1. Do you like Salt on your Food?  What it means.
2. What is Glutathione?  and Could Glutathione Be a Predictor of How Long You Will Live?
3. The Swine Flue Pandemic - Fact or Fiction? 

Do you like Salt on your Food?

I can observe nutritional deficiencies by what a person chooses to eat.  One of the easiest ones is observing whether a person likes salty foods and does he like to add salt to his food.  

What does this mean?  A deficiency of salt?   No, it indicates that your adrenal glands are not functioning as well as they should.  It is commonly called adrenal fatigue or adrenal exhaustion.

What are some other symptoms of adrenal fatigue besides salt cravings – increased PMS symptoms, lack of energy, muscle weakness, fluid retention mild constipation alternating with diarrhea – there are many others, including the tendency to get the flu (as the adrenals are a major factor in your immune system).   There is also a feeling of being less able to handle stress, mild depression and absent-mindedness.

The adrenal glands are two small glands that sit over the kidneys. (Kidneys=renal; ad=above). They are responsible for secreting over 50 different hormones They are responsible for the regulation of the mineral metabolism (sodium, potassium, chloride), water balance, metabolism (utilization and distribution of carbohydrates, protein, and fat), allergic and immune reactions (such as hypersensitivity, allergies, and autoimmune diseases), and production of the male and female hormones (progesterone, testosterone, estrogens, DHEA, etc.).

You may have been experiencing this condition for years. Although there is increasing physician awareness, many are not familiar with adrenal fatigue as a distinct syndrome. Because of this lack of knowledge, patients suffer because they are not properly diagnosed or treated.

The onset of adrenal fatigue and exhaustion can occur because of financial pressures, infections, emotional stress, smoking, drugs, poor eating habits, sugar and white flour products, unemployment and several other stressors.  Stressors are something that create either physical or mental stress)

After experiencing many of these events over a long period of time, the adrenal glands tend to produce less cortical, the body’s master stress hormone. The main role in the body is to enable us to handle stress and maintain our immune systems. The adrenal gland’s struggle to meet the need for high amounts of cortical production eventually leading to the adrenal fatigue.

Another symptom is that some people feel tired in the morning, feeling better at noon and then have a lull at about 2-4 PM.  They tend to feel better at 6PM and feel they work better at night.  Sometimes they are exhausted at 9PM and in bed by 11 PM.

It is hard to test for a true diagnosis of adrenal fatigue.  Sometimes you have to test the adrenals and the thyroid because they work together as does all the glands.

It is important for patients to eat regular meals, chew food well, and eat by 10 AM and again for lunch. Patients should look to avoid any hydrogenated fats, caffeine, chocolate, white carbohydrates (flour sugar, etc) and junk foods. Diets should have a heavy emphasis on vegetables and protein.   Sea salt should be used instead of refined table salt.

Supplementation is also an important component.

For more information see:   www.mcvitamins.com/adrenal-exhaustion.htm

Could Glutathione Be a Predictor of How Long You Will Live?

By Judy Thompson

All cells in the body need water, oxygen, glucose and glutathione. The levels of glutathione in our cells could be predictive of how long we will live. For exhaustion and chronic fatigue sufferers reading this, the information that follows is vital to you!

What is glutathione? It is a tri-peptide, or a small protein composed of the amino acids cysteine, glycine and glutamate. Glutathione is made in every cell of the body and it must be made by the 3 amino acids, cysteine, glycine and glutamate. 

Your body is either replicating healthy cells and delaying the aging process or it is replicating unhealthy cells and speeding up the aging process. Every cell makes and recycles glutathione. The largest amount of glutathione in our bodies is found in the liver, lining of the lungs, kidney, heart and brain.

Why is glutathione important?

1. It is a major antioxidant produced by the cell. It is able to neutralize free radicals and recycle other antioxidants such as vitamins C & E. Glutathione actually helps your body more efficiently use the other antioxidants.

2. It is the body’s most effective detoxifier. It binds to undesirable toxins, pollutants, and cancer-causing chemicals, etc. and excretes them through the urine or gut.

3. It improves immune response

4. It helps regulate the cell’s vital functions, such as synthesis and repair of DNA.

5. It contributes to the production of red blood cells.

6. It helps in wound healing.

7. It helps build lean muscle mass.

8. It inhibits harmful viruses and bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract.

9. It increases one’s aerobic exercise capacity by up to 13%.

While glutathione is produced naturally in our bodies, glutathione levels decrease with age at the rate of 1% a year after age 20. In addition, levels of glutathione can be reduced by stress, exercise, infection, injury and environmental toxins. People who live to 100 years of age, will have glutathione levels similar to 30-50 year olds.

Reduced glutathione levels can result in lower energy, insomnia, cellular damage, inflammation, accelerated aging, and a weakened resistance to various diseases, including heart disease, cancer, arthritis and many other diseases. People with any defined disease have decreased glutathione levels compared with healthy individuals the same age. Low levels of glutathione are actually a marker for over 200 medical conditions. It could be said that low levels of glutathione equal cellular aging, disease, and death!

Glutathione helps to improve mental function, increases energy, improves concentration, permits increased exercise, and improves heart and lung function.

WHAT FOODS ARE HIGH IN GLUTATHIONE?

Avocado, watermelon, asparagus, walnuts, grapefruit, potato, acorn, squash, strawberries, orange, tomato, cantaloupe, broccoli.

Glutathione must be produced within the cell itself. Oral glutathione in pill form is not absorbed and will be eliminated by the liver before reaching the blood stream. Injectable glutathione is degraded by the time it gets to the cell and much of it cannot pass the cell membrane.

HOW CAN A PERSON INCREASE THEIR GLUTATHIONE LEVEL?

In addition to being able to get glutathione in some foods (as listed above), the best way to increase glutathione is through a glutathione precursor. Since glutathione is produced within the cell itself and cannot be easily absorbed into the cell, a person needs to consume a product that will enable the body to produce its own glutathione within the cells. This product would be considered to be a glutathione precursor.

A good glutathione precursor helps your body neutralize free radicals and build healthy cells. Your body replaces about 1% of your cells everyday. Your skin, body, organs, tissue are all constantly in a state of regeneration. Otherwise, your body cells are constantly dying and being regenerated. Thus, in about 3 months time, your cells and you, as a person, can make positive strides in getting healthier!

TO SUMMARIZE

The levels of glutathione in our cells are predictive of how long we will live. Few other factors are as predictive of our life expectancy as is glutathione. It may be referred to as the “master antioxidant” since it regulates the actions of lesser antioxidants including vitamin C and vitamin E in the body. It is the most important antioxidant to overall health.

Author: Judy Thompson  

Critical Alert:  The Swine Flu Pandemic - Fact or Fiction?

Okay, if this got your attention and you came to this first, be sure and go back to read the other two articles in this newletter.  They are important for your health.

The link below is written by a medical doctor, Doctor Mercola.   If you haven't heard of him, he has the Mercola's Natural Health Center located in Hoffman Estates, Illinosis.

We've been very skeptical about the News' heavy coverage of this flu, and when we read Dr.Mercola's article, we wanted to pass it on to you.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/04/29/Swine-Flu.aspx

Congressman Paul on the Recent Swine Flu Scare

Dr. Ron Paul's take on the Swine Flu - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TB5-Y08qbjo   - Put it in perspective.