Pomegranates are one of the healthiest and most healing fruits available today. They are rich in vitamin C, K, B-complex and minerals such as copper, calcium, and potassium. Pomegranates are an excellent weight loss food and also benefit the body by boosting the immune system, improving circulation, and offering protection from cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. Pomegranates are packed with antioxidants and particularly one called Punicalagin which has been shown to effectively reduce the risks of heart disease by scavenging harmful free radicals from the body. Punicalagin also has potent anti-microbial properties making pomegranates fantastic in warding off bacterial and viral infections. Pomegranates act like a natural aspirin in the body and help to prevent blood clots. Pomegranates are also the perfect “brain food” as they help to increase cognitive function and memory recall. Pomegranates are also great for joints and may help to prevent cartilage deterioration making them essential for the prevention of osteoarthritis. Pomegranates contain powerful anti-inflammatory compounds which makes them a highly beneficial food for those with autoimmune disorders such as fibromyalgia, COPD, bursitis, Lyme disease, rheumatoid arthritis, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and lupus. Consuming pomegranates or their juice daily has been shown to effectively protect against diabetes, lymphoma, urinary tract infections, and breast, colon, lung, and prostate cancer. Pomegranate juice has also been shown to keep PSA levels stable in men thereby reducing the need for further treatments such as hormone therapy or chemotherapy. Pomegranates have also been shown to help lower LDL (bad) cholesterol and raise HDL (good) cholesterol as well as lowering systolic blood pressure for those who need it. Pomegranate juice is excellent for dental health and has been shown to naturally prevent dental plaque and gum disease. Pomegranate seed oil is an excellent source of essential fatty acids and can be taken internally or applied topically to the skin to help improve skin elasticity, skin tone, and skin conditions such as eczema, psoriasis, and sunburn. It is also excellent for revitalizing hair and protecting it from damage. Pomegranates, their seeds, and juice can all be found at the supermarket or your local health food store.
Sunday, November 30, 2014
Sugar Disease Was Killing Me Slowly
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The Top Powerhouse Fruits and Vegetables
June 23, 2014 | 170,576 views
By Dr. Mercola
Eating more fresh vegetables is one of the simplest choices you can make to improve your health and ward off countless chronic diseases. Virtually any vegetable is good for you… but some are better than others.
To a large extent, the best vegetables for you are those that appeal to your palate and agree with you. I highly recommend listening to your body, in that the foods you eat, including vegetables, should leave you feeling satisfied and energized.
Beyond that, however, if you want to eat the vegetables that have the most nutritional density you should choose from the list of powerhouse fruits and vegetables. These are the foods most strongly associated with reduced chronic disease risk.
41 Powerhouse Vegetables and Fruits Based on Nutrient Density
You may have heard the advice to eat dark green leafy vegetables or focus on including a rainbow of colors (green, purple, red, and orange) when choosing your produce. This is good advice, but a researcher from William Paterson University took it a step further by analyzing levels of 17 nutrients in food considered to be important for lowering your risk of heart disease and cancer.1 These include:
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Potassium
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Fiber
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Protein
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Calcium
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Iron
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Thiamin
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Riboflavin
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Niacin
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Folate
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Zinc
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Vitamin A
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Vitamin B6
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Vitamin B12
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Vitamin C
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Vitamin D
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Vitamin E
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Vitamin K
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The study calculated how many of the above nutrients (per calorie of energy) were included in 47 fruits and vegetables (based on a 2,000-calorie-a-day diet).
The higher the value, the more nutrient dense the food was determined to be. Forty-one of the foods satisfied “powerhouse” criterion and were more nutrient dense than non-powerhouse fruits and vegetables.
There were some limitations, for instance, the study did not factor in valuable phytochemicals and other so-called xenohormetic compounds (e.g. polyphenols) produced by environmental stressors to the plants that might drastically alter its nutritional merit by optimizing your gene expression and increasing longevity.
That being said, the 41 foods below topped the list based on nutrient density (with some surprising results).2 If you’re in a veggie rut, this list offers some great ideas to expand your diet while adding valuable nutrition to your meals.
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Item
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Nutrient Density Score
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Watercress
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100.00
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Chinese cabbage
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91.99
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Chard
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89.27
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Beet green
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87.08
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Spinach
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86.43
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Chicory
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73.36
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Leaf lettuce
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70.73
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Parsley
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65.59
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Romaine lettuce
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63.48
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Collard green
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62.49
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Turnip green
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62.12
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Mustard green
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61.39
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Endive
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60.44
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Chive
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54.80
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Kale
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49.07
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Dandelion green
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46.34
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Red pepper
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41.26
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Arugula
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37.65
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Broccoli
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34.89
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Pumpkin
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33.82
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Brussels sprout
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32.23
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Scallion
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27.35
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Kohlrabi
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25.92
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Cauliflower
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25.13
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Cabbage
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24.51
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Carrot
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22.60
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Tomato
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20.37
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Lemon
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18.72
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Iceberg lettuce
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18.28
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Strawberry
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17.59
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Radish
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16.91
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Winter squash (all varieties)
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13.89
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Orange
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12.91
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Lime
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12.23
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Grapefruit (pink and red)
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11.64
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Rutabaga
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11.58
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Turnip
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11.43
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Blackberry
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11.39
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Leek
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10.69
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Sweet potato
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10.51
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Grapefruit (white)
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10.47
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My Most Recommended Vegetables List
My recommended list of vegetables provides a guide to the most nutritious vegetables, and those to limit due to their high carbohydrate content (think: starch is “hidden sugar”). You’ll notice many similarities to the powerhouse vegetable list above. Generally speaking, the greener the vegetable, the more nutritious it will be. I strongly advise you to avoid wilted vegetables of any kind, because when vegetables wilt, they lose much of their nutritional value.
And while I typically recommend choosing organic vegetables as much as possible to avoid pesticides (as well as boost nutrition), wilted organic vegetables may actually be less healthy than fresh conventionally farmed vegetables. Freshness is a key factor in vegetable quality, so if you can’t grow your own, look for those farmed locally or, better still, farmed locally and organically. So, as a general guide, the following list of vegetables details some of the best and worst vegetables for your health.
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Highly Recommended Vegetables
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Asparagus
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Escarole
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Avocado (actually a fruit)
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Fennel
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Beet greens
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Green and red cabbage
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Bok choy
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Kale
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Broccoli
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Kohlrabi
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Brussels sprouts
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Lettuce: romaine, red leaf, green leaf
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Cauliflower
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Mustard greens
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Celery
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Onions
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Chicory
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Parsley
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Chinese cabbage
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Peppers: red, green, yellow and hot
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Chives
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Tomatoes
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Collard greens
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Turnips
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Cucumbers
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Spinach
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Dandelion greens
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Zucchini
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Endive
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Use sparingly due to high carbohydrate levels
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Beets
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Jicama
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Carrots
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Winter squashes
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Eggplant
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Vegetables to Avoid
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Potatoes
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Corn
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Organic Vegetables May Provide Even More Nutrients
As mentioned, if you can find locally grown organic produce, this is your best bet from a nutritional perspective. It will be fresh (non-wilted), free from chemicals, and more nutritious. According to a study published in the journal PLOS ONE,3 growing tomatoes according to organic standards results in dramatically elevated nutrient content compared to tomatoes grown conventionally, using agricultural chemicals. The organic tomatoes were found to contain 55 percent more vitamin C and 139 percent more total phenolic content at the stage of commercial maturity compared to conventionally grown tomatoes.
