Shareholders and eyes fixed on bottom line profits are determining the quality and size of meals that we are being offered, certainly NOT health considerations and our long-term wellness.

 It’s sort of ironic that in the 1950’s the size of our cars was huge and our restaurant food portions, as you will see, were much smaller.  Now, our cars are smaller and our restaurant food portions are insanely, larger.

 As you will learn in the following article, the alarming rate at which American waistlines are expanding, is affecting us in ways that we may not be aware of. (and few, if any of them, are good).

Overweight is the new normal

Products adapt to accommodate the super-sized generation

Sun Sentinel June 12, 2011

Overweight has become the new normal, and society is straining to accommodate our ever-expanding waistlines. We plant plush bottoms on wider seats in theaters and toilet stalls, drape ourselves in plus-sized clothing, even go to our eternal rest in broader coffins.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than two-thirds of Americans are overweight, and a third, some 72 million people, are considered obese. From 1980 to 2008, obesity rates doubled for adults and tripled for children, with 17 percent, or 9 million children over 6, classified as obese.

The average American is 23 pounds heavier than the ideal body weight. Experts blame the usual bugaboos: lack of exercise and side-splitting food consumption.

“There’s definitely a new norm,” said Dr. Robert Kushner, clinical director of the Northwestern Comprehensive Center on Obesity at Northwestern University in Illinois. “It’s a norm that, ‘My entire family and my community is overweight, and that’s what I am.’ ”

Businesses, eyes on the bottom line, are adapting to the physical requirements of the heftier among us.

Revolving doors, for example, have widened from 10 feet to 12 feet in recent years. Scales, which seldom went over 300 pounds, now go up to 400 or 500 pounds.

Here are a few other areas in which the super-sized generation is changing our culture.

Feeding frenzy

Food portions, ever bigger, continue to grow to meet yawning appetites. New York nutritionist Lisa R. Young estimates fast-food servings are two to five times what they were in the 1950s. When it debuted 40 years ago, the Big Mac was but a wee patty of 3-ounce meat. Today, fast-food chains serve up 12-ounce burgers loaded with 1,000 calories.
When it first opened, a McDonald’s soda was 7 ounces. Now a small soft drink is 16 ounces, and convenience stores pitch a 64-ounce bucket of soda — a full half-gallon. The result: In the 1970s, an American gulped down an average of 27 gallons of soda a year. Today that figure is 44 gallons.

And sweets? Cookies today, Young says, are 700 percent larger than USDA standards. A brownie recipe from the 1960s called for 30 servings. The same recipe today calls for 16. 

Garbing the girth

Clothing outlets have expanded plus-sized inventories. Bulky clothes are available for children as young as 3, and Target and Forever 21 offer plus-sized fashions for teens. Quadruple-extra-large shirts are on the rack for men with 60-inch waists.

“Vanity sizing,” in which manufacturers adjust apparel size downward so it’s more palatable for women, is spreading. A size 4 today was, 20 years ago, a size 8. Some 62 percent of American women wear a size 14 or larger.

But full-size fashion has its price: Plus-sized clothing, which uses more material, costs 10 to 15 percent more than regular apparel.

High-volume cargo

Federal officials have increased the average passenger weight for buses and commercial boats, from 150 pounds to 175 pounds for bus passengers and from 160 pounds to 185 pounds for boat passengers. Buses must be stronger and bigger to handle folks of amplitude, and boats must trim their passenger lists.

Government regulations for car seat belts, set in the 1960s, require them to fit a 215-pound man with a hip circumference of 47 inches. In 2003, however, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimated that more than 38 million people, or 19 percent of Americans, were too large for their seat belts. To accommodate heftier drivers, some car manufacturers include seat belts that are 18 to 20 inches longer, or offer seat belt extenders.

Unfortunately, this is not the case when trying to compare organically grown products vs. conventionally grown products, and whether or not they are worth, the sometimes substantial, increased cost.

First let’s look at the facts as they exist now:

1- Studies have shown that organic foods, in general, do not have greater “nutritional” values than conventionally grown foods (i.e. do not have larger amounts of nutrients like vitamins and minerals)

2- Studies have shown that organic foods do have lower numbers and amounts of pesticide residues

3- Surveys as to whether or not organic foods taste better are mixed and non-conclusive.

From a health perspective (eliminating other motivating economic or long term environmental concerns, if any), the most likely benefit of eating organic food products would be derived due to reduced exposure to pesticide residues.

It is important to remember that the term “organic” does not mean “NO” pesticide levels, it assures reduced pesticide levels. (pesticides can remain in the soil and enter foods even when no synthetic pesticides are used).

