Until now, all we could do was optimize nutritional support with the Energy Revitalization System Vitamin Powder, optimize thyroid function, and make sure that the ferritin blood test for iron was at least 100. Although these frequently help considerably, all too often it is not enough.

Most often, hair loss is caused by a condition called Telogen Effluvium. This is where a severe stress or infection (such as fibromyalgia, any of a number of infections, or adverse changes in thyroid hormone levels) cause many of your hair follicles to all go into the resting (telogen) phase. Then two to three months into this resting phase, the hair falls out, making you want to cry when you look at your hairbrush!

Most often, if one is healthy, the hair can then grow back. But all too often, the hair stays thin. The good news? Now there is something you can take to help, and people are loving it! It is called “Hair Renew,” (by Terry Naturally) and contains a number of unique and key nutrients. But what makes it especially powerful is Millet Seed oil and the herb horsetail, combined with 5000 µg biotin and key amino acids.

Horsetail Is a unique plant which has Immune supporting, remineralizing and regenerating effects. It is a rich source of flavonoids, potassium, and silicon. Put simply, large amounts of these three are needed for rapidly growing tissue such as healthy hair and skin.¹ The level of silicon in the body decreases with age, which also results in nail and hair brittleness, along with decreased resistance to fungal and bacterial infections.

But especially powerful for hair growth are the components found in Millet Seed Oil. In two studies, this was found to be very effective after three months of use. Not just in getting hair out of the telogen phase, but even in people with the most severe health problems!^2,3

People have also clinically found Biotin to be very helpful. All of these together not only seem to markedly decrease hair loss over three months, but improves hair thickness and shine. These, and more, are all combined in the Hair Renew.

Iron also has presumed to be critical for hair growth, and dermatologists at the Cleveland Clinic will keep ferritin (the key test for iron levels) over 100, even though normal is anything over 12. But I generally will not give iron supplementation unless the person has had a blood test to make sure that iron levels are not too high.

Got hair thinning? Combine the Energy Revitalization System and Hair Renew for three months. And watch your hair start coming back!

References

1. The influence of selected ingredients of dietary supplements on skin condition (Horsetail ) Postepy Dermatol Alergol. 2014 Jun; 31(3): 174–181.
2. Miliacin encapsulated by polar lipids stimulates cell proliferation in hair bulb and improves telogen effluvium in women J Cosmet Dermatol. 2020 Feb;19(2):485-493
3. A case-control study of Panicum Miliaceum in the treatment of cancer chemotherapy-induced alopecia. Minerva Medi. 2007 Dec;98(6):661-664.

The post Help for Thinning Hair appeared first on Total Health Magazine.

What Is Diabetes

Our bodies make sugar as a fuel for our cell’s energy furnaces. It releases it at constant low levels. Releasing too much at once is like flooding the engine in your car with too much gas. It makes it stall out.

For most of human history, we have had a high-fiber diet. This resulted in the carbohydrates and sugars in our diet being released very slowly and steadily into the bloodstream over many hours. Now we have almost 140 pounds of sugar per person per year being added into our diet in food processing. This represents 18 percent of our calories, causing massive spikes in blood sugar. This forces our bodies to prevent sugar from entering the cells too quickly. This change is called “insulin resistance.”

Insulin is the key that opens our cell furnaces so the sugar can get in to be burned for energy. When your cells become deaf to the insulin, the sugar builds up in your bloodstream instead. Meanwhile, the sugar can’t get into the cell to be burned for fuel and your cells are starving.

This is what occurs with insulin resistance. Meanwhile, your cells send out the message that they are energy starved, causing the body to make more sugar and more insulin. These high insulin levels, then proceed to turn the sugar into fat, causing you to pack on the pounds and become even more insulin resistant (thus the abdominal spare tire). The cycle continues until your body can no longer compensate and your blood sugar goes up. At that point you have developed diabetes, and your doctor will usually offer you whatever the newest, most profitable, and sadly often toxic medication the drug companies are marketing to them.

Why The Diabetes Epidemic?
Several factors are creating a perfect storm for diabetes developing. These include:

1. Excess sugar and white flour in the diet combined with low fiber.
2. Vitamin D deficiency, especially from the misguided advice to avoid sunshine. Sunshine makes vitamin D in our body. Low vitamin D is associated with not only diabetes, but also markedly increased risk for autoimmune illness, pain, hypertension, and other problems.
3. The obesity epidemic.
4. Decreased exercise.
5. Numerous chemicals in our environment, which block testosterone in men and increase testosterone in women.

Inadequate testosterone levels in men (imho anything under 500 ng/dl– research shows the “normal range” is to be an absurdity) have been shown to cause metabolic syndrome. This is a combination of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and either diabetes or prediabetes. When you see a ‘spare tire’ developing on a gentleman’s abdomen, this is often the culprit. In women, the elevated testosterone is often associated with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), acne, facial hair growth, and even infertility. Metabolic syndrome improves with the treatments discussed below as well.

Testing
To screen for prediabetes, I will check a fasting insulin level. Ignore the normal range. If the fasting insulin is over 10 uIU/ ml, you should take measures now for prevention. Also check a glycosylated hemoglobin (HgBA1C). If it is over 5.8 percent, you may be developing prediabetes.

Diabetes Is Optional

In fact, this is the title of my newest book, now available on Amazon. It discusses the treatments below in-depth. Begin with simple things that help optimize blood sugar levels in your body. These include:

An Ounce Of Prevention—helping your body maintain healthy blood sugar regulation is:

1. Take a good multivitamin high in magnesium and vitamin D. My favorites are the Energy Revitalization System vitamin powder, or Clinical Essentials.
2. Cut back sugar intake. This doesn’t mean you can’t indulge your sweet tooth. In fact, chocolate in moderation is a health food. Begin by cutting out sodas and fruit juices, both of which have 3/4 teaspoon of sugar per ounce. This translates to 36 spoons of sugar in that 48 ounce “Big Burp” soda. Enjoy the whole fruit instead. Meanwhile, look at the nutritional label, and divide grams of sugar by four to see how many teaspoons of sugar are in a serving.
3. Go for walks in the sunshine. Or find other exercise, preferably outside, that you love.
4. Lose weight. This will be easier once you do the rest of the program and your insulin sensitivity improves. Research has shown that with adequate weight loss, diabetes actually goes away in 86 percent of diabetics.
5. Optimize testosterone levels in men. I will use bioidentical testosterone to bring the total testosterone up to about 900 ng/dl. In women, I would use the treatments discussed, along with the medications metformin and Aldactone to lower elevated testosterone.

