How Sugar Accelerates Aging

Avoid This Food to Help Slow Aging

February 22, 2012 | 257,132views

Story at-a-glance

• Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) are a complex group of compounds formed when sugar reacts with amino acids. Glycation is one of the major molecular mechanisms whereby damage accrues in your body, which leads to disease and aging
• Restricting dietary AGEs can increase lifespan in animal models, and limiting sugar in your diet is a well-known key to longevity
• Fructose in particular is extremely pro-inflammatory, promoting AGEs and speeding up the aging process. It also promotes the kind of dangerous growth of fat cells around your vital organs that are the hallmark of diabetes and heart disease. In one study, 16 volunteers on a high-fructose diet produced new fat cells around their heart, liver and other digestive organs in just 10 weeks
• As a standard recommendation to limit glycation, I strongly advise keeping your TOTAL fructose consumption below 25 grams per day

By Dr. Mercola

Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) are a complex group of compounds formed when sugar reacts with amino acids.

This can occur both in the food you eat, and inside your body.

It's is a fitting acronym because – along with oxidation – it's one of the major molecular mechanisms whereby damage accrues in your body, which leads to disease, aging, and eventually, death.

For example, there is mounting evidence that AGEs may be implicated in the development of the chronic degenerative diseases associated with aging, including but not limited to:

• Cardiovascular disease
• Alzheimer's disease, and
• Diabetes

Several studies have shown that restricting the consumption of AGEs can lead to an increased lifespan in animal models.

According to a paper that summarizes recent research on AGEsⁱ:

"... [T]he data are supportive that endogenous AGEs are associated with declining organ functioning. It appears that dietary AGEs may also be related.

... As of today, restriction of dietary intake of AGEs and exercise has been shown to safely reduce circulating AGEs, with further reduction in oxidative stress and inflammatory markers."

Why Limiting Sugar is Key for Longevity

Limiting sugar in your diet is a well-known key to longevity, because of all the molecules capable of inflicting damage in your body, sugar molecules are probably the most damaging of all. Fructose in particular is an extremely potent pro-inflammatory agent that creates AGEs and speeds up the aging process. It also promotes the kind of dangerous growth of fat cells around your vital organs that are the hallmark of diabetes and heart disease. In one study on fructose, 16 volunteers on a controlled diet including high levels of fructose produced new fat cells around their heart, liver and other digestive organs in just 10 weeks!

Sugar/fructose also increases your insulin and leptin levels and decreases receptor sensitivity for both of these vital hormones, and this is another major factor of premature aging and age-related chronic degenerative diseases such as heart disease. Keep in mind that while it's perfectly normal for your blood sugar levels to rise slightly after every meal, it is not natural or healthy when your blood sugar levels become excessively elevated and stay that way.

Unfortunately, that's exactly what will happen if you're eating like the stereotypical American, who consumes a staggering 2.5 pounds of sugar a week on average!
And when you add in other low-quality carb foods such as white bread, sugar, pasta, pastries, cookies, and candy, which also break down to sugar in your body, it's not so difficult to see why so many Americans are in such poor health.

This type of high-sugar (high-carb) diet is also what's driving the obesity epidemic—not diets high in fat. An infographic created by Column Five for Massive Health, based on Why We Get Fat by science writer Gary Taubes, explains why. In short, carbs, like fructose and other sugars, destroy your insulin and leptin sensitivity, which in turn causes your cells to accumulate more fat, and makes it more difficult to get rid of the extra weight as well. So, the bottom line is this: If you want to look and feel younger longer, avoid all forms of sugar (including grains) as much as possible!

IMAGE COURTESY OF MASSIVE HEALTH. READ ABOUT THIS INFOGRAPHIC

Glycation 101

Fructose adversely affects your body in a number of ways, but one of the mechanisms that causes significant damage is glycation. As already mentioned, glycation is the process in which sugar bonds with protein to form advanced glycation end products, or AGEs.

This process creates inflammation, which can activate your immune system.

Macrophages are scavenger cells that are part of your immune defense system, and as such they have special receptors for AGEs, aptly called RAGEs (think: raging inflammation). These RAGEs bind to the AGEs in your body and get rid of them.  

Unfortunately, this defensive process can also cause its fair share of damage. Inside your arteries, for example, the scar tissue created from this process is called plaque.

You really want to limit the AGEs in your body as much as possible, so your immune system won't have to work so hard to defend against them. As a standard recommendation to limit glycation, I strongly advise keeping your TOTAL fructose consumption below 25 grams per day.

However, most people would be wise to limit their fructose to 15 grams or less, particularly if you have elevated uric acid levels, which can be used as a predictor for fructose toxicity. (For more information on this, please see this previous article.) This includes keeping track of your fructose intake from whole fruits. For additional information about the fructose content of common fruits, please see this helpful fructose chart. I recommend this lower level simply because if you consume processed foods or sweet beverages at all, you're virtually guaranteed to consume "hidden" sources of fructose.

Fructose Metabolism Basics

Anyone who still insists that "sugar is sugar" is way behind the times... There are in fact major differences in how your body processes different sugars, and it's important to understand that when you consume fructose, your body packs on pounds at a much higher rate than it does when you consume glucose. The following summary details the main metabolic differences between fructose and glucose to help you understand how fructose can wreak such havoc with your health, and why it's considerably worse for you than glucose:

• After eating fructose, nearly all of the metabolic burden rests on your liver. But with glucose, your liver has to break down only 20 percent.
• Every cell in your body, including your brain, utilizes glucose. Therefore, much of it is "burned up" immediately after you consume it. By contrast, fructose is primarily converted into free fatty acids (FFAs), VLDL (the damaging form of cholesterol), and triglycerides, which get stored as fat.
• The fatty acids created during fructose metabolism accumulate as fat droplets in your liver and skeletal muscle tissues, causing insulin resistance and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Insulin resistance progresses to metabolic syndrome and type II diabetes.
• Fructose is the most lipophilic carbohydrate. In other words, fructose converts to activated glycerol (g-3-p), which is directly used to turn FFAs into triglycerides. The more g-3-p you have, the more fat you store. Glucose does not do this.
• When you eat 120 calories of glucose, less than one calorie is stored as fat. 120 calories of fructose results in 40 calories being stored as fat. Fructose is essentially largely converted into fat!
• The metabolism of fructose by your liver creates a long list of waste products and toxins, including a large amount of uric acid, which triggers your "fat switch," causing you to gain more weight.
• Glucose does not do this, as it suppresses the hunger hormone ghrelin and stimulates leptin, which suppresses your appetite. Fructose has no effect on ghrelin and interferes with your brain's communication with leptin, resulting in overeating.

