Overfed and under nourished?  Overweight?  Tired?  Eat a lot of bread, pasta and soda?  Time to Watch Hungry for Change. Peak Performance guru Tony Robbins says, “This inspiring film has the power to transform your health!”  Expect it does, should you follow its insights, for these 12 health experts know about what they speak and live their talk.

Hungry for Change, the documentary

NOW THRU Sunday, March 31, 2012 you can watch Hungry for Change free.  Fine, but why would you want to?

Well, it could be that your physical self could use an overhaul, or perhaps just a tweak.  If neither is true, you might just be interested in the topic of how diet relates to… no, in fact, determines health.

I certainly learned a few things from watching Hungry for Change, and as I watched about twelve health professionals be interviewed about food, diet, chemicals, cleansing and disease, I took notes.

Here are my notes followed by the Hungry for Change trailer:

Most Americans are overfed and under nourished, which leads to being overweight with an incessant desire to eat.

Many chemicals we ingest from polluted and/or manufactured food are fat loving, in that they get stored in fat cells.  When we lose fat, we also need to detoxify, not just by burning fat but also by getting rid of chemicals released by the fat. The chemicals need to exit the system.

[Read It’s Detox Time, A Simple, Effective Cleanse and Dr Oz: How to Prepare for Your Cleanse.]

The body yearns to detoxify. Foods that are chlorophyll-rich, such as green vegetables, bind to heavy metals and chemicals and pass out of the body. Gelatinous plant foods, like chia seeds, psyllium husk powder and seaweed become gelatinous when wet.  As they move through the gastrointestinal track they absorb bile salts, bind to them and pass them out of the body before they get reabsorbed.

Certain “greens” like parsley and cilantro are effective chemical detoxifiers (as is niacin).  Parsley cleanses the blood and cilantro binds with heavy metals, like mercury, which gets into our body through polluted air, some types of fish and silver/mercury amalgam teeth fillings.

[Read The Right Tuna for You and the Ocean and The Ultimate Heavy Metal Detox]

Eating abundantly from the veggie kingdom is vital for proper nutrition. If perplexed about how to go about this because either you’re disinterested in becoming a veggie chef or are unwilling to train your palette to appreciate the taste, get a juicer.

The idea behind juicing vegetables and fruit (more veggies than fruit, as too much fruit yields too much sugar) is that you can consume much more of the healthy phytochemicals if the juice is separated from the pulp.  This nutrition is absorbed and building up your body within 15 minutes.

[Read Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead.]

Evita Remparte was diagnosed with ovarian cancer.  First she did a juice cleanse detox for three days and lost seven pounds. She continued and revamped her diet, making it vegetable and juice focused.  After four months, she was cancer free and lost a considerable amount of excess weight. Hers is probably not a prescription for combating cancer, but what she did worked for her.

Lustrous skin and hair indicate health. It’s the outer evidence of inner health.  The plentiful consumption of natural foods can result in lustrous skin and hair.  This can happen in 30 days.  The skin is a symbol of our nutrition, as it conveys what’s going on inside our bodies.  Improve the quality of your skin and hair by eating less wheat-based and packaged foods, replacing them with foods that look like they just came from the farm.

Cosmetics are a chemical dumping ground: horse urine and fragrance chemicals get absorbed into your body and potentially excite disease.

Traumas and Dramas.  The “A Study” is a study about obesity.  It posits that obesity is the result of stress and emotional adversity.  People turn to food to nurture themselves.  Stress causes cortisol, the so-called “death hormone”, which makes you gain weight.

Visualization is the language to use to communicate with your subconscious. Make a visual image of the way you want to look.  Focus on it and absorb it regularly.  Imagine being and living in that body.  This can turn the program off that undermines you.

Love of self and others is cited as the crucial component for health and weight loss. When you feel unloved, you feel unsafe. If you feel worthless and unloved, you need to unwind the internal chatter that limits and undermines you.  Tell yourself this:

“I accept myself unconditionally right now”.

