Search Term: " Sages "

	A diet rich in nuts like almonds is found to drastically improvecolon cancer survival	Darrell Miller	4/23/19
	Daily green tea consumption found to slash dementia risk by up to86%	Darrell Miller	1/10/19
	Vitamins for Brain Function	VitaNet, LLC Staff	9/12/18
	Alzheimer's Disease: What You Can Do to Prevent Holiday Memories from Vanishing	Darrell Miller	11/26/17
	Pancreatitis Symptoms: 11 Natural Ways to Prevent & Manage	Darrell Miller	11/17/17
	Omega-3 oils found to halt neuroinflammation that leads to Alzheimer's disease	Darrell Miller	8/4/17
	Green tea nutrients found to successfully treat scars when used in a cream	Darrell Miller	7/22/17
	Probiotics: Research Beyond the Belly...and to the Brain and Heart)	Darrell Miller	6/13/17
	Drink This To Get Rid Of Your Migraine	Darrell Miller	5/20/17
	9 Habits you Need to Start Today to Stop Dementia and Alzheimer’s Before it Starts	Darrell Miller	5/4/17
	4 Fat Soluble Vitamins	Darrell Miller	4/19/17
	Compound in hot peppers found to halt growth of breast cancer cells	Darrell Miller	4/16/17
	Why a group of scientists grew human heart tissue on spinach	Darrell Miller	3/30/17
	Healthy Benefits Of Fenugreek	Darrell Miller	2/25/17
	Four foods you need to stop eating before bed if you're trying to lose weight	Darrell Miller	2/9/17
	This Man Used Hemp Oil On Live TV To Draw Attention To His Granddaughter's Health	Darrell Miller	2/1/17
	How rooibos can protect you against the sun	Darrell Miller	1/6/17
	Antioxidants- How To Fight With The Free Radicals	Darrell Miller	1/4/17
	What is the Krebs cycle and why is it important?	Darrell Miller	8/16/15
	Thyroid Health and Selenium	Darrell Miller	8/12/15
	CORDYCEP: MEANING AND BENEFITS	Darrell Miller	7/22/15
	Ferrum Phosphoricum and Your Health	Darrell Miller	6/26/14
	Different Types of Royal Jelly	Darrell Miller	6/12/14
	colostral can help boost immunity	Darrell Miller	12/17/13
	Grapefruit Pectin And Soluble Fiber Health Benefits?	Darrell Miller	1/26/13
	What Herbs Help Fight Against Worms And Parasites?	Darrell Miller	1/23/13
	lycopene	Darrell Miller	11/12/12
	MCT OIL benefits?	Darrell Miller	10/10/12
	How does 5-HTP Help the Brain?	Darrell Miller	5/28/12
	Acne Treatment of Different Skin Types	Darrell Miller	9/20/11
	How Does Pancreatin Help With Digestion?	Darrell Miller	8/23/11
	How Does Lycopene Help Improve Prostate Health?	Darrell Miller	8/18/11
	The Benefits of GLA to Women	Darrell Miller	6/15/11
	What is the Transfer Factor in Colostrum?	Darrell Miller	5/26/11
	Can a Lactase Enzyme Help with Milk Digestion	Darrell Miller	4/27/11
	Best Digestive Supplements	Darrell Miller	12/8/10
	Green Foods Can Boost Improve Wellness	Darrell Miller	4/19/10
	Red Yeast Rice New Larger 240 Veg-Capsule Size	Darrell Miller	9/28/09
	Noni Fruit Extract	Darrell Miller	11/22/08
	Glycine	Darrell Miller	10/11/08
	Isoflavones	Darrell Miller	9/2/08
	Folic Acid	Darrell Miller	8/19/08
	Calcium D Glucarate	Darrell Miller	7/25/08
	Fight Heart Burn	Darrell Miller	4/18/08
	The Prevention and Treatment or Prostate Cancer	Darrell Miller	4/10/08
	Your Mouth Has A Lot To Say About Your Health	Darrell Miller	1/10/08
	How to Manage Migraines Naturally: Magnesium - Feverfew - Butterbur - Ginger	Darrell Miller	12/21/07
	An Ancient Herb And Its Application In Prostate Health	Darrell Miller	12/2/07
	Support A Healthy Digestive System With Discount Vitamins	Darrell Miller	11/21/07
	Active Coenzyme Q10	Darrell Miller	7/7/07
	Papaya- May Be A Fountain of Youth	Darrell Miller	5/31/07
	About George’s and Warren Laboratories	Darrell Miller	4/21/07
	CoQ10 for Heart Health	Darrell Miller	3/28/07
	Revita	Darrell Miller	3/8/07
	Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia	Darrell Miller	2/28/07
	Neurological Health and CoQ10	Darrell Miller	2/25/07
	Mushrooms are good for the Immune System	Darrell Miller	1/26/07
	Taming the Tingle – ALA helps fight nerve damage caused by diabetes…and more.	Darrell Miller	11/9/06
	Barking Up The Wrong Tree – Dietary Supplements are targeted while foods sicken millions.	Darrell Miller	11/9/06
	Remifemin symptomatic relief, scientifically supported*	Darrell Miller	8/26/06
	Mother's Calming Embrace - New Motherwort from Solaray	Darrell Miller	8/7/06
	Spectral DNC for Hair Loss (Minoxidil 5%)	Darrell Miller	2/25/06
	Maintaining your Bone Health	Darrell Miller	1/28/06
	What other supplements can help me with CFS?	Darrell Miller	12/10/05
	What are the complications of chronic fatigue syndrome?	Darrell Miller	12/10/05
	Pregnant and eating for two...	Darrell Miller	10/21/05
	New antibiotics expected for resistant pneumonia bugs	Darrell Miller	10/10/05
	PROGESTERONE AND OSTEOPOROSIS	Darrell Miller	7/25/05
	Alzheimer’s Disease and Ginkgo	Darrell Miller	6/25/05
	Cancer and Echinacea	Darrell Miller	6/24/05
	CLA and Cancer	Darrell Miller	6/22/05
	Mushroom Miracales	Darrell Miller	6/18/05
	Vision Quest - help fight eye problems.	Darrell Miller	6/18/05
	Move it and Lose it! Burn off body fat!	Darrell Miller	6/14/05
	Cancer at the Millenium - the war on cancer entering its third decade...	Darrell Miller	6/13/05
	The Flex Factor	Darrell Miller	6/11/05
	Iron: The Body's LifeBlood	Darrell Miller	6/10/05
	The Latest Breakthroughs in Garlic Research on Cancer and Cardiovascular Disease	Darrell Miller	6/9/05
	Mother's Choice with Iron - Scientific Prenatal Nutrition!	Darrell Miller	6/3/05
	Essential Enzymes - to support the digestive tract...	Darrell Miller	6/2/05

Date: April 23, 2019 03:10 PM
Author: Darrell Miller (support@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: A diet rich in nuts like almonds is found to drastically improvecolon cancer survival

(https://vitanetonline.com:443/forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=1&Message_ID=6164)

Date: January 10, 2019 04:26 PM
Author: Darrell Miller (support@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Daily green tea consumption found to slash dementia risk by up to86%

(https://vitanetonline.com:443/forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=1&Message_ID=5953)

Date: September 12, 2018 09:52 AM
Author: VitaNet, LLC Staff (support@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Vitamins for Brain Function

(https://vitanetonline.com:443/forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=1&Message_ID=5760)

Date: November 26, 2017 03:59 PM
Author: Darrell Miller (support@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Alzheimer's Disease: What You Can Do to Prevent Holiday Memories from Vanishing

(https://vitanetonline.com:443/forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=1&Message_ID=5418)

Date: November 17, 2017 03:59 PM
Author: Darrell Miller (support@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Pancreatitis Symptoms: 11 Natural Ways to Prevent & Manage

(https://vitanetonline.com:443/forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=1&Message_ID=5402)

Date: August 04, 2017 07:14 AM
Author: Darrell Miller (support@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Omega-3 oils found to halt neuroinflammation that leads to Alzheimer's disease

(https://vitanetonline.com:443/forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=1&Message_ID=5082)

Date: July 22, 2017 12:14 PM
Author: Darrell Miller (support@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Green tea nutrients found to successfully treat scars when used in a cream

(https://vitanetonline.com:443/forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=1&Message_ID=5016)

Date: June 13, 2017 04:14 PM
Author: Darrell Miller (support@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Probiotics: Research Beyond the Belly...and to the Brain and Heart)

(https://vitanetonline.com:443/forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=1&Message_ID=4826)

Date: May 20, 2017 06:44 AM
Author: Darrell Miller (support@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Drink This To Get Rid Of Your Migraine

(https://vitanetonline.com:443/forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=1&Message_ID=4650)

Date: May 04, 2017 11:44 AM
Author: Darrell Miller (support@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: 9 Habits you Need to Start Today to Stop Dementia and Alzheimer’s Before it Starts

(https://vitanetonline.com:443/forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=1&Message_ID=4533)

Date: April 19, 2017 11:44 AM
Author: Darrell Miller (support@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: 4 Fat Soluble Vitamins

(https://vitanetonline.com:443/forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=1&Message_ID=4434)

Date: April 16, 2017 12:59 AM
Author: Darrell Miller (support@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Compound in hot peppers found to halt growth of breast cancer cells

(https://vitanetonline.com:443/forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=1&Message_ID=4410)

Date: March 30, 2017 06:59 PM
Author: Darrell Miller (support@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Why a group of scientists grew human heart tissue on spinach

(https://vitanetonline.com:443/forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=1&Message_ID=4324)

Date: February 25, 2017 10:19 AM
Author: Darrell Miller (support@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Healthy Benefits Of Fenugreek

(https://vitanetonline.com:443/forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=1&Message_ID=4018)

Date: February 09, 2017 02:59 PM
Author: Darrell Miller (support@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Four foods you need to stop eating before bed if you're trying to lose weight

(https://vitanetonline.com:443/forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=1&Message_ID=3915)

Date: February 01, 2017 10:59 AM
Author: Darrell Miller (support@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: This Man Used Hemp Oil On Live TV To Draw Attention To His Granddaughter's Health

(https://vitanetonline.com:443/forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=1&Message_ID=3865)

Date: January 06, 2017 12:59 PM
Author: Darrell Miller (support@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: How rooibos can protect you against the sun

(https://vitanetonline.com:443/forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=1&Message_ID=3750)

Date: January 04, 2017 10:37 PM
Author: Darrell Miller
Subject: Antioxidants- How To Fight With The Free Radicals

Free radicals are of good concern to any individual who wants to stay healthy. You have possibly heard of how hazardous these substances are and how essential are antioxidants that battle them. Understanding free radicals involves mastering just a little bit about their chemical background. Your body is made up of numerous connected parts. The organs and tissues that form these parts are all made from cells. In original terms, each cell is an independent unit that processes its waste and ingests nutrients, additionally to performing several other functions.

The Chemistry That Drives Our Cells

Chemical Reactions: All About Charge

(https://vitanetonline.com:443/forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=1&Message_ID=3743)

Date: August 16, 2015 07:14 PM
Author: Darrell Miller
Subject: What is the Krebs cycle and why is it important?

The Krebs cycle is a series of chemical response that helps in the production of Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and carbon dioxide, a compound that is rich in energy.  This cycle happens with the combination of two carbon coenzymes and carbon complexes and goes through a series of changes to produce the required energy that is needed for the smooth functioning of living organism.  This cycle occurs in all the cells that use oxygen for their respiration process.  Carbon dioxide has an important role since it fuels breathing and the ATP also plays a vital role as it provides cells with a required energy for synthesis of proteins from amino acid and the reproduction of deoxyribonucleic acid.  These are considered essential for energy supply and for the continuation of any kind of life including human.

The Krebs cycle is known as the second phase of the aerobic respiration.  Aerobic respiration is composed of three phases, Glycosis is the first phase, followed by the Krebs Cycle, and last is the Electron phase.  These three stages are a series of a cycle that all living cells must experience to produce the required energy for the smooth functioning of the mechanism of life.

Why Krebs cycle is important?

Poor digestion, fatigue and lack of proper nutrition are the common complaints among the people of all ages all over the world.  This complaint comes when the body does not get proper nutrition or is unable to digest food even if it's available.  It leads to a chronic problem and makes most of the people suffer. But what makes them suffer? This is the listless metabolism that ultimately leads to slow Krebs cycle function. When Krebs cycle does not function properly, after a period of time it causes the accretion of undigested food remains in the blood vessels and also creates some other health complications such as constipation, fatigue and smoggy brain.  In the long run, it can create some other health complication that is severe and sometimes life-threatening. So to avoid this situation people usually prefer to take the Krebs cycle supplement.  This supplement resolves all these issues and also makes you feel energetic.

Why your body is reliant on Krebs cycles?

Krebs cycles are important since it helps to generate energy from the food, particularly from the carbohydrate. And you can get carbohydrate from grains, cereals, fats and also from vegetable and animal sources. You can also get carbohydrates from the proteins.

By definition, carbohydrates are the combination of three important things, carbon, hydrogen and oxygen and these things can be changed to glucose inside your body. Initially your body uses the carbohydrate as the foundation of glucose and then through a series of processing, the body gets the required amount of carbohydrates from the diet. And here Krebs cycle plays an important role to generate energy from the carbohydrate.

The Krebs cycle is considered important for producing energy, it does not help you to run fast and to be active only, and it also enables your metabolic process to work efficiently.

References:

//www.wisegeek.org/what-is-the-krebs-cycle.htm

(https://vitanetonline.com:443/forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=1&Message_ID=3195)

Date: August 12, 2015 08:24 PM
Author: Darrell Miller
Subject: Thyroid Health and Selenium

Selenium is nature’s best secret.  It is a nutrient that when used in the correct amounts in your food, can make huge and exciting changes. However, the body only needs small amounts of this mineral, but it has huge benefits on one’s health.  It protects us against many health problems that are associated with the aging process such as osteoarthritis and cancer. A certain amount of this mineral is required in order to protect the body from deadly viruses and also to aid in healthy thyroid functioning.

Selenium deficiency frequently goes untreated simply because it does not show any noticeable symptoms. If the levels of selenium are low, the thyroid will have to work extra hard to manufacture its hormones and the body will have a tough job converting those hormones to a form the cells can use. This is because selenium is a chief ingredient of the molecules necessary for the body to be able to create and use seleno-proteins (thyroid hormones).

The initial stages of low selenium levels will reduce the optimal production of the thyroid hormone in the glands. If this continues the thyroid gland becomes inflamed. Eventually, this is what leads to thyroid autoimmune problems

Problems that come with low selenium levels can be more serious when the levels of mineral, iodine, is low.  Iodine is well known for its key role in thyroid health.  Selenium is also important in aiding your body to recycle iodine. Low selenium levels coupled with low iodine levels can lead to thyroid imbalance

An enlarged thyroid is known as goiter. This is one of the serious forms of thyroid imbalance. Most individuals diagnosed with goiter usually have low iodine levels, however research has also shown that the patient also have low levels of selenium. Therefore, it is very important to treat both deficits so as to re-establish thyroid stability

Doctors readily admit that there is no any specified dose of selenium required for better functioning of the thyroid. The one thing they agree on is that optimizing selenium intake aids in general health.

References

//www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=5&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CDYQFjAEahUKEwih0urP8KPHAhXHOBQKHfIrC3w&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nlm.nih.gov%2Fmedlineplus%2Fdruginfo%2Fnatural%2F1003.html&ei=8GjLVaGaCsfxUPLXrOAH&usg=AFQjCNHzSWE2P10XlrjScWz9oE6KOYZFdA&bvm=bv.99804247,d.d24

//www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=9&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CE4QFjAIahUKEwih0urP8KPHAhXHOBQKHfIrC3w&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpatient.info%2Fdoctor%2Fselenium&ei=8GjLVaGaCsfxUPLXrOAH&usg=AFQjCNEjLPYH8bzUP0K2eUgEAAR7HIrZAg&bvm=bv.99804247,d.d24

(https://vitanetonline.com:443/forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=1&Message_ID=3192)

Date: July 22, 2015 01:25 AM
Author: Darrell Miller
Subject: CORDYCEP: MEANING AND BENEFITS

Cordyceps is simply a fungus. Not typically kitchen friendly, but if health is your number one target, then it will make the best supplement in your system. Before we go deeper into its benefits let us first have a clear understanding of what this unpopular yet effective medicinal fungi is.

What is Cordyceps?

It is simply an ascomycete fungi genus with approximately four hundred species that are mainly parasitic. They weren't considered beneficial to health until a recent discovery of Cordyceps Sinensis popularly known as a caterpillar fungi (It attaches itself on the caterpillar). Despite limited research on its health benefits, Cordyceps seems to be the best remedy for most of the health complications related to poor diet, lack of exercise and more.

Let us take a look at some of its benefits.

1. A remedy for kidney disease - Cordyceps prevent rat's renal fibrosis. This condition (renal fibrosis) is evident in later stages of the organ. However, there is still need for more research on this fact.

2. Slows down Tumor Growth - There is some proof that Cordyceps trigger the immune system to combat cancer. Ability to improve the immune system was due to a result of research where there were some indications that Cordyceps slowed down tumor growth in many animals.

3. Increase libido - Lots of studies shows that Cordyceps raise the level of testosterone in rats. There are some claims that it also enhances sexual performance that is also yet to be proven.

Apart from slowing down tumor growth, kidney disease and increasing sexual performance that are yet to be confirmed, Cordyceps have other numerous health benefits according to researchers that are,

* Increase body oxygen uptake - Needed for maximum athletic performance.

* Reduce the aging effects - Slows down aging that has remained a bother for centuries.

* Strengthen muscles - For weight lifters and athletes looking to gain strong muscles with a little workout.

* Improves lung function - Improves breathing needed for athletic performance

* Good for the liver - Slows down liver complications that are known to lead to a liver transplant.

There are also some claims that Cordyceps may replace the steroids when it comes to improving athletic performance and muscle building. Among these claims is that Cordyceps can enhance stamina needed mostly by sportsmen and women. Other researchers claim that it can tone muscles, increase energy and even reduce fatigue after a long time of work.

In summary, the caterpillar fungi (Cordyceps) has a lot in store when it comes to solving health complications. However, these claims are yet to be confirmed. If the facts are as real as the researchers claim them to be, then Cordyceps will be at the top of the top list of best natural supplements ever discovered.

//www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-602-cordyceps.aspx?activeingredientid=602&activeingredientname=cordyceps

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cordyceps

//www.gnet.org/cordyceps-benefits/

//www.healthline.com/health/cordyceps-exercise-performance#1

//www.drugs.com/npp/cordyceps.html

Read More

(https://vitanetonline.com:443/forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=1&Message_ID=3179)

Date: June 26, 2014 10:59 PM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Ferrum Phosphoricum and Your Health

What is a Ferrum Phosphoricum?

Sources

1. //www.wisegeek.com/what-is-ferrum-phosphoricum.htm

2. //www.remedysource.com/store/cell_salts/04-ferrum-phosphoricum.php

3. //www.herbs2000.com/homeopathy/ferrum.htm

(https://vitanetonline.com:443/forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=1&Message_ID=3140)

Date: June 12, 2014 08:54 PM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Different Types of Royal Jelly

What is a royal jelly?

Royal jelly is a gelatin-held substance, which is normally emitted from the cephalic organs of the working drones for the expansion of the ruler honeybee. The hugeness of this white substance for ruler honeybee could be comprehended with a truth that without it, the monarch bumblebee and other working drones will not prosper.

Benefits of royal jelly

The concoction component of illustrious jam is that it is a water-based emulsion of lipids, proteins, sugars and assortments of elements. Further, there are sure parts of it that work against diverse sorts of bacterial executors. It is additionally paramount that the sugar synthesis of bumblebee jam is indistinguishable to those found in glucose and nectar fructose.

The counterfeit detailing of illustrious jam is carried out through distinctive conversion stages, for example, transforming it into different structures like cases, mixture, chewable tablets and fluid. The readiness of the substance is of two sorts, specifically - stop dried and new.

A few producers make offers of crisp jam straightforwardly to clients. In the end, the clients get profits as far as benefitting bumblebee items holding well being profits and sturdiness. Naturally, with such strong item, the expense of purchasing a new one is unreasonable purchase for the clients.

One of the wonderful sorts is stop-dried substance. This is a direct result of the reason that the stop-dried sort holds complete well being support profits alongside providing for your long lifespan of the item. That intends to say, different sorts of it cannot provide for you a life span ensure as stop dried jam provides for you. Those results of diverse sorts of regal jam are effectively perishable and at a certain stage, their possibility lessens continuously in this way, providing for you no wellbeing profits and the items get valuable for you. You ought to realize that it can additionally be stop dried into powder and therefore pressed into containers.

(https://vitanetonline.com:443/forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=1&Message_ID=3135)

Date: December 17, 2013 12:14 AM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: colostral can help boost immunity

What is Colustrum

Colostrum is the milk produced by mammary glands in female mammals at the late stages of pregnancy and shortly after birth. It is yellowish in color and sticky. It has all the nutrients necessary to keep your child healthy and strong. Above all, it contains antibodies and living cells capable of protecting your child from infections. It is a key source of immunity. It is less in volume but highly concentrated with nutrients and antibodies. It has a laxative effect hence helps the child in the excretion process and elimination of bilirubin.

Colustrum Benefits

A newly born child should be breast fed at least 8 to 12 times a day. This enables the child to rip the maximum out of the colostrums in the milk. It contains secretory immunoglobulin that protects the mucus membrane of the infant. The membrane in the throat, intestines and the throat is fragile and needs such protection. The leucocytes in the colostrums is responsible for shielding the new born from viruses and bacteria. Colostrums contain beneficial bacteria. These bacteria are ingested in the digest tract boosting the intestinal activities.

Bovine colostrums developers depended upon this knowledge.

The Agrifood Research Finland established that bovine could help boost your immunity. They established that the colostrums could not cure an ailment but can prevent infection in a healthy rat. It also promoted the removal of coli bacteria in the bloodstream of a Calve. The study established that the bovine colostrums could control gastrointestinal diseases.

It takes about two weeks after birth for colostrum to mature into milk. The volume of antibodies in the milk drastically goes down and the milk volume increases. The immunity component in the milk does not varnish either. The milk is still capable to supply the child with immunological protection. What changes is the degree of protection. Remember as the child grows, he/she builds an independent immune system. The colostrums taken at early stages stimulates the process.

(https://vitanetonline.com:443/forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=1&Message_ID=2926)

Date: January 26, 2013 11:28 AM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Grapefruit Pectin And Soluble Fiber Health Benefits?

Do you want to know, what are the benefits you're likely to reap from consuming grapefruit pectin?

If yes, then this write up is for you. Scroll down to know more on this.

Typically consumed as for break-fast, grapefruits usually are a favorite for the dieters who are tirelessly working on the various tactics that can assist them in the fat burning process. Grapefruits are well known for their minerals and vitamins, but they are also very great sources of fiber. Grapefruit pectin which is unique form of the soluble fiber has got a number of the health benefits that it carries along. Let us now have a look at some of these benefits that it carries.

Benefits of Grapefruit Pectin

The following are some of the benefits of grapefruit pectin. They include;

• *Preventing Formation of Cholesterol Grapefruit pectin fiber normally binds to the cholesterol and thus prevents it from forming the deposits along the walls of the artery.
  
• *Maintaining the Blood Sugar Levels Grapefruit pectin fiber also slows the carbohydrates from making their way to the blood stream. This thus reduces rate at which the sugars are absorbed. In the long run this assists in maintaining the levels of blood sugar.
  
• *Antibacterial A very powerful antibacterial, the grapefruit pectin fiber normally fights the internal fungi, bacterial infections, and the other harmful parasites.
  
• *Promoting the Health of the Colon Just the same as the other fibers, grapefruit pectin fiber also is as well beneficial when it comes to promoting the health of the colon. This fiber adds bulk to the individuals' stool and hence assists him or her to be able to pass the stool more easily via the intestinal tract. Grapefruit pectin fiber also can prevent hemorrhoids and diverticulitis, while easing symptoms of the irritable bowel syndrome as well as the other bowel complaints.
  
• *Cancer Protection Grapefruit pectin also is believed to have the capability to inhibit growth and metastasis of some certain types of cancers, most particularly those of gastrointestinal tract. According to some researches which were conducted recently, a fragment that was released from pectin was believed to inhibit the galectin 3, a protein which plays a role in all the stages associated with cancer progression.
  
• *Enhancing a Better Immunity: Enhancing better immunity is also another benefit which has been reportedly to come from the grapefruit pectin fiber. This fiber when imputed in any diet will prevent the infections that are normally caused by the microbes such as bacteria, parasites and fungi.
  
• *Healthy Weight Management In addition to the fact that this fiber can easily clear your digestive tract, it can as well assist you in maintaining your weight. This fiber normally gives dieters the feeling that can lead to less consumption of calories. Grapefruit pectin fiber also can inhibit the absorption of some calories from the foods eaten, thus resulting to less weight gain.
  

Last but not the least; as you have seen, grapefruit pectin fiber has got very many benefits. However, before you include grapefruit to your diet, ensure that you consult an experienced dietitian or doctor to know whether it is ideal for your diet or not.

(https://vitanetonline.com:443/forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=1&Message_ID=2820)

Date: January 23, 2013 12:27 PM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: What Herbs Help Fight Against Worms And Parasites?

Fighting Against Worms and Parasites

There are thousands of worms and parasites around in the environment and people are always becoming ill because of some of these insects which they come into contact with. Many people are under the impression that something like a tapeworm does not exist anymore. However, although this is less common, people are still being affected by this and it can cause all sorts of complications. 

Flatworms, Flukes and Roundworms

The three main problematic worms are flatworms, flukes and roundworms. These all cause some form of damage and need to be dealt with. You have to treat this early on. You must make sure that you take precautionary methods, because then there is little chance of something going terribly wrong. Some of these worms feed on blood and tissue fluids. You will start to lose a lot of weight as a result of a flatworm and often you won't even know that you have one of these in your system. One of these worms can measure up to 20 meters in length.

Eventually the organs will also start to suffer. Parasites can be transmitted in a variety of ways, but most of the time you can't do anything about it. You may be in a tropical country where there are a lot of mosquitoes, fleas and flies buzzing around. These can be harmful and can even cause malaria. One can even be affected by something that passes by in the air. Vegetables and fruit are often contaminated and they need to be washed. Tapeworms have been known to be found in pork, and therefore this should only be bought once it has come back from a butcher. To look after yourself and make sure that you don't run into too many problems, it is important that you treat yourself from time to time.

Black Walnut, Garlic, And Wormwood

Using natural herbs, black walnut and garlic as well as wormwood will help prevent running into any of these complication. Ipecac and Myrrh are two of the well known herbs that work on getting rid of parasites. You will have to use these in a tea form because they are very powerful. They can have minor side effects for some, but it is a lot better than living with some of the worms in your body. Garlic works best with hook worms and is effective in treating parasites. It has been used over the ages and has a very good reputation in this regard. Wormwood is found in a lot of medication on the market and is recommended by many doctors as one of the better ways to clear out your system, especially working to get rid of the roundworm.

Pumpkin Seeds

Research has said that pumpkin seeds work very well in getting rid of tapeworms. However, if this has got to a very advanced stage, then they may need to be surgically removed. Some experts suggest that these seeds be mixed with milk and honey for the best effects. Most people will tell you that it is a good idea to use herbs and other remedies on a regular basis on their own or in your cooking to keep your system clean and healthy. If you do this, there is less chance of an invasion. If you should have a problem, you will be able to be treated in the early stages.

(https://vitanetonline.com:443/forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=1&Message_ID=2816)

Date: November 12, 2012 01:52 PM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: lycopene

Lycopene is a carotenoid that is responsible for the red color in melon, tomatoes, rosehip, guava and pink grapefruits. it is known to be highly antioxidant meaning that it is very effective in neutralizing free radicals which could damage the body cells. Since its discovery in 1964 by Alex R. Torres, it has been observed that this compound is easily absorbed in the body when processed into sauce, juice, ketchup and paste. When consumed in the body, this product is deposited in the lungs, skin, colon, prostrate glands and the liver. There are numerous health benefits that are associated with consuming lycopene.

Antioxidant benefits

Free radicals in the body pose a major health risk as they are likely to steel molecules from healthy cells thus causing damage. In fact, these radicals have been associated with the cause of majority of the cancer infections. It is a strong antioxidant and it is able to stop these free radicals from damaging healthy cells.

Heart benefits

Research has found that people who take products that contain lycopene regularly have reduced chances of getting heart diseases. It has also been observed that this compound can be used in the treatment heart diseases, osteoporosis, infertility and type II diabetes.

Anticancer benefits

It has been found to posses numerous anticancer benefits. The compound helps the body against DNA damage which usually happens during the development stages of cancer. One of the ways through which lycopene is able to achieve this purpose is by blocking the interactions of stromal cells and tumors cells.

When the interaction is interrupted, the tumor and stromal tissues are inhibited from growing and developing. It is an indisputable fact that lycopene is a very important component in our lives. It is for this reason that medical practitioners advice people to consume carotenoid foods especially the ones that contain lycopene.

(https://vitanetonline.com:443/forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=1&Message_ID=2711)

Date: October 10, 2012 01:13 PM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: MCT OIL benefits?

Mct oil is a natural versatile oil used in cooking, salad dressing and can be used instead of butter. It contains easily digested fatty acids contained in milk fat, palm oil and coconut oil. These components are good for digestion in burning fats and improve energy disbursement.

Due to its effects of burning fats, it helps in resulting to effective and healthy weight loss. People suffering from malnutrition and those with poor absorption conditions, are advised to use Mct oil since the body does not hold the Mct oil because they are easily digested, stored and used as they are directly absorbed in the blood stream, unlike other fats and oil that the body stores in the fat cells, due to the inability of the body to break them down.

Athletes are beneficiaries of Mct oil in gaining weight and in losing weight Mct's are known to have improvement effects on muscle building, this is achieved by introducing Mct oil to their food as the oil works as carbohydrates and not fat and also enhances the taste and makes more edible. The oil increases muscle building as it reduces the fat percentage in the body with this; the body is able to improve muscle building and fat reduction simultaneously. Those enrolled to gyms for body building are better placed to experience this.

Patients suffering from diabetes are great beneficiaries since the Mct oil helps in the regulation of blood sugar levels. Obesity being currently so common, should be checked in its early stages to curb its drastic effects. Mct oil can be used by those suffering from obesity to burn the excessive fats and raise their energy. This will eventually result to weight loss and good health.Since Mct oil is not digested as a fat but as energy giving it is recommended for the elderly whose digestive system is known to be fragile and weak.

It will boost their energy levels as it reduces the fats in their body. With a weak digestive system, the Mct oil requires the least energy to bed absorbed into the body making it favorable for the old age. Young children do not have complex digestive system, therefore, introducing Mct oil to their diet will boost their energy levels and improved their immunity since children are known to be prone to many diseases and end up spending a lot of energy in playing. Expectant mothers too should be encouraged to use Mct oil in their diet as it works as carbohydrate and not a fat.

These mothers are known to be prone to several conditions like disease outbreaks and mood swings, this oil will boost their immunity during this period as they prepare to have their new born. The MCT oil will boost the child's immunity as well so introducing this oil to the expectant mothers diets helps even the unborn thus saving two lives at ago.This Mct oil is quite available, as it is locally available in the local stores therefore acquiring it is made easy and cheap.

(https://vitanetonline.com:443/forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=1&Message_ID=2685)

Date: May 28, 2012 08:17 AM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: How does 5-HTP Help the Brain?

5-HTP

5-HTP is the abbreviation of 5-Hydroxytryptophan, an amino acid that converts tryptophan into serotonin and melatonin. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that helps with the regulation of sleep, mood and appetite, and it is found in the stomach or the CNS. 5-HTP is mainly obtained from animal products especially red meats and eggs. Fish and dairy products are also rich in this amino acid. Vegetarians get this compound from pumpkin seeds, oats, potatoes, peanuts and dried dates. Due to its ability to regulate the amount of serotonin and melatonin in your body, 5-HTP regulates the functioning of your brain.

The following are the health benefits of this compound:

It fixes anxiety

Anxiety and panic disorders are some of the most popular mental disorders that can be cured using 5-HTP. These two illnesses occur when your body experiences a deficiency of serotonin. Therefore, taking supplements of this amino acid reduces your chances of developing any or both of these conditions.

It treats insomnia

Insomnia is a problem that affects the quality of your sleep. Sleep is normally regulated by your brain. Every night, your brain releases receptors that lead to the five stages of a sleep cycle. If your brain fails to release the appropriate receptors, you cannot enjoy a complete sleep cycle. In addition, Melatonin is the hormone that induces sleep and therefore its absence leads to poor sleep quality. The production of sufficient melatonin therefore boosts the quality of your sleep and helps with the treatment of insomnia.

It helps relieve the symptoms of depression

Your mood is controlled by the neurotransmitter serotonin. The absence of this neurotransmitter leads to the development of a depressed mood. However, the availability of 5-HTP in your body leads to the production of sufficient serotonin thus restoring your happiness.

It also treats eating disorders especially among young children Your brain controls your levels of appetite. Serotonin is specifically in charge of this function, and therefore its deficiency in your body leads to a disruption in your appetite mechanism. Most people who have this problem often tend to eat lots of sweet foods that are rich in empty calories, high carb and junk food. This often leads to obesity and overweight. However, taking 5-HTP supplements restores your appetite mechanism thus protecting you from eating disorders and subsequent complications such as obesity.

It is a natural pain killer

5-HTP enhances the production of endorphins, thus helping your body overcome pain and migraines. Chronic headache is often associated with low levels of serotonin, and this can be reversed by taking sufficient 5-HTP. Serotonin has a calming and soothing effect on the central nervous system, and therefore the sufficient release of this neurotransmitter helps ease pain on the head.

5-HTP helps relieve the symptoms of fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia is often accompanied by chronic pains and aches that can be relieved by taking sufficient supply of 5-HTP. This is because this amino acid helps with the secretion of serotonin, which helps ease such pains and aches.

It is therefore important for you to ensure that you have sufficient supply of 5-HTP in order to enhance the functioning of your brain.

(https://vitanetonline.com:443/forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=1&Message_ID=2649)

Date: September 20, 2011 11:30 AM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Acne Treatment of Different Skin Types

Not everyone has the same skin type, and if you have acne, then the treatment could be dependent on your skin type. Before discussing the different acne treatments available, therefore, it will be necessary to discuss the various skin types.

