Rather Be Healthy

A growing body of research clearly shows the absolute necessity of vitamin D for good health and disease prevention. However, despite vitamin D’s role in keeping your body ticking along like a well-oiled clock, you are likely deficient in the “sunshine vitamin”—because the majority of people are.

Our vitamin D levels have dropped as a result of being scared sunless by those spreading misinformation that the sun causes melanoma, a myth that survives by mass promotion but really lacks any factual basis. It has been repeated so many times that most people believe it.

Vitamin D affects your biological function by influencing nearly 3,000 of your genes through vitamin D receptors. In fact, vitamin D receptors are found throughout your body, which should come as no surprise, given we humans evolved in the sun.

Recent research1,2 has also revealed yet another benefit of sun exposure beyond the protective benefits of producing vitamin D, namely the production of nitric oxide—a compound that lowers your blood pressure.

According to the researchers, the heart-health benefits from this may outweigh the risk of developing skin cancer. Your vitamin D level varies not only with time of day, season, and geographic location, but also with your genetics.

For example, if you have dark skin, you may need up to 10 times more sun exposure to maintain an optimal vitamin D level as a person with pale skin. Redheads have to be particularly careful, as they appear to be genetically predisposed to developing melanoma, regardless of whether or not they spend time in the sun.

Tens of Thousands of Health Studies Attest to Vitamin D’s Importance

Sunshine’s gifts extend well beyond vitamin D production. As discussed in the featured article by Sayer Ji,3 five of the many noteworthy properties of sunlight include:
1.Pain-killing (analgesic) properties
2.Increased subcutaneous fat metabolism
3.Regulation of human lifespan (solar cycles appear to be able to directly affect the human genome, thereby influencing lifespan)
4.Daytime sun exposure improves evening alertness
5.Conversion to metabolic energy (i.e. we may “ingest” energy directly from the sun, like plants do)

When it comes to vitamin D production, the benefits are simply immeasurable. In fact, correcting a vitamin D deficiency may cut your risk of dying in half, according to an analysis of more than 10,000 individuals.

According to a January 2013 press release by Orthomolecular Medicine4, 3,600 medical papers with vitamin D in the title or abstract were published in 2012 alone, bringing the grand total to 33,800. Research to date shows vitamin D has far reaching benefits to your physical and mental health, with the following chart representing only the tip of the sunbeam.

Pregnancy outcomes (reduced risk of Cesarean section and pre-eclampsia)

Autism

Childhood language impairment

Cardiovascular disease

Type 1 diabetes

Alzheimer’s disease

Type 2 diabetes

Bacterial and viral infections

Falls and bone fractures

16 different types of cancer

Stroke

All-cause mortality

Another Way Sun Exposure Protects Your Heart Health

UVB exposure also improves your mood and energy level, helps regulate melatonin, and, as mentioned earlier, increases nitric oxide production5, which benefits your cardiovascular system. With regards to the latter:

“Richard Weller, Senior Lecturer in Dermatology, and colleagues, say the effect is such that overall, sun exposure could improve health and even prolong life, because the benefits of reducing blood pressure, cutting heart attacks and strokes, far outweigh the risk of getting skin cancer,” Medical News Today reports6.

Weller and colleagues found that the body’s production of nitric oxide is separate from production of vitamin D… Human skin contains large stores of nitrite (NO2) and nitrate (NO3). The researchers note that while nitrate is “biologically inert”, the action of sunlight can reduce it to active nitrite and nitric oxide (NO).They found that circulatory nitrate fell and nitrite rose during UV and heat exposure, but not during exposure to heat only. There was no difference in vitamin D levels.

Weller says in a statement that: ‘We suspect that the benefits to heart health of sunlight will outweigh the risk of skin cancer. The work we have done provides a mechanism that might account for this, and also explains why dietary vitamin D supplements alone will not be able to compensate for lack of sunlight… If this confirms that sunlight reduces the death rate from all causes, we will need to reconsider our advice on sun exposure.'”

Skin Cancer, in Brief

Before we discuss melanoma, you need a basic understanding of the three most common types of skin cancer, each named for the type of cells affected:
1.Basal cell carcinoma (BCC): Begins in the basal cell layer of the skin, typically on the face; the most common form of skin cancer and the most common type of cancer in humans; least likely skin cancer to spread.7
2.Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC): Begins in the squamous cells, typically on the face, neck, ears, lips, and backs of hands; tends to grow and spread a bit more than BCC.
3.Melanoma: Begins in the melanocytes (the cells that produce the pigment melanin, responsible for your tan); melanin protects the deeper layers of your skin from excess radiation. Melanoma is more likely than other types of skin cancer to spread to other parts of your body and causes more deaths than any other type of skin cancer.8

Don’t Fall for the Melanoma Myth

If you believe the lure of the sun is equivalent to the siren’s call for melanoma, you’ll be relieved to learn melanoma is not actually caused by sun exposure, unlike the other two types of skin cancer, BCC and SCC. Although the reported number of new cases of melanoma in the US has been reportedly increasing for more than 30 years,9 a landmark study in the British Journal of Dermatology10 suggests this apparent increase is a result of non-cancerous lesions being misclassified as “stage 1 melanoma.” In other words, people are being diagnosed with melanoma even when they have only a minimal, non-cancerous lesion, and these diagnoses are significantly skewing cancer statistics.11 The sun is nothing more than a scapegoat in this phenomenon of “increased melanoma.”

But this misdiagnosis is doing more than just skewing statistics—it’s causing a mountain of unnecessary melanoma surgeries. A study in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology12 found that 90 percent of melanoma excisions end up NOT being melanoma at all. But if the sun doesn’t cause melanoma, then what does?

The REAL Role of the Sun in Melanoma

As with all serious diseases, there are multiple interacting factors that cause your immune system to go awry, such as nutrition, environmental toxins, stress, inadequate sleep, etc. But for melanoma, the sun does appear to have a significant role—melanoma may signify too little of it!

Studies show melanoma mortality actually decreases after UV exposure. Additionally, melanoma lesions do not predominate sun-exposed skin, which is why sunscreens have proven ineffective in preventing it. Exposure to sunlight, particularly UVB, is protective against melanoma—or rather, the vitamin D your body produces in response to UVB radiation is protective. The following passage comes from The Lancet:13

“Paradoxically, outdoor workers have a decreased risk of melanoma compared with indoor workers, suggesting that chronic sunlight exposure can have a protective effect.”

And this from the British Medical Journal:14

“There is solid descriptive, quantitative, and mechanistic proof that ultraviolet rays cause the main skin cancers (basal and squamous). They develop in pale, sun exposed skin, are related to degree of exposure and latitude, are fewer with avoidance and protection, are readily produced experimentally, and are the overwhelmingly predominant tumor in xeroderma pigmentosum, where DNA repair of ultraviolet light damage is impaired. None of these is found with melanoma.”

The bottom line is, by avoiding the sun, your risk for vitamin D deficiency skyrockets, which increases your odds of developing melanoma and a multitude of other diseases. The risks associated with insufficient vitamin D are far greater than those posed by basal cell or squamous cell carcinomas, which are fairly benign by comparison, as you’ll see by reading on.

Vitamin D Could Prevent 90 Percent of Breast Cancers

Download Interview Transcript

Theories linking vitamin D deficiency to cancer have been tested and confirmed in more than 200 epidemiological studies, and understanding of its physiological basis stems from more than 2,500 laboratory studies. In the above interview, GrassrootsHealth founder Carole Baggerly believes 90 percent of ordinary breast cancer is related to vitamin D deficiency. In fact, breast cancer has been described as a “vitamin D deficiency syndrome.” The way vitamin D interferes with breast cancer’s ability to spread is by affecting the structure of those cells—without adequate vitamin D, they fall apart and are forced to “overmultiply” in order to survive.

Previous research has shown that optimizing your vitamin D levels can reduce your risk for as many as 16 different types of cancer, including pancreatic, lung, ovarian, breast, prostate, and skin cancers. A study of menopausal women showed that maintaining vitamin D serum levels of 40ng/ml lowers overall cancer risk by 77 percent.

Two recent papers in the journal Science Express15 shed light on how cancer might begin. A cancer cell can be created when unusual mutations occur in a small area of its DNA that controls and regulates its genes, as contrasted with mutations in the genes themselves. The mutations spur the cell to make telomerase. One of the functions of telomerase is to prevent telomere shortening, which leads to cell death. According to Harvard researchers, abundant telomerase is so important to cancers that it appears in nine out of ten.

In addition to being a strong cancer preventative, vitamin D is crucial for pregnant women and their babies, lowering the risk for preterm birth, low birth weight, and C-section. And sadly, 80 percent of pregnant women have inadequate vitamin D levels.

Low Vitamin D in Pregnancy May Increase Your Baby’s Risk for Multiple Sclerosis Later in Life

Sunshine is so important to your overall health that science is now finding a connection between the strength of your immune system and your birthday, called the “birth month effect.” If you were born in the spring, you are statistically more vulnerable to developing an autoimmune disease such as multiple sclerosis (MS), than if you were born in the fall.16, 17

Why would this be?

Some researchers suggest it’s related to a pregnant woman’s vitamin D levels during her baby’s gestation. April and May babies have been gestating during the colder, darker months, as opposed to November and December babies, who’ve been developing over the spring and summer. Now a study in JAMA Neurology18 shows this hunch may be correct, suggesting a mechanism related to thymic development. Another study suggests sun exposure and vitamin D may play roles in the CNS demyelination associated with MS.19

And the sun can lift your mood! New research published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine shows that Google searches for mental health related issues drop by 15 to 42 percent during the summer months, which could very well be related to the boost in vitamin D.20 Vitamin D deficiency is a known factor in cognitive impairment and dementia.

Practicing Safe Sunning

Safely exposing your bare skin to the sun is the best way to optimize your vitamin D levels, and is therefore the best protection against melanoma. Sunburn should be avoided at all cost. I recommend reading our article about safe sunning guidelines and listening to the video above for detailed instructions about how to do this safely and effectively.

Vitamin D3 is an oil-soluble steroid hormone (the term “vitamin” is a misnomer) that forms when your skin is exposed to UVB radiation from the sun or a safe tanning bed. When UVB strikes the surface of your skin, your skin converts a cholesterol derivative into vitamin D3. It takes up to 48 hours for this D3 to be absorbed into your bloodstream to raise your vitamin D levels. Therefore, it’s important to avoid washing your skin with soap for 48 hours after sun exposure. In case you do develop a sunburn, immediately apply raw aloe vera, as it’s one of the best skin remedies.

As a general guideline, research by GrassrootsHealth suggests that adults need about 8,000 IU’s per day to achieve a serum level of 40 ng/ml. If you opt for a vitamin D supplement, you also need to boost your intake of vitamin K2 through food and/or a supplement. How do you know if your vitamin D level is in the right range? The most important factor is having your vitamin D serum level tested every six months, as people vary widely in their response to ultraviolet exposure or oral D3 supplementation. Your goal is to reach a clinically relevant serum level of 50-70 ng/ml.

Overuse of Sunscreen May Turn You into a Melanoma Magnet

Following the advise of health officials’ to slather on sunscreen may increase your melanoma risk instead of decreasing it, which is certainly not what you want. Indeed, you never want to let yourself burn. However, if you practice safe sunning, you will avail yourself of all of the sun’s health benefits with none of the risk.

If you do use a sunscreen, please be careful about which product you choose as many sunscreen products contain chemicals you don’t want absorbed into your body. According to the Environmental Working Group’s 2012 Sunscreen Guide,21 about 75 percent of sunscreens contain potentially harmful ingredients, such as oxybenzone and retinyl palmitate. Avoid products with SPFs higher than 50, and make sure yours offers protection against both UVA and UVB rays.

Keep in mind SPF only protects against UVBs—but it’s the UVAs that increase your risk for skin cancer and are responsible for photoaging your skin. Recall that it’s the UVBs that stimulate your vitamin D production, so you don’t want to block out too many of them.

Using an “internal sunscreen” is an alternative to topical sunblock agents. Astaxanthin—a potent antioxidant—has been found to offer effective protection against sun damage when taken as a daily supplement. It can also be used topically and a number of topical sunscreen products contain it. Some sunscreens are also starting to use astaxanthin as an ingredient to protect your skin from damage. As an alternative, you can cover up with lightweight clothing to protect yourself. Sometimes we forget about the simple things, like simply wearing a hat.

For the latest information about vitamin D, please visit our Vitamin D News and Information page.

How Vitamin D Performance Testing Can Help Optimize Your Health

Additionally, a robust and growing body of research clearly shows that vitamin D is absolutely critical for good health and disease prevention. Vitamin D affects your DNA through vitamin D receptors (VDRs), which bind to specific locations of the human genome. Scientists have identified nearly 3,000 genes that are influenced by vitamin D levels, and vitamin D receptors have been found throughout the human body.

Is it any wonder then that no matter what disease or condition is investigated, vitamin D appears to play a crucial role? This is why I am so excited about the D*Action Project by GrassrootsHealth. It is showing how you can take action today on known science with a consensus of experts without waiting for institutional lethargy. It has shown how by combining the science of measurement (of vitamin D levels) with the personal choice of taking action and, the value of education about individual measures that one can truly be in charge of their own health.

In order to spread this health movement to more communities, the project needs your involvement. This is an ongoing campaign during the month of February, and will become an annual event.

To participate, simply purchase the D*Action Measurement Kit and follow the registration instructions included. (Please note that 100 percent of the proceeds from the kits go to fund the research project. I do not charge a single dime as a distributor of the test kits.)

As a participant, you agree to test your vitamin D levels twice a year during a five-year program, and share your health status to demonstrate the public health impact of this nutrient. There is a $65 fee every 6 months for your sponsorship of the project, which includes a test kit to be used at home, and electronic reports on your ongoing progress. You will get a follow up email every six months reminding you “it’s time for your next test and health survey.”

Is it a good idea to “starve” yourself just a little bit each day, or a couple of days a week? Mounting evidence indicates that yes, intermittent fasting (IF) could have a very beneficial impact on your health and longevity.

I believe it’s one of the most powerful interventions out there if you’re struggling with your weight and related health issues. One of the primary reasons for this is because it helps shift your body from burning sugar/carbs to burning fat as its primary fuel.