How to Tame Your Sugar Cravings

As mentioned earlier, I recommend that you avoid as much sugar as possible. Do your best to keep your fructose consumption below 15-25 grams a day. This is especially important if you are overweight or have diabetes, high cholesterol, or high blood pressure.

Sugar is highly addictive, so cutting down can be a real challenge for some, especially if you're consuming very high amounts. If you're struggling with sugar addiction, I highly recommend trying an energy psychology technique called Turbo Tapping, which has helped many "soda addicts" kick their sweet habit. If you still want to use a sweetener occasionally, here's what I recommend in lieu of sugar:

1. Use the sweet herb stevia.
2. Use organic cane sugar in moderation.
3. Use organic raw honey in moderation.
4. Avoid ALL artificial sweeteners, which can damage your health even more quickly than fructose.
5. Avoid agave syrup since it is a highly processed sap that is almost all fructose. Your blood sugar will spike just as it would if you were consuming regular sugar or HFCS. Agave's meteoric rise in popularity is due to a great marketing campaign, but any health benefits present in the original agave plant are processed out.

The Anti-Aging Lifestyle

Of all the healthy lifestyle strategies I know of that can have a significant impact on your longevity, normalizing your insulin and leptin levels is probably the most important. Cutting out sugar and grains and increasing exercise are two effective ways to accomplish that.

But to truly optimize your longevity and slow down the clock, your entire lifestyle needs to be taken into account. So, here are the rest of my top "anti-aging" recommendations. Incorporating these healthy lifestyle guidelines will help set you squarely on the path to optimal health and give you the best shot at living a much longer life:

• Learn how to effectively cope with stress – Stress has a direct impact on inflammation, which in turn underlies many of the chronic diseases that kill people prematurely every day, so developing effective coping mechanisms is a major longevity-promoting factor. Meditation, prayer, physical activity and exercise are all viable options that can help you maintain emotional and mental equilibrium. I also strongly believe in using energy psychology tools such as the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) to address deeper, oftentimes hidden emotional problems.
• Eat a healthy diet focused on whole, ideally organic, foods – My nutrition plan, based on natural whole foods, is your first step toward increasing your chances of living a longer, healthier life.
• Optimize Your Vitamin D Levels. This is another very powerful and inexpensive intervention that can have profound benefits on your health. In the summer you can do this for free by careful and safe sun exposure. In the winter a therapeutic level of oral vitamin D can be achieved with an oral supplement (around 8,000 units of vitamin D3 a day for most adults)
• Animal based omega-3 fats – Correcting the ratio of omega-3 to healthful omega-6 fats is a strong factor in helping you live longer. This typically means increasing your intake of animal based omega-3 fats, such as krill oil, while decreasing your intake of damaged omega-6 fats (think trans fats). I do not, however, recommend the new prescription strength fish oil medication, sold under the name Lovaza. Don't be fooled by their "all-natural" PR campaign. This is actually a drug to treat very high triglyceride levels. However, as with most other drugs, Lovaza comes with potentially dangerous side effects that you would not experience with a natural fish oil or krill oil supplement. Side effects include flu-like symptoms, infections, back pain, skin rashes, upset stomach, taste changes, digestive issues, chest pain, migraines and respiratory problems!
  Additionally, new research strongly suggests that 500 mg of krill oil is more potent and far less expensive.
• Get your antioxidants from foods –Good sources include blueberries, cranberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, cherries, beans, and artichokes.
• Use coconut oil – Another excellent anti-aging food is coconut oil, known to reduce your risk of heart disease and lower your cholesterol, among other things. In fact, it's doubly beneficial because it can be both eaten and applied directly to your skin. Coconut oil can be used in place of other oils, margarine, butter, or shortening, and can be used for all your cooking needs.
• Get your resveratrol naturally – Resveratrol is one of the forerunners in the anti-aging pill race, but more than likely, by the time they've manipulated it into a synthetic pill (like the fish oil discussed above), it won't be healthy for you. Although resveratrol is the antioxidant found in red wine, I can't recommend drinking wine in the hopes of extending your life because alcohol is a neurotoxin that can poison your brain and harm your body's delicate hormonal balance. Instead, get your resveratrol from natural sources, such as whole grape skins and seeds, raspberries, mulberries, and peanuts.
• Exercise regularly and smartly -- Studies repeatedly show that regular, moderate-to-vigorous exercise can help prevent or delay your onset of hypertension, obesity, heart disease, osteoporosis, and the falls that lead to hip fracture. Although a lifetime of regular exercise is ideal, it's never too late to start. It's been shown that even individuals in their 70's can substantially increase both strength and endurance with exercise. High-intensity, interval training can also increase longevity as this specific style of training promotes human growth hormone production – yet another aspect of the longevity puzzle.
• Avoid as many chemicals, toxins, and pollutants as possible – This includes tossing out your toxic household cleaners, soaps, personal hygiene products, air fresheners, bug sprays, lawn pesticides, and insecticides, just to name a few, and replacing them with non-toxic alternatives.
• Avoid pharmaceutical drugs – Pharmaceutical drugs kill thousands of people prematurely every year – as an expected side effect of the action of the drug. And, if you adhere to a healthy lifestyle, you most likely will never need any of them in the first place.

Reference:

---

• ⁱ Dietary Advanced Glycation End Products and Aging,Nutrients. 2010 December; 2(12): 1247–1265

[-] Sources and References

• Nutrients December 2010; 2(12): 1247–1265

Avoid This Food to Help Slow Aging

Kris Carr - How She Fights Cancer

Uploaded by plantbasednutrition on Jan 29, 2010

Kris Carr speaks about her journey from cancer diagnosis to vibrant health and her transition to a plant based diet and The China Study.

She went on a vegan, macrobiotic and alkaline raw diet and saw amazing results (1:25).

She still follows mostly a raw vegan diet with a lot of juicing and very little sugar... (3:00).

Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACtCqcRrIyc

Read also:
The China Study - Reducing Risk of Disease ...
Forks Over Knives - In KL Now - Official Trailer (the film also covers The China Study).
Bill Clinton - From omnivore to vegan: The dietary...
Dr. Sanjay Gupta Reports: The Last Heart Attack
 

Soybean Oil: One of the Most Harmful Ingredients in Processed Foods

Is This The Worst Possible Oil You Could Eat?

