20 Huge Health Benefits of Sesame

by Diana Herrington

• Follow Diana at @DancinginLife

  
  

Sesame seeds may be tiny, but they have huge health benefits. They were worth their weight in gold during the Middle Ages, and for many good reasons.

The more I learn about this precious seed, the more I want to share it with other people. I’m an enthusiastic eater of all sorts of seeds, but sesame seeds in the form of tahini and sesame oil are favorite ingredients of mine.

20 Health Benefits of Sesame Seeds

 

1. Full of Great Protein
Sesame seeds are full of high quality protein. Protein makes up 20 percent of the seed with 4.7 grams of protein per ounce.

2. Helps Prevent Diabetes
Sesame seeds contain magnesium and other nutrients. Sesame oil has been shown to prevent diabetes, and it can also improve plasma glucose in hypersensitive diabetics.

 

3. Reduces Blood Pressure
The same study above reveals how sesame oil lowers blood pressure in diabetics. Sesame seeds are full of magnesium – a key nutrient known to help lower blood pressure.

 

 

We’re used to seeing white sesame seeds used in baking, but black sesame seeds are richer in certain nutrients.

4. Lowers Cholesterol
Sesame helps lower cholesterol levels, because it contains phytosterols that block cholesterol production. Black sesame seeds are especially high in phytosterols.

5. Good for Digestion
The high fiber content of sesame seeds helps the intestines with elimination.

6. For Healthy Skin
The high zinc content helps produce collagen, giving skin more elasticity and helping repair damaged body tissues. Regular use of sesame oil can reduce skin cancer. Learn more about Sesame Benefits For Your Skin.

7. Boosts Heart Health
Sesame seed oil can help heart health by preventing atherosclerotic lesions with the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compound known as sesamol.

8. Prevents Cancer
Sesame seeds contain anti-cancer compounds including phytic acid, magnesium, and phytosterols. Sesame seeds have the highest phytosterol content of all seeds and nuts.

9. Helps Lessen Anxiety
Sesame seeds contain the stress-relieving minerals magnesium and calcium. Sesame also contains the calming vitamins thiamin and tryptophan that help produce serotonin, which reduces pain, assists moods, and helps you sleep deeply.

10. Alleviates Anemia
Black sesame seeds are particularly rich in iron. They’re highly recommended for those with anemia and weakness.

11. Protects from Radiation Damage to DNA
Sesamol in sesame seeds and sesame oil has been shown to protect against DNA damage caused by radiation.

12. Relieves Arthritis
Thehigh copper content in sesame seeds prevents and relieves arthritis, and strengthens bones, joints and blood vessels.

13. Protects Your Liver from Alcohol
Sesame helps protect you from alcohol’s impact on your liver, helping you maintain healthy liver function.

14. Prevents Wrinkles
Sesame seed oil prevents harmful ultraviolet rays of the sun from damaging your skin, preventing the appearance of wrinkles and pigmentation.

15. Encourages Bone Health and Prevents Osteoporosis
A handful of sesame seeds contains more calcium than a glass of milk. The high zinc content of sesame also boosts bone mineral density.

16. Help Your Baby’s Health
A sesame oil massage improves growth and improves sleep. Rashes on a baby’s skin — especially where the diaper is — can be protected with by rubbing sesame seed oil on the skin. As a bonus, sesame also helps reverse dry skin.

17. Good for Eye Health: In traditional Chinese medicine, there is a relationship between the liver and eyes. The liver sends blood to the eyes to support functioning. Black sesame seeds are the best for this.

18. Good for Oral Health: Oil pulling has been used for oral health for thousands of years in Ayurveda to reduce dental plaque, whiten your teeth, and boost overall health. Learn How To Practice Oil Pulling here.

19. Good for Respiratory Health: The magnesium in sesame seeds helps prevent respiratory disorders by preventing airway spasm and asthma.

20. Hair Benefits: Sesame seed oil is full of the nutrients needed for a healthy scalp and hair. See how to use sesame oil in your hair here.

Sesame seeds deserve to be highly honored as an affordable food that deeply nourishes the body on many levels. With sesame’s many health benefits I consider it a PowerFood along with green tea, lemons, garlic, honey, and turmeric.

Read more: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/20-health-benefits-of-sesame-you-wont-believe.html#ixzz3vp8qLVHa

Treat the Heart With the Gut

December 30, 2015 | 7,706 views

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By Dr. Mercola

It’s becoming relatively common knowledge that your health is not just about your body, but rather is the result of its symbiotic relationship with 100 trillion bacteria and other microorganisms.

Your microbiome is unique to you, like a fingerprint, and represents a combination of lifestyle factors, genetics, environment, and more.

Your gut microbiome influences your immune responses and nervous system functioning, and plays a role in the development of a number of diseases, including obesity, cancer and heart disease.

In the latter case, research has emerged that bacteria in your gut may play an integral role in the formation of fatty deposits on your arteries, leading to atherosclerosis (hardening of your arteries).

Perhaps even more remarkable, now researchers have also figured out a way to stop the process.

Targeting Gut Microbes to Prevent Heart Disease

Research by physician Stanley Hazen of the Cleveland Clinic and colleagues has shown that certain bacteria in your gut can transform choline (found in meat and eggs) and other dietary nutrients into trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO), which slows the breakdown of cholesterol.

The higher your TMAO levels become, the more fatty plaques may collect in your arteries, which may promote atherosclerosis and other heart problems.

As The Atlantic recently reported, Dr. Hazen’s colleague Zeneng Wang discovered that the chemical 3,3-dimethyl-1-butanol (DMB) prevents gut microbes from turning choline into trimethylamine (TMA), thereby lowering the risk of heart problems.^1,2

DMB is a choline-like compound that works by “gumming up” the enzymes required by the bacteria to digest choline, which stops TMA production. According to The Atlantic:³

“It takes two to TMAO: Bacteria first transform choline into TMA, before an enzyme from the host animal changes TMA into TMAO. At first, Hazen’s team tried to prevent the second part of this chain by blocking the animal enzyme.

They succeeded, lowering TMAO levels in mice and making them resistant to atherosclerosis. But there was just one problem: disabling the enzyme leads to a build-up of TMA, which doesn’t harm the heart but doessmell of rotting fish.”

By targeting gut microbes with DMB, the mice, which were bred to be vulnerable to atherosclerosis, produced less TMAO even when fed a choline-rich diet. They also had fewer signs of the condition. As written in Cell:⁴

“The present studies suggest that targeting gut microbial production of TMA specifically and non-lethal microbial inhibitors in general may serve as a potential therapeutic approach for the treatment of cardiometabolic diseases.”

Your Gut Microbes Might Be One Reason Why Eating Red Meat Is Linked to Heart Disease

Your gut bacteria can also metabolize L-carnitine, a substance found in red meat, eggs, and other foods, and in so doing produce TMAO.

Interestingly, people with diets high in L-carnitine, i.e. meat eaters, had a gut microbe composition that was more prone to forming TMAO, while vegetarians and vegans did not.

Even after consuming large amounts of L-carnitine in a steak or supplement, the vegetarians and vegans in the study did not produce significant amounts of TMAO.

Does this mean that you should avoid meat and L-carnitine?

I believe the answer is a resounding no. The science is very clear that L-carnitine is required to shuttle fatty acids into the mitochondria to burn them as fuel. It is an important mitochondrial nutrient and I personally take a supplement because I don’t eat much red meat.

However I believe healthy non-CAFO red meat can be an important part of a healthy diet. One just does not want to consume it in excess that almost everyone does. Anything over 3-4 ounces. and 2 ounces for people under140 pounds, is far too much protein and will raise mTOR levels.

If you are a vegetarian, or someone that has a mitochondrial dysfunction disease then I strongly believe that you should be on a supplement of L-carnitine, not acetylcarnitine, simple plain L-carnitine.

However, Dr. Hazen and colleagues believe that eating red meat alters your gut flora in a way that predisposes your body toward TMAO production, and subsequently, heart disease.⁵

I suspect this research is flawed as they never really carefully examined the quantity or quality of meat being consumed. CAFO meat should be avoided for reasons previously discussed and excessive meat consumption,

in my view, excessive meat, especially CAFO meat, will not only contribute to heart disease, but cancer, obesity, diabetes and neurodegenerative diseases.

This was confirmed by giving the omnivores a course of antibiotics, after which they did not produce TMAO. Dr. Hazen said in a statement:⁶

“The bacteria living in our digestive tracts are dictated by our long-term dietary patterns … A diet high in carnitine actually shifts our gut microbe composition to those that like carnitine, making meat eaters even more susceptible to forming TMAO and its artery-clogging effects.”

Separate research suggests people with the highest TMAO levels may have twice the risk of having a heart attack, stroke, or premature death compared to those with the lowest levels.

The researchers therefore suggested that altering the bacterial population in your gut could have tremendous implications for heart health:

“Perhaps a probiotic approach that would involve the intentional ingestion of certain types of bacteria that might alter the population of bacteria in the gut to one that is beneficial.”

U.S Military Using Gut Microbes to Stave Off Disease and More

Rice University synthetic biologist Jeff Tabor received a three-year grant from the U.S. Office of Naval Research (ONR) to research how gut microbes may be used to support health on the battlefront.

Synthetic biology involves genetically engineering microorganisms, making it highly controversial. Tabor’s work involves a genetically engineered E. coli cell that is capable of sensing certain chemical disturbances.

The ultimate goal is that the cells would then “fire off a battery of molecules to neutralize [the disturbances].”⁹ The cells would be designed to only survive a matter of hours in your gut, carrying out their intended purpose and then dying off naturally.

To date, his research in mice has been related to obesity and other metabolic issues. When mice were fed the modified E. coli cells, the “sensors” were activated, which means the targeted chemicals were successfully located.

The research is only in the beginning stages, but plans are underway to produce GE cells that would carry up to a dozen sensors and be capable of producing targeted drugs on the spot, including highly-targeted antibiotics that target bacterial chemicals linked to obesity, inflammation, and more.¹⁰

Manipulating gut bacteria with “synthetic probiotics” might one day be used to treat diabetes, autoimmune disorders, cancer, neurological disorders, obesity, and more.

The U.S. military is hoping that tweaking the microbiome might also help the armed forces stay healthy in the face of extreme conditions, stress, disruptions to circadian rhythm (like living on a submarine), and sleep loss. Scientific American reported:¹¹

” … [T]he Navy may find creative ways to deploy these synthetic probiotics not just to avoid obesity and its attendant problems but to quickly shift body weight and metabolism as necessary, Tabor suggests.

‘Imagine you have a team of marines going from a temperate environment, say, at sea level, to a really cold environment, like up on top of a mountain, in a short period of time. You want them to be able to put on some fat quickly to be more robust in the cold environment.’

The solution? A dose of yogurt laced with synthetic probiotics that change warfighters’ metabolism to increase fat for a couple of weeks — and after that another dose to take it off when they return to sea level.”

The Microbiome Is a ‘Key Regulator’ of Your Brain and Behavior

In a study by Dr. John Cryan, a neuropharmacologist from the University College Cork in Ireland, mice without microbes in their intestines are unable to recognize other mice around them. Dr. Cryan believes microbes may communicate with the brain and help us be social, which in turn allows the microbes to spread to others.¹²Your microbiome affects your heart, your weight, and, yes, also your brain and behavior. So-called germ-free mice, which have no microbiome to speak of, have altered behavior and brain function.

In addition, mice lacking gut bacteria have been found to engage in “high-risk behavior,” and this altered behavior was accompanied by neurochemical changes in the mouse brain.¹³ Dr. Cryan believes beneficial microbes could one day be used to treat mental health problems in humans.

He dubbed the compounds “psychobiotics.” He told Scientific American, “That dietary treatments could be used as either adjunct or sole therapy for mood disorders is not beyond the realm of possibility.”¹⁴

In one notable study by Dr. Cryan and colleagues, the probiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus had a marked effect on GABA levels — an inhibitory neurotransmitter that is significantly involved in regulating many physiological and psychological processes — in certain brain regions and lowered the stress-induced hormone corticosterone, resulting in reduced anxiety- and depression-related behavior.¹⁵

Further, researchers have discovered that the absence or presence of gut microorganisms during infancy permanently alters gene expression. Through gene profiling, they were able to discern that absence of gut bacteria altered genes and signaling pathways involved in learning, memory, and motor control.

This suggests that gut bacteria are closely tied to early brain development and subsequent behavior. These behavioral changes could be reversed as long as the mice were exposed to normal microorganisms early in life. But, once the germ-free mice had reached adulthood, colonizing them with bacteria did not influence their behavior.¹⁶ As reported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Record:¹⁷

“Cryan has identified several ‘critical windows’ for gut microbiota development and in which it might be most possible to transform them: early life, adolescence and old age. But, ‘on the whole, it’s the early-life period that’s instrumental for informing the microbiome composition, which informs our immune system and may shape aspects of brain development as well,’ he said.”

This is one strong argument for having a vaginal birth as opposed to a C-section (if you have the option), as your baby is“seeded” with microbes as it goes through the birth canal. Breastfeeding further encourages a healthy microbiome in early life, and once your baby is ready for soft foods, you can easily provide abundant probiotics in the form of fermented foods.

However, even though early life is a crucial time for developing a healthy microbiome, you can make favorable changes all throughout your life.

How to Nourish Your Microbiome

Your microbiome is vulnerable to your diet and lifestyle and can be harmed by:

Antibiotics, unless absolutely necessary (and when you do take them, make sure to reseed your gut with fermented foods and/or a probiotic supplement)	Conventionally raised meats and other animal products, as CAFO animals are routinely fed low-dose antibiotics, plus genetically engineered grains, which have also been implicated in the destruction of gut flora	Processed foods (as the excessive sugars, along with otherwise “dead” nutrients, feed pathogenic bacteria)
Chlorinated and/or fluoridated water	Antibacterial soap	Agricultural chemicals

In addition to avoiding the harmful aspects above, reseeding your gut with beneficial bacteria is essential for maintaining proper balance and achieving optimal physical and mental health. In light of this, here are my recommendations for optimizing your gut bacteria.

• Fermented foods are the best route to optimal gut health, as long as you eat the traditionally made, unpasteurized versions.

Healthy choices include lassi (an Indian yoghurt drink, traditionally enjoyed before dinner), fermented grass-fed organic milk such as kefir, various pickled fermentations of cabbage, turnips, eggplant, cucumbers, onions, squash, and carrots, and natto (fermented soy).

Fermented vegetables, in particular, are an excellent way to supply beneficial bacteria back into your gut. As an added bonus, they can also a great source of vitamin K2 if you ferment your own using the proper starter culture.

We had samples of high-quality, fermented organic vegetables made with our specific starter culture tested, and a typical serving (about two to three ounces) contained not only 10 trillion beneficial bacteria, but it also had 500 mcg of vitamin K2, which we now know is a vital co-nutrient to both vitamin D and calcium.

Most high-quality probiotics supplements will only supply you with a fraction of the beneficial bacteria found in such homemade fermented veggies, so it’s your most economical route to optimal gut health as well.

