7 Foods For Flat Abs

The key to having flat abs lies in your ability to keep fat from forming. So, watching what you eat is definitely a step towards the right direction. Couple that with the right exercise and soon enough your midsection will be as flat as a washboard (or at least very close to it).



Following are the foods that have a reputation for flattening bellies.                                   Avocado

A study in the journal Diabetes Care have found that people who consume monosaturated fat have less stomach bulge than those who consume the same amount of calories with minimal fats. Additionally, a study in the journal Obesity indicates that monkeys that ate trans fats have waistlines 30 percent bigger than those that ate monosaturated fats. What causes this is that monosaturated fats prevent blood sugar levels from spiking which in turn prevents your body from storing fat around your midsection.

The great thing with avocados is that they contain high amounts of monosaturated fats. To be more precise, half an avocado contains 10 grams of healthy monosaturated fats.

Green Tea

Green tea has been known to boost metabolism rate. According to studies, drinking three cups of green tea every day could boost your metabolism rate, enough to burn 30 calories (each day) or 3 pounds a year just from sipping your tea. This metabolism boosting power lies in the compound ECGC (epigallocatechin-3-gallate) that green tea contains. Additionally, the ECGC is also found to be capable of preventing the death of heart muscle cells following ischemia/reperfusion (restriction in blood supply) injury.

Yogurt

Even if you're technically fat free around your midsection, it is still possible that your belly will still look puffy. In addition to fat, abdominal bloating can also be caused by the excessive production of gas by bad bacteria residing in your belly. The good news is a cup of plain yogurt can promote the growth of good bacteria in your stomach which, in turn, could prevent the accumulation of those nasty gas producing bacteria in your tummy.

Blueberries/Blackberries

Blueberries and blackberries are a very good source of antioxidants. As a matter of fact, they top the antioxidant chart. In addition to preventing cancer, antioxidants also improve blood flow which delivers more oxygen to your muscles. Having a good supply of oxygen in your muscles makes exercise easier, thus allowing you to work out harder, longer, and more frequently.

Bulgur

A study in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition indicates that people who consume whole grains lost more belly fat than calorie cutters who fed on refined grains. The thing is, bulgur has more fiber and fewer calories than other grains. And speaking of fiber, fiber keeps your body's insulin levels low which, according to researchers, could shrink fat cells.

Chocolate Milk

According to the findings presented at the American College of Sports Medicine meeting in Seattle, athletes who consumed chocolate milk had lower levels of muscle damage than those who drank sports drinks (after four days of intense training). It has been found that chocolate milk makes carbs and proteins work better together thus promoting muscle building.

Heat-Induced Acrylamide May Be a Primary Hazard of Processed Food

By Dr. Mercola

Approximately 90 percent of the money Americans spend on food is spent on processed foods, and food marketers do a masterful job at making it seem like fast foods and junk foods are the obvious choice.
Some even manage to make you believe such foods are a healthy option. But not only are these processed foods “dead” and devoid of any natural nutrition, they can also be loaded with potentially carcinogenic substances.
Just over a decade ago, researchers discovered that a cancer-causing and potentially neurotoxic chemical called acrylamide is created when carbohydrate-rich foods are cooked at high temperatures, whether baked, fried, roasted, grilled or toasted.
The chemical is formed from a reaction between sugars and an amino acid (asparagine) during high-temperature cooking. The answer, of course, is to limit or eliminate processed foods and increase the amount of whole, raw foods in your diet. I typically aim for 80-85 percent raw food in my own diet.

Acrylamide May Be a Primary Hazard of Processed Food

Acrylamide can form in many foods cooked or processed at temperatures above 212°F (100°C), but carbohydrate-rich foods are the most vulnerable to this heat-induced byproduct. As a general rule, the chemical is formed when food is heated enough to produce a fairly dry and “browned” surface. Hence, it can be found in:

• Potatoes: chips, French fries and other roasted or fried potato foods
• Grains: bread crust, toast, crisp bread, roasted breakfast cereals and various processed snacks
• Coffee; roasted coffee beans and ground coffee powder. Surprisingly, coffee substitutes based on chicory actually contains 2-3 times more acrylamide than real coffee

Acrylamide is not the only hazard associated with heat-processed foods, however. The three-year long EU project known as Heat-Generated Food Toxicants¹ (HEATOX), identified more than 800 heat-induced compounds in food, 52 of which are potential carcinogens... For example, the high heat of grilling reacts with proteins in red meat, poultry, and fish, creating heterocyclic amines, which have also been linked to cancer.
Humans are not the only victims here. As discussed by holistic veterinarian Dr. Barbara Royal, pet foods also contain acrylamide and heterocyclic amines, courtesy of commercial pet food processing methods.

