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Search Term: " growh facor "
IGF-1: How to Improve Muscle Gain   
Date:
July 20, 2022 03:38 PM
If you're looking to improve muscle gain, IGF-1 is a hormone you'll want to know about. This hormone is responsible for increasing muscle mass and strength, and has been shown to be incredibly effective in doing so. We'll discuss what IGF-1 is, how it works, and the best ways to increase its levels in your body for improved muscle growth. IGF-1 is from Deer Antler Velvet. What is IGF-1 and what does it do? IGF-1, or insulin-like growth factor 1, is a hormone that plays an important role in the growth and development of the human body. While it is most commonly associated with childhood growth, IGF-1 continues to be produced throughout adulthood and is involved in a variety of physiological processes. In addition to promoting cell proliferation and differentiation, IGF-1 has been shown to stimulate collagen production, increase bone density, improve muscle growth, and improve glucose tolerance. Despite its many beneficial effects, excessive levels of IGF-1 can lead to a number of health problems, including cancer. For this reason, it is important to maintain healthy levels of IGF-1 throughout life. How does IGF-1 work? IGF-1, or insulin-like growth factor 1, is a hormone that plays an important role in childhood growth and development. In the body, IGF-1 is produced in response to growth hormone (GH) stimulation. Once released, it travels through the bloodstream and binds to IGF-1 receptors on cells, provoking a range of different cellular effects. These include cell proliferation, differentiation, and survival. In addition, IGF-1 has been shown to promote angiogenesis (the formation of new blood vessels) and to inhibit apoptosis (programmed cell death). Together, these effects make IGF-1 an important regulator of tissue growth and repair. Consequently, serum levels of IGF-1 are closely monitored in children with GH deficiencies, as well as in those who are at risk for cancer or other diseases involving abnormal cell growth. IGF-1 an important regulator of tissue growth and repair, lifting weights tears down muscle fibers and the body can rebuild faster. IGF-1 is a protein that plays an important role in the growth and repair of tissues throughout the body. It is particularly well-known for its ability to help the body rebuild muscle tissue after exercise. When we lift weights, we cause tiny tears in our muscle fibers. In response, the body releases IGF-1 to help repair the damage. This results in an increase in muscle size and strength. Additionally, IGF-1 has been shown to promote healing after injuries and to protect against cell damage caused by stress and inflammation. Therefore, it is not surprising that IGF-1 is often referred to as the "body's repairman." While more research is needed to fully understand the role of IGF-1 in health and disease, there is no doubt that this protein plays a vital role in maintaining our bodies' peak performance. The benefits of increased IGF-1 levels? However, IGF-1 levels decline with age, which may contribute to the age-related decline in muscle mass and strength. Therefore, maintaining high levels of IGF-1 throughout life may be important for preserving muscle mass and function. How to increase your IGF-1 levels for improved muscle growth? As we already know, levels of IGF-1 decline with age, which may explain why older adults tend to have less muscle mass than young people. However, there are several ways to increase IGF-1 levels and improve muscle growth. One of the most effective methods is to take deer antler velvet, which is the highest natural source of IGF-1. Deer antler velvet can be taken in pill form or made into a liposomal supplement, which helps the body absorb the IGF-1 more effectively. Additionally, regular exercise and proper nutrition are important for supporting muscle growth and keeping IGF-1 levels high. Fortunately, Now Foods makes a liposomal IGF-1 supplement. Low levels of IGF-1 have been linked to a variety of health problems, including muscle wasting, osteoporosis, and heart disease. Fortunately, Now Foods makes a liposomal IGF-1 supplement that can help to raise IGF-1 levels and improve overall health. Liposomal delivery is the most efficient way to increase blood levels of IGF-1, and the fact that this supplement is also affordably priced makes it an attractive option for many people. If you are looking for a way to improve your health, consider giving Now Foods liposomal IGF-1 a try.
(https://vitanetonline.com:443/forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=1&Message_ID=6417) IGF-1 Benefits for Men: How to Build Muscle and Improve Quality of Life 
Date:
July 06, 2022 11:45 AM
What is IGF-1 and what are the benefits for men? IGF-1, or Insulin-Like Growth Factor 1, is a hormone that occurs naturally in the human body. It is similar to insulin in structure and function, and it plays an important role in regulating cell growth. IGF-1 levels are highest during childhood and adolescence, when the body is growing rapidly. However, levels begin to decline in adulthood. Some research has suggested that declining IGF-1 levels may be linked to age-related health conditions such as muscle loss and osteoporosis. Supplementing with IGF-1 has been shown to increase muscle mass and strength, improve bone density, and reduce the risk of age-related diseases. For these reasons, IGF-1 supplementation is often recommended for older adults. How can you increase your IGF-1 levels? Deer antler velvet extract is one such supplement that has been shown to be effective in increasing IGF-1 levels. The extract is derived from the antlers of deer, which are naturally high in IGF-1. In addition to increasing IGF-1 levels, deer antler velvet extract has also been shown to improve athletic performance, increase strength and stamina, and reduce inflammation. As a result, it is an effective way to boost IGF-1 levels and improve overall health and well-being. How to cycle IGF-1 for maximum results? It is produced naturally by the liver, but it can also be injected into the body through synthetic means. IGF-1 has a number of different benefits, including the promotion of muscle growth, the healing of wounds, and the prevention of age-related diseases. However, it is also important to cycle IGF-1 in order to avoid potential side effects. When used correctly, IGF-1 can help to improve physical performance, accelerate recovery from injury, and delay the aging process. One can cycle deer antler velvet extract which is high in IGF-1 on 8 weeks, off 4 weeks back on again. Keep in mind, taking IGF-1 and working out is good, but if you are not getting enough protein, one can not build muscle like they could when consuming 1 gram of protein per body pound. IGF-1 is an important hormone in the body that helps with muscle growth, but if protein intake is low, it will be difficult to see results. Be sure to not only supplement with IGF-1, but also get adequate protein through diet or supplementation (protein powders). If you are looking for a way to improve your health and well-being, you may want to consider taking deer antler velvet extract. The extract is derived from the antlers of deer, which are naturally high in IGF-1. In addition to increasing IGF-1 levels, deer antler velvet extract has also been shown to improve athletic performance, increase strength and stamina, and reduce inflammation. As a result, it is an effective way to boost IGF-1 levels and improve overall health and well-being. Thanks for reading! We hope this post has been informative and helpful. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.
(https://vitanetonline.com:443/forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=1&Message_ID=6414) Lion's Mane and Cognitive Health
Date:
March 23, 2022 01:05 PM
Lion's mane contains naturally occurring beta-glucans, which are believed to promote cognitive health. In fact, lion's mane has been shown to improve memory and protect the brain from age-related damage. So, if you're looking for a natural way to support your cognitive health, lion's mane may be a good choice. Does Lion's Mane Help The Body Produce Nerve Growth Factor (NGF)? There is some evidence that lion's mane can help the body produce nerve growth factor (NGF), a protein that is essential for healthy nerve function. One study showed that lion's mane extract was able to increase NGF levels in the brain and improve cognitive function in mice. So, if you're looking for a natural way to support your cognitive health, lion's mane may be a good choice. Thanks for reading! Do Lion's Mane Supplements Really Work? There is some evidence that lion's mane supplements can improve cognitive function. One study showed that lion's mane extract was able to improve memory and protect the brain from age-related damage. So, if you're looking for a natural way to support your cognitive health, lion's mane may be a good choice. Thanks for reading!
