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Straight from the writings of Dr. Victor Frank, founder/creator of Total Body Modification, here are 78 reasons to avoid sugar.

1. Sugar can suppress the immune system.
2. Sugar can upset the body’s mineral balance.
3. Sugar can cause hyperactivity, anxiety, concentration difficulties, and crankiness in children.
4. Sugar can drowsiness and decreased activity in children.
5. Sugar can adversely affect children’s school grades.
6. Sugar can produce a significant rise in triglycerides.
7. Sugar contributes to a weakened defense against bacterial infection.
8. Sugar can cause kidney damage.
9. Sugar can reduce helpful high density cholesterol.
10. Sugar can promote an elevation of harmful cholesterol.
11. Sugar may lead to chromium deficiency.
12. Sugar may cause copper deficiency.
13. Sugar interferes with absorption of calcium and magnesium.
14. Sugar may lead to cancer of the breast, ovaries, prostate, and rectum.
15. Sugar can cause colon cancer with an increased risk in women.
16. Sugar can be a risk factor in gall bladder cancer.
17. Sugar can increase fasting levels of blood glucose.
18. Sugar can weaken eyesight.
19. Sugar raises the level of a neurotransmitter called serotonin, which can narrow blood vessels.
20. Sugar can cause hypoglycemia.
21. Sugar can produce acidic stomach.
22. Sugar can raise adrenaline levels in children.
23. Sugar can increase the risk of coronary heart disease.
24. Sugar can speed the aging process, causing wrinkles and gray hair.
25. Sugar can lead to alcoholism.
26. Sugar can produce tooth decay.
27. Sugar can contribute to weight gain and obesity.
28. High intake of sugar increases the risk of Crohn’s disease and Ulcerative Colitis.
29. Sugar can case a raw, inflamed intestinal tract in person with gastric or duodenal ulcers.
30. Sugar can cause arthritis.
31. Sugar can cause asthma.
32. Sugar can cause candidiasis (yeast infection).
33. Sugar can lead to the formation of gallstones.
34. Sugar can lead to the formation of kidney stones.
35. Sugar can cause ischemic heart disease.
36. Sugar can cause appendicitis.
37. Sugar can exacerbate the symptoms of multiple sclerosis.
38. Sugar can indirectly cause hemorrhoids.
39. Sugar can cause varicose veins.
40. Sugar can elevate glucose and insulin responses in oral contraception users.
41. Sugar can lead to periodontal disease.
42. Sugar can contribute to osteoporosis.
43. Sugar contributes to saliva acidity.
44. Sugar can cause a decrease in insulin sensitivity.
45. Sugar leads to a decreased glucose tolerance.
46. Sugar can decrease growth hormone.
47. Sugar can increase total cholesterol.
48. Sugar can increase systolic blood pressure.
49. Sugar can change the structure of protein causing interference with protein absorption.
50. Sugar causes food allergies.
51. Sugar can contribute to diabetes.
52. Sugar can cause toxemia during pregnancy.
53. Sugar can contribute to eczema in children.
54. Sugar can cause cardiovascular disease.
55. Sugar can impair the structure of DNA.
56. Sugar can cause cataracts.
57. Sugar can cause emphysema.
58. Sugar can cause atherosclerosis.
59. Sugar can cause free radical formation in the bloodstream.
60. Sugar lowers the enzymes’ abilities to function.
61. Sugar can cause the loss of tissue elasticity and function.
62. Sugar can cause liver cells to divide, increasing the size of the liver.
63. Sugar can increase the amount of fat in the liver.
64. Sugar can increase kidney size and produce pathological changes in the kidney.
65. Sugar can overstress the pancreas, causing damage.
66. Sugar can increase the body’s fluid retention.
67. Sugar can cause constipation.
68. Sugar can cause myopia (nearsightedness).
69. Sugar can compromise the lining of the capillaries.
70. Sugar can cause hypertension.
71. Sugar can cause headaches, including migraines.
72. Sugar can cause an increase in delta, alpha, and theta brain waves, which can alter the mind’s ability to think clearly.
73. Sugar can cause depression.
74. Sugar can increase insulin responses in those consuming high-sugar diets compared to low-sugar diets.
75. Sugar increases bacterial fermentation in the colon.
76. Sugar can cause hormonal imbalance.
77. Sugar can increase blood platelet adhesiveness, which increases risk of blood clots.
78. Sugar can increase the risk of Alzheimer’s Disease.

