Jordan Holmes

Marion, IL

A new German study, from Rudolf Wild GmbH and CRO, reveals the potential role of polyphenols to boost immune function. What are polyphenols? God’s garden is a rich variety of fruits and vegetables, nutrients, flavors, and health benefits now found in scientific laboratories to contain certain natural chemicals called phytochemicals.  Polyphenols are one class of these natural plant chemicals found in all fruits and vegetables given some of them their distinct color. Polyphenols are also known for their antioxidant ability. Antioxidants are the balance to free radicals in the wisdom of God’s system of balance, described in detail in Scripture. Weakness is balanced with power, joy with sorrow, and faith with despair.

Polyphenols are found in green tea, chocolate, apples, onions, citrus fruits, soy, berries and cherries. There are several sub-classes of polyphenols including catechins or flavonols (tea is a rich source), anthocyanins (berries are a particularly good source), flavonoids, phenolic acids such as ellagic acid, tannins (think nuts), lignans (think flax seed), to name but a few. Hundreds of chemicals have been identified from plants that populate the polyphenolic category. Many of these polyphenols are unique. Think of the unique polyphenols in cranberries that help prevent bacteria from sticking to our mucous membranes (mouth and bladder to prevent gum disease and bladder infections).

When our immune systems are stressed with free radicals, we can balance their effect with antioxidants from dietary sources and supplementation. God’s garden of fruits and vegetables are rich supplies of phytochemicals that have anti-oxidant properties. Many degenerative diseases are now termed to be those of oxidative stress, that is, we lack the anti-oxidants to balance the stress of free radicals. Asthma, diabetes, cancer, cataracts, Parkinson’s, heart disease are but a few of the disease conditions associated with oxidative stress. Many physicians believe the incidence of diseases of oxidative stress has increased because the typical American diet is full of processed foods rich in trans fats, processed grains, and sugars lacking in antioxidants, minerals, and other nutrients. We no longer eat as God provided to nourish our bodies as we read in Scripture.

This new German study studies the role of polyphenols as an immune booster. Nearly hundred people suffering from the common cold consumed either a polyphenolic-rich drink or a control drink two times a day over 10 days. At the end of the study, the difference between the two groups according was “highly significant” according to the researchers. There was significant decrease in stuffy noses, sore throat, headache and joint aches, hoarseness, cough, and general feeling of sickness. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes the average American suffers from 4-6 bouts of colds and flu a year. Preventing those colds or limiting their suffering is a true blessing to millions of Americans.

The German researchers made their polyphenolic-rich drink of green tea, grape seed and grape skins, as well as shiitake mushrooms. We all can have easy access to a nutritious drink rich in the blessings of plant chemicals including polyphenols. Fruit of the Spirit contains whole purees of grapes, bilberries, as well as other fruits and alkalinizing minerals. Grapes, apples, and bilberries are particularly rich sources of polyphenols. Because Fruit of the Spirit is the whole fruit puree (skin, seeds, and the fruit), you can count on it as a good source of the polyphenols that tastes good, is affordable, and has the highest quality. Flash pasteurization of Fruit of the Spirit (in less than 10 seconds) preserves nutrients such as polyphenols and other antioxidants. Contrast that with broccoli cooked in a microwave now known to destroy nearly 90% of its liable nutrients.

Eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables raises our tissue stores of important nutrients, vitamins, minerals, and plant chemicals. It is the single most important thing we can all do to nourish the temple of our body each day.  Nine to eleven servings a day is optimal. We can all add five servings each day with a single serving, just one ounce of Fruit of the Spirit. What a blessing for our good health!

However, there is growing evidence that obese patients have consumed lots of calories but they are not from nutrient dense foods. More than one gastric bypass surgery has been delayed while the patient’s obvious malnourishment is addressed prior to surgery. Anyone who eats a few days of processed foods often recognizes they remain hungry but while are eating lots of sugar, processed grains, and hydrogenated fats, they are consuming little nutrients. When we move away from the whole foods provided by God’s garden to processed foods, we leave nutritious foods behind and eat more refined sugars, heated or processed fats known as trans fats, and processed grains. It translates to empty calories.

