In the old Roman days, bath houses were used with less toxic exposure than most Americans get while bathing in the comfort of their own homes.

by Vic Shayne, PhD

The craziest thing about soap and other body products these days is that MOST ARE TOXIC. It’s amazing, but true. There are more toxic chemicals in personal care products than the average person realizes. There are even cancer-causing agents that people wash their faces with.

In the old Roman days, bath houses were used with less toxic exposure than most Americans get while bathing in the comfort of their own homes with most soaps, shampoos, exfoliators and conditioners on the market! And that’s even taking into consideration that sanitation in 30 AD was pretty pathetic.

Some of the ingredients to avoid in your soap (read the labels to spot them) are: ammonia, ammonium hydroxide, animal products, artificial ingredients, bleach, chlorine, citric acid, dyes or colors, formaldehyde, hydrochloric acid, isopropyl alcohol, lye, naphtha, nitrobenzene, perchlorethylene, perfumes or fragrances, phenols, phosphates, propylene glycol, sodium hypochlorite, sodium laurel sulfate, synthetic chemicals, thickeners, or trichloroethane.

Twenty years ago, when I discovered this, I got rid of all the soaps in the house and switched to simple, non-toxic soap. The one I use now is Neem Soap, which contains only two main ingredients are aloe and neem (an anti-bacterial ingredient from neem trees).

The insanity is that soap manufacturers don’t care about the HEALTH OF YOUR SKIN, but instead they care about softness, moisture, tightness and even cleanliness — but all at the expense of your health. In the long run, with most soaps you are poisoning yourself. This is especially true because the skin is your body’s largest organ and therefore features a tremendous entry point for poisons to reach the inside of your body. Your pores are entry ways into your blood stream, so be careful what kinds of soaps you use, as well as all other BODY, BEAUTY & PERSONAL CARE PRODUCTS!

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Imagine your cells as little batteries that keep you going. How do you recharge these batteries and where are they? Well, the scientifically proven way to recharge your energy is to create electricity in your cells, in an energy-making powerhouse called the mitochondria.

You may remember this from science class: foods with the right kind of biochemical make-up are able to enter the cells where energy is produced and act as fuel.

These foods are contained in our whole food supplement Cell Power.

I have written many times about foods that heal and foods that hurt. Cell Power has great nutritional power to be used as cellular energy. There’s a lot of science to the excellent ingredients for achieving this, including alfalfa, ginseng, kola nut, kelp, quinoa and more. These foods contain vitamins, minerals, trace mineral activators, enzymes and essential proteins — ingredients you WILL NOT find in a vitamin pill of any kind, anywhere.

For energy, based on my clinical experience over the past twenty years, I recommend Cell Power and BFood Complex. These unique products will produce energy naturally, without any artificial ingredients or synthetic stimulants. Science proves that nature’s foods have the answer. And be sure to cut out refined sugars and caffeine, as they deplete your adrenal glands and just make you more sluggish in the long run.

Click here and Learn more about the Energy Benefits of CellPower.

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As a driver, would you rather scratch up your car pulling into a tight parking space planning to do repairs later OR would you instead take another minute, find a wider spot and avoid any damage in the first place?

The answer is clear with your car, so why not with your body?

It is undisputed that when caffeine is in your diet, it keeps calcium from making its way to build and support your bones.

According to the National Institutes of Health, however, you can make up the difference by merely adding calcium to your daily diet. The real problem, say government researchers, is not caffeine consumption, but rather “substantially less than optimum calcium intakes.”

I disagree with this approach. It’s simply illogical to consume something good just so you can keep consuming something that’s bad for you. That’s like taking your car to the auto body shop so you can start fresh when denting it up tomorrow.

If you are postmenopausal, say researchers at Creighton University (Omaha), too much caffeine may increase bone loss. This is especially of concern for women with a tendency toward osteoporosis. Among 96 healthy women in their 60’s and 70’s, those getting more than 300 milligrams of caffeine daily (about three cups of coffee) lost more bone from their spines over three years than women consuming less.

We know that caffeine can lead to bone loss, so why consume it?

But even knowing this, if you can’t give up your daily cup of joe, there are two things you can do to lessen the impact on your bones:

1. Switch to decaf organic
2. Simply drink less coffee and tea

(By the way, the consumption of cola has also been shown to be associated with lower bone mineral density.)

