http://products.mercola.com/probiotics/?source=nl
If you missed an article or want to leave comments about this article, be sure to visit our blog at http://articles.herballegacy.com
(NaturalNews) What are chia seeds? What we know as chia seeds are the seeds from the Chia plant, which is a member of the mint family of plants. They do not have a minty taste, in fact they don`t taste of much at all. The benefits of chia lie in its nutritional value; it`s high in omega-3 fatty acid (ref: http://www.therawfoodworld.com/prod...), has plenty of fiber, and is abundant in various other vitamins and minerals. It can be added to just about anything you want to eat: salad, smoothies, deserts or savory foods. And that`s not all; chia can actually help you lose weight.
How to lose weight with chia seeds? Firstly, all of the nutritional value in chia seeds will result in a healthier body, and therefore more energy. It`s quite easy for someone who is slim and full of energy to go for a run in the morning, but for an overweight person who feels fatigued all the time, the prospect of getting out of bed earlier than necessary is quite daunting. Chia is abundant in omega-3 oils, protein, calcium, soluble and insoluble fiber, and antioxidants, and adding it to your diet will feed your body with nutrients that it may otherwise lack. Better health equals more energy which equals more desire to expend energy.
Also, one of the unique things about chia is its ability to soak up water. If you mix one part chia seeds with nine parts water, and leave it for about fifteen minutes, you`ll get a mixture with a gel like consistency. It has little taste, but plenty of nutrients. It also is very filling because of the amount of expansion. Furthermore, the chia gel slows down the digestion and absorption of carbohydrates in the system, so you stay satisfied for longer, without peaks in blood sugar. Feeling full for longer, without peaks and lows in energy, will certainly lead to weight loss.
Finally, the chia running through your system acts like a broom, cleaning out your intestines as it goes on its way. This helps clean the body of toxins, as well as food stuff which may be slow to pass through, like meats and dairy. Even if you eat healthily on a day to day basis, there may still be remnants of unhealthy food in your system from past bad food choices. A cleaner body is a body that can send clearer signals; you may find that you won`t get so many cravings for chocolate, pizza and ice-cream because your body is cleaner and just doesn`t desire such foods.
References:
http://www.therawfoodworld.com/prod...
http://www.prevention.com/cda/artic...
Related Articles:
• Interview with Dr. Wayne Coates: Chia Seeds (Part 1)
• Interview With Dr. Wayne Coates: Chia Seeds (Part 2)
• The Chia 'Cheat Sheet' and Ten Raw Chia Recipes
About the author
Matt Monarch has been on a 100% Raw Vegan Diet since 1999; he eats only raw vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, and seaweeds. He is currently the owner of three different health-promoting websites.
In partnership with Raw Food Pioneer and Nutritionist Dr. Fred Bisci, Matt has co-created www.TheRawFoodWorld.com, which sells support tools to help people live free of degenerative disease. Matt's other websites are www.RawSpirit.org and www.LivingNutritionals.com.
After eight years eating a 100% Raw Food Diet, Matt has written two books on the subject – Raw Spirit, and Raw Success. In recent years he has spent much of his time touring the United States, presenting well over 200 Raw Food Lectures. He is widely sought out as a speaker and gives talks worldwide on how to live a healthier lifestyle.
Matt has appeared as a key speaker at events including The Raw Spirit Festival and many other festivals and expos. He was featured in a Raw Food TV Spot that aired over 15 times on Al Gore's TV Network, Current TV. This TV spot can be viewed at www.RawSpirit.org. As 6-year owner of The Raw Food World and Living Nutritionals, he is well versed in people's needs and concerns about health.
Subscribe to this FREE email newsletter
How to Lose Weight with Chia Seeds
by: Barbara L. Minton, citizen journalist
(NaturalNews) Although most Americans find their waistlines expanding with each year, a few manage to stay slender and trim throughout their lives. These are the ones who capture attention and never seem to look their ages. How they do it was the subject of a recent Consumer Reports investigation that sought to determine if these people were genetically gifted, or whether they were in possession of a magic secret resembling the fountain of youth. The study found that getting a large part of nutrition from fruits and vegetables played a big part in keeping these people trim and youthful.
Eat more fruits and vegetables to reach and maintain ideal weight
Consumer Reports National Research Center asked subscribers to their magazine about their lifetime weight history and their eating, dieting, and exercising habits. A total of 21,632 readers completed the survey which identified three key groups: people who were never overweight during their lives, people who were once overweight but have kept themselves at least ten percent lighter for the last three years, and people who were overweight and would like to lose but are still close to their heaviest weight. The always thin people made up 16% of the sample, and the successful losers were 15% of the sample. Failed dieters made up 42%, with the rest not fitting into any category.
The group that had always been thin included a tiny 3% who said they never exercised and ate whatever they wanted. The rest of the always thin group was a lot like those in the successful losers group. This statistic belies the notion that people who have always been thin have some sort of hereditary advantage.
An analysis of the data revealed six key behaviors shared by the always thin and successful losers groups. These behaviors were defined by Consumer Reports as correlating highly with a healthy body mass index (BMI). Leading the list was the eating of fruits and vegetables. 49% of the always thin and successful losers groups said they ate five or more servings a day of fruits and vegetables for at least five days out of a week.
What about fruits and vegetables allows people to achieve a healthy BMI? Fruits and vegetables are low in calories, high in volume, and high in critically important nutrients. They provide the feeling of satiety that goes with fullness. When the stomach is filled with high volume foods that are not high in calories, there is less room to pack in more calorie dense foods.
Fruits and vegetables help weight loss by reducing energy density
A recent study from the Department of Nutritional Sciences at Pennsylvania State University studied the relationship of energy density to dietary outcome. They found that lowering the energy density by increasing the volume without changing nutrient content can enhance satiety and reduce energy intake at a meal. Satiation was shown to be influenced by energy density when the portions of macronutrients were constant. Since people tend to eat a consistent weight of food, when the energy density of the food is reduced, energy intake is also reduced. The effects of considering energy density have been seen across broad ranges of adults as well as in children. Both population based studies and long term clinical trials have shown that reducing the energy density of the diet by the addition of fruits and vegetables was associated with substantial weight loss even when people were not told to restrict calories. This study is from the March 19 edition of Physiology and Behavior.
Substituting beans and lentils for meat is a great way to lower the energy density of a meal. The calories are about the same, but beans and lentils are high in fiber. Beans and lentils are more filling than meat because a quarter pound of beans has a greater volume than a quarter pound of meat.
Fruits and vegetables are nutrient packed
Eating fruits and vegetables can turn off cravings for other types of foods and short circuit the food addiction cycle, helping to provide a boost to weight loss efforts. Nature has built into each of us the desire to eat because eating provides the body with the nutrition to function and maintain itself. If people choose to eat foods that do not contain the nutrients needed, the body will continue to send the signal that more eating is needed. Fruits and vegetables are nutrition powerhouses containing the vitamins, minerals, enzymes, fiber, antioxidants and protein needed for good health and avoidance of disease. When they are eaten, the body is satisfied and the signal to continue eating is extinguished.
