The Benefits of Fasting and Detoxing!

Today we live in a convenience age. You can save time by eating fast food and you can get better by taking a quick acting pill. But chronic diseases are on the upsurge and there appears to be a veritable epidemic of cancer. It seems in this age of McDonald’s health is degenerating. Could there be a connection I wonder? If we were to take a minute to look back at history we would see that something altogether not convenient has been around for several thousand years, and that is fasting. Fasting, or forgoing food is the world’s most ancient and natural healing procedure. When animals feel unwell they stop eating and rest. They know something that humans appear to have forgotten; they know that, by ceasing eating, the body triggers a very powerful cleansing process. This ‘cleanse’ reaches down into every cell and produces truly remarkable therapeutic results.

What happens when you fast? After 24 hours of zero food intake the digestive system no longer has anything to do. Digestive enzymes that usually drain a lot of the body’s energy to accomplish their task ,travel not to the stomach but to the intestines and into the bloodstream, where they gobble up waste matter which comprises decaying and moribund cells, metabolic refuse and other pollutants. At the same time as this cleanse is taking place organs and glands get an unaccustomed holiday; this break gives them an opportunity to purify and rejuvenate. Altogether this operation results in enhanced immune system function which at the end of the day means that health is restored and illness killed off. Benjamin Franklin said long ago “the best form of all medicines is rest and fasting.”

Main stream opinion today tends to dismiss this health-promoting trend as a “faddy and New Age” movement which has scant health benefit. As we have already said there is nothing new age about it at all as it has been around for a very long time. Hippocrates according to some, claims to be the father of modern medicine. His sensible motto provides the backbone to the ‘The Hippocratic Oath’ to which all doctors swear. This is “do no harm”. He prescribed abstinence from food while a disease was on the increase and particularly so as it approached the healing crisis. Moreover, another piece of wisdom from the same source was ‘eat sparsely at all times”. Unlike some pharmaceuticals, none of these practices do harm. Essentially it is a good idea to leave the table with room for a little more, and follow the very sound advice recommended by our grandmothers “feed a cold and starve a fever.”

More recently both Dr. Kelly and Dr. Roderigo suggested that all diseases begin in the intestinal tract. By cleaning the intestines you get rid of the toxins which are the main components of this form of unwellness. Fasting and cleansing with the help of enemas and colonics have become increasingly more popular with those truly anxious to bring their health up to speed. Such treatments have been heartily embraced by people like the Swedes and more and more clinics are popping up in both Europe and  the United States.

Back in the early 1990s, centres specialising in this form of cleansing took root on Koh Samui which was at the time, a much favoured destination of back-packers.  The first Resort to appear was “Spa Samui” in Lamai. The brainchild of American Guy Hopkins and his Thai wife, Toy. It offered a de-tox programme at a reasonable price and immediately became popular with the young people who were coming to the island. It still is popular and d has been featured in major newspaper articles as well as television documentaries. Others under the influence of the model of Spa Samui, followed. For instance Health Oasis Resort situated in picturesque Bang Por arrived on the scene in 1997. As time unfolded it seems the original backpackers joined the corporate workforce, becoming more affluent themselves; they were able to spread their health message to wealthier friends and colleagues who thirsted after a more comfortable detoxing experience. Thus the luxurious Kamalaya came into being, whilst others were to follow a similar model.  Not to be outdone the brand name resorts that began to spring up in more recent times, all offered spa facilities and some even embarked on the detox route. Some are located in very beautiful and peaceful settings.  It goes without saying that some are a lot better than others. Health Ambit Consultancy has great experience in this industry and would be more than happy to recommend a resort that suits your own particular needs.

Alister Bredee

Contrail or Chemtrail is it all a Conspiracy Theory?