Skin types are graded in a number of ways, anything from 3 types to several. Here we shall discuss more than the normal three (oily, dry and normal) but instead look at seven.

1. Normal Skin

Normal skin looks evenly colored and textured, firm and smooth without larger pores. People with normal skin probably had mild acne when at high school, but cleared up fairly quickly during the teenage years without specialized treatment or scarring. Acne in this type of skin normally requires only mild topical treatment and a mild antibiotic face wash to keep the pores clean of dead skin cells.

Treatments designed to reduce sebum production could result in dry skin susceptible to environmental damage. What must be kept in mind is that the prime cause of acne is excessive production of skin oil, correctly known as sebum, becoming mixed with shed skin cells within the sebaceous pores and plugging them. When this plug gets infected with bacteria, the immune system leaps into action to produce puss through leucocytes attacking the bacteria, and inflammation designed to create temperature conditions alien to bacteria.

If you use treatments formulated to reduce sebum production in oily skin, then you might lose the natural skin oil needed to keep your skin waterproof and resistant to the pollution and chemical agents that can cause dermatitis.

2. Dry Skin

If you got through adolescence with few or no skin problems, and you have dry hair and your skin feels dry after washing, then you have dry skin. It is even more important with dry skin that you do not use sebum-reducing treatments, if you even get acne at all. Only the mildest acne treatments should be used if you have dry skin, thought is unlikely that you will get anything other the very mildest case if you really have dry skin.

Your skin can dry through age, so to be of a dry skin type, you should have suffered, or be suffering, these problems while you are 35 years old or under. After that age your skin tends to dry out naturally.

3. Oily Skin

This completes the trilogy of the classic skin types. Oily skin is associated with acne, and if your hair is oily, you tend to tan very easily rather than go red in the sun, and if oily make-ups, such as some foundations, tend to last only a short time, then you likely have oily skin.

You will also have suffered from acne as a teenager, and your skin will have a particular 'look'. It will often appear shiny, and will also seem to have a coarse texture with larger pores than most others seem to have. You will tend to get a lot of blackheads, not only as a teenager.

Oily skin is classically associated with acne, and it is for those with that skin type that classic treatments will be prescribed, such as antibiotics and Accutane.

Apart from these three skin types, there are others that have been defined involving a combination of these and also age.

Sensitive Skin

Sensitive skin is associated with broken blood vessels beneath the surface of the skin, and such skin types should be treated very carefully. If creams or lotions are applied to sensitive skin they should be rubbed in very gently as it could cause bruising.

Sensitive skin is no more susceptible to acne than most other skin types although significantly less so than oily skin. For that reason, treatments for sensitive skin should be similar to that for dry skin or in most cases normal skin.

Combination skin

Combination skin has an oily zone across the forehead, and down the nose and chin, the other areas of the face being normal or dry. Such skin can also be oily along the jaw line and normal to dry everywhere else. In such cases aggressive acne treatment might be necessary in the oily zones, and more mild treatments used in the areas which are normal.

There are three other classes or skin type based upon age or condition, one being mature skin and other ailing skin and the final type, surprise, surprise, being known as acne skin. Ailing skin is caused by skin conditions other than acne, and you should get the advice of a dermatologist if you believe you have this type of skin. Mature skin on the other hand is natural and occurs with age: the skin becomes slack and loose due to a slowing down of cell growth which causes the skin to lose elasticity. There is no cure for this type of skin other than cosmetic surgery, and it is rarely affected by acne.

Acne Skin

Acne skin is normally oily and associated with blackheads, pimples and spots. It is not normally applied to serious acne conditions, being mostly associated with skin which is generally 'spotty', as opposed to mostly clear. It is debatable whether acne skin is any different from oily skin which also tends to be covered with spots and pimples, and the treatments for acne skin are no different to those for oily skin: these are Accutane, antibiotics and topical treatments such as face washes and scrubs.

If you have acne skin you must be careful about the type of cosmetics and face cleansers you use, since either could aggravate your condition. This is not restricted only to those with oily skins of course, since everyone should be aware of the effect of cosmetics and face cleansers on their skin but it is more significant with those who suffer from acne. Cosmetics cannot cause acne, but they can help to aggravate infections which have already occurred.

Although most focus is placed on those with oily skins which are more susceptible to acne, people with any type of skin should consider carefully the types of cosmetic and cleansers which they use. Contrary to what you may have heard or read, acne has nothing to do with your diet - eating fatty foods or chocolates do not cause acne, which is caused only through production of excess sebum, or skin oil, by the sebaceous glands.

Irrespective of your skin type your physician will determine the best treatment that is appropriate for your particular case of acne. This may be different for individuals and may or may not change according to skin type. Antiseptic face washes or scrubs may be appropriate for some acne cases, Accutane might be the best treatment for others, while a course of internal antibiotics such as tetracyclines may be deemed appropriate for yet other cases.

Treating acne has three distinct phases:

1. Removal of the blackheads and lesions. The removal of lesions can also involve a degree of scar removal, although that is another topic. Black heads, whiteheads and other papules can be treated by the use of facial cleansers and scrubs. They should not be squeezed since the puss inside them could be forced deeper into the skin and so lead to a more generalized infection.

2. Treatment of the bacterial infection. The typical symptoms of acne, the papules, whiteheads and blackheads, are caused by bacterial infection of the plug of sebum and dead skin cells within the sebaceous follicles. The general treatment for such infections is antibiotics, both topically and internally. Tetracycline has already been mentioned as a common internal antibiotic, and several forms of antibiotics are used in facial scrubs of which peroxides and benzoates may perhaps be rather severe for dry and sensitive skins.

3. The third phase is treatment of the causes of excessive sebum production. This is generally not entirely treatable since it is predominantly due to excessive hormonal activity at certain times of your life such as puberty, menstruation, pregnancy and menopause. However, your physician may offer treatments such as the contraceptive pill which should be used with care.

Other treatments include agents that aid desquamation, so preventing the irregular shedding of skin cells that lead to the mixture of sebum and dead skin cells that form the plug that is so easily affected by bacterial infection.

Together these three stages of acne treatment can, if not prevent the condition, certainly reduce its extent and have less of an effect on your skin, particularly if you are the off the oily skin type. Doctors will take your skin type into consideration when determining the best acne treatment for you, although all generally this will only be with respect to topical treatments: treatments that are applied to the surface of your skin.

There are also a number of herbal treatments which are used in the treatment of various stages of acne, and many sufferers find these equally as effective as the more traditional forms of topical applications as prescribed by physicians. However given that the treatment you use is safe according to your physician, any that works for you is the acne treatment that you should likely use, irrespective of your skin type.

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Date: August 23, 2011 12:33 PM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: How Does Pancreatin Help With Digestion?

Pancreas and Pancreatin

The pancreas is an organ in the abdomen that lies just below the stomach and is a vital part of the endocrine system. Its main responsibility is to produce enzymes needed for the digestion and absorption of food. It is both an endocrine gland making several important hormones, including insulin, glucagon, somatostatin, as well as an exocrine gland. Most relative to our topic though is the function of secreting pancreatic juice containing digestive enzymes. These enzymes aid to further break down carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids. Enzymes(Pancreatin) secreted include amylases which digest starch molecules, for fat its lipases, and proteases for digesting proteins.

Digestion Tidbits

Having a nice healthy digestive tract is more than just being free of discomforts, heartburn, gas, or constipation. We have to look at it at different perspective, like from “what happens to the food?” kind of perspective. When foods are not digested properly, its nutrients cannot and will not get to our body’s cells. Nutrients are captured within the food processing stages in our digestive system. The body requires a constant flow of nutrients to essentially for what it is suppose to do which is to grow, generate energy, and to repair tissue. A lack of digestive enzymes like pancreatin in the stomach and intestines may cause heartburn, bloating, indigestion and constipation. Sometimes without giving much thought to digestion, we think it’s as simple as food is placed in the mouth, chew, swallow, and digest. However nutrients are vital to every cell in the body, and even digestion requires the right balance of nutrients to signal the nerves to start gathering nutrients again.

Pancreatic Enzymes

Digestion processes all occurs in the gastrointestinal tracts. Whatever you eat flows through this system, but until absorption through the intestinal tract, the nutrients from your food are still physically outside of your body. Because the gastrointestinal tract functions like an internal skin and provides a barrier between whatever you ingest from the outside (external) and your internal bloodstream. Part of this process of digesting food is the selective transport of nutrients through the cell wall linings in your intestinal tract.

Once transported across the intestinal barrier to the inside of your body, that’s when the nutrients becomes part of our bloodstream and is rationed to all of your tissues via blood circulation to maintain organ function, aid in the need for energy, and mobilize growth and repair of new cells and tissues. Now for any mobilization of the nutrients to take place, food must first be broken down and this is where Pancreatin comes in along with other enzymes. On the other hand if pancreatin is insufficient it can lead to symptoms of malabsorption(abnormality in absorption of food nutrients), malnutrition(a state of lack of nutrition, vitamin deficiencies, and weight loss (or an inability to gain weight in children) and is often associated with steatorrhea (loose, fatty, foul-smelling stools), and is some select cases the lack of these enzymes can lead to type one diabetes.

(https://vitanetonline.com:443/forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=1&Message_ID=2404)

Date: August 18, 2011 10:16 AM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: How Does Lycopene Help Improve Prostate Health?

Lycopene is a bright red carotenoid pigment and phytochemical found in tomatoes and other red fruits and veggies, like red carrots, watermelons and papayas however not strawberries. Although most chemical carotenes has vitamin A activity, lycopene does not. Lycopene is an essential intermediate in the biosynthesis of many carotenoids and in algae, plants, and other photosynthetic organisms.

An Anti-Oxidant?

A term that describes a large range of more about 600 pigments which give plants their red, orange or yellow colouring is carotenoid. Some of the most commonly known in a regular Western region diets are alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, lutein, zeaxanthin, and lycopene.

Attention has been paid most to alpha-carotene and beta-carotene since these are the ones that can be synthesized by our body to form vitamin A, one of the body’s very powerful antioxidants.

Lycopene, in particular, is has even been credited with some of the many anti-oxidant functions previously credited to beta-carotene.

Prostate Health

Prostate cancer is most common among men over the age of 50. The cause of this type of cancer, like almost all other cancers, is unknown, but some studies indicate alteration in testosterone metabolism possibly plays a role in its development. Prostate cancer generally grows slowly and can be undetected until late in the stage of the decease since it does not show any symptoms in the early stages. Symptoms can include painful urination, a feeling of incomplete emptying of the bladder, or blood showing with the urine. According to some studies prostate cancer patients that supplement with lycopene in addition to surgical procedures to remove the testicles may experience, less bone pain, and live longer than those who does not supplement.

It has also shown that groups of patient that were tested with lycopene supplementation has a higher survival rate after a time frame of two years and no adverse side effects were observed in these men as well. This is achieved through lycopenes proven role in keeping the pathways open between cells which is vital in allowing the immune system to hold off cancer cells in its early stages. Although more research is still required to iron out what exact amount of lycopene will be most effective, the current results are already encouraging. However eating a moderately sized tomato a day can approximately provide 4 mg of lycopene and other tomato products, like an 8-ounce tomato juice or tomato paste provides up to 15 mg of lycopene just to give all the men out there an estimate. These are small portions of the diet that could easily be added without any major adverse effect to weight or health and seems too small to ignore given the possible benefits and minimal negative effects if any.

Additional Lycopene Benefits

It also has been found that lycopene can possibly as important as beta-carotene in protecting against the process of oxidation of Low Density Lipids (LDLs), also known as the “bad cholesterol”, which is now held to be the main cause of atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries which leads to cardio-vascular diseases like stroke or heart attack.

Grab Some Lycopene today and experience the benefits for yourself!

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Date: June 15, 2011 11:10 AM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: The Benefits of GLA to Women

GLA, otherwise known as gamma linolenic acid or Omega-6 fatty acid, has been found to benefit women's health in a number of ways. For example, supplements of GLA have been found to reduce many symptoms of PMS, such as irritability, depression and breast pain. The reason for this may be due to the fact that at this time the metabolism of women is less able to convert dietary linoleic acid to GLA, the normal biochemical pathway for its production.

GLA is also of benefit to menopausal women, for whom it has been found to reduce the number of night flushes. GLA also helps to maintain fetal development in terms of new tissue grown and organ development, and in fact fetus development involves fairly high essential fatty acid consumption. Many women take one or two capsules of evening primrose oil intravaginally to soften the cervix in preparation for childbirth.

However, a small number of sources state that taking GLA in the latter stages of pregnancy should be avoided, so you should seek the advice of your doctor or physician on this question.

Essential fatty acids are essential for proper hormone production in women and men.

Make sure you are getting enough essential fatty acids daily!

(https://vitanetonline.com:443/forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=1&Message_ID=2338)

Date: May 26, 2011 12:12 PM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: What is the Transfer Factor in Colostrum?

Colostrum, Transfer Factor, And Your Health.

Transfer factor refers to any immune molecule found in the milk produced by the mammary glands in the first days after childbirth. It comprises a group of amino acids that are smaller than cells. Since its discovery in the 20th century, it has been suggested as a treatment for a host of diseases, including cancer, diabetes, infertility, fibromyalgia, Alzheimer’s disease, asthma, hepatitis, herpes, and HIV. It has grown in popularity in the past few years due to a resurgence of interest in natural remedies.

The quality of milk that mammals make in the last weeks of pregnancy is called colostrum, which is believed to be superior to ordinary milk. For one, it is lower in lipids and fats, but higher in proteins. More importantly, it contains antibodies called immunoglobulins, which are central to the identification of bacteria and viruses during infections. These antibodies alert the rest of the immune system to effectively deal with pathogens encountered for the first time. Colostrum contains transfer factors.

Like any other form of milk, colostrum is subjected to the digestion process when taken orally. The human gastrointestinal tract treats the carbohydrates, proteins, and even antibodies present in colostrums just like any other bioactive compounds, which are either absorbed or excreted. With the sole exception of transfer factors, everything else undergoes first pass metabolism in the liver. Transfer factors are so small that they pass through physiological screens and filters.

Natural Antibiotic

It is becoming common knowledge that transfer factors have antibiotic properties. Indeed they are one of the antibiotics that occur naturally in nature. They are produced by the mammary glands for the sole purpose of transferring the immunity of the mother to the newborn child. Newborns are completely sterile, making them especially susceptible several hours after birth. Transfer factors prepare the immune system of newborns against common pathogens the mother has encountered before.

Antiviral Properties

One of the unique characteristics attributed to transfer factors in colostrum is its antiviral properties. Transfer factors were first observed to interfere with the rapid multiplication of rotavirus, which causes diarrhea in infants. More recent studies have looked into its medicinal potential against other viruses, such as human immunodeficiency virus and herpes. The scientific community has not come to a conclusion yet, with most of the antiviral researches on transfer factors being in their initial stages.

Performance Enhancer

Transfer factors have been linked to faster muscle recover. Proponents believe that the group of proteins that constitutes transfer factors is capable of speeding up the healing rate of skeletal muscles after intense physical exertion. They raise the stress tolerance of individual cells amid harmful levels of aerobic metabolism. By so doing, they also make a viable treatment for muscle weakness and physical fatigue following continued exposure to stress without taking adequate time for recovery.

Boost Your Immune System with Colostrum Daily, you are never to young!

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Date: April 27, 2011 03:49 PM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Can a Lactase Enzyme Help with Milk Digestion

Lactase enzyme is the compound necessary for the breakdown of lactose. As such, deficiency in this enzyme results in the impaired capacity to metabolize milk and other dairy products. This is quite common in Asian and African countries, where the majority of their populations do not rely on milk-based animal products. Consumptions of lactase supplements have been reported to aid milk digestion.

Lactose Intolerance

Human beings are believed to have lost the ability to process lactose in adulthood a few thousand years ago. The primary source of lactose of early human populations was breast milk, which is only provided by mothers during the early stages of childhood in general. This practice has continued in Asian and African communities, the reason why these groups are predominantly lactose intolerant.

On the other hand, European communities have considered milk as an important source of food and nutrition since the introduction of the agricultural practices of raising livestock. It is now postulated that the early inhabitants of Europe who relied so much in dairy products underwent a genetic mutation that enables them to continue the biosynthesis of the enzyme lactase into adulthood.

Lactose Maldigestion

Whereas much of the global population is lactose intolerant, people with European ancestry are capable of digesting milk well into their adult years. That being said, people who are not lactose intolerant are not necessarily well equipped for the digestion of dairy products. In fact, many adults suffer from lactose maldigestion, which causes gastrointestinal problems like diarrhea and indigestion as well as allergies and sinus problems such as infections.

Lactose maldigestion has a higher incidence worldwide than lactose intolerance. It is a fact that the genetic expression for the enzyme lactase as produced and released in the digestive tract is down-regulated the human body with age. This may not result in lactose intolerance, but depleting levels of lactase will no longer be able to effectively digest into old age food products that contain lactose.

Lactase Supplements

The absence of the enzyme lactase may result in a variety of digestive problems when milk is taken together with other foods. In some people, even the smallest amounts of lactose upset digestion and produce common symptoms of lactose intolerance such as indigestion, diarrhea and sinus inflammation. If you want to avoid these problems but still love dairy products, you may want to choose hydrolyzed lactose.

Lactase supplements have been documented to produce desirable results. Most nutraceutical companies make use of eukaryotic microorganisms that possess the genes needed to synthesize this enzyme, such as Kluyveromyces fragilis, Kluyveromyces lactis, Aspergillus niger, and Aspergillus oryzae, among others. These supplements are formulated for individuals with lactose intolerance, but also benefit those who are suffering from symptoms tied to lactose maldigestion.

The enzyme lactase works on the principle of breaking down lactose into smaller compounds, galactose and glucose, and supplementation of lactase does exactly that.

(https://vitanetonline.com:443/forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=1&Message_ID=2283)

Date: December 08, 2010 05:30 PM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Best Digestive Supplements

When you need to decide on a digestive enzyme supplement, it's important to know that not all of them are created equally. Some may contain more of one ingredient than the other and some might only contain one of three groups of enzymes. A leading digestive enzyme complex was studied to see what ingredients will provide your digestive system with the best possible support. Following is the ingredients of possibly the best digestive supplement you can get your hands on.

The first ingredient found in this complex is protease. This enzyme breaks down long protein chains at different levels of your stomach's pH level.

Amylase is another enzyme found in this complex. It breaks down large carbs like starches into disaccharides and glucose for your body's energy levels.

Lipase, another ingredient of the best digestive supplement, breaks down the fats you consume into fatty acids and glycerol. Cerecalase, another great ingredient, is a blend of enzymes which breaks down the cell wall bonds of nutrients such as phytate and hemicelluloses.

Glucoamylase breaks down maltose into glucose, malt diastase enhances the breakdown of starch and peptidase hydrolyzes protein molecules into amino acids.

Bromelain

More ingredients include bromelain - extracted from pineapple stems, papain extracted from papaya; another enzyme which helps to digest proteins and a last ingredient, cellulase, which breaks down the cellulose and glucose found in fiber. You might wonder whether these enzymes are being destroyed by your stomach juices, but most of the best digestive supplements' ingredients are processed in such a manner that they can withstand the extreme conditions in your stomach. This myth has been disproven countless of times, so it's not a waste of your money to invest in the best digestive supplements.

When you've taken the best digestive supplements, you can expect to have more energy and have better digestion and bowel movements. It is normal for some people to experience detoxification in the beginning stages of taking these supplements. This might feel uncomfortable but it is a good sign that your body is responding positively to the enzymes. Upping your enzyme intake and drinking a lot of water can help you through the beginning process.

When looking for the best digestive supplement, you should look at the enzyme activity rather than the ingredients. The most important thing is to look out for supplements that are acid stable and able to be active in a broad range of pH levels. Steer clear of any ingredients you might be allergic to, like papain or bromelain. Look for what experts call a broad range digestive supplement. The more enzymes it contains, the wider the range of nutrients it will make your body able to digest. When in doubt, speak to your doctor or pharmacist first. If you have specific digestive problems you should have that looked into before trying such a common remedy.

(https://vitanetonline.com:443/forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=1&Message_ID=2202)

Date: April 19, 2010 10:29 AM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Green Foods Can Boost Improve Wellness

Green foods are phyto-foods that typically contain a high amount of chlorophyll, which is the substance that gives plants their green color. Also, chlorophyll allows the plant to use sunlight to access nutrients from the soil. These plants contain some of the most important nutrients, which includes vitamins, minerals, bioflavonoids, antioxidants, protein, amino acids, enzymes, and fiber. The high content of nutrients found in green foods makes theme extremely valuable for keeping the body in optimum health. Some green foods include algae, cereal grasses, and legumes.

Green foods are not always green in color. There are a variety of colors that can be found in the green foods category. Some greens include spirulina, chlorella, blue-green algae, wheatgrass, barley, alfalfa, broccoli, spinach, parsley, cabbage, rice grass, kale, and celery. Additionally, there are red, yellow, and orange green foods. These include the tomatoe, cranberry, cayenne, red and yellow peppers, orange juice, grapefruit, pineapple, brown rice, papaya, and squash. There is also a blue group of green foods, which includes grape skin extract, black cherry, beet juice, and elderberry. The white group of green foods includes apple pectin, garlic, and onion.

There are four green foods that are especially beneficial to the body. The first of these is baby broccoli. The federal diet recommendation for adults includes at least three cups of dark leafy greens in a week. This includes broccoli, kale, mesclun, and spinach. Broccoli sprouts are great because they contain more vitamins than the adult version. There is no need to take your greens as juice, unless you prefer them that way, as the full vegetable provides the body with much more fiber. Secondly, it is believed that the Chinese may have lower cancer rates because of their consumption of green tea.

Green tea should be consumed when it is freshly brewed, as bottled or instant tea has little key catechins to work as antioxidants. One may need to take green-tea pills or expect to spend a good deal of time brewing and drinking to get the full benefits. Research shows, concentrated green tea pill that are equal to eight to sixteen cups a day is required in order to boost the production of enzyme enough to make carcinogens less toxic. The third is limes, which are plentiful in vitamin C and act as a potent antioxidant. Scientists have shown that vitamin C, and potentially other antioxidants, can indeed inhibit the growth of some tumors. Lastly, it has been found that garlic may be responsible for blocking the formation of potent carcinogens in the liver. Additionally, it acts as a natural antifungal and possesses antibiotic like properties.

Green foods have gradually risen in popularity, as many individuals are becoming more and more concerned about their health. When they think they are not getting enough essential nutrients in their diets, they often turn to green foods. Everyone could benefit from the addition of green foods to their diet. This is especially true for those individuals who are in poor health. Additionally, athletes are in need of extra nutrients. This is because they often put their bodies under stress because of the intense training they go through.

Green food supplementation could help the body grow muscle and bone tissue. Pregnant women, along with those developing fetuses, could definitely use the extra nutrients, especially during development stages. For more information on the many beneficial effects provided by green foods, please feel free to contact a representative from your local health food store.

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Date: September 28, 2009 02:40 PM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Red Yeast Rice New Larger 240 Veg-Capsule Size

Red Yeast Rice 600 mg - 240 Vcaps

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Date: November 22, 2008 09:34 AM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Noni Fruit Extract

Tahitian Noni juice can promote a healthy body in many ways. These Noni benefits are conferred by the phytochemicals contained within the fruit pulp, but before discussing the benefits of Noni let's first have a look at what it actually is.

Morinda citrifolia is also known as the Indian or beach mulberry tree, and is a member of Rubiaceae family. Although it originated in Southeast Asia, it has spread all the way to French Polynesia and the Dominican Republic. It is mainly cultivated in Tahiti for its fruit, known as cheese fruit or Noni fruit.

Although it is a staple food in some areas of the Pacific, it has a pungent smell and a bitter taste, and often eaten either raw or cooked only in times of famine. However, the fruit is particularly rich in phytonutrients, and many people swear by the Noni benefits it to maintain a glowing healthy body, free from disease and many of the health problems from which most people suffer.

The strange thing about it is the taste: you would not drink Tahitian Noni juice by choice, nor eat the fruit, so how were these Noni health benefits discovered? Hunger likely explains it: those forced to eat it through hunger were likely the lucky ones, who actually ate a nutritional diet even though they were eating a fruit normally eaten only in times of famine.

Among the conditions that Noni fruit is believed to protect you from are cardiovascular disease, high cholesterol levels, asthma, cholesterol, strokes, migraines, a weak immune system, arthritis and some cancers. Many of these conditions should give you a clue as to the nature of the phytochemicals contained within the fruit, since most of them involve free radical attack and immune system response.

Prior to examining thee diseases and conditions in detail, let's have a look at the chemicals the fruit has been established to contain. It is rich in dietary fiber, offering 100% of the Dietary Reference Intakes of the Institute of Medicine for each 100g serving, and also contains enough carbohydrate to meet 55% of you DTI needs. However, that is just the start.

The Noni pulp powder contains ten times the DRI of Vitamin C, and large quantities of Vitamin B3 niacin), potassium and iron. The Tahitian Noni juice itself contains few nutrients, and only the Vitamin C is retained to any useful level. It is therefore the pulp powder that offers the major nutritional benefit. In fact, because it has to be pasteurized at high temperature to meet regulations the for liquid product, Noni juice loses most of its nutritional content, and even the 31% Vitamin C content is surprising since that too is destroyed at high temperatures.

It is the high phytochemical content of Noni powder that renders it such an important supplement, and a scan down the following components will give you an idea of how the fruit got its reputation. The known Noni benefits are obtained from:

Lignans: these are phytoestrogens that have been reported to offer a reduced risk of ovarian and breast cancers, osteoporosis and also cardiovascular disease. They possess antioxidant properties and although reports as to their effectiveness are varied, they appear to have beneficial health effects.

Flavanoids: These are phenolics, including asperulodisic acid and rutin. The former is believed to be effective against certain cancers, while rutin, also contained in buckwheat, is a strong antioxidant that strengthens capillaries, and also helps to prevent atherosclerosis and heart disease.

Catechin and epicatechin: strong antioxidants that help prevent heart disease, strokes, diabetes and cancers. It also protects your skin against the harmful effects of the ultra-violet component of the sun's rays. Catechin is a form of flavanoid, and one of the more powerful of the antioxidants needed to destroy the free radicals that would otherwise ravage your body through the destruction of your body cells.

B-Sitosterol: a plant sterol that is believed to reduce the cholesterol in your blood, but still requires scientific proof, even though there is plenty of evidence to support its effect. Plant sterols are the basis of the cholesterol-lowering yoghurt drinks that you can but in your local supermarket.

This list is not exclusive, and there are several other phytochemicals found in Noni pulp powder that are believed to confer significant health benefits, but that are still seeking scientific support. The fact that such support has yet to be provided is not a reason to doubt their effectiveness, although the above benefits are sufficient to justify the reputation of this nutritional supplement that few have heard about.

There have been only around 110 reports on Noni research since the 1950s, so it is not surprising that the scientific proof is weak, although of these around 100 have appeared since the year 2000. Don't forget that there was no proof for the effectiveness of penicillin until it was discovered!

Even the biochemistry of the components of Tahitian Noni juice, such as the polysaccharides not mentioned in the above list, is in the early stages of research, and an increasing number of traditional remedies are being found to have a valid scientific and medical basis. These polysaccharides are a form of dietary fiber with probiotic properties that can be fermented by bacteria in the gut to form short chain fatty acids that possess many beneficial health properties.

Take the heterocyclic iridoids, for example. These are unknown to most people, yet they are found in many plants that have extensive medicinal properties, and might be responsible for many of them. They appear to possess anti-inflammatory, antiviral and antispasmodic properties, and support the cardiovascular system, the immune system and help to maintain a healthy blood sugar level. These are also contained in Noni pulp powder.

Another component of Noni fruit that most people have not heard of is damnacanthal. This inhibits certain tyrosine kinesis that basically have a controlling effect on the division of body cells. They particularly inhibit the Ras genes, responsible for some cancers due to uncontrolled cell division. Damnacanthal can prevent Ras genes from causing these cancers.

There are many more benefits that Tahitian Noni juice, or particularly the powdered Noni pulp, can confer, and it is recommended that it be taken as a supplement by anybody needing a general health tonic since it possesses such a wide variety of beneficial properties. The Noni benefits which those that use it enjoy area available to everyone, even though it is one of the lesser known of the beneficial health supplements.

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Date: October 11, 2008 10:26 AM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Glycine

The non-essential amino acid glycine is needed to generate muscle tissue and also for the conversion of blood glucose into energy. It is referred to as being ‘non-essential’ because the body can manufacture its own glycine, and is therefore not an essential component of your diet. Other uses to which glycine is put by the body includes the maintenance of a healthy nervous system, and is necessary for the proper functioning of the digestive system.

Amino acids play three essential roles in the human body:

1. They are the building blocks of proteins: proteins comprise about half of the dry weight of the majority of your body cells, and without them there would be no life. They are produced using monomers known as amino acids, and there are about 20 different amino acids used to make the vast variety of proteins that make up the human body. Proteins are needed to form enzymes, the catalysts that permit the majority of chemical reactions within our bodies, and also genes, the building blocks of DNA.

2. More relevant here, amino acids play an important role in the production of ATP (adenosine triphosphate) from ADP (adenosine diphosphate) by phosphorylation with creatine phosphate. The more creatine phosphate available, the more ATP can be produced. Since ATP is the molecule responsible for the generation of energy, then the more ATP available the more energy is generated. Although creatine is available from many food sources, it is destroyed by cooking, and over half of what you use is made from the three amino acids, glycine, arginine and methionine. The energy produced in this way is very short-lived, and last only a few seconds - more on that later.

3. Glycine is heavily involved in the production of collagen, which is the substance that maintains the flexibility of your skin and other connective tissues while still maintaining their strength and firmness. Without glycine your skin would become slack due to the degrading effect of sunlight, free radicals and oxidation.

The non essential amino acid, glycine, is believed to offer other benefits to the human body, but it is the second of those above, the production of ATP, which interests us here. ATP is an extremely important nanomolecule, second in importance to the body only to DNA, and possibly also RNA since the two are linked. RNA makes copies of your DNA structure for use in cell division and growth.

When a cell expends energy for whatever reason, such as when I am typing this, or when your heart beats, or even when your liver synthesizes a protein, one of the phosphate groups is removed from the adenosine triphosphate molecule, and converts it to adenosine diphosphate (ADP). The ATP is then said to be 'spent', just as your energy is spent when you are tired and can exercise no more.

The ADP is then immediately reconverted to ATP in the mitochondria, a part of every cell in your body. A cell can contain hundreds, or even thousands, of mitochondria, the number depending upon that particular cell's need for energy. Hence, cells in your muscles, or in your liver where most of the body's chemistry takes place, contain thousands of mitochondria whereas those in your scalp contain a lot less. Once changed to ATP, a phosphate is again lost when energy is expended, and so the cycle continues.

Glucose is needed allow the ADP to be converted to ATP, hence the need for sugars, or the carbohydrates from which they are manufactured in your body. Each cell can contain up to a billion molecules of ATP, although the couch potatoes among you probably have a lot less! Your store of ATP molecules last about 2 to 5 seconds before being changed to ADP although more rapidly for athletes that expend a lot of energy. Then the energy stored in the form of glycogen in the liver kicks in for another 4 - 6 seconds.

Additionally, you cannot expend more energy that the (eventual) sugars that you take in your diet, which can be in the form of ordinary 'sugar' (sucrose), fruit (fructose), glucose, carbohydrates that are metabolized into sugars, or any other member of the sugar family (e.g. lactose, maltose, etc.).

Glycine is one of what are called glucogenic amino acids, which refers to their ability to provide glucose to the blood. Because it helps to maintain proper blood glucose levels, it is often prescribed for conditions that are caused by low glucose levels, such as hypoglycemia that shows symptoms of fatigue and tiredness, and also anemia and what is known as CFS (chronic fatigue syndrome).

The one activity of the human body, in fact that of any mammal, for which ATP is essential, is the heartbeat. Without that no mammal could survive, or any other creature that relies on a circulation system for life. The only reason you heart has to beat is to pump your blood around your body, and it is your blood that contains the oxygen and nutrients needed to sustain life. Your cardiovascular health relies on lots of ATP being available to power each and every heartbeat.

Analysis of the heart during the final stages of heart failure has revealed that there is a general decrease in the myocardial arginine: glycine amidinotraferase (AGAT) gene expression, which is indicative of the necessity of this enzyme for proper heart function. The enzyme is responsible for the first stage in the biosynthesis of creatine from glycine.

Creatine is well known to athletes, and while it is available naturally from some food sources, it can be destroyed during cooking, and at least 50% of the creatine needed by the body is produced in the liver, pancreas and kidneys. It is creatine phosphate that is broken down into creatine and phosphate, the latter of which is used by the mitochondria to regenerate ATP from ADP.

The study carried out on the reduced AGAT levels found in heart failure patients indicates the importance of glycine to heart health. Without a good supply of glycine, there will insufficient creatine produced biochemically to generate the phosphate needed to for the ATP to produce the energy required to keep the heart pumping with the required strength. The energy provided by the mitochondria is used locally by the cells in which it is produced, and within a few seconds of that production. As explained earlier, ATP stores are used up within 2 - 5 seconds, and glycogen stores within another 4 - 6 seconds.

That is why sprinters cannot keep running at maximum speed for more than around 10 seconds or so, because the immediate availability of glycine, and hence creatine, are insufficient to last longer than that. That is one reason why they have to finish those 100 meters as fast as possible, because otherwise they would run out of energy. Other than trying to win, of course!

However, when it comes to the heart, ATP stores are essential, and the cells in your heart require a constant supply of ATP from creatine, which itself depends upon your intake or biosynthesis of glycine. Since dietary sources are insufficient to meet all your needs, and destroyed by cooking, a glycine supplement is the only way to ensure a sufficient intake. You cannot undernourish your heart and remain healthy.

ATP biosynthesis is essential if that of glycine theoretically is not, but the fact that 50% of your glycine requirement has to be produced by your body and the other 50% is sensitive to heat during cooking, a supplement of glycine could be essential to many people.



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Date: September 02, 2008 10:10 AM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Isoflavones

An isoflavone from soy has been evaluated for its effect on various female functions such as the menopause and some effects on estrogens. Soy products have been part of the diet in the Far East for thousands of years, and it is a known fact that these people suffer fewer incidences of conditions such as breast cancer, menopausal problems, rectal cancer and diseases of the heart and joints.

