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There is a lot of confusion about osteoporosis. Most people think that if you take a calcium supplement you’ll be okay. However, not only will this not help, but it is totally disregarding the other side: negative prevention.

Allow me to explain. You must not only take a positive step towards preventing osteoporosis (in many peoples’ cases, adding a calcium supplement), you must also take a negative step towards preventing it (as in, taking something away).

However, what could we possibly take away that would prevent osteoporosis? After all, what causes it is a lack of calcium density in the bones, not too much. Taking things away will only lead to more of a deficiency, right?

While this logic may seem pretty basic, almost like 1+1=2, 1-1=0. If you take away from the equation, you take away from the solution. However, with health it is not that simple. There is something called the acid-alkaline balance that I would like to bring to your attention.

Human blood and urine are meant to be slightly alkaline (about 8 pH). Very few liquids in the human body are meant to be acidic, the most obvious being stomach acid. Our bodies maintain homeostasis, so your stomach acid alway remains acidic (a pH of 1) and your blood remains alkaline. However, our urine tends to change to slightly acidic to slightly alkaline depending on the food we eat, since it gets expelled this way. Testing urine pH is very telling to what is going on in the body.

Now, because the body is constantly creating homeostasis, many people want to call the acid-alkaline theory bunk. I assure you that it is not. The argument goes that if the body maintains homeostasis, then we don’t need to worry about what we eat because this balance never changes. They would be correct in one respect: our bodies do a good job and do keep things relatively equal. The process does, however, come at a price.

I will now explain why our urine pH is to telling as to what is going on inside of us. When we eat an acidic food and it is broken down and sent to our blood stream, our blood must respond by making the pH alkaline again. How it does this is similar to how someone with heartburn takes Tums to lessen their stomach acid. The body takes calcium and pumps it into the blood to create homeostasis again. There is always calcium in your blood. However, your body needs to store it sometimes, and where do you think your body stores calcium? That’s right, your bones. And every time you eat an acidic food, that calcium leaches from your bones into your blood to create homeostasis again. So, when you eat acidic food, you leach calcium through your urine and are in fact losing calcium, not gaining it.

Some acidic foods are touted for their high calcium content. However, this calcium is almost always (if not always) difficult to absorb and is itself passed out of the body. In short, the amount of calcium you may obtain from an acidic food in no way makes up for the calcium it leaches from your body. Keep in mind, not all calcium is equal. There are foods out there that contain perfect types and quantities of calcium for us.

Here’s the real question: What’s acidic? What must I stay away from to prevent calcium leaching from my bones? What should I eat so I can get adequate and easy to absorb calcium?

The answer: The most acidic foods are none other than the amazing dairy and meat that (not counting actual acids like vinegar) we all love so much. Add to this list eggs, fish (in case you weren’t counting it in meat) and other creatures of the ocean, and its pretty safe to say that anything that comes from an animal is best left alone.

And foods that are alkaline and good for us? Fruits, leafy greens and pretty much all vegetables. We get plenty of calcium from all of these things, in its natural state and ready for our bodies to absorb. Eating in this way will bring our urine pH to the alkaline side, which shows that inside our body our blood is not being rampaged by acidic food.

The short of it is to eat less animal products and more fruits and tender leafy greens/vegetables (preferably raw) if you want to avoid osteoporosis. Stay away from calcium supplements because they are honestly just a waste of money and can harm you by taxing your kidneys to detox all of the extra, difficult to absorb nutrients. A tell-tale sign is that if your urine is yellow (or anything other than mostly clear), you are leaching nutrients and should reconsider the foods and supplements you are taking. If you leach vitamins and minerals, then your food or supplements aren’t doing you any good.

Lia Cross

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It seems that everywhere you look now there’s an ad for Viagra or one of its many spin-offs. If this tells us anything, it certainly makes it clear that men in America have a serious problem. Unfortunately, many of those men are in the dark as to what their problem is exactly. They think the problem is the erection, when really it goes much further than that. Erectile dysfunction isn’t just something everyone must deal with and that an affluent society can afford to correct. It isn’t just something we want fixed so we can get back to our sex lives. ED is a warning sign for underlying blood circulation issues, and is a clear sign that you’re heading toward a heart attack or stroke.