You may have noticed that sometimes organic produce, such as tomatoes, are smaller than conventionally grown varieties, but don’t let this dissuade you. While many unaware consumers equate size with quality, this simply isn’t the case. According to research published in 2009, American produce, while larger than ever before, contains fewer nutrients and tastes worse than it did in your grandparents' days. In fact, the average vegetable found in today's supermarket is anywhere from 5 percent to 40 percent lower in minerals such as magnesium, iron, calcium, and zinc than those harvested just 50 years ago.
As the featured study suggests, jumbo-sized produce contains more "dry matter" than anything else, which dilutes mineral concentrations. Previous research has also shown there can be a nutritional difference between organic and conventionally grown vegetables. For example, a 2003 study in the Journal of Agricultural Food Chemistry found that organic foods are better for fighting cancer.4 A 2010 study conducted by PLOS ONE also found organic strawberries to be more nutrient-rich than non-organic strawberries.5
But perhaps one of the best studies out there on the benefits of organic versus conventionally grown foods is the 2007 Quality Low Input Food Project -- a $25-million study into organic food, and one of the largest of its kind.6 The researchers grew fruit and vegetables, and raised cattle, on adjacent organic and non-organic sites, and discovered that:
- Organic fruit and vegetables contained up to 40 percent more antioxidants
- Organic produce had higher levels of beneficial minerals like iron and zinc
- Milk from organic herds contained up to 90 percent more antioxidants
The results were so impressive they stated that eating organic foods can even help to increase the nutrient intake of people who don’t eat the recommended five servings of fruits and vegetables a day. So if you’re looking to get more nutritional density out of your food, eating organic is wise choice.
Three More Ways to Boost the Nutrient Power of Your Vegetables
What else can you do to get even more nutrition out of the foods you eat? Plenty, actually. The way in which you prepare and grow your veggies makes a difference, with the following suggestions at the top of my list:
1. Fermenting
Fermenting is one of the best ways to turn ordinary vegetables into superfoods. The culturing process produces beneficial microbes that are extremely important for human health as they help balance your intestinal flora, thereby boosting overall immunity. Moreover, your gut is the primary locus of your immune system and also literally serves as your second brain, and even produces more of the neurotransmitter serotonin—known to have a beneficial influence on your mood—than your brain does. So, maintaining a healthy gut will benefit your mind as well as your body.
Fermented foods are also some of the best chelators and detox agents available, meaning they can help rid your body of a wide variety of toxins, including heavy metals. When fermenting vegetables, you can either use a starter culture or simply allow the natural enzymes, and good bacteria in and on the vegetables, to do all the work. This is called “wild fermentation.” Personally, I prefer a starter culture, as it provides a larger number of different species and the culture can be optimized with species that produce high levels of vitamin K2, which research is finding is likely every bit as important as vitamin D.
For over a year now, we’ve been making two to three gallons of fermented vegetables every week in our Chicago office for our staff to enjoy. We use a starter culture of the same probiotic strains that we sell as a supplement, which has been researched by our team to produce about 10 times the amount of vitamin K2 as any other starter culture.
When we had the vegetables tested, we found that in a four- to six-ounce serving there were literally 10 trillion beneficial bacteria, or about 100 times the amount of bacteria in a bottle of high-potency probiotics. There are about 100 trillion bacteria in your gut, so a single serving can literally “reseed” 10 percent of the bacterial population of the average person’s gut! To me, that’s extraordinary and a profoundly powerful reason to consider adding fermented vegetables as a staple in your diet.
2. Juicing
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Juicing doesn’t actually alter the nutritional value of your vegetables, but what it does do is provide an easy way for you to consume more vegetables. Virtually every health authority recommends that we get six to eight servings of vegetables and fruits per day and very few of us actually get that. Juicing is an easy way to virtually guarantee that you will reach your daily target for vegetables. Raw juice can be likened to a "living broth," as it is teeming with micronutrients and good bacteria that many people are lacking.
When you drink fresh-made green juice, it is almost like receiving an intravenous infusion of vitamins, minerals, and enzymes because they go straight into your system without having to be broken down. Drinking your juice first thing in the morning can give you a natural energy boost without resorting to stimulants like coffee. Since the juice is already in an easily digestible form, it can help revitalize your energy levels within as little as 20 minutes.
Plus, juicing helps you absorb all the nutrients from the vegetables. This is important because many people have impaired digestion as a result of making less-than-optimal food choices over many years. This limits your body's ability to absorb all the nutrients from the vegetables. Juicing will help to liberate key nutrients from the tough plant cell walls for you, so you will receive most of the nutrition, rather than having it go down the toilet.
Juicing also allows you to add a wider variety of vegetables in your diet. Many people eat the same vegetable salads or side dishes every day. This violates the principle of regular food rotation and increases your chance of developing an allergy to a certain food. Plus, it limits the number of different phytochemicals in your diet, as each vegetable will offer unique benefits. With juicing, you can juice a wide variety of vegetables that you may not normally enjoy eating whole.
3. Sprouting
Sprouts are a superfood that many people overlook, as they offer a concentrated source of nutrition that’s different from eating the vegetable in mature form. Sprouts in general have the following beneficial attributes:
- Support for cell regeneration
- Powerful sources of antioxidants, minerals, vitamins, and enzymes that protect against free radical damage
- Alkalinizing effect on your body, which is thought to protect against disease, including cancer (as many tumors are acidic)
- Abundantly rich in oxygen, which can also help protect against abnormal cell growth, viruses, and bacteria that cannot survive in an oxygen-rich environment
Some of the most commonly sprouted beans, nuts, seeds and grains include:
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Broccoli: known to have powerful anti-cancer properties, courtesy of the enzyme sulforaphane
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Alfalfa: a significant dietary source of phytoestrogens. Also a good source of vitamins A, B, C, D, E, F, and K
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Wheatgrass: high in vitamins B, C, E and many minerals
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Mung bean: good source of protein, fiber, and vitamins C and A
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Clover: significant source of beneficial isoflavones
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Lentil sprouts: contain 26 percent protein, and can be eaten without cooking
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Sunflower: contains minerals, healthy fats, essential fatty acids, fiber, and phytosterols. It's also one of the highest in protein
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Pea shoots: good source of vitamins A, C, and folic acid, and one of the highest in protein
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My two favorites are sunflower and watercress sprouts. They provide some of the highest quality protein you can eat. They are also a perfect complement to fermented vegetables. It is hard to imagine a healthier combination that provides the essentials of nutrition very inexpensively. In addition to their nutritional profile, sprouts are also easy to grow on your own with very little space and time.
Are You Eating Your Veggies?
