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	Clean and Pure Sweetness from Stevia That is Unmatched by Other Brands	Darrell Miller	10/22/24
	The Versatility of Coconut Sugar: A Dive into its Culinary Uses, Glycemic Index, and Nutritional Profile	Darrell Miller	6/5/24
	Agave Nectar: A Delicious Alternative	Darrell Miller	6/4/24
	The History of Stevia: From Ancient Sweet Leaf to Global Sweetener	Darrell Miller	5/31/24
	What is Guar Gum?	Darrell Miller	10/25/22
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Date: October 22, 2024 05:43 PM
Author: Darrell Miller (support@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Clean and Pure Sweetness from Stevia That is Unmatched by Other Brands

Discover the Benefits of Kal Brand Sure Stevia Powder Extract

In recent years, the surge in health consciousness has led to a growing demand for alternative sweeteners. Among these, Kal Brand Sure Stevia Powder Extract stands out for its exceptional properties and versatile uses.

What is Stevia?

Stevia is a natural sweetener derived from the leaves of the Stevia rebaudiana plant. Unlike sugar, stevia is free from calories, making it an attractive option for health enthusiasts. The compound responsible for stevia's sweetness is stevioside, which is several times sweeter than table sugar, allowing it to sweeten foods and drinks without the health drawbacks associated with sugar.

Why Choose Stevia Over Sugar?

Stevia's benefits extend beyond its calorie-free nature. It has a minimal impact on blood sugar levels, making it suitable for individuals with diabetes or those looking to maintain balanced glucose levels. In addition, stevia does not contribute to tooth decay, a significant advantage over sugar. Therefore, it's not just an excellent alternative for those with dietary restrictions but also for those concerned with dental health.

The Superiority of Kal Brand

Kal Brand Sure Stevia Powder Extract differs from conventional products through its high purity and sans bitterness formula. Many stevia products on the market can leave a distinct aftertaste; however, Kal's special extraction process ensures a clean, pure sweetness. This attention to detail provides a refined taste experience, allowing you to enjoy your favorite foods and beverages without compromising on flavor.

The No Aftertaste Advantage

One of the primary concerns with using stevia as a sweetener is the aftertaste that can often accompany its use. However, Kal Brand Sure Stevia Powder Extract has effectively addressed this issue through a meticulous refinement process. By employing advanced extraction techniques, Kal Brand has managed to eliminate the unwanted bitterness that many stevia products exhibit. This innovation makes Kal Sure Stevia Powder distinctive, providing a seamless sweetness akin to sugar, devoid of any lingering aftertaste. Consequently, consumers can integrate this stevia into a variety of culinary applications with confidence, knowing that it won't alter the intended flavor profile of their dishes and beverages. This characteristic solidifies its position as an ideal sweetener for connoisseurs seeking both health benefits and an uncompromised taste experience.

Versatility in Use

Kal Brand Sure Stevia Powder Extract is remarkably versatile. It can be seamlessly integrated into numerous recipes, from sweetening a morning coffee to enhancing a homemade dessert. Furthermore, its concentrated sweetness means that only a small amount is needed, making it an economical and efficient choice.

Tips for Cooking and Baking

To use Kal Brand Sure Stevia in your culinary creations, a basic understanding of conversions can be helpful. As it is much sweeter than sugar, the amount of stevia needed is substantially less. A reliable rule of thumb is to use about a half a teaspoon of stevia extract for each cup of sugar. Moreover, when incorporating it into recipes, consider the bulk and moisture sugar provides; you may need to adjust recipes to achieve the desired texture.

Health Benefits in Focus

Several studies have explored the potential health benefits of incorporating stevia into a diet. Stevia may help aid in weight management due to its zero-calorie content, allowing individuals to satisfy their sweet tooth without caloric accumulation. Furthermore, there are indications that stevia possesses antioxidant properties, which can contribute to overall health and wellness.

Transitioning to Stevia

Switching from conventional sugar to stevia may seem daunting at first, but the rewards are worth the effort. Gradual introduction into your diet can ease the transition. Start by replacing sugar in your coffee or tea, then slowly incorporate it into baking. This phased approach can help adjust your palate and harness the maximum benefits of Kal Brand Sure Stevia.

Make the Switch Today

As consumers increasingly prioritize health and wellness, choosing a natural sweetener like Kal Brand Sure Stevia Powder Extract is not only a wise decision but also an achievable step towards a healthier lifestyle. With its exceptional purity, versatility, and health benefits, there has never been a better time to optimize your sugar intake. Take action now; explore the delicious possibilities that this remarkable product offers and enjoy the sweetness of life without compromise. Try Kal Brand Sure Stevia Powder Extract today and experience a revolutionary change in your dietary habits.

(https://vitanetonline.com:443/forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=1&Message_ID=6617)

Date: June 05, 2024 03:40 PM
Author: Darrell Miller (support@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: The Versatility of Coconut Sugar: A Dive into its Culinary Uses, Glycemic Index, and Nutritional Profile

The Versatility of Coconut Sugar: A Dive into its Culinary Uses, Glycemic Index, and Nutritional Profile

In the world of health-conscious eating, coconut sugar has been gaining traction as a natural sweetener that boasts several benefits over traditional table sugar. Derived from the sap of coconut palm tree flowers, coconut sugar offers a unique flavor and versatile uses in a variety of culinary applications. This article delves into the numerous ways coconut sugar can be utilized in the kitchen, its glycemic index, and its nutritional profile, shedding light on why this sweetener has captured the hearts of many health enthusiasts.

Culinary Uses of Coconut Sugar

Baking and Desserts

One of the most popular ways to incorporate coconut sugar into your diet is through baking. Coconut sugar can be used as a one-to-one replacement for white or brown sugar in recipes, making it an easy swap for those looking to reduce their intake of refined sugars. Its caramel-like flavor enhances the taste of cookies, cakes, muffins, and other baked goods. For example, coconut sugar can add depth to chocolate chip cookies or provide a rich, molasses-like sweetness to gingerbread.

Beverages

Coconut sugar can also be a delightful addition to both hot and cold beverages. It easily dissolves in liquids, making it a great sweetener for coffee, tea, smoothies, and even cocktails. For instance, adding a spoonful of coconut sugar to your morning coffee or afternoon chai tea can give your drink a subtle, tropical sweetness without the overpowering taste that sometimes accompanies artificial sweeteners.

Cooking and Sauces

In the realm of savory dishes, coconut sugar works exceptionally well in marinades, sauces, and dressings. Its ability to balance flavors makes it a staple in many Asian cuisines, particularly in Thai cooking. Use it to create a luscious teriyaki sauce or add it to a spicy barbecue marinade. Coconut sugar’s mild sweetness can complement and enhance the umami elements of soy sauce, ginger, and garlic, resulting in a harmonious blend of flavors.

Toppings and Condiments

Don’t overlook coconut sugar as a topping for breakfast or snacks. Sprinkle it over oatmeal, yogurt, or fresh fruit for a burst of flavor and a touch of sweetness. You can also use coconut sugar in homemade granola or energy bars. Its granular texture adds a pleasant crunch, and its rich taste pairs well with nuts, seeds, and dried fruits.

Glycemic Index

One of the significant advantages of coconut sugar is its lower glycemic index (GI) compared to regular table sugar. The glycemic index is a measure of how quickly a food raises blood sugar levels after consumption. Foods with a high GI can cause rapid spikes and crashes in blood sugar levels, which can be particularly problematic for individuals with diabetes or those managing their weight.

Coconut sugar has a GI of approximately 35, which is considerably lower than the GI of table sugar, which hovers around 60-65. This lower GI means that coconut sugar causes a slower, more gradual rise in blood sugar levels. As a result, it can help maintain more stable energy levels throughout the day and prevent the sudden energy crashes that often follow high-sugar snacks or meals.

Nutritional Profile

Aside from its lower glycemic index, coconut sugar also offers a more nutrient-dense alternative to refined sugars. While it is still a type of sugar and should be consumed in moderation, coconut sugar contains trace amounts of vitamins and minerals that can contribute to overall health.

Vitamins and Minerals

Coconut sugar retains some of the nutrients found in the coconut palm sap. These include small amounts of iron, zinc, calcium, and potassium, all of which play crucial roles in maintaining bodily functions. For example, iron is essential for oxygen transport in the blood, while calcium supports bone health.

Antioxidants

Coconut sugar also contains antioxidants, which help combat oxidative stress and reduce the risk of chronic diseases. Antioxidants can neutralize free radicals, unstable molecules that can damage cells and contribute to aging and diseases like cancer and heart disease.

Inulin Content

Another noteworthy component of coconut sugar is inulin, a type of dietary fiber. Inulin acts as a prebiotic, feeding the beneficial bacteria in the gut and promoting a healthy digestive system. Its presence in coconut sugar can further contribute to its lower glycemic index by slowing down glucose absorption.

Choosing and Storing Coconut Sugar

When purchasing coconut sugar, it’s essential to select high-quality brands that don’t mix the sugar with other sweetening agents like cane sugar. Always check the label to ensure you’re buying 100% pure coconut sugar.

Storage Tips

Store coconut sugar in an airtight container in a cool, dry place to maintain its texture and flavor. It’s important to keep it away from moisture, as this can cause clumping and affect its usability.

Ready to Sweeten up Your Life?

Coconut sugar presents a versatile and nutritious alternative to traditional sweeteners, offering a wide range of culinary uses while providing a lower glycemic index and additional vitamins and minerals. Whether you’re baking your favorite dessert, sweetening your morning coffee, or enhancing a savory dish, coconut sugar can be a valuable addition to your pantry. Its unique flavor and health benefits make it an excellent choice for those looking to enjoy sweetness in a more wholesome form. By understanding and embracing the versatility of coconut sugar, you can make more informed and health-conscious decisions in your culinary endeavors.

(https://vitanetonline.com:443/forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=1&Message_ID=6612)

Date: June 04, 2024 04:57 PM
Author: Darrell Miller (support@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Agave Nectar: A Delicious Alternative

Agave Nectar: A Delicious Alternative

In recent years, agave nectar has gained popularity as a natural sweetener, touted for its unique taste and potential health benefits. But what exactly is agave nectar, and how does it stack up against traditional sugar and other sweeteners? In this comprehensive guide, we will delve into the uses and nutritional benefits of agave nectar, comparing it to traditional sugar and other sweeteners to help you make an informed decision.

What is Agave Nectar?

Agave nectar, also known as agave syrup, is a sweetener derived from the sap of the agave plant. The agave plant is native to Mexico and has been used for centuries in traditional medicine and as a sweetener. The sap is extracted from the core of the agave plant, then filtered and heated at low temperatures to break down the complex carbohydrates into simple sugars. The result is a sweet, viscous liquid with a taste similar to honey, but with a thinner consistency.

Nutritional Profile of Agave Nectar

Agave nectar is primarily composed of fructose, a simple sugar found in many fruits. Unlike traditional sugar (sucrose), which is made up of equal parts glucose and fructose, agave nectar usually contains about 70-90% fructose and 10-30% glucose. Here is a quick look at the nutritional content of one tablespoon (21 grams) of agave nectar:

• Calories: 60
• Total Fat: 0g
• Sodium: 1mg
• Total Carbohydrates: 16g
• Sugars: 16g
• Protein: 0g

Uses of Agave Nectar

Use agave nectar in various ways to add versatility to your kitchen. Here are some common uses:

1. Baking: Agave nectar can replace sugar in baking recipes. It adds sweetness and moisture to cakes, cookies, and muffins.
2. Beverages: Use agave nectar to sweeten tea, coffee, smoothies, and cocktails. It dissolves easily in both hot and cold liquids.
3. Cooking: Drizzle agave nectar over pancakes, waffles, or oatmeal. It can also use in marinades, dressings, and sauces.
4. Topping: Pour agave nectar over yogurt, fruit, or ice cream for a sweet, natural topping.

Comparing Agave Nectar to Traditional Sugar

Caloric Content

Both agave nectar and traditional sugar contain similar amounts of calories per serving, but agave nectar is sweeter than sugar, which means you can use less of it to achieve the same level of sweetness. This can result in a lower overall caloric intake when using agave nectar as a sugar substitute.

Glycemic Index

One of the key differences between agave nectar and traditional sugar is their glycemic index (GI). The glycemic index measures how quickly a food raises blood sugar levels. Foods with a high GI cause a rapid spike in blood sugar, while those with a low GI release sugar more slowly and steadily.

Agave nectar has a low glycemic index, typically between 13 and 30, which is significantly lower than that of traditional sugar (sucrose), which has a GI of around 65. This makes agave nectar a more suitable option for those trying to manage their blood sugar levels.

Fructose Content

While agave nectar's high fructose content may contribute to its low glycemic index, it also raises some concerns. Consuming high fructose intake in large amounts has been linked to obesity, fatty liver disease, and insulin resistance. However, when used in moderation, agave nectar can be a healthier alternative to traditional sugar and high-fructose corn syrup.

Comparing Agave Nectar to Other Sweeteners

Honey

Honey, often compared to agave nectar, provides a natural sweetener option with similar caloric content, allowing interchangeability in recipes. This sweetener has a higher glycemic index than agave nectar, meaning it can cause a quicker spike in blood sugar levels. However, honey also contains antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals, which can provide additional health benefits.

Maple Syrup

Maple syrup, like agave nectar, is a natural sweetener with a lower glycemic index than sugar. It also contains some beneficial nutrients, such as manganese and zinc. However, agave nectar is sweeter than maple syrup, so you may need to use less of it to achieve the desired sweetness.

Stevia

Stevia, derived from the leaves of the Stevia rebaudiana plant, is a zero-calorie sweetener. It does not affect blood sugar levels and requires only a small amount due to its sweeter taste compared to agave nectar. If you want a super sweet brand of stevia, try Kal brand stevia, it has no after taste and contains over 1800 servings at a reasonable price. While stevia is a good option for those looking to reduce their caloric intake and manage blood sugar levels, some people find its aftertaste less appealing than that of agave nectar.

Potential Health Benefits of Agave Nectar

Lower Glycemic Index

As mentioned earlier, agave nectar has a lower glycemic index than traditional sugar, making it a potentially better choice for those managing diabetes or trying to maintain stable blood sugar levels.

Antioxidant Properties

Agave nectar contains some antioxidants, which can help neutralize harmful free radicals in the body. While the antioxidant content is not as high as that found in honey or some fruits, it still provides some benefit.

Digestive Health

Fructans, a type of carbohydrate found in agave, can act as prebiotics, promoting the growth of beneficial bacteria in the gut. This can contribute to better digestive health and overall well-being.

Moderation is Key

While agave nectar offers several advantages over traditional sugar and some other sweeteners, it is essential to use it in moderation. Its high fructose content can pose health risks if consumed in large amounts, so it's crucial to be mindful of your overall sugar intake.

Are You Ready For a New Kind of Sweetener?

Agave nectar is a delicious and versatile natural sweetener that offers some nutritional benefits over traditional sugar and other sweeteners. Its lower glycemic index, antioxidant properties, and potential digestive health benefits make it an attractive option for those looking to reduce their sugar consumption. However, it is essential to use agave nectar in moderation and consider it as part of a balanced diet. By understanding the uses and benefits of agave nectar, you can make an informed decision about incorporating it into your culinary repertoire.

(https://vitanetonline.com:443/forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=1&Message_ID=6611)

Date: May 31, 2024 11:05 AM
Author: Darrell Miller (support@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: The History of Stevia: From Ancient Sweet Leaf to Global Sweetener

The History of Stevia: From Ancient Sweet Leaf to Global Sweetener

Stevia, a natural sweetener that has become globally popular in recent years, boasts a rich history spanning centuries. This article delves into the origins and historical significance of stevia, shedding light on its traditional use by indigenous peoples and its evolution into a mainstream alternative to sugar.

The Origins of Stevia

Stevia, scientifically known as Stevia rebaudiana, originates from South America. This small, green plant is part of the Asteraceae family, which also includes daisies and sunflowers. The leaves of the stevia plant contain sweet compounds known as steviol glycosides, which are responsible for its sweetness.

Traditional Use by the Guaraní People

The historical journey of stevia begins with the Guaraní people of Paraguay and Brazil, who have used the plant for over 1,500 years. The Guaraní referred to stevia as "ka'a he'ê," which translates to "sweet herb." They traditionally used stevia leaves to sweeten beverages like yerba maté, a popular herbal tea, and to enhance the flavor of various traditional dishes.

Stevia wasn't just a sweetener for the Guaraní; it also held medicinal importance. The leaves were used to treat a variety of conditions, including burns, stomach issues, and as a general tonic. This dual use of stevia as both a sweetener and a medicinal plant highlights its invaluable role in indigenous culture.

Stevia's Journey to the Modern World

Rediscovery by European Explorers

The modern history of stevia began in the 16th century when European explorers first arrived in South America. Spanish botanist and physician Pedro Jaime Esteve (1500–1556) is often credited with the early European studies on stevia, although the plant was not widely documented until later.

Interest in stevia grew in the early 20th century when it was scientifically studied by Paraguayan chemist Ovidio Rebaudi. Rebaudi analyzed the sweet properties of stevia leaves and confirmed that they were much sweeter than sugar, which caught the attention of the scientific community.

Introduction to Asia and Beyond

In the 1970s, stevia began gaining traction in Japan as the country sought alternatives to artificial sweeteners. Japanese researchers developed methods for extracting and refining steviol glycosides from stevia leaves, making it possible to use stevia as a commercial sweetener. The success of stevia in Japan set the stage for its global acceptance.