It's found in nearly everything you eat, but there are very good reasons to steer clear of it. This "homegrown" oil creates chaos and dysfunction in your cells, and studies link it to cancer, diabetes, decreased immune function, obesity, asthma, heart disease, and more...

Soybean Oil: One of the Most Harmful Ingredients in Processed Foods

January 27, 2013 | 215,302views

Story at-a-glance

• Two of the most harmful ingredients in processed foods are high fructose corn syrup and soybean oil, whether partially hydrogenated, organic, or made from newer soybean varieties modified in such a way as to not require hydrogenation
• Completely unnatural man-made fats created through the partial hydrogenation process cause dysfunction and chaos in your body on a cellular level, and studies have linked trans-fats to health problems ranging from obesity and diabetes to reproductive problems and heart disease
• Besides the health hazards related to the trans fats created by the partial hydrogenation process, soybean oil is, in and of itself, NOT a healthy oil.
• Add to that the fact that the majority of soybeans grown in the US is genetically engineered, and as a result saturated with dangerous levels of the herbicide glyphosate which may have additional health consequences as there are no long term safety studies.
• When taken together, partially hydrogenated GE soybean oil becomes one of the absolute worst types of oils you can consume.
• The genetically engineered (GE) variety planted on over 90 percent of US soy acres is Roundup Ready engineered to survive being doused with otherwise lethal amounts of Monsanto's Roundup herbicide (glyphosate). GE soybeans have been found to contain residue levels as high as 17 mg/kg, and malformations in frog and chicken embryos have occurred at just over 2 mg/kg.

By Dr. Mercola

Processed food is perhaps the most damaging aspect of most people’s diet, contributing to poor health and chronic disease. One of the primary culprits is high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), the dangers of which I touch on in virtually every article on diet I write.

The second culprit is partially hydrogenated soybean oil.

These two ingredients, either alone or in combination, can be found in virtually all processed foods and one can make a compelling argument that the reliance on these two foods is a primary contributing factor for most of the degenerative diseases attacking Americans today.

Part of the problem with partially hydrogenated soybean oil is the trans fat it contains. The other part relates to the health hazards of soy itself. And an added hazard factor is the fact that the majority of both corn and soybeans are genetically engineered.

As the negative health effects from trans fats have been identified and recognized, the agricultural- and food industry have scrambled to come up with new alternatives.

Partially hydrogenated soybean oil has been identified as the main culprit, and for good reason. Unfortunately, saturated fats are still mistakenly considered unhealthy by many health “experts,” so rather than embracing truly healthful tropical fats like coconut oil, which is mostly grown outside the US. The food industry has instead turned to domestic US alternatives offered by companies like Monsanto, which has developed modified soybeans that don’t require hydrogenation.

Why Hydrogenate?

Americans consume more than 28 billion pounds of edible oils annually, and soybean oil accounts for about 65 percent of it. About half of it is hydrogenated, as soybean oil is too unstable otherwise to be used in food manufacturing. One of the primary reasons for hydrogenating oil is to prolong its shelf life. Raw butter, for example, is likely to go rancid far quicker than margarine.

The process also makes the oil more stable and raises its melting point, which allows it to be used in various types of food processing that uses high temperatures.

Hydrogenated oil¹ is made by forcing hydrogen gas into the oil at high pressure.  

Virtually any oil can be hydrogenated. Margarine is a good example, in which nearly half of the fat content is trans fat. The process that creates partially hydrogenated oil alters the chemical composition of essential fatty acids, such as reducing or removing linolenic acid, a highly reactive triunsaturated fatty acid, transforming it into the far less reactive linoleic acid, thereby greatly preventing oxidative rancidity when used in cooking.

In the late 1990’s, researchers began realizing this chemical alteration might actually have adverse health effects. Since then, scientists have verified this to the point of no dispute.

Beware that there’s a difference between “fully hydrogenated” and “partially hydrogenated” oils. Whereas partially hydrogenated oil contains trans fat, fully hydrogenated oil does not, as taking the hydrogenation process “all the way” continues the molecular transformation of the fatty acids from trans fat into saturated fatty acids. Fully hydrogenated soybean oil is still not a healthy choice however, for reasons I’ll explain below. The following slide presentation explains the technical aspects relating to the hydrogenation process.

This is a Flash-based video and may not be viewable on mobile devices.

 

The Health Hazards of Trans Fats Found in Partially Hydrogenated Oil

The completely unnatural man-made fats created through the partial hydrogenation process cause dysfunction and chaos in your body on a cellular level, and studies have linked trans-fats to:

Cancer, by interfering with enzymes your body uses to fight cancer	Chronic health problems such as obesity, asthma, auto-immune disease, cancer, and bone degeneration
Diabetes, by interfering with the insulin receptors in your cell membranes	Heart disease, by clogging your arteries (Among women with underlying coronary heart disease, eating trans-fats increased the risk of sudden cardiac arrest three-fold!)
Decreased immune function, by reducing your immune response	Increase blood levels of low density lipoprotein (LDL), or "bad" cholesterol, while lowering levels of high density lipoprotein (HDL), or "good" cholesterol
Reproductive problems by interfering with enzymes needed to produce sex hormones	Interfering with your body’s use of beneficial omega-3 fats

As usual, it took many years before conventional health recommendations caught up and began warning about the use of trans fats. Not surprisingly, as soon as the FDA required food manufacturers to list trans fat content on the label — which took effect on January 1, 2006 — the industry began searching for viable alternatives to appeal to consumers who increasingly began looking for the “No Trans Fat” designation. It didn’t take long before Monsanto had tinkered forth a genetically engineered soybean that is low in linolenic acid, which we’ll get to in a moment.

Beware that some food manufacturers have opted to simply fool buyers — a tactic allowed by the FDA as any product containing up to half a gram of trans fat per serving can still legally claim to have zero trans fat². The trick is to reduce the serving size to bring it below this threshold. At times, this will result in unreasonably tiny serving sizes, so any time you check a label and a serving is something like 10 chips or one cookie, it probably contains trans fats.

The Health Hazards of Soybeans

Besides the health hazards related to the trans fats created by the partial hydrogenation process, soybean oil is, in and of itself, NOT a healthy oil. Add to that the fact that the majority of soy grown in the US is genetically engineered, which may have additional health consequences. When taken together, partially hydrogenated GE soybean oil becomes one of the absolute worst types of oils you can consume.

Years ago, tropical oils, such as palm and coconut oil, were commonly used in American food production. However, these are obviously not grown in the US. With the exception of Hawaii, our climate isn't tropical enough. Spurred on by financial incentives, the industry devised a plan to shift the market from tropical oils to something more "home grown." As a result, a movement was created to demonize and vilify tropical oils in order to replace them with domestically grown oils such as corn and soy.