Exposure to Acrylamide Increases Your Cancer Risk

Animal studies have shown that exposure to acrylamide increases the risk of several types of cancer, and the International Agency for Research on Cancer considers acrylamide a "probable human carcinogen." According to a 1988 study²:

“The data show that acrylamide is capable of inducing genotoxic, carcinogenic, developmental, and reproductive effects in tested organisms. Thus, acrylamide may pose more than a neurotoxic health hazard to exposed humans.

Acrylamide is a small organic molecule with very high water solubility. These properties probably facilitate its rapid absorption and distribution throughout the body. After absorption, acrylamide is rapidly metabolized, primarily by glutathione conjugation, and the majority of applied material is excreted within 24 hours... Acrylamide can bind to DNA... which has implications for its genotoxic and carcinogenic potential.”

A study³ published in 2007 linked higher dietary acrylamide intake with an increased risk of endometrial and ovarian cancer in postmenopausal women, particularly among non-smokers. It has also been linked to nerve damage and other neurotoxic effects, including neurological problems in workers handling the substance.
While the EPA regulates acrylamide in drinking water and the FDA regulates the amount of acrylamide residue in materials that may come in contact with food, they do not currently have any guidelines limiting the chemical in food itself.

How Much Acrylamide Are You Getting from Your Diet?

In drinking water, the federal limit for acrylamide is 0.5 parts per billion, or about 0.12 micrograms in an eight-ounce glass of water. However, a six-ounce serving of French fries can contain 60 micrograms of acrylamide—about 500 times the allowable limit! A 2002 food analysis published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry⁴, found moderate levels of acrylamide (5−50 μg/kg) in heated protein-rich foods and higher levels (150−4,000 μg/kg) in carbohydrate-rich foods. Unheated or boiled foods showed undetectable levels (<5 acrylamide="" conclude:="" g="" kg="" leading="" of="" p="" researchers="" the="" to="">

"Consumption habits indicate that the acrylamide levels in the studied heated foods could lead to a daily intake of a few tens of micrograms."

Potato chips in particular are notoriously high in this dangerous chemical. So high, in fact, that in 2005 the state of California actually sued potato chip makers for failing to warn California consumers about the health risks of acrylamide in their products. A settlement was reached in 2008⁵ when Frito-Lay and several other potato chip makers agreed to reduce the acrylamide levels in their chips to 275 parts per billion (ppb) by 2011, which is low enough to avoid needing a cancer warning label.
Still, that’s a far cry from the allowable limit of 0.5 ppb in drinking water!
The 2005 report⁶ "How Potato Chips Stack Up: Levels of Cancer-Causing Acrylamide in Popular Brands of Potato Chips," issued by the California-based Environmental Law Foundation (ELF), spelled out the dangers of this popular snack. According to their analysis, ALL potato chip products tested exceeded the legal limit of acrylamide by a minimum of 39 times, and as much as 910 times! Interestingly, baked chips, which are often touted as a healthier chip, can contain more than three times the level of acrylamide in regular chips, according to US Food and Drug Administration data⁷.

How to Avoid Heat-Induced Toxins in Your Diet

Acrylamide levels vary greatly among processed foods, even among different batches of the same food item. The chemical has so far only been found in foods heated above 250 F/120 C, which includes most processed foods. Basing your diet on whole foods, with the majority or a significant portion eaten raw or lightly cooked is therefore one of the best ways to avoid this cancer-causing cooking byproduct. Aside from creating potentially toxic byproducts, high heat also depletes the food of valuable micronutrients, which is another reason for eating raw or slow cooked food as possible.
Another important aspect of raw foods is the energetic aspect. Dr. Johanna Budwig from Germany has stated that live foods are electron rich and act as high-powered electron donors and “solar resonance fields” to attract, store, and conduct the sun's energy in your body. The greater your body’s store of light energy, the more energy you’ll have available for healing and the maintenance of optimal health. For the times when you do cook your food, keep the following tips in mind:

• Frying, baking and broiling appear to be the worst offenders, while boiling or steaming appear to be safer
• Hotter cooking temps increase acrylamide
• Soaking raw potatoes in water for 15-30 minutes prior to roasting may help reduce acrylamide formation during cooking
• The darker brown the food, the more acrylamide it contains (for instance, dark brown toast compared to light brown toast)
• Acrylamide is found primarily in plant-based foods, such as potatoes and grain products (not typically in meat, dairy or seafood)

According to the findings by the HEATOX project, you're far less likely to ingest dangerous levels of acrylamide when you eat home-cooked foods compared to industrially or restaurant-prepared foods. And when you do eat at home, the best advice they could give was to avoid overcooking your food. For more in-depth information about acrylamide, I recommend reading the online report: "Heat-generated Food Toxicants, Identification, Characterization and Risk Minimization"⁸.