Despite the fact that vegetables have been proven to help lower your risk of chronic disease and support longevity, most Americans are not eating nearly enough of these natural, relatively inexpensive superfoods. The latest data shows that nearly 23 percent of Americans report consuming vegetables and fruits less than one time daily, with a median vegetable intake of just 1.6 times per day overall.7 This is quite a shame, as people who eat seven or more portions of vegetables and fruit a day have a 42 percent lower risk of dying from any cause, compared to those who eat less than one portion. They also enjoy a 31 percent lower risk of heart disease and a 25 percent lower risk of cancer.8
The research, published in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, is among the first to quantify the health benefits of eating different amounts of fresh produce. As you might suspect, eating any amount of vegetables was better than none at all, but the benefits increased with more servings:
- Those who ate five to seven servings of vegetables and fruits per day had a 36 percent lower risk of dying from any cause
- Three to five servings was associated with a 29 percent lower risk
- One to three servings was associated with a 14 percent lower risk
Most vegetables are not very calorie dense and as a result they probably should constitute the bulk of your diet by volume. Even though my diet is 70 percent fat by calories, if you were to spread out all the food I eat in a day, the largest volume of food would be vegetables. Vegetables contain an array of antioxidants and other disease-fighting compounds that are very difficult to get anywhere else. Plant chemicals called phytochemicals can reduce inflammation and eliminate carcinogens, while others regulate the rate at which your cells reproduce, get rid of old cells, and maintain DNA. Studies have repeatedly shown that people with higher vegetable intake have:
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Lower risks of stroke, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, Alzheimer's disease, and heart disease
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Lower risks of certain types of cancer, eye diseases, and digestive problems
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Reduced risk of kidney stones and bone loss
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Higher scores on cognitive tests
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Higher antioxidant levels
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Lower biomarkers for oxidative stress
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Vegetables have an impressive way of offering widespread benefits to your health. When you eat them, you're getting dozens, maybe even hundreds or thousands, of super-nutrients that support optimal, body-wide health. We've compiled an extensive review of the health benefits of vegetables in our Mercola Food Facts Library. If you want to know more, that’s an excellent place to start, but suffice to say mama was right: if you want to be healthy and strong, you’ve got to eat your vegetables.
Ditch the Purell and Decline the Receipt
POSTED BY KELLY BROGAN MD IN SNIPPET
Harmful Hand Sanitizers
A principal short-coming in modern toxicologic research is that novel chemicals are not study for their synergistic effects, chronic exposure, or for their effects on mitochondrial function and microbiota. A practical real life applicable study by Hormann et al. confirms that there is more to the story on industrial chemicals than can be reported from a “dose makes the poison” short-term animal study.
In this study, they found that:
“hand sanitizers, as well as other skin care products, contain mixtures of dermal penetration enhancing chemicals that can increase by up to 100 fold the dermal absorption of lipophilic compounds such as BPA.”
This estrogen-mimicking BPA was then transferred to french fries that the subjects consumed (never mind the risks of the distorted GMO canola oil they were fried in!). The authors make the point that toxicity studies introduce chemicals through a tube into the stomach neglecting alternate routes of more direct exposure such as the skin and under the tongue.
Because harmful hand sanitizers that are alcohol based have been proven to be ineffective, and likely kill beneficial bacteria that is our most potent ally, the practical guidance that comes from this study is – ditch the Purell and decline your receipt!
Saturday, November 29, 2014
Are you eating food that's already banned in other countries but is still allowed to poison and kill Americans? Learn these pernicious ingredients and common foods through this infographic. Use the embed code to share it on your website.
<img src="http://media.mercola.com/assets/images/infographic/banned-foods-infographic.jpg" alt="10 Banned Foods to Avoid" border="0" style="max-width:100%; min-width:300px; margin: 0 auto 20px auto; display:block;"><p style="max-width:800px; min-width:300px; margin:0 auto; text-align:center;">Are you eating <a href="http://www.mercola.com/infographics/10-banned-foods.htm"><strong>"food that's already banned"</strong></a> in other countries but is still allowed to poison and kill Americans? Learn these pernicious ingredients and common foods through this infographic. Use the embed code to share it on your website.</p>Dishwashers And Meningitis: How To Health Proof Your Dishwasher!
Dishwashers And Meningitis: How To Health Proof Your Dishwasher!Dishwashers And Meningitis: How To Health Proof Your Dishwasher!
Since the 2012 outbreak of meningitis caused by steroid shots tainted with fungi, the danger of fungal contamination has become an increasing public health concern.
In a study published this month in Medical Mycology, and another published in 2011 in Fungal Biology, researchers took samples from household dishwashers in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Australia, and North and South America.
They found that the high-temperature, moist, alkaline environment in dishwashers is the perfect habitat for some opportunistic fungal species known to be harmful to humans.
The yeast-like species they found most often were Exophiala (black yeasts), Rhodotorula (red yeasts), and Candida parapsilosis (white yeasts).
According to the 2011 study, “Sixty-two percent of the dishwashers were positive for fungi, and 56 percent of these accommodated Exophiala.” The black yeasts Exophiala dermatitidis and Exophiala phaeomuriformis were most frequently identified.
Fungi are primitive plant organisms that reproduce by sending tiny spores out into the air. These microscopic spores can be easily inhaled into the lungs, where they can colonize and cause systemic infections that are difficult to cure.
Adults and children taking antibiotics and those with compromised immune systems are especially vulnerable to mycoses (fungal infections) in the lungs or on the skin. Exophiala species frequently infect the lungs of patients with cystic fibrosis. And diabetics are prone to developing fungal skin infections, which can cause dry, itchy rashes.
Both Rhodotorula and Candida are emerging problems in hospitals where contaminated catheters cause dangerous bloodstream infections in extremely sick patients, especially those in intensive care units. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Candida is the fourth most common cause of hospital-acquired blood infections in the U.S.
Dishwashers, Perfect Habitats for Fungi
Modern households are ideal environments for growing fungi, especially damp areas like bathrooms, refrigerators, and dishwashers. However, dishwashers provide the perfect habitat.
Modern households are ideal environments for growing fungi, especially damp areas like bathrooms, refrigerators, and dishwashers. However, dishwashers provide the perfect habitat.
Fungi can survive almost anywhere and under extreme conditions, showing remarkable tolerance to cold, high concentrations of salt, harsh detergents, and high temperatures.
According to the researchers, the rubber seals of dishwasher doors are perfect places for thermophilic (heat-loving) black yeasts to grow. Species of the black yeast Exophiala also thrive in environments with high concentrations of salt, an ingredient found in dishwasher soap that is used to reduce calcium buildup.
How to Kill Fungi in Your Dishwasher
Baking soda, vinegar, and bleach may help to kill mold, mildew, and fungi growing on the inside surfaces of your dishwasher. This cleaning regimen should be done once per month to prevent fungi from taking hold.
Baking soda, vinegar, and bleach may help to kill mold, mildew, and fungi growing on the inside surfaces of your dishwasher. This cleaning regimen should be done once per month to prevent fungi from taking hold.
Start by removing all racks and washing them by hand in hot soapy water. Use a soapy sponge to wipe down the dishwasher’s interior surfaces and around the rubber door seal. Let everything air dry thoroughly.
