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Newsletter May / June 2018
Every day we’re hearing about new connections between inflammation and disease. Believe it or not, recent research shows that almost 40% of people with depression also have chronic inflammation in their brain. The number of people suffering from depression is growing, with predictions of becoming the #1 cause of disability worldwide by 2030. Prescription drugs and over-the-counter anti-inflammatories are loaded with dangerous side effects. What you’re looking for is a gentle, natural solution. Three of the most effective natural anti-inflammatories are turmeric, ginger and boswellia. Now you’ve probably already heard about turmeric. Besides reducing inflammation, it’s been linked to all kinds of health benefits including brain health, reducing your risk of heart disease, preventing and even treating cancer… and the list goes on. If you want to try a turmeric supplement, absorption is key. Some formulations are engineered to be more “bioavailable.” Another booster ingredient is piper nigrum – a fancy name for black pepper. Piper nigrum helps you absorb the active compounds in turmeric and makes the turmeric work up to 20 times better. It’s also great with roasted veggies, eggs, soups and blended in to your morning smoothie. You can even whiten your teeth with it, which is odd, considering it’s golden yellow… but it works!
Ginger’s another all-natural anti-inflammatory that’s been used as a folk medicine for centuries. Ginger contains anti-inflammatory compounds that work in the same way as COX-2 inhibitors, drugs used to treat pain and inflammation. One study found that ginger was as effective as ibuprofen for treating inflammation. The best thing to do is add it to your diet. You can make an easy and tasty tea by boiling sliced ginger with water for a minute or so. Then let it steep. Remove the ginger slices before sipping. This is also a great way to get rid of a stomachache. Ginger is delicious with seafood, oranges, pork, melon, chicken, rhubarb, apples and pumpkin. When you shop for it, make sure to look for ginger with smooth skin. If it’s wrinkled and shrunken, it’s too dried out. And then there’s Boswellia– a powerful anti-inflammatory. Because it comes from a tree, there’s only one way to get Boswellia–from a supplement. So make sure your supplement is the most effective kind— Boswellia Serrata. No matter which of these ancient cures you use, it’s worth a try if you suffer from depression. Imagine… simply taking a natural anti-inflammatory could mean waking up to a day where life looks good again! [Jeff Reagan]
CAUTIONS: DO NOT USE ALUMINUM FOIL at high temperatures, as it will leach. Foil is not suitable for cooking and is not suitable for using with vegetables like tomatoes, citrus juice or spices. It may be used cold, however. And PLEASE do not ingest CANOLA Oil. It is GMO and HARMFUL to your body!
There are more and more higher-end and “farm-to-table” burger chains popping up, advertising their “all natural”, “organic” and “grass-fed” burgers. Are they really legit? Are they serving GMO ingredients? Do they really serve grass-fed burgers? Or is their meat really from a Factory Farm with a slick marketing campaign? After investigating how food is produced and raised in this country, one of the first commitments is to stop eating “factory farmed” meat. As you know, most cattle in this country live crammed together in inhumane living conditions (aka “factory farm”), subsisting on a diet of chemical-laden GMO grains (instead of grass) which makes them bulk up quickly for mass production and an early slaughter. They are further fattened up with added hormones (linked to cancer), growth stimulating drugs, and antibiotics – a system fraught with numerous environmental and health problems. When you eat conventional meat, you’re probably eating hormones, antibiotics, resistant bacteria, steroids, and chemicals created by the fear and stress suffered by the animal during slaughter. This is NOT how we should be raising animals for food. These animals are not healthy. And when we eat animals that are not healthy – we become unhealthy. If you want to change the food industry, your body, and get healthy, you have to make the commitment to stop eating conventional (factory farmed) meat. If you eat beef – only choose 100% grass-fed.
