Are These Foods Making You Sick?

One day you feel great, the next, not so much, and there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to your symptoms. And symptoms can seem really vague—fatigue, headaches, joint pain, gastrointestinal distress, and rashes. But what if you're overlooking something that you do every single day without a second thought? We're talking about what you eat. The best way to reveal a food allergy or sensitivity (without a trip to the doctor) is an elimination diet. Here are five food-elimination strategies from The Detox Prescription to help you determine what is at the root of your symptoms.

Step #1 An elimination diet is a straightforward process: Decide what food or group of foods you want to test (say, wheat, corn, soy, or sulfites), and then eliminate it entirely from your diet for three or four weeks. This might take a little research and label reading. In some cases, you might have to be proactive and ask about the source and treatment of your food—for instance, whether dried fruits from a health food store bin were treated with sulfites.

Step #2
While you're eliminating, start keeping a food and symptom diary. This will give you a place to record both what you ate and how it made you feel. Record any symptoms and cravings you're experiencing, too. Write down what time you ate or drank, and what you ate or drank. Record the time symptoms occur, and watch for trends. Does your mouth itch every time you eat an eggplant? (You might be sensitive to nightshades.) Do you break out in hives whenever you drink chamomile tea? (The herb is in the ragweed family.) This exercise will help you identify your triggers and link them to reactions, and it will give you a baseline to look back on when you reintroduce the food. 

Step #3
Choose the food you want to test and eat it frequently over the course of two days. If you're testing nuts, have peanut butter on rice cakes for breakfast, walnut milk for lunch, a handful of almonds for a snack, and maybe a cashew curry for dinner. Then keep an eye on your responses for the next day or two. Watch head-to-toe for any kind of negative reaction—headaches, allergies or stuffy sinuses, scratchy throat, heartburn, wheezing, GI complaints, diarrhea and/or constipation, skin rashes, fatigue, increased depression, confusion, or anxiety. All of these might be caused by, or exacerbated by, food allergies or sensitivities. Take copious notes.

Step #4
If by the end of the third day you have logged no response, the food is probably okay for you. If you've noticed a small response but you're not sure if it's coincidental, wait a few more days then reintroduce the food. It should be clear whether or not it causes a reaction. Refer to your diary to compare notes.

Step #5
If you find you are having a reaction, you also have a cure: elimination. The best way to treat a food allergy or sensitivity is with avoidance. This used to be the only way. However, over the past few years, allergists have pioneered a technique called sublingual desensitization, in which the specialist administers minute but ever-increasing doses of the food you're reactive to, and over time, allergies and sensitivities decrease. Talk to your doctor about whether the treatment is an option for you.

6 Health Benefits of Tomatoes

Your body loves the immense health benefits of tomatoes—even if the only way you’re enjoying them is in a hearty tomato sauce or refreshing juice. Tomatoes help keep your heart healthy and prevent cancer.

“A world without tomatoes is like a string quartet without violins.” Laurie Colwin, Home Cooking

6 Tomato Health Benefits

The red color of the tomatoes is what makes them so good for us. Scientists have found that what makes tomatoes beneficial is their high quantity of lycopene, the phytochemical that creates tomatoes’ ruby red complexion. Lycopene is a powerful antioxidant that inhibits free radicals, which are a destructive substance in the body. It binds to free radicals, keeping them from creating cell damage that can result in diseases such as heart disease and cancer.

Tomatoes’ strongest health benefit is their ability to reduce the risk of heart disease. You can also find lycopene in other red foods like watermelon, apricots, red grapefruit, guava and papaya.

 1. Helps Reduce Risk of Heart Disease
• The highest average intake of lycopene were linked to almost a 30 percent reduction in the incidence of cardiovascular disease and coronary heart disease.
• “We’ve shown quite clearly that lycopene improves the function of blood vessels in cardiovascular disease patients. It reinforces the need for a healthy diet in people at risk from heart disease and stroke,” says Dr Joseph Cheriyan from the University of Cambridge.
• Lycopene concentrations in the blood have been found to be protective in the early stages of narrowing of the arteries. When your arteries are narrowed, blood flow to the heart slows down. Research found that people with high levels of lycopene in their blood have lower rates of heart disease.
• A diet rich in tomatoes was found to increase “good” HDL cholesterol levels by 15.2 percent.
• A diet high in tomato products reduced “bad” LDL cholesterol levels by 13 percent in one Finnish study.
• In one study observing people with an average age of 54 years from 10 European countries, lycopene may be at the root of the cardio-protective power of a diet rich in vegetables.
• Tomatoes are high in potassium, which helps regulate blood pressure.