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What is one mineral that your body can’t live without? If you answered Iodine, you most likely read the article headline. You’d also be correct.

People in the U.S. consume an average 240 micrograms (µg) of iodine a day. In contrast, people in Japan consume more than 12 milligrams (mg) of iodine a day (12,000 µg), a 50-fold greater amount. 1

Japan has the lowest cancer rate of any nation. According to researchers, this is not a coincidence. 1

IS YOUR BODY STARVED FOR IODINE?

Iodine is vitally important in making cells function, including those involved in hormone health. The enemy of iodine is something called a halide — a metal that sneaks into the cellular slot where iodine belongs and takes its place. These halides cause health problems, including cancer, and include fluoride, bromide and chloride, to name a few. Even worse, your body becomes starved for iodine when you have these metals in your body.

If you have enough iodine in your diet, it is harder for halides to become lodged in your system and do damage.

IODINE IS IMPORTANT FOR ALL CELLULAR FUNCTION

Whereas western doctors claim that iodine is important for thyroid health, some researchers, including David Brownstein, MD, reminds us that iodine is needed for virtually every cellular function, so the recommended allowances set by the government are far too low and do not even remotely come close to the amount of iodine that the Japanese consume in their diets.

According to Donald W. Miller, Jr., MD: “There is growing evidence that Americans would have better health and a lower incidence of cancer and fibrocystic disease of the breast if they consumed more iodine.” 1

GET MORE IODINE IN YOUR DIET

Here are Great Sources of Iodine in Foods:

cod
shrimp
tuna
organic milk
organic eggs
seaweed

Bottom line: Eat more seafood — fish and seaweed. Ionized salt, however, is not a good form, because table salt is refined and toxic.

1. Are Americans Getting Enough Iodine? – Donald W. Miller, Jr., MD

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Where do you think the BEST source of your energy comes from? If you guessed ‘food,’ you are absolutely correct!

Imagine your body’s cells as a bank account for energy. The more you move around, work, worry, eat, sleep and think, the more energy you take out of the bank. How do you replace the spent energy? The answer is with certain nutrients found in nature that produce energy in the cells.

We have the answer with an amazing whole food supplement. It’s called Cell Power because it contains a number of foods that, without any sugars or artificial ingredients, your cells use to convert into energy. Cell Power contains alfalfa, kelp, liver, ginseng, quinoa and astragalus, to name a few. These foods are shown to fuel the energy process so you can recharge your life!

Most people rely on artificial and disease-causing means to create energy such as caffeine, sugar, drugs and carbs. This leads you down a slippery slope. Instead, you should do something GREAT for your body WITHOUT SIDE EFFECTS. Real foods make a real difference in your energy system.

Buy CellPower click here!

(Ideally taken with BFood Complex)

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Primavera is the Italian word for springtime, making pasta primavera a favorite, light dish ideally eaten on your veranda overlooking the Tuscan countryside.

Here’s how to make this economical, quick dish organic-style. Basically, the recipe comes from that bell-italiana, Giada De Laurentiis, with an organic twist.

Ingredients:

• 3 organic carrots, peeled and cut into thin strips
• 2 medium organic zucchini or 1 large zucchini, cut into thin strips
• 2 organic yellow squash, cut into thin strips
• 1 organic onion, thinly sliced
• 1 organic yellow bell pepper, cut into thin strips
• 1 r organic ed bell pepper, cut into thin strips
• 1/4 cup organic olive oil
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon dried Italian herbs or herbes de Provence
• 1 pound organic farfalle (bowtie pasta) or you can use gluten free organic pasta
• 15 organic cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 cup organic grated Parmesan

Directions
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

On a large heavy baking sheet, toss all of the vegetables with the oil, salt, pepper, and dried herbs to coat. Transfer half of the vegetable mixture to another heavy large baking sheet and arrange evenly over the baking sheets. Bake until the carrots are tender and the vegetables begin to brown, stirring after the first 10 minutes, about 20 minutes total.
Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente, tender but still firm to the bite,. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid.

Toss the pasta with the vegetable mixtures in a large bowl to combine. Toss with the cherry tomatoes and enough reserved cooking liquid to moisten. Season the pasta with salt and pepper, to taste. Sprinkle with the Parmesan and serve immediately.

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by Vic Shayne Ph.D.

