B Vitamin Food Sources – Because A Deficiency Can Drive You Insane

A teenage boy is admitted to a mental hospital. He screams in fear, begging to be saved from the thousands of spiders climbing up the wall – spiders no one else can see.

A middle-aged woman is anemic.

An elderly man is depressed.

A young woman dreads her monthly cycle, knowing she will become moody or angry – mood swings so severe they may jeopardize her relationship or her job.

What do all of these people have in common? They are all suffering from a B vitamin deficiency.

The B vitamins are a group of water-soluble vitamins crucial to many of the metabolic processes in the body. All eight B vitamins, or several of them, are often found together in a particular food- a helpful occurrence since many of the B vitamins work together.

The B vitamins are: B1 (thiamin), B2 (riboflavin), B3 (niacin), B5 (pantothenic acid), B6 (pyridoxine), B7 (biotin), B9 (folate or folic acid), and B12 (cyanocobalamin).

B vitamins help carbohydrates break down to glucose and they aid in the breakdown of fats and proteins. Without them, we would not have fuel for any tissues in the body. They are absolutely essential for neurotransmitters and nerve tissue. They help our bodies form red blood cells. B9 and B12 are required for normal fetal development during pregnancy.

B vitamin deficiencies run the gamut from decreased energy all the way through to acute psychosis or death. Every bodily function requires B vitamins or the glucose it provides.

The best source of any vitamins is food. B vitamins are found in the following foods.

Foods High in B1

Asparagus, Brussels sprouts, green peas, beet greens, spinach, sweet potatoes, navy beans, black beans, pinto beans, lima beans, kidney beans, lentils, peanuts, unpolished rice, barley, oats, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, flax seeds, watermelon, oranges, and liver.

Foods High in B2

Beet greens, spinach, asparagus, crimini mushrooms, collard greens, sweet potatoes, green peas, eggs, turkey, tempeh, sardines, and tuna.

Foods High in B3

Asparagus, crimini mushrooms, potatoes, sweet potatoes, green peas, tuna, chicken, turkey, salmon, lamb, beef, sardines, shrimp, peanuts, sunflower seeds, brown rice, and barley.

Foods High in B5

Avocado, crimini and shitake mushrooms, sweet potatoes, green peas.

Foods High in B6

Sweet potatoes, potatoes, spinach, cabbage, turnip greens, garlic, winter squash, bok choy, bell peppers, avocado, green peas, tuna, chicken, turkey, beef, salmon, lentils, lima beans, pinto beans, bananas, and sunflower seeds.

Foods High in B7

Sweet potatoes, onions tomatoes, carrots, oats, peanuts, almonds, walnuts, eggs, salmon, and bananas.

Foods High in B9

Asparagus, spinach, turnip greens, broccoli, Romaine lettuce, bok choy, cauliflower, green peas, avocados, leeks, fennel, summer squash, Brussels sprouts, lentils, pinto; garbanzo; black; navy; and kidney beans, papaya, and quinoa.

Foods High in B12

Sardines, salmon, tuna, cod, lamb, shrimp, scallops, beef, yogurt, and milk.

It can be difficult to meet the daily requirement of B12 if you are a vegetarian or vegan, or if you are elderly. It is also more difficult for anyone suffering from digestive diseases that inhibit absorption such as celiac disease.

Conclusion

If you do choose to supplement with B vitamins, it is important to take a full B complex. Taking one or more B vitamin over an extended period of time can cause deficiencies in other B vitamins.

Remember a healthy diet is one that consists of 80% raw, fresh, organic produce – more vegetables than fruits along with healthy omega 3 fats. To properly absorb and assimilate B vitamins, you must have balanced healthy fats in the body and a healthy gut that’s not overrun with Candida. Check out Balance Your Ecosystem.

Recommended Supplements:
Sources:


Gut Health

Gut health. Catchy phrase, isn’t it? Of course the first thing it brings to mind is diarrhea, constipation, bloating and gas, right? But gut health is so much more.

It’s not just whether your bowels regularly move or whether you have runny stools. It’s whether you have the right balance of good bacteria to bad bacteria and yeast that determines whether many functions of the gut work properly including assimilation of nutrients.

