Hansies Health Report

Trying BlackPing out from my Blackberry. Doesnt seem to know how to auto-capitalize/- punctuate like other BB apps.

Just added the ability to post updates to Twitter, Typepad and all sorts of other services via Skype.

Regina's Blog: Swine Flu Hoax?

Regina's Blog: Swine Flu Hoax?.

Whenever I begin to see blaring headlines regarding the word “pandemic”, I make a call to Dr. Lorraine Day, the former chief of Orthopedic Surgery at USF. Not one to mince words, and a dogged researcher, I can count on Lorraine to give me the big picture behind the headlines. I made that call yesterday. Her first words, underscored with a hearty laugh, were “It’s just another hoax!” Here’s the long and short of it according to Lorraine. (click link above for more)

Diseases vs. Disorders--Do you know the difference?

Eating to Live

Hey there healthnuts! :)

Just wanted to pipe up here that I have been on a diet for only about two weeks and have lost 8 pounds. 

When I say diet, what I really mean is more like 'way of eating" vs. some system of tricking the body into losing weight. 

In my opinion, the author of this diet, and MD named Joel Fuhrman, has come upon the natural diet for man.   He bases his book on about 2,000 studies and observations about how the human body is constructed.  Example: our teeth are not carnivorous.  So why are we making meat our main course?   Our digestive tract and acid levels in the stomach are not conducive to heavy meat eating.  Could this be why meat, eaten in large quantities, tends to get stuck and putrefy rather than convert to energy?

The book should be read before the diet is started.  It really helps to understand why you're eating differently and has given me the foundation of strength to stick with it despite others eating foods my taste buds used to crave.

Here are some benefits I have noticed though:

• Hardly any cravings for bad food at all. 
• Blood sugar is totally stable.  I can go for hours without eating and not feel like a madman
• Losing about a pound a day, a little less now that the first easier pounds are gone
• My taste for foods and appreciation for the taste of simple things like plain lettuce has heightened greatly
• TONS of energy all day long
• My adrenal stress seems to be a thing of the past
• Stopped having adrenal headaches
• Skin seems softer/smoother

That's the short list.  I just feel healther. 

And by the way, this is not just about weight loss. The author points out that here in the West we have diseases that other cultures just don't have.  The big killers are all pretty much coming from what we are eating, not some other mysterious cause.

If you want to get the book from Amazon, there is a link to it on the book section of my blog here.  Eat To Live by Joel Fuhrman. 

To your health!

Welcome to Luna & Larry's Coconut Bliss

A friend on Facebook posted this (thanks, Kiva!) and I can't wait to try them.  One of the things you give up when you stop eating a lot of animal products (something I'm doing for at least 6 weeks on the Eat To Live diet) is dairy.  I happen to love coconut milk and we have been sweetening with agave syrup for months now.

So we are all over this.  As a parent this is also excellent.  Our kids like sweets like any kid, but the stuff out there today is full of corn syrup; and we like the idea of giving them alternatives to dairy products (especially when they have colds).

Welcome to Luna & Larry's Coconut Bliss.

Luna & Larry's Coconut Bliss is a satisfying, delicious, and healthy alternative to dairy and soy-based frozen desserts. Made from a base of naturally rich coconut milk and sweetened with agave syrup, Luna & Larry's Coconut Bliss is certified organic, 100% vegan, kosher pareve, and made with certified fair trade ingredients.

Plastic Invaders

Anyone who wants to live a long and health life should watch this video.

Plastic has been so useful in so many ways that it has become a staple in the home and office for food storage and thousands of other uses. What we haven't known until recently, however, is that microscopic bits of plastic are working their way into our our bodies. This short video talks a bit about this, how it is impacting our health and tells you where you can learn more.

Plastic Invaders from Hans Eisenman on Vimeo.

Here's the link to the book I mention in the video: Detoxify or Die, by Dr. Sherry A. Rogers

How I Get Rid Of The Flu Without Antibiotics or Lots of Drugs

Well my kids brought a cold home (or maybe it's the flu, or maybe it's just a virus--who knows and it doesn't matter to me since the steps below are about boosting immunity, not which drug/antibiotic to take).  This time I caught it too, something I haven't done for a while.  The good news is: I have managed to get through it pretty quickly and while it has caused some brutal bouts of coughing and a bit of congestion, I didn't get the fever my kids got.  My temp stayed between 96.5 and 97.2 or so.

