Today's Natural Cure: Natural Headache Cures

This article is from  draxe.com

How to Cure Your Headaches All Naturally

From time to time it seems all of us get a headache. Whether a symptom of the common cold or flu, eye strain, or another reason, we’ve all experienced the headache. However there are some people who seem to suffer more frequently from headaches than the rest of us. And then there are those who suffer from such excruciating headaches they are rendered useless until the suffering passes.

According to the National Women’s Health Information Center 45 million Americans are victims of chronic headaches with 20 million of those being women. That’s a lot of people suffering from painful headaches every day.

What’s more according to the 2001 National Hospital Ambulatory Care Survey more than 9 million people in the United States alone visits the doctor for a headache. One would imagine this isn’t just a mild passing headache that sends these people to the doctor’s office.

Do you suffer from chronic headaches? Do you find yourself popping pill after pill in hopes of relieving the pain in your head that prevents your from living life at its fullest? If you are one of these millions of people suffering with headaches listen up! There are steps you can take to not just treat the headache but get to the root of the problem and solve it.

No More Headaches! Determine the Cause of Your Headaches

In the Western world we have become accustomed to treating symptoms while essentially ignoring the root cause of the problem, in this case headaches, leaving our minds divorced from the pain while our bodies continue suffering.

The key to effectively treating any problem is to first determine the cause. Causes of headaches range from eye strain to brain tumors so obviously the way we treat each case can vary greatly. However once you’ve ruled out a head injury or any other serious medical condition such as a brain tumor (which sadly many people rush to conclude they have when suffering with chronic headaches) it’s time to take a look at the real cause of your headache.

Most Common Causes of Headaches

The list of headaches causes is long. In this context we’ll be discussing headaches that aren’t caused by serious medical conditions.

Some of the most common but least recognized causes of headaches are the following:

• Food allergies
• Nutrient Deficiencies
• Vitamin or mineral toxicity
• Skeletal structural issues
• Pharmaceutical side effect or allergy
• Chemical toxicity
• Anemia
• Thyroid issues
• Hormone imbalances

As I said, the list of headache causes is very long and in this discussion we’ll focus on three of the most common, yet least recognized causes of headaches. These are food allergies, structural skeletal problems, and vitamin deficiencies.

Food Allergies as a Cause of Headaches

One of the most common problems not only with headaches but also other health issues is that the foods some of us put into our bodies are actually causing us health issues, including headaches.

Headaches are one of the first signs of an allergic reaction to a particular food. As we rush through life, stuffing whatever we can grab in our mouths, we seldom stop to take notice of how each food choice impacts our bodies. If we slow down to listen to our bodies they’ll reveal to us if the food choice we’ve made is having a positive impact or negative impact on our delicate body systems.

When it comes to food allergies and headaches the first step is to begin keeping a headache journal. You can pick up a composition book at the store for just a couple dollars to begin tracking your headaches. This step is key not only for food allergy induced headaches but to determine the real cause of your headaches whatever that may be.

When you get a headache write down the time, day, and what you ate and did up to two hours before the onset of your headache. Also jot down when the headache began and when it ended.

Some of the most commonly eaten foods produce allergic reactions in many people. These common allergy producing foods are:

• Wheat
• Dairy
• Egg
• Shellfish
• Fish
• Soy
• Tree nuts
• Peanuts

The key to beating food allergy induced headaches is to determine which food or foods specifically you’re allergic to and avoid it. The FDA mandates that these eight above listed common food allergens be listed on all product labels. So even if you’re not eating that food specifically, for instance peanuts, it’s essential to be sure it’s not hidden in another food you’ve selected. Again, reading labels of what you buy is essential to healthy eating especially if you have food allergies.

Remember food ingredients can change so be sure you’re checking the labels to avoid any food you should be avoiding.

Structural Issues as a Cause of Headaches

We often overlook a previous head, neck, or spinal injury as the cause of ongoing headaches. In fact, many simple strains or misalignments of the neck and spine can cause headaches that, if left untreated, continue for years.

According to a recent study released by the Foundation for Chiropractic Education and Research, those people who took part in ongoing chiropractic care experienced a reduction in headache severity and frequency as compared with those who took a commonly prescribed pharmaceutical for tension headaches, amitriptyline.

Many people report to their chiropractors the same. These same people often say they wish they had visited the chiropractor earlier but had misconceptions about exactly what this type of health care practitioner does.

The best way to choose a chiropractor (DC or doctor of chiropractic) is to ask a family member or friend for a referral. If you don’t know anyone who currently uses a chiropractor you can visit the American Chiropractic Association to find a reputable practitioner in your area. I recommend finding someone who practices wellness, or corrective care, treatment.

Magnesium as a Treatment for Headaches

Magnesium has been thought to be connected to headaches, particularly migraines, for many decades now. Magnesium plays a vital role in body functions including blood vessel stabilization, bone strength, enabling sleep, and nerve and muscle function.

In fact many of the causes of depleted magnesium are also connected with chronic headaches; alcohol consumption, excess stress, and also menstruation for women.

Low magnesium isn’t as common as a vitamin D deficiency but if you suffer from headaches this is one of the most important things to consider. According to Dr. Sarah DeRossett, a headache specialist, many people suffering with from migraines also have been found to have lower levels of magnesium compared with those not suffering from migraines.

Again the best way to boost your magnesium is through real foods. Great sources of magnesium include beans, dark leafy veggies, and seafood like wild caught salmon. As you can see from this list, rich sources of magnesium such as seafood are also common food allergens. This is why the first step to curing your headaches all naturally (rather than simply treating them with drugs) is determining the real cause.

