Today’s blog is republished from my friends at TheAlternativeDaily, a leading publisher of daily alternative health tips that I personally read every day… The original article can be found here:

I bet if you looked in the mirror you wouldn’t say to yourself, “I look a little fungusy today.” More than likely, you don’t really know what it looks like to be fungusy.

Truth be told, you can’t really look like fungus (or a mushroom for that matter), but there is a good chance that fungus, to some degree or another, is compromising your health.

Don’t get too wigged out when I use the word fungus. We are all covered in fungal communities; they take up residence on us and within us, forming tight-knit colonies according to their kind. Many of these fungi are harmless, and a good number are quite necessary for health. However, when the bad guys move into the neighborhood, things get funky.

Fungi vs. bacteria

Before I go on, let’s first take a quick look at the difference between fungi and bacteria. Both are minute organisms that are found in almost every ecosystem on earth, and both can associate with other groups of living things. As mentioned above, they can either be harmless and necessary in biological processes, or they can be highly dangerous.

The main difference between fungi and bacteria is their cellular structure. Bacteria are prokaryotic organisms, meaning they do not possess a nucleus, while fungi are eukaryotic organisms, meaning they have a very well-defined nucleus. While both organisms have cell walls, what makes up these cell walls is different. Fungi, for the most part, have long hollow tubes that form networks (hyphae).

Each of these tubes is bordered by a strong wall made from chitin — the same substance that forms the exoskeletons of insects. Hyphae grow from their tips and reach out in a branching manner to form a network called mycelium. As the mycelium grows, it produces fruiting bodies and other structures that are rich with reproductive spores.

Bacteria multiply by binary fission when parent bacterium divide to make the same sized daughter cells. Fungi reproduce both sexually and asexually by a process of branching fragmentation and budding (as in the case of yeast).

Fungi are scavengers, feeding off dead stuff — kind of like the buzzards you see cleaning up roadkill along the highway. Bacteria, on the other hand, are a little more sophisticated in the fact that they can actually manufacture their own food.

Types of fungal infections

There are several fungal infections that result from different types of fungi entering the body.

For instance, Aspergillus fungi can be inhaled through the mouth or nose and can cause fever, cough and wheezing. In very severe instances, this fungal infection can spread to other organs including the brain, skin and bones.

Cryptococcus neoformans is found in the soil or in bird droppings. This fungus also enters the body through the mouth or nostrils and can cause a lung infection resulting in a cough or chest pain.

Histoplasma capsulatum is a fungus that is commonly found in eastern and central United States in soil that contains bird and bat feces. When spores are disturbed, they can be inhaled and can cause flu-like symptoms, body aches, fever and cough.

Candida albicans

Yeast, also known as Candida albicans, is a type of fungus that is present in all humans. The fungus is found on both the skin and mucus membranes. In small amounts, it is harmless to the body.

However, when the growth of yeast increases dramatically, the results can be absolutely devastating. Did you know that yeast overgrowth is considered to be one of the most prevalent, yet unrecognized conditions to man?

When you have a healthy body, the yeast is kept under control by the healthy bacteria within your body. However, medical antibiotics — and those found in much of the meat we eat — will upset the balance of your friendly bacteria. Since antibiotics are nonselective, they work to weaken the good bacteria that keep yeast in check.

The yeast then begins to flourish, and before you know it, it’s completely out of control. Antibiotics are not the only contributor to the upset of your healthy bacteria; cortisone, some birth control pills and certain drugs have an effect on it, as well.

Once the yeast has overgrown in your body, it thrives on sugar, carbohydrates, moldy foods, fermented foods and vinegar. If you’ve ever noticed that your cravings for any of these are very strong, chances are, you have a yeast overgrowth in your body.

When the level of yeast is elevated in your body, toxins are released into your bloodstream in high amounts. These waste products have a profound effect on your well-being and are linked to many health problems.

Signs of yeast gone wild

The effects of yeast overgrowth will worsen over time, and will seriously compromise physical, mental and emotional well-being. According to researchers, hidden, deviant fungus may be the reason for any number of seemingly unrelated health complaints.

Just another reason why it is so important to not look at symptoms in isolation. Very often, you will find that two seemingly unrelated things, like muscle twitches and frequent bladder infections, are the result of yeast gone wild.

Here are 32 signs that yeast may have moved in and is slowly taking over your body. If you suffer frequently from more than three of these, it may be time to learn more about yeast.

• Fungal infections on skin or nails
• Athlete’s foot
• Toenail fungus
• Fatigue
• Fibromyalgia
• Constipation
• Bloating
• Diarrhea
• Bad breath
• Dry mouth
• Joint pain
• Numbness
• Hair loss
• Headaches
• PMS
• Heartburn
• Burning eyes
• Lack of impulse control
• Hyperactivity
• Poor concentration
• Brain fog
• ADD, ADHD
• Autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, ulcerative colitis or multiple sclerosis
• Mood swings
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Strong cravings for sugar or refined carbohydrates
• Eczema or psoriasis
• Hives
• Seasonal allergies or itchy ears
• Urinary tract infections
• Vaginal or rectal itching

The spit test

Yeast overgrowth is one of the most difficult health issues to detect because of the small amount that is present in everyone. The best way to determine if you have yeast overgrowth is by taking a look at your lifestyle and diet.

Do you crave sweets and carbohydrates, experience constant illness, have a mental illness that doesn’t respond to medication, or generally feel “unwell?” Chances are you’re experiencing yeast overgrowth and need to make some changes to your diet.

You can also try the spit test. Yeah, we know, it sounds a little gross, but a spit test offers a really good analysis of what is going on inside your body and may show signs of a yeast overgrowth. The best time to take this test is as soon as you wake up in the morning, before you even get out of bed.

How to do the spit test

• Gather as much spit as possible in your mouth.
• Spit into a clear glass with room temperature filtered water.
• Watch carefully.

1. The saliva will float at first. Watch to see if there are thin projections extending downward into the water after 15 minutes or so. They may look like hairs or strings. If this happens you may have a candida overgrowth problem.
2. If your saliva is very cloudy and sinks to the bottom within a few minutes, or parts of the saliva slowly sink, yeast overgrowth is a possibility. The particles are yeast colonies which band together.
3. If your spit is still floating after about an hour, it is likely that your yeast is under control.

The downward spiral

Candida can be linked to serious health problems. Once this fungus begins to thrive in the body, general health will spiral downward. The cravings for sugar and other foods that nourish the yeast will get stronger, and on and on it will go.

Eventually, the immune system becomes so weak that the symptoms are no longer tolerable. Often physicians will prescribe antibiotics to treat the symptoms, thus killing off the last of any friendly bacteria. When yeast is in this advanced state, depression and suicidal thoughts are very common.

How to kick the bad fungus to the curb

According to the National Candida Center, if you have symptoms and your spit test is positive for yeast, it is a pretty good indication that you have a candida overgrowth problem. The first step in addressing the problem is to adjust your diet.

Eliminate all processed foods and sugar, and begin eating only wholesome, organic foods if possible. The following foods also help the body heal from the assault of candida overgrowth and encourage the proliferation of healthy bacteria:

1. Coconut oil

This tropical treasure has strong antifungal properties, which will kill the bad bacteria and support immune system functioning. Replace your other cooking oils with coconut oil and add liberally to foods or your coffee. Aim for two tablespoons daily to start.

2. Garlic

Garlic also has strong antifungal properties and will destroy unfriendly bacteria while encouraging the growth of good bacteria. It detoxifies and encourages healthy liver and colon functioning. Use garlic liberally to jazz up your food or chew freely on two to three cloves per day. Note: Raw garlic is far superior in its efficacy.

3. Seaweed

It may not be too appealing to look at, but seaweed is a highly nutrient-dense food that can fight against yeast overgrowth. Many times, people with yeast overgrowth suffer from hyperthyroidism, and seaweed is rich in iodine, which helps balance the thyroid gland. In addition, seaweed is a detoxifier and helps to flush toxins out of the body while cleaning the digestive system. Eat fresh seaweed or take high-quality kelp supplements for best results.

4. Pumpkin seeds

These tiny seeds are packed with omega-3 fatty acids, which have antiviral and antifungal properties. They help to reduce the inflammation caused by yeast and fight depression as well. Add pumpkin seeds to your cereal, salads or even eat them as a tasty snack.

5. Ginger

Ginger is a powerful detoxifier that increases circulation and flushes toxins out of the liver while supporting the immune system. It helps reduce intestinal gas and soothes inflammation from yeast overgrowth. Make ginger tea by grating a 1-inch piece of ginger root and adding it to two cups of boiling water and a fresh slice of lemon.

Once you get your diet under control and introduce foods that fight the bad bacteria, you can consider taking a high-quality probiotic or eating a little bit of fermented food daily to keep your healthy bacteria count in good order.

Exercising daily and learning how to manage stress in your life will also help to keep fungus from taking over your body.

If you are not able to make these dietary changes, and you want to wipe out fungus completely and never have it return again, take a look at this fungus hack below…

Every nail and skin fungus sufferer must see THIS urgent video!

There’s a mind-bending solution that has been crushing every single lab test, leaving doctors speechless…

In fact, this totally surprising mix of ingredients is so powerful…

That taking just one tablespoon can make any infection vanish almost overnight…

While completely clearing your nails and skin…

And without you having to use any creams or antibiotics.

It’s all explained on this page:

1 Tablespoon Wipes Out Skin and Nail Fungus

The post 32 Signs Fungus Might Be Taking Over Your Body appeared first on thenutritionwatchdog.com.

If you want to enjoy some delicious alcohol cocktails while also staying healthy and as low-sugar as possible, we have some incredible recipes on this page that reduce the sugar as much as possible (most are even keto-friendly as long as you limit it to one per day), and include some superfood ingredients as well. Impress your friends and family at your next gathering with these delicious yet healthy party cocktails! I think you’ll really like these recipes!

Spicy Watermelon Plunge

This hydrating cocktail gives you over 26% of your Vitamin C for your day! Plus, if using super ripe watermelon, you can omit the Domaine De Canton for a 100% naturally sweetened-spicy kick!

Serves: 2
Glass: Rocks

Benefits:
– Cooling & Hydrating
– Immune-Boosting & Antimicrobial
– Metabolism-Boosting

Ingredients
– 1 cup cubed watermelon, very ripe
– 1/2 to 1 1/2 tablespoon diced jalapeno
– 1/2oz lime juice
– 3oz silver tequila
– 1/2oz Domaine De Canton, optional
– pinch of sea salt (heavy)

Aromatics & Garnish
– ripe blackberry
– slice of jalapeno
– kosher salt

Make It
1.) Rim a rocks glass with a lime wedge, and then in kosher salt. Add in ice ball or large ice cubes to the glass.
2.) Into a cocktail shaker, add the watermelon, and muddle well.
3.) Add the rest of the ingredients and a couple of ice cubes, and shake well.
4.) Strain over the ice ball or cubes.
5.) Garnish the glass with blackberry and sliced jalapeno.

Note: Juicy Melons? If you’re lucky enough to have very ripe watermelon, or like your cocktails tart, leave out the Domaine De Canton.

***********************************************************************

Popeye’s Secret

While it tastes like a boozy dessert smoothie, this drink packs 937% of your daily Vitamin K and 39% of your magnesium, plus loads of iron, Vitamin C, and other key nutrients no one will ever guess. We can’t decide if this drink belongs at a smoothie bar or the keto cocktail hall of fame!

Serves: 1
Glass: Stemless Wine Glass

Benefits
– JAM-PACKED with iron, potassium, magnesium & fiber
– Bone boosting Vitamin K
– Satiating and appetite curbing
– Better than dessert!

Ingredients
– 1 cup baby spinach
– 3/4 cup ice
– 1 1/2oz vodka
– 1/4 cup full-fat coconut milk
– 1/2 – 1 tablespoon monk fruit or sweetener of choice
– 1 teaspoon cacao nibs
– 1/4 teaspoon peppermint (*test your peppermint strength)

Aromatics & Garnish
– sprinkle of cacao nibs
– mint leaf (smacked)

Make It
1.) Add all ingredients, except cacao nibs, into a blender, and process till smooth.
2.) Add cacao nibs, and pulse until broken up.
3.) Pour the drink into a glass, and smack mint leaf for garnish – Popeye noises encouraged.
4.) Top with a sprinkling of cacao nibs and enjoy!

Note: Keto Lover’s Dream – This creamy keto cocktail is unbelievably tasty and packed with nutrients, antioxidants and healthy fats to make it arguably the most REWARDING post-workout happy hour ever.

***********************************************************************

Cucumber Mint Spatini

This drink is so clean and refreshing, you’ll feel like you’re at the spa! The cooling mint and cucumber’s healthy pectin will nourish your cells from the inside out. A perfect revival drink when you’re feeling depleted, to rehydrate your mind, body and soul.

Serves: 1
Glass: Martini

Benefits
– Hydrating & Detoxifying mint & cucumber
– Anti-Inflammatory & Immune-Boosting antioxidants
– Healthy pectin & mint aids in digestion
– Feels like a day at the spa!

Ingredients
– 1 baby Persian cucumber
– 2 to 3 mint leaves
– 1 1/2oz vodka
– 1/4oz Domaine De Canton
– 1/2oz lemon juice, fresh squeezed
– pinch of Himalayan sea salt

Aromatics & Garnish   
– cucumber slice
– mint leaf (smacked)

Make It
1.) Add a large ice ball to a martini glass.
2.) Into a shaker tin, add cucumber. Muddle it well.
3.) Smack and tear mint leaves and add them to the shaker, and then add the rest of the ingredients. Add a few ice cubes, and shake to chill the cocktail.
4.) Strain and server over ice ball. Garnish the glass with cucumber and mint leaf.

Note: This cocktail is also great blended! Simply add all ingredients to a blender with a small amount of ice, process well, and pour in a martini glass, garnished with mint.

***********************************************************************

The Elegant Lady

You can’t help but feel classy and youthful with this delicate yet delectable balance of fresh pear and sage. An eye-popping cocktail from first sip to last, with the bright pop of Prosecco and a juicy price at the end, when you save the flavor-soaked pear gems for last.

Serves: 1
Glass: Rocks

Benefits
– Antioxidant-packed pear, lemon & sage
– Vitamin A for youthful skin & hair
– Tummy smoothing pear pectin
– Anti-microbial sage for healthy gums!

Ingredients
– 1 thick Anjou pear wedge (ripe)
– 2 sage leaves
– 1/4oz lemon juice
– 1 1/2oz vodka
– 1/4oz St. Germaine
– Prosecco float (or soda water)

Aromatics & Garnish
– Fresh smacked sage leaf

Make It
1.) Dice pear finely, and muddle well in shaker.
2.) Smack and tear the sage leaves finely, and add to shaker.
3.) Add the rest of the ingredients, along with ice, and shake well.
4.) Pour over crushed ice, and top with a float of Prosecco (or a tiny splash of soda water)
5.) Garnish with sage leaf. Enjoy!

Note: Youthful Skin – Oh la la! Leave the antioxidant-packed skin on the pear for gorgeous drink and gorgeous skin. Enjoy an extra boost of Vitamin A as you devour these flavor-soaked jewels at the bottom of your glass!

***********************************************************************

Redhead in Spring

One of my all-time award winners among friends and family. The flavor of this simple but stunning crowd pleaser will knock your socks off, making it a great, easy cocktail to impress all kinds of guests!

Serves: 1
Glass: Martini

Benefits
– Anti-inflammatory lemon & strawberries
– Blood sugar balancing berries
– Packed with immune-boosting antioxidants
– A beautiful show stopper to brighten any table!

Ingredients
– 2 strawberries, rips
– 1/2oz lemon juice, fresh squeezed
– 1 1/2oz gin
– 1/2oz St. Germaine
– pinch of sea salt (very light)

Aromatics & Garnish
– strawberry
– basil leaves
– Persian cucumber, sliced thin

Make It
1.) Smack  a fresh basil leaf and rim a martini glass with the leaf. Next, run a strawberry around the rim of the glass for aromatics. Set the basil and strawberry aside, and add a large ice ball to the glass.
2.) Add the strawberries to a shaker and muddle well.
3.) Add the rest of the ingredients, plus a scoop of ice, and shake well to chill.
4.) Strain and serve over the ice ball. Garnish with a slice of strawberry, a thin slice of cucumber, and the smacked basil leaf.
5.) For best flavor, allow the drink to rest on the ice ball for a few minutes before serving.

Note: Variations – If you like it sweeter, just add more strawberries! Also, try swapping the St. Germaine for Domaine De Canton for a deliciously different twist!

***********************************************************************

Harajuku Tea Time

Inspired by long shopping days in Tokyo, this deliciously uplifting cocktail will keep your mind, mood and metabolism fired up! Pineapple’s B vitamin spectrum and natural enzymes, paired with matcha’s thermogenic and brain-boosting superpowers, will make this your go-to cocktail when you want an exotic lift. As we say in Japan… Itadakimasu! (ie: “Let’s enjoy!”)

