Earth Day has been a time for many to reflect on how we can all help the planet and ourselves at the same time. Now is the best time to consciously shop with your health and the environment in mind. With so many amazing chemical free products available, it has never been easier. Even Oprah is now exposing the harm that chemicals can cause to our body and our planet.
What is Chemical Free and Why is it So Important?
Basically, if you think you need a PhD in biochemistry to read the label, don't buy it. Sadly, most products on the store shelves contain harmful chemicals such as parabens, sodium lauryl sulfate, Diethanolamine (DEA), fragrances and other synthetic chemicals. Most of these are hormone interrupters and are potentially cancer causing.
What are the Alternatives to Products with Chemicals?
The good news is that now many amazing natural cleaning products, natural shampoo and even natural skin cream is available at reasonable prices. Many of these natural health and beauty products are even organic.
Fundamental Face Cream is a wonderful line of natural, organic products that uses shea butter as a main ingredient in many of their products. Shea butter closely matches the bodies own moisturizers and is a wonderful ingredient.
Vermont Soap Organics is another fantastic line of natural, chemical free products. Some of their best sellers include foaming hand soap, veggie wash and bath and shower gel.
We must do what we can each and every day, in our small way. Use rags instead of paper towels, take reusable shopping bags to the grocery store, carpool and turn off the lights when you are not using them. Every little thing helps our planet.
At EarthTurns.com we buy 'carbon credits' that offset our carbon footprint by purchasing trees that help remove carbon dioxide from our air. We don't package with plastic, and we use as little packaging material as possible.
We welcome your comments on how you do your part to help the planet and live a chemical free life!
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
Insulin Resistance: A Culprit In Today's Health Crisis
You may have heard of insulin, but do you really know all of its functions in the body and what insulin resistance is doing to you?
Insulin: An anabolic hormone for growth and repair.
Negative Affects of Insulin Resistance
Now that you understand why so much insulin is secreted due to our diets, I want you to understand the negative affects of insulin resistance, so that YOU will resist from eating so many carbohydrates in the form of pasta, donuts, muffins, cake, bread, sugar, cereal, etc.
Insulin is involved in the storage of magnesium. When the cells are resistant to insulin, magnesium is secreted in the urine. One of magnesiums major jobs is to relax muscles. With lower magnesium levels the smooth muscles in the blood vessels can't relax and they constrict, causing--high blood pressure.
To add insult to injury, magnesium also is involved in intracellular energy, so you also feel weaker and tired all the time.
Insulin is also involved in sodium retention. With the added sodium, you get fluid retention and you guessed it, yet higher blood pressure.
Insulin also stimulates the sympathetic nervous system and you get further vasoconstriction (higher blood pressure), increased heart rate, increase in ability for blood to clot, increased respiration and an increase in blood sugar and cholesterol in the blood.
Since insulin is a mytogenic hormone, you also get increased cell division, which leads to increase in cancer and aging.
There is so much more insulin does, but I think you are getting the idea by now.
There Are Things You Can Do
Doesn't it sound like many of the medications you or your family and friends are on are designed to reduce the effects of insulin resistance?
Think of these: Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart attack, stroke, cancer.
These are all preventable illnesses that have nothing to do with our genetics. It's our lifestyle that is killing us. There is hope if you begin now to change your lifestyle.
You must eat right, exercise right and think right to be a healthy human being. It is easier than you think. It's a lot harder to be sick than healthy.
Begin by:
Insulin: An anabolic hormone for growth and repair.
Insulin:
- Stores excess nutrients
- Stores blood sugar for future energy requirments
- Stores Magnesium
- Retains Sodium
- Mediates blood lipids (fat)
- Stimulates cell division
- Stimulates sympathetic nervous system
You may be saying, so what, insulin does all these great things, what's the big deal? Here's the problem.
When we eat carbohydrates (sugar, pasta, bread, grains) the body converts them into glucose. The liver only stores about a one day supply of glucose (stored as glycogen). What do you think happens to the rest of it? It's stored as FAT (about 98% is Palmitic acid---a saturated fat).
SORRY TO GET SO TECHNICAL
So, a high carbohydrate diet is really a high glucose (SUGAR) diet. Insulin needs to be secreted to help store this added glucose and there is a large secretion of insulin. However, the cells try to protect themselves from the toxic effects of insulin (which in large amounts is irritating to the cells) and they down regulate their receptors and the number of receptors.
When this happens, the pancreas secretes more and more insulin because the receptors aren't sensing that there is so much insulin circulating in the blood. Finally the pancreas gets tired and Type 2 Diabetes can result.
Negative Affects of Insulin Resistance
Now that you understand why so much insulin is secreted due to our diets, I want you to understand the negative affects of insulin resistance, so that YOU will resist from eating so many carbohydrates in the form of pasta, donuts, muffins, cake, bread, sugar, cereal, etc.
Insulin is involved in the storage of magnesium. When the cells are resistant to insulin, magnesium is secreted in the urine. One of magnesiums major jobs is to relax muscles. With lower magnesium levels the smooth muscles in the blood vessels can't relax and they constrict, causing--high blood pressure.
To add insult to injury, magnesium also is involved in intracellular energy, so you also feel weaker and tired all the time.
Insulin is also involved in sodium retention. With the added sodium, you get fluid retention and you guessed it, yet higher blood pressure.
Insulin also stimulates the sympathetic nervous system and you get further vasoconstriction (higher blood pressure), increased heart rate, increase in ability for blood to clot, increased respiration and an increase in blood sugar and cholesterol in the blood.
Since insulin is a mytogenic hormone, you also get increased cell division, which leads to increase in cancer and aging.
There is so much more insulin does, but I think you are getting the idea by now.
There Are Things You Can Do
Doesn't it sound like many of the medications you or your family and friends are on are designed to reduce the effects of insulin resistance?
Think of these: Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart attack, stroke, cancer.
These are all preventable illnesses that have nothing to do with our genetics. It's our lifestyle that is killing us. There is hope if you begin now to change your lifestyle.
You must eat right, exercise right and think right to be a healthy human being. It is easier than you think. It's a lot harder to be sick than healthy.
Begin by:
- Drinking 2-3 liters of pure water each day
- Stop Smoking
- Eat fresh fiber throughout the day---veggies, fruit
- Limit your intake of sugar and other carbohydrates
- Eat Grass Fed Meats---high in Omega 3's...nothing wrong with good fat
- Take Cinnamon Bark or GTF Chromium to help lower your blood sugar
- Exercise 30-60 minutes EVERY DAY...you must get your heart rate up
- Meditate or Pray Daily.
- Love yourself, and your friends, family and the planet.
If you are not physically fit, you should always discuss with your doctor before beginning exercise or changing your medication.
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