We are also making the “pretty good” but not guaranteed assumption, that the natural pesticides used are safer than the synthetic pesticides .

The government sets what it considers to be safe levels of pesticides allowable in food products, whether they are organic or not. So if measuring safety via the government’s definition, most food products like fruits and vegetables, whether organic or not, are safe.

The question that arises is: “If organic food products have lower numbers of different pesticides and lower amounts of each of these pesticides, aren’t they safer?”

The answer to this question is: “Probably, Maybe,…..We really don’t know!”

A frustrating answer…I know, but there just aren’t any long term studies in humans demonstrating that groups of people who are long term consumers of organic food products have less diseases like cancer. Common sense says that less of a “bad” thing is “good” and I agree with this logic but it, alas, is just an opinion. We all know that sugar is not great for health but does eliminating it completely from your diet reduce disease risk vs. someone who just consumes modest amounts of it?. We just don’t know.

So to get back to our original question: “Are organic products worth the extra money they cost?”

If the whole concept of organic farming appeals to you and you like the idea of consuming less pesticides, even though it may or may not provide any meaningful extra health benefits, then the extra money is worth the peace of mind.

On the other hand, if you are on a budget and need to watch your dollars, then BY ALL MEANS, BUY REGULARLY GROWN FRUITS AND VEGETABLE. THEIR HEALTH BENEFITS FAR OUT WEIGHT ANY POTENTIAL RISK FROM HIGHER PESTICIDE LEVELS!

Curt Hendrix, M.S., C.C.N., C.N.S.

Most of us have heard conflicting information as to whether or not caffeine is “good or bad” for us.  After reading this article, you will learn that the health “benefits” of caffeine seem to far out-weight any negative things you may have read about it.*

*It should be noted that the benefits described below were associated with, coffee, as the source of caffeine.  Therefore it is possible that some of the benefits described below come about as a result of “other” compounds found in coffee and not the caffeine. This seems to be the case for Type 2 diabetes decreased risk.  Both caffeinated and non-caffeinated coffees seem to have helped.

The Good:

1- Caffeine is a central nervous system stimulant.  It increase your metabolic rate and the number of calories your burn (but not near as much as exercise.)

2- Short-term it can increase your mental focus.

3- Can help asthma patients to breathe better

4- Taken before exercise, can enhance performance

5- Men have a 40% reduced risk of developing gallstones when ingesting caffeine

6- May reduce risk of developing Parkinson’s disease

7- May reduce risk of colon cancer

8- May reduce risk of liver cirrhosis

9- May reduce risk of tooth decay

10- May reduce risk of developing Type 2 diabetes but it may be another ingredient in the coffee and not the caffeine that conveys this benefit

11- May reduce the risk of developing dementia

12- May improve heart artery function and increased blood flow

The Bad:

1- Caffeine can increase blood pressure for several hours after ingestion

2- Can cause nervousness

3- May increase the number of migraines experienced in chronic sufferers

4- Cause or worsen heartburn

5- May cause insomnia

6- May increase risk of arthritis (rheumatoid)

7- Though other compounds in coffee may reduce the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, for people already diagnosed, the caffeine can increase blood sugar levels.

The Bottom Line:

The health benefits of “moderate caffeine” consumption (250-400 mg/day) are potentially significant.  By keeping your caffeine ingestion at this level you get all of the potential health benefits and reduce the risk of some of the negative side-effects from occurring.

But, for those of you suffering with chronic migraines, caffeine presents a real problem!  Many sufferers report that ingesting caffeine actually helps with their current, short-term, migraine pain.  But, the problem with using caffeine is that it is known to cause an increase in the number of migraines you experience.

Though it is controversial if one can become “addicted” to caffeine,  it is clear that many people become dependent upon it and that there are definite withdrawal symptoms that occur when people try to eliminate it, after using it for a long time.

The symptoms of caffeine withdrawal are:

• Headache
• Fatigue
• Drowsiness
• Irritability
• Difficultly concentrating
• Nausea
• Muscle pain or stiffness

Chronic migraine sufferers will experience a significant improvement in their migraines if they withdraw caffeine from their diets. But to get this benefit you have to be willing to deal with the symptoms of caffeine withdrawal.  THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT THESE SYMPTOMS WILL LAST FOR ONLY 2-9 DAYS AND THAT IF YOU WITHDRAW GRADUALLY, YOU MAY NOT EXPERIENCE THEM AT ALL OR ONLY SLIGHTLY.

