Ditch the Teflon

Who doesn’t love Teflon? Teflon coated pots and pans work beautifully — you have to work to make something to stick to it, and clean up is a breeze. What more could you ask for? Maybe cookware that doesn’t release six toxic chemicals, including at least one carcinogen. But that’s just me — I’m picky like that.

Here’s the problem. One of the chemicals that makes teflon work — known as PFOA, or perfluorooctanoate acids, just isn’t safe. A study by the Environmental Working Group, in collaboration with Commonweal in 2005 found chemicals in the umbilical cord blood of US-born infants including PFOA. A year later, researchers at John Hopkins Hospital repeated the study, finding PFOA in umbilical cord blood in 99% of 300 newborns tested.

The study’s co-author, Lynn Goldman, MD, explains, “This study confirms that, as we might have suspected, exposure to PFOS and PFOA is fairly universal; this is of particular concern because of the potential toxicity, especially developmental toxicity, for these chemicals and the lack of information about health risks at these exposure levels.”

An EPA advisory panel has tentatively labeled PFOA a “probable” cancer-causing agent. In response, in a voluntary agreement with the EPA, eight major manufacturers have agreed to eliminate 95 percent of PFOA emissions by 2010. The hold out? They still get to use the chemical for making non-stick finishes. Some countries aren’t waiting for the manufacturers to protect their citizens — they’re considering a ban on all products with PFOA.

Even scarier, DuPont, Teflon’s maker, has a brochure about not using non-stick cookware near birds. In a word — don’t. They’ll die. Talk about a canary in the coalmine — the substance kills birds in minutes, but is completely safe for me? I’m not buying into that.

PFOA is a particular concern for a couple more reasons… it stays in the body and builds up over time, and the greatest damage is likely to be done to our smallest and most vulnerable family members — our children.

Safety tip: If you must use your Teflon cookware, the biggest danger is when the nonstick coatings are over-heated, so only cook foods at low heat. Dupont itself warns that exposure to the cookware at high heat
(approximately 500 degrees) can lead to “polymer fever,” a flu-like illness that may last several days.

Well-known brand names containing PFOA include Stainmaster, Scotchgard, SilverStone, Fluron, Supra, Excalibur, Greblon, Xylon, Duracote, Resistal, Autograph and T-Fal.

When you are ready to replace your Teflon pans with safer versions, don’t just throw them away. Consider selling them to a local metal recycling business instead. These pans are categorized as “dirty aluminum” which pays less than aluminum, but at least the material is kept out of landfills.

Aluminum Alert

Ok, you’ve ditched your Teflon, so what’s left? Almost everyone has aluminum cookware in their kitchen cupboards. It seems like a perfect choice: affordable, light-weight, and thermally responsive. But aluminum is reactive too, which means acidic foods like onions and tomatoes absorb aluminum while you cook. Heat up some tomato sauce in an aluminum pan and you can expect to serve 3-6 mg of aluminum per 100 g serving.

So what’s the problem with a little aluminum in your diet? The issue has raged for decades, but recent research continues to confirm aluminum can cause neurologic harm.

In a recent study reported in the American Journal of Epidemiology, daily aluminum intake of as little as 0.1 milligrams was associated with a greater cognitive decline over the course of the study. In fact, subjects with a high daily aluminum intake more than doubled their risk of dementia.

Safety tip: Keep aluminum cookware in good condition. The more pitted and worn out the pot, the greater the amount of aluminum will be absorbed into your food. Minimize food storage time in aluminum and avoid cooking highly acidic foods in aluminum. Also consider using a good water filter. Some areas have dangerously high levels of aluminum in everyday tap water.

Safer Cookware

Great, we’ve just emptied our cabinets of pretty much all our everyday cookware. What are we expected to cook on now? Here’s a few popular alternatives that carry less risk to your health:

Cast Iron

The original “non-stick” cookware is a well-seasoned cast iron pan. Cast iron can be used to cook at even very high temperatures, with the ability to diffuse and retain heat very well. It even has a health benefit by leaching a small amount of dietary iron into the food.

Enameled cast iron pans are also available. While they can be a little pricey, the enamel coating prevents rusting and eliminates the need for seasoning the pan.