(https://vitanetonline.com:443/forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=1&Message_ID=6386) Dr. Mercola: How and why too much protein triggers aging and cancer
Date:
July 06, 2017 12:14 PM
Dr. Ron Rosedale's theory several years ago that too much protein can be a bad thing is gradually becoming accepted through further research. He theorizes you should eat foods that help you burn fat and not sugar. Proteins burn sugar but diets high in fat do not and can actually be very healthy for people with diabetes and heart problems. Too much protein prevents removal of damaging cells that can lead to aging and cancer. The best diet is moderate protein, low carb and high in fat. Key Takeaways:
"In a nutshell, this hypothesis completely ignores the “calories in, calories out” dogma, and instead focuses on foods that support hormones and growth factors that make your body burn fat rather than sugar." Read more: https://www.healthnutnews.com/how-and-why-too-much-protein-triggers-aging-and-cancer/
(https://vitanetonline.com:443/forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=1&Message_ID=4935) Understanding Inflammation and How It Affects Your Skin
Date:
April 08, 2017 03:44 PM
Inflammation is a problem that is linked to many diseases, and it can also adversely affect your skin. It's linked to many skin conditions and can also be responsible for signs of aging. However, there are many natural ingredients out there that combat inflammation and they are in many skin products. Ingredients like Gotu Kola, growth factors, ergothioneine, glucosamine, Omega 6, peptides, and vitamin C are very effective in fighting inflammation. Read this article for more details into these ingredients and what else you can do to fight inflammation of the skin. Key Takeaways:
"chronic inflammation appears strongly linked to many preventable and treatable skin diseases and conditions such as visible skin aging." Read more: https://www.truthinaging.com/review/understanding-inflammation-and-skin-care
(https://vitanetonline.com:443/forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=1&Message_ID=4378) Health Benefits of Lion's Mane Mushroom
Date:
March 20, 2017 02:44 PM
Lion's mane mushrooms have been used for their health benefits for ages in China and Japan. Scientists are now studying these mushrooms and are learning that there are many health benefits. These include increasing brain function and memory, aiding in digestive health and boosting the immune system. These mushrooms show much promise also in cancer treatments. Most studies have been in test tubes or on animals so it needs to be further tested on humans. Lion's mane extract has been used for centuries in the far east with great results. Key Takeaways:
"Treating cell culture with an extract of Lion’s Mane Mushroom allows the cells to display greater movement against the bacteria rather than controlling them." Read more: http://www.worldhealth.net/news/health-benefits-lions-mane-mushroom/
(https://vitanetonline.com:443/forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=1&Message_ID=4240) Mushrooms 'can reduce dementia' by boosting nerves in the brain
Date:
January 31, 2017 10:59 AM
Dementia is a serious issue for the elderly. There isn't too much known about it. Here one option for possibly lessening the chances of it is mentioned. Mushrooms can help. They help the nerves in the brain. It's definitely work a look, especially if dementia runs in your family or if you are just concerned about it in general. Key Takeaways:
"Current drug therapy for neuro-degenerative diseases is ineffective with many side effects - and it only provides a short-term delay in progression." Reference:
(https://vitanetonline.com:443/forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=1&Message_ID=3856) Synthetic stem cells to regenerate heart tissue
Date:
January 06, 2017 10:59 AM
Would you trust science enough to allow them to put synthetic stem cells into your body, organs or even your heart? That's just what American and Chinese researchers have developed. There has been great success with STEM cells but what about synthetic cells, well the scientists have shown that with synthetic cells they can pass immune rejection and tumor growth. They also can't amplify themselves so there is no similar risk as there is with STEM cell transplant. Key Takeaways:
"American and Chinese researchers have developed synthetic cardiac stem cells that could have the same therapeutic impact as human stem cells, with the added benefit of reducing the risk of graft rejection in cellular therapy." Reference: https://www.yahoo.com/news/synthetic-stem-cells-regenerate-heart-tissue-192728470.html?ref=gs
(https://vitanetonline.com:443/forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=1&Message_ID=3749) The Health Benefits of Grape Seed Extract
Date:
November 14, 2016 10:20 PM
Grape seed extract is most commonly a waste product produced by the grape juice and winery industry. This is because grape seed extract doesn't go into finished drinks. Grape seed contains a wide variety of health-enhancing ingredients like protein, carbohydrates and lipids (healthy fats). Immune systemA study done on healthy volunteers found that grape seed considerably increased the levels of antioxidants in the blood. So, another one of the benefits of grape seed is it helps boosts the immune system to fight against harmful compounds which may reduce the risk of chronic diseases including breast, stomach, colon, prostate and lung cancer.
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If you're interested in keeping your brain healthy and sharp, you may be wondering if lion's mane is right for you. This edible mushroom has a long history of use by traditional herbalists in Asia, and recent scientific research suggests that it may indeed support neuronal health. 
Read More
Green tea is made from the leaves of Camellia Sinensis, which is recognized for its health benefits. The nonfermented product is obtained by leaf desiccation that contains potent, polyphenolic antioxidants, with a flavanolic structure referred to as green- tea catechins, including epigallocat-echin-gallate (EGCG). Studies have shown that drinking EGCG prevents carcinogenesis in rodent organs. Studies have shown it had a significant chemoprotective effect against DMBA-induced mammary tumorigenesis in rats. Human breast cancer cell proliferation inhibition by green tea appeared mediated in part by (CKI). Mutagenesis was inhibited at concentration levels equivalent to human daily consumption.
Deer antler is also referred to as insulin like growth factor or simply IGF 1. They are designed to help improve the performance of an athlete and also aid in building of muscles. Deer antler is the outer layer that is found on the antler of a male deer which is extracted just before they reach a fully calcified state. Then they are concentrated and sold as deer antler sprays.
Although dieticians and physicians maintain that diet does not cause acne, this is not strictly true. Even dermatologists argue the point, but while it is generally agreed that eating fatty foods or excessive quantities of chocolate will not in itself lead to acne, there are certain valid arguments that diet has a role to play. Recent research has shed new light on dietary factors that can help to promote acne symptoms, if not being the sole cause of them. | Benefits
Supports cognitive function*
Safety
Scientific References
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CLA and the Catabolic Cascade
Date:
June 22, 2005 09:49 PM
Author: 
Darrell Miller
(dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: CLA and the Catabolic Cascade
CLA and the Catabolic Cascade
Next fall, when you or a friend goes to the doctor to get a flu shot, notice how a low-grade fever starts. Notice how rundown you or your friend begin to feel for a day or so after the shot. It is as if you are dealing with a small portion of the disease. In some respects you are, but, in reality, the icky, yucky feelings we associate with sickness come from our body’s own response to an invasion. When the immune system goes on the o f f e n s i ve, it puts out hormones called cytokines. T h o s e cytokines cause fever and pain.
Doctors call this process the catabolic cascade. It is our body that produces it. An extreme example might have been when Jim Henson, the wonderful creator of Kermit the Frog, got an extreme bacterial infection. He died within about 12 hours. Although the bacteria caused some severe reactions, it was his body’s intense catabolic response that may have been the direct cause of death.
Cytokines are involved in more than just stimulating the immune system, they are involved in how the body accumulates fat, in how veins accumulate deposits and in how our body during disease can sometimes cause dangerous, rapid weight loss. CLA changes how cytokines work, but how it does it is not certain.
Here’s an example of why this is important: When young animals get sick, their immune systems kick into action. Besides contracting a feve r, the animals’ growth slow s . Furthermore, weight and muscle mass can be lost, not just because of loss of appetite, but because of degradation of muscle tissue. For a poultry farmer, this can be significant. In organized farms, bacteria can abound and young chicks often face sickness. Because their immune systems are firing, the cytokines can stunt growth and, accordingly, stunt the farmer’s profits.
Dr. Mark Cook was working on this dilemma in 1990 and jogging at the campus of the Un i versity of Wi s c o n s i n - Madison. During one of his regular exercise sessions, he began chatting with Dr. Pariza. As researchers do, they began talking about their work. They decided to collaborate, seeing if CLA had an effect on this problem.
In 1993, the scientists at the University of Wisconsin-- Madison injected rat pups with endotoxin, the substances bacteria produce to do their damage.40 This injection activated their immune systems. They also did the same thing in two studies using chicks. In all three studies, the weight-loss was about half what it was during the other studies.
In a study published in 1994, re s e a rchers also injected endot oxin into mice. To some, they gave CLA, to others they didn’t After three days, the scientists weighed the mice and discove re d that those who also re c e i ved CLA in their diets lost much less weight. Indeed, after three days they weighed as much as the c o n t rol gro u p, which re c e i ved no endotoxin at all. The CLA - f e d g roup also had a much better appetite than those that re c e i ve d no CLA with endotoxin. They also had a higher muscle mass.41 Let’s repeat that. CLA gives a higher muscle mass in rats. Stop and think about the implications. Other studies have shown, and, we will get to them, that CLA also cuts the amount of food converted to fat. In an era of increasing battles with the bulge, CLA seems to show great promise. (That weight gain seems to be involved somehow with the immune system and cytokines indicates that working with cytokines may be how CLA affects body fat accumulation.) Yes, CLA can help cut the effects of immune stimulation, but does it do that at the expense of making our immune systems less effective? Does CLA affect how the body battles disease? Not from any evidence in any study. The 1993 studies measured several immune functions, and, if anything, the immune system worked better.42
Again, these are animal studies, not necessarily involved with how humans work. However, these studies involve more than one kind of animal, making it, again, more likely to be useful in humans.
Let’s speculate for a minute. When CLA cuts the catabolic cascade, doesn’t it make sense that the body would feel better, if only because the appetite is better? When CLA cuts weight loss, couldn’t that have immense benefits for patients suffering from long-term illnesses—including those illnesses that affect the immune system—who grow weak from a loss of muscle tone and from a loss of weight?
For the animal industry, of course, this nutrient clearly means better production methods and healthier animals. For those same animals, it seems possible to speculate that CLA may actually work as a growth factor for their young.43 For humans, this nutrient could mean feeling better and feeling stronger while the body fights off disease.
At the beginning of this booklet, we learned that CLA may be one of the most important nutrients discovered in recent years. The support for that statement should be clear. CLA, if the human studies hold true, could cut your risk for cancer, could lower your risk of heart disease, could help you feel better when you are ill, and improve muscle tone while decreasing body fat.
This research has one other interesting side effect. Cook says that during much of the research, graduate students helping in the work would continually report that animals were eating less. Indeed, the animals ate up to 30 percent less while gaining weight or helping the immune system.
