Recent research on cardiovascular disease has suggested that although “traditional” risk factors such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking and diabetes indeed greatly increase the risk for cardiovascular disease, a number of other risk factors are also important in the process of plaque formation in the arteries. These include:

1) Inflammation – this means a low-grade response from the body causing redness, heat and swelling in the arteries, making plaques more susceptible to rupture.

2) Endothelial dysfunction – this includes high levels of homocysteine, a product of metabolism of the amino acid methionine. This can often be corrected by therapeutic doses of vitamin B6, B12 and folic acid.

3) Abnormal platelet aggregation – this can be related to high levels of fibrinogen in the blood and makes the blood more thick and able to form clots.

4) LDL oxidation – this relates to a subtype of cholesterol which when oxidized, or affected by free radical compounds, becomes more likely to be able to penetrate blood vessels and start the process of plaque formation.

The top three foods for preventing or reversing the above processes appear to be:

1) Pomegranate - a low-sugar extract of pomegranate can help increase the activity of “good” HDL cholesterol, lower LDL cholesterol, and prevent oxidation of LDL cholesterol.

2) Chocolate – dark chocolate (or raw cacao beans)  appear to have a beneficial effect on endothelial dysfunction, lower levels of “bad” LDL cholesterol and prevent oxidation of LDL cholesterol.

3) Green Tea – while black tea theoflavins appear to have a stronger effect on lowering LDL cholesterol, green tea extracts appear to have a significantly beneficial effect on reducing platelet aggregation and decreasing inflammation of the heart arteries.

Other important lifestyle factors include regular exercise and flossing the teeth, as periodontal disease also has a significant effect on increasing risk for cardiovascular disease.

It is common knowledge that almost all houses are electrically “grounded” to the earth. Why? It is a safety mechanism by which any accumulated current can safely be discharged and therefore the risk of electrocution and other problems associated with electrical current accumulation be avoided.

Could it be possible that “grounding” our human body could also have a significant effect on our health?

Around 1993, a cable television business man from Montana by the name of Clinton Ober, dared to ask the question. He was soon after to come across information about a paper being compiled by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and US Department of Energy (DOE) on the hazardous effects of Electric and Magnetic Fields (EMF) on health. Some of the findings in their key studies were that ungrounded exposure to EMF causes:

• Changes in the rhythym of release of important hormones in the body (the “circadian rhythym”)

• Accelerated tumor growth

• Impaired release of the sleep hormone “melatonin” by the pineal gland

• Decreased immune system function

It seemed clear to Ober that humans did not evolve insulated from the earth. In fact native cultures probably had a much closer contact with the Earth in all senses of the word. This included having direct physical contact of our skin with the earth for the majority of the day.

Ober decided to test his theory that grounding the human body would relieve a lot of health problems. He created a study using dissipative carbon fiber mattress pads which could be placed under fitted sheets, which were connected via a ground wire to a ground rod driven into the earth near their bedroom window. The grounded mattress pads were designed to replicate the ground plane of the earth in the bed.

Despite being a non-controlled study of only 60 participants, his results were significant and decisive:

• 85% went to sleep quicker

• 93% reported sleeping better throughout the night

• 100% reported waking, being and feeling more rested

• 82% experienced a significant reduction in muscle stiffness

• 74% experienced the elimination of/or a reduction of chronic back and joint pain

• 78% reported improved general health

In addition, several subjects in the study also reported experiencing significant relief from asthmatic and respiratory conditions, rheumatoid arthritis, PMS, sleep apnea and hypertension.

This study was soon followed up by Dr Russell Whitten of Ojai, CA, who performed a similar grounding of 35 of his own patients and found similar results.

Overall the results indicated that the human body, with loss of ground contact, is now operating in a bio-electrically stressed state.

Many people report a more restful sleep after waking on the ground barefoot before sleeping. Now we have technology that can ground us while sleeping, and when awake and functioning in the world. It is technology that can antidote the harmful effects of other technology. For more details visit www.agroundedlife.com. To purchase a grounding bed pad in Australia, click here.

Coeliac Disease is a hereditary form of intolerance to a portion of gluten, the protein in many common grains including wheat, oats, barley and rye. A recent study published in the journal ‘Gastroenterology’ in July 2009 showed that the incidence of Coeliac Disease has increased dramatically over the last 50 years.

The study compared blood samples from 9133 adults from Warren Air Force Base, USA between 1948 and 1954 with age and gender-matched controls from two recent samples from Minnesota, USA. The results showed a 4.5 fold and 4 fold increase in prevalance of undiagnosed Coeliac Disease with the two recent samples, respectively, as compared to the air force samples.

The reasons for this huge increase in rates of Coeliac Disease are unclear. What is clear is that diseases of gluten intolerance are increasing in importance, and do not always present as a classic syndrome of diarrhoea, weight loss and abdominal pain.

Although considered somewhat controversial by the medical profession, the experience of many nutritional doctors around the world is that gluten intolerance may play a major role in a number of conditions, even in the absence of true Coeliac Disease. Examples of these conditions include Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, depression, schizophrenia, irritable bowel syndrome and inflammatory bowel disease.

It is recommended to consult a health practitioner before excluding gluten from your diet, as it is more difficult to test for Coeliac Disease once gluten has been excluded from the diet. A simple blood test can be performed to screen for Coeliac Disease, and can be performed by any medical practitioner. It is also important to ensure that we have a balanced diet plan which will meet all essential nutrients before excluding all gluten products.

Examples of non-gluten based grains include rice, millet, buckwheat, quinoa and amaranth. All fruits and vegetables appear to be free of gluten. Wheatgrass also appears to be safe for those with gluten intolerance, although it may be wise to avoid it if you have a severe reaction to wheat products. Further information on the Coeliac Disease can be found at www.glutenfree.org.au..

Reference: Gastroenterology. 2009 Jul;137(1):88-93. Pub Med Abstract