The average person in American eats a diet containing only 8% fruits and vegetables. This does not provide nearly enough nutrition to extinguish the signal to eat more. If the other 92% of food eaten consists of nutrient poor processed foods or anything claiming to be low carb or low fat, the signal to keep on eating remains strong. To get real impact on weight and health, intake of fruits and vegetables must be drastically increased. Fruits and vegetables should make up the largest single block of food in the diet, with other foods added in small amounts. People increasing their fruit and vegetable intake while lowering the intake of foods deficient in nutrients will begin to see a difference in their weight and their energy levels.
Choose fruits and vegetables by their color
To gain full spectrum nutrition, eat a variety of colorful fruits and vegetables at every meal. Here are the superstars of nutrition in each color group:
Super greens: These vegetables should make up the foundation of your daily vegetable intake. Dark green leafy vegetables such as spinach, chard, turnip greens, mustard and collard greens, and deep green lettuces, are high in folate, a B vitamin that shows promising results in preventing heart disease. They are treasure chests of detoxifying chlorophyll. Broccoli and Brussels sprouts contain sulforaphane, a potent phytochemical found in all cruciferous vegetables that has been found able to detoxify carcinogens before they do damage to the body. Sulforaphane is also a potent antioxidant with a life in the body of up to three days, vastly surpassing many other antioxidants in staying power. Broccoli sprouts are the best source of supforaphane.
Super reds: Red fruits and vegetables are chocked full of lycopene, the carotenoid that offers high levels of protection against prostate cancer. Find lycopene in red bell peppers, watermelon, pink or red grapefruit, and tomatoes. Cooked tomatoes contain much greater levels of lycopene than tomatoes eaten raw. Red cabbage is full of vitamins and minerals. It is rich in Vitamins C and K, and has all the anti-cancer benefits of other cruciferous vegetables. And don't forget to include red beans. They are one of the best sources of molybdenum and are loaded with protein.
Super oranges: Orange fruits and vegetables are high in beta carotene, notable for its ability to prevent cancers of the lung, esophagus and stomach. They lower risk of heart disease and boost the immune system to keep infections away and make sure cancers don't get started. Carrots, sweet potatoes, mangos, pumpkins and oranges are the main representatives in this group. Each offers a unique profile of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Sweet potatoes are extremely rich in carotenoids and can be eaten by people allergic to nightshade alkaloids.
Super purples: Grapes, blueberries, prunes, and eggplant are the main representatives of the purples. They are known cancer fighters. The anthocyanins providing their distinctive color also give these foods the ability to ward off heart disease by preventing clot formation. Lutein, a carotenoid found in blueberries, reduces the risk of heart disease and stoke and guards against age-related macular degeneration. Prunes are packed with antioxidants. Antioxidants lead the fight against aging.
Super whites: Potatoes, white beans, cauliflower, mushrooms, bananas, onions and garlic are each unique in what they have to offer. Potatoes offer more potassium than just about any other food. Bananas provide energy boosting natural sugars along with Vitamins B6 and C. White beans offer lots of fiber and high quality protein along with a broad spectrum of minerals. Mushrooms are good vegetable source of Vitamin D. Onions and garlic are legendary for their ability to fight cancer, heart disease, and increase the overall antioxidant level of the body.
Super browns: This category is all about beans and lentils. These are foods with some of the highest levels of protein in the vegetable kingdom. Add some rice or corn and this protein is perfect for humans. Pintos and lentils are great sources of manganese, copper, phosphorus, magnesium, iron, potassium, and Vitamin B1. Their high fiber content keeps cholesterol levels right where they should be.
Upping the amount of fruits and vegetables in the diet is easy
Look at the list of super fruits and vegetables and pick out the ones you really like. Phase in your favorites at first and slowly phase out the processed foods and meat. You don't have to give them up entirely, because your goal is simply to make fruits and vegetables a greater part of your diet. Once you begin eating more of them, you will find that you no longer have cravings. Even the craving for Sugar and other sweets will be stilled by the delicious sweet taste of the fruits you choose. Try visiting a salad bar for lunch or dinner and filling your plate with a multitude of colors. As you add more and more fruits and vegetables you will build up your nutrient reserves and start to feel really great. The extra energy you have may even increase your interest in exercise. Replacing many meat and dairy products with fruits and vegetables will help you quickly lose any unwanted pounds. After awhile it will be you who looks young and captures attention.
For more information see:
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/...
http://www.chathamjournal.com/weekl...
http://www.peertrainer.com/diet/why...
About the author
Barbara is a school psychologist, a published author in the area of personal finance, a Breast Cancer survivor using "alternative" treatments, a born existentialist, and a student of nature and all things natural.
By: Jon Barron
01/19/2004
Once again, the marketing mainstream has seized upon the tiniest piece of truth, blown it up to dangerous proportions, and backed it with hundreds of millions of dollars in promotional monies.
Then again, maybe we shouldn't blame the establishment at all. After all, they only go where we lead them. If we didn't display such an inexhaustible capacity to chase after magic bullets and quick fixes, they wouldn't continually be trying to sell them to us.
So what am I talking about? Well, if it's not obvious, I'm talking about the low-carb craze which is sweeping the world. Won't we ever learn?
The 'Low Carb Craze'
It wasn't that long ago that fat was the culprit. Every doctor and food commercial on TV promoted low-fat, lean foods. And we responded. Fat consumption in the United States dropped by 10%. But surprisingly, obesity soared at exactly the same time -- to the point that the United States is now the fattest country in the history of the world, with the rest of the developed world following closely behind. So what was wrong with the fat theory. Aren't fat calories bad for you, and don't they contribute to obesity?
And the answer, of course, is no -- at least not when stated in such a simplistic fashion. As it turns out there are good fats and bad fats. And I'm not talking about unsaturated and saturated fats. Why anyone would listen to the medical establishment when it comes to diet and nutrition is still mind boggling to me. Remember, these are the same people who think hospital food helps patients recover. Enough said.
The Truth About Fats
The simple truth behind fats is that the whole issue of saturated VS unsaturated fats is totally false. In fact, there are some saturated fats that are extremely healthy and extremely valuable -- even essential -- to good health. For example, coconut oil.
For a number of years now coconut oil has been vilified due to its saturated fat content. But as I said, not all saturated fats are alike. Coconut oil is unique in its structural make-up. It is not only the highest source of saturated fats (92%), but included in that number are the medium chain triglycerides, which are extremely beneficial to the body. In fact, coconut oil is the highest source of saturated medium chain triglycerides (62%) of any naturally occurring vegan food source. In addition, approximately 50% of these MCT's are made up of lauric acid, the most important essential fatty acid in building and maintaining the body's immune system. The only other source of lauric acid found in such high concentrations is mother's milk. In other words, the simple statement that all saturated fat is bad is 100% totally and absolutely wrong!
On the other hand, unsaturated fats are not all universally healthy. For years doctors pushed margarine only to discover that it was incredibly unhealthy because of its high levels of trans fatty acids. So now, low trans fatty acid margarines are the "in" thing. But what the establishment still hasn't "discovered" is that the type of fat consumed is a secondary issue. It is the ratio of unsaturated fat (Omega 6 to Omega 3) that is crucial to good health. The ideal ratio is approximately 1 to 1. However, thanks to the medical marketing machine that moved us towards the virtues of unsaturated fat (vegetable oils), the typical western diet now runs as high as 30 to 1 (Omega 6 to Omega 3) with profound unhealthy consequences. But enough about fats. Now we have a new absurdity to deal with.