Treating Diabetes

For childhood diabetes, which is a totally different autoimmune illness, insulin is a lifesaving and necessary treatment. For adult diabetics, it is a loan shark, which initially lowers blood sugar.

But because it often causes massive weight gain, it can worsen the diabetes in the long-term. So it may be necessary short-term, but it is not a good overall solution.

In my 40 years as a physician, I have found that most diabetes medications turn out to cause more harm and deaths than benefit. But routinely, physicians are not taught about the research on the drug’s toxicity until after the patent runs out and it is no longer profitable. Then the drug companies are off teaching them about the newest, most money-making, diabetes medication.

I don’t fault the drug companies for this. They are actually very nice people doing their job. Which is to make money. It is the physician’s job to be able to distinguish between what is real and truthful as opposed to slick advertising masquerading as science. But sadly, though exhorted to do so even by the past editors of the New England Journal of Medicine, they don’t realize the difference.

There is one medication that is an exception. It is an excellent medication called metformin, which is low cost and has withstood the test of time. It is highly effective, and well-tolerated. Its main toxicity is that it will sometimes cause nausea or diarrhea (lower the dose) and will routinely cause vitamin B12 deficiency unless someone is taking a multivitamin.

Hintonia Latiflora To The Rescue

From the high mountains of Central and South America, there is an amazing herb that can help lower blood sugars. This miracle botanical is an extract of the bark of a shrubby tree that grows in the Sonoran Desert. It’s been studied in detail for its ability to reverse high blood sugars for over 60 years. It has only recently become available to the North American public in a product called Sucontral-D.

There have been over a dozen studies showing how powerfully effective hintonia is!

How Does Hintonia Latiflora (Sucontral D) Work?
First, it is a rich source of a special family of flavonoids, called Coutareagenin. This polyphenol nutrient found in bark extracts unique to hintonia and appears to be responsible for many of its blood-sugar controlling benefits.

Mexican researchers also found that plant is an inhibitor of the enzyme alpha-glucosidase, which then slows the breakdown of carbohydrates in the food, mimicking the effect of a high-fiber diet.

What Does The Hintonia Research Show?
Solid research in numerous studies shows that not only can hintonia help control blood sugar and overcome insulin resistance, reducing your need for pharmaceuticals. It can also enhance the effectiveness of diabetes medications if your doctor and you decide that you need them.

For example, in a study published in the German journal Naturheilpraxis mit Naturalmedizin (Naturopathic Practice with Natural Medicine), Hintonia latiflora significantly lowered HgBA1C values (average levels of blood sugar), fasting glucose levels (blood sugar before a meal) and postprandial (after eating) blood sugar levels.

Fasting and after meal blood glucose numbers, along with A1C levels, are important because they show how much sugar circulates through your system and how your body deals with it after meals. What the research showed was amazing! Fasting and post-meal blood sugars improved by an impressive 23 and 24 percent respectively with hintonia. And glycosylated hemoglobin decreased by a remarkable average of 0.8 points (about 11 percent)! This means many people went from being diabetic to no longer being diabetic.

Impressively, by the end of the study 39 percent of those using anti-diabetes drugs could reduce their medication levels. Some were able to stop their medication entirely.

But there is more good news. Hintonia not only lowered blood sugar and often reversed diabetes. It also eliminates many of the symptoms of diabetes an impressive 73 percent over time. This is a massive change that can dramatically increase your quality of life, and well-being.

Participants also saw improvements in blood pressure, lipids, and liver values.

People with diabetes struggle with blood sugars that spike and plummet during the day and night. As this occurs, your energy, pain and mental clarity may find themselves on a roller coaster as well. One of hintonia’s greatest benefits is that it helps keep those sugars steady throughout the day and night, making life easier and contributing to long-term better glucose control.

The president of the International Diabetes Foundation was the lead author on another study that strongly recommended the use of this unique herb in treating and preventing Type 2 diabetes. Not only because of improved blood sugar control, but also because of its effectiveness in lowering cholesterol and other elements of metabolic syndrome that can lead to Type 2 diabetes.

So the bottom line? Diabetes is optional!

The post Diabetes Is Optional appeared first on Total Health Magazine.

The nutritionally depleted wasteland we call the Standard American Diet is causing widespread nutritional deficiencies, along with an epidemic of anxiety and depression. The solution is simple, and it’s NOT more Prozac. Instead, simply eating a diet high in fish, meat, fruits and vegetables, and low in processed foods and added sugar, can help you feel dramatically better. To make this easier, low cost nutritional and herbal support can also give people their lives back, without the toxicity of psychiatric medications.

Here are the key ones, which I take myself each day to turbocharge energy and optimize health, while also leaving me being a calm, happy soul:

1. B vitamins and folate. These are critical for proper brain function. Research has shown that supplementing with vitamin B1 improved mood, likely by increasing a brain neurotransmitter called acetylcholine. It also decreases anxiety. A side benefit? Improving memory at the same time. Vitamin B1 deficiency was also shown to worsen learning disorders in young children, and increase aggressive behavior to the point where some had to enter a mental hospital. This problem resolved with vitamin B1 supplementation. Vitamin B2 has been associated with decreasing risk of postpartum depression, while also decreasing migraine frequency by an astounding 69 percent! B12 and folic acid have also been shown to be helpful for depression. Ignore the RDAs, which I call Ridiculous Dietary Allowances, and instead take a 50 mg B complex each day. Make sure that some of folic acid is in a form called 5MTHF.
2. Magnesium is critical in hundreds of reactions in the body, and deficiency is present in the majority of Americans. Low magnesium will put you on a hair trigger for anxiety, as well as for pain. Take 200 mg a day.
3. NAC, which our bodies use to make the critical antioxidant called glutathione, has been shown to be helpful in a wide array of psychological problems. For day-to-day supplementation, I recommend 250 mg.
4. Vitamin D* deficiency is associated with many autoimmune problems as well as with depression. As this is the “sunshine vitamin,” the insane advice to avoid sunshine has triggered an epidemic of vitamin D deficiency. Take 1000 units daily. To make this simple and low-cost, all of the above can be found for about $.60 a day in a single drink called the Energy Revitalization System by Enzymatic Therapy. Another key cause of depression and anxiety is deficiency of omega-3 fish oils. Unfortunately, it takes seven large capsules a day of most forms to get the proper therapeutic effect. A simpler low-cost solution? A special form of pure omega-3’s that have been vectorized (which is another way of saying that they remain bioidentical) can be found in a product called Vectomega by Terry Naturally. One a day replaces seven fish oil pills.
5. Got depression? Repeated studies have shown that a special highly absorbed form of curcumin called CuraMed (also by Terry Naturally) 750 mg 2x day was more effective than antidepressants in head on studies. In addition, instead of the side effects of the medications, curcumin is associated with side benefits, including less pain, optimizing immunity to decrease cancer risk, and likely lower risk of Alzheimer’s.
6. For anxiety, it is not necessary to be addicted to Xanax. A special herbal called AnxioCalm, two twice a day, was shown to be as effective at restoring calm as the Valium family medications after six weeks of use. With no addiction or side effects.

