Diabetes

Last week, I wrote about the hysteria in all the major N.Y. papers about the $500 million Diabetes epidemic in New York City.
I mentioned an article I wrote for www.infinitehealthresources.com Resource Center in 2005. which respected weekly investment paper, Barron’s. Barron’s noted how an investor can and has capitalized on the diabetes epidemic in the U.S.
When billions are to be made from a disease, that is 95% preventable, something is seriously wrong with our society.

Please, read on.

Diabetes
October 28, 2005 by Thomas Affatato

Diabetes Summer 2005 sent home for me, the plight of America’s health and many parts of the Industrialized world. Barrons, the respected financial weekly, which influences Monday morning stock market openings, ran an investment opportunity headline. Diabetes Blues along side the picture of B.B. king, Blues' great. Who appears in diabetes test kit commercials? The article begins with a frightening fact; “Twenty five years from now, as many as 360 million people are likely to be afflicted with diabetes”, a huge increase from current levels, which currently in the United States, average about 18-20 million with type 2 diabetes. The front page ends with this line; “as healthcare companies scramble to help, here’s what investors need to know.” The article then began its lengthy discussion on investment opportunities. Barrons’ has no interest in a diabetes epidemic other than making money. I am in no way criticizing Barron’s. My point here, if Barrons is writing on such a colossal investment opportunity, then you better believe diabetes will attack 360 million people. According to the Harvard School of Public health, worldwide, the number of adults with type 2 diabetes will increase from 135 million in 1995 to 300 million in the year 2005. Barron’s is on the money, excuse the pun.
In the United States, the number of people with diabetes will go from about 14 million in 1995 to 25-30 million in 2005. The numbers mask the real horrors of this disease. Diabetes is the leading cause of blindness and kidney failure among adults. Diabetes causes, mild to severe nerve damage that coupled with diabetes-related circulation problems, often lead to the loss of a leg or foot. Diabetes significantly increases the risk of heart disease. It is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States, directly causing over 60,000 deaths each year.
What is truly incredible, diabetes is largely preventable. That’s right. Probably 90% of all type 2 diabetes is preventable. Nine out of ten cases could be avoided by taking several simple steps: exercise more, eat a HEALTHY DIET, which you can learn more about here at Infinite Health Resources and lastly, don’t smoke.
As the country gets fat and ages, diabetes threatens medical and economic disaster. This epidemic is in the making today, right now, and will cost $200 billion. The peripheral suffering, that which family members go through caring and watching this disease consume their loved ones cannot be calculated. One can be sure, the cost is huge, both emotionally and monetarily.
Forty one million Americans today, are pre diabetes according to the Harvard School of Public Health. More than three of all new cases appear in children and teens for the type 2 diabetes. Ninety percent of all diabetes cases are from obesity, lack of exercise, and poor diet. People, we must get control of our lives and our children’s lives. This information provided here at Infinite Health Resources is not meant just to inform, it is meant to frighten you into action.
We must take control. We must be responsible. It is a change of lifestyle. Start gradually. I guarantee, in a few months you will look and feel better. Infinite Health Resources will help everyone adjust and adopt this lifestyle. There are no diets that will help you, other than a diet prescribed by a licensed medical professional.
Diets do not work they never did and they never will. Diets fail because they are such a dramatic and immediate shift in what you are accustomed to that they become impossible to deal with. Forget Atkins, South Beach, and Weight Watchers.
Visit our menus and get started on the lifestyle that will bring you and your family gradually back to health. The main cause of type 2 diabetes epidemic is fat. The Nurse’s Study over a 25-year period showed obesity caused a 40% increase in the development of type 2 diabetes. Because diabetes increases due to obesity, doctors call it a lifestyle disease.
We at Infinite Health Resources implore you to change that lifestyle. Eliminate saturated fats, trans fats and start exercising. A diet rich in plant food, legumes, whole grains and fruits is the only answer. Nothing else will work.

Type 2 Diabetes

Our cells depend on a single simple sugar, glucose, for most of their energy needs. That's why the body has intricate mechanisms in place to make sure glucose levels in the bloodstream don't go too low or soar too high.
When you eat, most digestible carbohydrates are converted into glucose and rapidly absorbed into the bloodstream. Any rise in blood sugar signals the pancreas to make and release insulin. This hormone instructs cells to sponge up glucose. Without it, glucose floats around the bloodstream, unable to slip inside the cells that need it.
Diabetes occurs when the body can't make enough insulin or can't properly use the insulin it makes. One form of diabetes occurs when the immune system attacks and permanently disables the insulin-making cells in the pancreas. This is type 1 diabetes, once called juvenile-onset or insulin-dependent diabetes. It affects about one million Americans.
The other form (type 2) tends to creep up on people. It takes years to develop into full-blown diabetes. It begins when muscle and other cells stop responding to insulin's open-up-for-glucose signal. The body responds by making more and more insulin, essentially trying to ram blood sugar into cells. Eventually, the insulin-making cells get exhausted and begin to fail. This is type 2 diabetes.

Simple Prevention

Making a few changes can dramatically lower the chances of developing type 2 diabetes. The same changes can also lower the chances of developing heart disease and some cancers.
Control your weight. Excess weight is the single most important cause of type 2 diabetes. Being overweight increases the chances of developing type 2 diabetes seven-fold. Being obese makes you 20 to 40 times more likely to develop diabetes than someone with a healthy weight. Check you weight in our BMI Tool.
Losing weight can help if your weight is above the healthy-weight range. Losing 7-10% of your current weight can cut in half your chances of developing type 2 diabetes.
Get moving. Inactivity promotes type 2 diabetes. Every two hours you spend watching TV instead of pursuing something more active increases the changes of developing diabetes by 14%. Working your muscles more often and making them work harder improves their ability to use insulin and absorb glucose. This puts less stress on your insulin-making cells.
Long bouts of hot, sweaty exercise aren't necessary to reap this benefit. Findings from the Nurses' Health Study and Health Professionals Follow-up Study suggest that walking briskly for a half hour every day reduces the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 30%.
This amount of exercise has a variety of other benefits as well. And even greater
cardiovascular and other benefits can be attained by more, and more intense, exercise.

