11/30/2009 

 

 

 

 

 

 Dear Shari and Toby,  

INFLAMATION DIET (SIMILAR TO CANCER DIET)

 

I am not trying to reinvent the wheel. If I can find a smooth round one the proper size I’ll use it. The following web sites embody the general conclusions I have made. Again, I must caution that the information should be used in context of your situation. Only the essences of the sites are below in the order most easily understood. It is necessary to read more of these sites to fully understand the context. This diet plan is consistent with PH Control plans and many “fad” diets. It provides a broad enough buffet to enable a permanent life change.

 

CANCER DIET - http://www.cancertutor.com/alt_diet/

#1 RESOURCE

 

 

·                     AUTHOR OF LEVEL1DIET.COM

 

After nearly dying from diabetes in early 2003, I spent a few thousand hours to learn something about what causes degenerative diseases that we're all suffering from here in America. Turns out that the enemy is us - or what we eat and our lifestyle. Okay, so I know I'm not the only one to figure that out. But after 3 years reading thousands of research studies at the National Institutes of Health web-sites, I became a health-nut and built a web-site about inflammatory health. The site supports my own model of health and my own flavor of an anti-inflammatory diet program. It now boasts over 1.5 million pages about inflammation, heart disease, cancer, diabetes and strokes, with free access to its huge searchable health study database. See my monster health site at Level1Diet.com.Nowadays, I split my time between managing both the web marketing site and diet/health site... and feeding my high-maintenance cat, who claims to be "King Charles the First".

·                     ·                  more →

·                     Got Food Cravings? No Will Power? Shut Up and Eat!                  Getting Healthy By Focusing on the Big Picture

·                     How to get healthy and end food cravings                                      

·                     The Fountain-of-Youth Gene and an Herb That Stimulates It        Japanese scientists discover genes that enable type-2 diabetes

 

 

 

The 3 Levels of
Inflammation Health

   Throughout your life, unseen forces are shaping your health. As most people age, they usually progress through three distinct phases of health. To succeed in weight loss programs and diets, you absolutely must understand the three levels of health.
   You start life in Level 1, which is a non-inflammation, non-insulin resistant state. Your body is able to maintain homeostasis -- your metabolism adjusts itself to maintain a steady weight and to fight diseases automatically. You look and feel good.
   As you encounter infections and eat the wrong foods, you lose your ability to maintain a healthy balance. Infections could be similar to today's Bird Flu (H5N1) Asian Influenza, measles, mumps, pneumonia, the common cold, gum or tooth infections or a sinus problem. Inflammation increases each time you suffer one of these infections or eat high levels of sugars or "bad fats".
   Each time you become inflamed, you struggle to get back to normal. But sometimes, you don't quite go all the way back. Your body "remembers" your infection and increases its "ready reserve" of inflammatory cytokines, keeping your system on a knife-sharp edge of readiness. Unfortunately, while being constantly ready for infection helps you survive the next infection, it exerts terrible wear-and-tear on your body's delicate tissues and interferes with the smooth functioning of many metabolic systems. Gradually, you move into Level 2, which is chronic low-level inflammation and insulin resistance.
   Level 2 involves a powerful chain reaction of mutually reinforcing metabolic processes. Infection produces inflammation. Inflammation produces insulin resistance. Insulin resistance produces weight gain. Weight gain produces inflammatory cytokines leading to more insulin resistance.
   Insulin resistance starves our muscles, which react by sending messages that lower our resting energy expenditure to conserve our reserves and then, the insulin resistance makes us hungry in an effort to feed our starving muscles. Under these conditions, weight loss is almost impossible. We look "fat" to others, but our muscles think we're starving... at least chemically. Due to this process, grossly fat people are in fact starving. As a result of this starvation, we eat more sugars, simple starches and fats to add to our disease, while preventing or slowing weight loss inspite of your dieting efforts.
   As these conditions worsen, you finally begin to exhibit obvious diseases of Level 3 -- cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, hypertension, Alzheimers, arthritis, stroke, cancer... To that list add acne vulgaris, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, benign prostatic hyperplagea, polycystic ovary disease, chronic headaches, cluster and migraine headaches, skin tags, many auto-immune diseases and so on. It's a big list.

The Level1Diet.com
Food Guide Football™
Anti-Inflammation
Program

   The original FDA Food Guide Pyramid from 1992 is dead. It has been discarded finally by the FDA themselves. It was changed repeatedly to accommodate new research, and in 2005 it was updated with a new "sliding scale" dietary approach called My Pyramid. A consumer research study performed by the USDA among consumers from 2002 to 2004 proved that most people are still confused about the Food Guide Pyramid. People are unclear about what to eat and why it's good for them. Today, the Pyramid approach remains confusing and unhelpful for most people. Consumers are not sure about serving sizes, and relative proportions of different types of food to include in their diet. Scientists continue to argue about the actual details of the food approaches that ought to be recommended. Even the newer MyPyramid System remains controversial. The confusion and outright incorrect thinking behind the Food Guide Pyramid persists in many nutritional circles.
   To replace the pyramid, we have developed a simple, easy to understand pictographic meal plan called the Food Guide Football™.

   When we studied the kinds and amounts of foods that should be eaten on the state-of-the-art anti-inflammation diet, we found an interesting fact... they fit roughly into the shape of a traditional American football.
   The football shape helps us show you what proportions the different kinds of food to place on your plate through the day. It is a relative size or layout of the foods on the plate -- the way you naturally see them when you sit at the table.
   At the one small end are the "good fats" -- virgin olive oils and virgin coconut oils. Small servings of simple sugars and starches are minimized in the other small end.
   Inside one white stripe are proteins from vegetables like beans, peas, nuts and seeds. The other stripe represents lean cuts of chicken, turkey, grass-fed beef or wild fish.
   Finally, in the big central area are colorful, high antioxidant, high fiber, complex carbohydrates with a low glycemic index. The legal food list includes hundreds of fresh or frozen vegetables and fruits.
   Antioxidant spices like ginger, cinnamon, turmeric, chile, cayenne and many herbs are powerful allies in the battle against inflammation. Green and brown teas are high on the list.
   Common Diseases Associated with
Chronic Low-Level Inflammation
or Insulin Resistance Syndrome^**

The Level1Diet 12 Step Anti-Inflammation Health Program

Making only a few changes in your diet and getting a little exercise everyday can lengthen your life, reverse most diseases, reduce aches and pains, improve your mood, help you sleep, and fill you will joy. Reading this little health essay and following this simple program can save your life, help you lose weight, reduce pains, and improve many diseases. This is not a magic pill list. It is a way to change your life to improve your life.

Here it is -- The Level1Diet.com anti-inflammatory health program. A quick summary that can save your own life and the lives of people you love.

Building a Solid Foundation

God bless our doctors. In today's American medical industry, family or general practice doctors are treated merely as the sales people for the pharmaceutical industry or collection agents for the insurance industry. Focusing on health gets lost somewhere, as they shuffle between these two mega-corporate forces.

Furthermore, health care professionals are paid very poorly by insurance companies. Their payments per patient visit may end up being as little as $20-$30 or perhaps a bit more per visit. Their expenses are increasing at astonishing rates as educational, malpractice insurance, equipment costs, staff salaries, and office costs are skyrocketing.

Considering these factors, it is not surprizing that many physicians are quitting the business and finding other careers. These are talented people. They are not without options. Being a doctor today is not what it appeared to be, back when they entered the profession. Thousands of doctors are taking an early retirement every year in the USA.

This trend can be reversed. When doctors begin to understand the new science behind anti-inflammatory medicine, they see a way to develop a new practice... a way to stay in the profession, to revitalize their own enthusiasm for helping people, and a even way to begin to actually improve their financials.

However, at present, most physicians in the USA are still practicing "disease management" medicine instead of health medicine. The object of each patient meeting is to prescribe medication. Without a "drug therapy" for each symptom presented by a patient, they feel they are wasting their time.

