Watchman News

By Dr. Mercola

There are many reasons why breastfeeding is a superior option to formula feeding for babies, however, a new study provides one of the most compelling to date.
Infant formulas are typically processed under high heat, and this leads to the formation of advanced glycation end products (AGES).
AGES are sugar molecules that attach to and damage proteins in your body.
Not only do they build up in your body over time, leading to oxidation and speeding up the aging process, but they also lead to inflammation, which in turn is linked to a number of chronic diseases, including diabetes and heart disease.

AGES Double in Infants Switched From Breast milk to Formula

If you’re a breastfeeding mom who needs encouragement to continue nursing for one year or beyond, consider this fact: when infants were switched from breast milk to commercial formula within the first year of life, their levels of AGEs doubled to levels found in people with diabetes.
Many of the infants also had elevated insulin levels, which may be directly attributable to the AGEs in the infant formula.
While a woman’s blood level of AGEs does impact her newborn’s levels (the researchers found newborns’ blood levels of AGEs were nearly as high as that of their mother’s, which is yet another why pregnant women should cut back on their processed food intake), her breast milk is still a superior source of nutrition. Infant formulas processed with high heat may have 100 times more AGEs than breast milk.
As a result, formula-fed babies are being exposed to unacceptably high levels of these toxins, putting their health at risk — completely unbeknownst to most parents!

Why Exposing Your Baby to High Levels of AGEs Could be Tragic …

Glycation is a process in which the sugar in food bonds with proteins and forms so-called ‘advanced glycation end products’, or AGEs. It’s a fitting acronym because – along with oxidation – it’s one of the major molecular mechanisms whereby damage accrues in your body, which leads to disease, aging, and premature death.
When sugar is glycated, it contributes to inflammation, which activates your immune system defensively.  Macrophages are scavenger cells that are part of your immune defense system, and as such they have special receptors for AGEs, aptly called RAGEs (think: raging inflammation). These RAGEs bind to the AGEs and get rid of them.
Unfortunately, this process can leave its fair share of battle scars. Inside your arteries, for example, the scar tissue created from this process is called plaque. This also explains why there’s such a strong connection between diabetes and heart disease, and why infants exposed to high levels of AGEs in infant formula may have had elevated insulin levels.
To avoid AGEs in your diet, you need to pay attention to avoiding foods cooked at high heat, including processed and pasteurized foods like infant formula.
In July 2011, the first study in humans showing that AGEs promote insulin resistance and diabetes was published. People with diabetes who ate an AGE-restricted diet (this included foods that were poached or stewed instead of cooked at high heat, such as grilling, frying or broiling) had a 35 percent decrease in insulin levels, to give you an idea of just how great an impact appropriate dietary changes can have on your, or your child’s, health.

Many Infant Formulas are Loaded With Sugar

Tragically, many infant formulas are more than 50 percent sugar — 43 percent being corn syrup solids, which means they’re also high in fructose. Metabolically, consuming fructose is very similar to alcohol on a chronic basis, so there appears to be a surprising similarity between giving your infant a can of soda, or a bottle of most conventional infant formulas.
I’ve written numerous articles about the dangers of consuming fructose, including its ability to trigger glycation, disturb your metabolism, elevate blood pressure and triglycerides, cause weight gain, heart disease and liver damage, and even deplete your body of vitamins and minerals.
There is no way that a baby should be consuming any corn syrup whatsoever, and the fact that infant formulas are able to be marketed as nutritious for babies when they’re loaded with corn syrup is incredibly deceptive. If you currently have infant formula in your home, check the label for corn syrup or corn syrup solids, and in the interest of your baby, throw the can away if you find it.

Infant Formula is Also Inferior to Breast milk Because of What it Does NOT Contain …

Nearly all commercial infant formulas contain substances your infant is better off avoiding, like corn syrup and AGEs, but it also is lacking in other key components that breast milk naturally provides. Chief among these are probiotics, friendly bacteria that help your body to thrive. In Greek, the term pro means “for life,” and the large amount of careful research surrounding these healthful microorganisms suggests that they are an integral part of your, and your child’s, well-being.
Breast milk is a natural source of probiotics, so babies who are breastfed receive an ideal source of your first immune-building good bacteria, and as a result also tend to have intestinal microflora in which beneficial bifidobacteria predominate over potentially harmful bacteria.
Some infant formulas do contain added probiotics, but they are going to be inferior to those that are found naturally in breast milk. Others contain none at all. Ideally, you should be sure you are getting probiotics while you’re pregnant, from eating traditionally fermented foods like kefir, natto and sauerkraut, which are rich in probiotics, or taking a high-quality probiotic supplement, and then continue these probiotic-rich foods in your infant’s diet.

Make Sure You Baby is Also Getting This …

The omega-3 fat DHA (docosahexaenoic acid), an essential structural component of your brain and retina, is found naturally in breast milk and is missing entirely from many infant formulas. DHA is essential to your child’s development and if your child is deficient in it, their nervous  and immune system may never fully develop, leading to a lifetime of unexplained emotional, learning and immune system disorders.
DHA makes up 15 percent to 20 percent of the cerebral cortex and 30 percent to 60 percent of the retina so it is absolutely necessary for normal development of the fetus and baby.
Because a fetus depends on mother’s DHA sources, the constant drain on a mother’s DHA reserves can easily lead to a deficiency and some researchers believe that preeclampsia (pregnancy-related high blood pressure) and postpartum depression could be linked to a DHA deficiency — just one more reason why it’s so important to maintain your levels during pregnancy.
After your child is born, it’s essential that he or she continues to receive DHA either from breast milk or a high-quality animal-based supplement. In the past, the ideal way to receive these fats was from seafood. However in the last 50 years industrial pollution with chemicals and heavy metals has changed all that. In fact, babies exposed in the womb to higher levels of mercury, due to their mom’s fish-rich diet, scored lower on skills tests when they became infants and toddlers. To put it simply, the beneficial effects of the omega-3s were cancelled out by the mercury.
The best alternative to seafood is an animal-based omega-3 fat supplement, of which krill oil and fish oil are the two major players. But there is reason to believe that krill oil actually offers superior benefits.
Fish oil is certainly more widely known, and this is related to the fact that the bulk of the published studies are done with fish oil and not krill oil. That is changing, but it will take many decades before krill oil catches up to fish oil in terms of popularity. That said, it just doesn’t make sense that you and your family have to wait decades to get the benefits of krill oil, as it is, in my opinion, the preferred choice. You can read more about why that is here.
I believe all pregnant and breastfeeding women would be wise to supplement with a high-quality animal-based omega-3 fat like krill oil, and if your baby is formula-fed, you can give krill oil to them directly. Consult your holistic pediatrician for proper dosage.

Do You Need Help With Breastfeeding?

Unfortunately, the United States is not the most breastfeeding-friendly culture, so surrounding yourself with women who have experience in this area can be a great help. Whether you want to prepare beforehand, or find you’re having trouble breastfeeding once your baby is born, Le Leche League is a terrific resource to consider.
Keep in mind that while there are certain medical conditions that can prevent a woman from breastfeeding, the majority of women are able to produce adequate supplies of milk and breastfeed successfully. Often, those who believe they cannot may be misinformed, and believe they don’t have enough milk; this is a common misperception. However, in the vast majority of circumstances, all women have enough milk to breastfeed.
The more your baby nurses, the more milk you will produce. Mom needs to drink plenty of water and seek optimal nutrition while nursing, and the beginning weeks and months are critical in the process.
If you find you are unable to breastfeed, the next best alternative is donated breast milk from a healthy, trusted donor, which has been screened for hepatitis C and HIV. If that is not available, another option is to make a healthy homemade infant formula. There may be others, but here is one recipe for homemade formula created by the Weston Price Foundation, which I believe is sound.
As an aside, definitely avoid all soy infant formula, as it is loaded with toxic elements like high doses of manganese and aluminum, not to mention the hormone-disrupting potential of the soy itself.

By Dr. Mercola
Radiologists often rely on specialized “CAD” computer software to find suspicious areas in mammograms.
But a large new study showed that the technology has failed to improve breast cancer detection. In fact, it increases a woman’s risk of getting a “false positive” result and being told she had an abnormal mammogram when she’s actually cancer-free.
The study analyzed 1.6 million mammograms taken between 1998 and 2006. Some experts say that in light of the new evidence, radiologists should use more discretion in interpreting CAD results.
According to CNN:

“CAD is now used in roughly three of every four screening mammograms … The detection rate for noninvasive breast abnormalities improved at radiology facilities that adopted CAD technology, but, crucially, the rate did not improve for invasive breast cancers, the dangerous type that invade healthy tissue in the breast or other parts of the body.”

Updated Federal Advisory Board Recommendations
You have to wonder why–when science clearly confirms that a conventional recommendation is useless– it receives virtually no exposure in the media to inform the public of this change.
This is precisely what happened with the recommendation of routine mammography, which was conclusively shown to be useless in most women under the age of 50.
As of November 2009, routine mammograms are no longer recommended across the board for all women starting at the age of 40. Citing ineffectiveness and increased risk of harm in premenstrual women, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, a federal advisory board, changed their recommendation from annual to bi-annual mammography screenings, and raised the recommended starting age to 50. Since then, the use of mammography has begun to drop.
However, not everyone agrees with the Preventive Services task force recommendation, and a few organizations have banded together to condemn the revised guidelines. Last month, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) issued their breast cancer screening guidelines, recommending:

Mammography every 1-2 years for women aged 40-49 years
Annual mammogram for women age 50 or older

Still, these squabbles aside, there are serious questions about whether
mammography should be the preferred screening method at all. I
personally do not recommend it. Dr. Virginia A. Moyer, chair of the Preventive Services task force, according to CNN, responded by saying:

“… the recommendation was based on a recognized modest benefit shown by studies in human subjects. Recommendations from other organizations are based on evidence of lower quality, and the task force is extremely strict about the level of evidence it can accept…”

Concerns about Lack of Safety and Effectiveness of Mammograms Continue
Time and again, studies published in prestigious medical journals have shown that mammography isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. The federal task force indicated that this was their impression as well; hence the shift in their recommendation in 2009. For example:

Mammograms miss up to a third or more of all breast cancers, as reported by Medscape, depending on the composition of your breast tissue and the type of cancer. 
Mammography and its subsequent tests, such as MRIs and stereotactic biopsies, may actually cause cancer.
False positives (a diagnosis of cancer when it turns out to be non-cancerous) are notorious in the industry, causing women needless anxiety, pain and, often, invasive and disfiguring surgical procedures. This is the MAJOR danger of mammography, as it radically increases the number of women who will be misdiagnosed and plugged into a system designed to cut, poison, and burn them unnecessarily without addressing the underlying reasons of what caused the cancer.
CAD computer software used as an aid to locate suspicious areas in mammograms has been shown to be ineffectual for improving breast cancer detection, and increases your risk of getting a “false positive” result.

The final insult to injury is the latest in a long row of blows against the cancer detection industry. In the featured study above, 1.6 million mammograms from 90 radiology facilities across the US were analyzed. It was determined that the use of computer assisted software, which should be helpful in the detection of breast cancer, was not helpful after all.
As reported by CNN:

“The detection rate for noninvasive breast abnormalities improved at radiology facilities that adopted CAD technology, but, crucially, the rate did not improve for invasive breast cancers, the dangerous type that invade healthy tissue in the breast or other parts of the body. Moreover, in facilities that began using CAD the percentage of women with abnormal mammograms who were accurately diagnosed (a measure known as “positive predictive value”) dropped, from 4.3% to 3.6%. Rates of false-positives and “recalls” — being called back for further testing — increased slightly after facilities implemented CAD.”

