One of my partners is prone to kidney stones and if there one experience I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy, that is it. There is probably no equivalent on the pain level level of kidney stones, save childbirth, and many women who have had children and kidney stones would tell you kidney stones are worse. The last time he had an attack, he had to go to the ER and after a few shots of morphine, the stone finally passed. You can actually pass small kidney stones and not even know it, but bigger stones, which range from the tip of a pencil to the size of a pencil eraser, are a different matter altogether. Medical experts aren't exactly sure what causes kidney stones.That's right. Doctors, even with all the advances in technology, still don't have the answers to many medical problems. The only thing they know for sure, here, is that diet plays a role. What you eat affects the kinds and amounts of minerals that accumulate in the urine...minerals that, in some people, lead to the formation of stones. The most important thing to take away from this is that if you've passed one stone, the odds are pretty good that you'll pass another.Your doctor can identify what kind of stones you have and that is important, because changes in your diet can help, particularly with the two most common stones, which are uric acid and calcium stones. Potassium is a "stone crusher" and you can get it into your diet by eating bananas, or citrus fruit, such as oranges, or grapefruit. You can also use a supplement, but if you eat the fruit, you also get the fiber, which is important. Magnesium is also important and helps to control another mineral called oxalate (oxalic acid). Oxalate is one of the main constituents of kidney stones. Fish, rice, avocados and broccoli contain good amounts of magnesium.Your doctor may recommend that you stay away from, or restrict, certain foods, like chocolate, peanuts and other nuts, spinach and strawberries. Most of the time, he'll tell you you can eat these foods, just don't eat them more than once a week. Fiber can also help. I don't recommend you add commercial fiber, just eat real food with a higher fiber content. For example, don't drink apple juice; eat the apple, instead. Many people that suffer from kidney stones also have their energy levels drop. You can stay on top of this by taking my Heart Charging Formula. This special, highly bioavailable form of CoQ10 will give you the boost you need to stay in balance:
http://www.favoriteformulas.com/CoQ10formula?awt_l=7D9CN&awt_m=JoEzYIpALgZIrW
I'll be back tomorrow with more. With my best wishes for your optimum health,.............
Dr. Bill
11.24.2010
Are Hot Peppers Good For You?
Every now and then, I like some food with some real zip. It's not an everyday kind of thing, it's just something I like once in a while. And I like to eat that spicy food during the day, not at night. Eating really hot food at night rattles my system a little too much. As more and more ethnic restaurants appear on the horizon, peppers of all kinds are making appearances in the marketplace. It used to be that jalapenos were the hottest peppers you could find at the grocery store, but no more. In a market I visited this weekend,
there were probably two dozen peppers that fell into the "hot" category. Many of them were hot, way beyond my capacity to tolerate. But I saw many people test them, by just biting in. Some of those would have blown my head right off, but didn't appear to affect the testers, in any way. When I grew up, people would tell you that hot food wasn't good for you. It was their way of steering you away from Indian and Chinese cuisine and keeping you coming back, for the blander, milder things that they produced. As I got older and a little more well traveled, I began to get bored with all the everyday stuff I'd been feeding on for years. It started in the Caribbean, where I was introduced to a number of things that had a heat level I wasn't used to. Then it continued in Mexico and in a good number of joints in New York.
Peppers are filled with nutrients that have been shown to battle cancer, heart disease and eye problems, specifically cataracts.
Peppers are full of beta carotene and vitamin C. Beta carotene plays a huge role in keeping the body's immune system healthy. Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant. One cup of red bell pepper has twice the amount of Vitamin C as an orange, which is usually regarded as "the source" for vitamin C. Eating peppers raw is the best way to get the most out of them, as cooking destroys many of the nutrients. This is where the Mexicans had everything figured out, when they came up with salsa, one of the greatest ways to get a good amount of pepper in your system. And the wonderful thing about salsa is that you can use all colors of pepper, not to mention that you can vary the heat level to your own taste.
