PC AND INTERNET TRICKS

[New post] Caring for Kids’ Teeth & Gums

2012-02-10T06:22:00.001-08:00

Caring for Kids’ Teeth & Gums

Long ago and far away, there was a radio drama called This Is Your FBI. J. Edgar Hoover called it "the finest dramatic program on the air." Typically, its intro stressed "the current crime wave" or the excellence of the FBI - sometimes both together.

Did no one stop to ask the obvious: If these agents are our best defense against crime, why are crime rates soaring?

We might ask a similar question about National Children's Dental Health Month, which we are again in the midst of. What started in 1941 as a one day event in Cleveland and a one week event in Akron was made national by the ADA in 1949. The next year, Congress proclaimed February 6 National Children's Dental Health Day. Incidentally, this was the same year - 1950 - that the ADA endorsed fluoridation.

Soon, it became a week-long event, and since 1981, the "celebration" (PDF) has lasted the full month.

And how are kids' teeth today?

According to the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (PDF), "tooth decay is the single most common chronic childhood disease — 5 times more common than asthma, 4 times more common than early-childhood obesity, and 20 times more common than diabetes." Here in California (PDF), more than half of all kindergarteners have a history of tooth decay, 28% have untreated decay and 19% have extensive decay. By 3rd grade, more than 70% have had some cavities.

No, this isn't the fault of the ADA, of course, though its years of promoting mechanical dentistry that treats the mouth in isolation from the body haven't helped. One of the biggest culprits, actually, is dietary change - especially the increased consumption of sugary drinks and refined carbohydrates.

As we've written before, children's dental health - like their physical/systemic health - begins to take shape while they're still in the womb. Even before they start teething, diet and hygiene can set the stage for future decay (or prevention of it). As the Dental Tribune reported last summer,

US researchers have found evidence of bacteria associated with early childhood caries in the saliva of infants with no teeth. Their findings suggest that infection with bacteria like Streptococcus mutans in the oral cavity occurs earlier in the development of children than previously thought.

So how to help your child develop strong, healthy, decay-free teeth? Our tip sheet:

Limit the amount of sugar your child regularly consumes.
Clean infants' gums after feeding with a moist infant washcloth or gauze pad.
Don't let your child sleep with a bottle. If you do, fill it with unfluoridated water.
Once your child starts eating solid food, go easy on starches and processed carbs.
After your child's first tooth erupts or no later than their first birthday, take them to the dentist for their first visit.
When your child starts to cut teeth, avoid teething gels with benzocaine, which raise the risk of methemoglobinemia (a blood disorder that keeps oxygen from efficiently getting to the body's cells). Opt instead for teething rings, gently massaging the gums or homeopathic remedies like Body Mend.
Once the teeth have begun to erupt, regularly clean them by brushing gently with a small, soft-bristled toothbrush lightly smeared with natural toothpaste – the kind that contains neither fluoride nor sodium lauryl sulfate. At age two or three, begin teaching your child how to brush their own teeth. Instill the habit of brushing after every meal.
As soon as any two of your child's teeth are touching each other, begin flossing their teeth regularly. By the age of six, they can learn how to properly floss on their own.

One other factor to keep in mind is the need to support good orofacial development for optimum health, which Dr. Verigin discusses in his article "Why Not Raise Healthy, Attractive and Intelligent Children?". Originally published in Biosis, our free quarterly newsletter, the piece describes what our office feels is the proper focus of children's dentistry: not treating decay or even mere prevention, but

monitoring the proper maxillo-facial, dental orthopedic growth and development. (Maxillo refers to the upper jaw and jawbone.) What we do - and don't do - in this area is crucial. After all, it affects the child for life. Continue reading

Image by .....Tim, via Flickr

The Verigin Dental Health Team | February 10, 2012 at 7:18 am | Tags: cavities, children's dental health, health tips, tooth decay | Categories: Children's health, Dental health | URL: http://wp.me/pf8OH-1Id

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[LISA'S FOODS] Avocado Ricotta Egg Sandwich

2012-02-09T03:36:00.001-08:00

LISA'S FOODS has posted a new item, 'Avocado Ricotta Egg Sandwich'

When I find a meal I like, I make it a lot. At one point it was cheese and black
bean quesadillas; I've been on a peanut butter and banana sandwich kick many
times. And you can imagine when I cook up a pot of soup, I eat it for days on
end. [...]

You may view the latest post at
http://lisasfoods.com/2012/02/09/avocado-ricotta-egg-sandwich/

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[New post] Cancer Drugs Impact Descendants’ Genes, & Other News of Note

2012-02-08T06:29:00.001-08:00

Cancer Drugs Impact Descendants’ Genes, & Other News of Note

by The Verigin Dental Health Team

Cancer Drugs Affect Mouse Genomes for Generations (Nature)

Three common chemotherapy drugs cause DNA mutations not only in mice that receive treatment, but also in their offspring, according to a study published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA.

The results suggest that the genome in treated mice became destabilized yielding new mutations long after exposure to the drugs has ceased. A similar phenomenon has been observed in mice exposed to radiation.

The work emphasizes the importance of looking at the effects of chemotherapy not only on recipients, but also on their descendants...MORE...

Sugar Should Be Regulated as Toxin, Researchers Say (Yahoo News)

A spoonful of sugar might make the medicine go down. But it also makes blood pressure and cholesterol go up, along with your risk for liver failure, obesity, heart disease and diabetes.

Sugar and other sweeteners are, in fact, so toxic to the human body that they should be regulated as strictly as alcohol by governments worldwide, according to a commentary in the current issue of the journal Nature by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF)...MORE...

Drinking Diet Soda Could Boost Risk for Stroke or Heart Attack (NY Daily News)

Data were analyzed from 2,564 participants in the NIH-funded Northern Manhattan Study, with researchers examining how often individuals drank soft drinks - diet and regular - and the number of strokes and heart attacks that occurred over a 10-year period.

They found that those who drank diet soft drinks daily were 43 percent more likely to have suffered heart attacks or strokes than those who drank none. Light diet soft drink users, meaning "those who drank between one a month and six a week," and those who chose regular soft drinks were not more likely to suffer vascular health problems, according to a press release...MORE

Sleep Apnea Linked to Silent Strokes, Small Lesions in Brain (ScienceDaily)

People with severe sleep apnea may have an increased risk of silent strokes and small lesions in the brain, according to a small study presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2012.

"We found a surprisingly high frequency of sleep apnea in patients with stroke that underlines its clinical relevance as a stroke risk factor," said Jessica Kepplinger, M.D., the study's lead researcher...MORE...

Study Works Out Kinks in Understanding of Massage (LA Times)

Everyone knows that it can feel really good to get a massage.

Now scientists may have figured out why, by identifying how massage switches genes on and off, thus reducing inflammation and coaxing muscle adaptation to exercise.

The discovery provides strong evidence that massage merits further study as a treatment for injuries and chronic disorders, said Dr. Mark Tarnopolsky, a researcher at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada, and lead author of a study about the research released Wednesday [Feb. 1]...MORE...

Mom's Love Good for Child's Brain (Washington University in St. Louis)

School-age children whose mothers nurtured them early in life have brains with a larger hippocampus, a key structure important to learning, memory and response to stress.

The new research, by child psychiatrists and neuroscientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, is the first to show that changes in this critical region of children's brain anatomy are linked to a mother's nurturing...MORE...

The Verigin Dental Health Team | February 8, 2012 at 7:24 am | Tags: brain, chemotherapy, diet soda, genes, health, heart attacks, massage therapy, mothering, sleep apnea, stroke, sugar | Categories: Cancer, Drugs, Food, General health | URL: http://wp.me/pf8OH-1I9

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[LISA'S FOODS] Why I Don’t Cook at Home

2012-02-07T06:00:00.001-08:00

LISA'S FOODS has posted a new item, 'Why I Dont Cook at Home'

Alright, it's time for a confession. Ever since I moved back home in October,
I've barely done any cooking. Yes, me. A food blogger. A foodie. A person who
normally loves to cook. Sure, I still make oatmeal most mornings, and I make
simple things like eggs and pasta and couscous. But [...]

You may view the latest post at
http://lisasfoods.com/2012/02/07/why-i-dont-cook-at-home/

You received this e-mail because you asked to be notified when new updates are
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Best regards,
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[New post] Scientists Sue FDA for Secret Surveillance

2012-02-06T06:32:00.001-08:00

Scientists Sue FDA for Secret Surveillance

by The Verigin Dental Health Team

Well, this is interesting (via New Scientist):

Six scientists and doctors are now suing the FDA for intercepting their private emails and installing spyware on their computers, after they blew the whistle on problems with the approval of medical devices.

In 2008, four of the six plaintiffs told the US Congress that they had been pressured by FDA managers to alter their conclusions that computer-aided detection devices, used to interpret mammograms and other radiological scans, were not effective.

According to the National Whistleblowers Center,

The lawsuit filed last week by the six whislteblowers details how the FDA began targeting employees for special monitoring after learning that the employees blew the whistle on managers' misconduct in approving unsafe medical devices. The Agency installed (or activated) spyware on their workplace computers and used other technology that to monitor their password-protected Gmail-to-Gmail communications and take contemporaneous screen shots of the employees' computer screens.

The FDA's prolonged, covert monitoring of the whistleblowers continued even after the HHS Office of Inspector General denied the FDA's request to take any criminal and/or administrative action against the whistleblowers. In their letter of refusal, the OIG explicitly informed the FDA that the whistleblowers' communications to Congress were protected under law.