Research at the University of Arizona found that people who use citrus peel in cooking, baking or in their tea have less risk of skin squamous cell cancer. Other research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that people who eat more grapefruit, lemons and oranges, and other fruits and vegetables high in potassium, have reduced risk of stroke. The membranes of citrus fruits offer pectin, a soluble fiber that is good for digestion and controlling cholesterol.

Citrus fruits such as lemon also contain terpenes, phenols, and isothiocyanates—phytochemicals that prevent cancer.

You may remember this from history class: Way back when, lemons and limes were discovered to be the cure for scurvy, a disease that ravaged sailors on the high seas. After centuries of disfigurement, death, tooth and gum disease and plague-like sores, British sailors started eating lemons (also called limes at that point) from the tropics and realized that they didn’t suffer from scurvy any longer. This is why the British were given the name “limeys.”

Vitamin C is one of the most fantastic ingredients in lemons, limes and other fruits, including the heralded acerola cherry (which is why it is a main ingredient in the FlavoC formula that I developed).

But health depends on more than vitamin C alone. Inside the fruit you’ll also find bioflavonoids, which not only support the function of vitamin C, but also keeps your blood vessels strong and is now recognized as essential for eye health and the prevention of bruising.

Lemons are also high in potassium, and contain limonene, which produces anticancer properties in laboratory animals. Limonene increases beneficial enzymes in the liver. And vitamin C is a natural antihistamine so well-known for causing the discomfort of allergic reactions.

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by Vic Shayne ph.D.

When I was a child I used to visit my grandparents’ house every summer. And it was HOT in Miami. To put out our fire, my grandmother used to go out to her lemon and lime trees, pick the fruit then mix up a batch of limonade (as she called it). The fresh fruit was fantastic, but there was one other thing that made it so great — no refined sugar. Grandma knew enough to use honey instead.

By the time I had my own family I started making my own version of a fantastic summer beat-the-heat drink using not only limes and lemons, but also green tea.

Here’s my Summery Green Tea Iced Tea Recipe:

1. Boil some filtered water (don’t drink the tap if it’s not filtered, because it contains fluoride, chlorine and other bad stuff)
2. Pour the water into a half-gallon pitcher
3. Add 2 Organic Green Tea bags and 2 Organic Black Tea bags
4. Squeeze in one organic lime or lemon
5. Add organic honey to taste

We already know that citrus fruits such as limes and lemons are full of vitamin C and other nutrients, but in the last few years, a stream of great scientific reports have been coming out about the health benefits of green tea.

Green tea’s antioxidants, called catechins, scavenge for free radicals that can damage DNA and contribute to cancer, blood clots, and atherosclerosis. So drinking green tea every day is great for your heart and blood. It’s also good for your teeth, can reduce risk of stroke and slow prostate cancer and delay diabetes. And, a little lemon peel in your tea has been shown to reduce the risk of certain skin cancers!

This recipe is so easy to make, we usually just keep a pitcher of tea made and cool in the fridge as a refreshing and healthy drink to have on call!

photo via flickr by thebittenword.com

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by Vic Shayne, ph.D.

Choosing the right supplement to give you the basic, all-around nutritional support you NEED can be confusing and even frustrating. Walk down the aisle of your health food store and you’ll find dozens of multi-vitamins screaming Take Me! Take Me! but it’s hard to know what to look for and even more importantly what to look out for when making this important choice. Most of the time it’s easier to just cover your eyes and grab whatever is closest to the register.

No more!

Your Quick 5 Point Guide to Choosing a Multi that is Good and Good FOR You:

1. VITAMINS and MINERALS are NOT ENOUGH.
   Most Multi-vitamins are Not Foods, so they do not contain the thousands of essential nutrients that your body needs and craves found only in Real Food Complexes. Missing from most multi-vitamins are vital food nutrients such bioflavonoids, fiber, chlorophyll, carotenoids and thousands of others. Look for a Multi that has all the elements from the food complex.
2. AVOID ARTIFICIAL INGREDIENTS.
   Multivitamins commonly contain artificial ingredients added in the tableting and encapsulating process such as disodium phosphate and other problem-causing substances. They do not belong in your body! Artificial Ingredients are toxins and regarded by your body as Foreign Invaders – often triggering an inflammatory response, interfering with digestion and much worse. Make sure your Multi is all-natural!
3. SAY NO to STEARATES…
   Stearates are used by vitamin companies to allow ingredients to flow into a tableting machine. The problem with stearates is that they act as transfats in your body, which in the long run can break down arteries and worse.
4. … AND YES to HELPER-NUTRIENTS.
   Since multi-vitamins are not foods, they do not contain the crucial nutrients to help vitamins and minerals function. By taking vitamin isolates without helper-nutrients – it is like rigging up light bulbs without wiring and expecting them to still get electricity. Helper Nutrients like amino acids, good fats, and enzymes are extremely important to your cells, and are necessary for your body to actually make use of vitamins.
5. STAY AWAY from IRRADIATED or GENETICALLY MODIFIED PRODUCTS.
   When you’re taking a supplement for your health, the last thing you want to do is ingest unstable, unpredictable, health-threatening ingredients. Unless you are in-the-know, you may be eating supplements that have been exposed to radiation. Or the ingredients may be genetically engineered, so-called Frankenfoods. Avoid them.