Stevia in the Modern Health Movement

Health Benefits and Advantages

Stevia's rise in popularity can be attributed to its myriad of health benefits. Unlike sugar, stevia is calorie-free, making it an attractive option for those managing their weight. Additionally, stevia has a negligible effect on blood glucose levels, which is beneficial for individuals with diabetes or those monitoring their carbohydrate intake.

Moreover, steviol glycosides are stable at high temperatures, making stevia a versatile sweetener suitable for cooking and baking. This thermal stability, combined with its natural origin, has positioned stevia as a preferred option for health-conscious consumers.

Regulatory Approval and Global Adoption

The journey of stevia to becoming a global sweetener has involved rigorous scientific scrutiny and regulatory approval. In 2008, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted stevia the status of "Generally Recognized As Safe" (GRAS), which paved the way for its use in a wide range of food and beverage products.

Following the FDA's approval, other countries, including those in the European Union, Canada, and Australia, also approved the use of stevia in food and beverages. Today, stevia is found in everything from soft drinks to baked goods, reflecting its widespread acceptance and global reach.

Challenges and Future Prospects

Overcoming Obstacles

Despite its many advantages, the path to widespread adoption of stevia has not been without challenges. One of the initial hurdles was the aftertaste associated with some of the early stevia extracts. However, advances in extraction and formulation techniques have significantly improved the taste profile of stevia, making it more palatable for consumers.

Another challenge has been ensuring the sustainable cultivation of stevia. As demand grows, it is essential to implement agricultural practices that support environmental sustainability and fair labor conditions for farmers.

Research and Innovation

The future of stevia holds exciting possibilities as ongoing research continues to explore new applications and improvements. Scientists are currently investigating the potential of stevia extracts in providing health benefits beyond sweetness, such as their antioxidant properties and possible roles in managing certain health conditions.

Innovations in biotechnology are also paving the way for the development of new stevia varieties with enhanced sweetness and improved agronomic traits. These advancements could further solidify stevia's position as a key player in the global sweetener market.

In Summary

The history of stevia is a fascinating journey from the rainforests of South America to the shelves of supermarkets around the world. From its traditional use by the Guaraní people to its rediscovery by European explorers and subsequent global adoption, stevia has proven to be a remarkable sweetener with enduring significance. As the modern world continues to prioritize health and wellness, stevia's natural sweetness offers a much-needed alternative to sugar, promising a future where we can enjoy the sweetness of life without compromising our health.

Are You Ready to Make a Sweet Change?

If you've been searching for a healthier way to satisfy your sweet tooth, the journey of stevia offers a compelling reason to make the switch. With its rich history rooted in traditional use by the Guaraní people, and its scientifically-backed benefits recognized globally, stevia stands out as a truly remarkable sweetener. Free from calories and gentle on blood glucose levels, it's an excellent choice for both weight management and diabetes care. Plus, its versatility in cooking and baking means you won't have to compromise on your favorite recipes.

Join the growing number of health-conscious consumers who are choosing stevia for a naturally sweet life. Explore its various forms—from whole leaves to refined steviol glycosides—and incorporate this natural sweetener into your diet today. Embrace the future of sweetening and enjoy the benefits of stevia for yourself and your loved ones.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) About Stevia

What is stevia?

Stevia is a natural sweetener derived from the leaves of the Stevia rebaudiana plant, which is native to South America. It has been used for centuries by the Guaraní people and is known for being much sweeter than sugar while containing zero calories.

How is stevia used as a sweetener?

Stevia can be used in various forms, including whole leaves, powdered extracts, and liquid concentrates. It is commonly used to sweeten beverages, baked goods, and other foods. Thanks to its stability at high temperatures, stevia can also be used in cooking and baking.

Is stevia safe to consume?

Yes, stevia is considered safe for consumption. The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted stevia the status of "Generally Recognized As Safe" (GRAS). It has also been approved for use in many other countries, including those in the European Union, Canada, and Australia.

Can stevia help with weight management?

Stevia can be an effective tool for weight management because it contains no calories. Replacing sugar with stevia in your diet can help reduce overall calorie intake, which may contribute to weight loss or maintenance.

Is stevia suitable for people with diabetes?

Stevia is suitable for people with diabetes as it has a negligible effect on blood glucose levels. This makes it a preferable alternative to sugar for those needing to monitor their carbohydrate intake. However, it is always best to consult with a healthcare provider before making any significant changes to your diet.

Does stevia have any side effects?

Stevia is generally well-tolerated and considered safe for most people. However, some individuals may experience mild side effects, such as digestive discomfort, when consuming large amounts. It is advisable to use stevia in moderation.

What does stevia taste like?

Stevia is known to be much sweeter than sugar, and its taste can vary depending on the form used and the specific product. Early versions of stevia extracts were noted for having a slight aftertaste, though modern formulations have significantly improved the taste profile.

How is stevia cultivated?

Stevia is typically grown in subtropical and tropical climates. Sustainable cultivation practices are essential as the demand for stevia increases. These practices include using environmentally friendly agricultural methods and ensuring fair labor conditions for farmers.

Are there any environmental benefits to using stevia?

Stevia has the potential to be more sustainable than traditional sugar crops. It requires less land and water to produce the same level of sweetness, which can reduce the environmental impact associated with sugar cultivation.

Can stevia be used in baking?

Yes, stevia can be used in baking due to its high-temperature stability. However, because it is much sweeter than sugar, recipes may need to be adjusted to account for its intensity. Many commercially available stevia sweeteners come with specific usage guidelines for cooking and baking.

Are there different types of stevia products?

Yes, stevia products come in various forms, including whole leaves, powdered extracts, and liquid concentrates. Some products are blended with other sweeteners or filler ingredients to better mimic the taste and texture of sugar.

How does stevia compare to artificial sweeteners?

Stevia is a natural sweetener, which sets it apart from many artificial sweeteners. It is derived from a plant and does not undergo extensive chemical processing. Many consumers prefer stevia because it is perceived as a more natural and healthier option.

What research is being done on stevia?

Ongoing research on stevia explores its potential health benefits beyond sweetness, such as its antioxidant properties and possible roles in managing certain health conditions. Innovations in biotechnology are also working to develop new stevia varieties with enhanced sweetness and other desirable traits.

Where can I buy stevia?

Stevia products are widely available at VitaNet LLC. Stevia can be found in the baking aisle or the section dedicated to natural and alternative sweeteners.

By understanding the benefits and uses of stevia, you can make an informed decision about incorporating this natural sweetener into your diet. With its rich history, proven health benefits, and versatility, stevia offers a compelling alternative to traditional sugar.

(https://vitanetonline.com:443/forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=1&Message_ID=6607)

Date: October 25, 2022 02:32 PM
Author: Darrell Miller (support@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: What is Guar Gum?

Guar gum is a food additive that is derived from the guar bean. It is commonly used as a thickening agent, and can be found in a variety of products, such as frostings, ice cream, and sauces. Guar gum is also frequently used when baking with whole grain flours, as it helps to improve the texture and consistency of the finished product.

Guar Gum vs. Xanthan Gum

Guar gum and xanthan gum are both food additives that are derived from plant sources. They are both commonly used as thickeners, and can be found in a variety of foods, such as salad dressings, ice cream, and jams. Guar gum is made from the guar bean, while xanthan gum is made from fermented corn sugar. Both guar gum and xanthan gum are vegan-friendly and gluten-free.

Xanthan gum is a more versatile thickener than guar gum, as it can be used in both hot and cold dishes. Additionally, xanthan gum has a longer shelf life than guar gum. Xanthan gum is also more effective than guar gum at creating viscosity, or thickness, in liquids. However, guar gum is less expensive than xanthan gum, which makes it a more popular choice for many home cooks and bakers.

If you are looking for a thickening agent for your baking recipes that call for whole grain flour, then guar gum is a good option to consider. Guar gum will help to improve the texture of your baked goods, and can also be used in other dishes such as sauces and frostings. Keep in mind that xanthan gum is a more versatile thickener than guar gum, but it is also more expensive. Ultimately, the decision of which thickener to use will come down to personal preference and budget.

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Date: September 14, 2022 04:03 PM
Author: Darrell Miller (support@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: The Consequences of Not Getting Enough Sleep

Most people know they should be getting around eight hours of sleep per night, but according to the National Sleep Foundation, between 50 and 70 million U.S. adults havea sleep disorder*. That means many of us are not getting the quality sleep we need on a nightly basis. But what does that mean for our health? Let’s take a look.

Short-Term Effects of Sleep Deprivation

There are many short-term effects of not getting enough sleep, including:

* Difficulty concentrating or making decisions * Increased forgetfulness * Moodiness or irritability * Slow reflexes * Increased anxiety * Decreased sex drive * Weight gain or weight loss * Heightened senses * Increased susceptibility to colds and flus

Long-Term Effects of Sleep Deprivation

The long-term effects of sleep deprivation are even more concerning. Some of the long-term effects of not getting enough sleep include:

* High blood pressure * Diabetes * Heart disease * Mood disorders such as depression or anxiety * Memory problems * weakened immune system * Increased pain perception Conclusion: As you can see, there are many short-term and long-term effects of not getting enough sleep. If you think you might have a sleep disorder, talk to your doctor about treatment options. In the meantime, practice good sleep hygiene by avoiding caffeine before bedtime, establish a regular sleep schedule, and create a calming bedtime routine. Do your best to get seven to eight hours of quality sleep every night so you can wake up feeling refreshed and ready to take on the day!

Need more sleep try melatonin!

What is Melatonin?

Melatonin is a hormone that helps regulate our sleep-wake cycles. It's produced naturally by our bodies in response to darkness and starts to increase in the evening as we prepare for bed.

How Does Melatonin Work?

Many people take melatonin supplements in an effort to improve their sleep quality. And there is some evidence to suggest that it can be helpful. One small study found that melatonin supplements helped people fall asleep faster than placebo pills did. However, the effects were only temporary, lasting for just three days.

Another study looked at the effects of melatonin on people with insomnia due to jet lag. This research found that melatonin supplements shortened the time it took for participants to fall asleep by about an hour on average.

It's important to note that these studies looked at short-term usage of melatonin supplements. There's not much research available on the long-term effects of taking this supplement.

If you're struggling to get enough sleep, you might be wondering if supplements could help. One popular option is melatonin. But what is it, and does it really work? Melatonin is a hormone that helps regulate our sleep-wake cycles which is produced naturally by our bodies in response to darkness.. Many people take melatonin supplements in an effort to improve their sleep quality and there is some evidence to suggest that it can be helpful such as one small study found that melatonin supplements helped people fall asleep faster than placebo pills did.. however the effects were only temporary lasting three days or another study which looked at the effects of melatonin on people with insomnia due to jet lag and found that it shortened the time it took participants to fall asleep by an hour on average...

Give Melatonin a try and sleep better!

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Date: March 12, 2022 10:19 AM
Author: Darrell Miller (support@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Why would I want to take Beet Root Powder?

As the name suggests, beet root powder is made from ground-up beets. It’s a natural source of nitrates, which the body converts into nitric oxide. This gas helps to widen blood vessels and improve blood flow. In turn, this can help lower blood pressure. Beet root powder may also increase blood flow in the brain, leading to better cognitive function. Additionally, beet root powder is a good source of dietary fiber, minerals (including magnesium, potassium, and zinc), and vitamins (especially vitamin C and beta-carotene). All of these nutrients can offer various health benefits. Beet root powder is typically available in capsules or as a loose powder that can mixed into a drink.

Some people also add it to smoothies or juices. beet root powder is generally considered safe, but there’s a small risk of it causing kidney stones in some people. If you have a history of kidney stones, talk to your doctor before taking beet root powder. Also, beet root can interact with certain medications, so be sure to check with your doctor or pharmacist before taking it. Overall, beet root powder is a healthy, low-calorie addition to your diet that may offer several potential health benefits. It’s easy to incorporate into your diet and is generally safe for most people to consume. However, as with any supplement, it’s always best to speak with a healthcare professional before starting root powder or any other new supplement.

Improved blood flow can help with diabetes.

Beetroot powder can improve blood flow by widening blood vessels and delivering more oxygen to the muscles. This can be beneficial for people with diabetes, as they often have trouble getting enough oxygen to their muscles. beetroot powder may also help to lower blood sugar levels. A small study found that drinking beetroot juice helped people with type 2 diabetes reduce their blood sugar levels after a meal. More research is needed to confirm these effects, but beetroot powder may be a helpful addition to the diet of people with diabetes.

Beetroot powder can boost exercise performance.

The nitrates in beetroot powder can improve blood flow and deliver more oxygen to the muscles. This increased oxygen delivery can enhance exercise performance, especially during endurance activities. beetroot powder can also help reduce the amount of oxygen needed during exercise, which can lead to longer and more intense workouts. More research is needed on this topic, but beetroot powder may be a helpful addition to the diet of athletes or people who are looking to improve their fitness levels.

Beet root powder can improve cognitive function.

Some studies suggest that the nitrates in beetroot powder can improve cognitive function, especially in older adults. One study found that drinking beetroot juice improved memory and decision-making skills in older adults. Another study found that beetroot juice helped people with Alzheimer’s disease to think more clearly and remember more information. More research is needed on this topic, but beetroot powder may be a helpful addition to the diet for older adults or people with Alzheimer’s disease.

Beet root powder is a good source of dietary fiber.

Beetroot powder is a good source of dietary fiber, which can be beneficial for overall health. Fiber helps to keep us regular and can also reduce the risk of diseases like heart disease and type 2 diabetes. beetroot powder is also a good source of other nutrients, including magnesium, potassium, and zinc. All of these nutrients can offer various health benefits.

Have you had your beetroot today? You should if you want to improve blood flow, reduce blood pressure, and lower your risk of heart disease. beetroot powder is a healthy, low-calorie addition to your diet that may offer several potential health benefits. It’s easy to incorporate into your diet and is generally safe for most people to consume.

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Date: May 08, 2019 03:52 PM
Author: Darrell Miller (support@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Here is why cannabis oil is being used more and more in beauty products

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Date: February 14, 2019 09:49 AM
Author: Darrell Miller (support@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Ginger found to be effective against many different types of cancer

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Date: October 14, 2018 01:38 PM
Author: VitaNet, LLC Staff (support@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Fight menopausal symptoms with fermented red clover extract

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Date: June 22, 2018 05:54 PM
Author: Darrell Miller (support@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Make an INFORMED decision: Everything you need to know about colloidal silver

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Date: February 18, 2018 03:59 PM
Author: Darrell Miller (support@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Even the World Anti-Doping Agency has warmed to CBDs

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Date: December 25, 2017 03:59 PM
Author: Darrell Miller (support@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Eating fish once a week may promote sleep and boost IQ

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Date: November 17, 2017 07:59 AM
Author: Darrell Miller (support@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: 4 Groundbreaking Studies on Cannabis and Disease

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Date: September 11, 2017 09:14 AM
Author: Darrell Miller (support@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Boy Who Suffered 100 Seizures A Day Has Zero in 300 Days After Being Prescribed Cannabis Oil

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Date: August 31, 2017 04:14 PM
Author: Darrell Miller (support@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Finding a market for hemp: More than 2000 acres of industrial hemp planted in Minnesota this year

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Date: June 03, 2017 09:14 AM
Author: Darrell Miller (support@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: What Is Taurine? Separating Myth from Reality

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Date: April 24, 2017 03:44 PM
Author: Darrell Miller (support@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Cannabidiol Oil Producers Praise New Marijuana Definition

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Date: March 20, 2017 11:44 AM
Author: Darrell Miller (support@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: 7 Health Benefits of Vitamin B3 (Niacin)

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Date: March 20, 2017 08:44 AM
Author: Darrell Miller (support@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Trading calories for fluoride? Bottled water becomes best seller over soda

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Date: March 18, 2017 08:44 AM
Author: Darrell Miller (support@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Ear infection treatment: Do alternative therapies work?

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Date: February 14, 2017 02:59 PM
Author: Darrell Miller (support@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: The Best Foods For Your Age, According To Science

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Date: December 21, 2016 07:59 AM
Author: Darrell Miller (support@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Running may boost your brain wiring

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Date: December 17, 2016 10:59 AM
Author: Darrell Miller (support@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Health Check: what makes it so hard to quit drugs?

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Date: November 30, 2016 01:53 AM
Author: Darrell Miller
Subject: Benefits of stress management

Mental Health can be overlooked in our everyday lives but it plays a huge role in our health. Our mental state can affect us in many ways both positively and negatively. This article will be discuss the importance of Mental Health with a concentration on stress management. Stress is a significant cause of mental illness today and although we can't eradicate it, we can manage it It is important to understand that not all stress is negative. Stress may occur prior to weddings, graduations, or even social gatherings, but no matter the source of stress, your bodies respond the same. Also, some stress is good for you in order to manage skills needed for survival such as fight or flight.

Experts suggest a combination of physical, social, environmental, and psychological approaches to managing stress. When we are stressed, we encounter General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS). GAS is your complex physiological responses that happen as a result of the stress and has three phases. The first phase of GAS is the alarm phase. The alarm phase occurs when we sense there is a stressor present (Body doesn't sense whether it is a good or bad stressor), everything becomes heightened and hormones respond. The seconds phase of GAS is called the resistance phase. During the resistance phase your body resists stress to get your it back to homeostasis. If you can't rid the stress you move into exhaustion The last phase, exhaustion, occurs when your body is tired and can't fight anymore to get it back to homeostasis. Physical or emotional tension is often a good indicator of stress.