The fat in soybean oil is primarily omega-6 fat. And while we do need some, it is rare for anyone to be deficient as it is pervasive in our diet. Americans in general consume FAR too much omega-6 in relation to omega-3 fat, primarily due to the excessive amount of omega-6 found in processed foods. Omega-6 fats are in nearly every animal food and many plants, so deficiencies are very rare. This omega-6 fat is also highly processed and therefore damaged, which compounds the problem of getting so much of it in your diet. The omega-6 found in soybean oil promotes chronic inflammation in your body, which is an underlying issue for virtually all chronic diseases.

 

What About Organic Soybean Oil?

Even if you were fortunate enough to find organic soybean oil, there are still several significant concerns that make it far from attractive from a health standpoint. Soy in and of itself, organically grown or not, contains a number of problematic components that can wreak havoc with your health, such as:

• Goitrogens – Goitrogens, found in all unfermented soy whether it's organic or not, are substances that block the synthesis of thyroid hormones and interfere with iodine metabolism, thereby interfering with your thyroid function.
• Isoflavones: genistein and daidzein – Isoflavones are a type of phytoestrogen, which is a plant compound resembling human estrogen, which is why some recommend using soy therapeutically to treat symptoms of menopause. I believe the evidence is highly controversial and doubt it works. Typically, most of us are exposed to too much estrogen compounds and have a lower testosterone level than ideal, so it really is important to limit exposure to feminizing phytoestrogens. Even more importantly, there's evidence it may disturb endocrine function, cause infertility, and promote breast cancer, which is definitely a significant concern.
• Phytic acid -- Phytates (phytic acid) bind to metal ions, preventing the absorption of certain minerals, including calcium, magnesium, iron, and zinc -- all of which are co-factors for optimal biochemistry in your body. This is particularly problematic for vegetarians, because eating meat reduces the mineral-blocking effects of these phytates.
Sometimes it can be beneficial, especially in postmenopausal women and in most adult men because we tend to have levels of iron that are too high which can be a very potent oxidant and cause biological stress. However, phytic acid does not necessarily selectively inhibit just iron absorption; it inhibits all minerals. This is very important to remember, as many already suffer from mineral deficiencies from inadequate diets.
The soybean has one of the highest phytate levels of any grain or legume, and the phytates in soy are highly resistant to normal phytate-reducing techniques such as long, slow cooking. Only a long period of fermentation will significantly reduce the phytate content of soybeans.

• Natural toxins known as "anti-nutrients" -- Soy also contains other anti-nutritional factors such as saponins, soyatoxin, protease inhibitors, and oxalates. Some of these factors interfere with the enzymes you need to digest protein. While a small amount of anti-nutrients would not likely cause a problem, the amount of soy that many Americans are now eating is extremely high.
• Hemagglutinin -- Hemagglutinin is a clot-promoting substance that causes your red blood cells to clump together. These clumped cells are unable to properly absorb and distribute oxygen to your tissues.

 

Worst of All — Genetically Engineered Soybean Oil

The genetically engineered (GE) variety planted on over 90 percent of US soy acres is Roundup Ready — engineered to survive being doused with otherwise lethal amounts of Monsanto's Roundup herbicide. The logic behind Roundup Ready crops such as soy is that you can decrease the cost of production by killing off everything except the actual soy plant.

However, animal studies reveal there may be significant adverse health effects from these GE soybeans, including progressively increased rates of infertility with each passing generation. By the third generation, virtually all the hamsters in one feeding study were found to be infertile. Second-generation hamsters raised on GE soy also had a five-fold higher infant mortality rate.

 

Are Low-Linolenic Soybeans the Answer?

We now also have other Monsanto-made soy crops to contend with. Responding to the growing demand for healthier diets, Monsanto launched Vistive low-linolenic soybeans in 2005. Most soybeans contain roughly seven percent linolenic acid. The new varieties contain one to three percent. As explained by Monsanto³:

“The oil from these beans can reduce or virtually eliminate trans fat in processed soybean oil... Vistive low-linolenic soybeans have lower levels of linolenic acid. Because of these lower levels, which were achieved through traditional breeding practices⁴, the oil produced by Vistive low-linolenic seeds does not require hydrogenation, the process that is used to increase shelf life and flavor stability in fried foods, baked goods, snack products and other processed foods.”

Yet another soybean variety created by Monsanto is the high stearate soybean, which also has the properties of margarine and shortening without hydrogenation. But are these soybeans any better or safer than either conventional soybeans or Roundup Ready soybeans, even though they don’t have to go through partial hydrogenation, and therefore do not contain trans fat? No one knows.

 

Another Hazard of GE Soybeans: Glyphosate

I keep stacking health risks upon health risks, and here’s another one: Research has shown that soybean oil from Roundup Ready soy is loaded with glyphosate, the main ingredient in Roundup — the broad-spectrum herbicide created by Monsanto.

According to a report in the journal Chemical Research in Toxicology, the highest MRL for glyphosate in food and feed products in the EU is 20 mg/kg. GE soybeans have been found to contain residue levels as high as 17 mg/kg, and malformations in frog and chicken embryos occurred at 2.03 mg/kg.⁵ That's 10 times lower than the MRL.

This is an alarming finding because glyphosate is easily one of the world's most overlooked poisons. Research published in 2010 showed that the chemical, which works by inhibiting an enzyme called EPSP synthase that is necessary for plants to grow, causes birth defects in frogs and chicken embryos at far lower levels than used in agricultural and garden applications.⁶ The malformations primarily affected the:

• Skull
• Face
• Midline and developing brain
• Spinal cord

When applied to crops, glyphosate becomes systemic throughout the plant, so it cannot be washed off. And once you eat this crop, the glyphosate ends up in your gut where it can decimate your beneficial bacteria. This can wreak havoc with your health as 80 percent of your immune system resides in your gut (GALT – Gut Associated Lymph Tissue) and is dependent on a healthy ratio of good and bad bacteria. Separate research has also uncovered the following effects from glyphosate:

Endocrine disruption	DNA damage
Developmental toxicity	Neurotoxicity
Reproductive toxicity	Cancer

 

To Avoid Harmful Fats of All Kinds, Ditch Processed Foods

If you want to avoid dangerous fats of all kinds, your best bet is to eliminate processed foods from your diet. From there, use these tips to make sure you're eating the right fats for your health:

• Use organic butter (preferably made from raw milk) instead of margarines and vegetable oil spreads. Butter is a healthy whole food that has received an unwarranted bad rap.
• Use coconut oil for cooking. It is far superior to any other cooking oil and is loaded with health benefits.
• Be sure to eat raw fats, such as those from avocados, raw dairy products, olive oil, olives, organic pastured eggs, and raw nuts, especially macadamia nuts which are relatively low in protein. Also take a high-quality source of animal-based omega-3 fat, such as krill oil.

