In case you haven’t heard yet–you can follow our ongoing training with Mark as he is blogging at 12 Weeks 2 Life. Come follow along as we put him through the paces!

A new study suggests that exercising in the morning, before eating, can significantly lessen the ill effects of a poor holiday diet.

Researchers recruited healthy, active young men and fed them a bad diet for six weeks. A group of them that exercised before breakfast gained almost no weight and showed no signs of insulin resistance. What’s more, they burned the fat they were taking in more efficiently.

According to the New York Times:

‚Äú… [W]orking out before breakfast directly combated the two most detrimental effects of eating a high-fat, high-calorie diet. It also helped the men avoid gaining weight.‚Äù

Sources:

New York Times December 15, 2010

Journal of Physiology Nov 1, 2010;588(Pt 21):4289-302

Dr. Mercola’s Comments:

I’m an advocate of exercising first thing in the morning for two reasons:

It gets done. Despite your best intentions, any number of things can happen in the afternoon and evening, making you skip exercise for “lack of time”
There are additional health benefits to exercising before consuming your first meal of the day
The study above is a great illustration of how making slight changes to the order of your daily routine can dramatically improve your end results.

Exercising Before Breakfast Counteracts Poor Diet and Aids Weight Loss

The study in question lasted for six weeks. It included 28 healthy men between the ages of 18 and 25, divided into three groups; those who:

Exercised before eating a carbohydrate-rich breakfast, and drank only water during exercise
Ate a carbohydrate-rich breakfast before exercising, and drank sugary drinks such as sports drinks during their workout
Ate an identical diet but did not exercise at all
The men who exercised ran and cycled at a strenuous intensity four times a week.

Overall, the men had identical high-calorie, high-fat diets. The primary difference was whether—and most importantly, when—they exercised. The other difference was the type of beverages they drank during exercise.

At the end of the trial, the non-exercising control group had gained an average of more than six pounds, and had developed insulin resistance—the precursor to type 2 diabetes.

Those who ate breakfast prior to hitting the gym gained an average of about three pounds; half the weight gain of those who did not exercise. However, they too had developed insulin resistance…

The only group that gained almost no weight, and showed no signs of insulin resistance were those who exercised before eating breakfast, and drank only water during their workout.

I want to draw your attention to how the type of beverage consumed during exercise can also have a major impact on your weight loss and health goals.

You’ll want to avoid all types of sugary drinks, including sports drinks, for up to two hours after your workout because fructose obliterates the growth hormone response. You’ll find more information about that at the end of this article.

Clearly, the fasting exercise group reaped the benefits of both fasting and not ruining their efforts with carbohydrate-rich beverages…

The authors concluded that:

“This study for the first time shows that fasted training is more potent than fed training to facilitate adaptations in muscle and to improve whole-body glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity during hyper-caloric fat-rich diet.”

That’s quite remarkable, considering all three groups consumed very high caloric diets. This is powerful evidence that occasional indulgences do not have to lead to excessive weight gain, which is great news for most of us, especially in light of the recent holidays.

But even beyond holiday excesses, it’s quite clear that something as simple as modifying your schedule to exercise before eating your first meal of the day can have a very beneficial and protective impact on your health and weight.

How Fasting Forces Your Body to Shed Excess Fat, and Combats Insulin Resistance

One of the explanations for how exercising on an empty stomach can prevent weight gain and insulin resistance despite overindulgence is that your body’s fat burning processes are controlled by your sympathetic nervous system (SNS), and your SNS is activated by exercise and lack of food.

The combination of fasting and exercising maximizes the impact of cellular factors and catalysts (cyclic AMP and AMP Kinases), which force the breakdown of fat and glycogen for energy.

This is why training on an empty stomach will effectively force your body to burn fat.

It’s also important to realize that eating a full meal, particularly carbohydrates, will inhibit your sympathetic nervous system and reduce the fat burning effect of your exercise. Instead, eating lots of carbs activates your parasympathetic nervous system, (which promotes energy storage‚Äîthe complete opposite of what you’re aiming for.

This can explain why those who exercised vigorously but ate a carbohydrate-rich breakfast first still ended up gaining weight, albeit not as much as those who did not exercise at all.

