Friday, September 3, 2010

Are Synthetic Hormones (Like Those Found in Oral Contraceptive Pills) Safe?





I happened to pick up this brochure (please check out above link) at my prenatal visit a few months ago, and have decided to blog about it. I am actually happy and a bit surprised to see this issue being advertised in my doctor's office. All other doctors that I have had in the past (family doctors and gynecologists) have all backed the idea of prescribing oral contraceptives and never questioned their safety. I even remember asking a previous gynecologist of mine if there is any risk of cancer or abnormal growths, and her answer was that after you take a pill it is out of your system within a day. This doesn't discuss or cover the long term damage that is done though. I do wish that there was a surgeon general's warning posted on advertisements and commercials of oral contraceptives that mentioned an increased risk in breast, cervical, and liver cancer. I also think it is absurd that primary care physicians prescribe oral contraceptives to teenagers with irregular periods; it is noted in this brochure that irregular menstrual cycles are normal in teenagers and actually lower their risk of developing breast cancer later in life. Anyway, I hope that you all find this information useful or interesting, and please feel free to discuss this issue with your friends and family as well. :-)


Wednesday, March 3, 2010

All-Natural Cake Making Fun!

This is a birthday cake that I made for my cousin's daughter, Apple. I used all-natural vegetable food colors: like turmeric, beet, and red cabbage. So much fun!!!


Here is a cake that I whipped up just before heading over to Jessica's (sister's) Jewelry Party.


Here is an all-natural ingredient Sponge Bob cake that I made, along with Jessica's help, for my nephew's birthday party.


Monday, January 18, 2010

Drink OJ with Your Carcinogenic Cured Meats

A principal concern of sodium nitrite is the formation of carcinogenic nitrosamines in meats containing sodium nitrite when exposed to high temperatures. Sodium nitrite's usage is carefully regulated in the production of cured products in the United States as the concentration in finished products is limited to 200 ppm, and is usually lower. In about 1970, it was found that ascorbic acid (vitamin C), an antioxidant, inhibits nitrosamine formation. Consequently, the addition of at least 550 ppm of ascorbic acid is required in meats manufactured in the United States.

A 2007 study by Columbia University suggests a link between eating cured meats, such as bacon, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Nitrites were posited as a possible cause.

Many foods, especially cured meats such as bacon and hot dogs, use nitrates to preserve color and maintain microbial safety. Nitrate is harmless, but it can convert to nitrite (when cooked), which can form nitrosamines, a powerful cancer-causing chemical, in your body. Whenever possible, look for nitrate-free preserved meats. When you do eat foods containing nitrates, have a glass of orange juice at the same time (for instance, orange juice with your morning bacon). Vitamin C is known to inhibit the conversion to nitrosamines in your stomach.

People who eat cured meats are more likely to develop certain diseases such as lung cancer.

One serving a week, max. Bacon is too unhealthy to be consumed on a regular basis (numerous times in a short amount of time).

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Stress Easy Birthing Method

HypnoBirthing® - The Mongan Method is as much a philosophy as it is a technique. The concept of HypnoBirthing® is not new, but rather a "rebirth" of the philosophy of birthing as it existed thousands of years ago and as it was recaptured in the work of Dr. Grantly Dick-Read, an English obstetrician, who, in the 1920s, was one of the first to forward the concept of natural birthing. The method teaches you that, in the absence of fear and tension, or special medical circumstances, severe pain does not have to be an accompaniment of labor.

You will gain an understanding of how the birthing muscles work in perfect harmony--as they were designed to--when your body is sufficiently relaxed and you trust birth. You will learn how to achieve this kind of relaxation, free of the resistance that fear creates, and you will learn to use your natural birthing instincts for a calm, serene and comfortable birth.

http://www.hypnobirthing.com/howitworks.htm

"I am very excited about this method of birthing, and feel very comfortable with this being my choice on a birthing practice: the right way for me."

_Andrea



Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Newborn Screening Saves Lives Act


The Bill Nobody Noticed: National DNA Databank

What is the status of the bill?


* House cosponsors

* Senate cosponsors

* April 24, 2008 –- The Newborn Screening Lives Act is signed into law by the President.

* April 8, 2008 –- The Newborn Screening Lives Act is passed by the House of Representatives.

* December 13, 2007 –- The Newborn Screening Lives Act is passed by the Senate.

* November 14, 2007 –- The Newborn Screening Lives Act is approved by the Senate Health

Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee.

* October 15, 2007 –- The Newborn Screening Lives Act is introduced in the House.

* July 23, 2007 –- The Newborn Screening Saves Lives Act is introduced in the Senate.


This is a bill that has been passed that allows all newborns' DNA to be collected, which is in act NOW! I feel that this is something that we (the people) should have had a chance to vote on. I also feel that the parent's should have the right to withdraw their newborns participation in this DNA collection if they wished to. I first heard of this the night before last on a show on the History channel. I couldn't believe it, regardless of it being true. Is the only way to get out of this through having your child/giving birth at home or in a naturopathic clinic/birthing center? I will try to stay informed on this topic. Until then, God bless.


_Andrea



Monday, September 28, 2009

Ancient Greek Goddess of Health


Artist: Gustav Klimt
Temple of Hygieia

In Greek and Roman mythology, Hygieia (Ὑγιεία), or Hygeia (Ὑγεία), was a daughter of the god of medicine, Asclepius. She was the goddess of health, cleanliness and sanitation and afterwards[clarification needed], the moon. She also played an important part in her father's cult. While her father was more directly associated with healing, she was associated with the prevention of sickness and the continuation of good health. Her name is the source of the word "hygiene".

Reference source for above excerpt: Wikipedia

"Western medicine inherited twin Greek-derived systems, one of which has come to dominate illness-treated attitudes around the world. But for the early Greeks, their two approaches to health were complementary. One school of thought was naturopathic, regarding health as the norm, an entitlement from living intelligently, represented in the feminine energy of the goddess Hygieia. The other maintained, sceptically, that life's imperfection was manifest in diseases, which had to be corrected by 'doctoring'. This interventionist approach was championed in the name of the male deity, Asclepius."

_ A Practical Guide to Naturopathy by Stewart Mitchell


The Insignia of Asclepius:



My thoughts on symbolism: Interesting how both Asclepius and Hygieia both have snakes. However, the insignia for Hygieia (shown below) is not used in reference to what is generally seen on "modern medical doctor's prescription pads".


Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Test Your Natural Health I.Q.


Celebrating Organic Harvest Month!


Clayton College of Natural Health

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Word of the Week: