About Me

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I have a health ministry for friends, family, and health lovers world-wide. I'm totally into all-natural and avoid chemicals, food additives, etc. even in my cosmetics. I am working toward eating Vegan, Organic, and raw as much as possible (my family too). I'm married, and have two teen daughters that I homeschooled up until high School and two grown step kids. Optimal Health - God's Way ".....and the fruit thereof shall be for meat (FOOD), and the leaf for MEDICINE." Ezekiel 47:12 KJV

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Vitamin D really does prevent cancer and autoimmune diseases

Vitamin D really does prevent cancer and autoimmune diseases

A simple and inexpensive solution:
http://www.naturalnews.com/029605_vitamin_d_prevention.html

Hallelujah Diet Testimonial: Colon Cancer and Lung Cancer Both Gone!

Hallelujah Diet Testimonial: Colon Cancer and Lung Cancer Both Gone!

“Dr. Malkmus, Like you in 1976, I was told I had colon cancer in 2008. But unlike you, I allowed the doctors to remove 12 inches of my colon. I thought everything was fine and continued eating the way I had always eaten because the doctors never told me to change my diet to prevent future cancers.

So in 2009, almost to the day I was diagnosed with colon cancer a year earlier, my lab work came back with high tumor markers. A pet scan revealed the cancer had metastasized and this time I had lung cancer.

I was so scared.

My husband and I were teaching a bible study at the time and I shared with the group of my lung cancer diagnoses and asked for their prayers. One of the people in the group told me about the Hallelujah Diet and recommended your book ‘The Hallelujah Diet.’

I purchased your book, read it, and did everything you said. Now it is nine months since adopting The Hallelujah Diet and my tumor markers are normal.

This is why I am writing you – to thank you, because I believe your book and the information contained within has saved my life.

My husband has also adopted The Hallelujah Diet and his blood pressure has gone from very high down to 117/70, his cholesterol is 153, the lowest in years.

We both want to thank you for everything you do to help others. I know that we are just two of the multitudes who have been helped by your ministry, but we wanted you to know that we have been blessed and appreciate all you do. God bless your work for the Lord.”

Mary W.

Natural health movement achieving key victories over HFCS, MSG, GMOs and more

Natural health movement achieving key victories over HFCS, MSG, GMOs and more

http://www.naturalnews.com/029617_natural_health_movement.html

What is Cancer and What Causes It?

What is Cancer and What Causes It? Health Tip #667
by Reverend George Malkmus, Founder of Hallelujah Acres

In this Health Tip we are going to attempt to help people better understand what cancer really is, as well as causes it.

In an effort to help our readers better understand cancer, let’s go back to creation and begin there.

AFTER CREATION ALL HUMAN LIFE BEGAN AT THE CELLULAR LEVEL

The Bible tells us in Genesis 2:7, “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”

After God created the first humans, Adam and Eve, all future human physical life began at the cellular level. An egg cell from the mother and a sperm cell from the father join together at conception. These two cells begin to multiply rapidly. The two cells become four cells; then eight, then 16, then 32, 64, 128, 256, 512, etc., until an entirely new physical body had been formed.

Everything the human physical body is comprised of is living cells. That means our hair, nails, blood, bone, muscle, heart, immune system, and every other pieces part. By the time this new physical body is fully developed in mother’s womb, it is comprised of approximately 100 trillion living cells.

Once the body has been fully formed and has reached its full complement of cells, this extremely rapid proliferation of new cells is designed by God to cease. It is only supposed to replace (replicate) existing cells with new cells (old cells dying and being replaced with new cells) at the rate of approximately 300 million per minute for the rest of its life.

God made our body to constantly replace old cells with new ones. But there is something of vital importance that we must understand. As these old cells are replaced, the quality of the new cell is dependent on the building materials available to it as it replicates.

Providing quality building materials for these living cells as they die and replace should be of highest priority for each of us. The quality of new cells is determined by us, not by God, nor by anyone else.

WHAT WE EAT AND DRINK DETERMINES CELL QUALITY

The key to health and length of life is what we place into our body for nourishment each and every day. New cells are fueled at a rate of 300 million per minute by what we eat and drink.

To gain a better understanding of how God intended us to nourish these living cells we need to go back to the first two chapters of Genesis. After God had created Adam (See Genesis 1:27 and Genesis 2:7), He placed him in a Garden (See Genesis 2:8-9), and instructed him about what he was to eat in order to provide proper nourishment for the living cells of which his body was comprised (Genesis 1:29).

