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First and foremost… Menopause is NOT a Disease!! (Sometimes the medical community seems to treat it that way – and women then look at themselves as though they are abnormal or sick.) We’ve come a long way since the days that women were shunned into dirty shacks to have their monthly cycles! Now it’s time to shed the same light on the cessation of those cycles.

Menopause is normal; and facing your change of life should be a healthy and positive experience. Simply put, menopause is a marker that signals a change in a woman’s biological life. So let’s delve more deeply into how those changes and our lifestyles, can affect the symptoms that we may experience.

FACT: Estrogen levels, for most menopausal women, only drop to levels below those necessary for pregnancy but remain sufficient for all other normal body functions.

With this in mind, it is actually more accurate to view our menopausal symptoms as abnormalities brought on by our cultural deviation away from a healthy lifestyle. If you have spent decades eating refined and processed food, avoiding exercise and being exposed to a variety of unavoidable xenoestrogens (pesticides, herbicides and petrochemicals), regaining hormone balance may be challenging at best.

But if you are willing to make some changes, there is hope! I must admit, changing my own habits has not been easy. Spending the time and energy to exercise, and actually read labels and make informed choices about what goes into my body, has not always been #1 on my hit parade. But was it worth the effort? Most definitely! Especially the older I get.

A big reason for much of our discomfort is that many of the processed foods we consume are our favorite “comfort foods”. Those yummy, sinful goodies we stuff in our mouths when we’re upset or feel the need to nurture ourselves. Examples of these… anything chocolate, ice cream, donuts, cookies, chips loaded with our favorite dip… you get the picture!! So let’s learn our 10 Commandments to get you on the fast track to a healthier menopause.

Rule #1
Thou shalt not even try and eliminate all decadent treats from your diet… at least not all at once.

Besides, that’s too harsh a step for most of us. Think about it, if we are eating certain foods to nurture ourselves, and then suddenly yank them away, all those parts inside us we’re trying to nurture are going to rebel. And I don’t have to tell you what that leads to – obsessing about food, binging and guilt. Removing the junk food is not meant to be a punishment and shouldn’t be viewed that way. Always remember, you’re doing this to enhance your life and energize your body.

The strategy should be to gradually cut down on the amount you eat. Eat two cookies instead of ten. Eat one-fourth of a bag of chips instead of the whole bag. Eat one bowl of ice cream instead of the entire carton!!

Begin to think of those foods as occasional treats rather than daily sustenance while you find more effective ways to nurture your body and soul. And remember: It takes less time to avoid eating extra calories than to burn them off!!

Also, there are often numerous unresolved emotional issues that play themselves out in the form of emotional eating. Should you recognize this behavior in yourself, please, make every effort to seek out appropriate counseling. These unresolved emotional matters are often at the root of unhealthy eating habits.

Lastly, stop weighing yourself (this was hard for me) and use your dress size as your gauge.

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There is a considerable amount of controversy surrounding the use of Monosodium Glutamate in the foods that we eat. Initially, MSG was classified by the Food and Drug Administration as ’safe’. However, speculation surrounding its potential harmful side effects has been mounting. MSG consumption has led to a variety of reported claims including severe headache, diarrhea, fatigue, numbness in the back of the neck, tingling, heat and pressure in the face, thirst, weakness in the upper back and neck, chest pain, headache, elevated heart rate and difficulty breathing. Once termed ‘Chinese Restaurant Syndrome’, the truth is that this hidden menace exists in a majority of the items on the grocery store shelves.

What is MSG? MSG is a substance that is formally categorized as an excitotoxin, which is a chemical that causes brain cells to become overexcited and fire uncontrollably. It is added to food by manufacturers as a cheap way to make bland inadequate foods taste better for the consumer. It saves the food industry vast amounts of money to process this way.

The ‘G’ in MSG stands for glutamate. Many flavorful foods are naturally high in glutamate such as cheese, mushrooms and tomatoes. MSG, on the other hand, is processed. It’s the sodium salt of the amino acid, glutamic acid, and is a different form of glutamate than that which occurs in the foods mentioned above.

