At Beyond Health, we pride ourselves on presenting nutrients in their purest and most bioavailable forms. It’s costlier to do things this way, but the result is that our supplements are often many times more effective not to mention safer than their cheaper counterparts. Not only will our nutrients get absorbed and go where they’re needed in your body; they won’t be carrying a lot of toxic “baggage” with them that the body will have to spend energy to unload. The other day a customer asked why our quercetin didn’t contain bromelain. She had read in literature from another product that bromelain activates quercetin for better absorption. The product she brought to our attention is a perfect example of how marketers of low-quality products use hype to make the customer think they’re getting something special. The particular product had low bioactivity and potentially harmful contaminants. Its manufacturer was trying to take a sow’s ear and turn it into a silk purse by claiming that…

Oxidation in our bodies is a major cause of aging and disease. If you want to feel your best, avoid diseases down the line and maximize your healing potential, you need to keep oxidation under control. Fortunately antioxidants do just that.  Antioxidants are compounds made by our bodies and derived from our diets or supplements that curtail oxidation and its damaging effects. Unfortunately, however, the oxidizing effects of stress, environmental pollution and other toxins, chronic illness and excess body fat that characterize modern life have multiplied our need for antioxidants, so that most of us are suffering from “oxidative stress”—meaning we don’t have enough antioxidants to manage our level of oxidation.  For the vast majority antioxidant supplementation has become necessary.  Taking an array of different antioxidant supplements is the best approach since they work somewhat differently, complement and synergize with each other, and regenerate each…

The human microbiome—that 3½ to 4 pounds of bacteria, bacteriophage, fungi, protozoa, and viruses that live on and in us, primarily in our intestines, is finally getting the attention it deserves, and it’s now recognized how much these microbes, which number in the trillions, contribute to our health.They help us digest and absorb food, synthesize vitamins, produce amino acids, secrete mucus, prevent constipation by increasing motility, create food for intestinal cells, and, perhaps most importantly, partner with our immune system—60-80% of which is located in the intestines—by degrading toxins and competing with and killing off infectious bacteria and yeasts.However most of our microbiomes are in pretty bad shape, and in a recent article in the Townsend Letter, pharmacist Ross Pelton, who is also a nutritionist with a Ph.D. in psychology and holistic health, explains why.He compares the situation to a “perfect storm” of factors that have conspired to assault and damage…

The Opioid Epidemic is big news these days. Committees are meeting to discuss ways to get Americans off these dangerous drugs, while scientists look for new drugs with less destructive side effects than our current choices. Too bad Dr. Stanley W. Jacob, MD, one of the great innovative scientists of our time, was never given the attention he deserved. Dr. Jacob helped to develop two sulfur-based natural supplements—DMSO and its derivative, MSM—and spent his life advocating for them and using them to help thousands of patients alleviate pain. But he died in 2015, at age 91, without having managed to convince conventional medicine in the US of the value of these two compounds. However, that didn’t stop people from coming to his DMSO Clinic at Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland from all over the world for treatment. This clinic-of-last-resort for pain problems that nothing else had helped had an estimated success rate of about 70%. Jacob became interested in using DMSO…

Do you seem to catch every cold or flu going around? Do you have an ongoing infection, like the yeast infection candida, that you can’t get rid of?  Or do you have the opposite problem—an overactive immune system leading to allergies or to an autoimmune disease? Do you have, or have you had cancer?  These are all indications that your immune system isn’t protecting you as it should, and it’s likely that a primary reason for that is that you don’t have enough glutathione. Glutathione is a critical protein that your body produces. It can also be obtained from food and supplements.  Glutathione has been called “the mother antioxidant” because our antioxidant system can’t function without it. Neither can our detoxification system. And neither can our immune system. Glutathione has the following six essential roles in immune function: Glutathione patrols the bloodstream directly killing many pathogens before they can begin…

Millions of Americans take fish oil supplements for their numerous benefits, including cardiovascular health benefits, improved mental clarity, increased energy, healthier circulation, and much more. Why does fish oil work so many miracles?  Because Omega-3 deficiency is widespread; perhaps as many as 90% of our population is deficient.  And because Omega-3s have important roles in our bodies. Deficiency and toxicity are the two causes of disease, and if we’re deficient in Omega-3s, it’s impossible to be healthy. Omega-3s are essential for building healthy cell membranes.  If they’re not available when needed, the body uses other fats, like saturated fat and transfat, to make these membranes.  This means our cell membranes will be improperly constructed; they won’t let in nutrients they’re supposed to admit, or release metabolic wastes that are polluting the insides of our cells. Omega-3s are also anti-inflammatory, and it’s critical to have a good rat…

