Dr. MERCOLA --> alternative health and fitness

Alternative/natural solution-based discussions of topics like health, medicine, science, food, etc.
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rewcox
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Re: Dr. MERCOLA --> alternative health and fitness

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BroJones wrote:Better than being blue!

PS, friend Rewcox -- I'm using lemon juice + veggie juice (low sodium if possible) along with WATER and feel-the-burn weight hefting pretty much daily -- and I've shed THIRTEEN pounds, so far.


Thanks to Little Sister for this link -
Why They Didn’t Tell Us? A Beverage That Is 10,000 Times Stronger Than Chemotherapy!

By Ivan Andreevski


We continue using chemotherapy even though there is no need!

This drink saves lives and it has been proven in hundreds of studies, yet few people know that the drink is so amazing. People simply do not believe, probably because it is a very accessible and cheap food, but it really is so. Did you know that lemon and baking soda can be stronger than chemotherapy?

Why They Didnt Tell Us A Beverage That Is 10,000 Times Stronger Than Chemotherapy!
The combination of lemon and baking soda are proven stronger “killer” cancer than chemotherapy for about a whopping 10,000 times. Why no one told us anything about this? Well, because there is no profit from healthy people.

They spend nothing. It’s that easy. Billions and billions of dollars that the pharmaceutical industry gets in their budget would no longer exist. Lemon is a proven anti-carcinogen. On the organism it produces a strongly alkaline environment in which cysts and tumors simply cannot dwell.


Specifically, cysts and tumors feed on substances that create acidic environment in the body, and as long as the body is acidic tumor can grow. But as soon as you stop the flow of acidity in the body the tumor has no food and becomes stagnant. Therefore, soda combined with lemon is an exceptional fighter against cancer because of their effect is quite alkaline. Namely, combining it with coffee should be avoided and of course all the other ingredients of the body that creates an acidic environment and the result is certainly warranted. This magnificent fact discovered back in 1923 a German scientist Otto Heinrich Warburg, who for his cure for cancer even got the Nobel Prize, but nevertheless, people do not know the truth.

What was discovered by Dr. Warburg?

Dr. Warburg discovered that cancer is the result of anti-physiological lifestyle. Anti-Phuspt diets (with food that is acidifying) and physical inactivity of the body creates an acidic environment poorly oxygenated. Acidity cell displaces the oxygen from the cells, and the lack of oxygen in the cells creates an acidic environment. ‘If you have too high acidity, automatically will be missing oxygen in the body; if you lack oxygen, you will have acidified organism. The acidic environment is an environment without oxygen, spoke Dr. Warrburg.

‘And if you subtract 35% oxygen, cancer cells can create in just two days. Thus, the cause of cancer today is acidified organism and cells without oxygen. In his work “The metabolism of tumors,” Dr. Warburg showed that all carcinogenic forms fulfill two basic conditions: blood acidity and hypoxia (lack of oxygen). He found that the tumor cells are anaerobic (do not breathe oxygen) and cannot survive in the presence of high concentrations of oxygen. Tumor cells can survive only with the help of glucose in the environment without oxygen.


Therefore, cancer is nothing but a defense mechanism, which our cells use to survive in an acidic environment without oxygen. What affects the acidification of the body and the occurrence of cancer?


The answer is very simple: food. Most people today, unlike twenty years ago, are eating food that is acidifying the body so it is not surprising that the occurrence of this disease is in the systematic increase.

What to eat in smaller quantities?

Refined sugar and all its derivatives. It is the worst, because there is no protein, fat, vitamins, minerals not only refined carbohydrates, which damages the pancreas. Its pH is 2.1 (very acidic).
Meat (all types), animal products – milk and cheese, cream, yogurt etc.

Refined salt, refined flour and all its derivatives such as pasta, cakes, biscuits and so on.

Bread, butter, caffeine, alcohol, all industrially processed and canned foods, which contain preservatives, artificial colors, flavors, stabilizers, etc.

Antibiotics and generally all drugs.

What to eat more?

Baking soda and lemon

Fruit
All raw vegetables. Some are sour in taste, but in the body the change and become alkaline.

Almonds. They are very alkaline.

Whole grains: the only alkalizing grain is millet. All other grains are slightly acidic, but the ideal diet should be a certain percentage of acidity and should eat some crops. All grains should be eaten cooked.

Honey. It has a very high alkalinity.

Chlorophyll. Green plants contain chlorophyll which is very alkaline.

Water. It is important for the production of oxygen. Always stay well hydrated, drink small sips of water throughout the day.

Exercising. Exercising helps maintain the alkalinity of the body because it gives oxygen throughout the body. Sedentary lifestyle is destroying the organism.


Chemotherapy is death!

Although medicine has breakthorough knowledge of the research scientists, cancer is treated with chemotherapy.


Chemotherapy often means death. It is acidifying the body to such an extent that the body reaches for the last alkaline reserves in the body to neutralize the acidity of sacrificing minerals (calcium, magnesium, potassium) that are embedded in the bones, teeth, nails and hair, and as a result of chemotherapy we have physical changes in patients. Chemotherapy acidifies the body so much that it promotes the spread of cancer, rather than cell destruction.

Therefore, if you are suffering from this disease, start alkalizing the body, in which baking soda that you can buy in any store is very helpful. It is known in the world of alternative medicine as a very good and effective cancer killer, primarily because of its alkaline properties.

Source: http://nesaranews.blogspot.com/2015/05/ ... at-is.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Thanks BroJones! :)

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BroJones
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Re: Dr. MERCOLA --> alternative health and fitness

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You're certainly welcome, Rewcox!

Now the latest Mercola article is going to be controversial to some - he is advocating for medical marijuana. See for yourself:
By Dr. Mercola

The use of marijuana for medical purposes is now legal in 23 states and, as of this writing, 9 states have pending legislation or ballot measures to legalize medical marijuana.1 Estimates are that between 85 and 95 percent of Americans are in favor of medical cannabis, and nearly 60 percent support complete legalization of marijuana.

And doctors agree. In 2014, a survey found that the majority of physicians—56 percent—favor nationwide legalization of medical cannabis, with support being highest among oncologists and hematologists.
2

However, many families are still unable, legally or otherwise, to obtain this herbal treatment. Families with a sick child are being forced to split up, just so that one parent can live in a place where medical cannabis can be legally obtained in order to help their child.

A major part of the problem lies at the federal level, where marijuana is classified as a Schedule 13 controlled substance—a category reserved for the most dangerous of drugs, including heroin, LSD, and ecstasy.

According to the 1970 Controlled Substances Act, Schedule 1 drugs are defined as those having a "high potential for abuse" and "no accepted medical use." Research to date shows that marijuana meets neither of these criteria.

The featured documentary covers some of the most recent research on the medical applications of marijuana. In light of recent science, it's clear that marijuana does not meet Schedule 1 criteria and it's high time to revise this classification.

Prominent Physicians Shifting Their Stance on Medical Marijuana

A number of prominent physicians are reversing their opinions about marijuana's medicinal utility. A recent example is US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, who in a recent CBS interview, acknowledged that marijuana may be useful for certain medical conditions.

CNN's chief medical correspondent and neurosurgeon Sanjay Gupta also made a highly publicized reversal on his marijuana stance after the production of his two-part series "Weed."4


This is a Flash-based video and may not be viewable on mobile devices.

The US seems to want it both ways. The federal government classifies marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug. But in October 2003, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) obtained a patent for marijuana as a "neural protectant," claiming it can protect your brain against stroke and trauma.5

How can HHS own a patent for the medical use of cannabis, while the federal government still classifies it as an unsafe drug with no medical value?

The US Has Much to Learn from Israel

The US is far behind many other countries in harnessing the healing power of marijuana. Israel is the marijuana research capital of the world, thanks to Dr. Raphael Mechoulam, who was the first to investigate the medicinal properties of marijuana way back in the 1960s and the first to isolate THC and CBD.

Israel is now using marijuana to treat cancer, epilepsy, Parkinson's disease, Tourette's syndrome, and many other conditions. As shown in the film, even residents of Israeli nursing homes are being treated with marijuana.

But in the US, the fact that marijuana remains classified as a dangerous Schedule 1 drug has all but halted scientific progress. American scientists have to jump through a frustrating array of hoops, which are expensive and time consuming and ultimately discourage the majority of researchers from conducting marijuana studies.

Marijuana's Miracle Molecules: Cannabinoids

Cannabinoids are the general category of active chemical compounds found in marijuana, or cannabis. Cannabinoids can be separated into several subclasses—two of which are THC (tetrahydrocannabinols) and CBD (cannabidiols).6

CBD is the most abundant cannabinoid, contributing up to 40 percent of cannabis resin. Cannabinoids produce biological effects because, just like opiates interacting with your opiate receptors, cannabinoids interact with specific receptors located in your cell membranes.

The therapeutic and psychoactive properties of marijuana occur when particular cannabinoids activate their associated receptors, and the effects depend on the areas of your body and brain in which they interact.

Some cannabinoids are psychoactive, whereas others are not. THC is the most psychoactive, the one that produces the "high"—which is why marijuana plants have been bred over time to produce ever-increasing amounts of this compound.

However, selectively breeding pot for high THC has diminished its medicinal value and increased its likelihood of producing adverse effects. Although research is still in its infancy, the cannabinoids appear to work in tandem with each other, balancing one another out. According to the University of Washington:7

"CBD may actually have anti-anxiety effects and lessen the psychoactive effects of THC. This means that a plant with a greater percentage of CBD may reduce the intensity of the effects of the THC, which in effect lowers the potency of the plant.

Use of a cannabis plant with less CBD has been shown to have an increased psychological impact and result in unwanted effects such as anxiety."

So, by breeding out the CBD, pot growers have created more intense psychoactive effects that lack any modulation, which is why some people experience adverse reactions such as anxiety and even psychosis. Mother Nature created a delicately balanced chemical system in this plant, which humans have upset with their tampering and manipulation.

Like It or Not, You Are Wired to Respond to Marijuana

The fact that there's a plant that acts on your body's own cannabinoid receptors is a phenomenon Dr. Mechoulam calls a "quirk of nature." He's referring to the fact that we didn't develop these receptors in order to smoke pot—we have them because we have our own endogenous cannabinoid system.

Your body makes its own cannabinoids, similar to those found in marijuana but present in much smaller amounts. These endocannabinoids appear to perform signaling operations similar to your body's neurotransmitters, such as dopamine and serotonin. Cannabinoid receptors can be found on cell membranes throughout your body—in fact, scientists now believe they may represent the most widespread receptor system.8 Two receptor types have been identified:

CB1: Cannabinoid receptors that are extremely prolific in your brain (excluding your brain stem), but also present in your heart, lungs, kidneys, liver, pancreas, and other parts of your body
CB2: Cannabinoid receptors primarily found in your immune system
Your endocannabinoid system is thought to help regulate nearly every physiological process and plays an important role in maintaining homeostasis—and yet, it's not taught in medical school! We've shared this important system with all vertebrate species and even sea squirts for more than 600 million years. Science to date suggests that your endocannabinoid system is integral to the following biological processes, and chances are we've barely scratched the surface.9

Immune function
Inflammation (especially tamping it down)
Energy intake and storage
Appetite control and cravings
Nutrient transport
Cellular communication
Emotional balance
Reproduction
Pain sensation
Sleep
Bone growth
Memory
The Growing List of Illnesses Cannabis Can Treat

The fact that your body is replete with cannabinoid receptors, key to so many biological functions, is why there's such enormous medical potential for cannabis. If it can help restore homeostasis, it will prove itself as a very powerful therapy. CBD may be the most potent and beneficial of the cannabinoids, particularly for tamping down an overactive immune system, as is the case with autoimmune disease. CBD also has antipsychotic properties but does not get you high or stoned.

The response of cancer patients to cannabis treatment is very encouraging. Not only does cannabis help with the unpleasant side effects of traditional chemotherapy (including pain, nausea, and insomnia), but the cannabis itself appears to be a natural chemotherapy agent. Over the past several years, dozens of studies point to marijuana's effectiveness against many different types of cancer, including brain cancer, breast and prostate, lung, thyroid, colon, pituitary, melanoma, and leukemia. It fights cancer by at least two mechanisms, making it difficult for a cancer to grow and spread:

Cannabis is pro-apoptotic, meaning it triggers apoptosis (cellular suicide) of cancer cells, while leaving healthy cells untouched
Cannabis is anti-angiogenic, meaning it cuts off a tumor's blood supply
This may explain why chronic pot smokers have such surprisingly low rates of lung and other cancers, especially when compared to cancer rates among tobacco smokers. 10,11 In addition to cancer, cannabis has been found effective against an ever-growing list of illnesses. Research has been limited, but we may be turning the corner. It's likely we'll soon be expanding this list as the evolving political climate becomes more favorable to cannabis research.

Mental disorders, including Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), mood disorders, and Tourette's syndrome
Pain and insomnia
Degenerative neurological disorders, dystonia, and tremor
Multiple sclerosis and other autoimmune issues
Parkinson's disease
Cancer, numerous types
Seizure disorders
Rheumatoid arthritis
Heart disease
Autism
Obesity
Nausea, vomiting, and lack of appetite
Science Shows Marijuana MUCH Safer Than Prescription Drugs



Download Interview Transcript

Many prescription drugs are known to be dangerous. Pharmaceuticals in general are among the leading causes of death in the US, and some drugs have killed tens of thousands of individuals. The painkiller Vioxx is one classic example that killed over 60,000 before being pulled off the market. According to Dr. Margaret Gedde, MD, PhD, owner and founder of Gedde Whole Health and the Clinicians' Institute of Cannabis Medicine, you don't have to look far to find research confirming that cannabis is safer and less toxic than many prescription drugs.

This includes liver and kidney toxicity, gastrointestinal damage, nerve damage, and of course death. Moreover, cannabinoids often work when pharmaceutical drugs fail, so not only is cannabis safer but it's typically more effective. One of the strongest areas of research regarding marijuana's health benefits is pain control.

In 2010, the Center for Medical Cannabis Research (CMCR) released a report12 on 14 clinical studies about the use of marijuana for pain, most of which were FDA-approved, double-blind, and placebo-controlled. The report revealed that marijuana not only controls pain, but in many cases it does so better than pharmaceutical alternatives.

If you compare prescription painkillers (opiates) to marijuana, marijuana is much safer. Opioid painkillers can lead to slowed respiration and death if an excess is taken—and the risks are compounded if you add alcohol to the equation. By contrast, cannabis overdose cannot kill you because there are no cannabinoid receptors in your brain stem, the region of your brain that controls your heartbeat and respiration.

The statistics speak for themselves. In 2010, prescription painkillers were responsible for 16,600 deaths, and painkiller overdoses claimed more women's lives than cocaine and heroine combined. In the CDC's Public Health Reports study,13 prescription drugs were involved in fatal car crashes at three times the rate of marijuana.

In states where medical marijuana is legal, overdose deaths from opioids like morphine, oxycodone, and heroin decreased by an average of 20 percent after one year, 25 percent after two years and up to 33 percent by years five and six. As noted by Dr. Gedde:

"There's an ongoing death rate from use of pain medications as prescribed. So, even as prescribed, they're highly dangerous and they are open to abuse. As far as medications used in the pediatric population to control seizures, there are also severe toxicities to organs. Many of them are very sedating. The children become unable to function or really to interact because of the sedating effects. Other medications have a side effect of rage and behavioral problems.

Unprovoked rage is actually a known side effect of some of the anti-seizure medications. Cannabis and in particular cannabidiol has none of these issues. No toxicities. The main side effect of cannabidiol is sleepiness. As a child gets accustomed to it, that does wear off and the child can be very alert and functional on the cannabis oil once they have worked into the dosing. Once you put them against each other, there really is no comparison in terms of safety."

Education Is Key

Because of the issues already discussed, it can sometimes be challenging finding accurate, science-based information about cannabis. Dr. Gedde offers the following suggestions for obtaining reliable information:

"The reason why it's difficult is that the preponderance of research funds have been to show harm related to cannabis, as a drug of abuse... [L]ook for the real research that's there on the endocannabinoid system and the ways that marijuana cannabis has been helping people for centuries. And look into the history of medical practice; that's where the information starts to come out."

She also recommends looking to current clinical practice, which is possible in states where cannabis is now safely and legally accessible. This is where you can learn more about optimal dosing and protocols found effective for various conditions. Other resources that may be helpful include the following:

Cancer.gov,14 the US government's cancer website, contains research relating to the use of cannabis
PubMed15 is a searchable public resource containing a vast amount of medical literature, including studies involving cannabis
The Journal of Pain16 is a publication by the American Pain Society with a long list of studies on the pain-relieving effects of cannabis
National Institute on Drug Abuse17 is an excellent resource, including information about preclinical and clinical trials are underway to test marijuana and various extracts for the treatment of a number of diseases, including autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer's disease, inflammation, pain, and mental disorders.
I also recommend listening to my previous interview with Dr. Frankel, in which he discusses many of the medical benefits of cannabis.

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Re: Dr. MERCOLA --> alternative health and fitness

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important:
Dr. Mercola

The quality, quantity, and composition of the bacteria in your gut have enormous influence on your brain. Dr. David Perlmutter explores this phenomenon in great detail in his new book, Brain Maker: The Power of Gut Microbes to Heal and Protect Your Brain-for Life.

Dr. Perlmutter is a board-certified neurologist and a fellow of the American College of Nutrition (ACN). He also has a clinic in Naples, Florida, and he's been very active in publishing his findings in peer-reviewed medical journals.

His previous book, Grain Brain, topped the New York Times bestseller list for 54 weeks. In my view, Dr. Perlmutter is probably the leading natural medicine neurologist in the US.

Certainly, most neurologists fail to consider how lifestyle impacts the neurological disorders they diagnose and treat every day, and prevention is an area of utmost importance as we still do not have effective treatments for many of the most common brain disorders.

"We're now recognizing from research at our most well-respected institutions from around the globe that the gut bacteria are wielding this very powerful sword of Damocles," he says.

They determine whether we're going to have a healthy brain or not, whether our brain is going to function well or not, and whether our brain is going to become diseased or not. Who knew that we'd be referring back to the gut?"

Microbiome Research Shreds Notion of Reductionism

It turns out that this notion of reductionism—where your body is reduced to its individual parts—is completely nonsensical and grossly flawed. As explained by Dr. Perlmutter, every system in your body interrelates in a way that ultimately causes the manifestation of either health or disease.

In a previous interview, Dr. Perlmutter discussed specific dietary factors that influence your brain health, but one of the primary mechanisms of action that explains how a healthy diet "works" is that it upregulates, modifies, and improves the quality of your gut microbiome.

"These hundred trillion bacteria that live within your gut are so intimately involved in your brain at a number of levels. They manufacture neurochemicals, for example. Things like dopamine and serotonin.

They manufacture important vitamins that are important to keep your brain healthy. They also maintain the integrity of the lining of your gut," he explains.

The latter is important because when your gut lining becomes compromised, you end up with permeability or leakiness of the gut. This increases inflammation, which is a cornerstone of virtually all brain disorders, from Alzheimer's and multiple sclerosis (MS), to Parkinson's and autism.

"We've got to really deal with it on a preventive basis," Dr. Perlmutter says. "[We must] understand what in our Western culture, especially from a dietary perspective, is threatening the health of our commensals.

We call these bacteria 'commensals' because they share the table with us. We eat together with the bacteria. Basically, they eat what we eat. Our food choices have a dramatic effect on the health viability and even the diversity of those gut bacteria."

Research Shows Swapping Gut Bacteria Can Reverse Type 2 Diabetes and Other Diseases

A researcher in Amsterdam, Dr. Max Nieuwdorp, has published a number of studies looking at changes in the microbiome that are characteristic of type 2 diabetes.

In one trial, he was able to reverse type 2 diabetes in all of the 250 study participants by doing fecal transplantations on them. Remarkable as it may sound, by changing the makeup of the gut bacteria, the diabetes was resolved.

Dr. Perlmutter has embraced this new information full force, and has even helped develop a peer-reviewed scientific journal, Medicus, that focuses on this kind of research. They're also holding an annual conference to which the leading microbiome researchers in the world are invited.