The benefits that such a diet appeared to confer on those taking it initiated many studies into the active constituents of soy, and how the biochemistry involved imparted these benefits. A result of this was an intensification of investigations into many so-called -women's functions' or 'women's problems' that hitherto had been accepted as a part of life. Now, however, they are better understood, just as many other components of the Oriental diet are being found to have wider implications in terms of disease prevention and increasing life expectancy. So back to soy and its isoflavone content.

Soy contains a number of isoflavones, commonly known as phyto-estrogens - plant estrogens - because their chemical formula is similar to that of estrogen, a female hormone. Isoflavones possess some properties that support the beneficial properties of estrogens, and others that suppress some of the risk factors possessed by estrogen. We shall discuss here how these isoflavones are related chemically to estrogens, and how they can be used to support some specific female functions.

In order to understand how isoflavones work we go back to the 1980s, when alpha and beta estrogen receptors were discovered. Until then, the biochemistry of estrogen was not fully understood, and problems connected with estrogen had not been fully investigated.

Like all hormones, estrogen works by finding receptors that are located on cells. With regard to estrogen there are two types of receptor. The beta receptors are connected with the beneficial properties of estrogen, while the alpha receptors tend to lead to the unfavorable effects such as cancers related to estrogen. Each of your different tissue types possesses different ratios of these two receptor types.

The unfavorable alpha receptors predominate in tissues such as the breast, ovaries and uterus. The favorable beta receptors predominate in the blood cells, bladder, prostate gland, thymus and bones. Studies have indicated that isoflavones appear to attack to the beta receptors and simulate the beneficial effect of estrogen when the levels of estrogen in the body are low, and allow the proper functioning of these cells in the body.

The alpha cells are also populated by isoflavones, which then protect these areas of your body against cancers that can be stimulated by estrogen, such as cancers of the breast, ovaries and uterus. It appears that cancers that can develop when the alpha receptors are populated by estrogen do not occur when isoflavones have captured them

Isoflavones are present in the form of glucosides. These are composed of sugar and non-sugar components, the latter known as aglycones, and the main isoflavones in soybean are based on the three aglycones genistein, daizein and glycetein. The glucosides are water soluble and are broken down into enzymes known as B-glucosidases in the intestine. This releases the aglycones that can be further metabolized into other substances.

Current studies are examining the possibility that a diet rich in isoflavones taken early in life up to teenage years can reduce the incidence of breast cancer in later years. Isoflavones have been used in the laboratory to reduce the growth of prostate cancer cells, and animal studies have reinforced this finding. The fact that Japanese men suffer less from prostate cancer than those eating diets low in isoflavones also tend to reinforce this connection.

The same mechanism can be used to in prostate cancer by binding to testosterone receptors. Genistein, in particular, can help treat certain types of cancer by inhibiting enzymes such as tyrosine kinase that can become hyperactive and overstimulate the growth of potentially cancerous cells.

It is probable that the estrogen binding facility of isoflavones complements the activity of estrogen in women with low levels of hormone. When the female estrogen level is low, isoflavones can reduce the effects of the menopause and symptoms such as hot flushes and night sweats become less severe. While not all women benefit, it has been found that women with these symptoms tend to suffer less when taking a diet rich in soy foods containing isoflavones.

In addition to its moderating effect on these cancers, and its effect on the menopausal symptoms on many women, soy isoflavones possess a few other beneficial health properties. They are strong antioxidants, and help to support the immune system by mopping up free radicals. They also help to protect from atherosclerosis by preventing the oxidation of LDL cholesterol and depositing it as plaque in the arteries.

There is evidence that isoflavones in the diet can help to maintain strong healthy bones. This is largely through the fact that Chinese women taking a diet rich in soya suffer fewer fractures than those on a low soy diet, but studies are continuing into potential reasons for this. Estrogen receptors in bones regulate bone growth and density. Isoflavones can modulate these receptors and promote greater bone density just like estrogen hormones with out estrogen side effects.

Isoflavones have few dietary sources, the richest being soybeans and other soy products. These are very low in the non-Asian diet, so few people, other than Asians, receive the benefit of these phytochemicals. This is believed to be the major reason for Asians suffering significantly lower rates of certain cancers than non-Asians.

Soy milk and tofu are the richest sources, although there is no standardization of isoflavones in soy-based foodstuffs. This is because the isoflavone content varies according to growing conditions, although a diet containing the recommended quantities of soy foods, such as soy milk or soy beans, together with a low cholesterol diet, should help women to overcome many of the problems associated with excess estrogen, or a lack of it especially when taking in conjunction with essential fatty acids.

Any supplement containing soy will be beneficial to most women, particularly during the menopausal stages, although the effect of isoflavones on certain cancers to which women are susceptible cannot be ignored. Such supplements should therefore be used by all women from at the teens onwards, studies having indicating that an isoflavone-rich diet should be beneficial over the longer term.

Isoflavones from soy is effective in helping to support female functions, although the normal Western diet is traditionally very short in these forms of phytoestrogen. Isoflavones can modulate estrogen receptor sites through out the body helping the body regulate its functions and easy the symptoms related to a estrogen deficient body.

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Date: August 19, 2008 08:38 PM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Folic Acid

Folic acid is an important vitamin to the developing fetus in that it aids cell development, particularly those cells involved in the development of the baby's spine. A deficiency can result in neural tube defects, in which the neural tube, down through which the central nervous system passes, fails to close properly.

However, let's first discuss the substance itself so that its function in that process can be more easily understood. Neither should we ignore the other benefits that folic acid gives us, or the problems we can have in the event of a deficiency.

Folic acid is a form of Vitamin B9, sometimes referred to as Vitamin M. Its anionic form is known as folate, which is the form in which it is frequently offered in supplements. Incidentally, it gets its name from the Latin for leaf, so is from the same root as foliage. It is water soluble, and like Vitamin C can be leached through the body if not immediately used.

It is available naturally from leafy and green vegetables such as lettuce, broccoli, spinach and peas, but is also available in fortified breakfast cereals, sunflower seeds and some fruits. You would not normally suffer a deficiency, but if you are taking anticonvulsants, have liver problems or undergoing kidney dialysis, then you might need a supplement. Pregnancy, of course, is the important case in which a supplement should be taken, although, surprisingly, many mothers-to-be are unaware of this.

New body cells need folate for their production, particularly when they are dividing and growing rapidly such as during pregnancy and in infancy. The formation of DNA depends on many chemical entities, among them four nitrogenous bases, of which three, thymine and the two purine bases, adenine and guanine, depend on folate for their synthesis. If the growing fetus is lacking folate then DNA synthesis will be hindered. This retards cell division and growth.

Among the conditions this can cause are a form of anemia known as megaloblastic anemia, and neural tube deficiencies, where the sheath that surrounds the main nerve canal up the spine fails to close properly. The best known of such neural tube defects is spina bifida, though any condition caused by a lack of cell division can also occur. Anemia can be contracted by both adults and children, since production of red blood cells takes place constantly throughout your lifetime. These are the reasons why folic acid or folate is used in breakfast cereals.

The biochemistry is fairly simple to understand, and is important because it explains the importance of two other B vitamins, B3 and B12, in DNA synthesis. The initial stages are a six step reaction that forms methyl tetrahydrofolate from folate, starting with the reduction of folate to dihydrofolate, and then a further reduction to the tetrahydrofolate (THF). Vitamin B3 (in the form of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate) is an essential cofactor for these reductions. Vitamin B12 is necessary as an acceptor for the methyl-THF so that it can continue along the biochemical pathway - now that is too complex to discuss here!

However, the inference you can rightly draw from this is that a deficiency of Vitamin B12 can cause what is known as a 'methyl trap', whereby the methy-THF cannot be used, and so a deficiency in Vitamin B12 can lead to the same symptoms as a folic acid or folate deficiency.

The implications of that are that vitamin B12 is also an essential component of a pregnant woman's diet. The problem here is that this vitamin is available only from animal sources, including dairy products. Its presence in vegetable organisms such as certain algae and fungi has been proposed, but it is believed that the cobalamin (chemical term for the vitamin) from these sources is not bioavailable to humans.

Vegans, therefore, who do not eat dairy products, will need a Vitamin B12 supplement in addition to folic acid or folate, particularly when they are pregnant and with young growing children. In this respect, a vegan diet is unsuitable for young children until their rapid growth period has stabilized.

For those of you wondering why the biochemistry above was discussed: that is your answer. Such discussions can frequently explain why certain supplements are necessary, or certain diets should be reconsidered under particular circumstances. Such things are easier to understand and accept when the logic behind them are explained. A folic acid supplement taken from the onset of pregnancy up to 12 weeks at least, and also a Vitamin B12 supplement in the case of those with a low meat intake, should prevent neural tube defects such as spina bifida.

A daily supplement of 0.4 mg should be sufficient, along with a diet rich in green vegetables, fortified cereals and breads and oranges. Your greens are best steamed since prolonged boiling destroys folic acid - as it destroys Vitamin C. One source of folic acid that you might read about is liver, and its additional iron content might lead you to believe this to be a good component of your diet when pregnant. However, although normally a very nutritious food, liver should be avoided during pregnancy due to its high Vitamin A content. This can be harmful to your baby.

Finally, there are some circumstances under which the dose during pregnancy should be greater. If you have previously had a child with a neural tube defect, or have an NTD yourself (or your partner), if you are diabetic, if you have celiac disease (a gluten allergy) or are taking anti-epileptic medication, you should increase your dose to 5 mg (milligrams) for which you will likely need a prescription from your physician.

NTD is rare, so don't over-worry much about it, but take the above precautions to put your mind at rest since pregnancy is not a time during which you should be nervous but to enjoy. That will pass on to your growing baby, which will then itself be happy.

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Date: July 25, 2008 10:57 AM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Calcium D Glucarate

Studies have found that D-glucarate has therapeutic actions; among these are cancer prevention and serum cholesterol reduction. However, its most impressive property could be its ability to quickly detoxify the body of both artificial and natural toxins which can be potentially harmful. These toxins can be neutralized in many ways, with glucuronidation being one those ways. The process of glucuronidation involves using the liver to neutralize chemical carcinogens and steroidal hormones including estrogen. Once a toxin has been glucuronidated in the liver, it goes to the bile and is eventually eliminated from the body in the stool.

Beta-glucuronidase is an enzyme that is produced in the gut by unfriendly bacteria which can actually inhibit this process by chemically splitting a glucuronidated toxin before it is able to be eliminated in the stool. This unbound toxin can come into contact with the bowel lining where it can be reabsorbed and the whole process will be repeated. When a situation like this happens, cells are exposed, once again, to the chemical and the liver can become overworked. Thankfully, if D-glucarate is present, beta-glucuronidase is inhibited, resulting in a flawless glucuronidation in the body.

These findings suggest that taking D-glucarate orally as a supplement can provide us with the increased ability to efficiently and rapidly rid our bodies of toxins through problem-free glucuronidation. Additionally, D-glucarate does not work like an antioxidant, which neutralizes free radicals, but instead actually forms a type of bond with harmful compounds to enhance their rapid removal from the body. Some of the organs that can be especially toxin-sensitive are the breast, prostate, liver, lung, and kidney, therefore, they can greatly benefit from this process. These organs can be most damaged by the continued exposure to poisons and carcinogens.

Because our generation, more than that of any other, is exposure to a great number of potentially harmful environmental pollutants, our contact with carcinogens increased exponentially. Just some of the cancer-causing agents include cigarette smoke, pesticides, radon, hormonally-fattened meats, diagnostic and therapeutic x-rays, gamma radiation, trans-fatty acids, alcohol, poor diets, xeno-estrogen, herbicides, smog, car exhaust, certain prescription drugs, ultra-violet light, rancid foods, saturated / hydrogenated fats, some food/water supplies, and food preservatives. Although a lot of us have taken necessary measures to protect ourselves from exposure to the substances listed, it is inevitable that we will consistently take chemicals that can prompt the growth of cancer into our bodies.

Additionally, our own hormones can be a threat if they are not efficiently metabolized and excreted from our body. One study found that Glucarate supplementation amplifies the process by which carcinogens and hormones are removed from the body, while D-glucarate can exert a positive effect on different stages of the carcinogenic process. It has been found that lower cancer rates in some populations could be attributed to their consumptions of foods that are rich in D-glucaric acid, self-medicated with D-glucarate, or combine D-glucarate supplementation with other chemopreventive agents.

Either way, the protective function of glucarate in the body’s natural cancer prevention mechanisms has been established for long periods of time, while other recent studies have indicated that the use of glucarate could potentially present a fifty percent decrease in tumor incidence.

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Date: April 18, 2008 11:38 AM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Fight Heart Burn

In a search to promote a long and healthy life, a lot of Americans forget about their stomachs, which results in things ranging from simple heartburn to ulcers and even cancer. The effects of alcohol, smoking, and stress added to the rate of infection create the perfect conditions for stomach distress and disease. A combination of four nutrients: zinc, carnosine, licorice extract, and cranberry, work together to protect stomach function from the environment. These nutrients not only relieve distress, but they also support the body’s natural defense mechanisms against inflammation and the changes that can lead to cancer. A fifth nutrient, picrorhiza, protects the mucosa and can now be included as part of a natural gastric health remedy.

The human stomach, with its extreme acidity, provides a primary defense against infection and also helps in the first stages of digestion. A thick coating of protective mucus is steadily secreted by the surface mucous cells in the stomachs lining to continually protect its self from Hydrochloric acid. Almost everyone has experienced some kind of “upset stomach”, which we associate with overindulgence foods and stress. Although these are only thought of as mild annoyances, each episode causes a bit more lasting damage, which eventually results in cellular injury, which in turn causes inflammation. This inflammation then produces free radicals, which go on to create more tissue destruction and eventually damage DNA, thus potentially leading to cancers of the stomach worst case.

Many natural substances have been used around the world for thousands of years to promote stomach health. Modern science is finding that some of these “folk remedies” actually have potent effects on boosting immunity, reducing inflammation, and simply improving physical protection of the stomach lining. Zinc, a micronutrient that has multiple functions in human biology, mainly functions as a defender against free radical damage. It has been found that the more severe the inflammation in people is directly related to lower levels of zinc in individuals.

Zinc also helps to stabilize the membranes of cells that release burst of inflammatory cytokines when they are stimulated by injury or allergy. This mineral is also a well known immune modulator, which can reduce the recurrence rate of certain inflammation-sensitive cancers. There’s no doubt that zinc is a potent anti-inflammatory, and gastroprotective nutrient, but when it is added to amino acid carnosine, these effects can be boosted even further.

Certain fruits, cranberries particularly, are rich in anthocyanins, which have extreme antioxidant abilities. Other compounds that are found in cranberries also prevent bacteria from settling in the urinary tract. A review by nutritional experts found that regular intake of cranberry juice and other dietary products may be an alternative solution for those people who are at risk for H. pylori colonization. It also seems as though cranberries and there extracts can be placed alongside zinc-carnosine as an important component of an effective stomach health regimen.

Licorice extracts have also been shown to help fight stomach infection. Various studies have found that these extracts have potent anti-inflammatory activies, as they reduce cytokine production and increase the protection of the protective stomach mucus. These characteristics, when placed alongside those of zinc-carnosine and cranberry extracts, provide hope that a basis for an alternative therapeutic agent fighting H. pylori can form.

Picrorhiza, which is already used to speed healing in other infections such as hepatitis A, demonstrates unique wound-healing properties, stimulating tissue growth, nerve cell recovery, and blood vessel formation. Even though the multi-armed approach to gastric protection and improved stomach health seems to be complete with zinc-carnosine, cranberry, and licorice extract, picrorhiza extract brings together the infection-fighting, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and tissue-healing capabilities of multiple compounds, which all have complementary actions.

If you’re looking for a alternative approach to boost stomach health, the vitamins and herbs listed above are a great starting point. Please do not discontinued prescription medication from your doctor, some cases of stomach issues must be consulted with your doctor before discontinuing use.

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Date: April 10, 2008 01:36 PM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: The Prevention and Treatment or Prostate Cancer

Last week I shared with you the controversy surrounding the use of PSA screening to determine the status of the prostate. There are many doctors who do not believe that using PSA is accurate enough to rely on for determining whether or not a high PSA indicates prostate cancer. Many men, who have a high PSA, after more detailed examination, did not have cancer and men with a low PSA did have cancer. Some physicians do not believe that the current methods of diagnosing prostate disorders are saving lives. Also, there is a group of physicians nationwide that strongly believe the best treatment is no treatment but rather a “watch and wait” approach. Prostate cancer usually is slow growing and more than 70% of men who develop it are over 65.

The older a man is, the more likely he is to die of some other condition before his prostate cancer becomes a real threat. To reiterate, the American Cancer Society states, “at this time watchful waiting is a reasonable option for some men with slow growing cancers because it is not known whether active treatment such as surgery, radiation therapy or hormone therapy prolongs survival”. So what action can be taken? While prostate enlargement (BPH) is not related to prostate cancer, it can elevate PSA scores and can cause symptoms in 50% of men by age 80 and nearly all will show signs of BPH by age 85.

If you have early symptoms of BPH such as frequency of urination, a burning feeling after urination and the caliber of stream that isn’t what it used to be, getting up several times through the night and low back pain, taking a good prostate support formula will be your best treatment and prevention. Most men will notice a remarkable improvement within a few weeks. A good prostate support formula will provide relief for 80-90% of all men from these annoying symptoms.

But what about prostate cancer?

The best cure for prostate cancer is prevention. I’ll give you a complete supplement program for prevention but first what about PSA testing? “I don’t believe in screening for something when it’s too late. By the time cancer develops a positive mammography or a true high PSA are likely too late, or if fortunate, that particular cancer will not be a problem. It makes far more sense to prevent the problem in the first place. And there is clear data, prevention is possible”. Dr. Robert J. Rowen, MD, Second Opinion, Soundview Communications. My recommendation, based on research of several scientific studies, includes various nutritional supplements and herbal extracts.

Following are several very important studies that all men should be aware of. In 1966 Dr. Larry Clark of the University of Arizona published startling data suggesting that prostate cancer could be reduced by as much as an amazing 60% by supplemental yeast derived selenium, 200 mcg per day. Selenium is a powerful antioxidant and participates in key and crucial detoxification and free radical scavenging enzymes (80-90% of all disease is caused by free radical damage and inflammation).

Selenium is one of a number of antioxidants to prevent this free radical damage; In 1999 a New Zealand study published in the British Journal of Cancer documented a 40% lower incident of prostate cancer in men with the highest levels of omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA in their blood. These findings have been confirmed in other omega-3 fatty acid studies. Conversely, another published report documents a high level of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids in invasive prostate tissue samples. Taken together with recent reports on high levels of omega-6 fatty acids (soy, sunflower, safflower, peanut, corn and most vegetable oils) linked to breast cancer, a common thread emerges. The American diet is overwhelmed with omega-6 oils.

Excessive use of omega-6 fatty acids are cancer causing and also cause inflammation. Trans fatty acids from hydrogenated oils seriously add to the problem. There are other nutrients that have shown to reduce prostate-cancer risk. Vitamin E and lycopene have also shown to prevent prostate cancer. Lycopene is commonly found in tomatoes, especially cooked tomatoes. If you like spaghetti sauce or salsa, this is a great way to fight prostate cancer. While vitamin E, selenium, lycopene and omega-3 fatty acids are all great prostate supporting nutrients, through research I found a much more powerful combination of food grade molecules that can prevent and treat cancer.

Extensive research in the last few years has revealed that regular consumption of certain fruits and vegetables can reduce the risk of prostate cancer. Fruits and vegetables having the highest degree of prostate cancer protection are the following: grapes (resveratrol), garlic, tomatoes, hot peppers, turmeric (curcumin), ginger, berries, milk thistle, cloves and fennel. These foods are protective because they are extremely active and excellent antioxidants. My favorite is turmeric (curcumin) because not only is it an antioxidant, it is also an anti-inflammatory agent. When it has this dual effect it is many times more potent than other types of food. In the United States there is 30 times more prostate cancers diagnosed than there are in India where turmeric is consumed liberally in most of the Indian dishes. Cancer does not begin shortly before it’s diagnosed.

The origin of cancer may be years or decades in the process before it is even diagnosed as such. It is a multi-step process that goes through various phases such as cellular damage and transformation and culminates in the acquisition of invasive potential angiogenic properties and establishment of metastatic lesions. This process, and probably rightly so for all cancers, can be activated by any one of the various environmental carcinogens (cancer causing); all forms of tobacco products, industrial emissions, gasoline vapors, inflammatory agents, food coloring and preservatives, excessive UV rays, alcohol, hair dyes, cleaning products and drugs.

The multi-step process of these cancer causing compounds progress in three stages; tumor initiation, promotion and progression phases. A powerful antioxidant/anti-inflammatory can prevent most if not all of the damaging effects when taken on a daily basis. Several population based studies indicate that people in Southeast Asian countries have a much lower risk of acquiring colon, gastrointestinal, prostate, breast and other cancers when compared to their western counterparts. It is very likely that constituents of their diet such as garlic, ginger, turmeric, onion, tomatoes, cruciferous vegetables, chili’s and green tea play an important role in their ability to avoid these cancers.

These foods, or key active extracts from these foods, are known to block the NF-kB activation process. Also, several phytochemicals such as curcumin, resveratrol and green tea catechins have been shown to suppress AP-1. Several chemopreventative phytochemicals including curcumin, resveratrol and green tea have been recently shown to be powerful inhibitors of several growth factor receptors including EGFR. Curcumin also possesses the capacity to inhibit the activation of the EGF-Receptor indicating that it has the potential to break the autocrine loops that are established in several advanced cancers.

Studies also suggest that curcumin, resveratrol and green tea can actually be used as safe, non-toxic treatments in drug resistant cancers. These natural phytochemicals (food grade) can help fight certain cancers thereby requiring a smaller dose of drug chemotherapy. They also can protect the body from the damages of drug chemotherapy and radiation. “This mini review presents evidence that chemopreventative agents, curcumin, green tea and resveratrol, can be used not just to prevent cancer but also to treat cancer. Because of their pharmacological safety, most chemopreventative agents can be used in combination with drug chemotherapeutic agents to enhance the affect at lower doses and thus minimize chemotherapy- induced toxicity. Because cancer is primarily a disease of old age, less toxic therapy is a major priority. This review reveals that molecular targets of chemopreventative agents are similar to those currently being used for the treatment of cancer. Tumor cells use multiple cell survival pathways to prevail and thus agents that can suppress multiple pathways have great potential for the treatment of cancer”1,2. Curcumin, resveratrol and green tea were as effective in preventing and treating certain cancers based on lab and animal studies. There have been approximately 20 human positive studies but much more needs to be done.

From the research that I have done, I am convinced sufficiently enough to take many of these compounds as a preventative of cancer. These compounds are completely safe and non-toxic even in high doses. What does one have to lose? Why not take the positive preventative measure? –Compliments of Terry Naturally

Ref: 1. Role of chemopreventaive agents in cancer therapy. Comprehensive Cancer Center Our Lady of Mercy Medical Center, New York Medical College, Bronx New York

2. Cytokine Research Section, Department of Bioimmuno Therapy, University of Texas, M.D Anderson Cancer Center, Houston Texas

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Date: January 10, 2008 08:24 AM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Your Mouth Has A Lot To Say About Your Health

For those of you have read every magazine article on improving your health and sex life, tried every trick suggested to you, and still have not found the solution, you may be missing one fact that most people don’t even consider towards improving their love life with better health. A woman’s sexuality has to do with a great variety of factors including both physical and emotional issues. Physical influences include hormonal imbalances, which play a major role. Most women experience the rage of this imbalance during pre and post menopause, as well as our menstruation cycle, commonly known as PMS. But most people have not considered one other important physical factor that is affecting their sexual mood, which is gum disease. Although this connection is rarely talked about and may seem odd at first, it becomes obvious how it all works when you learn the science behind it.

Throughout the different stages of our lives, our hormones fluctuate greatly. From puberty to pregnancy and menopause, many of our tissues are affected, which includes our gums. The gums can swell up, bleed easily, and even change color during times of related hormone events. Gum disease may be prevented with Coenzyme Q10 supplementation. Once the hormone balances, the hormones often do not go back to their healthy state automatically. If you practice good oral hygiene, your gums will go back to normal, but if not, it will stay the same or get worse with out proper nutrition and Coenzyme Q10.

Most people never realize that the slight bleeding of their gums during pregnancy or pre-menopause has anything to do with their hormones and nutritional deficiencies. Slight bleeding, red gums, and swelling are all signs of the inflammation that is associated with gum disease. Most people do not pay attention to the signs of inflammation when it occurs in the mouth, as gum disease affects 23 percent of women ages 30-54 and 44 percent of women ages 55-90. Proper nutrition may help reduce the number of individuals affected by gum disease.

Even the beginning stages of gum disease, which are known as gingivitis, can greatly impact your mood and health. If it is not treated, gingivitis will advance into chronic inflammation, leaving devastating results on your health. When your gums are not healthy, a great amount of events involving chemicals takes place both locally and systematically. These chemical changes trigger your immune system to respond, leaving inflammation on the gum tissue. During inflammation, immune cells release substances called inflammatory cytokines, which boost immunity but also induce dark moods in some people. If these cytokines stay too high for too long, they can even potentially trigger depression. Chronic inflammation leaves your body feeling tired and burned out. Unfortunately, a lot of people who have gum disease do not even know they have it. Except for the sign of slight bleeding when flossing or brushing, an unsuspecting person may not be aware there is tissue breakdown until it’s too late.

The solution to the situation is really simple. Taking 100 to 400 milligrams of Coenzyme Q10 to boost the immune system and help the body reduce its production of cytokines as well as boost energy. Coenzyme Q10 can improve periodontal health so be sure to consider the health of your mouth as an important part of your overall health. When you feel healthy, your sex drive is also healthy. If you’re feeling run down and have no interest in sex, make a visit to your dentist and have your gums checked. There is no excuse to not get regular dental check-ups and visit your local health food store to practice good oral hygiene and boost over all health.

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Date: December 21, 2007 10:41 AM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: How to Manage Migraines Naturally: Magnesium - Feverfew - Butterbur - Ginger

Before you can understand how to manage migraines naturally, it is necessary to understand exactly what they are and how certain treatments could work. It is not generally known that the word ‘migraine’ means ‘half the head’ because it frequently hurts only on the right or the left of the head of sufferer. Some people with migraines do feel pain on both sides at once, although this is not generally the case.

A migraine occurs in stages which are activated by fluctuations in the hormone content of the blood. The ‘aura’, when you see spots and flashing lights in front of your eyes, is the first stage of a migraine attack, and during this time the blood vessels in your neck and head are contracting. You could also find it difficult to concentrate and your fingers could feel cold. At this point they do not have the headache that starts when the blood vessels begin to dilate.

Rather than the contracted blood vessels slowly returning to normal, your hormones have an excessively strong reaction, and cause them to dilate rapidly and become much wider than they should be leading to a severe headache due to pressure on the nerves. Different hormones can be involves with each attack, and the range of effective natural treatments reflect this fact. During this period, your brain could swell slightly, your muscles can tense up and other things can happen to the chemical and hormonal balance of your body. That is why some herbal treatments work for some but not for others, and different people find different treatments effective for them. What works for you might not work for somebody else if their migraine has a different cause. Basically, though, migraines occur in two phases, one being associated with an excess of hormones and the other with a shortage.

It is not easy to live with a migraine since it can be completely debilitating. Some just have a severe headache, while others are affected for days at a time. The headache can become before and after the onset of the shimmering lights and other optical effects that are generated by the brain. It would certainly be useful if those prone to migraines had one or more of the possible natural remedies to hand since there is rarely time to seek to seek professional medical help once the migraine begins, and through the use of natural remedies a potentially bad attack could be nipped in the bud, and at least its effect on you reduced.

MAGNESIUM

Magnesium is common in green leafy vegetables such as spinach and cabbage, whole grains, nuts and seeds. It is an essential mineral for human biochemistry, and is also needed with calcium for healthy bone development and maintenance.

Magnesium is a muscle relaxant, and relaxes the muscles of the blood vessels helping them to relax their dilatancy that cause the migraine pain. It is also useful to help the immune function, reduces blood pressure (by the same blood vessel relaxing mechanism) and also the rhythm of your heart. Magnesium therefore provides you with many health benefits, and though the western diet is not generally deficient in magnesium, some areas can be and a magnesium-containing supplement will not do you harm.

However, particularly high dose of magnesium can lead to nausea, diarrhea, low blood pressure and many other unpleasant side effects, so do not take more than the RDA (recommended daily allowance) in your supplement. Many studies have confirmed its effectiveness in reducing the symptoms of migraine, but not all studies have been successful. However, the condition is so debilitating to so many people, that it should be tried although not in excess. Make sure, however, that your doctor is informed since it could interfere with other medication you are taking for your migraine.

Riboflavin, vitamin B-2, is also believed to useful in reducing the duration and frequency of migraine attacks, working in much the same way as magnesium. It is known that there are many cases of people who suffer from vitamin B-2 deficiency also suffering from migraines, and a riboflavin supplement is also worth trying if you are a consistent victim of this condition.

FEVERFEW

Feverfew is the best known of the herbal remedies for migraine, and has been used for centuries in the treatment of fevers, headache, migraine and other painful conditions such as arthritis. The active ingredient is parthenolide, an anti-inflammatory that is also an anti-hyperalgesic, and that would explain its effect on reducing the pain. It also blocks lipolysaccharide-induced osteolysis by suppressing the activity of a eukaryotic transcription factor protein known as NF-kappaB that can cause a number of immune response problems, including inflammatory conditions such as arthritis, hence its use to relieve that condition.

Its effect on migraines could be explained by this activity in repressing the inflammatory response to certain stimuli that could be brought about by hormonal activity. Because it must be taken for a few weeks before the actual problem arises in order to be effective against it, feverfew is not effective to treat an existing attack, but to prevent future attacks. Double blind studies have proved its effectiveness in many tests, but not in all. However, if you take feverfew as a regular supplement in you diet, you might never have to try magnesium or vitamin B-2 supplements.

Some people swear by the leaves of feverfew, eating one per day which is easy way to take it. It is important, however, that you do so regularly, since it can take for up to 6 – 8 weeks for you to notice a reduction in your attacks. Don’t give up after 5 or 6 weeks, but continue, since the results will be well worth it. If you stop for a week or two you will have to start all over again. You might get a sore mouth and perhaps mouth ulcers to start with, but these will eventually go once your body is used to it.

You are probably best not to take if you are pregnant since it could cause you to abort. Otherwise, however, it has been shown to be effective in many severe cases. Feverfew is bitter, and can be used as a tea with other herbs, such as rosemary, lavender and sage. If you are taking warfarin, aspirin or other blood-thinning drugs, see your doctor first, and the same is true of NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs). If you are taking these for arthritis, the feverfew itself might be more effective!

If you are taking feverfew as a supplement using commercially available dried leaf then the recommended dosage is around 125mg of the dried leaf. It should contain at least 0.2% of parthenolide (0.25mg/daily), although other studies have indicated that a total of 0.7 mg parthenolide a day should be taken (100mg at 0.7%). Parthenolide is unstable so don’t take it after its sell by or best by date.

BUTTERBUR

Butterbur is also useful in the treatment of migraines. The active ingredient here is petasin, a sesquiterpene ester that also has anti-inflammatory properties, all though it works in a different manner to feverfew. Here, it inhibits the activities of leukotriene generation in neutrophils and eosinophils, which indicates that it also possesses anti-allergenic properties that could help asthmatics that also suffer from migraines. It does not prevent the release of histamine, but does appear to reduce smooth muscle spasm.

You should never take the raw herb, only the extract, because it contains alkaloids that can harm you. The butterbur extract, however, is a perfectly safe supplement and found effective by many people in the treatment of migraine.

GINGER

If your migraine is at the front of the head, then you should try ginger. Unlike feverfew, ginger works on a migraine as it is occurring, and improvement can be achieved for a bad migraine within half an hour. In fact if, like many people, you can feel a migraine coming on, half a teaspoon of freshly ground ginger can stop the pain before it starts.

Many herbal treatments for migraine include a combination of some of the above remedies, and many people swear by them. However, migraine treatment is very personal, and you should use what works best for you. If you are also taking other medical treatments however, please make sure that you refer to your physician before using any others, and that includes herbal remedies or supplements.

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Date: December 02, 2007 05:55 PM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: An Ancient Herb And Its Application In Prostate Health

According to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), prostate cancer is the second most common form of cancer as well as the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths among American men. A prostate specific antigen (PSA) test has been shown to detect prostate cancer in its earliest stages. Even though cancer screenings are very important they are just one health concern when it comes to the prostate. As men get older, the prostate may become a source for many other problems that can, but not necessarily always, include cancer. Since the symptoms of some prostate conditions often mimic cancer, many men who learn they have a problem often immediately assume the worst. Therefore, it is important to understand the prostate and how potential changes might affect your health. Additionally, it is good to know what natural supplements you can take to ensure your prostate ages healthfully.

The prostate is a walnut-shaped gland found only in men just below the bladder and around the urethra, which functions as part of the male reproductive system. Throughout life the prostate continues to grow larger, but only after it becomes too large do problems begin to occur. The most common problem for men under fifty is prostatitis (inflamed prostate). This can cause a burning feeling during urination as well as frequent urination. It may be a sign that your body is fighting an infection, which can usually be treated with the use of an antibiotic. Nonbacterial prostatitis, on the other hand, does not respond to antibiotics and requires other forms of treatment. Men over fifty suffer most frequently from prostate enlargement or benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Although older men are more at risk for prostate cancer, BPH is much more common. This issue occurs when the prostate becomes so enlarged that it squeezes the urethra, causing problems in urination, urinary tract infections, and in worse case scenarios kidney damage. However, prostate cancer will affect one out of ever six men over the course of their lifetimes, making it the most serious prostate problem, causing 27,00 deaths this year alone.

Prostate problems such as BPH are usually treated with prescription drugs, which often lead to unpleasant side effects such as mild dizziness, sleep problems, decreased sex drive, runny or stuffy nose, sore throat, and fainting. For those people who don’t want to experience these side effects, there is a natural safe alternative available: saw palmetto. Saw palmetto is the best known of prostate-supportive herbs coming from palm tree berries. However, it does not work for all men or those with extreme cases of BPH. The prostate gland also needs zinc, which is hard to find in a typical diet. By adding zinc supplements to your daily regimen, you can easily stabilize hormones and possibly prevent prostate problems.