What did this diet consist of? Here is the first part of the key: it consisted of 100% plant-sourced foods. There were absolutely no animal source foods, refined sugar, refined flour, etc. in the original diet.

“and God said, Behold, I have given you every herb [vegetable] bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat [food].”
Genesis 1:29

And here is the second part of the key. These garden foods were in their natural, raw, living form, as served up by nature. How do we know they were not cooked? Fire had not yet been discovered.

It is also worth noting that all the animal creations of God in the wild, since creation to this present day, instinctively consume their food in its natural, raw, living form as served up by nature. Sadly man has lost this natural instinct to eat raw food. Today we cook most of our food before consuming it. In addition, man has added numerous non-garden foods to his diet.

ALL COOKED FOOD IS DEAD FOOD

Cooked food is devoid of its enzymes and thus devoid of its life form. Because it is dead, it does not provide living replacement cells with the quality building materials necessary to build a strong and vibrant new cell. Thus the new cell is weaker than the cell it is replacing.

This results in a slow degeneration of the entire cellular structure of the body. The longer a person remains on this dead, cooked-food diet, the greater the breakdown of the body’s cellular structure.

BUT WHAT IS CANCER?

A large part of my library is devoted to the subject of cancer. Some of these books say that cancer is caused by bacteria. Others say it is caused by parasites, or by toxic substances in our air, water and food. Still others say cancer is the judgment of God.

Since I was first told I had cancer way back in 1976, I have been researching this subject. After almost 35 years of research, I have boiled it down to this answer

Cancer is nothing more or less than cells multiplying out of control.

No matter what name the medical community gives it, all cancer cells are merely maverick or misbehaving cells.

FEARFULLY AND WONDERFULLY MADE

Take a close look at the beautiful God-made body we each possess. Our entire physical body is made up of living cells. As we said earlier, there are approximately 100 trillion of them!

Science tells us that within one year, some 98% of the cells that comprise our physical body today will have been replaced.

In the regeneration process, every once in a while a new cell loses control and becomes a maverick. This is normal and natural. We all have them.

Fortunately, God made provision for the destruction of these maverick cells. “T” cells within our blood search out and destroy mavericks before they can develop into a cancer cell. These “T” cells are scavenger cells put there by God to protect us.

The Standard American Diet (SAD) is comprised of cooked meat, cooked dairy, cooked refined flour, cooked sugars and salt and caffeine. Rhonda calls this “Satan’s Alternative Diet.” When we eat this way, we are not providing our living cells with the building materials necessary to produce another healthy living cell.

Cooked foods provide the body with junk building materials, devoid of life. This produces cells that are weaker than those they are replacing. The result is a slow but steady decline at the cellular level of our body. This decline continues as long as we continue to provide the body’s cells with inferior building materials.

Our immune system, which protects us from germs, viruses and bacteria, is also compromised when we consume cooked food. It too becomes weaker, less efficient and less protective the longer we remain on a primarily cooked food diet.

At the same time we are under-nourishing our living cells, we also add large amounts of garbage (I can’t think of a better way to describe the SAD diet). Our bodies become littered junkyards of dead debris and toxic materials.

Our bodies then have the monumental task of not only trying to clean up the debris and overcoming all these toxins, but also trying to do it with a weakened and inefficient immune system.

WHERE CANCER HAS ITS BEGINNING

When our body becomes overwhelmed with toxins and our weakened immune system can no longer cope, a maverick cell may not be sought out and disposed of by the body’s “T” cells, as God designed.

So what happens to that maverick cell that escaped detection? It starts to grow and split, grow and split. Depending on the location of where this growing and splitting takes place, cancer may begin.

We all have maverick cells with the potential of ultimately becoming cancer cells. However, if our immune system is kept strong and functioning properly with a raw, plant-based diet, including lots of freshly extracted raw vegetable juices, the body will be strong enough to naturally seek out and dispose of them very nicely before they develop into cancer cells.

HOW THE MEDICAL COMMUNITY DEALS WITH THESE OUT OF CONTROL CELLS

The medical community has some 110 different names for cancer. Depending on the location, it can be called brain cancer, breast cancer, bone cancer, prostate cancer, colon cancer, thyroid cancer, and the list goes on. But all cancers, no matter their location, are merely maverick cells growing and splitting out of control.