Glass

Glass is the most inert of all cookware. In other words, it doesn’t absorb odors and flavors from foods you cook in it, and therefore doesn’t leach them back into a later dish. For that matter, it doesn’t leach anything else into your food either, good or bad. It’s a great choice, safe for all ingredients, since acidic foods won’t react in glass cookware the way they will in some metal-based pans.

Stainless steel

Very durable, stainless steel browns foods better than non-stick pans. In their 2001 review of sauté pans, Cooks Illustrated chose a stainless steel pan over otherwise identical non-stick models. Stainless steel pans, typically made of an alloy of chromium, iron, and sometimes nickel, does not affect flavor of foods and is fairly easy to clean. However, it will leach metals, including nickel, and should be avoided by anyone with a nickel allergy.

References

Apelberg BJ, et al. Determinants of fetal exposure to polyfluoroalkyl compounds in Baltimore, Maryland. Environmental Science & Technology. 2007 Jun 1;41(11):3891-7.

DuPont. Key Questions About Teflon® non-sticks. Accessed online 2010 Jul 25.

Cannata JB, et al. Aluminium hydroxide intake: real risk of aluminium toxicity. British Medical Journal (Clinical research ed.). 1983 Jun 18;286(6382):1937-8.

Rondeau V, et al. Aluminum and silica in drinking water and the risk of Alzheimer’s disease or cognitive decline: findings from 15-year follow-up of the PAQUID cohort. American journal of epidemiology. 2009 Feb 15;169(4):489-96.

Related posts:

1. 3 Vegetables that Fight Abdominal Fat
2. The lies on TV are making people fat
3. Heavy Metal: Dangerous to Your Health

I know what you’re thinking… “how the heck can you cook scrambled eggs
in a blender” because that’s exactly what I thought when I saw this video:

Pretty wild, huh?

I found this video because I recently bought the Vitamix 5200 Blender and
wanted to see how others were using it. As you can tell from the video
above, this is one incredible blender. I’ve only just started using mine and
absolutely love it.

If you’re looking for ways to make eating healthy more convenient, I
recommend you check out the Vitamix.

Any ideas or recipes for me to try with my new Vitamix? Please leave a comment if you have any thoughts, suggestions, recipes or comments…

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2. The Divided Mind – Book Review
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Her symptoms, which also included memory loss, severe dizziness and depression, had all appeared within one week’s time.

After undergoing several expensive tests with no answers, her doctor finally asked Judy to keep a food and activity journal to see if it could provide any clues. On a hunch, he asked her to stop drinking a powdered tea mix she had recently purchased to see if that helped. Amazingly, it did.

The pain was completely gone within a week of stopping use of the aspartame-containing product. To confirm the diagnosis, her doctor instructed her to begin adding aspartame back into her diet for a challenge test.

After each of three challenges, says Judy, “my whole body ached from my toes to the neck. I felt as though I had arthritis in my whole body and it hurt to move an arm or even my hand….Since that time, I have not touched anything sweetened with aspartame, and have experienced no unusual aches, joint pain, memory loss or dizziness.”

Judy’s not alone. The artificial sweetener aspartame, consumed by Americans at the rate of about 20 million pounds a year, may well be the cause behind any number of painful and life-altering conditions, including joint
pain, headaches, severe drowsiness, extreme irritability, depression, and weight gain.

How Much Is Too Much?

It doesn’t take a tremendous amount of aspartame to cause trouble. In fact, just three or four 12-ounce diet drinks per day contain enough aspartame to harm us.

Don’t drink diet soda? You don’t have to. Aspartame is found in over 6,000 processed foods – from powdered drinks, gelatin, tea, coffee, cocoa, juices, frozen desserts, to chewing gums. It’s even in vitamins (including children’s) and medications.

This means the very source of your chronic pain could be in your kitchen cabinet or refrigerator right now.

Sweet Discovery

The introduction of aspartame as a sweetener started after chemist James Schlatter accidentally tasted the new anti-ulcer drug he was developing in 1965, not realizing he had discovered a goldmine. What he discovered was a product 200 times sweeter than sugar.

By the early 70s, aspartame spread quickly to tables in restaurants, diners, and the homes of Americans under the brand names Nutrasweet, Equal, Equal-Measure and Spoonful. Aspartame gained popularity quickly because it didn’t have the aftertaste that its predecessor, saccharine did.

What is Aspartame… exactly?