Serves: 1
Glass: Highball (tall glass)

Benefits
– Deliciously detoxifying
– Memory-boosting EGCG + B Vitamins
– Digestive enzymes for a (flat) happy tummy
– Mood-boosting & Stress relieving

Ingredients
– 1/3 cup pineapple, finely diced
– 1/3 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk (or similar)
– 1/3 teaspoon matcha powder
– 1 1/2oz gin
– ice for shaking and serving

Aromatics & Garnish
– fresh mint leaf
– pineapple wedge

Make It
1.) Run a pineapple wedge along the rim and set aside for garnish.
2.) Add diced pineapple to cocktail shaker and muddle well.
3.) Add the rest of the ingredients, and shake well to chill.
4.) Strain and serve over ice in tall glass.**
5.) Garnish with a pineapple wedge and sprig of smacked mint.

**Optional: Spoon some of the muddled pineapple into bottom of glass before serving, for added enzymes in a deliciously sweet golden bites!

Note: Fun Fact! – Matcha’s high chlorophyll content makes it a rich alkaline superfood. By drinking one cup of matcha per day you can immediately begin detoxifying the body and changing the body’s pH from acid to alkaline.

***********************************************************************

Golden Cowboy

Move over, Spanish Coffee! There’s a new slimmed down cowboy in town. This velvety “East Meets West” tummy warmer might be your new whiskey favorite, bringing the superfood benefits of turmeric-fueled “golden milk” to a yummy cocktail glass. Spice up a cozy night with this lusciously nourishing soul-soother!

Serves: 1
Glass: Glass mug

Benefits
– Anti-Inflammatory
– Anti-viral + Immune-boosting
– Aids digestion

Ingredients
– 1 1/2oz whiskey
– 1 1/2 teaspoon maple syrup (sub monk fruit or stevia for zero sugar)
– 1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream
– 1/8 teaspoon turmeric**
– 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon**
– 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger**
– 3oz hot water

Aromatics & Garnish
– cinnamon stick (fresh is best, to get the most of cinnamon’s healing goodness!)

Make It
1.) Into a shaker tin, add whiskey, maple syrup (or sweetener of choice), heavy whipping cream and spices. Shake well.
2.) Pour all shaker ingredients into a mug, and top with hot water.
3. Serve with cinnamon stick, for a deliciously healing “infusion stir stick” for the spices that settle on the bottom of the glass.

Spice it Up! – **Seasoning measurements are the minimum! For max flavor & benefits, we encourage you to liberally add more turmeric, cinnamon and ginger to taste!

Note: Stirring this spicy, cozy drink with a cinnamon stick brings a quiet joy you’ll want to repeat again and again. A perfect drink to combat flu season, packed with anti-inflammatory whiskey, turmeric and cinnamon. Bookmark this recipe to warm up brisk Autumn and winter nights!

***********************************************************************

Nick’s Picnic

Another crowd pleaser, this is a robust, bitey drink for dedicated whiskey drinkers and newbies alike, offering something new with that satisfying whiskey kick! The blackberry richness delivers a mouthwatering sensation that’ll knock your socks (and boots!) off every time.

Serves: 2
Glass: Rocks

Benefits
– Youthful skin and collagen-boosting Vitamin C
– Bone-boosting Vitamin K
– Packed with cancer-fighting antioxidants
– A crowd-pleasing cocktail for all types of guests!

Ingredients
– 4-6 blackberries, ripe
– 3oz quality whiskey (i.e.: Woodford Reserve)
– 1/2-3/4oz Domain De Canton
– 1/2oz lemon juice, fresh squeezed
– dash of rhubarb bitters (optional)

Aromatic & Garnish
– 2 large basil leaves

Make It
1.) Smack basil leaf, rim a rocks glass with it, and add a large ice ball to the glass. Set the basil aside to garnish the drink.
2.) Into a cocktail shaker, add blackberries and muddle well.
3.) Add the rest of the ingredients and a couple ice cubes, and shake well to chill.
4.) Strain and serve over the ice ball or whiskey cube. Garnish the glass with basil leaves.

A Hot Secret – Want to Really berry-liciious? Here’s a trick: Just heat the blackberries until hot on the stove or microwave, and then follow all the same steps. You’ll be amazed at the intensity of aroma and sweetness that is released into the drink!

Note: A True Cold-Killer? – Did you know that whiskey has as many antioxidants as wine – and is a source of phosphorus, thiamine, zinc, iron and niacin (B3)? Combined with the blackberries, there are many reasons this dignified drink could be considered a healing tonic!

The post 8 Low-Sugar SuperFood Cocktails appeared first on thenutritionwatchdog.com.

By: Cat Ebeling, RN, MSN-PHN, co-author of the best-sellers:  The Fat Burning Kitchen, The Top 101 Foods that Fight Aging & The Diabetes Fix

Aging is often associated with increasing pain. Achy joints, sore stiff muscles, and lots of things that end in “-itis”. Tendonitis, bursitis, and arthritis are some terms for medical conditions that you may hear more often as you get older.

Words ending in “-itis” mean inflammation is involved. Inflammation, which has a very sinister reputation, is actually a normal part of our body’s healing process.

When you cut your finger, scrape your knee, burn your hand, or bump your head, you feel pain.
Pain is a part of the inflammatory process which signals throughout the body to begin the healing process. Inflammation results in increased blood flow to the injured area, pain, swelling, redness and heat.

Pain is a signal to the brain that something is wrong and needs to be fixed. Pain and inflammation are necessary survival tools that the body uses to fight off dangerous pathogens or to repair damaged tissue.

Pain is also protective and helps you shield that part of the body from further injury. There are some people who do not feel any pain, while this seems like it would be a good thing, these people often become severely injured or even die because the pain is not there to protect their bodies from harm.

Inflammation and Its Role in Pain

The origin of pain comes from inflammation and the inflammatory response. In the body the elements of inflammation—which also bring about healing—include cytokines, neuropeptides, growth factors and neurotransmitters.

No matter what type of pain is experienced, the underlying origin of that pain is due to the inflammatory response. Inflammation can bring on different types of pain, including sharp pain, dull pain, aching pain, burning pain, stabbing pain, tingling pain, diffuse (spread out) pain or pinpointed pain.

Acute vs Chronic Pain

Acute pain and inflammation are generally the result of an injury or infection. The pain comes on suddenly and will gradually improve as the body heals. Acute pain and acute inflammation are reasonably short-lived (less than 3 months). However, at some point in the healing process, the improvement in pain may become stalled and long-term chronic pain and inflammation set in.

Chronic inflammation comes on slowly–but does not gradually get better. Often chronic pain stays stuck and the immune system—for whatever reason–cannot correct the offending issue. This creates a cycle of chronic pain and inflammation that just keeps going. Chronic pain can last months or even years.

While chronic pain and its partner, inflammation, may result from an injury or infection, it may seemingly also just mysteriously appear with no obvious cause. Left unchecked, the inflammation turns on itself and begins attacking the body–including healthy tissue, organs, and joints. Many serious diseases such as heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer’s, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis and diabetes are thought to result from chronic inflammation.

Approximately 1 out of 5 people (20%) will go on to develop chronic pain and inflammation. Some of the more common types of chronic pain include:

• Myalgia
• Back pain
• Neck pain
• Arthritis
• Neuropathy
• Bone pain
• Migraines
• Digestive pain
• Psychogenic pain

The symptoms can range from mild to severe and last for months or years.

Chronic pain is the Main Reason People Seek a Health Professional

Living with chronic pain can take a huge toll on a person’s mental health and is extremely stressful. Chronic pain becomes chronic stress which in turn, can become debilitating.

Pain can become so distracting, it affects how you interact with people, your ability to think clearly, make decisions, manage your emotions, handle your career, eating too much or too little, your joie de vivre (joy of living) and most everything you do. Chronic pain can be so life-affecting that it actually causes physiological changes in our brains.

Long term pain can also bring on depression, anxiety, low self-esteem and constant fatigue. Research shows that those with chronic pain are four times more likely to have depression or anxiety than those who are pain-free.

Pain that lasts longer than three months and is accompanied by activity restrictions, such as being unable to exercise, go to school, or do simple activities of daily living such as getting dressed without help may cause even further suffering. These people often report more severe pain, more mental health problems and even difficulty thinking and reasoning.

Chronic Pain Mapping Breakthrough

The experience of long-term pain is complicated and varies greatly between individuals, making it difficult to explain and quantify, let alone diagnose and manage. A new study shows that how and where a patient reports areas of their chronic pain affects nearly all aspects of the pain experience, including what happens months later. The researchers discovered that patients usually fit into nine different groups of chronic pain.

What’s more, these patterns of pain distribution can help predict pain intensity, pain quality, pain impact, physical function, mood, sleep and likely patient outcomes. This ability for body pain maps to help determine patient outcomes can help to identify whether certain patients will have better or worse outcomes from the start. This will also help determine more specific treatments for pain.

Conventional Medical Treatments

“Chronic pain” is a vague term that doesn’t really define the patient’s condition, and conventional medicine often fails to address the root cause of the pain. Instead, the conventional medicine approach attempts to disguise the pain. Pain can be very subjective to each individual patient. What feels like extreme pain to one person may feel like moderate pain or mild pain to another.

Most often the patient will provide the medical professional with a description of their pain. This includes the type of pain (stabbing, aching, sharp, mild, intermittent), timing of pain (does the pain worsen in the evening, interfere with sleep, etc.), location (can it be pinpointed to one spot, is it referred pain, is it diffuse pain), and history of pain.

You doctor may also ask you:

• How pain affects the rest of your life
• Other physical or mental health symptoms
• Triggers that may make the pain worse
• Any other diagnosed health conditions
• Recent injuries or illnesses
• Current medications

Depending on your symptoms and medical history, your doctor may order one or more of the following tests to check specific causes of pain:

• Bloodwork
• Urine tests
• Spinal fluid tests
• Biopsies
• Nerve function tests
• X-ray, MRI or CT scans

Doctors usually conduct a nerve function test and reflex test as well, to determine if nerves are functioning properly or if there is dysfunctional signaling in the nerves.

Medication

A medical doctor will usually prescribe medication for pain, but many pain medications come at a huge price. In addition to directly addressing the pain, health professionals may also prescribe medications that work on the psychological issues with pain.

Medications prescribed may include antidepressants, anti-anxiety medication, muscle relaxers, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS), aspirin, corticosteroids, opioids, dextromethorphan, ketamine and lidocaine are also used.

Side effects include liver or stomach issues, constipation, weight gain, fluid retention, sleepiness, dizziness, impaired thinking, and addiction which accompanies many pain meds. One other thing about taking acetaminophen (Tylenol) and NSAIDS (Ibuprofen) is that these medications can reduce empathy for others and blunt emotions.

While opioids can help with severe forms of pain, they can also sensitize a person to the pain, creating a vicious cycle. Opioids and some other medications are extremely addictive, and patients usually develop a tolerance to them, creating a need for higher and higher dosages to maintain the same effect. Opioids are one of the most common medications that cause addiction, overdoses and death.

Surgical Intervention

Depending on the type of pain, surgery can sometimes be the answer. Surgical intervention works effectively for acute pain due to a recent injury; however, surgery for chronic pain such as back pain often has mixed results with lower success rates.

Surgery is often a last resort to end or reduce pain. Often back surgeries fail to stop the pain and the phrase “failed back surgery syndrome” is a fairly common one. Knee surgeries and knee replacements often have similar mixed results.

Non-Pharmacological Pain Treatments

Some medical treatments can include a variety of non-surgical, non-pharmaceutical modalities that attempt to block or interrupt the nerves that conduct pain.

Nerve blocks

An anesthetic is injected near the spinal nerves in the neck or back to directly block the nerves in the area of the pain. This can work but can also impair movement in the area as well. Nerve blocks like epidurals, are effective enough to use on women in labor, but can help many other forms of pain as well. Nerve blocks can be used on cancer pain, arthritis flare-ups, facial pain like trigeminal neuralgia, shingles pain, low back pain, migraines, and chronic regional pain syndrome (CRPS).

Nerve blocks can be used for chronic, long-term pain, post-surgical pain, and severe acute pain. Nerve blocks can ease pain by bringing about immediate relief—ask any mom-to-be whose ever had an epidural during labor!

Nerve blocks can also offer longer-term relief, because some injections can reduce irritation and inflammation to nerves and help them heal. Nerve blocks can also prevent movement to help with healing as well.

Nerve blocks can be very helpful to people dealing with chronic pain so that they can function normally in their daily lives, allowing them to work, exercise and deal with day-to-day activities without the distraction and restriction of pain.

However, nerve blocks are a temporary fix. The pain will return after the anesthetic medication wears off. Some people will need repeated or even long-term nerve block treatments to manage their inflammation and pain.

Electro-Stimulation/TENS

Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) is a method of pain relief involving the use of a mild electrical current.

A TENS unit is a small, battery-operated device with leads that attach to the skin with pads. Small electrical impulses that feel like a tingling sensation are delivered to the affected area. These electrical impulses can disrupt pain signals traveling to the spinal cord and brain.

TENS and other ‘E-stim’ units are used to reduce pain and muscle spasms from arthritis, knee or joint pain, tendonitis, back pain, and pulled and strained muscles.

Movement Therapy

Movement rehabilitation that includes functional exercise training, physical therapy, occupational therapy and specific exercise programs can be effectively used to help manage chronic pain. Movement rehabilitation improves blood flow, range of motion, and circulation–which in turn helps to improve pain, remove inflammatory substances and reducing stiffness and swelling.

Exercise therapy, like physical therapy, also helps to strengthen weak or tight muscles in the area of pain, improving the body’s overall balance, strength and function.

Any movement modality will help to relieve stress, increase endorphins (‘feel-good’ hormones), improve one’s quality of life, aid in more restful sleep, and even prevent or reverse some of the brain changes that are associated with chronic pain.

Physical therapy techniques for pain management can also include heat or cold applications, stretching exercises, foam rolling techniques, joint mobilization, and kinesiology taping. All of these can make it easier to return to work and daily habits, increasing independence, self-reliance and quality of life.

Other gentle, movement-based therapies such as yoga, tai chi, qigong, and even working with a knowledgeable person trainer have shown a large degree of success in the world of chronic pain management. Many pain clinics and integrative medicine centers now offer movement-based therapy for pain.

Several small studies point to the effectiveness of these therapies:

1. In one study published in the journal, Alternative Therapies for Health and Medicine, those with chronic low back pain taking yoga classes reported substantial decreases in pain and used fewer pain medications.
2. Another study from BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders found that tai chi decreased pain and stress for patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
3. This study published in the Journal of Rheumatology found people who were suffering from osteoarthritis reported considerably less pain and stiffness in their joints when taking a tai chi program.

Alternative Treatments

Many people have found complementary or alternative medicine approaches very helpful—sometimes in addition to conventional medical pain management—or instead of, conventional medical pain management.

Alternative medicine approaches include:

• Chiropractic care
• Acupuncture
• Dry needling
• Meditation
• Massage therapy
• Rolfing
• Hydrotherapy
• Red light (infrared) therapy
• Laser therapy
• Biofeedback
• Iontophoresis
• Traction
• Ultrasound
• Platelet-Rich Plasma injections

Many of these alternative approaches are used in combination with other alternative modalities. Some of the more popular alternative and complementary medicine practices are chiropractic care, acupuncture, massage, and meditation.

Chiropractic Care

There are many different types of chiropractic care and like all doctors, some chiropractors are excellent, and others, not so great. What does a chiropractor do? There are a number of different types of chiropractic practices and definitions depending on who you ask. According to the World Federation of Chiropractic, the meaning of chiropractic medicine is:

“A health profession concerned with the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mechanical disorders of the musculoskeletal system, and the effects of these disorders on the function of the nervous system and general health. There is an emphasis on manual treatments including spinal adjustment and other joint and soft-tissue manipulation.”

Because the spine and central nervous system control every part of the body, chiropractors focus on the health of the spine being properly aligned. When the spine shifts out of its proper place, then adjustments are used to help bring the spine back into alignment.

According to chiropractic teachings, when the spine is out of alignment, it can impinge on nerves, creating pain almost anywhere in the body. Often when the spine is out of alignment, pain and nerve compression can cause the muscles to lock up in a spasm. The chiropractor aims to move the spine to release the spasm, regain normal movement and blood flow, and allow for normal nerve transmission.

Many people find that chiropractic care either alone or combined with other treatments helps reduce acute and chronic pain.

Acupuncture

Acupuncture has been around for thousands of years and has been used by the Chinese to treat a variety of conditions. The Chinese philosophy behind acupuncture is a bit more complicated to explain, as the ancient practice isn’t traditionally based in modern science and western medicine.

When acupuncture needles are inserted into specific areas on the body, these points are believed to stimulate certain areas in the central nervous system. The biochemical changes stimulate the body’s natural healing abilities and promote physical and emotional well-being. Even though tiny needles are inserted into the skin, the procedure is relatively painless.

A 2015 analysis of acupuncture published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that “acupuncture is associated with reductions in chronic pain…compared to no acupuncture control.”

