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

Are you in danger of losing your eyesight as you age? Over 25% of Americans over 65 have macular degeneration. Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) affects more Americans than glaucoma and cataracts combined. As you grow older, your risk increases dramatically.

AMD is a deterioration of a portion of the retina. The retina is the backside of the eye. It records images and sends them to the brain. The central portion of the retina is the macula.

The macula plays major roles in these features of vision:

• Focusing vision
• Recognizing colors
• Recognizing faces
• Reading
• Driving a car
• Seeing fine details

In AMD, this critical structure of vision is gradually destroyed. There are two types of macular degeneration: “wet” and “dry.” “Dry” macular degeneration makes up about 90% of all cases. A yellow substance called drusen collects under the macula. The drusen thins and dries the macula, causing deterioration.

“Wet” macular degeneration affects only a minority of people suffering from AMD. In this case, blood vessels grow abnormally under the macula. These blood vessels eventually leak. The macula bulges, causing vision loss.

The key to overall health… is your liver? Absolutely. This amazing 4-pound organ — located beneath your lower ribs and on the right side of your stomach — performs more than 500 bodily functions and chemical reactions each day to keep you in tip top shape. In fact, your liver:

• Eliminates toxins… Your liver filters harmful toxins from foods… alcohol… and medicines from nearly 100 gallons of blood every day. Then it allows healthy nutrients to pass to your cells.
• Breaks down fat… Your liver’s ability to manufacture a full quart of bile daily allows fat breakdown. Bile is that yellowish-green fluid that breaks down fat. Think of it as the soap detergent you use to get rid of grease from your dirty dishes.
• Regulates blood sugar levels… You liver helps prevent unhealthy spikes and dips that can throw your body out of whack — and trigger scores of health problems.
• Keeps your hormones in balance… Your liver produces more than 13,000 hormones and essential chemicals —including testosterone, estrogen and cholesterol — for optimum body function! Plus, it oversees the function of an additional 50,000 enzymes you need every day.

Despite the fact that the liver is an all-essential, and often overused organ, most people today do virtually nothing to protect it. Did you know that you could be open to possible liver and kidney damage if you are over 40… regularly take over-the-counter medicines… use prescription drugs… drink two or more glasses of beer, wine or hard liquor each week… or drink less than six to eight glasses of distilled or purified water each day?

Just look at the tremendous number of harmful chemicals we absorb that accumulate in our tissues when the liver, digestive system and skin cannot eliminate them:

• Poisonous pesticides and herbicides from food crops.
• 5,500 chemically produced food additives.
• Foods which are genetically altered, refined, frozen, fried, irradiated, hormone-filled, etc.
• Auto exhaust, lawn sprays, household cleaning products, cosmetics, etc.

The main two organs of detoxification for these many chemicals are the intestinal tract and the liver. The intestinal tract is the first line of defense against harmful chemicals. When its lining becomes easily permeable (leaky gut syndrome), then harmful chemicals are allowed into the body.

In the ocean surrounding the continent of Antarctica there are millions of tons of a natural resource known for healing a host of ailments and serious health conditions. It’s called krill oil, and it’s derived from a tiny shrimp-like crustacean species called krill.

After years of research and clinical studies, there is now scientific proof to support the evidence of this amazing nutrient’s effectiveness in treating high cholesterol… blood pressure problems… aching joints… PMS symptoms… and more.

Not only is krill oil safe and natural, but it’s also renewable, since, at best count, up to 600 million tons can be found in the chilly waters off Antarctica.

Why Krill Oil?
The reason krill oil is more effective than other marine oils is because it’s full of healthy omega-3 fatty acids, phospholipids and extremely potent antioxidants.¹ It’s the unique combination of these essential ingredients that provides the greatest health benefits.

Harvested only two months out of the year under responsible fishing regulations, the krill are flash-frozen to maintain the potency of their therapeutic oil.