Aspartame has three components: phenylalanine (50 percent), aspartic acid (40 percent) and methanol, also termed wood alcohol (10 percent). It’s classified as an excitotoxic amino acid. What that means for you is it reacts with specialized receptors in your brain in a way that causes the destruction of certain types of brain cells.

Methanol itself is a poison to your body. The EPA defines a safe consumption limit of it as 7.8 milligrams per day. The problem is a small one-liter bottle of your favorite diet beverage sweetened with aspartame contains about 56 milligrams, or eight times the EPA’s own limit, of this poison!

Remember free radicals?

If you’ve read much about health related issues at all, you’ve likely heard of free radicals. In a nutshell, these are the unstable organic molecules floating around your body which promote aging and the general breakdown of your body.

They’re implicated in many degenerative illnesses including atherosclerosis, cancer, coronary artery disease and arthritis.

Once you realize excitotoxins like aspartame help generate free radicals, not to mention direct effects such as headaches, mental confusion, and balance problems, the long list of aspartame related illnesses and disorders becomes less surprising. Of course, the effects are subtle, cumulative and develop over a prolonged period of time which is why most people don’t immediately suspect aspartame in conditions like:

• Birth defects
• Migraines and severe headaches
• Seizures
• Insomnia
• Infections
• Hives and other allergic reactions
• Endocrine disorders
• Specific types of obesity
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Increasing severity and progression of diseases such as Alzheimer’s dementia, Parkinson’s disease, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

Cancer Risk Higher Than Thought

Independent scientists have long suspected a link between aspartame and cancer. But a few years ago, a massive study conducted at the European Ramazzini Foundation in Italy conclusively documented the direct link.

The study fed groups of rats from 8 weeks old until their natural death a feed mix laced with varying concentrations of aspartame. A significant increase in lymphomas, leukemias and other cancers were found in rats that were fed aspartame, particularly those fed daily doses equal to 20 milligrams per kilogram of body weight. Compare this to the 50-milligram level currently deemed acceptable for humans in the United States. A year later, a second study confirmed the results.

Now what?

The best thing to do is stop using any form of aspartame immediately. While discontinuing use of aspartame can lead to the disappearance of many of the above symptoms, patients who develop full-grown tumors, diabetes, and other more serious diseases cannot usually be cured. Omitting aspartame from one’s diet, however, can sometimes potentially lessen the severity and ongoing degeneration associated with certain disorders. Exercising, improving your nutrition, and adding the appropriate supplements to reduce inflammation will also help. In other words, it’s never too late to start doing the right thing for your body.

Aspartame Alternatives

I really shouldn’t have to spell this out for you, but if you’re using any form of aspartame… stop, right now! Like Judy, you may quickly notice an improvement in pain symptoms. Or you may simply reduce the risk of dying of cancer or suffering from horrible degenerative diseases for the rest of your life. Either way, the change is worth it.

Clearly, adding a ton of sugar back into your diet isn’t great for your health, either. But if you must use sweeteners, honey, maple syrup, and even turbinado sugar (raw sugar) are all healthier alternatives to aspartame.

Another great alternative is stevia, produced from the leaves of a native South American shrub by the same name. The leaves themselves are at least 30 times sweeter than table sugar. Extracts can be ten times sweeter than the raw leaf, yet still have virtually no effect on blood glucose levels.

So, toss the aspartame-containing products you’ve been using and look for those using natural alternatives. Your body will thank you in the long run.

References

Olney JW, et al. Increasing brain tumor rates: is there a link to aspartame? Journal of neuropathology and experimental neurology. 1996 Nov;55(11):1115-23.

Roberts HJ. Aspartame as a cause of allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis. Archives of internal medicine. 1996 May 13;156(9):1027-8.

Soffritti M, et al. First experimental demonstration of the multipotential carcinogenic effects of aspartame administered in the feed to Sprague-Dawley rats. Environmental health perspectives. 2006 Mar;114(3):379-85.

Trocho C, et al. Formaldehyde derived from dietary aspartame binds to tissue components in vivo. Life sciences. 1998;63(5):337-49.

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3. How to Reverse Diabetes

You’ve heard these all before, maybe even said it to your children, family or friends… but guess what, it’s all WRONG!

