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  • Artifical chemicals make us FAT

    Artifical chemicals make us FAT

    Three artificial chemicals that are making us fat

    by Michael Ravensthorpe

    (NaturalNews) In 2006, Felix Grun and Bruce Blumberg, two developmental biologists at the University of California, Irvine, published a research paper about artificial chemicals known to contribute towards obesity. These chemicals, which the researchers named “obesogens,” are foreign compounds that compromise the balance and development of lipid metabolism, often by disrupting endocrine function.(1)

    Since 2006, peer-reviewed studies have identified approximately 20 substances as obesogens.(2) Worse still, at least 3 of these substances are commonly found in the average American household. How many of the following obesogens are you aware of?

    Bisphenol A

    Bisphenol A (BPA) is perhaps the best-known obesogen and one of the most destructive. A synthetic compound that has been in commercial use since 1957, BPA is used to make polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins — in other words, consumer goods such as water bottles, food containers and metal cans.(3)

    Though the Food and Drug Administration has claimed that BPA exposure is safe in small quantities, scientific research says otherwise. One study published in The Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, for example, showed that BPA — which can leak from its containers into our food and drink — influences multiple endocrine-related pathways.(4) Many studies have also linked BPA exposure with obesity in both human and animal models.(5,6,7)
    bisphenol

    Phthalates 

    Phthalates are a group of chemicals added to plastics and other products to soften and increase their flexibility. They are found in hundreds of consumer goods, including children’s toys, cosmetic products, pharmaceuticals, food containers and paints, and have been linked to weight gain.

    In fact, 3 independent studies have found that phthalate levels in the body are associated with increased waist circumference and abdominal obesity.(8,9,10) Another study, published in the journal Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology in 2009, showed that phthalates could trigger weight gain by disrupting a hormone receptor that plays a key role in lipid and carbohydrate metabolism.

    (11)
    phthalates

    Perfluorooctanoic acid

    Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) is a long-chain chemical, which, like all obesogens, does not occur naturally in the environment. PFOA is commonly found in non-stick cookware made from Teflon and is shown to be present in the blood of 98 percent of the United States population.(12)

    The negative effects of PFOA on human health are well-documented. According to a study featured in Environmental Health Perspectives, exposure to higher levels of PFOA is linked to thyroid disease among American adults.(13) Other studies have also associated higher PFOA exposure with chronic kidney disease(14) and various cancers.(15)

    Though studies into PFOA’s association with obesity in humans is limited, animal studies suggest that PFOA does deserve its classification as an obesogen. For example, a 2009 study showed that high PFOA doses “significantly increased” brown adipose tissue weight in mice.(16)


    perflorooctanoic acid

    Limiting our exposure to obesogens

    While it might be impossible to completely avoid exposure to obesogens in today’s polluted world, there are some steps we can take to greatly minimize it. Purchasing organic whole foods instead of processed foods, avoiding plastic drink bottles, and replacing non-stick cookware with cast iron or stainless steel cookware are effective ways to reduce our exposure to BPA, phthalates and PFOA. Purifying our tap water through distillation or reverse osmosis before drinking it will also minimize our exposure to obesogens, as well as a large number of other health-destroying toxins.

    obesogens

    Sources:

    (1) http://press.endocrine.org/doi/pdf/10.1210/en.2005-1129[PDF]

    (2) http://www.nytimes.com

    (3) http://www.mayoclinic.org

    (4) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21605673

    (5) http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0013935111001435

    (6) http://press.endocrine.org/doi/abs/10.1210/jc.2011-1989

    (7) http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0892036211000742

    (8) http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0013935111003112

    (9) http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1476-069x-7-27.pdf[PDF]

    (10) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1892109/

    (11) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19433246

    (12) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18007991

    (13) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2866686/

    (14) http://aje.oxfordjournals.org/content/174/8/893.full.pdf+html[PDF]

    (15) http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/1205829/

    (16) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19433254

  • Is yoga a religion or a lifestyle!?

    http://www.yogitimes.com/article/is-yoga-a-religion-spiritual-practice

    how yoga works with any religion
    It’s a hot topic around Facebook, gyms, yoga studios, churches, and Twitter. Is yoga a religion? Can you practice yoga and still hold true to your faith?

