Many of us have done a detox in order to eliminate internal toxins from our body, but how many of us do anything about the toxins in our own homes? Common household and body-care products are increasingly being found to have negative health effects on the nervous and immune systems, on our reproductive systems and on our endocrine, cardiovascular and respiratory systems.

The average home contains 500-1,000 chemicals, many of which we are unable to see, smell or taste. While these chemicals may be tolerated individually and in small doses, problems can arise when one is exposed to them in combination or in larger doses. Everyone’s tolerance level is different depending on genetics, nutritional status and previous contacts with many chemicals, but the negative effects of household toxins are often compounded by the use of other drugs especially the habitual use of alcohol, or prescription or recreational drugs.

Indoor air is typically 2-5 times more polluted than outdoor air. Home insulation, so wonderful for keeping our homes warm in winter and cool in summer, doesn’t allow fresh air in, so we’re constantly breathing in the same stale air. Wall to wall carpeting keeps us cozy, but can introduce a myriad of toxins to our well insulated homes. It can also trap dirt, fleas, dust, dust-mites and lead.

Many of the cleaning products we use to clean our furniture, bathrooms, windows etc. are full of toxic chemicals, some of which do not even appear on the labels. Similarly with the many personal-care care products we put on our skin and the pet-care products we use on our pets.

Most tick and flea products contain active ingredients and solvents that might cause cancer in animals. Also, substantial human exposure is possible by absorption through the skin, while playing with and handling the pet.

The pesticides we use on our gardens eliminate not only plant pests but also most of the insects that are beneficial to help control these pests. Of the 30 most commonly used lawn chemicals, 19 have studies pointing toward cancer and 15 are known to cause nervous system poisoning.

This is not to say that we should not keep our houses comfortable and clean and our yards looking good. What’s important is to understand that how we do this can have an important impact on our health. Abundant toxins can and do lead to health problems.

Taking more care to reduce our exposure to both internal and external toxins, by detoxing our bodies and our living space allows the body’s own detoxification to function more efficiently. This strengthens our resilience to the daily onslaught of factors impacting our health.

There are many things you can do to “detox” your home, some more practical than others.

Here are my 20 suggestions:

1.  No shoes in the house (as most household dirt, pesticides and lead come in on your shoes). Go barefoot or wear slippers.

2.  Place floor mats vertically by your entryways to wipe your shoes. This way more dirt and residue from your shoes stays outside on the mat

3.  Keep the air clean. Keep your windows and doors open as much as possible to ventilate. Use green plants as natural air detoxifiers. Remove odors with baking soda. Use fresh flowers or bowls of herbs like rosemary and sage to add a pleasant fragrance to rooms. Have your air ducts and vents cleaned with nontoxic cleaners. Get a portable air cleaner/purifier, especially for the bedrooms.

4.    Switch from the standard household cleaning products to cleaner and greener ones. These don’t damage your health or the environment’s as much and work as well as the mass marketed ones. You can also use basic ingredients you have around the house, for instance, vinegar in place of bleach, baking soda to scrub your tiles and hydrogen peroxide to remove stains. According to Annie Bond, the author of “Better Basics For The Home,” she can clean anything with water and these five basic ingredients: Baking Soda, Washing Soda, Distilled White Vinegar, Vegetable based liquid Soap eg Dr. Bronner’s Peppermint Soap and Tea Tree oil.

5.  Replace your skin care and personal products with less toxic and chemical free options. Deodorant, toothpaste, cosmetics, hair products, nail polish and perfumes are often loaded with toxins. Learn how to identify them and avoid them.

6.  Use plastics wisely (as some contain Bisphenol A (BPA), which is linked to cancer and Phtalates, which are linked to endocrine and developmental problems). Avoid plastic food packaging (when you can). Don’t wrap food in plastic. Don’t microwave food in plastic containers. Choose baby bottles made from glass or BPA-free plastic. Avoid vinyl teethers for your baby. Stay away from children’s toys marked with a “3″ or “PVC.” Avoid plastic shower curtains.

7.  Avoid non stick pans, pots, bakeware and utensils (as Teflon contains perfluorinated chemicals (PFC’s) which have been linked to cancer and developmental problems).

8. Keep house dust to a minimum (as more dust means more toxins). Mop all surfaces at least once a week. Use a vacuum cleaner (with a HEPA filter, preferably) for your carpets. HEPA-filter vacuums capture the widest range of particles and get rid of allergens.