If you find you need to supplement a healthy diet with magnesium, I recommend finding a high quality brand that does not contain magnesium stearate.

Keep a headache diary, pay attention to what you eat and then how your body responds, and be sure you are eating an all around healthy diet.

Sources

National Headache Foundation (2010)

Mayo Clinic (2009)

American Chiropractic Association (2010)

Mayo Clinic (2010)

Today's Natural Cure: Magnesium

This article is from  247wereport.com

A study involving more than 3,700 postmenopausal women looked at the effects of dietary magnesium and found something quite promising: that the mineral can have a dramatic impact on inflammation throughout the body. As the trigger to many chronic diseases including cardiovascular disease, inflammation is often only directly combated when people feel it's effects. But, with this new research, we learn that we can reduce inflammation throughout the body without drugs and without waiting for the effects to send us to a medical doctor.

 The study found "inflammatory indicators in the body such as CRP (C-reactive protein), TNF (tumor necrosis factor alpha), and IL6 (interleukin 6) were all reduced when magnesium intake was increased."Inflammation in the arterial walls was also reduced with magnesium intake.

Inflammation in the walls of the arteries can lead to cardiovascular disease. Inflammation throughout the body can lead to a host of additional diseases including the obvious inflammatory ones like arthritis, but could also be the cause of things like Alzheimer's. Many natural health experts subscribe to the belief that inflammation is actually at the heart of all disease.

While the study provides good news in the fight against inflammation, we cannot reap the benefits of magnesium without consuming the mineral. And the modern diet is replete of it.

When you consume a steady diet of processed foods, you aren't getting much of anything in the way of nutritional value; and this includes magnesium. But, rather than running out to get a magnesium supplement to take with your value meal tonight, try including some magnesium–rich foods in your diet. These foods include:

• Dried herbs including coriander, mint, dill, chives, sage, and basil
• Dark chocolate
• Pumpkin seeds
• Flax seeds
• Brazil nuts
• Sunflower seeds
• Almonds
• Cashews
• Molasses

These magnesium-rich foods would make a great homemade trail mix and can help you fight chronic disease while you nosh.

Source: http://naturalsociety.com/magnesium-is-a-powerful-natural-anti-inflammatory-mineral/#ixzz2aAXeOqJf

Today's Natural Cure: Heavy Metal Detox

This article is from  bewellbuzz.com

7 Easy, Natural and Inexpensive Ways For Heavy Metal Detox

(BeWellBuzz) Pollution has been having its media heyday in our day as we realize that toxins can be found in our water supply, foods, and even vaccines. Symptoms of heavy metal toxicities are broad and range from mild to severe, depending on the particular metal, as well as actual blood levels. Symptoms can include weight gain or difficulty losing weight; brain fog or outright cognitive decline; pain in the muscles and joints; headaches; nausea and indigestion; allergies; depressed immunity; and chronic fatigue. Everyone in the developed world and much of the world around is likely to have some degree of elevated levels of metals. The following heavy metal detox methods are gentle enough to be a part of ourhealthy lifestyle, but can also occasionally be employed in therapeutic doses (where applies) for greater intensity.

1. Mercury-Free Dental Fillings

Silver-amalgam fillings are made of mercury mixed with silver, tin, zinc and copper. Over time the mercury may break down in tiny amounts, and some experts say that a mercury “vapor” enters your bloodstream even as you eat and chew gum. If you have silver fillings, consider swapping them out for tooth-colored composite resin, or in the meantime take extra measures to help your body eliminate.

2. Nix Sugar and Processed Foods for Protein

Whereas sulfur bearing amino-acids in protein facilitate detoxification, sugar and especially unnatural, processed foods create inflammation, increase toxicity, suppress immune system, feed harmful microbes and more. Stevia is still a nice substitute for sugar. Naturally sweet herbs and spices help to take the “bite” off stevia, if it’s strong for your palette, while bringing their own calorie-free sweetness and healing powers into the mix. Play with choices like organic cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, mint and orange essence as both flavor and health essentials to replace synthetic flavors, artificial sweeteners and sugar.

3. Garlic

Most of us know that garlic is a fabulous natural antibiotic that kicks some major microbial (cold, flu, etc.) butt. But you should also know that garlic contains sulfur-compounds able boost your body’s production of glutathione.  Glutathione is our very own in-house “chelator,” which means it attaches or “binds” itself to bad guys like metals and toxins, and carries them all the way out of the body. To reap the benefits, eat a therapeutic dose of 2-3 fresh cloves a day- RAW and crushed.

TIP: Crush fresh cloves, let stand for 10 minutes and then eat up.

Crushing exposes the garlic to air, activating enzymatic activity that increases itsthiosulfinates, ie sulfur content. Cooking or sautéing the garlic will destroy much of its healing and nutrient value, but you will have a little more of its nourishment left if you crush the cloves prior to heat processing.  Try not to expose the garlic to heat for more than 10 minutes. Otherwise, try reconstituting organic freeze-dried garlic. And if you’re getting stinky, back off till you recover.  It’s a good idea to include fresh, raw garlic in your daily diet. Combine it with curcumin-rich turmeric, and you’ve got a mighty cocktail for raising and protecting glutathione levels. The spice also brings its own anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, liver-protective properties.

4. Chlorella

Chlorella is a nutrient and protein rich algae considered by many diet and health experts to be a key superfood. It has the curious habit of binding itself to heavy metals, chemicals and some pesticides while they remain in your GI tract, but before they get deposited inside your cells. Wonderfully, chlorella will take out toxic substances and unwanted metals while bypassing vital minerals such asmagnesium, calcium and zinc.