Below is a short list of symptoms from stress.

• Tension and irritability
• Fear and anxiety about the future
• Difficulty making decisions
• Being numb to one's feelings
• Loss of interest in normal activities
• Loss of appetite

Take Care of Yourself

Stay Active

Social Support

Avoid Alcohol or Drugs

In conclusion chamomile will help you zap stress and unwind and have healthy life.

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Date: November 23, 2016 12:59 PM
Author: Darrell Miller (support@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: How Much Should You Push Yourself with Depression?

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Date: November 13, 2016 10:04 AM
Author: Darrell Miller (support@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Six reasons why walking is the best medicine for mental health

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Date: November 08, 2016 07:09 AM
Author: Darrell Miller (support@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Sugar: What Kinds to Eat and When

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Date: October 25, 2016 10:35 PM
Author: Darrell Miller
Subject: Refreshement With A Raw Food Diet

You need to be feeling rejuvenated and completely ready to conquer the world whenever you get out of bed each and every morning, yet you feel tired and cranky even with eight hours of rest. You have a tendency to feel even slower after your meals, and so you rely on coffee, soda, and energy products to keep you going. But those artificial stimulants are simply just insufficient to provide you the focus and sharpness you have to be productive and in high overall performance through the day. Even worse of all, your family, buddies, and loved ones have begun to complain that you often don't have the time, energy or mood to spend a quality moment with them. Is your insufficient strength holding you back from living a complete life?

Many reasons exist why you feel low and slow. You may either have a certain medical condition that needs diagnosis or your body may be going through several hormonal adjustments. But most people don't have a serious, underlying cause to blame for their insufficient power. Poor diet may lead to this.

The saying "you are whatever you eat" is among the most repeated yet most accurate statements you will hear about food. Try to eat foods that are too fatty, greasy, salty or loaded with too many artificial sugars and synthetic ingredients, and you'll almost certainly feel heavy, greasy, bloated or down once the artificial rush has died down. Compare that when you choose merely the most healthy, freshest and most nourishing fruits and vegetables, and you'll most likely feel healthy, fresh and nourished right after the meal.

Eating organic, whole foods in their raw state is considered the easiest, most natural and most valuable choice if you would like to rejuvenate your energy, enjoy several health benefits and live a richer, longer life. While a raw food lifestyle isn't for everybody, you can still take advantage of the basic principles of this particular diet plan and make a few adjustments that can have a very positive influence on your overall health and well-being. Some individuals accomplish this by including additional raw food recipes in their daily menu or making vegetables and fruits an important part of their dietary plan. Other people choose to make the full transformation by progressively switching to an exclusively raw food lifestyle.

As with most life-changing decisions, the initial step is to get appropriate details and expert guidance to show you the way. Choose an energy plan created for real people, and see genuine results in just a matter of time.

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Date: September 09, 2015 08:29 PM
Author: Darrell Miller
Subject: Can aloe vera restore healthy digestion function?

Aloe vera has a number of health benefits to the user considering that it is all natural. It has no ability to cause any serious side effects compared to other artificial supplements. However, how Aloe vera is extracted from the plant is vital since it determines the healing properties and the benefits to derive from it. If you are contemplating whether to use molecular distilled Aloe vera or the common standard Aloe vera juice, then this article will help you make a solid decision.

According to a research carried out by aloe vera researchers, Molecular distilled aloe vera is much better than the standard aloe vera juice in terms of properties. The molecular distilled aloe vera is said to contain more complete properties that are concentrated than the standard juice. This makes it a better, more powerful and most preferred option by medical practitioners more so when treating digestive tract disorders. It delivers optimum results in a short period of time.

Can aloe vera restore healthy digestion function?

To maintain good health, you ought to have a good digestive system that will enable you to get optimum nutrients from your meals. Aloe vera has been used to treat digestion related issues for a long time giving you a better and healthy life. Aloe vera works by ensuring proper and efficient absorption of nutrients and facilitates smooth excretion of harmful properties from the body.

Aloe vera contains some compounds known as polysaccharides usually used to treat a host of digestive disorders. The compounds are also important in getting rid of ulcers which is a significant cause of digestive problems. Aloe vera extract will also cure irritable bowel syndrome and keep at bay constipation and other gastrointestinal conditions hence keeping your digestive system healthy. If you are suffering from Peptic ulcers, Crohn’s disease or any other digestive tract disorder, then be assured of positive results within 3 to 4 weeks of using molecular distilled aloe vera extract.

References

//www.encognitive.com/node/14541

//www.warrenlabsaloe.com/faqs.htm

Read More

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Date: February 17, 2014 06:32 AM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Benefits Eucalyptus Oil-Discover Its Amazing Power In Healing Different Health Problems

What is eucalptus

Eucalyptus oil originates from the Eucalyptus tree, which develops characteristically in Australia, New Guinea, Indonesia and parts of the Philippines. With more than 700 types of Eucalyptus, numerous sorts are developed everywhere throughout the world. Eucalyptus oil is steam distilled from the leaves of the tree, and is utilized as a part of various sorts of items for numerous diverse purposes. It has a mint-like quality that makes it well known for sweet, throat drops, toothpaste, and some hack medications, particularly those for ache alleviation. Notwithstanding that, it has bug repellent lands that make it an extraordinary characteristic alternative for open air utilization

Health benefits of eucalyptus

The Eucalyptus globulus -the most usually discovered key oil, has an empowering however extremely solid aroma. It is useful for respiratory issues, lessening bodily fluid film swelling and irritation, and for calming sore muscles, rheumatism, migraines and anxious depletion. It is broadly utilized as a part of business cool cures and arrangements for mitigating throbbing muscles.

Eucalyptus radiatahas - has a lighter aroma than globulus, however has the same valuable impacts. Since its aroma is 'softer', it is simpler to breathe as it is less inclined to trigger the hack reflex. This key oil is therefore generally the favored decision for utilization in aromatherapy. Moreover, it has antifungaland antiviral lands, along these lines is a great decision for diffusing in air to help counteract the spread of influenza and colds

Eucalyptus oil is regularly blended with other sorts of oil to join the medicinal qualities. The point when this happens, substances in Eucalyptus oil respond with those other oils to help ache diminishing qualities and also joint firmness, other arthritis manifestations, frosty side effects, and contaminations. It's most valuable when blended with Tea Tree oil, mint oils, for example, Spearmint or Peppermint and Vanilla. It's now and again blended with lemon for hack and cool results and for skin provision, it might be blended with Olive oil or another "transporter" oil to convey the Eucalyptus oil to the underlying tissue.

Eucalyptus citriodora - the eucalyptus aroma is fresher and also has a citrussy aroma. E citriodora has great air-refreshing lands and,also have antifungal lands.

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Date: January 24, 2014 10:09 AM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Facts about whey protein.

Whey Protein

Whey protein refers to one of the two significant parts of milk, whey is the fluid parcel of the milk that divides from the curds (the other real part), throughout the process of cheese processing. Whey proteins are made up of fats, sugars, vitamins, and minerals. Because of its tough amino acid acerbic profile and simplicity of withholding, it is ostensibly the most prominent games nourishment supplement.

Whey protein exists in three principle structures:

Isolate, concentrate, and hydrolysate. This article will concentrate on how different is concentrate from isolate. Both structures have whey protein, but whey isolate, which is created out of whey concentrate, goes through further processing which yields an end product with more protein per unit than whey concentrate.

Then again, the whey protein isolation procedure is significantly more exhaustive. It basically differentiates the protein, just about in its sum from the crude whey, bringing about 90-94% pure protein. So in a 50-gram serving of whey protein isolate, move toward getting 45-47 grams of unadulterated protein with the remaining 3-5 grams being maybe 1 gram of crabs and some calcium, potassium and sodium.

You may tend to think that whey protein is spring water because as it is separated, pure and also healthy, yet contains the greater part of the minerals and so forth of regular water. While whey protein disengage is like refined water, as it is water in its purest structure with essentially all different particles evacuated additionally a hydrogen and oxygen atom

The essential distinction between isolate and concentrate

Isolate is the most unmodified type of protein. Whey isolate typically have between 90-94% proteins while whey concentrate has a protein proportion of around 70-85%.

In the event that you are you are not fit for lactose and you have issues with gas then the whey protein isolate is the better decision. Whey protein concentrate is also an astounding source of protein and concentrate has higher BV qualities contrasted with lean red meats, chicken, fish and entire eggs. Isolate whey is more expensive than other forms as Isolate has been filtered more than concentrate some of the important immune-boosting protein components have been removed and some say the protein is degraded more making it less useful to the body.

The following sites have more on whey proteins that every consumer should know.

References:

1. www.allmaxnutrition.com
2. www.2buildmusclefast.com
3. www.bodybuilding.com

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Date: January 03, 2013 04:34 PM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Why Would You Want A Time Released Chromium Supplement?

Chromium is an important trace mineral for carbohydrates and fats processing by the human body. With the recent eating habits of refined foods, it's generally naturally deficient to many people. It's recommended to consume at least 50 micrograms of it each day. Similarly, the eating habits of today expose majority of people to diabetes. Chromium plays a major role in helping the body cells respond to insulin.

In addition, a sufficient level of the mineral availability to the body leads to lower insulin necessity. On the other hand, its deficiency in the body has been associated with diabetes. It helps prevent diabetes by aiding insulin in glucose metabolism as well as preventing insulin resistance for victims already using insulin shots. It's generally low in the blood but it plays a major role of enhancing insulin efficiency thereby helps control blood sugar levels.

Food Sources:

You can get chromium from foods like broccoli, green beans, grape juice, potatoes, bananas, beef, orange juice and apples. There are also supplements that come in various forms and strengths. For instance, there are chromium picolinate, chromium chloride, chromium polynicotinate, chromium GTF and many others. These supplements differ in their absorption rates but have been proven in several studies to lower blood sugar as well as cholesterol. Some supplements are also safe to take alongside other medications. However, such a decision should always be taken with the consent of a medical doctor.

Victims of type 2 diabetes have usually been found to have low levels of chromium in their bodies. Due to this reason, supplements have greatly assisted such individuals tackle diabetes. Similarly, women suffering from gestational diabetes have had their blood sugar levels drop after using chromium picolinate. The dosage to use varies but many doctors prescribe 1000 mcg every day for victims already suffering from diabetes. Vitamin C has been found to hinder the uptake of chromium. It's, therefore, essential to watch out what you are consuming if you will be taking the supplements.

Sustained release chromium will help keep blood levels high with this important mineral and help one manage their blood sugar better.

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Date: December 29, 2012 11:31 AM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: What Are The health Benefits Of Probiotics?

Probiotics have been on the market for a number of years and an ever increasing number of people do swear by taking them on a regular basis and believe that they are healthier for doing so. The question, therefore, is what exactly are the health benefits of taking them and it makes sense understand this prior to trying them yourself, so the information that appears below may be quite useful for you to know.

People are well aware of the fact that bacteria can cause all kinds of diseases and illnesses and one of the first health benefits of probiotics is that they help to boost your immune system so you can tackle these diseases earlier on. 

Improved Digestion:

You will also find that they make it easier for your body to digest food as it improves your digestive system and eases any problems that you may have had with your stomach such as IBS. It is also going to help those people that are lactose intolerant and increases your ability to absorb things such as calcium as well as Vitamin B.

There are a number of other health benefits that you may like to know about with probiotics and one of the other key ones is that they help you to absorb the different nutrients and this, in turn, links back to boosting your immune system as your body is getting everything it needs to work. It has also been shown that they can help to ease the negative side effects of antibiotics as well as help people that suffer from bad breath, so it is clear that the health benefits are quite varied due to this healthy bacteria that you are going to be taking into your system.

That is a summary about the health benefits of probiotics and it is now your own decision as to whether or not you join the masses of people that swear by them and start taking these special products on a daily basis. By getting this good bacteria into your system you are undoubtedly giving your body a helping hand in the battle against various ailments and if so many people believe it helps them, then surely they cannot all be wrong?

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Date: May 24, 2011 10:52 AM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Phosphatidyl choline, Aging, And Intelligence What You Must Know

If you are aging and wish to maintain your intelligence, experts are turning to the belief that a supplement of phosphatidylcholine could enable you to do this. For a long time, lecithin supplements have been recommended to people seeking a way to maintain their faculties as they age, and in a number of cases it appears to have been effective. Now it is phosphatidylcholine that is being recommended, and it is certainly no coincidence that this phospholipid/choline combination constitutes the bulk of lecithin.

Nor is it any coincidence that the cell membranes of the brain and everywhere else in your body contains large quantities of phosphatidylcholine, or at least should do for maximum effectiveness. The membranes of the brain cells of a young infant consist of around 90% of this phospholipid, while those of the brain cells of a 60 -70 year old contain only around 10%. This figure will naturally vary with each person, and some individuals could have a considerably higher amount and others less, but that is a rough average.

It follows, then, and many experts agree, that by taking a supplement of phosphatidylcholine you can slow down the natural loss of cognitive ability, memory and overall brain function. If taken according to the recommended doses there are no significant side effects, so what do you have to lose? Certainly not your memory and your ability to make that decision because you are going to lose that in any case - unless these experts are correct in their thinking and you take their advice.

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Date: April 30, 2009 10:16 AM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Natural Sweeteners Vs. Artificial Sweeteners

Artificial sweeteners are food additives intended to replace the sweetness of sugar without the calorie intake. There are also natural sweeteners that can replace sugar, so which should you choose? Natural sweeteners such as sugar, honey and grape juice are well known, although there are also the less well known, but much more effective, sucanat and stevia.

Sucanat is dried unrefined cane sugar, and unlike refined sugar retains the molasses. Stevia, on the other hand, is a shrub, native to Paraguay, the leaf of which contains a non-sucrose sweetener, 300 times the sweetness of sugar, and which is not absorbed by the body. It is a sweetener pure and simple, with no proven health issues. It is also Japan's most popular sugar substitute.

Artificial sweeteners have been known for many years, the first and best known being benzoic sulfanide, known to you as saccharin. The health risks of saccharin have been the subject of debate for over 100 years and have yet to be resolved. Studies had shown it to cause cancer in rats, and it was placed on a list of known or suspected carcinogens.

It has been banned for use in the USA, but that was lifted by the FDA in 1991, and in 2000 saccharin has no longer required a health warning label. The issue appears to have been resolved by rats metabolizing saccharin in a way not possible in humans. However, many are still suspicious of it, and if you don't trust a food additive then do not voluntarily consume it.

The top two artificial sweeteners in the USA are sucralose and aspartame. Sucralose, discovered in the UK in 1976, is the less emotive of the two, and is chemically the chlorocarbon trichlorogalactosucrose, produced by chlorination of sucrose and 600 times as sweet. It should be stressed that a chlorocarbon is totally different to a chlorinated hydrocarbon. It is generally considered safe to use, although it is very slow rate of degradation in waste water has raised concerns that concentrations could increase with increasing popularity of the sweetener.

According to' Sweet Deception', the book states sucralose to be discovered during the search for an insecticide, and is produced when sugar is treated with acetic anhydride, hydrogen chloride and trityl chloride among others in the presence of toluene, MIBK and dimethyl formamide among other solvents. Although marketed as coming from a natural source, it is anything but natural.

Aspartame was developed by G.D. Searle, and its approval by the FDA has been a matter of concern for many years. Promoted by Donald Rumsfeld, then CEO of Searle, he "called in his markers" to have the substance approved, which was not one of the more glorious moments in America's history.

It is used in over 6,000 products, most household names, yet was based on "inconclusive and incompetent science" according to detractors. In 1981, on the day of his inauguration, Ronald Regan suspended the powers of the FDA on aspartame, and then a month later appointed a new FDA head, Arthur Hayes, who immediately licensed the substance. Donald Rumsfeld was on President Regan's team.

There is a strong body of evidence that aspartame is toxic to humans, although the official evidence has discredit such studies. Recent evidence that linked aspartame to cancer has been stated as irrelevant to humans. In spite of the concerns, the substance has been approved, not only in the USA but also by the European Union. This might call into question the relevance of studies to humans, but many still believe that commercial considerations are behind these decisions.

In fact, an extensive study carried out by the Italian European Ramazzini Foundation, showed that aspartame can cause a significant increase in cancers and leukemias in rats at well below the doses allowed by the EU or the US. This substance required further study by bodies with no vested interest in the outcome.

Those that believe so point to the stevia situation. This natural sweetener is banned for use as a food additive in the EU, and cannot be sold as sweetener due to the FDA not recognizing it as such. It has also been banned in Hong Kong, even though it is the sweetener of choice in Japan, with no apparent side-effects becoming endemic in that country. The USA might not approve stevia as a sweetener, but it is considering lifting its ban on cyclamate.

Cyclamate was banned by the FDA due to tests on rats indicating a possibly carcinogenic effect, but no more positive than those on aspartame. Cyclamate is permitted in Canada, where saccharin is not, and also in the UK, but not throughout the EU.

It is obvious, then, looking at the various claims and counter-claims, and the conflicting legislation between civilized countries, that the artificial sweetener industry is wrought with uncertainty. In the past, it is almost certain that commercial considerations have come before the health of the nation, and that does not engender confidence.

