Consumers are finally beginning to bypass sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) and their equally toxic artificially-sweetened alternatives. Some people are nixing coffee to avoid excess caffeine’s stressful effect on their adrenal glands. So what’s left to help you get started in the morning or to provide a rewarding pick-me-up when you begin to flag in the afternoon? Purified water is an option. It can be surprisingly energizing, and even delicious, especially with a squeeze of lemon or lime. Of course most tap water is neither energizing nor delicious because it’s full of chemicals and other stuff we’d rather not even think about. But a Beyond Health Reverse Osmosis Water Filtration System can provide you with pure, great tasting water at pennies per gallon. But what about something a little stronger? Here we come to green tea, a beverage that’s not only very satisfying but a superfood that’s been documented to help prevent just about every disease known to mankind, including…

How many times have you heard that it’s better to get nutrients from food than from supplements? We completely agree! The problem is it’s hard to find real, unprocessed, unadulterated food grown in healthy soils, harvested at its peak and quickly delivered to your table. That’s why the National Academy of Sciences says supplements are necessary. But when real food is available, there’s nothing like it, and we recommend grabbing it with both hands. That’s especially so with a super-nutritious food like olive oil. Real, extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO), unrefined and made from premium quality olives, contains more than a hundred different polyphenols, vitamins and other compounds that protect and repair the body as well as act as anti-inflammatories and antioxidants. But real EVOO is rare! Philip James, a leading nutrition researcher in Great Britain, is a proponent of the Mediterranean Diet, which, you’ve no doubt heard, is one of the healthiest diets in the world. The Mediterra…

It’s Heart Month at Beyond Health. We recently wrote about magnesium and the heart—that magnesium is essential for a healthy heart, and that magnesium deficiency is often the real cause of cardiovascular problems such as high blood pressure, irregular heartbeat, and even heart attacks. Unfortunately magnesium deficiency is epidemic today! It has been estimated that 3/4 of the US population doesn’t consume the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for magnesium. So 75% of us may not even be getting enough magnesium in our diets to prevent severe deficiency disease, let alone achieve optimal health. But add to that the many factors that prevent full utilization of the magnesium we consume (see article below) and you’ve got a real problem that affects almost everyone. But how can you tell if you’re deficient? The blood test most doctors will give you won’t tell you very much.  The body does everything it can to keep blood levels consistent, and will keep pulling magnesium out…

Consuming enough magnesium is only half the battle. For our bodies to utilize it, magnesium needs to be absorbed and get into our cells. However, when you’re deficient in magnesium, you face a paradox.  Cells need magnesium to correct systemic acidity and activate an enzyme that allows them to take up magnesium! Fortunately Raymond Francis’ friend, scientist Russell Jaffe, MD, PhD, found a way around this problem, by combining magnesium with choline citrate, Dr. Jaffe estimates that most people who need magnesium need to take it with choline citrate to benefit from it. This would include about half the population and the majority of people who are chronically ill. So although you will get magnesium in our Beyond Health Multi and Bone Formula, and a little more in our Vitamin C powder or tablets, if you’re experiencing any of the symptoms above, we strongly recommend taking Beyond Health Magnesium with our Choline Citrate. Start with 1 capsule of magnesium and a teaspoon of…

As we all know, weight loss is a HUGE market. There are 1,001 products and programs out there that promise to help our increasingly obese nation shed excess pounds. But, as Raymond Francis pointed out in his breakthrough book, Never Be Fat Again, most of them miss the mark. The only truly effective way to lose weight and keep it off is by addressing excess weight as a health issue. By shifting your focus to becoming truly healthy, the pounds fall off by themselves or are lost with minimal effort. Our bodies were built to be self-regulating. When each one of our cells is operating as it should, our appetites are regulated to eat only what we need; our thyroid glands regulate metabolism so that we burn most of the calories we consume as energy to maintain body temperature and to use as fuel; and many other body systems that affect weight, such as blood sugar, hormone balance, and pH, are regulated as well. The result? An ideal weight. So the trick to losing weight and keeping it o…

Who wants to bet that a thick, juicy steak would satisfy your appetite more completely than a bowl of beans and peas? If you bet on the steak, you would be wrong. A recent study proved it. The reason beans and peas were more satisfying?  Fiber! Researchers fed 43 healthy, normal-weight young men a pork/veal dinner. The meal was 19% protein, 53% carbohydrate and 28% fat, and supplied 6 grams of fiber. The men’s appetites were then scored every half hour for the next three hours. At that point, they were given a second meal and told to eat as much as they wanted. The next day, the same men were fed the same meal, except that the meat was replaced by beans and peas. Although the percentages of protein, carbohydrate and fat were the same as in the first meal, the fiber content was now 25 grams.  The men’s appetites were again monitored, and after three hours they were given a second meal and told to eat as much as they wanted. The results? The men reported being less h…

