River Soap WebLog

The diary dilemna

noreply@blogger.com (River Soap WebLog) — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 15:46:00 +0000

The calcium myth
by Dr. Susan E. Brown, PhD
The dairy dilemma
Here in America, the popular wisdom solution to our calcium needs is to eat lots of dairy products. Milk products are high in calcium, as everyone who has seen the ubiquitous milk mustache posters knows, so it seems to make sense to drink plenty of milk or eat yogurt, cheese, and ice cream.
There are two problems with this logic; first, there are many people who are lactose intolerant or otherwise sensitive to proteins in milk, which means that they have trouble digesting it and aren’t necessarily absorbing all that calcium. And second, dairy products are generally acid forming foods, which means that taken in excess, and without counterbalancing alkalizing foods, they tend to promote a pH imbalance in the body that leads to further calcium loss from the bones. So while dairy products do contain a great deal of calcium, dairy alone does not provide the quick fix to bone health many Americans assume it does, and if you rely solely on dairy’s calcium for bone health, you could be in for a letdown!

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It matters what kind of calcium you get

noreply@blogger.com (River Soap WebLog) — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 15:45:00 +0000

The calcium myth
by Dr. Susan E. Brown, PhD

It matters what kind of calcium you get
Calcium comes in many different forms. Even with the other nutrients needed for its absorption, some forms are not as readily absorbed as others. With all the different kinds of calcium supplements available, how do you choose, and how should you take them? Use the following points as a guide:
Calcium citrate is a highly absorbable calcium compound. This form does not require the hydrochloric acid HC1 in the stomach to be absorbed. Thus, calcium citrate is very readily absorbed or bioavailable, and a good choice for people with low stomach acid.
Calcium ascorbate and calcium carbonate are generally not as easily absorbed as the citrate forms if HCl is low. However, they are absorbed quite readily when taken with food.
Generally speaking, all types of calcium are absorbed more easily if taken with meals, no matter what form you choose.

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Calcium & Magnesium

noreply@blogger.com (River Soap WebLog) — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 15:43:00 +0000

The calcium myth
by Dr. Susan E. Brown, PhD
Calcium and magnesium
Overall, and through many mechanisms, magnesium is needed for calcium absorption and bone formation. Magnesium is an essential cofactor in 80% of all cellular enzymes including the thyroid hormone calcitonin, which regulates bone turnover. Magnesium is also needed by the liver enzymes that convert vitamin D into its active form, known as calcitriol. Recall that vitamin D is needed for proper calcium absorption and magnesium deficiency can lead to a syndrome known as vitamin D resistance. The activity of another critical enzyme for bone formation, alkaline phosphatase, also depends on magnesium. This enzyme is needed to solidify calcium and other soluble factors into bone. In fact, much of the body's magnesium is stored in the bone, and it is released into the blood when it is needed by other tissues. Magnesium deficiency is known to impair parathyroid hormone secretion and action, and contributes to the development of osteopenia and bone fragility.
While it is extremely important to maintain an adequate magnesium intake, most US adults consume less than 68% of the daily requirement of this mineral. With all the roles magnesium plays in bone formation, it is not surprising that even a mild deficiency is considered to be a leading risk factor for osteoporosis.

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Calcium & K

noreply@blogger.com (River Soap WebLog) — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 15:42:00 +0000

The calcium myth
by Dr. Susan E. Brown, PhD
Calcium and vitamin K
We have recently learned that vitamin K is critical for calcium utilization and regulation. Vitamin K helps proteins bind to calcium and transports them to where they are needed in bones, organs, and other tissues. Vitamin K is also needed in the bone to produce a protein called osteocalcin, which, as the name suggests, helps bind calcium to the bone.
Low vitamin K status is associated with higher levels of bone turnover and increased fracture risk, while adequate levels of vitamin K have been shown to protect from a loss of calcium in the urine. French researchers have noted in their studies that low vitamin K status predicts the subsequent risk of hip fracture. So, without adequate vitamin K, more bone is lost and fracture risk increases. While vitamin K deficiency is common among all ages, studies show that younger adults and postmenopausal women tend to have particularly low levels of vitamin K.