Then pause and observe the nasty, contradictory messages that challenge this assertion, such as:

“You’re overweight, you’re unloved, and you don’t have a job”.

Repeat the affirmative self-talk.  After 30 days of consistently repeating this mantra, those nasty voices will go quiet as you get stronger

Three questions to improve your life:

1. Where does my food come from?
2. What attitudes care or love went into the food?
3. What is my intention with this food – nutrition or entertainment?

Paying attention to these three questions throughout that day will shift your response to, and selection of, the food you eat.

OK, so that’s what I got from my notes; and, mind you, I only started taking them about half way through the documentary.  Watch the trailer below and than go see the whole kit and kaboodle free until March 31, 2012, at either at Dr. Mercola’s website here, or sign-up and watch it at the HungeryForChange.tv website.

Here’s the trailer to Hungry for Change:

Contributors to Hungry for Change include:

Related posts:

1. Need to Change? Make it Fun!
2. The Reboot Diet and the Detox Effect
3. The Reboot Cleanse Diet – Two Common Struggles

New FDA Guidelines are forthcoming that will help consumers spot sunscreen effectiveness.  Right now, labels are misguided, leaving you to choose lotions that may be ineffective.  With skin cancer on the rise, it pays to know how to protect yourself.

CONFUSED ABOUT whether or not to use sunscreen, or which one works?  The FDA has announced new mandates that reflect more than three decades of study.  By the summer of 2010, changes to sunscreen labels will be enforced.

These lotions will have to indicate if they protect against UVA and UVB radiation; currently, the label only needs to refer to UVB.  If both UVA and UVB protection is not offered by 2010, the manufacturer cannot assert that their lotion protects against skin cancer or early skin aging.

What’s more, the new regulations will mandate that sunscreen lotions will no longer be able to advertise a SPF – sun protection factor – greater than 50.

Judy Woodruff of the PBS Newshour (the best news show on TV in my humble opinion), recently interviewed Dr. Ali Hendi, a dermatologist with The Skin Cancer Foundation.

Here’s some bottom line assertions that Dr. Hendi made in the interview:

- With the new guidelines, a product cannot label itself as being waterproof or a sunblock. Those do not exist. There’s no ingredient that is a total sunblock. And there’s no product that is waterproof.

- When outdoors, apply sunscreen every two hours. If swimming or sweating, apply sunscreen after the activity is finished.

- UVB rays do not penetrate deeply; they can be blocked by the glass in your car, for example. UVA rays penetrate deeply and are known to cause skin cancer. It’s important to have protection from both UVA and UVB.

-  Skin cancer and skin damage from sun exposure is happening to more young people today than in the past.  Oftentimes, the damage is from exposure a decade earlier. Young women are developing skin cancer in greater numbers than men which is thought to be due to their greater use of tanning beds that use U.V. radiation, a known carcinogen.

If you’re a sun lover, or want to know more about this topic, listen to the Judy Woodruff Interview or go to the PBS Newshour and watch the interview here.

Related posts:

1. Japan’s Radiation Fallout – Protect Yourself!
2. Do Flu (H1N1) Vaccines Work? Two Studied Opinions

Completely amazing!! You need to see how new skin can, in effect, be sprayed on with a spray gun to save the lives of burn victims.

MAKING SCIENCE fiction real, Dr. Jörg C. Gerlach has developed a spray gun, which uses a patient’s own cells to help regenerate burn victims’ skin in just days!

The whole spray gun process only takes about an hour! Revolutionary!

The video below shows a miraculous recovery, where extensive second degree burns are cured in just four days. The usual methods, like skin grafts, take weeks to heal burns.

I’m truly excited about the advances in molecular cell biology.  Could the day be near at hand when surgery is no longer needed to graft skin or replace failing organs?  Hope so.

