Read the rest of the article here: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/12/081218122158.htm#

1. Eat your weeds: Verdolaga (purslane, in English) is a plant grown widely in the Mediterranean. It has recently been founnd to be the richest plant source of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids. So go on, get grazing in your gardens and to hell with what the neighbours think!

2. Drink free spring water: Go fill your water jugs are the Chorros in Polop de la Marina. Lovely, natural spring water, free! And you don’t need to throw away any more plastic water bottles.

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3. Beat cancer: Vitamin D is proving its anti-carcinogenic properties time and again in recent research. Your lovely melanocytes can produce all the vitamin D you need just by being exposed to sunlight. So take advantage of the Costa Blanca’s wonderful light and get outside. No, not at midday with a large pint in your hand! tsk tsk…

4. Re-mineralise: The sea is full of magnesium and the negative ions at the coast are out of this world. Who needs a salt lamp when you’ve got the Mediterranean at your doorstep? Go to the beach, breath and wade. Leave the salt on for a while afterwards. Magnesium (in seawater) is absorbed transdermally (via the skin) and has proven anti-inflammatory and anti-pain properties. Iodine in the air at the beach is absorbed through the lungs and is super-important for the production of thyroid hormones.

5. Kneip: The Germans call in Kneippen. It’s really just wading in cold water. Stimulates peripheral circulation, helps tighthen slack veins and in so doing reduces edema (puffiness) in the ankles. So you can weat those lovely sandals you bought for 5euros at the market!

And I’ll copy it in here in case it gets moved:

A single omega-3 fish oil capsule taken daily could help keep some people with heart failure out of hospital, a study released yesterday revealed.

A second trial, however, found that statins – conventional medicines prescribed for many healthy people with high cholesterol at risk of heart disease – have no effect once the arteries have narrowed to the point where heart failure occurs.

Both results were revealed yesterday in Munich at the European Society of Cardiology meeting and published online by the Lancet. Italian researchers investigated the potential of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids on patients with chronic heart failure – which occurs when the heart struggles to pump blood around the body because of narrowing arteries.

Professors Luigi Tavazzi and Gianni Tognoni from the ANMCO research centre in Florence found that more patients who were given the omega-3 survived than those who received a placebo. In the omega-3 group, 955 died (27%), whereas among those given a placebo, 1,014 (29%) died. More in the placebo group were also admitted to hospital. Experts said the difference was enough to recommend omega-3 for patients with heart failure.

Statins did not prove useful in a trial where 2,285 patients were given 10mg a day of rosuvastatin while 2,289 received a placebo. The researchers found there was no significant difference between deaths and hospital admissions.

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I try to spend a portion of my weekly grocery money on organics. I can’t say I reach anywhere near 100%, but we probably get up to 40% organic in this household. It is expensive, and the margin of difference can be anywhere from twice the price upwards. Organic tomatoes were selling this week @ 2euro/kilo while pesticide tomatoes sell for 1 – 1.20euro/kilo. However, given that organically grown food has significantly higher levels of beneficial phytonutrients (such as anti-oxidants), you actually recoup the extra spend in the quality of the product. Here’s an example study of conventional blueberries vs organic blueberries: Fruit Quality, Antioxidant Capacity, and Flavonoid Content of Organically and Conventionally Grown Blueberries. The abstract states:

Results from this study showed that blueberry fruit grown from organic culture yielded significantly higher sugars (fructose and glucose), malic acid, total phenolics, total anthocyanins, and antioxidant activity (ORAC) than fruit from the conventional culture.

Remember people to be the change you want to see. If you believe in organic agriculture, spend your dollars/euros/pounds on organic agriculture. Only increased demand will bring reduced prices.

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COLUMNA QUIROPRÁCTICA #8. Página 2. Verano de 2002. Lo que no te dicen…

En España se usa y se abusa de los medicamentos: En los últimos 15 años el número de fármacos recetados en España se ha incrementado en un 264 por ciento. Los médicos españoles ocupan el segundo lugar del ranking europeo en la prescripción cuantitativa de medicamentos, con un total de 1.320 fármacos recetados por cada mil habitantes. El primer lugar de la lista lo encabezan los doctores griegos con una prescripción de 1.350 para el mismo porcentaje de habitantes. En España, la sobre prescripción de fármacos se ha identificado con: La estructura del sistema público de salud; con los propios requisitos del mercado farmacéutico; la información que sobre los medicamentos tienen los profesionales alopáticos y la carencia de actividades destinadas a la educación en el campo de la farmacología química.
Alto consumo en la población infantil: Esta tesis la confirma un estudio del Instituto Universitario de Salud Pública de Catalunya después de analizar las entrevistas realizadas a un grupo de niños de entre 0 y 14 años. El 25% de ellos había tomado medicamentos dos días antes de la entrevista. En la conclusión final de la investigación se afirma que el consumo de medicamentos entre la población infantil catalana es muy elevado, por lo cual se recomienda mejorar la educación de familiares y médicos para bajar los elevados niveles de ingesta medicamentosa.
Efectos secundarios: En España, los medicamentos son los responsables de uno de cada ocho ingresos hospitalarios, según una investigación publicada por la revista Medicina Clínica. En porcentaje, los fármacos causan el 12% de los ingresos hospitalarios en España. En el 46,3 por ciento de los casos el ingreso hospitalario se debe a efectos secundarios producidos por los fármacos de la familia de los antiinflamatorios no esteroides. Un análisis de la Sociedad Española del Dolor (SED) demuestra que en el 88% de los casos el dolor no se trata adecuadamente. Esta situación supone un coste anual de 760 mil millones de pesetas, más de 4.500 millones de €, para la Seguridad Social.
Antiinflamatorios contraindicados: Por su parte, el Journal of Bone and Mineral Research publica que el grupo de los antiinflamatorios no esteroideos inhibe la curación de la masa ósea en las fracturas o en los huesos dañados. El mismo artículo alerta sobre la incompatibilidad existente entre la ingesta de fármacos de del grupo de los antiinflamatorios y la recuperación de cualquier fractura o lesión ósea.

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