"Children in US Hungry. Epidemic." Misdiagnosis?

Huffington Post leads today with:

'SILENT EPIDEMIC'
Number Of US Children Going Hungry Soars

She links to "Missing more than a meal" in the Washington Post, where there are links to many more stories of growing numbers of children and teens feeling hungry much of the time. See also here.

All of these appear to focus on scarcity of food. Or not enough access to food.

But this is probably not the real problem.

(See the lady leaving the food center with a bag full of boxed stuff - see anything fresh looking? Here - have a big bag of cookies on your way out.)

That's why people feel so hungry. And are so overweight. The culprit is eating mostly nutritionless food. The body needs nutrition, not food-like substances it just piles on because it can't do anything else with it. Hunger is the only way the body has to call out: I need nutrients!

Check out the other image: How much nutrition is in the giant cola bottles on the table beside the mother and child?

Dr. Heidi, my nutrition professor friend, made my day worse. Here's what she said - from my notes...

Most of America's children and teens eat cereals and packaged snacks every day. But there is little nutrition in either the cereals or snacks. They're mostly sugar. That's why, no matter how much a person eats of that stuff (and pizza), they feel hungry shortly after. No nutrition. Read the labels - mostly sugar.

Then, off they go to McDonald's to get some cheap protein - say Chicken McNuggets. Little do they realize that those are not protein - but 56% corn (a carb) - and low grade industrial corn at that. With almost no nutritive value.

So then a mom buys juices, that should be good, right? Not. All the vitamins and enzymes have been boiled out of conventional juices in bottles, cartons or cans. The first ingredient (what it's got most of, in it) in almost all of them is either sugar or artificial sweeteners. The latter are known to be potentially poisonous to us.

Then there's the microwave secret.

To save time, Moms and kids throw whatever into the microwave. Fast. But. Anything microwaved has no nutrition left. The microwave distorts the food molecules.

It's not for nothing the makers of these things don't call them 'Radar Range' anymore. Bad PR. Who would use them if they knew the radiation destroys the food molecules they are about to eat? More nutritionless food down the hatch.

How about eat fruits and veggies? That beats anything in boxes, cans or crinkly bags or wrappers. Yes, right. BUT if they're the conventional stuff, the fruits and veggies have little nutrition because of how they're grown. Instead, you get a dose of pesticides.

Bottom line. It is not the lack of food that is causing the hunger and obesity in children and teenagers (and many adults). It's the lack of nutrition in the food we eat.

Which big food provides. Which so many Americans demand and consume like crazy.

Nutritionless is food cheaper to make, has longer shelf life and it's fast for everybody. And we buy more and more of it because we're hungry all the time. And away we go to become a nation of FATAFATs.

Child hunger and obesity: Not a crisis of lack of food. Our crisis is a crisis of choice.

"To see what is right, and not do it, is want of courage, or of principle." Confucius

Maybe they're right - It's in our nature to destroy ourselves for short term desires and pleasures.

FATAFAT pills

"If you eat too much of this food, you become sick and also FATAFAT. And no amount of FATAFAT pills will help you."

A delicious, short and wonderful story right here.

‘Stop taking painkillers if you want to breed vultures’

For thousands of years in parts of India, they've used a funeral system that relies on the sun and carrion birds to dispose of dead bodies. See here.

These ferocious birds, a kind of vulture living there for thousands of years, have almost all been poisoned of late - by the pain killer drugs found in the bodies of the dead.

"The nation-wide decline of vultures has been linked to diclofenac - a drug used in a variety of medicines including painkillers - that causes kidney failure in birds."

If the painkiller drugs in our bodies cause fatal liver failure in these big birds - animals that have been recycling dead bodies for centuries - think of what those pain killers are likely doing to YOUR body.

Life forces were created to dispose of and transform living things now dead (including our dead bodies). You know, to make room, recycle, and clean up the place for the new.

But now those clean-up crews are being fatally poisoned by our own (dead) bodies. How can the living things of earth create new, healthy life?

Are today's pain killer drugs really worth all that?

Guess What's In Your Canned Soup...

And tuna, and juice, and...

Consumer Reports. Tests of canned foods, including soups, juice, tuna, and green beans, have found that almost all of the 19 name-brand foods tested contain measurable levels of Bisphenol A (BPA).

BPA is bad. It's in the soup can liners. And it's been linked to "a wide array of health effects including reproductive abnormalities, heightened risk of breast and prostate cancers, diabetes, and heart disease."

Federal guidelines currently put the daily upper limit of safe exposure at 50 micrograms of BPA per kilogram of body weight. But that's based on old studies...More here.

My take? There should be ZERO TOLERANCE for BPA in foodstuffs big food sells us. Don't we have enough exposure to toxins in our environment? Why would we allow anything more than ZERO BPA in soup can liners? Think of your kid slurping up BPA.

Of course you should buy fresh. And stuff in glass containers. But still...

Here's the story.

Save 50% Health Care Costs: ONE change?

What if half of your health care costs (better yet, health problems) could be eliminated by doing one thing differently than you do now?

Michael Pollan said it today...

EAT GRASS-FED meats

Grass-fed is one of FIVE eating strategies in Dr. Heidi's ER Fat Burn program...