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Calcium & D

noreply@blogger.com (River Soap WebLog) — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 15:41:00 +0000

The calcium myth
by Dr. Susan E. Brown, PhD

Calcium and vitamin D
The last few years have witnessed a virtual explosion of research on vitamin D. We now know that this sunshine vitamin plays a key role in the prevention of many chronic diseases including cancer, heart disease, diabetes, auto-immune disease and osteoporosis. When it comes to bone, we now know that vitamin D is the key to calcium absorption. To paraphrase noted vitamin D researcher Dr. Michael Holick, you can swim in calcium and it will do no good unless you have adequate vitamin D. Specifically, without vitamin D your body can only absorb 10 to 15% of dietary calcium, so even if calcium is present, the body can’t use it! When vitamin D is added, the absorption of dietary calcium increases to 30 to 40%. So, both calcium and vitamin D are necessary to prevent osteoporosis, including postmenopausal osteoporosis.
Most Americans don't get enough vitamin D, especially during the winter months, when there is less sunlight. Certain people may also be at a high risk for vitamin D deficiency, including the elderly, the obese, dark-skinned individuals, teenage girls, those who spend little time outdoors, and those who regularly use sunscreens. Because it is a fat soluble vitamin, vitamin D deficiencies also occur in people with fat malabsorption syndromes such as in celiac disease, cystic fibrosis, and inflammatory bowel disease.

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Low Calcium

noreply@blogger.com (River Soap WebLog) — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 15:39:00 +0000

The calcium myth
by Dr. Susan E. Brown, PhD

When blood levels of calcium drop too low and dietary calcium intake is insufficient, the body will obtain calcium by extracting it from the bones. Ideally, calcium that is taken from the bones will be replaced when calcium levels are replenished. But, before you reach for that glass of milk, realize that to replace the calcium in your bones an intricate process involving intake, metabolism and utilization must take place.
This is the crux of the myth, while calcium is clearly important, there are at least 19 other key nutrients that each play a vital role in the structural integrity and overall health of our bones. To put the larger picture in context, I find it is sometimes useful to think of bone as a brick wall where the bricks are made of calcium and the other key nutrients make up the mortar. Without mortar, the wall is unstable. Bricks may fall out, making the wall even weaker. Just like a brick wall without mortar, bone without vitamin D, vitamin K, and magnesium will lose its calcium.

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Dairy-free Sources of Dietary Calcium

noreply@blogger.com (River Soap WebLog) — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 15:38:00 +0000

The calcium myth
by Dr. Susan E. Brown, PhD

GOOD DAIRY-FREE SOURCES OF DIETARY CALCIUM
• Whole wheat products
• Vegetables in the brassica family:
broccoli, kale, cabbage, bok choy
• Dark leafy greens, e.g., collards, kale, turnip greens, dandelion greens, mustard greens, beet greens
• Canned fish/crustaceans with bones, e.g., sardines, pink salmon, shrimp
• Beans/legumes, e.g., edamame, tofu; tempeh, black-eyed peas, black beans, dried beans
• Okra
• Nuts and seeds, e.g., almonds, sesame seeds
• Mineral water
• Herbal teas and infusions, e.g., oatstraw, nettle, red clover

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Calcium’s role in bone health

noreply@blogger.com (River Soap WebLog) — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 15:36:00 +0000

The calcium myth
by Dr. Susan E. Brown, PhD

Calcium’s role in bone health
Calcium is the most abundant mineral in the human body and has several important functions. Two percent of our total body weight is made of calcium, and more than 99% of total body calcium is stored in the bones and teeth where it supports their structure. The body gets the calcium it needs for everyday, minute-to-minute physiological functioning in two ways. One way is from the intake of calcium-rich foods. Yes, these include dairy products, which have a high concentration per serving of highly absorbable calcium, but also many, many other foods, such as dark, leafy greens, nuts, beans, and seeds, which have varying amounts of highly absorbable calcium.

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The calcium myth

noreply@blogger.com (River Soap WebLog) — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 15:36:00 +0000

The calcium myth
by Dr. Susan E. Brown, PhD
For many years, a popular chorus of wisdom about calcium and bone health has been playing. Its refrain goes something like this, Calcium is essential to bone health. Variations on this theme are also heard. Drink your milk for healthy bones Take a calcium-based antacid, and it will help your bones while it soothes your stomach… Look, this food, or that one, is fortified with calcium for healthier bones! In the well-known Got Milk? campaign, one ad has Superman promising bones of steel if you drink milk!
This focus on calcium as the silver bullet for bone health is not entirely restricted to mass media marketing messages. You’ll see calcium emphasized in osteoporosis web sites and pamphlets, research reports, and even in the Surgeon General’s bone health recommendations. In our society, where calcium is so widely available and its benefits are so widely known bone disorders like osteoporosis (fragile bones) and osteopenia (reduced bone mineral density) are still prevalent. Why is this?
The reasons for this paradox fly in the face of popular understanding: bone loss is not caused by low calcium intake. Furthermore, calcium by itself will neither prevent bone loss nor needless osteoporotic fractures.
Bone health depends not so much on calcium intake, but rather on its metabolism and utilization. The major players in this regard are vitamin D, vitamin K, and magnesium, which are woefully under-publicized in the campaign against osteoporosis. This article will discuss these nutrients, and help you understand how critical they are for maintaining bone health.