As discussed in the featured article,1 intermittent fasting is not about binge eating followed by starvation, or any other extreme form of dieting. Rather what we’re talking about here involves timing your meals to allow for regular periods of fasting.

I prefer daily intermittent fasting, but you could also fast a couple of days a week if you prefer, or every other day. There are many different variations.

To be effective, in the case of daily intermittent fasting, the length of your fast must be at least 16 hours. This means eating only between the hours of 11am until 7pm, as an example. Essentially, this equates to simply skipping breakfast, and making lunch your first meal of the day instead.

You can restrict it even further — down to six, four, or even two hours if you want, but you can still reap many of these rewards by limiting your eating to an eight-hour window each day.

This is because it takes about six to eight hours for your body to metabolize your glycogen stores; after that you start to shift to burning fat. However, if you are replenishing your glycogen by eating every eight hours (or sooner), you make it far more difficult for your body to use your fat stores as fuel.

Intermittent Fasting — More a Lifestyle Than a Diet

I have been experimenting with different types of scheduled eating for the past two years and currently restrict my eating to a 6- to 7-hour window each day. While you’re not required to restrict the amount of food you eat when on this type of daily scheduled eating plan, I would caution against versions of intermittent fasting that gives you free reign to eat all the junk food you want when not fasting, as this seems awfully counterproductive.

Also, according to research published in 2010,2 intermittent fasting with compensatory overeating did not improve survival rates nor delay prostate tumor growth in mice. Essentially, by gorging on non-fasting days, the health benefits of fasting can easily be lost. If so, then what’s the point?

I view intermittent fasting as a lifestyle, not a diet, and that includes making healthy food choices whenever you do eat. Also, proper nutrition becomes even more important when fasting, so you really want to address your food choices before you try fasting.

This includes minimizing carbs and replacing them with healthful fats, like coconut oil, olive oil, olives, butter, eggs, avocados, and nuts. It typically takes several weeks to shift to fat burning mode, but once you do, your cravings for unhealthy foods and carbs will automatically disappear. This is because you’re now actually able to burn your stored fat and don’t have to rely on new fast-burning carbs for fuel. Unfortunately, despite mounting evidence, many health practitioners are still reluctant to prescribe fasting to their patients. According to Brad Pilon, author of Eat Stop Eat:3

“Health care practitioners across the board are so afraid to recommend eating less because of the stigma involved in that recommendation, but we are more than happy to recommend that someone start going to the gym. If all I said was you need to get to the gym and start eating healthier, no one would have a problem with it. When the message is not only should you eat less, you could probably go without eating for 24 hours once or twice a week, suddenly it’s heresy.”

The Health Benefits of Intermittent Fasting

Aside from removing your cravings for sugar and snack foods and turning you into an efficient fat-burning machine, thereby making it far easier to maintain a healthy body weight, modern science has confirmed there are many other good reasons to fast intermittently. For example, research presented at the 2011 annual scientific sessions of the American College of Cardiology in New Orleans4 showed that fasting triggered a 1,300 percent rise of human growth hormone (HGH) in women, and an astounding 2,000 percent in men.

HGH, human growth hormone, commonly referred to as “the fitness hormone,” plays an important role in maintaining health, fitness and longevity, including promotion of muscle growth, and boosting fat loss by revving up your metabolism. The fact that it helps build muscle while simultaneously promoting fat loss explains why HGH helps you lose weight without sacrificing muscle mass, and why even athletes can benefit from the practice (as long as they don’t overtrain and are careful about their nutrition). The only other thing that can compete in terms of dramatically boosting HGH levels is high-intensity interval training. Other health benefits of intermittent fasting include:

Normalizing your insulin and leptin sensitivity, which is key for optimal health

Improving biomarkers of disease

Normalizing ghrelin levels, also known as “the hunger hormone”

Reducing inflammation and lessening free radical damage

Lowering triglyceride levels

Preserving memory functioning and learning

Intermittent Fasting Is as Good or Better Than Continuous Calorie Restriction

According to Dr. Stephen Freedland, associate professor of urology and pathology at the Duke University Medical Center, “undernutrition without malnutrition” is the only experimental approach that consistently improves survival in animals with cancer, as well as extends lifespan overall by as much as 30 percent.5 Interestingly enough, intermittent fasting appears to provide nearly identical health benefits without being as difficult to implement and maintain. It’s easier for most people to simply restrict their eating to a narrow window of time each day, opposed to dramatically decreasing their overall daily calorie intake.

Mark Mattson, senior investigator for the National Institute on Aging, which is part of the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), has researched the health benefits of intermittent fasting, as well as the benefits of calorie restriction. According to Mattson,6 there are several theories to explain why fasting works:

“The one that we’ve studied a lot, and designed experiments to test, is the hypothesis that during the fasting period, cells are under a mild stress, and they respond to the stress adaptively by enhancing their ability to cope with stress and, maybe, to resist disease… There is considerable similarity between how cells respond to the stress of exercise and how cells respond to intermittent fasting.”

In one of his studies,7 overweight adults with moderate asthma lost eight percent of their body weight by cutting their calorie intake by 80 percent on alternate days for eight weeks. Markers of oxidative stress and inflammation also decreased, and asthma-related symptoms improved, along with several quality-of-life indicators.

More recently, Mattson and colleagues compared the effectiveness of intermittent fasting against continuous calorie restriction for weight loss, insulin sensitivity and other metabolic disease risk markers. The study, published in the International Journal of Obesity in 2011,8 found that intermittent fasting was as effective as continuous calorie restriction for improving all of these issues, and slightly better for reducing insulin resistance. According to the authors:

“Both groups experienced comparable reductions in leptin, free androgen index, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, total and LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, blood pressure and increases in sex hormone binding globulin, IGF binding proteins 1 and 2. Reductions in fasting insulin and insulin resistance were modest in both groups, but greater with IER [intermittent fasting] than with CER [continuous energy restriction].”

How Intermittent Fasting Benefits Your Brain

Your brain can also benefit from intermittent fasting. As reported in the featured article:

“Mattson has also researched the protective benefits of fasting to neurons. If you don’t eat for 10–16 hours, your body will go to its fat stores for energy, and fatty acids called ketones will be released into the bloodstream. This has been shown to protect memory and learning functionality, says Mattson, as well as slow disease processes in the brain.”

Besides releasing ketones as a byproduct of burning fat, intermittent fasting also affects brain function by boosting production of a protein called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). Mattson’s research suggests that fasting every other day (restricting your meal on fasting days to about 600 calories), tends to boost BDNF by anywhere from 50 to 400 percent,9 depending on the brain region. BDNF activates brain stem cells to convert into new neurons, and triggers numerous other chemicals that promote neural health. This protein also protects your brain cells from changes associated with Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.

BDNF also expresses itself in the neuro-muscular system where it protects neuro-motors from degradation. (The neuromotor is the most critical element in your muscle. Without the neuromotor, your muscle is like an engine without ignition. Neuro-motor degradation is part of the process that explains age-related muscle atrophy.) So BDNF is actively involved in both your muscles and your brain, and this cross-connection, if you will, appears to be a major part of the explanation for why a physical workout can have such a beneficial impact on your brain tissue — and why the combination of intermittent fasting with high intensity exercise appears to be a particularly potent combination.

Give Intermittent Fasting a Try

If you’re ready to give intermittent fasting a try, consider skipping breakfast, make sure you stop eating and drinking anything but water three hours before you go to sleep, and restrict your eating to an 8-hour (or less) time frame every day. In the 6-8 hours that you do eat, have healthy protein, minimize your carbs like pasta, bread, and potatoes and exchange them for healthful fats like butter, eggs, avocado, coconut oil, olive oil and nuts — essentially the very fats the media and “experts” tell you to avoid.

This will help shift you from carb burning to fat burning mode. Once your body has made this shift, it is nothing short of magical as your cravings for sweets, and food in general, rapidly normalizes and your desire for sweets and junk food radically decreases if not disappears entirely.

Remember it takes a few weeks, and you have to do it gradually, but once you succeed and switch to fat burning mode, you’ll be easily able to fast for 18 hours and not feel hungry. The “hunger” most people feel is actually cravings for sugar, and these will disappear, as if by magic, once you successfully shift over to burning fat instead.

Another phenomenal side effect/benefit that occurs is that you will radically improve the beneficial bacteria in your gut. Supporting healthy gut bacteria, which actually outnumber your cells 10 to one, is one of the most important things you can do to improve your immune system so you won’t get sick, or get coughs, colds and flus. You will sleep better, have more energy, have increased mental clarity and concentrate better. Essentially every aspect of your health will improve as your gut flora becomes balanced.

Based on my own phenomenal experience with intermittent fasting, I believe it’s one of the most powerful ways to shift your body into fat burning mode and improve a wide variety of biomarkers for disease. The effects can be further magnified by exercising while in a fasted state. For more information on that, please see my previous article High-Intensity Interval Training and Intermittent Fasting – A Winning Combo.

Clearly, it’s another powerful tool in your box to help you and your family take control of your health, and an excellent way to take your fitness to the next level.

One of the important strategies for healthy bones is to eat the right kind of foods. A diet full of processed foods will produce biochemical and metabolic conditions in your body that will decrease your bone density, so avoiding processed foods is definitely the first step in the right direction.

Eating high-quality, organic, biodynamic, locally-grown food will naturally increase your bone density and decrease your risk of developing osteoporosis. Along with your foods, your omega-3 fat content also has a major role in building healthy bone. I recommend krill oil, as I believe it’s a superior source of omega-3s.

Other nutrients, including calcium, vitamin D and K2, and magnesium, are also critical for strong bones—as is exercise, especially weight-bearing exercises.

Recent research presented at The Endocrine Society’s 95th Annual Meeting in San Francisco suggests that the timing of calcium and vitamin D supplementation may actually influence how your bones adapt to exercise, and help decrease exercise-induced calcium loss.

As reported by Medical News Today:1

“The timing of calcium supplementation, and not just the amount of supplementation, may be an important factor in how your skeleton adapts to exercise training… Previous research has shown that a year of intense training is associated with substantial decreases in bone mineral density…

Experts believe that this kind of exercise-induced bone loss could be related to the loss of calcium during exercise. As blood calcium levels drop, the parathyroid gland produces excess parathyroid hormone, which can mobilize calcium from your skeleton.”

How Bone Adapts to Exercise May Be Affected by Timing of Supplementation

The featured research study indicated that taking calcium prior to hitting the gym may help keep your blood levels of calcium more stable, compared to taking calcium after your workout. However, the study did not assess the long-term effects this might have on your bone density, and this, of course, is of utmost importance for anyone interested in building healthy bones.

According to the featured article:

“[E]xercise-induced decrease in blood calcium occurred whether calcium supplements were taken before or after exercising. Pre-exercise supplementation, however, resulted in less of a decrease.

Although not statistically significant, parathyroid hormone levels increased slightly less among cyclists who took calcium before exercising… The timing of calcium supplementation did not cause a difference in blood levels of a compound that is a biological indicator of bone loss. Both the before- and after-exercise groups exhibited 50 percent increases in the level of this compound, called CTX…”

The Critical Role of Vitamin K2 for Bone Health

There’s plenty of controversy on the issue of using calcium supplementation to ensure strong healthy bones. It’s important to realize that calcium works synergistically with vitamins D and K2, so taking calcium supplements alone may actually end up doing more harm than good. Dr. Kate Rheaume-Bleue has authored a comprehensive book on this topic titled: Vitamin K2 and the Calcium Paradox: How a Little Known Vitamin Could Save Your Life.

Dr. Robert Thompson M.D. also addressed this important issue in his book, The Calcium Lie. One of the tenets of his book is that bone is composed of at least a dozen minerals, and if you focus exclusively on calcium supplementation you are likely going to worsen your bone density.

Additionally you will actually increase your risk of osteoporosis. Interestingly, he proposes that one of the best practical alternatives is the use of natural, unprocessed salts, such as Himalayan salt, as they are one of the best sources of a wide variety of trace minerals.

So, while the featured research is interesting, I believe it falls far short in terms of making a health recommendation that will result in improved bone health. And while the researchers argue that timing, and not just dosage may play a significant role in bone adaptation to exercise, I would add that nutrient ratios and combinations may be even more important…

The researchers did combine calcium with vitamin D, which is important, but they did not address vitamin K2, which is critical. I say critical because the biological role of vitamin K2 is to help move calcium into the proper areas in your body, such as your bones and teeth. It also helps remove calcium from areas where it shouldn’t be, such as in your arteries and soft tissues.

Furthermore, if you take supplemental vitamin D, you also need to increase your intake of vitamin K2, because when you take vitamin D, your body creates more vitamin K2-dependent proteins—the proteins that help move the calcium around in your body. But you need vitamin K2 to activate those proteins. If they’re not activated, the calcium in your body will not be properly distributed and can lead to weaker bones and hardened arteries. In fact, vitamin K2 deficiency is actually what produces the symptoms of vitamin D toxicity, which includes inappropriate calcification that can lead to hardening of your arteries.

In a nutshell, it’s important to maintain the proper balance between all three of these nutrients: calcium, vitamin D and K2, as well as magnesium. Lack of balance between these four nutrients is why calcium supplements have become associated with increased risk of heart attack and stroke…

The optimal amounts of vitamin K2 are still under investigation, but it seems likely that 180 to 200 micrograms of vitamin K2 daily should be enough to activate your body’s K2-dependent proteins to shuttle the calcium to and from the appropriate areas. Most Americans get nowhere near this amount though. In fact, an estimated 80 percent of Americans do not get enough vitamin K2 in their diet to activate their K2 proteins, which is similar to the deficiency rate of vitamin D.

How Can You Tell if You’re Lacking in Vitamin K2?