Medical schools teach that the only way to deal with cancer cells is aggressively, using such modalities as chemotherapy (a toxic poison), radiation (burning), and/or surgery (removal).

Chemotherapy involves using extremely toxic, poisonous chemicals derived from mustard gas and used to kill the enemy in World War I. This toxic chemical has never been tested in double blind studies as to its efficacy. Unbelievably, chemotherapy has been shown to be potentially capable of creating cancer in a non-cancerous person.

Sadly, the only modalities a medical doctor has been taught to use, and in most states can legally use, are those that either poison the cancer cells, burn out the cancer cells, or cut out the cancer cells. If these aggressive immune system damaging modalities are not successful in stopping the cancers growth, the patient is usually pronounced terminal and often given only months or a few years to live.

In some states here in the United States of America, if a doctor uses any other modality (including nutrition) other than the poisoning, burning or cutting to subdue a cancer, the doctor can lose his or her license, be fined, and possibly even go to jail.

IS THERE A BETTER WAY THAN THE WORLD’S WAY OF DEALING WITH CANCER?

Absolutely! And that better way is what we teach here at Hallelujah Acres. We teach that almost every physical problem we experience, including cancer, is merely a toxic body, reacting to an improper diet and lifestyle with a weakened immune system.

We suggest that rather than further weakening the immune system with toxic chemicals, burning radiation, or cutting out body parts with surgery, a far better approach is to stop consuming toxic and dead foods that originally set the stage for cancer.

When we switch to raw, living, plant-based foods that will rebuild the immune system, they body can do what God designed it to, which is heal itself!

Link to article:
http://healthtip.hacres.com/index.php/2010/08/31/what-is-cancer-and-what-causes-it/

Saturday, August 21, 2010

How to Heal with Water (the water cure)

-----Original Message-----
From: NaturalNews [mailto:insider@naturalnews.com]
Sent: Thursday, August 05, 2010 7:13 PM
To: miriamlovesjesus@cfl.rr.com
Subject: NaturalNews special report: How to heal with water (the water
cure)

Today I'm sharing the true story of what is probably the
least-understood health secret in the Western world. It's something
your doctor never told you and health authorities never learned. And
yet it could be the key to solving the very health problems you may be
suffering from right now, including high blood pressure, asthma and
even arthritis.

This secret isn't patented. It's not available by prescription and it
costs almost nothing. In fact, from time to time, it falls out of the
sky and collects in huge pools on the Earth.

What is it? Water.

Water may someday be recognized as the single most important healing
medicine we could possibly consume, and our special report, "The
Healing Power of Water," explains why. You can read it right now at:
http://www.naturalnews.com/Report_water_cure_0.html

Physicians rarely promote the curative properties of H2O, but Dr.
Batmanghelidj, M.D. has studied water's effect on the human body and
has found it to be one of the best pain relievers and preventative
therapies in existence. I was one of the last people to interview the
late Dr. Batmanghelidj, and I listened in awe as he shared his
research and stories about "The Healing Power of Water."

In a fascinating one-hour phone conversation I will never forget, Dr.
B. shared things like:

* Which common ailments and "diseases" are actually caused by
dehydration

* Why many doctors use water-regulating antihistamines to alleviate
pain

* How Dr. Batmanghelidj unintentionally discovered water's healing
properties

* Why most people are chronically dehydrated and suffer from symptoms
of dehydration that are labeled "diseases"

* Which ingredients in soft drinks deplete the body's water reserves

* Why thirst is not a reliable indicator of dehydration

* Why the body produces cholesterol and how water keeps it in balance

* Why Dr. Batmanghelidj believes the public is being mislead about
AIDS

* How dehydration impairs mental functioning

* Why some organizations want to withhold alternative health
information from the public

* How lack of water causes depression

* Why popular beverages are no substitute for water

* How dehydration causes the vascular system to constrict, leading to
hypertension

* How to recognize signs that your body is starting to dehydrate

* Why restaurants push you to drink disease-promoting soft drinks

* Why and how water effectively treats pain and inflammation

Want to learn the rest of this fascinating story? Download "The
Healing Power of Water" right now and read it yourself. It's offered
in PDF format (Adobe Acrobat), so it works on any computer!