But Buyer Beware! Ironically, some chlorella, even USDA certified organic, may be infiltrated with moderate levels of heavy metals due to toxins in the environment where the chlorella is cultivated. Try Clean Chlorella, which comes in both tablet and powder form. Best bet is to take it as a powder, beginning with small doses and working your way up. Mix with a little water or add it to your morning smoothie. If you’re planning to eat fish and you’re not absolutely certain that it’s mercury-free, have a healthy dose of chlorella about 30 minutes prior to your meal.

5. Milk Thistle

This herb is a friend to your liver, the detox factory of thy body. Anything you do to strengthen the liver will empower your natural and daily internal cleansing. Milk thistle fortifies the liver cell membrane so that toxins are unable to pass through. Another compound within the herb prevents the liver from regenerating damaged cells and assists in the formation of healthy ones. It also helps to protect and even increase glutathione levels, which in turn arms cells against toxins and also transports them out from the body. This herb is often used in cleansing formulas or in combination with another liver cleansing herb very much worth mentioning,dandelion.

6. Exercise

Remember that exercising not only causes healthy elimination through sweat, but strengthens your heart and helps you maintain healthy circulation, delivering oxygen-rich blood to our cleansing kidneys and liver. Avoid low quality cardio such as hour-long tread mill sessions or marathon running. Instead, focus on high intensity short burst workouts and low rep, heavy weight resistance.

7. Healthy Detox Pantry

Other excellent foods, herbs and spices to enjoy every day as a part of a healthy and natural detox diet include onions, citrus fruits, cilantro either fresh or in a concentrated tincture form, beet roots and asparagus; for awesome protein and nourishment eat organic eggs and only grass-fed meat and dairy free of growth hormones and antibiotics. Enjoy plenty of foods rich in fiber such as flax seeds or flax meal. Flax assists with healthy elimination while also building up the body with nutrients including omega-3 fatty acids. Enjoy plain, sugar-free, full fat, organic yogurt and/or a quality probiotic supplement. (The full-fat will not cause weight gain, and tastes a hundred times better than skim. I like organic “cream on top” Greek yogurt. Crrrrazy.)

Most of all, pay close attention to how you feel on a daily basis. As you implement these tips, journal your body’s response and adjust accordingly. Eat well and play hard.

“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” -Hippocrates

Recommended Products:

- Clean Chlorella Tablets

- Clean Chlorella Powder

- Milk Thistle Extract Capsules

*** As we are all individuals, make sure that you take appropriate measures before doing any kind of detox. There is evidence that chlorella may not be a good choice for some.

Do your own due diligence and ask your trained & trusted health professional relative questions.

Here are some additional resources:

http://throughthepuzzle.com/safe-chelation/
As pointed out by one of our readers (thank you Kelly):
Google “Andrew Hall Cutler” and “mercury” and you’ll find more info, or check out ‘badchlorella.com‘.

Today's Natural Cure: Colloidal Silver

This article is from  naturalsociety.com

Colloidal Silver Benefits: The Truth About Colloidal Silver

Have you heard of a ‘miracle’ product known as colloidal silver? The basic reason for any colloidal silver efficacy and safety controversy is that the medical establishment (medical mafia) and the pharmaceutical industry (Big Pharma) see colloidal silver as a financial threat. While you may have been cautioned against using colloidal silver, know that colloidal silver benefits are tried and true.

Both the medical establishment and Big Pharma have put silver medical products to work in hospital equipment and medical tools as well as anti-infection burn remedies to prevent MRSA (Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus) infections, which are potentially lethal and have become antibiotic resistant.

Yet the medical establishment promotes fear mongering lies through various media outlets and threatens colloidal silver manufacturers through various federal, state, and local health agencies.

The difference between their medical products and colloidal silver is patent rights that yield royalties for several years. Colloidal silver can be made by anyone with inexpensive equipment and it can’t be patented.

As of January 2009, the EU has banned colloidal silver manufacturing in its European member nations. Whenever Codex Alimentarius gets “harmony” compliance from the USA, the same will happen here.

So now is the right time to stock up and try it yourself or buy a kit permitting you to make it yourself indefinitely.

How Colloidal Silver (CS)Works and Colloidal Silver Benefits

Many consider colloidal silver an antiseptic and not an antibiotic because it kills more than bacteria; it destroys viruses and eliminates fungal infections. So far, bacteria that are resistant to silver haven’t developed, while colloidal silver can destroy antibiotic-resistant pathogens, even the dreaded MRSA.

As a matter of fact, now the medical mafia has been covertly adding colloidal silver into antibiotics to conquer the super-bug strains that have developed immunity to those antibiotics. I say covertly because they aren’t talking too much about it!

Keep in mind that while antibiotics don’t touch viruses and fungus’s, colloidal silver eliminates them – making colloidal silver benefits incredibly useful. It eliminates anaerobic pathogens by destroying the enzymes that fend off oxygen molecules, thus oxidizing them to death.

Conversely, the silver nano-particles neutralize the minority of aerobic pathogens by disrupting their ability to use oxygen. This begs the question: will colloidal silver destroy friendly gut bacteria the way pharmaceutical antibiotics do? Some colloidal silver advocates claim it is so readily assimilated into the blood through the stomach and gut linings before it can linger in the lower intestines where our friendly bacteria mostly reside. Therefore,  it isn’t an issue.

Others consider electrical charge bonding as the main factor for eliminating pathogens while sparing gut friendly bacteria. Most friendly bacteria are not negatively charged, eliminating any attraction to the positively charged silver particles.

