Comfort foods may not be all that comforting, it turns out. Although researchers have looked at the link between certain nutrients and depression, not many have studied the connection between overall diet and depression. Until now. A new study in the The British Journal of Psychiatry found that people who eat more whole foods, such as fruits, vegetables and fish, are less likely to be depressed later on. But those who eat a lot of processed meat, chocolate, sweetened desserts, fried foods, refined cereals and high fat dairy products have a higher risk for depression.

Why?

The researchers suggest several mood-boosting possibilities: the high folate content in certain cruciferous vegetables, leafy greens and legumes; the high omega-3 fatty acid content in fish; the high antioxidant content in fruits; or all of the above (i.e., the foods and nutrients work in combination).

What’s clear: Sales of many natural ingredients for an enhanced psyche have risen over the past year even as consumers pinched pennies during the worst recession in 60 years—or perhaps because of it. Some popular ones, like fish oil, 5-HTP, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and S-Adenosyl methionine (SAM-e) got a boost upwards of 15 percent in the conventional channel, according to SPINS, a Schaumburg, Ill.-based market research company. I

(NaturalNews) Sam Baker, three-time All-American at USC and first-round 2008 NFL draft pick, came to the Whitaker Wellness Institute before he reported to the Atlanta Falcons training camp last year. “My trainer recommended that I receive treatment at the clinic to help me build muscle and gain strength. It really did wonders for me. The therapies I received helped me increase my energy and even improved my body composition. I was also introduced to a number of treatments that helped me recover quickly from injuries I’d sustained during my senior year at USC. I believe these therapies gave me a competitive edge and helped me get back to optimal health so I could perform at my best again.”

Of course, most of us aren’t going to be playing NFL football anytime soon. But regardless of activity level, occasional bumps, bruises, and sprains are bound to happen. And, like Sam Baker, we all have a common goal: to get back in the game as quickly as possible.

Drugs and More Drugs
Head to any conventional medical facility after an injury and you’ll probably be told to follow the RICE protocol (rest, ice, compression, elevation). This advice is great. However, you’re also likely find yourself with instructions to take prescription or over-the-counter nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), COX-2 inhibitors, or stronger painkillers.

Be wary. While sporadic use of these drugs is acceptable, using them long-term can be disastrous. NSAIDs are notorious for causing stomach upset, ulcers, and very serious bleeding that results in more than 16,000 deaths each year. In addition to GI problems, COX-2 inhibitors also increase risk of stroke and heart attack. One of these drugs, Vioxx, was removed from the market after being linked to more than 50,000 fatalities. And prescription painkillers have issues of their own. They are highly addictive and carry a huge abuse potential.

But don’t despair. I’m going to tell you about a handful of safe and effective therapies that take healing to a whole new level.

IV C: Restoration and Recovery
Sam Baker attributes much of his improvement to intravenous (IV) vitamin C. Large doses of vitamin C speed up healing of all types of injuries. In addition to preventing infection, this nutrient is required for the production of collagen, an essential building block of blood vessels, scar tissue, and cartilage. Not surprisingly, the body rapidly uses vitamin C after injury or trauma, and replacing lost stores of this crucial vitamin facilitates overall healing.

Unfortunately, very high doses of vitamin C cannot be taken orally because it can cause gastrointestinal cramping and diarrhea. The solution? Administer it intravenously. At the clinic, we routinely use 25—50 g of IV vitamin C. It sounds like a lot, I know, but it’s well tolerated and very effective.

Oxygen Speeds Healing
Another cornerstone therapy we use at the clinic is hyperbaric oxygen (HBOT). This treatment works by flooding the body with oxygen, which eradicates bacteria and potential infections, encourages the growth of new blood vessels, and promotes tissue regeneration. It’s safe, noninvasive, and effective for everything from sprains and strains to recovery from plastic surgery.

HBOT happens to be a personal favorite of mine. A number of years ago, I sprained my ankle pretty badly playing squash. It swelled up like a grapefruit, turned purple, and hurt like the dickens. After a few hourly sessions in the hyperbaric chamber, the inflammation and pain diminished dramatically. Rather than being benched for two to three weeks, I was back to my old self in about seven days.