If all animals in the world were fed CLA, and it cut feed intake by 30 percent, this would have strong implications on world starvation and feed efficiency. Especially in a world w h e re meat consumption may be growing. Cutting the amount of animal feed necessary to produce the same number of animals is vital. This, too, is a possible result of CLA.44
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GPC (GlyceroPhosphoCholine) Versatile Life Support Nutrient ....
Date:
June 21, 2005 05:25 PM
Author: Darrell Miller
(dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: GPC (GlyceroPhosphoCholine) Versatile Life Support Nutrient ....
GPC (GlyceroPhosphoCholine): Versatile Life Support Nutrient
Parris Kidd, Ph.D.
GPC or GlyceroPhosphoCholine (pronounced gli-sero-fos-fo-ko-lean) is a nutrient with many different roles in human health. It reaches extremely high concentrations within our cells, and its abundance in mother's milk suggests it is crucial to life processes. Clinically, GPC has been most intensively researched for its brain benefits. Biologically, it has great importance for the skeletal "voluntary" muscles, the autonomic nervous system, kidneys, liver, and reproductive organs. GPC goes beyond being a brain nutrient; it is a nutrient for vitality and long life.
As a dietary supplement, GPC's brain benefits are unique. It boosts mental performance in healthy young people, as shown by three double-blind trials. In trials on middle aged subjects, GPC improved several physiologic measures of mental performance: reaction time, visual evoked potential, and EEG delta slow waves. In the elderly, GPC improves mental performance and provides noticeable revitalisation. In 11 human trials with 1,799 patients, memory, attention, and other cognitive measures improved. So did mood (including irritability and emotional lability), and patients often developed renewed interest in relatives and friends. GPC was well tolerated, and generated no bad drug interactions. A large trial on elderly subjects with memory challenges published in 2003 concluded GPC had significant benefits for these individuals.
GPC Supports Normal Brain Function
Circulatory deprivation or surgery can challenge healthy brain function. GPC can speed recovery and support improved quality of life. In four trials with GPC on 2,804 subjects who experienced difficulties under these circumstances, up to 95% showed good or excellent improvement. GPC consistently improved space-time orientation, degree of consciousness, language, motor capacity, and overall quality of life. The investigators concluded GPC offered marked benefits, with an excellent benefit-to-risk profile. Up to half of patients who survive bypass surgery experience problems with memory and other mental performance. A double-blind trial conducted with bypass survivors for six months determined that the GPC group had no remaining memory deterioration, while the placebo group failed to improve.
GPC Works Through Multiple Mechanisms
GPC supports human health through a variety of mechanisms:
1. It helps keep choline and acetylcholine available to the tissues. Choline is an essential nutrient and GPC appears to be the body's main choline reservoir. GPC in mother's milk represents the baby's main source of dietary choline. Acetylcholine (ACh) is an important substance employed extensively throughout the body. ACh is a major brain transmitter; the motor nerves use ACh to drive the skeletal ("voluntary") muscles; the autonomic nervous system uses it to pace all the organs. ACh is also central to mental and physical endurance, and mind-body coordination.
2. GPC is a major cell-level protectant, not as another antioxidant but in pivotal roles of osmotic pressure regulator and metabolic antitoxin. GPC for osmotic regulation can reach very high concentrations in the kidney, bladder, liver, brain, and other organs. As metabolic protectant, GPC shields proteins against urea buildup.
3. GPC is a major reservoir for cell membrane omega-3 phospholipids. These substances are the major building blocks for cell membranes. Enzymes couple GPC with the omega-3 fatty acid DHA, to make the phospholipid PC-DHA. This makes membranes especially fluid, enabling membrane proteins to perform with better efficiency. GPC produces PC-DHA in the skeletal muscles, wherein fluidity is essential for contraction. Muscles that function abnormally can show GPC deficiency.
4. GPC contributes to both male and female in reproduction. As spermatozoa mature, GPC is used to make PC-DHA that makes their membranes fluid to enable motility. With men, the lower their semen GPC the greater the likelihood of poor sperm motility and with it, infertility. Once semen is inserted into the female, an enzyme in uterine secretions breaks down the semen's GPC into substances that energize the sperm to achieve fertilization.
Dosing, Safety, Tolerability, Compatibility
Oral intake of GPC in the clinical trials was usually 1,200 milligrams (mg) per day, taken early in the day on an empty stomach. A reasonable dietary supplementation regimen is 1200 mg/day, taken in divided doses (AM and PM) between meals for 15-30 days, and thereafter 600 mg/day for maintenance. Symptomatic subjects can take 1200 mg/day until adequate improvement is achieved. Young, healthy subjects may experience benefit from daily intakes as low as 300 milligrams. GPC is very safe, being compatible with vitamins and nutrients and with pharmaceuticals. In clinical trial comparisons, GPC's benefits surpassed the nutrients acetylcarnitine and CDP-choline.
GPC is unmatched for its support of active living and healthy aging. In some 23 clinical trials GPC improved mental performance in all functional categories. GPC can revitalize the aging brain, facilitating growth hormone (GH) release and boosting nerve growth factor actions. GPC's ample presence in human mother's milk suggests it could be conditionally essential. By supporting mental integrity, mind-body integration, the autonomic system, and the body's other organs, GPC enhances the active lifestyle. GPC is remarkable nutritional support for optimal health at any age.
Parris M. Kidd, PhD is a cell biologist trained at the University of California, Berkeley and San Francisco. Since entering the dietary supplement field in 1983, he has published many in-depth reviews of integrative medicine in the journal Alternative Medicine Reviews, and is science columnist for totalhealth magazine. Dr. Kidd is internationally recognized for his accomplishments in dietary supplement product development, documentation and quality control.
Disclaimer: the above article is for informational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose or treat a particular illness. The reader is encouraged to seek the advice of a holistically competent licensed professional health care provider.
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Vitanet ®
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Immunity - The Big Picture
Date:
June 10, 2005 09:51 PM
Author: Darrell Miller
(dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Immunity - The Big Picture
Immunity: The Big Picture by Brian Amherst Energy Times, August 3, 1999
Your body wants to be well. Outfitted with a battalion of defenses for strategic deployment, your immune system explodes with resistant force at the first sign of infective invasion.
Think of the time a tiny splinter embedded itself in your thumb. By bedtime, the spot rose and reddened; by morning, white blood cells had launched their campaign, building a hot, throbbing fortification. By day's end, the bit of wood was propelled to the surface and ejected by the immune system warriors. Once again, a foreign assailant was summarily ousted.
The Protective Force
The immune system is a dazzlingly complex mechanism charged with guarding against infection, colds, flu and cancer. Laced with networks of couriers and transmitters, backed up by intricate fail safe devices and reinforced by memory units, immunity constantly adapts to highly specific and evolving needs.
"Supporting the immune system is critical to good health. Conversely, good health is critical to supporting the immune system." So write naturopathic doctors Michael T. Murray and Joseph E. Pizzorno in their Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine (Prima).
Maintaining the immune system requires a comprehensive program of wholesome diet, resilient attitude, fitness enhancing activity and nutrients keyed to the clear and specific needs of this energetic machine.
The all-star lineup for immune sustenance: a high-potency multiple vitamin/mineral formula, vitamins C and A, bioflavonoids, isoflavones, zinc and selenium, antioxidants like ActiVin (grape seed extract) and pycnogenol (French maritime pine bark), as well as the botanicals echinacea and astragalus.
But optimal partnering with your immune system also benefits from understanding its workings.
The Battlefronts
The immune system wages war on the organ, tissue and cellular fronts. It encompasses the lymphatic vessels and organs (lymph nodes, thymus, spleen and tonsils), white blood cells, specialized cells in particular tissues and customized chemicals.
Lymph, a milky fluid consisting of water protein and immune cells, is the essence of the immune system. Powered by muscle movement (an important reason why exercise boosts immunity), the lymphatic system collects and transports lymph to the lymph nodes. These nodes contain certain immune cells and filter out invading antigens, as well as produce antibodies, before siphoning the lymph out into the bloodstream.
If you've ever had "swollen glands," that means your lymph nodes have been in overdrive.
Macrophages are the immune cells that filter lymph, consuming bacteria and cellular debris while protecting the lymph system from invasion and damage.
Gland Tidings
Two organs dominate immune function: n The thymus. The most influential, critical gland of the immune system, located just below the thyroid gland and above the heart; produces T lymphocytes, white blood cells responsible for cell-mediated immunity not controlled by antibodies. This immune response is tailored to specific antigens and is vital to resisting infection from mold-like bacteria including yeast, fungi, parasites and such viruses as Epstein-Barr, herpes simplex and hepatitis. It also protects against cancer, allergies and autoimmune disorders like rheumatoid arthritis. n The spleen. The largest mass (about seven ounces) of lymphatic tissue in the body, located in the upper left abdomen behind the lower ribs; it produces white blood cells, which engulf and destroy bacteria and cellular debris; recycles material from worn out red blood cells and platelets; produces immune system enhancing compounds, including the proteins tufsin and splenopentin, and spleen extracts.
