Coconut Oil reverses Alzheimer’s

(NaturalHealth365) Coconut oil reverses Alzheimer’s should be big news, where are the headlines stating the possibilities of this cost effective treatment. This should be a priority since it optimizes health and makes a difference in cognitive function. The safety of raw organic coconut oil isn’t disputed.

The cost of treating Alzheimer’s is estimated at over $148 billion and rising. At this time, it is thought to be a growing epidemic with at least 5 to 6 million people in the U.S. with this condition. It is the seventh leading cause of disability among both the elderly and middle aged.

Drug companies aren’t interested in anything that can’t make them a profit, but this may be the solution we need.

A medical doctor finds the answer to Alzheimer’s

Mary Newport, MD, is a medical director of the neonatal intensive care unit at Spring Hill Regional Hospital in Florida since it opened in 2003. About the same time the unit opened, her husband Steve, then 53, begun showing signs of progressive dementia, later diagnosed as Alzheimer’s disease. She reported that: “many days, often for several days in a row, he was in a fog; couldn’t find a spoon or remember how to get water out of the refrigerator.”

They started the usual drugs for his condition such as: Aricept, Namenda, Exelon, but his disease keep progressing. When Dr. Newport wasn’t able to get her husband into a drug trial for a newer Alzheimer’s medication, she started researching the mechanism behind Alzheimer’s.

She discovered that with Alzheimer’s disease certain brain cells have difficulty utilizing glucose from the carbohydrates we eat which is the brain’s principal source of energy. Without fuel, neurons (in the brain) can die. What she found is an alternative energy source for brain cells – special fats called ketones. There is a way to have the body produce ketones naturally by taking in practically no carbs – but that’s a difficult diet to maintain.

But, there is another safe and effective way to create ketones by consuming oils – which have medium-chain triglycerides (MCT). When these fats are digested, the liver converts it into ketones.
Nature provides the answer

Dr. Newport learned that the ingredient in the drug trial which was showing so much promise was simply MCT oil derived from coconut oil or palm kernel oil, and a dose of 20 grams (about 20 ml or 4 teaspoons) was used to produce these results.

When MCT is metabolized, the ketones that the body creates according to the latest research, not only protect against Alzheimer’s, but may actually reverse it.

The results are outstanding

Mr. Newport started taking the coconut oil twice a day. He was at a point where he could barely remember how to draw a clock. Two weeks after adding the coconut oil to his diet, his drawing improved. After 37 days, the drawings became even more accurate, and in the first 60 days Dr. Newport saw remarkable changes in Steve.

Steve would get up every day alert and happy, talkative, making jokes and the fog was eliminated. He was able to concentrate on things, which he wanted to do, such as, daily chores around the house and yard work – all by himself.

Over the next year, the dementia continued to reverse itself: he is able to run again, his reading comprehension has improved dramatically, and his short-term memory is improving. In fact, Steve often brings up events that happened days to weeks earlier and relays telephone conversations with accurate detail. Best of all, a recent MRI shows that the brain atrophy has been completely halted!
Shocking news! The ketones from natural coconut oil remain longer in the body than the drug version. When will conventional medicine recognize the power of whole, natural foods to promote healing?

About the author Blanche has been a student of natural healing modalities for the last 25 years. She had the privilege of working with some of the greatest minds in Natural Healing including Naturopaths, Scientist, and Energy Healers. Having seen people miraculously heal from all kinds of dis-ease through non-invasive methods, her passion now is to help people become aware of what it takes to be healthy.

Psychiatry less talk more drugs

(NaturalHealth365) It turns out talk is expensive and psychiatrists can’t afford to listen to their patients problems. Many of the nation’s psychiatrists, because of insurance will no longer provide talk therapy. The form of psychiatry popularized by Sigmund Freud and was the corner stone of therapy has just been marginalized. Instead a prescription pad is used to alleviate all that ails the patients. After a brief consultation with each patient, medication is prescribed and the patient is sent on their way.

More Drugs

Medicine is rapidly changing from a caring personal experience to one dominated by large hospital groups, and pharmaceutical interests. The doctor patient interaction is a key component to psychiatry, with that loss it has become a drug mill.

When Dr. Levin, 68, was trained as a traditional psychiatrist at Michael Reese Hospital a Chicago medical center that is now closed, talk therapy was the standard of treatment. He treated 50 to 60 patients in once-or–twice weekly talk therapy sessions that lasted 45 minutes each. Now, like most of the profession he treats 1,200 people in mostly 15-minute visits for prescription adjustments. At one time he knew his patients’ inner lives, now he usually can’t remember their names.

At one time his goal was to help his patients become happy and fulfilled, at this time it is to keep them functional. Dr. Levin has found the transition difficult. Now he resists helping patients manage their lives. A direct quote: “I had to train myself not to get too interested in their problems.” Also, he said: “and not to get sidetracked trying to be a semi-therapist.”

