This has been a very narrow view of osteoporosis, which like many diseases is precipitated by multiple factors, and needs more than a single treatment. And the disease needs better treatment: osteoporosis is rampant in the older female population – as many as 1 out of every 2 women over 50 could develop the condition.

New research points to the reduction of estradiol during menopause as a contributor to higher levels of oxidative stress in the body and that this oxidative stress sets women up for bone loss.

This is where rhodiola comes in. The herb rhodiola rosea has an antioxidant in it called salidroside. This particular antioxidant apparently works within the bone itself, and helps to protect bone-forming cells from the detrimental effects of oxidative stress.

In mouse experiments, salidroside showed a number of benefits:

1. survival of osteoblasts (bone-forming cells) were enhanced; 
2. bone formation was enhanced, as demonstrated by increased alkaline phosphatase activity;
3. calcium was better deposited in bones;
4. glutathione – another potent antioxidant – was increased in the body in the presence of salidroside; and,
5. free radicals were reduced by salidroside.

Researchers also saw that both bone structure and bone density was improved.

You may know rhodiola from its stress-busting effects. It’s been used traditionally for its adaptogenic properties. However, we now have another positive effect for rhodiola – it also reduces the stress on your bones.

Rhodiola may make a great addition to other strategies that help to build bone, but don’t stop doing that weight bearing exercise though! It’s one of the most important things you can do to retain bone mass. And don’t forget those critical minerals that go into building bone: not just calcium but also magnesium, potassium, sulfur, phosphorus, iron, zinc, boron and fluoride. Some of these minerals – like fluoride – you need only trace amounts. But those small amounts will make a big difference in your bone health.

Source:

Life Extension

Livestrong

Photo By:  Tim Waters via Compfight

Note that it is not the use of antibiotics when an animal is sick that the OMA is concerned about. Regular use of antibiotics works as a growth promoter of farm animals. That is why it’s being done – but the consequences for the health of humans and our ability to use antibiotics when we are ill, is being severely compromised over time.

Canada is now behind jurisdictions like the European Union, which as already banned regular use of antibiotics to promote growth.

The OMA President, Dr Doug Weir, says that Canada isn’t recognizing the severity of the problem – and that we could face a time when certain infections are incurable. The same problem could happen in agriculture – it’s not just an issue for humans, but for the planet. It’s also reaching critical levels. Doctors are beginning to have patients who don’t survive

The OMA’s position is that antibiotics should only be available to farmers with a prescription from a veterinarian in the same way that a person can only obtain antibiotics with a prescription from a doctor.

What this means for consumers is that the move to buying meat that is not raised with antibiotics is essential. If we won’t buy it, farmers won’t grow it.

For individuals, it can also be helpful to understand which natural antibiotics can be useful when you have health issues. Supplements such as garlic, echinacea, olive leaf extract, and oil of oregano can help to stimulate the immune system, as well as kill bacteria.

Source

CBC News

Flu Prevention And Treatments

Photo By:  Luca Argalia via Compfight

B6 is a powerhouse vitamin, involved in a large number of bodily processes. B6 functions as a coenzyme, which works to support the proper metabolism of protein and carbohydrates, the creation of both red and white blood cells and the production of insulin. But B6 isn’t just working to get your nutrition into your body and moving around – it’s also critical to the creation of neurotransmitters, other enzymes and hormones. In fact, it could be one of the busiest vitamins in your body, given that it is involved in about 100 different reactions and functions in your body – per minute!

B6 is not a single substance, but a term that refers to six substances including pyridoxine, pyridoxal, pyridoxamine and the phosphates of these chemicals. The most biologically active form of B6 is pyridoxal 5-phosphate, also known as P5P or PLP.

Without B6, your body cannot synthesize a number of key neurotransmitters, from serotonin to dopamine, norephinephrine and GABA. Balance of these neurotransmitters controls mood and sleep.

