Posts Tagged Calf muscle spasm

… and nutrients to be delivered to vital organs and muscles. This poor blood flow can cause fatigue, muscle pain and even memory loss.

You can see how an elevation in fibrinogen can lead to chronic …

Lauricidin is a naturally occurring lipid (fat) that has been purified from coconut oil so as to increase the therapeutic benefits. This monoglyceride, called monolaurin, appears to disrupt the outer coating of pathogenic organisms, such as, bacteria, viruses, and fungi. Monolaurin is naturally found in breast milk and may be considered nature’s first antibiotic!

What Is Lauricidin Used For?

Known as the original monolaurin supplement, discovered by Dr. Jon Kabara, Lauricidin has been used by health care practitioners for its potent anti-bacterial, anti-viral, and anti-fungal benefits. Lauricidin appears to offer unique benefits over conventional antibiotics due to:

1. Broad-spectrum effects – It appears to be effective against many different strains of bacteria, fungi, and even viral infections.
2. Fewer Side-Effects – Generally, Lauricidin is well tolerated, with no serious side effects reported.
3. Considered Non-Toxic and safe
4. Inexpensive in comparison to many conventional antibiotics
5. Does not interact with most medications

Lauricidin Side Effects

You may be wondering, “What is Lauricidin ‘s safety record?” Lauricidin, which contains monolaurin, is so safe that the FDA considers it GRAS (Generally Regarded As Safe), which places Lauricidin on the FDA’s list of non-toxic substances.

What Is Lauricidin Detox?

Even though Lauricidin is considered non-toxic and most people tolerate the lauricidin quite well, you can occasionally develop a reaction called a “die-off effect”. A die-off effect, also called a Herxheimer Reaction, occurs when yeast and other pathogens are being killed by the monolaurin. As these bacteria, yeast, and/or viruses die, they can release toxins into the body that may result in flu-like, acne-like, allergy-like symptoms, such as: fever, muscle pain, fatigue, headache, skin erruptions, etc. Although these die-off side effects can be felt by some, even at low doses, these symptoms can be improved by starting with a low dose of Lauricidin and slowly increasing the dose of lauricidin over weeks to months. This allows the body time to acclimate and detox. Many patients have also found that drinking plenty of water while supplementing with lauricidin also decreases the severity of the die-off effect.

The Lauricidin Detox Reaction is normally self-limiting and will improve over time, however, if the symptoms become overwhelming, simply give the body a break and then restart at a much lower dose.

What is the Best Way to Use Lauricidin?

Lauricidin comes in a jar full of pearls/pellets that are taken via a provided scoop.

Using the scoop, you can dose in very small amounts and slowly increase the dose as you determine how well you tolerate it. Adults will usually start with ¼ of a scoop or less two to three times daily and can slowly increase the dose up to 1 full scoop three times daily. For stubborn infections, some health care providers will further increase the dose until benefits are noted. Don’t be afraid to start with a few pellets and work the dose up as you get some personal experience with it.

Children, 3-10 years of age, can start with 1-3 pellets (NOT SCOOPS) for a few days before gradually increasing the dose. After this initial trial, you can increase to 1-3 pellets twice daily and then thrice daily over a couple of weeks.

Do’s & Don’ts of Lauricidin Use

1. Never chew Lauricidin Tablets
2. Drink cold liquids when taking Lauricidin pellets as hot liquids will melt them prematurely.
3. Dose according to your response, some will need more and some will need less than the recommendations provided above

Lauricidin can be purchased through the Illness Is Optional Online Store.

Disclaimer: “What Is Lauricidin” article is not meant to diagnose, treat, or prevent any illness. For further discussion on “What Is Lauricidin“check out this article from eHow.

Some health experts claim that nutrient deficiencies are a thing of the past and supplementation is unnecessary in today’s day and age…they are dangerously mistaken!

In fact nutrient deficiencies are quite common, and such deficiencies are the direct cause of many health problems that result in hospitalization and even death.

One such nutritional deficiency is potassium and in today’s article, we will talk about the benefits of potassium supplementation as well as the daily potassium requirements for optimal health. Published research shows that potassium deficiency can be a direct or indirect cause of many health problems, including:

• Cardiac arrhythmias (irregular heart beat)
• High blood pressure
• Fatigue and muscle weakness
• Constipation

Benefits of Potassium

Potassium can be an important part of any supplement program. Studies have shown that potassium supplementation can result in significant decreases in blood pressure, improvements in constipation, decreases in cardiac arrhythmias, and improvement in fatigue and muscle weakness.

