In a blooming field that started in labs around ten years ago, there may be a better, cheaper and easier test that may replace DNA testing, which is currently used in helping solve crimes and to try and convict criminals. DNA testing has been a savior for the courtroom in the past several decades, and has also saved many of the wrongly accused from serving more time than they already have for unjust jail time.

I think the whole world right now is enamored with antioxidants and what they can do for the body and overall health by protecting cells from free radical damage.  But is it all hype, or are antioxidants truly one of the best weapons against aging, cancer, degenerative diseases associated with aging and cell damage, skin deterioration, and organ deterioration? 

In my opinion, yes they are.  I can tell you from personal experience that when I make sure I am consuming a diet high in antioxidants which are not process such as brightly colored and darkly colored fruits and vegetables, almonds, certain grains which contain antioxidants, and even certain types of meats and fish which contain cell protectors, I hardly ever get sick, my energy goes through the roof, weight goes down and I look at least five years younger.

If that’s not personal proof enough that antioxidants live up to their good name, then I’m not sure what is.  Granted, that’s an anecdotal piece of evidence, however, more and more people are noticing what a huge impact high antioxidant intake, especially through diet has made on their lives and their health.  As I write this, I am sitting here eating a big bowl of chopped strawberries with some lowfat yogurt and slivered natural almonds, which is a highly antioxidant breakfast, and I feel great after eating it. 

The whole point of this post is that you must space out your antioxidants during the day to get maximum impact.  Studies have shown that antioxidant levels in the body are not easily maintained and need to be replenished frequently, which is why researchers recommend you get antioxidant fruits and veggies and other foods in with every single meal.  It follows logic, right?  If you think it’s hard, it really isn’t. 

You probably don’t even know most of the foods that are on the antioxidant powerhouse list, I know I didn’t.  For example, did you know that broccoli and cabbage contain high levels of certain types of antioxidants?  If you’re unsure of what foods you could eat throughout the day to maintain your levels and also enjoy a nice variety, look it up online and you’ll see an abundance of different, delicious foods that fit the bill.

I have always had such a natural aversion to drinking milk, especially milk that is of a higher fat percentage. I’ve had asthma since a young age, and I remember having it hammered into my mind that dairy products, especially milk, were mucous producing agents that should be avoided at all costs. 

By mucous producing agents, I mean that milk has the ability to promote the production of mucous, that sticky, gooey stuff that inflames the lungs and air passages when you have a cold or allergies - or asthma.  It makes it very difficult to breathe, especially when you have narrow passages to begin with. 

Even with the downside to dairy products, most nutritionists still recommend women get about three small servings, spaced throughout the day, of high quality, low fat dairy.  Examples of this might be low fat cheese such as mozzarella (made with part skim milk, not whole milk), lowfat yogurts, skim milk, or maybe a smoothie made with yogurt and skim milk and some fruit. 

Skim milk fortified with Vitamin D is probably one of the best sources of calcium since it combines calcium with Vitamin D, which complement one another and make eachother more absorbable by the body.  Vitamin D is also a vitamin that is difficult to obtain but also necessary for the body’s continued healthy function, so the fact that a skim milk is fortified with it is a huge bonus. 

The reason that they say to space your dairy products throughout the day is that the body is designed to only absorb so much calcium at one time.  By spacing them out, you are making it more likely that your body will absorb more of the essential mineral to be used by the bones, teeth, hair, ligaments and joints, and to keep you walking upright well into older age, and not breaking bones, as is so common in women as we age. 

We had talked about this before, but now the movement toward plastic inquisition seems to be gaining ground and getting more attention than it had previously.  Before, it was really mostly a word of mouth concern that not everyone had heard about (I myself had heard it in passing a few times, but honestly didn’t give it a lot of thought until about two years ago when I did a little research online and my sister told me her chemistry teacher told her there is absolute validity to the concerns of plastic drinking bottles), and most peope like me probably heard it and forgot about it.

The concerns is over more specifically, plastic drinking and baby bottles that are made to be shatterproof, and many times the plastic lining on cups that contain a chemical called bisphenol.  Research was recently completed that showed that mice, when injected with repeated low doses of the chemical found in our plastic drinking bottles (yes, that includes those bottled waters you may or may not drink), bisphenol, ended up having hormonal problems, urinary tract complications, precancerous tumors, and early puberty. 

All of these problems are a huge concern, especially because hormones can many times be a contributor to cancer growth, and their balance is many times crucial to keep cells functioning normally.  The early puberty and precancerous tumor growth from low (albeit repeated) doses of bisphenol is defiintely concerning, however plastic companies are quick to point out that the study’s author is fast to say that this should not cause over concern quite yet, but they are also calling on further research and testing on humans to determine how detrimental this plastic and chemical could be to human health, and what possible long term effects could be. 

Personally, I made the switch over to either glass or stainless steal drinking bottles for my car since I keep water in my car at all times,  I am currently using an environmentally safe and body-safe stainless steal bottle by New Wave Enviro.  They last forever, you don’t have to waste plastic and throw it away or recycle it, and you get just good tasting, fresh water with each drink since there are no chemicals leeched as there are with plastics. 

I notice my water is taste-free whereas with plastic, it always had a funny taste to it, especially if it sat all day in the car, which unfortunately means it just leeched more chemicals (especially in heat), and I was imbibing more chemicals for all those years.  I guess I’m just thankful I know now what to use.

Wow, this is a pretty blatant misuse of government power, or at the very least the needless exploitation of a poor neighborhood, or three or four.  I read a couple days ago that poor neighborhoods in the Baltimore area were used as a sort of testing ground for a type of fertilizer made partially of human and industrial waste, in an effort to see if this type of fertilizer would protect children from lead poisoning from the soil in those areas.

What investigators are saying though, is that these neighborhoods were lead to believe the sludge was safe for contact, but in fact they are saying it is not due to its questionable content.  The participants agreed to allow the sludge to be tilled into their yards in exchange for free coupons as well as free lawns planted and cared for. 

However, some are saying that the sludge could have actually poisoned children playing on the grounds where it was laid in the soil, and are saying their are traces of highly toxic elements in it, making it unsafe and ultimately unacceptable to be testing on any human being.  They are basically saying that the poor neighborhoods where it was spread and “tested” were exploited and taken advantage of, and no medical follow up was ever performed to confirm it was ok to be around people, namely children, who are ultra susceptible to poisoning with heavy metals and chemicals since their bodies are almost like sponges for things like that and they are the closest to these contaminants usually.