The White Blood Cell Album
Although white blood cells (WBCs) are uniformly accountable for protecting the body against bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites, the different types of WBCs vary considerably in form and function. n Neutrophils phagocytize, that is, eat, viruses, bacteria and old or dead cells. They don't need any biochemical messengers for activation and their effectiveness is wide-ranging.
In Monocytes collect cellular trash after infections and can trigger immune responses; eosinophils can eliminate foreign particles and, with basophils, are involved in immune response.
In Lymphocytes include varieties of T cells, which work with other white blood cells or attack and destroy foreign tissue, cancer cells or virus-infected cells; B cells that produce antibodies that bind to bacteria, viruses or tumors; and natural killer cells (NKCs) that destroy cancerous or virally-infected cells.
(Based on information in the Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine; The Road to Immunity: How to Survive and Thrive in a Toxic World (Pocket Books) by Kenneth Bock, MD, and Nellie Sabin; and the Johns Hopkins Family Health Book (Harper Resource).
Keep the System Sound
Your immunity mechanism calls for special care and support. The dilemma: How to develop a balanced system of complementary and alternative therapies to build and sustain powerhouse immunity? "There is no question that, in terms of immune system response, certain supplements can reduce infections, asthma, autoimmune disease and risk factors for cancer," says Samuel D. Benjamin, MD, former project director of the Arizona Center for Health and Medicine and an ardent advocate for complementary medicine.
"But you must always be sure to maintain the mind-body-spirit link," he told Energy Times. "For the mind, it could be exercise, yoga or meditation. Evidence shows improved immune system responses from these therapies. And in any case, you never read in the headlines that somebody has been admitted to the emergency room overdosing on meditation.
"Intentionality also is an important part of the mind link: believing you are going to fare well. For your spirit, you must ask yourself such questions as, Do I feel connected to others?
"For the body, a daily multivitamin and mineral supplement. Much depends on your community: I live on Long Island, where there is a high incidence of breast cancer, so I would recommend green tea and isoflavones from soy products for women."
Dr. Benjamin stresses moderation in the use of immune-intensifying supplements, among which he cites mixed carotenoids, zinc and vitamin E.
The Soy Solution
Scientists who took the cue from the apparent link between high-soy Asian diets and low cancer incidence have developed a compelling case for soy as an immune-supportive anticancer agent.
In a study conducted by the University of Southern California at Norris and published in the March 4, 1998 Journal of the National Cancer Institute, researchers reported that genistein, an active component of soy products, short-circuits the ability of tumor cells to elude destruction by the immune system due to an excess of defensive stress proteins.
Genistein seems to make cancer cells vulnerable to the immune response. Researchers at Wake Forest University told participants at the January 1999 meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science that dietary or supplemental soy fed to monkeys counteracted cell proliferation that is a cancer precursor.
That Championship C
Probably the most widely recognized immune accelerator is vitamin C, an honored warrior against scurvy and, in 1970, again celebrated by Linus Pauling for its preventive powers over the common cold.
Immune cells are known to accumulate and retain high levels of vitamin C. Researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York now understand how that happens: Proteins called growth factors (which control growth and production of immune cells) also increase those cells' ability to take up vitamin C.
These researchers, reporting in the April 1998 issue of the journal Blood, explain that the additional glucose that the growth factors pump into immune cells (for enhanced energy), plus extra vitamin C, intensify immune response.
And folks with higher levels of vitamin C in their blood serum experience less cell damage from free radicals that leads to cancer, heart and pulmonary disease and other chronic conditions.
Scientists at the University of Buffalo (addressing the June 13, 1997 meeting of the Society for Epidemiologic Research) deduced from studying population groups that high levels of vitamin C are associated with low oxidative stress and lower risk of cell damage.
From A to Zinc
In Kids with neuroblastoma, a malignant tumor of embryonic nerve cells and the third most common form of childhood cancer, experienced significantly improved survival rates when their therapy included high doses of retinoic acid, a derivative of vitamin A, according to researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, and Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, who reported to the American Society for Clinical Oncology on May 18, 1998.
In Colostrum, the pre-milk liquid produced by mammals during the first 24 to 48 hours after birth, took the spotlight recently as a supplement imbued with multiple immune factors and natural antibiotics that augment body's immune response. A 1992 study showed that bovine colostrum might be able to reduce and prevente infections in immune deficient folks, especially those with AIDS.
In University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute researchers found for the first time (on laboratory animals) that vitamin D appreciably inhibits widespread prostate cancer by binding to cancer cells and triggering cell death or their transformation to benign cells.
In Vitamin E exerts formidable immune-enhancing influence on both antibody and cell-mediated immunity. One fundamental study in the Journal of the American Medical Association (245, 1981: 53-58) established conclusively that vitamin E deficiency results in significant impairment of immune function. Later studies demonstrated that it reduces prostate cancer by up to one-third.
In Coenzyme A, described as a metabolic enzyme, takes part in starting numerous body processes that provide energy for the immune system. If you ever run short of this enzyme, fat processing within your body would grind to a halt.
in Researchers looking at a substance with the tongue twisting name 3-acetyl-7-oxo-Dehydroepiandro-sterone, believe it aids immunity by quelling stress hormones.
in Mushrooms contain natural substances called polysaccharides, believed to enhance immunity. In particular, maitake mushroom, which conveys the immune booster beta-D-glucans, is reputed to help fight infections and drop blood pressure.
in Men and women taking selenium supplements for 10 years had 41% less total cancer than those taking a dummy, according to a January 1997 study by Cornell University and the University of Arizona. Other studies have shown it to reduce the risk for colon cancer by about 60%. n Zinc may provide immediate protection against the all too common cold. Scientists at the University of Florida were the first to apply genetic fingerprinting methods like those used in criminal and paternity investigations to understand how nutrients directly affect human immune cells.
The study, in the April 1998 Journal of Nutrition, demonstrates that zinc signals cells to make the protein metallothionein, which protects against infections, toxins and other stressors.
Phytochemicals a la Carte
Researchers extol the powers of phytochemicals in fruits and vegetables available in dietary or supplement form as immune-igniting antioxidants. These compounds neutralize free radicals that oxidize cellular membranes, rendering them vulnerable to cancer.The Strang Cancer Prevention Center, an affiliate of New York Presbyterian Hospital, offers a menu of the top antioxidant phytochemicals. The center's director, Mitchell L. Gaynor, MD, is coauthor (with Jerry Hickey, RPh) of Dr. Gaynor's Cancer Prevention Program (Kensington): n Carotenoids, including beta-carotene from veggies and lycopene (the substance that lends the tomato is ruddy complexion), fight free radicals.
n Isoflavones from soy, fight angiogenesis, the process by which new blood vessels form to supply nutrients to cancerous growths. n Sulforaphane in broccoli, kale and cabbage activates anticancer enzymes.
n Omega-3 fatty acids in cold water fish block the synthesis of prostaglandins, natural compounds in the body that promote tumor growth.
n Ginger contains antioxidant compounds, each more potent than vitamin E. Recent studies on mice show ginger can prevent skin tumors. n Rosemary contains carnosol which deactivates carcinogens and helps limit the effects of prostaglandins.
Sometimes the world can look like a dangerous place, especially when you're sick and tired much of the time. But in the search for immunity, menus of health help like this ensure that no matter what your immunity needs, a boost can be yours with the proper nutrient selection.
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Breast Cancer
Date:
June 10, 2005 09:44 PM
Author: Darrell Miller
(dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Breast Cancer
Breast Cancer by Joseph L. Mayo,MD Mary Ann Mayo, MA Energy Times, May 2, 1999
What do you fear most? Bankruptcy? Floods? Heart disease? If you're like many women, breast cancer stands near the top of that dreaded list.
But that fear doesn't permeate other cultures the way it does ours.
A woman like Mariko Mori, for instance, 52 years old, Japanese, worries about intense pressures beginning to burden her toddler grandson. But worry about breast cancer? Hardly.
In Indiana, Mary Lou Marks, 50, has similar family frets, mulling over her 28-year-old daughter's career choice.
But on top of that, when Mary Lou tabulates her other worries, she recoils at the thought of breast cancer. She's heard about her lifetime risk: 1 in 8. Meanwhile, Mariko's is merely 1 in 40, according to Bob Arnot's Breast Cancer Prevention Diet (Little, Brown).
American Problem
Experts reporting in "Women at High Risk for Breast Cancer: A Primary Care Perspective" (Prim Care Update Ob/Gyns, vol. 5, no. 6, 1998, p. 269) say the risk of developing breast cancer for the average American woman during ages 40 to 59 is 3.9%; by 60 to 79 years of age that rises to 6.9%. A high-risk 40-year-old has a 20% chance of breast cancer in the next 20 years.