Recently, I noticed one of the ED drug commercials mention that a man had ED and high cholesterol. He was amazed and didn’t know that his high cholesterol could have “caused” his ED. I put the word in quotes to signify that those are the commercials words and not mine. Listening to this blasphemy being played to so many Americans on a daily (even hourly) basis made me irate. High cholesterol cause ED? No. Not even close.

What they could have said (and that would be true) is that high cholesterol was a warning sign that he might get ED. Why? Because high cholesterol is a warning sign of heart disease, and part of heart disease is clogged arteries, and what causes ED? Clogged arteries.

It seems pretty obvious to me that this is the case. An erection is caused by blood flow to the penis. What else would cause you not to be able to one? There are only two solutions: You aren’t aroused OR you aren’t getting blood flow down there. Simple. If you’re aroused mentally and fine you aren’t physically responding, you better watch out. You’re on course for a heart attack. And guess what, going for some Viagra won’t help.

The cure for ED (and for any other disease caused by clogged arteries) isn’t drugs. Even modern medicine simply says you can “treat” or “manage” your disorder, dysfunction, disease, cancer, etc. by taking drugs. Not cure it. Why waste your time with anything that won’t make you better?

In order to make yourself better, you must first understand why you are sick. What causes clogged arteries? The simple answer is: Animal products. Why? Because animal products are the only things on this planet that contain dietary cholesterol, and dietary cholesterol is linked significantly to not only raised blood cholesterol, but also to just about every other disease plagued by our society, not to mention the big hitters: heart disease, diabetes, cancer.

Another interesting statistic, to support the above: Based on blood cholesterol levels, the incidence of heart disease might be 24% lower in lifelong vegetarians and 57% lower in lifelong vegans compared to meat eaters (Oxford Vegetarian Study).

If heart disease is lowered, then so are other side effects of it such as erectile dysfunction.

While you may not be interested in going vegan, you can see that it would obviously be to your benefit (male or female) to cut way down on animal products. Eat lots more fruits, lots more veggies, and preferably keep them raw! Learn how to make yummy green smoothies with lots of fruit so you don’t taste the greens. It will go a long way for you health.

One of my favorite green smoothie recipes is as follows.

-2 frozen bananas (well ripened but not black before freezing — you can add more bananas if you want)

-1/2 or more cup mixed berries (optional, as they will make your green smoothie look brown)

-apple slices

-orange juice (fresh squeezed please! Also optional)

-whatever fruit you have on hand, frozen or not.

-add some cold filtered tap water

-stuff the rest of the blender with lots of spinach (I prefer baby spinach)

Blend, pour into a glass, and enjoy! This makes quite a lot so experiment with less until you find a mix that you like. Some people just like orange juice and spinach and find that to be quite tasty.

Making dietary changes, like adding more raw fruits and vegetables and cutting back or eliminating animal products, will help you get rid of ED and any other issues associated with heart disease. Don’t settle for modern medicine’s “treatments”. Seek a cure. There is enough information out there that you can find a solution that works for you.

Sources:  The China Study, by T. Colin Campbell, PhD and Thomas M. Campbell II

Lia Cross

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Today’s blog is to tell readers about the website http://www.tearitdown.org/.  The site is from Amnesty International, and its about gaining support to stop Guantanamo Bay.

From their site, “Why Should I Care?”

“Because lasting security and real justice for the victims of terrorism cannot be achieved without real justice and respect for human rights.

Because those illegally detained in US custody at Guantánamo and elsewhere must be released unless they are to be charged with recognized crimes.

Because those held at Guantánamo and elsewhere, including in secret detention centres, are human beings who haven’t seen their homes or families for years and have faced torture and other ill-treatment.

Because indefinite and secret detentions are a blight on human rights and are against international law.

Because each day that illegal detention at Guantánamo and elsewhere continues is a day too long. ”

I agree with TearItDown.org.  We should not have ultimatums.  Just because we think someone has wronged us doesn’t suddenly make it okay for us to violate their human rights.  And yes, they do have rights.  You don’t need to be a citizen of the United States to have rights.  Each human being should be treated equally, and whenever they aren’t it is a step backwards for civilization.  The excuses that “they harmed us first” or “they’re doing it to our POW” aren’t excuses at all.  There is no excuse to behave in such a way against a human being.  There is not excuse for holding someone without trial, for (possibly) torturing them, for keeping them from their families and loved ones if they haven’t been convicted of anything (and possibly never will be).