Mandatory Lifestyle Change

Tune-up your diet. Two dietary changes can have a big impact on the risk of type 2 diabetes.
Choose whole grains and whole-grain products over highly processed carbohydrates. White bread, white rice, mashed potatoes, donuts, bagels, and many breakfast cereals have what's called a high glycemic index. That means they cause sustained spikes in blood sugar and insulin levels. Carbohydrates that aren't as easily digested cause lower, slower increases in blood sugar and insulin. As a result, they stress the body's insulin-making machinery less, and so help prevent type 2 diabetes. Such foods have a low glycemic index. Examples include whole wheat, brown rice, other whole grains, most beans and nuts, and whole grain breakfast cereals.

Choose good fats instead of bad fats. The types of fats in your diet can also affect the development of diabetes. Good fats, such as the polyunsaturated fats found in tuna, salmon, liquid oils, such as olive and canola, and many nuts, can help ward off type 2 diabetes. Trans fats do just the opposite. These bad fats are found in many margarines, packaged baked goods, fried foods in most fast-food restaurants, and any product that lists "partially hydrogenated vegetable oil" on the label. If you already have diabetes, eating fish can help protect you against a heart attack or dying from heart disease.

If you smoke, try to quit. Add type 2 diabetes to the long list of health problems linked with smoking. Smokers are 50% to 90% more likely to develop diabetes than nonsmokers.
Alcohol now and then may help. A growing body of evidence links moderate alcohol consumption with reduced risks of heart disease. The same may be true for type 2 diabetes. Moderate amounts of alcohol - a drink a day for men, a drink every other day for women-increases the efficiency of insulin at getting glucose inside cells. And some studies indicate that moderate alcohol consumption decreases the risk of type 2 diabetes. If you already drink alcohol, the key is to keep your consumption in the moderate range. If you don't drink alcohol, there's no need to start you can get the same benefits by losing weight, exercising more, and changing your eating patterns.

In Summary

The most efficient way to prevent type 2 diabetes, and it is preventable, is this: STAY SLIM AND LEAN AND GET ACTIVE. Your life depends on it.
Please view our articles on “Obesity and Healthy Weight” and check out our Health Tools.

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For more information on this preventable epidemic, diabetes, go to: http://www.infinitehealthresources.com/Store/Resource/Cat/1-4-8/3.html

New York Post, Monday, July 23rd, 2007

New York Post, Monday, July 23rd, 2007

Headlines for every major newspaper reprinted the findings published in the journal, “Circulation,” that folks who drank one soda a day had about a 50% higher risk of metabolic syndrome, excessive fat around the waist, lowers good cholesterol levels, high blood pressure and things of that nature.
Well, we did it again at www.infinitehealthresources.com. We wrote much about this other nasty condition that soda has an impact on our body.
First of all, with all the hoopla about drink your milk for a great source of calcium for strong bones – forget it – no country in the world drinks more milk than in the USA and we have the highest bone fracture rate in the world.

Soda, all soda contains phosphoric acid. This dandy ingredient causes calcium depletion in our bones at an incredible rate. The calcium leaves our body through our urine.
Soda contains high fructose corn syrup. This miracle made ingredient was a food manufacturer’s dream come true. HFC suppresses a hormone that signals the brain it has eaten enough. Never mind that it is grain with genetically modified corn seeds. God knows what the heck is going on in there.
Drink lemon water, real water with real lemon added.

WAKE UP AMERICA!

Thomas Affatato, www.infinitehealthresource.com

New York Post Wednesday, July 25, 2007

New York Post Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Page 2 of the New York Post headlined the $500 million diabetic shock for New York City. My website www.infinitehealthresources.com has several articles dedicated to this dreaded disease. I wrote a piece whose idea came from Barron’s, the Wall Street king of financial papers, how an investor can parlay this epidemic into some serious bucks.

My articles noted have Blacks and Hispanics are disproportionately affected. I can tell you this – Big Corp Food and Big Corp Pharma are making a killing on the backs of the Black and Hispanic populations throughout America.
However, wake up Black and Hispanic America. You’ve got no one to blame but yourselves. Start eating vegetables and fruits.
Fast food just ain’t gonna cut it.

Then as if by script. The New York Post Thursday, July 26th, 2007 page 2 claims presidential hopeful Mrs. Clinton and a few other New York City politicians are asking for $120 million to combat the $500 million cost to treat diabetes. I have the answer! All the minority areas, but hardest by this preventable dreaded disease should have McDonald’s, Burger King, Jack in the Box, Church’s Fried Chicken and KFC closed and banned within 5 miles of any Black and Hispanic neighborhood. Wait a minute! That should be 5 miles out of the city limits. That would of course mean less campaign donations from Big Food Corp and Big Pharma. Oh well! What can I say, I’ve always been a dreamer.

Thomas Affatato, www.infinitehealthresources.com

I have had the pleasure of writing for the Fight Girls, featured on Oxygen TV, on eating healthy. The complete article could not be posted to the Fight Girls Oomph website due to its size. I found it difficult to write a brief article for the Fight Girls to eat healthy and any other fight girl out there. So I have posted it here for you all to read. At www.infinitehealthresources.com there is plenty more where this came from.

Fight To Stay Fit

Building a fit, healthy body and focusing on a nutrition plan is harder today than it was fifty to seventy-five years ago.

Obesity, Obesity, Obesity. That is all we hear. The diet business is a multi billion-dollar business with thousands of diets that have no one plan that actually works. These thousands of diet plans fail to provide one basic element common sense eating. Common sense and a little education about food can last a lifetime. However, the diet industry would no longer be a billion dollar industry. So forget about any revelations from them.

So, I am going to give it to you straight, fast and simple. This plan works. I know, my family, wife and four children eat and live this way, always. Obesity, sickness and pharmaceutical drugs are practically non-existent in our home. I could easily right 300 pages on the subject. These brief words about many food topics hopefully inspire you to act and learn more and do more.

The U.S.D.A., (United States Department of Agriculture) provides us with a food pyramid consisting of dairy and meats and having the heaviest concentration at the top with fruits, and grains. Ironically, some of the healthiest people and longest living people in the world have a food pyramid completely inverse to ours. They are the people of the Mediterranean and Asia.

The Mediterranean diet gets a lot of hype in many health magazines. However, this fabulous diet gets little attention in the U.S. mainstream media.

