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.

Two growing dangers you can’t ignore

In honor of Earth Day tomorrow, I’d like to talk about two growing dangers in our environment that you cannot ignore any longer because they could eventually cost you your health or your life.

Genetically modified foods and glyphosate (Roundup®) use.

Here is what you must know about these two “grim reapers” and how you can help minimize their harmful effects on you.

GMO foods—not just pollen experiments
To create genetically modified foods, scientists are playing Mother Nature and not in a good way.

To create a genetically modified food, they alter the genetic code (DNA) of plants by splicing in DNA from a completely unrelated species, crossing different kingdoms of organisms.

For example, chicken genes have been spliced into potatoes and fish genes into strawberries.

Rodent genes have been inserted into tobacco, and bacteria and viruses are spliced into cucumbers and tomatoes.

What has resulted is a series of "alien foods” that we know nothing about.  That includes knowing zero about their safety because only a few very limited studies have been done by the biotech industry…so you can guess how objective those were.

Plus time will tell what the long-term health effects of these “Franken-foods” will be.

I predict that we will see increased immune reactions (like allergies and sensitivities) as well as eventually even chronic diseases like cancer.

Neither the FDA nor the US Department of Agriculture requires biotech companies to prove that GMO foods are safe for human consumption before new modified crops are put on the market.

Currently, the most widely-produced GMO crops in the US are sugar, corn, soy, and wheat—foods which the average American eats in abundance.

Here’s the icing on the cake—glyphosate is typically used in the farming of GMO crops and glyphosate residue has been found in GMO food items!

Glyphosate—kills weeds (and maybe you)
Roundup® is a very popular product that is used in landscaping to kill weeds.
While Monsanto claims that Roundup® is safe, a peer-reviewed report out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), revealed how glyphosate can, in fact, harm human health.

Monsanto has claimed that Roundup® is harmless to animals and humans because it uses what is called the shikimate acid pathway to kill weeds, and this metabolic pathway is absent in people and pets.  However, this pathway is present in BACTERIA, and that’s how it can cause bodily harm in both humans and animals—through your gut bacteria.

Glyphosate disrupts bacteria’s ability to function.  What makes this worse is that glyphosate prefers to attack your beneficial bacteria, thereby allowing dangerous organisms to flourish and overcome your friendly flora.  At that point, you become a candidate for any number of viruses, infections, and diseases.

Plus glyphosate has been linked to certain cancers (including lymphoma), and to DNA damage, premature births, birth defects and ADHD.

In addition, glyphosate can also destroy the villi in your intestinal wall, and reduce your body’s ability to absorb nutrients.  This can increase your risk for deficiency diseases as well as obesity.

Minimize your exposure!
Here’s how you can help minimize your exposure to GMO and glyphosate dangers:

Read labels
When buying fresh produce look at the codes on the little stickers on the items:

• 4-digit code:  Traditionally grown (non-GMO) produce
• 5-digit code:  Look at the first number: 

• If it starts with a 9, it's organic
• If it starts with an 8, it's a GMO

Avoid processed foods
GMO crops are used extensively in packaged/processed foods, and the labels don't need to disclose that.  As a matter of fact, unless a packaged food is 100 percent organic, you should assume it has GMO ingredients.

The answer here is easy—stick to real foods and avoid the packaged junk as much as possible.

Buy organic whenever you can
Organic foods by definition do not contain GMO ingredients, so if you want snack chips, cereals or other packaged foods, at least opt for organic brands.

Try to buy as much organic meat, milk and produce as possible. 

If you're on a tight budget and can't afford to go 100 percent organic, here are the produce items which are the most tainted and are important to buy organic:

• Celery
• Peaches
• Strawberries
• Apples
• Blueberries
• Nectarines
• Bell Peppers
• Spinach
• Cherries
• Kale/Collard
• Greens
• Potatoes
• Grapes

Help your gut bacteria recover
Unless you’ve been diligent about eating 100 percent organic, chances are excellent your gut bacteria may have already taken a harmful hit from GMOs and glyphosate.

In addition to a healthy diet of real foods, supplementation with a top-quality probiotic can help your gut bacteria bounce back and provide their sickness and disease-fighting protection. 

Remember YOU alone are responsible for your health--not biotech companies and food companies.

Don't offer yourself up as a guinea pig, jeopardizing your health while you help to grow their bottom lines.

