The unfortunate truth about agave “nectar”.  Agave nectar has been presented to the unsuspecting public as a natural alternative to other sugars that is better for you than regular sugar.  The claims are that it is natural, organic, raw, diabetic-friendly, etc…  The truth is that it is very similar to the villainous high fructose corn syrup.  In fact agave “nectar” and HFCS “are indeed made the same way, using a highly chemical process with genetically modified enzymes. They also use caustic acids, clarifiers, filtration chemicals and so forth in the conversion of agave starches.” The result is a high level of highly refined fructose in the remaining syrup, along with some remaining inulin.”  The problem, or real danger with high fructose corn syrup is the highly concentrated fructose in it.  The average concentration of fructose in the sugars of high fructose corn syrup is 55%, in agave “nectar” the concentration is upwards of 70%.

 Due to the clever marketing agave “nectar” appears to be a natural organic syrup or sap derived from the agave plant, in fact it is a processed food from the fiberous starch of the agave plant.  There is often variation in the coloring of the syrup and this is passed off as normal variations due to the nectar being harvested in small artisan batches when in fact “Due to poor quality control in the agave processing plants in Mexico, sometimes the fructose gets burned after being heated above 140 degrees Fahrenheit, thus creating a darker, or amber color.” However, the labels create the impression of an artisan product—like light or amber beer. As consumers are learning about problems with agave syrup, the label “chicory syrup” is beginning to appear as a non-conforming word for the product. Consumer beware!”

Source:http://www.westonaprice.org/Agave-Nectar-Worse-Than-We-Thought.html

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It turns out that along with all of the many benefits of consuming omega-3 fats, new research shows that it can help you live longer too.

Cardiologists from the University of California, San Francisco, and other hospitals measured telomere length over five years in 608 patients who had coronary-artery blockage and previous heart attacks. Researchers found that people with high levels of omega-3 fatty acids in their white blood cells experienced significantly less shortening of telomeres over five years, as compared with patients with lower omega-3 levels.

Telomeres are the part of your DNA that has been thought to indicate longevity.  Generally as people age their telomeres decrease in length.  The thinking, therefore is that if taking omega-3′s can be shown to decrease the decline of the telomeres, then they decrease the decline associated with aging as well.

For more info you can follow this link:

http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB10001424052748703837004575013393566949312-lMyQjAxMTAwMDEwOTExNDkyWj.html

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Hoping to keep the flu at bay? A strong immune system helps. Enjoying the bounty of colorful fruits and vegetables available right now can be an important step toward supporting your family’s immune system this cold/flu season.

In addition to vitamins, minerals and fiber, fruits and vegetables contain phytonutrients, believed to come from the com-pounds that give these foods their vibrant colors. These phytonutrients provide a wide range of health benefits, including supporting a healthy immune system.

A new study, America’s Phytonutrient Report, found eight in 10 Americans are missing out on the health benefits of a diet rich in colorful fruits and veggies, resulting in a phytonutrient gap. The report looked at fruit and vegetable consumption in five color categories, specifically green, red, white, blue/purple and yellow/orange, and the phytonutrients found in each color category.

Eating a variety of colorful fruits and vegetables is one way to help keep you and your family healthy. Foods in the red category are especially helpful to our immune systems, in addition to supporting heart health. Tomatoes, pomegranate, red cabbage, cranberries, even pink grapefruit provide the phytonutrients lycopene and ellagic acid.

The health benefits of foods in the yellow/orange category support a health immune function too…along with vision and heart health. And they help maintain skin hydration—important as we head into these cold, dry months. These foods pro-vide beta-carotene, alpha-carotene, lutein, quercetin and other phytonutrients that can be converted into Vitamin A. Deli-cious and nutritious yellow/orange fruits and vegetables available now include: carrots, squash, sweet potatoes and pi-neapple.

For optimal health, aim to eat two foods from each of the 5 color categories – green, red, white, blue/purple and orange/yellow – for a total of 10 servings each day. A few of Amy Hendel’s favorite tips to help fill phytonutrient gaps:

1. Instead of tossing out fruits or veggies that look a bit wilted or bruised, use them. Add chopped vegetables to canned soup. Bake cored apples with a bit of cinnamon, a sprinkle of raisins and lemon zest. Or, perk up a muf-fin recipe with by adding an over-riped banana.
2. When baking omega-3 rich fish, top with tomatoes, onions and other veggies, brush with olive oil and sprinkle with oregano, red pepper flakes and rosemary. Herbs and spices are packed with antioxidants too.
3. Pureed fruit added to baking recipes gives moisture AND phytonutrients, while cutting fat. Try pureed plums in brownies and mashed cherries in meatloaf or hamburgers.
4. Finally, while eating whole fruits and vegetables is the goal, a natural, plant-based supplement like those made by Nutrilite can help fill phytonutrient gaps in your diet.

