Why should you be mindfully aware of the nutritive quality of your food? The answer to that is found in a study by IBM entitled, "Healthcare 2015: Win-win or lose-lose?" This study should be an eye-opening wake-up call for everyone.
This study found: "Approximately 80 percent of coronary heart disease, up to 90 percent of type 2 diabetes, and more than half of cancers could be prevented through lifestyle changes, such as proper diet and exercise."
You are quite literally what you eat.
Very simply the quality of your life is up to you.
After counseling a great many people regarding their nutrition I am convinced there is a large majority of folks who simply don't know how to "eat right". They have grown up with convenience foods, microwavable dinners, fast food, processed foods and food company advertising. They never give a second thought to the lack of nutrition in these foods. The mother of three school age children even commented to me "with all the processed foods out there how can you eat any other way." The answer is simple. You choose to eat nutriously. You choose to not buy junk cereal and snacks. You choose to take the time to cook whole foods. You choose wellness over convenience.
Convenience is a hard habit to break. But folks you have to do it. The quality of your life and that of your children depends on it. Ahhhh what a concept. Taking charge of our wellness. Whole foods in our grocery carts. Thinking before we eat. Personal accountability. If that's not the lifestyle you grew up with it's the one you need to adopt. Remember 80 percent of coronary heart disease, up to 90 percent of type 2 diabetes, and more than half of cancers could be prevented through lifestyle changes, such as proper diet and exercise. Illness takes a lot of choices out of your life. It can prevent you from enjoying sports activities and travel. It can force you to be bed-ridden and prevent you from working to support yourself and your family. Illness takes choice out of your life. To know that much illness can be prevented by simply what you eat and how you exercise is a powerful reason to get serious about good nutrition and exercise.
But how do you change a lifetime of improper diet and lack of exercise? To start with get yourself a journal or a notebook or make a file on your computer. Then for your first posting write about why you want to make positive changes in your diet and exercise. Then educate yourself about nutrition. (I can help you with that.) Write down your goals. Then proceed to change your life one healthful change at a time. Maybe this week you will consistently eat two fruits per day. Next week maybe you'll do that and also eat a salad every day. Then the next week maybe you'll add drinking 8 - 8 oz glasses of water per day and so on. Make one change per week and rest assured you will be on a much healthier path.
Here's a nutritional guideline:
Aim to have 7 - 10 servings of fruits and vegetables per day. Note that 1 medium sized fruit or 1/2 cup of cooked or raw vegetables is considered 1 portion. Don't forget to drink plenty of water; at least 8 - 8oz glasses per day. That's NOT tap water. Invest in a good water filtration system or quality bottled water. Also invest in a quality multi-nutrition supplement. (See the last blog article). We'll talk about protein in a future blog.
So what are you going to do this week? What healthful change will you add? Write and tell me! Do you not know where to start? Need some guidance? Don't hesitate to contact me. I want to help you! Contact me at http://pamsnutritionstore.com/
And if you'd like to read that IBM study it can be found at: www.ibm.com/healthcare/hc2015
Sunday, October 07, 2007
Monday, August 20, 2007
How Malnourished Are You?
Why do you need to get serious about nutrition? Let's look at what has happened in the last 50 years with just two of the most popular vegetables:
Nutrients in POTATOES have decreased;
Vitamin A 100% ---Calcium 28% ---Vitamin C and Iron 57% ----Thiamine 18% ---- and Riboflavin 50%
Nutrients in BROCCOLI have decreased:
Calcium 62% --- Iron 33%---Vitamin A 55% ---Thiamin 40% ---Riboflavin 42%
This decrease in nutrients has happened in all of our fruits and vegetables. There-in lies the problem! USDA reports detail the nutrient poorness of our soil. Our produce which is lacking in nutrients to begin with is green harvested! Already nutrient-poor food is harvested BEFORE the few nutrients in the soil are able to enrich it. We may have plenty of food but the nutrient quality is sorely lacking. This is why servings on the food pyramid were increased and why it was recommended in the Journal of the American Medical Association (2002) everyone supplement with a quality multi-vitamin.
Combine the loss of nutrients in our whole foods with the nutrient poorness of processed foods and you come up with a whopping nutrient deficit!! And very, very few people eat in a truly healthy way to begin with. What did you eat yesterday?
Every cell in your body is made from the food you eat. The human body can take an amazing amount of abuse. But sooner or later a shortage of nutrition will catch up to you. The quality of your wellness is directly tied to the quality of the nutrition you give your body.