Combine a half cup of white vinegar with 2 cups of hot water in a spray bottle. Spray all surfaces thoroughly and scrub with an old toothbrush around the crevices and seal. Use a scrub brush for large surfaces.
Put the racks back into the dishwasher. Fill a small glass bowl with vinegar and place it on the top rack. Run the washer on the hottest setting. Sprinkle 1 cup of baking soda on the dishwasher floor and run the machine a second time on high heat.
Finish by running the washer with a commercial dishwasher cleaner, followed by hand cleaning all surfaces with a four-to-one mixture of hot water and bleach.
Healthy Foods to Help Fight Fibromyalgia
In America, there are over 10 million people that have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia. This disease is a daily hurdle for its victims, with symptoms that include physical pain, fatigue, difficulty sleeping, and digestive disorders.
If you’re apart of the population suffering from fibromyalgia, than you’re more than familiar with the symptoms, and the obstacles it presents. I believe that nature has provided us with the remedies necessary to ease your pain and relieve your daily symptoms.
Dean Raffelock, a clinical nutritionist in Boulder, Colorado shares a similar outlook that while fibromyalgia does not have a cure, making adjustments to your diet can drastically alter the effects you feel from the disease.
Adding certain foods and eliminating others can be the difference between a good and bad day.
With that in mind, I’d like to share some healing foods for fibromyalgia pain.
1. Antioxidants
Foods that contain antioxidants are also natural anti-inflammatories. In some cases, antioxidant rich fruit has been known to decrease inflammation by 18-25 percent. Dark greens are extremely high in antioxidants, as well as beets, walnuts, and green tea, to name a few.
2. Vitamin D
In some cases, Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to triggering fibromyalgia symptoms. In fact, 90% of people with fibromyalgia also have a vitamin D deficiency, which is a startlingly high number!
When you have a vitamin D deficiency, your immune system isn’t as reactive as it should be, so when it is faced with the pain and symptoms of fibromyalgia, it isn’t equipped to protect your body. I would recommend having 5000 units of vitamin D a day, which is easily attainable through vitamin D supplements.
3. Magnesium
Fibromyalgia can make sleeping very difficult at times and lack of sleep depletes your magnesium level drastically. Magnesium’s primary role in your body is to ensure that your enzymes are functioning properly. Enzymes allow your body to digest and absorb the nutrients from your food.
Some of the best sources of magnesium are, pumpkin seeds, avocado, bananas, and guess what… dark chocolate!
If you are low on magnesium, chances are your enzymes will not be able to get the most out of your food. Eating healthy is great, but your body must be equipped to absorb the nutrients properly.
4. Omega-3 fatty acids
Foods such as salmon, walnuts, and flaxseeds are high in omega-3 fatty acids, which can reduce the pain of fibromyalgia symptoms. Most effectively it can ease the pain in your digestive tract, and joints as well as help those of you dealing with depression.
Common Trigger foods
The more toxic, preserved food you ingest, the more enzymes and antioxidants you’ll need to flush out your system, so rather than doing damage control, instead prevent your symptoms to the best of your ability.
• Caffeine
• Simple carbohydrates
• Artificial sweeteners
• Wheat
• Corn
• Soy
• Simple carbohydrates
• Artificial sweeteners
• Wheat
• Corn
• Soy
Perhaps one of the most daunting aspects about this disease is that there is no known cure.
This leaves you in an overwhelming position. When I was diagnosed with my incurable illness, I turned to the medicine and relief that nature can provide. I found that by altering my diet, I not only reduced my symptoms exponentially, I also became a healthy and active individual!
My last tip for you would be to keep a diary! I know this sounds odd but by keeping a diary you can track the foods you’re eating and how you feel. This way you can see which foods affect you the most (for the better and worst).
Everybody is different so it’s important that you do your own research and dietary experiments until you find the perfect diet for you.
Source(s):
fmnetnews.com
everydayhealth.com
healthaliciousness.com
ancient-minerals.com
fmnetnews.com
healthy-holistic-living.com
Friday, November 28, 2014
ELIMINATE ARTHRITIS NATURALLY
Arthritis is the swelling of a joint. Arthritis has the ability to cause severe joint and muscle pain and loss of the body’s movement (loss of ability to walk, climb stairs, or even brush your teeth). It can also cause stiffness, swelling of the joints and cartilage, inflammation, joint deformities, and bone loss. Arthritis affects the muscle, cartilage, and the skeletal system at the joints where two or more bones meet.
There are over a hundred different varieties of arthritis that affect more than 46 million adults and more than 300,000 children in the United States alone.
The Most Common Types of Arthritis
Osteoarthritis
A degenerative joint disease in which the cartilage that covers the ends of the bones in the joint deteriorates, causing pain and loss of movement as bone begins to rub against bone. This is the most widespread variety found in North America today.
Rheumatoid Arthritis
This is a serious condition where the cartilage becomes inflamed as a result of body immune system failure. Rheumatoid Arthritis is one of the most serious and disabling kinds, especially for women.
Gout
This type typically affects men who drink alcohol and eat a large amount of red meat. It is very painful and usually attacks the smaller joints of the body such as the toes and the fingers.
Ankylosing Spondylitis
This rare kind of arthritis affects the spine. As a result of inflammation, the bones of the spine grow and fuse together over time.
Fibromyalgia
Again, this variation affects mostly women and shows up as widespread pain that hits the muscles and the ligaments attached to the bone.
All these different varieties have a few things in common, which when remedied, will not only bring about relief, but for the most part can bring about a complete reversal of the condition. There is hope! Yes, something can be done about it.
Common Contributing Causes of Arthritis
- The excessive consumption of commercial red meats and dairy products brings about an acidosis condition which causes the acid/alkaline ratio (the pH of the body) to go dramatically out of balance.
- Poor quality commercial foods bring about a state of malnutrition. People are simply not getting enough nourishment in the form of vitamins and minerals from the foods they eat every day. Basically, they eat far too much junk!
- The large amounts of toxins taken in from pesticide laden foods like alcohol, coffee, soda pop, sugar, and white flour products actually trigger many of these conditions in the first place, including those autoimmune disorders that are all too common.
Relieve and Reverse Arthritis Naturally
Anti Arthritis Diet
The most important thing you can do to reduce and eliminate arthritis is to eat an organic diet with limited meat and dairy. Do not consume factory farm animal products. Focus on produce, produce, and more produce. Few people get enough produce! Eat organic whenever possible. While this kind of diet will rid the body of most disease and ailments, supplementation is necessary for many people and can speed up the process of getting healthy for anyone.
The Body’s pH
Bring the body back to a natural and healthy pH. The Body Balance+ Formula is a great way to help facilitate this quickly. But a healthy diet will also do this for almost anyone in time.
Supplements that Reduce and Remove Arthritis
A multi vitamin/mineral formula such as the Total Nutrition Formula is the easiest way to get in more nutrition. Even a diet focused on healthy organic produce can still use more nutrition, especially with our degraded soil conditions.
