This eZine (No. 137)

Nutrition:	Is Salt Really Bad for You?
Wellness:	Guide to Understanding Type 1 Diabetes and Type 2 Diabetes
Alternative:	Gymnema, Cinnamon and Cloves for Diabetes Managment

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Is Salt Really Bad for You?

By: Dave Osh

For years you’ve heard people telling you that salt is bad for you. “Don’t put salt on that – it’ll kill you!” . Table salt has become the villain of the dining room in recent years - a sparkling white poison that contributes to high blood pressure, as well as heart and kidney disease.

But we crave salt ... and we need it to live. In fact, animals will travel miles for a lick of salt to satisfy that need. Does this mean salt's bad reputation is not deserved? Well ... yes ... and no.

Today, you’ll discover a simple truth about salt you may not know.

The Benefits of Real Salt

Let’s get one thing straight. Salt itself is not an evil. Salts occur widely in nature, in all body fluids, and of course, in the oceans. It’s a general term and natural salts usually have mixtures of many compounds. In fact, natural salt contains vital minerals your body needs. In its original form, salt is a healthy part of your diet.

But the salt you find on your table is anything but natural. The salt you buy in a grocery store is as bad for you as you have been told. Mass-market salt is dried at high temperatures, and its many beneficial trace minerals are removed and sold to industry. The salt is then mixed with iodine, bleaching agents, anti-caking agents, and even dextrose (sugar) to remove the bitter chemical taste. What is left is purified sodium chloride with as much as 3% added chemicals.

Bottom line: Table salt is not natural, it's not healthy, and it should not be consumed.

You should avoid processed salt. Its concentrated sodium and lack of potassium can lead to high blood pressure and other health problems. These high sodium salts hide in thousands of products that you eat everyday. Even if you don’t add salt yourself, many of the foods you eat are swimming in sodium.

Do you think that salad is healthy? Many commercial salad dressings have more sodium in a serving than a McDonald’s Quarter Pounder with cheese!

Real salt, on the other hand, comes from the earth or ocean, not a factory. It has health benefits and brings out the flavor of your favorite foods.

Turn the Tables on Table Salt
How do you avoid too much sodium? As always, simply avoid processed foods. Don’t eat anything that is canned, frozen or sealed in a bag. Aside from sodium, they are full of other chemicals, the wrong carbs and the wrong fats.

Celtic Sea Salt

The salt you buy in a grocery store is as bad for you as you have been told. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't use salt. A reasonable intake of high-quality, natural salt can be very good for you.

Celtic Sea Saltfor example, is harvested by hand, dried by the sun, and is never refined or processed. This salt retains more than 80 trace minerals and electrolytes found in seawater, and it is this natural mix of minerals that balances the effects of the sodium in your system.

You should know that not all sea salt is "good" salt. Even the sea salt sold in health food stores has usually been bleached and the minerals removed. If you want to to have natural food, try the Celtic Sea Salt.

Article Source: http://www.bodyformind.com/db

About the author:
Dave Osh is the author of "Perpetual Wellbeing - 4 Steps to Ageless Sex-Appeal" and the revolutionary Anti-Aging Fitness Program "Change Your Body and Be Admired".

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Guide to Understanding Type 1 Diabetes and Type 2 Diabetes

By: Scanzin

Type 1 Diabetes

Type 1 diabetes is generally a genetic disease passed on through generations of a family. It can affect children and adults alike, but most often begins in childhood and is carried through adulthood. The body produces only a small amount of insulin, if any at all. Eating excessive amounts of sugar can worsen the natural disruption caused by this specific classification.

Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes often occurs because of a poor diet combined with lack of exercise. This classification most often occurs in adults over the age of 35, but the number of children getting this disease is rising because of poor food choices and lack of physical activity. A handful of people who contract type 2 diabetes are predisposed to it because of genetics.
Gestational Diabetes

Pregnant women sometimes experience a brief interaction with diabetes during pregnancy. This is called gestational diabetes. It happens in the second trimester and, in most cases, disappears after the baby is born. It is very important for a woman to keep in close contact with her obstetrician when this disease occurs. Gestational diabetes puts an expectant mother at higher risk for developing permanent type 2 diabetes. The risk for gestational diabetes in future pregnancies is higher, as well. The cause of gestational diabetes is not completely known, but there is a theory. Hormones from the placenta may be blocking the insulin that is being produced, causing the insulin not to be able to do its job properly.

What Are the Symptoms?

Symptoms of diabetes can be unnoticeable or mild in the early stages. Often, diabetes is not diagnosed until blood tests confirm the results. Symptoms of diabetes might include one or more of the following:

* Frequent urination

* Excessive thirst

* Nausea

* Blurred vision

* Fatigue

* Excessive weight loss, even if eating a normal amount of food

* Tingling of the hands and/or feet

* Ulcers (skin sores) that do not heal

* Acquiring frequent infections

When to Seek Professional Help

If you experience any of the symptoms listed above, you should contact your physician as soon as possible. Even if you do not have diabetes, these can be symptomatic of other potential diseases. You should have blood tests performed on a regular basis if diabetes runs in your family. Sugar levels are something that doctors check on a yearly basis, so getting a regular physical is something everyone should do.

