Is Fish or a Can of Tuna REALLY THAT Bad for You? Your Kids?

If you are a 140 lb woman eating 1 6 oz can of Albacore Tuna = you are getting 140% of the EPA limit of Mercury exposure!  For a 65 lb. child eating 3 oz. = 150% of the EPA limit of ’safe’ mercury exposure.

In other words, there is way too much mercury to consider it “SAFE” to eat in my opinion. (Which sucks because I love tuna. And so does my daughter – which was something different to give her besides the daily PB & J.)

So about 4 years ago when I got into eating ‘organic’ & ‘healthy’ foods – I quit buying tuna and most foods from the typical grocery store.  I am delighted to see that a lot of stores these days at least have a small section with organic choices, although I look forward to a time when that is how most food is sold!

At first, I thought the can of Tuna on the shelf in the ‘healthy’ whole food store must be OK, Right?

It made me wonder what the difference was.  So I did a little searching online.

My first great discovery – a website called GOT MERCURY? – (very cute.. )  It has a ‘Mercury Calculator‘ so you can put in your weight and the type of fish (even differentiating between albacore, yellow fin, and light tuna) to find what your mercury exposure is.

There is even an ‘Advanced Calculator’ for people who consume more than 1 serving a week!  Brace yourself – you will be shocked at how much mercury you may be consuming!

Here is what I found for myself and the fish I like -

• Tilapia -  0%
• Salmon – 0%
• Scallop – 20%
• Flounder – 20%
• Crab/Shrimp – 20%
• Cod – 30%
• Light Tuna – 50%

Now the NOT so good list -  (I ate occasionally and will now be avoiding!)

• Mahi Mahi – 60%
• Halibut – 90%
• Lobster – 110%
• Yellow fin Tuna – 120%
• Albacore Tuna – 130%
• Orange Roughy – 200%

I did find this interesting the sight about Tuna -

How do I know if my tuna is chunk light or albacore? Most tuna cans are labeled as either albacore or chunk light. Albacore tuna, according to recent testing by the FDA, contains 3 times as much mercury as does chunk light. You should avoid albacore tuna if you wish to keep your blood mercury level low. There are exceptions, however. Some companies sell albacore that is troll-caught. These species are younger fish and therefore contain lower levels of mercury. According to a recent study from Oregon State University, troll-caught albacore mercury levels are similar to chunk light levels (on average. 0.14 parts per million). Data for troll-caught data in the mercury calculator above is from the OSU study. Cans of chunk light tuna typically contain skipjack tuna which is a smaller species of fish and therefore contains lower mercury levels (on average. 0.123 parts per million). You can compare the mercury levels between the two in the mercury calculator above.

For some reason – I always thought Albacore was the good one to get  – wow was I wrong!

Then I found in a Dr. Mercola article  – that Mercury is NOT the only worry-

Other Contaminants include:

• PCBs
• Radioactive substances like strontium
• Toxic metals such as cadmium, lead, chromium and arsenic

Think that Farm Raised means cleaner healthier fish?  Think again!

Factory-Farmed Fish

If you eat fish in a restaurant, it most likely came from a fish farm. Almost half of the salmon, 40 percent of the mollusks, and 65 percent of the freshwater fish consumed today are raised on fish farms. Not surprisingly, fish farming, a multimillion-dollar industry, has become one of the fastest-growing sections of the food production market.

What many people don’t know is that farmed fish face many of the same health issues as factory-farmed animals. In order to be profitable, fish farms must raise large quantities of fish in confined areas, and the overcrowding leads to disease and injuries to the fish. The fish are given antibiotics and chemicals for the parasites like sea lice, skin and gill infections and other diseases that commonly affect them.

The fish are also given drugs and hormones, and sometimes are genetically modified, to accelerate growth and change reproductive behaviors. Farmed salmon are also given chemicals, canthaxanthin and astaxanthin, to turn their flesh pink in order to make them more marketable. Wild salmon eat a diet of shrimp and krill, which contain natural chemicals that make the salmon pink. Farm-raised salmon do not eat a natural diet, so their flesh would be gray if they were not given the additives.

Unfortunately, my fish consumption is rare because of this information which is a shame because it is so good!

I didn’t realize how unhealthy Tuna was so I wanted to share what I’d learned.  We all hear that our oceans are contaminated but I was shocked at how badly.