While you need only very small amounts of B6 to avoid deficiency, it is possible that various health conditions can mean that you need larger doses. Also, many things in the modern diet can interfere with the use of B6 in your body, so you may need more to ensure that you are actually getting the benefit of it! Certain drugs inhibit the vitamin, as does oxalate (a known toxin in many plant foods). Diarrhea can also reduce your absorption of the vitamin, as can your alcohol consumption.

Sources:

Newsmax

Vitamins & Health Supplements Guide

Nutritional Supplements Health Guide

Photo By:  Eden Politte via Compfight

I believe putting-up food, particularly food that can keep for a good long time is both wise and economical. I feel that we’ve been very blessed here in N. America, with our abundance of food and programs designed to help those who need emergency food to feed their families. However, I know that the generations before us were not so short-sighted. Every home had a root cellar, and they knew the importance of canning and freezing food for “a rainy day”.

My biggest issue with food prep, is that your options for healthy food that stores well is pretty limited. During times of stress, such as times that would require you to live off of what you have saved, our bodies need more nutrition-not less! Aside from dehydrated or freeze-dried foods, almost every other kind of storable food is filled with chemicals, preservatives and nearly devoid of nutrition.

I recently started looking into alternatives-something that I could rotate into my every-day meal planning, but that could also keep for a very long time. This is how I found the concept of storable foods, put together as complete meals and stored in a single canning jar or mylar bag.

I love this idea. We all have days we just don’t feel up to planning and cooking a meal. And in those moments, we are more tempted to reach for the unhealthy ‘fast’ options. Having something my kids or husband could grab from from cupboard and make easily by adding water really appeals to me..particularly if it isn’t unhealthy.:)

I am currently reading two books on the topic. “Dinner is In the Jar” and “Meals in a Jar”.

I will be reviewing “Dinner is In the Jar” today, and two lucky readers can win a copy of their own.:)

This book is a good introduction to the concept, and has a wide variety of recipes.

You can visit their site: Dinner Is In The Jar

Things I liked:

1) The recipes all seem very simple, and you can make substitutions for ingredients you’d rather not include: For me, “Shortening” isn’t an ingredient I want my family to consume, so I am more likely to substitute with coconut oil or leave the fat out altogether, and add it in when cooking.

2)  I love the printable labels. This is very handy and will save a lot of work!

3) The recipe variety is excellent! There are a ton of different soups, pasta dishes and even “Pizza in a Jar”. Lots to choose from!

4) It’s not a difficult read, and is a good size for use in the kitchen

Things I didn’t like:

1) I’m all about aesthetics. The cover isn’t well-printed, and the print-quality inside isn’t the best. I know, who cares right? It’s just my hang-up.:)

2) The dishes often require a lot of ingredients-you’ll want to place an order with a storable foods place ahead of time, and make a whole batch at once to save money!

The bottom line:

I am glad I have this book! I have some of the recipes on my list for the next couple of months-we try to put-away a little something each month-and they look delicious! If you’re interested in this concept, read below to learn how you can win a copy of your own!

~Marcie

====================================

Find the post with the link to this page on our Facebook Page

Leave a comment there telling us your best “prepping” tip

Share the post on your wall!

That’s IT! 2 lucky winners will receive a copy of “Dinner Is In The Jar”, and the winners will be chosen April 15th!

Good Luck!

Be sure to get enough essential fatty acids. This is food for your hair follicles! Think walnuts, flaxseeds, fish and avocado.

Biotin is another key nutrient for hair. Biotin not only encourage hair growth, but also scalp health. While you can take a supplement, you can also increase biotin in your diet by focusing on foods like walnuts and oats. (Consider this another reason to eat your oatmeal in the morning).

Your hair is largely made of keratin, a type of protein. To boost keratin, turn to methylsulfonylmethane – better known as MSM. MSM is a supplement that you can buy in most health food stores. Research on MSM shows good results for hair health, with 100 per cent of people reporting reduced hair loss and increased growth in just 6 weeks!