In his view, and in mine, the understanding and practical adjustment and modification of the microbiome is an important part of the future of medicine. Fifteen years ago, we thought that the Human Genome Project (HGP) would allow modern medicine to leapfrog into new gene-based therapies that would solve all our ills.

That didn't happen, as HGP discovered that genetics are only responsible for only about 10 percent of human disease,1 the rest—90 percent—are induced by environmental factors. Now we're coming to realize that your microbiome is actually a driver of genetic expression, turning genes on and off depending on which microbes are present.

"The gut microbiome is 99 percent of the DNA in your body, and it is highly responsive and changeable based upon lifestyle choices, most importantly our food choices," Dr. Perlmutter says.

"There's this beautiful dance that happens between the gut bacteria and your own DNA. The gut bacteria actually influenced the expression of our 23,000 genes. Think about that. The bugs that live within us are changing our genome expression moment to moment.

Our genome has not changed over thousands of years. But now, suddenly, because we're changing our gut bacteria, we are changing the signals that are going to our own DNA; coding now for increasing things like free radicals, oxidative stress, and inflammation. That is a powerful player in terms of so many disease processes...

Being a brain specialist dealing with brain disorders, my whole career I've been stymied by not having really powerful tools to implement to bring about changes in individuals who have these issues. Now we're beginning to get those tools, and they are in the gut. Who knew?

In neurology school, we didn't study the makeup of the gut bacteria and how that would ever influence the brain, and yet, this is leading-edge science.

This is what our most well-respected researchers and peer-reviewed journals are talking about: not only are the gut bacteria fundamentally involved in brain health, but you can change the gut bacteria by interventions – taking probiotics and choosing to eat foods that are rich in prebiotics and to enhance the growth of good bacteria – and even more aggressive therapies [such as fecal transplants]"

Nourish Your Microbiome, and It Will Nourish You

Two key strategies to nourish and protect your microbiome are to limit your consumption of antibiotics to when they're absolutely necessary, and be judicious in terms of the foods you eat. Ideally, opt for whole, raw organic, non-genetically modified (GM) foods, along with traditionally fermented and cultured foods. Good examples include fermented vegetables of all kinds, including sauerkraut and kimchi, kombucha (a fermented drink), and fiber-rich prebiotic foods like jicama (Mexican yam), Jerusalem artichoke, garlic, and dandelion greens.

Avoiding confined animal feeding operation (CAFO) meats is also important, as the animals raised in these factory farms are raised on antibiotics, which changes their microbiome as well. This routine practice also promotes antibiotic-resistant bacteria that now threaten the lives of tens of thousands of Americans each year. Pesticides have also been shown to alter gut bacteria and foster drug-resist bacteria in the soil and food, so organically-grown and raised foods are really your best bet.

"These are all very relevant lifestyle choices that we can make to enhance the health and the diversity of the gut bacteria. That's going to give us a lifelong advantage in terms of being resistant to the very diseases that we dread the most," Dr. Perlmutter says.

"The true definition of symbiosis: we're supporting their health and they are supporting our health. We do that by the foods that we eat. They are, as I said, commensals. We're sharing this meal. We treat them right by eating fermented foods that are rich in probiotic bacteria and prebiotic foods that contain prebiotic types of fiber like inulin and fructooligosaccharides (FOS).

These are nutrients that enhance the growth of good bacteria with multitudes of studies indicating things like weight loss, a better control of blood sugar, and reduction of inflammation... One study came out just last month showing how children with allergic rhinitis and breathing issues have improvements by just giving them fiber to enhance the growth of healthy bacteria."

The Link Between the Microbiome and Autoimmune Disease

Inflammation is a hallmark of autoimmune diseases such as MS, Lou Gehrig's disease, Crohn's, and inflammatory bowel disease, just to name a few. As explained by Dr. Perlmutter, many of the factors that affect permeability of the blood-brain barrier are similar to those that affect the gut, which is why leaky gut can lead to neurological diseases as easily as it can manifest as some other form of autoimmune disorder.

The permeability of your gut lining can be measured by looking at a chemical called lipopolysaccharide (LPS), which is the covering over certain groups of bacteria in your gut. When you have higher levels of antibodies against LPS in the bloodstream, it's a marker of leaky gut.

LPS is also in and of itself a powerful instigator of the inflammatory cascade. Higher levels of LPS in the blood dramatically increase inflammation throughout your body, including your brain. Alzheimer's and Lou Gehrig's disease, for example, are both correlated with dramatically elevated levels of LPS.

"In Brain Maker I present pretty aggressive treatments for maintaining and restoring gut health using a variety of techniques – from using probiotic enemas to even going as far as having people get fecal transplantation. And do we see success? We sure do," Dr. Perlmutter says.

"I have a case history in Brain Maker of a young man with MS who couldn't walk without two canes and who underwent a series of fecal transplantations in Europe, and came back and walks without any assistance whatsoever. His videotape is linked to the book and is on our site. I use the video of this man walking when I do lectures to physicians. They look at this with their jaws hanging, because again, for you and me, this was never even a consideration in medical school...

If you did pay any attention to the gut you'd become a gastroenterologist, otherwise there'd be no interest in looking at it. But it turns out that it's relevant whether you're a gastroenterologist, a neurologist, a psychiatrist, a joint specialist, a skin specialist, or even a cancer specialist. We've got to pay attention to nurturing these bacteria if we're going to keep people healthy."

Seven Essential Keys to Rehabilitate Your Gut, from Birth to Death

In his book, Dr. Perlmutter delves into seven essential keys for rehabilitating your gut, starting at birth.

1. Vaginal birth
Do everything you can to avoid a Caesarian section. When you elect to deliver a child via Caesarian section – and there are times when it needs to be done to save the life of the mother or the baby—understand that by and large, you're tripling the risk for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and doubling the risk for autism in your child. You're also dramatically increasing the risk that your child will struggle with obesity, type 1 diabetes, and allergies. These are all inflammatory issues that are dramatically increased in children born via Caesarian section.

Dr. Perlmutter describes a simple and elegant technique developed by researchers at Yale University, whereby an organic gauze sponge is placed in the birth canal before the mother who is going to have a C-section is given the IV antibiotics. The sponge is then removed, the antibiotics are given, and as soon as the baby is born, the sponge is placed over the baby's face, inoculating the child with its mother's bacteria. This could be a good adjunct anytime a Caesarian is required. Unfortunately, at present it's unlikely you'd be able to get your doctor to do it.
2. Breastfeeding
Aside from providing the most appropriate nutrients, breast feeding also affects your child's microbiome via bacterial transfer from skin contact.
3. Antibiotics
When you change your microbiome, certain groups of bacteria tend to be favored, such as the Firmicutes group. When present in excess, Firmicutes increase your risk of obesity. Animal research shows that when you change the animals' microbiome using antibiotics, they gain weight. We also give antibiotics to cattle to make them fatter, faster. The same thing occurs in your body, which is why avoiding unnecessary antibiotics is so important.

Disinfectant products like antibacterial soaps and hand gels also fall into this category and should be avoided as much as possible.
4. Refined sugar and processed fructose
Sugar and high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) preferentially increases the growth of pathogenic disease-causing bacteria, fungi, and yeast, so limiting the amount of refined and processed sugars in your diet is a key dietary principle for gut health.

According to Dr. Perlmutter, fructose in particular promotes gut dysbiosis, and there's also a good correlation between fructose consumption and the levels of LPS, the inflammatory marker that shows your gut is leaking.

Fructose is also far more aggressive in terms of causing glycation of protein than other sugars, meaning high levels of sugar in your blood that bind to proteins. This too is correlated with leaky gut, and may explain why fructose consumption is related to increased gut permeability, and inflammatory diseases like obesity.
5. Genetically engineered foods and pesticides
Avoid genetically engineered foods. As noted by Dr. Perlmutter: "Yes, there is a clear and present danger in the notion of genetically modifying the food that we share with our gut bacteria. The gut bacteria are expecting the type of food that they have been provided for a couple of million years.

Suddenly, we're introducing foods that are genetically unlike anything the human microbiome has ever seen. The research that allows the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to allow genetically modified food has not even considered looking at the effects of GMOs on the human microbiome."

Glyphosate, which is liberally used on genetically engineered Roundup Ready crops, and many non-organic non-GMO crops as well, has also been found to alter the human microbiome, so genetically engineered foods deliver a double assault on your gut bacteria every time you eat it.

"We're poisoning the food that we eat. If that's not bad enough, that's the food we're feeding our microbiome, which are going to determine whether we live or die," Dr. Perlmutter says. "It's a bit of a worry."
6. Probiotic foods
Focus on eating probiotic foods, such as fermented vegetables, sauerkraut, kimchi, kefir, and kombucha (a fermented drink). A broad-spectrum probiotic supplements may also be advisable—especially if you have to take a course of antibiotics.
7. Prebiotic fiber
Consume plenty of prebiotic fiber. Not all fibers are prebiotic, so not any old fiber will do the job here. Whole foods are the best. Examples include dandelion greens, which can be lightly sautéd, Mexican yam or jicama that can be chopped up raw and put in your salad.

Onions and leeks are also excellent choices. These kinds of foods will allow your gut bacteria to flourish, which is the key to health, disease resistance, and longevity.
Optimal Health and Disease Prevention Begins in Your Gut

By making new choices, following the recommendations outlined above—which are not excessively complex by any means—you can rehabilitate your gut bacteria so that they will do "the heavy lifting" of preventing disease and promoting the healthy function of your body and mind.

To learn more, I highly recommend picking up a copy of Dr. Perlmutter's NY Times bestselling book, Brain Maker: The Power of Gut Microbes to Heal and Protect Your Brain-for Life. In it you will also find plenty of references from well-respected medical journals that you can use to make more empowered choices.

Ultimately, it's a magnificent handbook on how to take control of your health and prevent and/or treat many diseases that are considered "incurable" from the conventional point of view, including Alzheimer's disease and MS.

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Re: Dr. MERCOLA --> alternative health and fitness

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By Dr. Mercola

Most everyone, including many conventional physicians, have begun to appreciate the importance and value of vitamin D. Few, however, recognize the importance of vitamin K2, which is nearly as important as vitamin D.

Dr. Dennis Goodman,1 who was born in South Africa and trained at the University of Cape Town, has multiple board certifications in cardiology (and several subspecialties) and holistic integrative medicine.

After his internship at the Grootte Schuur Hospital—where Dr. Christian Barnard did the first heart transplant in 1967—he came to the US, where he did his cardiology fellowship at the at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, where Dr. Michael DeBakey performed the first bypass surgery.

"I was really very lucky to be in a situation where I had these two cardiac giants as mentors and teachers," he says.

Dr. Goodman is also the chairman of the Department of Integrative Medicine at the New York University (NYU), and has authored the book, Vitamin K2: The Missing Nutrient for Heart and Bone Health. In it, he explains why vitamin K2 is every bit as important as vitamin D.

“For 20 years I was putting stents in; running around day and night at the hospital. When I got called to the emergency room for someone having a heart attack, I was like a fireman putting out a fire in a house.

Sometimes, you were very lucky and could save the house from burning down, and sometimes not.

What I started to realize is that prevention is really the key for us to making the maximum impact. I’ve always been interested in the idea that everything we need to be healthy is provided by the Lord above –namely what’s out there for us to eat.

80 percent of these chronic diseases including atherosclerosis, heart attacks and strokes, diabetes, and obesity are preventable. So I got into the whole idea of learning integrative medicine,” he says.

He got his training in integrative medicine at the Scripps Center for Integrative Medicine, and ended up being the chief of cardiology at the Scripps clinic for many years.

“Obviously, when you understand holistic medicine, you understand that so much of what we’re doing, unfortunately, in traditional medicine is procedures, testing, and prescribing drugs, because that’s what we’re taught—and making diagnoses instead of taking care of people who basically may not have a disease, but are not healthy and well.”

As a cardiologist, it's quite appropriate to delve into vitamin K2, as it has two crucial functions: one is in cardiovascular health and the other is in bone restoration.

It performs many other functions as well, but by helping remove calcium from the lining of the blood vessels, vitamin K2 helps prevent occlusions from atherosclerosis.

Vitamin K Basics

Vitamins K1 and K2 are part of a family, but they are very different in their activity and function. Vitamin K1, found in green leafy vegetables, is a fat-soluble vitamin involved in the production of coagulation factors, which are critical for stopping bleeding.

This is why when someone's on a blood thinner such as warfarin, they need to be careful not to take too much vitamin K1, as it will antagonize the effect of drug. Vitamin K2 is very different. There's a complex biochemistry that occurs with K2 involving two enzymes:

Matrix Gla-protein (MGP)
Osteocalcin
“Gla” is short for glutamic acid. Glutamic acid is imported into the cells in the wall of your arteries, where it binds to calcium and removes it from the lining of your blood vessels.

Once removed from your blood vessel lining, vitamin K2 then facilitates the intergration of that calcium into your bone matrix by handing it over to osteocalcin,. The osteocalcin then helps cement the calcium in place.

Vitamin K2 activates these two proteins. Without it, this transfer process of calcium from your arteries to your bone cannot occur, which raises your risk of arterial calcification.

"Vitamin K2 is like a light switch—it switches on MGP and osteocalcin, which takes calcium out of the arterial wall and keeps it in the bone.

There's so much information showing this relationship between osteoporosis (not having enough calcium in your bones) and having an increased incidence of heart disease. What's actually happening, I think, a lot of patients are vitamin K2-deficient," Dr. Goodman says.

“So now, I tell all patients – especially when they have risk factors for calcification – ‘You’ve got to get vitamin K2 when you take your vitamin D, and your calcium, and magnesium.’ Because we need to make sure that the calcium is going where it’s supposed to go.”

Statins May Increase Arterial Calcification by Depleting Vitamin K2

Besides a vitamin K2-poor diet, certain drugs may affect your vitamin K2 status. Dr. Goodman cites a recent article2 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, which suggests statin drugs may increase calcification in the arteries.

Interestingly enough, another recent study3 published in the Expert Review of Clinical Pharmacology shows that statins deplete vitamin K2.

“For me, that is so huge because if that’s true, everybody that is put on a statin, you want to make sure they’re also taking vitamin K2,” Dr. Goodman says.

This is an important observation, considering one in four adults in the US over the age of 40 is on a statin drug. Not only do all of these people need to take a ubiquinol or coenzyme Q10, which is also depleted by the drug, it's quite likely they also need vitamin K2 to avoid cardiovascular harm.

Sources of Vitamin K2

Vitamin K2 is produced by certain bacteria, so the primary food source of vitamin K2 is fermented foods such as natto, a fermented soy product typically sold in Asian grocery stores. Fermented vegetables can be a great source of vitamin K if you ferment your own using a specially-designed starter culture. My Kinetic Culture is high in strains that make vitamin K2. If you would like to learn more about making your own fermented vegetables with a starter culture, you can watch the video and read more on this page.

Please note that not every strain of bacteria makes K2, so not all fermented foods will contain it. For example, most yogurts have almost no vitamin K2. Certain types of cheeses, such as Gouda, Brie, and Edam, are high in K2, while others are not. It really depends on the specific bacteria. Still, it's quite difficult to get enough vitamin K2 from your diet—especially if you do not eat K2-rich fermented foods—so taking a supplement may be a wise move for most people.

How Can You Tell if You're Deficient in Vitamin K2?

The major problem we face when it comes to optimizing vitamin K2 is that, unlike vitamin D, there’s no easy way to screen or test for vitamin K2 sufficiency. Vitamin K2 cannot at present be measured directly, so it’s measured through an indirect assessment of undercarboxylated osteocalcin. This test is still not commercially available, however. “That’s our problem. If that was available, we could start testing and showing people that their levels are low,” Dr. Goodman says.

Without testing, we’re left with looking at various lifestyle factors that predispose you to deficiency. As a general rule, if you have any of the following health conditions, you're likely deficient in vitamin K2:

Osteoporosis
Heart disease
Diabetes
That said, it's believed that the vast majority of people are in fact deficient these days and would benefit from more K2. One reason for this is very few (Americans in particular) eat enough vitamin K2-rich foods. So, if you do not have any of the health conditions listed, but do NOT regularly eat high amounts of the following foods, then your likelihood of being vitamin K2 deficient is still very high:

Certain fermented foods such as natto, or vegetables fermented using a starter culture of vitamin K2-producing bacteria
Certain cheeses such as Brie and Gouda (these two are particularly high in K2, containing about 75 mcg per ounce)
Grass-fed organic animal products (i.e. egg yolks, butter, dairy)
Different Kinds of Vitamin K2

The vitamin K puzzle is even more complex than differentiating between K1 and K2. There are also several different forms of vitamin K2. The two primary ones—and the only ones available in supplement form—are menaquinone-4 (MK-4) and menaquinone-7 (MK-7). MK-4 has a very short biological half-life—about one hour—making it a poor candidate as a dietary supplement. MK-7 stays in your body longer; its half-life is three days, meaning you have a much better chance of building up a consistent blood level, compared to MK-4.

In supplement form, the MK-4 products are actually synthetic. They are not derived from natural food products containing MK-4. The MK-7– long-chain, natural bacterial-derived vitamin K2– on the other hand comes from a fermentation process, which offers a number of health advantages.

Research4 has shown MK-7 also helps prevent inflammation by inhibiting pro-inflammatory markers produced by white blood cells called monocytes. MK-7 is extracted from the Japanese fermented soy product natto, and since it's longer lasting, you only need to take it once a day. With an MK-4 supplement, you need to take it three times a day. The duration of action is also much longer with MK-7.

As for a clinically useful dosage, some studies have shown as little as 45 micrograms per day is sufficient. Dr. Goodman recommends taking 180 micrograms per day, making sure the K2 is in the form of MK-7. If you're eating natto, all you need is about one teaspoon.

That said, vitamin K2 is non-toxic, so you don't need to worry about overdosing if you get more. Do keep in mind that vitamin K2 may not necessarily make you "feel better" per se. Its internal workings are such that you're not likely to feel the difference physically. Compliance can therefore be a problem, as people are more likely to take something that has a noticeable effect. This may not happen with vitamin K2, but that certainly does not mean it's not doing anything! Last but not least, remember to always take your vitamin K supplement with fat since it is fat-soluble and won't be absorbed without it.

Magnesium Recommendations

Another important nutrient is magnesium, which Dr. Goodman addressed in an earlier book called Magnificent Magnesium: Your Essential Key to a Healthy Heart & More. There are at least 350 enzyme systems in your body that require magnesium for proper function. Perhaps even more importantly, the quartet of calcium, vitamin D, K2, and magnesium all work together synergistically. "They're all in the symphony. You should take them all," Dr. Goodman says. I couldn't agree more, and have discussed this in previous articles.

If you can find a supplement that contains vitamin D, magnesium, and vitamin K2 in combination, that might be ideal, and then add calcium according to your individual needs. One way to get calcium from your diet that doesn't cost you anything extra is to pulverize the eggshell from an organic, pastured egg. I use a coffee grinder to do this. I then add the powdered eggshell to my smoothie. Do be sure the eggs you use are organically raised on pasture though. You do not want to use eggs from chickens raised in confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs).

Getting back to magnesium, the only people who really need to be concerned about taking too much are those with renal failure. “If your creatinine’s high, or you got renal failure, you can get into trouble with magnesium,” he says. “But everybody else, the only thing that can happen is some loose stools.”

As for the type of magnesium, Dr. Goodman recommends taking magnesium that ends in “ate”: threonate, glycinate, citrate, and dimalate —the latter of which has a slow-release technology (JIGSAW). “I cannot tell you how many people have written to me, e-mailed me, and thanked me because of magnesium supplementation – no more headaches, they’re sleeping at night, no more leg cramps or palpitations. In some patients it actually helped them lose weight. It’s huge,” he says.

More Information

In closing, Dr. Goodman notes, “I really hope that people get the message that we both are trying to send: to be healthy, you’ve actually got to do something about it. You’ve got to get up, think about nutrition, and think about exercise, stress management, and sleep.” In fact, in addition to vitamin K2, we discuss a number of side issues essential to optimal health in this interview, so for additional pointers please listen to the full interview, linked below the condensed video above, or read through the transcript.

I also recommend picking up one or both of Dr. Goodman's books: Vitamin K2: The Missing Nutrient for Heart and Bone Health, and Magnificent Magnesium: Your Essential Key to a Healthy Heart & More to learn more about these two underappreciated nutrients. While going into complex topics, Dr. Goodman's books are easy to read and understand for the layperson.

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Re: Dr. MERCOLA --> alternative health and fitness

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By Dr. Mercola


Research1 published in the journal Cell Metabolism concluded that time-restricted eating not only prevented but also reversed obesity and related metabolic dysfunction.

Indeed, intermittent fasting is one of the most effective interventions I’ve found to reverse insulin resistance, shed excess weight, and improve body composition.2 Two core mechanisms responsible for these benefits are:
1.Improved insulin and leptin sensitivity
2.Triggering your body to more effectively burn fat for fuel

Intermittent fasting also has other health benefits that can be valuable for just about anyone—including increased longevity and neuroprotective benefits—but if you’re not insulin resistant, it’s not as crucial.

If you’re among the minority of Americans who do not struggle with insulin resistance, then my general recommendation is to simply avoid eating at least three hours before bedtime. That automatically allows you to “fast” for at least 11 hours or longer depending on if and when you eat breakfast.

Efforts to Develop Intermittent Fasting as an FDA-Approved Cancer Treatment Underway


Interestingly, one research group is reportedly working on getting intermittent fasting approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an adjunct therapy for cancer patients.

Earlier research has demonstrated that calorie restriction helps extend the lifespan of animals by improving insulin sensitivity and inhibiting the mTOR pathway. Fasting has also been shown to “starve” cancer cells while simultaneously protecting cells from chemotherapy toxicity.

Intermittent fasting—which is easier to comply with—has been found to have very similar effects, and researchers are now looking at using intermittent fasting to augment cancer treatments and improve long-term survival rates.3

One recent study,4 published in the journal Cell Metabolism, found that bimonthly cycles of four-day long low-calorie intake produced multi-system regeneration in mice.

Visceral belly fat was reduced, and the risk for cancer and inflammatory diseases declined. Meanwhile, immune and brain function improved, and lifespan was increased. In the mouse brain, neurons were regenerated, improving learning and memory.

As reported in the featured article:5,6


“The mouse tests were part of a three-tiered study on periodic fasting's effects - testing yeast, mice and humans. Mice, which have relatively short life spans, provided details about fasting's lifelong effects.

Yeast, which are simpler organisms, allowed researchers to uncover the biological mechanisms that fasting triggers at a cellular level. And a pilot study in humans found evidence that the mouse and yeast studies were, indeed, applicable to humans...

In a pilot human trial, three cycles of a similar diet given to 19 subjects once a month for five days decreased risk factors and biomarkers for aging, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer with no major adverse side effects.”

Intermittent Fasting Reprograms Your Body to Age Slower and Rejuvenate Faster


In the human pilot study, the participants’ calorie intake was reduced to 34-54 percent of their normal for a period of five days once a month. The meals had a nutrient composition of:
•9-10 percent proteins
•34–47 percent carbohydrates
•44–56 percent fat

One of the ways intermittent calorie restriction appears to reduce cancer risk is by decreasing IGF-1—a hormone linked to aging and cancer susceptibility. According to co-author Valter Longo:7


“Strict fasting is hard for people to stick to, and it can also be dangerous, so we developed a complex diet that triggers the same effects in the body. I’ve personally tried both, and the fasting mimicking diet (FMD) is a lot easier and also a lot safer.

It’s about reprogramming the body so it enters a slower aging mode, but also rejuvenating it through stem cell-based regeneration. It’s not a typical diet because it isn’t something you need to stay on.”

As reported by the University of Southern California:8


“Longo believes that for most normal people, the FMD can be done every three to six months, depending on the abdominal circumference and health status.

For obese subjects or those with elevated disease risk factors, the FMD could be recommended by the physician as often as once every two weeks. His group is testing its effect in a randomized clinical trial, which will be completed soon, with more than 70 subjects.

‘If the results remain as positive as the current ones, I believe this FMD will represent the first safe and effective intervention to promote positive changes associated with longevity and health span, which can be recommended by a physician,’ Longo said.

‘We will soon meet with FDA officers to pursue several FDA claims for disease prevention and treatment.’”

How Fasting Affects Your Body


Researchers have repeatedly and consistently concluded that fasting—which includes not only eating less food overall, but also eating less frequently—can have a beneficial effect on a wide array of biological functions and systems.

One 2013 review9 found a broad range of therapeutic potential of intermittent fasting, even when total calorie intake per day did not change, or was only slightly reduced. Research included in that review, and other published studies, indicate that intermittent fasting can help:

Limit inflammation; reduce oxidative stress and cellular damage Improve circulating glucose Reduce blood pressure
Improve metabolic efficiency and body composition, including significant reductions in body weight in obese individuals Reduce LDL and total cholesterol levels Prevent or reverse type 2 diabetes, as well as slow its progression
Improve immune function,10 and shift stem cells from a dormant state to a state of self-renewal Improve pancreatic function Improve insulin and leptin levels and insulin/leptin sensitivity
Reproduce some of the cardiovascular benefits associated with physical exercise Protect against cardiovascular disease Modulate levels of dangerous visceral fat
Boost mitochondrial energy efficiency Normalize ghrelin levels, known as “the hunger hormone.” Help eliminate sugar cravings as your body adapts to burning fat instead of sugar
Promote human growth hormone production (HGH). Fasting can raise HGH by as much as 1,300 percent in women and 2,000 percent in men.11 HGH plays an important part in health, fitness, and slowing the aging process. It’s also a fat-burning hormone Lower triglyceride levels and improve other biomarkers of disease Boost production of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), stimulating the release of new brain cells and triggering brain chemicals that protect against changes associated with Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. (Alternate-day fasting—restricting your meals on fasting days to about 600 calories—can boost BDNF by 50 to 400 percent, depending on the region of the brain.12

Choosing an Intermittent Fasting Plan


There are a variety of intermittent fasting schedules, and the ideal one is the one you will actually follow. As a general rule, it involves cutting calories in whole or in part, either a couple of days per week, every other day, or even daily. The one I recommend and have personally used involves restricting your daily eating to an eating window of 6-8 hours. Compliance is a critical factor in any of these approaches and it seems this is one of the easiest intermittent fasting schedules to implement and maintain—especially once your body has shifted over to burning fat instead of sugar as its primary fuel.

Fat, being a slow-burning fuel, allows you to keep going without suffering from the dramatic energy crashes associated with sugar. And, if you’re not hungry, then not eating for several hours is no big deal. If you’re insulin/leptin resistant, I recommend doing this every day until your weight, blood pressure, cholesterol ratios and/or diabetes normalizes. At that point, simply do it as often as you need to maintain your healthy state.

The 5:2 Intermittent Fasting Plan




Download Interview Transcript

Another popular intermittent fasting schedule is the 5:2 plan, promoted by Dr. Michael Mosley in his book, The Fast Diet: Lose Weight, Stay Healthy, and Live Longer with the Simple Secret of Intermittent Fasting.13 It involves eating normally for five days per week, and fasting for two days. On fasting days, he recommends cutting your food down to one-fourth of your normal daily caloric intake, or about 600 calories for men and about 500 for women, along with plenty of water and tea.

Calorie Intake

It doesn’t matter which days you choose as your fasting days. Monday can be a good place to start if you’re fired up at the beginning of a new week or if you’ve “feasted” over the weekend. On a fasting day, you can spread your 500/600 calories throughout the day, or you might choose to enjoy them all at an evening meal. Just find the routine that works best for you. Dr. Mosley offers three “golden rules” for success:14
•Be sensible on non-fasting days. Eat normally, enjoy treats in moderation, but avoid bingeing.
•Watch what you drink. Juices, lattes, alcohol, fizzy drinks, and smoothies typically contain a glut of calories and sugar but won’t satisfy your appetite, so avoid them all.
•Try adding another fasting day. Go for a 4:3 pattern (four days of normal eating, three days of reduced calories).

Alternate-Day Fasting




Download Interview Transcript

A third variation that is quite common is the alternate day fast. This fasting protocol is exactly as it sounds: one day off, one day on. The drawback is that it requires you to go to bed with an empty stomach every other day, which can be tough for most people—at least initially. This plan, and the science behind it, is detailed in Dr. Krista Varady’s book The Every-Other-Day Diet: The Diet That Lets You Eat All You Want (Half the Time) and Keep the Weight Off.

Dr. Varady’s research shows that alternate-day fasting, where you consume about 500 calories on fasting days and can eat whatever you want on non-fasting days, works equally well for weight loss as complete fasting, and it’s a lot easier to maintain this type of modified fasting regimen.

As an assistant professor of kinesiology and nutrition at the University of Illinois, Dr. Varady has conducted many studies on intermittent fasting. In one of her studies, they found that splitting the 500 calorie meal up into multiple smaller meals throughout the day was not as successful as eating just one meal, once a day. So ideally, eat your low-calorie fasting day meal either for lunch or dinner. The main problem relates to compliance. If you’re truly eating just 500 calories in a day, you will lose weight. But when eating tiny amounts of food multiple times a day, you’re far more inclined to want more, so the cheat rate dramatically increases.

Her research also refutes concerns that intermittent fasting may result in loss of lean body mass.15 I have not found this to be true, and according to Dr. Varady’s research, 90 percent of the weight people lose is body fat, with only 10 percent being lean body mass.16 Moving throughout the day and consuming an appropriate amount of high quality protein will also help minimize loss of muscle mass.

Intermittent Fasting versus Eating Six Small Meals a Day


Traditionally, three square meals a day has been considered key for weight management, but while this may help stabilize blood sugar and insulin levels for some people, it’s important to realize that, historically, humans simply did not have access to food 24/7. The most obvious risk with spreading out your meals to morning, noon, and evening is overeating. Spreading it out over six meals a day magnifies that risk even more—unless you’re truly mindful of eating very, very small snacks or meals.

Avoiding high-sugar foods is also key for both general health and weight loss, no matter how many meals a day you eat. And, one of the near-automatic side effects of eating a diet higher in healthy fat and low in sugars is decreased hunger and cravings. So if you’re getting enough healthy fat in your diet, you may not be hungry enough to actually eat six times a day! The issue of which is better—intermittent fasting or eating six small meals a day—was recently addressed in a US News article,17 which states:


“Even if you consume the same amount of calories you would otherwise, eating six times a day may help you maintain more metabolism-revving muscle mass than you would if you ate less often, according to a 2015 study published in Nutrition Research. Yet, while eating six meals a day might sound like a weight-loss dream, it’s actually a lot of work – and may not be right for everyone, [Martha Belury, professor of human nutrition at The Ohio State University] says.

People who are great with routines respond well to the six-a-day meal plan, for example, but it can be impractical for those who aren’t up for prepping and packing meals to eat throughout the day, at least a few of them at the office. After all, if the goal is weight loss, the meals shouldn’t be drive-thru or candy bars. They need to be home-cooked and balanced, she says. And each meal needs to be small; otherwise, you could end up overeating and packing on the pounds.”

How to Radically Increase Your Intermittent Fasting Success





If the very thought of fasting makes you shudder with anxiety, then you’re in luck! EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) practitioner Julie Schiffman has a great video for reducing your anxiety about fasting. EFT is a powerful energy psychology tool that has helped hundreds of thousands overcome emotional challenges. It uses acupuncture meridians to help neutralize electrical brain disturbances that emotional wounding can cause. I strongly recommend tapping along with her if you have any hesitation at all about fasting. Being in the right mindset is 90 percent of the challenge, and EFT is a highly effective tool toward that end.
as of this morning, I've shed 19.5 lbs ... this helps - IF and
Avoiding high-sugar foods is also key for both general health and weight loss, no matter how many meals a day you eat. And, one of the near-automatic side effects of eating a diet higher in healthy fat and low in sugars is decreased hunger and cravings

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Re: Dr. MERCOLA --> alternative health and fitness

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By Dr. Mercola


Dr. Mary Newport writes about ketone bodies, an alternative fuel for your brain which your body makes when digesting coconut oil, and how coconut oil may offer profound benefits in the fight against Alzheimer's disease.

If her theory is accurate, this could be one of the greatest natural health discoveries in a long time. Backing up her claims is the remarkable recovery of her own husband.1

Bear in mind however that contrary to Dr. Newport, I personally do NOT support using drugs to treat Alzheimer's, and based on his condition believe enrolling him in a vaccine study is completely contraindicated and ill-advised.

That said, I believe Dr. Newport may have stumbled upon a powerful natural strategy to help prevent and treat Alzheimer's, and that's what I want to address here.

'Brain Starvation' Is a Hallmark of Alzheimer's Disease


One of the primary fuels your brain needs is glucose, which is converted into energy.

The mechanism for glucose uptake in your brain has only recently begun to be studied, and what has been learned is that your brain actually manufactures its own insulin2 to convert glucose in your blood stream into the food it needs to survive.

As you may already know, diabetes is the condition where your body's response to insulin is weakened until your body eventually stops producing the insulin necessary to regulate blood sugar, and your body's ability to regulate (or process) blood sugar into energy becomes essentially broken.

Now, when your brain's production of insulin decreases, your brain literally begins to starve, as it's deprived of the glucose-converted energy it needs to function normally.This is what happens to Alzheimer's patients -- portions of their brain start to atrophy, or starve, leading to impaired functioning and eventual loss of memory, speech, movement, and personality.

In effect, your brain can begin to atrophy from starvation if it becomes insulin-resistant and loses its ability to convert glucose into energy.


It is now also known that diabetics have a 65 percent increased risk of also being diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, and there appears to be a potent link between the two diseases, even though the exact mechanisms have yet to be determined.

It seems quite clear however that both are related to insulin resistance – in your body and in your brain.

Alternate Brain Food Can Stop Brain Atrophy in Its Tracks


Fortunately, your brain is able to run on more than one type of energy supply, and this is where coconut oil enters the picture.

There's another substance that can feed your brain and prevent brain atrophy. It may even restore and renew neuron and nerve function in your brain after damage has set in.

The substance in question is called ketone bodies or ketoacids.

Ketones are what your body produces when it converts fat (as opposed to glucose) into energy. And a primary source of ketone bodies are the medium-chain triglycerides (MCT) found in coconut oil!

Coconut oil contains about 66 percent MCTs.

The benefits of ketone bodies may also extend to a number of other health conditions, according to Dr. Newport:3


"Further, this is a potential treatment for Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, multiple sclerosis and amyotrophic lateral sclero­sis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease), drug resistant epilepsy, brittle type I diabetes, and diabetes type II, where there is insulin resistance.

Ketone bodies may help the brain recover after a loss of oxygen in newborns through adults, may help the heart re­cover after an acute attack, and may shrink cancer­ous tumors."

Medium-chain triglycerides (MCT) are fats that are not processed by your body in the same manner as long-chain triglycerides. Normally, a fat taken into your body must be mixed with bile released from your gallbladder before it can be broken down in your digestive system.

But medium-chain triglycerides go directly to your liver, which naturally converts the oil into ketones, bypassing the bile entirely. Your liver then immediately releases the ketones into your bloodstream where they are transported to your brain to be used as fuel.

In fact, ketones appear to be the preferred source of brain food in patients affected by diabetes or Alzheimer's.


"In Alzheimer's disease, the neurons in certain areas of the brain are un­able to take in glucose due to insulin resistance and slowly die off, a process that appears to happen one or more decades before the symptoms become apparent," Dr. Newport states in her article.4

"If these cells had access to ketone bod­ies, they could potentially stay alive and continue to function."

The Ketonic Diet – Why Avoiding Grains Also Protects Against Neurodegeneration


Another way to increase ketone production in your body is by restricting carbohydrates.

This is what happens when you go on a high-fat, high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet: Your body begins to run on fats instead of carbohydrates, and the name for this is ketosis.

This is also why you don't starve to death when you restrict food for weeks at a time, because your body is able to convert stored fat into ketones that are used as fuel instead of glucose.

Consuming medium-chain triglycerides, such as coconut oil, is a better option. However, because the ketones produced by ketosis are not concentrated in your bloodstream, but are instead mostly excreted in your urine.

MCTs and Alzheimer's Research


The mechanism of this MCT-ketone metabolism appears to be that your body treats MCTs as a carbohydrate and not a fat. This allows the ketone energy to hit your bloodstream without the normal insulin spike associated with carbohydrates entering your bloodstream.

So in effect coconut oil is a fat that acts like a carbohydrate when it comes to brain fuel.

Therapeutic levels of MCTs have been studied at 20 grams per day. According to Dr. Newport's calculations,5 just over two tablespoons of coconut oil (about 35 ml or seven level teaspoons) would supply you with the equivalent of 20 grams of MCT, which is indicated as either a preventative measure against degenerative neurological diseases, or as a treatment for an already established case.

Remember though that people tolerate coconut oil differently, and you may have to start slowly and build up to these therapeutic levels. My recommendation is to start with one teaspoon, taken with food in the mornings. Gradually add more coconut oil every few days until you are able to tolerate four tablespoons.

Coconut oil is best taken with food, to avoid upsetting your stomach.

You Also Need Dietary B12 for Optimal Brain Health


According to a small Finnish study recently published in the journal Neurology,6 people who consume foods rich in B12 may also reduce their risk of Alzheimer's in their later years. For each unit increase in the marker of vitamin B12 (holotranscobalamin), the risk of developing Alzheimer's was reduced by two percent.

However, I strongly disagree with the dietary advice published by CNN Health7 on this topic, which included fish and fortified cereals.

Fortified cereals are most definitely NOT a good source of dietary B vitamins. They also have inorganic iron added. This is the worst type of iron to use as a supplement and it will raise already elevated iron in those that don't need it, like most adult men and postmenopausal women.

Elevated iron levels will actually increase your risk of Alzheimer's.

Additionally, most fish are today so contaminated, I cannot recommend increasing consumption of fish either. One exception would be sardines, which are high in B12 and small enough to typically be less contaminated, compared to larger fish.

Instead, your ideal dietary sources of B12 vitamins would include:
•Liver from organic calf
•Wild-caught salmon
•Organic grass-fed beef
•Lamb (which are typically grass-fed even if not specified as organic)
•Organic free-range eggs

Vitamin B12 is present in natural form only in animal sources of food, which is one of the reasons I advise against a strict vegetarian or vegan diet. The few plant foods that are sources of B12 are actually B12 analogs. An analog is a substance that blocks the uptake of true B12, so your body's need for the nutrient actually increases.

There are many well-documented cases of brain abnormalities in strict vegetarians, resulting from vitamin B12 deficiency.

Foods to AVOID to Keep Your Mind Sharp


Meanwhile, besides incorporating ketone therapy (coconut oil), as either a preventative step or as a treatment, there are other steps you can take to help minimize your risk of developing Alzheimer's disease decades from now.

For instance, it's important to know what foods to avoid, in order to protect the health of your brain.

These four foods in particular can be pinpointed as enemies of optimal brain health:
1.Sugars, especially fructose -- Excessive sugar and grain consumption are the driving factors behind insulin resistance, and the strategies that protect your brain are very similar to those for avoiding diabetes.


There is simply no question that insulin resistance is one of the most pervasive influences on brain damage, as it contributes massively to inflammation, which will prematurely degenerate your brain.

Ideally, you'll want to restrict your total fructose consumption to below 25 grams a day. This includes refraining from eating too many fruits, if you normally eat a lot of them. If you consume more than 25 grams a day of fructose, you can damage your cells by creating insulin and leptin resistance and raising your uric acid levels.

Berries tend to be lower in fructose, and wild blueberries, for example, are also high in anthocyanin and antioxidants, and are well known for being beneficial against Alzheimer's and other neurological diseases.

2.Grains – Even whole, organic grains will convert to sugar in your body and spike your insulin levels.


Ideally, you'll want to devise a nutritional plan geared to your specific nutritional type to maximize your health benefits, as grain carbs are far more detrimental to some than others. I believe this is essential to everyone's health, and I'm very pleased to now be able to offer the full online nutritional typing program for free. We've previously charged $29 for this test, so please do take advantage of this offer.