Related posts:

1. Watch: Stem Cell Research — A Father’s Fight
2. My Sister Loses One Pound/Day on hCG — Watch
3. Does Hemp Oil Cure Cancer (and other things)? Watch

Am on a myth roll… this one, “10 winter health myths”.  After all, it is winter, you want to be healthy, so check it out.

I JUST can’t help myself.  Just read another list of health myths, and am compelled to list them, but this time, I’ll leave it to you to click over to the original article rather than summarize them (along with my two cents), as I did yesterday’s post, 12 Myths About Cholesterol.

This one is from Yahoo! Health and it’s called, 10 Winter Health Myths Exposed, by Sara Jio.  Go to her article and read the specifics about why these commonly held beliefs are bunk, or continue on here to scan the list.

Here they are, 10 Winter Health Myths:

1. You can catch a cold by being out in the elements too long. (It isn’t the cold, it’s the bacteria and viruses.)
2. More people are depressed during the winter months. (Perhaps a bit more stress, but not depression.)
3. Chicken soup helping a cold is an “old wives tale”. (Could help the immune system and assist in zapping the cold.)
4. Wear a hat cause you lose must of your heat via the head. (Nope, first be concerned with your torso – wear a warm jacket.)
5. Shouldn’t exercise in the cold. (Nope, just warm up first.)
6. We need more sleep in the winter. (Not a need, but perhaps a compulsion.)
7. Don’t need sunscreen in the winter. (Yes you do… the Sun and UV rays are still present.)
8. Frostbite is hard to get. (No, can happen in just 30 minutes.)
9. Dry skin is harmless and a winter issue. (Maybe not, as it can induce infection.)
10. Can’t get allergies during the winter. (Depends – pollen allergy suffers are safe, but indoor allergies get worse.)

Well, I guess I did include a summary (actually, a conclusion) for each of these 10 winter health myths, but for more insight and a better understanding, go read Sara Jio’s article.

Related posts:

1. Five Diet and Exercise Myths that Need to Die
2. 12 Myths About Cholesterol
3. Dr. Weil and Kevin Rose Talk Health (Video)

10 ways to soothe your sunburn

IF YOU had the kind of Independence Day that I did, you had plenty of time in the sun.  My Croatian skin can take it, but those with less brown pigment melanin might have ended the day with some sunburn.

If so, take a look at Barbara Brody’s 10 Ways to Soothe Sunburn, which I summarize thus:

1. Slop on aloe. It’s soothing and healing. I get it from the source — a plant in my house.
2. Apply milk for 20 minutes.
3. Dissolve baking soda with water and apply generously.
4. Vinegar may help reduce pain.
5. The herbs comfrey and calendula promote tissue healing and have anti-inflammatory properties.
6. Drink pure water.
7. Raw honey can reduce inflammation.
8. Lock in moisture with Burt’s Bees Aloe & Linden After Sun Soother or Bach Rescue Cream.
9. Get more vitamins.  (Go to the article for specifics.)
10. Eat fish or take omega-3 fatty acids to reduce inflammation.

So, there’s 10 ways to go… hope your skin cools down!

Related posts:

1. Skin Is More Than Skin Deep

Supplements and lotions reviewed here: Vitamin D3, MSM Lotion, Aloe.

THE HEALTH of your skin reflects your overall health, for truly there’s little about it that’s only skin-deep. It follows that if you lather various topical solutions on your skin to make it look better — unless they have nutrients designed to be transdermally absorbed — the outcome will be unsatisfactory.

So, want better looking skin?

Well, then you better address the whole body-package.  That said, it makes sense to use moisturizers that keep skin cells plump and, of course, sun protection so you neither approximate the appearance of a lizard, or become an artifact in a cancer ward.

Please go read my post called Detoxifying Your Way to Nirvana.  Few things you can do to your insides have such a dramatic effect to your outside (skin) as cleansing.

While you’re digesting that post, you can consider two essential fatty acid products great for the skin, among many: Ultra EPA and Evening Primrose Oil.

