Which Common Fruit Fights Cancer Better?

December 10, 2013 by Michael Greger M.D. in News with 12 Comments

Recently, researchers compared the ability of eleven common fruits to suppress cancer cell growth in vitro. Which do you think was most effective—apples, bananas, cranberries, grapefruits, grapes, lemons, oranges, peaches, pears, pineapples, or strawberries?

There are many ways to compare the healthfulness of different foods. For example, if you were interested in antioxidants you might compare vitamin C content. If you compared vitamin C content between our two most popular fruits, apples and bananas, then bananas would appear twice as healthy (10 mg in a banana compared to only 5mg in an apple). But vitamin C is just one of thousands of different phytonutrients in fruits and vegetables. It turns out the vitamin C in apples accounts for less than 1 percent of an apple’s total antioxidant activity.

In my 5-min video Which Fruit Fights Cancer Better? I show a graph of the total antioxidant content of a red delicious apple. The amount contributed to the vitamin C is so tiny you can hardly see it. Even though there are only about 5mg of vitamin C in a small apple, it has the antioxidant equivalent of 1500 mg of vitamin C! I’ve reviewed before how taking that much vitamin C straight in a supplement may actually have apro-oxidant effect and cause DNA damage (in my video Preventing Exercise-Induced Oxidative Stress With Watercress), but you can get three times that antioxidant power eating an apple, without the adverse effects.

Of course there’s more than just vitamin C in bananas too. I was surprised to see astudy out of Harvard suggesting that bananas were a significant source of anthocyanins, the red/blue/violet phytonutrients found in berries. Maybe I underestimated bananas? They are, after all, technically berries.

Anthocyanins have been found in blue, purple, orange-red, red-purple, and pink-purple wild bananas, but none in domesticated yellow. In the Harvard researchers’ defense, they just took values from the USDA, and it turns out USDA apparently made a mistake. There are no anthocyanins in store-bought bananas, and despite twice the vitamin C, bananas are beat out by apples in terms of overall antioxidant power. But that’s just measuring the ability of these fruits to quench an oxidation reaction in a test tube. It would be nice to measure actual biological activity.

In the red delicious apple study, researchers also measured the ability of apple extracts, from both peeled and unpeeled apples, to suppress the growth of human cancer cells growing in a petri dish compared to control. Wouldn’t it be great to be able to compare that kind of superpower between different fruits? Well, now we can!

In my video Which Fruit Fights Cancer Better? I show a graph of cancer cell proliferation versus increasing concentrations of the 11 most common fruits eaten in the United States. If you drip water on these cancer cells as a control, nothing happens. They start out powering away at 100 percent growth and they keep powering away at 100 percent growth. And pineapples, pears, and oranges don’t do much better.

Peaches start pulling away from the pack. At high peach concentrations, cancer cell proliferation drops about 10 percent, but bananas and grapefruits appear to work four times better, dropping cancer growth rates by about 40 percent. Red grapes, strawberries and apples do even better, cutting cancer cell growth up to half at only half the dose, but the two fruits that won, causing a dramatic drop in cancer proliferation at just tiny doses, were lemons and cranberries. So if you look at the effective dose required to suppress liver cancer cell proliferation, apples are more powerful than bananas, but cranberries win the day. And there was no effective dose listed for orange, pear, and pineapple since they didn’t appear to affect the cancer cell growth at all.

This study reminded me of my #1 Anticancer Vegetable video (along with its “prequel,” Veggies vs. Cancer).

Other videos in which I rank various foods include:

• A Better Breakfast
• Anti Up on the Veggies
• Antioxidants in a Pinch
• Best Berries
• Best Fruit Juice
• Better Than Goji Berries
• Better Than Green Tea?
• Glycotoxins
• Green Tea vs. White
• The Healthiest Sweetener
• Vegetables Rate by Nitrate

How can you consume cranberries palatably, though? Check out my recipe for Pink Juice with Green Foam and my video Cranberries versus Cancer.

More berried treasure in Strawberries versus Esophageal Cancer and Black Raspberries versus Oral Cancer.

-Michael Greger, M.D.

PS: If you haven’t yet, you can subscribe to my free videos here and watch my live year-in-review presentations Uprooting the Leading Causes of Death and More Than an Apple a Day.

Image credit: kanenas.net / Flickr

Tagged anthocyanins, antioxidants, apples, bananas, berries, cancer, cancer cell growth,cancer cell proliferation, cancer growth, cranberries, fruit, grapefruits, grapes, lemons,metastases, oranges, peaches, pears, phytonutrients, pineapples, strawberries, vegetables,vitamin C, wild bananas

About Michael Greger M.D.