A syndrome of signs or symptoms has emerged known as Syndrome X or metabolic syndrome. It is truly pre-diabetes and most often pre-heart diseases with a high level of inflammation thrown in. It is generally characterized by weight around your middle (apple-shaped) with high fasting insulin, high triglycerides, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and high levels of inflammatory chemicals. The dots do connect to insulin resistance, that is, the body produces too much insulin but the cells are increasingly insulin-resistant eventually leading to type II diabetes. It is generally acknowledged that 10% of all Americans are already type II diabetic and up to 40% are pre-diabetic. It does not sound as though we are good stewards of our bodies and minds, does it?

A survey of the data gleaned from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s NHANES (National Health and Nutrition Exam Surveys) reveals the widespread nature of less optimal nutrition among Americans. That is, we appear to be well-fed often over-fed, but truly we do not have optimal tissue stores of nutrients. From vitamin B12 deficiency among seniors to widespread vitamin D deficiency among all ages, it is well established that most Americans are not optimally nourished. To connect the dots between nutritional deficiency and health comes the work of noted scientist and researcher Bruce Ames, PhD, UC Berkley in his “Triage Theory.” Click here to read further http://www.nutraingredients.com/content/view/print/276682.

The international Alliance for Natural Health team under the direction of Dr. Rob Verkerk weighs in on Professor Ames 2006 published work in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences which was “Low micronutrient intake may accelerate the degenerative diseases of aging through the allocation of scarce micronutrients by triage.” Click here to read further http://www.anhcampaign.org/news/professor-bruce-ames-‘triage-theory’-makes-sense-and-gains-support. Dr. Ames who has published his work in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition highlighting that congenital conditions can be addressed by giving high-dose nutrition to bypass the co-factors, enzymes, and nutrients influenced by the affected genes “had become well aware that many micronutrient (vitamins and minerals) deficiencies are associated with chromosome breaks and cancer in humans, such deficiencies having caused DNA damage in rodents or human cells in culture. It had also been established that chromosomal breaks cause early aging.” Dr. Ames’ work has profound consequences for the industrialized countries whose populations eat a great deal of processed foods.

As for recognition by the larger medical and nutritional community, Dr. Ames notes “A new idea is always hard to get through. Old timers (often think such a theory would) encourage people to take more vitamins.” It is interesting to note that great medical-nutritional minds like Dr. Ames, the late Dr. Abram Hoffer, the late Dr. Linus Pauling, Dr. Jeffrey Blumberg, Dr. Lester Packer, and others too many to list take their vitamins each and every day. In Scripture, it is abundantly clear that we are blessed with super-foods like honey, grapes, pomegranates, the fish of the sea, and the like. These foods have been created by God to nourish our bodies physically just as God’s word and the ministry of His Son nourishes our souls and our minds.

When we begin to include those fruits, berries, herbs including frankincense and myrrh, and minerals from sources like the Dead Sea, it is amazing to hear what people experience. More restful sleep, more energy and well-being are but two of what we can earn by feeding our bodies in a nutritious fashion. And the science is increasingly clear we are reaping a plethora of chronic, degenerative diseases when we fail to use whole foods and good sources of protein to nourish our physical bodies.

Cyndy N.

7 risks associated with pH imbalance -

Cancer – For DNA-RNA synthesis and the body’s natural cleansing and healing processes to occur, cell pH cannot be acidic.  Cancerous cells grow well in acidic mediums.  Some doctors have begun experimenting with giving patients super alkalized water to stunt cancer cell growth.

Heart Disease – Proper electrolyte activity, smooth blood flow throughout arteries, veins and heart tissue, all keys to efficient heart function are affected by an acid pH.  When blood plasma is acidic, it acts as a chemical irritant, which slowly attacks and eats away at the smooth muscle tissue of the inner walls of arteries and veins, as well as the heart itself.  Like acid eating into marble, a continually acid pH erodes and eats into cell wall membranes of the heart, arteries and veins, weakening their structural composition, causing lesions of plaque and microscopic tearing throughout its framework and creative irregularities of blood pressure.

Weight Gain – Proper fat metabolism and healthy insulin production doesn’t happen when the body is in an acidic state.  An acid pH can directly cause immediate weight gain by causing erratic insulin production by the body.  When the body is flooded with insulin it diligently converts every calorie it can into fat.

Diabetes – Before the advent of synthetic insulin, diabetes was treated by buffering the system with base or alkaline powders.  An acidic pH increases pressure to continually produce insulin, cellular communication is thwarted and the immune system begins to over-respond.  Stress within the cells increases, making it difficult for them to perform adequately and survive.  They simply burn out!