Learn more at:
http://www.NaturalNews.com/Report_water_cure_0.html

To your health,
- Mike Adams, the Health Ranger

===============================================================

What If You Went through a Mastectomy, Only to Discover Your Diagnosis Was False?

What If You Went through a Mastectomy, Only to Discover Your Diagnosis Was False?

In 2006, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, an influential breast cancer survivors' organization, released a study, which estimated that in 90,000 cases, women who received a diagnosis of ductal carcinoma in situ (D.C.I.S.) or invasive breast cancer either did not have the disease or received incorrect treatment.

Click here for full article:
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/08/07/mammography-leads-to-misdiagnosis-and-unnecessary-mastectomies.aspx

Dangers of Sodium Benzoate: Fox News Health Report

"What's so bad about Sodium Benzoate? Can't I have just a little?" NO!

Fox News Health Report:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZSeQXVFwRg&feature=player_embedded

Vitamin C + Sodium Benzoate = Benzene - A Proven Carcinogen!
This alert clearly demonstrates how chemicals in processed foods, while considered safe on their own can create havoc when mixed with even safe nutrients like Vitamin C.

"Action to take: This is not a small thing, although the so-called experts will try to tell you that there's no harm at these benzene levels. But there is no safe level of benzene. And no one is talking about how it reacts with other carcinogens in your body, which could be a serious problem. We already know it reacts with healthy substances like vitamin C.

There is a solution. Eliminate all processed foods and unnatural drinks. All processed foods have chemicals in them for preservation. And many of these preservatives can damage your health."

As usual the FDA re-opens probe into benzene contamination of soft drinks after the fact!


Chris Gupta

----------------

Second Opinion Health Alert

November 29, 2006

When vitamin C in your drink can cause cancer

Last week, I told you about a wonderful beverage (green tea) you can drink instead of water . Unfortunately, many people drink soft drinks instead of water. You may already know how terrible these beverages are for you health. Even if it's one of the heavily advertised sugar-free drinks, the artificial sweeteners can create major problems. There's no evidence that using them helps you lose weight. And some chemicals, such as aspartame, can damage your neurons.

But now there's an even bigger reason to avoid soft drinks. Many of these drinks have sodium benzoate as an ingredient. It's a common preservative you'll find in many processed foods. Food manufacturers typically use sodium benzoate in acidic foods because it controls bacteria, mold, yeasts, and other microbes. In addition to soft drinks, you'll find it in juices, pickles, salad dressings, and jams. You'll also find it in your car's anti-freeze, as it also inhibits corrosion.

By itself, there's no evidence the preservative causes any problems in people. However, when you mix sodium benzoate with ascorbic acid (vitamin C), a chemical reaction occurs. It turns the mixture into benzene. And benzene is a proven carcinogen.

In an effort to make their drinks more nutritious, many soft drink manufacturers are adding vitamin C to their drinks. And you'll also find the same problem with naturally occurring vitamin C in many canned juice drinks.

How bad is the problem? The FDA recently tested 84 soft drink products and found that 54 of them had some detectable benzene. And some had levels as high as 79.2 ppb. Federal rules specify less than 5 ppb in drinking water. But there's no legal limit on benzene in drinkable fluids other than water. Isn't that a bit strange? In 2001, California published information that manufacturers should keep benzene levels below 0.15 ppb.

The soft drink industry is quietly moving to do something about it. That's about 15 years too late. Testing in 1990 first revealed that some diet soft drinks may contain benzene.

Action to take: This is not a small thing, although the so-called experts will try to tell you that there's no harm at these benzene levels. But there is no safe level of benzene. And no one is talking about how it reacts with other carcinogens in your body, which could be a serious problem. We already know it reacts with healthy substances like vitamin C.

There is a solution. Eliminate all processed foods and unnatural drinks. All processed foods have chemicals in them for preservation. And many of these preservatives can damage your health.

Yours for better health and medical freedom,
Robert Jay Rowen, MD
*****************************************************

Second Opinion Health Alerts are a complimentary
e-mail service from the Second Opinion health
newsletter written by Robert J. Rowen, MD.

Breaking News on Food & Beverage Development - North America Special report

FDA re-opens probe into benzene contamination of soft drinks
By Chris Mercer, 15-Feb-2006

US food safety authorities have re-opened an investigation closed 15 years ago into soft drinks contaminated with cancer-causing chemical benzene, following evidence the industry has failed to sort out the problem, BeverageDaily.com can reveal.