B vitamins are another critical player in hair health. A simple routine of taking a good quality B complex which includes all the b vitamins can help to feed hair follicles and increase scalp circulation.

For those who are losing hair because of dihydrotestosterone (DHT), the herb saw palmetto can help. Saw palmetto helps to reduce the levels of DHT (which attacks and kills hair follicles). Research shows that this can make a real difference for men, and can even help in women.

If hair breakage is the bane of your existence, try more vitamin E. Vitamin E is another nutrient that supports the production of keratin. Take at least 400 mg a day of this helpful antioxidant.

Minerals also help hair to grown. Iron anemia can be a direct contributor to hair loss. Silica and zinc are also needed.

Source

Care2

Photo By:  Maggie Not Margaret via Compfight

New research published in the well-respected medical journal, BMJ, shows that individuals who have substituted Omega-6 oils in place of the saturated fat in butter increase their risk of death from all causes. including coronary heart disease and cardiovascular disease.

Omega 6 oils are one type of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). These are basically plant based oils, rather than animal based oils. While you can get a healthful Omega-3 plant oil from flax, the modern diet depends more on the more plentiful and less expensive plant oils (such as corn, safflower, canola, soy) which changes the basic ratio of Omega-3′s to Omega-6′s so that people are getting much more Omega-6 and low to no Omega-3.

Previous research from the late 1960′s to early 1970′s showed that even men who had recently had a heart attack had a higher risk of mortality when thy upped their Omega-6 PUFA intake to 15% of calories (in the form of safflower oil), while also lowering the saturated fat intake. This higher risk included risk from heart attack and coronary heart disease, despite the fact that they had lowered their cholesterol by following this regimen.

Updated analysis of this data showed that reducing saturated fat and increasing PUFA showed no heart-related benefits at all! So, while this is the standard recommendation, it is not necessarily supporting improved health.

So why are people being encouraged to consume so much of the omega-6 oils? The conventional medical community seems to be slow to implement the results of new research. As in many fields, a prevailing paradigm will change slowly, because the people who have promoted that paradigm are emotionally invested in it.

This is yet another situation where a “manufactured” food (omega-6 oils which have not been available in large quantity before modern processes) is less healthful than a traditional, much less processed, food. It’s also another case where humans have diverted from the natural balance of foods in the traditional diet – and with potentially negative consequences.

Source:

Chris Kresser

Healthy Eating Starts Here

Wikipedia

Photo By:  Robert S. Donovan via Compfight

You may have heard that you can actually snooze in order to lose. That’s true! Less than 8 hours of sleep a night will reduce the body’s ability to burn fat, according to a recent study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Researchers looked specifically at two groups on calorie restricted diets: one group slept for 8.5 hours and the other group slept for 5.5 hours. The difference was enough to amaze researchers, as the group that got the most sleep also lost more than double the body fat! At issue is appetite control. Those who are sleeping better will have better regulation of ghrelin and leptin, which are part of the appetite regulation system. In short, you eat less if you sleep more.

But this isn’t the only lurking impact on your ability to lose fat. Food additives are another issue. Modern day food often contains preservatives and salt to keep products safe to eat for longer periods of time. It turns out that these same compounds can make you crave more food than you should.

The answer here is simple: prepare your own food from fresh ingredients. You can then easily control salt and there will be no preservatives present.

Finally, it’s not just your imagination that food commercials are driving you to the kitchen. They are designed to make food look as enticing as possible – and that can trigger “hunger” when you wouldn’t normally have reached for food.

The best solution here is to walk away from the TV set – but not into the kitchen! It’s also a great opportunity to fit in a quick 5 minutes of exercise, from High Intensity Interval Training to a couple of sets of sit-ups or push-ups.

Source:

Life Extension

Photo By:  John Carney via Compfight

I recently had the pleasure of receiving a sample of each of 3 Camelina oils from Three Farmers in Saskatoon, and what follows is my review and opinion of this unique product and company.