More important, however, is the impact fasting exercise can have on your insulin regulation. The researchers concluded that those who fasted before exercise had increased levels of a certain muscle protein that plays a pivotal role in insulin sensitivity.

As I’ve explained in numerous articles, insulin resistance is the root cause of most chronic disease, making maintaining proper insulin regulation a primary factor of good health.

In a nutshell, you do that by:

Exercising regularly
Avoiding sugar/fructose, and grains (including organic whole grains as they too will quickly convert to sugar in your body and lead to insulin resistance)
Based on the impressive results from the study above, you may also want to consider exercising prior to having your breakfast to optimize the beneficial impact of your exercise on your insulin regulation.

Other Pro’s and Con’s of Exercising on an Empty Stomach

Keep in mind that the majority of the “fuel” used during most exercise is not actually coming from the food you have just eaten. If you’re working out at a moderate to high intensity you’re using glycogen and fat that is stored in your muscles, liver, and fat cells. Typically, your body has enough of that stored fuel to last for one to two hours of intense work, or three to four hours at moderate intensity.

Therefore, if you are consuming a high quality diet, eating every three to four hours, your body may not need anything to eat before you begin your workout.

Still, some people do have a hard time exercising without eating something first.

Typically these people are more sensitive to changes in their blood sugar levels, which can decline during the first 15-25 minutes of their workout. It is this decline in blood sugar that causes dizziness, faintness, nausea or lightheadedness. This is especially true if you exercise first thing in the morning.

Additionally, exercising on an empty stomach may not appeal to athletes as it will typically reduce overall performance. Professional athletes may also not be as concerned with fat loss.

I believe the best approach is to use some common sense and listen to your body.

A number of individual factors can play a role, such as your age, when you last ate, whether or not you’re pregnant, taking medications, your medical history, level of fitness, and the type of workout you engage in.

For example, if you feel weak or nauseous while exercising on an empty stomach, you may want to at least eat a small meal before exercising.

Fortunately, there’s a near perfect breakfast food that may offer the best of both worlds.

What to Eat Before Exercise to Really Boost Fat Burning

Yes, there’s another, perhaps even more efficient way to boost fat burning without fasting.

A recent study published in the journal Medicine and Science in Sports & Exercise, demonstrated that consuming whey protein (20g protein / serving) 30 minutes before resistance training boosts your body’s metabolism for as much as 24 hours after your workout.

It appears as though the amino acids found in high quality whey protein activate certain cellular mechanisms (mTORC-1), which in turn promote muscle protein synthesis, boost thyroid, and also protect against declining testosterone levels after exercise.

In practical terms, consuming 20 grams of whey protein before exercise and another serving afterward will most likely yield the double benefit of increasing both fat burning and muscle build-up at the same time.

Again, not everyone will need to eat something prior to exercise, but if you do, a high quality whey protein is one of your best bets. It’ll curb your hunger while still optimizing fat burning.

Whey protein is also known for its ability to help your insulin work more effectively, which, again, is one of the primary benefits of fasting prior to exercise.

For more information about whey protein‚Äîknown as the gold standard of proteins‚Äîlisten to my interview with Ori Hofmekler, author of The Warrior Diet. He’s a wealth of knowledge when it comes to fitness and how to use food to burn fat, build muscle, and optimize your health.

A Great Way to Start Your Morning

Personally, I typically exercise first thing in the morning, before eating, and then have a whey protein shake for breakfast. This ensures that I get my exercises done before anything has the opportunity to derail my plans, and gives me plenty of energy for the day ahead.

Earlier last year I posted my own breakfast shake recipe, which took me quite a while to develop, so if you missed it, feel free to review it now. It’s packed with nutrients and is perfect both as a healthful breakfast and post-work out meal.

It should be noted for clarity, however, that whey protein is NOT a weight loss supplement, in and of itself. Without the exercise, it will not magically help you lose weight.

The Most Effective Exercise for Weight Loss and Optimal Health

Since we’re talking about fat burning it’s important to realize that the type of exercise you perform will also have a major impact on this process.