2. Lowers Risk of Cancer
Tomatoes are rich in beta-carotene and lycopene, help lower some types of cancer and slow down the rate of other types of cancer.
• Tomatoes reduce breast cancer due to high amounts of carotenoids (alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, lutein, zeaxanthin, lycopene and total carotenoids), according to research from the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
• Tomatoes may help prevent prostate cancer. This study found that men who ate more than 10 portions of tomatoes or tomato products per week have an 18 percent reduced risk of prostate cancer compared to men who ate less than ten.
• Consuming tomatoes and tomato-based products have been shown to lower the risk of a variety of cancers. The cancers that lowered the most were lung, stomach and prostate cancer. Research also indicated that tomatoes may help prevent cancers of the breast, cervix, oral cavity, colorectum, esophagus and pancreas. “It is critical to recognize that the current evidence regarding dietary intake and lycopene blood concentrations reflects consumption of tomatoes and tomato products rather than purified lycopene supplements,” notes the Oxford Journals.

3. Increase Fat Burning
• Tomatoes help produce the amino acid carnitine, which helps speed the body’s fat-burning capacity by more than 30 percent.
• Tomato juice has been found to reduce weight, body fat and size of the waist.

4. Supports Healthy Skin and Hair
• Tomato components help fight acne and prevent damage to skin cells. “The protective effect of eating tomatoes on our mitochondria is important as they are the energy producers in all our body cells including skin. Therefore being kind to our mitochondria is likely to contribute to improved skin health, which in turn may have an anti-aging effect,” says Professor Mark Birch-Machin, dermatology scientist at Newcastle University.
• Drinking tomato juice rich in vitamin K strengthens the hair and promotes hair growth.

5. Increases Bone Health
• Tomatoes help keep bones healthy by enhancing the ratio of calcium in the body. “Subjects with higher lycopene intake had lower risk of hip fracture.” 

6. Reduces Inflammation
• Tomato juice reduces inflammation in overweight women and obese females.

Tomato Caution:
• Cherry tomatoes are among the “Dirty Dozen“ fruits and vegetables with high pesticide residues.

• Tomatoes are from the nightshade family, which includes bell peppers, eggplant, and potatoes. For those who are sensitive to nightshades, they could trigger inflammation in the body and contribute to arthritis. Grapefruit and watermelon are good sources of lycopene that are not nightshades. There are no scientific studies to confirm this, but many health professionals have made the observation that some are sensitive to nightshade produce. It has been suggested that this sensitivity to nightshades is a unique sensitivity to solanine, or, in the case of tomatoes, the alkaloid tomatine.

“Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit; Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.” -Unknown Quote  

7 Foods to Ease an Upset Stomach

Stomach cramps. Gas. Bloating. Whether it’s a certain food that just didn’t sit well with you, overeating, anxiety, or a stomach virus, sometimes your tummy just feels icky. When that happens, you need relief. (Keep in mind that certain foods—dairy, cruciferous vegetables like broccoli and cauliflower, and even gluten—can do a number on your stomach, so you may want to try taking them out of your diet and seeing if your symptoms go away.)

If you’re looking to settle your stomach, try eating these foods:

Mint

Sip some mint tea and it will relieve gas and decrease cramping, says Jacqueline Wolf, M.D., physician at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and author of A Woman’s Guide To a Healthy Stomach. “However, mint also relaxes the high pressure zone between the esophagus and stomach and may give some people heartburn.” If you’re prone to heartburn, you might try chamomile tea or another soothing herb tea. Avoid sugarless mint gum because its artificial sugars may cause gas, bloating and burping, Wolf adds.

Plain Yogurt

Dr. Wolf says no studies show that this helps, but you may benefit from the probiotics in plain unsweetened yogurt, particularly if you have diarrhea that has been caused by a course of antibiotics. The yogurt could add healthy bacteria to your gut, which can reduce pain and make it feel better.

Apple Cider Vinegar

You know apple cider, but you may not know about this vinegar, which is a fermented juice made from apples. Upset stomach is sometimes believed to be caused by a lack of acid in the stomach, not too much acid, as is commonly assumed. When too little acid is the case, putting more acid in your tummy can help. Apple cider vinegar also contains a host of nutrients including vitamin B and vitamin C. The vinegar itself can be strong to the taste, so mix a tablespoon or two in hot water, add a little honey, and you'll be good to go.

