The Barrel Effect

Why Some People get Sick, and Others Don't

Have you ever wondered why your friend at work doesn't get colds even though he eats junk food? Or, have you ever wondered why that 'healthy friend' of yours was just diagnosed with Cancer even though she never smoked a day in her life and she exercised everyday?

Although there are many factors behind illness, there is a very good analogy that I'd like to share with you called 'The Barrel Effect.'

Imagine that your body is a barrel. It is full of things from the past and present that affect your health. For example, the genetic, dietary, emotional, psychological and environmental factors all have an accumulative effect on your body and your health.

In the diagram below, you can see that there are some unhealthy factors, but this person will still be in somewhat good health as their body is able to handle the various stresses put on it.



As long as the barrel doesn't 'overflow' you will feel relatively healthy (i.e. meaning you may or may not feel symptoms, but you will not have any major illness)

In this next diagram, you can see that there are more stressful factors than the body can handle and the 'barrel' is literally overflowing. In this case, illness could develop in the body. If it hasn't developed yet, there will definitely be symptoms.



You can use this analogy as a tool to help clarify where you are in your health.

Here is a list that you can review to determine where you may be putting stress on your body:

• Environment - home, work, school, city etc.
• Diet
• Water
• Exercise
• Psychological/emotional/sexual health
• EMF (electro-magnetic frequencies)
• Personal care products
• Cleaning products
• Genetics
• Stress levels (i.e. how you handle stress)
• Energy (i.e. are you energy sensitive?)

To have good health does not necessarily mean to give up all of the things that are unhealthy. In the time that we are living right now, it is nearly impossible. Everyday, our body will take in some toxins. With more awareness of the barrel effect, it can help us to reduce the amount of stress that we are putting on our body.

Original post:
http://www.strawberrywoman.com

Swine Flu: Factory Farming at the Root of the Cause?

We may not like to think about it, but as a community/country/world we really need to take a closer look at our farming practices. Factory farms are the result of an over consuming society. Things have changed and the need for meat has increased. I found it interesting in my studies that many people actually consume 'too much' meat.

In factory farms, animals are in unsanitary conditions and they are mistreated. I don't consider myself an activist, but even from a health stand point this is not good. Animals become sick as a result of these conditions, and this is the 'meat' that people are buying. It's no wonder that there have been diseases as a result of this.

I don't want to make it all sound like doom and gloom. If you do eat meat, get to know your local butcher so that you will know how fresh the meat is and where it comes from. Better yet, buy organic. This means that the animal is NOT factory farmed and will have better feed (i.e. factory farmed animals eat foods with pesticides and this is stored in their body fat)

Here is a video to check out. It was a news cast on swine flu and how factory farming could have been connected.

Study - Feed your Kids Organic Whole Foods

"University of Washington researchers tracked a group of preschool children - 18 with organic diets and 21 with conventional diets - and analyzed their urine for evidence of exposure to five different kinds of toxic pesticides. They found that the average total was six-to almost nine times higher for children with conventional diets than for children with organic diets. Conclusion? Consuming organic fruits and vegetables can provide a relatively simple means for parents to reduce their children's pesticide exposure."

- Environmental Working Group: http://www.foodnews.org/

Home-made Baby Formula

In my Nutrition through the Lifespan course, we learned about nutrition for babies. As you can probably guess, it is recommended to breastfeed as this is nature's 'best nutrition' for babies. However, breastfeeding is not for everyone. If this is the case for you or anyone you know, I found it interesting that there are home-made baby formulas that you can make. I was given a few recipes and I'm happy to share one of them with you! Out of all the formula recipes we received, this was the one most recommended by our nutrition teacher.

Home-made Baby Formula
(Recipe from a nutritionist in the US)

2 cups goats milk
2 cups hemp nut seed milk
1/4 cup goat whey
1 tablespoon colostrum
4 tablespoons lactose
2 teaspoons nutritional yeast
1/4 teaspoon camu berry powder
1 capsule aged garlic powder
1 teaspoon infant probiotics
1 tablespoon lecithin
2 teaspoons gelatin
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 teaspoon cod liver oil
1 teaspoon flax seed oil