When it comes to real health, natural is always best.

Study: Eating fast food is OK if you do this

I won’t be shocking you today by saying that a fast food diet combined with being a couch potato is a sure path to aging and disease.

But you may be surprised to learn that recent research has shown regular exercise may undo the effects of an unhealthy diet on the cellular level!

A study of mice conducted at the Mayo Clinic showed that exercise helped to prevent diabetes-like symptoms by decreasing the effects of an unhealthy diet.

In addition, exercise appeared to help prevent the accumulation of senescent cells in the mice, which are cells that can increase the risk of age-related disease and conditions.

Plus once the mice started exercising, they stopped accumulating belly fat--which is particularly dangerous and can increase the risk of heart disease, kidney disease, and dementia.

Whoa, Nelly!
If your four food groups are Taco Bell, McDonald’s, Pizza Hut and Dunkin’ Donuts you may be shaking with delight right now thinking all you need to do is take a stroll around the block and you’re golden.

Not so fast.

First of all, “exercise” typically means something more than a casual walk.

Generally speaking, you should do something for at least 30 minutes a day that raises your heart rate and makes you sweat.

And if you’d rather stick needles in your eyeballs than to exercise, here are my top five tips for success:

• Pick an activity you like or will tolerate.  You’ll be more likely to stick with exercise if you don’t loathe what you’re doing.
• Get an exercise buddy.  You’re far less likely to skip a workout if someone is counting on you to show up, plus you can have fun talking and the time will fly by faster.  (This is my friend Liana and I running across the finish line at the Empire State Marathon in 2012—we’ve been exercise buddies for years.)
• Make your goals reasonable.  For example, don't expect to run five miles when the farthest you’ve ever run is from the couch to the refrigerator and back during a commercial.  Even though I’ve run 26.2, I started with a mile or two way back when.
• Celebrate your little victories along the way.  It’s easier to stay motivated when you can look back and see how far you’ve come.
• Remember you’ll rarely ever regret working out, but you’ll almost always regret not working out. 

Just be sure to get your doctor’s OK.

A glaring omission from the study
In addition to not specifying exactly what “regular exercise” is, there was also a glaring omission in the study I quoted above.

The health price of eating nutrient-poor foods!

I don’t care what you do—you can run a marathon every week, but if you’re not nourishing your body with real foods, it’s not a matter of if but merely when will you suffer the consequences.

Here are some examples of what lacking nutrients can do to you:

Heart disease is directly connected to deficiencies in zinc, magnesium, vitamins B6, B12, D, C and E, and folic acid.

Depression can be triggered by low levels of vitamins B3, B6, and B12 as well as vitamin D.

Autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis, lupus, Crohn’s disease, psoriasis and Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism are linked to vitamin D deficiency.

Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia are associated with inadequate levels of vitamin B12, magnesium, and vitamin D.

Cancer can result from numerous possible deficiencies including vitamins A, D, E and K, folic acid, selenium, and zinc.

Type 2 diabetes is commonly seen with deficiencies in biotin, chromium, vanadium, magnesium and vitamin C.

Face the music
Now it’s time to face the music, all you fast food fanatics. You’d better start getting properly nourished or else you’ll be pushing up daisies long before your time.

I know this seem challenging, so I’ll share a personal confession about unhealthy choices:

I used to be a Diet Pepsi-a-holic in my early 20’s but one day the soda machine at work was out of Diet Pepsi so I just got a bottle of water. 

I felt SO GOOD and refreshed after that water it was astonishing…so needless to say that was the end of Diet Pepsi (and all soda) for me.

Even small steps in the right direction can make a big difference.

I tell my clients to start by making just one healthy change or substitution each day.  That could be things like:

• Swapping out a soda for water
• Cooking a meal at home instead of ordering pizza
• Opting for a side salad with your dinner in a restaurant instead of French fries
• Offering a crudité platter and/or shrimp with cocktail sauce instead of chips as appetizers
• Choosing scrambled eggs, yogurt or oatmeal instead of a donut for breakfast

As you’re making strides toward healthier choices, you can ensure your nutritional bases are covered with a high-quality multi-vitamin formula, and promote sound digestion and absorption of those precious nutrients with a good probiotic supplement.

Power the power of nutrition and regular exercise to work in creating the healthiest you that you can be!

