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	<title>Blue Heron Natural Health News</title>
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		<title>Exercise Little-Used Treatment to Fight Arthritis</title>
		<link>http://blueheronhealthnews.com/site/2012/02/22/exercise-little-used-treatment-to-fight-arthritis/</link>
		<comments>http://blueheronhealthnews.com/site/2012/02/22/exercise-little-used-treatment-to-fight-arthritis/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 22 Feb 2012 06:00:27 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>ShellyManning</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Arthritis]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blueheronhealthnews.com/site/?p=4760</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A study out of Northwestern University has found that one of the most effective treatments&#8230;]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://blueheronhealthnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/arthritis-treatments-195x300.png" alt="" title="arthritis-treatments" width="195" height="300" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-4761" />A study out of Northwestern University has found that one of the most effective treatments for Rheumatoid arthritis, physical activity, is seldom used. </p>
<p>The researchers of this study discovered that this lack of exercise increased their risk of experiencing pain and suffering from chronic diseases often tied to RA, such as heart attacks and strokes.</p>
<p>The reason that 42% of RA patients hardly exercised, the researchers claim, was a lack of motivation and the belief that exercise wouldn’t ease their pain. </p>
<p>Of course, painful flare ups also interfered with regular exercise. The scientists note that doctors and public health officials should work harder to educate patients about the RA-specific benefits of exercise.</p>
<p><a href="http://blueheronhealthnews.com/arthritis/">Reverse arthritis in 21 days without side effects&#8230;</a></p>
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		<title>Are Your Supplements Making You Sick?</title>
		<link>http://blueheronhealthnews.com/site/2012/02/21/are-your-supplements-making-you-sick/</link>
		<comments>http://blueheronhealthnews.com/site/2012/02/21/are-your-supplements-making-you-sick/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 21 Feb 2012 06:00:23 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>ShellyManning</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[General]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Supplements]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blueheronhealthnews.com/site/?p=4752</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Whatever health issue you’re tackling, or if you just want to stay healthy, you’re probably&#8230;]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://blueheronhealthnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/supplements-215x300.png" alt="" title="supplements" width="215" height="300" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-4753" />Whatever health issue you’re tackling, or if you just want to stay healthy, you’re probably bombarded with recommendations from well-intentioned natural health researchers on various supplements and herbal remedies that will help you.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, for several reasons I’ll discuss in today’s feature article, many of those supplements and vitamins (even some vitamin C pills) can cause more harm than good and can even make you sick.</p>
<p>This is an important issue so please read on and make your comments below.</p>
<p>Thousands, if not millions of studies throughout the years have isolated various types of nutrition, herbs and vitamins that can drastically improve health and often cure diseases better than prescribed medications.</p>
<p>This research is often based on studying a huge database of nutritional consumption among certain group of people and then comparing the frequency of diseases in this and other groups that do not consume the same nutrients.</p>
<p>For example, a research study may go over various studies from 25 countries and compare people who consume a big amount of vitamin C to those who do not and find out that those who consume a high level of vitamin C have lower rate of <a href="http://blueheronhealthnews.com/bloodpressure">high blood pressure</a>.</p>
<p>After reading about this study, you may grab a bottle of extra strong vitamin C in your local supermarket as you shop for tonight’s dinner. But after consuming 500 mg of vitamin C supplement for a couple of weeks you maybe disappointed to find out your blood pressure didn’t go down.</p>
<p>WHY? </p>
<p>Well, there are three main reasons…</p>
<p>1) Most cheaper supplements sold in supermarkets and discount stores are less than useless. They’re produced using synthetic materials and most of the pill is nothing but filler that does not release the vitamin in the first place. So even if you’ve the vitamin C (or whatever nutrition you bought) in the pill, it will go in one end and out the other undigested.</p>
<p>Many of those cheap supplements are also loaded with unsafe chemicals that will harm you in the long haul. </p>
<p>So if you’re going to buy a supplement, spend a little more in your local health food store on a high quality supplement that your body will soak up. Don’t hesitate to ask for advice as people working in these stores are often walking libraries of natural health.</p>
<p>2) The second reason you’re not benefiting from your supplements is that oftentimes you don’t get the same benefits from supplements as you would from a higher quality diet. An average orange includes about 70 mg of vitamin C. But I guarantee this 70 mg is more valuable than any 500mg supplement taken in pill form. Often there are other nutrition in the fruits and vegetables that enhance the absorption of the nutrition you’re after. You don’t get this benefit from pills.</p>
<p>Side note: If you really want to load up on vitamin C, get a handful of the Chinese Jujube fruit. It’s not very common but some health food stores or Asian supermarkets will have it. About 100 grams of Jujube includes whopping 500mg of vitamin C.</p>
