Major food safety reforms would be would be gr-r-reat

ACHS Master Herbalist Christina Suarez, owner of The Good Herb Company, led a talk at ACHS Saturday, March 21, about Organic Standards. While outlining the extensive requirements for organic certification, Suarez emphasized the importance of reading food labels to evaluate the health benefits of ingredients. As part of her presentation, Suarez talked about a recent news article in which the CEO of Kellogg calls for a food safety reform program. On principle, it just sounds like a good idea. But, on a practical level, it’s essential because, as Suarez pointed out, many of the foods we have been eating for years are GMO (a genetically modified organism), which many people don’t know.

Here is an excerpt of the article “Kellogg’s CEO calls for major food safety reforms” from the Associated Press, March 18.

“Tony the Tiger's boss says a food safety overhaul would be Gr-r-reat!
The Kellogg Co.’s top official is urging U.S. legislators to revamp the food safety system. The world's biggest cereal maker—its brands include Frosted Flakes—lost $70 million in the recent salmonella outbreak, after recalling seven million cases of peanut butter crackers and cookies.

CEO David Mackay will tell Congress on Thursday [March 19] the company wants food safety placed under a new leader in the Health and Human Services department. He also calls for new requirements that all food companies have written safety plans, annual federal inspections of facilities that make high-risk foods and other reforms.

Mackay’s strong endorsement of major changes could boost President Barack Obama's efforts to overhaul the system. Last week, Obama launched a special review of food safety programs, which are split among several departments and agencies and rely in some cases on decades-old laws. Critics say more funding is needed for inspections and basic research.

"The recent outbreak illustrated that the U.S. food safety system must be strengthened," Mackay said.

"We believe the key is to focus on prevention, so that potential sources of contamination are identified and properly addressed before they become actual food safety problems."

In addition to health prevention and safety, there are several reasons to avoid GMO-grown foods, however used to eating them we are. Here are a few:

1. Sustainability agriculture supports local food growing (like your favorite farmer’s market)
2. Environmental preservation
3. Taste. Non-GMO foods have it!

Click here to read more about Christina Suarez and The Good Herb Company.

To learn more about David Mackay’s presentation to Congress March 19, click here.

What do you know about GMO? Tell us below. Label-reading tips? We want to know those too.

March is National Nutrition Month

According to the American Heart Association, making wise dietary choices keeps your heart healthy. This month, make a commitment to learn more about cardiovascular health. It may sound difficult, but it's not. Heart health is not about one big, overwhelming choice. It's about the small choices you make throughout your day.

Here are a few simple choices from the AHA website to help get you moving towards a happier, healthier you...

1. Use up at least as many calories as you take in.

Start by knowing how many calories you should be eating and drinking to maintain your weight. Don’t eat more calories than you know you can burn up every day. Increase the amount and intensity of your physical activity to match the number of calories you take in. Aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity on most days of the week or—best of all—at least 30 minutes every day.

2. Eat a variety of nutritious foods from all the food groups.

Nutrient-rich foods have vitamins, minerals, fiber and other nutrients but are lower in calories. To get the nutrients you need, choose foods like vegetables, fruits, whole-grain products and fat-free or low-fat dairy products most often.

3. Eat less of the nutrient-poor foods.

The right number of calories to eat each day is based on your age and physical activity level and whether you're trying to gain, lose or maintain your weight. As you make daily food choices, base your eating pattern on these recommendations:

• Choose lean meats and poultry without skin and prepare them without added saturated and trans fat.
• Select fat-free, 1 percent fat, and low-fat dairy products.
• Cut back on foods containing partially hydrogenated vegetable oils to reduce trans fat in your diet.
• Cut back on foods high in dietary cholesterol. Aim to eat less than 300 milligrams of cholesterol each day.
• Cut back on beverages and foods with added sugars.
• Choose and prepare foods with little or no salt. Aim to eat less than 2,300 milligrams of sodium per day.
• If you drink alcohol, drink in moderation. That means one drink per day if you’re a man.
• Keep an eye on portion size.

If you have heart-healthy tips or recipes of your own, we'd love it if you'd share. The more we know about making healthy choices, the better. Thanks!

For more information, visit the American Heart Association website at: http://www.americanheart.org

Three Tips for Optimism: Positioning Health Products Amid Recession

With the economy hurtling downward, it's not a question of if the economy will affect your business - but to what extent. However, if you're selling health products, you've got some reasons to be optimistic. In fact, the health product market has a history of staying strong despite dips in the economy. And the reasons behind this staying power bodes well for health products today.

A recent survey conducted by Nutrition Business Journal and Avero Research found that 98% of American households spend at least a portion of their budgets on healthy foods. And better yet, on average consumers reported spending 51% of their household food budget on healthy foods.

Now admittedly, this survey was conducted in May 2008, before the real financial travails started, but when you look deeper into consumer thinking, you'll find three significant reasons to feel more positive about your health business' prospects over the next few months.

Furthermore, these 3 reasons provide great ways to position your products for the altered consumer mindset:

1. People see health as a wise investment: This election showed more than ever that people are hurting financially as a direct result of health problems. And as the Avero poll above demonstrates, people are using health, specifically preventative health, as a criteria for where to put their dollars.