I admit I am a lover of olive oil, and there aren’t many oils that can compete for my attention. I’m the kind of person who would rather see flakes of sediment in my oil than the typically smooth versions found in most grocery stores-there’s something wonderful about a drizzle of green on my veggies, and I was interested and a little unsure of giving Camelina Oil a try. Other oils haven’t fared well against my olive-loving palate.

I love the true taste of the olive oil’s origination, and enjoy playing with different notes and types in my foods. I am more likely to gift a good bottle of olive oil, than a good bottle of wine.

I do however, occasionally wish for a much lighter, yet still unrefined oil for use in things like salads and cold mozzarella salads-as well as versatility that allows me to both saute’ safely, and sprinkle on a slice of Brie.

Our family loves to try new things, so I set off with a few ideas in mind and tested the oil on my family. First off, the versatility of this oil is awesome. You could technically deep-fry in this oil, because the flash point is 475 degrees Fahrenheit. I personally would feel bad using such a delicious oil in this manner however, and our family rarely eats deep fried foods, but it is a good point that it is so versatile!

The first way I tried Three Farmers Camelina Oil, was as an oil and seasoning (natural spices only) mix to baste on broiled short ribs. I used the Roasted Onion and Basil Infused Camelina oil, added our family’s favorite spices, and brushed it on the short ribs, and then braised them in our infrared cooker. The boys devoured them. My husband looked for seconds. It was a HUGE hit! I don’t eat anything that had legs, but as a pescatarian I do enjoy fish and seafood regularly, and so my next challenge was to use it in a recipe for whole Tilapia. I’ll be including this recipe in the next newsletter issue, but suffice to say that the Roasted Onion and Basil Camelina oil worked very nicely with sweet-onion stuffed whole tilapia!

In the 2 or so weeks since receiving my review product, I’m made roasted carrots and onions, fresh mozzarella salad, roasted whole rainbow trout with carrots and onions, short ribs, whole roast tilapia, a maple sea salt & camelina salad dressing and drizzled it plain on steamed broccoli. I have found it extremely useful, delicious and light-tasting, without sacrificing flavour, and an oil I will certainly be stocking in my kitchen regularly.

This oil is excellent for a few additional reasons, one of them being that it is appropriate for those eating a raw foods diet, as Camelina oil is actually cold pressed at temperatures lower than those used to process olive oil! I also love that this business is a family-owned and run small business with both big plans and the motivation and talent to make them happen. I was inspired by their story, and encourage you to learn more about this unique Canadian business.

Another very interesting aspect of the way Three Farmers has chosen to run its business, is that they are deliberately producing a crop that requires no chemicals to grow, and actually makes the soil richer for secondary crops. I love that this company is focused not just on their bottom line, but on the way they impact the world that sustains them. To me, this embodies true health: Healthy body and healthy soul.

Couple that with the fact that customers can easily trace every single bottle right back to the field on which the seed was grown…and it is easy to see why Three Farmers is in a class all by itself. Of course, if you’ve been watching Dragon’s Den, you’ll be familiar already with this remarkable product and company.

To learn more about this unique company and it’s amazing products, check out this intro video:

Three Farmers have generously agreed to give a trio pack away to one lucky winner-this includes The Original Camelina Oil, The Roasted Garlic and Chili Infused Camelina Oil, and the Roasted Onion and Basil Camelina Oil! This trio pack is valued at $55-and shipping is included.

If you are a foodie, or are just interested in trying a new healthy oil that is both pesticide-free and has the right ratio of Omerga 3s and 6s, you’ll want to enter the contest below!

Good luck everyone!

Marcie

===================================

Three Farmers Camelina Oil Contest

This contest is simple! Here’s how to enter:

1) LIKE the Three Farmers Facebook Page

 2) LIKE the Natural Health Gazette Facebook Page

3) Leave a comment below the post on our Facebook page, telling us what you’ll create with Three Farmers Camelina oil if you win.

