Blueberries can reverse aging and restore your memory

Would you be interested in a "magic pill" that could prevent and reverse age-related problems, such as forgetfulness? So would I! And, here it is.

Blueberries are LOADED with antioxidants
Besides being delicious in pies and muffins, blueberries are also one of the richest sources of antioxidants among fruits and vegetables. The antioxidants in blueberries are particularly adept at delaying AND reversing aging, including the markers associated with Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases.

Eating blueberries will give you the good memory you had decades ago
In an interesting and history-making research study, scientists discovered that young rats eating a regular diet compared to old rats eating 2% of their diet in blueberries for four months performed about the same in memory tests for object recognition. The control group of aged rats eating a regular diet did no better than chance on the tests. Eating blueberries gave old rats the memory power similar to young rats!

If Alzheimer's runs in your family, blueberries may prevent it in YOU!
Every time you're forgetful, you probably think you're one step closer to Alzheimer's disease because your aunt had it or one of your parents has it. While some families are genetically predisposed to this degenerative and irreversible disease, there may be a way to prevent it from striking you.

Scientists at Tufts University have discovered that "it may be possible to overcome genetic predispositions to Alzheimer's disease through diet." They found that blueberries "reversed the deleterious effects of aging on motor behavior and neuronal signaling in senescent rodents." In plain English, that means eating blueberries interferes with the process that allows Alzheimer's to take hold in your brain.

Eat blueberries any way you like them
While most fruits and vegetables are more potent and retain more nutrients when they're fresh, blueberries don't. Australian researchers at the Food Science and Technology School at the University of New South Wales found that you'll get about the same amount of anthocyanins (which houses the potent antioxidants) whether you eat fresh, dried or frozen blueberries.

You can take blueberry supplements, but I don't know why you'd want to. Blueberries have always been my favorite food. When they're in season, I eat them raw and in quantities that might be considered addictive. When they're out of season, bags of frozen and boxes of dehydrated blueberries are great snacks. For the record, you'll need to eat at least half a cup a day to get any protective effects.

Additional sources:
J Nutr Biochem. 2005 Aug 17
Nutr Neurosci. 2004 Apr;7(2):75-83
Nutr Neurosci. 2003 Jun;6(3):153-62
J Biomed Biotechnol. 2004;2004(5):248-252

* * * * * * * *
I am not a doctor and have no medical training.
The information in this blog is not intended
to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
Statements made on this blog
have not been evaluated by the FDA.
Consult a healthcare professional before using any products,
treatments or exercises mentioned on this blog.

Shrink your prostate with pollen!

Are you getting up more at night to urinate?

When you do urinate - either day or night, are you finding it harder to empty your bladder completely?

Even if you can empty it most of the way, does it take an embarrassingly long time?

If you answer yes to any of these questions, you're probably over 50!

Enlarged prostate? Try flower power!
"Flower power" was the cry of the peace movement in the '60s and '70s. It's now the battle cry of men in their 60s and 70s.

Cernitin, a European flower pollen, has come to the rescue of men suffering from enlarged prostates and all the unpleasant symptoms associated with it. It's survived rigorous testing in Europe, the U.S., Japan and other countries and has proven to be useful in reducing the size of prostates and relieving the accompanying urinary problems.

Reduces enlarged prostate symptoms & resists abnormal cell growth
Japanese scientists found that prostatic pain, inability to empty the bladder and size of the prostate were all reduced after four to six weeks of using cernitin. American researchers found that taking a combination of cernitin, saw palmetto, B-sitosterol and vitamin E for three months significantly reduced nighttime trips to the bathroom and diminished the symptoms associated with an enlarged prostate.

When doctors at the Osaka Municipal Juso Citizens' Hospital in Japan measured the amount of urine left in the bladder in men suffering from BPH, they found that supplementing with cernitin reduced the remaining urine from 54.2 mL to less than 30 mL. After one year of using the flower pollen, 28 patients also showed a reduction in prostate size. "Overall clinical efficacy was 85%."

British doctors discovered that cancerous and non-cancerous human prostate cells had their growth inhibited by cernitin. Cells that came from hormone-independent models were inhibited even more. This is good news for men who are suffering from benign prostatic hyperplasia (non-hormone dependent).

How do you spell relief? P-r-o-s-t-a-n-e-x!
Prostanex is a superb product made by Graminex. Their supplements are pharmaceutical-grade, so you're getting the highest quality and the highest dose of cernitin available.

You have to take 3 capsules a day. It may seem a bit pricey, but this is relief you can't get elsewhere without radical, life-altering surgery or expensive drugs laden with unpleasant side effects.

Additional sources:
Nippon Hinyokika Gakkai Zasshi. 2002 May;93(4):539-47
Int Urol Nephrol. 2001;33(2):217-25
Clin Ther. 1995 Jan-Feb;17(1):82-7
Br J Urol. 1990 Oct;66(4):393-7

* * * * * * * *
I am not a doctor and have no medical training.
The information in this blog is not intended
to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
Statements made on this blog
have not been evaluated by the FDA.
Consult a healthcare professional before using any products,
treatments or exercises mentioned on this blog.

Fluoride: It's scary AND deadly!

The flouride in your water and toothpaste is a toxic industrial by-product regulated by the government as a hazardous substance known to cause a tremendous number of health problems and death!

The amount of fluoride in your water supply is not always tightly regulated. Take a look at this link on the Fluoride Alert website. It details some of the known fluoride leaks and overdoses into the public water system (read that website for lots more info about the dangers of fluoride). When excessive amounts of fluoride are dumped into drinking water supplies, the water is still sent to your house for you and your kids to drink.

Spots on your teeth may be a sign you've had too much fluoride
One sign of too much fluoride is mottling of tooth enamel. Mottling can be white or brown spots. To cover up the discoloration, you'll have to get dental veneers or crowns. Mottling is there forever; you can't clean it off.

Dental discoloration may seem harmless, but it's an outward sign of what's going on inside. Your bones may also be getting too much fluoride. In fact, excess fluoride may cause bones to crumble. While very small quantities of fluoride won't cause this problem, you have no way of knowing how much fluoride you're really ingesting.

Fluoride kills your thyroid, causes cancer & makes you stupid!
A hundred years ago, fluoride was prescribed by doctors to slow down an overactive thyroid. We use drugs to do the same thing today, but that doesn't discount the harmful effect of fluoride on your thyroid. Too much fluoride, which can be the cumulative effect of a lifetime of consuming it, can still slow down your thyroid. This is not a reversible process. Once it's done, there's no going back.

In a study of nine communities with so-called "optimally" fluoridated drinking water, researchers studied the incidence of certain types of cancers to determine if there was an increase due to fluoride. They found that bone cancers in males and cancers of the mouth, pharynx, colon, rectum, liver, gallbladder and kidney are positively associated with fluoridated drinking water. Remember, this isn't due to an overdose - it's from normal, government-mandated levels of fluoride in your drinking water.

In the 1950s and 1960s, water fluoridation was a hot political topic. Those against fluoridation said it was a plot by the Soviet Union to destroy America. The Soviets were adding significant amounts of fluoride to the food and water of Siberian prison camps because fluoride reduced IQ and made prisoners passive. The Cold War was on, and some people believed the Soviets were attempting to make Americans passive and less resistant to communism by reducing intelligence levels. I'm not trying to convince you that the Soviets were behind America's fluoridation of its drinking water. My point is that it is known that fluoride diminishes intelligence! Chinese studies over the past 14 years have repeatedly confirmed that fluoride really does decrease IQ.

