Feel Better Look Better Live Better – Whatever Your Age
According to the WHO, tuberculosis (TB) is the leading infectious disease in the world.1 In 2023 an estimated 10,8 million people were infected and 1,25 million died from the disease. Continue reading “Tuberculosis: Causes, Symptoms, Treatments, and Natural Approaches”
Humans have never been sicker than they are right now. Today we have more drugs, more technology, more medical advances and yet chronic diseases are killing approximately 3 out of every 4 people in the developed world! Continue reading “Four Things You Can Do To Improve Your Health Forever”
In Part 1 we looked at how diet and nutrition differ and how nutrients can only benefit us when they are assimilated into the cells. In Part 2 we learned why the the nutritional content of our foods has declined and how modern medications often aggravate the problem. Now we’ll look at the different types of nutrients there are, their relationships and how they benefit us.
Continue reading “Understanding Nutrition Part 3”Cancer Part 1 – Natural Strategies for Preventing Cancer
CANCER – just the word is enough to frighten us but did you know –
Cancer is thought by some scientists to be significantly influenced by environmental factors and lifestyle choices1. By making simple lifestyle changes, we can reduce our chances of ever getting cancer! These same lifestyle changes can also support recovery for those diagnosed with cancer.
Cancer is the second biggest killer in the industrialized world after heart disease. According to Dr. Patrick Quillin, ex-Director of Nutrition for the Cancer Treatment Centers of America, it became the leading cause of death in the USA as of January 20052. Approximately 40–45% of the industrialized world’s population can expect to develop cancer in their lifetime.
Cancer begins when a single cell mutates, usually due to external stimuli, and starts dividing uncontrollably. These external stimuli include toxic overload, stress, poor nutrition, and lack of exercise. However, a well-functioning immune system can eliminate mutated cells before they become cancerous. Thus, maintaining a strong immune system is the first line of defense in preventing cancer.
For cancer to thrive, certain conditions need to be present:
By addressing these conditions, we can create an environment less conducive to cancer. Here are five areas to focus on:
Every day, we are exposed to toxins from the air, water, food, and materials in our surroundings. These toxins accumulate over time and can contribute to cancer. Common toxins include heavy metals, pesticides, plastics, food additives, and pollutants. In the U.K. it’s estimated that the average person ingests ±4,5 litres of pesticides & herbicides and ±5kg of food additives every year.3
While stress may not directly cause cancer, it weakens the immune system and increases susceptibility. Adopting stress-management techniques can improve overall health:
Nutrition is one of the most critical factors in cancer prevention. Unfortunately, most people never stop to think about what they put into their bodies.
Supplementing with organic, whole-food-based vitamins and minerals can further support the immune system and overall health.
Here are just a few studies confirming how nutrients influence cancer risk:
Obesity is a significant risk factor for several cancers, including breast, colon, and kidney cancers14. Maintaining a healthy weight involves:
Exercise not only helps with weight management but also increases oxygen levels in the body, making it less hospitable to cancer. Studies show that even moderate exercise, such as brisk walking for 30 minutes a day, reduces the risk of certain cancers like breast and colon cancer15. Exercise also improves the immune system, the lymph flow, assists in detoxification and helps weight control. It also increases the feeling of wellbeing, enabling one to cope with stress more effectively.
Cancer prevention is possible through informed lifestyle choices. Reducing toxin exposure, managing stress, adopting a nutrient-rich diet, maintaining a healthy weight, and staying active can significantly reduce cancer risk.
Heart Disease – the world’s biggest killer
The world’s biggest killer, according to all the world’s major health authorities, is heart disease (HD). The World Health Organization (WHO) stated that in 2012 HD accounted for 3 out of every 10 deaths worldwide¹. Put another way, almost 1 out of every 3 people will die from HD.
This is aggravated by the fact that as a country’s GDP increases, so does the incidence of HD². This has dire consequences for developing countries like South Africa, India, China, etc. Deaths due to HD in low-income countries were 103/100,000 in 2011, while in high-income countries, it was 208/100,000, a +100% increase! This is because as people’s incomes go up, they tend to eat more processed and pre-prepared foods. These statistics confirm what every health authority states: that HD is primarily caused by lifestyle choices³. This means that changing our lifestyles changes our risk of HD.
