Normal or Diet soda? Neither!

I’m currently entangled in a passionate relationship with soda. Almost no other drink comes even close to satisfying me. I am definitely addicted. Seeing how much Coke I was drinking, a friend told me to switch to a “diet” soda. I put diet in quotations because the term is used far too loosely. After tasting it, I realized it was still just as sweet as my typical beverage, perhaps too sweet. How was this possible with no sugar? Well, the answer is Aspartame, an artificial sweetener. After reading up on Aspartame and other ingredients in diet soda, the very thought of taking a sip horrifies me.

Aspartame is the ingredient found in Equal, NutraSweet, and other sugar replacements. While the idea of something replacing sugar in our diet may be enticing, the components that make up Aspartame are not worth the substitute. One part of Aspartame, Methanol, changes into Formaldehyde when digested. Formaldehyde, for those that don’t know, is embalming fluid for dead bodies. It is a well known carcinogen, and is toxic at very low levels. Another ingredient, Aspartic Acid, has been found by Dr. Russell Blaylock of the University of Mississippi to cause damage to neurons in the brain, which can ultimately lead to Alzheimer’s disease. I would prefer sugar to Aspartame any day.

But is sugar the addicting part of soda? I don’t think so. From my personal experience, it’s the caffeine and carbonation. Caffeine is just so infused in the daily life of our culture for its ability to wake us up and to become alert. Since the substance is unregulated, it is highly sought after by almost everyone. Then add carbonation into the mix. For me, carbonation makes up the psychological part of the addiction. The bubbles make he think of something new and fresh, it makes the soda feel like the ultimate refreshment. This combination is why I keep coming back for more and more. I find it funny that I was able to kick heroin and other opiates but I still can’t put down my Mountain Dew.

So how does one kick the soda habit? The most common solution is finding a replacement beverage. Sparkling water with some lemon or another fruit added is a good example. It is a far healthier alternative, and the reassurance of carbonation makes the switch a little easier than with other drinks. The good news is that sneaking a quick sip of soda won’t kill you, so it is possible to ease the switch by simply drinking a little less soda each day, and a little more sparkling water. On that note, if you absolutely need some soda during the day, get a bottle instead of a can. Once the can is popped open, the urge to finish the whole drink is too great to avoid wasting it. Sips from a bottle help tone down that urge.

Now I’m still debating if I want to make this change or not. Maybe I’ll start with one less Coke a day.

By -Hayden Carr

5 Health-Boosting Herbs & Spices

We received an email yesterday from Dr Steven Joyals publicist, who, besides promoting his new book, What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Diabetes, also explained how the doctor is a big advocate of the significant health boosting properties of common herbs and spices. We wanted to know more, so had a quick chat to the doc…

TGD: How did you come to be an advocate of adding spices to the diet in order to achieve good health?
SJ: The scientific data in support of spices like curcumin, ginger, rosemary, cumin, and cinnamon is strong.

TGD: How are spices best consumed for maximum impact?
SJ: Fresh or dried, spices have a wealth of health benefits. Scientific research suggests that spices/herbs like marjoram, thyme, and rosemary may help reduce the formation of cancer-causing substances called heterocyclic amines in grilled or broiled foods.

TGD: Have we come full circle, understanding perhaps what our ancestors did, that spices have profound health-boosting properties?
SJ: Before the pharmaceutical companies found disease profitable, ancient traditions like Ayurvedic medicine understood the value of herbs and spices in helping to maintain optimal health.

TGD: How can spices help someone with diabetes?
SJ: Cinnamon and cumin are two spices with interesting anti-diabetic properties. Scientific data suggests that these two spices can help support healthy blood sugar levels and reduce the oxidant damage from diabetes. Efficacious doses are about two teaspoons daily.

TGD: What are your must-have spices for your rack and why?
SJ: Ginger (anti-inflammatory), cumin (support healthy blood sugar levels, anti-oxidant), cinnamon (anti-oxidant, supports healthy blood sugar levels), tumeric (curcumin) {anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, anti-oxidant), rosemary (anti-oxidant, anti-cancer) are all great spices and herbs for supporting optimal health.

TGD: Turmeric is often a spice touted for its amazing healing properties. What is it about turmeric that has such a big impact on the body?
SJ: Turmerics “secret” is curcumin, and this interesting ingredient has anti-cancer properties, antioxidant properties, and anti-inflammatory properties. In fact, several experimental studies, as well as human clinical studies, show benefit for curcumin in Alzheimers disease, a devastating neurological illness!

Herbicides in Our Drinking Water

I understand theres an issue with the herbicide atrazine showing up in dangerous quantities in drinking water, mostly throughout the central U.S. Why is this happening and whats being done about it? – Marcus Gerde, Spokane, WA

Atrazine is an herbicide that is widely used across the U.S. and elsewhere to control both broadleaf and grassy weeds in large-scale agricultural operations growing corn, sorghum, sugar cane and other foods. While its use is credited with increasing agricultural yields by as much as six percent, there is a dark side. The nonprofit Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) reports that atrazine exposure has been shown to impair the reproductive systems of amphibians and mammals, and has been linked to cancer in both laboratory animals and humans. Male frogs exposed to minute doses of atrazine can develop female sex characteristics, including hermaphroditism and the presence of eggs in the testes. Researchers suspect that these effects are amplified when atrazine and other harmful agricultural chemicals are employed together.