Michael Greger, M.D., is a physician, author, and internationally recognized professional speaker on a number of important public health issues. Dr. Greger has lectured at the Conference on World Affairs, the National Institutes of Health, and the International Bird Flu Summit, testified before Congress, appeared on The Dr. Oz Show and The Colbert Report, and was invited as an expert witness in defense of Oprah Winfrey at the infamous "meat defamation" trial. Currently Dr. Greger proudly serves as the Director of Public Health and Animal Agriculture at the Humane Society of the United States.

8 aliments pour se nettoyer le foie de façon naturelle

Le foie est le premier organe impliqué dans l’élimination des toxines de votre corps. Il purifie et nettoie votre corps en filtrant les éléments toxiques de votre sang, et aide à digérer la nourriture.

Un foie en bonne santé a pour fonction organique de brûler les graisses ; il prélève les nutriments de la nourriture et les transforme en composants essentiels de votre sang en captant les vitamines et minéraux et en produisant des protéines et des enzymes, ce qui participe à l’équilibre hormonal. Notre foie aide également notre système immunitaire à combattre les infections, il élimine les bactéries de notre sang et produit de la bile, nécessaire pour la digestion de la nourriture.

Lorsque notre foie est mis à mal par le stress ou par une exposition trop importantes à des toxines, tout notre système interne peut être affecté, ce qui peut causer de graves problèmes de santé.N’oublions pas qu’il produit de la bile, qui aide à la purification, et qu’elle est nécessaire à l’élimination et à l’assimilation des graisses et des protéines de notre nourriture.

C’est pourquoi il est essentiel que notre foie bénéficie d’une attention particulière, car un foie en mauvais état est incapable de traiter de manière efficace les nutriments de votre nourriture, ou de purifier le sang qui circule dans votre corps. Le docteur Karl Maret écrit, au sujet de l’importance d’un bon fonctionnement hépatique : « Les milliers de systèmes d’enzymes qui sont responsables de presque toutes les activités du corps sont générés dans le foie. Le bon fonctionnement de la vue, du cœur, du cerveau, des organes reproducteurs, des articulations et des reins dépend entièrement d’une bonne activité hépatique. Si le foie n’est pas en mesure de produire ne serait-ce qu’un seul des milliers de systèmes d’enzymes dont le corps a besoin, le corps tout entier est dérangé, ce qui provoque un stress métabolique important ».

Voici donc 8 aliments importants qu’il faut envisager d’intégrer à un régime quotidien afin de garder un foie en bonne santé.

L’avocat

Inclure davantage d’avocats dans votre régime peut aider votre corps à produire un type d’antioxydant appelé « glutathion », dont notre foie a besoin pour filtrer les composants toxiques, et ainsi améliorer son pouvoir purifiant. Des recherches ont montré que manger un ou deux avocats par semaine durant ne serait-ce qu’un mois peut réparer un foie endommagé.

L’ail

Il contient de nombreux composés organo-sulfurés, dont l’allicine et le sélénium, deux puissants nutriments dont il a été démontré qu’ils aident à protéger le foie des dégâts liés aux toxines, et à activer les enzymes hépatiques responsables de l’extraction des toxines de notre corps.

Le pamplemousse

C’est un fruit naturellement riche en vitamine C et en antioxydants, deux puissants agents de purification hépatique. Tout comme l’ail, le pamplemousse contient des composés qui améliorent la production d’enzymes hépatiques ayant un rôle détoxifiant. Il contient également un composé flavonoïde, la naringénine, qui aide le foie à brûler les graisses plutôt qu’à les stocker. Manger du pamplemousse ou boire son jus peut aider votre foie à évacuer les toxines et les substances cancérigènes.

Le thé vert

Rempli d’antioxydants connus sous le nom de catéchines, dont il a été prouvé qu’elles améliorent les fonctions hépatiques. Des études ont également démontré qu’elles aident l’élimination graisseuse du foie et favorisent une bonne fonction hépatique. Cette excellente boisson à base d’herbes protège également le foie contre les toxines susceptibles de l’endommager sérieusement.

Les noix

Riches en L-arginine (un acide aminé), en glutathion et en acides gras oméga 3, qui contribuent au processus de purification du foie et aident à détoxifier le foie de l’ammoniac, qui cause des maladies. Les noix facilitent également l’oxygénation du sang, et les extraits de leurs coques sont souvent utilisées dans la production de formules de purification du foie.

Les légumes-feuilles

Comme par exemple les épinards, la margose, la roquette, les feuilles de pissenlits, la chicorée et la laitue. Ces légumes-feuilles sont en mesure de neutraliser les métaux lourds, les produits chimiques et les pesticides présents dans vos aliments, et d’agir comme mécanisme protecteur du foie, en favorisant la production et le flux de bile purificatrice.