This simple regimen can leave you feeling fantastic, at lowcost. Give it six weeks to see the full effect. It can also safely be combined with mood medications. It’s easy to feel calm and happy—naturally!

*Editor’s Note: We strongly recommend you visit GrassrootsHealth.net to learn more about Vitamin D, its importance, how to determine what dosage is right for you, and most of all, why it is so darn important you have sufficient levels of Vitamin D. Did you know serum levels greater than 40 ng/ml are associated with > 65% lower risk of cancer?¹ Or that serum levels of 40-60 ng/ml may provide a significant reduction in breast cancer risk? Or lower risk for type 2 diabetes, colorectal cancer and much, much more.

GrassrootsHealth is a nonprofit public health research organization dedicated to moving public health messages regarding vitamin D from research into practice. It has a panel of 48 senior vitamin D researchers from around the world contributing to its operations. GrassrootsHealth is currently running the D*action field trial to solve the vitamin D deficiency epidemic worldwide. Under the D*action umbrella, there are also targeted programs for breast cancer prevention and a ‘Protect Our Children NOW!’ program to stop vitamin D deficiency where it starts, in utero.

End Notes:

1. Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Concentrations ≥40 ng/ml Are Associated with >65% Lower Cancer Risk: Pooled Analysis of Randomized Trial and Prospective Cohort Study

The post The Food—Mood Connection appeared first on Total Health Magazine.

As the healing arts grows, it is important to remember that there are four key domains in healing:

1. Biochemistry. This includes herbals, nutrition and medications.
2. Structural. Including areas such as manipulation, surgery, breathing, exercise, and ergonomics.
3. Biophysics. For example, Acupuncture, Chakra work, Yoga, and NAET.
4. Mind-Body-Spirit. Understanding how the body is a metaphor for what is occurring at a deeper level. For most illnesses, including anxiety and even cancer, complete healing is unlikely to occur unless this is also attended to.

You will find that healing occurs best when all four of these areas are addressed. No individual healer is likely to have complete expertise in all of these areas. As our new healthcare system evolves, and the current one heads to extinction, it is good to see health practitioners from diverse backgrounds communicating and working together more.

So let’s look at how a Comprehensive Medicine approach works when addressing anxiety and stress. I will focus predominantly on mind-body and biochemical aspects, as these are where my expertise is.

Treating Mind-Body Issues
Stress is not inherently good or bad. In fact, stress can be used to force flowers to bloom, and this analogy applies to people as well. The problem is when stress becomes chronic, and is no longer enjoyable. This then contributes to chronic elevation of the stress hormone cortisol, directly triggering anxiety. As the excessive stress becomes chronic, cortisol levels then go too low—ironically also triggering anxiety by causing recurrent bouts of low blood sugar.

A simple way to tell if stress is healthy? Simply check in to see how it feels. If it feels good, it is healthy. What is enjoyable can vary markedly from person to person. For example I enjoyed the stress of skydiving, while for my wife it would feel awful.

A Novel Treatment
The key stress antidote? Check in to see how things feel. This is so important, that I am being purposely redundant. Learn to say NO to things that feel bad. Leave your brain out of it. Our brain is the product of our societal and family training. It simply feeds back to us what we were taught that we should do to make others happy. Our feelings, on the other hand, tap into our own personal authenticity. So choose to focus on, and do, those things that feel good. Once you’ve determined what feels good, then your mind can figure out how to make it happen.

And yes, it is OK to simply choose to focus on what feels good in life, without being in constant battle mode against things you don’t like. Like food choices at a buffet, we don’t have to protest for the removal of those foods we don’t choose to eat. Simply ignore them and pick those things you like. You will find that the rest will soon stop appearing in your life. This is part of how I suspect “free will” works. Our focus is like the remote control on our TV. What we focus on keeps showing up on our screen. This is why our constant “Wars on…” just seem to create more of what we are attacking.

Is it truly OK to do what feels good? Some will make the argument that “Heroin feels good, and perhaps also smacking that person who makes me angry over the head with a two-by-four.” This is why we add two caveats:

1. Don’t hurt others.
2. Ask yourself “How is that working out for me?”

Doing this, people will find their anxiety is often coming from their choosing what they think they should do over what feels good (i.e. doing what others want, instead of what is authentic to them). Notice if you are constantly feeling, “I should do this, or I should do that.” This is euphemistically called “Shoulding on yourself.” I invite you to change that toxic behavior.

If hyperventilation is present, one will usually have buried feelings that are bubbling to the surface during periods of relative calm. Counseling to help them learn to feel their feelings helps over time. Also, as panic attacks often leave people feeling like they are going to die, understanding that the symptoms are not dangerous helps. Simply being told this may not be enough to reassure you though. You can confirm hyperventilation is the cause by breathing rapidly for up to 30–60 seconds and seeing how it amplifies your symptoms. Unfortunately, this can also precipitate a full-blown panic attack, so be forewarned, and pick a safe time and place to do this test!

My e-book, “Three Steps to Happiness—Healing through Joy,” can help guide you through the mind-body healing process.

Balance The Biochemistry
Begin with ruling out and treating overt issues, including:

1. Overactive thyroid. Consider this if your Free T4 thyroid test is even in the upper 20th percentile of the normal range.
2. Low progesterone (women). Progesterone is like our body’s natural Valium. Consider this if anxiety is worse around menses and ovulation.
3. Low testosterone (men). Consider if testosterone levels are in the lower quarter of the normal range.
4. Adrenal fatigue—caused by drops in blood sugar. A key tip-off? Irritability and anxiety that triggers sugar cravings and improves after eating.

Also optimize nutrient status, especially magnesium and B vitamins. Instead of blood testing, which is of questionable value here, I simply recommend (for most people—whether or not they have anxiety) a high potency multi powder called the Energy Revitalization System (by Enzymatic Therapy). With this, one drink replaces well over 35 pills, optimizing levels of most nutrients. Also have the person decrease sugar and caffeine intake to see if this helps.