Brief consultations are now common, said Dr .Steven S. Sharfstein, a former president of the American Psychiatric Association and the president and chief executive of Sheppard Pratt Health System, Maryland’s largest behavior health system. Dr. Steven S. Sharfstein telling words: “They check up on people; they pull out the prescription pad; they order tests.

There are no more couches in psychiatrist offices, there is no time or space for patients to lie down or talk.

The switch from talk therapy to medications has changed psychiatry forever. A 2005 government survey found that just 11 percent of psychiatrists provided talk therapy to all patients, and the rate is falling. Psychiatric hospitals, which once offered patients’ months of talk therapy now, discharge them within days with bottles of pills.

Recent studies point to the fact that talk therapy may be as good as or better than drugs in the treatment of depression. Insurance company reimbursement rates and policies are part of the reason. A psychiatrist can earn $150 for three 15-minute visits compared with $90 for a 45-minute talk session.

In 2009, the median annual income for psychiatrists was $191,000 according to surveys by a medical trade group. Dr. Levin’s wife said: “This is about volume” and if we spend two minutes extra or five minutes with every one of 40 patients a day, that means we’re here two hours longer every day. And we just can’t do it.”

Today, psychiatry is about volume, as we become a nation of factory medicine, we will short change the patient, and fill the pockets of the pharmaceutical industry executives. The most profitable area of drug sales is psychotropic drugs. Mood altering drugs aimed at brain chemistry such as anti-depressants, stimulants, anti-anxiety and anti-psychotic drugs exceeded $82 billion a year in 2003. The new generations of anti-psychotic drugs are drugs that have been either settled recently for causing harm or are under investigation for health care fraudulent claims.

The truth is the profession of psychiatry has been co-opted by the legal drug cartels.

About the author Blanche has been a student of natural healing modalities for the last 25 years. She had the privilege of working with some of the greatest minds in Natural Healing including Naturopaths, Scientist, and Energy Healers. Having seen people miraculously heal from all kinds of dis-ease through non-invasive methods, her passion now is to help people become aware of what it takes to be healthy.

Acid Reflux real cause

(NaturalHealth365) Reflux comes from an older Latin word refluxus, and that comes from the word refluere, which is to flow back or recede. It is thought that if you suffer from acid reflux the acids from your stomach flow back to your esophagus to cause pain and discomfort. This is commonly known as heartburn. This is the sensation you get when the acid goes into the esophagus from the stomach.

Acid reflux is the action, while heartburn is the sensation. The pain is heartburn, while the movement of acid into the esophagus from the stomach is acid reflux.

Symptoms

The symptoms for acid reflux may vary slightly from person to person. However, there are some basics that make this easier to diagnose.
The symptoms are heartburn, which accounts for most cases. This is where there is a burning feeling in the lower chest nearer to the neck, and chest pain, which is part of the heartburn sensation. These symptoms have been mistaken at times for cardiac problems.

The other known symptoms consists of dysphagia, difficulty swallowing with a sensation of food caught in the throat, dental erosion, asthma like symptoms, hoarseness and regurgitation bringing food back into the mouth or a sour or bitter tasting acid backing up into your throat or mouth. The lesser known problems consist of bloating, burping, continuous hiccups, nausea, wheezing, chronic sore throat and a dry cough.

There are many named causes of acid reflux these include: pregnancy especially the third trimester when the baby presses on the stomach. Antacids aren’t any good for this. Smaller meals help a majority of the moms-to-be, hiatal hernias or hiatus hernia, a condition where the upper portion of the stomach goes into the chest area through a small opening in the diaphragm. One of the well known risk’s is eating a large meal and lying down immediately. Being overweight or obese, eating certain foods such as citrus, tomato, chocolate, mint, garlic, onions, spicy or fatty foods are implicated in acid reflux. As are certain beverages such as: alcoholic drinks, carbonated sodas, coffee or tea. Smoking, aspirin, ibuprofen, and blood pressure medications can cause this problem.

There are many foods or drinks that can cause heartburn. Each person may have there own list.

Pharmaceutical Remedies

The solution isn’t going to be found with acid blocking medications like Pepsin, Prilosec, and Nexium. They may be a short term band-aid, but they aren’t for long term use. These are powerful drugs, which were originally developed for short term use.They were meant for peptic ulcers with a recommended six week regiment. Today, people just about live on these.

The danger of these drugs is the fact that you need stomach acid to digest food and absorb nutrients. Long term use leads to vitamin and mineral deficiencies. These drugs are robbing the body of magnesium, calcium and vitamin B12 while increasing the risk of osteoporosis, insomnia, depression, anemia, fatigue, nerve damage and dementia. Long term use also leads to the overgrowth of bacteria in the stomach and small intestines.

