The recent recommendations from the 16-member U.S. Preventive Services Task Force have set off a firestorm of protest.

Listening to the nightly news, I had the impression that a left-wing, Obama-appointed-to-support-health-care-reform task force from the dark side has conspired to murder women for the sole purpose of saving medical dollars.

But the media, and the doctors screaming the loudest, and the politicians with their own agendas don’t tell all of the truth, and what we don’t know about mammograms can maim us.

So, let’s step back from the emotion, and take a logical look at the allegations.

First, this U.S. Preventive Services Task Force was created in 1984 when Ronald Reagan was president. It is an INDEPENDENT panel of private-sector experts in prevention and primary care that conducts “rigorous, impartial assessments of the scientific evidence for the effectiveness of a broad range of clinical preventive services, including screening, counseling, and preventive medications. Its recommendations are considered the ‘gold standard’ for clinical preventive services.”

In other words, these are doctors and scientists whose income doesn’t depend on any particular decision they make. (I taught my students always to follow the money trail.)

And, they’re not the only group counseling fewer mammograms. A number of women’s health organizations, including Our Bodies Ourselves, the National Women’s Health Network, and Breast Cancer Action for years have warned that regular mammograms do not necessarily decrease a woman’s risk of death.

And, the recommendations are in line with the World Health Organization guidelines. Remember, our country spends more on health care with worse results than any of the countries in line with WHO.

Second, as I wrote in an earlier post, mammograms for women under 50 are as likely to CAUSE as to prevent a cancer death from the continued exposure to x-ray radiation. In addition, pre-menopausal women have greater breast density that makes false positives upwards of 50%. When these false positives lead to biopsy (which, in itself, can release an spread a cancer that may otherwise have remained contained), disfiguring surgery, radiation and chemotherapy treatments (that cause their own serious and deadly problems), not to mention the unimaginable stress of all of the above, women are much better off without mammograms.

Third, it’s far more expensive for women to undergo biopsy, surgery, reconstruction, and counseling than it is to provide mammograms, so the idea that reducing the number of mammograms is a cost-saving measure is illogical.

When a glitch in my medical insurance coverage sent me to a new doctor, she diagnosed a shadow on a mammogram as possible cancer and recommended immediate biopsy. (She also recommended a “preventive hysterectomy because of family history of vaginal cancer.) I was skeptical. Two weeks later, I was back with my original doctor who said it was a blocked duct and required no invasive diagnostic. (And that I certainly didn’t need a hysterectomy.)

Thirty years later, I’m still fine, whole, and thankful.

Blessings,

Judy

P.S. I do intend to continue self-exams. Statistically, they may also lead to false positives, but my wellness philosophy is all about knowing my own body.

Of all of the factors that affect our health, food is central. Simply, we are what we eat.

But when I began to research soy in order to bring you the truth about whether it’s healthy or not, I found  argument, controversy, and distracting rhetoric as indigestible as the bean itself. I learned as an avid student and as a teacher that whatever point one wants to make, one can find the data one needs to support that point. And the research on soy is no exception.

I write this blog, however, to share with you how you can journey to optimal health through healthy choices. And when it comes to food, my philosophy is simple: if it worked for people all over the world for thousands of years (and it still works in countries where food is pretty much the same as it’s been for thousands of years), it still works.

So here’s the deal, I’m not going to add to the conversation, er, soy food fight.  Instead, I’m just going to let you know a few of the important things I’ve learned about this ancient bean.

First, soybeans were grown in China for a thousand years as a way to replenish the soil. Then, still thousands of years ago, with the discovery of fermenting techniques, the Chinese created fermented soy products – soy sauce, tempeh, miso, and natto – as condiments. (Fermented foods are essential to a healthy gut; part of the reason we have so many digestive issues today is the absence of fermented foods.) Much later, they discovered that boiling and mashing the beans, and adding either calcium- or magnesium sulfate (plaster of Paris or Epsom salts), they had tofu, still used as only a small part of their diet. (When tofu – processed soybeans – became a significant source of protein around 700 AD, the Asian population suffered health consequences. Asians who adopt a diet with mostly other protein sources grow taller.)

Today, soybean production is huge in the United States. Products with some form of soy line supermarket shelves. And, the controversy begins.

First, 90% of the soybeans grown in the U.S. are genetically modified. Whatever the research about safe or not, GM foods to not meet my criteria.

Second, in order to create all of the soy products – other than the four fermented products and tofu – the beans go through the pretty heavy-duty processing that includes an alkaline wash to remove fiber, an acid wash in aluminum tanks (which leaches aluminum into the…mush), another neutralizing alkaline wash, and high-temperature spray to dry the slurry into protein isolate.

Then, this soy protein isolate is used to make all kinds of products – including baby formula.

Yuck. No way these foods meet my criteria for relatively natural foods. Or foods at all.

