How about this? Two weeks in a row? I can't remember the last time that happened. I've got one major topic to get to today, but first I want to let you know that the commercial that I ran in the Triad area of NC was recently uploaded to Youtube. I've actually linked it to my website's home page, so you can just go to www.atlas4wellness.com and hit play OR you can look at directly via the following link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_d70N_hojI&feature=player_embedded

MICROWAVES SHOULD BE AVOIDED

For going on three years now, I have completely avoided the use of the microwave. While sitting in on an orientation class given by my mentor, Dr. Eddie Weller of the Atlas Institute of Health (www.atlasinstituteofhealth.com), he mentioned the ill effects that eating microwaved food has on your health. Fascinated, yet completely understanding of his unpopular, yet educated opinion, I further researched the matter and swore off the microwave. When I moved out of my St. Louis dwelling to head back to the great state of North Carolina, I happily donated my microwave to the recycling bin. I've shared the anti-food nuking sentiment with several people, but it's high time we went into detail about the little known fact that microwaves are flat out VERY bad for your health (despite 90% of all American households having one and using it almost all the time).

When you put your food into the oven, what cooks and heats the food is the temperature in within the oven. The internal environment within that square space gets super hot and your food cooks accordingly. The same can be said for a grill. Thus, if you were to touch the inside of oven or grill when it's at 150 degrees Fahrenheit or hotter, it'll burn the (insert random curse word here) out of you. However, that's not how your microwave works. Your microwave emits microwaves, hence the name, that heat the food from its inner molecules. Technically speaking, it more or less boils water molecules within food to the point where they evaporate and, thus, heat the food from the inside out. Notice that if you touch the inside of a microwave, it's not hot like an oven or grill. The problem with this method of heating food is that it actually changes the chemical structure at a molecular level of the food that you eat.

Ever heard the expression, "Things aren't always as they seem" ?? Well, heating up food in a microwave doesn't change the appearance of the food on the outside, but it does on the inside. Let's say you are heating up some steak with mashed potatoes and carrots from the previous night. After microwaving it, you may think you are eating the same thing, but molecularly, you are eating two COMPLETELY different meals. The original meal may have been filled with nutrients that your body needs, but after nuking it and turning it into something else, the nutrients have often been stripped away - even converted into something far worse...like a carcinogen (something that contributes to cancer). For example, studies show that microwaved broccoli loses 97% of its anti-oxidant qualities.

This is not to mention the hidden particles from the plastic and other containers that leak into the food after being nuked. Nuked. In any other place, that word would invoke feelings of unease and make people think twice.

I want to tell you a quick story. My wife makes the greatest lasagna known to man...seriously, the best in the world. She recently prepared it for my mother on Mother's Day and it was as excellent as usual. Two nights later, I was on my way back from the office after giving my bi-weekly orientation class and was utterly famished. I could not wait to get home and eat. I got home, took out the left over lasagna, and eyed the oven and the stove. As absolutely starving as I was, I frankly decided that I didn't want to wait to properly reheat the dish. Thus, I glanced up at the microwave that sits above the stove at the place we are currently living at. "What the heck," I said to myself. And for the first time in nearly 3 years, I nuked my food...and 30 minutes later, my digestive system made me pay for it. Not to get too graphic, here, but I spent the better part of the remainder of the evening in the bathroom. That's what microwave food will do to you...

Other noticeable effects that microwaves can have on your body include the following symptoms (SOURCE: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/05/18/microwave-hazards.aspx)

-Insomnia, night sweats, and various sleep disturbances
-Headaches and dizziness
-Swollen lymph nodes and a weakened immune system
-Impaired cognition
-Depression and irritability
-Nausea and appetite loss
-Vision and eye problems
-Frequent urination and extreme thirst
-A great alternative to microwaves is the toaster oven. Or you can simply put your food in a stove top pot, add a little bit of water, and heat it up that way - it takes 5 minutes instead of 1-minute...

Tumbling Down the Rabbit Hole

I do my best not to sound like a broken record, but it's almost ridiculous the amount of law suits that are brought against drug companies every year for their illegal marketing tactics and the countless adverse reactions that the medications that they produce are causing. I could literally write about a new case every week for the next 5 years and never run out of material. I don't want to do any drug bashing today, but just point out that the settlements made in these cases are laughable. $500 million settlement for a drug that has made $10 billion doesn't do anything to prevent the same company from retooling and coming out with more poorly researched drugs. Asinine, I tell you...

Until next week, I'll be thinking good things for you, as always...

Dr. Chad