Rice

Rice is an easy-to-digest food that increases the absorption of fluid, says Dr. Wolf. Eating some white rice when you’ve had the runs may restore your stool to normal and make your stomach feel better because the starch of the rice will coat your stomach.

Ginger

To relieve nausea or vomiting, Dr. Wolf recommends ginger, which has anti-nausea properties. You can pour boiling water over slices of ginger and let it steep for several minutes, or find prepared ginger tea at your grocery store.

Aloe Juice

Extracted from the aloe plant, which is commonly used to soothe burns, aloe juice has been known to coat your stomach and relieve heartburn and stomach aches. The juice, which is sold in health food stores, can also help push toxins out of your system and clear things out. But keep in mind that it can also act as a laxative, so watch how much you take.

Bananas

This easy to peel fruit is easy to eat—and digest when your belly feels blah. Bananas can help firm up your stool, says Claudia Gruss, M.D., a spokesperson for the American Gastroenterological Association and a practicing gastroenterologist at the Arbor Medical Group in Norwalk, Connecticut. They also have potassium, which is good for you if you’ve been unable to eat due to prolonged illness.

Toast
Toast is a good option when you feel a little hungry after stomach distress, says Dr. Gruss. Top it with some jam and you’ve got an easily digestible mini-meal that will be tolerated by your tummy and give your body some sugar as well. And some health web sites suggest that the char that forms when you burn toast can have a soothing affect on the stomach, so you may want to try overcooking it a bit.


Fennel
High in antioxidants, fennel is known to have natural anti-gas properties, and can also help flush toxins from your system. Try eating a half a teaspoon of fennel seeds, or cut some fresh fennel to chew on.

Eight essential nutrients for the aging brain

Warding off cognitive decline as we age could be a question of getting enough of eight nutrients that Linda Milo Ohr, contributing editor of the journal Institute of Food Technologies (IFT) has singled out in a recent paper.

1. Cocoa flavanols

Found in cocoa beans and abundant in servings of dark chocolate, a recent study suggests they could even reverse age-related memory decline.

2. Omega-3 fatty acids

This illustrious nutrient is well known for the bouquet of benefits it presents and cognitive health is no exception. It's found in salmon, bluefish, anchovies, herring, mackerel, sardines, sturgeon, lake trout, tuna, flaxseed oil, canola oil, walnuts, soybean oil and chia seeds.

3. Phosphatidylserine and Phosphatidic Acid

Two pilot studies have given these nutrients high marks for senior brain health. The first is found most abundantly in soy lecithin, and also in mackerel, herring, eel and tuna and it's available in supplement format. Popular with body builders, phosphatidic acid is available in supplement form, usually derived from soy.

4. Walnuts

Adding walnuts to your diet regularly could slow the progression of Alzheimer's, a mouse study suggests.

5. Citicoline

Foods are not a good source of citicoline, according to WebMD, but many people take a supplement of this compound --which is very similar to choline -- and well-documented for its neurological health benefits.

6. Choline

Good sources include meat, specifically liver, beans, cruciferous vegetables and eggs. It's essential for liver health and for women and it's close in structure to the B vitamins. It aids in the development of brain tissue, according to Ohr.

7. Magnesium

Recommended for those who suffer concussions, it's found in avocado, soybeans, bananas and dark chocolate and is available in supplemental forms. 

8. Blueberries

Well known as an anti-inflammatory agent, studies have shown that even moderate consumption could increase neural signaling in the brain.

Black professor gets the difference between whites who are tired of being browbeaten and real racists (7 Pics)

Political scientist Carol Swain says white nationalism rose long before Trump became president.

Liberals are blaming President Trump for the rise of white nationalism, but a black professor says the movement started mushrooming 15 years before Trump became president.

Attorney and political scientist Dr. Carol Swain of Vanderbilt University predicted the rise of white nationalism in her 2002 book, “The New White Nationalism in America.”

“The rise of the new white nationalism occurred long before the election of President Donald Trump,” Swain told Fox News anchor Judge Jeanine Pirro.

Dr. Swain underscored that white nationalism is different from the racist white supremacy movement, even though the left-wing media and liberals purposely conflate the two.

“I distinguish it from white supremacy because the people who were involved [in the white nationalism movement] were more intellectual,” said Swain, a graduate of Yale Law School. “They were not espousing racial violence or using epithets, but they had grievances. They felt that white people’s rights were being trampled on and no one was speaking up or listening to their grievances.”