Yes, wrong and more and more research is finally exposing the “Calcium Lie”…

Download Too Much Calcium! (mp3 format)
(click here to download)

Listen to this special interview I did recently with Dr. Robert Thompson about the dangers and side effects of too much calcium. I think you are going to find this to be extremely informative… maybe some of it down right shocking!

This interview was just one of the many that subscribers to my monthly print newsletter “Get Healthy & Fit” received (though members get it mailed to them on CD along with the print copy of the newsletter).

Want to hear more great interviews like this one?
Sign up for a free trial to my “Get Healthy & Fit” monthly newsletter

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Maybe it seems like you’ve already tried everything and are just about ready to give up on ever finding permanent pain relief.

Well I have good news for you: you’re not beyond help. Over the past decade we’ve helped tens of thousands of people, many in agonizing daily pain, find pain relief. People who thought there was no hope left. And today, thousands upon thousands of them remain pain free.

On the other hand, there are many others who came to us who did not find lasting relief. They continue to struggle with the same old pain year after year. Often it grows even worse.

Amazingly, in almost every case, the difference between those who found pain relief and those who did not boiled down to a willingness to follow a few simple “ground rules” for dealing with their pain. Follow these three simple rules and you will greatly improve your odds of joining those who found relief.

Rule #1: Take responsibility for ending your pain

Relief from pain is first and foremost a personal responsibility. After all, no one cares about your pain more than you do. Maybe you’re seeing a doctor, chiropractor, or any number of natural health practitioners. That’s great, but ask yourself these questions:

• Has my health care provider conducted a completed head-to-toe assessment on me or only focused on the area of pain? (Pain is often referred from other areas of the body.)
• If a diagnosis has been made, has it been completely explained to my understanding?
• Has my health care provider identified the root cause of my pain? (Not a condition, like a herniated disc, but what actually caused the condition, like a specific muscle imbalance.)
• Have I been given a step-by-step care plan that addresses both the pain symptoms and the underlying root cause of the identified condition?

If you haven’t received a satisfactory answer to all of these questions, ask! Don’t accept a brush off. It’s your body and you need to get the right responses to properly address your pain.

Rule #2: Don’t put all your eggs in one basket

I can’t tell you how many times someone has purchased one of our products, tried it, and when their pain wasn’t 100% gone in the first day or week they decided to return the product for a refund. Look, we don’t want anyone paying for a product that doesn’t help them. And we gladly process refunds all the time. But let’s be honest here. Chances are the condition causing your pain didn’t happen overnight. Oftentimes it took years to get to the point where your back “suddenly” gave out or sciatica became noticeable.

We have a lot of testimonials on our website from people who have experienced amazing results in just days. But when you’re talking about correcting conditions that took months or years to get as bad as they are, you have to realize some people may take a little longer to work through the healing process.

So what am I saying? I’m saying that if you want to get back to a pain-free life, you might have to invest a little effort. And it
might be that one treatment only gets you part of the way there. So you have to be willing to try different approaches. For example, you
may only find some pain relief by using muscle balance therapy
to address muscle imbalances, but need to also work out trigger points to finally get the full pain relief you’re looking for.

Most importantly, don’t give up. Too many people never get pain relief simply because they give up on a treatment approach too soon. Give your body time to heal and don’t quit until you get the relief you’re looking for.

Rule #3: Stop doing what doesn’t work

Ok, now you’ve made the commitment to follow through to make progress in your fight against pain. You’re not going to quit on yourself. But here’s the other side of the coin: don’t blindly keep doing what doesn’t work.

Let’s say you’re going to a chiropractor. If you’ve been going for over three months and haven’t made any progress yet, it’s likely time to seek another approach. That’s my rule of thumb… if you’re not getting some measure of increased pain relief in three months, try something else.

If you have made progress but are still in pain, try combining multiple approaches. You might find inversion therapy gives you significant pain relief from a herniated disc, but trigger point therapy is needed to completely end referred pain while muscle balance therapy addresses what caused your disc to herniated in the first place. It’s all a process of finding what works for your body.

I hope this makes sense to you. We want to help as many people as we can live a pain free life, but ultimately, it’s up to you to make the necessary changes to improve your health.

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If you’re like most back pain sufferers, you’ll reach for a bottle of pain killers and go lie down. But is that really the best way to get back on your feet and keep the pain away?

