Tag Archives: nutrition

Carbondale Chiropractor and The New Food Plate

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Check this out! This is an article from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that was reprinted in Southern Illinois University’s newspaper The Daily Egyptian.

The following editorial appeared in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Monday, June 6:

The USDA changes the food pyramid into a food plate

In one of those “if a tree falls in a forest” moments, the U.S. Department of Agriculture last week replaced its much-criticized and widely ignored “food pyramid” with a “food plate” chart.

Soon, all over America, grocery shoppers and restaurant diners will be able to consult a simple (you should pardon the expression) “pie” chart to determine what they should buy.

Look, honey. Don’t eat that big slab of meat. Protein takes up less than a quarter of the chart.

Thanks for telling me, dear. Load up half my plate with fruits and vegetables and load up a quarter of the plate with brown rice. And waiter, take away this red wine and bring me a skim milk.

With due respect to first lady Michelle Obama’s campaign against obesity and to the hard-working USDA nutritionists and graphic designers who spent $2 million to develop a circle divided into four not-quite-even parts, we doubt that Americans will pay any more attention to the food plate than they did to the food pyramid.

The amazing thing about the food pyramid is the controversy it created in its 20 years as official USDA policy, even though studies indicated most Americans paid no attention to it whatsoever.

Nutritionists criticized the influence of the farm lobbies because the pyramid didn’t distinguish between whole grains (good) and white flour (not so good). The beef industry insisted that the pyramid not discriminate against red meat. Sugared breakfast cereal, high-fat snacks and high-carbohydrate white breads qualified as foundational foods for the pyramid.

But consider: The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that in 1990, the year before the pyramid debuted, no state in America had an obesity rate higher than 15 percent. By 2009, only Colorado and the District of Columbia had rates lower than 20 percent.

Will the food plate change that? Of course not. It’s intended only as part of a broader public education program. But even that won’t be enough.

Studies show that people make poor food choices because they either (a) don’t care or (b) don’t want to go to the trouble of preparing better meals or (c) can’t afford the heavy load of fresh fruits and vegetables that nutritionists recommend. If there’s a category (d) people who don’t know the difference, it’s very small.

Indeed, a 2009 study led by a Duke University researcher suggested that providing healthy options might even backfire. “We find that simply seeing, and perhaps briefly considering, the healthy option fulfills their need to make healthy choices, freeing the person to give in to temptation and make an unhealthy choice,” reported Gavan Fitzsimons of Duke’s Fuqua School of Business.

Since the mid-1950s, America has managed to cut cigarette smoking rates from 45 percent to about 20 percent with a combination of public education, advertising controls, high taxation and legal limits on where people could smoke. That’s what it would take to control obesity, too.

The food and farm lobbies wouldn’t stand for that, and our gue

chiropractor carbondale Carbondale Chiropractor and The New Food Plate

http://www.choosemyplate.gov/global_nav/media_resources.html

ss is that most Americans wouldn’t either. We’re left with a $2 million pie chart and our self-control, or lack thereof.

Weight Gain With Children

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WEIGHT GAIN, OTHER HEALTH PROBLEMS CAUSED BY MEDICATIONS GIVEN TO CHILDREN

November 13, 2009 — More research appears to confirm recent results of a large, prospective cohort study that the use of atypical antipsychotics (AAPs) increases the risk of significant weight gain and varied metabolic changes in children and adolescents with mental illness and behavioral disturbances. According to Dr. Panagiotopoulos, a growing body of evidence in adults demonstrating that AAPs cause significant weight gain, hyperlipidemia, and insulin resistance has raised concerns among the medical community in general, and the psychiatric community in particular, about whether these drugs may increase the risk of premature cardiovascular disease in children and adolescents. [http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/712079]

MSG Obesity and Autism

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MSG LINKED TO OBESITY, AUTISM AND ADD/ADHD

Vol. 8 Issue 97

Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) has been linked to causing obesity and according to a recent report it could contribute to the onset of Autism and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in children.

MSG, a “flavor enhancing” food additive, is found in an increasing number of processed and fast foods. MSG, also listed on food labels as Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein and Autolyzed Yeast Extract, has no nutritional value and the FDA has no limits on how much MSG can be added to foods — even though as little as two tablespoons has been shown to cause epileptic seizures in dogs.

Scientific studies have shown that MSG causes people to eat larger quantities of food and faster. It also affects the body so that people feel hungry more frequently.

MSG causes the pancreas to triple the amount of insulin produced. The excess insulin is converted to fat. Within a few hours it causes the blood sugar level to drop so the body feels tired and hungry again — causing people to eat more and contributing to obesity in America.