Take Control of Your Health with Whole Food

While many foods – from coffee and breakfast cereal to bread – contain acrylamide, the highest levels have been detected in starchy plant-based foods, particularly French fries and potato chips. As a general rule, just remember that cooking food at high temperatures is ill advised, and that most processed foods will contain acrylamide as a side effect of high-heat processing.
Ideally, consume foods that are minimally processed to avoid these types of toxic byproducts. My nutrition plan emphasizes the need for at least one-third of your foods to be consumed raw.  For a step-by-step guide to make the transition to a healthier diet as simple and smooth as possible, simply follow the advice in my optimized nutrition plan.
Remember, eating fresh whole foods is the "secret" to getting healthier, losing weight and really enjoying your food. Once you get used to it, you'll find you can whip up a healthful meal from scratch in the same amount of time it would have taken you to drive down the street to pick up fast food. The main difference will be greater satisfaction, both physically and mentally, and perhaps even financially, as processed foods typically end up being more expensive than cooking from scratch.

Salty snacks, extra pounds send blood pressure soaring in U.S. kids

Brian Alexander NBC News contributor

July 15, 2013 at 4:30 PM ET

NBC News

Ethan Borst, 15, was overweight and has had sporadic high blood pressure. After attending a camp designed to help kids lose weight, he is on the right track to health.

Spurred by too much salt and too many extra pounds, blood pressure in America's kids and teens has gone sky-high, creating a young generation at risk for serious health problems, including heart disease, stroke -- and worse.
The percentage of American children and adolescents ages 8 to 17 who have high blood pressure -- a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, organ damage, heart attacks and strokes -- climbed 27 percent over 13 years, according to researchers from Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women's Hospital and other institutions funded by the National Institutes of Health.
The researchers, using two large national surveys, compared blood pressure data of thousands of children from two National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys, a government program designed to track health and nutritional status of adults and children in the U.S. During the period 1988 to 1994, 15.8 percent of boys, and 8.2 percent of girls could be classified as having elevated blood pressure. By the next survey period, covering the years 1999-2008, those percentages jumped to 19.2 percent for boys and 12.6 percent for girls.
The new research, published Monday in the journal Hypertension, positively links rising blood pressure to increasing body mass index, especially waist circumference, and sodium intake. In short, far too many American children are too fat and eating too many salty snacks.
More than a third of children and teens in the United States are overweight or obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “The reason we’re seeing high blood pressure in kids, is due to the obesity epidemic,” said pediatrician Dr. Joanna Dolgoff.
Dolgoff has been seeing elevated blood pressure in so many of her young patients, she thought her equipment was broken.
"Recently, I've been a lot more of my patients having high blood pressure," Dolgoff, a child obesity expert and creator of the “Red Light, Green Light, Eat Right” nutrition program, said. "I thought perhaps my blood pressure machine was broken. But actually the incidence of high blood pressure in children is increasing."
Being overweight is a key risk factor for high blood pressure in adults so “it stands to reason that it would be the same in children,” said Dolgoff.
Ethan Borst, 15, of New York, N.Y., started gaining weight when he was just 7. Although high blood pressure and diabetes run in his family, his mother, Renee Katz, was surprised to discover Ethan had high blood pressure at such a young age.
"I wanted to make sure that he wasn't going to have those problems when he gets older." After attending a weight-loss camp run by Dolgoff, Ethan lost almost 30 pounds and has given up his favorite salty snacks.
"I do enjoy corn chips, but I try to stay away from those," Ethan said.
The researchers found that “for total fat, saturated fat, and protein, a large majority of children (70 percent to 80 percent) were above the RDI [recommended daily intake],” the study found. For sodium intake, “over 80 percent” of the children were above the RDI.
“Kids eat far too much sodium,” the study's co-author Dr. Stephen Daniels told NBC News. “And they aren’t adding it at the table, and their parents aren’t putting it into food; they’re getting it through processed foods.”
Past studies have indicated blood pressure among America’s youth might be on the rise, but most used small samples. The NHANES data in this research was made up of 3,248 children for the period 1988 to 1994 and 8,388 for the 1999-2008 survey.
The damage from far too much dietary sodium has been especially pronounced in African-American girls, accounting for much of the higher rate of increase in girls compared to boys, said Daniels, chair of the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, and the chair of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute’s panel that created guidelines for cardiovascular health and risk reduction in children.
“On some level we know there has been some relationship between obesity and blood pressure and some previous studies showed that blood pressure has risen over time,” Daniels said.
Dr. Patrick McBride, a cardiologist, agrees.
“It’s all nutritionally related and activity related,” said McBride, professor of medicine and family medicine and associate director of preventive cardiology at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. “Children are being parked in front of screens, videos, electronics and then consuming high-caloric-density foods.”
As a result, some have the cardiovascular damage more common in middle-aged and older people.
“I have had a heart disease prevention practice for 30 years,” McBride said, “and we only used to see high blood pressure rarely in children. Now it’s common. Every week I see high blood pressure, high cholesterol. It’s astounding.”
The damage isn’t just long-term, with heart attacks and strokes at ages 25 or 30. McBride can see physical damage in the children. “With ultrasound on the carotid artery, we can see early atherosclerosis,” he said.
Daniels explained that children can also show signs of an enlarged heart ventricle because the heart has to work harder to push blood.
Both Daniels and McBride explained that pediatricians and family physicians should be more diligent about checking blood pressure in children, and, if dietary and exercise advice don't work, consider prescribing blood pressure-lowering drugs.

