Engineered for Health

The five most common forms of arthritis are:

• Osteoarthritis
• Fibromyalgia
• Gout
• Rheumatoid Arthritis
• Lupus

According to the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, gout is one of the most painful forms of rheumatoid arthritis. Gout affects approximately 3.9% of the US population and has been steadily rising as more and more American’s struggle with obesity and hypertension. Statistically, more men are afflicted with this condition than women because men have higher uric acid levels in their blood than women.

There are four types of gout:

1. Asymptomatic (without symptoms) Hyperuricemia – Elevated levels of uric acid only. No other symptoms.
2. Gouty Arthritis or Acute Gout – Often triggered by aggravating diet, stress, alcohol or another illness. Attacks usually happen at night and subside within 3-10 days with or without treatment.
3. Interval or Intercritical Gout – The symptom-free time between acute gout episodes. These intervals tend to get shorter and shorter over time.
4. Chronic Tophaceous Gout – Usually develops over a long period of time (like 10 years) with possible permanent damage to the joints or kidneys.

Purines are natural chemical compounds found virtually every type of food. Here is a short video on purines in relationship to gout. Usually the body eliminates uric acid via the kidneys by dissolving it into urine. When excessive uric acid builds up and the kidneys can’t keep up, urate crystals can form. These sharp urate crystals can develop in the kidneys, joints or tissue surrounding joints, causing severe pain and inflammation.

A 12-year study on foods related to gout recommended primarily avoiding high-purine foods like hearts, herring, mussels, yeast, smelt, sardines, and sweetbreads. Moderately-high purine foods are game birds, mutton, veal, bacon, liver, salmon, trout, haddock and scallops.

Risk factors for gout include genetics, obesity, excessive weight gain (especially during youth) moderate or binge drinking, high blood pressure, abnormal kidney function, heart disease, joint injury, chemotherapy, diuretics, some medications (including low-dose aspirin, steroids and immunosuppressive drugs).

Use of steroids and pain-killers may temporary alleviate symptoms of gout, but a diagnosis of gout is a good indication that systemic problems have been brewing for a long time and some lifestyle and comprehensive nutritional changes need to take place.

Improving kidney function and reducing C-reactive proteins (an indication of systemic inflammation) are two key aspects to preventing gout. If you’re a bit fuzzy on what kidneys do, here is a quick three minute video on the critical role kidneys play in filtering the blood and supplying vital nutrients to the body.

Reducing or eliminating high-purine foods would clearly be a smart way to reduce the burden on the kidneys.  Supporting the body’s overall digestive health would also help kidney function and reduce uric acid imbalances. Drinking lots of fresh water and eating a high-alkaline diet full of fresh raw foods and fiber meets those objectives.

Studies have shown that many supplements can benefits gout-sufferers by improving kidney function, reducing systemic inflammation caused by free-radical damage and aiding in digestion. Click on the name of each supplement type below to see how it can address gout related problems:

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If you haven’t heard the news, a lot of popular lipsticks contain trace amounts of lead.

Lead is an abundant, highly-toxic, low cost, heavy metal that has been used in a wide variety of products including gasoline, batteries, paint, pipes, and cosmetics.

According to the National Institute of Environmental Health Services: “Today, the most common sources of lead exposure in the United States are lead-based paint in older homes, contaminated soil, household dust, drinking water, lead crystal, and lead-glazed pottery. While extreme lead exposure can cause a variety of neurological disorders such as lack of muscular coordination, convulsions and coma, much lower lead levels have been associated with measurable changes in children’s mental development and behavior. These include hyperactivity; deficits in fine motor function, hand-eye coordination, and reaction time; and lowered performance on intelligence tests. Chronic lead exposure in adults can result in increased blood pressure, decreased fertility, cataracts, nerve disorders, muscle and joint pain, and memory or concentration problems.”

Although the small amounts of lead in many popular lipsticks is considered safe by the FDA, many people would prefer to avoid ANY needless exposure.

Here are just a few brands with lipsticks containing various amounts of lead:

To see the complete list of 400 lipsticks, here is the FDA report, which was last updated on December 5, 2011.

I am pleased to say that the brand I use was in the happy minority of lipsticks that contained NO LEAD. That brand is Motives® by Loren Ridinger. If you’re not familiar with my favorite brand, here is a short Motives® YouTube video. Motives® provides extraordinary quality and remarkably modest prices.

Motives® by Loren Ridinger is a high-end professional line of cosmetics and skin care that has been featured in Miami Fashion Week, New York Fashion Week, and the Fashion Show on Bravo (to name a few). This line offers fully-customizable foundations and colors, is infused with antioxidants, and is also gluten-free. Recently La La Anthony launched a signature add-on called Motives® for La La. Check out this YouTube video on La La and her desire to partner with Loren Ridinger to create this gorgeous addition to the Motives line.

