State of Health Barometer

Do you want to know how fit you are? Take your pulse rate.

The pulse is a good barometer of the state of your health. Great athletes usually have pulses down into the 40's and 30's. As a rule the faster your pulse, the less healthy you are.

The heart has more chances of getting rest in-between when you have a lower pulse rate. Your overall fitness is measured by how fast your pulse rate goes down to its normal rate after your regular brisk walking.

To achieve real fitness, treat yourself to brisk walking, cycling, swimming, and other sustained exercises. When walking, the pace must be brisk and continued for a minimum of an hour daily, although some authorities would put a minimum of half an hour as acceptable.

A daily jogging regimen (at least a kilometer or two daily) will eventually lower the pulse rate at rest by ten points or more. This lowered pulse rate can save 10,000 extra heartbeats a day (as if the heart had rested two to three hours daily). The good news is that brisk walking can also lower your blood pressure.

Here's a suggestion. You can combine yoga exercise and lifting weights (bodybuilding for you) with your other exercise regimen. For those over forty, it is a good idea to see your doctor before starting an exercise routine.

Another Test You Can Make. Most of us are smug enough to insist that we are clean inside. Let's see if you can pass this test:

Do not take food for 24 to 36 hours. Drink ONLY pure water. If your tongue fails to become furry white (having a fur-like coating), it's a good indication that you're clean inside. But your tongue will probably become coated and your breath will become strong, thus indicating that you carry a toxic load of foul materials.

Radiation Poisoning Protection

Japan's nuclear radiation leaks, caused by the devastating earthquakes that rocked the nation recently, have raised much concern for the health and safety of its population.

To protect us from possible radiation poisoning, such as strontium, cesium and uranium, Suzy Cohen offers some timely advice on how to detoxify and help pull metals out of the body. Although not in particular order, the suggested options follow:

• Zeolite - This is the clay that helps the body rid of heavy metals, radiation, and other stored toxins in the body. Sold at health food stores.
• Pectasol Chelation Complex by Econugenics - Capsules derived from citrus pectin and sodium alginate (from seaweed). This product gently removes heavy metals and other toxins from the intestines. After the Chernobyl disaster, pectin reduced radioactivity among children with elevated readings by more than 50 percent. Sold in some health food stores and online: www.econugenics.com
• Spirulina Pacifica by Nutrex-Hawaii- A powerful antidote, this blue-green algae could reduce urine radioactivity levels by up to 50 percent in 20 days, according to a 1993 report by the Institute of Radiation Medicine, entitled "Use of spirulina decreases radioactive dose load received from food contaminated with Cesium-137 and Strontium-90." Being a superfood, it also provides nourishment if you don't have food to eat. Hawaiian spirulina is sold at health food stores and online: www.nutrex-hawaii.com
• Iodine - It's most useful in the early stages of exposure. You can get your iodine from food sources, like nori (thin, dried seaweed sheets used in sushi), sea vegetables like arame, kelp and hijike. Eat seaweeds (like wakame) and natural salts like Celtic, Himalayan and Alaea salt.
• Detoxamin by World Health Products - These are suppositories that contain EDTA, a chelating agent that has been clinically proven to remove toxic materials from the body. Sold online at: www.detoxamin.com
• Beta Glucan - An extract from the amazing medicinal Maitake mushrooms, beta glucan has long been prized for its ability to protect and restore health after you've taken radiation or chemo. Sold by many brand names nationwide.
• American Ginseng - It's a stress buster that contains ginsenosides and polysaccharide glycans. A study published in May 2010 suggests ginseng has radioprotective effects on human lymphocytes. It scavenges free radicals (toxins). Sold nationwide at health food stores by various companies.
• NAC - This nutrient is N-acetylcysteine, and in the body it forms glutathione inside the cell, where you want it! Glutathione is a master antioxidant. Get NAC supplements or get this amino acid from protein shakes like whey, rice, or hemp.

(Courtesy of Suzy Cohen, http://dearpharmacist.com/?p=1585)

Nature Is Always Seeking Balance

A diet of whole natural foods--grown naturally in season--aids in maintaining equilibrium between the opposing (complimentary) forces which the ancient Orientals called Yin (positive) and Yang (negative).

The basis of Chinese medical teaching revolves around digestion, assimilation, and elimination--and the principle of YIN YANG.