Undiagnosed Pre-Diabetes Highly Prevalent in Early Alzheimer's Disease Study

July 14, 2013 — When Georgetown University neurologist R. Scott Turner, MD, PhD, began enrolling people with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease into a nationwide study last year, he expected to find only a handful of participants with undiagnosed glucose intolerance, as all the patients were already under a doctor's care and those with known diabetes were excluded. But Turner says he was "shocked" by how many study participants were found to have pre-diabetes -- a finding that is triggering important questions.

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Turner's study examines resveratrol, a compound found in red grapes and red wine, to see if it might change glucose levels in patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease (AD). Turner says resveratrol is thought to act on proteins in the brain in a way that mimics effects of a low-calorie diet.
"We know from animal studies that caloric restriction prevents diseases of aging such as diabetes and Alzheimer's," explains Turner, director of the Georgetown University Medical Center's Memory Disorders Program. "On the flip side of the coin, having diabetes increases one's risk of developing AD. So perhaps by improving glucose tolerance, we will prevent or delay both diabetes and Alzheimer's."
To join the resveratrol study, participants were first given a fasting glucose tolerance test to obtain a baseline level, and then retested two hours after eating. During digestion, the blood sugar level increases, but the pancreas produces insulin to lower it. A high sugar level after two hours reveals glucose intolerance (pre-diabetes) or diabetes if the level is very high.
"The number of people with glucose intolerance (pre-diabetes) was much higher than expected," says Turner. "I was surprised by how many people didn't know they were pre-diabetic, and these are individuals who already get the best medical care."
Five (4 percent) of 128 participants had impaired fasting glucose levels while three others (2 percent) had findings consistent with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Of the 125 subjects who completed the two-hour test, 38 (30 percent) demonstrated glucose intolerance while 16 (13 percent) had results consistent with diabetes. Thus, the overall prevalence of impaired glucose tolerance or diabetes at two hours was 43 percent -- or almost half of the individuals recruited to the study.
Turner asks, "How does glucose intolerance or diabetes lead to AD? Does the inflammation associated with AD trigger glucose intolerance? Or do both events create a vicious cycle of Alzheimer's and glucose intolerance?"
Turner's study isn't designed to answer these questions, but it might provide important clues. Turner says while a glucose tolerance test is not typically ordered by neurologists, "this result suggests that perhaps we should test all our patients with early Alzheimer's. It's a simple, inexpensive study that reveals critical health information."
Turner will discuss his findings at the Alzheimer's Association International Congress in Boston on July 14.
The resveratrol study is sponsored by the Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study through a grant from the National Institute on Aging. Turner reports no personal financial interests related to the study

10 Things the Processed Food Industry Doesn’t Want You to Know

Processed foods are typically loaded with excess sugar, salt, unhealthful fats, preservatives and other additives.
But you probably know this already. What you may not know about processed foods is the extent of the havoc they can wreak on your body, a closely guarded secret that the processed food industry doesn’t want you to know.
In short, though they may taste good and be easy to prepare, when you eat processed foods you’re exchanging convenience for your health.

10 Processed-Food Secrets the Food Industry Doesn’t Want You to Know

In the featured article,¹ Donna Gates, author of The Body Ecology Diet, explains 10 reasons why you might want to think twice the next time you’re tempted to eat processed foods.
1. They’re Addictive and May Cause You to Overeat

Processing modifies or removes important components of food, like fiber, water and nutrients, changing the way they are digested and assimilated in your body.