In fact, the only sane approach to take at this time would be to avoid artificial sweeteners altogether, and stay natural. That is not to claim that natural products are safe to eat - far from it! Many of the most virulent poisons are natural, but the well-used natural sweeteners appear to be safer at this time than any of those artificially manufactured.

There might be objections to this where diabetes is concerned, and Canada, while banning saccharin for normal use, still allows it for use by diabetics. This is the one of the two major bodies that promotes the use of artificial sweeteners: the diabetic lobby and the weight loss lobby.

It is difficult to question the obesity and weight problem that America has while at the same time arguing against the use of artificial sweeteners. However, don't forget that stevia is widely used in Japan with no reported health problems, and stevia is a natural sweetener that is permitted for use as a food additive, and that is not absorbed by the body.

However, there is also a recent 2005 study that has indicated that diet drinks containing artificial sweeteners might fool your body into believing that the sweet taste is promising energy, and when it doesn't materialize, you feel hungry and eat more. This has been supported by animal studies.

These have shown convincingly that the sensation of sweetness induces the production of insulin with resulting hypoglycemia because there is no actual increase in blood sugar. This induces increased food intake. This has been proved with rats, and also proved was the fact that the natural response of eating less at the next meal, after sugary food, was gradually diminished in animals fed non-calorific sweeteners.

The choice is yours, but it would seem advisable to stick to natural sweeteners for the time being, at least until the studies carried out are in concurrence as opposed to offering conflicting results depending upon who is doing the testing.

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Date: February 04, 2009 09:17 AM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Multiple Vitamins

It has been announced that it pays to take your vitamins, as the American Medical Association has completely reversed its previous anti-vitamin stance after twenty years and is now encouraging all adults to supplement daily with a multiple vitamin. After this decision, a review of 38 years of scientific evidence has convinced the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) to rewrite its policy guidelines regarding the use of vitamin supplements.

It is common knowledge that today's diet is not providing sufficient nutritional value to keep chronic diseases at bay. Although nutrient intakes in North American are generally sufficient to avoid overt vitamin deficiencies, sub-clinical deficiencies are extremely common. Most vitamins and minerals come mainly from fruits and vegetables, causing us to need at least five daily servings of each. Studies have found that the number of servings of fresh fruits and vegetables is well below the recommended fiver servings per day, with the intake of dietary iron, folic acid, and calcium being significantly below recommended levels for adolescent girls.

Not many people know that cardiovascular disease is a problem that has been cultivated by modern society, with the first report on cardiovascular disease in America being published in 1912. At that time, the disease was so rare that it took years to find. In less than 100 years, the changes to our lifestyle, environment, and to the food we eat have made cardiovascular disease the number one killer in North America.

A groundbreaking report on July 13, 2000 tied the development of most cancers to lifestyle and the exposure to environmental and occupational risk factors. Although a genetic influence was not negated, as it appears to account for about 30% of total cancer risk, the findings placed the blame on poor dietary habits, smoking, alcohol consumption, lack of exercise, and exposure to environmental toxins. It has been recommended that a diet made up of plant-based foods which include vegetables, fruits, and grains is essential.

Stroke, the third-leading cause of death in the most developed countries for decades, occurs when blood flow to the brain is cut off due to a thrombotic event in one of the major arteries feeding the brain. A major cause of disability among adults and a principal factor in late-life dementia, small strokes can often go unnoticed. Because hypertension is the major cause of stroke, potassium and its blood pressure-lowering abilities are often helpful. Additionally, nutrients such as folic acid, bioflavonoids, polyphenols, and assorted antioxidants play an important role. The consumption of citrus fruit juices that contain high levels of vitamin C, and cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, bok choy, and cauliflower give protection against stroke.

Not only are we not eating enough of the proper food groups, the foods we do eat are often short in vital nutrients and high in calories. Nothing can replace the value of a diet that is carefully balanced. However, in today's high-stress world, we often face a absence of physical activity and a surplus of meals on the run, consisting of fast-food and processed foods that lack nutritional value. We should never neglect the importance of a well-balanced diet that is high in fruits and vegetables and we should make every opportunity to eat as close to the earth as possible.

Unfortunately, in today's fast-food world, it is hard to get away from the high-calorie, low-nutrition, over-processed, corporate food culture. If you value your health, it makes sense to take the extra step and start supplementing your diet with nutritional supplementation, as it is your personal health insurance to help you age gracefully. Stop into your local or internet health food store and look for a good multiple vitamin supplement to help boost your current diet.

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Date: August 01, 2008 12:58 PM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Feverfew

It seems more and more common that people are looking at every possibility to wellness before they make a decision on the best form of treatment for them, with many taking their time to search for the best possible solution. Feverfew is a medicinal folk remedy, used abundantly in the past, and is currently being used because of its beneficial effects. For thousands of years, feverfew has been used as a medical treatment and is now becoming one of the most common herbal relievers of migraine pain. Scientific research has recently become available on the use of this herb in treatment of migraines and other forms of inflammation and pain, making interest in feverfew grow rapidly.

The feverfew plant is a member of the Asteracea or Compositae family, along with flowers such as the daisy, sunflower, black-eyed Susan, Echinacea, calendula, dandelion, burdock, and marigold. Feverfew is often referred to by other names including featherfew, featerfoil, febrifuge, wild quinine, and bachelor’s button. A busy perennial that grows from one to three feet in height, feverfew looks similar to the daisy plant with white rays and a yellow center but is smaller in size. The entire plant has a strong bitter smell which allows it to repel bees and other insects. Many people believe that the name feverfew came from the use of the flower to bring down fevers, while others believe that its name originated from the English version, featherfew, which describes the shape of the leaves on the feverfew plant.

For thousands of years, feverfew has been used for the treatment of an abundant amount of ailments. Although the exact origin of the first use is unknown, references to feverfew can be found all throughout history. In ancient times, feverfew was used in childbirth, to treat fevers, melancholy, and congestion of the lungs, as well as inflammation and swellings. Feverfew was also used for many female problems and strengthening the womb, also promoting menstrual flow. Another use of feverfew was for painful headaches, especially migraines. Feverfew is an extremely complex substance, containing several essential oils such as L-camphor, L-borneol, terpens, and esters. Another active ingredient of the feverfew plant is parthenolide. Parthenolides have been found to inhibit prostaglandins, which are found to be partially responsible for migraines as well as the inflammation process.

With headaches being a problem since the beginning of time, they are one of the most common medical complaints. Migraines are caused due to inflammation of blood vessels in the brain, which causes an intense headache pain. To determine if a headache can be classified as a migraine one should note the following: if only one side of the head is affected; whether flashing lights, blind spots, or feelings of irritability and depression occur immediately before the headache; stomach distress along with nausea and vommitting; and someone in the immediate family also suffering from migraines. The two main contributors to the problem of migraines are the trigeminal nerve system and serotonin, the nerve chemical.

Migraines involve excessive dilation or contraction of the blood vessels that are found in the brain and make up about 6% of the total number of headaches, with about 10% of the population suffering from migraines at any given time of the year, and the majority of these people being women. Migraines can be triggered by the following factors: stress, eating certain foods, alcohol, food additives such as sodium nitrate, changes in weather, seasons, time zones, or altitude, disturbance in sleep patterns, disturbance in eating habits, hormonal fluctuations, pollution, loud noise, flickering lights, constipation, and low blood sugar.

In conclusion, an increase in some of the trigger factors previously listed is thought to be the cause for the fact that the number of individuals suffering from migraines continues to climb, with the occurrence of migraines increasing by almost 60% among all age groups during the past ten years. This may be due to pollutants and poor diets that lack essential fatty acids and plastics that mimic prostaglandins which regulate the inflammation pathways in the body. So if you are suffering from pain, specifically migraines, give feverfew a try.

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Date: January 02, 2008 02:24 PM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Big Pharma Plays God, Stealing and Altering Pant Compounds making Synthetic Drugs

It has been claimed by the Nutritional Health Alliance (NHA) that the pharmaceutical companies are formulating their pharma drugs using natural plant-derived substances. This is not totally groundbreaking news, of course, since the whole pharmaceutical industry was based on natural products such as aspirin, derived from willow bark, and antibiotics derived from the penicillin mold.

While there is nothing wrong with them doing this, there are signs of their increasing lobbying to limit the supply of supplements so that Big Pharma can monopolize the production and supply of all supplements and remedies, natural or synthetic. What is disturbing is that bills such as the Adverse Event Reporting Bill, passed by Congress in February 2007 as the Dietary Supplement and Nonprescription Drug Consumer Protection Act, could conceivably place greater powers into the hands of the large pharmaceutical companies to restrict the sales of natural products that are not part of their ‘approved’ prescription range.

This Act requires users and distributors of over the counter and non-prescriptive natural remedies to report any adverse effects that they believe have been caused by the remedy they are using. What this does is to require untrained people to make medical decisions as to what is causing their adverse reaction.

A patient taking several prescription drugs and a vitamin supplement might naturally assume that it is the vitamin that is causing their reaction, since they will believe the drugs to be safe. Hence they will report the vitamin supplement as being the cause. Since the act does not oblige them to report reactions from prescription drugs, then this opens the door for Big Pharma to hijack plant compounds, and then alter them to make synthetic drugs.

The position of the FDA in all of this is dubious since that body has already made many decisions that favor the large pharma companies rather than the consumer, or producers of herbal remedies.

However, there is also the opposite view that the supplement industry is unregulated, and some degree of control is long overdue. While it is difficult to argue against this, it is the form of control that is in question and also the reasons behind it.

The pharmaceutical companies have long gained through America’s ill health, and it is to their advantage for Americans to become ill or suffer from the chronic diseases that come with a sedentary lifestyle and a diet of fast foods. The industry’s short-sighted approach has been to wait until people become ill and then treated them with expensive drug, rather than prevention that would ultimate lose them customers for their products.

A happy and healthy community, regularly taking supplements that keep them fit and well, is not to the advantage of pharmaceutical companies that prefer a depressed, unfit and sick American population to which they can sell their products. Hence the smear campaigns in the press regarding ‘uncontrolled’ natural remedies, untold bills in Congress, and what could end up as the ultimate revocation of our freedom to consume the natural products of our choice.

If we are taking two or three prescription drugs for a heart condition or to reduce the cholesterol levels in our body, and also an Omega-3 fatty acids capsule, we are urged to report the capsule if we have any side effects from the cocktail. Presumably on the basis that the drugs have been approved by the FDA, and so cannot possibly cause any side effects in us. A fish oil capsule is hardly likely to cause a heart attack, but many prescription drugs can if badly prescribed. However, it is the capsule that is likely to be fingered, banned and then included in a pharmaceutical product that is cleared by the FDA.

Those that take over the counter supplements, vitamins and herbal remedies are a threat and it is difficult not to become cynical about the intentions of such Acts of Congress and the people behind them. True, the supplement and herbal industry probably does require some form of regulation, but to phrase this in such a way as to require medically untrained people to report what they perceive as being the adverse effects of supplements rings of an intention to regulate by restriction or even banning.

When that occurs, Big Pharma will take these products and fashion them into expensive prescriptive drugs that are then approved for use by the FDA. What we were at one time able to purchase from our local health store we would now have to purchase at several times the price through prescription.

The health benefits of natural nutritional supplements are well documented, and the industry are now using methods to ensure standardization of the active ingredients where possible. However, this is not always possible with foodstuffs that do not always grow in standardized ways.

The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) was passed by Congress in 1994 to protect and preserve our rights to healthy supplementation of our diets with natural products of our choice. The FDA has systematically failed to enforce this and prosecute synthetic manufacturers who have not kept to the law. The FDA does not need new powers, but the funding to implement those already in existence.

Lobbying in Congress by interested parties should not be allowed to undermine the rights of all Americans of the freedom to consume the products that will provide them with a healthier lifestyle. The DHSEA is all that is needed to preserve this and to protect consumers from Big Pharma and their need to create conditions conducive to an increasing need for their products.

Yes, the health supplements industry likely needs some form of regulation to ensure standardization of products as far as is possible, but the way to do this is not to place medical decisions into the hands of the untrained. Do not forget that these are natural products, available freely from nature in fruit, vegetable and animal products, and are not synthesized in a laboratory as many of today’s drugs are.

However, give them a free rein, and Big Pharma will hijack these natural products, change them and then sell them to us at highly inflated prices to do the job that already do for us: keep us healthy.

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Date: July 30, 2007 10:05 AM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: FDA proposes to allow irradiated foods to go label-free

Since 1986, any food sold in the United States that has been irradiated must, by law, disclose that fact to the consumer, by bearing the international radura symbol as well as the words “treated by irradiation” or “Treated with radiation.” However, if the FDA has its way, all that could change. The agency put forth a proposal in April which would require that packaging only reveal a food has been irradiated if the process created a “material change” in the food, such as a change in color, texture, or taste outside of the normal variances for the food. Additionally, the FDA is proposing allowing food manufacturers to substitute the word “pasteurization” for irradiation,” which has a decidedly negative association in the American consumer’s mind.

Does irradiation = pasteurization?

The bit about swapping the term “pasteurization” for “irradiation” is not actually new. Food manufacturers have been allowed to do that since the passage of the 2002 farm bill, which broadened the legal definition of pasteurization to include “any safe process that is at least as protective as pasteurization and is reasonably certain to kill the most resistant pathogens likely to occur in food.” The California Almond Board, apparently inspired by that legislation, recently announced its decision to irradiate raw almonds and label them “pasteurized.” However, most people still understand the old definitions, whereby pasteurization means using heat to destroy pathogens and irradiation means using ionizing radiation to do so.

Consumers want to know

What is new about the current proposal is the suggestion to lift the requirement that irradiated foods be labeled as such. And that won’t go over so well among consumers. According to a 1997 poll commissioned by the American Association of Retired Persons and Center for Science in the Public Interest, 88.6 percent of Americans want irradiated foods to be labeled. Indeed, the last time the FDA made a move to allow irradiated foods to go label free, the agency received more than 5,000 comments on the issue.

What’s at stake?

According to the consumer group Center for Food Safety, irradiation can create potentially dangerous chemical byproducts, such as benzene and toluene; cause stunted growth in lab animals fed irradiated foods; and reduces foods’ nutrition value.

Noting irradiation’s unpopularity, the FDA stated that if foods treated with irradiation were not required to be labeled, more manufacturers would probably opt to use it. The agency is particularly concerned given the E.coli outbreak last November in fresh spinach.

Fortunately, even if the proposal becomes law, there will still be one surefire way to avoid irradiated foods: buying Organic.

References used in this article.

Civic leaders and public citizen tell wal-mart “Nebraskans won’t buy meat treated with irradiation” ! public citizen. May 27, 2007. //www.tradewatch.org/pressroom/release.cfm?ID=201

FDA may loosen labeling rules for irradiated foods. Center for infectious disease research & policy (CIDRAP). //www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/fs/irradiation/news/apr1007irradiation.html

FDA proposes softening irradiated food labels. April 4, 2004. USA today. //www.usatoday.com/news/health/2007-04-05-food-irradiation_N.htm

Food irradiation. The center for food safety. //www.centerforfoodsafety.org/food_irrad.cfm

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Date: July 12, 2007 08:58 AM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Reduce Your Cholesterol With Natural Vitamins

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Date: May 17, 2007 01:39 PM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Supreme Court Refused Ephedra Appeal…

Supreme Court Refused Ephedra Appeal…The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to consider an appeal by Nutraceutical International Corporation, which sought to overturn a federal ban on the dietary supplements containing ephedrine alkaloids. The court’s decision, issued without comment, lets stand a 2005 ruling by a federal appeals court that upheld the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) 2004 ban. David Seckman, executive director and CEO of the Natural Products Association commented on the refusal. “Obviously we were concerned about the consequences of the circuit court’s ruling on the risk benefit standard the FDA used in removing ephedra from the market, which is why we filed our amicus brief. As we clearly stated in the brief, we believe congress did not intend for such a standard to be used. But, since the Supreme Court decides to take up only between five and ten percent of cases brought to it, it is not a shock that they’ve decided not to hear it. We should note, however, that the denial of the Nutraceutical petition is not an affirmation by the Supreme Court that they agree with the lower court’s decision,” Seckman said. In April, the Natural Products Association had filed a “friend of the court” or amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court that challenged the lower court ruling on the standard used by the FDA to impose a 2004 ban on ephedrine alkaloids in dietary supplements.

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Date: March 02, 2007 11:34 AM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: The Power Plant of the Amazon

Enzymatic Therapy Amazon Herbs

It may surprise most Americans to know that rainforest plants are the original source for one-fourth of the chemotherapy medications used today. Plants offer a plethora of beneficial compounds, and rainforests contain a superabundance of beneficial plants.

In fact, plant medicines are the most widely used medicines of all types in the world. Over eighty-five percent of the world’s population uses plant and herbal medicines as their primary medicines. That’s 5.1 billion (5,100,000,000) people worldwide! While Americans overwhelmingly use synthetically manufactured pharmaceuticals to cure their ills, the vast majority of Earth’s inhabitants use healing plant medicines instead.

One of the most powerful healing rainforest plant medicines is cat’s claw, or Uncaria tomentosa. This high climbing woody vine grows at the base of tall trees in the Peruvian rainforest. The plant’s claw-shaped thorns latch onto the trees and spiral further upward, nourished by the lush rainforest environment. For over 2,000 years, the Ashaninka, a tribal people of the Peruvian rainforest, have used the root of U. tomentosa to treat illnesses in the tribe, including asthma, bladder infections, infected wounds, arthritis, bone pain, bowel inflammation, and cancer.