• Probiotic supplement. Although I’m not a major proponent of taking many supplements (as I believe the majority of your nutrients need to come from food), probiotics is an exception if you don’t eat fermented foods on a regular basis.

[+] Sources and References

Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals Threaten Women’s Health Throughout Life

December 30, 2015

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By Dr. Mercola

Recent research reveals American girls are hitting puberty earlier than ever before. The median age for breast development is now around 9, with rare cases of extreme precocious puberty occurring in girls as young as 4.

Precocious puberty is triggered by premature release of hormones, which results in sexual maturation, sometimes years before the natural norm. Research into the phenomenon reveals that environmental exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals plays a major if not decisive role.

Interestingly, recent research¹ also claims that high sugar consumption—specifically soda—can affect young girls’ rate of maturation. According to associate professor Karin Michels, who studies links between environmental exposures, genetics and disease:

“Our study adds to increasing concern about the widespread consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks among children and adolescents.

The main concern is about childhood obesity, but our study suggests that age of first menstruation (menarche) occurred earlier, independently of body mass index, among girls with the highest consumption of drinks sweetened with added sugar.”

Early onset of puberty has ramifications that go far beyond mere physical changes. Emotions, behavior, mental and physical health can all be detrimentally affected.

While some parents are resorting to drug treatment to keep puberty at bay in their prematurely developing daughters, a more proactive approach would be to limit exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals, starting as early before birth as possible, and to address your child’s diet—specifically restricting all forms of sugar as much as possible.

The Ramifications of Early Puberty

Hormones, emotions and behavior tend to go hand in hand, which can lead to distress both in the child and her parents when puberty comes years ahead of schedule. As noted in a recent Newsweek² article:

“The mother of one 8-year-old wrote that her daughter ‘is a very sexual being. Although she does not by definition understand what ‘sexiness’ means, she exhibits a very particular awareness of her body and wants other people to notice her…’

[N]o matter how physically developed a girl is, her psychosocial maturation remains anchored to her chronological age. ‘These young girls get, let’s use the term ‘hit on,’ by older boys and men and how can they be prepared to deal with it?

Obviously, grown women have a hard [enough] time dealing with unwanted sexual attention,’ observes [Dr. Marcia] Herman-Giddens [professor of public health at the University of North Carolina].

The brain is highly plastic, and stressful experiences like these take their toll. Early-maturing girls are more likely to smoke cigarettes, they are at high risk for substance use, and they have higher rates of eating disorders.”

Precocious puberty is also associated with an increased lifetime risk of estrogen-sensitive breast cancer. For example, one 2013 study³ found that early puberty was associated with a 30 percent higher risk for breast cancer compared to entering puberty at a later age.

Also, for each year that onset of menstruation was delayed, the risk for premenopausal breast cancer was reduced by 9 percent. The risk for postmenopausal breast cancer was reduced by 4 percent.

Early Puberty Associated With Elevated Chemical Exposures

The definition of puberty in girls includes breast development, growth of pubic hair and onset of menstruation. The average age of puberty for girls in the U.S. was 16-17 at the turn of the 20th century. Today the mean age at which girls get their first period is 12.⁴

According to data from the most recent National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey,⁵ early onset of menstruation appears to be associated with elevated levels of certain chemicals, such as 2, 5-dichlorophenol (2, 5-DCP).

2, 5-DCP is a metabolite of 1,4-dichlorobenzene (paradichlorobenzene), a chemical used in moth balls, room deodorizers, toilet bowl cleaners and other household cleaning products. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention⁶ (CDC):

“Paradichlorobenzene has been detected in ambient air in households, bathrooms and new buildings, and in exhaled breath samples of persons living in households where room deodorizers and moth crystals were used.

2,5-Dichlorophenol can also be formed in waste water treatment, wood pulp processing, and during the incineration of wood, coal and municipal waste.

12 Worst Endocrine Disruptors

As explained in an informative pamphlet⁷ on pesticides and endocrine disruption by Beyond Pesticides, endocrine-disrupting chemicals cause harm by:

1. Mimicking the action of a naturally-produced hormone, such as estrogen or testosterone
2. Blocking hormone receptors in your cells, thereby preventing the action of normal hormones
3. Affecting the synthesis, transport, metabolism and excretion of hormones, thus altering the concentrations of natural hormones in your body

Some of the biggest offenders are plastic compounds like phthalates and bisphenols (BPA and BPS)—if nothing else for the fact that they’re so ubiquitous.

Plastics are used in every imaginable household product, so you really have to make some decisive lifestyle changes to limit your exposure to these chemicals.

Even then you’re unlikely to avoid them entirely. Plastics continue spreading their chemicals into the environment even after they’ve been used and thrown away. Microscopic plastic particles now fill the water column in our oceans, where they get re-circulated back into our food supply.⁸

As noted in the featured article,⁹ your body cannot metabolize phthalates, and indirectly, these chemicals can have an adverse effect on both weight and timing of puberty. Disturbingly, recent research also suggests that prenatalphthalate exposure may lead to reduced IQ in children.

Bisphenol-A and bisphenol-S mimic the hormone estrogen, and as noted in a 2011 study,¹⁰ BPA is similar in potency to estradiol, and may influence a number of different endocrine-related pathways.

Moreover, in animal research, adverse effects of BPA have been noted at levelsbelow current acceptable daily intake (RDI) levels.

Besides phthalates and bisphenols, other potent endocrine disruptors include the following.¹¹ I’ve written about many of these in prior articles, so for more information about any particular one, please follow the links provided.

Dioxin	Atrazine	Fire retardants	Lead	Mercury
Perchlorate	Arsenic	Perfluorinated chemicals(PFCs)	Organophosphate pesticides	Glycol ethers

Endocrine Disruption Can Affect Reproductive Health Throughout Life

On the flip side of early puberty you have early menopause. Many of the same chemicals that cause precocious puberty are also associated with early menopause, which can have an adverse effect on ovarian function. One recent study¹² discovered that women with high levels of 15 different chemicals, including PCBs, pesticides and phthalates, typically entered menopause two to four years earlier than those with lower levels.

A woman’s reproductive health can also be affected at any point during her childbearing years, via a number of different mechanisms that can be traced back to chemical overexposures.

For example, the thyroid gland is part of your endocrine system, and is therefore also vulnerable to endocrine-disrupting chemicals. Interestingly, recent research suggests that hyperthyroidism, a condition in which your thyroid is overactive, may contribute to fertility and pregnancy problems in women. The authors suggest that women struggling with infertility and/or repeated miscarriages should get tested for thyroid disease.

The study,^13,14 published in The Obstetrician & Gynecologist, found that 2.3 percent of women with fertility problems had an overactive thyroid (hyperthyroidism), compared to 1.5 percent of those in the general population. According to co-author Amanda Jeffreys:

“Abnormalities in thyroid function can have an adverse effect on reproductive health and result in reduced rates of conception, increased miscarriage risk and adverse pregnancy and neonatal outcomes.”

In terms of treatment, conventional options for hyperthyroidism—such as surgery or the use of radioactive iodine—tend to produce poor results. While I don’t generally advise taking iodine supplements, if testing does confirm that you have hyperthyroidism, a more effective treatment option for you and your doctor is discussed by Dr. Jonathan Wright in the following video.

According to Dr. Wright, normal thyroid levels can often be achieved in less than two weeks with the following protocol:

• Patient starts out on five drops of Lugol’s iodine, three times per day
• After four or five days, patient starts receiving 300 mg of lithium carbonate, one to three times per day

If you do decide to follow this protocol, it’s important that your physician know about it, as serious effects can occur if you take too much of either treatment, particularly lithium carbonate.

WHO Says Banning Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals May Be Needed to Protect Human Health

In 2013, the World Health Organization (WHO) released a report co-produced with the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), titled “State of the Science of Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals.”¹⁵ The report suggests that outright banning all endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) may actually be needed to protect the health of future generations. According to the report:

“The diverse systems affected by endocrine-disrupting chemicals likely include all hormonal systems and range from those controlling development and function of reproductive organs to the tissues and organs regulating metabolism and satiety. Effects on these systems can lead to obesity, infertility or reduced fertility, learning and memory difficulties, adult-onset diabetes or cardiovascular disease, as well as a variety of other diseases.”

Tips to Help You Avoid Toxic Chemicals

Although it’s virtually impossible to steer clear of all endocrine-disrupting chemicals, you can certainly minimize your family’s exposure by keeping some key principles in mind.

1. Eat mostly fresh, raw whole foods. Processed and packaged foods are a common source of BPA and phthalates—particularly cans, but also foods packaged in plastic wrap.
2. Buy products that come in glass bottles rather than plastic or cans.
3. Store your food and beverages in glass, rather than plastic, and avoid using plastic wrap. Use glass containers if heating food in your microwave, as heat tends to increase the release of chemicals from plastic. Be aware that even“BPA-free” plastics typically leach other endocrine-disrupting chemicals that are just as bad as BPA.
4. Use glass baby bottles for your infants.
5. Be careful with cash register receipts. If you use a store regularly, encourage the management to switch to BPA-free receipts. I shop at Publix for my food and when I called them about the receipts it turns out they already switched. Nevertheless it is wise to limit your contact with all these receipts.
6. Look for products that are made by companies that are Earth-friendly, animal-friendly, sustainable, certified organic and GMO-free. This applies to everything from food and personal care products to building materials, carpeting, paint, baby items, furniture, mattresses, and more. When redoing your home, look for “green,” toxin-free alternatives in lieu of regular paint and vinyl floor coverings, the latter of which is another source of phthalates.
7. Choose toys made from natural materials to avoid plastic chemicals like phthalates and BPA/BPS, particularly for items your child may be prone to suck or chew on.
8. Breastfeed your baby exclusively if possible, for at least the first year (to avoid phthalates exposure from infant formula packaging and plastic bottles/nipples).
9. Use natural cleaning products, or make your own.
10. Switch over to organic toiletries, including shampoo, toothpaste, antiperspirants and cosmetics. EWG’s Skin Deep database¹⁶ can help you find personal care products that are free of phthalates and other potentially dangerous chemicals.
11. Replace your vinyl shower curtain with a fabric one.
12. Replace feminine hygiene products (tampons and sanitary pads) with safer alternatives. While most ingredients in feminine hygiene products are undisclosed, tests suggest they may contain dioxins and petrochemical additives.
13. Look for fragrance-free products: phthalates are often used to help the product hold its fragrance longer. Artificialfragrance can also contain hundreds—even thousands—of potentially toxic chemicals. Avoid fabric softeners, dryer sheets, air fresheners and scented candles for the same reason.
14. Check your home’s tap water for contaminants and filter the water if necessary. You may also want to use an alternative to PVC pipes for your water supply.
15. Teach your children not to drink water from the garden hose, as many are made with phthalate-containing plastics. They are typically more expensive but usually higher quality hoses are well worth the investment.
16. Avoid using pesticides and herbicides around your home.
17. Avoid all products containing triclosan, which is yet another endocrine-disruptor. The chemical structure of triclosan is similar to thyroid hormones and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), allowing it to attach to thyroid hormone receptors

[+] Sources and References

Science Confirms That Turmeric As Effective As 14 Drugs

Usharani Panigrahi

Turmeric or Curcumin is a wonder herb and it has many health benefits.It’s bright orange, bitter and powerful.Turmeric is the vibrant ingredient that gives curry it’s memorable hue. If you’ve tried Indian cuisine, you’ve likely tasted it and loved it.

This predominant spice is used generously in nearly all Indian meals. Perhaps that’s why India has among the lowest rates of lung,colon, prostate & breast cancer,

Curcumin, the active agent in turmeric has been used in Ayurveda, the Ancient form of Indian Medicine for thousands of years and Western Science is catching on. Turmeric has matched and outperformed many modern medicines.

This potent spice is packed with anti-inflammatories and anti-oxidants. Turmeric has been proven to fight free radicals, rejuvenate the cells, cleanse the liver, protect the heart, boosts moods and support the brain.

Sound too good to be true? There’s more.Turmeric has been shown to lift levels of norepinephrine, dopamine and serotonin. With a stronger cocktail of these neuro-chemicals we’re all a little happier.

Turmeric has ten neuro-protective actions that support better memory, focus and cognition. This multifunctional spice is also used to regulate fat metabolism, alleviate IBS, regulate bile flow, reduce joint pain and bring luster to the skin.

Turmeric or Haldi as they call it in Hindi is revered for it’s spiritual significance. Often referred to as The Golden Spice or The Spice of Life,turmeric is a common accessory in wedding rituals and prayer ceremonies. Originally the spice was used in rites and rituals intended to promote fertility, prosperity and spiritual purification.

Turmeric is incredibly purifying. As a sure source of anti-fungal, anti-microbial and anti-bacterial extracts, this spice can help you fight infections and boost immunity. Dense in vitamins and minerals this magical spice promotes overall well being.

Curcumin/Turmeric Capsules, Not Nearly As Effective

The active agents in turmeric are fat soluble, meaning you need fat in the carrier to effectively absorb and assimilate the benefits. In order to make the most of your turmeric you must take it with a source of fat.The spice has stood the test of time in India as a form of medicine because it’s used in cooking and oil is almost always present in the recipe. The fat from the oil is the consort ingredient.

The vitamin and supplement industry is steadfast and ever growing. It’s the American way to think we can identify a component, examine it, prove it, magnify it, package it and sell it. Well, it doesn’t always work that way. The bedrock of Ayurveda and Eastern Medicine is that we are more than the sum total of our parts.

Holistic medicine stands firm on a platform that demonstrates the interconnectedness of the mind, body and soul. Just as there is a delicate and intelligent interplay between the mind, body and soul, there is a delicate and intelligent interplay between the brain, gut and formation of tissues.

A capsule version of turmeric (aka curcumin) will get the spice into your body but it won’t guarantee the digestion and absorption of the nutrients into your system. According to Ayurveda there are seven layers of tissues: plasma, blood, muscles, fat, bones, nervous tissue and reproductive tissue.

Each tissue is nourished in sequential order based on how well food is digested, absorbed and assimilated. If you want the benefits of turmeric to touch all your tissues, a capsule just won’t cut it. The body simply doesn’t integrate capsules as it would food.

Optimize Your Use of Turmeric

Doses Of Using Turmeric In Different Ways

1.Always buy certified organic.

2.Make sure your spices are free of chemicals, preservatives, fillers and additives.

3.Drink Golden Milk

Golden milk is an ancient health elixir: Combine 1/2 tsp of organic turmeric powder, 1/2 tsp of organic ginger powder and a pinch of cinnamon, nutmeg and cardamom into one cup of hot almond/soy/rice or hemp milk. If you’re using a liquid with low fat content you can add 1/2 tsp of coconut oil or ghee (clarified butter) to guarantee maximum absorption. Drink this daily.

4.Combine turmeric with black pepper to amp up the effect.

Cook with turmeric, black pepper and ginger. These heating, metabolism charging spices have a synergistic effect that will increase the bio availability by 1,000 times. Make sure to dissolve the spices in ghee or coconut oil while cooking.

5.Pour it into your smoothies.

Dissolve a full teaspoon of turmeric and a pinch of black pepper into hot coconut oil and pour it into your smoothie or juice.

