Health News June 3, 2009

Pass The Butter Please!, By Therese Griffin Hicks, RN, DC, FIACA

The following was an e-mail forward (with no one cited as an author) but I have written on this in the past and thought it was done well enough to pass along this important information. Besides everything below that suggests that butter is definitely better for you. When choosing butter, you support an agricultural economy rather than the plastics industries, something much more environmentally friendly!! Margarine was originally manufactured to fatten turkeys. When it killed the turkeys, the people who had put all the money into the research wanted a payback so they put their heads together to figure out what to do with this product to get their money back. It was a white substance with no food appeal so they added the yellow coloring and sold it to people to use in place of butter. DO YOU KNOW.. the difference between margarine and butter? Both have the same amount of calories. Butter is slightly higher in saturated fats at 8 grams compared to 5 grams. Eating margarine can increase heart disease in women by 53% over eating the same amount of butter, according to a recent Harvard Medical Study. Eating butter increases the absorption of many other nutrients in other foods. Butter has many nutritional benefits where margarine has a few only because they are added! Butter tastes much better than margarine and it can enhance the flavors of other foods. Butter has been around for centuries where margarine has been around for less than 100 years . And now, for Margarine.. Very high in Trans fatty acids; triple risk of coronary heart disease; increases total cholesterol and LDL (this is the bad cholesterol) and lowers HDL cholesterol, (the good cholesterol); increases the risk of cancers up to five fold; lowers quality of breast milk; decreases immune response; decreases insulin response. And here’s the most disturbing fact.... HERE IS THE PART THAT IS VERY INTERESTING! Margarine is but ONE MOLECULE away from being PLASTIC. This fact alone was enough to have me avoiding margarine for life and anything else that is hydrogenated (this means hydrogen is added, changing the molecular structure of the substance). You can try this yourself: Purchase a tub of margarine and leave it in your garage or shaded area. Within a couple of days you will note a couple of things: * no flies, not even those pesky fruit flies will go near it. (that should tell you something) It does not rot or smell differently because it has no nutritional value; nothing will grow on it. Even those teeny weeny microorganisms will not find a home to grow. Why? Because it is nearly plastic. Would you melt your Tupperware and spread that on your toast?

One is Lonely, Be Two or Three, By Janet Trimble Gila Community College Wellness Center Facilitator

One of the lessons I've learned in the past several months while talking with students at the Wellness Center, is how important it is for people to share their lives and experiences with others. If you’ve changed your life by getting fitter, losing weight, taking a class or classes, or modifying your diet, you have important and special experiences to share. If you've joined a support group to help make these changes, you are focusing on a component of wellness that will help sustain your progress over the long haul…the significance of teamwork. When you encourage others through tough days and cheer when progress is made, you reinforce your own positive changes and continue making progress toward your own goals. This is exactly what happens at the Wellness Center everyday. We pass on lessons learned to a new group of participants just like us. Working out with a partner or a group makes the whole experience much more fun and less daunting. Setting aside time to meet a friend at the Wellness Center or registering for a fitness class, makes it easier for us to show up. And showing up is what we need to do…commitment is essential when setting life -changing goals. All of us have demanding schedules. Following through and being a member of a special group like the Wellness Center improves and supports your health. Others can keep us going especially when it’s not easy. Changing a lifetime of bad habits often takes lots of helping hands. Many of us rely on our families or coworkers to help us meet the challenges in our daily lives. We can reap the same benefits for our health. Buddy up…make friends at the gym…focus on helping each other… share your experiences, the trials and successes…and keep coming. I’ll see you here.

Science Explorers

Eastern Arizona Area Health Education Center is hosting a one week Science Explorers camp for students who have completed the 6th grade this year. The students will explore different fields of science such as rockets, solar, & health sciences. The camp begins July 6th and the cost is $25 per person. If anyone is interested in the Science Explorers camp and would like an application, please call Jean Campbell at 812-1890.

Helping Connect Families Separated by War

World Red Cross Red Crescent Day Showcases Sister Societies Working Together: On May 8, the Southern Arizona Chapter joins more than 700 American Red Cross chapters throughout the United States and 185 other Red Cross and Red Crescent National Societies around the world in celebrating World Red Cross Red Crescent Day. World Red Cross Red Crescent Day is celebrated throughout the world each year, in honor of Henry Dunant, who founded the International Red Cross Red Crescent Movement nearly 150 years ago. The theme of this year’s observance is "Sister Societies Working Together," which pays tribute to Dunant's vision and highlights the many ways in which Red Cross and Red Crescent societies around the globe partner to protect the lives and dignity of people everywhere. To mark this observance, the Southern Arizona Chapter reflects on all the families we've helped throughout the years, including Nadia Larsen's family. The Red Cross assisted Mrs. Larsen in finding more than a dozen family members missing since World War II, resulting in two reunions with her long lost family. (Nadia is available for interview). This reunion is just one example of how the Southern Arizona Chapter helps ease the suffering of families separated by international crises throughout the year. More than 100 families in Southern Arizona are currently working with our local Red Cross Chapter and await news about the status of their family members. "Armed conflicts and disasters leave millions of people around the globe in urgent need of humanitarian assistance every year," said Richard K. White, Executive Director. "Through our Restoring Family Links program, we are able to address some of the lesser- known consequences of traumatic events separation and lack of knowledge - and help families separated by these types of crises share urgent news through written messages, emails and by telephone." The national office of the American Red Cross coordinates the efforts of local chapters, like the Southern Arizona Chapter, and Red Cross and Red Crescent societies abroad to help, most often, immigrants or refugees living in the United States learn the well-being of, and convey personal messages with loved ones they left behind. Last year, the American Red Cross helped exchange messages and conduct related tracing between more than 9,400 people separated by crisis in countries, such as Sudan, Somalia, Burundi, Iraq and the former Yugoslavia as well as on behalf of Holocaust survivors. Additional information about how to access and support the Restoring Family Links program, including the Holocaust and War Victims Tracing Center, is available online at www.redcross.org/familylinks.