Building Healthy Hearts

Almost 70 percent of Americans have some sort of heart disease – but that doesn’t mean surgery should be your first response.

“It might surprise you to learn that nearly 85 percent of coronary bypass surgeries are done unnecessarily,” says THB panel expert Dr. Al Sears. “That’s why I’m always on the look out for credible and actionable alternative heart information.”

And you can learn about a major “credible and actionable alternative” right now. Small lifestyle changes can help you beat the odds and enjoy better heart health.

Antioxidants are your first step to protecting – or even restoring – your heart health. Leading doctors are proclaiming the power of antioxidants and there are dozens of studies that prove they promote good heart health. One landmark study even shows that a specific antioxidant may reverse one of the most lethal forms of heart disease.

What Are Antioxidants?

Antioxidants are powerful tools that fight heart disease. But to understand why you need them, you have to understand what oxidation means. It is a natural process which occurs during normal cell function.

Cells are damaged during oxidation and turn into free radicals. That starts a chain reaction which harms more cells and ends in disease. Those free radicals can lead to heart disease. Antioxidants fight free radicals.

“Studies prove antioxidants neutralize free radicals,” says Dr. A. J. Matthews. He specializes in damage caused by oxidation and runs a surgery in California.

A major study recently reviewed antioxidant levels in 100 foods. The study was published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. Berries were found to contain the most antioxidants. The best berries were blueberries, blackberries, cranberries, raspberries, and strawberries. In fact, blueberries beat out 39 other fruits and veggies in the antioxidant ratings. The study stated that just one cup of berries provides all the antioxidants you need to fight heart disease.

“Oxidation produces free radicals. These are unstable molecules that bind to healthy cells,” says Dr Al Sears. This damages “their delicate machinery, even killing them.” He notes that our bodies make our own antioxidants and also consume external antioxidants. This is how our bodies protect us from free radical damage.

However, we produce fewer antioxidants as we age. “This speeds cell death and facilitates aging,” says Dr. Sears. That’s why it’s so important to consume the antioxidants we need.

We’re going to review five antioxidants. These five antioxidants promote good heart health. The first on the list is Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10).

Antioxidant #1: CoQ10

We produce CoQ10 naturally and cannot survive without it. That’s because it creates energy which our cells use to exist.

Studies have shown that CoQ10 is an effective defense against congestive heart failure (CHF). CHF can be a lethal form of heart disease. Your heart fails to pump enough blood to meet your needs and this leads to fluid congestion. That can shut down your vital organs.

According to Dr. Sears, 20 percent of people with CHF die within one year. But there is good news: recent research says CoQ10 may reverse CHF.

Researchers gave 580 mg of ubiquinol CoQ10 to seven CHF patients. All were expected to die within 12 months. After the study, six of the seven patients lived. The one patient who died stopped taking CoQ10 during the tests.

“Taking this simple nutrient might make this deadly form of heart disease a thing of the past,” says Dr. Sears.

According to Dr. Sears, C0Q10 also successfully treats:

• heart disease
• high blood pressure
• high cholesterol

It’s not difficult to make CoQ10 a part of your daily diet. A great source of CoQ10 is organ meats from grass-fed animals. If you take CoQ10 in supplement form, Dr. Sears recommends 30 mg a day.

Antioxidant #2: Resveratrol

Resveratrol is a plant enzyme. Studies show that it thins blood, which reduces the risk of heart attack. Research also shows that it is an anti-inflammatory.

A British study revealed its second powerful heart benefit. “Resveratrol possess[es] anti-inflammatory properties,” confirms study author Dr. Mark Birrell.

Dr. Birrell is a lead researcher at Imperial College, London. He says that resveratrol will lead to “new therapies for the treatment of chronic inflammation.”

Inflammation is becoming a hot topic with visionary doctors who believe treating it may help us defeat heart disease.

“Inflammation is not a fancy medical term,” says Dr. Dwight Lundell. “It is just as you think… swelling, redness, and pain produced… as a reaction to injury.”

Dr. Lundell has performed over 5,000 heart surgeries. He became convinced of one thing during his 25 years as a cardiac surgeon: inflammation is the cause of heart disease.

“There was more to inflammation than suspected. It wasn’t just a side effect. It was the culprit; the cause of cardiac arrest.”

The good news, according to Dr. Lundell, is that “inflammation is easily treated without medication.”

Treating inflammation is all about simple lifestyle changes and eating the right foods to “cool the fire.” Studies show that resveratrol will help you do just that. And the best part is that it’s easy to find. Resveratrol is naturally abundant in grapes and berries.

Antioxidant #3: Pterostilbene

Pterostilbene is another powerful antioxidant. It is much like resveratrol. But tests show it works even better! That’s because it’s easier to absorb and stays in your body longer.

The study shows it balances cholesterol levels. In fact, it beat out all other antioxidants. It works in the same way as man-made drugs… but the study shows it actually works even better!

It lowers your bad cholesterol (LDL) and raises your good cholesterol (HDL).
“A low ratio [means] reduced heart disease,” says study author Agnes Rimando.
That means it’s easy to properly balance your cholesterol ratio today. That’s because pterestilbene is found in simple foods like blueberries and grapes.

Antioxidant #4: Potassium

Potassium is great for your heart: it reduces the risk of stroke and heart attack.

Studies show that potassium lowers blood pressure. In fact, researchers found that 800 mgs of potassium “significantly” lowered blood pressure.

Another study confirms this, further linking potassium to low blood pressure. The study authors concluded that potassium-rich diets equal lower blood pressure. They noted that low potassium diets equaled higher blood pressure. It’s a simple equation and one that will help you strengthen your heart health.

While potassium is great for heart health, doctors do urge caution about the amount you consume.

“Anyone who has kidney disease needs to be especially cautious,” says THB panel expert Dr. Joseph McCaffrey. He says they “shouldn’t add potassium to their diet without talking to their doctor.”

Potassium is found in many foods. Potassium rich foods include:

• bananas
• strawberries
• tomatoes
• grapefruit
• grass-fed beef
• wild-caught fish

Antioxidant #5: Lycopene

Lycopene is another antioxidant that will help your heart. It “protects heart health by neutralizing cholesterol oxidation,” says Dr. Sears. Specifically, it stops the oxidation of LDL (bad) cholesterol and fights free radical damage. Lycopene is also easily absorbed.

“I recommend taking 20 mg of lycopene a day,” says Dr. Sears.

Again, that’s easy to do. You can find it in many food sources. Foods rich in lycopene include:

• tomatoes
• guava
• peppers
• watermelon
• pink grapefruit

That’s five different antioxidants that will strengthen your heart health. They all work differently but each will benefit your cardiac system. You can get them from different sources but one thing is clear: berries are a safe bet for essential antioxidants. Blueberries, raspberries, blackberries… start adding them to your breakfast today!

He’s a friend of the family: just looking out for you. And he’ll convince you he’s doing this for your kids: that they need these drugs for their own good. He may even set your kids up for free – at first. ‘Just a sample: it’s on the house. Give it a try – you’re gonna like it…’

And he’s got a big bag full of tricks: all kinds of pretty pills. Pretty pills that will help your kid: colorful candy that will improve your kid.

This bag of tricks can do almost anything for your child:

• Take a kid who’s hyper and calm ‘em down.
• Help a troubled child tow the line.
• Turn a failing student into a star scholar.

And chances are you’ll fall for it. After all, why wouldn’t you? He’s even got a license to prove he knows what he’s doing.

He’ll tell you what these pills will do for your kid. But he won’t tell you what they’ll do to your kid. You might not be so sure that he’s got their best interests at heart then. Not when they start changing and getting sad… not when they get angry because they need their fix. Your once-happy, rambunctious kid is suddenly day-dreaming about suicide. Your once-healthy child is having heart palpitations and coronary complications.

They’ve left childhood behind and stepped through a door into a dark world. A world of addiction: a world of need. And that’s their world for the rest of their lives.

Think it can’t happen in your world? Think this ‘family friend’ would be exposed… run out of town? The media would warn you about him… the government would protect you from him. Think again. They know about him. They endorse him. They even gave him his license.

Because this pusher is your child’s doctor and the drugs he’s pushing are all legal.

