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A Holiday Message From Donnie and Jen

Christmas Tree

It’s December, and that means holiday celebrations. Whether it’s Christmas, Hanukkah, or Winter Solstice, holiday festivities and preparations take center stage this month. We delight in celebrating the holidays, especially gathering with family and friends and sharing a good meal and conversation around the table. We both enjoy the evergreen scent of the Christmas tree, the celebratory holiday lights, finding a special gift for one other, and the joy on our children’s faces on Christmas morning. Our daughter Stella has already selected her favorite (healthy) Christmas cookie recipe for Santa and eagerly anticipates the daily blessing on her advent calendar. At the same time, on a deeper level, our thoughts turn to the spiritual meaning of this holiday season. After all, the meaning of the word “holiday” originally meant “holy day.”

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More On The Blue Zones

A recent article published in The New York Times is entitled “The Island Where People Forget To Die.” In this fascinating true story, the author writes about Stamatis Moraitis, a Greek American who returned to his native island of Ikaria after a diagnosis of terminal lung cancer in his mid-60’s. That was in 1976; although Moraitis hoped for nothing more than a peaceful death on the island that he loved, he instead found his way back to health. Today, at 97, Moraitis continues to thrive on Ikaria.

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Dandelion: Much More Than A Weed

My oldest coffee mug is decorated with a big picture of a dandelion and emblazoned with: “If you can’t beat ‘em, eat ‘em.”

Many people consider the humble dandelion to be a pesky weed, and attempt to eradicate it from their lawns and gardens with toxic herbicides. But no matter how many poisonous chemicals are dumped onto dandelions, the bright yellow flowering plants not only survive, they thrive.

The scientific name for dandelion is Taraxacum officinale, which translates as “the official remedy for disorders,” acknowledging the esteemed position that dandelion has held as a medicinal herb. For centuries, dandelion (both the leaf and root) has been used in traditional healing in cultures around the world.

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Are Statins Safe?

Hand with Heart

The straightforward answer to this question is “NO.” Statins are not benign, health protective medications, as the pharmaceutical companies would have you believe. If the decision were left up to the makers of Lipitor, Zocor, Crestor, Pravachol, and other cholesterol-lowering drugs, statins would be prescribed for every American (including children), handed out with fast-food meals, and added to our water supply. I’m not exaggerating—these absurd measures have actually been suggested at one time or another. The pharmaceutical industry, mainstream medicine, and even many governmental agencies are pushing the belief that lowering cholesterol (most often with statins) is the best way to protect against heart disease.

As a result, statins have become wildly popular drugs, so much so that Lipitor is the world’s all-time biggest selling prescription medication. An astonishing one out of every four Americans over the age of 45 currently takes a statin drug.

It’s time to dispel some popular myths regarding cholesterol, heart disease, and statin drugs.

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Should You Have a Mammogram?

As October comes to a close, the enormous amount of publicity given to Breast Cancer Month wanes a bit. I’m a strong proponent of education, and of preventive health care. But unfortunately, for many women, the fear of breast cancer has now reached epidemic proportions. Fear is a stressor that, left unchecked, can actually contribute to cancer. Stress heightens endocrine and nervous system activity, contributing to allostatic overload and exceeding our ability to adapt, restore energy, and maintain health and balance. This interferes with our body’s natural cancer-protective abilities. It’s important to realize that much of the fear propagated by the media is fueled by misinformation and misunderstanding. For example, studies show that most women believe that their risk of breast cancer is far greater than it really is.

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Food Labeling: We Have The Right To Know

I strongly believe that we have the right to know that the food we are consuming is safe. It seems like this should be a basic right, and in this day and age, I believe we MUST pay attention and be educated about any potential risks to our health. It’s hard to understand why people choose to eat fried foods laden with dangerous fats, or drink beverages filled with sweeteners and artificial ingredients. But at least we can read the ingredient labels, educate ourselves about the possible health risks, and choose NOT to consume these processed foods. Unfortunately, in the case of genetically modified organisms (GMO’s), there are big corporations that are spending millions of dollars in the attempt to keep us in the dark about what’s in our food.

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