But, when physicians refocus themselves and their patients toward the FOUNDATIONS OF HEALTH, the complexity they see in their clinics every day becomes much simpler to handle. Simpler for the doctors and simpler for the patients.

If the proper foundation is established, successful treatment is possible. Without it, no combination of patented medicines can fix the endless list of painful, degenerative symptoms of modern diseases.

This essay discusses this simple, easy-to-understand foundation. You may read terms and ideas that are not familiar to you. Continue reading. Each of the 12 steps in this program is backed by solid science. Most patients and many of their physicians will not have tried these ideas before. We encourage you to try them. Give yourself a few weeks to discover how easy it can be to build a solid foundation of health.

The Central Problem -- Inflammation

Inflammation is behind ALMOST every single problem you have, and that most of us have. Of course after years of neglect and abuse, the body does develop chronic malfunctions and pains. Those may need separate treatment with different medical therapies from a physician. But you can do a lot to help yourself now, and to help prevent things from getting worse.

In a nut shell

There are some things you need to avoid, some things you need to eat, and some supplements you should add to your diet.

Here come those pesky long words

But first, there is something you need to understand about inflammation. Inflammation in the body develops as a chronic condition primarily from the balance of fats you are eating: The kind of fats, and the amount of fats.

Delta-6-Desaturase

There is a digestive enzyme called delta-6-desaturase or D6D that controls this process, acting like a train conductor or engineer and telling your body which way to use fats. Too much of some kinds of fats and you become chronically inflamed. The fats flowing through your system need to be in balance, so that your D6D is properly working to minimize your inflammation.

Balancing Fats

You need to eat about as much omega-3 as omega-6 oil. These oils are essential, meaning your body cannot make them by itself. But they need to be in balance for your D6D to work right -- about a 1-to-1 ratio, roughly two (2) tablespoons of each per day or 10-20 grams each. Most of us Americans eat at least 20 times that much omega-6. Some eat up to 50 times that much. Omega-6 comes in fried foods, salad oils, mayonnaise, processed foods, baked foods, candies, and even in many so-called "heart healthy" products like vegetable-oil margarines, and food bar snacks or meal replacement products.

When omega-6 to omega-3 ratio rises above 2-to-1, we are in trouble. If we're eating little or no omega-3, then we're in trouble all the time, since our ratio is roughly infinitely lopsided in favor of omega-6.

When D6D fails, fats and oils are sent through a process that converts them into inflammatory agents. This process is called the "arachidonic acid inflammatory cascade". During this malfunction, the Cox-2 enzyme is over-stimulated in a runaway chain reaction. This develops into increasing sensations of pain, and other chronic inflammatory problems like arthritis, Alzheimer's, hardening of the arteries, neuropathies, and so on. Powerful "Cox-2 inhibitor" drugs are prescribed to slow this process. But, for many of us, there is a more natural, simpler and less dangerous way to get relief and to slow or even reverse our conditions.

Ratios and More

The main job we need to do is simply -- get the ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 back in proportion. We will reduce omega-6 and increase omega-3. This will help us get D6D to work again. At least mostly. Of course there is a bit more...

We're also going to minimize some other things that block D6D like saturated fats from animals, sugars, starchy foods, snacks, etc. And, while we're at it, we will add a few things to our diet that we're missing that will help us lower inflammation.

You need to AVOID or cut down these 5 foods:

1. Minimize the omega-6 vegetable oils like corn oil, salad dressings with mayonnaise, soybean oil, peanut oils, most other seed or nut oils, etc. Olive oil and small amounts of coconut oil are okay. Canola is a second choice and cheaper than olive oil. Olive or canola is okay for most uses. They are very low in omega-6. Coconut oil works for sautes and cooking, soups, etc. Use coconut oil sparingly.

2. Minimize saturated animal fats from meats like pork, beef, the skin of chicken or turkey, fish skin, cows milk, cheese and other animal or dairy products. Cows milk products contain a protein called casein that causes chronic inflammation, so avoid all products made from cows milk. Eat either "free range", lean cuts of organic meats, chicken, turkey or fish, or none at all. Butter is a saturated fat, but when used in very small quantities for flavor only, it is okay. Butter's fat molecule is very tiny, only 4 carbon atoms long. When eaten in small amounts like one teaspoon or pad, it is usually burned for energy and not stored as fat in the body. Other animal fats are treated differently by the body due to their molecule size, 18-20 carbon atoms. They are to be avoided whenever possible.

3. Minimize or eliminate all processed foods -- boxed, canned, or shrink-wrapped foods. Processed foods contain extra omega-6 oils, sugar, salt, food additives and other ingredients that raise inflammation, some of them directly block the working of D6D. Eat fresh, unpacked fruit and vegetables, meats and fish.

4. Avoid adding sugar -- syrups, honey or sweeteners to anything you eat or drink. Avoid canned or bottled soft drinks with sugar or other sweeteners. Do not use or consume even artificial sweeteners.

5. Avoid eating highly processed starches like mashed or diced potatoes, carrots or other carbs. Avoid breads, pies, cupcakes, pasta, pastries and other bakery products. Avoid cookies, crackers, biscuits, etc. These become sugar within minutes in the body. Sugar increases inflammation (and insulin resistance), which worsens your conditions.

You SHOULD DO these 7 things:

1. Eat a healthy diet -- based on fresh vegetables, fruit, nuts, beans, peas, lentils, spices, teas, oily fish and very lean cuts of poultry (chicken or turkey), beef, venison, or very lean pork. Avoiding meats is best. If you choose to eat meats, eat organic free range meats that have been well trimmed to remove the fat. Your diet should consist of about 55-60% carbohydrates, 20-25% fats and 15-20% protein. Some people may prefer a bit more fat and less protein or carbohydrate, hence the sliding scale. More active people may need slightly more protein and fat, less active may get by with less protein and fat. But the variation is not very large. Everyone needs to be at least moderately active. Usually less total fat and more carbohydrate or protein is better. The fats should be balanced so that you eat about as much omega-3 fish oils as you do omega-6 vegetable oils plus saturated fats, altogether. Olive oils and avocado oils are neutral in this equation. Coconut oils are okay up to two tablespoons per day.

2. Eat lots of spices like ginger (the king of spices), cinnamon, turmeric (contains curcumin, turmeric is also called "yellow curry"), red or cayenne pepper, and other "spicy" flavors like chili powder, curries, cardamom, etc. Eat fresh peppers, the hotter the better. These are powerful Cox-2 inhibitors and reduce pain sensations and inflammation throughout the body. They are also powerful anti-oxidant agents and will help you fight the free radicals that cause symptoms of aging. Add ginger powder to coffee, tea or other drinks. Add cinnamon, or turmeric powder to soups, oatmeal porridge, etc. Spice things up all through the day. Your pain will lessen and circulation will improve. It should also help lower blood pressure and blood sugar levels.

3. Drink at least 4-to-6 cups or more of green tea per day. Green tea without sugar or honey sweeteners -- contains Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), a powerful anti-oxidant anti-inflammatory that helps reduce inflammation and also helps kill cancer cells before they become a large tumor. Brown teas or coffee do not contain EGCG like green tea. Drink green tea in addition to any other drinks you may be consuming. You could drink 10 or more cups of strong green tea per day. Take the extract capsules if you prefer. About 3 capsules with each meal is a good strategy. If caffeine bothers you, use the decaf kind. If you're overweight, the caffeine may help you lose weight faster.