That is why you need to get serious about your nutrition. As recommended by the Journal of the American Medical Association combine a well-balanced diet with a quality multi-nutrition supplement.
And yes, I have a multi-nutrition supplement suggestion for you!
Click here Super Nutrition Made Easy
**************************************
if you wish to use this article in your blog, newsletter, etc you must use this resource box:
Pam Murphy,B.S.,RRT has been a healthcare professional for 27 yrs. She enjoys helping others support their wellness. Contact her thru http://optimizetoheal.com/
Nutrients in POTATOES have decreased;
Vitamin A 100% ---Calcium 28% ---Vitamin C and Iron 57% ----Thiamine 18% ---- and Riboflavin 50%
Nutrients in BROCCOLI have decreased:
Calcium 62% --- Iron 33%---Vitamin A 55% ---Thiamin 40% ---Riboflavin 42%
This decrease in nutrients has happened in all of our fruits and vegetables. There-in lies the problem! USDA reports detail the nutrient poorness of our soil. Our produce which is lacking in nutrients to begin with is green harvested! Already nutrient-poor food is harvested BEFORE the few nutrients in the soil are able to enrich it. We may have plenty of food but the nutrient quality is sorely lacking. This is why servings on the food pyramid were increased and why it was recommended in the Journal of the American Medical Association (2002) everyone supplement with a quality multi-vitamin.
Combine the loss of nutrients in our whole foods with the nutrient poorness of processed foods and you come up with a whopping nutrient deficit!! And very, very few people eat in a truly healthy way to begin with. What did you eat yesterday?
Every cell in your body is made from the food you eat. The human body can take an amazing amount of abuse. But sooner or later a shortage of nutrition will catch up to you. The quality of your wellness is directly tied to the quality of the nutrition you give your body.
That is why you need to get serious about your nutrition. As recommended by the Journal of the American Medical Association combine a well-balanced diet with a quality multi-nutrition supplement.
And yes, I have a multi-nutrition supplement suggestion for you!
Click here Super Nutrition Made Easy
**************************************
if you wish to use this article in your blog, newsletter, etc you must use this resource box:
Pam Murphy,B.S.,RRT has been a healthcare professional for 27 yrs. She enjoys helping others support their wellness. Contact her thru http://optimizetoheal.com/
Friday, June 22, 2007
A Letter to Michael Moore
As a healthcare professional for 27 yrs. who is in remission from Lupus; I have experienced our healthcare system from both sides. To say I'm not impressed is an understatement. But you've given me reason to be hopeful. I am anxiously awaiting your movie Sicko. Sicko will be, I hope, a grassroots wake up call.
It is a travesty that conventional health care is now the number one killer. We have to stop thinking the next best drug is a route to wellness. There are plenty of studies to validate it isn't. Illness is a cry from your body for nutrients it isn't getting. Our bodies are not deficient in antidepressants, antacids, anticholesterol drugs, steroids or the myriad of other pharmaceuticals available to us. Nor does treating symptoms create wellness. Pharmaceuticals may stifle symptoms but they do not create wellness. In treatment of chronic illness pharmaceuticals many times create a need for more pharmaceuticals. The body needs and utilizes nutrients not synthetic drugs. It's an oversimplified way to say it but basically, nutrients support the body whereas drugs deplete the body of nutrients and cause the body to work harder to perform the biological actions it needs to make in order to survive.
I was diagnosed with Undifferentiated Connective Tissue Disease back in 1987 which then gradually morphed into mostly Lupus. Conventional drug-oriented medicine does not have good answers for auto-immune illnesses. I found my salvation and regained my life thru nutrition and glyconutritional supplementation. Remission is a wonderful thing!
There came a time in my journey when my rheumatologist threw his hands up and said "I don't know". The sad thing is he was a good doctor. They simply really "don't know" when it comes to auto-immune disorders and other chronic diseases. Our medical system is as poor in treating chronic illness, as it is good for treatment of trauma and acute care. There are no good treatments for lupus and other auto-immune illnesses.
The moment my rheumatologist said "he didn't know" was a turning point for me. I realized if I was to have any quality of life at all I would have to take responsibility for my wellness and seek what answers I could find. My search led me to nutrition and glyconutritionals. If I had continued only conventional treatment ...... well, let me put it this way ..... my pulmonary physician referred to me as "unfortunate" and "steroid dependent" in his notes when he sent me to pulmonary rehab. All my docs concurred I would be on steroids the rest of my life and disability was looming in my near future.
Hippocrates said, "Let your food be your medicine and your medicine be your food."