With Motives® it’s easy to have lead-free colors on your tulips, my dear…

Twenty-one international studies conducted from 1975 through 2007, which involved over 622,000 adults, have resulted in finding a link between migraines and higher rates of ischemic stroke (the most common type of stroke).

People who suffer with migraines once or more per month were at twice the risk of having a stroke, even after factoring in variations like age, weight, blood pressure, diabetes and smoking.

The results of these findings are not fully understood. Some researchers like Dr. Saman Nazarian (an assistant professor at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore) said “It’s likely, however, that a common underlying process contributes to both migraines and stroke risk.”

One theory is that migraines may be an indication of a dysfunctional vascular system.

That theory aligns with a comment from Dr. Saman Nazarian (a senior researcher and an assistant professor at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore) who said it’s likely that a common underlying process contributes to both migraines and stroke risk. Dr. Nazarian went on to recommend that migraine sufferers should be vigilant in controlling any modifiable risk factors that they may have which would include diabetes, high blood pressure and smoking.

Read the entire article from Reuters here.

C-reactive proteins are inflammation markers which predict cardiovascular risk. A clinical study found regular use of drinkable Isotonix OPC-3® reduced C-reactive proteins by 52.1% in subjects with metabolic syndrome after just two months.

For additional information on products which address common underlying nutritional deficiencies that contribute to migraines, please see my posts on:

“Combat Migraines with Isotonic Antioxidants”
“Which is better? Isotonic or tablet OPC-3?”

The benefits of curcumin just never seem to end. This amazing plant compound (the active ingredient in turmeric) offers a wide array of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits as well as stifling growth of abnormal cells. Curcumin has been shown to be safe when consumed in high amounts (like 12 grams) per day, however benefit is seen in just 100 mgs daily. Curcumin has been shown to improve:

• Cardiovascular disease
• Diabetes & Depression
• Arthritis & Inflammation
• Several forms of Cancer
• Neurological Disorders
• Crohns and other Digestive Problems

A new curcumin hybrid compound called CBN-001 has demonstrated it could protect and restore brain cells after stroke in laboratory models. In tests, CBN-001 administered up to one hour after stroke effectively reduced motor control movement problems. This hybrid compound protected and nourished neurons (brain cells) while repairing stroke damage on a molecular level.

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Millions of people enjoy the benefits of drinking a proprietary isotonic antioxidant called Isotonix OPC-3®. A tablet form of OPC-3® is not commercially available. However, for the purpose of testing, European researchers created a tablet version of OPC-3® to compare its assimilation (consumed with the equivalent amount of water) to the isotonic version. Phytotherapy Research e-published the compelling study results.

Both formulations of OPC-3® delivered antioxidant benefits by markedly reducing oxygen free radicals in blood plasma. However, the drinkable isotonic version of Isotonix OPC-3® measured 6 times higher than the tablet version within 10 minutes of consumption. After 20 minutes the isotonic formulation was approximately 4 times more bioavailable than the tablet. In fact, throughout the 4 hour investigation the isotonic formulation displayed a consistently superior level of performance.

As the chart indicates there was a much higher nutrient absorption and delivery in the drinkable isotonic formulation known as Isotonix OPC-3®.

Another clinical study found Isotonix OPC-3® dramatically reduced major cardiovascular risk factors in 61 individuals with metabolic syndrome over two months. Improvement occurred in blood pressure, total cholesterol, and fasting blood glucose. Supplementation with Isotonix OPC-3® resulted in a 52.1% drop in C-reactive proteins. C-reactive proteins are inflammation markers which predict cardiovascular risk. Comparatively, testing has shown that statin drugs produce 13-14% reductions in C-reactive proteins and often carry troubling side effects.

Results published from a 2010 clinical study in Italy found that using Pycnogenol®, along with CoenzymeQ10, significantly improved blood pressure and cardiovascular performance in participating subjects.

Pycnogenol® is a patented form of French maritime pine bark extract and has been part of hundreds of clinical studies due to its enormous range of health benefits. CoenzymeQ10 (CoQ10) is is a critically important vitamin-like substance, produced within the human body, that is essential for cellular activity.

The 53 subjects had stable congestive heart failure, mild to moderately high blood pressure and 75% were using three or more medications to manage their heart failure. The subjects given 12 weeks of Pycnogenol® and CoQ10 supplementation obtained the following results:

• Significantly lower systolic and diastolic blood pressure
• More than three-fold increase in treadmill walking distances
• Substantial reduction in distal edema (edema of the extremities)
• Improved heart rates and respiratory rates

In conclusion, researchers found: “The association of Pycnogenol and CoQ10 may offer an important therapeutic option with a very good tolerability that improves heart failure management without side effects.”