There is no test for vitamin K2 deficiency, but you can get an idea of whether or not you may be lacking in this critical nutrient simply by assessing your diet and lifestyle. If you have osteoporosis, heart disease or diabetes, then you’re likely deficient in vitamin K2 as these conditions are all associated with K2 deficiency. If you do not have any of those health conditions, but do NOT regularly eat high amounts of the following foods, then your likelihood of being vitamin K2 deficient is still very high:
•Grass-fed organic animal products (i.e. eggs, butter, dairy)
•Certain fermented foods such as natto, or vegetables fermented using a starter culture of vitamin K2-producing bacteria. Please note that most fermented vegetables are not really high in vitamin K2 and come in at about 50 mcg per serving. However, if specific starter cultures are used they can have ten times as much, or 500 mcg per serving.
•Goose liver pâté
•Certain cheeses such as Brie and Gouda (these two are particularly high in K2, containing about 75 mcg per ounce). While cheese from grass-fed milk would be an added boon, it’s not necessary for the cheese to be grass-fed because the K2 is not derived from the milk itself; it’s derived from the bacteria in the cheese. So what’s important is how the cheese was made.

Fermented vegetables, which supply beneficial bacteria to your gut, can also be a great source of vitamin K if you ferment your own using the proper starter culture. We recently had samples of high-quality fermented organic vegetables made with our specific starter culture tested, and were shocked to discover that not only does a typical serving of about two to three ounces contain about 10 trillion beneficial bacteria, but it also contained 500 mcg of vitamin K2.

Note that not every strain of bacteria makes K2. For example, most yoghurt has almost no vitamin K2. Certain types of cheeses are very high in K2, and others are not. It really depends on the specific bacteria. You can’t assume that any fermented food will be high in K2, but some fermented foods are very high in K2, such as natto. Others, such as miso and tempeh, are not.

Mind Your Sodium-Potassium Levels as Well

Two additional nutrients that play an important role are sodium and potassium—you want the optimal ratio between these two in order to maintain your bone mass. If you eat a diet loaded with processed foods, there’s a good chance your potassium to sodium ratio is far from optimal, which is typically done by consuming a diet of processed foods, which are notoriously low in potassium while high in sodium.

An imbalanced sodium to potassium ratio can contribute to a number of diseases, including osteoporosis. To ensure you get these two important nutrients in more appropriate ratios, simply ditch processed foods, which are very high in processed salt and low in potassium and other essential nutrients. Instead, eat a diet of whole, unprocessed foods, ideally organically grown to ensure optimal nutrient content. This type of diet will naturally provide much larger amounts of potassium in relation to sodium, which is optimal for your bone health, and your overall health. If you find it difficult to eat the recommended amount of vegetables, give vegetable juicing a try.

Exercise Also Builds Strong Bones

The other component you can’t ignore if you want strong, healthy bones is weight bearing exercises like strength training. Bone-building is a dynamic process, so you want to make sure you exert enough force on your bones to stimulate the osteoblasts to build new bone. Further, bone is living tissue that requires regular physical activity in order to renew and rebuild itself, so you should make exercise a lifelong commitment.

Peak bone mass is achieved in adulthood and then begins a slow decline, but exercise can help you to maintain healthy bone mass as you get older, without having to resort to dangerous bisphosphonate drugs.

Weight-bearing exercise is actually one of the most effective remedies against osteoporosis, because as you put more tension on your muscles it puts more pressure on your bones, which then respond by continuously creating fresh, new bone. In addition, as you build more muscle, and make the muscle that you already have stronger, you also put more constant pressure on your bones. A good weight-bearing exercise to incorporate into your routine (depending on your current level of fitness, of course) is a walking lunge, as it helps build bone density in your hips, even without any additional weights.

Ideally, though, your fitness program should be comprehensive, providing the necessary weight-bearing activities for bone health while also improving your cardiovascular fitness and fat-burning capabilities with high-intensity exercises. For a more complete, in-depth explanation of my Peak Fitness regimen, please review my previous article, The Major Exercise Mistake I Made for Over 30 Years. Implementing Peak Fitness — with its array of weight-bearing exercises for bone health and Peak Exercises for disease prevention, fat loss and more — may be one of the best lifestyle changes you could ever make.

The Power Plate—A Valuable Exercise Tool for Prevention and Treatment of Brittle Bones

Acceleration Training, a.k.a. Whole Body Vibrational Training (WBVT) using a Power Plate has also been shown to be a safe, natural way to ward off osteoporosis, and it’s gentle enough even for the disabled and elderly. For example, in one six-month long study, WBVT was found to produce a significant increase in hip area bone density in postmenopausal women, while conventional training was only able to slow the rate of deterioration.2 A total of 90 women, aged 58 to 70 years old, were divided into three groups:
1.The first group did up to 30 minutes of WBVT three times a week. Static and dynamic exercises for the upper leg and hip area included squats and lunges.
2.The second group did 60 minutes of conventional weight training three times per week.
3.The control group did not exercise at all.

The researchers concluded that Acceleration Training might be a solution for reversing bone loss and eliminating osteoporosis, stating that:

“The whole body vibration group got positive results: strength increased as much as 16 percent in upper leg muscles, while bone density at the hip increased by 1.5 percent. In addition, the whole body vibration group showed an improvement in postural control and balance, increased muscle strength and lean mass while losing body fat and fat mass. The conventionally trained subjects were able to slow the rate of bone loss, which is consistent with previous published studies on weight training and bone loss. The control group subjects continued to lose bone mineral density at the average rate.”

NASA has also tested vibration platforms to help prevent the bone loss that occurs during space travel. According to a 2001 article in NASA Science:3

“…NASA-funded scientists suggest that astronauts might prevent bone loss by standing on a lightly vibrating plate for 10 to 20 minutes each day… The same therapy, they say, might eventually be used to treat some of the millions of people who suffer from bone loss, called osteoporosis here on Earth.

…Although the vibrations are subtle they have had a profound effect on bone loss in laboratory animals such as turkeys, sheep, and rats. In one study (published in the October 2001 issue of The FASEB Journal), only 10 minutes per day of vibration therapy promoted near-normal rates of bone formation in rats that were prevented from bearing weight on their hind limbs during the rest of the day.”

Build Strong, Healthy Bones the Natural Way

To recap, your bones are actually composed of several different minerals, and if you focus on calcium alone, you will likely weaken your bones and increase your risk of osteoporosis as Dr. Robert Thompson explains in his book, The Calcium Lie. Remember, calcium, vitamins D and K2, and magnesium work synergistically together to promote strong, healthy bones, and your sodium to potassium ratio also play an important role in maintaining your bone mass. Ideally, you’d get all or most of these nutrients from your diet (with the exception of vitamin D). This includes:
•Plant-derived calcium: raw milk from pasture-raised cows (who eat the plants), leafy green vegetables, the pith of citrus fruits, carob, and sesame seeds
•Magnesium: raw organic cacao and supplemental magnesium threonate if need be
•Vitamin K2: Grass-fed organic animal products (i.e. eggs, butter, dairy), certain fermented foods such as natto, or vegetables fermented using a starter culture of vitamin K2-producing bacteria. Goose liver pâté, and certain cheeses such as Brie and Gouda
•Trace minerals: Himalayan Crystal Salt, which contains all 84 elements found in your body, or other natural, unprocessed salt (NOT regular table salt!)
•Vitamin D: Ideally from appropriate sun exposure (or a safe tanning bed), as it’s virtually impossible to get sufficient amounts from food. As a last resort, you could use a supplement, but if you do, you may also need to supplement with vitamin K2 to maintain ideal ratios

The bottom line?

One of the best ways to achieve healthy bones is a diet rich in fresh, raw whole foods that maximizes natural minerals so that your body has the raw materials it needs to do what it was designed to do. In addition, you need healthy sun exposure along with regular, weight-bearing exercise.

Pick up a copy of the Hungry for Change DVD, Recipe Book or Mastery Program today and SAVE UP TO 50% PLUS get instant access to $124.65 in free bonuses! Offer ends midnight on Saturday July 13th, 2013: CLICK HERE!

Visit the Mercola Video Library

By Dr. Mercola

The documentary film Hungry For Change1 is another revolutionary look at food and nutrition from the creators of the best-selling film Food Matters.

Exposing food industry secrets and strategies designed to keep you coming back for more, it reveals why so many are suffering with weight issues and poor health despite their best intentions.

The importance of this topic cannot be overstated, especially in light of recent developments.

In mid-June, the American Medical Association (AMA) declared obesity a disease, officially opening the door for a range of medical interventions to “treat” this modern scourge. Yet the root causes of obesity remain wholly ignored…

As reported by USA Today:2

“Experts in obesity have struggled for years to have obesity recognized as a disease that deserves medical attention and insurance coverage as do other diseases. Previously, the AMA and others have referred to obesity as ‘a major public health problem.’

‘The American Medical Association’s recognition that obesity is a disease carries a lot of clout,’ says Samuel Klein, director of the Center for Human Nutrition at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

‘The most important aspect of the AMA decision is that the AMA is a respected representative of American medicine. Their opinion can influence policy makers who are in a position to do more to support interventions and research to prevent and treat obesity.'”

We don’t need to throw billions of dollars into drug-based obesity treatment and prevention research. Well-educated nutritional experts already KNOW what’s causing obesity and how to fix the problem!

The truth is that the processed food industry needs to change, agricultural subsidies need to be updated to promote healthier fare, and the public needs to be told the truth about nutrition.

We also need to stop the dangerous marketing of junk food to children with their favorite cartoon characters or celebrities. Junk food companies know exactly what they are doing, and many children are pointing towards these unforgettable characters in the grocery aisles before they can speak.

Yet none of these factors are being addressed. Instead, money is being spent on obesity drugs and obesity vaccines, of all things! This truly is madness, if you ask me. Obesity is no more a disease than smoking is.

Who Benefits from Obesity Being Declared a Disease?

As Rob Kall, executive editor and publisher of OpEdNews.com3 recently stated:

“What is clear to me is that the medical profession, in an unholy alliance with corporations, is moving the healing profession further and further down the slippery slope of pathologization, just as psychiatry is doing. Cui bono is a question I like to ask—Who benefits?”

I believe it’s fair to assume that the biggest beneficiaries will be pharmaceutical companies, along with medical institutions at large. Meanwhile, it’s highly doubtful that their inventions will make a real dent. I would not be surprised if the medical treatment of obesity turns into another “war on cancer” fiasco.

Instead of focusing on low-cost lifestyle changes that address the root cause, the “pathologization” of obesity, to use Kall’s word, is only going to lead to more problems, not to mention drive health care costs skyward as expensive drug treatments are introduced and paid for by insurance companies.

Can You Really Cure Obesity with a Vaccine?

Last summer, media outlets circulated the news that not just one, but two obesity vaccines were in the works, which makes the AMA’s decision to recognize obesity as a disease all the more convenient. Additionally, two brand new obesity drugs are now being unveiled, just in time for the AMA’s decision. Amazing how such coincidences just “happen,” isn’t it?

As explained by GlobalResearch.org,4 one of the obesity vaccines would target the peptide hormone somatostatin. This hormone has an inhibitory effect on the action of human growth hormone (HGH) and insulin-growth factor (IGF), both of which increase metabolism. By engineering a vaccine to remove the chemical inhibition of somatostatin on HGH and IGF, and create antibodies against somatostatin, the researchers believe weight loss could be achieved.

“…[T]he drug corporations see the obesity market as an untapped monetary resource – as one executive explained: ‘Can you imagine the potential for vaccines?’ Globalresearch.org writes.

‘A study published in the Journal of Animal Science and Biotechnology claims that vaccines are the answer to the chemical and psychological issues that surround obesity. The co-author of the study was also the president and chief scientific officer of a company called Braasch Biotech LLC… which specializes in the development of human and animal vaccines. Essentially, by inhibiting natural hormones, researchers hope to stop people from eating…

Because somatostatin is secreted in the digestive system, the hormone would eventually be carried to the brain where it would have a great likelihood of interacting with the chemical makeup of the brain and thereby have an encompassing psychological reaction.’”

Another route being investigated is a vaccine that targets the hunger hormone ghrelin. In my view, the whole idea of an obesity vaccine is nothing short of insanity.

Remember the old nursery rhyme about the old lady who swallowed the fly and in turn swallowed a spider to catch it? Modern medicine appears to use the same mistaken strategy for addressing many of our health care concerns. Take this drug for that symptom, take another drug to take care of the side effects from the first drug, and it goes on and on – until, well you know how it ends.

They truly do not know what they’re meddling with… Case in point: In September of last year, The Atlantic5 published findings that put a serious damper on the anti-ghrelin vaccine theory, as researchers discovered that knocking out ghrelin leads to an exaggerated anxiety response to stress.6 As reported by The Atlantic:7

“[T]his is the first study8 to show that ghrelin ‘prevents a hyperactive, over-anxious response to acute stress.’ So the reduced appetite caused by ghrelin suppression might come at the cost of increased anxiety…

The authors point out that an evolutionary response to stress is to eat more, hypothesizing that ‘under conditions of acute stress, ghrelin limits excessive anxious behavior by promoting the feeling of reward to ensure appropriate food-seeking behavior and maintain energy homeostasis.’ With enough stress, compensatory eating could end up counteracting the vaccine’s effects, leaving us right back where we started.”

Two New Prescription Diet Drugs Now Available

As of June, a new diet drug sold under the name Belviq is available by prescription to patients with a body mass index (BMI) above 30, or a BMI of 27 with at least one weight-related condition, such as hypertension or type 2 diabetes. The drug works by activating serotonin receptors in your brain, which is thought to reduce feelings of hunger—although it sounds awfully similar to the action of certain antidepressants, known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, which boost serotonin levels and are fraught with dangerous side effects, including suicide.

The release of Belviq comes on the heels of another prescription weight-loss drug called Qsymia, which was released last September. As reported by CNN Health:9

“Weight loss with both drugs is modest. Patients in clinical trials went from an average 227 pounds to 204 pounds on Qsymia; on Belviq, the average weight dropped from 220 to 207… At the time of approval, the FDA said Belviq’s manufacturer, Arena Pharmaceuticals, would be required to conduct six post-marketing studies, including a long-term cardiovascular trial to assess the risk of heart attack and stroke.