Ozarka water is not fluoridated and neither are Jason's toothpastes
I drink non-fluoridated Ozarka natural spring water, and it tastes delicious. Ozarka also sells bottled filtered municipal water that contains fluoride, so you'll want to avoid that if you want to reduce your fluoride intake.

My favorite brand of toothpaste was recommended by a dental hygienist. Jason's toothpastes are made with natural and healthful ingredients. I prefer Oral Comfort because my teeth are sensitive. If you don't need the extra ingredients in Oral Comfort, select one of the other Jason's toothpastes. One or two of them contain fluoride. Don't pick those.

You should be able to find both these products locally. Wal-Mart and Sam's Club sell Ozarka spring water, and most health food stores and vitamin stores sell Jason's toothpastes.

Additional sources:
J Epidemiol. 2001 Jul;11(4):170-9
Lin Fa-Fu 1991; Li 1995; Zhao 1996; Lu 2000; and Xiang 2003a, b; Zhonghua Liu Xing Bing Xue Za Zhi. 1994 Oct;15(5):296-8

* * * * * * * *
I am not a doctor and have no medical training.
The information in this blog is not intended
to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
Statements made on this blog
have not been evaluated by the FDA.
Consult a healthcare professional before using any products,
treatments or exercises mentioned on this blog.

Chocolate can bring you back to good health!

If ever there was good news on the horizon, it's this: chocolate is good for you.

What do you want: drugs or chocolate?
Do you have high blood pressure? Here are your choices: take an expensive drug with side effects that may require other pharmaceuticals to counteract OR eat a chocolate bar. Tough choice, huh?

The chocolate bar in question isn't made by Hershey or Mars. Those chocolate bars are made with lots of sugar and/or high-fructose corn syrup (read my "High-fructose corn syrup may be killing you" blog) plus a lot of preservatives and artificial substances. The chocolate I'm talking about is organic dark chocolate.

All chocolates (except for white) contain polyphenols, which have beneficial effects on health (more about those in a minute). Polyphenols are also found in many other plants, such as blueberries, grapes and nuts. Dark chocolate has many more polyphenols than milk chocolate. It also tastes much stronger, which shouldn't be a problem for most chocolate lovers.

Chocolate is good for your heart and digestion and helps control blood-sugar levels
In study after study, doctors have found that dark chocolate's polyphenols lower blood pressure. It also benefits your heart, lipids and digestive system.

An Italian clinical trial gave 15 subjects either 100 grams of dark chocolate or 90 grams of white chocolate. Researchers in the Department of Internal Medicine and Public Health at the University of L'Aquila discovered that dark chocolate "decreases blood pressure." An added bonus was that it also "improves insulin sensitivity," which means your pancreas will release insulin more readily. The opposite of this action is insulin-resistance, which often results in weight gain and can eventually lead to diabetes.

A study conducted by Greek doctors at the Athens Medical School found that dark chocolate exerts a "protective effect on the cardiovascular system" and has "a beneficial effect on endothelial function," which is a medical barometer for cardiovascular health.

Wouldn't you like to toss out your statin drugs?
Chocolate might help you do that. A Finnish study at the Research Institute of Public Health found that the polyphenols in dark chocolate increase good cholesterol. It also modifies the fatty acid composition of bad cholesterol, making it more resistant to oxidative damage.

Need more reasons to eat dark chocolate?
If lower blood pressure, better cardiovascular function, a better cholesterol ratio and increased insulin sensitivity haven't convinced you to eat more dark chocolate, consider the following studies.

Reduces blood clotting: Thirty subjects in a UK study caused doctors to conclude that dark chocolate could help prevent cardiovascular disease and inhibit blood clots. If you don't already know it, blood clots could cause a stroke or a heart attack. If you're taking dangerous blood-thinning drugs, such as warfarin, maybe you should talk to your doctor about switching to dark chocolate!

Intestinal health: Of all the benefits available, this is certainly the most outlandish - dark chocolate has a mildly anti-diarrheal effect. Maybe they should run a study of people suffering from Crohn's disease or irritable bowel syndrome to see if dark chocolate can provide some relief!

Which dark chocolate is best?
The Dagoba New Moon and Mon Cherri bars are dark chocolate and have very little sugar. The cocoa is organic, as are the other main ingredients. If you can't find these locally, you can order them directly from the manufacturer at the links provided above.

Additional sources:
Am J Clin Nutr. 2005 Mar;81(3):611-4
Am J Hypertens. 2005 Jun;18(6):785-91
Free Radic Biol Med. 2004 Nov 1;37(9):1351-9
Platelets. 2003 Aug;14(5):325-7
J. Nutr. 135:2320-2325, October 2005

* * * * * * * *
I am not a doctor and have no medical training.
The information in this blog is not intended
to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
Statements made on this blog
have not been evaluated by the FDA.
Consult a healthcare professional before using any products,
treatments or exercises mentioned on this blog.

CoQ10 could repair your cardiovascular system!

Your body makes a substance that helps keep your blood pressure in check. In fact, low levels of it are believed to be an indication that you may be having a cardiac event.

The substance is coenzyme Q10 or CoQ10, and plants, animals and humans synthesize it. Sometimes, your body doesn't make enough of it, and that can be a sign of serious of trouble.

When CoQ10 levels drop, your body gets stressed
CoQ10 helps prevent oxidation and tissue damage. When levels go below a certain level, the walls of your arteries experience more stress and make it difficult for blood to pass. The result is elevated blood pressure.

Doctors are on the fence about the meaning of low CoQ10 levels. Do low levels indicate that you have high blood pressure? Or, does high blood pressure cause a drop in CoQ10 levels? For our purposes, it doesn't matter. All we need to know is that adding CoQ10 to your diet reduces blood pressure.

You may be able to throw out your blood pressure pills!
For over 12 years, doctors have known that CoQ10 has a profound and positive effect on hypertension. Doctors at the Institute for Biomedical Research at the University of Texas at Austin conducted a study involving 109 patients with symptomatic essential hypertension. When they started the study, all the patients were on hypertension drugs. They followed the patients for six months and found that 51% "came completely off...one to three antihypertensive drugs at an average of 4.4 months after starting CoQ10."

These positive findings were confirmed in another study reported in the Southern Medical Journal five years ago. A 12-week randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial gave 60mg of CoQ10 twice a day to 46 men and 37 women with isolated systolic hypertension. CoQ10 levels were tested before the trial and after. "The mean reduction in systolic blood pressure of the CoQ10-treated group was 17.8 +/-7.3 mm Hg." The doctors concluded that CoQ10 "may be safely offered to hypertensive patients as an alternative treatment option." Wow! Could you use a reduction of almost 18 points in your blood pressure? That's the power of CoQ10!

A word of caution! If you're on blood pressure medicine, check with your healthcare provider before starting CoQ10 or stopping your drugs.

While CoQ10 lowers your blood pressure, it may be saving your heart!
It's almost impossible to separate your vascular/arterial system from your cardiac system. What affects one, usually affects the other. Therefore, it stands to reason that someone with hypertension may have cardiovascular issues. If that's your situation, you'll be interested in the following studies that show CoQ10 has helped improve heart ailments.

In a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial involving 35 patients with heart failure, doctors administered CoQ10 over a three-month period. The placebo group showed no significant improvements, but the CoQ10 group had "significant improvements in symptom class and a trend toward improvements in exercise time." Difficulty walking can have many origins, but you might be able to increase your endurance by supplementing with CoQ10 if your problem is cardiac in nature.