9. Avoid excess moisture (as it encourages the growth of mold and mildew). Check areas for moisture accumulation or leaks (particularly basements). Regularly clean surfaces where mold usually grows – around showers and tubs and beneath sinks.

10.  Get a shower filter (as many of the contaminants in tap water become gases at room temperature). A shower filter can help keep these toxins from becoming airborne.

11.  Get a water filter (as more than 700 chemicals have been identified in drinking water). Filtering your tap water is better than drinking bottled water.

12. Avoid stain-guarded clothing, furniture and carpets (due to the presence of PFC’s). Wrinkle free and permanent press fabrics used for clothing and bedding commonly contain formaldehyde – use untreated fabrics where possible.

13. Be conscious of toxins in carpeting, especially in products made from synthetic materials. Use natural fiber wool & cotton rugs. If possible, replace your wall-to-wall carpeting with hardwood floors, all natural linoleum or ceramic tiles. Use nontoxic glues, adhesives, stains or sealers for installation.

14. Seal (with a non toxic sealer) or replace particleboard walls, floors or cabinets (which often contain formaldehyde, which can emit irritating and unhealthy fumes for decades). Avoid plywood, fiberglass, fiberboard and paneling

15. Avoid harmful pet-care products and avoid toxic pest control (including traditional termite exterminators).

16. Replace toxic lawn and garden pesticides and herbicides with less harmful natural ones.

17. Tell the dry cleaner not to use the plastic wrap or remove it as soon as possible (as the plastic traps the dry cleaning chemicals on clothes and in your closet). Let your dry cleaning air out (preferably outside) before storing it. Use “wet cleaning” if you are lucky enough to have it in your area.

18. Use low VOC, low odor latex (water based) paint. Open all windows to ventilate properly when painting indoors.

19. Have your house checked for carbon monoxide leaks, (most commonly found in leaking gas stoves, gas fireplaces, furnaces and chimneys and gas water heaters).

20. Check Radon levels in poorly ventilated basements that have cracked walls and or floors.  Radon is an odorless gas that forms as uranium in rocks and soil breaks down. Radon is linked to lung cancer

We can reduce our risk of chronic illness by limiting our exposure to these toxins but don’t let this become an obsession which can cause so much stress that it creates more of a negative impact on your health than the toxins themselves.

And finally, no amount of environmental toxins are as important as emotional toxicity. You can do all the above, but if your house is full of anger, resentment, jealousy, unhappiness and a lack of love, compassion and forgiveness, the house will remain toxic.

If you’re a patient who has incorporated complementary and alternative medicine into your health care regimen, you may have bumped up against some resistance on both sides of the healing fence. Your doctor may think your homeopath is a total quack selling snake oil, and your homeopath may think your doctor is a big thug, thwacking his pharmaceutical hammer at anything that moves.

Your doctor may insist that you stop all of your herbs, cancel your acupuncture appointment, and ditch the flower essences that were lovingly prepared for you.

On the flip side, your complementary and alternative medicine providers may poo poo traditional Western treatments that you choose to pursue.

In fact, I knew a brother and sister – he was a gastroenterologist MD and she was a naturopathic doctor. Both went to medical school for four years to learn their craft, and both specialized in gastrointestinal disorders. And yet, they couldn’t discuss medicine without knock-down, drag out, screaming hissy fit fights. He thought she was delusional. She thought he was a closed-minded snob who was merely frightened of what he didn’t understand.

It made Thanksgivings very awkward.

The God Complex

I believe that much of this awkwardness between various types of health care professionals stems from wounds we’ve suffered at each other’s hands. Many doctors lord themselves over other health care providers as if they’re the gods and everyone else should bow at their golden feet, (which is why I offered this global apology to nurses, techs, and complementary and alternative health care providers here).

In fact, when I was invited by a group of acupuncturists, therapists, massage therapists, and nutritionists to come join their integrative medicine practice, they confessed that they had never invited a physician before because they didn’t want someone getting all God-Complex on them, treating them as underlings down the totem pole. They said they knew I wasn’t one of those physicians, and they invited me to come be an equal partner at the healing round table, where all health care providers were on equal footing, not only with each other, but with the patient. I was genuinely touched and honored. It was exactly in line with my own philosophy of how health care should be delivered, as I spelled out here.

And it’s not just doctor-patient relationships or doctor-alternative health care provider relationships that are suffering.

