Friday, February 25, 2005

Fat Acceptance Gone Too Far?

We received an interesting article from William Campbell Douglass II, MD today with the subject line: "Bloated Ballet"

Like us, Dr. Douglass is not too happy about the modern trend toward "fat acceptance" instead of contending with the obesity problem in meaningful ways like sensible nutrition.

We all know the results (and expense) of the problem here in the USA... but did you know the trend is now spreading into Cuba?

According to Dr. Douglass, in neighboring Cuba, there's now a whole new take on this trend: Fat as art.

"Since 1996, that island nation's Danza Voluminosa (Voluminous Dance) ballet company has featured performers that would crush the average Bolshoi ballerina into pulp - some weighing more than 300 pounds. No, this isn't a parody show, and it isn't something out of a Kurt Vonnegut short story. It's REAL ART. And according to a recent AP piece, the players are capable of an astonishing range of dance moves, though naturally the leaps, pirouettes, and Grand Jettes are relatively scarce."

"As you might expect, the troupe caters to a plus-sized audience. And though Cuba hardly endures an obesity epidemic like its Northern neighbor, they are beginning to see an increase in some of the health challenges associated with an overweight population."

Is this going too far?

Shouldn't we all be helping our nations as a whole strive for a healthier population rather than cultivating, or possibly even nurturing, trends such as this?

Maybe I've just been too much of a Sci-Fi fan. After all, my favorite saying is well known by millions... "Live long and prosper."

Here's a thought: Ever notice how rare obesity was in the original Star Trek series?

Oh well... art just as beauty, as they say, is in the eye of the beholder.

Have a super day, everyone.

PS: Did you know goji helps with weight? Click here for details.

Wednesday, February 23, 2005

A Little Off Topic

Since this is our live online blog, we're always testing out new things online to increase our reach across the Net. We just stumbled across something specific to blogs and blogging that we found interesting and will be testing in the weeks ahead. It's an automated blog link exchange over at BlogLinker.com that looks promising. The WAHM Diary will keep you up to date on how well this little tool performs.

We just thought we should mention it here because we've had several requests for link exchanges from health related sites and thought this would be a great way for us to automatically help you exchange links with our blog.

Have a super healthy day!

Does Exercise Boost Immunity?

An interesting article in the Feb. 2005 edition of The Northern Light magazine brings the focus back onto how good exercise can be for you.

We know that exercise can strengthen the heart, tone your muscles, and help maintain an ideal weight, among its many other benefits.

According to the article, new research at Acadia University in Nova Scotia indicates that people who lift weights for 30 minutes 3 times a week have significantly stronger immune systems than a group that didn't lift weights.

Visit BestLiquidVitamins.com for more on the latest health news.

Sunday, February 20, 2005

Perchlorate Has Been Detected in Drinking Water in 26 States

(Get The Latest Health News At Best Liquid Vitamins.)

According to a recent news release by US NewsWire, Perchlorate has been detected in drinking water in 26 states and Puerto Rico, according to an occurrence study released February 9, 2005 by the American Water Works Association (AWWA). The AWWA report says, "Most detections are at levels below 12 micrograms per liter."

What's The Concern About Perchlorate In Drinking Water?

According to the California Dept. of Health, perchlorate can interfere with iodide uptake by the thyroid gland. This can result in decreased production of thyroid hormones, which are needed for prenatal and postnatal growth and development, as well as for normal metabolism and mental function in the adult.

What Is Perchlorate?

According to the USA Dept. of Defense, perchlorate (Cl04-) is both a man-made and naturally occurring compound. In solid form, it is a type of salt. Perchlorate dissolves easily and moves quickly in groundwater and surface water. Once dissolved in water it remains in water for a very long time.

Ammonium perchlorate is an efficient and stable oxidizer used in solid fuel for rockets and missiles.

The USA Environmental Protection Agency has established an official reference dose for perchlorate which is consistent with the recommended reference dose included in the National Academy of Science’s January 2005 report. A reference dose is a scientific estimate of a daily exposure level that is not expected to cause adverse health effects in humans.

