An article published on 123chiropractors.com: The world’s largest chiropractic portal, named these nutrient applications to help decrease inflammation, which is defined as swelling, heat or pain due to injury, infection or toxins:

·    calcium
·    magnesium
·    zinc
·    ginger
·    turmeric
·    quercetin
·    high-potency
·    Vitamin C with bioflavenoids
·    Essential Fatty Acids
·    Milk Thistle and
·    Boswellia Serrata.

Also included were proteolytic enzymes—proteases that, when taken on an empty stomach, can be absorbed intact into the bloodstream and help restore and maintain healthy blood and body functions.

Dan Kaur Weamer, MS, CN, nutritionist and dietary enzyme expert, says chronic inflammation may be an indication of an enzyme deficiency and the first symptom of a disorder. However, certain proteolytic enzymes, when taken on an empty stomach, have been found to play an important role in helping the body control the inflammatory process in disorders that demonstrate traumatic, thrombotic, infectious, inflammatory, autoimmune, immunopathologic, or malignant processes.^1,2

One study found that oral enzyme supplements used to improve inflammatory issues associated with joint, spinal or rheumatic soft tissue disorders were well tolerated and demonstrated a 50 percent greater benefit in reducing symptoms associated with inflammation. Subjects also reported less adverse side effects than conventional doses of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as aspirin, ibuprofen and naproxen.

Since every activity in the body requires enzymes, replenishing the enzyme supply that is lost with age may help to restore the body’s natural enzymes balance, Weamer says. She supports proteolytic enzyme supplements that contain:

·    grape seed and rutin, antioxidants that aid in improving peripheral circulation and decreasing capillary permeability
·    calcium, essential for healthy nerve transmission and muscular contraction.

Progressive enzyme supplement products also contain pHysioProtease—a systemic proteolytic enzyme blend shown to be effective in reducing inflammation and increasing healing time.³

References

1. Nouza K. Outlooks of systemic enzymes therapy in rheumatoid arthritis and other immunopathological diseases. Acta Univ Carol [Med] (Praha). 1994;40(1-4):101-4.
2. Letterio JJ et al. Regulation of immune response by TGF-beta. Annu Rev Immunol. 1998;16:137-61.
3. Brown Spencer A. Ph.D.; Coimbra Maria M.D.; Coberly, Dana M. M.D.; Chao, James J. M.D.; Rohrich J. M.D.  Oral Nutritional Supplementation Accelerates Skin Wound Healing: a Randomized, Placebo-Controlled, Double-Arm, Crossover Study. Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery. 114(1):237-244. July 2004.

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While the term “organic” may carry with it a certain perception that anything labeled as such is pure and flawless, cooked and processed organic foods can’t be digested any easier than their non-organic counterparts.

Organic food advocates claim that organically grown foods are healthier because they are not raised with non-organic methods such as pesticides, non-organic fertilizers, antibiotics and hormones. However, during cooking and processing, organic foods lose vitamins and food enzymes, just as non-organic foods do.

Food enzymes, which are natural enzymes that both organic and non-organic raw foods possess, begin the process of breaking down food when you start chewing. When the food reaches the stomach and small intestine, half of the work has already been done, allowing food nutrients to be more easily and completely absorbed. But when food enzymes are cooked and processed out, the body must use more of its own enzyme resources to compensate. Improperly broken down food often leads to indigestion, gas, and bloating. And with the body working overtime, you may also feel fatigued after you finish eating.

To maximize the nutritional value of organic food, supplement your diet with a daily vitamin, probiotics, and a broad-spectrum digestive enzyme supplement, which helps break down any type of food and replace lost food enzymes.

“Mom! Mom! Dad! Dad! Look! I see the golden arches! Can we stop there? Please? Pleeeeaaassee? I wanna play on the slide and get the new toy! Oh please-please-please-please-pleeaassseee?”