4. Take 10-12 grams (equals about 2 or 3 tablespoons) of enteric coated, "concentrated" fish oil per day, spread through the day with your meals. The fish oil contains high amounts of both EPA and DHA. Your body cannot make these for itself unless you take a vegetable source of omega-3 like flaxseed oil AND unless your D6D is not blocked by too much omega-6, too much sat-fat from animal products, etc. The fish oil gives you what you need even if your D6D is not working. That's terrific. This is why millions are taking fish oil instead of flax or other sources of omega-3. Fish oil works! This is a primary way to inhibit Cox-2 (the source of inflammation and arthritic pains). When you are eating fish oil, in the absence of high sat-fats from animals or omega-6 from vegetables, your body will produce extremely effective and powerful cox inhibiting anti-inflammatory cytokines called prostaglandin series 3. These directly block the downstream production of the pro-inflammatory compounds your body makes otherwise. Take the fish oil religiously. It will improve your health. The enteric coating will help prevent "fish burps" or tummy aches, especially if you take the capsules with food. A month's supply of enteric coated 1-gram fish oil capsule should cost about $15.00 at a store like Wal-Mart or Costco. Remember to take enough, which is about 10-12 capsules per day, totalling about 360 per month. A big jar or maybe two.

5. Take about 400mg of absorbable magnesium every day (such as magnesium citrate, or any form ending in "-ate") per day. Divide it into 2 doses of 200mg each, take one in the morning and another just before bedtime. Most people with inflammatory diseases are deficient in magnesium. Magnesium is essential for your body to fight inflammation. 400mg/day is the recommended dose for most of us. Don't ignore this. Magnesium is deficient in almost all diabetics, arthritics, people with Alzheimer's, heart disease, and cancer -- among other diseases. If you're dieting to lose weight, you need even more magnesium, because you will be getting less due to eating smaller food portions. Taking added magnesium, together with fish oil, fiber, and green tea could be one of the most important things you can do to get and stay healthy.

6. Add up to 25 grams of powdered fiber supplement like BeneFiber stirred into your drinks (5 grams per teaspoon), soups or other foods during the day to help insure that you are getting enough fiber. Also eat at least two cups of beans (20 grams fiber), lentils, or peas per day to increase fiber. Apples and pears (4 or 5 grams fiber) are also good sources of fiber. Try to get a total of at least 40 grams fiber per day. This will help eliminate fats from your gut, and lower blood sugar, insulin resistance and inflammation.

7. Get at least 40 minutes of low-impact exercise per day. House cleaning, gardening, walking or biking are good. Swimming may be more comfortable to minimize pain. If pain prevents this at first, then slowly increase your movement program daily as your pain levels decrease.

Overall

There are other things to do, but these are the "BIG-12" step on the anti-inflammatory hit list. Try this strategy and you'll be doing about 80% of the job. You should start to feel better in a matter of days, Arthritic joint pain should lessen. With this program, you may be able to avoid worsening symptoms, stronger, more dangerous medicines, and surgery. There is hope.

Overall, you need to eat a diet that consists of about 55-60% colorful, high fiber, high anti-oxidant fruits, berries and vegetables. About 20-25% fats, mainly from fish or fish oil, olives, whole nuts (not the nut oils), avocados, coconut oil and perhaps a little butter. About 15-20% from proteins from beans, lentils, peas, whole nuts, lean cuts of fish and very lean "free range" and organic chicken, turkey, other poultry, and perhaps very lean cuts of well trimmed beef or venison. You should eat lots of spices and take the recommended supplements. As pain lessens, you should perform up to 40 minutes of low-impact, low-stress movement sessions, or activities per day.

WARNING: Your D6D cannot work properly if you drink more than one or two alcoholic drinks per day (1 for women, 2 for men). Also, you may not smoke. It has been proven that D6D is blocked by these activities. If you overdrink alcohol or smoke tobacco, you are limiting the possible success of this diet in reducing inflammation. Caffeinated drinks like coffee or tea are okay.

Read More About the Level 1 Diet Program

You can read longer essays about the science behind the Level1Diet health program at my Anti-Inflammatory Diet - Level1diet.comweb-site. Everything is free. It's my place to share and give back to the universe. You can read about my dramatic diabetes and weight loss story, and see a list of some of my footnoted and documented health essays there. This diet has changed my life. I've lost 85 pounds and kept it off for years, since adopting this new lifestyle. On my site, you'll find 1,500,000 pages filled with health research -- largely about inflammation, weight loss, and support for people with various inflammation related diseases like heart disease, diabetes, cancer and strokes... or people who are worried about getting those diseases.

Scientific Support and Testing

The Level 1 Diet and Health Program is similar, but not exactly the same, as that tested by the UCLA Pritikin Longevity Center, and fundamentally supported in its basic outlines by many up-to-date medical authorities. The UCLA program has demonstrated an ability to reverse heart disease and diabetes for the majority of studied participants in only 21 days -- see our exercise page for details. Research and scientific support is taken directly from studies published at the National Institutes of Health Medical Library you can reach at: http://www.pubmed.gov/ Over 1.5 million of those published study summaries related to inflammation, diabetes, heart disease and many other related conditions can be researched directly on the Level 1 Diet site -- completely free of any charges.

Share With Your Doctor

Share this information with your physician. Print it out and hand it to your doctor during your next visit. Chances are your physician will not know about the central role that D6D plays in your health. Print out a few more copies for your friends and family. It's easy to understand and can save their lives. For doctors, understanding the science behind the Level1Diet.com program will enrich their medical practice with thousands of healthier and very grateful patients. They will find new enthusiasm in helping people, and begin again to enjoy their work. And, as people begin to spread the word about how their newly-informed and enthusiastic doctor has helped them, they will reap well deserved financial rewards.

The Level1Diet.com anti-inflammatory health program is a very simple, healthy program that most doctors would also recommend. If your present physician does not agree with this program, you may want to look for a better informed health professional. Thousands of well-informed physicians across the country now understand the science behind this program. More are being converted every day, as they begin to learn about the science from medical journals. Much of the anti-inflammatory science is recently discovered. Little has made its way into medical school textbooks or class studies in medical university curriculums. Unfortunately in the past, many doctors were never traditionally well-trained in nutrition, nor even in the details of recent anti-inflammatory diet strategies. However, today many are coming around to supporting this approach.

Weight Loss Diet 5 Minute Guide:
Anti-Inflammatory Foods List and Nutritional Supplements to Lose Weight and Reduce Inflammation

Level1Diet.com's Health Plan is based on our Food Guide Football℠ -- We will enjoy eating lots of fresh fish, raw and lightly steamed vegetables and colorful fruits and lean cuts of turkey, chicken and grass-fed beef. We will use healthy, fresh olive oil and small amounts of canola or coconut oils. We will enjoy many beans, peas, seeds, nuts and legumes. We will drink several glasses of green tea daily and sometimes brown tea. We will target diet supplements that are proven to increase our anti-inflammatory prostaglandins, increase anti-oxidants, improve our blood glucose control and reduce insulin resistance, leading to weight loss and improved health. We will avoid saturated fats in animal meats and poly-unsaturated vegetable oils. We will cut out fructose and sweet, sugary foods, white rice, cereal grains and pasta. And, we will minimize roots and starchy vegetables like potatoes, carrots and beets.

Colorful posters, brochures and flip charts explaining healthy eating habits using the Food Guide Football℠ are available by special order. For a price list of Food Guide Football℠ educational materials, or permission to use The Level1Diet.com Food Guide Football℠ in your own health education program, please contact us. The Level1Diet.com Food Guide Football℠ is a service mark of Level1Diet.com, all rights reserved.

 
FIRST THINGS FIRST
We begin by listing the 10 Foods to Avoid. That may seem negative, but it is absolutely necessary. We must remove the bad foods from our diet, or we cannot reduce inflammation, reduce insulin resistance and lose weight. If we continue to eat the bad foods and merely add some of the good foods to our diet, we can actually make ourself sicker.

THE ACTION PLAN
So, first we stop eating the bad stuff that's been making us inflamed and insulin resistant. Then we eat the good stuff that will make us better. And, we add powerful vitamins and supplements to give our bodies what they need to use the foods we are eating, and to help us correct our body chemistry.