The reference dose will be used in EPA's ongoing efforts to address perchlorate in drinking water. It is important to note that the reference dose in EPA's draft assessment represents a preliminary estimate of a protective health level and is not a drinking water standard.

According to the EPA, wastes from the manufacture and improper disposal of perchlorate-containing chemicals are increasingly being discovered in soil and water.

Wired News reports, "More recently, perchlorate has been detected in the majority of the nation's milk and lettuce supply. High concentrations of the chemical are thought to disrupt the thyroid gland, which regulates metabolism and is linked to the development of motor skills in children."

Their report is based on a study released in November 2004 by the FDA in which 94% of the milk and lettuce samples tested revealed perchlorate contamination. Though the FDA study didn't explore how perchlorate gets into lettuce or milk, scientists believe it enters the water stream through industrial leaks. It is then thought to be taken up by, and concentrated in, plants and animals.

In the above referenced report survey, the FDA found an average concentration of 5.76 parts per billion of perchlorate in the 104 milk samples it studied. In 128 samples of green leaf, red leaf, iceberg and romaine lettuce, the agency found an average concentration of 10.49 parts per billion.

What Are Considered "Safe" Limits For Perchlorate?

Adults can tolerate nearly 25 times more of the potentially toxic chemical perchlorate in their drinking water than previously thought, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said on Friday, Feb. 19, 2005.

According to the new EPA guideline, humans can consume up to 0.7 micrograms of perchlorate per day for each kilogram of body weight without experiencing "adverse health effects." Based on the assumption that a 70-kilogram (154-pound) adult drinks 2 liters of water each day, the EPA estimates that 24.5 parts of perchlorate to 1 billion parts of water is a safe limit for water quality.

EPA spokeswoman Cynthia Bergman stressed that 24.5 ppb is just a preliminary figure and added that it was based on the findings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Bill Walker, vice president of the Environmental Working Group's West Coast operations stated in November 2004, people with existing thyroid problems and pregnant women should monitor the total amount of perchlorate they ingest each day.

"We found that there are some people out there -- like the 1.6 million people of child-bearing age -- who are eating a diet very heavy in lettuce," he said. "This could be exceeding the EPA's recommended safe dose."

What Actions Are Being Taken By The Dept. of Defense (DoD) Regarding Perchlorate?

The DoD has an entire task force dedicated to perchlorate.

They have been working collaboratively with EPA, DOE, NASA and a variety of other federal, state, local and tribal entities since the 1990s to better understand and address perchlorate.

DoD has spent $59 million to date on the following initiatives:

• perchlorate detection methods,

• perchlorate occurrence studies,

• human health effects studies,

• pollution prevention measures

• treatment technologies, and

• site assessment and cleanup efforts

The two types of perchlorate most frequently used by DoD are ammonium perchlorate and potassium perchlorate. Ammonium perchlorate is used in rocket and missile propellants. Potassium perchlorate is used as an oxidizer in pyrotechnics such as training simulators, flares, hand grenade delays, and aircraft countermeasures.

Today, DoD makes every effort to prevent releases of perchlorate into the environment.



Sources:

AWWA Government Affairs - Perchlorate Occurrence Report - PDF file [2.8MB Download Size - Adobi Acrobat Required]

US NewsWire MediaLink Worldwide - Perchlorate Detected in Drinking Water in 26 States...

Dept. Of Defense Percholate Workgroup - Percholate Facts

USA Environmental Protection Agency - Perchlorate

USA Environmental Protection Agency - Perchlorate and Perchlorate Salts Risk Information

Wired News - EPA Sets Perchlorate Guideline

Wired News - Rocket Fuel in Milk, Lettuce

California Dept. Of Health Services - Perchlorate in California Drinking Water:
Overview and Links


USA Food And Drug Administration - Perchlorate Questions and Answers

USA Food And Drug Administration - Exploratory Data on Perchlorate in Food

California State-wide Summary of Perchlorate-Contaminated Sites - Joint GEOTRACKER SWRCB And DTSC Perchlorate Confirmed Contaminant Site Data

Thursday, February 17, 2005

Feeling Exhausted? Here's a great tip!