The most common side effects of Belviq in nondiabetic patients included headache, dizziness and fatigue, according to the FDA. In diabetic patients, side effects included pain and low blood sugar. In addition, some people taking medicines such as Belviq have reported heart valve problems, according to Eisai Inc., which markets the drug. ‘It is not known if Belviq changes your risk of heart problems or of stroke, or death due to heart problems or stroke,’ according to the drug’s website.”10

Why on earth would you take a weight loss drug that might lead to increased heart attack or stroke risk when the appropriate dietary and lifestyle changes would REDUCE those risks right along with the weight you drop? Not to mention you’d be paying a lot more for the drug than you would pay for healthier foods.

How to Safely and Effectively Combat Excess Weight

For the majority of people, severely restricting carbohydrates such as sugars, fructose, and grains in your diet will be the key to sustained weight loss. Refined carbohydrates like breakfast cereals, bagels, waffles, pretzels, and most other processed foods quickly break down to sugar, increase your insulin levels, and cause insulin resistance, which is the number one underlying factor of nearly every chronic disease and condition known to man, including weight gain.

As you cut these dietary villains from your meals, you need to replace them with healthy substitutes like vegetables and healthy fats (including natural saturated fats!). I’ve detailed a step-by-step guide to this type of healthy eating program in my comprehensive nutrition plan, and I urge you to consult this guide if you are trying to lose weight.

Additionally, a growing body of evidence shows that intermittent fasting is particularly effective for losing weight.

One of the mechanisms that makes intermittent fasting so effective for weight loss is the fact that it provokes the natural secretion of human growth hormone (HGH), which is a fat-burning hormone—essentially the same effect sought by the obesity vaccine discussed above, but without the potential health risks. Fasting also increases catecholamines, which increases resting energy expenditure, while decreasing insulin levels, which allows stored fat to be burned for fuel.

Together, these and other factors will turn you into an effective fat-burning machine. Hence, if like many tens of millions of people, your goal is to shed excess fat, fasting can be both effective and beneficial for improving many disease markers.

Keep in mind that food cravings are a sign that you’re not providing your body with proper nutrients in the appropriate ratios, so following your hunger can in many cases be staggeringly counterproductive. Instead, view your cravings for what they are: a sign from your body that you’re not feeding it properly, and make the necessary adjustments. More often than not, people are not consuming enough healthy fats, which provide a more sustained form of energy compared to carbs. I believe most people may need between 50-70 percent of their daily calories in the form of healthful fats, such as avocados, organic pastured eggs, coconut oil, raw organic butter, and raw nuts like macadamia.

The foods you choose to eat, and how much you eat, will be the driving force behind successfully achieving your weight loss goals — even more so than exercise.

But exercise is still important for weight loss and optimal health. The key to boosting weight loss and getting the most out of your exercise routine is to make sure to incorporate high-intensity, short-burst-type exercises, such as my Peak Fitness Program, two to three times per week. Several studies have confirmed that exercising in shorter bursts with rest periods in between burns more fat than exercising continuously for an entire session.

The start of National Pollinator Week was marked by a tragic and perhaps eerily prophetic event, as an estimated 25,000 bumblebees were found dead in an Oregon parking lot.

Over a period of several days, multiple calls to the Oregon Department of Agriculture reported bees and other insects falling out of 55 blooming European linden trees near a shopping center.

The damage was so severe that Dan Hilburn, director of plant programs at the state Agriculture Department, said:1 “I’ve never encountered anything quite like it in 30 years in the business.”

Neonicotinoid Pesticide Is the Suspected Culprit

The 55 trees where the dead bees were found had been sprayed with Safari, a neonicotinoid insecticide, on the same day the first bees were reported dead. Neonicotinoids are the most widely used pesticides in the world, and they are used on most American crops, especially corn.

These chemicals are typically applied to seeds before planting, allowing the pesticide to be taken up through the plant’s vascular system as it grows. As a result, the chemical is expressed in the pollen and nectar of the plant, and hence the danger to bees and other pollinating insects. It states directly on the label that these insecticides should not be used if bees are in the area. As the Cornucopia Institute reported:2

“Safari is part of the neonicotinoid pesticide family. When it is sprayed on a plant, the leaves, flowers and nectar become toxic to almost all insects. The product’s label on the distributor’s website warns it is ‘highly toxic’ to bees and tells applicators not to apply it ‘if bees are visiting the area.’”

If tests show that the insecticide is responsible for the bee deaths, the company that rents and manages the shopping center could be guilty of violating state or federal laws related to pesticide regulations, which can carry fines of up to $10,000.

In the meantime, the Agriculture Department installed bee-proof nets over the trees to prevent any further bee deaths. Unfortunately, there’s still a much larger issue at hand, which is the ongoing use of these toxic insecticides.

How Many Bees Have to Die Before Action Is Taken Against Neonicotinoids?

A general consensus among beekeepers is that the ongoing honeybee die-offs are most definitely related to toxic chemicals, and neonicotinoids in particular.

The disappearance of bee colonies began accelerating in the US shortly after the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) allowed these new insecticides on the market in the mid-2000s. In May, beekeepers and environmental groups filed a lawsuit against the agency over its failure to protect bees from these toxic pesticides.

Meanwhile, France has banned Imidacloprid, a neonicotinoid, for use on corn and sunflowers after reporting large losses of bees after exposure to it. They also rejected Bayer´s application for the neonicotinoid Clothianidin, and other countries, such as Italy, have banned certain neonicotinoids as well.

The EPA acknowledges that “pesticide poisoning” may be one factor leading to bee die-offs known as colony collapse disorder,3 yet they have been slow to act to protect bees from this threat. The current lawsuit may help spur them toward more urgent action, which is desperately needed as the food supply hangs in the balance.

There are about 100 crop species that provide 90 percent of food globally; of these, 71 are pollinated by bees. In the US alone, a full one-third of the food supply depends on pollination from bees. Apple orchards, for instance, require one colony of bees per acre to be adequately pollinated. So if bee colonies continue to be devastated, major food shortages could result.

More Bees Dying as Monsanto and Bayer Enter the Bee Business

Serious honeybee die-offs have been occurring around the world for the past decade, but this year the US experienced the highest losses of honeybee populations so far, with most of the nation’s beekeepers losing anywhere from 50 to 90 percent of their bee population.

Pesticide manufacturers are likely none too pleased about the recent accusations hurled against their products, so they’ve taken matters into their own hands and purchased leading bee research firms, ostensibly to study colony collapse disorder and other bee research.

Monsanto, which is the world leader in genetically modified (GM) crops (and the pesticides and herbicides that go along with them), recently bought Beeologics, a company whose primary goal is finding a solution to the colony collapse disorder.

Bayer CropScience – a leading manufacturer of the neonicotinoid pesticides – plans to open the North American Bee Care Center by the end of 2013. The Center is intended to be a research hub as well as promote “the active promotion of bee-responsible use of Bayer products along with communication activities worldwide.”4

Can Monsanto and Bayer’s Bee Research Really Be Trusted?

Clearly, the forthcoming research from Beeologics and the North American Bee Care Center may now be tainted with regard to these companies’ products and their impact on bee populations. In other words, they are going to stop at nothing to make sure their pesticides and GM crops are completely cleared of any wrongdoing.

Already, in 2010 a study by Montana bee researcher Dr. Jerry Bromenshenk found that CCD was not caused by pesticides but rather a combination of fungus and virus, found in all collapsed colonies, may be the culprit… what was not widely reported in the media, however, was that Dr. Bromenshenk received a significant research grant from Bayer to study bee pollination – a massive conflict of interest that is likely to be carried over into any upcoming research from Bayer and Monsanto.

Further, one of the observed effects of neonicotinoids is weakening of the bee’s immune system, allowing them to fall prey to secondary, seemingly “natural” bee infections, such as parasites, mites, viruses, fungi and bacteria. Pathogens such as Varroa mites, Nosema, fungal and bacterial infections, and Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus (IAPV) are found in large amounts in honeybee hives on the verge of collapse, and this allows researchers to blame the deaths on these “natural” causes when the insecticides were ultimately the cause.

Tips for Helping the Bees and Other Pollinators

The Pollinator Partnership, which initiated Pollinator Week, has released many ways you can help the urgent issue of declining pollinator populations.5 Clearly major steps need to be taken on a national level to protect pollinators from toxic chemicals and other threats, but you can even make a difference right in your own backyard:
•Reduce or eliminate your use of pesticides
•Plant a pollinator-friendly garden by choosing a variety of plants that will continue flowering from spring through fall; check out the Bee Smart Pollinator App for a database of nearly 1,000 pollinator-friendly plants
•Choose plants native to your region and stick with old-fashioned varieties, which have the best blooms, fragrance and nectar/pollen for attracting and feeding pollinators
•Install a bee house
•Supply water, even a dripping faucet or a suspended milk carton with a pinhole in the bottom, for insects and animals

Testosterone is an androgenic sex hormone produced by the testicles (and in smaller amounts in women’s ovaries) that is typically associated with “manhood.” Beginning around age 30, a man’s testosterone levels begin to decline, and continue to do so as the years go on.

A wide range of chemical exposures, including prescription drugs like statins, can also have an adverse effect on your testosterone production.

While primarily associated with male sexuality and reproduction, testosterone also plays a role in maintaining muscle mass, bone density, levels of red blood cells, and a general sense of vigor and well-being.

Symptoms of declining testosterone levels include decreased sex drive, erectile dysfunction, depressed mood, and difficulties with concentration and memory. Men with low testosterone may also experience weight gain, breast enlargement, and problems urinating.

According to recent research1, 2, 3 the number of testosterone prescriptions have tripled over the past decade, causing researchers to sound the alarm that men may be abusing the hormone.

This should come as no surprise considering the many direct-to-consumer ads now promoting a testosterone prescription as the answer if you feel you’ve lost the spring in your step… In fact, in a related commentary medical ghostwriter Steven Braun says4 that the sales of testosterone are being driven by:

“A sophisticated marketing effort to define low testosterone as a disease for which the treatment is [testosterone-replacement therapy]. I know this because, as a professional medical writer, I have helped craft that message for transmission in a range of media to both physicians and consumers.”

While declining testosterone levels can certainly be problematic, I know first-hand that such a fate is not an automatic outcome of aging, provided you incorporate certain lifestyle strategies that can naturally boost your testosterone levels, which I’ll review in this article.

Many Men Are Taking Testosterone Without Evidence of Deficiency

According to the Endocrine Society, which is responsible for setting the clinical guidelines for testosterone replacement therapy, testosterone should only be given to men with persistent symptoms and “unequivocally low testosterone levels,” a condition known as hypogonadism.

To determine this, you have to actually test your testosterone level, which is done with a blood test—ideally more than once, as your testosterone level can rise and fall during each day.

The current findings indicate that 25 percent of men given a prescription for testosterone did not have their levels tested prior to receiving a prescription, and of the remaining 75 percent, it was unclear as to how many actually had a testosterone deficiency. In all, the study tracked 11 million men through a large health insurer, and found that:
•Since 2001, testosterone prescriptions have tripled
•More than two percent of men in their 40s and nearly four percent of men in their 60s were on testosterone therapy in 2011. Men in their 40s represent the fastest-growing group of users
•About half of men prescribed testosterone had a diagnosis of hypogonadism
•About 40 percent of men prescribed testosterone had erectile or sexual dysfunction
•One-third of men prescribed testosterone had a diagnosis of “fatigue”

Potential Side Effects and Benefits of Testosterone Therapy

While your levels can rise and fall daily, the average testosterone levels for most men range from 300 to 1,000 nanograms per deciliter (ng/dl) of blood. Again, hypogonadism can be a bit tricky to diagnose based on total testosterone (total T) alone, and since your levels can rise and drop dramatically from day to day depending on factors like sleep and stress, you need to measure your levels more than once.

That said, according to a 2012 study5 looking at the sensitivity and specificity of total testosterone (total T) as an indicator of biochemical hypogonadism found that a total T level below 150 ng/dl is indicative of hypogonadism, while levels above 350 ng/dl excludes the condition in most cases. If you fall within that range of 150-350 ng/dl, the authors advised measuring free or bioavailable T levels, which are thought to identify biochemical hypogonadism more accurately.

There’s a fair amount of controversy on the subject of testosterone replacement therapy. Some of the evidence suggests it may cause worrisome side effects (especially if you’re not actually deficient), including:

Thickening of the blood / blood clots

Acne

Reduced sperm count

Increased risk of heart disease

Increased risk of prostate cancer

Male infertility6

Liver problems

Male breast growth

Increased male pattern baldness

Worsening of urinary symptoms

Others disagree. For example, according to Dr. Abraham Morgentaler, MD, a professor of urology at Harvard Medical School and the author of Testosterone for Life, men with low testosterone are the ones at greater risk for prostate cancer and other health problems, including heart disease and osteoporosis. For an interesting article that contains a lot more information about this, read Dr. Morgentaler’s report Destroying the Myth About Testosterone Replacement and Prostate Cancer.7

You Can Raise Your Testosterone Levels Naturally Through Exercise

Personally, I do not recommend using testosterone hormone replacement to enhance your performance. If you indeed have low testosterone, you can consider trans rectal DHEA cream, which I’ll discuss below. But I believe many of you may not even need that, were you to take full advantage of your body’s natural ability to optimize hormones like testosterone and human growth hormone (HGH).

Just like testosterone and ubiquinol levels, your HGH levels also sharply decline after the age of 30, as illustrated in the graph above. Both of these hormones are also boosted in response to short, intense exercise. As an example, I’ve been doing Peak Fitness exercises for just over three years now, and at the age of 59, my testosterone and HGH levels (listed below) are still well within the normal range for a young adult male without the aid of ANY prescriptions, hormones and hormone precursor supplements:
•Total testosterone: 854 ng/dl (normal test range: 250-1,100 ng/dl)
•Free testosterone: 117 pg/ml (normal test range: 35-155 pg/ml)
•HGH: 14,000 pg, more than three times the normal test range of 1,000-4,000 pg/24 hours

Below is a summary and video demonstration of what a typical high-intensity Peak Fitness routine might look like. As you can see, the entire workout is only 20 minutes, and 75 percent of that time is warming up, recovering or cooling down. You’re really only working out intensely for four minutes. It’s hard to believe if you have never done this, that you can actually get that much benefit from only four minutes of intense exercise, but that’s all you need!
•Warm up for three minutes
•Exercise as hard and fast as you can for 30 seconds. You should feel like you couldn’t possibly go on another few seconds
•Recover at a slow to moderate pace for 90 seconds
•Repeat the high-intensity exercise and recovery 7 more times

How to Further Boost Testosterone and HGH Release…

Interestingly, Whole Body Vibration Training (WBVT) using a Power Plate can also independently increase growth hormone levels. Like high-intensity exercise, WBVT also works all three types of muscle fibers, and it does so more effectively and efficiently than straight cardio or weight lifting. You can accomplish more from 15 minutes on the Power Plate than from an hour of traditional strength training. By stimulating your white muscle fiber, the Power Plate kick-starts your pituitary gland into making more growth hormone, which helps you build lean body mass and burn fat.

