Chiropractic Adjustments Boost Immune Response

Exciting new findings show that chiropractic adjustments may up production of specific immune marker.

As part of the analysis, 74 asymptomatic subjects were divided into three groups: 1) venipuncture control, 2) chiropractic adjustment with cavitation, or 3) chiropractic adjustment without cavitation. Blood samples were obtained from the study participants before the intervention, 20 minutes after the intervention, and again 2 hours after the intervention. Antibody (immunoglobulin) synthesis was conducted in cultures, and then immunoassays were conducted. Findings showed that production of immunoglobulin G and immunoglobulin M was significantly increased in cultures from subjects who received chiropractic adjustments.

Specifically, after 20 minutes immunoglobulin G synthesis was significantly elevated in cultures for subjects who received adjustments with cavitation, compared with cultures from those who received adjustments without cavitaion or control subjects.

And, after 2 hours, “immunoglobulin M synthesis was significantly elevated in subjects who received adjustments with cavitation relative to the venipuncture group. There were no quantitative alterations within the population of peripheral blood B or T lymphocytes in the studied cultures.”

Chiropractic & Osteopathy – September 8, 2010;Epub.

6 Keys To Maximizing Health

6 Keys To Maximizing Health

If we had to sit down and categorize our individual lives, then we all would probably be able to break life down into six separate categories:

• Financial
• Spiritual
• Family
• Marriage
• Personal
• Health

So if I asked any of you the question, “What is the most important of the previous categories?”  What would YOUR answer be?

Health is our number one asset!

Did you know that the United Stated of America ranked an average of 12^th, out of 13 countries, in 16 available health indicators! That’s kind of sad (to say the least) isn’t it? We are supposed to be the leaders of the free world, but how can we be leaders if we aren’t healthy enough to lead?

We are programmed for health, it’s in our DNA. Each of our body’s has an innate intelligence, which is the ability to function in harmony under the proper circumstances. If you cut yourself, your body is able to heal. When you eat a big, juicy steak, your body is able to run the digestion process to break down the meal into its macro and micro nutrients.

What about our development? When a mother is impregnated, a baby doesn’t just magically appear inside her uterus. Development is a process. That process begins with a very simple cell, which then divides to 2, then 4, then 8, and 16, 32, 64 and so on to create an unbelievable, self-healing, self regulating organism, or more simply, us. Well how then, during the developmental period, does the body know what cell is to become a liver cell, which one is destined to be a big toenail, or how about which one is supposed to become heart muscle tissue cells? It all happens the correct way, because that is how we are programmed, that is how our genes are designed to work, that is our internal blueprint.

So if all of our bodies are designed to be healthy, self-regulating, and self healing, why is our country’s health in such dire times? The simple answer is laziness; the more descriptive answer involves 6 key points:

• Exercise
• Diet
• Sleep
• Mental
• Neurological
• Belief

Now let’s break each of these key points down to the basics and really get into the nuts and bolts of how each of us can help prevent disease and maximize health.

1.     Exercise

The dreaded eight letter word. Exercise is essential to living healthier and preventing disease in all of our lives. We need to start moving more to be healthier. You heart is a muscle, and just like your abdominals, if you don’t work it out, you know that deterioration is just around the corner. Anyone who has worked out hard before, only to “take some time off” knows just how hard it is to stay the course at the gym or in the park, but they also know how fast things can revert back to the way they were before working out.

Oxygen is essential, we all know that, but do you realize how essential it is for proper heart function, and for the heart tissues themselves? How about those aching knees or ankles? Joints need motion. It doesn’t have to be squatting with 500lbs on the bar, it just means that the joints need simple weight bearing motion in order to remain functional and at their best.

So how do we incorporate it into our lives. Get our and go for a walk. If you like to run, run; if you like to bike, then bike. 20 minutes of cardiovascular exercise, 5 days a week will not only do wonders for the waist line, but more importantly, it will do wonders for that big pumping muscle inside your chest (the one that keeps all of us going). Exercise can get monotonous, I know, so change your routine often, keep your body guessing, and try working out with a partner. Having someone to walk/run/bike with helps to keep both of you accountable, and makes it a lot easier to go out and Just Do It! (There’s my Nike plug for the year.)

2.     Healthy Eating

Now for the dreaded four letter word. When I am talking about diet, I’m not talking about the Atkins Diet, or the South Beach, or The Abs Diet. I am simply talking about eating healthier. This is about making changes to your regular everyday eating habits that will not only benefit your health in the short term, but more importantly, it will impact your health in the long term.