Why this continues to happen?  Another blog….

To Your Health!

www.GreenLifeSaver.net

Will the Swine Flu Get You?

I sure hope not … there are some steps you can take to help lower your risk.

A really easy one that I heard President Obama say last night on TV

WASH YOUR HANDS! And like I told my daughter, DON”T PUT YOUR HANDS IN YOUR MOUTH, NOSE, Or EYES! Easier said then done I know… you get an eyelash or something in your eye – that goes out the window unless you are very conscientious about it.

Plenty of rest, eat healthy (omit sugar), drink plenty of water, and take quality supplements like KRILL OIL (for omega 3’s), and PROBIOTICS (for the ‘good’ gut flora which is a natural anti-viral)!

Sound familiar?  Same thing you hear when it is the winter ‘flu’ season.

If you’d rather not try the natural ways to avoid it and if you do end up with the Swine Flu – Plan on getting some Tamiflu?

Per Dr. Mercola’s article -

Remember, Tamiflu went through some rough times not too long ago, as the dangers of this drug came to light when, in 2007, the FDA finally began investigating some 1,800 adverse event reports related to the drug. Common side effects of Tamiflu include:

• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Headache
• Dizziness
• Fatigue
• Cough

All in all, the very symptoms you”re trying to avoid.

More serious symptoms included convulsions, delirium or delusions, and 14 deaths in children and teens as a result of neuropsychiatric problems and brain infections (which led Japan to ban Tamiflu for children in 2007). And that”s for a drug that, when used as directed, only reduces the duration of influenza symptoms by 1 to 1 ½ days, according to the official data.

But making matters worse, some patients with influenza are at HIGHER risk for secondary bacterial infections when on Tamiflu. And secondary bacterial infections, as I mentioned earlier, was likely the REAL cause of the mass fatalities during the 1918 pandemic!

I think I’d rather try to avoid getting it if possible.

Hoping for a vaccine in the near future?  You might not ever want a flu vaccine again after you watch this!- What Ingredients are in Your Flu Shot? You’ll Be Shocked!

So all this media coverage got me thinking… Where the heck did this come from?

Supposedly, they don’t know…. but the Health Freedom Alliance has stated -

“It appears this strain was created in a lab and “escaped.” Take necessary action now to boost your immune system.

Wondering more about this “escape” – I found more about this in Mercola’s special report -

The UN expert believes that Ebola, HIV/AIDS, and the current A-H1N1 swine flu virus are biological warfare agents.

In addition, Army criminal investigators are looking into the possibility that disease samples are missing from biolabs at Fort Detrick — the same Army research lab from which the 2001 anthrax strain was released, according to a recent article in the Fredrick News Post.¹³ In February, the top biodefense lab halted all its research into Ebola, anthrax, plague, and other diseases known as “select agents,” after they discovered virus samples that weren”t listed in its inventory and might have been switched with something else. (click here to ready the full theory.)

Wow, what a mess…

I’ll be ordering extra Vitamin C, Probiotics, and drinking a lot of water after washing my hands and not touching my face!

My best to you!

www.GreenLifeSaver.net

Is the High Fructose Corn Syrup Ad Right – Is it Harmless?

A few friends had mentioned seeing a commercial stating that High Fructose Corn Syrup was natural and harmless.  I finally saw it myself this weekend.  Wow, what I was most amazed about was the lack of information that was given.  I guess when you are trying to promote a unhealthy product, less is more.

If you haven’t seen it – a man and woman are picnicking and the woman is holding a red Popsicle.  She offers it to him and he declines because it has high fructose corn syrup in it.  When she asks him Why that is a ‘bad’ thing, he is unable to respond.  This is the crux of the commercial, he can’t verbalize WHY it has a negative effect on his health.  Because of this, she tells him that it is made from corn and it is natural.  Then finishing with something about it being OK in moderation.

The sad fact is unless you have a PhD in natural health and /or nutrition, it is hard to articulate what you’ve read and believe. I know… I still have trouble sometimes and it has been my main reading/hobby/interest/career for the last 5 years!

