Health & Wellbeing
Wake Up Worlds articles to keep you body healthy and your soul happy.
Three Superseeds You Should be Eating.…and Why
Apr 16th
By Amanda Etty - onegreenplanet.org
As the old saying goes, “good things come in small packages.” And in the kitchen, seeds are no exception. These tiny wonders are a staple in a healthy pantry: nutrient-dense and packed with disease-fighting minerals and enzymes, they can be used in just about any recipe. Here are three favorites that are easy to incorporate into your everyday diet.
1. Flax
What is it? Brown or golden, this seed comes from the flax plant and has a mild, delightfully nutty flavor.
Why we love it: Flaxseed is rich in fiber (aids digestion and cardiovascular health) and omega-3 fatty acid (provides anti-inflammatory benefits, strengthens skin cells and is also great for cardiovascular health).
Continue Reading – Three Superseeds You Should be Eating.…and Why
Natural Remedies for Heartburn
Apr 14th
14th April 2012
Contributing Writers for Wake Up World
Heartburn is a burning sensation we often feel in our stomach and /or chest. Symptoms sometimes include bloating, gas, nausea, shortness of breath, and/or an acidic or sour taste in the throat and mouth. Regular or constant heartburn is a common symptom of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).
With GERD, the acidic contents of the stomach flows back into your esophagus, which can irritate the delicate lining of the esophagus and cause pain. Heartburn (acid reflux) affects more than 60 million American adults at least once a month; 25 million of which, suffer from it daily. Based on these figures, it is quite obvious that we have a real epidemic on our hands.
Back to the Basics: Water for Survival
Apr 14th
14th April 2012
By Gaye Levy
Guest writer for Wake Up World
When I first started Backdoor Survival, my focus was on gathering the basics: food, water shelter and fire. Of course, along the way I have learned that there is so much more that is essential to long term survival. Things that come to mind are clean air, clothing, first aid, self-defense, signaling and contact with others.
But today I want to keep things simple and, for the benefit of my newer readers, go back the basics and review the essentials of water for survival.
Water – The Most Important Survival Basic
Clean water is something that we all take for granted. We turn on the faucet and there it is. It is plentiful, it is clean and it is drinkable. Yes, it may have some undesirable chemical additions (fluorides come to mind) but that is a subject for another day. So if a disaster occurred and the supply lines to fresh water were comprised, we would be in a pickle. There is a possibility that safe water would not be available for days and possibly not for weeks.
Research: Some Cancer Diagnoses Kill Quicker Than The Cancer
Apr 12th
12th April 2012
By Sayer Ji - Wake Up World
A cancer diagnosis may be the most traumatic thing that can befall a patient within the contemporary medical system; that is, beyond the conventional cancer treatments themselves, many of which have life-threatening and even lethal side effects.
New research now indicates that a cancer diagnosis may be as fatal as the cancer itself, dramatically increasing the risk of suicide and heart-related death in the week following diagnosis.
Published in the New England Journal of Medicine this month, researchers looked at data on more than 6 million Swedes aged 30 and older between 1991-2006 using the country’s health registries in order to determine how the psychological toll of cancer diagnosis impacts the risk for death. After analyzing over 500,000 people who were diagnosed with cancer during that period, the risk of suicide was found to be 12 times higher and the risk of heart-related death 6 times higher during the first week following diagnosis versus those who were cancer free.
Continue Reading – Research: Some Cancer Diagnoses Kill Quicker Than The Cancer
Ten Health Benefits of Cold Showers
Apr 11th
Contributing Writers for Wake Up World
How many of us can actually say that we take regular cold showers? If you’re from a colder climate, the number is likely to be even less. However, cold showers and baths have a long history in many cultures, and for good reason. Vincenz Priessnitz, a farmer in the 1920s, developed and marketed a medical treatment he called hydrotherapy. He sold the concept of using cold water to cure a long list of aliments, and achieved almost instant success. As the 20th century moved along however, the popularity of hydrotherapy began to decline and falter when medical professionals began to rely more on drugs to treat illnesses and the luxury of hot showers began to increase. However, the use of hydrotherapy as a viable medical treatment never completely stopped. Here are 10 of the many reasons why:
Dental X-rays Linked to Twofold Increase in Brain Cancer
Apr 11th
11th April 2012
Contributing Writer for Wake Up World
How often does your dentist insist on you giving you a dental X-ray just to make sure all is well? While a dental x-ray may be justifiable if there is some serious risk, research is pointing out that too many of these X-rays may result in a twofold risk increase in a brain cancer known as meningioma.
For the research, Elizabeth B. Claus, MD, PhD, of Yale University, and colleagues examined the records of 1,433 patients who were diagnosed with meningioma between May 2006 and April 2011.
The researchers made a control group matched for sex, age, and geography. Researchers found that bitewing X-rays (showing upper and lower back teeth) performed less than once per year was associated with patients being 1.1 to 1.6 times more likely to experience meningioma across age groups. They also found that annual or more frequent panorex dental X-ray (an X-ray showing all teeth and surrounding bones) exposure increased odds by 2.7 to 3.0 in 3 of the oldest age groups, while x-rays performed “before age 10 was associated with a meningioma odds ratio of 4.9.”
Continue Reading – Dental X-rays Linked to Twofold Increase in Brain Cancer
Recipe – Organic Broccoli Soup
Apr 11th
11th April 2012
Guest Writer for Wake Up World
No need for dairy if you eat broccoli!
One of the concerns I hear voiced frequently is how does a vegetarian get enough calcium, especially if they don’t eat dairy products?
