Fix your Genes--here's how

Hello,

Well, if someone accuses you of having crummy genes, you can be nicer to your body and fix them. From NaturalNews, here's some really interesting work by Dr. Dean Ornish:

(NaturalNews) Dr. Dean Ornish, head of the Preventive Medicine Research Institute in Sausalito, California, is a well-known author advocating lifestyle changes to improve health. Dr. Ornish is also affiliated with the University of California at San Francisco. He recently reported on the Gene Expression Modulation by Intervention with Nutrition and Lifestyle (GEMINAL) study. This study indicated that making positive changes in one's diet, exercise, and stress management can affect more than a person's weight. Dr. Ornish's study was published in the June 16, 2008 edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The study followed 30 men who had opted out of conventional treatment for low-risk prostate cancer. The men decided, before they were recruited to take part in the study, not to undergo treatments such as surgery, radiation, or hormone therapy normally advocated for the disease. The men were closely monitored for tumor progression through the duration of the study.

Instead, for three months, they made changes in their lifestyle: They ate a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes and soy products. They exercised moderately, walking for half an hour a day. Each day they spent an hour practicing stress management methods such as meditation. Additionally, the men participated in support group sessions.

As the study progressed, the men lost weight, lowered their blood pressure and cholesterol, and generally saw improvements in their health. Previous studies gave evidence of lowered prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels with dietary changes.

Biopsies taken at the beginning and end of the study demonstrated some more significant changes. About 500 genes evidenced changes in activity at the end of the study. 48 disease preventing genes were turned on. 453 genes which promote disease, like breast and prostate cancers, were turned off.

Dr. Ornish expressed excitement over the results in a Reuters interview. The implications of this study go beyond men and prostate cancer. People are not doomed by their genetics. They can make positive changes fairly quickly. In three months, genetic changes can be made through the choices we make in food, exercise, and the way we handle stress.

Resources:

((http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080617/hl_...)

((http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/10...)

((http://ict.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abst...)

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Treatment for Eye Disease can HARM Vision

The side effect of decoding the genome is that now everyone can -- simplistically -- blame our genes, when it's actually TOXINS that can turn on and off genes. Rachel Carson wrote all about it way back then...

But in case anyone you know is looking into this treatment for macular degeneration. From Newswise, the journalists'-only news source:
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Newswise — Having discovered a genetic trigger for age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of vision loss in people over 50, researchers report that an experimental state-of-the-art therapy for treating eye disease could adversely affect the vision of some patients with the “wrong” genetic makeup.

In the August 28 online issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, a multi-institutional team, including an interdisciplinary contingent from Johns Hopkins, reports that a mutation in toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3), a protein known to help cells fight some types of infection, is associated with protection from geographic atrophy. Geographic atrophy, also known as the “dry” form of macular degeneration, is the progressive shriveling of retinal cells in the central part of the tissue called the macula where cell loss equates to irreversible vision loss.

The new study implies that there could, in fact, be adverse consequences in some individuals who undergo a new treatment using a method called RNA interference to silence genes in the wet form of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), where growth of abnormal blood vessels causes vision loss.

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Non Toxic Sun Block

So everyone's going on vacation this week, it seems. We were on vacay last week at the beach. If you've been reading this blog for a while you know that I don't use sunscreen 1. because of toxins and 2. because I like to get my vitamin D the natural way (did you know that RICKETS is making a comeback?). People don't spend enough time outdoors, so instead of getting people outside, the gov. just puts cheap vitamin D in milk. Eeek.

But I understand that some people need sunscreen, say if you're going to be on a boat all day. So I searched and searched to find a sunscreen//sunblock that doesn't have any hormone disrupting chemicals or crap like that. It wasn't easy.

Miessence is a company out of Australia, where they know their sun protection. I like their REFLECT Outdoor balm. Generally having a literal mineral block, like titanium dioxide, is preferable to some chemical like oxybenzone. This stuff is great in that uses ZINC OXIDE. Plus no parabens and crap like that.

The good/bad of this is that, well, it works well but it leaves a trace of a whitish sheen. To me, this shows that it's made of simple, good stuff and the zinc oxide stays on the OUTSIDE rather than all the weird nano particles and the chemical sunblocks absorbing into your skin. I have a good base tan, so I tried this on my pale tan lines, and it protected it really well.

But back to the Mother Nature thing--make sure you get SOME SUN. If you're out in the middle of the ocean at noon, then, this sunblock is a great product to have around.

Check out this article from the Environmental Working Group on how most sunscreens are toxic crap that dont' even work (hm, what else does this sound like?):

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) has attacked leading sunscreen brands for offering inadequate protection against UV rays or containing potentially hazardous ingredients.

The consumer group said the top selling products were some of the worst offenders in its survey of the safety and effectiveness of 1,000 branded sunscreen products.

read more

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Ban on unmarried adoptions cleared for Ark. ballot

Argh, this is the reason I had to quit my official blogging job at Adoption.com--this is so silly and sad:

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - A proposal aimed at effectively banning gays and lesbians from becoming foster or adoptive parents was cleared Monday to appear on this fall's ballot in Arkansas.