The medical marketing machine, after resisting it for years (correctly, but for the wrong reasons), is embracing the high-protein, low-carb diet as promoted, most notably, by the late Dr. Atkins. So what's the story here?
Well, several things.
As we continue this discussion next issue, we'll cover some of these points in more detail. Specifically:
Probiotics
So let me leave you with one final thought for the day. If you are on a low-carb program and consuming more than usual amounts of non-organic meat or dairy, then you are actively destroying the beneficial bacteria in your intestinal tract. This has significant health consequences. For anyone on such a program, supplementation with a good probiotic formula is essential. In fact, for most of us, since exposure to chlorine and Antibiotics to some degree is now almost unavoidable, and the disappearance of bacteria rich foods to help replace those bacteria is now almost total (store-bought yogurt doesn't cut it), supplementation makes sense, and it also happens to be one of the most ignored parts of most people's health programs.
By: Jon Barron
02/02/2004
Let me begin by clarifying once more that I am not opposed to the reduction of many carbohydrates in the diet. This is a good thing, and I have always said so -- even before Dr. Atkins promoted the concept. As I mentioned last issue, when the establishment pushed people away from fats towards carbs, obesity soared. The promotion of carbohydrates as the base level in the food pyramid has been a dietary disaster. (And yes, it's not just refined grains and sugars. Even some unrefined grains can present problems.) So once again, my issue is not with the concept, but with the craziness that has now latched onto the concept, including:
Lack of Balance in our Diets
One of the main things I was called to task for over the last two weeks was of "falsely accusing" many of the low-carb diets of heavily emphasizing meat and dairy. "Where in the world did I get such a ridiculous idea?" Well, as it turns out, from the books and websites that promote the diets.
The bottom line is that I stand by my assertion that the popular implementation of low-carb dieting is heavy on meat and dairy -- which brings me to my second problem with these diets.
Unhealthy Substitute Foods
Certainly some of the people who wrote to complain over the last two weeks do not fall into this category. They have found healthy alternatives. But it doesn't change the basic premise that most people are interpreting and implementing the diets in a highly unbalanced way.
- Non-organic meat in the United States tends to be injected with heavy doses of Antibiotics that you end up consuming when you eat the meat. This creates a state of dysbiosis in the intestinal tract and wreaks havoc on the immune system. The more you eat, the worse the consequences.
- Growth hormones are also often part of the picture in animal-factory raised meat. And again you consume those same synthetic hormones whenever you eat your meat, with significant health consequences. And on a high meat diet, you are consuming those hormones at high levels.
- Also as I mentioned last issue, grain fed beef has a skewed ratio of Omega-6 to Omega-3 fats, which has serious health implications. The higher the level of consumption, the more skewed the ratio.
- And we won't even go into the other possible health issues such as mad cow disease, E coli contamination, chicken leucosis, etc
Not All Carbohydrates are bad
Not all carbohydrates are bad. In fact, carbohydrates are essential. Our bodies need carbohydrates. Most of the organs and tissue in our bodies, including our muscles and our brains, run on carbohydrates. As Dr. Joel Fuhrman says in his book, Eat to Live (highly recommended), "It is impossible to glean all the nutrients needed for optimal health if your diet does not contain lots of carbohydrate rich food."
And he continues, " Fresh fruits, beans and legumes, whole grains, and root vegetables are all examples of foods whose calories come mainly from carbohydrate. It is the nutrient-per-calorie ratio of these foods that determines their food value."
The concept of nutrient density that Dr. Fuhrman mentions is key to truly making sense of dietary issues. The USDA maintains a National Nutritional Database. Go to the database and start searching on your favorite foods. If you know how to read it ("energy" equates to calories -- check out butter) and compare sirloin steak to romaine lettuce, for example, you will be greatly surprised. You will find that romaine lettuce not only has far more nutrients than sirloin (probably not a surprise), but it also contains over twice the protein per calorie as sirloin. Now that probably will come as a surprise to most people. As a side note, on a per calorie basis, romaine lettuce contains 100 times the calcium, over 20 times the magnesium, and infinitely more antioxidants, phytochemicals, and fiber than sirloin. Which food do you think is more beneficial to your body?
And it's not just leafy greens that are nutrient dense. Fruits of all kinds are packed with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, phytochemicals, and fiber.
And even whole grains have more nutrient density than meat and dairy. Now, to be sure, many grains are high glycemic and trigger an insulin response, which is a major negative -- but not all grains do so. In fact, in Part 3 of this series, I'm going to explore with you an amazing grain that is extremely low on the glycemic index, that actually lowers the body's insulin response, and that provides 400% more energy per calorie than any other food known. (And no, it's not Amaranth, or Kamut, or Quinoa or any of the other guesses that poured in after I hinted at it in the last newsletter. You'll just have to be patient for two more weeks to find out what it is :)
Consequences of Proteins and Carbs
So what are the consequences of going on a high protein, low-carb diet.
Positives: Predicted Negatives:
Conclusion: Balanced Diet
Cutting refined carbs and minimizing high glycemic grains and vegetables from your diet makes all the sense in the world. Replacing those foods with large amounts of meat and dairy does not - particularly since you can get all of the benefits associated with these diets without the negative side effects. Just: Anyway, that's it for now. In the next issue, we'll cover recommendations for eating and the miracle grain that seems to have so many people curious.