New studies have found the effect of carrying the gene linked to breast cancer, which is responsible for only 5 to 10% of breast cancer incidence, is not as great as first suspected. Earlier estimates that the gene reflects an 80% chance of incurring breast cancer by age 70 has been recalculated to be only 37% (The Lancet, 1998;352:1337-1339).
Complex Causesbr> Researchers agree: No one factor is solely responsible for breast cancer. Risk depends on many factors, including diet, weight, smoking, alcohol consumption, activity level and, of course, those genes.
Regardless of their actual chance of getting breast cancer, women worry. Mary Lou faces no factors that would place her in particular jeopardy. But her anxieties about radical therapies and medical expenses paralyze her: She forgets to visit her health care provider and skips her annual mammogram appointments. Mary Lou's daughter, perhaps in reaction to her mother's gripping fears, campaigns ardently for cancer prevention, educating herself and mobilizing against the cumulative effects of known cancer risks. Smart young woman: A malignancy, after all, can take years to develop. A tumor must swell to one billion cells before it is detectable by a mammogram.
Dietary Benefits
Of all the tactics for reducing the risk of breast cancer, diet ranks high on the list.
The soy-rich regimen of Japanese women like Mariko Mori, for example, helps to explain the low breast cancer rates in Asian countries (see box at center of the page).
Tomatoes, because of their high quotient of the carotenoid lycopene, have been found to protect cells from the corrosive clutches of oxidants that have been linked with cancer in 57 out of 72 studies (The Santa Rosa Press Democrat, February 17, 1999, page A6, reporting on a Harvard Medical School study). For more on tomatoes see page 16.
But there's no one magic anti-cancer food or diet. Eating to prevent breast cancer requires a balanced menu with fiber, healthy fats, phytoestrogens and antioxidants, all fresh and free of chemical additives.
Modifying the balance and type of estrogen, the female sex hormone produced by the ovaries, offers an important breast cancer safeguard. Fat cells, adrenal glands and, before menopause, the ovaries, produce three "flavors" of estrogen, the strongest of which, estradiol, is believed to be carcinogenic when too plentiful or persistent in the body.
Estrogen does its work by attaching to estrogen receptors. Receptors are particularly numerous in the epithelial cells that line milk sacs and ducts in the breasts.
A receptor site is like a designated parking spot: Once estrogen is parked there it triggers one of its 400 functions in the body, from preparation of the uterus for pregnancy to intensifying nerve synapses in the brain.
The food we eat can be a source of estrogen; plant estrogens, called phytoestrogens, are much weaker than the body's estrogens, but they fit the same receptors. Phytoestrogens exert a milder estrogenic effect than bodily estrogen and are capable of blocking the more potent, damaging versions.
Finding Phytoestrogens
Foods high in phytoestrogens include vegetables, soy, flaxseed and herbs such as black cohosh, chasteberry, red clover and turmeric. Soy is the darling of the day for good reason. Both soy and flaxseed can lengthen periods, reducing the body's overall exposure to estrogen.
Soy also contains genistein, an "isoflavone" very similar in molecular form to estrogen but only 1/100,000 as potent. Because of its structure, genistein can attach to cells just as estrogen does; it also helps build carriers needed for binding estrogen and removing it from the body (Journal of Nutrition 125, no.3 [1995]:757S-770S). It acts as an antioxidant to counteract free radicals.
Tumor Inhibition
Studies have demonstrated that genistein inhibits angiogenesis (new tumor growth), slowing the progression of existing cancer.
Soy is most protective for younger women. Postmenopausal women benefit from soy's ability to diminish hot flashes and for cardiovascular protection, especially in combination with vitamin E, fiber and carotene (Contemporary OB/GYN, September 1998, p57-58).
Experts don't know that much about the cumulative effect of combining hormone replacement with soy, herbs and a diet high in phytoestrogens. Menopausal women who boost their estrogen this way should work with their health care providers and monitor their hormonal levels every six to 12 months with salivary testing.
The Vegetable Cart
Some vegetables are particularly protective against breast cancer because they change the way the body processes estrogen. Indol-3-carbinol, found in the co-called cruciferous vegetables such as cauliflower, broccoli and cabbage, diminishes the potency of estrogen. (Broccoli also contains isothiocyanates that trigger anti-carcinogenic enzymes.) These vegetables supply fiber, beta-carotene, vitamin C as well as other vitamins and minerals (Proc of the National Academy of Science USA, 89:2399-2403, 1992).
Fiber from fruits, vegetables and whole grains reduces insulin levels and suppresses the appetite by making make us feel full, thus helping with weight control, so important to resisting cancer. Fiber also helps build estrogen carriers that keep unbound estrogen from being recirculated and reattached to the breast receptors.
Cellulose, the fruit and vegetable fiber most binding with estrogen, also rounds up free radicals that damage DNA within cells.,p> Feeding the Immune System Despite heightened public awareness and efforts to stick to wholesome, healthful diets, experts increasingly link poor nutrition to depressed immune systems. Many Americans are at least marginally deficient in trace elements and vitamins despite their best attempts to eat well; that's why a good multivitamin/mineral is wise, even mandatory. Vitamins given to people undergoing cancer treatment stimulate greater response, fewer side effects, and increased survival (International Journal of Integrative Medicine, vol. 1, no. 1, January/February 1999).
Nutrients tend to work synergistically on the immune system. They should be taken in balanced proportions, and in consultation with your health care provider.
Immune Boosters
In Research links low levels of calcium and vitamin D, an inhibitor of cell division and growth, to higher breast cancer rates.
n Riboflavin (B2), pyridoxine (B6), pantothenic acid (B5), zinc and folate strengthen immunity. Selenium, in lab culture and animal studies, has helped kill tumors and protect normal tissues.
n Beta-carotene and vitamins A, E and C are antioxidants. Vitamin C enhances vitamin E's effects, boosting immunity and protecting against cell damage. The antioxidant isoflavones in green tea, with soy, convey the anticancer effects of the Asian diet. Research shows actions that discourage tumors and gene mutations.
The food you eat influences hormones. Excess sugar raises insulin, which acts as a growth factor for cancer and interferes with vitamin C's stimulation of white blood cells. It may contribute to obesity.
Alcohol is converted to acetaldehyde, which causes cancer in laboratory animals. It affects gene regulation by decreasing the body's ability to use folic acid. It increases estrogen and the amount of free estradiol in the blood. The liver damage that accompanies high alcohol consumption frequently reduces its capacity to filter carcinogenic products, regulate hormones and break down estrogen. Studies of alcohol consumption have caused experts to estimate that drinking more than two alcoholic beverages a day increases breast cancer risk by 63% (OB-GYN News, November 1, 1998, p. 12).
Fat Can be Phat
Fat conveys nutritional benefits. Not all fats are bad: we can't survive for very long without certain fats. Fat can turn you into a "well-oiled" machine. But the wrong kind of fat (the fatty acids in red meats and fatty poultry) is believed to be a major culprit in breast cancer.
Fat cells produce estrogen. Excess fat stores carcinogens and limits carriers that can move estrogen out of your system.
Once estrogen has attached itself to a receptor, the health result depends on the type of fat in the breast. Saturated fat, transfatty acids and omega-6 fat from polyunsaturated vegetable oils such as safflower oil, peanut, soybean oil, corn oil and in margarine can increase the estrogen effect and trigger a powerful signal to the breast cell to replicate.
Restraining Prostaglandins
Blood rich in the essential fatty acids omega-3 and omega-9 lowers cancer risk by driving down levels of prostaglandins, which promote tumor growth. The blood and tumors of women with breast cancer usually contain high levels of prostaglandins.
Breast tissue is protected by omega-3 fat chiefly from fish and flaxseed and by omega-9 from olive oil. Salmon once a week or water packed tuna three times a week are particularly beneficial. Fish oil supplements processed to reduce contaminates are available. Cod liver oil isn't recommended: its vitamin A and D levels are too high.
Flaxseed is the richest known plant source of omega-3. Use a coffee grinder to benefit from the seed and oil for the full estrogen effect; sprinkle ground flaxseed over cereal or fold into baked goods. Drizzle flaxseed oil, found in the refrigerator section of your health food store, over salads or cereal. (Store the oil in the refrigerator.)
Olive oil, especially in the context of the so-called Mediterranean diet of vegetables, omega-3-rich fish and fresh fruit (Menopause Management, January-February 1999, p. 16-19), lowers the risk of breast cancer (The Lancet, May 18, 1996;347:1351-1356).
Selecting Organic Food
Select organic foods for extra anticancer protection. Pesticides stimulate erratic cell action and often inhibit the estrogen carrier's ability to attach and remove estrogen from the body. Free floating estrogen then can attach to breast receptors and cause trouble.
Buy or grow fresh, organic foods whenever you can. When grilling meat, fish or poultry, reduce the area where carcinogens may accumulate by trimming fat. Charred, well-done meat is known to be carcinogenic. When grilling, marinate meat first and reduce the cooking time on the grill by slightly precooking.