Research indicates that MSG and other excitotoxins, such as the commonly used sweetener, aspartame, have the potential for inflicting permanent damage on a growing brain and nervous system and even kill brain cells.

The federal government, however, has aided the food industry by allowing differing levels of MSG to be labeled under other names, in effect to hide its presence in what we buy. One of our greatest weapons against MSG is to read the labels with caution. Take the following list with you to the grocery store to aid you in your choices. The list is, sadly, not all inclusive.

Additives that always contain MSG include:

• Monosodium Glutamate
• Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein (eg. corn protein, pea protein)
• Hydrolyzed Protein
• Hydrolyzed Plant Protein
• Plant Protein Extract
• Sodium Caseinate
• Calcium Caseinate
• Yeast Extract
• Textured Protein
• Autolyzed Yeast
• Hydrolyzed Oat Flour

Additives that frequently contain MSG or may contain it include:

• Malt extract
• Bouillon
• Broth
• Stock
• Flavoring
• Natural Flavoring/flavors
• Natural Beef or Chicken Flavoring
• Seasoning
• Spices
• Carrageenan
• Enzymes
• Soy Protein Concentrate
• Soy Protein Isolate
• Whey Protein Concentrate

Also please be aware that just because a product is labeled ‘NO MSG’ or is sitting in the organic section of the store does not make it MSG-free. You must read the labels just as carefully.

Processed foods are the culprits: crackers, chips, soups, instant rice/potatoes/pastas, meal ‘helpers’, even baby foods, contain increased amounts and the list goes on and on.

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Please feel free to print a copy of this article.

Invest in yourself ~ Women’s Health Advantage is ready to help!

Are you…

• DONE wishing for better health?
• TIRED of just talking about what to do next?
• READY to make positive changes and live a more vibrant life?
• SUFFERING from health symptoms that are unexplained or unrelieved?
• Are you ready to create optimum wellness and vibrant health?! Ready to feel strong and alive? Then it’s time to get in touch with Jill Redfern at Women’s Health Advantage to assist you in creating your best life ever! Jill can guide you in any dietary, digestion, and nutritional issues and help you get going with vibrant health TODAY! After all, if not now… when?

Jill Redfern is a registered nurse in the Valencia area with 30 years of experience in both traditional and alternative medicine and a pioneer in the field of women’s alternative health and enzyme therapy.

What is it that approximately 25 million Americans have in common? They have osteoporosis. And the even more staggering statistic is that 80 percent of those who suffer are women. So, ladies: Pull up a chair, get comfortable and let’s get started!

We’ve all heard of osteoporosis, true? We hear that we should ‘do this’ or ‘do that’ to avoid its onset. But what exactly is osteoporosis? What causes it to settle in and what can we do to prevent it? This article is a the first of a three-part series that is aimed at women to help explain what we can do to take charge of our health now to minimize the effects of this potentially debilitating disorder.

Osteoporosis means “porous bones.” Literally, that translates to bones with tiny holes. Bone is a living tissue and is constantly forming new bone cells and removing old cells that are no longer useful. This addition and subtraction of bone from our skeleton is called bone remodeling, and five to ten percent of our bone is replaced through this process every single year. Bone remodeling involves two types of bone cells. Osteoblasts create new bone cells, while osteoclasts are responsible for removing old cells from the skeleton. This delicate balance is carefully regulated by many of the hormones in our body such as estrogen, progesterone, calcitonin,and the thyroid. Like a coral reef, our bones are very much alive and continuously renewing themselves. What can start to happen, though, is an inadequate rebuilding of bone, which, in turn, produces osteoporosis. Simply put, new bone is not replacing old bone.

