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President Bush w/ Randal McCloy, mine survivor

President Bush was the first president to have his “C-reactive” protein levels checked during his annual “state of the president”™s health” exam. (1) It is such a new discovery that most of us have not had our own levels checked. What does it matter? It matters because it is like candy wrappers hidden in your child”™s room, or smoke slithering out under a closed door”¦it tells you what you cannot, or have not yet seen.

INFLAMMATION HEALS
When I landed wrong and sprained my ankle in college, white blood cells and their accompanying inflammatory chemicals were released to the area to protect the injury by making it immobile, kill any foreign invaders and begin the healing process. When the healing was done enzymes were sent to shut down the inflammation. That whole process of swelling is healing, but it has a beginning and an end where the tissue returns to its normal condition because the immune system shuts down the whole operation.

INFLAMMATION DESTROYS
Internal inflammation, on the other hand, is triggered by such things as toxins, viruses, bacteria or food allergies. Just like I haven”™t seen my own heart, I can”™t see or feel this inflammation, yet it is still there. For reasons still not completely understood, this kind of inflammation within can get stuck in the on position. Sometimes our immune system gets confused and will even attack our own healthy tissues with the swelling response as if they were foreign and dangerous (autoimmune diseases). Picture it as the strain on a light bulb that never gets turned off. It can go on unchanged for weeks, months and years without a stopping point, and this chronic condition of inflammation wears out the strength of the immune system, paving the way for many of the heart breaking maladies we endure”¦cancer, heart disease, stroke, Alzheimer”™s, Parkinson”™s, MS, rheumatoid arthritis, and many others. (2)

OMEGA-3 OIL…AGAIN!
Randal McLoy pictured above with President Bush is the mine disaster survivor I told you about last week. Remember that his doctors give mega doses of omega 3 oil lots of credit for bringing his battered body back to life.
Would you believe that :
-Consuming more of our own beloved fish oil in its variety of fruity flavors, or oily fish like wild caught salmon is the number one dietary change you can make to fight inflammation?
– Another great change is Orange Tree Lane Table Leg #1, drinking more water to flush our system of the toxins that exasperate inflammation.
-Or prevent toxic build up by purchasing antibiotic and growth hormone free meat and milk.
-Get more antioxidants by eating more antioxidant-rich, brightly colored fruits and vegetables at every meal because they help your immune system defeat the inflammatory stimulants. (3)

These are just a few suggestions of things we can ADD to our diets to decrease inflammation. Since inflammation is a marker for many serious health problems like ” stroke, Alzheimer”™s, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn”™s disease and many more diseases associated with aging… even heart attacks”, it’s worth the effort to educate yourself and make a few lifestyle changes. (4)

I’ve been serving salmon more frequently to my family, and I also find many places to stash extra greens, like a huge handful of baby greens julienned and cooked in the scrambled eggs this morning, and always in chili or soup. Which change are you going to work on this week to help your loved ones fight the onslaught of silent, internal inflammation?

A Few More Inflammatory Fighters: extra virgin olive oil, cruciferous vegetables, blueberries, turmeric, ginger, garlic, sweet potatoes and green tea

(1) & (2) http://www.jigsawhealth.com/resources/inflammation
(3) http://my.clevelandclinic.org/symptoms/inflammation
(4) http://my.clevelandclinic.org/newsletters/health_advantage/fall_2007/fish_oil.aspx

A sudden explosion and warm air, dirt and rock blow into the face of a groggy miner being transported to his station early in the morning in January of 2006. An earlier group is trapped farther down, but lethal carbon monoxide levels turn back a first rescue attempt. Twelve frightened men wait in the dark 2 miles down, sharing life -giving oxygen from eight emergency tanks, hoping. Hours later families up above are told they are still alive. They clear the church and roll out the red carpet to welcome their beloved husbands, sons, brothers. But the men below understand what has happened to them much better, and they are preparing for a very different kind of homecoming. “We began to accept our fate. Toler led us all in the Sinner”™s Prayer. We prayed a little longer, then someone suggested that we each write letters to our loved ones.” Randal McCloy Jr. remembers that because he alone lived to tell, barely. Brain failure, heart failure, kidney failure, and liver failure just about took him home too. How did he recover?