This "went far beyond 'routine monitoring,'" said NWC Executive Director Stephen M. Kohn, who is also serving as the plaintiffs' attorney. "They unconstitutionally targeted one group of employees simply because they had the guts to speak up about misconduct."

Senator Charles Grassley has launched an investigation into the matter.

You can see documents related to the case here and here. The NWC's public call to action is here.

Image by Truthout.org, via Flickr

The Verigin Dental Health Team | February 6, 2012 at 7:31 am | Tags: covert surveillance, FDA, medical devices, whistleblowers | Categories: General health | URL: http://wp.me/pf8OH-1HX

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[New post] Stat!: Are Americans Getting Healthier?

2012-02-03T06:32:00.001-08:00

[LISA'S FOODS] Four Lessons Learned from Working in Retail

2012-02-03T05:40:00.001-08:00

LISA'S FOODS has posted a new item, 'Four Lessons Learned from Working in
Retail'

For the last few months, I've been working part-time at a retail job at a
family-owned business. About eight years ago, when I was deep into
unconventional and short-term job adventures, I headed home for the holiday
season, and worked at this same shop to save up some money. These lessons can
[...]

You may view the latest post at
http://lisasfoods.com/2012/02/03/four-lessons-learned-from-working-in-retail/

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[New post] Questioning the Quo: One Pharmacist’s Tale

2012-02-01T06:33:00.001-08:00

Questioning the Quo: One Pharmacist’s Tale

by The Verigin Dental Health Team

Though we don't agree with everything in the article below - recently distributed by the "Orthomolecular Medicine News Service" - it's a good read that that offers some insight to the pressures that pharmacists (and others) are under to perpetuate medicine that, at best, helps "manage" illness and at worst generates more illness:

Confessions of a Frustrated Pharmacist

by Stuart Lindsey, PharmD.

I'm a registered pharmacist. I am having a difficult time with my job. I sell people drugs that are supposed to correct their various health complaints. Some medicines work like they're supposed to, but many don't. Some categories of drugs work better than others. My concern is that the outcomes of treatment I observe are so unpredictable that I would often call the entire treatment a failure in too many situations.

How It Started

In 1993, I graduated with a BS in Pharmaceutical Sciences from University of New Mexico. I became pharmacy manager for a small independent neighborhood drug store. Starting in the year 2000, nutrition became an integral part of our business. The anecdotal feedback from the customers who started vitamin regimens was phenomenal. That same year, my PharmD clinical rotations began with my propensity for nutritional alternatives firmly in place in my mind. On the second day of my adult medicine rotation, my preceptor at a nearby hospital informed me that he had every intention of beating this vitamin stuff out of me. I informed him that probably wouldn't happen. Three weeks later I was terminated from my rotations. The preceptor told my supervisor at UNM that there were acute intellectual differences that couldn't be accommodated in their program. What had I done? I was pressuring my preceptor to read an article written by an MD at a hospital in Washington state that showed if a person comes into the emergency room with a yet to be diagnosed problem and is given a 3,000-4,000 mg bolus of vitamin C, that person's chance of dying over the next ten days in ICU dropped by 57%! [1]

One would think that someone who is an active part of the emergency room staff might find that an interesting statistic. His solution to my attempting to force him to read that article was having me removed from the program.

Pecking Order

The traditional role of the pharmacist in mainstream medicine is subordinate to the doctor. The doctor is responsible for most of the information that is received from and given to the patient. The pharmacist's responsibility is to reinforce the doctor's directions. The doctor and the pharmacist both want to have a positive treatment outcome, but there is a legally defined 'standard of care' looking over their shoulder.

The training that I received to become a PharmD motivated me to become more interested in these treatment outcomes. After refilling a patient's prescriptions a few times, it becomes obvious that the expected positive outcomes often simply don't happen. It's easy to take the low road and blame it on "poor compliance by the patient." I'm sure this can explain some treatment failure outcomes, but not all. Many (indeed most) drugs such as blood pressure regulators can require several adjustments of dose or combination with alternative medicines before a positive outcome is obtained.

Wrong Drug; Wrong Disease

One drug misadventure is turning drugs that were originally designed for a rare (0.3% of the population) condition called Zollinger-Ellison syndrome into big pharma's treatment for occasional indigestion. These drugs are called proton-pump inhibitors (PPI). [2] After prolonged exposure to PPIs, the body's true issues of achlorhydria start to surface. [3]

These drugs are likely to cause magnesium deficiency, among other problems. Even the FDA thinks their long-term use is unwise. [4]

The original instructions for these drugs were for a maximum use of six weeks . . . until somebody in marketing figured out people could be on the drugs for years. Drug usage gets even more complicated when you understand excessive use of antibiotics could be the cause of the initial indigestion complaints. What you get from inserting proton pump inhibitors into this situation is a gastrointestinal nightmare. A better course of medicine in this type of case might well be a bottle of probiotic supplements (or yogurt) and a few quarts of aloe-vera juice.

Many doctors are recognizing there are problems with overusing PPI's, but many still don't get it. An example of this is my school in NM had a lot of students going onto a nearby-impoverished area for rotations. They have blue laws in this area with no alcohol sales on Sunday. The students saw the pattern of the patients going into the clinics on Monday after abusing solvents, even gasoline vapors, and having the doctors put them on omeprazole (eg. Prilosec), long term, because their stomachs are upset. This is medicine in the real world.

Reliability or Bias?

Mainstream medicine and pharmacy instill into their practitioners from the beginning to be careful about where you get your information. Medical journals boast of their peer review process. When you discuss with other health professionals, invariably they will ask from which medical journal did you get your information. I actually took an elective course in pharmacy on how to evaluate a particular article for its truthfulness. The class was structured on a backbone of caution about making sure, as one read an article, that we understand that real truthfulness only comes from a few approved sources.

I was never comfortable with this concept. Once you realized that many of these "truthfulness bastions" actually have a hidden agenda, the whole premise of this course became suspect. One of my preceptors for my doctoral program insisted that I become familiar with a particular medical journal. If I did, she said, I would be on my way to understanding the "big picture." When I expressed being a little skeptical of this journal, the teacher told me I could trust it as the journal was non-profit, and there were no editorial strings attached.

Weirdly enough, what had started our exchange over credibility was a warm can of a diet soft drink on the teacher's desk. She drank the stuff all day. I was kidding around with her, and asked her if she had seen some controversial articles about the dangers of consuming quantities of aspartame. She scoffed at my conspiracy-theory laden point of view and I thought the subject was closed. The beginning of the next day, the teacher gave me an assignment: to hustle over to the medical library and make sure I read a paper she assured me would set me straight about my aspartame suspicions, while simultaneously demonstrating the value of getting my information from a nonprofit medical journal. It turned out that the article she wanted me to read, in the "nonprofit medical journal," was funded in its entirety by the Drug Manufacturers Association.

Flashy Pharma Ads

As I read the literature, I discovered that there is very decided barrier between two blocks of information: substances that can be patented vs. those substances that can't be. The can-be-patented group gets a professional discussion in eye-pleasing, four-color-print, art-like magazines. This attention to aesthetics tricks some people into interpreting, from the flashy presentation method, that the information is intrinsically truthful.

The world's drug manufacturers do an incredibly good job using all kinds of media penetration to get the word out about their products. The drug industry's audience used to be confined to readers of medical journals and trade publications. Then, in 1997, direct-to-consumer marketing was made legal. [5]

Personally, I don't think this kind of presentation should be allowed. I have doctor friends that say they frequently have patients that self-diagnose from TV commercials and demand the doctor write them a prescription for the advertised product. The patients then threaten the doctor, if s/he refuses their request, that they will change doctors to get the medication. One of my doctor friends says he feels like a trained seal.

Negative Reporting on Vitamins

A vitamin article usually doesn't get the same glossy presentation. Frequently, questionable vitamin research will be published and get blown out of proportion. A prime example of this was the clamor in the press in 2008 that vitamin E somehow caused lung cancer. [6]

I studied this 2008 experiment [7] and found glaring errors in its execution. These errors were so obvious that the experiment shouldn't have gotten any attention, yet this article ended up virtually everywhere. Anti-vitamin spin requires this kind of research to be widely disseminated to show how "ineffectual" and even "dangerous" vitamins are. I tracked down one of the article's original authors and questioned him about the failure to define what kind of vitamin E had been studied. A simple literature hunt shows considerable difference between natural and synthetic vitamin E. This is an important distinction because most of the negative articles and subsequent treatment failures have used the synthetic form for the experiment, often because it is cheap. Natural vitamin E with mixed tocopherols and tocotrienols costs two or three times more than the synthetic form.

Before I even got the question out of my mouth, the researcher started up, "I know, I know what you're going to say." He ended up admitting that they hadn't even considered the vitamin E type when they did the experiment. This failure to define the vitamin E type made it impossible to draw a meaningful conclusion. I asked the researcher if he realized how much damage this highly quoted article had done to vitamin credibility. If there has been anything like a retraction, I have yet to see it.