The power of CoQ10 is so far-reaching that doctors in India believe it "could be useful in patients with congestive heart failure, angina pectoris, cardiomyopathy, coronary artery diseases and in the prevention of myocardium."

If you're taking drugs to treat any of these cardiac issues, has your doctor told you that most of the drugs actually lower your CoQ10 levels? This makes a bad situation even worse. According to the Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing, "HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors, gemfibrozil, Adriamycin and certain beta blockers" could be responsible for further reductions in your CoQ10. Your doctor can test your levels to see if your prescription is making things worse.

Liquid CoQ10 is the best deal!
I've used CoQ10 for general good health and have tried pills, capsules and sprays - and spray is best. In order for CoQ10 to be effective, you must take it with an oil. Without oil, your body can't use it. Many CoQ10 pills and capsules do not contain this necessary ingredient. You can take it with a meal that contains some fat or oil, but that's not always convenient. It's best if you have a supplement that doesn't require anything else.

The spray version I prefer does contain oil. As mentioned in some of my other blogs, spray supplements bypass the liver and digestive process and are quickly put to use by your body. You can also use a much lower dosage when you spray or use a sublingual (under the tongue) liquid because more of the nutrient is used.

My favorite CoQ10 is Source Naturals' NutraSpray Coenzyme Q10 (30mg). It's a 2-oz. bottle, but you use only 1-2 sprays a day. I'd be surprised if you didn't see results before the bottle was empty!

Additional sources:
Biofactors. 2003;18(1-4):129-36
Mol Aspects Med. 1994;15 Suppl:S265-72
South Med J. 2001 Nov;94(11):1112-7
Biofactors. 2003;18(1-4):91-100
J Assoc Physicians India. 1998 Mar;46(3):299-306
J Cardiovasc Nurs. 2002 Jul;16(4):9-20

* * * * * * * *
I am not a doctor and have no medical training.
The information in this blog is not intended
to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
Statements made on this blog
have not been evaluated by the FDA.
Consult a healthcare professional before using any products,
treatments or exercises mentioned on this blog.

Seeding your way to good health!

Flaxseed is one of my favorite supplements. It's inexpensive, readily available and it can be eaten a variety of ways. I prefer whole flaxseed instead of flaxseed oil because of the added health benefits. I'll tell you more about this later.

Eat your way to a healthier body
Flaxseed is one of the richest sources of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), an omega-3 fatty acid, that's been shown to have a protective effect against colon cancer. In fact, it actually inhibits tumor metastasis (metastasis=spread of cancer). Besides the essential fatty acid properties, flaxseed is high in fiber. So, your colon is getting a double benefit from whole flaxseed, something you won't get if you take just flaxseed oil.

Other benefits of eating flaxseed include reducing cholesterol and protecting against coronary artery disease and stroke. These results came from a Canadian study at the College of Medicine at the University of Saskatchewan. Although the study's subjects were rabbits, the researchers stated that humans may benefit in the same way.

Flaxseed is a phytoestrogen (plant-based estrogen), which is beneficial to your cardiac system. Estrogen is believed to be the hormone that affords greater protection to women from heart attacks. After menopause, estrogen levels drop - but phytoestrogens may deliver a similar benefit. They're known to help relieve some menopausal symptoms. While it's bolstering your cardiac system, it's also helping to reduce total and bad (LDL) cholesterol.

My favorite flaxseed recipe
In my blog about purging gallstones, I mentioned a couple books by Dr. Sandra Cabot, the liver doctor. Her LSA recipe combines three sources rich in omega-3 fatty acids (linseed or flaxseed, sunflower seeds and almonds) and will provide your body with this much-needed substance.

It's a simple recipe of three parts flaxseed/linseed, two parts sunflower seeds and one part almonds (ingredients should be raw and unsalted). Put everything in a food processor and churn until finely ground and mixed. A coffee grinder also works fine but makes a smaller portion. I make a larger portion and keep my ground-up LSA in a tightly closed plastic bowl in the freezer. I grind up about a month's supply each time.

Add about a tablespoon of LSA to each meal. It tastes great with almost anything. You can stir it into yogurt or buttermilk, toss some on a salad, sprinkle it onto a sandwich, put it in baked goods dough or toss it into a casserole dinner.

I've found organic flaxseed on my local grocer's shelf, at the health food store and at the local vitamin store. You should have no trouble finding it in your town.

Enjoy!

Additional sources:
Br J Nutr. 2005 Oct;94(4):510-518
Cancer Lett. 2005 May 20
Atherosclerosis. 2005 Apr;179(2):269-75. Epub 2005 Jan 26
Nutr Rev. 2004 Jan;62(1):18-27

* * * * * * * *
I am not a doctor and have no medical training.
The information in this blog is not intended
to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
Statements made on this blog
have not been evaluated by the FDA.
Consult a healthcare professional before using any products,
treatments or exercises mentioned on this blog.

Angina? High cholesterol? Cancer? Try this!

When I first wrote about Terminalia arjuna for the Health Sciences Institute monthly newsletter, I found it hard to believe that one herb could do so many things. While lots of herbs multi-task, T. arjuna does it in spades!

Recommended as a heart tonic by Ayurvedic practitioners, T. arjuna offers so much more that it's a shame to limit it to cardiac health problems. One medical reference indicated that besides benefiting those who suffer from coronary artery disease or heart failure, it can also lower cholesterol, fight bacteria and stop cell mutation (mutation can lead cancer). Let's look at all the ways T. arjuna can fight illnesses.

Cardio protection
Doctors in India took 105 patients suffering from coronary heart disease and gave a third T. arjuna (500mg/day), another third got vitamin E (400mg/day) and the final third took a placebo. All patients followed the American Heart Association Step II diet. After just 30 days, the T. arjuna group showed a "significant decrease in total and LDL [bad] cholesterol." Doctors concluded that T. arjuna has "significant antioxidant action...[and] a significant hypocholesterolaemic [cholesterol-lowering] effect."

Do you suffer from stable angina? T. arjuna may help you, too! And, quickly. In another Indian clinical trial, researchers compared 58 male test subjects who were divided into three groups. One group took T. arjuna, another took isosorbide mononitrate (an angina drug) and the third took a placebo. When the study was done, people taking the herb improved as much as those taking the drug! Just 500mg of T. arjuna every eight hours, and "benefits were similar to those observed with isosorbide mononitrate (40mg/day). If you suffer from stable angina, T. arjuna could help you without the high cost (or side effects) of a prescription drug.

Even if you've had a heart attack, T. arjuna may help improve your cardiac health. Indian doctors took two groups of 20 heart-attack patients each to see if T. arjuna could improve their health. One group received a placebo and the other took 500mg of T. arjuna plus anti-ischemic treatment (promotes blood flow). Testing the subjects after one month and again after three months, the group taking "T. arjuna showed significant decrease in IMR [ischemic mitral regurgitation], improvement in E/A ratio [diastolic function] and considerable reduction in anginal frequency." That means their heart function and blood pressure improved, and they had fewer angina attacks.

Fight liver cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer & more
With so many speciality drugs aimed at fighting specific types of cancers, it seems like a fairy tale that one herb could fight so many different battles. But, the research clearly states that T. arjuna is effective against a number of different cancers, plus it fights other types of body invaders. Researchers believe it's so effective because its constituents exhibit high antioxidant activity.

