High Fructose Corn Syrup Contaminated with Mercury!

A recent article in Natural News gives research evidence showing that High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) has been contaminated with the highly toxic compound Mercury. HCFS is prevalent in most convenience foods (and more) such as cookies, candy, soda, fruit juice, salad dressings, and much much more.

"The highest level of contamination found in the study (http://www.ehjournal.net/content/8/1/2) was 0.57 micrograms of mercury per gram of HFCS. The EPA says that an average-sized woman should consume no more than 5.5 micrograms per day of mercury, meaning that the average American consumer may be eating five times the upper safety limit of mercury every day due to high-fructose corn syrup consumption if they consume the foods tested in the study."

Go to this LINK to read more about this alarming article.

High Fructose Corn Syrup Contaminated with Mercury!

The Raleigh "Lets Eat Local Food" Group

Just a quick note for all you Holistically Minded Folks in the Triangle area:

Check out this meetup group at meetup.com for a fun filled adventure in whole food shopping!

They will be meeting at the Raleigh Farmers Market at 1pm on Saturday February 21st for a group experience in local produce shopping. Sounds like a blast!

The Raleigh "Lets Eat Local Food" Group

A Map to Self Discovery

CCWwellness blog has now celebrated its first year of existence! It has been a pleasure leading this source and the anniversary of its creation has caused me, its creator, to look back on the past year with a sense of nostalgia and perspective.

I realize now that the past year has truly been a year of self discovery and inner reflection. I have started to become comfortable in myself, in who I am, in my abilities, and in my world view. The wonderful staff and patients of CCW have truly been an integral part of that journey, and will continue to be so in the new year. 2009 is looking very promising!

In homage to this new sense of adventure and introspection I would like to share an article from one of my favorite sites SureWoman.com. The article is "Eight Baby Steps to Knowing Yourself" by Kimberly Fulcher. I encourage anyone interested in using 09' as a year of self examination to read the article. While you may not feel the urge to follow the entire map of this article, you will get some great ideas...and the best part....they are EASY!

A Map to Self Discovery

REAL FOOD REAL MEDICINE Conference

February 27-March 1 2009
UNC FRIDAY CENTER
100 Friday Center Drive
Chapel Hill, NC 27599

REAL FOOD REAL MEDICINE is a conference for educating and raising awareness in communities of people about their health, their food supply and sustainable farming practices for environmental preservation. Who should come? Everyone - whether you are a student, doctor, mother, farmer, health care provider, teacher - anyone who is interested in radically strengthening the very foundations of their health.

SPONSORED BY UNC FLO FOODS and the North Carolina Association of Naturopathic Physicians

BENEFIT FOR Breeze Incubator Farm, an Orange County farm for teaching
sustainable farming methods

PRE-REGISTRATION FEE (Until February 15, 2009)
$180
Students $75
Farmers $100
Seniors $150
After February 15, 2009 and at the door, $200 for everyone

REGISTER AND INFORMATION
www.realfoodrealmedicine.com or call 919-932-6262 ext 10

SCHEDULE
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 27
6:00-6:30 Registration
6:30-6:45 Welcome
6:45-8:45 The Oiling of America by Sally Fallon Morell: How the phony cholesterol theory caused Americans to abandon nutritious whole foods
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 28
8:00-8:30 Registration
8:30-8:50 The FLO Food Story-Fair, Local and Organic
8:50-10:10 Principles of Nourishing Traditional Diets by Sally Fallon Morell
10:10-10:30 Break for snacks
10:30-12:00 Principles of Nourishing Traditional Diets by Sally Fallon Morell
12:00-1:15 Delicious Lunch (included)
1:15-2:40 Pasture Ballet by Joel Salatin
2:40-3:00 Break for snacks
3:00-4:30 Dancing with Dinner by Joel Salatin
4:30-5:00 Food Emancipation
SUNDAY, MARCH 1
8:30-8:50 What is Naturopathic Medicine?
8:50-10:00 Panel on Raw Milk: Sally Fallon Morell, Ruth Foster and other health experts
10:00-10:20 Break
10:20-12:00 How to Change Your Diet for the Better by Sally Fallon Morell

REAL FOOD REAL MEDICINE Conference

New Hemp Products from Bob's Red Mill

Hi Everyone, Just wanted to let you in on a little update with the wonderful world of Bob's Red Mill Products. If anyone is looking for a quality hemp product I can guarantee Bob's quality!