I’m not the only “athlete” who takes advantage of HBOT. Minnesota Vikings safety Darren Sharper reportedly sleeps in a hyperbaric chamber to speed recovery time from injuries. And Terrell Owens is said to have used hyperbaric oxygen in conjunction with the next therapy we’ll discuss to rapidly heal a broken ankle in time to play in the 2005 Super Bowl. Continue Reading »

Another example of a proven health inducing technology suppressed but returning to help the world.

by Patricia Fitzgerald at Huffington Post

Spring is definitely in the air. Daylight Saving Time allows many of us to leave work to find the sun still shining. Here in Southern California, seeds are sprouting, birds are chirping, and flowers are blooming. People seem to have an extra swing in their step, and that “happy for no reason” feeling.

While winter can be a time for going inward and conserving energy (and probably eating too much over the holidays), spring often inspires regeneration, a renewal of spirit, and a fresh start.

In earlier times, giving special attention to liver health and detoxification was a springtime ritual in many cultures. Although it is, of course, important to take care of our liver (as well as our whole body) year-round, we can often draw inspiration from traditions that have been passed down from our ancestors. The thinking behind supporting the liver in this season is that spring brings new life, so it is time to shed what is no longer needed.

Traditional Chinese Medicine (also referred to as TCM) is a system of healing passed down through several thousand years. Treatments include herbs, acupuncture, nutritional therapy, massage, etc., and the care is based on the principles of living in harmony with nature and striving for balance. According to TCM, the liver is responsible for the smooth flow of qi (our vital energy) and blood.

When our qi is flowing well, we journey through life smoothly without a buildup of toxins, stress, and tension. This ideal scenario isn’t always the case. In our 21st century fast-paced lifestyle, a pattern of liver disharmony observed in TCM called “liver qi stagnation” has become quite commonplace.

Some of the conditions traditionally associated with liver qi stagnation include fatigue, depression, mood swings, anger/irritability, feeling overwhelmed with stress, PMS and other hormonal imbalances, sluggish digestion/elimination, inflammation/pain in muscles and joints, headaches, allergies, bloating, gas, nausea, vomiting, constipation and/or diarrhea, a feeling of a lump in your throat, nausea, frequent colds and flu, and skin breakouts.

Some of the factors that can contribute to liver qi stagnation include environmental chemicals, coffee, alcohol, refined sugar, artificial sweeteners, food allergies, processed foods, emotional stress, lack of deep restful sleep, and excessive or inappropriate pharmaceutical drug and hormone use.

Our liver is an amazing organ with literally hundreds of functions, including detoxification, metabolic regulation, nutrient synthesis, hormone processing, and cholesterol and bile production. Liver qi stagnation would imply that some of the functions are not at optimal performance.

Here are 10 ways to increase your vitality and give your liver a little more TLC:

1. Drink plenty of water. Fereydoon Batmanghelidj, M.D. is one of the world’s foremost experts on the therapeutic value of water. He suggests that half of your body’s weight is the number of ounces of water to aim for each day. For example, if you weigh 120 pounds, 60 ounces of water is your goal. I have seen the beneficial effects of this formula in the clinic with many patients over the years. Also, drinking a glass of warm water with lemon first thing in the morning will support your liver’s natural detoxification processes. By the way, dehydrating beverages such as coffee and alcohol don’t count towards your total water intake.

2. Eat vegetables every day, especially greens. In TCM, the color green is associated with the liver. When choosing your salad fixings, go for the organic spring mix instead of the iceberg. Your liver will love a variety of greens such as kale, spinach, and collard greens. The color green in these vegetables comes from chlorophyll, a substance plants use to trap the energy of the sun. Go ahead–eat some sunshine!

3. Add sour-tasting foods to your diet. These include citrus fruits (sprinkle lemon in your water and on foods such as fish and vegetables), raw apple cider vinegar (good for balancing pH–try two tablespoons in a glass of water, or use with olive oil on your salad), and sauerkraut (which contains beneficial bacteria). With our over-sugared, over-salted palates, we often overlook sour-tasting foods. According to TCM, the sour flavor is associated with the liver, and it enhances bile flow.