The contrail/chemtrail argument has raged for over a decade and now it has hit Samui. Some people are claiming that they see unusual cloud formations directly after an aircraft flies overhead. The official response reiterated by Governments worldwide is the same. They tell you that you are observing a contrail. A contrail is a cloud of condensed water vapor created when the hot, humid gases from aircraft engines mix with the cold surrounding air. Look up into the sky on a clear day and you will see these trails usually flowing from a north south direction over Koh Samui. This is not a surprise as the island lies abreast the air corridor linking Bangkok with Hat Yai, Malaysia, Singapore and points south-east. The rate at which these contrails dissipate depends on the prevailing weather conditions. Samui lies within the tropics, in regions of high humidity contrails persist unlike in dry regions where they disappear very quickly.
Because of humidity these vapor trails fan out to make small clouds reaching a few hundred meters in height. The actual rate of dispersion will also depend on wind speeds and air turbulence. You can expect the trails to persist for more than a few minutes. According to “The Discovery TV Channel “the pollutants that are included in these trails include nitrous oxide, nitrogen dioxide, nitric acid, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and methane.”
Chemtrails on the other hand, which are dismissed as being the invention of the conspiracy theorists, are composed of barium, aluminum salts, polymer fibers and sometimes silver carbide. That’s a noxious mixture! Their proponents claim that unlike contrails these persist for hours and eventually blend to form clouds. If you look at the sky, you will frequently see this phenomenon. Answers from officialdom continue to deny that such things exist. Now we are beginning to see this picture emerge in Thailand, what is going on?
A documentary produced by Michael Murphy in 2009 entitled “What in the World are they Spraying?” claims: “What most people call chemtrails are what scientists and geoengineers call trails from stratospheric aerosol engineering programs where aerosols/chemicals are sprayed out of airplanes in the atmosphere and spread out.” After heavy spraying the clouds appear whitish and become grey and murky.
Yes, geoengeineering exists. In 1991 patent 5003186 was granted in the USA. Its title is, “Stratospheric Welscbach seeding for Reduction of Global Warming.” The program involves metal oxides like aluminum dispersed into the atmosphere. As Global warming is not really an issue and the opposite appears to be the case one could say they have been successful in their endeavors! What’s more such successes render unnecessary the proposed “Carbon Emissions Tax” which is slated to come on line in the next few years. Bill Gates is deeply involved in this project, too. This is the man who announced during a TED lecture that the population of the planet needs to be reduced to something like half a billion.
If chemtrails are part of a geoengineering project to improve the world’s weather, then why not tell us so? There is something very wrong with the weather and efforts to rectify the problem deserve praise and not silence.
A commercial airline pilot admits he is skeptical when he hears that these trails are simply the result of atmospheric conditions. “Airplanes don’t fly all over the sky. They fly in relatively straight lines along air corridors. The spray planes do not conform to these patterns.” A lady resident in northern California asks the authorities to explain why there were no chemtrails for five weeks between July and August of last year. She claims the spray planes were diverted to spray the toxic “Coreexit “over the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. If as the authorities claim these planes are commercial flights somebody surely would have commented that air transportation was grounded for five weeks!!!!
Look up into the sky and use your eyes, what do you see and what do you think is happening? Share your insights with the letters page of the Samui Gazette, or leave comments here."
This article by Alister Bredee appeared in "The Samui Gazette" of 19th August 2011

“Neem the Panacea for all Diseases!”

