Is Your Healthy Food Making You Sick?

There is nothing more difficult than to write about food in connection with health. The subject is vast and controversial. Countless nutrition experts, thousands of health influencers, hundreds of books, dozens of fad diets, and still so many unhealthy people trying desperately to figure out why they are not getting any better despite religiously following the latest health and nutrition advice. 

When you take two experts with conflicting views, both will argue that their way of obtaining nutrition is the only way and everything other than that is either completely wrong, or just misguided. What complicates things even more is the fact that both experts base their statements on latest research and often on their personal, real life experience. Nutritional "converts" who "have seen the light" are the worst since they seldom leave any room for deviation from the method that worked for them.

How to make sense of it all? Just look at the macro-nutrients: carbohydrates, protein, fats. Some experts will tell you not to eat any carbs at all, others that you should not to touch any fat. There is a whole fitness movement telling people to eat only red meat, bacon, eggs and butter. Some experts suggest that fish and seafood should be consumed as the only animal protein. Others swear that a fat-free vegan, raw vegan, or the fat-free raw vegan diet is the only way for you to have a long, healthy life.

How about the micronutrients - vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids? It is a well known fact that vegans often lack vitamin B12, DHA omega 3 fatty acid, and the amino acid taurine, while those on a strict carnivore diet often lack magnesium, vitamin C and fiber, and may have increased risk of colorectal cancer. People who embraced the fat free diet, on the other hand, have difficulty absorbing fat soluble vitamins from their food.

Food is problematic for many reasons. Some foods, like peanuts, shrimps, celery, or strawberries are potent allergens. People with celiac disease cannot eat anything containing gluten. People who cannot digest lactose should stay away from cow's milk and cow's milk products. And so on, but food is more complicated than that. Animal fats like butter and lard are high in saturated fat that is considered to be detrimental to heart health. There is also a big concern about the hormones and antibiotics that might have been used in the animal husbandry, not to mention the ethical, environmental, cultural or religious concerns.

So, how about fruits and vegetables? Here things get even more complicated. Many plants produce endocrine disruptors and goitrogens. During their evolutionary history plants developed survival strategies. Unlike a deer that can escape a hunter, a carrot or a cabbage is completely stuck in the spot it grows. In order to survive and carry their genetic information to the next generation, plants developed compounds that make them indigestible or even poisonous to humans or animals thus preventing their extinction. Although these anti-nutrients can cause serious upset in some people, plants are generally considered "healthy" food choices since they carry such vital nutrients like vitamins, minerals, enzymes, fiber, protein and beneficial bio-active compounds like pycnogenol or resveratrol, that act in synergy to reduce the risk of many chronic diseases.

While some of the plant anti-nutrients can have beneficial, anti-oxidant effects in the human body, some can cause 

• altered microbiome 
• serious damage to the digestive system 
• inflammation
• potential auto-immune response 
• malnutrition since they interfere with nutrient absorption
• severe allergies
• and even poisoning. 

Soaking, sprouting, cooking, or fermentation are the strategies many cultures use not only to improve nutrient availability but also to make the otherwise problematic foods more easily digestible. 

 

Here are some of the anti-nutrients found in plants: 

• alcaloids - naturally occurring nitrogen-containing compounds that are found in plants, fungi, bacteria and animals, some being extremely toxic, some used by humans as hallucinogens, aphrodisiacs or medicines (ex. quinine, morphine, ephedrine)
• cyanogenic glycosides - cherries, peaches, corn, almonds
• gluten - grains
• glucosinolates - goitrogenic compounds in cruciferous vegetables like cabbage, Brussels sprouts, kale and broccoli
• glycoalkaloids - plants in the nightshade family like tomatoes and eggplants, as well as  potatoes (skin, sprouts, the "eyes")
  
• histamine - bananas, strawberries, papaya, citrus fruit, tomatoes, spinach, almonds, pistachio nuts, sauerkraut, cinnamon, cloves
• lectins - raw beans, peanuts, whole grains, nightshade vegetable such as tomatoes and potatoes
• oxalates - spinach, Swiss chard, rhubarb, beets, cacao, almonds, cashew nuts, dried apricots, kiwis, raspberries, cinnamon and turmeric as a spice
• phenols - most berries, grapes, apples, spinach, red lettuce, broccoli, and citrus fruit
• phytates (phytic acid) - grains, seeds, nuts
• protease inhibitors - grains and legumes 
• pyrrolizidine alkaloids - hepatotoxic and genotoxic compounds that are found in some flowering plants and herbs like borage, traditionally used as medicine; honey, bee pollen, grains, milk, eggs and organ meats (offal) can contain these toxic alkaloids.
• salicilates - most fruits and vegetable, especially tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, radishes, spinach, and zucchini 
• saponins - legumes, especially peanuts; grains especially quinoa; licorice root, spinach
  
• sulforaphane - cruciferous vegetable such as cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, kale, arugula, watercress
• tannins - red wine, tea, cacao but also grains such as barley, corn and quinoa; beans, lentils, chickpeas; nuts such as hazelnuts, walnuts, pecans, pine nuts and Brazil nut; seeds such as chia, sesame, pumpkin, and sunflower seeds; red skinned apples and kiwis

People who are sensitive to one or more of these compounds should avoid foods that have the potential to make them sick. 

Some people report almost miraculous healing from chronic diseases when they stop eating fruits and vegetables. Others improve considerably when they stop eating grains. Those who have chosen raw food or the raw vegan diet report incredible improvement in their health. They have more energy, lose weight (where necessary), sleep and look better. Many stay healthy for a very long time, especially if they supplement with the nutrients that are missing in their diet, but some people get very sick when they start juicing and eating large amounts of fruit and leafy greens. The raw food diet may include too many nuts and too much fructose. Too many dates, too many bananas and other sweet fruits in your diet can cause blood glucose spikes and energy crashes. 

A store bought vegan milk alternatives often contain added sugar, added seed oil and the gut lining damaging carrageenan. I don't even want to talk here about the rather common contamination of crops with heavy metals, or about the pesticides in conventionally grown produce, not even about the genetically modified crops. This is a subject for another article.

 

Results of a small, three-day study involving 14 people was published recently and surprised some in the raw food community. The participants were divided into three groups: one group was given whole plants, the second group was doing a juice fast, and the third one was given a mix diet of whole plants and juices. Those who did the juice fast had the biggest changes in their microbiome and showed an increase in inflammation causing bacteria. The problem with the study is that it wasn't a double-blind study and involved only fourteen people. Also, I did not find any information on what kind of juices were given to the participants. The only information was that the juice did not have any fiber and contained too much sugar. My questions: Was the juice freshly pressed? And! Who tries to do a cleansing juice fast with sugar loaded fruit juices? This is not how it should be done. Another question, if you are unhealthy and have distorted microbiome, what happens to you when you go on a green juice fast?