4. Avoid toxic fats, eat beneficial ones. Decrease your consumption of trans fats and partially-hydrogenated oils. Toxic fats put an unnecessary burden on the liver, further stagnating qi flow. Emphasize organic, unprocessed oils (such as olive oil and flax oil) in your food preparation. Increase the use of fish that is low in mercury, avocados, nuts, and seeds in your diet. Consider supplementing your diet with an Omega-3 supplement to boost your essential fatty acid intake. Omega-3 supplementation has been shown to decrease cardiovascular disease risk, and it can reduce symptoms of arthritis, depression, cognitive decline, and a seemingly endless list of health challenges.

5. Reduce your sugar consumption. On average, Americans eat 137 pounds of sugar a year! It’s the hidden sugars that often add up. Watch what you add to foods like cereal and coffee. Read food labels and avoid overly sugary choices. Know that “fat free” foods can be loaded with sugar, and actually increase triglycerides, a fat in your blood. Eat whole fruits rather than drinking fruit juice. If you find your cravings too strong to follow practical steps, you might find helpful hints in The Sugar Addict’s Total Recovery Program by Kathleen Desmaisons.

6. Eat close to nature. Often simpler is better. Select the best of what comes from Mother Nature, and avoid artificial ingredients and toxic sweeteners by eating less packaged foods. Go organic as much as possible. The Environmental Working Group offers a free guide to pesticides found in common foods. You might be surprised that peaches, apples, and bell peppers top their list of the “dirty dozen”―foods recommended especially to be purchased in their organic version.

7. Incorporate more conscious breathing and exercise into your routine to boost circulation and enhance overall liver function. Choose a form of exercise that you enjoy, and remember to breathe. In traditional Chinese cultures, you can see people doing qi gong, which emphasizes breathing and movement specifically designed to promote the smooth flow of qi.

8. Choose to be joyful by cultivating a spirit of gratitude, and regularly forgive others as well as yourself. In TCM, the emotion that contributes to stagnant liver qi is anger, especially repressed anger. The virtues that free the liver qi are forgiveness and a release of judgment towards self and others. In China, when someone is angry, they are said to have a toxic liver. In fact, a morning greeting there translates to “How is your liver?”

9. Reduce or eliminate your use of alcohol, nicotine, and caffeine. These substances can become very addictive, masking a greater imbalance in our physical, emotional, and spiritual health. Taking these suggested steps to give our liver some TLC can be part of a comprehensive program to heal our reliance on potentially harmful chemicals.

10. Schedule time for self-care. Get a massage, take a yoga class, etc. I say schedule because I’ve noticed something in our 24/7 culture. This is that if we don’t put taking care of ourselves on our own list, it often doesn’t happen. Even Oprah, the woman who seems to have everything, admitted her health started to suffer as she didn’t put self-care as a priority on her to-do list.

Hopefully this article gets you thinking about ways to be kind to your liver, during the spring and always. Because life is funny… You buy a car, you get a manual. You buy a toaster, you get a manual. You are born with a liver that you will have your entire life. No manual. Yet its care and maintenance is far more important than anything that you will every buy.

Detox is certainly a hot topic these days. People want to feel better, and it is natural to want a quick fix. Be wary of marketing claims that promise to detox your body with a “five-day cleanse.” Extreme approaches do not cultivate a healthy lifestyle for the long term, and they promote the on-again, off-again “diet” mentality. Developing habits and choices that will reduce the toxic burden on your liver and your whole body is not going to change things overnight, in a week, or even a year. But you can start moving in the right direction by following the guidelines outlined above.

In the next article, we will explore the use of herbs and nutritional supplements that have been proven to be safe and effective to enhance the health of the liver, and consequently the whole body. We will also dispel some of the myths regarding detox.

