IntroductionLet’s face it. Even when the stress of the holidays end, stress continues to be a major aspect of modern life at any time of the year, and those who learn to deal with stress effectively enjoy a huge advantage. Developing resilience and stress-resistance, although no small feat, is possible by taking a pro-active approach to cultivating physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health.A program of regular exercise is central to such an approach. Unfortunately, committing to regular exercise is challenging, and only a minority sticks with it over time. Maybe looking at the ways that exercise promotes stress-resistance will strengthen your resolve to begin a program of regular exercise or stick with one you’ve already begun.According to Timothy Church, exercise researcher and professor of preventive medicine at Louisiana State University, when you exercise, your nervous system makes a shift from the sympathetic mode (the stressful mode) to the parasympathetic mode (the restf…

Although Americans need to eat more fresh fruits and vegetables, the food gurus these days aren't pushing fruits as much as they once were. That's because more information has come out about fructose, the sugar in fruit. While fine in moderation, in excessive amounts, fructose can be toxic. That's why at Beyond Health, we've always recommended not exceeding more than two pieces of fruit a day. But one fruit the experts still recommend is berries, including strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, cranberries and raspberries. Why? Because no fruit offers so much nutritional value for the calories and fructose it delivers. Berries for Disease Prevention Berries are chock-full of phytonutrients (translation: nutrients in plants) that are some of the world's most powerful antioxidants and anti-inflammatories. Since oxidation and inflammation are fundamental processes in all disease, it's not surprising that scientists have been finding that berries help to prevent and curb every…

. . . new research finds connection between a healthy gut and cruciferous greensA startling discovery has, in the words of one of the researchers involved, “thrown open a completely new way of looking at gut biology.” Certain immune cells that protect the digestive tract from bad bacteria may be controlled by green, cruciferous vegetables in the diet.Dr. Gabrielle Belz and her colleagues have found that a gene called T-bet is responsible for the production of these gut-protective immune cells, called innate lymphoid cells (ILCs). The T-bet gene, in turn, is influenced by both bacteria in our gut and by what we eat. Specifically, proteins in green, cruciferous vegetables (like broccoli, beet greens, chard, watercress, bok choy, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, and kale) apparently switch the T-bet gene on and may also assist it in producing ILCs.ILCs can be found in the digestive tract lining, where they can certainly be very handy. ILCs help maintain a healthy gut by promoting the good gut m…

. . . new research explains how man’s best friend protects kids from allergies and asthmaDogs have the unique ability to enhance our well-being by providing companionship and security.While the emotional benefits of owning a pet—particularly dogs—is well-established, previous research shows early exposure to dogs reduces a child’s risk of developing asthma and allergies later on. Now, a new study reveals just why that may be.A team of scientists—led by Susan Lynch, PhD, associate professor at the University of California San Francisco—has demonstrated that living with a dog can improve the diversity of bacteria in house dust—and thus a stronger immune response to these allergens.In the study, researchers collected dust from homes that had a dog, and fed it to pre-adult mice. Then, they infected the mice with a common childhood infection called respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).Compared to mice not exposed to any dust, as well as those exposed to dust from homes without dogs, the mice w…

Inflammation is natural to your body - but only to a point. The presence of infection catalyzes this process, which helps your body fight off this intruder and encourages healing. However, your body can also develop chronic inflammation - also called "silent" inflammation due to its abnormal or lack of symptoms. This pattern puts your immune system into overdrive and causes your body's own inflammatory process to go after your organs and tissues. This combination can contribute to a range of inflammatory conditions, from arthritis and heart disease to cancer and Alzheimer's disease. If you've been battling inflammation, learn more about how it develops, and ways you can reduce it naturally.What Is Inflammation?Bacteria, viruses, toxic substances and injuries all instigate the inflammatory process. Your immune system becomes alert, deploying inflammatory cells and cytokines as its defenses. Your body, in response, may experience redness, pain and swelling. These sensations indicate that…

Dr. Margaret Chan, director-general of the World Health Organization, has a grim prognosis for our future: “Antimicrobial resistance is on the rise . . . [As antibiotics lose their effectiveness a] post-antibiotic era means, in effect, an end to modern medicine as we know it. Things as common as strep throat or a child’s scratched knee could once again kill. Some sophisticated interventions, like hip replacements, organ transplants, cancer chemotherapy, and care of preterm infants, would become far more difficult or even too dangerous to undertake.”Well, we aren’t as gloomy about a post-antibiotic era. For all the good they’ve done, antibiotics as we’ve known them have done a whole lot of damage to almost everyone’s intestinal probiotic population, harming immunity and paving the way for all kinds of disease. We need different kinds of antibiotics that don’t indiscriminately kill good and helpful microbes along with the bad, and that the bad bugs won’t build resistance to. Fortunately,…

