Despite dairy being a major staple of the modern diet and often being promoted as an excellent source of nutrition, it’s also one of the most common sources of food sensitivities and is associated with many disorders and diseases. However, as with most foods, there’s a significant amount of variation in the quality of milk, and this is a critical factor to consider.

More than 2000 years ago, Hippocrates, often referred to as the father of medicine, promoted the healing effects of milk. Since then, many doctors have continued to do the same. Milk is essential to the survival and development of baby mammals, including humans, and even the adult members of traditional tribes such as the Masai and Samburu continue to thrive on significant amounts of it. In addition, anecdotal evidence as well as published research supports its numerous health benefits. If this is the case, then how can milk be associated with so many health problems? One of the most compelling reasons is the difference between pasteurized milk and raw milk. However, to understand why pasteurization is not the great idea that it’s widely believed to be and why it destroys many of milk’s inherent health benefits, it’s necessary to consider the history of milk and the politics behind pasteurization.

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As you most likely already know, on October 24th, President Obama declared the swine flu a national emergency. Despite how frightening this sounds, the reasoning behind the declaration is not what most people are likely to think.

Swine flu has been a hot topic since last spring and was predicted to spread during this year’s flu season. Although the prediction is holding true and it seems that more people than normal are sick right now, the swine flu is still not the deadly pandemic that the media warned us about over the summer, and this is not what President Obama’s emergency declaration was meant to suggest.

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Although many people don’t realize it, a significant amount of human function depends on very subtle electrical currents and electromagnetic fields that are naturally generated by the earth and our own bodies. Electromagnetic fields have a significant influence on our cells, and in turn, the function of critical organs and glands. Unfortunately, many of our modern technological innovations are bombarding us with an alarming amount of unnatural electromagnetic fields that can interfere with these functions and have a significant impact on our health without us even realizing it.

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For more than half a century, saturated fat has been regarded as a deadly nutrient that clogs your arteries and causes heart disease. However, when you consider the fact that we’ve been eating saturated fat for millions of years, it just doesn’t make sense that it could be so unhealthy.

Modern science often neglects the importance of nature and this is one of the more prominent examples. Many reputable sources of information are now revealing that we’ve been misled and saturated fat does not cause heart disease. In fact, the “heart healthy” vegetable oils that we’ve been told to use instead of saturated fat pose a much more significant risk.

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Heartburn, abdominal pain, bloating, and diarrhea are just a few of the immediate problems that can result from poor digestion. Long term, this can lead to intestinal damage, nutrient deficiencies, and food sensitivities that may cause much more significant problems. Fortunately, there’s a simple but often overlooked measure that everyone can take to improve their digestion and prevent these conditions.

With the fast pace of modern life, many of us rush through our meals and practically swallow our food whole. Although most of us know that we should chew our food thoroughly, few of us actually do it.

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Alcohol is a significant part of the modern lifestyle, and even though most of it’s health risks are well known, many people still drink alcohol in excessive amounts and on a regular basis.

As a byproduct of yeast fermentation, alcohol is classified as a mycotoxin which means that it’s a toxic substance produced by fungus. Other common sources of mycotoxins include mold spores, antibiotics, and hallucinogenic drugs. Many of us have experienced the toxicity of alcohol in the form of a hangover, and as such, the damaging effects of alcohol shouldn’t be much of a surprise.

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Heartburn, also referred to as acid reflux or indigestion, is one of the many common symptoms of compromised health that we’ve come to accept as normal. According to the National Institute of Health, 20% of Americans suffer from heartburn symptoms at least once per week, and nearly half of these people experience symptoms every day.

As with most health problems, conventional medicine treats the heartburn symptoms of acid reflux without making any effort to understand or address it’s cause. Unfortunately, the popular methods of treating heartburn symptoms actually worsen their most common cause and can potentially lead to significant health issues.

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If you think it’s an exaggeration to say that something as common as sugar or refined carbohydrates can ruin your life, perhaps you should give more consideration to the excessive amounts of it that many people are consuming and the harmful effects that it can have on one’s health.

It only takes a quick look through most major grocery stores to notice the overwhelming selection of processed and packaged foods and the much smaller selection of natural whole foods such as unrefined meat, fish, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds. Much of this processed food contains unhealthy amounts of sugar and refined carbohydrates as well as unnatural additives that are potentially harmful. Because processed foods are cheap to produce, have a long shelf life, and are specifically designed to taste good, they’re favored by both the food industry and the general public. The overwhelming abundance and availability of these foods is a clear indication that they’re a staple of the modern diet, and this is very likely to be a major factor in the prevalence of many life altering health conditions such as obesity, diabetes, depression, heart disease, and cancer.

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The media has created quite a stir about swine flu and has many people envisioning the possibility of millions of deaths. Before you waste precious energy and emotion fearing the swine flu, take some time to understand the situation and ground yourself with a rational perspective.

What is the Swine Flu?

Swine flu is a form of influenza that typically spreads among pigs, but can also be transmitted to humans. The specific strain of swine flu that has been on everyone’s mind lately contains a strange combination of genetic material from human, bird and pig specific strains. It also has never before been found in a human or animal, including pigs.

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USA Swimming just handed Michael Phelps a 3 month suspension for marijuana use. According to USA Swimming, the suspension is primarily intended to send a strong message to Phelps based on the poor example he has set for young swimmers.

Wasting Talent

During the 2008 Olympics, I was excited to watch Phelps attempt to rewrite history by winning 8 gold medals during a single Olympics. However, once I saw the coverage of his “gold medal diet”, I immediately lost interest in his pursuit.

As a health fanatic, I admit I have a biased opinion, but it’s undeniable that excellent health is an integral part of getting top performance from your body. In my opinion, an athlete that neglects his or her health is no better than one that’s too lazy to train. It results in underutilized talent and nobody likes to see this in an athlete.

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