Interestingly, many raw food lovers who perform a green juice detox annually report increased stamina, improved digestion, and a healthier looking skin. An alternative cancer therapist Dr. Thomas Lodi suggests a long term green juice fast to his patients. The alkalizing and detoxifying properties of chlorophyll from green plants cannot be underestimated. 

Before I start a food war on this blog, I would like to state that we are all individuals with individual genetics, individual metabolism and individual food preferences. Some of us tolerate certain foods better than others. If you experience unexplained symptoms and are not sure whether your healthy diet makes you sick there are a few things you can do:

• have a food allergy test
• have a comprehensive food sensitivity test (secondary food allergies)
• test for anti-nutrient sensitivity (histamine, lectins, tannins, etc.)
• have a fructose intolerance test
  
• if you eat tree nuts, peanut butter or grains such as quinoa, test for aflatoxin sensitivity
• test for nutritional deficiencies and supplement accordingly 
• test for parasitic infestation and candida no matter whether you are a vegan, carnivore or omnivore
• have a leaky gut test
  
• help your immune system and implement food rotation allowing three to four days before you eat the same food again - if you had a carrot on Monday, wait till Wednesday or Thursday before you have a carrot again. If you detect some sensitivity to one or more foods, you might want to stop eating them for a longer period or remove them from your diet completely. Learn to make meals with only few ingredients if you want to determine what is upsetting your system, and, as mentioned above, test for secondary food allergies/sensitivities (ELISA test) if you observe symptoms like bloating, idigestion or unexplained weight gain
• do some research to find alternatives to the food that causes upset in your body - for instance, if oxalates are your problem, eat arugula, Romaine lettuce or even kale instead of spinach or Swiss chard
• a food diary may be very useful - write down what you eat during the day and record any symptoms you observe short term and long term; consult a certified nutritionist if the process seems too overwhelming to you
• completely avoid foods that cause problems.
  

I am aware that articles like this one may cause confusion and anxiety. This is not my intention. I simply wish to bring some clarity to all those who embraced a very healthy lifestyle but somehow feel that the food they are eating daily is not working to their advantage. 

As we strive for biological optimization of our bodies, trying to stay as healthy as possible and to look fabulous all the time, our food choices matter. However, when our healthy food is making us sick, we need to learn how to avoid it and why, and to look for less problematic alternatives. There is no such thing as one size fits all. We might be similar metabolic types but your body chemistry is unique to you. Keep this in mind.

In radiant health, passionately raw - Dominique

Dominique Allmon©2025

*Information in this article is for educational purposes only. it is not meant to diagnose, treat or cure a disease. Always consult a certified healthcare practitioner before making any changes in your diet. 

AI generated images. Source here

Health Benefits of Lithium Orotate

The first time I heard about lithium orotate was five or six years ago in South Africa. I had a friend who suffered from severe mood swings and depression and suggested that she should try this nutritional supplement that was already popular in South Africa. She declined and delivered herself into a psychiatric care. I have never heard from her again.

It is not my intention to judge anyone, but to this day I do not understand why would my friend opt for heavy psychotropic drugs instead of trying to balance brain chemistry naturally.

There are many natural supplements that can help improve mood and prevent depression. One such versatile supplement is lithium orothate that was first formulated by the famous German orthomolecular scientist and physician, Dr. Hans Nieper. 

What Is Lithium Orotate?

An alkali metal related to sodium and potassium, lithium has been traditionally used within allopathic medicine to treat mental imbalances such as anxiety and depression. However, there are many side effects to taking this strong mineral, as the body poorly absorbs the standard forms of lithium carbonate. That is, until lithium orotate was discovered.

Lithium orotate offers superior bio-utilization for the human body, allowing the mineral to penetrate the mitochondria, glia and lysosomes that exist within the intracellular structures of our cells. The mineral stabilizes these lysosomal membranes, slowing the enzymatic reaction that leads to many of the negative side effects of other forms of lithium salts. 

Most people are unaware that lithium is not a drug, but is a naturally occurring mineral from the earth. Just like calcium and potassium, lithium is something that every human body requires for mental and physical health.

Many people are familiar with the pharmaceutical forms of lithium (lithium carbonate and lithium citrate), these aforementioned chemical extracts used to treat mania and depression. 

Lithium orotate is very different than the other forms of the mineral. Whereas pharmaceutical drug forms of lithium require high doses to penetrate our cells, lithium orotate is only needed in extremely small serving size, considering the fact that a massive amount of the mineral penetrates the cell (approximately 97%). The other great news is that unlike its pharmaceutical counterparts, lithium orotate is non-toxic, safe, has little to no side effects, and works on 70% to 80% of people who use it.

Health Benefits of Lithium Orotate

• Brain Protection - Studies show that the mineral lithium can actually rejuvenate and build the grey matter nerve cells in the brain by up to three percent.
• Anti-Aging Effects - Small amounts of lithium orotate have been shown to offer anti-aging effects to the brain
• Neuroprotection From Environmental Toxins - Lithium has been shown to protect the system from numerous toxins, particularly in the grey matter of the brain.

Other lithium benefits include:

• Lyme Disease
• Low white blood cell counts
• Juvenile convulsive disease
• Alcoholism and liver disorders
• Pain associated with migraine and cluster headaches
• Hyperthyroidism and other thyroid diseases: Studies show that lithium may aid in the even distribution of iodine.
• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), as well as a general stress reducer.
• Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and aggression: Studies show that individuals taking Lithium experienced lowered levels of rage and anger, as well as improved memory.
• Alzheimer’s disease and dementia
• In the reduction of myopia (nearsightedness) and glaucoma: Dr. Hans Nieper found that glaucoma patients could benefit from the dehydrating effect of lithium on the eye, offering patients vision improvement and a lowering of intraocular pressure.
• Bipolar disorder: Orotates may lessen effects of manic or depressive episodes. Lithium has been shown to serve as an effective mood balancer in 70-80 percent of bipolar patients.
• Depression: the therapeutic serving of lithium orotate is 150 mg/day. This is compared to 900-1800 mg of the prescription forms. In this range of lithium orotate, there are no adverse side effects and no need for monitoring blood serum measurements.

Precaution

Do not attempt to self-medicate a mental imbalance with lithium orotate. Speak with your health care provider for more information. Pregnant and nursing women should not take any type of lithium supplement. 

Also, lithium should not be taken by those with renal or cardiovascular diseases, severe dehydration or exhaustion, sodium depletion, or in individuals using any form of diuretics or ACE inhibitors.

By Dr. Edward F. Group III, DC, ND, DACBN, DCBCN, DABFM

Information about lithium orotate courtesy of the Global Healing Center

*This information is for educational purpose only. It is not meant to diagnose or cure a disease.

Do You Actually Know What You Are Eating?