According to peak bone mass theory, our bones reach their peak level of healthy density by our early 20’s and begin to decrease in our mid-30’s. In the years preceding menopause, bone loss begins to exceed the addition of new bone to the skeleton with the first years after the onset of menopause, which is typically a time of rapid bone loss for many women. This loss may occur at a rate of one to three percent or more per year, for up to five to ten years after menopause.

By age 65, some women may even see a 50 percent bone loss, leading to a greater risk for hip fracture. This hip fracture can occur easily and can be as simple as a slight ‘misstep,’ without even falling down. Of these women who fracture their hips, a large percentage lose their independence of living and end up in a nursing home. 25 percent of these women die within two years.

So as you can see, this is a very serious health issue we must address. As women who care about our health, we must educate and equip ourselves with knowledge and information so that we do not inadvertently travel down that road of suffering.

Ladies, as we mentioned earlier, it’s time to get started! Contact Jill Redfern at Women’s Health Advantage, to assist you on your journey toward optimum health. Jill will work with you to improve your diet, digestion, and hormone balance, as well as make sure that your calcium intake – along with other nutrients and minerals – are absorbed and utilized so that bone can rebuild, repair and renew effectively. The time is NOW to start creating a healthier and more vibrant future!

Stay tuned for Part Two of this series which will highlight the underlying causes of osteoporosis so you can be aware of how your current lifestyle is either leading you toward one of optimum health… or one of illness.

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Please feel free to print a copy of this article.

Invest in yourself ~ Women’s Health Advantage is ready to help!

Are you…

• DONE wishing for better health?
• TIRED of just talking about what to do next?
• READY to make positive changes and live a more vibrant life?
• SUFFERING from health symptoms that are unexplained or unrelieved?
• Are you ready to create optimum wellness and vibrant health?! Ready to feel strong and alive? Then it’s time to get in touch with Jill Redfern at Women’s Health Advantage to assist you in creating your best life ever! Jill can guide you in any dietary, digestion, and nutritional issues and help you get going with vibrant health TODAY! After all, if not now… when?

Jill Redfern is a registered nurse in the Valencia area with 30 years of experience in both traditional and alternative medicine and a pioneer in the field of women’s alternative health and enzyme therapy.

In the previous article we discussed osteoporosis and how, as women, we need to be on full alert! As we mentioned, osteoporosis is a serious health issue involving the loss of bone with adequate rebuilding. The actual process of osteoporosis is so subtle that we generally don’t even notice that anything is happening! The process takes place over a period of many years as our bones become thinner and start to degenerate.

So it’s time to identify what causes osteoporosis so that we can ensure we are doing everything we can to achieve optimum health. It’s hard to believe that something as hard as our bones can eventually become thin and brittle, isn’t it? But they can. And there may be some things we are currently doing in our lives to actually encourage this bone loss. Read on!

It is the loss of bone calcium that leads to our bones growing thin and porous. Most of us think that a lack of dietary calcium is the culprit. It’s not, though. Sure, enzyme deficiencies, hormonal imbalances, and hypothyroidism are part of the issue, too. But the increased rise in osteoporosis is aimed directly at the standard American diet we see all around us. You know: Refined and processed foods, soft drinks that are high in phosphorous, and diets that include too much protein, sugar, and/or salt. And of course, add to that – excess consumption of coffee or alcohol, which also leads to a breakdown of the bones.

When our diets are depleted of those necessary nutrients, here’s what happens:

1) The body cannot absorb calcium (either through the food we eat or supplements we take) so instead it turns to our bones and teeth for the calcium it needs.
2) The body does not receive its “building blocks” for healthy bones.

So the bottom-line, then, is this: Our poor diets are bad for our bones.

How does your current diet match up? See any habits you have created that are moving you closer to developing thinning bones? Ready to work with a professional to start creating a healthier lifestyle?

Be sure to contact Jill Redfern at Women’s Health Advantage, to assist you on your journey toward optimum health. Jill will work with you to improve your diet, digestion, and hormone balance, as well as make sure that your calcium intake – along with other nutrients and minerals – are absorbed and utilized so that bone can rebuild, repair and renew effectively. The time is NOW to start creating a healthier and more vibrant future!

