A Death Trap in disguise?

“Now this is ‘nice’” was my first thoughts. But is it really?

That is the creation of mobile mammography and breast check educational units, which will travel into communities to educate rural women on the dangers of breast cancer and the values of early detection.  An initiative that was launched by MNet and supported and funded by a host of South African companies.

I am personally driven by a passion to educate and inform others on health issues, especially how to manage your own health. But sometimes I look at these kind of initiatives and wonder if it is for the good of the people or the good of the sponsor. This caught my attention because when you look at the website it is all about who is involved and who has done great deeds – a huge opportunity to receive free marketing and recognition. I couldn’t find any detailed elaboration of the route the truck will follow, how many mamograms they aim to do within a specific time frame or how they estimate this will indeed reduce breast cancer statistics. Maybe I was just clouded by all the marketing hype that I didn’t see it. You try go here: http://www.shoza.co.za/content/view/85/126/

On the other hand there is so many reports available that warns against mammograms and its possible dangers that my second thought was – is this a death trap in the name of doing good for purposes of the economic well being of others? Are we exploiting the threat of a disease as an opportunity to wealth?

Is early detection really the answer? I think not – prevention is. So what causes breast cancer? Simply our lifestyle! These articles from the Cancer Reference Information and eHealth MD are very informative -

• http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/CRI_2_2_2X_What_causes_breast_cancer_5.asp
• http://www.ehealthmd.com/library/breastcancer/BRC_causes.html

Personally I don’t think this Mobile Mammography Unit is addressing the problem – people need information on how to change their lifestyles in order to avoid diseases in general more. And what is really a great concern – will this in fact address a growing problem or create more agony  for those who do not have the means to make informed decisions.

I don’t think Mammograms is the answer. Read some of these articles and see if you agree with me:

• http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,975514,00.html
• http://www.ucsf.edu/science-cafe/articles/mammograms-bad-for-young-women-with-breast-cancer-genes/
• http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,197539,00.html?iid=sphere-inline-bottom
• http://www.naturalnews.com/024901.html
• http://www.commondreams.org/views01/1223-04.htm

What I thought to be a positive move at first seems to be nothing of the sorts. I have the resources to be informed and make informed decisions. Based on that I will not line up – but what about those that just do not know and think that this is for their good?

And maybe it is -  but I say if there is one report that warns against mammograms one should rather investigate the issue and ensure that we are indeed treating  breast cancer for the good without any doubt!

Health Food Savings

Health food is now affordable to us all.

According to media reports available you can  now save up to 25% on over 6000 different health products. Only ‘catch’ however is this is only available at Pick n Pay stores -  as from Aprill 2009 you can even get your savings when you purchase health foods online.

Foods included are vegetables, fruits, carbohydrate-rich foods, dairy and dairy alternatives, protein-rich foods, lentils and legumes and good fats such as oils, spreads, nuts and seeds. Discovery Vitality Members qualify for cash back of up to 25% when they complete an online Personal Health Review.

But I guess it is a good start to ensure that we all focus on more healthy food choices. Must admit I would have liked this even more if I could shop at a supermarket of my choice and still qualify for this savings options.

What about supplementation? With all the scientific reports available to date that our food is depleted from the vital nutrients our body’s need supplementation has been recommended, even by medical doctors. Imagine if I can get a 25% saving everytime I purchase my MultiVitamin – the one of my choice that is!

Read more about these savings here:

http://www.health-e.org.za/news/article.php?uid=20032233

https://www.discovery.co.za/index_login.jhtml?p_content=/content/view_content.jhtml&p_template=1&p_alias=indv_discovery_vitality_partners&p_path=our_partners_contents/healthyfood.xml&p_brand_css=/StyleSheets/screen_vitality.css

To see a catalogue of foods that you can save on go here:

https://www.discovery.co.za/index_login.jhtml?p_brand_css=/StyleSheets/screen_vitality.css&p_content=/vitality/healthy_food/healthy_food.html

Mercury Warning!

(NaturalNews) New research published in Environmental Health and conducted in part by a scientist at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy has revealed that high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is contaminated with the toxic heavy metal mercury.That means that many of the products using HFCS may also be contaminated with mercury. Carbonated sodas are sweetened with HFCS, as are candy bars, bread, salad dressings, pizza sauce, fruit drinks and thousands of other grocery items.

Mercury is so highly toxic that it causes severe neurological disorders. It can also result in the loss of hair, teeth and nails as well as muscle weakness, loss of kidney function, emotional mood swings and memory impairment…

High Fructose Corn Syrup Contaminated with Toxic Mercury, Says Research (opinion) -  Tuesday, January 27, 2009 by: Mike Adams, NaturalNews EditorHFCS is a sweetener found in many foods and beverages, including non-diet soda pop, baked goods, and condiments. It is has become the sweetener of choice for many food manufacturers because it is considered more economical, sweeter and more easy to blend into beverages than table sugar. Some researchers have suggested that high-fructose corn syrup may contribute to an increased risk of diabetes as well as obesity, a claim which the food industry disputes.  Until now, little laboratory evidence has been available on the topic.

Soda Warning? High-fructose Corn Syrup Linked To Diabetes, New Study Suggests

Tilly’s Comment:We experience so many problems with poor health, obesity and A.D.D
that it amazes me that reports like these is not on the front page of newspapers, headlines on billboards and the topic of dicussion in TV News. And I cannot help but wonder if this is just another example of cost and profit margin protection for food manufacturers. Did you know that HFCS is far cheaper  and sweeter than normal sugar?

What you must be aware of is that it is hard to find products on the shelf without this harmful ingredient.  Next time you are buying groceries, look at the label and see how many times you find HFCS in place of sugar. HFCS is providing virtually all the sugar in soft drinks, and forming a key ingredient in cakes, frozen food, condiments, baked goods, sports drinks and even some yoghurts.

The answer? Stop eating products with HFCS!

How ?  Simply start to read the nutrition labels of products that you  buy in the supermarkets.
More easily, stay away from good tasting foods and drinks. Rather concentrate on feeding the body with nutrients that is necessary to maintain life – and not  stimulate the taste buds!

Supplements – The Yes No Argument!

So you go ’surfing the Net’ looking for information on how to become more healthy. Quite an exercise – try searching on the word ‘Health’ and you will find 1,380,000,000 websites. I’m not joking, try it!

Point is everybody has a viewpoint and it can be rather confusing as everybody seems so convincing. The most interesting of them all to me is that some say you must ’supplement’ (mostly those that sell the stuff like me) and others say you shouldn’t (mostly those that sells diet plans).

The question is: Should we supplement or not?

Here is my argument.

Let’s say I tell you not to supplement, it is not necessary as you should only focus on what you eat! Now what if all the reports that our foods are depleted from the essential nutrients our bodies need are in fact true? Then your health will suffer greatly and you can develop all sorts of serious diseases over time.

Let’s say I tell you to supplement with a quality product (not synthetic), as our food might be depleted from the vital nutrients our bodies need. Now what if I am wrong and you in fact do not need to supplement? Then I caused you to spend a lot of money overtime only to enrich your urine!

So what advice is less damaging, more responsible and more focussed on the wellbeing of your overall health? Advocating against all logic and all scientific reports that supplementation is not necessary. Or advocating the addition of good quality Supplementation to a healthy diet?

I say let’s be sensible and look after our bodies the best way we can.

Eat well, Exercise Regularly, Drink enough water, Do Supplement and then Be Well!