Sounds like a punch line to a bad joke? Sadly, it’s not: I’m deadly serious. The big pharmaceutical companies are pushing dangerous drugs to your kids, and they want get them before they can even say ‘no’. Don’t think that they would really dope up your beautiful baby? Sure they would: they have at least 4.8 billion reasons to do so.

Dangerous Drugs

What are these drugs that doctors can legally pedal to your kids? The most identified ones are amphetamines and methylphenidates: drugs that calm and focus the brain. You’ll know them by their brand names: Adderall, Ritalin and Strattera. These drugs help reduce excess energy and heighten attention. They’re prescribed to kids diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

So, if you have a kid who is acting up at school, or is always ‘on-the-go’, they may be diagnosed with ADHD. If they’re diagnosed with ADHD, a doctor may prescribe ADHD drugs. ADHD drugs don’t sound too dangerous. But these drugs can literally kill your child. ADDitude Magazine lists six common side effects of taking ADHD medications.

1. Loss of appetite, weight loss
2. Growth problems
3. Trouble falling asleep
4. Dizziness
5. Irritability, sadness, moodiness, or agitation within one-to-two hours after taking the drug
6. Sadness, irritability, or worsening of ADHD symptoms as the drug wears off

Perhaps you consider these to be minor side effects. Your child may be happier and more focused. They might even score higher at school. Just don’t think too much about those symptoms worsening ‘as the drug wears off’. And don’t look too closely at the descriptions put out by Drugs.com. That language is pretty scary. A quick review of the generic versions of those drugs tells us that they may:

• Have a high potential for abuse
• Be habit forming
• Impair vision
• Cause serious heart problems
• Create blood-vessel problems
• Result in sudden death

Corporate Cover Up

If ADHD drugs can cause death, surely the newspapers would be all over that? Well, actually no, they wouldn’t be, as we’ll explain later. But the information is out there – you just have to know where to find it.

‘ADHD drugs are linked to sudden death in children.’ That’s what an American Journal of Psychiatry study found in June 2009. It revealed that ADHD stimulants posed a risk in children who previously had no underlying heart conditions.

"The association is… real," said study author Madelyn S. Gould, Ph.D. Gould is a professor of psychiatry and public health at Columbia University, in New York. "There probably does need to be more careful monitoring.” 

Gould studied medical records of 10 children who had all died from unexplained heart problems. In those 10 cases, the children were all taking methylphenidates.

The medical community was keen to bury the report. Dr. James Perrin, a professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital for Children, dismissed the study.

"The study adds very little to what we already know – that some children who receive stimulants experience sudden unexpected death," said Dr. Perrin. "The current study should not change the use of any medications or treatments."

The parents of the 10 children who died would probably disagree.

In April 2008, the American Heart Association recommended that kids get an electrocardiogram (EKG) before taking ADHD drugs. EKG’s detect cardiac ailments that increase a child’s risk for sudden heart problems. The recommendation drew swift criticism from the medical community. The drug manufacturers remained silent; allowing doctors to speak for them. The AHA bowed to pressure and issued a revised recommendation a month later. The new recommendation? Kids did not need an EKG before starting ADHD drugs. An EKG was ‘reasonable, but not mandatory’.

In February 2006, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) voted to include black-box warnings on ADHD drugs. Black-box warnings are the government’s strongest safety alert. The proposed warning referenced the risk of sudden unexplained death. A month later, the FDA advisory panel rejected the stringent black-box warning. Once again, just like the AHA, the FDA later revised their recommendation. Manufacturers were asked to add a warning label: the medications should not be used in children with structural heart problems.

There’s a clear pattern: a report is released showing that these drugs are dangerous. The report is dismissed. A governing health body advises extreme caution regarding these dangerous drugs… and then mysteriously revises the warning to cast a more favorable light on the drugs.

Why the Cover UP?

If ADHD drugs can result in sudden death, why would we possibly consider prescribing them to our kids? Well, that’s really the point of the cover up. The medical industry keeps the truth hidden so you don’t have the information you need to protect your kids.  

At the beginning of the article I told you there were 4.8 billion reasons why the drug industry would be willing to dope your kids up for life. In 2008 U.S. sales of ADHD drugs totaled $4.8 billion (i). Those sales enjoyed a further 9.1 percent rise in 2009.

That’s big business for the pharmaceutical companies. So big that they made a $16 billion investment and gave drugs away for free! You heard that right: Pediatrics Journal reported that Big Pharma gave away $16 billion in free drug samples in 2004 alone. Over 10 percent of all U.S. kids taking prescription meds scored free drugs. And among those freebies were Adderall and Strattera.

Want to know who was hooking your kids up with freebies? Doctors were the primary pushers. The same friendly doctors who are diagnosing ADHD and prescribing related drugs.

Not convinced that ADHD drugs are over-prescribed? What would you say if I told you prescriptions for amphetamines rose 133 percent in five years? Prescriptions for methylphenidates rose by 52 percent. That’s from data collected by the American Association of Poison Control Centers.

But don’t take my word for it. There are real-life professionals willing to testify about the conspiracy.

Dr. Emmett Harrington has operated his own wellness practice for over 25 years in Winter Haven, Florida. He’s had first-hand experience of the system pressuring parents to medicate their children. Dr. Harrington was brave enough to tell THB the real truth. His own grandson was diagnosed with ADHD and he was powerless to intervene.

 “My daughter was advised by her son’s teachers that if he wasn’t put on Ritalin he could no longer be allowed to attend their classes,” said Dr. Harrington. “My daughter felt she had no choice but to comply even though she respects that her father (a clinical nutritional physician) offered a more natural solution.”

So how are the pharmaceutical companies getting away with this? Because doctors are pushing the drugs for them. And if a doctor tells us it’s good for us, we believe them. It’s all “comes from the erroneous philosophy that an M.D. knows best,” explained Dr. Harrington. “It’s been ingrained by the American Medical Association.”

Doctors Pushing Drugs

A recent online Q&A between a ‘concerned’ parent and an ADHD book-publishing doctor went something like this: 

Parent: What’s the youngest age at which a child can be diagnosed with, and treated for, ADHD? My three-year-old is hyperactive and I worry about his safety.

Doctor: It’s unusual for a child to be diagnosed before the age of five. But since your son is showing signs of ADHD, there’s no need to wait. Have the doctor evaluate your three-year-old and ask about starting medication. The latest research shows that stimulants are now safe and effective – even for preschoolers.

That’s an actual online exchange between a doctor and a parent. The salient point: doctors hooking up three-year-olds with drugs.

A parent tells a doctor that their three-year old is hyperactive. This doctor considers that adequate evidence that the child has ADHD. That seems like quite a leap, and one the doctor was eager to make. Surely a sensible series of tests and procedures might reveal that the child doesn’t have ADHD? Perhaps there’s another solution available – other than drugs?

Surely drugs should not be the first response?

“Absolutely not,” said Dr. Emmett Harrington. “Most medical doctors (do not) take the appropriate time to properly dig for the initiatory cause.”

ADHD Drugs: Safe and Effective?

Our online doctor assures the parent that ADHD drugs are ‘safe and effective’. But how can that be when you read reports like this:

• According to Consumer Reports, all ADHD drugs may have long-term risks. Those risks include heart attack, stunted growth and sudden death. Not so ‘safe’ then.
• Sami Timimi is a child psychiatry professor at England’s Lincoln University. She says (ii) there is no evidence that ADHD drugs ensure long-term success. Multiple U.S. studies (iii) agree: brain-focusing-drug methylphenidate only works for a couple of years. Not so ‘effective’ then either.

Overdoses, Suicide and Teen Abuse

The similarities to recognized hard-core drugs are impossible to ignore. They are behavior-altering, brain-changing and highly addictive. Here are three clear warnings about the most recognized brand-name ADHD drugs:

• Consumer Reports advises that children on Adderall need close monitoring. Why? To ensure the drug is not abused, given away to friends, or sold.
• Strattera is mood altering. It carries a warning that children who take it are at high risk for contemplating or committing suicide.
• A 2001 study (iv) found that Ritalin was more potent effect on the brain than cocaine.