What is amazing is that the medical profession generally ignores this and treats HD with drugs that aren’t that effective and have many nasty side effects. It’s often safer, and much cheaper, to use natural remedies to control cholesterol, blood pressure, and homocysteine, the major causes of HD⁴.
In this, the first in a series of 3 articles on HD, we’ll take a look at cholesterol.
Does cholesterol cause HD?
Cholesterol is touted as the mother of all evils according to modern medicine. For the last 40+ years, we’ve been told that cholesterol is the major cause of HD. We’ve been told that we eat too much cholesterol and that we need to cut out all fatty foods and only eat low-fat/no-fat processed foods. We need to check our cholesterol levels regularly and take statins (cholesterol-lowering drugs) if our blood cholesterol levels are even slightly elevated. In fact, one prominent doctor in the USA has suggested that every adult should take a statin as a preventative measure!⁵
The truth is that there are now a number of major studies worldwide6,7,8 that show that our diet has little to do with our blood cholesterol levels. Nor does cholesterol cause HD! In 20189 a major review of studies concluded that “In our analysis of three major reviews, that claim the cholesterol hypothesis is indisputable and that statin treatment is an effective and safe way to lower the risk of CVD, we have found that their statements are invalid, compromised by misleading statistics, excluding unsuccessful trials, minimizing the side effects of cholesterol lowering, and ignoring contradictory observations from independent investigators.”
Why this massive bombardment of (mis)information portraying cholesterol as bad? Well, quite simply, because cholesterol is a multi-billion-dollar business worldwide. Just think of all the cholesterol-lowering drugs prescribed annually, all the cholesterol tests, and all the low-fat/no-fat foods. All the margarines, cooking oils, mayonnaises, low-fat dairy products, diet drinks, and snacks, etc. All of these are huge money spinners, so we’ll keep on getting told that cholesterol is the evil that causes HD.
Let’s look at what we’ve been told about cholesterol. Specifically, that it clogs the arteries, raising blood pressure and increasing the risk of HD. If this were true, why are only the arteries around the heart affected? Why not all the arteries in the body and all the veins? How come surgeons are able to take ‘clean’ arteries out of someone’s leg to bypass the blocked arteries around their heart? It doesn’t make sense, does it?
What is actually happening is that the arteries become inflamed, causing them to swell and restricting blood flow. Science is telling us that this is caused by an imbalance in our omega-3/omega-6 ratios. This ratio should be 1:1, but in developed countries, eating ‘western diets,’ the ratio is 1:15/1:16.10 Omega-3 is anti-inflammatory, while omega-6 causes inflammation. Western diets contain masses of omega-6. It’s in all the plant oils (sunflower, canola, palm, etc.) that are found in just about every processed, packaged, and baked food. It’s also in all the maize derivatives like modified corn starch, high fructose corn syrup, etc., that are predominant ingredients in modern manufactured foods.
The body tries to protect the wall lining of the arteries using cholesterol. It’s actually using cholesterol as a ‘band-aid’ by laying down a protective layer of cholesterol over the inflamed areas. Currently, science isn’t quite sure why the arteries around the heart are the most susceptible to this inflammation, but they do know it’s happening.11 The question then is, does it make sense to treat the problem by trying to lower the cholesterol level? Surely it would be far more sensible to treat the cause of the problem, inflammation? One would think so, but something as simple as increasing the intake of omega-3 won’t make billions for the pharmaceutical, medical, and food industries.
The sensible thing to do is to improve our diets, eliminating the processed foods (all of which contain huge amounts of omega-6 as already mentioned) and increase our intake of omega-3 and antioxidants, which also combat inflammation.12
Are Statins the answer?