By: Jon Barron
02/16/2004
In this newsletter issue we're going to focus on that mysterious miracle grain, but before we do, let's review quickly. Cutting refined carbs and minimizing high glycemic grains and starchy vegetables from your diet makes all the sense in the world. Replacing those foods with large amounts of meat and dairy and artificial sweeteners does not - particularly since you can get all of the benefits associated with these diets without the negative side effects. And how did we get lost in such craziness? Quite simply, we were once again seduced by our love of broad stroke generalizations. A Grain Is Not Necessarily a Grain Is wheat a grain? Of course, everyone would agree that wheat is a grain. Is wheat bad on a low carb diet? Again, wheat (even whole grain) is problematic on a low carb diet. But what about wheat grass? Many people feel that the grass that grows the first few days after wheat sprouts is one of the healthiest foods on the planet. Is wheat grass a carbohydrate? Absolutely. Is it okay to eat on a low carb program?? Well, many people would say that as a grass, it's more like a vegetable than a grain. An unusual definition of vegetable to be sure, but let's go with it. But what about a wheat berry sprout? What about sprouts in general? Are they carbs? Yes. Absolutely. Are they grains? Interesting question. At what point in the growing process does a grain become a plant? And then there are "pre-sprouts." Take oats. There's a huge difference between rolled oats cooked in boiling water and whole oat groats put in a thermos overnight with hot water. Yes, they both taste just like warm oatmeal in the morning, but you can plant the puffed up "pre-sprouted" groats in the ground, and they will grow!! They haven't sprouted yet, but the proteins and carbohydrates have been transformed. The pre-sprouted groats are still alive. They will grow. And yet they are not a plant. They are not sprouts. They are still grains, but they are transformed. They are a different animal, with remarkable properties. They are pre-sprouts. Which brings us to the question at hand. What is the miracle grain that I have been hinting at over the last two newsletters? It's pre-sprouted barley. Barley Before we actually get into the details of Aktivated Barley, we need to look briefly at barley in general. Research conducted in Canada, the United States, and Australia has shown that barley can play a significant role in lowering blood cholesterol in hypercholesterolemic subjects. Other studies have shown that non-insulin dependent diabetics (Type II) had improved blood glucose levels as a result of including barley in their diet. It should be noted that barley rates an astoundingly low 27 on the glycemic index. That's 22 percent less than skim milk! And yet which one is banned form the low carb no grain diets? In addition, barley has high concentrations of tocotrienols, antioxidant compounds that work to suppress the activity of the first rate-limiting enzyme (HMG-CoA Reductase) in the liver, thus reducing cholesterol synthesis. And barley is one of the highest known sources of beta-glucans, carbohydrates (there's that word again) that have remarkable immune boosting properties and have been shown to improve blood glucose and lipid levels among diabetics in clinical trials. Historically, barley has been used for thousands of years. The Roman army marched on it. It was the primary staple of their diet. They picked up that trick from the Greek gladiators who trained on it and were known as "barley eaters." (So much for meat being the food of choice for macho men.) In ancient Rome, a food made from spouted barley, honey, and colostrum was used to sustain infants whose mother's had died in childbirth. In more recent years, the same formula has been used by the UN to prevent starvation in Third World countries. Aktivated Barley The problem with sprouted barley is that it's extremely gelatinous. All attempts to dry it and package it for commercial distribution failed until a company in Sweden, called Nutritech International, figured out a way to use low-temperature steam (produced in a partial vacuum) to take the barley just up to the point of sprouting -- before it turns gelatinous, but after the point where all the proteins and carbohydrates have been converted, and at a temperature low enough so that no enzymes are damaged. This turns out to be a remarkably interesting point for food. It's like the food is placed in a state of suspended animation at the point where all of the energy of the grain has been marshaled to sprout the pearl -- and not yet expended in the act of sprouting. The result is a brand new superfood with unbelievable properties. Think of it like a bullet in a gun. And in fact, this Aktivated Barley produces some astounding numbers on the Bovis Scale. If you are not familiar with the Bovis Scale, it was developed by a French physicist and quantifies or measures how positively or negatively charged a substance is. For living organisms, the key reference point on the scale is found at 6,500 Bovis Energy Units. From 0 to 6,500, the charge is in the negative range, or life-detracting, while above the 6,500 point the energy gradually becomes more positive, or life-enhancing. The desired minimal energy level for humans is found between 8,000 to 10,000 Bovis Energy Units, or slightly positive. The Earth itself creates energy in the 7,000 to 18,000 range. This energy is also referred to as "Biophotons", which are light particles invisible to our eyes. This positive radiation is necessary to the maintenance of life on Earth. A simple way of describing Bovis Energy Units would be to call them "Bio-Photon-Activating" Energy Units. Bottom line: This new pre-sprouted ultra-long-chain carbohydrate found in pre-sprouted barley registers 320,000 on the Bovis Scale. That is unheard of for food. The only thing I've ever seen higher than that is specially treated water. Note: While the concept of the Bovis scale is based on sound theory, and the results on the body of the ingestion of high Bovis foods and water is clearly observable, accurate methods for measuring substances on the Bovis scale are in short supply. At this point in time, it is probably best to consider Bovis ratings as general indicators, rather than as accurately verifiable numbers.
The Properties of Aktivated Barely
Bottom Line: Nutrition for health
Foods like Aktivated Barley put the lie to broad generalizations such as "avoid all carbs or grains." Broad brush strokes, when it comes to diet and nutrition tend to be flawed almost by definition. As I have repeatedly said, common sense and balance are the keys to good diet. Don't be swayed by the latest fad. Certainly eliminate as much as possible all sugars and refined carbohydrates from your diet. Cut way back on high glycemic foods. But don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. Don't replace them with high levels of protein, dairy, and artificial sweeteners. Do replace them with nutrient dense foods. And don't ignore the good carbohydrates. They are essential for life. And as for Aktivated Barley, I have been so impressed with it that I ended up totally redesigning a meal replacement shake that had been in testing for almost six months to take advantage of its remarkable properties. The shake is actually being released by Baseline Nutritionals® in a few hours. I'm also going to be using it in a superfood formula that is currently under development and scheduled for release in the next 90 days. Keep your eyes open. Over the next 12 months, you'll be seeing Aktivated Barley appearing in many different companies' formulas. Something this good won't stay secret for long.
May 2nd [2005] produced the latest news on the world's “fat” crisis when a study presented at a meeting of the American Heart Association found the affluent are getting fatter faster than the less affluent. The report claims obesity is growing fastest among Americans with incomes more than $60,000 per year. It appears obesity is becoming a general problem rather an economic one. (I always knew the affluent had what it takes to compete.) And waistlines are not the only thing growing. The sale of diet books is doubling each year according to statistics from Amazon. Adding to the confusion, just a couple of weeks earlier, the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) announced that they had discovered that overweight people in the United States had less risk of premature death than people who were of normal or slightly under weight. Of course, this information flatly contradicted last year's study by the CDC (the parent organization of NCHS) that stated obesity was responsible for 400,000 deaths a year in the United States and that it was on track to overtake smoking as the leading cause of premature death. Now, it looks like the real figure is something around 112,000 extra deaths every year. (Isn't it wonderful? Government agencies are charged with making us healthier – and presto-chango they did, just by re-examining the data.) But it gets even better. In a related study, reported in JAMA, it was DE CLAREd that overweight Americans are healthier than ever thanks to better maintenance of cholesterol and blood pressure with prescription drugs -- which probably accounts for a Rand Report's claim that obese people spend 77 percent more on medications than healthy people. (Now there's an interesting definition of health. It's not the underlying physical condition of your body that matters; it's the condition that pharmaceutical drugs can force it into that's important.) Then again, a doctor recently told me that overweight patients who go into a coma tend to fair better than normal weight patients. (I guess that means if you're planning on going into a coma, it's worth packing on a few extra pounds just for the health benefits.) Hold on. One more. Just one week after the NCHS announced their study that said fat people live longer, the British Medical Journal published a study funded by the US National Institute of Health which proved that being fat in your 40's significantly increases your chances of dementia as you get older. I guess the obvious conclusion we can draw from all these studies is that although fat people might live longer and be “healthier”, because of the increased likelihood of dementia, it's unlikely they'll be aware of it. Okay. Enough studies from the inmates. Let's step out of the asylum ASAP and do a reality check. What do these studies actually tell us? What do we know? What is the impact of being overweight on our health? I mean, come on. How much do we need to rely on studies? Just a little common sense tells us that if you can't be the proper weight with regular exercise, then being slightly overweight with regular exercise is healthier than being underweight with no exercise – and that being obese with no exercise is worst of all. When you cut through all the nonsense, obesity is just plain bad for your health. With that as a given, the only questions worth considering are what makes us overweight and what can we do about it. There are a number of factors that contribute to the fat crisis confronting the modern world. Consuming excess calories is only one of them. Some of the most significant are: Much of the processed food we eat nowadays (pepperoni pizza, diet soda, and ding dongs) has almost no food value. It may temporarily fill the stomach, but it leaves our bodies craving basic vitamins and minerals. It forces us to eat more and more of this empty food in an attempt to satisfy our unsatisfied nutritional cravings. This is a variation of the empty calories syndrome. Many of us attempt to eat right, but “factory farming” has reduced soil nutrients to the point where even so called health food has almost no nutrition. And the organic label doesn't necessarily help. All organic means is that it's grown with natural fertilizers and no pesticides. It doesn't mean that the soil is remineralized on a regular basis or that the amount of natural fertilizer used is enough to optimize nutrition. Most of the food we now eat is cooked or processed, which means that it is devoid of enzymes. Without the required enzymes in our food, we don't sufficiently break the food down to extract full nutritional value thereby requiring us to eat more and more to compensate. The human body requires approximately 2,200 calories of energy per day for a woman and 2,900 calories per day for a man. When your daily intake of calories exceeds the bodily requirements, the body converts them into fat. The body will only consume stored fat when it requires more energy and that is compounded by the following: Excessive high glycemic carbohydrates overwhelm the body and shut down its ability to process carbohydrates. This leads to two problems. First, the excess carbs are converted to triglycerides and stored in the body as fat. Second, they damage the body's insulin system for handling carbohydrates thereby damaging our body's ability to even handle normal carbohydrates efficiently over the long haul. Anybody suffer from stress occasionally? Well, as part of its coping mechanism for dealing with stress (originally related to survival, not big business deals and fights with our spouses), your body stores fat with a vengeance under stress – to prevent starvation while looking for the next fruit tree or mastodon to provide your food. Since you now can get donuts every day at work without needing to hunt for a week to find a mastodon, this fat storage mechanism is not as useful as it once was. Remember, the body is a system interdependent on all its parts. Just like you can't downsize a business to profitability, the body's need for nutrients won't be satisfied by withholding food. So sensible eating, not just dieting, is a big part of the answer. The proper diet, enzymes with each meal, exercise, clean water, supplements, detoxing and digestive tract cleansing are integral for optimal health.