Reuters reported in 2009 that teen overdoses linked directly to ADHD drugs rose by 76 percent over eight years. This figure paralleled the 80-percent rise in ADHD drug prescriptions during the same period. The report was coordinated by Dr. Jennifer Setlik of the American Association of Poison Control Centers.

"Clearly, we are seeing a rising problem with the abuse of these medications," reported Dr. Setlik. "The findings suggest that more teens are abusing and misusing stimulant ADHD medications because they have access to those medications, not because a higher percentage of those treated have turned to abusing their medication."

That report is not an isolated one. The National Institute on Drug Abuse is also reviewing over 7 million methylphenidate-related abuse reports. The big concern? That the drugs are being abused to score artificial highs or to get better school grades.

Don’t think there’s a connection between methylphenidate and drug abuse. The same ‘medication’ also popped up on a list of ‘Most Dangerous Drugs’ in March 2007(v). The list was compiled by the U.K. Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs. They sandwiched the ADHD drug in between LSD and Anabolic Steroids. Nice company. So here’s a question for you: would you be happy giving your kids LSD or Anabolic Steroids? I don’t think so. But you still think ADHD drugs are OK?

‘Safe and effective’? You must be joking… Have no doubt: this is big business. And the only one looking out for your child’s best interests is you.

Identifying problems but offering no solutions? In part 2 we review alternative, safe options to help people increase attention and positively focus excess energy.

[Ed. Note: The absolute best medicine just might be good information. For almost every condition you could be suffering from, nature has provided a cure you should know about. Our mission at Natural Health Confidential is to find it, scientifically confirm it, and get it into your hands.

You will discover invaluable natural healing methods that make a real difference in your life and the lives of those you love. This month’s issue offers a solution for a disease that affects millions of people worldwide today. It is the sixth leading cause of death – and the shocking news is that a large percentage of people who have it, don’t even know it!

Please don’t allow yourself or your loved ones to suffer damage to your health that is entirely preventable! Click here now to read more…]

But you can cut your risk of contracting any form of cancer in half – right now – with the information in this article.

Cancer is caused by stress – biological, psychological, chemical and physical stress. In modern times the stress has increased geometrically because of pollution, artificial foods and other factors.

But eons ago Nature created an antidote to stress – a natural hormone that stimulates the body’s immune system. If you make full use of this natural defense, studies show you can cut your risk of cancer in half.

I am talking about the world’s strongest anti-cancer hormone. In terms of prevention, it is probably a thousand times stronger than any substance that the medical and drug industry has ever come up with.

One very important – but largely ignored – study found that that 30% of all cancer deaths – which amounts to 2 million world-wide and 200,000 in the U.S. – could be prevented each year with higher levels of this hormone.

In addition to that:

• One study followed 400 postmenopausal women for four years and found that the group that had sufficient levels of this hormone had a 60% lower rate of all forms of cancer.
• Another study of 900 men found that the group that lacked this hormone had a 50% higher risk of cancer of the prostate.
• A third study found that people who have a high level of this hormone are 40% less likely to develop colon cancer..

Would you like to know what this hormone is?

Then sit back because this may surprise you.

The world’s most powerful anti-cancer hormone turns out to be something quite common: Vitamin D!

Surprised?

Don’t be. This is a scientific truth that the medical establishment consistently refuses to disclose.

They have even beclouded this truth by mis-naming the hormone. They call it a vitamin but it is not a vitamin at all.

Vitamin D is a hormone that you can get in modest doses from food and supplements, but most effectively from the sun.

That’s right. The sun is Nature’s primary stimulus for the creation of Vitamin D.

I’ll bet you have never heard that before.

If you are like most people you’ve heard that the sun is a bad thing. You have been told that it is the main cause of skin cancer.

But that is absolutely false and dangerously misleading.

I will explain why that is true later in this essay. I will also explain how the sun can stimulate all the Vitamin D your body needs. Plus you’ll learn why the media has spooked you into believing that you should avoid the sun.

Moreover, I’ll tell you why you should NEVER use conventional sun blocks…not on yourself or your children.

This is a report you must read.

Why has this information been kept from you? Maybe it’s because the healing energy of the sun is free.

When a cure like this is free, nobody stands to make a profit but you. So it is understandable that Big Pharma, Big Medical and Big Government – all of whom make billions every year off cancer – don’t want you to know.

Vitamin D Has Been Vilified by the Sunscreen Industry

Before sun block became popular in the 1960s, people believed that the sun was good for you. And for good reason. Our bodies respond positively to a natural amount of exposure to the sun. It makes us feel warm. It seems to “bake” out aches and pains. It even makes us look healthy.

Too much exposure to the sun, however, has the opposite effect. It causes us pain and discomfort. It makes us wish we hadn’t stayed out in the sun so long.

Sun block was created to prevent sunburn. And because it was effective in doing so, it caught on. So strongly in fact that it soon became a billion dollar industry.

With all those millions in profits, sun block makers funded studies. And those studies show a positive correlation between repeated sunburns and two non-lethal forms of skin cancer: basal cell and squamous cancers.

But none of these studies proved that the sun was the leading culprit in basal cell and squamous cancers. And none of them detected any relationship between sunburn and melanoma, which is the one cancer that kills.

Melanoma often appears between the toes and in other areas of the body where “the sun never shines.” If the sun were the leading cause of skin cancer, how could that be?

The studies that were funded by the sun block companies never bothered to answer these questions. Instead they lobbied the government to spread the word that the best way to prevent all forms of skin cancer (including melanoma) was to use sun block. And so the myth was born!Here are a few facts that you should know about sun block and skin cancer:

Sunscreen blocks your production of vitamin D –A sunscreen with an SPF of 8 reduces your ability to produce vitamin D by more than 95 percent. A sunscreen with an SPF of 15 reduces vitamin D production by more than 99 percent.

Lifeguards in Australia have the lowest rates of melanoma – In the February 2005 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute a study confirmed that exposure to the sun reduces the risk of skin cancer. Additional studies have shown that lifeguards in Australia have the lowest rates of melanoma.

Sunscreen does not block all the rays of the sun – Most sunscreens block only the UVB rays that burn your skin. They allow you to stay in the sun for hours without burning, while your skin soaks up the highly penetrating UVA radiation.

Unfortunately, most people believe that sunburn protection equals skin cancer protection. Actual evidence suggests to the contrary – that excessive exposure to non-burning UVA rays not blocked by common sunscreens induces skin cancers including the deadly melanoma variety.

Sunscreen contains several carcinogenic substances, some of which are activated by the sun! – one of the most common ingredients in commercial sunscreens is PABA, which can produce genetic mutations that can lead to cancer. The very thing that sunscreen sellers claim to protect you from. Even more incredibly, PABA is mostly inert until it becomes illuminated. Exposure to sunlight causes it to become carcinogenic. After exposure to UV radiation in sunlight, PABA or padimate-O attacks and damages DNA.

Sunscreen contains chemicals that mimic estrogen in the body – A Swiss study published in 2001 in Environmental Health Perspectives found five chemicals commonly in sunscreens that behave like estrogen. These five xenoestrogens are:

1. Octyl-1. dimethyl-PABA (OD-PABA)

2. Benzophenone-3 (Bp-3)

3. Homosalate (HMS)

4. Octyl-methoxycinnamate (OMC)

5. 4-methyl-benzylidene camphor (4-MBC)

So the result of the anti-sun campaign is this: more than half a million cases of cancer occur each year – that could have been prevented – if only a moderate exposure to sunlight had been allowed to provide normal levels of vitamin D.

Sunscreens are the Enemy, Not the Sun!

Thanks to modern day lifestyles and anti-sun propaganda message, an estimated 1 billion people worldwide are now deficient in Vitamin D. The situation is epidemic.

Not only will sunscreens NOT protect you from skin cancer, they will INCREASE your chances of getting all forms of cancer, including breast cancer, prostate cancer and lung cancer.

Optimal vitamin D levels are one of your best protections against any kind of cancer – and regular sun exposure (without sunscreen) is the best way to achieve it.

Protection by Design…

As a hormone, Vitamin D influences the entire body. Almost every type of human cell has receptors that respond to vitamin D. Which means your body is designed to make vitamin D from exposure to sunlight.