The Real Cause

Any long term solution must address the cause. Acid reflux is typically caused by too little stomach acid. The esophagus is separated from the stomach by a ring of muscles known as the Lower Esophageal Sphincter (LES). The sphincter is what keeps the contents of the stomach and stomach acid from going back up to the esophagus What determines if the LES stays closed to prevent acid reflux into the esophagus is adequate levels of stomach acid. With sufficient acid production in the stomach there is feedback to LES, This causes increased tone and prevents any food from rising into the esophagus. If stomach acid is low the tone of the LES is compromised and now has a loose hold on the content of the stomach.

Solution

One of the folk remedies is to take 1 tablespoon of raw apple cider vinegar in 4 ounces of water after a meal. This is a natural remedy and can be a replacement for medications. This helps when acid reflux is brought on by low stomach acid.

Aloe juice is used to soothe the esophagus. This is a remedy used in Europe to treat acid reflux. The best brands are in the health food store, they are for internal use.

Low stomach acid is a condition brought on by lifestyle. High stress, gulped down meals without a chance to properly digest and faux foods which are incredibly destructive. The nervous system has two main states which you constantly oscillate between. A sympathetic nervous state responsible for the fight-or-flight mode of operation, and the parasympathetic nervous system. One of the underlying causes of acid reflux is eating when sympathetic dominant. This will cause a low production of stomach acid leading to a weakness in the LES response of regurgitation of the stomach contents into the esophagus.

The solution isn’t going to come out of a bottle, jar, or carton. In fact those solutions are perhaps a major part of the problem. The real solution is to restore the nervous system. There are a few ways to do that one is with upper cervical chiropractic care, and the other is with turning off the stress response. Acid reflux is a modern day affliction brought on by a fast paced life, along with a poor diet. The real cause has to be corrected, by finding the time to slow down and get healthy.

About the author Blanche has been a student of natural healing modalities for the last 25 years. She had the privilege of working with some of the greatest minds in Natural Healing including Naturopaths, Scientist, and Energy Healers. Having seen people miraculously heal from all kinds of dis-ease through non-invasive methods, her passion now is to help people become aware of what it takes to be healthy.

Lemon Balm for anxiety relief

(NaturalHealth365) Lemon balm is a common garden herb, with some uncommon abilities. Lemon balm contributes to significantly reduced stress levels. It counteracts negative moods, promotes calmness, and reduces oxidative related brain cell degeneration. Lemon balm is effective at reducing accumulation of the harmful amyloid-beta, a protein, which is considered a leading contributor to Alzheimer’s disease.

Lemon Balm

Lemon balm is a perennial herb in the mint family. It is a plant native to southern Europe and the Mediterranean and to northern Africa. It has been cultivated for over 2000 years. Lemon balm has been in use throughout history as a healing herb. The Arabs introduced it as a medicinal herb, using it in a tea for anxiety and depression. In early Greece it was used for scorpion stings, insect and dog bites. Today, it is used in France as a remedy for fatigue.

The leaves have a soft lemon sent and in the summer it blooms small white flowers full of nectar. It is an easy plant to cultivate, growing well in sunny areas while being quite shade-tolerant. Lemon balm is grown indoors as a potted herb.

Lemon balm is used in ice cream and herbal teas as a flavoring. You also can find it in fruit dishes, candies, pesto, poultry, lamb and fish dishes. It is also used as a preservative in meat dishes. Many dishes are garnished with chopped fresh leaves. It has a subtle lemon flavor, which works well in many recipes.

Medicinal uses

Lemon balm leaves have many uses. The leaves are used as a mosquito repellent. It is used as a herbal tea or extract for its antibacterial and antiviral properties. It has demonstrated to be effective against herpes simplex.

Lemon balm chief components rosmarinic acid, quercetin, gallic acid, and rutin are potent antioxidants. These protect brain cells and other tissues from reactive, oxygen species (ROS). Lemon balm tea is used to protect radiology technicians from the oxidizing effects of chronic exposure to low levels of radiation.

Anxiety Relief

What it is most known for its ability to induce sleep and is considered a mild sedative. Lemon balm tea is used to calm colds and flu symptom. It is considered a carminative herb and is used to relieve spasm in the digestive tract. It is reduces dyspepsia associated with anxiety or depression, because of its sedative properties.

The volatile oils appear to help the nervous system. Anxiety is associated with tension, and as such lemon balm is used for migraines that are associated with tension. Lemon balm and its chief component rosmarinic acid boost levels of GABA in the brain. This elevated GABA levels reduce the level of anxiety. Increasing brain GABA activity is the way which prescription anti-anxiety drugs work.

GABA

GABA is an important inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain. Excitement in the brain needs to be balance with inhibition. Excitement can lead to restlessness, irritability, insomnia and anxiety. GABA is responsible for providing a soothing stress-relieving effect. This neurotransmitter is made in the brain from the amino acid glutamate with the help of vitamin B6. Many people are GABA deficient and look for products to help them relax.

