09/17/07 at 3:34 pm

Since the causes of poor colon health are fairly straightforward (mostly stemming from dietary habits), the cures are also fairly straightforward. The key is to eliminate or greatly reduce unhealthy foods from the diet, including: saturated fats, dairy products, excess starches and sugars, and red meat. Here are some of the keys to getting your colon back into shape:

• Enemas and Colonics: Colons are like massive honeycombs, with pockets that can harbor years-old waste. In fact, several pounds of bacteria-laden fecal matter can become attached to the walls of the colon, causing chronic fatigue, flatulence, bloating, skin disorders, breathing difficulties, arthritis, and constipation. Colonic cleanses help remove this waste and restore the youth to your intestines and bowels. Colonics can help eliminate some intestinal parasites, too. Flatulence often can be cured by hydro colon therapy and a good diet.
• Probiotics: The opposite of antibiotics, probiotics work to restore the healthy bacteria in your body, including your intestinal flora. Two of the most common probiotic flora are acidophilus and bifidophilus. It is essential to take probiotics after taking antibiotics, doing a colon cleanse, or chemotherapy, so as to regenerate the friendly fauna and flora that live in your colon and intestines and help you digest and absorb your food. Remember, antibiotic means anti (against) bio (life). Antibiotics kill everything in the bacterial realm, including the good bacteria in your body. Candida yeast infections are caused by a lack of healthy body flora.
• Fiber and raw foods: It is widely known that fiber from raw foods helps clean your intestines, especially raw or lightly cooked broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and cabbage (all in the cabbage family). Fiber from grains and seeds is also beneficial.
• The cholesterol connection: Too much cholesterol in the diet forms gallstones in the liver and gallbladder, leading to poor digestion and processing of fats and proteins. These poorly digested fats and proteins end up in the intestines and colon, mucking up the works.

One of the most widely used agents for enemas or colonics is coffee. Coffee stimulates the lining of the colon and causes it to excrete more proficiently. It also cleans up the bile ducts between the colon and the liver / gallbladder. Coffee gets the deep peristalsis (the natural movement through your entire digestive tract) going again.

After your enema or colonic cleansing is complete, you can reintroduce liquid chlorophyll, which is very healing, energizing, and soothing, back into your colon. Chlorophyll is molecularly the closest substance to the hemoglobin in your red blood cells, so you can imagine the regenerative and healing benefits it has.

Colon cleanse supplement programs are also widely available. Most of these are multi-day programs that use herbs and supplements to help remove waste from the intestines. Some key ingredients used in these programs include: ground black walnut shell / husk, garlic extract, psyllium husk, bentonite clay (or liquid), pau d’arco, wormwood, yellow dock, citric acid from lemon or grapefruit, cayenne pepper, and slippery elm.

Other Considerations

The best way to instantly lose five pounds is an enema, which you can do yourself in case you’re embarrassed by a technician putting a hose in your tailpipe. Colon work seems to be the most embarrassing and secretive thing for most people, but if you were initially embarrassed by the idea, once you’ve done it to yourself, hydro colon therapy done by a practitioner will be no problem for you. Hydro colon therapists are very gentle and professional in what they do.

Though colon therapy is great for most people, those with intestinal tumors, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, diverticulitis, or severe hemorrhoids should not do colon therapy because it may worsen these conditions.

09/17/07 at 3:30 pm

The best way to prevent a cold is to boost the immune system with vitamin C, Spirulina, or olive leaf extract, and antioxidants from fruit and vegetable sources. During cold seasons, or when others around you have colds, you may also want to take extra vitamin C, Echinacea with goldenseal, and Lomatium. It’s not always possible to know when cold viruses and bacteria are making the rounds, however, so it’s important to have a cold-killing throat spray on hand. When you feel the first signs of itching or irritation in the throat, use the following ingredients together in an antiviral, antibacterial contact spray:

• Liquid St. John’s wort (50 ml)
• Liquid Echinacea (50 ml)
• Tea tree oil or propolis (a few drops)
• Grapefruit seed extract (a few drops)

Mix these together and spray the solution onto your throat at the first sign of irritation. If you don’t have a spray tincture bottle, use an eye dropper. Besides the above tinctures and extracts, pomegranate extract is a good topical antiviral for the throat. Some experts prefer to apply a few drops of 3% hydrogen peroxide into each ear upon first signs of a cold. You can apply drops two or three times per day until the symptoms disappear.

