An Ultrasound of a Solid Hyperechoic Breast Mass Typical of a Fibroadenoma

Infertility On The Rise In Canada

More Canadians say they're having trouble conceiving, according to new research looking at infertility rates.

Photograph by: Thinkstock , canada.com

Infertility is on the rise in Canada, according to the first study in nearly two decades to measure the proportion of Canadian couples who are having difficulty conceiving.

The researchers didn't set out to discover why the numbers are increasing. But possible explanations range from the growing number of women who are pushing back pregnancy ever later in life, to rising rates of obesity and heavy drinking among women, to declining sperm counts in men — though experts aren't convinced about that final factor.

The use of assisted-procreation technologies has increased dramatically over the past decade, yet "little is known about the prevalence of infertility in the population," the authors write in the journal, Human Reproduction.

The research was supported by funding from Assisted Human Reproduction Canada, a federal agency. The lead author is from Statistics Canada.

According to their estimates, up to 16 per cent of heterosexual couples where the woman is age 18 to 44 are experiencing infertility — a near doubling since the previous time infertility was measured in the nation in 1992.

Not surprisingly, the older the woman, the higher the prevalence of infertility.

Yet infertility appears to be rising among younger women as well, the study finds.

In 1984, about five per cent of couples with a female partner age 18 to 29 were infertile.

By 2009-10, the prevalence for the same age group ranged from seven to 13.7 per cent.

For their analysis, researchers used data from a sample of 4,412 couples from the 2009-2010 Canadian Community Health Survey.

Infertility ranged from 11.5 per cent, to 15.7 per cent.

Those estimates are based on whether couples had reported becoming pregnant or not in the past 12 months, were not using any form of birth control within the past 12 months while having sexual intercourse, and had tried to become pregnant with their current partner. Regardless of how it was defined, each estimate represented an increase in infertility when compared with previous national estimates, said first author Tracey Bushnik, a senior analyst at Statistics Canada.

In 1992, 8.5 per cent of women age 18 to 44 who were married or living common-law were considered infertile.

In 1984, the figure was 5.4 per cent.

Not only are the emotional, physical and financial costs to couples substantial, the researchers write, but the health system also has to bear the costs of caring for premature babies or multiple births born from asssisted reproductive technology.

The new study "just confirms everything we've been gnawing on for the last little while," said Dr. Roger Pierson, a world leader in research into ovarian physiology at the University of Saskatchewan.

Canada's pregnancy specialists have been sounding an alarm over the risks of deferred motherhood. The Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada — which has just issued new guidelines to doctors on "advanced reproductive age" and fertility — worries that women are placing too much blind faith in high-tech fertility treatments to help them conceive once they're ready to have a baby.

For women over 40, the failure rate approaches 90 per cent.

"We're not miracle workers," said Dr. Al Yuzpe, co-author of the new study and co-founder of the Genesis Fertility Centre in Vancouver, one of the largest in-vitro-fertilization clinics in the country.

"We know that there's a precipitous drop in conception rates as women get older," he said.

The other authors of the report were: Jocelynn L. Cook, of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Ottawa; Suzanne Tough, of the Departments of Pediatrics and Community Health Sciences at the University of Calgary; and John Collins, of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ont.

In addition to the well-documented impact of age, other factors affecting female fertility include obesity, alcohol use and sexually transmitted infections.

While fewer women are smoking, more younger women are boozing heavily: reported rates of heavy drinking — defined as five or more drinks at a time at least once a month — among women age 20 to 34 increased from nine per cent in 1994, to 20 per cent in 2010.

Reported rates of chlamydia and gonorrhea are also rising, with the majority of infections reported for women under 30.

And obesity rates are climbing: In 2007-09, 21 per cent of women ages 20 to 39 in Canada were obese, up from four per cent in 1981. Obesity can interfere with a woman's normal ovarian function.

Obese men, meanwhile, have been found to have lower volumes of semen and a higher proportion of abnormal sperm. But just how much a role sperm count deterioration may be having on declining fertility is controversial.

Yuzpe said the data are not convincing.

"The question keeps coming up: Are men's sperm counts getting worse?" he said. "There might be a slight overall reduction in sperm counts, but not from 'normal' to 'abnormal' sort of thing," he said.

Yuzpe said people are much more likely today to report difficulty conceiving than they would have been in the past, "because of the stigma associated with it," but also because people didn't seek help "because there wasn't much we could do for them.

"It's only in the last 35 or 40 years that we've had anything of any significance that we could do for women, or for couples," he said.

Pierson said the study raises important individual and societal questions, including when is the right time to have a child?