A chemist at the Food And Drug Administration (FDA) said testing in recent weeks had revealed some soft drinks contaminated with benzene at levels above the legal limit for water set by the US and Europe.

Benzene is listed as a poisonous chemical shown to increase the risk of leukaemia and other cancers.

The FDA was originally alerted in 1990 to the problem of benzene in soft drinks triggered by the preservative sodium benzoate. It never made the findings public, but came to an arrangement with the US soft drinks association that the industry would "get the word out".

But in recent months, internal documents and private tests have begun to surface, supported by claims from a former chemist for Cadbury Schweppes, who is now keen to blow the whistle on the health risk involved. He and a US lawyer commissioned new tests that have now prompted the FDA to re-open the case.

These independent tests, performed by a laboratory in New York, found benzene levels in a couple of soft drinks two-and-a-half-times and five times above the World Health Organisation limit for drinking water (10 parts per billion).

The FDA now confirms it has found a similar problem in its own follow-up testing. "There were a few isolated products that have elevated levels. We certainly want to make sure there is some reformulation," said an FDA chemist.

The problem is caused by two common ingredients - sodium benzoate and ascorbic acid (vitamin C) - which can react together to cause benzene formation. It is considered completely separate from other outbreaks of benzene contamination due to faulty packaging in the 1990s.

The two ingredients are still used together in a wide range of soft drinks across the world.

The FDA was first alerted to the problem in December 1990 by Cadbury Schweppes and Australian drinks group Koala Springs, according to an internal FDA memo.

This prompted FDA testing that led the US Department of Health and Human Services to report, again in an internal memo: "Benzene formation occurs at part per billion (ppb) levels in some food formulations containing sodium benzoate and ascorbic acid [vitamin C]."

These findings were discussed in a meeting between the FDA and National Soft Drinks Association (NSDA), representing the likes of Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and Cadbury Schweppes. The internal minutes from this meeting report that the companies, through the NSDA, "expressed concern about the presence of benzene traces in their products and the potential for adverse publicity associated with this problem".

But Greg Diachenko, an FDA chemist who helped to co-ordinate the FDA testing for benzene in 1990/91 and who took part in negotiations with the industry, said: "Soft drinks manufacturers told us [at the time] that they would get the word out and they were reformulating."

Legal action was not taken, he said, because the industry was already reformulating. This, he added, meant that any risk to consumers would be very short-term because risk analysis in the US works on the basis of lifetime exposure to a substance.

The FDA did more tests in the US in 1993 and found no problem. But, added Diachenko: "It is probable and likely that there were some people who did not get the message or that it was lost in the course of time."

Any soft drink companies founded since 1993, for example, could be outside of the loop and not know about the potential 'fixes'.

Plus, the FDA, as a US authority, only checked drinks available in the US. Diachenko said he was not sure how many other regulatory authorities had been told about the potential for benzene formation from sodium benzoate and ascorbic acid.

An article flagging up the problem was published in the public journal, the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, in 1993.

According to Diachenko at the FDA, if authorities outside the US had not seen the information they might not know, and that could mean more soft drinks containing benzene in their areas.

More than 1,500 soft drink products containing sodium benzoate and ascorbic acid or citric acid have been launched across Europe, Latin America and North America since January 2002.

Glen Lawrence, another chemist who conducted benzene testing for the FDA back in 1990-1991 and a co-author of the 1993 journal article, has also confirmed to BeverageDaily.com that sodium benzoate and ascorbic acid do react to form benzene in soft drinks.

His study showed that ascorbic acid initially reacted with metals, such as iron or copper, found in the water to create 'free radical' particles known as hydroxyl radicals.

Sodium benzoate, meanwhile, breaks down into benzoic acid when placed in acidic conditions, such as in a soft drink.

The hydroxyl radical attacks the benzoic acid, removing the carbon dioxide from it and leaving benzene in its wake. Lawrence's study said this reaction could take place "under conditions prevalent in many foods and beverages".

Lawrence said: "There is no good reason to add ascorbic acid (vitamin C) to soft drinks, and those that may have ascorbic acid naturally in them (juices) should not use sodium benzoate as a preservative. So it is really very easy to avoid the problem."