Having a massive interest in ‘natural’ food and ‘alternative’ health, spawned by my daughter’s miraculous recovery from JRA (Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis) using these methods, I’ve removed High Fructose Corn Syrup from my family’s diet.                                                                                                                                                                   

I’m not surprised that this commercial is out… I mean the organic food movement is getting larger.  When I began eating all organic food years ago, there was not an organic piece of produce or anything in the ‘regular’ grocery store.  Now most stores at last have some sections designated for organic products.  Most of these labels state NO HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, which is one of the ingredients informed consumers look to avoid.  The corn syrup producers must be very unhappy about this and are trying to fight their demise.

After watching the commercial I thought about what I would have said when asked WHY is HFCS bad?

Well, what I know is that High Fructose Corn Syrup is unhealthy because it is a sweetener which raises insulin levels, which has negative effects on the body.  Just like it is a well known fact today that sugar does this and it is best to minimize or omit it from your diet.

So what makes HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP so bad?  You can read many different articles that give you the scientific breakdown of what HFCS is and why is is unhealthy.  To read specifics, check out - What is High Fructose Corn Syrup or  Six Reasons Why Corn is Making You Fat by Joseph Mercola.

But the overall picture is this.  High Fructose Corn Syrup was created by Japanese Scientists in the 70’s. (which back before this obesity rates were very low, coincidence?)

HFCS is now the prevalent sweetener used in the US for many reasons, but mostly money.  It is cheaper. (surprise surprise)

It isn’t natural because it is modified.  High Fructose Corn Syrup is made by adding enzymes to cornstarch to change the make up.

I could go on and on, but why?  You’ll forget and it really isn’t important.  Why? Because it is just as bad for you as sugar and is more prevalent in the American diet than sugar.  And no one is arguing that we need to cut back on sugar.

I mean every knows and doesn’t fight the fact that:       

Here is a list of ways sugar can affect your health:

• Sugar can suppress the immune system.
• Sugar can upset the body’s mineral balance.
• Sugar can contribute to hyperactivity, anxiety, depression, concentration difficulties, and crankiness in children.
• Sugar can produce a significant rise in triglycerides.
• Sugar can cause drowsiness and decreased activity in children.
• Sugar can reduce helpful high density cholesterol (HDLs).
• Sugar can promote an elevation of harmful cholesterol (LDLs).
• Sugar can cause hypoglycemia.
• Sugar contributes to a weakened defense against bacterial infection.
• Sugar can cause kidney damage.
• Sugar can increase the risk of coronary heart disease.
• Sugar may lead to chromium deficiency.
• Sugar can cause copper deficiency.
• Sugar interferes with absorption of calcium and magnesium.
• Sugar can increase fasting levels of blood glucose.
• Sugar can promote tooth decay.
• Sugar can produce an acidic stomach.
• Sugar can raise adrenaline levels in children.
• Sugar can lead to periodontal disease.
• Sugar can speed the aging process, causing wrinkles and grey hair.
• Sugar can increase total cholesterol.
• Sugar can contribute to weight gain and obesity.
• High intake of sugar increases the risk of Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.
• Sugar can contribute to diabetes.
• Sugar can contribute to osteoporosis.
• Sugar can cause a decrease in insulin sensitivity.
• Sugar can cause cardiovascular disease.
• Sugar can increase systolic blood pressure.
• Sugar causes food allergies.
• Sugar can cause free radical formation in the bloodstream.
• Sugar can cause toxemia during pregnancy.
• Sugar can contribute to eczema in children.
• Sugar can overstress the pancreas, causing damage.
• Sugar can cause liver cells to divide, increasing the size of the liver.
• Sugar can increase the amount of fat in the liver.
• Sugar can cause depression.
• Sugar can cause hormonal imbalance.
• Sugar can cause hypertension.
• Sugar can cause headaches, including migraines.
• Sugar can cause an increase in delta, alpha and theta brain waves, which can alter the mind’s ability to think clearly.
• Sugar can increase blood platelet adhesiveness which increases risk of blood clots and strokes.
• Sugar can increase insulin responses in those consuming high-sugar diets compared to low sugar diets.
• Sugar increases bacterial fermentation in the colon.