Scientists use rats to determine how MSG affects the body. Besides destroying a rat’s natural control mechanism against overeating, it causes the pancreas to produces so much insulin that the body starts producing killer T cells in order to shut it down. Destruction of the pancreas then leads to diabetes and other health problems.

Scientists also use the additive to purposely cause death to certain areas of the brain. It is a highly reactive amino acid. When too much of it is introduced to the brain, it can cause rapid cell death. According to John Erb, a developmental disorder researcher, too much glutamate overexcites the neurons in the brain until they die.

Other researchers agree. Dr. Russell L. Blaylock has linked MSG to causing or worsening the symptoms of ADHD and other neurological disorders, leading to the false labeling and drugging of children.

In Erb’s book, “The Slow Poisoning of America,”he explains how MSG contributes to the onset of autism and ADHD: “When a woman becomes pregnant, the placental barrier is not fully formed in the first month of fetal development, The chemicals the mother eats can go directly to the developing child. The glutamate stimulates rapid growth in the brain, creating ADHDsymptoms,” said Erb. “Too much glutamate over-stimulates areas of the brain, resulting in neuronal cell death. This destruction to the neurons results in the symptoms characterized as Autism.”

Erb presented his discovery to Dr. Susan Bryson, head of the Autism Research Center in Halifax, a leading autism scientist in Canada.

Bryson confirmed that current studies being conducted by the NIH show the cause of autism has been linked to a toxin invading the embryo’s brain stem at as early as 20 days after conception. The NIH is now directing their research toward MSG.

“These diseases appear to be caused by MSG,” said Erb. “MSG is added to food because of its addictive qualities; it is nicotine for food and is highly reactive in the human brain and other organs.”

SOURCE: Evan’s Garden News, Issue 44; www.evansgarden.com; “The Slow Poisoning of America,” John and Michelle Erb, www.spofamerica.com.

Nutritional Effects from Prescription Drugs

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CERTAIN DRUGS CAN LEAD TO NUTRITIONAL DEFICIENCIES

Vol. 5 Issue 53

The 85% of the U.S. population who are taking more than 500,000 over-the-counter and prescription drugs, may suffer from nutritional deficiencies, which create problems with digestion, metabolism, detoxification and the immune system.

Among the most common medications that could affect the health of patients taking them include the following:

  • Antacids— lowers phosphate levels, which leads to bone loss; inhibits folic acid absorption, which can lead to anemia, birth defects, and increases the risk of breast and colorectal cancer; depletes folic acids, which can cause irregular heartbeat, dizziness and nervous disorders.
  • Aspirin— depletes vitamin C and calcium, which increases susceptibility to fractures, high blood pressure and tooth decay; causes deficit of B5, sodium, potassium, iron and folic acid.
  • NSAIDS— decreases calcium and vitamin D, which leads to potassium loss, nervousness, dizzy spells and fluctuating blood levels; reduces zinc levels, which slows wound healing and causes insulin resistance; leads to deficiencies in magnesium, vitamin C, iron and low folic acid.
  • Cardiovascular drugs — may deplete zinc, antioxidants and meletonin, which triggers sleep; creates potassium deficiencies, which may produce muscle spasms, weakness, fainting spells and mental confusion; may lead to congestive heart failure, insomnia, depression, osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease.
  • Oral contraceptives— depletes vitamin C, B complex vitamins, folic acid, magnesium, selenium, and zinc; may lead to pre-cancerous condition of uterus, cervical dysplasia; causes blood clots and increased muscle contractions.
  • Estrogen Replacement— leads to B6 deficiencies, which leads to insomnia and cardiovascular disease, magnesium deficiencies, which leads to heart arrhythmias, high blood pressure, PMS, asthma, clot formation and painful muscle cramping.
  • Antivirals — deficiencies in B12, copper, zinc, L-carnitine, which can lead to fatigue, raises cholesterol,  and cramping.
  • Cholesterol-Lowering drugs — can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, depletes vitamin B12, folic acid, beta-carotene, iron, magnesium, phosphorus and zinc.
  • Laxatives — absorb minerals, interferes with digestion and absorption of nutrients, induces weight loss, depletes vitamins A, D, E, K, and beta-carotene, calcium and phosphorus, potassium, results in irregular heartbeat, mental confusion and poor reflexes.
  • Ulcer Medications — lowers acidity in stomach, which can lead to gastric infection and encourages growth and reproduction of the bacteria.