###

More information about phytonutrients and the phytonutrient gap , including America’s Phytonutrient Report and simple tips for coloring up your diet, can be found at http://www.pwrnewmedia.com/2009/nutrilite90921nmr/index.html

Interviews available with health/wellness expert Amy Hendel, registered physician assistant

Hendel has more than 20 years experience providing nutrition and fitness therapy, counseling, education and consulting services to patients. She is certified in nutrition and exercise physiology and has a family lifestyle therapy practice. As a health contributor on NBC’s Today Show and as a featured blogger/expert on healthcentral.com, Amy has become a leading voice on the topic of lifestyle habits for families. She is a medical and lifestyle reporter, and has appeared on Good Morning America, The Rachael Ray Show and The Early Show.

For more information, or to book an interview, please contact Lisa Winternitz, at (312) 988-2146 or email at lwinternitz@webershandwick.com

 SOURCE: EurekAlert!

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This guy is great, be sure to watch the whole video, he really gets rolling as he goes along.

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The levels of insulin in your blood may be the single most important chemical level to your health and wellness.   Most are aware that insulin has something to do with regulating blood sugar, but what is less well known is that insulin has its fingers in almost every organ system in the body, and as the regulation and then levels of insulin in the blood get thrown off, its effects are generally detrimental, and in fact, most of the diseases of aging have direct relationships to the balance of this important chemical.  The causes of insulin resistance lay mostly in dietary factors, and so does the remedy for insulin imbalance, or insulin resistance. 

The primary purpose of insulin in the human body is to cause for the storage of excess nutrients.  With the intake of sugar, when the body recognizes there to be more sugar in the blood stream than is needed for the current activity level insulin is released to initiate the storage.  The first form of storage is glycogen storage in you liver and muscles, for the purpose of providing a quick boost of energy if needed.  Evolutionarily this could be thought of as energy for fight or flight if you are about to be eaten by a saber toothed tiger.  Glycogen stores fill quickly and then the body stores excess blood sugar as everyone’s favorite whipping boy, saturated fat.  Backing up a little, excess sugar enters your blood stream through ingesting it in the diet.  Now the biggest blast of blood-sugar comes from eating high-sugar foods, like your typical soft drinks and desserts; however any carbohydrates, even complex-carbohydrates elevate the blood sugar level and therefore cause for this storage process to be initiated.  This of course then begs the question: Why on earth would you ever eat a high complex-carbohydrate, low-saturated fat diet?  In essence this makes no sense as a high-complex carbohydrate diet would simply cause your body to make plenty of saturated fat on its own. 

Insulin touches every corner of your body and here is only a partial breakdown of what it causes in the body:

-Storage of magnesium

-Retention of sodium

-Stimulates cell proliferation and division

-Stores sugar as fat

-Mediates blood lipids (i.e. Triglycerides)

-Helps control the manufacture of cholesterol

-Helps control sex hormones estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone

-Controls growth hormone

-Elevates plasma non-esterified free fatty acid concentrations

-Increases hepatic secretion of VLDL

As you can see insulin has some important functions in the human body and without it you wouldn’t be long for this world.  However the key with insulin is to have a proper balance, and primarily to have only a small amount floating around in your blood stream at any one time.  

Insulin resistance, also known as type 2 diabetes or adult onset diabetes is a growing problem in the U.S.   In 2000, according to the World Health Organization, at least 171 million people worldwide suffered from diabetes, or 2.8% of the population.  Its incidence is increasing rapidly, and it is estimated that by the year 2030, this number will almost double. 