However, a couple of key colloidal advocates, one from whom I purchased my colloidal silver making machine, don’t think that the intestinal flora issue has been clearly established. They recommend the following:

• Have probiotic materials on hand and use them an hour or more after ingesting colloidal silver.

• Swish and hold a dose of colloidal silver in your mouth to absorb most of the particles sublingually into the bloodstream through the capillaries under and around your tongue as long as possible before swallowing.

• Nebulize the colloidal silver solution, making it go directly into your bloodstream via the lungs blood vessels.

As magnetic scavengers, they don’t have to collide into pathogens by chance the way antibiotics do. Because the tiny colloidal silver particles (colloids) have strong positive charges, they are attracted to or attract negatively charged microbes, including viruses.

How It’s Made

A colloidal silver solution is made from a small electrical current applied to silver strips placed in distilled water. After some time, the distilled water becomes flooded with tiny nanoparticles of silver.

The liquid itself should be clear, and it’s important that it be shielded from sunlight exposure. As the nanoparticles get oxidized from light exposure and they settle out of solution, coloration occurs.

Since colloidal silver may become banned someday, because it’s so effective and safe, it would be wise to purchase the apparatus for making your own to protect you from epidemics, whether incidental or created. Its cost makes future colloidal silver use very cost-effective.

Here a site I have personally used for reasonably priced silver or gold colloidal products and a silver colloidal machine.

Big Pharma’s Colloidal Silver Bad Press

The blue grandpa “smurf” photos of Paul Karason’s Argyria (an almost permanent blue skin disease) has made the mainstream media rounds for anti colloidal silver propagandists.

What isn’t mentioned is that Paul made his own crude large particle colloidal silver and drank at least a pint and up to quart a day for years! The normal dosage is a teaspoonful one to three times daily, depending on the severity of infection.

Another disinformation meme is that the silver accumulates in the kidneys and creates a toxic situation. This would only happen if the kidneys are already defective, and even then accumulation factor has not been actually established or proven.

Today's Natural Cure: Nutrients For Skin Health

This article is from  wakeup-world.com

The Ten Best Nutrients For Skin Health

It’s important to ensure adequate availability of the nutrients that best protect your skin health. As one of the only organs directly exposed to external elements, skin must be protected from the inside out. Therefore, both your daily diet and skin regimen (you too, men) should include these 10 skin protecting nutrients.

Lycopene

Lycopene is a powerful antioxidant that has natural UV ray protecting properties. A diet rich in lycopene gives your skin a little added protection again the sun’s harmful rays. Lycopene can be found in watermelon, tomatoes, pink grapefruit and papaya.

Asthaxanthin

Astaxanthin is the pink-hued compound found in foods such as shrimp and krill. It is one of the only carotene compounds that is not converted to retinol in the body, therefore, 100% of its antioxidant strengths are reserved for fighting free radicals. With prolonged use, studies have shown astaxanthin is incredible for supporting skin heath and elasticity, and has even been shown to visibly improve the appearance of skin by reducing signs of aging such as dry skin, wrinkles and age spots. One of our trusted partners, SAN, has a great product called PurZanthin that uses 100% all natural astaxanthin from non-shellfish sources. Whichever brand you choose, make sure it’s 100% all natural as there are synthetic astaxanthin formulas on the market.

Vitamin C

Vitamin C is excellent for skin both internally and topically. It’s antioxidant properties protect your skin against harmful free radicals while encouraging the production of collagen. According to the American Academy of Dermatology, 500 to 1,000 milligrams of dietary or supplemental vitamin C per day is sufficient. While dietary vitamin C can be found in citrus fruits, Brussels sprouts, red peppers and other foods, topical vitamin C is growing in popularity. It’s important to use a brand that you trust so that the nutrient concentrations aren’t compromised. Two products we trust are John Masters Organics Vitamin C Serum and Eminence Organics Couperose-C Serum.

Vitamin A

Vitamin A, or its precursor, beta-carotene, can be found in carrots or spinach and ensures the proper maintenance, repair and turn over of skin and tissue cells. If you’re deficient in vitamin A, you may notice a dry or flaky complexion because your skin is not repairing itself fast enough. Topical vitamin A in the form of retinol has been known to dramatically improve the appearance of skin. However, be sure to check with your dermatologist before considering a topical treatment, as it is not recommended universally.

Omega-3 Fatty Acids:

Omega-3s are associated with reduced inflammation and are known to increase the radiance of one’s complexion by locking in hydration. Good omega-3 sources include fatty fish, such as salmon, walnuts and flax seeds. Higher amounts of omega-3s can be obtained from a high quality, molecularly distilled fish oil supplement.

Vitamin E

Vitamin E is known to counter the harmful effects of UV exposure and provide superior antioxidant protection. Experts indicate that natural Vitamin E at about 400 mg per day has been noted to reduce photodamage and wrinkles and to improve skin texture. Topical vitamin E has been known to balance complexion and reduce the appearance of “sun spots.” Two brands to consider are Now Foods E-Oil  and Jason Pure Beauty Oil, Vitamin E Oil 32,000 I.U., 1 oz.

Biotin

Biotin is a B vitamin that is largely responsible for providing the basis for radiant skin and hair. Experts often recommend anywhere from 1,000-5,000 mcg per day which usually requires a supplement. Food sources for biotin include peanuts, Swiss chard and tuna.

Vitamin K

Topical vitamin K cream has been identified as one of the best (and only) treatments available for effectively reducing under-eye circles. We’ve found one, Naturopathica Vitamin K Brightening Eye Serum, that we are really comfortable endorsing, as it is a 100% organic brand that uses high quality ingredients.

