. . . tips for better health Easy Does It. Don't increase fiber intake too fast, or you'll get gas and bloating, even cramping and/or constipation. It's best to add about 5 grams a day for a week. So if you're starting at 10 grams a day, take 15 grams for a week before adding more. Keep going up 5 grams a day, a week at a time, until you reach your target amount. Even with gradual change, you may experience some transition symptoms. It takes a while for the bacteria in your gut to adjust to more fiber. Drink Plenty of Water. Make sure you get your 6-8 glasses a day, and drink a glass whenever you take a fiber supplement. Additional water will help optimize fiber's actions in the body and will prevent constipation. How Much Fiber? Aim for 35-40 grams a day; more if you're dealing with diabetes or trying to lose weight. There are roughly 3 grams of fiber (a mix of soluble and insoluble) in a typical piece of fruit; 4 in a cup of vegetables, and 7 in a half cup of beans. Juici…

. . .  for elegant dining during the holidays or any other time of year! Whether you want to lose a few pounds, prevent or reverse diabetes, protect your bones, reduce blood pressure and heart disease risk, or boost your immunity and fight cancer, balsamic vinegar can help. But what you’ll love our balsamic for during this holiday season (or at any time of year) is its rich, complex taste that complements just about any fruit or vegetable. Here are just a few of the many ways balsamic can turn ordinary fruits and vegetables into something extraordinary and memorable: *Spoon balsamic vinegar over baked pears, or fresh strawberries or peaches. *Add to steamed vegetables in place of butter and salt. *Combine tomato wedges with strawberries, fresh basil and balsamic vinegar. *Blanch spinach, drain and shock in ice water. Squeeze dry, chop and toss with toasted pine nuts, raisins, olive oil and a tiny bit of balsamic vinegar. Add capers if you like. An especially winnin…

Most people aren’t. Most Americans get about 15 grams of fiber daily. In 2002, the US government recommended that the average adult get between 21 and 38 grams each day. These recommendations were based on several large studies that found people who consumed 14 grams of fiber for each 1,000 calories had significantly lower rates of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Many nutritional experts believe 35-45 grams would be even better. What is fiber? It’s the indigestible portion of plant foods. Most people think of fiber as bulk that helps move the bowels, but there’s much more to know about fiber. There are two kinds of fiber—soluble and insoluble. Soluble fiber becomes gelatinous in the intestines. It’s soothing to intestinal walls and helps make bowel movements easier. Studies show it also decreases cholesterol. Insoluble fiber acts like an intestinal broom. Both kinds ease elimination by increasing fecal bulk and making stools softer. Both kinds of fiber absorb and remove toxins,…

Most people know that diabetes is a serious disease of high blood sugar that can damage the heart and blood vessels, eyes, kidneys and nerves. Fewer know that pre-diabetics develop similar problems. But maybe you’re neither diabetic nor pre-diabetic. You don’t have to worry about high blood sugar, right? Well, maybe you do. Diabetes is currently diagnosed if fasting blood sugar (aka blood glucose) levels reach 126 mg/dL, and pre-diabetes if levels reach 100 mg/dL. But many alternative practitioners like to see their patients maintain levels below 90 mg/dL, or even 85 mg/dL, since research shows damage to body organs and tissues can begin when these levels are exceeded. Do you know your blood sugar level? Since it tends to rise with age, it should be measured periodically. Why is high blood sugar so damaging? Excess sugar in the blood gets converted into triglycerides. These either become fat or they stay in the blood and increase your risk of heart disease. But even more d…

High blood pressure is known as a silent killer. You can have it for years without getting any symptoms until you experience a fatal heart attack. But there is another silent killer: kidney disease. Given the many priorities already on your plate, you probably haven’t given much thought to your kidneys. But since March 10 has been named World Kidney Day (and March, National Kidney Month), we’d like to draw your attention to kidney health if only for a couple of minutes. According to the National Kidney Foundation (NKF), more than 26 million Americans have kidney disease, and most of them don’t know it. By the time you experience clear symptoms, your kidneys may already be shot necessitating dialysis for the rest of your life . . . which may not be that long. Kidney disease is the 9th leading cause of death in the US. Even before symptoms of kidney disease are evident, the disease significantly raises your risk of heart attack, stroke, osteoporosis and anemia. A simple urine or…

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…

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…

Life is hard enough without making losing weight more difficult than it needs to be.  Some helpful scientists at the University of Massachusetts Medical School proved that you don’t need to restrict calories or saturated fat to lose weight as long as you’re getting adequate dietary fiber! These scientists found 240 pre-diabetic patients and assigned them to one of two groups. The first group followed a weight-loss diet that restricted calories and saturated fat. The second group was simply asked to get at least 30 grams of fiber daily from a high-fiber diet, including plenty of fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Neither group was asked to change their exercise habits. At the end of one year, both groups had lost the same amount of weight.  In addition, both groups had had similar drops in cholesterol, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, and inflammation.  In other words, both groups reduced their risk factors similarly for diabetes…

Researched extensively since the 1990s, more than 120 clinical trials and thousands of research papers have focused on curcumin’s remarkable health benefits. What is curcumin?  Curcumin is the principal active ingredient of turmeric, the spice that gives Indian curries their golden color. In India, turmeric is revered as “holy powder,” and it has played a major role in traditional Ayurvedic (Indian) medicine for centuries. Curcumin is now being studied in search of possible remedies for some of the major epidemics of our time. Curcumin beneficially affects the expression of more than 700 genes and influences numerous biochemical pathways at the same time. Its unique and powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects make it extraordinarily beneficial for every system in the body.  Arthritis and any other "itis."  If you've got any of the "itis" diseases, your symptoms are caused by chronic inflammation. Studies have shown that curc…