When sugar enters the blood stream insulin is released and signals your cells to store the sugar first as glycogen and then as fat.  The mechanism for this is that there are specific receptor sites for insulin on the membrane of each cell.  When a molecule of insulin touches the receptor a chain reaction takes place causing for the cell to perform whatever functions it does when in the presence of insulin.  Cell membranes have a self-regulating mechanism called up- or down-regulation of receptors.  This literally means that they either create more (up-regulation) or less receptors (down-regulation) for a specific chemical related to how much of it they are in contact with over time.  In other words when a cell is constantly bombarded with a chemical it begins to down-regulate its receptors for that chemical and becomes less sensitive to it.  This is similar to when you first enters a room with a strong smell, it is very noticeable, but after being in the room for some time your sense of smell accommodates (down-regulation) and you don’t notice it as much, but if you leave and then re-enter (up-regulation) you can then notice the smell strongly again.  In the case of insulin resistance, the cells are down-regulating their insulin receptors, and therefore they are less responsive to it in the blood stream.  However, even if the cells are resistant to the messages of insulin, you body still requires something to happen to the sugar floating in your blood, so your pancreas begins to secrete higher and higher amounts of insulin in order to achieve the same results.  This is where the trouble really begins.  An over abundance of insulin in the human body has numerous detrimental effects:

-Decreases the cellular uptake of vitamin C.  (A blood sugar level of 120 reduces the phagocytic index by 75%.  The phagocytic index is a measure of how rapidly an immune cell can destroy a virus, bacteria, or cancel cell.)

-Your cells become resistant to magnesium, which causes your blood vessels to constrict, which causes your blood pressure to rise.

-It raises triglyceride, and LDL levels

-It leads to coronary artery disease (CAD) by causing blood to clot to readily, the conversion of macrophages into foam cells, constriction of arteries, and stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system.  Not to mention the fact that it interferes with vitamin C uptake.

-It causes dyslipidemia i.e. Increased triglycerides, decreased HDL and increased LDL.

-Syndrome X (HBP, high cholesterol, Insulin resistance)

-Promotes acne

-Early menarche

-Certain epithelial cell carcinomas (cancer)

-Myopia (near-sightedness)

-Cutaneous papillomas (skin tags)

-Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)

-Male vertex balding

Now the Million dollar question: What do I do about insulin?

The answer in its simplest form is; stop eating sugar!  O.K., O.K.  I know for most people this solution sounds easier than it is.  So what are some more “reasonable” steps one can take to reign in insulin levels?

The first distinction to make is identifying the primary sources of sugar in your diet.

Liquid Sugar       Recently a report came out detailing that the average American diet consists of 1/3 calories form sugar!  That means that 1 out of every 3 calories that you eat in a day has no positive nutritive value, and even more it can lead to many of the health challenges detailed above.  Another detail reported in the report was that a large number of these calories from sugar come in liquid form, soda, juice, etc…  And despite the commercials to the contrary, high fructose corn syrup in not good for you, at the least it is equal to regular sugar, and in reality there is evidence that it could be worse for your insulin levels. 

White Flour       Another important point to consider is that white flour is basically sugar.  Much of it turns into simple sugar before it even hits your stomach.  So In reality you can view any white flour the same as eating straight sugar, and compounding the issue, sugar usually accompanies white flour. 

What about maple syrup, honey, brown sugar, raw sugar?          In short, they are all still sugar and you r body still needs to deal with it when it enters your blood stream by releasing insulin.  Yes, they do break down a little slower, so in that respect they don’t cause for as rapid of an insulin dump, but insulin has to be produced anyway. 

Artificial sweeteners, NutraSweet, Splenda, etc…?        JUST SAY NO! 

Links to more info:

NutraSweet: http://doctorellisor.com/nutrition/thebad/nutrasweet. 

Splenda:  http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2000/12/03/sucralose-dangers.aspx

What else?        

Supplements:  Aside from reducing and or eliminating sugar in your diet, which is the most vital part, there are also some supplements that can help balance the effects of sugar in your blood.  Again however, these are supplements, meaning they are meant to supplement healthy diet and behavior, not replace it. 

-Cinnamon:  research has shown that cinnamon can reduce blood sugar levels and lower blood cholesterol as well. Even 20 days after the cinnamon treatment had ended, the patients continued to see beneficial effects.

-Chromium:  this can increase the ability of cells to burn fat rather than needing to burn sugar.

-Omega-3 oils:  This can improve cellular circulation by making the membrane more fluid, thereby increasing receptor sensitivity.

Exercise:  Research has shown that regular resistance training has been shown to be better than aerobic training in bringing down insulin levels and increase insulin sensitivity.

Insulin Resistance can be reversed:        Studies of humans show that insulin resistance can be significantly improved and even reversed by simple yet extensive dietary changes, sometimes within only a few weeks. 