Had enough yet?
Why We Get Fat
Empty Calories
Modern Farming
Enzymes
Excess Calories
Carbohydrates
Stress
What Can We Do About It?
sejackson45 — This is a mini time line of my raw food weight loss. I lost over 100 pounds in 6 months. Visit http://www.raw-licious.com
for more of the story. You can get my book "Raw-licious Healthy and Delicious Recipes" at Amazon.com.
(NaturalNews) Detox, short for detoxification, is the purification of the body by removing toxins. Our bodies naturally eliminate toxins through our skin, liver, kidney and lungs. However due to the massive amount of toxins in our air, water and food supply today our bodies are unable to "keep up" with the amount of toxins invading us daily. This leads to fatigue, weight gain and a whole host of health problems. Therefore it is necessary for us to take steps to detoxify our bodies in order to reclaim our health and vitality.
If you are struggling to lose weight you are not alone. According to USA Today over 65% of Americans are overweight or obese. About 45 million Americans diet each year, but most diets fail and we continue to become more and more overweight.
So why do 95% of diets fail?
The diet industry is a multi-billion dollar industry. These companies are in the business to make money, not to make us thin or happy. They spend more money on advertising and marketing than they do on actually developing products that work. Think about it: if the products worked, the diet industry would be out of business!
The only way to lose weight and get healthy is to know why we are fat in the first place and then take the necessary steps to make a change.
So why are we fat?
Toxins. From the food we eat to the air we breathe to the water we bathe in, toxins invade our body daily.
Toxins are stored in our body fat. Toxins cause our livers to become sluggish and to not function properly. This causes our organs to stop metabolizing fat effectively and we gain weight. The more toxins we accumulate, the more weight we gain. Even worse, the more we weigh, the more toxins we can then store.
Our bodies and metabolism are designed to eliminate these toxins. However, because of the massive amount of toxins in our food supply today, and because we are exposed to them on a daily basis, our bodies become overwhelmed and unable to properly process and eliminate them.
So how do we lose weight and reclaim our health and vitality?
Detox.
You must detoxify your body in order to lose weight. Here are ten tips to help you start detoxing today without drastically changing your lifestyle:
1. Eat organic fruits and vegetables.
Conventional fruits and vegetables are full of chemicals that harm your body. Organic food is grown without the use of pesticides and artificial fertilizers. The sooner you stop polluting your body, the sooner you will start to look and feel healthier.
2. Eat kosher meat.
When you eat a burger the growth hormones that were given to the cow are then passed on to you thus making you grow and gain weight! Organic meat is produced without giving the animal Antibiotics or growth hormones. Only buy certified organic meat and only eat free-range chicken. Your body will thank you.
3. Do a juice fast.
The juice fast essentially means you drink juice throughout the day, every day. Your juice must be fresh and organic. This can be done for 3 days, 10 days or 30 days. It depends on your level of discipline, your size and your health goals. If you have never done a juice fast before then you will start seeing results right away!
4. Add apple cider vinegar to your diet: You can use it as salad dressing or drink it with water. Apple Cider Vinegar helps detoxify your liver. Take 2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar mixed in water before every meal to aid in weight-loss.
5. Add coconut oil when you cook: Virgin coconut oil can be added to your everyday meals as a substitute for your cooking oil. It improves digestion, promotes weight-loss and helps keep skin and hair looking young and healthy.
6. Drink green tea: EGCG, an antioxidant contained in green tea, helps the body burn fat. Antioxidants such as vitamins A, C, E, and the polyphenols found in green tea also help your body reduce the time that toxins stay in your system.
7. Dry-brush before you shower.
Go to your local health food store and buy a dry brush. Then brush your skin before every shower. This removes dead skin cells and toxins helping you lose weight and have glowing skin.
8. Get a shower filter.
Your tap water can contain pesticides, toxic bacteria, viruses and traces of human and animal waste. Every time you take a shower or drink out of the tap you are ingesting dangerous toxic chemicals. Filtering your water also improves your hair and skin!
9. Add fiber to your diet.
Fiber keeps your meal moving along your gastrointestinal tract and helps flush your body of metabolic waste. Fiber also keeps your energy levels high, and slows your rate of carbohydrate digestion, which helps you maintain your blood Sugar levels.
10. Use only natural and organic beauty products.
Most of our beauty products are full of toxins, preservatives , and even poisons. These are put in our beauty products in order to give them a longer shelf life and thus give the company more profits. Using organic products guarantees that you will not be putting toxins into your body every day.
The more toxins you eliminate from your body, the more weight you will lose and the more healthy you will become!
Naturalcures.com, "Cleansing and Detoxification," Trudeau, Kevin,
http://www.naturalcures.com/cleansi...
Libraryindex.com, "Diet and Myths Weight-Loss Lore and Controversies - Why Diets Fail," http://www.libraryindex.com/pages/2...
Wikipedia.org, "Toxin," http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toxin
About the author
Allison Biggar is a writer and filmmaker who believes in using the media to empower people to make a difference.
After losing both her parents to cancer at a young age, Allison became passionate about natural, organic health issues and learned that every disease is curable by natural methods.
Also an award winning filmmaker Allison is in pre-production of a natural health documentary dedicated to showing people how to cure themselves of diseases and ailments using natural methods.
You can visit her Natural Health site-in-progress at www.holisticvoice.org.
Related Articles:
• Detox for Life: The Three Crucial Steps of the Detox Program
• Interview with Randall Fitzgerald, author of The Hundred-Year Lie...