There are a few things I have found to really work for me when combating a cold.  Thought I'd just jot them down for anyone who might be interested.  Colds are a drag and if this helps even just one other person beat them, I'll be happy for having written it.

One of the reasons I go through all this is that I'm not a big fan of antibiotics or pharma drugs.  One round of AB's, for example, can wipe out the beneficial gut bacteria that help to make up an immune system in the first place.  Obviously it is sometimes necessary but I think people take them far too quickly, not giving their immune system a fighting chance.  That's just my opinion but I know there are MD's who feel the same way. Consult yours or do your own research on the benefit of having good gut bacteria and the effects of taking AB's.

So here here is my list, more or less in order of effectiveness, from my personal experience:

• NO sugar (including alcohol) of any kind.  It greatly weakens the immune system.
• Vitamin D3.  Practically a miracle vitamin.  Here are my online bookmarks for more info on this wonderous supplement. 
• Drinking lots of water!
• Garlic.  Just cut a fresh clove (preferably organic) into pieces small enough to swallow, but not crushed.  Swallow them as whole as you can.  This really works for me.  I do this about 2-3x per day.
• Hopping in a far-infrared sauna for 45-60 minutes at 120 or so degrees (taking a break in the middle).  I try and get my nasal area in front of one of the heating elements as it seems to help.  Infrared rays can penetrate several inches into the body, apparently.
• Miracle Mineral Supplement (MMS).
• Airborne. Most drugstores have this.
• Probiotics (acidophilus and that kind of thing).
• Oscillococcinum.  Most drugstores carry this, too.
• Elecrolytes.  I don't care for Gatorade and others like it (sugar).  So I use Alacer's which can be found in any decent health food store.
• Earaches: we use Mullein Oil.  Health food store.  3-4 drops in each ear and stuff some cotton in there.  It can help a lot.  Great to have on hand for kids too.
• Emergen-C (also by Alacer)
• If congestion is really bad, I'll take a couple of Benadryl to dry up my nose so I can get a good night's sleep, which is also very helpful.  It's the lesser of all evils to me.  A doctor advised me that it's out of your system in 24 hours and pretty mild as drugs go.
• Hot bath in Epsom salts.
• Last but not least (and for this I thank my friend Ranbir for reminding me) that the best care would never be without lots of hugs and soup!

There's probably other things I will think of but that's a pretty good list.  If you have any questions, you can always contact me directly and I'll tell you what I do.

Note: None of this is medical advice. You're responsible for your own health and wellness.  I'm not a doctor, don't play one on TV and don't want to be one either.  I just like being healthy and sharing things that work with others.

Say NO to Vilsack!

Say NO to Vilsack!.

Despite a massive public outcry, including over 20,000 emails from the Organic Consumers Association, President-Elect Obama has chosen former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack to be the next Secretary of Agriculture.

While Vilsack has promoted respectable policies with respect to restraining livestock monopolies, his overall record is one of aiding and abetting Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) or factory farms and promoting genetically engineered crops and animal cloning. Equally troubling is Vilsack's support for unsustainable industrial ethanol production, which has already caused global corn and grain prices to skyrocket, literally taking food off the table for a billion people in the developing world.

Pharma Drugs Masking a Much, Much Bigger Problem

Here are some fascinating stats about our health care system (below).  With  a 14 trillion dollar (US) gross national product, the U.S. is on its way to spending WAY, WAY too much in medical health benefits, as you can see.  The model of "symptom-->drug-->side-effects-->more drugs-->repeat" is highly problematic since the CAUSE is never addressed.  People aren't sick because they have a deficiency of pharma drugs (as the tagline for this blog openly declares).  They are sick because they don't understand that symptoms are merely CLUES to a deeper issue--one that must be uncovered and addressed if the symptoms are to stop.

Drugs MASK the symptoms which a) makes it almost impossible to get to the bottom of the situation and b) gives the patient the false idea that the deeper cause/disorder has been resolved.  It hasn't. Now it's just hiding.  So a few more days/weeks/months later, up it pops again only now it's worse.  What was once a bad case of hemmorhoids (symptom) is now a major vascular disorder requiring expensive surgery to save the life.  Not even the surgery has addressed the actual problem (probably dietary).

We are on track as a country for a total breakdown in this health care system.  There are $900 TRILLION in unfunded but promised Medicare and Social Security benefits right now [1].  If that were distributed to every American, regardless of age (even infants), we would all have to come up with $300,000 or 25x the current household income.

What does this mean?