6.Stir it into olive oil for salads and veggie mixes.You can also sprinkle it on an avocado and pair it with your meal.

7.Skip the pill.

If you’re taking the capsule version at least take it with 1 cup of hot water. In the cup of hot water, add 1 tsp of ghee or connect oil and a generous pinch of black pepper.

8.Turmeric Benefits For Skin

Combine 1 tsp of turmeric with 1 tsp of chick pea flour; add a dash of tea tree oil and enough water to create a paste (about 2 tsp of water). Apply the paste to the entire face, keep it on for 15 minutes, then rinse it with warm water. Your skin will look radiant.

Health Benefits Of Using Turmeric

1. It is a natural antiseptic and antibacterial agent.Application of Turmeric paste is useful in cuts and burns.

2. When it is cooked with cauliflower it works as a preventive against prostrate cancer.

3. Adding this to food will help in preventing breast cancer.

4.Reduces the risks of childhood leukemia.

5.It has proprieties that can prevent melanoma and can kill existing melanoma cells to die.

6.It prevents and slow the progression of Alzheimer diseases by removing amyloyd plaque build up in the brain.

7. It detoxify liver.

8. It slows the progression of multiple sclerosis in mice.

9.It helps in inducing metabolism and reducing fat.

10. It has anti-inflammatory properties so it useful in treating arthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

source: http://mavcure.com/health-benefits-of-using-turmeric/

Reference:

1. Prucksunand C and et al. Effect of the long turmeric (Curcumina Longa L.) on healing peptic ulcer: a preliminary report of 10 case studies. Thai J Pharmacol 1986;8:139–151.
2. Antony B, Kizhakedath R Benny M Kuruvilla BT. Clinical Evaluation of a herbal product (Rhulief™) in the management of knee osteoarthritis. Abstract 316. Osteoarthritis Cartilage 2011;19(S1):S145-S146.
3. Deodhar SD, Srimal R, and Dhawan BN. Antirheumatic activity of curcumin. Proc World Conference on Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, London, Abstract No. 0668. London: Macmillan Publishers Ltd;1980.
4. Pittler MH. Curcumin reduces gall-bladder volume in healthy volunteers. Focus on Alternative & Complementary Therapies. 2000;5:25–26.
5. Keegan L, Keegan GT. Alternative Therapies in Women’s Health 2004;6:89–93.
6. Dye D. In the news. Curcumin may impede breast cancer metastasis. Life Extension Magazine 2006;12:16.
7. Mathews S and Rao MNA. Interaction of curcumin with glutathione. Int J Pharmaceut 1991;76:257–259.
8. Benny, M and Antony B. Bioavailability of Biocurcumax™ (BCM — 095™). Spice India 2006;11–15.
9. Tonnesen HH and Greenhill JV. Studies on curcumin and curcuminoids. XXII: Curcumin as a reducing agent and as a radical scavenger. Int J Pharmaceut 1992;87:79–87.
10. Tonnesen HH. Chemistry of curcumin and curcuminoids. Phenol Comp Food Effects Health 1992;143–153.
11. Bhatia A, Singh GB, and Khanna NM. Effect of curcumin, its alkali salts & Curcuma longa oil in histamine-induced gastric ulceration. Indian J Exp Biol 1964;2:158–160.
12. Kunchandy E and Rao MN. Effect of curcumin on hydroxyl radical generation through Fenton reaction. Int J Pharmaceut 1989;57:173–176.
13. Liang Z, Yong-tao L Fei-hu H. Experimental Study of effects of Curcuminon on Rats’ Myocardium and Liver Free Radical in Endurance Training. Journal of Beijing Sport University 2007;30:1224.
14. Sreejayan and Rao MNA. Curcumin inhibits iron-dependent lipid peroxidation. Int J Pharmaceut 1993;100:93–97.
15. Amoli MM, Mousavizadeh R, Amiri P, and Larijani B. The effect of NF-KB inhibitors on pancreatic islets. Iranian Journal of Diabetes & Lipid Disorders 2007;6:E16.
16. Narayannasamy A, Namasivayam N Radha K. Effect of turmeric on the enzymes of glucose metabolism in diabetic rats. Journal of Herbs, Spices & Medicinal Plants 2002;10:75–84.
17. Ramirez-Bosca A, Soler A, Guiterrez MA, and et al. Antioxidant curcuma extracts decrease the blood lipid peroxide levels of human subjects. Age 1995;18:167–169.
18. Srimal RC, Khanna NM, and Dhawan BN. A preliminary report on anti-inflammatory activity of curcumin. Indian J Pharmacol 1971;3:10.
19. Nurfina AN, Reksohadiprodjo MS, Timmerman H, and et al. Synthesis of some symmetrical curcumin derivatives and their antiinflammatory activity. Eur J Med Chem 1997;32:321–328.
20. Shankar TN and Murthy VS. Effect of turmeric (Curcuma longa) fractions on the growth of some intestinal and pathogenic bacteria in vitro. J Exper Biol 1979;17:1363–1366.
21. Nagabhushan M and Bhide SV. Curcumin as an inhibitor of cancer. J Amer Coll Nutrit 1992;11:192–198.
22. Srinivasan K and Sambaiah K. The effect of spices on cholesterol 7 alpha-hydroxylase activity and on serum and hepatic cholesterol levels in the rat. Internat J Vit Nutr Res 1991;61:364–369.
23. Van Dau N, Ngoc Ham N, Huy Khac D, and et al. The effects of a traditional drug, tumeric (Curcuma longa), and placebo on the healing of duodenal ulcer. Phytomed 1998;5:29–34.
24. Ghanbari H, Saghravanian N, Zakery M, Zakery M, Shahri NM, Nasseri EB, Jahromi MZ, and Parsaei H. The histological study of the effect of hyaluronic acid and curcuma longa -ghee compound on the gingival healing following gingivectomy in dogs [Farsi]. Journal of Dentistry Shiraz University of Medical Sciences 2008;9:26.
25. Cohly HHP, Rao MR Kanji VK Manisundram D Taylor A Wilson MT Angel MF Das SK. Effect of turmeric (chemical plant extract) on in-vitro nitric oxide synthetase (NOS) levels in tissues harvested from acute and chronic wounds. Wounds: A Compendium of Clinical Research & Practice. WOUNDS. 1999;11:70–76.

https://medium.com/@Usharani/science-confirms-that-turmeric-as-effective-as-14-drugs-9547edc0073b#.r5d3vhhth

Vaccine Failures Continue

December 29, 2015

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By Dr. Mercola

Most of us wish for our children to be healthy and free of disease. We wish the same for ourselves as adults, too. But it’s time to critically examine and have an open conversation about whether multiple vaccines in early childhood should be our nation’s No. 1 disease-prevention strategy.

In fact, such a conversation is long overdue. Many red flags have appeared that suggest vaccines not only have the potential for failure but also for harm. There can be little doubt that we need to review the safety and effectiveness of the current vaccination program in the U.S.

If you’re not sure this is necessary, just consider some of the recent vaccine failures that have made headlines. The one-size-fits-all vaccination schedule in the U.S. is not safe for every child, and there comes a point when we may well be sacrificing too many children’s lives in the name of “the greater good.”

Gut Infections May Cause Vaccine Failure

Researchers from the University of Virginia School of Medicine conducted a study involving malnourished children in Bangladesh. One of the hallmarks of malnutrition is stunted growth.

Despite being given regular medical care, vaccinations and food, stunted growth increased among the children, from 9.5 percent at the start of the study to nearly 28 percent by 1 year old. Children with stunted growth were found to have infections in their intestines more often than non-affected children.¹

The researchers believe the children may not be digesting their food properly, and the infections likely play a role. Similar results were found among U.S. children with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

The study also found that vaccines given orally to these malnourished children (and presumably to children with IBD or other gut infections) become less effective. The worse the gut inflammation in the child, the less effective the vaccines (including those for rotavirus and polio) became.

Gut inflammation is widespread throughout the world, including in the U.S. where poor diets prevail. Before blindly vaccinating, we should be looking into how such vaccines may react in children with IBD and other gut issues.

Are they even effective? No one really knows. According to a study published in Clinical Infectious Diseases:²

“Most vaccine assessments have occurred in well-nourished populations of higher socioeconomic status. However, vaccines are often used in populations with high incidences of malnutrition and infections, in whom the effectiveness of some vaccines is inferior for unknown reasons.

The degree and extent of vaccine underperformance have not been systematically studied for most vaccines across differing epidemiologic settings.”

Vaccine-Derived Diseases Now Circulating the Globe

There are three strains of wild poliovirus still circulating in the world, but vaccine-strain polio viruses also circulate.³

A large part of the problem is the polio vaccine itself, specifically the live attenuated oral polio vaccine (OPV) that is not being given to children in the U.S. any more but is used in many other countries.

[The U.S. stopped using OPV in 1999 when the only cases of polio in the U.S. were being caused by the live virus vaccine. Children in the U.S. today receive four doses of the injected inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) that cannot cause vaccine strain polio.]

In Ukraine, two children were recently paralyzed by vaccine strain poliovirus type 1 after they received live OPV. The World Health Organization (WHO) noted:⁴

“The risk of further spread of this strain within the country is deemed to be high.”

In early December 2015, the WHO was also notified of two additional cases of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus (cVDPV1) in Lao People’s Democratic Republic in Xaisomboun, a previously unaffected province.

To date, five cases have been associated with this outbreak, including a 7-month-old who received oral polio vaccine in September and a 14-year-old who has a history of receiving the vaccine.

Both suffered from Acute Flaccid Paralysis (AFP) that was officially classified as confirmed vaccine derived polio virus cases.

Worldwide in 2015, there were 24 cases of cVDPV reporded with 10 of them in Madagascar, a country that somehow slipped under the radar when it came to cVDPV news reports this year.

The type1 vaccine derived polio virus (cVDPV1) has also been isolated from the stools of 16 healthy people in other area provinces since the beginning of the outbreak.⁵

Not only can the oral polio vaccine cause vaccine-strain polio in the recently vaccinated individual, but some people who receive OPV are capable ofshedding the virus in their body fluids for decades and can infect others with vaccine strain polio virus, particularly people who are immune compromised.⁶

Vaccine-Caused Polio is a Growing Problem

At this point in time, as health officials are declaring a victory in eliminating the wild polio virus in large portions of the world, vaccine-caused polio is a growing problem.

The polio virus in the vaccine can mutate into a deadlier version in the intestines of a recently vaccinated person or someone who “catches” the vaccine strain polio virus from that person, igniting new outbreaks.

According to a 2010 article in the New England Journal of Medicine, outbreaks of vaccine-derived polioviruses (VDPVs) have been occurring at a rate of once or twice per year since the year 2000.⁷

So are we really any better off? Polio can cause difficulty breathing and paralysis as the virus attacks and kills motor nerve cells that control your muscles. It can also cause death in its most severe form.

However, what is not often shared is that in most cases of wild polio virus infection, it is a mild illness, causing flu-like symptoms that disappear in two to 10 days. Often, polio can occur and show no symptoms at all. Even the Mayo Clinic states:⁸

“The vast majority of people who are infected with the polio virus don’t become sick and are never aware they’ve been infected with polio.”

Although polio vaccine has been promoted as the best way of preventing polio, the vaccine has certainly not been the only, nor the ultimate, solution to prevent this disease.

Maintaining a strong and well-functioning immune system will always be the first line of defense, as this reduces the risk of any number of diseases, including polio.

Many Americans Dubious of Flu Shot’s Effectiveness

The flu shot is one of the most controversial vaccines of all, not only because it’s recommended every year, but also because of its many years of dismal failures. Not surprisingly, many Americans are now dubious of its effectiveness.

A recent Harris Poll of more than 2,200 Americans revealed one-third don’t believe the flu shot will protect them, while only 43 percent “strongly believed” it would. A sizeable number also correctly believed there were other ways to protect against the flu than a flu shot.⁹

Strategies mentioned included frequent hand washing, staying well rested, eating healthy and taking vitamins. Perhaps more people are becoming aware that the flu vaccine is often a major flop. For instance, last year’s (2014-2015) flu vaccine had an abysmal 18 percent effectiveness rate.

What are the Risks of Long-Term Annual Flu Vaccination?

The long-term effects of annual flu vaccination are unknown, but it appears this strategy may be backfiring, leaving those who have been vaccinated annually less protected than those with no prior flu vaccination history.¹⁰

Research presented at the 105th International Conference of the American Thoracic Society in San Diego revealed that children who get seasonal flu shots are more at risk of hospitalization than children who do not. Children who had received the flu vaccine had three times the risk of hospitalization as children who had not. Among children with asthma, the risk was even higher.¹¹

There remain more questions than answers when it comes to vaccinations, which is why we regularly see “mysterious” side effects – like narcolepsy – popping up after vaccinations enter widespread use. The swine flu (H1N1) vaccine (Pandemrix), for instance was causally linked to an increased risk of narcolepsy among children and adolescents.¹²

About 1,000 people who received the swine flu shot developed the neurological disorder and will live with it the rest of their lives. If this is news to you, it’s probably because few media outlets picked up on this story at the time.

NYC Judge Tosses Flu Shot Requirement for Preschoolers

In 2014, New York City began requiring pre-school children to get an annual flu shot in order to attend city-regulated, nonfamily daycare facilities. The NYC health department rule, instituted during the final days of former Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s administration, affected more than 100,000 children between the ages of 6 and 59 months.

Earlier this month, state Supreme Court Justice Manuel Mendez judged the NYC flu shot mandate issued by public health officials to be “invalid and unlawful” because it is in “direct violation of the New York State Public Health Law.”¹³ Basically, the city’s health department officials do not have the regulatory power to impose a flu shot requirement on children without getting approval from elected representatives in the state legislature.

Immediately after the NY Supreme Court struck down the NYC unlawful flu shot mandate for pre-school children, a Bronx Assemblyman introduced a bill (AO8633) in the legislature to require all pre-school children in the whole state to get an annual flu shot.¹⁴

With your legal right to make independent vaccine decisions for yourself and your family being eroded at a rapid clip these days, the NY Supreme Court decision temporarily gives parents in New York City at least some control over which vaccines their children will get. But the new bill pending in the New York  legislature, which would make annual flu shots a statewide mandate for all pre-school children, could be a huge problem if parents do not make their voices heard in Albany in 2016.

Thousands of Girls Come Forward to Speak Out About HPV Vaccine Side Effects

In many states across the U.S., public health department officials are increasingly joining with medical trade and pharmaceutical industry lobbyists to severely restrict or eliminate religious and philosophical or conscientious belief vaccine exemptions for all children. This year, California became the first state to eliminate the personal belief vaccine exemption for both religious and conscientious beliefs after heavy industry lobbying in the state legislature.

Children attending daycare and public or private elementary, middle and high schools in California now must receive every federally recommended dose of 10 vaccines or provide a medical exemption signed by a medical doctor or other state-approved medical worker in order to get a school-based education.

Connecticut and New Jersey, for instance, already have annual flu shot mandates in place that force parents to vaccinate infants and young children or they cannot be enrolled in daycare. And Rhode Island has a requirement that students be vaccinated against human papillomavirus (HPV), another controversial vaccine, before entering seventh grade.