The glyconutrient supplementation I take is basically food; nutrients we should get in our food supply but don't for various reasons. It is important to note every cell in your body is made up of the nutrients you put in. Frankly, if you put in junk you're going to get junk. The body is a miracle and it can compensate for lack of good nutrition for a time, but sooner or later poor nutrition will result in illness.
The average person thinks because they have a full plate of food three meals a day they are well-nourished. We aren't. In fact, because of the amount of processed food we eat, the nutrient-depleted soil we grow our food in and green-harvesting; we are grossly under-nourished and this is one of the reasons we are seeing such a rise in autoimmune illnesses, cancer, diabetes and heart disease. It is also a big part of the reason we are seeing typically adult-onset diseases striking our children.
Do you know how nutrient-poor our produce is? Today, it takes 2 lbs of spinach to get the amount of Vitamin A we used to get in 1 lb of spinach. All of our produce is this vitamin deficient and because of this we can't eat enough to get the nutrients we need for health. That is why the food pyramid was re-formulated to include more servings. And that is why in 2002 the AMA in it's Journal recommended everyone supplement their diet. Sadly that recommendation came and went pretty much unnoticed.
Mr Moore, it's startling to realize that in the fifteen years my lupus was active no physician ever inquired about or made any suggestions as to my nutritional intake. Unfortunately, the lack of doctor/patient discussion regarding nutrition is not unusual. Some folks give doctors a pass on that; saying they aren't trained in nutrition. But I don't give them a pass. FOOD is what makes the body work. Would we give a pass to a mechanic who didn't know the importance of gas or oil to a car?
For a number of reasons it is unconscionable nutrition is not the first line of (prevention and) defense put in action by conventional medicine. First, a body fighting an illness requires more nutrients. Second, it is known pharmaceuticals deplete your body of crucial nutrients. Why then, is nutrition not the first thing discussed with patients? Surely nutrition (and/or the lack of) impacts the course of disease and at the cellular level the ability to combat the disease. Why is the medical community not giving sick folks every opportunity to heal? And seemingly healthy folks the chance to prevent illness?
Do you know cancer is the #1 killer of children? Think about it, Mr Moore, the only species on the face of the earth which goes out of it's way to feed it's children crap is the human species. It's deplorable. Look in folks grocery carts next time you go to the grocery store. What kind of society allows their children to be killed with cartoon characters?
It is unconscionable, Mr Moore, that we dump so many billions into cancer research and barely (if at all) discuss PREVENTION. Do you know according to the World Health Organization 70% of ALL cancer can be PREVENTED by proper diet? Why then are we dumping billions into research and barely discussing prevention when so many lives could be saved by nutrition education? What does that say for the multibillion dollar cancer industry? Powerful conglomerates and even goverment agencies block access to alternative cancer treatments which have been proven to be efficacious. No, Mr Moore, the war is not being fought on cancer. Not seriously. Someone is making too much money from it.
We must learn to take personal responsibility for our wellness instead of relying on the next best drug, enact a strong national nutrition education program to make proactive wellness a cultural norm (just as the pharmaceutical industry uses tv commercials to make drug taking a normal action) and we desperately must reform the FDA. It's sad to say but no wonder the number one killer today is conventional medicine.
That's why I'm excited about your movie Sicko Mr Moore. Only a person of your stature could of made this movie. Thank you for putting yourself on the line in making it. The truth needs to be told. Desperately. In addition to hopefully spurring reform of the FDA, perhaps, it will wake folks up to the personal responsibility they MUST take for their wellness. Reaching for the next best drug is a prescription for just more illness.
And Mr Moore...... about your weight...... email me!
***************
If you wish to use this article in your blog, newsletter, any print medium, website, etc you must include the following resource box:
Pam Murphy, B.S.,RRT has been a healthcare professional for 27 yrs and has a thriving wellness business. She is completing a Masters in Holistic Nutrition and enjoys helping others support/regain their health. Contact her at: http://pamsnutritionstore.com
It is a travesty that conventional health care is now the number one killer. We have to stop thinking the next best drug is a route to wellness. There are plenty of studies to validate it isn't. Illness is a cry from your body for nutrients it isn't getting. Our bodies are not deficient in antidepressants, antacids, anticholesterol drugs, steroids or the myriad of other pharmaceuticals available to us. Nor does treating symptoms create wellness. Pharmaceuticals may stifle symptoms but they do not create wellness. In treatment of chronic illness pharmaceuticals many times create a need for more pharmaceuticals. The body needs and utilizes nutrients not synthetic drugs. It's an oversimplified way to say it but basically, nutrients support the body whereas drugs deplete the body of nutrients and cause the body to work harder to perform the biological actions it needs to make in order to survive.