**************************************************

Please feel free to print a copy of this article.

Invest in yourself ~ Women’s Health Advantage is ready to help!

Are you…

• DONE wishing for better health?
• TIRED of just talking about what to do next?
• READY to make positive changes and live a more vibrant life?
• SUFFERING from health symptoms that are unexplained or unrelieved?
• Are you ready to create optimum wellness and vibrant health?! Ready to feel strong and alive? Then it’s time to get in touch with Jill Redfern at Women’s Health Advantage to assist you in creating your best life ever! Jill can guide you in any dietary, digestion, and nutritional issues and help you get going with vibrant health TODAY! After all, if not now… when?

Jill Redfern is a registered nurse in the Valencia area with 30 years of experience in both traditional and alternative medicine and a pioneer in the field of women’s alternative health and enzyme therapy.

Welcome back! Osteoporosis. In the previous two articles, we discussed how as women, we need to be on full alert for the potential onset of this serious health issue. We talked about the facts and we highlighted some causes. So now, ready to learn what YOU can do to take control of your health?

Since we know that osteoporosis is a ‘thinning of the bones’ where actual degeneration takes place (and the process can be so subtle that we don’t even realize that it’s underway), it’s absolutely essential to know what solutions are out there to help us stay as strong as we can. Let’s see how you rate…

Take a look at the following statements and answer with either a “yes” or “no,” depending on whether or not you agree:

1) I consume plenty of (use your intuition; you know what “plenty” means for you):

a. Protein
b. Sea salt
c. Fruit
d. Green, leafy vegetables
e. Raw milk and cheese
f. Whole grains

2) I take natural progesterone (if applicable).

3) I stay away from processed foods, especially white sugar, white flour, white rice, and margarine.

4) I avoid coffee.

5) I avoid alcohol.

6) I avoid soda.

7) I receive enzyme therapy to assure that the calcium in my food is broken down and carried to the cells in my body.

I do not smoke.

9) I get enough sunlight.

10) I exercise regularly.

So how do your current behaviors match up with a healthy lifestyle? Were you able to say “yes” at least ten times? If not, it’s time to get going and do the right things to prevent osteoporosis.

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Please feel free to print a copy of this article.

Invest in yourself ~ Women’s Health Advantage is ready to help!

Are you…

• DONE wishing for better health?
• TIRED of just talking about what to do next?
• READY to make positive changes and live a more vibrant life?
• SUFFERING from health symptoms that are unexplained or unrelieved?
• Are you ready to create optimum wellness and vibrant health?! Ready to feel strong and alive? Then it’s time to get in touch with Jill Redfern at Women’s Health Advantage to assist you in creating your best life ever! Jill can guide you in any dietary, digestion, and nutritional issues and help you get going with vibrant health TODAY! After all, if not now… when?

Jill Redfern is a registered nurse in the Valencia area with 30 years of experience in both traditional and alternative medicine and a pioneer in the field of women’s alternative health and enzyme therapy.

Raw milk… This sounds so strange to our modern ears. Raw means not cooked, right? Milk isn’t cooked. Is it?

Close your eyes and imagine a dairy cow. The golden sun shines as she munches lush green grass in a pasture. Here comes the farmer in his overalls and hat, coming to bring his girls in for their afternoon milking. Cowbells jingle as the cows stroll to the barn.

Time for a reality check. Chances are the milk you drink came from a cow that has never even seen grass. In fact, she stands in the same sludgy spot most of her days. She eats grain – because it’s cheaper than providing the land and grass needed for grazing. So, she stands in a line with a thousand other cows, producing milk like a machine. She’s only producing large amounts of milk during her short life because she’s been pumped full of hormones.