Like bisphenol A (BPA), many endocrine disruptors are estrogen mimics, also known as xenoestrogens. These copycat estrogens add to your body’s estrogen load and lead to an increasingly common problem in women called “estrogen dominance.” Estrogen dominance is situation in which you have too much estrogen, particularly in relation to the hormone progesterone. Many women’s health issues, including fibrocystic breasts, uterine fibroids, ovarian cysts and hormone-related cancers are associated with estrogen dominance.Our main xenoestrogen exposure comes from pesticides (in produce, in the fat of conventionally raised animals, and in drinking water contaminated with pesticides) and plastics. A recent study found that almost all commercially available plastic products they sampled, including those advertised as BPA-free, leached chemicals having estrogenic activity.It is known that quercetin, a phytonutrient found in high amounts in onions (especially the outer layers) and cranberries; in le…

. . . 2 1/2 years later, the uncertainty about safer radiation levels continuesWhen we last reported, Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant was still spewing radiation into the ground and water 16 months after the environmental catastrophe began. Now 30 months later, the situation appears to have gotten worse, instead of better.Fukushima is affecting the entire northern hemisphere, and its radioactive ocean plume is projected to reach US waters in 2014. Radioactive cesium has already been found in tuna caught off California in 2011, and seaweed in Southern California has measured 500 times more radioactive than seaweed elsewhere in the US. The US West Coast has borne the brunt of hot airborne particles with Seattle receiving radioactive fallout similar to Tokyo.The Fukushima nuclear disaster occurred on March 11, 2011, and was caused by a devastating tsunami triggered by an earthquake off the coast of Japan. Granted, it promised to be a challenge from the start. TEPCO of Japan—…

It seems like every day scientists discover more ways in which eating whole, unprocessed food prevents disease. For example, researchers at the University of Illinois recently found that when they fed the fiber pectin (found in whole fruit, especially apples, citrus and plums) to mice, it greatly increased the mice’s ability to respond to an immune challenge. In other studies, getting adequate dietary fiber has been shown to lower cholesterol as well as the risk of heart disease, diabetes, diverticulosis and obesity, and to protect against cancer through a variety of mechanisms, including providing food for beneficial bacteria in the gut. In one study, women who increased their fiber intake to 30-35 grams a day and maintained it for a year reported 60% less constipation and 30% less heartburn.Yet the modern diet minimizes whole foods that provide fiber – fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, grains, beans and legumes. As a result, although the U.S. Institute of Medicine recommends 28-35 gra…

Spina bifida. Asperger’s syndrome. Tourette’s. Bipolar disorder. Organic brain dysfunction. Stillbirths. Miscarriages. Cancer. . . . could all these be caused by the water you use and drink every day? Alarmingly, the answer is yes!Most public drinking water is less toxic than it was at the marine corps base at Camp Lejeune, in Jacksonville, North Carolina, when the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) declared it a Superfund clean-up site in 1989. But Lejeune’s problems may not be as atypical as you’d think.This past August, the Veterans Administration was required by law to reimburse members of the military and their dependents that lived so much as a month at Camp Lejeune from 1957-1987 and suffered problems like those above as a result of using and drinking Lejeune’s polluted tap water. Total costs are anticipated to be almost $4 billion over the next ten years. Civilian workers may be entitled to additional benefits under a different law.. . . tap water is a major source of toxici…

. . . low-quality supplements just don't cut itA recent survey by the National Center for Health Statistics found alarming and widespread nutrient deficiency even among people taking supplements and eating fortified foods!!Assessing nutrient intake from food, fortification and supplements combined, researchers found that the percentage of individuals aged 2 years and over falling 20% below the Recommended Daily Requirements (which are already too low for optimal health) was:70% for vitamin D 60% for vitamin E 45% for magnesium 38% for calcium 34% for vitamin A 25% for vitamin CSmaller percentages fell below in the B vitamins, zinc, iron, copper, potassium and selenium.Although more Americans are taking multivitamins than ever before (about 40% of the population, and about 80% of these on a daily basis) most people take junk vitamins bought at drugstores and large discount stores. Fortification is helping to supply nutrients, but only cheap and ineffective forms of vitamins and min…

Remember what recess felt like when you were young? That moment when we were finally allowed to run free on the playground? The body hungers for movement just as much as it hungers for food and thirsts for water. We hunger for movement because it is a need -- as essential as any nutrient.Yet after a certain age we begin to think of exercise as a chore – as something we’re supposed to do because it’s good for us. What a set-up for hating it and for good intentions that come to naught!The only way I’ve found to stick with a program of regular exercise is to find something I enjoy doing. Because of my busy schedule, it’s got to be something that doesn’t take up much time and that I can do at home. For me, rebounding fits that bill. Fifteen minutes in the morning wakes me up for the day, and another fifteen minutes at the end of my workday releases any accumulated tension.What’s rebounding? Simply bouncing or jogging up and down on a specially constructed trampoline called a rebounder. It…