Q. I’ve heard about cat’s claw, but what does it do and how do I know which one is right for me?

Cat’s claw might be one of the most confusing (and most effective!) nutritional supplements available in health food stores today. One reason that it’s so confusing is there are so many kinds of cat’s claw supplements-there are cat’s claw leaves, cat’s claw bark, and even cat’s claw twigs. While each of these supplements claim to help the immune system, it is the root of Uncaria tomentosa that is proven to impart the true cat’s claw health benefits.

Scientists, who have extensively studied every part of the plant, discovered that extracts made from selected cat’s claw roots possess the healing power to treat and prevent diseases like cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, ulcers and degenerative diseases. In addition, it demonstrates anti-inflammatory, anti-viral and anti-microbial benefits.

Adding to the confusion is the fact that not all Uncaria tomentosa roots actually contain healing properties.

Healers in the Ashaninka tribe attribute the healing properties in cat’s claw to the “good spirits” that live in the plant’s roots. The Ashaninka healers, or sancoshi, are able to actually “see” the good spirits hidden inside the root of the plant before they harvest them.

Some cat’s claw plant roots have the good spirits. Some don’t. If the good spirits are mixed with any cat’s claw root without good spirits, the healing power is lost. While there are no apparent differences in the plants or the roots to the untrained eye, only certain cat’s claw roots possess the power to heal. And, for a very long time, only the Ashaninka tribal healer seemed to be able to identify them. They call the good spirit cat’s claw Saventaro, or “powerful plant”.

However, scientists who were given cat’s claw roots by the Ashaninka to study in the laboratory discovered that they could “see” the good spirits, too! Using high performance liquid chromatography, or HPLC, a laboratory process that identifies various chemical compounds, the good spirits of cat’s claw roots were revealed to be important medicinal compounds called pentacyclic oxindole alkaloids (POAs). Research has learned that POAs provide powerful benefits for the human immune response.

Q. Why are good spirits, or POA’s, good for the immune system?

Cat’s claw POAs work to keep us healthy by directly interacting with white blood cells, the backbone of our immune system. Our white blood cells are the disease fighting cells of the human body. These highly specialized cells fight diseases we catch, such as colds and flu, as well as diseases that start within our own cells, such as cancer and autoimmune diseases. There are many kinds of white blood cells; each has a specific job to do in fighting diseases.

Certain POAs help white blood cells called macrophages work faster. The macrophages’ job is to engulf and digest foreign material. This means that macrophages can ingest m ore bacteria and disease causing microbes when they are exposed to POAs. The scientists also discovered that POA cat’s claw extract increases the production of a chemical protein called interleukin that is secreted by macrophages. This macrophage-secreted interleukin (IL-1) has important immune enhancing properties. IL-1 alerts resting white blood cells and spurs them into action. It also helps make other biochemicals that are essential to an activated immune system.

POAs also help B cells. B cells are white blood cells that make antibodies that kill germs. Each B cell is programmed to make one specific antibody that is effective against one specific germ (such as a bacteria, virus, or fungus). When scientists looked at the number of B cells after they were exposed to POA cat’s claw root extract, they found that the B cells had increased significantly, resulting in an increased supply of antibodies. And perhaps most importantly as they relate to cancer, the POAs in cat’s claw root extract help increase the number of T cells, the true soldiers of the immune system. There are many different kinds of these white blood cells, including Helper T cells, Suppressor T cells, and Killer T cells. Increased Helper, Suppressor, and Killer T-cells can more effectively destroy cancer cells. Increasing the number of circulating T-cells is very important in a disease like AIDS as well.

Q. Can cat’s claw and other plants in the rainforest really cure diseases? Isn’t that just folklore?

It’s folk use and modern science combined-plants have long been known for their ability to kill cancer cells. In fact, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) has identified over 3000 plant extracts that can kill cancer cells. More than 70 percent of these plants are found only in the rainforest.

Q. What is it about the rainforest that gives plants like cat’s claw these cancer killing compounds?

Most of the time when we talk about rainforests, we’re talking about the tropical rainforests. While other forests, like the old-growth temperate forests of the Pacific Northwest, also have high rainfalls and tall trees, the tropical rainforests located near the equator are where most plant medicines come from.

The Amazon rainforest in South America is the world’s largest, covering an area about two-thirds the size of the continental United States. Depending on the elevation and distance to the equator the Amazon rainforest receives between 160 and 400 inches of rain per year. The rain is spread pretty evenly from January to December-it’s always the rainy season-and the temperatures remain between 75-80 degrees Fahrenheit all year.

This fertile environment continually recycles itself. When leaves fall from the trees, flowers wilt, and animals die in the rainforest-all of the nutrients are recycled back into the roots of the trees and plants. Because the rainforest reuses almost everything that falls to the ground, the plant growth is amazingly rich in alkaloids and other medicinal compounds. Researchers think these compounds and alkaloids, like POAs, protect the plants from illness and insect attacks. These are the very same compounds that protect us from disease.

Q. When the Ashaninka harvest the cat’s claw roots, does it impact the rest of the plant?

No. The Ashaninka work intelligently to keep rainforest cat’s claw plants perpetually healthy. The Ashaninka employ responsible and innovative harvesting techniques to keep the plants alive and tribal members healthy. Individual cat’s claw plants are never completely harvested. Only one third of the lateral roots are collected at any one time to allow re-growth by the remaining root. Once a plant’s lateral roots have been partially harvested, that plant is left to regenerate, and no more root is harvested from it for 10 years.

Q. Why are the Ashaninka willing to share their cat’s claw?

They are generous people. The Ashaninka see no benefit in hoarding cat’s claw for themselves alone. They also want to make sure that the plant’s healing properties continue on. As their homelands continue to be destroyed by deforestation, rainforest peoples are also disappearing. There were an estimated ten million tribal and indigenous peoples living in the Amazonian Rainforest in 1510. Today there are less than 200,000.

Since the 1900’s more than 90 indigenous tribes have died out and disappeared. Each time a rainforest medicine man or woman dies without passing their arts on to the next generation, the tribe and the world loses thousands of years of irreplaceable knowledge about medicinal plants. With them, centuries of accumulated knowledge of the medicinal value of rainforest species have been lost.

A good example of the impact of this loss can be seen in cat’s claw. When European explorers began venturing into the Amazon River basin, t hey were skeptical of the stories the Ashaninka people told them of U. tomentosa’s amazing healing powers. But when the explorers became sick with colds, flu, or other illnesses, they harvested cat’s claw root for themselves and gave the plant a try. Sometimes the explorers got better when they used the cat’s claw root, sometimes they stayed the same.

Q. Why didn’t the cat’s claw root help all the explorers?

Because some cat’s claw plant roots have good spirits-POAs-and some cat’s claw plant roots have tetracyclic oxindole alkaloids, or TOAs. While the POAs have very powerful effects in the immune system, the TOAs have different effects in the body, none of which help the immune system cells at all. All U. tomentosa plants look virtually identical, so it’s hard to tell if they have the healing POAs or non-helpful TOAs.

What makes cat’s claw identification even more challenging is the fact that plants with POAs one year will have TOAs the next. Cat’s claw plants seem to change their alkaloid chemotypes at will, an incredibly powerful accomplishment for a plant to possess. Harvesting of cat’s claw roots that contain POAs is very tricky. Unless the person gathering the root extract is an Ashaninka sancoshi. These medicine men know which cat’s claw to use; they can actually “see” the good spirits hidden inside the root. When scientists studying cat’s claw discovered they could “see” presence of TOAs using HPLC technology, they were able to harvest cat’s claw root extracts with POAs that consistently helps people get and stay healthy.

Q. Do some cat’s claw root extract supplements contain TOAs?

Yes they do. And buying those products will only benefit the cat’s claw distributor; they won’t help you stay healthy. When cat’s claw root is harvested from the rainforest, responsible supplement maker examine the root with HPLC to make sure that only POA roots are collected. But, this identification of the chemotypes takes significant time and costs money. For these reasons, many cat’s claw distributors don’t include this important process in their harvesting. The POAs and TOAs are simply just mixed together and sold as a cat’s claw product with no mention of any alkaloid content on the label.

Q. Why should I avoid TOAs?

While the POAs in cat’s claw root extracts have numerous benefits to the immune system, the TOAs have different effects in the body, none helping the immune system cells. Most importantly, however, when POAs and TOAs are mixed together, the TOAs actually work against the POAs. TOAs reduce the capacity of POAs to beneficially modulate the immune system.

Q. How can I be sure the cat’s claw I buy is POA cat’s claw?

Read the label of the cat’s claw root extract product you are considering buying. If it does not clearly state that it is the high POA cat’s claw, then chances are that it’s not.

Q. What do the Ashaninka receive in return for the cat’s claw harvesting?

The Ashaninka and reputable distributors of cat’s claw root extract have established a mutual and ethical relationship. Both groups benefit from the sale of the plant material. Maintaining this relationship is important for both the tribe and the distributors.

The distributors are paying a fair price for the raw material directly to the tribe. No intermediary is involved. This payment covers the raw material itself, a license-fee for the k knowledge of the plant, and a guarantee (from both sides) of a lasting relationship. Payment is also made for the protection of the rainforest. No deforestation is allowed. The area where the cat’s claw materials are processed is also leased and payment is made for this, as well.

This arrangement allows the Ashaninka to make independent decisions in how to spend this income from sale of their cat’s claw plants. They have been able to make improvements in the tribe’s water supply and in their living areas. They are also able to obtain outside medical aid as needed and provide for education of their children.

The partnership with cat’s claw distributors has created a sustainable resource for the Ashaninka. The tribe has been able to not only preserve their rainforest, but also compete financially with unsustainable income sources offered by timber and agricultural firms.

Q. Why is it important to preserve the rainforest?

The most amazing fact about these impressive medicinal plants is the vast number that5 has yet to be discovered. In fact, the rainforest’s abundance is one reason it is home to so many healing plants. Within a four square mile patch of rainforest, you could see 1500 species of flowering plants, 750 species of trees, 125 mammal species, 400 species of birds, 100 reptile species, 60 amphibian species, and 150 different species of butterflies.

Unfortunately, not everyone looks to the rainforest for the same reasons. Many consider its real value in board feet and cultivated acreage. The forces pushing industrial development move quickly; experts estimate that we’re losing over 130 plant, animal, and insect species every day/ That amount to almost 50,000 species a year.

A combination of logging, petroleum interests, cattle grazing operations, and, of course, our own consumer appetites are putting pressure on rainforest resources. The consequences are sobering:

• Rainforests once covered 14% of the earth’s land surface; it’s only 6% today
• The last remaining rainforests could be consumed in less than 40 years.
• Nearly half of the world’s species of plants, animals and microorganisms will be destroyed or severely threatened over the next quarter century due to rainforest deforestation.

By leaving the rainforest intact, however, and harvesting its many nuts, fruits, oil-producing, and medicinal plants, the rainforest has more economic value than if it was cut down for timber or to make grazing land for cattle. If managed properly, the rainforest can provide the world’s need for sustainably harvested natural resources on a perpetual basis. That’s what the Ashaninka are doing with their cat’s claw harvesting.

Conclusion

The discovery of medicinal plants is dependent upon healthy rainforests. When an acre of tropical rainforest is lost due to deforestation, the impact on the number of plant and animal species lost and their possible uses is staggering.

We can all help the development of sustainable rainforest industries. By purchasing renewable and sustainable rainforest products, like POA type cat’s claw root extract, we are keeping rainforests alive and well. By benefiting from the innate wisdom of the Ashaninka people we are keeping ourselves just as alive and well. By honoring the science and the sacred of the world’s rainforests, like my friend the oncology nurse, the massive wealth and diversity will be there for generations to come.

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Date: August 22, 2006 11:48 AM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Ban against ephedra supplements at any does upheld.

A three-judge panel of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver late last week overturned a 2005 ruling by a Utah district court that had allowed the sale of low-dosage ephedra dietary supplements containing 10 milligrams or less of ephedrine alkaloids.

The appellate decision, which is effective immediately, supports FDA’s original determination that no dosage of ephedra is safe for consumption and means that it is unlawful to manufacture and sell any supplements containing ephedra, even products containing low doses of the herb.

The original ban was challenged in a May 2004 lawsuit by Nutraceutical Corp, and its subsidiary Solaray Inc., which said dried whole-herb ephedra sinica - the type of supplement in their products – had been safely used for thousands of years.

The U.S. district judge in Utah blocked any enforcement action against Nutraceutical for selling supplements containing 10 milligrams or less of ephedra per daily dose. The Utah District Judge said FDA’s process in banning ephedra improperly shifted the burden of proving product safety from the government to supplement manufacturers.

While noting that the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA) categorized dietary supplements as foods and are not, therefore, subject to premarket approval by FDA, the appellate panel found that the Utah district court had interpreted this basic provision to narrowly.

The panel said that the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA), of which DSHEA is a part, should not be interpreted “too restrictively” but should instead be read in a manner “consistent with the statute’s overwhelming purpose to protect public health.”

Nutraceutical’s attorney has indicated that the company would appeal the ruling to the full appeals court.

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Date: February 23, 2006 03:33 PM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: At Last some good news concerning breast health!

At last, some good news concerning breast health!

Brevail is for women interested in maintaining optimal breast health.

Perhaps you, like many woman, are concerned with the important issue of breast health. Annual mammograms, monthly self breast exams, escalating national statistics, or perhaps an unfortunate occurence in a loved one has raised awareness and concern in many of us.

There is now reason for Optimism

Brevail is the first all-natural product to address the maintenance of orderly cellular division in the preservation of healthy breast tissue.

Research suggests that our bodies use natural plant lignans, now sparse in the modern diet, to sarely and gently buffer and balance potentially adverse effects of excess or toxic estrogens, established as the most well-known cause of certain breast problems.

Estrogen left unchecked may result in rapid multiplication of breast cells, as well as inability for cells to repair potential mutations between cellular divisions.

Body and Nature is balance

Brevail was university researched and developed to increase lignan concentrations in the body to levels found in women who collectively demonstrate an extraordinary history of breast health.

After only 48 hours of Brevail supplementation, women participating in a university based, oral pharmacokinetics study achieved lignan concentrations in plasma and urine equivalent to a reference group of women with a well-established history of extraordinary breast health.

The results is a gentle return to balance between body and nature, just as nature intended.

Hormonal Harmony

In addition to the primary purpose of optimal breast health, many women have reported secondary benefits of brevail related to hormonal balance including improvements in pre and peri-menopausal, menopausal and post-menopausal discomforts. Further, many women have reported a greater sense of well-being associated to a reduction of stress and apprehension, and for taking a positive step toward a healthy future.

Brevail has good news for you, a “window” of opportunity.

The good news is a revolutionary new approach to breast health. Though a new approach, managing your “Estrogen window” is time honored, true, and scientifically established.

Your lifetime exposure to estrogen is the most well-known risk factor for breast related health challenges. Your cumulative lifetime exposure to estrogens is referred to as your “Estrogen window.” Influences that increase and extend exposure to estrogen are said to “open” the window. Those that reduce or shorten exposure are said to “Close “ it. The wider and longer the window is left open, the greater your risk for breast related complications.

Managing your estrogen window empowers you to choose a healthy future.

Brevail is the first all-natural product designed to address the estrogen window by gently displacing excess or toxic estrogens. Adequate rest, exercise, a plant-based diet, and avoidance of alcohol are also ways to which you can consciously choose to manage your estrogen window toward a healthy future.

Make a decision for health, life, and vitality!

Proactive Breast Health is a monumental shift in thinking and action, away for passive resignation and toward proactive empowerment. The difference between fate and destiny is that you can plan your destiny in advance. Make a commintment to Brevail, and make a commitment to health, life, and vitality today.

Brevail Philanthropy

Brevail donates a percentage of all proceeds to the Breast Cancer Prevention Foundation, established to fund scientific and clinical research into breast cancer prevention, as well as to educate the public and medical community on proactive and preventative breast health measures, and for the purpose of outreach and support for women with breast cancer.

Brevail, winner of two consecutive research grants

Brevail was awarded an unprecedented two consecutive research grants from the Washington Technology Center, University of Washington, in the course of the 6-year span in which it was developed. Lignan Based strategies for Cancer Prevention was the topic and title of the grants.

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Date: January 18, 2006 12:04 PM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: NMI: Consumer Supplements for Health Maintenance

NMI: Consumer Supplements for Health Maintenance

Harleysville, PA.—An estimated 187 million Americans are using dietary supplements to improve their overall health and well-being, according to the Barometer Survey, a nationwide online poll conducted by The Natural Marketing Institute (NMI). The study found 85 percent of Americans believe using dietary supplements can keep them healthier, while 72 percent want to have control over health decisions including the type of supplements available.

NMI (www.nmisolutions.com) also reported multivitamins were not only used most often, but also taken more regularly on a daily basis compared with other supplements. Supplements users were also found to be more likely to be affluent, married and higher educated. However, there is a need for more education, as 67 precent of survey respondents said conflicting stories in the media made them confused about supplements, and 70 percent believe their health care provider lacks important knowledge about the role of dietary supplements and health.