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) studies have shown that acupuncture is an effective treatment alone or in combination with conventional therapies to treat the following: chronic headaches or migraines, muscle spasms, arthritis pain, back pain, neck pain and many other conditions.

Massage

Massage is a healing, hands-on approach that can be soothing or vigorous. Based on research, massage therapy is considered an effective pain management technique, and is frequently recommended as an effective pain management option.

Massage not only helps relieve pain, but also relieves stress, allows for relaxation and reduces both depression and anxiety. Massage also releases (‘feel good’) endorphins which aid in increasing one’s feelings of well-being.

Massage is the practice of rubbing and kneading the body using the hands. During a massage, a massage therapist will apply gentle or strong pressure to the muscles, fascia and joints of the body to ease pain and tension.

Some of the various types of massage include: Swedish massage, hot stone massage, aromatherapy massage, deep tissue massage, sports massage, trigger point massage, and myofascial release.

Meditation

Meditation has actually been shown to be very powerful in reducing many forms of pain. Meditation is an ancient practice with roots in Buddhism and other Eastern religions. Different styles of meditation help each person choose what works best for them. Meditation teaches patients how to change their reaction to the pain.

Researchers have examined meditation’s effects on people in hundreds of studies. Researchers have looked at meditation in terms of body awareness, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and addiction. Scientists have also studied the use of meditation as a treatment for pain. In these studies, meditation has been shown ease pain—sometimes significantly.

This Wake Forest University study performed MRI scans of subjects’ brains while inducing pain. Then a certified instructor taught the subjects how to practice mindfulness meditation. On the fifth day, the researchers scanned the volunteers again, once while not meditating, and then while meditating, with pain induced during both sessions. There was an almost 40 percent reduction in pain intensity ratings during the meditation when compared with non-meditation.

Meditation may actually change the structure of the brain. While pain medications ignore the psychological and social aspects of pain, meditation can treat pain by changing one’s perception of pain, diminishing their anxiety of pain, and leave the patient feeling calmer, happier, and more in control.

The Worst Foods for Pain and Inflammation

Inflammation can be a very subtle process—one that you may not even be aware of. What you eat, and how much you eat has a definite effect on the level of inflammation—and the resulting pain in your body. Certain foods that you eat can trigger inflammation and the immune system in turn will attack various parts of the body, resulting in tissue damage and pain.

Certain types of pro-inflammatory proteins also work by directly activating nerve cells, which can both initiate and intensify pain.

Some health conditions can be an underlying cause for chronic pain. These health conditions include:

• Celiac disease or non-celiac gluten sensitivity
• Irritable bowel syndrome
• Food allergies/sensitivities
• Crohn’s disease
• Gout
• Ulcerative colitis
• Headaches/migraines
• Diabetes/neuropathy

What does the food you eat have to do with pain in your body? The majority (70% or so) of your immune cells live in your digestive tract. So, what you eat has a powerful effect on whether or not you trigger an inflammatory response. Some foods can start an inflammatory cascade and other foods ease inflammation.

Sugar and Processed Foods

Many of the processed foods, additives, chemicals, and pesticides in our food supply are known to increase inflammation. Processed foods end up becoming a substantial part of many people’s diet. Convenience foods, snack cakes, chips, soda and breakfast cereals are all quick and easy to grab and go.

It is easy to see how a diet of unnatural, low nutrient, low fiber, high sugar, high omega six fats can fuel chronic pain. A Harvard Medical School study found the traditional SAD diet (full of processed meats, sugar, gluten, corn and fried foods) was associated with higher levels of inflammatory markers.

Sugar in the diet is linked to many poor health issues including diabetes, heart disease and cancer. The main mechanism in sugar that leads to debilitating chronic disease is inflammation.

Other research suggests that sugar in the diet can negatively affect the gut microbiome, further increasing inflammation and autoimmune activation. Sugar can also damage the gut, causing leaky gut syndrome, leading to further inflammation, food sensitivities and chronic pain.

Omega 6 Vegetable Seed Oils

Once thought of as healthy polyunsaturated, Omega 6 seed oils like safflower, cottonseed, sunflower, corn, peanut and soy oils are big contributors to inflammation and pain. Many people have diets high in omega 6 fats fatty acids.

In spite of their ‘healthy’ label, processed seed oils are significantly worse than even sugar and grains. Processed seed oils create free radicals that damage healthy cells and trigger inflammation. Vegetable seed oils are considered to be one of the primary root causes of chronic pain as well as chronic inflammatory diseases including, heart disease, Alzheimer’s, diabetes and even cancer.

The Standard American Diet includes large amounts of omega 6 fats. One of the components of omega 6 fats is arachidonic acid (ARA). ARA is present in the membranes of people’s cells involved in inflammation. ARA is also a precursor to a number of potent pro-inflammatory substances in the body.

Arachidonic acid not only contributes to the development of inflammation, but also promotes the excitability of the peripheral nerve system, contributing to pain exacerbation.

The truth is that the cumulative amount of omega 6 fats that you eat will be detrimental to your health and increase pain and inflammation. For individuals who suffer with chronic pain, inflammatory or autoimmune disease, any processed vegetable oils including canola oil, cottonseed, oil, sunflower oil, soybean oil, corn oil, safflower oil and soybean oil should be totally avoided.

Instead, consuming natural, minimally processed fats from olive oil, coconut oil, wild seafood, nuts and seeds, and healthy animal fats will reduce inflammation and pain.

Gluten

Gluten free diets became such a buzzword that it often gets thought of as a trendy diet instead of a diet to help real medical conditions. Gluten in the diet can often be very insidious, causing inflammation and health conditions, sometimes with little or no identifiable symptoms.

Gluten is a type of protein found in grains like wheat, barley and rye. Besides being hiding out in bread and other wheat products, it also winds up in sauces, processed meat, and other packaged foods.

For those with celiac disease or sensitivity to gluten, even small amounts can become a major pain trigger. While more research is still needed, gluten may even cause pain or symptoms in individuals without a diagnosis of celiac disease or an obvious sensitivity.

One study actually found a very strong link to gluten sensitivity and neurological conditions of unknown origin. And for some people with gluten sensitivity, the primary symptom they experienced was neurological dysfunction, including pain.

Research data suggests that nearly 60 percent of people with neurological dysfunction of unknown origin test positive for anti-gliadin antibodies. It is thought that gluten may interfere with the body’s ability to absorb certain vitamins and nutrients essential for proper nerve function. This can result in chronic pain, tingling and numbness.

Nightshades

Nightshades are a family of plants belonging to the Solanaceae family. They include some of the most frequently eaten foods in our diet including:

• Tomatoes
• White potatoes
• Peppers
• Eggplant

People can be sensitive to all the nightshades or just one or two of them. White potatoes are often the worst of the nightshades for causing inflammation—and they are often combined with omega 6 oils, which add to the inflammation. French fries, for example, may cause a noticeable increase in pain. Other offending foods include: Paprika, goji berries, ashwagandha, gooseberries, ground cherries, huckleberries and tobacco.

Nightshades contain alkaloids that can irritate the gastrointestinal tract, and when absorbed into the bloodstream, they can destroy oxygen-rich red blood cells. One of the alkaloids, solanine, can also accumulate and block an enzyme called cholinesterase, lighting the body’s pain fuse.

One of the major problems that nightshades can cause is pain and inflammation in the joints. In fact, some researchers believe that arthritis can easily be misdiagnosed in people who may just have a nightshade sensitivity.

Other reactions to nightshades include irritable bowel flare-ups, asthma, GI issues, heartburn, nerve sensitization, and joint pain and swelling.

Flare-ups can take three hours to three days, so it’s often hard to identify the offender. If you live in chronic pain or have ongoing inflammation, it would be wise to eliminate nightshades for a period of time.

Dairy Products

Dairy products, especially commercially-raised and processed dairy products, have been known to cause inflammation and pain. Dairy contains a high level of protein called casein, which is responsible for allergic reactions and especially bone and joint pain. Low-fat processed dairy, like conventional low-fat yogurt, which is full of sugar should be definitely be avoided.

This review suggests that limiting dairy consumption will help those with arthritis decrease inflammation and alleviate pain. Another study published in The Journal of Nutrition found that eating dairy foods increased chronic, low-grade inflammation. And a study of 40,000 people with osteoarthritis (OA) found that those who ate dairy products regularly were more likely to need hip replacement surgery. Note: this does NOT apply to raw, whole milk products. This type of dairy actually decreases inflammation.

If you are concerned about getting calcium, other healthier sources of calcium include collard greens, kale, other dark leafy greens, chickpeas, almonds and blackstrap molasses.

Alcohol

How can consuming alcohol lead to whole-body inflammation?

If you drink alcohol on a regular basis, over time it can irritate the GI tract, including the liver. This ongoing irritation can alter the bacteria in the gut, raising levels of inflammation including an inflammatory marker called C-reactive protein. The liver creates CRP, and the more inflammation it encounters, the more CRP it makes.

CRP is a general index of inflammation. Chronically elevated levels of CRP have been associated with high blood pressure, obesity, and chronic infections and chronic pain. CRP has already been identified as a marker for the development of cardiovascular disease and other medical conditions that can cause chronic pain, such as diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis.

When it comes to chronic pain, higher levels of CRP have been found in those with fibromyalgia as well. And another study examining patients with rheumatoid arthritis found that CRP was also associated with an increase in their sensitivity to pain.

Food and Chronic Neck/Shoulder Pain

If you happen to have right-sided chronic shoulder/neck pain, or even headaches, consider this: it may not be in your neck or shoulder—it may be coming from gall bladder. This is called ‘referred pain’ and is actually very common, although many people don’t realize there is a connection.

Here’s what happens: the gall bladder has a series of ducts that connect it to the digestive system to digest fats. It is also connected to the liver and the pancreas. When there is a blockage in any of these ducts, due to irritation (possibly from excessive alcohol consumption) or from sludge (which happens frequently), this buildup creates some irritation, inflammation and swelling.

The swelling in this area puts pressure on the diaphragm and a small nerve called the ‘phrenic nerve’ that starts near the base of the diaphragm and runs up the right and left sides of the spine to the head. Because the gall bladder, pancreas and liver are located on the right side, this is usually where the pain is felt—up in the right shoulder, the neck or even in the head.

What causes this irritation? It’s pretty simple, actually. Omega 6 fatty acids create inflammation. Too much consumption of any foods containing omega 6 seed oils including canola oil, soybean oil, safflower oil, sunflower oil, corn oil, etc. can contribute. Nuts, nut butters, peanuts or peanut butter can also contribute to this health condition, since they tend to have omega 6 fats in them. Processed foods, refined grains and sugar are often culprits as well.

So, the next time you have a pain in the neck or shoulder, think back about what you’ve been eating the past few days—it could just be that you may need to change your diet.

Best Foods to Reduce Pain and Inflammation

The key to reducing inflammation is to start with the gut. A large proportion of your immune system is actually in your GI tract. There has been found strong relationship between the gut bacteria and chronic pain.

The gut microbiome balance is a critical key to visceral pain (coming from internal organs). However, there is also plenty of evidence that the gut bacteria play an important role in other types of chronic pain and inflammation. Other types of pain the gut affects include headache and migraine pain, arthritic pain, neuropathic pain, and even opioid tolerance.

The gut bacteria can regulate pain in the peripheral (outlying nervous system) and the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord). By targeting our specific gut bacteria with dietary modifications, this emerging intervention may represent a new, effective therapeutic strategy for the management of chronic pain and emotional distress.

The goal here is to identify and move away from inflammatory foods, and to work towards more organic fresh vegetables, some fruit and naturally raised meat, poultry, and ocean wildlife.

One of the best ways to do identify foods that may be causing ongoing inflammation and pain is to do a food elimination diet. There are many different types of food elimination diet, but the basic premise is this: For a period of two to four weeks, eliminate all possible inflammatory foods. This includes:

• All grains, especially gluten, and processed grains and flours
• All sugars
• All other processed foods that come in boxes, bags, or packaging
• All sauces
• Dairy products
• Omega 6 oils such as, soybean, canola, corn, safflower, sunflower, cottonseed oils

After eliminating these foods for a minimum of two weeks, note how your pain feels. Is it better? Keep a journal of your results. Then, one-by-one, challenge each food by consuming it for a couple of days and note your pain levels.

Anti-inflammatory Foods

Anti-inflammatory foods are notable for their abundance of antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and other key phytochemicals. Anti-inflammatory foods are often also plentiful in omega 3—not omega 6 essential fatty acids.

The evidence here is clear that these types of anti-inflammatory foods will modulate and regulate the immune system—making it work effectively against invading pathogens while remaining calm and reducing chronic inflammation and pain in the body.

While there are many, many foods that can reduce pain, while improving health and well-being, we will discuss some of the best pain and inflammation-reducing foods.

Omega 3 Fatty Acids

Fats with healing inflammation-reducing capabilities contain omega 3 fatty acids. Omega 3 fats have many healthful, healing properties like preventing disease, fighting cancer, reducing the aging process, improving the mood, and helping protect the brain. And they are powerful tools to help fight chronic pain.

Omega 3 fats are made up of Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). These fatty acids are found in cold water, wild caught fish like salmon, cod and sardines, as well as grass fed meats and pasture raised poultry. It is important to note however, that conventionally-raised grain fed meat and farm raised fish contain more omega 6 fats and less omega 3’s.

Omega 3 fatty acids are absolutely necessary for good health. These essential fats are essential for optimal brain and nerve function, which in turn helps to modulate the immune system and reduce pain.

In addition to helping your body fight pain and inflammation, omega 3 fats can prevent heart disease, lower cholesterol, reduce the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, depression, anxiety and asthma. In addition, these fats help to fight cancer, reduce menopause symptoms, manage lupus, prevent migraines, improve rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis and more.

Grass Fed Butter

Grass fed butter is full of anti-inflammatory nutrients that help to ease pain. If you happen to have a dairy sensitivity, consuming ghee (butter with the milk solids removed) will bring you all the benefits of butter without the dairy.

Both butter and ghee contain a healthy fat called butyric acid, an anti-inflammatory fatty acid that helps keep your gut lining healthy. Both butter and ghee also contain conjugated linoleic acid, (CLA), a healthy polyunsaturated fat that lowers inflammation.

Butyric acid is an incredible anti-inflammatory agent that improves the beneficial bacteria in the gut (which as we discussed previously, lowers pain and inflammation), suppresses the growth of harmful bacteria, and helps those with digestive disorders. Butter is a valuable treatment for people with chronic pain, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Crohn’s disease, and celiac disease.

MUFA’s

Monounsaturated oils like extra-virgin olive oil, avocado oil, and coconut oil are rich in polyphenols and antioxidants that fight inflammation. Monounsaturated polyphenols, like those in olive oil, are powerful inhibitors of inflammation.

These oils help block messaging molecules that signal to increase pain and inflammation. They also contain enzymes that block the action of pro-inflammatory substances in the body.

Olive oil, especially, is known to significantly lower levels of C- reactive protein (CRP), which is a standard medical laboratory test for inflammation, and as mentioned earlier, CRP increases pain, while decreasing one’s ability to withstand pain.

Using monounsaturated fats to control inflammation does not require a large amount. As little as 1 or 2 Tablespoons a day are associated with significant anti-inflammatory benefits. But, be sure when you purchase olive oil you are getting genuine olive oil and not a cheap fake olive oil.

Healing Proteins

Good quality protein is key to your body’s ability to use it. High quality grass fed beef or bison, free range chicken and organic eggs, and wild caught fish are the best protein sources you can eat. These protein sources contain the right ratios of omega 3 fats to omega 6 fats and contain highly bio-available protein that is easier to digest and assimilate than commercially raised livestock and poultry.

In addition, CLA and omega 3 fats in grass fed meats and wild caught fish are essential to optimal health and improve your cells’ response to insulin, neurotransmitters and other messengers. They’re also very important for the repair process when your cells are damaged.

The best types of animal proteins are free of hormones, antibiotics and toxins–meaning they are considered ‘clean’ proteins, with no toxic residue to increase pain or inflammation.

Antioxidant-Rich (Organic) Fruits and Veggies

While all plant foods contain nutrients that fight cancer and strengthen the immune system, particular herbs, fruits and vegetables have properties that fight oxidation and free radicals that increase inflammation; all the while strengthening, cleansing, and repairing the body.

Most any brightly colored fruit or vegetable is full of inflammation-fighting ingredients. Some of the best pain and inflammation fighters include dark green leafy vegetables, beets, cruciferous vegetables, and pineapple.

Dark green leafy vegetables that include leaf lettuce, such as arugula, spinach, Swiss chard, mache (a type of lettuce), romaine lettuce, parsley and watercress one of the most concentrated sources of nutrition of any food. They also provide a variety of phytonutrients including beta- carotene, lutein, and zeaxanthin, which protect our cells from damage. Dark green leaves even contain small amounts of healthy omega 3 fats.

The rock star nutrient in leafy greens is vitamin K, which is a key regulator of inflammation.

