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1. Inflammation and its Cause
2. Five Tips for a Healthier Life
3. The 8 Benefits of Alpha Lipoic Acid
4. New Product - Vitamin C Serum with Probiotics - Revitalizes Aging Skin

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Inflammation & Its Cause
by Dr. Martin

It wasn't long ago that doctor's only mentioned inflammation if someone was in pain. In their opinion…Inflammation was the CAUSE of the pain…And the solution was to get rid of the inflammation using drugs. Now… we (should) know better.

Inflammation is involved in EVERY problem in our body… From heart disease to autoimmune disorders and Alzheimer's. All the cells in your body talk with each other using chemicals and hormones. To do that…

All cells have receptors… mini-antennas… that detect the different chemicals and hormones your body makes. The receptor's only job is to transmit the information from outside the cell to the inside. For any hormone or chemical to work…Your cell receptors have to be able to detect the hormone.

If your cell receptors aren't working correctly… they can't detect the chemical or hormone… and cell communication essentially dies.

Now…Have you ever tried driving in thick fog? The type of fog where you can barely see a few feet in front of your car? That's what inflammation does to all your cell receptors. It makes it hard for receptors to detect chemicals and hormones. When cells can't communicate… things go wrong. Inflammation disrupts how your cells talk to each other.

BUT… and this part is often overlooked…Inflammation doesn't just magically appear. Something has to cause it.

It isn't enough to say… inflammation is the cause of heart disease, autoimmune disorders, or even Alzheimer's… and all you have to do is get rid of it, and you will be healed. It's not that simple. If it was that easy… then anti-inflammatories would fix everything.

Having said all this… inflammation is still a critical biomarker.

Over my 45+ years in healthcare, I often speak of two health facts:

1 – You don't go to bed healthy and wake up with a disease the next day.
2 – Your body gives clues as it moves from health to disease.

Why does this matter to you?

Because disease can take years (even decades) to show up…And that's both a good and bad thing. Obviously… the more time you have before disease sets in… the more time you have to fix the problem. BUT… since many of the "early" clues your body gives are generic… fatigue, insomnia, digestive issues… The symptoms are often overlooked or minimized.

An early clue that indicates your health is heading in the wrong direction is inflammation.

Now… Inflammation is often called the "silent killer" because it can be "subclinical"…Meaning… you have NO symptoms. Your health can be headed toward disaster… and you may have only minimal symptoms.

So…Let's talk about how inflammation is measured in your body.

The CRP Blood Test

Doctors use a blood test called CRP to check inflammation levels. CRP is a "marker" that gets produced when there's any inflammation in your body...Such as when you suffer an acute injury or an infection or ingest damaging elements such as alcohol, cigarette smoke, air pollution, or toxins.

Chronically elevated levels of CRP reveal a state of systemic inflammation - which means your entire body, is in an "irritated" condition. And this is what causes many different kinds of lethal diseases. For example, inflammation and irritation can lead to clogged arteries and most heart attacks. Chronic inflammation can result in a heart attack or stroke.

In short…You want LOW inflammation levels. In fact… the CRP blood test results should be as close to zero as possible.
When your CRP levels are high, you're at risk of:

Heart disease
Cancer
Autoimmune diseases
Metabolic syndrome
Depression
Skin disorders
Gut issues
Pain
Thyroid disorders

One often overlooked problem of too much inflammation is…AGING. You have both chronological age and biological age.
Your biological age is how fast your skin, muscle, heart, immune, bone, and liver cells… are aging. A 50-year-old may have a biological age of 70…Whereas a 70-year-old may have the biological age of a 55-year-old.

Inflammation is directly related to your biological age because it…
Causes free radical damage that rusts out your cells.

Mitochondrial dysfunction kills your energy.
Weakens your immune system and makes you sick.
Actually changes your genetics.
Disrupts your hormones.

Now… how do you lower your CRP?

By fixing the 3 leading causes.

INSULIN -
Doctors have known for a long time (or should have known) that high circulating insulin directly causes inflammation.

One study — done 21 years ago — looked at the relationship between CRP levels and insulin and concluded: "We suggest that chronic subclinical inflammation is part of insulin resistance syndrome."

Many with chronic inflammation have way too much insulin.

I also want to notice the word "subclinical" mentioned in the study. Inflammation is often called the "silent killer" because a person can have high levels… And have NO symptoms.

Now… I'd argue that they probably do have some symptoms… but they're often overlooked or minimized.

LEAKY GUT SYNDROME

The "wall" of your gut, or your gut lining, is the barrier that protects the rest of your body against toxins.

It is the ONLY barrier between your BLOOD system and the food you eat.

