by baLooT on April 30, 2008
“Avoid Fats!” “Eat a low fat diet!” “Decrease your fat intake!”
For the past 40 years that has been the mantra for preventing heart disease and staying healthy. We have built entire industries on low fat foods. “Low fat” or “Fat Free!” is now a major food marketing strategy.
But for more than 25% of the adult US population, a low fat diet may actually increase their risk for heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and even some cancers. The accepted wisdom of avoiding fats at all costs may actually be killing you.
Part of the problem is that a “low fat diet” may not properly distinguish between bad fats that you should limit and healthier fats that may actually be beneficial. But there is an even more dangerous way that reducing the fat in your diet can harm your health. It has to do with what you substitute in place of the fat.
Let’s assume you are an average adult male and take in about 2,500 calories per day. You decide to go on a low fat diet and cut your fat intake by a third. If 30% of your daily calories were previously coming from fat in your diet (about 750 calories per day), eliminating one third of those fat calories would drop your daily intake by 250 calories. [click to continue…]
by baLooT on April 30, 2008
Did you know that according to a report published in the August 2005 edition of The American Journal of Gastroenterology, nearly one-third of hospitalizations caused by gastro tract bleeding and deaths are caused by taking aspirin, ibuprofen and other types of pain-killing drugs? You may argue here that you are on low-dose aspirins, which the doctor has recommended to keep your heart in good condition. It would surprise you to note that about one-third of those gastro bleeding deaths are associated with intake on low dose aspirin.
To understand these figures better study this example: if there are 100,000 people taking aspirin, ibuprofen and other pain killing drugs, it is possible that 15 would die. So is there a way out of the situation? What should one consume, in case of pain? If the usual painkillers are so hazardous, what is the alternative? The answer to all these questions is one: try natural alternative painkillers.
One of the highly recommended ‘natural painkillers’ is acupuncture and the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT). Before you approach the natural remedy option, you must remember that the available pain killers simply alleviate the pain for a short duration of time. But if you believe in natural remedies like the one cited above, you might expect long term benefits. [click to continue…]
by baLooT on April 9, 2008
Natural alternative medicines now are receiving a lot of build-up and hype and regular medicine are now receiving a lot of flak as well. This is brought upon by the many cases of side effects that might as well do more harm than good. People are rediscovering the goodness of what is natural and chemical-free.
Knowing that these natural alternative medicines were used for centuries upon centuries already makes them more reliable than prescription drugs for many people. Also, the fact that the list of benefits hugely overrates the harm, which rarely happens, gives a great reason to give it at least a try. Nothing is lost and everything is to be gained. [click to continue…]
by baLooT on April 8, 2008
Natural medicine generally refers to medical practices that were prevalent before the raise of modern medicine. Natural medicine is the use of natural methods, herbal medicines, and traditional practices to heal ailments as part of holistic and integrative medicine. Every culture has a form of natural medicine, including Chinese and its phytotherapy, Ayurvedic in Indian culture, and Greek medicine.
Although health professionals would traditionally only recommend natural medicine for minor ailments such as cough, colds, fever, or skin rashes, in more cases the use of natural medicine to complement modern medicine are also used on more complex medical procedures like cancer treatment or surgery. This forms a holistic and integrated approach to medication, instead of ‘one or the other’ case. [click to continue…]