Simply put, you are what you eat. We all need to increase the fruits and vegetables in our everyday lives. While increasing those, we need to decrease the sugars, the salts, the caffeine, alcohol and tobacco. Just cutting pop (or soda for you folks not from Iowa), you will see an immediate impact on your overall well-being, not to mention your waist line.

Increasing organic foods doesn’t mean eating tofu or becoming a vegetarian. It means that when you go to the grocery store next time, shop the periphery of the store and avoid the aisles. By doing this, you will be increasing your intake of the healthy foods and decreasing the desire to indulge in all the fats, preservatives, and unnatural food products.  The next time you’re cruising down the road, don’t turn into McDonald’s or Burger King. If you really have to eat on the go, hit up a Subway or try and find a healthier alternative.

And finally, throw away the scale. If you change the way you eat, your body will change for the better on the inside AND the outside. Try to avoid dieting, because honestly, DIET = DIE + T, and there really isn’t anything good in there. Your body needs food and nutrients, but only you have the ability to determine which and what is going into yours. Is it going to be the right choice or the wrong? It’s your decision; it’s your health….

3.     Rest

Our bodies need rest. Sleep is the time when all of our bodies are recovering and revitalizing. So go to bed a bit earlier. It’s not going to do anything but help you because there is no such thing as catch-up sleep. So those of you out there that think pulling an all-nighter tonight can be made up for tomorrow are sadly mistaken. Our bodies need 6-8 hours of sleep per night, every night, not just when we can. With improved rest, our thinking becomes clearer, healing times improve and over-all well-being is increased.

So what are some ways to get ample rest? Try meditation or relaxation techniques. Take mini-trips every 4-8 weeks, or simply try to get away for a couple of hours. It’s going to be different for everyone, so just try and find your niche to let your body and mind rest.

4.     Positive Thinking

Attitude is everything! Seems like a simple statement, yet it is so powerful. Positive thinking has a physiological response on all of our bodies. If we think negatively, our bodies respond negatively (poor health or disease), but if we think positive, our bodies respond positively.

The first step is knowing and believing that we, as individuals, are programmed for health. We all need to believe in life and vitality. In my office, we always talk about the three T’s and how they impact health: Thoughts, Traumas and Toxins. Traumas and toxins are pretty self-explanatory, but Thoughts need to be broken down a bit more. Thoughts include stresses, whether it be family, financial, love, or work related. These stresses impact our health directly, and those stresses go to the weak areas of our body causing dis-harmony in our ability to react physically and emotionally. Reduce the stresses and you will see health improve exponentially.

5.     Optimal Nervous System

Your nervous system is the first system formed in development. It gives function to every cell, tissue, gland and organ in your body. Without a properly functioning nervous system, we will cease to exist normally and without health issues (think about Christopher Reeves). When we talk about the nervous system, most people tend to zone out because the conversations tend to include big fancy textbook words. I am going to break it down into a simpler conversation though.

Most people when asked think that their heart is the most important organ in the body. What most don’t realize though is that the heart is an electrical system, controlled by the nervous system. Your brain and spinal cord are the central processing unit of the body. All thoughts and functions begin here as signals and then travel out into the body whether it be moving an arm or controlling digestion. Signals then return to the brain via the nerves in order to show that the function was completed correctly and fully. So what happens if that signal doesn’t get to its destination or doesn’t reach its way back to the brain? Disease, sickness, or dis-harmony results. When there is interference in the systems, dysfunction is the end result. Still not getting it totally? Here is a great analogy: You are standing out in the yard watering your flowers with the hose. The water is flying out of the nozzle at full speed without any problems. Then I come up behind you and start putting a kink into the hose’s line. What happens? The water that is coming out begins to slow, and slow till eventually there is just a trickle or there isn’t anything at all. The flow of water is being interfered with at a particular point. Makes more sense now doesn’t it? So how does Chiropractic tie in? As a Chiropractic Physician, my job is to evaluate and identify those “kinks” in the systems pathways (chiropractic jargon: subluxations) and eliminate them so as to remove the interference (chiropractic jargon: adjustment).

The healthiest people and families are always going to be the ones that are free of nervous system interference.

6.     Change your Beliefs

In order to make the changes necessary to prevent disease and maximize health, you need to know that you can change. Actions are one thing, but to make a change for the better, our minds need to be on the same page and the right path. Be your own leader and take your health and your life into your own hands. Only we, as individuals, can make the necessary changes to our lifestyle and to our ways of approaching health.