You don't want candida, bacteria, parasites, undigested food, or toxins in your bloodstream. That's when your health is at risk.
When your gut lining begins to break down, toxins' leak' into your bloodstream and other systems of your body… creating a significant health hazard.

It also causes a LOT of inflammation.

FREE RADICAL DAMAGE

You know what happens to a sliced apple left on the counter for a few hours. It turns brown and nasty. That's free radical damage at work, the same damage they're doing inside your body.

You can't see the process on the inside, but you can see and feel it on the outside. If you already notice unsightly age spots on your hands or face, fine lines, wrinkles, or less energy and vitality — that's free radical damage in action.

All you need to know is that free radicals cause inflammation…
And the more free radicals… the more inflammation.

Now…

Let's talk about the best ways to lower inflammation.

#1 LOWER INSULIN

Lowering insulin always starts with FOOD.

#2 FIX YOUR GUT

The FIRST and most important thing is to take a GOOD probiotic.

If you've been with us for a while, we know we talk about probiotics. A probiotic is a healthy gut bacteria that sticks to your gut. Similar to the way icing sticks to a cake.

Probiotics create a healthy barrier in your bowels to keep dangerous bacteria from crashing through the lining of your intestines and entering your bloodstream (which is very bad).

They also have several beneficial effects that repair your gut and protect it from future damage.

#3 FIGHT FREE RADICAL DAMAGE

To fight free radical damage, your body makes antioxidants. Antioxidants neutralize and eliminate free radicals… but not all of them. They work 99.9% of the time. But the 0.1% buildup over time adds up.

Plus, after 30, you make fewer antioxidants — you can no longer eliminate free radicals fast enough. When that happens, free radicals attack the DNA of every cell (including the ones in your skin), and you start to age much faster. The biggest weapon you've got in the fight against free radicals is antioxidants.

This is why EVERYONE should be taking antioxidants.

RECOMMENDED BY MCVITAMINS

Lower Insulin - Healthy Keto Diet and Intermittent Fasting

Fix the Gut - MetabolicBoost

Antioxidants - Read about Free Radicals & Antioxidants and Inflammation Relief

Five Tips for a Healthier Life -

A small “investment” in terms of lifestyle changes will lead to major health rewards

Joe Cohen and Dr. Mercola

Looking for straightforward advice to set your health on a path toward wellness instead of disease? My recent interview featured on “The Joe Cohen Show” is for you. I discussed several fundamental health principles that virtually everyone can integrate into their lives to achieve better health.

It can feel overwhelming to make positive lifestyle changes, but when you make them one step at a time it’s much more manageable. The secret is that even small changes add up to meaningful health improvements over time, especially when you know where to focus your energy. Here, I’ve detailed several examples where a relatively small “investment” in terms of lifestyle changes will lead to major health rewards

Five Tips for a Healthier Life

1. Stop eating vegetable oils — Linoleic acid is the primary fat found in polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), including vegetable/seed oils. It accounts for about 90% of dietary omega-6 intake.1 Examples of seed oils high in omega-6 include soybean, cottonseed, sunflower, rapeseed (canola), corn and safflower.

Omega-6 is considered to be proinflammatory because of the linoleic acid, which will radically increase oxidative free radicals and cause mitochondrial dysfunction. While omega-6 fats must be balanced with omega-3 fats to not be harmful, most Americans consume far more omega-6 than omega-3.

Most of the omega-6 people eat, including seed oils, has been damaged and oxidized through processing. The oxidized omega-6 develops lipid hydroperoxides, which rapidly degenerate into oxidized linoleic acid metabolites (OXLAMs). OXLAMs can cause a host of problems in your body.

Cytotoxic and genotoxic
Mutagenic
Carcinogenic
Atherogenic
Thrombogenic

Metabolic dysfunction can also occur, while OXLAMs are also toxic to the liver and are associated with inflammation, fibrosis and fatty liver disease in humans.

As researchers further noted in the journal Nutrients, “In addition, a few studies suggested that omega-6 PUFA is related to chronic inflammatory diseases such as obesity, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and cardiovascular disease.”

Linoleic acid is found in virtually every processed food, including restaurant foods, sauces and salad dressings, so to eliminate it you’ll need to eliminate most processed foods and restaurant foods from your diet — unless you can confirm that the chef only cooks with butter.

However, because animals are fed grains that are high in linoleic acid, it’s also hidden in many ostensibly “healthy” foods like chicken and pork, which makes these meats a major source as well. Olive oil is another health food that can be a hidden source of linoleic acid, as it’s often cut with cheaper seed oils.