Anyway, here's the scoop:

"Michael Pollan was on Martha Stewart today, talking about the 'rapidly growing trend towards GRASS-FED meats.' He is talking about conversations we can have with kids, as well politicians. Pollan estimates that 50% of human health care costs would be eliminated with grass-fed meats..."

That was posted today by one of Dr. Heidi's ER Fat Burn Certification students. They're all learning how to become ER Fat Burn coaches.

Most of what they're learning is quite novel, like eating grass fed meats. I believe the other ER Fat Burn principles, most quite weird, will also hit the mainstream. Because of the health and weight loss results her clients are getting. She'd be a wonderful guest on Martha Stewart, like Pollan, think? I'll tweet Martha. :)

P.S. I'm thrilled for Dr. Heidi, my bud. She's quietly leading the way in this long overdue eating change movement, with her bud, Vic. Soon I'll be able to say "I know her! And I knew her before she got famous!"

P. P.S. We still have a few spots left for Dr. Heidi's ER Fat Burn special I announced today.

No More Broken Promises

First 15 for special ER Fat Burn offer below

Did you see this new and brutal Apple ad?

Do you feel the same "yeah right, promises promises"about the weight loss programs you've done?

Here's a chance for a promise from me (gasp). I so guarantee Dr. Heidi's ER Fat Burn program that if you are not surprised at 1) how much better you feel, and 2) if you do NOT lose a few, I will pay for your program. And that's not all. You get a pile of whole food-based freebies to give it an honest try.

I've lived Dr. Heidi's eating habits for 20+ years. I personally know almost every one of the 100+ peeps who have gone (and are going through) the five week program now. Nearly each one was surprised. They giggle with happy silly. And they're all experienced dieters - most have done 5-15. From low carb to low fat to plain starvation.

Anyway, I want you to have a happy weight loss surprise. So...

For the next 48 hours, or for the first 15 of you, here's your risk-free chance to look and feel good for the coming holidays. My offer:

Get yourself into to Dr. Heidi's ER Fat Burn program, here. Scroll down to the Multi-Media (MM) option ($149) because the Live option ($445) is full.

When you sign up for the MM option, we will include a set of Pops, see here ($74 for two months' supply) and canister of Big B ($19.95). Shipping on us in the USA.

So that's a $93.95 present for you. You keep it no matter what.

To get this, sign up for the ER Fat Burn program,Multi Media, here - for $149. Must be in the first 15 or the first 48 hours, which ever comes first.

My personal guarantee: If, after you do the five-week ER Fat Burn program faithfully, you do not feel better or have not lost weight, I will refund your money - the $149. And you can keep the other whole-food based goodies.

1. Go here to see a 3-minute cartoon of the eating approach (dial-up doesn't work well).

2. Go here to see quick review of what you get and SIGN UP.

3. Go here to read or hear short stories of surprised peeps (mini videos). And I am hapy to report that for those people, and folks similar, those results are YES typical.

4. Email me here if you wanna chat.

How good will you look by the holidays?

Is Being Fat Contagious?

No. Really? When our friends get fat, we get fat.

Two distinguished researchers spent five years looking at the 5,000+ participants of the Framingham Heart Study (begun in 1948 and continued for two generations) to see what the effects of the relationships among the participants was. Here's their stunning discovery:

Obesity spreads more by association than genes.

"In 1948 fewer than 10% of Framingham residents were obese. By 1985, 18% were, and today about 40% are. What changed? Social norms of diet and physical appearance." Wired, Oct 2009

By studying the Framingham folks as an interconnected network rather than a mass of individuals, the two researchers made this intriguing discovery:

Obesity spread like a virus. Weight gain had a stunning infection rate. If one person become obese, the likelihood that his friend would follow suit increased by 171 percent.

And, your friends are more predictive of your size than your spouse:

"Having an obese spouse raised the risk of becoming obese by 37 percent. If a friend became obese, the risk skyrocketed by 171 percent."

Moral: hang out with friends who are or are getting to the size you want to be. ER Fat Burn club anyone?

It works for happiness, too, they say.

Really weird dessert: pickled what?!

Here's from 78 year old Ann Carter, one of the ER Fat Burners in class right now. She just posted this to the ER Fat Burn Forum:

"Tonight for dessert I had pickled herring -- DESSERT !!

"For a confessed chocolate ice cream-aholic that's got to be weird. And, I make tea from coconut oil, and I add coconut oil to my Big B. And I eat butter, and sometimes use butter to fry my eggs.

"Now really - who do you know (besides other ER Fat Burners) who would call this normal eating???????? I don't care - I love it - AND I'm losing weight, and having fun experimenting in the kitchen a room I used to try to avoid, since I only liked to make cookies, cakes, etc. etc.) Hooray for ER Fat Burn." -Ann

Note from Dr. Heidi about Ann:

She has a good constitution
She was an athlete
Bodies can function VERY well at age 78

Ann lost 10 lbs her first week in the program. And while some peeps call that water loss, which it partly is, it's weight and girth she doesn't have anymore.

Plus her bad urges are going away: "Today, I resisted the urge for a DQ Blizzard, and instead, thoroughly enjoyed my cold rump roast."