Until next time, Happy Spring!
***

Patricia Fitzgerald is a licensed acupuncturist, certified clinical nutritionist and homeopath as well as the Medical Director of the Santa Monica Wellness Center. She is also the author of The Detox Solution: The Missing Link to Radiant Health, Abundant Energy, Ideal Weight, and Peace of Mind.

The following article by Mike Adams does not paint a pretty picture of where we are headed but is offered to readers to help provide balanced perspective in a time and new paradigm world in which anything is possible and nothing is certain.

If you find his point of view compelling, you can subscribe to Mike’s blog by visiting his site at the end of this article.

(NaturalNews) The shutdown of the American economy has begun. Chrysler has announced it would shutter 100% of its factories for one month as it seeks bailout money from the Federal Reserve. The Fed, meanwhile, slashes its interest rates to zero, even while promising to print unlimited trillions of new dollars in order to “save” the U.S. economy.

Meanwhile, the state of California has announced it would halt all infrastructure projects (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/18/us/18…), meaning that the construction and maintenance of bridges, roads and schools will be abandoned until new money can be found.

On the same day, the U.S. dollar plummeted to a 13-year low against the Yen. Investors around the world are realizing the dollar is doomed, and they’re increasingly betting against it. (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=…)

Earlier this week, an important international meeting of heads of state was held in Latin America. The most notable fact about this meeting is that the USA was not invited.

The power and influence of the United States of America is rapidly plummeting, and the closing down of Chrysler’s factories is a major warning sign that the U.S. economy, which has long operated on financial vapor, has begun an unprecedented reconfiguration that could mean the end of the dollar as a world currency and the final gutting of America’s long-doomed manufacturing industry.

Why the health of the People determines the fate of the economy

In other countries, workers are willing to work for less money, executives are aggressive and well educated, and companies aren’t burdened with out-of-control health care costs that have been enforced by the Big Pharma / FDA conspiracy that seeks to keep Americans diseased and medicated.

The upshot is that, in many ways, America can no longer compete on the world stage, and it is now suffering the predictable effects of an economy built on mass consumer poisoning and the continuation of disease.

I’ve been warning NaturalNews readers about this for years, insisting that the disease economy would spell the economic doom of the nation. I am the original author of the story “The Town of Allopath” (http://www.naturalnews.com/008674.html), which describes the economic destruction of a town that tries to base its economy on disease. Dr. Joe Mercola used the story to create an animation that is now quite famous on the ‘net.

I’m also the creator of the Business is Booming cartoon (http://www.naturalnews.com/021218.html), which paints the same picture of economic destruction from a different point of view.

What does health have to do with Chrysler and the U.S. economy? Everything! When a nation bases its medical system on disease and profits rather than health and abundance, that nation has no economic future.

The demise of Chrysler and GM, for example, is due in large part to health issues. It’s not just that health care costs are bankrupting the companies, it’s also that diseased, medicated workers have poor productivity, a high number of missed work days, poor cognitive function, slow recovery time after injury and are in every way lower-quality workers. A healthy employee is a productive and happier employee. An unhealthy employee is an expensive, non-productive burden on any company.

If you have two labor pools from two different nations, and one nation lives on a traditional diet with few medications while another nation lives on junk food and psychiatric drugs, which labor pool do you think will produce better-quality workers?

You don’t even need to answer that question: The free market has answered it for you. Chrysler is bankrupt. Toyota is not. U.S. workers have become increasingly intellectually impaired over the last few decades while workers from nations like China and India have become remarkably well educated and capable. You simply cannot compete in the world if your nation is running on junk foods and medication!

How to save the U.S. economy

If we hope to have even a slight chance of saving the U.S. economy, we are going to have to abandon the business of disease and start creating a healthy population.

Specifically, we must end Big Pharma’s patents on medicine, end all drug advertising, radically reform the FDA, legalize natural cancer treatments, end the censorship of nutritional supplements and arrest all the pharma executives, oncologists and cancer-industry pushers who are right now engaged in a form of legalized murder (chemotherapy).

