Message from Bernadette Wulf

Greetings!
Wishing you a very cheery holiday season. Once again, the festive winter holidays are upon us - always a good time to look at what we eat. Starting out with what NOT to eat, you will find a fascinating article on the dangers of genetically modified organisms that are "cropping" up (a little pun for your amusement) in more and more of our food crops. I never realized the nasty little buggers could actually take root and form new organisms in our intestines! Creepy!

Then we'll take a look at some of the underlying reasons for overeating and junk food binging (always a temptation around the holidays), with ways you can reach and maintain your ideal weight. The final article looks at soy, what's good about it, and why there have been so many questions brought up about it lately. Naturally, you will want to make sure you eat only non-GMO soy, and it turns out, that's pretty good for you!

By the time you read this, we will be well on our way toward the Winter Solstice. Then the days will grow longer with the promise of Spring. Amazing! Enjoy the long nights of winter while they last. A great time to curl up with a hot cup of tea by a cozy fire with a good book!

To Your Health!
Bernadette Wulf

What's So Bad About GMO Foods?

Here are just a few snippets from a recent Share Guide interview with Jeffrey Smith, author of "Seeds of Deception" and "Genetic Roulette." I encourage you to click on the link at the end to read the entire article.

If you think all food is created equal, this information will give you pause next time you go shopping for products made with corn, soy, rice, canola, or dairy. Even zucchini has been tampered with!

"The Share Guide: Jeffrey, in your latest book, Genetic Roulette, you discuss how animals fed genetically modified foods have developed severe health problems, such as cancer, bleeding stomachs, intestinal damage, and liver disease. What are the most significant health risks to humans?

"Jeffrey Smith: The standard list includes allergies, toxins, new diseases, and nutritional problems. But because of the unpredictable nature of genetic engineering, there could be a huge range of health problems that might already be occurring among the population. Allergies are certainly a major issue. Soon after genetically modified soy was introduced to the U.K., soy allergies skyrocketed by 50%. We know that genetically modified soy has higher levels of a known allergen, as well as the introduction of a new protein that has allergenic properties...

"...We know that many products, like corn and cotton, are genetically engineered to produce a pesticide called BT or Bacillus thuringiensis.

"...We do [also] know that when sheep in India were allowed to graze on the [GMO] cotton plants after harvest, one in four sheep died within five to seven days, with an estimated 10,000 dead sheep in the region. We also know that farmers in the Philippines and in Germany describe how animals fed certain varieties of GM corn died. In the United States, about two dozen farmers say that certain varieties of BT [corn cause their pigs or cows to become sterile. (Most likely thousands of pigs were involved.) Even Filipinos living next to a BT cornfield developed serious and mysterious symptoms while they were breathing in the corn pollen during the time of pollination. Blood tests verified an immune response to the BT toxin from these villagers...

"The Share Guide: So when you insert foreign genes into DNA, can it trigger reactions throughout the whole DNA chain?

Jeffrey Smith: Well, that's a different thing. What we're talking about now is the gene that you insert into corn, for example, or soy. The way that you create that gene and insert it tends to dismantle the normal barriers for gene transfer-which means it optimizes the likelihood that that foreign gene will take up residence in the DNA of your gut bacteria, and be producing its foreign protein within you. Now, that is a very serious long-term threat of genetically modified products. It also threatens children, because their digestive juices are less developed, and so the transgenic DNA may be likely to survive longer (and more of it), and therefore, transfer more readily into the gut bacteria or possibly into the organs. So we're creating what might be lifelong health issues by exposing infants and children to genetically modified products. From studies we've seen with DNA fed to pregnant mice, fragments of it ended up in the brains of their offspring, showing that DNA can travel through the placenta and across the blood-brain barrier."

On top of all that, GMO plants have statistically been shown to produce less yield and require more pesticides. Their one and only advantage is that they are making bio-tech companies like Monsanto very wealthy and powerful!

One of the best ways to put a stop to all this is to vote with your dollars. Buy Organic!

 
Be Your Natural Ideal Weight

By Gena Galenski

If you wish to lose weight and be a healthy, natural weight for you, you CAN do it! Making behavioral changes requires moment-to-moment conscious choices with lots of positive reinforcement.

I used to weigh 200+ pounds. I lost over 70 pounds, without dieting, and have kept it off for 20 years. Following are some key ingredients for losing and stabilizing weight for a lifetime – without dieting – to be the right weight for you.

1. Make a commitment with a goal of being healthy and fit. The goal is not to be thin. The goal is not to deprive yourself. The goal is to explore ways of thinking and behavior that support your goals to reach and then sustain your weight and health, while enjoying the foods you eat. Write down what you are willing to do to reach your goal. Write down your long-term goals. This is not going on a diet; it is a life-style change, for life.