Use this guide during those important first hours after injury to help your back recover quickly, or even for pain relief from chronic back pain flare ups.

First 15 Minutes: Apply Ice

Apply ice as soon as possible after injuring your back – preferably within five minutes. The sooner you apply the ice the more it will help. This can be a cold pack, ziplock bag of crushed ice, or even a bag of frozen vegetables like peas or corn.

Use a circular massaging motion when applying to prevent the ice from resting in one place too long (a spouse or friend can help ice
massage your lower back), or simply place a thin towel between the compress and your skin to help prevent frostbite. Apply ice up to 20 minutes at a time. This can be repeated over the course of the first few days, or after flare ups.

The cold will cause nearby blood vessels to constrict, helping minimize swelling and painful inflammation which has already started. It numbs painful nerves. And the cold stimulates your body to rush more oxygen-rich blood full of antibodies and vital nutrients to repair the injury and carry away waste products as it attempts to warm the area you are cooling with the ice.

First Hour: Apply Heat

Applying heat after you ice your back may seem odd. But ice
followed by heat is a powerful way to shock your back out of the pain-spasm cycle. Try 20 minutes of ice followed by 20 minutes of heat. Repeat up to three times and you should get at least some relief from even severe lower back pain.

There are numerous ways to apply heat. Two of my favorites are a hot tub (if you have one available) or a far infrared heating pad. Not to be confused with a standard heating pad which will help in a pinch, far infrared heat penetrates up to three inches deep to warm the muscle itself instead of just the skin area. Other great ways to apply heat include ultrasound, pain creams, and even a long hot shower.

As heat is applied, your back muscles relax and circulation increases again as your body sends fresh blood supply to cool the area back to normal. Repeat heat treatments as necessary.

First Day and Beyond: What else you should do

Acute lower back pain typically comes on suddenly and can be painful enough to take your breath away, or even drop you to your knees. While ice
and heat can break the initial pain-spasm cycle, you also need to consider how much you should rest, when you should exercise, and what to do about continuing pain and inflammation. Here’s what I recommend.

Anti-inflammatories and Pain Relief

Inflammation is your body’s natural response to an irritant, such as a sprained back. Inflammation is a normal part of the healing process. The problem is our bodies lose the ability to turn off the inflammatory response as we get older. By our late 20s, chronic systemic inflammation becomes a real health concern.

While non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like ibuprofen and naproxen can help with both pain and inflammation during acute lower back pain, they also carry significant cardiac and digestive health risks. A better option for most people are proteolytic enzymes which naturally reduce inflammation and its resulting internal scar tissue.

Rest

Yes, you need to rest your lower back. Certainly, if a certain activity led to a case of acute lower back pain don’t repeat it for at least a week. For example, if your back pain started after lifting something heavy, don’t lift heavy objects for at least a week to give your back time to recover.

But don’t take rest too far. Studies have shown that too much bed rest (more than a couple days) can nearly double how long it can take to recover. In fact, some evidence shows there is little or no benefit to bed rest at all over staying active, but your level of pain will determine that at the outset. Listen to your body.

Exercise

Exercise, including both strengthening and stretching, is important for your long-term recovery. Many cases of lower back pain start with muscle imbalances, where some muscles are overly tight while opposing muscles are too stretched out. You’ll want to be very careful your first couple of days, but some light stretching can often reduce lower back pain by relieving tension.

One easy stretch to try can be done while lying in bed. Gently raise your knees from the bed to your chest, then put a slight pressure on your
knees for a light stretch in your lower back. This stretch can help relieve pain spasms in your back faster than waiting on them to resolve on their own. But again, take it easy and listen to your body – the stretch should not add to your pain.

Going forward

Whether your acute lower back pain goes away quickly or becomes chronic, you want to give your body the best chance at not only overcoming pain,
but preventing it from returning. You will find what has worked for thousands of other lower back pain sufferers in my free book, The 7-Day Back Pain Cure.

Related references

Dahm KT, Brurberg KG, Jamtvedt G, Hagen KB. Advice to rest in bed versus advice to stay active for acute low-back pain and sciatica. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2010 Jun 16;6:CD007612.

Deyo RA, Diehl AK, Rosenthal M. How many days of bed rest for acute low back pain? A randomized clinical trial. The New England journal of medicine. 1986 Oct 23;315(17):1064-70.