I recently wrote about the many health benefits of high-intensity burst-type exercises such as Peak 8. Improved fat burning is just the beginning when it comes to this type of training!

Performed two or three times a week, Peak 8 exercises will boost your body’s natural production of human growth hormone (HGH), and slow down telomere shortening‚Äîboth of which are tied to the aging processes of your body. To learn more, please see this link.

During these high intensity, sprint-type exercises you raise your heart rate up to your anaerobic threshold for 30 seconds, followed by a 90 second recovery period. The cycle is then repeated for a total of eight repetitions‚Äîhence the term “Peak 8.”

Another boon of Peak 8 exercises is the amount of time you save. Including a three minute warm up and two minute cool down, your total time investment is a mere 20 minutes as opposed to your regular hour-long treadmill session.

I’ve been doing Peak 8 exercises since April 2010 and have shed over 17 pounds of fat and three inches off my waist while gaining more than five pounds of muscle, all while dramatically reducing the time I spend in the gym.

For a more in-depth explanation of the peak fitness program, which is a comprehensive exercise plan that also includes strength training, core exercises and stretching, please review this recent article.

So, to summarize the diet and health advice discussed above:

Exercising before breakfast can help prevent weight gain and insulin resistance, even when consuming an excess amount of calories and carbs
Quench your thirst during exercise with pure, clean water only. Sugary drinks such as sports drinks will obliterate many of the most impressive health benefits of your training
If you can’t, or don’t want to exercise on an empty stomach, your ideal breakfast alternative is a high quality whey protein. It will help boost metabolism for as much as 24 hours after your workout and promote healthy insulin secretion
Incorporate high-intensity burst-type exercises like Peak 8 into your fitness regimen to further maximize fat burning and slow down the aging process
www.mercola.com

Regular exercise can reduce the risk and symptoms of more than 20 physical and mental health conditions, and can also slow down how quickly your body ages.

A review of research, which summarized the findings of 40 papers published between 2006 and 2010, found that exercise affects conditions including cancer, heart disease, dementia, stroke, type 2 diabetes, depression, obesity and high blood pressure.

Science Daily reports:

“… [A]part from not smoking, being physically active is the most powerful lifestyle choice any individual can make to improve their health.”

A separate study also found that women who exercise for 150 minutes a week or more could be reducing their risk of endometrial cancer, whether or not they are overweight.

Researchers examined data collected from a case-control study that included almost 700 women with endometrial cancer and compared them to a similar number of age-matched control women. Those who exercised for 150 minutes a week or more had a 34 percent reduced risk of endometrial cancer.

Newswise reports:

“This association was more pronounced among active women with a body mass index (BMI) less than 25, or underweight women, where the reduction in risk was 73 percent compared with inactive women with a BMI more than 25, or what is commonly considered overweight.

Although BMI showed a strong association with endometrial cancer, even women who were overweight, but still active, had a 52 percent lower risk.”

Stop avoiding exercise, it could save your life. Ask us how we can help this winter season. We love what we do and can help even if you have had prior injuries or health problems.

Sources:

Science Daily November 16, 2010

International Journal of Clinical Practice December 2010; 64(13):1731-4

Newswise November 12, 2010

Ninth Annual AACR Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research Conference, Philadelphia, PA, November 7-10, 2010

Maybe you saw the headlines. In fact, maybe you were concerned about the headlines. If so, you’re not alone. Here’s what made the news…

The report from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) calls for an increase from 400IUs of vitamin D daily to 600IUs daily for people from ages 1 to 70. That‚Äôs up half again as much from the 400IUs, and it’s a hard and fast number compared to the Institute‚Äôs 1997 guidelines with a wide range of between 200IUs to 600IUs called for per day.

Overall, the trend is upward when it comes to suggested vitamin D intake. That much makes sense—especially in light of the fact that 75% of all American teens and adults are vitamin D deficient. Apparently, we’re just not getting enough of this sunshine vitamin.

What caused some concern was the co-author of the report who dropped the term “megadoses” and the phrase “more is not necessarily better”—even though the Institute’s report gave a safe upward limit of 4,000IUs of vitamin D a day, while not exceeding 10,000IUs daily.

The problem here is that the whole story (or report) wasn’t adequately communicated in the news release.