<p>As far as antioxidants go, the same can be said there as well.  Even though they have been shown to fight pretty much any disease (including arthritis, diabetes, cancer and heart disease) repeated studies have shown that supplements focused on antioxidant ingredients such as vitamin E are pretty much useless. You must get the antioxidant from your diet, not pills.</p>
<p>Which leads us to the third reason…</p>
<p>3) The third reason you’ll not necessarily benefit from even the best supplements comes to our human nature. Very often, we like to cut corners. And if we’re taking supplements, we think that’s enough- so we don’t look after our diets. Often we are not even conscious of this tendency but it has been well recorded in research.</p>
<p>So if you take supplements, use them more as a backup parachute than the main source of nutrition.</p>
<p>I took vitamin C as an example in this article because we all know how beneficial it is for us and you need really big doze to take too much of it (2000-4000mg daily). The advice I’ve given is just as valid and even more applicable for other types of supplements and herbs.</p>
<p>Actually, when dealing with herbs, you should apply extra caution and preferably consult a doctor focused on natural methods, herbalist or other expert since many herbs can cause side effects and often interfere negatively with each other, just like prescribed medications.</p>
<p>This is not to say you should not use herbs and supplements. In fact, I personally use a handful of natural supplements every day. Just make sure they’re of good quality and only used as safety-net, not as a main source of nutrition.</p>
<p>The best method to tackle your health issue is applying holistic lifestyle approach. You can find safe, effective natural guides on most issues you are interested in on the right hand side of this page.</p>
<p>But first, please let us know what you think and leave your comment below.</p>
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		<title>Coffee Can Help Diabetic’s Brains Work Better</title>
		<link>http://blueheronhealthnews.com/site/2012/02/20/coffee-can-help-diabetic%e2%80%99s-brains-work-better/</link>
		<comments>http://blueheronhealthnews.com/site/2012/02/20/coffee-can-help-diabetic%e2%80%99s-brains-work-better/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 20 Feb 2012 10:29:17 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jodi Knapp</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Diabetes]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blueheronhealthnews.com/site/?p=4748</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Compounds in coffee can help those with type 2 diabetes process blood sugar better in&#8230;]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://blueheronhealthnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/coffee-diabete-300x217.png" alt="" title="coffee-diabete" width="300" height="217" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-4749" />Compounds in coffee can help those with type 2 diabetes process blood sugar better in the brain, reports a study conducted by Mount Sinai School of Medicine researchers. </p>
<p>In this study of diabetic mice, scientists gave the rodents a decaf coffee supplements for 5-months. They found that the coffee improved the mice’s ability to utilize glucose in their brains. Glucose utilization in the brain is often impaired in those with type 2 diabetes, and may be responsible for their increased risk of cognitive decline. While promising, the scientists note that its not yet clear whether coffee will also benefit humans with diabetes.</p>
<p>A natural way to fight <a href="http://blueheronhealthnews.com/defeat-diabetes/">type 2 diabetes and win&#8230;</a></p>
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		<title>Raw Food Diet Combats Cholesterol and Hypertension</title>
		<link>http://blueheronhealthnews.com/site/2012/02/19/raw-food-diet-combats-cholesterol-and-hypertension/</link>
		<comments>http://blueheronhealthnews.com/site/2012/02/19/raw-food-diet-combats-cholesterol-and-hypertension/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 19 Feb 2012 06:00:29 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Scott Davis</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cholesterol]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[High Blood Pressure]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blueheronhealthnews.com/site/?p=4743</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Eating a diet primarily composed of raw food is an effective way to keep “bad”&#8230;]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://blueheronhealthnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/raw-food-diet-300x256.png" alt="" title="raw-food-diet" width="300" height="256" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-4744" />Eating a diet primarily composed of raw food is an effective way to keep “bad” LDL cholesterol in check, according to research from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.</p>
<p>In this study of 200 adults, researchers found that adoption of a raw food diet dramatically improved many important markers of health, including cholesterol, blood pressure and triglycerides. </p>
<p>The researchers note that raw food dieters tend to consume more fruits and vegetables than followers of other diets, and likely contributed to their better overall health in this study. </p>
<p>However, the researchers did find that raw dieters also were more likely to suffer from vitamin B-12 deficiency.</p>
<p>There is more moderate way to <a href="http://blueheronhealthnews.com/cholesterol/">lower cholesterol naturally in 26 days…</a></p>
<p>Read more about simplest method to <a href="http://blueheronhealthnews.com/bloodpressure">drop blood pressure in seven days…</a></p>
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		<slash:comments>7</slash:comments>
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		<title>Complicated Issue of Carbohydrates</title>
		<link>http://blueheronhealthnews.com/site/2012/02/18/complicated-issue-of-carbohydrates/</link>