So now that we’ve talked about the six main keys to preventing disease (and maximizing health), let’s put it all into a simple conclusion. What can you do to make healthy living easier? You can:

• Plan
• Ask questions/read
• Write out goals for your self
• Start simple and be realistic
• Add good choices before taking away the bad ones
• Add regular exercise, preferably interval training, into your lifestyle at least 3x/week
• Add supplementation to your daily diet to achieve proper nutrition
• Buy some positive thinking CD’s for in the car while driving to work
• Plan a simple getaway
• Stay regular with Chiropractic care and remain interference free with regular Chiropractic adjustments

Tips to Live Healthier

If we look around us at some of the healthiest older people in society, you can see some commonalties among them all. They are conscious of their prescription drug use, they maintain strong social relationships, practice good stress management, have a purpose and passion for life, welcome the challenge of learning, follow a healthy diets, exercise routinely, are spiritually active, gracefully adapt to change with optimism and regularly receive chiropractic care. They can do it…why can’t we? Better questions would be, why wouldn’t we do it?

You can sit, you can wait, and you can wonder…or you can get to work and CHOOSE to be healthier!

“Hidden away in the inner nature of the real man is the law of his life, and someday he will discover it and consciously make use of it. He will heal himself, make himself happy and prosperous, and live in an entirely different world. For he will have discovered that life is from within and not from without.”

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

The BIG IDEA of Chiropractic

A slip on the snowy sidewalk, in winter, is a small thing. It happens to millions.
A fall from a ladder, in the summer, is a small thing. That also happens to millions.
The slip or fall produces a subluxation. The subluxation is a small thing.
The subluxation produces pressure on a nerve. That pressure is a small thing.
The pressure cuts off the flow of mental impulses. That decreased flowing is a small thing.
That decreased flowing produces a dis-eased body and brain. That is a big thing to that man.
Multiply that sick man by a thousand, and you control the physical and mental welfare of a city.
Multiply that man by a million and you shape the physical and mental destiny of a State.
Multiply that man by one hundred thirty million, and you forecast and can prophesy the physical and mental status of a nation.


Now comes a man. Any one man is a small thing.
This man gives an adjustment. The adjustment is a small thing.
The adjustment replaces the subluxation. That is a small thing.
The adjusted subluxation releases pressure upon nerves. That is a small thing.
The released pressure restores health to a man. That is a big thing to that man.
Multiply that well man by a thousand, and you step up physical and mental welfare of a city.
Multiply that well man by a million, and you increase the efficiency of a State.
Multiply that well man by one hundred thirty million, and you have produced a healthy, wealthy, and better race for posterity.
So adjustment of the subluxation, to release pressure upon nerves, to restore mental impulse flow, to restore health, is big enough to rebuild thoughts and actions of the world.

Why Take A Whole Food Supplement?

Why Take A Whole Food Supplement? 

Multi-Vitamin|Probiotics|Vitamin D3|Omega 3|Antioxidants

Many people ask why one needs to take vitamins or minerals in dosages often exceeding the recommended daily allowances?  Among the reasons are depleted soil, low-nutrient crops, food processing and the use of pesticides and herbicides on our crops.  Others include stress, special circumstances like pregnancy, and that we use nutrients for therapy, not just to avoid deficiency diseases.  Let us discuss the topic of nutritional supplements in detail.

FALLACIES OF THE RDAs AND MDRs 

Government bureaucrats meet periodically to decide the levels of the recommended daily allowances (RDA) or minimum daily allowances (MDRs) of common nutrients.  The main criterion is the amount needed to prevent deficiency diseases.  Vitamin C deficiency causes scurvy, vitamin A deficiency causes night blindness, and B1 deficiency causes pellagra.

         While this approach is okay as far as it goes, these recommendations have little to with optimum health.  One of every two Americans will contract cancer and 50% of the population by age 40 have a chronic illness.  In theory, most of these people meet or exceed the RDAs for nutrients.

         The theory of the RDAs ignores more subtle aspects of nutrition such as the effect of vitamin C or zinc on tumor inhibition.  This is much harder to measure, so it is ignored.  The government requires that companies print the percentage of the RDA on each supplement bottle.  This can cause alarm until one understands why the RDAs are inappropriate and often irrelevent.

BIOCHEMICAL INDIVIDUALITY

For optimum health, one needs different concepts of nutrition.  One of these is biochemical individuality.  The term was coined by Dr. Roger Williams to describe his research finding that nutritional needs vary tremendously from person to person.  From this perspective, averages and standards mean very little. I take into account each person's age, sex, weight and health conditions including pregnancy and acute or chronic illnesses.  All these affect one's nutritional requirements.