Herbals can also be very helpful. For example, there is a unique extract, which can be as effective as Xanax, but is very safe. This special extract stimulates one of the most abundant neuroreceptors in the body, the cannabinoid receptors. Many of you may recognize this as the marijuana receptor, and in fact many people use cannabis to self-medicate for their anxiety. But what if you could get the benefits without the sedation and side effects?

The good news is that now you can. Recent research showed that a special extract of the roots of the narrow leafed coneflower (Echinacea angustifoliae) was more effective than the tranquilizer Librium, with none of the side effects. It also worked quickly, with effects building with continued use. This is not the same component used for immune enhancement, and isn’t found at needed levels in standard Echinacea. It is available though as AnxioCalm (by EuroPharma—20 mg per tablet).

Let’s look at a few studies of this unique extract.
A study published in the March 2012 issue of Phytotherapy Research included 33 volunteers. All experienced anxiety, assessed using the validated State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). The extract decreased STAI scores within three days, an effect that remained stable for the duration of the treatment (seven days) and for the two weeks that followed treatment. There were no dropouts and no side effects.

Another study looked at higher dosages (40 mg 2 x day) in a multi-center, placebo-controlled, double-blind Phase II study involving 26 volunteers diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Over a three week period, the number of severely anxious patients (HADS-A scores larger than 11) decreased from 11 to zero!

So I begin with two tablets of AnxioCalm 2x day for severe anxiety. After three weeks, the dose can often be dropped to one 20 mg tablet twice a day. It can also simply be used as needed, and serves as an excellent sleep aid.

Other helpful herbals include valerian, passion flower, hops, theanine, and lemon balm. These can be found in a combination called the “Revitalizing Sleep Formula,” which helps anxiety during the day and sleep at night. I personally use both AnxioCalm and the Revitalizing Sleep Formula at night to ensure 8–9 hours of deep sleep.

The smell of lavender oil is also calming, and a small drop on the upper lip, or even having a lavender bouquet in one’s room, can be helpful.

Structural And Biophysics
Simply going for regular walks in the sunshine, and doing yoga, tai chi, and meditation can be very helpful. A technique called centering can help people feel that they are in the calm “eye of the cyclone” when panic attacks hit. In addition, it is helpful to explore a technique called Butyko breathing, which can be very helpful for anxiety and hyperventilation.

For PTSD or old emotional traumas, a technique called EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) can give near miraculous benefits in as little as 20 minutes (see EFT.Mercola.com). It may seem odd, but try it and you’ll be amazed. Releasing old traumas through a simple “trembling” technique is also helpful, and the person can do it on their own. It is easy and simple instructions can be found in the book Waking the Tiger.

By having the entire healing arts toolkit available, and not just using the “medical hammer,” anxiety can now be effectively treated!

The post A Practical Guide to Treating Stress and Anxiety appeared first on Total Health Magazine.

The prostate rings the urethra, the tube that transports ejaculate and drains urine from the bladder. As the prostate expands in size, the urethra may be squeezed and narrowed, causing urinary symptoms such as frequent urination (particularly during the night), urgency, difficulty starting the stream, a weaker stream, dribbling at the end, and incomplete emptying.

These are the symptoms of benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH), a condition that in mild, moderate or severe form afflicts four out of five men aged 40 and older. (It’s THE most common health problem among older men.) And as I mentioned earlier, many men with CFS/FMS have prostate irritation called prostadynia, with similar symptoms and sometimes pelvic pain. The prostadynia symptoms often improve with long-term antifungals, antibiotics in select cases, and the nutrient quercitin.

There are several medications that doctors often use to treat BPH. Flomax (a so-called alpha-blocker) works by relaxing the muscles where the bladder and urethra intersect, allowing for easier flow. Proscar and Avodart work by decreasing production of dihydrotestosterone (DHT), the compound that pumps up prostate cells. But like most medications, they have downsides. For one thing, they’re expensive. And they’re not without side effects, from decreased semen volume to painful orgasms (from Flomax).

Natural approaches to optimize the health of your prostate are often effective alternatives to prescription medications. In this article, I’ll discuss five herbals that can help keep your plumbing in tip-top shape.

Herbals That Can Help Optimize Your Prostate Health

1. Saw Palmetto Extract
Also known as Serenoa repens, saw palmetto blocks DHT effects and balances hormones. Give it six weeks to work. Over the years, there have been dozens of studies on saw palmetto involving thousands of men with varying results. Many have shown that the herb works to optimize prostate health. Other studies have produced negative results.

My bottom line is that I’ve found the herb effective in helping to promote healthy prostate function in older men. I also think it’s a lot safer than drugs, and research agrees that it’s very safe. In fact, in the most recent analysis (conducted by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, and published in the Journal of Urology in April, 2013) doses of saw palmetto three times higher than typical, taken for 18 months, produced “no evidence of toxicity” of any kind. (Take 160 mg, 2x day).

Other herbs can also help prostate health by balancing inflammation and hormone function. These include:

2. Boswellia
Boswellia (Boswellia serrata), also known as frankincense, is one of my favorite herbs. It balances several key immune-modulating enzymes, which can leave your prostate feeling a lot less twitchy!

3. Nettle
Given its name, Nettle (Urtica dioica) might be the last plant you would think of using to settle down your prostate. But this is another must for anyone who wants to help their prostate through herbal approaches.

Nettle is rich in beta-sitosterol, a plant sterol that has hormone-balancing effects. So, like saw palmetto, it helps optimize prostate health. It does this by:

• Blocking the binding of sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) to the prostate.
• Inhibiting aromatase, an enzyme that affects the body’s testosterone metabolism.
• Inhibiting adenosine deaminase (ADA) activity of prostate tissue.

Nettle is a very powerful ingredient and one that is key for an optimized prostate health formula. (Use a strong 10:1 extract.)

4. Beta-Sitosterol
Double-blind clinical studies have found that beta-sitosterol improves urinary flow in men, and that is big news for any man who feels like he must constantly go to the restroom, or who feels like his bladder doesn’t fully empty after each trip.

5. Sesamin
This comes from the sesame plant, and has been shown to block the activity of a protein complex called NF-KB, which promotes the growth of tumor cells.

All five of these herbals can be found in combination in a product called “Healthy Prostate” by EuroPharma.

Other Helpful Prostate Tips?

Add zinc and selenium.
Adding daily doses of these two minerals can help maintain prostate health (both should be present at these amounts in a good multivitamin)—and may boost the effectiveness of saw palmetto. In one study, German researchers measured blood selenium levels in 21 men with prostate problems and found their blood levels “significantly lower than the recommended normal range.” They recommend selenium supplementation to help optimize prostate health. (Take 15 mg zinc, 1x day. 50 mcg selenium, 1x day.)