Bonus entries: Sign-up for the Three Farmers (yummy!) newsletter, and comment on our Facebook page, saying you did so. (Click “I want to be the first to try new recipes” in the upper right corner of their homepage.)

Sign-up for our Natural Health Gazette Newsletter, and comment on our Facebook page letting us know.

*If you already are newsletter subscribers, go ahead and comment that below-it still counts as an entry!

The contest will begin 3/13/13, and end on 3/20/13 The winner will be announced on both Facebook pages on the 22nd!

Good luck everyone!!!

Poor quality foods that contain additives like melamine and cyanuric acid can result in crystals forming in the dog’s kidneys – which can cause death. Why would companies use these chemicals? Testing of foods that contain these will show a falsely high level of protein – and pet owners want protein for their pets.

At the same time, most pet owners are not experts on dog biology, and so are not sure what constitutes a healthy diet. Your family’s table scraps may seem like an ideal thing to feed your pet – but a dog’s nutritional needs are not the same as a human’s! While dogs are more omnivorous than other species in the canine family, there are many factors that affect what and how much you feed, from its weight to its health status.

In addition, there are common foods that humans eat that are toxic for your dog! Chocolate is extremely toxic, with dark chocolate being the worst. Other problem foods include raisins, grapes, xylitol (a sugar alcohol used as a sweetener), coffee, onion, some nuts and alcohol. Not all of these will kill, but that bit of onion can cause anemia, while grapes and raisins will cause vomiting, gastrointestinal symptoms and even kidney failure. Macadamia nuts can cause a host of issues, from weakness, depression, vomiting, lack of coordination and even paralysis of the back legs.

So, if you are going to make your own food, be sure to be properly informed! Consider speaking with your holistic vet to ensure the diet selected is well-balanced and will meet your dogs needs for high quality nutrients. One option is to feed your dog “raw”, which is also known as Biologically-Appropriate Raw Food (BARF). This feeding style mimics best the kind of diet that a wild cousin of your favourite pooch would be eating.

Sources:

Canadian Living

Bella Online

This is not completely unexpected. The flu shot is claimed to be most effective in those under 65.  But even for those people, it appears that – at best – they are getting 56 per cent effectiveness from this year’s flu shot, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The overall effectiveness of the shot is claimed to be 27 per cent, when all three virus strains are considered. These results of testing are the worst in a decade.

At the same time, CDC flu expert Dr Joseph Bresee claims that the flu shot is the best protection, every year.

However, there are other ways to protect yourself from bacterial and viral illnesses of all kinds, that does not leave you at the mercy of an ineffective flu shot. There are a number of natural health strategies which can increase your body’s natural immunity and make you better able to fight off any viral threat.

The first place to look to improve immune system health is your diet. The old adage of “shopping around the outside of the grocery store” applies here! Reducing processed foods and increasing fruits and veggies are a simple staple to better immune health. Diets rich in raw fruits and veggies will also be rich in antioxidants, vitamins and minerals, which are all critical to good immune system functioning.

Did you know that scientists now believe that immune health is largely determined by your gut health? This is where traditional fermented foods come into play. The healthy gut receives a lot of probiotic (healthy bacteria) from items such as yogurt, kefir and other “soured” foods like sauerkraut. Some probiotic strains are particularly helpful to the immune system: research points to l. reuteri as one of specific interest.

Last but not least, vitamin D deficiency could be behind our seasonal flu challenges. New studies are linking the lack of vitamin D in our bodies as the season changes to the onset of flu. Individuals with the lowest levels of vitamin D have been shown to suffer with more respiratory infections of all kinds. So maximizing your vitamin D status is a good strategy to have optimal immunity when flu season hits.

Sources:

MSN News

How To Boost Your Immune System

Livestrong

Scientific American

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