Other brightly colored vegetables that fight pain and inflammation include beets, known for their deep red color full of antioxidants. Beets go to work to repair cell damage caused by inflammation. Beets also contain large amounts of essential minerals, potassium and magnesium. Magnesium deficiency is often linked with painful inflammatory conditions.

Cruciferous vegetables in the diet are key to fighting pain and inflammation. The cruciferous family includes: broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, bok choy, kale, kohlrabi, Brussel sprouts, radishes, mustard greens, watercress, arugula, and turnips. Cruciferous veggies are also high in inflammation-fighting phytochemicals, including sulforaphane. Research shows the sulforaphane in cruciferous vegetables is extremely beneficial at helping to reduce pain and inflammation.

Another component in cruciferous vegetables is ascorbigen, which has been shown reduce pain sensitivity and improve the quality of life, according to this study on fibromyalgia patients.

Cruciferous vegetables have been shown to get rid of depression that often accompanies pain and inflammation. Furthermore, sulforaphane also benefits those with anxiety.

Pineapple deserves a mention here. Pineapple contains an enzyme called bromelain. Bromelain contains immune-modulating abilities. It helps to calm down the immune system to prevent unwanted pain and inflammation. The highest concentration of bromelain is contained in the stem of the pineapple, so don’t cut out this section out and throw it away!

Other healing, anti-inflammatory plant foods include: edible seaweed, acai berries, goji berries, blueberries, raspberries, cherries, and dark red or purple grapes, garlic, ginger, and turmeric.

Herbs, Spices and Tea

Herbs and spices are some of the most potent natural antioxidants on this earth. In fact, many herbs rank higher in antioxidant activity than fruits and vegetables. Herbs and spices add plenty of extra flavor, and when combined with other nutrition-packed superfoods, the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory power is boosted 10X.

Anti-Inflammatory Spices

These spices have the highest amount of antioxidants, anti-inflammatory, pain-reducing ability, so add them liberally to your foods.

Chili Peppers—Chili peppers of all types include a substance called capsaicin, which is what makes them taste hot. The hotter the pepper, the more capsaicin it contains. Capsaicin is actually an irritant, which stops the nerves from transmitting pain signals. It also creates a rush of endorphins which are one of the body’s natural painkillers. Capsaicin works well externally as a cream or internally where you get the added benefit of its cancer-fighting abilities, improved circulation, ramped up metabolism, and reduced cholesterol. So, pour on that hot sauce!

Turmeric—We’ve heard plenty about this pungent, yellow spice, but it’s worth reiterating. Turmeric contains curcumin, a very powerful anti-inflammatory that competes with commercial painkillers for its effectiveness–but without the adverse health effects.

The active ingredient, curcumin is also very good at destroying some forms of cancer, lowering cholesterol, and killing bacteria too. Turmeric needs some fat and a warming spice such as black pepper to work effectively, so add both to your turmeric milk and enjoy its healthful, pain-killing benefits.

Ginger—Ginger is in the same family as turmeric and has inherited many of the same health boosting properties. Ginger has been shown several studies to be as effective as many commercial painkillers, without the side effects like stomach bleeding, liver damage, kidney problems, and high blood pressure. Ginger also relieves nausea, bloating, and cramping while improving circulation. And it tastes delicious!

Nutmeg—Another medicinal spice that has been used in many dishes all over the world. It is effective to fight pain and lower inflammation. Nutmeg also relieves indigestion and increases circulation—which often helps reduce swelling and pain. Nutmeg also acts as a mild sedative. Nutmeg is best in small amounts; larger quantities can be toxic and serious mental issues, nausea, dry mouth, dizziness, irregular heartbeat, agitation, hallucinations and even death in large doses.

Cinnamon—Cinnamon not only tastes wonderful but contains anti-inflammatories that have been shown to be effective in easing the pain of arthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Cinnamon is also an antibacterial, antioxidant spice that lowers cholesterol and improves insulin function as well. It’s also pretty easy to add to lots of dishes, as it makes everything taste better.

Clove—Cloves and clove oil have long been known for the gentle numbing properties they contain. Clove oil can be used externally to warm and numb specific areas that are painful. Clove contains anti-inflammatory properties when you consume it as well. Add some cloves to your turmeric milk.

Garlic—Garlic is so good for almost everything health-related. And pain reduction is another example of garlic’s power. Garlic is rich in both sulfur and selenium, both of which can help to relieve joint and muscle pain.

The sulfur compounds in garlic and onions tap into the some of the same pathways as capsaicin, decreasing inflammation and pain-causing compounds, while releasing endorphins and painkillers.

The selenium in garlic helps reduces pain, swelling and stiffness in the joints. Many people with arthritis tend to have low levels of selenium. Selenium is also a powerful cancer-fighting mineral that boosts immune health, protects against heart disease, boosts thyroid functions and helps protect the brain.

Rosemary—Rosemary contains active ingredients that are potent antioxidants and anti-inflammatory agents. The antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity of rosemary is largely attributed to its polyphenolic compounds like rosmarinic acid and carnosic acid.

Rosemary has been known to improve concentration, boost memory, and lift depression. It also is a muscle and joint pain reliever. Rosemary oil can be massaged into joints and sore muscles, but it is also effective when consumed in your favorite dish. Rosemary also strengthens the immune system, improves circulation, stimulates digestion, and fights cancer, as well.

Tea

Green, white, oolong, and rooibos tea contain potent catechins, bioflavonoids and polyphenols that reduce pain and inflammation and limit free radical production. Drinking 2 cups of any of these types of teas every day will reduce inflammation significantly, as well as adding powerful antioxidants that fight aging and disease.

Natural Supplements for Pain

CBD

There are many studies on cannabinoids for pain relief. Marijuana comes from the cannabis plant and contains somewhere around a hundred compounds called ‘cannabinoids’.

Cannabinoids are naturally occurring chemical compounds in marijuana that affect neurotransmitters in the brain. One of the most well-known cannabinoids in marijuana is tetrahydrocannabinol or THC, which is the primary substance in marijuana that contains psychoactive compounds and will get you ‘high’.

Cannabidiol, or CBD is another active compound in marijuana, which does not affect the brain in the same way or get you ‘high’ but is known for its many other health benefits. CBD is also found in the hemp plant, along with the cannabis plant. The hemp plant which does not contain any psychoactive compounds like marijuana.

In the 1990’s a well-known scientist discovered a system within our own bodies that contains receptors for the compounds found in hemp and marijuana. This system is called the endocannabinoid system. This EC system actually contains receptors that connect with cannabinoids in marijuana such as CBD and THC.

Our bodies have these cannabinoid receptors in the brain, lungs, kidneys, immune system and other parts of the body that link up with the cannabinoids in marijuana when it is ingested, inhaled or applied. This is why therapeutic use of marijuana has very specific effects on different parts of the body.

CBD works as well or better than opioids in relieving pain by inhibiting the nerve transmission in the pain signaling pathways, without the tolerance or addiction of an opioid drug. CBD oil is often used by people who have chronic pain. While it works to reduce pain, it also reduces inflammation (a big part of pain), and overall discomfort that is related to many health conditions.

A 2012 study published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine found that CBD significantly suppressed chronic inflammatory and nerve pain without causing any tolerance to the treatment. Another review of multiple studies showed that a combination of CBD and THC was found very effective in treating the pain associated with Multiple Sclerosis, which is often very debilitating in 50-70% of patients.

Other studies show both CBD and THC can help to relieve depression, anxiety and stress. In one study, self-reported symptoms of depression and anxiety decreased drastically.

As of 2021, thirty-six states now allow medical marijuana to be sold. Twenty-one states allow both medical marijuana and recreational sales. CBD is legal in all 50 states; however the laws vary from state to state. Be sure to check your state’s laws on marijuana and CBD products.

Collagen

Collagen is a type of protein that helps to repair connective tissue, including ligaments and tendons, the cartilage in joints, the lining of the GI tract, certain organs and the skin.

As we age, we continually lose collagen, so we must replace the lost collagen. Much of the aging process has to do with the breakdown of collagen. Sagging and thinning skin, stiff joints, shortened stature, stooped posture, and easy bruising are all the visible signs of aging from collagen breakdown.

Collagen contains the amino acid, glycine. Our bodies need adequate amounts of glycine from collagen, and we cannot create enough on our own. An average person needs approximately 10 grams of glycine to cover all of our physical needs. Unfortunately, our bodies only make about 3 grams per day, and most of us only get about 1.5-3 grams from diet—if that. That means we cannot make enough on our own and need supplemental glycine to function optimally.

Collagen reduces inflammation—especially in the gut—which is intricately connected to the immune system. Collagen also contains amino acids vital to optimal immune function. Glycine, glutamic acid or glutamine, and arginine have been shown to help regulate the inflammatory process and support the immune function.

Glycine is considered an amino acid that has strong anti-inflammatory properties. In addition, it also helps to modulate the immune system, meaning that it helps the immune system work effectively, without causing it to overreact. Glycine also helps boost the functionality of macrophages (our cells’ scavengers) , which in turn, go after damaging free radicals and inflammatory cytokines.

B Vitamins

The B vitamins, have been shown to be effective in treating various forms of painful nerve conditions including neuropathy, low back pain, sciatica, trigeminal neuralgia and facial paralysis.

The B vitamin family is made up of thiamine (B1), riboflavin (B2), niacin (B3), pantothenic acid (B5), pyridoxine (B6), biotin (B7), folate or methylfolate (B9) and methylcobalamin (B12).

B vitamins are necessary for proper nerve function and neurotransmitter signaling. B vitamins are also effective in blocking pain signals from damaged nerves and help to repair nerves damaged by neuropathy.

Deficiency in B vitamins can contribute to various neurologic and psychiatric disturbances because the lack of B vitamins will impair nerve health, neurotransmitter function, and other neurological processes, potentially leading to symptoms like anemia, numbness/tingling, weakness, anxiety and depression.

Vitamin C

Back in the old days, a vitamin C deficiency resulted in scurvy, which was characterized by musculoskeletal pain. Scurvy is very rare these days, but evidence does indicate that vitamin C administration can still have pain-killing properties.

A number of recent clinical studies have shown that giving vitamin C to patients with chronic regional pain syndrome reduces their pain. Other types of neuralgia also show diminished pain with high dose vitamin C administration. Furthermore, cancer-related pain is decreased with high dose vitamin C, contributing to enhanced patient quality of life.

Oxidative stress and inflammation are known to have a major role in many types of chronic pain, including arthritis, CRPS, infection, cancer and surgical trauma. Vitamin C is a potent antioxidant that is capable of protecting cells and tissues from oxidative damage.

Vitamin C also acts as a cofactor in numerous enzymatic reactions and has anti-inflammatory properties, providing marked decreases in markers of inflammation such as C-reactive protein and pro-inflammatory cytokines. It’s not clear what doses of vitamin C will reduce pain, but vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin, and higher doses are not harmful.

Magnesium

Magnesium helps maintain 300 different enzymatic reactions within the body. Magnesium also has a calming, relaxing effect, eases depression and anxiety and aiding in more restful sleep. This amazing mineral also soothes chronic pain, due to its muscle-relaxing and analgesic effects.

Magnesium has reported benefits for migraine and tension headaches, low back pain, neuropathy, neuralgia and other forms of chronic aches and pains. These effects are considered to be due to blockage of specific pain receptors, attenuation of central sensitization, and muscle relaxing effects.

Epsom salts are high in magnesium and one of the best most relaxing ways to absorb magnesium is by soaking in a hot bath. The magnesium absorbed in the body from the Epsom salts will help to relax and dilate blood vessels, increasing healing blood flow and helping the healing process.

Resveratrol

Resveratrol is a powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory. Its popularity comes from its antiaging abilities, and its presence in red wine. It turns out resveratrol may do a lot more than slow down wrinkles, however!

When your body gets an injury, the nerves carry the pain signal to your brain. Those same nerves can also become hyperexcited, which means they turn up the volume on all other sensations. Often, this results in ‘false’ pain caused by hyperexcited nerves. Over time, this hyperexcitability mechanism can turn into chronic pain. It can even lead to opioid dependency and abuse.

Resveratrol, applied topically, can lower this pain, and reduce the excitability of the nerves. Resveratrol works for post-operative pain, neuropathy, arthritis, tendinitis, muscle pain, plantar fasciitis, carpal tunnel, and migraines.

SAM-e

S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM-e) is a supplement commonly used to help with symptoms of depression and to ease the pain of osteoarthritis. The liver naturally produces SAM-e from an amino acid called methionine which is a product of methylfolate, a B vitamin.

SAM-e has several functions, including helping the production and repair of cartilage, clearing the liver of toxins and helping the body with methylation production.

When taken as a supplement, SAM-e can help with symptoms of chronic pain. It is thought to be as effective as the anti-inflammatory drug Celebrex. SAM-e may take a while to work, however. In one study comparing celecoxib and SAM-e, the drug improved symptoms more than SAM-e after only a month. However, by the second month, the two treatments were comparable.

SAM-e is also well-known for its ability to be a natural antidepressant—with no side effects.

While this article focuses on pain strategies, it is important to mention that following general good health guidelines and having a healthy lifestyle will lay the groundwork to help you overcome pain.

Those healthy habits include:

• Stop smoking!
• Get a good night’s sleep.
• If pain keeps you up, try melatonin which is full of powerful anti-inflammatories and antioxidants.
• Do your best to avoid stress. If you cannot get away from it, try meditation and quieting your mind to help lower stress and cortisol.
• Exercise–Multiple studies have shown that exercise can significantly reduce chronic pain, increase nerve function and decrease neuropathy symptoms, and even reduce depression and anxiety that’s so common in chronic pain sufferers. Exercise is perhaps the most important tool in reducing pain. It can also be the hardest to start doing. When you’re in severe pain, exercise seems nearly impossible. The key is to start slow, increase gradually, and respect your body’s limits.

Pain is an individual and subjective experience and may or may not be associated with obvious tissue damage or disease. Pain is often accompanied by other influencing factors, such as mental state, coping strategies, social/cultural context, experience, and other symptoms. Taking care of yourself in a healthy, holistic fashion will pay off far, far better than just taking pain medication.

Here’s wishing you a long, happy, pain-free life.

Before you go…

30-second Himalayan practice fixes knee and joint pain (try it tonight)

Doctors were stunned to discover that a remote Himalayan tribe had almost zero cases of joint or knee pain.

And that’s despite a diet rich in cheese and red meats, and drinking copious amounts of alcohol (all things that are supposed to make knee pain and inflammation worse).

Their secret?

A simple, 30-second trick they practice at 6:45 each morning that can not only prevent — but reverse creaky and stiff knee joints. Here’s how to do it:

>> 30-second Himalayan practice “cures” knee and joint pain (try it tonight)

References
https://www.healthline.com/health/meditation-for-chronic-pain
https://newsroom.wakehealth.edu/News-Releases/2018/09/Mindful-People-Feel-Less-Pain
https://www.healthline.com/health/types-of-massage#shiatsu
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/acupuncture
https://www.healthline.com/health/acupuncture-how-does-it-work-scientifically#what-are-the-benefits
https://www.verywellhealth.com/physical-therapy-treatments-and-modalities-2696683
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-jul-05-la-he-pain-exercise-20100705-story.html
https://www.healthline.com/health/chronic-inflammation#symptoms
https://www.healthline.com/health-news/chronic-pain-the-impact-on-the-50-million-americans-who-have-it#The-effect-on-work-and-the-economy
https://draxe.com/health/chronic-pain-management/
https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/understanding-inflammation
https://www.mhanational.org/chronic-pain-and-mental-health
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/nerve-blocks
https://www.sciencealert.com/large-body-map-study-suggests-chronic-pain-comes-in-9-distinct-types
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2771434/
https://draxe.com/nutrition/pain-triggering-foods/
https://www.sun-sentinel.com/health/fl-xpm-2012-05-04-fl-suzy-cohen-042912-20120423-story.html
https://www.thehealthy.com/pain/foods-that-fight-inflammation/
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/research/advancements-in-research/fundamentals/in-depth/the-gut-where-bacteria-and-immune-system-meet
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0007091219306385
https://www.webmd.com/pain-management/ss/slideshow-foods-fight-pain
https://www.thehealthy.com/pain/foods-that-fight-inflammation/
https://zenfoods.com/three-important-benefits-of-cruciferous-vegetables/
https://news.osu.edu/antioxidants-new-kid-on-the-block-for-pain-relief/
https://sunwarrior.com/blogs/health-hub/17-herbs-and-spices-as-painkillers
https://arrowheadhealth.com/home-remedies-for-muscle-and-joint-pain/
https://www.healthline.com/health/cbd-for-depression#for-anxiety
https://fullscript.com/blog/chronic-back-pain-supplements
https://boomernaturals.com/blogs/news/b-complex-for-chronic-pain-relief
https://draxe.com/nutrition/vitamin-b/

The post Rid Yourself of Pain for Good appeared first on thenutritionwatchdog.com.

