Not all Antioxidants are Created Equal!
Not all Antioxidants are Created Equal!
The growing numbers of health conscious people today living more vibrant lives owe much to the efforts and research of certain pioneers who braved ridicule, for without them, many of us now wouldn't be aware of the general benefits of taking antioxidant supplements.To take a particular notable example, great scientist and humanitarian Linus Pauling (the only man to win 2 unshared Nobel Prizes, one in Chemistry and one for Peace) urged people to supplement with Vitamin C after he became convinced of its myriad of benefits. Pauling personally used Vitamin C for the last three decades of his life, lived to the ripe old age of 93, and was instrumental in helping this vitamin become as popular as it is now.Although we should remain forever grateful to luminaries like Pauling, we must continue to embrace advances in our collective knowledge.While health conscious people now know what an antioxidant supplement is, and how it protects cells in the body from becoming the victim of widespread free radical damage, many of us still don't realize that there are wide variations in the potency and efficacy of antioxidants. In short, not all antioxidants are created equal!Common vitamins like C and E have, in recent years, been shown to have very weak antioxidant properties compared to other substances.For instance, researchers have discovered that green tea extract is an antioxidant a hundred times more powerful than Vitamin C, and over twenty times more so than Vitamin E! Current studies are showing that green tea may be beneficial in stopping certain types of cancers.Did you know that grape seed extract is one of the few antioxidants that can cross the blood-brain barrier, and, hence, also protect brain cells from free radical damage?If you want to get more efficacy out of your Vitamin C and E, research has shown that alpha-lipoic acid (a potent antioxidant supplement in its own right), can help "recycle" C and E, enhancing and prolonging their benefits. Moreover, alpha-lipoic acid is now being studied for its potential beneficial effects on such debilitating health conditions as: diabetes, cataracts, heart disease, and Alzheimer's.Have you heard about the so-called "paradox of the French?" This saying refers to the "puzzling" phenomenon that French people eat a great deal of fatty foods, smoke cigarettes, yet still suffer lower rates of cardiovascular disease than we do here in the Western world.Some experts attribute this to the fact that the French consume a lot more wine than we do. Wine, in particular red wine, has been shown to contain a special antioxidant known as resveratrol. Besides its potent antioxidant supplement properties, resvertatrol has now been shown to help lower bad (LDL) cholesterol, and has even shown a great deal of preliminary promise in stopping the progression of cancer.As a last example, research has revealed that N- Acetylcysteine is a powerful antioxidant that has been shown to fortify the body by protecting it against various toxins -- toxins such as chemicals and byproducts found in such things as cigarette smoke and herbicides. It may also improve immune function and retard aging.If you haven't heard of some of these antioxidant supplements, don't be surprised. The big money from the pharmaceutical companies have a strong incentive to suppress this kind of information from getting out to the public at large. After all, they make billions of dollars only when people get sick and need a prescription, not when people take care of themselves and avoid the major killers like heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and more.Truth seekers, however, should strive to emulate heros of the past like Linus Pauling and become the new torch bearers so that we can continue to improve the state of health for people everywhere with the latest breakthrough antioxidant supplements.Dan Ho is chief editor of Nutritional Supplement Info Spotlight, which offers unconventional and unique solutions for common health issues, and keeping you abreast of the latest benefits and dangers of nutritional supplements with our FREE newsletter. Claim your subscription now at: Our Nutritional Supplements and Dietary Supplements Info Site
What are Phytochemicals (Phytonutrients)?
What are Phytochemicals (Phytonutrients)?
Don't be overwhelmed by this big word,
phytochemicals, there won't be a spelling test at the end of the day. You won't even need to understand all of the powerful properties of phytonutrients to appreciate what they do for you. You just need to know where to get them and you probably won't be surprised to find out that the richest sources of phytochemicals are in fruits, vegetables, beans and nuts.The problem is - you are not eating enough of them. Several years of effort to promote increases in fruit and vegetable consumption to at least five servings per day have failed to substantially change public eating behaviors. Recent records, according to Barbara Berry of the Produce for Better Health Foundation, show that Americans are eating only 3.4 servings of fruits and vegetables per day - and 52% of that consumption comes from potatoes, lettuce, and canned tomatoes.Even if you are eating the recommended daily amounts of fruits and vegetables, you're STILL not getting all of the phytonutrients and vitamins your body MUST have to function properly! You may THINK you're getting the right assortment of fruits and vegetables. Just like the bananas you see in the store which are green, the rest of the produce is also cut before it matures. When these fruits and vegetables are picked green, they lack many of the necessary phytonutrients, vitamins and minerals.Most of these properties don't exist in the plant until the final days of ripening on the vine. When this occurs, the fruits and vegetables become very soft. This isn't feasible for our growers to do. By the time they would arrive at your local grocery store, the fruits and vegetables would be bad or destroyed. So instead, they pick our fruits and vegetables before they are ripe and allow them to ripen during the shipping process or while they sit in your local grocery stores.The solution to this problem is to pick these vegetables after they are mature or vine-ripened and flash freeze them. When vegetables are flash frozen, they turn into a powdered form and retain all of their nutritional properties. These flash frozen fruits and vegetables are then put into tablets and sold as nutritional supplements.To learn more about phytochemicals go to:
Mannatech Phytochemical (Phytonutrients) Nutritional SupplementIndependant Mannatech Associate and glyconutrients consultant
Who Are You Really?