"If we were to suddenly stop ART (assisted reproductive technology) and say, 'We're going to support women having children in their early 20s,' I would say that most of the infertility issue would go away.

"That's not our cultural reality," Pierson said. "We have to come to a better understanding of our biological imperatives, and our social expectations."

skirkey@postmedia.com

Twitter.com/sharon_kirkey

http://www.canada.com/health/Infertility+rates+rising+Canadian+couples/6157547/story.html

Health Begins In The Navel!

Young pHorever™ pHlush

by pH Miracle®

This unique pH formulation is rich in oxygen, magnesium, and other powerful ingredients that make an excellent cleanser for your alimentary canal.

The basic natural concepts of health have been lost. Millions of people die every year and tens of millions suffer needlessly because they fail to follow the natural laws of their beings and are being treated with obsolete and unnatural methods that avoid the true cause of all sickness and dis-ease.

Though the causes of dis-ease are generally ignored by conventional medicine, we do have a history of doctors who agree that the primary causes are always associated with acidic e-motions, toxicity, congestion, and malnutrition. These conditions gradually alter and weaken our internal environment. Once that environment reaches certain acidic polluted levels, dis-ease cycles are initiated.

"Acidosis and Toxicosis are the primary causes of all disease. Rid the body of these poisons and correct the habits of living, and good health will be regained and maintained" and, "just as maggots and flies require the filth of the manure pile in which they grow and propagate, so the human organism must become broken down and filthy through bad habits of living before the tissues and juices of the body will permit the harboring and growth of any noxious bacteria."

"However, in view of the scientific researches which have been cast aside by medicine it is just as reasonable to assume that the maggots and flies found in a manure pile caused the manure pile as it is to assume that the various kinds of germs found in a thoroughly filthy body, caused the condition of ill health."

---P.L. Clark, BS, MD, Ph.Sa

The survival of every animal, bird, fish, plant, and cell, whether it is bacteria, yeast, or protozoa, depends entirely upon its environment.

Dis-ease is never acquired; it is always created. Dis-ease is a natural result obtained from an unnatural lifestyle. Dis-ease is not a question of exposure. It is an internal development that can lead to exposure susceptibility. The entry of an outside entity (bacteria, yeast, parasite) has little effect upon our bodies unless our internal environment has become acidic, polluted, and congested.

An increase in microforms or germs can only be successful when our bodies have degenerated into a severely acidic and polluted environment and our immune system compromised. Indeed, an acidic environment can only cause the breakdown of the human cell and tissue in an acidic host, and germs are the product of the breakdown of that cell and tissue. The breakdown of the human cell and the birth of the germ does not happen in a clean, healthy, and vibrant human body. We must alter our normal healthy internal chemistry before acids can weaken our organs and glands with toxicity, congestion, or poor nutrition and before our body parts can malfunction.

The most important point to understand here is that germs do not cause dis-ease they are the product of cellular transformation. It is acid that breaks down the human cell not bacteria. It is acid that causes dis-ease not bacteria or yeast.

There is only one sickness, one dis-ease and one cause - the over-acidification of the blood and then tissues due to an inverted way of living, eating and thinking. There is NO OTHER CAUSE FOR DISEASE but ACIDITY.

A Great Secret of Health

The intestinal tract or better said the alkaline buffering system is the hub of our entire body - all organs, glands, even our brains, heart, and cells are totally dependent upon a good functioning alkaline buffering or digestive system. In the Western World, most people have polluted their bowels with filth unimaginable and weakened their digestive function. When the alkaline buffering or digestion is off, even good food can become acidic. As long as this filth remains within, our bodies grow weaker and we become more and more prone towards deficiencies and acidic dis-ease.

A few great doctors have realized this:

"In the 50 years I've spent helping people to overcome illness, disability and disease, it has become crystal clear that poor bowel management lies at the root of most people's health problems."

"Every tissue is fed by the blood, which is supplied by the bowel. When the bowel is dirty, the blood is dirty, and so on to the organs and tissues.... it is the bowel that invariably has to be cared for before any effective healing can take place."

"Of the 300 autopsies performed at National College in Chicago, 285 (patients) had claimed they were not constipated and had normal movements and only 15 had admitted they were constipated. However, autopsies revealed the opposite to be the case. Some of the histories of these 285 persons stated they had had as many as 5 or 6 bowel movements daily, yet autopsies revealed that in some of them the bowel was 12 inches in diameter. The bowel walls were encrusted with material, in one case peanuts which had been lodged there for a very long time."