Research

Animal studies have revealed the powerful anxiety and stress reducing effects of lemon balm. Mice demonstrated significantly reduced anxiety in maze experiments when they were given lemon balm extract. Mice conditioned to experience chronic fear showed significantly reduced stress response and more appropriate behavior when given lemon balm.

Human studies of lemon balm in treatment of agitation in Alzheimer’s patients have been encouraging. Research studies of lemon balm are compelling. There were a series of trials conducted in the Human Cognitive Neuroscience Unit at the University of North Umbria in the United Kingdom, which showed lemon balm produced an increase in self-rated calmness in a group of healthy adults.

The researchers also evaluated lemon balm in a different setting, where the subjects were deliberately stressed in the laboratory. They gave one group of healthy volunteers’ low doses of lemon balm and another group a placebo then subjected them to the Defined Intensity stressors Simulation, a battery of challenges designed to impose stress. Calmness was produced in the lemon balm group.

Lemon balm may add flavor to your food, while adding zest to your life.

About the author Blanche has been a student of natural healing modalities for the last 25 years. She had the privilege of working with some of the greatest minds in Natural Healing including Naturopaths, Scientist, and Energy Healers. Having seen people miraculously heal from all kinds of dis-ease through non-invasive methods, her passion now is to help people become aware of what it takes to be healthy.

The placebo effect is powerful medicine

(NaturalHealth365) The placebo effect is nothing to sneeze at, it may be the working capital, which creates healing. Most primary care doctors along with patients assume that the purple pill sets the stage for healing possibilities. There is the visible and the not so visible, which directs the outcome. The force that determines the outcome only you can direct. For that you need motivation, belief and action.

Research

Researchers used the placebo effect to successfully treat psoriasis patients with one quarter to one half of their usual doses of a prescribed steroid medication. This is according to a study published online in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine. This suggested to the researchers that this new technique could help treat other chronic disease such as: asthma, multiple sclerosis and chronic pain.

Steroids are a nasty bunch of drugs, since the side effects make it a poor choice for long term treatment. New treatments in the future can now mix active drug and placebo. Researchers at the university of Rochester Medical Center hope to maximize drug benefits and reduce side effects.

The publication is a product of decades of research in the emerging field of “psychoneuro-immunology,” which holds that the ability of the human immune system to fight disease is closely linked with a person’s mind. Thoughts and moods are captured in neurochemicals that cause the release of hormones which interact with disease-fighting cells.

Placebo

Placebo studies are the gold standard of medical research and are also called double-bind studies. Placebo-controlled clinical trials, are where you give one group of patients a medicine you want to test and other a dummy pill, which hasn’t any active ingredients without the patients knowledge.

The roots of the placebo effect can be traced backed eons and is a part of many cultures healing practices. The roots of the way modern medicine uses this seems to go back to World War Two. A nurse assisting an anesthetist named Henry Beecher, used salt water in an injection to relieve a soldier’s pain when the morphine supply ran out. Low and behold: it both relieved the pain and prevented the onset of shock.

After the war Beecher returned to his post at Harvard and inspired by the nurses act, he launched a crusade to promote a method of testing new medicines.

In a 1955 paper “ The Powerful Placebo,” published in The Journal of the American Medical Association, Beecher wrote how the placebo effect undermined the results of more than a dozen trials by causing improvements that were attributed to the drugs being tested. He demonstrated that trial volunteers who got real medication were also subjected to the the placebo effects. It seemed the act of taking the pill was seen as therapeutic and this boosted the power of the medicine.

In a Harvard Medical School study, researcher Ted Kaptchuk tested volunteers’ response to varying levels of psychological intervention. The study focus was irritable bowel syndrome, a chronic condition that is hard to treat medically. The volunteers were randomly placed in one of three groups. One group was put on a waiting list; it is known that some people get better from just signing up for a trial. The next group received a placebo treatment from a clinician who didn’t do much interacting with the person. Volunteers in the third group also received placebo treatment, but from a clinician who asked them questions about their symptoms, told them the causes of IBS, and were optimistic about the condition. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to choose the group that improved the most.

Self-Healing

Placebos are considered a psychological response related to gullibility rather than a physiological occurrence. There are real biochemical reactions, which occur when using a placebo. There are self-healing responses that come into play. Placebo activated opioids will relieve pain, modulate heart rate and respiration. Dopamine is released by placebos. There are mechanism getting activated, which will elevate mood, raise cognitive ability, alleviate digestive disorders, help sleep, and cut down on the stress-related hormones like insulin and cortisol.

You are what you eat, and this proves you are what you think and believe. That is why pills come in an assortment of colors, it isn’t just so you don’t mix them up. With all the hype prescription drugs get the colors, design, words and displays may deserve credit for the symptom relief, and the ingredients for the side effects.