A sick gut is overrun with “bad” bacteria and yeast. We label bacteria as good when the bacteria benefit us. Good bacteria help us further digest our food, they produce serotonin (a necessary neurotransmitter), and they create byproducts through their metabolic processes that are either beneficial to us or benign. They also play a very important role in keeping both bad bacteria and yeast in check.

Bad bacteria cause inflammation of the tissues in the gut and they release harmful toxins through their metabolic processes. Yeast does the same. In addition, it burrows holes through the protective inner lining of the gut allowing food particles and proteins to pass into the bloodstream. We refer to this process as leaky gut syndrome. This corruption of the normal digestive process sets the immune system into overdrive. Many now believe that leaky gut syndrome may very well be the common denominator and precursor for many kinds of autoimmune disease.

Antibiotic use and gut health

Antibiotics kill bacteria. That’s what they are made to do. The problem is, they usually kill a wide variety of bacteria, both good and bad. After using an antibiotic, you not only need to increase or repopulate your good bacteria, the yeast in your system has had a chance to multiply since the good bacteria that normally keeps it in check has died off. You need to kill the yeast and replenish the good bacteria.

How to increase the good bacteria in the gut

So a healthy balance of good bacteria in the gut is essential to health, especially since our immune system requires good gut health. How do we go about ensuring we have an abundance of good bacteria?

First of all, build them a home and they will come. Good bacteria thrive in a fiber-rich environment. It makes them happy – so gloriously happy they multiply like crazy. The foods that promote this environment are prebiotic foods- raw, fresh, organic, fiber filled vegetables and fruits. The best thing we can do to create an environment that feeds, houses, and promotes good bacteria is to eat a large salad every day filled with dark leafy greens and 10-15 types of vegetables.

Probiotic foods (fermented milk products and vegetables) can also help to increase the amount of good bacteria in the gut, but their significance is often highly overrated. First of all, sugar filled kefir and yogurt products do not promote health. And most of the time, the probiotic bacteria do not survive the stomach acid. But there are supplements made to get past the stomach acid and eating sugar-free probiotic foods on a regular basis will help to some extent. Just remember, the primary method to increase good bacteria is through raw vegetables.

Recommended Supplements:

Further Reading:


How To Make Kimchi

Eating to establish and maintain healthy bacteria in the gut may be the most important action we take to maintain and enhance our health. Once we understand how the good bacteria in our gut aids us—in digestion of our food, protecting us from pathogens, how it’s essential to our immune system, how it creates 95% of our serotonin, and more—it’s easy to understand how crucial gut health is to our overall health.

Prebiotic foods are the first and most important step. Raw vegetables and fruits feed the healthy bacteria in our gut and provide the insoluble fiber that not only moves waste through our system, it provides a structure for the bacteria to cling to as it multiplies. These foods should comprise 80% of our diet.

Though stomach acid may kill the majority of bacteria in fermented foods, many believe that regular consumption of these foods adds to the healthy bacteria in the gut.

Not long ago, I drove across town to buy kimchi, one of my favorite probiotic foods. A pint was $6.99. A quart was $12.99. I was so excited to a gallon jar for $20.00 I forgot to read the label! MSG. Need I say more? So I decided it was time to learn how to make kimchi.

The first step in making any fermented food is to thoroughly wash the jar you are using for the fermentation, all of the utensils and dishes, and your hands. Just make sure everything is good and clean. Running things through the dishwasher or sterilizing is an option to consider.

You Will Need:

  • 1 large Chinese cabbage – 2 lbs (Napa seems to be the most common choice for kimchi, but you can use bok choy or any other cabbage)
  • 1 cup kosher salt
  • 2 cups of pure water
  • I daikon radish
  • 5 green onions or scallions
  • 1 Granny Smith apple
  • 2-3 carrots
  • 1 head of garlic
  • 1/4 cup of sliced ginger
  • 1 tablespoon organic sugar
  • 1 ½ cups of Korean red chili flakes or hot pepper powder
  • soy sauce, fish sauce, or vegetable culture
  • Jars or a fermenting crock

Chop Up Your Cabbage

There are hundreds of recipes for kimchi. One of the variations involves how you cut up the cabbage. You can cut it into bite size pieces or cut a Napa cabbage into four pieces, core the pieces, and separate each leaf that you will eventually spread with your spice mix and roll it up. Or you can leave the entire cabbage intact. In this recipe, we are going to cut the cabbage into bite size pieces.