I once heard a respected physician (albeit a tired one) say to a brilliant nurse, “Let’s play a little game. I’ll play doctor. You play nurse. I’ll give the orders, and you FOLLOW THEM.”

What is happening to us?

These kinds of stories trouble me deeply, because they speak to a much greater dysfunction within our broken, outdated patriarchal system of The Old Medicine. This dictatorial, condescending, hierarchical mindset more closely resembles the way our military is structured than the way I believe healing systems should operate. And while doctors in the trenches may feel they are at war against disease, replicating war-like methods of communication within hospitals and patient exam rooms serves no one and doesn’t lend itself to healing.

When you practice love, with a little medicine on the side (as I described here), there’s no place for war.

Yet, as health care practitioners, many of us have been hurt within the health care system. Like abused children who go on to become abusers, we are tempted to perpetuate the cycle. And in the face of numerous stressors, we often fail to heal the wounds that have been inflicted upon us. When we suppress, rather than heal, these wounds, we lash out. We hurt others. And in the process, we dim our lights and reduce our healing superpowers.

Patients, nurses, alternative health providers, hospital workers, and doctors have all been severely wounded by the current health care system. We feel battle-scarred and disoriented, traumatized and diminished. We’ve been criticized, ostracized, demoralized, and trivialized. We feel overworked, underpaid, unappreciated, and attacked. Those of us who have recognized the power we have to heal ourselves may have been flicked off like annoying little bugs.

It’s no wonder we feel hurt. (This is why I apologized to all the wounded doctors out there and all the patients and other health care providers.)

Instead of having our healing gifts cherished and nurtured by the system, they have been bashed and bruised, chopped off and belittled. It’s easy to forget why we were called to practice our healing arts to begin with. We might feel so wounded that we choose to throw in the towel and escape a system that just hurts too much. But as tempting as it is to bail from our callings, because the current health care system is so broken, the world needs us now more than ever.

Now is the time to rise up. As heart-centered patients and practitioners, we must lead the way. We are the future of health care. But we can’t change the future until we join hands in the present.

Healing Old Wounds

In order to serve out our missions as healers, we need to first heal ourselves and then band together with others – healers and patients alike. Together, we would become a formidable force others couldn’t ignore. Our voice would be heard across the world, as we stand for what is right and true and necessary.

Until doctors, patients, and all the others at the healing round table accept this lack of hierarchy, we will never optimize health care delivery the way I envision in Pink Medicine. As the patient, you may feel uncomfortably stuck in the middle, uncertain how to proceed.

Whether you’re a patient or a practitioner, in order to make a difference in the future of health care, we must start by healing the past. So let’s make an effort to forgive how we’ve been wronged and release the hurts we’ve experienced.

Let’s write down every grievance we have, get pissed, rant, cry, scream, and stomp our feet until we let it all out. If you want, share your stories, rants, and nightmares in this Healing Your Health Care Wounds group I’ve created in the Owning Pink Community, I’ll bear witness to what you’ve experienced – along with others – so you can feel heard.

Then together, we can have a release ceremony. We can burn our grievances, throw the ashes into the ocean, tear our sadness and anger into shreds and bury the shards beneath the earth. Do whatever you need to do to let go.

In order to manifest big change in the world, we need to move past our anger and lead with love. Once we have navigated our way through the anger, and released our charge on the subject, we can move forward into forgiveness. We can open our hearts and invite in compassion for those who have hurt us.

Only then can we really make a global difference in how health care is delivered.

The Healing Round Table

There are hundreds of thousands – millions even – of patients and health care providers who long to bring love back to medicine. We are a quiet but increasingly vocal and powerful force. As empowered patients, healers and light workers, we are infinitely powerful, and yet, because the current health care system has discredited or trampled upon many of us, we may not recognize the power we have. Instead of uniting together to enhance our collective power, some of us have fragmented, splitting into unnecessarily opposing factions, competing rather than collaborating, turning against each other, when we are allies.

We are all equal players at the healing round table. There is no hierarchy. No doctor at the top of the pyramid, no technician at the bottom, no patient excluded, the way some systems might lead you to believe. No – we are all in this together, and we need you to hop on board and help us change the system.

Will You Take Your Seat At The Healing Round Table?

This is a call to action. As the patient, you get the seat of honor. As a healer, you are on equal footing with all other healers. There are no pedestals, no hierarchy, no egoic complexes. Just remarkable people gathered together with the intention of healing.

Are you one of those people? Do you know one?