Regular exercise: protection against prostate cancer.
Research shows that regular exercise can contribute to optimal health of the prostate gland, and may help lower the risk of developing prostate cancer. I recommend a 30-60 minute daily walk outdoors. Not only do you get a workout, you also get a nice dose of healthy vitamin D—a vitamin that in one recent study was associated with lower levels of prostate cancer (July 2012 issue of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism).

The post Prostate Got You On The Run? appeared first on Total Health Magazine.

Normally, your body knows how to avoid excess toxins—you take in what you need, and you get rid of what you don’t.

Your liver detoxifies, using what are called phase I and phase II detoxification pathways. Your kidneys detoxify, filtering blood, removing toxins and dumping them into the urine for disposal. Your skin detoxifies, using millions of sweat glands. You even detoxify with every breath, inhaling life-giving oxygen and exhaling toxic gases.

Breathing demonstrates a basic fact about detoxification: the body does it automatically. No worries!

But in our toxic environment—where there are more than 85,000 synthetic compounds that can mess with your body— it sometimes helps to improve detoxification by giving your body a helping hand. This article shows you six simple ways to do just that.

SIX SIMPLE METHODS OF DETOXIFICATION

1) If you can’t read it, don’t eat it.
I used to give a yearly lecture on nutrition to third-graders in our local school. Here is one of my recommendations to those kids which, is relevant for everybody: If you can’t read it, don’t eat it.

You know what I’m talking about: ingredients on food labels that are virtually unreadable, like acetaldehyde phenethyl propyl acetal (a “fruit” flavoring found in ice cream, candy, ) I don’t think I need to do much convincing on this point, because not eating a lot of food with ingredients you can’t read is common sense. Why barrage your body with toxic chemicals if you don’t have to?

2) Take supplements that support detoxification.
Various stages of phase II liver detoxification require specific nutritional compounds to do their work. How can you make sure you’re getting those nutrients?

The Energy Revitalization System vitamin powder supplies all the amino acids, vitamin C and many other nutrients that support glutathione production and detoxification. It’s one of the easiest ways to purify!

3) Drink up!
Water plays a key role in daily detoxification. In fact, drinking enough water is probably the best action you can take to support your kidneys as they clean up your blood.

How much water should you drink every day? Just check your lips and mouth. If they’re dry, you need to drink more water. Another simple method: take a look at the color of your urine. If it’s a dull yellow color, there’s not enough water diluting it, so you should drink more.

But you want to be washing out toxins, not getting more in the water you drink. For clean tap water, I recommend installing a good filter.

4) Speed up transit time.
“Transit time” is the term for the hours and days it takes for a meal to move from mouth to going out the rectum—the transit from one end of your digestive tract to the other.

A healthy transit time is about a day, although conventional doctors assert that three days is fine. Faster than 12 hours, and your body doesn’t have enough time to pull all the nutrients out of the food. Slower than 24 hours, and the digesting food starts to turn toxic—and those loitering toxins are reabsorbed into your system, causing and contributing to poor health.

To speed up transit time:

• Eat more fiber, the easiest way to speed up transit time. A simple way to put more fiber in your diet is to eat whole grain cereal for breakfast every morning, like low-sugar Cheerios or Life cereal. Add a slice or two of whole grain toast for the transit time of your life!
• Take magnesium, a must for healthy muscles and nerves, including those responsible for peristalsis, the rhythmic muscle contractions that move food through the digestive tract.
• Drink more water. Without it, your stools tend to be small and hard, slowing transit time.
• Take vitamin C, which attracts water into the colon, softening stool and speeding transit time. Between 500 and 1,000 mg is a good level for most people.
• Exercise regularly, which provides a kind of intestinal massage that can speed transit time.
• Optimize thyroid function, because an underactive thyroid slows down everything in the body, including transit time.

5) Take a probiotic supplement.
Probiotics provide the same friendly, health-giving bacteria that typically inhabit your gut (like Lactobacillus acidophilus). These good-guy bacteria combat bad bacteria and fungi, which if allowed to multiply, can make you toxic.

All probiotic supplements are not created equal, however. Many don’t contain the number of bacteria advertised on the label. Or the bacteria in the supplements are dead. Or they die in the acid environment of the stomach. Any of these mean the probiotic isn’t doing you much good.

6) Sweat it out in a sauna.
Sweating for health is a worldwide tradition, from Native American sweat lodges to the Finnish sauna, and I think, “sweat therapy” is a great way to aid detoxification. I recommend (and use myself) a type of sauna called the “far infrared sauna.” A few suggestions for safe and effective saunas:

• Don’t overdo it. Start with a few minutes, at a lower temperature, and gradually work your way up to longer durations and higher temperatures, as you feel comfortable.
• Listen to your body. If you’re feeling light-headed or otherwise uncomfortable in a sauna, it’s time to come out.
• Prevent dehydration. Take drinking water into the sauna and sip throughout.
• Rinse off afterward. It prevents toxins from being reabsorbed.

The post Staying Healthy in a Polluted World appeared first on Total Health Magazine.

By looking at American society today, one would think there is a massive epidemic of Prozac deficiency. Millions of Americans are complaining of being unhappy and depressed — yet most doctors simply throw a pill at the problem! I prefer to go after the underlying causes, while using natural therapies to support the biochemistry of happiness. When you do this, most depression can be effectively treated — without the loss of libido, weight gain, fatigue or increased risk of suicide seen with prescription antidepressants. I’m tired of being depressed and want to be happy. How should I begin?

Let’s look at both the physical and psycho-spiritual components — which is a good approach for any illness. From a psychological perspective, depression usually represents repressed anger which has been turned inward. This is why choosing to allow yourself to be angry or even to sometimes go into a rage can be healthy when you’re depressed — even if the people around you don’t like it. You can tell when the anger is healthy because it will feel good. Remember though, that you are choosing to be angry, and what you are angry about is nobody else’s fault (so don’t beat up others with your anger). When you don’t allow guilt to get in the way, notice how your depression decreases and you feel better after a good fit of anger!

There are three steps that psycho-spiritually will help you to get past depression and leave you feeling great. These are:

1. Feel all of your feelings without the need to understand or justify them. When they no longer feel good, let go of them.
2. Make life a “no-fault” system. This means No Blame, No Fault, No Guilt, No Judgment, and No Expectations on yourself or anyone else. This means changing your habits of thinking. For example, if you find yourself judging somebody, simply drop the judgment in mid-thought when you notice it. And no judging yourself for judging others!
3. Learn to keep your attention on what feels good. We sometimes are given the misconception that keeping attention on problems is more realistic. That is nonsense! Life is like a massive buffet with thousands of options. You can choose to keep your attention on those things that feel good. You’ll notice that if a problem truly requires your attention at any given time, it will feel good to focus on it. Otherwise, you’re living your life as if you have 200 TV channels to choose from, and you only choose to watch the ones you don’t like!

