating!

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Day #1 Evening:
----------------------
So the first day of the cleanse wasn't too bad at all. No discomfort. No headaches. I don't feel sick. The only thing is, I'm tiiiiiiired. And my right neck gland is swollen.

I'm enjoying my tea before I go to sleep. It's honestly not that bad... then again, I like strange teas. :)

I'm still not hungry! I had 6 glasses of the lemonade today and looooots of water.

My tongue is another story... that little baby is getting more and more white/fuzzy. I just brushed my teeth, that made me feel a bit better... we'll see what tomorrow brings.

I had a run in with food today... My father purchased cheesey garlic bread and vegetarian meatballs JUST for me. I felt terrible having to tell him I can't eat it! I found my sense of smell a bit strong as well... wonder why that is?

So all in all, day 1 of the cleanse = success.

C'mooooooooon day 2!!!!

Ciao ;)

White Death

2007-10-10T15:36:00.000-04:00

146 Reasons Why Sugar Is Ruining Your Health
By Nancy Appleton, Ph.D.

1. Sugar can suppress the immune system.
2. Sugar upsets the mineral relationships in the body.
3. Sugar can cause hyperactivity, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, and crankiness in children.
4. Sugar can produce a significant rise in triglycerides.
5. Sugar contributes to the reduction in defense against bacterial infection (infectious diseases).
6. Sugar causes a loss of tissue elasticity and function, the more sugar you eat the more elasticity and function you loose.
7. Sugar reduces high density lipoproteins.
8. Sugar leads to chromium deficiency.
9 Sugar leads to cancer of the ovaries.
10. Sugar can increase fasting levels of glucose.
11. Sugar causes copper deficiency.
12. Sugar interferes with absorption of calcium and magnesium.
13. Sugar can weaken eyesight.
14. Sugar raises the level of a neurotransmitters: dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine.
15. Sugar can cause hypoglycemia.
16. Sugar can produce an acidic digestive tract.
17. Sugar can cause a rapid rise of adrenaline levels in children.
18. Sugar malabsorption is frequent in patients with functional bowel disease.
19. Sugar can cause premature aging.
20. Sugar can lead to alcoholism.
21. Sugar can cause tooth decay.
22. Sugar contributes to obesity
23. High intake of sugar increases the risk of Crohn's disease, and ulcerative colitis.
24. Sugar can cause changes frequently found in person with gastric or duodenal ulcers.
25. Sugar can cause arthritis.
26. Sugar can cause asthma.
27. Sugar greatly assists the uncontrolled growth of Candida Albicans (yeast infections).
28. Sugar can cause gallstones.
29. Sugar can cause heart disease.
30. Sugar can cause appendicitis.
31. Sugar can cause multiple sclerosis.
32. Sugar can cause hemorrhoids.
33. Sugar can cause varicose veins.
34. Sugar can elevate glucose and insulin responses in oral contraceptive users.
35. Sugar can lead to periodontal disease.
36. Sugar can contribute to osteoporosis.
37. Sugar contributes to saliva acidity.
38. Sugar can cause a decrease in insulin sensitivity.
39. Sugar can lower the amount of Vitamin E (alpha-Tocopherol in the blood.
40. Sugar can decrease growth hormone.
41. Sugar can increase cholesterol.
42. Sugar can increase the systolic blood pressure.
43. Sugar can cause drowsiness and decreased activity in children.
44. High sugar intake increases advanced glycation end products (AGEs)(Sugar bound non-enzymatically to protein)
45. Sugar can interfere with the absorption of protein.
46. Sugar causes food allergies.
47. Sugar can contribute to diabetes.
48. Sugar can cause toxemia during pregnancy.
49. Sugar can contribute to eczema in children.
50. Sugar can cause cardiovascular disease.
51. Sugar can impair the structure of DNA
52. Sugar can change the structure of protein.
53. Sugar can make our skin age by changing the structure of collagen.
54. Sugar can cause cataracts.
55. Sugar can cause emphysema.
56. Sugar can cause atherosclerosis.
57. Sugar can promote an elevation of low density lipoproteins (LDL).
58. High sugar intake can impair the physiological homeostasis of many systems in the body.
59. Sugar lowers the enzymes ability to function.
60. Sugar intake is higher in people with Parkinson’s disease.
61. Sugar can cause a permanent altering the way the proteins act in the body.
62. Sugar can increase the size of the liver by making the liver cells divide.
63. Sugar can increase the amount of liver fat.
64. Sugar can increase kidney size and produce pathological changes in the kidney.
65. Sugar can damage the pancreas.
66. Sugar can increase the body's fluid retention.
67. Sugar is enemy #1 of the bowel movement.
68. Sugar can cause myopia (nearsightedness).
69. Sugar can compromise the lining of the capillaries.
70. Sugar can make the tendons more brittle.
71. Sugar can cause headaches, including migraine.
72. Sugar plays a role in pancreatic cancer in women.
73. Sugar can adversely affect school children's grades and cause learning disorders..