Interestingly, anywhere from 1,000IUs to 2,000IUs up to 4,000IUs to 5,000IUs (with the upper limit being 10,000IUs daily—sound familiar?) is what most noted researchers who have studied the benefits of vitamin D for decades suggest to take daily. For instance, Dr. Robert Heaney, M.D., Professor of Medicine, Department of Medicine Osteoporosis Research Center Creighton University Medical Center, has said for years, “The average person needs about 4,000IUs daily of vitamin D to maintain a healthy level in their bodies.”

As a reminder, 4,000IUs is the safe upper limit put forth in the Institute’s report. Heaney contends, “The recommended 600IUs of vitamin D is way too low. For me, it’s a no-brainer. There is a large body of evidence for benefit of intakes above the IOM recommendations. There is no risk, and very little cost, so why not take a chance of a benefit if there’s any possibility?” As you might guess, Heaney emphatically leans towards taking the safe upper limit of 4,000IUs daily of vitamin D.

Dr. Michael Holick, the leading authority on vitamin D, says you’d have to take more than 10,000IUs daily for many days or weeks to even begin to come close to overdoing it. That’s exactly the number the report indicated, too, but was not conveyed by the study’s co-author in the news release.

What’s more is that low levels of vitamin D (say, the 75% of U.S. teens and adults who are vitamin D deficient) have also been linked major areas of unhealth. The Institute, however, didn’t find “enough evidence” to prove any such link.

Maybe that’s because the new guideline was reportedly created to promote bone health, according to the news release. Aha! Perhaps that’s a cause of some confusion. The IOM was looking at vitamin D and bone health—when it’s pretty well known that vitamin D goes way beyond bone health, although it is important for bone health, too.

These new recommendations of 600IUs daily for vitamin D will affect the recommended daily allowances listed on food packages, for school lunches and for other federal nutrition programs. Hopefully, those guidelines will also point out the upward safe limit of 4,000IUs daily—not to exceed 10,000IUs daily—that the study revealed.

Sometimes it just helps to know the rest of the story, so here it is in a nutshell: the scope of the IOM’s vitamin D recommendation of 600IUs is up from 400IUs, but their conclusions were based on bone health—not other areas of health. Additionally, the report gave a safe upper limit for vitamin D intake as 4,000IUs daily—not to exceed 10,000IUs daily—which is what most noted vitamin D researchers have been saying for some time now.
Get your Sunshine Mist Vitamin D spray while it’s still on sale.

www.extraordinaryhealth.com

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You may have heard of superfoods. They’re foods that naturally concentrate important nutrients and antioxidants for overall health. In fact, many health professionals emphasize the necessity of superfoods for good health. Steven Pratt, M.D. is one of them. In his book SuperFoods RX: Fourteen Foods That Will Change Your Life, as well as his other books, he details why he thinks superfoods are so important.

Pratt, an ophthalmologist who specializes in ocular plastic surgery at Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla, California, says he became convinced of the power of these basic foods when he saw the positive results of a few simple diet changes in his patients suffering from age-related macular degeneration—a leading cause of blindness.

“Whether you’re trying to prevent cataracts, macular degeneration, cancer, or cardiovascular disease, the same type of preventive dietary measures apply,” Pratt says. “The whole body is connected: a healthy heart equals healthy eyes and healthy skin. You’ll hear about all these special diets for special health needs, but really, the same diet and the same lifestyle choices prevent the same diseases. With rare exceptions, you don’t need 20 different preventive modalities—just one really good diet.”

And that “one really good diet,” Pratt says, should be founded on superfoods, including blueberries, broccoli, oats, oranges, pumpkin, salmon, spinach, green or black tea, tomatoes, probiotic-rich yogurt and walnuts.

‚ÄúFor example,‚Äù says Pratt, ‚Äúblueberries, broccoli and tomatoes have a large number of peer-reviewed published studies substantiating their health benefits. These foods are readily available, inexpensive and have other benefits, such as high fiber content. And they’ve been used for years, with no drawbacks, side effects or toxicity; you’re never going to see a headline that blueberries are bad for you.”