If you have kids, you’re undoubtedly bombarded with this request every time you take to the highway for a long road trip. If you’re trying to make good time and haven’t planned ahead, succumbing to the allure of the fast food kingdom is easy and convenient. You think, “The kids will be thrilled, the food is cheap, and it’s ready in less than 90 seconds. Why not?”

Of course, the “why not” comes later, when the kids are crabby, sweating from dehydration, and too groggy to play, “I spy with my little eye.” The “why not” finds you, too—out of it and with acid indigestion and gas. Your family is pleading with you, “Roll down the window, for the love of Pete.”

We all know that greasy and fatty fast food is at the forefront of turning the United States into one of the most unhealthy and obese countries in the world. But what can you do on the road to avoid the fast food trap, promote a healthy lifestyle for the kids and get to your destination in a timely manner?

Let’s rewind all the way back to before you left for the trip. WebMD suggests you take a cooler and stock it with these healthy, convenient, and easy to serve alternatives:

· Water, low-fat milk, or 100% juice. Take cooled milk and douse it over whole-grain cereals that come in single-serve cups.
· Low-fat cheese sticks
· Tubes or cartons of yogurt
· Cut veggies or washed baby carrots and cherry tomatoes. Compliment with a container of low-fat dip.
· Sliced bananas, apples, grapes and pears.

Other healthy and portable items:
· Peanut butter in a tube or a small tub to go with crackers or bread sticks
· Single-serve cans of tuna with easy-open tops and crackers
· Cans or cups of fruit packed in their own juice
· Dehydrated bean soups (get hot water at a roadside rest stop)
· Trail mix made from dried fruits, nuts, seeds, pretzels, or cereal with a few chocolate chips thrown in for good measure.

Get the most out of what you’re feeding them

Even healthier food choices can still pose digestive problems, including incomplete nutrient absorption and indigestion. Many moms and dads supplement their kids’ meals with digestive enzyme supplements. These all-natural products help break down all types of foods, helping the body to absorb food nutrients. On the road, this helps make for kids that are more awake, chipper, and less likely to say, “Pull over, I think I’m gonna be sick.” There’s nothing more beautiful than upholstery that retains its original color.

As far as the slide and playtime, be sure to pack a Frisbee and your baseball gloves. Stop at a rest area with a park and have a catch with your kids. After all, it’s what happens on the journey that childhood memories are made of.

What type of food do you crave? Do your favorite snacks or meals consist of fruits, fried foods, vegetables, sugar, nuts, meats, dairy or all of the above? How do you typically feel after you eat? Are you energized, relaxed, focused, sleeping on the couch or in the bathroom?

Regardless of what you love to eat, here’s four ways to get the most out of your food and not pay the price afterward.

1. Use time to your advantage. We’ve all heard the term portion control, but how easy is it to sit down on the couch after a hard day and eat just 10 potato chips or a tiny helping of spaghetti with meat sauce? Difficult, to say the least.

To avoid overeating—and the indigestion that can come with it—next time eat the small portion and then set an egg timer for 20 minutes. Research shows that it takes food approximately 20 minutes to reach your stomach and turn off the hunger signal to your brain. You’ll be amazed at how easy it is to say ‘no’ to another helping when you’re body says you’re full. If you don’t think this approach will work, promise yourself another helping when you set the egg timer, then wait and see. Chances are, you’ll change your mind.

2. Drink plenty of water throughout the day. When you eat foods high in sugar or sodium, you increase the amount of water the body needs to carry out the digestion and keep food moving through the intestines. If the food doesn’t contain enough natural water, constipation and slower digestion can be the result. If the food is so loaded with sodium or sugar that it has to draw water from the body, diarrhea and dehydration can be the result. Be sure to drink at least 64 fluid ounces of pure water per day.

