Is this part of your throat a mistake of Nature?

I recently had a strange health challenge—I had a small fragment of an almond get lodged between the “flaps” of my tonsils!

And despite my best efforts to gargle, WaterPik, cough, eat dry bread and poke at my neck in the tonsil area, that almond was stubborn…so I had to get some “medical assistance.”  (I won’t get graphic.)

But the thing that floored me was the conversation with the intake nurse that I had beforehand.

She said that she always had trouble with food getting stuck in her tonsils, so she just had them removed since they “don’t serve any purpose anyway.”

Huh?

Since when is a part of your body’s lymphatic system a useless mistake of Nature?

Here’s why I had to resist the temptation to tell her to go back to school.

Your body’s garbage truck
Your lymphatic system is like the garbage truck that comes through your neighborhood each week.
This garbage truck is made up of numerous nodes and glands, the thymus gland, the thoracic duct, spleen, bone marrow, tonsils and MILES of lymphatic vessels.

You actually have three times more lymph fluid flowing through you than blood—that should tell you something.

Its job is to filter and purify your bloodstream, cleanse wastes from your tissues, organs, and cells, and search out and destroy any harmful pathogens that enter your body.

Then the garbage truck takes the wastes and brings them to one of your 4 "dumping grounds"--the bowels, bladder, lungs, and skin--for elimination from your body.

The lymphatic system has been called the heart of the immune system because of its vital role in keeping your body clean and destroying dangerous organisms.

The tonsils—a first line of defense
The largest nodes in your lymphatic system are the tonsils--and there are actually more than two.

The most common tonsils are the ones everyone knows about in the throat (that recently housed my almond), but there are also some in the space above the throat and behind the nose (called the adenoids), some surrounding the tubes in each ear, and one in your larynx.  There's also tonsil tissue at the base of your tongue.

All of the tonsils are connected by lymphatic vessels and make up a protective ring that defends your oral and nasal areas from bacteria and viruses.

Does that sound like a useless mistake to you?

Now sometimes your lymph system gets overloaded and when it can't keep up with its job, the tonsils can fill up with fluid, swell and hurt.

Otherwise known as tonsillitis.

This is a BIG warning sign that something is seriously wrong with the level of waste in your body.

It doesn’t stop there
In addition to tonsillitis, if your lymphatic system is challenged, you are susceptible to a number of health problems including:

• Lacking nutrients/deficiency diseases
• Cancer
• Low energy
• Repeated viruses or infections
• Fluid swelling in your limbs or other areas of the body (edema)

Take care of YOUR tonsils—and your entire lymphatic system!
Here are ways to make sure your entire lymphatic system is working in tip-top shape to cleanse and protect you:

Get regular exercise
Unlike your circulatory system which has your heart to pump blood through your body, your lymphatic system doesn’t have a pump to move lymph around.

So YOU have to be the pump—by getting regular exercise!

No more excuses.  Pick an activity, get your doc’s OK and GET MOVING.

Stay hydrated
Water is essential for having proper blood levels and to flush wastes out of your cells.  Eight 8-oz. glasses a day should be your minimum.

Nutritional support
A great way to help your lymphatic system’s cleaning efforts is to create less garbage, to begin with!

That means avoiding processed and fast foods and instead having a diet of real foods.  Excellent choices for lymphatic health are leafy greens, citrus fruits and healthy fats (especially nuts, seeds and avocado).

Give those immune cells a good home
Although your lymphatic system’s bone marrow and spleen produce most of your immune cells, the majority of those cells (about 70 percent) take up residence in your gut.

So it’s crucial to make sure that you provide a healthy intestinal environment to house these life-saving protectors—and the key to that is a real foods diet and probiotic supplementation.

Practice deep breathing
Proper movement of air through your lungs also helps pump fluid through the lymphatic system:

1- Get in a sitting or lying position and put your hands on your chest and stomach.
2- Focus on breathing from your abdomen instead of your chest. 
3- Breathe in through your nose, hold the breath for a few seconds and then exhale through your mouth.
4- Try to do four 8-breath cycles one to three times every day.

Consider possible iodine deficiency
Most people associate iodine deficiency with thyroid goiter, but it can also cause congestion of the lymphatic system.

If you suspect you may be deficient, ask your doctor to do a test.

And if you want some (non-salt) dietary sources of iodine, fish and shellfish are your best bets.

Congratulations!  You are now an expert in your lymphatic system and hopefully, realize that NO part of it is useless.

Instead, it’s keeping you healthy and, well, alive.

What your mucus is trying to tell you

Although it’s not something you often talk about, the slippery stuff inside of you called mucus is truly an underappreciated hero.

Here is the skinny on your inner slime and what it might be trying to tell you.

So what is it exactly?
Although we tend to associate mucus with a cold or sinus infection, it's a normal secretion that your body produces ALL the time to the tune of about one or two quarts a day.

Mucus is made up of water, proteins, antibodies, antiseptics and salts, and this gooey concoction serves several impressive roles:

• It’s your body’s built-in moisturizer and is found on the tissues that come into contact with elements from the outside world (like the nose, sinuses, and mouth).  Without mucus, these tissues can dry out and crack, cause soreness and bleeding, and leave you susceptible to illness.
• The antibodies in mucus help your immune system attack dangerous toxins, viruses or bacteria you ingest.  When this happens, your mucus gets thick and cloudy to trap the invader.
• Antiseptics in mucus kill pathogens directly on the spot like a terminator.
• Mucus protects your body’s delicate internal membranes by coating every single thing you eat or drink -- even water!
• It acts as a natural defense against acids.  For example, when you eat dairy products, the sugar in them (lactose) changes to lactic acid. If it weren't for your mucus surrounding the lactic acid, it could actually burn a hole in your cells, tissues or organs...and possibly kill you! 
• Mucus humidifies the air you breathe.
• It keeps your eyes lubricated and contributes to the development of tears.

All the colors of the rainbow
Although normal mucus is clear to light white, here are other possible colors for mucus and what they might mean:

Gray:  Mucus that is blown from your nose may be gray, especially if you’ve been exposed to a lot of dust and dirt.

Yellow or Green:  Infections typically produce yellow or green mucus. Note that the vast majority of sinus infections are actually viral, so don’t necessarily rush to the doctor for antibiotics because they are useless for a viral infection.  Unnecessary antibiotics will merely obliterate your friendly gut flora and increase your risk of antibiotic resistance.

Here are signs where antibiotics may, in fact, be necessary:

• Your infection drags on for more than 10 days, or if it gets worse after a week
• The discharge is thick and uniformly white (it looks like pus)
• There is a high fever that isn’t improving
• Your symptoms don’t respond to over the counter cold or sinus medications

Brown or Black:  Brown mucus can sometimes be produced by an infection. Tar from cigarette smoke can stain mucus in the respiratory system brown or black.  Coal miners can also develop black mucus as a result of inhaling coal dust.

Orange, Red or Rust Colored:  People with pneumonia may produce orange mucus in the respiratory tract.  Pink, red or rust colored mucus suggests the presence of internal bleeding—see a doctor if necessary.

Mucus in your BMs
Although the mucous membranes in your large intestine helps stool to slide through, a normal BM will not contain much mucus, and you probably can’t see it with the naked eye.

When stool has visible mucus, it can be a sign of bacterial infections (like Salmonella), anal fissures, a bowel obstruction, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) or Crohn's disease.  If you suspect a problem, see a doctor to rule out any conditions that require medical attention.