Another effective strategy for enhancing both testosterone and HGH release is intermittent fasting. Intermittent fasting helps boost testosterone by improving the expression of satiety hormones, like insulin, leptin, adiponectin, glucacgon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), cholecystokinin (CKK), and melanocortins, which are linked to healthy testosterone function, increased libido, and the prevention of age-induced testosterone decline. When it comes to an exercise plan that will complement testosterone function and production (along with overall health), I recommend including both high-intensity interval training and strength training.

When you use strength training to raise your testosterone, you’ll want to increase the weight and lower your number of reps. Focus on doing exercises that work a wider number of muscles, such as squats or dead lifts. You can take your workout to the next level by learning the principles of Super-Slow Weight Training. For more information on how exercise can be used as a natural testosterone booster, read my article “Testosterone Surge After Exercise May Help Remodel the Mind.”

Why I Recommend DHEA Over Testosterone Replacement

I personally do not use any hormone treatments as I have been able to get my hormone levels within the healthy young adult range using the protocols described above. However, if you choose to use hormones it is really crucial to use bioidentical versions. There are synthetic and bioidentical hormone products out on the market, but I advise using bioidentical hormones like DHEA if you opt for this route. DHEA is a hormone secreted by your adrenal glands. This substance is one of the most abundant precursor hormones in your body. It is crucial for the creation of vital hormones, including testosterone and other sex hormones.

Prior to puberty, your body produces very little DHEA. Production of this prohormone peaks during your late 20’s or early 30’s. With age, DHEA production begins to decline. The adrenal glands also manufacture the stress hormone cortisol, which is in direct competition with DHEA for production because they use the same hormonal substrate known as pregnenolone. Chronic stress basically causes excessive cortisol levels and impairs DHEA production, which is why stress is another factor for low testosterone levels.

It’s important not to use any DHEA product without the supervision of a professional. Find a qualified health care provider who will monitor your hormone levels and determine if you actually require supplementation.

Also, rather than using an oral hormone supplementation, I recommend trans-mucosal (vagina or rectum) application. Skin application may not be wise, as it makes it difficult to measure the dosage you receive. This may cause you to end up receiving more than what your body requires. Applying a trans-mucosal DHEA cream to your rectum (or if you are a woman, your vagina) will allow the mucous epithelial membranes that line your mucosa to perform effective absorption. These membranes regulate absorption and inhibit the production of unwanted metabolites of DHEA. That said, I do NOT recommend prolonged supplementation of hormones, even bioidentical ones. Doing so can trick your body into halting its own DHEA production and may cause your adrenals to become impaired.

Three Additional Supplements That Can Be Beneficial for Symptoms of Low T

Another supplement that can address certain symptoms commonly associated with low testosterone is saw palmetto. This herb may also help increase testosterone levels by inhibiting up-conversion to dihydrotestosterone.8 There are about 100 clinical studies on the benefits of saw palmetto, one of them being a contributed to decreased prostate cancer risk. When choosing a saw palmetto supplement, you should be wary of the brand, as there are those that use an inactive form of the plant. According to industry expert Dr. Moerck, what you want to look for is an organic supercritical CO2 extract of saw palmetto oil, which is dark green in color. Since saw palmetto is a fat-soluble supplement, taking it with eggs will enhance the absorption of its nutrients.

There is also solid research indicating that if you take astaxanthin in combination with saw palmetto, you may experience significant synergistic benefits. A 2009 study published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition found that an optimal dose of saw palmetto and astaxanthin decreased both DHT and estrogen while simultaneously increasing testosterone.9

Also, in order to block the synthesis of excess estrogen (estradiol) from testosterone, there are excellent foods and plant extracts that may help to block the enzyme known as aromatase, which is responsible producing estrogen. Some of these include white button mushrooms, grape seed extract and nettles.10

Five More Ways to Naturally Increase Your Testosterone Levels

In addition to what I’ve already covered above (high intensity exercise, intermittent fasting, saw palmetto, and DHEA in conjunction with astaxanthin), the following lifestyle strategies can also help you normalize your testosterone levels, without resorting to hormone replacement:
1.Lose Weight by Optimizing Your Diet. If you’re overweight, shedding the excess pounds may increase your testosterone levels, according to recent research.11 Testosterone levels decrease after you eat sugar, which is likely because the sugar leads to a high insulin level, which is another factor leading to low testosterone. The most efficient way to shed excess weight is to strictly limit the amount of sugar/fructose and grains in your diet, and replacing them with vegetables and healthy fats.

Ideally, keep your total fructose consumption below 25 grams per day. If you have insulin resistance and are overweight, have high blood pressure, diabetes or high cholesterol, you’d be well advised to keep it under 15 grams per day.

In addition to eliminating or severely limiting fructose, it will be vital to eliminate all grains (including organic grains) and milk in your diet. Milk has a sugar called lactose, which has been shown to increase insulin resistance so it will be wise to avoid it if you are seeking to lose weight. Replace these dietary troublemakers with vegetables and healthy fats, such as organic pastured egg yolks, avocado, coconut oil, butter made from raw grass-fed organic milk, and nuts like almonds and pecans. Saturated fats are essential for building testosterone.

Research shows that a diet with less than 40 percent of energy as fat (and that mainly from animal sources, i.e. saturated) lead to a decrease in testosterone levels.12 My personal diet is about 70-80 percent healthy fat, and other experts agree that the ideal diet includes somewhere between 50-70 percent fat. I’ve detailed a step-by-step guide to this type of healthy eating program in my comprehensive nutrition plan, and I urge you to consult this guide if you are trying to lose weight.
2.Consume Plenty of Zinc: The mineral zinc is important for testosterone production, and supplementing your diet for as little as six weeks has been shown to cause a marked improvement in testosterone among men with low levels.13 Likewise, research has shown that restricting dietary sources of zinc leads to a significant decrease in testosterone, while zinc supplementation increases it14 — and even protects men from exercised-induced reductions in testosterone levels.15

Your diet is the best source of zinc; along with protein-rich foods like meats and fish, other good dietary sources of zinc include raw milk, raw cheese, beans, and yogurt or kefir made from raw milk. If you decide to use a zinc supplement, stick to a dosage of less than 40 mg a day, as this is the recommended adult upper limit. Taking too much zinc can interfere with your body’s ability to absorb other minerals, especially copper, and may cause nausea as a side effect.

3.Optimize Your Vitamin D Levels: Vitamin D, a steroid hormone, is essential for the healthy development of the nucleus of the sperm cell, and helps maintain semen quality and sperm count. Vitamin D also increases levels of testosterone, which may boost libido. In one study,16 overweight men who were given vitamin D supplements had a significant increase in testosterone levels after one year.

To get your levels into the healthy range of 50-70 ng/ml, appropriate sun exposure is your best bet. If sun exposure is not an option, a safe tanning bed (with electronic ballasts rather than magnetic ballasts, to avoid unnecessary exposure to EMF fields) can be used.

As a last resort, a vitamin D3 supplement can be taken orally, but research suggests the average adult needs to take 8,000 IU’s of vitamin D per day in order to elevate their levels above 40 ng/ml, which is the absolute minimum for disease prevention. Furthermore, if you opt for a supplement, you also need to make sure you’re getting sufficient amounts of vitamin K2, as these two nutrients work together. In fact, vitamin K2 deficiency is frequently the cause of symptoms associated with vitamin D toxicity, which includes inappropriate calcification that can lead to hardening of your arteries.

4.Have Effective Strategies to Address Stress: When you’re under a lot of stress, your body releases high levels of the stress hormone cortisol, which actually blocks the effects of testosterone.17 Chronic stress, and subsequently elevated levels of cortisol, could mean that testosterone’s effects are blocked in the long term, which is what you want to avoid. My favorite overall tool to manage stress is EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique). It’s a handy, free tool for unloading emotional baggage quickly and painlessly, and so easy that even children can learn it. Other common stress-reduction tools with a high success rate include prayer, meditation, laughter and yoga, for example. For more tips, see my article 10 Simple Steps to Help De-Stress.
5. Ancient Indian Herb, Ashwagandha, May Help: This perennial herb is known as an adaptogen, which can help boost stamina, endurance, and sexual energy. Research published in 201018 found that men taking the herb Ashwagandha experienced a significant increase in testosterone levels. Ashwagandha helps promote overall immune function, and can help increase your resistance to occasional stress.19 It also supports healthful levels of total lipids, cholesterol, and triglycerides already in the normal range. While some adaptogens are stimulants in disguise, this is not the case with Ashwagandha. It can give your morning exercise routine a boost, and when taken prior to bed, it can help you get a good night’s sleep as well. I recommend using only 100% organic Ashwagandha root, free of fillers, additives and excipients, to ensure quality.

Take Advantage of Your Body’s Innate Ability to Self-Correct and Heal

The fact that testosterone prescriptions have tripled over the past decade is a testament to the fact that men are increasingly suffering from feeling less than their best. Unfortunately, we still don’t know for sure whether hormone replacement therapy is entirely safe. Personally, I strongly recommend implementing lifestyle strategies that are known to optimize testosterone levels naturally before you do anything else.

If you’re still deficient in testosterone after implementing high-intensity exercise and strength training, along with the dietary strategies detailed above and, ideally, intermittent fasting, then you could try trans-mucosal DHEA. Again, remember to confer with a qualified health care practitioner and get your levels tested before supplementing with DHEA or any other hormone, including testosterone.

Personally, I’ve been able to maintain both testosterone and HGH levels comparable to that of men half my age, simply by implementing high intensity exercise and intermittent fasting, along with my standard dietary recommendations, which apply to everyone, regardless of age or gender. You have nothing to lose to give these strategies a try, and everything to gain.

One of the important strategies for healthy bones is to eat the right kind of foods. A diet full of processed foods will produce biochemical and metabolic conditions in your body that will decrease your bone density, so avoiding processed foods is definitely the first step in the right direction.

Eating high-quality, organic, biodynamic, locally-grown food will naturally increase your bone density and decrease your risk of developing osteoporosis. Along with your foods, your omega-3 fat content also has a major role in building healthy bone. I recommend krill oil, as I believe it’s a superior source of omega-3s.

Other nutrients, including calcium, vitamin D and K2, and magnesium, are also critical for strong bones—as is exercise, especially weight-bearing exercises.

Recent research presented at The Endocrine Society’s 95th Annual Meeting in San Francisco suggests that the timing of calcium and vitamin D supplementation may actually influence how your bones adapt to exercise, and help decrease exercise-induced calcium loss.

As reported by Medical News Today:1

“The timing of calcium supplementation, and not just the amount of supplementation, may be an important factor in how your skeleton adapts to exercise training… Previous research has shown that a year of intense training is associated with substantial decreases in bone mineral density…

Experts believe that this kind of exercise-induced bone loss could be related to the loss of calcium during exercise. As blood calcium levels drop, the parathyroid gland produces excess parathyroid hormone, which can mobilize calcium from your skeleton.”

How Bone Adapts to Exercise May Be Affected by Timing of Supplementation

The featured research study indicated that taking calcium prior to hitting the gym may help keep your blood levels of calcium more stable, compared to taking calcium after your workout. However, the study did not assess the long-term effects this might have on your bone density, and this, of course, is of utmost importance for anyone interested in building healthy bones.

According to the featured article:

“[E]xercise-induced decrease in blood calcium occurred whether calcium supplements were taken before or after exercising. Pre-exercise supplementation, however, resulted in less of a decrease.

Although not statistically significant, parathyroid hormone levels increased slightly less among cyclists who took calcium before exercising… The timing of calcium supplementation did not cause a difference in blood levels of a compound that is a biological indicator of bone loss. Both the before- and after-exercise groups exhibited 50 percent increases in the level of this compound, called CTX…”

The Critical Role of Vitamin K2 for Bone Health

There’s plenty of controversy on the issue of using calcium supplementation to ensure strong healthy bones. It’s important to realize that calcium works synergistically with vitamins D and K2, so taking calcium supplements alone may actually end up doing more harm than good. Dr. Kate Rheaume-Bleue has authored a comprehensive book on this topic titled: Vitamin K2 and the Calcium Paradox: How a Little Known Vitamin Could Save Your Life.

Dr. Robert Thompson M.D. also addressed this important issue in his book, The Calcium Lie. One of the tenets of his book is that bone is composed of at least a dozen minerals, and if you focus exclusively on calcium supplementation you are likely going to worsen your bone density.

Additionally you will actually increase your risk of osteoporosis. Interestingly, he proposes that one of the best practical alternatives is the use of natural, unprocessed salts, such as Himalayan salt, as they are one of the best sources of a wide variety of trace minerals.

So, while the featured research is interesting, I believe it falls far short in terms of making a health recommendation that will result in improved bone health. And while the researchers argue that timing, and not just dosage may play a significant role in bone adaptation to exercise, I would add that nutrient ratios and combinations may be even more important…

The researchers did combine calcium with vitamin D, which is important, but they did not address vitamin K2, which is critical. I say critical because the biological role of vitamin K2 is to help move calcium into the proper areas in your body, such as your bones and teeth. It also helps remove calcium from areas where it shouldn’t be, such as in your arteries and soft tissues.

Furthermore, if you take supplemental vitamin D, you also need to increase your intake of vitamin K2, because when you take vitamin D, your body creates more vitamin K2-dependent proteins—the proteins that help move the calcium around in your body. But you need vitamin K2 to activate those proteins. If they’re not activated, the calcium in your body will not be properly distributed and can lead to weaker bones and hardened arteries. In fact, vitamin K2 deficiency is actually what produces the symptoms of vitamin D toxicity, which includes inappropriate calcification that can lead to hardening of your arteries.