These results echo those from a study published in 2007, which also concluded that:

“The use of computer-aided detection is associated with reduced accuracy of interpretation of screening mammograms. The increased rate of biopsy with the use of computer-aided detection is not clearly associated with improved detection of invasive breast cancer.”

Mammography Is a Source of Radiation-Induced Damage
Another recent study further fuels concerns about the use of mammography, especially in women predisposed to breast cancer, and strengthens the recommendation to avoid mammograms if you’re under the age of 50. The study assessed the radiation-induced DNA damage in epithelial breast cells in women with high- and low risk of breast cancer. The results showed that women with a family history of cancer, placing them at high risk, were at significantly greater risk to suffer irreparable double-strand DNA breaks from mammography, and the effect was exacerbated with dose repetition. 
The authors concluded that:

“This study highlights the existence of double-strand breaks induced by mammography and revealed by γH2AX assay with two major radiobiological effects occurring: a low-dose effect, and a Low and Repeated Dose (LORD) effect. All these effects were exacerbated in high-risk patients. These findings may lead us to re-evaluate the number of views performed in screening using a single view (oblique) in women whose mammographic benefit has not properly been proved such as the 40-49 and high risk patients.”

This isn’t the first time scientists have come to the conclusion that using mammography as a tool for early detection and “prevention” of lethal cancer may in fact, in many cases, do far more harm than good. Yet you don’t see major warning about the risks in the media, nor do any mammography centers provide information on these risks, so the women are not given full disclosure, making it impossible for them to give any type of valid informed consent for this procedure.
According to the Cancer Prevention Coalition, radiation from routine mammography poses a significant cumulative risk (over time) of causing breast cancer. And according to the BreastCancerFund.org, lower-energy X-rays provided by mammography result in substantially greater damage to DNA than would be predicted, and suggests that risk of breast cancer caused by exposure to mammography radiation may be greatly underestimated.
Dr. Samuel Epstein, probably the leading scientist in the world who truly understands this issue, has been warning people for years about the dangers of mammography, explains:

“The premenopausal breast is highly sensitive to radiation, each 1 rad exposure increasing breast cancer risk by about 1 percent, with a cumulative 10 percent increased risk for each breast over a decade’s screening…” “The high sensitivity of the breast, especially in young women, to radiation-induced cancer was known by 1970. Nevertheless, the establishment then screened some 300,000 women with X-ray dosages so high as to increase breast cancer risk by up to 20 percent in women aged 40 to 50 who were mammogramed annually.”

Does Mammography Save Lives?
The reason why women are urged to get regular mammograms is to catch the cancer early enough to deliver life-saving treatment. But research shows that mammography fails at this mission as well… A recent article in the prestigious British Medical Journal compared breast mortality rates in a variety of different countries before and after the introduction of routine mammography screening, demonstrating that the screening has had virtually nothing to do with the reductions in breast cancer mortality.
The authors write:

“From 1989 to 2006, deaths from breast cancer decreased by 29% in Northern Ireland and by 26% in the Republic of Ireland; by 25% in the Netherlands and by 20% in Belgium and 25% in Flanders; and by 16% in Sweden and by 24% in Norway. The time trend and year of downward inflexion were similar between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland and between the Netherlands and Flanders. In Sweden, mortality rates have steadily decreased since 1972, with no downward inflexion until 2006.

Countries of each pair had similar healthcare services and prevalence of risk factors for breast cancer mortality but differing implementation of mammography screening, with a gap of about 10-15 years.

The contrast between the time differences in implementation of mammography screening and the similarity in reductions in mortality between the country pairs suggest that screening did not play a direct part in the reductions in breast cancer mortality.”

This is quite noteworthy!
Rather than falling for claims that mammography is responsible for reduced breast cancer mortality, one should begin to look around for the real cause behind this across-the-board drop—because teasing out whatever that is, would be quite helpful—as opposed to pushing mammography, which has been shown to have little or no impact on mortality rates.
Unfortunately, the industry is extremely reluctant to accept this fact. As a perfect example, CNN recently reported Apparently they did not review the above results, which completely
negate the claim that mammograms play a direct role in reducing
mortality…on this very issue, stating that:

“While breast care experts acknowledge that mammography is imprecise and can lead to false positives, undue anxiety and overtreatment, they say it is the best tool they have for detecting breast cancer and that the benefits far outweigh any potential harms. Mammography has helped reduce breast cancer mortality in the United States by nearly one-third since 1990, according to the American College of Radiology.”

The Profit-Driven Motives of Mammography Recommendations
In a previous article, published in the International Journal of Health Services in 2001, Dr. Samuel Epstein wrote:

“Mammography screening is a profit-driven technology posing risks compounded by unreliability… Mammography is not a technique for early diagnosis. In fact, a breast cancer has usually been present for about eight years before it can finally be detected. … In striking contrast, annual clinical breast examination (CBE) by a trained health professional, together with monthly breast self-examination (BSE), is safe, at least as effective, and low in cost.”

According to a 2008 report by market analysts Medtech Insight, breast cancer screening is a $2.1 billion-a-year business, centered around mammography, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and ultrasound. Unfortunately, when something is this profitable, the concern and emphasis when evaluating safety and efficacy tends to center on loss of income rather than on what best serves the patient.  When it comes to business decisions, it seems the patient’s best interest nearly always is factored out of the equation, and this seems to be the case with mammography…

Mammography-Related Devices Approved Without Valid Scientific Evidence
You might be surprised to learn that many mammography-related devices have been approved without any scientific evidence to back up their safety and effectiveness.  In a 2009 article posted on HealthCentral.com, Terry Matlen reported that nine FDA scientists had raised the red flag and shared their concerns in a letter to the then president-elect Obama, alleging that “‘gross mishandling’ by FDA managers was putting the country at risk,” and asking for a restructuring of the agency.
Matlen writes:

“[T]he scientists cited a breakdown of the independent scientific review process at the FDA as far back as 1998, when Tom Daschle, Mr. Obama’s choice to head the Department of Health and Human Services, wrote about the issue in his book, “Critical: What We Can Do About the Health-Care Crisis.” In that book, Daschle described how mammography computer-aided detection devices were not appropriately approved, thus setting into motion a chronic breakdown of the FDA’s system. 

Daschle noted that these devices were not backed by clinical evidence showing they were effective in detecting breast cancer, thus causing undue biopsies for thousands and thousands of women. For the past three years, FDA scientists and physicians have recommended five times that these mammography devices not be approved without valid clinical, scientific evidence.”

This seems to fly in the face of an industry that prides itself on adhering to science-based medicine, doesn’t it?
Of course, many mammography proponents will argue that any drawbacks are “theoretical.” But the bottom line is they’re really just trying to protect their bottom lines by denying the truth as evidenced by the many studies indicating that mammography is both risky and ineffective. The price you pay for being misled is your health; perhaps even your life, if you’re one of the women whose mammograms miss the cancer, or if you end up being one of those whose cancer might be the result of the procedure itself.

Take Control with Regular Self-Exams
Breast self-exams have long been recommended as a simple way for women to keep track of anything unusual in their breasts. However, after studies indicated that this too, in and of itself, does not reduce breast cancer mortality rates, many experts began recommending a more relaxed approach known as “breast awareness.”
Breast awareness is really self-explanatory. It means you should regularly check your breasts for changes, but you can do so in a way that feels natural to you. In other words, you don’t have to do it on the same day each month, or using any particular pattern. Instead, simply be aware of what’s normal for you so you can recognize anything out of the ordinary.
Changes to keep an eye out for include:

✓ A new lump or hard knot found in your breast or armpit
✓ Change in the size, shape or symmetry of your breast
✓ Redness or scaliness of the nipple or breast skin
✓ Any suspicious changes in your breasts

✓ Dimpling, puckering or indention in your breast or nipple
✓ Swelling or thickening of the breast
✓ Nipple discharge, especially any that is bloody, clear and sticky, dark or occurs without squeezing your nipple
✓ Changes in your nipple such as tenderness, pain, turning or drawing inward, or pointing in a new direction

What Can You Do to Actually PREVENT Breast Cancer
While it is certainly helpful to identify cancers as soon as possible, even better would be to engage in lifestyle changes that would dramatically reduce or virtually eliminate your risk of developing breast cancer to begin with. This includes:

• Optimize your vitamin D levels. Vitamin D influences virtually every cell in your body and is one of nature’s most potent cancer fighters. Vitamin D is actually able to enter cancer cells and trigger apoptosis (cell death). When JoEllen Welsh, a researcher with the State University of New York at Albany, injected a potent form of vitamin D into human breast cancer cells, half of them shriveled up and died within days. It was as effective as the toxic breast cancer drug Tamoxifen, without any of the detrimental side effects and at a tiny fraction of the cost.

If you have cancer, your vitamin D level should be between 70 and 100 ng/ml. Vitamin D works synergistically with every cancer treatment I’m aware of, with no adverse effects.

• Normalize your insulin levels. A primary way to accomplish that is to avoid sugar, especially fructose, as well as grains (including organic ones). Aside from causing insulin resistance, all forms of sugar also promote cancer. Fructose, however, is clearly one of the most harmful and should be avoided as much as possible.

Also make sure to exercise regularly, especially with Peak Fitness, as exercise is one of the best ways to optimize your insulin levels.
• Get plenty of natural vitamin A. There is evidence that vitamin A also plays a roll in helping prevent breast cancer. It’s best to obtain it from vitamin A-rich foods, rather than a supplement. Your best sources are organic egg yolks, raw butter, raw whole milk, and beef or chicken liver.
Beware of using oral supplements as there’s some evidence that vitamin A can negate the benefits of vitamin D. Since appropriate vitamin D levels are crucial for your health in general, not to mention cancer prevention, this means that it’s essential to have the proper ratio of vitamin D to vitamin A in your body.
Ideally, you’ll want to provide all the vitamin A and vitamin D substrate your body needs in such a way that your body can regulate both systems naturally. This is best done by eating colorful vegetables (for vitamin A) and by exposing your skin to safe amounts sunshine every day (for vitamin D).
• Avoid exposure to xenoestrogens, such as phthalates and BPA. These chemicals mimic natural estrogen, which is a breast cancer promoter.
• Avoid charring your meats. Charcoal or flame broiled meat is linked with increased breast cancer risk. Acrylamide—a carcinogen created when starchy foods are baked, roasted or fried—has been found to increase breast cancer risk as well.
• Avoid unfermented soy products. Unfermented soy is high in plant estrogens, or phytoestrogens, also known as isoflavones. In some studies, soy appears to work in concert with human estrogen to increase breast cell proliferation, which increases the chances for mutations and cancerous cells.
• Maintain a healthy body weight. This will come naturally once you cut out sugar, fructose and grains, and start to exercise. It’s important to lose excess body weight because fat produces estrogen.
• Drink a quart of organic green vegetable juice daily. Please review my juicing instructions for more detailed information
• Get plenty of high quality animal-based omega-3 fats, such as krill oil. Omega-3 deficiency is a common underlying factor for cancer.
• Take curcumin. This is the active ingredient in turmeric and in high concentrations can be very useful in the treatment of breast cancer. It shows immense therapeutic potential in preventing breast cancer metastasis. It’s important to know that curcumin is generally not absorbed that well, so I’ve provided several absorption tips here.

By Dr. Mercola

One of the simplest and most enjoyable ways to up the health ante of your meals is by adding herbs and spices, and in the realm of spices, turmeric and its active ingredient curcumin may be king.
If you’re a fan of curry, you’re probably also a fan of turmeric, as this is the yellow-orange spice that makes the foundation of many curry dishes. It’s a great addition to your diet, but to get the full benefits curcumin has to offer, look for a turmeric extract that contains 100 percent certified organic ingredients and at least 95 percent curcuminoids.
Research is emerging showing that this potent spice may play a beneficial role in preventing and treating numerous chronic diseases, and may offer promise in helping people deal with obesity and obesity-related metabolic diseases.