A growing number of teens are speaking out against the HPV vaccine (Gardasil and Cervarix) after suffering debilitating side effects. Gardasil vaccine victims include more than 130 girls in Ireland and more than 1,100 girls in Denmark. You can watch and listen to the experience of one Gardasil victim in the video above.

Among the more serious HPV vaccine side effects reported are chronic fatigue, chronic regional pain syndrome, postural tachycardia syndrome, and fibromyalgia.¹⁵ Jesper Mehlsen of the Frederiksberg Hospital in Denmark explained, “We have noted a pattern of symptoms in a relatively large group of patients and that these symptoms seem to have a temporal association to the vaccination.”¹⁶

Its also been reported that the HPV vaccine may make you more susceptible to being infected with strains of HPV not included in the vaccine. In an analysis of nearly 600 women between the ages of 20 and 26, 60 percent of those who had received the original Gardasil vaccine, which protects against only four strains (types) of HPV (6,11,16,18), had a higher risk of being infected with another non-vaccine HPV virus strain.¹⁷

The unvaccinated women had lower rates of the non-vaccine high-risk strains of HPV, which suggests getting vaccinated may make you more susceptible to being infected with other strains of HPV. And, even though Merck, the manufacturer of Gardasil, is now marketing a new nine-strain version of Gardasil vaccine in the U.S., there are several hundred strains of HPV and 40 of those strains are sexually transmitted.

When HPV infection is cleared by more than 90 percent of sexually active women and men without symptoms and decades of evidence shows that cervical cancer associated with chronic HPV infection can be prevented and treated with regular pap screenings, there is an urgent need to re-evaluate the risks of HPV vaccine reactions and failures.¹⁸ It’s yet another example of the many unanswered questions that could be putting people’s health at risk when it comes to vaccination.

Father of Five Becomes Quadriplegic After Whooping Cough Vaccine

In the video above, you can hear from Ben Hammond, a previously healthy Australia man who was given a Tdap (tetanus/diphtheria, pertussis (whooping cough) booster required by the hospital, where his son was born prematurely. After the ‘routine’ pertussis vaccine containing shot, which he was forced to receive so he could visit his son in the neonatal intensive care unit, he developed Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis (ADEM), an immune-mediated brain inflammation.

The Tdap-induced brain inflammation left him a quadriplegic for several months. Although he has regained some mobility, he has suffered permanent brain damage and other disabling health problems that make it impossible for him to work, leaving the family in financial and emotional ruin.

It is well known that whole cell and acellular pertussis vaccine in DPT and DTap/Tdap vaccines can cause brain inflammation and permanent brain damage in both children and adults. Nearly 3,000 cases of pertussis vaccine induced brain injury and death have been awarded compensation in the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) under the 1986 National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act.¹⁹

As reported by Barbara Loe Fisher, co-founder and president of the National Vaccine Information Center:

“A 2013 published study evaluating reports of acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) following vaccination in the U. S. Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS) and in a European vaccine reaction reporting system found that seasonal influenza vaccine was the most frequently suspected cause of brain inflammation after 18 years old, representing 32 percent of the total cases reported, and pertussis containing DTaP was among the vaccines most frequently associated with brain inflammation in children between birth and age 5.”

Adding insult to injury, the practice of “cocooning,” which is what led Hammond to get the Tdap vaccine in the first place, is a controversial practice. It’s a strategy being promoted by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and government health officials as an effective way of protecting babies from B. pertussis whooping cough by vaccinating their parents and other adult caregivers.

However, there is little evidence to show that this works. A Canadian study investigated how many parents would need to be vaccinated in order to prevent infant hospitalizations and deaths from pertussis using the cocoon strategy, and the results were dismal. They found the number needed to vaccinate (NNV) for parental immunization was at least 1 million to prevent 1 infant death, approximately 100,000 for ICU admission, and >10,000 for hospitalization.²⁰

Protect Your Right to Informed Consent and Defend Vaccine Exemptions

With all the uncertainty surrounding the safety and effectiveness of vaccines, it’s critical to protect your right to make independent health choices and exercise voluntary informed consent to vaccination. It is urgent that everyone in America stand up and fight to protect and expand vaccine informed consent protections in state public health and employment laws. The best way to do this is to get personally involved with your state legislators and educating the leaders in your community.

THINK GLOBALLY, ACT LOCALLY.

National vaccine policy recommendations are made at the federal level but vaccine laws are made at the state level. It is at the state level where your action to protect your vaccine choice rights can have the greatest impact.

It is critical for EVERYONE to get involved now in standing up for the legal right to make voluntary vaccine choices in America because those choices are being threatened by lobbyists representing drug companies, medical trade associations, and public health officials, who are trying to persuade legislators to strip all vaccine exemptions from public health laws.

Signing up for NVIC’s free Advocacy Portal at http://www.NVICAdvocacy.org gives you immediate, easy access to your own state legislators on your Smart Phone or computer so you can make your voice heard. You will be kept up-to-date on the latest state bills threatening your vaccine choice rights and get practical, useful information to help you become an effective vaccine choice advocate in your own community.

Also, when national vaccine issues come up, you will have the up-to-date information and call to action items you need at your fingertips.

So please, as your first step, sign up for the NVIC Advocacy Portal.

Share Your Story with the Media and People You Know

If you or a family member has suffered a serious vaccine reaction, injury, or death, please talk about it. If we don’t share information and experiences with one another, everybody feels alone and afraid to speak up. Write a letter to the editor if you have a different perspective on a vaccine story that appears in your local newspaper. Make a call in to a radio talk show that is only presenting one side of the vaccine story.

I must be frank with you; you have to be brave because you might be strongly criticized for daring to talk about the “other side” of the vaccine story. Be prepared for it and have the courage to not back down. Only by sharing our perspective and what we know to be true about vaccination will the public conversation about vaccination open up so people are not afraid to talk about it.

We cannot allow the drug companies and medical trade associations funded by drug companies or public health officials promoting forced use of a growing list of vaccines to dominate the conversation about vaccination.

The vaccine injured cannot be swept under the carpet and treated like nothing more than “statistically acceptable collateral damage” of national one-size-fits-all mandatory vaccination policies that put way too many people at risk for injury and death. We shouldn’t be treating people like guinea pigs instead of human beings.

Internet Resources Where You Can Learn More

I encourage you to visit the website of the non-profit charity, the National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC), atwww.NVIC.org:

• NVIC Memorial for Vaccine Victims: View descriptions and photos of children and adults, who have suffered vaccine reactions, injuries, and deaths. If you or your child experiences an adverse vaccine event, please consider posting and sharing your story here.
• If You Vaccinate, Ask 8 Questions: Learn how to recognize vaccine reaction symptoms and prevent vaccine injuries.
• Vaccine Freedom Wall: View or post descriptions of harassment and sanctions by doctors, employers, and school and health officials for making independent vaccine choices.
• Vaccine Failure Wall: View or post descriptions about vaccines that have failed to work and protect the vaccinated from disease.

Connect with Your Doctor or Find a New One That Will Listen and Care

If your pediatrician or doctor refuses to provide medical care to you or your child unless you agree to get vaccines you don’t want, I strongly encourage you to have the courage to find another doctor. Harassment, intimidation, and refusal of medical care is becoming the modus operandi of the medical establishment in an effort to stop the change in attitude of many parents about vaccinations after they become truly educated about health and vaccination.

However, there is hope.

At least 15 percent of young doctors recently polled admit that they’re starting to adopt a more individualized approach to vaccinations in direct response to the vaccine safety concerns of parents.

It is good news that there is a growing number of smart young doctors, who prefer to work as partners with parents in making personalized vaccine decisions for children, including delaying vaccinations or giving children fewer vaccines on the same day or continuing to provide medical care for those families, who decline use of one or more vaccines.

So take the time to locate a doctor, who treats you with compassion and respect and is willing to work with you to do what is right for your child.

[+] Sources and References

Magnesium — A Key Nutrient for Health and Disease Prevention

December 28, 2015

 By Dr. Mercola

Magnesium is the fourth most abundant mineral in your body. More than 3,750 magnesium-binding sites have been detected on human proteins,¹ and it’s required for more than 300 different enzymes in your body.

In short, magnesium plays an important role in a wide variety of biochemical processes, including the following:

Creation of ATP2,3(adenosine triphospate), the energy molecules of your body	Action of your heart muscle	Proper formation of bones and teeth
Relaxation of blood vessels	Regulation of blood sugar levels	Activating muscles and nerves
Helping digest proteins, carbohydrates, and fats	Serving as a cofactor for RNA and DNA	It’s also a catalyst for neurotransmitters like serotonin

As is the case with vitamin D, if you don’t have enough magnesium, your body simply cannot function optimally, and insufficient cellular magnesium levels set the stage for deterioration of metabolic function that can snowball into more serious health problems.

For starters, magnesium is critical for the optimization of your mitochondria, which have enormous potential to influence your health, especially the prevention of cancer.

In fact, optimizing mitochondrial metabolism may be at the core of effective cancer treatment. But your mitochondrial function is also crucial for overall good health, energy, and athletic performance.

Optimizing Mitochondrial Function with Magnesium

Mitochondria are tiny organelles, originally thought to be derived from bacteria. Most cells have anywhere from 1 to 2,000 of them. Your organs need energy to function properly, and that energy is produced by the mitochondria in each cell.

Since mitochondrial function is at the very heart of everything that occurs in your body, optimizing mitochondrial function (and preventing mitochondrial dysfunction) by making sure you get all the right nutrients and precursors your mitochondria need is extremely important for health and disease prevention.

As explained by Rhonda Patrick, Ph.D., in the video above, magnesium plays an important role. Patrick has done extensive research on the link between mitochondrial metabolism, apoptosis and cancer, and on the effects of hyperthermic conditioning on muscle growth.

High-intensity interval training helps optimize athletic performance by increasing your oxidative capacity, meaning the ability of your muscle cells to consume oxygen. Your oxidative capacity relies on your mitochondria’s ability to produce ATP by consuming that oxygen inside the cell.

As noted by Patrick, “You want your ATP production to exceed your ATP consumption, in order to enhance or maximize your performance and avoid muscle fatigue.”

You can increase your oxidative capacity in two ways:

• Increasing the total number of mitochondria in your cells by engaging in high intensity interval exercises. However, in order for new mitochondria to be created, you must have sufficient amounts of magnesium.
• Increasing the efficiency of your mitochondria to repair damage and produce ATP. This process also requires magnesium as a co-factor.

Common Causes for Magnesium Deficiency

A century ago, we were getting an estimated 500 milligrams (mg) of magnesium from the food we ate, courtesy of the nutrient-rich soil in which it was grown. Today, estimates suggest we’re only getting 150 to 300 mg a day from our food supply.

As noted by Patrick, eating a diet rich in calories and poor in micronutrients (read processed foods) is a primary risk factor for magnesium deficiency, for the simple reason that magnesium resides at the center of the chlorophyll molecule.

Chlorophyll, as you may know, is what gives plants their green color. Most Americans eat far too few fruits and vegetables, which may explain why more than half of the American public is deficient in magnesium.

In addition to not getting sufficient amounts from your diet, magnesium is also lost through stress, lack of sleep, alcohol consumption, and prescription drug use (especially diuretics, statins, fluoride and fluoride-containing drugs such asfluoroquinolone antibiotics).

Magnesium levels can also decline in the presence of certain hormones, such as estrogen. If you have elevated insulin levels — which an estimated 80 percent of Americans do — you’re quite likely to have low magnesium levels.⁴

Increasing your magnesium intake may actually go a long way toward improving your condition, or warding off insulin resistance and diabetes in the first place. In one study,⁵ prediabetics with the highest magnesium intake reduced their risk for blood sugar and metabolic problems by 71 percent.

A second study⁶ also found that higher magnesium intake reduces the risk of impaired glucose and insulin metabolism and slows progression from pre-diabetes to diabetes.

According to the authors, “Magnesium intake may be particularly beneficial in offsetting your risk of developing diabetes, if you are high risk.” The mechanism by which magnesium controls glucose and insulin homeostasis appears to involve two genes responsible for magnesium homeostasis.⁷

Magnesium is also required to activate tyrosine kinase, an enzyme that functions as an “on” or “off” switch in many cellular functions and is required for the proper function of your insulin receptors. Last but not least, digestive problems such as Crohn’s disease and leaky gut impair your body’s ability to absorb magnesium, which is yet another cause of inadequate magnesium levels.

As noted by Dr. Dean, it’s quite possible that magnesium insufficiency is part of why health problems such as heart disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure are so prevalent these days. It may also play a role in fibromyalgia,⁸ magnesium deficiency is a well-recognized factor in migraines.⁹

How to Identify Magnesium Deficiency

Unfortunately, there’s no lab test that will give you a truly accurate reading of your magnesium status. The reason for this is that only 1 percent of the magnesium in your body is found in your blood; 50 to 60 percent resides in your bones, and the remaining is in your soft tissues.

Since most of your magnesium is stored inside your cells and bone rather than in blood plasma, there are no satisfactory blood tests for assessing it. That said, some specialty labs do provide an RBC magnesium test which is reasonably accurate.

Other tests your doctor may use to evaluate your magnesium status include a 24-hour urine test or a sublingual epithelial test. Still, these can only give you an estimate of your levels, and doctors typically need to evaluate them in light of the symptoms you exhibit.

Early signs of magnesium deficiency may include headaches, loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting, fatigue, or weakness. More chronic magnesium deficiency can lead to far more serious symptoms such as:

• Abnormal heart rhythms and coronary spasms
• Muscle cramps and contractions
• Seizures
• Numbness and tingling
• Personality changes

These signs and symptoms are by no means an exhaustive list. In her book, “The Magnesium Miracle,” Dr. Carolyn Dean lists no less than 100 factors that will help you decide whether or not you might be deficient.

You can also follow the instructions in her blog post, “Gauging Magnesium Deficiency Symptoms,”¹⁰ which will give you a check list to go through every few weeks. This will help you gauge how much magnesium you need to resolve your deficiency symptoms.

Your Best Source of Magnesium: REAL Food

You could theoretically keep your magnesium levels in the therapeutic range without resorting to supplements simply by eating a varied diet, including plenty of dark-green leafy vegetables. One way to really increase your magnesium, as well as many other important plant-based nutrients, is by juicing your greens.

That said, it’s important to remember that the magnesium content of your foods depends on the richness of magnesium in the soil in which the plant was grown.

Most soils have become severely depleted of nutrients, and for this reason, some magnesium experts, including Dr. Dean, believe that virtually everyone needs to take supplemental magnesium. Organic foods may have more magnesium if grown in nutrient-rich soils, but it is very difficult to make that determination. If you eat organic whole foods and have no signs of deficiency, you’re probably doing quite alright.