Sodium benzoate, also known as E211, is used as a preservative by a range of food and drink producers. Its main advantage is its effectiveness at killing off bacteria under the acidic conditions of most beverages.

Ascorbic acid, or vitamin C, is found naturally in fruit and vegetables but is also added as an antioxidant in food and drink production to help prevent spoilage and extend shelf-life.

The FDA says it has almost completed the testing. It has not yet made any public announcement about the problem, but has told BeverageDaily.com that it will soon address what action should now be taken.

Copyright - Unless otherwise stated all contents of this web site are © 2000/2009 - Decision News Media SAS - All Rights Reserved - For permission to reproduce any contents of this web site, please email our Syndication department: Administration & Finance- Full details for the use of materials on this site can be found in the Terms & Conditions

© 2000/2009 - Decision News Media SAS - All right reserved.

Breakthroughs: The Hidden Cause of Disease (Inflammation)

Breakthroughs: The Hidden Cause of Disease (Inflammation)

http://www.parade.com/health/2010/08/04-hidden-cause-of-disease.html

All good info, except I don't agree with the yoga recommendation (for spiritual reasons) or using inflammatory foods like animal products to get our omegas (plant sources are safer, effective, and not inflammatory).

Is this the Biggest Medical Breakthrough Since the Discovery of Antibiotics?" - Resveratrol

Ask me about the least expensive and best organic sources of Resveratrol, which are also the most bio-available to your cells and high ORAC!
Miriam
----------

Article by Dr. Mercola
8/5/10

Harvard Researchers are saying this miracle ingredient which helps keep your blood pressure in the normal range, helps your heart health, and better controls the aging process could be the biggest medical breakthrough in 30 years.*

Some Harvard-educated researchers believe they've discovered a proverbial 'fountain of youth'.*

They're talking about resveratrol, calling it a miracle ingredient, and the greatest discovery since antibiotics.*

Resveratrol is a compound found in the skin and seeds of grapes.

Researchers have been mystified for years about how the French can smoke cigarettes and eat high-fat foods, yet still have extremely low rates of cancer and heart disease. They call it the French paradox.

Harvard researchers Dr. Christoph Westphal and David Sinclair conducted genetic research to investigate the French paradox.

Until now, scientists believed drinking red wine had health benefits*... but couldn't put their finger on exactly why.

Now they believe the resveratrol in wine activates cells into behaving more youth-like in a number of ways.*

The biggest hurdle with resveratrol is finding a way to consume the large concentrations required to provide you with a benefit. You'd need several bottles of wine per day to get the anticipated benefit from resveratrol. Drinking large amounts of wine or other alcoholic beverages will increase your insulin levels, which will eventually have a negative impact on your health in a number of ways.

I'll tell you in a minute how you can get your highly-concentrated resveratrol without the alcohol, sugars and calories of red wine.

But first, let's discuss how to control your free radical levels...

Neutralizing the Free Radical Threat
Every day of your life you face exposure to dangerous free radicals. No matter how healthy a lifestyle you lead or how healthy your diet is, this is simply a fact of life.

Fortunately this is not all bad - as your normal bodily functions (breathing, metabolism, and physical activity) naturally generate free radicals. Your immune system also generates free radicals to help neutralize viruses and bacteria.

But some free radicals are the result of environmental factors such as pollution, radiation, pesticides, and cigarette smoking.

The problem starts when these free radicals attack your healthy cells and cause them to weaken and become more susceptible to health disorders. Plus, this can also have a profound effect on how you age.

But as part of normal functioning, your body is capable of keeping free radicals in check and naturally neutralizing them, unless you...

Eat a diet consisting mostly of processed junk food

Cut corners on getting enough sleep on a daily basis

Ignore your need for regular exercise

Find yourself under a great deal of stress

Expose yourself to a high number of environmental free radicals

Exposing your body to these types of conditions may overwhelm it with free radicals and cause damage.

Plus, free radical damage accumulates with age. So, the longer your lifestyle and environment expose you to this damage, the greater your consequences as you age... the greater potential consequences to your overall aging process.

So what can you do?

Well, first of all, it would be helpful to address the unhealthy habits listed above.

Additionally, consider going the next step and find ways to fortify your healthy diet with antioxidant rich food.

I'm sure you're well aware of the benefits of antioxidants from all the discussion on my site. I've spent literally decades researching this topic and cannot stress their importance to you enough.