Does Curcumin Boost Weight Loss?

Research in the European Journal of Nutrition suggests that curcumin may be useful for the treatment and prevention of obesity-related chronic diseases, as the interactions of curcumin with several signal transduction pathways — the process by which biological functions are recognized — also reverse insulin resistance, hyperglycemia, hyperlipidemia, and other inflammatory symptoms associated with obesity and metabolic disorders.
Curcumin is known for its potent anti-inflammatory properties, and chronic inflammation is the hallmark of most chronic disease, including diabetes, arthritis, and heart disease. But many people are not aware that obesity contributes to a state of low-grade, chronic inflammation in your body that can trigger metabolic disorders such as insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. Curcumin appears to modulate several cellular transduction pathways that contribute to this damaging process.
As a result, researchers concluded:

“These findings might enable novel phytochemical treatment strategies as well as curcumin translation to the clinical practice for the treatment and prevention of obesity-related chronic diseases. Furthermore, the relatively low cost of curcumin, safety and proven efficacy make it advisable to include curcumin as part of a healthy diet.”

Past research has revealed similar findings, including that curcumin reduces the formation of fat tissue by suppressing the blood vessels needed to form it. As the researchers stated:

“Our results clearly demonstrate that curcumin at cellular and whole organism levels displays remarkable potential health benefits for prevention of obesity and associated metabolic disorders.”

Weight Loss is Just the Icing on the Cake

The benefits of curcumin go way beyond weight loss. The compound has been shown to influence more than 700 genes, and it can inhibit both the activity and the synthesis of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX2) and 5-lipooxygenase (5-LOX), as well as other enzymes that have been implicated in inflammation.
But that’s not all. Curcumin currently has the most evidence-based literature supporting its use against cancer than any other nutrient. Interestingly this also includes the metabolite of curcumin and its derivatives, which are also anti-cancerous. Best of all, curcumin appears to be safe in the treatment of all cancers. Researchers have found that curcumin can affect more than 100 different pathways, once it gets into the cell.
More specifically, curcumin has been found to:

✓ Inhibit the proliferation of tumor cells
✓ Decrease inflammation

✓ Inhibit the transformation of cells from normal to tumor
✓ Inhibit the synthesis of a protein thought to be instrumental in tumor formation

✓ Help your body destroy mutated cancer cells so they cannot spread throughout your body
✓ Help prevent the development of additional blood supply necessary for cancer cell growth (angiogenesis)

However, much of curcumin’s power seems to lie in its ability to modulate genetic activity and expression — both by destroying cancer cells and by promoting healthy cell function. As such, evidence suggests curcumin may play a beneficial role in the following conditions:

✓ Cystic fibrosis
✓ Type 2 diabetes
✓ Inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn’s disease

✓ Psoriasis
✓ Rheumatoid arthritis
✓ Cataracts

✓ Gallstones
✓ Muscle regeneration and regenerate brain cells after stroke
✓ Alzheimer’s disease

✓ Reduce cholesterol levels
✓ Inhibit platelet aggregation
✓ Protect against liver damage

✓ Inhibit HIV replication
✓ Suppress tumor formation
✓ Suppress symptoms of multiple sclerosis

Tips for Using Curcumin Therapeutically

You can use turmeric in your cooking (choose a pure turmeric powder, rather than a curry powder, as at least one study has found that curry powders tend to contain very little curcumin), but you may also want to consider taking it in supplement form. For many this is a more convenient method to obtain the potential health benefits, especially if it is from a high-quality organic source, and also if you don’t particularly enjoy the taste of curry.
Unfortunately, at the present time there really are no formulations available for the use against cancer, as relatively high doses are required and curcumin is not absorbed that well.
According to Dr. William LaValley, one of the leading medicine cancer physicians I personally know, typical anticancer doses are up to three grams of good bioavailable curcumin extract, three to four times daily. One work-around is to use the curcumin powder and make a microemulsion of it by combining a tablespoon of the powder and mixing it into 1-2 egg yolks and a teaspoon or two of melted coconut oil. Then use a high-speed hand blender to emulsify the powder.
Another strategy that can help increase absorption is to put one tablespoon of the curcumin powder into a quart of boiling water. It must be boiling when you add the powder as it will not work as well if you put it in room temperature water and heat the water and curcumin. After boiling it for ten minutes you will have created a 12 percent solution that you can drink once it has cooled down. It will have a woody taste.
The curcumin will gradually fall out of solution however. In about six hours it will be a 6 percent solution, so it’s best to drink the water within four hours. Be aware that curcumin is a very potent yellow pigment and can permanently discolor surfaces if you aren’t careful.

Be Sure Your Weight Loss Strategy is Comprehensive

It can’t hurt to add curcumin to your comprehensive weight loss program, but it should not be your only strategy for weight loss if you’re currently overweight or obese.
You can read an in-depth explanation of the common factors that contribute to weight loss here, but the key is the quality of your calories and exercise. Typically you will need to replace grains and sugars, including fructose, with high-quality protein and fats AND add in high-intensity exercise training like Peak Fitness. I realize that this might conflict with your previous understanding of a healthy diet, but that is clearly what the bulk of the science and anecdotal evidence supports.
For more comprehensive details, please see my nutrition plan, which is divided into beginner, intermediary and advanced, so that you can slowly work your way toward achieving your weight loss goals.

By Dr. Mercola

It is not often that I advocate the use of prescription drugs, but low-dose naltrexone (LDN) is one of those rare exceptions that may hold the promise of helping millions of people with cancer and autoimmune disease.
As a pharmacologically active opioid antagonist, LDN works by blocking opioid receptors, which in turn helps activate your body’s immune system.

How LDN Harnesses Your Own Body’s Chemistry to Fight Disease

The latest research in Experimental Biology and Medicine just confirmed that LDN does in fact target the opioid growth factor (OGF)/opioid growth factor receptor (OGFr) pathway to inhibit cell proliferation. Previous research by professor Ian S. Zagon of The Pennsylvania State University, who also conducted the Experimental Biology and Medicine study, found that OGF regulates the growth of cancer cells, and all cancer cells use the OGF-OGFr pathway in growth regulation.
It is through this mechanism that LDN is thought to exert its profound inhibitory effect on cancer growth.
Further, LDN also works with your body’s immune system through its interactions with your body’s endorphins. Though most commonly referenced in relation to you mood, endorphins also play a role in pain relief, immune system regulation, growth of cells and angiogenesis (the growth of blood vessels that feed a tumor).
Typically, LDN is taken at bedtime, which blocks your opioid receptors, as well as the reception of endorphins, for a few hours in the middle of the night. This is believed to up-regulate vital elements of your immune system by increasing your body’s production of metenkephalin and endorphins (your natural opioids), hence improving your immune function.
In addition to cancer, LDN has shown promise for the treatment of the following diseases:

Hepatitis C
Diabetic neuropathies

Lupus
Dermatomyositis (an inflammatory muscle disease)

Ulcerative colitis
Multiple sclerosis

Autism
Crohn’s disease

Chronic fatigue syndrome
Alzheimer’s disease

HIV/AIDS
Hasimoto’s thyroiditis

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
Parkinson’s disease

How can one substance impact so many different diseases? As written on the non-profit Web site LowDoseNaltrexone.org, which is an excellent resource for more information:

“The disorders listed above all share a particular feature: in all of them, the immune system plays a central role. Low blood levels of endorphins are generally present, contributing to the disease-associated immune deficiencies.”

Impressive Results in Cancer Treatment

In 1985, Dr. Bernard Bihari discovered LDN enhanced patients’ response to infection with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Years later he found that his patients with cancer and autoimmune disease also benefited from LDN.
Dr. Bihari has reportedly treated more than 450 cancer patients with LDN with promising results, including cancers of the bladder, breast, liver, lung, lymph nodes, colon, and rectum. According to Dr. Bihari, nearly a quarter of his patients had at least a 75 percent reduction in tumor size, and nearly 60 percent of his patients demonstrated disease stability. He believes LDN’s anti-cancer mechanism is likely due to an increase in the:

Number and density of opiate receptors on the tumor cell membranes, making them more responsive to the growth-inhibiting effects of the already present levels of endorphins, which in turn induces apoptosis (cell death) in the cancer cells
Absolute numbers of circulating cytotoxic T cells and natural killer cells, as well as killer cell activity

An impressive study released earlier this year exemplifies LDN’s potential anti-cancer effects, in this case to treat ovarian cancer.
The study found:

LDN administered for six hours every two days reduced DNA synthesis and cell replication in tissue culture
Exposure to LDN in combination with cancer drugs had enhanced anti-cancer action
Mice with established ovarian tumors treated with LDN had repressed tumor progression by reducing DNA synthesis and angiogenesis — but not altering cell survival, indicating it is non-toxic
LDN combined with a chemotherapy drug, cisplatin, alleaviated the toxicity associated with cisplatin
LDN treatment upregulated the expression of the opioid growth factor, which is the only opioid peptide that tends to inhibit cell growth of ovarian cancer cells

Says Dr. Burton M. Berkson, MD, who has attested to achieving phenomenal results with low-dose naltrexone in both cancer patients and those with autoimmune diseases:

“It is difficult for many to believe that one drug can accomplish so many tasks. But LDN does not treat symptoms as most drugs do. It actually works way “upstream” to modulate the basic mechanisms that result in the disease state.”

Your Doctor Probably Doesn’t Know About Low-Dose Naltrexone

LDN has been an FDA-approved drug for over two decades, conventionally used to treat drug- and alcohol addiction at doses of 50mg to 300mg. Much lower doses (3 to 4.5 mg) are used for LDN’s immunomodulating properties as discussed above, but it has not yet been submitted for FDA approval at this low dose. None of the pharmaceutical giants back it, as at an average price of $15 to $40 for a month’s supply, the income potential isn’t very promising.
This means there are no friendly sales reps visiting your doctor talking about the potential benefits of this drug in very low doses, and as a result very few physicians are aware of LDN. So, if your physician is not familiar with LDN, you will need to bring it up to him or her, or, alternatively, seek a health care provider who is already knowledgeable at using LDN as a form of treatment. There are a number of pharmacies and compounding pharmacies in the United States and Canada that are reliable sources of the compound in low-dose form.

CAUTION: Important LDN Points to Consider if You Use It

Avoid slow-release (SR) or timed-release naltrexone. You want to be sure the LDN you receive is in unaltered form that allows you to receive the full dose quickly. Slow-release formulas may not give you the full therapeutic effects.
Be aware of inactive fillers. Part of the LDN capsule will contain a “neutral” filler material, however there is some evidence to suggest that calcium carbonate as a filler could interfere with the absorption of LDN. So to be on the safe side, avoid LDN capsules that contain calcium carbonate fillers.

Ideally, if you are interested in using LDN as a potential treatment consult with a knowledgeable health care practitioner who can guide your therapy and also help you find a reliable compounding pharmacy.

By Dr. Mercola

The latest research out of the University of Missouri should be required reading for the 79 million Americans with pre-diabetes and the 26 million with the full-blown disease. Taken together, this amounts to one in four Americans struggling with diabetes and the vast majority of these cases are type 2.
When diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, many believe their fate has been sealed and all they can do now is “control” it. More than 50 percent of type 2 diabetics are also not even aware they have diabetes, while millions of others are living in a state of insulin resistance (pre-diabetes) that could progress into diabetes at any time.
If someone told you there was a “magic” trick you could do that would almost instantly improve the way your body regulates blood sugar, and also reduce the spikes in blood sugar that occur after a meal (elevations in these spikes, known as postprandial glucose, or PPG, are associated with type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and death), would you do it?
Well there is. It’s called exercise. And now that you know what it is, the next step is up to you …

Want to Prevent or Reverse Diabetes? Exercise!