In a rodent study - in India, again, researchers tested T. arjuna against liver cancer for 28 days. While 28 days doesn't seem like a long time, it's a significant period in a rat's life. That said, T. arjuna inhibited liver cancer from growing by preventing it from metabolizing to grow more cancer cells.

You can't pick up a paper or magazine without reading about the ravaging effects of breast cancer. If you're affected by this disease, you might want to consider this next study. Researchers in the Department of Biotechnology at Chia-Nan University of Pharmacy and Science in Taiwan found that T. arjuna inhibited the progress of breast cancer cells by causing apoptosis - the medical term for cell suicide!

Humans have a gene that researchers identify as the p53 gene. It prevents the mutation of cells. When cells mutate, illness - including cancer - can result. T. arjuna works with the p53 gene to stop the growth of non-small cell lung cancer. In fact, the one-two punch of T. arjuna and your p53 gene is so powerful that the cancer cells self-destruct!

Most cancer drugs don't fight bacteria and viruses, but T. arjuna can! Its strong antibacterial activity even fights drug-resistant strains of Salmonella typhi, herpes simplex type 2, E. coli, Klebsiella aerogenes, Proteus vulgaris and Pseudomonas aerogenes. While you may know the dangers of salmonella, herpes simplex and E. coli, the less-common bacteria can be just as devastating on your health when they spread rapidly due to drug resistance.

Start taking Terminalia arjuna before you get sick!
In alternative medicine, prevention is the name of the game. Don't wait for illness to find you and then try to play catch up. Take control and get the upper hand on disease right now!

There are many excellent sources of T. arjuna, but the one I prefer is made by Himalaya USA. They make exceptionally high-quality supplements that are pharmaceutical-grade. Their supplement is 250mg per capsule. If you'd like to try a higher dose, you might want to try Solaray's herb, which is 500mg per capsule.

Additional sources:
Altern Med Rev. 1999 Dec;4(6):436-7
J Assoc Physicians India. 2001 Feb;49:231-5
Indian Heart J. 2002 Mar-Apr;54(2):170-5
Int J Cardiol. 2005 Apr 28;100(3):507-8
Int J Food Sci Nutr. 2005 Jun;56(4):287-91
Indian J Exp Biol. 2005 Mar;43(3):264-7
Planta Med. 2005 Mar;71(3):237-43
In Vitro Cell Dev Biol Anim. 2000 Sep;36(8):544-7
Anticancer Drugs. 2005 Apr;16(4):409-15
Phytother Res. 2004 Aug;18(8):670-3
Antiviral Res. 2002 Sep;55(3):447-55
J Ethnopharmacol. 1998 Sep;62(2):173-82

* * * * * * * *
I am not a doctor and have no medical training.
The information in this blog is not intended
to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
Statements made on this blog
have not been evaluated by the FDA.
Consult a healthcare professional before using any products,
treatments or exercises mentioned on this blog.

Hot flash? Black cohosh!

It's the middle of the night, and you're dripping wet. You were sound asleep when you suddenly awoke and found the sheets and pillows were soaked. Menopause has officially arrived!

Is it just me or is it hot in here?
It wasn't until I'd experienced a burn-the-house-down hot flash that I started a serious search for relief. I tried every menopause-related herb, vitamin, oil and supplement on the market. Since I was allergic to soy - and many of today's alternative therapies include it, I was limited in my selection.

Some products didn't work at all, others worked for mild hot flashes but not for the full-throttle burns I was regularly experiencing! A couple supplements made me burp, while a few had no effect at all.

Black cohosh worked right from the start!
I tried mostly herbal combinations made especially for menopause relief. After unsatisfactory results, I started experimenting with individual herbs. When I tried black cohosh, it worked right away. Most of the other products took a month of use before I would notice any difference at all. Not black cohosh.

I've been taking black cohosh exclusively for about five years and have never looked back. A couple times, I've run out of the supplement. It's not a pretty picture! The hot flashes start after I've missed ONE dose. I now take one pill with each meal and don't have hot flashes as long as I stick with that regimen.

100+ years of successful use
Black cohosh is a North American perennial (Actaea racemosa) that's been used for over 100 years for female-related problems. Since it has no known drug interactions and side effects are extremely uncommon, it has become a mainstay for menopause treatment.

Unlike many other menopause herbs, black cohosh extract does not bind to your estrogen receptors and has not been shown to "up-regulate estrogen-dependent genes or stimulate the growth of estrogen-dependent tumors in animal models." That's important if you have estrogen-dependent health issues, such as breast cancer.

Don't take my word for it. Read what researchers & doctors say
I've done quite a bit of research to give you the full scoop on this herb. Each quote below is followed by the research that contains the information or study.

Protects against osteoporosis: "Two recent studies showed excellent efficacy against classic menopausal complaints and osteoprotective properties." [Trends Endocrinol Metab. 2005 Jul;16(5):214-21]

Helps during those "crazy" times: Black cohosh "extracts might help control psychic problems typically found during menopausal transition." [Trends Endocrinol Metab. 2005 Jul;16(5):214-21]

Relieves hot flashes, insomnia & anxiety: Black cohosh "may be useful for the treatment of menopausal symptoms, such as hot flashes, profuse sweating, insomnia, and anxiety." [Treat Endocrinol. 2005;4(3):177-84]

It's safe: In a review of eight human studies, black cohosh extract was found to be "a safe, effective alternative to estrogen replacement therapy." [J Womens Health. 1998 Jun;7(5):525-9]

The brand & dosage that worked for me
I found the Vitamin Shoppe, Nature's Way and NOW brands are very potent and highly effective. They're all 550mg, which seems like a lot, but it's not a standardized extract; the supplement I take uses the whole root of the plant. Most clinical trials state that 40mg-80mg a day of a standardized extract is adequate. If you want to take a standardized extract, Nature's Way, NOW and Vitamin Shoppe brands also make standardized versions.

Additional sources:
Expert Opin Drug Saf. 2004 Nov;3(6):615-23
Am Fam Physician. 2003 Jul 1;68(1):114-6
Nutr Rev. 2003 May;61(5 Pt 1):183-6
Treat Endocrinol. 2005;4(3):177-84

* * * * * * * *
I am not a doctor and have no medical training.
The information in this blog is not intended
to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
Statements made on this blog
have not been evaluated by the FDA.
Consult a healthcare professional before using any products,
treatments or exercises mentioned on this blog.

Vitamin B6 - You may need THIS version of it

Most B-complex and multivitamins contain a full range of B vitamins. However, most of them don't contain P5P, which is the form of B6 that your body uses.

Your body may not know that you're taking vitamin B6
When you take vitamin B6, your liver converts it to pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (P5P). There are also two other constituents of vitamin B6, but P5P is the one that concerns us right now. Most people have no problem converting it - until they get older. Aging tends to decrease your ability to convert B6 to P5P. In some cases, B6 won't be converted at all, and you might end up with a B6 deficiency.

If you're under a lot of stress (marriage, divorce, work, moving, new kids, empty nest, exercise, etc.), your body is using more vitamin B (and C) than usual. Smoking and consuming alcohol also help deplete your body of vitamins B and C. Life happens, and B and C come to the rescue. The more "life" that happens to you, the more B and C you may need!

The bad part is that you may not know you have a B6 deficiency. You might end up with a variety of seemingly unrelated health problems, get all sorts of medical tests and take lots of prescription drugs but never find out your problems are rooted in your liver's inability to convert B6 to P5P.