Following my comprehensive nutrition plan will automatically reduce your trans-fat intake, as it will give you a guide to focus on healthy whole foods instead of processed junk food. Remember, virtually all processed foods will contain either HFCS (probably made from genetically engineered corn) and/or soybean oil — either in the form of partially hydrogenated soybean oil, which is likely made from GE soybeans, loaded with glyphosate, or from one of the newer soybean varieties that were created such that they do not need to be hydrogenated. They’re ALL bad news, if you value your health.

[-] Sources and References

• ¹ Soyinfocenter.com
• ² Harvard, Trans fats
• ³ Monsanto.com Vistive Low-Linolenic Soybeans
• ⁴ Monsanto.com Plant Breeding Practices
• ⁵ Chemical Research in Toxicology 2010; 23(10):1586–1595
• ⁶ Chemical Research in Toxicology 2010; 23(10):1586–1595

Source: Soybean Oil: One of the Most Harmful Ingredients in Processed Foods

Broccoli for Leukemia Treatment

Take Another Bite of Broccoli And Treat Leukemia Naturally

Danica Collins

Did you know…

that a natural compound in broccoli may hold the key to treating leukemia naturally?

Scientists have uncovered yet another reason to eat your broccoli and Brussel sprouts (and their cruciferous veggie cousins such as cauliflower, kale, cabbage and bokchoy). That’s because sulforaphane a nutrient found in cruciferous vegetables has the power to destroy leukemia cells.

Impressive Research Results with Aggressive Cancer

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia is a cancer of the white blood cells that tends to strike children. Eighty percent of the time, conventional treatments are successful, but sulforaphane holds promise for the 20% of patients who don’t respond to traditional cancer therapies.

Researchers from Baylor College of Medicine in Texas incubated sulforaphane with cells of acute lymphoblastic leukemia taken from both human and mouse cell lines. Sulforaphane eradicated cancer cells in both the mouse and human cells. Like other natural compounds, sulforaphane killed the cancer cells without harming healthy cells obtained from cancer-free patients.

Scientists believe that sulforaphane annihilates cancer cells by reacting with certain proteins know to cause apoptosis (cell death). Sulforaphane has also been shown to detoxify carcinogens before they damage the cell.

Published in the highly respected peer-reviewed journal PLOS ONE, this study is remarkable in that it is the first trustworthy trial to show sulforaphane’s potential ability to treat blood cell cancers such as leukemia.

Other research has confirmed sulforaphone’s cancer-fighting properties and its ability to treat leukemia naturally as well.

Just a few examples include…

• Clinical Cancer Research published a study that demonstrated that sulforaphone not only destroyed breast cancer stem cells in mice and lab cultures, but also prevented future cancer cells from forming.
• A 2011 study published in Molecular Nutrition & Food showed that sulforaphane protects against prostate cancer.
• Many studies have found that broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables such as cabbage and cauliflower contain potent cancer-fighting properties. They are packed with antioxidants and carotenoids and have been proven to protect against cancers of the stomach, esophagus, colon, lung, larynx, prostate, mouth, pharynx, ovaries, breast and cervix.
• A meta-analysis published in of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association found that more than 70% of studies showed a connection between cruciferous vegetables and cancer protection.

Prepare with Care

Experts caution that you must prepare your cruciferous veggies with care. In 2009, the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry reported that cooking destroys up to 90% of the natural sulforaphane found in cruciferous veggies. Protect the healing compounds in your veggies by either eating your veggies raw or steaming them lightly.

You can also get added support from the cruciferous family through certain nutritional supplements that provide a daily dose of cruciferous vegetables’ early sprouts.

However you choose to consume, experts agree that you should make cruciferous vegetables part of your daily nutrition plan for optimal health and wellness.

Further Related Reading:

• Broccoli Sprouts Are An Intense Natural Cancer Cure
• Pineapple Enzyme Bromelain Destroys Cancer
• Is Kale the New Spinach?

Source: Take Another Bite of Broccoli And Treat Leukemia Naturally

Gatorade Removing Controversial Ingredient

Gatorade Removing Controversial Ingredient But Denies It’s Because Of Teen’s Campaign

Fri, 01/25/2013 - 16:00 EDT

A few weeks after a 15-year-old started an online petition to tell Gatorade to get rid of brominated vegetable oil, an ingredient linked to flame retardants, its parent company PepsiCo says it’s pulling the controversial ingredient from the sports drink. But not because of that petition, says the company. Nope, because of everyone else who was complaining.

A spokeswoman made sure the distinction was clear, saying the company began “hearing rumblings” in the past year from consumers concerned about the ingredient, reports the Associated Press. She reportedly said it was not a response to the Mississippi teen’s Change.org petition. Because she’s not a consumer that rumbled in the past year?

The teen’s petition highlighted the fact that brominated vegetable oil has been patented as a flame retardant and is considered unsafe for consumption in Japan as well as by the European Union. As of today the petition she started had more than 200,000 supporters.

PepsiCo’s spokeswoman says its’ used as an emulsifier so that flavoring doesn’t get clumpy. It’s also used in other drinks like Mountain Dew and Coca-Cola products like Fanta and some Powerade flavors.

She says the move is not because the company thinks BVO is unsafe, but to address concerns expressed specifically by Gatorade customers. Again — not, ostensibly, the Mississippi teen’s concerns. Just everyone else’s.

As for the teen, named Sarah, she said via a press release from Change.org that she’s excited about how things have turned out.

“When I went to Change.org to start my petition, I thought it might get a lot of support because no one wants to gulp down flame retardant, especially from a drink they associate with being healthy,” she said. “But with Gatorade being as big as they are, sometimes it was hard to know if we’d ever win. This is so, so awesome.”

“Companies like Gatorade put so much thought into marketing,” she added. “As someone who loves to drink their products, I’m so glad they’re making strides to put as much consideration into their customers’ health.”