Even more telling, people see better health as an investment in their careers. As Cara Morrison reported in her extensive report for Packaged Facts, Sport Nutritionals for Active Lifestyles in the U.S., sports nutrition products are not only used by people for sports performance improvement but increasingly for better performance outside of the gym. The benefits of increased energy, higher acuity and even better physical appearance resonate with consumers seeking to perform better at work.

And on the corporate side, corporations are rewarding employees for good health and investing in personal trainers and gyms to help them achieve it - because they know how much this pays off.

Positioning Tip: Position your product [or services] as a smart investment, an investment that will never be at the mercy of global economic fluctuations, investment scandals or government interventions. Place value on your product by comparing it to the costs of more costly interventions - prescriptions, medical bills or time lost from work.

2. People latch onto health as something they can control: In 2001, the Hartman Group, a Seattle-based market research organization that focuses on the natural health consumer, found to their surprise that sales of organic foods was not declining, despite the economic problems.

When they started to look into why organics had staying power, they found out that consumers did not perceive them as luxury items, but as essentials. But even more interesting, consumers reported again and again that purchasing healthy food was a way of maintaining some feeling of control in their lives when everything else seemed so out of control.

Positioning Tip: Position your product [or services] as something that gives your prospects' control over their lives. When they choose to take care of their health, they are making themselves invulnerable to whatever comes along. With good energy, strength, alertness and stamina, they can take on the changes up ahead and find a way to tackle problems. They are not held hostage by the fears of medical bills, or debilitating chronic disease. And within the health care world, they can advocate for themselves better with better information and be smarter consumers as a result.

3. Health care items can be smart and satisfying indulgences: With a tightening budget, consumers are putting off old rewards like big vacations, a new car or the latest electronics. But consumers are still looking for ways to feel good and treat themselves - even more than ever. As green marketing expert, Darrin Duber-Smith explained, with troubling financial times, people tend to nest more, taking care of themselves and their immediate retreat - their homes. Many health care products - from natural personal care items to tasty but healthy desserts - strike a chord with consumers looking for a guilt-free way to reward themselves and put a soothing balm on their stress-filled days.

Positioning Tip: Emphasize the nourishing, sensual nature of your products [or services]. If you sell a lotion, don't just talk about how good their skin will look, but talk about the scent, the feeling of putting it on, the experience of using it. If you have a wonderfully-flavored whey protein, suggest using it in a delicious smoothie treat when you get home from work. Promote a new cookbook as a replacement for those restaurant meals consumers have been cutting out of their spending habits.

© 2009 Ezine Articles: http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Health-Product-Market-During-a-Recession---Three-Tips-For-Optimism-and-Product-Positioning&id=1699080

How to prevent death 101

I was watching The Biggest Loser last night-I love that show. They had one of the contestants check in with the doctor after 3 weeks of working out and eating right. They showed us (the viewers) the amount of meds this guy was taking SIMPLY BECAUSE HE WAS OBESE!!!

He spent $20,000 a YEAR on medications BECAUSE HE WAS OBESE!! Does ANYONE have $20k burning a hole in their pocket? Eager to spend it on diabetes medications and blood thinners? He had a life span estimate of another 10 years that way. $200,000 spent on the last 10 years of this mans life would have been on pills to "make him normal." I was astounded at how the medical community was so ready to offer medicine to this dying man and not ever address the real cause. Not the SYMPTOMS but the CAUSE of the disease.

If the medical community would join hands with the holistic wellness community, they could prescribe a fitness trainer, a healthier eating plan, and a real CURE for his disease versus medicate to make him more comfortable while he dies. He does not have cancer; he is over fat.
Each day you help yourself by eating the right balance of foods for your body, add in the right amount of activity to prevent fat gain, consider it money in the bank!

Hippocrates, the father of medicine is credited with saying, "Let your food be your medicine and your medicine be your food." Yet, we often forget that. Seldom do we think to ourselves "I feel sluggish. Have I been eating correctly?"

We who feel that a healthier path is what we follow still reach for herbal remedies when we are still filling our body with too many calories, too little activity, and very little rest.

Again, the father of medicine stated hundreds of years before we had crisco, high fructose corn syrup, and became a fast food world: "If we give every individual the right amount of nourishment and exercise, not too little and not to much, we have found the SAFEST way to health."

Consider what is too little and what is too much for your own body. If you are gaining weight then you are taking in more calories than you are using during the day. Slow down your caloric intake and find foods in a more whole state to help you feel full as you transition to lower calories. Increase your activities, any activity where your body is exerting energy is fine. Gardening, walking, dancing with the kids--think of any movement you enjoy that you will not grow bored from and increase that activity in your daily life.

Doing these things will give you the safest way to health, to whole health and wellness. Less colds, less fatigue, less emotional stress because your body is being fueled in the best possible way. More enjoyment in the day, more restful sleep, a clearer thought process, less colds, less illness, disease prevention, a longer life span, and a better looking body are the rewards. Let me just reiterate:

"If we give every individual the right amount of nourishment and exercise, not too little and not to much, we have found the SAFEST way to health."

Find your right amount.

AHHA Article of the Week: The Ten Tenets of Wellness

Wellness is the key to a healthy and fulfilling lifestyle. This article is a short and sweet reminder of things we can do to enhance our wellness. Well worth reading!


FEATURED ARTICLE OF THIS WEEK
"The Ten Tenets of Wellness"
by Michael Arloski, Ph.D., PCC
Click on article title OR copy and paste http://ahha.org/articles.asp?Id=14