Hyaluronic Acid

Hyaluronic acid has the remarkable ability to hold 1,000 times its weight in water, therefore, is a great nutrient for maintaining your skin’s hydration. Additionally, it acts as a bonding agent of sorts, keeping your skin cells from separating (i.e. wrinkling).

Alpha Lipoic Acid

This potent antioxidant is one of the only nutrients that is both water-soluble and fat-soluble. This means it can protect your skin’s cells from free radical damage both on inside and the surface. Topical treatments are growing in popularity but one of the best, organic brands we’ve found is Passport to Organics’ Face Lift – Total 360 Regeneration Cream with Alpha Lipoic Acid.(This formula also contains hyaluronic acid, vitamin C and a few other skin supporting nutrients.)

Today's Natural Cure: Good Food

This article is from  realfarmacy.com

The 5 Best and 5 Worst Foods For Sleep

For many, the secret to getting a good night’s sleep comes down to two things–stress and diet. It’s important to not overload your digestive system two or less hours before you sleep. Including one or two of these sleep promoting foods will help to relax tense muscles, quiet buzzing minds, and/or get calming, sleep-inducing hormones — serotonin and melatonin — flowing. On the flip side, there’s five foods to stay away from.

1. Cherries – Fresh, dried and tart cherries are one of the only natural food sources of melatonin, the chemical that controls the body’s internal clock to regulate sleep. Researchers who tested tart cherries and found high levels of melatonin recommend eating them an hour before bedtime or before a trip when you want to sleep on the plane.

2. Almonds – A handful of these heart-healthy nuts can send you snoozing because they contain both tryptophan and a nice dose of muscle-relaxing magnesium. They have the added benefit of supplying proteins that can help maintain a stable blood sugar level while sleeping, and help promote sleep by switching you from your alert adrenaline cycle to your rest-and-digest cycle. Try this bedtime snack: Have a tablespoon of almond butter or a 1-ounce portion of almonds to help your body relax.

3. Honey – Drizzle a little in your herbal tea. Lots of sugar is stimulating, but a little glucose tells your brain to turn off orexin, a recently discovered neurotransmitter that’s linked to alertness. Honey can promote relaxation and help ease you to sleep at night. The natural sugar found in honey raises our insulin slightly and allows tryptophan, to enter our brains more easily. Taking a spoonful of honey before bed can help you get restful sleep.

4. Flaxseeds – When life goes awry, and feeling down is keeping you up, try sprinkling 2 tablespoons of these healthy little seeds on your bedtime oatmeal. They’re rich in omega-3 fatty acids, a natural mood lifter. Many people notice that just 1 tablespoon of flaxseed oil 1 hour before bed promotes a deeper sleep. Generally, fatty acids are involved in initiating and maintaining sleep. There are different categories of fatty acids that we need: omega-3, omega-6, and omega-9 fatty acids. All three types of fatty acids play a role in sleep. Flax oil is a rich source of all three of them.

5. Bananas – They’re practically a sleeping pill in a peel. Potassium and magnesium are natural muscle relaxants, and bananas are a good source of both. They also contain the amino acid L-tryptophan, which gets converted to 5-HTP in the brain. The 5-HTP in turn is converted to serotonin (a relaxing neurotransmitter) and melatonin.

5 WORST FOODS TO PROMOTE SLEEP

1. Alcohol – Having a drink (or two) is one way to nod off more quickly, but how restful is an alcohol-induced slumber? While a nightcap may get you to doze off, you’re more likely to wake up during the night and may not feel as rested following your sleep. So although that glass of wine may help you get to sleep faster, the effect of consolidating sleep in the first half of the night is offset by having more disrupted sleep in the second half of the night which creates sleep deprivation in the long-term.

2. Spicy Foods – Research has shown over the years that a spicy meal at night can indeed lead to poor sleep. The most direct study to show this was published in The International Journal of Psychophysiology by a team of Australian researchers. On the nights that included spicy meals, there were marked changes in the subjects’ sleep patterns. They spent less time in both the light phase of sleep known as Stage 2 and the deep, slow-wave Stages 3 and 4. All of which meant that they experienced less sleep over all and took longer to drift off.

3. Fatty Foods – Research shows that people who often eat high-fat foods not only gain weight, they also experience a disruption of their sleep cycles. A heavy meal activates digestion, which can lead to nighttime trips to the bathroom. People who eat a lot of fatty foods may also have more difficulty sleeping. There seems to be a strong connection between the circadian processes, sleep and metabolism relating to the processing of fatty foods such as high-fat dairy, fried foods and fatty meats.

4. Coffee – It’s no surprise that an evening cup of coffee might disrupt your sleep. Even moderate caffeine can cause sleep disturbances. But don’t forget about less obvious caffeine sources, like, cola, tea, and decaffeinated coffee. For better sleep, cut all caffeine from your diet four to six hours before bedtime.

5. Dark Chocolate – Besides caffeine, chocolate also contains theobromine, another stimulant that can increase heart rate and sleeplessness. While dark chocolate is excellent for your health, try to avoid ingesting any chocolate 5 hours or less before bed.

Today's Natural Cure: Don't Take Cholesterol Drugs

This article is from  mercola.com

New Cholesterol Drug PCSK9 Is Likely to Prematurely Kill You

By Dr. Mercola

In 2004, the US government's National Cholesterol Education Program panel advised those at risk for heart disease to attempt to reduce their LDL cholesterolto less than 100, or even less than 70, if you’re very high risk. Prior to this, a 130-milligram LDL cholesterol level was considered healthy.

In order to obtain the incredibly low LDL levels now recommended, you typicallyhave to take a cholesterol-lowering statin drug, and sometimes two or three of them in combination.