3. Chew your food—no, really. The stomach doesn’t act like a high-powered blender. It takes a while for it to turn food into the creamy substance it needs before it can absorb nutrients and complete digestion. So it follows that the more broken down your food is when it reaches the stomach, the less effort the body has to put out to convert it into energy. Chewing each mouthful at least 20 to 30 times will also allow the enzymes in your saliva to start breaking down fats and carbohydrates right from the get go. If food sits in the stomach too long, a build up of gas can occur and cause reflux.

4. Take a digestive enzyme supplement. Because most of the foods we eat today are cooked or processed, they contain little or no natural enzymes that aid digestion. Ever wonder why you feel tired after eating? Your body is exhausted from trying to make up for the lack of enzymes, which do all the work.

Raw foods have increased in popularity because of their enzyme content. Supplemental enzymes can ease digestive stress on the body and help it better absorb nutrients from food. Enzyme blends that offer broad-spectrum digestive support, also include enzymes for problems that can stem from eating beans and vegetables or dairy.

A proposed House bill would give consumers more direct access to scientific research information on the health benefits of dietary supplements and natural foods.

The Free Speech about Science Act (H.R. 4913) asserts that federal regulators should allow dietary supplement makers to cite research information on labels and marketing pieces about their products’ potential health benefits. The bill was introduced and referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce on Mar. 23.

FDA regulations currently prohibit food producers or manufactures of a dietary supplement to reference any scientific study relating to the health benefits of their products. Violation of this law can result in the FDA declaring a dietary supplement or natural food to be unapproved, or illegal.

Legislators who introduced the bill say the current law is akin to censorship and that the slew of drug commercials the American public sees everyday suggest drugs as the only way to treat or cure health conditions. They argue that many conditions can be treated and possibly cured through lifestyle changes, proper nutrition, and informed use of dietary supplements. Making the research information available will help promote self-responsibility, increase consumer empowerment to make informed choices and significantly lower healthcare costs, according to the bill.

A website has been set up for consumers to contact their Congressman and voice their support of the Free Speech about Science Act. For a full text version of the bill, click here.

The gas and stomach pain some experience after eating dairy products may have nothing to do with lactose intolerance, according to a Spanish study.*

Researchers from the Hospital Universitari Vall d’Hebron in Barcelona gave a lactose solution equal to a quart of milk to approximately 350 patients who thought they were lactose intolerant. The results were more than half digested the lactose and sugar solution with little to no symptoms.

The study results suggest that gas and stomach cramping aren’t always caused by lactose malabsorption, which occurs when the body doesn’t produce enough lactase enzymes to completely break down lactose sugars. The researchers said that irritable bowel syndrome or overindulgence can also cause symptoms.

Helping the body digest lactose

Regardless of the cause, a broad-spectrum digestive enzyme supplement is a viable solution to helping the body completely break down any type of food component, including lactose, protein, carbohydrates, and fats. It aids in reducing gas-producing biochemical reactions that occur during digestion.

If lactose intolerance is the culprit, you can take an enzyme supplement specially formulated to focus on lactose while providing an enzyme blend to help digest other food components.

* Source: Reuters

The American Lung Association (ALA) released a report Wednesday detailing which U.S. cities had the cleanest or most polluted air.

The ALA drew data on ozone, year-round, and short-term pollution from the Environmental Protection Agency’s Air Quality System, formerly called Aerometric Information Retrieval System database.

Among the worst offenders for year-round particle pollution are located in the western portion of the United States, including Phoenix, Mesa, and Scottsdale, Ariz., Bakersfield Calif., and the greater Los Angeles area.  The top short-term offenders include Bakersfield and Fresno, Calif. and Pittsburgh. The top ozone pollution offenders are Los Angeles and Bakersfield.

The cleanest cities for the three categories were Cheyenne, Wy., Alexandria, La. and Bismarck, N.D., respectively.

The State of the Air 2010 report shows that the air quality in many places has improved, but that over 175 million people—roughly 58 percent—still suffer pollution levels that are too often dangerous to breathe.