The ambulance whisked him past the weeping, distraught loved ones of his lost friends to the trauma center of the West Virginia School of Medicine. Once there Dr. Julian Bailes could see the very fragile string tethering Randal to this earth. What do desperate people do in desperate situations? If they are wise, they make courageous decisions based on solid facts.

Fact: EPA and DHA, the omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oil, reduce inflammation. (1) Dr. Bailes believed in the power of this natural healer and started Randal on an unprecedented, radical dose of 30 grams per day. (The USDA recommends no more than 3 grams per day as a safe guideline.) Dr. Bailes credits the oil with reversing the inflammation to Randal”™s internal organs caused by oxygen deprivation, and with repairing the damaged tissue in his brain. (2) Weeks in a coma, 3 months of intensive rehab, and yet finally home and another child in the months to come were the good fate of this lone survivor under the care of Dr. Bailes and his healing prescription.

Our personal stories lack this kind of sensation of course, but internal inflammation like Randal’s is a real danger to all of us. It’s called silent inflammation because it doesn’t cause pain like when we sprain an ankle or stub a toe. Dr. Barry Spears of the Zone Diet puts it this way. “It has a damaging effect on arteries, which can lead to heart attacks and strokes. It destroys nerve cells in the brains of Alzheimer”™s patients. It depresses the immune system and helps promote the formation of cancerous tumors. In essence, silent inflammation is the polar opposite of wellness. It lays the groundwork for chronic disease.” (3) The American Heart Association has even been discussing whether testing for internal inflammation markers should become standard protocol for cardiac care because the connection to heart health has become so clear. (4) Let’s continue this discussion next week for better understanding about how inflammation works and what we can specifically do to avoid it through diet.

You can READ MORE right now about what causes inflammation in all of us in the Dr.’s Corner.

Have you chosen your favorite flavor yet?

READ MORE ABOUT RANDAL’S RECOVERY: http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/anderson.cooper.360/blog/2006/03/true-medical-miracle.html

READ MORE ABOUT THE ACCIDENT: http://www.mensjournal.com/down-in-the-sago-mine

(1) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15698426 (2) http://www.cbn.com/health/naturalhealth/drsears_mccloy.aspx (3) http://www.cbn.com/health/naturalhealth/drsears_wellness.aspx
(4) http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/review/review_summer_02/txtalumridker.html

You may have already heard the amazing story of Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He went incognito down into a New York subway and played some of the world”™s most intricate pieces of music on a 3.5 million dollar violin for 45 minutes straight. Whereas the night before he had played the same music to a sellout crowd at $100 a seat, this crowd barely noticed he was there because they were so busy hurrying to catch their trains. A few children tried to stop but were pulled away by their parents. Some adults threw change in to his case or stopped for just a minute to listen, but for the most part, he was overlooked. What does that say about the human condition? That we find it challenging to catch trains? I don”™t think so.

Sometimes we are so focused on the immediate that we forget to look for glimpses of the eternal all around us. Everything of beauty reflects the perfect ideal of beauty, something that a built-in longing in our soul is always looking for, and needs to find in order to be truly alive. Beauty comes in many forms…music, conversation, smiles, sunlight reflecting off of things, the sky, architecture, kindness, color, symmetry, loyalty…to name a few.

Like beauty, wisdom is also all around us, but it takes a looker to find it. Some things are so easily overlooked, not because they are not beautiful or wise, but because we are trying to keep it all together, to catch trains. I”™ve spent the past three weeks contemplating the good that healthy fats, and especially omega-3 fatty acids, can do for our health. It may seem like such a small thing, and it certainly won”™t make or break us today if we aren”™t getting what we need, but if you add a string of tomorrows onto today then there is a force to be reckoned with.