It doesn’t take a whole lot. Fifteen minutes a day or a half hour two or three times a week is enough exposure to create the Vitamin D that your body needs.  

And as long as you listen to your body’s natural messages, you will never have to worry about getting too much sun. What happens is this: depending on the amount of stress you are under, you may need just 2000 units of Vitamin D or 20,000. You can’t tell how much you need by taking your pulse or using some other artificial device. But you can tell simply by noticing that your skin feels like it has had enough.

When that happens it means your body is telling you that it has made the amount of Vitamin D that you need. Just get out of the sun at that moment and you won’t get sun burned and your immune system will be operating at full tilt.

Because vitamin D is fat soluble, it can be stored in the fatty tissues of the body. (That’s another reason it isn’t really a vitamin. It can be produced and stored naturally by the body.) But if, for some reason, a person can’t get out in the sun, he can and should supplement his intake of Vitamin D with natural foods and supplements.

How “ultra-violet” stacks up…

According to a leading vitamin D researcher, Dr. William Grant, vitamin D deficiencies cause 5 to 6 times more cancer deaths than any cancers due to excessive sun exposure.

Here’s why…

The sunlight produces two types of ultraviolet light: UV-A and UV-B.

UV-A has a longer wavelength. It is good for you. UV-B has a shorter wavelength and is bad.

Melanoma, the only type of skin cancer that can kill you, is caused by the longer wavelength ultraviolet A (UV-A).

UV-B rays stimulate Vitamin D and your immune system. They are the heroes of the cancer game. And the sun is the primary way your body gets UV-B rays.

Dr. Grant, a former NASA scientist, understood the benefit of UV-B waves. He knew that UV-B levels are measured geographically in the U.S. So he compared cancer maps with UV-B maps to see how levels of sun exposure related to cancer death rates.

What he found disproved the mythology that had been promoted for so many years by the sunscreen companies. His studies confirmed that the lower the sun exposure was, the higher the death rate was from common cancers. The final tally was this…

Premature cancer deaths due to vitamin D deficiency are 50-60,000 per year…compared to 9,800 who die of melanoma and skin cancer.

So a natural amount (15 to 30 minutes a day) of UV-B rays are healthy.

Getting the sunlight you need promotes the repair of damaged cells. This is important because damaged cells don’t repair themselves and don’t replicate. The more stress your body is subject too, the fewer healthy immune cells it has to fight cancer. Vitamin D reverses that process.

Vitamin D also helps prevent cancer cells from developing their own blood supply. This means it is harder for them to grow and spread. This suppresses metastasis.

The studies are clear about the benefits of Vitamin D and sunlight. But the government and mainstream medicine are not telling you what the studies have been saying. (Incidentally, the first study that showed the benefits of Vitamin D and sunlight dates back to an article on cancer mortality that was published in North America in 1941.)

So it’s not like the medical industry hasn’t known the facts. But they aren’t telling you. Is that because they are just plain stupid? Or might it have something to do with the billions of dollars that are made by sunscreen companies and skin doctors?

You don’t need to take a position on this question to benefit from the truth. Fear of the sun is nonsense. It is Nature’s best source of Vitamin D and Vitamin D is your body’s best protection against cancer.

If you would like to read more about the healthful benefits of the sun I can recommend this book:

Your Best Health Under the Sun by Jon Herring Dr. Al Sears. Click here now for details…

A Million Year Old Volcanic Rock That Out Smarts Heart Disease…

One of the doctors featured in this report had such a weak heart that for the first part of his life that he couldn’t even walk up a flight of stairs.

Now, thanks partially to this million year old volcanic rock, he can bike straight up a mountain… in the middle of a desert.

Plus other amazing stories of health breakthroughs that are saving lives today.

Click here to read the full story…

Insulin is just one of the hormones that affects our hunger mechanism and fat storage. Leptin is another. It was discovered in 1994 by researchers who were studying a genetic line of mice that continually consumed food until they became morbidly obese.

The scientists discovered that these mice were missing a particular hormone. When the researchers injected this hormone into the animals, it curbed their appetite, stimulated their fat-burning metabolism and restored them to a normal body weight.

They called the hormone leptin, derived from the Greek word for "thin."

We have now come to understand that leptin is a powerful messenger hormone. It helps perform countless functions in the body, two of which are extremely beneficial when it comes to hunger and body fat:

It sends a signal to your brain that you are full. This shuts down your hunger mechanism.

It also signals the fat inside your cells to break down into a usable form for energy.

When these signals are working, you stay feeling full for longer. And your fat is burned for fuel, helping you to stay slim.

Are you resistant to leptin?

Leptin functions as a negative feedback loop. It is produced in your fat cells. So the more fat cells you have, the higher your levels of leptin. This helps to suppress your appetite. And it stimulates your metabolism to burn fat. The end result should be a return to a healthy weight.

But when too many fat cells build up, a protein called CRP sticks to the leptin. This prevents the "I’m full" signal from getting to your brain. It also stifles your ability to burn fat. The end result is a condition called leptin resistance, which is highly correlated with obesity (not to mention heart disease and diabetes). Leptin resistance makes losing weight difficult if not impossible.

There are quite a few things you can do to improve leptin’s ability to function properly. Here are four that are very important:

• Avoid large, gluttonous meals
• Reduce your consumption of carbohydrates
• Never go to bed on a full stomach
• Eat protein with breakfast

There is also an herbal supplement that can help…

Several years ago, Dr. Julius Oben was performing population studies on West African tribal cultures. He noted that one particular region had very low incidences of obesity and diabetes. Then he discovered that the populations in this region use a paste derived from the seed of a bush mango to thicken their soups. They use this substance an average of ten times per week.

The plant is called irvingia gabonensis, and Dr. Oben’s discovery led to the development of a powerful extract. What Oben and a team of researchers later discovered is that this substance has an extraordinarily powerful effect on leptin sensitivity.

In a 10-week controlled clinical trial, published in the medical journal Lipids in Health and Disease, the researchers tested the effects of this substance on 100 men and women. Some were normal weight. Some were obese.

They split the groups in two. One group took 150 mg of the irvingia extract twice a day on an empty stomach – a half hour before lunch and a half hour before dinner. The other group received a placebo. The two groups made no other lifestyle or dietary changes.

By the end of the ten weeks, the placebo group lost a mere three pounds. The irvingia group lost an average of 28 lbs and six inches off their waist!

And that’s not all…

The group who took the extract also dramatically improved several markers for health, including a substantial 49% drop in leptin (indicating that their leptin sensitivity increased). They also saw a 52% decrease in C-reactive protein (CRP) – the protein which binds to leptin and disrupts its capacity to turn off the hunger switch.

And for good measure, the Irvingia group also experienced and average 22% decrease in blood sugar and a 26% drop in total cholesterol.

Scientists still don’t know exactly how the extract produces its effect on leptin and other health markers. But the results speak for themselves. And several other studies have confirmed it. Along with a low glycemic diet, this herbal supplement – irvingia gabonensis – can go a long way toward curbing your appetite and helping you achieve your optimal weight.

Who Ever Heard of Burning Cancer Out of Your Body?

Can the cure for cancer really be a simple as heat? You’ll be amazed these simple but powerful health solutions:

A simple cure for heart disease that could eliminate the need for anyone to ever have bypass surgery again.

An amazing breakthrough that can make you look and feel up to 20 years younger

A way to eliminate your “emotional” cravings for food.

But read on because the craziest part is where they found them…

It was a stunning discovery.

Grad students conducted what they thought would be a routine experiment. They applied ubiquinone, also known as Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), to a culture of the deadly skin cancer known as melanoma. When they returned to the lab the next day, they were shocked to find that almost all of the cancer cells in the culture were dead.

The results were so striking that they questioned their procedure. The experiment was carefully repeated and each time the results were the same. 1

How could CoQ10, a compound that occurs naturally in the body, be such an effective weapon against cancer? With no harm to normal tissue!

A Miracle Nutrient

CoQ10 is a powerful antioxidant and cell energizer. Despite that, the government doesn’t have a recommended daily intake for it. But Dr. Al Sears says it is the one supplement he takes every day, without fail.

It would be crazy not to in view of all the things this nutrient can do. It is well known to protect the heart and brain – and now it is proving to be a powerful cancer fighter.