Cancer prevention is an interlocking puzzle requiring the limitation of fat consumption, weight control, exercise, stress reduction and care for psychological and spiritual balance. Possessing more cancer fighting pieces makes you more likely to be able to complete the prevention picture.
Joseph L. Mayo, MD, FACOG and Mary Ann Mayo, MA, are the authors of The Menopause manager: A Safe Path for a Natural Change, an individualized program for managing menopause. The book's advice, in easy-to-understand portions, isolates in-depth explanations with unbiased reviews of conventional and alternative choices. A unique perspective for mid-life women who want to know all their options.
Also from the Mayos - The HOW Health Opportunities For Women quarterly newsletter to help women learn HOW to make informed health choices. Learn HOW to: - Choose nutritional supplements
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PHOSPHATIDYL SERINE (PS) - Maintain healthy cells ...
Date:
June 04, 2005 11:08 AM
Author: Darrell Miller
(dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: PHOSPHATIDYL SERINE (PS) - Maintain healthy cells ...
All we have ever known or will ever feel, begins and ends with the hundreds of billions of nerve cells that form our brain. Without them, there can be no experience; for us, nothing would exist. Our mind and personality, the sense of who we are, emanate from this immensely intricate system of nerves. The brain’s remarkable ability to perceive and perform, remember and learn, is severely challenged by today’s social and physical environment. These environmental factors accelerate the decline in nerve cell activity that normally occurs with age. Recent clinical research is revealing how previously unrecognized nutrients can strengthen the body’s natural defenses against age-related cognitive decline. Source Naturals is proud to present the latest breakthrough in nutritional support for the brain: PHOSPHATIDYL SERINE.
Phosphatidyl Serine (PS) is a phospholipid which forms an essential part of every human cell, but it’s particularly concentrated in the membranes of nerve cells. Since the electronic messages that communicate and regulate every aspect of our lives travel along nerve cell membranes, the structural integrity of these membranes is imperative to our health. The nerve cell membrane is the site where molecules of sodium and potassium exchange electrons, causing the electrical impulse to be generated. This bio-electric current then travels along the membrane to trigger the release of neurotransmitters. These are the chemical messengers that cross synapses (gaps between nerve cells) to relay information to neighboring nerve cells. This sets other electrical currents in motion– along thousands of other nerve cells. This happens billions of times each second, and is how the brain and nerves coordinate and communicate with the rest of the body. PS has a very important function in the nerve cell membrane. As a key bio-structural molecule, PS provides vital support for the membrane proteins that enable nerve cells to communicate and grow.
Regulating the Flow
Unlike other cells in the body, nerve cells do not reproduce. Instead, they repair and rebuild themselves, using proteins called Nerve Growth Factor (NGF). Experiments verify that PS enhances the synthesis and reception of NGF, which tend to drop off radically with age.1 PS supplements enhance the cerebral cortex’s output of acetylcholine, the neurotransmitter associated with our ability to think, reason, and concentrate. PS also stimulates the synthesis and release of dopamine, related to heightened states of attention.2 The brain’s response to stress also appears to be related to PS. When healthy young men were subjected to exercise-induced stress, those taking PS had a lowered stress response. This was measured by blood levels of ACTH, the pituitary hormone that triggers the adrenals to secrete the stress hormone cortisol.3
Well-Tested
Subjects taking PS showed increased levels of brain energy metabolism and scored higher on cognitive tests.4 Behavioral factors were also measured in elderly subjects; PS positively affected their mood states.5 Over 23 clinical trials have investigated the effect of PS supplements on more than 1200 human subjects, ages 40-93. Consistent and statistically significant results suggest that PS supports brain functions that tend to diminish with age.
Wellness Redefined
Nutritional research continually reveals new potentials for wellness. Source Naturals is committed to helping people achieve a fulfilling life, and a fully functioning nervous system is central to this aim. Source Naturals PHOSPHATIDYL SERINE can help support your body’s natural regenerative processes, keeping your brain healthy and vital for a long, long time. Experience the difference with Source Naturals PHOSPHATIDYL SERINE.
References:
1. Aporti, F., et al., 1986. “Age-dependent spontaneous EEG bursts in rats: effects of brain phosphatidylserine.” Neurobiology of Aging 7: 115-120. 2. Caffarra, P., and V. Santamaria, 1987. “The effects of phosphatidylserine in subjects with mild cognitive decline.” Clin. Trials J. 24: 109-114. 3. Heiss, W.D., et al., 1993. “Activation PET as an instrument to determine therapeutic efficacy in Alzheimer’s Disease.” Annals N.Y. Acad. Sci. 695: 327-31. 4. Monteleone, P., et al., 1990. “Effects of phosphatidylserine on the neuroendocrine response to physical stress in humans.” Neuroendocrinol. 52: 243-48. 5. Nunzi, M.G., et al., 1990. “Therapeutic properties of phosphatidylserine in the aging brain.” In, Phospholipids: Biochemical, Pharmaceutical and Analytical Considerations (ed. I. Hanin and G. Pepeu). New York: Plenum Press.
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Higher Mind - Smart Nutrients for the Performance of a Lifetime...
Date:
June 02, 2005 12:18 PM
Author: Darrell Miller
(dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Higher Mind - Smart Nutrients for the Performance of a Lifetime...
Our adult years are the time to reap the fruit of an active, meaningful life – appreciated by family and friends who value our experience and knowledge. For some, however, their later years are clouded by a mental decline that erodes their capacity to enjoy life. More of us are becoming apprehensive about the future health of our minds. Will we still be able to communicate our needs as well as our wisdom? As science focuses its investigative might on the workings of the human brain, new findings suggest that it is possible to enjoy a vital, healthy brain and mind – well into old age. Based on compelling research, Source Naturals formulated HIGHER MIND. It contains the most important Neuroceuticals™ now recognized by nutrition scientists – including phosphatidyl serine, a natural nutrient that promotes cognitive function. The connection is clear: nourish your brain; enrich your life.
To have a healthy, well-functioning brain and nervous system, we need the correct nutrients. Our diets must provide the necessary raw materials for nerve cells to grow, for the synthesis of neurochemicals, and for the maintenance of nerve cell membranes. Nutritional deficiencies can alter the brain’s metabolism, which is expressed by changes in perception and thinking, behavior and mood.
Brain Cells – Issued at Birth
Before birth, neurons (nerve cells) are created at the amazing rate of 15 million per hour. As infants, we have over 100 billion neurons, but this is the most we will ever have because – unlike most other cells in our body – nerve cells do not reproduce. A different strategy is used to replace the neurons that are naturally lost throughout life: nerve cells repair themselves and grow by extending branches of nerve fibers called dendrites (from the Latin word for tree). These are the communication links with other neurons that form the circuitry of the brain. A single neuron may be in contact with up to a hundred thousand others! When the density of this fragile organic communication network decreases, we experience a corresponding decline in mental acuity.
Brain Cell Membranes
The membrane is the working surface of a cell. It needs to be strong yet flexible, so the cell can maintain its integrity and be able to move and change shape. The membrane regulates the flow of nutrients into the cell and the removal of waste, plus controls the passage of molecular messages from outside the cell to its interior. Membrane ion pumps use a third of the cell’s energy just to maintain the correct ratio of sodium to potassium. In neurons, a rapid exchange of sodium and potassium ions across the nerve membrane is responsible for their unique ability to generate the electrical impulses that are the basis of all communication in the nervous system. As cells age, their membranes become less fluid and more rigid. Key membrane molecules called phospholipids are crucial to the health of neuron membranes, allowing the brain to maintain its youthful quality. The phospholipids in HIGHER MIND – especially phosphatidyl serine and phosphatidyl choline – are essential nutritional supplements for the aging brain.