In addition to a good nutrition powder, I also recommend a protocol that includes MSM (Methylsulfonylmethane), my Total Tonic Formula, Echinacea, vitamin C (5000Mg a day), vitamin D3 (5000Mg a day), vitamin E (1200Mg day), omega 3, coenzymeq10 (100Mg a day), a vitamin B-Complex, vitamin A (50,000IU a day), and finally a digestive plant enzyme with every meal.
For arthritis relief and to speed the healing of the joints, you can do no better than the Bone, Flesh & Cartilage Formula. It truly is amazing for anyone suffering from joint pains, skeletal issues, muscle aches, and injuries.
Also, exercise! Your body is a use it or lose it kind of a vessel. Yoga and squats are what I recommend for anyone, especially with these health issues. Obviously not everyone can dive right into yoga or even do a partial squat, so start off slow, stay safe, and do what you can.
Take your time with all of it. Be patient. It takes most people years to develop disease such as this, and while it can be reversed much more quickly, it does take time.
Why We May Need Viruses More Than Vaccines
Posted on: Friday, November 28th 2014 at 2:30 pm
Written By: Sayer Ji, Founder
A groundbreaking study published this month in Nature challenges a century old assumption about the innate pathogenicity of these extremely small, self-replicating particles known as viruses.
Titled, "An enteric virus can replace the beneficial function of commensal bacteria," researchers found that an "enteric RNA virus can replace the beneficial function of commensal bacteria in the intestine." Known as murine (mouse) noravirus (MNV), researchers found that infecting germ-free or antibiotic-treated mice infection with MNV "restored intestinal morphology and lymphocyte function without inducing overt inflammation and disease."
The researchers found:
"Importantly, MNV infection offset the deleterious effect of treatment with antibiotics in models of intestinal injury and pathogenic bacterial infection. These data indicate that eukaryotic viruses have the capacity to support intestinal homeostasis and shape mucosal immunity, similarly to commensal bacteria."
Despite the commonly held belief that viruses are vectors of morbidity and mortality that must be vaccinated against in order to save us from inevitable harm and death, the new study dovetails with a growing body of research showing that our own genome is 80% viral in origin.
Reporting on the new study, in an article well worth reading, the Science Daily states:
"The new findings are the first strong evidence that viruses in the gastrointestinal tract can help maintain health and heal a damaged gut."
They summarized the study's findings as follows:
"The team infected germ-free mice and antibiotic-treated mice with MNV and found that the infection triggered the repair of intestinal tissue damaged by inflammation, restored intestinal cell numbers, restored intestinal cell function, and normalized tissue architecture. The results were apparent after just 2 weeks of MNV infection.
Infection with MNV also helped restore the gut's immune system. The investigators do not yet know how the virus supports the immune system. They did find, however, increased signaling by antiviral type 1 interferon proteins, suggesting the virus was playing a key role in driving the immune response.
The investigators also documented a doubling of T-cell levels in the blood and detectable levels of antibodies in the gut and blood of antibiotic-treated mice after MNV infection. These measures were consistent with a normalization of the immune response. The authors conclude that viral infection of the gut may be helpful once antibiotic treatment has wiped out intestinal bacteria.
Treatment with MNV was also able to improve survival in antibiotic-treated mice receiving the damaging chemical dextran sodium sulphate."
As our knowledge of the critical role of microbes increases, a paradigm-shift is occurring in medicine that is only beginning to trickle down to clinical practice. If our very identity depends on 'germs' – e.g. the bacteria within our body account for 10 times more cells and 99% more genetic material that found in the human body itself – the discovery that the viruses in our body – the total number referred to as the virome – also perform indispensable functions in supporting and maintaining our health, turns on its head widely held assumptions about their role in contributing to human disease and various pathologies.
As reported in the Science Daily article, the senior investigator of the study Ken Cadwell, PhD, from New York University, states:
"We have known for a long time that people get infected all the time with viruses and bacteria, and they don't get sick." "Now we have scientific evidence that not every viral infection is bad, but may actually be beneficial to health, just as we know that many bacterial infections are good for maintaining health."
Consistent with the 'hygiene hypothesis,' natural infections during childhood and onward, may prime our immune system and help to balance the Th1 (innate) and Th2 (adaptive) poles of immunity, producing a healthy immune system as a result. Vaccines, by disrupting this evolutionarily determined balance, may be contributing to widespread immune dysregulation, both suppressing innate immune mechanisms as well as over-stimulating the adaptive pole, contributing to widespread autoimmunity in exposed populations.
As science and molecular biology progresses and continues to reveal the inherent intelligence within the commensal relationship of the human body to the microbial universe, we are left with a crucial question: is the present-day globally orchestrated vaccine agenda really improving health, or does it belie a hubris that shirks the scientific evidence in favor of an agenda that wishes to exert control over the human body due to economic and socio-political agendas?
For additional research on why vaccines do not make sense evolutionarily, read our article on the topic: Why Vaccines Aren't Paleo and Vaccination Agenda: An Implicit Transhumanism / Dehumanism
EBOLA CURE PRESS RELEASE Robert Rowen MD and Howard Robins DPM Terri Su, MD
EBOLA CURE PRESS RELEASE
707-578-7787
Robert Rowen, MD and Terri Su, MD
Robert Rowen, MD and Howard Robins, DPM
Press Release: Rapid Ebola Infection Cure, November 22, 2014
Drs. Robert Rowen, of Santa Rosa California and Howard Robins, of New York City, announce the first cure of the Ebola infection in the world with a safe treatment costing less than 40 USD. On Friday November 14, 2014, a physician at an Ebola treatment center in Sierra Leone in West Africa accidentally stabbed himself with an Ebola contaminated needle.
This doctor had been recently trained in the Rowen-Robins Ebola Treatment Protocol, which uses the specific Robins Method of Direct Intravenous infusion of ozone gas (DIV). Upon the emergence of symptoms 2 days later on Sunday November 16, he called Kojo Carew, MD of Freetown, Sierra Leone. Dr. Carew is the physician in charge of maintaining the program and equipment/supplies brought and taught by Rowen/Robins who came to Sierra Leone to teach the protocol at the invitation of President Ernest Bai Koroma in October 2014. The infected doctor did not return to work on Monday November 17, 2014, which became his first day of treatment.
Dr. Rowen was informed of the needle stick on Sunday November 16, 2014, but was not advised that symptoms had yet developed. Rowen sent back instructions to treat him preventively and immediately with the protocol, believing the exposed doctor to be at great risk for symptoms to develop within 5 days. Dr. Robins, informed shortly after, concurred with the preventive protocol and urgency of treatment.
Unbeknownst to Dr. Rowen, symptoms did develop on day 2 (Sunday November 16) -the doctor reported high fever, loss of appetite, abdominal distress, and significant fatigue, which symptoms were rapidly progressing, classic signs of Ebola. Treatment began the third day after the needle-stick.
After just 2 days of treatment (November 18, 2014), all symptoms were gone.. The doctor chose not to get an Ebola blood test at the time. A positive test would have mandated forced confinement in an Ebola treatment center where he would have been denied the ozone therapy. He believed this would likely have cost him his life, as the best clinics in Sierra Leone have a 60% death rate.