		<comments>http://blueheronhealthnews.com/site/2012/02/18/complicated-issue-of-carbohydrates/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 18 Feb 2012 09:50:48 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>ShellyManning</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[General]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nutrition]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blueheronhealthnews.com/site/?p=4733</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[You don’t have to read more than an article or two about healthy diets to&#8230;]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://blueheronhealthnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/carbohydrates-300x283.png" alt="" title="carbohydrates" width="300" height="283" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-4734" />You don’t have to read more than an article or two about healthy diets to learn about the debate going on regarding diets that stress protein vs those that are high in carbohydrates. </p>
<p>And most often, carbohydrates get a bad rap. They’re considered by many as the cause of all evil. High protein diets such as the Adkins diet and caveman diet have become increasingly popular. And for a good reason.</p>
<p>And this is not just an issue of <a href="http://blueheronhealthnews.com/wlb/">weight loss</a>; what you’re about to learn will affect your <a href="http://blueheronhealthnews.com/bloodpressure">blood pressure</a>, <a href="http://blueheronhealthnews.com/defeat-diabetes/">type 2 diabetes</a>, <a href="http://blueheronhealthnews.com/arthritis/">arthritis</a> and most other diseases.</p>
<p>But not all carbohydrates are created equal and some studies have shown a dramatically lower rate of chronic diseases among nations that use more carbohydrates than a protein rich diet. And there are some serious health concerns regarding low carbohydrate diets.</p>
<p>So in today’s feature article, I’ll explain this complicated issue. No doubt we are going to have a fun, educational conversation in the comment section following today’s information. </p>
<p>So read on and make your comment below.</p>
<p>In an oversimplification about nutrition, carbohydrates would be considered the main fuel of the human body, proteins are the building blocks to maintain and repair muscle, and fats are more like the long-term fuel storage for a rainy day.</p>
<p>However, we are so adaptable that if we don’t get enough of one nutritional type, our body can most often transfer one thing into another. Protein can, for example, be used for energy instead of building muscles and carbohydrates can be transferred into fat (maybe too easily).</p>
<p>This adaption ability makes nutritional science extremely complicated and controversial. Health experts have been pushing people for years to reduce cholesterol intake although every single cell has the ability to create its own cholesterol. Low-fat diets are still considered useful weight loss tools although sugars and other carbohydrates can just as easily be transformed into body fat as animal fat. Diary producers have for decades been selling us on drinking milk to strengthen bones, although repeated research shows that hip fractures among people over 50 are more common in countries where milk consumption is higher.</p>
<p>The USDA recommendations for most typically developing humans to consume in diet is about 30% fat, 60% carbohydrates  and 10% protein. That’s about 66g fat, 300g carbohydrates  and 50g protein in a 2000 calorie diet. The famous food pyramid puts food high in carbohydrates such as breads, cereals, rice and pasta as the foundation for a good diet. Vegetables and fruits are only in second place and animal products such as diary, eggs and meat show up third. Fat sits at the top to be used the least.</p>
<p>The interesting thing is that almost ALL successful diets researched to fight and prevent diseases such as heart diseases, <a href="http://blueheronhealthnews.com/defeat-diabetes/">diabetes</a>, <a href="http://blueheronhealthnews.com/arthritis/">arthritis</a>, and <a href="http://blueheronhealthnews.com/wlb/">obesity</a> use different food pyramid formats. This includes contradicting diets such as Adkins and Caveman diets vs. vegan and raw food diets. </p>
<p>The problem with the USDA pyramid may not lie in the fact they put carbohydrates  in first place; but rather with what kind of carbohydrates is mostly consumed in the western world.</p>
<p>You see, there are at least two kinds of carbohydrates. </p>
<p>In its simplest form it’s just plain glucose or sugar. These sugars are called simple carbohydrates and are very seldom found naturally in big doses. Refined, white flour used in most breads, pastas and pastries is a form of simple carbohydrates. Also in this category are white rice and of course any kind of sugar and corn syrup.</p>
<p>Complex carbohydrates are, on the other hand, made up of a chain of glucose molecules commonly known as starch. They’re how plants naturally store glucose. Most whole grains (corn, wheat, rice, oats) and vegetables like potatoes and plantains are high in starch. </p>
<p>The problem with simple carbohydrates (majority consumed in the western world) is how quickly calories are processed into the blood stream. After all, the manufacturers have done most of the digestive work for you. Whereas complex carbohydrates release around 2 calories per minute into the blood stream, simple carbohydrates release 30 calories. This is the reason you may feel a quick boost of energy for a little while after consuming a candy bar or sugary energy drink. And then hit the low as it as quickly wears off.</p>
<p>Lets compare this to a burning fire. A small pot of gasoline (similar to simple carbohydrates) has as much energy as pile of firewood (similar to complex carbohydrates). But if you set both on fire, the gasoline will flare up for a few seconds and then die, whereas the firewood may burn for hours and keep the same heat level the whole time.</p>
<p>When you eat a lot of simple carbohydrates on a regular basis, your blood sugar goes in extreme waves – it surges and drops just like the gasoline fire. This puts an outrageous strain on your body as it tries to deal with the surging blood sugar level. Anyone who has ever fainted from type 2 diabetes knows how devastating it is for your system to have excessively high blood sugar.</p>