But regardless of how seemingly healthy your diet is, if you have symptoms of magnesium deficiency, you’d be wise to add a supplement, which I’ll cover in the next section. Based on data collected by GreenMedInfo¹¹ and The World’s Healthiest Foods,¹² the following are among the richest food sources of magnesium:

Dried seaweed, agar	Rice bran	Herbs and spices: basil, coriander, chives, cumin seed, parsley, mustard seeds, and fennel
Nuts: Brazil nuts, cashews, and almond butter	Seeds: pumpkin seeds, flaxseed, sesame seeds, and sunflower seeds	Unsweetened cocoa powder
Whey, sweet or dried	Leafy greens: spinach, Swiss chard, turnip greens, beet greens, collard greens, broccoli, Brussel sprouts, and romaine lettuce	Quinoa, buckwheat, brown rice, millet, oats, rye, and wheat
Beans: black beans, navy beans, pinto beans, lima beans, and kidney beans	Squash: summer and winter squash	Fruits and berries: papaya, raspberries, tomato, cantaloupe, strawberries, and watermelon

Suggested Dosages and Other Recommendations When Taking Magnesium Supplements

The recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for magnesium¹³ ranges from 310 to 420 mg per day, depending on your age and sex. However, as noted by Dr. Dean, some researchers believe we may need anywhere from 600 to 900 mg/day for optimal health.

There’s certainly many reasons for making sure you’re above the RDA, and fortunately, magnesium is quite safe so you don’t have to worry about taking too much. Dr. Dean suggests using your intestinal reaction as a marker for your ideal dose. She recommends starting out at 200 mg of oral magnesium citrate per day, and gradually increase your dose until you develop slightly loose stools.

This is your personal cutoff point, as when your body has too much magnesium it simply flushes it out the other end. Magnesium citrate is known for having a laxative effect, which is why it’s recommended in this case.

You may reach 600 mg/day before you notice a change in your bowel movements, or it may occur at a much lower dose — it depends on how much magnesium you’re getting from your diet. Keep in mind that it’s better to divide your dose and take it two or three times a day rather than taking one large dose.

Besides magnesium citrate, there are a variety of other magnesium supplements on the market. I personally prefer magnesium threonate, as it seems to penetrate cell membranes, including your mitochondria, which results in higher energy levels.

It also penetrates your blood-brain barrier and may help improve memory. The following table summarizes some of the differences between the various forms. Whichever supplement you choose, avoid those containing magnesium stearate, a common but potentially hazardous additive.

Magnesium glycinate is a chelated form of magnesium that tends to provide the highest levels of absorption and bioavailability and is typically considered ideal for those who are trying to correct a deficiency	Magnesium oxide is a non-chelated type of magnesium, bound to an organic acid or a fatty acid. Contains 60 percent magnesium, and has stool softening properties
Magnesium chloride / Magnesium lactatecontains only 12 percent magnesium, but has better absorption than others, such as magnesium oxide, which contains five times more magnesium	Magnesium sulfate / Magnesium hydroxide (milk of magnesia) are typically used as a laxative. Be aware that it’s easy to overdose on these, so ONLY take as directed
Magnesium carbonate, which has antacid properties,contains 45 percent magnesium	Magnesium taurate contains a combination of magnesium and taurine, an amino acid. Together, they tend to provide a calming effect on your body and mind
Magnesium citrate is magnesium with citric acid, which has laxative properties	Magnesium threonate is a newer, emerging type of magnesium supplement that appears promising, primarily due to its superior ability to penetrate the mitochondrial membrane, and may be the best magnesium supplement on the market

Other Important Nutrients That Work in Tandem with Magnesium

One of the major benefits of getting your nutrients from a varied whole food diet is that you’re less likely to end up with unbalanced nutrient ratios. When it comes to magnesium, calcium, vitamin D, and K2 also come into play. These four nutrients work together synergistically, with one supporting the other. All of them are needed in order for each individual nutrient to perform properly.

• An appropriate magnesium to calcium ratio is thought to be 1:1. Excessive amounts of calcium without the counterbalance of magnesium can lead to heart attacks, strokes, and sudden death. If you’re calcium deficient, your best bet is to increase consumption of foods high in calcium before opting for a supplement. This is because many high calcium foods also contain naturally high amounts of vitamin K2.

Nature cleverly gives us these two nutrients in combination, so they work optimally. Good sources of calcium include nuts, seeds, and dairy, especially cheeses and vegetables, although veggies aren’t high in K2. One exception is fermented vegetables where a starter culture specifically designed to produce ample amounts of K2 was used.

Homemade bone broth is another excellent source. Simply simmer leftover bones over low heat for an entire day to extract the calcium from the bones. You can use this broth for soups, stews, or drink it straight.

• For vitamin D, you want to be in the optimal range of 50 to 70 ng/ml. Sensible sun exposure is the ideal way to optimize your levels, but a tanning bed and/or vitamin D3 supplement (and to a lesser degree certain foods) can also be used during winter months when you’re unlikely to produce enough vitamin D from sun exposure.
• The optimal amounts of vitamin K2 are still under investigation, but it seems likely that 180 to 200 micrograms (mcg) of vitamin K2 might be enough to activate your body’s K2-dependent proteins to shuttle calcium to the proper areas.

Boost Magnesium to Optimize Your Health and Energy Levels

The evidence is clear: if you want to optimize your mitochondrial function, metabolism, and reduce your risk for type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, one of the things you need to do is consume adequate magnesium. Magnesium also plays a role in your body’s detoxification processes and therefore is important for helping to prevent damage from environmental chemicals, heavy metals, and other toxins.

Even glutathione, your body’s most powerful antioxidant that has even been called “the master antioxidant,” requires magnesium for its synthesis. Your need for magnesium can be magnified by factors such as age, stress, lack of sleep, alcohol consumption, insulin resistance and diabetes, prescription drug use, an unbalanced gut microbiome, poor kidney function, and more.

Among the most common symptoms that your body is lacking in magnesium are “Charlie horses” (the muscle spasm that occurs when you stretch your legs), muscle or coronary spasms, fatigue, nausea, and headaches or migraines.

These are all warning signs indicating you probably need to boost your magnesium intake, either through your diet or through a magnesium supplement. For more details, please see Dr. Dean’s blog post, “Gauging Magnesium Deficiency Symptoms.”¹⁴

While it’s best to get your magnesium from your diet, most foods are deficient in magnesium and other minerals due to being grown in mineral-depleted soils. Fertilizers like glyphosate also act as chelators, effectively blocking the uptake and utilization of minerals.

As a result, I believe it would be prudent for most people to consider a magnesium supplement. This is my personal strategy even though I have access to organic foods.

Another way to improve your magnesium status is to take regular Epsom salt baths or foot baths. Epsom salt is a magnesium sulfate that can absorb into your body through your skin. Magnesium oil can also be used for topical application and absorption.

Study: Vitamin D May Repair MS Nerve Damage

December 21, 2015

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By Dr. Mercola

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic, neurodegenerative disease of the nerves in your brain and spinal column, caused by a demyelization process. In MS, your immune system mistakenly attacks the myelin, which is a protective coating around your nerve fibers.

This leads to disruptions in the messages sent around your brain and spinal cord, leading to symptoms such as trouble balancing, muscle weakness, tremors, pain, and fatigue.

Researchers have long been searching for a method to repair this damage to the myelin, and thereby slow, stop or even reverse the course of the disease.

While your body does have the ability to repair myelin naturally, this process tends to become less effective as you get older. Now, however, researchers have uncovered a natural option that might play a major role in boosting the repair of damaged myelin in people with MS: vitamin D.

Vitamin D Might Help Regenerate Damaged Myelin

The RXR gamma receptor protein is known to be involved in the repair of myelin. Researchers from the University of Cambridge revealed that the vitamin D receptor protein is also involved and pairs with RXR gamma during this process.¹ According to the University of Cambridge:²

“By adding vitamin D to brain stem cells where the proteins were present, they found the production rate of oligodendrocytes (myelin making cells) increased by 80 percent.

When they blocked the vitamin D receptor to stop it from working, the RXR gamma protein alone was unable to stimulate the production of oligodendrocytes.”

The researchers noted that the study “provides significant evidence that vitamin D is also involved in the regeneration of myelin” once MS has developed, and they hope to create a myelin repair drug that works by targeting the vitamin D receptor (currently, the typical prescription for MS focuses on highly toxic medications like prednisone and interferon).³

Susan Kohlhaas, head of biomedical research at the MS Society, stated, however, that she’d like to see more studies to reveal whether taking vitamin D supplements could be an effective treatment for MS.⁴

Vitamin D Deficiency Is Prevalent Among People with MS

There’s no need to wait for further research to optimize your vitamin D levels, especially if you have a condition like MS.

Research presented at the 2014 annual meeting of the American Association of Neuromuscular and Electrodiagnostic Medicine (AANEM) shows that vitamin D deficiency is surprisingly prevalent both among those diagnosed with MS and patients suffering other neuromuscular conditions.⁵

In this case, vitamin D deficiency was defined as a 25(OH)D3 level of 30 ng/ml or less. Of patients diagnosed with a neuromuscular condition, 48 percent were deficient in vitamin D.

Only 14 percent were above “normal,” which here constituted a vitamin D level of 40 ng/ml (to maximally benefit from vitamin D, you likely need a level of 40 to 60 ng/ml). According to one of the authors:

“While the connection between vitamin D deficiency and neurologic disease is likely complex and not yet fully understood, this study may prompt physicians to consider checking vitamin D levels in their patients with neurologic conditions and supplementing when necessary.”

Sensible Sun Exposure Associated with MS Risk

About a dozen studies have noted a strong link between MS and vitamin D deficiency, including lack of sun exposure. It is through sunlight exposure that your body is able to produce vitamin D.

For example, a number of studies have confirmed that your risk of MS increases the farther away you live from the equator, suggesting lack of sun exposure amplifies your risk.⁶

People born in April or May, just after the darker, colder winter months, have also been found to be significantly more likely to have MS than those born during October and November (after the sunny summer months). Researchers concluded:⁷

“Month of birth has a significant effect on subsequent MS risk. This is likely to be due to ultraviolet light exposure and maternal vitamin D levels, as demonstrated by the relationship between risk and latitude.”

Evidence presented in the journal Dermato-Endocrinology even confirmed that exposure to the sun in appropriate and measured timeframes has a number of health benefits unrelated to vitamin D production, such as protecting against and suppressing symptoms of MS.⁸

Vitamin D Deficiency May Be Putting Your Health at Risk

It’s incredibly easy to boost your vitamin D levels, so there’s no reason to put your health at risk from low status … yet researchers such as Dr. Michael Holick estimate that 50 percent of the general population is at risk of vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency.

If you’re among them, your risk of not only multiple sclerosis, but also diabetes and other metabolic disorders may be significantly increased. In a study of more than 100 people, those with low vitamin D levels were more likely to have type 2 diabetes, pre-diabetes, or metabolic syndrome, regardless of their weight.⁹

Dementia is also directly linked to vitamin D. Seniors who have low vitamin D levels may double their risk of dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease.¹⁰ As noted by the authors, “This adds to the ongoing debate about the role of vitamin D in nonskeletal conditions.”

Incidence of several types of cancer could also be slashed in half if more people increased their vitamin D levels.

As mentioned by Dr. Holick, one of the Nurses’ Health Studies showed that nurses who had the highest blood levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D, averaging about 50 ng/ml, reduced their risk of developing breast cancer by as much as 50 percent.

Similarly, a Canadian study done by senior investigator of research Julia Knight, Ph.D., showed that women who reported having the most sun exposure as a teenager and young adult had almost a 70 percent reduced risk of developing breast cancer.

One of Dr. Holick’s studies showed that healthy volunteers taking 2,000 IUs of vitamin D per day for a few months upregulated 291 different genes that control up to 80 different metabolic processes.

This included improving DNA repair to having effect on autoxidation (oxidation that occurs in the presence of oxygen and /or UV radiation, which has implications for aging and cancer, for example), boosting your immune system, and many other biological processes.

How to Optimize Your Vitamin D Levels

I believe sensible sun exposure is the ideal way to optimize your vitamin D levels. As a general rule, you’ll want to expose large amounts of bare skin to the sun until it turns the lightest shade of pink, if you’re light-skinned.

This typically occurs in about half the time it would normally take you to burn. So if you know you tend to get sunburned after 30 minutes, you’d want to stay in the sun for about 15 minutes. Those with darker skin may need to pay closer attention to notice when this slight reddening occurs.

It’s nearly impossible to give any firm recommendations for how long you need to stay in the sun to optimize vitamin D production, as it varies greatly depending on a number of factors, such as:

Antioxidant levels and diet in general	Age
Skin color and/or current tan level	Use of sunscreen
Latitude and altitude (elevation)	Cloud cover and pollution
Ozone layer	Surface reflection
Season	Time of day
Weight

While sunlight is the ideal way to optimize your vitamin D, winter and working indoors prevent more than 90 percent of those reading this article from achieving ideal levels.

A high-quality tanning bed is your next best option, but if your circumstances don’t allow you to access the sun or a high-quality tanning bed, then you really have only one option if you want to raise your vitamin D, and that is to take a vitamin D3 supplement.

As a general guideline, research by GrassrootsHealth suggests adults need about 8,000 IUs per day to achieve a serum level of 40 ng/ml.

However, to find out what dosage is best for you make sure to get tested, and take steps to optimize your levels accordingly. The vitamin D test you’re looking for is called 25(OH)D or 25-hydroxyvitamin D. This is the officially recognized marker of overall D status and is most strongly associated with overall health. The other vitamin D test available, called 1,25-dihydroxy vitamin D (1,25(OH)D), is not very useful for determining vitamin D sufficiency.

If you do opt for a vitamin D3 supplement, you also need to boost your intake of vitamin K2 through food and/or a supplement, as well as continue to get your levels tested to be sure you’re safely within the therapeutic range.

Sources

Nutrition for Your Mitochondria May Benefit MS

I believe optimizing your vitamin D level is of great importance if you have MS, but it’s not the only factor. Dr. Terry Wahls, who reversed multiple sclerosis after seven years of deterioration simply by changing her diet, discovered that MS patients’ brains tend to shrink.

This roused her curiosity and led her to research other diseases that have similar brain shrinkage, namely Huntington’s, Parkinson’s, and Alzheimer’s diseases. One common denominator is poorly functioning mitochondria. Mitochondria are like little “batteries” in your cells that manage the energy supply to the cell. Unless you consume the correct nutrients, eventual mitochondrial malfunction is the result.

She discovered three nutrients in particular that are essential for proper mitochondrial function:

1. Animal-based omega-3 fat
2. Creatine
3. Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), or better yet the reduced version known as ubiquinol

The breakfast I currently enjoy, which is based on coconut oil, is also designed to improve the health of your mitochondria. Your myelin also needs specific nutrients to function properly, such as:

• Vitamin B1
• Vitamin B9
• Vitamin B12
• Animal-based omega-3 fat
• Iodine

The neurotransmitters in your brain also need specific nutrients, including sulfur and vitamin B6, for optimal functioning. Eventually, Dr. Wahls designed her own eating plan, based on the nutrients she knew she needed for optimal mitochondrial, myelin, and neurotransmitter function, because while your body can create some nutrients, others must be provided through your diet. Dr. Wahl eliminated processed foods, grains, and starches from her diet and began to eat the foods that follow.