Isotonix OPC-3® is a synergistic blend of potent plant-based antioxidants and contains the only isotonic-capable Pycnogenol® on the market. This drinkable isotonic formula delivers up to 95% nutrient absorption within minutes of ingestion.  A separate clinical study conducted on subjects supplemented with Isotonix OPC-3® had significant cardiovascular performance improvements after 8 weeks.

Isotonix® CoQ10 offers similar bioavailability advantages and can even be mixed together with the OPC-3® and drank at the same time.

Tinnitus is the medical term for an aggravating condition where sound is heard that’s produced from within the ear canal rather than from outside of it. Over 44 million Americans suffer with this disorder.

This internal sound is often described as ringing, buzzing, humming, swishing or whistling. The sound may be continuous or intermittent.

While tinnitus is not completely understood, it is frequently correlated to some type of injury to the ear. Common culprits are loud or prolonged noise exposure or ear infections. Meniere’s disease is a more serious condition which has tinnitus symptoms accompanied with extreme vertigo.

Antihistamines or antibiotics often relieve tinnitus or Meniere’s symptoms. However, millions of people have not experienced relief from those treatments.

Several studies using antioxidants have shown promise for tinnitus symptoms:

• A 2007 study found idiopathic tinnitus significantly improved after 18 weeks of using a mix of oral antioxidants (including Vitamin E, Vitamin C, and beta-carotene).
• A pilot study observed that tinnitus suffers with low levels of CoQ10 had reduced symptoms after supplementing with CoQ10 for 16 weeks.
• In 2003 a study of 25 volunteers with Meniere’s found 91% had fewer vertigo episodes & 44% experienced improved hearing after 2 mths of antioxidant use.
• A 2010 study of 92 people with mild to moderate tinnitus noted significant improvement after 4 weeks of consuming 150 mg. of Pycnogenol® daily. Pycnogenol was observed to enhance blood flow to the cochlear. Higher amounts of Pycnogenol produced greater results.

Inadequate amounts of antioxidants can prevent or impede healing. Use of oral antioxidants can improve cellular function and enhance overall health. Antioxidants and nutrients are much easier to absorb if they are in an isotonic state because they don’t require lengthy digestion. Isotonic supplements provide up to 95% of their value in minutes versus the average 10-20% nutritive value which makes it to the bloodstream by the time tablets or capsules are digested.

Isotonix® has the only form of isotonic capable trademarked Pycnogenol® on the market. As an antioxidant Pycnogenol® is 50 times more potent than Vitamin E and 20 times more potent than Vitamin C. Isotonix OPC-3® is a synergistic blend of Pycnogenol®, Grape Seed, Bilberry, and Citrus Bioflavonoids.

All of the Isotonix® products are powders that, when mixed with the appropriate amount of water, become delicious drinkable isotonic solutions.

Some excellent products for auditory health would include:

• Isotonix OPC-3®
• Isotonix® CoQ10
• Isotonix® Antioxidant
• Prime™ Hearing Tinnitus and Ear Health Formula

Approximately 46 million people in the United States (or 1 in every 4 to 5) suffer with some type of painful joint disease or condition. These conditions include arthritis, gout, lupus, fibromyalgia, bursitis, and stenosis.

Management of joint pain and stiffness can be costly and frustrating. Pain killers offer some relief, but do not stimulate healing. Pain medicines can also create gastrointestinal distress and potentially dangerous side effects when used long term. Clinical studies have observed joint benefits in several natural compounds that may actually improve joint mobility and comfort.

However, not all joint supplements are created equal.

Chondroitin and MSM (methylsulfonylmethane) are commonly used for joint issues, but are not consistently recommended. Chondroitin has some known negative side effects and men concerned with prostate cancer should carefully investigate before using. MSM is considered safe, however therapeutic doses are high (between 2-10 grams daily) making it impractical for many to use on a regular basis.

Three well established and clinically studied natural compounds for improving and maintaining joint function are Pycnogenol®, Hyaluronic Acid and Glucosamine.

Pycnogenol®:

A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study observed that Pycnogenol® used daily for 3 months:

• Reduced osteoarthritis symptoms by 56%
• Reduced joint pain by 55%
• Lowered need for pain medication by 58%
• Gastrointestinal complications declined by 63%
• Decreased edema in 79% of participants

Hyaluronic Acid:

Hyaluronic Acid is important in tissue lubrication, is a powerful antioxidant and improves cellular performance. Studies note Hyaluronic Acid for its ability to inhibit antithrombin which is involved in joint tissue destruction in rheumatoid arthritis. Anti-aging benefits of Hyaluronic Acid can also improve skin and hair as well.