If omega-3 oil really does help your brain cells communicate better, and if it really can lower your blood cholesterol numbers and help prevent heart disease (1), then aren”™t we a bit like those busy train catchers if we don”™t stop and pay attention?

Please take a minute to read the page you will find at the link below, and then take a look at the Omega-3 Club who posed for their annual photograph this week. Start to let them infiltrate your diet on a daily basis in some way or another. I prefer the fish oil pill because I can just add it to the other supplements I take, but after consulting with your doctor about how much to take, just do it. It even comes in lots of fruity flavors for goodness sakes!

Pictured from left to right: walnuts, flax oil, coffee grinder, whole flax seeds, lemon flavored fish oil, fish oil capsules, salmon

PS- (Part of this was taken from a blog post I wrote at http://otlane.blogspot.com/ called “Mountain Tops in Subways”. I would love to have you join me there and make a comment or two about the discussion!)

*Ways to get more omegas in your diet:

1. Put the fruit flavored fish oil in a morning fruit shake or glass of orange juice.

2. Regularly replace some of the flour in a baked recipe with some fresh ground flax meal. 1/4 c. is usually safe, but you can try more. It just depends on what you are making.

3. Make salmon a monthly or weekly treat and each more fish. Remember that beans are a great budget balance for the price of fish..

4. Make our Oatmeal Nut Cookies which have 3 c. walnuts, and add walnuts to other baked goods like cookies, muffins and pancakes as you do flax meal.

5. Make our Green Power Soup this week- kale has some of the plant form of omega-3 too in addition to everything else!

6. Make our Caesar Salad dressing using either anchovies or sardines, both omega-3 suppliers.

(1) http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/993.html

I was careening down the highway with my high school son in the passenger”™s seat yesterday. To entertain ourselves on a longish drive we decided to ask ChaCha some questions. That”™s right, ChaCha.com will answer any question for free. What is the molecular formula for propane? What does the pagan symbol the green man mean?”¨ Who is Katy Perry dating? It was quite entertaining, especially trying to think of funny questions like, “Would you like to hang out sometime.” Apparently my son had already tried that one. You”™ll never guess the question I suggested that shut the whole game down and put my son right to sleep with a pillow smashed up against the glass. It”™s a question I don”™t mind sharing so that you can use it to excuse yourself from a tiresome conversation or social gathering. Here goes, “Why do I need to eat more omega-3 oil?”

HELPS YOUR HEART
You laugh? Looking for a pillow? Let”™s get down to the nuts and bolts then. “Symptoms of omega-3 fatty acid deficiency include fatigue, poor memory, dry skin, heart problems, mood swings or depression, and poor circulation.” (1) Last week we focused on the brain cells, but the heart is also directly affected by our consumption or deficiency in omega-3 fatty acids.
-Omega 3 fatty acids reduce triglycerides by 20-50%. These fat molecules in the blood are directly related to heart disease and untreated diabetes. (2)
-“Though not all researchers agree, some investigators believe that fish oil may be even more effective in reducing death from heart attacks than a group of commonly used cholesterol-lowering drugs called “˜statins.”™ ” (2)

DAILY DOSAGE
The USDA recommends up to 3 grams per day of omega-3 fatty acids. There could be some side effects for some people, so allowing a doctor to recommend a safe dosage for you is the most prudent way to go. Other than eating fresh fish* or taking a fish oil supplement, there are a few vegetarian options as well; walnuts, walnut oil, flax meal or flax oil, green vegetables like kale, spinach and most other greens and Brussel sprouts.

QUALITY MEANS EVERYTHING
Quality means everything with these fatty acids because they are often stripped of their nutrient qualities during the extraction and refining process when exposed to heat, light, and chemical residue.
Look for capsules or liquid which are designated
“¢ Modified expeller pressed
“¢ Refrigerated
“¢ No-light black bottles
“¢ Expiration date
“¢ Organic

BTW, it now comes in some delicious flavors which are good even outside of a fruit shake!