<p>As your body tries to drop the blood sugar level, it temporarily boosts metabolism, raising blood pressure, and then stores as much of the overloading glucose as quickly as possible as body fat. And for prevention measures, it may even go overboard and lower your blood sugar level too much. That’s when you feel the drop of energy and urge to eat another candy bar to raise the blood sugar again.</p>
<p>This triggers inflammation all over the body causing a series of health problems. Not only <a href="http://blueheronhealthnews.com/defeat-diabetes/">type 2 diabetes</a>, but this reactive inflammation also contributes to <a href="http://blueheronhealthnews.com/bloodpressure">high blood pressure</a>, <a href="http://blueheronhealthnews.com/arthritis/">arthritis</a>, <a href="http://blueheronhealthnews.com/wlb/">obesity</a>, kidney failure, <a href="http://blueheronhealthnews.com/erectile/">erectile dysfunction</a>, cancer and endless other diseases.</p>
<p>Because of how slowly your body consumes the calories for starch (complex carbohydrates), this rollercoaster effect doesn’t happen and you feel fuller for longer and don’t get hungry right away.</p>
<p>Note that it’s easy for your body to raise its blood sugar on its own. Most of us have more energy than we need stored on our hips and backsides. We don’t need a candy bar for extra energy.</p>
<p>USDA states on their website that at least half the carbohydrate-rich food in the foundation section should be in the form of whole grains (complex). If you really want to focus on your health, 100% of the grain you eat should be whole grain and never refined, as with the case for processed oatmeal or white flour.</p>
<p>Even fruits that are often loaded with simple carbohydrates also have enough fibers to slow down the digestion process enough to balance the blood sugar. One orange has around 12 grams of sugar.  However, you don’t typically feel a ‘high’ followed by a drop in energy after eating an orange do you?</p>
<p>Many people who want to become vegetarians or even vegans, make the beginner mistakes of filling their diet up with simple carbohydrates (pasta, white rice, white bread etc) and miss out on most of the nutrition needed. No wonder they often gain weight and give up after a few days or months and look like death before it’s over.</p>
<p>Okay, now that we’ve set the record straight regarding carbohydrates, let’s look at where high protein diets fit into the picture. You see, since protein is mostly used as building blocks for the body, it takes much more energy to digest and convert protein into useable energy than even complex carbohydrates. And since fat is mostly designed for long term energy storage, it too is energy consuming to transfer into blood sugar. Research has shown that eating eggs and bacon for breakfast keeps a person satisfied for two hours longer than consuming the same calorie amount of a carbohydrate-rich breakfast.</p>
<p>The fundamental explanation for the success of high protein diets such as the Adkins diet includes a complicated explanation of insulin and metabolism. However, I believe the main benefit is that Dr. Adkins wholeheartedly refused the use of simple refined carbohydrates that add up to a big part of the general diet. This takes out ALL sodas, white breads, white pasta, candies, etc. that contribute as the main cause of modern obesity. Contrary to popular beliefs, the Adkins diet actually allows quite a bit of carbohydrates and promotes a pretty balanced diet (compared to many fad diets) at later stages of the diet.</p>
<p>The caveman diet (in essence a high protein diet) takes this a step further and bans any food that could not have been used by the cave man 10,000 years ago. This, in addition to Adkins, takes out any kind of processed meat and diary.</p>
<p>Note that very few studies have been made of the long term effects of a high protein animal diet. And some of the studies have indicated a higher risk of heart attack, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes and cancer. So look out for extremes and use your common sense. The same success (and maybe even more) can be achieved with vegetarian, vegan or plain old balanced diet as long as the dieter focuses on healthy complex carbohydrates and unprocessed food. </p>
<p>Carbohydrates are not the enemy, processed food is!</p>
<p>We discussed many diseases in this article. Here at Blue Heron Health News, we have guides to tackle many of those health issues using natural resources without side effects. You can find links to all these guides on the right hand side of this page.</p>
<p>But first, please let us know what you think about the complicated issue of  carbohydrates  by leaving your comment below.</p>
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		<title>The Only Cause of All Diseases</title>
		<link>http://blueheronhealthnews.com/site/2012/02/14/the-only-cause-of-all-diseases/</link>
		<comments>http://blueheronhealthnews.com/site/2012/02/14/the-only-cause-of-all-diseases/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 14 Feb 2012 08:00:17 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Christian Goodman</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[General]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blueheronhealthnews.com/site/?p=4725</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[In all my research, and after talking to and working with hundreds of natural health&#8230;]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-4726" title="diseases" src="http://blueheronhealthnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/diseases-206x300.jpg" alt="" width="206" height="300" />In all my research, and after talking to and working with hundreds of natural health researchers and doctors, I’ve found ONE fundamental underlying cause of literally ALL diseases.</p>
<p>In today’s feature article, I’ll discuss this ONE cause and how to tackle it using natural methods without side effects.</p>
<p>I’m sure some readers will love this but others won&#8217;t agree, so read on and take part in the lively discussion below.</p>