Bob’s Red Mill Natural Foods Launches Hemp Products

Hulled Hemp Seed and Hemp Protein Powder derived from nature’s most “perfect” food

Portland, Ore. – November 4, 2008 – Bob’s Red Mill Natural Foods announces the launch of Hemp Protein Powder and Hulled Hemp Seed, both derived from one of the world’s most nutritionally complete food sources.

“The hemp seed may be one of nature’s most perfect foods,” said Bob Moore, Founder of Bob’s Red Mill. “And like all of our hundreds of products we wanted to provide our customers with something that is fully nutritious and delightful to eat.”

Hemp contains all 20 known essential amino acids, including the 10 amino acids that our bodies cannot produce and must be supplied through food. Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins and are necessary for building and repairing muscle tissue and are vital to the maintenance of a healthy immune system.

Hemp Protein Powder from Bob’s Red Mill is high in protein (43%), fiber, and it contains all the essential amino acids the body needs. Adding hemp protein powder to smoothies, shakes and yogurt is also a simple way to make a quick meal – and to boost energy.

Hulled Hemp Seed from Bob’s Red Mill is high in Omega-3 and Omega-6 essential fatty acids, and is also an excellent source of protein. Hemp seed is a nutritious addition to cereals, salads, and baked goods.

The hemp plant is one of the world’s fastest growing plants. The hemp sourced by Bob’s Red Mill is grown in Canada under the supervision of farmers well-versed in its cultivation. According to the Hemp Industries Association, hemp food sales in the United States have averaged 41 percent annual growth over the past three years. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and Statistics Canada data have also shown the quantity of hemp seed exports increased 300 percent from 2006 to 2007.

ABOUT BOB’S RED MILL

Bob’s Red Mill Natural Foods, a distinctive stone grinding miller of whole grains, was founded in 1978 with the mission of moving people back to the basics with healthy whole grains, high-fiber and complex carbohydrates. Bob’s Red Mill offers a diverse line of all natural, organic and gluten-free flours, cereals, meals and mixes for pancakes, breads and soups, with more than 300 products available throughout the U.S. and Canada. With its dedicated gluten-free manufacturing facility and strict organic protocols, the company has emerged as a leader in providing safe and delicious natural, organic and gluten-free products. For more information visit www.bobsredmill.com.

New Hemp Products from Bob's Red Mill

Healthy Home...Happy Family

As the writer of a wellness oriented blog I am constantly subscribing to and/or receiving emails, newsletters, research studies, and more on health related topics. Today as I "thumbed through" my exciting list of new emails from health related, wellness related, diet related, and environmental related agencies and groups I came across a simple yet useful article from EWG (Environmental Working Group) for parents, and parents to be. From that article here is a list of 11 effective things you can incorporate in to your daily life/routine to create a healthier and greener home environment for you, your children (who are especially prone to health problems from household toxins and more), your pets and more. I found this list helpful not only because it is very informative and concise, but also because it is easy to follow. Just read it and you will most likely agree:

1. Choose better body care products. Just because a label says "gentle" or "natural" doesn't mean it's kid-safe. Look up your products on CosmeticsDatabase.com, to see if they are truly safe and effective Read the ingredients and avoid triclosan, BHA, fragrance, and oxybenzone. See the previous article in my blog titled Organic Beauty for an online source of natural cosmetics!
   