Daily Potassium Requirements

The majority of your potassium should come from your diet; supplementation should be used as a means of optimizing your dietary potassium intake. I recommend reading the article on the Benefits of Potassium for a discussion of dietary potassium from the perspective of our evolutionary history. Although the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) of potassium is 4.7 grams (4700 mg), our Paleolithic ancestors consumed between 10-15 grams per day from fruits and vegetables!

For most healthy people, taking up to 1,000-2,000 mg of potassium daily in supplement form should be very safe (depending on diet). If you are on medications, such as loop diuretics or ACE Inhibitors, or suffer with heart or kidney disease, check with a health care provider prior to supplementing with potassium.

The Potassium Supplement That I Recommend

K+2 Potassium is a high potency potassium formula that provides 300 mg of potassium per capsule. In addition to providing 300 mg of potassium per capsule, this formula provides two impressive forms of potassium…

Potassium glycinate is a chelated form of potassium that mimics food sourced potassium in absorption and utilization.

Potassium bicarbonate provides a source of bicarbonate, which helps to alkalinize the body. This advanced combination makes this one of the most potent and powerful potassium supplements on the market. This form would be especially good for people who have bone loss and/or those who eat a high meat diet.

As an alternative, Potassium Amino Acid Complex by Your Prescription for Health is an inexpensive and high-quality form of chelated potassium. Each tablet provides 99 mg of potassium in a form that mimics potassium found in food. Potassium chelate by Your Prescription for Health is considered the most cost-effective form of potassium. The only negative to this potassium supplement is it is limited to 99 mg per tablet.

Summary:

As I mentioned in the article, Benefits of Potassium, we are designed to consume far more than the ridiculously low amounts suggested by the RDA. So if you are a healthy person, with normal kidney function and currently not taking any medications for blood pressure or heart problems, eat as much potassium as you can from fruit and vegetable sources. If you have difficulty getting large quantities of fruits and vegetables, try 4-6 capsules of K+2 Potassium by Designs for Health.

I’d like to help liberate you from the pain and stiffness associated with arthritis.

I know that your doctor has probably told you that all they can do is prescribe nasty anti-inflammatories and wait until the day that the pain is so severe that you can’t take it any more…then they’ll sell you on surgery.

If you’re like me, you can’t imagine a future full of pain, stiffness, and surgeries that limits your ability to enjoy life. If you already have a lot of pain, I’ll bet it is difficult to enjoy everyday things like parties, family events, and cookouts because your attention is always divided between what is going on and the achy, throbbing pain of arthritis.

If you have relied on Tylenol and anti-inflammatories like Advil, Motrin, Aleve, ibuprofen, and aspirin to get by, well I have a message for you…

You can do better! You can feel better! You can decrease your pain, inflammation, and possibly even slow down the degeneration of your joints and you can do it all without medications!

The Four-Step Approach to Treating Arthritis

There are four steps to managing arthritis through a natural approach, they are:

Step 1: Decrease inflammation
Step 2: Lubricate the joint
Step 3: Provide the building blocks
Step 4: Stimulate repair

Let’s take each step and dive deeper…

Step 1: Decrease Inflammation

If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is, STOP DIGGING! Most people see inflammation as a nuisance; however, it is much more than that.  Inflammation actually promotes the erosion of the cartilage within the joint, which can worsen the arthritis over time.

Anti-inflammatory drugs can decrease the pain and stiffness associated with arthritis, However, they also can increase the production of an enzyme called lipooxygenase, which can irritate and damage the joint further.

Nature has provided many natural compounds with anti-inflammatory activity that can rival the prescription drugs without causing the same risk of side effects. Spices such as turmeric, ginger, rosemary and herbs such as holy basil, skullcap, and green tea can all act as potent anti-inflammatories.

To help control inflammation, I recommend a formula called Zyflamend by New Chapter. This formula provides a blend of herbal and spice extracts that work through multiple mechanisms to result in a balanced anti-inflammatory benefit. This formula has proven itself to be one of the most powerful herbal anti-inflammatory formulas on the market. The recommended dose is 2 capsules twice daily.

Aside from providing relief from much of the pain and stiffness associated with arthritis, the mechanisms by which this formula works may help to protect the joint from erosion.