Broccoli, too, is a superfood star. It’s rich in sulforaphane, an antioxidant linked with a reduced risk of a number of cancers. “The phytonutrients in broccoli help detoxify carcinogens found in the environment,” says Pratt. “They also have anti-inflammatory properties, and we know that an important factor in reducing the risk of disease is to support healthy inflammation levels.”

Likewise, Bonnie Minsky, a licensed and certified Nutrition Specialist, Public Health educator and certified menopause educator with a private practice in Northbrook, Illinois, outlines her top ten superfoods. Among the superfoods she indicates provide health benefits far beyond their recognized nutritional value are: pomegranates, cinnamon, avocados, algae, flaxseeds, turmeric and wild salmon.

And let’s not forget about coconuts. Coconuts are superfoods packed with vitamins, minerals, fiber, and ultra-healthy, medium-chain fatty acids.

Even typical holiday foods make the superfood list—so there’s no excuse to not eat them. For example, cranberries are full of antioxidants, including vitamin C and others. Likewise, sweet potatoes are high in fiber, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin B6, potassium and manganese.

In short, superfoods can mean a super you!
www.extraoridinaryhealth.com

By: Ashley Dance
Milk is a controversial food source for many in the nutrition and fitness field. There is research to back up many different claims for the health benefits or risks. Some say that milk is unnecessary past adolescence and point to animals to make the point. Animals grow up and are weaned off milk and don’t need it once they are grown. Others point to the high fat content and say that the benefits of the protein and vitamins don’t outweigh the amount of fat in it. So skim milk seemed to be the answer. But that is mostly water and loses most of its nutrients in the pasteurization and separation processes. So, here is another option to consider. Raw milk.

Raw milk simply means it is taken straight from the cow and not pasteurized or processed, only filtered and cooled. Pasteurization heats the milk to high temperatures to kill bacteria that is in it. It also kills most of the enzymes that are present. This is necessary when the cows have poor living conditions and are not fed proper food. The high grain diets commercially grown cows are fed changes the composition of the milk. Grass fed cow’s milk have enzymes that help with digestion, and has Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA). CLA is a heart healthy fatty acid that is present in the meat of these cows as well. The enzymes that are present help break down the lactose, which, obviously, is the protein lactose intolerant people cannot digest. Besides missing these healthful substances, commercially produced milk contains antibiotics and hormones that the cows are given. Plus, with so many cows in such a small space infection can spread like wildfire. Not to mention the infections the cows can get on their udders from being milked so often because of the hormones they are given to increase production. Puss often leaks in. Clearly, this milk is not safe to drink unpasteurized.

Until the Industrial Revolution, people drank raw milk all the time and were perfectly healthy. Raw milk is the natural form and the way nature intended it to be used. The problem came about when people tried to cut costs and increase profits and the health of the animals became secondary. Like many foods in our country, the product is not produced correctly in the first place, but instead processed further to “fix” the impurities that occur.

Raw milk is a complete food source. It has all eight essential amino acids, which are the building blocks of protein that your body cannot produce on its own. Animal products are the only things that contain all eight. Besides being a complete protein, raw milk has several helpful enzymes that are destroyed in the pasteurization process. Lysozyme is one of these enzymes and it helps break down cell walls of unhealthy bacteria. Lactoperoxidase is another one that in conjunction with others already in your body help fight other microbes. Immunoglobulins are complex milk proteins that act as antibodies and help resist many viruses. Lactobacilli bacteria are still present in unheated milk which helps break down the sometimes hard to digest protein lactose. When lactose is digested, lactic acid is produced increased absorption of calcium, iron and phosphorous.

Yes, raw milk has a high fat content. But it is a natural fat and your body knows what to do with it. It is not hydrogenated trans fat. Some fat is essential to transport fat-soluble vitamins. Your body cannot use, transport or store vitamins A, D, E and K without fat. Raw milk contains many minerals like calcium and phosphorous as well. Most everyone knows the importance of calcium. To be properly absorbed, calcium needs a certain ratio of phosphorous as well. Conveniently, raw milk contains this correct ratio. Raw milk contains many of the “good” bacteria you hear about all the time. These probiotics live in your intestines and help with digestion. Some pasteurized milk has some of these nutrients added back in, but like everything else, the natural form is more easily and completely absorbed.