The amazing thing about exercise is that it exerts its effects very quickly. Sure, you will definitely reap long-term benefits, and exercise is well known to impact chronic diseases, but you’ll also get acute, nearly instantaneous benefits as well. This should be excellent motivation to those of you who are procrastinating on your exercise program, as you don’t have to exercise for a year or six months to experience benefits! New research published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise found that one single session of moderate exercise can improve the way your body regulates glucose and reduce PPG.
It’s instant gratification!
However, the opposite also holds true, meaning slacking on your exercise program or being sedentary will disrupt your body’s ability to regulate blood sugar, and this happens within days. There’s simply no way around the fact that your body is meant to engage in regular physical activity. Try to buck this reality and you’re asking for a slew of health troubles.

Why is Exercise the “Silver Bullet” in Diabetes Treatment?

Without exercise you’re unlikely to get this devastating disease under control. It works so well because it is one of the fastest and most powerful ways to lower your insulin and leptin resistance. See, type 2 diabetics need to address the root of the problem, which is NOT your blood sugar levels, as most conventional physicians would have you believe.
As Dr. Ron Rosedale wrote in this classic article, if you follow the misguided belief that diabetes is a disease of blood sugar, you are likely destined for premature death. Taking insulin is one of the WORST things you can do, as it will actually make your insulin and leptin resistance worse over time. Dr. Rosedale, an expert on leptin physiology and one of my early mentors in this area, developed the appropriate acronym — D.I.E. — to illustrate what’s happening in conventional diabetic treatment.

Doctor Induced Exacerbation

Yes, most doctors make diabetes worse and accelerate the death process. I’ve explained the mechanics of insulin resistance and the role of leptin and insulin before, but let’s review it again.

Leptin is a hormone produced in your fat cells. One of leptin’s primary roles is regulating your appetite and body weight. It tells your brain when to eat, how much to eat, and most importantly, when to stop eating. And leptin tells your brain what to do with the energy it has. Leptin is largely responsible for the accuracy of insulin signaling and whether or not you become insulin resistant.
Insulin—Sugars and grains raise your blood sugar. When this happens, insulin is released to direct the extra energy into storage. A small amount is stored as a starch called glycogen, but the majority is stored as your main energy supply—fat. Insulin’s major role is not to lower your blood sugar, but rather to store the extra energy for future times of need. Insulin’s effect of lowering your blood sugar is merely a “side effect” of this energy storage process.
Insulin resistance: Insulin resistance occurs when your body becomes resistant to the hormone insulin. Any time a cell is exposed to insulin it is going to become more insulin resistant. If you eat too many sugars and grains, it provokes insulin surges and every time you provoke an insulin surge it exposes your body to more insulin. Just like walking in a dark room where it is difficult to see, after awhile your vision accommodates, your pupils dilate and you can see much better. Similarly, when your body is exposed to excess insulin soon it no longer responds to it properly and becomes insulin resistant.

Exercise is one of the most effective ways to regain insulin sensitivity and reverse insulin resistance — and studies show this benefit can be achieved even without weight loss.

How to Use Exercise for Diabetes Prevention

One of the keys to using exercise to normalize your insulin and leptin levels, and thereby drastically reduce your risk of diabetes, is to do enough of it. There are three important variables with exercise:

Intensity
Frequency
Length of time

Intensity is KEY for an effective exercise regimen, and the beauty of high-intensity, burst-type exercises such as Peak Fitness is that it also significantly cuts down on the amount of time you have to spend exercising. Full instructions on how to properly perform these exercises can be found in this previous article.
Peak Fitness exercises should be performed no more than three times per week, and only take a total of 20 minutes each session. Once you reach your fitness, health, and weight goals you can drop down to once or twice per week as that is all you really need, but most out-of-shape individuals will benefit from three times a week — if you do more it is actually counterproductive as there is not enough recovery time. Once you become very fit and are able to regularly reach your calculated maximum heart rate (220 minus your age) then it really is only necessary to do it once a week as long as you are pushing to your absolute max.
Here’s a summary of what a typical peak fitness routine might look like using a recumbent bike, elliptical machine or treadmill:

Warm up for three minutes
Exercise as hard and fast as you can for 30 seconds. You should feel like you couldn’t possibly go on another few seconds
Recover for 90 seconds by continuing to exercise but at a radically reduced comfortable pace
Repeat the high intensity exercise phase and recovery 7 more times

Be mindful of your current fitness level and don’t overdo it when you first start out. If you are not in great shape and just starting this, you may want to start with just two or three repetitions, and work your way up to eight. You may need to start with just walking and when you do your 30 second bursts your legs would be moving as fast as possible without running — and your arms would be pumping hard and fast.
If you are using cardio equipment like an elliptical or bike, you don’t need to reach any “magical” speed. It’s highly individual, based on your current level of fitness. You know you’re doing it right when you’re exerting yourself to the point of typically gasping for breath after a short burst of activity.
In addition to Peak Fitness, you’ll want to incorporate other types of exercise to round out your regimen. A truly comprehensive exercise plan would also include strength training, core exercises, flexibility and stretching.

Remember to Address this Other Diabetes Culprit …

Type 2 diabetes is a fully preventable, reversible condition that arises from faulty leptin signaling and insulin resistance. Therefore, diabetes can be controlled or reversed by recovering your insulin and leptin sensitivities. The only known way to reestablish proper leptin and insulin signaling is through a proper diet and exercise! There is NO drug that can accomplish this!
A new meta-analysis of 13 randomized controlled trials involving more than 33,000 people showed that drug treatment of type 2 diabetes is not only ineffective, it’s dangerous as well. Treatment with glucose-lowering drugs actually showed the potential to increase your risk of death from heart-related and all other causes.
So what is the other key to remember in diabetes prevention, aside from exercise?
Your diet!
Your diet can make or break you if you’re diabetic or pre-diabetic, but unfortunately for the last 50 years or so, Americans have followed the dietary recommendations of a high complex carbohydrate, low saturated fat diet—the exact opposite of what actually works! High complex carbohydrates include legumes, potatoes, corn, rice and grain products. Aside from legumes, you actually want to AVOID all the rest to prevent insulin resistance.
If you regularly consume sugars and grains, your blood sugar spikes will lead to increased insulin resistance, which leads to increased fat storage. The extra fat then produces more leptin. The problem arises when your leptin levels become chronically elevated. At this point, you become leptin resistant—your body can no longer “hear” the hormonal signals telling your brain you’re full and should stop eating.
As your fat stores increase, your weight goes up, and insulin resistance sets in. Now your body has become “deaf” to the signals from both hormones (leptin and insulin), and disease follows — one of which is diabetes. Nearly all type 2 diabetics need to swap out their grains and sugars for other foods, such as protein, green veggies and healthy sources of fat. You will want to take special care to eliminate fructose, which is far more detrimental than any other type of sugar. This is extremely important!
Drinking just one sweetened drink a day can raise your diabetes risk by 25 percent compared to drinking one sugary drink per month, so you really need to evaluate your diet and look for hidden sources of sugar and fructose.
This also means avoiding most processed foods of all kinds, as they are loaded with fructose. You may even need to avoid fruits until your blood sugar is under control. I strongly advise keeping your total fructose consumption below 25 grams per day. However, it would be wise for most people to limit fructose to 15 grams or less as it is virtually guaranteed you will be getting “hidden” sources of fructose from just about any processed food you eat.
Following my nutrition plan will help you do this without much fuss, as it walks you through the steps you need to get back on the road to optimal health.

By Dr. Mercola

Curcumin – a derivative of turmeric, and the pigment that gives the curry spice turmeric its yellow-orange color — is a natural compound that has been extensively researched, and has been found to have numerous health applications. As a result, turmeric is becoming increasingly popular as a supplement. Each 100 grams of turmeric contains an estimated three to five grams of curcumin.
The ancient Chinese and Indian systems of medicine have recognized curcumin’s beneficial properties for thousands of years. Most notably, curcumin is known for its potent antia-inflammatory properties, and as you may know, chronic inflammation is an underlying factor in many, if not most, chronic diseases. The compound has been shown to influence more than 700 genes, which may in part explain its numerous health benefits.
To learn more about these, please review my special report on this healing spice.
Here, I will review one of curcumin’s most exciting properties, as researchers are increasingly recognizing its potential as an anti-cancer agent. At the end of this article, you’ll also find a list of my other common-sense cancer-prevention strategies.

Curcumin Effective against Fatal Type of Brain Tumor
In an exciting discovery announced in the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry in July, researchers say curcumin could be the answer to stopping a fatal brain cancer known as glioblastoma (GBMs). This study strengthens previous findings. In this study, scientists showed that it decreased brain tumors in nine of 11 study animals (81 percent), with no evidence of toxicity.
Furthermore, curcumin did not affect healthy cells, suggesting curcumin selectively targets cancer cells. They also found that it worked synergistically with two different chemotherapy drugs, enhancing the elimination of cancer cells.
The authors state:

“In summary, data presented here suggest curcumin as a potential agent for therapy of GBMs.”

One of the BEST Supplements for Many Cancers
Several years ago, I learned about the anti-cancer potential of curcumin from Dr. William LaValley, one of the top natural medicine cancer physicians I know. He pointed out that curcumin has the most evidence-based literature backing its use as a cancer support among all nutrients. Not only does it affect more than 700 genes, curcumin also affects more than 100 different pathways once it gets into the cell. Best of all, it appears to be safe in the treatment of all cancers.
Here’s a sampling of some of the most recent studies:

A 2008 study in Cancer Prevention Research, found that curcumin inhibits breast cancer cell motility and invasion by directly inhibiting the function of alpha6beta4 integrin, which suggests it may serve as an effective therapeutic agent in tumors that overexpress alpha6beta4. (Alpha6beta4 is associated with cancer progression by contributing to apoptosis resistance and metastasis)
In 2009, a study in Molecular Pharmacology found that curcumin inhibits pancreatic cancer cell growth and acts as a chemosensitizing agent
Other research from 2009 found that curcumin induces programmed cell death in lung cancer cells
A 2010 study concluded that curcumin has the potential to target cancer stem cells

How Does Curcumin Fight Cancer?
In India, where turmeric is widely used in the diet, the prevalence of four common U.S. cancers — colon, breast, prostate and lung — is 10 times lower. In fact, prostate cancer, which is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in U.S. men, is rare in India and this is attributed, in part, to the curcumin in turmeric. It appears that curcumin combats cancer in a number of different ways.
For instance, curcumin has been found to:

✓ Inhibit the proliferation of tumor cells
✓ Help your body destroy mutated cancer cells so they cannot spread throughout your body
✓ Inhibit the synthesis of a protein thought to be instrumental in tumor formation

✓ Inhibit the transformation of cells from normal to tumor
✓ Decrease inflammation
✓ Prevent the development of additional blood supply necessary for cancer cell growth

Which Type of Turmeric is Best?
To get the full benefits that curcumin has to offer, look for a 100 percent certified organic turmeric extract with at least 95 percent curcuminoids. The formula should be free of fillers, additives and excipients (a substance added to the supplement as a processing or stability aid), and the manufacturer should use safe production practices at all stages: planting, cultivation, selective harvesting, and then producing and packaging the final product.
For use in cooking, choose a pure turmeric powder rather than a curry powder. Preferably organic. At least one study has found that curry powders tend to contain very little curcumin, compared to turmeric powder.