You might think grain makes for good cow chow, but it’s not what cows normally eat. A grain diet will eventually kill cows by destroying their livers. This toxicity necessitates widespread use of antibiotics in the cows’ feed. Why is grain used? Two reasons – it’s cheap, and it fattens cows quickly, hastening its nearly inevitable trip to the slaughterhouse.

The milk from these cows is pasteurized, which kills the germs and bacteria swimming in it – but which also kills all of the good nutrients and beneficial bacteria that make milk a potentially perfect food. Because of how it’s produced, raw milk doesn’t need to be pasteurized. Ultra-pasteurization superheats the milk to162 -167°F (72 – 75°C) for 15 – 20 seconds to kill harmful bacteria, thereby increasing shelf life. However, because pasteurization also kills beneficial bacteria, breaks down proteins, destroys the enzymes that make milk more digestible, and damages milk’s naturally-occurring vitamins, unpasteurized raw milk is a much better choice.

The milk you buy at the grocery store has also been homogenized, which means it’s been processed to make it uniform. The fat is evenly distributed throughout the product, rather than rising to the top as cream. Raw milk hasn’t been homogenized, a process preventing separation. The process subjects the fat and cholesterol in milk to oxidization, which increases free radical action, cell mutation, and inflammation. Homogenization is harmful because the fat globules are broken into tiny particles which permeate our intestines. This causes them to bypass the normal digestion process that takes place in the intestines. They then enter the blood stream.

Raw milk, on the other hand, is not pasteurized or homogenized. Sound like a recipe for food poisoning? If you were to drink the milk from the typical dairy cow without processing it, yes. But this kind of raw milk comes from a wholly different kind of cow.

Because of how it is produced – happy cows grazing on fresh grass without the help of hormones or antibiotics – it retains all of the goodness that makes milk a perfect food.

While we are told that fat is bad, there is mounting evidence that fats have an important place in our diets. The healthy butterfat in raw milk contains conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), an omega-6 fatty acid. CLA has shown anticancer and immune system-boosting properties. Did you know that healthy fats and proteins are the carriers of our most important micronutrients? For a delicious way to enjoy eating fresh veggies, simply drizzle them with raw butter. Fresh fruit topped with raw cream makes a very satisfying dessert.

Raw milk is much higher in vitamin A, D and CLA because of the cows’ diet. Another plus – grass-fed cows’ milk is usually organic, meaning the cows are raised humanely, without antibiotics or hormones, enjoying a diet of fresh grass eaten in the fresh air. However, raw milk does not necessarily have to be from cows. Goats, camels, and water buffalo are other good sources.

Drinking raw milk is like drinking sunshine. The cows eat grass infused with vitamins A and D from the fresh air and sunshine. They produce milk with all of those nutrients, and they’re left intact because the milk isn’t pasteurized or homogenized. This lack of heat processing gives raw milk an advantage over the supermarket variety. All the proteins, enzymes, vitamins, and minerals are left intact. Proteins and fats are the building blocks for life, increasing absorption of vitamins and minerals and boosting our immune systems.

Even lactose-intolerant people may be able to drink milk if it’s raw. Lactose is the sugar found in milk. In raw milk, lactase, the enzyme that breaks down lactose, is still present to assist in digestion even while your body may be somewhat lacking in lactase. Raw milk comes with its own enzymes to help your body digest protein and fats as well. These enzymes are destroyed by pasteurization. So your body gets the nutrition it needs with less work.

Raw milk still has a full complement of bacteria, including Lactobacillus. This bacteria turns lactose into lactic acid. Who wants sour milk? Everyone’s heard of the benefits of yogurt, and that’s where real yogurt starts. Don’t discard your raw milk when it gets sour – make your own yogurt and gain even more health benefits.

To sum it up, raw milk, with all its nutritious benefits, may just be nature’s perfect food. Pick some up today, and drink a glass of sunshine.

In Santa Clarita, you can buy raw milk at Whole Foods from Organic Pastures and Claravale Farms.

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Invest in yourself ~ Women’s Health Advantage is ready to help!

