Total Health Breakthroughs: Free Natural Health Newsletter and Alternative Health Articles

Don’t equate your “age” with your risk of disease…

A recent article about Alzheimer’s in a major health publication stated that “Age is the biggest risk factor for the disease.” The author was referring to the fact that the prevalence of Alzheimer’s doubles every five years in people over 65.

I believe this is a big mistake. And it’s one that is too common. “Age” is widely claimed to be the “biggest risk factor” for macular degeneration. And it is listed among the major risk factors for stroke, heart disease, diabetes and cancer.

The problem with equating the risk of these diseases with a meaningless number – our age – is that it allows us to abdicate responsibility. It takes the focus off the true causes of disease and puts it on something that we can do nothing about – the hands of time. Oh, well… that’s just what happens when you get older.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. The degenerative diseases we associate with aging have little to do with our chronological “age.” Rather, they are the long-term ramifications of unhealthy choices that turned into lifelong habits! These diseases do not magically appear at a certain age. They are the end-result of poor nutrition, stress and toxic overload over a long period of time.

When we think of the improvements that exercise can bring to our bodies, we usually think of athletic performance. Exercise increases our strength and makes us fitter. And we know that it can improve the health of our heart and lungs. But regular exercise can do a lot more than this.

It can improve your memory and cognition. It can defeat depression. It provides a powerful boost to your immune system. And it can even make your very DNA functionally younger.

I hope that one of your New Year’s resolutions is to exercise more this year. In today’s issue – several reasons why you should…

Exercise for Your Body Creates the Building Blocks for Your Brain

On a recent visit home, I saw our neighbor Tom. He was out for his brisk daily walk and we stopped to chat. As always, I was impressed. Tom is 84 years old and he still walks two to three miles most days. His mind is sharp too. He is quick with a joke. And he always remembers the details of previous conversations.

I begin today’s message with something I wrote about four years ago. Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, it has now come to pass…

Selling Sickness: Turning Healthy People into Patients

In his book, Selling Sickness, medical journalist Ray Moynihan reveals comments made by the head of Merck pharmaceuticals thirty years ago. The CEO of Merck was distressed that his company’s products were limited to sick people. In an interview with Fortune, he openly wished for his company to be “more like Wrigley’s chewing gum.” He dreamed of making drugs for healthy people so they could “sell to everyone.”

The drug giants now fund aggressive, multi-billion dollar marketing campaigns. Their goal is to expand the boundaries of illness. Case in point: statin drugs.

Statins are already some of the most widely prescribed drugs. The pharmaceutical marketing machine is looking for ways to grow that market. Currently, the drug companies are pushing for statins to be used to treat everything from Alzheimer’s, to diabetes and arthritis.

There is one thing you MUST do to burn fat effortlessly and improve your health in every measurable way. Limit the sugar, grains and high-glycemic carbohydrates in your diet.
A high-glycemic diet stimulates the production of insulin – the “fat storage hormone.” Chronically high insulin levels make fat burning virtually impossible. It is also a cornerstone [...]

“If you had to give me just one piece of advice about health, what would it be?” Rob asked.

I was at a Christmas party this past weekend, catching up with our family friend Rob. I was telling him about Total Health Breakthroughs and what I do. And he was telling me about the positive changes he has made to his health in the past year.

Several things came to mind to answer his question. “You should be sure that you are getting enough vitamin D,” I said. “Eat an antioxidant rich diet. And cut out the sugar and stick to low-glycemic foods.”

“That is three things,” he said. “If you could tell me just ONE thing to do, what would it be?”

“Consume more omega-3 fatty acids,” I said.

Rob and I were just making conversation. Of course, there is more than one thing you should do to maintain and protect your health. But eating a diet rich in omega-3 essential fatty acids is certainly near the top, in terms of importance.

Omega-3 fatty acids are vital for your brain and your heart. They can boost your immunity. They can improve athletic performance. They can tame inflammation. They improve lung function. They can even help you lose weight.