OTHER REASONS FOR HIGH NUTRIENT DOSAGES

I also recommend higher dosages of certain nutrients for other reasons.  These include:

1) Most people today are born depleted and toxic.  Even if one eats the best food, and one’s health were perfect, most of us are born today with nutritional deficiencies, thanks to deficiencies in our parents.  Both nutrient deficiencies, and toxic metals that require extra nutrients for their removal, are passed from mother to child through the placenta.

2) Today's soil is depleted.   Many soils are low in zinc, manganese, chromium, molybdenum, calcium and magnesium.  This means that although one eats an excellent diet of organic foods, one will not obtain all the nutrients one needs. 

3) High-yield crops are deficient in certain nutrients.  Ten times the amount of wheat is grown on the same land as was grown 100 years ago.  Today's wheat contains about 6% protein whereas 100 years ago it contained 12-14%.  Trace mineral levels are similarly much lower due to high-yield farming methods.

4) Modern fertilizers do not supply enough trace elements.  One hundred years ago, manures were used extensively for fertilizer.  Today, superphosphate fertilizers have largely replaced manures. These contain mainly nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus and are deficient in the trace elements contained in manures.

Superphosphates often act more as growth stimulants.  This has contributed greatly to depletion of the soil and crop minerals.  This includes organically grown food, although it is much better.

5) Pesticides and herbicides kill soil microorganisms and affect the nutrition of the crops. Soil microorganisms are needed to make minerals and other nutrients available to plants.  The result is lower nutrient content.  Also, our bodies require extra nutrients to process pesticide residues that remain inside the foods.

         Many pesticides are deadly chemicals that severely tax the human system.  Some contain lead, arsenic and other toxic metals that slowly accumulate in the body unless and until one follows a health program designed to remove them.

         Our laws currently allow sewage and factory sludge to be sold as fertilizer that contains significant quantities of toxic metals.   These add greatly to our toxic metal burden and require extra nutrients to help remove them from the body.

6) Long-distance transportation of many foods diminishes their nutrition. Many foods are grown thousands of miles from population centers.  They may spend a week on trucks or trains to reach you. 

As soon as a food is harvested, the levels of certain nutrients begins to diminish.  This is another factor that reduces our nutrient intake and increases the need for supplements.

7) Food processing often drastically reduces nutrient content.  Refining of wheat to make white flour removes 80% of its magnesium, 70-80% of its zinc, 87% of its chromium, 88% of its manganese and 50% of its cobalt.

         Refining sugar cane to make white sugar removes 99% of its magnesium and 93% of its chromium. Polishing rice removes 75% of its zinc and chromium.  Canned food may be quite old.  Frozen foods are nutritionally better but not as good as excellent fresh vegetables, meats, dairy and other products. 

8) Food additives can further deplete nutrients.  Thousands of artificial flavors, colors, dough conditioners, stabilizers and preservatives are added to many foods.  While some are harmless and may increase the value of food, many are toxic and can deplete the body of nutrients.  For example, EDTAadded to some frozen vegetables to preserve the color of the vegetable does so by removing vital minerals from the vegetable so it does not “tarnish”.

9) Weakened digestion and resulting poor absorption of nutrients. A result of eating refined, low-quality food with hundreds of food additives is that most people's digestion is impaired.  This further impairs nutrient absorption and increases nutritional needs.  This is why in nutritional balancing programs, everyone is given a digestive aid and liver detoxification supplement.

10) Stressful lifestyles deplete many nutrients including calcium, magnesium and zinc.  Zinc begins to be eliminated from the body within minutes of a stress.  This is why many people have white spots on their fingernails, for example.

Stress causes excessive sympathetic nervous system activity, which reduces digestive strength. This, in turn, reduces nutrient absorption and utilization even further.  Thus, anyone under stress will need even more nutrients than those that live a very peaceful and quite existence.

11) Nutritional Supplements For Healing Illnesses. The use of food extracts, isolates and even synthesized vitamin and mineral supplements for healing is extremely well-documented, even if it is denied by some “health authorities”.  Literally millions of pages of research document the benefits of supplementary nutrient therapy for a wide range of illnesses.

12) Supplements For Mental And Emotional Healing. Many mental, emotional problems and neurological conditions such as depression, anxiety, epilepsy and many others also respond very well to nutrient supplementation programs.