In a nutshell, it’s important to maintain the proper balance between all three of these nutrients: calcium, vitamin D and K2, as well as magnesium. Lack of balance between these four nutrients is why calcium supplements have become associated with increased risk of heart attack and stroke…

The optimal amounts of vitamin K2 are still under investigation, but it seems likely that 180 to 200 micrograms of vitamin K2 daily should be enough to activate your body’s K2-dependent proteins to shuttle the calcium to and from the appropriate areas. Most Americans get nowhere near this amount though. In fact, an estimated 80 percent of Americans do not get enough vitamin K2 in their diet to activate their K2 proteins, which is similar to the deficiency rate of vitamin D.

How Can You Tell if You’re Lacking in Vitamin K2?

There is no test for vitamin K2 deficiency, but you can get an idea of whether or not you may be lacking in this critical nutrient simply by assessing your diet and lifestyle. If you have osteoporosis, heart disease or diabetes, then you’re likely deficient in vitamin K2 as these conditions are all associated with K2 deficiency. If you do not have any of those health conditions, but do NOT regularly eat high amounts of the following foods, then your likelihood of being vitamin K2 deficient is still very high:
•Grass-fed organic animal products (i.e. eggs, butter, dairy)
•Certain fermented foods such as natto, or vegetables fermented using a starter culture of vitamin K2-producing bacteria. Please note that most fermented vegetables are not really high in vitamin K2 and come in at about 50 mcg per serving. However, if specific starter cultures are used they can have ten times as much, or 500 mcg per serving.
•Goose liver pâté
•Certain cheeses such as Brie and Gouda (these two are particularly high in K2, containing about 75 mcg per ounce). While cheese from grass-fed milk would be an added boon, it’s not necessary for the cheese to be grass-fed because the K2 is not derived from the milk itself; it’s derived from the bacteria in the cheese. So what’s important is how the cheese was made.

Fermented vegetables, which supply beneficial bacteria to your gut, can also be a great source of vitamin K if you ferment your own using the proper starter culture. We recently had samples of high-quality fermented organic vegetables made with our specific starter culture tested, and were shocked to discover that not only does a typical serving of about two to three ounces contain about 10 trillion beneficial bacteria, but it also contained 500 mcg of vitamin K2.

Note that not every strain of bacteria makes K2. For example, most yoghurt has almost no vitamin K2. Certain types of cheeses are very high in K2, and others are not. It really depends on the specific bacteria. You can’t assume that any fermented food will be high in K2, but some fermented foods are very high in K2, such as natto. Others, such as miso and tempeh, are not.

Mind Your Sodium-Potassium Levels as Well

Two additional nutrients that play an important role are sodium and potassium—you want the optimal ratio between these two in order to maintain your bone mass. If you eat a diet loaded with processed foods, there’s a good chance your potassium to sodium ratio is far from optimal, which is typically done by consuming a diet of processed foods, which are notoriously low in potassium while high in sodium.

An imbalanced sodium to potassium ratio can contribute to a number of diseases, including osteoporosis. To ensure you get these two important nutrients in more appropriate ratios, simply ditch processed foods, which are very high in processed salt and low in potassium and other essential nutrients. Instead, eat a diet of whole, unprocessed foods, ideally organically grown to ensure optimal nutrient content. This type of diet will naturally provide much larger amounts of potassium in relation to sodium, which is optimal for your bone health, and your overall health. If you find it difficult to eat the recommended amount of vegetables, give vegetable juicing a try.

Exercise Also Builds Strong Bones

The other component you can’t ignore if you want strong, healthy bones is weight bearing exercises like strength training. Bone-building is a dynamic process, so you want to make sure you exert enough force on your bones to stimulate the osteoblasts to build new bone. Further, bone is living tissue that requires regular physical activity in order to renew and rebuild itself, so you should make exercise a lifelong commitment.

Peak bone mass is achieved in adulthood and then begins a slow decline, but exercise can help you to maintain healthy bone mass as you get older, without having to resort to dangerous bisphosphonate drugs.

Weight-bearing exercise is actually one of the most effective remedies against osteoporosis, because as you put more tension on your muscles it puts more pressure on your bones, which then respond by continuously creating fresh, new bone. In addition, as you build more muscle, and make the muscle that you already have stronger, you also put more constant pressure on your bones. A good weight-bearing exercise to incorporate into your routine (depending on your current level of fitness, of course) is a walking lunge, as it helps build bone density in your hips, even without any additional weights.

Ideally, though, your fitness program should be comprehensive, providing the necessary weight-bearing activities for bone health while also improving your cardiovascular fitness and fat-burning capabilities with high-intensity exercises. For a more complete, in-depth explanation of my Peak Fitness regimen, please review my previous article, The Major Exercise Mistake I Made for Over 30 Years. Implementing Peak Fitness — with its array of weight-bearing exercises for bone health and Peak Exercises for disease prevention, fat loss and more — may be one of the best lifestyle changes you could ever make.

The Power Plate—A Valuable Exercise Tool for Prevention and Treatment of Brittle Bones

Acceleration Training, a.k.a. Whole Body Vibrational Training (WBVT) using a Power Plate has also been shown to be a safe, natural way to ward off osteoporosis, and it’s gentle enough even for the disabled and elderly. For example, in one six-month long study, WBVT was found to produce a significant increase in hip area bone density in postmenopausal women, while conventional training was only able to slow the rate of deterioration.2 A total of 90 women, aged 58 to 70 years old, were divided into three groups:
1.The first group did up to 30 minutes of WBVT three times a week. Static and dynamic exercises for the upper leg and hip area included squats and lunges.
2.The second group did 60 minutes of conventional weight training three times per week.
3.The control group did not exercise at all.

The researchers concluded that Acceleration Training might be a solution for reversing bone loss and eliminating osteoporosis, stating that:

“The whole body vibration group got positive results: strength increased as much as 16 percent in upper leg muscles, while bone density at the hip increased by 1.5 percent. In addition, the whole body vibration group showed an improvement in postural control and balance, increased muscle strength and lean mass while losing body fat and fat mass. The conventionally trained subjects were able to slow the rate of bone loss, which is consistent with previous published studies on weight training and bone loss. The control group subjects continued to lose bone mineral density at the average rate.”

NASA has also tested vibration platforms to help prevent the bone loss that occurs during space travel. According to a 2001 article in NASA Science:3

“…NASA-funded scientists suggest that astronauts might prevent bone loss by standing on a lightly vibrating plate for 10 to 20 minutes each day… The same therapy, they say, might eventually be used to treat some of the millions of people who suffer from bone loss, called osteoporosis here on Earth.

…Although the vibrations are subtle they have had a profound effect on bone loss in laboratory animals such as turkeys, sheep, and rats. In one study (published in the October 2001 issue of The FASEB Journal), only 10 minutes per day of vibration therapy promoted near-normal rates of bone formation in rats that were prevented from bearing weight on their hind limbs during the rest of the day.”

Build Strong, Healthy Bones the Natural Way

To recap, your bones are actually composed of several different minerals, and if you focus on calcium alone, you will likely weaken your bones and increase your risk of osteoporosis as Dr. Robert Thompson explains in his book, The Calcium Lie. Remember, calcium, vitamins D and K2, and magnesium work synergistically together to promote strong, healthy bones, and your sodium to potassium ratio also play an important role in maintaining your bone mass. Ideally, you’d get all or most of these nutrients from your diet (with the exception of vitamin D). This includes:
•Plant-derived calcium: raw milk from pasture-raised cows (who eat the plants), leafy green vegetables, the pith of citrus fruits, carob, and sesame seeds
•Magnesium: raw organic cacao and supplemental magnesium threonate if need be
•Vitamin K2: Grass-fed organic animal products (i.e. eggs, butter, dairy), certain fermented foods such as natto, or vegetables fermented using a starter culture of vitamin K2-producing bacteria. Goose liver pâté, and certain cheeses such as Brie and Gouda
•Trace minerals: Himalayan Crystal Salt, which contains all 84 elements found in your body, or other natural, unprocessed salt (NOT regular table salt!)
•Vitamin D: Ideally from appropriate sun exposure (or a safe tanning bed), as it’s virtually impossible to get sufficient amounts from food. As a last resort, you could use a supplement, but if you do, you may also need to supplement with vitamin K2 to maintain ideal ratios

The bottom line?

One of the best ways to achieve healthy bones is a diet rich in fresh, raw whole foods that maximizes natural minerals so that your body has the raw materials it needs to do what it was designed to do. In addition, you need healthy sun exposure along with regular, weight-bearing exercise.

Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States.

In fact, the incidence of skin cancer cases each year is higher than all other cancer combined, and has risen more than 300 percent since 1992.

There are now more than 3.5 million nonmelanoma skin cancer cases diagnosed every year in the United States, bringing numbers well into epidemic proportions.

Clearly Americans’ well-intentioned efforts to cover up with sunscreen are not doing the trick, and I’ll explain some of the reasons for this below, but first I want to share with you a ground-breaking, completely natural substance that research shows may cure nonmelanoma skin cancers.

It’s called Solasodine rhamnosyl glycosides (BEC), which is a fancy name for extracts from plants of the Solanaceae family, such as eggplant, tomato, potato, Bell peppers, and tobacco.

Eggplant and Similar Plant Extracts Used for Treating Cancer Since 1825

There are reports that extracts of plants from the Solanaceae family of vegetables are effective for treating cancer dating back nearly 200 years to 1825, according to natural health pioneer Dr. Jonathan Wright. However, it wasn’t until much later, after the 1950s, that they were formally studied.

The leading researcher in this area today is Dr. Bill E. Cham, who reported as early as 1991 in Cancer Letters that:

“A cream formulation containing high concentrations (10%) of a standard mixture of solasodine glycosides (BEC) has been shown to be effective in the treatment of malignant and benign human skin tumors.

We now report that a preparation … which contains very low concentrations of BEC (0.005%) is effective in the treatment of keratoses, basal cell carcinomas (BCCs) and squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) of the skin of humans. In an open study, clinical and histological observations indicated that all lesions (56 keratoses, 39 BCCs and 29 SCCs) treated with [the preparation] had regressed.”

A subsequent study by separate researchers also noted that a 0.005% mixture of solasodine glycosides called BEC5 is a “safe therapy for basal cell carcinoma, with a cure rate of 66% at 8 weeks and 78% at 1 year follow-up.”

The findings are exciting, to say the least, because while basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas — the two most common types of skin cancer — are highly curable even by conventional medical standards, there are serious disadvantages with the common treatments. As Dr. Cham reported, the treatment and management of nonmelanoma skin cancers cost more than $1.4 billion per year in the United States, a number that is increasing exponentially each year and quickly becoming unsustainable.

Further, the common treatments, surgery and radiation therapy, pose the following problems:
•Surgery may not remove all cancerous cells
•Painful with slow healing
•Scarring often occurs, which can be cosmetically unappealing, especially if the cancer is on your face
•Serious health risks of radiation therapy
•High recurrence rates have been reported following conventional treatment

That affordable eggplant extract appears to effectively eliminate cancerous lesions with absolutely no scarring and only minor itching and burning as side effects is impressive.

Two Skin Cancer Case Studies Show Amazing Results With Eggplant-Extract Cream

Dr. Cham’s latest study was published in the International Journal of Clinical Medicine this year. The paper includes two impressive case reports of 60-something men who were suffering from large basal cell carcinoma (BCC) or squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), which had plagued them for years. The results upon treatment with a cream formulation of BEC (eggplant extract) twice a day are astounding, and you can view the pictures here:
•In the first case, treatment with the eggplant-extract cream resulted in rapid break down of the tumor. After two weeks, the lesion was reduced to about half its original size, and after 14 weeks the cancer was clinically eliminated with no scar tissue formation. Even the hairs had regrown where the tumor was originally.
•In the second case, after six weeks of treatment with eggplant-extract cream the large skin cancer lesion appeared “cleaner” and some of the cancerous tissue had been replaced with normal tissue. In another three weeks, the lesion was much smaller and more normal tissue was apparent. After a total of 14 weeks, the lesion was completely eliminated with no scar tissue present.

BEC5 Eggplant Extract Kills Only Cancerous Cells, Leaving Healthy Cells Alone

Interestingly, the BEC, and the specific formulation BEC5, which has been used successfully on more than 80,000 patients according to Dr. Cham, appears to impact only cancerous cells leaving normal cells alone. Dr. Cham explains:

The mode of action of SRGs [glycoalkaloids solasodine rhamnosy glycosides (BEC)] is unlike any current antineoplastic [anti-tumor] agent. Specific receptors for the SRGs present only on cancer cells but not normal cells are the first step of events that lead to apoptosis in cancer cells only, and this may explain why during treatment the cancer cells were being eliminated and normal cells were replacing the killed cancer cells with no scar tissue being formed.

The two cases presented here are large and anatomically difficult to treat lesions. There is little doubt that the cosmetic end result of this type of treatment is at least, or more likely, superior to other available treatments. At the completion of treatment, it could not be distinguished where the tumors once were!”

Unfortunately, simply eating eggplant, tomatoes, peppers or similar veggies, while beneficial for many reasons, will not induce this same effect because the active components are not able to effectively penetrate your cells. This requires the addition of glycosides, molecules with various simple sugars attached to them that can latch on to receptors found on skin cancer cells.

Dr. Wright explains:

“BEC5 is a name for a mixture of 1/3 solasonine and 1/3 solamargine in the “triglycoside” form, and 1/3 “diglycosides and monoglycosides” of these two basic molecules. Solasonine and solamargine themselves are actually very similar (but not identical to) human cholesterol and steroid molecules.

By themselves, solasonine and solamargine don’t have anticancer activity because they can’t penetrate into cells, cancerous or normal. That’s why just eating the foods that contain these compounds won’t eliminate your skin cancer or even reduce your risk of getting it. In order for them to be effective, they need to be able to get into the cells. That’s where the glycosides come in. Glycoside is a term used to describe molecules with various simple sugars attached to them.