There are over 50 essential nutrients for the human body, all of which can be successfully ingested without ever eating grains of sugars.

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Well put Dr. Mercola

.

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1.  Limit free-radical formation

The most potent generator of free-radicals in your body is respiration, i.e. breathing.  As far as free radical creators that you can do something about, inflammation is the most potent.  This means that not only does inflammation cause the discomfort of pain and dysfunction; it is also causing damage to your whole body, degrading your overall health and causing you to age more rapidly.  Now, I would never promote the regular use of anti-inflammatory medications like ibuprofen or acetametaphin, these have their own host of harmful side-effects that far outweigh any potential help they might provide.  There are however many natural, health benefiting ways to reduce your overall level of inflammation.

Healing Modalities

            First and foremost it is important to address the underlying cause of the inflammation. 

Chiropractic care, acupuncture, massage therapy, and other natural healing modalities can assist with this process.  If the underlying physical dysfunction is left alone, no amount of other support can truly do the job.  We have been indoctrinated since birth to treat the symptoms of a problem rather than the underlying cause, this is backwards and dangerous.  Correcting the underlying cause often does take more time to produce the desired results, however the changes are real and lasting, and also send the message to your body that its health is important.

Dietary interventions

There are many healthy dietary additions that reduce inflammation, while at the same time improving other aspects of health.  These include both dietary additions, as well as supplementation. 

Foods that support reducing inflammation:

-Omega-3 rich wild fish, like salmon.  Omega-3s are a healthy fat that reduces the formation of the chemical precursors of inflammation.

-Walnuts and flax seeds.  These nuts and seeds provide healthy omega-3’s along with other important healthy fats and nutrients.

-Colorful vegetables.  Choose organic and local when possible, harmful pesticides and herbicides can add to your free-radical load.

-Colorful whole fruits.  Again choose organic and local.

-Extra virgin olive oil.  Be sure to use this either unheated or only moderately heated when cooking.

            Supplements for reducing inflammation:

-High quality omega 3 supplements.  Fish oil and flax oil are the most effective and widely available dietary supplements for omega-3’s.  With fish oil it is extremely important to be sure it is high quality and has been certified to be free of PCB’s and heavy metals.  Another option that has recently come into the market place is Krill oil, which seems to be an exciting alternative to fish oil with added benefits.  Flax oil is a good addition to a regimen that already includes fish oil, but is not a suitable replacement.  Flax adds other beneficial oils such as ALA.  For more about fish oil and flax seed oil, follow this link.

-Mangosteen.  Mangosteen is a fruit that grows in jungle environments in South-east Asia that is new to the U.S. marketplace.  There has been increasing research into the healthful benefits of this fruit and especially its rind.  One impressive effect it has is to powerfully reduce inflammation.

-Green tea is a powerful anti-inflammatory when used regularly. Green tea is high in catechin polyphenols, particularly epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). In a 1997 study, researchers from the University of Kansas determined that EGCG is twice as powerful as reversterol (the beneficial ingredient in red wine) in promoting longevity and heart health.

There are many more out there, but these three are the cream of the crop.

            `

Stress, mental, chemical, physical, emotional all increase formation of free radicals in the body

Reduce your stress levels.  There are many techniques and exercises that have reducing stress as part of their intent or focus.  Some of the most commonly understood are meditation, yoga, and hypnotherapy.  Regular exercise has also been shown to effectively reduce the level of stress in your life.  (For more on reducing stress click here)

Toxic chemicals pervade our modern environment.  The air we breathe is full of toxins from industry, automobiles, hairspray, etc…  The water in the rivers and lake has been polluted.  Plastics with harsh chemicals are part of packaging and other products we use daily.  Many of the cleaning products and even personal care products found in most homes having varying degrees of toxicity to them.   This seems to be a very pervasive problem and I won’t go into more detail here about it, except to say the more you can limit your exposure to these types of chemicals the less free-radical formation you will expose your body to.

2.  Protect your body from the harmful effects

Earlier in this article, we covered free-radicals; what they are and what they do to your body.  Antioxidants are molecules that help to counteract the damaging action of free radicals.  If you remember, free-radicals move through your body stealing electrons from the cells they come into contact with, altering their normal function and even killing them.  Antioxidants freely donate an electron to the free-radical, thereby neutralizing its harmful effect and not becoming a free radical themselves.  In effect these chemical compounds neutralize the harmful effects of oxidizing free-radicals.  The benefits of decreased cellular oxidation include:

-          Youthful elastic skin and tissue.