Curt Hendrix, M.S., C.C.N, C.N.S.,

For more information about chronic migraines and preventing their occurrence, please go to  http://www.migrelief.com/

Address the underlying causes to alleviate or prevent middle-aged weight gain along with other symptoms commonly experienced by middle- aged women.

90% of women gain weight between the ages of 35-55.  The average weight gain is about 15-20 pounds, with a disproportionate amount of this weight being an increase in body fat.

What is unfair about this, is the fact that much of this weight gain and/or body fat increase, can occur without, increasing caloric intake.  This is different than the weight you gain because you eat too much of the wrong foods and don’t exercise enough.  It’s the stubborn, difficult weight gain or increases in body fat percentage (without weight gain) that occur in middle-aged and beyond women.

Why does this phenomenon occur in so many women in this age range, and what  can you do to prevent or reduce the good chance this may happen to you?

There are specific techniques and natural supplements that can help balance a female body that is desperately trying (and in many cases with limited success) to balance many physiological processes, that by design, change with age. These changes can cause uncontrolled and undeserved weight or body fat percentage gains.

Much of this new weight will NOT be gained as much around the hips and thighs but in the stomach and waist area.  Shifting/fluctuating hormones, stress and insulin resistance are the guilty parties.

Women who suffer from migraines will also be glad to learn that controlling these same issues of fluctuating hormones, stress and blood sugar due to insulin resistance will reduce their migraine frequency and intensity as well.

Why does this weight gain occur when hormones fluctuate and stress and blood sugar are poorly controlled?

Some women can start experiencing the symptoms of early menopause (perimenopause) as soon as their mid 30’s. The hormonal fluctuations of perimenopuase  and the few years after menopause (one full year with no period)  can strongly influence your metabolism, appetite and increase your storage of fat.

Though your hormones will fluctuate during perimenopause, the general trend is for your estrogen levels to diminish with ultimately the cessation of ovulation.

The body is aware of decreasing levels of estrogen from the ovaries and searches for new sources of estrogen production.  Unfortunately, fat cells are a source of estrogen and the body may convert more calories into fat.

Though progesterone levels also tend to decrease during this period, decreasing progesterone levels don’t cause weight gain but they may cause water retention making you feel puffy or bloated.

Testosterone levels may also decrease during perimenopause (and menopause). This could result in decreased muscle mass (as well as other things like decreased libido). Less muscle mass would lead to decreased metabolic rate and additional possible weight gain.

INSULIN RESISTANCE

As if dealing with fluctuating hormones isn’t enough of a challenge during these years of a woman’s life, both men and women (in ever increasing numbers, mostly due to diet) are becoming “insulin resistant”.

This is a condition where your body is no longer as responsive to the hormone insulin, as it was when you were younger. Our bodies require increasing amounts of insulin to be released to maintain blood sugar at healthy, non-diabetic levels. Insulin resistance can occur whether you are over-weight or thin.

When our bodies don’t respond in a sensitive way to insulin, the sugar in our blood, is not absorbed efficiently by our cells and they don’t get the source of energy that they need. The cells can feel deprived and appetites increase and fat accumulation and weight gain can occur.

In the case of women suffering from PCOS (Polycystic ovarian syndrome), the insulin resistance that accompanies this condition leads to weight gain as well.  But in the case of PCOS the women often have too much testosterone and this causes the weight gain to occur around the stomach and waist much like it does it men.  Also hair at the crown of the head can thin, and hair may grown on the face and back.

In fact, because estrogen and progesterone levels drop more than testosterone levels do during perimenopause and menopause, women may also tend to gain more around the middle than the hips and thighs.  Some women tend to lose their waistline.

The fat that you can grab around your belly is NOT the problem.  This is just sub-cutaneous fat, and though cosmetically not desirable, it is not the fat that increases cardiovascular and cancer risk.

It is the fat beneath your abdominal muscles that surrounds your internal organs that is of greater health concern.   This fat is called abdominal or visceral adiposity.

It is the fat that protrudes out some men’s stomach to the point where they look like they swallowed a beach ball but yet they continue to say………. “Feel how hard my stomach is!”   Of course it’s hard, there is so much fat underneath the abdominal muscles, pushing them outwards, that or course the abdomen feels hard.

Insulin resistance as well as stress and hormonal fluctuations can successfully be controlled and reversed and your body, self-image, emotional status, energy levels, cognition, health and over-all life will improve dramatically.

How do you know if you are insulin resistant?

One measurement is to measure yourself around the smaller part of your waist (but do NOT suck your stomach in when taking this measurement).  Then measure your hips around their widest part.