(Barlean”™s brand is one company which meets the above requirements.)

*One caution about fish oil supplements comes from the Mayo Clinic. ” Fish meat may contain methylmercury and caution is warranted in young children and pregnant/breastfeeding women.” (3) Our own Doctor in the Doctor”™s Corner advises us to look for the desigation “molecularly distilled” fish oil in order to avoid this contamination of mercury that goes from the ocean water into the flesh of the fish who lived there.
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(1) http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/omega-3-000316.htm
(2) http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/993.html
(3) http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/fish-oil/NS_patient-fishoil

* “If you are what you eat and you don’t know what you’re eating, do you know who you are?” Claude Fischler, sociologist with the French National Center for Scientific Research

It”™s great to be healthy and all, but have you ever wondered why you want to go to all the trouble to live a long time? Knowing why you want to be healthy is a fantastic motivator to make the effort. You need a purpose for being here and for being here well.

MOTIVATION FOR HEALTH
You were designed in your mother”™s womb with a unique skill set which gives you desires and abilities in a unique combination shared by exactly no one else. Just as the chair you are sitting in was designed to function as it is, you were designed to function in a certain way. Keep following your inclinations and listen to your natural bent. I”™m not giving license for unrestrained behavior! I”™m saying take the time to listen to your heart, because your purpose is in there. What do you love to do? What do you want to do? What are you good at?

NATURAL BENT
You might be one of those marvelous organizer types, (I love having them as friends when its time to pay the bill), or maybe you have a really soft spot in your heart for children. You might be a brainiac and love to solve complicated problems, or you might be the best listener a friend could ever have. So when talking about what kind of fat you eat, care about it so that you can keep making your contribution to the world around you for a long time to come!

POOR COMMUNICATION KILLS
Last week I mentioned that our cell membranes are composed of the fat we eat. An over abundance of saturated fat creates stiff cells and difficult inter- cellular communication. Just as John and Susan were frustrated with each other because of poor communication, this cellular breakdown can contribute to memory loss and many other problems. For example, diabetes occurs when cells do not respond to the messenger (insulin) telling them to open up and let glucose in. Multiple Sclerosis is caused by damaged cells which are unable to transmit their messages in the brain and spinal cord. Cancer occurs when cells divide out of control even without a signal, and then do not respond to signals sent ordering destruction. (1)

POLY OMEGA-3 NEEDED
Just as relationships between friends and lovers limp along and then “die” without communication, so too does our body suffer greatly when cell communication is hampered. The good news is that poly and momounsaturated fat provide excellent texture for cell membranes. Of the “polys”, omega-3 is the fatty acid we are all most deficient in. I”™ll leave you with a list of the best food sources, and next week I”™ll try to make sense of the many different ways to supplement. Dr. Panda in the “Corner” gets that discussion started with some information on Cod Liver Oil, a great supplier of omega-3.

FOR MORE DISCUSSION GO TO http://otlane.blogspot.com/

IMAGE- a brain cell communicating

Polyunsaturated Fat Sources: Salmon, halibut, fish oil, walnuts, flax oil
Monounsaturated Fat Sources: olive oil, avocado, peanuts, almonds, canola oil

(1) http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/begin/cells/badcom/

http://www.kronosinstitute.org/research/completed/omega3.cfm

“John and Susan” were married for 34 years when they went to see a marriage counselor. Once there, the conversation went something like this. “Every day I come home from work I start dinner, or finish it, vacuum and then fold laundry for you. How could you not feel loved? I would love to have a wife who did things like this for me. “ “But I just want to talk to you about something other than ‘how did you sleep last night’. And besides, you said you liked to cook.” Their counselor (Gary Chapman of “The Five Love Languages”) helped them to see that John understood love through service, while Susan was looking for quality time. John never knew that what he really needed to do was to spend more focused time talking to her.(1) Good communication is glue for relationships, and it keeps your brain working too.