"The toxic waste must be removed as quickly as possible to halt the downward spiral of failing health. This is best done by: 1. Removing accumulated fecal material from the bowel."

---Doctor Bernard Jensen, DC, ND, Ph.D.

Dr. Jensen publicly stated that over 90% of dis-ease in America could be traced to unhealthy conditions in the bowel. Privately, he told me that it's closer to 100%.

"There is but one dis-ease and that is deficient drainage of dietary and metabolic acids."

---Dr. Robert O. Young

"I am exceedingly impressed by the sequence of cancer and intestinal stasis."

"The poisons thus generated (in the bowel) pollute the bloodstream, causing every tissue, gland, and organ of the body to gradually deteriorate and be destroyed."

---Sir Arbuthnot Lane MS, FRCS, surgeon for the King of England

"Of the 22,000 operations that I have personally performed, I have never found a single normal colon, and of the 100,000 that were performed under my jurisdiction, not over 6% were normal."

"All of the diseases of civilization are due to improper functioning of the colon."

---Dr. Harvey Kellogg, M.D. of the Kellogg Sanitarium

"There is no natural death. All deaths that come from so-called natural causes are merely the end point of progressive acidic saturation.... However, if they would take care of their body and cleanse their colon and intestines, their problems would be pretty much eliminated and they could eliminate their "cross" by proper diet, proper exercise, and in general, proper living." Dr. George C. Crile, head of the Crile Clinic in Cleveland

Dr. V.E. Irons, a pioneer in colon cleansing theory wrote: "The cause of most conditions of ill health is autointoxication and that 95% of their troubles start in the colon. We can prove that we can find hardened mucous with its foul smelling curd in the colons of 95% of the entire nation."

Mucoid Plaque

Mucoid plaque is automatically secreted in the presence of acids, and other irritants and at first serves as a protection; but for those who have followed the standard American lifestyle, which is acid producing, it is common for mucoid plaque to form a continuous coating, arranged in layers, over the small intestine, stomach and the colon. When the mucus (mucin) is secreted, it coagulates and can compound with other elements, forming an increasingly firm and toxic substance, which may include: drugs, free radical-producing acidic noxious fecal compounds, heavy metals, parasites and more, depending on what the person eats, drinks, and thinks.

Mucoid plaque often interferes with normal bowel function, nutrient assimilation, and normal elimination. It will also provide a fertile stronghold for a large variety of microorganisms and their noxious acidic compounds. Thus, when the diet is improved and the person strives for maximum health, then mucoid plaque should be removed.

"This layer of mucus, when adhering closely to the mucosal surface, probably functions as a barrier to membrane digestion and most likely also to absorption... where, with increasing age, the mucus layer becomes more pronounced and widespread... it is hypothesized that the mucus barrier interferes with membrane digestion and absorption." J. Rainer Poley, Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition 1988 May-June; 7 (3): 386-94.

Is it any wonder that the greatest healers in the world have always insisted upon cleansing and rebuilding the alkaline buffering system or the alimentary canal?

I would also suggest taking 1 tablespoon of montmorillonite clay with 1 teaspoon of flax seed powder or psyllium seed powder mixed in 6 to 8 ounces of alkaline water and drink 2 to 3 times a day. For serious bowel cleansing, drink the above combination of clay, psyllium seed powder and alkaline water every two hours with daily colonics for at least 7 to 10 days.

Young pHorever pHlush comes in a powder or in veggie caps.

Supplement Facts

Serving Size: 1 capsule

Servings Per Container: 60

Vitamin C

Magnesium Oxide

Sodium Carbonate

Other Ingredients: Slippery Elm, Ginger, Marchmallow Root, Yellow Dock.

Suggested Use: Adults - 4 capsules every 4 hours with food or drink.

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Eat Meat and Die Early! Any Questions?

Eating animal flesh results in strong dietary acids, such as nitric, uric, sulphuric and phosphuric acids leading to the degeneration of body tissues and organs that sustain life.

Red Meat Consumption Increases Risk of Early Death

By Katherine Harmon

March 12, 2012

Over the years, eating too many burgers, steaks pork chops or other red meat products has been linked to heart disease, diabetes and some cancers. In particular, processed red meat, such as bacon, hot dogs or bologna, has especially strong links to chronic diseases.

But the latest research brings even more dire news for hardcore carnivores. In addition to increasing the odds people will get sick, red meat—whether it is processed or not—can actually increase the risk of premature death overall, according to a study that was published online March 12 in Archives of Internal Medicine.