The people of the Mediterranean, Italians, Greeks and French have the second longest lifespan after Japan. Japan, by the way, does not view our food pyramid as life sustaining like their Mediterranean food loving partners.

One has to say, why is this? Well, the U.S.D.A. receives hundreds of millions of dollars from the meat and dairy industries, towards funding for the U.S.D.A.’s daily operations. After all, the U.S.D.A. is there to regulate and maintain the dairy and meat industry. Why shouldn’t those industries pay for all those salaries? The controversy exists, however, as to the favorable status given to those good will industries by the U.S.D.A.

Let me begin with dairy, milk.

We are the largest milk-consuming nation in the world. Yet, our elderly female population has the highest hip fracture ratio than any other non-dairy consuming nation. I thought milk made strong bones! Well, the fact of the matter is, we have been mislead by the American Dairy Council.

The Italians, Greeks, French and Japanese drink little milk. Hip Fractures are minimal in postmenopausal woman compared to their American counterparts. However, the Italian and French do consume cheese. Every ounce of cheese is equal to and 8oz glass of milk. However, they don’t eat cheese everyday. The Mediterranean diet is rich in nuts, vegetables and fish, which contain calcium. In addition, a half hour a day in the sun and some strong physical activity help to build strong bones. The sun’s natural vitamin D is the vitamin that allows the body to absorb the calcium it has consumed.

If you must drink milk or think I am crazy, please drink organic milk-no fat organic milk preferably. Our dairy cows are given such large quantities of drugs-BGH, Bovine Growth Hormone, and anti-biotics – that the benefit of drinking any milk is not worth the health risk. Many children and African Americans are dairy intolerant and often misdiagnosed by many physicians. Pediatricians have found an animal protein in cow’s milk that can actually cause calcium depletion when digested and released through urine.Please note – soda contains phosphorous. Phosphorous depletes bones of calcium. Lose the soda.
Source: Don’t Drink Your Milk: Dr. Frank A. Oski, MD

Let’s talk about meat.

The majority of 500 million or so cows in North America are fed the body organs of other cows. That’s right, and the U.S.D.A allows this. As a result, these animals are given massive amounts of drugs and antibiotics. Before slaughter they are taken off the drugs two to three days to allow the animals to dissipate the toxins before entering the slaughterhouse and our food system. By the way, the U.S.D.A. and FDA approve the levels of drugs considered acceptable. Ever wonder why we have human infections that are immune to many antibiotic drugs dispensed in our hospitals? Infection is the second leading cause of death in an American hospital after malpractice.

Meat provides protein and folic acid. Folic Acid is lacking in a vegetarian diet. Protein is abundant in legumes (beans), fish such as salmon and sardines, which are packed with EFA’s, Essential Fatty Acids, the omega 3, 6 and 9, necessary for excellent cardiac and vascular health as well as healthy body joints and mind. Folic acid can be derived from fortified whole grain cereals.

When eating meat, keep it to once a week. Regular meat consumption can slow down bowel movements. Bowel movements should be no less than once a day, preferably two to three times per day. Please note that all disease originates in the colon. The digestive process and nutrient extraction take place here. When we are not regular, toxins get released through the intestinal wall into our bloodstream and cause us harm, lack of energy and enhance harmful free radical growth, which is the foundation of cancer.

Grilled chicken – the most cancerous meat of all. Sorry to inform the many chicken lovers of this fact. All grilled meat has some level of carcinogenic content. Grilled chicken is the worst.

Grilled Chicken Contains Cancer-Causing Compounds

Health-conscious consumers have long steered clear of the fat and cholesterol in fried chicken. But grilled chicken may be even worse. Cancer-causing chemicals called heterocyclic amines (HCAs) have been found in chicken, and the very highest concentrations occur when it is grilled.

Fried chicken is every bit as bad as you thought: A KFC chicken breast harbors 135 milligrams of cholesterol and gets more than half its calories from fat. A typical KFC chicken breast holds 400 calories and 24 grams of fat, including 6 grams of saturated fat, the type associated with high cholesterol levels, breast cancer and insulin resistance. And you don’t want to eat chicken undercooked. At retail stores, salmonella and campylobacter are commonly found on chicken products. These live bacteria easily transfer to cooking surfaces, utensils and hands and can cause a serious intestinal illness. Many consumers have imagined that grilled chicken is a healthier option. But scientific evidence suggests that, when it comes to cancer risk, grilled chicken could be among the worst choices.

Source : Jennifer Reilly, R.D.
www.pcrm.org

Okay. Let’s talk about the diet that will rocket any competitor to the top of their game.

Organic foods need some explaining. Though organic foods are not widely available, you should seek it out whenever possible. Organic simply means a food is grown or an animal is raised without the use of pesticides, herbicides, fertilizer and chemical laden feed or genetically modified feed. In addition to this, crops are rotated to preserve the soil, thereby preserving the natural nutrients found in the soil.

Corporate farming is grown year round and depletes the soil of vital nutrients. A non-organic head of broccoli vs. an organic head of broccoli contains up to 50% less nutrients than its organic equivalent. Organic food may cost more but you will benefit greatly from it. Also, organic food tastes better. Try it and see for yourself.

Conventional foods that contain all those chemicals are a drag on your body. The toxins found in these foods put stress on the body and all of its parts. By eliminating these toxins, our energy level skyrockets as well as all our senses. One must wonder why is it we have the highest cancer rates in the Western World?

Lastly, eat your veggies and fruits any way you can get them.

The argument that Americans are living longer holds true for the folks born in the 1920s, thirties, forties and maybe the fifties. Why? Well, these people did not have McDonalds, Burger King and Apple Bees. These folks ate a well balanced diet. Many ate the food grown from their backyards. This country was largely filled with immigrants from Europe. These people brought those customs and recipes with them. The average man today at age 45 is on at least one pharmaceutical drug, if not, two. By the time he is 55 he will be on four to six pharmaceutical drugs. Why? Because the side effects from pharmaceutical drug use is to give you more drugs to counter-act these effects. Few medical practitioners will never recommend treating disease with proper dieting. They are taught no to do this. By the way, many medical colleges are recipients of hundreds of millions of dollars annually from the pharmaceutical industry.