74. Sugar can cause an increase in delta, alpha, and theta brain waves.
75. Sugar can cause depression.
76. Sugar increases the risk of gastric cancer.
77. Sugar and cause dyspepsia (indigestion).
78. Sugar can increase your risk of getting gout.
79. Sugar can increase the levels of glucose in an oral glucose tolerance test over the ingestion of complex carbohydrates.
80. Sugar can increase the insulin responses in humans consuming high-sugar diets compared to low sugar diets.
81 High refined sugar diet reduces learning capacity.
82. Sugar can cause less effective functioning of two blood proteins, albumin, and lipoproteins, which may reduce the body’s ability to handle fat and cholesterol.
83. Sugar can contribute to Alzheimer’s disease.
84. Sugar can cause platelet adhesiveness.
85. Sugar can cause hormonal imbalance; some hormones become underactive and others become overactive.
86. Sugar can lead to the formation of kidney stones.
87. Sugar can lead to the hypothalamus to become highly sensitive to a large variety of stimuli.
88. Sugar can lead to dizziness.
89. Diets high in sugar can cause free radicals and oxidative stress.
90. High sucrose diets of subjects with peripheral vascular disease significantly increases platelet adhesion.
91. High sugar diet can lead to biliary tract cancer.
92. Sugar feeds cancer.
93. High sugar consumption of pregnant adolescents is associated with a twofold increased risk for delivering a small-for-gestational-age (SGA) infant.
94. High sugar consumption can lead to substantial decrease in gestation duration among adolescents.
95. Sugar slows food's travel time through the gastrointestinal tract.
96. Sugar increases the concentration of bile acids in stools and bacterial enzymes in the colon. This can modify bile to produce cancer-causing compounds and colon cancer.
97. Sugar increases estradiol (the most potent form of naturally occurring estrogen) in men.
98. Sugar combines and destroys phosphatase, an enzyme, which makes the process of digestion more difficult.
99. Sugar can be a risk factor of gallbladder cancer.
100. Sugar is an addictive substance.
101. Sugar can be intoxicating, similar to alcohol.
102. Sugar can exacerbate PMS.
103. Sugar given to premature babies can affect the amount of carbon dioxide they produce.
104. Decrease in sugar intake can increase emotional stability.
105. The body changes sugar into 2 to 5 times more fat in the bloodstream than it does starch.
106. The rapid absorption of sugar promotes excessive food intake in obese subjects.
107. Sugar can worsen the symptoms of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
108. Sugar adversely affects urinary electrolyte composition.
109. Sugar can slow down the ability of the adrenal glands to function.
110. Sugar has the potential of inducing abnormal metabolic processes in a normal healthy individual and to promote chronic degenerative diseases.
111.. I.Vs (intravenous feedings) of sugar water can cut off oxygen to the brain.
112. High sucrose intake could be an important risk factor in lung cancer.
113. Sugar increases the risk of polio.
114. High sugar intake can cause epileptic seizures.
115. Sugar causes high blood pressure in obese people.
116. In Intensive Care Units, limiting sugar saves lives.
117. Sugar may induce cell death.
118. Sugar can increase the amount of food that you eat.
119. In juvenile rehabilitation camps, when children were put on a low sugar diet, there was a 44% drop in antisocial behavior.
120. Sugar can lead to prostrate cancer.
121. Sugar dehydrates newborns.
122. Sugar increases the estradiol in young men.
123. Sugar can cause low birth weight babies.
124. Greater consumption of refined sugar is associated with a worse outcome of schizophrenia
125. Sugar can raise homocysteine levels in the blood stream.
126. Sweet food items increase the risk of breast cancer.
127. Sugar is a risk factor in cancer of the small intestine.
128. Sugar may cause laryngeal cancer.
129. Sugar induces salt and water retention.
130. Sugar may contribute to mild memory loss.
131. As sugar increases in the diet of 10 years olds, there is a linear decrease in the intake of many essential nutrients.
132. Sugar can increase the total amount of food consumed.
133. Exposing a newborn to sugar results in a heightened preference for sucrose relative to water at 6 months and 2 years of age.
134. Sugar causes constipation.
135. Sugar causes varicous veins.
136. Sugar can cause brain decay in prediabetic and diabetic women.
137. Sugar can increase the risk of stomach cancer.
138. Sugar can cause metabolic syndrome.
139. Sugar ingestion by pregnant women increases neural tube defects in embryos.
140. Sugar can be a factor in asthma.
141. The higher the sugar consumption the more chances of getting irritable bowel syndrome.
142. Sugar could affect central reward systems.
143. Sugar can cause cancer of the rectum.
144. Sugar can cause endometrial cancer.
145. Sugar can cause renal (kidney) cell carcinoma.
146. Sugar can cause liver tumors.