Unlike whole foods, which contain a mix of carbohydrates, fats, proteins, fiber and water to help you feel satisfied, processed foods stimulate dopamine, a feel-good neurotransmitter, making you feel good even though the food lacks nutrients and fiber. This artificial dopamine stimulation can lead to excessive food cravings and, ultimately, food addiction.

2. They’re Linked to Obesity

Processed foods are virtually guaranteed to contain additives that are linked to obesity. This includes monosodium glutamate (MSG), high-fructose corn syrup, artificial sweeteners and more. Plus, refined carbohydrates like breakfast cereals, bagels, waffles, pretzels, and most other processed foods quickly break down to sugar.,

This increases your insulin  and leptin levels, and contribute to insulin resistance, which is the primary underlying factor of nearly every chronic disease and condition known to man, including weight gain.

3. They Break Principles of Food Combining

Some nutrition and health experts, such as Wayne Pickering, believe that eating foods in certain combinations helps your body’s digestive processes to work more efficiently and absorb more nutrients. Wayne actually constructed a very useful food combining chart that can be obtained on his website.  According to one such premise, eating proteins and starches together, which is common in processed foods (such as a pepperoni pizza), inhibits digestion leading to putrification of your food, acidic conditions in your blood and supports disease-causing pathogens in your gut.

4. Processed Foods Lead to an Imbalanced Inner Ecosystem

The microorganisms living in your digestive tract form a very important "inner ecosystem" that influences countless aspects of your health. Processed foods disrupt this system, suppressing beneficial microflora and leading to digestive problems, cravings, illnesses and chronic disease. Beneficial organisms in your gut thrive on whole, unprocessed foods.

5. They’re Detrimental to Your Mood and Brain

Mood swings, memory problems and even depression are often the result of a heavily processed-food diet. In fact, the greatest concentration of serotonin, which is involved in mood control, depression and aggression, is found in your intestines, not your brain! Your gut and brain actually work in tandem, each influencing the other. This is why your intestinal health can have such a profound influence on your mental health, and vice versa – and why eating processed foods that can harm your gut flora can have a profoundly negative impact on your mood, psychological health and behavior.

6. Processed Foods Encourage ‘Eating on the Run’

Processed foods are quick and easy, making them ‘perfect’ to grab when you’re on the go. But eating on the go, or while you’re multi-tasking, can cause you to lose touch with your body’s natural signals telling you you’re full, leading to overeating and weight gain. It’s also more difficult for your body to digest properly when you’re busily engaged in other tasks.

7. Nutrition Labels can be Misleading

A processed food may be labeled ‘natural’ or ‘sugar-free,’ but that doesn’t make it healthful. For instance, the natural food label on a processed food has no standard definition and really no meaning at all. A "natural" product is meaningless as it can legally be genetically modified, full of pesticides or made with corn syrup, additives, preservatives and artificial ingredients.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also allows processed food manufacturers to use absurdly tiny serving sizes on their labels, which can lull you into a false sense of security when it comes to determining how much of each stated nutrient or toxin, like trans fat, you're actually consuming.

8. Processed Meats are Linked to Cancer

Processed meats are those preserved by smoking, curing or salting, or the addition of chemical preservatives, which includes bacon, ham, pastrami, salami, pepperoni, hot dogs, some sausages and hamburgers (if they have been preserved with salt or chemical additives) and more. Particularly problematic are the nitrates that are added to these meats as a preservative, coloring and flavoring.
The nitrates found in processed meats are frequently converted into nitrosamines, which are clearly associated with an increased risk of certain cancers. Meat cooked at high temperatures, as many processed meats often are, can also contain as many as 20 different kinds of heterocyclic amines, or HCAs for short. These substances are also linked to cancer.

9. Processed Foods May Increase Your Risk of Infertility and Malnutrition

Because processed foods are stripped of nutrients your body needs, you could be eating a large number of calories but still become malnourished. In just three generations, a nutrient-deficient diet can lead to infertility, which is on the rise in the US.² Plus, processed foods often contain genetically modified (GM) ingredients, which are also linked to reproductive problems.

10. Processed Foods Lead to a Long Shelf Life, Not a Long Human Life

Processed foods can last a long time on the shelf without going bad, thanks to their chemical cocktails of preservatives and other additives. Unfortunately, their makers put a lot of money and time into strategies to increase shelf life and create attractive packaging, with little attention put on the foods’ nutrient value or how it will actually detract from lasting health.

What Are the Worst Processed Food Additives?