‘Nuf said.

Blessings,

Judy

P.S. Interesting side note about the many sites I visited, however. The sites that had a financial interest in soy cited/interpreted research that supports soy as a healthy food in all of its manifestations. The sites that promoted a vegan lifestyle – and soy is an important replacement for meat and dairy protein – also seemed more willing to present both history and current research that supported their life-style choice. The sites, however, that are dedicated to informing people about health issues, including healthy eating, and had no financial or philosophical stake, presented history and research that concludes that soy in any form other than fermented is dangerous.

There are lots of terms floating around health care these days…a variety of approaches to treatment beyond the neighborhood doctor.  Just what is traditional medicine? Or, Western, allopathic, Ayurvedic, Chinese, integrative, alternative, and complementary medicine?

Let’s take a brief look at these terms…

First, Western and allopathic medicine both refer to that neighborhood doctor.  It’s a system in which medical doctors, M.D.s, and other related health care professionals such as nurses, pharmacists, and therapists, treat symptoms and diseases using drugs, radiation, or surgery. It’s also called conventional, mainstream, or orthodox medicine.

Doctors of Osteopathy (O.D.s) are also considered a part of this category, although their focus on the needs of the whole patient led to the term “holistic” medicine.

Traditional medicine, according to the World Health Organization” (WHO), “…is the sum total of knowledge, skills and practices based on the theories, beliefs and experiences indigenous to different cultures that are used to maintain health, as well as to prevent, diagnose, improve or treat physical and mental illnesses.”^[1]

Traditional practices include acupuncture, chiropractic, foot- and body reflexology, massage, rhythmic music and dance, and healing with foods and herbs.

Ayurvedic and Traditional Chinese medicine are both ancient forms of traditional medicine. Each focuses on establishing and maintaining balance of the life energies within us, rather than on individual symptoms. Each uses different combinations of medicinal herbs, changes in diet, and cleansing. Yoga and Tai Chi are gentle movements that promote strength, flexibility, and body balance.

Integrative medicine pulls practices from traditional medicine into the Western medical model. It provides a way for doctors to look at their patients as whole people, not just diseases or disorders.

Complementary medicine is name some prefer to show that these practices are used in conjunction with Western medical science and have scientific evidence to support their effectiveness.

Alternative medicine includes all health care practices that are not part of the Western medical model.

A simple example:

If you go to your doctor, who just opened an Integrative Center because you’re experiencing muscle pain, he may, in addition to tests, refer you to his staff massage therapist… a complementary approach to your treatment.

If, however, you choose to go directly to your independent message therapist, you’re choosing an alternative approach to the treatment of your muscle pain, by-passing your doctor altogether.

Remember the term “Western medical model.” If we really want to take charge of our health care, we’ll need to create a new medical model. You’ll read more about this as this blog grows.

Blessings,

Judy

P.S. Please let me know about your approach to health care, and what practitioners you’ve put on your health team.

Yesterday I wrote about  research that found optimal blood serum levels of Vitamin D3 could not only prevent 50,000 new cases of breast cancer (and colon cancer… review the study), but could save 75% of the women already dealing with the disease.

In that article, I suggested that mammograms do not help and have not helped reduce the number of women who die from breast cancer.

• First, although most women believe that regular mammograms will prevent them from getting this feared cancer, these tests are diagnostic. That means that the tests themselves only let women know that they may have breast cancer; it cannot and does not prevent the cancer from occurring.

And, review of the research shows “an absolute risk reduction in breast cancer mortality of just 0.05 percent (for all women attending annual or semi-annual mammography screening).”

• Second, this diagnostic test results in false-positives about 10% of the time, subjecting healthy woman to additional testing and treatment – biopsies, mastectomy, radiation.

And, as a result, women are subjected to “an absolute risk increase of 0.5 percent.”

Together, these results show that you have as much risk for cancer from exposure to mammograms as you have of a mammogram saving your life from cancer.

One research study that came to that conclusion, and the one quoted, was led by Gotzsche. He runs a nonprofit organization, part of the highly-regarded Cochrane Collaboration, itself an international organization providing health-care analyses worldwide. His researchers reviewed all seven randomized mammography trials conducted prior to June 2005 and involving half a million women.

So, if an annual mammogram is not the answer to lowering breast cancer rates and can actually lead to unnecessary treatments – including mastectomies, perhaps it’s time to look for other answers. Checkout what Dr. Cedric Garland and his team have learned about cancer and blood serum levels of Vitamin D3.

What do you have to lose?

Blessings,

Judy

P.S. Here is the link to the Gotsche research: http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/338/jan27_2/b86

New research concludes that we could prevent deaths from breast cancer by 75% by simply increasing the amount of Vitamin D in our blood. We could also prevent 50,000 new cases each year.