Sources:
Rheumatic
Ezine Articles
ABC.net

Organic Nutrition

The Dangers

2007-09-25T11:53:00.000-04:00

Oh yes sir, Fluoride is extremely hazardous to your health. Despite what the majority of toothpaste commercials want you to believe - this %*$@ actually causes the teeth to decay.

This may be a sticky subject, but let's take a look at where fluoride comes from and what it's been used as.

As written by: Carol S. Kopf, BS, MA

Fluoride was a teeth damaging natural water pollutant way before it was a cavity-fighting water supply additive. New research questions the safety and efficacy of fluoride and fluoridation.
Dentists wondered why, in the early 1900's, in pockets of the Southwest USA, many residents' teeth were permanently stained yellow, brown or black, some just had white blotches, some were crumbling. They called it "Colorado Brown Stain." The culprit - high levels of tasteless, odorless fluoride in drinking water, from 2 - 13 parts per million (ppm), which also irrigated crops the locals ate.

These ugly, sometimes deformed, teeth were unusually cavity-free. Since fluoride stained teeth, dentists assumed fluoride also prevented decay. "Colorado Brown Stain" became known by the more scientific term, dental fluorosis. Unfortunately, dentists overlooked what's obvious today, even to a layperson. They failed to factor in the calcium, magnesium and other teeth strengthening minerals also in the water supply.

During an era when doubting government was anti-American, when public health heroes of the day were idealists who believed they were saviors of their people, fluoridation began in the late 1940's. One part per million fluoride added to "fluoride deficient" water supplies, reduced decay by 70% without unwanted fluorosis public health officials promised. Holding the paternalist values of their time, they believed mothers couldn't be trusted to give their children their daily fluoride dose in pill form so they prescribed it into the drinking water. Children up to nine years old would benefit, they told us. Fluoride incorporated into their developing teeth to erupt with a shield against decay as long as they consumed 1 milligram fluoride daily via approximately one quart of 1 ppm fluoridated water.

Children, who didn't live in fluoridated communities, were (and still are) prescribed fluoride supplements - a drug marketed before safety testing was required by the Food and Drug Administration.

At its inception, fluoridation, or these supplements, was virtually children's only fluoride source. Now over 62% of US water supplies are fluoridated and so are the foods and beverages grown, bottled and manufactured with that water. There's a glut of fluoridated dental products on the market, both over-the-counter and by prescription. Fluoridated pesticide residues remain on foods, medicines contain fluoride, and air is polluted by fluoride from industry.

Instead of bringing tooth decay rates down to that enjoyed by early Southwesterners who ate produce from their own gardens, children's dental fluorosis rates have steeply increased. Yet, tooth decay is still a major problem for malnourished or poorly nourished Americans.

New research proves old-time dentists' premise was wrong. Fluoride's possible benefits, if any, are topical. So there's no good reason to swallow fluoride or put it into the water supply.

The old dogma is beginning to unravel. British researchers report in the British Medical Journal that fluoridation studies are flawed. A Canadian Government report found fluoridation does more harm than good. A US National Institutes of Health Panel found most tooth decay studies, including hundreds on fluoride, scientifically invalid. Even UNICEF, the organization that protects children, reports, "more and more scientists are now seriously questioning the benefits of fluoride, even in small amounts."

What's more unbelievable is that the chemicals most used to fluoridate drinking water are silicofluorides, contaminated waste product of industry, that were never safety tested on humans or animals. Meanwhile we are conducting a massive toxicological experiment. Our children are the test subjects

Silicofluorides are linked with children's increased lead absorption. Studies link fluoride chemicals to bone fractures, lowered IQ, thyroid dysfunction, cancer, allergies and more.