What about using statins to reduce cholesterol levels? Well, firstly, studies show that they only reduce the risk of HD by ±0.05%. Not much to get excited about! What most people aren’t aware of is how statistics are manipulated. For instance, a study published to prove the efficiency of a major statin stated that the drug reduced the risk of HD by 30%. What they didn’t mention is that the actual risk was reduced from 0.05% to 0.03%! This infinitesimal benefit can never counter all the negative side effects of taking the drug. Statins have horrendous side effects, including dizziness, muscle and joint pains, memory loss, swelling (inflammation! the cause of the problem in the first place!), reduced immunity, increased risk of type 2 diabetes, and cancer.13 In addition, studies show that they have little or no benefit the older one gets.14
On the other hand, there are literally thousands of studies showing the benefits of supplementing with omega-315,16 (a Google search of ‘omega-3 heart health’ yielded 13.5 million entries!), improving one’s diet, and increasing exercise levels. All of which are free of side effects and not expensive. The bottom line is, there is no longer any justifiable reason why anyone would take, or prescribe, statins as a remedy for HD.
What can we do?
Here are the basic things we can do to keep our hearts healthy and control our cholesterol levels:
For more information on health, go to the Health News page
Hypertension
High blood pressure, or hypertension (HT), remains one of the leading causes of death worldwide, earning its nickname as “the silent killer.” According to the World Health Organization (WHO), hypertension contributes to approximately 10.8 million deaths annually, making it a global public health crisis1. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that nearly half of adults (47%) have hypertension, and only about 1 in 4 have it under control2. These statistics are mirrored in other developed nations, and as low- and middle-income countries experience economic growth, the prevalence of hypertension is rising rapidly.
Hypertension significantly increases the risk of severe health complications, including:
Recent studies have also linked hypertension to cognitive decline and dementia, highlighting the importance of early intervention and effective management.
Traditionally, hypertension has been managed with medications such as beta-blockers, ACE inhibitors, and diuretics. However, growing evidence suggests that these drugs may not always address the root causes of high blood pressure and can come with significant side effects, including kidney damage, fatigue, dizziness, and sexual dysfunction. Moreover, research has shown that blood pressure fluctuates throughout the day, and a single reading may not provide an accurate picture of an individual’s cardiovascular health. Continuous blood pressure monitoring (ambulatory blood pressure monitoring) is now recommended for a more precise diagnosis.
To grasp how hypertension develops, it’s helpful to compare the circulatory system to an irrigation system. The heart acts as the pump, and the arteries and veins are the pipes. Just as an irrigation system delivers water and nutrients to crops, the circulatory system delivers oxygen and nutrients to cells.
Three things affect an irrigation system’s ability to perform efficiently:
1) the diameter of the pipes. The bigger the diameter, the easier it is to pump water through them.
2) the viscosity of the liquid being pumped. It’s obviously easier to pump water than it will be to pump syrup.
3) the height the pump has to raise the water, because it’s working against gravity.
These three key factors also influence blood pressure:
When these factors are compromised, the body raises blood pressure to compensate. This is a natural response, but chronic elevation can lead to long-term damage.
While medications can lower blood pressure, they often treat symptoms rather than underlying causes. For example:
Additionally, these drugs can have severe side effects, including kidney damage, fatigue, and increased risk of heart disease. This has led many to explore natural, holistic approaches to managing hypertension.
Emerging research highlights the importance of stress management and sleep in controlling blood pressure. Chronic stress activates the sympathetic nervous system, raising blood pressure. Techniques like mindfulness, yoga, and deep breathing have been shown to reduce systolic blood pressure by 4-5 mmHg. Additionally, poor sleep quality is strongly linked to hypertension. A 2023 study in Sleep Medicine found that improving sleep duration and quality can lower blood pressure by 5-7 mmHg12.
Hypertension is a complex condition that requires a multifaceted approach. While medications can be necessary in severe cases, lifestyle changes and natural interventions offer a safer, more sustainable way to manage blood pressure and reduce the risk of heart disease. By addressing the root causes—such as inflammation, poor diet, and inactivity—we can take control of our health and reduce our reliance on pharmaceuticals.
For more information on managing hypertension and improving cardiovascular health, visit our Health News page.