Illness is Not Caused by Drug Deficiency

If you've made it this far in reading this article you have discerned that I'm sympathetic to vitamin arguments. I think most diseases are some form of malnutrition. Taking the position that nutrition is the foundation to disease doesn't make medicine any simpler. You still have to figure out who has what and why. There are many disease states that are difficult to pin down using the "pharmaceutical solution to disease." A drug solution is a nice idea, in theory. It makes the assumption that the cause of a disease is so well understood that a man-made chemical commonly called 'medicine' is administered, very efficiently solving the health problem. The reality though, is medicine doesn't understand most health problems very well. A person with a heart rhythm disturbance is not low on digoxin. A child who is diagnosed with ADHD does not act that way because the child is low on Ritalin. By the same logic, a person with type II diabetes doesn't have a deficit of metformin. The flaw of medicine is the concept of managing (but not curing) a particular disease state. I'm hard pressed to name any disease state that mainstream medicine is in control of.

Voltaire allegedly said, "Doctors are men who pour drugs of which they know little, to cure diseases of which they know less, into human beings of whom they know nothing." Maybe he overstated the problem. Maybe he didn't.

References:

Free full text paper at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1422648/pdf/20021200s00014p814.pdf Also: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1422648/?tool=pubmed

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2777040 and http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1697548

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21509344 and http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21731913

http://www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch/SafetyInformation/SafetyAlertsforHumanMedicalProducts/ucm245275.htm

http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMsa070502#t=articleResults

Media example: http://seniorjournal.com/NEWS/Nutrition-Vitamins/2008/8-02-29-VitaminEMay.htm OMNS' discussion at: http://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v04n18.shtml

Original article at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2258445/?tool=pubmed or http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2258445/pdf/AJRCCM1775524.pdf

Image by justmakeit, via Flickr

The Verigin Dental Health Team | February 1, 2012 at 7:32 am | Tags: big pharma, health, medicine, orthomolecular medicine, pharmaceutical drugs, Vitamins | Categories: Drugs, General health, Vitamins | URL: http://wp.me/pf8OH-1HE

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[LISA'S FOODS] Find a Fitness Program that Works for You

2012-02-01T03:35:00.001-08:00

LISA'S FOODS has posted a new item, 'Find a Fitness Program that Works for You'

If there's one thing I've learned about exercise, it's that we should
choose to do what we love, not what we think we should do. After much trial and
error, I've finally figured out what works for me. MY SPORTS STORY In high
school I always wanted to be good at [...]

You may view the latest post at
http://lisasfoods.com/2012/02/01/find-a-fitness-program-that-works-for-you/

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[LISA'S FOODS] Unconventional Roots: A Study Abroad Adventure

2012-01-31T03:40:00.001-08:00

LISA'S FOODS has posted a new item, 'Unconventional Roots: A Study Abroad
Adventure'

Junior year, second semester of college, I had it all planned out: I was going
to study indigenous cultures in the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia.
But, just weeks before the start date, it was cancelled due to low enrollment.
I started from scratch with my study abroad program search, and thought of [...]

You may view the latest post at
http://lisasfoods.com/2012/01/31/unconventional-roots-a-study-abroad-adventure/

You received this e-mail because you asked to be notified when new updates are
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[New post] Eminently Quotable: Wendell Berry

2012-01-30T06:23:00.001-08:00

[LISA'S FOODS] Why I Stopped Checking In

2012-01-30T03:36:00.001-08:00

LISA'S FOODS has posted a new item, 'Why I Stopped Checking In'

When I was in Disney World in October, I noticed a lot of my friends were using
Foursquare. It seemed like a good way to know who was where, so I signed up,
and on and off for the next few months, I checked into places all the time. If
you've never used [...]

You may view the latest post at
http://lisasfoods.com/2012/01/30/why-i-stopped-checking-in/

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[New post] How Stress Triggers Immune System, & Other News of Note

2012-01-27T06:42:00.001-08:00

How Stress Triggers Immune System, & Other News of Note

by The Verigin Dental Health Team

Study Shows How Stress Triggers Immune System (USA Today)

Shedding some light on why stress might be bad for you, a new study finds that parts of your immune system ramp up when you get into personal conflicts with others.

It's not clear how this effect of stress may make you sick, but the activated parts of the immune system - which cause inflammation in the body - have been linked to conditions such as diabetes and cancer.

"The message is that the flotsam and jetsam of life predict changes in your underlying biology in ways that cumulatively could have a bad effect on health," said study co-author Shelley Taylor, a professor of psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles. "What this tells me is that people should be investing in socially supportive relationships, and they should not court relationships that lead to a great deal of conflict"...MORE...

US to Tell Drugmakers to Disclose Payment to Doctors (San Jose Mercury News)

To head off medical conflicts of interest, the Obama administration is poised to require drug companies to disclose the payments they make to doctors for research, consulting, speaking, travel and entertainment.

Many researchers have found evidence that such payments can influence doctors' treatment decisions and contribute to higher costs by encouraging the use of more expensive drugs and medical devices.

Consumer advocates and members of Congress say patients may benefit from the new standards, being issued by the government under the new health care law. Federal officials said the disclosures increased the likelihood that doctors would make decisions in the best interests of patients, without regard to the doctors' financial interests...MORE...

Shortage of Research on When There's Too Much Health Care (NPR)

Published research on overuse is in pretty short supply, so rooting out waste by looking at the existing studies can be a little like limiting your late-night search for lost car keys to the spots right under streetlights.

Still, you've got start somewhere.

And a group of researchers combed the literature, zeroing in on 172 papers (out of more than 114,000 relevant ones published between 1978 and 2009) to see where the evidence for overuse was strongest.

What did they find?...MORE...

Most Women Can Skip Frequent Bone Tests (Futurity.org)

Older women who receive normal bone mineral density scores may not need to be screened again for 10 years, new research shows.

Since 2002, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force has recommended that women ages 65 and older be routinely screened for osteoporosis and has suggested that a two-year screening interval might be appropriate. However, what length the screening interval should be is a topic that remains undecided.

"If a woman's bone density at age 67 is very good, then she doesn't need to be re-screened in two years or three years, because we're not likely to see much change," says Margaret Gourlay, assistant professor of family medicine at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill...MORE...

Big Pharma Routinely Suppresses Data from Clinical Trials - but FDA Approves These Dangerous Drugs Anyway! (Alliance for Natural Health)

Drug research, even from clinical trials sponsored by the federal government, is routinely suppressed, according to a new study in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), an international peer-reviewed medical publication. The study found that less than half of all NIH-funded clinical drug trials were published in a medical journal within two and a half years of the trial's completion—with fully one-third of trial results remaining unpublished even four years after the trial. Why? Because the drug manufacturers didn't like the data...MORE...

Suffered an Injury? Omega 3 Fatty Acids Are Key (NY Daily News)

Omega-3 fatty acids are vital for the body's normal growth and development. Because the body doesn't produce omega-3 fatty acids naturally, they have to be consumed in foods such as oily fish or in supplements.

The new study, published this week in the Journal of Neuroscience, has found that omega-3 fatty acids could play a significant role in preventing and protecting nerves from injury...MORE...

The Verigin Dental Health Team | January 27, 2012 at 7:35 am | Tags: big pharma, bone density screening, Drugs, FDA, immune system, medical research, omega 3s, osteoporosis, overtreatment, pharmaceuticals, Stress | Categories: Drugs, General health, Industrial Medicine, Mind-body, Stress, Women's health | URL: http://wp.me/pf8OH-1Ht

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[LISA'S FOODS] Weekend Reading

2012-01-27T05:45:00.001-08:00

LISA'S FOODS has posted a new item, 'Weekend Reading'

PHRASE OF THE WEEK: SUBTLE BLOG CHANGES Usually when I make changes to the blog
(like in the theme, or the subtitle), I make a big public announcement blog
post. Not this time. After the Foodbuzz Festival in November, where I chatted
with fellow bloggers about the direction I wanted my blog [...]

You may view the latest post at
http://lisasfoods.com/2012/01/27/weekend-reading-19/

You received this e-mail because you asked to be notified when new updates are
posted.
Best regards,
Lisa Fine
lisasfoods@gmail.com

[New post] A Different Kind of a (Dental Kind of) “Clip Joint”

2012-01-25T06:41:00.001-08:00

A Different Kind of a (Dental Kind of) “Clip Joint”

by The Verigin Dental Health Team

Here's a minor but attention-grabbing dental horror story: "A former dentist in Massachusetts has pleaded guilty to Medicaid fraud for using paper clips instead of stainless steel posts in root canals."

Um. Okay.

Technically, though, posts aren't used in root canals. But "Mass. dentist admits doing paper clip post and core restorations following root canal treatment" is kinda wordy. And it doesn't sound quite so scary.

Root canal treatment basically involves gutting a deeply decayed tooth: taking out the diseased but living tissue and filling the empty space - the literal "root canal" - with gutta percha or similar material. Since so much tooth structure is lost, the dentist has to recreate some of it to provide stability for a crown. This recreation is called a "core." Sometimes, a metal post will be placed alongside the root canal to help anchor the core to the tooth.

Suffice it to say, those posts aren't normally made of paper clip sections - although, according to the AP, Massachussetts Attorney General and non-dentist Martha Coakley said that "paper clips can sometimes be used temporarily."

Interestingly, posts may actually make a root canal tooth more vulnerable. One study - published in the European Journal of Medical Research in 2005 - found that while 6.6% of non-post root canal teeth had complications, more than 13% of post restorations did.

The Cox-Regression analysis showed that teeth restored with a post system had a statistically significant higher failure rate (p = 0.044) than those which had been restored without posts.