Osteoporosis & Osteoarthritis – An acidic body leaches calcium from the bones and teeth in a desperate attempt to balance itself.  This leaching process increases the risk of bone disease.  The rate of hip fractures has doubled in the last 50 years, a clear sign that something has changed.  The likely culprit is our acidic diet.

Dangerous Cholesterol Levels – Simply reducing the amount of cholesterol in the diet isn’t enough.  The amount of cholesterol ingested has not been found to be a major factor in cholesterol plaque formation.  Rather, it is because an acid pH allows the binding of cholesterol with heavy metals and other cellular debris to form plaque.

Premature Aging – Acidosis causes partial lipid breakdown and destructive oxidation, accelerating free radical damage of cell walls and intracellular membrane structures, which then unravel, killing cells in the process.  Acidosis is thought to contribute to age-related problems such as eyesight and memory loss, wrinkling, age spots and dysfunctional hormonal systems.

“Acid pH is so corrosively destructive that it is considered a seedbed for most, if not all, degenerative diseases including heart disease, diabetes, obesity, premature aging and osteoporosis”.            Dr. Lawrence Hatchett MD, Harvard University – Fellow

Dr. Courtney’s show can be heard Monday, Wednesday and Friday on the all-health talk-radio station KHB 620 in Pittsburgh, PA from 8:00-9:00 AM, EST.  For those outside the Pittsburgh area you can hear the show live on the Internet on the same days at 8:00 AM EST HERE or for the show archive 24 hours a day, click here.

“Harmony” is available online at Amazon.com and is available for FREE with all new Fruit of the Spirit orders placed during May, 2010!

The sun breaks down both collagen and elastin in your skin, making it your skin’s worst enemy.  One way to counteract it is to stay indoors…but that’s no fun.  Instead, slather up with a broad-spectrum, sunblock formula that contains Helioplex or Mexoryl — which offer the longest-acting protection — and has an SPF that’s at least 30.  That will help keep the big, bad sun in it’s place.

Summon the Power of Antioxidants

If the sun is the bad guy in your skin’s soap opera, then antioxidants are the superheroes.  They protect skin from forces in the environment — known as free radicals — that break down elastin and collagen.  Free radicals can be produced in the body from the inside or outside.  Not only pollution and chemicals in the environment but what you put in your body can create a free radical party…we don’t want that!  Fortunately, you can flush free radicals internally and externally too.  Each day, use a skin care product with multiple antioxidants in it, as they work best when combined.  At the same time, make sure you’re consuming antioxidant rich foods and antioxidant rich supplements (I recommend a whole, raw food product like Fruit of the Spirit for natural antioxidant support).  This strategy will cover you inside and out.

Keep It Moist

Everyone knows that moisturizers keep your skin from drying and cracking but most people don’t realize that they also help protect against free radical damage.  Dehydration can actually lead to oxidative stress, which is the precursor to free radicals.  Get it?  Oxidative stress…antioxidants.  Now we’re learning something!  Keeping your skin moist helps it repair itself and prevent damage from the environment.  Look for products containing cholesterol, ceramides, essential fatty acids, and niacinamide for the most protection.

Eat Good Stuff

To repair itself, your skin needs help from the inside too.  Research shows that when essential nutrients like vitamin C and zinc are lacking, the skin just can’t repair itself as efficiently.  In order to give your skin the support it needs, make sure you’re getting enough healthy fat (the kind in fish such as salmon), dark green veggies and nuts.  Green tea is also and excellent source of antioxidants.  The more naturally occurring antioxidants you can put in your body, the better off your skin will be.  Once again, Fruit of the Spirit fits this bill.  With all of its amazingly blessed ingredients, Fruit of the Spirit is jam packed with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.

Stop Smoking

I’m not going to pass judgement or try and be an anti-smoking ad.  Instead, I’ll just throw out some facts.  Smoking destroys collagen, the most abundant protein in humans, responsible for strong skin and connective tissue.  Smoking destroys elastin, a protein in skin and connective tissue that allows it to return to its original position when poked, pinched or stretched.  Smoking decreases estrogen, which is necessary to keep skin firm.  I think that says enough and says it all!

Respecting the body that God’s given you means more than just not putting bad things into it…don’t forget the outside of the temple!