Now, a new class of cholesterol drugs known as PCSK9 inhibitors promises to reduce LDL cholesterol levels to previously unheard of lows. Indeed, this type of drug can drop your level below 50!

My prediction? These drugs will absolutely kill people—not just some, but MANY. I cannot warn you against this terrible idea enough. While many worry that their cholesterol is too high, few give any thought at all to the damage that can result if your cholesterol is too low.

This is a topic near and dear to my heart, as I drove (without drugs) my own total cholesterol levels down to a risky 75 when I was a naive young doctor. Alas, when it comes to cholesterol, lower is not always better. In fact, when your cholesterol levels go too low, a host of negative things happen in your body.

Unfortunately, lowering cholesterol levels has become so common in the US that nearly every American reading this either knows someone struggling to do so, or has struggled to do so themselves.

This despite the fact that there is no evidence to support the notion that having an extremely low cholesterol level is beneficial, and increasing numbers of studies point to significant risks associated with cholesterol-lowering drugs.

For example, a 2008 paper published in the American Journal of Cardiovascular Drugs1 cites nearly 900 studies on the adverse effects of HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors (statins), which run the gamut from muscle problems to increased cancer risk.

How Do PCSK9 Inhibitors Work?

Whereas statins (HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors) reduce your cholesterol by blocking an enzyme in your liver that is responsible for making cholesterol, these newer drugs, PCSK9 inhibitors, target and suppress a particular gene involved in the regulation of how much cholesterol your liver can actually filter out.

Researchers discovered that people with underactive PCSK9 genes had low levels of LDL. They also had low levels of cardiovascular disease. Since high cholesterol has long been mistaken as a primary cause of cardiovascular disease, these findings were akin to striking scientific gold... As reported in the featured article2:

“It's this discovery that has Sanofi and two other major drug companies, Amgen and Pfizer, racing to develop a drug that mimics the gene's effects. The best approach, experts say, will be through monoclonal antibodies: antibodies that are created in a lab and help your immune system fight a disease or, in this case, fight cholesterol...

'This is not to replace statin therapy,' said Joe Miletich, senior vice president of research and development at Amgen. 'This is actually to get patients to (their) goal who can't get there.'... 'With a statin medication, you can often get somebody's cholesterol between 70 and 100 mg/dL,' said Dr. Elliott Antman, president-elect of the American Heart Association and a dean at Harvard Medical School. 'If you use these monoclonal antibodies, you could see a number way less than 50.'"

I’ve told you before that the odds are very high— greater than 100 to 1—that if you're taking a statin, you don't really need it. From my review, the only subgroup that might benefit are those born with a genetic defect called familial hypercholesterolemia, as this makes them resistant to traditional measures of normalizing cholesterol.

In my view, this warning is just as applicable when it comes to PCSK9 inhibitors. Your body needs cholesterol and it doesn’t matter how you lower it: statins, PCSK inhibitors, or diet and exercise like I did. If your cholesterol drops too low, you will suffer health problems that I review in the next section.

The Health Hazards of Having Too Little Cholesterol

Your body needs cholesterol for the production of cell membranes, hormones, vitamin D, and bile acids that help you to digest fat. It’s not hard to see then why too little cholesterol can have such detrimental effects on your body—especially your brain, where it helps your brain form memories and is vital to your neurological function.

For example, research published in 20083 showed that low HDL is associated with poor memory and decline in memory in middle-aged adults. If you value your brain and want to keep it functioning into your senior years, you’d be well advised to pay attention to what it needs, and that includes cholesterol, along with healthful fats like omega-3. But impaired memory and dementia are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to low cholesterol’s impact on your brain. If your levels get too low, you also increase your risk of:

• Violent behavior and aggression
• Depression
• Suicide
• Cancer4
• Parkinson’s disease

Even more importantly, heart disease may in fact be a sign of cholesterol deficiency, according to MIT researcher, Dr. Stephanie Seneff. Considering the fact that conventional medicine has been telling us that heart disease is due to elevated cholesterol and recommends lowering cholesterol levels as much as possible, Dr. Seneff's claims may come as a complete shock to some.

"Heart disease, I think, is a cholesterol deficiency problem, and in particular a cholesterol sulfate deficiency problem..."

She points out that all of this information is available in the research literature, but it requires putting all the pieces together to see the full picture. Through her research, she believes that the mechanism we call "cardiovascular disease," of which arterial plaque is a hallmark, is actually your body's way to compensate for not having enough cholesterol sulfate. In a nutshell, high LDL appears to be a sign of cholesterol sulfate deficiency—it's your body's way of trying to maintain the correct balance by taking damaged LDL and turning it into plaque, within which the blood platelets produce the cholesterol sulfate your heart and brain needs for optimal function...

What this also means is that when you artificially lower your cholesterol with a statin drug, which effectively reduces that plaque but doesn't address the root problem, your body is not able to compensate any longer, and as a result of lack of cholesterol sulfate you may end up with heart failure.

Have High Cholesterol? Address the Cause!