         This is another area of nutrition that is sadly overlooked by the psychological professions as well as by modern psychiatry.  Their dependence on drugs is for one reason only.  They do not understand the connection between nutrients in the brain and behavior.  If they did, they would jump on nutritional science, as it is so powerful, safe and, in many cases, quite simple as well. 

         If they at least acknowledged the toxicity to the nervous system of common metals like copper, cadmium, mercury and others, we would all be far better off.  The drugs are a very poor substitute for fixing brain chemistry, which, as stated above, is often not so difficult if one is trained in this area. 

13) Special life situations.  Many life situations also require extra nutrition, including:

·      Babies, children, the elderly and athletes.

·      Anyone who is ill, particularly those with a chronic illness.

·      Pregnant women, and even more so, lactating mothers.

·      Anyone who is taking certain medical drugs such as blood pressure pills, anti-depressants or birth control pills, for example.

·      Anyone who eats refined foods or chemical additives.

·      Those who eat in a hurry, eat in their cars or have other eating habits that impair the absorption of nutrients.

·      Anyone using over-the-counter drugs that affect the stomach such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (Aleve, Motrin, Tylenol, Excedrin, etc).

Add up the numbers in these groups and you have most of the population!  Yet few health professionals are taught that almost everyone has special nutritional needs that require extra nutrients beyond that which is available from only the highest quality food, eaten in a slow, peaceful manner.

Let us know if you want to discuss how whole food supplements can help you achieve true wellness and optimal function.  

In Todays Paper: Flu Vaccines and Lupus

I was reading todays Post and Courier, "The Souths Longest Running Newspaper", and noticed a couple things I found interesting. The main article, which I would have normally skipped any other day, is titled It's Time To Get Your Flu Shot.  This article on any other day I would have found un-ordinary yet still disturbing due to misinformation and disease mongering that is prevalent in todays medical mindset.  In skimming over the article a couple of things jumped out at me, first it used to be that the flu vaccine was only recommended for those at high risk for development of the flu: elderly, immunosuppressed (funny because vaccines suppress the immune system), HIV +, health care workers, etc.  however now the DHEC (health department and CDC) says that everyone over the age of 6 months needs the shot.  This is especially disturbing to me because I have 3 boys ages 8, 6, and 8 months and I can not comprehend shooting my 8 month old up with these chemicals. Both of the previous points normally wouldn't have prompted me to write this article but it was the "Teaser" headline found across the top that I found quite puzzling and humorous.  The title was Lupus Awareness on The Fast Track.  Now I am sure the newspaper would not have printed this headline if they knew that research shows vaccination is thought to be the leading cause of todays explosive growth in auto immune diseases.  I wanted to touch on some numbers showing that vaccines are contributing if not causing this rise in auto immune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, multiple sclerosis, asthma, and Type I diabetes. Vaccinated children had 120% more asthma. Vaccinated boys had 317% more ADHD. Vaccinated boys had 185% more neurologic disorders. Vaccinated boys had 146% more autism. Vaccinated children had 120% more asthma. Why don't the Amish have autistic children?  When studying the Pennsylvania Dutch research, based on the national average (1 in 115), shows that there should be as many 200 autistic children.  In actuality during the study there were 3:  The first child was adopted from china and had received immunizations before coming to America. The second child had received first wave of vaccinations, developed autism spectrum type disorder before family became Mennonite. The researchers were unable to determine any vaccination history for 3rd child. This research study was incredible in showing the link between modern vaccination/medical model and disease. Also be sure to check out my earlier post titled Beware Flu Germs Are Out To Get You Thank you and please feel free to reply with any comments or concerns.

12 Health Myths Even Most Doctors Believe

12 Health Myths Even Most Doctors Believe

CNN has published a list of the “truth about twelve health myths”. Among the
myths this article busts? “If you cross your eyes, they’ll stay that way.” “Eat the crust of your bread because it’s full of antioxidants,” and, “to get rid of hiccups, have someone startle you.”

Seriously?
There is massive amount of medical misinformation circulating right now, which is causing an epidemic of chronic disease, unprecedented in human history, and their big concern is whether or not if you cross your eyes, they’ll stay that way?

CNN is beyond clueless.
The primary purpose of their article is entertainment, as it has absolutely nothing to do with the top health myths. With articles such as this one, CNN is part of the problem of perpetuating misinformation and leading you astray with nonsense.
Below I will review 12 REAL health myths that CNN didn’t bother to mention, even though these are the cause of a lot of unnecessary suffering and premature death.

