Tina Turbin » Health

Autism-Vaccine Author Defends His Research

Tina Turbin — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 06:00:09 +0000

Dr. Andrew Wakefield, who published a study in 1998 about the possible link between autism and vaccines which was subsequently questioned and discredited by the medical community, has defended his work in an interview on CNN.

Dr. Wakefield’s work has been discredited over the past several years, and ten of the eleven doctors who were involved in the study have removed their names from it. The Sunday Times reports that Dr. Wakefield “changed and misreported results” in his research, according to “confidential” medical documents and interviews with witnesses.

Dr. Wakefield’s study was published in February 1998 in The Lancet medical journal, causing widespread concern among parents that the MMR vaccine—for measles, mumps, and rubella—was linked to autism. According to The Sunday Times, the impact of the article was “extraordinary,” with vaccination rates decreasing from 92% to less than 80%, while “herd immunity” from measles occurs when 95% of the population has been vaccinated.

After a British journalist, Brian Deer, published the results of his investigation calling Wakefield’s study an “elaborate fraud,” Wakefield denied these allegations as false in an interview on CNN with Anderson Cooper. Wakefield continues to stand by his findings, saying that the results have been replicated in studies in five other countries and that Deer has received financial support from a pharmaceutical company. Check out the link below to see the interview yourself.

CNN Video Clip

Tina Turbin

www.DannyTheDragon.com

b.a.

Listen to My NABBW (National Association of Baby Boomer Women) Teleseminar on Celiac Disease

Tina Turbin — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 07:00:33 +0000

In addition to my work as a children’s author, I am dedicated to bringing awareness to celiac disease, which is caused by an autoimmune reaction to gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye, leading to damage to the small intestine and a variety of serious physical and mental symptoms.

I had the honor and pleasure of delivering a teleseminar on celiac disease with Anne Holmes, the “Boomer-in-Chief” of the NABBW, National Association of Baby Boomer Women.

Follow the link below to have a listen or download the teleseminar as an MP3:

http://attendthisevent.com/?eventid=14823489

Enjoy!

Tina Turbin

www.GlutenFreeHelp.info

The Benefits of Omega-3 Supplements

Tina Turbin — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 20:04:06 +0000

In my work as a researcher and advocate for women’s issues, I’m often approached by other women who want to know my “secret” for staying fit and youthful-looking. Well, there’s really nothing secret about it—I eat a healthy, well-balanced diet and work out regularly. There is a wonderful supplement, however, that I’ve studied a lot and have been taking for quite some time. You’ve probably heard about it, but perhaps you haven’t yet taken advantage of it. What I’m talking about is omega-3 fatty acids, which can be found in fish oil as well as some plant and nut oils. I highly recommend that women educate themselves on the benefits of fish oil and avail themselves of it regularly.

So what exactly are omega-3 fatty acids and what do they do? Essential omega-3 fatty acids are found in cold-water fish and fish oils. Fish oil contains docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), while some nuts (English walnuts, for example) and vegetable oils (such as canola, soybean, flaxseed, and olive oils) contain alpha-linolenic acid (ALA). Research now supports taking DHA and EPA in the form of dietary fish or fish oil supplements for an abundance of health benefits, such as promoting heart health, reducing age-related risks, and improving your mood and the ability to handle stress. The body can’t produce it, so these essential fatty acids must be part of your daily diet.

Tina Turbin

Author Connie Sarros Acknowledges Tina Turbin

Tina Turbin — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 07:00:46 +0000

Congratulations to Tina Turbin!

Some people accomplish extraordinary things. When they do, it’s nice to recognize them and applaud them for their accomplishments. Tina Turbin is one of those people. She’s well known by many of you because of her involvement in the celiac community.

Who is Tina Turbin?

Tina is an activist in two main fields: 1) She actively works to make improvements in children’s literacy and education, and 2) She works diligently to raise awareness about celiac disease. She speaks regularly on these topics on national radio shows and writes articles and columns for a wide variety of publications and websites. You can learn more about Tina at http://TinaTurbin.com.

Why the “Congratulations!”?

Tina wrote the award-winning children’s picture book Danny the Dragon Meets Jimmy. iSTORYTIME (the iPhone App Developer for Dreamworks) has recently signed to turn the DVD of this book into a children’s book app. This production is unique because its the first of its kind to have sign-language interpretation added for the deaf to assist this under-served population.

Imagination Publishing Group President Alan Wayne said, “I’m pleased to say that this is the first of many apps to be created through iStorytime for the Danny the Dragon series.” Profits from the sales of the Danny the Dragon DVD are donated to the Blossom Montessori School for the Deaf. Learn more about her books, DVD, and what she does to help celiacs at her website.

Congratulations Tina!

Connie Sarros

www.gfbooks.homestead.com

Casein Free and Palm Shortening.

Tina Turbin — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 17:28:23 +0000







It's been discovered that organic, non-hydrogenated palm fruit shortening is a fabulous, natural way to make delicious baked goods without butter, and without heavy processing or trans-fats. It's also high in vitamin E.
You can find this product at Whole Foods, and at many health food stores and food co-ops.
By the way, if you are OK with butter and prefer to use it, substitute 7 tbsp. cold butter for the palm fruit shortening in many of your recipes.
I use the Spectrum brand personally yet know there are many good brands available.
Tina Turbin
www.TinaTurbin.com
b.a.