And speaking of acid-alkaline balance, Organic Consumer reports that the relationship of about 80% alkaline-forming foods (fruits and vegetables) to 20% acid-forming foods (protein) will maintain a healthful balance--IF the stomach produces sufficient hydrochloric acid (HCL). It is when the mineral salts combine with acid foods that excretory glands in the walls of the stomach are stimulated to give their digestive enzymes, including HCL.

Nature has programmed human beings to produce increasingly less HCL as they age, resulting in increasing susceptibility to inborn metabolic errors and genetic weaknesses.

HCL production is dependent upon minerals found in biologically grown vegetables, as determined by Dr. Bernard Spur of Denmark, after 12 years of clinical research.

Deficient soils plus over-processed, over-refined foods and over eating habits that include too few fresh raw foods, emphasize the need for food supplementation, to be sure that the vital nutrients upon which health and life depend, are present each meal.

HCL supplements, in addition to protein digestion, also influence mineral assimilation.

Hydrochloric acid (HCL) is but one component of the stomach's digestive juices and enzymes. The pancreas manufactures and secretes not only pancreatin, but a wide spectrum of enzymes and ferments, active in the small intestine, the primary site for food absorption into the blood stream.

Oranges, tomatoes and pineapple have a decided acid taste, but in the classification of foods into the two major groups--acid or alkaline--each is highly alkaline as determined by the properties of the minerals they contain.

Most fruits and vegetables contain the alkali-forming minerals: sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium. Proteins, like meats, fish, poultry, eggs and whole grain cereals provide the acid-forming minerals: phosphorous, sulfur and chlorine.

When foods are metabolized (burned) in the body, they yield either an acid or alkaline ash (residue). Meats and whole grain cereals do not waste sour, but they are the acid-forming foods due to their mineral content.

Tidbits. "Heart burns," blighting the life of many elders, is better controlled, not with antacids but with acid--hydrochloric acid--which when deficient permits food to ferment and putrefy, producing those "burpy" acids that can bubble up in the throat.

Holistic (Biological) Dentistry, Part 3

Preventive Care. "The main reason for going to the dentist regularly is prevention--prevention of tooth decay, gum disease, and other disorders that put the health of your teeth and mouth (and even your whole body) at risk," says Dr. Nelson Mari L. Gaba.

Here are more dental tips from Dr. Gaba:

• Brushing and flossing the teeth properly, along with regular dental checkups, can help prevent tooth decay and gum disease.
• Brushing your teeth twice a day and flossing at least once everyday will keep your teeth and gums healthy.
• Brushing the teeth regularly and properly is also the single best way to remove harmful plaque--a thin, sticky film of bacteria found in the teeth.
• Sugar and starches are harmful to teeth and gums. Starchy foods left on teeth may turn to cavity-causing sugar if not properly brushed clean. Sugar, turning into damaging acids, destroys the teeth and gums.

Technique for Brushing Teeth. There is more than one technique of brushing. Deciding which technique is most appropriate depends largely on your teeth position and gum condition. Your dentist can determine which brushing technique is most appropriate for your mouth.

Generally, most dentists recommend a circular technique for brushing. This includes brushing only a small group of teeth at a time, gradually covering the entire mouth. However, a circular or elliptical motion using a back and forth motion may cause the following: a receded gum surface; an exposed and tender root surface; a wearing down of the gum line.

Instead, dentists recommend the following method:

• Place the toothbrush beside your teeth at a 45-degree angle.
• Gently brush only a small group of teeth at a time (on a circular or elliptical motion) until the entire mouth is covered.

A toothbrush head should be small--about 1 inch by 1/2 inch--and should have a handle suitable for firm grasping. The bristles of the brush should be soft nylon and rounded at th ends. This helps ensure that the brush bristles are reaching the spaces between the teeth and the surface. Avoid brushes that are too abrasive as they can wear down the tooth enamel. Thus, medium and hard bristles are not recommended.

How Often to Brush. Brushing is recommended twice a day for at least three to four minutes each time instead of brushing quickly five or more times throughout the day.

Dentists advise brushing your teeth during the day while at work, school, or play. Keeping a toothbrush handy--in your desk or backpack--increases the chance that you will brush during the day.

Brushing with toothpaste helps to accomplish the following: removes plaque; resists decay; cleans and polishes teeth; removes teeth stains; freshens breath.

But which type of toothpaste is best? Dr. Gaba recommends fluoride-free toothpaste readily available in various health stores.

(For more information, visit www.yourholisticdentist.com)