Considered from the standpoint of biological dental medicine, inserting metal into a root canal filled tooth is just adding fuel to a fire. Not only do you have a dead tooth in the mouth as an energetic block and potential source of focal infection; you also have inorganic material disrupting energy flow on the associated meridian, just like a dental implant. Even more, if other metals are in the mouth - say, a core made out of mercury amalgam - you have a trigger for oral galvanism. In short, you've effectively tripled the risk of developing dentally-related illness elsewhere in the body, far beyond the mouth.

Learn more about the health risks associated with root canal teeth.

As for the Massachussetts doc? He's also pled guilty to assault and battery, illegally prescribing prescription drugs and witness intimidation. He'll be sentenced next week.

Image by Louise de Cours, via Flickr

The Verigin Dental Health Team | January 25, 2012 at 7:41 am | Tags: dental restorations, Dentistry, focal infection, oral galvanism, Root canals | Categories: Biological Dentistry, Restorative dentistry, Root canals | URL: http://wp.me/pf8OH-1Hi

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[LISA'S FOODS] Five Techniques on Creating Blog Posts That Inspire

2012-01-25T05:11:00.001-08:00

LISA'S FOODS has posted a new item, 'Five Techniques on Creating Blog Posts That
Inspire'

Whether you have a blog, or are thinking of starting one, there are a few
techniques to come up with posts that you're excited about writing, which, in
turn, will probably inspire your readers. Note: If you don't have a blog yet
and want to, but aren't sure what to write about, think about [...]

You may view the latest post at
http://lisasfoods.com/2012/01/25/five-techniques-on-creating-blog-posts-that-inspire/

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[LISA'S FOODS] Dreaming of a Car Free Life

2012-01-24T05:00:00.001-08:00

LISA'S FOODS has posted a new item, 'Dreaming of a Car Free Life'

IMAGINE On your way home from work, you want to pick up some things for dinner.
Fresh foods, and just what you need for that night. You choose a supermarket or
farmers' market on the way home, fill up your reusable bag with some items,
and walk or take the subway home. You [...]

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[New post] Health: An “Active & Deliberate Creation”

2012-01-23T07:21:00.001-08:00

Health: An “Active & Deliberate Creation”

by The Verigin Dental Health Team

Last week, to absolutely no one's surprise, cooking show personality Paula Deen announced that, yes, she has type 2 diabetes.

And what made her decide to go public now, three years after her diagnosis? As she told USA Today,

"I felt like I had nothing to offer anybody other than the announcement. I wasn't armed with enough knowledge. I knew when it was time, it would be in God's time."

* * *

She says her delay in talking about the disease had nothing to do with fear about hurting her reputation. "That was not why. My knowledge about the disease was very limited. But now I'm coming with good information, something that can help and bring hope to other people. It may sound cliché, but it's the God-honest truth."

That "something" wouldn't happen to be an endorsement deal with a drug company now, would it?

Of course it would.

So now she's the star of a new website from Novo Nordisk, maker of the daily injectable Deen takes to "manage" her illness. While the site purports to be educational - a source of "recipes, lifestyle tips and support" - there's only one lesson: Got diabetes? Inject Victoza! Hence, the FDA-required risk disclosure that appears toward the bottom of every page.

None of this is surprising. It's PR, not news. And it reinforces a lot of ideas that can keep us from enjoying more optimum health and wellness.

Deen says that when she first heard she had the disease in 2008, she was surprised and "a little sad because I thought my whole life was going to have to change, and I like my life."

But after a conversation with her own doctor "and Dr. Mehmet Oz, one of my precious friends, I realized you can live a full life." Deen says her blood sugar "is good. It's under control."

Besides using the medication, Deen is walking a mile or more a day on the treadmill and no longer drinking sweet tea. "That's a big trick for a little Southern girl. I calculated how much sugar I drank in empty calories, and it was staggering. I would start drinking tea at lunchtime and drank it all the way to bedtime."

She hasn't made a lot of other changes in how she eats and cooks....

In a way, how we are is who we are. We define ourselves by the way we live. Why would we want to change anything? Real change is hard. There's comfort in the familiar. It's easier to start taking a drug to "manage" symptoms than to replace illness-triggering and -spurring behaviors with health-promoting ones.

But even when we know that what we like is harming us, many of us still hang on fiercely to what we know. Consider results from a just-published study in Cancer. If there's any time a smoker should quit, it's after a cancer diagnosis, right? Yet tracking more than 5000 lung and colorectal cancer patients, the study found that about 1/3 of lung patients and nearly 2/3 of colorectal patients still kept up their habit 5 months later.

But we can look at this another way: about 2/3 of lung patients and 1/3 of colorectal patients did change. "Hard" is not a synonym of "impossible." For each of us is agent of our own health and well-being.

In his book Confessions of a Medical Heretic, Dr. Robert Mendelsohn mentions one reason why some of us choose to be passive agents: alienation from our own "body and its natural processes."

When you fear something, you avoid it. You ignore it. You shy away from it. You pretend it doesn't exist. You let someone else worry about it. This is how the doctor takes over. We let him. We say: I don't want to have anything to do with this, my body and its problems, doc. You take care of it, doc. Do what you have to do.

But the result isn't health - just the semblance of it: an absence of symptoms. Health is bigger than this. And more dynamic.

Health is a large word. It embraces not the body only,
but the mind and spirit as well...and not today's pain or pleasure alone,
but the whole being and outlook of a man. - James H. West

Health is also a choice.

Conscious health means choosing health. It means choosing health with understanding,
awareness, intention, and vision. Conscious health is the active and deliberate
creation of a vital body, mind, and spirit, with full knowledge, understanding, and belief.
We create our lives, and we have the power to re-create them. When we are
fully conscious, we can take responsibility for our own health. We can make
the necessary choices and decisions. We can determine our health destiny. - Ron Garner

Image by lucias_clay, via Flickr

The Verigin Dental Health Team | January 23, 2012 at 8:17 am | Tags: big pharma, Cancer, choosing health, diabetes, health, holistic health, Paula Deen, smoking | Categories: Drugs, General health | URL: http://wp.me/pf8OH-1GV

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[LISA'S FOODS] Get Off the Internet

2012-01-23T04:15:00.001-08:00

LISA'S FOODS has posted a new item, 'Get Off the Internet'

After I got that reader email in December, we continued to write long emails
back and forth, about job ideas, about vegetarian cooking, about living a life
with passion.
At some point in our writing, I stopped and thought – this would be much more
effective on the phone. We can talk about all kinds of [...]

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[New post] An Implant Is an Implant Is an Implant

2012-01-20T07:55:00.001-08:00

An Implant Is an Implant Is an Implant

by The Verigin Dental Health Team

It's easy to understand why dental implants appeal. Aesthetically and functionally, they seem the next best thing to natural teeth. You don't have to take them out or use special tools to clean them, and they last a long time. Other types of restorations typically have a 75 - 85% survival rate (PDF) after 10 years - though one new study found a 93.5% survival rate for all-ceramic restorations.

Cases involving bruxism, nonvital teeth, and specific cementation agents created significantly increased rates of failure. Yet even when failures occurred, patients overwhelmingly reported "excellent" satisfaction.

In comparison, implant studies show success rates as high as 98%. (Interestingly, the rate drops more than 10% when "patient related" instead of "implant related.")

But is longevity the best measure? Mercury amalgam lasts a long time, too, yet it's been repeatedly shown to contribute to a wide array of illnesses. So, too, implants.

As we discussed before, there are three key problems when it comes to implants:

Placing an implant in the bone triggers an autoimmune response.

Each of your teeth sits on a particular energetic meridian along with several other organs, glands and other anatomical structures. Implants radically alter the energy flow along its meridian. This can affect the health and function of associated organs.

Once an implant is placed, it changes the balance of and relationships among the various oral flora, pathogenic or otherwise. This affects the health of the biological terrain, which is the key determinant of health and illness. (You can learn more about the terrain – what it is and what it does – by reading the articles listed here.)

In short, the body responds as though under attack. The implant is an invader that must be fought off. We experience the response as symptoms. And we call a collection of related symptoms "illness."

Illnesses reported in the scientific record as being associated with implants include cancer, multiple sclerosis (MS), chronic fatigue (CFS), fibromyalgia and a range of autoimmune and neurological disorders.

There are some dentists who believe that only titanium and other metal implants cause problems. "Biocompatible" ceramic implants are deemed OK. Trouble is, regardless of the material, the implant still disrupts normal energy flow and creates disturbance in the biological terrain. As Dr. Verigin writes,

Biological Terrain Analysis (BTA) shows remarkable adverse changes in the rH2 values – a measure of oxidative stress. When these values are high, as we typically see in clients with implants, both cell and biological terrain functions take a hit. Nutrient uptake is inhibited, as is the delivery of hormone and energetic information. The body's natural energy state is disturbed.

Lodging an implant into the jaw creates a scenario similar to what happens when you skip a flat stone across the surface of a lake. Think about how the ripples grow smaller and fainter as they continue across the lake and then bounce back. They may be too faint for us to observe with the naked eye, but the effect persists. This is a form of energetic resonance. Likewise, when an implant is placed, there is bioresonance through the extracellular fluid.