Sometimes it goes overboard
Clearly, mucus is something you don't want to be without, but the problem arises when mucus gets too thick and there’s too much of it.

And the primary cause of that is food!

Many people have a diet that is heavy in foods that trigger lots of thickened mucus. The foods either contain toxins or they break down into an acid residue in the digestive tract and sound the mucus alarm.

The worst offenders are dairy products, followed by meats, white flour, processed foods, chocolate, coffee and alcohol.

Over time, thick mucus can build up in your intestines, trapping feces and other debris.  This can weaken your intestinal walls (making you susceptible to diverticulosis) and create an environment that favors harmful bacteria.

Harmful bacteria overgrowth (dysbiosis) can cause gas, bloating, constipation and diarrhea, as well as impaired immune function and worsening symptoms of asthma and allergies.

Do you have too much?
Here are some signs of excessive mucus inside of you:

• Frequent constipation or diarrhea
• Frequent gas and bloating
• Bowel movements with an excessively foul odor
• Mucus in your feces
• Cold hands and/or feet
• Lightheadedness
• Headaches
• Nasal congestion not related to allergies or a cold
• Lung congestion not related to asthma
• White coated tongue
• Frequent throat clearing

Keep mucus in line
If you suspect excess mucus is a problem for you, or want to keep your mucus defense "in line" and working like it should, here are ways to help:

Make sure to include fiber-rich alkaline foods like fresh fruits and vegetables in your diet, and drink at least eight 8-oz glasses of water a day.  These will help buffer the mucus production caused by the mucus-creating foods and keep the digestive process running smoother.

Eat spicy foods!  Great mucus-fighting spices include horseradish, wasabi, ginger, garlic, chili pepper, and turmeric.

Also, a full-spectrum probiotic can help support a strong gut wall, encourage more regular bowel movements and help sharpen your immune system so that you can be less susceptible to mucus-creating infections and colds.  Probiotics also help curb symptoms of asthma and allergies, which can lessen your mucus load too.

Little known causes (and answers) for infertility

Arguably there is no more frustrating and complex health issue than infertility.

Defined as the inability to conceive a child after 12 months of unprotected intercourse, infertility affects about one out of six couples.

Infertility can be a mystery, because, in the absence of any anatomical disorders such as ovulation problems, fallopian tube damage, endometriosis, or uterine issues, it’s difficult to pinpoint what may be going on.

Here are several little-known underlying factors that you should consider that can significantly impact fertility, as well as ways you can overcome each and increase your chances of pregnancy success!

Having a low-fat diet
In addition to being crucial to brain and nervous system health, fats are needed by your body to make sex hormones, so if you severely restrict fats in your diet, you are selling your body short in terms of hormone resources…and that can impact your fertility.

About 30 percent of your daily calorie intake should be fats, being sure to include saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats.

Healthy sources of fats include real butter, extra virgin olive oil, lard, coconut oil, avocado, meats, poultry, fish, eggs, cheese, and nuts.

If you’re concerned about weight gain, don’t be.  Fats help fill you up and keep you satisfied, so you’re less likely to snack or overeat—and that’s a recipe for weight LOSS!

Environmental toxins
The more toxic you are, the less likely your body will be able to function as it’s designed to, and that includes fertility—so it’s time to detox!

Start with your diet—eliminate the processed junk and stick to real foods.  If you look at a food label and have no earthly clue what an ingredient is, trust me, neither does your body—and it will have to be detoxed out of you like a poison.  Closer to Nature is always best.

Strive to go organic as much as you can to avoid herbicides and pesticides.  If you can’t go 100 percent organic, here’s a good rule of thumb:  If you are going to be eating the entire food including the skin if any (like apples, berries, cucumbers, lettuce, grapes or peppers), buy organic.  If you’re going to be peeling the food (such as with bananas, avocado, potatoes or oranges), conventional produce is acceptable.

Seek out natural household cleaners and detergents without harmful chemicals (Mrs. Meyers is an excellent choice) and organic personal care products.

And although this should be obvious, if you smoke, please quit, and avoid excessive alcohol intake.

Stress
Pregnenolone is your “molding clay” for hormones, and your body allocates its Pregnenolone resources to wherever they’re needed.

But stress hormones trump all others—so when you’re under stress, your body directs ALL of its Pregnenolone to making stress hormones…and that leaves none for other hormones, including sex hormones.

Find ways to lower your stress level and get help if you need it.

Statin use
Here’s something you won’t read on a Crestor box—cholesterol is needed to make sex hormones, so if you’re on statins to reduce cholesterol, you may, in turn, be impacting your fertility.

There are other safer ways to encourage a healthy cholesterol level:

• Fish oil supplements—fish oil has been medically proven to reduce cholesterol.
• Better digestion—your liver eliminates old worn out cholesterol through the GI tract, but if you’re prone to constipation, your old cholesterol may instead be getting reabsorbed into circulation from the intestinal tract.  For better digestion, keep your meals simpler and avoid combining animal proteins and starches in the same meal, as this combination is very taxing on your stomach.  Enzyme supplements can also help boost the digestive process.  
• Probiotics—probiotics produce acids that counter cholesterol production, they also “eat” excess cholesterol and they encourage more regular BMs (and ease constipation).

Talk to your doctor about safer alternatives.

Nutrient deficiencies
Vitamin D, folic acid, and zinc deficiency have all been linked to female infertility.

In addition to a healthy diet of real foods, a high-quality multi-vitamin, and mineral formula can help ensure your essential nutrient bases are covered.

Over or underactive thyroid
Both over and underactive thyroid can affect the ability to conceive, so if you haven’t had your thyroid tested lately, now is the time.  Although the typical standard for testing thyroid function is the TSH test, many times the TSH misses cases of hypothyroidism because it's more of a measure of pituitary function--not thyroid health.

The best option for assessing thyroid function is a TRH Stimulation (or TRH Challenge) test.

If your doctor is not familiar with the TRH Stimulation test (and many mainstream doctors are not), at least ask him to do these tests in addition to the TSH:

• Total T4 and T3
• Free T4 and T3
• T3 Uptake
• Reverse T3
• Thyroid Antibodies 

Get to the bottom of what may be contributing to infertility and increase your chances of a successful pregnancy!

Can you believe this is the 3rd leading cause of death?

You might find this a little unsettling, but the third leading cause of death behind heart disease and cancer is…

Getting medical care!

That’s right.  According to a recent study published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), medical errors now kill an estimated 250,000 Americans every year.

“Medical errors” include unnecessary surgery, medication errors in hospitals, other hospital errors, hospital acquired infections and taking drugs as prescribed by your doctor.

Note that you won’t find anything about this on the CDC’s website.
According to them, the third leading cause of death is respiratory disease, which claims about 150,000 lives in the US each year.

The CDC doesn't publish any information relating to medical errors at all—this is likely at least partially due to an inadequate collection of data and the fact that death certificates don’t include a coding class for medical errors.

Plus I wouldn’t rule out their desire to protect the pharmaceutical industry either.

The mortality statistics that are published only look at the condition that led the individual to seek medical treatment in the first place.

So for instance, if someone went in for heart surgery and died in the hospital because of a medication error, the cause of death would likely show as heart disease.

Very misleading to say the least.