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Can Touching Your Toes Test Your Arteries?

noreply@blogger.com (River Soap WebLog) — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 15:31:00 +0000

December 23, 2009, NYTimes
Phys Ed: Can Touching Your Toes Test Your Arteries?
By GRETCHEN REYNOLDS

A provocative new study published this year in the journal Heart and Circulatory Physiology suggests, however, that there may be a novel way to test at least one element of your heart's health right in your own living room, right in the middle of the holidays. Sit on the floor with your legs stretched straight out in front of you, toes pointing up. Reach forward from the hips. Are you flexible enough to touch your toes? If so, then your cardiac arteries probably are also flexible.
What is surprising are some early indications that increasing your flexibility might somehow loosen up your arteries, too. That was the accidental and, as yet unreplicated finding of a small 2008 study at the University of Texas at Austin. The study was designed to examine whether weight lifting increased arterial stiffness. (It didn't, at least on this occasion.) The control group consisted of people who stretched. They were not expected to show any change in cardiac function, but over the course of 13 weeks they in fact increased the pliability of their arteries by more than 20 percent.

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Fat Friends, Fat You. There is a connection

noreply@blogger.com (River Soap WebLog) — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 15:47:00 +0000

Are Your Friends Making You Fat?
By CLIVE THOMPSON
Published: September 10, 2009
an excerpt

As friends around us become heavier, we gradually change our mental picture of what obese looks like and give ourselves tacit permission to add pounds. With happiness, the two argue that the contagion may be even more deeply subconscious, the spread of good or bad feelings, they say, might be driven partly by mirror neurons in the brain that automatically mimic what we see in the faces of those around us, which is why looking at photographs of smiling people can itself often lift your mood.

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Happy Friends, Happy You-There is a Connection

noreply@blogger.com (River Soap WebLog) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 15:38:00 +0000

Are Your Friends Making You Fat?
By CLIVE THOMPSON
Published: September 10, 2009
an excerpt
Happiness is more contagious than unhappiness. According to their statistical analysis from the Framingham Data, which followed since 1948 more than 15,000 Framingham residents and their descendants, found each additional happy friend boosts your good cheer by 9 percent, while each additional unhappy friend drags you down by only 7 percent. So by this logic, adding more links to your network should — mathematically — add to your store of happiness.

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Dry clothes another way

noreply@blogger.com (River Soap WebLog) — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 15:29:00 +0000

Sure it's hard to live without a clothes dryer and some cities even ban clothes lines as unsightly but I love the look of clothes hanging off a line. And for me, I hang my clothes to keep them nice longer, no more shrunken jeans or faded t-shirts.
One friend lays her clothes over her lavender bush to dry- double duty- they dry and smell good. What could be better?

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Clothes Dryer?

noreply@blogger.com (River Soap WebLog) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:27:00 +0000

Alexander P. Lee is executive director of Project Laundry List.
The tumble dryer is the second largest energy-consuming appliance and the leading cause of house fires among appliances. There is no such sense as an Energy Star dryer; these machines are inherently inefficient, using natural gas or electricity to heat air.
Look to Italy and Denmark for guidance.
In Italy, only about three or four percent of households own a dryer. In Denmark, newly constructed student housing included space for indoor drying. In China, the bamboo shaft is still a ubiquitous clothesline. In the United States, approximately 80 percent of households own a dryer. Project Laundry List believes, from anecdotal evidence, that the vast majority of families can see a 10 to 20 percent savings on their electric bill by going cold turkey and setting up a clothesline or drying rack.

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Reduce your risk for breast cancer

noreply@blogger.com (River Soap WebLog) — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 01:48:00 +0000

Research has found that the association between frequently eating cabbage and a significantly reduced risk of breast cancer is only seen with raw and short-cooked cabbage foods (steamed cabbage and sauerkraut)
To promote the production of the most glucosinolates, slice or chop your cabbage and let sit for 5-10 minutes before cooking, and cook lightly, steaming or sautéing for 5 minutes or less.