In Thailand they call it “Saddow”; the trees can be found growing in dry locations. It is itself a member of the mahogany family and is native to India and S.E. Asia. You can ask your garden centre to source a sapling for you; it just might be a valuable addition to your garden!
“Azardirachta Indica” to give the plant its proper name has played an important role in ayurvedic medicine for more than 3000 years. Ayurveda is a term than comes from the combination of two Sanskrit words which translate as “life science”. Similar to the ancient tradition of Chinese medicine this Indian system believes an imbalance of body, mind or spirit is the root cause of all disease. Bring harmony to the system and wellness returns.
Neem has so many medicinal uses that it has been described as “the village pharmacy “in Ayurvedic literature, where it is depicted like this: ‘Neem bark is cool, bitter, astringent, acrid and refrigerant. It is useful in tiredness, cough, fever, loss of appetite, worm infestation. It heals wounds and vitiated conditions of kapha, vomiting, skin diseases, excessive thirst, and diabetes. Neem leaves are reported to be beneficial for eye disorders and insect poisons. It treats Vatik disorder. It is anti-leprotic. Its fruits are bitter, purgative, anti-hemorrhoids and anthelmintic’. (The Neem Foundation.)
This wonder tree has recently come to the attention of western medicine. Curiously the American pharmaceutical company W.R. Grace tried and was successful in obtaining an European patent on it. Sensibly the Indian Government objected, correctly claiming that the medicines derived from the tree had been a part of the ayurevedic pharmacopeia for several thousand years. Grace lost their patent but still had the arrogance to contest the ruling. They lost again and so the case closed! What they were trying to do was patent a fungicide derived from the tree.
Neem’s anti-mold, anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties are well known in oriental medicine. In Thailand they place “saddow” leaves in rice stores to protect the crop from spoilage. In the humid tropical climate of southern Thailand mold is an ongoing problem as many will attest after the recent rains. Ceilings and walls developed black blotches and the sickly sweet smell of mildew seeped from cupboards, book shelves and even bed sheets. Mildew is a minute fungus which needs moisture to survive. Bathrooms with damp air trapped between four walls are a prime location for these molds. The spores settle in the mucous membrane of the human body and some strains contain mycotoxins which are hazardous to health. Washing down moldy walls with a dilute hydrogen peroxide solution usually kills the fungus. If you don’t do this you stand a chance of developing allergic reactions and sometimes illnesses like asthma, coughs, a build up of mucous, sinus conditions whilst irritations can break out in the eyes and throat. Mold also forms on spoiled food. Once you detect mold on food, don’t eat it, throw it out, it can be quite poisonous.
If we do develop symptoms like the common cough, taking Neem capsules is an excellent way of addressing the problem. Mycotoxins include an advanced form of yeast which mutates and becomes a fungus. This often happens in Candida albicans. We all have yeast in our system and it plays an important role in quelling disease, but when it changes to a fungus it can grow rhizomes or roots that penetrate cell walls and cause toxins to spread. Neem capsules are an efficient antidote to Candida problems. The plant is native to Thailand and the capsules are readily available. Supplies can be purchased from Ms. Ta’s shop, located opposite Spa Samui in Lamai. Whilst there, stock up with some of the probiotic coconut drink and coconut cheese. These products are rich in natural bacteria which help the immune system work more efficiently by providing the ammunition it needs to fight off disease. Take a look at their website at www.thaiorganiclife.com."
This article by Alister Bredee appeared in the Samu Gazette of 10th June 2011

Poisoned Food Claims 48 Victims at the Dog and Cat Rescue Center.