Rowen and Robins did not want to wait for a positive test, which can take several days to occur, believing the earlier this life-taking viral infection is aggressively treated, the higher the chances of recovery. Active treatment will be maintained for at least 10 days with reduced frequency for 7 days thereafter.
Confinement at a conventional Ebola treatment facility would have denied him continuing ozone therapy, which, in a first-time ever for the world, quickly reversed manifestation of the lethal Ebola disease. DIV ozone therapy is considered “experimental” for Ebola at this time and thus is not permitted in the treatment centers as yet, however, other experimental treatments are permitted. Today, November 22, 2014, Dr. “X” is in apparent good health and completely symptom free.
Drs. Rowen and Robins are extremely pleased that the inexpensive DIV ozone, together with the other aspects of the treatment protocol (oral vitamin C, glutathione support)has resulted in the world’s first, fast, complete recovery from Ebola symptoms.
This release is put out before publication in a medical journal as Rowen and Robins believe that this news can and should lead to many saved lives, which to them are more important than routine medical reporting protocol; and that health authorities around the world now need to open their “eyes and minds” to thinking “out of the box” when approaching this lethal disease. Rowen and Robins remain continuously available for assisting in the world’s Ebola relief effort.
Summary: Ebola infection cured with extremely inexpensive and totally safe treatment.
Robert Rowen, MD 2200 county Center Dr. Ste C, Santa Rosa, CA 95403 707-578-7787
Howard Robins, 200 W. 57th St #807, New York, NY 10019 516-967-1009 drhowardrobins@gmail.com
LDL is Your Friend David Perlmutter, M.D.
LDL is Your Friend
LDL or low density lipoprotein has been given a bad rap. Every since someone decided to call it “bad cholesterol” it has been demonized as being responsible for just about everything bad in the world. Medical doctors and cardiologists in specific have joined the crusade against LDL with a pervasive mentality that somehow the lower the blood value of LDL, the better. Fortunately, the justification for this altruism is unjustified.
So let’s take a step back for a moment and review just exactly what LDL is and does, and then I’ll move on and explain why the notion of it being something to fear is ill founded.
LDL is what we call a carrier protein. And one of it’s important jobs is to carry a fundamentally important chemical to every cell in the body. This chemical is a critical component of cell membranes, serves as a brain antioxidant, and is the raw material from which your body manufactures vitamin D, cortisol, estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone. And this important, life-sustaining chemical is cholesterol.
So the notion that LDL is “bad cholesterol” is flawed on two counts. First, it is, in and of itself, not cholesterol, it is a protein. Second, now that you’ve embraced all of its functions in human physiology, it’s clear that LDL is anything but bad. How could we castigate a part of our biochemistry so fundamental for life?
LDL plays a particularly important role in brain health and function as you would expect based on the information above. In fact, you might expect that low levels of LDL might well be associated with compromise of brain tissue, and you would be right.
Earlier this month, researchers publishing in the prestigious journal, Neurology, designed a study to explore possible correlations between various markers of blood fats and risk for specific changes on MRI scans of the brain in 2,608 adults. The MRI changes in the brain they explored were changes associated with damage to small blood vessels, and, changes in the brain’s white matter associated with small strokes as these changes represent “powerful predictors of stroke and dementia.”
The researchers concluded that there was a strong correlation between these threatening brain changes and the blood measurement of triglycerides. While the reverse was true as it related to LDL. Meaning that higher levels of LDL were associated with less risk of the brain changes that are so worrisome.
The authors concluded:
Increasing low-density lipoprotein cholesterol tended to be associated with a decreased frequency and severity of all MRI markers of cerebral small vessel disease in both studies. Increasing triglycerides but not other lipid fractions were associated with MRI markers of cerebral small vessel disease in older community persons.
This is really important information first because triglycerides, which you will generally see as one of the results on your typical blood work, is strongly associated with detrimental changes in the brain. What’s more, triglycerides reflect blood sugar and as such, reflect the amount of sugar and carbohydrates in the diet, not the amount of fat a person consumes. Second, this study is one of many that should clearly reframe our view of LDL as higher levels appear to be strongly brain protective.
So here’s what I would like you to do. If you are being told by your doctor that your LDL is too high and that the lower it is, the better, please print this study and ask why you would want a lower level of a blood marker that may well be protecting you from stroke and dementia.
LDL is our friend and is here to help us.
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Fermented Homemade Almond Milk recipe
A healthy milk substitute such as homemade almond milk is an important drink to know how to make yourself in light of the skyrocketing cases of dairy allergies today.
Almond milk made at home can also be fermented to add probiotics and beneficial enzymes that enhance the digestive process and boost the immune system in much the same way as grassfed raw milk. While homemade almond milk is high quality, nutritious and digestible, industrialized versions at the store even if organic should be avoided. The reasons for this are threefold:
- Synthetic vitamins
- Dangerous additives
- Toxic packaging
Synthetic Vitamins in Store Almond Milk
First, Vitamin A Palmitate is typically added, the synthetic version of Vitamin A. Synthetic vitamins are the chemical mirror images of the real, natural versions. They can cause imbalances over time. Even small amounts of the synthetic fat soluble vitamins like Vitamin A can prove toxic and should be strictly avoided.
The Organic Consumers Association warns that isolated vitamins such as those produced synthetically cannot be recognized or metabolized by the body in the same way as the natural version. On the other hand, large doses of natural vitamin A are well tolerated by the body as established by researchers decades ago. Traditional diets contain 10 times or more of the RDA of this nutrient with no ill effect. However, synthetic vitamin A is associated with birth defects and bone fractures. It has no benefit in the diet whatsoever.
The second dangerous synthetic vitamin that is commonly found in store bought almond milk is vitamin D2. Vitamin D2 is a form of the wonder vitamin that you should take great pains to avoid. In all known cases of Vitamin D toxicity where the dose was intentional, Vitamin D2 was the culprit. By comparison, Vitamin D3 is much less toxic and requires an enormous or even an accidental dose to produce any toxic effect. Synthetic Vitamin D2 as added to foodstuffs is manufactured industrially by irradiating yeast. It is dangerous for D2 to be added to any food product particularly if this product would be given to children, where toxicity symptoms would appear at much lower dosages.
Dangerous Additives
A common additive to store bought almond milk is carrageenan. Innocuous enough at first glance, carrageenan is derived from seaweed and is added as a fat replacer and stabilizer to many lowfat and nondairy products. It is even allowed in organic almond milk! Dr. Andrew Weil has been telling people to avoid carrageenan since 2002. Carrageenan is so toxic and inflaming to the human digestive system (think IBS, Crohn’s, ulcerative colitis, etc) that this food additive is formally classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (part of the World Health Organization) as a potential human carcinogen.