Soak Your Cabbage

First wash the cabbage. Now you will soak the cabbage in your brine mixture.

Again, the directions vary widely on this step. Some say massage the salt into the cabbage leaves others say soak in salt water from 2 hours to overnight. My preference is the quick method that only takes an hour.

  • Separate the cabbage into 2 bowls (unless you have one great big bowl).
  • Sprinkle half a cup of salt on the cabbage in each bowl.
  • Pour one cup of water into each bowl.
  • Using very clean hands, massage the salt into the cabbage. Do this every twenty minutes for an hour.

Cut Your Other Vegetables

The other vegetables (and the apple) need to be cut into small pieces – thin enough to ferment well and become soft, but not so thin that they dissolve into the mixture. You can cut your radish, carrots, and onions into matchsticks or slices. Aim for bite size pieces that are no more than ¼ inch thick and 1 inch long. Set aside. (Remember to toss the cabbage after 20 minutes).

Make Your Paste

Use a food processor to process the ginger and garlic until it is a paste. Put it in a bowl and add the red chili flakes and organic sugar. Add a few tablespoons of non-chlorinated water to make the paste a spreadable consistency. Add two teaspoons of soy sauce or fish sauce or use a vegetable culture according to directions. Mix well. (Once again, massage and toss your cabbage.)

Rinse and Drain Your Cabbage

When you have massaged and mixed your cabbage three times, rinse it well to remove the excess salt. Make your final rinse in filtered or non-chlorinated water. (Chlorine inhibits the fermentation process). Rinse and dry your bowl. Drain cabbage in a colander for 20-30. Squeeze out excess water (or use a lettuce spinner).

Putting It All Together

Once your cabbage has drained, put it back in the dry bowl and add the other vegetables and apple. Mix well.

Rubber or plastic gloves are a good idea. If you don’t use them, the red pepper will burn sensitive skin. But you don’t have to use them. Just make sure your hands are really clean and don’t touch your face or eyes.

Add the paste and really work it in to coat every surface.

Pack the coated produce into jars or a crock. Pack it tight. Leave an inch or two at the top of the jar. Push down on the cabbage mixture to make the brine rise above it.

Put a lid on the jar and store in a dark place for 1-5 days. You will need to burp the lid once a day if you use a standard jar. Or you can use a lid with an airlock. Or you can use a crock. Your kimchi will be ready when the cabbage looks a little translucent and tastes right. Usually 2-3 days. Refrigerate it at that time to slow down the fermentation process.

Remember, kimchi recipes will vary in ratios and ingredients. The amount of ginger and garlic vary widely and whether or not to use fish sauce or to add carrots or apple. Ratios will vary as well as ingredients. Experiment. Discover your own perfect recipe.

Fermented foods are just one of the ways to improve gut health. An 80% raw food diet is essential to gut health as is ridding the body of Candida.

Editor’s Note

Contrary to popular belief, fermented foods are not a great source of probiotics. The bacteria, while numerous, mostly dies in the stomach acid. There are tons of other benefits to fermented foods, and some of the bacteria do reach the gut, but for people suffering from Candida, fermented foods are not your best defense. The supplements below and garlic are better for balancing gut flora. A “trick” that some do is to use certain foods like black strap molasses or baking soda to lower the acidity of the stomach acid and then eat sauerkraut.

Also, most of the probiotics you find in stores have weak bacteria that don’t make it past the stomach acid. FloraMend and Bio-K have exceptionally strong bacteria strands that pass through stomach acid fully functional. Also, vegetables make great prebiotics. They ferment in the gut (in a way) as they are digested.

Recommended Supplements:
Further Reading:
Sources:

 



Dangerously High Arsenic Levels Found in Rice

What is Arsenic Anyway?

Arsenic is a naturally occurring, toxic element found in the earth. It is found in over 200 different minerals. There are two main types of arsenic: organic and inorganic. Organic arsenic compounds are primarily found in marine life, but they are also sometimes found in terrestrial life forms. Exposure to arsenic from organic sources is widely considered to be less toxic than exposure to inorganic arsenic.