So it seems kind of silly that this is the Pro’s list for High Fructose Corn Syrup -

The Pro-High Fructose Corn Syrup people, namely those involved in its sale, and hhmm money, say that -

• The American Medical Association (AMA) recently concluded that “high fructose corn syrup does not appear to contribute to obesity more than other caloric sweeteners.” (Well, great they all contribute so it is not worse than sugar, that is saying something)

• Research confirms that high fructose corn syrup is safe and nutritionally the same as table sugar. (Wow, it is as nutritional as sugar, great! We just read all of the great benefits of eating sugar)

• High fructose corn syrup has the same number of calories as table sugar and is equal in sweetness. It contains no artificial or synthetic ingredients

• High fructose corn syrup offers numerous benefits. It keeps food fresh, enhances fruit and spice flavors, retains moisture in bran cereals, helps keep breakfast and energy bars moist, maintains consistent flavors in beverages and keeps ingredients evenly dispersed in condiments (these are all so important to the consumer, lets have moist stuff that lasts a long time so we can be fat and sick)

Pretty silly argument huh?

My last point – if you are serious about omitting the High Fructose Corn Syrup – become a label reader. Yes, it is a pain in the ass – but your body will thank you by feeling better.  You will be amazed that all it is in.  Some examples -

bread, cereal, candy, beverages, condiments, jelly, salad dressing, sauces, snacks, soups.

Hope this helped clear some of it up for you!

To Your Health,

www.GreenLifeSaver.net

Milk … Why Your Kids Don’t Want to Drink it. Are They On to Something?

My daughter would NOT drink milk from about 4 years old until last year at 11.

Did her taste buds change – No, not really.

Before getting into learning about health – I tried to give her regular, pasteurized skim milk. It is said to be healthy for her, but she would not drink it (except to put on her cereal and throw what was left away after eating).

It didn’t really make sense to me since she was not a finicky eater and she ate just about any vegetable I put in front of her and she loved fruit. So why wouldn’t she drink this healthy drink? What was the problem?

Maybe (as most kids do) she instinctively knew what her body needed. What I found after researching milk was that pasteurized, homogenized milk is NOT ‘healthy’ as advertised. Even though some of the stars look kind of cute with the white mustache and the slogan “GOT MILK?”

So what changed at 11 years old that she began drinking it?

I gave her raw milk. One sip, then she finished the glass, then she asked for more!

Where did I get it? At – Sunset View Pastures Farm, an Amish farm in Cochranville, PA. They are located at -

Steve and Katie Stoltzfus
751 Saw Mill Road
Cochranville, PA 19330

610-299-6726

Not only do they have the most amazingly delicious dairy, eggs, and beef products, they are wonderfully friendly and knowledgeable.

How did I find them? Online on www.LocalAmishFarms.com

It is a site dedicated to farms, and farmer markets in the Southeastern Pennsylvania area that offer locally raised, organic and pesticide-free produce, dairy, meats.

I know, if this is new to you, you might be thinking that can’t be safe, or that has to be fattening, if it was so much better for you, than why is there only pasteurized, homogenized milk in the grocery store?

I know, I wondered that as well.

Safety – There are many sites out there that talk about the differences between raw and pasteurized milk. The main consensus is this – raw milk from organic grass fed cows in a cleanly facility is better than pasteurized milk.

Why? Because pasteurized milk is heated which kills all bacteria (the good and bad) leaving it without the digestive enzymes, and nutrients that are the ‘good’ for you part. Here is a blurb from a Dr. Mercola newsletter on raw milk -

While the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warns that raw milk can carry disease-causing bacteria, what they completely overlook is the fact that these bacteria are the result of industrial farming practices that lead to diseased animals, which may then in turn produce contaminated milk. You never want to get your raw milk from a feed-lot cow.

Drinking raw milk produced by grass-fed cows from clean, well-run farms, however, is far LESS dangerous than drinking pasteurized milk.

In fact, not only does raw milk contain good bacteria that are essential for a healthy digestive system, raw milk also offers protection against disease-causing bacteria!

The big determining factor about the safety of milk is what the cows are fed and the facility it is produced at. I found this youtube video at another great informative site – www.raw-milk-facts.com.

As nature does in making things with a purpose, raw milk fat actually has multiple purposes – like assisting with the absorption of calcium, and in Dr. Mercola’s newsletter he says that it also assists in the development of muscle and supporting the thyroid.

Check out all three of these sites to learn more about the benefits of raw milk! It really is eye opening … then you can make your assumption on why most groccery stores only offer pasturized milk.

