INSIGHT INTO HEALTH .... AND DISEASE Illness - whether labelled diabetes, osteoporosis
or blood
pressure puts
the panic button `on' in us. We then become `patients' entirely at the
mercy of the medical mafia. Medicine is far from an exact science, therefore
the knowledge and biases of the doctor caring for you will result in
medical decisions that vary widely. Seldom is there a single ideal way to treat the illness. Modern methods call upon technology using advanced drugs, surgery, radiation techniques that rarely cure chronic diseases and are not 100% safe because they have side effects. There is great confusion and controversy within the medical world itself on efficiency within the medical world itself on efficiency and safety of treatments. Therefore what do we do ? We need to take charge of our lives. We need to actively participate in our health care that will ultimately affect the quality and length of our life. We need to understand the cause of illness and significance of that illness. Then a solution will evolve which has the minimum disadvantage and maximum advantages. There is an alternative to every treatment. Seek information on it. You should not lose control over your health care by placing your doctor in position of omnipotence. We go to a doctor for a cure, but instead we receive a pill to take daily to keep the pressure, blood sugar or uric acid under control and make the pain tolerable. Removal of an organ was supposed to catch the cancer in time, but it did not. Look at how much we suffer through this treatment, all for nothing. You are looking for a cure to your illness not a patch up job to cover up symptoms. Unfortunately our present health care system should be re labelled as illness - supporting system. What we need to question is would the doctor prefer a room full of sick patients for his practice or one in which everyone is healthy ! There is an alternative to every thing. We need to first see the options, be well informed. When we buy a car or gas stove, we certainly compare advantages and disadvantages of different models and makes. Unfortunately, the rigid system in medicine has dictated to us only one way to handle our problems. Break those chains. There is one major drawback. When you follow the caring system of the body you have to be actively involved with your health, you can no longer lie back and be `fixed'. Regaining and maintaining your health is the key to fight illness but it takes effort. ON MILK AND MILK PRODUCTS
If we stop consuming milk and milk products will we fall prey to OSTEOPOROSIS (brittle bones due to calcium deficiency) and PROTEIN MALNUTRITION ? Contrary to what the dairy industry keeps dinning into our heads milk is a very inferior source of calcium, Here's why. There is too much protein in bovine milk, protein
we do not
need at all.
See the box below. Milk is species specific and bovine milk is not meant
for humans.
Protein metabolism produces acidic ash in the blood. Since our blood has to be slightly alkaline all the time, the body withdraws calcium from the bones to neutralize this acid. So excess protein will weaken the bones, no matter how much calcium we eat in the food or as supplements. Bones and calcium banks. The body withdraws
calcium in order
to control
muscular contractions, the heart, blood clotting & nerve impulses among
other things. In order to keep our bones solid we need to eat less protein.
Not just calcium, excess protein can result in negative balance of
Magnesium, Zinc and Iron as well. Protein is absorbed by the body in the
form of amino-acids. Amino acids need form only 4% of our total dietary
intake.