When foods are processed, not only are valuable nutrients lost and dietary fiber removed, but the textures and natural variation and flavors are also lost. After processing, what's left behind is a bland, uninteresting "pseudo-food" that most people wouldn’t want to eat.
Additives are added back in not only to slow spoilage, prevent fats and oils from going rancid, prevent fruits from turning brown, and fortify or enrich the food with synthetic vitamins and minerals to replace the natural ones that were lost during processing, but also to improve taste, texture and appearance. When reading product packages, here are some of the worst offenders to avoid if you want to protect your health (many of these are already banned in other countries due to health risks):

Ingredient	Found in	Health Hazards
Coloring agents: blue 1, blue 2, yellow 5, and yellow 6	Cake, candy, macaroni and cheese, medicines, sport drinks, soda, pet food, and cheese	Most artificial colors are made from coal tar, which is a carcinogen
Olestra (aka Olean)	Fat-free potato chips	Depletion of fat-soluble vitamins and carotenoids. Side effects include oily anal leakage
Brominated vegetable oil (aka BVO)	Sports drinks and citrus-flavored sodas	Competes with iodine for receptor sites in the body, which can lead to hypothyroidism, autoimmune disease, and cancer. The main ingredient, bromine, is a poisonous, corrosive chemical, linked to major organ system damage, birth defects, growth problems, schizophrenia, and hearing loss
Potassium bromate (aka brominated flour)	Rolls, wraps, flatbread, bread crumbs, and bagel chips	See bromine above. Associated with kidney and nervous system disorders, gastrointestinal discomfort
Azodicarbonamide	Breads, frozen dinners, boxed pasta mixes, and packaged baked goods	Linked to asthma
BHA and BHT	Cereal, nut mixes, gum, butter, meat, dehydrated potatoes, and beer	BHA may be a human carcinogen, a cancer-causing agent. BHT can cause organ system toxicity
Synthetic hormones: rBGH and rBST	Milk and dairy products	Linked to breast, colon, and prostate cancers
Arsenic	Poultry	EPA classifies inorganic arsenic as a "human carcinogen"

A Simple Step-by-Step Guide to Ditching Processed Foods

When it comes to staying healthy, avoiding processed foods and replacing them with fresh, whole foods is the "secret" you've been looking for. This might sound daunting, but if you take it step-by-step as described in my nutrition plan it’s quite possible, and manageable, to painlessly remove processed foods from your diet.
Remember, people have thrived on vegetables, meats, eggs, fruits and other whole foods for centuries, while processed foods were only recently invented. Many of the top executives and scientists at leading processed food companies actually avoid their own foods for a variety of health reasons!
I believe you, too, should spend 90 percent of your food budget on whole foods, and only 10 percent on processed foods (unfortunately most Americans currently do the opposite). This requires that you plan your meals in advance. Ideally, this will involve scouting out your local farmer's markets for in-season produce that is priced to sell, and planning your meals accordingly, but you can also use this same premise with supermarket sales. You can generally plan a week of meals at a time, make sure you have all ingredients necessary on hand, and then do any prep work you can ahead of time so that dinner is easy to prepare if you're short on time in the evenings (and you can use leftovers for lunches the next day).
Further, by cutting out these high-glycemic foods you can retrain your body to burn fat instead of sugar. However, it’s important to replace these foods with healthy fats, not protein—a fact that’s often not addressed. I believe most people may need between 50-70 percent of their daily calories in the form of healthful fats, which include:

Olives and olive oil	Coconuts and coconut oil	Butter made from raw grass-fed organic milk
Organic raw nuts, especially macadamia nuts, which are low in protein and omega-6 fat	Organic pastured egg yolks and pastured meats	Avocados

If cravings are a problem for you, please review my article about how to wean yourself off processed food in seven easy steps. If you're currently sustaining yourself on fast food and processed foods, this is one of the most positive life changes you could ever make

Dementia and Alzheimer's

New German Study Says you may Prevent the Onset of Dementia and Alzheimer's

A recent Dementia and Alzheimer's study conducted by researchers from the University of Ulm in Germany found that patients with dementia, had lower levels of the antioxidants Vitamin C and beta-carotene leading to speculation that the the answer to protecting the elderly against Alzheimer's may be as simple as a change in diet (adding foods that raise blood levels of the antioxidants Vitamin C and beta-carotene)

The study was led by epidemiologist Professor Gabriele Nagel and neurologist Professor Christine von Arnim. The researchers examined 74 patients with mild dementia and 158 healthy people - the researchers found that the concentration of Vitamin C and beta-carotene in the blood serum of the patients of those with dementia was drastically lower than those participants who did not suffer from the disease. No differences in the levels of any other antioxidants (vitamin E, lycopene or coenzyme Q10) between the two groups was found.