If you often feel fatigued, it could be time to head for the treadmill. According the "The Northern Light" magazine, researchers at the University of Oslo in Norway asked some 6,000 women about their exercise habits and how often they felt tired.

When they followed up 15 months later, they found that study sujects who had exercised at least 20 minutes once a week were, on average, 30% less likely to feel fatigued.

A little exercise goes a long way toward building strength and beating exhaustion!

Read more fun facts at Best Liquid Vitamins!

Tuesday, February 15, 2005

McDonald's Lawsuits Settled

Two law suits against fast food giant McDonald's have been settled in favor of the plaintiffs.

McDonald's announced in September 2002 that it was voluntarily changing to a cooking oil with less trans fat and that the change would be completed by February 2003. However, McDonald's encountered operational issues and the oil was not changed. Plaintiffs claimed in the lawsuits that McDonald's did not take sufficient steps to inform the public that it had not changed the oil.

In accordance with the settlements in both law suits, McDonald's will pay $7,500 to BanTransFats.com, and $7,500 to Plaintiff Katherine Fettke which she is donating to charity. There are also a large list of other costs McDonald's will be footing the bill on according to the "Terms of Settlement."

For the full details as well as additional information on trans fatty acids, check out the full story at Best Liquid Vitamins in our Natural Health News posted Feb. 15, 2005

Eat healthy and be well. We appreciate you!

Monday, February 14, 2005

Attack on Health Supplements Exposed!

We've been receiving emails about this from sources "very high up" in the Nutrition Industry, including Len Clements (an expert witness often called upon by the FTC for his legal expertise) and many more.

When the first email arrived, I didn't have much time to check deeper into things.

Since then, more than 50 additional emails from several different sources began pouring into my inbox --- all urging us at Best Liquid Vitamins to expose this information to our loyal visitors and customers. I still haven't had time to read through all the shocking reports and news...

Here's a copy of what John Herring wrote:

Can you imagine paying $300 for a bottle of low-potency vitamins? What about having to get a prescription for vitamin C? Think that's farfetched? Think again.

Efforts are underway right now to classify essential vitamins, herbs, minerals, and enzymes as pharmaceutical drugs, putting them under rigorous government regulation and control. Eventually these natural products would be manufactured from synthetic materials and available only by prescription.

"Not in my lifetime," you say? How about August of 2005?

That's when the Directive on Dietary Supplements (legislation that was introduced by a U.N.-sponsored commission) goes into effect in the European Union (EU). Starting in August, vitamin and herbal supplements in Europe will have to be "proven safe and effective" before they can be sold to the public. This will result in a ban on nearly 300 vitamin and mineral ingredients (many of which are in the same form as those found in food) and the removal of some 5,000 products from the market.

But that couldn't happen here in the U.S. Could it?

According to the Federal Register, the FDA Policy on Standards reads: "Where a relevant international standard exists, or completion is imminent, it will generally be used in preference to a domestic standard." So much for national sovereignty.

There is a serious conflict of interest going on.

On the one hand, all of us are being encouraged to eat smarter and get regular exercise, with the belief that we can all get far healthier through choosing proper natural foods we consume through our daily diet. And many medical practitioners also support supplementing your diet to ensure you are getting enough of everything you need to stay healthy.

On the other hand, some powerful force is pushing buttons at very high levels of government.

Are they saying we're not intelligent enough to make healthy choices? Are they implying even our own Doctors are not smart enough to choose safely for us?

I'm a determined Mom who will do everything I can for my child to give him the best support in every possible way.

And something tells me there are a lot more Moms and Dads out there just like me --- who care passionately about the health of their families --- and would do the same.

Are you currently taking supplements that ARE working well for you and your family?

If so, I think you really need to be aware of the plans underfoot. Here's the copy of Len's letter to us:

2/12/2005

MarketWave Alert #46

If you are involved in a nutrition based company, or you just care about your health and your right to choose what supplements you use, please read the notice below. I know a lot of these kinds of warnings make their way through cyberspace all the time, and so many of them are overreactions or completely baseless that it's easy to get jaded and ignore them. Please don't ignore this one. This threat is very real. Although there are those who will claim this CODEX bill described here has a very slim chance of ever passing, I would not underestimate the lobbying power of the drug companies.