In addition, there is a widening gap between consumer attitude (what they say) and behavior (what they actually do), with regard to nutrition, use of multi-vitamins, diet regimens, exercise programs and environmentally friendly products. NMI further reported 70 percent of consumers say taking a vitamin, mineral or dietary supplement every day is important, but only 60 percent use a multi-vitamin regularly, and only half of users take one on a daily basis. “The difference between attitudes and behaviors indicates a continuing struggle for consumers to fully integrate health and wellness measures into their lives,” said Steve French, managing partner. “While 86 percent of consumers believe there is a definite connection between diet and health, less than 50 percent select foods based on nutrition. And 45 percent admit that they know they should eat healthier, but don’t.

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Date: December 27, 2005 09:00 AM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Now Foods -QUALITY- High Standards and Attention to Detail

QUALITY “High Standards and Attention to Detail”

• Family Owned and Operated since 1968
• In-House Microbiology Lab
• Member-NNFA and AHPA
• “A” Certified GMP Manufacturer
• 203,000 Square Foot Manufacturing Packaging Facility

As you shop for dietary supplements you’re faced with an almost dizzying array of choices. Naturally, every product claims to be this, that and the other. But you’ve heard the stories in the media of products that don’t live up to their claims. So how do you know who’s telling the truth? Perhaps a better gauge of a product’s quality is the manufacturer and their history. Do they have a legacy of producing quality goods? How long have they been in business? Is their track record good or do they have a history of product recalls and bad press? If you’re responsible for your family’s health and well-being, it pays to do your homework when it comes to the products you purchase for them. NOW® Foods has been manufacturing dietary supplements and whole foods for 35 years.

Companies that thrive and continue to grow for this long don’t do so because they produce poor quality products. They do so by maintaining extremely high standards and paying special attention to every detail, which is the secret to product quality. At NOW® Foods, these high standards and attention to detail are evident in every aspect of our operations, from receiving to production to finished goods, just as they have been for 35 years. You’re committed to buying only the best for your family, and we’re committed to supplying only the best for our customers.

Quality products are made using the highest quality ingredients. NOW Foods purchases raw materials from only the most reputable vendors, who are required to provide detailed specification sheets and lot-specific certificates of analysis for every shipment we receive. These documents provide information on the quality of the raw material and the various analyses used to verify that quality. Shipments that do not meet our quality standards are sent back to the manufacturer with a point by point report card of why the shipment was refused. We simply don’t just accept every shipment that’s delivered to our dock – no ingredient gets a free pass into our production facility. In addition, we also perform random vendor audits throughout each year to ensure that they’re meeting our stringent quality standards. NOW ® Foods is always vigilant when it comes to quality, just as you are. Another way we maintain high quality standards is by choosing to buy and incorporate registered and/or trademarked ingredients into our products. Each of these ingredients are exclusively produced by a company that owns proprietary manufacturing rights and licenses selected companies like NOW® to use these top quality ingredients in their products.

These registered/trademarked ingredients must undergo even more rigorous analysis and controls than other ingredients, and so offer additional assurance that products containing them are properly manufactured and labeled. Additionally, to maintain the integrity of their ingredient’s reputation, the trademark owner will independently test finished products from manufacturers to verify the quality meets their standards and the label claim of the company licensed to use it. You may be familiar with some of the trademarked ingredient NOW® uses such as, Ester-C® vitamin C, Chromemate® Chromium and L-Carnipure® Carnitine.

Scientific analysis of ingredients is extremely important to ensure the integrity of any dietary supplement. NOW Foods has made substantial investments in the development, construction and staffing of numerous inhouse laboratories, including an advanced instrumental analysis laboratory, a “wet lab” and a state-of-the-art microbiology lab. This saves us the time and expense of having to send samples out to commercial labs for analysis. While we use independent labs to verify our in-house test results, our capabilities allow us greater control over product quality and quicker approval of raw material shipments for production, which means fresher products for consumers. Our investment ensures that NOW® will be able to meet ever-increasing demands for accurate product analysis and outstanding product quality. NOW® is unique in the industry in that we annually spend more on Quality Assurance & Control than we do on Marketing and Advertising combined. What good is a lab without qualified people? NOW® employs an expert team of highly qualified scientists and technicians, including four Ph.D.’s. They’re constantly working to develop new and improved analytical methods, and their efforts contribute not only to our product quality but that of the entire industry as well.

This is all great, you say, but what about your facility and the equipment you use to manufacture products? Our 203,000 square foot facility is designed and built to standards that exceed food-packaging guidelines. It supports pharmaceutical-grade operations, which greatly enhances our ability to produce the highest quality products quickly. All this means fresher, more effective products on store shelves for consumers. NOW® Foods is an ‘A’ rated GMP-certified manufacturer, one of the first companies in the industry to attain GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices) certification. We’re also certified by QAI (Quality Assurance International) as an organic manufacturer. As consumers become increasingly demanding of supplement quality and safety, NOW® is ready to meet this demand with sound science and state-of-the-art research, manufacturing, and packaging capabilities. We are certain that our efforts to consistently maintain the highest product quality will help make your natural product purchasing decisions easier.

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Date: December 21, 2005 11:04 AM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Phosphatidyl Serine - HEALTHY COGNITION BRAIN FUNCTION

“To the dull mind, nature is leaden. To the illumined mind, the whole world burns and sparkles with light.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

From the moment we rise to the moment we rest, our brain is in a decision-making frenzy. When we’re thirsty, our brain tells us that we need water. When we’re hungry, it reminds us that we have a refrigerator full of food. When we’re tired, it lets us know that we need to sleep, and so on. But despite the thousands of decisions we make everyday, our brain still hasn’t figured out a way to let us know what it needs to func¬tion.

Though ironic, this raises a very serious issue. The human brain, like every other organ in the body, demands nutrition - period. Unfortunately, it leaves that up to us to figure out. Thanks to notable advance¬ments in research, we’re finally learning which nutri¬ents are most important for optimal brain function. Phosphatidyl Serine (PS) is a perfect example. This naturally occurring phospholipid has been the subject of numerous studies regarding its ability to boost cognitive function and delay (or potentially reverse) memory deterioration, and suggests that PS may be able to increase the effectiveness of neural transmissions. Interestingly, PS accounts for roughly 15% of the brain’s phospholipid supply. This is enor¬mous because phospholipids play a significant role in the billions of neurotransmissions that take place every second. Yes, billions.

Brain cells are constantly communicating with one another, and send astonishing amounts of impulses throughout the nervous system. This is accomplished via neurotransmitters - chemical messengers that send and receive impulses over the synapses of the brain and throughout the body. Mentally, we’re function¬ing at our best when these cells are well nourished. We can think more clearly, recall memories with ease and operate with greater efficiency. However, a de¬ficiency in neural-nutrients can prevent these mind messengers from functioning as they should. For¬tunately, PS has the ability to cross the blood-brain barrier to deliver critical nutrients and remove mind-slowing waste.

Consider this. The brain functions in the same man¬ner that a major airport does around the holidays. There are millions of actions taking place. Impulses departing, nutrients arriving, endless communication, the occasional problem and more reactions than any¬one could possibly count. There’s confusion, delay and emotion, not to mention the endless series of transmissions that take place every second. Imagine PS as that ultra-motivated employee who shows up to work everyday anxious to expedite everything in sight. It helps neural travelers get to and from their respec¬tive gates, ensures that they have everything they need, simplifies processes that could result in breakdown, and clears isles that are cluttered with junk. Simply stated, PS is the brain’s overachieving go-getter.

PS can help us think more clearly.

It’s 3:06 in the afternoon and you’re scrambling to get to a meeting that you’re already late for. That fluster could be the result of poor neurotransmission caused by a deficiency in essential nutrients like PS. Moreover, these innocent brain-bursts can exhaust our PS reserves, leaving us somewhere hovering be¬tween frantic and sluggish. Every impulse, thought, action, reaction, movement, emotion and desire is the end result of neurotransmitters in action. PS is a major supporter of these actions. Therefore, as we increase the amount of PS in our system, we gain the ability to think and act with greater ease.

PS can reduce the adverse impacts of stress on our body and mind.

What do we do when we’re down in the dumps? While plopping down on the sofa with a snack might be an easy solution, it comes with a price. Not only does stress interfere with mood, but it can also inspire inactivity, over-eating and sluggishness. This is due largely in part to cortisol - a catabolic hormone released by the adrenal glands in response to emotional stress. Studies done to determine the effectiveness of PS on cortisol suppression have shown that it works by suppressing the hormones that produce cortisol. As a result, supplementing with PS may be able to help reduce the amount of stress related hormones that ultimately leave us singing the blues.

PS can expedite post workout recovery time.

Endurance athletes who carefully monitor their body’s response levels are increasingly turning to PS. Immediately following strenuous activity, the body responds by releasing adrenocorticotropin (ACTH) – a hormone that discourages testosterone and encourages cortisol. By limiting ACTH pro¬duction, PS reduces the amount of muscle tissue breakdown that occurs during exercise. A common misconception is that muscles grow during exercise - wrong. In fact, muscles are torn down during ex¬ercise and grow in-between workouts – hence the term recovery. During recovery, PS helps prevent the activity of growth-inhibiting hormones. This helps athletes recover faster so their gains are realized more quickly.

In short, Phosphatidyl Serine appears to be a completely safe and beneficial dietary supple¬ment that can offer a wide range of physical and mental health benefits. NOW® Phosphatidyl Serine is derived from soy leci¬thin, and includes Choline and Inositol – two metabolites that work synergistically to help in¬crease circulation and cognitive response.

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Date: December 12, 2005 09:44 AM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Court Rules for FDA in Lane Labs Appeal

A federal appeals court has ruled that Lane Labs (Allendale,NJ) may be ordered to pay back consumers for selling what the food and drug administration (FDA) considered unapproved new drugs. The three-judge panel upheld the 2004 decision by U.S. district Judge William G. Bassler of the District of New Jersey, which stated that FDA may demand that Lane Labs pay back every consumer who had bought the company’s top selling products—shark cartilage supplements that were allegedly marketed as treatments for diseases including cancer and HIV. The restitution amount is estimated at 109 million. The appeals court rejected the argument that FDA cannot demand restrictions because the Federal Food, Drug, & Cosmetic Act (FDCA) does not expressly provide for such a remedy. “Whether or not congress specifically contemplated restitution under the FDCA, the ability to order this remedy is within the broad equitable power granted to the district courts to further the economic protection purposes of the statute,” 3rd Circuit Judge Marjorie O. Rendell wrote in an opinion joined by Judges Maryanne Trump Barry and Edward R. Becker.

In its appeal, Lane Labs was supported by an amicus brief from the Washington Legal Foundation (WLF, Washington, DC) urging the court to reverse Bassler’s decision, on the grounds that restitution is not authorized anywhere in the text of the FDCA.

WLF attorneys Daniel J. Popeo and Richard A. Samp, joined by attorney Jeffrey A Lamken of Baker Botts in Washington, DC, argued that the FDCA gives courts the power to “restrain” violations, but does not allow FDA to seek “Backward-looking monetary relief.”

WLF argued that FDA, throughout most of its history, never asserted a right to seek restitution until recently, when it began asserting that power in order to have “a big club with which to intimidate manufacturers who might otherwise seek to challenge FDA directives,” including large pharmaceutical companies. However, the court upheld FDA’s authority to seek restitution on the grounds that the FDCA’s grant of authority to restrain violations of the Act should be read broadly to include all forms of equitable relief.

FDA cannot be allowed to get away with this power grab,” said Samp after reviewing the Third Circuit’s decision. “The American economy suffers, and public safety and health are jeopardized, when FDA seeks to exert power beyond its authority, upsetting to delicate balance struck by Congress in its attempt to both preserve the public welfare and encourage valuable pharmaceutical innovations.” He added that WLF has pledged to continue to litigate the issue and to support Lane Labs in any further appeals the company may file.

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Date: July 27, 2005 02:12 PM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: 10 Things You Should Know About Prostate Cancer

10 Things You Should Know About Prostate Cancer

If you were to compile a top ten list of things men would rather just avoid, prostate exams might even rate above taking out the garbage, doing dishes and going shopping. But there’s no good excuse to ignore this walnut-sized gland located between the bladder and the penis and in front of the rectum. Confused by the debate surrounding nearly ever aspect of prostate cancer and embarrassed to request a physical exam, many men ignore prostate health, only to discover that the benefits of screening far outweigh its risks. As women openly talk about breast and ovarian cancers, prostate health remains a difficult and controversial topic for men to discuss, forcing many to forgo the manual exam that could lead to early detection and straightforward treatment. Though most males eventually develop some cancerous cells in their prostates, many prostate cancers develop so slowly that men often die of other causes. Indeed, it’s often said that most men die with prostate cancer, not from it. But the fact remains that prostate cancer kills more men who don’t smoke than any other cancer: The American Cancer Society reports that more than 232,000 men will be diagnoses with prostate cancer in 2005 and 30,350 will die from it. These statistics seem fairly overwhelming when you consider that one in six men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in his lifetime, while one in eight American women will develop breast cancer in her lifetime. Despite the ongoing debate about whether the results of a prostate screening may cause unnecessary treatment, growing evidence suggests that testing for prostate cancer saves lives. The number of men who died of the disease fell by 26% from 1991 to 2001, with a five-year survival rate for men diagnosed with early-stage prostate cancer of nearly 100%; 10-year survival rates for all prostate cancer patients stand at 92%, while 15-year survival rates fell to 61%. Energy Times evaluated some of the key issues surrounding prostate cancer, including screening misconceptions, risk factors and lifestyle choices that can influence the likelihood of developing this potentially deadly disease. We hope they help you, or your significant other, make well-informed health decisions.

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Date: July 15, 2005 09:13 AM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: DEPRESSION—STANDARD AND ALTERNATIVE TREATMENTS

DEPRESSION—STANDARD AND ALTERNATIVE TREATMENTS

Depression is a commonly occurring disorder; according to one recently published report, it affects nearly 17 percent of all Americans for the length of their lives.7 Because depression often involves a complex mixture of severity, length, and mode of treatment, it is often a difficult decision for doctors and patients alike to decide how to treat the depression. Many practitioners and patients are reluctant to use antidepressant drugs because of associated side effects. It seems logical, then that any additional forms of treatment with little risk, credible benefit, and moderate cost would be a useful addition to depression management.

Extracts of St. John’s wort have long been used in “folk” medicine for a range of symptoms and problems, including mood and depression disorders. Extracts of St. John’s wort are licensed in Germany for the treatment of “anxiety and depressive and sleep disorders.” In 1993, more than 2.7 mil-lion prescriptions of Hypericum were counted in the seven most popular preparations in Germany.8 In the past ten years, several randomized clinical trials have compared the effects of pharmaceutical preparations of Hypericum with placebo and common antidepressants, with nearly all showing favorable practical application of Hypericum treatments for depression and other related disorders.

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Date: June 14, 2005 05:45 PM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Pep Up and Go!

Pep Up and Go!

by Harris Parker Energy Times, February 2, 2000

Feel your energy flagging?

You've lost count of the number of phone calls you fielded all afternoon-the last was from your son, who missed the late bus home from school-and colleagues needing your decision are lined up outside your office. Your husband has invited clients home for dinner. You wilt like a new hairdo on a damp August day and pray for a miracle to jump-start your engine.

Your pep quotient depends on three essential ingredients: nutrients you consume through your diet and supplements, how much you exercise and your sleep schedule.(Of course, if you're troubled by any kind of disabling, ceaseless fatigue accompanied by mental fuzziness, joint pain, sore throat, swollen glands, headaches and other chronic distress, consult your health practitioner.)

Vitamins and Energy

Certain nutrients are called vitamins because scientists consider them to be crucial for vitality. They generally function as coenzymes, partnering with the enzymes that are catalysts for the chemical reactions constantly taking place in our bodies. Our need to replenish our store of vitamins, which may merge with cell, muscle, enzyme, hormone, blood and bone structure once they have been absorbed, depends on their rate of utilization, according to The Real Vitamin & Mineral Book (Avery) by Shari Lieberman, PhD, and Nancy Bruning.

While a low-fat diet rich in raw fruits and vegetables helps supply important nutrients, a B complex supplement and a balanced multivitamin can guarantee daily vitamin levels.

Be Energetic with B Vitamins

Vitamins, especially the B vitamins, play extremely important roles in producing cellular energy. The chart on page 39 lists the key vitamins and describes their effects as well as the consequences of not getting enough of them. Their benefit is felt most profoundly in the energy producing process known as the Krebs cycle (which we'll explain in a moment).

Vitamins B2 and B3, for example, supply the major building blocks for substances that are called flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD and FADH) and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD and NADH), which are critical elements of energy production in the Krebs cycle as well as a process called oxidative phosphorylation.

Hundreds of Reactions

Even though you may never have heard of NAD and NADH, these molecules are found in very many places throughout your body; they play a role in hundreds of biochemical reactions in all kinds of cells. B vitamins also combine with other materials to build coenzymes, chemicals which help form other chemicals necessary for cellular energy. B vitamins are crucial: miss out on one or more and you may break these metabolic chains necessary for peak energy.

Energy to Spend

The main energy currency of every cell single cell is ATP: a chemical called adenosine triphosphate. This material is used by cells for every imaginable task including reproduction, growth, movement and metabolism. Specialized metabolic cycles within the cell are designed to generate ATP.

