Recently we’ve been writing about an antioxidant plant flavonoid called quercetin as an essential component of an immune defense arsenal.  But there are many other reasons to include quercetin, which has been used for centuries as a component of healing herbs like St. John’s Wort and Ginkgo Biloba, in your supplement program, whether you want to get well or just stay well. Quercetin is a potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory, and it stimulates the body to produce a wide range of additional antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and detoxifying chemicals. Quercetin has demonstrated anti-diabetic, antiviral, and antibacterial properties.  It supports cardiovascular, urinary, and nervous system health, and has been shown to protect against stress, cataracts, osteoporosis, and heavy metal toxicity.   Quercetin helps shed excess weight, it increases and sustains a high level of energy and endurance, maximizes physical and mental performance, and helps to redu…

Although most people have trouble getting even the minimal 5-9 servings of fruit and vegetables per day. Recommended by the USDA, it seems that everyone agrees that eating lots of fresh fruits and vegetables is very important for optimal good health. But why are fruits and vegetables so good for us?  Well, apart from being high in vitamins, minerals, and fiber, plant foods are good for us because they’re a rich source of antioxidant compounds called polyphenols.  Polyphenols protect plants from the oxidative stress caused by the sun’s UV rays, and by environmental pollution and pathogens. Humans who eat these plants get many benefits from the polyphenols they contain, including protection from asthma, allergies, cancer, cardiovascular disease and high blood pressure, diabetes and infections, as well as inflammation and premature aging.     Over 8,000 different polyphenols have been identified. Quercetin, the most common polyphenol, is also one of the most important and…

According to Tylenol manufacturer Johnson & Johnson, acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol, is used by 50 million Americans each week to treat pain, fever, and the aches and pains associated with cold and flu. It’s become as common as aspirin.And like aspirin, this over-the-counter drug is assumed to be quite safe. In fact, it gained its reputation as being safer than aspirin and the other non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs) because it was, as a famous actress told us in a TV ad, “gentle on the stomach.” Translation: it doesn’t cause gastrointestinal bleeding, while NSAIDs do. Then why would neurologist and pain management specialist Aric Hausknecht, M.D., call it “by far the most dangerous drug ever made?”Perhaps because, although when used in low doses its side effects are generally mild, it is notoriously over-dosed when used to address pain. According to the National Institutes of Health, acetaminophen overdose poisons the liver and leads…