Who Are You Really?
You are a spiritual being. You recognize something in you that is greater than the experience you may be living. Trust that part of who you are.Our difficulty in our society is due to all the conditioning we have had through education and culture that places so much emphasis on our mind and denying our emotions. You have not been properly taught about your true spiritual nature and that the mind, body, and emotions are tools to serve you.These concepts can be quite challenging to accept, particularly if your family history and life experience is steeped in religion. Yet, all religions, in some way or another, do not contradict what is being said, nor are they contradictory to what science has discovered at the quantum level and beyond. All that is required is the ability to recognize the time period of religious origins, the knowledge and understanding of the day, and that the scriptures conveyed a message in the best possible way that could be understood at that time.Even in areas where no organized religion exists spirituality is an integral strand in the fabric of society. From bush people to native americans, Australian aboriginals, prehistoric caveman at some point in time, have all had those within their ranks that had a deeper sensitivity to something beyond the common experience. Shamans, medicine men and women, and whatever other titles they were given, all had a relationship with the divine, were more sensitive to the mystical, and had a capacity to understand mankind's relationship to Creation in the best possible context given the knowledge available to them in that time.You came into this world for a purpose. Your spiritual self is that part of you that inspires you to action. The soul cries out at the pain of living small, rather than your potential. The soul also carries the pain of the trespasses against the spirit on many other levels; transgressions of mankind against spirit. Remember? Spirit is love and you treat others the way you wish to be treated. These tales and expressions fit the model. Spirit to spirit you and I are the same, are one, and in loving you, I love myself. In violating you, I violate myself. The soul cries in anguish. Live to your spiritual potential, or experience the pain and anguish of the souls experience as it remembers the phsyical experience of being human.The body, mind, and emotions experience the manifestation of the reality you create. Through socializing and conditioning, particularly between the ages of 10 to 13 years old, as we discover our own reasoning abilities, most will experience some traumatic events in school, family, or life at large. Without the adequate social supports, healthy family dynamics, etc., the child is left to fizzle in the confusing array of contradictory social and spiritual realities that are at odds with each other in their daily experience. Imagine the confusion, particularly in a society that is so bereft of proper spiritual, body, mind, and emotion education.There is a lot more to us than what we are taught. We are energy, we are spirit, and we are all those aspects we have been taught as well; physical, mental, sexual, and emotional. We are complex and yet, from the energetic spiritual level, everything can be made easier to understand and manage. You then begin to enjoy the experience of being human, of being alive, and learning the meaning and various facets of the physical body:
the mind and its thoughts;
the emotions and the values they represent;
the body and its requirements for safety and security.
We are complex and yet, so simple.In order to understand the basis of this energetic spirit, it is important that one understand the origins of the universe. All matter is not really matter, it is energy. The science of today has made major discoveries beyond our previous understanding that clearly demonstrates that all matter is made from bands, or strings, of energy. In fact, for a time it was called String Theory. As the anomolies and discrepancies in the theory were resolved, it was renamed M-Theory and clearly shows that we live in a reality that includes 11 dimensions.For a good basic understanding of the theories and how it all works, visit and watch PBS NOVA Series - The Elegant Universe viewable online. I also recommend watching the movie What the Bleep Do We Know!?? which is now available in video stores for rent or purchase. And if you haven't seen it yet, check out The Official Dr. Wayne Dyer Website and discover the magic of The Power of Intention. This program is aired frequently on PBS stations all across North America. As you absorb all of this new information, watch for the common threads that link it all together, including the great teachings of the worlds religious texts. Science can help make better sense of religion.One thing I have in addition to what I'm viewing and reading about these discoveries is something more. Where many scientists may now think they fully understand the beginning and end of the universe and its origins, I'm further challenged by the fact that all of this energy came from somewhere. God still exists in this model. Science has always had the means to help us make more sense of the world, the universe, of creation, of God and of God's instructions.Lee Down is a Professional Coach, Trainer/Facilitator, Speaker, & Writer of One Man Can Human Capital Development that focuses on relationships, the key foundation to success in business and life. With more than 15 years professional experience and a thirst for truth and understanding, he focuses on the human spirit and human capacity.Working with clients, he facilitates the breaking down of beliefs, barriers or obstacles that bring clients forward on their journey of discovery with spirit, energy, abundance, passion and purpose, integrating the mind and body experience. Working with business, he brings visionary leadership and relationship skills to the forefront that witnesses an empowered culture evolve and develop directly impacting the improvement to the bottom-line.