Glucosamine:

Clinical studies found glucosamine worked better than ibuprofen for pain management. Glucosamine also has been observed to improve joint function and delay the progression of osteoarthritis. These effects were seen in as little as 2 weeks. Two independent studies found 1500 mgs. of daily oral Glucosamine prevented joint space narrowing in mild to moderate knee osteoarthritis.

Prime Joint Formula by Isotonix® is a drinkable joint health supplement that contains Pycnogenol®, Hyaluronic Acid and Glucosamine in an isotonic form.

Isotonix® products are drinkable isotonic solutions which absorb in a matter of minutes when taken as directed. These products are incredibly effective because they deliver up to 95% bioavailable nutrition. This type of delivery is much more effective than pills which can only provide 20-40% of their nutrients to the blood stream of healthy consumers. Isotonix® is also the only provider of Pycnogenol® as a drinkable isotonic.

The National Heart Foundation of Australia sponsored a study on the effects of Red Bull energy drink, on cardiovascular performance. The surprising results were recently published in the American Journal of Medicine.

Fifty healthy male and female volunteers (between 20-24 years old) participated in the study. One hour after consuming a sugar-free Red Bull energy drink, several negative physiological changes were observed in the participants:

• Blood cells were clumping together at a significant rate (platelet aggregation)
• Impaired blood vessel function & elevated blood pressure (endothelial function)

Sticky clotting blood, vascular malfunction and unnatural elevation of  blood pressure are not conditions anyone should try to frequently induce in their body. Watch this 2 minute video from About.com on what happens during a heart attack.

Reducing free radicals has been found to improve endothelial function. Obviously, drinking Red Bull in this study impaired endothelial function. More research will be be done to determine exactly why these changes were observed in those young, healthy volunteers.  However, it seems reasonable to speculate that Red Bull increased free radical production which causes cellular oxidization. Cellular oxidation contributes to a vast array of inflammation, disease, and accelerated aging. Just consuming caffeinated drinks (like coffee) does not produce these type of troubling results.

If you are looking for a caffeine-free energy drink loaded with antioxidants that supports heart health and tastes amazing, try Awake™ Energy Drinks.  If you’d like some caffeine combined with vitamins and antioxidants that also supports cardiovascular health , check out Isotonix® Acai Advanced Energy & Antioxidant, MochaTonix®, or for easy portability at a very affordable price intenseFX Quick Release Energy Tablets.

Drinkable solutions that are truly isotonic have the correct ratios of solids to liquids that enable them to be absorbed very rapidly and easily. Isotonix® products deliver up to 95% of their nutrients into the blood stream in minutes when taken as directed.

Antioxidants are all the rage because they are critical for good health. Antioxidants strengthen cellular function, fight disease and slow aging by inhibiting oxidizing free radical damage. Demand has manufacturers adding antioxidants to sport drinks, pet food, cosmetics, coffee, you-name-it.

Ads splash around enticements like “live longer”, “feel better”, “fight illness”. Antioxidants really can help achieve all these benefits if they actually work by resisting free radical oxidation.

Antioxidants come in the form of certain vitamins, minerals, enzymes and phytonutrients. Our bodies also produce natural antioxidants in the form of glutathione and CoQ10 to support cellular health. Inadequate antioxidant levels are found in virtually every type of disease and are primary contributors to aging.

Sorting through hundreds of antioxidant compounds for what will address your needs can be overwhelming and confusing. If you purchase an antioxidant and start using it, how long will it be before you notice a difference? A few weeks or a few months? Do you need more time or a larger dosage? Is your antioxidant even working? Is it adequately blocking cellular oxidation and cleaning up free radicals?

Oxidation occurs when oxygen molecules react to a substance that they encounter. The amount of oxygen present and the type of material encountered affect the result. Often oxidation is visible to the naked eye. Browning fruit and rusting metal are prime examples of oxidation.

Lemon juice is very high in the antioxidant vitamin C. That’s why sliced fruit dipped in lemon juice neutralizes oxygen molecules in the air and slows down the browning of the fruit. Wax on a car acts like an antioxidant by creating a barrier from the oxidizing air, which maintains the luster of the finish.

Our bodies are assaulted by much more than oxygen air molecules. Bacteria, viruses, free radicals, injuries, disease and aging all damage our cells continuously. Inadequate antioxidant levels leave us vulnerable, or worse, in a state of disease. Antioxidants are the internal cavalry fighting for our health.

Use this simple test to verify a base level of activity in your antioxidant.

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