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V RaptureChrist Newsletter
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 About 6 million women in the United States take
hormone replacement therapy. They have been told that the treatment
could relieve menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes and sweating. They
are also told that it could prevent heart disease and osteoporosis.
What are the facts? Most postmenopausal women do not experience severe symptoms due to the fact that the production of female hormones decreases gradually at the onset of menopause. On the contrary, women who undergo complete hysterectomies have more severe symptoms of sweating and hot flashes because the body is suddenly deprived of estrogen and progesterone. What about hormone replacement for prevention of heart disease and osteoporosis? Heart disease is prevalent in developed countries such as the United States and Europe due to improper nutritional habits. Saturated fats such as butter and cheese, and hydrogenated fats used in pastries and french fries are the main reason for atherosclerosis, and this one is the main risk for coronary artery disease and stroke. In countries where people are mostly vegetarians, coronary artery disease is very rare.  Osteoporosis is an imbalance between bone
resorption and formation. With excessive bone resorption, the body
begins by losing cortical bone. Only when a person has lost 30% or more of
their cortical bone is a deficiency noted in trabecular bone or the bone
that provides structural support. This loss of trabecular bone
predisposes people to fractures, especially of the spine and hip.
Most physicians begin screening patients for osteoporosis with a type of x-ray called a dexa scan. Unfortunately, by the time these people have a diagnosis of osteoporosis, they have significant bone loss, and it is only at this point that physicians recommend supplemental calcium and vitamin D. Would it not be better to begin the calcium and vitamin D at an earlier time, so as to prevent osteoporosis as much as possible? Many people opt to increase their intake of calcium with dairy products which are, unfortunately, also high in saturated fat. Few people are aware that leafy green vegetables are also high in calcium, not to mention, fat free. Because saturated fat is such a risk factor for heart disease and other diseases, it is preferential to take calcium supplements, rather than increasing your intake of dairy products. Good calcium supplements include calcium carbonate and dolomite (calcium and magnesium).  However, to have healthy bones, people
must not only obtain enough calcium in their diet (1000 - 1500 mg/day), but
they also require vitamin D to absorb the calcium and deposit it in
the bones. Vitamin D
can be obtained from sunlight, however, due to the
fact that ultraviolet radiation will increase your risk for skin cancer,
it is healthier to obtain your vitamin D from nutritional supplements such
as
cod liver oil.
One thing is true, growing strong bones depends on the ingestion of calcium and vitamin D. Every other treatment is icing on the cake. And that icing may be just what you do not need. A recent estrogen and progestin study involving 16,608 women ages 50 to 79 with an intact uterus was stopped on July 9, 2002 when they found out that the risks outweighed the benefits. The objective of the trial study was to find out the effects of estrogen and progestin on the prevention of heart disease and hip fractures due to osteoporosis along with any developments in breast and colon cancer (associated risks in the use of hormone replacement). The findings are somber. "Years long use of estrogen and progestin increased otherwise healthy women's risk for stroke by 41 percent, heart attack by 29 percent; and breast cancer by 24 percent." Perhaps it is time that the public no longer seek a "magic pill" for health. Good health and disease prevention begins with a healthy diet. |
 Leviticus 7:23 "Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, 'You shall not eat any fat from an ox, a sheep or a goat. Leviticus 7:24 'Also the fat of an animal which dies and the fat of an animal torn by beasts may be put to any other use, but you must certainly not eat it. God warns us specifically not to eat animal fat. Nowadays we understand that animal fat is a saturated fat, solid in its consistency, butter or lard being a perfect example. Because it is solid, this type of fat does not dissolve well in a liquid medium and tends to form clumps and adhere itself to surfaces, such as the interior of blood vessels. This process is known as atherosclerosis and when it affects the blood vessels of the heart, it is called coronary artery disease. However, not only animal fat is solid these
days. Vegetable oil is now chemically processed at high temperatures
so as to create a double bond and simulate an animal or saturated fat;
this is known as a hydrogenated fat. Hydrogenated fats are solid, a
perfect example is margarine; however everything from cookies,
bread, and packaged cereal contain hydrogenated fat. People believe foods
with hydrogenated fats are better since they are labeled "cholesterol
free" and "no animal fat." Hydrogenated fats also take
longer to spoil, so their shelf-life is better and money saving to the
manufacturers. Atherosclerosis and coronary artery disease used to be a phenomenon observed in the old, but now it is starting to be seen in younger people. Children as young as 5 years old have been found to have fat streaks in their arteries --the beginning of atherosclerosis. For these reasons, we need to eat less fat, be it saturated, hydrogenated, unsaturated or however else it may present itself, and instead consume more unprocessed foods, specifically fruits and vegetables. God also tells us not to eat blood: God also tells us not to eat pork.  Pigs are notoriously dirty
animals. Anyone who has ever raised pigs must recall the fact that they
like to lie in mud containing their own feces, smell worse than hell and
will eat just about anything. This is why they are so popular.
Pigs are cheap to maintain and easy to reproduce, but they also are reservoirs for disease with their unsanitary lifestyles and nondiscriminatory eating habits. Pigs are known to be hosts for parasites such as Trichuris trichura, causing trichinosis, which is incurable. In places like South America, the number one cause for seizures is Cysticercosis, which is caused by infection with the parasite Taenia solium, acquired mainly by ingesting pork products. Manufacturers have tried to improve the reputation pigs have, by feeding them less fat and labeling them "the new white meat," not allowing them access to the mud baths and in general trying to make them fit in with the rest of the "clean" animals. Can we artificially turn a dirty animal into a clean one? Can we make God's words untrue? Perhaps manufacturers will accomplish their true objective, to sell a worthless product by deceiving the ignorant public. |
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