Recent food scandals, disclosures, health food obsession, and curiosity, have brought many horror stories to light. It seems than not a week goes by without a new shocking story. Food sold in supermarkets as natural and healthy often is neither natural nor healthy, and the law seems to protect the food industry but not the hapless consumer, unless, of course, you are an organic farmer and have the burden to prove that your organic heirloom carrot will not kill anybody.

Obesity, cancer, diabetes, heart disease, autoimmune diseases, neurological disorders, food allergies, eating disorders, malnutrition, congenital disorders, to name only a few, are on the rise thanks to foods that have no true nutritional value, but pretend to be healthy, natural, and good for you. 

I am not even venturing here into the vast subject of organic, conventional, or GMO foods, but unless you grow, raise, forage, and produce your own food, you cannot always be sure what's on your plate. 

Inventiveness, progress, and greed are the culprits responsible for the miserable state of affairs. Everybody knows the "ersatz" foods like margarine and saccharine that were invented in times of extreme duress to provide people with substitutes for the most wanted daily staples like butter and sugar. Such fake foods might seem like a necessity during a time of war, but lose their attractiveness in time of peace and abundance, unless... Unless, of course, they are sold as good and even superior to the real stuff: butter will kill you, but margarine is so much better for you; sugar has calories, but saccharine, aspartame & Co are calorie free and even help you to stay skinny or lose weight you put on during holidays. And so on.

The success of science and the rise of chemical industry cannot be underestimated. Much money goes into research, but the profits are exorbitant. Many consumers are willing to accept a wide range of artificial flavors and coloring, often without questioning.

So why the fuss? Well, if it tastes like strawberry, it isn't necessarily a strawberry that you are tasting. A typical strawberry flavoring contains chemicals that have absolutely nothing to do with strawberries: 

• amyl acetate,
• amyl butyrate,
• amyl valerate,
• anethol,
• anisyl formate,
• benzyl acetate,
• benzyl isobutyrate,
• butyric acid,
• cinnamyl isobutyrate,
• cinnamyl valerate,
• cognac essential oil,
• diacetyl,
• dipropyl ketone,
• ethyl acetate,
• ethyl amyl ketone,
• ethyl butyrate,
• ethyl cinnamate,
• ethyl heptanoate,
• ethyl heptylate,
• ethyl lactate,
• ethyl methylphenylglycidate,
• ethyl nitrate,
• ethyl propionate,
• ethyl valerate,
• heliotropin,
• hydroxyphenyl-2-butanone (10 percent solution in alcohol),
• a-ionone,
• isobutyl anthranilate,
• isobutyl butyrate,
• lemon essential oil,
• maltol,
• 4-methylacetophenone,
• methyl anthranilate,
• methyl benzoate,
• methyl cinnamate,
• methyl heptine carbonate,
• methyl naphthyl ketone,
• methyl salicylate,
• mint essential oil,
• neroli essential oil,
• nerolin,
• neryl isobutyrate,
• orris butter,
• phenethyl alcohol,
• rose,
• rum ether,
• g-undecalactone,
• vanillin, and last, but not least,
• solvent. 

Is this all right with you? Wouldn't it be easier to simply use strawberries to flavor a cake or a milkshake, or any product for that matter? No, because strawberries are perishable and expensive, and not flavorful enough in tiny doses. Chemicals, on the other hand, can be standardized and measured out exactly to produce a constant flavor that sells well and lasts till the expiry date of a product, say, three or five years later. 

The same goes for the vanilla, caramel, or chocolate flavorings, and everything else that is manufactured and sold as food.

How about artificial crab meat so popular with sushi lovers? How about gel-injected shrimp from Asia? How about chicken that is only 51% meat? How about vegan sausage? How about sausage?! How about fake apple juice? How about fake honey? Scandal after scandal, disclosures revealed criminal practices. For some people such revelations come too late, others may still reconsider the way they eat and shop for food. 

Some of the food industry practices are criminal and must be prosecuted, but many of the secrets are perfectly legal. They are scandalous only because of the dubious ingredients like wood or human hair used to manufacture products sold as food. 

The food industry can really be proud of its achievements: food preservatives, flavor enhancers, emulsifiers, coloring, bleaches, and other additives that make a bunch of chemicals look and taste like food. That many people get sick or addicted to certain food products has to be proven first. The industry is very strong and has powerful lawyers. Much money goes into research. Much money goes into lobbying. Much money goes into advertisement. Some money probably goes into lawsuits and to hush the plaintiffs.

Ignorance kills, but how can you blame the overwhelmed consumer when the whole industry promotes unhealthy food products that are definitely not good for you, as something you must eat daily in order to look sexy, healthy, beautiful, and fit? 

Education is important, but habits die hard. For as long as a truly organic apple is more expensive than a fake chocolate, sugar loaded bar, the situation will remain unchanged.

By Dominique Allmon

Dominique Allmon@2017

Also of interest: 5 Food Industry Secrets They Don’t Want You To Know by Kim Johnson or 6 Food Industry Tricks You Don’t Know About by Dr. Mercola. To read the articles please click here and here.

*This information is for educational purposes only. It is not meant to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

Juicing for Health and Beauty

If you are new to juicing you might be mesmerized by all the green juice talk in juice bars, in health magazines and all over the world wide web. So what is this green juice hype all about?

 

Green juices are probably the best food-based medicine we can give our bodies. They are particularly beneficial for all these people who:

• have problems with their digestion
• whose bodies are highly acidic
• those who suffer from toxic overload
• for those who need to lose weight

Juices are easily absorbed as the juicing process breaks down the cell walls of fruits and vegetable making them easier to digest. This means that the nutrients are getting directly into your system.

One very well known benefit of using green herbs and vegetable in juicing is the fact that they are rich in chlorophyll. Scientists discovered that hemoglobin in human blood and chlorophyll in green plants are almost identical. Just like our hemoglobin chlorophyll contains carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen. The only chemical difference in the organic construction of the chlorophyll in plants and  in blood is that the former contains magnesium while the latter contains iron.

A research in Germany demonstrated that chlorophyll helped reduce high blood pressure, eliminated anemia, made weak men strong, cured digestive troubles, and seemed to be  a potion of youth.

Once in the digestive system, chlorophyll immediately enriches the blood. The red blood cells increase considerably in number while their haemoglobin content rises. The blood circulation improves and more nutrients and oxygen are transported to tissues and organs. At the same time more toxins are neutralized and removed. The blood is enriched and reinforced with new life. No wonder, then, that those who consume considerable amounts of chlorophyll-rich foods are not only reporting recovery from chronic diseases and ailments, but also more energy, stamina and radiance that they have not experienced for a long time, if ever at all.  