This goes back to a recent current event seen at http://world-save.com/boards/index.php?topic=14.0.  President George W. Bush vetoed a ban on torture.  Why would the president of a country who’s foundation is strongly rooted in the protection of human rights want to allow torture?  It seems like a move he is making in his own interest, not his country’s.  The United States, and all countries, should not allow the torture of any human being.  I would like to extend that to animals as well, but unfortunately our world takes small steps.  Part of me believes that these two things go hand in hand.  That if one stops producing and consuming tortured food then the urge to torture would be lessened.  I have found that those of us on diets predominated by fruits and vegetables (especially those who omit animal products and processed foods entirely) are healthiest, happiest, and least likely to harm either intentionally or unintentionally.  Of course, a lot more goes into it than that (economic situation, living quarters, spirituality, relationships, possibility for a future, etc.), but I do think that altering the general human diet towards one predominated by fruits and vegetables is a step in the right direction for lessening hatred against our fellow human beings.  It may not make sense to you unless you’ve tried it, so don’t take my word for it.  Try consuming more raw fruits and raw leafy greens.  Just pack up on them.  Try a day or two with just those.  See how you feel… not how you’re focusing on food, but on how clean you feel.  If you keep going, you’ll notice that your mood improves too.  Your head clears from all those toxins.  When your head and heart are clear, they cannot harbor hatred quite as easily.

Of course, TearItDown.org mentions none of this.  Most people don’t believe, understand, or even know it.  But its true.  I’ve known one woman who swears vegetables saved her marriage.  And why?  Because she ate more and became calmer, more clear headed, and saw her husband in a whole new light.  I have the same experience in my relationships.  Cleaner diet = more loving interactions.  Poor diet = bad interactions.  Very simple.

Give it a try… for World Peace.

Lia Cross 

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This recent recall of school meat makes me laugh a little.  The only reason they’re doing it is because of the video released.  I’m fairly certain the USDA knows that practices such as those displayed in the video have been ongoing for quite some time, with relatively little obvious harm to humans (at least, by their standards… I would beg to differ).  However, they choose to act when a video is released.  Why?  Because now we know about it.  They want use to think they’re doing a good job, but do they really think we’re that stupid?  That we wouldn’t know that these practices are nothing new?  That school children and adults alike have been eating totally deranged animals for years?

What also makes me laugh is that they’re calling it cruelty.  Not the fact that its a massive killing operation, just the fact of how they’re treating the animals during the fact.  They’ve got to be insane.  They’re so worried about how that animals feels in an already dismal, terrifying situation.  The hell do they want, to see it prancing through a field of roses?  That video is what slaughterhouses look like, and that is how they are run.  Its not an isolated situation.  Anyone who thinks so is, quite frankly, stupid.  If you eat meat, guess what, you’ve got problems, not least of which is the fact (displayed by the video) that your meat comes from ill-treated animals that have essentially gone insane from being forced into cannibalism and then processed in really terrible conditions (to put it nicely).  Even if your meat is “organic” and “grassfed” and whatnot, while I’d like to give you props for trying, it still doesn’t change the fact that meat is bad for you.

Now I know a million people who are going to ask me about protein, or say “but everyone is different, you can’t say that!”  Well, yes, I can.  And I just did.  And I don’t regret it.  And I don’t think people will die if they eat less, or no, meat.  In fact, I think they’ll find that if they cut meat out (and dairy, please) they’ll feel much better after the initial withdrawal period. And quite frankly, I cannot believe the idea that “everyone is different” when it comes to our food intake and what’s healthiest.  Granted, I don’t know about the Inuit (thats been a source of debate in my own mind for some time), but as far as most people are concerned, I can really confidently say that we’d all be better off on a raw vegan diet (80/10/10 to be exact).

For starters, this implies that meat recalls would be of no use to us.  It also implies that we would be eating a lot of plants.  I know this might scare some people, but it would serve you well to know that 1) there’s no such thing as a protein deficiency… a caloric deficiency and starvation will always precede any possible protein deficiency, and 2) we can, and are better able to, get all of our nutritional needs from fruits and vegetables.

I’d like to elaborate on this, but really, I’ll be dedicating whole blog entries to this in the future.  Right now, let that just spark your mind and get you to do some reading.  You’ll find a lot of evidence that says I’m wrong (its really abundant), but I encourage you to find evidence that says I’m right… and then ask yourself — your common sense — what really sounds right to you?

Lia Cross

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