I was diagnosed with Undifferentiated Connective Tissue Disease back in 1987 which then gradually morphed into mostly Lupus. Conventional drug-oriented medicine does not have good answers for auto-immune illnesses. I found my salvation and regained my life thru nutrition and glyconutritional supplementation. Remission is a wonderful thing!
There came a time in my journey when my rheumatologist threw his hands up and said "I don't know". The sad thing is he was a good doctor. They simply really "don't know" when it comes to auto-immune disorders and other chronic diseases. Our medical system is as poor in treating chronic illness, as it is good for treatment of trauma and acute care. There are no good treatments for lupus and other auto-immune illnesses.
The moment my rheumatologist said "he didn't know" was a turning point for me. I realized if I was to have any quality of life at all I would have to take responsibility for my wellness and seek what answers I could find. My search led me to nutrition and glyconutritionals. If I had continued only conventional treatment ...... well, let me put it this way ..... my pulmonary physician referred to me as "unfortunate" and "steroid dependent" in his notes when he sent me to pulmonary rehab. All my docs concurred I would be on steroids the rest of my life and disability was looming in my near future.
Hippocrates said, "Let your food be your medicine and your medicine be your food."
The glyconutrient supplementation I take is basically food; nutrients we should get in our food supply but don't for various reasons. It is important to note every cell in your body is made up of the nutrients you put in. Frankly, if you put in junk you're going to get junk. The body is a miracle and it can compensate for lack of good nutrition for a time, but sooner or later poor nutrition will result in illness.
The average person thinks because they have a full plate of food three meals a day they are well-nourished. We aren't. In fact, because of the amount of processed food we eat, the nutrient-depleted soil we grow our food in and green-harvesting; we are grossly under-nourished and this is one of the reasons we are seeing such a rise in autoimmune illnesses, cancer, diabetes and heart disease. It is also a big part of the reason we are seeing typically adult-onset diseases striking our children.
Do you know how nutrient-poor our produce is? Today, it takes 2 lbs of spinach to get the amount of Vitamin A we used to get in 1 lb of spinach. All of our produce is this vitamin deficient and because of this we can't eat enough to get the nutrients we need for health. That is why the food pyramid was re-formulated to include more servings. And that is why in 2002 the AMA in it's Journal recommended everyone supplement their diet. Sadly that recommendation came and went pretty much unnoticed.
Mr Moore, it's startling to realize that in the fifteen years my lupus was active no physician ever inquired about or made any suggestions as to my nutritional intake. Unfortunately, the lack of doctor/patient discussion regarding nutrition is not unusual. Some folks give doctors a pass on that; saying they aren't trained in nutrition. But I don't give them a pass. FOOD is what makes the body work. Would we give a pass to a mechanic who didn't know the importance of gas or oil to a car?
For a number of reasons it is unconscionable nutrition is not the first line of (prevention and) defense put in action by conventional medicine. First, a body fighting an illness requires more nutrients. Second, it is known pharmaceuticals deplete your body of crucial nutrients. Why then, is nutrition not the first thing discussed with patients? Surely nutrition (and/or the lack of) impacts the course of disease and at the cellular level the ability to combat the disease. Why is the medical community not giving sick folks every opportunity to heal? And seemingly healthy folks the chance to prevent illness?
Do you know cancer is the #1 killer of children? Think about it, Mr Moore, the only species on the face of the earth which goes out of it's way to feed it's children crap is the human species. It's deplorable. Look in folks grocery carts next time you go to the grocery store. What kind of society allows their children to be killed with cartoon characters?
It is unconscionable, Mr Moore, that we dump so many billions into cancer research and barely (if at all) discuss PREVENTION. Do you know according to the World Health Organization 70% of ALL cancer can be PREVENTED by proper diet? Why then are we dumping billions into research and barely discussing prevention when so many lives could be saved by nutrition education? What does that say for the multibillion dollar cancer industry? Powerful conglomerates and even goverment agencies block access to alternative cancer treatments which have been proven to be efficacious. No, Mr Moore, the war is not being fought on cancer. Not seriously. Someone is making too much money from it.
We must learn to take personal responsibility for our wellness instead of relying on the next best drug, enact a strong national nutrition education program to make proactive wellness a cultural norm (just as the pharmaceutical industry uses tv commercials to make drug taking a normal action) and we desperately must reform the FDA. It's sad to say but no wonder the number one killer today is conventional medicine.
