The Truth About Fats

by Dr. Isaac Eliaz

 

Of all the food groups, fat is the most commonly misunderstood. We’re taught to believe that our obesity problems and related health conditions come from eating too many fats. As a result, many people avoid any kind of oils or fats in their weight-management programs. However, the truth is that fats are crucial to numerous areas of health. They just have to be the right kind. Here’s how to know the difference.

 

Monounsaturated Fats (MUFAs)
Monounsaturated fats are generally liquid at room temperature and are found in many common oils such as flax, sesame, olive and sunflower at various ratios, along with polyunsaturated fats and saturated fats. Some studies suggest that consuming foods with MUFAs can support healthy cholesterol, balance insulin and control blood glucose.

Polyunsaturated fats (PUFAs)
Polyunsaturated fats are found mostly in vegetable or grain oils as well as some fish oils. They demonstrate benefits similar to MUFAs; essential fatty acids such as omega-3 and omega-6 fats fall into this category.

Essential fatty acids are critical for health; the body doesn’t produce them on its own. They’re obtained from foods such as flax seeds, chia seeds, fish oil and other sources. However, a balanced ratio of omega-3 and omega-6 is critical for preventing chronic illness. Our modern diets are laden with omega-6 (abundant in many commercial vegetable oils) and deficient in omega-3s: a dangerous ratio that can lead to chronic inflammation, free radical, oxidative damage and related conditions. A good solution is to supplement with additional omega-3 oils to balance this ratio. Some nutritionists even recommend a completely balanced 1:1 ratio of omega-3 and omega-6 to address inflammation, cardiovascular health and more.

Saturated Fats
Contrary to popular belief, moderate intake of saturated fats supports cellular integrity, cardiovascular health, immunity, vital energy and other critical areas of health. Found mainly in butter and animal fats, coconut oil, and some other tropical oils, saturated fats are more solid at room temperature. Importantly, they are good cooking oils, particularly clarified butter (called ghee in India) and coconut oil. These fats remain relatively stable at higher temperatures, which means they don’t easily become rancid during cooking. This is very important, because healthy fats can turn dangerous when rancid — the molecular structures of the oils change, wreaking havoc on cells and tissues with free radical damage.

The Dangers Of Trans Fats
The worst fats are trans fats and their newest relatives, “interesterified” fats. These industrial fats are created from a chemical process used in food manufacturing, designed to give oils and processed foods a longer shelf life. Trans fats should be avoided completely: They fuel inflammation, disrupt cell signaling and interfere with numerous critical functions. Furthermore, the body doesn’t recognize them and has a difficult time processing and eliminating them. As a result, these harmful substances build up and contribute to weight gain, unhealthy LDL cholesterol levels and arterial plaque. They are associated with diabetes, heart disease, immune dysfunction and other serious conditions.

How To Use Healthy Fats
Total healthy fat intake should be roughly 25 percent of your daily calories. Incorporate healthy oils such as raw olive oil or flax oil into your meals, as a salad dressing, added to soups or drizzled on cooked foods. Add chia seeds, which are some of the highest sources of omega-3s, and avocado to a morning fruit smoothie. Throw some raw walnuts in a bag to snack on throughout the day and incorporate more cold-water wild fish such as salmon into your diet. You can also look for supplements containing balanced ratios of essential fatty acids.

What About High Cholesterol?
In moderation, good fats can help reduce elevated LDL (bad) cholesterol, improve HDL (good) cholesterol and can help improve cardiovascular markers. Certain healthy fats, such as coconut oil, can actually help burn fat and promote a balanced weight. Furthermore, healthy fats help reduce inflammation and oxidative stress, a critical component in promoting heart health and protecting against cardiovascular disease.

We evolved to eat fats. They provide us with critical nutrients and antioxidants, offer a critical source of energy and form the building blocks of cells, tissues and organs, especially the brain and nervous system. Healthy fats, such as olive oil, have been used therapeutically for millennia. In Eastern medical traditions, oils infused with therapeutic herbs and compounds play a very important role internally and externally, helping to restore health physically, mentally and emotionally.

Hyaluronic Acid: The All-Natural Filler

As we age, our skin loses its natural oils and becomes dry, rough and wrinkly. Thirsty and insatiable, older skin soaks up moisturizer only to scream, "more!" and remains wilted and unsatisfied even after you slather on the richest and most expensive of moisturizers. Why does your skin act like a desert in need of an oasis the older you are? Because it is low in hyaluronic acid.