<p>It’s no coincidence that people who suffer from one condition tend to also experience other health problems. No disease works in isolation. It’s always a sign that there is something underlying we need to deal with.</p>
<p>Over 60% of people with Type 2 Diabetes, for example, have high blood pressure. The majority also have high cholesterol and are overweight. These conditions so often (but not always) go together. This is pretty well known.</p>
<p>The connection between <a href="http://blueheronhealthnews.com/bloodpressure">high blood pressure</a> and <a href="http://blueheronhealthnews.com/erectile/">erectile dysfunction</a> may however surprise you even more. A study published in the<em> Journal of Urology</em> revealed that 68% of men with high blood pressure also suffered with some degree of ED.</p>
<p><a href="http://blueheronhealthnews.com/neckpain">Chronic neck pain</a> has been connected to the development of Alzheimer’s later on in life. So too, has high blood pressure, <a href="http://blueheronhealthnews.com/defeat-diabetes/">type 2 diabetes</a>, <a href="http://blueheronhealthnews.com/arthritis/">arthritis</a>, <a href="http://blueheronhealthnews.com/headaches">migraine</a> and many other conditions.</p>
<p>At Blue Heron Health News, we have several writers and natural health researchers who offer guides for many of these conditions. All of us use somewhat different approaches and methods. One thing we’ve noticed is how often when people are focusing on one condition, it automatically helps with other related, or sometimes seemingly unrelated conditions.</p>
<p>Jodi Knapp, for example, has an amazingly effective guide to <a href="http://blueheronhealthnews.com/defeat-diabetes/">tackle type 2 diabetes</a>. Hundreds of people have completely healed their diabetes using her methods. To their surprise, as they followed her advice, their blood pressure also often goes down. Additionally,  cholesterol levels improve too.</p>
<p>The same thing can be said about all of our methods. They are focused on one condition but improve various health issues.  (Well,  isn’t that a pleasant difference from the side effects of traditional medications!)</p>
<p>I don’t say this to plug our programs, but to make a point:</p>
<h3>All health issues have the same underlying cause!</h3>
<p>I like to call it stress. But that word may be misleading because most of us connect the word stress to emotional stress. Whereas stress can be any kind of push or attack against us that causes strain.</p>
<p>And that is only half the story. The other side of the coin is what I call “lack of defense” or “lack of energy.&#8221;</p>
<p>Let me give you an example…</p>
<p>The supermarkets are filled with heavily processed food. Many people get over 90% of their daily diet from these processed foods.</p>
<p>Whether it’s a frozen microwave meal or a McDonalds hamburger, these meals are loaded with all kinds of chemicals. Our bodies are not designed to process these chemicals. This causes physical stress in our digestive system.</p>
<p>As if this wasn’t bad enough, there is absolutely no nutritional value in these processed foods. Even if they have some vegetables or meat in them, the real energy has been processed out of them. This causes a lack of defense to deal with the chemicals.</p>
<p>The only thing that’s easy for the body to do is to process the sugars and fats out of the fast food and load it into the arteries or store it as body fats. This causes the blood sugar spikes for short while, causing physical stress again. The fat adds to weight gain that causes more physical stress. The fat also clogs cell receptors causing more stress and leading to type 2 diabetes. WOW!</p>
<p>Now this is only the food…</p>
<p>At the same time, we have to deal with all kinds of &#8220;sensory stress.&#8221;  Studies have, for example, shown that living close to loud traffic noise dramatically increases the level of stress hormones the body releases. Fast moving objects (like cars), TV, loud fighting, etc. all add to these sensory stress levels. And because we don’t have the nutrition from the food we eat, we don’t have the same energy to deal with this.</p>
<p>Add to this the disagreement we just had with our spouse, our boss, our kids or our friends. Add on to that money worries, divorce, death of someone close to us, or having to move.  Add on to that the stupid politician who couldn’t do his or her job or that rude customer service representative who didn’t want to help us. Add on to that the sexual problems all of this is causing.  Then, we have an overload of emotional stress on top of everything.</p>
<p>As all of this different type of stress is building up, our blood pressure is rising, our cholesterol is rising, our weight is increasing, our blood sugar level is constantly too high and we have chronic pain. Now our physical, sensory, mental and emotional stress is also becoming chronic. Our bodies are constantly overloaded with stress hormones.</p>
<p>And then we begin worrying about our health!</p>
<p>The worst part is that as our stress level increases, our brain is wired to be in constant fight or flight mode. This makes our problem solving skills drop close to zero. So we can’t tackle our problems like we used to.</p>
<p>Pufh!</p>
<p>Under these conditions (and they of course do not have to be so severe) we have no energy left to fight off any kind of health threat that attacks us.</p>
<p>Every person has several hundred cancers developing in our bodies every year.  Our immune system fights them off and gets rid of them. We are also exposed to thousands of threatening bacteria and viruses every day and our immune system most often kills them before we get sick. But, if we don’t have any energy left to fight it off&#8230;</p>
<p>Fortunately, there is a lot you can do. In fact, anything that you do to improve your health will benefit all other health issues you may experience.</p>
<p>Here is where I’d begin:</p>
<p>1) Improve your diet. Throw away most of the processed food and fill your fridge with fresh vegetables (80%) and organic meat and complete carbohydrates. Try to eat as much raw, fresh food as you can. This will reduce the stress from chemicals and increase your energy level to fight off diseases.</p>