Raising cattle on grass takes too long for the typical factory farm. However, when cows are raised on grass, they are not being fed Roundup Ready GMO corn and candy-like Skittles to fatten them up. 100% grass-fed cows are fed pasture grass and forage during the growing season, and in the winter they’re fed hay and compacted grass. This has a major effect on the nutrient composition of their meat with significantly more omega-3 fatty acids and almost twice as much CLA (a fatty acid that is good for you and associated with fat loss). It’s also packed with more vitamin A and E than conventional beef. That being said… some grass-fed beef is a fraud. Sometimes “grass-fed cows” are moved off the pasture and into a feedlot where they are then fed GMOs and live in the same horrible conditions as conventional cows before slaughter. Meat from these cows can still be called “grass fed” because this term is not properly defined by the USDA. This is why, ultimately, you want
to look for meat that is certified 100% grass-fed and grass finished. Unfortunately most restaurants do not serve 100% grass-fed burgers. You have really got to do your homework and search them out. Be aware that terms like 100% pure beef, all-natural, Angus, gourmet, free range, and handcrafted really don’t tell the whole story. These terms DO NOT mean you are consuming 100% grass-fed, organic, non-GMO, humanely raised, meat. Nor do these terms reveal if the meat is raised without antibiotics, growth promoting drugs, added hormones or confined inside an unhealthy factory farm. Sometimes a burger is labeled as “Natural.” According to USDA regulations, you can call meat “Natural” if it’s minimally processed and has no artificial ingredients in the meat itself, but defines very little in terms of cleanliness, health or quality.
If you read ingredient lists like I do, I hope it includes products other than food. Food chemicals are nasty enough, but the skincare and Cosmetic Industry can be even worse. The FDA does not have very strict regulations where cosmetics are concerned, allowing companies to get away with using potentially harmful ingredients that are banned in other countries. Many cosmetics, lotions, soaps, and body scrubs contain toxic petrochemicals made from known carcinogens, reproductive toxins, and neurotoxins. Look for products made with simple organic ingredients.
Choose fragrance-free products or those that are only scented with essential oils. Go artificial and dye-free, on everything that goes on your skin. Adopt a minimalist approach – do you really need to coat your hair in a chemical bath of 5 different products every day? How many of these toxic products do you use on a daily basis? Think about the money you’d save if you just used a couple of safe products. (like our Wonder Bar, Facial Scrub, Whisper of Silk, Sateen, Glacial Blue, Mint Matrix, and Citrus Silk). You can also try using organic coconut oil as a moisturizer and makeup remover, and organic oatmeal & salt for a body scrub. If it’s safe to eat, it’s safe to put on your body. Give your face a rest without make up, a few times a week. Vote with your dollars. Stop supporting companies that are harming the environment, your family, animals, and most importantly your own body with chemically based products.
Most likely you are well aware of this next bit, but just in case. The car manual, usually says to roll down the windows and let out all the hot air before turning on the A/C. We know the A/C is dangerous to breathe when it first starts, but there’s more to this. According to research, the car’s dashboard, seats, AC ducts, in fact ALL of the plastic objects in your vehicle emit Benzene, a Cancer causing toxin–A BIG CARCINOGEN. Have you ever noticed the smell of heated plastic in your car when you open the car door? In addition to causing cancer, Benzene poisons your bones, causes anaemia and reduces white blood cells. Prolonged exposure can cause Leukemia and increase the risk of some cancers. It can also cause miscarriages in pregnant women. The “acceptable” Benzene level indoors is: 50mg per sq.ft. A car parked indoors, with windows closed, will contain 400-800mg of Benzene – 8 times the acceptable level. If parked outdoors in the sun, at a temperature above 60 degrees F, the Benzene level goes up to 2000-4000mg, 40 times the acceptable level. People who get into the car, keeping the windows closed, will eventually inhale excessive amounts of the BENZENE toxin. Starting your air conditioner at this point compounds the problem. Benzene is a toxin that affects your kidneys and liver. What’s worse, it is extremely difficult for your body to expel these toxins. So please get into the habit of opening the windows and doors of your car – giving some time for the interior to air out before you enter the vehicle. Please do NOT turn on A/C as soon as you enter the car. Open the windows immediately and then after a couple of minutes, turn ON the AC .
DID YOU KNOW THIS?
Drinking water at a certain time maximizes its effectiveness on the body:
2 glasses of water after waking up helps to activate internal organs
1 glass of water 30 minutes before a meal helps with digestion
1 glass of water before taking a bath helps to lower blood pressure
1 glass of water before going to bed may avoid stroke or heart attack
Your leg muscles are seeking hydration when they cramp and wake you up with an excruciating Charlie Horse. Water at bed time will also help prevent these night time leg cramps.
ATTENTION EVERYONE! If you happen to be near Bozeman, Montana between June 7th and June 10th, you may be interested in attending an incredible event: THE BZN International Film Festival! There will be celebrities like Robert Redford’s son, James, promoting his film, as well as Ted Turner and other celebs. And WE will be there! We will be giving a talk at this event and would love to meet you for films, entertainment, and great information! For Tickets and Details go to: info@bozemanfilmcelebration.com