B6 deficiency is related to lots of scary and life-threatening illnesses
Here are some of the research studies and clinical trials indicating a relationship between B6 deficiency and illness. If you find this section too technical, just skip to the next subhead for the short version! For your convenience, I've included the medical journal reference right after each quoted item.

Carpal tunnel syndrome relief: "A direct correlation between carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) and a deficiency in P5P, and that treatment with 100mg-200mg pyridoxine daily for at least 12 weeks was highly beneficial in reducing both the symptomology and a P5P deficiency associated with CTS."[Altern Med Rev. 2001 Feb;6(1):87-92]

Anti-inflammatory mechanism: "Epidemiological studies have described an association between low vitamin B6 (measured as pyridoxal 5'-phosphate) and ischemic stroke. The relationship between inflammation and low B6 status may partially explain the findings of previous epidemiological studies." [Stroke. 2004 Jan;35(1):12-5. Epub 2003 Dec 4]

Protection from stroke injury: A study of primates indicates that P5P counteracts "the postischemic [after a stroke] neuronal death in the adult primate retina, offering a potential for a novel pharmacotherapy [treatment] of retinal ischemic injury." [Brain Res. 2002 Jun 14;940(1-2):36-43]

Possible blood pressure reduction: "Animal studies have shown that B6 depletion leads to the development of hypertension, which is normalized within 24 hours by repletion with the vitamin." In plain English - B6 drops blood pressure within 24 hours. [Altern Med Rev. 2001 Feb;6(1):87-92]

Fights cancer: A laboratory experiment "indicates that pyridoxal and its metabolite, pyridoxal 5'-phosphate, may be involved in the growth regulation of a human malignant melanoma cell line." [Nutr Cancer. 1983;5(1):10-5] "High dietary intake of vitamin B6 may have suppressed tumor development by either immune enhancement or PLP growth regulation of this tumor." [J Natl Cancer Inst. 1987 May;78(5):951-9] A rodent study "suggests that dietary vitamin B(6) suppresses colon tumorigenesis [new tumor growth] by reducing cell proliferation, oxidative stress, NO [nitric oxide] production and angiogenesis [growth of new blood vessels in tumors]." [Biochim Biophys Acta. 2003 Apr 11;1647(1-2):127-30]

Reduces homocysteine levels & may prevent cognitive decline: "Vitamin B6 is involved in the regulation of mental function and mood...and deficiency is associated with increase in blood homocysteine levels. Homocysteine is a risk factor for cerebrovascular disease and may also have directly toxic effects on neurons of the central nervous system. Neuropsychiatric disorders including seizures, migraine, chronic pain and depression have been linked to vitamin B6 deficiency. Epidemiological studies indicate that poor vitamin B6 status is common among older people. Hyperhomocysteinaemia [high homocysteine levels] has been suggested as a cause or mechanism in the development [of] Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia. Supplementation with B vitamins including vitamin B6 has been shown to reduce blood homocysteine levels." [Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2003;(4):CD004393]

PMS relief: "The pooled data of nine trials representing 940 patients suggests doses of pyridoxine up to 100 mg/day are likely to be of benefit in treating premenstrual symptoms, including premenstrual depression." [Altern Med Rev. 2001 Feb;6(1):87-92]

What does it all mean?
WOW! That was a lot to digest. Here's the short version - P5P could be instrumental in protecting you from cancer, mental decline, high blood pressure, PMS and some side effects of stroke. Plus, it's already known and accepted by the medical community as an essential nutrient for mood and good mental function.

Here are some tips to make sure you're getting everything out of your P5P supplement:

1. Sublingual P5P is better than capsules or tablets. Since your liver won't have to process P5P for your body to use it, you can send it directly into your bloodstream by taking a supplement you can slip under your tongue.

2. Take P5P separately from all other vitamin B supplements. If you don't, there's a chance that full potency won't reach your system.

3. Don't take too much! There is a limit to this supplement, and that limit is highly individual. If you take too much, you'll notice a tingling in your extremities. If you ignore the warning signs of an excessive dose, you may end up with nerve damage. When I initially started to take this supplement, I took 100 mg per day. I noticed tingling after about 3 months and cut back to 50 mg. The tingling disappeared quickly. I later cut back to 25 mg and have had no further tingling and no return of symptoms. You may have a different threshold.

Here's a high-quality brand of sublingual P5P
Source Naturals, a superior brand of supplements, makes a sublingual P5P. It's 25mg and is sold in bottles of 30, 60 and 120 tablets.

* * * * * * * *
I am not a doctor and have no medical training.
The information in this blog is not intended
to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
Statements made on this blog
have not been evaluated by the FDA.
Consult a healthcare professional before using any products,
treatments or exercises mentioned on this blog.

Sick & tired? Try melatonin!

As I got older, sleep got further and further away from me. I was tossing and turning for hours, then waking up several times in the middle of the night and finally getting up hours before I needed because it was too frustrating to stay in bed any longer! I wasn't even 50 when that happened. At that rate, I figured I'd be awake 24 hours a day by the time I reached 60.

Circadian rhythm? Is that a cricket band?
Your wake/sleep cycle is called the circadian rhythm, and melatonin regulates it. Here's how it works. When it's dark, your body secretes melatonin; when it's light, you stop making it. Melatonin makes you sleep, and lack of melatonin keeps you awake.

The light/dark cycle doesn't have to occur at night. Have you ever been in the bright sun for hours and then gone into a much darker room, only to feel sleepy within a short period of time? The lack of light entering your optic nerve signals your pineal gland that daytime has gone and nighttime has arrived. Time to produce melatonin.

The less you sleep, the sicker you may get!
Humans, animals, plants and even microbes make melatonin. Babies make lots of it, that's why they sleep a lot. Cats seem to make a lot of it, too. More importantly, you make less of it as you get older. That's why senior citizens frequently sleep much less and get a lower quality of whatever sleep they do get.

According to researchers in the Department of Physiology at the University of Malaysia, sleep has such a profound effect on your entire health that you may be compromising it by not getting a full night of high-quality sleep. It's not necessarily the sleep, itself, that's doing anything for you, but the melatonin you're producing while you're sleeping.

Melatonin helps maintain health & halt disease
I found over 12,000 published articles and research studies on the benefits of melatonin. Here's a small sample of the research. I've included the medical journal after each quoted section.