Antioxidants provide your body with natural protection against free radicals and help you neutralize and keep them under control.

Why Organic Food is Your Best Choice for Natural Free Radical Protection
There are many sources of antioxidants available to help boost your health.

Most of these sources come directly from consumption of high quality, fresh, organic and preferably locally grown vegetables and fruits. But there is a catch.

The catch is that, to get the most potent antioxidant content from the fruits and vegetables - they need to be organically grown and processed.

Here's why.

Research shows that certain organically grown fruits and vegetables have significantly higher levels of potent antioxidants than traditionally grown foods.

The key to all this is a large family of natural antioxidant compounds called polyphenols.

Polyphenols exist in plant floods and their contribution to the antioxidant capacity of the human diet is much larger than even that of vitamins.

And a subclass of this antioxidant-rich family found in fruits and vegetables is flavonoids.

In response to environmental stressors like insects and other competing plants, plants produce flavonoids with potent antioxidant activity.

Unfortunately, conventional growing methods that use pesticides and herbicides hamper the production of flavonoids.

Plants exposed to pesticides and herbicides have less of a need to produce such compounds. And therefore, these plants produce fewer antioxidants than organically grown food.

You don't want to miss out on polyphenol flavonoids because they can:

Improve your memory and concentration

Boost the effectiveness of vitamin C in your antioxidant network

Regulate nitric oxide - a potent free radical that regulates your blood flow

Help promote your healthy heart

Bolster your immune system

So, to take advantage of the highest potency flavonoids and rich antioxidants, always choose organically grown fruits and vegetables.

Fresh organic foods are important not only for what they give you, higher levels of antioxidants and nutrients, but also for what they don't give you... exposure to pesticides, herbicides, and non-organic fertilizers.

Now let's take a closer look at some common and not so common food sources of antioxidants - keeping in mind that for you to receive the highest antioxidant potential, organic is best.

Consumer Alert: Berries are a Great Source of Antioxidants, but Watch Out for the Sugar

A specific polyphenol flavonoid compound called quercetin is a potent dietary antioxidant found in certain berries: lingonberries, cranberries, bilberries, and black currants.

Not only do berries contain many flavonoids like quercetin, but also fiber... vitamin C... and other nutritious antioxidant-rich polyphenol compounds.

Ideally, berries should be eaten raw and as you already know - organic is best.

Another great source of antioxidants in berries is from blueberries. In fact, Europeans recognize their bilberries as blueberries.

Only a few years ago, the USDA Human Nutrition Center (HNRCA) ranked blueberries #1 in antioxidant activity. This research compared 40 other fresh vegetables and fruits.

This is all great but there is a red flag I have to raise - watch out for too much sugar.

If you overdo your fruit consumption, even berries, you risk releasing too much sugar into your system. This could cause your insulin levels to rise and eventually your health could worsen instead of improving.

So, moderation is the key when eating fruit. Choosing fruit relatively low in sugar, like blueberries, should not only boost your antioxidant intake but help keep your insulin levels in check as well.

Eat Your Veggies for Healthy Antioxidants - but Which Ones?
Broccoli, greens, beans, artichokes, and onions, to name a few, are good sources of polyphenol flavonoids. And of course, raw organic vegetables help you maximize the antioxidant benefits.

However, just like you need to be careful on how much and the types of fruit you eat, the same holds true with vegetables.

For example, from the USDA Human Nutrition Center research, potatoes ranked high on the list of vegetables with potent antioxidant content. But they are not necessarily your best choice because they may cause increased insulin levels.

In order to determine the amount of fruits and vegetables your body requires, I recommend you first determine your Nutritional Type(tm) (NT).

You see, foods and individual nutrients do not behave the same way in two people with different Nutritional Types. Your Nutritional Type determines your individual nutritional requirements and dictates your individual responses to what you eat and drink.

Please check my site for more details on how to determine your NT. It's well worth your time.

Here's a great table showing examples of fruits and vegetables along with their polyphenol content. Remember, polyphenols are natural antioxidant compounds that help you neutralize free radical damage.

This table also shows another beneficial subclass of polyphenols called phenolic acids.