FTC disclosures:

1. I market the ER Fat Burn program because I have lived it for 20+ years. I'm the same size now as when I was in college 30+ years ago. AND as part owner of the company, I benefit when the company makes sales.

2. Weight loss on ER Fat Burn is TYPICAL. Most everyone loses some weight on the program.

3. "I'm not hungry anymore" is the most common surprise reaction from nearly ALL ER Fat Burn participants.

4. Getting rid of little ailments is the other most common reaction from ER Fat Burn participants. It's an ER secret.

5. Most ER participants agree with Ann's comment today: "WEIRD FOODS BURN FAT!!"

If you'd like to check what all the weirdness is about, check out Dr. Heidi's ER Fat Burn Program. You can do it online even, and go at your own pace. Once you sign up, we take you right into our ER Fat Burn den of fun and iniquity. Hehehe.

Poison Additives From World's Top Chef?

“It would not occur to any fast-food chain to stuff us with 20 or 30 dishes full of chemical additives.”

How many ways can we make food taste really really special? You heard it here first: The world's top chef has stooped to the McDonald's strategy: envelop in it additives.

The 'world's best chef' puts so many additives in his dishes that his "menus should carry health warnings informing diners of the additives in the dishes," writes food writer Jorg Zipprick.

“These colorants, gelling agents, emulsifiers, acidifiers and taste enhancers that Adria has introduced massively into his dishes to obtain extraordinary textures, tastes and sensations do not have a neutral impact on health,” says Zipprick, adding that some have a laxative effect." More here

"Britain’s Restaurant magazine has five times voted El Bulli the best restaurant in the world, but Zipprick calculates that a single visit accounts for 16% of an individual’s annual additive intake."

“It would not occur to any fast-food chain to stuff us with 20 or 30 dishes full of chemical additives,” he says, referring to the El Bulli menu More here

Well, now you can pay top dollar and get your tasty poison additive fix.

I wonder how long this guy will keep his ranking as world's top chef now that his "secret" is out? Gross.

Did you know there's sugar in hot dogs?

Get this:

"Every man, woman and child consumes, on average, 43 teaspoons of sugar a day. In 13 days that adds up to a five-pound bag of sugar. -John Mackey, CEO Whole Foods, Wall St Journal 10.3.09

This doesn't mean, says Dr. Heidi, that every man, woman and child is sitting around eating 43 teaspoons of sugar each day. We all know lots of sugar is in candy, cookies, ice cream and sodas. But it's also in places you might never guess.

Did you know nearly ALL bacon, sausage and the all-beef hot dogs (from Whole Foods) have SUGAR in them? That's not all...

Sauces, especially barbecue sauce and ketchup have sugar. Plus mayonnaise, salad dressings, energy bars, ham and other deli meats (look for sugar or dextrose), canned chicken stock and soups (dextrose, corn syrup, sugar), and box cereals.

Yikes! The sugar is there because, I guess, we love it. We're addicted to it. OMG.

P.S. I NEVER knew there was sugar in bacon and all-beef hot dogs until a week ago. I don't buy those anymore. I never did buy any of the other stuff. Who knew?

Health Care: Feeding Our Habits?

Author Michael Pollan doesn't have much hope for the success of the health care plans being proposed in Washington right now.

Americans already spend twice as much per person as most European countries on health care, he says. And this can be explained, as a study released last month says, by our being fatter...More here.

John Mackey, Whole Foods CEO went further recently and and stated (PDF here in case) that instead of national health care, Americans need to be more responsible eaters.

"A healthy diet is a solution to many of our health care problems. Every man woman and child consumes, on average, 43 teaspoons of sugar a day. In 13 days that adds up to a five-pound bag of sugar." (Every 13 days a five-pound bag of sugar!?)

What's your take? You for or again' some form of health care funded by tax payer dollars?

VOTE HERE and, add your 2 cents in the comments.

The Burger that Shattered Her Life

Are you eating tainted meat?

She was a 22-year old children's dance instructor. Until she ate an industrial feedlot hamburger, just like the ones you probably eat. (She's pictured in a coma to the left. When she awoke 9 weeks later, she was paralyzed.)

"Neither the system meant to make the meat safe, nor the meat itself, is what consumers have been led to believe." New York Times here. (PDF here in case.)

If you had ANY idea what's really in the ground 'meat' you've been eating at restaurants and those you've bought from the supermarket, you would vomit. See here.

People will go to jail.

P.S. Who scared the NYTimes? Their original title for this front page story, on Oct 3 (I think) was "The Burger that Shattered Her Life." Now, it's the unappealing "E. Coli Path Shows Flaws in Beef Inspection."

"It's the Diet, Oprah. It's Not You."

AUDIO HERE: "It's the diet, Oprah. It's not you." - Kim interviews Dr. Heidi.

Your transformation begins this SATURDAY Oct 3.

You can read the Oprah story here, the ER Fat Burn blurb here, and listen to the neat call with we had Tuesday evening Dr. Heidi right here:

Audio: "It's the diet, Oprah. It's not you." - Kim interviews Dr. Heidi.