Steak image courtesy of iStockphoto/Kativ

Researchers, led by An Pan of the Harvard School of Public Health, analyzed health and diet information from more than 121,000 U.S. men and women participating in two long-term health studies. Everyone in the group the researchers assessed had been free of both heart disease and cancer at the outset of the studies.

Over long-term follow-up, as long as 28 years in some cases, more than 13,900 people died—about 9,460 from cancer and almost 6,000 from cardiovascular disease. After adjusting for other factors, the researchers found each daily serving of red meat (beef, pork, lamb or a processed meat, such as bacon, bologna, hot dog, salami or sausage), increased the risk of a premature death by about 12 percent. Processed meat consumption in particular increased these odds even more than did unprocessed meats. And hot dogs and bacon seemed to be the most likely to lead to an early death.

If everyone in the study had limited themselves to 42 grams or less of red meat a day (considered to be about half a standard serving), more than 9,860 early diet-related deaths could have been prevented in the study alone, the researchers estimated.

So if that lamb and ham are off the table, along with all the all-too familiar beef, many people worry that they might not get enough protein with each meal. Fear not, say many health experts, there are plenty of other ways to put protein on your plate that don’t come with such high risks of chronic diseases. Chicken breasts actually have more grams of protein by weight than a piece of beef, and fish isn’t too far behind. The researchers also found that beans, nuts, low-fat dairy and whole grains made for healthful replacements for a red meat meal portion.

And for folks worried about getting enough iron, excess iron from diet has actually been linked to heart attacks and fatal heart disease as well as possibly to cancer, the researchers noted.

Getting to a healthful level of red meat consumption in the U.S. might be an uphill battle. Only about 9.6 percent of the women and 22.8 percent of the men in the studies fell in the low-risk category (of a half-serving-or-less per day) for red-meat consumption.

But contrary to popular thinking, a good diet is as much about what you put in to your mouth as what you omit.

The study found that trading out a serving of red meat for fish or poultry didn’t just negate the red meat risk; rather, it actually improved people’s odds of living longer. Replacing a serving of red meat each day with fish reduced premature mortality risk by 7 percent; for poultry, the reduction was twice that: 14 percent.

Veggies are even better. “Plant-based foods are rich in phytochemicals, bioflavonoids and other substances that are protective,” wrote whole-food diet advocate Dean Ornish in a related essay also published online Monday in Archives of Internal Medicine. “So substituting healthier foods for red meat provides a double benefit to our health.”

Ornish noted that the focus for a healthful diet should be on high-quality over high-quantity: “smaller portions of good foods are more satisfying than larger portions of junk foods.” In addition, he highlights current research-based suggestions for the healthiest diet:

o Little to no red meat; instead obtain protein from poultry, fish, legumes, nuts or other products

o Plenty of good, whole-food carbohydrates, such as whole grains, beans, fruits and vegetables

o Little processed or refined carbohydrates, such as white flower, sugar or corn syrup

o Some good fats, such as omega three fatty acids that are in flax and fish oils

o Little bad fats, such as hydrogenated, saturated or trans fats

Another benefit to cutting red meat consumption: dialing back out-of-control medical costs, Ornish noted. Avoiding chronic diseases linked to excess red meat consumption could decrease medical spending by billions of dollars.

Reference: http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/2012/03/12/red-meat-eating-increases-risk-of-early-death/?WT_mc_id=SA_CAT_HLTH_2012031346

\Medicine\Red Meat Consumption Increase Risk of Early Death - 03.12.12

To Alkalize or NOT to Alkalize? I was diagnosed with a large and rare tumour inside my spinal cord (Astrocytoma)

To Alkalize or not To Alkalize?

by Lee Gefen

A lot of friends and family have been asking me what exactly is this alkaline ‘diet’ that I’m following (I hate the word ‘diet’ as I have been ‘dieting’ my whole life and I know diets don’t work! A lifestyle is a better word).

To me (and Dave), this knowledge has revolutionised our whole way of looking at food and drink , our bodies, our thoughts our actions and our..

PRIORITIES:

It can cost a lot of money to buy water filters, organic foods, supplements, quality juicing and blending appliances, the list goes on.

It does takes A LOT of time daily in the kitchen, washing, chopping, storing, juicing/blending/cooking/generally preparing meals. Everything needs to be planned and organised.

It takes an incredible amount of willpower and discipline to stick with what you believe when that goes against what most people believe, and the temptation to 'indulge' in what is not good for you at all is everywhere, readily available, heavily promoted, and encouraged innocently by friends and family and society in general.

However, this is all offset by the benefits which can take time but nothing worthwhile is easy. Our skin and eyes are noticebly clearer, we feel lighter and more energetic, we feel empowered knowing we can have relative control over our health, rather than feel victimised by that re occuring condition that 'happens' to you.