Our shocking rates of chronic illness
Although the US is extremely impressive when it comes to acute and emergency medical care, we are positively abysmal in the treatment of chronic disease.

Consider these sobering statistics:

• Seven out of 10 Americans take at least one prescription medication per day, and one out of five takes at least two medications each day.
• Half of all adults have one or more chronic health conditions.
• Two out of every three people are overweight, and half of those are obese.
• Arthritis is the most common cause of disability, and currently, affects 53 million adults age 18 and over. 
• Diabetes is the leading cause of kidney failure, lower limb amputations (other than those caused by injury), and new cases of blindness among adults.
• One-third of American adults has high blood pressure. 
• About 70 million Americans suffer from digestive disorders, with over $40 billion spent on products to relieve GI symptoms.

Our healthcare system should not be called “health” care at all but rather “disease management with pharmaceuticals and surgery.”

Do your part to create HEALTH!
Although medical care is necessary at times, now more than ever before in our existence it is vital that you do your part to not just prevent sickness but to create HEALTH!

And the good news is it’s not rocket science.  Instead, there are some tried and true ways to take care of your body and make it less likely that you will need “health” care to begin with:

Get enough sleep.  Seven to nine hours a night should be your goal.

Eat real food.  Simply put, your food should not come with a bar code and a list of ingredients you can’t pronounce.  Your body needs fresh fruits and vegetables, meats, poultry, fish, dairy, healthy fats (like butter and olive oil), eggs and whole grains.

Take a daily multi-vitamin.  Our food is inherently less nutritious than it used to be, and our hectic schedules sometimes make it difficult to eat the way we should, so the only way you can ensure your nutritional needs are consistently met is to take a high-quality multi.

Stay hydrated.  Eight 8-oz. glasses of filtered water per day should be your minimum goal.  Avoid tap water at all cost, as the fluoride and chlorine added to most municipal water supplies are toxic to your body, plus they may contain any number of other contaminants and heavy metals.    

Get regular exercise.  No excuses allowed.  Just be sure to get your doctor’s OK, especially if you and the couch have been BFFs for a while.

Take a top-notch multi-strain probiotic formula.  The world is finally catching on to the importance of the gut microbiome in the maintenance of health, including sound immune function, better digestion, elimination of toxins, reducing inflammation, efficient nutrient absorption and so much more.  Many things can impair your gut flora (including most medications!) so a daily probiotic is wise for just about everyone.

Keep stress under control.  Stress is extremely damaging to your health and especially to your gut.  Do whatever it takes—counseling, meditation, exercise, deep breathing, etc.  Get help if you feel you need it.

Do your part to create health and minimize your chances of being the victim of a medical error.

A must-read for chemotherapy patients

The use of chemotherapy in cancer treatment has exploded over the last several years, with a 68 percent increase in chemotherapy drugs since 2003.

But that isn’t necessarily good news for anyone but drug companies who are raking in trillions from cancer drug sales.

Because although chemotherapy may be effective in killing cancer cells, it is indiscriminate and destroys healthy cells in droves too.

As a matter of fact, many people are as harmed by chemotherapy drugs as they are cancer itself!  Since the drugs so severely weaken the immune system while killing off healthy cells, this can threaten the patient’s life just as the disease does.

If you are facing cancer, I URGE you to do your homework and get several opinions on your treatment plan.

And if you do choose to undergo chemotherapy, the good news is that research has been done that shows an effective way to help keep your body as strong and healthy as possible, as well as warning about the absolute worst thing to do during the process.

Here’s the scoop:

Of mice and men
A study conducted on mice at the University of Michigan indicated that the level of intestinal health is a primary factor to successfully completing and surviving chemotherapy.

The researchers gave mice lethal injections of chemotherapy that would, if given in a proportionate dose, kill most adult human beings, too.

But they also gave some of the mice an injection of a molecule called "Rspo1" or "R-spondon1."  This substance activates stem cell production in the intestinal wall, and these stem cells are “superstars” that can help rebuild damaged tissues faster than the chemotherapy can destroy them!

The result?

Between 50 to 75 percent of the mice who were given R-spondon1 survived the fatal chemotherapy dose!

Although this study was performed on mice and not on men, mice are nearly identical to humans in terms of biology, gene expression, endocrine system function and more…so they’re a pretty good indicator of what would happen in a human.

Get some R-spondon1…or make your own!
Even though this study used an injection of R-spondon1 as the "catalyst" of stem cell production in the intestinal lining, the truth is your cells already possess the ability to produce R-spondon1 on their own!

In fact, your intestinal wall contains cells that are regenerated every 4-5 days in a normally healthy person.

But what determines the health of those stem cells more than anything else is your GUT BACTERIA.

If you have a healthy population of friendly gut bacteria, the genetic expression of your intestinal cells is also normal and healthy.

On the other hand, if your gut bacteria is out of balance (favoring harmful microbes), the gene expression of your intestinal cells will be hampered, which in turn will slow or downright cripple the regeneration potential of your intestinal cells.

The warning--watch out for antibiotics
Antibiotics “work” by killing bacteria in your body.  But since they don’t know the difference between healthy and dangerous bacteria, they kill ALL bacteria—and that includes your healthy intestinal flora.

This can be especially dangerous for someone going through chemotherapy!

Since the ability to survive chemotherapy is clearly dependent on a strong level of healthy gut bacteria, and antibiotics kill off your friendly flora, antibiotic use during chemo could potentially be harmful or downright fatal.

This is especially a concern because many cancer patients are, you guessed it, prescribed antibiotics as an infection-preventive measure while they undergo chemotherapy!

A healthy gut is a key to surviving cancer and beyond
Clearly, having a healthy gut is vital to increase your chances of surviving chemotherapy and rebuilding and maintaining health beyond treatment!

Here are three very effective gut-supportive measures you can take:

Eat for a strong flora balance
This is far and away THE #1 most important cancer-fighting measure you can take.

The National Cancer Institute and the American Cancer Society estimate that at least 30-35 percent of all cancers are related to a poor diet!

Concentrate on real foods like fresh vegetables, fruits, healthy fats, whole grains, reasonable (3-4 oz.) portions of meat, fish, and poultry, and drink plenty of filtered water.

At the same time, avoid soda, sugars and refined carbs as these feed cancer cells as well as nourish the harmful bacteria in your gut.

Get a daily dose of friendly bacteria
Probiotic supplementation is crucial to achieving and maintaining a strong intestinal flora balance.

Even if you have the best diet, many other factors like stress, medications, environmental toxins, and lacking sleep can disrupt your flora balance.

So daily probiotic supplementation is truly your “intestinal insurance policy.”

Stop smoking
What many smokers don’t realize is that in addition to causing lung cancer and encouraging the development of many other cancers, smoking also destroys your gut flora!

If you smoke, please quit already.  Millions of people have done it before you and it's not impossible.

If you need help, there are lots of stop smoking programs and aids out there.  Pick one and put that cancer-creating habit behind you for good.

Are you part of this frightening health trend?

According to a study recently published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), the use of prescription drugs in the US from 1999 to 2012 has literally exploded.

Overall use of prescription drugs increased by 16 percent from 1999 to 2012, with the biggest jumps being seen in the 40 and over age group.

Considering that the US population only increased 12 percent during that time period, clearly, a larger proportion of us are relying on thy daily meds.

What’s even more disturbing is that polypharmacy--the use of five or more prescription drugs—nearly doubled from 8 to 15 percent over the same 13-year period.