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Chemicals in Our Food, and Bodies

noreply@blogger.com (River Soap WebLog) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 15:18:00 +0000

Op-Ed Columnist
Chemicals in Our Food, and Bodies
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF
Published: November 7, 2009

Your body is probably home to a chemical called bisphenol A, or BPA. It’s a synthetic estrogen that United States factories now use in everything from plastics to epoxies — to the tune of six pounds per American per year. That’s a lot of estrogen.
More than 92 percent of Americans have BPA in their urine, and scientists have linked it — though not conclusively — to everything from breast cancer to obesity, from attention deficit disorder to genital abnormalities in boys and girls alike.

Now it turns out it’s in our food.

Consumer Reports magazine tested an array of brand-name canned foods for a report in its December issue and found BPA in almost all of them. The magazine says that relatively high levels turned up, for example, in Progresso vegetable soup, Campbell’s condensed chicken noodle soup, and Del Monte Blue Lake cut green beans.

The magazine also says it found BPA in the canned liquid version of Similac Advance infant formula (but not in the powdered version) and in canned Nestlé Juicy Juice (but not in the juice boxes). The BPA in the food probably came from an interior coating used in many cans.

Published journal articles have found that BPA given to pregnant rats or mice can cause malformed genitals in their offspring, as well as reduced sperm count among males. For example, a European journal found that male mice exposed to BPA were less likely to make females pregnant, and the Journal of Occupational Health found that male rats administered BPA had less sperm production and lower testicular weight.

This year, the journal Environmental Health Perspectives found that pregnant mice exposed to BPA had babies with abnormalities in the cervix, uterus and vagina. Reproductive Toxicology found that even low-level exposure to BPA led to the mouse equivalent of early puberty for females. And an array of animal studies link prenatal BPA exposure to breast cancer and prostate cancer.

While most of the studies are on animals, the Journal of the American Medical Association reported last year that humans with higher levels of BPA in their blood have “an increased prevalence of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and liver-enzyme abnormalities.” Another published study found that women with higher levels of BPA in their blood had more miscarriages.
Bottom line: stay away from canned food if you can!

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Help the planet, paint your roofs white.

noreply@blogger.com (River Soap WebLog) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 01:46:00 +0000

Simply painting roofs white in warm climates decreases air conditioning bills for those buildings by 20 percent. That's one reason why California has required all new buildings to have white roofs for the past few years.
This new study says that if the 100 biggest cities painted all their roofs white, and switched their road materials to lighter colors (concrete instead of asphalt) it would reflect enough light and heat back into space to entirely offset the warming of the last few decades.

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Same as taking every car off the road for 11 years

noreply@blogger.com (River Soap WebLog) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 01:44:00 +0000

Making roads and roofs a paler color could have the equivalent effect of taking every car in the world off the road for 11 years, US Energy Secretary Steven Chu said.
It was a geo-engineering scheme that was "completely benign" and would keep buildings cooler and reduce energy use from air conditioning, as well as reflecting sunlight back away from the Earth.
For people who found white hard on the eye, scientists had also developed "cool colors" which looked to the human eye like normal ones, but reflect heat like pale colors even if they are darker shades

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Got a tough problem to solve? Try daydreaming.

noreply@blogger.com (River Soap WebLog) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 00:42:00 +0000

Got a tough problem to solve? Try daydreaming.
Contrary to the notion that daydreaming is a sign of laziness, letting the mind wander can actually let the parts of the brain associated with problem-solving become active, a new study finds.
Kalina Christoff of the University of British Columbia in Canada and her colleagues placed study participants inside an fMRI scanner, where they performed the simple routine task of pushing a button when numbers appear on a screen. The researchers tracked subjects' attentiveness moment-to-moment through brain scans, subjective reports from subjects and by tracking their performance on the task.
Until now, scientists had thought that the brain's "default network," which is linked to easy, routine mental activity, was the only part of the brain that remains active when the mind wanders. But in the study subjects, the brain's "executive network" - associated with high-level, complex problem-solving - also lit up.
The less subjects were aware that their mind was wandering, the more both networks were activated.
"This study shows our brains are very active when we daydream - much more active than when we focus on routine tasks," Christoff said. from livescience.com –

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An Apple a day helps prevent bone loss

noreply@blogger.com (River Soap WebLog) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 00:37:00 +0000

A flavonoid found only in apples called phloridzin may help prevent bone loss associated with menopause, suggests a study published in Calcified Tissue International.