I invite you to share this post with them. And make sure you become a Pink Medicine Revolutionary so you can be part of this growing tribe of special people dedicated to helping me change the world.

Pull up a seat, love. Settle in. There’s healing to be done here.

What if I told you caring for your body was the LEAST important part of your health? Watch my TEDx talk here to learn the MOST important part. If you’re ready to write the prescription for yourself click here to learn more about the free training I offer.

Pulling my own chair up to the table,

Lissa Rankin, MD

A couple of weeks ago I did a talk with the amazing Trudie Styler at ABC Carpet and Home. We talked about a wide variety of  topics including organic farming, the environment, philanthropy, aging and of course, my passion at the moment…modern wheat, or what  we are calling wheat but is actually more goatgrass. This segment is all about the problems with modern wheat.

Click here to view the embedded video.

What’s your relationship like to your breath? Do you have one?

There are days that go by when I think I take about two full breaths. Sound familiar? I have a magnet on my vision board that reminds me to breathe, and a huge “Inhale, Exhale” card obviously doing the same. But it’s still not enough. I mean, how many reminders do we need?

We’re basically lazy when it comes to breathing, don’t you think? We are so used to the breath always being with us, that we unequivocally take it for granted. We’re too so often checked out of our bodies, that we believe we breathe with our brains.

More than seven years ago, when I was pregnant with my first child, this was made abundantly clear. I had a random and terrifying panic attack. I literally couldn’t find my breath — it was so shallow and constricted — and my mind went crazy searching for it. Only when I dropped out of my head and re-inhabited my body did breathing kick in, and my lungs soften to receive it.

Seriously, we shouldn’t have to wait around for something acute like this to happen to get us to pay attention to our breathing. If you’re not convinced, here are five of my favorite reasons to be conscious of the breath:

1. It is cleansing – In with the new, the fresh and the vibrant. Out with the old, the toxic and the unnecessary. I find this to be such a relief. Before signing up for the next best juice cleanse, apply this same intention for ridding yourself of built-up residue in a series of focused, conscious breaths. Here, you are essentially asking your body to promote the healing and ablution of itself. Talk about empowering.

2. It is conductive – When you direct healing breath into sore parts of your body, it helps to alleviate pain. How many times have you had a massage where the masseuse asks you to breathe into the tight muscle that he or she is working on? Breath not only helps you release muscle tension, but it also energetically harnesses the power of the mind to support such release.

3. It is calming – Nothing like a few deep breaths to quiet you down when you are aggravated and on edge. There’s also a reason for the classic recommendation to step away from an argument, take 10 deep breaths and collect yourself before engaging again. In fact, awareness of breath is a miracle worker when it comes to riding the tumultuous waves of anger, or intense stress and fear responses. The key is slow, steady breathing in replacement of the jagged, hollow rasping that grips most of us when in the throes of difficult emotions.

4. It is centering – With each inhale and exhale you are drawn inwards, and into deeper awareness of yourself. The capacity for breathing to enable us to actually withdraw from overstimulus and the hyped-up pace of the outer world is glorious, and an incredible tool. The beauty here is that it is available even in the most public of places, as no one will really notice on the train or standing in line or in a waiting room if you close your eyes, take the moment to touch that sweet peace inside, and connect more deeply with your true self.

5. It is connective – The breath acts as a link to spirit, synchronizing body and mind. Yoga poses can be wonderful precursors to a quiet sitting breathing practice, and are inherently supportive of the body-mind-spirit triad. Still, if yoga isn’t your thing, the breath alone can bring you into a place of expansiveness, where a sense of profound unity with the universal energy both in and all around you is brought about through the steadiness of mind and the relaxation of the body through, quite simply, the inhale and the exhale.

In meditation, we are often encouraged to count our breaths. Maybe this sounds incredibly dull to you, like counting sheep to put you to sleep. Yet in my son’s bedtime book, Russell the Sheep, Russell is a sheep who tries desperately hard to fall asleep, but he just can’t settle down. He tries counting everything, until he finally decides to count sheep or essentially count on himself. Guess what, it works. Finally, relaxed enough, he dozes off.

Breathing is like this, too. When we count our breath, we count on our breath. We discover it is the ticket back to ourselves. The breath both coaches and coaxes us into self-reliance, not only for relaxation into sleeping states, but also for profound letting go in superlatively chaotic and awake states. What a tool!