Les légumes crucifères

Les légumes tels que le brocoli, les choux-fleurs ou les choux de Bruxelles aident également à augmenter la présence de glucosinolates (composés organiques) dans notre corps, ce qui facilite la production d’enzymes digestives.

Le curcuma

C’est l’un des aliments les plus efficaces pour maintenir le foie en bonne santé. Il a été démontré qu’il protège activement le foie contre les dégâts toxiques, et régénère même des cellules hépatiques endommagées. Le curcuma améliore également la production naturelle de bile, réduit l’engorgement des conduits hépatiques et améliore la fonction globale de la vésicule biliaire, autre organe purificateur du corps. Il s’agit d’une forme naturelle de détoxifiant pour le foie.

The five keys to a great daily detoxification process

by Dr. David Jockers 

(NaturalNews) The modern world is full of environmental toxins. It is estimated that there are over 80,000 toxic chemicals used regularly in the US. There are over 500 chemicals stored in our body, and tests show that the average individual has at least seven pesticides in their urine. It is imperative to have a daily detoxification lifestyle to get these unwanted toxins out of our system.

A great detoxification program must focus on five major areas: the cells, blood, gut, liver and kidneys. There are many ways and many products that help the detoxification systems. However, very few are targeted to address all five of the major areas with the essential nutrients they need to properly deactivate and eliminate toxins.

Cellular detoxification:

If the cells of the body are not properly detoxifying, they end up accumulating toxins that damage DNA and intracellular organelles such as the mitochondria. This process creates abnormal cells and can lead to chronic diseases such as cancer and autoimmunity.

The major antioxidants that protect the cellular components from toxins and free radical stress include glutathione, superoxide dismutase and catalase. These antioxidants protect the DNA and mitochondria from oxidative stress. Every chronic degenerative disease is associated with lowered levels of these three intracellular antioxidants.

Blood purification:

Impurities that are able to flow through the bloodstream can interact with various cells, tissues and organs, including the brain, and cause major destruction. When the blood has high levels of unchecked toxins for an extended period of time, it leads to cardiovascular and neurological challenges.

Blood purification comes from chlorophyll-rich foods such as wheat grass, oat grass, chlorella and spirulina, along with regular consumption of dark, green leafy veggies.

Liver detoxification:

This is the primary organ that neutralizes and transforms toxins into a form that allows them to be successfully carried out of the body. When the body's toxic burden gets too heavy, the liver can become overwhelmed and unable to neutralize hazardous debris in the blood stream.

The liver has three detoxification steps to neutralize and eliminate toxins. Key nutrients include cysteine, glycine, glutamine, sulfur compounds and glutathione. Herbal components that enhance liver detoxification include ginger and milk thistle. These all benefit phases I and II liver detoxification.

Phase III liver detoxification includes gallbladder support for healthy bile flow, which is key for toxin removal. Key herbs to support this process include ginger, peppermint, fenugreek and fennel.

Gut movement:

Regular healthy bowel movements are absolutely essential for removing toxins from the body. We should be eliminating all toxic waste from the meals that we consume, along with the waste from the microorganisms in our gut, every 24-hour period.

This means that, if you consume a meal at 12 pm on Monday, you should have eliminated all the waste from it by 12pm on Tuesday at the latest. If this does not happen, the waste creates a breeding ground for hazardous microorganisms and parasites.

This leads to a putrification process and exponentially larger release of endotoxins throughout the bloodstream. This can then overwhelm the liver and create a vicious cycle of toxicity that affects everything in the body.

Kidney Cleansing:

The kidneys are an essential detoxification organ that pulls urea out of the body. Poorly functioning kidneys lead to elevated toxicity, particularly ammonia, which is extremely toxic to the brain. Poorkidney elimination is also related to blood pressure and cardiovascular disease.

Certain herbs enhance kidney function and improve the all-critical kidney filtration process. The kidney also depends upon a high level of glutathione production to perform all its functions. Kidney-strengthening herbs include milk thistle, ginger, peppermint, fenugreek and fennel.

Sources for this article include:

https://www.drjockers.com

https://www.drjockers.com

http://www.naturalhealth365.com

http://science.naturalnews.com

Suggested foods for diabetics: Top 10 list

by Aurora Geib 

(NaturalNews) If you've been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, your doctor has probably already advised you to limit simple sugars in your diet, avoid highly processed carbs and perhaps even increase your intake of whole grains, leafy greens and vegetables. These are your first steps toward better health. But, what if there were foods that had very targeted effects on blood sugar and type 2 diabetes? Here are 10 foods that lower blood sugar, support pancreatic health and may lessen your need for insulin.

