Total Health Breakthroughs: Alternative Solutions for Mind, Body, and Spirit

If I were asked to pick just one supplement for optimal joint health, I would have to go with fish oil.

Why fish oil? Well, fish oil contains EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid), long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), commonly referred to as omega-3 fatty acids or just omega-3’s. These omega-3 PUFAs have a number of beneficial effects on the body, including the joints.

In any type of arthritis, pain comes from two main sources:

1. Exposed and irritated nerves in the bone which are vulnerable to friction and chemical irritants when the protective cartilage layer is destroyed.
2. Inflammation which causes the synovial membrane of the joint to swell, grow, and produce excessive amounts of joint fluid (”water on the knee”).

Looking back at 2008, I vote for vitamin D as the biggest nutrition news of the year. We all knew vitamin D was needed for optimal bone formation and maintenance, but I don’t think anyone really appreciated its full importance for our health. From cancer to heart disease prevention to protection against autoimmunity, vitamin D may very well be the most important nutrient to get enough of.

With all the new information on its disease-preventing benefits, many researchers suggest that the Daily Recommended Intake (DRI) for vitamin D should be raised from 400 IUs to a minimum of 1000 IUs. And further studies have found that toxicity is really a non-issue.7 So, no longer are we disputing that the DRI is far too low. Instead, the focus has turned to making sure you are getting enough.

Most of us know that vitamin D is made from cholesterol in the body. Sun exposure is the catalyst that makes this happen. When sun hits the body, cholesterol in the skin is converted to vitamin D. To get enough vitamin D, we are told that we need from 5 to 30 minutes of sun exposure between 10 AM and 3 PM at least twice a week to the face, arms, legs, or back — without sunscreen. But that’s only if you live below the 42° latitude marker. (In the US, that line runs from Northern California to Boston.)

Raspberry — y-u-u-u-um! This delightful herb has been used in folk medicine for hundreds of years. It is easy to grow and fun to have in your garden because of its luscious fruit. Both raspberry leaves and fruit are credited with healing properties. Containing modest amounts of vitamins A, B, C and E along with calcium, phosphorus and iron, raspberries are as healthful as they are delicious.

One of the most common uses of raspberry is for women’s issues because it is an excellent uterine tonic. In both Chinese and European herbal medicine, raspberry leaf tea is a classic herbal preparation for pregnant women. In the 1940s, British researchers found that raspberry relaxes muscle spasms in the uterus.

Popular prescription drugs can rob your body of many essential nutrients, doing you more harm than good.

Scores of popularly prescribed drugs for all kinds of health problems have been proven to leach important vitamins, minerals, and key enzymes out of your body or prevent it from being able to absorb them. They can also affect metabolism and even make it impossible for your body to use certain nutrients.

Look for These Common Thieves in Your Medicine Cabinet

Some of the most commonly used drugs in America today can cause any one of the problems on this list.

Aspirin

You may be surprised to learn that aspirin makes it harder for your body to absorb vitamin C.¹ It can also decrease levels of iron and folic acid, leading to anemia, susceptibility to cold and flu, and a host of additional ailments.²

It is recommended that you speak with a knowledgeable professional before using any herbal remedy.

Nerve tonic, detoxifier, immune system stimulant… Siberian ginseng is considered an ‘adaptogen’ because it normalizes body functions and can be taken for all body systems.

“Wherever flaxseed becomes a regular food item among the people, there will be better health”, said Mahatma Gandhi. He was right. The true nature of flax as a health food has been known for centuries. In the 8th Century, Charlemagne considered flax so essential for health that he actually passed laws requiring its use. Flax was one of the original medicines, used by Hippocrates himself.

Flaxseeds and flaxseed oil are one of the best sources on the planet for the important omega-3 fatty acid called alpha-linolenic acid. Alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) is considered an essential fatty acid because the body can’t make it — it has to be obtained from the diet. Flaxseed oil can help protect against cardiovascular disease, cancer, arthritis, and many other degenerative diseases. And though it’s primarily a source of omega-3, the oil has the virtue of containing some other fatty acids as well, notably some omega-6’s and some heart healthy omega-9’s, providing a nice fatty acid balance.

There is a caveat on this, however. The ALA found in flax and flax oil is only one of three omega-3 fats, the other two being the long-chain fatty acids known as DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid). The latter two are only found for the most part in animal foods particularly cold water fish like salmon.

Truth be told, they’re the superstars of the omega-3 family, though the ALA in flax has plenty of health benefits as well (such as being anti-inflammatory). The good news is that the body can make DHA and EPA from the ALA in flax; the bad news is that it does a really bad job of it, converting only about 5-10% of the ALA to those longer chain omegas that are found naturally in fish and fish oil.

What to do, what to do? Flaxseed and flaxseed oil are the go-to source for omega-3’s if you’re a vegetarian. And if you want to get the special benefits of EPA and DHA without taking fish oil (or eating fish), just make sure to take at least a tablespoon a day of flaxseed oil. That way, even at the low “conversion” rate you’ll still be getting about a gram or so of the “fish oil” omegas.

(It is recommended that you speak to a professional with herbal knowledge before using any herbal remedy.)

Lobelia is one of the greatest herbs ever given to the world! After studying hundreds of natural medicines, I find no plant that is more harmless in its effect on the human body — and none more powerful in removing disease than Lobelia. It is known as a “general corrector’ of the whole system, since it is easily diffused and able to influence the entire body.

Many men take a saw palmetto supplement, or a combination of saw palmetto and other herbs and nutrients for prostate health — or with the hope of improving symptoms of an enlarged prostate (BPH). Since prostate enlargement is a chronic problem, saw palmetto is often used for prolonged periods of months or years.

But are saw palmetto supplements safe for long term use? Do they have any side effects?

“Eating your curds and whey” may be one of the best things you can do for your health. Whey is the watery protein found in milk, and according to dozens of studies, it has a long and impressive list of benefits. While in the US, we associate whey with cow’s milk, it’s actually found in all animal milk — and happens to be one of the highest quality proteins in the world.

What if I told you there was a supplement available that could help control blood sugar, protect the liver and the brain, and just might turn out to be one of your most powerful weapons in the fight against unhealthy aging?

Meet alpha-lipoic acid.

First discovered about 50 years ago, alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) is one of the most potent antioxidants in the human body, where it’s normally synthesized in small amounts. In fact, Lester Packer, PhD, a senior researcher at the University of California for over 40 years has called it, “probably the most potent naturally occurring antioxidant known to man”.