About the author Blanche has been a student of natural healing modalities for the last 25 years. She had the privilege of working with some of the greatest minds in Natural Healing including Naturopaths, Scientist, and Energy Healers. Having seen people miraculously heal from all kinds of dis-ease through non-invasive methods, her passion now is to help people become aware of what it takes to be healthy.

Inflammation and Cancer

(NaturalHealth365) Nuclear factor-kappaB is a complex of potent proteins, which are kept in an inactive form in the cytoplasm of the cell. When the cell is stressed in some way the cell tries to protect itself. The stresses come from: radiation, toxic chemicals, and nutritional depletion, high carbohydrates, and lack of exercise.

Considering NF-kB regulates the expression of almost 400 different genes, the activation of NF-kB through a whole host of stresses isn’t desirable. NF-kB stimulates genes to produce inflammatory cytokines and other molecules that promote cancer. Because of the strong link of NF-kB with different stress signals, it has been named the “smoke-sensor” of the body.

Activated NF-kB fragments trigger cell differentiation. This means more cells goes from a resting state to a proliferation state, making more copies of the cell. When NF-Kb is activated cells develop survival techniques and resist both cell suicide and chemotherapy drugs. The bottom line is that NF-kB when activated promotes malignancy.

NF-Kb and Inflammation

Some recent studies have tied chronic inflammation to the expression of nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB). NF-kappa B (NF-KB) acts like a switch to turn on genes that produce inflammation. NF-kappaB’s expression increases in maturing individuals. This may be the reason cancer rates rise with age.

NF-kB is the premium regulator of the cancer-causing process. Once NF-kB triggers the events that link inflammation with the development of cancer, it continues to contribute to cancer cells ability to grow and spread.

It is a fact that most to all cancers have abnormally high levels of active NF-kB, which keeps them in a state of inflammation. Why this is the smoking gun: inflammation is a must in order for cancer cells to proliferate and spread.

What Turns on NF-Kb?

By understanding what turns on nuclear factor-kappa beta and its role in inflammation will assure both health and longevity. Since inflammation is responsible for a host of chronic conditions such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, asthma, and Alzheimer’s it is imperative that we understand the common denominator. NF-kB is the sensor that detects threats like free radicals and infections and in response turns on the genes in charge of inflammation.

There is also very good research that tracks the dietary connection to NF-kB signaling. Most of the research into this explores the role that high-glycemic index carbohydrates have. These foods have been showed to increase the NF-kappa B levels. Any sudden spike in glucose will raise the NF-kB level.

The current thinking is that a high-carb combined with a high fat diet will cause inflammation. While the evidence for low carb even with high fat may reduce NF-kappaB.

What Turns Off NF-Kb?

What blocks NF-kB will block a host of chronic conditions. It is estimated that anywhere from 67%to 90% of cancers are preventable. The consensus is health is dependent on lifestyle factors. Phytochemicals in fruits, vegetables, and spices turn off the inflammatory responses. So, it is no surprise that NF-kB is suppressed by a whole food diet.

Antioxidants are being studied for their NF-kB-blocking ability. These include vitamins C and E, carotenoids, glutathione, lipoic acid, flavonoids, polyphenols, selenium, zinc, milk thistle, curcumin, garlic extract, ginger, isoflavones found in the bean family and omega-3 fatty acids. Besides all the above, there is now growing evidence that vitamin D, ashwagandha and pomegranate extracts have NF-kB blocking activity.

While the pharmaceutical industry looks to turn off the cancer switch, we have the ability to start our own campaign to turn off the inflammatory response. At our disposal is a simple, precise and economical way to design our own cancer prevention program. This is a methodical approach that can save lives. The challenge is to apply this knowledge and move towards better health.

About the author Blanche has been a student of natural healing modalities for the last 25 years. She had the privilege of working with some of the greatest minds in Natural Healing including Naturopaths, Scientist, and Energy Healers. Having seen people miraculously heal from all kinds of dis-ease through non-invasive methods, her passion now is to help people become aware of what it takes to be healthy.

Fibromyalgia Strategies for a Pain Free Life

(NaturalHealth365) Fibro strategies for a Pain free life means addressing the cause. This means some real detective work. Fibromyalgia is a condition crying out for a natural solution. The profound impact that this condition has on overall health calls for more than medication.

Fibromyalgia (FMS) is a condition of sore muscles and increased sensitivity to pain. The official diagnosis requires that at least 11 of 18 designated tender points be extremely sensitive to pressure induced pain. These pressure points seem to be crucial for a diagnosis.

Fibromyalgia patients suffer from constant pain, interrupted sleep, constant fatigue, sore and weak muscles, headaches, irritable bowel, anxiety, and depression. It is mostly diagnosed in females, aged 20 to 50 years of age. Until the pharmaceutical companies found a drug for fibromyalgia, most doctors thought of this as a non-existent condition.