Believe me, there is no shortage of real health myths that can, and do, have a massive impact on tens of thousands if not millions of people.

Here is my list of the top 12 health myths, none of which CNN bothered to mention:

1: Cardio is One of the Best Types of Exercise

In recent years, researchers have begun to realize that conventional cardio, such as jogging, is not all it’s been cracked up to be, and that you can actually improve your health and increase fat burning by making slight modifications to your cardio routine.
The problem is that traditional cardio only works on the slow twitch muscle fibers in your red muscle, completely ignoring your white muscle super-fast twitch fibers.
“Burst Training” refers to peak exercises done once or twice a week, in which you raise your heart rate up to your anaerobic threshold for 20 to 30 seconds, followed by a 90-second recovery period.
To perform these properly you will want to get very close to, if not exceed, your maximum heart rate by the last interval. Your maximum heart rate is calculated as 220 minus your age. You will need a heart rate monitor to measure this as it is nearly impossible to accurately measure your heart rate manually when it is above 150.
Researchers have found that interval cardio produces a unique metabolic response that is in large part responsible for its superior benefits. Intermittent sprinting produces high levels of chemical compounds called catecholamines, which allow more fat to be burned from under your skin and within your muscles. The resulting increase in fat oxidation is thought to drive the increased weight loss.
It is also the only type of exercise that will increase growth hormone levels. This becomes especially important after the age of 30, when growth hormones steadily decline. It is much safer and far less expensive to have your body make growth hormone naturally though "Burst" type exercises than inject it like many athletes do to the tune of $1500 per month.

2: Vaccines are Safe and Effective and Prevent Disease

I completely understand that for many this issue is not debatable as they believe that vaccines are one of the greatest gifts to public health in the history of civilization.
If you believe that, then let me encourage you to open your mind and explore other views held by many well respected physicians, scientists, clinicians and pro-vaccine safety educators.
When it comes to vaccines, there are three primary questions that need to be considered.

• First, is the vaccine in question safe?
• Secondly, does it effectively prevent disease?
• And third, which vaccines can safely and effectively be given together or in close succession?

Unfortunately, these issues have not been sufficiently studied for most vaccines, and those vaccines that have been studied frequently show that they are either unsafe or ineffective, or both!
Pro-vaccine-safety educators have long been saying that vaccines can over-stimulate your child’s immune system, sometimes causing the very disease it’s designed to protect against, or worse. And, when several vaccines are administered together, or in close succession, their interaction may completely overwhelm your child’s developing immune system.
This is one of the primary problems with vaccines in general – their detrimental impact on your body’s primary, natural defense against ALL disease.
Now consider that if your child is vaccinated according to the CDC's recommended schedule, by the time your child starts kindergarten he or she will have received 48 doses of 14 vaccines. Of these, 36 doses will be given during the first 18 months of life – a time when your child’s body and brain is undergoing massive development!
Public health officials have NEVER proven that it is indeed safe to inject this volume of vaccines into infants. What's more, they cannot explain why, concurrent with an increasing number of vaccinations, there has been an explosion of neurological and immune system disorders in American children.

3: Fluoride in Your Water Lowers Your Risk of Cavities

The theory behind the introduction of fluoride in your water supply initially seems beneficial – to reduce the incidence of dental caries in children. However, the health dangers of fluoride are so numerous; they far outweigh any benefit to your teeth, and that’s IF water fluoridation actually did what its claimed to do.
Today, even promoters of fluoridation concede that the major benefits are only from topical applications; fluoride works from the outside of the tooth, not from inside of your body, so why swallow it?
Statistics tell us that water fluoridation is ineffective for preventing caries. There is practically no difference in tooth decay between fluoridated and non-fluoridated countries, and no difference between states that have a high- or low percentage of their water fluoridated.
Meanwhile, fluoride can cause significant harm, from dental fluorosis to thyroid damage to reduced IQ... and much more.

4: GMOs Crops are Safe, Well Tested and Economically Beneficial

GMOs may be the greatest health disaster in the American diet. Within 9 years of their introduction in 1996, multiple chronic illnesses jumped from 7 percent to 13 percent of the population, food allergies doubled in less time, and many other ailments have exponentially increased with the introduction of GM foods.
Millions may already be suffering health problems caused by genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in their diet. The American Academy of Environmental Medicine has already urged doctors to prescribe non-GMO diets for all patients, citing studies that show how GMOs cause disorders such as vital organ damage, gastrointestinal and immune system problems, accelerated aging, infertility, and dysfunctional regulation of insulin and cholesterol.
But not only are GM foods a health disaster, they also pose a significant environmental threat, and industry promises of financial benefits have turned out to be false as well.