She started her petition after researching the ingredients in a Gatorade she was drinking, and was inspired in part by a Scientific American article that linked BVO to ill health effects, especially in children.

http://www.bullfax.com/?q=node-gatorade-removing-controversial-ingredient-denies-it



Gatorade to remove controversial ingredient

Candice Choi, Associated Press5:37p.m. EST January 25, 2013

The sports drink is replacing brominated vegetable oil, used to distribute flavoring evenly.
 



Gatorade is removing brominated vegetable oil, which is used as an emulsifier.(Photo: Michael Keating, AP)

Story Highlights

• Firm: The move has been in the works for the past year
• The ingredient is listed in other drinks, too
• FDA has not banned the ingredient

NEW YORK — PepsiCo Inc. is removing a controversial ingredient, brominated vegetable oil, from its Gatorade sports drink in response to customer complaints.

A spokeswoman for the company, Molly Carter, said Friday that the move was in the works for the past year after the company began "hearing rumblings" from consumers about the ingredient. She said it wasn't a response to a recent petition on Change.org by a Mississippi teenager.

The ingredient is also listed in other drinks, including some flavors of Powerade, made by rival Coca-Cola Co. The Atlanta-based company did not say whether it would remove the ingredient from Powerade as well but noted that it takes customers' concerns into account when looking for ways to improve its drinks.

Ingredients in food and drinks have come under greater scrutiny in recent years, helped by the ability of consumers to mobilize online. The petition on Change.org noted that brominated vegetable oil has been patented as a flame retardant and is banned in Japan and the European Union. It had more than 200,000 supporters Friday.

For Gatorade, Carter said the ingredient is used as an "emulsifier," meaning it distributes flavoring evenly so that it doesn't collect at the surface. She said it was used only in select flavors including such as orange and citrus. Brominated vegetable oil, or BVO, is still used in other drinks, including Coca-Cola's Fanta and PepsiCo's Mountain Dew.

A spokesman for competitor Dr Pepper Snapple Group was not available to comment on whether the ingredient is used in any of its drinks.

Carter noted that the ingredient is not banned by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and that the decision wasn't the result of any health or safety concerns. She said it was to address concerns expressed specifically by Gatorade customers.

PepsiCo is replacing BVO in Gatorade with an ingredient called sucrose acetate isobutyrate, which will maintain the flavor and taste of the drinks.

PepsiCo's decision to remove the ingredient from Gatorade was first reported by the trade journal Beverage Digest.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/01/25/gatorade-controversial-ingredient/1865155/

How to Detox with Chlorella

January 28, 2013                   

Story at-a-glance

• Exposures to heavy metals and other toxins are now so widespread, regular detoxing is more or less an essential part of life, especially if you’re planning a pregnancy
• Chlorella is a potent detox agent for mercury and other heavy metals. In one animal study, mice given chlorella along with methylmercury excreted about twice the amount of mercury compared to those not given chlorella
• Continuous administration of chlorella has also been found to significantly lower the amount of methylmercury transferred from pregnant mice to their offspring
• Methylmercury is a neurotoxic compound. The two primary sources of mercury exposure is from dental fillings and seafood, which is why pregnant women are advised to abstain from fish and avoid so-called ‘silver fillings’

By Dr. Mercola

Chlorella, single-celled fresh water algae, is often referred to as a near-perfect food, with a wide range of health benefits.

A recent study investigated the effects of chlorella on methylmercury transfer to fetuses during pregnancy. Pregnant mice were fed diets containing either 0% or 10% chlorella powder, along with methylmercury in their drinking water.

Two neonates were randomly selected from each mother mouse within 24 hours of birth, and examined for mercury in the blood, brain, liver, and kidneys. The mothers were also examined for mercury. According to the study:¹

"The blood and brain [mercury] levels of both neonates and mothers in the [chlorella powder] diet group were significantly lower...

The results obtained here revealed that continuous [chlorella powder] intake suppressed [methylmercury] transfer to the fetus, in addition to effective suppressing [methylmercury] accumulation in brains of the mothers."

Methylmercury is a neurotoxic compound widely used in industrial applications. It accumulates in fish, which has led to widespread advisories against fish consumption by pregnant women. In fetuses and developing infants it can have negative effects on attention span, language, visual-spatial skills, memory and coordination. An estimated 60,000 children each year are born at risk for neurological problems due to methylmercury exposure in the womb.
 

Do You Need to Detox?

Heavy metal toxicity, just like chemical toxicity, has become one of the most pressing health hazards of our day. Whether you recognize it or not, your body is assailed by chemicals and heavy metals on a daily basis. The two primary sources of mercury exposure are:

• Seafood
• Dental fillings (mercury amalgams, better known as 'silver fillings')

The average individual has eight amalgam fillings, from which they could absorb up to 120 micrograms of mercury per day. For comparison, estimates of the daily absorption of mercury from fish and seafood are 2.3 micrograms, and from all other foods, air, and water is 0.3 micrograms per day. Adults with four or more amalgams run a significant risk of mercury-related health problems from them, while in children as few as two amalgams will contribute to health problems.

It's important to realize that mercury and other heavy metals accumulate in your body, and your levels therefore increase with age. Such bioaccumulation also poses a direct threat to the developing fetus in pregnant women, as mentioned above.

While detoxing was once considered a 'fad,' in today's world, regular detoxing has become more or less a necessity, especially if you're planning a pregnancy. It's wise for most people to proactively remove metals from their body before becoming plagued by symptoms. If you already have symptoms (see below), then ridding your body of metals may help resolve them.

Cilantro can be used as a synergetic aid along with chlorella. It's particularly useful to take when consuming seafood.

Chlorella's effectiveness was demonstrated in a study last year,² where mice given chlorella along with methylmercury excreted approximately twice the amount of methylmercury in their urine and feces, compared to mice not treated with chlorella.
 

Signs and Symptoms of Mercury Toxicity

As mercury and other heavy metals build up in your body over time, they can produce chronic symptoms that you might never associate with your love for sushi, or your dental fillings. Mercury is especially damaging to your central nervous system (CNS), and studies show that mercury in the CNS causes psychological, neurological, and immunological problems. Some of the symptoms of mercury build-up and toxicity include:

Fatigue	Aching joints	Depression, irritability, anxiety
Digestive distress and reduced ability to properly assimilate and utilize fats	Impaired blood sugar regulation	Female reproductive problems such as menstrual difficulties, infertility, miscarriage, pre-eclampsia, pregnancy-induced hypertension and premature birth
Neuron degeneration	Central nervous system damage	Kidney damage

 

Mercury Testing: What You Need to Know

Traditional mercury testing involves testing either your hair, blood, urine, or stool.  