The beauty of breath is that it is, for most of us, always available. It is, after all, what makes living in these blessed and temperamental bodies possible, right? So please, if nothing else, honor your breathing. Believe in it. Really value it. Consciously BREATHE.

For more by Maggie Lyon, click here.

For more on mindfulness, click here.

Follow Maggie Lyon on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@MaggieLyon

It’s time we had a serious discussion about your mouth and what you’re doing to it to promote its health. Are you harming you body without even realizing it? Chances are, you are. While many of us are fanatical about brushing and flossing, if you’re using a toxin-packed toothpaste and an alcohol-soaked mouthwash, you may be doing more harm than good. Here are a few thoughts on how to keep your mouth healthy without harming the rest of your body, what to look for and what to steer clear of:

Toothpaste is like brushing with flavored detergent.
Toothpaste. Come to think of it, you might be better off waxing the floors with it! If you take a moment to consider the ingredients commonly found in the average tube, it’s hard to ignore that toothpaste ingredients – and what they do to the body — are extremely alarming. In fact many of the chemicals found in toothpaste have been linked to skin disorders, rashes, sores, hormonal changes and even breast cancer. Among the top ingredients to avoid due to their carcinogenic and/or endocrine disruptive effects: titanium dioxide; parabens, proplybaraben, methylparaben; toxic-to-humans triclosan and sodium lauryl sulfate, also known as SLS or sulfate. Other ingredients to avoid: dioxane, blue dye 1 and 2, propylene glycol, sodium fluoride and hydroxide, hydrogen peroxide and sodium monofluorophosphate. And while some may scoff and think, “Well, it’s not like I’m eating the stuff,” the fact of the matter is, in effect, you are by delivering multiple doses of toxins directly into your body every time you brush. Though it might not seem like much, the cumulative effects can be health destroying, so I say, why take the risk?

Put on your HAZ-MAT suit and brush.
Here’s a better idea: switch to a toothpaste that’s lower on the biohazard scale. According to the consumer safety advocates and all-around smart scientists over Skin Deep, the Environmental Working Group’s cosmetics safety arm, among the best toothpastes are Cleure, Tom’s of Maine Natural Antiplaque Toothpaste and Arganat All Natural Clay Toothpaste. Although they are not completely chemical-free, they score highest in terms of safety, meaning they contain the fewest hazardous ingredients. Another interesting health-oriented brand is Retivin, which is infused with antioxidants, including CO-Enzyme Q10, Selenium, Vitamins C and E plus several homeopathic tissue salts to help balance the ecology of the mouth.

Don’t be “Listerine clean.”
Now I am all for a clean mouth – as a healthy mouth is essential to reducing inflammation and sustaining good health throughout your body – but for those of you who were raised on the notion of “Listerine clean,” it’s time to let it go. As in stop putting that stuff anywhere near your mouth. Why? Well, aside from the foul taste, Listerine, along with most other mouthwashes, is loaded with alcohol. The alcohol dries out the mouth and all that drying action has been linked to increased risk for oral cancer.

Rinse, don’t wash.
For the millions of mouthwash addicts out there, kicking the mouthwash habit can be a challenge. They say their mouths just don’t feel as clean unless they’ve finished with mouthwash – likening it to the icing on their dental care cake. Problem is, most mouthwashes can do more harm than good –they’re more marketing vehicle than an absolute mouth-health must have. My advice? Save your money, reduce your thrice-daily exposure to toxins (as well as those plastic containers) and just brush, floss and tongue-scrape after every meal to maintain mouth health.

I can’t quit ya’.
Not ready to kick the bottle just yet? Then switch to a less harmful brew or take it a step further, make your own and store it in glass. Lose the industrial mouth detergent cocktails and switch to gentler, alcohol-free washes like Miessence Certified Organic Freshening Mouthwash, Beauty with a Cause Mouthwash or Tom’s of Main Peppermint Mouthwash, all of which receive high marks from the Environmental Working Group. If you’re more of a do-it-yourself type, then brew up a few shots of your own mouthwash by combining 8 oz water (preferably filtered or spring, without fluoride) with heaping teaspoon of baking soda plus 4 -6 drops of organic peppermint oil. Swish, spit and enjoy!

The benefits of various vitamins, or nutritional supplements, are mentioned almost every day in the news. But with all the reports it can be confusing to know what vitamins do what. So here is a quick look at some of the major vitamins and minerals.