The hype from the carrageenan industry claims that “food grade” carrageenan is different from the low molecular weight, i.e., degraded carrageenan that is toxic to human cells. This spin fails to mention that not a single sample of products containing carrageenan that were tested could be said to be free of the degraded form. Some samples contained as much as 25% low molecular weight carrageenan. This testing was conducted as part of a 2003 ruling by the European Commission’s Scientific Committee on Food which required that a maximum of 5% degraded carrageenan be contained in a processed food which includes the additive. Another problem is that research available since the early 1980′s indicated that even food grade carrageenan is probably converted during the digestive process to the degraded, highly toxic form.
More recent research sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), pinpointed the exact metabolic process by which carrageenan triggers inflammation. Shockingly, this biological event was found to mirror the way pathogenic bacteria such as salmonella wreak havoc in the gut.
Toxic Packaging
Consumer advocate Debra Lynn Dadd, author of Toxic Free, says that the aseptic packaging, called tetrapaks, that almond milk is typically sold in is made from paper (70%), polyethylene plastic (LDPE) (24%), and aluminum (6%), with a tight food-grade polyethylene (plastic) layer inside next to the food.
The food that is packaged in these multi-layered tetrapaks is sterilized via a flash-heating process with a temperature between 195° and 295°F. Food grade polyethylene plastic is considered to be one of the safest plastics to come in contact with food with little to no leaching of toxic chemicals, however, actual research suggests otherwise. In a study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, researchers measured the presence of nonylphenol (NP), bisphenol A (BPA) and bisphenol A diglycidyl ether (BADGE) in two brands of milk packed in aseptic, tetrapak containers.
Note that one of the benefits of these containers within the industrialized food system is that they are designed to be stacked on pallets and then on store shelves for long periods of time. All the samples contained measurable levels of endocrine disrupting substances that leaked from the apparently “nontoxic” plastic of the containers, or plastic lining the containers.
While the researchers noted that the levels of the endocrine disrupting compounds in the samples studied did not achieve “the maximum leached level allowed by law”, they concluded that “. . . the impact these compounds may have on organisms and human beings needs to be further studied, especially with regard to accumulation, degradation and possible effects within the endocrine system.”
Best to make your own homemade almond milk? I would say so if just to avoid the packaging concerns let alone issues with additives and synthetic vitamins!
Fermented Homemade Almond Milk
Makes 2 quarts
Ingredients
2 cups raw or sprouted almonds (sources)
Filtered water
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar (must be raw) or fresh lemon juice (sources)
1/4 cup raw honey, preferably locally sourced (sources)
1 tsp vanilla extract (sources)
1 tsp almond extract (sources)
2 tsp sea salt
Instructions
Almond milk is best made from skinless almonds. This way, the smooth almond pulp can be retained in the final beverage for extra nutritional value instead of strained out and discarded.
If you don’t already have skinless (blanched) almonds, you will need to remove the skins yourself. To do this, place almonds in boiling water for one minute (no longer!). Immediately strain in a colander and rinse with cold filtered water. Pat dry with a towel. Pinch off the skins with your fingers.
The skins will easily slide off. It takes me about 20 minutes start to finish to blanch and then remove the skins from 2 cups of almonds. This is a wonderful fine motor skills activity for young children, by the way.
Soak skinless almonds overnight in filtered water with sea salt. This renders the almonds infinitely more digestible than if the almonds are unsoaked. Drain off soaking water, rinse and process almonds in a food processor until a smooth paste. In a 2 quart glass jug (I like these) mix almond paste with other ingredients and enough filtered water to fill the jug.
Cover tightly and leave on the counter for 2 days to ferment which cultures the almond milk, adding probiotics and beneficial enzymes to the mixture.
Refrigerate. Be sure to gently stir homemade almond milk each time before serving.
Enjoy. This recipe for homemade almond milk is absolutely delicious and can be used as a replacement for dairy milk in all your recipes or just to enjoy on its own, sipped from a glass.
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist
Sources and More Information
- See more at: http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/fermented-homemade-almond-milk/#sthash.KzxyMcOx.dpufhttp://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/fermented-homemade-almond-milk/
Thursday, November 27, 2014
MSM Health Benefits May Be Related to Its Sulfur Content
March 03, 2013 | 577,617 views
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Click HERE to watch the full interview!
By Dr. Mercola
The clinical use of sulfur as an adjunct in our diet is becoming progressively more recognized as an important tool for optimizing health.
Certainly, diet is the primary tool for reducing your risk for chronic degenerative diseases. But the practical question becomes, how do you obtain the needed sulfur from food grown in depleted soils?
The nutrient MSM (methylsulfonylmethane) is a naturally occurring sulfur compound found in all vertebrates, including humans. MSM is already well-known for its joint health benefits, but it may be important for a whole host of other reasons as well.
Rod Benjamin is the director of technical development for Bergstrom Nutrition, the largest producer of the highest quality MSM that is produced by distillation purification.
MSM is a metabolite of DMSO (dimethyl sulfoxide, an organosulfur compound), but DMSO is approved for use in veterinary medicine only, not in humans.
Are the Health Benefits of MSM Related to Sulfur?
I first became aware of DMSO decades ago, when I saw a 60-Minutes episode in which they revealed its therapeutic impact on race horses. It supported their soft tissues, helped with muscle soreness and soft-tissue injury. It also benefitted the horses’ lung function.
Dr. Stanley W. Jacob pioneered the use of DMSO and later MSM. Originally, he began looking at DMSO because it freezes at about 65 degrees Fahrenheit, and Dr. Jacob had been deeply involved in looking at cryogenic preservation of tissues and organs for transplantation. As a result of being investigated for its cryogenic uses, DMSO ended up being one of the most researched drugs on the market today.
“DMSO is classified as a drug within the United States. You can buy it at a lot of veterinary supply stores and things like that, but it’s not to be used for humans,” Mr. Benjamin says.
MSM, which is a metabolite of DMSO, and approved for use in humans, primarily impacts your health by reducing inflammation. It’s widely used as a supplement for arthritic conditions. Like DMSO, MSM also appears to improve cell wall permeability, so it can be used to help deliver other active ingredients. Perhaps most important, MSM helps protect against oxidative damage.
Within the last two years, at least four human clinical trials have been conducted on MSM and its ability to help with exercise recovery, and muscle injuries like delayed onset muscle stiffness or soreness (DOMS) and large muscle injuries like that from a heart attack—all of which is related to oxidative stress and subsequent cellular damage.
“In one of the studies, they were looking at the VAS pain scores. That’s muscle soreness due to exercise. There was a significant reduction in the MSM-treated group versus placebo. That’s directly tied to the muscle soreness,” Mr. Benjamin says.
The Importance of Sulfur
Furthermore, according to Mr. Benjamin:
“Dr. Stanley Jacob said DMSO – and MSM together with that – in his opinion is much more of a therapeutic principle. It’s similar to exercise or proper nutrition. Instead of that singular focus that is so prevalent within the drug or pharmas per se, it’s much more of a therapeutic principle, which is overall body wellness [opposed to treating a specific symptom or ailment].”
This suggests that MSM may be providing some kind of missing link, and that link appears to be related to sulfur. MSM is 34 percent sulfur by weight, but as Mr. Benjamin discusses below, it is more than just a simple sulfur donor. It affects sulfur metabolism in the human body, although it’s still not entirely clear how.