With high levels of both calcium and Vitamin K, eating foods like broccoli will ensure proper calcium levels and bone health.
This green gem will also boost your immune system with beta-carotene and Vitamin C. Research has shown for years how broccoli and other vegetables from the cabbage or brassica family are excellent cancer inhibitors and protectors. Raw is always best and our family enjoys growing our own and use the young leaves in green smoothies and salads. The heads we either lightly steam or use in a variety of chopped salads. Each fresh broccoli spear contains 102 percent of the RDA of vitamin A , 53 percent of the RDA of folate, and 186 percent of the RDA of vitamin C.
The Amazing Healing Properties of Fermented Foods
Apr 8th
By Sayer Ji - Wake Up World
Between the hard and fast dichotomies of cooked and raw, dead and alive, is this beautiful thing called fermented. A place where many of the digestive challenges associated with raw foods (e.g. enzyme inhibitors, antinutrients, lectins) are overcome in favor of not just preserving their benefits (e.g. enzyme activity, vitamin content, life energy), but amplifying them. Also overcome are the adverse consequences of cooking, e.g. enzyme destruction, vitamin activity degradation, oxidized fats, denatured proteins, etc., while still benefiting from the enhanced digestibility and assimilation that certain cooking applications offer. Fermented food is in many ways the complementary union of cooked and raw, as well as their transcendence – an image, not unlike the Tai Chi, comes to mind.
Continue Reading – The Amazing Healing Properties of Fermented Foods
Organic Food Industry Bought Up by Corporations Like Coca-Cola
Apr 7th
7th April 2012
Contributing Writer for Wake Up World
You may be wondering why some supposedly ‘healthy’ and ‘environmentally conscious’ companies deceive unknowing consumers into purchasing products with hidden additives and fillers.
Perhaps one of the main reasons is that a large number of these pseudo-organic brands are owned by their very unhealthy ‘competitors’, such as Coca-Cola and General Mills. In fact, some of your favorite “All Natural” and organic companies may be owned by a corporate giant.
Companies like Honest Tea and Odwalla may appeal to health conscious shoppers, but they are actually owned by Coca-Cola — the very same company that is currently fuming over the requirement to change their recipes in order to avoid a cancer warning label.
Continue Reading – Organic Food Industry Bought Up by Corporations Like Coca-Cola
Monsanto Threatens to Sue Vermont if Legislators Pass GMO Labelling Bill
Apr 6th
6th April 2012
By Will Allen and Ronnie Cummins - AlterNet
What it really comes down to this: Elected officials are abandoning the public interest and public will in the face of corporate intimidation.
The world’s most hated corporation is at it again, this time in Vermont.
Despite overwhelming public support and support from a clear majority of Vermont’s Agriculture Committee, Vermont legislators are dragging their feet on a proposed GMO labeling bill. Why? Because Monsanto has threatened to sue the state if the bill passes.
The popular legislative bill requiring mandatory labels on genetically engineered food (H-722) is languishing in the Vermont House Agriculture Committee, with only four weeks left until the legislature adjourns for the year. Despite thousands of emails and calls from constituents who overwhelmingly support mandatory labeling, despite the fact that a majority (6 to 5) of Agriculture Committee members support passage of the measure, Vermont legislators are holding up the labeling bill and refusing to take a vote.
Continue Reading – Monsanto Threatens to Sue Vermont if Legislators Pass GMO Labelling Bill
Foods that Contain the Highest Amount of Pesticides
Apr 6th
6th April 2012
Contributing Writers for Wake Up World
Much of the produce that is sold today in supermarkets is supplied from farmers who practice conventional farming methods. In other words, the produce has been grown using chemical fertilizers as well as pesticides and herbicides.
Many scientific studies suggest that the effects of synthetic pesticides can be detrimental to our health; one study suggests that the consumption of pesticides may lead to ADHD in children; in some other cases, exposure can lead to many forms of cancers, infertility problems and birth defects. Along with the many other poor ‘food like’ products we are eating, there is an array of foreign substances that are entering our bodies.
As we expose ourselves to these synthetic substances over the years, our bodies become overloaded, and our ‘cleaning’ mechanisms fail to work. As a result, many of us develop sickness and disease because our bodies cannot efficiently remove these toxins anymore. In order to help give your body a break from this chemical onslaught, we have suggested what foods should be eaten organically. The foods listed below are some of the most toxic to our bodies if eaten from conventional sources. Based the Environment Working Group (EWG), they contain the most pesticides on or in them compared to other foods; so, if you are considering in switching to organic, we would suggest considering the below foods as a first propriety in your transition.
Top 12 Foods You Should Eat Organically (From lowest to highest amount of pesticides)
Continue Reading – Foods that Contain the Highest Amount of Pesticides
Tobacco Industry Forced to List Ingredients Used in Their Products
Apr 5th
5th April 2012
Contributing Writer for Wake Up World
In 2009, the Food and Drug Administration gained authority to regulate tobacco products, and now they will soon be exercising that ability. Already releasing preliminary guidelines for the tobacco industry that can educate consumers on exactly what is in cigarettes, the FDA is making it so tobacco companies will have to report on the amount of harmful and unsafe ingredients used in their products.
Within one year, the FDA plans to share information on chemical amounts, while tobacco makers will be required to report on the amount of 93 substances used in their products. This means that harmful ingredients used such as ammonia and formaldehyde will need to be made known to the public. This decision will certainly ignite a slew of ingredient-based information regarding tobacco products.
Continue Reading – Tobacco Industry Forced to List Ingredients Used in Their Products