• Protect Yourself from Poisons in the Sky
Subscribe to this FREE email newsletter
Simple Ways to Detoxify Your Body and Reclaim Your Health and Vitality
***Personal note: Barefooting doesn't include eating animal carcus ... not even if it's called/labelled "organic" ... animal flesh and products are acid ash foods.
http://www.lovingraw.com
I introduce my story with before and after pictures and a brief bio on how I lost 125lbs and change my life with raw foods.
To date I have lost nearly 200 lbs with the raw food lifestyle! More videos to come so stay tuned and subscribe on my YouTube page and on my website lovingraw.com!
Filmed: 9/24/07
(NaturalNews) A wealth of new scientific evidence shines a critical light on the importance of natural foods and nutritional compounds in the fight against
overweight, obesity and weight maintenance. Virtually all alternative health experts agree, the current epidemic of weight control issues plaguing western
society are the result of excess consumption of highly processed convenience foods that have replaced vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds in the diet. Three
independent studies conclude that blueberries, resveratrol from red grapes and cocoa flavanols exert a potent effect on fat cell formation that can aid in
weight loss and management goals when included as part of your daily diet.
Blueberries have been well documented for their cognitive and cardio-protective benefits, due in large part to the potent complex of anthocyanins that give
the berry its deep blue color. Researchers reporting the results of a study to the Experimental Biology 2011 conference have found that blueberries may
hold the key to resolving one of the largest threats to human health this century - overweight and obesity.
Scientists determined that extracts of the berry compound inhibited the formation of new baby fat cells (adipocytes) in a dose-dependent manner. Less
adipocytes mean there are fewer `containers` to store triglycerides from the blood, and this is an ultimately powerful mechanism to lower or help maintain
body weight. Not only did blueberry extract supplementation reduce the number of adipocytes up to 73 percent, but the compound was also found to assist in
the breakdown of lipids and fats for removal from the body.
Polyphenols from the
plant have been shown to promote cardiovascular, skin and brain health in recent studies. Research published in the
provide evidence that extracts of the
bean, particularly the flavanol epicatechin, are potent inhibitors of enzymes that break down carbohydrates during digestion.
Study authors determined the compound exerted an effect in a dose-dependent fashion, noting "the more consumed, the greater the effect." They were also
careful to conclude that chocolate and cocoa are two very different terms with the distinction that cocoa is the non-fat component of cocoa liquor, and the
carbohydrate-inhibiting effect is not seen when sugar-infused milk chocolate sources are used. A minimum cocoa content of 55% is necessary for health and
concerns.
Resveratrol, the bioactive compound found most commonly in the skins of red grapes, is shown to reduce body fat formation by preventing the formation of
fat tissue in a study published in the journal
. The compound is known to positively affect cognitive functions and extend natural lifespan by regulating the longevity gene SIRT1. Researchers explain
that ingesting
at supplemental doses (50 mg per day) for a period of six weeks caused a significant reduction in the activity of enzymes linked to fat production in the
body.
Effective weight loss and management requires a combination of lifestyle and dietary modifications. Natural foods and dietary nutrients such as
blueberries, resveratrol and cocoa compounds provide a safe and powerful mechanism to achieve long-term
reduction goals.
Article References:
John Phillip is a Health Researcher and Author who writes regularly on the cutting edge use of diet, lifestyle modifications and targeted supplementation
to enhance and improve the quality and length of life. John is the author of 'Your Healthy Weight Loss Plan', a comprehensive EBook explaining how to use
Diet, Exercise, Mind and Targeted Supplementation to achieve your weight loss goal. Visit My Optimal Health Resource to continue reading the latest health news updates, and to download
your Free 48 page copy of 'Your Healthy Weight Loss Plan'.
Blueberries, resveratrol and cocoa flavanols aid weight management goals
Subscribe to this FREE email newsletter
Back in 2007, I wrote a four part series on the anatomy and physiology of the cardiovascular system. The idea behind the series was that by looking at the basic anatomy and physiology of the various body systems from a doctor's perspective, we gain a unique perspective. Once we understand the underlying basis of medical treatments used to correct problems in that system, we can make informed decisions as to which of those treatments and medications actually make sense for us...and, more importantly, what natural alternatives might actually work better. So with that in mind, let's go back to our exploration of anatomy and physiology by exploring the respiratory system.
The primary functions of the respiratory system
At its simplest level, the respiratory system, for all its complexity, really has just two primary functions. First, it is an exchange system that swaps out carbon dioxide, the byproduct of metabolism, for oxygen. In addition, it is instrumental in maintaining the acid/alkaline pH balance in your body through the bicarbonate buffer system. This is a simple concept to understand vis-à-vis the respiratory system once you realize that when carbon dioxide dissolves in water, it can react with that water to produce carbonic acid, which acidifies the blood. This means that eliminating carbon dioxide in the blood reduces acid levels both in the blood and in the body tissue served by that blood.
Understanding what we're trying to do when breathing is more important than it might first seem. With understanding comes the first awareness of what we can do to improve those functions.
Anatomy of the respiratory system
Surprisingly, the respiratory system and the gastrointestinal system are closely linked by evolution. Or if you prefer the shorter term perspective, the respiratory system grows out of the gastrointestinal system during the development of the fetus in the womb. This linkage can easily be seen in the shared connections in the two systems. The mouth, tongue, nasal cavities, and esophagus are involved in both respiration and eating. In fact, this linkage can at times be problematic as it puts the lungs at risk of aspiration during swallowing and vomiting.
In essence, the respiratory system consists of a series of tubes for conduction of air, then distribution of that air to the remotest corners of your lungs, and finally the exchange of gases at the capillary level. Air is inhaled through the nose and mouth, then down through the "airways," passing from the larynx and trachea and then into a rapidly dividing series of about 23 generations of bronchi and bronchioles. The bronchi are comprised of a series of cartilaginous rings that keep them relatively rigid. But by the time you reach the smallest of the conductive tubes, the bronchioles, the cartilage is gone and the tubes are flexible -- subject to opening and closing through muscle action.
In summary, the larynx, trachea, bronchi, and their smaller divisions perform pulmonary ventilation, which is simply the movement of air. The bronchioles and alveoli, which are found at the far end of the respiratory system, perform pulmonary respiration, which is the actual exchange of gases.
There are nearly 50 distinct types of cells that have been identified in the lungs -- at least 12 can be found in the airways. In addition, mucus is secreted onto the surfaces of the airways by glands and by "goblet cells" abundantly present on bronchial surfaces. This mucous rests on a thin layer of an electrolyte solution and covers much of the bronchial surfaces. In addition, a large number of cells with hair like extensions called cilia can also be found along the entire length of the airways (at least in a person who doesn't smoke). The purpose of the cilia is to capture any particles or smoke that enters the air passages, mix them with the mucous that lines the passageway, and then beat that mixture back up through the passageway until it is expelled from the lungs. From there it is either coughed and expectorated out of the body or swallowed. As a side note, approximately 500 ml of this mucous (one pint) is swallowed every day. Any damage to this system, such as that caused by smoking which destroys the cilia, leaves one prone to develop respiratory infections and bronchial dilation, which narrows the airways and restricts the ability to breathe.