To your health,

Sherry Brescia

This disease is exploding—will you be its next victim?

According to a study recently published in The Lancet, the number of adults with diabetes worldwide quadrupled from 108 million in 1980 to 422 million in 2014.

The study didn’t differentiate between Type 1 and Type 2, but most (90-95 percent) cases of diabetes are Type 2, so that’s the monster we’re looking at.

Plus diabetes is no longer just affecting adults.  According to a 2014 JAMA study, the rate of Type 2 diabetes in children rose 30 percent from 2001 to 2009!

Why is this happening?
Although there are many factors causing the mass explosion in diabetes, a few emerge as the leaders of the pack:

Our typical modern diets
Our typical diets which are heavy in refined carbs, sugars and soda create repeated influxes of glucose which pave the way for a stressed pancreas, insulin resistance and ultimately Type 2 diabetes.

Stress
Stress causes secretions of the hormones adrenaline and cortisol, which in turn trigger a surge of glucose into your bloodstream.  Plus when your stress is chronic and ongoing, your stress hormone levels remain high, and therefore so does the glucose level in your blood.

Lack of exercise
Exercise not only helps reduce stress and helps you maintain your weight, but it also increases the ratio of muscle to fat in your body.  The more muscle you have, the higher your metabolism, which in turn helps you burn more glucose.

Statin use
A recent Finnish study found that men who were treated with statins had a 46 percent higher risk of diabetes than men who were not treated with statins.  This is because your liver works very closely with your pancreas in controlling your blood sugar, and statins impair the proper functioning of your liver (shutting down its ability to make cholesterol).

Don’t be a statistic!
Type 2 diabetes is very preventable, and even if you do have it, there is a whole lot you can do to help keep it under control and even turn it around!

Eat for blood sugar control
Avoid refined carbs and sugars as much as possible.  Instead, concentrate on these foods that naturally help control blood sugar:

Legumes:  Legumes are packed with fiber and protein and help regulate blood sugar.

Onions:  Onions are rich in chromium, which is an important mineral to regulate blood sugar.

Tomatoes: Tomatoes are also a good source of chromium, plus they are loaded with antioxidant nutrients.

Red and purple fruits: The anthocyanins (phytonutrients) found in cranberries, cherries, blueberries and similar fruits may help lower blood sugar levels.

Leafy greens and sweet potatoes: Loaded with antioxidant nutrients, leafy green vegetables, and sweet potatoes contain special compounds beneficial for blood sugar balance.

Cinnamon: This spice is a potent antioxidant and helps maintain healthy blood sugar levels.

Walnuts: A great source of Omega-3 fatty acids, they help to encourage proper insulin levels and help lower heart disease risk.

Extra-virgin olive oil: Studies show that extra-virgin olive oil has beneficial effects on blood sugar levels.

Whole grains: Whole grains contain fiber which supports regular bowel movements and blood sugar control.

Limit the booze
Alcohol can cause your blood sugar to drop through the floor (hypoglycemia).  Eventually, this can lead to spikes and drops—blood sugar that’s out of control.
Don’t drink to excess—limit yourself to one or two drinks in a day, preferably with meals.

De-stress
There are many ways to help diffuse stress: Meditation, yoga, journal writing, exercise, massage, counseling, deep breathing, prayer, and seminars.  Do whatever works for you.

Supplement with Omega-3 essential fatty acids
Omega-3 EFAs provide crucial support to your metabolism including maintaining proper insulin levels and are also Nature’s anti-inflammatory.

A top-quality fish oil formula can help ensure your body has a proper supply of this crucial nutrient.

Get regular exercise
No need to get fancy here--even brisk walking is helpful.  Pick an activity you like or can at least tolerate, get your doctor’s OK and do it for at least 30 minutes a day, 4-5 days a week.

Beef up your immune system
Colds, flu, and other infections can send your blood glucose soaring through the roof, and your best protection against illnesses like these is to have a strong and sharp immune system.

When it comes to supporting strong immune health, nothing beats probiotic supplementation.  Your friendly gut flora (which houses 70 percent of your immune system) is constantly under assault from things like stress, medications, pollutants and sugars, so it’s crucial to give your body a daily boost of helpful bacteria.

Take the bull by the horns and reduce YOUR risk of Type 2 diabetes now.