1. Blueberries - Blueberries are not only yummy; they are packed with flavonoids and antioxidants. Their high fiber content and high levels of vitamin C and E make them the ideal blood-sugar-stabilizing food. You can enjoy blueberries fresh or frozen year round. Use them in fruit smoothies, on top of whole-grain cereal or even just plain. Blueberries are naturally sweet and need no condiments of any kind. You can even enjoy their benefits cooked in whole-grain pancakes or muffins. A study published in the International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition, "Cooking Does Not Decrease the Hydrophilic Antioxidant Capacity of Wild Blueberries," showed that, whether blueberries where baked, steamed or even microwaved, their antioxidant activity was not reduced.
2. Garbanzo beans - Sometimes called chick peas, garbanzo beans are high in fiber and low in fat. Garbanzo beans are also high in protein and can replace animal proteins in your diet -- such as red meat, milk and cheese -- which are high in saturated fat. You can cook garbanzo beans at home or use them canned; just be sure to choose the low-salt variety. Garbanzo beans are great when chilled and added to a green salad. They can also be used in soups, as a meat substitute in spaghetti and chili, or pureed and mixed with olive oil to make hummus.
3. Apples - Apples are high in fiber, antioxidants and vitamin C. Apples are easy to add to your diet. They can be served up as apple sauce or sliced into a Cobb salad. Apples are easy to add to a brown-bag lunch, as well. Just wash one and drop it in. If you don't like the mild flavor of Red Delicious apples, try some of the newer varieties. Fuji and Gala apples have a wonderful, tangy, straight-from-the-tree flavor.
4. Broccoli - Broccoli is high in fiber and a good natural source of chromium. Both fiber and chromium have been proven to be beneficial in treating diabetes. Broccoli can be lightly steamed and served with a touch of olive oil and sea salt. It can also be added to salads and sandwiches.
5. Avocados - Most of us know that avocados are rich in heart-healthy monounsaturated fats which can lower cholesterol levels and decrease the risk of stroke and heart disease. A 2008 study published by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2) has also shown that unsaturated vegetable fats can significantly reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. You can add avocados to your diet as guacamole, diced in a salad or sliced onto a sandwich. Buy avocados that are firm and dark green, then let them ripen until they turn nearly black and develop their signature rich, nutty flavor.
6. Asparagus - One serving of asparagus has only 5 grams of carbohydrates and a mere 20 calories yet is high in fiber, antioxidants and folate. It also has glutathione, which has been shown to lower blood sugar and increase insulin production.
7. Almonds - Almonds are packed with protein, fiber and polyunsaturated fats. All of these are the ideal components of a healthy diet. Almonds have been shown to stabilize blood sugar levels in people with diabetes. The good fats in theses nuts slow digestion, stave off hunger and delay pancreatic fatigue. You can enjoy roasted almonds as a snack. They can also be added to salads and are good when thinly sliced and sprinkled over many Asian dishes.
8. Kale - Kale, according to The World's Healthiest Foods (3), is rich in fiber and in vitamins E, C and A, all of which have been shown to help stabilize blood glucose levels. While some people enjoy kale raw in salads, for the biggest nutritional punch and ideal flavor, steam it lightly for five minutes and then let it rest five minutes before serving. Don't add butter or salt, or you're negating many of kale's health benefits.
9. Cranberries - Many people think of these as a seasonal dish, but cranberries should be part of your year-round diet. They are high in phytonutrients such as anthocyanin which can help lower blood glucose levels.
10. Oats - Oats are high in soluble fiber. A diet high in fiber can, according to a document published by the Harvard School of Medicine (4), prevent constipation, lower cholesterol and control blood sugar levels. Because the fiber in foods is digested differently than other carbohydrates, it does not require insulin and passes through the digestive track intact. This has the benefit of helping you feel full without altering your blood sugar levels.

Source:

1) http://science.naturalnews.com

2) http://ajcn.nutrition.org

3) http://www.whfoods.com

4) http://huhs.harvard.edu

http://science.naturalnews.com

The Agricultural Holocaust explained: the 10 worst ways GMOs threaten humanity and our natural world

by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor 

(NaturalNews) Why are genetically modified organisms (GMOs) a serious threat to humanity and the environment? The reasons span the realms of science, social justice, economics and the environment, and once you understand this, you'll readily understand why so many environmentalists, humanitarians, responsible scientists and social justice advocates are strongly opposed to GMOs.

Here are the top 10 ways GMOs threaten us all:

#1) Every grain of GM corn contains poison

GM corn is genetically engineered to develop a deadly pesticide in every grain of corn. When this corn is harvested and turned into Corn Flakes, corn tortillas, corn syrup or other corn-based foods, that same poison remains in the corn.