Brigitte Gomm the founder of Samui’s Dog and Cat Rescue Center is distraught, and quite rightly so. In late February/ early March the Center lost 43 dogs with a further five dying later.
The tragedy started with “Sporty” who commenced with intestinal bleeding leading to death. Two other dogs at the Ban Talig Ngam Center followed within the next two days. The problem, whatever it was, appeared to be liver related as the dogs took on a jaundiced yellow hue on becoming ill. There was a definite problem, but at the time nobody seemed to know what it was! Samples were sent to the Samui Bangkok Hospital for lab tests. The cost was high and the results were inconclusive. Remember, the Rescue Centre is not a commercial operation it depends on charitable donations in order to survive!
As the death toll mounted Brigitte and her colleagues began to suspect poisoning of some sort. They attended to the obvious and cleaned feeding bowls more thoroughly and stopped using the water from their well, because the land behind the shelter had been recently cleared and they felt pesticides might have leached into the water table.
It seemed strange that dogs were dying in Taling Ngam but were unaffected in Chaweng. Why was this? Then the truth began to dawn. The fifty dogs at the Chaweng shelter were all fed on leftovers and donations but the dogs in the other and bigger facility depended largely on dry dog food from Bangkok. Brigitte looked at the dry food. First they stopped using it and secondly they sent samples to Bangkok for analysis. As no results appeared they bought a small test lab, themselves. They found the food was contaminated with Alpha-Toxins, or so they said. Alpha-Toxins are bacterial infestations like staphylococcuus and clostridium. These can cause conditions like pneumonia and severe stomach upsets that can affect the liver.
As soon as they stopped using the food, it was remarkable to see many dogs beginning to get better. Sadly some were too badly affected and did not! To counteract the poisoning every dog was given vitamins and liver supplements. This was an expensive but necessary life supportive treatment.
Now, Brigitte and her team understood why so many of their dogs had died, so they contacted the food supplier in Bangkok. The vet in question explained that they had changed the food formulation the month before. Instead of using a rice base they had moved over to corn. This could well have been caused by the rising rice price. Corn is notorious in how it can easily become mouldy thus creating alfla toxins which are very damaging to the liver. These moulds abound in Thailand, especially in the rainy season. The supplier did not offer to refund the product, but suggested reblending it with a non-affected base. Yes, this would simply make the food a little less toxic! Not surprisingly the Dog and Cat Rescue team refused this offer. The supplier was also annoyed that Samui had warned the “Soi Dog “organization in Phuket who also received their dry food from him. This largely averted a potential tragedy there. Sadly 5 of their dogs died but they were saved the horrific ravages experienced in Koh Samui.
To date the Bangkok producer has received THB 206,000 in payments for his goods. He has made no offer of restitution. He has now blocked all calls from Brigitte but it is unlikely his problems will end there. Another customer, a vet in Bangkok breeds huskies. To date he has lost all 24 of his dogs. It is unlikely he will let this pass lightly!
This is a very sad story where the food manufacturer stands a good chance of going scot free for his negligence. The Samui Cat and Dog Rescue Center has accrued large expenses because of this fiasco. They are a charitable organization and depend on donations for their survival. If you could find a way of helping them in this tragic time, they would be truly grateful. You can find more about this story and have an opportunity to help by visiting their website at "http://www.samuidog.org"