Challenge tests that implement a chelating chemical, such as DMPS or DMSA, are also commonly used. However, all of these tests have drawbacks. They primarily measure total mercury load — and inaccurately at that. But most importantly they don’t give you any information about the forms of mercury in your system or how efficiently you are getting rid of them.

Traditional mercury tests don’t answer questions like, how much of your mercury load is from the seafood you eat? How much from amalgams? How well are your kidneys and liver eliminating it?

The two principal forms of mercury accumulate differently in your body, and are eliminated by different pathways. For example, mercury levels in your hair only reflect the mercury from the fish you eat. But mercury levels in your urine reflect the mercury coming from your dental fillings (plus some of the fish-based methylmercury that has broken down into inorganic mercury). The only way to determine if there is a problem is to compare your hair and urine levels with levels in your blood. So, if mercury testing is to be meaningful, it must measure both of the following:

1. Exposure level: Overall mercury level for each of the two main forms of mercury (methylmercury, related to your fish/seafood consumption, and inorganic mercury, related to dental amalgam exposure)
2. Excretion ability: How well your body is getting rid of each kind of mercury, regardless of your overall mercury level

A newer testing method called “mercury speciation” does just this — it measures both of these factors. This test uses blood, urine and hair to give you a more comprehensive picture of how your body is eliminating mercury and where the process may be blocked. 

This information can be immensely helpful in preparing a successful detoxification plan. For more information about mercury speciation testing, refer to my recent interview with Dr. Shade below.

Download Interview Transcript

 

How to Use Chlorella

Preferably, you'll want to take it in the morning. Many chlorella products are sold in small tablets, typically 500 mg each, which means you should take several tablets a day. According to Ginny Banks, an expert in functional foods and nutraceuticals:

"It's not something that you just take occasionally like some herbs or some supplements. Chlorella is something you want to be taking every day… You need to be getting at least 4 grams each day of chlorella to get the benefits that it provides."

I recommend starting with a lower dose and slowly work your way up to 4 grams. Taking it with food can help alleviate nausea. Mild diarrhea may also occur. For more information and guidance on detoxing mercury, please see my full protocol.
 

To Get the Health Benefits, Make Sure You're Getting a Good Product

One of the most important factors to consider when purchasing a chlorella product is its digestibility. The key to its detoxing abilities lies within the membrane of this single cell, but the cell wall of chlorella is actually indigestible to humans.

"Broken cell wall" is the term most often used to describe that it has been rendered digestible. If a product does not specify that the cell wall has been broken, you're likely flushing your money down the toilet as the chlorella will simply pass right through you without doing you any good. And detox is certainly not the only benefit that you'll miss out on.

Chlorella has a number of other health benefits. The web site GreenMedInfo has assembled a list of studies³ that found evidence of over 40 different health conditions that chlorella can help to prevent or ease. Here's a sampling of some of the health benefits associated with this green algae:

Repairing nerve tissues	Increasing your energy levels
Enhancing your immune system	Normalizing your blood sugar
Improving digestion	Normalizing your blood pressure
Promoting healthy pH levels in your gut, which in turn helps good bacteria to thrive	Removing potentially toxic metals from your body

 

Overall CAUTION

It is important to realize that any mercury detoxification is a marathon and NOT a sprint. You do NOT want to do this quickly. Even if you believe you are healthy you want to start this process SLOWLY as you could easily cause severe flare ups. I am one of the healthiest people I know and when I did my program I did it over six months. Some people may need to do it far more slowly and may need a few years to effectively eliminate the mercury safely.

Your Most Important Goal: Removing the Source of Exposure

The very first goal is to plug the hole in your leaking ship. You must remove your source of mercury exposure, whether it’s primarily from the seafood you eat or from amalgams (or both). Mercury speciation testing, as described above, can help you identify which source is problematic. There is little point in embarking on a major detox mission if you continue exposing yourself to the offender... that’s like trying to bail water out of a sinking boat. Avoid the consumption of contaminated fish and seafood. Most fish and seafood are now contaminated, unfortunately, but some types are worse than others.  

Avoiding fish is relatively easy, but having your amalgams removed is more involved and costly and must be done with great care. You should do this ONLY with the help of a qualified biological dentist as you can become quite ill if your amalgams are extracted incorrectly.

However, if you have a mouthful of amalgams it is no mystery that you have exposure that ideally needs to be addressed. Just be very careful about jumping from the frying pan into the fire and have your mercury amalgam fillings removed by a non-biological dentist like I did. That mistake caused very serious damage to my kidneys that still troubles me 20 years later. You can find a trained and qualified dentist from the following list:

• International Academy of Oral Medicine & Toxicology (IAOMT)
• International Academy of Biological Dentistry and Medicine (IABDM)
• ToxicTeeth.org
• Holistic Dental Association
• Dental Amalgam Mercury Solutions (DAMS)
• Huggins Applied Healing

[-] Sources and References

• ¹ The Influence of Parachlorella beyerinckii CK-5 on the absorption and excretion of methylmercury (MeHg) in Mice, Journal of Toxicological Sciences, Oc
• ² The Influence of Parachlorella beyerinckii CK-5 on the absorption and excretion of methylmercury (MeHg) in Mice, Journal of Toxicological Sciences, Oc
• ³ Chlorella (Algae), GreenMedInfo.

Source: How to Detox with Chlorella

Umeboshi Plum for Gallbladder Health

Fact or Myth: Can Umeboshi Reverse a Gallbladder Attack?

Danica Collins

This is a FACT.

The digestive health benefit of umeboshi – pickled plums – has been used in Asian culture for hundreds of years.

The ume plum is closely related to the apricot and is part of the Prunus mume family. Though there is only one species of ume there are over 300 varieties.

When compared to standard plums, umes tend to be smaller and not as sweet. Ume plums are sometimes used to make wine or vinegar. Usually they are pickled, then dried and cured for several months. The finished product resembles a skinny prune. The sea salt used in their creation may not make them a good choice for those on a low-sodium diet.

Umeboshi is made from pickling the plum (ume) with sea salt (bo) to leave (shi).

They are a low calorie food with trace amounts of potassium, iron, fat, fiber, protein and vitamin C. In the eight-century, Samurai warriors used umes to combat battle fatigue and purify food and water.

Umeboshi is still a staple food in many Japanese households. It is typically eaten at breakfast along with several cups of green tea.

The alkaline fruit has been shown to help balance the acid in your body – acid imbalance is a common problem among vegetarians who consume high levels of grains and nuts.