Treatments if you Already Have a Cold

If a cold is viral, accompanied by fever, vitamin C is very helpful, starting with 3 grams, then 1 gram every hour until the fever breaks. (Seasoned vitamin C veterans can increase the dosage but newcomers to high dosages of vitamin C may experience diarrhea.)

For a bacterial cold (the snotty kind), add 100,000 IU of vitamin A (beta-carotene) and 50 mg of picolinated zinc with a little food. (Do not take this amount of vitamin A if you are pregnant or may become pregnant.) Zinc is a potent remedy against the common cold because it boosts your immune system’s T cells to help them kill the cold bacteria or virus quickly and efficiently. Though research on zinc and colds is inconclusive, a 2000 study found that taking 12.8 mg of zinc reduced the duration of cold symptoms in general by 50%, with cough reduced by 50% and mucus discharge reduced by 30%.

Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioners prescribe ginger for the common cold, and many Western alternative health practitioners today attest to its effectiveness. At the first sign of a cold, steep three to four pieces of ginger in hot water to make a tea. Then add some honey to taste. If you have chills and a fever, add some basil to the ginger tea.

Add three to four garlic capsules to speed up the results. Echinacea herb capsules (with goldenseal if possible), along with thymus glandular (builds T cells) will help. Olive leaf extract is a powerful antioxidant and boosts energy while decreasing recovery time from viral, bacterial, and fungal infestation.

If your cold has flu symptoms such as sore, achy muscles, mix one tablespoon of horseradish in one cup of olive oil. Let the mixture sit for 30 minutes, then apply it as a massage oil for instant relief for aching muscles.

If you’re suffering from coughing bouts, licorice lozenges act as a natural cough suppressant and expectorant, so you’ll cough less and cough up more mucus when you do. Cayenne pepper in 3 to 4 capsules spread through the day helps break up congestion.

09/17/07 at 3:27 pm

Chills can be reduced or regulated in a variety of ways. For permanent increased body heat, try the following essential treatments:

• Substantially increase protein intake.
• Substantially increase exercise.
• Take liquid B-complex and C vitamins.
• Get plenty of amino acids.
• Add spices to your meals. Spices like cayenne, tumeric, curry and red pepper increase your heart rate and warm your body.

Herbs such as chamomile, ginger, boneset, and yarrow can help relieve chills. Adding cayenne pepper to food can boost the digestive fire and improve circulation. See Blood Pressure (Low) for more information about enhancing circulation.

09/17/07 at 11:00 am

Diet is extremely important in preventing and reversing liver disease, and cirrhosis can be helped with detoxification and a steady, pure foods diet. Detoxification helps to reduce the symptoms of cirrhosis and cleanse the body’s natural systems. Complete a colon and intestinal cleanse in your plans before you start a liver and other body cleanses.

Diets should be comprised of whole and organic foods that include seeds, nuts, whole grains, beans, nuts, green leafy vegetables, and goat, soy, or rice milk. Avoid alcohol and processed or saturated fats, including margarine and hydrogenated oils. Substitute with cold-processed oils such as olive oil and flaxseed oil.

Foods high in amino acids and potassium are helpful. These include nuts, seeds, bananas, raisins, rice, wheat bran, kelp, dulse, molasses, and brewer’s yeast. Avoid animal protein, as well as raw or undercooked fish. Juice therapy can help eliminate toxins, especially apple juice. Also try beet and carrot juices and green drinks that contain Spirulina, Chlorella, and other green elements.

Herbs such as milk thistle can help treat and regulate liver cells, and help with cell regeneration. Other herbs, such as Picrorhiza kurroa, has a similar effect, and licorice root is often helpful. The Chinese herb bupleururn is another one to try.

Helpful nutritional supplements include vitamin C, vitamin E, lipoic acid, and raw liver tablets. Take regular doses of vitamin B complex, selenium, folic acid, digestive enzymes with hydrochloric acid, and the amino acides L-carnitine, L-cysteine, L-glutathione, and L-arginine.

Other Considerations

Other alternative therapies include acupuncture, detoxification therapy, natural hormone replacement therapy, and Traditional Chinese Medicine.

09/17/07 at 10:56 am

The most important thing you can do for chronic fatigue caused by adrenal exhaustion is to support your adrenal glands (see Adrenal Imbalance). If your condition is caused by a virus, then use antiviral herbs and food therapies:

• Maca root
• St. John’s wort
• Garlic extract
• Green tea and green tea extract
• Una de Gato, or Cat’s Claw, from the Amazon (scientific name, Uncaria tomentosa).
• Refer to Infection (Viral) for more information.