Your body naturally produces hyaluronic acid, which not only hydrates your skin, but also supports the structure of your skin cells.  Hyaluronic acid helps your skin cells retain enormous amounts of water.  Hyaluronic acid can absorb 1000 times its weight in water!   Water is more than just hydration, water plumps up the skin, increasing volume and elasticity.   Hyaluronic acid rejuvenates skin every 2 to 3 weeks; unfortunately, as you age, your levels of hyaluronic acid decrease dramatically and your skin cells lose their structure, which is why your skin begins to droop and sag. 

Although it's tempting to plump skin with fillers like collagen, you can achieve the same youthful plumpness naturally and at a fraction of the price by supplementing with a topical cream that contains hyaluronic acid. Unlike other professed moisturizing nutrients, hyaluronic acid actually penetrates deep into the skin cells, where it helps cells hold water and structure. And what is even better hyaluronic acid carries other anti-aging ingredients deep into the skin, where they would otherwise not reach.  Even more important, make sure not to use products that contain toxic chemicals.  Know your ingredients!

JES Organics Updates & Sales

In late August we started a make-over of our web-site which was launched last month.  We also did a make-over on some of our product labels and products.  We have added over 40 new products to our JES Organics line of products!   Please check out our new web-site and all the new products we have to offer.  We also have many products that would make great holiday gifts and stocking stuffers. 

 Keep reading for details about our upcoming holiday day sale!

 
Our skin care line has become our biggest seller so we have added products and customized products for various skin types.  We have some very effective new acne & anti-aging products and more choices of products for the various skin types.  We did have to make some price adjustments as our manufacturer had raised our prices over a year ago and we continued to absorb those higher costs for a long time.  We did however lower a few prices as well.  Shipping, packaging and manufacturing prices seem to continually go up as gas prices and cost of goods increase but we do our best to keep prices down.  One of the ways we do that is we don't invest huge amounts of money into elaborate packaging and advertising.  Our best advertising is word of mouth and we prefer to focus the money on what is in the ingredients inside the container.   After all, the fancy package isn't what improves your skin, it's the ingredients inside.  As humans we do tend to judge a book by the cover and our mission is to educate consumers to look inside (beyond the advertising hype and fancy packaging) and read the ingredients.  If you can't pronounce the ingredient name, oftentimes it isn't something you should be putting on your skin. 

If you need help in selecting the best products for your skin care needs and skin type, please don't hesitate to call us.   If you live in the Boise, Idaho area, call us about our new face lift massage treatments, biomeridian testing, infrared and the other services we offer!

We will be discontinuing some of our products as they sell out.  We are doing this for several reasons.  One reason is manufacturing costs are too high to make a particular item profitable.  The other reason is that in the past we have tried to please everybody and meet individual requests and have become too diverse.  We struggled with this decision because they are great products and we have customers that ask us for these specific items and we had brought them back after being discontinued before.  We won't be bringing them back again so shop now while limited supplies last. 

List of items to be discontinued when inventory is depleted:

1. Stress Balm Aromatherapy
2. Aromatherapy Therapeutic Bath Salts
3. Pet Products - Natural Organic Pet Shampoo
4. Natural Organic Household Cleaner
5. Natural Terra Cotta Lipstick
6. Natural Pretty in Pink Lipstick
7. Emu Oil & Emu Oil Pain Formula
8. Insect Deterrents
9. Natural Lotion Sticks
10. Our current line of 3 oz. USDA Certified Organic Soaps - some (not all) will be replaced with a new 5 oz. bar.  Some scents already sold out. 
11. Embroidered Shirts

We will be sending out an e-mail in the next few days - week about our upcoming holiday sale so check your e-mail.  We will also post a notice here so check back.  We will reduce prices for a short time on many JES Organics items in our store.  Even though we have a specials page on our web-site, there will be too many items on sale to list them all there so check each section and category for price reductions.  You might want to check the web-site now and make a list of the items you want and be prepared to jump on-line or call quickly as the sale will last just a matter of hours.  


208-629-0444

If you phone in your order, you will receive additional savings on JES Organics products. Percentages will be based on total amount spent so the more you buy, the higher the discounts will be. If you get our voicemail, please leave your name and phone number so we can call you back as phone lines will be jumping. Shop on-line and avoid all the hassle of shopping malls.