A Poison Fit for a King

Arsenic has been used as a poison for centuries. Assassins have historically been very fond of arsenic because symptoms of arsenic poisoning resembled other sicknesses like food poisoning. The resulting death would look like natural causes. In low doses, arsenic poisoning could cause diarrhea, confusion, paralysis, or weakness. Arsenic was difficult to detect as it has little odor, almost no taste, and it doesn’t affect the color of food. How many kings and queens have died of arsenic poisoning? No one knows, but many historians speculate that kings and queens who died young rarely died of natural causes.

Where Does All This Arsenic Come From?

The majority of arsenic that we are exposed to is not of natural origin. Natural processes can bring arsenic into the atmosphere (such as volcano eruptions), but only one third of the arsenic in our atmosphere is of natural origin. Arsenic can be found in the earth’s crust, in deeply drilled wells, and in rocks, soil, air and water.

We Have Industry to Thank for This

Industrial activities such as mining, smelting, and the burning of coal in power plants all play a role in contaminating our environment with arsenic. Arsenic is produced commercially from arsenic trioxide, which is one of the leftover byproducts of smelting copper and other metals. Arsenic is commonly used by the timber industry as a preservative for treating wood. Arsenic is also an active ingredient in many insecticides and herbicides, and it is a common additive in chicken and swine feed (apparently it is used to fatten them up). The timber industry and agriculture industry account for over 90% of environmental arsenic pollution that is not due to natural processes.

No One Would Want to Die This Way

Consistent exposure to even small amounts of arsenic has been linked to several diseases, many of which are fatal. Arsenic is so toxic that it causes many different cancers, including skin cancer, lung cancer, bladder cancer, kidney cancer, liver cancer and prostate cancer. Over consumption of arsenic has also been linked to diabetes, cardiovascular disease, reproductive problems, and it is known to compromise the immune system.

How Arsenic Gets into Rice

Many plants can absorb arsenic from its environment and rice is one those plants. Rice absorbs high amounts of arsenic from the soil, from water and from pesticides. Unfortunately, with so much arsenic contaminating the soil and water, organic rice can contain dangerous levels of arsenic even though it has not been exposed to pesticides. Counter-intuitively, there are actually higher levels of arsenic found in brown rice than in white rice. This is because more of the arsenic is found in the outer layers of the grain. The outer layers of the rice are removed during the processing that turns brown rice into white rice. (This processing also removes the majority of the nutrition found in rice).

While the FDA Does Nothing, Consumer Reports Steps Up

Consumer Reports has been doing the job that the FDA should have been doing for a long time now. On their website, you can find recommended weekly allowances for rice consumption based upon the levels of arsenic that rice contains. There is no federal limit for levels of arsenic in rice (but there is a biological limit, and one of its many names is cancer).

Since 2012, Consumer Reports has been asking the FDA to set a limit for arsenic in rice, a request that has been ignored. Over the past couple of years, Consumer Reports have tested over 700 foods containing rice, and they have tested hundreds of different samples of rice grown in different regions. It turns out that knowing where your rice is grown is very helpful if you wish to avoid high levels of arsenic in your food.

Not All Rice Fields Are Created Equal

Rice grown in California, white basmati rice grown in California, India and Pakistan and sushi rice grown in the US typically has almost half of the arsenic content as rice grown elsewhere. Rice that is grown in the US (with the exceptions being Californian rice, quick cook rice and sushi rice) contain the highest levels of arsenic. Rice labeled as having been grown in Louisiana, Texas and Arkansas also stood out as having very high levels of arsenic in it.

One company in particular stands out as being proactive on this issue. Lundberg Farms is located in California. Their CEO, Grant Lundberg, recently issued a statement about the high levels of arsenic found in rice.

“We recently updated the published levels of arsenic in our rice, which now covers three consecutive years of data. I am happy to report that the levels of inorganic arsenic continue to remain low, and average less than half of the standard established by Codex. We are also actively engaged in the development of a code of practice through Codex to help develop ways to reduce arsenic levels even further.”

Codex is an international standard. Once again, we have no standards to rely on from the FDA.