So what’s the big deal?
To really understand how serious our increasing reliance on drugs is, you need to realize exactly what drugs are.

They are chemicals that alter or suppress one or more of your bodily functions and in doing so, they achieve a desired result (usually relief from a symptom)—but there’s always a price to pay.

Let’s look at a few examples:

Antidepressants
Antidepressants (SSRIs) shut down the pumps in your brain that vacuum up excess neurotransmitters (in this case serotonin, your feel-good chemical).  But this isn’t necessarily the answer to depression and it can backfire on you.

First of all, when your brain is chemically induced to hold on to serotonin, it shuts down its own production of serotonin—which can eventually leave you running low and worsen depression!

In addition, many cases of depression are actually caused by too much serotonin—so artificially forcing your brain to hold on to it may lead to excessive serotonin levels and even worse depression.

And lastly, many cases of depression are the natural, emotional result of traumatic life events and situations—not a low serotonin level.

Acid reducers
Acid reducers shut down your stomach’s production of acid.  Less acid hanging around is supposed to mean less acid to come sliding up into your throat.

But by stopping your stomach from producing acid you are destroying your body’s ability to digest proteins since the initial breakdown of proteins into amino acids begins in the stomach.

This can have a domino effect of poor digestion throughout the GI tract, eventually leading to gas, bloating, dysbiosis and impaired nutrient absorption.  This is why, for example, Nexium is associated with an increased risk of fractures—because your bones aren’t getting the nutrients they need.

Your stomach acid also protects you from dangerous bacteria and viruses in your food, but without its protective action, you are more susceptible to food-borne illness.

Statins
Statins inhibit your liver’s production of cholesterol.  Less cholesterol being produced ultimately means less to help clog up your arteries (never mind that the main cause of atherosclerosis is actually inflammation).

Statins work so effectively, in fact, that liver failure is a possible side effect.  Apparently, the liver takes offense to its cholesterol production being decimated.

Stop the madness!
The most important point to remember is that with very few exceptions (such as antibiotics that kill a dangerous infection), drugs merely cover up symptoms—they don’t restore wellness or optimal bodily function.

Put another way, drug companies don’t create cures—they create customers.

Don’t open yourself up to be a customer any longer.

Especially when there is so much you can do to help create real health from within!

Here are some ways you can start:

Rely on the farmer—not the pharmacist
The vast majority of your diet should be real foods—meats, poultry, fish, vegetables, fruits, dairy, eggs and healthy fats like butter and olive oil.  This is your body’s basic fuel and what it needs most to keep you healthy.

Make up for any deficiencies
To make sure you have all bases covered (and help compensate for the fact that our food supply is not as nutritious as it used to be) a high-quality multi-vitamin like Super Core can help fill any gaps you might have with basic, core nutrients and antioxidants.

Keep your gut healthy
If your gut environment is unhealthy (and trust me, if you’ve had poor digestion and/or have been taking medications for quite some time, that’s practically a given) you may be lacking in some protection from your precious immune system (among other things).

But a top-notch probiotic like Super Shield can help turn that around for you by repopulating your supply of friendly, health-enhancing bacteria.

Keep inflammation low
Inflammation is a basic underlying cause of most diseases, including our two big killers—cancer and heart disease.

In addition to having a healthy diet of real foods, a potent Omega-3 supplement like VitalMega-3 can help ensure your body has the supply of natural anti-inflammatories that it needs to keep inflammation under control.

Get regular exercise
You and your doctor can decide what’s right for you.  Just pick an activity and do it at least four-five times a week.

Take the steps you need to help create REAL health from within—not a chemically-induced absence of symptoms.

You’ll never regret it.

The truth about Barrett’s esophagus

If you’re one of the 25 million or so people in the US with acid reflux, you know all too well the misery it can cause.

This can go way beyond a 4-alarm fire in your chest and can include:

• Regurgitation of partially digested food and stomach acid
• Chest pain
• Chronic cough; frequent throat-clearing
• Difficulty swallowing
• Bloating and gas
• Shortness of breath
• Sore throat
• Hoarseness; laryngitis
• Loss of tooth enamel

But there’s another consequence of acid reflux that is far scarier than an acidy burp or having to sleep propped up on pillows.

It’s Barrett’s esophagus.

What is Barrett's esophagus?
Barrett's esophagus is a condition where the color and the type of cells lining your lower esophagus change, becoming more like the inside of your stomach or intestines instead.

This process is called intestinal metaplasia and is most often the result of repeated exposure to stomach acid -- in other words, acid reflux or GERD. Obesity (especially around the abdominal area) can also be a risk factor.

It can be especially dangerous because people with Barrett's esophagus have an increased risk of developing esophageal adenocarcinoma – one of the most rapidly increasing cancers in the United States.

Barrett's esophagus and cancer
Once cancer develops, depending on the degree of severity it can result in losing a portion of your esophagus.

The surgery is called an esophagectomy, and it involves removing your esophagus and the top part of your stomach. A portion of your stomach is then pulled up into your chest and connected to the remaining un-diseased portion of your esophagus.

The procedure has a very high mortality rate and possible complications include:

• Breathing problems
• Increased risk of dangerous infection
• Lowered immune system
• Permanent damage to your larynx (voice box)
• Difficulty swallowing
• Frequent vomiting

Why the standard treatment can make it worse
The most common treatment for acid reflux/GERD and Barrett's is acid reducing drugs.  The thinking behind it is having less acid in the stomach means less acid available to slide up and aggravate the cells of your esophagus.

But stomach acid is essential for your body to be able to begin the initial breakdown of proteins. So when your stomach acid is “shut off” with medications, your digestion is greatly impaired or destroyed.

So in effect you aggravate the very area you’re trying to “keep calm” and the drug package inserts prove it!  Documented side effects of acid reducers include:

• Dyspepsia—indigestion; burping up stomach acid
• Dysphagia—difficulty swallowing
• Dysplasia GI—abnormal cell development in the GI tract (which is exactly what Barrett’s is)
• Esophageal disorder—again, this is what Barrett’s is
• Pharynx disorder—problems with the tube that goes between your mouth and the esophagus
• Vomiting—more stomach acid aggravating your esophagus

Tell me, how can these drugs possibly be seen as a wise treatment for Barrett’s esophagus?

What IS a smart approach for acid reflux/GERD and Barrett’s?
If you want to help lessen your chances of developing Barrett's esophagus (or help prevent it from worsening if you already have it), the smart approach is to...

Make sure your digestion is carried out the way it should be!

When your digestion is accomplished thoroughly and completely like Nature intended, there is no putrefying mass of food or acid to rise up and irritate your throat.

In other words, you help eliminate a primary root cause of Barrett's (and acid reflux/GERD too!).

This can be accomplished in two easy steps:

1- Make your meals inherently easier to digest
The protein and starch combination is a tough one for your body to handle because proteins and starches require opposing enzymes (acid vs. alkaline) and the presence of these foods together in the stomach can cause the enzymes to weaken or neutralize each other.

At that point, your digestion goes out the window!

But when you instead pair proteins OR starches with vegetables, you avoid the “enzyme fight” in your stomach, and your digestion can improve dramatically!

2- Consider enzyme supplementation
As we age, our ability to produce adequate enzymes for digestion diminishes, and without enough enzymes to do the job, heartburn and reflux are practically a given (as well as gas, bloating and constipation too).