Protects against neurodegenerative diseases: Melatonin provides "antioxidative protection and, in particular, neuroprotection. Findings are encouraging to use melatonin as a sleep promoter and in preventing progression of neurodegenerative diseases." [Int J Biochem Cell Biol. 2005 Sep 27]

Slows the aging process & age-related health problems: "Melatonin is a prime candidate for slowing the aging process and targeting its underlying pathology. Profound gerontoprotective and antioxidant activities. Melatonin may become a promising, safe and effective intervention strategy to slow aging and the initiation and progression of age-related disorders." [Endocrine. 2005 Jul;27(2):201-12]

Assists your body's natural immune system: "Numerous observations published in recent years...have shown that one of the most significant of melatonin's pleiotropic effects is the regulation of the immune system." [Endocrine. 2005 Jul;27(2):189-200]

Cancer prevention: "Dietary melatonin supplementation working in concert with the endogenous melatonin signal has the potential to be a new preventive/therapeutic strategy to optimize the host/cancer balance in favor of host survival and quality of life." [Endocrine. 2005 Jul;27(2):179-88] "Melatonin may protect against breast cancer." [Am J Epidemiol. 2005 Oct 5] "The substantial reduction in risk of death, low adverse events reported and low costs related to this intervention suggest great potential for melatonin in treating cancer." [J Pineal Res. 2005 Nov;39(4):360-6] "The results strongly suggest that melatonin per se is beneficial during advanced breast cancer. It increases survival time, maybe by improving the homeostatic and neuroendocrine equilibrium which is imbalanced during advanced breast cancer." [Mol Cell Biochem. 2005 Oct;278(1-2):15-20]

Protection against skin ailments: "Melatonin could have a role in protection against solar radiation or even in the management of skin diseases." [Endocrine. 2005 Jul;27(2):137-48]

Helps diabetics: Melatonin is "a direct scavenger of free radicals...reduces serum lipid levels...and helps to prevent oxidative stress in diabetic subjects." [Endocrine. 2005 Jul;27(2):131-6]

Battles sexually transmitted disease: "Utilization of melatonin...may be advantageous for harmless prevention of chlamydial infection." [J Antimicrob Chemother. 2005 Sep 19]

Arrests neurodegenerative progress: "Melatonin has been shown to be effective in arresting neurodegenerative phenomena seen in experimental models of Alzheimer's disease, Parkinsonism and ischemic stroke." [Neurotox Res. 2005 Aug;7(4):293-318]

Increases energy: "Even ultra-low doses of melatonin may benefit the elderly by increasing their daytime activity." [Nord J Psychiatry. 2005;59(3):217-21]

It doesn't take much melatonin to help you sleep like a baby
When you don't make much melatonin due to age, illness or because it's light outside when you go to sleep, then you might want to consider taking a melatonin supplement. My husband and I have been taking melatonin for about six years. It's not addictive. You're simply replacing the melatonin that your body doesn't make.

We started by taking a dose of 1.5mg. We use sublingual melatonin because it gets into your system much faster and doesn't have to be digested. Digestion can delay, dilute or completely eliminate the benefits of melatonin. I've spoken to a number of people who've tried melatonin capsules or tablets but have not gotten any help falling asleep. All were helped when they switched to sublingual versions.

We moved up to 2.5mg sublinguals and finally to a 5mg dose. Your body can get used to a dosage level of melatonin, and you may have to increase the dose after using it for a while. It's also possible that the level of melatonin produced by our bodies has decreased over the past six years due to aging, and the increased dose is nothing more than compensation for the natural reduction of our own melatonin production.

You'll have to find your own melatonin dose. If you take too much melatonin, you'll be groggy in the morning. Don't take melatonin unless you plan to go to sleep. Don't take it for just a little nap. You'll need at least six hours of rest for the melatonin to work through its cycle.

We SWEAR by the Source Naturals brand of melatonin!
Source Naturals is a maker of high-quality supplements, and their melatonin is no exception. It comes in both sublingual tablets and spray. Some manufacturers make a sublingual liquid in an eyedropper bottle. The advantage of the liquid or spray is that you'll be able to take a little bit more or a little bit less, depending on your requirements. With tablets, you're tied to whatever dose is in the tablet.

Sleep tight!

Additional sources:
Exp Gerontol. 2005 Sep 22
Neurotox Res. 2005 Aug;7(4):293-318

* * * * * * * *
I am not a doctor and have no medical training.
The information in this blog is not intended
to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
Statements made on this blog
have not been evaluated by the FDA.
Consult a healthcare professional before using any products,
treatments or exercises mentioned on this blog.

Artichoke extract healed my gallbladder

In yesterday's blog, I told you how I purged gallstones. Today, I'll tell you how I went from a dysfunctional gallbladder to a healthy one.

It all started with a food allergy
I had a food allergy but didn't know which food was the problem. I eliminated the usual suspects from my diet - dairy, wheat, soy, fish, corn, yeast, citrus, berries, artificial sweeteners, coffee and tea. I stayed away from these foods for three months because it can take that long to purge allergens from your body. It wasn't until I added soy back into my diet that I experienced an allergic reaction.

Unfortunately, my diet was missing some important ingredients that had helped my gallbladder function properly my whole life. Not having eaten these important foods for three months, my gallbladder's function had seriously deteriorated.

I didn't know coffee was a health food!
Before eliminating all the common allergens from my diet, I used to eat strawberries 4-5 times a week and drank 5-7 cups of decaf coffee daily. Both these products are extremely rich sources of caffeylquinic acid, which produces chlorogenic acid and cynarin and is extremely beneficial to your gallbladder. In fact, it stimulates your gallbladder to produce bile - by the bucket!

Even when I added coffee and strawberries back into my diet, my gallbladder didn't function. Food sat in my stomach for a really long time. Breakfast wouldn't leave my stomach until the middle of the night. Because I wasn't digesting food properly, I was malnourished. Food finally left my stomach in a big hard ball, called a bezoar. This led to serious and painful constipation. Plus, I was burping, flatulating and perpetually bloated. I was miserable.

It took a really GIANT dose of artichoke extract to make my gallbladder work again
I did some research and found out that you can stimulate a sluggish gallbladder or lazy liver with artichoke extract. I checked all the labels of supplements for improving liver function and discovered that almost all had artichoke extract. I went for the gold ring and picked up some bottles of straight artichoke extract to see if I could jumpstart my gallbladder.

I took the pills for about three months with almost no results. It wasn't until I bought a more potent extract that my gallbladder finally got the message. In fact, I produced so much bile that breakfast emptied out of my stomach in about 30 minutes. I made so much bile that it also came out unassimilated, and my bowel movements were dark green. These are signs of too much bile production!

I lowered my dose from two pills with each meal to just one with each meal. I stayed with that dose for about two years. That's when my gallbladder didn't need anymore stimulation. Even if I took just one artichoke pill, I had symptoms of excess bile production. I've been off artichoke extract for about three years and have had no problems.

Here's the product that worked for me
The product that finally worked for me is made by Jarrow Formulas. Their artichoke extract is standardized to 500mg per capsule. That's considered a very high dose. There are some that are a bit higher these days, but most are about half that potency.

Do NOT take artichoke extract if your bile ducts are blocked, if you're allergic to artichokes or if you're pregnant or nursing. And, for heaven's sakes, don't give these pills to children!

It might be a good idea to start with a supplement that's a lower dose. If it doesn't work for you, you can slowly increase the number of pills you take. You can more closely regulate your dose until you know the correct one for your body.

* * * * * * * *
I am not a doctor and have no medical training.
The information in this blog is not intended
to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
Statements made on this blog
have not been evaluated by the FDA.
Consult a healthcare professional before using any products,
treatments or exercises mentioned on this blog.

How I got rid of gallstones

Ever notice how many people are getting their gallbladders removed these days?

Years ago, gallbladder removal was reserved for people in their 70s and 80s. Today, gallbladders are being removed from people in their 40s, 30s, 20s and teens. Doctors act as though that organ has no useful purpose in the body. Don't you believe it!

An ounce of prevention is better than surgery
Gallbladders have gallstones. It's a fact of life. How many stones and the size are the difference between a healthy, functioning organ and a sickly one that causes excruciating pain. I was in my 50s when I decided to purge my gallstones because I was experiencing some typical symptoms of a poorly functioning gallbladder.

