Today's Natural Cure: Natural Treatments for MS

This article is from  naturalsociety.com

4 Natural Treatments for Multiple Sclerosis (MS)

Multiple sclerosis is a bit of a mystery. It is a disease that occurs when the immune system damages the myelin sheath surrounding nerves, with effects being from mild to severe. Science is truly at a loss as to why it happens, why it is more common in northern latitudes, and why the damage that occurs varies so widely. But rest assured, there are numerous lifestyle tips for preventing and treating multiple sclerosis naturally.

MS is considered an auto-immune disease, where the immune system attacks the nervous system. A definite cause is unknown, but symptoms can vary from mild (numbness, tingling, tremor, etc.) to severe (extreme weakness, loss of vision, electric-shock sensations, slurred speech, extreme fatigue, and limited mobility). Usually, the symptoms come and go. In most cases, the disease worsens with time, with periods of remission getting shorter or nonexistent as the disease progresses.

Because the disease is a bit of a mystery, so is treating it. Of course, Big Pharma has come out with prescription solutions, but they are very expensive, come with a long list of side effects, and aren’t guaranteed to work. Fortunately, many people with multiple sclerosis have found relief through natural means.

Some Potential, Natural Solutions for MS

Because the disease varies widely, so too do the solutions. MS patients are cautioned that what works for one person, may not work for them – not so surprising. However, these potential solutions have had success in many people who suffer from the potentially debilitating disease.

• 1. Practice Healthy Living - While this tip may seem vague, things like stress and lack of sleep can worsen the symptoms of MS. For that reason, it’s important to take care of yourself. Exercising regularly, meditating, and sleeping on a set schedule could help to minimize your symptoms. Don’t sit around all day, and try not to fill your day with stress and anxiety.

• 2. Eliminate Some Foods - Some foods have been shown to aggravate the symptoms of MS. These include highly processed foods, polyunsaturated vegetable oils (like those in margarine), artificial sweeteners and preservatives, and gluten. For many, eliminating grains altogether seems to lessen symptoms markedly.

• 3. Add Other Foods - Other foods have shown promise in healing the body and reducing MS symptoms. These include: foods rich in Omega-3 fats (fish, nuts, etc.), grass-fed proteins, healthy fat sources (coconut oil, olives, avocados, etc.), and fermented food and drinks (kefir, apple cider vinegar, kimchi, and sauerkraut).

• 4. Use Herbs - Anti-inflammatory herbs may help when symptoms are at their worst. Some helpful herbs and spices that are easily added to foods are turmeric, ginger, thyme, cinnamon, oregano, rosemary, and clove. Evening primrose oil, more difficult to find, may also help because of its concentration of gamma-linoleic acid, which helps optimize nervous system function.

In addition to these changes, a vitamin D supplement may help with MS. Some research suggests there is a link between low vitamin D levels and the rate at which MS patients experience relapses. The best vitamin D source is regular sunshine, however, you can also get a D3 supplement if you fear you are deficient.

Another study published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry found that a cannabis extract has positive effects on the treatment of multiple sclerosis symptoms.

Natural treatments for multiple sclerosis depend mostly on living a healthy lifestyle and abstaining from highly processed and dangerous foods. This can be done with a significant amount of determination and motivation. And when the symptoms of MS are at their peak, they provide a serious amount of motivation to maintain even tough lifestyle changes.

Additional Sources:

NaturalNews/036983

MayoClinic

Today's Natural Cure: Turmeric

This article is from  greenmedinfo.com

Science Confirms Turmeric As Effective As 14 Drugs

Turmeric is one the most thoroughly researched plants in existence today.  Its medicinal properties and components (primarily curcumin) have been the subject of over 5600 peer-reviewed and published biomedical studies.  In fact, our five-year long research project on this sacred plant has revealed over 600 potential preventive and therapeutic applications, as well as 175 distinct beneficial physiological effects. This entire database of 1,585 ncbi-hyperlinked turmeric abstracts can be downloaded as a PDF at our Downloadable Turmeric Document page, and acquired either as a retail item or with 200 GMI-tokens, for those of you who are already are members and receive them automatically each month.