Consequently, the more ATP our cells create, the more energy can be generated. The raw materials used to make cellular energy are glucose (blood sugar) and "free" fatty acids. The best way to supply your cells with the sugar they need is to consume complex carbohydrates which also supply fiber and other nutrients. When you eat carbohydrates, they are made into glucose which is stored as a starch called glycogen in muscles and the liver. Your body can rapidly turn glycogen into glucose for extra energy. (The process of making energy from glycogen yields carbon dioxide and water as well as ATP.)

Making Energy

The first step in making glucose into energy is called glycolysis. This complicated process requires nine different steps. During these steps, glucose is made into a substance called pyruvate. The process of glycolysis requires ATP, but yields twice as much ATP as is present when it starts.

From here, the process gets a little more complicated as pyruvate enters into a complex chain of events in tiny cellular structures called mitochondria. (Many metabolic events take place in the mitochondria.) The pyruvate molecules are converted to a molecule known as acetyl coenzyme A and eventually made into carbon dioxide, water and more ATP.

This process is known as the Krebs cycle or citric acid cycle. It also involves a series of events known as oxidative phosphorylation in which NADH formed during the Krebs cycle is oxidized to form ATP.

Why is fat such a concentrated source of energy? Free fatty acids enter the Krebs cycle to help generate ATP much more efficiently than glucose - producing roughly six times more energy per gram than glucose.

And Don't Overlook. . . . . .other supplements that may aid energy production: • Alpha Lipoic Acid, an antioxidant that works in the fatty tissues of cell membranes and in cells' watery interiors • Coenzyme Q10, also known as ubiquinone as it exists everywhere in the body, acts like a vitamin because it stimulates some reactions. CoQ10 protects cell membranes, especially of the heart, against oxidation and toxins.

Ginsengs: Energy Generators

With their legendary and slightly mysterious characteristics, the ginsengs are greatly respected natural energy boosters. " Perhaps no herb has excited so much interest in medical circles as ginseng, and yet, strangely, it does not actually 'cure' any one particular ailment," reports Michael Hallowell, the author of Herbal Healing (Avery) and a frequent lecturer on botanic medicine. "Rather, its virtue lies in its tremendous power as a tonic and invigorator. Russian athletes are prescribed large amounts of ginseng because researchers in Moscow have shown that it not only improves stamina, but also increases the efficiency with which blood is pumped to the muscles."

What are the physiological mechanisms that allow ginseng to bolster your get up and go? In order to unravel the legend and lore of ginseng, the first step is understanding the intricacies of the three types: • Asian (Panax ginseng), which produces the strongest and most profound stimulation; • American (Panax quinquefolium), which soothes at a more subtle level; • Siberian (Eleutherococcus senticosus), a stamina booster embraced by a wide range of athletes. All three varieties are treasured for their ability to help people adjust to stress.

Biologically Active

The ginsengs are adaptogens, "biologically active substances found in certain herbs and plants that help the body and mind adapt to the changes and stress of life," says Stephen Fulder, MD, author of The Book of Ginseng and Other Chinese Herbs for Vitality (Inner Traditions). "Stress is not an illness in itself. Stress is change, our ability to adapt to all the changes that occur in life, emotional or physical, from exercise, work, chemicals, drugs, food, radiation, bacteria, disease, temperature, or simply too many late nights or too much fun."

The body reacts to stress by producing the hormone adrenaline, which throws the whole body into a state of alert. Metabolism, blood pressure and circulation accelerate; immunity and resistance drastically decline; performance suffers.

Top-Notch Tonics

Enter the ginsengs, with their varied, subtle tonic qualities. The Greek name for this herb, "panax," means "panacea" or cure-all. But the Chinese, who first referred to it 2,000 years ago, more literally called it "ren shen" or "person root," in reference to its physical resemblance to a miniature human form.

" Most exhibit medicinal properties, but each species has a different chemical makeup and has a unique application in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)," says Kim Derek Pritts, author of Ginseng: How to Find, Grow and Use America's Forest Gold (Stackpole). "In general, all true ginseng contains biologically active saponins (chemicals similar to human hormones), essential oils, carbohydrates, sugars, organic acids, nitrogenous substances, amino acids, peptides, vitamins and minerals."

Building Vital Energy

All the ginsengs strengthen, nourish and build Qi, the TCM concept describing basic vital energy circulating through our bodies. Every physical and mental function, from breathing, thinking, nutrition and circulation, is regulated by Qi. Although many of the Native American tribes used the abundant, indigenous Panax quinquefolium ginseng extensively, particularly to increase mental acuity and boost fertility, the herb never has been as popular in North America as it is in Asia. American ginseng traditionally has been a lucrative export crop to China, where the wild native variety suffers from overharvesting. Even today, according to Paul Bergner in The Healing Power of Ginseng & the Tonic Herbs (Prima), 95% of the American ginseng crop is exported to China, where XiYang Shen, or "western sea root," as it is called, is immensely valued and costs double what it does here.

Energy Boost

Jacques MoraMarco, author of The Complete Ginseng Handbook: A Practical Guide for Energy, Health and Longevity (Contemporary), as well as a licensed acupuncturist and doctor of Eastern medicine, suggests American ginseng for a slight energy boost. The moderate effect of American ginseng is considered a more appropriate tonic to the intensity of our pace and diet.

Variations on a Theme

In TCM terms, American ginseng cools and moistens, as well as lubricates and strengthens the body. It is reputed to reduce fevers and night sweats and alleviate hot, dry lung problems like smoker's cough. With its emollient qualities, American ginseng is considered to treat dry, wrinkled skin effectively.

The Bolder Energizer

Asian ginseng, which includes red Korean panax, is a bolder energizer taken by those who feel depleted from anemia, blood loss, cardiovascular weakness, injury, shock or trauma, as well as the disabling effects of age. In general, Asian ginseng is warming and stimulating, urging the body to run faster.

Siberian ginseng, though botanically not a true ginseng, still acts similarly to Asian ginseng in its reputed power to control stress, boost energy, support the immune system, enhance performance and increase longevity. Called Wu Cha Seng in Chinese, Siberian ginseng is perceived by natural practitioners as an ideal herb for the healthy who want to lift both stamina and endurance. Experts believe it counteracts the effects of cortisol, the stress hormone produced by the adrenal glands in response to injury, pain or emotional turmoil.

Natural Energy Boosters

The herbal pharmacopeia includes several other natural energy boosters available in various forms-shakes and bars for those on the run-loaded with nutrition absent from commercial snacks. Some choices: • Ginkgo biloba-used in Chinese medicine to heat the body and increase sexual energy. Ginkgo enthusiasts take this herb to increase the supply of oxygen to the brain and generally increase circulation. • Gotu kola-may stimulate the central nervous system and help eliminate excess fluid, thereby reducing fatigue. • Astragalus-a Chinese herb that enhances energy and builds the immune system. It is credited with strengthening digestion, improving metabolism, increasing appetite, combating diarrhea and healing sores. • Schisandra-also a Chinese herb, treats respiratory illness, insomnia and irritability and rejuvenates sexual energy. Its mild adaptogens help the body to handle stress. • Licorice-is a favored endocrine toner in Chinese medicine. It is reputed to support the adrenals, the pair of small glands directly above the kidneys that secrete steroidal hormones, norepinephrine and epinephrine, the "fight or flight" hormones. People with high blood pressure or edema, or pregnant women, should avoid it. • Ashwagandha-an Ayurvedic herb used for thousands of years in the traditional healing of India as a potent strength builder for men and women.

Experienced herbal practitioners acquire an impressive and fascinating store of knowledge and experience-you'll find it helpful to visit one as you begin your course of ginseng or other energy-boosting herbs.

TCM Visitation

When you visit a TCM practitioner, you'll notice that she evaluates your body's condition through an extremely careful examination of all the different systems: Several pulse points are felt in order to ferret out and detect troubling abnormalities. The condition and color of the tongue is observed to decipher digestive disorders. In addition, your urine may be examined to determine other imbalances and specific health problems.

In many cases, your TCM practitioner will recommend ginseng as an adaptogen that can give you an overall boost. When taking ginseng, follow the directions on the package. Note: in some cases, you may want to consume a little bit less if you suffer headaches, insomnia or high blood pressure. Consult your health practitioner if you are afflicted with either acute inflammatory disease or bronchitis.

Then take comfort in the eternal soothing wisdom of Chinese Traditional Medicine. In the first century A.D., the Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing (The Divine Husbandman's Classic of the Materia Medica) effusively described ginseng and the tonic herbs in this beguiling and intriguing manner: "The first class of drugs...are considered to perform the work of sovereigns. They support human life and they resemble heaven. They are not poisonous regardless of the quality and duration of administration."

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Vitanet ®

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Date: June 14, 2005 11:54 AM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Scents of Balance

Scents of Balance by Rosemary Sage Energy Times, January 5, 2005

Life can feel like an emotional rollercoaster, with the high-stress jitters following the low-mood blues. But aromatherapy-the healing power of scent-can restore equilibrium.

The use of volatile plant oils, including essential oils, for psychological and physical well-being dates back thousands of years. The ancient Chinese, Egyptians, Greeks and Romans used infused oils and herbal preparations for medicinal, fragrant, cosmetic, even spiritual reasons.

During the late 20th century, people started to relearn the benefits of aromatherapy and these days, aromatherapy's reputation as a soothing, healing art continues to grow. Once you've experienced the odiferous power of aromatherapy's essential oils, you'll keep coming back for more: These gently wafting odors have the power to stimulate or calm, invigorate or relax.

When you enter this scented world, "there you will find nature in one of its most powerful forms-aromatic liquid substances known as 'essential oils,'" says Valerie Ann Worwood in The Complete Book of Essential Oils and Aromatherapy (Thorsons). Essential oils form what Worwood refers to as the "fragrant pharmacy," a collection of concentrated substances used in pharmaceuticals, foods and cosmetics.

When you sniff the aromas of essential oils, "they enter and leave the body with great efficiency, leaving no toxins behind," Worwood points out. "The most effective way to use essential oils is...by external application or inhalation. The methods used include body oils, compresses, cosmetic lotions, baths-including sitz, hand and foot baths-hair rinses...perfumes...and a whole range of room [scenting] methods."

Plant Essences

As Worwood explains, essential oils are produced in various parts of different plants. As a result, it takes a great deal of specialized work to extract essential oils. About 60,000 rose blossoms are consumed in the production of an ounce (!) of rose oil.

Just as the antioxidant phytonutrients we eat in vegetarian foods link our bodies to the health-promoting chemistry of plants, the penetrating nature of essential oils are thought to connect our souls to the essences of flora. "From inside comes the voice and from inside comes the scent," observed the 19th century German doctor Gustav Fechner, quoted by Robert Tisserand in The Art of Aromatherapy (Healing Arts Press). "Just as one can tell human beings in the dark from the tone of voice, so, in the dark, every flower can be recognized by its scent. Each carries the soul of its progenitor."

Fechner believed that the power of essential oils to stir our deepest emotions derives from their function as a vital means of communication in the plant world. As Tisserand asks, can't we imagine that flowers "communicate with each other by the very perfumes they exude, becoming aware of each other's presence?"

The Science Behind the Scent

While alternative medical practitioners have acknowledged the effectiveness of aromatherapy for thousands of years, only recently have conventional medical researchers begun seriously looking into how this technique works.

For instance, a study of estragole, a chemical found in basil, fennel and tarragon, determined that it could potentially ease back pain by inhibiting inflammation of the sciatic nerve. (The sciatic nerve, the longest nerve in the body, runs from the back down the leg.) The researchers discovered that estragole is "active on nerves," a conclusion that aromatherapy practitioners, who employ the scent of these oils to soothe pain, already knew. Science is verifying another piece of information long known to practitioners-that while certain essential oils can calm you down, others prod your alertness. In a study performed at the University of Northumbria in England, scientists found that sniffing the scent of lavender lulls the human brain into a comfortable, rather stupefied state, while rosemary, in contrast, can sharpen recall.

As the English researchers noted, lavender "produced a significant decrement in performance of working memory, and impaired reaction times for both memory and attention-based tasks." That's probably why the odor of lavender is noted for enhancing sleep. On the other hand, the scientists found that rosemary "produced a significant enhancement of performance for overall quality of memory and secondary memory factors." However, they did point out that under the influence of both of these oils, performance slowed when tackling a battery of memory tests. Apparently, the oils mellowed people so that they had little motivation to rush through the paperwork.

As Frazesca Watson notes in Aromatherapy Blends & Remedies (Thorsons): "The aroma of the oils directly affects our moods and emotions and sometimes our short- and long-term memory. Together with a wide range of physiological benefits, the aroma can help with emotional upsets such as depression, anxiety, nervous tension, anger, apathy, confusion, indecision, fear, grief, hypersensitivity, impatience, irritability, panic and hysteria."

Essential oils are especially helpful at defusing stress. Watson notes, "Treatments with essential oils are therefore very helpful for all sorts of stress-related problems, so common in our modern life."

As scientific research into the effects of these oils continue, conventional medical practitioners are sure to embrace them in increasing numbers. But before there were scientists around to confirm the effects of these wonderful scents, the ancient medical practitioners in Egypt and Greece attributed the origins of aromatherapy to the gods. For many people in today's overstressed world, the relaxing assurance of essential oils certainly seems heaven-s(c)ent.

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Vitanet ®

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Date: June 13, 2005 03:52 PM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Home on the Range

Home on the Range

by Janis Jibrin, RD Energy Times, September 5, 1999

Got chicken? Americans can't seem to get enough of this bird. Last year each of us ate, on average, just about 80 pounds of chicken, a whopping increase over the 49 pounds we each devoured in 1980 and an eight-pound increase from 1995. Part of this food's popularity comes from its lean image as a healthier, less fatty alternative to red meat (don't forget to take the fatty skin off). Chicken's also a cheap protein source: At many popular supermarkets you'll find weekly specials at about a dollar a pound.

But at health food markets, chicken can cost upwards of $1.69 a pound. These birds may be touted as raised in an organic, stress-free environment and on a vegetarian diet, free of antibiotics. For many people, this poultry is a better buy.

The Alternative Chicken

Most of the supermarket chicken you pick up in grocery refrigerated cases are broilers, birds bred to mature in about eight weeks. In comparison, in the '60s, chickens needed 14 weeks to become adult poultry. Conventionally-raised broilers eat grain mixed with whatever's cheapest on the market, such as recycled cooking oil that's been used to fry fast foods and animal parts.

These birds reside in chicken coops the size of football fields and don't see the light of day until transported to the slaughterhouse. On the other roost, alternatively raised chickens are brought up in a variety of ways (see box), but usually enjoy a more relaxed life and diet.

Chickens on the farm receive antibiotics for two reasons: To fight off the diseases that can run rampant through a crowded chicken coop and to encourage faster growth.

Antibiotics Stimulate Growth

Mark Cook, PhD, professor of animal science at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, explains, "Gut bacteria trigger an immune system assault, which makes chickens a little feverish, suppresses appetite and slows growth. Antibiotics stimulate growth indirectly, by keeping bacteria levels down, and preventing the immune reaction." When birds get sick, they often get dosed with even more antibiotics.

This widespread antibiotic use has come home to roost and may contribute to the growth of bacteria that, frequently exposed to chemicals, have evolved ways to keep from being killed by pharmaceuticals.

This development threatens human health. Bacterial infections that people contract, once easily cured by penicillin or other drugs, are now tougher to eradicate. For instance, campylobactor, a common bacteria found in chicken, and responsible for some food poisonings, now demonstrates signs of resistance to drugs like floroquinolones. A powerful class of antibiotics, floroquinolones used to dependably conquer this infection.

"Floroquinolones are an extremely important class of antibiotics, used to treat many types of infections such as urinary tract infection, a wide variety of gastrointestinal illnesses, pneumonia, almost everything," says Kirt Smith, DVM, PhD, epidemiologist, acute disease epidemiology section, Minnesota Department of Health.

A study by Dr. Smith, published in the New England Journal of Medicine (340, 1999: 1525-32), showed that the percent of floroquinolone-resistant campylobactor appearing in infected people in his state-Minnesota-climbed from a little over 1% in infected people during 1992 to 10.2% in 1998. He and other scientists strongly suspect that the rise is a direct consequence of the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) decision to allow floroquinolones in poultry feed beginning in 1995.

Although it was nearly impossible for Dr. Smith to trace the precise origin of campylobactor poisoning, he believes chicken was usually the source-and not just U.S. chicken. Many of the infected people had returned from Mexico and other countries.

"Sales of floroquinolones for poultry use in Mexico has increased dramatically," notes Dr. Smith.

Many alternative chicken producers do not use any antibiotic-laced feed at all. Other farmers adjust the feed to lower gut pH, making it more acidic and lowering chances of bacteria. At the U. of Wisconsin, Dr. Cook is developing antibodies to suppress the immune response to bacteria so chickens won't need antibiotics to spur growth. Buying and dining on chicken raised with little or no antibiotics could beneficially lower your risk of contracting a hardy bacterial infection. Better to catch campylobactor from an antibiotic-free chicken than a conventional chicken, speculates Dr. Cook. "There's less likelihood the bug will be resistant, and a better chance your problem can be cured with antibiotics," he explains.

And, looking beyond your own immediate health risk, buying antibiotic-free chicken makes a small contribution to stopping the spread of antibiotic resistant bugs. A Matter of Taste Conventionally raised chickens get little exercise and live only eight weeks, so they're tender but bland.