DOING THINGS THE EASY WAY
Actually, we begin the whole program ALL AT ONCE, not bit by bit. Why? Because it's the easy way, and the only way that actually works. If we try to do things a little at a time, our body chemistry does not change. It fights us. The reason most people do not change their health and lose weight is that they do not give themselves a chance. If you start right now, in only 10 to 12 hours, your system can be markedly different. You can end hunger pains, and you could stop craving sweets and fats. In only 3 or 4 days, you can notice big changes in your mood, your sleep patterns, and in the look and feel of your skin. In two weeks or so, you could notice obvious changes in your health. You can lose several pounds of real fat, and have enormous energy. You can look and feel good very soon, and you do not need to have cravings controlling your life and ruining your health. Sound good? It is. Your life can change quickly, but you have to give it a chance.

GIVE YOURSELF 12 HOURS
Follow the plan below for 12 hours. You should feel better. If you do, then give yourself another 3 days. By then you should feel and even look much better. In only 3 days, your skin should be moist and supple, and you should begin sleeping better and feeling the aches and pains caused by inflammation subside noticeably. You may not notice weight loss yet, but your body should be changing already. When you've gone only 3 days, only 72 hours, you will be able to commit to go through the next 2 weeks. And you're on the path to changing your life.

There is only a short list of things you have to do and not do, and it will be much easier than you ever dreamed possible. Now let's take a look at my easy-to-understand 5 Minute Guide to Weight Loss and Health:

Foods to Avoid    Foods to Eat    Recommended Supplements

The 10 Foods to Avoid
to Reduce Inflammation and Insulin Resistance

1. Avoid Fatty Meats -- All choice or prime cuts of meat, including most cuts of beef, veal pork, lamb, duck, goose, sausages, hamburger, hot-dogs, etc.

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2. Avoid Most Cooking & Salad Oils -- Butter, all vegetable shortening, all margarines, all corn oils, safflower, peanut, canola, and other vegetable cooking and salad oils, except for extra virgin olive oils.

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3. Avoid All Grain-Fed Meat or Farm Raised Fish -- Any grain-fed farm animals, including most beef, pork, lamb, duck, goose, farm-raised salmon, tilapia, trout, catfish, perch, etc. Wild fish are okay, but may contain high levels of mercury and other pollutants.

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4. Avoid All Fried Foods & Foods Cooked at High Temperatures -- Hamburgers, chicken, shrimp, french fries, onion rings - anything deep fried or pan fried, barbecued, charbroiled or grilled.

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5. Avoid All Dairy Products -- Milk, cheeses, yogurt, milk powders and other products containing cream, butter, buttermilk, including cottage cheese and low or non-fat milk products, etc.

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6. Avoid All Whole Eggs -- Any eggs that include the yokes - includes fresh and powdered eggs and any foods containing whole eggs - egg whites are okay.

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7. Avoid High Fructose Corn Syrup -- Read the label for corn syrup, fructose or HFCS - includes most soft drinks and sodas, candies and snacks sweetened with Corn Syrup, including many health food meal replacement bars and so-called diet drinks - any product containing fructose, except for Agave Nectar Syrup.

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8. Avoid Sugars and Sweets -- Honey, table sugar sucrose, dextrose, molasses, all syrups and other sweeteners - avoid all artificial sweeteners and foods with them, containing aspartame, saccharin or sucralose - substitute preferred Agave Nectar Syrup or Stevia liquid or powders.

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9. Avoid Simple Carbohydrates -- Potatoes, any kind of rice, all corn, tapioca and other puddings, all breads, most cereal grains, pastries, pies, cakes, all pastas such as macaroni, spaghetti, noodles, crackers, tortillas and dip-chips, etc. For a 52-page list that compares the "official" relative impact of different foods on your system, download the free International Table of Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load Values, 2002 PDF Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader.

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10. Avoid Addictive Foods & Products -- No tobacco products including cigarettes, cigars, pipes, snuff, chewing tobacco, no alcohol drinks and products - including beer, wine and whisky or liquors, and of course no other recreational drugs, legal or not.

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The 10 Foods to Eat

1. Enjoy Fresh Wild Fish -- Includes wild Alaskan salmon, mackerel, herring, cod, trout, catfish, sardines, and especially any of the fatty or oily kinds - choose fresh or frozen, not canned and never farm-raised. Buy fish that have been tested to have low levels of mercury and other pollutants if possible.

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2. Enjoy Fresh Raw or Steamed Vegetables -- The more colorful are best, especially leaves, sprouts, shoots, stalks and stems, flowers and seeds, lightly steamed or fresh raw vegetables are preferred, frozen is okay if they have not been processed with additives - no sugars, salt, cheese or preservatives or sauces - minimize starchy or sweet root vegetables such as carrots, parsnips, turnips and beets.

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3. Enjoy Whole Fresh Fruits -- No juices - the more colorful the better, including all berries, apples, pears, melons, citrus oranges, grapefruits, kiwi and similar mildly sweet fruits - minimize very sweet fruits like grapes, pineapple, figs, etc. Eat the entire fruit if possible, including the skin and usually the seeds - wash well before eating. Fruit skins and seeds are packed with vital vitamins, phyto-nutrients and powerful anti-oxidants that are not common inside the sweeter, starchy insides.

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4. Enjoy Lean, Non-Grain-Fed Meats -- Wild or free range turkey, chicken, pheasant, quail, cornish hens, bison or buffalo, elk, venison, grass-fed beef and lamb - serve skinless and well trimmed of fat.

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5. Enjoy Nuts and Seeds -- Flax seeds, almonds, walnuts, sesame seeds, pecans, pine nuts, hazelnuts, brazil-nuts, peanuts - except macadamia nuts - most fresh or dried nuts and seeds, without salt or added oils - if roasting, bake at lower temperatures for shorter periods.

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6. Enjoy Herbs and Most Spices, Except Salt -- Ginger, cinnamon, turmeric, clove, anise, basil, oregano, rosemary, black and white peppers, nutmeg, paprika, red pepper, chile pepper, garlic, onion flakes - the list seems endless, but in general the more colorful, and the hotter or more spicy the flavors, the better they are for your health. Many spices like turmeric, ginger, cinnamon and oregano have proven to be medicinal in their effects and are often prescribed by natural physicians.)

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7. Enjoy Beans, Peas and Legumes -- These high protein and high fiber foods are satisfying and healthy - including most beans and legumes - lentils, pinto and kidney beans, Garbanzo or chickpeas, green peas, green beans, chinese pea pods, sweet English peas, black eyed peas, lima beans, navy beans, and many other kinds of nutritious and delicious, healthy foods - note that rice or corn are grains, which are not on this list - also hominy is a corn product and not a bean or pea.

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8. Enjoy Green and Brown Teas and Many Herbal Drinks -- Green tea should be taken several times a day by most people, since its health benefits seem endless - brown tea appears safe and reasonably helpful for many people, as do many herbal drinks such as camomile, spices like ginger, or herbal stimulants such as ginseng - use the caffeine-free types if possible, especially if you have heart disease or high blood pressure

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9. Enjoy Extra Virgin Olive Oils -- They're highly flavorful and packed with anti-oxidants and healthy Omega-9 monounsaturated fatty acids. Use sparingly to cook lightly as in a saute. Use to stir-fry lightly in a Chinese Wok with added water. Drizzle over fresh salads with vinegar, herbs and spices. Draw a thin drizzle over vegetables for enhanced flavor and mouth feel. Buy only recently dated, extra virgin olive oil that is less than 3 months old, in dark colored glass bottles that are tightly sealed air-tight. Avoid clear bottles and soft plastic bottles. Olive oils should be kept refrigerated after the bottle is opened and should never be used after two months. Bottles should be dark amber, brown or black to keep out light. They should be kept tightly corked or closed with screw lids, not a loose fitting stopper, and they should NEVER be kept in a bottle with an open pouring spout. Allowing oils to sit at room temperature or be exposed to light and air can lead to oxidation and actually worsen your health, turning a health promoting food into an health degrading food.