Waddell G, Feder G, Lewis M. Systematic reviews of bed rest and advice to stay active for acute low back pain. The British Journal of General Practice. 1997 Oct;47(423):647-52.

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The best-known benefit of the sun is Vitamin D, which a recent New York Times article reminds us can help build bones and healthy joints,
strengthen the immune system and lower the risks of illnesses such as diabetes, heart and kidney disease, high blood pressure
and cancer. But the best way to get Vitamin D isn’t through popping a pill – it’s by spending time out in the sun.

What’s the Big Deal about Vitamin D?

Vitamin D is naturally made by the body, but is not stored in the body. Production of this vitamin is activated by one’s exposure to sunlight. Individuals with an adequate amount of Vitamin D have been shown to suffer less from osteoporosis and joint pain, to have slowed
effects of arthritis and pain, and to have averted certain types of cancer. Not only is Vitamin D important to stay healthy, inadequate
levels can render your body vulnerable to any number of chronic conditions.

Generally, as little as ten minutes per day, or approximately one hour of sun exposure each week is thought to be enough to produce the necessary amount of Vitamin D.

However, most people do not get even that amount of sun exposure, which is why certain foods high in Vitamin D (fortified milk, eggs and fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids) are recommended. Supplements and cod liver oil are two additional sources of this necessary daily part of a
healthy diet. In addition, as we age, our bodies tend to produce less Vitamin D, even with adequate sun exposure.

Why You Need the Sun

Moderation is key in most areas of your health. The same is true for the sun, says John Jacob Cannell, MD, Executive Director of the Vitamin D Council, which supports moderate sun exposure. “Fear of the fatal form of skin cancer, malignant melanoma, keeps many people out of the sun. The problem with the theory is that the incidence of melanoma continues to increase dramatically although many people have been completely avoiding the sun for years. We are not saying sunburns are safe; they are not. We are saying that brief, full-body sun exposure… is a much smarter thing to do than dying of Vitamin D deficiency.”

In the revelatory book, “Dark Deceptions: Discover the Truth about Sun Exposure,” noted osteopathic physician and natural health advocate Dr. Joseph Mercola reported that over 600,000 people around the world are developing cancer because they do not receive enough sun exposure to optimize their Vitamin D levels.

Factors that influence the amount of Vitamin D necessary for any person are: geographic area, age, obesity, amount of melatonin in the skin, and other factors. A simple blood test administered by your physician or health care professional can identify the ideal amount of this vital
nutrient essential for your individual health and well being.

What’s in Your Sunscreen?

If you were marketing a chemical compound laden with a plethora of potentially harmful ingredients in a lotion, how would you sell it? By telling everyone if they didn’t, they’d die of something worse, of course. And lo, the sunscreen industry is born. Even though more people use sunscreen than ever before, the incidence of skin cancer in the United States and other countries continues to rise.

While the manufacturers are busily pointing out why you need their product to stay healthy in the sun, they neglect to mention what’s in their own concoctions. And the truth may surprise you. There are several potentially harmful chemicals found in sunscreens that purportedly
advance the possibility of skin cancers. There are no fewer than four known carcinogens found in popular sunscreen products. A number of
studies conducted in the 1990s report higher, not lower, incidence of the deadliest form of skin cancer, malignant melanoma, among frequent
sunscreen users.

In a recently released report questioning the effectiveness and safety of top-selling sunscreens, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) claims that many contain potentially hazardous ingredients. In fact, they evaluated 500 sunscreens and found only 8% to be acceptable. About 60% of sunscreens contain the chemical ingredient oxybenzone, which the EWG considers unsafe because of concerns that it can penetrate the skin and disrupt hormone balance.

The Light that Heals

In the end, it’s up to you to cut through the marketing hype and make the right decision for yourself and your optimal health. Boost your Vitamin D levels and increase your sun exposure to appropriate levels that serve you and your well-being.

Related References:

Cannell JJ, Hollis BW.
Alternative medicine review : a journal of clinical therapeutic. 2008
Mar;13(1):6-20.

Mercola, J. Dark Deception: Discover the Truths About the Benefits of Sunlight Exposure. Thomas Nelson. 2008.

Aceituno-Madera P, et al. [Changes in the incidence of skin cancer between 1978 and 2002].

