Gillian Martlew, N.D.

Pizza Pizza

Pizza is made from white flour and cheese. White flour and water are used to make wallpaper paste. Casein, a protein found in milk and milk products, was the main ingredient in Elmer’s Glue (Elmer the cow is still on the label). So pizza is wallpaper paste and Elmer’s glue. Nice.

Just Say No To Plastic

Never, Never, Never store food in plastic containers. Hot foods and oily foods attract the plasticizer chemicals from the container. When you eat those foods, the carcinogenic and estrogen mimicking chemicals are attracted to fatty areas of your body, especially the breast, reproductive organs and brain. For more information see my ‘Endocrine Distrupting Chemicals’ article.

Mercury in Your Food

FDA data shows that salmon contains much lower average mercury levels than tuna, and that some tuna contains less than others. Albacore contains 3 times as much mercury as chunk-light (0.353 ppm vs. 0.118 ppm). Canned chunk-light tuna usually contains skipjack tuna, (a smaller species) and averages lower mercury levels, but the cans sometimes contain yellow-fin tuna (0.325 ppm), labeled incorrectly. Also, a study found that trawl-caught albacore mercury levels are lower (0.14 ppm vs. 0.353 ppm) because they are younger than long-line-caught albacore. Check this website http://www.gotmercury.org/index.html to calculate the amount of mercury in different types of seafood.

Fitting Exercise Into Your Schedule

If you are struggling to fit exercise into your schedule, and have given up because you can’t get to the gym or go for a ‘real’ walk, here’s a way to get some exercise that counts towards good health: take a 10 minute walk around the block in the morning, and three more 10-minute walking breaks throughout the day. According to the experts it really counts towards maintaining a healthier cardiovascular system.

Processed Meats

A University of Hawaii study of over 200,000 people who were eating processed meats drew the HORRIFYING conclusion that…eating processed meat increases cancer risk (especially cancers of the stomach and pancreas) by over 6000% !!! Why? Because chemical preservatives like sodium nitrate and sodium nitrite are extremely carcinogenic.

Help Curb Heartburn

To help curb occasional mild heartburn: go for a walk after eating (especially after a fatty meal), and chew gum. People who chewed gum for an hour after a meal had
less reflux. Avoid mint gum (or mint herbal tea) because mint can increase heartburn by relaxing the sphincter that prevents reflux.

Arterial Health

Which poses the greatest threat arterial health? blood pressure of 160/90 or LDL (bad) cholesterol level of 200 mg/dL or a large helping of fried zucchinisticks, or not enough exercise? Answer: Blood pressure 160/90 or greater is 3 x more likely to cause
artery problems. But you still need to exercise, eat sensibly and keep your LDL in the healthy range.

BEWARE High Fructose Corn Syrup

High fructose corn syrup HFCS is a cheap alternative to cane sugar. HFCS is converted into fat in the body more readily than other sugars and is adding to the obesity epidemic in the US. HFCS raises triglycerides, cholesterol and LDLs. Nasty stuff.

BEWARE Fried Foods

Fried and processed foods contain acrylamide, a potentially cancer-causing chemical that is a by-product of cooking at high temperatures. Acrylamide is classified as a probable human carcinogen, causes cancer and neurotoxic effects in animals, and neurological damage in humans exposed in the work-place.

Good Fish, Bad Fish

Wild salmon contains about 0.014 parts per million mercury concentration, and tuna around 0.014 parts per million depending on what type of tuna you eat. Albacore can contain 3 x as much as chunk-light from skipjack tuna.

Research on Curry & Inflammation

Research has shown that the substance commonly found in turmeric (a spice added to most curry mixes) has anti-inflammatory properties. The substance, curcumin, works in a similar way to NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs). Do not use curry or tumeric if you have any allergic reactions to it.

Bleeding Gums

Vitamin C stops bleeding gums which are one of the first signs of scurvy! If your dentist has given you a clean bill of dental health but your gums still bleed, you may need to take more vitamin C with bioflavonoids, and work to establish good gut health.

5 Worst Foods

Doughnuts are fried, full of sugar and white flour, and almost all contain trans fat. An average doughnut provides about 200—300 calories, mostly from sugar, and about 35-40% trans fat. Eating doughnuts is one of the worst ways to start your day; they disrupt blood sugar, lead to weight gain, create more hunger for carbohydrates, and increase heart disease and cancer risk.

