Carbohydrate Controversy

With the advent of the Atkins diet, South Beach Diet, and other carbohydrate restrictive regiments, whether or not one should consume carbohydrates has been in debate for many years. The real debate should be, however, whether or not we should be consuming non-fibrous carbohydrates.

Carbohydrates are simply fibrous and non-fibrous, and as a general rule of thumb, non-fibrous(rice, potatoes, wheat (especially refined), breads, cakes, etc.) carbohydrates should be consumed very minimally, if at all. The reason being is that non-fibrous carbohydrates cause a roller coaster effect of highs and lows on the blood sugar, resulting in a release of insulin. Well, like an annoying sibling that just bugs you all day, insulin bugs the liver and muscles to take glucose and remove it from the blood. After a long time of this, liver and muscles cells begin to ignore insulin, and then insulin goes to fat cells, who are more than willing to store the glucose. And when insulin is not being "heard", glucose is not being utilized and absorbed. It just floats idly by in the blood, causing mischief (did you know that fungi, cancer, yeast, and bacteria THRIVE off of sugar). This becomes problematic because high insulin/glucose levels are unhealthy, and contribute to a wide spectrum of disease and disorders including: diabetes, dementia (possibly), all of the symptoms associated with aging, hormonal imbalances, the list just goes on and on. The condition I have described above is one that afflicts many on different levels, it is insulin resistance.

Insulin resistance is the main cause of type II diabetes, although it has been indicated in different disease and disorders such as Alzheimer's disease and artheriosclerosis. You cannot be a type II diabetic without being insulin resistant. Furthermore, insulin resistance is a disorder where there are no apparent symptoms present; meaning the syndrome is asymptomatic, with the exception of the most severe cases. Furthermore, aside from the type II diabetes problem, high insulin levels promote aging, and none of us want that!

Just a tip for all those who want to know if they are insulin resistant or not, you can look for this tell-tale sign right in the comfort of your home: the size of your belly. The more your midsection protrudes, the more insulin resistant you are--I guess six-pack abs serve more than an aesthetic purpose!

So, with all that said, I have decided that over summer I am going to drastically cut back on my glucose/insulin levels by increasing my fibrous carbohydrate intake (vegetables) and cut back on the non-fibrous ones. It will be kind of interesting to see how well I can do, I love my non-fibrous carbs!

For more info on insulin, click here.

Is the End of Alternative Medicine Near?

As more and more people learn the truth about natural therapy vs. conventional medicine, the more and more I see the big pharmaceutical companies, the FDA/CDC, and the food companies gearing up to suppress such health information. The virtual banning of raw milk and raw almonds(according to these articles, natural1 and natural 2 respectively) and aggressive tactics used by the afore mentioned organizations is just sick and disgusting. Only the Lord knows what other evils they intend to unleash on the public!
From what I have read concerning the C-51 law in Canada, a law that strips people of their right to choose how to medicate themselves, I am beginning to see the implications this law has for the United States, and all over the world. If this law goes into effect, you can expect more raids on raw milk farms and organic farms, lower grade health products, and a whole host of other arbitrary laws that will strip us of our rights. All should learn the basics of organic farming, because a time will come when true organic farming will be done away with. I, begrudgingly, give alternative medicine and natural foods only a few more years to thrive in the US and its northern neighbor. The only way to combat these forces of oppression is to boycott and educate the people at large. Send letters to your state representative and governor, do what you can to educate people to live healthier lifestyles. Knowledge is power.
For more info on what can be done about this C-51 law, click here.

recommended health sites:
http://www.mercola.com
http://www.naturalnews.com

Welcome!

Welcome everyone to my new blog! I am a college student in my freshman year, I am majoring in clinical dietetics, and I love learning and writing about health and nutrition. I look forward to blogging about the latest in natural nutrition news and everything that is related to natural health. This blog will mainly focus on natural health topics such as: vaccine safety (or the lack thereof), healing foods, the power (and importance) of exercise, discrimination of those who chose natural ways of healing, etc.
For a little background on me and how I came to be so passionate about health and nutrition, I'll let you guys know that I have had my own issues with health in the past. Some people would think that the health challenges that I have faced are minuscule and kind of unimportant; however, it affected me in a very profound way. I used to be very against natural health, I used to think all those people were quacks and didn't know what they were talking about--I was a huge proponent of the allopathic view of health. 'Yes to drugs! Yest to GMO foods,' that was how I viewed things. That was until I read Kevin Trudeau's "Natural Cures: THEY Don't Want You to Know About," that book completely turned my opinion around 180 degrees. From then on, I have been very fervent in my support for natural, alternative health. And here I am today, 5 years later, blogging about such natural cures. I hope you find my blog to be informative, helpful, and enlightening.
Enjoy!