2. Go organic & eat fresh foods. Opt for organic fruits and veggies, or use FoodNews.org to find conventionally grown produce with the least pesticides. Choose milk and meat without added growth hormones. Limit canned food and infant formula, as can linings contain bisphenol A (BPA).
3. Avoid fire retardants. Choose snug-fitting cotton pajamas for kids, and repair or replace worn out foam items.
4. Pick plastics carefully. Some plastics contain BPA, which is linked to cancer. Avoid clear, hard plastic bottles marked with a "7" or "PC" and choose baby bottles made from glass or BPA-free plastic. Don't microwave plastic containers. Stay away from toys marked with a "3" or "PVC." Give your baby a frozen washcloth instead of vinyl teethers.
5. Filter your tap water. Use a reverse osmosis system or carbon filter pitcher to reduce your family's exposure to impurities in water, like chlorine and lead. Don't drink bottled water, which isn't necessarily better. Mix infant formula with fluoride-free water. We reccomend the in home Multi-pure system.
   
6. Wash those hands. In addition to reducing illness, frequent hand washing will reduce kids' exposure to chemicals. Skip anti-bacterial soaps, since they can be bad for the environment, aren't any better than soap and water, and can contain pesticides that are absorbed through the skin.
7. Skip non-stick. When overheated, non-stick cookware emit toxic fumes. Cook with cast iron or stainless steel instead.
8. Use a HEPA-filter vacuum. Kids spend lots of time on the floor, and household dust can contain contaminants like lead and fire retardants. HEPA-filter vacuums capture the widest range of particles and get rid of allergens. Leave your shoes at the door so you don't bring more pollutants inside.
9. Get your iodine. Use iodized salt, especially while pregnant and nursing, and take iodine-containing prenatal vitamins (I recomends whole food supplements and vitamins from Standard Process). Iodine buffers against chemicals like perchlorate, which can disrupt your thyroid system and affect brain development during pregnancy and infancy.
10. Use greener cleaners & avoid pesticides. Household cleaners, bug killers, pet treatments, and air fresheners can irritate kids' lungs, especially if your kids have asthma. Investigate less toxic alternatives. Use vinegar in place of bleach, baking soda to scrub your tiles, and hydrogen peroxide to remove stains. You can even find some green cleaners in Target (see Method cleaners website).
    
11. Eat good fats. Omega-3 fatty acids can offset toxic effects of lead and mercury. They're in fish, eggs, nuts, oils, and produce. Choose low-mercury fish like salmon, tilapia and pollock, rather than high-mercury tuna and swordfish, especially if you're pregnant. Breast milk is the best source of good fats (and other benefits) for babies, and protects them from toxic chemicals.

Before I close let me just say one thing. I always say that "one change at a time is better than no change at all." Don't feel obligated to incorporate every one of these 11 suggestions in to your life today, that may be unreasonable, depending on how you currently live. Make one change at a time until you feel comfortable with that, then move on. Eventually your life will be healthier, happier, and greener and you won't feel like you had to do a lot of work to get there!



Before You Go....please check out the CCW website's December Wellness tip on How to Create an All Natural Medicine Cabinet Especially for the Cold/Flu Season by Clicking Here

Healthy Home...Happy Family

Organic Beauty

Hello all,

I hate to be the 111th person to remind you, but the holidays are quite literally right around the corner and we all know what that means....time to PARTY...or at least time to go to a couple parties you are really excited about and several you aren't so happy about but feel committed to attend...Either way, when the holiday parties start to roll around so does the pressure to put that twinkle in your smile, that spark in your step, and that glimmer on your cheeks. In short, holiday parties, like most festive occasions, bring on the pressure to look good honey.

So what is the big deal you may ask. Sure it is a little annoying to have to get the perfect shade of lip gloss to go with that cocktail dress but why are you discussing it on the Wellness Blog? What does makeup have to do with overall wellness?

Easy Darlin'...Generic Makeup=exposure to heavy amounts toxins. Hows that for a "Happy Holiday?"