There are a couple of factors at work here. As an antioxidant, CoQ10 protects cells from free radical damage. That helps prevent cancer from developing. It also boosts the immune system, which helps the body destroy cancer cells naturally. 2

The problem is, our bodies make less coenzyme Q10 as we age. Just when we could use more of it! And if you take statin drugs to lower cholesterol, your blood levels of CoQ10 drop by 50%.3 Beta blockers have a similar effect.

That’s a downward spiral you need to avoid.

Big Pharma Plays on Your Fears…

The word Cancer is one of the most frightening in the English language. First, because it is a disease that seems beyond our control. And second, it conjures up images of devastation. Radiation… chemotherapy… nausea… hair loss. Toxic treatments that are not very effective…

In fact, one investigation looked into the 5-year survival rate of adults on chemotherapy. The shocking result? A mere 2.1% – 2.3%.4 Not a good return on the terrible expense and hideous suffering that chemo inflicts.

And consider that the average chemotherapy can run as high as $300,000 to $1,000,000 per year. That’s tremendous profits for the medical establishment.5

Big Pharma giant Pfizer has actually switched its focus to developing cancer drugs. In the past, Pfizer specialized in heart drugs that patients could take for years on end. But with the patent on Lipitor about to expire, they’ll be losing revenue. So they’ve brought on about 1000 researchers to develop cancer drugs.6

Other pharmaceutical companies are doing the same. The drug Tarceva, at a cost of $3500 a month, was approved to treat pancreatic cancer because it improved survival by 12 days…

Erbitux, a treatment for colorectal cancer, costs $10,000 a month. The average length of treatment per patient runs $50,000 – and extends life by about one and a half months compared to no treatment at all…7

With profits like that at stake, why would mainstream medicine tell you about an inexpensive, un-patentable cancer preventive and treatment like CoQ10?

The Promising Results…

Let’s take a look at some studies involving CoQ10…

32 women in Denmark, who had breast cancer that had spread to the lymph nodes, took supplemental vitamin C, vitamin E with selenium, essential fatty acids and 90mg of CoQ10 per day for 18 months. None of the patients developed any further spread of the cancer. All reported an improvement in quality of life. The expected death rate during the study was four patients, however, there were zero deaths. In six of the women, the tumors grew smaller. In two of those six, the CoQ10 dose was raised. After one to three months, both women had no detectible tumors.8

In a follow-up study by the Denmark researchers, 3 breast cancer patients were tracked for 3 to 5 years while being given high doses of CoQ10. One patient, whose cancer had spread to the liver, experienced a full remission. The second had a remission of cancer that had spread to the chest wall. The third no longer showed any signs of breast cancer.9

Researchers in Rome looked for ways to boost immune system activity in patients with malignant melanoma. They noticed that most patients had low levels of CoQ10. This led to adding 400mg/day of CoQ10 to the regular treatment drug after the patients had the melanoma surgically removed. They followed the patients for five years. None of the patients withdrew from the study due to side effects. All of them experienced a much greater reduced rate of recurrence than the control group.10

Boosting Natural Immunity…

What if you or one of your loved ones is already challenged by cancer? The good news is that researchers are exploring that situation as well. Knowing that CoQ10 is a proven energy booster, they experimented to see if it would help patients fight cancer at the cellular level. Remarkably, CoQ10 was able to restore the antioxidant levels of cells to normal values. This helped prevent the production of new cancer cells and suppressed tumor activity.11

CoQ10 is regularly used to reduce the effects of chemotherapy. Researchers at the University of Texas examined data for a 25 year period – clear back in 1993 – to document cancer survival rates in response to CoQ10 therapy. They found that immune function was generally improved. They also discovered 10 cases of “unexpected survival” of cancer patients treated with CoQ10.

The same Texas research group has since demonstrated that most cancer patients have much lower blood levels of CoQ10 than healthy people.12 Naturally, their further studies will include ways to increase levels of CoQ10.

Embracing Natural Solutions…

It’s not only frustrating, it’s tragic that human clinical trials with CoQ10 and its effect on preventing and treating cancer are so slow to be embraced. There are certainly enough preliminary studies to show that trials need to be conducted.

You have to wonder if the medical system has truly declared “war on cancer.” This war has been waging for decades. And somehow, inexpensive, non-toxic substances like CoQ10 are largely ignored.

Meanwhile, the new cancer drugs being developed are ever more expensive and ever more toxic. It appears that the medical system has been hijacked by Big Pharma in the name of profits.

But there are effective, inexpensive methods you can use to protect yourself. Ways to strengthen your body, not weaken it. Coenzyme Q10 is high on the list of natural cancer preventives and cancer cell killers. And with no side effects, it is a nutrient you can trust your health to.

[Ed. Note: Why do doctors insist on poisoning cancer patients when there are much safer and effective alternatives? Chemotherapy is a killer that doesn’t even work well. There’s a way to burn cancer out of your body that is 14 times more effective. Click here now to read more…]

References:

(1) Nissim R, “A Gentle Cancer Killer,” University of Miami Medicine Magazine, Fall 2005
(2) “What is conenzyme Q10?” cancer.gov
(3) Gau G, “Statin Drugs – Common Side Effects,” MayoClinic.com, March 28, 2009
(4) Royal North Shore Hospital Clin Oncol (R Coll Radiol) 2005 Jun;17(4):294.
(5) Moritz A, “Can You Trust Chemotherapy to Cure Your Cancer,” NaturalNews.com, July 23, 2008
(6) Pollack A, “For Profit, Industry Seeks Cancer Drugs,” New York Times, Sep 1, 2009
(7) Ibid
(8) Lockwood K, Moesgaard S, Folkers K. Partial and complete regression of breast cancer in patients in relation to dosage of coenzyme Q10. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1994 Mar 30;199(3):1504-8.
(9) Ibid
(10) Rusciani L, Proietti I, Paradisi A, et al. Recombinant interferon alpha-2b and coenzyme Q10 as a postsurgical adjuvant therapy for melanoma: a 3-year trial with recombinant interferon-alpha and 5-year follow-up. Melanoma Res. 2007 Jun;17(3):177-83.
(11) Geopp J, “Coenzyme Q10 and Cancer Enhancing Treatment Outcomes and Improving Chemotherapy Tolerability,” Life Extension Magazine, Feb 2008
(12) Ibid

Get the scoop on working “miracle” cures…

Even the health guru’s have something to learn about heart disease, cancer, and weight loss.  Get all the details before your doctor from a privately funded team of sleuthing health researchers…

Click here to learn about breakthrough cures before your doctor.

Deadlines. Irritating coworkers. Crying children. Sick parents. A grouchy spouse. Heavy traffic. Increasing food prices. Economic turmoil. A country at war.

There is no shortage of things that could cause you stress.

And excessive stress is just plain bad for you. According to the Mayo Clinic, stress can cause a whole host of health issues, from back pain to forgetfulness… sleep problems to overeating… high blood pressure to heart disease… and much more. It can also decrease your immune system, making you more susceptible to illness. 

It’s not rocket science to understand that you should take specific action to limit the stress in your life. But since you can’t eliminate every stressor, you should also take action to prevent stress from affecting your health.

Exercise is one of your primary weapons against stress.  As a fitness expert, I know firsthand how many health benefits exercise can offer. Sure, exercise burns calories and builds muscle. But it can also help lower blood pressure… protect against serious diseases like heart disease and even cancer… and relieve stress. Studies also show that regular exercise can help keep your immune system strong.

“If a person who regularly exercises in moderation is under stress, that person is less likely to get sick than someone who has been sedentary and faces the same challenge,” said University of Colorado at Boulder professor Monika Fleshner in a Science Daily article. 

The next total body health improvement technique you might consider is changing your diet. Eating healthy fats and lean proteins… cutting carbohydrates… and filling your plate with lots of fruits and veggies can help trim your waistline AND reduce your stress levels.

Health expert Craig Ballantyne reported that Australian researchers studied the effect of diet on stress. They concluded that subjects who changed their diets and lost weight were able to help control their blood pressure better during times of stress. “[The reduction in blood pressure] is likely to lower the risk of cardiovascular disease in the long term,” writes Craig. 