Article Source: http://www.bodyformind.com/db

About the author:
Scanzin has a Diabetes site with the best and most up to date information on diabetes it is diets-diabetes.blogspot.com/ the site is updated daily.

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Gymnema, Cinnamon and Cloves for Diabetes Managment

By: Kevin Flatt

Cinnamon

During the early stages of testing a new chromium supplement, Agricultural Research Service chemist Richard A. Anderson, Ph.D. and his colleagues were attempting to disrupt some volunteers’ blood sugar control by feeding them a low chromium diet that included apple pie. Surprisingly, these volunteers’ blood sugar remained under control. Subsequent test-tube studies showed that cinnamon in the pie was boosting insulin activity, as chromium does, and thus controlling blood glucose. The spice turned out to be the “best thing we ever tested” for that purpose, Anderson says. (Science News Online 1/5/2004; Vol. 165, No. 18).

Since then Dr. Anderson and colleagues have confirmed the blood sugar lowering properties of cinnamon and its ability to lower triglycerides, LDL cholesterol and total cholesterol in test tube and animal studies as well as in a number of human trials. Details of these studies and human trials are outside the scope of this article.

Richard A. Anderson said: “If you can improve insulin function the cholesterol goes down, triglycerides go down, glucose goes down, and all this goes towards the alleviation of type 2 diabetes,” He cautioned, however, that consumers should not simply start dousing their food with cloves and cinnamon [at high doses]. He noted, for example, that cinnamon in powder form is rendered ineffective by contact with saliva, and its lack of solubility in water can result in an unwanted build up of the spice in the body. (HealthDay News 5/4/06).

There are some simple ways around this including buying cinnamon capsules.

Cloves

Dr. Alam Khan, Agricultural University, Peshawar, Pakistan, a former postdoctoral student and Fulbright Fellow in the Anderson laboratory, reported on the first study of the effect of cloves on insulin function in humans at the Experimental Biology 2006 meeting, in San Francisco. (Medical News Today 9/4/2006).

At the end of the study, regardless of the amount of cloves consumed, all those who ingested cloves showed a drop in glucose, triglycerides and LDL (“bad”) cholesterol levels. Blood levels of HDL (“good”) cholesterol were not affected among the clove eaters. Those who did not ingest cloves experienced no changes. (HealthDay News 5/4/2006). More details of this study can be found at the author’s website.

Gymnema

Studies show that Gymnema sylvestre helps control both type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes. Gymnema is a well-proven treatment for diabetes, and it has been used for this purpose for over 2,000 years and has proved to be very effective in type 1 diabetes.

It is best known for its apparent ability to lower blood sugar levels. Results from case reports and studies in humans and animals suggest that it may work in several ways to help control both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. It is possible that gymnema sylvestre may even prompt the pancreas to develop more beta cells - the source of insulin. It may also make body cells more responsive to the insulin that is available. (DrugDigest).

The first scientific confirmation of the effects of gymnema on glucose in human diabetics was in 1926 when it was demonstrated that the leaves of Gymnema reduced urinary glucose. (K.G. Gharpurey, Indian Medical Gazette 1926; 61: 155).

A number of trials have been carried out demonstrating the properties of Gymnema sylvestre, the details of which are beyond the scope of this article.

Chromiun

Scientists believe that insulin uses chromium as an assistant (technically, a cofactor) to “unlock the door” to the cell membrane, thereby allowing glucose to enter the cell.

More than 15 scientific studies support the safety and role of chromium in improving insulin function and glucose metabolism in people with type 2 diabetes and related conditions. “There is strong scientific evidence to suggest that supplemental chromium picolinate may improve insulin sensitivity, blood glucose control, and cardiovascular risk factors in adults with type 2 diabetes,” according to Dr. Kaufman, former president of the American Diabetes Association and specialist in pediatric endocrinology. (PRNewswire-FirstCall 15/2/2005). Details of these studies are outside the scope of this article.

Science News Online reported in April 2005 that Robert DiSilvestro and Emily Dy of Ohio State University showed data at the Experimental Biology 2005 meeting in San Diego indicating that only the picolinate form of chromium is absorbed well by the body. The report stated that according to Robert DiSilvestro about 40 percent of chromium picolinate was absorbed by people taking chromium supplements in one experiment. DiSilvestro added that absorption of other forms of the mineral in supplements ran as low as 1 percent and only about 10 percent of any form of chromium in foods is typically absorbed. (Science News Online 16/4/2005; Vol. 167, No. 16).

Additionally, an animal study conducted at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition found that chromium picolinate was better absorbed by the tissues (e.g., liver and muscle) than chromium nicotinate and chromium chloride. Absorption into the tissue is important because for a mineral to be beneficial, it must survive the digestive tract and reach the bloodstream. Otherwise, minerals pass through the body, leaving it void of necessary nutrients. (Medical News Today 7/2/2007).

If this article is reproduced please ensure the link to my website is kept live. If you can't see the links hover your mouse over the words in the bio box.

Article Source: http://www.bodyformind.com/db

About the author:
Kevin Flatt has extensively researched the subject of Alternative Medicine over many years. He is the publisher of Natural Health Articles And News. If you are searching for information on improving your health with less drugs and more natural therapy, then this website is for you. http://www.kflatthealthnews.com

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For your health,

Ainsley & Dave