2. Get more sun exposure — You’re probably aware of the many health benefits of optimized vitamin D levels. But an important caveat is that vitamin D should ideally be obtained from healthy sun exposure, not an oral supplement. Not only will adequate sun exposure naturally raise your vitamin D levels to healthy levels, but it will provide a wide variety of other benefits, many of which are only beginning to be understood.

Many people are not aware that only 5% of your body’s melatonin — a potent anticancer agent — is produced in your pineal gland. The other 95% is produced inside your mitochondria — provided you get proper sun exposure. In fact, vitamin D is more than likely a biomarker or surrogate for sun exposure, which is so intricately involved in melatonin production.

During the day, if you get enough sun exposure, near-infrared rays from the sun penetrate deep into your body and activate cytochrome c oxidase, which in turn stimulates the production of melatonin inside your mitochondria. Your mitochondria produce ATP, the energy currency of your body. A byproduct of this ATP production is the creation of reactive oxidative species (ROS), which are responsible for oxidative stress and free radicals.

Excessive amounts of ROS will damage the mitochondria, contributing to suboptimal health, inflammation and chronic health conditions such as diabetes, obesity and thrombosis (blood clots). But melatonin essentially mops up ROS that damage your mitochondria. So by getting plenty of sun exposure during the day, your mitochondria will be bathed in melatonin, thereby reducing oxidative stress.

Getting more sun exposure also goes hand in hand with eliminating seed oils from your diet. The latter will dramatically reduce your risk of sunburn and skin cancer, as susceptibility to UV radiation damage is controlled by the level of PUFAs in your diet, almost like a dial. The PUFAs control how rapidly your skin burns and how rapidly you develop skin cancer.

3. Embrace time restricted eating

If you’re still eating three meals a day — morning, noon and night — you’re missing out on one of the most powerful, free health interventions available. TRE (Time Restricted Eating) involves limiting your eating window to six to eight hours per day instead of the more than 12-hour window most people use.

When you eat throughout the day and never skip a meal your body adapts to burning sugar as its primary fuel, resulting in the downregulation of enzymes that utilize and burn stored fat. As a result, you become progressively more insulin resistant and start gaining weight. When you’re metabolically unfit, your body primarily relies on glucose, or sugar, as fuel, instead of using fat as a primary fuel.

Even though the fat is there in abundance, your body doesn't have the metabolic capacity to access it. For most people, surplus fuel stored in your body is stored in the form of fat. However, no one has more than about two days’ worth of sugar stored in their tissues. This is why when you first start fasting, and you’re unable to access your fat stores, you’ll quickly exhaust your sugar stores and can experience low blood sugar.

It's not that you don't have the fuel to generate, because your body can make sugar itself, but that process takes a while to ramp up and, as a result, most people get relatively hypoglycemic when they first start using TRE. You may experience dizziness and fatigue as a result, which are signs that you're not metabolically flexible. If you were, your body would have more than enough capacity to produce all the fuel you need to keep your brain happy and healthy.

TRE promotes insulin sensitivity and improves blood sugar management by increasing insulin-mediated glucose uptake rates, which is important for resolving Type 2 diabetes. Another study revealed that eating all meals between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. — instead of between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. — resulted in greater metabolic flexibility, reduced hunger and increased sense of fullness, resulting in weight loss.

Ideally, you’ll want to stop eating for three to five hours before bedtime, then start your eating window in mid- to late morning after you wake up. Most people reading this can benefit from embracing TRE; however, it isn’t recommended for people who are underweight, pregnant or breastfeeding. You also need to use caution if you’re taking certain medications, such as those for blood pressure or blood sugar.

Interestingly, when you're metabolically inflexible and unable to use fat for fuel, your body generates a molecule called acetyl-CoA when it’s breaking down fats — and that happens to be one of the cofactors for your body making melatonin.

So when you're metabolically inflexible, your body produces far less melatonin in the mitochondria where you need it, because that's where almost all the damage that causes cancer is caused — due to oxidative stress from the process of generating energy within the mitochondria.

4. Exercise often — Exercise is probably the single most important “drug” we know of, and it’s a powerful intervention to prevent Alzheimer’s, among other chronic diseases. One of the most comprehensive studies to date of the molecular changes that occur in your body due to exercise provided an unprecedented glimpse into the details of the body’s physiological response.

It demonstrated that “an orchestrated choreography of biological processes” occur, including those related to:

Energy metabolism
Oxidative stress
Inflammation
Tissue repair
Growth factor response

In all, 17,662 molecules were measured, 9,815 of which changed in response to exercise, with some going up and others going down. Certain molecules also spiked immediately after exercise then quickly dropped, while others remained heightened for an hour.