I remember years ago that my Dad had this jar of gin-soaked raisins on his counter and he said that he read somewhere that it helped alleviate joint pain, and other health benefits.  I was skeptical at the time, but hey, they actually tasted pretty good, so I would always eat a few every time I visited my Dad.

I even recently tried my own version of this concoction and made whiskey-soaked raisins too…they were quite tasty, and I enjoyed my daily ration 🙂

Well, my friends at TheAlternativeDaily wrote a good article about this topic and I wanted to share it today…

More than 50 million American adults and around 300,000 children suffer from joint pain brought on by arthritis. Arthritis occurs in people of all ages and sexes, but it the most prevalent in women. It is the leading cause of disability in the United States with numbers steadily increasing. According to the Arthritis Foundation of Atlanta, there are over one hundred different types of arthritis. Degenerative arthritis is the most common, followed closely by inflammatory arthritis.

One of the most painful and least understood forms of arthritis is inflammatory arthritis, which is actually not related to aging. Rather, it is an autoimmune disease. In people with autoimmune diseases, the body mistakenly attacks itself. Usually, those who suffer from one autoimmune disease will develop more throughout the course of their lives. For instance, a person with Hashimoto’s (a thyroid autoimmune disease) may very well develop a number of other autoimmune diseases, like arthritis.

When inflammatory arthritis is present, the patient will experience painful inflammation of numerous joints and other parts of the body. The cause of inflammatory arthritis has not yet been discovered, although there is some debate on how to treat the disease, including eating gin-soaked raisins or an autoimmune paleo diet. Anecdotal evidence suggests that avoiding inflammatory foods and eating a strictly autoimmune paleo diet can significantly improve symptoms, although very few studies are being performed to support these claims.

With inflammatory arthritis, pain and inflammation come and go — sometimes without warning. This makes it hard to perform even the simplest of daily tasks. In some cases, joints may become permanently deformed. This makes it extremely difficult for those affected by it to live a normal life or even work jobs that demand physical strength. The cost of doctor visits, physical therapy, prescription medication and more can range from $600 to $10,000 per month. In severe cases, a joint replacement may become necessary.

To date, there is no known cure for inflammatory arthritis. Conventional treatment usually involves a combination of patient education, rest, exercise, joint protection and medications — many with uncomfortable side effects. The earlier the condition is diagnosed, the more effectively people seem to respond to treatment.

Like any chronic condition, those in pain may search tirelessly for anything to improve their quality of life. This includes an assertive push towards alternative, and even folk remedies. Seeking out alternative remedies for arthritis seems worthwhile, since pharmaceutical treatments often do not serve the patient well, especially in the long term.

A study that examined arthritis patients following 20 years of conventional treatment found that 35 percent had died, and 19 percent were severely disabled. The study found that function improved over the early years of treatment, but a considerable decline was seen between the 10 and 20 year mark. Medication never induced remission of the disease. This is likely because these pharmaceuticals are used to ease symptoms or even block the pain, but they do not facilitate or the support the body’s ability to heal itself.

Alternative remedies for arthritis

With the rather dark prognosis for medicating arthritis with pharmaceuticals, it is perhaps no surprise that many people turn to the Internet in an effort to find relief for their symptoms. Just a quick scan reveals a number of home and alternative therapies with noted success to relieve the pain and inflammation associated with arthritis. These include such things as magnetic therapy, acupuncture, ginger, Epsom salt, turmeric, dandelion leaves and more.

While some of these methods can be pricey, others are easy enough to come by. They may well be part of a well-stocked kitchen and their use can do very little damage. It should be noted that even home remedies can sometimes cause side effects in very sensitive people, however. It is advisable to take notes of any and all changes you experience, positive or negative. This will give you a great idea of what works and how much is too much.

Are you lucky enough to have a family recipe of a tincture that was passed down through generations — maybe even gin-soaked raisins? With such home remedies you likely won’t find a whole lot of research. But don’t we all just love testimonials from our very own loved ones who swear by their own tinctures?

Interestingly enough, many long-standing folk remedies eventually gain the attention of scientists who work hard to figure out how and why they work. This happened with such remedies as lavender for better sleep and elderberry for colds, both of which are well supported by a growing library of scientific research.

A very strange folk remedy

This very special remedy is all the rage these days, but it has actually been around for a while. Plus, both juniper berries (used to make gin) and raisins have a long history of health benefits.

Using gin-soaked raisins for relieving arthritis pain was first popularized by the late radio celebrity Paul Harvey, who mentioned them on his show. Harvey spoke about the raisins in 1994. He noted that the practice of soaking raisins in gin for pain relief had been around for over twenty years at that time. Others state that the practice dates back even earlier than this.

Paul Harvey also read letters from his audience who had experienced positive results with the raisins. This popularized the folk remedy even more.

What is the method?

The method is simple. It involves putting golden raisins in a shallow bowl and pouring just enough gin to cover them on top. Once the gin has totally evaporated (usually about one week), the raisins can be moved to a glass jar with a lid. It has been suggested that persons afflicted with chronic pain consume 10 soaked raisins daily.

Why combine these two ingredients? It is not truly understood what makes the combination of gin and raisins so powerful. However, it is believed that combining certain nutrients can create a powerhouse of a remedy. We are still just understanding how all the macronutrients in a balanced diet work together. What we do know is that the combination works better, sometimes cooked and sometimes raw, to provide the full benefits of food for the human body. So why not give raisins soaked in gin a try?

Can moderate alcohol consumption help reduce joint damage?

Swedish researchers followed 2,900 adults who had inflammatory arthritis. They found that those who were light to moderate drinkers showed a slower advancement of joint damage compared to non-drinkers.

Those that drank heavily showed the fastest advancement. Study leaders noted that these findings were in line with past research, which demonstrated that moderate drinking did lower the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis. This also confirms the general idea that lifestyle factors and nutrition definitely affect the onset and development of arthritis.

Gin is flavored with juniper berries, which are rich in vitamin C, catechins, alpha-terpineol, alpha-pinene, betulin caryophyllene, limonene, menthol, rutin and delta-3-carene. These are all anti-inflammatory compounds.

Juniper berries have a long history of medicinal use dating back to the Greeks and Romans, who appeared to use them for medicine prior to food. Research shows that juniper berries contain potent antioxidants as well as antibacterial properties. In Medieval times, juniper berries were used in nosegays, which were small bouquets of flowers one would sniff to cover up the scent of the plague. Perhaps this was a wise application for these medicinally effective berries.

Golden raisins

Also known as sultana raisins, golden raisins are made from sultana grapes, which hail from Turkey. Loaded with antioxidants such as resveratrol and vitamin C, raisins also contain ferulic acid, gentisic acid and salicylic acid — known pain relievers. In addition, raisins contain potassium and calcium, both of which help protect against bone demineralization.

Golden raisins are treated with sulfur dioxide in order to slow down the browning process. After this, they are either oven-dried or flame-dried. Sulfides left on the grapes after drying are thought to provide anti-inflammatory benefits. Sulfur is common in many other treatments for arthritis, including natural sulfur springs, garlic and Epsom salt.

This type of simple natural medicine may be more effective than the refined, targeted substances in medications because the properties of the gin and raisins are working together. The exact causative pathways of arthritis are unknown. There may be many mechanisms in the body that are affected in the development of arthritis.

Perhaps the synergy between the various natural compounds in the drunken raisins remedy creates a communication with the body to allow it to heal on a complex level that modern science cannot yet analyze or address.

Will you get drunk?

Although these raisins are often called “drunken raisins,” it is unlikely that you will feel any effect from the small amount of alcohol they absorb. Interestingly, gin was originally used as an herbal medicine and not as an alcoholic drink. Even now, gin is commonly used as a solvent in traditional medicine. It extracts active ingredients from leaves, roots, barks and other herbs.

Soaking raisins in gin allows all of their therapeutic properties to be readily absorbed and used. Some of the medicinal compounds in plants are not water soluble so they do not get extracted when we eat them; rather they are alcohol-soluble. Extraction via alcohol makes them available for our bodies to use.

Other nutritional arthritis remedies

Whether or not drunken raisins are a proven remedy, studies have definitely drawn a link between nutrition and the development of arthritis. Dr. Paul Jaminet, the author of The Perfect Health Diet, recommends keeping an eye on the level of certain nutrients in the diet of arthritis sufferers. He explains that vitamin K2 supplementation may be helpful, as this prevents improper calcification of the joints. The next most important nutrients are magnesium, vitamin D and vitamin C.

Dr. Jaminet also emphasizes the importance of consuming carbohydrates for healthy joints. For some people, a low carbohydrate diet may cause a chain of events resulting in joint pain. A possible explanation is that glucosamine, the substance that supports joint health, is made from glucose.

The body can produce glucose by breaking down proteins and fats. However, this is a labor-intensive process. People can prevent it by simply consuming a healthy amount of complex carbohydrates like starchy root vegetables or rice.

Gluten is often pointed out as a contributor to arthritis pain. This is because it can cause an autoimmune response where the body starts to attack its own tissues. Nightshade vegetables, which include peppers, eggplants, tomatoes and potatoes, are another potential cause of autoimmune-based arthritis. Nightshades are covered by a skin that contains alkaloids. These alkaloids act like a natural bug spray to protect the plant. In healthy people, these alkaloids won’t cause any damage. But for those with autoimmune diseases, alkaloids can be quite toxic and cause inflammation.

These are important avenues to investigate for those dealing with chronic arthritis pain. Many sufferers find that dietary and nutritional adjustments can help lessen or entirely remove arthritis symptoms.

The verdict

Whether or not you believe that soaking raisins in gin will bring you any relief from inflammation and pain, it appears as though a great number of people have found relief in this home remedy. More and more are trying it daily. The only way to find out if it helps you is to give it a try!

Always talk to a medical professional before trying any folk remedy. If you are allergic to sulfates, this is not the best remedy for you. Raisins will keep well in the refrigerator. People report a noticeable improvement in pain within one to eight weeks.

—Susan Patterson
(The original article source is here)

Before you go…

30-second Himalayan practice fixes knee and joint pain (try it tonight)

Doctors were stunned to discover that a remote Himalayan tribe had almost zero cases of joint or knee pain.

And that’s despite a diet rich in inflammatory foods and drinking copious amounts of alcohol (things that are supposed to make knee pain and inflammation worse).

Their secret?

A simple, 30-second trick they practice at 6:45 each morning that can not only prevent — but reverse creaky and stiff knee joints. Here’s how to do it:

>> 30-second Himalayan practice “cures” knee and joint pain (try it tonight)

The post True or False: Do Gin-Soaked Raisins Really Work To Alleviate Pain & Inflammation? appeared first on thenutritionwatchdog.com.

By: Cat Ebeling RN, MSN-PHN, co-author of the best-seller: The Diabetes Fix

High blood pressure has become a very common problem but can definitely become a serious health issue. Hypertension means that your blood vessel walls have lost their elasticity and ability to easily expand.

The narrow opening in your blood vessels means that you run a higher risk for heart disease, heart attacks, strokes and aneurysms. An aneurysm is a bulging spot in the blood vessel. An aneurysm can be extremely dangerous because it can rupture, causing a hemorrhagic stroke internal bleeding. This is most often deadly.

As is the case with most chronic diseases, diet plays a huge role in determining whether or not you get high blood pressure. In fact, what you eat and drink—or don’t eat and drink—plays a far bigger role than even genetics. Diets high in sugar, vegetable seed oils, processed foods and alcohol can contribute to high blood pressure. However, certain foods high in antioxidants, vitamins and minerals can help to lower blood pressure.

Foods containing Magnesium and Potassium

Colorful fruits, veggies, seeds and nuts contain a generous supply of magnesium and potassium. Magnesium is vital to over 300 bodily functions, including helping to relax blood vessel walls. Numerous studies have shown a direct physiological link between magnesium levels and high blood pressure.

Both potassium and magnesium are essential blood electrolytes, helping to maintain the appropriate levels of fluid in the body and the cells. Both magnesium and potassium should always be considered as a supplement for anyone with elevated blood pressure.

Potassium is readily available in most all fruits and vegetables, so eating an assortment of colorful fruits and vegetables should supply most all your potassium needs. Eating a diet high in potassium and magnesium has been shown to lower blood pressure significantly.

Adding greens to your morning smoothie or consuming a colorful salad of a variety of vegetables every day will go a long ways towards helping lower blood pressure and contributing to your overall health.

Antioxidant and Anti-inflammatory Foods

Curcumin–is the active ingredient in turmeric and is considered one of the most powerful anti-inflammatory natural supplements. Many studies have shown that curcumin is highly protective for the heart and blood vessels, helping to reduce the incidence of heart attacks and reducing blood pressure.

In fact, turmeric in some ways is as effective as a prescription blood pressure medication. Turmeric also acts as an anti-inflammatory in the blood vessels, which also helps to lower blood pressure.

Beets—Beets, especially red beets, have been found to lots of nitric oxide. This substance lowers resistance in blood vessels, helps them relax, increasing blood flow and lowering blood pressure.

Research published in Nitric Oxide, and another study published in Hypertension, showed that diets that include regular consumption of beets or beet juice can significantly lower blood pressure, while increasing oxygen delivery to the whole body and enhancing the health of the blood vessels.

You may have heard of people taking a drug called “nitroglycerin” for chest pain and heart attacks. This medication contains the same compound found in beets, which helps to relax the blood vessels to promote better circulation.

A study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition also shows kohlrabi, celery and celery root, watercress, leeks, parsley, arugula, spinach, and turnips contain large amounts of nitric oxide as well.

Tomatoes—Tomatoes can be a lifesaving blood pressure reducer. Tomatoes contain lycopene, which is a powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant, known for protecting the cardiovascular system, bone health, and preventing cancer.

Several studies have been done showing a strong link between levels of lycopene and heart disease. This analysis from the Physicians Health Study showed an almost 40% decrease in stroke risk in men with higher blood levels of lycopene. Lycopene is also responsible decreasing cholesterol, so eating foods with more lycopene also helps to reduce LDL cholesterol.

Ginger—Fresh ginger is considered a superfood for heart health, better circulation, cholesterol levels and blood pressure. Eating ginger reduces blood pressure in several different ways. For one, it acts as a natural calcium channel blocker, just like some blood pressure medications, and it also acts as an ACE inhibitor, similar to other types of blood pressure medication.

A study of more than 4,000 people found that the people who consumed 2-4 grams of ginger per day had the lowest risk for high blood pressure. And the thing that’s great about ginger is that it’s delicious, zingy and adds tons of flavor to dishes, smoothies and drinks.

Avocado–Avocados may also do wonders for your soaring blood pressure levels. Avocados are packed with oleic acid, also in olive oil. Oleic acid is known to reduce high blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

Avocados are also rich in potassium, magnesium and folate, all of which are good the blood vessels and cardiovascular system. Avocados are also chock full of antioxidants and lower inflammation in the body, including the blood vessels. Avocados are also loaded in vitamin A, K, B & E and fiber as well. Add avocados to your smoothies, salads and dressings.

Pomegranate—Pomegranate has some amazing antioxidant power with proven antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer abilities. Pomegranate is another natural food that possesses medicinal qualities without any negative side effects that some medications have.

Pomegranates are great for helping any health issue related to inflammation. Pomegranates contains very powerful substances called polyphenols that exert strong antioxidant, anti-inflammatory capabilities. The antioxidant level of pomegranate juice is higher than red wine and green tea.

One of the biggest benefits of pomegranate is its ability to lower blood pressure naturally. Scientific studies actually show pomegranate to have significant blood pressure-lowering ability. The effect of pomegranate is to relax blood vessels and allow better blood flow.

While pomegranates are delicious, they can be slightly challenging to eat. Pomegranate juice works well, but be sure to only use 100% pure pomegranate juice with no added sugar.

Green Tea—Green tea is well-known for its health benefits but did you know it also has a medicine-like effect on blood pressure as well?

Green tea contains powerful polyphenol antioxidants known for their health benefits. One of green tea’s active ingredients, EGCG, helps fight a variety of diseases and health conditions. Study results also show EGCG can be helpful for the prevention of arterio¬sclerosis, blood clots, heart attack, and strokes—partly due to its ability to relax blood vessels and improve blood flow.

While organic green tea is beneficial for health, matcha green tea can contain up to 100 times the EGCG that regular green tea contains.

Green tea also fights cancer, lowers inflammation, promotes healthy digestion, and aid in concentration. Besides being an excellent source of antioxidants, green tea is also packed with vitamins A, D, E, C, B, B5, H, and K, manganese, and other beneficial minerals such as zinc, chromium, and selenium.

Important Note About High Blood Pressure

High blood pressure can be very sneaky, with no obvious symptoms. Many people have high blood pressure and don’t know it. When blood pressure gets dangerously high, it becomes a medical emergency.

Signs and symptoms of severe hypertension may include:

• Severe chest pain
• Severe headache, accompanied by confusion and blurred vision
• Nausea and vomiting
• Severe anxiety
• Shortness of breath
• Seizures
• Unresponsiveness

This is a medical emergency and you should contact your doctor or head to an urgent care center. Medical complications of a hypertensive crisis can include strokes or aneurysms. Be sure to check your blood pressure regularly.