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10. Enjoy Agave Nectar Syrup or Stevia Sweetener -- These two sweeteners can be used safely by most people; added to drinks, desserts, protein shakes, teas, and other foods and drinks as desired. Artificial sweeteners are patented and are highly profitable for the patent owners. However, as inexpensive natural herb extracts, Stevia and Agave cannot be patented, so you may not have not seen them well advertised. Agave Syrup is made from a cactus usually grown in Mexico. Its juices taste sweet in your mouth, but the sugar it contains is a special kind of fructose called oligofructose. This is a simple fructose sugar bound into a kind of complex cellulose that is indigestible in our bodies. Even though the body cannot use this sugar, many of the beneficial bacteria in your gut can digest oligofructose. As a result, it is thought that replacing other sugars with Agave Nectar actually makes you healthier. Stevia is a South American herb known locally as "honey leaf". It is much sweeter than table sugar, and can be used in both cooking and in beverages. Only a drop or two can make your tea, diet shakes, or fresh sliced fruit desserts quite delicious. It has few if any side effects and is considered a safe and acceptable sugar substitute for both healthy people and also obese people. Stevia is often available in your local grocery food store in the diet foods or vitamin isles, but it is easier to find in health food stores.

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The 6 Vitally Important Supplements

Click to See Studies From Peer Reviewed Scientific Journals Supplements Proven to Increase Series-1 & 3 Anti-Inflammation Prostaglandins Fish Oil, EPA 24-25,34-35 Borage Oil, GLA 26-33 Sesame Seed Lignans 41 Supplements Proven to Block Pro-Inflammation Cytokines Green Tea 4-9 Magnesium 10-12 N-Acetyl-Cysteine 36-38 Nettle Leaf Extract 39-40 Vitamins K1, K2 42 Bromelain, Pineapple 13 Pomegranate Extract 14 SAMe 15 Brown Tea 16 Papaya Seed Extract 17 Milk Thistle 18 Indian Celery Seed 19 Green-Lipped Mussel 20 Turmeric, Curcumin 21 Golden Seal 22 Aspirin 23 Acetaminophen 23

1. Pharmaceutical Grade Fish Oil: How Much? -- Research supports taking about 2-1/2 grams (2,500mg) of total EPA and DHA every day. To calculate how may capsules that takes, simply add the mg of EPA to the DHA shown on the label of your fish oil bottle, per capsule. Inexpensive fish oils like the Natrol or Nature's Way brands usually contain about 180mg EPA and 120mg DHA, totaling 300mg. You would need about 9 of those capsules to get at least 2,500mg daily of total EPA/DHA. Higher quality fish oils like Dr Sears' or Carlson Labs' brands may require only 4 or 5 capsules per day, but they are more expensive. Read the label of the fish oil you buy to see how many to take.

Fish Oil Health Benefits -- Fish Oil contains high amounts of two essential nutrients the body does not make very well for itself, EPA and DHA. These are extremely important, because they are converted into series-3 prostaglandins - PGE3. These PGE3's are powerful anti-inflammatory agents in your body. If these are not working for you, you develop chronic or persistent inflammation, which leads to major diseases. Chronic, low-level inflammation may progress into obesity, heart disease, cancer, diabetes and many other diseases. Some young or very healthy people, could possibly make EPA and DHA, if they ate enough Omega-3 oils from some plants such as Flax Seed, Perilla, Walnuts, and a few others. Of course, most people do not eat enough of those oils. But there is another problem... University of Iowa Scientists(1) have recently discovered that a needed digestive enzyme to convert Omega-3 vegetable oils into EPA/DHA may be deficient in some people. This genetic enzyme deficiency is now known to be due to an inherited poorly functioning gene that controls the body's ability to make the vital delta-6 desaturase - D6D digestive enzyme.(1,2,3) So some people don't make enough D6D. And, for many if not most other Americans, the functionality of their existing D6D is chemically blocked by their diet or lifestyle factors; alcohol, smoking, pollution, exposure to chemicals, high fats in the diet, existing high levels of insulin, high chronic inflammation levels, and so on. This means most Americans may not be able to make enough EPA and DHA to maintain health, even if they ate the right vegetable oils (which they don't do anyway). The easy way to fix this problem is to change your diet, improve your lifestyle, and take fish oil supplements that already contain the EPA you need without requiring you to have lots of working D6D. When people add fish oil into a good diet, amazing things happen: They lose weight, lower their triglycerides, improve risks for cancers, heart disease and diabetes. Taking the proper amount of high quality fish oil every day may be the most important single thing you can do to improve your health.

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2. GLA Gamma Linolenic Acid (from Borage Oil), with Sesame Seed Lignans -- The main active ingredient is GLA or Gamma Linolenic Acid. This is an Omega-6 oil that acts like an Omega-3 oil in many beneficial ways.

In perfectly healthy people, the body converts some Omega-6 oils into GLA using the D6D enzyme discussed above under Fish Oil, then into DGLA and from there into PGE1 series-1 prostaglandins. Like the PGE3's from EPA in Fish Oil, these new PGE1's fight inflammation in your body. So, we want lots of PGE-1, which means we need to get plenty of D6D to work for us. Or we need to take GLA Borage Oil, which already has GLA in it, without requiring us to have plenty of functional D6D. Plants will make our GLA for us if we take Borage Oil, Evening Primrose Oil or Black Currant Oil.

Like with Fish Oil above, if we take supplements that already contain the needed nutrient we want, we don't have to worry so much about D6D delta-6 desaturase not working for us. GLA also requires a few more nutrients to be converted into PGE-1, but those are more common in most people. If you follow our Food Guide Football™, you will have plenty of those needed co-factors to make PGE-1.

Sources of GLA: The best sources of GLA are Borage Oil, Black Currant Oil and Evening Primrose Oil. Borage Oil contains just a bit more GLA than does Black Currant Oil, and almost 2-1/2 times as much GLA as Evening Primrose Oil.

How Much to Take? Take at least 2 large 1,000-1,200mg capsules of Borage Oil per day, one in the morning and evening. Ensure that each capsule contains at least 245mg of the GLA active ingredient. A small amount of Vitamin-E should also be listed on the label to prevent possible oxidation of the vital fatty acid ingredients during storage. Very sick, obese or people with high levels of C-Reactive Protein should consider taking up to double the regular daily dose of GLA.

READ HOW BORAGE OIL GLA WORKS

 

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3. Green Tea Drinks, and Green Tea Extracts -- Green teas contain extremely powerful phyto-nutrients that have been profoundly researched around the world for many years. This herb may be the most important single herbal supplement that you can add to your daily regimen. Green tea moderates blood glucose, and improves blood lipids and cholesterol significantly. Green tea suppresses inflammatory cytokines that are active in stimulating the growth of cancerous tumors. It also enables the return to normal rates of programmed cell death or turnover, so that cancerous growths can die normally instead of out-living YOU. Green tea is very helpful in reducing the growth of inflammation of the heart and circulatory system, so that the building of arterial plaques slow down. It is helpful in prevention of thrombosis, renal failure, influenza management, cirrhosis management, and in the detoxification of the liver after exposure to chemicals or radiation. Green tea should be taken throughout the day for maximum protective benefit.

How Much per Day? Consider drinking 6 to 8 cups of fresh green tea. Use caffeine free types if you have heart disease or high blood pressure. If you want even more Green Tea benefits, you may wish to add 2 or 3 more concentrated and standardized Green Tea Extract capsules in your morning and evening supplementation program.

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4. Magnesium -- Magnesium has been shown to be deficient by many studies. Some report that as many as 80% of modern Americans are lacking optimum levels of magnesium to maintain excellent health. This deficiency is associated with many inflammatory and insulin resistant conditions and major diseases. (4) They include diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, migraine and cluster headaches, and many more. Magnesium is especially important for glucose metabolism.