One of these simple sugars, called rhamnose, selectively latches on to receptors present only in skin cancer cell membranes and in actinic keratosis. When you combine the solasonine and solamargine with rhamnose, they can get into the cells where they cause cancer cell death by destroying cell components called lysosomes. Normal cells escape any harm, since the BEC5 can’t get into them.”

Lack of Sunlight Increases Your Risk of Melanoma Skin Cancer

What’s even better than an inexpensive, safe and natural cure for skin cancer is, of course, preventing it in the first place. And to do that you’ve got to get your mind around this fact: In fact, doing this will actually increase your risk of melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, because it will decimate your vitamin D levels.

Avoiding the sun and slathering on sunscreen is NOT the best way to prevent skin cancer!

Your organs convert the vitamin D in your bloodstream into calcitriol, which is the hormonal or activated version of vitamin D. Your organs then use it to repair damage, including damage from cancer cells and tumors. Exposure to sunlight is the optimal way to maintain therapeutic blood levels of vitamin D, so if you’ve been shunning the sun, or applying sunscreen, which blocks your body’s ability to produce vitamin D, you’re likely deficient and missing out on these anti-cancer benefits.

Vitamin D’s protective effect against cancer works in multiple ways, including:
•Increasing the self-destruction of mutated cells (which, if allowed to replicate, could lead to cancer)
•Reducing the spread and reproduction of cancer cells
•Causing cells to become differentiated (cancer cells often lack differentiation)
•Reducing the growth of new blood vessels from pre-existing ones, which is a step in the transition of dormant tumors turning cancerous

A study by Dr. William Grant, Ph.D., internationally recognized research scientist and vitamin D expert, found that about 30 percent of cancer deaths — which amounts to 2 million worldwide and 200,000 in the United States — could be prevented each year with higher levels of vitamin D!

Several studies have also confirmed that appropriate sun exposure actually helps prevent skin cancer. In fact, melanoma occurrence has been found to decrease with greater sun exposure, and can be increased by sunscreens. One such study revealed that melanoma patients who had higher levels of sun exposure were less likely to die than other melanoma patients, and patients who already had melanoma and got a lot of sun exposure were prone to a less aggressive tumor type.

Another Italian study, published in the European Journal of Cancer, also confirmed and supported earlier studies showing improved survival rates in melanoma patients who were exposed to sunlight more frequently in the time before their melanoma was diagnosed.

Melanoma is actually more common in indoor workers than in outdoor workers, and is more common on regions of your body that are not exposed to the sun at all. UVB radiation has been found to delay the appearance of melanoma if you are genetically predisposed or prone to skin cancer.

Why Most Sunscreens Will Not Protect You Against Non-Melanoma Skin Cancer

Aside from their impact on your vitamin D levels, most sunscreens are worse than useless because they provide inadequate UVA protection. There are two primary types of UV rays from sunlight that you need to be concerned with, the vitamin-D-producing UVB rays and the skin-damaging UVA light.

Both UVA and UVB can cause tanning and burning, although UVB does so far more rapidly. UVA, however, penetrates your skin more deeply than UVB, and may be a much more important factor in photoaging, wrinkles and non-melanoma skin cancers.

However, if you think your sunscreen is protecting you from UVA, you’re likely being deceived, as a 2011 Environmental Working Group analysis found that more than 60 percent of sunscreen products reviewed provide inadequate UVA protection, and are actually so ineffective that they would not be approved in the European market.

Since UVA’s are inherently more damaging AND persistently high during all daylight hours, wearing a sunscreen that doesn’t protect you from UVA is going to give you virtually no benefit and be detrimental to your overall health. So it’s important to understand that if you’re using sunscreen, you need to be certain you are actually getting UVA protection.

Europe is taking a far more stringent stance to ensure that consumers are protected against the damaging UVA light when they use sunscreens, but in the United States sunscreen standards fall short.

As EWG reported:

” … Europe’s proposed standards for UVA protection are far more stringent than FDA’s. The agency has spent years finalizing a rule that would merely require disclosure of UVA protection levels, while Europe has proposed that sunscreens provide UVA protection at a level at least one-third as strong as the sunburn protection level (SPF).

This means the minimum UVA protection in Europe would be roughly equivalent to FDA’s proposed three-star protection level. Requiring balanced protection across the UVB and UVA spectrum has the secondary effect of limiting sky-high SPF values, ensuring that sunburn protection isn’t out of step with protection from other health problems, such as free radical damage and skin cancer.

Very few sunscreens on the U.S. market would meet the baseline UVA protection standards proposed in Europe.”

Using the Sun for Skin Cancer Prevention

The key to effectively using the sun for skin cancer protection is to find a healthy balance between getting enough natural sunlight to maximize your vitamin D production and maintain your optimal health, while at the same time protecting yourself from damage that occurs from overexposure to the sun.

A good rule of thumb to follow is once your skin turns the lightest shade of pink (if you’re Caucasian), it’s time to get out of the sun. Past this point of exposure your body will not produce any more vitamin D and you’ll begin to have sun damage — and sunburn anywhere on your body is not good for your health.

You should seek to use natural sunlight as your primary source of vitamin D, but during the winter a safe tanning bed (one that uses electronic, not magnetic, ballasts and has lower levels of UVA than even the sun does, as most non-safe beds have higher UVA levels than the sun) is the next best alternative.

If neither of these options are available to you then you can use an oral vitamin D3 supplement, but keep in mind you may miss out on all of the benefits, and researchers have found that daily intakes of vitamin D by adults in the range of 8,000 IU are needed so your blood levels are in the therapeutic range. You can find out more about how to use vitamin D therapeutically to protect your health here.

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Your Diet Can Also Help Protect You from Skin Cancer

Consuming a healthy diet full of natural antioxidants is a useful strategy to ensure your body is primed to have the best defense against overexposure to the sun’s harmful UVA rays at all times.

Fresh, raw, unprocessed foods deliver the nutrients that your body needs to maintain a healthy balance of omega-6 and omega-3 oils in your skin, which is your first line of defense against sunburn. Fresh, raw vegetables also provide your body with an abundance of powerful antioxidants that will help you fight the free radicals caused by sun damage that can lead to burns and cancer. As Wright also recommends, some of the most important foods and nutrients to focus on for skin-cancer prevention include:

Nutrient

Found in these foods …

Beta-carotene

Sweet potatoes, spinach, kale, collard greens and most yellow/orange veggies

Lycopene

Tomatoes (including in cooked form in sauces, etc.), watermelon, papaya, pink guava

Lutein

Spinach, kale, peas, Brussels sprouts, zucchini, pistachios, broccoli, egg yolks

Epi­gallocatechin gallate (ECGC) and polyphenols

Green and black tea, rosemary, thyme, oregano, garlic, cocoa

Flavonoids

Citrus, especially citrus peel

Proanthocyanadins

Cocoa, grape seeds

Cruciferous veggies

Broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, kale

The recently appreciated highly beneficial carotenoid called astaxanthin has also piqued the interest of researchers due to its ability to reduce signs of aging by helping protect your skin from sun damage. Astaxanthin is extracted from marine algae in response to exposure to UV light. This is the way the algae protects itself from UVB damage, so it makes perfect sense that this deeply pigmented substance would have the capacity to “shield” you when it is taken in appropriate quantities for a sufficient time (usually several weeks) to saturate your body’s tissues.

Cyanotech Corporation funded a study through an independent consumer research laboratory to measure the skin’s resistance to both UVA and UVB light before and after astaxanthin supplementation. The result was that in only three weeks of taking 4 mg per day subjects showed a significant increase in the amount of time necessary for UV radiation to redden their skin. You can find more information on how to use astaxanthin to help protect your skin from sun damage here.

Your body is made to be in the sun, and, when done properly, sun exposure will be one of the best ways you can help reduce your risk of skin, and many other forms of, cancer. In the event you do develop non-melanoma skin cancer, talk to your holistic health care practitioner about all the treatment options available, including the potentially least expensive and least invasive ones, like eggplant extract.

A growing body of research clearly shows the absolute necessity of vitamin D for good health and disease prevention. However, despite vitamin D’s role in keeping your body ticking along like a well-oiled clock, you are likely deficient in the “sunshine vitamin”—because the majority of people are.

Our vitamin D levels have dropped as a result of being scared sunless by those spreading misinformation that the sun causes melanoma, a myth that survives by mass promotion but really lacks any factual basis. It has been repeated so many times that most people believe it.

Vitamin D affects your biological function by influencing nearly 3,000 of your genes through vitamin D receptors. In fact, vitamin D receptors are found throughout your body, which should come as no surprise, given we humans evolved in the sun.

Recent research1,2 has also revealed yet another benefit of sun exposure beyond the protective benefits of producing vitamin D, namely the production of nitric oxide—a compound that lowers your blood pressure.

According to the researchers, the heart-health benefits from this may outweigh the risk of developing skin cancer. Your vitamin D level varies not only with time of day, season, and geographic location, but also with your genetics.

For example, if you have dark skin, you may need up to 10 times more sun exposure to maintain an optimal vitamin D level as a person with pale skin. Redheads have to be particularly careful, as they appear to be genetically predisposed to developing melanoma, regardless of whether or not they spend time in the sun.

Tens of Thousands of Health Studies Attest to Vitamin D’s Importance

Sunshine’s gifts extend well beyond vitamin D production. As discussed in the featured article by Sayer Ji,3 five of the many noteworthy properties of sunlight include:
1.Pain-killing (analgesic) properties
2.Increased subcutaneous fat metabolism
3.Regulation of human lifespan (solar cycles appear to be able to directly affect the human genome, thereby influencing lifespan)
4.Daytime sun exposure improves evening alertness
5.Conversion to metabolic energy (i.e. we may “ingest” energy directly from the sun, like plants do)

When it comes to vitamin D production, the benefits are simply immeasurable. In fact, correcting a vitamin D deficiency may cut your risk of dying in half, according to an analysis of more than 10,000 individuals.

According to a January 2013 press release by Orthomolecular Medicine4, 3,600 medical papers with vitamin D in the title or abstract were published in 2012 alone, bringing the grand total to 33,800. Research to date shows vitamin D has far reaching benefits to your physical and mental health, with the following chart representing only the tip of the sunbeam.

Pregnancy outcomes (reduced risk of Cesarean section and pre-eclampsia)

Autism

Childhood language impairment

Cardiovascular disease

Type 1 diabetes

Alzheimer’s disease

Type 2 diabetes

Bacterial and viral infections

Falls and bone fractures

16 different types of cancer

Stroke

All-cause mortality

Another Way Sun Exposure Protects Your Heart Health

UVB exposure also improves your mood and energy level, helps regulate melatonin, and, as mentioned earlier, increases nitric oxide production5, which benefits your cardiovascular system. With regards to the latter:

“Richard Weller, Senior Lecturer in Dermatology, and colleagues, say the effect is such that overall, sun exposure could improve health and even prolong life, because the benefits of reducing blood pressure, cutting heart attacks and strokes, far outweigh the risk of getting skin cancer,” Medical News Today reports6.

Weller and colleagues found that the body’s production of nitric oxide is separate from production of vitamin D… Human skin contains large stores of nitrite (NO2) and nitrate (NO3). The researchers note that while nitrate is “biologically inert”, the action of sunlight can reduce it to active nitrite and nitric oxide (NO).They found that circulatory nitrate fell and nitrite rose during UV and heat exposure, but not during exposure to heat only. There was no difference in vitamin D levels.

Weller says in a statement that: ‘We suspect that the benefits to heart health of sunlight will outweigh the risk of skin cancer. The work we have done provides a mechanism that might account for this, and also explains why dietary vitamin D supplements alone will not be able to compensate for lack of sunlight… If this confirms that sunlight reduces the death rate from all causes, we will need to reconsider our advice on sun exposure.'”

Skin Cancer, in Brief

Before we discuss melanoma, you need a basic understanding of the three most common types of skin cancer, each named for the type of cells affected:
1.Basal cell carcinoma (BCC): Begins in the basal cell layer of the skin, typically on the face; the most common form of skin cancer and the most common type of cancer in humans; least likely skin cancer to spread.7
2.Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC): Begins in the squamous cells, typically on the face, neck, ears, lips, and backs of hands; tends to grow and spread a bit more than BCC.
3.Melanoma: Begins in the melanocytes (the cells that produce the pigment melanin, responsible for your tan); melanin protects the deeper layers of your skin from excess radiation. Melanoma is more likely than other types of skin cancer to spread to other parts of your body and causes more deaths than any other type of skin cancer.8

Don’t Fall for the Melanoma Myth

If you believe the lure of the sun is equivalent to the siren’s call for melanoma, you’ll be relieved to learn melanoma is not actually caused by sun exposure, unlike the other two types of skin cancer, BCC and SCC. Although the reported number of new cases of melanoma in the US has been reportedly increasing for more than 30 years,9 a landmark study in the British Journal of Dermatology10 suggests this apparent increase is a result of non-cancerous lesions being misclassified as “stage 1 melanoma.” In other words, people are being diagnosed with melanoma even when they have only a minimal, non-cancerous lesion, and these diagnoses are significantly skewing cancer statistics.11 The sun is nothing more than a scapegoat in this phenomenon of “increased melanoma.”

But this misdiagnosis is doing more than just skewing statistics—it’s causing a mountain of unnecessary melanoma surgeries. A study in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology12 found that 90 percent of melanoma excisions end up NOT being melanoma at all. But if the sun doesn’t cause melanoma, then what does?

The REAL Role of the Sun in Melanoma

As with all serious diseases, there are multiple interacting factors that cause your immune system to go awry, such as nutrition, environmental toxins, stress, inadequate sleep, etc. But for melanoma, the sun does appear to have a significant role—melanoma may signify too little of it!

Studies show melanoma mortality actually decreases after UV exposure. Additionally, melanoma lesions do not predominate sun-exposed skin, which is why sunscreens have proven ineffective in preventing it. Exposure to sunlight, particularly UVB, is protective against melanoma—or rather, the vitamin D your body produces in response to UVB radiation is protective. The following passage comes from The Lancet:13

“Paradoxically, outdoor workers have a decreased risk of melanoma compared with indoor workers, suggesting that chronic sunlight exposure can have a protective effect.”