Upper airway
The first part of the airway (nose and mouth) is devoted to air conditioning -- warming up cold air, cooling hot air, moisturizing dry air, etc. before it enters the lungs. The nasal cavity (also called the nasopharynx) is lined with mucous membranes, which contain many folds to provide a large surface area. This facilitates temperature and moisture control. It's the reason you get a runny nose in cold air as the nasal tissue releases large quantities of fluid in an attempt to moisturize the cold dry air. In addition, the mucous produced by the membranes is thick and sticky so as to catch dust and particulate matter so it does not enter the lungs.
The epiglottis is made of cartilage and serves to prevent food or liquids from entering the lungs. When you swallow, the swallowing action causes the trachea to rise up. At the same time, the action of the tongue presses the epiglottis down on top of the trachea -- thus closing off entry to the lungs. (Note: this action can be seen by watching the Adams apple which sits above the trachea and is part of the voice box as it rises up with the trachea each time you swallow.) Talking while swallowing will defeat this mechanism, leading to aspiration (the accidental sucking in of food particles or fluids into the lungs). Also, sometimes as people age, the mechanism works less efficiently, thus causing people to aspirate more and go into painful coughing fits in an attempt to force the food or liquid back out of the lungs. Major and minor episodes of aspiration contribute to the terminal stages of many diseases, and aspiration appears to play a role in a variety of chronic disorders, such as cough, bronchial asthma, bronchiectasis, and pulmonary fibrosis.
Lower airway
Like the heart, surrounded by the pericardium, the lungs are likewise enclosed in a two piece membrane called the pleura lining. This is a thin membrane which lines the inside of the chest cavity and also covers the lungs. The two "pleural cavities" (one for each lung) are enclosed compartments, with normally only a film of lubricating fluid between the layer lining the chest (parietal pleura) and the layer covering the lungs (visceral pleura).
The "visceral" layer covering the lungs is continuous with the "parietal" layer that covers the inner surface of the chest cavity -- like a balloon folded over on itself. The thin layer of fluid, which separates these two layers amounts to less than 10 ml (about 1/3 of an oz) total in the normal adult lungs. This fluid contains both mesothelial cells and a significant concentration of mucopolysaccharides, which acts as a lubricant for the smooth movement of the pleural layers against one another. The two layers continually tend to pull away from each other, because of the stretched elastic condition of the lungs -- an important factor in the mechanics of breathing. If the chest wall is penetrated by a wound, air is readily sucked into the pleural cavity, separating the two pleural layers and collapsing the lung.
Air is conducted from the nose and mouth down into the lungs by the trachea (a tube made primarily of cartilage that serves only one purpose -- to conduct air). At the bottom of the trachea, the passageway splits into two bronchial tubes called the mainstem bronchi -- one heading into each lung. The mainstem bronchi then divide progressively into smaller and smaller segmented bronchi as they spread into the lungs. The bronchi are, like the trachea, are primarily composed of inflexible cartilage. Again, they are used for conduction of air only. At the lowest or smallest level, however, the bronchi change. The cartilage is mostly gone, and the composition is now mostly flexible muscle. These terminal bronchi are called bronchioles. As we saw with the cardiovascular system, the muscle tissue at this level allows the bronchioles to expand and contract -- thus directing air flow to the different parts of the lung as needed. The whole system is known as the tracheal-bronchi tree -- and it in fact looks like a tree if you turn it upside down, with the trachea serving as the trunk of the tree.
Note: the muscle tissue at the level of the bronchioles can sometimes present a problem. In some cases, this tissue is extremely sensitive and hyper responsive to allergens. In those cases, the muscle can lock the bronchiole in a closed state. At that point air can still be forced past the bronchiole into the alveolar sacs, but because of the constriction, it cannot leave -- which makes breathing extremely difficult. This condition is known as asthma. (More on this later in the series.) Incidentally, the wheezing that asthmatics experience is merely the sound of air trying to rush through the constricted tubing.
After the division of the mainstem bronchi, each lung divides itself into three lobes -- although in the left lung, the upper and middle lobes have merged together, making it look like there are only two lobes. The lobes are then divided into smaller segments named after the bronchi that go into them. From a surgical point of view, it is far easier to remove an entire lung, as opposed to just a piece of lung since you only have to staple off the one large bronchi and one main blood vessel. Lobes are also fairly easy to remove in that you are still dealing with just a handful of bronchi and blood vessels. But if you try and remove a piece of a lobe, you must close off dozens of bronchioles and blood vessels.
Exchange system
At the end of all the bronchioles are the alveoli, the microscopic air sacs that serve as the exchange system of the lungs. It is the alveoli that interact with the vast network of tiny pulmonary arterioles, venules, and capillaries -- exchanging oxygen for carbon dioxide and refreshing the blood. The network of arterioles and venules literally cover the alveolar sacs complete with a spider web like network, providing access to every square inch of lung tissue. The actual exchange of gases takes place at the level of the pulmonary alveolar capillaries -- the tiniest part of the system.
The alveoli
Alveoli begin to appear in the walls of the 17th generation of bronchioles. By the 20th generation of bronchioles, the entire wall of the airway is composed of alveoli. But the actual alveolar sacs, the bottom line of the lung so to speak, make their appearance at the 23rd generation of alveoli. There are approximately 300 million alveoli within the lungs, providing a surface area about the size of a tennis court. The barrier separating the pulmonary capillaries from the air in the alveolar sacs is composed of a layer of endothelial cells, a small interstitial space, and a layer of pulmonary epithelial cells known as pneumocytes. The exchange of oxygen for carbon dioxide in blood cells takes place across this barrier.
The tissue separating the endothelial cells and the epithelium of the lungs contains elastic, collagen fibers that give structural integrity and elasticity to the pulmonary tissues. When the chest cavity is opened, it is the elasticity of the lungs that acts to expel all of the air remaining in the lungs, which then collapse. This becomes significant when we talk about emphysema. One of the effects of emphysema is that it destroys those elastic fibers, which severely impacts the ability of the lungs to adequately contract, significantly impacting the ability of the patient to breathe. At the other end of the spectrum, however, an overgrowth of fibrous elastic tissues in the lungs happens in patients with pulmonary fibrosis and is responsible for the difficulty that they experience during inhalation -- both in terms of the ability of the lungs to expand and contract and the ability of carbon dioxide and oxygen to freely pass between the pulmonary capillaries and the alveoli.
Another issue to consider is that for this system of gas exchange to work, the alveolar sacs must be composed of many, many separate alveoli so that the sac itself looks something like a bunch of grapes. The reason the multitude of alveoli is necessary is that they provide a vast surface area to accommodate the multitude of pulmonary capillaries required to "feed" the system and exchange sufficient gases. (As we mentioned a couple of paragraphs ago, in a pair of healthy lungs, the surface area is equivalent to that of a tennis court.) In some diseases, such as emphysema, the walls of the individual alveoli break down leaving you with one sack as opposed to "the bunch of grapes." The net effect is a dramatically reduced surface area of the lungs, thereby limiting the ability of the lungs to exchange gases -- thus the resulting shortness of breath. But more on this later.
It is important to note that the lungs (and for the most part we're talking about the alveoli) are not actually hollow, but rather, sponge like. If you cut a section of the lung, it does not look like a balloon, but like a sponge. And in fact, if you squeeze the tissue, tiny little bubbles come out -- just like squeezing a sponge.