A great natural solution that comes risk-free and can help with a large range of prostate health issues is epilobium, which contains properties that have supported prostate health for centuries. Epilobium is a small willow herb used in traditional medicine for the treatment of prostate disorders and valued for its antibacterial, anti-inflammatory antimicrobial and antioxidant properties. Because traditional use and modern research have proven that epilobium may help with BPH and prostatitis and has shown promising results for inhibiting cancer cell growth, it’s a great choice for prostate health.

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Date: November 21, 2007 10:31 AM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Support A Healthy Digestive System With Discount Vitamins

Discount vitamins can help to support a healthy digestive system, but to explain how they do you first need to know how the system of pipes, tubes and chemical plants that make up the digestive system basically works.

The digestive system is a system of tubes through which your food is passed during the various stages of digestion, and also organs that produce the chemicals needed to break down your food into the nutrients needed by the body. The digestive system begins with the mouth, where the teeth cut and grind the food, and mix it with saliva containing the enzyme amylase that begins the digestive process by converting starch into maltose and dextrin, which are later converted to glucose. Amylase cannot work in the acidity of the stomach, which is why you should chew starchy foods such as bread and potatoes before it is swallowed and passed down the esophagus to the stomach.

The stomach is a natural food processor, containing concentrated hydrochloric acid that breaks the food down into smaller molecules. Once the food has been mixed and processed it passes into the small intestine where the real digestion begins. The liver and pancreas manufacture digestive juices and pass them into the intestine as the food is expelled from the stomach. These juices are mixed with the food, break it downs chemically into nutrients which are then absorbed through the walls of the intestine. The waste is passed into the colon, from which they are later expelled.

While in the stomach, its glands produce not only the stomach acid but also enzymes that break up proteins into smaller compounds including amino acids. The liver produces a number of digestive juices, including bile that dissolves fats and renders them water soluble to be digested by enzymes from the pancreas. The liver also produces enzymes that further breaks down the food in smaller molecules.

The whole process is controlled by the digestive hormones that are generated by the stomach and small intestine, namely secretin, gastrin and CCK (cholecystokinin). These control the release of the various digestive juices and chemicals into the digestive system, and once the food has been broken down the nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream and transported to the cells of the body where they are needed.

So, starting again from the top, how do discount vitamins and minerals help to support a healthy digestive system? First, we start with the teeth. It is essential for the proper use of food that it is shredded and ground properly before being passed to the body, and that the starches are broken down by the saliva enzyme amylase. The structure of your teeth is dependant on vitamin C and D, and the minerals calcium, phosphorus and magnesium. A deficiency in any of these would result in poor weak teeth, and your food would not be prepared properly for your stomach.

Vitamin B1 keeps your nerves in good working order, without which your appetite could not be regulated. Vitamin B3, or niacin, keeps the digestive tract in a healthy state and functioning properly. Vitamin B9, or folate (folic acid) carries out a similar task, and the B complex vitamins in general, then, keep the digestion process working smoothly and the peristaltic motion that moves the food along, also in good working order.

Manganese and chromium are essential minerals to the digestive system, without which enzyme activity would be limited and without chromium your appetite could not be controlled. Apart from that there is a lot that can go wrong with the digestive system and a good vitamin B complex or Vitamin B1 and B3 supplement, will help to maintain the proper functioning of the system. These vitamins will encourage proper control of the intestinal muscle function, and vitamins C and E will help deal with any inflammation in the bowel, or undue immune system activity. Acidophilus will also help to maintain a good population of healthy bacteria that are essential components of your digestive system. A probiotic supplement taken as instructed should achieve this.

A little considered function of the digestive system, perhaps because it actually takes place in the liver rather than the alimentary canal itself, is the disposal from the body of toxin absorbed by the small intestine. This is the chemical transformation of certain molecules into a form whereby they can be rendered water soluble and expelled in the urine. Substances such as drugs, alcohol, paint fumes and so on are formed into other chemicals that might be even more toxic than the originals for a short time, and since oxidation is used in many of these reactions, free radicals might be formed that can harm the body.

This danger, which is indirectly caused by the digestion of these substances, can be relieved by maintaining a sufficient intake of antioxidants in the form of Vitamins A, C and E to neutralize them. Some liver disease is caused in this way by insufficient vitamin nutrition, and a good discount vitamin supplement can help to prevent it by destroying the free radicals as they are formed.

This detoxification process then proceeds to a phase where the biochemically converted molecules are rendered into the water soluble form so that they can dissolve in the blood and be extracted by the kidneys into the urine. For this, a good supply of the tripeptide glutathione, glycuronic acid and some amino acids is needed. A supplement of these should also help the detoxification process.

Other supplements that can help the digestive system are natural enzymes. These work whether taken on an empty stomach or with food. On an empty stomach, at least two hours after a meal, they will immediately go to work in your blood and improve its condition. Taken with a meal they will help digestion the fats and reduce food waste by improving absorption.

There are many ways in which you can help to maintain a healthy digestive system by the use of discount vitamins, although any problem with your digestive system should be referred to your physician since there are many serious conditions that need expert medical treatment. Vitamins, enzymes, probiotics and other supplements, however, can help to prevent many of these from occurring.

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Date: July 07, 2007 01:30 PM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Active Coenzyme Q10

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Date: May 31, 2007 02:09 PM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Papaya- May Be A Fountain of Youth

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Date: April 21, 2007 01:58 PM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: About George’s and Warren Laboratories

George Warren, and independent research chemist in Houston Texas, developed the special processing method that prevents the spoilage with out diminishing the essential properties of the Aloe Vera Plant. This new method completely eliminates the aloins, which gives a bitter taste (and the greenish color) to Aloe Vera juice. He also successfully removed the starches and sugars from the polysaccharide molecular chain and thus George’s “Always Active” Aloe requires no refrigeration, will not spoil in its natural state. This method adds no water, no preservatives, no chemicals of any kind. The finished product looks and tastes like spring water.

In 1965 George Warren began analytical chemical separation studies that led to the development of a procedure for separating aloe vera juice into 34 component parts. At the time plants in a commercial aloe vera field were numbered. Eight leaves from each plant were harvested. Bagged and labeled. The leaves were then chemically analyzed under laboratory conditions. The results of this testing concluded that six distinct groups were found, and for field testing, were designated as aloe plants A, B, C, X, Y, and Z. this procedure was used to analyze over 2,000 aloe vera plants and it was determined that the aloe vera field contained six different types of aloe vera plants. The chemical make-up of each plant fell into one of six aloe plant groups designated. Aloe-X exerted a very pronounced and measurable effect upon the digestive system. The ability of the digestive system to convert food to energy was greatly improved, but only when Aloe-X juice was consumed daily. The other aloe groups (A, B, C, Y, and Z) did not exert this effect. The improved digestion typified only by group X seemed to occur regardless of the type of digestive system. Listed below are Warren’s findings by daily consumption of Aloe-X.

During these animal feed experiments it was noted that in the control group the digestive system was often swollen and the animal’s hide and carcass did not appear to be healthy. In the Aloe-X test group this was very noticeably not the case. In fact, the digestive system, meat, hide and hair all seemed very healthy.

During the seven years of working with the farm animals the Aloe-X plants originally harvested were growing and multiplying. The chemical analysis of each plant-X offspring revealed that they indeed were only Aloe-X plants.

Up to this point, investigators found that aloe vera did not seem to always work. They were hindered by trying to correlate chemical structure to clinical performance. The primary and reasonable deduction for aloe vera not performing consistently was the fact that only Aloe-X had the ability to cleanse the membranes in the digestive system. If Aloe-X was not present in sufficient concentrations then the aloe vera juice did not seem “active” and did not perform.

Also noted was the phenomenal ability of the plant to quickly reduce swelling and bruised, swollen tissue. Thus, it is further hypothesized that Aloe-X exerts a pronounced effect on the digestive system, rejuvenation the tissue system. By making the digestive system work properly the body appeared to be capable of repairing itself and reverting back to a healthy state. Consequently, it is the firm and un-contradicted belief of Warren that allergies, asthma, emphysema, migraine headaches, and digestive problems are improved by Aloe-X through the membranes in the digestive system.

In the early stages of experimentally using Aloe-X, it was noted that other chemical compounds were present which should not be consumed on a regular basis. In fact, the work of the University of California Professor Bruce Ames clearly points out that all plants have their own toxin defense system against predators. Therefore, not all chemical compounds of plants are good for your health. With this thought in mind, standard conventional pharmaceutical chemical engineering principles were used to remove many undesirable components. Aloe vera by nature spoils easily requiring preservatives to be added to most commercial brands to extend the shelf life of the product. This short shelf life has consistently been a problem for the exploitation of the many benefits of this remarkable plant. Thus, in Warren’s products, starches and sugars of the mucopolysaccharide molecular chain have been removed. These starches and sugars act as an energy source for undesirable micro-organisms. Several other components which earlier testing revealed to be undesirable have also been removed. These substances are removed by a proprietary purification and filtering method. Consequently, preservatives are not required. The micro0organisms picked up in the processing and handling are removed immediately prior to packaging. Testing performed by Warren supports its finding that the purification system does not destroy the active components in the company’s aloe products. Such tests, as well as the votes of confidence (indicated by the thousands of humans and confirmed by testing on chickens, pigs, birds, cows, horses, fish, dogs and cats) confirm that findings. Warren has been successful in developing and proving a unique fractional distillation process that allows for capturing the therapeutic benefits of Aloe Vera.

(https://vitanetonline.com:443/forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=1&Message_ID=1526)

Date: March 28, 2007 12:39 PM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: CoQ10 for Heart Health

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Buy Quality Discount CoQ10 at Vitanet ®

(https://vitanetonline.com:443/forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=1&Message_ID=1501)

Date: March 08, 2007 12:27 PM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Revita

Revita, the most efficient hair growth stimulating shampoo available in the market is the final result of DS Laboratories efforts on cutting edge research. Revita is a powerful and unique SLS/SLES free combination of active ingredients specially designed to maintain scalp vitality and act on folicle dysfunctions in order to achieve best results in short periods of time. Sodium Lauryl Sulfate and Sodium Laureth Sulfate, commonly used low cost detergents in shampoos and cleansers, are linked to skin irritation, skin drying and hair loss due to follicle attack. Revita is Sodium Lauryl Sulfate and Sodium Laureth Sulfate free, providing a high quality scalp skin safe shampoo product.

Revita was developed with a cost-no-object approach. Revita’s compounds have been chosen based exclusively on their properties, quality and efficacy (in the opposite of the majority of available products, which are usually developed with production costs in mind). The final result is a very high quality shampoo product with absolutely no equivalent competitor in the market. Revita combines costly first line compounds at high concentrations like Caffeine at 4.0%, Pyrus Malus (Apple) Seed Extract at 1.0% and Spin Traps (SOD Mimic) at 0.1% with other top level ingredients which make Revita a unique product in its class.

To improve the efficacy of this synergic combination, DS Laboratories developed a unique “chemical free” extraction process that keeps original properties and clinical efficacy of final components. Through gentle mechanical compression, Revita’s compounds are obtained as pure and chemically preserved active molecules.

Revita starts acting on your scalp and hair follicle since the first day of use. The time you will need to note the first results will depend of the severity and duration of your hair loss. No matter how long or how intense your hair loss is, using Revita on daily basis will improve the vitality of your scalp, maintaining the quality of your hair and stimulating new hair growth.

Through the synergic interaction of very effective compounds, Revita brings you a highly effective product designed to maintain scalp vitality and act on hair loss. By combining an antioxidant effect, anti-DHT properties, powerful hydrating molecules, hair growth stimulants and structural amino acids, Revita brings you the most effective hair growth stimulating shampoo available.

Apple Polyphenol (procyanidin B2 and C1) - phytochemical concentrate found in the skin of unripe apples that acts as potent antioxidant. It protects cells against free radicals, reactive atoms that contribute to tissue damage in the body. These chemical compounds are being studied extensively in labs around the world for their health effects in major diseases including treatment of hair growth. Studies showed that after sequential use, an increase of almost 80% of hair diameter and an increase in number of total hairs was shown, with no side effects.

In 2000, Japanese researchers presented their findings to the international community on the hair growth effects of apple polyphenols - specifically one known as procyanidin B-2. They identified two successful compounds- one from chardonnay grapes, and one extracted from unripe apples. The procyanidin B-2 fraction clearly outperformed the grape extract. "Procyanidin B-2 purified from apples," stated the research team, "shows the highest activity of more than 300% relative to controls."

In the same year, in a double-blind placebo-controlled trial, nineteen men with male pattern baldness were studied with a daily topical application of a 1% procyanidin B-2 solution, extracted from apples. Ten other balding men served as controls, receiving a placebo solution. After 6 months, the study concluded:

• The increase in number of total hairs and terminal hairs in the procyanidin B-2 group subjects was significantly greater than controls.

• 78.9% of subjects showed an increased mean value of hair diameter.

• "Procyanidin B-2 therapy shows promise as a cure for male pattern baldness."

Following the revelations, an attempt was made to further understand the mechanism by which the remarkable hair growth effects occurred. The results were published in the prestigious British Journal of Dermatology: Procyanidin B-2, extracted from apples, promotes hair growth: a laboratory study, Br J Dermatol. 2002 Jan;146(1):41-51. In this study, the researchers concluded that procyanidin B-2 acts to diminish protein kinase C isozymes, which play an important role in the hair growth cycle. Procyanidin B-2 seems to promote hair growth by down regulating PKC in both the anagen (active growth phase) and telogen (resting phase) of the hair follicle. When the anagen phase is prolonged, and the telogen phase is shortened, increased hair growth results.

Two more clinical trials and a total of seven published studies have now confirmed the surprising hair growth-promoting effects of apple procyanidins. Here is a summary of those findings:

• Total Number of Hairs: Significantly Increased

• Total Number of Terminal Hairs: Significantly Greater

• Increase in Hair Diameter: 78.9% Positive • Ratio of Thicker (terminal) Hairs: Significantly Higher

• Hair Follicle Activation: Intensive

In the most exciting development yet, Japanese researchers released a new study late in 2005. Once again, procyanidin therapy was proven successful in regrowing hair in subjects with male pattern baldness. The new study, published in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, confirmed the findings of earlier studies, showing clear improvement in the number of hairs and the density of hairs in the treated area. Building on the success of earlier trials, the study was extended to 12 months in the procyanidin group, and proved that longer term procyanidin therapy was even more successful than prior 4 and 6 month trials.

Cooper Peptides - Cooper Peptides have two main properties: (1) potent tissue protective anti-inflammatory agents that limit oxidative damage after tissue injury, and (2) tissue remodeling activation agents, that is, the processes for removal of damaged protein and scar tissue and their replacement by normal tissue. Studies at numerous universities and research institutes have found copper-peptides to improve hair transplant success, increase hair follicle size, stimulate hair growth and reduce hair loss.

Research scientists at the University of San Francisco Wound Center stumbled upon very interesting results. Their discovery was made while applying a synthetically formulated compound, Copper Peptide, to severe wound areas on several patients. During this process something unusual happened. Not only did the wounds heal about 30 percent faster, but a significant stimulation of the follicular cells occurred. As a side effect, these tripeptide complexes actually grew hair around the wound area.

The discovery was so startling that they then applied the same Copper Peptide complex to a female patient who had suffered roughly 90 percent alopecia (hair loss) for years. After about six months of use, she had recovered almost 100 percent of her hair. Dr. Loren Pickart, the leading authority in Copper Peptide technology, describes it as being like a protein injection to the scalp.

Tests were then conducted with chemotherapy patients and recent hair transplant recipients, all with great success in stimulating newer and stronger hair follicles.

Spin traps – are very special compounds that were originally utilized in measuring free radical activity because they react with free radicals both in vitro and in vivo, producing stable complexes. The most commonly used spin trap and the standard which measures new ones is PBN - alpha-phenyl- N-tert butyl nitrone. Hundreds of studies have been conducted over the last ten years that have tested PBN and other “spin traps” in numerous conditions. Later it was discovered that these spin traps had powerful free radical quenching abilities in living systems and could treat a variety of conditions. Spin traps could provide unique protection against free radical damage that complements and enhances the activities of the classical antioxidants such as vitamin C and vitamin E.

Spin traps modulate NF kappa-B regulated cytokines and inducible nitric oxide synthases that are implicated in pro-inflammatory disease conditions. A method for ameliorating a cellular dysfunction of a tissue such as the treatment of hair loss and stimulation of hair growth comprises administering a nitroso or nitrone spin trap to the affected tissue. These agents inhibit the reaction of superoxide and nitric oxide to produce peroxinitrite. Scientists discovered that nitrone and nitroso spin traps have properties in the body for ameliorating cellular dysfunction in tissue attributed, in part, to high energy oxygen and hydroxyl free radicals, and enhancing recuperation of the tissue. Alpha-phenyl-N-tert butyl nitrone (PBN) can be administered, for example, as an anti-alopecia agent to stimulate hair growth.

Spin traps can be administered to the skin to be treated, such as the scalp. Depending on the type of hair loss or alopecia being treated and the conditions thereof, the stimulation of hair growth can usually be obtained by topical application, preferably repeated daily application. The utility of topically applied spin traps is not limited thereto, however, and the stimulation of hair growth can include an increased rate of growth, increased hair diameter, follicular neogenesis, and the like; inhibiting hair loss or alopecia from progressing.

Ketoconazole - Topical ketoconazole shows itself to have an anti-DHT binding effect in the scalp. Nevertheless, it is likely that ketoconazole exhibits other methods to its anti-hair-loss effect. One such theory of ketoconazole anti-alopecia effects may be on its activity upon the removal of sebum, a fatty substance that accumulates in the scalp around the hair follicles. In addition, ketoconazole is an antifungal medication and is significant for people combating hair loss since acting as an antifungal agent it reduces scalp irritation caused by fungal colonization or infection. Reduction of the inflammatory process that occurs in male pattern alopecia is crucial.

If we first examine the role of androgens, specifically dihydrotestosterone (DHT), we find that this hormone has been thought to slowly "choke" the growth of the hair follicle by inhibiting the function of an enzyme in the hair follicle called adenylate cyclase. Suffice it to say that when DHT concentrations remain high in the scalp, we see terminal (thick, coarse) scalp hair become reduced to vellus hair (fine, thin peach fuzz). On March 04, 2001, at the American Academy of Dermatology Meeting in Washington DC, scientists presented the findings of a study done on 1% ketoconazole shampoo which had good news for hair loss sufferers. In the study presented, one hundred male volunteers with mild to moderate dandruff and somewhat oily scalp, were using in a double-blind fashion either a 1% ketoconazole shampoo or a 1% zinc pyrithione shampoo, 2-3 times a week for 6 months.

Analysis of the different parameters set up in the study shows that the hair diameter gradually increased with ketoconazole use (+8.46%) over a 6 month period, whereas the diameter showed a trend to decrease with zinc pyrithione use over the same period (-2.28%). The sebum excretion rate was reduced with ketoconazole (-6.54%) while it increased with zinc pyrithione (+8.2%) over the same period of time. The number of hairs shed over a 24-hour period was reduced by 16.46% with ketoconazole and 6.02% with zinc pyrithione after 6 months. Finally, the percentage of hairs in the anagen phase increased by 6.4% and 8.4% respectively during the study.

The results are similar to a previous study done on 2% prescription strength Ketokonazole where it was shown that use of 2% ketoconazol yielded an increase in hair shaft diameter similar to what was achieved by the control group using 2% Minoxidil and a non-medicated shampoo.

Rooibos - Rooibos or Red Bush Tea - a hardy shrub indigenous to the North Western Cape of South Africa – is an exciting new botanical ingredient with potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties well documented in medical literature. In alternative medicine Rooibos is often prescribed for nervous tension, allergies, stomach and digestive problems. Results from an independent study also showed a significant improvement in hair loss. Studies were initiated at an independent laboratory (Dermascan, France) to study the effect of the use of Rooibos in a hair lotion on a group of healthy persons who were suffering from the problem of hair loss. A 90 day trial was conducted comparing a hair lotion containing Rooibos with a placebo lotion.

After 90 days results showed a significant increase of the hair growth in the lotion containing Rooibos compared with the placebo. An increase in the hair growth was observed with 89% of the volunteers with no undesirable reactions (irritation or allergy). The participants were next asked to fill in a questionnaire. When the results were tallied, 67 percent rated their hair loss as zero or low, 78 percent saw a low to medium improvement, 45 percent saw a low to medium regrowth of hair, and 63 percent considered their hair had become smoother and shinier.

Conclusion: results show that most of the volunteers had a remarkable improvement in both the increase of hair growth and the decrease in hair loss.

MSM - Sulphur is present in protein-rich foods containing high levels of the amino acids methionine and cysteine. These foods include meat, fish, legumes, nuts, eggs, and vegetables, especially onions. However, sulphur has recently become a popular nutritional supplement and topical treatment thanks to the discovery of methylsulfonylmethane, or MSM.

The use of MSM as a nutritional supplement and topical application is relatively recent. An American chemist named Robert Herschler, began studying MSM in 1955. However, another man, Dr. Stanley Jacob with Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland, is considered by many to be the father of MSM. Dr. Jacob found that simple marine life like algae and plankton convert inorganic sulphur to organic sulphur compounds. These compounds are known as dimethylsulfonium salts. These salts are transformed into dimethyl sulfide (DMS), which is released into the atmosphere and is converted by ultraviolet light into dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). When DMSO oxidizes, it turns into MSM and is absorbed by plants that become food for animals and humans. MSM is a white, crystalline powder that is odorless and nearly tasteless. When taken as a dietary supplement, MSM proved to have the same health benefits as DMSO without side-effects such as bad breath, itchy skin, nasal congestion, and shortness of breath. Why does MSM help with the development of stronger hair? Various scientific studies have proven that MSM contributes a definite normalizing effect on body functions. The sulfur normally provided to the body by MSM is required for healthy collagen and keratin which are essential for healthy hair, skin and nails. MSM also has proven antioxidant benefits which can disrupt or alter damaging chain reactions of lipid peroxidation in the cell membranes.

MSM has been widely used as a dietary supplement without any reports of allergy or intolerance related to its use. Supplements of MSM are comfortably assimilated without side effects. There are no known contraindications.

Caffeine 4% - Active caffeine ingredient helps to regulate the effects of testosterone levels. Male pattern baldness is known to occur in individuals with sensitivity to testosterone, causing damage to hair follicles that eventually leads to baldness. Caffeine is a xanthine alkaloid compound that acts as a stimulant in humans. Caffeine is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant, having the effect of warding off drowsiness and restoring alertness.

The independent study at the University of Jena used hair samples from the scalps of young men entering into the first stages of hormone-related hair loss. The study relied on a hair organ culture that used four different types of testing samples. The first was a nutrient-based sample, the second a testosterone only sample, the third was a caffeine only sample and the fourth a mixture of caffeine and testosterone.

According to the research, the results showed that the samples containing the caffeine nutrient helped to stave off hair loss and encouraged new hair growth, while the sample that relied on testosterone only led to increased hair loss. But perhaps the most impressive was the testosterone and caffeine sample, which helped to prevent further hair loss.

The results showed that using the caffeine treatment average growth was increased by around 46 per cent and the life cycle of the hair was extended by 37 per cent, when compared to the control study.

Carnitine Tartrate - L-Carnitine, a vitamin-like nutrient, occurs naturally in the human body and is essential for turning fat into energy. Active energy metabolism is an essential prerequisite for the growth of strong and healthy hair. In biological systems ATP acts as the universal energy currency. One of the most potent bio-actives that significantly increases cellular ATP content is carnitine tartrate.

Statistical evaluation demonstrated a significant increase in ATP equivalents in human hair roots treated with carnitine tartrate, showing that carnitine tartrate is an ideal ingredient for hair care formulations, providing energy for the optimal environment to produce strong and healthy hair. Throughout the test period ATP content within plucked hair follicles was determined twice daily using a commercially available test kit. Statistical evaluation of baseline adjusted values demonstrated a significant increase in ATP equivalents in human hair roots treated with carnitine tartrate. These effects were absent in the placebo group, thus underlining the stimulating activity of carnitine tartrate.

The outstanding bio-activity of carnitine tartrate was furthermore demonstrated in a second study, assessing the effects after a single application of a shampoo formulation supplemented with carnitine tartrate. Again, ATP levels in plucked human hair follicles were significantly increased.

Amino Acids: Ornitine, Taurine, Cysteine - Amino acids are the building blocks of protein, from which hair is created. They are assembled in the correct sequence by stem cells to form keratin, a complex and immensely strong hair protein. Vital amino acids have to be replaced consistently, as damage is accumulated over time. We can replace a combination of these lost amino acids directly into the hair, where they are shown to provide significant tensile benefits to the hair shaft.

Hair is composed primarily of proteins (88%). These proteins are of a hard fibrous type known as keratin. Keratin protein is comprised of what we call "polypeptide chains.” The word, polypeptide, comes from the Greek word "poly" meaning many and "peptos" meaning digested or broken down. In essence, if we break down protein, we have individual amino acids.

Many (poly) amino acids joined together form a "polypeptide chain". Two amino acids are joined together by a "peptide bond", and the correct number of amino acids placed in their correct order will form a specific protein; i.e. keratin, insulin, collagen and so on. The "alpha helix" is the descriptive term given to the polypeptide chain that forms the keratin protein found in human hair. Its structure is a coiled coil. The amino acids link together to form the coil and there are approximately 3.6 amino acids per turn of the helix (coil). Each amino acid is connected together by a "peptide bond". The peptide bond is located between the carbon atom of one amino acid extending to bond with the nitrogen atom of the next amino acid. In many individuals the extremities, including the top of the head, are the most difficult places to maintain blood flow. Follicles which are constantly deprived of blood, and therefore nutrients, cannot produce hair properly. Lack of proper nutrients, amino acids, minerals and vitamins can certainly hamper hair growth.

L-Arginine is a semi-essential amino acid synthesized by the body from L-Ornithine. Arginine + Ornithine support protein synthesis because they are involved in the transport and storage of nitrogen. The usage of taurine corrects the "rigidification" of the connective sheath that surrounds the Pilosebaceous unit and hair follicles, specifically those affected by pattern hair loss. This is a novel and previously undisclosed angle on hair loss treatment that has yet to be touched upon in any of the medical literature or prior publications.

The amino acid, l-cysteine speeds up hair growth and increases hair shaft diameter resulting in fuller hair. L-cysteine has been reported to facilitate longer hair growth, beyond what is genetically programmed. L-cysteine also provides potent antioxidant protection to the hair follicle. Users of topical n-acetyl-cysteine have reported hair regrowth.

Emu Oil - The emu, dromaius nova hollandiae, is a flightless bird part of a group called ratites which also includes the ostrich and the kiwi. Modern Australians learned early on from the Aborigines the many valuable qualities in the emu and its oil. The earliest research studies in emu oil come from Australia, and Australia continues to export emu oil to this day.

In the United States today there is a growing network of research labs interested in emus and their incredible oil. Emu oil is rendered from a thick pad of fat on the back of the bird that was apparently provided by nature to protect the animal from the extreme temperatures in its Australian homeland. Emu oil is deep penetrating and super hydrating to the skin - an all-natural tissue nutrient. Michael Hollick, MD, Ph.D., Professor of Medicine, Physiology, and Dermatology at Boston University School of Medicine conducted a study involving emu oil and hair growth. His study found that there was a 20% increase in growth activity of skin that received emu oil compared to skin that received corn oil. Looking at the hair follicles Dr. Hollick realized they were much more robust, the skin thickness was remarkably increased suggesting that emu oil stimulated skin growth and hair growth. Additionally, the study showed that over 80% of hair follicles that had been "asleep" were woken up, and began growing.

Emu oil is anti-inflammatory, which may be in part why it stimulates hair growth. Emu Oil has also been shown to be a 5 alpha reductase inhibitor in target tissues when topically applied, which likely contributes significantly to its hair growth properties. A third important property of emu oil is that it is bacteriostatic.

Emu Oil contains a multitude of Essential Fatty Acids (EFA) which helps to "feed" the skin. Consumers who suffer from natural forms of baldness have reported hair re-growth. Since Alopecia Areata only suppresses the hair follicle (vs. killing the hair follicle), emu oil may have an effect to assist with hair regrowth.

Biotin – Biotin is a member of the B-vitamin family and a major component in the natural hair manufacturing process -- it is essential to not only grow new hair, but it also plays a major role in the overall health of skin and nails. The beneficial effects of biotin on hair may be linked to its ability to improve the metabolism of scalp oils. Biotin when absorbed by the scalp may promote hair growth and it is able to penetrate the hair shaft making it expand which actually thickens the hair cuticle.

Biotin is used in cell growth, the production of fatty acids, metabolism of fats and amino acids. It plays a role in the Krebs Cycle, which is the process in which energy is released from food. Biotin is so important to hair health, that many dermatologists prescribe biotin supplements to their patients as part of their medical treatment for hair loss.

After applying Revita with a gentle massage, you should leave it on the scalp from 1 – 2 minutes before rinsing. Then repeat and leave on the scalp for 3 – 5 minutes. If desired, follow with a high quality conditioner. For optimal results, Revita should be used at least 5 times per week.

This formulation is contraindicated in individuals with a history of sensitivity reactions to any of its components. It should be discontinued if hypersensitivity to any of its ingredients is noted.

Q. Is Revita safe ?

A. Revita primarily contains compounds that are not only safe in topical use, but actually dramatically enhance overall skin health. The other active ingredients such as Ketoconazole have been tested in clinical studies and have been shown safe.

Q: Can I use hair sprays, mousses, gels, etc.?

A: Hair spray, gel, and other styling aids are not recommended since they tend to clog the hair shaft. However, you can use them while using Revita.

Q: Can I have my hair colored or permed while using Revita ?

A: While there is no evidence that coloring or perming hair can lead to or even worsen hair loss, it is generally not recommended for people with hair loss. If you are experiencing hair loss then perming and coloring hair is not recommended. However, this will not interfere with Revita.

Q: What is SLS/SLES free ?

A: SLS means Sodium Lauryl Sulfate and SLES means Sodium Laureth Sulfate, commonly used low cost detergents in shampoos and cleansers. They are linked to skin irritation, skin drying and hair loss due to follicle attack. Revita is Sodium Lauryl Sulfate and Sodium Laureth Sulfate free, and that means that Revita does not irritate you scalp and preserves your hair follicale health.

Q: Can I blow dry my hair after using Revita ?

A: Extreme heat damages the proteins in the hairs making them fragile. Nevertheless, if you need or want to blow dry your hair, you can do it after using Revita.

Q: Who is a candidate for Revita ?

A: Ideal candidate is someone with little hair loss or at the beginning stages of hair loss, since it is much easier to prevent hair loss then to grow new hair. Someone who is concerned with hair loss prevention should start using Revita immediately.

Q: What type of results should I expect with Revita ?

A: When deciding to use Revita, it is important to have realistic expectations. Depending of severity and duration of your hair loss, it could take some time to see hair growth. In fact, during the first 2 weeks of treatment you may actually notice increased hair loss as old hairs are being pushed out and the hair follicles start growing new hair. Do not become alarmed with this and just stick to the treatment.

Q. Does Revita have any systemic side effects ?

A. No, when used as directed, Revita active ingredients have a long history of use both orally and topically.

Q. Does Revita work for women?

A. Yes. In most cases, the cause of hair loss in women is surprisingly similar to men. Fortunately for women, estrogen helps to protect the hair follicle from the destructive effects of DHT. However, many women develop thinning hair and loss due to fluctuation of estrogen levels and/or over production of DHT. Revita can help protect the hair follicle from DHT resulting in a thicker, fuller and healthier hair.

Q. I am using other topical treatments. Can I use Revita at the same time ?

A. Yes. Revita has no side effects and does not cross react with other topical treatments. You can safely opt to use Revita with other products, and we strongly recommend the association with Spectral.DNC for more severe hair loss or Spectral.RS for thinning hair.

Q. Do I need to use Revita for a long time ?

A. Once you have reached the desired results, you should continue to use Revita as your regular shampoo to maintain the revitalized hairs and a healthy scalp.

Q: Is stress a factor in hair loss?

A: When the body is under significant physical and emotional stress it is possible that the immune system will produce anti-bodies that attack hair follicles, and this results in bald patches or diffuse loss. Stress-induced loss will respond very well to Revita and you should keep using Revita as your regular daily shampoo to keep your scalp healthy.

(https://vitanetonline.com:443/forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=1&Message_ID=1480)

Date: February 28, 2007 12:02 PM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia

This is a fast paced world. We are all busy; living our full lives, burning the candle at both ends. We all get tired. We all get sick from time to time and maybe even depressed. But the illness called chronic fatigue syndrome is not like the normal ups and downs that we experience in everyday life. People with chronic fatigue syndrome feel overwhelming fatigue, and often pain as well. This is an illness that does not go away with a few good nights’ sleep. It drags on and on and doesn’t resolve itself. It steals vigor and energy over months, and sometimes even years.

In this issue of Ask the Doctor, we will talk about powerful vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and herbs combined in scientifically validated formulas that people with chronic fatigue syndrome or fibromyalgia can use every day. These nutrients help address some root problems of chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia by restoring energy and health to sufferers.

Q. What is chronic fatigue syndrome?

A. Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) also known as chronic fatigue and immune dysfunction syndrome (CFIDS), or myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), is a group of symptoms associated with unrelenting and debilitating fatigue. The profound weakness of CFS causes a persistent and substantial reduction in activity level. You feel too tired to do normal activities or are easily exhausted for no apparent reason.

Besides extreme fatigue, symptoms of CFS include general pain, mental fogginess, flu-like symptoms, and gastrointestinal problems. A list of symptoms includes:

• -Headache
• -Frequent infections, such as sinus or respiratory infections, swollen glands, bladder infection or yeast infections
• -Muscle and join aches
• -Inability to concentrate or “brain fog”
• -Allergies to foods and medications
• -Anxiety and depression
• -Decreased sex drive

The number of symptoms and the severity of these symptoms can vary among people. The symptoms of CFS hand on or reoccur frequently for more than six months.

Q. Are chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia considered being the same illness?

A. Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is a painful shortening of muscles throughout the body. FMS is basically a sleep disorder characterized by many tender knots in the muscles. These tender knots, called tender or trigger points, are a major cause of the achiness that people with fibromyalgia and CFS feel.

Approximately 80 percent of chronic fatigue syndrome patients have received and overlapping diagnosis of fibromyalgia syndrome. For most people, fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome are the same illness.

Q. What causes chronic fatigue syndrome?

A. There are many causes that can trigger CFS. Current research is looking at the roles of neuroendocrine dysfunction, viruses, environmental toxins, genetic predisposition, food sensitivities, yeast overgrowth, faulty digestion, or a combination of these factors.