“Retreat Yourself”, a new health concept for Koh Samui!” by Alister Bredee

A new health concept launched on Thursday March 3rd. The island is world renowned for its “Detox Resorts”, a concept involving fasting and colonics that blossomed into being in the 1990s. We are now almost twenty years on and little has changed in the make-up of the programs that are based on a concept developed by Dr Richard Anderson and others. Don’t get me wrong, Anderson’s ideas are first rate and his thoughts on mineral deficiency need to be brought to the attention of all. Sadly, few existing Detox programs address the problem because they have followed the same format since inception whilst thinking has changed in this time. This paradigm changed with the dual launch of “Health Republic’ and “Retreat Yourself on Samui” on March 3rd.
This launch is the brain-child of Elicia Woodford who has been on Samui since 2009. When she first arrived she set out to study the ‘Natural Health Facilities’ on the island. She visited the “Detox Resorts” and saw exactly what was going on. Her initial concept was to publish a guide to acquaint visitors and practitioners alike with information on what was available. It has taken time but at last she is ready to offer her extensive knowledge to the public.
“Beach Republic “is the Resort known for its “hip” atmosphere and party lifestyle which now provides the setting designed to lure visitors into adopting a healthy mind set without embracing the boot camp ambiance of most of the island’s Detox resorts. The trend has been for “detoxers’ to go to the resorts for a week or so. They starve themselves and experience an inner cleanse and then move as quickly as possible to another hotel where “they eat, drink and become merry”!
People are not machines and in many cases poor health assessment procedures mean they are embracing programs that are quite wrong for their individual health requirements. Somebody with a low blood sugar condition really should not be fasting. There is this misconception that you have to fast to Detox. You don’t, and a light raw foods and juice program is likely to be more effective and a lot less painful. Secondly, the majority of participants join these programs to lose weight. A week without food appears to be a short cut to rapid weight loss, but it doesn’t always work. It is the underlying problem that requires addressing not just the symptoms.
“Health Republic” is not a Detox Center but a Resort where people come to learn new ways to a healthy lifestyle which is a fun experience truly in keeping with its cool image. Participants learn about the power of juicing and the delights of smoothies as well as gentle exercise techniques that motivate them to continue their feel good quest rather than giving up at the first available opportunity. Oh, and they don’t need to run away to another hotel in order to pamper themselves!
Those who came along to Beach Republic for the launch party were invited to sample the healthy fare. Look out for the coconut kefir; it sparkled like vintage champagne! There were demonstrations that included tai-chi, reiki, a chiropractic evaluation and talks on health assessment, Hawaiian healing and a juicing class. There was an all day steam room and shopping facilities were available where there was access to products including herbal supplements, delicious raw cacao and much more. The launch gave everybody the opportunity to sample some of the benefits that can be derived from this leading edge opportunity found at “Health Republic.”
The second launch of the day was the website “Retreat Yourself on Koh Samui.” This offers information about the island’s healthy services. It provides visitors with information of where to go and what to do to find the answers to their health concerns. Secondly, it lists practitioners, so at last there is a practitioner directory available and thirdly it connects Resorts to practitioners. Many establishments are on the lookout for competent therapists to best serve their guests but they don’t know where to go to find them. This website provides such information. To find out more about these services go to Retreat Yourself on Koh Samui
Alister Bredee is a freelance author living on Koh Samui. He is a health care practitioner (working with the amazing CoRe system to find out more ask about a free introductory session), trainer and a partner in The Health Ambit Consultancy. He also works as a Detox Consultant and Locum with extensive experience. He can be contacted via his website: Health Ambit Consultancy He publishes a regular blog at: www.healthambitblogspot.com. You can find him and the Health Ambit Consultancy on Facebook.