Being low in these can kill you

I’ve often been asked what the most important nutrients are to which I typically respond, “All of them.”

Nature didn’t create anything by accident, and all nutrients serve a very valid role in your health (and life).

But alas, there are three of them that stand apart from the others…because being without them is not only NOT a good idea, but it can be deadly.

And the scary thing is, these also happen to be very common deficiencies.

Here are the 3 top important, life-saving nutrients:

Vitamin D
Most people associate vitamin D with strong bones, but that’s just the beginning.

Vitamin D also helps prevent excessive, inflammatory immune responses such as those seen in autoimmune conditions like Crohn’s, colitis, multiple sclerosis, lupus, Type 1 diabetes and Graves’ disease.

It lowers your risk of Type 2 diabetes by regulating calcium in your bloodstream, which in turn encourages healthy glucose and insulin levels.

It protects you against cancer too.  Studies show vitamin D acts to decrease the growth of cancer cells and to stimulate the death of those deadly cells!

And its anti-inflammatory properties also decrease your risk of heart disease.  Arterial inflammation is a leading contributing factor to high blood pressure, arterial damage, atherosclerosis and ultimately heart disease, and vitamin D helps counteract that process.

Why deficiency is common:  Because we avoid the sun due to fears of skin cancer, and exposure to sunlight is how your body makes vitamin D.

Plus the fact that statins are in line to become our fifth food group doesn’t help either.  Your body needs cholesterol to manufacture vitamin D, so shutting down your liver’s ability to make cholesterol creates vitamin D deficiency.

How to help:  Get reasonable exposure to the sun without sunscreen—20 minutes or so can make a big difference.  Reconsider your use of statins—talk to your doctor about other ways to counteract high cholesterol like fish oil (more on that below).  Supplement with a high-quality vitamin D formula that also contains vitamin K.

Magnesium
Magnesium supports healthy bone growth, so deficiency can be just as much of an osteoporosis concern as calcium although most people don’t know that, thanks to the Dairy Council’s marketing efforts to push calcium.

It works with calcium to regulate your heartbeat and is a natural muscle relaxant.  So being low in it can cause irregular heartbeat, muscle spasms, tremors, cramps, twitching and even convulsions.

Magnesium deficiency is also associated with elevated levels of a compound called C-reactive protein, which is a marker of chronic inflammation and can increase your risk of heart disease.

Being low in magnesium can also lead to blood calcium buildup and ultimately gallstones, joint degeneration and bone spurs, kidney stones and atherosclerosis.

Magnesium is critical for nervous system activation and proper cell energy production—so lacking in it can cause chronic fatigue.

Plus it’s needed to produce neurotransmitters such as serotonin—so it’s no surprise magnesium deficiency is common in people with depression.

Why deficiency is common: Poor soil conditions have led to decreased magnesium content in our crops.  Plus our heavy reliance on nutrient-poor processed and fast foods has created the widespread deficiency.

How to help: Get more food sources of magnesium like meats, seafood, nuts, seeds, and oats.  Consider supplementation with a top-notch multi-vitamin and mineral formula that contains magnesium.

Omega-3 essential fatty acids
Omega-3 essential fatty acids support cardiovascular health by helping to keep artery walls flexible, reduce the process of plaque growth, promote healthier triglyceride and cholesterol levels, prevent blood clotting and encourage a stable heart rhythm and lower blood pressure.

They also support brain health and are essential to learning and memory. Your brain is especially rich in Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA), and this crucial fat helps to strengthen the fatty membrane around your nerve cells.

Research also shows that Omega-3 fatty acids act to reduce inflammation and help lower your risk of chronic diseases including cancer and arthritis.
Deficiencies in Omega-3 EFAs have been linked to heart disease, Alzheimer's, joint problems, depression, inflammation, vision loss, and other chronic conditions.

Why deficiency is common: Our shift from pasture-fed to grain-fed animals being raised for our consumption has dramatically decreased the Omega-3 EFA content of our foods.  Plus the increasingly common farm-raised fish that is available in our stores have a lower Omega-3 content than the less common wild-caught varieties.

How to help: Choose organic, grass-fed meats, eggs, and milk whenever possible, and look for wild-caught fish.  Supplement with a pharmaceutical-grade fish oil formula to ensure your body has adequate levels of this vital nutrient.