Are you…
DONE wishing for better health?
TIRED of just talking about what to do next?
READY to make positive changes and live a more vibrant life?
SUFFERING from health symptoms that are unexplained or unrelieved?
Are you ready to create optimum wellness and vibrant health?! Ready to feel strong and alive? Then it’s time to get in touch with Jill Redfern at Women’s Health Advantage to assist you in creating your best life ever! Jill can guide you in any dietary, digestion, and nutritional issues and help you get going with vibrant health TODAY! After all, if not now… when?

Jill Redfern is a registered nurse in the Valencia area with 30 years of experience in both traditional and alternative medicine and a pioneer in the field of women’s alternative health and enzyme therapy.

Drinking soda is so bad for your health that science can’t even state all the consequences. According to the Nutrition Research Center in October of 2007, here’s what happens in your body when you assault it with just one can of soda:

• Within the first 10 minutes, 10 teaspoons of sugar hits your system. This is 100 percent of your RDA. The only reason you don’t vomit as a result of the overwhelming sweetness is because phosphoric acid cuts the flavor.
• Within 20 minutes, your blood sugar spikes; the liver responds to the resulting insulin burst by turning massive amounts of sugar into fat.
• Within 40 minutes, caffeine absorption is complete; pupils dilate, blood pressure rises, and your liver dumps more sugar into your bloodstream.
• Around 45 minutes, your body increases dopamine production, which stimulates the pleasure centers of your brain – a physically identical response to that of heroin.
• After 60 minutes, you’ll start a sugar crash.

How many sodas have you had today? How about your kids?

One soda has about 10 teaspoons of sugar, 150 calories, 30 to 55 mg of caffeine, and is loaded with artificial food colors and sulphites. It’s also your largest source of dangerous high-fructose modified corn syrup.

What’s in a can of soda?

• Phosphoric Acid: Interferes with the body’s ability to use calcium, leading to osteoporosis or softening of the teeth and bones. It can also interfere with digestion.
• Sugar: Sugar increases insulin levels which can lead to high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, diabetes, weight gain, premature aging and more. Most sodas contain over 100 percent of the RDA of sugar.
• Aspartame: This dangerous chemical is used as a sugar substitute in diet soda. Over 92 different health side effects are associated with aspartame including brain tumors, birth defects, diabetes, emotional disorders and epilepsy/seizures.
• Caffeine: Caffeinated drinks cause jitters, insomnia, high blood pressure, irregular heartbeat, elevated blood cholesterol levels, vitamin/mineral depletion, breast lumps, birth defects, and may be linked to some forms of cancer.

Protect your family from soda. Pure water is a much better choice. If you prefer a carbonated beverage, try sparkling mineral water with a squeeze of lime or lemon juice. Gerolsteiner is my favorite brand of naturally carbonated water containing naturally occurring CO2.

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Please feel free to print a copy of this article.

Invest in yourself ~ Women’s Health Advantage is ready to help!

Are you…

• DONE wishing for better health?
• TIRED of just talking about what to do next?
• READY to make positive changes and live a more vibrant life?
• SUFFERING from health symptoms that are unexplained or unrelieved?
• Are you ready to create optimum wellness and vibrant health?! Ready to feel strong and alive? Then it’s time to get in touch with Jill Redfern at Women’s Health Advantage to assist you in creating your best life ever! Jill can guide you in any dietary, digestion, and nutritional issues and help you get going with vibrant health TODAY! After all, if not now… when?

Jill Redfern is a registered nurse in the Valencia area with 30 years of experience in both traditional and alternative medicine and a pioneer in the field of women’s alternative health and enzyme therapy.

Part I, Statins

Prescription drugs are not ‘cures’, and their side effects are more insidious than those listed in the package insert. In fact, common drugs like statins, acid reflux drugs and antidepressants actually suppress symptoms and rob your body of the very nutrients you need to be healthy.