Children’s energy and zest for living make us adults feel alive and joyful. They seem to epitomize good health. But appearances can be deceiving. Like most Americans today, our children are suffering from poor nutrition and toxicity, the two causes of disease. And while children may appear invulnerable, nutrient deficiencies and toxic exposures are taking a silent and sometimes not-so-silent toll. The truth is that even though the knowledge exists to raise strong, healthy children, it is difficult to find a truly healthy child. Child poverty is a significant problem in the US, but even the children of affluent and highly-educated parents have multiple nutrient deficiencies based on government standards, which are already too low. Meanwhile, chemical use in America has gone up 2,000% over the past half century. More than 85,000 synthetic chemicals (only a tiny fraction of which have been tested for safety in humans) are now found in our air, water, soil, food, household furnish…

It may seem like a simple mathematical equation:  One pound equals about 3,500 calories. If you want to lose one pound, you simply eat less and/or exercise more so that you consume 3,500 less calories than you’re burning. But the truth is more complex. Although if you eat less and exercise more, you can lose weight, most people who take this limited approach have a hard time and often wind up like our friend Debby who reported, “I exhausted myself losing five pounds, but they found me again!” As Raymond Francis says in Never Be Fat Again, overweight is a disease, a disease that can only be cured by normalizing body chemistry. This is done by permanently adopting a holistic lifestyle that supplies the body with all the nutrients it needs to be healthy, and eliminates toxins that interfere with good health. A body in optimal health sustains self-healing, self-regulating mechanisms that automatically shed excess pounds and then maintain a healthy weight. Regular exercise is…

Beyond Health exists for one purpose: to help you get healthy and stay healthy. We’re here with information, products and the enthusiasm that comes from seeing and experiencing the dramatic changes in health and well-being that are possible. (That’s why we call it “beyond” health: we help people go “beyond” what they previously thought possible.) What we need to complete the picture is you! Your participation and feedback allow us to continue to improve our service. So we’re inviting you, as 2017 begins, to consider us your partner on a journey toward becoming stronger, healthier and happier. Let us know how we’re doing in meeting your health needs. We’re available by phone or email, and we want to hear from you. Has a supplement helped you? We want to know! Or has it not lived up to your expectations. We want to know that too. Often a little counseling will solve the problem. Do you have a criticism, suggestion, or question? Althou…

This month our Beyond Health Journey to become stronger and healthier has been all about taking time and space to relax, regroup and renew yourself. Whether that’s the traditional two weeks of vacation or taking time out of your day to have a “mindful cup to tea,” a bike ride, or simply a few minutes to sit outside in the sun (preferably barefoot), it all counts as a deposit in your health bank account. One more way you can build up your health savings account is by pacing yourself at work. You’ll also improve your productivity.  Who wouldn’t want to get more work done in less time, and feel healthier and happier to boot! Many of you know that sitting for prolonged periods of time isn’t healthy, and, based on the science, at Beyond Health we’ve recommended getting up and moving around a bit every fifteen minutes or so. But the mind needs a break too also. Over time, the quality of our attention diminishes unless we take short rest breaks. A 1999 study by Cornell Univers…

How to Measure Your Omega-3 Status — And Why It Matters We’ve written extensively about the importance of a special family of fats known as omega-3 fatty acids—and for good reason. Omega-3s are found in: Flaxseeds and flax oil Green leafy vegetables Wild (non-farmed) fatty fish such as salmon, anchovies, herring, and sardines Decades of research show that adequate omega-3 levels are associated with better cardiovascular, metabolic, cognitive, immune, and inflammatory balance. Omega-3s play structural and regulatory roles in cell membranes, brain tissue, and immune signaling—making them foundational nutrients, not optional extras. Why Omega-3 Levels Matter More Than Intake Alone Many people assume that eating fish or taking fish oil automatically means they have sufficient omega-3s. In reality, intake does not always equal absorption or tissue incorporation. Genetics, digestion, inflammation, oxidative stress, omega-6 intake, and supplement quality all i…

What could be more basic to health than breathing pure air and drinking pure water? Yet neither is found in the average home today! This is why we highly recommend both a high-quality air purifier (especially in your bedroom) and a system for treating drinking water for your home. The average American breathes in about two heaping tablespoons of airborne particles daily. And if you think driving in polluted traffic is bad, consider that most indoor air is two to five times, sometimes a hundred times, more polluted than outdoors. Building materials, carpets, furnishings, household appliances, water heaters and furnaces, fumes from household products and more contribute to indoor air pollution, increasing the risk of allergies, asthma, cancer, heart beat irregularities, immune suppression and even genetic mutations that are passed down to future generations. Our Austin Air Filters do a spectacular job in providing fresh, clean, healthy air. Most people order our Austin Air Healthm…

