Tai Chi Lowered Blood Pressure in 85 % of Trials

The 2,000-year-old Chinese practice of tai chi is a branch of Qigong – exercises that harness the qi (life energy).

Tai chi has been linked to numerous health benefits, including improvements in the quality of life of breast cancer patients and Parkinson’s sufferers. It has shown promise in treating sleep problems and high blood pressure.

According to U.S. News & World Report:

“…In 85 % of trials, tai chi lowered blood pressure. Other studies have shown it to reduce blood levels of B-type natriuretic peptide, a precursor of heart failure, and to maintain bone density in postmenopausal women.”

Eating Healthy on a Tight Budget

One of the greatest misconceptions out there is that processed, pre-packaged foods are less expensive that raw, whole foods. But more often than not this is simply not true.

Cooking from scratch is usually far more cost effective in the long run, particularly if you stop throwing away the left-overs.

A 2008 report authored by the Stockholm International Water Institute, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, and the International Water Management Institute found that half of the food produced worldwide is wasted!

To prevent unnecessary waste:

• Plan ahead. If you plan your meals in advance, you can buy only what you need at the store.
• Buy proper portions.
• Learn to store your food so that it stays fresh.
• Learn recipes for tasty leftover meals.

The British website Love Food Hate Waste can help you calculate portions, and provides a variety of time- and money-saving tips, recipes, and much more.

Aside from the actual sticker price of the food, cooking from scratch using fresh, whole (preferably organic) ingredients will provide you with far superior nutrition, rather than empty calories.

Keep in mind that the money you think you’re saving today by stocking up on cheap, denatured, processed foods will end up costing an arm and a leg later on, when your health fails and the medical bills start rolling in…

The Amazing Ant-Aging Discovery

You may be able to extend your life and stay fit throughout your old age with a simple change of diet that switches on your “youth” gene.

Professor Cynthia Kenyon, whom many experts believe should win the Nobel Prize for her research into aging, has discovered that carbohydrates directly affect the genes that govern youthfulness and longevity.

She found that turning down the gene that controls insulin in turn switches on another gene which acts like an elixir of life.

As the Daily Mail reports, research confirms that insulin-like growth factor is intricately linked to various cancers, and that “raised insulin levels, triggered by high carbohydrate-consumption, could be what connects many of our big killers.”

Your diet can over-ride genetic predispositions to disease, and this research further strengthens those claims, as the two key genes in question can be turned on or off as a consequence of eating carbohydrates.

This results from two primary conditions:

1. Excessive amounts of sugar/grains and processed foods, combined with
   
2. Insufficient exercise

Source: http://articles.mercola.com

Finally, Proof that Cancer is a Man-Made Disease

A study of ancient bodies has determined that cancer is a man-made disease, one fueled by the excesses. Tumors turn out to be extremely rare until very recent times, when pollution and poor diet became issues.

Despite examining tissue from hundreds of Egyptian mummies, researchers confirmed only one case of cancer.

According to the Daily Mail:

“Dismissing the argument that the ancient Egyptians didn’t live long enough to develop cancer, the researchers pointed out that other age-related disease such as hardening of the arteries and brittle bones did occur…

Fossil evidence of cancer is also sparse, with scientific literature providing a few dozen, mostly disputed, examples in animal fossil.”

According to the latest statistics compiled by the American Heart Association, cancer surpasses heart disease as the top killer among Americans between the ages of 45 to 74. Environmental/lifestyle factors are increasingly being pinpointed as the culprits, such as:

• Pesticide- and other chemical exposures
• Pharmaceutical drugs
• Processed & artificial foods (plus the chemicals in the packaging)
• Wireless technologies, dirty electricity, and medical diagnostic radiation exposure
• Obesity, stress, and poor sleeping habits
• Lack of sunshine exposure and use of sunscreens

This is not an all-inclusive list, of course, but as the research into the health of our ancient ancestors shows, cancer is not a “natural” disease, and genetics are not a primary factor.

Source: Daily Mail (October 15, 2010), Cancer (September 1977; 40(3): 1358-1362)

New Warnings About the Hazards of Mobile Phones

Holding a cell phone against your ear, or putting it in your pocket, may be hazardous to your health. Apple says your iPhone should come no closer than 5/8 of an inch; BlackBerry recommends about an inch.

The longest study of mobile phone radiation has just been completed. It cost more than $30 million (funded in part by the mobile phone industry) to carry out, and involved nearly 50 scientists from 13 countries, along with more than 14,000 people.

Statistics show that, over all, there has not been a general increase in the incidence of brain cancer since cell phones arrived – but the average hides that fact that brain cancer has increased in the 20-to-29 age group while dropping for the older population.

According to the New York Times:

“The largest study of cell phone use and brain cancer has been the Interphone International Case Control Study… The authors included some disturbing data in an appendix available only online. These showed that subjects who used a cell phone 10 or more years doubled the risk of developing brain gliomas, a type of tumor.”

Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal investigates various methods of cutting down the radiation your mobile phone produces. However, they say the most effective one may be the simplest – keep the phone away from your head and body.

Source: New York Times (November 13, 2010), Wall Street Journal (October 5, 2010)