Best fruit and vegetable combination for a nutritious alkalizing green juice:

• cucumber, celery, cilantro
• lime, celery, cucumber, cilantro
• cucumber, celery, fennel
• aloe vera leaves, green apples, lemon balm
• green apple, celery  
• green apple, pear, cucumber
• celery, bell pepper, cucumber
• pear, mint, cucumber
• cucumber, fennel, celery, green chili pepper, cilantro
• cucumber, parsley, bell pepper
• apple, kiwi, cucumber
• honey dew, celery
• bell pepper, green chili pepper, cucumber
• spinach, green apple, cucumber
• kale, celery, cucumber
• dill, apple, cucumber
• orange, kale, cucumber

These are only few suggestions. You can start from here. Experiment with green herbs and veggies; add limes or lemons. Add ginger. The taste will change when you change the proportions of your ingredients, but the alkalizing and detoxifying action will remain unchanged.

I prefer to make pure vegetable juices, but some people love to add a little sweetness of a fruit. I rather add herbs. And I always add a pinch of Celtic salt and few drops of virgin olive oil to activate the bile flow.

If you are planning a detox or a weight loss program, early spring is a perfect time to begin. Start slowly and gradually increase the amount of green, alkalizing foods. Consult your healthcare provider if you have serious health issues.

By Dominique Allmon

For more healthy juice recipes please click here

Dominique Allmon©2015


*This information is for educational purposes only. It is not meant to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

How to Break Sugar Addiction

Sugar consumption is on the rise all over the world. This fact has horrendous implications since the metabolic syndrome, obesity, Type 2 diabetes in adults, and alarmingly early onset of Type 2 diabetes in children, are only few consequences of sugar consumption.

Scientists have demonstrated that refined sugar is a highly addictive substance. One study found that the extremely sweet taste can surpass the cocaine reward even in people who are addicted to heavy drugs. In another study scientists demonstrated that quitting sugar can be as difficult for some people as quitting nicotine or alcohol.

Are you addicted to sugar?

Addicts seldom admit that they have a problem and often find justification for their behavior.

• Do you always eat dessert? 
• Do you always have to have something sweet in your house?
• Do you make excuses to take just one more piece of that delicious cake?
• Do you struggle to say no when you are offered something sweet? 
• Do you have sugar "attacks" where you feel you must have something sweet or you will not make it? 

If you eat sweets on regular basis try to give them up for a day or two and see what happens. If you develop headaches and mood swings the chances are that you are addicted.

A few years ago one of my favorite nutritionists, Patrick Holford, devised clever nutritional strategies for people who wished to quit their addictions. 

Quitting any kind of addiction is not an easy process. The withdrawal symptoms are often unbearable and can make it difficult for anyone to give up the stuff he or she is addicted to - be it nicotine, alcohol, caffeine, heavy drugs or even sugar. While drugs or alcohol are considered harmful to our health, sugar addiction is often trivialized, neglected or not even recognized as such. Worse, many people do not even know that sugar is harmful to health. Many do not know that they are addicted.

What is sugar?

Sugar is the generalized term used for sweet, short-chain, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food to sweeten and improve the taste. They are composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. Together with starches and fiber, sugars belong to the class of carbohydrates that are necessary to provide energy and regulate protein and fat metabolism, among others.

All sugars are either monosaccharides (simple sugars) or disaccharides. Simple sugars are easily and quickly digested and utilized by the human body, but there is a difference in the way liver processes glucose and fructose. (This is a vast subject that requires another article.) Disaccharides such as sucrose or the common white table sugar, on the other hand, require enzymes in order to be converted into simple sugars that are then utilized by the body.

Sucrose, which is composed of the monosaccharides fructose and glucose, is found in sugar beets, sugar cane, sorghum, maple syrup, molasses, and pineapple. It is composed of one molecule of fructose and one molecule of glucose and can be metabolized in a healthy body.

Sucrose is used extensively to sweeten food and beverages, but even people who do not add sugar to their diet may be consuming large amounts of so called "hidden" sugar that is added by the food industry into ever growing amount of foods. Salad dressings, mayonnaise, ketchup, peanut butter, baby formula, bread, sausage, luncheon meat, etc. all have sugar added to them.

Addiction to sugar begins very early in life and is constantly reinforced by millions of dollars spent on advertising all over the world by the food industry. Average person living in America consumes more than one hundred fifty pound of sugar per year! It is estimated that only thirty pounds come from sugar that people are consciously adding to their food. The remaining amount comes from industrially produced foods and drinks.

Why should you quit sugar:

• Sugar can make you fat! Sweets and foods with added sugar deliver incredible amount of empty calories and no fiber or nutrients to keep you nourished and satiated. As soon as you had your sweet fix you normally crave for more. You not only eat more calories than you can burn, but sugar promotes belly fat that once there is probably the most difficult to lose.
• Excess sugar consumption has the same toxic effect on liver as does alcohol. In fact, increased sugar consumption had the same detrimental effect on health as the consumption of alcohol and could be responsible for hypertension, myocardial infarction, insulin resistance, obesity, malnutrition, liver disease, and pancreatitis.
• Sugar suppresses the release of  the human growth hormone or HGH. Consumption of sugar, especially within two hours after workout, causes hypothalamus to release the inhibitory hormone somatostatin. Somatostatin from the hypothalamus inhibits the pituitary gland’s secretion of the HGH and the thyroid stimulating hormone. 
• Sugar disrupts the immune system. In the 1970s the Noble Prize winner Dr. Linus Pauling discovered that the vitamin C increases the body's ability to fight infections. He also found that sugar inhibits this ability. In order to be able to fight bacteria and viruses, our white blood cells must accumulate vitamin C at the 50-fold concentration all the time. Vitamin C is constantly being moved through the cell membranes into the white blood cells all over your body. Dr. Pauling discovered that glucose, which has similar chemical structure as the vitamin C, can replace vitamin C concentration in the white cells. In fact, when blood sugar rises to 120 after a consumption of cakes, candies or sodas, the ability of white cells to fight infections decreases by about 75%! Moreover, it can take up to six hours to restore optimal levels of vitamin C in the white blood after consumption of sugar.
• Sugar can increase risk of cancer. Researchers have found that sugar in the intestine triggers the formation of a hormone called GIP. GIP is controlled by a protein called β-catenin that depends entirely on sugar levels in the body. This in turn, increases insulin released by the pancreas. Researchers found that there is a strong correlation between β-catenin and the cell's susceptibility to cancer formation. Moreover, research also shows that high sugar consumption lowers the survival chance of breast cancer and colon cancer patients.
• Sugar can damage your heart and shorten your life. In 2013 the Journal of American Heart Association has published a study confirming that sugar affects pumping mechanism of the heart and can potentially increase the risk of heart failure. Researchers found that a glucose metabolite called glucose 6-phosphate (G6P) that is derived from sugar and from starch was responsible for the changes in the muscle protein of the heart. These changes could eventually lead to heart failure. 
• Sugar contributes to premature aging. When sugar enters your system it has the tendency to bind to fats and protein molecules in your body. This process is know as glycation. It results in the production of advanced glycation end products known as AGEs. These molecules cause damage to connective tissues and are responsible for chronic inflammation. But AGEs are not only responsible for processes that are "hidden" deep inside our bodies. They also are the cause or visible aging. Collagen and elastin are the proteins in skin that are responsible for the health and youthful appearance. These proteins are also most susceptible to the glycation process. 