Contrary to popular belief, high cholesterol is not a disease in and of itself. It is actually a response to something gone awry in your body. Cholesterol is produced whenever your cells become damaged, as it’s a necessary component in making new, healthy cells, so if you have a lot of damaged cells, you’re also going to have a lot of cholesterol in your bloodstream. This is a sign that your cells need, and are, being repaired. While most conventional doctors do not recognize this sign for what it is and put you on toxic cholesterol-lowering drugs, a more knowledgeable doctor will address the root problem, which is typically related to chronic inflammation brought on by:

• A diet too high in sugar/fructose and grains
• Too many processed, overcooked foods
• Lack of exercise
• Emotional stress
• Smoking

The remedy involves, of course, addressing these factors by making simple lifestyle changes that are outlined in my optimizednutrition and lifestyle plan. Whatever you do, don’t fall for the mistaken belief that the lower your cholesterol goes, the better. If you lower your cholesterol through artificial means without addressing the underlying causes for your elevated cholesterol levels, your body will continue to degenerate. Leave the decision of how much cholesterol your body needs up to your body, and make the right lifestyle choices to keep your cells in their top condition. This way you get the best of both worlds: the right amount of cholesterol and a body in tip-top shape.

The Many Well-Known Health Hazards of Statin Drugs

First, if you are a woman, it’s critical for you to know that statins are classified as a "pregnancy Category X medication" meaning,it causes serious birth defects, and should NEVER be used if you’re pregnant or planning a pregnancy. Last year, the US Food and Drug Administration5 (FDA) also announced it’s considering additional warning labels for statin drugs. Among them are warnings that statins may increase your risk of:

• Liver damage
• Memory loss and confusion
• Type 2 diabetes
• Muscle weakness (for certain statins)

In all, statin drugs have been directly linked to over 300 side effects6, including:

Cognitive loss	Neuropathy	Anemia
Acidosis	Frequent fevers	Cataracts
Sexual dysfunction	An increase in cancer risk	Pancreatic dysfunction
Immune system suppression	Muscle problems, polyneuropathy (nerve damage in the hands and feet), and rhabdomyolysis, a serious degenerative muscle tissue condition	Hepatic dysfunction (Due to the potential increase in liver enzymes, patients must be monitored for normal liver function)

Statins Cause Hallmark Symptoms of Heart Disease and Diabetes

Sadly, while millions of people are told to use statin drugs as a form of “preventive medicine” to protect their heart health, research shows that these drugs actually can have significantly detrimental effects on your heart! How is that preventive medicine? For example, a study published just last year in the journal Atherosclerosis7 showed that statin use is associated with a 52 percent increased prevalence and extent of calcified coronary plaque compared to non-users. And coronary artery calcification is the hallmark of potentially lethal heart disease!

Statins can also:

• Deplete your body of CoQ10, which accounts for many of its devastating health effects. CoQ10 is used by every cell in your body, but especially your heart cells. Cardiac muscle cells have up to 200 times more mitochondria, and hence 200 times higher CoQ10 requirements than skeletal muscle. Therefore, if you take a statin, you must take supplemental CoQ10, or better, the reduced form called ubiquinol.
A recent study in the European Journal of Pharmacology8 showed that ubiquinol effectively rescued cells from the damage caused by the statin drug simvastatin, thereby protecting muscle cells from myopathies. Again demonstrating the necessity of CoQ10 supplementation during statin therapy, a recent study9 evaluating the benefits of CoQ10 and selenium supplementation for patients with statin-associated myopathy found that, compared to those given a placebo, the treatment group experienced significantly less pain, decreased muscle weakness and cramps, and less fatigue.
• Interfere with the mevalonate pathway, which is the central pathway for the steroid management in your body. Products of this pathway that are negatively affected by statins include sex hormones, cortisone, the dolichols (which are involved in keeping the membranes inside your cells healthy), and all sterols, including cholesterol and vitamin D (which is similar to cholesterol and is produced from cholesterol in your skin).
• Increase your insulin resistance, which contributes to chronic inflammation in your body. Increased insulin resistance can lead to heart disease, which, ironically, is the primary reason for taking a cholesterol-reducing drug in the first place. It can also promote belly fat, high blood pressure, heart attacks, chronic fatigue, thyroid disruption, and diseases like Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, and cancer.
• Increase your risk of diabetes by raising your blood sugar. When you eat a meal that contains starches and sugar, some of the excess sugar goes to your liver, which then stores it away as cholesterol and triglycerides. Statins work by preventing your liver from making cholesterol. As a result, your liver returns the sugar to your bloodstream, which raises your blood sugar levels.
Drug-induced diabetes and genuine type 2 diabetes are not necessarily identical. If you're on a statin drug and find that your blood glucose is elevated, it's possible that what you have is just hyperglycemia—a side effect, and the result of your medication. Unfortunately, many doctors will at that point mistakenly diagnose you with "type 2 diabetes," and possibly prescribe another drug, when all you may need to do is simply discontinue the statin in order for your blood glucose levels to revert back to normal.

Beware: Statins Can Also Completely Negate Your Fitness Efforts

One of the major benefits of exercise is the beneficial impact it has on your heart health, and exercise is a primary strategy to naturally maintain healthy cholesterol levels. Alas, researchers recently discovered that if you take a statin drug, you’re likely to forfeit most if not all health benefits of your exercise. In fact, the study, published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology10, discovered that statin use led to dramatically reduced fitness benefits from exercise, in some cases actually making the volunteer LESS fit than before!

The key to understanding why statins prevent your body from reaping the normal benefits from exercise lies in understanding what these drugs do to your mitochondria—the energy chamber of your cells, responsible for the utilization of energy for all metabolic functions. As mentioned above, the primary fuel for your mitochondria is Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), and one of the primary mechanisms of harm from statins in general appears to be related to CoQ10 depletion.

A 2011 review published in Applied Physiology, Nutrition and Metabolism11 pointed out that exercise actually induces changes in mitochondrial enzyme content and activity, which can increase your cellular energy production and in so doing decrease your risk of chronic disease. The fact that statin drugs deplete your body of the primary fuel for your mitochondria helps explain why certain statin users in the trial ended up with worse aerobic fitness after a steady fitness regimen. There simply wasn’t enough mitochondrial fuel in their system.