But whether you like it or not, you and the people you love are likely to take prescription drugs at some point in life. According to the Center for Disease Control, over the course of a year, over 2 billion prescriptions are written. Still, many people don’t know about the real damage that some drugs can do to your overall health, even while they seem to be helping a specific symptom. This article is Part 1 of a three-part series.

One of the most important keys to remember is that drugs supress symptoms but can never create vibrant health. They also make your blood more acidic, and when you are on them you must eat a more alkaline diet, full of fresh fruits and veggies. If you must take prescription drugs, I’ve outlined some common drugs that zap nutrients from your body and the recommend foods and supplements that can assist in counteracting their negative side effects.

The top 5 offenders in this arena are: statins, diabetes drugs, heartburn/acid reflux drugs, anti-depressants and arthritis drugs.

Statins: The statins are commonly known as Cholesterol-lowering drugs. They include brands like Lipitor, Provacol and Zocor. Statins deplete your body of Coenzyme Q10, an essential enzyme that protects your body from heart disease and cancer, CoQ10 is also considered an effective treatment for heart attacks and heart failure. Drug manufacturers know that statins dramatically reduce your body’s level of this heart-healthy enzyme but have managed to keep it quiet.

Common problems associated with statins:

• Muscle pain and weakness. This is most likely due to the depletion of Co-Q10, a nutrient that supports muscle function.
• Neuropathy. This is characterized by weakness, tingling and pain in the hands and feet as well as difficulty walking.
• Heart failure. Currently we are in the midst of a congestive heart failure epidemic here in the US. Deaths due to heart failure more than doubled from 1989 to 1997. Again, the interference with the production of CoQ10 is the most likely explanation. The heart is a muscle and cannot work deprived of CoQ10.
• Cognitive Impairment. If you take statins, consider taking a Co Q10 supplement. Another good source is organ meats. To further reduce your risk for atherosclerosis and heart disease, up your exercise to increase your good cholesterol (HDL) levels. For a dietary approach, avoid trans fats, seed and nut oils (Canola, Soy, Safflower). These oils are very unstable, go rancid quickly and create large amounts of free radicals in the body. Instead, eat plenty of good fats such as raw milk, butter, coconut oil and avocados.

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Please feel free to print a copy of this article.

Invest in yourself ~ Women’s Health Advantage is ready to help!

Are you…

• DONE wishing for better health?
• TIRED of just talking about what to do next?
• READY to make positive changes and live a more vibrant life?
• SUFFERING from health symptoms that are unexplained or unrelieved?
• Are you ready to create optimum wellness and vibrant health?! Ready to feel strong and alive? Then it’s time to get in touch with Jill Redfern at Women’s Health Advantage to assist you in creating your best life ever! Jill can guide you in any dietary, digestion, and nutritional issues and help you get going with vibrant health TODAY! After all, if not now… when?

Jill Redfern is a registered nurse in the Valencia area with 30 years of experience in both traditional and alternative medicine and a pioneer in the field of women’s alternative health and enzyme therapy.

So you’ve heard about it on the news: Spinach is causing us to get sick… or so they say. E. coli, linked to raw spinach, has infected 100 consumers and has resulted in at least one death. If we were to pay attention to only the 10 p.m. news, we would be afraid to go anywhere near spinach and would believe that it is the major cause of some serious stuff. However, that’s not the whole story when we look at the whole story. In fact, there aren’t any specific illnesses that can be traced to any one farm that grows spinach. Curious, isn’t it?

What’s up, then? The more stones that are unturned, the more the story leads in the direction of a surprise: beef and dairy cattle.

To give you some quick facts: E. coli is a generally harmless bacterium, abundant in the digestive systems of healthy cattle and humans. And the acid in our gut is usually enough to kill any extra strains that may come our way. The current E. coli outbreak, though, is a much stronger type that can produce abdominal cramps, diarrhea, fever, and in rare cases, fatal kidney failure. In this case, our stomach juices are not strong enough to kill the bacterium.