Implants also create disturbances along the meridians on which they're placed. Meridians are your body's energetic pathways, connecting multiple organs and bodily structures. Disturbances or blockages in one area can affect the other organs on the same meridian, setting the stage for illness or dysfunction at sites far from the mouth. Disturbances caused by implants may be worsened if other metals - such as mercury amalgam "silver" fillings - are present, due to the creation of galvanic currents.

In this regard, "biocompatible implant" is a bit of a misnomer.

Of course, take good care of your teeth and gums, and you may not need to think of dental implants at all.

Image by MartinSchweppe, via Wikimedia Commons

The Verigin Dental Health Team | January 20, 2012 at 8:49 am | Tags: Biological Dentistry, ceramic implants, dental implants, Restorative dentistry, titanium implants | Categories: Biological Dentistry, Restorative dentistry | URL: http://wp.me/pf8OH-1GH

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[LISA'S FOODS] Weekend Reading

2012-01-20T03:30:00.001-08:00

LISA'S FOODS has posted a new item, 'Weekend Reading'

PHRASE OF THE WEEK: IN THE GROOVE After setting a goal this week of getting my
blog posts done the night before, I'm finally into it. I'm trying really
hard not to write posts at the end of the day. Instead, it's much more
satisfying to get a post done the night before it [...]

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http://lisasfoods.com/2012/01/20/weekend-reading-18/

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[LISA'S FOODS] Act. Don’t React.

2012-01-19T03:30:00.001-08:00

LISA'S FOODS has posted a new item, 'Act. Dont React.'

I'm in the middle of reading Seth Godin's book Linchpin, and Laura
Vanderkam's book 168 Hours. Both have the same theme: Don't waste your
time reacting. Spending your time acting. The first thing I do in the
morning, most of the time, as hard as I try to fight [...]

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[New post] Healthy Hearts Don’t Need “Preventive” Aspirin, & Other News of Note

2012-01-18T06:26:00.001-08:00

Healthy Hearts Don’t Need “Preventive” Aspirin, & Other News of Note

by The Verigin Dental Health Team

Healthy People Don't Need Aspirin to Prevent Heart Disease (HuffPo)

Healthy people shouldn't be taking aspirin to prevent heart disease, researchers say in a new report that casts doubt on recommendations from U.S. health officials.

* * *

[Dr. Kausik] Ray and his colleagues took a fresh look at nine previous trials of aspirin use in people who had never had chest pain or other symptoms of an ailing heart. They also looked for signs that the medication might stave off cancer, which some research has suggested.

Based on more than 100,000 men and women followed for an average of six years, there was no sign aspirin prevented fatal heart attacks. But it did cause a tiny drop in non-fatal heart attacks...MORE...

A Muffin Makeover: Dispelling the Low-Fat Is Healthy Myth (MedicalXpress)

"It's time to end the low-fat myth," said Walter Willett, professor of epidemiology and nutrition and chair of the Department of Nutrition at HSPH. "Unfortunately, many well-motivated people have been led to believe that all fats are bad and that foods loaded with white flour and sugar are healthy choices. This has clearly contributed to the epidemic of diabetes we are experiencing and premature death for many. The lesson contained in these healthy muffins — that foods can be both tasty and good for you — can literally be life-saving"...MORE...

Slow Carbs Reduce Inflammation Markers (UPI)

A diet rich in slowly digested carbohydrates - whole grains, legumes, high-fiber foods - reduces inflammation in chronic disease, U.S. researchers say.

Lead author Marian Neuhouser, a member of the Cancer Prevention Program in the Public Health Sciences Division at the Hutchinson Center in Seattle, said such a "low-glycemic-load" diet, which does not cause blood-glucose levels to spike, increases a hormone that helps regulate the metabolism of fat and sugar.

The controlled, randomized feeding study, which involved 80 healthy Seattle-area men and women -- half of normal weight and half overweight or obese -- found that among overweight and obese study participants, a low-glycemic-load diet reduced a biomarker of inflammation called C-reactive protein by about 22 percent, Neuhouser said...MORE...

How Genetically Modified Foods Could Affect Our Health in Unexpected Ways (AlterNet)

Chinese researchers have found small pieces of rice ribonucleic acid (RNA) in the blood and organs of humans who eat rice. The Nanjing University-based team showed that this genetic material will bind to receptors in human liver cells and influence the uptake of cholesterol from the blood.

The type of RNA in question is called microRNA (abbreviated to miRNA) due to its small size. MiRNAs have been studied extensively since their discovery ten years ago, and have been implicated as players in several human diseases including cancer, Alzheimer's, and diabetes. They usually function by turning down or shutting down certain genes. The Chinese research provides the first in vivo example of ingested plant miRNA surviving digestion and influencing human cell function in this way.

Should the research survive scientific scrutiny - a serious hurdle - it could prove a game changer in many fields. It would mean that we're eating not just vitamins, protein, and fuel, but gene regulators as well...MORE...

Iron Builds a Better Brain (The Scientist)

Iron deficiency is a well-known cause of impaired cognitive, language, and motor development, but a report out today (January 9) in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reveals that even in apparently healthy young adults, variations in iron levels correlate with variations in brain structure integrity.

"[The researchers] make a very interesting connection between the issue of iron metabolism and the integrity of white matter, more specifically myelin"—the cellular sheath that enwraps and insulates neuronal axons—said George Bartzokis of the University of California, Los Angeles, who was not involved in the study. "This would have been predicted by what is known about myelin, because it actually contains a lot of iron, so it is important that [they have] directly demonstrated this in humans with imaging"...MORE...

All That Stress Is Shrinking Your Brain, New Study Finds (MSNBC)

Simply feeling stressed-out was not linked to gray matter shrinkage. But feeling stressed-out combined with a history of stressful life events was. In particular, stress was linked to markedly less gray matter than expected in a part of the prefrontal cortex that regulates emotion and self-control, not to mention blood pressure and blood sugar.

That shrinkage might serve as a red flag about a greater risk of chronic diseases such as high blood pressure as well as psychiatric disorders, according to the researchers. And maybe it's already affecting brain function in the healthy individuals she studied, Sinha [the Yale neurobiologist Rajita Sinha, senior author of the new report] says...MORE...

Disruption of Biological Clocks Can Lead to Neurodegeneration, Early Death, Study Says (ScienceDaily)

New research at Oregon State University provides evidence for the first time that disruption of circadian rhythms -- the biological "clocks" found in many animals -- can clearly cause accelerated neurodegeneration, loss of motor function and premature death.

The study was published in Neurobiology of Disease and done by researchers at OSU and Oregon Health and Science University. Prior to this, it wasn't clear which came first - whether the disruption of biological clock mechanisms was the cause or the result of neurodegeneration...MORE...

Be Happy & Live Longer (HealthyImagination)

Scientific proof mounts: Be happy and live longer.

That's what British researchers found when they asked nearly 4,000 people, aged 52 to 79, to spend a typical weekday recording their emotions and then checked back an average of five years later to find how many study participants were still alive. Those who had scored the highest "positive attitude" (PA) had a substantially longer survival rate.

Only 3.6 percent of the high-PA group had died, compared to 4.6 percent of the medium-PA and 7.3 percent of the low-PA. The group highest on happiness ended up with a 35 percent lower risk of dying...MORE...

The Verigin Dental Health Team | January 18, 2012 at 7:25 am | Tags: aspirin, biological clock, brain, carbohydrates, diet, GMOs, happiness, health, heart health, inflammation, iron, low-fat diets, Nutrition, Obesity, preventive medicine, Stress | Categories: Food, General health, Nutrition, Obesity, Stress, Wellness | URL: http://wp.me/pf8OH-1GA

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[LISA'S FOODS] Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal

2012-01-18T03:30:00.001-08:00

LISA'S FOODS has posted a new item, 'Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal'

Yes. You read that right. Chocolate for breakfast. It's my new favorite
thing. Well, that's not true. When I went to a Peanut Butter & Co event many
months ago and got a free jar of Dark Chocolate Dreams, I added a big dollop of
that stuff to my morning oatmeal. It was [...]

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[LISA'S FOODS] Unconventional Roots: How It All Began

2012-01-17T03:30:00.001-08:00

LISA'S FOODS has posted a new item, 'Unconventional Roots: How It All Began'

It's funny. I often feel like the path I've taken is pretty different from
many of my friends and family. I took time off from jobs to try all kinds of
travel adventures and internships, to really embrace life and figure out what I
loved (and learned what I didn't love, in the process). [...]

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[LISA'S FOODS] Volunteer for the Year for Happiness

2012-01-16T03:30:00.001-08:00

LISA'S FOODS has posted a new item, 'Volunteer for the Year for Happiness'

Okay. So I'm no expert, nor have I done any research… But, if you ask most
people what they would do if they had more time, many of them would say they'd
volunteer. And in case you didn't know, today, MLK Day, is also a Day of
Service. From what I've read, volunteering [...]

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[LISA'S FOODS] Weekend Reading

2012-01-14T14:30:00.001-08:00

LISA'S FOODS has posted a new item, 'Weekend Reading'

PHRASE OF THE WEEK: BACK ON TRACK And that's it. As usual, the build-up
before a trip is unbelievable…and then it ends faster than you ever imagine.
As you can tell, I had an amazing time. I met lots of new people, hung out with
friends from my trip in October, and fell [...]

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[LISA'S FOODS] A Forced Running Break

2012-01-13T15:09:00.001-08:00

LISA'S FOODS has posted a new item, 'A Forced Running Break'

As I crossed the finish line of my first half marathon in October, my first
thought was: I will never run a full marathon. But as I crossed the finish
line of my second half marathon last week, I thought: I want to run this
[...]