MESSAGES GIVE LIFE
Simply put, 60% of your brain is composed of fatty acids which form cell membranes. (2) Messages between protein molecules inside the cells pass to each other, and trust me, you want your brain cells to talk. What are they talking about? Well, not specifically about acts of service vs. quality time, but in order for John and Susan to have the capacity to talk, their brain cells were transmitting untold number of messages which enabled them to remember, hear and speak.

MESSANGERS
The protein molecules in the brain which send the messages are too large to pass through the cell membrane, so they depend on messengers imbedded in the membrane itself to attach to the target cells outside and transmit the intended messages”¦”You can let some of that potassium out now but we need more chloride and calcium so let them in.” (3)

TEXTURE AFFECTS COMMUNICATION
But the texture of the cell membrane affects how well the messengers can get their job done. Picture one messenger with stiff and painful joints while another runs like the wind. If you eat a lot of saturated animal fat, which is hard at room temperature, it causes these membranes to be more stiff, while if you eat a greater amount of polyunsaturated fats like omega-3, which are liquid at room temperature, then these cells membranes will be more fluid. A good balance between fluid and firm texture makes the cell communication most productive. (4)

There is so much more to say but time”™s up, so next week I”™ll finish with more details about what happens when we are deficient in the good polyunsaturated fats, and how we can get more of them in our diets.

BTW, if you haven”™t read Chapman”™s book yet, I would highly suggest it as a way to improve every relationship you have.

I WOULD ALSO LOVE TO HEAR YOUR FEEDBACK ON MY NEW BLOG http://otlane.blogspot.com/ ! Come join the conversation…

More from Molly’s laptop:
http://otlane.blogspot.com/

(1) The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman, chapter 11
(2) http://ezinearticles.com/?Omega-3—The-Ultimate-Brain-Food&id=5422499
(3) & (4) http://www.kronosinstitute.org/research/completed/omega3.cfm

The other day I ran 2.5 miles around a small lake. Even though I had to walk on the last stretch because it was straight uphill on the backside of the dam, I felt invigorated and proud of myself. Next I would like to tie 70 people in row boats together and tow them across a bay. Ok not really. That is what workout and nutrition pioneer Jack LaLanne did on his 70th birthday…while handcuffed and with shackled feet.! Apparently he was bedridden, miserable and sick as a teenager .”I also had blinding headaches every day,” Jack recalled. “I wanted to escape my body because I could hardly stand the pain. My life appeared hopeless.” (1) It was his good fortune to consult with pioneer nutritionist Paul Bragg, who taught Jack to “junk” the junk food which was what he ate exclusively. Jack in turn passed this life giving advice on to millions through his television programs.

EXERCISE IS KING. NUTRITION IS QUEEN.
“Exercise is king. Nutrition is queen. Put them together and you’ve got a kingdom! Those who begin to exercise regularly, and replace white flour, sugar, and devitalized foods with live, organic, natural foods, begin to feel better immediately,” was part of his message to as many people as he could reach in his active, 94 year life. “I don’t care how old I live! I just want to be living while I am living! I have friends who are in their 80s, and now they’re in wheelchairs or they’re getting Alzheimer’s. Who wants that? I want to be able to do things. I want to look good. I don’t want to be a drudge on my wife and kids.” (2)

That is exactly how I feel! I make my husband eat well and exercise too because I don”™t want to be the only one still running around the lake on my 70th birthday. (I”™m a bit less ambitious than Jack.)