(Give it a few moments to download. It should play right here it's QuickTime.)

"How did I let this happen again?"

Oprah asked herself that last year, after putting back on 40 pounds.

"I had literally starved myself for four months -- not a morsel of food," Winfrey said in 2005.

"Two hours after that show, I started eating to celebrate -- of course, within two days those jeans no longer fit!"

She regained the weight within two years and claimed she would never diet again.

She's not the only one who fell off the weight wagon.

Two weeks ago, Dr. Heidi the ER Fat Burn creator says to me,

"How could I have put on eight pounds this summer? I'm going to teach an ER Fat Burn Certification program to teachers-in-training for the ER Fat Burn program! What will I tell them?"

But then she smiled, "Well at least I know how to get rid of the fat before the program starts in two weeks.

She doesn't starve. She doesn't count. She eats luscious food. And no industrial food-like substances. And she's already lost 4 of the 8 pounds. See what she does here (about mid page).

Fifth ER Fat Burn starts October 3. Do you know anyone who ready to lose that weight, and wants to try something strange and different?

P.S. One ER participant has lost 110 lbs so far - in one year. We'll post her story next.

Stella’s no-turning-back fat moment…

The fifth live ER Fat Burn program starts October 3.

“It finally just hit me,” she recalls. “I thought, This cannot be the way God intended me to be. I am too fat and too unhappy..."

So she tried again. She chose ER Fat Burn this time around, and set about healing herself with an intimate group.

It was not always an easy time. The slightest emotional upset, even certain songs on the radio, would set off ferocious cravings...

Stella's story's here. Plus early bird info for Dr. Heidi's October ER Fat Burn.

Sorry, just 7 live spots this time - those with the weekly one-on-ones with Dr. Heidi. (Because Dr. Heidi is teaching her new 9-month ER Fat Burn Certification program for ER Fat Burn graduates who want to teach ER Fat Burn themselves.)

"Give a woman industrial food and she'll get fat, sick and tired. Let her eat ER food and everything changes."

NOTE: Live intro call: What's ER Fat Burn? w/Dr. Heidi.
Tuesday, 5:30PM PT (CA) 8:30PM ET (New York). No charge. Just pick up the phone and call a couple of minutes before the time.
Call in #: 712.429.0700
Pin 664114#

What does the world's oldest man eat?

Not much, at least not too much.

Walter Breuning turned 113 and eats just two meals a day and has done that for the last 35 years...See here

"You get in the habit of not eating at night, and you realize how good you feel. If you could just tell people not to eat so darn much." -Walter Breuning

We choose YOU over a billboard

Online shopping annoyance

Do you grumble when you get to the checkout and suddenly see the extra shipping cost tacked on? For years I just accepted it. Like everybody else, I figured, well, SOMEbody has to pay UPS right?

They do. But it doesn't have to be you.

Starting today, "We Pay Shipping for You" (in the US and Canada) is in effect for the whole food multi - Pops, and the new whole food source vitamin B-Complex - Big B.



Ha! you sniff: What's the catch? Why are you doing this? Did you add to the price to cover?

Last week a light went on. We suddenly realized that whatever marketing money we might spend on a billboard, or on traffic generation programs, well, we can use that instead to pay the UPS man for you.

Because. We were blind to tradition - that's the way things are done online. But not anymore. Phew!We love you way more than strangers we don't even know. This is one small way we've finally figured out to show you we are grateful you buy the whole food based vitamins that we've designed ourselves and use ourselves. (Dr. Heidi designed and I get to use, hehehe.)

So that's the story and I'm sticking to it.

Have you experienced having Whole Food Nation pay shipping for YOU yet?

Whole food multi - Pops here,
Whole food source vitamin B-Complex - Big B here.

"If you are American, you die earlier and spend more time disabled..."

So said Christopher Murray, M.D., Ph.D. Director of the World Health Organization's Global Program on Evidence for Health Policy, 2000. His words:

"Basically, you die earlier and spend more time disabled if you're an American rather than a member of most other advanced countries."
(Foodkills.org)

Have you checked your vitamins today?

Confession. I am the marketing hancho for the Pops, a whole food daily multi with 77 ingredients. Here's why.

Get out your bottle of daily vitamins. Hold that label up to the light and get out the magnifying glass.

I bet you’re taking a synthetic vitamin, like most everyone else. Here's why to think twice about that:

3 Studies

#1. Study using synthetic beta carotene and Vitamin E halted.

29,000 male smokers were given synthetic beta carotene and synthetic Vitamin E. The study was stopped when rates of lung cancer, heart attacks and death increased. - New England Journal of Medicine, 1994

#2. Birth defects increased for women on synthetic supplements
22,000 pregnant women were given synthetic Vitamin A. The study was halted because birth defects increased 400%. - New England Journal of Medicine, 1995

#3. Men get thickened arteries on synthetic supplements.
Men who took 500 mg of synthetic Vitamin C daily over 18 months showed signs of thickening of the arteries. - Reuters Health, March, 2000

Are your vitamins synthetic too?

Here's how to tell - (the original white paper exposing this) It's baaad.

Check out the label of a popular synthetic multivitamin seen on TV here. (Scroll down a bit)

Dr. Heidi's not the only one who knows the risk of synthetic vitamins. See here and here.