What is the effect of human children eating all the poisons grown in GM corn? Nobody knows for sure because the tests haven't been conducted on human consumption. That's why GMOs remain an untested experiment that exploits humans as guinea pigs.

See www.GMOevidence.com to learn more.

#2) GMOs have never been safety tested for human consumption

Although GMO advocates ridiculously claim GMOs have been "proven safe in thousands of studies," what they don't tell you is that those were all short-term studies on animals, not humans.

In fact, GMOs have never been shown to be safe for long-term human consumption. What happens when a child eats GMOs for two decades? Does it substantially increase their risk of cancer, diabetes, kidney failure or future Alzheimer's? Nobody knows, exactly, because the tests haven't been done.

As often happens with other chemicals, GMOs are simply let loose into the world with an attitude of "let's see what happens!"

See: www.GMOseralini.org to learn more.

#3) GMOs transform farming freedom into farming servitude

Because GMOs are sold with an intellectual property restriction that prevents farmers from saving their own seeds, they invoke "economic servitude" where farmers are forced to buy expensive new seeds each year from the GMO seed supplier.

As a result, farming practices (like seed saving) that have sustained humanity since the dawn of civilization are now being criminalized. And when GM crops fail, as they frequently do, the economic burden placed upon farmers is often too much to bear. That's why farmer suicides have skyrocketed in India among farmers who bought GMO seeds.

Reportedly, over 270,000 suicides have already happened in India due to crop failures, and more happen every day.

Learn more from the GMO Myths and Truths report.

#4) GMOs run the very real risk of runaway self-replicating genetic pollution and ecocide

Unlike isolated chemicals, GMOs self-replicate. This means there is an automatic risk of a runaway ecological holocaust caused by genetic pollution from GMOs.

Once scientist calls this risk "ecocide" and has calculated the risk of ecocide caused by GMOs will approach 100%. As I wrote in this March 2014 article:

As Taleb convincingly argues, genetically engineered crops are specifically designed to have a survival advantage over conventional crops, allowing them to better resist droughts or infestations of pests or weeds. This survival advantage -- if it's as real as seed manipulators claim -- means genetically engineered plants can out-compete non-GMO crops in open fields. The genetic pollution which is already underway across North America will only get worse, therefore, and there's no reversing it because all living systems -- even genetically engineered ones -- have a natural drive to spread, multiply and survive.

The result is that GMO crops will out-compete and thereby displace non-GMO crops over time. Why does this matter? Because the rise of GMOs is nearly synonymous with the collapse of genetic diversity in seeds and food crops.

#5) GMO agriculture is breeding a new generation of chemical-resistant superweeds

The rise of chemical-resistant superweeds is a horrible problem for modern farmers. In the same way that deadly superbugs have arisen from the abuse of antibiotics in hospitals, "Frankenweeds" have arisen from the continued growing of GMOs and the routine application of glyphosate to crop fields.

Glyphosate-resistant superweeds have become such a problem that the very industry which once claimed GMOs would require "fewer chemicals" to grow food is now recommending fields be treated with a triple or quadruple layer of multiple chemicals to attack the superweeds with different chemicals.

That's why agriculture experts are right now sounding the alarm over glyphosate, GMOs and superweeds, calling for an end to the unsustainable GMO farming practices that seriously threaten the sustainability of agriculture.

See www.naturalnews.com/superweeds.html

#6) GMOs may have long-term unintended consequences on the environment

What happens when genetically engineered plants cross-pollinate with non-GMO plants and are then subjected to the random mutations of plant evolution?

No one knows because it's never been tested in the open world. Or, I should say, it's being tested right now on us all, in the world's largest genetic experiment ever conducted (without our consent, no less).

The problem in all this is that Mother Nature has a way of bringing about unintended consequences, even from well-meaning scientists. Is it possible that an artificial, genetically engineered trait could dominate future plant generations but begin to show a completely unintended physiological trait that scientists never intended? You bet it is. From Thalidomide to Fukushima, the world is full of examples of catastrophic consequences that scientists once swore could never happen.

Famous last words: "What could possibly go wrong?"

#7) GMOs collapse biodiversity

In an effort to monopolize the global seed supply, GMO companies are buying up smaller seed companies and shutting them down, collapsing their seed supplies. The following chart shows some of the seed consolidation activity that's concentrating ownership over seeds into the hands of a very small number of powerful, unethical corporations:

(Click image to view full-sized chart.)


This consolidation of seed companies has caused an alarming collapse in seed diversity over the last decade, placing humanity at increased risk for catastrophic crop failures due to a loss of genetic diversity.