Given the sheer density of research performed on this remarkable spice, it is no wonder that a growing number of studies have concluded that it compares favorably to a variety of conventional medications, including:

• Lipitor/Atorvastatin(cholesterol medication): A 2008 study published in the journal Drugs in R & D found that a standardized preparation of curcuminoids from Turmeric compared favorably to the drug atorvastatin (trade name Lipitor) on endothelial dysfunction, the underlying pathology of the blood vessels that drives atherosclerosis, in association with reductions in inflammation and oxidative stress in type 2 diabetic patients. [i]  [For addition curcumin and 'high cholesterol' research – 8 abstracts]
• Corticosteroids (steroid medications): A 1999 study published in the journal Phytotherapy Research found that the primary polyphenol in turmeric, the saffron colored pigment known as curcumin, compared favorably to steroids in the management of chronic anterior uveitis, an inflammatory eye disease.[ii]  A 2008 study published in Critical Care Medicine found that curcumin compared favorably to the corticosteroid drug dexamethasone in the animal model as an alternative therapy for protecting lung transplantation-associated injury by down-regulating inflammatory genes.[iii] An earlier 2003 study published in Cancer Letters found the same drug also compared favorably to dexamethasone in a lung ischaemia-repurfusion injury model.[iv]  [for additional curcumin and inflammation research – 52 abstracts]
• Prozac/Fluoxetine & Imipramine  (antidepressants): A 2011 study published in the journalActa Poloniae Pharmaceutica found that curcumin compared favorably to both drugs in reducing depressive behavior in an animal model.[v] [for additional curcumin and depression research – 5 abstracts]
• Aspirin (blood thinner): A 1986 in vitro and ex vivo study published in the journalArzneimittelforschung found that curcumin has anti-platelet and prostacyclin modulating effects compared to aspirin, indicating it may have value in patients prone to vascular thrombosis and requiring anti-arthritis therapy.[vi]  [for additional curcumin and anti-platelet research]
• Anti-inflammatory Drugs: A 2004 study published in the journal Oncogene found that curcumin (as well as resveratrol) were effective alternatives to the drugs aspirin, ibuprofen, sulindac, phenylbutazone, naproxen, indomethacin, diclofenac, dexamethasone, celecoxib, and tamoxifen in exerting anti-inflammatory and anti-proliferative activity against tumor cells.[vii] [for additional curcumin and anti-proliferative research – 15 abstracts]
• Oxaliplatin (chemotherapy drug): A 2007 study published in the International Journal of Cancer found that curcumin compares favorably with oxaliplatin as an antiproliferative agenet in colorectal cell lines.[viii] [for additional curcumin and colorectal cancer research – 52 abstracts]
• Metformin (diabetes drug): A 2009 study published in the journal Biochemitry and Biophysical Research Community explored how curcumin might be valuable in treating diabetes, finding that it activates AMPK (which increases glucose uptake) and suppresses gluconeogenic gene expression  (which suppresses glucose production in the liver) in hepatoma cells. Interestingly, they found curcumin to be 500 times to 100,000 times (in the form known as tetrahydrocurcuminoids(THC)) more potent than metformin in activating AMPK and its downstream target acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC). [ix]

Another way in which turmeric and its components reveal their remarkable therapeutic properties is in research on drug resistant- and multi-drug resistant cancers.  We have two sections on our site dedicated to researching natural and integrative therapies on these topics, and while there are dozens of substances with demonstrable efficacy against these chemotherapy- and radiation-resistant cancers, curcumin tops both lists:

• Cancers: Drug Resistant
• Cancers: Multi-Drug Resistant

We have found no less than 54 studies indicating that curcumin can induce cell death or sensitize drug-resistant cancer cell lines to conventional treatment.[x]

We have identified 27 studies on curcumin's ability to either induce cell death or sensitize multi-drug resistant cancer cell lines to conventional treatment.[xi]

Considering how strong a track record turmeric (curcumin) has, having been used as both food and medicine in a wide range of cultures, for thousands of years, a strong argument can be made for using curcumin as a drug alternative or adjuvant in cancer treatment.  