-          Properly functioning cartilage and other joint tissues.

-          The proper function of healthy nervous system tissues, meaning a sharp mind and a highly functional body, along with good eyesight, good memory and concentration.

-          Properly functioning glandular system, meaning good energy levels, proper weight management, and better emotional stability.

-          Functional immune system

-          Etc…

Some common dietary antioxidants and their sources:

-Vitamin A and carotenoids:

Carrots, squashes, broccoli, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, kale, collard greens, red and yellow peppers, cantaloupe, peaches, apricots and mangos.  (Basically most colorful fruits and vegetables)

-Vitamin C:

            Citrus fruits, green, red and yellow peppers, broccoli, spinach, brussel sprouts, other dark green vegetables, tomatoes, pineapple, cantaloupe, mangos, papaya and guava.

-Vitamin E:

            Nuts and seeds, whole grains, green leafy vegetables, some vegetable oils, wheat germ, legumes, brown rice, and liver oils

-Selenium:

            Fish and shellfish, red meat, whole grains, eggs, chicken, garlic, and most vegetables.

-A small list of the many beneficial phytochemicals:

            Polyphenol-rich foods like red wine, purple grapes, pomegranates, cranberries, green tea, and mangosteen

            Lycopene-rich foods like tomatoes, pink grapefruit, and watermelon

            Lutein-rich foods like kale. Broccoli, brussel sprouts, spinach and other dark green leafy vegetables

            Lignan-rich foods like flax seeds, oatmeal, barley and rye.

            Anthocyanidin-rich foods like berries, cherries and red grapes

            Proanthocyanidin-rich foods like cranberries, cocoa, apples, strawberries, grapes, wine, peanuts, and cinnamon

This is certainly not an exhaustive list, and research into antioxidants is ongoing and more compounds are discovered all the time, usually touted as the new savior food to fight cancer and reverse aging.  While it is true that antioxidants have many varied and beneficial functions, it is important to remember that a wide variety of good quality antioxidants is the best for overall health and to vary your diet, and importantly to view supplements as just that, supplemental to a good diet.

3.  Repair and correct the damage that has been done

Now that we have looked at reducing free radical formation, and protecting the body from the effects of the free-radical that are produced, the next logical step is to go about the business of repairing the damage that has already been done.

One very important feature of the proper function of the body is the proper function of the nervous system.  The human body is designed to be perfectly healthy at all times, and is in a constant state of striving for this perfect health dependent upon the environment it is given.  There is an innate intelligence that is a non-local property of all living things which gives animation to them; it is what separates living organisms from inanimate objects.  It is this intelligence that allows us to heal from a cut without giving it conscious attention, it causes for the coordination of our body’s 600,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000/second functions in perfect harmony.  In the human body the innate intelligence uses the nervous system to coordinate the functions of all the other systems, organ, and cells.  For the full potential of health and therefore the greatest ability to heal and correct damage that has occurred, the nervous system must be healthy and freely functioning without interference.  This is where chiropractic care enters the picture.  Chiropractic care is about the business of assisting the body to clear subluxations (patterns of interference to the nervous system, and therefore the innate intelligence’s function).  This allows for the greatest potential of health to be attained.  If the nervous system has interference, one can eat a great diet, exercise properly, get good, rest, etc.., but still not be achieving 100% health.

The body is more likened to a flowing river of change, rather than a static machine of function.  So, even though we think of our bodies as being permanent structures, most of our tissues are continually being turned over, renewed in a balance between the constant death of old cells and the constant birth of new cells. Some studies have suggested that the average age of the cells in an adult human may be as low as seven to ten years.  (An interesting concept for those who consider their ill health to be a result of their body being old)  This reality adds restorative importance to dietary and lifestyle changes that can help to limit oxidative stress.  In effect, it is never too late to make positive changes towards health, and with a full spectrum approach, including reverence for the innate intelligence that really does the healing, seemingly miraculous changes can occur.

A brief list of some other habits and healthy changes once can make to correct and repair prior damage:

-Get your intestinal flora back in proper balance through colon cleanses and proliferation of beneficial bacteria

-Daily exercise that includes strength training, coordination and balance work, and stretching and lengthening muscles.

            -Get good sleep nightly

            -Reduce your overall load of stress; mental, physical, chemical, and emotional.

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