I will continue to drive to the Sunset View Pasture’s Farm to get my milk, eggs, and more.

I can now say that my daughter loves her milk!

Why My Daughter Will NOT get the Gardasil vaccine!

Along with ALL the other shots, now we are suppose to give our 11-year-olds one for HPV?!

At my daughter’s 11-year-old physical, the doctor told me that she would not even begin menstruating for another year or two.

So a few sentences later, the doctor tells me we need to vaccinate her for HPV, hepatitis, and tetanus.

Huh? We aren’t anywhere near menstruating, we aren’t alone with boys, but we need to protect her immediately from a sexually transmitted disease?!

Well lucky for me I’m a www.mercola.com newsletter subscriber – so I was informed. When the doctor asked why i didn’t want to vaccinate her – I launched into all that I’d read about the vaccine.

Such as:

• There are more than 100 types of human papillomaviruses (HPVs). Of them, only 10-30 can cause cervical cancer.

• These are very common viruses, and an estimated 25 million Americans have HPV infections. However, this is NOT cause for alarm because, as even the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states: “In 90% of cases, your body’s immune system clears the HPV infection naturally within two years.”
  

This is true whether the infection is the type that can cause warts or cancer.

Some Scary Facts About Gardasil

The long-term effects of using this vaccine on young girls is unknown, and in the short-term, many girls have already begun to suffer. Common side effects include:

• Pain, swelling, itching and redness at the injection site
• Fever
• Nausea
• Dizziness
• Vomiting
• Fainting

Severe allergic reactions, including difficulty breathing, have also been reported, as has:

• Swollen glands
• Guillain-Barre syndrome
• Headaches
• Joint pain
• Aching muscles
• Unusual tiredness and weakness

This is just some of the information from one of Dr. Mercola’s newsletters. To read the full article and many others click here.

Gardasil, which during the first year of its use has resulted in more than 3,500 adverse events, more than any vaccine in history. Gardasil contains a whopping 675 micrograms of toxic aluminum, and one of the scientists who developed it, Diane M. Harper, warned that the vaccine had never been tested on young girls before it was released for widespread use by them.

This is on top of the fact that she had adverse reactions to vaccines in the past – which I believe was a major cause of her diagnosis at 7-years-old of Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis. Gratefully, we were able to reverse it naturally with homeopathy, nutrition, etc.

You can read the story about this in the book “101 Great Ways to Improve Your Health,” available at GreenLifesaver.net. (Dr Mercola also contributed a chapter!)

After hearing that I had made an informed decision, the doctor told me that i would need to sign a waiver. Which i read out loud and laughed. It basically made me sign that “I was putting my child’s life at risk by not getting her vaccinated” How about that – I don’t see doctors signing waivers before they inject children saying, “I guarantee that this will save this child’s life and not cause any adverse reactions.”

So, instead of injecting her with a potentially debilitating concoction, I chose to sit down with her and talk. I showed her pictures of HPV warts on genitalia via the internet, what cervical cancer is and the repercussions of having it, spoke with her about protecting herself, and most importantly on why it is better to wait – hopefully a long time!

I like Dr. Mercola’s tag – to be ONE LESS GETTING the Gardasil Vaccine.

To Your Health!

GreenLifeSaver.net

Still Need a Reason to Give Up Diet Soda?

While reading my weekly Dr. Mercola newsletter – I came across this article – One Woman’s Astonishing Experiment With Aspartame.

As curious as I am about how toxic substances affect the body, I never thought of performing my own scientific experiment on rats. However, I do have to say ‘good for her’. By seeing the disgusting effects of Aspartame, it may have saved her family a lot of health problems. Take a look at the article and especially the picture of the tumors on the rats and remember it whenever you reach for a diet soda!

I know there is nothing like a diet soda especially to those of you who consume many of them. But there is a way to substitute, making the transition off of them a little easier. Check out my previous post – Miss Soda? You Don’t Have To!
for a healthier version of soda.

Years ago, before my eyes were opened to the truth about food, I dumped Aspartame in my iced tea. After viewing this article, I am thrilled that artificial sweeteners are no longer a part of my diet. It is definitely worth the few minutes it will take you to read it!

To Your Health!

www.GreenLifeSaver.net