Phosphatidyl Serine – Key to Cognition
For the past decade, researchers have been investigating the role in brain health of a remarkable neuroceutical, phosphatidyl serine (PS). This key structural molecule is integral to the matrix of fats and proteins that compose cell membranes. Although PS is found in all the cells of the body, its highest concentration is in nerve cell membranes. PS is rarely found in the foods we eat, so the body has to synthesize it, but the process is energy- intensive and becomes less efficient with age. Consequently, our levels of PS tend to decline as we get older. PS taken as a dietary supplement is well-absorbed, readily reaching the brain, where it helps create more effective, well-structured nerve cell membranes. The positive effects of PS supplementation have been demonstrated by 23 clinical studies with over 1200 human subjects, ages 43 to 90. Consistent and statistically significant results have confirmed the value of PS in improving age-related cognitive decline, as well as in improving behavioral aspects such as apathy and withdrawal.1 A major study concluded that for one particular measurable parameter of higher mental functions, PS recipients achieved scores of persons roughly 12 years younger.2 Nerve Growth Factor (NGF) is one of the most important proteins the body makes. It enables neurons to extend dendrites out to other neurons, allowing the brain to maintain an effective communication network. In experiments, PS enhanced the production and reception of NGF, which tend to drop off radically with age.3 The effects of PS at the cellular level are manifest in the performance of the brain as a whole. Subjects taking PS showed increased levels of brain energy metabolism. This enhancement corresponded to higher performances on cognitive tests.4
The Chemistry of Thought
Science now understands the role of neurotransmitters in regulating the body’s complex network of behavior. Neurotransmitters are the chemicals used by neurons to communicate with each other. Activated by a neuron’s electrical impulse, neurotransmitters travel between nerve cells, where they excite or inhibit (in various degrees) the electrical impulse in neighboring cells. One of HIGHER MIND’S key strategies is to improve the brain’s ability to produce and use acetylcholine, a key excitatory neurotransmitter. Acetylcholine is essential for both the storage and recall of memory, and partly responsible for concentration and focus. It also plays a significant role in muscular coordination. Patients showing cognitive decline may exhibit reduced ability to synthesize and utilize acetylcholine.5 The chemical building blocks of acetylcholine and other neurotransmitters are called precursors. The most important one for acetylcholine is DMAE (dimethylaminoethanol). This natural substance is found in various fish, such as anchovies and sardines. Supplements of DMAE (and phosphatidyl choline) promote increased levels of choline in the brain. Acetylcholine is created when an acetyl group is attached to the choline molecule, with the help of choline acetyl transferase (CAT), a key brain enzyme. Acetyl L-carnitine is an amino acid that activates this enzyme. Acetyl L-carnitine may also help reduce lipofuscin deposits in the brain because of its involvement in the metabolism of fatty acids.6 Lipofuscin is composed of oxidized fats and proteins; the brown “age spots” on the back of an elderly person’s hand are made of lipofuscin. The amino acid L-pyroglutamic acid sensitizes the acetylcholine receptor sites on a neuron membrane. A given amount of acetylcholine will then have a larger, more powerful effect. Studies have shown that supplements of L-pyroglutamic acid seem to enhance the ability to focus, remember, and learn.
Total Nutrition for the Brain
The neurotransmitters dopamine and noradrenalin are critical to motor coordination, motivation, concentration, and alertness. Like acetylcholine, their production tends to decline with age. The precursors and activators of dopamine and noradrenalin included in HIGHER MIND are the amino acids N-Acetyl L-Tyrosine and DL-phenylalanine (DLPA), plus folic acid, vitamins B-3, B-6, and C. DLPA is also a precursor to PEA, a neuroamine that has a stimulating effect on the brain. Glutamine is an amino acid precursor to glutamic acid, a major excitatory neurotransmitter involved in mental activity and learning. Glutamine acts as an alternative fuel source for the brain when blood sugar levels are low. It also helps the brain dispose of waste ammonia, which is a natural result of protein breakdown but is irritating to neurons even at low levels. GABA is a dietary amino acid which is also an inhibitory neurotransmitter. GABA works to calm and balance the mind, enhancing mental focus. Along with taurine, these two relaxing neurotransmitters provide a balancing influence to the other, excitatory neurotransmitters. Taurine is found in brain tissue more than anywhere else in the body. It has antioxidant properties and serves as a nerve cell membrane stabilizer, preventing excessive or erratic electrical activity in the brain.
The Importance of Magnesium
Magnesium must be present in adequate amounts in the synaptic gaps between neurons or the neurons become hyper-reactive: causing noises to sound excessively loud and emotional reactions to be extreme. Magnesium also activates a key enzyme responsible for maintaining cellular sodium- potassium balance, which is absolutely essential to the electrical activity of nerve cells, as well as to the existence of the cell itself. (Cells would burst if the sodium-potassium ratio were wrong.) Magnesium also helps relax cerebral blood vessels and is important to the manufacture of ATP, the chief energy molecule of the brain. A buildup of aluminum has been found in the brains of some elderly. In 1989, the British medical journal Lancet published a study showing that drinking water with aluminum can increase the risk of damage by up to 50%. An abundant natural element, aluminum is now a common feature in our culture. It’s found in tap water, cookware, deodorants, beverage containers, baked goods, and of course as aluminum foil. In the brain, aluminum breaks down the structure of neurons – causing them to starve – by displacing magnesium from tubulin, a glycoprotein responsible for making microtubules. These tiny pipe-like structures within a neuron provide needed rigidity, as well as transport nutrients from the nucleus down the dendrites to the ends of the nerve cell. Magnesium malate is an excellent form of magnesium that ensures neurons receive this vital mineral.
B is for Brain Vitamins
HIGHER MIND also contains a high profile of B vitamins and other key nutrients that are often N A T U R A L S S O U R C E Strategies for Wellness SM ¤ lacking in older individuals. A deficiency in any of the B vitamins can alter nerve function and psychological well-being. Thiamine (B-1), known as the “nerve vitamin,” was first recognized because its deficiency caused beriberi, a degenerative nerve disease. Thiamine is part of the structure of nerve cell membranes and is important to the reparative process that neurons need to offset the stress of continual firing of the electrical impulse. Low amounts of thiamine can cause cell malnutrition in the hypothalamus, the brain’s memory center. 7 NAD and NADH, two coenzyme forms of Niacin (B-3), are the most plentiful coenzymes in the brain. They are essential to hundreds of enzymatic reactions, including ones that produce energy. NADH can stimulate the synthesis of key mood-elevating neurotransmitters. It is also one of the body’s most potent antioxidants. Pantothenic acid (B-5), cyanocobalamin (B-12), and folic acid are required to form the myelin sheath – the insulating covering of nerve fibers. A diet low in pantothenic acid has been shown to make test subjects emotionally upset, irritable, and depressed.7 A lack of B-12 can result in poor concentration and, in severe deficiencies, hallucinations. Pyridoxine (B-6) is precursor to over 60 enzymatic reactions and is involved in the synthesis of several neurotransmitters.
Brain Power
Brain cells almost exclusively burn glucose for their energy (other cells can also burn fat), and typically require 50% of all the glucose in the blood. Two B-like vitamins help in the utilization of glucose: PAK (pyridoxine alpha-ketoglutarate) may potentiate the effects of insulin and improve glucose utilization to the cells;8 Biotin is important for the transformation of glucose into energy in the brain. Lipoic acid and coenzyme Q10 are metabolic energizers that help produce ATP, the primary energy molecule in the body. Since the brain uses 20% of the body’s total energy supply, efficient ATP production is vital. Lipoic acid and CoQ10 are also powerful antioxidants that help regenerate other antioxidants in the body. The blood vessels feeding the brain become less efficient as we pass middle age. Since the brain depends on the bloodstream to deliver nutrients and oxygen and to remove waste, the quality of this blood flow is paramount to proper brain nutrition. Ginkgo biloba leaf extract has been shown in scientific studies to increase blood flow to the brain by helping vessels to dilate. It also promotes the smoothness and healthy integrity of blood vessel linings.
For the Life of Your Mind Without proper nutrition, the brain will deteriorate; therefore strategies are needed to both enhance current brain function and protect it throughout life. Based on the latest scientific findings, Source Naturals HIGHER MIND is formulated with neuroceuticals that support the mental functions that tend to decline with age. They give your brain the nourishment it needs to integrate perception, memory, and learning into a more comprehensive awareness – so you can excel for a lifetime.
References
1. Palmieri, G., et al. (1987). Clin. Trials J. 24: 73- 83.
2. Crook, T.H., et al. (1991). Neurol. 41: 644-49.
3. Nunzi, M.G., et al. In Phospholipids: Biochemical, Pharmaceutical and Analytical Considerations (ed. I. Hanin and G. Pepeu).
New York: Plenum Press, 1990.
4. Heiss, W.D., et al. (1993). Annals N.Y. Acad. Sci. 695: 327-31.
5. Passeri, M., et al. (1990). Int. J. Clin. Pharm. Res. X(1/2): 75-79.
6. Kohjimoto, Y., et al. (1988). Japanese Journal of Pharmacology 48(3): 365-71.
7. Philpott, William H. Brain Allergies: the Psychonutrient Connection. New Canaan: Keats, 1987.
8. Passariello, N., et al. (1983). Int. J. Clin. Pharmacol. Ther. Toxicol. 21: 252-56.
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Genistein 1000mg Eternal Woman - Soy Supplement ...
Date:
June 02, 2005 10:30 AM
Author: Darrell Miller
(dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Genistein 1000mg Eternal Woman - Soy Supplement ...
For most of human history, we existed in a world that was very different from the one today. Our endocrine systems evolved in an environment without synthetic chemicals. Unfortunately, today we’re surrounded by artificial hormone-mimicking compounds that disrupt the subtle biological processes that determine growth and reproduction. Receptors on our cells meant to receive natural bodily hormones can also accept molecules other than the ones they were intended to receive, placing our endocrine systems under considerable duress. Fortunately, certain plants contain estrogen-like compounds that are also accepted by hormone receptors in the human body – but with beneficial effects. Soybeans, which contain the isoflavone Genistein, can help regulate and maintain normal menstrual cycles and menopausal transitions. Source Naturals GENISTEIN is a concentrated form of the essence of the soybean.