Guidelines for Using Curcumin
Right now, there are no formulations commercially available for use against cancer, and you should know that not only are relatively high doses required, curcumin is also not absorbed very well… A typical anti-cancer dose can be as high as three grams of good bioavailable curcumin extract, three to four times daily.
One work-around is to make a microemulsion from curcumin powder. To do that, mix one tablespoon of the powder into 1-2 egg yolks, along with a teaspoon or two of melted coconut oil. Then, use a high-speed hand blender to emulsify the mixture.
Another strategy that can help increase absorption is to add one tablespoon of curcumin powder to a quart of boiling water. (It must be boiling when you add the powder as it will not work as well if you put it in tepid water.) After boiling it for 10 minutes you will have created a 12 percent solution, which you can drink once cooled. It has a slightly woody taste. Keep in mind though that the curcumin will gradually fall out of solution. In about six hours it will be a six percent solution, so it is best to drink the water within four hours of boiling.
One drawback of doing this at home is that curcumin is a very potent yellow pigment and can permanently discolor surfaces if you’re not careful.

Preventing Cancer: 11 Tips to Live By
In the last 30 years the global cancer burden has doubled, and is estimated to nearly triple by 2030. Clearly, we must begin to take cancer prevention seriously.
While curcumin offers great potential in the fight against cancer, I believe a healthy lifestyle—as opposed to swallowing any number of supplements—is the BEST way to avoid becoming a cancer statistic. I believe you can virtually eliminate your risk of cancer and other chronic diseases, and radically improve your chances of recovering from cancer if you currently have it, by following the following risk reduction strategies.

1. Radically reduce your sugar consumption. Normalizing your insulin levels is one of the most powerful physical actions you can take to lower your risk of cancer, and in order to do so, cutting sugars and grains out of your diet is a must. Eliminating fructose is one of the most important sugars to initially concentrate on. If you have cancer, you’ll want to reduce that to below 10 grams per day from all sources.
2. Optimize your vitamin D levels. There’s overwhelming evidence pointing to the fact that vitamin D deficiency plays a crucial role in cancer development. Researchers within this field have estimated that about 30 percent of cancer deaths might be prevented each year simply by optimizing the vitamin D levels in the general population. On a personal level, you can decrease your risk of cancer by MORE THAN HALF simply by getting optimal sun exposure year-round. Alternatively, you could use a safe tanning bed, or, as a last resort, an oral vitamin D3 supplement. Remember the BEST way to raise your vitamin D level is by sun exposure.
If you are being treated for cancer it is likely that higher blood levels—probably around 80-90 ng/ml—would be beneficial. To learn the details on how to use vitamin D therapeutically, please review my previous article, Test Values and Treatment for Vitamin D Deficiency.

3. Exercise regularly. There’s compelling evidence indicating that exercise can slash your risk of cancer, primarily by reducing elevated insulin levels and normalizing estrogen. For example, women who exercise regularly can reduce their breast cancer risk by 20 to 30 percent compared to those who are inactive. I prefer to view exercise like a drug that needs to be carefully prescribed to achieve its maximum benefit.

It’s important to include a large variety of techniques in your exercise routine. Additionally it is likely that integrating exercise with intermittent fasting will greatly catalyze the potential of exercise to reduce your risk of cancer and stimulate widespread healing and rejuvenation.

4. Get appropriate amounts of animal-based omega-3 fats.

5. Eat as many vegetables as you are comfortable with. Ideally, they should be fresh and organic. Cruciferous vegetables in particular have been identified as having potent anti-cancer properties.

6. Have a tool to permanently erase the neurological short-circuiting that can activate cancer genes. Even the CDC states that 85 percent of disease is caused by emotions. There are a number of different energy psychology tools available that are particularly well-suited for this purpose; the Emotional Freedom Technique is one example.

7. Maintain an ideal body weight.

8. Get enough high-quality sleep.

9. Reduce your exposure to environmental toxins like pesticides, household chemical cleaners, synthetic air fresheners, air pollution, and plastic toxins like BPA.

10. Reduce your use of cell phones and other wireless technologies, and implement as many safety strategies as possible if/when you cannot avoid their use.

11. Boil, poach or steam your foods, rather than frying or charbroiling them.

By Dr. Mercola

Sulfur is the third most abundant mineral in your body, after calcium and phosphorous. It’s an important mineral element that you get almost wholly through dietary proteins, yet it’s been over 20 years since the U.S. Food and Nutrition Board (FNB) issued its last update on recommended daily allowances (RDA) for it.
In a study examining critical elements about how sulfur works in the body, researchers say the importance of this mineral may be underestimated, and that it’s possible that we may not be getting enough of it.

The Importance of Sulfur
Close to half of the sulfur in your body can be found in your muscles, skin and bones, but it does much more than benefit just these three areas. It plays important roles in many bodily systems.
Sulfur bonds are required for proteins to maintain their shape, and these bonds determine the biological activity of the proteins. For example, as explained in the featured MSM newsletter, hair and nails consists of a tough protein called keratin, which is high in sulfur, whereas connective tissue and cartilage contain proteins with flexible sulfur bonds, giving the structure its flexibility. With age, the flexible tissues in your body tend to lose their elasticity, leading to sagging and wrinkling of skin, stiff muscles and painful joints.
A shortage of sulfur likely contributes to these age-related problems.
In addition to bonding proteins, sulfur is also required for the proper structure and biological activity of enzymes. If you don’t have sufficient amounts of sulfur in your body the enzymes cannot function properly, which can cascade into a number of health problems as without biologically active enzymes, your metabolic processes cannot function properly.
Sulfur also plays an important role in:

Your body’s electron transport system, as part of iron/sulfur proteins in mitochondria, the energy factories of your cells
Vitamin-B thiamine (B1) and biotin conversion, which in turn are essential for converting carbohydrates into energy
Synthesizing important metabolic intermediates, such as glutathione
Proper insulin function. The insulin molecule consists of two amino acid chains connected to each other by sulfur bridges, without which the insulin cannot perform its biological activity
Detoxification

The featured study looked at a broad scope of overlapping metabolic pathways in order to determine which ones may be affected by insufficient intake of dietary sulfur. They also evaluated the modes of action of a variety of sulfur-containing dietary supplements, including chondroitin and glucosamine, commonly used to improve joint health.
According to the authors:

“Sulfur amino acids contribute substantially to the maintenance and integrity of the cellular systems by influencing cellular redox state and the capacity to detoxify toxic compounds, free radicals and reactive oxygen species.

… Sulfur containing metabolites, of which glutathione is a key exponent, merge in their functioning with many other compounds that play a major role in mechanisms which are receiving tremendous interests as parts of conventional and complementary medical care. These include the n-3 and n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids, minerals such as Selenium, Zinc, Copper and Magnesium, vitamins E and C, antioxidants such as the proanthocyanidins and lipoic acid, many of which are involved in the synthesis of prostaglandins and in the antioxidant cascade.

More and more evidence is accumulating and focusing on the cooperative role that glutathione and other sulfur metabolites play in the homeostatic control of these fundamental mechanisms.”

Are You Getting Enough Sulfur in Your Diet?
As stated in the featured research, only two of the 20 amino acids normally present in foods contain sulfur:

Methionine, which cannot be synthesized by your body and must be supplied through diet, and
Cysteine, which is synthesized by your body but requires a steady supply of dietary sulfur in order to do so

Neither of these are stored in your body. Rather, “any dietary excess is readily oxidized to sulphate, excreted in the urine (or reabsorbed depending on dietary levels) or stored in the form of glutathione (GSH),” according to the researchers. (Glutathione is comprised of three amino acids: cysteine, glutamate, and glycine, and is your body’s most potent antioxidant, which also keeps all other antioxidants performing at peak levels.)
Furthermore:

“The availability of cysteine appears to be the rate limiting factor for synthesis of glutathione (GSH).

GSH values are subnormal in a large number of wasting diseases and following certain medications leading frequently to poor survival. By supplying sulfur amino acids (SAA) many of these changes can be reversed.

In the brain, which is usually the most spared organ during nutrient deficiencies, GSH concentration declines in order to maintain adequate levels of cysteine. This loss of GSH impairs antioxidant defences… Cartilage, less essential for survival, may not fare well under conditions of sulfur deprivation, explaining why dietary supplements containing sulfur (chondroitin sulfate, glucosamine sulfate, MSM (Methylsulfonylmethane), etc.) may be of benefit in the treatment of joint diseases.”

In conclusion, they state that:

“Out of this study came information that suggested that a significant proportion of the population that included disproportionally the aged, may not be receiving sufficient sulfur and that these dietary supplements, were very likely exhibiting their pharmacological actions by supplying inorganic sulfur.”

Dietary Sources of Sulfur
The best and most ideal way to obtain sulfur is through your diet. Sulfur is derived almost exclusively from dietary protein, such as fish and high-quality (organic and/or grass-fed/pastured) beef and poultry. Meat and fish are considered “complete” as they contain all the sulfur-containing amino acids you need to produce new protein. Needless to say, those who abstain from animal protein are placing themselves at far greater risk of sulfur deficiency.
Other dietary sources that contain small amounts of sulfur include:

✓ Organic pastured eggs
✓ Legumes
✓ Garlic
✓ Onion

✓ Brussel sprouts
✓ Asparagus
✓ Kale
✓ Wheat germ

MSM, an Organic Form of Sulfur
Methylsulfonylmethane, commonly known by its acronym, MSM, is not a drug. It’s an organic form of sulfur and a potent antioxidant, naturally found in many plants. While MSM is an important source of organic sulfur, it also has other unique properties.  Common health complaints associated with low concentrations of MSM in your body include:

Fatigue
Depression
High sensitivity to physical and psychological stress
Degenerative diseases

MSM’s ability to neutralize inflammation is one of the greatest, and one of the most inexpensive, discoveries in the health field, and is thought to be particularly beneficial in the prevention of heart disease.  It has been shown to break down the plaque in your arteries, which is associated with chronic inflammation.
Other health benefits associated with MSM include:

✓ Reducing chronic pain
✓ Improving cellular uptake of many nutrients including vitamins A, B, C, D, E, amino acids, selenium, calcium, magnesium, coenzyme Q10
✓ Preventing cancer
✓ Reducing or eliminating muscle soreness and cramps

✓ Detoxification
✓ Alleviating symptoms of allergies
✓ Anti-parasitic action against Giardia, Trichomonas, roundworms, nematodes, Enterobius and other intestinal worms
✓ Improving lung function by allowing your body to more effectively take up oxygen

✓ Preventing neurological disease by repairing oxidative damage and restoring cell membrane elasticity and permeability
✓ Preventing and reducing symptoms of autoimmune diseases by fighting chronic inflammation
✓ Preventing diabetes by promoting healthy insulin function
✓ Increasing strength and endurance, and reducing stress

Sources of MSM, and Dosages
MSM can be found in:

Raw grass-fed milk
Fresh vegetables, and
Fruits

The amounts of sulfur you can obtain from these sources range between one to five mg/kg. Raw pastured milk contains the highest amounts of MSM: between two to five mg/kg. However, it’s important to know that MSM is rapidly lost during heating, so pasteurized milk is not a good source. It contains less than 0.25 mg/kg MSM… Ditto for thoroughly cooked vegetables, and fruits and vegetables kept for a period of time. Hence, you’ll want to consume most of your veggies raw as soon as possible after harvesting. If you eat a diet consisting primarily of processed and thoroughly cooked foods, you can be virtually guaranteed that you’re not getting sufficient amounts of sulfur in your diet.
MSM is also highly concentrated in aloe vera, so you can use natural aloe vera products to increase your intake of MSM in its natural form.
Another alternative is to take MSM as a dietary supplement. In a previous interview, superfood expert David Wolfe recommended taking about 2,500 mg per day to start; slowly working your way up to about 5,000 to 7,500 mg per day. Keep in mind that there may be side effects because MSM can detoxify you, and that may initially aggravate any condition you have. So increase dosage slowly to allow your body to adjust. Avoid increasing the dose until all detox symptoms have disappeared. Also, avoid taking it at night, as it may increase your energy levels.
As with most supplements, quality is a concern when it comes to MSM as well.  It’s important to note that if you’re allergic to sulfa drugs, you may also have trouble with MSM.
Aside from that, MSM is extremely non-toxic. So far no one has found an upper limit at which point it causes toxic effects. This fact makes it an ideal form of sulfur supplementation, as the sulfur-containing amino acids methionine and cysteine can both cause toxic symptoms at large doses.