Hot peppers won't hurt you, if you exercise caution. If you're not used to them, start down at the bottom of the heat scale. Peppers have their own heat rating, called the Scoville scale. Bell Peppers are at the bottom and you can move up, in steps. I never got past the Serrano stage, which is about 6000 on the Scoville scale. Habernero's run at about 250,000 on the index, and can light you up. A friend of mine once slapped habernero sauce on everything at a BBQ. It can fool you, because it can have a sweet front end. He ended up in the hospital where they had to cool him off (they used ice cream). He also needed some cooling salve for one of his body parts. But the heat you can stand is good for you and the antoxidants will keep flu and common colds at a distance. A very quick, and supercharged antioxidant drink would be 5 carrots and 2 green peppers, in a juicer. I often add a pepper, of some sort, to my morning smoothie and wash down my Heart Charging Formula with it:
http://www.favoriteformulas.com/CoQ10formula?awt_l=7D9CN&awt_m=JxAVN21wLgZIrW
Lately, that concoction consists of 1 cup of fresh pinneapple, a banana, 1 cup of celery, 1 cup of cucumber, a pepper, half an apple, and two cups of spinach. I add a little water and blend, then drink that all morning. You could add a protein powder to that, if you wanted to, as well. I'll be back with more tomorrow. With my best wishes for your optimum health,..................
Dr. Bill
there were probably two dozen peppers that fell into the "hot" category. Many of them were hot, way beyond my capacity to tolerate. But I saw many people test them, by just biting in. Some of those would have blown my head right off, but didn't appear to affect the testers, in any way. When I grew up, people would tell you that hot food wasn't good for you. It was their way of steering you away from Indian and Chinese cuisine and keeping you coming back, for the blander, milder things that they produced. As I got older and a little more well traveled, I began to get bored with all the everyday stuff I'd been feeding on for years. It started in the Caribbean, where I was introduced to a number of things that had a heat level I wasn't used to. Then it continued in Mexico and in a good number of joints in New York.
Peppers are filled with nutrients that have been shown to battle cancer, heart disease and eye problems, specifically cataracts.
Peppers are full of beta carotene and vitamin C. Beta carotene plays a huge role in keeping the body's immune system healthy. Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant. One cup of red bell pepper has twice the amount of Vitamin C as an orange, which is usually regarded as "the source" for vitamin C. Eating peppers raw is the best way to get the most out of them, as cooking destroys many of the nutrients. This is where the Mexicans had everything figured out, when they came up with salsa, one of the greatest ways to get a good amount of pepper in your system. And the wonderful thing about salsa is that you can use all colors of pepper, not to mention that you can vary the heat level to your own taste.
Hot peppers won't hurt you, if you exercise caution. If you're not used to them, start down at the bottom of the heat scale. Peppers have their own heat rating, called the Scoville scale. Bell Peppers are at the bottom and you can move up, in steps. I never got past the Serrano stage, which is about 6000 on the Scoville scale. Habernero's run at about 250,000 on the index, and can light you up. A friend of mine once slapped habernero sauce on everything at a BBQ. It can fool you, because it can have a sweet front end. He ended up in the hospital where they had to cool him off (they used ice cream). He also needed some cooling salve for one of his body parts. But the heat you can stand is good for you and the antoxidants will keep flu and common colds at a distance. A very quick, and supercharged antioxidant drink would be 5 carrots and 2 green peppers, in a juicer. I often add a pepper, of some sort, to my morning smoothie and wash down my Heart Charging Formula with it:
http://www.favoriteformulas.com/CoQ10formula?awt_l=7D9CN&awt_m=JxAVN21wLgZIrW
Lately, that concoction consists of 1 cup of fresh pinneapple, a banana, 1 cup of celery, 1 cup of cucumber, a pepper, half an apple, and two cups of spinach. I add a little water and blend, then drink that all morning. You could add a protein powder to that, if you wanted to, as well. I'll be back with more tomorrow. With my best wishes for your optimum health,..................
Dr. Bill
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