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[New post] On That Proverbial Spoonful of Sugar

2012-01-13T08:23:00.001-08:00

On That Proverbial Spoonful of Sugar

by The Verigin Dental Health Team

First, there were the lollipops.

Then there were the mints.

Then came the gummy bears.

And now, presenting the next greatest cavity-fighter ever: ice cream!

Not just any old ice cream, though. Super special probiotic ice cream.

The researchers chose ice cream for this study because of its universal appeal, particularly among children. The probiotic ice cream used in the study was prepared by adding a freeze-dried culture of probiotic strains of Bifidobacterium lactis Bb-12 and Lactobacillus acidophilus La-5 and was manufactured by Amul, India, the authors explained. Both the probiotic ice cream and the control ice cream (no probiotic) had a vanilla flavor.

As ever, the basic idea: knock out or inhibit S. mutans and other pathogenic microbes involved in tooth decay. And did it work?

Well, just over 1/3 of the subjects showed a reduction of S. mutans in their saliva after eating the probiotic ice cream. But many with high bacterial counts got no effect. Maybe, speculated the authors, they needed a longer intervention or more "washout" time between eating the control and probiotic sample.

The full citation and abstract are available here.

Now, we understand the appeal of this kind of preventive approach. Most kids - and adults - are going to eat sweets no matter what. You have to help people by meeting them where they are, right?

And yet, where so many of us wind up is in a vicious cycle of unhealthy habits that fuel illness and dysfunction. We eat poorly. We take drugs to suppress symptoms yet don't get to the root causes of illness. We're sedentary, distracted, stressed. We reach for the quick fix, even if it makes us feel worse in the long run.

Consider: Addicts don't so much crave their substance of choice as they crave the relief it will bring from withdrawal. Feeding their addiction, they perpetuate it.

Similarly, interventions like "decay-fighting sweets" may reinforce the kinds of behaviors that raise the risk of decay. Yes, it's harder to change behaviors, but it's a surer, longer-lasting means to good oral (and physical) health.

As one dentist put it in an article we cited in our previous post on S. mutans,

I'm always open to new research that may offer suggestions for patients to avoid dental decay, and everyone would like there to be an easier way (just drink this or eat that), but brush, floss, and see your dentist is still the best. It's not sexy, but it works.

Images by stevendepolo & Caro Wallis, via Flickr

There wil be no post on Monday, due to the MLK holiday.

The Verigin Dental Health Team | January 13, 2012 at 9:22 am | Tags: cavities, Dental health, holistic health, ice cream, priobiotics, tooth decay | Categories: Dental health | URL: http://wp.me/pf8OH-1Gl

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[LISA'S FOODS] Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend, By the Numbers

2012-01-13T06:26:00.001-08:00

LISA'S FOODS has posted a new item, 'Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend, By the
Numbers'

5: Disney character photos to add to the collection (Jealous?) ;)

1000s: Sparkling Osborne Family Lights

4: Stunning safari-spotted elephants

20: Hours slept over my whole four night stay

2: Necessary cups of coffee to combat sleep deprivation

1.8: Miles run with Jeff Galloway

4: Meet-ups with old and new friends

1: Cup of Magner's Pear Cider

2: Meals with a side of [...]

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http://lisasfoods.com/2012/01/13/walt-disney-world-marathon-weekend-by-the-numbers/

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[LISA'S FOODS] Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend, By the Numbers

2012-01-13T05:44:00.001-08:00

LISA'S FOODS has posted a new item, 'Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend, By the
Numbers'

5: Disney character photos to add to the collection (Jealous?) ;)

1000s: Sparkling Osborne Family Lights

4: Stunning safari-spotted elephants

20: Hours slept over my whole four night stay

2: Necessary cups of coffee to combat sleep deprivation

1.8: Miles run with Jeff Galloway

4: Meet-ups with old and new friends

1: Cup of Magner's Pear Cider

2: Meals with a side of [...]

You may view the latest post at
http://lisasfoods.com/2012/01/12/walt-disney-world-marathon-weekend-by-the-numbers/

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[LISA'S FOODS] Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend, By the Numbers

2012-01-12T18:58:00.001-08:00

LISA'S FOODS has posted a new item, 'Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend, By the
Numbers'

5: Disney character photos to add to the collection (Jealous?) ;)

1000s: Sparkling Osborne Family Lights

4: Stunning safari-spotted elephants

20: Hours slept over my whole four night stay

2: Necessary cups of coffee to combat sleep deprivation

1.8: Miles run with Jeff Galloway

4: Meet-ups with old and new friends

1: Cup of Magner's Pear Cider

2: Meals with a side of [...]

You may view the latest post at
http://lisasfoods.com/2012/01/12/walt-disney-world-marathon-weekend-by-the-numbers/

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posted.
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Lisa Fine
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[New post] The Evolution of FDA’s Mercury Amalgam Classification

2012-01-11T06:49:00.001-08:00

[LISA'S FOODS] Unconventional Roots: New Beginnings

2012-01-10T17:31:00.001-08:00

LISA'S FOODS has posted a new item, 'Unconventional Roots: New Beginnings'

Back in December, I received an email from a college student who found my blog
through a search on jobs on farms: While I was looking through the Hawthorne
Valley Farm website, it led me to your blog post from May 10th, 2011. Your post
really connected to me, because while [...]

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http://lisasfoods.com/2012/01/10/unconventional-roots-new-beginnings/

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[New post] Monday Morning Funny: Pawsing to Brush

2012-01-09T06:32:00.001-08:00

[New post] The Oral-Systemic Connection, & Other News of Note

2012-01-06T07:18:00.001-08:00

The Oral-Systemic Connection, & Other News of Note

by The Verigin Dental Health Team

Can Poor Dental Health Lead to Pneumonia? (Dental Education Blog)

Yale University says so.

The oral systemic health study, presented this past October at the Infectious Diseases Society of America annual meeting in Boston, was headed by Dr. Samit Joshi of Yale University School of Medicine.

Researchers found changes in bacteria in the mouth preceded the development of pneumonia...MORE...

If Your Teeth Could Talk... (WSJ)

The eyes may be the window to the soul, but the mouth provides an even better view of the body as a whole.

Some of the earliest signs of diabetes, cancer, pregnancy, immune disorders, hormone imbalances and drug issues show up in the gums, teeth and tongue—sometimes long before a patient knows anything is wrong.

There's also growing evidence that oral health problems, particularly gum disease, can harm a patient's general health as well...MORE...

Dried Licorice Root Rights the Bacteria That Cause Tooth Decay & Gum Disease (MedicalXpress)

Scientists are reporting identification of two substances in licorice — used extensively in Chinese traditional medicine — that kill the major bacteria responsible for tooth decay and gum disease, the leading causes of tooth loss in children and adults. In a study in ACS' Journal of Natural Products, they say that these substances could have a role in treating and preventing tooth decay and gum disease...MORE...

Neck Pain Treatments Put to the Test (WebMD)

Spinal manipulation and at-home exercises may be better at relieving neck pain than relying on drugs.

But the best neck pain treatment may depend on the person.

A new study shows that spinal manipulation therapy from a chiropractor or home exercises provided by a therapist offered better neck pain relief than medication alone in people with neck pain of less than three months' duration...MORE...

FDA to Decide This March Whether to Ban BPA (ChronRx Health Blog)

The U.S. Food & Drug Administration on Wednesday committed to decide by March 31, 2012, whether bisphenol-A, otherwise known as BPA, should be banned from use in packaging for food and drinks.

The decision to decide is part of a settlement agreement with the National Resources Defense Council. The FDA took three years — more precisely 41 months — to respond to the environmental group's petition...MORE...

The 10 Most Important Health Freedom Stories of 2011 (Wake Up World)

2011 was an amazing year for the health freedom movement, with monumental victories against Monsanto, Merck and money-hungry pharmaceutical corporations as a whole. As the year comes to a close, it is important to look back on some of the most important stories that helped to propel the natural health movement into the mainstream spotlight...MORE...

The Verigin Dental Health Team | January 6, 2012 at 8:03 am | Tags: BPA, Dental health, FDA, health, holistic health, licorice root, Pain, pneumonia, spinal manipulation | Categories: Biological Dentistry, Dental health, Dentistry, Environmental Health, General health, Pain | URL: http://wp.me/pf8OH-1G0

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[LISA'S FOODS] Weekend Reading

2012-01-06T06:00:00.001-08:00

LISA'S FOODS has posted a new item, 'Weekend Reading'

PHRASE OF THE WEEK: DISNEY, AGAIN - HALF MARATHON, AGAIN I kind of can't
believe I signed up to run another half marathon. As you read this, I am in the
middle of lots of activity for Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend, and tomorrow
morning, bright and early, I'll be running my second half [...]

You may view the latest post at
http://lisasfoods.com/2012/01/06/weekend-reading-16/

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Lisa Fine
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[New post] Vegetarianism a Cause of Tooth Decay? Um, No. Not Exactly.

2012-01-04T08:03:00.001-08:00

Vegetarianism a Cause of Tooth Decay? Um, No. Not Exactly.

by The Verigin Dental Health Team

Did you hear the one about the "new" study finding "that vegetarians are much more likely to suffer from tooth decay, lower (more acidic) salivary pH levels, and lower stimulated saliva flow than control subjects that were matched by sex and age"?