5: Sun Causes Skin Cancer

There are many misconceptions about melanoma – the most dangerous type of skin cancer that accounts for more than 75 percent of skin cancer deaths. But despite all the bad press linking sun exposure to skin cancer, there’s almost no evidence at all to support that stance. There is, however, plenty of evidence to the contrary.
Over the years, several studies have already confirmed that appropriate sun exposure actually helps prevent skin cancer. In fact, melanoma occurrence has been found to decrease with greater sun exposure, and can be increased by sunscreens.

How does sunlight prevent, rather than cause, skin cancer?
In short, it’s the vitamin D formed in your skin from exposure to sunlight that provides this built in cancer protection.
The vitamin D goes directly to genes in your skin that help prevent the types of abnormalities that ultraviolet light causes. Unfortunately, if you follow the conventional recommendation to avoid sun exposure or always use sunscreen, your skin will not make any vitamin D, leaving you without this built-in cancer protection.
Statistics confirm the truth of these findings, as melanoma rates have increased right along with sun avoidance and increased use of sunscreens. If avoiding the sun actually was the answer, then melanoma rates should have decreased exponentially over the past couple of decades...
Instead, sun avoidance and the excessive use of sun screen are actually the two primary reasons for the rise in melanoma.

6: Saturated Fat Causes Heart Disease

As recently as 2002, the "expert" Food & Nutrition Board issued the following misguided statement, which epitomizes this myth:

"Saturated fats and dietary cholesterol have no known beneficial role in preventing chronic disease and are not required at any level in the diet."

This dangerous recommendation, which arose from an unproven hypothesis from the mid-1950s, has been harming your health and that of your loved ones for about 40 years now.
The truth is, saturated fats from animal and vegetable sources provide the building blocks for cell membranes and a variety of hormones and hormone-like substances, without which your body cannot function optimally.
They also act as carriers for important fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K. Dietary fats are also needed for the conversion of carotene to vitamin A, for mineral absorption, and for a host of other biological processes.
In fact, saturated is the preferred fuel for your heart!

7: Artificial Sweeteners are Safe, Well Tested and Help Promote Weight Loss

Most people use artificial sweeteners to lose weight. The amazing irony is that nearly all the studies that have carefully analyzed their effectiveness show that those who use artificial sweeteners actually gain more weight than those who consume caloric sweeteners.
In 2005, data gathered from the 25-year long San Antonio Heart Study showed that drinking diet soft drinks increased the likelihood of serious weight gain – far more so than regular soda. On average, each diet soft drink the participants consumed per day increased their risk of becoming overweight by 65 percent within the next seven to eight years, and made them 41 percent more likely to become obese.
The reasons for this ironic reality are still being investigated, but there are several potential causes, including:

• Sweet taste alone appears to increase hunger, regardless of caloric content.
• Artificial sweeteners appear to simply perpetuate a craving for sweets, and overall sugar consumption is therefore not reduced—leading to further problems controlling your weight.
• Artificial sweeteners may disrupt your body’s natural ability to “count calories,” as evidenced in studies such as this 2004 study at Purdue University, which found that rats fed artificially sweetened liquids ate more high-calorie food than rats fed high-caloric sweetened liquids.

In the end, the research tells us that artificial sweeteners are NOT a dieter’s best friend, because contrary to what the marketing campaigns claim, low- or no-calorie artificial sweeteners are more likely to help you pack on the pounds than shed them.
There are also a large number of health dangers associated with artificial sweeteners and aspartame in particular. I’ve started compiling a growing list of studies pertaining to health problems associated with aspartame. If you’re still on the fence, I highly recommend reviewing these studies for yourself so that you can make an educated decision.

8: Soy is a Health Food

The meteoric rise of soy as a “health food” is a perfect example of how a brilliant marketing strategy can fool millions. But make no mistake about it, unfermented soy products are NOT healthful additions to your diet.
On the contrary, thousands of studies have linked unfermented soy to malnutrition, digestive distress, immune-system breakdown, thyroid dysfunction, cognitive decline, reproductive disorders and infertility—even cancer and heart disease.
Not only that, but more than 90 percent of American soy crops are genetically modified, which carries its own set of health risks.
Here is a sampling of the detrimental health effects that have been linked to soy consumption:

• Breast cancer
• Brain damage
• Infant abnormalities
• Thyroid disorders
• Kidney stones
• Immune system impairment
• Severe, potentially fatal food allergies
• Impaired fertility
• Danger during pregnancy and nursing

I am not opposed to all soy, however. Organic and, most importantly, properly fermented soy does have great health benefits. Examples of such healthful fermented soy products include tempeh, miso and natto.