3.Artificial sweeteners – Aspartame, for example, is an excitotoxin that can literally destroy your brain cells. There are many studies showing the dangers of aspartame. For example, one study published in 20008 found that aspartame shortens the memory response, impairs memory retention, and damages hypothalamic neurons in mice.


And the results from a 2002 study published in the journal Nature9 suggest that aspartame may cause mental retardation, although the mechanism by which it does that is still unknown.

Other animal studies have linked aspartame to brain damage and brain tumors,10 even in low doses. I believe aspartame and other artificial sweeteners are dangerous to your health in so many ways, I even wrote an entire book on this topic called Sweet Deception.

4.Soy -- Unfermented soy products are another common food that should be avoided if you want to maintain healthy brain function.


One well-designed epidemiological study linked tofu consumption with exaggerated brain aging. Men who ate tofu at least twice weekly had more cognitive impairment, compared with those who rarely or never ate the soybean curd, and their cognitive test results were about equivalent to what they would have been if they were five years older than their current age.

What's more, higher midlife tofu consumption was also associated with low brain weight. Shrinkage does occur naturally with age, but for the men who had consumed more tofu showed an exaggeration of the usual patterns you typically see in aging.

Dr. Kaayla Daniel has written an excellent book, The Whole Soy Story, which covers the health dangers of soy in great depth and I highly recommend it to anyone still under the illusion that soy is a health food.


Additional Guidelines to Prevent Alzheimer's Disease While Combating Diabetes at the Same Time


Clearly, the best-known "treatment" for Alzheimer's disease is prevention, not drugs.

There is no question that insulin resistance is one of the most pervasive influences on brain damage as it contributes massively to inflammation, which will prematurely degenerate your brain -- just as it destroys the rest of your body and contributes to degenerative and chronic diseases of all kinds.

As a general rule for optimal physical and mental health, you'll want to keep your fasting insulin levels below 3.

Interestingly, normalizing your body's insulin and leptin levels will typically help raise your production of brain insulin, which is a good thing.

In addition to the dietary recommendations already discussed above, the following seven guidelines can further help you prevent Alzheimer's disease and keep your mind sharp as you age:
1.Optimize your vitamin D levels through safe sun exposure, a safe tanning bed, and/or vitamin D3 supplements.
2.Consume more high-quality animal-based omega-3 fat. I recommend consuming high-quality krill oil to meet the optimal amount of omega-3 fats needed to achieve good health and fight Alzheimer's. I recently did an interview with Dr. Rudi Moerck, an industry expert, which goes into great detail as to why I am strongly recommending krill.
3.Exercise. You probably know that exercise is good for your cardiovascular system, but studies have found that exercise can also protect your brain, thereby warding off Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia.


According to one study, the odds of developing Alzheimer's were nearly quadrupled in people who were less active during their leisure time, between the ages of 20 and 60, compared with their peers.

Similar to a healthy diet, regular physical activity is one of those actions that can significantly improve many aspects of your physical and emotional health. For the elderly, simple activities, such as walking and lightweight training, would likely provide benefits. For those who are younger, more strenuous exercise will radically improve the benefits.

4.Avoid and remove mercury from your body. Even trace amounts of mercury can cause the type of damage to nerves that is characteristic of the damage found in Alzheimer's disease.


Dental amalgam fillings are one of the major sources of mercury, however you should be healthy prior to having them removed. Once you have adjusted to your improved diet, you can follow my mercury detox protocol and then find a biological dentist to have your amalgams removed.

Other sources of mercury include most seafood, thimerosal-containing vaccinations and flu shots , which contain both mercury and aluminum.

5.Avoid aluminum. Aluminum has been widely associated with Alzheimer's disease. Your main sources of exposure are likely through drinking water and antiperspirants.


Aluminum cookware may also be a source of exposure. Although aluminum pots are probably less problematic than the sources mentioned above, I personally would not use aluminum cookware.

6.Challenge your mind. Mental stimulation , such as traveling, learning to play an instrument or doing crossword puzzles, is associated with a decreased risk of Alzheimer's. Researchers suspect that mental challenge helps to build up your brain, making it less susceptible to the lesions associated with Alzheimer's disease.
7.Avoid anticholinergic drugs. Drugs that block acetylcholine, a nervous system neurotransmitter, have been shown to increase your risk of dementia. These drugs include certain night-time pain relievers, antihistamines, sleep aids, certain antidepressants, medications to control incontinence, and certain narcotic pain relievers.

A recent study found that those who took one drug classified as a "definite anticholinergics" had a four times higher incidence of cognitive impairment. Regularly taking two of these drugs further increased the risk of cognitive impairment.






Final Thoughts on Combating Alzheimer's with Coconut Oil


The damage done to your brain from the wrong foods and from unbalanced insulin and leptin levels actually begins decades before you show any of the telltale signs of Alzheimer's. So it's vitally important to make healthy decisions now, before you unwittingly do decades of damage to your brain and nerves that you may not be able to reverse.

If you undertake a coconut oil or MCTs therapy protocol, be sure to start slow with the oil, and always take it with food to minimize stomach discomfort. If it takes you a few weeks to work up to the four tablespoons of coconut oil required for a therapeutic dose, that's normal. Not everyone can tolerate so much coconut oil in a single dose right from the start.

The coconut oil or MCTs should also be taken in the morning, as it takes a minimum of three hours for the oil to convert to ketones and reach your brain. Repeating the dose of four tablespoons of coconut oil twice a day may be beneficial for those already suffering from pre-Alzheimer's or Alzheimer's conditions.

With 15 million cases of Alzheimer's predicted in the United States by the year 2050, you can help ensure you are not one of the victims of this tragic disease by taking steps now to take charge of your health.

Bgood
captain of 1,000
Posts: 1534

Re: Dr. MERCOLA --> alternative health and fitness

Post by Bgood »

BroJones wrote:
By Dr. Mercola


Dr. Mary Newport writes about ketone bodies, an alternative fuel for your brain which your body makes when digesting coconut oil, and how coconut oil may offer profound benefits in the fight against Alzheimer's disease.

If her theory is accurate, this could be one of the greatest natural health discoveries in a long time. Backing up her claims is the remarkable recovery of her own husband.1

Bear in mind however that contrary to Dr. Newport, I personally do NOT support using drugs to treat Alzheimer's, and based on his condition believe enrolling him in a vaccine study is completely contraindicated and ill-advised.

That said, I believe Dr. Newport may have stumbled upon a powerful natural strategy to help prevent and treat Alzheimer's, and that's what I want to address here.

'Brain Starvation' Is a Hallmark of Alzheimer's Disease


One of the primary fuels your brain needs is glucose, which is converted into energy.

The mechanism for glucose uptake in your brain has only recently begun to be studied, and what has been learned is that your brain actually manufactures its own insulin2 to convert glucose in your blood stream into the food it needs to survive.

As you may already know, diabetes is the condition where your body's response to insulin is weakened until your body eventually stops producing the insulin necessary to regulate blood sugar, and your body's ability to regulate (or process) blood sugar into energy becomes essentially broken.

Now, when your brain's production of insulin decreases, your brain literally begins to starve, as it's deprived of the glucose-converted energy it needs to function normally.This is what happens to Alzheimer's patients -- portions of their brain start to atrophy, or starve, leading to impaired functioning and eventual loss of memory, speech, movement, and personality.

In effect, your brain can begin to atrophy from starvation if it becomes insulin-resistant and loses its ability to convert glucose into energy.


It is now also known that diabetics have a 65 percent increased risk of also being diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, and there appears to be a potent link between the two diseases, even though the exact mechanisms have yet to be determined.

It seems quite clear however that both are related to insulin resistance – in your body and in your brain.

Alternate Brain Food Can Stop Brain Atrophy in Its Tracks


Fortunately, your brain is able to run on more than one type of energy supply, and this is where coconut oil enters the picture.

There's another substance that can feed your brain and prevent brain atrophy. It may even restore and renew neuron and nerve function in your brain after damage has set in.

The substance in question is called ketone bodies or ketoacids.

Ketones are what your body produces when it converts fat (as opposed to glucose) into energy. And a primary source of ketone bodies are the medium-chain triglycerides (MCT) found in coconut oil!

Coconut oil contains about 66 percent MCTs.

The benefits of ketone bodies may also extend to a number of other health conditions, according to Dr. Newport:3


"Further, this is a potential treatment for Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, multiple sclerosis and amyotrophic lateral sclero­sis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease), drug resistant epilepsy, brittle type I diabetes, and diabetes type II, where there is insulin resistance.

Ketone bodies may help the brain recover after a loss of oxygen in newborns through adults, may help the heart re­cover after an acute attack, and may shrink cancer­ous tumors."

Medium-chain triglycerides (MCT) are fats that are not processed by your body in the same manner as long-chain triglycerides. Normally, a fat taken into your body must be mixed with bile released from your gallbladder before it can be broken down in your digestive system.

But medium-chain triglycerides go directly to your liver, which naturally converts the oil into ketones, bypassing the bile entirely. Your liver then immediately releases the ketones into your bloodstream where they are transported to your brain to be used as fuel.

In fact, ketones appear to be the preferred source of brain food in patients affected by diabetes or Alzheimer's.


"In Alzheimer's disease, the neurons in certain areas of the brain are un­able to take in glucose due to insulin resistance and slowly die off, a process that appears to happen one or more decades before the symptoms become apparent," Dr. Newport states in her article.4

"If these cells had access to ketone bod­ies, they could potentially stay alive and continue to function."

The Ketonic Diet – Why Avoiding Grains Also Protects Against Neurodegeneration


Another way to increase ketone production in your body is by restricting carbohydrates.

This is what happens when you go on a high-fat, high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet: Your body begins to run on fats instead of carbohydrates, and the name for this is ketosis.

This is also why you don't starve to death when you restrict food for weeks at a time, because your body is able to convert stored fat into ketones that are used as fuel instead of glucose.

Consuming medium-chain triglycerides, such as coconut oil, is a better option. However, because the ketones produced by ketosis are not concentrated in your bloodstream, but are instead mostly excreted in your urine.

MCTs and Alzheimer's Research


The mechanism of this MCT-ketone metabolism appears to be that your body treats MCTs as a carbohydrate and not a fat. This allows the ketone energy to hit your bloodstream without the normal insulin spike associated with carbohydrates entering your bloodstream.

So in effect coconut oil is a fat that acts like a carbohydrate when it comes to brain fuel.

Therapeutic levels of MCTs have been studied at 20 grams per day. According to Dr. Newport's calculations,5 just over two tablespoons of coconut oil (about 35 ml or seven level teaspoons) would supply you with the equivalent of 20 grams of MCT, which is indicated as either a preventative measure against degenerative neurological diseases, or as a treatment for an already established case.

Remember though that people tolerate coconut oil differently, and you may have to start slowly and build up to these therapeutic levels. My recommendation is to start with one teaspoon, taken with food in the mornings. Gradually add more coconut oil every few days until you are able to tolerate four tablespoons.

Coconut oil is best taken with food, to avoid upsetting your stomach.

You Also Need Dietary B12 for Optimal Brain Health


According to a small Finnish study recently published in the journal Neurology,6 people who consume foods rich in B12 may also reduce their risk of Alzheimer's in their later years. For each unit increase in the marker of vitamin B12 (holotranscobalamin), the risk of developing Alzheimer's was reduced by two percent.

However, I strongly disagree with the dietary advice published by CNN Health7 on this topic, which included fish and fortified cereals.

Fortified cereals are most definitely NOT a good source of dietary B vitamins. They also have inorganic iron added. This is the worst type of iron to use as a supplement and it will raise already elevated iron in those that don't need it, like most adult men and postmenopausal women.

Elevated iron levels will actually increase your risk of Alzheimer's.

Additionally, most fish are today so contaminated, I cannot recommend increasing consumption of fish either. One exception would be sardines, which are high in B12 and small enough to typically be less contaminated, compared to larger fish.

Instead, your ideal dietary sources of B12 vitamins would include:
•Liver from organic calf
•Wild-caught salmon
•Organic grass-fed beef
•Lamb (which are typically grass-fed even if not specified as organic)
•Organic free-range eggs

Vitamin B12 is present in natural form only in animal sources of food, which is one of the reasons I advise against a strict vegetarian or vegan diet. The few plant foods that are sources of B12 are actually B12 analogs. An analog is a substance that blocks the uptake of true B12, so your body's need for the nutrient actually increases.

There are many well-documented cases of brain abnormalities in strict vegetarians, resulting from vitamin B12 deficiency.

Foods to AVOID to Keep Your Mind Sharp


Meanwhile, besides incorporating ketone therapy (coconut oil), as either a preventative step or as a treatment, there are other steps you can take to help minimize your risk of developing Alzheimer's disease decades from now.

For instance, it's important to know what foods to avoid, in order to protect the health of your brain.

These four foods in particular can be pinpointed as enemies of optimal brain health:
1.Sugars, especially fructose -- Excessive sugar and grain consumption are the driving factors behind insulin resistance, and the strategies that protect your brain are very similar to those for avoiding diabetes.


There is simply no question that insulin resistance is one of the most pervasive influences on brain damage, as it contributes massively to inflammation, which will prematurely degenerate your brain.

Ideally, you'll want to restrict your total fructose consumption to below 25 grams a day. This includes refraining from eating too many fruits, if you normally eat a lot of them. If you consume more than 25 grams a day of fructose, you can damage your cells by creating insulin and leptin resistance and raising your uric acid levels.

Berries tend to be lower in fructose, and wild blueberries, for example, are also high in anthocyanin and antioxidants, and are well known for being beneficial against Alzheimer's and other neurological diseases.

2.Grains – Even whole, organic grains will convert to sugar in your body and spike your insulin levels.


Ideally, you'll want to devise a nutritional plan geared to your specific nutritional type to maximize your health benefits, as grain carbs are far more detrimental to some than others. I believe this is essential to everyone's health, and I'm very pleased to now be able to offer the full online nutritional typing program for free. We've previously charged $29 for this test, so please do take advantage of this offer.

3.Artificial sweeteners – Aspartame, for example, is an excitotoxin that can literally destroy your brain cells. There are many studies showing the dangers of aspartame. For example, one study published in 20008 found that aspartame shortens the memory response, impairs memory retention, and damages hypothalamic neurons in mice.


And the results from a 2002 study published in the journal Nature9 suggest that aspartame may cause mental retardation, although the mechanism by which it does that is still unknown.

Other animal studies have linked aspartame to brain damage and brain tumors,10 even in low doses. I believe aspartame and other artificial sweeteners are dangerous to your health in so many ways, I even wrote an entire book on this topic called Sweet Deception.

4.Soy -- Unfermented soy products are another common food that should be avoided if you want to maintain healthy brain function.


One well-designed epidemiological study linked tofu consumption with exaggerated brain aging. Men who ate tofu at least twice weekly had more cognitive impairment, compared with those who rarely or never ate the soybean curd, and their cognitive test results were about equivalent to what they would have been if they were five years older than their current age.

What's more, higher midlife tofu consumption was also associated with low brain weight. Shrinkage does occur naturally with age, but for the men who had consumed more tofu showed an exaggeration of the usual patterns you typically see in aging.

Dr. Kaayla Daniel has written an excellent book, The Whole Soy Story, which covers the health dangers of soy in great depth and I highly recommend it to anyone still under the illusion that soy is a health food.


Additional Guidelines to Prevent Alzheimer's Disease While Combating Diabetes at the Same Time


Clearly, the best-known "treatment" for Alzheimer's disease is prevention, not drugs.

There is no question that insulin resistance is one of the most pervasive influences on brain damage as it contributes massively to inflammation, which will prematurely degenerate your brain -- just as it destroys the rest of your body and contributes to degenerative and chronic diseases of all kinds.

As a general rule for optimal physical and mental health, you'll want to keep your fasting insulin levels below 3.

Interestingly, normalizing your body's insulin and leptin levels will typically help raise your production of brain insulin, which is a good thing.

In addition to the dietary recommendations already discussed above, the following seven guidelines can further help you prevent Alzheimer's disease and keep your mind sharp as you age:
1.Optimize your vitamin D levels through safe sun exposure, a safe tanning bed, and/or vitamin D3 supplements.
2.Consume more high-quality animal-based omega-3 fat. I recommend consuming high-quality krill oil to meet the optimal amount of omega-3 fats needed to achieve good health and fight Alzheimer's. I recently did an interview with Dr. Rudi Moerck, an industry expert, which goes into great detail as to why I am strongly recommending krill.
3.Exercise. You probably know that exercise is good for your cardiovascular system, but studies have found that exercise can also protect your brain, thereby warding off Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia.


According to one study, the odds of developing Alzheimer's were nearly quadrupled in people who were less active during their leisure time, between the ages of 20 and 60, compared with their peers.

Similar to a healthy diet, regular physical activity is one of those actions that can significantly improve many aspects of your physical and emotional health. For the elderly, simple activities, such as walking and lightweight training, would likely provide benefits. For those who are younger, more strenuous exercise will radically improve the benefits.

4.Avoid and remove mercury from your body. Even trace amounts of mercury can cause the type of damage to nerves that is characteristic of the damage found in Alzheimer's disease.


Dental amalgam fillings are one of the major sources of mercury, however you should be healthy prior to having them removed. Once you have adjusted to your improved diet, you can follow my mercury detox protocol and then find a biological dentist to have your amalgams removed.

Other sources of mercury include most seafood, thimerosal-containing vaccinations and flu shots , which contain both mercury and aluminum.

5.Avoid aluminum. Aluminum has been widely associated with Alzheimer's disease. Your main sources of exposure are likely through drinking water and antiperspirants.


Aluminum cookware may also be a source of exposure. Although aluminum pots are probably less problematic than the sources mentioned above, I personally would not use aluminum cookware.

6.Challenge your mind. Mental stimulation , such as traveling, learning to play an instrument or doing crossword puzzles, is associated with a decreased risk of Alzheimer's. Researchers suspect that mental challenge helps to build up your brain, making it less susceptible to the lesions associated with Alzheimer's disease.
7.Avoid anticholinergic drugs. Drugs that block acetylcholine, a nervous system neurotransmitter, have been shown to increase your risk of dementia. These drugs include certain night-time pain relievers, antihistamines, sleep aids, certain antidepressants, medications to control incontinence, and certain narcotic pain relievers.

A recent study found that those who took one drug classified as a "definite anticholinergics" had a four times higher incidence of cognitive impairment. Regularly taking two of these drugs further increased the risk of cognitive impairment.






Final Thoughts on Combating Alzheimer's with Coconut Oil


The damage done to your brain from the wrong foods and from unbalanced insulin and leptin levels actually begins decades before you show any of the telltale signs of Alzheimer's. So it's vitally important to make healthy decisions now, before you unwittingly do decades of damage to your brain and nerves that you may not be able to reverse.

If you undertake a coconut oil or MCTs therapy protocol, be sure to start slow with the oil, and always take it with food to minimize stomach discomfort. If it takes you a few weeks to work up to the four tablespoons of coconut oil required for a therapeutic dose, that's normal. Not everyone can tolerate so much coconut oil in a single dose right from the start.

The coconut oil or MCTs should also be taken in the morning, as it takes a minimum of three hours for the oil to convert to ketones and reach your brain. Repeating the dose of four tablespoons of coconut oil twice a day may be beneficial for those already suffering from pre-Alzheimer's or Alzheimer's conditions.

With 15 million cases of Alzheimer's predicted in the United States by the year 2050, you can help ensure you are not one of the victims of this tragic disease by taking steps now to take charge of your health.
Alzheimer's Learn the Truth! why we get Alzheimer's "Dr. Joel Wallac
Last edited by Bgood on July 28th, 2015, 1:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Bgood
captain of 1,000
Posts: 1534

Re: Dr. MERCOLA --> alternative health and fitness

Post by Bgood »

rewcox wrote:
BroJones wrote:Better than being blue!

PS, friend Rewcox -- I'm using lemon juice + veggie juice (low sodium if possible) along with WATER and feel-the-burn weight hefting pretty much daily -- and I've shed THIRTEEN pounds, so far.