Natural Relief For Fibromyalgia Pain

Dr. Mark Wiley | Nov 28, 2012

Pain is the debilitating bane of our lives. It comes in all shapes and sizes and at various times and places. Sometimes, the reason for pain is identifiable; at other times, it is not so easily pinpointed. Statistics indicate 25 percent of all adult Americans suffer chronic pain, making it the leading reason people visit their primary care physician. The conventional medical establishment, unable to explain the precise reasons people feel pain in multiple places, coined the term fibromyalgia. With this term, it neatly categorized a whole spectrum of pain under the guise of a disease label. But there should be no mistake: Pain is no disease. It is a symptom of imbalance.

The problem with pain, especially chronic pain, is that it is debilitating and restrictive. Pain tires not only the body but also the mind and spirit. It deflates your mood, ruins sleep, derails work and blocks the experience of life’s joys. Too much pain causes people to take medications and pills to kill the throbbing, dull the aching, reduce the inflammation and loosen the spasm. These are fine for short-term relief; but over the long haul, they do more harm to the body than good. Natural solutions are best, and there are plenty.

Root Cause
Experts admit they don’t know the root cause of fibromyalgia. And since it is a term applied to non-specific chronic pain at different locations on the body, it is hard to pin down. Theories of links to viruses and infections, emotional disorders associated with decreased opioid receptor activity, and physical trauma are in abundance. Some posit fibromyalgia as the body’s reaction to stress or its abnormal response to it. And like classic migraine sufferers, those with fibromyalgia are sensitive to sounds, an indication of a possible abnormality in sensory processing by the central nervous system.
If we forget the label applied to this disorder for a moment and instead focus on its symptoms, we see pain, imbalanced nervous system, insomnia and a disquieted mind, leading to low mood. Chinese medicine and other natural wellness perspectives view these as symptoms of several imbalances, like sluggish blood flow, hyperactivity of the nerves and emotional trauma. If each of these symptoms is addressed naturally, then the overall symptoms and continuity of chronic pain decrease.

Pain Relief
Let’s look at ways to treat these problems:

Exercise: Yes, using exercise may seem counterintuitive. When you’re in pain, especially chronic musculoskeletal pain, it is difficult to even think about exercising. But there are exercises that are gentle, like slow walking, yoga, tai chi, qi gong and stretching. When dealing with body pain, moving the body is essential.

Movement helps maintain range of motion that shortens from lack of use. Those tight shoulders and hips that make you strain when retrieving the plate from the cabinet or getting into and out of the car feel a whole lot better if their range of motion is restored or normalized. Walking or waving the arms moves fresh blood, oxygen and nutrients throughout the body. It also makes you sweat, releasing toxins that otherwise stagnate and cause pain. And movement prevents connective tissue from adhering and “gluing” muscles together, like scar tissue.

Getting up and moving, even slowly and gently at first, should be the first step for decreasing pain and removing the symptoms of chronic pain and/or fibromyalgia.

Water aerobics are often especially useful. Research from Spain has shown that patients who engage in water aerobics are able to reduce fibromyalgia pain. The study consisted of 33 women diagnosed with fibromyalgia between the ages of 37 to 71. It found that water exercise “enhances the health-related quality of life in women with fibromyalgia.” Water aerobics is a form of low-impact exercise that should be considered a viable alternative to walking or yoga if these prove too painful at the start.

Meditation: The benefits of mediation have been documented in dozens of studies. Meditation has been shown to lower blood pressure, which can help decrease pain. It relaxes the central nervous system, which helps decrease pain. It slows breathing and the thought process, which helps clear mental and emotional issues to help ease pain. And it relaxes the body to induce sleep. It is in deep sleep that the body relaxes and repairs, which is needed to reduce and prevent pain and inflammation.

Anti-inflammatory diet: Diet plays a major role in pain and fibromyalgia. It is important for those with chronic pain to avoid too much sugar, fats, trans fats, acidic foods, hydrogenated oils and dairy. In turn, it is best to increase foods high in fiber, omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants. These include fruits, vegetables (especially the green leafy variety) and whole grains (especially oats).

Supplements: There are several supplements that naturally help reduce inflammation and pain while elevating mood. These include:

• Omega-3 fats: that are high in the fatty acids DHA and EPA, which help reduce inflammation and acidity, thus reducing pain.
• Turmeric: contains curcumin (its active component); helps reduce inflammation and pain.
• Feverfew: reduces vasoconstriction to normalize blood flow and reduce pain, especially that associated with classic migraine.
• Arnica: topical cream that helps reduce pain and inflammation.
• St. John’s wort: has been shown to help with emotional disorders like depression (a cause and symptom of pain).
• Chamomile: helps relax the mind at night before bed, which can reduce stress-induced insomnia.
• Other Chinese and Indian herbal formulas for pain: These are best used under the guidance of a practitioner after a physical examination.

