Glutathione, the master health protector, can also prevent the flu

Glutathione is a peptide or small protein that the body makes to protect itself from free radicals, oxidative stress and the harmful effects of environmental toxins. Oxidative stress refers to damage at the level of DNA and other cell structures resulting from exposure to free radicals or toxins. This damage is often where critical illnesses like cancer or heart disease originate.

Glutathione is considered to be the most powerful antioxidant in the body. It is also a detoxifier in that it binds to toxic metals or cancer-causing chemicals and safely “escorts” them out of the body. The efficiency of detoxification depends to a large degree on how much glutathione is available , and glutathione levels vary dramatically from person to person.

One cause of this variability is a difference in genetic traits. Genetic variants determine how much glutathione will be produced in a given individual and the difference is dramatic. Even under optimal conditions glutathione produced in one person can be half as much as in someone else (Richie et al, Clin Chem 42:64, 1996). Research is now showing that people with a gene variant named GAG-7 who produce the least glutathione have a higher rate of cancer (research presented at a recent conference by John P. Richie, PhD of Penn State University College of Medicine and currently submitted for publication). Read More »

Running update, and why being crazy like me could be good for your health…

Last month in Austin, TX I achieved a goal I had set for myself two years ago– to run a marathon– and I did so at age 58. When I started running and told people that I had this goal, many friends and colleagues, some of whom I respect greatly, told me that it was a bad idea: I was too old, I would hurt myself, and might end up needing knee-replacement surgery. A few even mentioned the term crazy when referring to my plans…

My reply at the time was that I was prepared to take the risk of injury because running a marathon was a long standing dream of mine. Today, after running three half marathons and a full one I feel far more confident. If anything my knees have become stronger, and I was more vulnerable to aches and pains before I started running than I am now. As a result I plan to keep on going and hope to run another marathon early next year if not sooner…

If you think that this proves once and for all that I am crazy, you may want to think again. An odd titled study published last February shows that there might be more sanity than meets the eye to my future running plans. Read More »

Antioxidants, aging and health

If you’re like me, you are aging and you see some sign of this every day in the mirror: graying hair, wrinkles, sagging skin, new spots on the skin, and so on. Though we rarely think of it, the inside of our bodies undergoes similar changes but with far more serious consequences.
 
Muscles and organs shrink and function less efficiently until, one day, they begin to fail.  For example, the brain has been shown to lose one-third of its size between ages 35 and 70. Other organs experience similar decline and this makes us more susceptible to illnesses now considered typical of aging, from heart disease to diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer’s and more.
 
Cells are the basic building blocks of organs, and aging begins at the level of each cell, where structures become damaged and energy production goes on less efficiently. Some cells die without being regenerated and, over time, this is reflected in smaller, less active organs, decreased metabolic rate, and more.
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Interested in healthy aging? Consider supplementing with Potassium Bicarbonate (K-Bicarb)

Over the years I have written often about how the modern diet and lifestyle cause our bodies to become increasingly acidic as we age, and how excessive acidity leads to or favors many of the health conditions associated with aging.

Although women are reminded constantly about taking calcium to stave off osteoporosis, they have to do extensive research to learn that when the body is acidic it draws calcium and other minerals out of bones, and no amount of milk or calcium supplements will reverse that trend. I wrote about this topic a few years ago and readers who are interested can find my article by going to my website and searching in Newsletters.

Many common symptoms that modern medicine struggles to address today, including fluid retention, fatigue, lack of restful sleep, muscle tension, and more, can result from excessive acidity.
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