And the American Dental Association is working on a new and improved cavity fighter, even better than fluoride - calcium and phosphate - the minerals they overlooked in the early 1900's.

References and Suggested Reads:

Second Opinions
Toxic Chemicals
Fluoride Facts from Bragg
Danger List
Natural World Healing
Fluoride
Medical News
Skeletal Fluorosis
Thyroid Disease
Fluoride in Green Tea
Take Action
ArriveNet
Shirley's Wellness Cafe
Wiki
Love the Truth

Alternative Solutions:

Tooth Soap
How to remove Fluoride
The Green Guide
Natural Toothpaste for Children

Let's talk about Acid...

2007-09-21T16:18:00.000-04:00

PH Balance is an extraordinarily important aspect of human health.

When PH is out of balance due to highly acidic food... diseases and disabilities proliferate.

We're going to discuss how pH works and what it really is. As well as some basic guidelines as to which foods you should/should not consume for a healthy pH.

So, What is pH??

First off, PH literally means "Potential Hydrogen."

pH is a scale that measures how acidic or alkaline a substance is. The scale ranges from 0 to 14 with 1 being very acid, 7 neutral and 14 very alkaline.

Now, what does any of this mean to you? Well, for starters.. pH is extremely important to your blood and immunities. Listen to this...

You are a machine:

The human body is basically a huge "Bio Electrical Engine", this engine runs on an electro magnetic current. In order to sustain the body properly from the many busy functions it performs in a day, your body must fire pulses of electricity.

Where the heck do we get electricity from?!

Now, you may be thinking... "what the heck is this woman on? Electricity?! Where does it come from?!?!"

A good question! The electricity is produced by an intricate balance that exists in your bio chemistry. Well, what does this affect? Everything! But most importantly, your blood.

Why it's important for your blood:

Your blood has a strict pH level. Now, say that level were to vary 1 or 2 points up or down, the entire electrical chemistry in your body would become askew. The electrical power would be cut off. Somebody at the switchboard would disconnect you. In short - You would literally, drop dead. Henceforth; balancing the pH level in your blood is crucial to a healthy life.

But, why would it kill you? Well, let's see... what are red blood cells? What do they do?
Red Blood cells transport oxygen to the rest of your body How they go about this, is they travel through little, and I mean little, capillaries that lead to important organs and functions in your body.

Because these capillaries are so small, it's very important that the blood cells can maneuver their way through, swiftly and with ease. Fortunately for us, our blood cells have an amazing built-in feature... a negative charge. This charge, like magnets, allows the cells to remain separate from each other, so they can pass through the capillaries smoothly. No accidents on the capillary highway!

However, when acid strikes... this amazing mechanism is devastated. Acid literally strips away the negative charge from the red blood cells, resulting in cells that stick, bump, and clump together. You can imagine how difficult it is for these guys to pass through the small capillaries like this. This, my friends, results in something you are all familiar with - poor blood circulation and the ever-dreaded blood clots.

Poor blood circulation contributes to numerous health conditions. Some of which most of us have experienced at one time or another in our lives. For instance, cold hands and feet, improper digestion, dry/flaky skin and brittle nails.

Not only will excessive acid result in clumping blood cells, but it also weakens them... causing them to die. I'll give you one guess as to what happens when they die. Yep, they release more acid into your system

So what have we learned?

We are bio electrical engines, and blood circulation is very important.

When too much acid is in our bodies, blood circulation is decreased.

Decreased blood circulation results in disabilities and even a drop in energy levels.

All of this is regulated by taking care of your pH.

So, How do I maintain my pH levels and What is my pH level?

The first place a pH imbalance begins, is in your mouth. What you eat and drink. Now, this may confuse you. But a pH imbalance is not caused from consuming foods that are too "acidic", but rather from foods that, once digested, leave an acidic residue or ash, if you will. A good example, Lemons. Lemons are acidic before you consume them, however, once consumed actually become alkaline. Nifty huh?

To find out your pH level is pretty simple. First, you'll need pH Hydrion test paper, which can be found at your pharmacy or health food market.

When liquid comes into contact with the paper, it will turn a colour that corresponds with a chart that is provided in the package. This chart ranges from blues to yellows, with blue = alkaline and yellow = acid.

You can take the test with urine or saliva. However, I personally believe that saliva is a little more reliable.. not to mention more convenient! =-)

When you use the test strip, make sure it has been at least 2 hours after eating/drinking (aside from water). You must use the strips 2-3 times a day, for a week, to ensure an accurate reading, as your pH can fluctuate throughout the day. What you want to find out is your average pH level.