It is probably much easier to enumerate reasons for quitting sugar than to quit this sweet addiction. Like many people I have a very sweet tooth and cannot imagine a festive dinner menu without dessert, but I also know too well that sugar is not good for me. It is enough for me to look into a mirror the next day after I satisfied my sugar cravings the night before. The skin looks inflamed and the joints feel stiff. I know that if I continued eating sweets for another day or two things would get even worse. So I quit for a week or two only to get tempted again.

Young people can recover from the sugar binge much faster and may not even gain weight, but with age the damage done by sugar becomes more obvious and almost irreversible. So, how do we quit sugar cravings?

Sugar craving exist on two levels:

• physiological, where it manifests itself as an addiction to sugar, the chemical substance that affect entire body chemistry
• emotional, where it manifests itself either as craving for comfort and happiness, or as a reward for a particular type of behavior.

To successfully quit sugar we must understand and address both, the physiological and the emotional  dependence on sugar.

If you are addicted to sugar you must understand that there is no one-fits-all solution to addiction. Every human being is unique and will power and self-motivation are not always enough. However, everyone can implement a few simple steps that would gradually re-set the addicted brain and re-program body chemistry.

The Break-Sugar-Addiction Program

The plan involves two aspects of our physiology: brain chemistry and blood sugar balance. Deficiency in certain neurotransmitters, especially serotonin, often leads to sugar craving. Fluctuation in blood sugar leads to cravings and energy crashes.

• The very first step to recovery from sugar addiction is a gradual change of diet. Begin your personal program by conscious reduction of sweets and desserts you consume. Sweets and desserts are the obvious, identifiable sugar sources. This would mean that you have to remove sugar and sweet foods from your pantry and change your shopping habits. Stay clear of cookies, candy, cakes and ice cream, and less sugar to your coffee and tea. Going a cold turkey does not work for everybody so you may need to replace your desserts with sweet fruit that at least has vitamins and minerals, and has a form of sugar that can be digested by the body. Try to replace fast food with high quality protein and add fresh vegetable to your menu. At the same time you should supplement your diet with high quality multivitamin and mineral formula. Vitamins and minerals will help you nourish your body and may help reduce  cravings. In addition you should take a high quality Omega-3 fatty acids and probiotics to restore flora in the intestines.
• Removal of sugar from the diet may cause mood swings, low energy, or headaches. To balance the brain chemistry supplement with L-Tryptophan and 5-HTP. These two supplements will help the brain to produce the mood enhancing serotonin. To support blood sugar balance take a chromium supplement. Also, add sugar-balancing cinnamon to your diet.
• To control sugar cravings supplement with the amino acid L-glutamine. The suggested dose is 500mg 3-4 times a day, best taken on empty stomach about 30 minutes before a meal or when you feel your blood sugar is very low and you feel like having something sweet. The sugar craving vanishes within minutes and you do not even feel jittery or stressed. 

Many nutritionist suggest that we should consume foods that have low glycemic load, or the GL. The GL tells us how a particular food will affect the blood sugar balance. Foods with high GL will cause sugar spikes and cravings. Foods with low GL convert slowly into glucose and encourage body to burn fat. A low glycemic diet will keep you nourished and satiated and will not only help you break your sugar addiction, but also lose weight.

Depending on your current situation you may need to consult a certified health practitioner who will help you break the sugar addiction. A certified nutritionist will help you create a healthy nutrition plan. He or she will also help you clear candida that may also be the cause of your sugar cravings.

If your craving for sugar is mostly emotional you will need to address the underlying emotional issues. Yoga, relaxation and meditation in combination with supplemental magnesium, L-tryptophan and 5-HTP may help a lot, but you may have to see a therapist to understand why your emotional problems are causing addiction. And if you reward yourself with a large piece of cake, you should probably change your strategy. Try a large bowl of fresh strawberries the next time you feel that you need a reward.

By Dominique Allmon

Dominique Allmon©2014

P.S. Many people who wish to break the sugar addiction resort to artificial sweeteners to satisfy their love and craving for the sweet taste. The only artificial sweetener that I would take is stevia. Stevia is made from the leaves of South American plant Stevia rebaudiana. Studies demonstrated that stevia may actually lower blood sugar levels and improve the function of insulin.



*This information is for educational purpose only. It is not meant to diagnose, treat or cure a disease.


How to Break Sugar Addiction by Dominiqe Allmon is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Why Do We Age?

The fountain of youth - such metaphorical piece of myth that alludes to immortality has been used over and over again on different forms of literature both in the past and in the present. Oftentimes, the fountain of youth's classification as myth is challenged from time to time with some expeditions or travels that claim to have finally found the fountain's location. Nonetheless, this recurring symbol of eternal youth in most forms of literature and art, verifies man's innate affinity with immortality. In our contemporary setting, this longing for immortality is almost within mankind's grasp with the promise of better technologies and sciences in the near future. However, to completely grasp and understand the means of acquiring eternal life or a very long life span in the very least, one must first see the process behind our aging. This question kept many brilliant scientists hell-bent on searching for clues and theories that may answer such relentless query.

Through the course of these scientific explorations on the realm of human aging, scientists were able to come up with a term that refers to the human aging process - senescence. This term refers to a degeneration implication that manifests itself as people get old. Senescence is believed to be the result of a biochemical deregulation that is a natural component of life.

However, the effects of senescence vary among different species. Take for example a bat and a rodent, both of them are classified as mammals and both are of the same size, but a bat generally lives longer than a rodent for the former can live up to 30 years while the latter usually have a life span of only two to three years. However, some animal species such as rockfish, turtles, and lobsters display a certain trait known as the negligible senescence. This trait enables these specific animal species to live through a longer period of time compared to other species. Some of these species can even live for an unbelievable span of 200 years.

Findings through extensive studies that were carried out by various scientists imply that this peculiar trait is a result of evolutionary and genetic factors that rule over these animals' life longevity. However, scientists still find it hard to assimilate this kind of trait to humans and the reason behind it is fairly simple: we humans live under a completely different environment compared to those animals that possess the negligible senescence trait.

The best that we humans can do for now is to first determine the various factors that fuel the process of aging and to address these factors accordingly. One of the most obvious reasons or factors behind aging is stress. In a nutshell, the dynamics of stress simply say that constant beatings and punishments that our bodies take from everyday tasks lead to hormone disturbance which can ultimately lead to cell damage.

