A burning warning on microwave ovens

Now, this topic is hot, hot, hot! There’s probably one sitting in your kitchen. And you’re probably using it more than once a day. It’s that M word: the microwave oven, of course! Latest scientific clinical studies done by Swiss, Russian, and German experts dish out this burning warning: Throw away those microwave ovens! And here are the hot top 10 reasons why you should (as can be gleaned from Dr. Joseph Mercola’s website):

1. Continually eating food processed from a microwave oven causes long-term permanent brain damage by “shorting out” electrical impulses in the brain (de-polarizing or de-magnetizing the brain tissue). 

2. The human body cannot metabolize (or break down) the unknown by-products created in microwaved food. 

3. Male and female hormone production is shut down and/or altered by continually eating microwaved foods. 

4. The effects of microwaved food by-products are residual (long term, permanent) within the human body. 

5. Minerals, vitamins, and nutrients of all microwaved food are reduced or altered, so that the human body gets little or no benefit, or the human body absorbs altered compounds that cannot be broken down.  

6. The minerals in vegetables are altered into cancerous free radicals when cooked in microwave ovens. 

7. Microwaved foods cause stomach and intestinal cancerous growths (or tumors). This may explain the rapidly increasing rate of colon cancer in America. 

8. The prolonged eating of microwaved foods causes cancerous cells to increase in human blood. 

9. Continual ingestion of microwaved food causes immune system deficiencies through lymph gland and blood serum alterations. 

10. Eating microwaved food causes loss of memory, concentration, emotional instability, and a decrease of intelligence.

There are Russian research documents written by Drs. Luria and Perov specifying their clinical experiments in this area.

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Slimming tea: Weight and see

A reader asked about the Senna Slimming Tea that purportedly helps with weight loss. We asked our nutrition expert Dr. Angel Respicio of Hawaii about it and here’s the good doctor’s friendly word of advice:

 “The bottom line is, any tea can claim it can help with weight loss, but this is due to induced dehydration. This is either through the kidney as simple increased frequency of voiding or through the intestine manifested as loose or watery bowel movement. Therefore, it is temporary. For a person trying to lose weight with any method, any weight reduction in the first two weeks is mostly from water loss. 

“We are what we eat so effective weight can only be achieved if we exercise and eat the right amount of food in the proper proportion of fat, protein, and carbohydrate. To be aware of the total calories a person needs daily and the calorie count of common food intake puts us in proper perspective on how much to consume. Suffice it to say that the easiest and cheapest to consume are carbohydrates. Therefore, be careful with carbs.

“For me, the first step is to cut down on carbohydrates (flour-based products or any grain), not only sugar. A heaping tablespoon of rice or 1/5 slice of bread has the same calories as 1-2 teaspoons of sugar. You can never overeat fat as long as you don’t hide them in your rice or bread. Therefore, every time you swallow, the entree should be just as much as the rice or carbohydrate that goes with it. 

“It is okay to eat kakanin and indulge, but when it is time to consume the main entree, eat it with the least carbohydrate or better yet, papakin na lang.

“I have to emphasize that eating eggs is an effective way to lose weight. Sometimes I consume six a day. Worried about cholesterol? The body needs 4,000 mg. per day. An egg has only 215 mg. It is the good cholesterol that goes up with eggs. Afraid of having a stroke? You will never have brain stroke from eggs as the cholesterol molecule is a very large molecule. It cannot pass through the blood brain barrier. Therefore, the brain makes it own.

“Egg is good for the heart. It has choline that scrubs the walls of blood vessels. The protein in egg is the best protein. Protein is what makes the heart strong as the heart is a muscle. The heart beats almost 100,000 times a day. So we should not take for granted the body’s protein requirement.

“Unmindful munching or carbs and drinking soda or juice are the silent causes of being overweight. Second, people who miss breakfast (which has carb, fat, and protein) are always hungry, leading to snacking on bad carbs. Third, if you eat fast, chances are you will eat more before you feel satiated.

“When it comes to exercise, you can effectively lose calories during the first hour only. After that, the body goes into a conservation mode. Walking leisurely for an hour burns 280 calories and if you jog, it goes up to 590 calories. Can you imagine what happens then when you eat two cups of pancit, which has 400 calories? Did you know that exercise stimulates your appetite?” 

Hmmm… These words of nutrition wisdom are certainly worth digesting.

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