Or, better yet, use certified organic (non-irradiated) turmeric in lower culinary doses on a daily basis so that heroic doses won't be necessary later in life after a serious disease sets in.  Nourishing yourself, rather than self-medicating with 'nutraceuticals,' should be the goal of a healthy diet.  [learn more at Sayer Ji's new collaborative project EATomology]

---

Resources

• [i] P Usharani, A A Mateen, M U R Naidu, Y S N Raju, Naval Chandra. Effect of NCB-02, atorvastatin and placebo on endothelial function, oxidative stress and inflammatory markers in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a randomized, parallel-group, placebo-controlled, 8-week study. Drugs R D. 2008;9(4):243-50. PMID: 18588355

• [ii] B Lal, A K Kapoor, O P Asthana, P K Agrawal, R Prasad, P Kumar, R C Srimal. Efficacy of curcumin in the management of chronic anterior uveitis. Phytother Res. 1999 Jun;13(4):318-22. PMID: 10404539

• [iii] Jiayuan Sun, Weigang Guo, Yong Ben, Jinjun Jiang, Changjun Tan, Zude Xu, Xiangdong Wang, Chunxue Bai. Preventive effects of curcumin and dexamethasone on lung transplantation-associated lung injury in rats. Crit Care Med. 2008 Apr;36(4):1205-13. PMID: 18379247

• [iv] J Sun, D Yang, S Li, Z Xu, X Wang, C Bai. Effects of curcumin or dexamethasone on lung ischaemia-reperfusion injury in rats. Cancer Lett. 2003 Mar 31;192(2):145-9. PMID: 18799504

• [v] Jayesh Sanmukhani, Ashish Anovadiya, Chandrabhanu B Tripathi. Evaluation of antidepressant like activity of curcumin and its combination with fluoxetine and imipramine: an acute and chronic study. Acta Pol Pharm. 2011 Sep-Oct;68(5):769-75. PMID:21928724

• [vi] R Srivastava, V Puri, R C Srimal, B N Dhawan. Effect of curcumin on platelet aggregation and vascular prostacyclin synthesis. Arzneimittelforschung. 1986 Apr;36(4):715-7. PMID:3521617

• [vii] Yasunari Takada, Anjana Bhardwaj, Pravin Potdar, Bharat B Aggarwal. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents differ in their ability to suppress NF-kappaB activation, inhibition of expression of cyclooxygenase-2 and cyclin D1, and abrogation of tumor cell proliferation.Oncogene. 2004 Dec 9;23(57):9247-58. PMID: 15489888

• [viii] Lynne M Howells, Anita Mitra, Margaret M Manson. Comparison of oxaliplatin- and curcumin-mediated antiproliferative effects in colorectal cell lines. Int J Cancer. 2007 Jul 1;121(1):175-83. PMID: 17330230

• [ix] Teayoun Kim, Jessica Davis, Albert J Zhang, Xiaoming He, Suresh T Mathews. Curcumin activates AMPK and suppresses gluconeogenic gene expression in hepatoma cells.Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2009 Oct 16;388(2):377-82. Epub 2009 Aug 8. PMID: 19665995

• [x] GreenMedInfo.com, Curcumin Kills Drug Resistant Cancers, 54 Abstracts

• [xi] GreenMedInfo.com, Curcumin Kills Multi-Drug Resistant Cancers: 27 Abstracts.

Today's Natural Cure: Avoiding Food Additives

This article is from  preventdisease.com

Avoid 100 Dangerous Food Additives Causing ADHD, Asthma and Cancer

Food industry additives and colors are one major cause of ADHD, asthma and cancer creating a toxic environment for our children's health. Even medicines for babies and young children frequently contain these additives banned from foods and drinks and targeted at children under three years of age.

Artificial flavors and colors means it is derived from a chemical made in a laboratory and has no nutritional value. Every single artificial flavor and color in the food industry has some kind of detrimental health effect. These include neurotoxicity, organ, developmental, reproductive toxicity, allergies and cancer.