Divide the waist measurement in inches by the hip measurement in inches. If the resulting number is .8 or larger (for women,  1 for men), then you have disproportionate weight in the waist and are at greater risk of having insulin resistance.

Your risk further increases if you have hypertension, low HDL levels (below 45 if you are a woman), or high triglyceride levels (above 150).

If you have darkened skin patches around the neck or armpits, it is extremely likely that you are insulin resistant.  This is a condition known as acanthosis nigricans.

Stress

The effects of long-term stress on our over-all health is very significant.  One of the most important hormones that is released by our adrenal glands when under-stress is cortisol.  This is necessary and helps us to deal with short-term stressful events or stimuli.

But, when stress is chronic, and cortisol is being released in excessive and lasting amounts, it can also lead to weight gain and other health problems.

Like insulin resistance and hormonal fluctuations, stress must also be dealt with.

Bringing It All Together

Because stress, hormonal fluctuations and blood sugar fluctuation due to insulin resistance are also major contributors to chronic migraine headaches as well as weight gain, several of the key “natural medicines” that help to resolve these issues are in MigreLief+M. This is a very effective natural medicine that helps to prevent migraine headaches and coincidentally helps women with the related weight gain issues we have been discussing. 

Chasteberry – A specific extract of Vitex Agnus Castus, otherwise known as Chasteberry extract has been shown in numerous human studies to naturally balance the hormonal fluctuation discussed above.

Biotin – Doses of biotin, (a B-vitamin) much higher than normally found in multi-vitamin products, has been clinically proven to help regulate blood sugar irregularities that can be caused by insulin resistance.

B-6 – High doses of Vitamin B-6 have been shown to decrease or eliminate the symptoms of PMS (including bloating and related weight gain) caused by fluctuating estrogen levels.  This vitamin is also involved in the processing of sugar and can help protect against the effects of blood sugar fluctuations caused by insulin resistance.

L-Theanine – an amino acid derived from green tea, has been shown to be very calming and help to reduce stress levels. 

All four of the ingredients are found in the correct, therapeutic doses in MigreLief+M.  For those of you who don’t  suffer from chronic migraine headaches but do want to benefit from their weight gain/loss/body fat benefits, I suggest that you purchase these ingredients separately at your health food store.

For those of you who fear that they are insulin resistant, I suggest taking these other ingredients as well (which also can be purchase at any well stocked health food store):

800 mcg per day of chromium picolinate for blood sugar control
600 mg per day of R-Lipoic acid for blood sugar control

Consumption of a least 50 grams of dietary fiber spread out throughout the day  with meals.  Fiber helps to slow the body’s absorption of sugar and prevents the fluctuations that we have been talking about. You can choose psyllium as a supplement or, ground flax seed as your fiber source.

Moderate aerobic exercise of 20-30 minutes a day can also help to correct insulin resistance. 

A daily B vitamin complex of 50 mg of B-1,2,3,5 plus folic acid and B-12 can also help with sugar metabolism and stress.

Diet-wise, lean meats, high fiber whole grains, vegetables, legumes and fruit will help reestablish normal insulin levels.  Until you see weight and or body fat starting to drop, keep carbohydrates in the form of pasta, bread and sugar to a minimum.

What to expect?

By following this advice over the course of 3-6 months (3 months or less for migraines) your:

1-     Weight or body fat percentages should start to meaningfully drop

2-     Your hair, at the front and crown of your head, if it was thinning, should start to thicken

3-     Any discolored patches of skin around the neck and armpits should start to lighten or disappear 

4-     Migraine frequency and intensity (if you were a sufferer) should noticeably improve

5-     Energy levels should noticeably improve

6-     If you are still menstruating, your periods should be much more regular

7-     If you were experiencing  perimenopausal symptoms, they should improve

8-     If you had unwanted hair on the face or back, it should lighten and thin, if not completely go away.

To read more about some of the natural medicine ingredients written about above, visit:  http://www.migrelief.com/migreliefm/active-ingredients

Curt Hendrix, M.S. C.C.N. C.N.S

Women, hold on to your pocketbooks tightly. Big Pharma is after your money in the lucrative game of sexual satisfaction now that they have seen just how much they can get out of your husband or boyfriend by making them feel sexually inadequate.