THE POWER OF ORGANIC FOOD
Did you notice that Jack specified the power of ORGANIC food? Basically, organic is what human beings have been farming and eating up until the 20th century development of synthetic chemicals for pesticides, fungicides and herbicides, growth hormones and antibiotics for animals, and genetically modified seeds. (3)

Who cares? You and I do, (and my husband), because chemicals are bad for you on three different levels. The toxicity of these powerful chemicals vary, and their effects can be anywhere from inflammation of the skin to coma or even death. Secondly, these chemicals contaminate our soil and water. And lastly, many studies point to a nutritional difference between organic and non-organic produce. For example, a simple comparison between old and new governemnet tables shows that a carrot grown in 1940 contained four times as much magnesium as a carrot today. (4)

TABLE COMPLETED
When we eat food grown with chemicals, antibiotics and growth hormones, our bodies, the earth and our food supply all suffer for it. Therefore, the final leg for the “virtual” Orange Tree Lane table is Organic Food.

We have #1-Water, #2- Fiber, #3- Fruits and Vegetables, and now #4- Organic Food completes our solid foundation for a lifetime of healthy eating.

You’d be proud Jack, and thanks for the inspirational life you led!

Previous Weekly Special discussing organic on a budget: http://orangetreelane.com/blog/the_similarities_between_shrek_and_butter

(1) & (2) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-robbins/jack-lalanne-dies-who-the_b_812902.html

(3) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organic_food

(4) http://www.foodnavigator.com/Science-Nutrition/Study-supports-benefits-of-organic-food

A little girl on Long Island in New York was walking on thin ice chasing a little puppy who got away. It became too thin to support her weight and only her screams heard by someone in a home nearby saved her life. A brave NYC cop named Matthew crawled on his stomach to get her, and a fireman scooped up the errant puppy. (1) So what does this have to do with carrots, and cabbage and such? You might say that many of us are walking on thin ice in regards to our fruit and vegetable consumption. You might feel safe enough, but what is holding you up, or what is keeping the health you now enjoy from being compromised in the future? The “ice” beneath your feet may be thinner than you realize. Are you chasing puppies and not paying attention?

*THREE-FOURTHS MISS THE MARK*
“A recent report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says two-thirds of Americans don’t get the recommended two servings of fruit a day; three-quarters miss the target for vegetables.” (2)

So maybe you don”™t like vegetables and you feel just fine not eating them.

*CHRONIC DISEASES*
The USDA claims that eating more fruits and vegetables “reduces risk of chronic diseases, including stroke and perhaps other cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, and cancers in certain sites (oral cavity and pharynx, larynx, lung, esophagus, stomach, and colon-rectum). Diets rich in foods containing fiber, such as fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease.” (2)

You can’t decide not to worry about this issue without being similar to the little girl chasing a puppy on thin ice. Table Leg #3 for Orange Tree Lane is Fruit and Vegetables because of the huge difference most of us need to make in how many we consume. We need to eat dark green and orange vegetables as well as beans and starchy vegetables every week in the amount of 2 ½ cups a day IN ADDITION to 2 full cups of fruit each day. (3) How are you doing?

*AMAZING WEIGHT LOSS STORY*
As chance would dish it out, a new documentary was just released called “Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead”, and its focus is the dramatic 100 lb. weight loss of Aussie business man Joe Cross, a man who was also taking numerous medications for an unfixable autoimmune disease which kept miserable, red itchy patches of skin inflamed all over his body. Under the care of a doctor he started a 60 day juicing fast to cleanse his body and start a new way of eating with, you guessed it, more Fruits and Vegetables in his diet for the rest of his life. It is fascinating to see him emerge from behind the fat right in front of your eyes while he chronicles his cross country while tour drinking only fresh fruit and vegetable juice The story takes a dramatic turn at the end when he gets a call from a morbidly obese truck driver whom he met along the way asking him for help. The man seems to go from death to life right before your eyes. You will be dusting off your juicer I promise. I was able to get it from Netflix and here is a trailer you can watch.

I doubled this delicious and simple* Minestrone Soupthis week and it stretched into two dinners and a few lunches. *Super Kale and Greens Salad will show you how to enjoy this nutrition powerhouse without losing any nutrients to heat. *Spicy Korean Beef, Cauliflower and Sweet Potatoes got a rare !0 score from the whole family. I doubled the cauliflower just to heap more on the plates.