2. Learning to love the part of you that is "excess eating" is the foundation of positive change. What is your self-image? Do you believe you deserve to be fit and healthy and your natural right weight? If you believe that you deserve this, you will achieve your goals. It is critical that your self-image matches your desires, visioning, and goals. You need to align your self-image to that of being healthy, fit, and your right weight by changing your thoughts and behavior to match your goals.

3. It takes courage to check inside with your feelings when you would prefer to eat unconsciously. Acknowledge your courage to feel feelings which may be unfamiliar. Be willing to start by waiting 5 minutes before eating … and then ask yourself "Do I want xxx or do I want to reach my goals?" What is going on inside? How can I take care of myself other than eating right now? Start a list in your journal.

4. If you feel vulnerable to certain foods, do not have them in the house. Ask others in the house to support you in this goal.

5. The "ah-ha" light goes on when you experience that a particular feeling can be separate from a particular automatic behavior. Be willing to interrupt the behavior and choose alternative behaviors that support wholeness, health and your ideal weight. Start by saying, "Oh – here I am again. I feel xxx and I want to eat xxx. I can stop and be with these feelings without eating. Am I willing to do this? Am I willing to explore what is underneath these feelings?

6. When are you most vulnerable to eating in non-productive ways? What could you do instead? Write a list. Who is that part of you inside that feels vulnerable and wants to eat? Talk to him or her and get to know this part of you (one of your sub-personalities). Give that part a name and talk to him or her. It is important to acknowledge the part of you that wants to eat in non-optimal ways, rather than try to push that part away. That part will keep knocking on your door by non-optimal eating behavior until you are ready to listen to what his or her inner needs are. Are you ready to listen? Have a conversation?

Remember to acknowledge yourself all the time for all the small changes you make. Many of us are quick to acknowledge what we are doing wrong and never acknowledge what we do right. From now on, think in terms of optimal behavior and non-optimal behavior. Take the judgment of 'good' and 'bad' out of the equation. It will not serve you to be self-judgmental.

Making small changes while acknowledging each one will build new behaviors. New behaviors become new habits. Remember, it is six steps forward and often five back. It is never six back. If you allow yourself to feel compassion and forgiveness for non-optimal behavior, you are moving forward. Do not confuse non-optimal behavior with self-esteem. Love yourself no matter what you do and no matter what your weight. Self-acceptance and self-love is key to losing weight and maintaining that weight loss.

Gena Galenski, CMT, is maintaining a 75 pound weight loss, without dieting, for 20 years now. Private sessions, email, phone, or groups available. Contact Gena at 415.383.9493, or click on her email link below.

Straight Talk on Soy Foods

Are you confused about soy foods? Some say soy is one of the best foods on the planet, others say just the opposite. What is the truth? The fact that soy has been consumed extensively in Asia for hundreds of years without ill effect should give us a clue, at least when eaten moderately, in the form of tofu, miso, and tempeh. The following excerpts from a recent Share Guide article support this conclusion. Of course, it is important to avoid genetically modified soy by eating only organically grown soy products!

"...Soy's cardiovascular benefits have been well-studied. An American Heart Association 22-study review of soy research revealed soy consumption results in an average of 3% LDL reduction. Soyfoods Association scientists pointed out that a 3% LDL reduction translates to a 6% reduction of heart disease risk. In an American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2005 meta-analysis of 23 soy studies of 1381 people, soy consumption resulted in an average of 3.7% reduction in total cholesterol, 5.25% reduction in LDL cholesterol, 7.27% reduction of triglycerides, and an increase in (good) HDL cholesterol on an average of 3.03%.

"Decreased breast cancer rates among the soy-eating populations have been confirmed in several studies as well. In one 2002 study of 1095 Asian-American women in Los Angeles County, women eating soy four times a week or more during adolescence and adulthood had almost a 50% less chance of developing breast cancer."

And there's much more! To read entire article, go to -
http://www.shareguide.com/soyfoods.html

Another benefit of soy is found in Nattokinase. According to the following article by Smart-Publications, it's a natural blood thinner!

"Natural nutritional support for normal, healthy blood flow and circulation can be found in the enzyme Nattokinase. Nattokinase has been shown to support normal blood pressure, dissolve blood clots and prevent them from forming in the first place!

"What is Nattokinase?

"Nattokinase is a potent fibrinolytic (anti-clotting) enzyme extracted and highly purified from a traditional Japanese food called Natto. Natto is a fermented cheese-like food that has been used in Japanese culture for more than 1,000 years and as a folk remedy for heart and vascular diseases. Research has shown that Nattokinase supports the body's ability to break up and dissolve the unhealthy coagulation of blood. In fact, it has been shown to have four times greater fibrinolytic activity than plasmin—the body's primary anti-clotting enzyme.

"How is Nattokinase made?

"Natto is produced in a fermentation process by adding the bacteria Bacillus subtilis to boiled soybeans. The resulting Nattokinase enzyme is produced when Bacillus subtilis acts on the soybeans. While other soy foods contain enzymes, it is only the Natto preparation that contains the specific Nattokinase enzyme."