<p>2) Reduce emotional stress as much as possible. Can you get away with less or are you sweating the small stuff? In every situation remember that if you  are reacting, you are attacking yourself.</p>
<p>3) Spend at least a few minutes a day doing nothing in a quiet place with little sensory stimulation. This helps recharge the batteries.</p>
<p>4) Work out for an hour per day, six days a week. This doesn’t have to be a hard workout. Walking has been shown to be just as beneficial as jogging.</p>
<p>These things all work together. You’ll find that when you eat well, it’s easier to work out and relax. You’ll have more energy and therefore not be as reactive. You’ll also be equipped to  better deal with stressful events and so they won’t be as damaging.</p>
<p>What I’ve found to work the quickest is to give the body and mind what I call a “Focused Break.”  A &#8220;focused break&#8221; kind of hits the &#8220;reboot&#8221; button and helps the body to start anew. If you want to learn more about this, check out my <a href="http://blueheronhealthnews.com/bloodpressure">High Blood Pressure Program&#8230;</a></p>
<p>Here at Blue Heron Health News, we’ve repeatedly witnessed how people who use more than one of our guides, often multiply the benefits they reap. Not only do they benefit from gaining relief for the disease they are focusing on, but they gain benefits for their overall health and often unrelated conditions that they had no hope to ever cure.</p>
<p>You can find all of our health guides on the right hand side of this page. But first, take part in the discussion and leave your comments below…</p>
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		<title>This Trans Fat May Not Be Cholesterol Villain</title>
		<link>http://blueheronhealthnews.com/site/2012/02/13/this-trans-fat-may-not-be-cholesterol-villain/</link>
		<comments>http://blueheronhealthnews.com/site/2012/02/13/this-trans-fat-may-not-be-cholesterol-villain/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 13 Feb 2012 06:00:17 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Scott Davis</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cholesterol]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blueheronhealthnews.com/site/?p=4719</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Trans fats are regarded as one of the least healthy compounds found in food as&#8230;]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://blueheronhealthnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/eggs-cholesterol-300x218.png" alt="" title="eggs-cholesterol" width="300" height="218" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-4720" />Trans fats are regarded as one of the least healthy compounds found in food as they are thought to raise “bad” LDL cholesterol and drop “good” HDL cholesterol. </p>
<p>However, a new study of 61 women found that eating large quantities of the natural form of trans fat didn’t negatively impact cholesterol. Most trans fat in the diet comes from man-made hydrogenated vegetable oils. </p>
<p>The study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, notes that naturally occurring trans fats, from eggs and poultry skin, may be benign.</p>
<p>Notice however that many studies have shown that women can take and even benefit from higher level of cholesterol than men. </p>
<p>Lower your <a href="http://blueheronhealthnews.com/cholesterol/">cholesterol the easy way using this 26-day plan&#8230;</a></p>
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		<title>Asian Apple Found to Reduce Diabetic Blood Sugar</title>
		<link>http://blueheronhealthnews.com/site/2012/02/12/asian-apple-found-to-reduce-diabetic-blood-sugar/</link>
		<comments>http://blueheronhealthnews.com/site/2012/02/12/asian-apple-found-to-reduce-diabetic-blood-sugar/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 12 Feb 2012 06:00:25 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jodi Knapp</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Diabetes]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blueheronhealthnews.com/site/?p=4715</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A team of Malaysian researchers discovered that an extract from an apple popular in Southeast&#8230;]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://blueheronhealthnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/apple-diabetes-277x300.png" alt="" title="apple-diabetes" width="277" height="300" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-4716" />A team of Malaysian researchers discovered that an extract from an apple popular in Southeast Asian countries can reduce high blood sugar. </p>
<p>In the study, researchers tested the ability of compounds within the apple (known as the “water apple”) to block the same key enzyme responsible for high blood sugars that many anti-diabetic drugs target. </p>
<p>They found that an extract of the compounds stopped the activity of the enzyme 89% of the time –significantly more than prescription drugs. The water apple extract was also found to inhibit the formation of AGE products, known to contribute to diabetic complications.</p>
<p>Update: The name of this apple is Syzygium samarangense often goes by the names: wax apple, love apple, java apple, royal apple, bellfruit, Jamaican apple, water apple, mountain apple, cloud apple, wax jambu, rose apple, and bell fruit. They are very rare but you may possible be able to get it in local health food stores in Europe and USA.</p>
<p>More natural <a href="http://blueheronhealthnews.com/defeat-diabetes/">remedies for diabetes&#8230;</a></p>
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		<title>Three Steps to Curing ALL Disease</title>
		<link>http://blueheronhealthnews.com/site/2012/02/11/three-steps-to-curing-all-disease/</link>