As we envision a healthy future for ourselves, our children, and our planet this month, let’s take a look at cell phones. Although more than 90% of the US population now owns one, cell phones have never been proven safe.  In fact, evidence for their ability to harm continues to accumulate. Although it’s too late to put the genie back in the bottle—we’ve become too dependent on our cell phones to give them up—both adults and especially children must limit cell phone use if we want a healthy future. Nutritionist Anne Louise Gittleman has pointed out that the kind of electromagnetic radiation cell phones emit causes subliminal stress that raises blood pressure and cortisol (a stress hormone) levels, alters blood sugar regulation, lowers thyroid hormone output and can interfere with getting a good night’s sleep. Cell phones also affect fertility and have been linked in children with behavioral disorders, learning difficulties and depression. Of particular concern have been…

Spending time in the natural world can normalize our inner “body clock” also known as our circadian rhythm. Attuned to environmental cues like sunlight, temperature, and seasonal changes, our circadian rhythm regulates many physiological processes, including when to sleep and when to eat. Artificial light and electronic devices like computers and televisions give our bodies false cues that have nothing to do with the natural order of things and disrupt our circadian rhythm, which a growing body of research has linked to many mental and physical health problems. Sleep issues are an obvious casualty, as is false hunger leading to overweight and obesity. Circadian rhythm disruption has also been implicated in high blood pressure and heart disease, cognitive dysfunction, neurological problems like Parkinson’s disease, asthma, autoimmune illness, and mental health issues like depression, seasonal affective disorder (SAD) and bipolar disorder. A recent University of Colorado study w…

We each have a mighty force of trillions of tiny microorganisms—helpful bacteria and other microbes—living on our skin, in our digestive system, and in tissues throughout the body, that is constantly on guard to defend us against potentially invasive infectious disease-causing pathogens like viruses, yeasts, parasites and harmful bacteria. Discounted for many years by the medical establishment, scientists are now beginning to discover how much we depend on these “good bugs.” Not only do they synthesize vitamins and amino acids and help us to digest and absorb our food, they are also an indispensable part of our immune system. Before a pathogen—bacterial, viral, or fungal—can get into your bloodstream, where it can replicate and become increasingly virulent, it must first get past the formidable fortress created by your skin and mucus membranes. The skin isn’t just a physical barrier; it is an immune system organ, where immune cells and good bugs work together to conquer pot…

The road to health is paved with good intestines. – Unknown Living a long and healthy life depends on good digestion and a strong immune system. Both of these rely on helpful bacteria living in our intestines.  But various factors in modern life, including poor diet, toxins, stress, various medications and especially antibiotics, have diminished our good bug population. As a result, people living today are more vulnerable to infectious disease than ever before. While modern medicine seeks frantically for more and better vaccines and antibiotics to combat infectious disease epidemics, at Beyond Health we take a different approach: We combine the healthy lifestyle described in any of Raymond Francis’s books, a basic supplement program, and probiotics in food and supplements to rebuild and maintain strong immune systems capable of withstanding pathogenic assaults. Probiotics are special microbes that maintain and restore the body’s beneficial bacteria. All traditional soc…

Your body is harboring a couple of potential saboteurs! The words saboteur and sabotage come from French mill workers who would throw their wooden shoes, called sabots, into the machinery at work to make it break down or halt as a form of protest. The two potential saboteurs threatening to break down your body are inflammation and oxidation. Both are body processes that are helpful under normal circumstances, but if they get out of control, watch out!  If they’re allowed to develop into chronic inflammation and oxidative stress, they become health saboteurs of the first order and play a major role in every chronic disease, in problems with energy, and in the aging process itself. Unfortunately, almost everyone today is being damaged by these saboteurs. This is how it happens. Inflammation is the body’s response to injury, irritation or infection.  Cutting your finger, for example, will initiate an inflammatory process that enlarges blood vessels (the reason…

Environmental toxins are overwhelming our immune and detoxification systems to make us the most allergy prone people in world history.  Simply drinking a glass of tap water can bombard your body with chemicals that have been linked to allergies and asthma. Allergist Elina Jerschow, MD, and colleagues at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York have linked chlorine-related chemicals known as dichlorophenols, which are found in tap water and in pesticides, with both allergies and asthma. These researchers found that people with the highest levels of dichlorophenols were 80% more likely to have a food allergy and 61% more likely to have both a food allergy and an environmental allergy (like pollen).  Subsequent research found a similar association between asthma and high levels of dichlorophenols in the urine. While more studies are needed to prove the chemicals cause either allergies or asthma, population studies have shown that there is a similar rise in bo…