Any scientist worth his sea salt will tell you that a vitamin is a chemical no matter how you look at it. And who needs more chemicals? Worse, a vitamin is not a food, so it always creates side effects, even if you can’t see them immediately.

This is why I developed Whole Food Complex for NutriPlex Formulas. It’s the Best Multi Supplement on the market because it contains real, whole, pure foods and adheres to all 5 points above.

The foods in Whole Food Complex contain more than just vitamins and minerals, but all of the helper-nutrients nature puts in foods.

I recommend taking 6 tablets a day or a tablespoon in a smoothie. Feed your body the fulfilling, natural building blocks of health that we all need to be healthy and happy!

You can find Whole Food Complex in our Online Store by clicking here.

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by Vic Shayne, PhD

Before reading the following study interpretation, ask yourself this: Just because a virus is found at the site of cancer, does this mean it is the CAUSE? Modern medical research tends to jump to such conclusions, blaming bacteria and viruses for thousands of diseases. By analogy, we could ask: Just because a steering wheel is found at the site of every auto accident, does this mean that the steering wheel is the CAUSE?

—————————

Study Links Virus To Some Cases Of Common Skin Cancer

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A virus discovered last year in a rare form of skin cancer has also been found in people with the second most common form of skin cancer among Americans, according to researchers at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute.

The researchers examined tissue samples from 58 people with squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), a highly curable form of skin cancer that is expected to affect more than 200,000 Americans this year.

They identified the virus in more than a third of the patients and in 15 percent of the tumors tested. In addition, all of the virus found in tumor cells had a mutation that could enable the viral DNA to integrate into the DNA of the host cell.

“This is indirect evidence that the virus might play a role in causing some cases of squamous cell carcinoma,” says principal investigator Amanda E. Toland, assistant professor of molecular virology, immunology and medical genetics and a researcher with the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute.

The findings are published in a recent issue of the Journal of Investigative Dermatology.

The virus was first discovered in patients with Merkel cell carcinoma, a rare, aggressive skin cancer that occurs mainly in the elderly and people with a suppressed immune system. The people in the new study all had a healthy immune system.

“Originally it was thought that this virus caused only this rare skin cancer, but our findings indicate that it is a lot more prevalent than we initially thought.”

To learn if people with SCC harbored the virus, Toland, working closely with first author and graduate research associate Amy Dworkin and Ohio State pathologists O. Hans Iwenofu and Sara B. Peters, examined DNA samples from SCC tumors, from normal-appearing skin adjacent to the tumor, when available; from white blood cells, and from cells washed from the mouth.

The investigators detected the virus in 26 of 177 SCC samples, 11 of 63 adjacent-skin samples, and one sample from a mouthwash. They found no viral DNA in any of the blood samples from 57 patients. In all, 21 of 58 SCC patients, or 36 percent, tested positive for the virus.

By sequencing the viral DNA from 31 normal and tumor samples, the researchers showed that the same mutation was present in all the viruses tested from tumors, and in 60 percent of the viruses tested from adjacent healthy-looking tissue.

“That suggests that the virus may develop a mutation that causes it to integrate into host-cell DNA, and, therefore, may play a role in causing the cancer,” Toland says.

Next, Toland wants to test normal skin in healthy individuals to learn how common this virus is in people generally and to learn whether the virus actually integrates with the host DNA.

“If it proves to be a cancer-causing virus, and if it proves to be common in the general population, it might be something we should begin screening people for,” she says.

Funding from the American Cancer Society supported this research.

Ohio State researchers Stephanie Y. Tseng and Dawn C. Allain were also involved in this study.

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