Sulfur is just now becoming more widely appreciated as a really critical nutrient, without which many other things don’t work properly, and most people are probably not getting enough sulfur from their diet anymore. For example, sulfur plays a critical role in detoxification, and also in inflammatory conditions. For detoxification, sulfur is part of one of the most important antioxidants that your body produces: glutathione. Without sulfur, glutathione cannot work.
The plethora of research that was done on DMSO and its therapeutic properties begs the question: How many of those therapeutic properties are due to the DMSO? Or are they due to its metabolite, MSM, once it’s been converted in vivo or within the body? (Approximately 15 percent of any DMSO dosage, on average, converts to MSM in the human body.) The answer to that question is still unknown. Sulfur is found in over 150 different compounds within the human body. There are sulfur components in virtually every type of cell, so it’s extremely important.
“Now, as far as MSM’s role within the body, it’s very complicated. And I will say that it’s not a hundred percent understood,” Mr. Benjamin says. “I’ve been working with this compound for 16 years to try and answer that question. We understand a part of the mechanism of action, but not all of it.
...In 1986, Richmond did a study, and it showed that it was taken up into serum proteins. That sulfur was actually incorporated in the serum proteins.
We also have done [something] like the pharmacokinetic study, which showed that radiolabeled sulfur was taken up into hair, skin, and nails. Keratin is a very high sulfur-containing compound, which is a building block for your nails and your hair. But it also showed up in almost all tissues, spleen, and liver. It went all over.
It’s complicated. We did a study where we said, 'Okay, let’s give it to healthy human volunteers.' We did actually three different dosages – one gram, two grams, and three grams. We measured urinary sulfur output by measuring sulfate, thinking that sulfate will be a waste sulfur product that would show up excreted in the urine. We did the different doses to see if it was in a dose-dependent manner that we’d be able to correlate back and, say, 'Yes, MSM is giving output of sulfur.
We found that they were indeed dose-related, but the interesting thing was it was inversely related. The more MSM you took, the less sulfate was excreted in your urine. What that says is it’s much more complicated than just a strict sulfur donor. It is a compartmentalization of sulfur and sulfur metabolism within the body. That suggests that MSM is actually allowing better metabolism, better incorporation of the sulfur throughout the body. It’s not just a simple sulfur donor...'”
MSM Improves Your Body’s Ability to Make its Own Antioxidants
As I mentioned earlier, sulfur plays an important role in the production of glutathione—one of the most important antioxidants that your body produces. Glutathione also serves important functions for detoxification. Without sulfur, glutathione cannot work. So, while not an antioxidant by itself, part of MSM’s action is to improve your body’s ability to make its own antioxidants.
It also provides support for all sorts of structural proteins, where sulfur is an important component. According to Dr. Benjamin:
“[G]lutathione has two different states within your body. There’s reduced glutathione and oxidized glutathione. The ratio of those two signifies the overall oxidative status or the ability of your blood plasma to address oxidative stress. MSM improves that overall ratio. In other words, you have much more reduced glutathione that’s able to deal with these free radicals. That’s, I think, kind of the key of how MSM really – and DMSO also does the same thing – by controlling that oxidative stress or protecting from the oxidative damage can have these therapeutic [benefits].”
Sulfur-Rich Foods
Ideally, you’d be best off getting your sulfur needs filled from the foods you eat. However, this can be a bit of a challenge these days. There’s been a transition away from many traditional foods that have been the big sources of sulfur, like collagen or keratin, which we just don’t eat much nowadays.
You can perhaps get enough if you cook down bones from organically raised animals into bone broth and drink the broth regularly (or use for soups and stews). The connective tissues are sulfur-rich, and when you slow-cook the bones, you dissolve these nutrients out of the bone and into the water. According to Mr. Benjamin:
“MSM is in almost all raw foods. It’s in leafy green vegetables. Interestingly enough, there’s MSM in beer and coffee. Actually, it’s been identified as one of the main flavoring constituent in port wines... raw milk has the highest naturally occurring content of MSM.”
One caveat is cooking and pasteurization. While MSM is stable to extremes of pH and temperature, it volatilizes and turns to gas very easily. It’s also very water soluble. So when cooked at high temperatures, it simply wafts off in the steam. That’s why it’s easily removed during cooking and processing. Pasteurization cuts the MSM content by approximately 50 percent. So, in order to ensure you’re getting the most MSM from any food, it must be either raw or as minimally processed as possible.
Toxicity and Dosage Recommendations
Toxicity studies have shown that MSM is extremely safe and can be taken at very, very high doses. Even if you have a very rich diet full of raw vegetables and MSM-rich foods, you can still supplement and not hit that toxicity level. Clinical research studies have found that the effective amounts range from about 1.5 grams to 6 grams, although at higher doses, potential side effects include:
- Intestinal discomfort
- Swelling of the ankles
- Mild skin rashes
These are likely detoxifying effects that can typically be mitigated or minimized by cutting back on the initial dosage, and slowly working your way up. In that case, you might want to start out with half a gram (500 milligrams) for a couple of weeks and then slowly increase until you get up to the desired dose.
MSM is approved for use in fortified food and beverage and gram quantities may be consumed when consuming raw diet and approved MSM fortified foods. The amount from the fortified foods that have been approved would be between 1.9 to 3.8 grams per day. For comparison, intake of MSM from natural sources such as fruits and vegetables would be in the milligram per day range of about 2.3 to 5.6 mg/day.
How to Select a High–Quality MSM Supplement
As with most other supplements and food, quality is a major issue when it comes to selecting an MSM supplement. Fortunately, with MSM it’s fairly easy to determine. There are two methods of purification of MSM:
- Distillation
- Crystallization
For MSM, distillation is by far superior. But crystallization is less expensive, and a lot less energy-intensive. According to Mr. Benjamin, only two companies that produce MSM use distillation. Mr. Benjamin explains why you should consider a product that has been purified using distillation.
“A lot of the problems with [crystallization] is you’re essentially crystallizing it out of a parent solvent or liquid. If there are any impurities, which could be salts of heavy metals, you could have aromatic hydrocarbons in that… It’s actually the parent solvent. It’s usually water. It is dependent upon water quality. ”
Is MSM for You?
As you know, I am very cautious about recommending supplements, as I believe you’re best off getting your nutrients from healthful, whole organic foods. But, I’m also realistic, and I understand a perfect diet is hard to come by these days, so some supplements I believe can be quite beneficial. MSM would fall into this category. It would make sense that, if you’re suffering from a decrease in normal dietary sulfur, supplementing with something that’s relatively safe and inexpensive would make a lot of sense.
As I’ve said, sulfur is an emerging stealth player in nutrition and for a variety of mechanisms, including the detox and anti-inflammatory pathways. Remember, if you don’t have enough sulfur in your diet, you’re not going to be able to naturally produce glutathione, which is absolutely essential for removing heavy metals and many of the toxins you’re exposed to. People who might want to consider using some supplemental sulfur sources such as MSM include those who have:
- Chronic inflammatory conditions
- Aches and pains / sore muscles and achy joints
- Premature aging symptoms
- Toxicity