That's the problem with genetic conformity: it makes the crops far more susceptible to systemic diseases that can cause catastrophic crop failures. Precisely this scenario is happening right now with banana crops, as most commercial banana trees are genetically identical clones.

As a result, a fungus has attacked banana crops and is causing devastating destruction across the banana industry. The industry is responding by -- guess what? -- foolishly turning to genetically engineered bananas which will suffer from the exact same weakness of genetic conformity, practically guaranteeing a future disease epidemic.

#8) GMOs put control over the food supply into the hands of profit-driven corporations

Before corporate agriculture, food production used to be under the control of local farmers who cared for their families and communities. But now, food seeds are monopolized by greed-driven corporations that care nothing about families or communities (but worship profit at all costs).

It almost goes without saying that these corporations make decisions in the best interests of their shareholders, not the best interests of humanity or the environment.

Expecting corporations to place the long-term sustainability of life on Earth as a higher priority than their own quarterly profits is a form of insanity. Corporations only exist to maximize short-term profits, regardless of the long-term cost to humanity or the planet.

#9) GMOs may be harming pollinators

Although the evidence on this isn't yet conclusive, GMOs may be contributing to the harming of all-important pollinators, without which we would all starve from lack of food crops.

Honeybee pollinators are dying in record numbers across North America, and many scientists fear we may be witnessing a catastrophic collapse of pollinator populations. Evidence is already emerging that neonicotinoids -- a class of pesticide chemicals -- may be responsible for the collapse, but there's also evidence that GMOs may be worsening the population decline.

Were GMOs ever tested for their long-term impact on pollinators in the wild? Of course not. That would cost too much money, and the promotion of GMOs is all about making money; the environment be damned.

"If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe, then man would have only four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man." - Albert Einstein

#10) The kind of scientists who collaborate with biotech companies are the most dishonest, corrupt and unethical scientists in our world

The world of science consists primarily of ethical, reasonable people who are doing their best to contribute to knowledge and progress for our world. But the darkest "fringe" fanatics of bad science are found in the realm of GMOs, where scientists routinely accept money from the biotech industry to lie to the public and attack "GMO skeptics" -- people who are skeptical about the false promises made by biotech corporations.

Biotech-linked scientists and journalists are the most nefarious and evil-minded of their kind, waging vicious smear campaigns against environmentalists while working desperately to block the public's right to know what they're eating. "Biotech shills" have been a key part of the defeat of GMO labeling laws in California and Oregon, for example, where their message has been, "Make sure the public NEVER knows they're eating GMOs!"

In every way imaginable, the scientists and journalist who blindly push GMOs are a great disservice to the scientific community and will only discredit science in the long run as the long-term harm caused by GMOs becomes undeniable.

REAL science allows for skeptical questions and embraces the precautionary principle, but quack "GMO science" abandons precaution while disparaging anyone who poses reasonable questions about playing God with nature.

The blind leading the blind

GMO shills, of course, dismiss all these concerns (or hope you don't notice them). Their foolish strategy is to cover their eyes, cover their ears and march humanity down this path of destruction, all while hoping to cash in on quarterly profit dividends in the mean time.

There is no rational justification for putting the entire world at risk with genetically engineered crops that have clearly failed to be subjected to responsible long-term scientific testing. As with most other chemicals -- aspartame, Agent Orange, Bisphenol-A and so on -- industry simply unleashes them onto the world and hopes nothing goes wrong.

But Murphy's Law tells us bad things can happen even when you don't want them to, and with GMOs, we're now playing with self-replicating organisms rather than mere chemicals. GMO-based agriculture is a Pandora's Box which can never be closed once opened.

While I do believe GMOs might one day be developed and deployed in a safe and cautious manner, today there is presently zero willingness on the part of biotech corporations to expend the kind of time, money and resources required to establish such safety. There is also zero willingness in the minds of GMO-fronting scientists to even consider the possibility that they might be wrong. One such GMO front man named Jon Entine has even written a book with one of the most disturbingly arrogant titles imaginable: "Let them Eat Precaution."

And so, in a very real sense, we are all playing Russian Roulette with our collective future, hoping against all odds that the shortcut scientists working for companies like Monsanto have already thought of everything.

History tells us such hope is deeply misplaced.

Learn more about GMOs:

www.ResponsibleTechnology.org
www.OrganicConsumers.org
www.GMwatch.org
http://gmomythsandtruths.earthopensource.org

Glutathione: The Mother of All Antioxidants

It's the most important molecule you need to stay healthy and prevent disease -- yet you've probably never heard of it. It's the secret to prevent aging, cancer, heart disease, dementiaand more, and necessary to treat everything from autism to Alzheimer's disease. There are more than 89,000 medical articles about it -- but your doctor doesn't know how address the epidemic deficiency of this critical life-giving molecule ...

