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January 2004 Vol. 9 No. 1

“I’ve never been poor, only broke. Being poor is a frame of mind. Being broke is only a temporary situation”
Mike Todd

“You never find yourself until you face the truth.”
Pearl Bailey

Table of Contents:Mad Cow Disease: Facts & Resources
Beans Have Powerfully Beneficial Antioxidants
Drugs Don’t Work for Most
ADD Drugs May Damage Children’s Brains
Salmon: Healthy? Probably Not If It Is Farmed Raised
The Calcium Diet

Mad Cow Disease: Facts & ResourcesIf you’re concerned about mad cow disease, you have every right to be. PCRM has been speaking out about the potential of this problem hitting the U.S. meat industry for years.

But now that mad cow disease has been discovered in the United States, the Department of Agriculture seems more concerned about defending the cattle industry than protecting the public. Indeed, Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman is busily trying to reassure the American public that beef is safe by obscuring the risks of contracting the human form of mad cow disease, a variant of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) that is incurable and deadly.

The alarming reality is that, because of lax regulations and poor enforcement, the extent to which mad cow disease has entered the human food supply is unknown. Although some changes have been made, many U.S. livestock rendering and feeding practices are similar to those present in Britain at the onset of that country’s mad cow epidemic, which resulted in the infection of more than 100 people with vCJD.

http://www.pcrm.org/health/prevmed/madcow_facts.html
http://www.pcrm.org/health/prevmed/PCRMHealthMadCowDiseaseFAQ.html
http://www.consumersunion.org/pub/core_food_safety/000726.html

Beans Have Powerfully Beneficial AntioxidantsResearchers tested the antioxidant activity of flavonoids found in the skin of 12 varieties of dry beans. Antioxidants are known to destroy free radicals and help prevent heart disease, cancer and aging. Following the study, researchers found that black beans had the most antioxidants, followed by red, brown, yellow and white beans.

The darker the bean is the higher level of flavonoids it contains, and therefore a higher antioxidant activity. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry December 31, 2003

Drugs Don’t Work for MostFor the first time ever, a top executive with GlaxoSmithKline admitted that fewer than half of all patients who are on expensive prescription drugs gain any benefit from them. Studies indicate that the vast majority of drugs–around 90 percent–are found to only work in 30 percent to 50 percent of patients, depending on the drug and the person.

It has been proven that drugs for migraines, osteoporosis and arthritis work in half of the patients prescribed. Drugs prescribed to patients suffering from Alzheimer’s work for fewer than one in three patients, whereas those for cancer are only effective for 25 percent. Independent.co.uk December, 8 2003

ADD Drugs May Damage Children’s BrainsThree studies have been conducted using attention deficit hyperactivity disorder drugs on rats, which resulted in researchers believing the drugs–prescribed by doctors–can lead to depression along with permanent and irreversible brain damage later in life.

ADHD is associated with children not being able to concentrate, poor organization skills and impulsive behavior. Between 3 percent and 5 percent have been diagnosed with ADHD in the United States in 2003. Yahoo News December, 8 2003

Following these steps could greatly improve their ADHD:

Omega-3 oils, specifically fish oil, are probably the single most important nutrient for a child with ADHD to take. Please read, “Does Your Child Have ADHD? Consider Fish Oil Over Ritalin …  to find more information on omega-3 oils and why they benefit children with ADHD. I also highly recommend Dr. Stoll’s book The Omega-3 Connection. He is a Harvard psychiatrist who has done a great job compiling evidence supporting the use of fish oils.

Try to avoid fruit juices, soda and milk. Have your child drink water as a primary beverage.

Restrict sugars and refined grains, which cause elevated insulin levels.

http://www.resultsproject.net/
http://www.afpafitness.com/ADDLinks.htm
http://www.mercola.com/2001/jan/7/lendon_smith.htm
http://www.mercola.com/2001/jan/7/add_ritalin.htm

Salmon: Healthy? Probably Not If It Is Farmed Raised.Salmon is a great source of omega-3 fatty acids [essential for healthy heart, brain, skin, nerves and joints. There is a problem with most store bought salmon-it is farmed raised. These “domesticated” fish are hatched in plastic trays, crowded into unsanitary underwater cages, typically fattened with soybean pellets, given high levels of anti-biotics and pesticides and then to top it off injected with synthetic dye to give the appearance of their wild cousins pink flesh.

Not only are the farm raised salmon up to 70 fattier than their wild cousins, the farm raised fish are 33 to 50 percent lower in omega-3 fatty acids. Wait there’s more-Farm raised salmon contain significantly higher levels of PCB’ and dioxins than wild salmon. The farm raised salmon contain more antibiotics residue than eggs, meat or chicken. Th antibiotic use has created resistant strains of bacteria that are killing other fish in the ocean! The pink dye uese on the salmon contains canthaxanthin, an ingredient used in sunless tanning pills that has since been banned for human use.

Best solution: Avoid all farm raised fish-salmon. Eat only wild in season fish. Or use vegetarian sources for omega-3 fatty acids. This information can be found by conducting a search on our website: www.afpafitness.com [scroll to bottom of home page and use the search box for articles and information on our website].

The Calcium DietJust when you thought there could not possibly be a new diet left to peddle the the general public out comes a new book that combines some truth [calcium levels are extremely low in Americans diets, which stimulates the release of the hormone Calcitriol-which in addition to protecting excretion of calcium from the bones also stimulates lypo-gensis [the making of new fat cells-and the storage of lipid matter inside these new cells]. Proponents of the new book encourage everyone to add three servingsof low-fat dairy products each day. There is a better way-try eating greens each day, along with seeds, beans, nuts, sprouts. Cut back on soda, sweets, processed foods. This way you will obtain added calcium, anti-oxidants, fiber, energy, enzymes, etc that will benefit you in many positive ways.