The Secret of Soy
Not surprisingly, it was Ben Franklin who first introduced America to soybeans. Always on the lookout for beneficial imports, he was intrigued by the soybean cheese he saw in England. Today, tofu and other soy products are gaining popularity here in the West, in good part due to the reported benefits to populations that consume a considerable amount of soy products.
Some researchers have postulated that the high intake of soy foods by Asians may be a key factor in their low incidence of certain health problems that are common in the West. For example, epidemiological studies show that women in Asia have a higher occurrence of normal trouble-free menopause. There is no Japanese word for hot flashes. Soy foods contain high concentrations of phytonutrients including phytosterols and isoflavones. Isoflavones are an important class of bioflavonoids whose properties have been well researched. Of the seven isoflavones contained in soybeans, the most active are genistein and daidzein. Source Naturals GENISTEIN contains over 11 mg of genistein, 42 mg of daidzein, and 86 mg of total isoflavones per four 1000 mg tablets.
Genistein and Estrogen
The subject of scientific studies since 1966, genistein research has been published in many journals including the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition and the Annals of the New York Academy of Science. Genistein has been shown to bind to the same receptor sites as estrogen. This helps to maintain normal menstrual cycles and menopausal transitions. By competing for human estrogen receptors, genistein causes excess estrogen to be sent to the liver for elimination. Conversely, when there is too little estrogen (the situation during menopause), phytoestrogens – genistein and daidzein – substitute for the lack of human estrogen, mitigating the effects of its absence.
Genistein and Cell Growth
One of genistein’s most promising functions is its ability to inhibit capillary proliferation. By neutralizing a growth factor called vascular endothelial (vegF), genistein protects cells. Genistein also shows pronounced inhibition of tyrosine kinase, the enzyme that interferes with normal cell growth. Soybeans are the only significant dietary source of genistein; however, the amount of soy foods necessary to meet the body’s needs can be difficult to incorporate into today’s diet. In Asia, the daily intake can be up to 20 times that of a Western diet. Source Naturals GENISTEIN is made from the germ of isoflavone-rich soybeans, using a chemical- free process that yields a consistent standardized isoflavone content. It requires approximately 400 pounds of soybeans to yield just one pound of finished product. With GENISTEIN, Source Naturals brings the remarkable properties of a time-honored food plant into your wellness program today.
References
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Composition and Method of increasing Testonsterone...
Date:
May 17, 2005 04:01 PM
Author: Darrell Miller
(dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Composition and Method of increasing Testonsterone...
Composition and method for increasing testosterone levels
Abstract This invention provides compositions and methods related to the administration of deer antler, one or more nor-testosterone precursors, and one or more testosterone precursors, to increase testosterone levels, treat sexual dysfunction, improve sexual function, improve energy, enhance feelings of well-being and increase muscle mass in males. This invention also provides for inhibitors of the enzymes aromatase and/or 5-alpha reductase, to support testosterone levels and avoid undesirable metabolites.
May reduce DHT:
By using velvet deer antler along with the testosterone and nor-testosterone precursors, the antler promotes youth film testosterone levels while balancing and ameliorating dangerous spikes in these levels. Another embodiment of the invention includes herbs that inhibits 5-alpha-reductase reducing undesirable levels of dihyrotestosterone. Another embodiment includes chrysin, which inhibits aromatase and the production of estrogenic steroids.
Deer antler (called Rokujo in Ancient Chinese Medicine) is used for its sexual-reinforcing and anti-aging actions. Wang et al., 36(7) CHEM. PHARM. BULL. 2587-92 (1988). Velvet antler is living tissue that grows at a rate of up to 2 cm/day in some species. Cartilage, bone and support tissues such as nerves, blood vessels and hair follicles of the antler also evidence accelerated growth. Antler is the only mammalian organ that regenerates. These features, responsible for the accelerate growth of velvet antler are likely to be caused by either unique regulatory substances or substances found in other tissues but at lower levels. It is believed that factors actually responsible for the rapid regeneration of the velvet antler can explain the powerful health benefits of the product. Specifically, velvet deer antler regulates the adrenal cortex and energy metabolism, promotes sexual function and growth, and strengthens resistance. Its functions fall into the major categories of general body strengthening, healing, promoting blood cell growth and improving immune and cardiovascular function.
Some of velvet deer antler's key ingredients include lysophosphatidyl choline, with hypotensive activity, phosphatidyl ethanolamines, sphingomyelin, phosphatidyl choline hypothanthene and uridene, with monoamine oxidase (MAO)-inhibiting and anti-aging effects; polyamines spermine, spermidine and putrescine, with RNA polymerase stimulating effects; gangliosides that may promote memory and learning; and anti-inflammatory amino acids. A wide variety of growth factors are also found in velvet, and may be associated with its growth-promoting activity. Tsujibo et al., 35(2) CHEM. PHARM. BULL. 654-59 (1987).
As taught by ancient Chinese medicine, deer antler tonifies the yang, primarily deficient yang of the kidneys, spleen and heart. Because kidneys are the seat of the basal yang, the most important use of this class of herbs is to tonify the kidney yang, whose principal manifestation of deficiency is systemic exhaustion. Yang deficiency causes impotence, spermatorrhea, watery vaginal discharge, infertility, enuresis, polyuria, wheezing and daybreak diarrhea. Patients with deficient kidney yang very often have decreased plasma thyroid hormone binding proteins, 24-hour urinary 17-ketosteroids, and decreased rate of glycolysis. When treated with tonifiers such as deer antler, these measurements return to normal ranges. BENSKY ET AL., CHINESE HERBAL MEDICINE, MATERIA MEDICA, REVISED EDITION Eastland Press, Seattle, Wash. (1993).
Deer Antler Velvet Full Spectrum Planetary Formulas 30Ct
Deer Antler Velvet Full Spectrum 60ct
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Saw Palmetto for treating prostate related problems.
Date:
May 13, 2005 06:09 PM
Author: Darrell Miller
(dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Saw Palmetto for treating prostate related problems.
SAW PALMETTO BERRY EXTRACT INHIBITS CELL GROWTH AND COX-2 EXPRESSION IN PROSTATIC CANCER CELLS
Cell Biology International 2001, Vol. 25, No. 11, 1117–1124 doi:10.1006/cbir.2001.0779
"Formulations based on Saw Palmetto berry extract (Serenoa repens) (SPBE) have traditionally been used for treating prostate related problems, and clinical research has supported the application of SPBE in the fight against benign prostatic hyperplasia BPH (Wilt et al., 1998; Plosker and Brogden, 1996; DiSilverio et al., 1998; McKinney, 1999; Lowe and Ku, 1996). The combination of this extract with other herbs has been shown to lower not only testosterone concentrations but also the concentration of prostatespecific antigens (DiPaola et al., 1998). Researchers have further demonstrated in animal studies that SPBE inhibits the binding of dihydrotestosterone DHT to its receptor (Carilla et al., 1984; Sultan et al., 1984) and blocks the conversion of testosterone to DHT by inhibiting the activity of 5-- reductase. So far the mechanism of action is not known for this phytotherapy but it may include an anti-oestrogenic, anti-androgenic, anti-spasmolytic, or anti-inflammatory effect, or the inhibition of 5--reductase, since all of these activities have been documented for it in in vitro experiments (Stoner, 1996; Carraro et al., 1996). In the present study, we investigate the role of SPBE in prostate cancer by comparing the growth of prostatic cancer cell lines in the presence and absence of SPBE. The data presented here demonstrate that SPBE inhibits the growth of a normal prostatic derived cell line and two prostatic carcinoma cell lines. The results may suggest an ‘operating mechanism’ involving growth inhibition via alterations in the expression of Bcl-2 and prevention of prostate carcinoma development through the inhibition of expression of Cox-2. "
" [Note: The ‘mechanism of action’ of SPBE is reported to be its ability to inhibit the conversion of testosterone to DHT (Bayne et al., 1999; Iehle et al., 1995; Delos et al., 1994). SPBE also inhibits the binding of DHT to its receptors (Sultan et al., 1984; Carilla et al., 1984). Further, it has been suggested that too much DHT could cause prostate cells to divide at an abnormal rate leading to enlargement of the prostate gland. Other effects of SPBE are anti-inflammatory (Di Silverio et al., 1992) and anti-estrogenic (Di Silverio et al., 1992; Briley et al., 1983). In conclusion, SPBE is a well-tolerated drug that has an efficacy similar to Finasteride in improving symptoms in men with BPH (Plosker and Brogden, 1996; Gerber et al., 1998). An additional effect of SPBE is the inhibition of growth factor-induced proliferation of human prostate cell-cultures (Paubert-Braquet, 1998). This drug also induces a significant reduction in DHT and epidermal growth factor concentrations in human BPH following three months of treatment (Di Silverio, 1998). Amongst other effects suggested for how SPBE functions, is the inhibition of signal transduction through the prolectin receptor (Vacher et al., 1995)]."
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