This phenomenon is also being explored in the new film, Orgasm Inc., a ‘First Run Features’ release about the science of female pleasure and Female Sexual Dysfunction (FSD). With the huge financial success of drugs like Viagra, the pharmaceutical companies don’t want you women to feel left out so they are creating new disorders, dysfunctions and diseases, to convince normal, healthy women that many of you are “abnormal” according to the definitions they fabricate. They know by spending billions of dollars on advertising they will convince millions of you that something is wrong, when it really isn’t. In fact, the whole concept and diagnosis of the existence of Female Sexual Disorder is questioned by many physicians, medical research facilities and researchers!

So get ready for the fancy, sounding medical names that you are going to start hearing from the pharmaceutical companies like: Female Sexual Arousal Disorder, FSAD (when a condition has initials it always sounds more legitimate) or Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder or Anorgasmia (no orgasm). Remember your first reaction is to tighten your grip on your pocketbook and your libido, and then look for simple, common sense approaches instead of new designer drugs from your friendly 20 billion dollar a year drug buddies.

For those of you who have lower libidos than you would like, you may want to ask your physician to check your testosterone levels. Sometimes low dose testosterone is all it takes to heat things up a little bit. A woman’s testosterone levels are highest in the early twenties when sex drive is also at its highest. The decrease in sex drive women experience can often be related to naturally decreasing levels of testosterone with age. In addition, oral contraceptive/birth control pills can also suppress testosterone production. Decreasing testosterone levels certainly affect women and their sex drive as they enter menopause. The replacement of estrogen by itself does not protect against lack of sex drive, loss of muscle, mental sharpness or get up and go.

To the best you, that you can be,

Curt Hendrix B.S. M.S. C.C.N. C.N.S.

Let’s take a look at some statistics that will help you to understand how normal it is, NOT to experience a vaginal orgasm.

While 85-90% of women can experience clitoral orgasms from either self-stimulation or from a partner, only 25% of women experience vaginal orgasms from the penetration of intercourse, and it has nothing to do with not having enough libido.

It Seems to Be Just a Matter of Anatomy!

Physicians and researchers who specialize in this area are saying that whether or not you can experience a vaginal orgasm may depend upon the anatomy of your clitoris.

Some researcher are saying that the sensitive, erectile tissue of the clitoris, in women who do experience vaginal orgasms, extends into the vaginal opening and allows them to experience the same sensual feeling when penetrated as other women feel when they stimulate the outer area of the clitoris.

Not only does this theory seem logical, it also can explain why there is much debate amongst medical professionals as to whether or not a separate G-spot really even exists.

We all easily accept the anatomical differences that exist in all of us. We don’t worry or question about the fact that our vocal cords are different from those who are born with beautiful voices. We don’t question when some of us are born with more powerful muscles that allow us to excel in sports. So the fact that some women’s erectile cells of the clitoris extend further into the vagina, allowing them to experience orgasm from penetration as opposed to orgasm from external stimulation of the clitoris, is not surprising and absolutely nothing to be concerned about.

Curt Hendrix, M.S., C.C.N. C.N.S

A study recently published in a well-respected medical journal named Cephalalgia found that menstrual and nonmenstrual migraines differ in women who suffer from both kinds.

Non-menstrual migraines are those migraines that do not occur within a few days before or after menstruation.  The menstrual migraines occur either a few days before the start of menstruation or a few days after menstruation has stopped.

The study found that menstrual migraines lasted longer than non-menstrual migraines. On average the menstrual migraine lasted 23.4 hours vs. 16.1 hours for non-menstrual migraines.

It was also found that menstrual migraines cause more disability and inability to function in daily tasks than non-menstrual migraines.

Medications to treat the pain of migraines were 50% less effective when used to treat menstrual migraines.  Furthermore, even when the pain medication did work the risk of the menstrual migraine reoccurring was much more likely.

The authors of the study concluded by saying – “Menstrual migraines may require a treatment approach different from that of non-menstrual migraines.”

We agree! And that is why we created MigreLief+M for the treatment of hormone related, menstrual migraine headaches.  MigreLief+M is the first product specifically formulated for women suffering from hormone related, menstrual migraines as well as women suffering from the symptoms of PMS.

WASHINGTON | Fri Jan 21, 2011 6:41pm EST

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Around 30,000 strollers in the United States and Canada are being recalled over potential amputation and laceration hazards, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Health Canada said on Friday.

The Jogging Strollers imported by phil&teds USA have been reported to cause a finger-tip amputation and two lacerations during the folding and unfolding of the strollers, a joint statement said.

The recall includes sport v2 and classic v1 model single-seat jogging strollers with serial numbers 0308/0001 to 0510/0840 and 0308/0001 to 0510/0906 respectively.

Those who purchased the strollers should stop use immediately and contact the manufacturer to receive a free repair kit.