That’s why supplementation with a quality enzyme formula that contains a thorough blend of crucial enzymes to target all types of foods can be a tremendous help in paving the way for better digestion.

Other helpful suggestions
Other safe, natural measures to help soothe an inflamed GI tract and enhance digestion can include:

• Chiropractic treatment
• Meditation
• Yoga
• Acupuncture
• Chewing Deglycyrrhizinated licorice (DGL)—available at health food stores
• Healing nutrients like fish oil can help repair damage to the esophagus

Do sunscreens really protect you against skin cancer?

Now that summer is upon us, warnings are everywhere telling people to “Avoid direct sunlight!” and “Don’t go outside without sunscreen!”

So, many people dutifully slather themselves up before they dare set foot outside.

But is the sun really the evil, skin-cancer-creating monster it’s been made out to be?  And are sunscreens all they’re cracked up to be?

I have some doubts, and here’s why you should too:

History speaks for itself
Sunscreen was first brought to market in 1936, introduced by the founder of L'Oreal cosmetics, French chemist Eugène Schueller.

So it only follows that prior to 1936, people were keeling over in massive numbers from skin cancer, right?

Not exactly.

And what’s, even more, concerning is the fact that even though we are using more sunscreen than ever before in our existence, our rates of skin cancer still continue to rise!

It’s not cut and dry
The whole skin cancer issue is not cut and dry, and many people are misinformed about a number of things.

First of all, there are three types of skin cancer—basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma (which are rarely fatal) and melanoma (which is the deadliest).  Most skin cancer cases involve basal and squamous cell carcinomas.

Basal and squamous cell cancers are strongly related to UV exposure over a period of years.  Studies have shown that some sunscreens do help lower the risk of squamous cell carcinoma, but not necessarily basal cell carcinoma.

Melanoma, on the other hand, is associated with sunburn, especially sunburns you get early in life.  But interestingly, melanoma often appears on areas of the body that rarely are exposed to the sun—so the puzzle Is missing a few pieces.

Plus studies have not conclusively determined that sunscreen protects you against melanoma.  Some studies suggest a positive outcome, some show no difference, and even others have shown an increased risk of melanoma with sunscreen use!

The dark side of shunning the sun
Shunning the sun does have a dark side (no pun intended)—because your body needs UV light exposure from the sun to make vitamin D.

Vitamin D protects you against cancer, so in effect by avoiding the sun because you’re scared of skin cancer, you’re actually raising your risk of other cancers!

All sunscreens are not created equal
This is arguably the most important point of all.  Many sunscreens are not only not completely effective, but up to 75 percent of them are downright toxic!

First of all, a product needs to shield you from both UVA and UVB radiation, as both of these can increase your skin cancer risk with overexposure.  But many sunscreens only protect against UVB rays, which are the rays that your body uses to make vitamin D.

So you’re getting only half the protection yet at the same time are shutting down your body’s vitamin D production!

And many commercial sunscreens are loaded with these toxic ingredients and should be avoided at all cost:

• Para amino benzoic acid
• Octyl salicyclate
• Oxybenzone
• Cinoxate
• Dioxybenzone
• Phenylbenzimidazole
• Homosalate
• Menthyl anthranilate
• Octocrylene
• Methoxycinnamate
• Parabens

A smart approach
Clearly, completely shunning the sun is not necessarily in your best interest, nor is slathering potentially toxic sunscreen on your skin or thinking you have free reign to roast yourself like a turkey because you have sunscreen on!

Here is a smart approach to getting healthier sun exposure and still protecting yourself:

Take care of your skin from the inside out!  
This means eating lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, drinking plenty of water, getting enough omega-3 essential fatty acids (fish oil formulas like VitalMega-3 can help) and getting enough protective antioxidants, vitamin B3 and vitamin D.  Super Core has health-supporting levels of all of these, plus many more vitamins, minerals, and anti-inflammatories.

Get 20-30 minutes of unprotected sun exposure each day
This will help allow your skin to naturally produce vitamin D as it was designed to.

Protect for longer exposure
If you stay in the sun for longer than 30 minutes, it’s time to protect yourself.  Options include wearing light clothing, sitting under an umbrella, or wearing a wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses.

As far as sunscreens go, be sure to choose “broad protection” (UVA and UVB) mineral-based varieties that do not contain the harmful ingredients listed above.  I use Badger® SPF15 but there are many great brands out there including True Natural®, Kiss My Face® and Bare Belly Organics®.

Never, EVER get a sunburn
If you see your skin going from a healthy light pink or tan to red, get out of the sun immediately and put some aloe vera and/or vitamin E gel on your skin.

Enjoy the sun the way you’re supposed to—safely and healthfully!

To your health,

Sherry Brescia

Why Choose My Plate is terrible diet advice

Since 1980, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has published dietary recommendations every five years to guide Americans in how to make healthy food choices.

Unfortunately, the definition of “healthy” is subject to interpretation.  It is not always based on current valid research and science, and can be heavily influenced by BIG corporations—especially the grain, corn and soy industries.

Let’s put it this way—if the USDA recommendations are truly healthy, then why has our rate of obesity more than doubled since they were first published in 1980, with Type 2 diabetes also exploding during the same time period?

A big concern here is that not only do many people blindly accept what they’re being told, but also professionals such as doctors and dietitians rely on this information as sound advice to pass along.  Plus these guidelines are used as a basis for nutrition programs such as school lunches and public assistance meals—situations where people have little or no control over what they’re given to eat.

The summary of the latest installment of the USDA guides is called “Choose My Plate” (prior editions include the “Food Pyramid”) and trust me, making choices like they recommend can leave you anything but healthy.

Here’s why...

Choose My Plate is terrible diet advice

They recommend 30 percent of each meal to be comprised of grains
Although whole grains do provide more nutrients and fiber than refined grains, ALL grains turn to sugar upon digestion.  In addition to making you fat, sugar stirs up inflammation, taxes your pancreas thereby increasing your risk of Type 2 diabetes, feeds cancer, nourishes unhealthy bacteria and yeasts in your gut (which can weaken your immune system function), and is a leading cause of heart disease.

Note that they also suggest half of your grains be whole grains, but so what?  That means the other half is refined, and they ALL add to your sugar load.

They include legumes as a protein source
Although legumes like black beans and kidney beans do provide protein, most people don’t realize that their predominant macronutrient is still carbohydrates.

For example, a serving of black beans provides 15 grams of protein, but 40 grams of carbs.  Compare that to a chicken breast which provides 43 grams of protein and 0 grams of carbohydrate.

Beans are an excellent source of B vitamins, minerals like magnesium and fiber, but it’s important to know what you’re really getting—far more carbs than protein.

They vilify saturated fats
If I see one more “official source” telling people to minimize saturated fats, choose fat-free dairy and avoid butter, I’ll tear my hair out.  Your body needs all types of fats—saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated—each plays a very important role in your health.

About 1/3 of your daily calorie intake should be fats, with a fair representation of each type.
Saturated fats from Nature (such as red meat and real butter, preferably organic) are crucial to your brain and nervous system functioning plus they’re needed for your body to make hormones.
They have been wrongly demonized and implicated as being a primary cause of heart disease over the last several decades due to some outdated, slanted research from the 1950s, but that’s simply not true and our disease statistics prove it.