    Well, no and yes, respectively.

    When yoga began 5000 years ago, it was linked to the Vedas, which are in the roots of Hinduism. The result is they share a language and some of the chants in a Yoga class refer to the Hindu gods. But yoga in and of itself is not a religion.

    Yoga was formed as a way to sit for hours, days, months, maybe longer in a meditative state. Eventually, the yogi would reach enlightenment. This enlightenment didn’t turn the yogi into a god, or even mean that they worship a god. Enlightenment meant they reached a state of pure bliss, peace, and recognized the inner light of the divine within them.

    That’s it.

    There is no religion. Just a reflection of the spirit in whatever form or god you recognize it to be. And the knowledge that this peace, this piece of the divine, resides within you and within all beings.

    The language is simply Sanskrit, the same way Catholicism in Latin and Judaism is Hebrew.

    So yoga is not a religion. It is not my religion. But it is my spiritual practice.

    My mat is the place where I connect to the divine within me. It’s the place where I find peace through the asanas, through the breath, and finally, through the stillness. In whatever form it may be that day. Some days it’s a headstand or arm balance, some days it’s sukasana, and sometimes it’s the bliss of savasana. But always, it is the place where the light in me sees and honors the light in you.

    IMG_3356.JPG

    IMG_3357.JPG

  • Yoga benefits dementia patients & caregivers

    Yoga benefits dementia patients & caregivers

    Originally published October 20 2014
    Yoga found to benefit dementia patients as well as their caregivers

    by Antonia

    (NaturalNews) Yoga provides people with a multitude of benefits to their overall health, improving everything from mood and circulation to energy levels and aches. While most people are aware of this, they may not be privy to the fact that it’s also been shown to help those suffering from dementia, such as Alzheimer’s disease. (1) Furthermore, it’s even been found to help caregivers who are helping those with such diseases. (1)

    memory-loss-dementia

    A UK study found that a blend of techniques which are a part of a program called “Happy Antics” and include yoga, tai-chi, qigong and meditation have boosted both mood and memory of those impacted. (1) Individuals affected with early to mid-stage dementia who were aged 52-86 engaged in a series of non-strenuous motions and techniques such as simple stretching and breathing exercises during biweekly sessions, and it was noted that their ability to anticipate the next movements and even remember some sequences increased. (1)

    A lack of social stimulation is harmful for people with dementia

    Dementia patients and their caregivers discover benefits of yoga

    Many participants expressed enjoyment from the sessions, which lasted for six weeks. One patient said they felt better after the relaxation techniques, and another added, “Good company, nice people. Feeling part of a team.” (2)

    “This is an activity that caregivers and patients can do together,” said Yvonne J-Lyn Khoo, lead study author and a researcher with the Health and Social Care Institute at Teesside University in Middlesbrough, UK. “Because everyone is doing the program together, caregivers have peace of mind to at least allow themselves to ‘let go’ and do some exercise.” (2) She explained that having a caregiver participate in the process with them provided a sense of security and assurance for the patients that also promoted a heightened sense of well-being and interest in social interaction.

    “The general impression is that people with dementia don’t exercise, won’t exercise or can’t exercise, but our findings show that it may not necessarily be that way.” (2)

    According to the Alzheimer’s Association, every 67 seconds, someone in the United States is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, the most common form of dementia, and over 5 million Americans have been diagnosed with the memory-robbing condition. (3)

    signs-of-pain-in-seniors-with-dementia

    Sources:

    (1) http://www.sciencedaily.com

    (2) http://health.usnews.com

    (3) http://www.alz.org

    http://science.naturalnews.com

    About the author:
    A science enthusiast with a keen interest in health nutrition, Antonia has been intensely researching various dieting routines for several years now, weighing their highs and their lows, to bring readers the most interesting info and news in the field. While she is very excited about a high raw diet, she likes to keep a fair and balanced approach towards non-raw methods of food preparation as well.

    Read more: http://rawandnaturalhealth.com/author/antoni…

    http://www.naturalnews.com/z047318_yoga_dementia_caregivers.html

     

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