Our bodies are designed to maintain us at a weight that is perfect for us (although perhaps not perfect by fashion model standards) by telling us when we’re hungry, what we’re hungry for, and when we’ve had enough. But while some people just naturally eat this way, many of us have become desensitized to our body’s signals and need to relearn Intuitive Eating (IE).In the past twenty years, IE has been the subject of many of scientific studies. They’ve found that rejecting diets, being supported to love and accept ourselves as we are and learning to trust our own intuition when it comes to food choices lead to substantial gains in emotional well-being and quality of life. IE also greatly reduces risks for compulsive eating, binge eating and other eating disorders, and it’s been linked to lower weight, lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels independent of weight loss, and increased glycemic control in type 2 diabetes. For those who are re-learning IE, Dr. Steven C. Straus, MD, sugge…

Egyptian researchers have compared the supplement CoQ10 to diabetes drug glimepiride in treating rats that had been artificially given type 2 diabetes. CoQ10 had marked positive effects on 15 different factors that either cause or prevent/reverse diabetes, surpassing glimepiride in all but 5. Most importantly, CoQ10 has no negative side effects, while there are many problems with glimepiride. Glimepiride belongs to a class of diabetes drugs called sulfonylureas that force the pancreas to produce more insulin. Insulin is a hormone that ushers sugar from the blood into body cells, so it can be stored or burned as energy. Type 2 diabetes occurs when cells become resistant to insulin and sugar accumulates in the blood. While increasing insulin will get sugar into the cells, it creates new problems. High insulin levels are inflammatory, causing aging and all manner of disease including heart disease and obesity. (Sulfonylurea side effects include weight gain and increased risk of…

As people age, their chances of developing certain medical conditions also increase. Early preventative measures may help you avoid some of these health problems or at least make the conditions less severe if they develop. One way to help reduce your health risks is to take certain dietary supplements that are known to ward off the effects of some age-related health issues.Diet and exercise are commonly advised for optimal health, but dietary supplements can also help you get more of the vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients that your body needs as you age. If you want to lower your chances of developing one or more of these health problems as you age, you should consider taking supplements as part of your normal daily routine.1. ArthritisArthritis occurs when a joint where bones connect becomes swollen and tender. Arthritis can affect one or multiple joints and usually affects older people more often. However, the condition is also sometimes seen in younger individuals. O…

Q: Hello, I am looking for information about breastfeeding.  I am  trying to get pregnant now.  I breastfed my first child for 6 months but my milk dried up and I don't want that to happen again.  I was aiming to breastfeed for 2 years. A: Thank you for your question. I would like to direct you to an article that Raymond wrote on breastfeeding. “Women who don’t breastfeed are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes. A study in the September issue of the American Journal of Medicine concluded that mothers who did not breastfeed their children have significantly higher rates, twice the risk, of type 2 diabetes later in life than mothers who breastfed. This study is just one more argument for breastfeeding. Another problem is when women are not breastfeeding; they are feeding inappropriate food to the infant, causing obesity in the children. A recent study in American Journal of Medicine concluded that mothers who did not breastfeed their children have significantly higher rates,…

Women who don’t breastfeed are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes. A study in the September issue of the American Journal of Medicine concluded that mothers who did not breastfeed their children have significantly higher rates, twice the risk, of type 2 diabetes later in life than mothers who breastfed. This study is just one more argument for breastfeeding. Another problem is when women are not breastfeeding; they are feeding inappropriate food to the infant, causing obesity in the children. A recent study in American Journal of Medicine concluded that mothers who did not breastfeed their children have significantly higher rates, twice the risk, of type 2 diabetes later in life than mothers who breastfed. This study is just one more argument for breastfeeding. Another problem is when women are not breastfeeding; they are feeding inappropriate food to the infant, causing obesity in the children. A recent study in Nutrition & Dietetics found that mothers were feeding infan…

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…

Uncontrolled diabetes increases risk for severe illness with COVID-19. If you are diabetic, or pre-diabetic, your doctor may have recommended taking metformin to lower your blood sugar.There is almost always a better natural alternative to pharmaceutical medications, and metformin is no exception. According to renowned alternative doctor Jonathan W. Wright, MD, berberine, a botanical found in plants like goldenseal, barberry and Oregon grape, can do everything metformin can do with far fewer side effects.Like many pharmaceuticals, metformin has its origins in botanical medicine; it is derived from goat’s rue, also known as French lilac. Like berberine, metformin activates AMPk (5' adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase), an extremely powerful enzyme in every cell in the body that’s been called the “youthinizing enzyme.” AMPk is a “master regulating switch” for energy metabolism. Want more energy? Boost your AMPk! Want to reduce body fat, especially belly fat? Boost your…

We’ve been praising coconut oil for almost a decade now, and we searched the world to find the very finest coconut oil available, which we carry Beyond Health Coconut Oil. So, we were pleased to see an article online listing 20 benefits of this amazing stuff. Apparently coconut oil has “come into its own,” since the article begins, “You’ve no doubt noticed that coconut oil is on everyone’s lips . . . and in their frying pans, smoothies, hair, and in a little jar on their nightstand. What underlies coconut oil’s recent popularity is the sheer amount of benefits to mind, body and soul that it promises, and research shows that adding coconut oil to your diet and your person could be one of the easiest ways to improve your health, well-being, appearance, and even your sex life.”So without further ado, here are author Grant Stoddard’s 20 benefits of coconut oil: Capric acid in coconut oil increases energy and reduce food consumption. Lauric acid in coconut oil kills bacteria,…