Thanks to Little Sister for this link -
Why They Didn’t Tell Us? A Beverage That Is 10,000 Times Stronger Than Chemotherapy!

By Ivan Andreevski


We continue using chemotherapy even though there is no need!

This drink saves lives and it has been proven in hundreds of studies, yet few people know that the drink is so amazing. People simply do not believe, probably because it is a very accessible and cheap food, but it really is so. Did you know that lemon and baking soda can be stronger than chemotherapy?

Why They Didnt Tell Us A Beverage That Is 10,000 Times Stronger Than Chemotherapy!
The combination of lemon and baking soda are proven stronger “killer” cancer than chemotherapy for about a whopping 10,000 times. Why no one told us anything about this? Well, because there is no profit from healthy people.

They spend nothing. It’s that easy. Billions and billions of dollars that the pharmaceutical industry gets in their budget would no longer exist. Lemon is a proven anti-carcinogen. On the organism it produces a strongly alkaline environment in which cysts and tumors simply cannot dwell.


Specifically, cysts and tumors feed on substances that create acidic environment in the body, and as long as the body is acidic tumor can grow. But as soon as you stop the flow of acidity in the body the tumor has no food and becomes stagnant. Therefore, soda combined with lemon is an exceptional fighter against cancer because of their effect is quite alkaline. Namely, combining it with coffee should be avoided and of course all the other ingredients of the body that creates an acidic environment and the result is certainly warranted. This magnificent fact discovered back in 1923 a German scientist Otto Heinrich Warburg, who for his cure for cancer even got the Nobel Prize, but nevertheless, people do not know the truth.

What was discovered by Dr. Warburg?

Dr. Warburg discovered that cancer is the result of anti-physiological lifestyle. Anti-Phuspt diets (with food that is acidifying) and physical inactivity of the body creates an acidic environment poorly oxygenated. Acidity cell displaces the oxygen from the cells, and the lack of oxygen in the cells creates an acidic environment. ‘If you have too high acidity, automatically will be missing oxygen in the body; if you lack oxygen, you will have acidified organism. The acidic environment is an environment without oxygen, spoke Dr. Warrburg.

‘And if you subtract 35% oxygen, cancer cells can create in just two days. Thus, the cause of cancer today is acidified organism and cells without oxygen. In his work “The metabolism of tumors,” Dr. Warburg showed that all carcinogenic forms fulfill two basic conditions: blood acidity and hypoxia (lack of oxygen). He found that the tumor cells are anaerobic (do not breathe oxygen) and cannot survive in the presence of high concentrations of oxygen. Tumor cells can survive only with the help of glucose in the environment without oxygen.


Therefore, cancer is nothing but a defense mechanism, which our cells use to survive in an acidic environment without oxygen. What affects the acidification of the body and the occurrence of cancer?


The answer is very simple: food. Most people today, unlike twenty years ago, are eating food that is acidifying the body so it is not surprising that the occurrence of this disease is in the systematic increase.

What to eat in smaller quantities?

Refined sugar and all its derivatives. It is the worst, because there is no protein, fat, vitamins, minerals not only refined carbohydrates, which damages the pancreas. Its pH is 2.1 (very acidic).
Meat (all types), animal products – milk and cheese, cream, yogurt etc.

Refined salt, refined flour and all its derivatives such as pasta, cakes, biscuits and so on.

Bread, butter, caffeine, alcohol, all industrially processed and canned foods, which contain preservatives, artificial colors, flavors, stabilizers, etc.

Antibiotics and generally all drugs.

What to eat more?

Baking soda and lemon

Fruit
All raw vegetables. Some are sour in taste, but in the body the change and become alkaline.

Almonds. They are very alkaline.

Whole grains: the only alkalizing grain is millet. All other grains are slightly acidic, but the ideal diet should be a certain percentage of acidity and should eat some crops. All grains should be eaten cooked.

Honey. It has a very high alkalinity.

Chlorophyll. Green plants contain chlorophyll which is very alkaline.

Water. It is important for the production of oxygen. Always stay well hydrated, drink small sips of water throughout the day.

Exercising. Exercising helps maintain the alkalinity of the body because it gives oxygen throughout the body. Sedentary lifestyle is destroying the organism.


Chemotherapy is death!

Although medicine has breakthorough knowledge of the research scientists, cancer is treated with chemotherapy.


Chemotherapy often means death. It is acidifying the body to such an extent that the body reaches for the last alkaline reserves in the body to neutralize the acidity of sacrificing minerals (calcium, magnesium, potassium) that are embedded in the bones, teeth, nails and hair, and as a result of chemotherapy we have physical changes in patients. Chemotherapy acidifies the body so much that it promotes the spread of cancer, rather than cell destruction.

Therefore, if you are suffering from this disease, start alkalizing the body, in which baking soda that you can buy in any store is very helpful. It is known in the world of alternative medicine as a very good and effective cancer killer, primarily because of its alkaline properties.

Source: http://nesaranews.blogspot.com/2015/05/ ... at-is.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Thanks BroJones! :)
Weightloss is easy if your body has all the nutrients it needs

Bgood
captain of 1,000
Posts: 1534

Re: Dr. MERCOLA --> alternative health and fitness

Post by Bgood »

BroJones wrote:
Why Coconut Oil KILLS Belly Fat
(Research Update)


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 30, 2015

Jake Carney, Founder
The Alternative Daily
I've run across some VERY interesting studies recently on the relationship between coconut oil (or any type of coconut fat, including coconut milk and cream) and how it can affect your body fat...

It may sound too good to be true, food manufacturers don't want you to know about, but we promise you and research proves coconut oil can do wonders for your health!

Millions of people across America (not to mention worldwide) struggle with stubborn abdominal fat, which can be difficult to shed even when a healthy lifestyle is adopted. Not only is abdominal fat, also called visceral fat or ‘belly fat,’ unsightly, it can lead to an increased risk of a number of health conditions.

Some of the risks associated with carrying excess fat around your middle are a greater susceptibility to type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Additionally, as this fat tends to coat vital organs, it can cause system-wide inflammation that can trigger an array of other chronic illnesses.


But according to the ground-breaking studies below, the effects of coconut oil on abdominal fat will surprise you! Read on...


cholesterol
A 2009 study published in the Journal of Lipids consisted of testing the effects of either 2 tablespoons of coconut oil or 2 tablespoons of soybean on a group of 40 women over the span of 28 days.

Results showed that the group that ate the coconut oil had a decrease in abdominal fat, while the soybean oil group actually showed a slight increase in belly fat.

Additionally, the group that ate the coconut oil showed increased HDL ‘good’ cholesterol levels, while the soybean oil group had decreased HDL cholesterol and increased LDL ‘ bad’ cholesterol.


coconut
The Journal of Nutrition published a study where researchers investigated all studies relative to medium chain fatty acids (MCFAs) that are abundant in coconut fat and weight management.

The studies showed that diets rich in fats such as those found in coconut oil prompted a boost in metabolism, increase in energy, decrease in food consumption, reduced body weight and lower body fat mass.

The study authors highly recommend using oils that contain MCFAs, such as coconut oil, as a tool to drop extra abdominal fat, manage a healthy weight, and even as a way to treat obesity.



Yet another study that assessed body belly fatweight and fat storage relative to three different types of diets including a low-fat diet, high-fat diet with long chain fatty acids (LCFAs) and a high fat diet with MCFAs. In order to bring about weight gain, caloric intakes were adjusted for the diets.

At the end of the research period (which lasted 44 days), the low-fat diet group stored an average of 0.47 grams of fat per day, the LCFA group stored 0.48 grams of fat per day, and the MCFA group only stored a mere 0.19 grams per day (despite purposely increasing calories).

Those in the MCFA group (coconut fat) had a 60 percent reduction in body fat stored compared to the other diets.

Additional benefits...
Another added bonus of consuming organic coconut oil (and coconut cream or milk) is that it tends to make us feel fuller for longer. Studies indicate that MCFAs help increase feelings of fullness and lead to a reduction in calorie intake when compared to the same amount of calories from other fats. When MCFAs are metabolized, ketone bodies are created in the liver – these have been shown to have a strong appetite reducing effect helping you to lose fat faster.

If you thought from reading about how using coconut oil daily for helping to reduce abdominal fat is pretty incredible, you're going to be blown away by the powerful health benefits of coconut oil. Here's why...


The REAL Truth About Coconut Oil
Plus, Four “Common Yet Dangerous” Oils You Should Never
Eat... If You Want to Heal, Beautify and Restore Your Body!
Here's a newsflash I'm sure won't surprise you... nothing concocted in a laboratory can ever replace the value of what is found in nature!

Mother Nature is incredibly generous in the way she provides - offering a bounty of fruits and vegetables rich in vitamins, minerals and nutrients to nourish your body so you can enjoy a long healthy life.

One fruit in particular - the coconut - is so abundant in its healing properties it's referred to as "the tree of life." And before World War II, people living in island countries, like the Philippines, consumed a diet that consisted mainly of rice, root crops, vegetables and an abundance of the ultra-healing superfood, the coconut.

The coconut is a "functional food" rich in vitamins, minerals and fiber - the essential nutritional building blocks for perfect health.

For generations, island people considered it "The Cure for All Illness" and consumed the meat, milk and coconut oil daily. Although this diet was high in saturated fat, Western conditions like diabetes, cancer and heart disease were virtually unheard of.

Filipinos and islanders were instead rewarded with a lovely youthful complexion, soft wrinkle-free skin, almost no skin cancer - even with excessive exposure to year round sun - and abundant good health.

Coconut oil in particular has been shown to protect you from viruses, bacteria, infection, cancer, thyroid, brain and heart problems... plus beautifies your skin - and even burns fat!

Coconut oil - a saturated fat - is chock-full of health-promoting properties - and is in no way responsible for high cholesterol, obesity, heart disease and the bad effects you've been led to believe.

Finally, modern medicine and science are starting to realize this fundamental truth... and it's been a long time coming. But sadly not before heart disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity and a whole host of other catastrophic diseases have reached epidemic proportions!

The Saturated-Fat Myth That Robbed
You of Your Good Health!
Before World War II, the miracle-healing coconut had been used to help alleviate:

Coughs
Constipation
Malnutrition
Skin infections
Toothaches
Earaches
Flus
And more!

But that all changed when the war ended and the United States proclaimed hydrogenated oils to be the "healthier oils." By the 1960s, a weak scientific theory claimed that saturated fats-like those found in butter, eggs, milk, red meat and coconuts - increased "bad" LDL cholesterol and were dangerous to consume.

Nothing was further from the truth! But this “health scare” was enough to push the public away from saturated fats and instead to refined vegetable oils. This was perfect for food manufacturers because they were far cheaper to produce.

It wasn’t long before Western-style diets made their way to the islands and the old ways were forgotten.

Cheaper, mass-produced hydrogenated foods replaced traditional foods, like the versatile and all-healing coconut oil that had kept the islanders healthy for generations.

And for the first time ever, diseases that had become prevalent among Americans… heart disease, diabetes, cancer and obesity started to plague the island nations...
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Re: Dr. MERCOLA --> alternative health and fitness

Post by Bgood »

BroJones wrote:Inflammation and...
Gut Bacteria and Fat Cells May Interact to Produce “Perfect Storm” of Inflammation That Promotes Diabetes and Other Chronic Disease
June 05, 2014 | 408,245 views

By Dr. Mercola

A wide array of health problems, including but not limited to obesity, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, periodontal disease, stroke, and heart disease all have inflammation as a part of the disease.

The majority of inflammatory diseases start in your gut.


Chronic inflammation in your gut can disrupt the normal functioning of many bodily systems. There also appears to be a connection between certain types of bacteria and body fat that produces a heightened inflammatory response and drives the inflammatory process.

For example, recent research1 suggests that superantigens—toxic molecules produced by pathogenic bacteria such as staph—may play a role in the development of type 2 diabetes through their effect on fat cells. As reported by the featured article:2

“The idea is that when fat cells (adipocytes) interact with environmental agents -- in this case, bacterial toxins -- they then trigger a chronic inflammatory process... acterial toxins stimulate fat cells to release molecules called cytokines, which promote inflammation...

All staph bacteria make toxins called superantigens -- molecules that disrupt the immune system. Schlievert's research has previously shown that superantigens cause the deadly effects of various staph infections, such as toxic shock syndrome, sepsis, and endocarditis.

... [T]he chronic inflammation caused by the superantigens may also hinder wound healing in diabetic foot ulcers. The ulcers, which affect 15 to 25 percent of people with diabetes, are notoriously difficult to heal and can often lead to amputation.”

'Perfect Storm' of Inflammation Promotes Diabetes

Previous research has shown that obese people have different intestinal bacteria than slim people. Lean people tend to have higher amounts of various healthy or beneficial bacteria compared to those who carry a lot of excess weight, who tend to have greater colonization of pathogenic bacteria.

For instance, the human adenovirus-36 (Ad-36) -- a cause of respiratory infections and pinkeye – might play a role in promoting obesity by transforming adult stem cells into fat cells that are capable of storing additional fat.

Researchers have also discovered that certain gut bacteria, including Staphylococcus aureus (staph) and E. coli, trigger fat cells to produce inflammatory cytokines. Researchers have proposed that this interaction can provoke the development of diabetes, which is a well-known “side effect” of obesity.

Staph bacteria in particular appear to play an important role in diabetes, and according to the featured article, there are two primary reasons for this:

Obese people have a tendency to become heavily colonized with staph bacteria
Staph bacteria is the most common bacteria found in diabetic foot ulcers
The featured study found that when both staph and E. coli are present (both of which produce superantigens), the inflammatory cytokine response in fat cells are further amplified, thereby boosting your risk of diabetes. According to the co-author of the study, Patrick Schlievert, Ph.D:

"The E. coli that resides in our gut produces LPS [lipopolysaccharide, a toxin] and every day a small amount of this toxin gets into our circulation, but it is generally cleared from the circulation by the liver. However, people colonized by staph bacteria are also chronically exposed to superantigens, which shut down the LPS detoxification pathway.

That creates a synergy between the 'uncleared' LPS and the superantigen. All these two molecules do is cause inflammation and cytokine production. So in essence, their presence together creates a perfect storm for inflammation."

Previous studies have come to similar conclusions. For example, one study3 found that babies with high numbers of bifidobacteria (beneficial bacteria) and low numbers of Staphylococcus aureus, appeared to be protected from excess weight gain.

This may also be one reason why breast-fed babies have a lower risk of obesity, as bifidobacteria flourish in the guts of breast-fed babies.

The Link Between Gum Inflammation and Heart Health

A related news item further highlights the role of inflammation in the development of chronic disease. According to Medical News Today:4

“Researchers at Columbia University in New York suggest that if you look after your gums, you could also be reducing your risk of heart disease. They claim that improving dental care slows the speed with which plaque builds up in the arteries.5”

This isn’t the first time researchers have found that your oral health can have a significant impact on your cardiovascular and heart health. For example, a 2010 study6 found that those with the worst oral hygiene increased their risk of developing heart disease by a whopping 70 percent, compared to those who brush their teeth twice a day.

In this prospective study, improved gum health was shown to significantly slow down the progression of atherosclerosis—the buildup of plaque in your arteries, which increases your risk of heart disease, stroke, and death. According to the featured article:7

“Previous studies have linked an increase in carotid IMT [intima-medial thickness] of 0.033 mm per year (about 0.1 mm over 3 years), to a more than double increase in risk of heart attack and stroke. In this study, the participants whose gum health got worse over the 3 years showed a 0.1 mm increase in carotid IMT, compared with the participants whose gum health improved.

Co-author Panos N. Papapanou, professor at Columbia's College of Dental Medicine, says: 'Our results show a clear relationship between what is happening in the mouth and thickening of the carotid artery, even before the onset of full-fledged periodontal disease. This suggests that incipient periodontal disease should not be ignored.'”

Here, bacteria are again playing a preeminent role, as periodontal disease is the result of the colonization of certain bacteria in your mouth. This bacterial profile, by the way, is again linked to an imbalance of beneficial and pathogenic bacteria in your gut. A few months after I added fermented vegetables to my daily diet, I was able to cut down my dental cleaning visits from every month to every quarter. I’ve had a longstanding problem of persistent plaque formation, and the addition of fermented foods proved to be an essential missing ingredient for me to successfully address this problem.

It’s important to realize that periodontal disease involves both bone and the tissue that is in contact with that bone. From this contact, bacteria and toxic inflammatory compounds can easily enter your blood stream. Once in your blood stream, these toxic compounds can harm the lining of your blood vessels, which can lead to both strokes and heart attacks. So, reducing inflammation is of primary importance for your overall health, and brushing your teeth regularly is one way to combat chronic inflammation in your body.

Findings such as these offer potent testimony to the fact that heart disease is a condition that can be prevented, most of the time, by leading a healthy lifestyle -- which includes the simple act of brushing your teeth regularly to prevent periodontal disease, and optimizing your gut health by eating foods that allow healthy bacteria to flourish and keep pathogenic bacteria in check.

Diet and Environmental Factors Affect Your Gut Flora

I have long stated that it's generally a wise choice to "reseed" your body with good bacteria, ideally by regularly eating non-pasteurized, traditionally fermented foods such as:

Fermented vegetables
Lassi (an Indian yoghurt drink)
Fermented milk, such as kefir
Natto (fermented soy)
One of the reasons why fermented foods are so beneficial is because they contain lactic acid producing bacteria, which has been shown to be particularly beneficial for weight loss, as well as a wide variety of other beneficial bacteria. Ideally, you want to eat a variety of fermented foods to maximize the variety of bacteria you’re getting. If for whatever reason you decide not to eat fermented foods, taking a high-quality probiotic supplement is definitely recommended.

Keep in mind that eating fermented foods may not be enough if the rest of your diet is really poor. Your gut bacteria are an active and integrated part of your body, and as such are vulnerable to your overall lifestyle. If you eat a lot of processed foods for instance, your gut bacteria are going to be compromised because processed foods in general will destroy healthy microflora and feed bad bacteria and yeast. Your gut bacteria are also very sensitive to the following factors—all of which should ideally be avoided as much as possible in order to optimize your gut flora:

Antibiotics, including antibiotic-traces found in meats from factory farmed meats and animal products
Agricultural chemicals, especially glyphosate
Chlorinated water
Antibacterial soap
Pollution
Your Diet Is Key for Reducing Chronic Inflammation

As you can see, the running thread linking a wide variety of common health problems—from obesity and diabetes to heart disease and stroke—is chronic inflammation. Clearly, addressing your oral health is an important step, but the real key to reducing chronic inflammation in your body starts with your diet.

Diet accounts for about 80 percent of the health benefits you reap from a healthful lifestyle, and keeping inflammation in check is a major part of these benefits. It's important to realize that dietary components can either trigger or prevent inflammation from taking root in your body.

For example, whereas trans fats and sugar, particularly fructose, will increase inflammation, eating healthy fats such as animal-based omega-3 fats found in krill oil, or the essential fatty acid gamma linolenic acid (GLA) will help to reduce them. Research published in the Scandinavian Journal of Gastroenterology8 two years ago again confirmed that dietary supplementation with krill oil effectively reduced inflammation and oxidative stress. To reduce or prevent inflammation in your body, you’ll want to AVOID the following dietary culprits:

Sugar/fructose and grains (If your fasting insulin level is not lower than three, consider eliminating grains and sugars until you optimize your insulin level, as insulin resistance this is a primary driver of chronic inflammation)
Oxidized cholesterol (cholesterol that has gone rancid, such as that from overcooked, scrambled eggs)
Foods cooked at high temperatures
Trans fats
Replacing processed foods with whole, ideally organic, foods will automatically address most of these factors, especially if you eat a large portion of your food raw. Equally important is making sure you’re regularly reseeding your gut with beneficial bacteria, as discussed above. The ideal way, again, is by adding a variety of non-pasteurized traditionally fermented foods to your daily diet. To help you get started on a healthier diet, I suggest following my free Optimized Nutrition Plan, which starts at the beginner phase and systematically guides you step-by-step to the advanced level.