So, getting back to that 55-year-old man, will he make it to eighty or ninety? Time will tell. It is impossible to feel your best while toxicity from pharmaceutical drug use permeates your body. A forty-five year-old man on life long drugs, such as cholesterol and high blood pressure, deteriorates his health. What kind of shape will that person be in at age seventy-five after twenty-five to thirty years of daily drug use? If illegal drugs cut life short, how can legal drugs extend life?

The people of the United States have forgotten how to cook and eat well. That is it. Period. It is never too late to change ones unhealthy lifestyle to a healthy lifestyle.

Begin by reading labels on the products you purchase to eat at your local supermarket. When I was a young boy, thirty to forty years ago, the average supermarket had eight to ten aisles. Today’s supermarket has no less than twenty-four aisles. I can tell you this as a fact. Eighty percent of what is sold in today’s supermarket is bad for our health. The food industry has created so many products the last thirty to forty years to satisfy corporate shareholders. WE are slowly dieing from all the choices available.

High Fructose Corn Syrup

A food manufacturer’s dream came true by inventing High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) – that was developed by a scientist. HFCS neutralizes a chemical receptor in the brain called leptin that receives a signal from the stomach that it is full and to stop eating. Add in the fact that it is a genetically modified seed with built in pesticides by Monsanto and you have the beginning of our obesity epidemic. Coincidence - maybe? HFCS is in every product that contained real sugar. Read the labels. It is in English muffins, breadcrumbs, soda, pancake syrup and regular breads. The list can go on and on.

FD&C Food Coloring Red, Yellow and others. Put it back on the shelf. Poison!

Hydrogenated vegetable oil is another boon to the food industry. This chemical lengthens the shelf life of foods. It is also found in just about everything. This ingredient by itself could survive a nuclear war. There is no end to its life in a solid state.

Let me make one thing perfectly clear. You will never be in any kind of good condition if fast food is part of your diet. However, you can reward yourself on the weekends. A little junk as one or two meals over the weekend can be your reward for living well the other five to six days a week.

Eat to Live.

Start your day with and switch it up every other day with whole grain cereals and berries, organic oat bran cereal with blueberries or strawberries. Other days have an egg sandwich, no cheese or bacon, on whole grain bread. Never eat white bread again for the rest of your life.

White flour has all its nutrients removed and the nutrients are then added back in. This is called enriching. Enriched bread - lose it! Also, white bread is high on the glycemic index. No one should ever be eating high glycemic foods.

Mid morning snack should always be fruits such as granny smith apples and more berries. Lunch should be a vegetable dish with beans such as chickpeas, kidney beans, and soybeans and pasta. Stay hydrated all day – eight maybe ten 8oz. glasses of water.

Dinner is a fish with vegetables. Dinner is also another vegetable with beans and pasta. Forget low carb. I eat pasta two times a day everyday. That goes for my entire family. I lost thirty pounds three years ago and have not looked back. Every dinner should be followed by a salad – Romaine Lettuce. You may add cucumbers and tomatoes. The dressing should be oil and vinegar, balsamic vinegar, or oil and lemon. Drink lemon water with your dinner. It is refreshing and helps clean your blood.

The after dinner salad is an absolute must for digestion and bowel movement. Romaine lettuce is loaded with vital nutrients and calcium as well.

Almonds are a great 9 p.m. snack. I roast mine a little bit. No salt. It is a great source of calcium and fiber. Very filling as well.

Always cook with extra virgin olive oil. Canola oil is okay for frying because it smokes at a higher temperature therefore it cooks faster. It is okay to use extra virgin olive oil for everything. You shouldn’t be frying very much. Get in the habit of cooking fresh lunch every morning. Pack lunch, save money.

If you rotate ten to twelve recipes shown on our website and tips on cooking it can get you started today to live life. You will need to reach your maximum level of strength, endurance, determination and spiritual power. Visit www.infinitehealthresources.com. click on recipes and take it from there. Find out what a serving really is. Learn how to cook.

Please remember. Always go organic whenever possible. Remember this also. Get your veggies and fruits any way you can.

What you put on your body is just as important as what you put in it. Cosmetics are loaded with toxins. Use non-toxic cosmetics. Underarm creams, deodorants and feminine sprays can be loaded with chemicals. Breast cancer is through the roof. All the walking and marching in the world will not stop this nightmare. Individually we can all make a difference. Knowledge is power. Live well, never stop learning. Avoid chemicals in every way humanely possible.

Good luck and good health!

Sincerely,Thomas Affatato
www.infinitehealthresources.com

Referencesr. Earl Mindells, Unsafe at any Meal
Food For Life, Dr. Neal Barnard, MD
What’s In Your Cosmetics, Aubrey Hampton
The Cancer Project, www.cancerproject.org

Farmer’s Market

Farmer’s Market

A good friend who appreciates what we do and offer at http://www.infinitehealthresources.com/ passed on an article from Crain’s New York about how one woman can make a great deal of difference for a community.
I have written many articles for our website located in our resource center about childhood nutrition and health. Well, here is a person that is actually helping.

Read on,

Farm goes to market
The growing popularity of green markets is not lost on Liz Neumark, chief executive of Tony Catering firm Great Performances and owner of year-old Katchkie Farm.
Capitalizing on the fresh-food trend, Katchkie this week replaces Central Harlem CSA as the main vendor at the green market at PS 180 in Harlem, which has provided fresh produce to parents of students since 2005. The school’s relationship with Katchkie began when it started sending students on field trips to the farm to learn about nutritious food and cooking.
Katchkie has also inked a deal to sell produce at the green market in Rockefeller Center on Wednesday s in July and August.
Next on Ms. Neumark’s plate, bottled organic ketchup. Katchkie will introduce a line as soon as the tomatoes ripen on the vine, Ms. Neumark says. “It’s going to have flavor,” she promises. Last year, the farm launched Thunder Pickles.

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Statistics show 6 of ten African Americans are obese and 5 of ten Hispanics are obese. Childhood type 2 Diabetes is epidemic. Katchkie and others like her are making a difference. We as individuals are the ones to change the unhealthy diets of America’s youth.