That's why I'm excited about your movie Sicko Mr Moore. Only a person of your stature could of made this movie. Thank you for putting yourself on the line in making it. The truth needs to be told. Desperately. In addition to hopefully spurring reform of the FDA, perhaps, it will wake folks up to the personal responsibility they MUST take for their wellness. Reaching for the next best drug is a prescription for just more illness.
And Mr Moore...... about your weight...... email me!
***************
If you wish to use this article in your blog, newsletter, any print medium, website, etc you must include the following resource box:
Pam Murphy, B.S.,RRT has been a healthcare professional for 27 yrs and has a thriving wellness business. She is completing a Masters in Holistic Nutrition and enjoys helping others support/regain their health. Contact her at: http://pamsnutritionstore.com
Friday, March 23, 2007
Top of the Food Chain?
It's amazing we are egotistical enough to regard ourselves as top of the food chain...... cos we do the dumbest things.
You know it's true. Just think about it. The only species on this planet who goes out of its way to feed their children nutrient poor junk food is the human species. That is exceedingly dumb. The human body to work in the way it was designed needs nutrients. Children especially need a nutritious diet.
Take a walk down the cereal aisle of any grocery store and you will see brightly colored super heroes and animal mascots jumping out at you from cereal boxes. The cereal aisle is a wonderland for children. Read the fine print of the ingredients on those boxes and you will wish
you’d paid attention in chemistry class.
In the meat section you will see a big name brand of boxed lunches made for and advertised to children by the use of cute names and colorful characters on the boxes. Read the ingredient list fine print of these and you will find some have MSG in them, as much as 46g of sugar and high sodium counts. Let’s not talk about the preservatives found in these meals. It gives me a headache thinking about children eating this. Read the ingredients list and again you’ll wish you’d paid attention in chemistry class. Let’s not forget the rows of candy at the checkout most usually placed at the right height for children to peruse.
Nor does the marketing of unhealthy foods stop with the grocery store and television. Fast food restaurants feature play areas, clowns and toys. But nutrition? Not much.
Though there is a growing revolt against this, unhealthy foods are even marketed to our children in our schools! Children who aren't allowed soda at home can buy it at school. Nobody needs soda. Why do we allow it in our schools?
The overwhelming marketing of poor food choices to our children has resulted in a childhood obesity epidemic. Some children are even exhibiting formerly adult health problems; diabetes, high blood pressure, hormone disorders and skeletal diseases. What are we to do? How can we protect our children? How can we encourage a healthy lifestyle?
Very simply we must model the behavior ourselves in our choices both for our health and theirs.
Would love to support your transition to a healthier healthstyle! Subscribe to the Empowering Wellness Newsletter at http://optimizetoheal.com
You know it's true. Just think about it. The only species on this planet who goes out of its way to feed their children nutrient poor junk food is the human species. That is exceedingly dumb. The human body to work in the way it was designed needs nutrients. Children especially need a nutritious diet.
Take a walk down the cereal aisle of any grocery store and you will see brightly colored super heroes and animal mascots jumping out at you from cereal boxes. The cereal aisle is a wonderland for children. Read the fine print of the ingredients on those boxes and you will wish
you’d paid attention in chemistry class.
In the meat section you will see a big name brand of boxed lunches made for and advertised to children by the use of cute names and colorful characters on the boxes. Read the ingredient list fine print of these and you will find some have MSG in them, as much as 46g of sugar and high sodium counts. Let’s not talk about the preservatives found in these meals. It gives me a headache thinking about children eating this. Read the ingredients list and again you’ll wish you’d paid attention in chemistry class. Let’s not forget the rows of candy at the checkout most usually placed at the right height for children to peruse.
Nor does the marketing of unhealthy foods stop with the grocery store and television. Fast food restaurants feature play areas, clowns and toys. But nutrition? Not much.
Though there is a growing revolt against this, unhealthy foods are even marketed to our children in our schools! Children who aren't allowed soda at home can buy it at school. Nobody needs soda. Why do we allow it in our schools?
And we wonder why we have an epidemic of childhood obesity, diabetes, and ADHD. Do you know what the #1 killer of children is? It's cancer.
Do you think the reason might be found in what we are feeding them?
The overwhelming marketing of poor food choices to our children has resulted in a childhood obesity epidemic. Some children are even exhibiting formerly adult health problems; diabetes, high blood pressure, hormone disorders and skeletal diseases. What are we to do? How can we protect our children? How can we encourage a healthy lifestyle?
Would love to support your transition to a healthier healthstyle! Subscribe to the Empowering Wellness Newsletter at http://optimizetoheal.com
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