Widespread magnesium deficiency has been implicated in a host of chronic diseases, including obesity. How would healthy levels of magnesium in our cells help us to attain and maintain a healthy weight, and how does magnesium deficiency sabotage those goals? Fatigue. The number one complaint patients bring to doctors is “feeling tired.” Being unable to lose weight probably ranks a close second.  The two concerns are related: It’s hard to eat less and exercise more when you’re already feeling tired all the time. Fatigue is one of the first signs of magnesium deficiency. Magnesium and the B vitamins are our main energy nutrients, involved in almost every step of energy creation in the cells’ energy factories, the mitochondria. Nutrient Deficiency. Magnesium and the B's activate enzymes that control digestion, absorption and utilization of all three macronutrients—fats, proteins, and carbohydrates—making the vitamins and minerals they contain available for our bodies to use.…

The school year is back and we have some tips on how to cold and flu-proof your child.Children need special nutritional support as they head back to school each fall. Any gathering of kids creates a perfect opportunity for germs to spread, and no sooner has the school year gotten underway then flu season beginning.How can you strengthen your child’s immune system and avoid winter colds and flus?Number one, banish sugar from your child’s diet. Even a small amount of refined sugar can suppress your child’s immune system for hours. Immune cells need a lot of vitamin C to function normally, but sugar, which has a chemical structure similar to vitamin C, competes with the vitamin to enter the cells, creating an artificial vitamin C shortage. Avoid fruit juices (including orange juice), which are also too high in sugar. Whole fruits, however, are fine in moderation.Feed your child the right fats. Trans fats and excess omega 6 fats (found in supermarket vegetable oils) depress immunity,…

Almost half of all Americans take a multivitamin-mineral supplement. They do it to maintain and improve health, and for protection against the chronic diseases associated with aging, like heart disease, osteoporosis, cancer, arthritis, and metabolic syndrome. While many studies validate all the above claims, other studies find multis to be ineffective. Some even claim vitamins are dangerous! Often researchers who’ve found multis are effective in preventing disease—like Swedish researchers who followed a group of women for 10 years, and found that among over 30,000 women who began the study with no heart disease, those who took a multi for 5 years or more had 41% less risk of having had a heart attack—have trouble explaining why other studies come to such different conclusions.  The answer is that the doses and compositions of ingredients in multivitamin supplements were very different in different studies. Let’s get one thing clear: While prescription drugs are the 3rd lea…

As the summer season rolls on, our thoughts turn to getting outdoors. Spending time in the sun can be fun and relaxing, and it can even lift you out of any depressed mood. Yet, there are some who will caution you to stay out of the sun, but don’t be so quick to stay cooped up indoors because you were actually designed to be out in the sun.The hidden health benefits of sunlight There are many subtle ways the sun supports our health. For example, plants use sunlight to create energy through a process called photosynthesis, which helps them grow. You benefit indirectly from their sun exposure by consuming a recommended minimum 7 servings (3-1/2 cups) of these nutrient-packed fruits and vegetables every day, which helps you achieve optimal health. The sun is also a natural source of heat, causing our bodies to maintain a higher core temperature, which promotes health by facilitating improved cell function leading to higher energy levels and providing a natural mechanism for detoxific…

The strongest and most hard-working muscle in your body, your heart is also associated with vulnerability . . . and for good reason.  Powerhouse though it may be, the heart is living tissue that requires proper nourishment. A nutrient called coenzyme Q10, or CoQ10, is essential for keeping your heart strong and healthy. Yet it’s quite possible your CoQ10 levels are suboptimal, leading to a condition that underlies many heart problems called “energy-starved heart.” Every cell in your body contains hundreds of little energy factories called mitochondria. CoQ10 facilitates various chemical reactions in the mitochondria’s energy-producing process. Simply put, when you lack CoQ10, you lack energy. Your muscles, including your heart, may be ready, willing and able, but there’s just not enough fuel in the tank. Even minor deficiencies in CoQ10 can impair heart function and eventually damage the heart itself. CoQ10 plays yet another crucial role in cardiovascular health: Keeping…

Don’t look now, but we’ve all got a population of “zombie” cells living in our bodies!  Like us, cells are born, have a life and die. Ideally, when they lose their ability to divide and reproduce through damage or simple aging, they “commit suicide” in an orderly process called “apoptosis.”  But some cells, although no longer functional, refuse to die. Instead they linger on, generating chronic levels of inflammation and producing protein-digesting enzymes that cause accelerated aging to organs and tissues, increasing our susceptibility to chronic disease. Called “senescent” or “senile” cells, a robust immune system could destroy them, but as we age, our immune systems weaken, and these zombie cells accumulate. In 2011, researchers genetically modified mice so that their senescent cells could be triggered to self-destruct, which increased the mice’s lifespan by an amazing 2025% while greatly retarding development of chronic disease. This caught the attention of the…