9: Whole Grains are Good for Everyone

The use of whole-grains is an easy subject to get confused on especially for those who have a passion for nutrition, as for the longest time we were told the fiber in whole grains is highly beneficial.
Unfortunately ALL grains, including whole-grain and organic varieties, can elevate your insulin levels, which can increase your risk of disease.
It has been my experience that more than 85 percent of Americans have trouble controlling their insulin levels -- especially those who have the following conditions:

• Overweight
• Diabetes
• High blood pressure
• High cholesterol
• Protein metabolic types

In addition, sub-clinical gluten intolerance is far more common than you might think, which can also wreak havoc with your health.
As a general rule, I strongly recommend eliminating grains as well as sugars from your diet, especially if you have any of the above conditions that are related to insulin resistance. The higher your insulin levels and the more prominent your signs of insulin overload are, the more ambitious your grain elimination needs to be.
If you are one of the fortunate ones without insulin resistance and of normal body weight, then grains are fine, especially whole grains. It is wise to continue to monitor your grain consumption and your health as life is dynamic and constantly changing. What might be fine when you are 25 or 30 could become a major problem at 40 when your growth hormone and level of exercise is different.

10: All Plant Based Supplements are as Good as Animal Supplements

The primary example here is that of omega-3’s. It’s very important to realize that not all omega-3 fats are the same, and that the type and source of your omega-3 will make a big difference in the health benefits it provides.
There are three types of omega-3 fats:

• DHA (Docosahexaenoic Acid)
• EPA (Eicosapentaenoic Acid)
• ALA (Alpha-Linolenic Acid)

Many people do not realize that most of the well-known health benefits associated with omega-3 fats – such as mental health, stronger bones and heart health -- are linked to the animal-based omega-3 fats (EPA and DHA), not the plant-based omega-3 fat (ALA).
ALA, which is the type of omega-3 found in flaxseed and nuts, is converted into EPA and DHA in your body, but only at a very low ratio.
So even if you eat large amounts of ALA, your body can only convert a relatively small amount into EPA and DHA, and only when sufficient enzymes are present.
This does not mean plant-based omega-3 fats are intrinsically harmful or that they should be avoided, only that you ideally want to include an animal-based form as well. Personally, I regularly include omega-3 (ALA) plant-based foods, like flax and hemp, in my diet, but these are always combined with animal-based omega-3 fats.
But in order to reap its most important health benefits, your omega-3 needs to be from an animal source.

11: Milk Does Your Body Good

Can milk do your body good?
Yes, if it’s RAW.
Unfortunately, this myth insists that conventional pasteurized milk has health benefits, which is far from true. Conventional health agencies also refuse to address the real dangers of the growth hormones and antibiotics found in conventional milk.
Please understand that I do not recommend drinking pasteurized milk of any kind, including organic, because once milk has been pasteurized its physical structure is changed in a way that can actually cause allergies and immune problems.
Important enzymes like lactase are destroyed, which causes many people to not be able to digest milk. Additionally, vitamins (such as A, C, B6 and B12) are diminished and fragile milk proteins are radically transformed from health nurturing to unnatural amino acid configurations that can actually worsen your health.
The eradication of beneficial bacteria through the pasteurization process also ends up promoting pathogens rather than protecting you from them.
The healthy alternative to pasteurized milk is raw milk, which is an outstanding source of nutrients including beneficial bacteria such as lactobacillus acidophilus, vitamins and enzymes, and it is, in my estimation, one of the finest sources of calcium available.

12: Low-Fat Diets are Healthy

The low-fat myth may have done more harm to the health of millions than any other dietary recommendation. Again, just as the recommendations to avoid sunshine has increased melanoma rates, the low-fat craze led to increased consumption of trans-fats, which we now know increases your risk of obesity, diabetes and heart disease.
To end the confusion, it’s very important to realize that eating fat will not make you fat!
The primary cause of excess weight and all the chronic diseases associated with it, is actually the consumption of too much sugar -- especially fructose, but also all sorts of grains, which rapidly convert to sugar in your body.
If only the low-fat craze had been a low-sugar craze... then we wouldn’t have nearly as much chronic disease as we have today.

Information available on www.mercola.com