P.S. In case...the whole food Pops are here. The 77 ingredients here.

Ghandi Weighs In On the Excercise Debate

"I was none the worse for abstaining from exercise. That was because I had read in books about the benefits of long walks in the open air, and having liked the advice, I had formed a habit of taking walks, which has still remained with me. These walks gave me a fairly hardy constitution." -Gandhi

Health Care Is Not the Problem: We are Too Fat Is the Problem

The health care debate matters, but no matter what Congress does, America's health is not likely to get any better

Because health care isn't causing the problem: our diet is.

"The American way of eating has become the elephant in the room in the debate over health care," writes Michael Pollan in the New York Times.

"According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, three-quarters of health care spending now goes to treat “preventable chronic diseases.” Not all of these diseases are linked to diet — there’s smoking, for instance — but many, if not most, of them are."

See here for the eye opening piece by Michael Pollan

"There’s lots of money to be made selling fast food and then treating the diseases that fast food causes."

Yes of course WE the PEOPLE decide what to put into our mouths and most of us make terrible choices most of the time. And we pay for them with our sick, fat and tired bodies by the time we're 40.

But it doesn't help that nearly ALL the food that is available is not food at all, but spicy, addictive food-like substances with lots of toxic chemicals. And the meat and dairy in every supermarket is full of antibiotics and growth hormones. All this stuff is made with artificial ingredients that have long shelf life, and little nutritive value. But it's cheap.

Like the man said, there’s lots of money to be made selling fast food and then treating the diseases that fast food causes. And we the people are going along with it.

Yes, we don't pay for it immediately, but we sure do pay. Don't we?

Oi Vey.

Does exercise make it harder to lose weight?

Just in from Time Magazine...(Thanks Karen Buck)

"Whether because exercise makes us hungry or because we want to reward ourselves, many people eat more — and eat more junk food, like doughnuts — after going to the gym." Bottom line:

"It's what you eat, not how hard you try to work it off, that matters more in losing weight. You should exercise to improve your health, but be warned: fiery spurts of vigorous exercise could lead to weight gain. I love how exercise makes me feel, but tomorrow I might skip the VersaClimber — and skip the blueberry bar that is my usual post-exercise reward." More here (it's kinda long and a little boring)

Of course Dr. Heidi fans were already in on that little secret...See here and here.

Confession. For many years I belonged to the Nob Hill club - part of the Fairmont Hotel on Nob Hill in San Francisco. I went 4-5 days per week for an hour's workout, first thing in the AM. After, walking down the Powell Street hill towards the financial district, my friend and I passed a Double Rainbow cafe.

Of course we stopped in each time. We looked forward to a big fat almond croissant and cappuccino. It was a wonderful reward. We didn't stop unless we'd worked out. We stopped by almost every single day.

ER Eating Coach?

ER Eating for fat burn and looking good again.

We're building a network of ER Eating Schools. Wanna help?

Some of you may know that Dr. Heidi's ER Fat Burn program has been an extraordinary success. I've been living her ER eating cycles for over ten years, and I know it's why I can run 5 miles a day and look as good as I do (same size I was in college - 8).

So we're planning to expand it. Well, I am. Looking into how to do it. Some ideas:

ER Eating Coaches. Some of her ER grads have signed up for the first ER Fat Burn Certification program starting later this month. That will enable them, if they want, to become ER Eating Coaches. And get paid for it. Or they can just get depth and authority in something they love already (having done it.) Or they can understand the many factors underlying their success in losing weight/overcoming symptoms, cravings, etc.

In addition, we'll be seeking out:

ER Eating Program Directors - folks to help us build a network of ER Eating schools. Whose teachers will be the ER Eating Coaches. Program to be delivered online, CDs and over the phone (like now). Program Directors are people like me who like building a service business that offers success training in ER Eating and character development.

Prerequisite for ER Eating Coaches. Must be a graduate of the 3-cycle ER Eating program (Fat Burn, Detox and Coasting.) Live or multi-media version of the programs. A live Fat Burn starts this Fall, and the multi-media version is available right now. See here for surprise info. Must love teaching ER Eating to folks who are ready for a life change in the eating and weight department.

Prerequisite for ER Eating Program Directors: Gotta love sales and marketing, and setting up good customer service and training programs. Folks who can and want to help us build a network of ER Eating schools. Online. On the phone. One school at a time.

Email me here if you're interested and we can get down and dirty on what it takes and why you think you could make a success of it.

What's wrong with 'natural' suppplements?

I got a lot of reaction to today's post: Bad Synthetic Vitamins?

Some folks had a similar point of view, some weren't sure and few were upset.

The biggest issue for some of my readers: They are reps for companies that sell "natural" products. Isn't that the same as whole-food-based? So why the big fuss?

Err, natural is not the same as whole food based.

There is no FDA definition of 'natural'. So all kinds of products can be labeled 'natural' and still be useless or harmful for consumers. What's worse, the FDA will leave it undefined for the time being. This is a problem for everyone using the term to label their products:

"A lack of a uniform approach to the [natural] term has resulted in inconsistent product claims, consumer confusion, and even lawsuits against food companies accused of misleading consumers." See here.