More and more consumers have become worried about Bisphenol A, a hormone-disrupting chemical found in food packaging and cash register and credit card receipts. However, many products labeled "BPA-Free" contain alternatives that may not be any safer.BPA is a dangerous toxin, and almost all Americans have detectable levels in their bodies. Hormones work at very small dose levels. Amounts of BPA that are too small to detect by standard analytical methods may still cause damaging biological effects. Hundreds of studies have linked BPA with cancer, heart disease, diabetes, obesity, low thyroid, reproductive issues and more. BPA exposure is especially risky during pregnancy and in early childhood. As a result, certain BPA applications have been banned by various state and local governments in the US, and businesses have begun offering BPA-free alternatives.But a study published in Environmental Health Perspectives last year found that of 455 plastic products tested, both BPA-containing and…

With the 4th of July right around the corner and increasing assault on many of our health freedoms, it’s not always easy to know which health considerations we face matter most in preventing and eliminating disease. With that, we’re highlighting four of the most critical health decisions facing Americans today, as well as ways you can free yourself from the grip of our modern medical and food industries’ failed solutions for healthy living. “Mandated” vaccinations. We’ve said before how vaccinations are one of conventional medicine’s greatest blunders. High amounts of mercury and aluminum provide no health benefits, only brain damage, depressed immunity, autoimmune syndromes, and more.Free yourself by…researching the risks associated with vaccinations. For your convenience, we’ll continue to set the record straight on the dangers of vaccinations for both kids and adults. After you understand the serious nature of these risks, you’ll be ready to exempt yourself from participati…

. . . cancer preventers or giotrogens?Kale is one of a class of vegetables called “crucifers” or “cruciferous vegetables,” and they’re among the most nutritious vegetables around. They possess unique compounds that appear capable of preventing cancer through various mechanisms, helping to eliminate excess and harmful forms of estrogen from the body, supporting detoxification, and even killing H. pylori (the bacteria that cause ulcers and may lead to stomach cancer).But these very same compounds may also interfere with thyroid function and are known as goitrogens (meaning that they can interfere with the function of the thyroid gland, which, in an extreme case, will produce a goiter). Are cruciferous vegetables safe to eat?First, what vegetables are we talking about? Besides kale, the cruciferous vegetables include arugula, beet greens, bok choy, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, broccoli sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, collard greens, cress, horseradish, kohlrabi, mustard greens, radishes, r…

The biggest misconception about osteoporosis is that it can be prevented simply by getting enough calcium in the diet or through supplements. At Beyond Health we often get questions about “what’s the best calcium for building good bones?” On the other hand, many people tell us they’ve heard that supplemental calcium can be dangerous (we’ll get to that later).But first, while we’re glad that more and more women (and men!) of all ages are taking proactive steps to build bones that will last a lifetime, building healthy bone is a little more complicated than just getting enough calcium. Calcium plays many vital roles in our bodies—in energy production, nerve transmission, muscle contraction, blood clotting and more—but it is certainly most well known as the major component of bone (it makes up about 65% of our bones). But like the star player on a football team, calcium can’t “win the game” by itself. It needs a complete team of vitamins and minerals backing it up.For examp…

If you use “antibacterial” soaps, you probably feel you have less chance of getting sick. And you’re not alone. Most people believe these soaps help prevent the spread of germs.But years of aggressive marketing and misinformation have shaped a false public perception of effectiveness for dozens of antibacterial products. In fact, mounting research shows antibacterial ingredients—like triclosan—aren’t any more effective than regular soap and water in preventing infections or the spread of bacteria.This has finally caught the attention of government health officials.Last month, FDA regulators—in collaboration with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)—proposed a new rule governing “antibacterial” personal care products. Up for consideration is whether manufacturers must show that their consumer products are as safe as and more effective than ordinary soap and water.Currently, this proposed rule is open for public debate thru mid-June, 2014. If eventually approved, those companies tha…

. . .  the most complete and potent antioxidant formula on the planetOxidative damage is a primary cause of aging, premature aging and disease.  Our inflammatory diets, toxic environment and less-than-perfect health require high levels of antioxidants to maintain optimal health and prevent disease. Even more antioxidant protection is needed to reverse disease.Because there are different kinds of free radicals and other pro-oxidant compounds, an array of different kinds of antioxidants are needed for complete protection. Until now, antioxidant formulas have provided only lop-sided approaches, offering protection against one or more but not all sources of oxidation.Well, we’re very pleased and excited to introduce Age Defense Formula, the most complete and potent antioxidant product on the planet! Age Defense Formula is a balanced and synergistic formula that concentrates more than 30 different plant extracts — all organic and non-GMO, and all superior sources of antioxidants —…