Get Some Sleep

Tina Turbin — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 19:39:17 +0000

About 70 million Americans experience sleep problems ranging from chronic sleep disorders to sporadic sleep troubles. Studies show that just one night of insufficient sleep can affect memory, productivity, and even the ability to carry on a regular conversation. In my work as a writer, researcher, and humanitarian, with several radio interviews a week, I can’t afford to not be at my mental peak, and chances are you can’t either. Long-term sleep deprivation can have serious effects such as higher risk for high blood pressure, depression, heart attack, decreased immunity, obesity, and diabetes. As you can see, getting enough sleep should be as much a part of your health regimen as eating well and exercising. Fortunately, by making a few adjustments to your diet, you can improve the quality of your sleep.

Tina Turbin

Eat Better, Sleep Better

Tina Turbin — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 22:01:12 +0000

How much sleep you get can make or break your day and also your health. Read on for some tips for how to get a better sleep by some simple changes to your diet.

Eating more plant carbohydrates, such as fruits, vegetables, beans, and whole grains, can have a significant impact on your slumber. These foods help to produce a gradual, steady rise of blood insulin, helping the entrance into the brain of the amino acid tryptophan, a neurotransmitter that helps induce sleepiness and improve mood. (This explains why a glass of warm milk before bed can help to improve sleep, as it provides a dose of tryptophan while also inducing a release of insulin.)

It’s important to eliminate the foods and drinks that can disturb sleep. Caffeine—found in soda, coffee, some teas, and chocolate—will interfere with sleep if you ingest it within four hours of bedtime—sometimes even within six hours. Alcohol can cause drowsiness, but metabolizing the sugar can disrupt slumber and also cause body temperature to rise too much. Sugary foods eaten right before bed can also raise body temperature and leave you restless during the night.

Diet can also indirectly affect your sleep. If you’re overweight, you’re more likely to experience sleep apnea and its symptoms of heavy snoring and interrupted breathing. Eating a lot of simple carbohydrates (sugary treats) and refined starches (white flour and white rice), which cause blood sugar to spike and fall, may cause an imbalance in the hormones that regulate metabolism, disrupting the body’s natural rhythms and thus disrupting sleep.

It may not require a total makeover of your diet to reap the benefits of good sleep, but even some minor adjustments with these tips in mind can be helpful. The changes you make will not only improve your sleep but your overall health. There’s nothing to lose in making these changes—except your sleep troubles!

Tina Turbin

More Studies Support Health Benefits of Friendship

Tina Turbin — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 21:52:01 +0000

Other research suggests the health benefits of social support. One study, published in the journal Cancer, followed 61 women with advanced ovarian cancer. The women with lots of social support had much lower levels of a protein linked to more aggressive types of cancer, and higher levels of a protein that boosted the effectiveness of chemotherapy.
In 1989, David Spiegel, MD, a professor of psychiatry at Stanford University, published an influential paper in Lancet, showing that women with breast cancer who participated in a support group lived twice as long as those who didn’t and reported much less pain. Sheldon Cohen, PhD, a psychology professor at Carnegie Mellon University, has shown that strong social support helps people cope with stress. Other studies have demonstrated that less connected people tend to die sooner after having a heart attack than people with a strong social network and that having a large social network may even reduce chances of catching a cold, even though you’re probably exposed to more viruses when spending lots of time with others.

“Friends help you face adverse events,” Dr. Sheldon Cohen says. “They provide material aid, emotional support, and information that helps you deal with the stressors. There may be broader effects as well. Friends encourage you to take better care of yourself. And people with wider social networks are higher in self-esteem, and they feel they have more control over their lives.”

Take advantage of these findings by increasing your social network! There are plenty of people out there to strike up a friendship with and plenty of health benefits to look forward to as your friendships blossom.

Tina Turbin

Climbing Stairs for Exercise

Tina Turbin — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 21:49:56 +0000

Step climbing is a great way to exercise for heart health while taking it easy on your joints. If you own a stair-climbing machine at home, you can use it while watching your favorite TV programs instead of sitting on the couch. You can also climb real stairs. This can be convenient for people who work in a large office building, as they can bring their tennis shoes and fit in a thirty-minute workout during lunchtime. Another alternative is to use a step platform and use it with a low-impact step aerobics DVD. Make sure to choose a DVD that’s specifically geared toward low-impact.

Tina Turbin

What to Look for in Healthy Friendships

Tina Turbin — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 21:44:26 +0000

What should you look for in a good friend whose companionship will bring health and happiness to you instead of just raising your blood pressure? There are a few things you should ask yourself before befriending someone. First of all, make sure to choose a friend who has positive things to say to you. Every once in a while, a good friend may need to tell you something that might be tough to hear—“hard truths”—but these remarks should be very infrequent and you should generally walk away after spending time with them feeling better about yourself.

Also, look for friends who are living life in a responsible manner. Otherwise, the stress of their own lives due to their bad habits and poor decisions will surely stress you out. Nobody is perfect, but avoid befriending people who are making bad life decisions such as abusing drugs, having extramarital affairs, and engaging in criminal activity, for instance. Every once in a while, a good friend may make a bad decision; this doesn’t mean you should abandon the friendship, but help them instead. However, my best advice is that if you meet someone and find right off the bat that his life is out of control, it’s best to refer him to help and save your energy for friends who are overall positively contributing to society.

Having lots of friends can boost your immune system, help you survive longer after a heart attack, fight serious illnesses such as cancer, and increase your life span. With such positive advantages, you should make sure to increase your number of friends, but also keep in mind the importance of avoiding stressful, low-quality friendship and seeking out positive companionship.

Tina Turbin