Optimizing your vitamin D levels is another important aspect of optimizing your gut health and immune function. According to recent research, vitamin D appears to be nearly as effective as animal-based omega-3 fats in countering inflammatory bowel diseases like Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis for example. One of the reasons for this may be because it helps your body produce over 200 anti-microbial peptides capable of fighting all sorts of infections. In simple terms, if you’re vitamin D deficient, your immune system will not activate to do its job. And since vitamin D also modulates (balances) your immune response, it helps prevent overreaction in the form of inflammation.

Grounding—An Underused Anti-Inflammatory Lifestyle Strategy

Another simple lifestyle strategy that can help prevent chronic inflammation is grounding or Earthing. Stated in the simplest terms possible, earthing is simply walking barefoot; grounding your body to the Earth. Your skin in general is a very good conductor, so you can connect any part of your skin to the Earth, but if you compare various parts there is one that is especially potent, and that's right in the middle of the ball of your foot; a point known to acupuncturists as Kidney 1 (K1). It's a well-known point that conductively connects to all of the acupuncture meridians and essentially connects to every nook and cranny of your body.

By looking at what happens during grounding, the answer to why chronic inflammation is so prevalent, and what is needed to prevent it, is becoming better understood. When you're grounded there's a transfer of free electrons from the Earth into your body. And these free electrons are probably the most potent antioxidants known to man. These antioxidants are responsible for the clinical observations from grounding experiments, such as beneficial changes in heart rate and blood pressure, decreased skin resistance, and decreased levels of inflammation. Furthermore, researchers have also discovered that grounding actually thins your blood, making it less viscous.

This discovery can have a profound impact on cardiovascular disease, which is now the number one killer in the world. Virtually every aspect of cardiovascular disease has been correlated with elevated blood viscosity. It turns out that when you ground to the earth, your zeta potential quickly rises, which means your red blood cells have more charge on their surface, which forces them apart from each other. This action causes your blood to thin and flow easier. It also causes your blood pressure to drop.

By repelling each other, your red blood cells are also less inclined to stick together and form a clot. Additionally, if your zeta potential is high, which grounding can facilitate, you not only decrease your heart disease risk but also your risk of multi-infarct dementias, where you start losing brain tissue due to micro-clotting in your brain. To learn more about this simple but potent method, please see my interview with Dr. Oschman, who is widely recognized as an authority in the biophysics of energy medicine. Grounding may also work by increasing the structured water in your cells.

For Optimal Health, Address and Avoid Chronic Inflammation

Remember, the micro-organisms living in your digestive tract form a very important "inner ecosystem" that influences countless aspects of health. More specifically, the type and quantity of organisms in your gut interact with your body in ways that can either prevent or encourage the development of chronic inflammation, which is at the heart of many diseases, including heart disease and diabetes. The composition of your microflora may even dictate the ease with which you’re able to shed unwanted pounds.

Since virtually all of us are exposed to factors that destroy beneficial bacteria in your gut, such as antibiotics (whether you take them for an illness or get them from contaminated animal products), chlorinated water, antibacterial soap, agricultural chemicals, and pollution, ensuring your gut bacteria remain balanced should be considered an ongoing process.

Cultured foods like raw milk yogurt and kefir, some cheeses, and fermented vegetables are good sources of natural, healthy bacteria. So my strong recommendation would be to make cultured or fermented foods a regular part of your diet; this can be your primary strategy to optimize your body's good bacteria. If you do not eat fermented foods on a regular basis, taking a high-quality probiotic supplement would be a wise decision for most people.

Besides that, replacing processed foods, sugar/fructose and grains with whole foods is a critical step to address chronic inflammation. Optimizing your vitamin D levels and making sure you’re getting plenty of animal-based omega-3 fat
in your diet is also important, along with grounding, to keep inflammation in check.



Dr Wallach on Diabetes CAUSE PREVENTION REVERSA

[youtube]6UZzSL1rR3o[/youtube]

Dr Joel Wallach on Cardiovascular Disease 2/16/15
[youtube]FPCP9Z-6udY[/youtube]

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Re: Dr. MERCOLA --> alternative health and fitness

Post by BroJones »

This article on how the brain operates is fascinating.... I'm still processing it with my little brain!
For some reason, the Lord made us this way -- our brains will NOT actually multi-process...
I think this is why we need to "always remember Him" as our GOAL - but again, I'm still processing ...

QUOTE
By Dr. Mercola


The human being is the only animal that has a reflective brain, yet most of us sabotage it every day, and in doing so, we limit our productivity and well-being. Dr. Theo Compernolle is a Belgian physician with about three decades-worth of experience in clinical psychiatry, neuropsychiatry, and neurology.

His book, "Brain Chains: Discover Your Brain, to Unleash Its Full Potential In a Hyperconnected, Multitasking World," reveals how to distinguish between the reflexive and the reflective brain, and how understanding the inner workings of your brain can dramatically improve your productivity and quality of life.

In the last year, I've read about 150 books or so, and "Brain Chains" is clearly one of the top 10 books I've read. It has my strong endorsement and recommendation, because it provides so many useful tips, and it's so well written.

Your Three Brains: Reflex, Reflective, and Archiving


The book was an outgrowth of observations Dr. Compernolle made in groups and companies he worked with.

About 13 years ago, the Blackberry became all the rage among managers and working professionals, and he got the distinct impression that there was something wrong with the way people used this new technology.


"Seven or eight years ago, the iPad, iPhones, and the smartphones came on the market. Then it really got crazy," he says. "I had the impression that these people were trying to do something that's impossible to do – which is multitasking."

Most people believe multitasking is not only possible, but advantageous. Nothing could be further from the truth. As it turns out, multitasking effectively is impossible.

To grasp why this is so, you need to understand that your brain is a huge network of networks, with some 80 billion neurons, plus the glial cells, which play a role in information processing.

Every neuron in your brain has between 1,000 and 300,000 connections. So when we talk about the reflexive brain, the reflecting brain, and the archiving brain, it's important to remember that all of these networks are interconnected.

However, each "brain" does have its own particular characteristic, and once you understand the functions of these different parts, you will realize why multitasking simply doesn't work.

The Reflex Brain


This is the one we have in common with all animals. In evolutionary terms, it's about 600 million years old. The characteristic of the reflex brain is that it is totally focused in the here and now. It takes in information from all senses and reacts in a flash.

The only world that exists for your reflex brain is what you experience with your senses. All this information is taken in very rapidly by your reflex brain. But as soon as something is outside of or beyond your senses, it "doesn't exist" anymore.

This is the part of your brain that is engaged when you're surfing the Web, and why you can look up and realize that an entire hour has disappeared while your attention was caught in the World Wide Web.

The Reflecting Brain


This part allows you to think abstractly. It's what you use when you think back to the past, or imagine the future. It can only think about one thing at a time, and therefore cannot multitask.

In evolutionary terms, the reflecting brain is a more recent phenomenon. Moreover, humans are the only animal that can truly reflect and think in the abstract.

Some animals, such as dogs, cats, and apes, may be capable of some minor reflecting, but not to the degree humans can. Your reflective brain is what allows you to ponder things that are not currently present. It allows you to think about that which does not yet exist.

This is what managers, professionals, and every single person is doing all the time — we imagine, and we make contingency plans based on what we think might happen in the future.

The reflective brain also allows you to create; to invent something that never existed before. Mathematics also belongs to the reflecting brain, as it is pure abstraction.

The problem with innovations meant to help us multitask is that it doesn't allow you to fulfill the potential of your reflecting brain. To me, it's somewhat frightening because we're really sabotaging the human species unless we get a handle on how to properly use this technology.

The Archiving Brain


This part of your brain does exactly that — it stores information into memory. However, your archiving brain is in competition with your thinking brain, as it uses the same "processor" – your working memory.

It's important to understand that your cortex always uses 100 percent of this processor. This means that when you're working (thinking) hard, there's not too much archiving going on. Most archiving into memory occurs when you're not thinking very hard.

Your archiving brain has the greatest opportunity to archive information when you take a break from thinking. The most effective break of all being at night, when you're sleeping. During sleep, your brain is actually working very hard.

The first part of the night, you are storing, archiving, and reorganizing the information. The last part of the night, your archiving brain is preparing you for the next day, so it's really important not to skimp on sleep.

Give Up Multitasking to Become More Productive


Let's say you're working on a report. As you're thinking about what you're writing, you have all the information in your working memory. But then all of a sudden, a little pop-up screen appears signaling you have a new email message in your inbox.


"Just having the pop-up screen on makes you lose two minutes of concentration," Dr. Compernolle says. "It's a dip in your concentration, even if you don't look at it. But this time, you look at it. You think, 'All right. It's a little email from HR. I can answer this.'"

However, to do so, your brain has to go through a number of different maneuvers that can completely sabotage your productivity. First, your brain must take the complex creative ideas you were thinking about, and put them into temporal memory. Then, it must clean out your working memory, and go to long-term memory to retrieve the information you need to answer the email.

Typically, one email leads to another, and the entire process starts all over again. However, your temporal memory is limited. Little by little, all those little emails push out the complex information relating to your work report that you "parked" in your temporal memory. On average, 11 emails later, you recall you were working on a report and need to get back to it. So you retrieve what information is left in your temporal memory, and get back to work.


"So you write your report and send it to your boss who is also a multitasker. Two minutes later, you have him on the phone, saying, 'Your report, it's OK. But you completely forgot the chapter About ...' Forgotten? No, you lost it in temporal memory, especially when you were doing your emails so rapidly that your archiving brain, didn't have the time and opportunity to store it in long-term memory," Dr. Compernolle explains.

Batch Processing Emails and Other Tips to Dramatically Improve Your Efficiency


Dr. Compernolle offers a number of excellent recommendations to improve your efficiency with regards to emails. Probably the most common email client in the world is Microsoft Outlook, which has a sound alert set on by default. Step 1 would be to turn off the automatic sound notification. Next, be sure that spell check is "on."

Those modifications alone can go a long way toward eliminating distractions and improving your efficiency. With respect to the proper use of email, Dr. Compernolle suggests:
•Batch process your emails, at most four times per day. In between, do not look at your inbox or messages
•Avoid CC'ing people, especially in a business environment, as it increases wasted time for multiple people. If a person doesn't need to see the email, don't include them. You can also set up your email to automatically filter all emails you're CC'd on into a special folder that you don't look at unless you really have extra time
•Understand that you do not have to answer all emails. Many "obsessive-compulsive" people think every email requires some form of reply. Realizing that not every email received must be answered can be an empowering and time-saving insight
•Avoid using "Reply to All." It creates an avalanche of unnecessary emails when everyone on the mailing list starts replying to everyone. Companies can gain a lot of productivity simply by eliminating the group function from their email system
•Don't use email:
◦For making appointments. Meetings and appointments are most efficiently set over the phone
◦When giving someone negative news or negative feedback. This too should be done over the phone. Employers definitely should not fire employees via email or text
◦When communicating an emotional issue
◦When you're angry

Other Tips That Can Make You More Efficient


There are certainly many other strategies that can boost your efficiency. For example, simply upgrading your search engine can be helpful. The X1 desktop search engine allows you to search for emails and files on your desktop, OneNote, and SharePoint. It's a great tool that is relatively inexpensive; about $49 for a lifetime license.

Other sound advice offered in Dr. Compernolle's book includes avoiding any and all electronic gadgets about an hour and a half or more before you plan to close your eyes. At that time write down the 2 most important tasks for the next day and trust your archiving brain to work for you while you sleep. In the morning, complete your most important thinking tasks first, including any important reading, writing and meetings, before opening and batch processing your email.

But the first and most important strategy is to disconnect. You need to regularly disconnect from your communications devices to give your archiving brain a chance to log everything into your memory banks. You also need to disconnect to recuperate your thinking brain, which uses a lot of energy. So begin by batch processing your emails. It'll make you a lot more efficient. And then move on from there.

Avoid Using Your Smartphone for Work-Related Emails


In addition to batch processing your emails, make sure you're using a regular computer when doing so. Smartphones are consumer gadgets; not professional instruments. If you do your emails as a professional, make sure you have a nice big screen, a professional keyboard, a good ergonomic chair, and then set aside 30 minutes or so to do your emails. Once done, don't look at your email again until it's time to process the next batch.

Interestingly, more than half of all people currently use their smartphones for email, and the numbers are rising. Many have completely shifted away from using desk computers, and this trend is actually making people wildly stressed and inefficient, even if they haven't connected the dots for themselves yet.

Aside from being a time-drain, being constantly connected to your smartphone also prevents you from reaching many of your goals in life. First of all because when you interrupt your work all the time for messages, you will need up to 4 times more time to do your work, working longer hours, sleeping less, while making much more mistakes and experiencing more stress.

Secondly because it's virtually impossible to set and reach goals without setting aside blocks of time in which you can deeply reflect on what you are doing, where you are and where you're going.


"I call this the consumer-professional trap," Dr. Compernolle says. "This little instrument in your pocket is fantastic as a consumer to — with your reflexive brain — get lost on the Internet. The people who developed the software and the hardware really want you hooked in the sense of addicted. Recently, there was a little book published called 'Hooked.' It describes how to develop habit-forming products. That's the dream of all of them.

In a way, there's nothing wrong with that. That's the economy. But what you should learn to do is to put a wall between your role as a consumer and your role as a professional, and to use this technology as a professional where you are in charge and pay uninterrupted attention. You decide when you use your technology and what for.

As a consumer, you're not paying attention. The attention of your reflex brain is trapped and that's a totally different story. If you want to be a consumer, do it. Enjoy it. But don't let the consumer-attitude ruin your work, because you need your thinking brain for your professional work, or for kids, for learning.

You have to keep the two roles divided, in separated batches. It's going to make you much more efficient. Once people try applying this, the word that comes back again and again is, "I have time now! For the first time in so long, I have the feeling of having time."

When Driving, Turn OFF Your Communications Devices


Dr. Compernolle dedicates an entire section of his book to the hazards of using smartphones and tablets while driving. And for good reason. The hazards are comparable to that of drunk driving. There's massive loss of life and injury occurring as a result of people talking on the phone and texting while driving.

Statistics show your risk of having an accident or causing an accident is four to eight times greater when using a cell phone in the car. When you're texting behind the wheel, that risk skyrockets to 23 times, or 2,300 percent.

Some nations have realized the scale of the problem and have begun banning use of technology in the car. The reason is simple: It's impossible to drive a car and talk or text on the phone because your thinking (reflective) brain can only think about one thing at a time.

This point deserves reiteration. It is a neurological fact:Your reflective brain cannot multitask. While your reflex brain is taking care of the routine of driving, your reflective brain should be on standby in order to consider and imagine non-routine future events that are out of the reach of your reflex brain.

The ideal option is to turn your phone off while driving, to avoid the distraction of pinging message notifications from your email and social media. It's also important to realize that there is NO difference between holding the phone in your hand versus using it hands-free. The reason for this is because the limitation is in your brain, not your hands. Whether you hold your phone or not, your brain still has to multitask when you're using it while driving.

Also, talking on the phone is much more dangerous than having a light conversation with a passenger. First of all because you only have a passenger once in a while, and your phone is claiming your attention every time all the time. Secondly because the passenger is there with you, observing the same environment as you are.

Someone on the other side of the phone line is more distracting, because they're completely unaware of your surroundings, and cannot alert you to a potential hazard on the road like a passenger is likely to do—even while having a conversation.

Open Floor Plans Sabotage Creativity and Intelligence


The layout of your office can also support or detract from effective and efficient brain work. In an open-plan office, people are interrupted on average every three minutes. According to Dr. Compernolle, open-plan offices are a disaster for brain work, noting that "companies hire the cleverest people they can find, and then put them in working circumstances where they lose a lot of their intelligence and creativity."

So what can you do to compensate, should you find yourself in that kind of environment? While there are creative ways to create a sense of privacy, the distraction that is most difficult to avoid is sound — especially other people's telephone conversations.


"I developed a very simple test to know if you're in the right office for the work you're doing. If you need to do work that needs attention and concentration, and you can hear any phone conversations of others around you, you're in the wrong office," Dr. Compernolle says. "I think companies should start building flexible offices, where you have the environment you need for the brain work you're doing at the time, but focus should be the first priority.

This is exactly the opposite of the usual flexible offices, where you can go to a separate corner or office if you need to concentrate. The open office should be dead quiet –like a library- for people to concentrate, while people who want to talk or phone should move out.

Moreover, open office do not improve communication: there is much more talking and much less real conversations. Clever companies are starting to understand how much they lose in the long-term for a little bit cost-cutting in the short term."

In meantime, if you're in a less than ideal office for the type of work you're doing, buy earplugs. Waxed earplugs are the most efficient for all wavelengths of sound. You can also use insulating headphones, either with or without music. Extroverts tend to do well with music, while introverts typically do not want any sound whatsoever to do their best thinking.

The Importance of Micro-Breaks


When you're under stress, it's going to massively limit your ability to be productive. One way to reduce the constant onslaught is to take what Dr. Compernolle calls micro-breaks, during which you have contact with people.


"In the elevator, why would you stare at your phone instead of saying, 'Hello. Good morning. How are you?' In the beginning of a meeting, it's very important to have a little small talk, a chit-chat. These little breaks are important for several reasons. They're important [to counteract] stress. They are moments for recuperation. They are important for your thinking brain to recuperate, and they are important for your archiving brain," he explains.

"So, stop thinking in terms of losing time. You're not losing time. Consider it 'archiving time.' You should even introduce more 'doing nothing' time. You're coming from an important meeting and you run immediately to another one. No. That's not what you should do.

Take a break, so that your archiving brain can archive the information from the meeting you had, and prepare yourself for the meeting to come. You should not try to not to lose time; you should lose more time—more time of your thinking brain doing nothing and your archiving brain coming up with creative ideas."

The Three Commandments


In closing, Dr. Compernolle's advice can be summarized into the following "Three Commandments," plus a very strong fourth recommendation:
1.Ruthlessly, radically eradicate multitasking
2.Disconnect from electronic media to reflect — to use your thinking brain
3.Disconnect to have a break; a break for your reflecting brain to recuperate and for your archiving brain to archive
4.Never ever use your phone while driving

To learn more, I highly recommend picking up Dr. Compernolle's book, "Brain Chains." It's a well-written, magnificent read that, if implemented, can really have a tremendously beneficial impact on your quality of life, not to mention your professional productivity.

He also has a Website, http://www.brainchains.info" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; where you can find additional information and resources, amongst other texts a free book: "The Open Office is Naked" about why open offices are a disaster for brainworkers and what to do about it.

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Re: Dr. MERCOLA --> alternative health and fitness

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I have a sister and a grandmother that both died from medical treatment. Many more I'm sure are killed, but an MD can legally put on the death certificate "cancer" when it really was the chemotherapy that killed the patient.

Many mistakenly believe that it is what we eat or breath that causes illness, but it is what is within our hearts, it is what we failed to forgive or resolve that makes us ill and can prematurely end our lives. Dr. Mercola understands this, but he does not promote it. He featured a colleague and friend of mine that deals specifically with the emotional causes of illness and he did not receive one single reply. Most of us since childhood has been brainwashed into believing that our bodies are bio-mechanical entities and sickness "just happens".

I'll tell every one of you sickness does not just happen, there is always a cause. We may blame microbes, bad air, lack of nutrition or exercise as the cause, but every day each one of us comes into contact with dangerous bacteria or other environmental issues but we don't get sick. It is the weight of unresolved emotional issues that weakens our bodies and makes us susceptible to illness.

The keys to health given in the temple are not just nice platitudes and most people simply gloss them over and have no idea of their true meanings.

I see people all the time, their homes look like GNC health food stores, vegan raw diets, vegetarians, people that jog miles every day and they still get sick like anybody else. In fact I see some correlation between people obsessed with diet, vitamins etc... and chronic illness. They are looking for answers but looking in the wrong places and militantly refuse to accept any responsibility for their own feelings, then stuff and hide them within the subconscious.

Just look at the record of medical science, over 100 years of scientific studies has not uncovered one cause or cure for any one of the long list of chronic non-infectious, or blatant nutritional deficiencies. Go down the list, Mayo Clinic website and one after the other has no known cause. They may know what is wrong down to the molecule, but have no idea what the trigger is.