When all is considered, the methods to prevent and reduce chronic pain and fibromyalgia are basically identical. And we have the power to control this pain ourselves with our daily actions, habits and activities. Taking a proactive and focused role in your own pain management allows for natural reduction and prevention. Simple changes in diet, physical activity, sleep, meditation and supplements can go a long way to helping you overcome this debilitating issue.

Safe & Gentle Re-Useable Baby Wipes

I was thrilled to find this receipe on the internet as I use baby wipes all the time even though I don't have any babies!  Please read your labels, even baby wipes contain toxic chemicals and I have yet to discover one that doesn't.  This is also a money saver as they are re-useable. 

Ingredients:

• Old fabric to cut into wipes
• Scissors
• Small bag or basket for keeping fabric squares together
• Clean, empty spray bottle
• 1-2 teaspoons non-toxic liquid soap, such as JES Organics
• 1-2 cups water

Cut squares of fabric into 8-inch x 8-inch wipes. Keep them together in a small bag or basket near your diaper changing area. Next, add 1-2 teaspoons of liquid soap to the spray bottle, and fill the rest with water. Replace cap tightly on spray bottle and shake well to mix soap and water. When you need a baby wipe, pull out a piece of fabric, spray it with the mix, wipe, and wash it with your laundry when you’re done!

Magnets Destroyed More than Half of Cancer Cells

Did You Know...

...South Korean scientists have found a way to flip cancer's "Off" switch?

According to a startling and brand-new study by a team of scientists from Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea, magnets may be the secret to switching off cancer. The results of this first-of-its-kind study—about to be published in the journal Nature Materials—are so impressive that further investigation is already underway.

Apoptosis: The Key to Cancer's "Off Switch"

The main ways the body rids itself of old, faulty, or diseased cells is through something called programmed cell death, or apoptosis.

Apoptosis is also what makes cancer cells so dangerous—or more specifically, the absence of apoptosis. That's because with cancer cells, apoptosis ceases to occur. Instead of dying their programmed deaths, cancer cells multiply uncontrollably.

For some time now, scientists have understood that through finding a way to artificially induce apoptosis, they would have the power to "turn off" cancer. And that's the reason the results of the Korean study are so incredibly promising.

"A Magnetic Death Switch" for Cancer Cells

Yonsei University's research team, led by Professor Jinwoo Cheon, tested iron nanoparticles against cancer cells. Iron nanoparticles naturally bind to "receptor" molecules on cancer cells. The results were remarkable.

     Cheon and his colleagues found that these nanoparticles allowed them to:

Control cell-signaling pathways
Prevent cells from malfunctioning
Trigger apoptosis, or programmed cell death

It worked like this: When the team applied a magnetic field to cells treated with the nanoparticles, the particles clustered. That clustering effect set off the cell's "death receptor," which triggered apoptosis, the key to stopping cancer in its tracks.

Essentially, as one reporter put it, nanoparticles can be used as a "remote-controlled magnetic death switch to kill cancer cells."

Magnets Destroyed More than Half of Cancer Cells

Cheon's team also tested the nanoparticles in combination with magnets, with astounding success. In a series of lab experiments, the team placed nanoparticle-treated bowel cancer cells between two magnets. The cells were specially engineered to turn green as an indication that apoptopic clustering was occurring.

Cheon and the others noted that the magnets destroyed more than half the nanoparticle-treated cells. As a control, the team also placed untreated cells between the magnets, and found that absolutely none of those cells were affected.

Promising Results Outside of the Lab

The most exciting facet of the Yonsei University study is that the researchers were able to use the same process in living laboratory fish.

Prior studies on using the death receptor to fight cancer have focused only on in vitro systems, meaning cells in a petri dish. Because of the biological complexity of living animals, an in vivo approach—using live subjects—is much more complicated. Finding a way to do so, however, is essential to using the "death switch" concept in the treatment of cancer and other diseases.

"Our study is one of the breakthroughs providing an effective way of cell function control in live vertebrates." — Professor Jeon-Soo Shin, Chemistry World

While the process needs refining, this study offers a revolutionary new approach to treating and curing cancer and other terminal illnesses. More trials are currently in the works.