I found a great book - The Healthy Liver & Bowel Book by Dr. Sandra Cabot. It showed me how to purge gallstones without drugs or surgery. According to the author, it was easy and not terribly uncomfortable. There was an overnight method and a five-day method. Since gallstones can be pretty sizable - and bile ducts are usually pretty small, I decided to take the five-day route, which had a strict diet. One of the diet's benefits was that it slowly "melted" gallstones so they could more comfortably pass through the bile ducts.

The special diet that softens & reduces gallstones to a manageable size
For five days, I ate a diet of raw vegetables and fruits. No meat, poultry or dairy crossed my lips. On the evening of the sixth day, I took epsom salts, olive oil and lemon juice. Of course, this is just a quick summary, so you'll have to read the book (pages 44-45) to get the actual schedule and dosage.

When you wake up on the seventh day, you simply sit on the toilet and out come your gallstones. It's that simple! The book talks about doing this as often as needed. If all your gallstones don't come out the first time, you can purge again! I estimated that approximately 250-400 gallstones came out of me that morning.

Not everyone is so cavalier about counting their gallstones. The book relates a story about a man who caught his gallstones in a sieve and counted them. He passed a whopping 1,400 stones! Since no fecal matter (only clear liquid) comes out during the purge, it's easy to see and count the stones. While catching and counting gallstones sounds distasteful, it's not as gross as you might first suspect.

A tip about what NOT to eat!
If you decide to do this, do NOT eat any foods that are very acidic, e.g., tomatoes and pineapples, when you're on the special purge diet. The acid from these two foods will make you so raw that you will think your behind has third-degree burns!

Books to help you have a healthy liver
Before I bought the The Healthy Liver & Bowel Book, I bought and read The Liver Cleansing Diet, also by Dr. Cabot. I cannot say enough good things about the information in these two books. If you have any liver problems or suspect that your gallbladder may have some issues, you should seriously consider getting both books.

In the Amazon search block below, enter liver cleansing, change the selection window to "Books" and click "GO." The top three book selections will include the two books discussed in today's blog. You'll leave this blog when you go to Amazon.

About five years ago, I sent a set of these books to a friend who was scheduled to have his gallbladder removed. He read the books, canceled the surgery and seems to have had no recurring gallbladder problems. I'm not a doctor, so I don't know if you'll have the same luck, but it doesn't hurt to have more information - especially if surgery is on the horizon.



* * * * * * * *
I am not a doctor and have no medical training.
The information in this blog is not intended
to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
Statements made on this blog
have not been evaluated by the FDA.
Consult a healthcare professional before using any products,
treatments or exercises mentioned on this blog.

A natural antibiotic: Oil of Oregano

Tired of getting sick whenever someone sneezes in your direction? I've got a great supplement that might make colds and flu a thing of the past.

My husband and I have been using a natural antibiotic for about five years. It keeps us free from most colds and flu bugs but has none of the side effects usually experienced with pharmaceutical antibiotics. And, it's inexpensive!

Kills bacteria, viruses, food-borne pathogens & more!
The hyssop plant has been used for thousands of years because of its antimicrobial properties. In fact, the Bible states that God directed the Israelites to cleanse the altar with hyssop branches. You can easily buy hyssop capsules (and even hyssop tea), but there's a more potent extract available.

Oil of oregano (not the herb used in cooking) is a concentrated extract of hyssop. It's also called wild Mediterranean oregano, and it's grown and harvested in Mediterranean countries. The most reliable product has traditionally been made by North American Herb & Spice.

10,000+ years of use, plus lots of modern research
Because wild Mediterranean oregano is inexpensive and readily available without infringing on any pharmaceutical patents, researchers around the world have continued to test its efficacy against modern microbes. Here's a very small sampling of the modern research on this ancient antibiotic. For your convenience, I've included the research documents after each quoted section.

Kills E. coli: ..."May be effective in reducing or preventing growth of E. coli O157:H7. [J Food Prot. 2005 May;68(5):919-26]

Anti-candida activity: "Carvacrol [the potent constituent of wild Mediterrranean oregano]...exerted an anticandidal effect by a mechanism implicating an important envelope damage...The in vivo efficacy on experimental oral candidiasis leads us to consider [it] as [a] possible antifungal" agent." [Oral Microbiol Immunol. 2005 Apr;20(2):106-11]

Kills E. coli, Listeria, Salmonella & Staphylococcus aureus: Carvacrol exhibited "a very strong antibacterial activity against the tested bacteria."[J Agric Food Chem. 2004 Dec 29;52(26):8255-60]

Antimicrobial activity: Oil extracts of carvacrol exhibited "a very interesting antimicrobial profile" when tested against "six Gram-negative and -positive bacteria and three pathogenic fungi." [J Agric Food Chem. 2001 Sep;49(9):4168-70]

Treatment of oral infections: "Showed an inhibitory activity on seven microorganisms...during the treatment of oral infectious diseases." [Pharm Acta Helv. 1994 Jul;69(1):25-8]

Fights respiratory infections: Carvacrol "was tested by several methods on bacteria involved in upper respiratory tract infections" and found effective over a broad spectrum. [Pharmazie. 1993 Apr;48(4):301-4]

How I've used it to stay healthy
Whenever I'm exposed to someone who's sick, I start taking oil of oregano. If I'm going to be at a commercial venue where there's a combination of handshaking, sneezing, coughing and large crowds, I come prepared with oil of oregano capsules and start taking them before I arrive. I take two capsules every four hours.

If I'm at home and feel like something is trying to take hold of my sinuses, I start taking the liquid right away. I take a full dropper every four hours. This is by far more effective than waiting for the full effect of a cold or flu to appear and then start taking the product.

I've found no difference between the efficacy of the drops and the liquid, but I know that liquid, placed under the tongue, enters the bloodstream faster than capsules with pulverized herbs.

Drops or capsules - take it anyway you like
If I've already been exposed to someone with a cold or the flu and no symptoms have shown up, I start taking the liquid right away. I must tell you, though, that the liquid is really spicy and tastes awful (in my opinion).

If you decide to take the drops, here's a little tip that'll help get it down. Put the drops in an empty glass. Pour about 4 oz. of orange juice on top of it and quickly chug-a-lug the mixture. The acid in OJ helps break up the oil and stops it from leaving a distasteful oil slick on your tongue or in your throat. If you do end up with a hot throat or tongue, the only thing that gets rid of it is lots of OJ.

Stay healthy!

Additional source:
Phytother Res. 2005 May;19(5):4

* * * * * * * *
I am not a doctor and have no medical training.
The information in this blog is not intended
to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
Statements made on this blog
have not been evaluated by the FDA.
Consult a healthcare professional before using any products,
treatments or exercises mentioned on this blog.

Depression & how I conquered it

When I was growing up, my mother told me I was lazy. She didn't know that I was suffering from clinical depression. I those days, you would never discuss such a thing, and no adult would ever admit that a family member had such a problem.

What kind of depression do you have?
Depression manifests itself in a number of ways. Some people become very active - from an obsession with cleaning, fixing or rearranging things to exercising excessively without regard to personal health (unable to stop exercising even when injured or ill).

My depression manifests itself as apathy. My body feels like it's "frozen," and I'm unable to function in anything but the most limited capacity. Dysfunctional periods usually hit me in January (post-holiday letdown). A few times, I would escape my annual depression "appointment," only to have it find me in early spring. No matter when it hit, it usually disappeared the following October during pre-holiday preparations.