The massive public response to the FDA's last attempt to regulate dietary supplements is what got the DSHEA act passed in 1994. It's time to let them know once again how you feel about a Megadose of Vitamin C being declared a drug and quadrupling in price. As hard as it might be to believe that this could actually happen, do what I just did and check it out for yourself. It's scary what's going on right now under the radar of tens-of-millions of American consumers.

Please act now. The clock is ticking and time is almost up.

Len Clements
MarketWave, Inc.

READ THIS VERY IMPORTANT HEALTH MESSAGE BELOW AND CONTACT EVERYONE.

Your right to choose your vitamin, mineral and other supplements may end in June of this year (2005).

After that U.S. supplements will be defined and controlled by the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the World Health Organization (WHO). The CODEX ALIMENTARIUS (Food Code) is setting the supplement standard in all countries in the WTO. They will be enforced by the WTO and will over ride U.S. laws. The U.S. President and Congress agreed to this take-over when the WTO Treaty was signed. Violations are punished by WTO trade sanctions, CODEX drastically restricts vitamins, minerals, herbs and other supplements. CODEX met secretly in November, 2004 and finalized step 8 (the final stage), to begin implementation in June, 2005.

The CODE includes:

1) No supplement can be sold for preventive or therapeutic use.

2) Any potency higher than RDA (minimal strength) is a drug requiring a prescription and must be produced by drug companies. Over 5000 safe items now in health stores will be banned, terminating health stores as we now know them.

3) CODEX regulations become binding internationally.

4) New supplements are banned unless given very expensive CODEX testing and approval.

CODEX now applies to Norway and Germany, among others, where zinc tablets rose from $4 per bottle to $52. Echinacea (an ancient immune-enhancement herb) rose from $14 to $153 (both examples are now allowed by prescription only). They are now drugs! Vitamin C above 200mg, niacin above 32mg, vitamin B6 above 4mg are banned over-the-counter. No amino acids (arginine, lysine, camitine etc = essential amino acids!), essential fatty acids (omegas 3, 6, 9, etc), or other essential supplements such as DMEA, DHEA, CoQ10, MSM, beta-carotene, etc, are allowed.

The CODEX rules are not based on real science. They are made by a few people meeting in secret not necessarily scientists. In 1993 the FDA and drug corporations tried to put all supplements under restriction and prescription. But over 4 million Americans told Congress and the President to protect their freedom of choice on health supplements. The DSHEA Law was passed in 1994, which does so. But this will be over ruled by CODEX and the World Trade Organization.

Virtually nothing about it has been in the media. What the drug corporations have failed to do through Congress they have gotten by sneak attack through CODEX with the help of a silent media. What can be done at this late hour?

1) Spread the word as much as possible. Please look at these websites, and inform yourselves fully at http://ahha.org/codex.htm; www.iahf.com. and www.alliance-natural-health.org.

2) Oppose bills S.722 and H.R.3377. These support the CODEX restrictions with U.S. laws, changing the DSHEA law.

3) Support H. R. 1146 which would restore the sovereignty of the U.S. Constitution over CODEX.

4) Express your wishes to the President, Senators and Representatives ASAP.

5) Contact health marketing groups that can get their members to inform the government.


Are you as concerned about this information as I am? If so, send an SOS through this link.

Thank you for taking the time to read this important information and taking action today.

Live long and stay healthy. We appreciate you!

Wednesday, February 09, 2005

Dr. Earl Mindell To Speak At The United Nations

Late last night, I was on a fairly long phone call with Dr. Earl Mindell, author of the world's number one bestseller and longest selling book on nutrition - The Vitamin Bible For The 21sth Century - getting some additional information from him for a television producer who contacted us expressing an interest in a live interview with him.

That's how we found out about the upcoming event at the United Nations.