• not with mammograms that expose us to huge doses of radiation
• not with biopsies that potentially “pop” the cancer sack and spread the cells throughout our body
• not with disfiguring surgery
• not with chemotherapy which weakens our immune system (and that most doctors themselves would refuse)

But with Vitamin D.

Carole Baggerly, founder of Grassroots Health, interviews Cedric Garland, Dr.P.H. of the University of California about the research. Listen carefully to the brief video.

How much Vitamin D3 does it take to create that optimal blood concentration? It varies widely depending on the current blood level. However, since research shows (and we’ve all heard on the nightly news) that most of us are severely deficient, Dr. Mercola and others suggests a dosage of 2,000 units per day for children and 5,000-10,000 units for adults.1

GrassrootsHealth has launched a worldwide public health campaign to solve the vitamin D deficiency epidemic in a year through a focus on testing and education with all individuals spreading the word. If you would like to participate, you can get the information you need at their website.2

This is truly exciting, breakthrough research. And it’s just the beginning. Other new studies show a connection between optimal blood serum levels of Vitamin D and a reduction in colon cancer, heart disease, depression, PMS, Parkinsons… even autism.

We can take charge of our health… in this case, it’s as simple as sunshine and Vitamin D3.

Blessings,

Judy

P.S. 1. Dr. Mercola’s website is http://www.mercola.com. Checkout his Vitamin D Resource page.
2. For more information on this groundbreaking research, check out http://www.GrassrootsHealth.net

Children are dying from the H1N1 flu! Yours may be next! Get them vaccinated today!

This is the message on the news. But the continued media blitz about the H1N1 flu and the very dangerous vaccine created to prevent it is one-sided.

First, as inconceivably tragic it is to lose a child, most of the children who have died from this flu have had either underlying health conditions or had contracted a bacterial infection along with the flu.

Second, reports over the past months have also noted that vitamin D levels in children are seriously low. And when that happens, children are more and more susceptible to any illness. Studies have shown that optimal doses of Vitamin D prevent many of the diseases and illnesses we face today, including the flu. But you won’t find the media making the connection.

Now we trust our medical system so innocently that we simply no longer know enough about how to keep ourselves healthy. Unlike our grandmothers, we’ve lost our instincts, and we don’t have home remedies tucked away in our cupboards.

But grandmothers were smart. They knew to shoo us outside in the sunshine. They knew to give us a morning dose of cod liver oil. They gave us apples and oranges for fiber and Vitamin C, fermented ketchup and sauerkraut for digestion, and they made us eat our vegetables (probably organic and far more nutritious than today’s produce).

They treated fevers with ice wraps, congestion with warm aromatic eucalyptus compresses, and coughs with honey and lemon juice. They kept us home from school and in our beds.

Instead, today we expect our doctors to have the vaccine to keep us from disease and pills to cure us when we do get sick so that our lives can go on uninterrupted.

• Despite the fact that the vaccines contain deadly ingredients – mercury, aluminum, squaline, detergent, formaldehyde, antibiotics

• Despite the fact that pills – and flu treatments – have side effects worse than the illnesses they treat

It’s easy to understand why pharmaceutical treatments are favored, and the media lining up to promote them while ignoring the implications of their earlier reports (Vitamin D3 is cheap and readily available).

But we can take back our health and our health care.

So, if you are concerned for your children’s health during this flu season, become your grandmother:

• Get your kids outside to play in the fresh air and sunshine, away from the computer and the television
• Dose your children with Vitamin D3 – 2,000-5,000 units per day depending on their size, NOW
• Eliminate sugar – all kinds -, sodas, and processed foods high in calories and low in nutrition
• Prepare fresh fruits and vegetables – fresh and organic as much as possible
• Have a supply of echinacea and goldenseal – you can add tinctures of these to water and tea
• Enforce hand-washing with pure soap – teach them to use a nail brush as well
• Have healthy beverages on hand – lemonade made with real lemons and tea – sweetened only with Stevia
• Treat coughs with honey, laced with juice from a lemon or plain
• Have eucalyptus essential oil for those chest compresses to treat congestion

The more information you have, the better able you’ll be to keep yourself and your children well – and not just through flu season. And, remember, the most important medicine when it comes to your child’s healing is your loving touch.

Blessings,

Judy

P.S. Do your own research. A trusted source is http://www.mercola.com.  Another is http://www.naturalnews.com. There are alternative thoughts, studies, and statistics relating to the flu, the vaccine, the pharmaceutical stronghold on government than what you hear on the nightly news.

On your journey to optimal health for you and your family, it’s important to be aware of toxin build up through your body’s largest organ… your skin.

From skin care and hair products to soaps and detergents, every day we lather up, moisturize, and make up with lead, formaldehyde, and other dangerous chemicals. And there’s nobody watching. Nobody regulating.

The chemical companies swear to the safety of these products. After all, each lipstick contains just a bit of lead; the baby shampoo has just a bit of formaldehyde.