Conclusion

According to the USA Rice Federation, you should eat rice because the benefits outweigh the risks. These are the people who are selling us rice, so no surprise there. The FDA recommends that Americans consume a variety of grains, and they say they’re looking into the arsenic problem. We recommend that you limit the amount of grains in your diet, especially rice. Also when you eat rice, eat rice that is grown in California. A healthy diet consists of 80% raw produce, with more vegetables than fruits as the main staple of your diet – not grains of any variety.

Recdommended Supplements:

Further Reading:

 Sources:



The Health Benefits Of the Curry Spice Blend

India is a country with over 1 billion people spread over five large regions. This population is incredibly diverse. Indians speak more than 122 different languages and their cuisines vary greatly among the regions. Despite these differences, there is still something Indians have in common – their love of curry.

The word curry means sauce. Curry is not a spice; it is a combination of spices. Although the combination and ratio of spices varies from one curry to another, many health promoting spices are standard in most curry mixes. Here are features of the most common spices you will find in a curry and how they benefit your health.

Cumin

Cumin is excellent for digestion. The scent alone is enough to kickstart saliva enzymes in the mouth, the essential first step of healthy digestion. Cumin also alleviates gas, acts as a natural laxative, and exhibits anti-fungal and anti-microbial powers. Interestingly, cumin is both a relaxant and a stimulant, and certain components in its essential oil have been said to promote a hypnotic tranquility.

Turmeric

Looking for another reason to start eating turmeric besides its anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant rich, brain boosting, heart healthy properties? Turmeric is also an essential ingredient in most curry powder mixes. To get the maximum benefit from turmeric, pair it with freshly ground black pepper.

Coriander (Cilantro seed)

The benefits of coriander (after the cilantro plant flowers and develops seeds, it is referred to as coriander) are numerous. Like cumin, coriander improves digestion as it relieves gas, prevents nausea, and combats diarrhea. It also acts as a natural anti-histamine, treats mouth infections with its antiseptic powers, helps heal skin conditions, lowers blood pressure, and is a natural source of bioavailable iron. If you feel you might be coming down with a case of food poisoning, grab a handful of coriander. This spice is twice as powerful as the leading salmonella antibiotic – and it tastes a whole lot better.

Ginger

Ginger is a great herb to have in your kitchen, as it gives great flavor to both food and drink and possesses serious medicinal attributes. It’s an anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, antioxidant with a soothing effect on the digestive tract. Health begins in the gut, and ginger helps eliminate gas, relieves nausea, and treats motion sickness. If you’re pregnant and have given into not-so healthy, nausea-inducing cravings, ginger settles the stomach and relieves vomiting. Be careful though! With great (healing) power comes great responsibility. Ginger treats the symptoms, but a healthy diet eliminates the need for ginger in the first place.

Cardamon

When it comes to the price of spices, cardamom has to be content with the bronze medal. While both saffron and vanilla cost more, of the three, only cardamom can claim a place of great prominence in Indian cuisine. Cardamom is a great breath freshener, fighting tooth and gum disease as well as soothing sore throats. It also flushes out toxins, leading to better blood circulation, a better functioning urinary tract, and improved cardiovascular activity.

Cinnamon

An anti-viral, anti-bacterial spice loaded with anti-oxidants, cinnamon can help take down some heavy hitters, disease-wise. Cinnamon is toxic to cancer cells, reduces the growth of cancer cells, protects neurons from degenerative diseases like Parkinson’s, and helps keep heart disease in check. Cinnamon is exceptionally beneficial for those who suffer from or could potentially suffer from diabetes, as it combines reduced insulin resistance with lower blood sugar. There are two types of cinnamon, “true” cinnamon and cassia cinnamon. The cinnamon found in the United States is usually cassia cinnamon. True cinnamon is frequently labeled as Ceylon cinnamon. If possible, try to get Ceylon cinnamon as it contains less coumarin, a naturally occurring chemical compound that acts as a blood thinner.