Furthermore, the degeneration of the hypothalamus, a gland that resides in your head, is also one of the determining factors of aging. The hypothalamus is solely responsible for setting the "traffic" of various hormones to other glands. Through the course of time, the hypothalamus becomes weary and tends to be inaccurate in releasing proper amounts of hormone to other glands in the human body. This leads to imbalanced hormone levels which cause damage to tissues.

External factors brought about by the environment are also some of the very viable reasons behind the aging process. Environmental harms such as pollution, radiation, contaminants coupled with self induced stress, and poor nutrition inflict damage on human cells. Significant damage is instantly inflicted upon these cells once they are exposed to such harmful external factors. Cells play a very substantial role on the process of aging because they contain valuable information for the human body's development. Whenever a cell reproduces or divides itself, it makes sure that the new cell is of the same level with the previous cell that it originated from. If that previous cell received any slightest form of damaged from the previously mentioned factors, it will then spawn new cells that possess slightly deformed information sets. This will then start a trend of degenerated cells which leads to what is commonly known as the aging process.

Among these scientific theories that deal with the process of aging the Free Radical Theory tends to be the most popular among contemporary American health buffs. This theory suggests that extremely reactive chemicals, which the term free radicals refer to, are responsible for inflicting damage to the human body's tissues. In general, however, these free radicals are not completely bad for the human body for they also serve numerous purposes for the body's development. But what is damaging to the human body, especially to the tissues, is the free radicals' ability to reproduce itself in excessive amounts. Free radicals are endowed with an extra electron which makes them more capable of stealing electrons from other molecules which they tend to do frequently. This act subsequently leads to a very dangerous cycle that can burnout the cells from constantly repairing damaged molecules.

With these various theories that try to decipher the process of aging, certain medical solutions are also devised to combat the inevitable aging ritual. The most common among these medical solutions are taking vitamin C and vitamin E supplements to combat stress and to balance out the damage induced by free radicals in the body. Another effective method is to lessen your average intake of junk foods and substituting it with healthier food choices such as fruits and vegetables.

One means to combat the toll of aging today is through the consumption of high quality HGH or Human Growth Hormone precursors. HGH supplements can help increase energy levels that can make you a lot more productive by enabling you to perform more tasks efficiently. 

HGH supplements can also help to lower cholesterol plus help to improve brain, vision, and immune function. The GenF20™ supplement is, by far, the most advanced dietary supplement that can help with the process of aging. These advances that were made in the light of combating factors that leads to premature aging, can truly give reaffirmation in believing that the fountain of youth that every man longs for is truly within reach.

Article courtesy of GenF20Plus website

*This information is for educational purpose only. It is not meant to diagnose or cure a disease.

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5 Foods to Reduce Estrogen Dominance

By Iva Keene

Estrogen dominance is the main culprit in many conditions which lead to infertility and worse – estrogen dependent cancers. Some examples of estrogen dominant conditions are PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome), ovarian cysts, endometriosis, fibroids, polyps, low sperm count, poor sperm quality as a result of low testosterone, fibrocystic breast disease and obesity.

There are three different types of estrogen produced by the ovaries; E1 (estrone), E2 (estradiol) and E3 (estriol). Estrogen is a very important hormone for women. It promotes maturation of follicles, development of endometrium for implantation of the fertilized egg, production of fertile mucus, softens the cervix, lubricates vagina during intercourse and helps sperm to swim in the female reproductive system. It is the key hormone for development of female sexual organs and it’s important for overall health of your breasts, fallopian tubes, ovaries and the vagina. And when you reach your menopausal years, your can thank estrogen deficiency for hot-flushes, dry vagina and the risk of osteoporosis. 

Too much of the good thing?

So how come that something that’s so good and important for female health can be also causing a host of conditions which predispose to infertility and cancer?

Balance and moderation is the key to any successful endeavor. Too much exercise can actually break down your muscle tissue and cause you to gain weight. Too much vitamin C can give you diarrhea and too much estrogen can cause a hormonal imbalance.

The fourth type of estrogen we recognize belongs to the group of so called xeno-estrogens. Xeno in Greek means ‘foreign’ i.e. not made by the body. In this context it refers to estrogens which we get exposed to through the food we eat, drinks we drink, creams, lotions and potions we put on our skin and the chemicals we inhale – some from the environment and some from exposure to commercial perfumes and cleaning solutions. Xeno-estrogens look similar to body-made estrogen and can dock on your estrogen receptors (key-lock system) and activate the same reaction in cell a real estrogen would. As all hormones depend on each other and secretion of one prompts the secretion of other hormones, soon you end up with uncoordinated release of hormones which start creating havoc in the body.

Daily agitation over prolonged time can lead to tissue and function changes ultimately resulting in a chronic condition. Chronic conditions respond best to dietary and lifestyle changes. So what can you do to prevent estrogen dominance in your body?

5 foods to reduce estrogen dominance

• Meet the cruciferous vegetable family! They are broccoli, cabbage, kale, brussels sprouts and cauliflower. This family of vegetables contains sulfur compounds (can be gas forming) and indole-3-carbinol. These guys bind to estrogen and escort it out of the body. Have three servings a day. These veggies can be eaten raw in salads (broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and kale) or steamed (brussels sprouts). Kale makes wonderful healthy chips baked in the oven with some olive oil and sea salt.
• Hello green leafy vegetables! Spinach, celery, rucola, parsley, dandelions, Swiss chard. Have 2-3 servings a day. Gren leafy’s make great salads and can be blended in smoothies. Adding one banana to your smoothie will mask the grassy taste. If drinking a green drink is not your thing, add a handful of frozen blueberries or cherries to make it purple and taste of berries. A dash of stevia and vanilla essence compliment this gourmet combination.
• Good morning sunshine! Fruits which remind us of our beautiful sun are all the citrus fruits; lemons, oranges, grapefruits (ruby red and yellow), mandarines, tangerines, pomelos and limes. Citrus fruits contain d-limonene which helps detoxify estrogen. Aim for one serving a day. You can juice them, eat them and add their juice to a variety of dishes. Organic lemons and oranges can be blended whole and make a great addition to smoothies making them taste delightful. If you are going to use the peel (which is very healthy) make sure to wash the fruit and use only organic fruits as pesticides can get absorbed into the essential oils found in the peel of citrus fruits. Pesticides act as xeno-estrogens, so you want to avoid getting exposed to them.
• Grandma knows best! Apple a day, keeps the doctor away. Insoluble fibre found in apples, oats, berries and beans binds to estrogen in your small intestines and stops it from being absorbed. That way you can reduce your exposure to xeno-estrogens from your diet. Aim for two servings a day.About the author
• Lastly these small seeds contain more than meets the eye! Sesame seeds and flax seeds contain estrogen binging lignans. Aim for two to three tablespoons a day. You can have flaxseed oil or ground up flaxseeds, sesame seeds sprinkled in salad or ground up in a paste called tahini. Flaxseeds are also rich in omega 3 fatty acids.