You may also wish to take WebMD’s Personal Skin Evaluator.  I just did and wonder if the set of suggestions the “evaluator” produced for me based on my personal input is pretty much the same for everyone.  That said, good suggestions about skin care are offered.

Here’s the stuff I use:

Vitamin D3 Called the “sunshine vitamin” because your body will synthesize it in sunlight. This has been a check-in-the-box vitamin until recently.  Now, scientist are discovering that many of us are Vitamin D deficient, particularly African-Americans and Hispanics living in North America (who evolved in parts of the world with more sunlight).  What’s more, there’s a link between Vitamin D deficiency and cancer. Good insurance, I’d say!

Rich’s MSM Lotion Made with MSM, various essential fatty acids and aloe vera, this well-priced lotion rapidly penetrates your skin and does a good job of hydrating it.  MSM is great for the skin, and I ingest it in capsule or powder form as well.

Aloe Vera Gel Lotion I use the generic stuff distributed by Trader Joe’s which is only offered in-store, but my guess is that as long as the label says something like “99% pure” and “organic”, the product should be fine.  Here I link to Jason Naturals Aloe Vera because of the reputation of the company, but there are many others to select from at Amazon.com, or your health food store.  Also, know that aloe vera is a amazing plant and offers many health benefits, particularly if you ingest it (the liquid form).  I drink it every day with my vitamin drink, as it helps with digestion and cleansing.

For some general nutritional guidance that could help support skin health see this post entitled: Vitamins and Minerals — The Basics.

A Detox Bath Works Wonders

So, do apply lotions, but, as I said, pay attention to helping your skin from the inside out.  Besides cleansing, you can also do a detox bath that will quickly make you feel tingly and good.

Prepare this:

1. Fill up a tub with hot water.

2. If you have a window in the bathroom, crack it a bit.

3. Pour 1 cup of baking soda, 1 cup of sea salt and 1 heaping tablespoon of ginger powder* into the tub.

4. Fetch a big glass of purified water (over 8 oz if available) and mix in trace minerals if you have them (if not, no worries).

5. Grab your loofah (skin brush sponge-thingie).

Now, do this:

1. Take 250 milligrams of regular Niacin** and wait for the flush.***

2. Swirl around the water mixture… add more hot water if needed.

2. Get in the tub.

3. Soak a bit and then scrub yourself from head to toe with the loofah (no soap).

4. Rest and repeat the scrubbing three times… stay in the tub for at least 20 minutes.

5. Take a shower and scrub head to toe with soap and the loofah, rinse and shine.

* Be careful with the ginger powder as it can “burn” if too much is used, particularly in sensitive areas of the body.  I suggest you start with 1 tablespoon and add when ready.  If the amount you use does not produce some heat (other than temperature) in the tub, add more.

** Niacin comes in two forms (that I know about): the stuff that allows the capillaries in your skin to be flushed with blood (which can feel uncomfortable, like a sunburn), or non-flush.  You want the flush kind, such as Solgar Niacin.  Be careful with the amount, because the flushing can be uncomfortable (although the detox bath alleviates this quite a bit). 250 milligrams may be too much on an empty stomach.  I use 500 milligrams, but I’m accustomed to this craziness.

*** Have I said enough about “flushing”?  If you don’t like the feeling of being sunburned, be careful with the amount of Niacin you take (see above).  Same thing with the ginger powder (see above).

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Supplement Disclaimer

Just as with the descriptive statements made at the various company sites that manufacture and/or sell the supplement products presented in this blog, none, or nearly none, of the potential benefits stated here have been evaluated by the FDA. Likewise none, or nearly none, of the products here can be represented to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Before engaging a supplement program, it always makes sense to get the advice of your health practitioner.

Related posts:

1. Detoxifying Your Way to Nirvana
2. Soothe Your July 4th Sunburn
3. Sunscreen Lotions that Work – Know Your Sunscreen