For many people, CFS is triggered by a bout with a viral illness (like a cold or the flu), or even a stressful event. CFS is usually a mix of underlying causes. It is like a domino effect in that each problem can trigger another problem, and so on. For example, fatigue and poor sleep can trigger a weakened immune system, which can, in turn, trigger yeast or bacterial infections.

Q. Who gets chronic fatigue syndrome?

A. CFS is more common than you might expect. It strikes people of all ages, racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups. Approximately 800,000 people nationwide have CFS and over six million have fibromyalgia at any given time.

It is important to stress that CFS is a real illness; it is not “just in your head.” Unfortunately, sufferers of CFS may find that many healthcare practitioners discount the symptoms of this illness or misdiagnose it as another disease. This can lead to additional emotional suffering.

Q. How long does chronic fatigue syndrome last?

A. The illness varies greatly in its duration. Some people recover after a year or two. More often, those who recover are more likely to do so three to five years after onset. Yet for some people, the illness seems to simply persist. There are rare cases of spontaneous improvement after five years without undergoing any treatment. However, this is very unusual.

Q. What are the complications of chronic fatigue syndrome?

A. The patterns of CFS vary from individual to individual. However, many common patterns of symptoms are seen in CFS sufferers. These symptoms and problems interact and create new symptoms and problems. For example, infections and disrupted sleep can lead to digestive, hormone, and immune problems.

Infections

The most notorious pattern seen in CFS is the one in which a person suddenly comes down with a flu-like illness that doesn’t go away. These viral or bacterial infections can suppress the body’s master gland, the hypothalamus. Since the hypothalamus controls the other glands, including the adrenals, ovaries, testes, and thyroid, suppression of this gland will lead to a subtle but debilitating decrease in the functioning of all glands and their hormones. Suppressed hypothalamic function from chronic infections can then trigger sleep dysfunction.

Disrupted Sleep

The suppression of the hypothalamus gland can lead to poor sleep because the body confuses its day/night cycles. Because of this, people with CFS have trouble staying in the deep, restorative stages of sleep that “recharge their batteries.”

Poor sleep can cause immune suppression, which may lead to secondary bowel infections. The bowel infections seen in people with CFS can cause decreased absorption of nutrients, which can lead to chronic vitamin and mineral deficiencies.

Q. Is there a cure for chronic fatigue syndrome?

A. Treating chronic fatigue syndrome presents a significant challenge to people with CFS and their healthcare practitioners. Recently, a published placebo-controlled study ( of which I was the lead investigator) showed that when using an integrated treatment approach, over 85 percent of CFS and fibromyalgia patients can improve, often dramatically. The full text of this study can be seen at ‘www.endfatigue.com’. An editorial in the April 2002 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Pain Management noted that this treatment, which I developed, is now a highly effective and excellent part of the standard of practice for treatment of fibromyalgia. Since this treatment addresses many different problems associated with CFS/FMS, it needs to be individualized to each patient.

Medical Treatments

Medications that provide symptom relief are frequently the first line of treatment chosen by healthcare practitioners for the person with CFS. These include medications for pain, sleep disturbances; digestive problems such as nausea, depression and anxiety, and flu-like symptoms.

However, medications have not been universally successful because they tent to put a bandage on symptoms instead of addressing the root problems. Because of this, medications may need to be supplemented by the other supportive therapies that can address the root problems.

Supportive Treatments

People with CFS/FMS may be depressed, given the catastrophic lifestyle disruption these diseases may cause. They may also feel guilt and frustration because their symptoms were not taken seriously for such a long time. Fear can be a factor as employment and family relationships may be jeopardized by this illness.

Therapies that help people to relax and improve coping skills may be helpful and include counseling for emotional and mental health, cognitive behavioral therapy, sleep management therapy, and massage.

Daily Nutritional Supplementation for Energy

Good overall nutrition is important for everyone, of course. However, there are several vitamins, minerals, and amino acids that can have powerful nutritional effects for a person with CFS. All of the vitamins and minerals in a chronic fatigue/fibromyalgia formula should work together synergistically to help improve energy levels and overall health. Here are some key nutrients to look for in an energy formula:

Vitamins, Minerals & Other Key Ingredients

Vitamin A: Essential for healthy skin and mucous membrane integrity, healthy immune system responses and healthy bone growth and healthy reproductive processes. Vitamin A in the form of beta-carotene is an antioxidant and free radical fighter. Vitamin E: Helps to relieve pain in CFS patients. Can also improve night leg cramps, which interferes with sleep.

Vitamin C: Enhances immune function by increasing natural killer cells, B and T cells. Can prevent chronic bladder infections by acidifying urine.

Vitamin D: Regulates immune functions of monocytes and neutrophils. Neutraphils are white blood cells that ingest invasive bacteria, and act as the first line of defense once bacteria makes it past the skin barrier.

Magnesium: Involved with immune support. Working with malic acid, enhances immune function by increasing natural killer cells. Magnesium is also critical for the relief of muscle pain.

Inositol: Enhances immune function by increasing natural killer cells.

Malic Acid: Working with magnesium, improves energy levels by improving cellular functions. Especially important in muscle metabolism.

Betaine: Works with B vitamins to synthesize amino acids, and acts as a precursor to SAM-e. SAM-e (S-adenosylmethionine) is a naturally-occurring molecule in the body, and may have an effect on overall mood elevation.

Amino Acids: Glycine, Serine, Taurine, Tyrosine are essential for the production of energy in the body. Also essential for brain function.

Zinc: Supports the immune system by enhancing neutrophils activity and supporting healthy antigen-antibody binding.

Selenium: Supports immune function by enhancing antibody production.

Fructooligosaccharides: Provides nutrition for good bacteria in the intestinal tract, improving digestion and healthy microflora.

All of the vitamins, minerals, and other nutritional supplements on the list are important to ensure recovery from chronic fatigue syndrome. To ensure that your nutritional supplement regimen contains all of these ingredients, look for a powdered supplement formulated specifically for CFS/FMS sufferers that can be reconstituted in a beverage of your choice. A powdered drink mix is a pleasant, easy way to ensure that you are taking all of the needed vitamins, minerals, and amino acids that will give you the needed energy to recover from your illness.

B Vitamin Complex for Energy

In addition to the powdered energy drink mix, it is important that you also take a vitamin B-complex supplement specifically formulated for people with CFS/FMS. The B vitamin formula, which should include niacinamide, thiamin, riboflavin, vitamin B6, folic acid, vitamin B12, pantothenic acid, and choline, is especially important to restore the energy production needs of your body, as well as for mental function. It is also important to make sure that the doSages are high enough CFS/FMS needs. The chart in the next column lists the B vitamins that are critical for people suffering from CFS/FMS.

B Vitamins Effect on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Studies have demonstrated that people with CFS/FMS are often deficient in many of the B vitamins, which tends to worsen their symptoms of fatigue and mental “fogginess” and ultimately lead to a weakened immune system.

B vitamins - Effect on Energy

Thiamine (B1) - Essential in the process of energy production. This vitamin also removes lactic acid from muscles, which causes them to be sore in fibromyalgia patients.

Riboflavin (B2) - Riboflavin (vitamin B2) is crucial in the production of body energy. Supports healthy gluthathione reductase activity, which helps maintain gluthathione, a major protector against free radical damage. Vitamin B2 itself also has antioxidant qualities.

Niacinamide(B3) - Essential vitamin that is a component of the body’s energy furnace, helping to improve fatigue and “brain fog”.

Pantothenic Acid (B5) - This vitamin improves adrenal gland function, which will boost energy levels. It can also aid in weight loss by decreasing appetite.

Vitamin B6 - Working along with thiamine, this vitamin is critical in the process of energy production.

Vitamin B12 - Important for brain function and nerve repair. Aids in relieving fatigue symptoms in CFS patients. Folic Acid - Aids in strengthening the immune system, and aids in mental clarity and concentration.

Q. What other supplements can help me with CFS?

A. Many people with CFS/FMS are suffering from adrenal burnout. Adrenal burnout occurs when the adrenal glands are constantly producing cortisol in response to chronic stress like that seen in cases of CFS. Over time, this exhausts the adrenal reserve, meaning the adrenal gland can no longer increase cortisol production in response to stress.

The good news is that changes in our hormone levels can return to normal when stress is decreased. However, in cases of CFS that return to normal can be made much simpler by using a glandular therapy regimen to ensure healthy cortisol levels and adrenal function.

Glandular therapy uses the concentrated forms of bovine (cow) or porcine (pig) glands to improve the health of our glands. Pioneers in the field of endocrinology (the study of hormones) hypothesized that glandular extracts work by providing nutrients the body lacks and thus repairing the malfunctioning gland.

Adrenal Extract

If CFS has left your adrenal glands in a stressed-out state, you should see great results by taking adrenal supplements. Be sure to buy an adrenal extract supplement that contains both whole adrenal and adrenal cortex extracts.

The best adrenal supplement should also contain vitamin C, vitamin B6, L-tyrosine, betaine, pantothenic acid and licorice. Licorice contains glycyrrhizin, which is broken down into glycyrrhizic or glycyrrhetinic acid. This compound inhibits the activity of an enzyme that turns active cortisol into inactive cortisol. While in high amounts (greater than 100 mg of glycyrrhizic acid/day), licorice administration causes hypertension, no such effects have been observed at lower doses. Experts have speculated that inhibition of the cortisol-converting enzyme may reduce cortisol-related symptoms associated with adrenal insufficiency. The adrenal glands use these nutrients to manufacture cortisone and other compounds. It just makes sense to purchase an adrenal supplement with these supportive ingredients.

The Road to Recovery-Adequate Sleep

Disordered sleep is the underlying process that drives many of the symptoms of CFS/FMS. The most effective way to eliminate pain in CFS/FMS is to get seven to nine hours of deep sleep each night.

However, getting adequate sleep is easier said than done for CFS sufferers with underlying fibromyalgia symptoms. The muscle knots of fibromyalgia make it uncomfortable to lie in one position for an extended time, causing difficulty in returning to deep sleep. Because of this, people with CFS/FMS do not stay in deep stages of sleep to recharge their “batteries.” In addition, poor sleep can cause and be caused by the suppression of the hypothalamus gland, which causes the brain to think it is daytime instead of night time.

It may be helpful to use herbal products to promote good quality sleep. There are many natural supplements that are marketed as sleep formulas. To get the best results, it is very important that the right ingredients are in the sleep formula you buy. Therefore, it is important to look for an herbal sleep formula that is especially formulated for people with CFS/FMS. The combination of herbs is important as each herb addresses a different aspect of sleeplessness and muscle tension.

Ingredients - Effect on Sleep

Wild Lettuce - Has been found to have sedative effects.

Hops - Acts as mild sedative and has a sleep-inducing effect. Jamaica Dogwood Has been found to be mildly sedative and is often used for anxiousness.

L-Theanine - Causes significant increases of neurotransimitter concentrations in the brain, which promotes muscle relaxion and improves sleep.

Valerian - This herb has been clinically studied for its ability to improve sleep quality.

Passionflower - This herb eases nervousness and insomnia.

Putting It All Together

After a good night’s rest, a powdered energy drink mix formulated for people with CFS/FMS should be drunk along with a well-balanced breakfast as discussed earlier. In addition to the nutritional beverage mix, a vitamin B complex supplement designed specifically for CFS sufferers, also discussed earlier, containing niacinamide, thiamin, riboflavin, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, pantothenic acid, and choline, should be taken every morning. The nutritional drink mix and the vitamin B complex supplement will ensure that your body has all the vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and other nutrients, to combat your overwhelming fatigue, pain, and “brain fog.” Taking a daily adrenal supplement, like the one discussed earlier, will provide the much-needed (and often depleted) nutrients your body may be lacking, and help you recover lost energy.

Together, these four interventions: sleep formula; morning energy drink; energy B complex supplement; and an adrenal complex- can make an incredible difference that you should begin to notice within 2-3 weeks of starting this program.

Conclusion

Chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia are complex physical diseases with physical causes. The unrelenting symptoms of fatigue, pain, and mental fogginess can be overwhelming and frightening. Partnering with a healthcare practitioner specializing in CFS and utilizing different medical treatments, supportive therapies, and lifestyle changes are healthy ways to combat chronic fatigue syndrome. And taking nutritional supplements formulated specifically for people with CMS/FMS that help boost energy or help you get a good night’s sleep can give you critical control over the outcome of your illness and set you on the road to recovery.

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Vitanet wants to help stop CFS ®

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Date: February 25, 2007 12:06 PM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Neurological Health and CoQ10

Between 1946 and 1965, 78 million Americans were born, creating the largest number of children in U.S. history. This Baby Boom generation has greatly influenced the makeup of American society and undoubtedly w ill continue to do so. Thanks to good nutrition and health care, Baby Boomers are aging well and have an excellent life expectancy. For the first time in history, we have more people turning 60 every day, and record numbers of adults reaching their seventh decade. As a result, neurological diseases associated with aging, such as Parkinson’s disease, are becoming major health care concerns. The good news is CoQ10 has applications for neurological diseases, in addition to its better known use for cardiovascular diseases.

Q. What is CoQ10?

A. CoQ10 is a natural, fat-soluble nutrient present in virtually all cells. CoQ10 also is known as ubiquinone (existing everywhere there is human life). CoQ10 is vital to the production of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). ATP is the energy-rich compound used for all energy-requiring processes in the body.

Q. Isn’t CoQ10 a supplement for heart health?

A. Yes, it is. Because the heart requires lots of ATP to meet its high energy needs, CoQ10’s function in heart health is well understood. Numerous clinical studies have demonstrated that when individuals with heart disease take CoQ10, their symptoms improve, sometimes quite dramatically. Supplemental CoQ10 improves the heart’s pumping ability, improves blood circulation, increases tolerance to exercise, and improves the heart’s muscle tone. CoQ10 also is a powerful antioxidant and protects heart tissue from free-radical damage.

Q. How does CoQ10 affect brain health?

A. CoQ10 works in the brain the same way it works elsewhere in the body: it’s essential to ATP production. Nearly all human cells contain tiny structures called mitochondria. Mitochondria are referred to as cell powerhouses because they produce cellular energy. Depending on what each cell’s job is. There can be several thousand mitochondria in one cell. If a cell needs a lot of energy, it will have more mitochondria. This explains why heart cells contain so many mitochondria; the continual pumping of blood requires continual ATP production.

The brain also requires huge amounts of uninterrupted energy to regulate, integrate, and coordinate ongoing nervous system transmissions. To meet this need, ATP production within the mitochondria of brain cells is vital. Since CoQ10 exerts such a powerful influence on heart cells in ATP production, it was a natural progression for scientists to wonder how it affects brain cells. Brain and nervous system research led to the conclusion that the same intracellular principles apply. CoQ10 is produced in the body to assist in ATP production. Without it, ATP cannot be produced.

The most important discovery regarding CoQ10 and the brain is that CoQ10, when formulated with certain ingredients, can cross the blood-brain barrier and enter the brain’s mitochondria. If large amounts of CoQ10 can get into the brain cell’s mitochondria, its ability to make ATP is greatly enhanced.

Q. What is the blood-brain barrier and why is it important?

A. The blood-brain barrier is a unique anatomical structure. The cells that make up the blood vessels that provide blood to the brain are extremely close together. This greatly restricts what can leave the bloodstream and enter the brain. While the blood-brain barrier protects the brain and spinal cord from potentially toxic substances, it also can be a significant obstacle to therapy of central nervous system disorders. Only substances with certain solubilities or those that have a transport system can cross the blood-brain barrier to a significant degree.

Obtaining optimal absorption of CoQ10 is difficult. The CoQ10 molecule is large and inflexible. The easiest and least expensive way to increase absorption levels is with the use of harsh solvents such as propylene glycol. However, at higher doses, these types of chemicals are considered dangerous (neurotoxic) to the person with a serious neurodegenerative disease. It is more difficult, as well as more expensive (considering raw materials, research, and proper manufacturing methods) to promote absorption with less harmful alternatives. However, reputable companies ensure that their products are safe for all their customers. Look for CoQ10 products formulated with vitamin E and other safe ingredients such as Micosolle.

Nearly all CoQ10 supplements enter the bloodstream. But, only CoQ10 supplements with special formulations have been scientifically shown to enter the mitochondria and cross the blood-brain barrier.

Q. If CoQ10 is made in the body, why take supplements?

A. While CoQ10 is synthesized in the body, these levels may be insufficient to meet the body’s requirements. Researchers have discovered CoQ10 levels diminish with age and as a result of dietary inadequacies and various disease states. They also have determined some medications significantly reduce CoQ10 levels in the body.

Although CoQ10 exists in some dietary sources, it may not be realistic to obtain CoQ10 through food alone. For example, it would take approximately 3 pounds of sardines, 7 pounds of beef, or 8 pounds of peanuts to equal 100 mg of supplemental CoQ10.

Q. How does CoQ10 help people with Parkinson’s disease?

A. CoQ10 seems to have several beneficial actions in the illness. Researchers have looked at mitochondria in brain cells and determined people with Parkinson’s disease have reduced activity of Complex I in the electron transport chain. Recent research has proposed the reduced activity of Complex I interferes with the brain-signaling chemical dopamine. Stored and newly synthesized dopamine is depleted. The dopamine depletion causes nerve cell degeneration.

A recent clinical study involved 80 patients with Parkinson’s disease (both men and women). The researchers first evaluated all the participants to establish scores for basic motor skills (measuring the ability to control physical movements such as walking), mental status (whether the person was depressed or experiencing memory loss) and the activities of daily living (whether the person was experiencing difficulty with handwriting, dressing themselves, using utensils such as knives and forks, and so on). This scale is known as the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS). This process is known as establishing “baseline values,” that is, the condition of the patient before receiving any treatment.

Participants were divided into 4 groups. Each group received either 300 mg, 600 mg, or 1200 mg of the special form of CoQ10, or a placebo. The researchers observed the participants for 16 months.

The results of the study showed that all the participants who received CoQ10 had smaller declines in function compared to the placebo group, but the smallest decline was experienced by the group taking the highest amount of the special form of CoQ10.

The most significant results were noted specifically in the activities of daily living scores by the people taking 1200 mg of CoQ10 daily. These people retained better ability to feed and dress themselves, speak, walk, and bathe or shower by themselves. They maintained greater independence for a longer time. Parkinson’s disease, as with other neurodegenerative diseases, robs the sufferer of their ability to control the movements of their own body and care for themselves. Supplementation with CoQ10, while not a cure, is the first intervention that showed a slowing in the progressive deterioration of the function associated with this disease.

Q. What were the results of clinical research on Huntington’s Disease?

A. A randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled study respected type of study, was conducted at the University of Rochester. All of the 347 Huntington’s disease (HD) patients were experiencing some HD symptoms, but were still in the early stages of the disease. The patients (who did not know which drug they were receiving) were randomly assigned to four different treatment groups: 25 percent received Remacemide, 25 percent received CoQ10, 25 percent received both, and 25 percent received a placebo, or sugar pill. The researchers, who also did not know which patients got which drug, watched and recorded their progress for two and one-half years. Remacemide is a new drug made by Astra Seneca that blocks the neurotransmitter glutamate in the brain, that has long been suspected of contributing to the death of brain cells in Huntington’s disease.

Unfortunately, in the CARE-HD study, Remacemide had no effect on the progression of the disease in patients in the early stages. However, the individuals who received 600 mg of CoQ10 per day experienced some slowing of the disease progression. They were able to manage daily activities, such as meal preparation, housekeeping tasks, and personal care longer than those not on CoQ10. They were also able to focus their attention better and were less depressed and irritable. The portion of the studied patients receiving 600 mg of CoQ10 per day experienced a 15 percent decline in the progression of HD. According to the researchers conducting the study, a 15 percent decline in the progression of HD would roughly translate into approximately one more year of independence for patients. This is the very first study from more than a dozen Huntington’s disease patient trails that showed any modification of the course of the illness.

Of note, the effects of the CoQ10 had not abated at the end of the research study. That is, the benefit of using CoQ10, 600 mg per day, was still increasing; this suggests that the longer a patient supplements with CoQ10, the greater the decline in the progression of HD. The next phase of the CARE-HD research will test a higher dose of CoQ10 (1200 mg or more per day), with more patients (over 1000), for a longer period of time (approximately 5 years). This study should improve our understanding of the optimal dose and the total achievable decline in the progression of HD. The CoQ10 product used in the CARE-HD study was designated an Orphan Drug by the FDA. The product utilizes a proprietary, patent-pending delivery mechanism, which is proven to be safe and tolerable at high doses for people suffering from neurodegenerative diseases, substantially improving brain tissue levels of CoQ10.

Q. What other diseases could benefit from CoQ10 supplementation?

A. Studies show CoQ10 levels are greatly reduced in Alzheimer’s patients. Mitochondrial abnormalities also are noted; however, research has yet to determine how or why this occurs. Some scientists believe damage to mitochondria is an early feature of the disease. Free-radical damage also is a feature of Alzheimer’s.

In a study of 27 Alzheimer’s patients, subjects were given 60 mg of CoQ10, 150 mg of iron, and 180 mg of vitamin B6 daily. Each patient’s mitochondria activity was effectively activated. All patients continued to experience gradual decline. However, researchers believed that with this combination, the progression was much slower and allowed the patients to experience 1 to 2 years of extended good health.

ALS (also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease) is a progressive, fatal, neurological disease. It occurs when the nerve cells in the brain that control voluntary movement gradually degenerate. Investigation of CoQ10 in individuals with ALS is just beginning. Researchers at the Eleanor and Lou Gehrig ALS Center at Columbia University recently conducted a small clinical pilot trial of CoQ10 in ALS. The study was an open label study, which meant that everyone enrolled received CoQ10, 400 mg three times per day. Of the 16 patients originally enrolled, nine patients completed the study. Six of these nine patients experienced some benefits. The patients declined from 0 – 25 percent in functional scores, 6 percent in strength, and 10 percent in breathing ability. These scores reflect a positive trend compared to the 50 percent decline that is seen in the natural history of ALS over the same period of time (5 to 9 months). Citing the need to conduct more studies of the effectiveness of CoQ10 for people with ALS is rapidly and efficiently as possible to get answers to patients and clinicians, another clinical trial is currently underway at the Gehrig ALS Center. This is a pilot study to determine if CoQ10 has short-term effects on motor nerves in the brain using magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). The researchers are going to try to “see” if CoQ10 can change the chemical sin the brain’s upper motor nerves of people with ALS, an important next step of the investigation.

Q. Can taking CoQ10 prevent neurodegenerative disease?

A. To date, there have been no studies or research examining whether CoQ10 can prevent these diseases.

Alzheimer’s disease prevention is being clinically investigated. Researchers have determined that people who take certain anti-inflammatory medications seem less likely to develop the illness. A large, multi-centered trial is studying this connection.

Q. How much CoQ10 should I take?

A. Depending on your family history of neurological disease and your disease experience, studies show benefits at doses of 100 to 200 mg of CoQ10 daily. Some studies used doses of up to 1,200 mg per day.

CoQ10’s safety has been evaluated. To date, no toxicities have been reported. Mild stomach upset may occur. Taking CoQ10 with meals usually alleviates this rare effect.

Q. What should I look for in a CoQ10 supplement?

A. Use products which have a strong clinical research track record, supported by product-specific research from reputable institutions, and have been proven to be safe, tolerable and effective in treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. The CoQ10 product you choose should be proven to: be absorbed, enter the blood stream, cross the blood brain barrier and increase mitochondrial levels of CoQ10. If the product you are considering does not have evidence to support these points, keep looking. Once you have found a candidate, examine the product’s safety and efficacy record for neurodegenerative diseases- if the product has not been proven to be safe and effective, keep looking. Good products exist; however, caveat emptor.

Conclusion

CoQ10 supplementation for people with neurodegenerative diseases is supported by contemporary clinical research. CoQ10 is certainly not the only answer to the complex issues of management and treatment of these types of diseases. However, research indicates that it is a bigger piece of the puzzle than physicians and scientists ever imagined. As we continue to study this naturally occurring compound, we are finding more and more benefits to the body.

All CoQ10 is not created equal. For safety and overall effectiveness, use a CoQ10 product that is supported by product-specific research from reputable institution, which is proven to be safe, tolerable and effective at high doses; deviating from this set of criteria may do more harm than good for people with these serious illnesses. Choose clinically tested products from a well-respected company and increase the potential to achieve and maintain brain and neurological health.

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Buy Coenzyme Q10 (COQ10) at Vitanet

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Date: January 26, 2007 06:12 PM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Mushrooms are good for the Immune System

Medicinal Mushrooms Grown on Purple Kculli Corn Yield Life Changing Results

Even though we treat them like vegetables, mushrooms aren’t really plants. They’re fungi and fungi grow much differently than fruits and vegetables. Most food plants, like strawberries, broccoli, and red bell peppers make chlorophyll from sunlight to gain the nutrients they need to grow. Mushrooms don’t make chlorophyll; to get the nutrients they need to grow, mushrooms release enzymes into the forest floor or flora they’re living on to break down the organic matter into a form the mushroom can absorb.

Because most mushrooms that we eat or use today are raised as crops, or cultivated, they are grown on a variety of substrates. Similar to the commercial potting soils you can buy at nurseries and garden stores, mushroom substrates vary widely in quality and the kinds of nutrients within. Mushrooms are really unique in that they can grow on almost anything, such as sawdust, shredded newspaper, and straw.

However, mushrooms are only as nutritious as the substrate they were grown on-even those unique varieties called medicinal mushrooms. While the simple button mushrooms found on pizza are most often eaten for their woodsy taste and texture, the use of medicinal mushrooms is much more complex. These mushrooms are valued because they contain numerous compounds that have been extensively studies by researchers for their ability to activate cells of the immune system.

Researchers have recently discovered that when medicinal mushrooms are grown on a Purple Kculli (pronounced ka-coo-lee) Corn substrate, the resulting mushrooms are jam-packed with powerful and potent disease-fighting compounds. Beautiful Purple Kculli Corn has long been used by the people of the Peruvian Andes as a tasty vegetable, natural food color, and powerful functional food-keeping them healthy and free of disease.

In this issue of Ask the Medicine Hunter, we’re going to talk about four powerful medicinal mushrooms that, when grown on Purple Kculli Corn, have even more potent compounds to prevent and treat cancer and other serious health problems.

Q. How exactly do medicinal mushrooms prevent and treat cancer?

A. Medicinal mushrooms are very complex. They contain numerous compounds that have been extensively studied for their ability to activate cells of the immune system. Some of the most amazing immune boosting compounds in medicinal mushrooms are beta-glucans 1-3, beta glucans 1-6, arabinogalactins, and arabinoxylans – compounds that work “hand-in-hand” with certain cells of the immune system. But to get abundant amounts of these compounds, medicinal mushrooms must be grown on substrates with high levels of nutrients. And the most nutrient dense substrate of all comes from Purple Kculli Corn.

Q. Why is Purple Kculli Corn extract good for growing medicinal mushrooms?

A. You’ve probably heard that brightly colored fruits and vegetables (like beets, broccoli, and blueberries), have more antioxidant power than paler fruits and vegetables (like iceberg lettuce, onions, and garlic). In fact, the deeper the color, the better. And there is no deeper color in nature than the deep purple of Purple Kculli Corn grown in the lush coastal plains of Peru. The kernels from Purple Kculli Corn are not only naturally beautiful, the pigment itself is extremely healthy and have been used by the people of the Peruvian Andes for centuries as both food and food coloring.

Once harvested, the Purple Kculli Corn is naturally processed into an antioxidant-rich extract. When certain medicinal mushrooms are grown on Purple Kculli Corn extract, the Purple Kculli Corn becomes a super-substrate, producing medicinal mushrooms with incredible amounts of the immune-boosting compounds. And when Purple Kculli Corn extract is added to medicinal mushroom formulas the antioxidant power increases, too.

Q. How do the medicinal mushroom compounds fight disease?

A. When bacteria, viruses, or other pathogens are present in the body, white blood cells, or leukocytes, swing into action. Leukocytes work together to defend the body against infections, like colds or the flu, as well as diseases that start within us, like cancer. These disease fighting cells are the backbone of the body’s defense system. And each type of cell works in different ways.

The macrophage, a name that means “big eater,” is a first-strike leukocyte that protects us from disease by, quit literally, devouring invading pathogens. Natural Killer (NK) cells act like sentries – constantly prowling for cancer cells, killing them quickly when they’re discovered. B-cells are the immune system’s military intelligence, seeking out targets and communicating their coordinates, while T-cells are the foot soldiers, destroying the invaders that the intelligence system has identified.

Scientists have long known that medicinal mushrooms help make white blood cells more deadly. But until recently, they weren’t sure how. Research has now shown that macrophages and NK cells have receptor sites specifically for beta-glucans 1-3 and beta-glucans 1-6. When the beta-glucans bind to the macrophages and NK cells, they make the lymphocytes stronger and more lethal. By increasing the lymphocytes’ strength, beta-glucans help them churn out more of the specialized chemical messengers, too.

Arabinogalactins and arabinoxylans, powerful polysaccharides found in medicinal mushrooms, are potent stimulators of the immune system. These compounds increase the activity of interleukins, interferons, and a tumor necrosis factor, all key components in a healthy immune system. When medicinal mushroom extracts with high amounts of Arabinogalactins and arabinoxylans are taken, diseases are dramatically reduced.

Researchers found that complex polysaccharides in four varieties of medicinal mushrooms – Agaricus blazei (Agaricus), Grifola frondosa (Maitake), Coriolus versicolor (Coriolus or Turkey Tail), and Ganoderma lucidum (Reishi) – are serious cancer fighters. The chart below explains how:

Mushroom Health Benefit

Agaricus (Agaricus Blazei)

Agaricus not only contains the greatest number of medicinal compounds, it also contains a powerful anti-tumor polysaccharide that all other medicinal mushrooms are lacking. Recently, 100 women who were receiving carboplatin, a chemotherapy drug used to treat ovarian cancer, volunteered for an important study. Half of the women were given an extract of Agaricus mushrooms, while the other half were given a placebo or dummy pill. The researchers discovered that NK cell activity was significantly higher in the Agaricus group. The women in this group were also less nauseated, fatigued, and wear than the women taking the placebo, an important consideration for people with cancer.

Maitake (Grifola Frondosa)

Maitake is one of the most researched of all medicinal mushrooms. In one clinical study, the effect of Maitake mushroom compounds were studied in ten patients with cancer who were not currently taking any chemotherapeutic drugs. The researchers found that the Maitake not only significantly stimulated NK cell activity, it also repressed the cancer’s growth, and stopped the tumors’ ability to metastasize, or spread to other parts of the body. And in another clinical study, 165 patients with various types of advanced cancer were given Maitake mushroom compounds alone or with chemotherapy. Cancer regression or significant symptom improvement was observed in 58% of liver cancer patients, 69% of breast cancer patients, and 62% of lung cancer patients. Plus, when Maitake was taken in addition to chemotherapy, the immune cell activities were enhanced 1.2 to 1.4 times, compared with chemotherapy alone.

Coriolus(Coriolus Versicolor)

Versicolor compounds show great promise as cancer immunotherapy agents in all cancer stages. In one clinical trial, 34 patients with advanced terminal lung cancer were given Coriolus versicolor polysaccharides or a placebo (dummy pill) for 28 days. While the group getting the Versicolor felt less fatigued and sick, very important considerations at the end-of-life, there were no changes in the placebo group.

Reishi (Ganoderma Lucidum)

Reishi mushrooms are too tough to eat, but they’ve been used medicinally for centuries and have been extensively researched. In a safety study to determine Reishi’s effect on blood thinning mechanisms, healthy volunteers received 1.5 gm Reishi or placebo daily for 4 weeks. There were no significant changes in either group and all blood clotting measurements remained within the normal range, demonstrating its safety. In a recent clinical study, researchers determined that Reishi increased the number of cancer killing white blood cells and made them more deadly to cancer cells.

Not only do Agaricus, Maitake, Coriolus, and Reishi have incredible amounts of immune boosting polysaccharides, when they are grown on Purple Kculli Corn, they also have a much higher ORAC value than mushrooms grown on other substrates.

Q. What are ORAC values?

A. ORAC, or Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity, is a measurement of the antioxidant power in fruits and vegetables. The higher the power, or ORAC value, the stronger the antioxidant is against free radicals. While free radicals are made by breathing oxygen and digesting food, and are simply the consequences of being alive, the older we get the more free radicals we make. And the more free radicals we make the more destructive they can be. Free radicals will rip membranes, wreck cells, cripple mitochondria, and ruin DNA. As this damage accumulates, even more free radicals are made. And if not stopped or slowed, this might lead to heart disease, arthritis, diabetes, dementia, and cancer.

Q. How does Purple Kculli Corn increase the ORAC value of medicinal mushrooms?

A. All brightly colored fruits and vegetables have very high ORAC values; and the higher the ORAC value – the greater the antioxidant power. Not only can we measure the ORAC values of fruits and vegetables, we can also measure the ORAC values of mushroom substrate extracts. Purple Kculli Corn extract has an ORAC value of 1789 (measured in umolesTE/gram). Now, remember that mushrooms are fungi, not fruits and vegetables, and they gain most of their nutrients from the ground (or substrate) they are grown on. When mushrooms are cultivated or “farmed” on substrates with a high ORAC value, they will absorb compounds from the substrate giving them a higher ORAC value, too. So growing mushrooms on antioxidant rich, high ORAC value, Purple Kculli Corn yields medicinal mushrooms with high ORAC values as well.

Q. Some mushroom supplements have more than four medicinal mushrooms. Wouldn’t a mushroom supplement with seven mushrooms or more have a higher ORAC value than a supplement with only four?

A. Well, more is not always better – especially when it comes to medicinal mushrooms. Some supplements have a “kitchen sink” selection of mushrooms. The makers of these supplements hope that by adding modest amounts of many mushrooms, they will end up with a product that just might have some health benefits.

Clearly, it’s not how many or how exotic the mushrooms are in a medicinal mushroom supplement, it’s the substrate that mushrooms are grown on that makes the difference.

Q. How can I make sure the medicinal mushroom supplement I buy contains natural and organic mushrooms grown on Purple Kculli Corn substrate?