Pharmaceuticals

Antidepressants and analgesic drugs are prescribed for fibro symptoms. Analgesics are just another word for painkillers. These range from over-the-counter drugs like acetaminophen to prescription drugs. Sometimes stronger narcotic drugs are prescribed. However, there is no real evidence that narcotics actually work on alleviating the chronic pain of fibromyalgia.

When pain is the primary symptom and often times it is, then a prescription may include an anticonvulsant, along with the pain reliever and antidepressant. Lyrica is an anticonvulsant and the first medication approved by the FDA specifically for fibromyalgia pain.

The list of medications reads like a novel: Cymbalta an antidepressant approved by the FDA to treat fibromyalgia pain, Paxil and Zoloft for sleep, overall wellbeing and pain relief, Amtril. Also, Elavil and other trycyclic antidepressants are often prescribed for fibromyalgia. Many people don’t like the side effects of tricyclic anti-depressants such as weight gain, dizziness and fatigue.

Even with all these drugs, complete relief from fibromyalgia pain isn’t always possible.The only real solution is in finding the cause.

Hypothyroidism

Low thyroid function is a concern, since most people find relief by restoring normal thyroid function. Treating hypothyroidism has been firmly associated with improvement in sleep, fatigue, pain, intestinal problems, depression, anxiety levels, and overall well being. It is increasingly clear that there is a connection.

More women than men suffer from both hypothyroidism and fibromyalgia. The symptoms of fibromyalgia and hypothyroidism overlap. Fatigue, brain fog, depression, digestive issues, and muscle weakness accompanies both conditions.

There are some studies supporting the connection between thyroid resistance and fibro symptoms. Fibromyalgia is considered a metabolic condition by a growing number of alternative medical practitioners.

Vitamin D

There is a link between fibromyalgia and a vitamin D deficiency. It is already known that muscular pain and weakness in fibro patients can be a sign of a vitamin D deficiency.

There are some studies that show fibromyalgia sufferers have deficiencies of calcium and serotonin. Vitamin D helps create serotonin, which is the feel good hormone. Serotonin helps with sleep, brain fog, depression and anxiety.

Vitamin D is essential; it helps your body absorb calcium, which helps your muscles relax. Research over the past few years from places like the Mayo Clinic have identified a relationship between low levels of vitamin D and pain.

Ribose

D-Ribose is a 5-carbon sugar (unlike 6-carbon glucose sugar) directly involved in the production of “ATP,” the fuel that every cell in the body uses for its energy production. D-Ribose doesn’t raise blood sugar; rather it’s directly converted to ATP.

Supplementing with D-Ribose has led to significant improvement in fibromyalgia patients. It has been found, patients with fibromyalgia reach the anaerobic threshold in their muscles earlier. This means they are using less of the available energy. Ribose increases the muscle energy pool, which reduces the metabolic strain in affected muscles and allows patients to assume a more active lifestyle.
Restoring Your Health

Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is a powerful antioxidant that helps with restoring energy in the form of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is deficient in people with both fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome. Physical activity provides pain relief and improves sleep. There have been testimonials touting the benefits of a raw vegetarian diet, consisting of vegetable juicing, fruits, seeds, and barley grass juice. Restoring key metabolic functions and nourishing the body may put an end to fibromyalgia pain.

About the author Blanche has been a student of natural healing modalities for the last 25 years. She had the privilege of working with some of the greatest minds in Natural Healing including Naturopaths, Scientist, and Energy Healers. Having seen people miraculously heal from all kinds of dis-ease through non-invasive methods, her passion now is to help people become aware of what it takes to be healthy.

Ashwagandha Naturally Lowers Stress

(NaturalHealth365) Ashwagandha is an amazing and easy way to counter the toll of stress. This is good news considering that stress underlies many chronic and inflammatory diseases.

Ashwagandha is also known as Indian winter Cherry. It is a shrub cultivated in India and North America. In Africa, Mediterranean and India it grows as a wild shrub. The shrub is a member of the tomato family, and bears red fruit. Unlike tomatoes Ashwagandha fruit are small like berries.

The root of this plant has been used for thousands of years by Ayurvedic practitioners to treat different health condition. The role of ashwagandha is seen not only as calming, but as a tonic to replenish lost energy.

Stress

Ashwagandha is sometimes referred to as Indian Ginseng. It produces energy in a way that helps the body calm down and sleep. What it does is help the body take care of stress rather than masking it. One of the reasons that ashwagandha helps with stress is in its ability to maintain normal adrenal levels.

The adrenals get depleted when stressed by physical, emotional, and psychological events. Caffeine, nicotine, processed foods and sugar deplete the adrenal reserve, causing fatigue, depression, insomnia, and poor concentration.