The trouble with 'natural' is this, says Dr. Heidi: A company can start with a natural source, like a plant, then heat it so much that the enzymes die, or add chemicals or other artificial ingredients, and they can still call it natural. That's why the word has no meaning.

Sigh.

New (and weird) appetite suppressant

"Seems I want to eat constantly. Will Big B help curb my appetite?" So writes Lulu B today.

Dr. Heidi answered Lulu's Big B question, and then added a little appetite control secret some of you might like...

"...A good (and healthy) appetite suppressant is coconut oil. You can add it to your Big B drink/shake or just put 1 tsp - 1 Tb of coconut oil in hot water and drink it like tea. We call it coconut tea. It is one of the main snack drinks in the ER Fat Burn program." - Dr. Heidi

Try the coconut tea and let us know how it works for you. I also use coconut tea as lip balm for my chapped lips.

Don't like coconut oil? Here are three more weird but whole-food based appetite suppressants from Dr. Heidi's ER Fat Burn program. Test each one. Tell us what happens. They are weird. But effective.

Note: Big B is on back order until the first week of September.

Bad Synthetic Vitamins?

Who else takes bad synthetic vitamins daily and doesn't know it?

Readers here know I'm an extreme health and fitness nut. So much that I became part owner of a little company that markets a whole food daily supplement - the Pops.

We are one of just two or three whole food daily vitamins on the market.
The hundreds of other daily vitamins are synthetic.

Dr. Heidi, the designer of the whole food vitamin I market, has laid out the case about the badness of synthetic vitamins in one of the most viral white papers on whole food vitamins online. A revealing chart which identifies synthetic from real food source vitamins included.

But since we sell a product, of course, her (and my) words are suspect. No matter that Dr. Heidi created it because she was aghast at the dangers of synthetic vitamins. She figured she'd design her own and have a good, safe whole food daily vitamin for herself and HER family. (Which has now grown quite big.)

Anyway, I reported some of the recent negative research results on daily vitamins and got much criticism from folks in the NM business who sell vitamins. (See comments there.)

My answer then and now: the studies dumping on vitamins refer to synthetic vitamins. What do you care if the findings are negative? What do you expect from synthetic vitamins? Use whole food source ones and you're fine!

Dr. Heidi's not the only one who has pointed out the long term dangers of synthetic vitamins - which comprise 95%+ of what's on all store shelves in the U.S. today.

Here's another voice speaking out the bad synthetic vitamins.

Very similar to Dr. Heidi's Are Your Vitamins Safe white paper. Some highlights from the new site:

"In one experiment, synthetic vitamin B (thiamine) was shown to render 100% of a group of pigs sterile!"

...Natural food-source vitamins are enzymatically alive. Man-made synthetic vitamins are dead chemicals."

"This is what occurs with all synthetic vitamins: the body treats them as toxins, leading to the "expensive urine" of excess vitamin intake referred to frequently, since the human system via the urinary tract attempts to rid itself of the major quantity of such foreign chemicals."

They even have a similar chart to Dr. Heidi's so you can tell which vitamins in your current bottle is synthetic or whole food based. More here.

Anyway, here's what I take. Now you know why and why I do my best to find people who take daily vitamins, only don't realize they're synthetic. We even let them test the Pops first. Why not, right?

There are a few other options, but since I use this one, this is what I market.

Why would anyone take synthetic vitamins if they knew they could be doing more harm than good?

UPDATE: Here's from Dr. Mercola making the same distinction between bad synthetic and whole food source vitamins (he makes you subscribe but you can unsub if ya want.) Thanks, Karen Floyd!

P.S. The issue is not "natural" versus synthetic. It's whole-food based versus synthetic. Natural sounds good, but here's the problem: they can take something from a natural source, like a plant or fruit, and do anything to it they want and still call it natural. For example, they can add artificial additives like food coloring, or heat it so the enzymes are dead, or toxify it. And still call it natural.

That's why 'natural' is meaningless.

A 'natural' product does NOT protect you. It's not for nothing we're a nation of sick, tired and overweight people. We trust the establishment too much and are too busy to get to the bottom of anything other than what's near and dear to us. And this happens to be near and dear to me.

Can we tax ourselves skinny?

Here's a way...

"Slap an 18 percent tax on soda, and people will drink less of it. Since increased soda consumption is, Brownell says, one of the main contributors to our rising obesity rate, cutting back should lead to nationwide weight loss. Brownell sees such taxes starting with the states and eventually taking hold at the federal level, much the way tobacco taxes evolved."

More here

How about candy next? What's on your "tax ourselves skinny" list?

Meat lovers: How to buy healthy beef

Tip from Dr. Heidi.

Meat lovers: Here's how to buy beef that won't make you fat, sick or tired.

From this day on, when you shop,
ALWAYS ask for - no - insist, on 100% grass-fed beef.

The regular industrial feedlot beef has much more fat than grass-fed. And the kind of fat in it is the BAD fat. (Way more Omega 6s than are healthy). Vs the good fat (Omega 3 and CLA).