For decades, scientists have searched for the hidden link between diabetes mellitus, heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and high blood clotting factors (high fibrinogen). Many researchers now believe that magnesium plays a central role in uniting many of these associated insulin resistant diseases. Supplements of magnesium are recommended for diabetics, hypertensives, and similar people who have metabolic syndrome x.

WEIGHT LOSS DIETERS AND MAGNESIUM
If you are already deficient in magnesium (like most over weight people are according to research), and then go on a calorie restricted diet, you are very likely to become even more deficient in magnesium, which can make your insulin resistance much worse, which will increase your glucose and average insulin levels throughout the day. These processes further reduce your ability to maintain magnesium in your tissues, and further reduce your ability to use it to process glucose and insulin -- a chain-reaction of reduced magnesium functionality, lower metabolism and lower resting energy expenditure. This will make it very, very difficult to lose weight. Dieters are strongly recommended to consider supplementing with magnesium. (5)

How Much Magnesium Should You Take per Day? Our review of the research supports suggested supplementation of magnesium, totaling about 400mg in divided doses, 200mg morning and 200mg evening. This supplementary dose should be taken in addition to eating high magnesium foods, such as more vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and nuts. Bigger people, people who perform stressful exercise more than average, or people who are supplementing calcium for bone loss, or diabetics and other people with high levels of inflammation, should consider a larger 600mg daily dose - 300mg in the morning and 300mg in the evening.

Safety Issues -- Taking the recommended supplements above should not be a problem for most people. Very high levels of magnesium can cause diarrhea(6) and general gastrointestinal distress, as well as interfere with calcium absorption and bone metabolism. Since research reports no advantages to higher doses of magnesium than the 600mg daily dose, you should not take more than this, unless specifically instructed by a health care professional. Medical experts suggest that people with kidney disease should not take supplemental magnesium. As always, we suggest you inform your doctor or health professional before adding any supplement to your diet. You may want to print this page to take to your medical professional, in case they are not familiar with current research on magnesium.

READ HOW MAGNESIUM WORKS

 

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5. Take Both of the Two Main Types of Vitamin-E -- Natural D-Alpha Tocopherol Vitamin-E and Natural Gamma Tocopherol Vitamin-E -- Studies now support the different, balancing roles of both D-Alpha and Gamma Tocopherol, which work together in different parts of the body -- in maintaining healthy blood circulation by reducing platelet aggregation, in reducing oxidation of LDL cholesterol, and in preventing the formation and growth of cancers. Much of this vitamin's activity helps prevent the formation of atherolsclerotic and arterial plaques.

Vitamin-E is perhaps the most missunderstood vitamin. It was the first discovered, just after the turn of the twentieth century, around 1926. It was considered "sexy" since it was found to support furtility. For many years, it was used only for sex therapy and similar purposes.

The D-Alpha Tocopherol form Vitamin-E is usually derived either from food supplementation, or from a vitamin pill. The Gamma Tocopherol Vitamin-E is usually derived from your diet, mainly from vegetables such as beans, nuts, broccoli, spinach, etc. The Vitamin-E is a powerful 'electron donor' that destroys free radicals resulting from normal metabolic processes in the body. Neutralizing these free radicals by donating an electron to them, helps prevent the destruction of the smooth tissues in the walls of veins, capillaries and arteries. The irritation of these smooth tissues by free radicals is a process that attracts the LDL cholesterol that eventually results in the formation of arterial plaques. The formation of these plaques narrow the openings in the arteries and veins, resulting in less blood flow to the heart, brain and other organs. Further, when the walls are continually degraded by free radicals, they can weaken, crack and burst, resulting in a dumping of the contents of the hidden plaque into the blood which causes thrombosis -- the formation of a blood clot, a rapid response of fibrinogen and other clotting factors that may result in a crippling or even fatal ischemic stroke or heart attack. While brain and heart tissues get a lot of attention due to their moment to moment importance in maintaining life and health, other organs and tissues are also degraded by this same free radical damage process; namely, the liver, pancreas, the small and large intestines, the ovaries and testes, the prostate and breasts, the thyroid and the skin. Damage from free radicals damages all of these organs. This is the process that makes us age and feel and look older. Making sure you get enough of Vitamin-E in both its important forms -- alpha and gamma -- can prevent or lessen the effects of aging due to free radicals in your body, improve circulation to your heart, brain and other organs, improve the health and appearance of your skin and do many other things to help you feel and look better.

Understand that you cannot eat enough high vitamin-e containing foods to get a daily dose big enough to achieve the tested, proven benefits of vitamin-e. To get even a modest 100iu or 200iu of vitamin-e per day, you would have to eat many very large portions of spinach, kale or broccoli, together with several bowls of peas or beans, and pockets full of nuts. This would amount to several thousand calories, which would present a problem with controlling your weight. Therefore it is essential to consider eating a variety of foods rich in vitamin-e including beans, peas, nuts and green leafy vegetables, then supplementing your diet with the different kinds of vitally important vitamin-e as we describe below.

How Much per Day? You should consider taking at least 400iu of the natural D-Alpha Tocopherol Vitamin-E, together with at least 200iu of the natural Gamma Tocopherol Vitamin-E per day. You should also consider taking a mixed supplement containing additional alpha and gamma forms of the mixed natural tocotrienol vitamin-e, at least 400iu/day. This means taking at least 3 capsules of different kinds of all the important forms of vitamin-e per day. Some recent research supports taking two or three times those amounts to support reversal or recovery from major inflammatory diseases, cancer or other existing conditions. Peer reviewed published double blind scientific research studies have shown effectiveness in reducing health problems for doses of 600iu/day, 1,000iu/day and even 1,200iu/day of total vitamin-e. Be sure to take a mixed balance of different forms of vitamin-e as suggested, since taking only 400iu or less per day of only the natural D-alpha or the synthetic DL-alpha forms of vitamin-e has NOT been shown to be generally effective for either the prevention of disease or reversal of existing conditions.

Recharging and Recycling Your Vitamin-E -- When vitamin-e destroys a free radical, it donates an electron to it, and therefore temporarily becomes electrically slightly charged and useless. For a while, it becomes a less powerful free radical itself, much less dangerous of course than the really powerful free radical it destroyed. In fact if it is not recharged or recycled by another anti-oxidant, then it will soon be destroyed and eliminated by normal body metabolic processed, and "dies". However, some other synergistic anti-oxidant vitamins if they are present, do actually give up one of their electrons to revitalize and extend the life of your vitamin-e. In this way, vitamin-e can go back to work again. Many of your body's anti-oxidant nutrients work this way. Taking some other anti-oxidants with vitamin-e will ensure that it continues to work as long as possible to maintain your health and protect your tissues from damage. A list of some of these kinds of anti-oxidant supplements would include ester vitamin-c, alpha-lipoic acid, green tea, grape seed extract, many berry extracts and fruit extracts and juices, co-enzyme Q-10, glutathione, DHEA dehydroepiandrosterone, vitamin-a or beta carotene, ginseng, and many more. Two of the most powerful of these "recycling vitamins" are vitamin c and alpha lipoic acid or ALA, sometimes just called lipoic acid. Since vitamin-e is recycled by these anti-oxidants, vitamin-c and alpha lipoic acid, you should consider taking them daily at the same time as you take your vit-e pills, to enhance the effectiveness by multiplying the number of times each molecule vitamin-e can destroy a free radical.