The government does not allow the sale of raw milk in grocery stores because of the impurities and diseases that are present in milk that is not properly produced and collected. If you are interested in giving it a try contact us and we’ll help you find a farm that does it right! Also check out http://www.raw-milk-facts.com for more detailed information!

Just earlier today I was having a conversation with a client who is Vitamin D deficient We were discussing her options nutritionally and our conversation was boiling down to absorption. I was worried about what her doctor prescribed and it’s un-absorbable properties. I think with her nutritional changes and now this remarkable new product from Dr. Mercola, we can change her health and optimize her weight rather quickly. I recommend it for a number of reasons, here is a few from the good doctor…

Research suggests that up to 85% of people could be deficient in vitamin D without knowing it… leaving them with less-than-optimal health. In fact, some scientists call for urgent action.

Why?

Because current scientific research suggests that all cells and tissues in your body have vitamin D receptors — and further concludes that every cell and tissue needs vitamin D for its well-being.*

Not only that, but vitamin D is responsible for the regulation of over 2,000 genes in your body!*

Vitamin D engages in very complex metabolic processes within your body.* Scientists believe that vitamin D serves a wide range of fundamental biological functions relating to many aspects of your health.*

Your skin naturally produces your body’s supply of vitamin D from direct exposure to bright midday sun with a mere ten or fifteen minutes’ exposure per day.

But for decades, you’ve been the target of a misinformation campaign from the media and conventional medicine that created a fear of sunshine. Therefore, most people either intentionally or unintentionally avoid the sun — or smear on sunscreen that blocks the beneficial wavelengths that produce vitamin D in your skin.

Vitamin D is VITAL for You — and for Your Family’s Health, Too*

Having too little vitamin D may not have any outwardly obvious signs. Yet vitamin D (specifically the vitamin D3 form) impacts an incredible array of support for systems and functions in your body…

Heart health*
Cell formation and cell longevity*
Skin health*
Pancreatic health*
Aging process*
Sleep patterns*
Hearing*
Reproductive health*
Athletic performance*
Eye health*
Vascular system health*
Respiratory health*
Immune health*… Most people feel in better health during the summer sunshine months — ever wonder why?
Healthy mood and feelings of well-being*
Weight management, including carbohydrate and fat metabolism*
Hair and hair follicles*
Strong and healthy bones, because vitamin D encourages calcium uptake*
Muscles*
Proper digestion and food absorption*
Since healthy levels of vitamin D protect and promote so many of your body’s functions, a deficiency may mean your body lacks the tools it needs to keep you in optimal health*…

Making sufficient vitamin D a very important issue for you to address!

Because naturally, you want to be at your peak so you feel great, and accomplish so much each and every day.* Read more and watch the 1 hour video here.

Posted By Dr. Mercola | December 02 2010 |

Giving children antibiotics when they get ear infections doesn’t do much to speed their recovery. What’s more, it raises the risk of side effects.
A study found that 80 out of 100 children, if given only medication to reduce pain or fever, would recover from an acute ear infection within a few days. If they were given antibiotics instead, the number would rise only to 92 — and 3 to 10 of the children would develop a rash, while 5 to 10 would develop diarrhea.
According to CNN:
“Using antibiotics only when absolutely necessary may allow continued use of antibiotics for future generations, because overuse of the drugs is contributing to antibiotic resistance ‚Ķ”
Sources:
  CNN November 16, 2010
  Journal of the American Medical Association November 17, 2010; 304(19):2161-2169
 