The measure would prohibit unmarried couples living together from fostering or adopting children, and Arkansas doesn't allow gays to marry or recognize gay marriages conducted elsewhere.

Secretary of State Charlie Daniels certified the proposed initiated act for the Nov. 4 ballot after verifying that the Arkansas Family Council Action Committee had submitted 85,389 valid signatures of registered voters. Supporters needed to turn in at least 61,974 valid signatures.

"Arkansas needs to affirm the importance of married mothers and fathers," Family Council President Jerry Cox said. "We need to publicly affirm the gold standard of rearing children whenever we can. The state standard should be as close to that gold standard of married mom and dad homes as possible."

From the AP, read more here.

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Stand on Your Head for Fewer Wrinkles

Doing headstands is also good for our attitude--makes you feel like a kid again!

From Natural News:

(NaturalNews) It is very rare that we are able to see the world upside down, and regularly viewing the world from this angle can bring a variety of amazing benefits to our life. Turning ourselves upside down is not only an amazing practice for health... but for beauty as well.

Headstand and Yoga for Skin Care

A headstand can reduce facial wrinkles, and if practiced regularly, is a natural 'face-lift'. This is because it reverses the effects of gravity and allows the skin to rest in the other direction.

Furthermore, yoga for skin care increases the circulation to the face, which brings much needed nutrients and oxygen to rejuvenate and remove wrinkle causing toxins. The result is smoother, clearer, brighter and glowing skin.

read more here.

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If you can't buy organic...

Wow, I'm amazed at how the price of food is shooting up--yikes! And it's not as if organic food starts out cheap, either. Ideally, an all-organic diet is best. But if you can't, our buddies at Environmental Working Group did tests of pesticides in foods and decided these are the lowest:

• Broccoli
• Eggplant
• Cabbage
• Banana
• Kiwi
• Asparagus
• Sweet peas (frozen)
• Mango
• Pineapple
• Sweet corn (frozen)
• Avocado
• Onion

P.S. some alternative med types think PEAS are NOT GOOD for fertility, FYI. I don't eat them anyway because they make my lips numb--a strange reaction but I know other people get that, too.

P.P.S. remember to check the PLUs for GMOs!

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Arsenic and Diabetes

Any kind of insulin-dependent condition is baaaad for fertility, and these things can lead to polycystic ovarian disease, etc. Not to mention that diabetes shorten life, is related to Alzheimer's, etc.

Here's a piece from Newswise not related to carbs, but ARSENIC. You might want to get a reverse osmosis filter if you use well water (forget the Britta, that doesn't DO anything) and, you might be interested to know, non-organic producers are allowed to feed ARSENIC to CHICKENS.

Bon apetit:
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Newswise — Inorganic arsenic, commonly found in ground water in certain areas, may increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, according to a study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The study found that individuals with diabetes had higher levels of arsenic in the urine compared to individuals without diabetes. The results are published in the August 20, 2008, issue of JAMA.

“Our findings suggest that low levels of exposure to inorganic arsenic may play a role in diabetes,” said Ana Navas-Acien, MD, PhD, lead author of the study and assistant professor with the Bloomberg School’s Department of Environmental Health Sciences. “While prospective studies are needed to establish whether this association is causal, these findings add to the existing concerns about the long-term health consequences of low and moderate exposure to inorganic arsenic.”

Inorganic arsenic is found naturally in rocks and soils. In the U.S., most exposure to inorganic arsenic comes from contaminated drinking water. Foods such as flour and rice can also provide small quantities of inorganic arsenic, particularly if grown or cooked in areas with arsenic contamination in soil or water. Seafood is a source of organic arsenic compounds that have little or no toxicity.

Researchers examined randomly selected urine samples taken from 788 U.S. adults 20 years or older that participated in a 2003—2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The results were adjusted for diabetes risk factors, including body mass index and for organic arsenic compounds found in seafood.

In the U.S., approximately 13 million people live in areas where the concentration of inorganic arsenic in the public water supply exceeds standards established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, primarily in the West, Midwest and Northeast regions. Dietary intake of inorganic arsenic in the U.S. ranges from 8.4 to 14 micrograms per day for various age groups.

The authors concluded that given widespread exposure to inorganic arsenic from drinking water worldwide, clarifying the contribution of arsenic to the diabetes epidemic is a public health research priority with potential implications for the prevention and control of diabetes.

“Arsenic Exposure and Prevalence of Type 2 Diabetes in US Adults” was written by Ana Navas-Acien, MD, PhD; Ellen K. Silbergeld, PhD; Roberto Pastor-Barriuso, PhD; and Eliseo Guallar, MD, DrPH.

The researchers were funded in part by a grant from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Center in Urban Environmental Health.

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