Salt Alternative

Common herbs like oregano, thyme, rosemary, parsley and garlic bring out the natural flavors in food and can be a great alternative to added salt. Do not use these herbs if you have any allergic reaction to them.

Prevent E-Coli Infections

Populations of healthy gut bacteria can virtually eliminate the dangers of E. coli infection because they ‘eat’ this pathogenic bacteria and boost your immune system. Many herbs are also allies in the fight against pathogenic infections: garlic, onion, ginger, basil, thyme, oregano etc, contain antipathogenic phytochemicals. Please contact your medical doctor if you believe you have been infected.

Dangers of Microwave Popcorn

Microwave popcorn bags contain a form of Teflon non-stick coating which, at the high temperatures produced while microwaving popcorn, liberate perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), a likely carcinogen into the popcorn. An FDA study has revealed that PFOA could be present in millions of bags of popcorn. Be safe, pop your popcorn with an air popper.

Is a Neurotransmitter Imbalance to Blame?

I can run a simple test for you to measure neuro-transmitters. What this means in English, is that I am now able to rapidly and very effectively address issues such as ADD/ADHD, anxiety and panic disorders, fatigue and glandular exhaustion, depression and mood problems, sleep disorders, lack of libido, hot flashes and hormone imbalances.

Vitamin E for Restless Legs

Vitamin E taken before bed stops restless legs. It also works to stop restless legs on long journeys and during air travel. If you have high blood pressure or are taking medication for your heart do not take vitamin E without supervision. Check my website for more information on vitamin E safety.

Sesame Stix Warning

Those crunchy little ‘sesame stix’ sold in health stores are deep fried in goodness-knows-what oil, and left to turn rancid in bulk bins. I have never figured out what they are doing in HEALTH stores! If you value your health, AVOID THEM.

5 Absolute Worst Foods SODA

One can of soda contains about 10 teaspoons of sugar, 150 calories, 30 to 55 mg of caffeine, and artificial food colors and sulfites. Diet sodas contain harmful artificial sweeteners like aspartame. Studies have linked soda to osteoporosis, obesity, tooth decay and heart disease. Eliminating soda from your diet is one of the simplest and most profound health improvements you can make.

Splenda

Splenda (sucralose) is an artificial no-calorie sweetener created by replacing sugar’s hydrogen-oxygen molecules with chlorine. There are no long-term studies confirming the safety of ingesting Splenda. We do know that dioxin is present in chlorine and, when consumed, it accumulates in the body’s fatty tissues and acts as an estrogen mimic. See my article, ‘Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals’

Tire Pressure & Gas Mileage

If everyone kept their tires running at the correct pressure—we would save over 750 million gallons of gas in the US every year.

Tune Up Your Mower

Tune up your lawn mower this summer and save around 2 gallons of gas and the pollution equivalent of a 26 mile drive. Take it to a repair shop or do it yourself with instructions and a $10.00 kit from mowertuneup.com

Learning Difficulties & Wheat

Some forms of “wheat allergy” (associated with learning problems and difficulty concentrating) may actually be a neuro-toxic reaction to the pesticide residues in wheat. These pesticides are by definition neurotoxins—that is how they affect the insects they are intended to destroy.

Unavoidable Toxins

In 2003 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the most extensive in-vivo (body burden) chemical study to date. Blood and urine samples were taken from 2,500 people, and every sample contained traces of the 116 chemicals that were being tested. Our own bodies also produce toxic by-products from metabolism and the breakdown of foods into energy.

Onions for Coughs and Colds

Traditionally, onions were baked whole in the oven or used in soups or broths to stop coughs and colds.

Nausea and stomach cramps

Ginger contains gingerols, which help curb nausea and stomach distress. Traditionally it has also been used as a remedy for period cramps by grating 1 teaspoon of ginger root into a cup, and adding about 6-8 oz of hot (not boiling) water and sipping. You can sip this ‘tea’ up to 3 times a day if you need more soothing help. Do not use ginger if you have any allergic reaction to it.

Copyright©2009 Gillian Martlew, ND. May not be reproduced in any form whatsoever or copied or stored in an information retrieval system, or made available on a website without written permission of the author.