Since ashwagandha is used to soothe and calm down a stressed mind and nerves, it not only helps the adrenals, but normalizes the sympathetic nervous system.

Most people in modern society are in the sympathetic mode. This isn’t healthy for long extended periods. This coupled with adrenal fatigue produces brain fog, memory problems, nervous exhaustion and loss of muscular energy. When there are changes in sleep duration it impinges on the quality of life. Sleep patterns change with low adrenal function and an activated sympathetic nervous system.

Cortisol

What ashwagandha does is reduce the cortisol levels in chronically stressed individuals. The body has a built in mechanism for protecting us from acute and immediate stress. The effect is known as the “stress response.” This involves production of what is called the “adrenaline rush” which is a massive release of cortisol or the “stress hormone.”

We are only meant to experience a short term burst of cortisol. What happens is blood sugar levels go up to provide needed energy. Calcium is pulled from storage making it available to muscles for a quick response. In the wilderness this is a plus, but in the asphalt jungle of today it is a determent

Chronic stress in modern society leads to all sorts of major health problems. Cortisol levels never get to return to normal, and overexposure to cortisol leads to a depressed immune response, high blood pressure, loss of muscle mass and cognitive problems.

Science

Science hasn’t much to offer, in fact the lowering of cortisol levels, fixing adrenal function and turning off the sympathetic nervous system are not within the realm of allopathic medicine.

The use of ashwagandha is relegated to the medical system of India. It is known as the ginseng of India, and used in Ayurvedic medicine as a general tonic. It is an adaptogen used to rejuvenate, and calm the nerves, and is thought to have a strong and protective effect on the nervous system.

Ashwagandha has so many therapeutic applications. In America it is used by naturopathic physicians and can be bought in health food stores. There is enough evidence that stress doesn’t have to cascade into a life altering condition. Along with a healthy lifestyle, ashwagandha can help clear the way for authentic change to take place.

About the Author Blanche has been a student of natural healing modalities for the last 25 years. She had the privilege of working with some of the greatest minds in Natural Healing including Naturopaths, Scientist, and Energy Healers. Having seen people miraculously heal from all kinds of dis-ease through non-invasive methods, her passion now is to help people become aware of what it takes to be healthy.

Health Benefits of Rhodiola

(NaturalHealth365) Rhodiola is a Russian herb, which demonstrates remarkable abilities in supporting cellular energy metabolism.

Rhodiola known also as Arctic root or golden root grows in high altitudes in the arctic areas of Europe and Asia and is used in traditional medicine. The authentic Rhodiola rosea species used in clinical research is wild crafted from the Altai Mountains of Siberia.

For centuries it has been used in Russia and Scandinavian countries. Studies of its medicinal uses have appeared in scientific literature in Europe. In Russia, it is used as a remedy for fatigue, poor attention span and poor ability to recall events.

There have been double-blind, crossover human trials that showed rhodiola increased mental performance in the areas of short term memory, concentration, and audiovisual perception. In another human trial it showed the ability to provide more energy. Rhodiola is used by athletes for added exercise endurance.

Rhodiola is thought to promote higher levels of ATP (adenosine triphosphate) and CP (creatine phosphate) in the mitochondria. The mitochondria are the cellular power plants. This may be the ultimate cell rejuvenator. At the same time rhodiola provides a powerful weapon against aging. It comes as no surprise that energy is needed for all organs to function at their peak. As people age they lose some of their physical strength, and their cells loss some of their ability to produce energy. One of the places you can see the decline is in mental functions.

Adaptogen

Rhodiola is an adaptogenic herb. The characteristics of an adaptogenic herb refer to the fact that the herb demonstrates a nonspecific enhancement of the organism’s ability to resist a stressor. Adaptogens recharge the adrenal glands, which cover the upper surface of each kidney. The adrenals synthesize and store dopamine, norepinephrine and epinephrine. These compounds are responsible for what occurs during the fight-or-flight reaction.

Rhodiola increases and improves resistance to stress. This alone has an effect on a person’s lifespan. Besides the favorably effect on stress, it has been shown to restore organ function, boost immunity, and help with depression, and anxiety. There also is some research that it may help with sleep disturbances.

Adaptogenic herbs are plants that show they can exert a normalizing influence on the body, without over-stimulation or inhibiting normal function.

Physical Performance

Rhodiola has been used in Russia and Scandinavia to cope with the cold Siberian climate and the stressful life that comes from living in harsh conditions. In recent times athletes have been known to use adaptogens to help with endurance and performance.

Rhodiola minimizes oxidative stress-induced muscle damage in athletes for 24 hours after strenuous activity. Rhodiola has been used by populations living high in the Himalayas to enhance their resistance to the effects of oxygen deprivation. This herb has been shown to increase oxygen delivery to muscles. The end effect is to boost endurance and performance. When exercise capacity and endurance is improved the overall condition is improved.