Really? No danger? But I replace my lipstick several times a day. And my tongue touches those lips. And I kiss my husband and children with those lips. How about you? And how often do you bath your baby?

Watch Mia, grassroots coordinator for the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, as she explains the problems with toxic chemicals in cosmetics to people in the Boston Public Garden.

Let me know what you think.

Blessings,

Judy

P.S. This is the first of three videos Mia created from her interviews. How well do you relate to the people she spoke to?

Perfect Weight America: Change Your Diet, Change Your Life, Change Your World
by Jordan Rubin with Bernard Bulwer, M.D.

Epidemics of obesity and chronic disease are obvious in our society. And more and more is written about the connection between these conditions and what we eat.

Jordan Rubin researches and writes about ways we can change our approach to eating to improve not only our physical health, but our emotional and spiritual health as well.

Perfect Weight America: Change Your Diet, Change Your Life, Change Your World is a four-phase, 16-week plan that helps you find your perfect weight for optimal functioning.  As you follow the program, you’ll learn about eating for your individual nutritional type, how to reduce toxins, how to eat healthy snacks, and how to choose helpful supplements.

Rubin includes his own list of a dozen foods no one should eat, a comprehensive resource guide, and nutritious recipes created by top chefs for both healthy meals and healthy snacks.

Perfect Weight America: Change Your Diet, Change Your Life, Change Your World covers many important topics relating food to health and optimizing your diet to improve your health. It is a good addition to your bookshelf as a resource.

Blessings,

Judy

P.S. Pay attention, especially, to the foods no one should eat. Probably 90% of the items in the typical grocery store are unhealthy by themselves and dangerous in combination with other chemical-laden processed foods.

There’s talk about the dangers of genetically modified foods… GMOs.  The big food processing corporations want you to think they’re perfectly safe, and they work diligently to prevent you from even learning through product labeling whether or not a particular food has genetically modified ingredients.

The more we know about the relationship between the food we eat and our health and well-being, the more we recognize that adding weedkillers to our diets directly through our food is probably not the best for our health.

Jeffrey Smith, best-selling author of Seeds of Deception: Exposing Industry and Government Lies About the Safety of the Genetically Engineered Foods You’re Eating, and his latest work, Genetic Roulette: The Documented Health Risks of Genetically Engineered Foods works tirelessly to explain to all who’ll listen, in sometimes gruesome detail, that GMO foods are dangerous, and the industry that covers up these dangers need to be exposed.

Watch the video: you’ll learn about:

• The thousands of sick, sterile, and dead livestock, accompanied by unambiguous photos of severely damaged organs in animals fed GM food (e.g. testicles actually changed color),

• How eating a GM corn chip might transform our intestinal bacteria into living pesticide factories, and

• The heavy handed ways the industry covers up GM food danger.

Watch the video: but first, think about how vigilant you are now about avoiding genetically modified foods.  The audience members in the video weren’t very… then they were… very.

Everything You HAVE TO KNOW about Dangerous Genetically Modified Foods from Jeffrey Smith on Vimeo

Leave a comment… let me know how vigilant you’ll be about avoiding genetically modified foods.

Blessings,

Judy

P.S. To learn more, check out Jeffrey Smith’s books Seeds of Deception: Exposing Industry and Government Lies About the Safety of the Genetically Engineered Foods You’re Eating and Genetic Roulette: The Documented Health Risks of Genetically Engineered Foods

Get the Sugar Out, Revised and Updated 2nd Edition: 501 Simple Ways to Cut the Sugar Out of Any Diet,
by Ann Louise Gittleman, PhD, CNS

Ann Louise Gittleman, a certified clinical nutritionist specializing in weight loss, cleansing diets and natural hormone replacement therapy and a leading teacher at Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health in Lenox, Massachusetts, has made it her mission to educate us about good health through good food, healthy exercise, and focused spiritual practice.

In this revised and updated second edition of this groundbreaking book, she details the dangers of sugar, artificial sweeteners, and high-fructose corn syrup, while providing recipes for satisfying a sweet tooth without compromising good health.

Sugar, in any disguise, is linked to more than 60 health-threatening conditions, including cancer and heart disease. And the kicker? Our bodies don’t need it at all.

With the number of new food products vying for our attention and our food dollar, it’s no longer enough that we be conscientious consumers – we need to be food detectives, too.  We need to read labels and understand exactly what those long chemical names really mean.

Get the Sugar Out, Revised and Updated 2nd Edition: 501 Simple Ways to Cut the Sugar Out of Any Diet is packed with just the information we need to keep our sweet tooth under control and our health in our own hands.

Get this book in your hands, begin immediately to remove unhealthy sugar from your kitchen, and improve the health of you and your family. It’s not difficult, but it is essential.

Blessings,

Judy