How to Get more Vitamin C and Beta-carotene in Your Diet

Vitamin C is found in citrus fruits such as oranges, lemons and grapefruits and Beta-carotene is found in carrots, spinach and onions.

An increased consumption of these foods may be a vital preventative measure against the forgetfulness, disorientation and reduced mental capacity of Alzheimer's, according to the study.

The study was conducted by the University of Ulm in Germany and published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease.

Outside factors considered in the analysis of the study included the patients' BMI, consumption of alcohol and tobacco and the storage and preparation of the food in their diets.

“Longitudinal studies with more participants are necessary to confirm the result that vitamin C and beta-carotene might prevent the onset and development of Alzheimer’s disease,” said Nagel, according to psychcentral.com.

Last year, Swedish researchers discovered that Vitamin C dissolves the toxic protein aggregate that builds up in the brain in Alzheimer's and causes nerve cell death in the brain's memory center.

"The notion that vitamin C can have a positive effect on Alzheimer's disease is controversial, but our results open up new opportunities for research into Alzheimer's and the possibilities offered by vitamin C", Katrin Mani, reader in Molecular Medicine at Lund University, told news-medical.net.

Sources: psychcentral.com, news-medical.net, nutruceuticalsworkd.com

Cancer is Serious Business

Dr. Stanislaw Burzynski received much deserved publicity with the release of the 2011 film, Burzynski—The Movie.
Eric Merola’s award-winning documentary showcased Dr. Burzynski’s remarkable cancer discovery for all the world to see, and explained how he won the largest and possibly the most convoluted and intriguing legal battles against the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in American history.
Dr. Burzynski’s story now continues in the compelling follow-up film: Burzynski—Cancer Is Serious Business, Part II. This second film details his continued struggles and victories, and explores the current status of Antineoplastons’ clinical testing—now (finally) sanctioned by the FDA.

Dr. Burzynski's Cancer Treatment

Dr. Burzynski, trained as both a biochemist and a physician, has spent the last 35+ years developing and successfully treating cancer patients suffering with some of the most lethal forms of cancer at his clinic in Houston, Texas.
The treatment he developed involves a gene-targeted approach using non-toxic peptides and amino acids, known as Antineoplastons. I personally interviewed Dr. Burzynski about his treatment in the summer of 2011.
He coined the term ”antineoplastons” and defines them as peptides and derivatives of amino acids that act as molecular switches. However, as genome research blossomed and science progressed, Dr. Burzynski discovered that antineoplastons also work as genetic switches.
They actually turn off the genes that cause cancer (oncogenes), and turn on or activate tumor suppressor genes—genes that fight cancer. His treatment strategy, which he refers to as “Personalized Gene Targeted Cancer Therapy,” includes mapping the patient's entire cancer genome.
This involves analyzing some 24,000 genes in order to identify the abnormal genes. Once they've determined which genes are involved in the cancer, drugs and supplements are identified to target those specific genes.
Antineoplastons work on approximately 100 cancer-causing genes, but traditional oncology agents (including chemotherapy) may also be used, typically in combination with antineoplastons. This expanded direction of “personalized gene-targeted treatment" has permitted people who would otherwise be denied access to the still-unapproved antineoplastons to benefit from his treatment.

The War on Cancer Cures

As the first film in this series clearly revealed, the FDA began scheming to eliminate the threat Dr. Burzynski and his discovery posed to the cancer industry as early as 1977, when Dr. Burzynski first tried to get antineoplastons approved.
The reason he was (and still is) considered a significant threat to the cancer industry is because he’s the sole patent holder of the treatment, which means he’s the sole beneficiary, should the FDA approve Antineoplastons—not a pharmaceutical company and the bosses thereof.
As a matter of fact, Dr. Burzynski is the first and only scientist in United States’ history to enter the federal drug approval process for a proprietary cancer therapy without any financial support from the American government, the pharmaceutical industry, or the cancer establishment.
Vast amounts of money are at stake, since FDA approval of Antineoplastons would not only threaten conventional chemotherapy and radiation, it would also result in billions of dollars of cancer research funds being funneled over to the one single scientist who has exclusive patent rights—Dr. Burzynski.
The sad fact is, as stated by Dr. Julian Whitaker in the featured film, that true medical breakthroughs are suppressed these days because they “put at risk the entire financial underpinnings” of medicine.
If a medical breakthrough replaces failing therapies, the cash flow and profits of those failing therapies are lost forever, and the industry simply chooses profits over cures... Instead of investing in actual cures, medicine, over the past five decades, has invested in awareness campaigns. But, as Dr. Whitaker points out, awareness does not cure the disease, and will never lead to a cure, no matter how much money is raised by these campaigns, for the simple fact that there’s too much vested interest in therapies that fail and perpetuate a money-making disease.