“Body by science” by Doug McGuff, MD from Ancestry on Vimeo.By Dr. Mercola

In the video above, Dr. Doug McGuff, author of the book Body by Science, explains how going back to a “Paleo” way of eating and using high-intensity exercise can help you optimize your health. In terms of lowering your body fat, it is absolutely essential that you take some tips from generations long since passed, as they hold the keys to developing the lean, strong body you were designed to have.

What is the Paleo Diet?
One of the most thorough looks into “Stone Age” nutrition was done by Dr. Loren Cordain, author of The Paleo Diet and considered to be one of the world’s leading experts on Paleolithic nutrition. Based upon scientific research examining the types and quantities of foods our hunter-gatherer ancestors ate, the foundation of “The Paleo Diet” is lean meat, including ostrich and bison as well as organ meats, seafood, fresh fruit and non-starchy vegetables — a far cry from the standard American diet.
During the Paleolithic period, which spans to 12,000 years ago, people ate primarily vegetables, fruit, nuts, roots and meat. As Dr. McGuff stated, if you went out to gather food during this time, the foodstuffs you would find the least of would be carbohydrates. As he said, there was a lot more “fauna” than “flora” in the environment.
Your body likely developed the signal to store energy based upon the food type that was least abundant, i.e. carbohydrates, and this has continued to this day. So when you eat carbs, your body hears “store energy” — and this situation is put on steroids with the Standard American Diet, as McGuff said.
While exercise is important and crucial for weight loss, the foods you choose to eat are multiple times more important for controlling your weight than your exercise. And if your diet relies on carbohydrates like sugar, fructose and grains, weight- and fat loss will be virtually impossible.

If You Want a Lean Body, Eat the Way of Your Ancestors
Our Stone-Age ancestors not only ate more natural foods than we do today, but they also ate an incredibly wide variety of them. Dr. Mark Berry, who is involved in the Paleolithic nutrition research, explained that back then humans ate 20-25 different plant foods a day.
Today, many Americans struggle to fit in five!
Meanwhile, modern-day man eats far more carbs — including grains, sugar and fructose — than your ancestors could have dreamed of. See, you don’t get fat simply because you overeat — on the contrary, you overeat because your fat tissue is accumulating excess fat. But why would your fat tissue continuously accumulate fat if you’re not simply “eating too much and exercising too little”? Because:

Dietary carbohydrates, especially fructose, are the primary source of a substance called glycerol-3-phosphate (g-3-p), which causes fat to become fixed in fat tissue
At the same time, high carb intake raises your insulin levels, which prevents fat from being released

The resulting equation is simple: fructose and dietary carbohydrates (grains, which break down into sugar) lead to excess body fat, obesity and related health issues. No amount of exercise can compensate for this damage because if you eat a lot of fructose (and there’s a good chance you are, considering it’s in virtually every processed food), it could be “programming” your body to become fat.
It’s not hard to understand the dietary roots of the American weight problem nowadays when you consider that the top 10 sources of calories in the American diet: Four of the top five sources of calories, and eight out of the full 10, are CARBS — sugars (primarily fructose) and grains! This is the opposite of what our ancestors ate, and is also counterproductive to what you need to lose body fat and stay healthy.

1. Grain-based desserts (cakes, cookies, donuts, pies, crisps, cobblers, and granola bars) 139 calories a day
2. Yeast breads, 129 calories a day

3. Chicken and chicken-mixed dishes, 121 calories a day
4. Soda, energy drinks, and sports drinks, 114 calories a day

5. Pizza, 98 calories a day
6. Alcoholic beverages

7. Pasta and pasta dishes
8. Mexican mixed dishes

9. Beef and beef-mixed dishes
10. Dairy desserts

So What Should You Eat to Mimic Your Stone-Age Ancestors?

Ironically, when U.S. News evaluated and ranked 20 diets with input from a panel of health experts, the Paleo diet ranked lowest of the 20! But this was not because it is a poor diet, but because the panelists didn’t believe it was possible to find the appropriate foods in the modern era. Nothing could be further from the truth, because food selection today is no longer dictated by your environment as it was so long ago, but rather by your choices at the supermarket or, better, the farmer’s market.
As written in AlterNet:

“The Paleo diet is less a prescription than a framework for considering one’s relationship with food, but several themes are common to most Paleo menus. Aversion to wheat and most grains is common, and processed carbs and sugar are especially avoided. Many Paleos are suspicious of modern fruit, engineered as it was by agriculture into the equivalent of candy bars hanging from trees.”

While you wouldn’t be able to find many of the wild varieties of plant foods eaten by cavemen even if you wanted to, because modern agriculture has largely taken over the food supply and tweaked and shrunk it to where only a few varieties of wheat, corn and other plant foods are left, you can certainly mold your diet around the principles of Paleo eating rather simply by following my nutrition plan.
I believe it to be one of the most profound interventions for the 21st century and, when properly applied, it can improve just about anyone’s health by basing your diet on fresh, whole, unprocessed, “real” food!
As Dr. Cordain stated:

“Simply put, human nutritional requirements for optimal health are determined by our genes, and our genes are shaped by the environment of our ancestors through natural selection. Many modern staples and processed foods were not present throughout most of the more than 2 million years hominin species have been present on earth.

The nutritional qualities of modern processed foods and foods introduced during the Neolithic period are discordant with our ancient and conservative genome. This genetic discordance ultimately manifests itself as various chronic illnesses, which have been dubbed “diseases of civilization.”

By severely reducing or eliminating these foods and replacing them with a more healthful cuisine, possessing nutrient qualities more in line with the foods our ancestors consumed, it is possible to improve health and reduce the risk of chronic disease.”

Where Does Exercise Fit In?
Much of Dr. Doug McGuff’s video above is focused on high-intensity exercise like Peak Fitness — and this, too, mimics the behavioral patterns of the Paleolithic people. During this era, people were not running long distances without any rest, the way so many people do on treadmills today. Rather, they would exert themselves in short bursts while hunting or evading threats, and then follow this up with a period of rest.
By following this strategy, you can really maximize your weight loss efforts, as long as it is combined with proper dietary changes.
The short intense training protocol that is used during Peak Fitness exercise improves muscle energy utilization and expenditure due to its positive effects on increasing muscle mass and improving muscle fiber quality. Muscle tissue burns three to five times more energy than fat tissues. This means that muscle gain increases your body’s metabolic rate and allows you to burn more calories, even when you’re sleeping.
Further, several studies have confirmed that exercising in shorter bursts with rest periods in between burns more fat than exercising continuously for an entire session. In fact, you can actually lose more weight by reducing the amount of time you spend on exercise, as with Peak Fitness you only need 20 minutes, two to three times a week. Remember proper dietary choices are your first and most important step to fat loss, but high-intensity exercise can boost your progress from there.

By Dr. Mercola

Juicing is a powerful tool that can accelerate your progress towards optimal health. Virtually every health authority, even conventional doctors, recommend 6-8 servings of vegetables and fruits per day but very few of us actually get that.
In my life I have found that juicing is a simple and easy way to virtually guarantee that you will reach your daily target for vegetables. I typically juice every day and consume from a pint to a quart of green juice daily.
Juicing also helps you absorb all those wonderful nutrients from the vegetables. This is important because most of us have impaired digestion as a result of making less-than-optimal food choices over many years. Juicing will help to “pre-digest” the veggies, so you receive most of the nutrition rather than having it go down the toilet.
Another benefit of juicing is that it allows you to add a wider variety of vegetables to your diet that you might not normally enjoy eating whole.

How Much Juice Should You Consume?

Cherie recommends a minimum of 16 ounces of juice a day. Ideally, you’ll want to strive for a full quart of juice, split up between the morning and the afternoon.
My personal recommendation is to juice it all at once, to save time, then store it properly and drink it throughout the day.
Cherie says she’s got her juicing routine down to 10 minutes, but then again, she’s an expert. Pour your juice into a FoodSaver, or a glass Mason or Ball jar filled to the top so there is no oxygen, and put it in the fridge immediately. FoodSaver has an attachment for the jars that will vacuum seal it for you and suck out most of the oxygen. You’re probably going to retain well over 90 percent of the nutritional value if you do it in that way and consume it within 12 to 24 hours

What To Do with the Pulp?

Many are concerned about wasting the pulp and throwing it away. Well that can easily be solved by composting it into your vegetable or ornamental garden. However, an even better solution would be to eat it.
From a nutritional perspective it is far more useful to eat the whole vegetable as the fibers actually serve as a prebiotic and raw fuel for your good bacteria to grow, and as a weed killer that actually helps to eradicate harmful organisms like yeast and pathogenic bacteria.
You are probably thinking “how disgusting,” and “why would I ever want to do that?”
Well if you dress up the pulp with some Himalayan salt and other condiments that you may enjoy, like balsamic vinegar and crushed red peppers, it becomes far more palatable. What I have recently figured out though is if I put a few lightly poached eggs over the pulp with some melted fresh raw organic butter, it really is turns it into a delicious meal.
The butter and eggs provide fat and protein that actually balance out the meal.  I used to feel hungry after juicing but since I started eating the pulp with poached eggs I feel very full and satisfied.
Some might ask why I don’t  just use a powerful mixer like a Vita Mixer and have less mess to clean up and prepare it quicker. Well there are several problems doing it this way as the speed of the Vita Mixer is too high and can actually damage some of the nutrients in the vegetables.  More importantly is it is MUCH less palatable as it becomes a thick, virtually undrinkable slurry rather than a tasty meal and refreshing thin juice you can drink right down.
One of my newer developments is to take the pulp and put it in a dehydrator at 104 degrees for 6-12 hours, until it is dry and make vegetable pulp crisps. I put Himalayan salt and other seasonings on it like crushed red pepper, and I use it as a bread substitute, particularly for the four raw organic pastured chicken egg yolks I have almost every morning. The texture really makes it a very palatable breakfast. I also use one avocado and some red onions.

Juice According to Your Nutritional Type

Although vegetables are generally “healthful,” it’s still important to take your nutritional type into account when juicing, both in terms of the amount you consume, and the types of vegetables and add-ins you use.
According to Nutritional Typing principles, if you are a carb type, then vegetable juicing is highly recommended to help you regain your health. Juicing is also beneficial for mixed types.
Protein types, however, need to be a bit more cautious though and follow some specific guidelines to reap optimal results.
Celery, cucumber, spinach, asparagus, string beans and cauliflower are the best options for protein types because they’re lower in potassium.
You can also add some dark leafy greens like collards, kale, and dandelion greens, but do so cautiously and pay careful attention to how you feel, because these vegetables are very high in potassium and can cause biochemical imbalances in protein types.
Additionally, to make the juice compatible with protein type metabolism (which also needs higher amounts of fat), it is important to blend in some type of raw fat, such as raw cream, raw butter, raw eggs, avocado, coconut butter, or freshly ground organic flax or hemp seeds.  

Healing Through Juicing—The Juice Lady’s Story

Cherie Calbom earned her nickname “The Juice Lady” back in 1991, when she worked for the Juiceman company. But she’s been passionate about juicing far longer.