Millions of children visit doctors for ear infections each year. This happens to be the most common reason why kids are prescribed antibiotics. Yet, new studies suggest these drugs do virtually nothing to help most kids recover faster.
In the latest study, 80 out of 100 children recovered from ear infections in a few days without antibiotics. When the drugs were given, the number of kids who recovered rose by only 12 children, plus an additional three to 20 would also develop side effects related to the antibiotics, such as rash or diarrhea — largely canceling out the almost non-existent benefit.
While one of the most common types of childhood ear infections, acute otitis media, may be caused by bacteria, it can be caused by a virus too, which won’t be impacted by antibiotics.
Another type, otitis media with effusion, or fluid in the ear, is also caused by a virus, making antibiotics useless for this type of ear infection as well.
Doctors Were Warned to Stop Prescribing Antibiotics for Ear Infections Years Ago
Both the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the American Academy of Family Physicians have recommended since 2004 that doctors hold off on prescribing antibiotics for ear infections, at least initially.
But even as the number of certain types of ear infection cases have decreased in recent years, the number of antibiotics prescribed have held constant. As the American Academy of Pediatrics states:
“While the number of office visits for otitis media with effusion – middle ear fluid – (OME) have decreased over the past decade from 25 million in 1990 to just 16 million in 2000, the number of antibiotic prescriptions to treat AOM has remained constant. At the same time, concerns about the rising rate of antibiotic — or antibacterial — use and resistance have emerged.”
AAP recommends that doctors give parents the option of letting their children fight the infection on their own for 48-72 hours, only starting antibiotics if the symptoms do not improve.
Yes, despite this warning and studies that came out over a decade ago saying the routine use of antibiotics for pediatric ear infections produces little health benefit while contributing to the spread of drug-resistant bacteria — the drugs are still widely over-prescribed for this purpose.
Why You Should Think Twice Before Giving Your Child an Antibiotic
It’s easy to believe that one round of antibiotics won’t hurt your child.. In fact, many believe it’s absolutely necessary for nearly all infections, especially for those in their children.
But bacteria are rapidly growing accustomed to this antibiotic exposure, and they’re quickly developing resistance. Antibiotic-resistant infections now claim more lives each year than the “modern plague” of AIDS, and the U.S. health care system spends nearly $2 billion a year to treat these drug-resistant bacteria.
As long as we continue using potent antibiotics for minor infections or those caused by viruses, this trend of creating ever more resistant strains of infections will continue.
Keep in mind that, according to a large meta-analysis, the health risk from over-use of antibiotics is also a very personal one, as opposed to simply raising the occurrence of antibiotic resistance in the general population over time.
Whenever you use an antibiotic, you’re increasing your susceptibility to developing infections with resistance to that antibiotic, resistance that can last up to a year — and you can become the carrier of this resistant bug, and spread it to others.
In fact, a 1997 JAMA study found that frequent use of antibiotics for common ear infections raises risks that children will harbor drug-resistant bacteria during subsequent illness. The researchers found that children whose previous ear infections were treated with antibiotics had a rate of Ampicillin (amoxicillin)-resistant bacteria that was three times higher during subsequent ear infections.
In extreme cases, deaths from drug-resistant meningitis have been linked to built-up antibiotic resistance traced to previous treatment for ear infection.
What Should You do if Your Child Gets an Ear Infection?
First, watchful waiting is a solid strategy before asking your doctor for a prescription. The majority of kids will get better in 48-72 hours with no antibiotics necessary. During this time, you can try the following solutions, which work remarkably well in treating acute ear infections:
Make garlic ear drops. Ear drops that include extracts of garlic may help reduce the pain of middle-ear infections in children. You can make your own at home by crushing a clove of FRESH raw garlic and dissolving it in some olive oil. Put a few drops of oil in the ear canal, as long as the ear drum is not perforated.
Use breast milk for ear drops. If you have access to breast milk, put a few drops of breast milk in the ear canal every few hours. This usually works to clear up the infection within 24 to 48 hours and is far safer, less expensive and a better solution than putting your child on antibiotics.
Apply a poultice. Application of warmth behind the ear can be used to mobilize the post-auricular lymph chain and vasculature and to draw congestion away from the inflamed area of the middle ear.