Not because of the animals themselves. But because of what bad guys feed their animals and shoot them up with. (Feed - corn and soy, plus shoot them up with antibiotics - they get sick eating corn and soy instead of grass - and growth hormones. So they grow faster than they're supposed to.)

One 100% GF farmer describes it here - naked link. (We're buyers.)

Good fats help you lose weight, build muscle, and they're good for your heart, not bad, says Dr. Heidi.

If you are putting on the pounds and you love meat like I do, do not settle for any less than 100% grass-fed. Most health super markets (like Whole Foods) carry it. Even some of the traditional supermarkets are getting in on the act.

Just ask. No. Insist.

If you need any more reason to go for 100% grass-fed (you may get nightmares) read Michael Pollan's stunning and best selling opus on this very topic Omnivore's Dilemma.

P.S. Just in from the New York Times - another reason to demand 100% grass-fed: Illnesses Are Linked to Recalled Beef (industrial, of course.)

"We sell a bunch of junk" Whole Foods CEO

Just when you thought there was a safe place to shop for health giving foods...

“We sell all kinds of candy,” CEO John Mackey told the WSJ. “We sell a bunch of junk.”

Healthy, bulk foods such as “grains, seeds, nuts and beans” now account for about 1% of sales, down from 15% to 20%, Mackey said.

Will they stop selling all the candy? MORE here.

Hidden industry influence on medical literature...

Do you want to know if a glowing medical review of a treatment - say to help you decide about hormone replacement - is written by someone paid by the pharmaceutical company who sells it?

I know I would...but ghostwriters paid by the industry are everywhere and there's no way to know who's on the drug company payroll and who's not...See here. (PDF here in case.)

A Good Food Manifesto for America

Here's a solid ChangeThis paper from someone else who believes:

"It is time and past time for this nation, this government, to react to the dangers inherent in its flawed farm and food policies and to reverse course from subsidizing wealth to subsidizing health.

We have to stop paying the largest farm subsidies to large growers of unsustainable and inedible crops like cotton. We have to stop paying huge subsidies to Big Corn, Big Soy and Big Chem to use prime farmland to grow fuel, plastics and fructose. We have to stop using federal and state agencies and institutions as taxpayer-funded research arms for the very practices that got us into this mess..."

Download here. No charge.

Have you seen Food Inc?

Day 1 on Purple Pop

Just in from Beverly A:

"I just had to tell you about my first day on the Purple Pops.

"I received my order earlier this week, but unfortunately the Green Pops are on back order. So I was going to wait until I got them to start, but I decided to go ahead and try the Purple.

"I took one about 10 am, right before I headed out to Physical Therapy. I noticed a difference in how I felt the very first hour! I don't quite know how to describe it. Sort of like a renewed sense of well-being. Sometimes I just drag thru the physical therapy exercises, but today I felt great...

"I went to lie down at the regular nap time, around 2 pm, and just tossed and turned for a while. After a while, I thought, this is ridiculous, I don't need a nap today, and I got up, got dressed, and drove in to the beach. I walked on the boardwalk, walked out on the fishing pier (really enjoyed that) and then sat down on a bench and people-watched for a while, taking in all the wonderful salt air breezes.

"That's the first time in the whole year that I've lived here that I ever drove in to Ocean City in the evening (and it's only 5 miles!)...

"And get this: I didn't even buy any Thrashers French Fries or caramel corn! I had a big salad for lunch, and just wasn't hungry yet this evening. Can you believe it??

"Just had to let you know...

Aww thanks, Bev. This is one I've been on for five years. I'm mad about it AND yes, I market it.

Plus, lucky for us, these whole food multis were named "Best Multi in 2008"

Yep, we're happy. Want to try some? Check here and here.

Related: Pops for Pooping

Elvis died straining on the throne

Pops for pooping...


He's not the only one. Happens to many many guys...

"Movie producer Don Simpson (Flashdance, Top Gun, Beverly Hills Cop) died of a heart attack while straining on the toilet. He was reading a book...Elvis also died while straining on the toilet. He was reading a book too..." Joe Eszterhas, Screenwriter.

Why do I tell you this?

Because the most most popular comment by new Pops users is:

"I don't strain on the toilet for #2."

They've also moved their libraries out of the bathroom.

Must be those digestive enzymes do it. Along with the Probiotics and Prebiotics.

Pops for Prevention

Heath Ledger didn't believe it...

Who else is too wired on caffeine, nicotine, alcohol and sugary stuff all day, to calm down and sleep at night?

Everyone knows: Heath Ledger, the gorgeous young actor, woke up dead at 28 a year ago. All he wanted was to get some rest. He was just too wired to sleep at night, so he took something to help. It was too much for him and caused the big sleep. Same thing happened to Michael Jackson.

People are dying trying to get some rest at night.

Here's the scoop on Heath Ledger.
His last interview took place a month before he died. On that late morning, a visiting reporter had noted that before Ledger could even have a conversation with the her about his latest movie role - the Joker in the Dark Knight Batman flick - he'd made himself two pots of coffee. In between, he ran out on his deck to have a couple of smokes. Then he was ready to start the interview.
During the interview, the writer said, they "swapped insomnia-combating tips."