This Will Change the World as We Know It" by Dr. Al Sears

This had such an impact on me, I still remember it: I was sitting at my desk almost 20 years ago. I like to stay abreast of non-medical scientific literature. So I picked up my issue of Scientific American and something jumped off the page at me.
Elizabeth Blackburn had made a truly revolutionary discovery. I'll never forget it.
When I read that she'd found a solution to aging already in our genes, I took out a piece of paper and wrote down something that I still have today. It says, "This will change the world as we know it."
Now, finally, it seems other people think so, too. Elizabeth Blackburn won the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
Why all the fuss? Let me explain why this discovery is so powerful…
She and her colleagues had discovered the enzyme telomerase that allows you to rebuild the end part of your chromosomes called the telomere.
Telomeres are like the plastic caps on your shoelaces … only at the ends of your DNA. They keep your chromosomes from unraveling.
But here's the rub…
Each time your cells divide, your DNA copies itself exactly. And every time that happens, the telomeres get a tiny bit shorter. When telomeres get too short, the cell stops dividing. This is because there's not enough of the "cap" left to stop the DNA from unraveling.
In other words, it's the length of your telomeres that let your chromosomes know they can't make good copies any more. It's like an auto-shut-off mechanism so you don't make damaged DNA.
What this means is that telomere shortening serves as your genetic clock. This in itself is a huge discovery, but there's even more to it. After years of research and testing, scientists have found a way to stop your telomeres from shortening.
How? The enzyme that can turn back your biological clock: telomerase.
Telomerase is in all your cells, but it's usually turned off. The key to slowing or even reversing the aging process is activating it.
Telomerase's job is to make a blueprint so your telomeres can rebuild themselves when your DNA makes copies. This way, your telomeres don't get shorter. Sometimes they even get longer.
In fact, Blackburn discovered that telomerase is so important, even healthy, growing cells can have "catastrophic telomere shortening" without the enzyme. And when it's active, telomerase rebuilds telomeres that have suffered shortening.
Eventually, this discovery could lead to immortality. But activating your telomerase has benefits for you, right now.
Old Cells Can Be Young Again. When you get sick, your immune system makes copies of its disease-fighting white blood cells called T-cells. These cells divide over and over again to fight off the bacteria or virus that's invading your body.
The more often these cells reproduce, the shorter their telomeres become until they stop copying. The older you get, the fewer active T-cells you have because they've fought off as much sickness as they can. The bottom line is that when your telomeres are short, your immune system looks and acts old.
This makes your risk for infection and disease much higher. One study looked at about 150 people from 60-75 years old. The ones who had shorter telomeres were three times more likely to die from heart disease. And they were eight times more likely to die from an infectious disease.
Shortened telomeres also appear to be the mechanism for many chronic diseases like:
• Diabetes. When you eat too many carbohydrates, your pancreas is asked to create more insulin than it's supposed to. And to get the job done, the pancreas has to create more of a factory to create the insulin it needs by making more cells. If the pancreas is continually challenged to produce more and more insulin, the cells have to continue to divide. When their telomeres are too short, they can't reproduce anymore. And your body can't make the insulin you need. This is what causes diabetes.
• Atherosclerosis. One study I read looked at men with high blood pressure. Those with shorter telomeres in their white blood cells were more likely to get heart disease.
• Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's patients' glial cells, the maintenance cells to the brain, have short telomeres. Some kind of toxic environmental hazard caused those cells to replicate to defend themselves.
But you don't have to let your immune system grow old. When telomerase is activated, you strengthen your cells by keeping the telomeres long, strong and young. And the younger your cells are, the more powerful they are at fighting sickness and disease.
In fact, for most of the people in a brand new study, telomerase activation therapy reduced the percentage of immune cells with short telomeres by 10-50 percent. And the amount of older immune cells decreased by 10-20 percent.7 This represents an "apparent age reversal of 5-20 years!"