Although the death rate from cardiovascular disease has decreased from 1 million deaths in 1970 to about 800,000 in 2010, the actual number of people developing heart disease shot up from 3.4 million in 1970 to 5.8 million in 2010.  (Statistics courtesy of the American Heart Association.)

That boils down to a lot more people are getting heart disease, but medications and surgeries are keeping them from croaking.

Here’s an interesting tidbit--the fat that surrounds your heart and on which it relies during times of stress is saturated fat.  That should tell you something.

They don’t point out dangers of polyunsaturated fats
Polyunsaturated fats like vegetable oils are extremely sensitive to heat and form toxic lipid peroxides, carcinogens, and mutagens when heated, so they should NEVER be used for cooking.

The best choices for cooking are stable saturated fats like butter, lard or tallow.

Plus polyunsaturated oils that are packaged in clear glass or plastic containers should be avoided, as oxygen, heat and light can cause the oils to become rancid.

And margarine and spreads are created by heating polyunsaturated oils, so they’re already denatured even on the store shelves.  They are best avoided at all cost.

They have replaced the balanced diet with the balanced meal
A balanced diet is one that provides the nutrients necessary for the body to function as it should and to maintain proper health—incorporating a wide variety of macronutrients, micronutrients, and fiber.

Nowhere is it written that ALL of these foods must be present in EVERY SINGLE MEAL.

As a matter of fact, our typical meals comprised of every type of food under the sun is a major reason why three out of four Americans suffer from digestive issues.

Keeping meals simpler—pairing a protein OR starch (but not both) with lots of vegetables—makes your stomach’s job much easier and can help curb gas, bloating and heartburn.

In addition, fruit must ideally be eaten alone on an empty stomach—not piled in with a bunch of other foods.  Unlike other foods, fruit is digested exclusively in the small intestine, but when its passage to the intestine is blocked by other foods in the stomach, it can ferment and cause gas and bloating.

For more information on proper food pairing for better digestion and making truly healthy diet choices, check out the Great Taste No Pain system.

The bottom line: Eat real food
The more you stick to real foods like fresh fruits (on an empty stomach of course!), fresh vegetables, meats, poultry, fish, eggs, full-fat dairy, butter, legumes, nuts and seeds, the healthier you will be.  Period.

Now that’s an easy guideline to follow!

Drugs that cause obesity (and nutrients that fight it)

I think it’s safe to say that we are dealing with one of the greatest, most complex and wide-ranging health crises ever in our existence.

Obesity.

When the rate of ANY health condition doubles in three decades, alarm bells should be clanging.

Although many factors have been identified as playing a role in our obesity crisis—including fast/junk food, soda, sedentary lifestyles and lack of exercise, and even more recently gut bacterial imbalances, food sensitivities, and chronic inflammation—there’s still more to it than that.

And one of the big players that is largely being ignored is medications.

A good number of commonly prescribed medications interfere with your body’s use and absorption of nutrients that are critical to proper metabolism—so the end result is weight gain!

Considering that seven out of 10 of us take at least one prescription medication each day, that’s a good number of people for whom the pharmacy is helping to widen their backsides.

Here are some of the guilty parties:

Common medications that interfere with nutrients and cause weight gain

Medication                                         Nutrient(s) it interferes with

Coumadin                                                           Vitamin K; lutein

Antibiotics                                                           Vitamins K and B

Corticosteroids                                                  Calcium; vitamin D; chromium

Orlistat                                                                 Fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K

Diuretics                                                              Magnesium; zinc

Digoxin                                                                Calcium; magnesium

Beta blockers                                                      Coenzyme Q10

Biguanides (like Metformin)                              Vitamin B12

H2 blockers and proton pump inhibitors        Vitamin B12; calcium, protein

NSAIDs                                                                   Folate

Anticonvulsants                                                    Vitamin D; folate; L-carnitine

If you are on any of these medications and are struggling with excess weight or obesity, talk to your doctor about alternatives.  It’s pretty tough to justify the benefit of exchanging one health condition for another, especially one as devastating and far-reaching as obesity.

The other side—nutrients that fight obesity
Here are some nutrients that help in the fight against obesity and are good contenders for which to consider supplementation:

Chromium:  Chromium helps encourage glucose uptake by your muscles, helping to encourage healthier blood sugar levels, plus it also curbs food cravings.

Magnesium: Magnesium lowers blood glucose levels.

Biotin:  Biotin is key to a strong metabolism, helping with the proper breakdown of carbohydrates into glucose, fats into fatty acids and protein into amino acids.

Vanadium: Vanadium also pitches in with biotin and chromium to help get proper amounts of glucose into your body’s cells.

Alpha-lipoic acid: Alpha-lipoic acid is an antioxidant that assists your body in using glucose.

Iodine:  Iodine helps support healthy thyroid function, which is vital for your metabolism.

A high-quality multi-vitamin and mineral formula can help provide health supporting doses of ALL of these metabolism-crucial nutrients.

Also important in the fight against obesity are Omega-3 essential fatty acids, especially Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).  These help to increase the flexibility of your cell membranes (so nutrients can get in and wastes can get out) and fight inflammation.  Fish oil supplementation can help ensure that your body has enough of these crucial fats.

Obesity is a complex issue for which there is no one easy answer.

But you can help stack the deck in your favor by engaging the power of nutrition and ensuring your body has what it needs to support a healthy metabolism!

Should you go gluten free?

When people ask me if they should go gluten free, my response is always, “It depends on why you’re going gluten-free to begin with.”

Not everyone has an issue with gluten, and it’s not a guarantee that you’re going to lose weight.

Here’s what you need to know to determine if going gluten-free is right for you.

The basics first
Even though gluten-free eating is a hot topic, many people STILL don't know what gluten is.

Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye.  It's what gives bread its soft, chewy texture.

And it also happens to cause many people a LOT of pain.

That’s because gluten is a very dense, sticky protein that’s challenging for the human GI tract to break down.  As a result, digestion can be hampered, which can cause problems like gas, bloating, constipation or diarrhea.

Gluten problems have exploded over the last several decades because the amount of gluten we're eating (as compared to 50 years ago) has also exploded.

And our bodies are simply not designed to handle that much gluten!

Due to bioengineering and hybridization of crops, the wheat harvested today has nearly double the gluten of the wheat that our grandparents ate.

Plus gluten is a thickener in many processed foods, and our consumption of those has skyrocketed over the last 50 years.

Why people go gluten free
Here are three main reasons why people consider a gluten free diet.

     1- It’s a celebrity craze

First and foremost, remember this: Celebrities are not health experts—they are performers.
And while they may pass along information that has merit, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s right for everybody.

If you go gluten free and feel better, it’s because your system was challenged by the amount of gluten you were eating—not because Gwyneth Paltrow is a diet expert.

     2- You heard it’s a great way to lose weight

It can be, but not for the reasons you might think.

Without your system having to break down a lot of gluten (especially if you’re a bread and pasta lover) you’ll help to improve your digestion which can lead to weight loss.

Plus you may end up naturally consuming fewer refined carbs overall which can certainly make you drop pounds.

However, it can also backfire on you and cause you gain weight...especially if you replace the gluten-loaded breads, crackers, cakes, and cookies you used to eat with gluten-free versions, and think you can indulge to your heart’s desire because they’re gluten free.

     3- You have a known (or suspected) problem with gluten

There are 3 possibilities here:  A gluten allergy, a gluten intolerance or sensitivity, and Celiac disease.