From a physical perspective, depression often reflects faulty biochemistry. Begin by asking yourself this simple question—“Do I have many interests?” If the answer is yes, you’re probably not depressed but rather have other physical problems causing how you feel. Common causes would include poor sleep, infections, thyroid and other hormonal deficiencies (despite normal blood tests!) and nutritional deficiencies. This is especially important to do if you have a combination of exhaustion, poor sleep, and in many cases widespread achiness. If this is so, you may well have chronic fatigue syndrome/fibromyalgia — for which effective treatment is now available — and not depression. If you do not have many interests, you probably are depressed and the treatments below will be very helpful for you. Fortunately, depression is very treatable.

What can I do to feel better while I’m going after these underlying problems?

Happiness has its own biochemistry which can be powerfully balanced and enhanced naturally. Let’s start with the basics:

• Overall nutritional support is essential, and I would recommend a good multivitamin powder (my favorite is the Energy Revitalization System).
• Begin a walking program. Research has shown that walking briskly each day is as effective as Prozac for depression.
• Get more sunshine (maybe while you are walking). Inadequate sunlight is a common cause of depression (called Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD), which should be considered if your depression is worse in the winter.
• Use herbal support if needed to get eight hours of sleep a night as well.

These simple steps are very healthy in general, and will usually help improve how you feel considerably.

Take fish oil. Fish oil has been shown in numerous studies to be very helpful in depression and many other psychological problems. Most of your brain is actually made of DHA (docohexaenoic acid), one of the two key components of fish oil. In fact, taking fish oil during pregnancy markedly decreases the risk of post partum depression. Fish is called “brain food” for a good reason. If you have depression or other psychological problems, try eating 3+ servings of salmon, tuna or herring each week, and/or take fish oil. Be sure the oil is toxin and mercury free, and not rancid. I recommend Eskimo 3 or Nordic Naturals brands. Take one teaspoon or three (1000 mg) capsules 3 times day for six weeks and then you can lower it to once a day.

Optimize thyroid function. Natural Armour thyroid (or compounded T3), thyroid hormone (by prescription) has been shown to be very helpful in treating depression in two separate studies — even when thyroid blood tests were normal! Taking the thyroid hormone helped even when Prozac failed. Interestingly, only the forms of thyroid mentioned above (i.e. which contain T3 thyroid hormone) helped. The T4 thyroid hormone found in Synthroid (and most thyroid prescriptions used by non-holistic physicians) was NOT effective.

Be sure to treat other hormonal disorders as well. Suboptimal testosterone and estrogen levels can frequently cause depression and are easily treated by holistic physicians. These hormonal deficiencies often need treatment even if the tests are low normal.

Happiness 1-2-3! A natural way to enhance your mood! It is also critical that your body has what it takes to make the three key “happiness” neurotransmitters that your body needs. These are serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine. B vitamins and magnesium are critical for energy production, as well as for producing the hormones and neurotransmitters that contribute to your feeling good. The good news is that many neurotransmitter enhancers can be found in the “Happiness 1-2-3!” supplement. Unlike most natural antidepressants that contain one or two things that help you feel better, this product combines 12 different treatments in optimal levels — to help get you feeling great again. Many of these are each individually as effective as antidepressant medications in head-on studies.

Let’s review what’s in “Happiness 1-2-3!” beginning with the basics:

B12 and folate/folic acid seem to be especially important, and I believe the term RDA may as well stand for Ridiculous Dietary Allowances. You want at least 600 – 1800 mcg of vitamin B12 and 400 – 1200 micrograms of folic acid a day to be sure optimal levels are getting into the brain where they are needed.

Approximately one third of patients with depression have been found to be deficient in folic acid, and this by itself can cause depression as can B12 deficiency. In addition, these two nutrients together contribute strongly to the production of both serotonin (the “happiness molecule”) and a powerful depression fighting nutrient called SAMe. In fact, studies of high-dose folic acid have shown this nutrient by itself to be as effective as antidepressant medications — but much safer and without side effects.

The B vitamins riboflavin and niacin are critical for energy production.

In fact, these vitamins are key components of the “energy molecules”(like “energy dollars” — wouldn’t it be nice to have your own printing press!) NADH and FADH. Depression is a common symptom of niacin and riboflavin deficiency.

Vitamin B6 levels are generally quite low in depressed patients, and this is especially problematic in women taking birth control pills or estrogen — both of which can deplete vitamin B6 levels. Vitamin B6 is critical in the production of serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine. Sadly, it is likely that millions of people on Prozac are simply suffering from depression caused by vitamin B6 deficiency.

Magnesium deficiency is the single most important nutritional deficiency in the United States. Where the average Chinese diet contains 650 mg of magnesium a day, because of food processing the average American diet only contains around 250 mg. This contributes to pain, fatigue, and increased risk of heart attacks, depression and numerous other problems, as magnesium is critical in over 300 different reactions in our body. In fact, numerous studies have shown that in areas with higher magnesium levels in the water, heart attack deaths decreased markedly.

Prescription antidepressants like Prozac, Paxil and Wellbutrin work by raising levels of the neurotransmitters serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine. Unfortunately, because these medications work by poisoning critical pathways in your body, they are rife with side effects. A much safer and more effective way to raise these neurotransmitter levels is to give your body the building blocks it needs to make them. Serotonin is made from five Hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP), and dopamine and norepinephrine are made from tyrosine. Numerous double-blind (i.e. “gold standard”) studies have shown 5-HTP to be as effective as prescription antidepressants but much better tolerated. Another placebo-controlled study has shown tyrosine to also be as effective as antidepressants without side effects. In addition, if 5-HTP is given without tyrosine, it often stops working after a few months. Giving tyrosine along with the 5-HTP results in long-lasting improvement.

I would note one caution though. If taken with serotonin-raising antidepressants and medications, 5-HTP and St. John’s Wort can raise serotonin too high. This would reflect as a high pulse and sometimes anxiety.

If you have a rapid pulse for no reason, ask your holistic practitioner to lower the dose of serotonin and epinephrine-raising medications (even if not on the herbal) and stop the herbal and see if it resolves. This side effect is much more commonly caused by combining medications than by the herbals — another good reason that your holistic practitioner opts for these natural therapies.