To learn more about healthy living, recipes and products visit http://www.infinitehealthresources.com/
Sincerely,Thomas Affatato

Blue Planet Run

Wired Magazine had a full page add for the Blue Planet Run Foundation.Philanthropist, Jin Zidell created the Blue Planet Run Foundation to create awareness that hundreds of millions of people do not have safe drinking water. A resource we take for granted.

Unsafe Drinking water kills 6,000 people a day. Hundreds of millions of men, women and children in Africa, Afghanistan, India and other parts of Asia, Central and South America live in communities where water is scarce or contaminated, or both. Furthermore, it is likely their responsibility to find a safe source, whatever the distance or terrain.
How do we create global awareness of the world’s safe drinking water crisis mobilize citizens of the world to solve the problem – today? This is the mission of the Blue Planet Run Foundation.

Where There’s A Well, There’s A Way
In 2002, industrialist and philanthropist Jin Zidell created the Blue Planet Run Foundation to cooperatively provide safe drinking water to 200 million people for the rest of their lives by the year 2027.
Since 2004, the U.S. based foundation has funded 11 non-governmental organizations worldwide which have in turn implemented 135 sustainable water projects in 13 countries including Nicaragua, Bolivia, Sierra Leone, Kenya and India, impacting 100,000 lives.

The Foundation’s signature awareness and fundraising event is the Blue Planet Run®, the first ever around the world relay run.
As presenting sponsor of the 2007 Blue Planet Run®, the Dow Chemical Company is helping to improve the quality of people’s lives by focusing on the most basic human need – safe drinking water.
With science, research & development, new products and the Human Element, The Dow Chemical Company pledges to contribute solutions for some of the most serious problems faced by the most vulnerable members of the larger human family: affordable and adequate food supply; decent housing; improved personal health and safety; and sustainable water supplies.

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Visit http://www.infinitehealthresources.com/ and visit the health store to learn more about clean water. Click on water filters and learn more how even here in the U.S. your drinking water may not be as safe as you think.

U.S. is Falling Short

New York PostJuly 17th, 2007

U.S. is Falling Short

It seems our poor eating habits are making us shrink.
Height is correlated with numerous measures of a population’s well being. Tall people are healthier, wealthier and livelonger than short people.It’s not that being tall actually makes you smarter, richer, or healthier. It’s that the same thing that make you tall – nutritious diet, good prenatal care and a healthy childhood – also benefit you in those other ways. That makes height a good indicator for economists who are interested in measuring how well a nation provides for its citizens during their time of prim growing years.
John Komlos, an economic historian at the University of Munich who has spent the last quarter-century compiling data on the heights of nations. "Obviously, America is not doing badly. It's not at the level of developing nations," Komlos said. "But it's also not doing as well as it could." His latest research paper, published in the June issue of Social Science Quarterly, suggests the blame may lie with America's poor diet and its expensive, inequitable health-care system. "American children might consume more meals prepared outside of the home, more fast food rich in fat, high in energy density and low in essential micronutrients," wrote Komlos and co-author Benjamin Lauderdale of Princeton University. "Furthermore, the European welfare states provide a more comprehensive social safety net including universal health-care coverage."
America used to be the tallest country in the world. From the days of the Founding Fathers right on through the industrial revolution and two world wars, Americans towered over other nations. But America's predominance in height has faded. Americans reached a height plateau after World War II, gradually falling behind the rest of the world. By the 1960s, most northern and western European countries had caught up with and surpassed the United States. Young adults in Japan and other prosperous Asian countries now stand nearly as tall as Americans do. Even residents of East Germany are taller than Americans today. In Holland, the tallest country in the world, the typical man now measures 6 feet, a good two inches more than his average American counterpart. Compare that to 1850, when the situation was reversed. Not just the Dutch but also all the nations of Western Europe stood 2½ inches shorter than their American brethren.
People, wake up and smell the coffee.
Obesity, diabetes, increased bone fractures and now stunted growth.Somebody save the children!Parents must start to cook at home. I do not mean hot dogs and cheeseburgers. Ten bucjs can feed a family of four with power packed nutrients and you can have doubles and lose weight.

Visit www.infinitehealthresources.com and click on recipes.

Stop That Noisy Polluting Mower

Stop That Noisy Polluting Mower

The August Issue of Wired had a great little piece on noise making, air-polluting mowers vs. the new electric, and quiet earth friendly next generation mower.
Here’s the scoop…

Silent Green
That new Prius may impress your eco-fascist neighbors, but your noisy gas mower? It spews as much pollution in an hour as 11 cars. That’ll never get you on Al Gore’s Christmas card list. To help you clean up your lawn care act, we pushed the latest electric mowers more than 3 miles. That’s a lot of yard.

Sunlawn EM-2
$379 – www.sunlawn.com
Don’t be put off by the Sunlawn’s throwback appearance. It’s motor driven reel blades chopped down 4-inch-tall grass with gusto and 8-inch weeds in two passes – mowing a third of an acre on a single charge. Best of all, at 39 pounds it was the lightest cordless lawn razor in our test, requiring minimal effort to out around.
Wired: Handle pivots into a vertical position for storage, taking up about half the floor space of a standard mower. Sealed lead acid batteries are readily available, cheap and a snap to replace.
Tired: Tiny grass catcher means frequent emptying; you’ll ditch it on larger lawns. Setting blade height involves two separate adjustments.

Black & Decker 24V CMM1200
$400 – www.blackanddecker.com
It looks like a traditional gas model and decimates overgrown brush with ease. But with great power comes great back pain: B&D’s grass chopper is frickin’ heavy – 76 pounds! We were psyched when its battery gave out after only a quarter acre; we were already sore.
Wired: Activation lever simple to operate. Spring assisted deck height adjustment doesn’t require Popeye arms to operate.
Tired: Permanently installed battery limits lifespan. Safety key tricky to use, rendering it not only childproof but adultproof. Expensive.

Cub Cadet CC 500 EL
$229 – www.cubcadet.com
With a heavy steel deck and brawny wheels, the Cub Cadet is the Hummer of the bunch. It delivered the most power by far, cutting 10-inch grass without slowing down. But its 51 pounds of corded girth made human frailty the limiting factor: We couldn’t push very fast.
Wired: Comfortable handle. Grass catcher a cinch to empty. Clever angled bottom stays clear of the ground during wheelie turns.
Tired: Corded. Lifting the heavy deck with the one handed height adjustment lever feels like pumping iron.