Cloves

The active, healing component in cloves is called eugenol. Eugenol is anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory, and a natural detoxifier. Aside from its use in cooking worldwide, clove has found a place for soothing gum pain and treating root canals in dentistry, as the eugenol and other components in this spice combine to form a mild analgesic. Cloves contain iron, calcium, and manganese and are also an antioxidant. If you want to check the quality of your cloves, squeeze them with a fingernail. If they’re good quality, they will release some of their essential oil. Good quality cloves also float when placed in water, whereas stale cloves sink.

Conclusion

The benefits of cooking with these spices are numerous, and there is no reason you can’t experiment with adding a little bit of Indian flair to your kitchen. Whether you start slowly with adding cumin or clove to your famous rice and beans recipe or you jump in feet first and produce a fabulous curry, the flavors of Indian cuisine are waiting for you. If you aren’t hitting the stove just yet, there are still ways to get the health benefits from these spices. Ginger and curcumin (the active ingredient in turmeric) are both available in capsule form.

See Foods, Vitamins, and Herbs That Kill Cancer for more on how adding black pepper to turmeric increases bioavailability of curcumin about 2,000%. Also, see our two other favorite herbs, garlic and cayenne.

Further Reading:


Understanding Your Lymphatic System

Odds are, the average person knows they have a lymphatic system, and that’s about it. You can’t blame them too much, as the lymphatic system is complicated. It runs throughout the body, working side-by-side with the circulatory system, spanning various nodes, organs, and vessels in the body. If your lymphatic system isn’t working properly, it is unable to drain excess toxins and fluids from the body causing problems such as swollen limbs, tonsillitis, lymphatic cancer, and other conditions. A working lymphatic system balances the body’s fluids, absorbs fat into your system and helps your body’s immunological defense. Obviously, it is important to keep it in tip-top shape.

When your blood travels throughout your body, it releases fluid from the capillaries. This fluid, called interstitial fluid, provides nutrients and oxygen for the tissues as it flows throughout the body. In response to this generosity, the cells throw their garbage and waste products out for the interstitial fluid to pick up on its way back to the bloodstream. Luckily the interstitial fluid doesn’t mind this treatment and carries this waste back home to the capillaries where 90% of it is reabsorbed. The remaining 10% contains particles too large to pass through the capillary walls, so the lymph system swoops in and sucks it up. With the transfer to a new system in the body, the fluid also gets a name change. Now called lymph, this fluid filters through the lymph nodes and finishes its odyssey back where it started – in the bloodstream.

This process is critical, as the pile-up of waste in the cells can kill them. Without a flowing lymph system, fluid builds up and the body is unable get rid of waste. The waste and fluid itself can cause tissues in the body to swell and can lead to cancer, painfully enlarged organs, or infections throughout the body.

A properly working lymphatic system is a great ally to have in boosting the immune system. The spleen removes dead cells and foreign invaders from the body. If you were lucky enough to keep your tonsils, these strategically placed lymph nodes provide a line of defense against possible throat infections. Adenoids are lymph nodes in the nasal cavity that minimize the effect of harmful pathogens entering the body. Perhaps the best evidence for the beneficial effects on the immune system due to lymph nodes is their command of lymphocytes, otherwise known as the all-mighty white blood cell. These cells, originating in the bone marrow, control immune reactions, fighting viruses and cancer cells. The lymph fluid relies on these cells to clean out toxins, before the lymphatic fluid is returned to the bloodstream.

Why should you care? If everything seems to be working fine, why fix it if it isn’t broke? Sure, you get that tickle in the back of your throat every once in awhile…but hey, my blood pressure’s great!

Congrats! But the lymphatic system is at a disadvantage. It lacks a large built-in pump like the cardiovascular system has with the heart. To keep your lymph fluid from achieving the consistency of cottage cheese and causing your fingers to look like not-so-tiny sausages, get moving. A lifestyle of transferring your butt from the car to the office chair, to the sofa in front of the TV decreases the flow of lymph fluid by 94%. Again, get moving. The best way to circulate lymph is exercise.

Some of us haven’t jumped rope since that last time we convinced ourselves we would love that boxing class and collapsed halfway through. To get the lymph really moving, maybe give it another try. Bouncing is the best way to make you lymph happy. You don’t necessarily have to jump rope, but a good bounce for 15 to 20 minutes a day can make a big difference in the efficiency of your lymphatic system. Even if you don’t feel particularly bouncy, movement can make a big difference. Simple stretches, walking, and bending over to pick something up are all easy to incorporate into the average lifestyle.