Blood Pressure-Lowering Beet-Apple-Carrot-Ginger Smoothie

You will LOVE this amazing blood pressure-lowering healthy, delicious Beet-Apple-Carrot smoothie rich with magnesium, potassium, nitric oxide, lycopene, antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and healthy bacteria:

• ½ large fresh raw beet or 1 whole small to medium beet, chopped or grated
• 1 medium sized carrot, chopped or grated
• 1 thumb-sized (more or less) piece of fresh ginger, chopped
• ½ green organic Granny Smith apple
• 1 big handful fresh, raw, organic spinach
• 1 ginger kombucha or sparkling water
• Handful of ice

Blend, and enjoy this refreshing drink as often as you wish!

This hot drink DOUBLED stem cells in 30 days (Green tea vs Hot Cacao vs…)

Billionaires are dropping six figures on stem cell therapy trying to stay young.

Meanwhile, Harvard researchers just showed that one dirt-cheap breakfast drink can increase stem cells naturally.

In fact, one study found this drink increased stem cell production by 220% in just 30 days!

Can you guess which drink it is?

A) Green tea
B) Hot cacao
C) Turmeric milk
D) Bone broth

Click your answer to find out.

The craziest part?

This drink costs about 50 cents a cup…

And yet Harvard scientists say it could be as effective as $100,000 injections when it comes to heart health and longevity.

>>> Click here to see what it is.

The studies also show it helps lower blood pressure, improve blood flow, and boost your gut health. Exciting news! 

References
https://www.ndtv.com/food/hypertension-5-fruits-that-may-help-you-manage-high-blood-pressure-naturally-1828135
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/herbs-to-lower-blood-pressure#9.-Ginger
https://www.healthline.com/health/drinks-to-lower-blood-pressure#berry-juice
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/foods-high-blood-pressure
https://thenutritionwatchdog.com/the-blood-pressure-fix/

The post Drink THIS for Lower Blood Pressure! appeared first on thenutritionwatchdog.com.

By: Cat Ebeling, RN, MSN-PHN, co-author of the best-sellers:  The Fat Burning Kitchen, The Top 101 Foods that Fight Aging & The Diabetes Fix

Our society is constantly fighting aging. And it’s no wonder! Social media seems to glorify beautiful, young people. But the fact is, we are inevitably going to grow old. How quickly or slowly we look—and feel—old is actually up to us. Yes, we do have control over this!

Many people think the best way to fight aging is by spending thousands of dollars on expensive anti-aging treatments, getting injections of Botox and facial fillers, or even subjecting oneself to a surgeon’s knife. While these things may help you look younger externally, they do nothing to improve your health or help your body slow aging from within.

Finding natural solutions to slow aging from the inside shows up on the outside. Consistently having good habits of diet and lifestyle over a long period of time will definitely do more than a plastic surgeon can ever do!

Despite all the many anti-aging supplements out there, most dieticians and nutritionists would agree that the most important thing is to eat real food, as opposed to taking supplements.

A healthy diet full of antioxidants, anti-inflammatory foods, natural proteins and healthy fats will help you dramatically slow down the primary things that accelerate aging:

• Inflammation
• Advanced Glycated End Products
• Oxidation

These substances not only speed up aging, but they also are the beginnings of chronic disease.

On the other hand, there are many older adults who are still active, fit, strong, productive people with amazing health. Much of this has to do with—you guessed it—their diet!

There are literally hundreds of foods that fight aging, but I wanted to put together a short and simple list of my favorite age-fighting foods for you. Keep in mind, virtually every fresh brightly colored vegetable or fruit contains numerous substances (some we have yet to discover!) that fight aging and protect our health.

Below are my favorite choices for foods to fight and reverse the signs of aging and disease:

Avocados

Avocados are tops on any list of anti-aging superfoods. They are super high in antioxidants and inflammation-fighting healthy nutrients. The phytochemicals, vitamins, minerals, and healthy fats from avocados slow down aging and fight diseases.

The folate you get from avocados may also lower your risk of certain cancers, such as prostate and colon cancer.

Folate also lightens up depression, and research shows a link between depression and low levels of folate. Folate occurs in leafy green veggies and avocados, among other things. Folate helps to lower an inflammatory substance called homocysteine, which can contribute to inflammation, heart disease, depression and other chronic diseases related to aging.

The healthy fats in avocado also help to stave off arthritis and boost bone health because of the high levels of vitamin K they contain.

In addition, avocados’ fiber helps the body’s digestive system. The potassium and magnesium in avocados help to lower blood pressure, helping to prevent strokes and heart attacks.

While the oleic acid in avocados helps to lower inflammation, it’s also great at promoting smooth soft skin, preventing cancer, and fighting heart disease. Avocados also contain a nutrient that helps us to lower our cholesterol levels.

Two other antioxidants, lutein and zeaxanthin, protect the eyes from UV light damage, preventing cataracts and macular degeneration-two eye diseases that often accompany aging.

Avocados are mild tasting and versatile to use in salads (get those green leafy veggies too), soups, smoothies, on toast, in eggs, desserts, dips and more.

Pomegranates

Pomegranates have been considered one of the healthiest fruits because of their powerful polyphenols and anti-aging antioxidants. These nutrients have been shown to help prevent a variety of health issues including fighting cancer, preventing high blood pressure and heart disease.

Recently, a new study found a compound in pomegranates called “urolithin A” which has the ability to influence mitochondria and cellular health in a very positive way. Scientists have discovered that this molecule which is transformed by microbes in the gut, enables muscle cells to protect themselves against one of the major causes of aging.

Urolithin A can actually re-establish a cell’s ability to energize the mitochondria, the cell’s powerhouse. In older mice, this shows up as a 42% increase in endurance. Studies are also underway in humans as well.

Pomegranates are also known to protect the skin against the adverse effects of UVB radiation (sunburn), improving wound healing, and protecting against disease-causing bacteria.

This super-fruit has even more benefits including:

Protecting the immune system, cancer prevention, protecting against Alzheimer’s disease, reducing gut inflammation, helping lessen arthritis, fighting heart disease, and lowering blood pressure.

Always be sure to get pure pomegranate juice without added sugar or other juices to get the best health benefits.

Blueberries/Blackberries

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention blueberries and blackberries. Those dark pigments in blueberries and black berries are called anthocyanins. Here’s a few reasons why these dark berries are superfoods:

Both Blackberries and blueberries are super high in antioxidants, which help protect cells from damage and protects the DNA, which helps prevent cancers. These berries also slow tumor growth and stop cancer spread, as well as encouraging the cancer cells to self-destruct.

The plant compounds called anthocyanins have strong antioxidant properties. One of the things these berries do is to help protect and actually reverse aging caused from sun exposure. Being in the sun can generate free radicals which then break down collagen and cause wrinkles.

A diet high in antioxidants from brightly colored fruits and vegetables has been proven to promote better skin quality due to their ability to fight free radicals in the skin and prevent skin cancer as well.

Other studies show that this active ingredient in these dark colored berries increases collagen production. One cup of berries supplies an abundant amount of vitamin C which is important for collagen production as well.

As you age, you want keep your mind sharp! Blueberries and blackberries slow down damage to brain cells as well, which can result in dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.

Additionally, blueberries and blackberries also protect against DNA damage, helping your cells to reproduce more healthy cells. They also fight metabolic syndrome, heart disease, and even cancer. Studies have shown over and over that blueberries increase longevity and slow the aging processes.

Tomatoes

Lycopene in tomatoes is type of antioxidant called a carotenoid. Tons of research has shown for that these antioxidants help protect the skin against sun damage and wrinkles.

Skin cancer risk tends to increase with age. Research in the CMAJ: the Canadian Medical Association Journal shows that cancer risk goes down with increased tomato consumption.

Lycopene helps prevent the breakdown of collagen in the skin. Collagen, as you know, helps keep your skin firm and smooth and a lack of collagen is what contributes to wrinkling.

Lycopene also helps prevent chronic diseases as well. In fact, people with highest levels of this nutrient had a lower risk of chronic diseases, including heart disease.

Lycopene also has antibacterial and antifungal properties and is especially helpful for tooth and gum health.

Lycopene is also active against certain toxins such as aflatoxins (a type of mold often found in peanuts and peanut butter) and toxins in cigarette smoke, second-hand smoke and air pollution.

The most concentrated amounts of lycopene come from cooked tomato sauces like spaghetti sauce. Try it on veggie spirals instead of pasta for a healthier meal.

Dark Green Leafy Veggies

Greens like kale, collards, mustard greens, swiss chard, spinach, arugula, watercress, parsley and romaine are packed with the most nutrients of any food on earth. Leafy greens are full of folate, an essential B vitamin. Folate deficiency is very common, because people just do not get enough green leafy veggies in their diet.

Folate is responsible for digestive health, cardiovascular health, and brain health. Folate is also essential to help the body ‘methylate’ which basically means, putting your B vitamins to work. Folate is crucial to help genes express their best. It is also necessary for healthy DNA and RNA synthesis and protects against cancer.

Greens also specifically fight aging by protecting the brain. A study carried out at Rush University medical center reported a decrease in dementia in the participants who ate the most dark green leafy vegetables.

Researchers associated the high vitamin K, folate, beta carotene and lutein present in greens as part of their anti-aging effect.

Leafy greens also help to reduce blood clots and prevent heart attacks.

Leafy greens provide folate in its natural form, which is far superior to the synthetic form of folate, folic acid, which is often added to processed foods.

Grass-Fed Beef

It’s well-know that wild caught fatty fish like salmon help fight aging with their plentiful supply of omega 3 fats. However, I want to be sure to include Grass fed beef, because (sorry vegetarians) I strongly believe it is super important to include beef in your diet. As we get older, increasingly need high quality protein sources and grass fed beef definitely supplies this.

Grass fed beef contains plenty of healthy fats—saturated fat, omega 3 fatty acids, and conjugated linoleic acid—all important fats that contribute to our health, help us burn fat, and fight diseases such as heart disease and cancer. Plus, it’s low in inflammatory omega 6 fats, especially if it’s 100% grass fed. And healthy bioavailable protein actually helps keep our bones strong as well.

Grass fed beef also contains essential nutrients such as vitamin B12, B3, and B6. It’s also rich in heme-iron, which means your body can easily put it to use helping build red blood cells and transporting oxygen. Grass fed beef also contains the essential minerals selenium and zinc. In fact, grass fed meat contains almost every nutrient that you need to survive. Eat grass fed meat two times a week for the best benefits.

Ginger

While it’s not really a ‘food’ I definitely wanted to include ginger in my list of favorites. I love it! But its more than a zingy flavor addition to your smoothies. Ginger contains a massive amount of anti-inflammatory substances along with antioxidants. Ginger is so powerful it can actually take the place of some medications!

Ginger–which is related to turmeric–is one of the most powerful natural medicines you can use for a variety of health conditions.

Here are a few:

• Ginger works to prevent motion sickness and nausea and can be as effective as Dramamine, the sea-sickness medication.
• Ginger’s antioxidant activity and ability to stop inflammation means that it can help to prevent, slow or stop diseases like cancer, heart disease, arthritis, and Alzheimer’s.
• Ginger can actually reverse amyloid plaques in the brain from Alzheimer’s disease, and it helps improve some of the dysfunctional behaviors observed in Alzheimer’s patients.
• Ginger’s powerful anti-inflammatory activity makes it almost as powerful as an anti-inflammatory medication like Advil. And it’s not hard on your liver, like NSAIDS can be.
• Ginger also helps prevent strokes and heart disease by thinning the blood and preventing dangerous clots.
• AND, ginger helps to speed up your metabolism to burn fat better. Research shows that ginger can speed up metabolism and increase fat burning by up to 16%. Also, ginger helps to suppress your appetite, so having a cup or two of ginger tea during the day will help curtail cravings for snacks.

Here’s a few more reasons to include ginger every day:

It’s immune boosting, reduces pain, fights fatty liver disease, curbs migraines, helps indigestion, fights gum disease, and increases energy. And it tastes great!

Given all these amazing benefits, ginger is something you should add to your daily diet! It’s a great addition to juices, smoothies, sauces and even salads.

Garlic

Another celebrated superfood, garlic, has some incredible benefits! Here’s a reminder of just a few of those benefits.

Garlic can actually kill a large variety of common, but dangerous bacteria including: campylobacter jejuni (which is responsible for food poisoning), pseudomonas aeruginoasa (pneumonia and urinary infections), E.coli, staph aureus, klebsiella pneumonia (pneumonia, meningitis), shigella sonnei (diarrhea, dysentery), salmonella typhi (typhoid fever), as well as helicobacter pylori responsible for stomach ulcers and cancer. Garlic can attack these dangerous germs with none of the bad side effects of antibiotics.

Garlic is also an effective antifungal and can kill off unwelcome fungus like candida overgrowth in our digestive tract.

Garlic can help stabilize blood sugar, prevent blood clots that cause heart disease and strokes, lower blood pressure and lower cholesterol. And garlic is effective at helping fight cancer as well.

There are plenty of studies showing garlic’s sulfur components fight cancer. And the benefits of garlic are not limited to any particular type of cancer. However, garlic is especially effective against prostate and stomach cancers.

Include raw, chopped or crushed garlic in your soups, salads, smoothies, sauces, and dressings.

Coffee

One of my favorite anti-aging drinks is coffee. Coffee has numerous anti-aging health benefits and that makes me happy because I love coffee!

According to recent statistics, coffee just happens to be the most popular drink in the world. Coffee is also very high in antioxidants called polyphenols. A special report from Purdue University shows coffee as one of the richest sources of polyphenols. And coffee’s antioxidants lower inflammation by up to 20%. Coffee also helps improve overall cholesterol levels and HDL cholesterol.

Coffee’s antioxidants have been shown to help prevent Parkinson’s disease. Six studies have shown that people who drink coffee daily are up to 80% less likely to develop Parkinson’s. Some of the newer Parkinson’s drugs actually contain a coffee derivative. The caffeine seems to block a malfunctioning brain signal in Parkinson’s disease, and is safe and inexpensive.

Coffee also helps to lower the amount of amyloid plaques in Alzheimer’s patients, reducing brain inflammation and helping with mental alertness.

Coffee is effective at fighting colon cancer as well. Drinking 1-2 cups of coffee per day is associated with a lower risk of colon cancer and the more coffee consumed, the better. And along those lines, coffee also helps you to stay regular.

One of the most common diseases of aging is actually liver disease—especially fatty liver disease. Coffee can protect and detox the liver. Coffee drinkers have up to an 84% lower risk of developing cirrhosis, with the strongest effect coming from 4 or more cups a day. The livers of coffee drinkers are also protected from cancer, as studies show coffee drinkers have a 40% lower risk of liver cancer.

On top of those anti-aging benefits, coffee also helps improve asthma, helps get rid of migraines, reduces cholesterol and lowers inflammation.

Butter

There are a lot of oils you can use for cooking, but if you saw my recent blog on the dangers of processed seed oils you know that vegetable seed oils can be extremely bad for your health. On the other hand, saturated fat is one of the best fats to cook with as it has a low smoking point and remains stable even with heat.

Butter is one of my all time favorites. Butter, and its counterpart, ghee, have been around since our ancestors first started domesticating animals. Butter has been used for about 4500 years. Butter actually contains vitamins, minerals and other powerful nutrients.

Here are some of the benefits of butter:

• Contains CLA, which is a fat burner, muscle builder, anti-cancer substance, and immunity booster.
• Great source of vitamin A which is good for eyes, skin, thyroid, and adrenal glands.
• Contains vitamin K2, a unique vitamin only found in the milk of grass fed animals. K2 helps get calcium into the bones and teeth where it belongs.
• Contains high levels of vitamin D, essential for bone health, immunity, cancer-fighting and fighting depression.
• Butter contains a substance called the “Wulzen Factor” which protects against degenerative arthritis, hardening of the arteries, cataracts and calcification of the pineal gland.
• Butter is high in selenium, necessary for the immune system, thyroid function and cancer fighting.
• Butter is a good source of lauric acid, important for healthy immune function.
• Butter contains lecithin, essential for healthy brain function, liver function and to supply choline, for healthy cell membranes.

In addition, butter makes almost everything taste better, especially when you choose grass fed butter. To be sure I get the most benefit from butter, I add some grass-fed butter to my organic coffee every day!

That is my top ten list of favorite foods that fight aging. Keep in mind that there are hundreds of foods that can help fight aging, but even if you include these top ten anti-aging foods in your diet every day—or most every day–they will go a long way towards helping you look and feel younger!

Do you wake up in the morning with stiff joints or pain in your hips, back, knees or elbows? Then chances are you’re feeling the effects of chronic inflammation taking its toll on your body.

The good news is that it is NEVER too late to help get this under control. And the best part is there are certain foods that help you do this naturally, without the need for prescriptions medications.

3-Sec Quiz: What is the #1 Anti-inflammatory Food?