Cancer Is Serious Business

In recent years, the focus for cancer therapy has increasingly shifted toward individualized gene-targeted cancer treatment, such as that provided by Dr. Burzynski for the past decade. So it’s no wonder, really, that the industry has tried so hard to get rid of him, in order to protect their own profits and access to research funds. Burzynski—Cancer is Serious Business, picks up where the first movie left off, detailing Dr. Burzynski’s continued struggles and victories, and explores the current status of Antineoplastons’ clinical testing, now sanctioned by the FDA. It also follows the progress of several of his patients. As described in the film’s synopsis:¹

“For most patients undergoing Burzynski’s treatment, their advanced cancer itself runs secondary to the constant barrage of skepticism coming not only from their local oncologists, but also from friends and family who feel their loved ones are making suspect treatment decisions—even though mainstream oncology has already left many for dead.

As the story unfolds, you will observe a real-time change of hearts and minds from many of these doctors and families. Unlike the first documentary, Part II showcases interviews with board-certified oncologists, surgeons and neurosurgeons, who witnessed patients leave their care, soon to return in great health after opting for the Burzynski Clinic.”

National Cancer Institute Acknowledges Antineoplastons’ Success

Incredibly, in August of last year, America's National Cancer Institute (NCI) finally acknowledged and cited some of Burzynski's peer-reviewed Antineoplaston studies, as well as findings by Japanese researchers who have been independently reproducing Antineoplaston clinical trial studies since the 1980's, without any involvement by Dr. Burzynski. One of the most remarkable admissions by The National Cancer Institute is the following:²

"A Phase II study also conducted by the developer and his associates at his clinic reported on 12 patients with recurrent diffuse intrinsic brainstem glioma. Of the 10 patients who were evaluable, two achieved complete tumor response, three had partial tumor response, three had stable disease, and two had progressive disease."

What’s truly remarkable about this is that a brainstem glioma has simply never been cured before in the history of medicine—Antineoplastons hold the first cures ever! In the featured film, you will also learn how a Japanese team, consisting of pathologists, oncologists and surgeons, has conducted the first-ever independently-run randomized controlled human clinical trials on Antineoplastons, and the results thereof. According to Dr. Hideaki Tsuda, MD with the Kurume Medical University in Japan:

"After 27 years of independently testing Antineoplastons—including randomized clinical trials, we found that Dr. Burzynski was right. It's obviously not anecdotal anymore.”

The Story Everyone Needs to Know

Dr. Burzynski has developed a cancer treatment that surpasses all other treatments on the market today, and the FDA and the pharmaceutical industry knows it. They also know his treatment threatens the entire paradigm of the cancer industry, which is based on expensive treatments with a high rate of failure and retreatment.
For the past 15 years, they’ve harassed him, tried to take away his medical license, and even tried to put him in prison for life—all in order to protect the status quo. Adding insult to injury, you and I have been paying for the brutal opposition to Dr. Burzynski’s cancer treatment this whole time. The US government spent $60 million on legal fees for just one of his trials alone.
Still, Dr. Burzynski has prevailed, and the truth about his gene-targeted treatment is finally receiving some well-deserved acknowledgment. After all, Dr. Burzynski has published over 300 articles on Antineoplastons, many of them peer-reviewed. And more than 100 independent Antineoplaston studies have been published, including those from Japan.

Support a Cancer Cure, Not Merely the Awareness of the Condition

Earlier this year, a group of patients and patient advocates launched a campaign to have Antineoplastons accepted worldwide as a “standard of care” for the treatment of cancer.³ For more information, please see www.iwantanp.com:

“Unlike all other cancer research campaigns which rely 100% on awareness alone, we realize that awareness itself does not cure the disease. Medications such as Antineoplastons are what can lead to the cure of the disease of cancer.

If the United States still refuses to allow Antineoplastons into its marketplace, we will then make sure another country will be properly funded to set up the proper channels for Antineoplastons to be approved for their marketplace. Another avenue would be simply opening up a massive Antineoplastons clinic allowing the cancer patients of the world to seek treatment using Antineoplastons.

Upon gaining either market approval—or the funding the construction of an Antineoplaston clinic overseas, our funds will then go to make sure everyone who cannot afford to travel overseas to receive Antineoplaston therapy—can do so by requesting money through this organization.

Either way, whether the market or its government's regulatory agencies want Antineoplastons available to its citizens or not—Antineoplastons are here to stay, and the members of our global human family deserve the right to have access to them.