Health is always moving on a continuum between sickness/disease and wellness. The only time health stands still is when the heart no longer beats. Which way are you moving?

WHAT A WONDERFUL WAY TO PRESENT THIS… Quite an eye opener! Someone ought to get an award for this. We know the facts, but this brings perspective quickly, doesn’t it? Each cube is a teaspoonful.

(So instead of 2 bananas, I can have 4 oreos?)

NEW YORK (UPI) – The health of employed U.S. workers is trending downward and one in three experiences one or more symptoms of clinical depression, researchers say.

A report by the Families and Work Institute also says 28 percent of employees report that their overall health is “excellent,” down from 34 percent six years ago.

The report also reveals:

• 41 percent of employees report experiencing three or more indicators of stress sometimes, often or very often.
• One in five employees has trouble falling asleep very often or fairly often, and 31 percent awaken too early and have trouble falling back to sleep.
• 21 percent are treated for high blood pressure and 14 percent are treated for high cholesterol.

The report says 49 percent of U.S. employees have not engaged in regular physical exercise in the last 30 days, including 22 percent not engaging in any rigorous physical exercise. One in four U.S. workers smokes.

Having paid vacations bode well for personal health and well-being, as well as intent to stay in one’s job, the study says.

The study used data from the National Study of the Changing Workforce, which surveys the U.S. workforce every five years. Sample sizes average about 3,500, including wage and salaried employees, as well as self-employed workers.

Copyright 2009 by United Press International

NEWARK, N.J. (UPI) – U.S. scientists have found a widely held theory concerning the brain and perception is incorrect and that the brain blocks some information from awareness.

Rutgers University researchers have discovered visual input obtained during eye movements is processed by the brain, but blocked from our awareness.

“The process of seeing requires the eyes to move so light can hit the photoreceptors at the center of each retina, which then pass that information to the brain,” the scientists said. “If we were cognizant of the stimulus that passes before the eyes during the two to three times they move every second, however, vision would consist of a series of sensations of rapid motion rather than a stable perception of the world.

“To achieve perceptual stability, current theory has held that visual information gained during an eye movement is eliminated, as if cut off by a camera’s shutter, and removed from processing,” they said.

But the new study led by Assistant Professor Bart Krekelberg and researcher Tamara Watson shows that theory is incorrect and what the brain is actually doing is processing information gained during eye movement, but blocking it from being reported.

The findings, among other things, show a new approach is needed to gain additional understanding into cognitive and neural functions involved in visual processing and perceptual stability, the researchers said.

The study appears in the journal Current Biology.