A: Turmeric
B: Onion
C: Pineapple
D: Black Pepper
E: Other

Remember, it’s NEVER too late to get chronic inflammation under control. You just need to know how to do it.

References
https://worldhealth.net/news/pomegranates-have-anti-aging-properties/
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2019-06-pomegranate-compound-anti-aging-effects-human.html
https://www.indiatoday.in/lifestyle/wellness/story/pomegranates-holds-key-anti-ageing-study-gut-bacteria-aging-mitophagy-ellagitannins-lifest-329163-2016-07-14
https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02258776
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/23-ways-to-eat-avocados#TOC_TITLE_HDR_24
https://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/all-about-avocados
https://www.healthline.com/health/food-nutrition/anti-aging-foods#8.-Avocado
https://darinolien.com/dark-leafy-greens/
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/11-foods-to-look-younger
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/blueberry-benefits-for-skin#Uses
https://www.lifeextension.com/magazine/2012/7/blueberries-boost-longevity
https://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=23591
https://thenutritionwatchdog.com/coffee-cancer-diabetes-and-more/
https://www.ecowatch.com/8-ways-tomatoes-are-an-anti-aging-superfood-1881866728.html

The post My Top 10 Anti-Aging Foods appeared first on thenutritionwatchdog.com.

Cancer. It’s one word that strikes fear into the hearts of most people. It can cause you to totally re-think your whole life. Empowering yourself with a plan of action will go a long way towards your health, wellness and mindset. If your lifestyle and diet need an overhaul, now is the time to make some drastic changes.

Foods have the power to strengthen our immune system to fight cancer, increase antioxidants in our body to protect our cells’ DNA and prevent cancer—all the while adding to our overall health. Our bodies have a natural tendency to want to heal, but we must help our bodies return to a point where they are able to fight off disease. We can do this by eliminating cancer-causing foods and toxins, and creating a diet of healthful, cancer-fighting, immune-strengthening foods.

Whether you choose to undergo conventional cancer treatments or decide to follow a more natural route, these tips on cancer fighting foods will help you fight cancer and get back on the road to health.

While conventional medicine downplays the importance of diet and lifestyle changes, it is necessary for you to realize that both your diet and lifestyle are of utmost importance!

The best start is by removing and detoxifying the body from those foods and toxins that are feeding and encouraging cancer, oxidation, and a weakened immune system, and then begin rebuilding the body’s cells—from the ground up—so to speak with super healthy foods that fight cancer.

Starve the Cancer

Adopt a ketogenic diet. Ketogenic diets have been scientifically proven to improve cancer recovery and to have a proven ‘anti-tumor’ effect on cancer cells. A ketogenic diet is a very low carb, lower protein and higher fat diet. Keto diets help to turn the body’s ‘fat burning’ mechanism on, while keeping blood sugar and insulin very low. When the body is able to efficiently break down fat, or ketones as they are called, in the body to use as fuel, the body is ‘fat-adapted’. Cancer cells primarily use glucose as their fuel, and cannot utilize ketone bodies, so they essentially starve and die on this type of diet.

Besides the keto diet’s ability to lower blood sugar and insulin and to burn fat for fuel, this diet is also known in health circles as having some very health-protective benefits. For one, it starves cancer cells, and as we know, this is super important, so it is well worth it to make some major dietary changes. This diet also helps reduce inflammation, another health issue tied to cancer.

The best way to prepare the body for a keto diet is to adopt an intermittent fasting routine. This allows the body to fast for periods of 12-16 hours or more, and helps to begin the fat adaption process.

Contrary to what many of us believe, our bodies do not just fight cancer when we actually have a cancer diagnosis. Cancer takes years to grow in our bodies, and we are actually fighting and killing off cancer cells on a daily basis! So, eating foods that fight cancer is extremely important on a daily basis as well—whether you have been diagnosed with cancer or not.

Says Ty Bollinger, from TheTruthAboutCancer.com website,

“New studies focused on the benefits of using food as medicine have made fascinating discoveries in the last decade. The results from prestigious labs all over the world show us that not only can you improve your general health to prevent disease… you can actively fight disease… with food.”

Yes, in fact, there are foods that specifically target cancer cells, all the while benefiting and strengthening the healthy cells in your body. There are foods available right at your local health food store or farmer’s market that will help you fight and destroy these invading cells.

This article will help you uncover those foods that will help you to:

• Detoxify your body
• Strengthen the immune system and repair cells’ DNA
• Actually kill cancer cells and stop its spread

Top Ten Cancer Fighting Foods

1. Garlic

The #1 most powerful anti-cancer food is garlic. Garlic, especially raw garlic, along with its other close relatives in the allium family including onions, leeks and shallots are some of the most powerful cancer-fighting foods. Garlic and the rest of the allium family contain very powerful antioxidants like allicin that remove free radicals from the body. Garlic is also valuable as an immune booster, is anti-inflammatory, lowers blood pressure, LDL cholesterol, and detoxifies.

There are several studies that show an increased intake of garlic with a reduced risk of certain cancers, especially cancers of the stomach, colon, esophagus, pancreas, and breast. Other cancers that garlic and onions fight include oral, ovarian, endometrial, kidney, and laryngeal cancers.

The cancer-fighting effects of garlic may be related to its antibacterial properties, or its ability to fight cancer-causing substances, help repair DNA, reduce cell reproduction or induce cell death.

2. Broccoli, Broccoli Sprouts and other Cruciferous Vegetables

Broccoli is related to the whole cruciferous cancer-fighting vegetable family that includes cabbage, cauliflower, arugula, kale, collard greens, and brussels sprouts. Broccoli and its cruciferous cousins have proven effective against many cancers, especially breast, cervical, gastric, prostate and liver cancers.

Broccoli is also super high in powerful phytochemicals and the antioxidants glucoraphanin and indole-3-carbinol, which are proven cancer-fighting weapons, which have selective toxicity against cancerous cells, while strengthening the body’s healthy cells.

Cruciferous vegetables are known to be powerful cancer killers and many are rich in glutathione, known as the “master antioxidant” because of its powerful free-radical-scavenging abilities. Most all of the cruciferous vegetables are nutrient-dense sources of a family of phytochemicals called isothiocyanates that are linked to cancer prevention.

Broccoli sprouts actually contain some of the highest levels of cancer fighting compounds. Numerous studies have shown the highest cancer protective properties tend to be concentrated in the sprouts about 3 days after sprouted. Broccoli is also naturally anti-inflammatory, good for the bones and the heart, and nutrient dense, so it benefits overall health as well.

3. Green Tea

Green tea contains some uniquely powerful antioxidants called ‘catechins’ that are strong free-radical fighters and have been shown in lab studies to actually kill or inhibit the growth of existing cancers and shrink tumors. Green tea’s two main anticancer compounds, EGCG and quercetin are powerful weapons in a fight against many types of cancers.

Additionally, green tea helps to promote the production of the antioxidants glutathione and superoxide dismutase (SOD) which drastically lower inflammation in the body. As an added benefit, green tea also reduces the risk of heart disease, lowers LDL (bad) cholesterol while raising HDL (good) cholesterol, and lowers blood pressure.

4. Leafy Green Veggies

Leafy greens are one of the most important parts of any healthy diet since they are loaded with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and other necessary phytochemicals. Leafy greens, especially bitter greens, like arugula, watercress, kale, collards, mustard greens, and more, are badass fighters in the war against cancer.

Many of these greens—mustard, collards, kale, arugula and more are actually part of the cruciferous veggie family, so they contain the same cancer-fighting compounds as their cousins. Leafy greens are high in vitamin C, methylfolate (an absorbable type of folic acid), and betacarotene—all powerful antioxidants.

Leafy greens are also sources of glucosinolates, which gives them effective antibacterial and antiviral properties, detox the body of carcinogenic substances, reprogram cancer cells to die, and prevent tumor formation and metastasis. These natural chemicals are activated during chewing and digestion into biologically active cancer-killing compounds such as indoles, thiocyanates and isothiocyanates.

5. Ginger

Ginger is one of the most powerful anti-inflammatory cancer-fighting foods you can find! Ginger is known to actually shrink tumors and destroy cancer stem cells, as effectively as some chemotherapy medications. However, ginger has the ability to protect healthy cells while killing cancer stem cells.

Ginger contains a powerful compound, 6-shogaol, that is highly effective in killing cancer stem cells in breast cancer, according to a study done in 2015. Shogaol was compared to the chemotherapy drug, Taxol, and curcumin from turmeric. The compound found in ginger was found to be the most effective, especially against cancer stem cells. Taxol could not match the activity of the shogaol in ginger even at a 10,000X increase!

Ginger extracts have been shown in scientific studies to have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-tumor effects on human cells and cancer cells. Because ginger has such a powerful anti-inflammatory effect on cells, reducing key inflammatory indicators also reduced chances of cancer development, in addition to ginger’s tumor-shrinking capabilities.

Ginger’s anti-nausea action is also very valuable to prevent nausea and vomiting as a result of chemotherapy from standard cancer treatments.

6. Turmeric

The super-food turmeric has been valued as far back as 3,000 BC and is one of the most important anti-cancer nutrients studied today. Curcumin is the yellow pigment that comes from turmeric and is one of three known active ingredients in turmeric. Curcumin has demonstrated incredible anti-cancer benefits. In countries where people eat turmeric daily as a part of their diet, research shows lower rates of many types of cancers.

Over 2,000 researched studies have been published that show curcumin combats cancers of the breast, prostate, liver, colon, lung, pancreas and more. Many of these studies have shown curcumin actually stops cancer cells from multiplying and brings about cancer cell death. Curcumin’s ability to fight cancer is superior to many chemotherapy drugs because it selectively kills cancer stem cells, leaving healthy cells intact.

Curcumin is currently being tested in several clinical trials to treat cancer, including prostate, breast, colon and osteosarcoma. Curcumin can kill a wide variety of tumor cell types through several totally different mechanisms. Because of the varied way curcumin can cause cancer cell death, cancer cells are not likely to develop resistance to curcumin, unlike many chemotherapy drugs.

7. Mushrooms

Medicinal mushrooms have been used for centuries all over the world to fight cancer and enhance or modulate immune response. These mushrooms include shitake, reishi, maitake, mannentake, and cordyceps. Research has indicated these varieties of mushrooms have unique anti-cancer, antiviral, anti-inflammatory and liver protective activities.

Reishi mushrooms have been used in Chinese medicine for cancer treatments for many years. Reishi is also said to improve well being, strength and enhance health. Reishi mushrooms stimulate the immune system, diminish the unpleasant side effects of chemotherapy, and protect the cells’ DNA.

Turkey Tail is another well-known medicinal mushroom in alternative medicine. Studies show it improves survival rates, modulates (balances out) the immune system and has anti-tumor properties. It also enhances the beneficial effects of chemotherapy and reduces side effects.

Cordyceps acts an immune stimulator by increasing cancer-fighting T cells and ‘Natural Killer’ cells, while prolonging the life and power of white blood cells. This increases the body’s ability to fight pathogens, infections and cancer. It has demonstrated anti-tumor properties and also protects the kidneys from chemotherapy.

Maitake mushroom works on the immune system. Studies have shown that it can enhance two different immune system pathways, helping it fight infection and protecting the body from invaders like cancer. Maitake also protects cells with its antioxidant properties and decreases the inflammatory factor COX2 enzyme so common in cancer physiology. Maitake also fights metastases and prevents the the proliferation and spread of cancer.

8. Pomegranate

Pomegranates have been used for many, many years for a variety of diseases and illnesses like cancer. Pomegranates contain strong antioxidants, and are a rich source of anthocyanins, ellagitannins, and hydrolysable tannins.

Studies show that the pomegranate has a multi-targeted attack against various types of cancers, which is one of the reasons pomegranates are so effective. It does this by protecting against DNA damage, stopping the spread of cancer in the body, decreasing inflammation, protecting healthy cells and causing cancer cell apoptosis (cell death). Pomegranate is effective against a wide variety of cancers.

9. Berries

Berries, including strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, cranberries, blackberries, black raspberries, cherries, elderberries, and bilberries are all loaded with a cancer-fighting substance called anthocyanins. Blackberries, black raspberries and blueberries, in particular, have some of the highest levels of this health-promoting phytochemical. Anthocyanins slow the growth of pre-malignant (cancer) cells and prevent new blood vessels from forming which would feed a cancerous tumor.

10. Orange Colored Vegetables

Bright colored vegetables means that they are loaded with phytochemicals, especially antioxidants called carotenoids which fight cancer. Other carotenoids include alphacarotene, betacarotene, lycopene, lutein, and cryptoxanthin, which are all related to plant-based vitamin A.

Including citrus fruits, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, squash, red peppers, tomatoes and other bright red, orange or yellow vegetables will help to get plenty of these powerful carotenoids in your diet. Betacarotene has been well-studied and is known to be essential for a strong immune system, detoxing the body, and fighting cancers of the skin, eyes and organs. ‘Eating the rainbow’ helps to give your body a full spectrum of these powerful cancer-fighting tools.

This list is by no means complete—there are literally hundreds of foods, herbs and spices that fight cancer, and by eating a variety of fresh, organic, naturally raised foods—along with limiting the toxins in your diet and environment, you can begin the healing process.

In addition to the above cancer-fighting foods, overall nutrition is extremely important. Every bite you put into your mouth should be a nutritious super-food. Strengthening your body, powering up your immune system and optimizing your health as much as possible is key to your health and longevity.

Be sure to include plenty of healthy proteins in your diet. While this is a plant-heavy diet, it by no means is a vegan diet. A healing body needs protein to rebuild itself. Supplement with small amounts of naturally-raised, grass-fed and grass finished meats, organic, pastured raised poultry and eggs, and wild caught fish. Meat, poultry and fish raised in a natural environment without added hormones, antibiotics or grain will nourish and protect your body while it fights cancer.

Add in bone broth to soothe and heal the digestive system while strengthening and fortifying it. Bone broth is valuable to help soothe and remove inflammation in the gut. Often gut issues are a basis for overall inflammation in the body–one of the starting points for cancer growth.

Healthy fats are also key to good nutrition and good health to fight cancer. Avoid toxic, processed vegetable oils and instead consume plenty of natural healthy fats like grass-fed butter, organic, unrefined coconut oil, and high antioxidant extra virgin olive oil. And be sure to add in the cancer fighting healthy fats of unprocessed nuts, avocados, and grass-fed organic dairy products, especially cultured dairy products like organic (unsweetened) yogurt and unprocessed cheeses.

Above all, keep a healthy mindset, meditate, de-stress, and love your body and yourself. Your body needs your attention now to recover and regain health. Give gratitude and appreciation for those supportive people in your life and appreciate living. Every day is a new day. Take care and have faith!

Speaking of cancer

We’ve all been popping vitamins like candy lately…

But according to Harvard, THIS vitamin has been linked to cancer!

The sad news is…

This Vitamin is in the top 5 most bought supplements in the USA.

And there’s a high chance you’re taking this vitamin too.

So please, I urge you to check this out.

References
https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/diet/garlic-fact-sheet
https://thetruthaboutcancer.com/12-ways-to-prepare-detox-cleanse/
https://draxe.com/detox-diet/
https://draxe.com/cancer-fighting-foods/
https://drjockers.com/plant-based-ketogenic-diet/
https://drjockers.com/10-critical-ketogenic-diet-tips/
https://thetruthaboutcancer.com/cancer-fighting-benefits-of-curcumin/
https://www.lifeextension.com/Magazine/2016/11/How-Pomegranate–May-Protect–Against-Cancer/Page-01
https://foodrevolution.org/blog/ginger-cancer-treatment/
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/321410.php
https://www.cancertherapyadvisor.com/fact-sheets/cancer-reishi-mushroom-fact-sheet/article/647081/2/

The post The Top Ten Cancer Fighting and Killing Foods appeared first on thenutritionwatchdog.com.

By: Cat Ebeling
Co-author of the best-sellers:  The Fat Burning Kitchen, The Top 101 Foods that Fight Aging & The Diabetes Fix

Sweet potatoes are the ultimate—satisfying non-grain carbohydrates, packed with nutrients and without all the inflammatory issues that white potatoes contain.

Sweet potatoes differ from white potatoes, and do not contain harmful compounds such as saponins, glycoalkaloids, and lectins like white potatoes. White potatoes are also considered a nightshade vegetable, making them a problem for some people who are sensitive to nightshades and the inflammation that they can cause for those types of people.

Are sweet potatoes Paleo?  Yes, definitely!

Many hunter-gatherer groups relied on tubers that were similar to sweet potatoes as a staple in their diets. Although they do contain a reasonable dose of carbs–about 25 grams in a medium sized potato—they also contain lots of fiber and super nutrients. Sweet potatoes are known to help stabilize blood sugar levels and make you feel full. Some of the super nutrients these sweet potatoes contain include antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds. The bright orange flesh is a sign that sweet potatoes contain a massive amount of vitamin A, in the form of beta carotene. Adding a little grass-fed butter to your sweet potato dish can help the body convert this plant-based vitamin A into a more usable form of vitamin A.