Exercise is crucial, but there are others ways that also help your lymphatic system remove toxins and fight pathogens at peak performance. If you can’t miss that latest episode of your favorite TV show or your work necessitates lots of sitting, focus on your diet. The more clean (preferably spring) water you drink, the more lymph you’ll get flowing. Switching to a diet consisting of 80% fresh, raw, organic produce (see link) can do wonders for your lymph and health overall.

After all of that exercising, you deserve a treat. Guess what? Massage also helps the lymphatic system flow. If you don’t want to shell out the money for a lymphatic massage certified therapist, you could use self-massage to promote lymph health. (see link) Doing a cleanse can also help take some of the burden off of the lymph system, so look into detoxing (see link) or Candida cleansing (see link).

It’s the season to make sure you take care of your sinuses, and stop that tickle in your throat from becoming something much more serious. A streamlined and fully functioning lymphatic system provides a great defense against common seasonal complaints. Learn more about your lymph system in the first article.

Recommended Supplements:

Further Readings:



The Discovery Of the Superoxide Dismutase – An Enzyme and An Antioxidant

Like many great discoveries, the first antioxidants were discovered by accident.

Joe McCord was looking for the function of a different enzyme when he chanced upon a mysterious enzyme that seemed to be present in every form of life except anaerobic bacteria, bacteria that does not need oxygen to survive. In the beginning, neither McCord nor his mentor, Irwin Fridovich, understood the purpose of this enzyme, which they named superoxide dismutase (SOD), but they were convinced that it was important.

This discovery was the beginning of research into antioxidants and free radicals. In the late sixties, when McCord and Fridovich first published their findings, their research was received with little enthusiasm. Most of their peers did not grasp the importance of antioxidants and their role in human health and vitality. Now, decades later, we know a great deal more about how free radicals are generated and the role antioxidants play in the body to protect against their damage.

What Are Free Radicals?

Free radicals are molecules that are inherently unstable. In an effort to become more stable, free radicals will steal electrons from other molecules in close proximity. This electron theft makes the victimized molecule more unstable, and it in turn will steal electrons from other nearby molecules in order to become more stable, and so on. This chain reaction of robbing Peter to pay Paul can cause a great deal of cell damage, as well as cell death.

Free radicals are all around us; they are not easy or even possible to avoid. Many diseases and injuries create free radicals in the body. Alzheimer’s disease, arthritis, asthma, cancer, influenza, sinus infections, and yeast infections all create free radicals. Injuries, even minor ones such as sprains, muscle aches, and strains, all generate free radicals. Toxins generate free radicals and toxins are everywhere – in our food, water, and the air we breathe. Even if our air was perfectly clean, simply taking in oxygen throughout the body generates free radicals.

Unavoidable Free Radicals

Oxygen molecules generate what is collectively known as oxidative stress. Oxygen is actually highly corrosive. Most of us don’t think of it that way because we need oxygen to live; without oxygen our cells would quickly die. But taking oxygen into the body generates a free radical superoxide, an unstable form of oxygen. Obviously, there’s no way to avoid this. Oxygen is just one of our unavoidable sources of free radicals. Metabolizing our food also creates free radicals. Sunlight, smoking, radiation and even eating burnt food can create free radicals in the body.

So why aren’t we all dead yet? That’s where antioxidants come in.

How Does SOD Work?

Superoxide dismutase (SOD) is both an enzyme and an antioxidant that protects against the free radical, superoxide. SOD changes this free radical to hydrogen peroxide. Unfortunately, hydrogen peroxide is still a free radical. SOD then works in concert with another antioxidant, catalase, to change hydrogen peroxide from an unstable free radical to water, a stable compound.

SOD is produced in the body from three minerals: copper, zinc, and manganese. Good sources of copper and manganese can be found in whole grains and nuts. Good sources of zinc include egg yolks, milk, oatmeal, nuts, legumes, and meat.