But besides diet and exercise, I’d like you to consider another technique that can help improve your total mind and body health.

You’ve heard of it before. It has been proven to help boost your immune system. But it doesn’t cost a single penny. And it only takes a few minutes of your time each day. In fact, I personally use this method to help keep myself fit, happy, and healthy all year round.

I’m talking about meditation. 

There is tons of research and information about how effective meditation is when it comes to improving your total health. Some research suggests that meditation can help improve binge eating, cancer, depression, fatigue, heart disease, and sleep problems, according to the Mayo Clinic. 

But it is widely known for its ability to reduce stress.

“To adequately protect ourselves against stress,” says Dr. Herbert Benson, president emeritus of the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind/Body Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital. “We should use an approach and a technique that we believe evokes the relaxation response 20 minutes, once a day.”

I personally meditate all the time. It works like a charm to help me stay fit and healthy, and feel energetic. Meditation is extremely easy to implement into your life. And once you start meditating regularly, I’m confident that you’ll quickly see and feel for yourself its amazing effects on your mental and physical health.

Meditation Plain and Simple…

Meditation is the clearing of your mind and thoughts thereby offering no resistance creating a pure, peaceful, high, and fast vibration.

“Meditation is one of the best stress relievers I know of,” says Dr. Matthew Anderson.  “And the more stress you are experiencing, the more meditation you need.

“Meditation quiets the mind, lowers blood pressure, rests and calms the body, and expands your ability to solve problems creatively. It also enhances and speeds spiritual growth. All of these benefits will help you survive and even transform your difficult life situation.”

In their book Ask and It Is Given, Esther and Jerry Hicks describe how easy it is to fall into a state of meditation.

Imagine a cork bobbing on a body of water. (That represents the place of high, pure, fast vibration that is actually natural to you.) Now imagine holding the cork down under the water. (That is what resistance is like.) And now, imagine letting go of the cork – and see it rise back up to the surface of water.

Like the cork, naturally floating on the water’s surface, it is natural for you to experience the high, fast, pure vibration, free of the hindering resistance. And like the cork, if you are not doing something that holds you down under the water, you will bob right back up to the surface where you belong.  In other words, you do not have to work at being at the high vibration that is natural to you because it is natural to you.

According to Esther and Jerry, your thoughts are the resistance, or the water, that doesn’t allow you to flow freely and peacefully in harmony with who you are.  If you take all the thoughts away, you are left with who you really are: your essence – love and pure energy! 

The more in tune and healthy you are internally, the more in tune and in shape you will appear outwardly. 

How to Meditate Easily (Transcendental Meditation)

• Sit in a quiet place where you aren’t likely to be interrupted. Try to get into a comfortable position, whether you are sitting on a chair or on the floor. (Don’t lie down because you may fall asleep.) You might want to listen to soothing music while meditating.

• Close your eyes, relax, and breathe slowly. Allow the air to fill your lungs and your belly. Release the air comfortably. Thoughts will float into your mind. To  release the thought, simply refocus on your breathing or the music you are listening to.

• A saying or mantra such as “A-ham Brahm” (which means “I am one with life”) may help you focus on the moment. Repeat your mantra over and over in your mind. 

Meditation is a process of quieting the mind, not visualization.  As you quiet your mind, you will feel weightless and free of resistance.  

If you have never meditated before, it may feel unnatural. Just keep at it. The more you practice, the more you will get the hang of it. 

I suggest that you begin with just five minutes of meditation a day for the first week. Then work your way up to 15 minutes a day. I would recommend meditating in the morning before you begin your day, but any time you choose is fine. 

The more you meditate, the more you will recognize what it feels like to be in a higher vibration (feeling good). When you experience any resisting thoughts or a lower vibration (feeling bad), you will know just how to regain and replenish your natural balance and natural state of being. Best of all, you’ll find that you can connect to this feeling of calm at any time. (Talk about an instant stress reliever!) That’s what meditation is all about!

If you’d like to read more about the effects of meditation on your mental and physical health, check out these resources:

• Spiritual Healing: Scientific Validation of a Healing Revolution by Daniel J. Bennor, MD
• “Meditation as Anti-Aging Medicine: Turn Back the Clock Naturally” by Dharma Singh Khalsa, M.D.
• “Mindful Eating: A columnist looks at ‘mindfulness meditation’ and its potential role in weight control” by WebMD Columnist Judy Foreman
• “In Pursuit of Happiness” by Eve Savory
• The Early to Rise Personal Mastery Program by Srikumar S. Rao, MBA, PhD
• The Total Health Breakthroughs Stress and Sleep Report

[Ed. Note: Yarixa Ferrao, A.K.A, Coach Yari is a Certified Personal Trainer (NASM) and an expert in functional training, fat loss, sports performance, and cellulite with Online and live programs available through her site. Coach Yari is the founder of Get Fit in 6, a 6-week life transformation program for both men and women in Delray Beach, Florida. You can visit her at: www.getfitin6.com.]

References:

1. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/stress-symptoms/sr00008_d

2. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1998/11/981112075727.htm

3. http://www.EarlyToRise.com

4. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/meditation/hq01070

5. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/02/AR2008070200973.html

As a practicing physician, I was never taught any primary preventative measures for my patients. At most, I was given some detective tools, such as screening blood sugar in "at risk" patients. It baffles me, as I look back, that I couldn’t see the huge gap in my medical school and residency training. We did nothing to prevent diabetes and did very little to address the underlying mechanisms that stimulate abnormal sugar metabolism!

The main focus of conventional medicine today is still all about using prescription drugs to lower blood sugar, which is too late if you want to reverse the disease itself. There is no question that people with diabetes experience an elevated risk for a variety of other illnesses including heart disease and stroke, blindness, peripheral nerve disease and pain, kidney damage and failure, impotency, and skin disorders. 

In a 2003 report published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, childhood obesity rose to 16% of children between ages 6 and 11 (95th percentile of body mass index for age). An additional 14.3% fell in the 85th to the 95th percentile. This report pointed out that as these children’s body weights increased, so did their consumption of fast foods and soft drinks, trending up by nearly 300%!2

I shudder when I read articles like the one reported in the October 2005 Annals of Internal Medicine, which tracked 4,000 adults over 30 years. It verified that the trend for becoming abnormally overweight is so severe that nine out of 10 men and seven out of 10 women will become overweight. Obesity plays such a huge role in diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, hypertension, depression and many cancers… It’s no wonder the researchers concluded that "more effective prevention and treatment strategies are urgently needed." 

Herbs to Help with Diabetes Control 

If you have been diagnosed with insulin resistance or high blood sugar levels, you can take certain nutrients to help control and even lower your blood sugar level.

Several herbal preparations have been used to control blood sugar levels since as early as 1550 B.C.3  Here are a few of the herbs that have been adequately studied to determine their actual effects and potencies:

• Gymnema sylvestre (leaf). This age-old herb from tropical India destroys sugar taste when the leaves are chewed and is often promoted as an appetite suppressant for weight-loss. More importantly, several small placebo-controlled trials show that gymnema extracts lower blood sugar levels by enhancing the action of insulin. Animal studies indicate that gymnema can double the number of insulin-producing cells in the pancreas and bring blood sugar levels to normal. Research findings also indicate that gymnemacan improve blood sugar control so that smaller doses of oral diabetes drugs are needed. Several human trials clearly show quite a significant improvement in blood sugar levels with gymnema.4

• Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum).  Fenugreek has been found to improve glucose levels, presumably by decreasing absorption of glucose in the small intestine. One large fenugreek study examined participants with poorly controlled Type II diabetes and found an average fasting blood sugar decrease from 151 mg/dL (baseline) to 112 mg/dL after 24 weeks.5

• Ginseng root (Korean and American ginseng).  Ginseng has been studied and used as a treatment for infections and diabetes generally for up to three months with repeated courses. One study showed a significant reduction in post-prandial (after eating) glucose versus placebo in Type II diabetes.6

• Citrus aurantium (orange bitters).  This herb stimulates the sympathetic nervous system, thus increasing metabolism and lowering appetite.