It should also be noted that the alveoli are extremely susceptible to complications if any foreign particles or fluids enter them since they have no good mechanism for their removal. Pneumonia is often the end result. In fact, the defense mechanisms to prevent this are actually in the trachea and large bronchi, which, as we discussed earlier, are lined with cells that have a vast area of hair like projections called cilia that beat upwards in an attempt to move the particulate matter (including cigarette smoke, air pollution, or coal dust) out into the throat, where it can be cleared by coughing or clearing the throat. It's probably worth mentioning that one of the first effects of smoking cigarettes or inhaling heavily polluted air is that you destroy these cilia -- and thus the ability of your lungs to protect themselves from further smoking or exposure to particulate matter. Once started, it's a vicious circle.
Diaphragm and chest wall
The last part of the respiratory system we'll talk about is the diaphragm, which is a large, sheet-like muscle. It separates the thoracic cavity, which holds the lungs and heart, and the abdominal cavity, which holds the stomach, intestines, kidneys, and liver. Like the cavities it separates, it too is comprised of two distinct portions. The costal portion is attached to the ribs and is responsible for ventilation. The ribs meanwhile, which define the chest wall, are connected by two layers of intercostal muscles. The outer layers run diagonally downward and forward from the upper to lower ribs and act to lift the chest cavity. The internal intercostals run diagonally in the opposite direction and assist in exhalation. The scalene muscles run from the first five vertebrae to the first two ribs and lift the chest cage during inhalation.
The diaphragm is crucial for breathing and respiration. During inhalation, the diaphragm contracts, thus enlarging the thoracic cavity (the external intercostal muscles also participate in this enlargement). This reduces intra-thoracic pressure. In other words, by enlarging the chest cavity, you create suction that draws air into the lungs. When the diaphragm relaxes, air is exhaled by the elastic recoil of the lungs and the tissues lining the thoracic cavity in conjunction with the abdominal muscles, which now push inward and help the diaphragm rise up and shrink the size of the chest cavity forcing air out.
The second portion of the diaphragm consists of the crural fibers, which surround the esophagus. These fibers also contract during inhalation but have a relatively minor effect on respiration. Their primary function is that they relax when food is swallowed. The crural diaphragm also relaxes when vomiting, in contrast to the costal diaphragm, which contracts with the abdominal musculature to increase intra-abdominal pressure in an attempt to force the vomit upward -- oftentimes with great force. (Think of the movie, The Exorcist.) The crural diaphragm acts in concert with the smooth muscle of the esophagus to prevent the reflux of food and gastric fluid into the esophagus.
It should also be noted that the diaphragm is involved in helping to prevent acid reflux by exerting pressure on the esophagus as it passes through the esophageal hiatus. Malfunctions here are known as hiatal hernias.
Lung facts
Like virtually all the systems and organs in our body, the lungs are a marvel of engineering and function. Awake or asleep, conscious or unconscious, our bodies breathe automatically without thought on our part.
• The normal human lungs weigh about 2 lbs or 1 kg, of which 40% to 50% is blood.
• New babies at rest breathe between 40 and 50 times per minute. By age five it decreases to around 25 times
per minute.
• At rest, an adult breathes about 14 to 16 times per minute. After exercise it could increase to over 60 times
per minute. Note: these rates are fixed. After years of doing yoga breathing exercises, my normal breathing
rate is about six times per minute. It used to drive doctors crazy on the rare occasions I would have a
physical. There are some people who believe that slowing down the rate of breathing slows down the rate of
aging. I don't know if that's true, but after 61 years, I'd have to say, "So far so good."
• On average, you breathe 23,000 times a day and about 600 million breaths during your lifetime.
• Each time you breathe you inhale approximately one liter of air (or up to 3 liters of air with a full inhalation).
That works out to about 600,000 cubic meters (785,000 cubic yards) of air during your lifetime.
• As a side note, because you breathe so many molecules of air during your lifetime, those same molecules
get shared by everyone else on the planet as they breathe. Or to look at it another way, with every breath you
take, you are breathing billions of molecules of air that have previously passed through the lungs of Genghis
Khan, Mary Magdalene, Albert Einstein, or Mohammed -- take your pick from any name in history. It's an
amazing concept when you think about it.
Wrapping up on the anatomy of the respiratory system
Let's take a break here. With the next issue, we'll pick up with an exploration of the physiology of the respiratory system -- how it actually works and how gases are actually exchanged. After that, we'll move into an exploration of what can go wrong and what you can do about it. Conditions we'll cover include:
• COPD
• Emphysema
• Asthma
• Allergies
• Bronchitis and flu
• Bird flu
• Pneumonia (can be triggered by aspiration -- as happens with dolphins and whales)
• Cystic fibrosis
• Pulmonary fibrosis
• Pulmonary embolism
When we discuss those conditions, we'll get specific as to how you can help deal with them, but for now, let's wrap up with a look at three things you can do now to improve the health of your respiratory system.
Exercise your lungs
In my newsletter on Exercise, I talked about the importance of resistance breathing. Proper breathing is a topic worthy of its own newsletter, but for now, let's just focus on the advantages of resistance breathing. The concept is simple: putting a device in your mouth that restricts (in a controlled manner) your inhalations and exhalations, which forces your lungs to work harder. This, in turn, strengthens the muscles that makes your lungs work and increases their capacity. There are a number of such devices widely available on the internet and in health magazines. They tend to run $20-40. The investment is well worth it since this type of exercise can significantly improve the strength of your respiratory muscles and increase your lung capacity.
How much of a benefit are we talking about?
Studies have shown that these devices can increase breathing endurance by close to 300%. Considering how fundamental oxygen is to health, it's not hard to see the short and long-term health and performance advantages of doing so.
And for those looking to duplicate what I did with yoga breathing, the exercises I practiced were
• Kapalabhati
• Alternate nostril breathing
• Bhastrika, which you will want a teacher to guide you through
• Watching your breath. You can lie on your back for this exercise. Just visualize yourself rising and expanding
with each inhalation, and floating out on the breath with each exhalation. And enjoy the spaces between the
breaths. Don't force it. Just watch. If after inhaling, you don't feel like exhaling immediately, don't. Just enjoy
the sensation of rising and expanding. And if after exhaling, you don't feel the need to inhale immediately,
don't. Just enjoy the sensation of floating on your breath until it's time to inhale again. Don't force it. Just watch
and breathe.
Proteolytic enzymes
Regular use of a well designed proteolytic enzyme formula can:
• Reduce swelling of lung tissue, including the bronchioles
• Reduce allergies
• Relax and expand your bronchioles
• Thin and clear mucous from the lungs
• Help heal scars in your lung tissue
• Increase the ability of your body to utilize oxygen
Raise your pH
Although your body's buffer systems will do everything in their power to maintain your blood's proper pH, you can take a tremendous burden off your body and your respiratory system in particular in accomplishing this task by taking alkalinizing supplements or treated water to raise your pH. You have a number of options including, but not limited to:
• Alkalinizing drops -- for example
• Alkaline trace minerals -- for example
• Water Ionizer -- for example
And that's it for now. We'll pick up in the next issue with an examination of the physiology of the respiratory system.
Like this natural health newsletter? Sign up for our free bi-monthly newsletter and every time a newsletter is released you'll get it in your email inbox! Keep up to date with the latest in health and learn how to better your mind and body! Click here to sign-up for our Alternative Health Newsletter!