"There's not much taste in a modern chicken. Free range or organically grown, older birds usually have more taste," notes Dr. Cook.

The days of barnyard chickens happily clucking and strutting around in picturesque nature have disappeared with the family farm. Today, chickens lead a meager existence. After hatching, baby chicks are tossed into a gigantic hen house that is home to up to 30,000 birds. Their short lives are lived within the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) mandated 3/4 square foot per chicken. In that squeeze, birds can catch "chicken influenza," especially in winter when it's too cold to let in much fresh air.

Laying hens don't experience much more of a peaceful existence. These birds live their years with about five other hens, so crowded they can't flap their wings. Cages, suspended in the air, let eggs roll into a holding area. So they don't peck each other, hens are often debeaked, a painful process that can cause infection.

Hens go through natural laying and "dry" cycles. Growers manipulate this cycle by "forced molting," depriving hens of food for four to 14 days to keep them constantly laying. By the end of two years, hens are worn out. Their inactivity weakens their bones enough that electrical stunning, the usual method for knocking chickens out before slaughter, shatters their bones. So some wind up being plucked and boiled alive, according to Mary Finelli, program director for farm animals and public health at the Humane Society of the United States. The meat from these hens, tougher than other birds, was probably in your deli lunch sandwich. It's also used in the school lunch program or may end up in dog food.

"Generally, organically-grown broilers and hens have it better because room to move is part of the organic certification process," says Finelli. Finelli suggests visiting chicken suppliers to find out how chickens are treated. Or, she advocates a Humane Society book listing reliable firms. For a local producer call the society: 202-452-1100. According to a Consumer Report report, some growers force chickens out the last week of their lives to brand them "free range." So free range isn't a prime standard for choosing a decently raised chicken. However, turkeys thrive outdoors, so choosing free-range turkey is often a good idea for better tasting poultry.

In any case, organic is your best bet for chicken without pesticides. Make it your main choice for your 80 pound yearly consumption!

To fight cruel treatment of poultry:

• Forced Molting Ban. Forced molting is shocking hens for more eggs. To support petitions banning forced molting write: Docket Manage-ment Branch, FDA, Dept. Health & Human Serv-ices, 12420 Parklawn Drive, Room 1-23, Rock-ville, MD 20857. Include docket # 98P-0203/CP

• Downed Animal Protection Bill (House Bill 443, Senate Bill S515) spares some animals from the tortuous journey from chicken house to slaughterhouse. Mandates humane euthanization.

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Vitanet ®

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Date: June 12, 2005 05:53 PM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Acupuncture nutrient Connection

Acupuncture nutrient Connection by Robert Gluck Energy Times, November 1, 1998

The theory behind the practice of acupuncture confounds western science. This therapy, originating in Asia, is based on the concept that currents of energy called meridians flow through your body. However, no one has ever been able to conclusively demonstrate the existence of these meridians.

Despite the evasiveness of these energy streams, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) holds that alterations in these energy flows can disrupt health and cause pain. Consequently, an acupuncturist punctures your skin with specialized needles to redirect the body's vital energy.

Alleviating Illness

Despite the fact that western scientists have not been able to find satisfactory evidence of the existence of these energetic meridians, studies show that acupuncture works and is especially effective at relieving pain. This therapy has been used to alleviate a variety of conditions including chronic pain, nausea and even mental illness. In addition, some practitioners apply it to those trying to shake off the chains of drug addiction. (More recently, many practitioners now also successfully use acupuncture to relieve physical problems in animals.)

Of course, no matter what your perspective on this therapy, acupuncture's no panacea. While you might use acupuncture to relieve the discomforts of chemotherapy, you wouldn't use this technique as your primary weapon against a dangerous disease like cancer. Still, this reliable therapy occupies a welcome spot as an adjunct to many mainstream therapies. Consequently, many mainstream practitioners accept the validity of using acupuncture and many managed care companies reimburse this therapy. Some HMOs even keep a list of approved acupuncturists that they make available to enrollees.

Acupuncture East and West

The practice of acupuncture dates back at least 2200 years ago in Asia. Only during the last forty years has it become well-known and widely available in the United States. Today, 29 accredited acupuncture schools train practitioners in North America. In addition, traditional healers in Belize (south of Mexico) have been found to use a form of acupuncture derived from traditional Mayan medicine.

Is the use of acupuncture by Mayan shamans coincidence? Or further evidence that acupuncture meridians really exist? No one knows for sure, although some experts believe the Mayan use of this therapy supports the notion that the original ancestors of the Mayans migrated from Asia.

Needle Relief

Acupuncturists insert needles into the body to relieve pain or enhance bodily functions. TCM holds that acupuncture, and the manipulation of these tiny needles, moves and manipulates qi (pronounced chee), the body's energy force.

"Acupuncture is a method of balancing the body's energy," says Carol Alexander, an acupuncturist at the North Jersey Health and Pain Relief Center in Hackettstown, New Jersey. "Disease occurs because of an imbalance...Insertion of the acupuncture needles into meridians will bring about the balance of qi." Alexander has practiced acupuncture for 10 years and studied at the Tri-State School of Traditional Acupuncture in Stanford Connecticut.

Alexander says patients sometimes suffer a blockage of qi or display too much or too little qi. The manipulation and placement of the acupuncture needles vary according to the need for adjusting meridian energy flow.

Acupuncture can be used to prevent disease and, if disease is already rampant, it can be used to help the body correct the problem.

In conjunction with her use of acupuncture needles, Alexander rarely prescribes single herbs but uses combinations of whole herbs that are very specific for different diseases and disease patterns. "Certain herbs, such as ginseng, are very prized in Chinese medicine," Alexander notes.

"Astragalus is an herb used in China and around the world to tonify the qi and increase qi energy as well as stimulate the immune system."

Licorice Root

Alexander uses licorice root for assisting digestion and for helping women with menopausal discomforts. On the other hand, she recommends whole food concentrates like bee pollen granules for enhancing the immune system, peppermint for treating gastro-intestinal problems plus fiber supplements as well as the antioxidant/antihistamine quercetin, coenzyme Q10 and melatonin.

"In terms of classes of nutrients, I use a lot of whole food concentrates: the green concentrates like barley greens, wheat grass powder, spirulina and blue-green algae," Alexander says. "These are high in minerals, antioxidants, nutrients and fatty acids. I also use some soy products because the isoflavone concentrates are very much anti-cancer."

The Fine Points of Acupuncture

Acupuncture needles are very fine, as thin as hairs. They are available in a variety of diameters and lengths. When an acupuncturist inserts these needles, the sensation is that of mild pinpricks. (The needles enter the body at depths of only 1/8th inch to two inches.) In many cases people experience mild pleasure during needle manipulation.

"From a Western point of view it's important to explain that there is a distinct function of acupuncture treatment and that is to increase circulation," Alexander says. "We do stimulate nerves and we know that with the stimulation of nerves many neurochemicals and neurotransmitters are released. They move through the nerves and find receptor sights, some in the brain, some in other parts of the body."

By stimulating nerves, acupuncturists can calm inflammation and deaden pain. These effects are believed to be linked to the release of endorphins and dinorphins, powerful painkillers and anti-inflammatories that the body produces for itself. Most acupuncturists use this therapy as part of an overall, multi-faceted treatment plan.

Unique Energy

"Qi is what makes you different from a sack of chemicals," points out David Molony, an acupuncturist at the Lehigh Valley Acupuncture Center in Catasaqua, Pennsylvania who studied at the Nanjing Traditional Medicine Hospital in China and has lectured at Cornell University.

What You Need

"You can manipulate qi with acupuncture, herbs and diet. Because people's bodies work differently, there are different approaches. When you ask the question what nutrients and herbs are effective at enhancing acupuncture, it depends on what the person needs, according to an Oriental Medicine diagnosis."

An Oriental Medical examination, Molony says, begins with a long list of health questions designed to reveal factors that contribute to disease. A practitioner measures your pulse in several different places along your arm, inspects your tongue, may press on your stomach, sniff your general odor and closely examine your nails and skin for signs of problems.

"You take in everything you can," adds Molony, a board member of the Acupuncture Society of Pennsylvania and former board member of the American Association of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. "This gives you clues that you need in order to make your diagnosis."

Acupuncturists use nutrients and herbs that complement the treatment, as well as dietary and lifestyle counseling. Some acupuncturists don't specialize in herbal remedies, so these practitioners might go to a specialist like David Winston for advice. Winston, an herb expert skilled in Cherokee, Chinese and Western eclectic herbal medicine, works as an instructor, lecturer and consultant.

"In China, acupuncture is considered a complementary therapy; you generally don't go for treatment and get purely acupuncture," says Winston who is working on a book about saw palmetto. "Herbal medicine, diet and qi gong are important therapies in their own right and acupuncture is one of those therapies. Qi gong is a form of martial arts that focuses on unique breathing and visualization methods. Qi is not exactly energy, it's energy in movement; it's what makes the blood move."

Open Blockages

Acupuncture is used to open blockages that sometimes build up in what TCM practitioners characterize as excessive heat or cold. These hot and cold spots do not always literally refer to the temperature of the body but are meant to depict changes in the character of the body's vital energy.

Chinese acupuncturists don't necessarily treat diseases, but target clusters of physical discomforts. Winston says, "Herbal formulas change depending on the 'symptom pictures.' Somebody could have acute appendicitis but the symptom picture could vary. Usually Chinese acupuncturists use herbs like isatis (a very cold, drying herb that's a powerful anti-bacterial agent) and coptis (a powerful anti-bacterial herb)."

Americans often visit acupuncturists complaining of back pain or some type of musculoskeletal problem-a wrenched knee, a ligament that hasn't healed properly or perhaps a torn rotator cuff. "If the injury is hot to the touch, it's red, it's inflammatory-that's a condition where there's excessive heat and in that condition the acupuncturist would give herbs that are cooling and anti-inflammatory such as the root of large leaf gentian."

Pain that Moves

If someone suffers pain that moves, pain that is sometimes exacerbated by damp or humid conditions, acupuncturists often prescribe clematis root, a wild variety of the garden plant that is an anti-spasmodic, or acanthopanax, a relative of Siberian ginseng used for damp pain.

"If there's pain with excessive dampness," Winston says, "acupuncturists might use duhuo, a drying herb that opens the meridians."

Molony agrees with Winston that when it comes to choosing herbs to enhance acupuncture, accurate analysis of the root cause of the health problem is paramount to making the right decisions. For example, if a person is qi deficient and her tongue is thickly coated, she may not be processing her energy properly. Phlegm builds up, decreasing energy. "What you want to do is give them herbs that move phlegm, like citrus peel, and combine that with acupuncture points that move phlegm also," Molony says.

For stimulating metabolism, Molony uses lactoferin-processed colostrum from cows. He uses ginseng and atractylodes as qi tonics and he adds herbs like magnolia bark or atractylodes alba.

Helpful Antioxidants

He believes antioxidants are helpful too, as preventive medicines, including vitamins C and E. These valuable nutrients disarm the harm that reactive molecules can wreak within the body.

So how important are herbs and nutrition to enhance acupuncture's effectiveness? Acupuncturists seem to agree that healthy doses of antioxidants (such as vitamins C and E plus antioxidants from grapeseed extract) as well as specialized herbs, turn this therapy into a highly effective healing tool. Those wanting to benefit from this penetrating technique should stock up on nutrients. Then sit back, relax, kick off your shoes and let the acupuncturist do her stuff.

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Vitanet ®

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Date: June 09, 2005 08:41 AM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Federal Court Overturns FDA Ban on Ephedra at Low Doses

Federal Court Overturns FDA Ban on Ephedra at Low Doses

by Rakesh M. Amin and Mark Blumenthal

A Utah Federal District Court recently limited the scope of a year old Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Final Rule1 banning the sale of all ephedrine-alkaloid dietary supplements.2 The Court’s ruling has a limited affect on the ability of companies to sell ephedrine nationally, but is important regarding FDA procedure for creating rules and enforcement powers. Ephedrine alkaloids are found primarily in the controversial herb ephedra (Ephedra sincica Stapf., Ephedraceae).

The District Court determined that the FDA’s use of a risk-benefit analysis was against the intent of Congress in passing the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act,3 which presumes all foods are safe and requires the FDA to prove the existence of a significant or unreasonable risk. The court held that to require food producers to establish a benefit before selling their product places an improper burden on them and was inconsistent with Congress’s intent when it passed the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA) to clearly place the burden of proof of safety of a dietary ingredient on the FDA.4

Secondly, the court determined the FDA had to show by a preponderance of the evidence “a significant or unreasonable risk of illness or injury.”5 Therefore, in order to ban all sales of a given product, the FDA must first prove that the dosage amount in the product presents an unreasonable risk.6 Prior to this ruling, the FDA was not required to consider dosage size before banning a substance.

This ruling has limited effects at the moment since the FDA may appeal this decision. Additionally, the ruling has no effect on the laws of several states (including California, Illinois and New York) which have banned all sales of ephedrine alkaloids in dietary supplements. The ruling also only applies to products containing 10 mg or less of ephedrine alkaloids per daily dosage. Any product exceeding that amount is still banned and will continue to be enforced under the FDA rule.7

The court, in its ruling, specifically precluded the FDA from taking any enforcement action against Nutraceutical Corporation, the company that filed the lawsuit, for its sale of products containing 10mg or less of ephedra and for the FDA to consider further rulemaking “consistent with this Order”.8 However, the court did not specifically instruct the FDA to refrain from taking enforcement action against other brands containing less than 10mg of ephedrine.9 As such, companies considering launching new products containing ephedrine alkaloids are advised to do so carefully.

Nutraceutical Corporation president Bruce Hough was cited in The New York Times as saying that the company’s reason for filing the suit was not based on ephedra and that his company had no plans to begin marketing ephedra supplements in the near future.10 Hough was quoted as saying, “We filed it [the lawsuit] because the FDA established rules that could cause problems to the rest of our business.” Hough was referring to the legal basis upon which the FDA banned the sale ephedra. He told the American Botanical Council that the FDA was applying a drug standard of risk vs. benefit to herbs and dietary supplements – technically foods under the law. [Hough B. Personal communication to M. Blumenthal, Apr. 27, 2005.] His company filed the lawsuit in an attempt to deter FDA’s new procedure for creating what he considered arbitrary rules which contradict the plain meaning of existing federal law (DSHEA).

The American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) issued a statement on April 26 clarifying its policy on the sale of ephedra in dietary supplements.11 AHPA has notified all its members that at this time it is the organization’s policy that none of its members should be selling low doses (10 mg or less) of ephedra in dietary supplements until the FDA has clarified its position on the Court decision. At this time it is not clear whether FDA plans on appealing the decision or will implement the new policy set by the Court.

The court decision does not affect the sale of the herb ephedra in traditional formulations intended for use that is consistent with traditional uses, e.g., pulmonary complaints, and are dispensed by licensed healthcare practitioners.

As might be expected, court’s decision has stimulated a new round of media and congressional criticism of the relative safety of herbs and dietary supplements as well as DSHEA. For example, a highly critical article by Chris Mooney was posted on the website of the American Prospect on April 25.12 The Prospect is relatively influential in Democratic and progressive political circles in Washington. The article uses language such as the court decision is a “scandal” and a “disturbing ruling”, refers to DSHEA as “a terrible law” and a “peculiar and misguided law” and the “wrongheaded standards encoded in the DSHEA”, and repeats the often-cited media mantra about “unregulated herbal supplements” and that the “FDA has been hamstrung and effectively rendered impotent.”

More information regarding the sale of ephedrine products or FDA regulations in general is available from the law offices of Rakesh M. Amin at (312) 327-3382 or rakesh@amin-law.com.

References

1 21 C.F.R. Pt. 119, Final Rule Declaring Dietary Supplements Containing Ephedrine Alkaloids Adulterated Because They Present an Unreasonable Risk (Published February 11, 2004) (Effective April 12, 2004) available at /dockets/98fr/1995n-0304-nfr0001.pdf

2 Nutraceutical Corporation and Solaray, Inc. v. Lester Crawford, D.V.M., Acting Commissioner, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, et al., Case No. 2:04CV409TC, U.S. District Court for the Central District of Utah; available at gov/reports/204cv409-28.pdf

(https://vitanetonline.com:443/forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=1&Message_ID=243)

Date: May 24, 2005 08:58 AM
Author: Darrell Miller (dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Its not about Ehpedra -- its about DSHEA ...

On april 14th 2005, a federal court in UTAH Ruled against the FDA's ban on low dose ephedra products. The plaintiffs were Nutraceutical Corporation and its subsidiary Solaray. They sued not just to protect their ephedra product, but to protect your access to other supplements. Why did they sue and what does this mean for you?

Media and Political Rhetoric Vs. Real Science

Protecting DSHEA and your access to dietary supplements

Why did Nutraceutical challenge FDA's actions?

Why did FDA Ban Ephedra?

What did the court Decide?

How does the decision affect me?

Does the ruling mean that ephedra is safe?

What's Next for Ephedra?

What can I do to protect my access to supplements?

Let your congressman and Senators know that access to supplements is important to you. A useful website for contacting them is: www.saveoursupplements.org

contact Nutraceutical by email at: Savesupplements@nutracorp.com

Note: Solaray® Whole herb ephedra was formulated to have 10mg or less ephedrine alkaloids per daily dose(two servings). © Nutraceutical corporation...

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VitaNet ®
VitaNet ® Staff

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