3 cups daily (equal to one dinner plate, piled high) of green leaves, such as kale, which are high in vitamins B, A, C, K, and minerals	3 cups daily of sulfur-rich vegetables from the cabbage and onion families, mushrooms, and asparagus	3 cups daily of brightly colored vegetables, fruits, and/or berries, which are good sources of antioxidants
Wild-caught fish for animal-basedomega-3s	Grass-fed meat	Organ meats for vitamins, minerals, and CoQ10
Seaweed for iodine and selenium

Dr. Wahl began to notice significant improvement in just three months, and at the nine-month mark of her new diet, she was able to go on an 18-mile bike ride. This is the power of nutrition!

More Natural Strategies for Multiple Sclerosis

MS can be a challenging disease to treat, which is why it’s best to consult a natural health care provider who can help you attack it from multiple angles, including the dietary, environmental, and emotional elements. For instance, aspartame andmercury toxicity have been known to mimic diseases such as MS, so addressing this possibility, if it applies to you, should be at the top of your list — in addition to adjusting your diet, not in lieu of dietary changes.

Certain supplements may also be useful, such as low-dose Naltrexone (LDN), along with alpha-lipoic acid. Naltrexone (generic name) is a pharmacologically active opioid antagonist conventionally used to treat drug and alcohol addiction – normally at doses of 50 milligrams (mg) to 300 mg.

As such, it’s been an FDA-approved drug for over two decades. However, researchers have found that at very low dosages(3 mg to 4.5 mg), Naltrexone has immune-modulating properties that may be able to successfully treat a wide range of autoimmune diseases including MS.

When you take LDN at bedtime, it blocks your opioid receptors for a few hours in the middle of the night, and is believed to up-regulate vital elements of your immune system by increasing your body’s production of metenkephalin and endorphins (your natural opioids), hence improving immune function.

More often than not, some form of hidden emotional wound can also be found in patients suffering with autoimmune diseases like MS.

Strategies like meditation, prayer, and energy psychology techniques such as the Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) are particularly effective and need to be part of your overall treatment strategy in order to truly address the root of your illness, as well as help you cope with symptoms. Again, working with a holistic health care provider can help you to determine the best overall strategy for you.

[+] Sources and References

Are You Sabotaging Your Health and Longevity by Eating Too Much Protein?

December 21, 2015

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By Dr. Mercola

Protein is essential for your health as it’s a structural component of enzymes, cellular receptors, signaling molecules, and a main building block for your muscles and bones.

Proteins also perform transport carrier functions, and the amino acid components of proteins serve as precursors for hormones and vitamins. But, when it comes to how much you need on a daily basis, there is a wide variety of opinions.

With advancing age, getting adequate amounts of high-quality protein is especially important, as your ability to process protein declines with age, as does the level of age-related muscle loss (sarcopenia), thereby raising your protein requirements.

That said, you’d be wise to monitor your intake to make sure you’re not overdoing it. Americans consume the most meat per capita in the world — more than 175 pounds of pork, poultry, and beef per year,¹ and evidence suggests this is far too much for optimal health.

Making matters worse, the vast majority of this meat comes from animals raised in concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), the quality of which is significantly inferior to organically raised, pastured, or grass-fed and grass-finished meats.

CAFO meats are also associated with an increased risk for antibiotic-resistant disease, and may be a source of prion-like proteins associated with mad cow disease and Alzheimer’s.

Adverse Consequences of Excessive Protein Intake

It’s important to realize that there is an upper limit to how much protein your body can actually use. And, on the average, Americans consume anywhere from three to five times more protein than they need, along with far too many carbohydrates and insufficient amounts of healthy fats.

Too much protein could actually be worse than eating too many carbs. To understand why eating too much protein is a bad idea, consider the following:

• First, if you eat more protein than your body requires, it will simply convert most of those calories to sugar, and then fat. Increased blood sugar levels can also feed pathogenic bacteria and yeast, such as Candida albicans, as well as fueling cancer cell growth.
• When you consume more protein than your body needs, your body must remove more nitrogen waste products from your blood, which stresses your kidneys.² Chronic dehydration can result, as was found in a study involving endurance athletes.³
• Excessive protein can have a stimulating effect on an important biochemical pathway called the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR). This pathway has an important and significant role in many cancers. It’s also a significant regulator of the aging process.

When you reduce protein to what your body requires, mTOR remains inhibited, which helps minimize your chances of cancer growth, and boosts longevity. Animal research^4,5 has revealed protein restriction alone may increase lifespan by as much as 20 percent.

Research⁶ by Dr. Valter Longo at the University of Southern California shows that people who get 20 percent or more of their daily calories from protein have a 400 percent higher cancer rate, compared to those who get only 10 percent of daily calories from protein.

Those who eat a lot of protein also have a 75 percent higher risk of mortality. Complicating matters is that studies also show getting 25 to 30 percent of your calories from protein helps boost your metabolism up to 100 calories a day.⁷

Eating more protein is indeed associated with weight loss. However, as noted by Dr. Longo, while weight loss is not in dispute, high protein intake appears to have adverse health effects in the long term.

• Excessive protein also adversely impacts the GCN2 pathway, which like mTOR is involved in the aging process. As noted by health and nutrition blogger Dan Pardi,⁸ limiting protein beneficially inhibits this pro-aging pathway:

“The GCN2 pathway senses when certain essential amino acids are absent.

Once this protein deficiency pathway is triggered, it stabilizes a transcription factor⁹ (ATF4) that activates genes implicated in extending lifespan. Additionally, activating GCN2 also reduces mTOR network activity …”

General Protein Recommendations

The Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) established by the Institute of Medicine (IOM),¹⁰ is 0.80 grams of high-quality protein per kilo (kg) of body weight (0.36 grams of protein per pound [lb] of body weight), or about 46 grams of protein per day on average for sedentary women, and 56 grams for sedentary men.

That RDA has a built-in “safety buffer,” which means most of us actually need even less than that for optimal health. Yet Americans eat on average about 100 grams of protein per day¹¹ — about double, or more, the RDA.

Considering the fact that the majority of Americans are overweight or obese, I prefer using a more precise formula, calculating your protein requirement based on lean bodyweight (i.e. muscle weight) only.

For optimal health, I believe most adults need about 1 gram of protein per kilogram of lean body mass (not total body weight), or 0.5 gram of protein per pound of lean body mass.

How to Calculate Your Protein Requirement More Precisely

In this formula, you must first determine your lean body mass. To do that, subtract your percent body fat from 100. For example, if you have 30 percent body fat, then you have 70 percent lean body mass.

Then multiply that percentage (in this case, 0.7) by your current weight to get your lean body mass in pounds or kilos.

As an example, if you weigh 170 pounds; 0.7 multiplied by 170 equals 119 pounds of lean body mass. Using the “0.5 gram of protein” rule, you would need 59.5 or just under 60 grams of protein per day.

100 – % of body fat = % of lean mass X actual weight X 0.5 gm protein = total grams of protein recommended Example: A 170 lb individual with 30% fat mass 100% total weight – 30% fat mass = 70 % lean mass 0.70 X 170 = 119 X 0.5 = 60 grams of protein recommended

For comparison, following the current US dietary guideline, which is based ontotal body weight, a 170 pound individual (regardless of their fat to muscle ratio) would need about 61 grams of protein per day. At first glance, these recommendations appear to be close enough to dissuade arguing.

The primary difference is that US guidelines do not take fat mass into account, which can vary wildly from one person to the next, even if they weigh the same.

For example, if this theoretical 170-pound person has a fat mass of only 15 percent, his protein requirement would be just over 72 grams. To use myself as an example, I weigh 173 pounds and have 10 percent body fat, which means my lean body weight is just under 156 pounds.

Using the above formula, my protein requirement is about 77 grams a day, although I typically don’t go over 75 grams per day. I use MyFitnessPal to enter everything I eat and carefully calculate my protein requirement to the gram. You do not want to guess here, as it’s simply too important. This is really the only nutrient you need to keep hard track of. Just be sure to enter the correct foods and amounts into the program, as the results will be inaccurate if you don’t enter the correct details.

Protein Requirements Are Higher for Seniors, Pregnant Women, and Athletes

Certain individuals and life circumstances do raise your protein requirements. This includes seniors, pregnant women, and those who are aggressively exercising (or competing). As a general rule, these individuals need about 25 percent more protein.

Personally, even though I walk about 9 miles a day and work out for an additional hour a day, I still limit my protein to 75 grams per day. Some researchers^12,13,14 argue that those over 50 may need to double the RDA of protein to prevent sarcopenia (age-related muscle loss), but based on everything we’ve already discussed, I would caution against arbitrarily increasing your protein intake if you’re elderly.

Consider it only if you’re currently eating far below the RDA. Your best bet, I believe, is to use the formula detailed above, to calculate your protein requirement based on muscle weight (lean weight), and then add 25 percent to that figure.

It’s important to realize that protein in and of itself is not a magic solution against sarcopenia. You need strength training to actually build muscle and strengthen your bones. (If you have cancer, you’ll want to be particularly cautious about stimulating the mTOR pathway with excessive protein).

In addition to exercise, the elderly may also benefit from increased leucine intake. The amino acid leucine signals your muscle to increase protein synthesis. In fact, leucine has been shown to stimulate your muscle protein synthesis even during times of food restriction or after prolonged physical hardship.

The highest concentrations of leucine are found in dairy products: particularly high-quality cheese and whey protein. Based on nitrogen-balance measurements, the requirement for leucine to maintain body protein is 1 to 3 grams daily, but to truly optimize its anabolic pathway, you may need as much as 8 to 16 grams daily. For more information and dietary recommendations to boost your leucine intake, please see this previous article that discusses how to prevent age-related muscle loss.

Translating Ideal Protein Requirements Into Foods

Substantial amounts of protein can be found in meat, fish, eggs, dairy products, legumes, and nuts. To determine whether you’re getting too much protein, simply calculate your lean body mass as described above, then write down everything you’re eating for a few days, and calculate the amount of daily protein from all sources.

Again, you’re aiming for one-half gram of protein per pound of lean body mass, which would place most people in the range of 40 to 70 grams of protein per day. If you’re currently averaging a lot more than that, adjust downward accordingly. You could use the chart below, or simply Google the food you want to know and you will quickly find the grams of protein in the food.

MyFitnessPal also has a comprehensive database of foods, just be careful to enter the correct food and portion as similar foods may have widely varying nutrient levels.

Red meat, pork, and poultry average 6 to 9 grams of protein per ounce. An ideal amount for most people would be a 3-ounce serving of meat (not 9- or 12-ounce steaks!), which will provide about 18 to 27 grams of protein	Eggs contain about 6 to 8 grams of protein per egg. So, an omelet made from two eggs would give you about 12 to 16 grams of protein. If you add cheese, you need to calculate that protein in as well (check the label of your cheese)
Seeds and nuts contain on average 4 to 8 grams of protein per quarter cup	Cooked beans average about 7 to 8 grams per half cup
Cooked grains average 5 to 7 grams per cup	Most vegetables contain about 1 to 2 grams of protein per ounce

Interestingly, while fish is typically considered a good source of protein, most fish contain only HALF of the protein found in beef and chicken. According to Dr. Longo,¹⁵ the reduced protein content in fish may actually be one reason why the Mediterranean diet is linked to life extension and reduced risk for chronic disease. In essence, those who eat more fish than red meat are automatically getting far less protein.

High-Protein Plant Foods

You can also get plenty of protein from plants. In addition to the foods listed above, a few others deserve special mention for their exceptional protein value:

• Hemp seeds (hemp hearts): About 33 percent protein, providing 11 grams per 3 tablespoons; also contain all 20 amino acids in an easily digestible form, and are loaded with omega-3 fats¹⁶
• Chia seeds: About 14 percent protein, providing about 4 grams per 3 tablespoons;¹⁷ also high in omega-3 fats (but most are ALA)
• Spirulina: 70 percent protein by weight; 6 grams of protein per 10 gram serving; contains 18 of the amino acids and all of the essentials, and is easily assimilated (avoid spirulina if allergic to iodine or seafood)
• Sprouts: The quality of the protein and the fiber content of beans, nuts, seeds, and grains improves when sprouted; sunflower sprouts provide some of the highest quality protein you can eat, along with abundant iron and chlorophyll; kamut, hemp, quinoa, and bean sprouts are also good sources
• Bee pollen: 40 percent protein and one of nature’s most complete foods; you wouldn’t eat a large amount of bee pollen at any one time, but it’s an excellent addition for variety

Be Very Selective About Where Your Meat Comes From

The quality of the meat you eat is just as important as the quantity. As a general rule, the only meat I recommend eating is pastured, grass-fed, and grass-finished, ideally organically raised meats (and of course, the same goes for dairy and eggs.) Meat from pastured or grass-fed animals is FAR superior to factory farmed meats.

CAFO beef and poultry is likely to be contaminated with herbicides, pesticides, hormones, antibiotics, and other drugs, as well as GMOs from the genetically engineered grains these animals are typically fed. The routine practice of feeding herbivores meat and animal byproducts also increases the risk of CAFO meats to be contaminated with infectious proteins associated with Mad Cow and the human version of the disease, known as Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

Research suggests this disease may actually be part of the Alzheimer’s disease puzzle. The damage is identical to that seen in mad cow disease, except for the rate of speed with which the infection destroys your brain and causes death.

In 2009, a joint research project between the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Clemson University determined a total of 10 key areas where grass-fed is better for human health than grain-fed beef. In a side-by-side comparison, they determined that grass-fed beef was superior in the following ways:¹⁸

Higher in total omega-3s	A healthier ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids (1.65 vs. 4.84)
Higher in CLA (cis-9 trans-11), a potential cancer fighter	Higher in vaccenic acid (which can be transformed into CLA)
Higher in the B-vitamins thiamin and riboflavin	Higher in the minerals calcium, magnesium, and potassium
Higher in vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol)	Higher in beta-carotene

Normalize Your Protein Intake to Optimize Your Health

Pinning down the ideal amount of protein can be tricky business, with plenty of variables adding to the confusion. However, a good starting point is to calculate your need based on your lean body weight. I believe it would be quite rare for someone to need more than 0.5 gram of protein per pound of lean body weight, taking into account the fact that pregnant women, athletes and seniors may need about 25 percent more on top of that.

I strongly encourage you to do a careful analysis of precisely how much protein you are eating every day. The results may surprise you, as I’m sure many are consuming more than 100 grams per day, and very few people would need that much.

You would have to be a 6-foot-4 inch, 225 pound athlete with 10 percent body fat to need that much. While higher protein may aid weight loss, the drawbacks are manifold, and can easily outweigh this benefit. Shifting over to higher quality protein sources is also important, as factory farmed animal foods come with drawbacks that go beyond the issue of protein.

[+] Sources and References

Gout: Facts and Information

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Gout is a complex disorder that’s becoming prevalent in the United States and many developed countries. Almost two to five million Americans, 90 percent of them men in their 40s or older, currently suffer from this ailment. In 2011, the American College of Rheumatology announced that gout already affects six percent of males and two percent of females in the US.¹ 

Gout used to be an uncommon disease, in fact, many centuries ago, it was known as an affliction of the rich and even called the “disease of kings,”²because it’s more common among aristocrats and noblemen who had access to fancy foods and liquor.