Why is this? Because medical studies do all the can to eliminate emotions from the equation. That pesky placebo effect that screws up studies. Plus there is a total denial that the emotional state of study participants in both staff and patients will affect the outcome and that explains perfectly why so many studies have differing results. Not to mention studies that are outright frauds. Or arbitrarily lowering fasting blood sugar from 130 to 100 suddenly makes diabetics out of millions of more people that now are required to buy their drugs. Just wonderful aren't they?

But I hear it also, "this (supplement) saved me". Well, have you considered placebo? 30% will get better.

The answer is always in the next magical supplement that will come out. And that is exactly what Satan desires and pass on to the other side to be gleefully tormented by his minions.

Our bodies are wonderful barometers that tell us when we have issues to forgive or resolve, the body never lies to us, but we lie to ourselves all the time.

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Re: Dr. MERCOLA --> alternative health and fitness

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Coconut cooking oil is the main cooking oil in the Philippines. The Philippines also has the lowest sugar consumption per capita in the world. Average life expectancy is 69 years.

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Re: Dr. MERCOLA --> alternative health and fitness

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Thank you for the comments T -- I agree with the importance of emotional health!
D&C 112 says, "let your love abound to all men" (and women) -- that is the key to good health!
see also D&C 121

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Re: Dr. MERCOLA --> alternative health and fitness

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Are you Sitting down right now? Repent!
PS - I'm standing, stretching, flexing :|

Today's article stresses the importance of getting up often and MOVING - circulate that blood


By Dr. Mercola


Research continues to show that sitting excessively can contribute to chronic disease, worsen your quality of life and even shorten your lifespan. Yet, many countries are still only advising their residents to get regular exercise, while ignoring the importance of increasing overall daily movement. The video above is a great demonstration on how to get more movement into your life.

Exercise — the type that gets your heart rate up and causes you to break a sweat — is important, exbut we now know it’s not the whole picture. It is becoming increasingly obvious that we need to exercise less and move more.

If you exercise for 30 minutes then spend the majority of your non-exercise hours sitting, well, it’s the equivalent of popping a multivitamin and then eating French fries and ice cream for the rest of the day.

Australia is the first country to adopt not only physical activity guidelines but also sedentary behavior guidelines, which advise minimizing the amount of time spent in prolonged sitting, as well as breaking up long periods of sitting as often as possible.1

Other countries, like Colombia, are also being proactive about getting people up and moving; the country’s government computers actually pause automatically in order to force employees to take regular (hopefully active) breaks.2

Sedentary Behavior Is the Fourth Leading Cause of Death


The World Health Organization (WHO) states physical inactivity is the fourth leading risk factor for premature death worldwide.3 If you’re surprised that simply neglecting to move around enough may shorten your lifespan, consider this: even regular exercise may not undo its ill effects.

One meta-analysis of 42 studies assessing sedentary behavior in adults found prolonged sedentary time (generally defined as sitting for eight hours or more each day) was associated with a number of health risks regardless of physical activity. This included:4
•All-cause mortality
•Cardiovascular disease mortality
•Cancer mortality
•Cancer incidence
•Type 2 diabetes incidence

“ … [A] compelling body of evidence [suggests] that the chronic, unbroken periods of muscular unloading associated with prolonged sedentary time may have deleterious biological consequences,” researchers further noted in the journal Exercise and Sports Sciences Review.5

Metabolic health is one area that seems to particularly suffer. Recent research published in Diabetes Care revealed, for instance, that more sedentary time was independently associated with insulin resistance, diabetes and impaired glucose tolerance.

Each additional hour per day of sedentary time was associated with 3 percent higher fasting insulin resistance. Previous research published in Diabetologia found those who sat for the longest periods of time were twice as likely to have diabetes (or heart disease) compared to those who sat the least.6

What Happens When You Replace Sitting With Standing?


Standing is a simple alternative to sitting — but is it enough to protect your health?

According to Dr. James A. Levine, co-director of the Mayo Clinic and the Arizona State University Obesity Initiative, when you have been sitting for a long period of time and you stand up, beneficial changes occur within 90 seconds of getting off your bottom.

For instance, the muscular and cellular systems that process blood sugar, triglycerides, and cholesterol — which are mediated by insulin — are activated. Research published in the European Heart Journal further showed that swapping two hours of sitting a day with two hours of standing led to:7
•2 percent lower fasting plasma glucose
•11 percent lower triglycerides
•6 percent lower total/HDL-cholesterol ratio

People who stood for one-quarter of their day also had a lower risk of obesity and metabolic syndrome, according to one study, and this was further reduced when combined with physical activity.8

I was also recently surprised to learn that when you stand for 10 hours a day you are burning over 600 calories, which is the metabolic equivalent of walking six miles.

This appears to be a common thread. While standing is generally better than sitting, moving is generally better than standing. In the European Heart Journal study, for instance, when two hours of sitting a day was swapped with two hours of stepping, it led to:
•11 percent lower body mass index (BMI)
•7.5 cm (about 3 inches) lower waist circumference
•11 percent lower 2-hour plasma glucose
•14 percent lower triglycerides

Too Much Standing May Not Be Ideal Either


For now it’s safe to say that most people need to significantly reduce their time spent sitting and replace it with a combination of standing and movement. But as with sitting, it’s probably wise to guard against too much standing as well. Dr. Levine stated:


“I think it’s correct to say we’re in the middle of a ‘stand up movement,’ but the emphasis needs to be on movement … I don’t want people to think that they should stand up like still soldiers. That is not a good idea.”

Your heart cannot pump blood very efficiently from your feet back up the length of your body while you’re standing still, which is why excessive standing may lead to swelling in your feet and lower legs, as well as increase your risk of varicose veins. Back pain, which is common with too much sitting, may also increase from too much standing. Even researcher Melvyn Hillsdon of the University of Exeter, who authored a study that found risk of death was not influenced by sitting time, noted:9


“Our study overturns current thinking on the health risks of sitting and indicates that the problem lies in the absence of movement rather than the time spent sitting itself … Any stationary posture where energy expenditure is low may be detrimental to health, be it sitting or standing.”

Ultimately, a combination of the three — sitting, standing and movement — is probably best. The question remains how much of each one is ideal (and this probably varies from person to person). The “happy middle” is changing your position regularly and often throughout the day and keeping active. Ideally, I recommend sitting for no more than three hours total each day.

Alan Hedge, a design and ergonomics professor at Cornell University, suggested a slightly different approach in the Boston Globe:10


“Sit for no more than 20 minutes at a time, Hedge recommended, and stand in one position for no more than 8 minutes. You should also take a two-minute moving break at least twice an hour to stretch or walk around.”

Should You Walk 10,000 Steps a Day?


We’re in the midst of a “10,000 steps a day movement,” which has caught on in part due to wearable fitness devices that track your daily movement. Most of these devices come set with a default goal of 10,000 steps a day, which is a number commonly associated with a basic or moderate level of fitness.

For instance, Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare recommends walking 8,000 to 10,000 steps daily, while the UK National Obesity Forum recommends 7,000 to 10,000 daily steps to stay moderately active.

The notion of 10,000 steps daily for optimal health was first popularized in Japan after a study found burning 2,000 calories a week via exercise lowers the risk of heart disease. This amounts to burning about 300 calories a day, which is achievable for most by taking 10,000 steps.11

There are now more than 300 peer-reviewed research studies looking into the health effects of taking 10,000 daily steps.12

Among them are studies showing this simple intervention may lead to weight loss13 and lower blood pressure.14 (Although one study found 10,000 steps a day weren’t enough to improve body composition in postmenopausal women; in that study, 12,500 steps were recommended to improve health among this population.)

Aiming for 10,000 Steps Helps Keep You Out of Your Chair and Moving


Personally, I don't view walking as an exercise at all but rather as an essential movement that we all require. The older you get the more important it becomes. You can be very athletically fit, but if you are sitting all day with minimal walking or movement, your health will most definitely suffer.

Part of what makes a goal of 10,000 steps a day so important is, quite simply, that it gets you up and out of your chair and moving. I personally walk about two hours a day or about 55 miles per week. However, I also keep my sitting to a minimum (about three hours a day) and do some form of "exercise" every day as well. This includes strength training twice a week.

According to the UK’s National Health Service (NHS), the average person walks only between 3,000 and 4,000 steps per day.15 I recommend using a fitness tracker to find out how far you normally walk and adjusting your movement as necessary to get close to 10,000 steps daily.

This is only a guide; if you’re elderly, you might aim for a bit less. If you’re young and fit, you might need more. Even children can benefit from this goal. The President's Council on Fitness recommends at least 12,000 steps a day for children ages 6 to 12.16

But remember, as far as fitness goes, walking will only help you to get physically fit if you’re starting out very out of shape. Even then, as you get fitter, you will need to add exercise to your lifestyle, such as HIIT and strength training, to actually get fit.

How to Stop Sitting and Get Moving


It sounds simple enough — get up out of your chair and start moving. Yet, it’s all too easy to get engrossed in your deskwork, stuck in your commute, or cuddled up on your couch — and before you know it you’ve amassed 8, 10 or more hours in a sedentary position.

Many progressive companies are helping employees to stand and move more during the day. For instance, some corporations encourage “walk-and-talk” meetings and email-free work zones. Others put treadmills in conference rooms and offer standing workstations to those who are interested.

Last year we purchased motorized adjustable stand up desks for all our employees. If your workplace doesn’t offer this, request it. As Fast Company reported:17


“In one seven-week study of standing desk use, participants reported less fatigue, tension, confusion, and depression, and more vigor, energy, focus, and happiness — and when they went back to their old desks, their overall mood returned to baseline levels.”

Simple changes throughout your day can also add up to less time spent sitting and more time moving. Walk while you’re talking on the phone, stand up while you watch television (or do a few jumping jacks or burpees during the commercials), park in the outskirts of the parking lot and take the stairs whenever you can.

Finally, when you do sit, swap out your chair for an exercise ball, which requires you to engage your core muscles and helps improve balance and flexibility. If all else fails and you find yourself in a prolonged sitting situation — fidget! It appears to help offset the mortality risk that comes with excessive sitting.18



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Re: Dr. MERCOLA --> alternative health and fitness

Post by Torquemada »

BroJones wrote:Thank you for the comments T -- I agree with the importance of emotional health!
D&C 112 says, "let your love abound to all men" (and women) -- that is the key to good health!
see also D&C 121
First we must love ourselves, otherwise we can't love others. Lack of self love and anger I believe is behind many cases of heart disease.

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Re: Dr. MERCOLA --> alternative health and fitness

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A valid observation, T.

Today from Dr Mercola - about eating REAL food... should go well with REAL love
(yes, there are imitations to both)

QUOTE


+





By Dr. Mercola


Michael Pollan's PBS documentary "In Defense of Food" is based on Pollan's book by the same name. The title may seem odd at first. What kind of defense might food be in need of?

According to Pollan, food must be defended for the simple reason that the majority of what people eat today is not actually real food: it’s "edible food-like substances" that have no counterpart in nature.

You don't have to go very far back in history to get to a point where "what should I eat?" was a nonexistent question. Everyone knew what "food" was. They harvested food off trees, bushes and out of the ground, and they ate it, either raw or cooked in some fashion.

Our current confusion about what to eat is basically the result of forgetfulness. The food industry and nutritional science both stand to gain from this kind of confusion.

They keep trying to "help" you, yet for all their expert help, people have only gotten sicker. Neither of these industries has outsmarted or outperformed nature as of yet.

Pollan also argues that you cannot divorce yourself from the health of the food chain of which you are a part. Soil health, for example, is a crucial component as it affects the health of the food grown in it, so how and where food is grown is a factor to be taken into consideration.

A Healthy Diet Cannot Be Reduced to Individual Nutrients


The food industry has radically altered — or as Pollan says, destroyed — our diet; reducing "food" to a list of individual nutrients listed on a box. Some of these nutrients are said to be "good," whereas others are said to be "bad." And, which is which changes at regular intervals.

Advertising also plays a role, with all manner of junk food being presented as having some sort of benefit. The tendency to think about food in terms of nutrients is also fueled by the food industry's practice of making health claims for specific nutrients added to or removed from their products.

As a result, confusion reigns when it comes to what foods should be on the plate. Pollan refers to this as "The American Paradox: The more we worry about nutrition, the less healthy we seem to become."

The Key to Healthy Eating — Eat REAL Food


The success of the processed food industry has come at a tremendous price. As noted in the film, diet-related disease is at an all-time high, and people's lives are at stake. But while many realize that their health problems are in fact related to their diet, they're at a loss as to the changes that need to be made.

"We're looking for dietary salvation," Pollan says.

What is the answer to our problems? Many are convinced that eating healthy is a complicated equation requiring loads of nutritional data. But they're wrong. As noted in the film, "You don't have to be a scientist to know how to eat."

It's actually much simpler than you might think. Pollan offers the following seven-word guide to healthier eating: "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." I would specify that further by pointing out that what he's talking about is REAL food, i.e. food as close to its natural state as possible.

Other practical advice offered throughout this program includes the following:
•Don't eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn't recognize as food.
•Eat only foods that will eventually spoil or rot.
•Treat meat as a flavoring or special occasion food.

While Pollan focuses on the links between red meat and cardiovascular disease, I believe the most important points to remember when it comes to meat are:
a. Eat only organic grass-fed and grass-finished meats, as conventional meats are qualitatively inferior.
b. Limit your intake to around one-half gram of protein per pound of lean body mass. While you need protein, most Americans are simply eating too much, and of a low quality.

Real Food Diets May Differ, but Most Are Healthy


Science actually confirms that a wide variety of diets can be healthy — provided they're based on real food, as unadulterated foods contain all the nutrients your body needs, and in far more ideal ratios than nutritional scientists can guesstimate.

In the film, Pollan journeys across the world, looking at people's diets and the results thereof. Repeatedly, he confirms this truth: Those who eat historically traditional diets are healthier and live longer.

This holds true for hunter-gatherers on the plains of Tanzania, Seventh Day Adventists in California who are primarily vegetarians, and the French, whose diet is still steeped in culture and tradition. The specific foods and ratios thereof may differ, yet they all reap the benefits of good health.

Another example is the Mediterranean diet, of which there are many variations. But the primary hallmark of all of them is again fresh, whole, minimally processed foods.

Vitamins and Other Nutrients Are Best Obtained From Real Food


Pollan also explores the trends of vitamin supplementation, showing that while vitamins are indeed good for you, the best way to obtain them is from real food. One of the primary reasons we have to supplement with vitamins in the first place is because they've been removed or destroyed during processing.

The other challenge is that industrial farming practices have radically diminished the minerals in most soils, which secondarily depletes the nutrient density of many foods. Take beef for example.

Beef raised in concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) doesn't have the omega-3 and CLA content of organically raised, grass-fed beef, because the animals are fed an unnatural diet of grains and other additives, including sugar (molasses) and artificial sweeteners.

Hence, many processed foods make bold health claims based on the vitamins added back in; some of which are more nonsensical than others. For example, Schlitz once advertised Vitamin D beer! Other examples include breakfast cereals boasting heart-healthy fiber and vitamins, despite the primary ingredient being sugar — one of the most health-harming substances on the planet.

Ditto for yogurt. While most commercial yogurts contain beneficial bacteria, they can also contain as much sugar as a can of soda, which effectively counteracts any good those microbes might do.

Moreover, commercial yogurts are almost always pasteurized, which kills off any and all bacteria. Select groups of bacteria are then added back in, but the end result is a far cry from traditionally cultured yogurt made from unpasteurized (raw) milk, in which the bacteria are allowed to multiply and thrive normally.

The Cornucopia Institute has evaluated 130 different commercial yogurt brands, scoring them based on information from ingredient labels, independent testing and, in the case of organic brands, the score brands achieved on Cornucopia's organic dairy scorecard.

So before you buy another commercial yogurt, take a look at their Yogurt Buyers Guide, and remember, your healthiest option is to buy yogurt made from raw milk from your local farmer or farmer's market.

How Nutritional Guidelines Have Decimated Public Health


While nutritional guidelines have often been less than ideal, influenced as they are by various industries (such as the sugar and beef industry), perhaps one of the most serious flaws has been the recommendation to avoid dietary fats. It's difficult to estimate just how many premature deaths have resulted from the low-fat diet recommendation, but my guess is that this is easily into the hundreds of millions.

Many studies have confirmed the disadvantage of low-fat diets. As just one example, a 2013 Spanish trial,1,2 which included nearly 7,450 volunteers between the ages of 55 and 80, was halted for ethical reasons after eight years, as the control group was deemed to be at a dangerous disadvantage.

The two intervention groups ate a Mediterranean-style diet — low in red meat, sugar, processed carbs, and junk food; and high in most everything else, including healthy fats, vegetables, fruits, legumes, and seafood, supplemented with either 30 grams of nuts per day (15 grams walnuts, 7.5 grams almonds, and 7.5 grams hazelnuts), or 50 ml of virgin olive oil per day instead of nuts. The control group ate a low-fat diet.

There were no calorie restrictions for any of the groups, nor was physical activity promoted or required. Compliance with olive oil and nut consumption was tested via blood and urine analysis. The primary end point was a composite of myocardial infarction, stroke, and death from cardiovascular causes. Secondary end points were stroke, myocardial infarction, death from cardiovascular causes, and death from any cause.

Remarkably, in less than five years, the two intervention groups achieved a 30 percent relative risk reduction for cardiovascular disease, and stroke reduction was an impressive 49 percent. According to conventional wisdom, such benefits have been seen in the low-fat group, but the converse turned out to be true, and the study was stopped early to protect the health of the control group.

As a General Rule, Whole Foods Contain Healthy Fats


So for the last 60 years, people have been admonished to eat a low-fat diet to protect their heart health. Unsurprisingly, all this time, that dangerous recommendation has actually fueled the very problem it was said to treat — a sad testament to the dangers of following nutritional guidelines based on ideas about nutrients rather than real food. Low-fat foods exist in abundance in nature, and they're called fruits and vegetables.

Other foods, such as olives, avocados, coconut oil, butter from raw milk, and beef, are high in fats, and that's a good thing. Your body needs fat for energy, the production of hormones, nerve and brain function, vitamin conversion, mineral absorption, and a host of other biological processes. As a general rule, if the fat comes from real food, it's "good."

The real problem with dietary fat arises from the processing. Harmful trans fats, for example, are formed when vegetable oil hardens, a process called hydrogenation. Science has now confirmed that the health risks previously attributed to saturated fat are actually caused by trans fats, and this includes raising your LDL cholesterol, lowering HDL, clogging your arteries, and promoting heart disease and other serious health problems.

Fat Versus Sugar — Which Actually Causes Obesity?


Reducing fat in our diet has also increased obesity — another health problem the low-fat diet was said to solve — and the reason for this is because the food industry replaced the fat with sugar. The documentary "The Secrets of Sugar," which you can view in my previous article, "Sugar Industry Secrets Exposed," tells the story of how the food industry has known for decades about the links between a processed food diet and disease.

On a mission to change how the sugar industry operates, Colorado Community Care Dentist Cristin Kearns Couzens stumbled upon evidence that they were already worried about sugar's role in heart disease as far back as the early 1970s.

She unearthed more than 1,500 pages of internal memos, letters, and reports, buried in the archives of now-defunct sugar companies, as well as in the recently released papers of deceased researchers and consultants who played key roles in the industry's strategy.

The sugar industry was sweating the impending book, "Pure White and Deadly," (1972) by British nutritionist John Yudkin, in which he presented decades of research pointing at dietary sugar — rather than fat — as the underlying factor in obesity and diabetes.

The Sugar Association secretly funded a white paper called "Sugar in the Diet of Man" that claimed sugar was not only safe and healthy, but important. Not only did they fund it, but they made it appear to be an independent study.

The Sugar Association's biggest apologist was Ancel Keys who, with industry funding, helped destroy Yudkin's reputation by labeling him a quack. The smear campaign was a huge success, bringing sugar research to a screeching halt. Keys' flawed research was also used as the basis for the low-fat recommendation.