“[Y]ears ago, I had chronic fatigue syndrome; fibromyalgia in my late 20s; hypoglycemia; allergies; candidiasis—a long list of problems and no hope to get well,” Cherie says.
“I decided I was going to find a way; there had to be a way to get well. So I started going to health food stores and reading. I found an old Norman Walker book… I got my first juicer and I embarked on this five day vegetable juice cleanse, and continued that through three months of juicing. I changed my diet completely.
One morning, I woke up and thought somebody gave me a new body in the middle of the night. It was like WOW! I felt completely healed.”

However, it bears mentioning that it wasn’t an entirely smooth ride.

“Along the way, I felt worse before I felt better. No one had talked about the detox reactions. My dad kept saying, “I think you’re killing yourself with this juice program.”…I was definitely detoxing.”

In Cherie’s case, it took three months before she suddenly felt completely renewed.
Interestingly, three months is also the average lifespan of red blood cells. So in three months you should have renewed most all of your red blood cells. In Cherie’s experience, this is the typical time frame for most people before they see any dramatic improvement in their health.

The Healing Power of Wheatgrass

Although many don’t fancy the taste of wheatgrass, it’s a potent healing and detoxing ingredient. You’ll need a masticating juicer in order to use it however, as it’ll just shoot out of a centrifugal juicer.
Cherie buys flats of wheatgrass from her local co-op, but you can also order them from Whole Foods. Most local food stores only sell it in small containers, which you might get 2 oz. from, if you’re lucky. If you buy a flat of it, you’ll have enough to last you several days. To keep it fresh, place it in front of a window and spray some water on it daily.

“It’s so good!” Cherie says. “It’s a grass. It’s like a sprout. It’s new life; loaded with chlorophyll and all of these wonderful vitamins, minerals, enzymes, biophotons and some amino acids. It’s just powerful.
… They say that the chlorophyll molecule in there is similar to our hemoglobin molecule.”
… I’ve consulted at a center that uses wheatgrass juice for people who go through this program… I’ve seen amazing things happen for people drinking 5 oz. of wheatgrass juice a day: 2.5 oz. in the morning and 2.5 oz in the afternoon. Try it. That’s all I can say. Just give it a try.”

It is really bitter though, so you may want to add a small amount of lime or liquid stevia to improve the flavor. Limes are great as they are virtually fructose free.

Detoxing—An Important Part of Optimal Health

Juicing is one way to detox your system and is in fact one of the reasons why some people start juicing in the first place. Wheatgrass is particularly helpful in this respect. It provides nutrients that accelerate and facilitate detoxification, especially in your liver where most of your body’s detox occurs.
However, about 100-times more of the toxins are stored in your fat than in your blood. And although juicing may help you shed excess fat, which would reduce toxic stores, it will not in and of itself draw it out of your fat. More aggressive intervention is required for that.
I recently encountered a surgical oncologist who has a great detox program. He uses high dose niacin to cause lipolysis (breakdown of fat), in conjunction with exercise to raise your core body temperature. Then you spend 40 minutes in an infrared sauna. Doing this process daily for a month causes your body to excrete stored toxins from your fat.
However, this is not a detox cure to dabble with at home.
First of all, 20 to 25 percent of people cannot tolerate niacin. It causes massive flushing. Second, although it’s a vitamin, at the doses required for detox, it’s treated as a drug. He starts his patients out at about 100 mg and progresses all the way up to 5,000 mg, which is a massive dose. You’ll be beet red from the niacin flush! So it has to be used with extreme caution and only under a physician’s care.

Detoxing with Juicing

Juicing, however, is also a powerful way to lose body fat, and because the juice contains high amounts of antioxidants it can help bind toxins when they get released.

“You are going to be losing fat and when those fat cells are breaking down and all those toxins are getting released, you need a lot of antioxidants to get them out of your system and render them harmless. That’s where juicing is just powerful,” Cherie explains.
“The beta carotene and other carotenes are wonderful for the liver and a wonderful part of detox. I’ve worked with a lot of people on various cleansing programs that I’ve designed and juicing is a big part of that along with nutrients and herbs to help the liver detox. I wouldn’t be without it.
I don’t like just a straight water fast… When I did an internship with a nutritional medical doctor, he had some people coming in that had done just straight water fast and had gotten into major problems because of it.
So I think it’s very important to have hearty vegetable juices for cleansing or detoxing your body. People that do, even though you get symptoms (the Herxheimer reaction they call it), seem to do a whole lot better when they’ve got the fresh vegetable juices than when they don’t.”

What about Fasting?

Personally, I’ve been opposed to fasting. It works well for some people, but I believe it’s not entirely suitable for strong protein types like myself, simply because we need high amounts of protein. Obviously, if you’re doing a juice fast you’re getting some protein but it’s a rather minimal amount. My concern is that it might cause you to lose muscle as well as fat. Intermittent fasting can be used on occasion.
My concerns may be unwarranted however.
According to Cherie, short fasts, lasting no more than two or three days do not appear to have any impact on muscles. Juice fasts lasting longer than a week however, may lead to muscle loss.

“I’m a protein type and I did a five-day fast that one time to kind of kick off my program. It’s wonderful to give your system a rest where your body is not having to work to break down all of this stuff that we eat… It can then really begin to work on detox, on repair, on rejuvenation. I’ve done one about every year for three days and I always add in wheatgrass.”

When doing a juice fast, Cherie recommends consuming between one to two quarts of juice a day. Also remember to break your fast with very light foods, such as cold raw soup and maybe a dehydrated cracker.

“There are a lot of people who like to take one day a week to give their system a rest. A nice way to do that is to do an all liquid breakfast, lunch and dinner, so you don’t feel so deprived. You’ve slept through most of it and yet, you’ve given your system a real rest and a chance to do some cleansing. Then just have a really healthy dinner the next night,” Cherie recommends.

Cherie’s Vegetable Recommendations

With respect to specific vegetable recommendations, here’s Cherie’s top picks:

Dark greens, such as collard greens, Swiss chard and kale
Ginger root, for its anti-inflammatory properties
Lemons, which are high in vitamin C and bioflavanoids. If organic you can also juice the rind
Celery
Cucumbers (leave the skin on if organic)
Parsley, which is rich in vitamin C, bioflavanoids, iron, minerals and chlorophyll
Beet greens (the beets are good for your liver, but they’re high in sugar, so use them very sparingly)
Organic carrots (avoid conventionally grown carrots as they tend to be highly contaminated with pesticides). Use carrots sparingly, however, as they’re very high in sugar. Avoid them if you have candida, hypoglycemia, insulin resistance, diabetes, or cancer.

She also saves broccoli stems, the bottoms of cauliflower, and the stems from fresh asparagus and juices those. It’s a great way to reduce waste.

Special Concerns and Warnings

Please note you should never juice the peel from oranges or grape fruits as they contain toxic oils.
Limes do not contain these oils and are safe to juice. Only juice organic lime rinds however, to avoid contaminating your juice.
Additionally, you’ll want to rotate the vegetables you use, as consuming the same vegetables every day for an extended period of time can cause you to develop sensitivities or allergies. So switch things up regularly and try different recipes.
For more information, please see my juicing page.

Ever wonder why those last few pounds just won’t come off – or why you might even gain weight when you’re on a diet? Believe it or not, you may be sabotaging yourself with some bad diet habits without realizing it. In a 16-point list, Bodhifitonline talks about diet habits that can wreak havoc with a weight loss program.
For example, simply not eating enough could be the one thing that sets you up to fail. You may already have guessed that following celebrity diets isn’t always a good thing – but did you know that the government’s food guidelines not only can ruin a diet but make you gain weight? The good news is that once you know what you’re doing wrong, it’s easy to get back on track.
Click on the link below to read all 16 reasons why you can’t stick to your diet.

Evidence suggests that CT scans to measure lung tumors can be unreliable.  This could potentially lead patients and doctors to believe the cancer is growing when it’s not.
A new study found that changes of up to 10 percent can happen simply as a result of the inherent variability of CT imaging.
According to Reuters:

“[The study] … is the first to test how reliable lung cancer scans are — work that’s long overdue, experts say, because CT scans have already become the gold standard for measuring cancer growth and treatment response.”

Yahoo Health has assembled 10 expert tips to keep your stomach flat and lean. Here are a few of them. To read the rest of the tips, you can click on the link below:

Eat at the magic hour: Have a snack that contains protein between 3 PM and 4 PM. It will boost your metabolism and balance your blood sugar.
Beef up on a belly-zapping hormone: Eat as close to zero grams of sugar as possible. This will keep your insulin levels low, and also keep your glucagon levels high. Glucagon, a hormone, helps keep your belly flat
Chew on this: Chewing prevents bloating. Chew food until it is like applesauce in your mouth. Digestion begins in the mouth, and better-digested food means less gas and bloating.
Size matters: Eating portion-controlled meals will reduce your abdominal flab.

Building muscle, losing fat, and improving overall health are dependent on one very important hormone — insulin. The website Bodybuilding.com offers 6 tips to get your insulin sensitivity high and keep it there. Here are three of them:

Tighten the reins on refined carbs: One of the primary reasons people develop diabetes is their overconsumption of refined carbs and sugars, which causes their pancreas to continually pump out more and more insulin.
Have some healthy fats: Another way to increase your insulin sensitivity is by optimizing the rate at which your body processes carbohydrates by eating plenty of healthy fats.
Stay active all day: Most people hit the gym regularly, but they succumb to long periods of inactivity during the rest of their day. This is asking for trouble.

To read the rest of their tips, click on the link below.

The Monsanto Company spent $1.4 million to lobby the federal government just in the first quarter of 2011, according to a recent disclosure report.  That’s still less than the $2.5 million Monsanto spent in a single three month period only a year earlier.
The company primarily lobbied Congress and the U.S. Department of Agriculture concerning regulations that would affect genetically engineered crops such as the company’s Roundup Ready soybeans and alfalfa.
According to CNBC:

“The company also lobbied Congress and USDA on issues surrounding consolidation and antitrust law in agriculture … The company also lobbied the U.S. Trade Representative and Department of State on issues surrounding foreign regulation and trade of biotech seeds.”

Here, Cherie Calbom, also known as “The Juice Lady,” shares her insights on juicing and how it can help improve your health. She’s authored two books on the subject: Juicing for Life, and The Juice Lady’s Turbo Diet.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has approved $20 million in new monies toward the development of “golden rice” — an untested, highly controversial GE (genetically engineered) crop that threatens biodiversity and risks bringing economic and ecological disaster to Asia’s farms.
The leader of the Golden Rice project is Gerald Barry, previously director of research at Monsanto.
Sarojeni V. Rengam, executive director of Pesticide Action Network Asia and the Pacific (PAN AP), has called the rice a “Trojan horse.” According to Rengam, the rice is “… a public relations stunt pulled by the agri-business corporations to garner acceptance of GE crops and food. The whole idea of GE seeds is to make money.”
Food Freedom reports:

“Golden rice is a Trojan horse for pushing through GE-friendly biosafety regulations under the guise of humanitarian aid. Once in place, these regulations open the door for the biotech industry to bring in commercial, patented GE crops; USAID and Monsanto accomplished exactly this in Kenya with their sweet potato project.”

In Thailand at least, however, a little known and unpublicized agricultural policy protects Thai rice from the risks of GMO’s. The Thai Ministry of Agriculture’s “Rice Strategy” is a master plan committed to strengthening the nation’s rice production while promoting farmers’ livelihoods and consumer confidence — which includes keeping Thai rice GMO (genetically modified organism)-free.
Adding to the risks of GE crops is Monsanto’s Roundup, the world’s best-selling herbicide that is made to be partnered with GE Roundup Ready crops. According to a new report, regulators have known for years that Roundup causes birth defects.
Regulators were apparently aware as long ago as 1980 that glyphosate, the active chemical ingredient of Roundup, caused birth defects in lab animals. However, the information was not made public. Instead, regulators misled the public about glyphosate’s safety.
According to the Huffington Post:

“… [A]s recently as last year, the German Federal Office for Consumer Protection and Food Safety, the German government body dealing with the glyphosate review, told the European Commission that there was no evidence glyphosate causes birth defects …
Although glyphosate was originally due to be reviewed in 2012, the Commission decided late last year not to bring the review forward, instead delaying it until 2015. The chemical will not be reviewed under more stringent, up-to-date standards until 2030.”

