Depression and Omega 3’s: Once again, fish oils top my chart as the number one supplement on the planet! For about 4 years, nearly 500 male and female subjects battling all forms of depression were studied. The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry recently published the results. In the largest study to date on omegas and depression, they found that omega 3 fatty acids (fish oils) greatly improved depression symptoms. The study was randomized and double blind (meaning neither the patients nor the physicians knew what the capsules they were getting contained). The key in this study seemed to be the ratio of the two fish oil components EPA and DHA. When the EPA is higher in the capsule, you will observe more support for inflammatory disorders as well as depressive type symptomatology. In this particular study the amounts were 1050mg of EPA and only 150mg of DHA. When picking yours, choose quality over quantity because fish oils are the most contaminated supplement on the market today due to the mercury content and rancidity. Also remember, flax oils do not count because your body has to do an extra conversion of molecules before the same results can be obtained which proves to be much less efficient. Flax can be used with great results for other reasons though.
Lead in Children’s Drinks: Parents please listen to this! In a recent study conducted by The Environmental Law Foundation, 85% of all juices, juice boxes, etc. were found to have toxic quantities of lead. They suspect it is due to the processing process (heated methyl mercury) as well as the packaging itself. This not only included conventional juices but organic, 100% juice, and “all natural” as well. So unless you want your child to have Alzheimer’s by the time they are 30, it’s time to either start juicing your own, or skip the juice all together. One of the brands that did not test for high lead was R.W. Knudsen Organic Apple Juice Unfiltered, which you should be able to purchase at your local health food store. But, although fruit has natural sugars, it has LOTS of it, and when you juice the fruit all the fiber is lost and all the sugar is left. My advice? Go with filtered water. Add squirts of lemon, lime, orange, cucumber, or mint for something different. To me it’s not worth the anemia, hearing damage, behavioral problems, learning disabilities, and the list goes on.
Pesticides in Produce: The US Food and Drug Administration along with the US Department of Agriculture set out to determine which produce had the highest amounts of chemical residue/pesticides. They came up with a list of what they call “The Dirty Dozen”. These top 12 foods are truly best bought organic as they contained 47-67 pesticides per serving. They included celery, peaches, strawberries, apples, domestic blueberries, nectarines, sweet bell peppers, spinach/kale/collard greens, cherries, potatoes, imported grapes, and lettuce. If you think you can wash the pesticides away, think again. The ones in this study were power washed ahead of time. Pesticides are very minute in molecular size. They easily slip under the skin of the produce and are soaked into the food by the roots as well. Buying the organic version of these will diminish your pesticide exposure by over 80 percent. Plus, within 2 weeks of eating organic, 90 percent of your accumulated pesticides will be gone. The way I see it is buying organic, although maybe a little more expensive, is like buying HEALTH INSURANCE. There is however, some produce that can be safely bought conventional. For some reason the following foods (unlike the Dirty Dozen) do not soak in the high amounts of pesticides. The “Clean 15” list includes onions, avocados, sweet corn, imported pineapples, mango, sweet peas, asparagus, cabbage, kiwi, eggplant, cantaloupe, watermelon, grape fruit, sweet potatoes, and sweet onions.
The Worst Place for your Toothbrush: Turns out leaving your toothbrush next to the bathroom sink can leave you with a mouthful of microbes! There are 3.2 million microbes per square inch in the average American toilet. When you flush, these germs are propelled up to 6 feet away from the toilet and can then land on your toothbrush! Instead keep it in a drawer or better yet, close the lid before flushing.
There is more information on these and other interesting studies at www.healthfreedoms.org. Come join us for our class on “Stress and Fatigue”, next Tuesday July 6th, 6:30 pm at Advanced Health. Please call ahead as seating is limited (715) 362-2300. You don’t want to miss this one!