A side effect of the sex hormone changes that occur during a woman's transition through menopause is a tendency towards increased inflammation and free radical production, which in turn, promotes bone loss.

Because of their anti-inflammatory actions, polyphenols have been suggested as one means of protecting against bone loss during this pro-inflammatory time in women's lives.

French researchers have discovered that phloridzin may eliminate bone loss in post menopausal women, and even increase bone mineral density.

So go ahead and eat an apple (or two) a day- but make sure it's organic.

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Eggplant, better for you than your'd think

noreply@blogger.com (River Soap WebLog) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 16:07:00 +0000

Research on eggplant has focused on an anthocyanin phytonutrient found in eggplant skin called nasunin. Nasunin is a potent antioxidant and free radical scavenger that has been shown to protect cell membranes from damage. In animal studies, nasunin has been found to protect the lipids (fats) in brain cell membranes. Cell membranes are almost entirely composed of lipids and are responsible for protecting the cell from free radicals, letting nutrients in and wastes out, and receiving instructions from messenger molecules that tell the cell which activities it should perform.

Try this homemade babaganoush recipe:
Roast whole eggplant in the oven or over a grill-till soft when squeezed. Scoop out flesh and puree with food processor/
Add 1 clove chopped garlic, 1/4 cup tahini, 2T lemon juice, 1/4 t salt and 1/4 cup olive oil.

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Toxic Relief-Epsom Salts!

noreply@blogger.com (River Soap WebLog) — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 00:33:00 +0000

How much man- made toxins are there in the human body? Plenty! One way to de-toxify is to soak in a bath of Epsom salt. Sound too easy? Read below or more at Epsom Salt Council

Magnesium - the key component of Epsom Salt -- performs more functions in more systems of the human body than virtually any other mineral, including regulating the activity of more than 325 enzymes.
Studies show that magnesium is:

An electrolyte, helping to ensure proper muscle, nerve and enzyme function.
Critical to the proper use of calcium in cells.
An aid in helping to prevent heart disease and strokes by lowering blood pressure, protecting the elasticity of arteries, preventing blood clots and reducing the risk of sudden heart attack deaths.

Medical research also indicates that magnesium may:
Increase the effectiveness of insulin, helping to lower the risk or severity of diabetes.
Reduce inflammation and relieves pain, making it a beneficial in the treatment of sore muscles, bronchial asthma, migraine headaches and fibromyalgia.
Although magnesium can be absorbed through the digestive tract, many foods, drugs and medical conditions can interfere with the effectiveness of this deliver method.
Therefore, soaking in an Epsom Salt bath is one of the most effective means of making the magnesium your body needs readily available.

Epsom Salt also delivers sulfates, which medical research indicates are needed for the formation of brain tissue, joint proteins and the mucin proteins that line the walls of the digestive tract. Studies show that sulfates also stimulate the pancreas to generate digestive enzymes and help to detoxify the body's residue of medicines and environmental contaminants. Studies indicate that sulfates are difficult to absorb from food, but are readily absorbed through the skin.

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Ant Relief

noreply@blogger.com (River Soap WebLog) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 00:26:00 +0000

This time of year we get our annual'ant attack'. My solution is a combination of vegetable oil, cayenne pepper, lemon essential oil and/or lemon dish washing detergent, and some water. It's non-toxic and the ants hate it. I dab a bit on a old wash clothe and wipe down the trunk of my orange and lemon trees, along the window sills and doorways leading from the garden and presto, the ants are gone.

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Add spice to loose weight

noreply@blogger.com (River Soap WebLog) — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 15:11:00 +0000

Adding chiles to your next dish can crank up your metabolism, thanks to a compound in them called capsaicin. The clever little compound has a thermogenic effect, meaning it causes the body to burn extra calories for 20 minutes after consumption. Another plus: It's impossible to gobble up spicy food without coming up for air (and we don't mean margaritas!). By eating more slowly, your brain has more time to register that your stomach is full, so you won't overeat.

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Eat to loose weight

noreply@blogger.com (River Soap WebLog) — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 15:09:00 +0000

You may think that subsisting on lemon water and radishes is a fast way to shed pounds. But when your daily intake dips below 1,000 calories a day, your plan is bound to backfire. Not only is it nearly impossible to maintain such a restrictive diet, it's counterproductive: Your metabolism puts on the brakes when your body detects too little food coming in, which impedes weight loss efforts long-term. Plus, your body may eventually begin to raid its own muscle stores for the energy it needs.

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