I hope you love the recipes as much as we did, and don’t forget to watch the video with Spicy Korean Beef to help you get the job done faster.

Here’s to more fruits and vegetables this week, and always,

(1) http://www.aolnews.com/2011/01/18/ny-cop-matthew-dematteo-rescues-sarah-thalhammer-11-who-fell-t/?test=latestnews

(2) http://www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines/dga2005/document/html/chapter5.htm

(3) http://www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines/dga2005/document/html/chapter5.htm

(4) (3) http://www.oprah.com/health/Four-Weeks-to-Healthy-Eating

Ever played that game, “If you were deserted on an island, what would you bring?” Personally, I’d bring a SAT phone and the game would be all over. If I was Kate or Jack on the TV show LOST I might not need to eat food while waiting to be rescued, but I sure would need to refill my water bottle. The essential nature of water is why it was chosen to be Orange Tree Lane Table Leg #1. Let’s play our own version of “lost on a deserted island”, where instead of bringing a few things you can only make four diet changes. Hopefully you would choose drinking more water. Can I suggest another change?

FIBER PROTECTS HEART HEALTH
Unfortunately, most Americans are getting only half of the fiber they need, and that is why it is Orange Tree Lane Table Leg #2. A few months ago I talked about how fiber protects our system from needing to make too much insulin at once, which in turn protects us from diabetes. While diabetes does take lives, Americans are currently dying from heart disease more than any other cause. “Coronary Artery Disease is the most common type of heart disease. It”™s the leading cause of death in the United States for both men and women.” (1) Can fiber help both diabetes and our heart?

SOLUBLE FIBER COLLECTS CHOLESTEROL
Studies show that fiber keeps our heart healthy. Plaque build-up in the arteries leading to the heart eventually causes blockage, just like the kitchen sink sometimes gets plugged up with food in the drain. When this happens blood cannot get through to the heart to provide enough oxygen. Complete blockage results in heart attack, damage, and sometimes death. Soluble fiber (like the kind in beans and oatmeal) has the wonderful job of collecting cholesterol in the blood that would otherwise end up sticking to the walls of the arteries as plaque, and then eliminates it from the body so that it never ends up stuck to those arteries. (2)

YOU CAN AFFORD THIS HOUSE CLEANER
I can really relate to fiber’s additional role as a house cleaner. Choosing whole grain bread and noodles over refined (white flour) not only protects our insulin-producing pancreas from overwork and keeps passages to the heart free from blockage, it also relieves our toxins-filtering liver. When fiber is present in sufficient amounts it is responsible for sweeping toxic waste out of the digestive track on its own way out. If it doesn’t do that, the toxins are dumped into the blood stream again and the liver feels annoyed and frustrated like I do when the kids won’t take out the trash! We obviously just can’t live to our fullest potential without fiber.

NEW PLACES TO GET IT
Trying new sources of protein is a powerful fiber change because while animal meat provides great protein, it has absolutely no fiber. On the other hand, good plant sources of protein like beans and quinoa are rich in fiber. For instance, one cup of kidney beans provides a whopping 30% of your recommended daily allowance for protein in addition to almost 50% for fiber. Besides that, beans also have virtually no fat, making them a triple crown win. (3)

I just can’t help ending up focusing on beans when talking about fiber because they are such outstanding suppliers, but they do share the spotlight to a lesser degree with other plants like fruit, vegetables and unrefined grains like brown or wild rice, and whole wheat and oats. The American Heart Association lists these foods as excellent sources of soluble fiber: oat bran, oatmeal, beans, peas, rice bran, barley, citrus fruits, strawberries and apple pulp. (4) How much should we be getting? Anywhere from 25 grams for women and older children to 38 grams for men. One apple or cup of oatmeal has 3 grams of fiber, and 1 c. of cooked beans provides 10 grams, or 40% of a woman’s daily need! (5)

REPLACE JUST ONE
Make it a goal this week to replace at least one refined flour food with it’s whole grain counterpart. Lasagna Ole’ will take care of that goal right away with it’s whole grain lasagna noodles. Maybe you would prefer to try home made Noodles and Cheese Sauce using whole grain “elbows” , or find more fiber in the beans and whole grain flour of Best Vegetable and Bean Soup with Dumplings.