To augment and balance low blood pressure:

• Take an iron supplement.
• Eat Spirulina to aid in the body’s absorption of minerals and help balance blood sugar levels.
• Eat foods rich in bioflavonoids, such as red grapes, green tea, bilberry, hawthorn root, and gotu kola.
• Eat antioxidant-rich foods.
• Refer to Blood Pressure (Low) for more details about treating low blood pressure.

Other Considerations

Some experts believe that Chronic Fatigue is as much a neuro-emotional-based problem as it is a physical or biochemical-based problem. When all the other possible explanations have been ruled out, and symptoms remain, then you are diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue, In other words, Chronic Fatigue is the medical establishment saying, “We don’t know what’s wrong with you.” At this point, it would be wise to look into possible causes not associated with typical solutions, including (or maybe especially) emotional and psychological causes. Losing the will to continue, chronic hopelessness, depression, and shock or trauma can all cause the symptoms associated with CFS.

Chronic fatigue is often mistaken for Lyme disease; be sure you are tested for this if you are experiencing CFS symptoms.

09/17/07 at 10:52 am

Much is known about controlling cholesterol. The key is to form new eating and lifestyle habits and disciplines. Here is a summary of the foods, nutritional supplements, plants, herbal extracts, and lifestyle treatments that will do the trick:

• To keep LDL cholesterol under control, and thereby keep arterial walls clear, be sure to have a lot of garlic, soy, and lutein-rich vegetables in your diet. These include carrots, corn, kale, spinach, Swiss chard, collard greens, mustard greens, red peppers, dill, parsley, romaine lettuce, tomatoes, potatoes, and red, blue, and purple fruits.
• Research shows that the mushroom Cordyceps (tincture or pill form) reduces LDL and raises HDL cholesterol, while inhibiting the formation of plaque in cell walls and raising energy.
• Take potent lipotropics (to promote the utilization of fats) such as methionine, choline, and inositol.
• Also add vitamin B6, non-flush niacin, omega-3 fatty acids, chromium picolinate, pantothenic acid, red yeast, and tocotrienol vitamin E. Omega-3 fatty acids can be found in flaxseed oil, rapeseed oil, and some fish. You can also get omega-3 in chia seeds and salba seeds from the salvia plant.
• Reduce intake of saturated fats and omega-6 fatty acids. Sources of omega-6 include vegetable oils (canola, soybean, walnut, safflower, and sunflower oils).
• Drink a glass of red wine each night. Red wine contains powerful polyphenols that inhibit oxidation of LDL cholesterol. Red wine also has many antioxidants and bioflavonoids.

If you are on a blood-thinning drug such as Coumadin (warfarin sodium), consult your health care provider before taking garlic supplements because garlic also thins the blood.

Other Considerations

Soybean oil and walnut oil are rich in omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, with a leaning toward omega-6. Since our diets already tend to give us an excess of omega-6 and a shortage of omega-3, you should probably avoid these oils along with other omega-6 sources.

As you’ve probably already heard, eating foods high in fiber, like oatmeal, also helps lower the LDL cholesterol level, the cholesterol that free radicals oxidize and turn into plaque that sticks on arterial walls. Plus, eating whole grains (rather than refined grains) is better for your whole body, playing a role in the prevention of diabetes and obesity.

09/17/07 at 10:48 am

Stop putting petroleum-based products on your lips. They feel slick but actually dry your lips, which is why you need to keep applying them—which is a good way for the manufacturer to get more of your money. Instead, use lip balms or gloss made from shea butter, beeswax, and vegetable or nut oils. Also use vitamin A, D, and E oils or ointments (preferably the concentrated 32,000 IU/ounce variety of vitamin E). Use a generous amount and your damaged lips will heal in nearly an instant. Also, B vitamins can help prevent chapping.

Tea tree oil is a natural antiseptic and antibacterial that can be an effective treatment against angular chelitis. It can be used in combination with vitamin E.