Swain said the white nationalism movement took off — long before Trump took office — because whites were being marginalized and disenfranchised after decades of affirmative action and other government programs designed to benefit minorities.

Adding to the disgruntlement is the constant browbeating by academia and the media — which are 97% liberal — calling ALL white people racist and claiming they have no right to complain about anything because they have “white privilege.” Look around you: There are plenty of poor, underprivileged whites.

White nationalism is becoming heightened since whites will soon no longer be the majority race in the United States. It makes you wonder: Once whites become minorities, will society allow them to whine and demand preferential treatment?

This kind of anti-white rhetoric is being embraced by the left.

Dr. Swain said she first started noticing the growing white nationalism movement in 2000, and published her book about it in 2002.

“At the time, when [whites] were stressing about the racial double standards, I saw the potential for the argument to resonate among young people,” she recalled. “The white community has its own problems. I knew the movement would grow unless we started addressing the issues.”

Swain said we all collectively need to tone down the racial identity politics and racist rhetoric and work together to improve race relations. “We need honest conversations, dialogue where people are listening to one another,” she said.

Meanwhile, both black and white TV viewers applauded Professor Swain for her honesty and objectivity.

Remember who the real Nazi is: Democratic mega-donor George Soros, who’s bankrolling the violent antifa riots around the world. In his youth, Soros was an actual member of the Nazi party. Let that sink in.

'Hahahaha love this, maybe people shouldn't block road ways': Massachusetts police officer 'mocks' deadly Charlottesville violence on Facebook after woman was mowed down by a car and killed

A Springfield police officer has mocked the anti-racism demonstrators who were run down during a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia on Saturday, applauding the fatal crash in a Facebook post.

"Hahahaha love this, maybe people shouldn't block roads," wrote Conrad Lariviere in a comment on a news article about the crash.

Lariviere confirmed that he is a patrolman in a Facebook conversation with MassLive, and expressed remorse for what he described as "a stupid comment about people blocking streets."

"Never would I want someone to get murdered. I am not a racist and don't believe in what any of those protesters are doing," Lariviere told MassLive. "I'm a good man who made a stupid comment and would just like to be left alone."

Springfield Police Commissioner John Barbieri said the department has launched an investigation into the comments. He confirmed that an officer named Conrad Lariviere is employed by the department.

"I received notification of this Facebook post earlier today via email from a complainant.  The post is purportedly from Springfield police officer. I took immediate steps to initiate a prompt and thorough internal investigation," Barbieri wrote in an email. "If in fact this post did originate from an officer employed with the Springfield Police Department, this matter will be reviewed by the Community Police Hearings Board for further action."

Videos from the protest, which saw neo-Nazi, white supremacist and right wing groups face off against leftist and antifascist demonstrators over the planned removal of Charlottesville's Robert E. Lee statue, show scenes of carnage and panic as a car plowed into antiracist demonstrators.

The videos show a gray Dodge Charger drive down a clear section of street and crash, without any sign of braking, into a crowd of protesters and two other vehicles. The Charger then reverses away from the scene of the crash.

Heather Heyer, a 32-year-old Charlottesville paralegal, was killed in the crash, and 19 other people were injured.

Later, police arrested James Alex Fields Jr., 20, of Ohio, and charged him with second degree murder, malicious wounding and failing to stop at an accident that resulted in death. 

The original post including Lariviere's comments has since been deleted, but MassLive reviewed multiple screenshots of the comments and confirmed their contents with people who viewed the exchange.

In another comment on the Facebook post, Larivere expressed doubt that the driver, who at the time had not been identified, was a Nazi.

"How do you know he was a nazi scumbag?" Lariviere wrote. "Stop being part of the problem."

But Fields was photographed at the rally carrying the wooden shield of Vanguard America, a white supremacist organization that bills itself on Twitter as "the face of American fascism." And one of Fields' high school teachers told the Washington Post Fields was a white supremacist and appeared fascinated with Nazism as a teenager.

Lariviere berated another Facebook commenter who criticized his post.

"I've been hit by a shitbag with warrants but who cares right you ignorant brat live in a fantasy land with the rest of America while I deal with the real danger," he wrote.

Earlier on Sunday, Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno released a statement condemning the violence in Charlottesville.

"My thoughts and prayers go out to all those families that suffered a terrible loss of life and were injured. These actions by white supremacists - the 'new KKK' groups - should be denounced by all," he said. "Don't be fooled by their propaganda, once again, they spew hate and enjoy violence. In the end, they will not prevail and good will overcome evil."