What is it? I'm talking about the mother of all antioxidants, the master detoxifier and maestro of the immune system: GLUTATHIONE (pronounced "gloota-thigh-own").

The good news is that your body produces its own glutathione. The bad news is that poor diet, pollution, toxins, medications, stress, trauma, aging, infections and radiation all deplete your glutathione.

This leaves you susceptible to unrestrained cell disintegration from oxidative stress, free radicals, infections and cancer. And your liver gets overloaded and damaged, making it unable to do its job of detoxification.

In treating chronically ill patients with Functional Medicine for more than 10 years, I have discovered that glutathione deficiency is found in nearly all very ill patients. These include people with chronic fatigue syndrome, heart disease, cancer, chronic infections,autoimmune disease, diabetes, autism, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, arthritis,asthma, kidney problems, liver disease and more.

At first I thought that this was just a coincidental finding, but over the years I have come to realize that our ability to produce and maintain a high level of glutathione is critical to recovery from nearly all chronic illness -- and to preventing disease and maintaining optimal health and performance. The authors of those 76,000 medical articles on glutathione I mentioned earlier have found the same thing!

So in today's blog I want to explain what glutathione is, why it's important and give you 9 tips that will help you optimize your glutathione levels, improve your detoxification system and protect help yourself from chronic illness.

What is Glutathione?

Glutathione is a very simple molecule that is produced naturally all the time in your body. It is a combination of three simple building blocks of protein or amino acids -- cysteine, glycine and glutamine.

The secret of its power is the sulfur (SH) chemical groups it contains. Sulfur is a sticky, smelly molecule. It acts like fly paper and all the bad things in the body stick onto it, including free radicals and toxins like mercury and other heavy metals.

Normally glutathione is recycled in the body -- except when the toxic load becomes too great. And that explains why we are in such trouble ...

In my practice, I test the genes involved in glutathione metabolism. These are the genes involved in producing enzymes that allow the body to create and recycle glutathione in the body. These genes have many names, such as GSTM1, GSTP1 and more.

These genes impaired in some people for a variety of important reasons. We humans evolved in a time before the 80,000 toxic industrial chemicals found in our environment today were introduced into our world, before electromagnetic radiation was everywhere and before we polluted our skies, lakes, rivers, oceans and teeth with mercury and lead.

That is why most people survived with the basic version of the genetic detoxification software encoded in our DNA, which is mediocre at ridding the body of toxins. At the time humans evolved we just didn't need more. Who knew we would be poisoning ourselves and eating a processed, nutrient-depleted diet thousands of years later?

Because most of us didn't require additional detoxification software, almost of half of the population now has a limited capacity to get rid of toxins. These people are missing GSTM1 function -- one of the most important genes needed in the process of creating and recycling glutathione in the body.

Nearly all my very sick patients are missing this function. The one-third of our population that suffers from chronic disease is missing this essential gene. That includes me. Twenty years ago I became mercury poisoned and suffered from chronic fatigue syndrome due to this very problem. My GSTM1 function was inadequate and I didn't produce enough glutathione as a result. Eventually, my body broke down and I became extremely ill ...

This is the same problem I see in so many of my patients. They are missing this critical gene and they descend into disease as a result. Let me explain how this happens ...

The Importance of Glutathione in Protecting Against Chronic Illness

Glutathione is critical for one simple reason: It recycles antioxidants. You see, dealing with free radicals is like handing off a hot potato. They get passed around from vitamin C to vitamin E to lipoic acid and then finally to glutathione which cools off the free radicals and recycles other antioxidants. After this happens, the body can "reduce" or regenerate another protective glutathione molecule and we are back in business.

However, problems occur when we are overwhelmed with too much oxidative stress or too many toxins. Then the glutathione becomes depleted and we can no longer protect ourselves against free radicals, infections, or cancer and we can't get rid of toxins. This leads to further sickness and soon we are in the downward spiral of chronic illness.

But that's not all. Glutathione is also critical in helping your immune system do its job of fighting infections and preventing cancer. That's why studies show that it can help in the treatment of AIDS.(i)

Glutathione is also the most critical and integral part of your detoxification system. All the toxins stick onto glutathione, which then carries them into the bile and the stool -- and out of your body.

And lastly, it also helps us reach peak mental and physical function. Research has shown that raised glutathione levels decrease muscle damage, reduce recovery time, increase strength and endurance and shift metabolism from fat production to muscle development.