Polyphenol Content in Selected Vegetables and Fruits
Polyphenol Polyphenol Content Range
Source (serving size) Subclass per Serving size (mg/serving)
Vegetables:
Yellow onion (100g) Flavonoids 35-120
Broccoli (200g) Flavonoids 8-20
Leek (200g) Flavonoids 6-45
Artichoke (100g) Phenolic acids 45
Potato (200g) Phenolic acids 20-38
Fruits
Blueberry (100g) Flavonoids 25-500
Black Currant (100g) Flavonoids 130-400
Blackberry (100g) Flavonoids 100-400
Strawberry (200g) Flavonoids 30-150
Plum (200g) Phenolic acids 28-230

Note: Table adapted from The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Why Not Add a Little Spice to Your Life and Health?
A bountiful source of antioxidants that many people don't know about is herbs and spices.

Researchers within the U.S. Department of Agriculture discovered that herbs are an abundant source of antioxidants - not to mention how they make your food tastier.

According to the research, on a per gram fresh weight basis, oregano and other herbs ranked even higher in antioxidant activity than certain fruits and vegetables.

In comparing antioxidant activity against a few selected fruits and vegetables, oregano came out on top with:

42 times more antioxidant activity than apples...

30 times more than potatoes...

12 times more than oranges

And there are other herbs and spices that pack an antioxidant punch as well: cloves... turmeric... cinnamon... garlic... basil... and curcumin... to name a few.

Herbs and spices have emerged as a quick and convenient way for you to get a concentrated source of antioxidants - without all the extra calories of many foods.

Now, your key to taking advantage of the antioxidant activity from herbs and spices is to find an organic source and consume them fresh and raw. For example, the antioxidant activity of fresh garlic is 1.5 times higher than dry garlic powder.

Just as consuming too much of any food product can carry health risks, herbs should be used with moderation... and only as a complement to your healthy diet.

So, add a little seasoning and spice to your life and feel good about the antioxidant benefits they provide you.

Maybe All You Have to do is Drink a Glass of Red Wine Every Day?
Many folks believe that a good way to promote your health is to drink a glass of red wine on a regular basis.

Certainly there's the "French Paradox" theory... the observation that French people with poor diets who drink wine have better cardiovascular health than you might expect.

This opinion happens to be based on a potent polyphenol found in red wine and grape skins called resveratrol.

This powerful antioxidant potentially:

Helps improve the overall health of your cells as a component of your cardio and neuro protection*

Aids you in protection against age-related health disorders*

Provides therapeutic support for your immune system against abnormal cell activity*

Researchers also believe that resveratrol helps keep your cholesterol within its normal range while promoting your healthy heart.*

However many experts are now questioning the value of drinking wine for health reasons and believe much of the evidence supporting this was based on very weak epidemiological observations.

You of course know that wine contains alcohol. And too much alcohol isn't a healthy choice for anyone and it may outweigh the benefits of the resveratrol content

But, with all this said, resveratrol is such a powerful antioxidant that there must be a way you can benefit from it without taking undo risks.

This potent antioxidant is somewhat different from the rest. It not only helps you neutralize free radicals, it can cross the blood-brain barrier to help protect your brain and nervous system as well.

Studies show that resveratrol may increase the lifespan in human cells.* So, it could be a determining factor in extending your longevity.*

Resveratrol helps reduce oxidative stress damage to your cardiovascular system by neutralizing free radicals.* And it helps support your body's natural defense system.*

Plus, resveratrol benefits you by how it...

Protects your cells from free radical damage*

Helps you keep your blood pressure within the normal range*

Keeps your heart healthy and helps improve blood vessel elasticity*

Boosts your protection against the spread of abnormal cell activity*

Helps you better control the aging process*

Why Eating Grapes May Not Be Your Best Approach
Now that I've clearly identified resveratrol as one of your best antioxidant sources, there's still an open issue... what's the best way to make sure you consume enough of this antioxidant?

To me, one of your best sources of resveratrol is from grapes themselves.

But, just like there are issues with other fruits, vegetables, nuts, and red wine, such is the case with grapes.

See, the skin and seeds of the grapes provide you with the most potent supplies of resveratrol... not the fruit itself. The meat of the fruit contains sugary fructose which could raise your insulin levels.

There's not really an issue with eating the skin - as you consume it when eating the fruit.

But the seeds are another issue.

Most people don't like to eat the seeds as they tend to be tough and have a somewhat bitter taste. And some grape processing actually removes the seeds prior to distribution at your local store.