A. Become a label reader! Medicinal mushroom formulas have a statement showing accreditation from a certifying agency, such as the American Food Safety Institute, International; California Organic Farmer Association, Minnesota; or Crop Improvement Association, on the label, and have met certain criteria. They must be grown without chemicals or pesticides. The growers must be certified as organic mushroom produces by an accredited third party. And the growers must keep a record of their production and handling practices.

Conclusion

Of the nearly 38,000 varieties of mushrooms, Agaricus blazei, Grifola frondosa, Coriolus versicolor, and Ganoderma lucidum have impressive medicinal properties. With a little help from Purple Kculli Corn, these mushrooms can provide even more potent and powerful cancer preventing properties for superior mushroom supplements.

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Date: November 09, 2006 01:27 PM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Taming the Tingle – ALA helps fight nerve damage caused by diabetes…and more.

For some people the constant tingling in their feet is the worst part. Others feel like their feet are being stabbed or burned, or that their extremities are simply lifeless. All these folks suffer from peripheral neuropathy, nerve damage that afflicts nearly 30% of people with diabetes aged 40 and older. And if the discomforting sensations are not enough, neuropathy can lead to falls, wounds that won’t heal, even amputation.

Untold numbers of individuals have been helped by alpha lipoic acid (ALA), a supplement that European practitioners have used as a standard neuropathy treatment for 30 years. ALA (also known as thioctic acid) assists in the chemical reaction that generates energy within cells. It serves as a universal antioxidant—a substance that can fight tissue-damaging free radicals in both the fatty watery parts of a cell-and helps the body create additional free radical fighters, such as glutathione. ALA can even help regenerate several other antioxidants, including coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) and vitamins C and E.

Defying diabetes

People with diabetes need antioxidant protection as much as anyone. Fortunately for them, though, ALA fights this insidious disorder in many other ways.

Diabetes occurs when the body can no longer effectively use glucose (blood sugar), its main energy sources; ALA helps shepherd glucose out of the blood and into cells. It also interferes with glycosylation, a process in which glucose sticks to proteins such as the low-density lipoprotein (LDL) that carries cholesterol through the bloodstream. That’s important because this “sticky” LDL can adhere to arterial walls, creating a major risk factor for heart disease. ALA combined with exercise appears to make insulin, the hormone that controls glucose usage, more effective. What’s more, early research indicates that ALA can deflect another cardio hazard by interfering with the ability of salt to push blood pressure upward (molecular and Cellular Biology 12/03).

ALA Annotations – what is it? Alpha Lipoic acid, a substance the body creates naturally.

What it Does: ALA, a powerful antioxidant in its own right, plays a vital role in the creation and renewal of other antioxidants. It is used to treat peripheral neuropathy; nerve damage caused by diabetes, and is also under investigation for possible therapeutic effects in other disorders, including multiple sclerosis and age-related cognitive decline.

Diabetes doesn’t just attack the nerves and the heart—its effects are felt throughout the body. That’s why scientists are examining whether ALA can tackle other diabetic complications: in lab studies it has forestalled diabetes-related kidney and eye damage. (Check blood-sugar levels regularly when using ALA, especially if you’re taking other glucose regulators.)

Protecting Nerves

While diabetes is one of the most common causes of nervous system damage, it isn’t the only one. In test tube studies ALA has promoted chemical reactions that encourage neurons (nerve cells) to survive and grow; as a result some scientists believe this natural antioxidant may eventually play a role in treating degenerative nerve disorders. Such research is in its beginning stages, but the results are still intriguing. For example, in mice ALA has slowed progression of a disorder that mimics multiple sclerosis in human beings (Journal of Neuroimmunology 3/04) and improved age-related memory loss when used with N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC), another antioxidant supplement (Journal of Neurochemistry 3/03). A number of other conditions that become more common with age may also benefit from ALA, including arthritis and thinning skin.

If you suffer from both diabetes and the nerve damage it causes, ask your practitioner about ALA. It just may help your feet and the rest of you feel happy. –Lisa James

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Date: November 09, 2006 11:54 AM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Barking Up The Wrong Tree – Dietary Supplements are targeted while foods sicken millions.

• //www.energytimes.com/

The FDA and our enemies in Congress want you to believe that non-causal Adverse Event Reporting (AER, as presented in the S.3546 bill in Senate and the HR.6168 now in the House of Representatives) for supplements should be implemented to protect our health. The latest nationwide E.coli outbreak casts a shadow of doubt on S.3546/HR.6168 supporters’ motives, however-because these bills are treating safe, natural supplements as dangerous threats while foods wreak havoc on our nation’s health.

By the time this issue went to press, 187 people had been sickened and as many as three people had died from toxic E.coli bacteria found in contaminated bags of spinach. Tragically, this is nothing new; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that food borne disease cause approximately 76 million illnesses, 325,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths in the United Stages each year. More than 200 known diseases are transmitted through bad food.

Despite these staggering figures, there is no adverse event reporting system in place for foods. So if our enemies in Congress truly want to protect us, why are they pursuing non causal AER for safe, natural dietary supplements and not foods? The unfortunate answer is that non-causal AER supporters are either ignorant or in pursuit to non-disclosed political agendas. The latter is extremely disturbing especially when these self serving political agendas, promoted in the name of “protecting health,” will actually harm public health by taking away our supplements.

Puzzling priorities

Not only are AER supporters barking up the wrong tree, but the AER bills that they have constructed are totally destructive. S.3546/HR.6168 is based on association and not causation. That’s right—S.3546/HR.6168 disregard what actually caused an adverse event, and instead use “guilt by association.” These poorly constructed bills are impotent when it comes to protecting people, but nonetheless are poised to devastate the nutritional supplements industry. If passed, S.3546/HR.6168 will unleash a barrage of frivolous lawsuits that will make trial lawyers rich while bankrupting the entire nutritional supplement industry and taking away our vitamins forever.

It is hard to imagine why some elected officials, the FDA and certain nutritional supplement industry groups are channeling so much money and energy into AER for harmless supplements while potentially deadly pathogens are tainting our food supply and sickening millions. If our elected officials truly wish to help the American people and protect public health, they should leave safe, natural dietary supplements alone and focus their AER efforts on foods—but only if they take the time to draft an intelligent, functional AER bill that is based causality.

Don’t Give Up the Fight

Adverse events with supplements are practically nonexistent. Adverse events with food are abundant. Elected officials who support S.3546/HR.6168 and the non-causal AER they espouse are clearly misguided, with an imbecile’s grasp on prioritization. If you agree that non-causal AER for supplements is an unwarranted waste of time and will destroy the industry by guilt by association, then please voice your opinion, before it’s too late!

Please call and fax Joe Barton, Chairman of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and other key AER players at the following numbers (fax numbers second): Barton at 202-225-2002, 202-225-3052; Chairman of the Judiciary Committee F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr. at 202-225-5101,202-225-3190; House Majority Leader John Boehner at 202-225-6205, 202-225-0704; Speaker of the House J. Dennis Hastert at 202-225-2976,202-225-0697; and Congressman Nathan Deal a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, at 202-225-5211, 202-225-8272.

Don’t let self-serving political skullduggery take your vitamins and supplements away from you! Visit www.NHA2006.com and take advantage of online tools that allow you to easily send faxes to Congress. Please do not delay—without swift and decisive action, we may all lose our health freedom forever!

*This editorial is a public service announcement sponsored by the Nutritional Health Alliance (NHA).

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Date: August 26, 2006 02:41 PM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Remifemin symptomatic relief, scientifically supported*

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Date: August 07, 2006 12:12 PM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Mother's Calming Embrace - New Motherwort from Solaray

Motherwort may be recognized as an herb used by women as suggested by the common name. used since ancient times for discomfort associated with female reproductive cycles during all stages of life. Motherwort may help provide nutritive support for regularity, relaxation, and a woman’s natural transition. Leonurus Cardiaca or Motherwort is primarily an herb of the heart as suggested by the Latin name. The German Commission E has approved Motherwort for thyroid and heart support. Traditionally used for relaxation and as a cardiac tonic, research suggests it may help support healthy blood circulation and pressure while relaxing tense muscles. Supplement Facts: Serving Size 1 Vegetarian Capsule Motherwort (Leonurus Cardiaca)(Aerial) --- 425mg 100 capsule bottle.

Solaray Vitamins

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Date: February 25, 2006 01:54 PM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Spectral DNC for Hair Loss (Minoxidil 5%)

WORLD’S MOST EFFECTIVE TOPICAL HAIR LOSS TREATMENT Spectral DNC® is the world’s most effective topical hair loss treatment designed for androgenic alopecia and other types of hair loss in men. Clinically proven to help re-grow hair, it is also significantly more effective then Rogaine® or any other topical hair loss treatment currently available. Spectral DNC® has the following active ingredients: Minoxidil 5% (clinically proven to help re-grow hair; approved by the FDA in treating male-pattern hair loss for more then 15 years. How Minoxidil works as a treatment for hair loss is not fully understood.) Aminexil SP94 (clinically proven to help re-grow hair; Aminexil is a patented molecule that is the result of over 10 years of research at L’Oreal laboratories. Research has indicated that hair loss is linked to the stiffening of the hair roots and Aminexil has been specifically developed to prevent the stiffening and premature aging of the roots.) Retinol (has been shown to improve the absorption and effectiveness of Minoxidil; Minoxidil and Retinol is often prescribed together by dermatologists) Vitamin Complex (accelerates the metabolism of the hair follicle) Herbal Extracts (provides circulation and nutrition to the affected tissues) Nanosomes (microscopic capsules deliver active ingredients deeper into the tissue) Spectral DNC® works by combining the effectiveness of each of the active ingredients and simultaneously combating various causes of hair loss. This formula also enhances the action of each ingredient to grow normally strong and healthy hair which is not possible to achieve with any of the active ingredients alone. Spectral DNC® produces more rapid results then Rogaine and produces effective results in users who previously did not respond to the Rogaine treatment. Spectral DNC® can also treat hair loss on the entire scalp including the frontal areas, while Rogaine® (pure Minoxidil) has only been shown effective on the crown of the scalp. Minoxidil has been tested in hundreds of clinical studies on thousands of volunteers and has been shown effective in the treatment of hair loss particularly on the vertex of the head. Minoxidil has been approved for use in treating male-pattern hair loss for more than 15 years. Clinical studies of the effects of 5% Minoxidil in treating male-pattern hair loss report that a majority of patients found: Very effective to effective results in promoting new hair growth over the period of treatment Decreased hair loss Minimal side effects Results of the studies were evaluated by both patients and physicians; in one of the studies, physicians with male-pattern hair loss were included in the study population. Click here to read clinical studies for Minoxidil Aminexil is the only other clinically proven medication that has been shown to be effective in the treatment of hair loss. Research at L'Oreal laboratories has discovered that hair loss in men and women is linked to the accelerated ageing of the roots characterized by the stiffening of hair roots. This causes the roots to become rigid and compresses the blood vessels that nourish and stimulate them. The roots weaken, and the hair falls out prematurely (alopecia). In men, the stiffening of roots gradually spreads; the roots produce hair that is increasingly fine and has an ever shorter life span. Aminexil is a genuine anti-hair loss innovation and fights against the stiffening of hair roots, closely linked to their premature ageing. Thus, Aminexil preserves the vital functions of the roots and helps to reduce hair loss. Aminexil is protected by an international patent and guarantees effectiveness verified by dermatologists. Click here to read clinical studies for Aminexil SP94 Through extensive research and testing, dermatologists found that coupling retinol (a vitamin-A derived substance) with Minoxidil produced dramatically better results than just using Minoxidil alone. Retinol helps control the proper functioning of the sebaceous glands. The sebaceous glands produce sebum on the scalp. Sebum contains DHT (DHT which is produced from testosterone is the androgen thought to be most responsible for male pattern baldness) which is then reabsorbed into the hair follicles to do further damage. Proper moderation of the sebaceous glands and their production of sebum can help control skin scalp DHT levels and when combined with Minoxidil further helps prevent androgen related hair loss. The Vitamin Complex is rich in Biotin and Mineral Salts and provides energy and accelerates the metabolism of the hair follicle. Physical and emotional stresses contribute to hair loss by causing hormonal disturbances as well as a lack of vitamins and mineral salts. In this state, the entire metabolism speeds up, activating the production of hormones which stimulate the sebaceous glands, causing a build up of grease on the scalp which "suffocates" the roots, weakening the hair and causing it to fall out. These factors can be the cause of hair loss and can significantly accelerate hereditary hair loss. Spectral DNC® targets this problem with a unique vitamin complex from the finest raw ingredients. Ivy, Hops and Capsicum Herbal Extracts penetrate deep into the scalp next to the roots, speeding up the circulation and the nutrition of the affected tissues, recovering the weakened hair strands. This formula promotes better circulation to the scalp, addresses damaging free radicals with potent antioxidants, helps to block DHT and fights harmful bacteria. This dramatically boosts the effectiveness of Minoxidil and Aminexil SP94 and promotes hair that is healthy and strong. DS Laboratories proprietary nanosomes act as the carrier enhancement agent. These nanosomes are about 10 times smaller then cells and penetrate deep into the epidermis and continuously release the active herbal extracts over a 12 hour period. This allows penetration deeper into the hair follicle then other carrier agent including Tretinoin or Azelaic Acid and further enhances the performance of all the ingredients in Spectral.DNC. Click here to read more about the proprietary nanosomes used in DS Laboratories products. What you can expect from Spectral.DNC: Like any other topical hair loss treatment such as Rogaine or Aminexil, Spectral DNC® will be most effective in early stages of hair loss. However, many users who did not respond to the Rogaine or Aminexil treatment may see results with Spectral DNC® including users with advanced stages of hair loss. You can also expect more pronounced and faster results (thicker fuller hair with result after just 3 months of use) then with either Rogaine or Aminexil alone. If your hair loss is caused by hereditary factors then continued use will be required to maintain new hair growth. If you discontinue use of Spectral DNC® then hair that grew under the treatment will begin to fall out over a period of 2 – 3 months. There is no “cure” for hair loss; Spectral.DNC® simply allows to control hair loss. If the cause of hair loss is related to other factors such as diet, emotional or physical stress, and hormonal changes then it is possible to completely discontinue the use of Spectral DNC® and retain the newly grown hair.

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Date: January 28, 2006 03:16 PM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Maintaining your Bone Health

Which womam should be concerned about Calcium?

Maintaining your Bone Health*

No matter your age, it’s never too late (or too early) to do all you can to keep your bones healthy. As women age, their bodies require additional bone supplrt that involves far more than just calcium. Let Enzymatic Therapy Lifestage system for Women help you take control of your bone health naturally with three great options – each specifically targeted for one of the three lifestages.*

Lifestage 1:
During the years when women’s estrogen levels are high, usually between age 15 and 40, its important to build a solid foundation for bone health.*

Calcium

• Provides more calcium and Vitamin D than drinking 3 glasses of whole milk, without the calories*
• Contains the right balance of calcium and phosphorus for active absorption*

Lifestage 2:
During the middle stage of perimenopause, which can start at age 35 and last until 50, greater levels of bone nutrients are needed.*

OsteoPrime*

• Preserves mineral mass*
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Lifestage 3:
For most women, menopause begins in their mid-40’s to eary 50s when the body requires premium bone support.*

New! OsteoPrime Plus – a new formula that includes Natto K2, which is clinically shown to enhance calcium absorption and bone building function.*

Clinically proven ingredients

• Reduces Bone Loss*
• Increases Bone density*

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Date: December 10, 2005 03:21 PM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: What other supplements can help me with CFS?

A. Many people with CFS/FMS are suffering from adrenal burnout. Adrenal burnout occurs when the adrenal glands are constantly producing cortisol in response to chronic stress like that seen in cases of CFS. Over time, this exhausts the adrenal reserve, meaning the adrenal gland can no longer increase cortisol production in response to stress.

The good news is that changes in our hormone levels can return to normal when stress is decreased. However, in cases of CFS, that return to normal can be made much simpler by using a glandular therapy regimen to ensure healthy cortisol levels and adrenal function.

Glandular therapy uses the concentrated forms of bovine (cow) or porcine (pig) glands to improve the health of our glands. Pioneers in the field of endocrinology (the study of hormones) hypothesized that glandular extracts work by providing nutrients the body lacks and thus repairing the malfunctioning gland.

Adrenal Extract

If CFS has left your adrenal glands in a stressed-out state, you should see great results by taking adrenal supplements. Be sure to buy an adrenal extract supplement that contains both whole adrenal and adrenal cortex extracts.

The best adrenal supplement should also contain vitamin C, vitamin B^, L-tyrosine, betaine, pantothenic acid and licorice.

Licorice contains glycyrrhizin, which is broken down into glycycrrhizic or glycycrrhetinic acid. This compound inhibits the activity of an enzyme that turns active cortisol into inactive cortisol. While in high amounts (greater than 100 mg of glycycrrhizic acid/day), licorice administration causes hypertension, no such effects have been observed at lower doses. Experts have speculated that inhibition of the cotisol-converting enzyme may reduce cortisol-related symptoms associated with adrenal insufficiency. The adrenal glands use these nutrients to manufacture cortisone and other compounds. It just makes sense to purchase an adrenal supplement with these supportive ingredients.

The Road to Recovery- Adequate Sleep

Disordered sleep is the underlying process that drives many of the symptoms of CFS/FMS. The most effective way to eliminate pain in CFS/FMS is to get seven to nine hours of deep sleep each night.

However, getting adequate sleep is easier said then done for CFS sufferers with underlying fibromyalgia symptoms. The muscle knots of fibromyalgia make it uncomfortable to lie in one position for an extended time, causing difficulty in returning to deep sleep. Because of this, people with CFS/FMS do not stay in deep stages of sleep to recharge their “batteries.” In addition, poor sleep can cause and be caused by the suppression of the hypothalamus gland, which causes the brain to think it is daytime instead of night time.

It may be helpful to use herbal products to promote good quality sleep. There are may natural supplements that are marketed as sleep formulas. To get the best results, it is very important that the right ingredients are in the sleep formula you buy. Therefore, it is important to look for an herbal sleep formula that is especially formulated for people with CFS/FMS. The combination of herbs is important as each herb addresses a different aspect of sleeplessness and muscle tension.

Putting It All Together

After a good night’s rest, a powdered energy drink mix formulated for people with CFS/FMS should be drunk along with a well-balanced breakfast as discussed earlier. In addition to the nutritional beverage mix, a vitamin B complex supplement designed specifically for CFS sufferers, also discussed earlier, containing niacinamide, thiamin, riboflavin, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, pantothenic acid, and choline, should be taken every morning. The nutritional drink mix and the vitamin B complex supplement will ensure that your body has all the vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and other nutrients, to combat your overwhelming fatigue, pain, and “brain fog.” Taking a daily adrenal supplement, like the one discussed earlier, will provide the much needed (and often depleted) nutrients your body may be lacking, and help you recover lost energy.

Together, these four interventions: sleep formula; morning energy drink; energy B complex supplement; and an adrenal complex can make an incredible difference that you should begin to notice within 2-3 weeks of starting this program.

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Date: December 10, 2005 03:14 PM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: What are the complications of chronic fatigue syndrome?

A. The patterns of CFS vary from individual to individual. However, many common patterns of symptoms are seen in CFS suffers. These symptoms and problems interact and create new symptoms and problems. For example, infections and disrupted sleep can lead to digestive, hormone, and immune problems.

Infections

The most notorious pattern seen in CFS is the one in which a person suddenly comes down with a flu-like illness that doesn’t go away. These viral or bacterial infections can suppress the body’s master gland, the hypothalamus. Since the hypothalamus controls the other glands, including the adrenals, ovaries, testes, and thyroid, suppression of this gland will lead to a subtle but debilitating decrease in the functioning of all glands and their hormones. Suppressed hypothalamic function from chronic infections can then trigger sleep dysfunction.

Disrupted Sleep

The suppression of the hypothalamus gland can lead to poor sleep because the body confuses its day/night cycles. Because of this, people with CFS have trouble staying in the deep, restorative stages of sleep that “recharge their batteries.”

Poor sleep can cause immune suppression, which may lead to secondary bowel infections. The bowel infections seen in people with CFS can cause decreased absorption of nutrients, which can lead to chronic vitamin and mineral deficiencies.

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Date: October 21, 2005 01:36 PM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Pregnant and eating for two...

Not - Quite - Dual - Nutrition

It’s time to ditch a dietary cliché often foisted on expectant moms. “try to keep in mind that you are not eating for two, you are carefully eating for one,” write Catherine Jones and prenatal nutrition expert Rose Ann Hudson in Eating for Pregnancy (Marlowe & Company), who add that pregnancy “is not a time to skip meal, eat junk food or lad up on empty calories for quick energy.” The idea is to eat a nutritious diet that allows you to gain weight gradually as your baby grows.

It helps to be at a healthy weight when starting a family. Being overweight makes conception more difficult, and at least one study ahs found a link between excess maternal weight and the risk of a birth defect called cleft palate (in which the roof of the mouth is split from behind the teeth to the nasal cavity). However, dieting during pregnancy may actually program a child for obesity by rewiring the developing brain, so try to lose weight before you try to conceive.

How much should you expect to gain over the course of nine months? “A lot depends on your unique circumstances and the advice of your health care provider, but in general you can anticipate adding from two to five pounds a month for the first 14 weeks and roughly a pound a week thereafter until your due date-between 25 and 35 pounds in total. That translates into roughly and extra 300 calories a day; Jones and Hudson say that more nourishment may be necessary if you are breastfeeding, extremely active or carrying more than one child. Since stress and anxiety often lead to out-of-control eating (and gaining), be sure to tend to your own emotional needs during what can be a very exhilarating, yet sometimes overwhelming, time of life.

For maximum nutrition try to eat a variety of foods while avoiding anything that provokes morning sickness. Whole grains provide both steady energy (unlike sugar-fueled spikes and crashes) and B vitamins to boot. Do not scrimp on fat-your baby’s developing nervous system depends on it-but “don’t use your pregnancy as an excuse to pig out, either,” warn Jones and Hudson. Stick with such unsaturated fats as olive oil along with rich sources of omega-3 fatty acids like flax seed oil. You definitely want to indulge in those omega-3s, which appear to boost infant intellectual development. Fish is a fine source of both omega-3 and the high-quality protein needed to build your baby’s tissues, but beware: Some species such as fresh tuna, swordfish, tilefish and king mackerel, can be contaminated with mercury. Your best low-mercury bets are catfish, pollock, salmon, and shrimp. (Other good protein sources include chicken, cottage cheese, lean red meat, yogurt and milk, all organically sourced whenever possible.)

Supplemental fish oil is another omega-3 possibility because “mercury is found in the muscle of fish and not in the oil,” according to OSU’s Jane Higdon, who suggests consulting your health care practitioner for advice. “If I was going to take a fish oil supplement, I’d look for one that the manufacturer is testing for PCBs (an industrial pollutant),” such as products that meet California’s Proposition 65 standards.

Don’t forget to stock the fridge with fresh produce. Fruits and veggies are richly endowed with vitamins and minerals; for example, making like Popeye and downing your spinach helps ensure you get plenty of folic acid and iron.

These superfoods also supply phytonutrients, substances that may actually help protect your baby against cancer even as they enhance your own well-being. Studies on the link between maternal diet and childhood cancer protection are in the early stages according to Dr. David Williams, a researcher at the Linus Pauling Institute, but he says that shouldn’t stop you from loading up on cancer-fighting green stuff. “Certainly among the vegetables the cruciferous ones (the broccoli family) are particularly valuable in protecting against cancer,” he says. “These vegetables are also a good source of fiber and vitamin C.”

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New antibiotics expected for resistant pneumonia bugs

Date: October 10, 2005 11:52 AM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: New antibiotics expected for resistant pneumonia bugs

New antibiotics expected for resistant pneumonia bugs

Scientists recently announced the expected arrival of a new family of bacteria-killers on the horizon for pneumonia and other diseases. These new antibiotics should offer an alternative to standard antibiotics, many of which have lost their punch against increasingly resistant germs.

The standard treatment today for many bacterial infections that cause respiratory diseases are medicines called macrolides. These include well-known antiobiotics like penicillin and erythromycin. However, certain bacteria strains are growing resistant to them, as well as to the primary back-up medicines, known as quinolones.

The pharmaceutical industry's response to this problem is ketolides. Ketolides are derived from macrolides, but since they have a different chemical composition, they will kill bacteria that are resistant to macrolides. Researchers recently presented reports on two varieties of ketolides at an infectious diseases meeting sponsored by the American Society for Microbiology. Aventis Pharmaceuticals recently filed with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to gain permission to sell a new ketolide antibiotic, Ketek, or telithromycin. A similar drug made by Abbott Pharmaceuticals, code named ABT-773, is also in the early stages of human testing.

Researchers presented new Ketek studies involving 2,500 patients. These reports intended to show how the once-a-day Ketek is equally effective as other standard antibiotics in treating many bacterial diseases, including pneumonia, bronchitis, sinus infections and sore throats. Scientist also say since the Ketek treatment lasts just five days, which is shorter than most antibiotic treatments, bacteria may be less likely to grow resistant to the new drug.

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PROGESTERONE AND OSTEOPOROSIS

Date: July 25, 2005 10:18 PM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: PROGESTERONE AND OSTEOPOROSIS

PROGESTERONE AND OSTEOPOROSIS

At this writing, evidence points to the fact that natural progesterone may be even more effective in treating osteoporosis than estrogen replacement therapy. While this evidence is still in its initial stages, it is significant and must be considered. In 1981, Dr. John Lee conducted a landmark study evaluating the effectiveness of using natural progesterone for osteoporosis.20 His study indicated that it is the cessation of progesterone production in postmenopausal women which causes the development of osteoporosis. Contrary to current trends, progesterone replacement, not estrogen, in fact may be the answer to preventing and treating osteoporosis. Dr. Lee’s study has profound implications for all women.

In his practice, Dr. Lee applied a natural progesterone cream on one hundred postmenopausal women and eliminated their usual dose of oral Provera (a synthetic progestin). The majority of these women were in varying stages of osteoporosis. Each participant used the natural progesterone cream for several consecutive days each month over a period of three years. The results were dramatic, to say the least. In addition to preventing further height loss and eliminating aches and pains, the bone mineral density of the spine was preserved in 63 of the women. In other words, these women not only stopped the bone loss associated with osteoporosis but actually experienced an increase in bone mass which, in many cases was more dramatic than had been seen with other therapies. In addition, the incidence of bone fractures actually dropped to zero. Dr Lee’s study found that estrogen was not the panacea for bone density previously assumed. He discovered that the women who took estrogen in combination with the progesterone were not better off than those who took progesterone alone. What was even more impressive was discovering that osteoporosis is a reversible condition with progesterone therapy. Concerning the use of progesterone for osteoporosis, Dr. Lee writes:

. . . when my 40 year old housewives had become 60-year olds with osteoporosis and I learned of transdermal natural progesterone (being sold as a skin moisturizer), I started adding it to my therapeutic regimen for osteoporosis, at first only to those for whom estrogen was contraindicated. To my surprise, serial bone mineral density tests showed a significant rise without a hint of side effects. With this obvious success, my use of natural progesterone spread to osteoporosis patients who were not doing all that well on estrogen alone. Again, it proved successful.21

Apparently, women who had the lowest bone densities experienced the greatest increases, implying that age and the progression of the diseases does not affect the beneficial therapeutic action of natural progesterone.

This study is profoundly significant in that it strongly suggests that women who take estrogen to prevent or treat osteoporosis may be better off using natural progesterone. As a result of Lee’s findings, several physicians began to use natural progesterone cream for their pre- and postmenopausal patients.

The most striking implication of Dr. Lee’s work with natural progesterone is that contrary to current medical opinion, osteoporosis may be more a manifestation of a progesterone deficiency than a lack of estrogen. In addition, the disease may be initiated long before menopause when estrogen levels are still high.22 Moreover, continued estrogen therapy for women with osteoporosis often caps out whereas progesterone therapy continually promotes the production of new bone.23 Dr. C. Norman Shealy, M.D. states: I believe that natural progesterone cream derived from wild yam extract should be used by almost every mature adult . . . The most common cause of death in elderly women is from the complications of fracture of the hip from osteoporosis. Such fractures are also remarkably common in men. I believe that progesterone cream could do more to preserve health and well-being in elderly people than all the drugs in the world.24

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Alzheimer’s Disease and Ginkgo

Date: June 25, 2005 11:26 AM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Alzheimer’s Disease and Ginkgo

Alzheimer’s Disease and Ginkgo

Concerning Alzheimer’s disease, ginkgo has been shown to normalize the acetylcholine receptors in the brain of aged animals which results in an increased transmission of nerve impulses. Alzheimer patients experience a decrease in these very functions.

Clearly, test results have repeatedly shown that ginkgo has a positive effect in geriatric patients who have already experienced a deterioration of their mental performance. For this reason, it should be considered a viable treatment option in cases of Alzheimer’s disease and senile dementia. It is important to realize that it appears the ginkgo works more effectively in delaying the mental demise that occurs in the initial stages of Alzheimer’s disease. Once the disease is well established, the effects of ginkgo are minimized. On the other hand, if mental deterioration is due to a circulatory insufficiency, ginkgo therapy can help to reverse the condition.

Laboratory tests performed on aged rats showed that ginkgo extract works to protect neuronal membranes in the brain. In addition, these tests also showed that the herb has a restorative effect which can help to pre vent the decrease in cerebral receptors that occurs with aging.7

Double-blind studies on groups of elderly subjects have confirmed that using ginkgo before presenting tests which required mental p rocessing significantly shortened the time required to process the material, which facilitated a speedier transference of information. Combining ginkgo with panax ginseng had similar results. Tests showed that this combination has a favorable effect on both learning and memory in aged individuals.

Perhaps the most exciting biological potential ginkgo has is the possibility that it may pre vent the onset of certain age-re lated disorders if taken early enough. Research suggests that it may offer significant protection agains t the development of mental deterioration and strokes. In other words, the diminished mental function which routinely accompanies aging could be significantly prevented with ginkgo therapy.

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Cancer and Echinacea

Date: June 24, 2005 03:45 PM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Cancer and Echinacea

Cancer and Echinacea

Some experts believe that over the last 40 years, science has lost its battle with cancer. Progress has been slow and cancer mortality rates continue to rise despite the enormous amount of money spent on research. While most of us are aware of potential carcinogens which surround us at every turn, most of us do not take a preventative approach.

In other words, even if we eat nutritiously and try to protect ourselves from toxin exposure, cancers still develop. The role of the immune system in cancer pre vention is significant to say the least. Why some people develop cancerous tumors and others do not may be linked to immune function.

We’re all aware of the new emphasis on antioxidants today. Likewise, stimulating and strengthening the immune system may also provide significant protection against certain types of malignancy. It’s time to concentrate on why some of us don’t get cancer instead of focusing all our attention on why some of us do.

In addition to boosting the immune system, echinacea has been shown to increase pro p e rdin levels in the body which may be responsible for its anti-cancer activity. By increasing the production and secretion of interferon, echinacea may help enable the body to neutralize carcinogens.15

USDA researchers have found that echinacea contains a tumor inhibiting compound. This compound is an oncolytic lipid-soluble hydrocarbon. This particular substance which is found in the essential oil of echinacea, has shown its ability to inhibit lymphocytic leukemia and other types of cancers.

One theory concerning this activity is that it probably does not involve creating a cytotoxic effect directly on cancer cells, but rather stimulates the action of anti-cancer cells such as natrual killer cells already present in the body.

The fact that echinacea inhibits the enzyme, hyaluronidase may also be a factor. The same type of mechanism that breaks down the protective barrier around cells so that disease microbes can enter is thought to occur in the initial stages of tumor formation. Because echinacea prevents the formation of hyaluronidase, it may play a role in preventing the development of certain types of cancer.16

Allergies and Echinacea

German research has demonstrated echinacea’s ability to treat certain allergic reactions.17 It may be the cortisone-like activity of echinacea which accounts for its anti-inflammatory action. In the case of allergic reactions, the immuno-suppressive action of echinacea kicks in.

An allergy occurs when the immune system becomes overly stimulated by the presence of an allergen. Each time that the allergen enters the body an allergic response is initiated. Echinacea can temper this cascade of symptoms by stabilizing mast cells, which are responsible for the histamine release which creates havoc with our bodies. This action results in a substantial reduction of allergy symptoms.

The fact that echinacea actually suppresses the immune system is nothing less than remarkable. This herb might be referred to as “the botanical with a brain.” In other words, it can either stimulate or inhibit immune response as determined by the status of the body. Synthetic drugs do not have this ability.

Healing Stimulation by Echinacea

Because echinacea has antiseptic pro p e rties, it can be used both internally and externally to heal conditions such as bed sores, boils, burns, ulcers and wounds of any kind. The inulin Echinacin B content of echinacea extracted from the rhizome gives echinacea its wound healing pro p e rties. It also accelerates the production of granulomatous tissue which is necessary for tissue healing in the body. 18

Russian studies have shown that echinacea also helps to stimulate healing in wounds and prevents blood clotting.19

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Echinacea

Because echinacea contains the polysaccharides inulin and echinacin it may be helpful in fighting stubborn viral infections such as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Anytime the immune system becomes c o m p romised due to exhaustion, allergies, or depression, viral and bacterial invasion can occur. The chemical compounds contained in echinacea promote improved resistance to all septic or infectious conditions.20

Prostate Disorders and Echinacea

Echinacea is believed to be one of the best herbs in the treatment of enlarged prostate glands or other prostate disorders .21 Its anti-inflammatory properties are believed to help decrease swelling and irritation. Tests on mice have shown that using echinacea to control inflammatory responses has resulted in a decrease in edema or swelling.

Weight Loss and Echinacea

When combined with chickweed, echinacea has been used to promote weight loss.22 Scientifically, there is a lack of data to explain this particular effect.

Echinacea and Skin Damage

Any type of skin damage, whether caused by injury or infection can be treated with echinacea. One of the major actions of this herb is its ability to inhibit a specific enzyme that weakens connective tissue cells when they are exposed to certain microorganisms. This enzyme is called hyaluronidase .23 Whenever skin cells have been compromised by infectious organisms, echinacea can help prevent the spread of infection and speed the healing of the skin by preventing the break down of skin tissue at the cellular level. The anti-hyaluronidase action of echinacea, especially when applied as a poultice, can significantly prevent infection and enhance healing in burns, cuts, and abrasions.