Actas dermo-sifiliográficas. 2010 Jan-Feb;101(1):39-46.

Westerdahl J, Ingvar C, Mâsbäck A, Olsson H. Sunscreen use and malignant melanoma. International journal of cancer. 2000 Jul 1;87(1):145-50.

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1. Reduce Winter’s Aches & Pains with Vitamin D
2. Is Aspartame the Source of Your Joint Pain?
3. CoQ10 Supplements: Top 10 Reasons to Take One

If you’re one of the many who frequently get a deep pain in your buttocks, hip or down your leg after you take up summer activities like these there’s a good chance it’s coming from a little known muscle called the piriformis.

It’s the piriformis muscle deep in the posterior side of our hips, along with a few other lateral rotator muscles, which allow our bodies to keep from falling over when we walk by shifting our body weight side to side as we lift our feet.

However, many of the activities we participate in require this muscle to continually contract. As the muscle is overworked, it becomes painfully tight while stretching nearby muscles. Piriformis syndrome is a frequent contributor to lower back pain and one of the four primary causes of sciatica.

What activities lead to piriformis syndrome?

Perhaps the most common activity leading to piriformis syndrome wouldn’t really be called an “activity” at all by most of us: sitting. But just holding your body erect in a seat with your hips flexed (knees bent, feet on the floor) requires your piriformis muscle to contract to help maintain that position. And sitting on a wallet can quickly make matters even worse.

Yes, many of us sit all day long throughout the year. So why the big deal about summer activities causing piriformis syndrome?

Many of our summer activities like running, bicycling, hiking, and rowing all work the piriformis muscle as we repeatedly bend our legs. In fact, they repeatedly work the same muscles over and over.

Unless we take care to properly stretch and strengthen other muscles by lateral (sideways) movements of our legs we soon create a muscle imbalance where the piriformis muscle becomes short and tight. This is what leads to both deep muscle aches and referred nerve pain from strangulation of the sciatic nerve where it passes near or through the piriformis muscle.

Even if your pain isn’t constant yet, if you’re experiencing pain in your lower back, buttocks, or down the back of your legs it’s worth considering piriformis syndrome as a possible cause. Here’s a couple quick ways to determine if your piriformis muscle is overly tight: take a quick look down at your feet right now. If they’re turned with your toes pointed outwards, your piriformis is tight. Another way is to lie down and relax your legs. Now look at your feet. Chances are the toes are turned outwards. Again, that’s a sign your piriformis is overly tight and may be leading to pain.

How to end piriformis syndrome pain

The good news is piriformis syndrome, painful as it may be, can usually be quickly reversed. Naturally you’ll want to start by giving your piriformis muscle a much needed break. This means take it easy with the running, jumping, hiking, climbing, bicycling, and rowing. Take frequent breaks when sitting so the piriformis doesn’t remain in a contracted state for prolonged periods.

Then begin targeted stretching exercises to relieve the tension in the piriformis muscle. You’ll find three easy stretches you can do without leaving your chair in the video on this page. Many people get pain relief the first time they try these stretches and most overcome their piriformis syndrome symptoms within a couple weeks through targeted stretching.

Related references

Papadopoulos EC, Khan SN. Piriformis syndrome and low back pain: a new classification and review of the literature. The Orthopedic clinics of North America. 2004 Jan;35(1):65-71. Pokorný D, et al. Topographic variations of the relationship of the sciatic nerve and the piriformis muscle and its relevance to palsy after total hip arthroplasty. Surgical and radiologic anatomy: SRA. 2006 Mar;28(1):88-91.

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There’s nothing like real world experience to teach you a thing or two.

To all of you parents who have written to me in the past saying “Isabel, with all the responsibilities I have in one day with the kids, work and the house, I just don’t have time to eat healthy.” I GET IT!

Holy Moly…who knew a little 8 lb baby could take up so much time…I mean the whole day.

Since eating healthy is an absolute must for me (I just wouldn’t have it any other way), I really had to come up with some quick and easy snacks that I could grab at any time, especially if my little munchkin didn’t let me get to make breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Even if you don’t have kids and are just busy, busy, busy all day….here are a few of the healthy snacks I enjoy (most of which can be grabbed with one hand while holding a newborn in the other).