Studies indicate potential benefits and adverse effects of vitamins and minerals:

• Vitamin D may help prevent winter illnesses like colds and flu (this benefit was shown for post-menopausal women). Some people with low vitamin D levels might experience improvement in joint or muscle pain, depression or immunity when taking vitamin D. Vitamin D could help reduce the risk of falls and fractures in elderly people and improve dental health. Vitamin D may also help reduce the risk of breast cancer in post-menopausal women and of colon cancer in men and women. But too much Vitamin D can increase the risk of kidney stones.

• Vitamin C supplements might decrease the risk of cataracts and the severity of colds and protect the stomach from the irritant effects of aspirin. High doses of vitamin C may cause stomach pain or diarrhea, however.

• Vitamin A supplements (in the form of retinol) may boost immune responses and decrease the severity of acne, but too much vitamin A can cause liver disease, bone loss, dry skin and headaches.

• Beta-carotene supplements (a precursor of vitamin A) may help decrease the risk of colon cancer and improve immune function in the elderly, but they were shown to increase the risk of lung cancer in smokers and to interfere with the benefits of statin drugs, which are used to reduce cholesterol. One problem with beta-carotene supplements is that there are many related nutrients called carotenoids, which have more powerful effects than beta-carotene. Taking beta-carotene may reduce the blood level of these other carotenoids (lutein, lycopene, astaxanthin, cryptoxanthin, alpha-carotene).

• Vitamin E supplements may either improve or hinder strong immune responses in the elderly. Vitamin E can interfere with the benefits of statin drugs, which are used for reducing cholesterol levels. One problem with vitamin E supplements is that there are many related molecules, called tocopherols, which make up the vitamin E family. Most studies use a synthetic form of vitamin E called d, l-alphatocopherol. The natural form of alphatocopherol is d-alphatocopherol and giving d, l-alphatocopherol may be the wrong way to test the effects of vitamin E. In addition, there are other tocopherols (beta, gamma and delta tocopherols) that may have important effects in the body. Taking any form of alphatocopherol can reduce the blood levels of these other tocopherols. Gamma tocopherol is a more potent antioxidant than alphatocopherol and is the major tocopherol in the U.S. diet.

• Supplements of zinc, along with vitamin B6, selenium and lutein may reduce the risk or severity of macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindiness in the US. Zinc may also improve immunity and healing, reduce severity of acne and help antidepressants work better, especially for people with low levels of zinc in plasma. High doses of zinc have been used to treat tinnitus and to prevent sickle crises in people with sick cell anemia. Too much zinc can create a deficiency of copper, which may adversely affect neurological function, thyroid function and bone health.

• Boron is a trace mineral with positive effects on bone health and estrogen function. Boron supplements may help prevent or reverse bone loss and may help to prevent prostate cancer.

• Vitamin K is essential for blood clotting. Vitamin K also has beneficial effects on bone strength. Vitamin K comes in two natural forms called vitamin K1 (derived from plants and bacteria) and vitamin K2 (made by animals from vitamin K1). Vitamin K supplements have been shown in studies to reduce the risk of osteoporosis and certain kinds of cancer.

• Calcium supplements may decrease the risk of osteoporosis and fractures and may reduce blood pressure. Calcium supplements may either decrease or increase the risk of kidney stones, depending upon dietary and genetic risk factors for stones. Some studies but not others have suggested that high calcium may increase a man’s risk of prostate cancer. Chewable, powdered or liquid calcium can help prevent or relieve GERD, or heartburn. Calcium supplements can be constipating.

• Selenium supplements in the form of selenomethionine may help reduce the incidence of asthma, breast cancer and prostate cancer. Selenium may help statin drugs (used to reduce cholesterol) work better. One study found that selenium supplements were associated with an increased risk of skin cancer.

With so many people interested in nutritional supplements, it is more important than ever to learn more about what vitamins and minerals can do.

For more information on what vitamins do what, here are a few resources:

National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Dietary Supplements

http://dietary-supplements.info.nih.gov/

United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Information Center

http://fnic.nal.usda.gov/nal_display/index.php?info_center=4&tax_level=1&tax_subject=274

Dr. Terry Wahls learned how to properly fuel her body. Using the lessons she learned at the subcellular level, she used diet to cure her MS and get out of her wheelchair.

Click here to view the embedded video.

We are a nation of animal lovers: Fully 97 percent of us tell pollsters that we believe animals should be protected from abuse. But, are we willing to do anything about it?