Touch wood, but I haven't had anything resembling a cold or flu in over a year, and Dave hasn't been sick since last April (in Belgium, where stress, baguets and chocolate were his diet!) We also feel blessed that in this life and in this country we are able to choose to live like this.

So, I’ve decided to use this opportunity to share it with you.

Most of what I will write about is based on extensive reading I’ve done in the last year.

In particular, it is based on the work of Dr. Robert Young, who over the past two and a half decades has been researching the true causes of ‘disease’ and the importance of pH balance in the body.
I have used his book ‘The pH Miracle’ as a main reference.

Of course, nothing that I write about should be taken as advice but simply as a summary of what I’ve learned.

As I am sitting down to write this blog, I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed because this is such a huge topic and there’s no way I can cover all of it in one post. But I’ll do my best to explain the basics and hopefully this will intrigue you readers to go and do some more reading…

The basic premise is that of all the balances the body strive to maintain, the most crucial is the one between acid and alkaline (base). The medical view agrees with this premise but it does not understand how the body turns itself inside out and upside down in order to keep that delicate balance.

There is a consensus that the body must maintain a certain ph balance of the blood (slightly alkaline), however, what is not understood nor researched in the medical world, is how exactly the body maintains this balance, namely by compromising its own functions and health.

It is a paradox really: the body is designed to be alkaline and it needs alkaline buffers (fuel), however all body functions and human activity produce acidic effects. Add to this a diet full of acidic food and beverages, a lifestyle full of stress and worry and what happens is you get a massive over acidification of cells, tissues, organs and eventually blood.

This over acidification of body fluids and tissues is the underlying cause of all disease. It is only when the body is acidic that it is vulnerable to germs. In a healthy alkaline balance, germs can’t t get a foothold.

The pH (potential hydrogen) has a scale of 0 to 14. 7 is neutral, below 7 is acid and above 7 is alkaline.

If our body is over acidic, at the beginning, we might just get mild symptoms such as loss of energy, skin eruptions, irritation, headaches, allergies, colds, flu and sinus problems.

But as things progress and the body continue to be over acidic, weakened organs and systems start to give way, resulting in more serious conditions.

When the body is faced with a lot of incoming acids, the blood begins to pull alkaline minerals out of our tissues to compensate. If we have insufficient amounts of alkaline minerals in our diet or in the reserves, the body has to recruit them from somewhere else such as bones or muscles.

Eventually if the acid overload gets too great for the body/blood to handle, these acids will be deposited in various organ systems, including the heart, pancreas, liver and colon or stored in fatty tissues such as breasts, hips, belly and brain.

So according to this view (and I was amazed when I first learnt about it), a tumour is the body’s way of actually protecting itself by storing these acids in a ‘solid’ formation in a desperate attempt to ‘save’ the rest of the body, to survive.

Ok so we covered a bit of the theoretical side (there’s much much more to it, of course!), now let’s get to the practical business- what can we do to start alkalizing our bodies?

Making the transition to an alkaline diet/lifestyle can seem like a huge step to most people. That’s because it is! So, in my opinion, the best thing is to make baby steps, making small changes over a long period of time. It is often the case when one makes too big a change too quick, that it is not sustainable long term.

For me it was a bit different because it was soon after I started making the transition to an alkaline diet that I found out about my tumour so I decided to go a bit ‘extreme’ and jump right into the cold (alkaline) water.

I have, however, modified my diet over time to suit my needs and wants and yes, these days, I ‘cheat’ here and there. I believe that becoming too rigid with the diet (any diet!) is not beneficial to our bodies, mind and wellbeing. And in this case, stressing about what you eat or don’t eat is counter-productive as it creates more acids in the body!

There are many suggestions as to what is the best way to start alkalizing, what are the most important things. The way I look at it, there’s no right or wrong, start somewhere and the path will unfold to you just as it should.

I do like Robert Young recommendation, though, of starting to eat COWS which stands for Chlorophyll,Oil, Water and Salt. (Not steaks!)

Chlorophyll- Green vegetables and particularly green leafy veggies are the most nutrient- rich foods on the planet. They provide just about all the vitamins, minerals and micronutrients you could ever need.

So start thinking green green green! Spinach, cucumbers, silver beet, broccoli, lettuce, parsley, avocadoes, chives, celery, kale- just to name a few. The more the better!

Best is to eat them raw as important nutrients get destroyed when heated, but lightly steamed or stir fried veggies are also ok.