Grow Younger Naturally
Tons of research is going on every day and you'll be reading more and more about telomerase in the coming months. But in the meantime, you can help slow the aging of your cells with nutrients.
One of the best nutrients for activating your telomerase is trusty omega-3. A new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association followed about 600 people over a full five years. They found that daily supplements of omega-3 significantly increased telomerase activity.
Luckily for you, there are lots of foods you can eat to bulk up on omega-3 right now. Cold-water, high-fat fish like mackerel, wild salmon, lake trout and herring are good sources. Also, you can eat plenty of raw nuts and seeds. Walnuts, brazil nuts, almonds and pumpkin seeds are some of my favorites.
The good news doesn't stop there, though. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition recently looked at telomere length in about 600 women. Those who used vitamins had telomeres that were on average 5 percent longer than those who didn't supplement.
Three vitamins your telomeres need are B12, C and E. You can get these in a variety of foods.
Unfortunately, in most circumstances, you might not be able to get enough of these vitamins from what you eat. If you can't, supplementing is a good option.
• Vitamin B12 – I recommend taking at least 100 mcg per day. But, you can take as much as 500 mcg per day to help improve your brain function and boost your energy levels.
• Vitamin C – Based on my own experience, taking up to 3,000 mg per day is a good amount if you're currently in good health. And in times of stress or sickness, you can take up to 20,000 mg.
It's very important to make sure you're getting a natural form of vitamin C, not a synthetic form. Natural vitamin C is over 100 percent more effective than the synthetic form. And it can stay in your system longer.
• Vitamin E – There are eight different types of vitamin E. And they get divided into two different groups: tocopherols and tocotrienols. Most multivitamins you find have only synthetic alpha tocopherol. Make sure you get a vitamin with a natural E complex. That way, you get all four tocopherols. Plus, natural E has twice the bioavailability of the synthetic form, so your body can absorb it better.
Vitamin D is called the "sunshine vitamin" for good reason. But it might soon be renamed the "telomere vitamin." That's because a separate study by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition looked at more than 2,000 women of all ages. The more vitamin D they had in their bodies, the longer their telomeres were. On top of that, people who supplemented with vitamin D had longer telomeres than those who didn't.
To get some vitamin D in your system, go out in the sun for 20 minutes each day. Your body will use sunlight to make tons of the stuff. If you don't live in the Sunshine State, like I do, you might need to eat some of those same cold-water fish that give you omega-3s. There's also vitamin D in egg yolks and orange juice.
If you need to take a vitamin D supplement, I recommend 2,000 IU a day.
___________________________________________
1 Cong, Yusheng, Shay, Jerry W., "Actions of human telomerase beyond telomeres," Cell Research June 2008; 18:725-732
2 Simon, R., Chan, W. L., Blackburn, Elizabeth H., "Telomeres and telomerase," Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B 2004; 359, 109-121
3 Cawthon, R.M., Smith, K.R., O'Brien, E., et al, "Association between telomere length in food and mortality in people aged 60 years or older," Lancet 2003; 361(9355): 393-395
4 Sampson, M., Winterbone, M., et al, "Monocyte Telomere Shortening and Oxidative DNA Damage in Type 2 Diabetes," Diabetes Care 2006
5 Benetos, A., Gardner, J., et al, "Short Telomeres are Associated with Increased Carotid Atherosclerosis in Hypertensive Subjects," Hypertension 2004
6 Farfara, D., Lifshitz, V., et al, "Neuroprotective and neurotoxic properties of glial cells in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease," Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine 2008
7 Harley, C., Weimin, L., et al, "A Natural Product Telomerase Activator as Part of a Health Maintenance Program," Rejuvenation Research 2010
8 Ibid.
9 Ramin Farzaneh-Far, M.D., "Association of Marine Omega-3 Fatty Acid Levels with Telomeric Aging in Patients with Coronary Heart Disease," JAMA 2010; 303(3):250-257
10 Xu, Qun, Parks, Christine G., DeRoo, Lisa A., et al, "Multivitamin use and telomere length in women," Am J Clin Nutr March 2009; 89: 1857-1863, 2009
11 Richards, J Brent, et al, "Higher serum vitamin D concentrations are associated with longer leukocyte telomere length in women," Journal of Clinical Nutrition Nov. 2007; Vol. 86, No. 5, 1420-1425
Dr. Al Sears