We did (thank you, Google Alerts). Only the study's not new. And that's not exactly what its author found.

But at least the post included a link to the study (PDF) in question, originally published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition not last week or even in 2011 but in 1988.

The article - "Health Aspects of Vegetarian Diets" by Johanna T. Dwyer, DSc, of the New England Medical Center (now Tufts Medical Center) - is a literature review, not a dedicated study of the dental impact of a vegetarian diet. Of the nearly 350 citations it includes, just a handful focus on this issue. Looking at them as a whole, Dwyer found, "There is little evidence that vegetarians have better dental health than do nonvegetarians....Vegetarian diets do not provide any distinct dental advantage over nonvegetarian diets."

No better dental health. No advantage.

So how do we get from there to the headline "New Study: Vegetarians Have More Tooth Decay" (emphasis added)?

One study Dwyer looked at did find a higher rate of "dental erosions on some tooth surfaces, lower salivary pH levels, and lower stimulated saliva flow" among lactovegetarians (i.e., vegetarians who eat dairy). Other studies noted how fruit juices and acidic foods can erode teeth, which is hardly news these days. Yet, according to another study Dwyer cites,

If acid fruits and vegetables are eaten in conjunction with or after other foods rather than frequently between meals and their consumption is coupled with good oral hygiene, they pose little danger to dental health....

To then conclude that vegetarianism in general increases tooth decay is quite a leap.

Bottom line: A vegan diet is neither inherently better or worse for your teeth than a diet that includes meat, dairy, fish and eggs. What matters is the specific composition of the diet - along with eating and hygiene habits, as we noted in our previous post on raw food diets and tooth decay:

We regularly see new clients who eat a raw food diet to enhance their health. Yet when we examine their teeth, it is not uncommon to find a lot of decay. This often comes as a surprise to the client. Indeed, it seems counterintuitive when you consider that a raw food diet forgoes all processed foods and is often rich in fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds. Why should these clients suffer dental problems?

Part of the cause can be dietary - such as a high sugar intake from an overabundance of fruits, especially in dried form. But part is also behavioral. In fact, there is one commonality we see amongst all raw foodists with tooth decay: a tendency to "graze," eating small portions throughout the day. This habit - regardless of the type of diet one consumes - greatly increases the risk of developing tooth decay, especially around the gumline.

Why?

Carbohydrates tend to cling to tooth enamel more than fats and proteins do - especially around the base of the teeth, where food particles more easily can get stuck. There, they feed the oral microbes that form the biofilm often still called "plaque." As these microbes colonize, their metabolic byproducts acidify the oral environment. Ideally saliva neutralizes it, but when biofilm covers the oral surfaces, it can't do the job.

These acidic conditions peak for about 20 to 30 minutes, but if a person is grazing throughout the day, they're effectively nursing the problem, ensuring that conditions remain acidic and the biofilm is allowed to proliferate. Together, these greatly increase the risk of cavity formation.

That grazing is an issue was pounded home to us a while back, when a woman brought her twin boys to us for their dental care. One of the boys had excellent teeth while the other had rampant caries (cavities). Yet both ate the same diet, which included a muffin a breakfast each morning. How each boy ate it made all the difference: the one with no caries ate his muffin all at once, while the other saved his to nibble from throughout the day.

Same diet. Different eating behaviors. Different outcomes.

[See also "Making the Good Look Bad (& the Worse Look Better)."]

Good dental health - like good systemic health - depends on eating a nutrient-rich and varied diet. All the nutrients most essential to dental health - antioxidants, calcium, magnesium, zinc, trace minerals, vitamin D and protein - can be found in both plant and animal sources. Both vegans and meat-eaters alike should control the amount of sugars, high-acid foods and sugars they eat. Both groups should, at minimum, brush and floss after meals and avoid grazing through the day.

The moral of the story? Read carefully. And with curiosity. Follow links. Learn more.

Image by Judy Baxter, via Flickr

The Verigin Dental Health Team | January 4, 2012 at 9:02 am | Tags: Dental health, diet, Nutrition, tooth decay, vegan, vegetarian | Categories: Dental health, Food, Nutrition | URL: http://wp.me/pf8OH-1FI

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2012: The Year for Happiness

2012-01-04T02:19:00.001-08:00

2012 is the Year for Happiness on Lisa's Foods! Please join me in this new journey.

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Wednesday, January 4, 2012

2012 IS THE YEAR FOR HAPPINESS

What makes you happy?

It's a question I come back to, again and again, year after year. Usually, it's the first thing I'd choose to do when I don't have a to-do list a million items long. It might be wandering through a farmers' market, even if I don't have anything I need to buy. Or it might be sitting with a good book and a hot cup of tea under a warm blanket. Or going for a walk, just soaking up the sunshine.

How about you? What really makes you happy? And I don't mean the things that people expect you to say. There are no expectations here...but for 2012, I'm working towards my personal Year for Happiness, and I'd like you to do the same.

Find time each day, week, or month to reflect - am I doing anything that makes me happy? Or am I doing everything for everyone else? It's important to be giving towards others, but it's good to be a little selfish sometimes too. Life's too short to not take some time.

Read more: http://lisasfoods.com/2012/01/02/2012-is-the-year-for-happiness/

A SNEAK PREVIEW FROM A SPECIAL 2012 SERIES

One of the most inspiring parts of blogging is getting reader emails. The most recent one I got, from someone trying to figure out her direction in life, really hit home:

"...I guess I'm emailing you tonight because I am searching for the next step, and the possibility of being involved in a place such as Hawthorne Valley Farm has connected to me in a way in which I don't yet understand; but just knowing and believing that this way of life is what calls out to me is enough to satisfy any unspoken explanation."

When I read this email, I got the chills. I knew what it felt like to be in her shoes - not happy with the life options I was given, and wanting to explore the world in unconventional ways.

Starting this week, the first week of 2012, I'll be divulging in a new series dedicated to people looking for unconventional job and travel adventures. I can't wait for you to read it. Wishing you all a very Happy New Year, and may you find your own Year for Happiness.

I can't wait to continue this journey with you.

-Lisa

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[LISA'S FOODS] Budgeting is Not Just for Nerds

2012-01-03T14:06:00.001-08:00

LISA'S FOODS has posted a new item, 'Budgeting is Not Just for Nerds'

Or…maybe I am a nerd, because I love to budget. And I'm okay with that.
(But really. Budgeting is cool. I promise.)
Ask anyone who knows me well. I love to open up my various accounts, track my
spending and savings, and keep tabs of it all in an Excel spreadsheet.
I first learned to track money when [...]

You may view the latest post at
http://lisasfoods.com/2012/01/03/budgeting-is-not-just-for-nerds/

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posted.
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Lisa Fine
lisasfoods@gmail.com

[LISA'S FOODS] 2012 Is the Year for Happiness

2012-01-02T04:05:00.001-08:00

LISA'S FOODS has posted a new item, '2012 Is the Year for Happiness'

What are you goals for 2012? Do you set resolutions? Or do you just go with the
flow? I'm typically not one to set resolutions at the start of the year, but
I do love to set goals – on my birthday, after getting home from conferences
– just about any time. But [...]

You may view the latest post at
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[LISA'S FOODS] Weekend Reading

2011-12-30T15:55:00.001-08:00

LISA'S FOODS has posted a new item, 'Weekend Reading'

Phrase of the week: All quiet.

Do you hear that?

Me too…a lot of silence. It's been a quiet week, aside from a few meet ups
with old and new friends, for coffee, for walks, and gluten-free treats. I'm
finally reading regularly again (currently on How Starbucks Saved My Life – so
far so good!), and I've [...]

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http://lisasfoods.com/2011/12/30/weekend-reading-15/

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[LISA'S FOODS] Lisa’s Foods Review 2011

2011-12-29T09:02:00.001-08:00

LISA'S FOODS has posted a new item, 'Lisas Foods Review 2011'

2011 was a big one for Lisa's Foods. In fact, it was huge. Not necessarily in
numbers, but in action. IN 2011, I: Became a self-hosted blog. I wanted
the freedom to design my own blog, hence the new clean layout to match the clean
eating. [...]

You may view the latest post at
http://lisasfoods.com/2011/12/29/lisas-foods-review-2011/

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[LISA'S FOODS] Warm Up With Soup

2011-12-27T11:01:00.001-08:00

LISA'S FOODS has posted a new item, 'Warm Up With Soup'

It's getting cold around here. Brrr. When I went for my long run on Saturday,
it was in the high 30s, and while I stayed warm enough in my running tights,
fleece shirt and vest, and hat and gloves, when I got home all I wanted was a
hot shower and a hot meal. [...]

You may view the latest post at
http://lisasfoods.com/2011/12/27/warm-up-with-soup/

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Lisa Fine
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[LISA'S FOODS] I Have No Interest in Running a Full Marathon. Ever.

2011-12-26T11:05:00.001-08:00

LISA'S FOODS has posted a new item, 'I Have No Interest in Running a Full
Marathon. Ever.'

After running my first half marathon this past October, a bunch of people have
already asked me:

Are you gonna try to PR (set a personal record) on your next race?
Probably not. And while I'd kind of like to, my knee doesn't want me to. So
no, probably not. I just want to have fun and [...]