How do we come into contact with this strong form of E. coli? Most beef and dairy cattle are fed on grain, and it is the infected manure from these cattle that contaminates the groundwater and spreads the bacteria to the produce growing on farms, just like the spinach we are now hearing about.

Thank goodness we have food safety measures in place that prevent contaminated fecal matter from getting into our food most of the time. Because in 2003, The Journal of Dairy Science noted that up to 80 percent of dairy cattle carry this strong strain of E. coli. And the journal also notes that interestingly enough, if cows switch from a grain diet to a hay diet, the problem for us decreases dramatically. Cows are not grain eaters to begin with; they naturally eat grasses. The type of E. coli we are talking about is not found in the intestinal tracts of cows raised on their natural diet of grass and hay. And now, it will take much more time and energy to clean-up the recent E. coli contamination to all irrigation sources. Hmmm…

Taxpayers are financing a policy that only treats the symptom, not the disease… and at tremendous expense. The only long-term, and simplest, remedy is to stop feeding grain to cattle. And keep the industrial feed lots farther away from close proximity to growing fields.

Sadly, the spinach industry is taking a huge hit for an outbreak it probably did not cause. As consumers, our attention needs to be focused on the ones who just might be able to solve this deadly problem – the beef and dairy farmers.

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Please feel free to print a copy of this article.

Invest in yourself ~ Women’s Health Advantage is ready to help!

Are you…

• DONE wishing for better health?
• TIRED of just talking about what to do next?
• READY to make positive changes and live a more vibrant life?
• SUFFERING from health symptoms that are unexplained or unrelieved?
• Are you ready to create optimum wellness and vibrant health?! Ready to feel strong and alive? Then it’s time to get in touch with Jill Redfern at Women’s Health Advantage to assist you in creating your best life ever! Jill can guide you in any dietary, digestion, and nutritional issues and help you get going with vibrant health TODAY! After all, if not now… when?

Jill Redfern is a registered nurse in the Valencia area with 30 years of experience in both traditional and alternative medicine and a pioneer in the field of women’s alternative health and enzyme therapy.

Add your favorite flavor to water to make natural healthy flavored water. Only 1 drop needed per 23oz. of water, adjust per desired taste.

Add to plain yogurt. This gives diabetics or anyone a sweet flavor without added sugar.

Try the Vanilla Creme flavor in pancakes, French toast or waffle batter.

Add to whipped cream to top your favorite fresh fruit.

Cut fresh apples into chunks. Saute in a small amount of coconut oil, add chopped nuts, fresh ground cinnamon and nutmeg to taste and finish off with your favorite flavor. I suggest you try the English Toffee!

Combine two flavors to create new flavors; i.e. mix Vanilla Creme with Valencia Orange to make a creamsicle flavor; Cinnamon or Peppermint mixed with either Milk Chocolate or Dark Chocolate are other delicious combinations.

Flavor ice cubes or crushed ice. Root Beer flavor mixed in water over Vanilla Creme flavored ice cubes. Think root beer float!

And of course all of the flavors are great in teas.
Stevia is ideal for dieters, weight management and diabetics. It will not promote tooth decay and is totally heat stable. The uses are limited only by your imagination!

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Invest in yourself ~ Women’s Health Advantage is ready to help!

Are you…

• DONE wishing for better health?
• TIRED of just talking about what to do next?
• READY to make positive changes and live a more vibrant life?
• SUFFERING from health symptoms that are unexplained or unrelieved?
• Are you ready to create optimum wellness and vibrant health?! Ready to feel strong and alive? Then it’s time to get in touch with Jill Redfern at Women’s Health Advantage to assist you in creating your best life ever! Jill can guide you in any dietary, digestion, and nutritional issues and help you get going with vibrant health TODAY! After all, if not now… when?

Jill Redfern is a registered nurse in the Valencia area with 30 years of experience in both traditional and alternative medicine and a pioneer in the field of women’s alternative health and enzyme therapy.