Detoxification key to battling air pollution

Accumulating toxins from air pollution, food, drinking water and environmental toxins can cause fatigue, emotional stress, and nervous irritability.

There are several ways you can help rid your body of toxins. Homeopathic remedies are among viable solutions that help remove toxins from internal tissue and then out of the body.

A combination of homeopathic remedies for detoxification and drainage can be highly beneficial as optimizing drainage helps the body to easily excrete toxins and metabolic waste.

An effective detox or drainage homeopathic product will include Plant Bud extracts, which greatly reduce toxic load in the cells and help reduce their re-accumulation, even in the most toxic of environments.

Child care centers are too strict about sending children with certain illnesses home, according to a survey of centers in Milwaukee, Wisc.*

The survey revealed that over half of  the centers surveyed would send children home for minor illnesses, including pink eye and low-grade fever. Dr. Andrew N. Hashikawa of the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee told Reuters Health that once kids show symptoms, they’ve already been contagious long enough to infect other children.

“It doesn’t do any good to send these kids home,” Hashikawa told Reuters.

Researchers say the practice of sending children home for minor illnesses runs contrary to medical guidelines set in place by many states. Many daycare center directors aren’t even aware of the guidelines, according to the survey.

How to keep your child from being sent home

Sending children home from daycare forces some single and double-income household parents to take unnecessary time off work. Dan Kaur Weamer, MS, CN, nutritionist and dietary enzyme expert, says one way to help to reduce susceptibility to illness is a healthy diet and the use of digestive enzymes.

“The enzymes help the body to properly break down food and absorb food nutrients,” Weamer says. “The more nutrients the body is able to absorb and utilize, the better the body will work. The better the body works, the better the immune system works.”

Digestive enzymes can be given to formula-fed babies and toddlers. For children that can chew solid food, use a chewable digestive enzyme product.

(* Source: MSN, Reuters)

High glycemic index (GI) carbohydrates like white bread, chips, and doughnuts are associated with an increased risk of heart disease in women, according to the results of a recent study.*

Research conducted at the IRCCS Foundation and National Cancer Institute in Milan, Italy showed that 25 percent of women who ate high GI foods had more than two times the risk of heart disease than the 25 percent of women who ate low GI foods.

Approximately 48,000 women participated in the study along with approximately 17,000 men. However, the results of the study did not indicate that high GI foods in men posed any more of a risk than low GI foods.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, heart disease is the number one killer of American men and women. CDC estimates that coronary events in America take place once every 25 seconds.

While Americans spend billions of dollars on heart medications each year, these medications often come with a host of potential side effects. Dan Kaur Weamer, MS, CN, nutritionist and dietary enzyme expert, says people need to be better educated about the contraindications and interactive potential these drugs may carry. She also says there are safe and effective alternatives available to help the body promote and maintain vascular health.

“Most people don’t know alternatives are available,” she says. “Sometimes doctors aren’t well-informed either. Some of them only know what they’ve heard from a pharmaceutical representative.”

Weamer says systemic enzyme therapy and vitamin C can play a major role in reducing inflammation, a factor equal to cholesterol in determining heart disease risk.(1,2) She suggests using a dietary supplement that contains an enzyme blend to break down fibrin, which can lead to arterial plaquing. She recommends a supplement that contains garlic, globe artichoke and guggulipids, which help lower blood levels of cholesterol and triglycerides. Also beneficial are ginkgo biloba and vitamin E, two antioxidants that help minimize clumping, which contribute to the formation of plaque in blood vessels. For more information on systemic enzymes, click here.

*Source: Reuters

References
1. Nouza K. Systemic enzyme therapy in diseases of the vascular system.
2. Block G. et al Vitamin C treatment reduces elevated C-reactive protein. Free Radic Biol Med 2008; Oct. 10: 18952164. http://lib.bioinfo.pl/pmid:18952164  or http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/11/081113091630.htm