Not if our diets are any indication. Most Americans continue to chomp down on chicken nuggets, ribs and burgers — inadvertently supporting abuse that they believe they oppose. It’s a sad fact that farm animals are exempted from the Animal Welfare Act, and are exploited in myriad ways that would warrant criminal charges if they had the same protections as dogs and cats. This has real implications for the daily welfare of farm animals, as well as for our diets and our health.

Allow me to present two particularly harmful examples: First, billions of farm animals are routinely drugged with antibiotics to make them grow faster, and to keep them alive in deplorable conditions that would otherwise kill many of them. Second, hundreds of millions are confined to cages or stalls so small they cannot even turn around. If this happened to dogs or cats, instead of chickens and pigs, we would all be outraged. And, these intense confinement conditions directly contribute to animal illnesses and environmental pollution that negatively affect all of us.

If you care about cruelty to animals, and the problems associated with factory farming, you should know more about Farm Sanctuary, an organization that runs two sanctuaries for abused farm animals; it works on legislation, litigation and education to help all farm animals.

Take the case of Riley: This tiny seven-pound piglet was up for auction at a New York stockyard, meaning he was on his way to the average American dinner plate. He was so sick he couldn’t stand. Incapacitated animals like Riley are called “downers,” and they are frequent sights at auctions. Farm Sanctuary’s Emergency Rescue Team stepped in, rushing him to a veterinary hospital. The stockyard’s severe neglect left Riley blind in one eye, and with his head permanently tilted.

Riley was fortunate to be saved by Farm Sanctuary, and he will never know cruelty or endure neglect again. But billions of farm animals are suffering everyday. That’s why I’m supporting Farm Sanctuary’s Walk for Farm Animals. The Walks raise vital funds for Farm Sanctuary’s life-saving work; they bring together thousands of people to promote kindness toward animals and help ensure farm animals, like Riley, have a chance at a better life.

If you are interested, please take a stand against animal abuse by joining a Walk for Farm Animals near you. With your help, we will stop the systematic abuse of farm animals that causes unacknowledged suffering. Register today at walkforfarmanimals.org.

As many of you know, I am a huge African Music fan. I grew up in South Africa surrounded by the rhythms and beat of Africa and it’s in my blood. Most people think of African music as upbeat but here are some beautiful chill out African songs. This is one of my all time favorite mixes that I made a number of years ago (with a few updates here) and I still listen to it frequently. Enjoy!!!

1) Dee moo woor By Orchestra Baobab

2) Jammu Africa By Ismael Lo

3) Kothbiro By Ayub Ogada

4) Tindo Quando By Baaba Maal

5) All the Same (feat. Dave Matthews) By Vieux Farka Touré

6) A Va Saty Va Lomo By Mingas, Orchestra Marrabenta Star de Mocambique

7) Nafeken By Gigi

8) Iga Bani By Ali Farka Toure And Toumani Diabate

9) Mbeugel By Daby Balde

10) M’Beddemi By Cheikh Lo

11) This Dream By Youssou N’Dour

12) African Reggae Fever By Rocky Dawuni

13) Unomathemba By Ladysmith Black Mambazo

14) Sodade By Cesaria Evora;Bonga

15) Malaika By Angelique Kidjo

Authoritative organizations may not be your best source of advice.

As a health journalist, I rely a great deal on expert opinions and authoritative resources. But I’ve also learned to get second and third opinions, to do my own research, to follow the money and to consult my own common sense and experience.

Basically, I’ve learned to question authority (which is No. 50 of the 101 Revolutionary Ways to Be Healthy). Because what I’ve discovered is that experts and authorities of all kinds are often mistaken — sometimes about important stuff. And in my experience, they are wrong more often than they will admit to being in doubt.

This is particularly true in the domain of health. If I had a dollar for every time I’ve gotten lousy health advice from “beyond-reproach” sources like the American Medical Association, American Dietetic Association, American Heart Association, United States Department of Agriculture, Food and Drug Administration (to say nothing of the media outlets and health experts that rely on them for information and insight), I’d be a wealthy woman indeed.

But all those dollars would not be worth it — not by far — because if I had followed their advice, I suspect I’d also be sick, overweight and unhappy. I’d be worried about all the wrong things (saturated fats, calories, dietary cholesterol), and I’d be fairly clueless about the things with the greatest chance of slowly killing me (refined flours, undiagnosed gluten and dairy intolerances, sugars, toxic industrial fats, chemical additives and prescription drugs).

