The media exerts a powerful effect on what we eat. It appeals to us through sight and sound so skillfully and so often, that we believe what they are telling us to do about nutrition and we do it, such as eating and drinking junk food ... unless we make the effort to learn about health and nutrition from those persons who validly promote health and nutrition. This is why I keep pointing you, my dear readers, to books, magazines and Internet sites which promote health.

One of the principles of humanity is that if we see and hear something often enough, and if it's presented in an appealing manner, we will believe it and act on it. So it is with fast-foods, junk foods and cola drinks, all of which are very unhealthy. That is why I point you to healthy magazines such as Vegetarian Times and to their Internet site: http://www.vegetariantimes.com and to Prevention magazine and their site: http://www.prevention.com. If you eat red meat (as I used to do), please read about the dangers of eating red meat in the November 2002 issue of Consumer Reports, whose Internet site is: http://www.consumerreports.org. The article beings on page 29: "How safe is that burger?" They point out many compelling reasons to avoid red meat, including the many diseases one risks by eating it.

I've been reading ... actually, studying, Consumer Reports for 30 years and I recommend it highly. There is an excellent article about reversing arthritis in the January, 2002 issue, beginning on page 18: "Joint Remedies" in which they describe, in detail, the supplements Glucosamine and Chondroitin (both of which I take). These supplements actually often reverse arthritis, especially if the person will eat a healthier diet and do regular moderate exercise. I personally know several people who have benefited from these supplements. A doctor who doesn't practice nutritional medicine will prescribe an expensive analgesic (pain killer) or a steroid to artificially cover-up the symptoms, while the underlying cause gets worse. And, as I've described previously, prescription drugs usually cause new diseases, called side-effects, which are also described in that article.

It's much better to reverse the disease, and glucosamine and chondroitin often do that over weeks and months, especially if the person also eats a healthier diet and does regular moderate exercise.

But what about Popeye's kidney stones?

In my previous Article (Foods that Harm and Foods that Heal), I recommended a health book published by The Reader's Digest Association. In it, I learned about Popeye's probable kidney stones. This excruciatingly painful disease will affect about 10% of the adult population at one time or another during their lifetime. Pages 208, 293, 296, and 329-30 of that book, give us a lot of important information. Some foods, when eaten excessively, actually cause disease, even fruits and vegetables ... when eaten in excess.

And speaking of eating in excess, I remember a surprising case I studied when I was a student in the Medical School of the University of Virginia (1960-62). The patient was a man who was drinking a gallon of carrot juice every day. He had a fixation on this, even though it was making him very sick from overdosing of Vitamin A. His skin was orange. The doctors told him he will die if he doesn't decrease his consumption of carrot juice (a gallon each day is a tremendous amount). He did not heed their warnings and he died.

About a year ago, I read in another one of my recommended books that frequent eating of spinach can cause kidney stones because of the oxalic acid in it (also called oxalate). The book is: Dr. Colbert's guide to ultimate health, published by, and available through, Benny Hinn Ministries, for $25.00 including shipping, ISBN 1-892971-06-2. Call 1-800-443-1900. I recommend this book highly, and Dr. Colbert's other books and his Internet site: http://www.drcolbert.com. To my knowledge, this book is only available at Benny Hinn conferences and at the above phone number. Benny Hinn is a Christian evangelist whose personal physician is Dr. Colbert. He is a licensed medical doctor & a specialist in chelation therapy (blood detoxification) in Florida.

Now, back to Popeye. If Popeye were a real person, he would probably have serious kidney stone disease, because he apparently consumes spinach a whole can at a time. He would probably also have high blood pressure from all the salt that accompanies the spinach, since most canned vegetables and soups have a tremendous amount of salt in them. It's called "sodium" on the label. And if he actually smoked the pipe he is often seen with, he probably also has cancer of the mouth and tongue, plus lung cancer. And since smoking is a contributing factor to heart disease, he probably was taking prescription drugs for that. And the prescription drug was probably causing other diseases, called the side-effects, since most prescription drugs have side-effects.

The point I want to make, my dear readers, is that it is vital to our health that we do our own reading, so we can learn about which foods harm and which food heal. As you grasp the revelations about health, your whole outlook about your future will begin to change to HOPE and enthusiasm. The diseases you thought were inevitable for people in their 50s and 60s will clearly be seen as preventable and even reversible. The diseases you thought were inherited through your family line will also be clearly seen as preventable, and even reversible.

It does take an effort. It's well worth the effort. There is HOPE for your future, a future of health.