• Milk thistle (Silybum marianum).  Milk thistle is extremely good at cleansing the liver, an important factor in diabetes. In doses over 1,500 mg per day, loose stools as a result of increased bile flow and secretion can occur.7 This desired effect makes it the herb of choice for any liver-related diseases, including liver toxicity associated with acetaminophen, anti-psychotics, halothane, and alcohol.8

• Green tea.  Green tea helps increase metabolism and reduce chronic disease. It significantly reduces food intake, body weight, cholesterol, and triglyceride levels. In one study, green tea increased insulin activity by about 15-fold, an effect of the active ingredient, EGCG.9

• Bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus).  Bilberry leaves have a reported weak anti-diabetic activity and have been shown experimentally to lower blood sugar levels consistently by 26% in rats.10 In folk medicine, its blood sugar-reducing effect is touted so that it is a common constituent in "anti-diabetic" teas.11

• Cinnamon.  This spice increases sugar metabolism in rodent fat cells 20-fold according to a report in Diabetes Care. Researchers found that less than one-half teaspoon of cinnamon daily for 40 days significantly dropped blood sugar levels in 60 study participants with Type II diabetes.

• Devil’s claw (Oplopanax horridum).  The devil’s claw plant reportedly contains insulin-like substances, but its chemistry is still under investigation. The root can be made into a tincture and just five drops on the tongue can help stop sugar cravings.

Blood sugar imbalance and diabetes are both treatable without risky prescription medications if you are willing to take an honest look at what you eat, examine how active you are, and monitor how much stress you experience every day.  To help normalize elevated blood sugar levels, consider one or more of the supplements recommended in this article. 

[Ed. Note: The absolute best medicine just might be good information. For almost every condition you could be suffering from, nature has provided a cure you should know about. Our mission at Natural Health Confidential is to find it, scientifically confirm it, and get it into your hands.

You will discover invaluable natural healing methods that make a real difference in your life and the lives of those you love. This month’s issue offers a solution for a disease that affects millions of people worldwide today. It is the sixth leading cause of death – and the shocking news is that a large percentage of people who have it, don’t even know it!

Please don’t allow yourself or your loved ones to suffer damage to your health that is entirely preventable! www.truehealth.com.]

By age 65, the average American has a one-in-two chance of getting cancer and a one-in-three chance of dying from cancer. In fact, in spite of billions and billions of dollars spent on research, many cancers are just as deadly as they were 20… 30… even 50 years ago.

One reason may be the foods you consume. A diet rich in meat and fats and low in complex carbohydrates, like the one consumed by a typical Westerner, may increases your risk of cancer, according to a University of Pittsburgh researcher.

Stephen O’Keefe, Ph.D., from the University of Pittsburgh arrived at the conclusion based on an expanding body of evidence which shows the composition of the diet influences the diversity of intestinal microbes, supporting the link between diet, colonic disease and colon cancer.

In particular, those who eat a healthy diet containing high levels of complex carbohydrates have significant populations of micro-organisms in their gut called firmicutes.

These bacteria use the undigested residues of starch and proteins in the colon to synthesize short-chain fatty acids and vitamins such as folate and biotin that maintain colonic health.

By contrast, meat digestion produces sulfur which decreases the activity of ‘good’ bacteria and increases the production of hydrogen sulphide and other possible carcinogens by sulfur-reducing bacteria.

O’Keefe states that colon cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in adults in the West, described his conclusions to the Society for General Microbiology meeting in the United Kingdom.

My best suggestion for a healthy diet is an alkaline diet that is rich in fruits, vegetables, nuts, whole grains and more. These foods offer the most nutrition when consumed in their raw form to help you maintain acid-alkaline balance. This means that your tissues, organs and cells are slightly alkaline and measure around 7.5 on a scale from zero to 14. This measurement can be taken with a saliva or blood sample.

If you body is too acidic, then you are at risk for abnormal cell growth that could possibly lead to cancer. This growth thrives in an acidic environment so be sure to test your alkaline balance and look for the best foods to help maintain optimum levels.

But a change in diet is not the only alternative solution to dealing with abnormal cell growth. Patients dealing with the late stages of terminal cancer may benefit from gentle massage therapy, according to a new study conducted by the University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine.

Researchers studied 380 hospice patients suffering from advanced forms of cancer. Lead researcher Jean S. Kutner, M.D., and colleagues found that after two weeks of massage therapy, many reported temporary improvements in both mood and pain levels.

“Massage does seem to be helpful, at least for a short time,” Kutner said in a published health report from Reuters. She explained that it’s not entirely clear why massage helps with the pain, but that the basic principals of massage therapy have been shown to decrease inflammation and swelling… decrease muscle spasms… and may trigger “feel good” hormones called endorphins.

Kutner also noted that the simple human contact between the patient and the therapist could contribute not only to increased physical well being, but mental well being, too.

[Ed. Note: Michael Cutler, M.D. is a board-certified family physician with more than 17 years of clinical experience. He is a graduate of Brigham Young University and Tulane Medical School. Dr. Cutler’s practice focuses on integrative solutions to health problems, and behavioral and nutritional medicine. For more information, visit www.truehealth.com.]

Right now your brain may be starving…

It may lack a vital nutrient you need to think and remember. And unless you do something about it, it will probably get worse.

The good news is you can take simple steps to halt this process and preserve your clarity of mind. Today I’ll show you how.

This vital brain booster is choline. Your brain uses it to make acetylcholine, one of your key neurotransmitters – the chemicals your brain needs to transmit signals and messages.

Acetylcholine is the neurotransmitter of memory and muscle stimulation. It’s responsible for muscle control, sleep, arousal, attention, memory, intelligence and mood. Your brain needs a constant, rich supply of choline to keep all of these functions going strong.

Without acetylcholine you can’t string thoughts together or have full access to your memory. So you can imagine not having enough can lead to real problems. I’m not just talking about forgetting your keys, although that can be an early symptom of choline deficiency.

Research shows people with a variety of mental illnesses are severely lacking in choline. The brain scans of people suffering from both mild cognitive impairment and full-blown Alzheimer’s showed these diseases are directly related to low choline levels.

But the news is not all bad… Several recent studies found you can slow and even reverse the onset of dementia and improve your memory and attention by getting more choline.

I recommend you do just that. If you wait too long the consequences are serious.

We’ve known for years that if your brain is starved of choline, it starts to “steal” choline from other sources, like your cell membranes. This process is called “auto-cannibalism.”

When this happens your brain starts “eating itself alive” to maintain daily functions. But over time, the problems just get worse. It’s one of the reasons why you see a rapid decline in brainpower among older folks—and this process is behind the onset of depression, poor sleep, Alzheimer’s, and worse.

So what can you do to stop this from happening?

The first thing is to make sure you get enough choline-rich foods in your diet. Here’s a list for easy reference:

COMMON FOOD CHOLINE  – CONTENT (MG/100 G OF FOOD)

Eggs (whole, cooked) – 272.6
Egg yolk (raw, fresh) – 682.4
Chicken liver (all kinds, simmered) – 290.1
Turkey liver (cooked, simmered) - 220.2
Pork (cured, bacon, cooked, pan-fried) -130.8
Spices (mustard seed, yellow) – 122.6
Almonds - 52.0
Cauliflower (cooked, boiled, drained) – 39.1
Artichokes (cooked, boiled, drained) – 34.4
Green peas (frozen, cooked) – 27.6
Spinach (whole leaf, frozen, microwaved) - 27.5
Red cabbage (cooked, boiled, drained) - 21.5
Source: USDA Database for the Choline Content of Common Foods, March 2004

As you can see, eggs and organ meats are the best sources of choline.

By the way… don’t be put off by raw eggs. The eggs you get from your local big-chain grocery stores are safe to eat raw. I eat raw eggs all the time. If you add them to a protein shake you don’t even notice them.

Men need more choline than women per day, about 550 mg compared to 425 mg for women.

But as you as age, you need more. I usually put my older patients on as much as 1,500 mg per day to get the maximum brain-boosting benefit.

To Your Good Health,

Al Sears, MD

References:

1. 1 Herholz et al. “Acetylcholine esterase activity in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease.” European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging. 2008. 35(Supplement):1619-7070.

2. Kuo et al. “Focusing Effect of Acetylcholine on Neuroplasticity in the Human Motor Cortex.” Journal of Neuroscience. 2007. 27(52):14442-14447.