And this from the British Medical Journal:14

“There is solid descriptive, quantitative, and mechanistic proof that ultraviolet rays cause the main skin cancers (basal and squamous). They develop in pale, sun exposed skin, are related to degree of exposure and latitude, are fewer with avoidance and protection, are readily produced experimentally, and are the overwhelmingly predominant tumor in xeroderma pigmentosum, where DNA repair of ultraviolet light damage is impaired. None of these is found with melanoma.”

The bottom line is, by avoiding the sun, your risk for vitamin D deficiency skyrockets, which increases your odds of developing melanoma and a multitude of other diseases. The risks associated with insufficient vitamin D are far greater than those posed by basal cell or squamous cell carcinomas, which are fairly benign by comparison, as you’ll see by reading on.

Vitamin D Could Prevent 90 Percent of Breast Cancers

Download Interview Transcript

Theories linking vitamin D deficiency to cancer have been tested and confirmed in more than 200 epidemiological studies, and understanding of its physiological basis stems from more than 2,500 laboratory studies. In the above interview, GrassrootsHealth founder Carole Baggerly believes 90 percent of ordinary breast cancer is related to vitamin D deficiency. In fact, breast cancer has been described as a “vitamin D deficiency syndrome.” The way vitamin D interferes with breast cancer’s ability to spread is by affecting the structure of those cells—without adequate vitamin D, they fall apart and are forced to “overmultiply” in order to survive.

Previous research has shown that optimizing your vitamin D levels can reduce your risk for as many as 16 different types of cancer, including pancreatic, lung, ovarian, breast, prostate, and skin cancers. A study of menopausal women showed that maintaining vitamin D serum levels of 40ng/ml lowers overall cancer risk by 77 percent.

Two recent papers in the journal Science Express15 shed light on how cancer might begin. A cancer cell can be created when unusual mutations occur in a small area of its DNA that controls and regulates its genes, as contrasted with mutations in the genes themselves. The mutations spur the cell to make telomerase. One of the functions of telomerase is to prevent telomere shortening, which leads to cell death. According to Harvard researchers, abundant telomerase is so important to cancers that it appears in nine out of ten.

In addition to being a strong cancer preventative, vitamin D is crucial for pregnant women and their babies, lowering the risk for preterm birth, low birth weight, and C-section. And sadly, 80 percent of pregnant women have inadequate vitamin D levels.

Low Vitamin D in Pregnancy May Increase Your Baby’s Risk for Multiple Sclerosis Later in Life

Sunshine is so important to your overall health that science is now finding a connection between the strength of your immune system and your birthday, called the “birth month effect.” If you were born in the spring, you are statistically more vulnerable to developing an autoimmune disease such as multiple sclerosis (MS), than if you were born in the fall.16, 17

Why would this be?

Some researchers suggest it’s related to a pregnant woman’s vitamin D levels during her baby’s gestation. April and May babies have been gestating during the colder, darker months, as opposed to November and December babies, who’ve been developing over the spring and summer. Now a study in JAMA Neurology18 shows this hunch may be correct, suggesting a mechanism related to thymic development. Another study suggests sun exposure and vitamin D may play roles in the CNS demyelination associated with MS.19

And the sun can lift your mood! New research published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine shows that Google searches for mental health related issues drop by 15 to 42 percent during the summer months, which could very well be related to the boost in vitamin D.20 Vitamin D deficiency is a known factor in cognitive impairment and dementia.

Practicing Safe Sunning

Safely exposing your bare skin to the sun is the best way to optimize your vitamin D levels, and is therefore the best protection against melanoma. Sunburn should be avoided at all cost. I recommend reading our article about safe sunning guidelines and listening to the video above for detailed instructions about how to do this safely and effectively.

Vitamin D3 is an oil-soluble steroid hormone (the term “vitamin” is a misnomer) that forms when your skin is exposed to UVB radiation from the sun or a safe tanning bed. When UVB strikes the surface of your skin, your skin converts a cholesterol derivative into vitamin D3. It takes up to 48 hours for this D3 to be absorbed into your bloodstream to raise your vitamin D levels. Therefore, it’s important to avoid washing your skin with soap for 48 hours after sun exposure. In case you do develop a sunburn, immediately apply raw aloe vera, as it’s one of the best skin remedies.

As a general guideline, research by GrassrootsHealth suggests that adults need about 8,000 IU’s per day to achieve a serum level of 40 ng/ml. If you opt for a vitamin D supplement, you also need to boost your intake of vitamin K2 through food and/or a supplement. How do you know if your vitamin D level is in the right range? The most important factor is having your vitamin D serum level tested every six months, as people vary widely in their response to ultraviolet exposure or oral D3 supplementation. Your goal is to reach a clinically relevant serum level of 50-70 ng/ml.

Overuse of Sunscreen May Turn You into a Melanoma Magnet

Following the advise of health officials’ to slather on sunscreen may increase your melanoma risk instead of decreasing it, which is certainly not what you want. Indeed, you never want to let yourself burn. However, if you practice safe sunning, you will avail yourself of all of the sun’s health benefits with none of the risk.

If you do use a sunscreen, please be careful about which product you choose as many sunscreen products contain chemicals you don’t want absorbed into your body. According to the Environmental Working Group’s 2012 Sunscreen Guide,21 about 75 percent of sunscreens contain potentially harmful ingredients, such as oxybenzone and retinyl palmitate. Avoid products with SPFs higher than 50, and make sure yours offers protection against both UVA and UVB rays.

Keep in mind SPF only protects against UVBs—but it’s the UVAs that increase your risk for skin cancer and are responsible for photoaging your skin. Recall that it’s the UVBs that stimulate your vitamin D production, so you don’t want to block out too many of them.

Using an “internal sunscreen” is an alternative to topical sunblock agents. Astaxanthin—a potent antioxidant—has been found to offer effective protection against sun damage when taken as a daily supplement. It can also be used topically and a number of topical sunscreen products contain it. Some sunscreens are also starting to use astaxanthin as an ingredient to protect your skin from damage. As an alternative, you can cover up with lightweight clothing to protect yourself. Sometimes we forget about the simple things, like simply wearing a hat.

For the latest information about vitamin D, please visit our Vitamin D News and Information page.

How Vitamin D Performance Testing Can Help Optimize Your Health

Additionally, a robust and growing body of research clearly shows that vitamin D is absolutely critical for good health and disease prevention. Vitamin D affects your DNA through vitamin D receptors (VDRs), which bind to specific locations of the human genome. Scientists have identified nearly 3,000 genes that are influenced by vitamin D levels, and vitamin D receptors have been found throughout the human body.

Is it any wonder then that no matter what disease or condition is investigated, vitamin D appears to play a crucial role? This is why I am so excited about the D*Action Project by GrassrootsHealth. It is showing how you can take action today on known science with a consensus of experts without waiting for institutional lethargy. It has shown how by combining the science of measurement (of vitamin D levels) with the personal choice of taking action and, the value of education about individual measures that one can truly be in charge of their own health.

In order to spread this health movement to more communities, the project needs your involvement. This is an ongoing campaign during the month of February, and will become an annual event.

To participate, simply purchase the D*Action Measurement Kit and follow the registration instructions included. (Please note that 100 percent of the proceeds from the kits go to fund the research project. I do not charge a single dime as a distributor of the test kits.)

As a participant, you agree to test your vitamin D levels twice a year during a five-year program, and share your health status to demonstrate the public health impact of this nutrient. There is a $65 fee every 6 months for your sponsorship of the project, which includes a test kit to be used at home, and electronic reports on your ongoing progress. You will get a follow up email every six months reminding you “it’s time for your next test and health survey.”

Science tells us that kindness directly influences your propensity for happiness. But kindness does more than that; it not only improves your health but increases your longevity. It’s a proven biological fact.

But what happens with the opposite scenario? Research also shows that people who can’t extend kindness to others or receive it for themselves are just as unhappy as they are unkind, and the sad fact is chronically unhappy people don’t live very long.

Kind of makes you want to get happier, doesn’t it? But if the central key is kindness, it usually involves other people, whether it’s relatives, coworkers or the cashier at the corner grocery.

Healthy Relationships – Longer Life

It should come as no surprise that that the way an individual interacts with others is directly linked to his or her mental and emotional health, and vice versa.

A 2010 meta-analysis1 on the kindness-related-to-long-life premise combined the results of 148 studies. The conclusion is that the types of social relationships someone enjoys – or doesn’t – can actually put them at risk for premature death. In fact, researchers found:

“…a 50% increased likelihood of survival for participants with stronger social relationships. This finding remained consistent across age, sex, initial health status, cause of death and follow-up period.

Significant differences were found across the type of social measurement evaluated… The association was strongest for complex measures of social integration … and lowest for binary indicators of residential status (living alone versus with others).”

The study continued:

“Some experts think that social isolation is bad for human health. They point to a 1988 review of five prospective studies… that showed that people with fewer social relationships die earlier on average than those with more social relationships2.”

The study also noted that people, especially in the U.S, may be becoming more socially isolated3. Isolation, by the way, means fewer opportunities to experience kindness, either through extending or receiving it.

The social interaction studies were so precise that scientists could compare negative results of social isolation with mortality statistics produced by smoking, alcohol consumption, obesity and lack of physical activity. At the same time, affirming social relationships were found to positively affect longevity the same way that lowering blood pressure and maintaining a healthy weight do4.

‘Loving-kindness’ Meditation – Opening Your Heart, Not Just Your Mind

Another, clinical study at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, explored the question as to which aspects of social relationships are most significant in predicting whether participants are more likely to enjoy a long, satisfying life?

Sixty-five faculty and staff members participated in the study, which looked at whether positive thoughts and focused, mental good-will exercises aimed at themselves and others might measurably combat stress.

Each participant was randomly assigned to one of two groups: the first group joined a class generating positive emotions through “loving-kindness” meditation for one hour for a period of six weeks; the second to a non-treatment waiting list used as a control group for comparison.

“In the class, the participants were instructed to sit and think compassionately about others by starting to contemplate their own worries and concerns and then moving out to include those of more of their social contacts.

People were taught to silently repeat phrases like ‘May you feel safe, may you feel happy, may you feel healthy, may you live with ease,’ and keep returning to these thoughts when their minds wandered. They were also advised to focus on these thoughts, and on other people, in stressful situations like when they were stuck in traffic5.”

The results suggested that “positive emotions, positive social connections and physical health influence one another in a self-sustaining upward-spiral dynamic6.” As psychology professor Barbara Fredrickson explained it, “It’s kind of softening your own heart to be more open to others.”

Vagal Tone: It’s All in Your Perception

The vagus nerve is, the longest cranial nerve in your brain, and interestingly may connect positive emotions that flow from positive interaction with others. Increased positive emotions produces increased vagal “tone,” or response, described as a “proxy index of physical health7.” The vagus nerve also mediates your parasympathetic nervous system and may also have a positive influence here.

Before and after the meditation classes, participants were encouraged to log the time they spent meditating or praying and journal both the positive and negative aspects associated with their meditative forays. Afterward, scientists recorded each participant’s heart rate variability, which directly affected baseline vagal tone. According to Time Health & Family:

“The vagus regulates how efficiently heart rate changes with breathing and, in general, the greater its tone, the higher the heart-rate variability and the lower the risk for cardiovascular disease and other major killers. It may also play a role in regulating glucose levels and immune responses8.

The vagus nerve itself is connected to other nerves that:

“… tune our ears to human speech, coordinate eye contact and regulate emotional expressions. It influences the release of oxytocin, a hormone that is important in social bonding. Studies have found that higher vagal tone is associated with greater closeness to others and more altruistic behavior9.”

An interesting point is that the response has everything to do with the perception of the participant; the positive effect has a direct correlation to perceived social connectedness on the part of individual subjects. Participants in the meditative segment of the study exhibited increased joy, interest, amusement, serenity and hope after the six-week program. Researchers found it significant that they also discovered an important residual benefit from the emotional and psychological changes: a greater sense of connectedness to others.

When It Comes to Altruism, How Much Grey Matter You Have… Matters

Altruism can be described as an action a person performs to benefit another at the expense of himself. A firefighter is a good example of an altruistic person. An article in Science Daily10 related the results of another study, conducted by a team of researchers from the University of Zurich, based on the connection between a person’s brain anatomy and their altruism. Director of the Department of Economics, Ernst Fehr, explained:

“A certain region of the brain – the place where the parietal and temporal lobes meet – is linked to the ability to put oneself in someone else’s shoes in order to understand their thoughts and feelings.”

Postdoctoral researcher Yosuke Morishima was even more precise: “People who behaved more altruistically also had a higher proportion of gray matter at the junction between the parietal and temporal lobes11.”

However, Fehr added that social processes could also be taken into consideration as a reason why one person has more altruism than another. If taking the feelings of others into consideration is one of the definitions of kindness, other worthy attributes such as sympathy, empathy, compassion, thoughtfulness, gentleness and caring also fall under its umbrella. So is being humane, as kindness should also be extended to animals.

The Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) – Being Kind to Yourself

In my recent article, I expanded on “22 Things Happy People Do Differently,” and the number two spot is “Treat everyone with kindness.”

“Kindness is not only contagious; it’s also proven to make you happier. When you’re kind to others, your brain produces feel-good hormones and neurotransmitters like serotonin and you’re able to build strong relationships with others, fostering positive feelings all around.”

Looking for ways to lengthen your life and spread good vibrations to others in the world? “Random acts of kindness” can be performed anywhere at any time. There’s even a Random Acts of Kindness Foundation at www.ActsOfKindness.org to help you focus your kindness in ways you haven’t thought of yet. If certain issues in your life block your ability to extend – or receive – kindness, there are remedies that can help you change your life.

Similar to meditation, focused on kindness toward others as well as yourself, the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) is a form of psychological acupressure based on the same energy meridians used in 5,000-year-old acupuncture. It’s an effective way to quickly restore your inner balance and healing and helps rid your mind of negative thoughts and emotions. Best of all, once you learn the technique, you can use it all by yourself, without the need of acupuncture needles or a therapist. Just remember it is best to find a professional to work with if you are seeking to resolve serious issues.