Yahoo Shine notes that eating the wrong foods — or not eating the right foods — can result in symptoms that most people tend to assume are due to aging. Here are four tips they’ve assembled to steer you in the right direction:
Mistake #1: You avoid all animal protein
Vitamin B12, which is essential for energy, is found only in foods that are derived from animals. This nutrient helps regulate your metabolism, and it is an important part of maintaining a healthy brain and nervous system. Fatigue is a classic sign of B12 deficiency
Mistake #2: You’re not getting enough manganese and copper
Manganese and copper prevent joint pain, and are both essential for maintaining joint cartilage and flexibility. In many cases, getting enough of these nutrients reverses joint deterioration and eliminates joint pain.
Mistake #3: You avoid healthy fats
Omega-3 fats are part of your brain’s building blocks. If you’re not getting enough in your diet, the architecture of your brain becomes weak, and brain function, including memory, deteriorates.
Mistake #4: You favor packaged foods over whole
Most processed foods do not have enough potassium, which can result in high blood pressure. Eating better can correct the problem.

Monsanto may soon be allowed to conduct its own environmental studies. Currently, the USDA is responsible for assessing environmental impacts of new GMO crops, but the agency plans to at least temporarily hand over environmental impact reporting responsibilities to the biotech companies behind GMO crops.
If this isn’t the classic example of the fox guarding the henhouse I don’t know what is.
The two-year pilot program will allow the companies to conduct their own environmental assessments, or alternately outsource the work to contractors. The USDA will retain the final say in determining the safety of crops.
According to Fast Company:

“The USDA won’t actually admit that it’s bad at performing its duties — instead, the agency claims that the move will make the environmental reporting process more timely, efficient, and cost-effective … [But if Monsanto] has a vested interest in getting one of its crops deregulated, why wouldn’t it try to fudge the numbers on an environmental review? And why wouldn’t its hired contractors do the same?”

You might think that genetically modified organisms (GMOs) don’t affect you. But in fact, up to 90 percent of all major U.S. grown crops are grown with genetically engineered seed, and can be used in human and animal foods without any safety testing or labeling.
This includes GM corn, soybeans, canola, and sugar beets, which have made their way into approximately 80 percent of current U.S. grocery store items.

If you’re not buying organically produced foods (or growing your own food), then you’re probably eating genetically modified ingredients in most of the processed foods you’re consuming.
The UK Progressive reports:

“Scientific testing has not been done on what effects GMOs may have on humans. What has been shown is that GMO foods contain excessive amounts of certain toxins, the effects of which have not been determined. Genetically modified foods also negatively impact the environment by creating more toxins and potentially leading to the creation of mutated soil bacteria, which may lead to more harm regarding the future of food production.”

Most soybean, corn, cotton and canola crops in the U.S. are genetically altered. Some experts argue that these crops could pose serious health and environmental risks, but the scientific picture is currently incomplete — deliberately so.
Agricultural corporations such as Monsanto and Syngenta have restricted independent research on the crops. They have refused to provide independent scientists with seeds, or else have set restrictive conditions that severely limit research.  This is legal because under U.S. law, genetically engineered crops are patentable.
The Los Angeles Times reports:

“Agricultural companies defend their stonewalling by saying that unrestricted research could make them vulnerable to lawsuits if an experiment somehow leads to harm, or that it could give competitors unfair insight into their products. But it’s likely that the companies fear something else as well: An experiment could reveal that a genetically engineered product is hazardous or doesn’t perform as promised.”

Even if you don’t want to eat genetically engineered foods, you most likely already are doing so.  Corn and soy are two of the most common food ingredients, especially in processed foods, and over 90 percent of both these crops in the US are now from GM seeds.
Organic food companies and consumer groups are stepping up their efforts to get the government to exercise more oversight of engineered foods. Critics of current policy argue that the genetically modified (GM) seeds are often contaminating the nearby non-GM crops.
ABC News reports:

“The U.S. government has insisted there’s not enough difference between the genetically modified seeds its agencies have approved and natural seeds to cause concern. But Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, more so than his predecessors in previous administrations, has acknowledged the debate over the issue and a growing chorus of consumers concerned about what they are eating.”

Ori Hofmekler, author of The Warrior Diet, The Anti-Estrogenic Diet, Maximum Muscle Minimum Fat, and the upcoming book Unlocking the Muscle Gene, is an expert on how to build muscle and improve your health with foods.
In this interview, Ori shares his insights about the timing of your meals to optimize your health.

The Organic Consumers Association has asserted that Whole Foods sent a misleading e-mail to its customers on Jan. 21in which they gave the green light to USDA bureaucrats to approve the “conditional deregulation” of Monsanto’s genetically engineered, herbicide-resistant alfalfa. However, after sharp criticisms from the OCA and their customers, and in the wake of USDA’s unrestricted approval of GE alfalfa and sugar beets, the leaders of the organic industry seem to have changed their tune, issuing strong statements against the USDA approval last week.
According to the Organic Consumers Association:

“The main reason … why Whole Foods is pleading for coexistence with Monsanto, Dow, Bayer, Syngenta, BASF and the rest of the biotech bullies, is that they desperately want the controversy surrounding genetically engineered foods and crops to go away. Why? Because they know, just as we do, that two-thirds of [Whole Food’s] $9 billion annual sales is derived from so-called ‘natural’ processed foods and animal products that are contaminated with GMOs.”

The Organic Consumers Association is also helping people who want to organize or coordinate Millions Against Monsanto and Factory Farms Truth-in-Labeling campaigns in their local community, through this web site: http://organicconsumers.org/oca-volunteer/
Update: Whole Foods Market has offered this response to the Organic Consumers Association:

“We have seen a few comments about the OCA’s misleading letter about our company. Once again, the OCA has it all wrong. We have done more than any other retailer to educate and advocate on genetically engineered food, and we are deeply committed to preserving our ability to sell non-GE food. Perhaps OCA did not understand our position. We do not have anything to do with big biotech companies’ agenda!
“As tried and true pioneers of organic, we at Whole Foods Market support the preservation of seed purity, organic integrity and we are advocates of clearly labeling GMOs so that our shoppers can make informed decisions.
There are still many unanswered questions about genetic engineering and there is no mandatory labeling and little government oversight of GMOs. That’s why we have spent the last couple of decades working to find a solution to offer non-GMO foods to our shoppers.
We do NOT advocate for the USDA to allow the well-funded biotech industry to monitor itself carte blanche without ongoing government oversight. Unfortunately, the USDA presented our industry with two options: total deregulation of GE alfalfa, or deregulation with some conditions to facilitate coexistence and protection of non-GE farmers.
We supported a path of coexistence, not because it’s a perfect path, but because it’s the only viable path that would ensure our ongoing ability to provide non-GMO foods.
Given the prevalence of GMO crops in the U.S. — 93 percent of soy, 86 percent of corn, 93 percent of cotton and 93 percent of canola seed planted were genetically engineered in the US in 2010 — we did not believe that a complete ban of GE alfalfa or any crop is an option that the USDA would even consider supporting, nor was it even an option.
We favor protecting organic and non-GE agriculture’s property rights, and the USDA’s regulatory authority is the best way to meet this goal. Our options were to have a seat at the table (and support coexistence) or to not be represented at all. We chose deregulation with restrictions so that we could represent our company, the organic food community and our shoppers.
This does not mean that we have anything to do with big biotech or that we support their agenda.”

Further Updates:  The news keeps pouring in on this controversial issue.  Phil Bereano, a co-founder of AGRA watch, argues that by deregulating the planting of GM alfalfa, the USDA appears to be in direct contravention to its obligations under law and court decisions.  A 2007 trial judge found that alfalfa farmers had established a reasonable probability that their conventional alfalfa crops would be contaminated with the engineered Roundup Ready gene if deregulation occurred.
Writing on the Community Alliance for Global Justice Website, he notes:

“There have been about 200 incidents of GE crops contaminating non-GE produce, resulting in hundreds of millions (if not billions) of dollars in damages; contamination is a real risk and one of very significant magnitude … Thus, the Department cannot dismiss it as insignificant or rest on Monsanto’s assurances that its practices render contamination unlikely … The Department suggests that consumers will forgive unintentional contamination, but intention is irrelevant to the National Organic Standards and to the protection of human health.”
Meanwhile, Tom Philpott, writing in Grist Magazine, suggests that the White House may have pressured the USDA to deregulate.  In the past, USDA chief Tom Vilsack has acknowledged the dangers of cross-contamination, calling it “a significant concern for farmers who produce for non-GE markets at home and abroad.”

According to Grist:

“A USDA chief had publicly declared his willingness to defy the industry, and then was seemingly forced by political pressure from above to cravenly abandon that defiance …Unhappily, the decision falls into line with other Obama administration gestures of fealty to the agrichemical lobby.”

More than 25 million people in the U.S. suffer from diabetes. Most have type 2 diabetes, which usually develops later in life. But type 2 diabetes can be reversed.
CNN reports what some of us have known for a long time now — by making changes such as adding exercise and improving their diets, many type 2 diabetics can drop their glucose or sugar numbers back to the normal range, reversing their condition.
Diabetes is caused when your body isn’t making enough insulin, or it can’t properly use the insulin it is producing. As a result of this, too much sugar stays in the blood, which can cause serious problems.
According to CNN:

“People who carry excess weight, especially in their midsection, are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes because the fat in their tissues causes an imbalance of insulin in the body. The condition is called insulin resistance. If they can eliminate that fat by exercising and limiting carbohydrates and alcohol, then many can drop their glucose levels. And for some, they can drop them back into the normal range.”

Yahoo Shine suggests eight ways to boost your metabolism and keep unwanted pounds from your waistline. Here are a few of them:
Do Intervals—Periodic fast-paced intervals raise your metabolic rate higher than a steady cardio workout can.
Drink Green Tea—A study found that people who drank three to five cups daily for three months cut 5 percent off their body weight.
Consider Caffeine—Coffee drinkers have a 16 percent higher metabolic rate — but make sure you take it early to avoid sleeping problems.
Build More Muscle—Lean muscle mass boosts your metabolism and makes losing weight more easy.
Pick Up Heavier Weights—Use heavy weights at a very slow rate to break down your muscles.  Your metabolism goes up while your body makes muscle repairs.
In related news, the results of an epidemiological showed that the metabolic syndrome, a condition associated with cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes, is related to a poor diet low in micronutrients.
Researchers examined the relationship between the metabolic syndrome and micronutrients such as folate, zinc and vitamins C, B12 and E. After adjusting for age and sex, they found significant relationships between the metabolic syndrome and two of the micronutrients, vitamins C and E.
According to Eurekalert:

“Additionally, [the researchers] observed a significant relationship between the metabolic syndrome and C-reactive protein (CRP), a marker of low-grade inflammation that has been associated with cardiovascular disease risk. High CRP blood concentrations were seen in almost half of the population.”

Disclose.tv – 109 YEARS OLD ON MAINLY RAW FOODS- Bernando- The S Video

Bernando LaPallo, author of “Age Less, Live More,” offers living proof that living and eating the way nature intended is rewarded with a long life. Having eaten of primarily raw food diet, LaPallo is more alive at 109 than most people are in their 70’s and 80’s.