Dr. Mindell has been invited to speak before the United Nations on the subject of anti-aging and nutrition in April of this year - 2005.

If you would like all the details, be sure to contact us at Best Liquid Vitamins. We'll be happy to provide more information.

Also, we have a copy of Dr. Mindell's bio for those of you in the press looking for more info. If you would like for us to arrange a connection for a possible future review, article, interview, or television appearance, we'll be happy to help.

Have a wonderful and healthy day!


Sunday, February 06, 2005

Don't Overlook The Anti-Aging Properties

Press Release 02-07-2005:

Considered by experts to be the most nutritionally dense food on our planet, many alternative health practitioners and marketers alike are spreading the word about the remarkable health benefits for the goji berry known by its latin term Lycium Barbarum.

The recent printing of "The Doctor's Report" is packed with testimonial after testimonial from several professional Medical Doctors, both on a personal level as well as results they have seen with their patients. With the overwhelming flood of positive health stories pouring in, the number one benefit for this tiny red berry might be easily overlooked.

However, now that the juice form of the original bloodline for the goji berry referenced in Ancient Asian texts has been available for just over a year, long term users have been reporting some pretty amazing anti-aging results that are worth noting.

We've been receiving several testimonials supporting the anti-aging claims and studies, including: darker hair color, more youthful and radiant skin, increased flexibility and stamina, increased mental clarity, and much more.

On one recent call, a gentleman gleefully announced his hair was growing back after 20 years of being bald. Unfortunately we didn't catch his name and don't have before and after pictures to substantiate his claim. He did tell us that he has been drinking the juice daily for just over 11 months. And he was thrilled to tell us he couldn't wait to find out if his barber remembered him. He couldn't wait to see his reaction.

If you passed the goji berry by when the news first broke about this powerful juice, it might be time to come back and take a closer look.

You can contact us at www.bestliquidvitamins.com for a free copy of "The Doctor's Report" as well as any additional information on the subject.

Around our home, one thing has definitely resulted from our daily consumption of the juice. We've all felt the effects of the "happy berry" in more ways than one.


Fun Facts: Plant Sterol Esters - Plant Stanol Esters

Have you ever heard of plant sterol esters and plant stanol esters?

Don't feel bad if you haven't.

There's so much to learn about fruits and vegetables when you start getting into the nuts and bolts of their overall makeup.

Plant sterols are present naturally in small quantities in many fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, cereals, legumes, vegetable oils, and other plant sources.

Plant stanols occur in even smaller quantities in many of the same sources. Both stanols and sterols are essential components of plant cell membranes and structurally resemble cholesterol.

For more information on plant sterols and plant stanols, check out the latest edition of BLV News at Best Liquid Vitamins.

We look forward to seeing you there!


Tuesday, February 01, 2005

HOT! The Latest News On Carcinogens

Here's the latest news on carcinogens from BLV.

The Department of Health and Human Services released its Eleventh Edition of the Report on Carcinogens yesterday (January 31, 2004), adding seventeen substances to the growing list of cancer-causing agents, bringing the total to 246.

For the first time ever, viruses are listed in the report: hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus, and some human papillomaviruses that cause common sexually transmitted diseases. Other new listings include lead and lead
compounds, X-rays, compounds found in grilled meats, and a host of substances used in textile dyes, paints and inks.

For the full text of the press release, see:
http://www.niehs.nih.gov/oc/news/canceragents.htm

It's a real eye-opener!


7 Tips For Better Sleep

A recent NSF "Sleep in America" poll found that "60% of American adults experience sleep problems".

There are two kinds of sleep in a normal sleep cycle - rapid eye movement or dreaming sleep (REM) and quiet sleep (non-REM). Everyone has about four or five cycles of REM and non-REM sleep a night. For older people, the amount of time spent in the deepest stages of non-REM sleep decreases.

The bottom line on sleeping is this: Adequate sleep is as essential to health and peak performance as exercise and good nutrition.

We've put together a comprehensive article on the subject ...including 7 tips for better sleep... at Best Liquid Vitamins to help everyone have pleasant dreams. Enjoy!