Two recent British studies found that several food dyes, as well as the common preservative sodium benzoate have an adverse effect on some children's behavior. Researchers said the increase in ADHD diagnoses could be partly to blame on the preservative.

"It can affect their focus, their concentration. They become more easily distractible, become more impulsive. I think we're looking at a whole population of kids with skewed immune systems," said Dr. Kenneth Bock, who wrote a book that supports the theory that food additives could lead to hyperactivity in children.

A Southampton Study in the UK showed that additives cause hyperactivity in children within an hour after consumption. Food additives, especially the artificial colors are made from coal tar derivatives and synthetic chemicals. Within an hour of ingestion, hyperactive behavior is evident.

Cancer and Other Serious Risks from Food Dyes Revealed

Every year, food manufacturers pour 15 million pounds of artificial food dyes into U.S. foods -- and that amount only factors in eight different varieties, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI).

In CSPI's summary of studies on food dyes, you can see that some of the most commonly used food dyes may be linked to numerous forms of cancer. CSPI reported:

"The three most widely used dyes, Red 40, Yellow 5, and Yellow 6, are contaminated with known carcinogens ...Another dye, Red 3, has been acknowledged for years by the Food and Drug Administration to be a carcinogen, yet is still in the food supply."

In their 58-page report, "Food Dyes: A Rainbow of Risks," CSPI revealed that nine of the food dyes currently approved for use in the United States are linked to health issues ranging from cancer and hyperactivity to allergy-like reactions -- and these results were from studies conducted by the chemical industry itself.

For instance, Red # 40, which is the most widely used dye, may accelerate the appearance of immune-system tumors in mice, while also triggering hyperactivity in children.

Blue #2, used in candies, beverages, pet foods and more, was linked to brain tumors. And Yellow 5, used in baked goods, candies, cereal and more, may not only be contaminated with several cancer-causing chemicals, but it's also linked to hyperactivity, hypersensitivity and other behavioral effects in children.

As CSPI reported:

"Almost all the toxicological studies on dyes were commissioned, conducted, and analyzed by the chemical industry and academic consultants. Ideally, dyes (and other regulated chemicals) would be tested by independent researchers.

Furthermore, virtually all the studies tested individual dyes, whereas many foods and diets contain mixtures of dyes (and other ingredients) that might lead to additive or synergistic effects.

In addition to considerations of organ damage, cancer, birth defects, and allergic reactions, mixtures of dyes (and Yellow 5 tested alone) cause hyperactivity and other behavioral problems in some children.

...Because of those toxicological considerations, including carcinogenicity, hypersensitivity reactions, and behavioral effects, food dyes cannot be considered safe. The FDA should ban food dyes, which serve no purpose other than a cosmetic effect, though quirks in the law make it difficult to do so (the law should be amended to make it no more difficult to ban food colorings than other food additives).

In the meantime, companies voluntarily should replace dyes with safer, natural colorings."

Artificial preservatives are responsible for causing a host of health problems pertaining to respiratory tract, heart, blood and other. Some are very neurotoxic especially when combined with specific nutrients.

Please look at the ingredient lists before you purchase any processed foods. If you see any of these, don't buy the product. Continue to educate yourself on the influx of new toxins introduced every year. Eventually, if we investigate enough the answers come. Rule of thumb, if the ingredient list has one chemical or more...it's one too many. 