With a true gluten allergy, the symptoms usually occur immediately after eating gluten, so the cause-and-effect relationship is obvious.

But with a gluten sensitivity (intolerance), your immune system sees gluten as a dangerous invader and launches an attack, leading to pain, cramping and diarrhea.  However, your symptoms may not appear right away or even days later.

Plus gluten-sensitive health problems can disguise themselves as many other conditions that you might not associate with gluten.

The New England Journal of Medicine listed 55 conditions that can be caused or worsened by eating gluten—including osteoporosis, anemia, fatigue, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, multiple sclerosis, and almost all autoimmune diseases. Gluten is also linked to many psychiatric and neurological diseases, such as anxiety, depression, migraine, epilepsy, autism and neuropathy.

Lastly, Celiac disease is an EXTREMELY SEVERE case of gluten intolerance or sensitivity.

What to do
If you’re considering going gluten free, here are some points to consider:

     1) Get tested

It’s extremely important to see a doctor if you suspect you have a gluten problem.

Note that the tests for gluten allergy, sensitivity and Celiac are different, so if your doctor has only done one test, you have not been completely tested and may continue to suffer from undiagnosed gluten problems.

     2) Get it out of your diet

Obviously, this is vital if you have been diagnosed with a gluten issue.

But even if you don’t have a documented problem, many people feel better eliminating gluten simply because their bodies are less challenged during digestion.

Real foods are inherently gluten free—including fruits, vegetables, meats, poultry, and fish—so they should become the major part of your diet.

You’ll also have to become a careful label reader to detect gluten in processed foods.  It’s not always as simple as seeing “gluten” in the ingredients--here are some additives that also mean hidden gluten:

• Fu:  Dried wheat gluten
• HPP: Hydrolyzed plant protein
• HVP: Hydrolyzed vegetable protein
• MSG: Monosodium glutamate
• TPP: Textured plant protein
• TVP: Textured vegetable protein

When dining out, ask your server questions about how the dishes are prepared.

Watch out for non-food sources of gluten too, including medications, cosmetics, lip balm, soaps, shampoos, sunscreen, toothpaste, and detergent.

Click here if you need more information or some great gluten free recipes.

     3) Help your gut recover

Gluten challenges and the resulting effects on your intestinal tract can also be harmful to your beneficial gut bacteria, which can cause digestive problems and weaken your immune functioning.

Supplementing with a quality multi-strain probiotic formula can help rebuild your population of helpful bacteria and support a strong, healthy gut environment.

A must-read if you take PPIs

Oh, it’s a sad day over at Astra Zeneca.

The pharmaceutical giant is facing a lawsuit from a kidney transplant patient claiming that they allegedly failed to warn the public about the potential for the (cash cow) proton pump inhibitor Nexium® to cause kidney problems, including renal failure.

Recent studies, including one published in the highly regarded journal JAMA Internal Medicine, have shown that PPI users are 20-50 percent more likely to develop chronic kidney disease (CKD).

Although CKD can be treated with medications that can help slow the progression of the disease, eventually the kidneys can stop working - resulting in kidney failure, dialysis, transplant or death.

I predict this is just the tip of the iceberg, and a lot more people are going to start putting two and two together.

Sad but not a surprise
I’m sorry if I sound cynical, but what do you expect?

When someone takes a medication that incapacitates one of their body’s natural processes—in this case, the stomach’s production of acid—there is most assuredly going to be a price to pay.

How could there NOT be?

Nothing the body does is “by accident” and using chemicals to disable one of its functions is rolling out the red carpet for disease.

Right from square one PPIs destroy digestion because acid happens to be necessary to break down proteins.  This can lead to gas, bloating, constipation and reduced nutrient absorption.

From there you run the risk of deficiency diseases like osteoporosis and have an increased risk of fractures (a well-known consequence of PPI use).

But why the kidneys?
PPIs have been shown to cause arterial damage.  When they affect the arteries servicing the heart, you have an increased risk of heart attack (which is also one of the documented dangers of PPI use).

Well, if the arteries servicing the kidneys are affected, guess what—kidney disease may become your companion.

Plus another contributing factor lies in the poor digestion precipitated by PPIs.  When your digestion isn’t accomplished like it’s supposed to be, that can lead to excess wastes and toxins building up in your system.

Since your kidneys help filter toxins out of your bloodstream and eliminate them, they get an additional workload the poorer your digestion is and the more toxic you are.

Fix the problem!
If you suffer from heartburn (AKA acid reflux), instead of merely playing Russian roulette and hoping your number doesn’t come up in the deadly side effects lottery, doesn’t it make sense to help fix the underlying problem?

Poor digestion!

Here’s how you can naturally help your body carry out digestion the way it’s supposed to!

Use the power of food
Stick to real foods—meats, poultry, fish, fruits, vegetables, dairy, eggs, healthy fats and whole grains—and stay away from fast food, processed foods, and soda.  Junk foods stress your system, make you toxic and sap your nutrients.  

Avoid pairing animal proteins and starches together in the same meal.  This combination is VERY difficult for the stomach to break down and is a leading factor behind our astronomical rates of acid reflux.  Instead pair meats OR starches with vegetables in a meal—I bet you’ll see a world of difference.  Click here if you need more information or guidance with this.

Use the power of enzymes
Many people have depleted their body’s enzyme resources, and if you don’t have the enzymes for the job, you can count on digestive problems—it’s a given.

This is especially true if you’re a junk food junkie, use acid reducers like Nexium® (yet another consequence of these poisons!) have had gastric surgery or are elderly.

People who are enzyme challenged have gotten tremendous relief from digestive issues by simply giving their body a little boost with a digestive enzyme formula.

Digestive enzyme supplements work alongside your body’s own enzyme resources to help make sure all of your foods are broken down like they need to be—so you get the benefit of those precious nutrients and can say goodbye to the agony of gut issues!

Work with your body—not against it
When you work with your body to help it accomplish that which Nature intended it to—instead of suppressing one its functions—a whole new world of feeling better can open up for you fast.

Embrace the power of sound digestion and all that it can do for you.

To your health,

Sherry Brescia

A sneaky cause of numerous chronic health problems

Have you recently seen a doctor for any of these symptoms?

• Exhaustion
• Cravings for sweets or starches
• Bad breath or body odor
• Persistent cough, sore throat
• Brain fog
• Mood swings
• Joint pain
• Loss of sex drive
• Chronic sinus and allergy issues
• Gas, bloating, heartburn or constipation
• Weak immune system/repeated infections

If so, chances are good that bloodwork was done and nothing was found.
You may have been given some type of medication (pain relievers, antibiotics, acid reducers, antidepressants, etc.), told to go on a diet, or maybe even that it’s all in your head!

But I’d be willing to bet that your problems continued, right?
Well, there's a good reason for that.  

The reason is that a whole slew of seemingly unrelated symptoms can be caused by yeast (Candida) overgrowth in your body.

And all the prescription drugs in the world won't touch it--that's why your symptoms keep coming back.

Here is what you must know about...

Candida—the house guest with a dark side
Yeast (Candida) is always present in your body, and it does serve a valid function--killing harmful bacteria in your intestinal tract.

As long as you have a healthy gut environment, Candida is kept under control and does what it's supposed to do.

The problem arises when Candida grows out of control--then this relatively harmless yeast becomes a fungal monster that can make you very sick.