TOCOTRIENOL VITAMIN-E -- Eating a wide variety of nuts, beans, peas and plenty of green leafy vegetables will help you get at least some of both the gamma and alpha forms of vitamin-e tocopherol. However, also eating some of the tropical fruits and vegetables, including palm oil products and coconut oils on a regular basis can ensure that you are also getting some of the tocotrienol forms of the alpha and gamma vitamin-e. Tocotrienol vitamin-e from tropical plants fruits, and tropical nuts and oils, has also been shown to be effective in slightly different ways than the beans-peas-nuts and leafy-vegetable derived tocopherols are. So, it is wise to consider adding moderate amounts of these foods into your diet, and to taking a supplement daily also containing a mix of the tocotrienol vitamin-e. Recommended amount of tocotrienol vitamin-e is at least 400iu/day of the mixed alpha, gamma and other tocotrienols. Tocotrienol vit-e is usually derived from tropical oils such as palm nut oil.

Taking supplementary D-Alpha form of vitamin-e by itself can block the transport and activity of dietary gamma form of tocopherol, preventing you from absorbing and using Gamma Vitamin-E that you are getting from your diet, mainly from vegetables. By blocking gamma vitamin-e, taking the alpha taken by itself can actually worsen some people's health. It is important to take both alpha and gamma forms of vitamin-e together.Since vitamin-e is a powerful anti-platelet-aggregation and blood thinning factor, you should talk to your doctor or other health professional if you are currently taking blood thinners such as warfarin or cumadin. You should also stop taking all vitamin-e several days prior to any surgery to reduce the possibility of excessive bleeding.*

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6. Soluble and Insoluble Fiber -- Fiber is powerfully associated with reductions in total cholesterol, since it is the only way your body has of disposing of cholesterol once it has been created. Fiber is known to reduce the risk of cancer and improve the control of blood sugar. It also tends to reduce insulin levels and therefore insulin resistance. These effects of fiber make it one of the key nutrients to watch as you improve your health. Eating just ONE CUP of beans, peas should give you about 20-grams of fiber, that's a bit under half the total you need each day. Then you can get another 5 grams for each apple or pear you eat. You should aim at totaling 35-40 grams of fiber per day. Eating plenty of beans, peas, and nuts, fresh fruits and vegetables with do it for you... at least 9 servings per day. (One of the most enjoyable ways to eat more fiber is to eat 2 apples or pears per day. They combine fiber with many other nutrients and taste great! Other good types of fiber to supplement include: Flax Seed Meal, Rice Bran, Orange Pulp and Peel, Grapefruit Pectin, Lemon Peel, Milk Thistle, Psylium Seed, Acacia, Oat Bran, Wheat Bran, and other seed and bran type fibers.)

How Much per Day? Research supports increasing your total intake of fiber to between 25 and 30 grams per day from all sources. You should take your fiber with the highest fatty meal of the day, but not with fish oil, borage oil GLA, or CLA (see below). You should take those supplements at least an hour before taking fiber.

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8. CLA - Conjugated Linoleic Acid with Guarana and Sesame Seed Lignans -- When taken properly without other foods, CLA has been found to block the addition of new fats into existing adipose cells. Recent research has shown that people who took supplements of CLA were able to decrease the total fat or adipose tissue mass significantly (size of cells). However, when these people also supplemented with Guarana at the same time, the total number of fat cells actually decreased by up to 50%. This is an amazing result, and well worthy of your investment in adding a few extra pills to your daily regimen.

How Much to Take per Day? Studied results were achieved with only 4-5 grams or capsules of the CLA with Guarana per day. Sesame Seed Lignans have been shown to help prevent the oxidation of CLA, whereas they simultaneously encourage oxidation or burning of fats in the liver. Sesame Lignans further enhance the effect of taking CLA and Guarana. NOTE: It is essential that CLA should be taken at mid-morning, on an empty stomach. If taken when there is food in the stomach, your digestive enzymes may break down the CLA into its basic parts before it can reach the intestines where it does its work. Look for a product with all 3 ingredients, or buy them separately and take them at the same time.

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References

1. "A nucleotide insertion in the transcriptional regulatory region of FADS2 gives rise to human fatty acid delta-6-desaturase deficiency", Journal of Lipid Research, Vol. 44, 2311-2319, December, 2003.
2. "Identification of a fatty acid {Delta}6-desaturase deficiency in human skin fibroblasts", Journal of Lipid Research, Vol. 42, 501-508, April, 2001.
3. "Suspected faulty essential fatty acid metabolism in Sjogren-Larsson syndrome", Pediatric Research, Vol 16, 45-49, 1982.
4. "Magnesium Intake, C-Reactive Protein, and the Prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome in Middle-Aged and Older U.S. Women", Diabetes Care 28:1438-1444, 2005, a publication of The American Diabetes Association.
5. "Role of magnesium in insulin action, diabetes and cardio-metabolic syndrome X", Molecular Aspects of Medicine, 24:39-52, 2003.
6. "Magnesium Replacement Therapy", The American Family Physician, 1990;42:173-6..

 

Borage Seed Oil GLA Gamma Linolenic Acid Dietary Food Supplement Health Benefits

Learn how GLA or Gamma Linolenic Acid from Borage Seed Oil is one of the most important food supplements you can take to reverse chronic inflammation, reduce insulin resistance and improve your health.

Borage Seed Oil is the second of the four most important diet supplements, which are: Fish Oil, Borage Seed Oil, Green Tea and Magnesium. These four products correct major deficiencies in the average American's diet. Together with a balanced diet that follows our Food Guide Football™, Borage Seed Oil can lead to significant improvements in health. They include dramatic weight loss when needed, and imrovement or reversal of major diseases. The benefits stem from reductions in low-level inflammation. Then, less inflammation leads to lower insulin resistance. For a detailed discussion of the inflammatory health cycle, read our article "The 3 Levels of Health: How Infection & Today's High Sugar/Starch, High Fat Diet Leads to a Cycle of Increasing Inflammation, Insulin Resistance, Low Metabolism, Obesity and Major Diseases".

How Borage Seed Oil Improves Your Health: Borage oil contains an essential fatty acid called GLA that your body does not make efficiently for itself (read this report about why). The GLA or gamma linolenic acid, is easy converted into DGLA or dihomagamma linolenic acid. From DHLA, the body rapidly makes PGE-1 or Series-1 Prostaglandins. These PGE-1 molecules are about 1/2 of your inflammation-fighting capability. Without them, you have a persistent tendancy toward inflammation, which often leads to insulin resistance, obesity and many deadly diseases.

GLA Gamma Linolenic Acid -- The three best sources of GLA are Borage Seed Oil, Black Currant Oil, and Evening Primrose Oil. Borage Seed Oil (usually about 24% GLA) contains about 5% more GLA than Black Currant Oils, and more than twice as much GLA per capsule as Evening Primrose Oil (which usually contains about 10% GLA). As a result of its high percentage of GLA, when you take Borage Seed Oil, you end up taking less of the undesirable Omega-6 (lenoleic acid) vegetable oils. Omega-6 oils are most of the remainder of the oil contained in each of the supplements. GLA is the immediate precursor to your body's production of PGE-1 or Prostaglandin Series 1, which is vital to the body's ability to handle blood lipids, cholesterol and triglycerides, and amounts to about 1/2 of your total inflammation fighting arsenal. We recommend Borage Seed Oil, because it is easier to take to get the needed amount of GLA than the other sources. However, many studies have also supported somewhat larger daily doses of Evening Primrose Oil.