Most of you have heard of St. John’s Wort, and 25 double-blind studies with a total of over 1500 patients have shown it to be as effective as prescription antidepressants — without the side effects. In addition to being effective in eliminating depression, it also helped sleep, anxiety and low self-esteem.

Magnolia bark has a long history of use in traditional Chinese formulas that relieve anxiety and depression without leaving you feeling like you’ve been drugged. Magnolia extract is rich in two phytochemicals: honokiol — which exerts an anti-anxiety effect, and magnolol — which acts as an antidepressant. Magnolia has the ability to alleviate depression and stress without sedating you. Dozens of animal studies have shown it is a non- addictive, non-sedating antidepressant — even at low doses.

The good news is you can now effectively eliminate depression without the side effects of antidepressants — naturally! The “Happiness 1-2-3” product, which contains everything discussed above, is available from EndFatigue.com. Begin with three capsules three times a day (unless you are also on antidepressants, in which case I usually only give two to three capsules twice a day in my practice). Although some effect is seen within two to three weeks, the effects continue to powerfully increase over six weeks with continued use. Once your depression is under control, the dose can then be lowered, and you can ask your physician about tapering off of your antidepressants (which should not be stopped suddenly or you can go through withdrawal). With “Happiness 1-2-3” and a natural treatment approach, it’s time to say goodbye to Prozac and depression.

Important points: To help eliminate depression naturally:

1. Optimize nutrition with the “Energy Revitalization System” vitamin powder and B Complex (1/2 – 1 scoop a day as feels best).
2. Go for a 45 or more minute walk (outside so you also get sunshine) daily.
3. Optimize thyroid (using T3 thyroid hormone) and estrogen and testosterone levels using bio-identical hormones.
4. Fish oil (Eskimo 3 or Nordic Naturals) three caps or one teaspoon 3x day for six weeks then once a day, or eat salmon or tuna 3+ times per week. Fish oil is very helpful for depression.
5. Take Happiness 1-2-3! Use only two caps two to three times a day if on antidepressant medications. Otherwise, three caps 3x day for six weeks. Then you can lower the dose when the depression lifts.
6. Check a DEXA scan for osteoporosis, as osteoporosis is more common in depression. Osteoporosis is fairly easy to treat naturally though.
7. Give these treatments six weeks to begin working.

The post Conquering Depression Naturally appeared first on Total Health Magazine.

Pelvic pain is common in the public in general, but especially common in those with CFS and fibromyalgia. Unfortunately, many patients are embarrassed to bring these up at their doctor visits and even when they do, physicians are often unfamiliar with these problems. In this article, we’ll focus on prostatitis and prostadynia.

Prostatitis and Prostadynia

Even in the absence of a full blown attack of prostatitis, which is usually not subtle and is easily diagnosed and treated, prostate pain is fairly common in men. When no infection is found, it is called prostadynia. It is also known as chronic nonbacterial prostatitis, or chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CPPS). Unfortunately, when doctors do not know what is causing a problem, we often presume it must be psychological (i.e., “I don’t know what’s wrong with you, so you must be crazy!”). This is what has occurred with prostadynia.

I suspect that prostadynia often occurs because of subtle infections that don’t show on standard tests for infection. These commonly include fungal infections and/or other slow growing antibiotic sensitive infections. In the latter case, the prostate is mildly boggy (indents like a ripe fruit) instead of firm and is tender on examination; to the patient without prostate problems it normally feels like one has to pee, but the prostate is not tender or painful when pressed. Unfortunately, most doctors consider such an exam normal despite you’re having prostate symptoms. These symptoms include urinary urgency without there necessarily being much urine present, and a burning sensation when you urinate. The discomfort is often felt on the tip of the penis. Because the infection is not overt, most doctors offer no treatment.

My suspicion is this is indeed an infectious problem in many cases. This suspicion is bolstered by a recent study showing that Mepartricin®, an antibiotic with antifungal and anti-parasitic properties, given 40 mg a day for two months decreased symptoms in patients by 60 percent. The study does not totally support infection as the cause, however, because the medication also lowers estrogen levels in the prostate and can work in that way as well. In the study, the authors theorized that lowering estrogen caused the improvement. My experience, however, shows that patients also improve with antibiotics and antifungals that do not lower estrogen. Treatment needs to be given for many months, since anti-infectious agents have difficulty getting into the prostate. Medications that help urine flow in prostate enlargement (called alpha blockers; e.g., Flomax) also help prostadynia when combined with the antibiotics.

The bioflavonoid vitamin quercetin 500 mg twice a day also decreases prostate symptoms in both prostadynia and prostatitis. In one study, 30 men with severe prostadynia lasting an average of 11 years were treated with either quercetin 500 mg twice a day or a placebo for one month. There was an average 37 percent decrease in symptoms with over two thirds of patients feeling they gained a meaningful benefit. Add a trial of the anti-pain herbal Curamin one tablet 3x day for six weeks, and then as needed.

Though sometimes frustrating, prostadynia can be treated.

The post Pelvic Pain in Men appeared first on Total Health Magazine.

A major mechanism of pain is the excessive stimulation of a brain chemical called “NMDA.” The few medications that help decrease and balance this pain-carrying neurotransmitter have the downside of causing significant side effects. Magnesium seems to settle down NMDA without the toxicity. The upside of magnesium is it is very inexpensive (pennies a dose). The downside is it hasn’t yet made it through the FDA approval process.

The good news is you don’t have to wait for the FDA. For those who get diarrhea from magnesium, try a sustained-release magnesium, very effective without causing the diarrhea side effect. In addition, magnesium oxide, though not as well absorbed, can be found for about a nickel per 500 mg tablet in most health food stores.

For an especially powerful effect, the magnesium can be used intravenously, and is an important tool used by most holistic physicians. Intravenous (IV) magnesium is the single most effective treatment to eliminate an acute migraine headache and has even been shown to ease the incredibly severe nerve pain that can sometimes be seen in pancreatic cancer. It is also very helpful for settling down fibromyalgia pain, which has a muscle and nerve component.

The authors of the study suggest that magnesium deficiency can be a major amplifier of pain. Because of food processing, most people are magnesium deficient. If you have pain, a dose of 250 to 500 mg of magnesium a day can start to decrease these deficiencies as well as the pain, after just several weeks—while also leaving you feeling more energetic and decreasing your risk of heart disease! (If you have kidney problems, do not use without your physician’s okay.)

How to get solid pain relief, almost always, using a mix of natural and prescription therapies.

The post MAGNESIUM for Pain Relief appeared first on Total Health Magazine.