There are about 154 different species of Candida, but Candida albicans is usually the culprit that causes health problems. 

From benign yeast to harmful fungus
When Candida transforms from yeast to fungus, it eats away at your intestinal walls and makes them too porous.  This allows Candida, plus any poorly digested food molecules, toxins and wastes in your intestinal tract to seep into your bloodstream.

This can cause rashes, food intolerances, brain fog, skin/nail infections and genitourinary infections in both men and women.

In addition, two toxic substances - ethanol and acetaldehyde - are produced, which hamper your red blood cells' ability to flow into the capillaries, and can lead to migraines, muscle aches, and fatigue.

These toxins also impair your white blood cells' ability to fight infections, and can also trigger allergies, skin rashes, acne, and slow healing.

A Candida self-assessment
The important thing to realize is that once you have symptoms, that's a sign Candida is already out of control in your body.

Here's a self-assessment to see if Candida may be a problem for you:

Have you:

• Taken a long course of antibiotics, or multiple courses over a short period of time?
• Suffered from persistent prostatitis, vaginitis or other genital infections?
• Taken birth control pills?
• Taken steroids like prednisone?
• Been treated for cancer with chemotherapy or radiation?
• Craved bread, sugar or alcohol?
• Been diagnosed with HIV/AIDS or an autoimmune condition?
• Frequently felt fatigued, lethargic, dizzy or disconnected?
• Suffered from poor memory or concentration, loss of sexual desire or mood swings?
• Suffered from constipation, diarrhea, heartburn, bloating or gas?
• Had foot, hair or body odor that persists after bathing?
• Had persistent bad breath, nasal congestion, rash in your mouth or sore throat?
• Suffered from persistent cough, chest pain or wheezing?
• Experienced frequent urination or burning with urination?
• Had persistent toenail or fingernail discoloration? 

As you would suspect, the more “Yes” answers you have, the more likely Candida is an issue for you.

How to help stop Candida overgrowth
If you suspect Candida is wreaking havoc in your body, here are ways to help:

Eliminate sugars and refined carbohydrates
Candida yeast feed on sugar and refined carbohydrates. So when you eliminate these foods from your diet, you deprive Candida of the food source it needs to multiply.

Read labels carefully, as sugars are hiding in many foods and condiments.
Focus on consuming good carbohydrates like vegetables and legumes.

In addition, although they can be very healthy, fruits are high in sugar and whole grains can feed Candida too, so they are best avoided for at least a month or until you have Candida under control.

Support a healthy flora balance.
The beneficial bacteria in your intestinal tract help to keep Candida under control and support your immune system, but they can only do this if there is a healthy enough population of them.

A high quality, multi-strain probiotic formula can provide a much-needed intestinal flora boost for your body, and help ensure your army of good guys stays strong.

Look for a product that includes the strains Lactobacillus rhamnosus and Lactobacillus acidophilus—they have been shown to be extremely effective in fighting Candida.

Use coconut oil
Coconut oil can effectively fight Candida due to its antimicrobial properties, plus it’s a good stable fat for cooking.

Talk to your doctor
If you are on birth control pills, steroids or antibiotics, talk to your doctor about alternatives.

Your most underappreciated body part

If I were to ask you what your circulatory system does, I bet you’d say pump blood through your body.

And if I asked about your digestive system, you’d say to digest foods and eliminate wastes.

But what if I asked you what your lymphatic system does?

<Insert sounds of crickets chirping.>

Most people have no earthly clue what their lymphatic system does, but trust me, if yours isn’t working right, it’s only a matter of time before you get seriously sick.

Here’s why.

Your internal cleaning crew
Your lymphatic system works with your circulatory system, but the main fluid is lymph—not blood.

Lymph is a milky liquid made up of white blood cells, nutrients and chyle (a fluid created in your intestines when you digest fats).

Here’s what happens:

After you eat, chyle and nutrients from your foods are absorbed into your bloodstream.

Your blood cruises through your blood vessels—from the main arteries, then eventually to your tiny capillaries.

Then lymph trickles out of your bloodstream through the ends of the capillaries.  From there it gets to work washing your cells, delivering nutrients and mopping up wastes.

Then the lymph heads to your lymph vessels (you have just as many lymph vessels as blood vessels!).  When it reaches one of your lymph nodes, the node filters out the wastes and destroys any viruses, bacteria or cancer cells picked up along the way.

Once the filtering is done, then the “clean” lymph rejoins your blood.
Note that when there are a lot of wastes or a virus in your lymph, the lymph nodes get overloaded and swell up.  That’s when many people say they have “swollen glands” but they’re really swollen lymph nodes.

A big price to pay
If this cycle isn’t working right, you are susceptible to a number of health problems including:

• Lacking nutrients/deficiency diseases
• Cancer
• Low energy
• Repeated viruses or infections
• Fluid swelling in your limbs or other areas of the body (edema)

The other partnership—your immune system
Your lymphatic system also partners up with your immune system, and the main lymphatic players here are your bone marrow, your thymus gland, and your spleen.

Your bone marrow is where the vast majority of your immune cells are produced from specialized cells called stem cells.

Your thymus gland produces hormones that trigger immune responses when you need them, such as when you get stung by a bee.

Your spleen also produces immune cells, plus it helps filter and cleanse your blood.

So without these players working like they should, you run the risk of having impaired immune functioning and heaven help you at that point—any sickness or disease is fair game for you.

Take care of YOUR lymphatic system!
Here are ways to make sure your lymphatic system is working in tip-top shape to cleanse and protect you:

Get regular exercise
Unlike your circulatory system which has your heart to pump blood through your body, your lymphatic system doesn’t have a pump to move lymph around.

So YOU have been the pump—by engaging in regular exercise!

No more excuses.  Pick an activity, get your doc’s OK and GET MOVING.

Drink enough water
Water is essential for having proper blood levels and to flush wastes out of your cells.  Eight 8-oz. glasses a day should be your minimum.

Nutritional support
A great way to help your lymphatic system’s cleaning efforts is to create less garbage to begin with!

That means avoiding processed and fast foods and instead having a diet of real foods.  Especially good choices for lymphatic health are leafy greens, citrus fruits and healthy fats (especially nuts, seeds and avocado).

Give those immune cells a good home
Although your bone marrow and spleen produce most of your immune cells, the majority of those cells (about 70 percent) take up residence in your gut.

So it’s crucial to make sure that you provide a healthy intestinal environment to house these life-saving protectors—and the key to that is a real foods diet and probiotic supplementation.

Practice deep breathing
Proper movement of air through your lungs also helps pump fluid through the lymphatic system:

1- Get comfortable in a sitting or lying position and put your hands on your chest and stomach.
2- Focus on breathing from your abdomen instead of your chest. 
3- Breathe in through your nose, hold the breath for a few seconds and then exhale through your mouth. The time it takes to exhale should be about twice what it is to inhale.
4- Try to do four 8-breath cycles one to three times every day.

Consider possible iodine deficiency
Most people associate iodine deficiency with thyroid goiter, but it can also cause congestion of the lymphatic system.

If you suspect you may be deficient, ask your doctor to do a test.
And if you want some (non-salt) dietary sources of iodine, fish and shellfish are your best bets.

Congratulations!  You are now an expert in your lymphatic system and hopefully have an appreciation for how it is keeping you healthy and, well, alive.