When you start getting into your greens, you’ll find that the easiest way to increase your consumption is by juicing and blending them. Both are important.

Juices provide immediate nourishment, without the body having to invest energy in digesting the food.
Blending (as in making a smoothie in a blender) is also great because you get a lot of fibre that you don’t get when juicing.

There are many delicious recipes for green smoothies and they are so easy to prepare, it really does take 5 minutes.

Grasses are great too- wheatgrass, barley grass etc.

This is what goes into our green juices. You'll have to be munching veggies all day to be able to get the same amount of greens...

If you find it too difficult to have regular green juices, that’s ok- there are many green powder products on the markets aimed to make your life easier!

I have been juicing almost every day, as well as having green smoothies and what I notice is that it helps keep my sugar cravings at bay.

Oils

Forget about the no-fat low-fat obsession! Fat plays a crucial role in our bodies and we need healthy fats.

Polyunsaturated fats such as flax seed, borage, evening primrose, grape seed and hemp oil are great choices.

Those fats that are predominantly monounsaturated like olive oil are also beneficial.

A minimum of a table spoon of flaxseed oil should be taken every day.

What I do is every morning I pour a bit of water into a glass and then on top of it 1-2 table spoons of flaxseed oil and I drink it like a shot. I found this way to be easiest, in case I forget to take my oil later in the day.

I use flaxseed, olive oil and coconut oil freely with my foods, as well as many many avocadoes.

What makes me laugh is that I used to be the ‘fat free’ queen!everything I bought, I always looked at the fat content and now I eat 3 avocadoes a day without blinking and I stay away from anything ‘diet’ or ‘low fat’.

Water

Our bodies are 70% water and so we need plenty of clean, purified water. (Not tap water!)

Most people, without even realising it, are chronically dehydrated! Body cells are as healthy as the fluids they are bathed in.

I drink 4 litres per day and the more I drink the thirstiest I get...

There are many water machines and purifiers out there, some of which are very expensive.

We invested a few hundred dollars in a water filtration system and I also add ‘pH drops’ to my drinking water to bring the pH level up. These drops are consisted of alkaline minerals such as potassium and sodium and are very inexpensive. I take them with me when I’m not home so that I can use them whenever I need to.

Salt

Contrary to what we are led to believe in regards to staying away from salt, salt is essential to our nutrition and body function! Good salt that is, not the processed white poison known as table salt!
(Table salt is bleached and contains additives, preservatives, anti caking agents, fluoride and dextrose)

Good salts help normalize the volume of blood, regulate fluid pressure including blood pressure within cells.
Salt is important in making the heart beat correctly and the regulation of metabolism.

The wrong salt (table salt) can cause blood pressure, especially if you are eating and living acidic.

The ideal salt for our bodies would be sun dried from the waters of a healthy sea.

(Which is a whole different topic- are there any healthy seas/oceans left these days...)
Celtic salt and Himalayan salt are great.

Mineral Salts are also very important. The best is a combination of the 4 most important salts for the body: sodium, potassium bicarbonate and magnesium and calcium carbonate.

I use this combination of 4 salts in a powder form twice a day- I mix a teaspoon with water and drink it morning and night.

If you don’t want to buy the 4 salts, you can simply use baking soda, which you most likely have at home. (Just make sure it is aluminium free!)

This is one simple thing you can start doing right away and you will notice the results.

You’re probably still asking yourself- so what should I eat?

You might be surprised to learn how much of what you eat is acidic, as well how some foods that are perceived as acidic are actually alkalizing. (Like lemons).

As a rule, your diet should be around 70-80% alkaline and the rest can be more on the acidic side.

What to eat

In short, all vegetables are alkaline, except for corn, white potatoes and mushrooms.

Eat plenty of veggies from different varieties, tomatoes, avocadoes, sprouts, herbs & spices, lemons, limes and grapefruits. (Low sugar fruits).

You can eat non animal protein such as soy beans and tofu and the occasional fish (if you must).

Grains and legumes such as buckwheat, millet, quinoa, spelt, lentils, chickpeas and beans are ok, however make sure they are in the 20-30% acidic part of your diet, as they are slightly acidic.

If you love bread, make sure it is wheat & yeast free.

We eat sprouted bread, as it only contains sprouted grains (such as wheat and rye) and olive oil.

Nuts are ok except for cashews, peanuts and pistachios (because of their fungal content).
The best nuts to eat are almonds. If you can soak them in water overnight it’s better as it gets rid of their enzyme inhibitors. But other nuts and seeds (such as pine nuts, sunflower kernels, sesame, chia and flex seeds etc) are also not too bad.