Shortly after 9 p.m., Sarno released a statement condemning Lariviere's comments.

"I just got done issuing a statement this morning on how upsetting the tragic incidents were in Charlottesville, Virginia and one of our own officers does this? Unbelievable! There is no place for this in our society, let alone from a Springfield Police Officer," Sarno said. "I stand by and commend Commissioner John Barbieri's steps for a thorough internal investigation and review by our Community Police Hearing Board to pursue the appropriate discipline against said officer."

White supremacist thug is SACKED from his job after Twitter names and shames fascist supporters involved in violent Charlottesville protest (21 Pics)

A WHITE Supremacist has been fired from his restaurant job after a Twitter account named him as one of the protesters who marched in the Charlottesville rally.

Cole White, who was the first person to be exposed by the account Yes You’re Racist, was sacked from Top Dog in Berkeley, California.

He joined thousands of protesters who descended on the Virginia town during the rally, which was attended by neo-Nazis and members of the Klu Klux Klan.

One woman died during a peaceful counter-protest and 19 others were injured.

Yes You’re Racist started sharing pictures of the  white nationalist protesters on Saturday evening in an attempt to name and shame those who took part in the march.

The first appeal was retweeted more than 59,000 times as social media users tried to identify the men.

Yes You’re Racist named Cole White just 45 minutes after his initial appeal and announced he had been fired on Sunday afternoon.

Top Dog got in touch with the Twitter account, saying they had been “inundated with inquiries regarding the incident.”

The restaurant confirmed he had been fired to DailyMail.com.

The user also exposed several other White Nationalist protesters who had joined the march, which was attended by Neo Nazis and members of the Klu Klux Klan.

Peter Cvjetanovic, a student at the University of Nevada Reno, was also named and shamed by the Twitter account.

He was pictured holding a flaming torch and shouting with the group of men.

The History and Politics student’s image was retweeted more than 32,000 times on Twitter and he later told Channel 2 News: “I’m not the angry racist they see in that photo.”

He added: “As a white nationalist, I care for all people. We all deserve a future for our children and for our culture. White nationalists aren’t all hateful; we just want to preserve what we have.”

Social media users reacted in outrage, with many calling for Peter to be expelled from his university.

The account also exposed Ryan Martin and Jacob Dix, who were seen carrying torches at the rally.

The tweet was shared more than 19,000 times as social media users praised Yes You’re Racist for naming and shaming the rally-goers.

Organisers of the Unite the Right rally claim that white people in America are being persecuted and that white history is being erased from the American identity.

They could be heard chanting racist slogans including one belonging to the Nazis using the words "blood and soil".

Marchers were met by counter-protesters at the statue of Thomas Jefferson - the university's founder and third president of the United States.

Heather Hayer, died during a peaceful counter-protest when a white supremacist drove his car into a crowd of anti-racism protesters

Social justice campaigner Heather Hayer, 32, was killed by a car during a peaceful counter-demonstration.

The young paralegal from Green County, Virginia, died when the Dodge Challenger rammed protesters at the Unite the Right in Virginia yesterday.

The rally in Charlottesville took place in Emancipation Park, the new name given to it by city councillors.

The white supremacist rally formed a torchlit procession through the Virginia town as they protested the renaming of Lee Park to Emancipation Park
The name change from Lee Park was voted in earlier this year in an attempt to tackle the tainted history of the Confederacy who fought to keep slavery in the US civil war.

The park was named after famed general Robert E. Lee whose statue remains standing in the park.

A legal challenge to its removal, supported by far-right activists, has meant a judge will decide on its future.

A decision is expected at the end of the month.

Far-right marchers used their wooden torches to beat counter protesters

They marched on the University of Virginia the night before the Unite the Right rally

Protesters were heard chanting the Nazi slogan ‘blood and soil’ during the event

Other chants included ‘white lives matter’ and ‘Jews will not replace us’

Marchers complained that white history was being erased from America’s identity
The makers of the torches used by the protesters, Tiki Brand, distanced themselves from the rally.

They said in a statement: "TIKI Brand is not associated in any way with the events that took place in Charlottesville and are deeply saddened and disappointed.

"We do not support their message or the use of our products in this way. Our products are designed to enhance backyard gatherings and to help family and friends connect with each other at home in their yard."

One of the protesters being helped after a fracas broke out after the march

A chemical spray was used in the short brawl which was disbanded by police

Cops stayed to ensure the safety of medics who came to treat the injured