Gout should not be taken lightly. Ask anyone who has this condition and they would probably tell you how the excruciating pain caused by this disease – often likened to “being skewered by a hot poker” – has kept them awake for many nights.

Conventional medicine tells you that the only way to treat and relieve gout is to take drugs and painkillers, but I disagree – there are natural ways to relieve, treat, and prevent this agonizing condition effectively.

What Is Gout?

Gout is a type of arthritis characterized by pain, stiffness, and inflammation in the joints. The word “gout” was derived from the Latin “gutta” and old French “gote,” meaning “a drop.” Hundreds of years ago, people believed that gout was caused by viscous humors: in ancient Western physiology, humors are one of the four body fluids that determine a person’s temperament and features.³These humors would seep from the blood and become deposited in the joints, where they would cause excruciating pain.

This ancient belief isn’t very far from the truth, as gout was found to be actually caused by excessive uric acid that crystalize in your joints. Essentially, gout occurs when the metabolic process that controls the amount of uric acid in your blood breaks down.

Gout is more prevalent among men, who usually have higher uric acid levels in their blood than women. But this doesn’t mean women are exempt from this disease – it can actually affect them after menopause. Once a woman reaches menopause, her body drastically cuts its production of the hormone estrogen, which helps the kidneys excrete uric acid. Without enough estrogen, a woman’s uric acid level begins to increase.

By age 60, the number of cases of gout in women and men are nearly equal.

Gout Signs and Symptoms

The symptoms of gout are generally acute – they can strike without warning, often at night. The condition usually affects your big toe (podagra), but can occur in any joint in your body.

Gout attacks, also called “flare-ups,” should not be taken lightly, as they come with a great deal of pain. Your skin becomes extremely sensitive, red, and inflamed. Putting even the slightest pressure on the affected areas, such as covering them with a bedsheet, becomes unbearable.

Here are some common gout symptoms:

Severe pain in the joints of your ankles, hands, wrists, knees, and feet, especially your big toe. The affected areas may feel warm or hot	Nodules (tophi) in the elbows, hands, or ears	Red, tender, and swollen joints
Red or purplish skin(Many patients mistake this for an infection)	Less flexibility and limited movement in the affected joints	Fever

Acute gout symptoms usually go away within three to 10 days, and the next attack may not occur for months or even years, if at all. But, beware – if you fail to address this illness, you may be subjected to more gout attacks. The more gout flare-ups you experience, the more severe and longer they will become.

Having recurrent gout attacks can also inflict serious damage on your joints and the surrounding areas. This is why I highly encourage you to treat your gout as soon as possible before it causes irreversible harm on your body. There are natural, drug-free methods to help your body get rid of this ailment.

But before I go into your gout treatment options, let’s analyze first why this disease occurs.

The Link Between Gout and Your Uric Acid Levels

Gout can develop because of certain risk factors, such as unhealthy lifestyle habits and medical conditions. Genetics can also play a minor role in the development of this disease. If either or both of your parents had gout, you and your children have a high chance of acquiring it, too.

However, I believe there’s one significant factor that predisposes you to gout, and that’s consuming unhealthy foods that wreak havoc on your uric acid levels. Gout attacks occur when you have hyperuricemia, a condition where you have high levels of uric acid in your blood.

Normally, uric acid dissolves in your blood and passes through your kidneys without causing any harm. However, your body may either create too much uric acid or fail to excrete enough of it in your urine. This results in uric acid buildup that forms needle-like crystals in your joints and the surrounding tissues, leading to intense pain.

Hyperuricemia usually has no symptoms, but if you fail to address it and your uric acid blood levels continue to rise, your risk of a gout flare-up increases as well. It can also put you at risk of health conditions that include:

Diabetes	High blood pressure	High cholesterol
Kidney disease	Heart disease

Being Overweight or Obese Puts You at a Higher Risk of Gout

I’ve always warned against the dangers of being overweight or obese, and how it can lead to many health problems. Gout may be one of its consequences. Approximately half of all people with gout today are overweight.

Gout is an inflammatory condition – it’s caused by inflammation in your body, which is linked to metabolic syndrome, a condition characterized by central obesity, hypertension, and disturbed glucose and insulin metabolism. According to medical data, there is a high prevalence of metabolic syndrome among gout sufferers.

What’s more, excess body weight can exacerbate gout attacks, as it requires extra support. This further irritates your already sensitive nerve endings. It’s not surprising that overweight gout patients are more prone to experience more painful and intense flare-ups. As a matter of fact, obesity can worsen any type of arthritis.

The best thing you can do is to simply lose the weight and keep it off. A 2002 study published in the journal Circulation proves this: researchers studied obese women with metabolic syndrome and found that weight gain, especially around the abdomen, increased the levels of a protein called cytokines in their immune system. Certain cytokines cause an inflammatory response that can contribute to the formation of fatty deposits in arteries (atherosclerosis).

The participants were asked to undergo a one-year program of diet, exercise, and behavioral counseling. At the end of the program, they each lost at least 10 percent of their starting weight, which is an average of about 22 pounds, and also reduced their levels of cytokines and other damaging proteins.⁴

A bit of thoughtful planning and a few natural lifestyle changes can actually have a significant impact on managing your weight and helping you avoid gout. I’ll discuss more about this later.

Unfortunately, conventional physicians ignore these natural tactics and instead recommend drugs as the “best” option for gout treatment – something that does not address the underlying cause.

Are Drugs Really Necessary to Treat Gout?

Over the years, physicians have been prescribing gout patients with different pharmaceutical drugs, such as:

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)	Corticosteroids	Corticotropin (adrenocorticotropic hormone)
Colchicine	Febuxostat	Aloprim
Zyloprim

Not only is there NO solid evidence that these drugs can actually cure gout, but they also expose you to many side effects, including extremely dangerous ones.

For example, NSAIDs, one of the most widely prescribed drugs today, are known to cause:

Gastrointestinal upsets including nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, and decreased appetite	Dizziness, headaches, and drowsiness	Fluid retention
Rashes	Kidney and/or liver failure	Shortness of breath
Prolonged bleeding after an injury	Ulcers

NSAIDs can also increase your risk of fatal stomach and intestinal reactions, which can occur at any time during your gout treatment and without any apparent symptoms. NSAIDs (except for low-dose aspirin) can also put you at a higher risk of heart attack and stroke.

Gout drugs like allopurinol and colchicine work by decreasing crystal formation, lowering your uric acid levels, or blocking your body’s natural inflammatory response. They also have very dangerous long-term effects, and since gout can be a lifelong condition, following conventional advice and taking these drugs for a very long time can potentially wreak havoc on your wellbeing.

The good news is that there are natural anti-inflammatory remedies that can help alleviate gout symptoms. Among these iscayenne cream, also known as capsaicin cream. Derived from dried hot peppers, it alleviates pain by depleting your body’s supply of substance P, a chemical found in nerve cells, which transmits pain signals to your brain.

Here are other holistic pain relief alternatives that I highly recommend:

Boswellia (boswellin or “Indian frankincense”). It contains active anti-inflammatory ingredients that may reduce pain.	Krill oil. Animals studies found that its EPA and DHA omega-3 fats have anti-inflammatory properties that reduce joint inflammation and promote joint lubrication.	Bromelain. This natural anti-inflammatory is found in fresh pineapples, but can also be taken in supplement form.
Cetyl myristoleate oil (CMO).Found in dairy butter and fish, this acts as a joint lubricant and anti-inflammatory. I use topical CMO to relieve ganglion cysts and a mild annoying carpal tunnel syndrome that pains me whenever I use a non-ergonomic keyboard.	Evening primrose, black currant, and borage oils. They contain gamma linolenic acid (GLA), an essential fatty acid that is useful for arthritic pain.	Ginger. It’s a natural immune system booster with anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving properties. You can eat it fresh or seep it to make delicious ginger tea.

These are wonderful natural remedies with anti-inflammatory properties that are ideal not only for gout, but also for chronic pain and other types of arthritis, like rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis.

Gout Treatment Starts with Your Diet

The modern American diet, which is loaded with highly processed and nutritionally deficient foods, is the primary reason why gout cases are consistently on the rise today. Therefore, if you want to avoid or reverse this condition, you must be very cautious of what you eat.

The common belief is that eating high-purine foods causes gout attacks. Organ meats, anchovies, mushrooms, asparagus, and herring are some gout foods to avoid. When your body breaks down the purine in these foods, uric acid is produced, which in turn elevates your blood levels and wreaks havoc on your joints. This is why the conventional gout diet that most health experts recommend doesn’t contain high-purine foods.

However, many people are not aware that there is another dietary culprit that wrecks your uric acid levels, putting you at high risk of gout: high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS).

I believe that having chronically elevated blood sugar levels is the REAL underlying problem that causes the inflammation associated with gout, as well as the subsequent damage it inflicts on your body, specifically your joints. Even if you reduce your consumption of high-purine foods, you will still experience gout symptoms if you continue to ingest HFCS, which is mostly found in processed foods.

A study conducted by US and Canadian researchers found that consuming HFCS-containing soda is strongly associated with an increased risk of developing gout. They found that men who consumed two or more sodas per day had an 85 percent higher risk of gout than those who drank less than one a month. The risk also significantly increased in men who consumed five to six servings of soft drinks a week. Fruit juices and high-fructose fruits like oranges and apples also increased the risk.

But how does fructose specifically affect your uric acid levels?

Apparently, fructose inhibits the excretion of uric acid, causing it to build up inside your body, which elevates your uric acid blood levels.

Uric acid is also a byproduct of fructose metabolism. Fructose is metabolized by your body differently from natural sugar, as it goes directly to your liver. When your liver metabolizes fructose, it produces numerous waste products and toxins, including a high amount of uric acid. In fact, fructose typically generates uric acid within minutes of ingestion!

Fructose has been linked to countless health problems and chronic diseases, including high cholesterol, diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, and cancer. Fructose also converts to fat more readily than other types of sugar, making it a major risk factor for both diabetes and obesity – which, as previously discussed, may cause gout.

Thus, eliminating all types of sugar, especially HFCS, should be a major focus of your gout diet. Other gout foods to avoid are grains, including whole wheat varieties, as these also convert to sugar in your body.

Sodas and other sweetened beverages, including fruit juices and “healthy” sports drinks, should be avoided at all costs as these can aggravate or cause gout. Remember, an average 12-ounce can of soda contains 40 grams of sugar, at least half of which is fructose. Make pure and clean water your beverage of choice, as it will help remove excess uric acid from your body. As a standard recommendation, keep your total fructose consumption below 25 grams per day. However, for most people, such as those who are already at risk of gout and other diseases like diabetes, limiting fructose consumption to 15 grams or less is a recommended. This is because there are hidden sources of fructose in other foods that you may be eating.

Food manufacturers use HFCS because it’s cheaper, sweeter than table sugar, and easier to blend. Sugar, as well as added salt, can also stabilize food ingredients, extending the shelf life of foods. This is why many supermarket foods, and even processed meats, now contain high levels of fructose.

Biochemist Russ Bianchi claims that in some processed products, HFCS is either intentionally mislabeled or uses deceptively legally noncompliant names, like:

Chicory	Glucose-fructose syrup/ glucose syrup/ iso glucose	Inulin
Dahlia syrup	Tapioca syrup	Crystalline fructose
Fruit fructose	Agave

When buying any food, make sure to check the label and keep an eye out for these toxic ingredients. In addition, make sure that wholesome organic foods, such as fresh, locally- grown vegetables, raw dairy, and eggs, make up the bulk of your meals.

Fresh Cherries and Strawberries May Help Reduce Gout Attacks

I often warn about consuming high amounts of fruits, which contain sugar that may become toxic in excess. However, studies have shown that fresh, organic berries, particularly cherries and strawberries, may hold benefits for gout patients, as long as they are consumed in moderation.

Tart cherries contain anthocyanins and bioflavonoids, two powerful antioxidants that can slow down the enzymes Cyclo-oxygenase-1 and -2, which help relieve and prevent gout and arthritis. A study found that among 600 gout sufferers, those who ate a half-cup serving of tart cherries per day (10 to 12 cherries) or consumed cherry extract had a 35 percent lower risk of a subsequent gout attack. Meanwhile, those who ate up to three servings in two days had a 50 percent reduced risk.

The same effect has been seen in berries, particularly in strawberries. Not only are strawberries a rich source of free radical-fighting antioxidants, but they also help your body eliminate uric acid.

If fresh berries are out of season, you can buy concentrated berry juice, but make sure to look for an organic, unpasteurized variety that is free of HFCS and other sugars. Cherry juice concentrate can have 55 to 60 tart cherries per ounce – this means you have to eat 55 to 60 cherries to get the same health benefits, and that is too much sugar! With a concentrate, you reap the benefits without the sugar. You can also go for organic frozen or canned tart cherries or strawberries.

Avoiding Alcohol Is Crucial for Successful Gout Treatment

Alcohol is a strong risk factor for gout. In fact, people who have hypertension, coronary artery disease, and are prone to excessive alcohol consumption are often afflicted with this ailment. Many people would argue and say that wine, especially red wine, is good for their health because of its high resveratrol antioxidant content. But beware, as wine can increase your insulin levels, which is a risk factor for diabetes. Alcohol can also raise your blood uric acid levels and may even initiate a gout attack.

So, as much as possible, limit your alcohol consumption, as it can hinder your gout treatment protocol. I believe that alcohol should only be reserved for people who have already achieved optimal wellness and do not suffer from any disease.

Is Exercise Recommended for Gout Treatment?

Many people who suffer from gout become extremely cautious about exercise, as they think this will exacerbate the pain or cause further injury. They end up being sedentary, spending their time lying down, hoping the pain will subside. But this is actually one of the worst things you can do if you have gout or any type of arthritis. Exercise is a crucial aspect of a healthy lifestyle and has a wide range of health-promoting benefits, including strengthening your immune system, reversing pre-diabetic condition, preventing depression, and alleviating pain. Exercise is also one of the most powerful tools for preserving bone density and joint function.

While I do not recommend exercising while your joints are in pain, this tactic can be very useful once your gout is under control. A well-rounded exercise program can help prevent further attacks by increasing circulation and normalizing your insulin levels, which will ultimately help normalize your uric acid levels.

When you exercise, make sure to avoid activities that may aggravate your joint pain or strain a significantly unstable joint. If you feel pain for longer than an hour after your workout, slow down or choose another type of exercise. You can also use assistive devices to decrease the pressure on the joints during the workout. Working with a professional physical therapist or personal trainer who can develop a safe range of activities for you is also recommended.

Other Lifestyle Habits That Can Help Prevent Gout

As I always tell my readers, virtually any chronic disease can be avoided by practicing healthy lifestyle strategies. Add these health tips to your gout treatment protocol to help you manage or treat this condition effectively:

• Limit processed foods and replace non-vegetable carbs with healthy fats. Processed foods are notoriously high in fructose and artificial additives and preservatives – avoid them at all costs. Meanwhile, replacing non-vegetable carbs with healthful fats helps optimize and normalize your insulin and leptin levels. Some of the best sources of beneficial fats include coconuts coconut oil, avocados, olives and olive oil, raw butter, and raw nuts like macadamias, walnuts, and pecans.