If you are sick or old or are just not in peak shape, you likely have glutathione deficiency. 
In fact, the top British medical journal, the Lancet, found the highest glutathione levels in healthy young people, lower levels in healthy elderly, lower still in sick elderly and the lowest of all in the hospitalized elderly. (ii)

Keeping yourself healthy, boosting your performance, preventing disease and aging well depends on keeping your glutathione levels high. I'll say it again ... Glutathione is so important because it is responsible for keeping so many of the keys to UltraWellnessoptimized.

It is critical for immune function and controlling inflammation. It is the master detoxifier and the body's main antioxidant, protecting our cells and making our energy metabolism run well.

And the good news is that you can do many things to increase this natural and critical molecule in your body. You can eat glutathione-boosting foods. You can exercise. And you can take glutathione-boosting supplements. Let's review more specifics about each.

9 Tips to Optimize your Glutathione Levels

These 9 tips will help you improve your glutathione levels, improve your health, optimize your performance and live a long, healthy life.

Eat Foods that Support Glutathione Production

1. Consume sulfur-rich foods. The main ones in the diet are garlic, onions and the cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, kale, collards, cabbage, cauliflower, watercress, etc.).

2. Try bioactive whey protein. This is great source of cysteine and the amino acid building blocks for glutathione synthesis. As you know, I am not a big fan of dairy. But this is an exception -- with a few warnings. The whey protein MUST be bioactive and made from non-denatured proteins ("denaturing" refers to the breakdown of the normal protein structure). Choose non-pasteurized and non-industrially produced milk that contains no pesticides, hormones, or antibiotics. Immunocal is a prescription bioactive non-denatured whey protein that is even listed in the Physician's Desk Reference.

Exercise for Your Way to More Glutathione

3. Exercise boosts your glutathione levels and thereby helps boost your immune system, improve detoxification and enhance your body's own antioxidant defenses. Start slow and build up to 30 minutes a day of vigorous aerobic exercise like walking or jogging, or play various sports. Strength training for 20 minutes 3 times a week is also helpful.

Take Glutathione Supporting Supplements

One would think it would be easy just to take glutathione as a pill, but the body digests protein -- so you wouldn't get the benefits if you did it this way. However, the production and recycling of glutathione in the body requires many different nutrients and you CAN take these. Here are the main supplements that need to be taken consistently to boost glutathione. Besides taking a multivitamin and fish oil, supporting my glutathione levels with these supplements is the most important thing I do every day for my personal health.

4. N-acetyl-cysteine. This has been used for years to help treat asthma and lung disease and to treat people with life-threatening liver failure from Tylenol overdose. In fact, I first learned about it in medical school while working in the emergency room. It is even given to prevent kidney damage from dyes used during x-ray studies.

5. Alpha lipoic acid. This is a close second to glutathione in importance in our cells and is involved in energy production, blood sugar control, brain health and detoxification. The body usually makes it, but given all the stresses we are under, we often become depleted.

6. Methylation nutrients (folate and vitamins B6 and B12). These are perhaps the most critical to keep the body producing glutathione. Methylation and the production and recycling of glutathione are the two most important biochemical functions in your body. Take folate (especially in the active form of 5 methyltetrahydrofolate), B6 (in active form of P5P) and B12 (in the active form of methylcobalamin).

7. Selenium. This important mineral helps the body recycle and produce more glutathione. 

8. A family of antioxidants including vitamins C and E (in the form of mixed tocopherols), work together to recycle glutathione.

9. Milk thistle (silymarin) has long been used in liver disease and helps boost glutathione levels.

So use these nine tips and see how they work to help you optimzie your glutathione levels. When you do, you will take one more step to lifelong vibrant health.

Now I'd like to hear from you...

Had you ever heard of this important nutrient before?

Have you tried any of the advice in this article?

What effects have you noticed on your health?

Please leave your thoughts by adding a comment below.

To your good health,

Mark Hyman, M.D.

References

(i) De Rosa SC, Zaretsky MD, Dubs JG, Roederer M, Anderson M, Green A, Mitra D, Watanabe N, Nakamura H, Tjioe I, Deresinski SC, Moore WA, Ela SW, Parks D, Herzenberg LA, Herzenberg LA. N-acetylcysteine replenishes glutathione in HIV infection. Eur J Clin Invest. 2000 Oct;30(10):915-29

(ii) Nuttall S, Martin U, Sinclair A, Kendall M. 1998. Glutathione: in sickness and in health. The Lancet 351(9103):645-646

Mark Hyman, M.D. practicing physician and founder of The UltraWellness Center is a pioneer in functional medicine. Dr. Hyman is now sharing the 7 ways to tap into your body's natural ability to heal itself. You can follow him on Twitter, connect with him onLinkedIn, watch his videos on Youtube and become a fan on Facebook.