Also, you might take a minute to be encouraged by the Dr.’s Corner this week for help in recognizing and using your personal strengths.

Have a week with more fiber than ever!

(1) http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/Cad/CAD_WhatIs.html (2) http://www.americanheart.org/downloadable/heart/1236979840760CAUSES_DEATH.pdf (3) http://dietaryfiberguide.com/high-fiber-foods/best-dietary-fiber-sources-vegetables/ (4) http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=87 (5) http://dietaryfiberguide.com/high-fiber-foods/best-dietary-fiber-sources-vegetables/

Tables need four legs to support whatever meals you lay on the table top. I feel the same way about a few important elements in the food and nutrition universe; water, fiber, fruits and vegetables, and organic food. I am not trying to say they are the most “important”. Rather, they may posses the greatest potential for making a positive impact on the American diet because we are deficient in these areas. Let’s start with the element that makes up 60-80% of our body; water. So why should we be concerned about our water intake? Because water interacts with every cell in your body and is crucial for numerous life- sustaining interactions that happen within.

TAKES AWAY TOXIC DEBRIT
We all want to look younger longer, right? Being dehydrated accelerates the aging process of your body because water is crucial for transporting building materials and taking away waste products to and from our cells and organs. A dehydrated body is like a construction site without trucks to bring the correct building supplies and take away the debris that accumulates. Your skin may be the first indication that all is not well, but other undesirable effects of dehydration that make you feel and look worn out are headache, tiredness, inability to think, indigestion and heart burn, and even depression. (1) We should probably try drinking more water on a regular basis first before reaching for other things to help !

IMPORTANT TO HEALING JOINTS
Though no one else can see our aching joints, they sure do make you feel older, and the cartilage that cushions your joints is made up mostly of water. Some of that joint pain could be the construction site continuing on with faulty machinery while waiting for the supply trucks to come, or in other words, damaged cartilage being used without being repaired properly. (2) We wouldn’t want the house we live in built under those circumstances, and your body is your house too!

HOW MUCH?
So how can we make sure we are drinking enough water? We’ve all heard the advice to drink about 1/2 gallon, 64 oz., or 8 cups of water a day. Or some say take your body weight, divide in half, and drink that many ounces of water a day. (140 lbs.=70 oz. of water needed daily.) Try drinking a full glass of water when waking up, bringing water to sip on wherever you go during the day, drinkng a cup whenever you get the urge to snack on something (and snack on fruit instead of other things), and making water your drink of choice most of the time. I like to float a tea bag in my water. After about 3 minutes it has a very subtle and delicious flavor of the tea I have chosen, and it makes drinking more water much more interesting!

THIRSTY? TOO LATE
And remember that thirst is not a good indicator of your need for water because at the point of thirst you are not going to be dehydrated; you already are! (5) Lots of small changes throughout the day can easily add up to a fully hydrated, efficient and active cell repair system in our bodies. For me personally, I’ve just accepted the fact that water is what I drink, just as I have accepted that I eat whole grains rather than refined. More on that coming next week by the way. Stay tuned for Table Leg #2 of Orange Tree Lane: wonderful Fiber. Just like water, it is one of your nutrient “best friends”.

But for now, H2O here we come,

(1) http://studenthealth.oregonstate.edu/answerspot/message.php?message=2038 (2) http://nutritioninfo.tripod.com/id19.html

(3 http://whfoods.org/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=148 (4) http://www.nursingcenter.com/prodev/ce_article.asp?tid=939252
5) http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/water/NU00283/NSECTIONGROUP=2