In addition, topical applications of echinacea are valuable in treating snake and insect bites. German research suggests that echinacea extracts and salves can benefit a variety of inflammatory skin conditions including: psoriasis, eczema, and herpes.24

Yeast Inf ect ions and Echinacea

Yeast infections are caused by an fungus called Candida albicans. This particular organism has been the subject of intense interest, research and controversy over the last several years. Standard medical therapies for yeast infections usually involve the use of antibiotics and antifungal drugs which can, in themselves, compromise the immune system. In laboratory tests using control groups, subjects who received echinacea we re compared to those who took standard antifungal treatments. In these cases, better results we re obtained with the echinacea.25 It is the polysaccharides contained in echinacea which seem to enhance the resistance of the immune system against the Candida fungus. This finding again stresses that echinacea may have important therapeutic applications for anyone who is in a weakened state and susceptible to opportunistic infections.26 Echinacea in both external and internal forms can be used to treat yeast infections. It has been suggested that anyone who has recurring yeast infections should consider adding echinacea extract to their repertoire of health supplements.

Inflammation, Arthrit is and Echinacea

Some laboratory tests have demonstrated that echinacea has certain anti-inflammatory pro p e rties which can help prevent or decrease the inflammation and swelling typically found in arthritis sufferers. Unlike the inflammatory response of the body to infections, the chronic inflammation of joint diseases such as arthritis is not desireable. In these cases, echinacea can help to inhibit chronic inflammation. Its effect is considered equal to approximately half of that resulting from steroid drugs like cortisone in arthritic patients.27

Apparently, echinacea contains a specific factor which prevents inflammation and swelling when observed in certain laboratory tests. This particular tonic action may be quite helpful for people who suffer from chronic arthritis. Arthritis symptoms result from an immune response which creates inflammation in the joints. As is the case with allergies, when arthritis is present, echinacea inhibits the inflammatory action of the immune system.

It is interesting to note that another component of echinacea actually boosts the inflammatory response when it is appropriate. For this reason, wounds respond well to echinacea.

Steroids are commonly prescribed for inflammatory diseases such as arthritis. Because steroid drugs have so many negative side-effects, echinacea may prove to be an invaluable treatment for improper immune system reactions that cause conditions like arthritis.

HIV and Echinacea

At this writing, the possible role of echinacea on HIV has not been established. While some preliminary studies look promising, much more research is needed to determine whether or not echinacea’s stimulation of immune function will benefit AIDS patients.

(https://vitanetonline.com:443/forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=1&Message_ID=416)

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CLA and Cancer

Date: June 22, 2005 09:44 PM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: CLA and Cancer

CLA and Cancer

Because of Pariza’s 1979 research, some of the earliest studies done on CLA were to see if it could block the development of cancer. Dr. Pariza and his colleagues at the University of Wisconsin/Madison’s Food Research Institute in Madison took extracts from beef that they knew had “mutagen modulators” (this was before they isolated CLA.).15 They took two groups of mice, to one they applied this extract on their skin. On the other group, they did not apply the extract on the skin. Then, on both sets, researchers put a cancer-causing substance called dimethylbenaanthracene—DMBA for short—and applied it to the skin.

Sixteen weeks later, doctors counted the mice that had tumors and how many tumors each of those mice had. The number of mice with tumors was 20 percent lower when given the beef extract, and, significantly, the numbers of tumors on those mice that did develop cancer was half what it was on the untreated mice. This meant that this extract could, perhaps, prevent some cancers in mice and, slow tumors after they develop. (Today, Pariza writes that CLA inhibits cancer development at various stages, from initiation to metastasis.)16 After isolating CLA by itself, Pariza and others found that CLA also cut the incidence of skin tumors.17

Scientist Clement Ip at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo did a similar study using DMBA with rats, this time feeding different amounts of CLA into the diet and over a longer period of time. He and his team measured how many breast tumors these rats developed. As might have been expected with the earlier work, 20 percent fewer animals developed the tumors—among those receiving the most CLA—than the rats that received none, and the total number of tumors that developed was 60 percent less. In general, the data showed that the more CLA, the greater the protective effect.18 This is significant in the human world because many researchers see a link between a woman’s consumption of fat and her risk of getting breast cancer, and CLA could help modulate that. Any research to lower a woman’s chance of contracting breast cancer is useful. Today in the United States, as many as one in eight will contract the dread disease.19 In 1990, Dr. Pariza and his colleagues also found a lower incidence of cancers in parts of the stomach.20 Rats were given something called 2-amino-3-methylimidazo (4,5-f]quinoline, which can give them colon cancer. Again, the total number of aberrant growths was lower for those given CLA compared with those given safflower oil, which is rich in essential oils but not so high in CLA.21

Does this mean that CLA will prevent cancer in humans? Perhaps. You might even say probably—in some circumstances Still, science can be imprecise in predicting cancers from animal models to humans, and scientific tests must be controlled in ways that don’t mimic the complexities and confounding factors of daily life. Few of us, for example, will be exposed daily to DMBA. T h e re f o re, all the science says for certain is that CLA seems to hinder the development of cancer in these animals when the cancer is caused by one particular substance. T h a t’s a little way, at least, from saying it pre vents cancers in humans.

However, the animal models are encouraging, and often meet mathematical tests to be “statistically significant.” In fact, scientists have taken to saying CLA has an anti-carcinogenic effect without hedging. Ip himself says, “CLA is more powerful than any other fatty acid in modulating tumor development.” 22 Indeed, so excited have many scientists become that some say one day governments may want to fortify our foods with CLA much the way we fortify our morning bran flakes with vitamin C.23 Furthermore, since at least several ways of giving different species of animals cancer have been studied, and in all of the tests, cancer was hindered, it gives better evidence to the notion that CLA hinders cancer in humans as well. Pariza wrote, “Few anticarcinogens, and certainly no other known fatty acids, are as effective as CLA in inhibiting carcinogenesis in these models.”24 This is clear language saying scientist believe this to be a powerful nutrient in the war against cancer. However, until human research is completed, and human research is underway, the positive effects of CLA on humans as a possible preventative of cancer best be considered preliminary.

Another important point about this is: Since the breakdown and changing of fats and fatty acids like CLA occur in the liver, CLA may have unknown effects on this vital organ. One study showed that fats increase in the livers with the increase of CLA in the diet.25 Could this lead to an increased risk of liver cancer?

Scientists do not have a complete answer to that question either.26 Pariza says, however, that such problems of fat accumulation do not occur in higher mammals, and is something specific to mice and some rats.27

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Mushroom Miracales

Date: June 18, 2005 09:11 AM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Mushroom Miracales

Mushroom Miracles by Bert Hoffman Energy Times, April 12, 2004

Mention mushrooms and few people immediately recognize these humble fungi as important tools that can be used to boost well-being. More often, folks identify mushrooms as food with a peculiar appeal. But mushrooms' potential impact on health far surpasses their culinary reputation.

You don't have to stretch your imagination too far to understand why mushrooms have been much neglected in the modern, Western medical search for plants that can boost health.

Unable to make chlorophyll, often dependent on the kindness of other nutrient-producing organisms for their survival, these humble fungal denizens of dark, damp spaces seem to prefer an anonymous existence that is out of sight and out of the consciousness of the scientific mind.

However, mushrooms have now assumed a spot in the center of the research spotlight. Because of their potent content of natural chemicals that appear to have a strong influence on human health and well-being, during the past decade mushrooms have been the subjects of intensive studies on how they can be used to reduce the risk of cancer and to treat these diseases.

Appropriately, this recent round of research began in a place that has long revered these diminutive organisms: Japan. Japan and other Oriental countries have traditionally recognized the immense value of mushrooms as both food and medicine.

Food and Medicine

As an ancient Chinese saying notes, "food and medicine share a common origin." And one of the very earliest Chinese medical books, Shen Noug's Herbal (Shen Noug Pen Ts'ao Jing), first noted the extraordinary beneficial effects of eating mushrooms 2,000 years ago, back in the first century.

More recently, but still well ahead of Western medical experts, in 1575, Pen Ts'ao Kang Mu (a Chinese compendium of medicinal therapies), written by Li Shi Zhen, outlined the medical benefits of about 20 mushrooms.

Nowadays, modern researchers believe mushrooms' usefulness stems from the fact they contain a wealth of antioxidants. But these aren't just any antioxidants. Scientists think that some of these chemicals can potentially drop your risk of cancer, significantly lower blood pressure, help the body fight diabetes, offer protection for the liver, alleviate some of the ill effects of inflammation, lessen the chance of blood clots and help the body's immune system fend off viruses and other microbes. Quite a collection of benefits for these lowly beings!

The 10,000-Year Mushroom

Through the ages, the reishi mushroom (also known variously as the Mannetake, or 10,000-year mushroom, and the Immortality Mushroom) has been the most popular mushroom in Chinese, Korean and Japanese cultures. The reishi mushroom is frequently depicted in a wide variety of traditional Oriental artwork and even puts in an appearance in Chinese royal tapestries.

To some, reishi's power goes beyond the natural and include the supernatural. Originally grown on aging plum trees, reishi is also sufficiently well regarded to be employed by the Japanese as a good luck charm. But you don't have to believe in the supernatural to be superbly impressed with reishi. The beneficial natural substances in reishi include steroids, lactones, alkaloids, triterpenes and polysaccharides.

Large Molecules

Of these chemicals, polysaccharides (complex chains of sugars) in particular have intrigued researchers looking into the way mushrooms help health. These polysaccharide macromolecules are very large (for molecules) and complex, a complexity that leads researchers to believe they are capable of conveying a huge amount of biological information that help the immune system stop cancer in its early stages. The differences in the benefits of various polysaccharides stems from their intriguing geometrical shapes.

Distinctive Differences

Even though two distinctive polysaccharides may contain the same number of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen atoms, their three-dimensional differences-the way they are structured and branch off in different directions-can endow them with very different health benefits.

Though they all share a basic structure (usually, these molecules consist of a main chain of atoms with various side chains), the slight variations of the side chains changes their effects.

By deciphering the microscopic structures of these molecules, scientists think they are beginning to uncover which ones are most effective against cancer. For instance, in isolating a particularly useful polysaccharide called beta-D-glucan from reishi, researchers have found that this substance fights tumors in lab experiments (Chem Pharm Bull 1981; 29: 3611).

Maitake Benefits

Meanwhile, beta-D-glucan and other extracts taken from the maitake mushroom have also been shown to possess powerful anti-cancer effects in lab experiments (Immunopharm Immunotox; 19:175).

In one instance, researchers in the laboratory who were trying out various substances on prostate cancer cells found that applying extracts of maitake results in a kind of programmed self-destruction (apoptosis) of these undesirable cancer cells (Molec Urol; 4:7). In addition, another substance known as maitake d-fraction has been shown to strongly fight cancer in lab animals-in one study, their liver cancer growths were reduced by up to 90% (Ann NY Acad of Sci; 833:204).

At the same time, research in China on people has demonstrated that maitake may help reduce tumors and alleviate the effects of leukemia (Alter Comp Ther 12/98; 420).

According to A.S. Daba and O.U. Ezeronye (Afr Jrnl Bio 12/03; 672), "Mushroom polysaccharides offer a lot of hope for cancer patients and sufferers of many devastating diseases.

" [These substances support]...a fundamental principle in Oriental medicine...[they help] regulate homeostasis of the whole body and... bring the diseased person [back] to his or her normal state."

The Activity of Active Hexose Correlated Compound Active Hexose Correlated Compound (AHCC), an extract taken from shiitake and other mushrooms, is a relatively new substance that is also being researched for its anti-cancer benefits.

Studies on AHCC began in Japan in the 1990s when scientists looked at how it could potentially help people recovering from liver cancer. In those tests, researchers found that giving people AHCC apparently helped them survive longer.

In the future, scientists feel certain that they will uncover even more anticancer uses for mushrooms and the chemicals they contain. A key advantage to these natural substances is their lack of side effects. For instance, in research on an anti-cancer chemical called lentinan, taken from shiitakes, investigators have found that less than one percent of people experience the kind of discomfort that make them discontinue treatment. (This chemical has been used to treat stomach cancer.)

But a long list of beneficial mushroom substances are probably still waiting to be discovered. More evidence of mushrooms' benefits: A study of mushroom workers in a part of Japan called the Nagano Prefecture found that these farmers enjoyed a significantly lower cancer rate than other inhabitants of that part of the country.

In the rest of Japan, about one in six hundred people dies of cancer. But that rate death rate drops to about one in a thousand for mushroom raisers who eat a diet heavy in mushrooms.

John Smith, PhD, from the University of Strath-Clyde, notes that "...increasing evidence [shows] mushrooms offer a remarkable array of medicinally important compounds that have yet to be evaluated by Western medical scientists." Mushrooms offer the best of both worlds: good health that tastes great.

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Vitanet ®

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Vision Quest - help fight eye problems.

Date: June 18, 2005 08:34 AM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Vision Quest - help fight eye problems.

Vision Quest by Phyllis D. Light, RH Energy Times, February 11, 2004

Since your eyes are in constant use every day, exposed to the damaging energy of sunlight and pollutants that waft through the air, these delicate orbs are often in danger of wearing out.

To keep this vital part of your anatomy functioning as you age, you have to feed and care for your eyes properly. Otherwise, you are in real danger of losing your vision and independence.

Your vision may be in danger. Experts estimate that 8 million Americans over the age of 55 are at serious risk of blindness linked to a condition called age-related macular degeneration (AMD). AMD can wipe out your central vision and is the primary cause of blindness in Western society.

While AMD causes no pain, it blurs the sharp, central vision necessary for driving, reading and other activities where you need to see either up close or straight ahead. During AMD, the macula, the part of the eye that allows you to pick out fine detail, is destroyed. The macula sits at the center of your retina, the nerve center at the back of your eye that senses light and sends optic signals to the brain.

Age is not the only risk factor for AMD. Scientists have isolated a genetic defect that can lead to some forms of macular degeneration (Nature Genetics 2001; 27:89-93). Smoking and excessive exposure to sunlight are other hazards best avoided if you want to save your sight.

In many cases, AMD progresses so slowly that victims of this condition don't even notice that their vision is deteriorating until much of it is irrevocably gone.

Dry and Wet AMD

Wet AMD occurs when blood vessels in back of the retina start to overgrow and leak blood. As this occurs, blood and other fluids push on the macula and quickly damage its sensitive nerve endings. When wet AMD occurs, you lose your central vision rapidly. If straight lines appear wavy to you, you may be suffering from wet AMD. If you notice this or other unusual vision changes, contact an eye care specialist as soon as possible. You need what is called a comprehensive dilated eye exam that can uncover signs of AMD.

Dry AMD strikes the eye when light-sensitive cells in the macula slowly deteriorate, gradually blurring central vision in the affected eye. As dry AMD progresses, a blurry spot in the center of your vision may appear. Eventually, as more of the macula becomes dysfunctional, the central vision in the eye can gradually disappear.

The most common sign of dry AMD is slightly blurry vision. This can make it hard to recognize faces and also make it harder to read without very bright light. Dry AMD generally attacks both eyes, but vision can be lost in one eye while the other eye stays normal. In the early stages of dry AMD, drusen, yellow deposits that gather under the retina, may form. Dry AMD progresses in three stages:

• Early AMD: Small drusen form but vision is unaffected.

• Intermediate AMD: Many medium drusen appear or, alternately, one large drusen occurs. Center vision is often blurred and reading requires bright lights.

• Advanced Dry AMD: Drusen formation is accompanied by deterioration of tissue in the macula. Blurs in central vision expand, eventually destroying most vision. Note: Because of the fast destruction it causes, wet AMD is an advanced form of this disorder that is considered more severe than the dry version.

Vitamins and Minerals for AMD

Fortunately, scientists have found ways to combat AMD: An analysis of a study called the national Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) shows that more than 300,000 Americans could avoid losing their sight to AMD if they took daily supplements of antioxidant nutrients and zinc.

This conclusion, reached by scientists at Johns Hopkins' Wilmer Eye Institute, is based on research involving more than 4,500 adults suffering various stages of AMD. The study demonstrated that people who already had some AMD could lower their risk of the more advanced form of this condition by 25% when they took vitamin C, natural vitamin E and beta carotene along with zinc. Those suffering from advanced AMD lowered their chances of losing vision by about 19%. (Supplements did not affect the risk of cataracts or the chances of some vision loss for people in the early stages of AMD.)

" Without treatment to reduce their risk, we estimate that 1.3 million adults would develop the advanced stage of AMD," says Neil M. Bressler, MD, professor of ophthalmology at Johns Hopkins and author of the current study, published in Archives of Ophthalmology (11/03).

According to Dr. Bressler and the other researchers, people who now have intermediate AMD (some vision loss) in one eye have about a 1 in 16 chance of having their vision deteriorate until they have advanced AMD. They also calculate that about 1 in 4 of those with intermediate AMD in both eyes and 43% of those with advanced AMD in one eye will develop advanced AMD in five years without treatment.

In their view, older people at risk of AMD blindness should take daily supplements of 500 milligrams of vitamin C, 400 milligrams of natural vitamin E, 15 milligrams of beta carotene, 80 milligrams of zinc as zinc oxide and 2 milligrams of copper as cupric oxide. Evidence also exists that a diet which is high in fat can cause AMD to progress to an advanced stage. The exceptions: The healthy fats found in fish and nuts (Archives of Ophthalmology 2003; 121:1728-37).

Lutein Protection

Oddly enough, some of the same pigments that color vegetables and other foods also color your eyes. And scientists believe that those pigments, which are classified as carotenoids, help protect the eyes by helping them fight off the negative effects of caustic molecules called free radicals. Free radicals are formed when the energy from sunlight strikes the eyes and disrupts the composition of natural chemicals found there.

When scientists compared healthy eyes with eyes suffering from AMD, they found that AMD eyes contained lower levels of lutein and zeaxanthin, carotenoid pigments contained in egg yolk, spinach, broccoli and other dark green vegetables (Ophthalmology 2003; 109:1780). Furthermore, they found that levels of these chemicals generally decline as you grow older.

" This research is a major step toward large-scale clinical studies to prove the extent to which lutein and zeaxanthin protect against age-related macular degeneration," says Paul S. Bernstein, MD, PhD, at the University of Utah School of Medicine at Salt Lake. "We know that these carotenoids are specifically concentrated in the macula of the human eye."

Dr. Bernstein adds that, as you age, taking supplements containing lutein and other antioxidants may lower your AMD risk. In his investigation, people with AMD who did not take lutein had one-third less lutein in their eyes than older people whose vision was normal.

Avoiding Cataracts

Another eyesight hazard is cataracts, in which the eye's lens-the part that focuses incoming light onto the retina-becomes cloudy. Cataracts form when the proteins found in the normally clear lens become damaged; signs include progressively blurred vision (especially outdoors), focusing problems, seeing streaks of light from headlights and stoplights, and colors that look faded.

Cataract is the leading cause of blindness worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. One of every six Americans 40 and older suffers from some degree of cataract; it affects half of all Americans who reach age 80. Nuclear cataracts, the most common form of this disorder, develop in the center of the lens and tend to grow slowly. Cataracts may also develop at the back of the lens; this form is linked to eye trauma and long-term use of certain medications, including steroids.

Like AMD, cataracts become more common as people age. Up to 40% of individuals between the ages of 75 and 85 have them, compared with only 5% to 10% of those folks under the age of 65. And like AMD, sunlight exposure and smoking increase the risk of developing cataracts, as does the presence of diabetes.

Lutein and zeaxanthin, the carotenoids that are so plentiful in the macula, are also found in the lens (although in lower concentrations), leading many researchers to believe that these nutrients may help drop your risk of cataract development. Early studies indicate that an increased intake of lutein and zeaxanthin reduces one's chances of needing cataract surgery, the most common surgery in the United States (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1999; 70(4):509-16; 517-24).

Antioxidants and the Lens

Scientists believe that free-radical damage is a leading cause of cataracts, and so it isn't surprising that antioxidants have proved useful in preventing this problem.

Almost 500 women filled out diet questionnaires as part of a very large research effort called the Nurses' Health Study; those who had taken vitamin C supplements for 10 years or longer enjoyed the lowest rates of nuclear cataracts (Archives of Ophthalmology 2001; 119:1009-19).

So the answer to lowering your risk of eye problems is clear, whether you are already in your mature years or plan to be someday: Lead a healthy, eye-friendly lifestyle, eating a diet filled with colorful fruits and vegetables. Take frequent walks and jogs around the block.

And yes, when you kick back and take your just-as-frequent doses of antioxidant supplements, you're allowed to take your sunglasses off and see the world clearly.

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Vitanet ®

Solaray - Ultimate Nutrition - Actipet Pet supplements - Action Labs - Sunny Greens - Thompson nutritional - Natural Sport - Veg Life Vegan Line - Premier One - NaturalMax - Kal

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Move it and Lose it! Burn off body fat!

Date: June 14, 2005 12:04 PM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Move it and Lose it! Burn off body fat!

Move it and Lose it! Burn off body fat! by Mimi Facher Energy Times, June 1, 1997

So you're feeling a little blah, a little overweight, and you're looking to drop a few of those winter pounds gained during the colder months. Maybe you've dabbled with diets and jogged around the neighborhood a few times but you're still packing unsightly bulges. If so, you may be considering the idea of turning to supplements to help you drop those pounds. Well, two types of diet supplements now generally available, combined with a diet and exercise program, may be able to help you trim those stubborn pounds.

The first type of supplement, called metabolic optimizers, which include ephedra, caffeine and salicin (derived from willow bark), boost your metabolic rate, causing your body to burn calories faster. The second class, lipotropic substances, aid the body in fat mobilization, causing greater utilization of stored fat. These products include chromium, carnitine and hydroxycitric acid (HCA). Both classes of supplements have been around in various forms for quite a while but are now enjoying greater popularity among dieters.

Trying to cope with a weight problem is a dilemma expanding throughout modern society. According to a 1995 Harris poll, nearly 75% of Americans are overweight. Although it's well known that the way to lose weight is to expend more calories than you take in, supplements may be able to help you burn off extra calories.

Thermogenesis and You

Metabolic optimizers are supposed to aid weight loss through a process called thermogenesis. Thermogenesis is a natural process in which fat is burned to produce body heat. Fat that isn't burned is stored on the hips, thighs, stomach, etc. Thermogenic agents are designed to counteract your body's fat storage mechanisms by causing your body to maintain a higher metabolic rate-turning your internal thermostat up to burn fat faster. The thermogenic process can be jump-started by a number of factors including cold, exercise, certain dietary nutrients and metabolic optimizers.

Ephedra

The ephedra herb, also known as ma huang is one of nature's earliest medicines, known for over 5000 years to the Chinese, who used it to relieve allergies, coughing, wheezing and cold and flu symptoms. In the US, ephedra has been available since the 1800s.

The ingredients in ephedra include the alkaloids ephedrine, pseudoephedrine and norephedrine. Concentrated forms of these substances are used in today's over-the-counter cold, allergy and asthma relief formulas.

Ma huang's effectiveness as a weight loss aid is tied to its appetite suppressant and stimulant properties. By speeding up action of the thyroid gland, the ephedrine found in the herb acts a thermogenic agent, boosting the rate at which the body metabolizes fat and promoting weight loss. According to Mark Blumenthal, Executive Director of the American Botanical Council, "When used as part of a total package that includes diet modification and exercise, ma huang can be highly effective in the short run because it increases the speed of the body's metabolism and suppresses appetite."

Because of their strong stimulant effect, ephedra and its derivatives have engendered some controversy. However, in its long history, billions of doses of ephedra have been consumed without problem. But ephedra supplements should only be used as directed on product labels. People with cardiovascular problems, diabetes, thyroid or prostate dysfunction, high blood pressure and those taking MAO inhibitors, pregnant or nursing should avoid this herb.

Salicin Burns Fat

Salicin, a substance derived from willow bark-which is also the original source for aspirin, a related compound-can boost the burning of fat when combined with ephedra. An animal study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that while ephedra boosted calorie burning by almost 10%, when ephedra was combined with aspirin, extra calorie burning just about doubled. Another study in the Internatioanl Journal of Obesity showed that when overweight women took aspirin and ephedrine during a meal, their bodies burned off more calories than normal. (Eating a meal produces a thermogenic effect as your body expends energy in digestion. That's why dieters are told not to skip meals. Skipping meals lowers your metabolic rate, decreasing your calorie expenditure.)

Similar studies also show that caffeine, the stimulant that gives coffee its eye-opening kick, can also boost ephedra's thermogenic properties. But before using these combinations check with a health practitioner knowledgeable about nutrition. Aspirin or salicin may cause stomach upset in some people (although salicin is generally tolerated well.)

Carnitine: Lipotropic Amino Acid

To get carnitine into your system, you don't have to take it as a supplement. Your body already makes this vitamin-like substance. However, your body doesn't make that much. And it is said to be especially low in people with heart disease.

This non-essential amino acid (said to be non-essential because human bodies produce it) is a key ingredient in the formation of mitochondria membranes. Mitochondria are tiny structures in your cells that burn fats for energy. Consequently, sufficient carnitine is necessary for the movement of fat into the mitochondria where it is consumed. When not enough carnitine is present, the breakdown of long chain fatty acids slows down.

Said to improve the recovery rate for athletes (it may limit the production of lactic acid, a waste product in muscle tissue), carnitine can also lower cholesterol levels, boost levels of HDL (the good cholesterol) and decrease serum triglycerides (blood fats linked to heart disease). Not bad for a nutrient that coaxes fat into those teeny, ceullular, mitochondrial furnaces.

Go for the Chrome

Chromium-based supplements work as lipotropic agents by aiding insulin use in the body. This essential trace mineral is required for normal protein, fat, and carbohydrate metabolism. According to Dr. Michael Janson, author of The Vitamin Revolution in Healthcare and President of the American Preventive Medical Association (APMA), "Chromium is important for proper insulin activity. Insulin moves sugar into the muscle cells, where it is burned off as energy. Chromium improves the activity of insulin, and since insulin causes fat deposition, less of it means less fat deposition." Chromium has also been shown to build muscle tissue and to reduce LDL cholesterol, which has been linked to heart disease.

Although the body's minimum requirement is low, the American diet tends to be deficient in chromium, in part because the mineral can be difficult for the body to absorb. The fact that, in nature, chromium is most powerfully concentrated in brewer's yeast, wheat germ and liver-items most Americans rarely eat-probably hasn't helped either. Other natural sources of chromium include whole grains, molasses and beef. But it is estimated that 50% of Americans are chromium deficient. An early study found that overweight adults taking a chromium supplement lost an average of 22% body fat, while maintaining or gaining lean body mass. In another study, athletes consuming 200 mcg. of chromium a day showed an average loss of 7.5 lbs. of body fat after six weeks, without a corresponding loss of muscle tisue. Overall, although some studies question chromium's precise effects, many experts are optimistic about this substance because of its relationship to insulin in the body's metabolism.

Hydroxycitric Acid (HCA)

Another possible addition to the dieter's arsenal is HCA. In nature, HCA appears chiefly in a fruit called garcinia cambogia (sometimes also called Malabar tamarind or brindall berry), a citrus plant found primarily in Asia, where the rind is often used as a flavoring agent. HCA works by inhibiting the enzyme in the body responsible for converting carbohydrates into fat. HCA causes calories to be burned in an energy cycle similar to thermogenesis and acts as somewhat of an appetite suppressant. HCA is also said to have a role in reducing triglycerides and LDL cholesterol levels.

Several animal studies have shown that HCA caused significant weight loss without a reduction in lean body mass. In other words, the pounds that came off came out of fat stores, and not out of energy or muscle reserves. This means that HCA takes off not just weight but body fat, making it a potentially effective tool against weight regain.

Dr. Elson Haas, director of the Preventive Medical Center of Marin in San Rafael, CA, and author of Staying Healthy With Nutrition: The Complete Guide to Diet and Nutritional Medicine, believes that HCA can be a helpful aid for dieters when used in combination with eating habit changes and exercise. He recommends an HCA and chromium blend for optimum appetite suppression. "This combination can keep the appetite down and reduce sugar cravings," he says.

Although human research data on HCA is still in the preliminary stages, the animal study results are positive, and the supplement seems to have minimal side effects in most people.

Some Overall Recommendations

You are likely to lose weight faster if you eat sensibly. This means avoiding foods high in fat or sugar (which are the most likely to add to stored body fat), but it doesn't mean starving yourself. A sensible balanced diet, along with moderate exercise, is still the best prescription for weight loss. As Dr. Haas puts it, "I'm a firm believer in diet and exercise. Using supplements responsibly can help you to lose weight provided they're combined with dietary changes and exercise. They won't work if you don't change anything." No one is suggesting that dietary supplements are a miracle cure for being overweight-as always in self-health care, there are no magic wands. But, used as directed and combined with a good diet and exercise plan, you could find that these supplements might help you work your way to a slimmer you.

Mimi Facher is a freelance writer who has contributed to Prevention, Cosmopolitan and Self.

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Vitanet ®

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Cancer at the Millenium - the war on cancer entering its third decade...

Date: June 13, 2005 10:23 AM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Cancer at the Millenium - the war on cancer entering its third decade...

Cancer at the Millenium by Harriet Brown Energy Times, May 1, 1999

With the war on cancer entering its third decade, the necessity grows clearer for medical science to engage the enemy on several fronts. Until recently, high-tech medical weapons like vaccines and gene therapy, inspired by a flood of insights into the molecular basis of cancer, garnered most of the hope, hype, headlines and research money. The science was sexy and the prospect of a "cure" dramatic. But, today, advocates of prevention receive equal, if not greater, attention.

Improving our diets and prudently supplementing with vitamins and minerals, can deliver a major preventive impact. Contentious experts concede that at least a third (and probably more) of all cancers can be blamed on a combination of eating too much of the wrong foods and not enough of the right ones.

The Dietary Difference

Though cancer can progress rapidly once it leaps past its inception, it develops over many years and in several stages. Beneficial compounds in food and supplements may intervene along a line that runs from initial exposure to carcinogens to the final step into outright malignancy. Nutrients may: - counteract environmental poisons and the toxic byproducts of liver metabolism

- neutralize free radicals (which might otherwise cause carcinogenic mutations in DNA)

- boost the immune system

- inhibit enzymes that drive cell proliferation

- halt metastasis (cancerous reproduction)

The Big Picture The dietary guidelines advocated by the American Cancer Society and the National Cancer Institute (which generally coincide with those of most health organizations) may sound familiar: Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables. Get lots of fiber. Limit fat, especially animal fat. Go easy on meat and avoid the cured variety (they contain nitrites). If you drink alcohol, do it in moderation. Watch your total calories, and your weight. Pretty straightforward stuff.

Carotenoid Characteristics

Carotenoids, as their name suggests, are orange and red pigments in fruits and vegetables, most notably carrots and tomatoes, although they're also in everything from sweet potatoes to spinach and brussels sprouts (in the latter their distinctive color is masked by green chlorophyll).

Lycopene, a carotenoid found primarily in tomatoes, displays double the free radical-fighting activity of beta carotene, the most widely studied carotenoid. Of 72 studies looking at consumption of tomatoes or tomato-based products reviewed in the February 1999 Journal of the National Cancer Institute, almost half showed a significant reduction in one or more of a variety of cancers.

Research shows that lycopene may be best at lowering a man's risk of prostate cancer. A 1995 Harvard Medical School study (Journal of the National Cancer Institute 1995; 87: 1767-76) queried nearly 48,000 male health-care professionals about their consumption of fruits and vegetables. The only foods that reduced their risk of prostate cancer were, apparently, tomato sauce, tomatoes, pizza (tomato paste). For those who ate ten servings a week, risk dropped 45 percent; with four to seven servings, 20 percent. In animal studies lycopene decreased the number and size of mammary tumors (Eleventh International Symposium on Carotenoids, 1996).

Tomatoes are one of the richest sources of lycopene. Cooking tomatoes helps by releasing the lycopene from the plant cell walls. Also, the oil in tomato sauce enhances absorption in the stomach. Lycopene is also available in supplements.

Unreserved Resveratrol

Wine drinkers rejoiced when resveratrol, a constituent of the skin of red grapes, was found to protect their hearts (by blocking oxidation of LDL cholesterol and discouraging blood clotting). Now they have another reason to toast this potent antioxidant. When researcher John Pezzuto at the University of Illinois at Chicago screened about 1,000 plants for anticancer activity, he came up with one whose active ingredient turned out to be resveratrol. In lab tests it squelched both free radicals and inflammation, two well-known cancer inducers (Science, 6/10/97). In a study with mice, resveratrol reduced the number of skin tumors by up to 98 percent compared to control animals. Because the effective doses were high (Pezzuto estimates a person would have to quaff about five gallons of wine a day to get the equivalent) and because more than a drink or two a day may raise the risk of breast cancer, researchers don't recommend nondrinkers take up wine. But supplements of synthesized resveratrol (as well as grape juice) may help.

Fat Chance

Saturated fat is an authentic dietary villain. Aside from clogging arteries, it's a suspected contributor to several cancers, though the evidence is greater for some cancers (prostate) than for others (breast cancer)

Of the two other main categories of fats, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated, mono seems benign, if not positively protective. For example, in a study of the influence of diet on breast cancer, Greek researchers discovered that women who consumed higher amounts of olive oil (which is mostly mono) were less likely to be afflicted with breast cancer (Journal of the National Cancer Institute 1995: 87; 110-116).

When it comes to polyunsaturated fats, however, things get complicated. The fat that predominates in corn, sunflower and other vegetable oils, called omega-6, has long been associated with cancer risk in animal experiments. Likewise the type found in margarines, trans fats, which are partially saturated vegetable oils. On the other hand, the omega-3 fats called EPA and DHA, which are found primarily in deep- and cold-water fish like cod, mackerel, and halibut, protect against both heart disease and cancer. In an epidemiological study covering 24 European countries, British researchers established that mortality rates for colon and breast cancers declined as fish and fish oil consumption rose (British Journal of Cancer 1996: 74; 159-64). And Finnish scientists discovered that the breast tissue of women who had breast cancer contained significantly less DHA and EPA than the breasts of healthy women (Nutrition and Cancer 1995: 24; 151-160).

Experts believe the omega-3s' anticancer effect derives from its ability to tamp down the prostaglandins that stimulate inflammation. Chronic inflammation unleashes a steady stream of free radicals, which can damage DNA and thereby trigger cancer. Omega-3s also help the liver detoxify potentially harmful substances.

Fortunately for the fish-phobic, nonmarine sources of omega-3 fats include flaxseed and hemp oils.