In fact, there are more positive, peer-reviewed studies about the benefits of omega-3 fatty acids than any other food or nutrient. You would be hard pressed to find a single health condition that cannot be improved by optimal omega-3 levels in the body.

As soon as she answered the phone, I could tell something was wrong…

“Is she okay? What happened?” my wife asked.

“Well, thank goodness the hospital is so close. How is she doing now?”

I could only hear half the conversation, but I knew Kelley was talking about her grandmother. Joyce is 86 years old, but seemed to be in great shape. She is perfectly lucid. She works in the yard. And still drives wherever she goes. I was surprised to learn that she was rushed to the hospital.

Kelley’s grandmother has never had heart problems. But she was short of breath, her chest was tight and her heart was palpitating. The doctors thought she was having a heart attack. And the symptoms were serious enough that they kept her in the hospital for three days to monitor her condition.

It turned out that she wasn’t having a heart attack. Thankfully, her forward-thinking physician checked her mineral levels. Kelley’s grandmother was suffering from an acute magnesium deficiency.

Fortunately, the only prescription she left the hospital with was one for a magnesium supplement. And to think that for less than five cents a day she could have avoided a near-death experience… and a costly visit to the hospital!

In Friday’s issue of Total Health Breakthroughs, I wrote about inflammation – the silent killer. When inflammation occurs on your body – often associated with redness, pain and swelling – it is obvious. When it is associated with a fever or infection in your body, it is obvious then too.

But chronic, subclinical inflammation leaves very few clues. And yet, it is a cornerstone of physical aging and the primary cause for a host of degenerative diseases. That is why it is important to know how much inflammation is in your body – and take measures to lower it.

The best marker for inflammation is C-reactive protein. I recommend that you have your CRP measured the next time you go for a checkup. But there is something you might need to watch out for. More on that below…

The Hidden Danger in Getting Your CRP Tested

“I can’t sell my house,” Adam told me.

“What do you mean, you can’t sell it?” I asked. “You haven’t even put it on the market yet.”

“Exactly!” he blurted. “And I can’t put it on the market until it is rebuilt.”

“Rebuilt? Your house is beautiful. What are you talking about?”

“I wanted an appraisal before I listed it,” Adam said. “So the inspector came by today.”

“What’s the problem?” I asked.

“Termite damage,” he said. “Wait. Let me rephrase that. Termite destruction.”

I couldn’t believe it. I had been to Adam’s house a few weeks before. It is an older home, but it feels contemporary and new. Clean and well decorated. Impeccably furnished. Fresh paint on the walls. There wasn’t a single outward sign that his house was falling apart. But it was.

Adam told me he hadn’t been in the crawl space for years. It was the inspector who broke the news. The entire supporting structure of the house would have to be jacked up and replaced. Some of the interior structure was damaged too. Major repairs were necessary before he would even have a chance of selling it.

“Red Meat Causes Cancer”
About four months ago, this headline appeared in just about every mainstream health publication. It was on the nightly news. Even the Wall Street Journal ran coverage of the story.
Oh… and don’t forget about heart disease too!
But the hysteria about the dangers of “red meat” is totally off base. [...]

What you are about to read requires an open mind. You have to look at facts instead of massive advertising and failed, faulty theories. Are you ready?

Fact: From 1900 to 1980, obesity rates in the US remained stable at 14% to 15% of the population. Since 1980, however, obesity rates have skyrocketed. Today, nearly 66% of the population is overweight or obese. This spike is directly linked to the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) creation of the food pyramid, advocating 11 daily servings of grains and cereals. This is not a coincidence.

For most of my 25 year career and 5,000 heart surgeries, I accepted low-fat dieting theories. I also believed the theory that dietary cholesterol was a primary cause of heart disease. But as heart disease continued to soar, year after year, my doubts began to haunt me.

I treated thousands of patients after they became ill. The question that haunted me was what was causing heart disease, obesity and diabetes in the first place? As I examined the data, it was clear that these conditions spiked in the 1980s and continued to climb.