3. Wurtman, RJ. “Choline metabolism as a basis for the selective vulnerability of cholinergic neurons.” Trends in Neuroscience. 1992. 15(4):117-22.

That’s what Big Pharma wants you to believe, anyway.

As with so many other health topics, there is a lot of misinformation floating around about osteoporosis.

Unfortunately, most people just don’t understand how bones really work. That means they can’t understand how osteoporosis really works. That, in turn, makes them vulnerable to the swill Big Pharma is selling.

The truth is that most osteoporosis treatments are unnecessary, and several are downright harmful. Osteoporosis is largely preventable through simple lifestyle changes that you should make anyway. Good bone health is simply a consequence of good health.

Taking care of your body is easier than it’s made out to be. The problem is sorting through all of the information that’s out there to separate the sheep from the goats. Fortunately, that’s my job.

In Friday’s article I explained how bones really work. Today I will tell you how osteoporosis really works, and how to avoid it the natural way. But before I do that, let’s review the leading treatments that you should definitely NOT be using.

The Dangers of Hormonal Replacement Therapy (HRT)

Last time I told you that up to 80% of osteoporosis patients are women. For that reason, osteoporosis was long regarded as a woman’s disease. Researchers knew that it was most common in elderly women. They also knew that women’s hormonal levels normally decrease with age. Studies showed a correlation between estrogen levels and bone density. Why not treat osteoporosis by replacing lost hormones?

It makes sense. However, it’s not a good idea for the same reason that you don’t flip the main circuit breaker to turn off the bedside lamp. Hormones are part of the body’s master control system. They are involved in osteoporosis. But they’re involved in a lot of other things, too. You just can’t mess with the master controls without getting unintended side effects.

Sure enough, the first large-scale test of HRT had some shocking results. The Women’s Health Initiative followed over 16,000 women in a randomized, placebo-controlled trial. They found that HRT did slightly lower the risk of fractures. It also significantly raised the risk of coronary heart disease, stroke, breast cancer, and pulmonary emboli.¹

That frightening finding led to the creation of so-called bioidentical HRT (BHRT). BHRT is marketed as a safer alternative to traditional HRT. Unfortunately, there is no evidence to support that claim.

Some believe that BHRT may even be riskier. The hormones come from the same sources (often pregnant horse urine), but the process of making “bioidentical” hormones introduces the potential for error.

Further, the science behind the process is suspect at best. Hormonal levels normally vary throughout the day, making accurate measurement nearly impossible. Allegedly individual treatments are in fact random and arbitrary. It’s not clear what good this does, but there is no reason to think it is safer.

In short, stay away from HRT. The risks simply outweigh the possible benefits.

The Newfound Dangers of Calcium Supplements

Another of the most commonly prescribed treatments for osteoporosis is a calcium supplement. This, too, is a logical move. Replacing lost calcium should restore depleted bone density, right?

Wrong. There are a few problems with that idea. The first is bioavailability. That’s a big word that simply refers to the amount of a drug that actually makes it where it’s supposed to go. No drug has 100% bioavailability. With most forms of calcium, you absorb less than half of what you ingest.

Further, calcium is important in many parts of the body, not just in the bones. (That’s why it gets taken from the bones in the first place.) That means that a lot of the calcium you do absorb goes other places. And that’s where it can cause problems.

In 1998, researchers in New Zealand began the Auckland Calcium Fracture Study. For years they followed almost 1,500 postmenopausal women to see if taking a daily calcium supplement would decrease the risk of fracture. Their findings were disappointing. Bone density among women taking calcium was only 1-2% better than among women not taking calcium. There was no effect on fracture prevention.

That’s not all they found, though. Troublingly, the women taking calcium suffered more heart attacks than controls. Calcium supplements may actually put your heart at risk.

In light of these findings, exactly two weeks ago today, the lead researchers involved in the study called for an end to calcium supplementation as a treatment for osteoporosis.² As with HRT, they concluded that the risks outweigh the benefits.

Bad Statistics and Worse Medicine

Both HRT and calcium supplementation seem like good ideas to treat osteoporosis. So why don’t they work?

It’s because they aren’t the cause of the disease. They are only associated with it. As statisticians like to say, “Correlation is not causation.” That means that the relationship between two things does not necessarily tell you that one causes the other. For example, a rooster always crows around sunup. But the rooster does not cause the sun to rise.

In the same way, neither low estrogen nor low calcium causes osteoporosis. There is a relationship. But treating osteoporosis by artificially increasing estrogen and calcium levels is like kidnapping the rooster to get a few more hours of sleep.

Osteoporosis, like so many other diseases, is an adaptive response to poor conditions. Your body is an intelligent machine that learns from experience and adapts to demand. It gets better at doing whatever you regularly ask it to do.

Osteoporosis is not an inevitable consequence of aging. It is associated with aging because aging is associated with inactivity and improper nutrition. Those hidden factors are what statisticians call confounds. They suggest relationships that aren’t true.

The true causes of osteoporosis are inactivity and improper nutrition. Genetic risk plays a role, but osteoporosis is your body’s adaptive response to poor conditions. Your body doesn’t want to give up bone density. But if you’re not getting the minerals you need in your diet, it will begrudgingly give up the “excess” in the bones.

Conditioning your body to low activity levels tells it that it can afford to skimp on bone density in order to make ends meet. It makes the hard choice and sacrifices whatever it can spare to supply calcium metabolism and other mineral needs.

Preventing Osteoporosis the Natural Way

As I said before, your body is an intelligent machine that adapts to the demands you place on it. Osteoporosis is an adaptive response to poor conditions. To reverse that process, you just have to change those conditions to make it a maladaptive response. Your body will change accordingly.

First, you need to make sure that you are getting plenty of the nutrients you need. The two most critical nutrients for bone health are calcium and vitamin D.

Calcium comes from foods like dairy products, nuts and seeds, and dark leafy greens. The NIH recommendation is between 1,000 and 1,500 mg of calcium per day. Some sources advocate for up to 2,000 mg per day. Either way, most adults don’t even come close. That means that milk really will do your body good.

Even if you are getting enough calcium, you need vitamin D to absorb it. The NIH recommends 800 IU per day. Most Americans get much less than that. The problem is, studies indicate that total intake should be much higher than what the government recommends, around 4,000 IU (0.1 mg) per day.³

Vitamin D is found in fish liver oil and fatty fish species (wild-caught only), eggs, and fortified milk. It also comes from sun exposure. You can read much more about vitamin D and sun exposure in our past issue archives.

By themselves, neither calcium nor vitamin D will do your bones much good. You really need both. Make sure you’re getting the full daily recommendation of each.

Second, you need to do weight-bearing exercise. That doesn’t necessarily mean lifting weights. Weight-bearing exercise is any exercise that requires you to support your body weight (or more). Remember the six functions of bone? Weight-bearing exercise forces your bones to work harder. The message you are sending to your body is that it can’t afford to give up bone density. Your body adapts to the demand.

Swimming and bike riding are great, enjoyable forms of exercise. That’s why they’re among the most common forms of exercise for older individuals. However, they are not weight-bearing. That means they don’t help at all in preventing osteoporosis. You certainly don’t have to stop doing these things. But they’re just not enough.

What can you do instead? Glad you asked. All of the following are terrific, easy, and enjoyable forms of weight-bearing exercise:

• Running, jogging, walking, or hiking.
• Dancing.
• Tai chi, yoga, or martial arts.
• Golf.
• Racquet sports.
• Team sports (e.g., baseball, basketball, football, softball, volleyball).
• Strength training (e.g., barbells, dumbbells, machines, body weight exercises).

By participating in these activities, you will actually increase your bone density over time. You will also reap all the other myriad benefits of regular exercise. That’s a win-win deal.

Modern medicine often treats your body as the enemy, and it reacts accordingly. Instead, work with your body. Teach it to do what you want it to do. By making simple lifestyle changes, you can reprogram your body for good health.

Proper nutrition and weight-bearing exercise can go a long way toward preventing osteoporosis. They’re also good for almost every other aspect of your health.

Now that’s something Big Pharma doesn’t want you to know.

To Your Health,

Michael Noltemeyer
Managing Editor
Total Health Breakthroughs

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