To do this, heat half of an onion in a toaster oven for a few minutes, until it is warm but not intolerably hot. You could test it by applying to your own ear or inner forearm for several seconds. Next, wrap the onion in cheesecloth or thin dishcloth, and apply the largest side (the cut side, for maximum surface area) to the area just behind the ear.
If your child is not improving or is getting worse after 72 hours, then antibiotics may be required in some severe cases. Make sure you are working with a health care practitioner who is aware of the risks of antibiotic overuse and will work with you to provide alternative options as much as possible.
If your child does take antibiotics, make sure they replenish their supply of beneficial bacteria by taking a high-quality probiotic after the round is complete.
Steps for Prevention
Ear infections are often preventable, and food allergies are one of the number one modifiable causes. Most children will find relief by:
Following the nutrition plan and cutting out grains and sugars (including soda and fruit juice).
Avoiding pasteurized milk. Consumption of dairy products, particularly pasteurized dairy, is a culprit for many children. 
Avoid sugars and fruit juices, which will impair your child’s immune response and make them more susceptible to these types of infections.
If your child is consuming any wheat products you might consider eliminating them if they have had recurrent infections, as subclinical gluten intolerance can be a factor contributing to this problem.
Additionally, breastfeeding for at least six months has been linked to fewer ear infections in infants and babies. Exposure to second-hand cigarette smoke also increases the risk of ear infections in children, so make sure your kids are kept away from cigarette smoke.
The bottom line to remember is that if your child gets an ear infection, it doesn’t mean he or she needs an antibiotic.
In fact, in most cases the drugs will only do more harm than good. Before following a knee-jerk response to get a prescription as soon as your child gets an ear infection, work with a health care practitioner who will encourage you to watch the illness and let it take its course before intervening with drugs.
Remember, in the vast majority of cases, ear infections will go away on their own in two to three days with no medications necessary.

Eating food raw is also known as eating live foods and uncooked foods due to the foods‚Äô enzyme content. Most of us know there are three main types of enzymes–metabolic enzymes, digestive enzymes, and food enzymes–but let‚Äôs take a closer look at food enzymes and their importance.

Food enzymes are found naturally in raw, uncooked foods and most raw foods contain the very enzymes your body needs to assist in the digestion of that food, and different enzymes break down different classes of food. That makes the enzymes found in these living foods an essential part of the digestive process, with digestion taking up more of your body’s energy than you think—about 80%, in fact.

So what foods have a lot of life—enzyme-wise? Raw food, particularly raw fermented food, fresh, raw organic vegetables and fruits (like papayas and pineapple), raw sprouted grains, raw seeds and nuts, avocados, sprouts, and unpasteurized dairy products.

Many people have begun living it up with raw foods, too. For example, Emily Kane, N.D. advocates eating raw. She says, “All raw foods contain exactly the right enzymes required to split every last molecule into the basic building blocks of metabolism: Amino acids (from protein), glucose (from complex carbohydrates) and essential fatty acids (from unsaturated vegetable fats).”

Likewise, Dr. Bernarr Zovluck, D.C., D.D., warns against eating too much cooked food. He says, “When food is cooked above 118 degrees Fahrenheit for three minutes or longer, its protein has become denatured, its sugar has become caramelized, its natural fibers have been broken down, which means it will take longer to move through the intestinal tract. Up to 90% of its vitamins and minerals have been damaged or destroyed, and 100% of its enzymes have been destroyed.”

Wow. That’ll take the life right out of your food!

Cooked foods aren’t the only foods to limit, however. You’ll also want to avoid conventional, processed foods. Diana Schwarzbein, M.D., author of The Schwarzbein Principle says that instead of eating real foods (like raw foods), we eat manufactured food products and they wreak havoc on the body, including its enzymes.

Schwarzbein says, ‚ÄúIf we could see the intricate biochemical processes going on within our bodies, we would be appalled at the damage we do to ourselves when we ingest chemicals‚Äîthe man-made foods, which are really ‚Äònon-foods.‚Äô For example, if after drinking a diet soda we could actually see what occurs on a cellular level‚Äîhow the molecules, hormones and enzymes become imbalanced‚Äîit would be apparent that such a substance is bad for our bodies.”

And if you’re still in doubt…yes, enzymes really are that important. “People think that if they simply take vitamins and minerals they will be healthy, but every vitamin and mineral requires an enzyme,” says Dr. Lita Lee, a leading enzyme therapist. “You can eat pounds and pounds of vitamins and minerals [from your diet], but if you don’t have the proper enzymes, they don’t work.”

Enough said.

Live it up! Make sure your diet is alive with enzyme-packed raw foods.
www.extraordinaryhealth.com