You also need to strip power from corporations as a whole, ending their reign over politics, the media, science journals, med schools and legislation. Corporations need to be stripped of the powers that were only meant to be guaranteed to the People (such as freedom of speech). Corporations should have no free speech. Only individuals should be guaranteed this right. And with that, we could ban all corporate advertising of sodas, junk food, fast food, and anything that was unhealthy.

Grocery stores would need to be completely reorganized: Unhealthy foods go on the bottom shelves. Only the healthiest, most wholesome foods could be displayed on end caps and eye-level shelves. That way, shoppers still have the option of buying garbage foods, but it’s not pushed on them like it is today.

We have to completely abandon the business of disease by taking the profit out of it. No more patents for Big Pharma to exploit. No more making money off keeping people diseased. No more payments to doctors and hospitals for running a battery of expensive diagnostic tests while ignoring the basic responsibility to teach patients how to eat right.

At the same time, we need an outright ban on all toxic food ingredients and contaminants (melamine, aspartame, MSG, sodium nitrite, petrochemical colors, trans fats, etc.) as well as a ban on dangerous chemicals in personal care products (fragrance products, skin care, cosmetics, shampoo, soap, etc.). These steps alone would slash cancer rates by perhaps one-third, saving tens of billions of dollars for the U.S. economy (and lives, too).

All companies that make poison should be shut down. Goodbye, DuPont. Goodbye, Monsanto. Goodbye, Merck. Your poisons are no longer welcomed in a health-conscious society.

And then we need a new, national campaign to teach the People about real health. All that empty ad space created by banning Big Pharma’s advertising would be replaced by natural health-oriented public service ads that teach people how to eat right, how to get more Vitamin D, how to read food labels, what ingredients to avoid, how to shop smarter and eat healthier.

Since many people won’t voluntarily invest in their own health, Government should issue each person a monthly health voucher that could be traded in for health-related products or services: A gym membership, some multivitamins, preventive chiropractic care or anything else they chose. This would be paid by the taxpayers, of course, but it’s one of those things an advanced society should always provide (like a “free” education).

In less than one year, the death rate from cancer, heart disease, diabetes and other health conditions would plummet. In three years, the cognitive function of U.S. workers would be measurably higher. In five years, we might be able to effectively compete again on the international stage, and we would see companies expand their operations in the U.S. In ten years, with health care costs plummeting 90 percent, we could take all that money currently being wasted on “disease care” and use it to pay back the national debt. In less than one generation, we’d be a healthy, debt-free nation, with happy, productive workers and real hope for the future.

That’s what we could create if any leaders in this country had any real backbone. You have to sacrifice the disease industry if you want to save this nation. You have to shut down Big Pharma and the overwhelming power of corporations if you want to return this nation to the People. You have to be willing to end those things that are destroying America if you want to find a way to save America.

And modern medicine is, without question, destroying America. It’s destroying America’s cost competitiveness, America’s health and America’s future. Our “profit at all costs” medical system, if it is not ended, will spell the financial destruction of this nation.

This is not conjecture. It’s financial fact.

Consider this startling statistic: Did you know that reducing the cancer death rate by just 1% would be worth almost $500 billion to the U.S. economy in the long run? (Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

If you reduce the cancer rate by just 10%, then, it’s worth $5 trillion dollars to the economy.

We have the knowledge right now to slash cancer rates by 90%. Vitamin D alone can prevent nearly 80% of all cancers. By adding other anti-cancer nutrients to the mix, we can easily prevent 90% of all cancers. That’s worth $45 trillion to the U.S. economy in terms of regained productivity.

Do the math and you’ll realize that investing in health is the solution to our nation’s economic crisis. A healthy population can earn its way out of debt and back into prosperity. A diseased population, however, has no such opportunity.

If you want to save this nation, you have to start by saving the health of its People. This is a fundamental law of nation building: The People’s health must be the foundation upon which all national productivity and wealth is built. Without health, no nation has any real future.

Will America make the right choice?