You may view the latest post at
http://lisasfoods.com/2011/12/26/i-have-no-interest-in-running-a-full-marathon-ever/

You received this e-mail because you asked to be notified when new updates are
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[LISA'S FOODS] What My Christmas Looks Like

2011-12-25T12:43:00.001-08:00

LISA'S FOODS has posted a new item, 'What My Christmas Looks Like'

A few days ago I mentioned that I don't celebrate Christmas, so I thought
it'd be fun to share what the holiday looks like on my schedule, from my
perspective. I also thought it'd be fun to set up a post in a timeline style,
since I don't think I've ever done that before, and [...]

You may view the latest post at
http://lisasfoods.com/2011/12/25/what-my-christmas-looks-like/

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Lisa Fine
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[LISA'S FOODS] What My Christmas Looks Like

2011-12-25T12:18:00.001-08:00

LISA'S FOODS has posted a new item, 'What My Christmas Looks Like'

You may view the latest post at
http://lisasfoods.com/2011/12/25/what-my-christmas-looks-like/

You received this e-mail because you asked to be notified when new updates are
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[LISA'S FOODS] Weekend Reading

2011-12-24T19:13:00.001-08:00

LISA'S FOODS has posted a new item, 'Weekend Reading'

Phrase of the week: Last long run. Did I mention that I'm running my second
half marathon in two weeks, again in Disney World? Yup. I'm really excited,
and kind of nervous. I went on my last long run today – ten miles – and just
like every long run I've done since my [...]

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http://lisasfoods.com/2011/12/24/weekend-reading-14/

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Lisa Fine
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[New post] Happy Holidays from The Verigin Dental Health Team

2011-12-23T06:16:00.001-08:00

[LISA'S FOODS] The Love That Didn’t Last…With Milk

2011-12-22T19:33:00.001-08:00

LISA'S FOODS has posted a new item, 'The Love That Didnt LastWith Milk'

Once, many years ago, Milk and I were friends. Good friends. I loved Milk. Milk
loved me.
Back in high school, I easily drank three large glasses a day. Milk went well
with cookies and peanut butter sandwiches, was refreshing, and was easily my
favorite drink.
Around when I turned 17 though, Milk betrayed me. Every time [...]

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http://lisasfoods.com/2011/12/22/the-love-that-didnt-lastwith-milk/

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[LISA'S FOODS] Make a Filling, Healthy Lunch in Five Minutes

2011-12-21T07:28:00.001-08:00

LISA'S FOODS has posted a new item, 'Make a Filling, Healthy Lunch in Five
Minutes'

Last week Beth shared a post about what she typically packs for lunch, and I
realized that I've been meaning to do the same kind of thing. I bring my
lunch to work the majority of the time, eating out maybe once a month, if that,
and usually just when coworkers invite me to [...]

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[New post] Biological Dental Health in 2011 – A Look Back

2011-12-21T06:54:00.001-08:00

Biological Dental Health in 2011 – A Look Back

by The Verigin Dental Health Team

With the year fading fast, it's time to take a quick look back at the 2011 edition of Know Thy Health - our third full year of blogging.

First, a snapshot, via the first sentence from the first post of each month:

January: Marie Flowers tells her story of mercury poisoning in powerful testimony at last month's FDA dental amalgam hearings....
February: Recently, the US Department of Health and Human Services recommended lowering the "recommended" amount of fluoride in public water sources due to rising rates of dental fluorosis, and the Environmental Protection Agency released a research review showing an increased risk of bone problems due to long-term ingestion of high levels of fluoride.
March: When you enter someone's home or office, part of you automatically notes how it feels.
April: Ever wonder why people snore?
May: A very patriotic British plumber has had Prince William and Kate Middleton tattooed on his front teeth.
June: Recently, the Pew Charitable Trusts released their latest report card on children's dental health Maryland came out on top, meeting seven of Pew's eight benchmarks, followed by Alaska, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota and South Carolina, which each met six.
July: Trainwreckery from the latest episode of Toddlers and Tiaras....
August: Here in the US, there are more than 350 different kinds of toothpaste to choose from, many of them so-called "whitening" toothpastes, containing baking soda, peroxide or some combination of both.
September: The August 2011 issue of Biosis, our quarterly newsletter, is now online.
October: From last October, Dr. Christina Grant, offers her take on the annual pinkwashing extravaganza....
November: Fruit juice is tasty stuff – but did you know that many juices contain more sugar than soda?
December: Thus spake "Dr. Mark Foster" – "a Well known Authority on Different Personal Hygiene and Dental Care Issues"....

Note: For months that began with curated content - e.g., "News of Note" or stand-alone video - we've taken the sentence from the second post instead.

We had about 66% more visits this year than last, both total and daily. And what were people looking at?

[LISA'S FOODS] What It’s Like to Celebrate Hanukkah

2011-12-20T18:44:00.001-08:00

LISA'S FOODS has posted a new item, 'What Its Like to Celebrate Hanukkah'

Oh hey there. Happy Hanukkah. Tonight's the first night of Hanukkah, and every
year around this time, I get asked a lot of questions: What do you do
for Hanukkah? What do you want for [...]

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A message from LISA'S FOODS - Just a test

2011-12-20T17:29:00.001-08:00

Hi everyone,

I've been having trouble with the email subscriptions, so I just wanted to send
out an email test to see if it's working again.

Sorry to clog up your email. :(

Have a good night!
Lisa

PC AND INTERNET TRICKS

[New post] Caring for Kids’ Teeth & Gums

New post on Know Thy Health

[LISA'S FOODS] Avocado Ricotta Egg Sandwich

[New post] Cancer Drugs Impact Descendants’ Genes, & Other News of Note

New post on Know Thy Health

[LISA'S FOODS] Why I Don’t Cook at Home

[New post] Scientists Sue FDA for Secret Surveillance

New post on Know Thy Health

[New post] Stat!: Are Americans Getting Healthier?

New post on Know Thy Health

[LISA'S FOODS] Four Lessons Learned from Working in Retail

[New post] Questioning the Quo: One Pharmacist’s Tale

New post on Know Thy Health

Confessions of a Frustrated Pharmacist

by Stuart Lindsey, PharmD.

How It Started

Pecking Order

Wrong Drug; Wrong Disease

Reliability or Bias?

Flashy Pharma Ads

Negative Reporting on Vitamins

Illness is Not Caused by Drug Deficiency

[LISA'S FOODS] Find a Fitness Program that Works for You

[LISA'S FOODS] Unconventional Roots: A Study Abroad Adventure

[New post] Eminently Quotable: Wendell Berry

New post on Know Thy Health

[LISA'S FOODS] Why I Stopped Checking In

[New post] How Stress Triggers Immune System, & Other News of Note

New post on Know Thy Health

[LISA'S FOODS] Weekend Reading

[New post] A Different Kind of a (Dental Kind of) “Clip Joint”

New post on Know Thy Health

[LISA'S FOODS] Five Techniques on Creating Blog Posts That Inspire

[LISA'S FOODS] Dreaming of a Car Free Life

[New post] Health: An “Active & Deliberate Creation”

New post on Know Thy Health

[LISA'S FOODS] Get Off the Internet

[New post] An Implant Is an Implant Is an Implant

New post on Know Thy Health

[LISA'S FOODS] Weekend Reading

[LISA'S FOODS] Act. Don’t React.

[New post] Healthy Hearts Don’t Need “Preventive” Aspirin, & Other News of Note

New post on Know Thy Health

Healthy People Don't Need Aspirin to Prevent Heart Disease (HuffPo)

A Muffin Makeover: Dispelling the Low-Fat Is Healthy Myth (MedicalXpress)

Slow Carbs Reduce Inflammation Markers (UPI)

How Genetically Modified Foods Could Affect Our Health in Unexpected Ways (AlterNet)

Iron Builds a Better Brain (The Scientist)

All That Stress Is Shrinking Your Brain, New Study Finds (MSNBC)

Disruption of Biological Clocks Can Lead to Neurodegeneration, Early Death, Study Says (ScienceDaily)

Be Happy & Live Longer (HealthyImagination)

[LISA'S FOODS] Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal

[LISA'S FOODS] Unconventional Roots: How It All Began

[LISA'S FOODS] Volunteer for the Year for Happiness

[LISA'S FOODS] Weekend Reading

[LISA'S FOODS] A Forced Running Break

[New post] On That Proverbial Spoonful of Sugar

New post on Know Thy Health

[LISA'S FOODS] Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend, By the Numbers

[LISA'S FOODS] Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend, By the Numbers

[LISA'S FOODS] Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend, By the Numbers

[New post] The Evolution of FDA’s Mercury Amalgam Classification

New post on Know Thy Health

[LISA'S FOODS] Unconventional Roots: New Beginnings

[New post] Monday Morning Funny: Pawsing to Brush

New post on Know Thy Health

[New post] The Oral-Systemic Connection, & Other News of Note

New post on Know Thy Health

[LISA'S FOODS] Weekend Reading

[New post] Vegetarianism a Cause of Tooth Decay? Um, No. Not Exactly.

New post on Know Thy Health

2012: The Year for Happiness

[LISA'S FOODS] Budgeting is Not Just for Nerds

[LISA'S FOODS] 2012 Is the Year for Happiness

[LISA'S FOODS] Weekend Reading

[LISA'S FOODS] Lisa’s Foods Review 2011

[LISA'S FOODS] Warm Up With Soup

[LISA'S FOODS] I Have No Interest in Running a Full Marathon. Ever.

[LISA'S FOODS] What My Christmas Looks Like