Two Ways Delta-6 Deficiency Happens

 

How Deficiency Develops -- In many individuals, the ability to manufacture or use the vital enzyme Delta-6 Desaturase (D6D) is seriously degraded. (1) In some cases, it appears that a simple mutation of a gene that controls the expression or manufacture of D6D happens in at least some people.¹ One way this happens is that a single thymidine molecule is inserted into the D6D making gene, which results in a decrease of 80-90% in the amount of delta6 desaturase produced. This person will become very inflammed, and as years go by, they will likely suffer from cancer, heart disease and many other serious ailments. (2) In other people who do not have such genetic problems, dietary and environmental factors block the utilization of D6D. Factors include diet habits such as high alcohol use, trans-fatty acids from margarines and other foods, animal fats from red meats, milk, cancer, certain infections such as tuberculosis. If you don't have enough D6D enzyme, you can't ever make enough GLA out of Linoleic Acids from Omega-6 vegetable oils like safflower, corn oil, etc., and therefore the Omega-6 fats you eat become Arachidonic Acid (AA) instead of GLA. This advances metabolic disease and insulin resistance. As a result, the Lenoleic Omega-6 fats you eat cannot be converted into the "good" prostaglandins that fight inflammation and control cholesterol and obesity. You get obese, develop high blood pressure, high LDL-C cholesterol, high triglycerides, low HDL-C, etc. Some scientists have suggested that a simple D6D deficiency due to genetic or dietary factors is the major underlying cause of most metabolic disease, including most heart disease, cancers, diabetes and other insulin resistant, inflammatory diseases. As a result, they recommend supplementation of the diet with direct sources of GLA that do not need D6D for conversion. GLA from Borage Seed Oil or Evening Primrose oil enables the body to produce Prostaglandin series 1, which can help reverse existing or developing metabolic diseases related to insulin resistance.*

Best Gamma Linolenic Acid Sources: The best sources of GLA are Borage Seed Oil (24%), Black Currant Oil (19%) and Evening Primrose Oil (9%). As you can see, Borage Seed Oil contains just a bit more GLA than does Black Currant Oil, and almost 2-1/2 times as much GLA as Evening Primrose Oil. If you want to take fewer pills, take Borage Seed Oil. The cost per pill is usually about the same, but you may want to shop around. We've found a month's supply of Borage Seed Oil, which is about (60) 1,200mg capsules containing 300mg of GLA per capsule, usually costs between $10-$15. Brands we like include Now Foods, Vitamin Shoppe, Twin Labs, and Life Extension Foundation. Life Extension's includes Sesame Seed Lignans, which are an added benefit due to their power to limit the delta-5 desaturase conversion of GLA into AA arachidonic acid and the resulting increase in pro-inflammatory cytokines. See our page on Sesame Seed Lignans for more information.

How Much Borage Seed Oil GLA Gamma Linolenic Acid Should You Take per Day? Take at least 2 large 1,000 to 1,200mg capsules of Borage Seed Oil per day, one in the morning and evening. Ensure that each capsule contains at least 245mg of the GLA active ingredient. A small amount of Vitamin-E should also be listed on the label to prevent possible oxidation of the vital fatty acid ingredients during storage. Very sick, obese or people with high levels of C-Reactive Protein should consider taking up to double the regular daily dose of GLA.

Safety Issues: - Borage seed oil is generally considered safe. You should be concerned about its freshness, and always refrigerate it after opening. Look for brands with a small amount of Vitamin-E added to the capsule as a preservative. Borage oil acts moderately as an anti-clotting agent or blood thinner. While usually considered advantageous, its anti-clotting actions may add to the thinning power of other blood thinners if you are takng them. As always, we recommend you consult your doctor or other health care professional before adding this or any other supplement to your diet. You may want to print this page to show to your phsician, dietitian or other authorized health professional, as many will not have had time to read this much detail on the subject due to their busy schedules.*

Some of Level1Diet.com's Choices
for Borage Seed Oil GLA Supplement Products at Amazon.com

WHERE TO BUY -- We don't make or sell vitamins or supplements, but we will get a small percentage if you buy your choice of products after clicking the link to Amazon.com's store above. Prices are quite competitive at Amazon.com, and their selection of brand names is generally excellent. We appreciate your support.

Scientific Research Supporting Gamma Lenolenic Acid (GLA) Supplementation -- (1) For a discussion of GLA supplementation and its role in helping control or improve metabolic, insulin resistant or inflammatory disease read this PDF report written by Jur Plesmon in the Hypoglycemic Health Association Newsletter, September, 1996. (2) Read over 45 scientific studies reported at Pubmed.org (the web page of the National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, NIH) reporting research about Gamma Linolenic Acid (GLA) and Inflammation. (3) Read over 200 scientific studies reported at Pubmed.org about Gamma Linolenic Acid (GLA) and Cancer. (4) Read over 60 scientific studies reported at Pubmed.org about Gamma Linolenic Acid (GLA) and Cardiovascular Heart Disease. (5) Read over 90 scientific studies reported at Pubmed.org about Gamma Linolenic Acid (GLA) and Diabetes.

 

 

THE TOP 11 FOODS TO FIGHT INFLAMATION

1. Salmon. Coldwater fish, including salmon, contain anti-inflammatory fats called omega-3s. Wild salmon has more of these super-healthy fats than does farmed salmon.

Shopping tip: All salmon from Alaska is wild, whereas Atlantic salmon is usually farmed. Herring, sardines, and tuna also contain omega-3s

2. Grass-fed beef and other animal foods. As opposed to traditional, grain-fed livestock, meat that comes from animals fed grass also contains anti-inflammatory omega-3s, but in lower concentrations than coldwater fish. Free-range livestock that graze in pastures build up higher levels of omega-3s. Meat from grain-fed animals has virtually no omega-3s and plenty of saturated fat.

Cooking tip: Unless it's ground, grass-fed beef may be tougher, so slow cook it.

3. Olive oil. Olive oil is a great source of oleic acid, another anti-inflammatory oil. Researchers wrote in the October 2007 Journal of the American College of Nutrition that those who consume more oleic acid have better insulin function and lower blood sugar.

Shopping tip: Opt for extra-virgin olive oil, which is the least processed, and use it instead of other cooking oils. Other "cold-pressed" or "expeller-pressed" oils can be good sources, too.

4. Salads. Dark-green lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, and other salad veggies are rich in vitamin C and other antioxidants, nutrients that dampen inflammation.

Suggestion: Opt for olive oil-and-vinegar salad dressing (vinegar helps moderate blood sugar), and skip the croutons.

5. Cruciferous vegetables. These veggies, which include broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, and kale, are also loaded with antioxidants. But they provide one other ingredient -- sulfur -- that the body needs to make its own high-powered antioxidants.

 

6. Cherries. A study in the April 2006 Journal of Nutrition showed that eating cherries daily can significantly reduce inflammation. Cherries are also packed with antioxidants and relatively low on the glycemic index.

Tip: Frozen cherries are available all year long and make a tasty dessert with a little yogurt or cheese.

 

7. Blueberries. These delectable fruits are chock-full of natural compounds that reduce inflammation. Blueberries may also protect the brain from many of the effects of aging. Frozen are usually less expensive than fresh -- and just as good for you.

 

8. Turmeric. This spice contains a powerful, natural anti-inflammatory compound, according to a report in the August 2007 Biochemical Pharmacology. Turmeric has long been part of curry spice blends, used in southern Asian cuisines. To use: Buy powdered curry spice (which contains turmeric and other spices) and use it as a seasoning when pan-frying chicken breasts in olive oil.

 

9. Ginger. This relative of tumeric is also known for its anti-inflammatory benefits, and some research suggests that it might also help control blood sugar.

Suggestion: Brew your own ginger tea. Use a peeler to remove the skin off a piece of ginger, then add several thin slices to a cup of hot water and let steep for a few minutes.

 

10. Garlic. The research isn't consistent, but garlic may have some anti-inflammatory and glucose-regulating benefits and it may also help your body fight infections. At the very least, it won't hurt and makes for a tasty addition to food.

 

11. Green tea. Like fruits and vegetables, green tea contains natural anti-inflammatory compounds. It may even reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer.

Suggestion: Drink a cup a day -- or brew it like sun tea, refrigerate, and serve.

 

As you probably noticed, anti-inflammatory eating is right in line with healthy, diabetes-friendly eating. And it's the way we all should eat, whether we have diabetes or not: lots of plant foods and moderate portions of animal foods, as unaltered and unprocessed as possible. If everyone ate this way, we'd see a much larger portion of our population living healthier, longer lives.

 

 

 

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INFLAMATION DIET.htm