In order to be absorbed optimally calcium needs to be in proper balance with phosphorus. Such combinations are most often found in plant sources. Leffuce does not have as much calcium but it has 70 times more phosphorus than animal liver and 23 times more than pork. So you absorb more calcium from cheap Lettuce than from expensive animal products. What about Calcium Supplements ? To begin with the body needs its nutrients in organic form. That means in fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds. Trying to chew up rocks or shells or drink mineral enriched water only strains the body, for it must expend energy in eliminating these so called nutrients. Mostly these substances get stored in the joints creating arthritis and in the kidneys creating stones. In 1984 the British Medical Journal reported that calcium intake is completely irrelevant to bone loss even when very large amounts of supplements were ingested. So it makes sense to eat foods that provide organic sources of calcium and more importantly to eat those that produce alkaline ash in the blood. So forget milk. Also avoid excess salt, junk food, smoking and soft drinks. The bottled drinks contains excessive phosphorus (among other non-nutrients) which again throws the blood into negative calcium balance. And importantly, be active. Load bearing exercise like walking, jogging, stair climbing will strengthen your bones to see you into active old age. To get back to osteoporosis, it is loss of bone mineral, so even with little force, one or more bone break. More bone material lost, greater is the risk of breaking. The loss includes minerals such as calcium and phosphorus as well as protein rich structural material that forms the bed in which the minerals are deposited. How do bones becomes weak ? Several factors in life style and nutrition is the cause of bone loss. Smoking tobacco, alcohol, caffeine and lack of exercise is associated with loss of calcium and bone matter. Foods we eat exert the strongest influence on the strength of bones. By drinking milk (because it has calcium) or by eating calcium pills, we are not considering the damages that these products cause. Osteoporosis is not because of a deficiency of calcium but because of too much high protein and inadequate physical activity. It is a degenerative disease resulting from inproper care of your body during younger and middle years. Lack of bone mineral is because of toxic residue that erodes the body (too much junk food, non-veg. food, sugar etc.) Rebuild the body through large intake of natural foods - fruits, vegetables, nuts, and sprouts that have no side effect. Consuming dairy products in order to obtain additional calcium invites serious risks to health. Cow's milk contains fats, proteins and carbohydrates. Each is associated with a health hazard. The proteins can cause food allergies, mineral imbalance & kidney damage. Lactose, that is the carbohydrate in milk can cause digestive problems. Dairy products are highly contaminated with chemicals. (See elsewhere in this issue). How can a substance with potential to cause so many illnesses be a source of nutrients necessary for human health ? Nature can never be so unkind, only people subvert nature's intention. The human intestinal tract has built-in safety mechanisms that protect us from much of our dietary foolishness. When we drink cow's milk or swallow pills loaded with potentially toxic minerals such as calcium, the active intestinal lining blocks the entry into our bloodstream of high doses of this mineral that would otherwise kill us. Without this protection blood calcium levels would rise and soft tissues like muscles & kidneys would develop calcium deposits. Calcification of kidneys can result in kidney failure & early death. Calcium supplements also contain dangerous chemicals like lead, arsenic, mercury that can contaminate the body. We need to concentrate on eating right foods & being physically active than on swallowing a pill everyday to compensate for the choices of an incorrect diet & disinclination to exercise. We need to start believing that our body is the greatest creation ever made & that the true potential for health & healing lies within us. Utilizing these innate strengths will bring us health that we deserve. WE DON'T WANT TO SHOCK YOU, BUT YOU SHOULD KNOW THAT
SYNTHETIC MILKAs if bovine milk's inherent deterrents were not enough, we now have to contend with the problem of synthetic milk. This has been around for more than three years and the long term effects of its consumption are not yet known. In producing synthetic milk, natural milk is adulterated with a concoction of pulverized soap vegetable oils, caustic soda and urea. Evidently this mixture cannot be told apart from normal bovine milk. The emphasis is on replacing butter fat in milk and this is so expertly done that the specific gravity of the concocted milk is the same as pure buffalo milk ! Such milk can be processed into `value added' products which bring in a bigger profit. Now that the Agricultural and Processed Food Product Export Development Authority (APEDA) has announced plans to export 25,000 tonnes of milk powder in the coming year there is a mad rush to manufacture synthetic milk. Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi and Gujarat are some of the states where synthetic milk production is rampant. Liberalization of th economy is a factor in production of synthetic milk. The dairy sector has been de licensed. Under the MMPO (Milk and Milk products order of 1992) dairies with handling capacity of 10,000 litres per day had to be registered. That ceiling has been raised to 75,000 litres of milk per day, with the result that hundreds of smaller units have mushroomed with no regulatory supervision. But regulatory mechanisms often remain on paper. A MNC caught adultering milk was never punished because the government feared disturbing future investments. The health of the nation, especially
that of children
is obviously less
important.
HOW ABOUT...Breathing wellIf at all we must breathe in these polluted times, we may as well breathe well. For deep cleansing breaths try this. Sit erect or stand. Think of the stomach as a balloon. Breathe slowly and evenly through the nose and fill in that balloon. Try not to move the chest at all. Exhale through the nose, collapsing the abdomen. This is the breathing you should do all day. So practice. You'll avoid building up a lot of tension. Relieving
tension in the neck and
the eyes
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