Worx WG712
$219 – www.worxpowertools.com
The Worx is beautiful, and it cut smoothly, leaving less pronounced stripes than the heavier models in our test. But the handle’s wonky angle had our forearms aching in minutes. Also the rigid grass catcher scraped the ground when we tilted back, complicating turns.
Wired: Light – 40 pounds. Simple cut height setting prevents lawn scalping. Folding handle makes the Worx easy to pick up or stow away.
Tired: Ergonomically challenged. Replacements for custom wheels tough to find; how fly will your mower look with mismatched rims?

Alternate Health Magazine July/August 2007 Issue

Alternate Health Magazine
July/August 2007 Issue

Green, earth friendly talk and hype are ubiquitous.

Here I found something I wanted to share with my readers. I have also included the web site URLs to find out more information.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle…Reward!

Each week you diligently drag your recycling bins full of bottles, cans and newspapers down to the curb. Yet you notice that most neighbors fail to do the same. To reverse the recycling slump, Philadelphia based company RecycleBank teamed up with city waste haulers in 2005 and raised the number of recycling households in one neighborhood from an abysmal 7 percent to a healthy 90 percent. How? By offering customers RecycleBank Dollars – a currency that’s good at Whole Foods, Borders bookstores, EMS, Starbucks, and many other national and local retailers – just for recycling. It’s free to join, and you can earn up to $35 a month for eco-efforts. People in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware have so far spared more than 66,000 trees and 4 million gallons of oil through the program, and folks in Vermont, Massachusetts and New York will soon be able to do the same – all while cashing in on their new-found virtue. Learn more at www.recyclebank.com.

Preserve cutting board
Cut veggies on paper. Yes, paper. Recycline Inc.’s PaperStone Certified, 100 percent post-consumer–recycled paper cutting boards are certified by the Forest Stewardship Council and come in two sizes—8 inches by 12 inches and 10 inches by 16 inches. They’re nonporous and dishwasher safe, too.
$24 and $32; www.recycline.com

The omop
The ergonomic, all-purpose mop from Method could help make a dent in landfill size. The mop pad is washable and reusable up to 50 times. The sweeping cloths are made from compostable corn-based polymers. And it comes with biodegradable cleaning fluid.
$30 for the omop all-floor starter kit; www.methodhome.com

The EcoSpongeConventional
synthetic sponges are made from either wood pulp, which encourages deforestation, or polyurethane, which can emit formaldehyde. Adding to the environmental impact, experts recommend replacing kitchen sponges every one to two weeks. Pacific Dry Goods’ EcoSponge is washable and dryer safe, so you can use it again and again.
Starting at $2.50; www.pacificdrygoods.com

Skin Friendly Sunscreen

Skin Friendly Sunscreen

Our health store does not carry a large inventory of sunscreens. I thought I would share with our readers information on 6 or 7 sunscreens that I would use for my family.

First a little education on SPF ratings.

The ABCs of SPFs

When reading sunscreen labels, pay attention pay attention to the sun-protection factor, typically listed as SPF plus a number. A product with an SPF 15 (the minimum recommended by the Skin Cancer Foundation) will block about 93 percent of UVB rays – the ones that cause tanning and burning. SPF 30 will block about 97 percent, and even lotions with an SPF of 50 or higher probably block no more than 99 percent, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation. “Higher doesn’t necessarily mean better,” says Joel L. Cohen, MD, chair of patient education for the American Society of Dermatologic Surgery. “Because to get that higher SPF number, the product may contain a higher concentration of potentially irritating chemical ingredients.”The other caveat? SPF refers only to the amount of protection you’re getting from UVB rays. While ample proof exists that UVA rays do just as much damage to skin—causing signs of premature aging as well as raising the risk of skin cancer—knowing exactly how much protection you’re getting from UVA rays remains elusive. Hedge your bets by looking for a sunscreen that promises “broad spectrum” protection, which means it contains ingredients that filter out both UVA and UVB rays. How you apply sunscreen is just as important as what you apply. According to the recommendations of the Skin Cancer Foundation, you need to apply a full ounce of sunscreen to protect your entire body adequately, and you need to put it on about 30 minutes before heading outdoors so the ingredients can bind with your skin. For a day outdoors, reapply about every two hours—more often if you take frequent dips or sweat profusely.

Alba Botanica Mineral Sunscreen
Also fragrance free, this new, titanium dioxide – based lotion does not contain controversial ultrafine nanoparticles. It’s also formulated with organic lavender and aloe to smooth sun-exposed skin.
SPF 18 ($9.95, http://www.albabotanica.com/)

Derma e Anti-Aging Moisturizing ComFlex
This light, easy-to-blend sunscreen can be worn day or night. Green tea, olive oil and cucumber extract enrich this versatile moisturizer.
SPF 15 ($19.50, http://www.dermae.net/)

Lavera Kids Plant-Green Sun Spray
Colored with a fast-fading green pigment so you can track application, this waterproof, biodegradable sunscreen needs no advance application and does not hold up under water.
SPF 25 ($26.50, http://www.lavera.com/)

All Terrain Performance Sun Block AquaSport
Designed for dunking and splashing, this sunscreen is one of the hardiest sunscreens we reviewed. All Terrain recently reformulated to remove all parabens from their line of sun protection for outdoor enthusiasts.
SPF 30 ($9.99, http://www.allterrainco.com/)

Erbaviva Sunscreen
Erbaviva’s baby line, eschewing all synthetic ingredients, is safe for children and adults alike. Lightly scented with organic essential oils of lavender and chamomile.
SPF 15 ($28, http://www.erbaviva.com/)

Ole Henriksen Sun-light Protection Crème with Green Tea
Formulated specifically for dry skin, this shea butter-based crème includes green tea and grape seed oil, powerful antioxidants believed to slow the aging process.
SPF 30 ($28, http://www.olehenriksen.com/)

Nature’s Gate Be Solective Sunscreen for Face
A sunscreen created for delicate facial skin that offers UVA/UVB protection plus anti-aging complex derived from walnuts.
SPF 30 ($14.99, http://www.natures-gate.com/)

Dr. Hauschka Sunscreen Stick
Take care of you lips, nose and ears with this heavy-duty, lifeguard-style protection. Doesn’t blend in without some work, but will make you look like an outdoors aficionado.
SPF 30 ($14.95, http://www.drhauschka.com/)

Chicken And Cancer

This article was penned by a Registered Dietician for the Physicians Committee For Responsible Medicine. An outstanding organization whom I regularly donate to. Here you have a 100,000 doctors from around the country fighting for animal rights against big pharma and medical institutions. Teaching people how to medicate yourself with FOOD. That's right food. This article should be a wakeup call to many. However, you can grill your chicken. Just marinate it well and long flip it often.