Restoring the acid-alkaline balance is easily accomplished by adding very small quantities of umeboshi to the macrobiotic diet. Umeboshi plum benefits have a multitude of health benefits, including acting as a proven detoxifier and digestive tonic for many conditions.


Umeboshi Helps Ease…

• Gallbladder attacks resulting from food intolerance
• Stomach upset, as well as morning sickness and motion sickness
• Hangover by more efficiently metabolizing alcohol
• Food poisoning, diarrhea and constipation
• Fatigue by fighting the effects of acid produced during physical activity
• Bowel discomfort caused by intestinal worms, fungi and bad gut bacteria
• Food intolerance, which often leads to other digestive conditions

When your body has difficulty digesting food, microscopic food particles become stuck in your gastrointestinal tract. These food particles can result in gallstones, irritable bowel conditions and general sluggishness.

Umeboshi eaten regularly helps to flush these particles from your system. This prevents gallbladder flare-ups. It also prevents gallstones from forming. Gallstones create blockages and cause intense pain and inflammation.

Doctors are often quick to remove the gallbladder. It is the organ responsible for bile storage which takes excess stress off the liver. Without it, overall fat metabolism and the distribution of nutrients throughout the body is affected and the liver is forced to work harder to compensate. Umeboshi plum benefits help detoxify your gallbladder and keep it at peak health. All surgery involves risk! Avoiding preventable operations is just good sense.

Natural Umeboshi Plum Benefits

• Antioxidant – fights the negative effects of oxidation
• Antibiotic – inhibits the growth of bacteria
• Antiseptic – prevents infection
• Anti-diarrheal – prevents and/or stops all forms of diarrhea
• Anthelmintic – expels intestinal worms
• Anti-typhoid – fights fever

New York University discovered in 1890 that the citric and malic acids found in umeboshi were effective in the prevention of tuberculosis – a bacterial infection that starts in the lungs and can quickly spread throughout the body.

Dried plum extract has even higher concentrations of antioxidants and is often used as a tonic with honey and tea. The cooked down extract has a citric acid content that is approximately 25 times greater than that of lemon juice, but without the salt content found in the pickled variety.

Umeboshi can be added to many dishes or used as a dressing over cooked foods. The sweet and sour flavor especially compliments beef and chicken. It can also be used as a garnish to prevent spoilage during the summer months or as a dressing over salad. Mix it with sake (rice wine) and a small amount of soy sauce for a unique flavor, and to balance good intestinal bacteria.

The versatile health benefits of umeboshi plum benefits are well-documented in the world of holistic and alternative medicine and traditional science is beginning to take notice.

Source: Fact or Myth: Can Umeboshi Reverse a Gallbladder Attack?

Therapeutic Benefits of Milk Thistle

Therapeutic Benefits of Milk Thistle: Boost Your Lymphatic System

Danica Collins |

Did you know…

that milk thistle is not only a natural treatment for liver disorders…but also slows the growth of skin, breast and prostate cancer…and prevents and treats gallstones?

Milk thistle (Silybum marianum) is a flowering plant belonging to the daisy family. It is named for the milky white fluid that oozes from its leaves when squeezed. Its ripe seeds are used to make an herbal nutrient that has been used for over 2,000 years, as a natural remedy for liver and gallbladder disorders, such as hepatitis C, jaundice, and cirrhosis.

It has also been used to treat malaria, melancholy, and the plague—and is believed to reduce the effects of toxins, such as poisonous mushrooms.

Benefits of milk thistle’s therapeutic properties originate from a compound know as silymarin, which is made up of 3 flavonoids with superior antioxidant and anti-inflammatory capabilities. Silymarin repairs and detoxifies the liver by producing new liver cells—defending against toxic damage, improving overall liver function, and removing waste build-up.

Promotes Circulatory, Lymphatic and Cardiovascular Health—and Prevents Alzheimer’s Disease

The 20th century ushered in a host of milk thistle health benefits beyond its original therapeutic usefulness as a liver detoxification aid.

Today, the benefits of milk thistle is used to:

• Lower cholesterol levels, which improves cardiovascular health
• Decrease the proliferation of cancer cells in breast, lung, colon,prostate, cervical and renal cancers
• Lessen cell damage caused by chemotherapy and radiation treatments
• Prevent Alzheimer’s disease
• Stabilize blood sugar levels
• Defend against premature aging
• Protect against sun damage and other problematic skin conditions
• Fight free radical damage with its antioxidant properties
• Treat menopausal symptoms
• Remedy intestinal and indigestion issues
• Treat the symptoms of death cap mushroom (Amanita phalloides) poisoning

Benefits of milk thistle protects the entire circulatory system by helping the liver flush out toxins from the blood, thereby keeping the blood moving easily through the bloodstream.

Prevents and Treats Cancer—and Boosts Lymphatic System

Early studies in test tubes and laboratory animals have shown that the silymarin compound in milk thistle may help prevent and treat cancer. Human studies are, of course, necessary to discover the role silymarin may play in cancer prevention and treatment in people.

More benefits of milk thistle also aids the lymphatic system, which is a major component of immune health. The spleen, often referred to as the “heart” of the lymph system, is particularly affected by milk thistle. These benefits of milk thistle have been shown to effectively treat spleen disorders such as an inflamed spleen, which is the result of an overworked and sluggish liver.

Many health experts believe that a 200 mg daily dose of milk thistle promotes overall intestinal health, treating digestive problems, such as constipation. Constipation occurs when the intestines contract too slowly to adequately move waste into the colon for elimination.

Milk thistle produces a laxative effect by encouraging the production of bile, which is responsible for breaking down fats and cholesterol in the intestines—and stimulating bowel movements. By increasing bile production, the benefits of milk thistle also decreases the risk of developing gallstones.

Milk thistle is also a demulcent, which means it softens and moisturizes the mucous membranes, healing inflamed intestinal walls and calming the symptoms of digestive disorders such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). It likewise soothes inflamed gallbladders, helping to clear away stagnation by removing the gunk that can obstruct gallbladder ducts. Milk thistle is also used to treat and prevent gallstones—as it helps to slowly dissolve these hard, mineralized stones.

Before implementing milk thistle as part of your healthcare regimen, consult the advice of a physician. Side effects are mild and may include stomach upset, diarrhea and rash.

Do not take if pregnant or breastfeeding, or if you have been diagnosed with prostate, uterine or breast cancer. You must also avoid supplementing with milk thistle if you are taking any blood thinning, allergy, anxiety, cholesterol, seizure, or cancer medications.

Source: Therapeutic Benefits of Milk Thistle: Boost Your Lymphatic System