To Evaluate Your Heart Disease Risk, Get the Right Tests Done

If your physician is urging you to check your total cholesterol, then you need to be aware that this test will tell you virtually nothingabout your risk of heart disease, unless it is 330 or higher.

One of the most important tests you can get to determine your real heart disease risk is the NMR LipoProfile, which measures your LDL particle number. This test also has other markers that can help determine if you have insulin resistance, which is a primary cause of elevated LDL particle number and increased heart disease risk. The NMR LipoProfile test easy to get and all major labs offer it. Most insurance policies cover the test as well. Best of all, even if your doctor were to refuse to order it, you can order it yourself via third-party intermediaries like Direct Labs, or you can order the test online, and get blood drawn locally. Two other ratios you should pay attention to are your:

• HDL/Total Cholesterol Ratio: (i.e. take your HDL number and divide it by your total cholesterol number.) This should ideally be above 24 percent. If below 10 percent, you have a significantly elevated risk for heart disease.
• Triglyceride/HDL Ratio: Should be below 2.

I have seen a number of people with total cholesterol levels over 250 who were actually at low risk for heart disease due to their elevated HDL levels. Conversely, I have seen many people with cholesterol levels under 200 who had a very high risk of heart disease, based on their low HDL. For four additional risk factors for heart disease that do not involve your cholesterol levels, please see my recent article: Side Effects of Statins.

How to Optimize Your Cholesterol Levels Naturally

The most effective way to optimize your cholesterol profile and prevent heart disease is via diet and exercise. Seventy-five percent of your cholesterol is produced by your liver, which is influenced by your insulin levels. Therefore, if you optimize your insulin level, you will automatically optimize your cholesterol and reduce your risk of both diabetes and heart disease.

There is NO drug that can cure heart disease, as the underlying cause is insulin and leptin resistance and arterial wall damage—both of which are caused by eating excessive amounts of sugars, grains, and especially fructose. So, in addition to regular exercise, my primary recommendations for safely regulating your cholesterol and reducing your risk of heart disease include:

• Reduce, with the plan of eliminating grains and fructose from your diet. This is one of the best ways to optimize your insulin levels, which will have a positive effect on not just your cholesterol, but also reduces your risk of diabetes and heart disease, and most other chronic diseases. Use my Nutrition Plan to help you determine the ideal diet for you, and consume a good portion of your food raw.
• Start intermittent fasting, which will radically improve your ability to burn fat as your primary fuel and thus help improve your insulin and leptin signaling.
• Get plenty of high-quality, animal-based omega 3 fats, such as krill oil, and reduce your consumption of damaged omega-6 fats (trans fats, vegetable oils) to balance out your omega-3 to omega-6 ratio.
• Include heart-healthy foods in your diet, such as olive oil, coconut and coconut oil, organic raw dairy products and eggs, avocados, raw nuts and seeds, and organic grass-fed meats.
• Optimize your vitamin D levels by getting proper sun exposure or using a safe tanning bed.
• Optimize your gut flora, as recent research suggests the bacterial balance in your intestines may play a role in your susceptibility to heart disease as well.
• Walk barefoot to ground yourself to the earth. Lack of grounding has a lot to do with the rise of modern diseases as it affects inflammatory processes in your body. Grounding thins your blood, making it less viscous. Virtually, every aspect of cardiovascular disease has been correlated with elevated blood viscosity.
When you ground to the earth, your zeta potential quickly rises, which means your red blood cells have more charge on their surface, which forces them apart from each other. This action causes your blood to thin and flow easier. By repelling each other, your red blood cells are also less inclined to stick together and form a clot.
• Avoid smoking or drinking alcohol excessively.
• Be sure to get plenty of good, restorative sleep.

Take Control of Your Health

The odds are very high that if you're taking cholesterol-lowering medication, you’re wasting your money and taking unnecessary risks with your health. From my review, the ONLY subgroup that might benefit from statins are those born with a genetic defect called familial hypercholesterolemia, as this makes them resistant to traditional measures of normalizing cholesterol, which I reviewed above.

Remember, your body needs cholesterol for the production of cell membranes, hormones, and vitamin D, just to mention a few. Cholesterol is also vital to your neurological function. And there’s strong evidence that having too little cholesterol increases your risk for cancer, memory loss, Parkinson's disease, hormonal imbalances, stroke, depression, suicide, and violent behavior.

Taking a drug that can reduce your cholesterol levels down to 50 or below is absolutely a recipe for disaster, when you consider all your biological functions that need cholesterol!

Also keep in mind that contrary to what you’ve been told by pharmaceutical PR firms, statins have nothing to do with reducing your heart disease risk. In fact, this class of drugs can increase your heart disease risk—especially if you do not take Ubiquinol(CoQ10) along with it to mitigate the depletion of CoQ10 caused by the drug. So please, carefully weigh the risks and benefits!

Poor lifestyle choices are primarily to blame for elevated cholesterol levels, such as too much sugar, too little exercise, lack of sun exposure and never grounding to the earth. These are all things that are within your control, and don’t cost much (if any) money to address. If you have a genetic defect, medication may be needed. If you don’t, you may be surprised at how quickly and easily your cholesterol levels will normalize when you start implementing the required lifestyle changes.

If you’re currently taking a statin drug and are worried about the excessive side effects they cause, please consult with a knowledgeable health care practitioner who can help you to optimize your heart health naturally, without the use of these dangerous drugs. To learn more about statins, please see my special report: "Do YOU Take Any of These 11 Dangerous Cholesterol Drugs"?