Stress Response

Rhodiola mitigates and delivers a favorable response to stressors. This herb has been shown to have the ability to circumvent the severity of generalized anxiety disorders. This has become a widely common occurrence. The symptoms of this problem include: difficulty with concentration, irritability, muscle tension, and sleep problems.

It sounds as if rhodiola is the answer for the modern plague of stress. Stressed humans have become the norm in today’s society. From burnout to fatigue the population is suffering from compounded mental and physiological generalized disorders. Anything that can lead to improvements that translate to better motor performance, mood, and cognitive function is a welcome addition to our arsenal of natural compounds.

About the author Blanche has been a student of natural healing modalities for the last 25 years. She had the privilege of working with some of the greatest minds in Natural Healing including Naturopaths, Scientist, and Energy Healers. Having seen people miraculously heal from all kinds of dis-ease through non-invasive methods, her passion now is to help people become aware of what it takes to be healthy.

Ways to Reduce Depression

(NaturalHealth365) There are ways to reduce depression without the use of pharmaceuticals. Health and wellness isn’t the focus of big pharmaceutical companies, or the food industry. Deficiencies of micronutrients can clearly explain the downward spiral in mental health.

Combating brain drain and neurodegeneration brought about as a result of an overloaded nervous system takes more than pharmaceuticals. The cumulative damage from the consumption of toxic foods and chemicals induces the expression of everything from cognitive decline, Alzheimer’s, bi-polar disorders, and depression.

The numbers and variety of legal drugs that involve prescriptions are increasingly suspected of causing depression. Medications appear to alter brain chemicals. A pharmaceutical drug such as Accutane used to treat acne is a known to cause depression. Oral contraceptives, high blood pressure drugs, and statins are also known to bring this condition on. If this is the case then depression is a sign of the times, where the new paradigm is administrating drugs for every lifestyle induced condition.

How the Brain Operates

There are specific vitamins, minerals, and fatty acids that help relieve depression. The relationship between what you eat, how much you exercise, and what you think are all tied into your well being.

The brain isn’t separate from the rest of the body. It operates on the same food supply. In fact it uses and needs a good quantity of the nutrients from the food you eat.

Essential Fatty Acids

Nearly two-thirds of your brain is composed of specific kinds of fats. There are two kinds of fatty acids are called “essential,” which means your body can’t manufacture them and must rely on food sources.

These are the essential fatty acids (EPAs): Alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) the foundation of the “omega-3” group of fatty acids, and Linoleic acid (LA) the foundation of the “Omega-6” group of fatty acids.

These are the essential materials to build brain cells with. Food sources of omega-3 ALA are flax seeds, chia seeds, walnuts, sea vegetables, green leafy vegetables, salmon, sardines, mackerel, trout, olive oil, and there is some in grass fed meat and butter.
The good quality Linoleic acid (LA) is found in expeller cold pressed oils like sesame, evening primrose, flax/linseed, pumpkin seeds, avocados, poultry, cashews, acai berry, and spirulina.

Your brain makes docosehexaenoic acid (DHA) from ALA and LA. Scientist at the National Institutes of Health has associated the increase in depression in North America with the decline of DHA. This is the most abundant fat in the brain.

The brain’s ability to incorporate these and other essential nutrients is dependent on stress levels, infections, alcohol, sugar consumption, vitamin and mineral levels.

Vitamins

The B vitamins are a factor in providing energy for the brain, and processing amino acids. The amino acid Tryptophan is crucial in boosting you serotonin levels.

The B-complex vitamins are essential to mental and emotional well-being. They can’t be stored; we need to get them daily for our food. They are depleted by our use of nicotine, caffeine, and sugar.

Amino Acids

5-hydroxy Tryptophan, made from the amino acid typtophan, is essential for boosting serotonin levels. Serotonin helps maintain a happy feeling. Low serotonin levels are implicated in mild to moderate depression. Foods that raise your serotonin levels are: free range turkey, flaxseed/ flaxseed oil, wild fish and sea food, whey protein, bananas, eggs. cherries, free range beef, and dark chocolate.

Conclusion

Since depression is now one of the most prevalent mental health complaints, affecting about 15 million people. The amount spent on prescription drugs to alleviate it, would make you think everyone would be happy beyond belief.

The truth is that our brains aren’t short on drugs; they are functioning on unhappy foods, such as refined sugar, poor quality oil, processed chemically enhanced foods. Aspartame, NutraSweet, and artificial sweeteners result in a decrease of tryptophan. Depression may be a symptom of the times and lifestyle choices.

About the author Blanche has been a student of natural healing modalities for the last 25 years. She had the privilege of working with some of the greatest minds in Natural Healing including Naturopaths, Scientist, and Energy Healers. Having seen people miraculously heal from all kinds of dis-ease through non-invasive methods, her passion now is to help people become aware of what it takes to be healthy.

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