TABLE OF DANGEROUS FOOD ADDITIVES
Additive Number	Name of Food Additive	ADHD	Asthma	Cancer
FD&C Yellow No. 5 102 & E102	Tartrazine (food color)	✓	✓	✓
104 & E104	Quinoline Yellow (food color)	✓	✓	✓
107 & E107	Yellow 2G (food color)	✓	✓	✓
FD&C Yellow No. 6 110 & E110	Sunset Yellow (Yellow food color #6)	✓	✓	✓
120 & E120	Carmines, Cochineal (food color)	✓	✓	-
122 & E122	Azorubine, Carmoisine (food color)	✓	✓	✓
123 & E123	Amaranth (Red food color #2)	✓	✓	✓
124 & E124	Ponceau, Brilliant Scarlet (food color)	✓	✓	✓
FD&C Red No. 3 127 & E127	Erythrosine (Red food color #2)	✓	✓	✓
E128	Red 2G (Red food color)	✓	✓	✓
FD&C Red No. 40 129 & E129	Allura Red AC (food color)	✓	✓	✓
E131	Patent Blue (food color)	✓	✓	✓
FD&C Blue No. 2 132 & E132	Indigotine, Indigo Carmine (food color)	✓	✓	✓
FD&C Blue No. 1 133 & E133	Brilliant Blue (food color)	✓	✓	✓
142 & E142	Acid Brilliant Green, Green S, Food Green (food color)	✓	✓	-
143	Fast Green (food color)	-	✓	-
150 & E150	Caramel (food color)	✓	-	-
151 & E151	Activated Vegetable Carbons, Brilliant Black (food color)	✓	✓	✓
154	Food Brown, Kipper Brown, Brown FK (food color)	✓	✓	✓
155 & E155	Chocolate Brown HT, Brown HT (food color)	✓	✓	✓
160b & E160b	Bixin, Norbixin, Annatto Extracts (yellow, red to brown natural colors)	✓	✓	-
E171	Titanium Dioxide, TiO2 (to give foods an opaque color) more on Titanium Dioxide in comments below ↴	?	?	?
E173	Aluminium (preservatives)	-	-	✓
E180	Latol Rubine, Pigment Rubine (preservatives)	✓	✓	✓
200 & E200-203	Potassium & Calcium Sorbates ,Sorbic Acid (preservatives)	✓	✓	-
210 & E210	Benzoic Acid (preservatives)	✓	✓	-
211 & E211	Sodium Benzoate (preservatives)	✓	✓	✓
212 & E212	Potassium Benzoate (preservatives)	-	✓	-
213 & E213	Calcium Benzoate (preservatives)	-	✓	-
E214	Ethyl Para Hydroxybenzonate (preservatives)	-	✓	-
E215	Sodium Ethyl Para Hydroxybenzonate (preservatives)	-	✓	-
216 & E216	Propyl P Hydroxybenzonate, Propylparaben (preservatives)	-	✓	-
E217	Sodium Propyl P Hydroxybenzonate (preservatives)	-	✓	-
220 & E220	Sulphur Dioxide also Sulfur dioxide (preservatives)	✓	✓	-
221 & E221	Sodium Sulfite or Sodium Sulphite (preservatives)	-	✓	-
222	Sodium Bisulfite or Sodium Bisulphite (preservatives)	-	✓	-
223 & E223	Sodium Metabisulfite or Sodium Metabisulphite (preservatives)	-	✓	-
224 & E224	Potassium Metabisulphite or Potassium Metabisulfite (preservatives)	-	✓	-
225 & E225	Potassium Sulfite or Potassium Sulphite (preservatives)	-	✓	-
E226	Calcium Sulfite or Calcium Sulphite (preservatives)	-	✓	-
E227	Calcium Hydrogen Sulphite or Calcium Hydrogen Sulfite (preservatives)	-	✓	-
E228	Potassium Bisulfite, Potassium Hydrogen Sulfite or Potassium Bisulphite, Potassium Hydrogen Sulphite (preservatives)	✓	✓	-
E230	Diphenyl, Biphenyl (preservatives)	-	-	✓
E231	Orthophenyl Phenol (preservatives)	-	-	✓
E236	Formic Acid (preservative)	-	-	✓
E239	Hexamine, Hexamethylene Tetramine (preservatives)	-	-	✓