		<comments>http://blueheronhealthnews.com/site/2012/02/11/three-steps-to-curing-all-disease/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 11 Feb 2012 09:26:59 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jodi Knapp</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cholesterol]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Diabetes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[General]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[High Blood Pressure]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blueheronhealthnews.com/site/?p=4710</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[If you’re suffering from some of the lifestyle-related chronic diseases bothering 80% of people over&#8230;]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://blueheronhealthnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/angry-doctor-300x257.png" alt="" title="angry-doctor" width="300" height="257" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-4711" />If you’re suffering from some of the lifestyle-related chronic diseases bothering 80% of people over 45, I have good news for you. They can all be healed naturally, without side effects, using three simple steps.</p>
<p>I’m talking about diseases like type 2 diabetes, arthritis, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, chronic pain, frequent vertigo, frequent headaches, fibromyalgia… (the list could go on and on).</p>
<p>In today’s feature article, I explain why the traditional medical system isn’t working to stop these diseases and how to use the three-step natural approach instead.</p>
<p>Many of you will agree with me, others will be skeptical, but one thing I can promise you, the discussion on this issue will be educational and fun. So, to read on and make your comment below.</p>
<p>Before I explain the three steps, let me clarify one thing…</p>
<p>I think modern medicine has some fantastic, magical solutions. Just visualize the challenges the doctors and nurses at an Emergency Department face when they get in a child with severe internal bleeding and every bone broken after bad car accident. Everyday these brave people save lives like that.</p>
<p>And we all admire doctors like the fictional Dr. House (popular TV show) who combats mysterious diseases with keen insight (okay and some sarcasm) and can diagnose and save lives. Everyday there are thousands of doctors all over the world doing similar things without ever being noticed.</p>
<p>Not to mention the awe we must all feel when a surgeon manages to separate twins that have several common internal organs. Sometimes the odds of succeeding are close to zero but they still do it. </p>
<p>….these are modern day heroes!</p>
<p>I consider the real beginning of modern medicine to be in 1928 when Alexander Fleming made the world-changing discovery of Penicillin. </p>
<p>(Since we’re discussing natural medicines, it’s worth mentioning that for centuries folk medicine had been using mold -in essence what Penicillin is made of- for centuries for all kinds of ailments, even at the risk of being burned for witchcraft.)</p>
<p>With the discovery of Penicillin, doctors all of a sudden had the tools to CURE life-threatening and chronic diseases such as syphilis, and infections caused by staphylococci and streptococci.</p>
<p>Overnight, doctors and producers of pharmaceuticals became world class heroes and the dream seed was planted that super drugs would deliver an answer to all health problems. </p>
<p>Consequently, the general public signed the responsibility for their health over to their doctor. Unfortunately the medical system hasn’t quite lived up to this responsibility (it never works to let someone else take responsibility for us). </p>
<p>Three times more people die every year of cancer than in early 1900. Deaths from major cardiovascular diseases are as common as they were back then. More people are saved from dying but more people are also having heart attacks now. </p>
<p>170 million people world wide suffer type 2 diabetes according to the World Health Organization. This number is expected to DOUBLE in the next 30 years.</p>
<p>Americans spend more money than any other nation on health care per person (three times more than the second country on the list), yet we have the highest frequency of cardiovascular than anywhere else in the world. There is a strong correlation between how developed a country is and how common things like heart attacks, type 2 diabetes and cancer occur. Countries that spend the most on health care generally also have the highest frequency of these diseases when total population is accounted for.</p>
<p>So does it look like modern medicine has lived up to its expectations? I don’t think so.</p>
<p>Okay, at this point you’re probably wondering what in the world all this historical rubbish has to do with the three steps to cure for all lifestyle diseases.</p>
<p>Everything! Which leads us to…</p>
<p><H3>Step One:</H3></p>
<p>To naturally cure whatever health problem you have, you have to begin by taking full responsibility for the disease. You can consult with your doctor (and I recommend you do so) but don’t expect him or her to cure you.</p>
<p>The medical system has no CURE for chronic conditions like type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol or high blood pressure. A cure is something that eliminates a condition. But all the medical system offers you are medications that TREAT the SYMPTOMS of the above conditions.</p>
<p>And the reason our doctors can’t cure these thing is because they’re the result of the lifestyle and misleading information we’ve followed throughout our lives. Our genes haven’t changed at all in the last 100 years, our lifestyles have.</p>
<p>The only way to CURE these things is to reverse the process these lifestyle choices have caused. And we must take FULL responsibility for them, even if we didn’t know any better or were following the wrong advice (often by the traditional health system).</p>
<p><H3>Step Two</H3></p>
<p>We must take drastic actions today! Any disease is a wake up call that something is broken. And when something is broken, we must take drastic actions to fix it.</p>
<p>This step is like the ER of natural health. When a patient is brought in after a severe accident, there is no time for idealizing or discussing. The key is ACTION, ACTION, and ACTION. Whatever it takes to save the life. </p>
<p>If you have any of the chronic-lifestyle diseases, this step would include getting solid natural information on eliminating the disease you’re fighting and following it to the ‘T.’</p>