Importance of Cleaning House

If there was a pump failure or major blockage in the citys sewer system, it’s not be hard to imagine what could happen. All of the pipes would back up when an immovable material came through, creating a gigantic crisis that would threaten the health of all who lived in the city.

Why I Don’t Wear Sunscreen (and Never Will)

I don’t wear sunscreen and never will.

I stopped using sunblock the moment I stopped being a beauty editor a few years ago. A combination of gut feeling and research told me what I was being told to “protect” my skin with was little more than a poison (and poisonous it is).

Chlorinated Tap Water is Poison

I am very concerned about the amount of chlorine in my tap water. I called my water company and they said it is safe just let the tap run for awhile to rid the smell of the chlorine. But that just gets rid of the smell, perhaps, not the chlorine? – Anita Frigo, Milford, CT

Thousands of American municipalities add chlorine to their drinking water to get rid of contaminants like nitrates, arsenic and pesticides. But this inexpensive and highly effective disinfectant has a dark side. “Chlorine, added as an inexpensive and effective drinking water disinfectant, is also a known poison to the body,” says Vanessa Lausch of filter manufacturer Aquasana. “It is certainly no coincidence that chlorine gas was used with deadly effectiveness as a weapon in the First World War.” The gas would severely burn the lungs and other body tissues when inhaled, and is no less powerful when ingested by mouth.

Lausch adds that researchers have now linked chlorine in drinking water to higher incidences of bladder, rectal and breast cancers. Reportedly chlorine, once in water, interacts with organic compounds to create trihalomethanes (THMs)-which when ingested encourage the growth of free radicals that can destroy or damage vital cells in the body. “Because so much of the water we drink ends up in the bladder and/or rectum, ingestions of THMs in drinking water are particularly damaging to these organs,” says Lausch.

The link between chlorine and bladder and rectal cancers has long been known, but only recently have researchers found a link between common chlorine disinfectant and breast cancer, which affects one out of every eight American women. A recent study conducted in Hartford, Connecticut found that women with breast cancer have 50-60 percent higher levels of organochlorines (chlorine by-products) in their breast tissue than cancer-free women.

But don’t think that buying bottled water is any solution. Much of the bottled water for sale in the U.S. comes from public municipal water sources that are often treated with, you guessed it, chlorine. A few cities have switched over to other means of disinfecting their water supplies. Las Vegas, for example, has followed the lead of many European and Canadian cities in switching over to harmless ozone instead of chlorine to disinfect its municipal water supply.

As for getting rid of the chlorine that your city or town adds to its drinking water on your own, theories abound. Some swear by the method of letting their water sit for 24 hours so that the chlorine in the glass or pitcher will off-gas. Letting the tap run for a while is not likely to remove any sizable portion of chlorine, unless one were to then let the water sit overnight before consuming it. Another option is a product called WaterYouWant, which looks like sugar but actually is composed of tasteless antioxidants and plant extracts. The manufacturer claims that a quick shake of the stuff removes 100 percent of the chlorine (and its odor) from a glass a tap water. A years supply of WaterYouWant retails for under $30.

Of course, an easier way to get rid of chlorine from your tap water is by installing a carbon-based filter, which absorbs chlorine and other contaminants before they get into your glass or body. Tap-based filters from the likes of Paragon, Aquasana, Kenmore, Seagul and others remove most if not all of the chlorine in tap water, and are relatively inexpensive to boot.

CONTACTS: Aquasana, www.aquasana.com; WaterYouWant, www.wateryouwant.com.

SEND YOUR ENVIRONMENTAL QUESTIONS TO: EarthTalk, P.O. Box 5098, Westport, CT 06881; earthtalk@emagazine.com.

Photo: Getty Images

10 Reasons Santa Should Go Vegan

As Christmas day nears, I’ve been thinking about jolly ol’ Santa and his love for milk and cookies … how his turning vegan could be the biggest gift to vegan activists everywhere.

Laughter Yoga from the Heart

By Rhonda Locklair

I have started several articles on my favorite subject of Laughter Yoga, but repeatedly ended up stuck. Stuck?!? That just seems impossible being that I could talk endlessly on the subject. Also impossible because I am an incredible research nerd and would love to spout out numerous quotes and research findings on this topic.

7 WAYS … TO HEAL THE EARTH

1.

Filed Under: 7 Ways
Tagged: animals, bisphenol A, cancer, chemicals, compost, deepak chopra, earth, Food, gift, global warming, knowledge, manifest, pacific ocean, paul mccartney, peta, physical, planet, plastic, present, recycle, research, reverse osmosis, share, truth, universe, water

Live on the Lighter Side of Life

June 5, 2009 by The Dove · 2 Comments 

I heard something about a swine flu the other day. And whats this about a recession?

Sure, I have a television just like most, but Im very selective about what I watch. If a program doesnt lift my spirits, positively educate me in some way or give me a good belly laugh, then Id prefer the remote to stay tucked under a cushion somewhere, along with the loose change, thank you very much.

Filed Under: Health
Tagged: cancer, comedians, comedy, cure, disease, humor, jamie masada, laugh factory, laughter