1. Nut Butter and Honey on Ezekiel Bread (or any sprouted grain bread) – Although this would taste better toasted, I can make do with the colder version. I put 1-2 TBSPs of natural peanut butter or almond butter on 1 slice of Sprouted Grain or Spelt bread with ½ tsp of raw honey. I make 2-3 of these at a time and leave them in the fridge for easy grabbing.

2. Deviled Eggs – These do take a bit of prep time so I have to wait for my husband to come home in the evening to make them. I hard boil 6 eggs. Once cooled, I cut them in half and place all of the cooked yolks in a separate bowl. I add Dijon mustard and olive oil to the yolks and mash them up so they become creamy. I put the creamy mixture back into the center of the egg whites and sprinkle Celtic Sea Salt and Fresh Pepper on top. I keep these in the refrigerator for an easy protein snack.

3. Turkey and Roast Beef Rollup – These are simply just deli turkey breast and roast beef wrapped up in a rollup (I only buy the turkey and roast beef that is fresh and natural, not any of the cold cut supermarket brands with added nitrites and nitrates). I add some mustard to each rollup and keep them all in a container in the fridge. Again, another quick protein snack. These are also great with baby carrots.

4. Frozen Grapes – If you’re searching for something sweet, grapes in the freezer are a great way to curb a sweet tooth. I keep a bunch of these in the freezer and snack on them along with some raw nuts. Just a handful of grapes with some walnuts really keeps me full and satisfied until I can get to my next meal. It’s also a great “sweet” pick me up (for all those sleep deprived parents and even non-parents out there).

5. Bag of Trail Mix – I absolutely do not go anywhere without my bag of trail mix. Right now I have almonds, walnuts, brazil nuts, dried apricots and raisins all in a bag with a touch of Celtic Sea Salt added. Yesterday I took my little guy to the pediatrician and we were there for what seemed to be hours! Thank goodness for my trail mix, otherwise I probably would have cried more than the baby did.

Do you have a easy and quick healthy snack you can share with the rest of us? I would love to hear it. Post your favorite healthy snack below.

In health and happiness,

Isabel De Los Rios
www.TheDietSolutionProgram.com

To read more great articles like this please visit Isabel’s site by clicking here

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This spice that I’m going to mention is one of the most overlooked, but healthiest spices in the world…

You might even call it a “fat burning spice”… in a roundabout way.

And yes, it can actually help you win the battle against abdominal fat if you use it daily…I’ll explain why.

Here are some other benefits of this miracle spice:

* controls blood sugar levels
* helps maintain insulin sensitivity
* a VERY powerful antioxidant
* may have antibacterial and antifungal properties
* and dozens of other benefits

So what is this miracle spice that beats abdominal fat?

Well… it’s good old tasty Cinnamon!

Although cinnamon does NOT directly increase fat burning (such as by increasing metabolic rate, etc), it CAN actually help you to burn off abdominal fat and get leaner in an indirect way.

Here’s how…

Although cinnamon has dozens of health benefits, the main benefit that will help you to get leaner is through it’s strong effect on controlling blood sugar levels in your body.

In a study published in 2003 in the medical journal Diabetes Care, groups were split into people taking 1, 3, or 6 grams of cinnamon per day in capsule form (the equivalent of approx 1/4th to 1 teaspoon of cinnamon).

The results of the study showed that all 3 amounts of cinnamon reduced fasting blood glucose levels by 18-29% after 40 days.

Cinnamon can also increase insulin sensitivity, which essentially means that it is helping your body to control blood sugar while simultaneously allowing your body to produce less insulin.

As you know, chronically high insulin levels can make your body pack on the blubber.

How to harness cinnamon to lose stubborn belly fat…

One possible way to benefit from cinnamon to lose more fat is to use cinnamon daily in your meals when you can, such as in yogurt or cottage cheese, in smoothies, oatmeal, or anything else you can think of where it would go well.

Also, you could use a cinnamon capsule before each of your meals.

This could help to control blood sugar and insulin response from your meals and thereby control your appetite and cravings throughout the day… hence, helping you to lose body fat more effectively over time.

So now you can see that not only is cinnamon a powerful antioxidant that can help you stay youthful longer, it can also help you to control blood sugar and get a leaner sexier body!

Author of best seller: The Truth about Six Pack Abs

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