Vitamin B12 and folate (aka vitamin B9) work together in a very productive partnership. Unfortunately, government statistics show that 30% of the US population is deficient in vitamin B12 and 75% in folate. This is using the Recommended Daily Allowances (RDA) as a reference, which many experts believe are far too low. And since they often work together, a deficiency in one means the other won’t work as it should. So it wouldn’t be too surprising to find you’re deficient in one or both, especially if you’re over the age of 50 when both B12 and folate levels start to decline. Because these two B vitamins participate in so many different biochemical processes, deficiencies can produce a wide range of symptoms: Do you have low energy? Feel weak, or get dizzy spells? Do you find you’re getting more irritable or feeling a bit low? Is your memory getting worse? Is it harder to learn new things; easier to get distracted and confused?  Do you have balance, vision or hearing proble…

In Never Be Sick Again, Raymond Francis refers to a healthy, 131-year-old man named Jose Maria Roa, living in the Andes Mountains of Ecuador. When asked if he’d ever been sick, Roa said well, yes, he’d had a few colds. A few colds in 131 years! Contrast Mr. Roa to the average person living today, who gets a few colds every year, and you begin to see how far we’ve come from healthy living. But some of us aren’t getting colds anymore. Nor do we fear Ebola. And we’re not poisoning ourselves with flu shots either. How do we do it? By keeping our immunity strong! The immune system is designed to recognize and clear pathogens from the body before they cause disease. If you give your body the nutrients it needs, protect it from toxins, get enough exercise and sleep, and minimize stress, you enable your immune system to work the way nature intended. One vitamin you must have in sufficient quantities for proper immune function is vitamin D. Vitamin D is critical to many immune func…

High-quality supplements are a pivotal part of Raymond Francis’s approach to getting well and staying well, and supplying them is a cornerstone of our business at Beyond Health. We believe that even if you eat an exceptionally healthy diet, high-quality supplements, especially a multivitamin, essential fatty acids extra vitamin C, and vitamin D if levels are tested and found to be low, are essential to maintaining optimal health. (For the many reasons why, see Raymond’s free report, The Roadmap to Supplements.) So we were pleased to read that Mark Hyman, MD, Director of the prestigious Cleveland Clinic’s Center for Functional Medicine, wholeheartedly agrees. The Cleveland Clinic is an academic medical center and a leader in research, education and health information in Cleveland, Ohio. It is rated the second best hospital in the country by US News & World Report, and #1 for heart care. Dr. Hyman himself is well-known for his best-selling books and many appearances on public te…

. . . which is better? As you may know, we carry Kyolic AGE, so we’re often asked this question. The answer is that both forms of garlic are fantastic sources of health-promoting compounds; both are high in organosulfur compounds that do wonderful things in your body. Although the compounds are somewhat different in each, both AGE and raw garlic have abundant antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties and help your body to detoxify and to prevent and possibly reverse the same wide range of health problems. In addition to the cardiovascular and neurological benefits described above, garlic, whether raw or aged, has immune boosting and antibiotic abilities and is active against worms, fungi (including candida albicans), bacteria (including helicobacter pylori), viruses, allergies and cancer. It helps build energy, endurance and the ability to withstand stress. Because it is anti-inflammatory, and because all chronic disease has an inflammatory component, it is useful in all chron…

Inflammation is a major factor in pain and in all kinds of disease from arthritis to allergies, heart disease, obesity, neurodegenerative brain disease and more (see Inflammation: a Common Denominator of Disease).  And one of the primary causes of inflammation is an imbalance in the modern diet between two types of fats called omega-3s and omega-6s. These two fats are sometimes referred to together as the “essential fatty acids.” They are “essential” because our bodies can’t make them, so it’s essential that we get them from either food or supplements.  Omega-3s are anti-inflammatory, while most omega-6s are pro-inflammatory. The typical modern diet provides far too few omega-3s and way too many inflammatory omega-6s.  To make matters worse, those omega-6s are usually from toxic, processed vegetable oils.  Processing these omega-6 oils damages them, often converting them into dangerous trans fats, while contaminating them with added toxins. …

. . . if a low-quality multi can make a difference, imagine what our multi could do!It always seems to make headlines when a multivitamin performs below expectations. There are, of course, lots of reasons why conventional multis might do this (I’ll get to that later), but two recent studies that failed to make headlines validated the benefit of taking even a conventional multi. Both doubled-blind, placebo-controlled (the gold-standard in science), the first found that taking a daily multi lowered cancer rates by 8% in male doctors; in the second, a daily multi helped older women improve their cognitive abilities.In the cancer study, which was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), more than 14,000 male doctors over the age of 50 were given either a conventional multivitamin or a placebo, and their health was tracked for an average of 11 years. Risk for overall cancers was 8% lower in the group taking a multi, a statistically significant result.In the memor…