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Antioxidants: Your Defense Against Premature Aging

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ORAC what? Oxygen Radical Absorption Capacity is a test developed by USDA researchers at Tufts University in Boston to measure the antioxidant levels of foods and supplements. Why is this important? First, let’s explore what antioxidants are. These, in a nutshell, are substances that destroy free radicals. What are free radicals? Free radicals are unstable molecules that have a free electron. What free radicals do is that they steal electrons from other molecules such as our cells to make themselves stable. In the process, they damage our cells and their components. One of the most vulnerable parts of our cells is the mitochondria, the energy powerhouse of our cells. No wonder, once there’s mitochondrial damage (which is another cause of aging), one of the earliest symptoms a person could experience is fatigue or weakness. Antioxidants should ideally be coming from our food. Other sources include nutritional supplements such as vitamins, minerals and therapeutic-grade essential oils. Rich food sources of these antioxidants include prunes, wolfberries, acai berries, blueberries, pomegranates, apricots, kale, etc. Among the essential oils, clove scores the highest at 1,078,000, followed by myrhh at 379,000 and citronella at 312,000.

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Depression Hurts, Holistic Medicine Can Help…..

Cover of "The Lonely Man"

Cover of The Lonely Man

Depression is not uncommon as you think. That’s why there’s a slew of ads  on prime time TV pouting drugs that address this problem. There’s no doubt that medications do help people but the truth is, it doesn’t help everyone esp. those who have chronic health problems. Antidepressants won’t bring optimal results if there are underlying issues such as low thyroid function, low testosterone levels in men, hormonal imbalance in women (low estrogen or progesterone), vitamin (vitamin D, B complex) or mineral (Magnesium) deficiencies, and gut issues (leaky gut, dysbiosis), among others. Depression is not merely due to imbalance in brain chemicals. It can be also be due to problems going in the body . That’s why it’s important not to separate the mind from the body (or one part of the body from the rest of the body, for that matter). It’s important to address the root cause/causes of the problem if one expects to achieve optimal, long-lasting results. Then, a holistic approach should be employed that takes factors such as diet, nutritional supplements, stress-reduction, optimal sleep, adequate exercise, social activities, spiritual practices and  hormone balance , etc. into consideration. Everybody is unique or different. Therefore, a cookie-cutter or one-size-fits-all approach to treating depression (or any other illness) won’t work. A program that considers each person’s biochemical individuality would go a long way in obtaining great results.

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Tired And Sick Of Being Tired and Sick?

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Fatigue is a very common complaint we see daily. It’s not something that should be taken lightly, however. Often, we’re told that it’s a normal part of the aging process. Not if you’re thinking that aging is a gradual and progressive degradation of parts and function. We do have a choice. We can age gracefully or we can age “badly,” for lack of a better word. If a person would like to age well, then they better take care of the basics such as good nutrition, adequate water intake, breathing properly, restful sleep, sensible exercise, stress reduction, detoxification, nutritional supplement intake (individualized) and hormone balancing (through diet and perhaps, the use of bioidentical hormones).
Anyway, back to the subject of fatigue. Fatigue (tiredness) is a vague, subjective symptom. It’s normal to get tired or fatigued at times. But, if it’s chronic and unrelenting, then it need to be addressed further. There are a lot of possible causes of chronic, persistent fatigue. I can enumerate a few here. These include nutritional deficiencies (lack of B vitamins, Coenzyme Q10, etc), heavy metal toxicity (lead, mercury, arsenic), hormonal imbalance (low thyroid, adrenals, growth hormone, low testosterone in men, estrogen/progesterone imbalance in women), poor detoxification mechanisms, anemia, heart/lung problems, pathogens (Lyme’s disease, chronic candidiasis), etc. It’s best to find out the cause/causes of fatigue rather than masking it with excessive caffeine intake (coffee) or using energy drinks (high in sugar).
Once pathologic causes of fatigue are ruled out, then someone may consider incorporating the following nutrients to improve energy levels. Coenzyme Q10 (or better yet, Ubiquinol), L-carnitine, B vitamins and D-ribose. Consult with your holistic healthcare practitioner however, before incorporating any of these into your health program.

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