Adding power-packed spices like curry powder (which contains turmeric), coriander, cardamom, ginger, and cayenne exponentially explodes the nutrients in this soup and promotes huge health benefits that are anti-aging, anti-inflammatory, brain-protective, and cancer fighting to name just a few. Enjoy this!!

Ingredients

4 cups sweet potatoes, cubed

1 medium sweet onion, chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

¼ inch of fresh ginger, minced

1/2 tsp curry powder

1/2 tsp coriander

1/4 tsp cardamom

1/4 tsp turmeric

Sea salt

Pinch of cayenne

5 cups vegetable stock

1 cup plain almond, flax, or coconut milk

1 Tbsp coconut oil or butter

1/2 cup roasted pumpkin seeds

Directions

Heat coconut oil or butter in large pot and saute onions and celery until tender and translucent. Add the minced ginger and saute briefly. Add remaining ingredients and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer about 30 minutes or until sweet potatoes are tender. After soup has cooled sufficiently, place in blender and puree in batches till smooth. If too thick add more stock or water. Sprinkle with roasted pumpkin seeds.

Enjoy this delicious, antioxidant-packed, and inflammation-fighting soup as a separate light meal or as an addition to your lunch or dinner!

Get your FREE copy of the Keto Slow Cooker Cookbook.

Looking for easy, tasty recipes that help you burn fat, then look no further…

This free recipe book is packed with over 80 fat-burning Keto recipes, such has mouth-watering chicken, beef, pork meals and more…

Best yet, every single recipe uses a slow cooker. Spend less than 20 minutes in your kitchen whipping up these delicious meals.

The post Curry Sweet Potato Soup (packed with antioxidants and fights inflammation) appeared first on thenutritionwatchdog.com.

By: Cat Ebeling RN, MSN-PHN, co-author of the best-seller: The Diabetes Fix

Ginger has been around forever and there are some very good reasons why you should keep it in your home on a regular basis. Ginger has a long-standing reputation for being a very useful medicine in traditional and alternative medicine. I use ginger for so many dishes, teas and other medicinal reasons… it’s invaluable to your health. And it has a delicious, light, refreshing unique taste as well.  There are many more ways to consume ginger aside from just being a sidekick to sushi, as we’ll show below.

Ginger is one of the most powerful natural medicines (without the harmful side effects) with wide-reaching capabilities for many (even serious) health conditions you can possibly find. And are you surprised that ginger is very closely related to turmeric, another super-powerful health enhancer?

Ginger is more powerful than several pharmaceutical preparations, including Dramamine (sea-sickness medication), certain types of chemotherapy, and anti-Inflammatory medications–without the harmful side-effects. While many of the components in ginger are still being studied, two primary components stand out as being highly effective—one is gingerol, found primarily in fresh ginger and the other is shogaol found in dried ginger.

Anti-Inflammatory and Antioxidant

As you may already know, oxidation and inflammation are some of the main contributors to serious and chronic diseases such as cancer, heart disease, arthritis, and Alzheimer’s. Ginger’s ability to stop inflammation and act as an extremely powerful antioxidant means that it can help to prevent, slow or even stop serious diseases from advancing.

Reduces Pain and Inflammation in Arthritis

The anti-inflammatory compound, gingerol, helps reduce pain and inflammation and improve movement in people with osteoarthritis and even rheumatoid arthritis—when consumed on a regular basis. According to George Mateljan in World’s Healthiest Foods, two studies involving patients with arthritis found that 75% reported relief from pain and swelling. 6-gingerol inhibits the production of highly reactive free radicals, from a study published in the November 2003 issue of Life Sciences. In another study from Feb 2005 issue of Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, ginger was shown to prevent the formation of pro-inflammatory compounds, cytokines and chemokines in the lining of the joints, as well as other inflammatory compounds in the joint cartilage and immune cells. And, ginger is also highly effective at preventing muscle pain, stiffness, and inflammation from exercise as well.

Fights Cancer

Ginger is so powerful, it can fight cancer and actually shrink tumors and destroy cancer stem cells. In an article titled, “Ginger and Cancer” by Kelley Herring, published by US Wellness Meats, May 6, 2016, Kelley reports that while chemotherapy kills both cancer cells and healthy cells in the body, chemo can leave behind deadly cancer stem cells, that can return to grow new cancerous tumors. According to Kelley and the Journal of Pharmacology and Therapeutics:

“Cancer stem cells (CSCs), which comprise a small fraction of cancer cells, are believed to constitute the origin of most human tumors … Many studies also suggest that CSCs serve as the basis of metastases”.

Ginger contains another powerful compound, 6-shogaol, that is highly effective in killing cancer stem cells in breast cancer, according to a study done in 2015. Shogaol was compared to the chemotherapy drug, Taxol, and curcumin from turmeric.  The compound found in ginger was found to be the most effective, especially against cancer stem cells. Kelley’s article (“Ginger and Cancer”) goes on to state that the Taxol could not match the activity of the shogaol in ginger even at a 10,000X increase! The best thing about this study is that ginger’s powerful properties in fighting cancer happen without the harmful side effects that chemotherapy causes.

Gingerols have also been shown to be active against the growth of colorectal cells in colon cancer, according to a study from University of Minnesota’s Hormel Institute. Ginger extracts have been shown in scientific studies to have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-tumor effects on human cells and cancer cells. In a study from University of Michigan, gingerols killed ovarian cancer cells. Ovarian cancer is thought to be caused in part, by inflammation, and because ginger has such a powerful anti-inflammatory effect on cells, reducing key inflammatory indicators also reduced chances of ovarian cancer development, in addition to ginger’s tumor-shrinking capabilities. While conventional chemotherapy also suppresses the same inflammatory markers, chemo—besides destroying the body’s healthy cells and immune function—also can create drug resistance. Cancer cells exposed to ginger do not become resistant. Ovarian cancer is often considered a silent, deadly killer, so an ounce of prevention in the form of ginger is highly advisable for most women of childbearing and menstruating age.

Fights Nausea

Ginger has long been known as a digestive aid, especially for nausea and motion sickness. In fact, it has been proven to work better than Dramamine, one of the best-known medicines for motion sickness. Ginger is especially useful to help pregnant women who may be experiencing “morning sickness”, including the most severe form, hyperemesis gravidum. The important thing to note here is that unlike most anti-nausea medication, which can cause birth defects, ginger does not have adverse effects for pregnancy. NOTE: Although ginger is considered safe, check with your doctor before taking ginger if you are pregnant. High doses can possibly increase the chance of miscarriage.

Ginger’s anti-nausea action is also very valuable for post-surgery patients with nausea and vomiting, and useful for chemotherapy patients with nausea and vomiting from standard cancer treatments.

Alzheimer’s and Brain Function

Both ginger and its cousin, turmeric are known warriors against Alzheimer’s disease. Since some of the research on Alzheimer’s centers on the inflammatory factors involved in the disease, curcumin—also found in turmeric—as well as gingerol, which have been shown in studies to not only inhibit, but reverse the amyloid plaques in the brain associated with Alzheimer’s. Another of ginger’s antioxidants, zingerone, neutralizes the free radical peroxynitrite, another major factor in Alzheimer’s and other neurological diseases.

In another study on ginger, it was shown that ginger could actually reverse dysfunctional behaviors caused by Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. And lastly, ginger functions as a barrier to acetylcholinesterase (an enzyme that breaks down acetylcholine), similar to several popular Alzheimer’s disease drugs, without the awful side effects. Acetylcholine is an important brain chemical, necessary for learning and memory.

Ginger asserts a very positive effect on mental abilities, even in healthy people. Ginger has been shown in studies to improve cognitive ability, and improve overall brain function, while reducing oxidative stress. And since ginger also is a stimulant, it helps to increase mental alertness, without the jitteriness that caffeine can cause.

MSG, or monosodium glutamate, a common ingredient in Asian foods and processed meats and other foods, is considered a harmful excitotoxin and a neurotoxin. Ginger helps to protect and minimize the toxicity of this ingredient. MSG has been linked to Alzheimer’s, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease and ADD.

Maintains Healthy Blood Sugar in Diabetes

As the numbers of people with diabetes increase, so do the studies on natural substances that can help control this deadly and widespread disease. While this area of research is fairly new, ginger has been shown to have some pretty effective anti-diabetic properties. In a study published in International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition, ginger consumption had a very positive effect on glycemic status, lipid profile and other inflammatory markers of this disease. Ginger was found to reduce: fasting glucose, HbA1C (an important measurement of damage to red blood cells caused by high blood sugar), insulin resistance, triglycerides, overall cholesterol, C-reactive protein (an inflammatory marker indicative of heart disease), and prostaglandin E2, another inflammatory marker. Researchers concluded: “Ginger…should be considered as an effective treatment for prevention of diabetes complications.”

Another study on ginger showed a drop in fasting blood sugar by 12%, and a lowering of HbA1c by 10%, as well as a 28% reduction in ApoB/ApoA-I ratio and a 23% reduction in markers for oxidized lipoproteins, major risk factors in heart disease—one of the primary complications of diabetes.

Fights Heart Disease and Strokes

As mentioned above, ginger also works against heart disease, lowering ApoB/ApoA-I ratio. The ApoB/ApoA-I ratio is a measurement which is more accurate than cholesterol ratios to estimate the balance between different types of blood lipoproteins, which promote the formation of plaques in the arteries leading to heart disease. Research on mice, published in Journal of Nutrition, May 2000, showed those given ginger had a reduction in arterial plaques 44%, reduction in triglycerides 27%, reduced VLDL (the most HARMFUL type of cholesterol) 53%, reduced LDL cholesterol 33%, and reduced LDL oxidation and aggregation. The researchers concluded that dietary consumption of ginger significantly slows down the development of atherosclerotic lesions which lead to heart attacks and strokes.

Anti-Clotting

Platelets are a part of blood that can clump together, creating clots that block arteries and blood vessels, resulting in heart attacks, strokes and deep vein thrombosis. Certain substances in platelets can make them more likely to clump together. Ginger helps to reduce platelet aggregation significantly, but check with your doctor first if you are on any type of medication for this condition.

Burns Fat and Raises Metabolism

Ginger as a fat burning food—ginger boosts metabolism and thermogenesis, meaning you burn fat faster. Some research indicates that ginger can help to boost your metabolism by around 5%, and increase your fat burning potential up to 16%. In addition, ginger helps to suppress your appetite, so having a cup or two of ginger tea before meals will cut down on food consumption.

Ginger is also very valued for several other health conditions including:

Increasing immune function, reducing pain, mitigating the effects of toxic chemicals, treating non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (often a result of too much HFCS and fructose in the diet), protecting cells against radiation, curbing migraines, treating indigestion, fighting gum disease, freshening breath, and increasing energy.

How to get ginger’s benefits?

Ginger generally comes in two forms: fresh ginger root or dried ginger. Fresh ginger contains the most gingerol, but the dried form of it contains more of the cancer-fighting shogaol. When cooked, the primary active ingredient in ginger is zingerone.

There are many ways to enjoy ginger’s light, refreshing taste—try adding a little fresh or dried ginger to smoothies, or make tea using simmered, sliced ginger with a touch of lemon and honey or maple syrup. You can also mince ginger and add to your favorite healthy salad dressing, or marinating meat in a combination of soy, lemon, minced ginger, minced garlic and a touch of honey. Don’t forget to add ginger to your next stir fry, and remember to eat your ginger when you get sushi!  You can also get many types of tea bags that are made with ginger and brew up a delicious cup of ginger tea.  I also personally take 1-2 capsules a day of a ginger supplement, which is essentially just ginger powder in capsules.

Ginger Cocktail Infusions!

If you’re like me, you enjoy having a cocktail or two with friends or family on occasion.  We’ve talked about the fact in previous articles that moderate drinking of alcohol (1-2 drinks per day max) is proven to have long term health benefits and moderate drinkers live longer than non-drinkers or heavy drinkers… What that means is that the dose makes the poison…although alcohol is considered a “toxin”, small amounts of regular exposure to alcohol enhances our health and makes us live longer.

Anyway, back to the topic of ginger infusions… In my opinion, if you’re going to have an alcoholic cocktail, it might as well be the healthiest cocktail possible!

In order to make the healthiest cocktails possible, I personally like to slice up ginger root and put it in mason jars with either vodka or tequila for several weeks to “infuse”, so that the alcohol can extract the powerful antioxidants and phytochemicals from the ginger.  After a couple weeks of “soaking” in the tequila or vodka, you can then pour the alcohol and chopped ginger root in a blender, puree it up for a minute (which helps release a ton more of the flavor and nutrients from the ginger), and then strain the solids out.  You’re left with a super antioxidant-rich ginger cocktail that you can mix with club soda, kombucha, or your other favorite mixers to make delicious and healthy cocktails!  Yes, inflammation-fighting cocktails!

Note that alcohol actually extracts a lot more beneficial phytochemicals from ginger than hot water can extract (similar to how tinctures work), so it’s theorized that you can get more of the active ginger compounds from infusing ginger into alcohol than any other method.  Obviously, keep your ginger infusion cocktails to moderate consumption so that you don’t drink too much alcohol, since too much alcohol would offset the health benefits of the ginger infusions.

Ginger has been shown to support heart health in several important ways. Studies suggest that the active compounds in ginger — particularly gingerols and shogaols — may help reduce inflammation, lower LDL cholesterol, and prevent dangerous blood clots from forming in the arteries. Blood clots are one of the leading triggers of heart attacks, and ginger’s natural blood-thinning properties may help keep blood flowing freely. Some research also points to ginger’s ability to help lower blood pressure and reduce oxidative stress — two major contributors to cardiovascular disease. While ginger isn’t a replacement for medical treatment, it’s one of nature’s more well-studied allies when it comes to keeping your heart healthy.

Duke MD: “#1 heart attack sign is not chest pain, cholesterol, or BP”

The first sign of a heart attack is almost never chest pain…

High cholesterol… or high blood pressure.

The new discovery of a top Duke University doctor has stunned cardiologists worldwide:

If the levels of this one nutrient in your heart are LOW, your chances of heart issues skyrocket.

(Hint: it’s not Omega-3s.)

This common deficiency leaves no trace on standard blood work panels.

Which means even with perfect cholesterol & normal blood pressure, you could STILL be at serious risk.

“Almost everyone forgets their heart is a muscle. And like any muscle… it needs protein-like nutrients to stay strong,” says Dr. Rick Cohen.

Dr. Cohen’s natural solution has helped thousands of people enjoy a healthy heart without living on drugs.

And he’s released a short video revealing a simple pre-shower technique to keep your heart strong.

Watch it here:

>>> Duke University MD Reveals The #1 “Heart Strong” Nutrient Backed By 600+ Studies

A word of caution: Check with your doctor if you are taking any medications as ginger may increase the action of some medications.  And, beware of eating/drinking too much ginger late at night—it can act as a mild stimulant!

Read These Articles Next:

The #1 muscle that eliminates back pain, joint pain, anxiety & looking fat

2 Simple steps to REMOVE visceral belly fat (the deadliest type)

The #1 WORST exercise for aging (stop doing it!)

References

Kelley Herring, Three Natural Cancer Benefits of Ginger, US Wellness Meats, May 2016.
http://blog.grasslandbeef.com/three-natural-cancer-benefits-of-ginger

Joe Leech, RD, 11 Proven Health Benefits of Ginger (No. 5 is Insane), Authority Nutrition, April 2016.
https://authoritynutrition.com/11-proven-benefits-of-ginger/

George Mateljan, Ginger, World’s Healthiest Foods, The George Mateljan Foundation, © 2001-2016.
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=72

Joe Mercola, OD, Ginger’s many evidence based health benefits revealed, Mercola.com, June 2014.
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/06/30/ginger-health-benefits.aspx

Nafiseh Shokri Mashhadi, Reza Ghiasvand, Gholamreza Askari, Mitra Hariri, Leila Darvishi, and Mohammad Reza Mofid, Oxidative and Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Ginger in Health and Physical Activity: Review of Current Evidence

Internal Journal of Preventative Medicine, April 2013, 4(Suppl 1): S36–S42.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3665023/

Nesher, Ginger as Natural Remedy for Alzheimer’s and some Other Diseases, Alzheimer’s review blogspot, Feb 2010.
http://alzheimers-review.blogspot.com/2010/02/ginger-as-natural-remedy-for-alzheimers.html

Sayer Ji, A Modest Dose of Ginger Improves 8 Markers of Diabetes, GreenMedinfo, Feb 2014.

http://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/modest-dose-ginger-improves-8-markers-diabetes-type-2

Megan Ware, RDN, LD, Ginger: Health Benefits, Facts, Research, Medical News Today, January 2016.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/265990.php?page=2

Carolanne Wright, Ultimate brain food – Increase memory, reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s and protect against multiple sclerosis with ginger, Natural News, September 2013. http://www.naturalnews.com/042091_ginger_mental_health_brain_food.html#ixzz4AuIbkMpf

The post Ginger: 9 ways this super-root protects your health (Fights cancer, aids fat loss, eases belly aches, etc) appeared first on thenutritionwatchdog.com.