Copyright 2009 by United Press International

1. Chocolate and Fried Foods Give You Acne
   Some speculate that this myth dates back to the baby-boom generation, who had worse acne than their parents and also more access to chocolate and fried foods. Wherever this idea came from, it’s wrong. Pimples form when oil glands under the skin produce too much of a waxy oil called sebum, which the body uses to keep skin lubricated. But when excess sebum and dead skin cells block pores, that area of the skin gets irritated, swollen, and turns red — the telltale signs of a pimple. It is unknown why sebaceous glands produce excess sebum, but hormones are the prime suspects, which explains why teenagers are affected more than others. Stress and heredity may also be factors, but chocolate bars and onion rings are off the hook.
2. Coffee Will Sober You Up
   If you’ve had too much to drink, no amount of coffee, soda, water or anything else is going to sober you up. The only thing that will do the trick is time. The liver can metabolize only about one standard drink (12 ounces of beer, 6 ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of hard liquor) per hour, so if you’re drinking more than that every 60 minutes, you’ll have alcohol in your system for some time. The idea of coffee’s sobering effect may have started because caffeine acts as a stimulant, counteracting the sedative effect of alcohol to a small degree. However, it has no effect on the amount of alcohol in the blood. So if you’ve been drinking, spend your money on a cab rather than a cappuccino.
3. Cold Weather Can Give You a Cold
   “Put your jacket on or you’ll catch a cold!” How times have you heard that? You may not want to tell her this, but dear old Mom was wrong. Viruses (more than 200 different kinds) cause colds, not cold weather. In order for you to catch a cold, the virus must travel from a sick person’s body to yours. This usually happens via airborne droplets you inhale when an infected person coughs or sneezes. You can also get a cold virus by shaking hands with an infected person or by using something where the virus has found a temporary home, such as a phone or door handle. Colds are more prevalent during the colder months because people tend to spend more time inside, making it much easier for viruses to jump from person to person.
4. Cracking Your Knuckles Causes Arthritis
   The knuckles are the joints between the fingers and hand, and these joints contain a lubricant called synovial fluid. When you crack your knuckles, you are pulling apart two bones at the joint, which means the synovial fluid has to fill more space. This decreases the pressure of the fluid, and dissolved gases that are present, such as nitrogen, float out of the area in tiny bubbles. The bursting of these bubbles is the familiar sound we hear when someone “cracks” his or her knuckles. This bubble-bursting is not the same as arthritis, which is when the body’s immune system attacks joints. However, constant knuckle-cracking can injure joints and weaken fingers.
5. Too Much Sugar Makes Kids Hyperactive
   Many parents limit sugary foods, thinking they cause hyperactivity. It’s right to restrict these treats, but the reasoning is wrong. These high-calorie foods offer little nutrition and can lead to obesity and other problems, but no scientific evidence says sugar causes hyperactivity. Sugar can provide a short-term energy boost, but that isn’t the same as hyperactivity. The children at a birthday party acting like little tornadoes probably has more to do with the excitement of being around other kids, rather than the cake. And that unruly child in the grocery store throwing a fit with a sucker in his mouth and candy clutched in each fist? His parents probably haven’t set appropriate behavior limits, and they most likely give him what he wants — which is more candy.
6. Don’t Swallow Gum — It Takes Seven Years to Digest
   Some misconceptions are hard to swallow, but people have been chewing on this one for years. This myth has probably been around since chewing gum became popular in the late 19th century and most likely originated thanks to a single word: indigestible. Gum is comprised of flavor, sweeteners, softeners and gum base. The body is able to break down the first three ingredients, but gum base is indigestible. That simply means your body can’t dissolve it and extract nutrients. In the end, gum base works its way through your digestive system much like fiber — in two or three days it goes out in basically the same shape it went in.
7. Feed a Cold and Starve a Fever
   This bit of folk wisdom has been bouncing around for centuries. This advice may have evolved from the idea that illnesses could be classified as either low temperature (those that give chills, such as a cold) or high temperature (those with fever). With chills, it sounds reasonable to feed a person’s internal fireplace with food. The logic follows that when an illness raises the body’s temperature, cutting back on the “fuel” should help. However, scientific evidence doesn’t endorse this advice — many illnesses must simply run their course.  

   Nevertheless, if you’re stuck in bed with a cold and a loved one brings over your favorite healthful foods, it’s still OK to chow down. Alternatively, you may lose your appetite while fighting a fever-based sickness. When you’re sick, it’s okay to miss a meal or two as long as you are keeping up with fluid intake.