You should also get plenty of animal-based omega-3 fats, such as from krill oil, which have a profound impact on joint health, inflammation, and arthritis. Omega-3s can produce compounds called resolvins and protectins, which help control inflammation before it damages your tissues. Animal-based omega-3 fat krill oil in particular has been found to help combat inflammation-related disorders, including arthritis.¹⁵

You should try to focus your diet on whole, ideally organic or locally grown unprocessed foods. For a complete guide on which foods to eat and which ones to avoid, check out my Nutrition Plan.

• Drink pure and clean water. Your blood, kidneys, and liver need water for detoxification, in order to eliminate toxins and waste products such as uric acid from your body. So instead of drinking fruit juices and sodas that are loaded with fructose and toxic additives, opt for pure and clean drinking water.
• Get enough vitamin D from sun exposure. Vitamin D is one of the most important nutrients everyone needs, and studies have proven its overall role in human health. It influences over 2,000 genes in your body and affects many body processes, making it a key player in the prevention of diseases like diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.

The best way to optimize your vitamin D levels is not through oral supplements, but through sun exposure (or a safe tanning bed), as this allows your body to naturally generate water-soluble vitamin D3 sulfate, which can travel freely in your bloodstream. To optimize your levels, you need to expose large portions of your skin to the sun, preferably as close to solar noon as possible, for a few minutes, or until your skin turns a light shade of pink.¹⁶

To learn more about the benefits of vitamin D and how to optimize your levels, check out my Vitamin D resource page.

• Manage your stress. Even the conservative Center for Disease Control (CDC) says that 85 percent of all disease has an emotional element. When you’re stressed, your body releases the stress hormone cortisol, which puts your body in a “fight or flight” mode – your heart rate and blood flow increase, your lungs take in more oxygen, and parts of your immune system become temporarily suppressed, reducing your inflammatory response to pathogens and other foreign invaders.

However, when stress becomes chronic, your immune system becomes less sensitive to cortisol. Since inflammation is partly regulated by cortisol, the decreased sensitivity increases the inflammatory response, allowing inflammation to get out of control and cause chronic diseases. This is why employing effective stress management techniques is absolutely important if you want to maintain optimal health.

One of the techniques I highly recommend is the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT). This acupuncture-like tool works by stimulating different energy meridian points in your body as you tap them with your fingertips and say uplifting verbal affirmations. EFT can help eliminate your emotional “scarring” and reprogram the way your body responds to emotional stressors, which helps diseases and other ailments to improve or disappear.

For a demonstration of how to perform EFT, watch this video featuring EFT practitioner Julie Schiffman.

• Get grounded. Grounding or earthing is simply walking barefoot and connecting your body to the earth. When you’re grounded, free electrons from the earth transfer into your body. These free electrons are probably the most potent antioxidants known to man and helps electrically neutralize the free radicals in your tissues. Grounding also thins your blood and makes it less viscous, which can help you avoid cardiovascular disease.

To incorporate grounding into your routine, I highly recommend exercising outside. The beach, close to or in the water, is the ideal location for walking barefoot, as seawater is a great conductor. You can also do this in a grassy, dewy area.

• Get enough high-quality sleep. No amount of healthy food or exercise can counteract the negative effects of poor sleeping habits. High-quality sleep is crucial to a healthy lifestyle, and without it, you can be exposed to many health ailments and diseases. Sleep deprivation also interferes with your growth hormone production, which leads to premature aging.

Most people require at least seven to eight hours of sleep every night, but sleep needs are highly individual and may also depend on your current state of health and stress levels. If you still feel sleepy upon waking or feel like you need a nap several times during the day, you’re probably not getting enough sleep.

For more helpful tips on getting high-quality sleep, please review my 33 Secrets to a Good Night’s Sleep.

Gout can be managed, treated, or prevented with the right lifestyle habits. Remember that dangerous drugs are not always the best choice for gout treatment. Instead, focus on addressing the underlying cause of this painful condition using all-natural means, so you will not fall victim to this damaging disease.

The Pros and Cons of Colonoscopies

 

December 09, 2015

By Dr. Mercola

Colon cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),¹ nearly 135,000 people were diagnosed with the disease in 2012, and more than 51,500 died from it.

Men and women over the age of 50 at average risk of colorectal cancer are typically recommended to get tested either by:²

• Fecal occult blood testing (FOBT) on an annual basis, to check for signs of blood in your stool
• Flexible sigmoidoscopy every five years
• Colonoscopy every 10 years

Despite the fact that there are three acceptable screening methods, most doctors simply recommend colonoscopy, and researchers have found that in most instances, doctors completely fail to review all the options and the benefits and drawbacks of each with their patients.

In essence, most doctors simply choose for their patients, without going through the steps of informed consent, and most often they choose colonoscopy.

When Given Options, More People Go Through with Testing

Interestingly, recent research³ shows that when patients are allowed to choose the screening method, more people end up going through with the test. As reported by Reuters:⁴

“About 1,000 patients were divided into three groups and randomly assigned to get either FOBT or colonoscopy, or given a choice between the two options.

Over three years, 42 percent of participants given a choice between the tests followed through with screening and 38 percent of people assigned to get colonoscopies did so. Just 14 percent of the patients assigned to FOBT got the test done each year.”

Side Effects and Drawbacks of Colonoscopies You Need to Be Aware Of

As noted in the video above, narrated by Dr. Michael Greger, about 1 in every 350 colonoscopies end up doing serious harm. Death from colonoscopy, while rare, also does occur.

The death rate is about 1 for every 1,000 procedures,⁵ and with 15 million colonoscopies being done each year in the U.S., that means about 15,000 Americans die as a result of this routine procedure.

Sigmoidoscopies tend to have 10 times fewer complications, yet most doctors still recommend colonoscopy nearly 95 percent of the time.

Interestingly, other developed countries favor the FOBT stool test. Part of the reason for this is that in other countries doctors do not get paid for procedure referrals.

In the U.S. however, doctors typically do get financial kickbacks when referring patients for various procedures, and as noted by Dr. Greger, “it’s estimated that doctors make nearly a million more referrals every year than they would have if they there were not personally profiting.”

Unfortunately, most doctors also fail to inform their patients of the risks of colonoscopy, which include:^6,7

• Perforation of the colon (people at higher risk include those with diverticulitis, diseases of the colon, and adhesions from pelvic surgery)
• Dysbiosis and other gut imbalances, caused by the process of flushing out your intestinal tract before the procedure with harsh laxatives⁸
• Complications from the anesthesia. Many experts agree you should opt for the lightest level of sedation possible, or none at all, as full anesthesia increases risks
• False positives. According the Prostate Cancer Foundation,⁹ an estimated 30 to 40 percent of men treated for prostate cancer have harmless tumors that would never have caused problems in their lifetime.

As noted by to Jessica Herzstein, a preventive-medicine consultant and member of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, “you’re going to die with them, not of them.”

False positives lead to unnecessary treatments that are nearly always harmful, in addition to the anxiety a cancer diagnosis brings.

For example, incontinence and erectile dysfunction are two common side effects of radiation therapy, and hormone therapy has been linked toosteoporosis and depression.

• Infections caused by improperly disinfected scopes

If You Still Decide to Get Tested, BE CAREFUL, As 80 Percent of Instruments Are NOT Properly Sterilized

The primary tools used to screen for colon cancer are sigmoidoscopes and colonoscopes. These devices are not disposable, so they must be sterilized between each use. This, it turns out, poses a very significant problem that most patients are not aware of.

According to Lewis, a retired whistleblower microbiologist with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), about 80 percent of endoscopes are cleaned using Cidex (glutaraldehyde), which does NOT properly sterilize these tools, potentially allowing for the transfer of infectious material from one patient into another.

As Lewis explains in this recent interview (included above), flexible endoscopes have several basic components. One is a long, flexible tube with a tiny camera at the end, which allows the doctor to view the inside of your colon. There are also two internal channels in this tube, a biopsy channel and an air/water channel.

When the physician sees evidence of a tumor, he or she can insert a little claw through the endoscope, into the patient, and grab a piece of tissue and pull it back out through the biopsy channel. The air/water channel allows the doctor to clean the lens of the camera, which frequently gets covered with blood and other patient material.

The air/water channel is much smaller in diameter than the biopsy channel, and this is where the greatest risk of contamination originates, because while the biopsy channel is large enough to be scrubbed clean with a long brush, the air/water channel is too small to accommodate a brush.

About 80 percent of the time, flexible endoscopes are simply submerged in a 2 percent glutaraldehyde solution (Cidex) for 10 to 15 minutes to disinfect them between patients, and this simply isn’t sufficient to clean out the air/water channel that’s been contaminated with tissue, blood, and feces.

As a result, this material can get flushed out into subsequent patients. So, the problem, in a nutshell, is that doctors are re-using devices that are impossible to properly clean. So if, for whatever reason, you are compelled to get a colonoscopy or flexible sigmoidoscopy, then it is IMPERATIVE that you contact the office before the procedure to make sure they are decontaminating the scope properly with peracetic acid.

When Getting a Colonoscopy, Make Sure Peracetic Acid Was Used to Clean the Scope

Lewis launched a study with a university in which he looked at the internal channels, the air/water channel, and the biopsy channel, and collected samples of patient material from those channels. He then tested various ways of treating that layer of patient material to determine what was required to remove it from the inner channels.

As mentioned, submerging a flexible endoscope in a 2 percent glutaraldehyde solution (Cidex) for 10 to 15 minutes did not clean out the internal channels. In fact, Lewis demonstrated that you can submerge those devices for two hours and there’sstill infectious material, such as HIV, trapped inside those internal channels.

What’s worse, not only does Cidex not sterilize the devices, it actually complicates the problem, because glutaraldehyde works like formaldehyde (it’s just a smaller molecule) — it preserves and embalms tissue, allowing the trapped material to build up over time.

There is a safer cleaning alternative however, and knowing this could very well save your life. About 20 percent of flexible endoscopes in the U.S. are cleaned with peracetic acid between patients rather than Cidex. Peracetic acid (which is similar to vinegar) is used in organic chemistry labs to dissolve proteins, and it does a FAR better job than glutaraldehyde.

The reason nearly 80 percent of clinics still use glutaraldehyde is because it’s cheaper. Even pennies per procedure add up when you’re doing them by the thousands each year, and hospitals are under pressure to save money wherever they can.

However, when your health and life is at stake, saving pennies becomes inconsequential, and you’d be wise to forgo any hospital that still uses Cidex to clean their endoscopes. How will you know how any given facility cleans their scopes? You have to ask. If you’re having a colonoscopy or any other procedure using a flexible endoscope done, be sure to ask:

• How is the endoscope cleaned between patients?
• Specifically, which cleaning agent is used?
• How many of your colonoscopy patients have had to be hospitalized due to infections?

If the hospital or clinic uses peracetic acid, your likelihood of contracting an infection from a previous patient is very slim. If the answer is glutaraldehyde, or the brand name Cidex (which is what 80 percent of clinics use), cancel your appointment and go elsewhere. As for the third and last question, the answer you want is zero.¹⁰

Prepping for Your Colonoscopy

Getting a colonoscopy requires preparation to clean out your colon. Typically, this includes skipping dinner and breakfast before the procedure, and drinking 2 to 4 liters of a foul-tasting liquid containing laxatives and electrolytes. However, recent research suggests you may not have to go through the rigors of fasting — a step that dissuades many from getting a colonoscopy in the first place.

As reported by The Washington Post:¹¹

“[T]he first glimmer of an alternative way of preparing for the procedure emerged … at the Digestive Disease Week conference, where Levy presented the results of a study on 10 people that involved the same generally-used laxative and a carefully prepared diet of solid foods and liquids.

The patients, aged 46 to 73, were given measured portions of cereal, pasta salad, pudding, juices, chicken consomme, a vanilla smoothie, and a pina colada type drink spread across a normal lunch-dinner-breakfast eating schedule. Eight of the first 10 patients ate it all, and the other two consumed 95 percent of it. None reported bloating, nausea, vomiting, or cramping. When they examined the patients, doctors rated 9 of the 10 cleansings ‘good’ and 1 ‘excellent.’”

Peppermint Oil May Make a Colonoscopy Less Painful

Dr. Greger at NutritionFacts.org¹² presents yet another alternative: peppermint, which helps relax the muscles and reduce spasms in your colon. The use of peppermint during colonoscopy was suggested over three decades ago, but was never implemented. As noted by Dr. Greger in the video above:

“[C]olon spasm can hinder the progress of the scope and cause the patient discomfort. So, they tried spraying some peppermint oil at the tip, and in every case, the spasm was relieved within 30 seconds. Thirty seconds is a long time though when you have this snaking inside of you; so, the next innovation would be to just use a hand pump to flood the whole colon with a peppermint oil solution before the colonoscopy.

[It’s a] simple, safe, and convenient alternative to injecting an anti-spasm drug, which can have an array of side effects …”

Mixing peppermint oil into barium enemas has also been shown to be effective. Even taking a few peppermint oil capsules orally, four hours before the procedure, helped speed up the procedure by reducing spasms and pain.

Should You Have Routine Colonoscopies Starting at 50?

I’m 61 and I’ve never had a colonoscopy and have no plans of ever getting one. While I believe they can be valuable as a diagnostic tool, I feel confident that with my diet (which includes daily amounts of raw turmeric) and lifestyle it’s highly unlikely I would develop colon cancer. But for many people who are at higher risk, colonoscopies may be an effective strategy. Colon cancer grows very slowly, and it’s one of the top leading cancers that kill people, so early detection is important.

Certainly, you could opt for an annual guaiac stool detection test — which checks for hidden blood in your stool — but this test also produces many false positives, and the latest evidence suggests this test doesn’t work very well. Another alternative is to get tested by flexible sigmoidoscopy¹³ every five years. It’s similar to a colonoscopy, but uses a shorter and smaller scope, so it cannot see as far up into your colon.¹⁴

On the upside, it’s associated with fewer complications, although you still need to check with the hospital or clinic to make sure they’re using peracetic acid to clean the device.  Ultrasounds have also proven to be of value.

Overall, visual inspection is the most reliable way to check for colon cancer, and this is what the colonoscopy allows your doctor to do. If polyps are found in their early stages, your doctor can simply snip them off right then and there. So a colonoscopy is not only a diagnostic tool, it can also serve as a surgical intervention. They take a picture of the polyp, clip it, capture it, and send it to biopsy. So it could save your life, and it’s definitely something to consider.

However, you don’t want to risk complications or infections by having the procedure done with a contaminated piece of equipment! So please remember, asking what they use to clean the scope could save your life. Only agree to the procedure in a facility that uses peracetic acid as a cleaning solution.

This is a very simple strategy that will not only protect your health, but as more people get wise to this and start demanding the use of peracetic acid, we can improve the safety for all patients undergoing these procedures.