249 & E249	Potassium Nitrate (preservative)	-	✓	✓
250 & E250	Sodium Nitrite (preservative)	✓	✓	✓
251 & E251	Sodium Nitrate (preservative)	✓	-	✓
252 & E252	Potassium Nitrate (preservative)	✓	-	✓
260 & E260	Acetic Acid, Glacial (preservatives)	-	✓	-
280 to 283	Calcium or Potassium or Sodium Propionates, Propionic Acid (preservatives)	✓	✓	-
310 & E310	Propyl Gallate (Synthetic Antioxidant)	-	✓	✓
311 & E311	Octyl Gallate (Synthetic Antioxidant)	-	✓	-
312 & E312	Dodecyl Gallate (Synthetic Antioxidant)	-	✓	-
319 & E319	TBHQ, Tert Butylhydroquinone (Synthetic Antioxidants)	✓	✓	-
320 & E320	Butylated Hydroxyanisole (BHA) (Synthetic Antioxidants)	✓	✓	✓
321 & E321	Butylated Hydroxytoluene (BHT) or Butylhydroxytoluene (Synthetic Antioxidants)	✓	✓	✓
330 & E330	Citric Acid (NOT DANGEROUS if naturally occurring e330 & 330 citric acid additive – but other can contain sulfites and mold.)	-	-	-
407 & E407	Carrageenan (Thickening & Stabilizing Agent)	-	✓	✓
413 & E413	Tragacanth (thickener & Emulsifier)	-	✓	-
414 & E414	Acacia Gum (Food Stabilizer)	-	✓	-
416	Karaya Gum (Laxative, Food Thickener & Emulsifier)	-	✓	-
421 & E421	Mannitol (Artificial Sweetener)	✓	-	-
430	Polyxyethylene Stearate (Emulsifier)	-	-	✓
431	Polyxyl Stearate (Emulsifier)	-	-	✓
E432 – E435	Polyoxyethylene Sorbitan Monostearate (Emulsifiers Gelling Stabilisers Thickeners Agents)	-	-	✓
433 – 436	Polysorbate (Emulsifiers)	-	-	✓
441 & E441	Gelatine (Food Gelling Agent)	-	✓	-
466	Sodium CarboxyMethyl Cellulose	-	-	✓
507 & E507	Hydrochloric Acid (Hydrolyzing Enhancer & Gelatin Production)	-	-	✓
518 & E518	Magnesium Sulphate (Tofu Coagulant)	-	-	✓
536 & E536	Potassium Ferrocyanide (Anti Caking Agent)	-	✓	-
553 & E553 & E553b	Talc (Anti Caking, Filling, Softener, Agent)	-	-	✓
620 – 625	MSG Monosodium Glutamate, Glutamic Acid, all Glutamates (Flavour Enhancers)	✓	✓	✓
627 & E627	Disodium Guanylate (Flavour Enhancers)	✓	✓	-
631 & E631	Disodium Inosinate 5 (Flavour Enhancers)	-	✓	-
635 & E635	Disodium Ribonucleotides 5 (Flavour Enhancers)	-	✓	-
903 & E903	Camauba Wax (used in Chewing Gums, Coating and Glazing Agents)	-	-	✓
905 & 905 a,b,c	Paraffin and Vaseline, White Mineral Oil (Solvents, Coating and Glazing, Anti Foaming Agents, Lubricant in Chewing Gums)	-	-	✓
924 & E924	Potassium Bromate (Agent used in Bleaching Flour)	-	-	✓
925 & E925	Chlorine (Agent used in Bleaching Flour, Bread Enhancer and Stabiliser)	-	-	✓
926	Chlorine Dioxide (Bleaching Flour and Preservative Agent)	-	-	✓
928 & E928	Benzoyl Peroxide (Bleaching Flour and Bread enhancer Agent)	-	✓	-
950 & E950	Potassium Acesulphame (Sweetener)	-	-	✓
951	Aspartame (Sweetener)	✓	✓	-
952 & E952	Cyclamate and Cyclamic Acid (Sweeteners)	-	-	✓
954 & E954	Saccharine (Sweetener)	-	-	✓
1202 & E1202	Insoluble Polyvinylpyrrolidone Insoluble (Stabiliser and Clarifying Agent added to Wine, Beer, Pharmaceuticals)	-	-	✓
1403	Bleached Starch (Thickener and Stabiliser)	-	✓	-