There is a lot out there about how competitive athletes can up their energy. Although the approach we’ll discuss below is also excellent for athletes, it was developed, and is outstanding, for the rest of us. Whether you are a mom trying to juggle a fast paced hectic life, a student on a fast food diet, or just trying to optimize your day to day energy, here’s how to get from being fatigued to feeling fantastic!

Having spent the last 30 plus years specializing in treating chronic fatigue and chronic pain, we have learned about the keys to energy production. As an unexpected fringe benefit, these treatments have also offered enormous benefits to those suffering from heart disease.

Optimize energy production with the “SHINE Protocol” Ribose (and our overall approach to treating fatigue) has been highlighted by Dr. Oz, “America’s Doctor” on Oprah, in his wonderful new book YOU: Being Beautiful—The Owner’s Manual to Inner and Outer Beauty.

In addition, our research has shown that severely fatigued people with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) and Fibromyalgia can increase their energy by an average of 90 percent (see the published study at www.Vitality101.com) by treating with “SHINE”: Sleep, Hormonal support, Infections, Nutrition and Exercise. For mild fatigue, the physical keys to optimizing energy are Nutrition, Sleep and Exercise, while the emotional key is to start paying attention to what feels good—while letting go of things that don’t.

How Do I Start?
Given my hectic schedule as an educator and physician, people often ask me what I do to keep my energy turbo charged. I like to keep it simple, so here is what I do personally. All of the vitamins, minerals and other essential nutrients are important to health, and the American diet is so highly processed that people have widespread deficiencies. Because of this, I like to use vitamins that make supplementation simple.

Why Ribose—And What Is Ribose?
Ribose, also called D-Ribose, is the key to your body’s energy production. Ribose is a special, five-carbon sugar (known as a pentose by biochemists) that is found naturally in our bodies. But ribose is not like any other sugar. Sugars we are all familiar with, such as table sugar (sucrose), corn sugar (glucose), milk sugar (lactose), honey (predominantly fructose), and others are used by the body as fuel. These sugars are consumed and, with the help of the oxygen we breathe, are “burned” by the body to recycle energy. Because they are used excessively, they become toxic— acting as energy loan sharks.

Ribose, on the other hand, is special. When we consume ribose, the body recognizes it is different from other sugars and preserves it for the vital work of actually making the special “energy molecules” (called ATP, NADH, and FADH) that power our hearts, muscles, brains, and every other tissue in the body. These represent the energy currency in your body, and are like the paper that money is printed on. You can have all the fuel you want, but if it cannot be converted to these molecules, it is useless. For years, I talked about the importance of B vitamins, which are a key component of these molecules. These helped improve energy to a degree, but it was clear that a key component was missing. In looking at the biochemistry of these energy molecules, they are also made of two other key components-adenine and ribose. Adenine is plentiful in the body and supplementing with adenine did not help energy production. We then turned our attention to Ribose.

Ribose is made in your body in a slow, laborious process and cannot be found in food. We knew that severe fatigue and stress causes your body to dump other key energy molecules like acetyl-L-carnitine. We then found that the body did the same with Ribose, making it hard to get your energy furnaces working again even after the other problems were treated.

This was one of those “Eureka!” moments where things came together. Not having Ribose would be like trying to build a fire without kindling—nothing would happen. We wondered if giving Ribose to people with fatigue and even CFS would jump-start their energy furnaces. The answer was a resounding yes! Our recently published study (see the study abstract at www. Vitality101.com) showed an average 44.7 percent increase in energy after only three weeks (improvement began at 12 days) and an average overall improvement in quality of life of 30 percent. Two-thirds of the study patients felt they had improved. Usually a 10 percent improvement for a single nutrient is considered excellent. A 44.7 percent increase left us amazed, and I am now recommending Ribose for all of my chronic fatigue, chronic pain and fibromyalgia patients, for athletes, and for any one with fatigue or heart problems. Ribose recently became available (over the counter) to physicians, and is one of the few natural products actually starting with physicians and then moving out into supplement companies and health food stores. It is critical to use the proper dose for the first three weeks, which is five grams (5000 mg) three times a day. It can then be dropped to twice a day (and often even once a day in the morning with the vitamin powder to maintain optimized energy for those that are otherwise healthy).

Normal, healthy heart and muscle tissue has the capacity to make the ribose it needs. But when we are chronically stressed by life or illness, it helps to have extra ribose to help boost energy production.

The Scientific Link Between Ribose, Energy, And Fatigue
Clinical and scientific research has repeatedly shown giving ribose to energy deficient hearts and muscles stimulates energy recovery. Research in Ribose and fatigue began with a case study that was published in the prestigious journal Pharmacotherapy in 2004. This case study told the story of a veterinary surgeon diagnosed with fibromyalgia. For months, this dedicated doctor found herself becoming more and more fatigued, with pain becoming so profound she was finally unable to stand during surgery. As a result, she was forced to all but give up the practice she loved.Upon hearing that a clinical study on ribose in congestive heart failure was underway in the university where she worked, she asked if she could try the ribose to see if it might help her overcome the mind-numbing fatigue she experienced from her disease. After three weeks of ribose therapy she was back in the operating room, practicing normally with no muscle pain or stiffness, and without the fatigue that had kept her bedridden for many months. Being a doctor, she was skeptical, not believing that a simple sugar could have such a dramatic effect on her condition. Within two weeks of stopping the ribose therapy, however, she was out of the operating room and back in bed. So, to again test the theory, she began ribose therapy a second time. The result was similar to her first experience, and she was back doing surgery in days. After yet

a third round of stopping (with the return of symptoms) and starting (with the reduction of symptoms) the ribose therapy, she was convinced, and has been on ribose therapy since that time. I found this report intriguing and decided to design a larger study in patients with fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue syndrome which I began to discuss earlier. Our study included 41 patients with a diagnosis of fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue syndrome who were given ribose at a dose of five grams three times per day for three weeks. We found the ribose treatment led to significant improvement in energy levels, sleep patterns, mental clarity, pain intensity, and well being. Of the patients participating in the study, 65.7 percent experienced significant improvement while on ribose, with an average increase in energy of 44.7 percent and overall well being of 30 percent- remarkable results from a single nutrient! The only significant side effects were two people felt too energized and hyper/anxious on the ribose. This is simply dealt with by lowering the dose and/or taking it with food.

The good news is that we now have a wonderful tool to increase energy naturally. Take five grams of ribose three times per day for three weeks, then twice a day (can be mixed with any liquid or food) for two to three weeks, and then one to two times per day to see what it will do for you. You’ll be amazed!

The post Optimizing Energy Production with Ribose appeared first on Total Health Magazine.