These foods should be part of your daily staple diet. They are very versatile and can accompany many dishes as sides or feature as a main dish. Get creative and ensure to have them daily.

Share your thoughts on these foods and if you have a delicious recipe featuring these estrogen dominance eliminators we’d love to try it out!

About the author:

Leading Fertility Specialist, Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine and Award Winning Author Iva Keene publishes the ‘Baby Blossom’ ezine with tips to get you pregnant ASAP. Get your FREE Fertility Tips now at http://www.Natural-Fertility-Prescription.com

Claim your FREE eBook:

How to Restore Your Fertility & Get Pregnant ASAP
Gold Winner of the Mom’s Choice Awards
for Excellence in Family-Friendly Media, Products & Services
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Please visit http://medicaladvisorjournals.blogspot.com

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*This information is for educational purpose only. It is not meant to diagnose or cure a disease.

The Ancient Tibetan Garlic Cure

A few months ago a colleague of mine told me that her grandmother makes her own garlic potion to stay healthy. She marinates garlic in alcohol for up to six weeks and when the potion is ready, she drinks few drops a day for few weeks. She repeats this cure every year and never gets sick.

Organic garlic

I wondered if anyone else knew about the garlic cure and started an online search. To my surprise the search produced "Tibetan garlic cure." The post showed up on several blogs and some bloggers claimed that this ancient garlic recipe was discovered in Tibet in 1970s by an UNESCO commission. 

Unfortunately I do not have any better information and cannot verify this claim, but I know that the therapeutic properties of garlic were known in many cultures for centuries, and that many cultures use alcohol to prepare herbal liquors, tinctures and medicinal wines. The Chinese used therapeutic liquors for centuries; so did Hildegard von Bingen in Medieval Europe. Herbs, flowers, fruits, roots, and even small animals (such as snakes) or animal parts were preserved in alcohol. Alcohol potentiated the healing properties of used ingredients and allowed better preservation from spoilage. To this day Chinese pharmacies in Hong Kong and everywhere where Traditional Chinese Medicine is practiced, sell therapeutic wines. You can see a coiled snake or a ginseng root that has been preserved to extract the its highest healing potential. 

Garlic (Allium sativum) is a plant native to Central Asia. For thousands of years garlic has been used not only in cooking, but also as medicine. The Sumerians, Egyptians, Chinese, Tibetans, Indians, Ancient Greeks and Romans, all valued garlic's therapeutic qualities. They discovered garlic's potential to kill germs and used it as medicine to cure various infections, including typhus, dysentery, influenza, and cholera.

Modern research confirms what the ancients knew for ages. Garlic not only kills germs, it is also an effective herb that can be used modulate and strengthen the immune system. Scientists also found that garlic can also prevent cardiovascular disease and reduce blood pressure.

 Miron glass jar

Garlic seems to be a very healthy herb all by itself. Is it possible that preserving it in alcohol enhances its healing potential even more?

To make the garlic solution you will need about 12 ounces (350 g) garlic, 3 ounces of 96% pure, food grade alcohol, and a tight closing jar.

I decided to use a violet Miron glass jar. Miron glass blocks the complete spectrum of visible light with the exception of the violet part. At the same time it allows a certain part to be permeable for radiation in the spectral range of UV-A, and infra red light. This unique combination offers optimal protection against the ageing processes that are released by visible light, thus lengthening durability and potency of products. Scientists in Germany found that Miron glass enhances the therapeutic strength of products stored in it. 

Making of the Ancient Tibetan Garlic Cure:

• Wash and dry the jar. Set aside.
• Peal the garlic cloves. You may want to wear rubber gloves.
• Roughly chop the garlic cloves and transfer them into your clean jar.
• Slowly pour the alcohol into the jar making sure that the garlic is well covered. Add more alcohol if you find it necessary. 
• Tightly close the lid and place the jar in a cool, dark place. Allow the garlic to marinade for 10 days.
• After 10 days carefully open the jar and strain the garlic tincture through a sieve pouring it into a clean measuring jar. 
• Pour the clear liquid into a clean dark glass bottle and close it with a pipette stopper.  (I used Miron glass bottles)

This is how the Tibetan garlic should be made according to various websites. I changed the method a bit remembering that my colleague's grandmother kept her garlic in alcohol for at least three weeks. I allowed the tincture to mature even more when I transferred it into two small Miron glass bottles. I stored the bottles for another three weeks before I began the cure.

Miron glass bottles with garlic tincture

There is a suggested way to administer the garlic cure beginning with one drop at breakfast on the first day and increasing the amount with each meal up to 25 drops on day eleven. Continue taking 25 drops per meal until the tincture is finished. Remember to shake the bottle before each use.

I am not sure that such "schedule" is necessary, although some homeopathic or alchemistic principles might be involved here. I decided to take two drops with each meal, three times a day and I take it in a spoon of yogurt to neutralize the strong garlic odor. 

The tincture is said to have incredible healing potential: 

• it may help decrease blood pressure
• it may improve blood circulation
• it may help regulate and balance blood lipids
• it may prevent the LDL cholesterol buildup in arteries
• it may help prevent thrombosis
• it may help speed up metabolism and stimulate fat burning in the body
• it may help detoxify the kidney and improve the kidney function
• it may help improve the function of the immune system
• it may help eradicate candida 

November is a perfect time to start caring for the immune system. If the cure works I should be infection free till the end of winter. 

By Dominique Allmon

*A word of caution: The tincture contains alcohol and is not recommended for children, pregnant women, and people who have alcohol addiction problem. 

**This information is for educational purpose only. It is not meant to diagnose or cure a disease.

The Ancient Tibetan Garlic Cure by Dominique Allmon is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Health Benefits of Watermelon

Like no other fruit, watermelon is considered by many to be a perfect Summer fruit. Thanks to its high water and mineral content, water melon is a tasty thirst quencher. This quality was greatly appreciated as far back in history as Ancient Egypt and Ancient China.

Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) belongs to the family Cucurbitaceae. It is a vine-like flowering plant that most probably originated in Southern Africa. The plant produces large fruits whose flesh is pink or dark red when ripe. The fruits are covered with thick, green rind. There are more than 1200 varieties cultivated all over the world.

Watermelon is rich in nutrients:

• vitamins, especially the vision supporting vitamin A, the immune system modulating vitamin B6 and the immune system boosting vitamin C 
• minerals, especially magnesium and potassium
• amino acid citruline 
• carotenoids lycopene and beta carotene
• flavonoids lutein, zeaxanthin and cryptoxanthin
• tripterpenoids

As mentioned before, because of its very high water content, watermelon is a wonderful thirst quencher. In Traditional Chinese Medicine the red flesh of the fruit is considered to be cooling and used to purify blood and dispel symptoms of internal and external heat. A very popular watermelon lozenges are prescribed to cure sore throat. To address different symptoms, Chinese doctors use all parts of the fruit, including the rind and the seeds.