Step 2: Lubricate the Joint

Now that we have the inflammation under control, the next step is to lubricate the joint to decrease the friction.

Within your joint, the cartilage is constantly being broken down and rebuilt. Arthritis happens when the joint gets broken down faster than the cells can rebuild the damaged area.

The lubricating material called hyaluronic acid has the same purpose of oil in your car. It keeps the pistons sliding across each other by decreasing the friction that would occur without the oil. When a car has an oil leak, the damage can be devastating. Likewise, if your joints don’t remain well oiled, you can develop stiffness, inflammation, and ultimately arthritis.

Besides the lubricating effect of hyaluronic acid, it also helps to carry nutrients to the cartilage. Because cartilage does not have a blood supply, it relies on the diffusion of nutrients from the lubricating fluid in the joint.

Over the last decade, nutrition scientists have been able to develop a hyaluronic acid supplement that is easily absorbed in the digestive tract. This has allowed for effective supplementation of this vital material.
The second step in building an effective natural arthritis program is to lubricate the joint by taking hyaluronic acid in supplement form.

The recommended dose is 100 mg once per day.

In addition, it is important to remain well hydrated. When you become even mildly dehydrated, your joints can dry up, which can lead to friction and joint degeneration.

Step 3: Provide the Building Blocks

Now that we have tackled inflammation and lubrication, we now need to provide the joint with the material it needs to repair damage and protect the cartilage itself. This is achieved by providing two compounds called: glucosamine and chondroitin. These two compounds have been used successfully for years to protect and repair the joint while improving the pain and stiffness associated with arthritis.

Glucosamine and chondroitin literally act like wood and nails to the cartilage. The body absorbs these compounds and transports them throughout the body with preference being given to the joints. Once the glucosamine and chondroitin arrive in the joints, the cartilage repair cells get to work rebuilding and rejuvenating the cartilage.

The recommended dose is 1500 mg of glucosamine along with 1200 mg of chondroitin per day. If you are overweight, you may want to increase the dose to 2000 mg of glucosamine sulfate along with 1600 mg of chondroitin sulfate.

Step 4: Stimulate the Repair

Now that you have decreased inflammation, lubricated the joint, and provided the building blocks, you need to tell the body that you need stronger joints. You achieve this by moving and exercising.

Most people with arthritis is afraid to exercise because the are afraid that they will worsen the arthritis. Unfortunately, by remaining immobile and sedentary you are literally stimulating the arthritis to get worse.

Exercise does three things:

1.    It brings lubrication to the joint. Have you ever notice that the arthritis pain is worse upon waking and gets a little better as the day goes on? This probably occurs because the movement promotes lubrication.
2.    Exercise, especially resistance training, stimulates the cartilage building cells to get to work. Research has shown that lifting weight causes these cells to activate and strengthen the cartilage.
3.    Exercise protects the joint by building a muscle girdle. The bones of a joint are surrounded by muscle, and muscle helps to stabilize the joint. By keeping the joint stabile you protect it from extra movement that can result in unwanted friction. As a muscle weakens, the joint begins to move in strange ways that can damage the cartilage and worsen the arthritis.

As you can see, arthritis can be improved significantly when you put the right steps into action. First control inflammation, next lubricate the joint, then provide the building blocks, and finally stimulate repair.

What Next?

To make it easy for you to get the most effective products for your arthritis program, we have put together all of the products that we use with our clients and patients here in our clinic. We call it the “Get Out of Pain Kit”. It includes:

1 Bottle of Zyflamend 120 Softgels (1 month supply)
1 Bottle of Hyaluronic Acid 60 Capsules (1 month supply)
1 Bottle of Glucosamine/Chondroitin (1 month supply)

If you order this kit, you get all three products for $67, which will save you $35.89 compared to the retail price.

If you are debating whether or not to fill that prescription for a statin medication, you may want to read this article first.

I remember when I was learning to defend against a knife attack in my blackbelt class. My instructor, a former special forces soldier, looked at us with a solemn look and said, “when defending against a knife attack, the question is not whether or not you will get cut, because you are going to get cut, the question is how serious will the wound be. Your job, in defending a knife attack, is to position yourself to limit the damage when you do get cut while disarming your attacker.” That wisdom can be applied to prescription medications as well.  As with any medication, the question isn’t whether or not side effects will occur, but do the reported benefits outweigh the numerous and almost certain risks associated with the drugs? Every day, medical doctors are forced to decide whether or not the risks of a medication are outweighed by the benefits, and how to dose and treat so that the risks of side effects are lowest while disarming the disease. Not exactly as dramatic as the knife attack, however, the outcome can be just as damaging and deadly if the wrong decision is made. The question at hand is, “are the risks of statin drugs outweighed by the benefits?”