What to avoid (again, don’t get overwhelmed, remember baby steps, little adjustments and one thing at a time!)

- All forms of sugar (including fruits, honey, maple syrup, brown sugar etc)

- Simple Carbohydrates like white flour, pasta, white rice, potatoes etc

- Refined and processed foods- junk food, fried food, frozen food, food that has additives, preservatives, artificial colouring or flavouring in it. Also avoid artificial sweeteners at all cost.

- Fruits- high sugar fruits are full of sugar and therefore acidic. If you must have fruits- try and limit it to your acidic part of the diet and eat it by itself, not combined with anything else.

- Dairy products including milk, cheese and yogurt.

- Unhealthy fats (like canola oil, butter etc)

- Meat and eggs

- Yeast

- Edible Fungus (mushrooms, algae, chlorella)

- Fermented and malted products (like tempeh, vinegar, mustard, ketchup, mayonnaise, chilli sauce, miso sauce, pickled veggies)

- Alcohol (you know the drill!)

- Caffeine (including chocolate, cocoa, tea, sodas and all forms of coffee, even decaffeinated).

Some of the things you can also do to increase alkalinity are getting regular exercise, plenty of fresh air, sweating in an infra red sauna (I have a sauna once a day now), rebounding (jumping on a little trampoline), meditation, laughter, spending time with loved ones, getting enough sleep, reducing stress and having fun!

So this is the alkaline lifestyle in a nut shell. If you are interested to read more about this huge subject, below is a list of books and websites that I find very helpful and informative:

‘The ph Miracle: Balance Your Diet, Reclaim Your Health’ by Robert O. Young (I use this book as my ‘alkaline bible’!)

Green for Life by Victoria Boutenko

http://articlesofhealth.blogspot.com.au- Robert O. Young blog where he publishes incredibly interesting articles about health, diet and his research into the alkaline lifestyle.

http://www.energiseforlife.com- a great website full of resources, articles, recipes, products and much more. You can also download (for free) a full chart of what foods are acidic and what alkaline

http://www.smarterhealth.com.au – alkaline products, recipes and articles.

http://www.acidalkalinediet.com – this website has a great ‘home study kit’ that you can download (for a fee), it covers pretty much everything you need to know to start your alkaline journey, including charts and recipes.

Ok, this blog has been very informative and technical, but I hope you found it interesting and helpful.

Make sure to check my new ‘Recipes’ page, where I will continue to upload healthy alkaline recipes.

This is what most of our food shopping looks like these days...

My name is Lee, I’m a 32 year old woman, born in Israel and have been living in Australia for 7 years now.

One year ago, out of the blue (as is often the case!) I was diagnosed with a large and rare tumour inside my spinal cord (Astrocytoma).

Needless to say, my life as I knew it has changed forever.

I had surgery in Brussels (Laminectomy) at the beginning of April 2011; however none of the tumour could be removed without causing me quadriplegia so the tumour remained untouched.

(And I can walk, which I’m so happy about!)

So seeing that my medical options are very limited, I have decided to follow my initial intuition and strong belief in the body’s capacity to heal itself and I have embraced on a natural healing journey.

My intention in creating this blog is to share my journey, the things I am learning along the way, my thoughts and experiences, in the hope that perhaps this could help other people on their journey too.

Thanks for reading my blog and I would love to hear from you!

Love and Light

Lee

P.S
If you would like to contact me but not in this public forum, you can e-mail me at: leegefen@gmail.com

La dieta alcalina di Robert Young

La dieta alcalina di Robert Young: un regime basato su assurde teorie, lo scrive Enzo Spisni docente dell'Università di Bologna che critica metodi e contenuti

La dieta alcalina non è una novità per gli italiani, anni fa era apparso un libro che vantava i benefici del sistema, e adesso è in commercio un nuovo volume di oltre 400 pagine che la ripropone in veste rinnovata. La recensione del libro è affidata a Enzo Spisni, docente di Fisiologia della Nutrizione all’Università Bologna, che delinea in modo efficace le assurde teorie dietetiche di un autore un po’ chiacchierato.

La teoria del libro è che tutte le patologie, dal raffreddore al cancro, compreso le malattie cardiovascolari, e quelle infiammatorie croniche, dipendano dall’alterazione del pH (acidità) del nostro corpo, che passa da una alcalinità ritenuta naturale, ad una acidità causata da cattivi alimenti ingeriti. Da un punto di vista scientifico questa teoria risulta alquanto singolare perché sostenere l’esistenza di una dieta universale perfetta e teorizzare che tutte le patologie abbiano una sola causa e una sola cura, non è molto serio.