<p>Most health problems could have been prevented. </p>
<p>If a person always ate relatively healthy in moderation and exercised daily, a slice of cake once in a while wouldn’t make him or her obese. However if a person has gotten to the point of weighing 400 pounds, having high cholesterol and blood pressure and full blown type 2 diabetes, cutting corners is not an option. You must take drastic actions to bring yourself back to health.</p>
<p>In my <a href="http://blueheronhealthnews.com/defeat-diabetes/">diabetes program</a>, for example, I lead people through three phases of <a href="http://blueheronhealthnews.com/defeat-diabetes/">curing type 2 diabetes</a>. The first one can be quite painful and takes some self-discipline. However, it’s a critical step to bring the blood sugar back to normal. Later on, you can become more flexible but till your blood sugar is under control, you must use all the natural tools available to become healthy.</p>
<p>Similarly, Scott Davis teaches <a href="http://blueheronhealthnews.com/cholesterol/">various techniques to lower cholesterol</a> in his guide. While your cholesterol is still too high, you should implement as many of his techniques as you can. After the cholesterol is under control, you can become less strict in food choices again.</p>
<p>Some terminal diseases can also be fought using natural methods in addition to traditional techniques. For example, even if a person developed cancer at such late stages that surgery is inevitable, it doesn’t mean that you can’t use natural methods to fight it or keep tumors at bay after surgery. This way you may not need chemo in addition to the surgery. Medical journals are full of studies that show how natural methods have been used with success to free people from these terrible diseases.</p>
<p>Which leads us to…</p>
<p><H3>Step 3</H3></p>
<p>Rod Stewart sings: “I wish I knew then what I know now, when I was younger, when I was stronger.” </p>
<p>Once you’ve been able to reverse your disease, celebrate the second chance by continuing to live healthy. You can do things more moderately in step two. Think of what you’d have recommended to the younger version of yourself. Then follow your own advice.</p>
<p>This includes things like staying away from processed food. Avoid a fatty and sugary diet. Eat animal products in moderation and only grass fed or organic. Consider the disease as a hateful relative or bad house guest.  Just because you rid your home of one doesn’t mean there aren’t more waiting to take their place when you let your guard down.</p>
<p>Blue Heron Health News publishes Christian Goodman’s program of <a href="http://blueheronhealthnews.com/bloodpressure">extremely effective exercises to lower blood pressure</a>. After people manage to bring their blood pressure down to normal, most often within a week, they often ask if they need to keep on doing the exercises. Most people can get away with stopping the daily routine but what’s the harm of spending nine minutes a day making sure your blood pressure never goes up to a dangerous level again?</p>
<p>The same goes for any disease you tackle. As I’ve demonstrated in this article, it’s the modern day lifestyle that creates these diseases and we have to give up some of these staples of unhealthy society to first cure and then prevent them from raising their ugly heads again.</p>
<p>So there you have it, my three step approach:</p>
<p>1) Take full responsibility<br />
2) Apply drastic actions to reverse the disease<br />
3) Use moderate lifestyle changes to make sure you don’t get sick again</p>
<p>You can find links to various guides to tackle health issues on the right hand side of this page.</p>
<p>But first, what do you think? Please leave your comments below…</p>
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		<title>Review Paper Finds Vegan Diets Chock Full of Health Benefits</title>
		<link>http://blueheronhealthnews.com/site/2012/02/10/review-paper-finds-vegan-diets-chock-full-of-health-benefits/</link>
		<comments>http://blueheronhealthnews.com/site/2012/02/10/review-paper-finds-vegan-diets-chock-full-of-health-benefits/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 10 Feb 2012 07:10:46 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>ShellyManning</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Arthritis]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cholesterol]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[High Blood Pressure]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blueheronhealthnews.com/site/?p=4706</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Those on the fence about the health benefits of the vegan diet need only to&#8230;]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://blueheronhealthnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/vegan-health-300x288.png" alt="" title="vegan-health" width="300" height="288" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-4707" />Those on the fence about the health benefits of the vegan diet need only to look at the results of a review paper recently conducted by Winston J Craig, PhD, a scientist at Andrews University. </p>
<p>This researcher investigated more than 110 published research articles that looked at the health effects of veganism.<br />
According to Craig, vegans eat significantly more health-boosting nutrients in their daily diet, including folic acid, vitamin C, potassium and antioxidants. </p>
<p>He also notes that research has shown a vegan diet to be protective against cardiovascular disease, certain forms of cancer, obesity and osteoporosis. However, he implores vegans to supplement with zinc, vitamin B-12 and iron to ensure that they meet other nutritional needs.</p>
<p>This doesn’t mean everyone has to turn vegan. Small steps to increase plant-based-diet can make wonders in combatingg diseases and improve health.</p>
<p>Lower <a href="http://blueheronhealthnews.com/cholesterol/">cholesterol naturally</a>…</p>
<p>Drop <a href="http://blueheronhealthnews.com/bloodpressure">blood pressure naturally</a>…</p>
<p>Heal <a href="http://blueheronhealthnews.com/arthritis/">arthritis naturally</a>…</p>
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