A recent study sheds more light on the potential harm of popular cholesterol medications known as statin drugs. In this study on over 2 million men and women, researchers discovered that statin drugs significantly increased the risk of these serious side effects.
1. Moderate to severe liver damage
2. Moderate to severe muscle damage
3. Cataracts
4. Kidney damage

Do the benefits outweigh the risks?

That is what the PR firms keep telling us; but is it true? After crunching the numbers, the researchers found that you would have to treat 37 women and 33 men for five years to prevent one case of heart disease. They also discovered that stains prevent esophageal cancer; but you would have to treat 1266 women and 1082 men for five years to prevent one case.

So what about the potential side effects?

Scientists use a statistical calculation called “Number Needed to Harm” (NNH) to show risk. Let’s find out how many people will be harmed by statins in a five-year period.
1. One person will develop moderate to severe muscle damage for every 259 statin users
2. One person will develop moderate to severe liver damage for every 136 statin users
3. One person will develop kidney failure for every 434 statin users
4. One person will develop cataracts for every 33 statin users

Let’s use these numbers to figure out what we can expect per 10,000 patients who use statins for 5 years.
1. 271 fewer cases of diagnosed heart disease
2. 8 fewer cases of esophageal cancer
3. 74 cases of liver damage
4. 23 cases of kidney failure
5. 39 cases of debilitating muscle damage
6. 307 cases of cataracts

Doctors accept these risks because they assume that statins actually prevent heart disease, at best, they delay it, that is, for a few people. Based on this study, this means that 9721 out of 10,000 patients would gain no benefit from taking statins for five years. That is astoundingly dismal. Perhaps we should be looking for better options…

Environmental Protection Agency released Excessive Heat Event Guidebook this month. Once our flooding rainy weather gives way to the summer humid heat again, here is the information you need to know!

People especially at risk are over 65, infants under 1year of age, the homeless, the poor, and socially isolated people, those with mobility restrictions, on certain medications like high blood pressure, depression, insomnia, those exercising vigorously or working outdoors, those consuming alcohol.

Here are symptoms to watch:

Heat stroke: altered mental state, possible throbbing headache, confusion, nausea, dizziness, 106 F or higher body temperature, rapid and strong pulse, possible unconsciousness, possible hot and dry skin, sweating. You must get to hospital immediately. A delay may be fatal.

Heat exhaustion: heavy sweating, weakness, cool skin, pale. Normal temperature possible. Other possible symptoms:: muscle cramps, fainting, vomiting, dizziness, nausea. Get out of sun,  apply cool wet cloths, sip water, if nausea starts, discontinue water intake, if vomiting continues, seek medical attention.

Heat cramps: painful muscle cramps and spasms (usually legs and abdomen), heavy sweating. Apply pressure/massage to relieve the cramps; give sips of water, if nausea starts, discontinue water intake.

On hot summer days, bear these in mind:

• Avoid dark color, heavy, tight clothes or clothes that expose a lot of skin
• Stay hydrated, especially when involved in outdoor activities
• When using alcohol, know that it limits the needed perspiration, and your awareness of need of hydration, so limit your exposure to sun and heat outdoors
• Avoid heavy meals, especially high protein, as this will increase metabolism and body heat that needs to be dissipated
• The more elevated the housing, the higher the heat, so use fans, air conditioning, and plenty of water to drink

(Summary by Kasia Kines, MS, CN, CNS, LDN. Kasia is a nutritionist at Your Prescription for Health 888-794-4325)

What You Will Learn:

1. When Good Fruits Go Bad
2. When Refined Carbohydrates Are Ok to Eat
3. Where Dr. Atkins Went Wrong
4. How Many Meals to Eat per Day