Today's Natural Cure: Positive Thoughts Affect Your Health

This article is from  naturalsociety.com

Proof Positive: Our Thoughts, Emotions Affect our Physiological Health

We have known that cognitive bias (where we live, if we are a man or woman, our cultural and religious leanings etc.) colors how we interact with the world since Plato, but scientists are now continuously finding that emotions may have more to do with our physical health than anything else.

How Thoughts, Emotional Health Affects Physical Health

Did you know, for example, that the heart speeds up without any physical activity when we are stressed out? This can lead to heart attack and a higher overall resting heart rate, which could lead to earlier death.

Furthermore, it isn’t just the foods you eat that can lead to elevated levels of ‘bad’ cholesterol. If you have a positive, upbeat outlook, you will more than likely experience lowered cholesterol levels and better heart health.

If you are depressed, is it the world outside of you causing your depression, or the thoughts you most consistently think? The  pharmaceutical companies, who bring you anti-depressant drugs like Paxil and Prozac, actually cause an imbalance in natural happy-hormones your brain makes to keep you feeling fine. They want you to keep buying those drugs, but you be surprised to figure out that these pharmaceutical solutions often lead to suicidal thoughts and behavior on their own. It’s actually the way you think that is the true factor in how you emotionally feel, and subsequently how healthy you feel.

It turns out that emotions like jealousy, rage, anger, fear, criticalness, mistrust, revenge, etc. are very bad for your health. Reducing negative self-talk can actually lower your stress, and stress has been linked to innumerable forms of disease. Stress causes everything from cancer, to AIDS/HIV, auto-immune disorders, cardiovascular disease and depression, just to name a few.

It doesn’t mean that just because we experience a traumatic event, that we can’t experience the emotions that go along with that, but it does mean that if we have a positive outlook, we are more likely to go back to a base-line reading of a healthy person rather than ruminating on fear, anger, sadness, etc.

Dr. Cohen, the Robert E. Doherty Professor of Psychology at Carnegie Mellon, says, “The majority of people confronted with even traumatic events remain disease-free. Stress increases your risk of developing disease, but it doesn’t mean that just because you are exposed to stressful events, you are going to get sick.”

The truth is though, that the less we worry, the healthier we will be.

Today's Natural Cure: Diatomaceous Earth

This article is from  naturalsociety.com

The Benefits of Diatomaceous Earth: What You Need to Know

If you are a gardener, you may have heard of or even used diatomaceous earth. It’s most commonly known as a non-toxic pesticide. But, its uses go far beyond sprinkling in your soil. As a matter of fact, diatomaceous earth can be used for everything from flea and tick prevention on your pets to healthier skin and as a heavy metal detox for you.

Diatomaceous earth (DE) is the pulverized fossils of single-celled organisms called diatoms. These micro-organisms exist in water and when they die, they float to the bottom, accumulating and fossilizing to become DE. Though it was obscure at one time, you can usually find DE at most health food stores, stores like Home Depot, or online.

DE is rich in minerals with about 85% amorphous silica and 20 trace minerals, according to NaturalNews. The silica is reportedly responsible for reducing the signs of aging, even reducing the appearance of age spots and improving skin elasticity.

You can use diatomaceous earth internally by mixing a few tablespoons in liquid or with your food. It won’t dissolve completely, so putting it in a thick juice or smoothie might be preferable. Taken daily, DE may help with:

• Reducing inflammation and pain in joints
• Improving skin and hair texture
• Lowering blood pressure
• Lowering “bad” cholesterol
• Removing heavy metals like mercury, lead, and cadmium from the body
• Detoxifying the digestive system of parasites

When you first begin using DE, you may experience constipation, so be sure to drink plenty of water throughout the day. Also, make sure you are using a high quality food grade diatomaceous earth product, as there are also many industrial grade versions available.

DE’s pest control benefits also make it good to use on pet fleas and ticks as well as lice in humans. Just be certain you and your pets do not inhale the dust as you apply it.