“Learn How to Alkalize your Body for Good Health!”

To determine acid alkaline balance we are confronted by the strange term pH levels. pH stands for “Potential Hydrogen”. It is all about hydrogen ion concentrations. When the level is increased the substance becomes more alkaline and when it decreases, more acidic. The range runs from 0-14. A reading of 7 which is supposed to correspond to water is neutral. Sadly not all water has a pH of 7, but that is another story!
The Human blood is slightly alkaline with a pH reading of between 7.35 and 7.45. Proteins in the diet break down to make strong acids. These include uric, sulphuric, phosphoric and nitric acid. Weak acids like citric acids have a different affect on the human body. Lemon juice is composed of citric acid. Lemons grow on trees and undergo a photosynthesis process. This means the lemon tree absorbs minerals from the earth and transports them to the fruit. The lemon juice breaks down to make carbonic acid which again breaks down to form carbon dioxide and water which are easily excreted from the kidneys. However, the minerals stay and these alkalize the system thus increasing the pH level of blood, urine and saliva. Drinking water does not always provide an alkaline medium. Often municipal supplies are treated sewerage which lack the minerals to reach the desired level of alkalinity or it is bottled water. Water is put in plastic bottles, which break down leaching phtlates into the liquid and making it unnecessarily acid. Phthalates are estrogen mimics and are often confused with PCBs. PCBs (PolyChlorinated Biphenyls). These were considered carcinogenic and supposedly banned in the 1970s. To overcome the problem of over acidic water, it always a good idea to add a slice of lemon or lime in order to alkalize it!
The problem is most people are overly acidic. One reason for this is excessive protein intake. These animal related proteins form strong acids and they steal minerals from the body as the acids need to be buffered to safely pass through the kidneys without damaging them. Sulphuric acid, for instance combines with calcium to complete the buffering process. The calcium comes from the bones, and so we see excessive acidity robs the body of these important minerals which have repercussions later in life. As a result the bones weaken and we encounter deficiency diseases like osteoporosis and consider it part of the aging process when in fact the problem is dietary. By the same token, as people age it seems they they shrink in stature. This happens as the acids in the body leach out vital minerals, unless of course the person realizes the hazard and focuses on eating foods that maintain the alkaline balance.
The dangers do not rest simply with an excess of animal products in the diet. Sugar, simple carbohydrates and saturated fats have the same affect. White sugar is not a food at all. In the refining process all goodness has been stripped from the long chains of glucose and the result is that the sugar in this form is difficult to absorb. These are alkaline foods but as the system cannot break them down effectively the digestion is interrupted and this leaves them in the intermediate acid state and not the desired alkaline one! The same thing applies to wheat and grains. It seems that gluten and some of the preservatives added to white flour make it very difficult to digest, so once more the conversion process does not complete itself and you are left with an acid forming food.
As they body becomes more and more stripped of minerals, it becomes more and more acid and reaches a stage where it simply can no longer heal itself! In this overly acid state it can no longer absorb the minerals and vitamins necessary to reverse its overacidity. At this point serious health issues come to make themselves apparent. The lowered pH creates hormone imbalances, cardiovascular discrepancy, weight gain and sometimes weight loss, bladder and kidney problems immune deficiencies, a buildup of free radicals that cause cellular destruction, a stressed liver, poor digestion, Candida and yeast infections as well as cancers and tumors. To put it bluntly an overly acidic system is a principal cause of disease. However, a low pH can be increased and the health hazards of over acidity reversed.
Cancer is on the rise and it seems 1 in 3 people are now plagued by this life threatening illness. All cancer patients are far too acid and they also lack oxygenation. This is one reason why a sensible exercise routine is so important. In the absence of oxygen, sugar ferments into lactic acid which intensifies the quandary.
So how do we reverse an overly high level of acidity in the body? A good idea would be to buy a digital pH meter. They are easily available from Garden Centers and aquarium suppliers and they are relatively cheap. You need to monitor urine and saliva levels. During the night your body goes through a breaking down, catabolic process. Acids from the previous day decompose; then they are stored in the bladder. The urine voided first thing in the morning is always acidic. Your pH meter will demonstrate this to you. However, as we move out of the catabolic cycle just before midday, the urine will start alkalizing. It should be giving a reading close to 7 at 2pm. If it is substantially below 6.8 you are too acid and need to take steps to reverse the issue. Make sure that you eat a diet that comprises 80% fresh vegetables and only 20% protein. This is in inverse proportion to the regular diet. Make certain you eat at least five servings of fruit and vegetables per day. Cut out sugar and acid forming foods like fried potatoes and pasta. Stop buying things in packets, add lemon to your water and begin to work on those negative emotions that are poisoning your system. Learn about cosmetics and stop covering yourself in toxic petroleum products which are all far too acid. Stop cleaning your teeth with regular toothpaste, and use sea salt instead. By all means take a mineral supplement, but be sure the minerals themselves come from an organic source. This means they come via a pesticide free vegetable source. The body simply cannot absorb minerals from an inorganic source. Unfortunately you might have to forego some of the “goodies” in life. Coffee and alcohol are both powerful acid forming agents as are cigarettes. We do really have to ask ourselves the question, “what price do you pay for good health?"
Use your pH meter to monitor your progress and make changes so that your urine has a pH of above 6.8 come 2 o’clock in the afternoon. It will take a little effort, but you will feel substantially better when you discover a diet that puts your pH in the alkaline side of the equation and you come to realize good health is really priceless!.