Diet is perhaps one of the most confusing areas of health because there are so many people claiming so many different diets are the “best”. There are more different diets on the market today than ever before. Which has the best formula? Well, this question does not have a cut and dry answer because there is a lot of metabolic variance in our population. Let me give you an example. Fruit is considered very good for you as long as you eat it in the package that nature provides. Generally speaking people do not develop diabetes or get fat from eating fruits. However, if you are diabetic or heavily insulin resistant then it would be in your best interest to limit your fruit intake until your insulin resistance is improved. Not to confuse you further but many diabetics can eat fruit freely without any negative consequences to their blood sugar. The simple point is the diet that works best for you is the diet that works best for you! We can make general statements about what is most likely to be healthy but in the end you must put it to the test for yourself. So let’s start with a review of the tried-and-true principles that appear to apply to most people, we will then speak to the possible exceptions. Remember, as we move into intermediate and advanced principles, we are moving away from cookie cutter suggestions into more fluid and customizable principles:

1. Eat your food in the package nature provides. Simply put, oranges are good, orange juice is not so good. Eat fresh veggies over canned veggies. High fiber grain products generally are healthier than low fiber grain products. Simple enough…le’s move on.

2. Refined carbohydrates are generally bad…most of the time. For most people refined carbohydrates are not useful unless food is scarce. In a world of culinary abundance refined carbs are the most common cause of obesity, diabetes and heart disease. However, there is a place for refined carbohydrates amidst people who workout heavily or take part in competitive sports. When you workout heavily you can quickly deplete your carbohydrate stores in your muscles. During heavy activity, muscle is damaged and requires repair. This repair can not take place until the sugar stores have been replaced and can then fuel the repair process. By taking your refined carbohydrates directly after weight training, when your muscles are most sensitive to insulin, you can enhance recovery from activity, speed muscle repair and decrease soreness. Here is the golden nugget for people who are not competitive athletes, when you intend to have a pasta meal or some other high carb meal, try timing the meal soon after your workout. This will help with recovery and keep your blood sugar from spiking. This is especially helpful if you are lifting weights. So, this means that if you simply refuse to give up your pasta then the second best option is to make a pact with yourself that you will exercise vigorously before having your meal.

3. Eat lean protein. One area where me and the late Dr. Atkins part ways in our protein philosophies is in the quality of the protein in question and the quantity. I do not ascribe to the philosophy that you can eat bacon, butter, high fat beef, etc for every meal and still be healthy. Great sources of protein include lean beef, chicken, eggs and fish. I believe that people should lean towards a raw, vegetable and fruit rich diet. If you eat meat, you must make sure that you make an effort to enhance your intake of living plant foods to help balance your body. I also suggest eating free range meat and eggs whenever possible. So how much meat should you eat? The answer is…it depends. When you look at our closest mammal relatives you see that the apes are primarily vegetarian, although, if a lizard happens to scurry by they may pick it up and toss it in their mouth. They are what is called opportunistic carnivores. I declare myself the same. I try to eat most of my food as raw vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds, however, if a filet mignon falls on my plate I will eat that too. I suggest limiting meat intake to one serving or less per day and making sure that we eat lots of fruits, vegetables and healthy nuts. If you are a bodybuilder or on a heavy weight lifting program then you may want to increase this intake. Athletes and fitness buffs should get extra protein from egg whites and whey protein shakes and smoothies to account for their extra needs.

4. Meal Frequency, how often should we eat? This is a common questions, so let’s answer it. From my research I have come to the following conclusion. Generally, most people will be healthiest with small, frequent meals. This is especially the case with people who are working out on a regular basis. If you eat meals with refined carbohydrates then make sure that you limit the portion size and only three of the five or six meals contain refined carbs. You should allow a 4-5 hour period between those refined carb containing meals. This will allow time for the body to process the carbohydrates, metabolize out the insulin and will allow the body time to burn some of those carbs away between main meals.

1. Worry about health
2. Uveitis
   
3. First Line Therapy
   
4. Pancreatic and breast cancer
   
5. Muscle building
6. Shingles
7. Cereal
   
8. Lack of ability to taste
   
9. Low white blood cell count
10. Anti-inflammatory
    
11. Roaring sound in ear
    
12. Supplement for focus
    
13. pH balance and disease
14. Strontium
    
15. Insomnia
16. Osteoporosis
17. Cipro

1. Immune System Support
   
2. Bipolar disorder
3. Longevity
   
4. Numb brain
   
5. Muscle atrophy
   
6. Trigger point injections
   
7. Aging and respect for elders
8. D-ribose
   
9. Joint pain
   
10. Skin graphs
11. Pneumonia
12. Thyroid
13. Gluten