I’d be vigilantly counting calories instead of thoughtfully evaluating the quality, character and origin of my food. So I’d be poorly nourished and hungry all the time. I’d be struggling to exercise — and doing it joylessly, mostly to burn calories, instead of challenging my body to build strength, energy, resilience and vitality. And I’d be frustrated that no matter how hard I tried to follow all that dreadful advice, my health and fitness would continue to worsen.

Nutritionally deficient, inflamed and imbalanced, I’d go to the doctor looking for relief. I’d probably be prescribed a slew of medications — for my cholesterol, my stomach acid, my blood pressure, my back pain and my depression — all of which would cost me a fortune and have side effects of their own.

Before long, I’d no longer be the rich woman I’d become by accepting all those dollar bills in exchange for my gullibility. Instead, I’d be a bankrupt, prematurely aged, chronically ill, foggy-brained woman trying to figure out what in the heck went wrong.

I realize this may all sound a little dramatic, but it is precisely what is happening to millions of Americans each and every day. Why? Because a lot of the advice we are getting from the voices of authority is bad, corrupted, half-baked, outdated — and a lot of what we most need to hear (about what really works) just isn’t getting through.

Check out the dietary and lifestyle recommendations at the American Heart Association’s website. Or the American Dietetic Association’s site, or in the literature of any one of a dozen other official-sounding organizations. You’ll see a big emphasis on counting and burning calories, avoiding saturated fats and dietary cholesterol, reducing salt, eating a lot of low-fat or fat-free dairy and eating more so-called whole grains (mostly in the guise of whole-wheat flour products, which are not whole at all).

You’ll see comparatively little emphasis, meanwhile, on reducing your intake of refined carbohydrates (like flours, starches and sugars), industrial vegetable oils and artificial ingredients — the primary ingredients in processed foods.

You’ll also see little on why eating phytonutrient-rich, fiber-rich and whole foods is so important to building vitality and reducing inflammation.

In other words, you’ll get totally backward advice. And when you do get decent advice (like “eat more vegetables”), you’ll get it wrapped in a fat-free, whole-wheat tortilla and served with three side dishes of low-fat dairy.

There are many reasons for this, and plenty of blame for the ag-food-pharma industry, policymakers and the media to share. But the most pernicious dynamic is this: The food industry heavily influences the ADA’s nutritional recommendations. (For more on this dynamic, read Justin Stoneman’s excellent rant. They contribute vast sums of money to the ADA. They sponsor a lot of research, and they determine how and if the results of that research get reported. Then they leverage their preferred study results (along with a whole lot of lobbying money and power) to convince experts and policymakers to support official positions and recommendations that just happen to be advantageous (or at least not damaging) to their most profitable product lines.

By the time those official recommendations and guidelines come out, they often make no sense at all. Still, they get reported en mass by conventional media outlets — many of which have those same industry research-funders and lobbying interests as major advertisers. All this undermined, incomplete advice gets rolled out to the newsstand and airwaves, to public-health resources and to doctors’ offices. And suddenly, that’s “the truth” that everybody knows is true and right. Even if it’s not.

We recently did a piece in Experience Life magazine called “Digesting the New USDA Dietary Guidelines” (September 2011) that offers a nice overview of just how confused and undermined official recommendations like these often are.

We’ve done many other pieces over the years– on saturated fats (“A Big Fat Mistake“); on low-fat dairy (“Skimming the Truth“); on cholesterol (“Cholesterol Myths“); on artificial sweeteners (“Poor Substitutes“); on pharmaceuticals (“The Other Drug Problem“); and on weight loss (“Weight Loss Rules to Rethink“) — that illustrate why failing to question authoritative truths can be so dangerous to your health.

Whenever we are doing the background research for articles like these, I’m amazed at how much decent information is actually out there, but just not breaking through to major media outlets.

Why on earth, I wonder? And then I remember: Follow the money.

A couple of weeks ago I had a really great heart-to-heart conversation with a fellow journalist, an editor at a major lifestyle publication. Over drinks, this editor told me in hushed tones that their editorial staff couldn’t even use the phrase “processed food” in their copy. Their advertisers (processed-food companies) would go nuts. It makes you wonder what else our “authoritative” major media outlets can’t comfortably write or talk about.

So my advice is this: Don’t assume that the “authoritative” sources are necessarily the best sources — particularly when it comes to healthy lifestyle advice. Look for second and third opinions. And be willing to thumb your nose at authority now and then, particularly when your health is at stake. Which it is.