Antioxidant Supplementation

Joe McCord, now a professor of medicine at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, thinks we should find ways of supplementing our diet in order to increase the two antioxidants in our bodies that do most of the work: superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase. According to McCord, these two enzymes are the antioxidants that neutralize 99% of the free radicals in our bodies. By McCord’s reasoning, if we can get the body to produce more of these two antioxidant/enzymes, our bodies would be far more efficient at fighting free radicals.

McCord and his coauthor showed how a supplement containing five plant extracts simultaneously increased the body’s production of SOD and catalase and also decreased the markers associated with oxidative, stress-related aging. Their supplement contained green tea, turmeric, milk thistle, ashwagandha (also known as winter cherry), and bacopa.

So when it comes to antioxidants, more is more. Don’t megadose on one nutrient; rely on several nutrients to do their work in combination. Joe McCord Ph.D, Lester Packer Ph.D., Sanjay Gupta M.D., and Don Colbert M.D. are among the many experts who believe that antioxidants work best as a team. When these nutrients are used individually, the resulting health benefits are meager, if at all. This is one of the reasons why the public is getting mixed results back from scientists about the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of vitamins in clinical trials. It is speculated by these and other experts that antioxidants are far more effective when they are in our diet (either as a result of supplementation or through our food) in proportionally combined doses.

Most of the body’s antioxidant protection comes from the combined efforts of vitamins A, C, and E, SOD, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase. These antioxidants effectively prevent the majority of the damage that would be done by free radicals.

If we run low on these nutrients, cell damage can occur as a result. When Don Colbert M.D. was experimenting with different fasts for his best-selling book, Toxic Relief, he experienced this kind of nutrient shortage firsthand. On day seven of his water only fast, he noticed small white splotches had begun forming on the outside of his skin. Due to his medical training, he immediately knew what had happened; he had exhausted his body’s catalase, and his system was no longer able to convert hydrogen peroxide to water. Of course, he broke the fast immediately.

Antioxidants work synergistically. Increasing some antioxidants will help your body increase others. Take glutathione, for instance. Glutathione can both detoxify the body and neutralize free radicals. The liver manufactures glutathione from three amino acids: cysteine, glutamic acid, and glycine.

Glutathione can also be consumed in foods such as fruits, vegetables, fish, and meats. However, the amount of glutathione produced can be increased by increasing Vitamin C and N-acetylcysteine in the diet. The previously mentioned herb, milk thistle (one of the five plant extracts in McCord’s study that was shown to increase SOD production) can encourage the liver’s output of glutathione by as much as 35%!

Vitamin C and vitamin E are well known antioxidants. Vitamin C can protect the water soluble interior of the cell, and Vitamin E can protect the cell’s fatty outer membrane. These nutrients can get pretty complicated. For instance, there are eight different kinds of vitamin E. High doses of vitamin C, or any other nutrient, wouldn’t offer this kind of protection without the combined help from other antioxidants.

Many people believe supplemented forms of antioxidants will do them some good, but they don’t often understand that when it comes to supplemented antioxidants quality really matters, and it isn’t possible to get everything you need from pills alone. Some vitamins that also act as antioxidants are of such poor quality that they are of no benefit and may be actually harmful. Many of these detrimental vitamins are derived from petroleum. For example, a common synthetic form of vitamin E is dl-alpha-tocopherol or dl-alpha-tocopheryl. This form of vitamin E is actually more harmful than going without any vitamin E supplementation at all.

Conclusion

Antioxidants (and many other nutrients) are naturally found in many foods. Antioxidants (the ones that scientists have discovered so far) are especially high in the following foods: artichokes, apples, blueberries, blackberries, black beans, red beans, kidney beans, carrots, cherries, cruciferous vegetables, citrus fruits, cantaloupes, watermelon, pecans, romaine lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, garlic, onions, leeks, pumpkin, cabbage, green tea, and milk thistle tea.

The healthiest diet is an 80% Raw Food Diet. When 80% of your diet is comprised of raw, fresh, organic produce (more vegetables than fruits) your body receives the benefit of nutrient dense foods loaded with antioxidant vitamins and enzymes. To increase nutrition, you may want to add Doc Shillington’s Total Nutrition Formula to your diet. Here’s the recipe to make your own.

Sources:

The Seven Pillars of Health by Don Colbert M.D.

Chasing Life by Sanjay Gupta M.D.