Il testo contiene alcune affermazioni che meritano di essere commentate. Una delle teorie più affascinanti, degne di un film di fantascienza, è che "i batteri possono mutare in lieviti, i lieviti in funghi ed i funghi in muffe" (par 2.6, pag. 23) e anche che "...i globuli rossi possono modificarsi e rimodificarsi in qualsiasi tipo di cellule di cui il corpo necessita" (par 2.6, pag. 23). Da ciò deriva l'importanza di osservare il sangue in vivo per vedere in una sola goccia "microrganismi cristallizzati, micotossine, colesterolo, metalli, grassi non digeriti e molte altre cose"… Tossine e colesterolo non sono visibili con il microscopio utilizzato dagli autori e per quanto riguarda la presenza di microrganismi nel sangue, è stato dimostrato che ciò accade solo in caso di gravi infezioni o di gravi patologie intestinali, come la malattia di Crohn.

Affermazioni altrettanto false si trovano nella parte dove si svelano i secreti dello stomaco basico (par. 4.1) elaborando una "nuova biologia della salute", che assomiglia ad una fanta-biologia.

Ma veniamo al cuore della trattazione, cioè al modo di mantenere il pH del nostro organismo alcalino, modificando la dieta. Dopo avere suddiviso gli alimenti in due gruppi: acidificanti o alcalinizzanti, cominciano le strane teorie per cui si scopre che: agrumi come limoni, lime e pompelmi sono gli unici frutti classificati come alcalini(!). In pratica si definisce una spremuta di limone una bevanda alcalina. Invece, il riso bianco viene classificato come uno dei cibi più acidi ed acidificanti che esistono. Continuando, i pomodori sono alcalini, il latte e le noci acidi. Chiunque ha minimamente chiaro il concetto di pH e di acidità, dopo avere letto questo libro avrà molte perplessità sull’argomento.

Per quanto riguarda le nozioni sul metabolismo ci sono due concetti che assomigliano molto alle teorie magiche di Mago Merlino.

1) Secondo l’autore la digestione delle proteine animali forma acidi "acido urico, nitrico, solforico e fosforico" mentre questo non accade durante la digestione di quelle vegetali. La teoria è molto singolare ma va dimostrata perché gli aminoacidi sono sostanzialmente gli stessi e ipotizzare un diverso percorso è molto arduo.

2) I carboidrati sono "prodotti di scarto acidi” che “causano la trasformazione biologica delle cellule sane del corpo in batteri e lieviti" (par. 6.2.1, pag. 120).

Quanto alla paranoica accusa verso tutti quei microrganismi, che nel nostro corpo produrrebbero tossine, come i batteri, i lieviti e i funghi per cui si sconsigliano vivamente tutti i cibi fermentati come il vino lo yogurt ed il pane, bisognerebbe ricordare all'autore che molti batteri, tra cui i lactobacilli, producono sostanze come le batteriocine, utilissime all’organismo per difendersi dall’aggressione di altri batteri “cattivi”.

Ultimo concetto descritto riguarda la differenza tra acque buone (alcaline) ed acque cattive (acide). La lunga dissertazione sugli elettroni risulta essere farneticante quanto convincente per i non esperti di chimica e fisica. La conclusione è di usare una macchina molto costosa in grado di alcalinizzare e purificare l'acqua del rubinetto.

Da notare infine che le ricerche citate a sostegno delle teorie dell’autore, mancano di referenze bibliografiche e quindi non si possono consultare in originale.

Da un punto di vista nutrizionale:

Dimenticando per un momento le falsità del libro, una cosa è certa, la dieta alcalina è in pratica una dieta “vegana”, che restringe ulteriormente il gruppo di alimenti perché elimina gran parte della frutta (eccetto limoni, lime e pompelmi) e gran parte dei carboidrati complessi (pasta, riso e cereali). Aderire al progetto alcalino vuol dire nutrirsi quasi esclusivamente di verdura fresca e legumi, esattamente il contrario della dieta ricca e variata che i nutrizionisti suggeriscono! Con la dieta alcalina si perdono sicuramente i chili di troppo, ma nel lungo periodo si possono creare carenze nutrizionali importanti.

"Il miracolo del PH alcalino: bilanciate la vostra dieta, recuperate la vostra salute", Robert O. Young, Shelley Redford Young, Cesena, Edizioni Bis, 2011, 455 p., 21,00 €.

Enzo Spisni (Master in Alimentazione ed Educazione alla Salute, Università Bologna).

Foto: Photos.com