But think about it: How ya gonna sleep at night with 6-10 cups of coffee in you?

Who else is too wired on caffeine, nicotine, alcohol and sugary stuff to calm down and sleep at night?

I used to have the same problem. I love cappucinos and for 30 years, I would not accept they kept me up at night. Finally, about 4 years ago, I started taking some different kinds of uppers: metabolic boosters.

I rarely have trouble sleeping at night anymore. My caps are now down to one per day.

And that's a very big reason I use AND market the Pops. The Purples have eight of these metabolic boosters and they keep me energized during the day. Without insomnia at night.

If you want to reduce your intake of scary stimulants, here's one way.

That's what I do. And that's why I sell it to anyone who wants to get off the stimulant wagon before it's too late. Why do it to yourself?

Is your pick-me-up killing you?

Old: Stimulants. (Caffeine, sugar, sodas, especially Jolt-types)

They give a quick high.


Then comes the crash. Requiring another round.

Stimulants get expensive. And fattening. And after 4-5 of those Lattes, we get a headache. Then we can't sleep. That's when things get dangerous.

But we need that lift.

New: metabolic boosters. They give a confident lift, and no crash or other scary side effects.

Have you heard about them?

These "uppers" won't exhaust your body or keep you up at night.

Dr. Heidi will show you 8 metabolic boosters Thursday eve, July 16. (OK here's one.)

5:30pm PT; 6:30pm MT; 7:30pm CT; 8:30pm ET

(712) 429-0700 Caller pin 664114#

P.S. The metabolic boosters are just eight of the 55 nutrients in the Purple Pops. Recession prices in effect until further notice.

Are you tired of vitamins that just don't do anything?

Daily vitamins are not like a dull knife. How would you even know there's anything wrong?

Most off-the-shelf vitamins, it's been discovered, do nothing. Many are suspected of doing more harm than good. Most all contain synthetic ingredients, and artificial colors like yellow dye #6, yellow #5, blue #1...

So of course Dr. Heidi, extreme real foodie and real supplement nut, went overboard and designed some. When you're extreme about what you pop into your mouth, what else do you do?

Yes, of course we sell it. I'm delighted to make a living doing something I believe in so much.

Hmm. I wonder what 77 research-supported life enhancing ingredients will do for your body?

Who else needs something extra-good to make up for imperfect living habits?


P.S. You are surely NOT like the folks stocking up on pills that they think can spare them expensive doctor visits? Who else is buying a dull knife and doesn't know it?

What's really in those Pops?

77 Ingredients

I've wanted to create a site for a looong time that would describe the what and why in the little Pops I take everyday. After almost 5 years, I wouldn't have a day go by without popping my four.

Anyway, see what you think...What's not in them might be as important as what is...

P.S. I secretly sell them.

"Atkins On Steriods" Interview with Dr. Heidi + Jimmy Moore

Jimmy Moore, of Livin La Vida Low-Carb fame, lost nearly 200 lbs with Atkins, and kept it off. He's been telling his story ever since.

He heard about Dr. Heidi, and was so surprised by her take on Atkins he interviewed her for his popular site...Not one to mince words, Dr. Heidi offers Jimmy a few surprises. CLICK AUDIO link right here...

Pops Ingredient #7: Cayenne

Here's #7 of 77 Ingredients in the Pops (77 in both Green and Purple combined)

Cayenne pepper is named for the city of Cayenne in French Guiana. It consists primarily of the capsaicinoid Capsaicin, which is derived from the seeds and pods of a pepper related to bell peppers and jalapenos.

“Cayenne lowers blood pressure, blood cholesterol, triglycerides, and LDL/HDL ratio, while strengthening the heart. It reduces blood clots, dilates capillaries, has anti-inflammatory properties, and is a great pain reliever.” (Willard, 2004, p1)

Adding Cayenne to your diet may also enhance your metabolism (Lass, 2008, p2), helping you burn more calories and fat. Another reason it may promote weight loss is its capacity to stimulate thermogenesis, the generation of heat. Cayenne can speed up the rate at which energy is released, so that less of the fat you consume is stored (Shan, 2008, p3).

This ingredient can be found in Pop A Purple. See here.

References

1. Lass J. Add some to lose some. Alive: Canadian Journal of Health & Nutrition [serial online]. April 2008;306:118-119. Available from: Alt HealthWatch, Ipswich, MA. Accessed May 15, 2009.
2. Shan Y. Tackling the obesity crisis in the UK. Primary Health Care [serial online]. October 2008;18(8):25-30. Available from: CINAHL Plus with Full Text, Ipswich, MA. Accessed May 15, 2009.
3. Willard T. Herb profile: Cayenne. Alive: Canadian Journal of Health & Nutrition [serial online]. June 2004;260:114-115. Available from: Alt HealthWatch, Ipswich, MA. Accessed May 15, 2009.

5.5 Million Views: Who really pays for our cheap stuff?

Story of Stuff.

Fabulous. This could shake your values right down to your bone marrow.

Why NOT to buy the next latest gadget or other new faddish piece of clothing.

I promise you will not guess, according to this, who really pays for your ability to buy stuff so cheap. See here.

The art alone is priceless. I dare you not to cry.