In rare and extreme cases, my depression wouldn't leave with the arrival of the holidays. During one especially bad episode, I was depressed for over two years. I cannot explain its failure to depart or why it eventually left.

If you suffer from the type of clinical depression that I have, you may benefit from the supplement that keeps me happy.

This supplement pulled me out of depression - permanently
I found complete and permanent relief from tyrosine, an amino acid. If you've tried tyrosine before and not been helped, you may have tried the wrong type or used it in way that actually stops it from working properly!

Most people try plain tyrosine. I've found it completely useless. But, when I used n-acetyl tyrosine, I saw amazing, significant and obvious results.

N-acetyl tyrosine (sometimes called n-acetyl l-tyrosine) is a special form of the amino acid that makes it more readily available to your body and delivers more of the amino acid for your body to use. That's why n-acetyl tyrosine supplements come in lower doses than plain tyrosine. They work better with less!

The regimen that has relieved my depression for 4+ years!
The first supplement I took was a 300-mg tablet made by Source Naturals. After much experimentation, I settled on two before breakfast and two before lunch.

Earlier this year, I switched to the Jarrow brand. It's cheaper, a higher dose (350 mg each) and a capsule instead of a tablet.

The capsule form of any supplement tends to deliver more of the supplement to your body. Tablets usually deliver 5-10%, while capsules deliver up to 35%. I continue to take two before breakfast and two before lunch. I've thought about experimenting with a reduced dose, but I'm hesitant to experiment with a system that works so well. Incidentally, the manufacturer recommends 1 or 2 pills a day.

Take it on an empty stomach or it won't work for you!
Tyrosine is an amino acid. Protein foods are made of amino acids. If you take tyrosine or any other amino acid with a protein meal, the supplement will compete for absorption with the protein in the food and may have reduced availability and effect.

For maximum benefit, take amino acids before or between meals. I take my first dose with water right after I wake up. By the time I'm ready for breakfast (15 minutes to an hour later), the tyrosine is already dissolved and working its way into my brain. I take my second dose 30 minutes before I start preparing lunch. If I miss this dose or it's inconvenient to take it, I delay it until two hours after lunch. This has not impaired my ability to get to sleep at night and still keeps me happy and undepressed!

* * * * * * * *
I am not a doctor and have no medical training.
The information in this blog is not intended
to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
Statements made on this blog
have not been evaluated by the FDA.
Consult a healthcare professional before using any products,
treatments or exercises mentioned on this blog.

Stress relief!

Many years ago, I had a very stressful job. Although I was healthy and physically fit, I knew my health would eventually suffer if I didn't quit my job or eliminate the stress associated with it.

My husband was also stressed. By traffic! We used to live in densely populated metropolitan area, and traffic jams and stop-and-go, bumper-to-bumper commutes really annoyed him. He wanted something that would take the edge off his stress without making him drowsy.

Enter StressCare. Just one pill with breakfast and another with dinner, and we were covered for the whole day.

Although most supplements take a month or more to have any noticeable effect, we felt moderate relief within a couple weeks. By the end of the first month, we were well on the road to stress-free lives, without drowsiness or side effects.

The "magic" ingredients
StressCare is a concoction of herbs that have a long, proven history in Ayurveda, an ancient and highly revered medicine using natural herbs. It's imported by Himalaya USA.

Here are some of the more important ingredients.

Ashwagandha - Also known as Indian ginseng, it has a reputation for rejuvenation. It's also adaptogenic. Really stressed today? It works to a higher level. Not so stressed on weekends? It works at that level, too. Wherever you're at, ashwagandha works where YOU'RE at!

Mucuna - This is a nervine tonic, which means that it soothes and calms. I used to have strange spasms on my arm, in my stomach and on my inner thigh. The spasms were so pronounced (and embarrassing) that you could see my clothing move! StressCare helped relieve them.

Shilajeet - A general tonic of mineral origin. Tonics "tone" you. In the same way that exercise tones your muscles, tonics tone up your whole system.

Looking at the pill bottle, I'd guess that there at least 50 different herbs in this product. There is no soy, which is a good thing because I'm allergic to it (as are many people). It does include nightshade, so don't use it if you're allergic to that family of plants. The ingredients in StressCare work synergistically and have a greater effect than the individual herbs.

Modern research supports centuries of Ayurvedic use
A significant benefit to using Ayurvedic herbs is that they've been used for so long that there's virtually no guesswork involved. The formulas and plants have been applied to certain situations with great success

StressCare is also sold directly to doctors and clinics as Geriforte under a different Himalaya label known as ProSelect. The following studies used Geriforte, which has the exact same formulation as StressCare.

Doctors at the Institute of Medical Sciences in India conducted a 12-week drug therapy program to test Geriforte/StressCare on 34 people diagnosed with anxiety neurosis and 24 normal people (as a control). At the end, researchers concluded patients receiving the supplement had significantly fewer psychological complaints. They recommended that the herbal remedy be "advocated as an adjunctive therapy in the management of stress disorders." In another study, researchers in the Department of Radiobiology at the Kasturba Medical College in India found that the mechanism of Geriforte/StressCare exhibited "neuroprotective activities."

I usually don't take imported supplements, but I make an exception for Himalaya USA products
StressCare is imported by Himalaya USA from its manufacturer in India. Third World nations are notorious for air, water and soil pollution. Taking herbs that have been grown in polluted conditions can make you sick - or worse! However, Himalaya produces pharmaceutical-grade supplements. They do this by strictly regulating every step of the process - selecting high-quality seeds, using unpolluted water, growing plants on their own regulated farms and making the final product in an environment consistent with pharmaceutical manufacturers.

Additional sources:
Act Nerv Super (Praha). 1990 Mar;32(1):1-5
Phytother Res. 2004 Jul;18(7):561-5

* * * * * * * *
I am not a doctor and have no medical training.
The information in this blog is not intended
to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
Statements made on this blog
have not been evaluated by the FDA.
Consult a healthcare professional before using any products,
treatments or exercises mentioned on this blog.

To your health!

Look to this site for information about supplements, diet, exercise, herbs and general good health. I'm not a doctor, and I have no formal education in any medical field. Why listen to me? I have something even more valuable: personal experience.

For over 35 years, I've used alternative medicine to treat everything from a headache to clinical depression. I know what works - and what doesn't. And, I'm going to share that info with you.

When I find a new supplement or therapy, I'll let you know about it. As usual, you'll get the good, the bad and the ugly on any item I mention here. However, you are the final decision-maker when determining what's right for your life and health.

Get ALL the information on supplements
I have the experience and knowledge to plow through research and medical journals to bring you the facts about supplements I write up in this blog.

I was the associate publisher for Dr. Atkins' Health Revelations, a monthly newsletter published by Agora, Inc. Not only did I edit articles written by Dr. Atkins and his staff, I also researched and wrote a number of articles. After the demise of that newsletter, I was the writer/editor for the Health Sciences Institute monthly newsletter - also published by Agora.

Besides reading thousands of pages of medical literature, I interviewed researchers on the cutting edge of invention and discovery and personally tried many of the products before writing about them. I doubt you'll get THAT kind of personal attention from research scientists - not to mention pharmaceutical companies!

Feel free to join me as I uncover alternatives to pharmaceutical drugs and surgery that will help you lead a healthful life.

That's it for today!

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I am not a doctor and have no medical training.
The information in this blog is not intended
to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
Statements made on this blog
have not been evaluated by the FDA.
Consult a healthcare professional before using any products,
treatments or exercises mentioned on this blog.