Grilled Chicken Contains Cancer-Causing Compounds
Health-conscious consumers have long steered clear of the fat and cholesterol in fried chicken. But grilled chicken may be even worse. Cancer-causing chemicals called heterocyclic amines (HCAs) have been found in chicken, and the very highest concentrations occur when it is grilled. Fried chicken is every bit as bad as you thought: A KFC chicken breast harbors 135 milligrams of cholesterol and gets more than half its calories from fat. A typical KFC chicken breast holds 400 calories and 24 grams of fat, including 6 grams of saturated fat, the type associated with high cholesterol levels, breast cancer, and insulin resistance.And you don’t want to eat chicken undercooked. At retail stores, salmonella and campylobacter are commonly found on chicken products. These live bacteria easily transfer to cooking surfaces, utensils, and hands and can cause a serious intestinal illness. Many consumers have imagined that grilled chicken is a healthier option. But scientific evidence suggests that, when it comes to cancer risk, grilled chicken could be among the worst choices.
Higher Cancer Rates
Researchers have known for years that meat-eaters have higher cancer rates, compared with people who avoid meat. Experts now know that grilling meat, especially chicken, produces carcinogenic HCAs. HCAs are formed from the creatinine, amino acids, and sugar found in muscle tissue. More HCAs are produced by long cooking times and hot temperatures, which make grilling, pan frying, and oven broiling particularly dangerous cooking methods. In January 2005, the federal government added HCAs to its list of carcinogens. But many Americans remain unaware that these compounds lurk in cooked meat. As known mutagens, HCAs can bind directly to DNA and cause mutations, the first step in the development of cancer. Grilling is also problematic because when fat from meat drips onto an open flame, carcinogens called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) form and are deposited back onto the meat through smoke.Scientists have discovered more than 16 different HCAs. One type commonly found in grilled meats is PhIP, which has been on California’s list of cancer-causing chemicals for more than a decade. Scientists have not determined a safe consumption level of PhIP, meaning that any amount is believed to potentially increase cancer risk. Recent studies have shown that the consumption of well-done meat, which contains PhIP and other HCAs, is associated with an increased risk for colon, rectal, esophageal, lung, larynx, pancreatic, prostate, stomach, and breast cancer, and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. In a recent review of 30 epidemiologic studies on the link between eating well-done meat and cancer at various sites, 80 percent of the studies showed a positive correlation. HCAs have also been specifically linked to colorectal cancer: One review found that high cooking temperature increased colon cancer risk almost twofold and increased risk for rectal cancer by 60 percent.HCAs are not the only cancer risk that comes from eating meat. Countries with a higher fat intake, especially fat from animal products, have a higher incidence of breast cancer. One hypothesized reason is that low-fiber, high-fat foods increase the amount of estrogen in the bloodstream, which encourages breast cancer cell growth. A similar phenomenon can occur when men eat high-fat fare, leading to a higher risk of prostate cancer. The consumption of meat and other fatty foods is strongly linked to colon cancer. Recent studies have shown that red meat—even red meat cooked at a low temperature—can increase colon cancer risk by as much as 300 percent.
Avoiding HCAs
These facts seem to pose a dilemma for poultry-eating consumers. Cook chicken too little and you could easily end up with a bacterial infection. Turn up the heat enough to kill the bacteria, and you may create cancer-causing compounds. Here’s the answer: Instead of meat products, try grilling up a homemade veggie burger or vegetable and tofu kebobs. Choosing plant-based foods can lower cancer risk in other ways as well. Not only are plant foods low in fat and high in protective fiber, but they also contain antioxidants and phytochemicals, which have been shown to help prevent cancer.
Source: Jennifer Reilly, R.D. of Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine

TO Many Diets

Dietary Theories
The year 2005 for me was a truly inspirational year. Infinite Health Resources took me places in the world of health, I never knew existed. I have listed below some 95 or so dietary theories. I have not researched or read all 95 theories, and I don’t plan to either. I did read about 15 or so. Of those 15, I came away with one basic fact. A well-rounded diet, low in saturated fat and high in vegetables, fruits and whole grains was the advice of the most notable authors. Funny thing in life. My Italian grandparents’ followed that lifestyle in food some 75 years ago. They had very little education and never read one diet book, they lived a medicine free life to the age of 78 and 79.One fact remains. A well balanced diet of whole foods, with plenty of water, sleep and exercise is the only answer to the dieting craze. It is not about dieting. It is a lifestyle.We at Infinite Health Resources advocate a lifestyle of whole grains, fruits, vegetables (preferably organic), no dairy or very little dairy, and very little saturated fat. Our recipe section gives you some simple meal plans. In addition to the meals in our recipe section add nuts like almonds, walnuts and pumpkin seeds. These are great snacks.Please stay away from processed foods. Please stay away from fast foods. There is absolutely nothing good about this food. This food will bring you down. This food will make you feel lethargic. This food will make you sick. Whole foods, like fruits and vegetables and whole grains will keep your energy levels up. These foods will keep your body fighting those free radicals that are in your body waiting to form into a disease. This is not a diet. This is a lifestyle.Starting is as simple as changing one meal a day the first week or two. Start with breakfast. Lay off the scrambled eggs with cheese and bacon. Go for the bran cereal with strawberries or blueberries. Several weeks later, lay off the cheeseburger deluxe for lunch. Go for the broccoli and beans with pasta or the veggie-wraps. The following week try one of our recipes in our recipe section for dinner. Put aside the soda and diet sodas. They are making your body toxic and feeding the free radicals in your body, which may lead to life threatening diseases.Unless you are on a physician prescribed diet, get rid of those proven to fail diet plans, adopt the lifestyle that is guaranteed to make you feel and look great. The Battle in Your Mind
You will never go beyond the barriers in your own mind. If you think you can’t do something, then you never will. The battle is in your mind. If you are defeated in your mind, you’ve already lost the battle. If you don’t think you have what it takes to rise up and set new standards, it’s not going to happen. Thebattle is in your mind. If you fail to break those barriers of the past, you run the risk of dietary failure.. That is why I list some 95 diet theories. Many of us go around in circles when it comes to proper nutrition. Stop dieting. Start living. Share the lifestyle with the people you love and live well together. Stop spinning your wheels.
Today is A New Day
No matter what you have done in the past, no matter how many setbacks you have suffered to slow your progress, remember, today is a new day, and God wants you to have a new and healthy experience in your life today. He has great things in store for you. Don not let your past determine the future. Think success and you will be successful.
Change Your Self-Image
Consider this: You can change the image you have of yourself. How? Agree with how God sees you. God sees you as strong and courageous, as a man or woman of great honor and valor. Start seeing yourself as God sees you. Quit making excuses. Step up to the plate and go for the upper deck, the grand slam. Are you allowing your weaknesses and insecurities to keep you from being your best? Don not focus on your weaknesses. Focus on the strength God gave us all. See yourself as a winner.You may not be perfect – nobody is! Sure- you’ve got some flaws – we all do! But to be truly free, you must have a healthy respect for yourself in spite of those imperfections. The key to the healthy future is to not be discouraged about past diet failures. Dieting is over. Lose the word from your vocabulary. Enter – lifestyle change. The good thing about lifestyle change is that you can sway from it occasionally. Events such as parties and vacations interfere with lifestyle change, no need to feel guilty. Indulge, don’t overdo it. You will easily go back to good eating habits, because it’s a lifestyle. Remember, buy and eat organic whenever possible. Wash all your fruits and vegetables well. Buying organic will help your body to fight free radical development. Modern agriculture is loaded with pesticides and insecticides. Drink organic green tea and 8-10 glasses of water. Keep your body cleansed and your bowels empty. Eat right and live long. The natural way.
The Many Diet Theories
3-season diet Muslim diet5 elements: fire, water, earth, wood, and metal No fats diet90/10 Peanut butter dietAcid and alkaline diet Perricone prescriptionAnti-carbohydrate diets Prayer dietAyurveda Rainbow dietBody ecology diet Raw foodsBreatharian Road warriors dietBrown rice diet Rotation dietBuddhist diet Schwarzbein dietCabbage soup diet SattvaCandida diet Standard American diet [S.A.D.]Caveman diet StarchetarianChristian diet Starvation dietCleansing and rebuilding Swiss ParadoxDiets don’t work diet The abs dietDr. Phil’s diet The Atkins dietEat more weigh less: Dr. Dean Ornish The blood type dietEvolutionary diet The cron dietFishetarian The forest dietFit for life The four food groups: dairy, meat,French paradox starch, fruits/vegetablesFruitarian The Hawaiian dietGod’s diet The LA shape dietGoddess diet The mayo clinic dietHigh carbohydrates diet The Mediterranean dietHaiku diet The mediter-asian dietHigh fats diet The NYC dietHigh proteins diet The no grain dietIce cream diet The Okinawa programJuicing The origin programKosher diet The over 40 dietLacto-ovo vegetarian The pritikin dietLacto vegetarian The singles dietLiving foods The south beach dietLow carbohydrates diet The zone, 40/30/30Low fats diet Traditional Chinese medicineLow proteins diet USDA healthy eating pyramidMacrobiotics VeganMaker’s diet VegetarianMaster cleanser Water dietMetabolism diets Zen diet
If most of these diets actually worked long term, there would not be 95 of them. There would be 3 - 5 depending on a person's ethical and religious beliefs. Put an end to dieting. Start living – TODAY!Begin your lifestyle change. Please view our many articles on a healthy lifestyle. You will never spend a dime on another diet book, CD or diet food again.Remember, exercise is important. That doesn’t mean a membership at the local gym. A brisk 1-mile walk in the evening is all it takes. Walk up the stairs whenever you can. Stay loose. Stretch out.I walk nightly with my wife. We walk a mile or more to the supermarket. Pick up a few things and walk back home. It’s great. Once your metabolism becomes accustomed to this, you actually burn calories all day.
Remember,always check with your physician before beginning any exercise regimen. Good Health! http://www.infinitehealthresources.com/Store/Products/Home.html

It Is Never To Late

IT’S NEVER TO LATE
So your 45 years old and you did about as much to your insides as one can do without your wife or husband thinking you were suicidal.
I have many friends who believe that the pharmaceutical companies are going to develop the miracle pill so they can welcome the return of their youth and look at themselves in the mirror and say, “Thank you Lord!”
The good news is, if you repent, lay off the booze, quit smoking, and start eating your vegetables, you actually have a pretty good chance of collecting your pension and enjoying it. It will however not be easy - old habits die hard!
It’s not your 401K you should be worried about 20 years from now, it’s your health. The human body is the most complex system known to mankind in the Universe. Treat it good and it will treat you good right back.
Here are a few retirement tips your stock broker won’t give you.
HEALTHY RETIREMENT TIPS
Follow these basic steps to reduce your risk of developing a wide range of deadly conditions or to keep a chronic disease in check. The benefit: A LONG AND HEALTHIER LIFE.
DIET: Lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, lean meats, fish, easy on the sugars and saturated trans fats. Consult your doctor on vitamins and other supplements you may need.
Engage in physical activity at least 3-4 times a week for 30 minutes. It could be walking, raking leaves, or exercise that is more vigorous. Add strength and flexibility exercises into your routine.
SMOKING: DON’T, and if you do, QUIT.
STRESS: Manage or reduce stress with exercise, stretching, relaxation, breathing, or other stress-control techniques.
CHECKUPS: Regular doctor visits and tests that include cholesterol to cancer screenings. By finding diseases or problems early it will make it easier to treat with a healthy diet and lifestyle.
LASTLY, you’ll set a good example for your children. On a personal level, you will feel and look great and find sex at 60 just as fulfilling as it was 30 years earlier. THAT IS WORTH LIVING FOR.