Once you have your average, compare it to the recommended pH level and adjust your diet accordingly. Remember, nothing will change overnight. You must have patience and stick with it for at least one month, in order to see a change in your pH.

Recommended pH in saliva tests: 6.4 - 6.8
Recommended pH in blood: 7.5

The reason why we want a slightly more acidic readout in our saliva test, as opposed to our blood, is because our saliva is naturally slightly more acidic than our blood. So always keep that in mind.

Balanced pH, a more alkaline body, means being immune to all illnesses and diseases. A disease, sickness, virus, etc... can not thrive whatsoever in an alkaline environment. It can, however, thrive and spread... in an acidic environment.

It is this very reason that Doctors have adopted the use of Greens and fruit shakes for cancer patients, to alkalize their pH and make the environment less hospitable for the disease.

Okay, I get it. Now what do I eat/not eat?

Understanding the lists provided is quite simple. Begin by tracking the foods you consume on a daily basis. If your pH testing shows that you tend to be too acidic, see if any of the foods you eat regularly are in the middle or upper ranges of the acid foods list. If they are, cut back on/or substitute them for similar foods that are more alkaline.
Incorporating foods, that are near the top of the alkaline foods list, is the next step. Remember, it is unnecessary to go overboard with eliminating all acidic foods and making sure to consume only alkaline foods. We want a healthy balance.

Alkaline Foods:

(in order from most to least potent)

Raw Spinach
Beet Greens
Molasses
Celery
Dried Figs
Carrots
Dried Beans
Chard Leaves
Water Cress
Sauerkraut
Leaf Lettuce
Green Lima Beans
Dried Lima Beans
Rhubarb
Cabbage
Broccoli
Beets
Brussel Sprouts
Green Soy Beans
Cucumber
Parsnip
Radishes
Rutabagas
Dried Peas
Mushrooms
Cauliflower
Pineapple
Avocado
Raisins
Dried Dates
Green Beans
Muskmelon
Limes
Sour Cherries
Tangerines
Strawberries
White Potato
Sweet Potato
Grapefruit
Apricot
Lemon
Blackberries
Orange
Tomato
Peach
Raspberries
Banana
Onion
Grapes
Pear
Blueberries
Apple
Watermelon
Green Peas

Acidic Foods:

(in order from most to least damaging)

Scallops
Oysters
Dried Lentils
Sausage
Sardines
Oatmeal
Corned Beef
Lobster
Shrimp
Haddock
Soda Crackers
Codfish
Marconi Spaghetti
Peanut Butter
Chicken
Peanuts
Wheat Germ
Brown Rice
Whole Wheat Flour
Salmon
Beef Steak
Turkey
Barley
Veal Chops
Lamb
White Bread
Wheat Bran
English Walnuts
Lamb Chop
Bacon
Eggs
Whole Wheat Bread
Pork Chop
Honey
Fresh Corn

Neutral Foods:

(no order)

Milk (whole milk in particular)
Butter (unsalted and natural)
Corn Syrup
Sugar
Corn Oil
Olive Oil
Most Vegetable Oils

Now that you know what foods to consume, what about what you drink? Well, I've got something interesting to talk about!

Greens:

Ever heard of Greens? There are a bunch of these drink mixes on the market. Some are better than others, but most get to the point.

A few things to look for in a Greens drink are:

Spirulina
Alphalfa Whole Leaf
Barley Grass Powder
Blue-green Algae (Aphanizomenon flos-aquae)
Acerola
Organic Carrot Juice Powder
Japanese Chlorella
Organic Spinach Powder

Drink products I highly recommend using are Greens Plus and E3Live. (especially E3Live)

Greens drinks raise your Alkaline levels, effortlessly, over the course of 2 weeks to one month. All you need to do is mix it up into a shake with other alkaline fruits/juices and drink it before you consume breakfast.

A good drink mix is:
Strawberries
Blackberries
Blueberries
Raspberries
Fresh Lemon Juice
Fresh Orange Juice
Apple Juice
and 1-2 scoops of your Greens product.

Blend WELL and ENJOY!

Welcome!

2007-09-17T20:49:00.000-04:00

Welcome, everyone! This blog is my own personal informative connection to the world.

I know things. You need to know things. I believe we can help eachother out. ^_^

I will be discussing and providing information about various things... some from my own personal research and education.

I truly you hope you stick around to enjoy the wild ride that this is going to be!!