8. Wait 30 Minutes After Eating Before Swimming
   For a kid, nothing ruins the fun of a carefree summer day like a worried parent banning swimming right after the big cookout, fearing that the child will get cramps and drown. There is a slight chance of minor abdominal cramping, but for the vast majority of people, this isn’t dangerous. The body does divert blood flow from the muscles to the gastrointestinal system to spur digestion, but not in amounts that diminish muscle function. Listen to your body and swim when you’re comfortable — just like you probably don’t run a marathon right after Thanksgiving dinner, you don’t want to start swimming laps right after a seven-course picnic. It’s perfectly safe, though, to eat a light meal and then get wet. After all, athletes commonly eat right before competing.
9. You Can Get the Flu from a Flu Shot
   Vaccinations are misunderstood because they’re created from the offending viruses themselves. But when you get a flu shot, you’re not being injected with a whole virus — you’re receiving an inactivated, or dead, virus. That means the part of the virus that can infect you and make you sick is turned off, but the part of the virus that stimulates your body to create antibodies is still on. The body’s antibodies will kill the flu virus should you come into contact with it later. Even pregnant women are advised to get flu vaccinations, so you know they’re safe. The only people who should avoid them are those who have severe allergies to eggs, because eggs are used to create the vaccines. No vaccine is 100-percent effective, so there is still a chance you can get the flu after receiving the shot, but that doesn’t mean the vaccination gave it to you. 

Source: HowStuffWorks.com

It’s the first full week of National Stroke Awareness Month — what better time to learn more about how to STOP stroke through improved management of stroke risk factors?

Whether you’ve suffered a stroke or not, stroke prevention is an important part of everyone’s stroke education. There are a number of “controllable” risk factors for stroke. Further, up to eighty percent of strokes can be prevented! Don’t you want to know more about how to make prevention a part of your daily life?*

Honor National Stroke Awareness Month by reading more about these six educational tips for reducing stroke risk (don’t forget to tell your friends and family, too!):

• High blood pressure is the primary cause of stroke. Know the role that managing your blood pressure plays in lowering your stroke risk. Click here for more information about high blood pressure.
• Cholesterol or plaque build-up in the arteries can block normal blood flow to the brain and cause a stroke. All adults age 20 and older should have their cholesterol checked at least once every five years. For more information about how to manage cholesterol, visit www.stroke.org/cholesterol.
• Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a type of irregular or “racing” heartbeat that can cause blood to collect in the heart and potentially form a clot, which can travel to a person’s brain and cause a stroke or brain attack. This condition increases a person’s risk for stroke by 500 percent. Unfortunately, many Americans who have AF don’t know it. Learn more about AF here and ask your doctor now about AF risk for you and your loved ones.
• Diabetes can double or quadruple your risk for stroke. Talk to your doctor and learn how to manage your diabetes and stroke risk at the same time!  
• A transient ischemic attack (TIA) is a mini-stroke with stroke symptoms that last less than 24 hours before disappearing. More than one-third of all people who have a TIA will have a stroke. Learn more about TIA and how your risk level for stroke can be better managed.
• Tobacco use, smoking and alcohol use increase your risk for stroke—consider quitting smoking or tobacco use and drinking alcohol moderately. Remember that alcohol can interact with some drugs. Check with your doctor or pharmacist about any medications you are currently taking.

For more information about stroke education or ways to spread awareness this May, visit www.stroke.org/SAM.

• Cover your mouth and nose when you cough or sneeze, WITH YOUR ARM remind your peers to do the same.
• Use tissues. Dispose of the tissues in the trash after use and wash your hands with soap and water.
  Wash you hands with soap and water frequently, especially after sneezing or coughing, and before eating. If you see someone not doing the same, remind them of their responsibility to themselves and to you.
• Do not touch your eyes, nose, or mouth.
• Try to avoid close contact with sick people. ( If anyone you come in contact with has flu like symptoms: a temperature greater than 100, cough and sore throat, give them a mask to wear. )
• Use Cavacide wipes to wipe the phone, computer key board, doorknobs, and flat surfaces. ( use gloves to avoid skin irritation )
• Get plenty of sleep
• Drink plenty of liquids.

• THANK YOU