Not on your life. America has become a nation of complacent, corrupt and incompetent decision makers. It is a nation running on legalized crime (Big Pharma) and the mass poisoning of the people (food companies, soda companies, drug companies, chemical companies, etc.). It is a nation that values short-term profits over long-term prosperity. It has sold out its money supply (to the Fed), its health (to Big Pharma), its honesty (to the highest corporate bidder) and its entire system of government (to the corporations).

As such, America as we know it will soon collapse. Its economy is headed towards ruin, its currency is increasingly worthless, its people are medicated beyond all reason and its politicians are almost universally crooks. What Blagojevich was arrested for in Illinois is taking place every single day in the halls of Congress in Washington. Selling out the People for personal gain is a way of life in Washington D.C.

There is no leader in power who can make the tough decisions to turn America around. And anyone thinking Obama can do this is in for a rude surprise. Obama’s health plan is largely based on defending the status quo while requiring employers to continue paying for a diseased population. Nothing in Obama’s health plan even pretends to make tough decisions like overthrowing the FDA or ending the monopolistic patent protection on Big Pharma’s medicines.

America will ultimately be destroyed by its own greed and arrogance, following the inescapable cycle of nations as they move from abundance to complacency, then to apathy, then to dependence and bondage. (See below.)

The cycle of nations and the fall of Democracy

I leave you with the words of Alexander Tyler, a Scottish history professor who wrote in 1787 (yes, 1787!) these timely words that are far more coherent and honest than any words that have come out of the mouth of any U.S. politician in recent memory (except perhaps for Ron Paul, who echoes this theme):

“A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government.

A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury.

From that moment on, the majority always vote for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship.

The average age of the world’s greatest civilizations from the beginning of history, has been about 200 years.

During those 200 years, those nations always progressed through the following sequence:

1. from bondage to spiritual faith;
2. from spiritual faith to great courage;
3. from courage to liberty;
4. from liberty to abundance;
5. from abundance to complacency;
6. from complacency to apathy;
7. from apathy to dependence;
8. from dependence back into bondage.”

Today, America is in stage 8: Dependence into bondage. The private sectors of America cannot exist on their own anymore, and they must turn to the government (the Fed, the Treasury, etc.) to be bailed out. Cities, states, companies and entire industry are now deep into dependence. (The U.S. government, for example, now owns 50% of the private homes in the country due to its nationalization of Fannie May and Freddie Mac).

Bondage is the next step in this predictable cycle, and it is a desperate stage in which the demoralized American people may dwell for a decade or more.

Are you ready for 2009 yet? I’ll be publishing a checklist of what you need to take care of before the future unfolds. Do not be caught unprepared in a nation headed towards collapse.

Watch for an upcoming article in which I recommend a new source for gold and silver: Golden Lion Mint (www.GoldenLionMint.com), where you can currently get precious metals at a much lower price than buying official U.S.-minted coins (which are now inflated due to supply / demand pressures). I have no financial interest in Golden Lion Mint.

You may also want to consider joining my “Mindful Wealth” email list, which send out one email every two weeks or so, bringing you information on either protecting your wealth, or attracting new abundance, even during difficult economic times. You can join that list for free at: http://www.naturalnews.com/MindfulWealt…

Whatever you do, take action now to protect your savings, your home and your health from what’s coming. The approaching years are bound to be tumultuous.

About the author: Mike Adams is a consumer health advocate with a passion for teaching people how to improve their health He has authored and published thousands of articles, interviews, consumers guides, and books on topics like health and the environment, reaching millions of readers with information that is saving lives and improving personal health around the world. Adams is an honest, independent journalist and accepts no money or commissions on the third-party products he writes about or the companies he promotes. In 2007, Adams launched EcoLEDs, a maker of energy efficient LED lights that greatly reduce CO2 emissions. He’s also the CEO of a highly successful email newsletter software company that develops software used to send permission email campaigns to subscribers. Adams volunteers his time to serve as the executive director of the Consumer Wellness Center, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, and regularly pursues cycling, nature photography, Capoeira and Pilates. Known on the ‘net as ‘the Health Ranger,’ Adams shares his ethics, mission statements and personal health statistics at www.HealthRanger.org