In fact, the average women uses nine products everyday that can easily put her in contact with about 168 chemicals. And until fairly recently these products were completely inorganic and non-natural. Fortunately, however, there is now a new option: Organic Beauty Products. In fact, you can save yourself some holiday shopping time buy ordering these safe and beautiful products from your home by flipping on your computer and revving up that "oh so handy" internet because now there's a one-stop shop that does all the homework for you. Introducing OrganicDivas.com, a web resource dedicated to promoting safe ingredients in beauty products.



Organic Diva standards for personal care products are high. They buy only from companies who have signed the Compact for Safe Cosmetics. (The pledge to not use cancer-causing or hormone disrupting ingredients in products). Second, they only use products that earn a rating between 0-3 on the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep Report. (The report rates products on a 0-10 scale. 0 being least hazardous, 10 being the most hazardous). Lastly, the products must be effective. As Ann E. Garrity (founder of Organic Diva) states "Being back on the market at 41 means I’m in no position to sacrifice product efficacy. It’s a jungle out there!"

Another great thing about this amazing online company is that they sell everything from cosmetics to shampoo to body lotion. In fact, they even have an entire line for children based on the same principles as the adult line. Some cosmetic companies argue that the level of harmful chemicals in any one product is not enough to harm you. They say, DON'T BUY IT DIVA! Even small doses of some chemicals can have serious consequences in children and young women. And since you reach for the same product every day, several days a week for months or years, that “small exposure” can add up to major exposure over an extended period of time. Why Risk It?

Finally, I found it interesting that Anne Gerrity and Organic Diva are not only in the business to make a profit, they are also adamant educators. This is something that we at CCW find admirable as we try to do the same thing for our patients and their friends and family with our educational seminars, newsletters, this blog, and much more. It's nice to find a kindred spirit even if it is online :o)

Please visit www.organicdivas.com to peruse the site, and if nothing else at least learn a little about what the face cream, blush, eye shadow, and perfume are putting you and your loved ones at risk for. Knowledge is contagious after all!

Organic Beauty

The Infinite Value of Health...

Hello Stranger?

I'm sure that is what you are all thinking....as I haven't had a personal post since July :o/

Well after some thought about the circumstances that created my unfortunate hiatus i've decided to use what I have learned in the past two and a half months as the subject for my return post...so here goes.

For those of you who are unaware, I have battled a disease known as Crohn's disease for the past 6.5 years of my life. Crohn's involves inflammation of the intestine (either the colon, the small intestine, or both including the ileum). Inflammation refers to swelling, redness, and loss of normal function. There is evidence that the inflammation is caused by various products of the immune system that attack the body itself instead of helpfully attacking a foreign invader (a virus or bacteria, for example). The inflammation of Crohn's disease most commonly affects the last part of the ileum (a section of the small intestine), and often includes the large intestine (the colon). However, inflammation may also occur in other areas of the gastrointestinal tract, affecting the mouth, esophagus, or stomach. Crohn's disease differs from ulcerative colitis, the other major type of IBD, in that the inflammation of Crohn's disease affects all the layers of the intestinal wall, while ulcerative colitis affects only the lining of the intestine.
In my specific case, the crohn's continuously attacked my entire colon, ileum, and began to spread into the nourishment absorbing section of my small intestine. For years, I hung on by a thread with the use of various synthetic prescriptions including pills, sub-cutaneous injections, and IV infusions. The quality of life I experienced throughout these years (including the precious college years that were unfortunately un-enjoyable) was sub par to say the least. I suffered through pain, nausea, weight loss and gain through steroid use, mood swings, depression, anxiety, exhaustion, anemia, malnutrition, and years of an eating disorder that resulted from many of the afore mentioned aspects. My life went from one of constant activity, joy, and health that I took so much for granted to one of basic fight or flight....Survival.

Luckily in the past year I was lucky enough to graduate despite my struggles. With all that I have been through it has been my passion to go back to graduate school for psychological counseling. However, with the condition my body was in I knew I needed to take a break from school, so in August of 2007 I applied for a job with Center for Chiropractic & Wellness. I figured that the position would be enjoyable and low stress enough for me to try and focus on my health and some form of recovery...something I hadn't experienced for the past >6 years...