Benefits of Omega Fatty Acids
Both omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids are essential for your diet since your body doesn’t produce them on its own.

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

The next time you hear some nay-saying doctor claiming that there is no evidence that vitamins actually do anything, show him this:

A new study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that multivitamins can keep you younger, longer. It shows that people who take a daily multivitamin had younger DNA.

The study found that those who took a multivitamin daily had 5.1% longer telomeres than non-users.¹

Telomeres are the key to aging. And it’s not just your life span that’s affected… Short telomeres dramatically boost your risk of serious diseases. One study of 60- to 75-year-olds showed those with short telomeres had a 300% higher death rate from heart disease and an 800% higher death rate from infectious diseases.²

In case you haven’t been following our story on the amazing advances in telomere biology, telomeres are part of your DNA. They can be found in every cell in your body, and are critical to youthful cell function. But as your cells divide, your telomeres get shorter… and the shorter your telomeres, the older your cells behave. (See my article in the October 14 issue of THB.)

Every cell in your body depends on it for powerful antioxidant defense and energy. Hard-working organs like your heart, kidneys, and lungs depend on it to function properly. Unfortunately, as you age, your levels of it decrease and your body doesn’t get as much as it needs to maintain optimal health and vitality.

I am talking about CoQ10, one of the most powerful anti-aging nutrients your body uses. Supplementing your body’s reserves is critical for your health.

But when it comes to getting the best possible benefits from CoQ10, it’s not how much you take that matters, it’s how much that’s actually absorbed.

Ordinarily CoQ10 comes in the form of ubiquinone. Some doctors know that it has many health benefits. What they don’t always know is that in order for your body to be able to use and absorb the ubiquinone CoQ10, it first has to reduce it to its metabolite form of ubiquinol.

In fact, the best way to consume it is in the ready-to-use ubiquinol form. It used to be difficult to put ubiquinol into supplement form, but that is no longer true.

At the risk of sounding redundant, I am making folic acid the topic of yet another article. Why? Because making sure you are getting enough folate is one of the most important things you can do for your health. Yet if you read the headlines lately, you may be running scared from folate. Should you take folate or shouldn’t you, and if so, how much should you take? Let’s clear up some of the confusion.

You may remember my article from back in December discussing the good and bad effects of alcohol. In it I warned women to stick to the one-glass-a-day rule to reduce risks from alcohol. However, a recent study called the Million Women Study found that even one glass a day increased the risk of cancers in women. The study, which came out of the United Kingdom, found that in middle-aged women who drank anywhere from one to three drinks per day — the risk of breast, liver, rectum, and in smokers, mouth and throat cancers, increased for each drink consumed.¹

One drink increased cancer rate by 15 cancers per 1000 women and this risk continued to double for each daily drink. This study was significant because it involved a very big study population, most of whom drank wine, a form of alcohol that other studies have found has certain health benefits.

I know many women will look at that study and say, “Well, I am going to take my chances. I am not giving up my one glass of wine!” And that decision is probably OK because there may be a way to protect yourself.

You see the idea that even moderate alcohol consumption may increase cancer risks is not a new one. Studies clear back into the early 1990s found the same thing. However, other studies from back in the 1990s found that the increased cancer risk from alcohol may be largely because alcohol depletes folate.

As a result of an increased awareness of the damaging effects of free radicals, everywhere you turn someone has a high antioxidant supplement they want you to buy. They range from supplements containing vitamins C and E and the trace mineral selenium (give or take a few nutrients) to supercharged juices made from exotic berries, like acai berries. The prices are anywhere from about $10.00 all the way up to $70.00 for a bottle of juice; or $2.00 for one small square of acai-added chocolate.

Garlic has been prized for the last 5000 years as a marvelous healing remedy. Even Western medicine acknowledges garlic’s amazing ability to help lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of further heart attacks in cardiac patients. However, it’s also known for its ability to stimulate the immune response along with its antibiotic properties.¹