09/17/07 at 10:42 am

The process of eliminating cellulite is becoming less and less of a mystery. Today, we know much more about diet and the biochemical processes that result from our food choices. Here are the essentials:

• Rebalance your diet to include more proteins and amino acids and fewer fats, carbohydrates, and sugars.
• Exercise daily. Make sure your exercise is burning fat. You should be sweating and breathing hard at the peak of your exercise. Water-based exercise programs are not effective for fat burning. The best exercises are aerobic workouts, running, and bicycle riding.
• This is critical: Eat before you exercise, not after. Eating before stimulates the catabolic process of the body (to burn fat), while eating after stimulates the anabolic process (tissue building).
• Include vigorous massage or skin stimulation in your health program to physically break down cellulite structures.
• Increase your intake of bioflavonoids and vitamin C for healthy connective tissues. Mangoes, seahawthorn, and citrus fruit are good sources of bioflavonoids.
• Drink plenty of water for cell health.

08/20/07 at 11:47 am

Ten years of vitamin C intake of 500 mg a day before the age of 60 helps reduce cataracts by 57%. Antioxidants such as Pycnogenol (pine bark extract) and beta-carotene also can be of help. Keep your eyes washed with carbon-activated water by spraying it into your eyes every morning. Don’t worry about the overspray on your face: All it will do is preserve your skin and slow down wrinkle formation. Also, drink plenty of water for overall body hydration.

Don’t forget to fill up your plate with lutein-rich vegetables: carrots, corn, kale, spinach, Swiss chard, collard, mustard greens, red peppers, dill, parsley, romaine lettuce, tomatoes, and potatoes, as well as red, blue, and purple fruits. Lutein and its associated carotenoid zeaxanthin help protect delicate eye tissues from free radical damage. In fact, according to a Harvard-based study, women with diets high in lutein reduce their risk of developing cataracts by 22%; men reduce their risk by 19%.

Besides lutein, other antioxidants are helpful for your eyes and overall health: bilberry, grape seed extract, Pycnogenol (pine bark extract), olive leaf extract, and dark red and purple fruits.

Exercise your eyes. Spend five minutes a day rolling your eyes in wide circles or focusing between near and far objects. Also, rest your eyes during the day for a couple of minutes—especially if you work in front of a computer or perform other tasks that create eye strain. Simply close your eyes for two or three minutes to give them a rest.

08/16/07 at 1:30 pm

So how do we get more energy? What are the safest and most effective ways to increase energy and get more of life’s sweet nectar? Well, let’s start with a few basic principals. Here are the essential concepts for increasing body energy:

• Improve the quality of your fuel: Find the optimal mixture of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats for your body, so it can more effectively convert these elements into fuel. The optimal mixture is not the same for everyone.
• Reduce the quantity of your fuel intake: Generally, eating less food results in more energy efficiency. Oxidation from overeating causes the body to slow down, as does the excess stored fat that overeating causes.
• Clean your engine: Clean out your liver and purify your blood for increased energy. This will support the chemical processes that carry glucose into the cells, where it is used as energy. It also wouldn’t hurt to clean your intestines, as this is where sugars get extracted from foods and passed to the bloodstream.
• Streamline your body: Losing excess fat and increasing muscle mass will give you more energy and improve energy conversion from the food you eat.
• Attend to “other” energies: Steer clear of high frequency wires, unnecessary x-rays, and other foreign energies. Keep your emotional archives clean, your heart light, and your self-image positive.

Other Considerations

Glucose is the most important and most used source of energy for our tissues and muscles. Most of this glucose should come from complex carbohydrates (grains, vegetables, beans) for best energy conversion. People with higher metabolisms or those on a muscle-building program can increase their intake of carbohydrates. Sucrose (sugar) is a combination of glucose and fructose; the glucose is quickly and easily converted into energy by our liver and muscle tissues. Note that energy from fructose (fruit and corn syrup) is converted into energy only by the liver, and any excess will be converted into fat and stored as body tissue. It’s best to stay away from excess fructose, especially high-fructose corn syrup, commonly added to juices. For long-term energy, it also helps to boost your protein levels.

Pure cocoa is an excellent antioxidant and helps normalize your circulation, not to mention improve your mood. Eat dark, bittersweet chocolate for a hit of cocoa and sucrose, but keep this in check as you can easily consume too much sucrose. Energy without caffeine is built by taking a regimen of Co-Q10, ginseng, suma (South American root sometimes called Brazilian ginseng), maca (Peruvian root called Amazon ginseng), and organic minerals from seaweeds. Spirulina is an excellent energy source for its vitamin, mineral, and protein content, not to mention the chlorophyll.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the Schizandra berry is a well-known adaptogenic herb. Due to its ability to increase strength and balance body systems, Chinese herbalists recommend the dried berry for relief from exhaustion and fatigue, and they believe that it can increase both your energy level and your life expectancy.