Watermelon is a perfect anti-aging superfood. It has few calories, but is very rich in phenolic compounds that include flavonoids, carotenoids, and tripterpenoids. These compounds help fight inflammation and provide protection against free radicals.

The carotenoid lycopene that gives watermelon its red color, is a very effective free-radicals scavenger. In fact, watermelon contains higher levels of lycopene than any other fresh fruit or vegetable - 15 to 20 mg per two-cup serving. The content depends on the ripeness of the fruit.

Lycopene has the ability to inhibit many inflammatory processes in the body including:

• the production of pro-inflammatory messaging molecules
• the expression of such enzymes as the cyclo-oxygenase and the lipoxygenase that can lead to increased inflammatory response
• the activity of molecular signaling agents like nuclear factor kappa B (NFkB)

Another anti-inflammatory compound, the tripterpenoid cucurbitacin E, blocks the activity of cyclo-oxygenase enzymes and neutralizes reactive nitrogen-containing molecules or the RNS.

Watermelon is an amazing source of the amino acid citrulline. The flesh of a watermelon contains about 250 mg of citrulline per cup. Among others, citrulline is converted by the kidneys and the endothelial cells (cells that line our blood vessels), into amino acid arginine. An enzyme called nitric oxide synthase or NOS, takes the amino acid arginine and uses it to help produce nitric oxide (NO). NO is a muscle relaxant that tells the smooth muscles around our blood vessels to relax. When this happens, the space inside our blood vessels can expand, allowing blood to flow more freely. The relaxation of muscle tension and increase in blood flow constitutes the mechanism by which NO can improve the erectile function in men. Although consumption of watermelon significantly increases levels of arginine in the body, the amount of citruline is not enough to cure erectile dysfunction with one portion of watermelon alone.

Citruline also has the ability to flushe the kidneys and the liver of stored aluminum. Aluminum can be damaging to the cells. It not only enters our bodies from the environment, but is also a byproduct of protein breakdown within the body.

Latest research also demonstrated that citruline may affect the way fat is deposited in the human body. When citruline converts into arginine, arginine-related molecules called polyarginine peptides are also formed in the body. These compounds are able to block activity of an enzyme called tissue-nonspecific alkaline phosphatase, or TNAP. When TNAP activity is shut down, fat cells (adipocytes) create less fat. The less fat is produced, the less fat is deposited in the body.

Watermelon seeds are also beneficial to health. They contain B Vitamins; incredibly bio-available iron and zinc; magnesium; omega 6 fatty acids; and the cardiovascular system supporting amino acid arginine. They also contain lysine, tryptophan, and glutamic acid.

The nutrient content makes watermelon one of the healthiest foods available to us. Although a ripe watermelon contains sugar, the fruit has a law glycemic index which means that it will not cause rapid spikes in blood glucose levels. Some animal studies suggest that watermelon juice may even have a positive effect on blood sugar metabolism.

Watermelon is considered a natural diuretic. It helps increase the urine flow, but unlike caffeine it does not put any strain on the kidneys. Moreover, watermelon helps the liver process ammonia.

Watermelon is a good source of amino acids cystein, glutamate and glycine that are necessary for the synthesis of glutathione. Glutathione is the body own antioxidant, detox agent and immune system modulator. Glutathione helps the body effectively excrete mercury, aluminum and pesticides, and improves the efficacy of vitamins C and E in the body.

When fully ripe, watermelon is an alkaline-forming fruit. This fact alone makes watermelon incredibly beneficial to health as diseases such as cancer can only thrive in an acidic environment.

By Dominique Allmon

*Watermelon is a very versatile fruit that can be eaten in many ways. For raw recipe suggestions please click here



*This information is for educational purpose only. It is not meant to diagnose or cure a disease.


Health Benefits of Watermelon by Dominique Allmon is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Good Health and Longevity - For Educational Purposes Only?

Since the pharmaceutical industry rules the world of the the healthy and the sick, no one is allowed to make certain statements about health and healing even if there were a valid research to back them up. People who are not "careful" enough are accused of quackery or even arrested and prosecuted. 

 

Interestingly enough, spectacular claims can be made by doctors and sales people when a molecule or a substance is patented and sold as a drug, even if that drug comes with a long list of side effects. The drug may eventually harm or kill a patient and law suits may follow, but for as long as nothing "drastic" happens the claims of "cure" can be made shamelessly.  

This is quite amusing, but also incredibly frustrating. If you made a claim that elderberry, ginger and honey cured flu like symptoms and started advertising and selling your "potion" to afflicted people, you would probably end up in court. But no one gets punished for selling drugs with similar curing power even if such drugs may cause drowsiness, liver damage, kidney failure and what not. At least not right away. Justice is done to patients only after some one's health has been damaged irreversibly by the drug. The liability lawyers find a real gold mine in cases like that and the pharmaceutical industry can afford to pay reparations. 

Do not get me wrong. I am not against pharmaceutical industry as such and I am not against allopathic medicine, but I despise a culture of arrogance and cynicism.

I am a healthy individual, but I do not necessarily attribute my health to my genes. There is much more to it. The genes carry an information that may work for you or against you. If there is a history of disease in your family you may be the next in the line to develop it as well. But genetic information is not necessarily a sentence or a curse. Unless you are living with congenital, manifested genetic disorder, your lifestyle is contributing to your overall health and you may never get sick or morbidly obese even if everyone in your family is. If you live a healthy lifestyle, genetic traits remain what they are - potentialities, not death sentences. 

Good health is a precious gift and it is a gift you can give to yourself. I advocate active prevention of disease rather than a cure of existing one. Simple changes in lifestyle and nutrition may have very dramatic changes on your overall health. You can lose weight, reverse chronic disease, slow the aging process and prolong your lifespan. But this does not come as a pill. You will have to change established bad habits and invest some money in your nutrition. And most importantly, you will have to consider yourself worthy of such a change. But once you do, you will be amazed. Your body has the potential to heal itself. You just have to give it a chance. 

Changes to be made include:

• exercise
• stress control
• detoxification
• diet and nutrition
• supplementation with high quality nutritional supplements
• self-perception and attitude 
• health education - ignorance may kill you! 

The changes may be quite overwhelming and should be made gradually. You may have to consult a certified fitness coach who will help you devise a fitness plan that suits your current needs, but once you gain the knowledge and develop your own intuition you will be able to take care of yourself without any help. Empower yourself. You will not regret it.

In radiant health - Dominique Allmon

By Dominique Allmon ©2013

*This information is for educational purpose only. It is not meant to diagnose or cure a disease.