Today, the research overwhelmingly supports Yudkin's initial warnings about sugar being a primary culprit in obesity, diabetes, and related health problems, including cancer and heart disease — two primary killers of modern man.

The Links Between Your Gut Microbiome, Diet and Health


Pollan's film also delves into some of the latest studies showing the role your gut bacteria play in your health, the importance of a plant-based diet, and how the Westernized diet has altered our gut microbiome in ways that beget poor health.

Fermented foods are important for gut health, but so is fiber. Soluble fibers, such as psyllium, are probiotics that help nourish beneficial bacteria. These beneficial bacteria assist with digestion and absorption of your food, and play a significant role in your immune function.

When it comes to fiber, the food industry and nutritional sciences have again done more harm than good by promoting grains as an ideal source. While this may have been true 100 years ago, agricultural practices and modern food processing techniques have made most grains less than beneficial.

For starters, many modern grains, including non-organic wheat, are contaminated with glyphosate, which is now recognized as a probable human carcinogen. Glyphosate has also been linked to celiac disease and other gut dysfunction, which is the exact converse of what you're trying to achieve by adding fiber to your diet.

Secondly, most grain products on the market are highly processed, which further deteriorates their value. Instead, focus on eating more vegetables, nuts, and seeds. The following whole foods, for example, contain high levels of soluble and insoluble fiber.

Psyllium seed husk, flax hemp, and chia seeds Berries Vegetables such as broccoli and Brussels sprouts
Root vegetables and tubers, including onions, sweet potatoes, and jicama Almonds Peas
Green beans Cauliflower Beans

Feed Your Children Real Food From Birth


It's bad enough that most children are eating processed foods and junk food by the time they're old enough to chew, along with excessive amounts of sugary beverages like sodas and fruit juices. What's worse is that sugar addiction is in many cases promoted from day one.

There's a big difference between breast milk and commercial baby formula — the latter sometimes containing concerning amounts of added sugars3,4 (beware that the amount of sugar is typically not listed on the label).

Sadly, many women do not have access to the truth about breastfeeding and have been misled by infant-formula marketing to believe they must spend thousands of dollars a year to provide the best nutrition for their babies. In reality (and barring any extreme exceptions such as certain transmittable diseases or drug use), breast milk is the best food for babies, period.

As noted by Pollan, the more we discover about breast milk, the more we realize that formula just isn't as good as breast milk. For example, breast milk contains undigestible oligosaccharides — sugars unique to breast milk alone — that nourish healthy bacteria in your baby's gut.

Ideally, you'll want to strive to breastfeed your baby exclusively for the first six months, at which point you can begin to supplement with solid foods and continue to breastfeed for a year or longer. But remember, even breastfeeding for as little as one month can impart great health benefits for both you and your baby.

The next best alternative to breast milk 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.

'Eat Real Food, Mostly Plants'


Pollan covers a number of other topics in his film, including the impact of sugary beverages, which is a major source of calories for most Americans, including kids; New York City mayor Bloomberg's attempts to limit soda sizes in restaurants; and Mexico's national soda tax, which I discussed in a recent article.

There's no doubt that cutting out sweetened beverages of all kinds, including fruit juices and artificially sweetened drinks, can go a long way toward warding off unwanted pounds, insulin and leptin resistance, and related diseases. Remember, when it comes to diet, eating healthy is really not such a complicated affair. It's simply a matter of remembering to eat REAL FOOD. To recap the advice given by both Pollan and myself:
•Eat real food. Not too much. Mostly plants
•Don't eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn't recognize as food

•Eat only foods that will eventually spoil or rot
•Go easy on the meat, and eat only high quality grass-fed/grass-finished or pastured meats

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Re: Dr. MERCOLA --> alternative health and fitness

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Natural Health ranger this time - interesting!
(NaturalNews) On Darren Miller's 50th birthday, he received the devastating news of a lung and pericardial heart sac cancer diagnosis in which he was given about one year to live – and that was with chemotherapy. However, the Illinois resident was having nothing to do with death sentences. Instead, he and his wife moved to California where he was able to use cannabis oil. While there, he even learn how to make it himself.(1)

The results just seven months later?

He's now cancer-free, and the chemo-related blisters on his hands and feet are a thing of the past. Miller even has the medical records to support this clean bill of health.

"Today... they tell me I am completely cancer-free – not remission. I've cured my cancer," he said. "Now, am I giving credit to the cannabis oil? Absolutely. Am I giving credit to chemo? I would have to say yes, too. I did both."(1)


After beating cancer, man now devoted to cannabis programs to help others
Like many others before him, Miller, who now lives back in Illinois, advocates turning to cannabis oil to help heal certain health conditions. Some people shun chemo altogether, while others – as he did – opt to use it in conjunction with chemo as a complementary treatment. And as you might imagine, good health is restored when cannabis oil enters the picture; it's role in vastly improving health can't be denied.(1)

Miller's such a believer in cannabis oil's ability to turn bad health diagnoses into positive ones that he's developed a "compassionate cannabis" program where he assists others who end up in a similar health situation. He can't say enough about cannabis oil's healing power, and as such, wants to not only make others aware of it but help them access it. You can learn more about Miller by visiting his Facebook page.

"What we're doing is we're just making small amounts to keep it around and educating others on how to do this," Miller explains. "Because if you have access to any kind of cannabis, I can give you links on my site to show you how to do this in your own kitchen and save your life."(1)

As previously mentioned, stories like his are becoming increasingly popular. People know that chemotherapy isn't the only answer (or an answer at all), and that natural methods that are void of Big Pharma's questionable ways are working.


Stories of others who have turned to cannabis oil to eradicate their cancer
They worked for three-year-old Landon Riddle, a Utah boy diagnosed with leukemia. When chemo made him vomit dozens of times daily and left him without an appetite, his family decided to turn to cannabis oil treatment. Riddle's family headed to Colorado where the treatment is legal and the rest, as they say, is history.(2)

He went from having several tumors in his chest to improving in a matter of days and is said to have rebounded. While Riddle still received chemotherapy treatments, they were considerably less frequent, with just one treatment per month. It was the significant lessening of chemo and the use of cannabis oil that worked together to heal the young boy from his terminal state.(2)

The stories continue.

David Hibbitt, a 33-year-old U.K. resident, was given less than two years to live after a bowel cancer diagnosis. Tired of the fact that chemo, surgery and radiation weren't making a dent in improving his health, he read up on cannabis oil and began using a high-grade, therapeutic one named "Phoenix Tears." He's now cancer-free.(3)

"I felt like chemo was killing me and I had nothing to lose," Hibbitt says. "I couldn't accept I was going to die."(3)

While such stories – as well as published studies recognized by the federal government – demonstrate that treatments such as cannabis oil are life-saving and can cure cancer, the sad reality is that they're often viewed as an unproven and even dangerous method. Therefore, people continue to receive chemotherapy, which weakens and destroys the body, instead of a treatment that strengthens the body and destroys cancer naturally.


Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/052811_canna ... z3ys1mJjc7" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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Torquemada
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Re: Dr. MERCOLA --> alternative health and fitness

Post by Torquemada »

There is a problem with these anecdotal success stories. First point is the fact that they didn't take chemo, studies show that 5 year survivabilty with chemo is less than placebo, which means it kills more patients than it "cures". The second and biggest failure is medical studies DO NOT take into account the patient's mental and emotional situation as "science" totally ignores the power of the mind, including this anecdotal account. In their own words, " I couldn't accept I was going to die", is the key factor that is totally ignored and avoided. The fact that they reject chemo and then find an alternative is an EMOTIONAL INFLUENCE that is far more important than cannabis oil or Budwig diets or whatever.

But from the many anecdotal accounts espousing cannabis oil, it probably doesn't hurt and perhaps may enhance the natural healing process that may already be occurring.

The problem with "alternative" medicine and the industrial medical complex is that is based upon the very same false axiomatic assumption that disease has physical origins. This is why science has failed to find a single reliable cure for any disease in over a century. Excepting infectious and simple dietary deficiencies, but they too have spiritual roots.

David Cassani
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Re: Dr. MERCOLA --> alternative health and fitness

Post by David Cassani »

I tried a lot of exercise programs and found listening to my body really works and asking for what it needs. Check out this important work that can happen in any neighborhood. We can live in a higher way in this world is what I hear from President Hinkley and others. A latter day David http://www.simplelivingcenters.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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BeNotDeceived
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Re: Dr. MERCOLA --> alternative health and fitness

Post by BeNotDeceived »

BroJones wrote: May 16th, 2015, 6:29 am You're certainly welcome, Rewcox!

Now the latest Mercola article is going to be controversial to some - he is advocating for medical marijuana. See for yourself:
By Dr. Mercola
The use of marijuana for medical purposes is now legal in 23 states and, as of this writing, 9 states have pending legislation or ballot measures to legalize medical marijuana.1 Estimates are that between 85 and 95 percent of Americans are in favor of medical cannabis, and nearly 60 percent support complete legalization of marijuana.

And doctors agree. In 2014, a survey found that the majority of physicians—56 percent—favor nationwide legalization of medical cannabis, with support being highest among oncologists and hematologists.
2

However, many families are still unable, legally or otherwise, to obtain this herbal treatment. Families with a sick child are being forced to split up, just so that one parent can live in a place where medical cannabis can be legally obtained in order to help their child.

A major part of the problem lies at the federal level, where marijuana is classified as a Schedule 13 controlled substance—a category reserved for the most dangerous of drugs, including heroin, LSD, and ecstasy.

According to the 1970 Controlled Substances Act, Schedule 1 drugs are defined as those having a "high potential for abuse" and "no accepted medical use." Research to date shows that marijuana meets neither of these criteria.

The featured documentary covers some of the most recent research on the medical applications of marijuana. In light of recent science, it's clear that marijuana does not meet Schedule 1 criteria and it's high time to revise this classification.

Prominent Physicians Shifting Their Stance on Medical Marijuana

A number of prominent physicians are reversing their opinions about marijuana's medicinal utility. A recent example is US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, who in a recent CBS interview, acknowledged that marijuana may be useful for certain medical conditions.

CNN's chief medical correspondent and neurosurgeon Sanjay Gupta also made a highly publicized reversal on his marijuana stance after the production of his two-part series "Weed."4


This is a Flash-based video and may not be viewable on mobile devices.

The US seems to want it both ways. The federal government classifies marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug. But in October 2003, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) obtained a patent for marijuana as a "neural protectant," claiming it can protect your brain against stroke and trauma.5

How can HHS own a patent for the medical use of cannabis, while the federal government still classifies it as an unsafe drug with no medical value?

The US Has Much to Learn from Israel

The US is far behind many other countries in harnessing the healing power of marijuana. Israel is the marijuana research capital of the world, thanks to Dr. Raphael Mechoulam, who was the first to investigate the medicinal properties of marijuana way back in the 1960s and the first to isolate THC and CBD.

Israel is now using marijuana to treat cancer, epilepsy, Parkinson's disease, Tourette's syndrome, and many other conditions. As shown in the film, even residents of Israeli nursing homes are being treated with marijuana.

But in the US, the fact that marijuana remains classified as a dangerous Schedule 1 drug has all but halted scientific progress. American scientists have to jump through a frustrating array of hoops, which are expensive and time consuming and ultimately discourage the majority of researchers from conducting marijuana studies.

Marijuana's Miracle Molecules: Cannabinoids

Cannabinoids are the general category of active chemical compounds found in marijuana, or cannabis. Cannabinoids can be separated into several subclasses—two of which are THC (tetrahydrocannabinols) and CBD (cannabidiols).6

CBD is the most abundant cannabinoid, contributing up to 40 percent of cannabis resin. Cannabinoids produce biological effects because, just like opiates interacting with your opiate receptors, cannabinoids interact with specific receptors located in your cell membranes.

The therapeutic and psychoactive properties of marijuana occur when particular cannabinoids activate their associated receptors, and the effects depend on the areas of your body and brain in which they interact.

Some cannabinoids are psychoactive, whereas others are not. THC is the most psychoactive, the one that produces the "high"—which is why marijuana plants have been bred over time to produce ever-increasing amounts of this compound.

However, selectively breeding pot for high THC has diminished its medicinal value and increased its likelihood of producing adverse effects. Although research is still in its infancy, the cannabinoids appear to work in tandem with each other, balancing one another out. According to the University of Washington:7

"CBD may actually have anti-anxiety effects and lessen the psychoactive effects of THC. This means that a plant with a greater percentage of CBD may reduce the intensity of the effects of the THC, which in effect lowers the potency of the plant.

Use of a cannabis plant with less CBD has been shown to have an increased psychological impact and result in unwanted effects such as anxiety."

So, by breeding out the CBD, pot growers have created more intense psychoactive effects that lack any modulation, which is why some people experience adverse reactions such as anxiety and even psychosis. Mother Nature created a delicately balanced chemical system in this plant, which humans have upset with their tampering and manipulation.

Like It or Not, You Are Wired to Respond to Marijuana

The fact that there's a plant that acts on your body's own cannabinoid receptors is a phenomenon Dr. Mechoulam calls a "quirk of nature." He's referring to the fact that we didn't develop these receptors in order to smoke pot—we have them because we have our own endogenous cannabinoid system.

Your body makes its own cannabinoids, similar to those found in marijuana but present in much smaller amounts. These endocannabinoids appear to perform signaling operations similar to your body's neurotransmitters, such as dopamine and serotonin. Cannabinoid receptors can be found on cell membranes throughout your body—in fact, scientists now believe they may represent the most widespread receptor system.8 Two receptor types have been identified:

CB1: Cannabinoid receptors that are extremely prolific in your brain (excluding your brain stem), but also present in your heart, lungs, kidneys, liver, pancreas, and other parts of your body
CB2: Cannabinoid receptors primarily found in your immune system
Your endocannabinoid system is thought to help regulate nearly every physiological process and plays an important role in maintaining homeostasis—and yet, it's not taught in medical school! We've shared this important system with all vertebrate species and even sea squirts for more than 600 million years. Science to date suggests that your endocannabinoid system is integral to the following biological processes, and chances are we've barely scratched the surface.9

Immune function
Inflammation (especially tamping it down)
Energy intake and storage
Appetite control and cravings
Nutrient transport
Cellular communication
Emotional balance
Reproduction
Pain sensation
Sleep
Bone growth
Memory
The Growing List of Illnesses Cannabis Can Treat

The fact that your body is replete with cannabinoid receptors, key to so many biological functions, is why there's such enormous medical potential for cannabis. If it can help restore homeostasis, it will prove itself as a very powerful therapy. CBD may be the most potent and beneficial of the cannabinoids, particularly for tamping down an overactive immune system, as is the case with autoimmune disease. CBD also has antipsychotic properties but does not get you high or stoned.

The response of cancer patients to cannabis treatment is very encouraging. Not only does cannabis help with the unpleasant side effects of traditional chemotherapy (including pain, nausea, and insomnia), but the cannabis itself appears to be a natural chemotherapy agent. Over the past several years, dozens of studies point to marijuana's effectiveness against many different types of cancer, including brain cancer, breast and prostate, lung, thyroid, colon, pituitary, melanoma, and leukemia. It fights cancer by at least two mechanisms, making it difficult for a cancer to grow and spread:

Cannabis is pro-apoptotic, meaning it triggers apoptosis (cellular suicide) of cancer cells, while leaving healthy cells untouched
Cannabis is anti-angiogenic, meaning it cuts off a tumor's blood supply
This may explain why chronic pot smokers have such surprisingly low rates of lung and other cancers, especially when compared to cancer rates among tobacco smokers. 10,11 In addition to cancer, cannabis has been found effective against an ever-growing list of illnesses. Research has been limited, but we may be turning the corner. It's likely we'll soon be expanding this list as the evolving political climate becomes more favorable to cannabis research.

Mental disorders, including Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), mood disorders, and Tourette's syndrome
Pain and insomnia
Degenerative neurological disorders, dystonia, and tremor
Multiple sclerosis and other autoimmune issues
Parkinson's disease
Cancer, numerous types
Seizure disorders
Rheumatoid arthritis
Heart disease
Autism
Obesity
Nausea, vomiting, and lack of appetite
Science Shows Marijuana MUCH Safer Than Prescription Drugs



Download Interview Transcript

Many prescription drugs are known to be dangerous. Pharmaceuticals in general are among the leading causes of death in the US, and some drugs have killed tens of thousands of individuals. The painkiller Vioxx is one classic example that killed over 60,000 before being pulled off the market. According to Dr. Margaret Gedde, MD, PhD, owner and founder of Gedde Whole Health and the Clinicians' Institute of Cannabis Medicine, you don't have to look far to find research confirming that cannabis is safer and less toxic than many prescription drugs.

This includes liver and kidney toxicity, gastrointestinal damage, nerve damage, and of course death. Moreover, cannabinoids often work when pharmaceutical drugs fail, so not only is cannabis safer but it's typically more effective. One of the strongest areas of research regarding marijuana's health benefits is pain control.

In 2010, the Center for Medical Cannabis Research (CMCR) released a report12 on 14 clinical studies about the use of marijuana for pain, most of which were FDA-approved, double-blind, and placebo-controlled. The report revealed that marijuana not only controls pain, but in many cases it does so better than pharmaceutical alternatives.

If you compare prescription painkillers (opiates) to marijuana, marijuana is much safer. Opioid painkillers can lead to slowed respiration and death if an excess is taken—and the risks are compounded if you add alcohol to the equation. By contrast, cannabis overdose cannot kill you because there are no cannabinoid receptors in your brain stem, the region of your brain that controls your heartbeat and respiration.

The statistics speak for themselves. In 2010, prescription painkillers were responsible for 16,600 deaths, and painkiller overdoses claimed more women's lives than cocaine and heroine combined. In the CDC's Public Health Reports study,13 prescription drugs were involved in fatal car crashes at three times the rate of marijuana.

In states where medical marijuana is legal, overdose deaths from opioids like morphine, oxycodone, and heroin decreased by an average of 20 percent after one year, 25 percent after two years and up to 33 percent by years five and six. As noted by Dr. Gedde:

"There's an ongoing death rate from use of pain medications as prescribed. So, even as prescribed, they're highly dangerous and they are open to abuse. As far as medications used in the pediatric population to control seizures, there are also severe toxicities to organs. Many of them are very sedating. The children become unable to function or really to interact because of the sedating effects. Other medications have a side effect of rage and behavioral problems.

Unprovoked rage is actually a known side effect of some of the anti-seizure medications. Cannabis and in particular cannabidiol has none of these issues. No toxicities. The main side effect of cannabidiol is sleepiness. As a child gets accustomed to it, that does wear off and the child can be very alert and functional on the cannabis oil once they have worked into the dosing. Once you put them against each other, there really is no comparison in terms of safety."

Education Is Key

Because of the issues already discussed, it can sometimes be challenging finding accurate, science-based information about cannabis. Dr. Gedde offers the following suggestions for obtaining reliable information:

"The reason why it's difficult is that the preponderance of research funds have been to show harm related to cannabis, as a drug of abuse... [L]ook for the real research that's there on the endocannabinoid system and the ways that marijuana cannabis has been helping people for centuries. And look into the history of medical practice; that's where the information starts to come out."

She also recommends looking to current clinical practice, which is possible in states where cannabis is now safely and legally accessible. This is where you can learn more about optimal dosing and protocols found effective for various conditions. Other resources that may be helpful include the following:

Cancer.gov,14 the US government's cancer website, contains research relating to the use of cannabis
PubMed15 is a searchable public resource containing a vast amount of medical literature, including studies involving cannabis
The Journal of Pain16 is a publication by the American Pain Society with a long list of studies on the pain-relieving effects of cannabis
National Institute on Drug Abuse17 is an excellent resource, including information about preclinical and clinical trials are underway to test marijuana and various extracts for the treatment of a number of diseases, including autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer's disease, inflammation, pain, and mental disorders.
I also recommend listening to my previous interview with Dr. Frankel, in which he discusses many of the medical benefits of cannabis.
The misunderstood hemp plant that is now legal on the federal level and in many states is welcomed news for farmers and users alike. And its timing couldn’t be ... link

There’s a link to a video and newly available product offers.

Perhaps he recognizes timing as per David Bender’s first Apostolic GC Address.

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