Minerals to Lower Cancer Risk

n Calcium: possibly protective against colon cancer. In a recent trial (New England Journal of Medicine, 1/14/99) researchers gave people with a history of precancerous colon polyps either two 600 mg calcium tablets a day or a placebo for nine months and found fewer polyps. n Selenium: powerful antioxidant and supporter of immunity. Researchers find that cancer rates in various regions is lowered when soil and vegetables contain more selenium

In a selenium-depleted area in China afflicted with one of the highest incidences of stomach and esophageal cancer mortality in the world, scientists asked different groups to take various combinations of nutrients. After five years they found a significant reduction in the cancer rate among those who had gotten supplements of selenium, vitamin E and beta carotene (Biological Trace Element Research 1985; 7: 21-29). In the U.S. researchers studying the potential effectiveness of selenium supplementation for preventing nonmelanoma skin cancers came up with a surprise. The 200 mcg a day the subjects received for an average of 4.5 years had no impact on skin cancer but did significantly cut the rates of lung, colorectal and prostate cancers (Journal of the American Medical Association, 12/25/96).

More recently Harvard researchers determined that men with prostate cancer had much lower levels of selenium in their toenails (a measure of consumption) than healthy men (Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 8/119/98).

Cruciferous Vegetables

Cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, brussels sprouts, cauliflower and kale, have long been singled out for their association with protection against cancer. In a 1996 survey of 94 population studies and clinical trials focusing on consumption of cruciferous vegetables, 67 percent showed a reduced risk, the strongest link being with lung, stomach, colon and rectal cancers (Cancer Epidemiological Biomarkers 1996; 5: 733-748).

Scientists at Johns Hopkins showed that sulforaphane, from these plants, stimulates enzymes that help detoxify carcinogens generated in the liver. When they injected rats with a cancer-causing chemical, only 26 percent of the rodents pretreated with sulforaphane developed mammary cancer, compared to 68 percent of controls. Even animals who did come down with cancer had tumors that appeared later and smaller.

Other researchers have focused on a cruciferous-vegetable compound called indole-3-carbinol, which has proved especially effective against breast cancer cells. Recently, scientists at the University of California at Berkeley found that indole-3-carbinol, rather than acting as an anti-estrogen, (as had been thought), actually stops breast cancer cells by turning off a protein critical to their replication (Jrnal of Bio Chem, 2/13/98). Consequently, when treating certain forms of cancer, some doctors have paired indole-3-carbinol with the chemotherapy drug tamoxifen - which counteracts estrogen - and found that the combination has proven more potent than either separately.

Fiber

Several decades ago British physician Denis Burkitt proposed that the low incidence of colon cancer among native peoples in South Africa was attributable to the fact that their diet was rich in fiber. The fiber, it was hypothesized, bulked up the stool, speeding its passage through the bowel and reducing the time carcinogens contact its lining; it also helped neutralize cancer-promoting bile acids.

This concept has been backed up by numerous studies. Recently, Harvard researchers sprinkled cold water on this idea, finding that an examination of the eating habits of more than 80,000 female nurses, could find no protective effect against colon cancer or precancerous polyps from consuming fiber (NEJM, January 21, 1999). Most experts' take on this apparent refutation: Maybe the "high fiber" intake in this case wasn't high enough, and this is just one study among many.

Fighting Breast Cancer

Fiber has also been linked to reduced rates of breast cancer. At first it was thought that if fat was a breast-cancer culprit, fiber might just be a marker for a low-fat diet. But a look at Finland undermined that idea: Finnish women eat both a lot of fat and a lot of fiber, and their breast cancer rate ranks much below that in the U.S., (where we eat gobs of fat and little roughage).

Fiber helps take estrogen out of circulation as it passes through the liver, while the isoflavones in many high-fiber plants and vegetables are themselves weak estrogens, which compete for slots on breast tissue's estrogen receptors. The special fiber in flaxseed oil called lignans act against estrogen in two ways: by binding its receptors and by inhibiting the enzyme that converts other hormones into estrogen.

Fiber comes in two basic forms, insoluble (e.g., wheat bran, celery, the skins of fruits and vegetables) and soluble (e.g., oat bran, citrus fruits, beans). Until a few years ago, scientists believed that cancer protection came mainly from insoluble fiber, but that thinking has turned around.

A soluble fiber called citrus pectin has been shown to halt the tendency of prostate, lung, breast and skin cancers to metastasize, or spread (e.g., Journal of the National Cancer Institute 1995; 87: 3448-353). Typically cancer turns deadly only when it gets into the bloodstream and invades new territory. Modified citrus pectin appears to stop this aggression by preventing cancer cells from attaching to healthy tissue.

Novel Antioxidant

While the name inositol hexaphosphate (IP6) sounds like a mouthful, many of us consume mouthfuls of this natural substance every day - in foods like corn, rice, whole-grain cereals, oats and wheat.

But now scientists have isolated IP-6 and found that this powerful antioxidant can slow the destructive cellular processes that lead to tumors. In a study published in Anti-Cancer Research (Nov/Dec 1998), scientists at the University of Maryland School of Medicine demonstrated that IP-6 could shrink liver tumors in laboratory animals.

The researchers believe that IP-6 can help prevent cancer and also be useful in lowering the risk of health problems like kidney stones and heart disease. Research like this continues to expand our knowledge of how to lower the risk of cancer. In the next millennium, with more and more information making its way into the media and onto websites, our power and the responsibility to reduce our risk of cancer will continue to grow and offer new possibilities.

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Vitanet ®

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The Flex Factor

Date: June 11, 2005 05:18 PM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: The Flex Factor

The Flex Factor by Thomas Dunville Energy Times, February 10, 2004

Arthritis, according to recent research, presents its sufferers with a Catch-22: The nagging pain of this condition can send your spirits plummeting. But, then, the depression spurred by the disconsolate persistence of arthritic pain can make the condition worse.

Part of the trick is not to give in. If you can keep a bright mood even as your joints start to ache, the pain may lessen.

While nobody can offer a guaranteed, 100% effective cure for arthritis, you don't have to be a passive victim. Exercise, the proper nutrients and a positive, can-do attitude can ease arthritis pain so effectively that scientists have been able to measure the difference. While medical researchers recognize the existence of over 100 types of arthritis, most people with achy joints suffer from osteoarthritis, which is caused by everyday wear and is found in just about everyone over age 60. When this condition occurs, the body's cushioning, its cartilage, thins and the inner surfaces of joints grind together painfully.

Although aging itself increases your chances of enduring achy joints, other factors can also put you in the way of osteoarthritis. If you carry too much weight, it can wear on your joints. In addition, suffering a joint injury when you're young can increase your risk of developing osteoarthritis as you age.

In another prevalent form of joint pain, rheumatoid arthritis (RA), the body's immune system mistakenly attacks the membranes lining the joints, causing swelling and pain. About 2 million Americans suffer from RA, which affects women about twice as often as men.

Exercise Away Arthritic Woes

Weekend warriors, don't despair! Arthritis doesn't have to mean the end of your weekend athletic wars. Matter of fact, in many cases, experts now recommend exercise to reduce the effects of arthritis.

While that might sound counterintuitive, a study out of the Netherlands shows that folks in the early stages of rheumatoid arthritis who work out twice a week for about an hour each session may enjoy better physical and mental health than couch potatoes who receive physical therapy.

The Dutch study took 150 people, many of whom had just started to suffer from rheumatism, and enrolled them in RAPIT, an acronym for Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients in Training. Rather than letting these folks rest their inflamed joints, twice a week the research team took them to the gym where they did:

• Weight lifting: 20 minutes

• Stationary biking: 20 minutes

• Playing a strenuous sport like basketball or volleyball: 20 minutes

• Cooling down with stretches: 15 minutes

When the researchers compared the physical changes in these arthritis sufferers with 150 others with similar arthritis complaints who underwent physical therapy without organized physical activity, they found that after two years the exercisers had benefited greatly. They were stronger and more aerobically fit, could perform everyday tasks more effectively and possessed a better, more optimistic mental attitude (Arthritis and Rheumatism 2003; 48(9):2415-24).

However, the exercisers who were already suffering severe rheumatoid arthritis did experience some extra joint damage, so the researchers believe this kind of program is better for those in the early stages of the disease. " This study demonstrates that participation in long-term high-intensity exercise classes decreases the level of psychological distress in RA patients," says researcher Zuzana de Jong, MD, a professor at the Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands.

Fish Oil Lowers Arthritis Risk

Fish oil-in particular, cod liver oil-may be able to help ease osteoarthritis.

In looking at the effects of fish oil, researchers at Cardiff, Wales, discovered indications that "...the omega-3 fatty acids in cod liver oil can reduce cartilage degradation and inflammation in arthritic disease," according to Bruce Caterson, PhD, one of the scientists involved.

Dr. Caterson adds, "Our most recent work shows that by exposing human osteoarthritic cartilage to cod liver oil in the laboratory for just 24 hours we can turn off, or reverse, the action of the degradative enzymes and inflammatory factors affecting the tissue." John Harwood, PhD, another member of the Cardiff research team, adds, "This is where science and old wives' tales coincide. Our findings are consistent with advice that taking cod liver oil in early adulthood could prevent the onset of osteoarthritis and would reduce the harmful symptoms associated with the disease."

Dr. Caterson further explains that the omega-3 fatty acids in cod liver oil inhibit enzymes that break down aggrecan and collagen, substances that cushion joints. Consequently, cartilage stays healthier, inflammation is lessened and arthritic pain decreases. The anti-inflammatory action of omega-3s in fighting rheumatoid arthritis is also supported by studies performed in the US (Am J Clin Nutr 2000; 71(1 Suppl):349S-51S).

Other research shows that if you take natural vitamin E along with fish oil, you may improve even further your odds of relieving arthritis or lessening its effects (JACN 10/30/00).

Glucosamine Repair

Glucosamine, the stuff that cartilage is made from, has been shown to lower the risk of arthritis and possibly relieve its pain. This natural substance, made from a sugar and a molecule called an amine, is a building block of joint tissue. As a result, experts believe, when you take it in supplemental form, the body may use it to repair joints that have been damaged by arthritis. For instance, an investigation of osteoarthritis of the knee performed at the University of Liege in Belgium showed that taking glucosamine could stop joints from deteriorating.

The study, which involved more than 200 people suffering from osteoarthritis, found that in three years of taking glucosamine supplements, many arthritis sufferers found that their condition actually improved (Lancet 2001 Jan 27; 357).

Other Arthritis Fighters

Chondroitin sulfate is another material that goes into the making of cartilage. Chondroitin helps cartilage stay hydrated and permits the flow of nutrients through the joint tissues. In addition, researchers believe that chondroitin helps fight inflammation, which can otherwise cause pain and stiffness as well as joint destruction.

Taken together with glucosamine, chondroitin is believed to hasten the healing of bone and cartilage. Another substance that may help ease the ache of arthritis is methylsulfonylmethane (MSM), a naturally occurring sulfur-bearing compound. "MSM appears to have anti-inflammatory effects when administered orally, intravenously or topically," says MSM researcher Stanley Jacob, MD, FACS, of the Oregon Health & Science University. That means it has shown an ability to reduce the heat, pain and swelling associated with arthritic conditions. MSM may also be able to reduce muscle spasms around joints and reduce the formation of scar tissue.

Herbal Aid

Herbal medicine has long been used by folks with achy joints. The yellow spice turmeric (Curcuma longa), a staple of Indian cooking, is a traditional Indian remedy for arthritis because of its painkilling properties. Ginger (Zingiber officinale), another culinary favorite, restrains the production of inflammatory chemicals called cytokines. And willow bark (Salix sp), the source of aspirin, is longer-acting and doesn't irritate the stomach lining.

Those who suffer arthritis know that its pain and discomfort are often no laughing matter. But if you don't take arthritis lying down and manage to keep a smile on your face-and avail yourself of nature's remedies-you can get the upper hand on this often debilitating condition.

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Vitanet ®

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Iron: The Body's LifeBlood

Date: June 10, 2005 10:29 PM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Iron: The Body's LifeBlood

Iron: The Body's LifeBlood by Carl Lowe Energy Times, October 16, 2004

Two billion people, including one in 10 American women, are lacking iron. Here's how veggies and other foods can supply you with enough of this vital mineral.

Back in the days of black and white television, a popular commercial cautioned viewers about the dangers of iron-poor blood. While those ads trumpeting the debilitating fatigue of iron deficiency have disappeared from our colorized video world, medical researchers now recognize that many of us, in fact, are hampered by an iron shortage. What those old ads missed: a lack of iron can slow you down mentally and physically even before it shows up in your blood.

A Woman's Dilemma: Hidden Deficiencies Experts estimate that one in 10 American women are low in iron but many haven't become so deficient that they are aware of their shortage. In other countries, up to eight in 10 women run short on iron. While researchers once believed that iron deficiency was only serious if it was drastic enough to cause anemia (what used to be called "tired blood"), studies now show that even mild deficiencies can compromise health.

Worldwide, public health experts believe that the lives of about 2 billion people are affected by iron deficiency. Most of these people are women, who lose blood on a monthly basis during their childbearing years. Men are generally not low in iron. Iron is necessary for the formation of red blood cells-particularly the creation of hemoglobin, the reddish pigment in these cells that enables them to deliver oxygen to muscles and other bodily tissues. If you are very low in iron, the resulting anemia leaves you feeling fatigued.

Your body stashes iron not only in your blood cells, but in your liver and other tissues as well. When you don't consume enough iron, first your liver stores decrease, then your tissue supplies disappear and, finally, your blood runs low and you develop anemia. Early on in the iron-depletion process, a low iron count won't make your daily activities more difficult. Cornell University researchers found, in experiments on women who were mildly depleted, that taking or not taking iron supplements had no effect on how these women felt while exercising.

" Supplementation makes no difference in exercise-training improvements in women with low iron storage who are not yet tissue-iron deficient or anemic," says Thomas Brownlie, one of the Cornell researchers.

Supplementing Your Supply

Even in the beginning stages of iron deficiency, however, experts still believe you should take supplements: an uncorrected iron shortage can mean serious problems lurk ahead (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 5/04). For that reason, the next time you visit your healthcare practitioner you should request a serum transferrin receptor concentration test, which can detect an early iron shortage. (Don't start taking iron supplements without consulting a knowledgeable medical professional.)

" It would be useful for women who test low for iron but who are not yet anemic to have this test," notes Cornell's Brownlie. "Women found to be tissue-iron deficient will find exercise exceedingly difficult without improving their iron status-which could be achieved by increasing consumption of iron-rich foods or iron supplementation."

Iron-Poor Blood

If you let your iron levels run down so low that it shows up as anemia, not only will you be tired but your thinking may be fogged as well. " Millions of women who are mildly iron deficient must work harder than necessary when exercising or working physically, and they can't reap the benefits of endurance training very easily," says Jere Haas, PhD, one of the researchers involved in these studies and a nutrition professor at Cornell. "As a result, exercise is more difficult so these women are more apt to lose their motivation to exercise."

Meanwhile, researchers at Wake Forest University in North Carolina report that, as you age, anemia can make you more vulnerable to disabilities while weakening your muscles and draining your strength (Journal of the American Geriatric Society 5/04). That type of anemia may be linked to shortages of both iron and vitamin B12.

" Our results suggest that anemia is a risk factor for disability, poor physical function and low muscle strength-all which can threaten the independence of older adults," says Brenda Penninx, PhD, lead researcher. If you are a woman who exercises frequently, cuts calories to lose weight or eats a mostly vegetarian diet, watch out-you may be at high risk for iron depletion.

To steer clear of iron shortages, the Cornell researchers recommend eating lean red meat. If you are a vegetarian, taking vitamin C with meals improves your iron absorption from iron-rich foods like peanuts, whole wheat, brown rice and leafy green vegetables, as does using iron cookware.

Chelated Minerals

When it comes to absorbing supplemental minerals like iron, not all minerals may be created equal. In particular, minerals that are in chelated form are generally believed to be absorbed more efficiently in your digestive system. The word "chelate" comes from the Greek word for claw. Chelated minerals are chemically implanted into proteins known as peptides. This bound molecular structure mirrors the way minerals are contained in natural whole foods, which have been found to contain their own natural chelates.

Chelated minerals are more well-suited to your digestive tract. A key advantage of chelated formulations is their stability after you swallow them. Many other forms of supplemental minerals-which are often combined with inorganic salts or organic acids-may be broken down prematurely in the digestive tract, leading to poor absorption and a stomachache.

Chelates, however, maintain their structure sufficiently to reach the spot in the digestive tract where they are most efficiently taken into the bloodstream. Once there, the body's digestive enzymes dismember the proteins and convert the minerals into absorbable form.

Getting enough iron and other minerals is not that difficult a task-it's just one that is too often overlooked. But if you pride yourself on your iron will or iron constitution, or just seek to iron out a few of the kinks in your health, you may need to significantly pump up your iron.

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Vitanet ®

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The Latest Breakthroughs in Garlic Research on Cancer and Cardiovascular Disease

Date: June 09, 2005 05:22 PM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: The Latest Breakthroughs in Garlic Research on Cancer and Cardiovascular Disease

The Latest Breakthroughs in Garlic Research

on Cancer and Cardiovascular Disease

Presented at the 2005 World Garlic Symposium

Many of the world’s top-level scientists gathered in Washington D.C. this week for the 2005 Garlic Symposium, entitled, “Significance of Garlic and its Constituents in Cancer and Cardiovascular Disease.” The conference provided current scientific information about the effect of garlic and its constituents on health and performance. The symposium was held at the Georgetown University Conference Center on April 9-11, 2005.

“For the first time in seven years authorities in various fields of garlic research from all over the world to provide the latest updates, specifically regarding aged garlic extract and its actions in diseased states including heart disease and cancer,” commented Dr. Matthew Budoff, M.D. cardiovascular researcher at UCLA. “Garlic has been used medicinally for thousands of years in virtually all ancient cultures. Now, new metabolic roles for garlic are being proposed and there are many promising lines of research.”

Presentation highlights included:

• Clinical Intervention Trial and pre-clinical substantiation on Cancer using Garlic, presented by National Cancer Institute scientists, Mitchell Gail and John Milner Mounting evidence points to the anticancer properties of aged garlic extract and a number of specific organosulfur compounds from garlic. These prevention characteristics arise through both a dose and temporal related change in several cellular events including those involving drug metabolism, immunocompetence, cell cycle regulation, apoptosis and angiogenesis.

• Inhibition of Coronary Arterial Plaque Accumulation by Garlic, presented by Matthew Budoff, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center

Effect of aged garlic extract (AGE) has been tested in the placebo-controlled double blind randomized clinical study that determined that the atherosclerotic plaque burden detected by electron beam tomography (EBT) changed significantly with the use of aged garlic extract, Patients in Dr. Budoff’s study were able to significantly lower their total cholesterol, blood pressure, homocysteine and LDL cholesterol oxidation levels with aged garlic extract supplementation.

• Influence of Garlic on Endothelial Dysfunction in Hyperhomocysteinemia, presented by Norbert Weiss, University of Munich in Germany Aged Garlic Extract (AGE) minimizes intracellular oxidant stress and stimulates NO generation in endothelial cells. Preliminary results show that pretreatment with AGE for six weeks diminishes the adverse effects of acute high homocysteine on endothelium-dependent brachial artery vasodilatation and on acetylcholine-induced stimulation of skin perfusion.

• Anti-glycation properties of aged garlic extract: possible role in prevention of diabetic complications, presented by Nessar Ahmed, Manchester Metropolitan University in England Aged garlic extract inhibited the formation of advanced glycation end products, which have been previously shown to increase the risk of diabetic complications ranging from heart disease to retinopathy, kidney failure, impaired wound healing and many more.

“Garlic is turning out to be a major player in cancer and heart disease prevention and control, especially in combination with drug treatments,” said Richard Rivlin, M.D. of Strang Cancer Prevention Center at Cornell. “It’s also showing us that we can start early. It’s madness to treat cancer and heart disease in their advanced stages. We need to start early and aged garlic extract is an excellent way to do that.”

Almost 400 scientific studies have been completed on aged garlic extract, done in major universities worldwide. These studies have focused on a variety of heart disease risk factors such as cholesterol, high blood pressure, homocysteine levels, inhibiting LDL oxidation, anti-platelet aggregation and adhesion, stimulating blood circulation; in addition to other studies on immune stimulation, cognitive effects, liver function and anti-tumor effects. .

Abstracts

PRECLINICAL PERSPECTIVE ON GARLIC AND CANCER. John A. Milner, National Cancer Institute, Rockville, MD 20892

Mounting evidence points to the anticancer properties of fresh garlic extracts, aged garlic, garlic oil, and a number of specific organosulfur compounds from garlic. These prevention characteristics arise through both a dose and temporal related change in several cellular events including those involving drug metabolism, immunocompetence, cell cycle regulation, apoptosis and angiogenesis. A block in carcinogen activation through modulation of cytochrome P450-dependent monooxygenases and/or acceleration of carcinogen detoxification via induction of phase II enzymes likely account for some of this protection. The block in preneoplastic lesions and/or tumors in several sites suggests a generalizable mechanism. The efficacy of water- and lipid-soluble allyl sulfur compounds against chemical carcinogenesis appears comparable, although more studies are needed. A shift in sulfhydryl groups, redox status or enzyme catalysis may account for some of the phenotypic changes. They may also account for the observed hyperphosphorylation of specific cell cycle related proteins and histone hyperacetylation; both of which have been correlated with suppressed tumor cell proliferation. Several forms of allyl sulfur compounds are effective in blocking cell division and inducing apoptosis, but notable differences in the efficacy among these various compounds and across tumor types are evident. While the expression of many genes and proteins can be influenced by allyl sulfides; the challenge is to determine which is responsible for a phenotypic change. Additional studies are needed with more modest exposures and over prolonged periods and that utilize transgenic and knockout models to assist in the identification of molecular targets. Finally, additional research is needed to identify sensitive “effect” and “susceptibility” biomarkers that can ultimately be used to identify responders from non-responders.

INHIBITION OF CORONARY ARTERIAL PLAQUE ACCUMULATION BY GARLIC. Matthew Budoff, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, UCLA School of Medicine, California, USA

Effect of Aged garlic extract (AGE) has been tested in the placebo-controlled double blind randomized clinical study to determine whether the atherosclerotic plaque burden detected by electron beam tomography (EBT) will change at a different rate under the influence of AGE or placebo. EBT can non-invasively quantitate the amount of coronary calcification and track atherosclerotic plaque over time. Nineteen of 23 patients completed the study protocol. The patients were well matched for age, gender, statin use and cardiac risk factors. Patients underwent EBT and blood testing at baseline, and then again after 12 months of randomization. The average change in the calcium score (Volumetric method) ± SD for the AGE group (n = 9) was 7.5 ± 9.4% over the one year. The placebo group (n = 10) demonstrated 22.2 ± 18.5% annual progression, significantly greater than the treated cohort (p = 0.01). While there were no significant changes in cholesterol parameters, or C Reactive protein between the groups, high density lipoproteins and plasma homocysteine in the AGE group demonstrated a trend toward improvement compared to the placebo patients. Thus, although this is a small-scale trial, it demonstrates the potential of AGE to inhibit the rate of atherosclerosis (progression of coronary calcium), as compared to placebo over one year. Larger studies need to be performed to assess this potential anti-atherosclerotic therapy and the impact on coronary events.

INFLUENCE OF GARLIC ON ENDOTHELIAL DYSFUNCTION IN HYPERHOMOCYSTEINEMIA. N. Weiss, N. Ide, T. Abahji, L. Nill, C. Keller, U. Hoffmann. Klinikum der Universität München, D-80336 Munich, Germany

Endothelial dysfunction (ED) due to decreased bioavailable nitric oxide (NO) by increased vascular oxidant stress plays a critical role in the vascular pathobiology of hyperhomocysteinemia (hhcy). Aged Garlic Extract (AGE) minimizes intracellular oxidant stress and stimulates NO generation in endothelial cells. We performed a placebo-controlled, blinded, cross-over study to examine whether AGE prevents macro- and microvascular ED during acute hhcy induced by an oral methionine challenge in healthy subjects. Acute hhcy leads to a significant decrease in flow-mediated vasodilation of the brachial artery as determined by vascular ultrasound, indicative of macrovascular ED, as well as a decreased number of recruited nailfold capillaries during postischemic reactive hyperemia as determined by videomicroscopy, and to a decreased ratio of acetylcholine (endothelium-dependent) vs. sodium nitroprusside (endothelium-independent) iontophoresis induced skin perfusion as measured by laser doppler flowmetry, indicative of microvascular ED. Preliminary results show that pretreatment with AGE for six weeks diminishes the adverse effects of acute hhcy on endothelium-dependent brachial artery vasodilation and on acetylcholine-induced stimulation of skin perfusion. Whether or not this is accompanied by changes in biochemical parameters of ED is still under investigation. It is concluded that AGE may at least partly prevent a decrease in bioavailable NO during acute hhcy.

Bibliographies

David Heber, MD, PhD, FACP, FACN

Professor, UCLA Department of Medicine - Division of Clinical Nutrition, at the David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, and UCLA School of Public Health; Director, UCLA Center for Human Nutrition; Director, NIH Center for Dietary Supplement Research in Botanicals (CDSRB); Director, NCI-funded Clinical Nutrition Research Unit; Vice Chair, UCLA Collaborative Centers for Integrative Medicine; Member, UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center

Matthew Budoff, MD, FACC

Matthew Budoff, MD, FACC, is an associate professor of medicine at the UCLA School of Medicine and program director for the Division of Cardiology, as well as director of the Electron Beam CT Laboratory at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance, Calif. He completed his undergraduate work at University of California, Riverside, and earned his medical degree at George Washington University in Washington D.C. Dr. Budoff’s efforts to identify and modify risk factors for cardiovascular disease using electron beam CT have been extensively published. His latest research focuses on the progression of arteriosclerosis.

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VitaNet ®
VitaNEt ®

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Mother's Choice with Iron - Scientific Prenatal Nutrition!

Date: June 03, 2005 06:23 PM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Mother's Choice with Iron - Scientific Prenatal Nutrition!

Mothers Choice with Iron PreNatal Nutrition

You’re expecting a baby—and right now nothing could be more important than ensuring the health of your developing child. At this crucial time, what could be more basic than providing the nutrients that are the very substance of the new life you’re carrying? At every critical stage of pregnancy, your baby’s cells and tissues are literally formed from the nutrients you take in. Source Naturals is deeply committed to giving your newborn every chance for optimal health. That’s why we developed MOTHER’S CHOICE Prenatal Multiple. MOTHER’S CHOICE combines a comprehensive vitamin-mineral blend with advanced nutrients that reflect the latest scientific research. And each bottle comes with a separate package of Arctic Pure™ DHA softgels. DHA is a fatty acid that is crucial for baby’s brain development from the earliest stages of pregnancy through the breastfeeding years. MOTHER’S CHOICE also supports your health and vitality, with a blend of traditional herbs used for centuries to relieve morning sickness and leg edema. MOTHER’S CHOICE: because nothing is too good for you and your baby.

Go the Source for Scientifically Based Formulation

MOTHER’S CHOICE PRENATAL MULTIPLE was expertly formulated to supply a full range of essential vitamins and minerals, in potencies effective for maternal health and fetal development, while safe for the fetus.

Healthy Fetal Development

MOTHER’S CHOICE contains ingredients that reflect the latest findings in fetal nutrition.

• Choline: The National Academy of Sciences recommends that pregnant and nursing women increase choline intake to support fetal brain development (450 mg daily during pregnancy and 550 mg while nursing). MOTHER’S CHOICE is the one of the few prenatal multiples to supply 450 mg.

• Folic Acid: Folic acid, along with vitamin B-12, is required for DNA synthesis and helps prevent neural tube defects. The U.S. Public Health Service recommends that women of childbearing age consume 400 mcg of folic acid daily. During pregnancy, the need increases to 800 mcg, the amount in MOTHER’S CHOICE. B-12 is supplied as methylcobalamin and adenosylcobalamin, the active coenzyme forms found in breast milk.

• Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA): MOTHER’S CHOICE is one of the few prenatal formulas to include this omega-3 fatty acid. Source Naturals sells its MOTHER’S CHOICE formula with ArcticPure DHA from premium fish oil concentrate in separately packaged softgels. Patented ArcticPure DHA has no fishy taste. Pregnant mothers transfer DHA to the fetus to support brain and retinal development, while DHA is supplied to the newborn via breast milk.

• Iron: Iron is a critical component of oxygen-carrying hemoglobin. During the second and third trimesters, women need increased iron to supply the growing fetus and placenta.

Enjoy Your Special Time!

Pregnancy should be one of the high points of your life, but typical discomforts can get in the way. MOTHER’S CHOICE features herbs traditionally used during pregnancy. Morning Sickness: Ginger root and peppermint leaf are traditional remedies for the nausea associated with morning sickness, and chamomile has soothing properties. Leg Comfort: Vitamin E has been shown to relieve nocturnal leg cramps, while bilberry supports healthy capillaries and veins.

Take Charge of Your Pregnancy

Source Naturals understands your deep desire to safeguard your baby’s health and development. With MOTHER’S CHOICE you have the resources to act on that concern. MOTHER’S CHOICE: for a vibrant pregnancy and a good start on life for your newborn.

CAUTION: Pregnant or breastfeeding women should consult a health care professional before using this or any dietary supplement.

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VitaNet ®
VitaNet ® Staff

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Essential Enzymes - to support the digestive tract...

Date: June 02, 2005 09:26 AM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Essential Enzymes - to support the digestive tract...

Essential Enzymes

ESSENTIAL ENZYMES™ is one of Source Naturals’ most popular formulas—customers buy it again and again. Why? ESSENTIAL ENZYMES is uniquely effective because it addresses systems, not just symptoms*. ESSENTIAL ENZYMES is a Bio-Aligned Formula™ that goes deep to the root cause of digestive imbalances and assists you in getting more of the nutritional value of the food you eat. It is expertly designed to support your systems for digestion of multiple food groups: carbohydrates, protein, fat and fiber. Also available in vegetarian capsules.

A Bio-Aligned Formula™

ESSENTIAL ENZYMES is designed to bring alignment to the multiple, interconnected systems that influence digestion. The formula includes food grade enzymes that function in a range of different pH (acidity) levels found in the digestive tract. As a result, different enzymes are available to break down food molecules in the various stages of digestion.

Carbohydrate Digestive System

The first step in digestion occurs in the mouth, where the digestion of carbohydrates is initiated. Amylase, the enzyme contained in saliva, converts starch (a form of carbohydrate) into simpler sugars. This process is completed when the pancreas secretes more amylase into the small intestine. Lactase supports the breakdown of lactose (sugar from milk) that many populations are unable to digest. ESSENTIAL ENZYMES supports carbohydrate digestion with lactase, to break down milk sugar, and amylase and amyloglucosidase to break down starch.

Protein Digestive System

In the stomach, food is broken down further by churning and by the action of the gastric juice, which contains pepsin and hydrochloric acid. Pepsin, a protease enzyme that depends on the highly acidic (pH 1.5 to 2.5) environment of the stomach for functioning, begins the process of breaking down protein into peptides and amino acids. The food, at this stage called “chyme,” then continues on to the alkaline (pH 7.0 to 8.0) environment of the small intestine, where the intestinal and pancreatic proteases complete protein digestion. ESSENTIAL ENZYMES supports protein digestion with two forms of protease enzymes, acid-stable protease and vegetal analog of pancreatin.

Fat Digestive System

Fat digestion occurs in the initial section of the small intestine. The liver produces bile salts and acids, and stores them in the gall bladder. Bile emulsifies fats, breaking them apart into droplets. In this form they can be attacked by the pancreatic enzyme called lipase that helps break down fat into glycerides and fatty acids. Bile and pancreatic fluid together neutralize stomach acid, which is essential because the intestinal enzymes function only at a pH of 7 to 8. ESSENTIAL ENZYMES supports fat digestion with the enzyme lipase.

Fiber Digestive System

Fiber—found in foods such as whole grains, fruits and vegetables—provides bulk to enable the large intestine to work effectively. It also helps regulate the nutrient absorption in the small intestine. The breakdown of certain fibers may add further benefit. Cellulase and hemicellulase break down plant cell walls in fibrous foods, thereby making available nutrients within these cells. ESSENTIAL ENZYMES supports fiber digestion with the enzymes cellulase and hemicellulase.

Strategies for Wellness (SM)

Healthy Digestion Plan Simple nutritional choices and lifestyle patterns are important to your strategy for digestive health.

• Eat Slowly-Savor Your Food We often make the mistake of wolfing food down so we can move on to the next activity in our busy lives. But digestion functions better when we take the time to slow down. The parasympathetic nervous system is responsible for enhancing circulation to the digestive organs and promoting the flow of digestive juices—but we must be relaxed for our parasympathetic nervous system to predominate.

• Eat Well: You should eat a balanced whole foods diet, with lots of fiber for proper elimination. The FDA has set the Daily Value for fiber at 25 grams, based on a 2,000-calorie diet, but research indicates that 40-60 grams may be most beneficial. Good dietary sources include whole grains (whole wheat bread, bran cereal, whole oats, brown rice, etc.), fresh fruits and vegetables, and dried beans such as black beans, pintos and chick peas. Live-culture yogurt contains “friendly” bacteria such as acidophilus or bifidus, which are important for balanced intestinal flora and healthy digestion. Avoid substances that seem to irritate your digestive system—common offenders are caffeine, chocolate, fatty foods, alcoholic beverages, tobacco, and dairy foods.

• Drink Plenty of Water: It is important to drink water, juices, and other beverages to supply fluid for digestion. Poor fluid intake, either at meals or in between, slows the movement of waste in the large intestine. Drink at least 6-8 glasses of water daily.

• Avoid Stress: Physiologically, we are “wired” to assimilate food in a state of relaxation. If we are in flight or fight mode when we eat we may experience a “short circuit” in the digestive process.

• Get Enough Exercise: Doctors are not sure why, but regular exercise helps your system stay active and healthy. Try to walk at least 30 minutes three times per week.

• Supplement Your Diet: ESSENTIAL ENZYMES is now available in both regular and vegetarian (cellulose) capsules. Try Source Naturals friendly flora including ACIDOPHILUS and NUTRAFLORA® FOS (fructooligosaccharides), as well as PSYLLIUM fiber for further digestive support.

Essential Enzymes is a Bio-Aligned Formula™ Multi-System Support for Digestion Carbohydrate Digestive System Amylase, Amyloglucosidase, Lactase Protein Digestive System Acid Stable Protease, Vegetal Analog of Pancreatin (Protease) Fat Digestive System Lipase Fiber Digestive System Cellulase, Hemicellulase

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VitANet ®
VitaNet ® Staff

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