Everyone has seen the TV commercials touting aspirin as a preventative measure for heart attack.  In fact, doctors have been prescribing it, in low doses, for some time now.  While there is evidence that aspirin can help some, the reality is that an aspirin a day only helps prevent heart attacks in about 8 out of 1000 men and may not lower women’s risks at all!

In an effort to find an improvement to aspirin in the fight against heart attacks, researchers have been looking more closely at the cardio-protective attributes of resveratrol.  There is evidence that resveratrol may provoke a pre-conditioning effect in the heart whereby antioxidant defenses are activated prior to a heart attack, limiting damage to heart muscle.

In an interview with CBS News Affiliate KFVS-TV, Dipak Das, PhD, ScD, MD (hon), professor and director of the Cardiovascular Research Center at the University of Connecticut, School of Medicine said, “Resveratrol likely fulfills the definition of a pharmacological preconditioning compound and gives hope for the therapeutic promise of alternative medicine.”

Resveratrol also exhibits other beneficial properties such as thinning the blood and inhibiting clots from forming and inhibiting plaque from sticking to artery walls.  All of these reasons point to resveratrol possibly being far superior to aspirin in preventing heart attacks and limiting the damage they cause when they do occur.

While there are some resveratrol products on the market in pill form, I’d rather get this type of compound in a natural state when possible.  Supplements in pill form, many times, have a low efficacy rate when compared to the same compound in a more natural form.  Now I’m not suggesting you go out and drink red wine like a Frenchman…I’m just saying there are alternatives to popping pills.

Fruit of the Spirit, for instance, delivers therapeutic amounts of resveratrol from natural sources.  Fruit of the Spirit, is a whole, raw food and derives its benefits from whole fruits being puréed, stems, seeds, skins and all.  You just can’t beat Mother Nature.  On top of that Fruit of the Spirit gives you alkalizing minerals and an umbrella of antioxidant protection to support overall health.

Researchers said their findings suggest it may be no coincidence that while sleep duration has shortened in western societies in the past decade there has also been an increase in cases of “insulin resistance” and adult-onset diabetes. “Our findings show a short night of sleep has more profound effects on metabolic regulation than previously appreciated,” said Esther Donga, Director of Leiden University Medical Centre in the Netherlands, who led the study published on Wednesday.

Type 2 diabetes is caused by the body’s inability to adequately use insulin, a hormone produced by the pancreas, to control glucose sugar produced from food. Sugar levels rise and can damage the eyes, kidneys, nerves, heart and major arteries. The disease, linked to poor diet and lack of exercise, is reaching epidemic levels. An estimated 180 million people now suffer from diabetes around the world. Previous studies have found that several nights of poor sleep can result in impaired use of insulin, but Donga said this was the first study to examine the effects of only a single bad night’s sleep.

The findings, published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM), showed that partial sleep restriction during a single night reduced some types of insulin sensitivity by 19 to 25 percent. “Our data indicate that insulin sensitivity is not fixed in healthy (people), but depends on the duration of sleep in the preceding night,” Donga wrote in the study. “In fact it is tempting to speculate that the negative effects of multiple nights of shortened sleep on glucose tolerance can be reproduced, at least in part, by just one sleepless night.”

A study by U.S. scientists published last year found that people who slept less than six hours a night were 4.5 times more likely to develop abnormal blood sugar readings in six years compared with those who slept longer. Experts say adults typically need between seven and nine hours sleep a night. Donga said further studies were needed to see whether ways of improving sleep duration could help stabilize glucose levels in patients with diabetes.

#1 : HEALTHY EATING

The human body is like a car – it needs the right fuel to function well…fuel like fresh fruits and vegetables that provide nutrients essential to on-going health and vitality. Vitamins are rich in antioxidants that help reduce stress created inflammation in the body. Minerals are the often overlooked nutrients that refuel your energy naturally. For Mother’s Day, treat your Mom to a healthy meal filled with fresh fruits and vegetables.

#2 : EXERCISE

Exercise is a major stress reducer. It naturally relaxes the body,  helps reduce blood pressure and supports healthy cholesterol. If you are a Mom, simply walking 30 minutes 3 times a week will reduce your stress and improve your health.

#3 : ME TIME

Mom’s don’t get enough “Me Time” or time to do whatever they want whenever they want. Here’s a great gift idea for Mother’s Day – YOU take the kids so Mom can catch a movie, get a massage, manicure or pedicure – whatever she likes to do with her rare downtime. She will thank you for a day off!

Happy Mother’s Day!

Rebecca