Within a month of working with the incredible staff and doctors here at CCW however, I realized that this job was more than just a job...it was a part of my destiny and my path to recovery. Dr. Greenfield used her chiropractic applied kinesiology (AK) techniques to find serious gluten and corn issues that no MD had ever thought to test me for. Simply exluding these two foods from my diet made life so much more manageable. I actually began to have some random "good" days! I was so amazed at the effects of this and other holistic techniques such as acupuncture, myofascial release and more that my job transformed into a lifestyle. My job incited a passion deep within my previously apathetic and jaded self for whole body wellness....and giving that gift to others. I began researching, reading, and exploring different forms of natural medicine, psychological healing and much more. I helped my mother to tackle her lifetime battle with constipation and "IBS" in a natural manner with whole food supplementation and detoxification, I gave suggestions to my father on how to decrease his blood pressure without relying on dangerous prescription drugs, I began to stear my boyfriend away from McDonalds double cheeseburgers and diet cokes by slowly introducing in tasty but whole and healthy alternatives and slipping articles on aspartame and preservatives' relations to cancer and diseases in his breifcase. In short I began to affect the people around me with my growing interest. I began to feel emotionally fulfilled. I carried this over to my job as well as I was promoted from Chiropractic Assistant to "Wellness Coordinator" in December of 07' and began to spread awareness among patients as part of my job through private meetings, patient education series, online assistance and more. Life felt on the up swing for once...

However....

...I still had the residual affects of the past 6 years of Crohn's weighing heavily on my body. 6 years of disease without any sort of remission really takes a toll on ones body and despite the fact that I had finally found a way to halt the destruction this disease placed on my intestines, the damage that was done previously was irreversible and serious enough to become, eventually, life threatening. After months and months of ignoring this fact, my body finally started to give out at a rapid rate.

So what did I do? Well of course being a wellness coordinator for a prominent holistically based office you would think that I would STOP and LISTEN to my body....Right?

Wrong. While I was enveloped in the importance of whole body health, I also battled another lifelong disease....perfectionism.
Because I wanted to impress my co-workers, my family, my friends, and myself in a sense I ignored my pain. Instead of taking direct actions for my well being, I pushed and pushed for months....each day getting harder to get through, harder to wake up to, and harder to approach with efficiency and motivation. Finally, however, my body did some things that forced me to go to my IBD doctor for a serious conversation about my state of being. Within two days I was scheduled for a complete removal of my colon and procedures that left me with a huge incision across my lower abdomen and a stoma covered with a bag...details are unimportant, other than to say that this was my worst nightmare realized. Ever since my diagnosis I had feared that such an event would be inevitable and when it finally happened I was devastated.

I was even more scared however, when they showed me images of my diseased and now removed colon and portion of small intestine. I was informed that it was the worst they had seen in a long time, if not in their entire career. They were surprised that I had made it the past year...I said a silent prayer at that point for my job at CCW and all the hard work of the practitioners on my health.
After 35 days in the hospital in severe pain and mental turmoil, however, I realized that I now had a second lease on life. "I now know how to maintain my health," I reminded myself...the key lay in the past year of learning I had taken part in. Now that the diseased sections of my body were gone, all I had to do was diligently work on creating that sense of whole body health and wellness in my self once again both physically, through natural whole food supplementation and balanced diet, and mentally, through Neuro-Emotional Technique, mantras, and positive thinking and therapy.
My problem became my salvation.


I have now been out of the hospital for a month and back at work for a week and if I have anything to share with you all about my experience it is this....

Value Your Health
Value Your Life
Treat Yourself Kindly
...and Never Underestimate the Power of Natural Healing.

Remember...it wasn't the perscriptions that kept me alive for the past year, it was the mental and physical learning and actions I found through my job at CCW, and all that the staff here have inspired in me...I now have a new life, not just another basic life saving procedure.
I have a quality of life now... not just an existance.

The Infinite Value of Health...