“It was like a symphony,” study author Michael Snyder, Ph.D., professor and chair of genetics at Stanford University, told The New York Times. “First you have the brass section coming in, then the strings, then all the sections joining in.”

Even weekend warriors who pack 150 minutes of exercise into two days enjoy lower all-cause and cause-specific mortality rates, although I encourage you to make exercise a priority on most days of the week instead. Along with the well-known benefits to your heart, exercise is protective for your brain.

If you know you’re at increased risk of dementia, for instance if a close family member has been diagnosed, it’s even more important to adhere to a regular exercise program. In seniors who are at high risk of dementia, cognitive decline can be reduced with a comprehensive program addressing diet, exercise, brain training, and managing metabolic and vascular risk factors.

Exercise initially stimulates the production of a protein called FNDC5, which in turn triggers the production of BDNF, or brain-derived neurotrophic factor. In your brain, BDNF not only preserves existing brain cells, but also activates brain stem cells to convert into new neurons and effectively makes your brain grow.

Research confirming this includes a study in which seniors aged 60 to 80 who walked 30 to 45 minutes, three days per week, for one year and increased the volume of their hippocampus by 2%.24 Higher fitness levels were also associated with a larger prefrontal cortex.

5. Protect yourself from EMFs — Electromagnetic fields (EMFs) are the cigarettes of the 21st century — and most people are being exposed 24 hours a day. Most of the radiation emits from cellphones, cell towers, computers, smart meters and Wi-Fi, to name just a few of the culprits. Exposure causes serious mitochondrial dysfunction due to free radical damage. Among the most common consequences of chronic EMF exposure to your brain are:

Alzheimer's
Anxiety
Autism — One of my longtime mentors, Dr. Dietrich Klinghardt, has linked autism in children to excessive EMF exposure during pregnancy
Depression

EMFs may also play a role in heart issues and infertility. Research conducted by the National Toxicology Program (NTP)28 also found “clear evidence” that exposure to cellphone radiation led to heart tumors in the male rats, along with “some evidence” that it caused brain and adrenal gland tumors in the rats.

While it's nearly impossible to avoid EMF exposure completely, there are practical ways to limit it. Given the number of EMFs that bombard you all day long, getting educated about the negative effects of EMFs is imperative to your well-being. Particularly if you are dealing with a serious illness, it is well worth your time to reduce your EMF exposure as much as possible.

One strategy is to connect your desktop computer to the internet via a wired connection and put your desktop — and cellphone — in airplane mode. Also avoid wireless keyboards, trackballs, mice, game systems, printers and house phones. Opt for the wired versions. If you must use Wi-Fi, shut it off when not in use, especially at night when you’re sleeping. Shutting off the electricity to your bedroom at night will also help reduce your exposure.

I encourage you to embrace all of these protective strategies that support optimal health. These are just a start, as there are many others, such as use of a near-infrared sauna, that will also protect your health and lower all-cause mortality.

But remember, you don’t have to implement them all overnight. With each small step you take to reduce a toxic exposure or add a health-protective element — like more sun exposure — to your day, the better your health will become.

The 8 Benefits of Alpha Lipoic Acid

Have you ever heard of something called alpha lipoic acid? This naturally occurring compound plays many key roles in the body, and it can support a wide variety of health concerns. Read on if you want to find out more about the benefits of alpha lipoic acid and how to take advantage of them.

What is alpha lipoic acid?

Alpha lipoic acid is a naturally-occurring compound that your body makes and that you can also consume via your diet or supplements. It plays many key roles in the body, and is involved in things like energy production, protection from oxidative damage, and more.

The most important role alpha lipoic acid plays in the body is being an antioxidant. This compound is a very powerful antioxidant that also helps to support other antioxidants as well.

Antioxidant health benefit concept

Alpha lipoic acid is an antioxidant in your body, you have a strong network of antioxidants working to protect your body.

Antioxidants are scavengers for free radicals – compounds that can cause a lot of damage to the body if left unchecked. The purpose of antioxidants is to act as a sponge to soak up free radicals before they cause too much harm.

Alpha lipoic acid is one of the many different types of antioxidants. And beyond being an antioxidant itself, alpha lipoic acid has added power because it also helps other antioxidants to recharge and rejuvenate.

You see, when one antioxidant does its job, it donates an electron to the free radical to stabilize it. This makes it inert and unable to do any damage. But then, the antioxidant needs to borrow an electron from another antioxidant in order to recharge.

That is where alpha lipoic acid comes in handy – it is able to give other antioxidants (like glutathione and vitamin E) the electrons they need to rejuvenate and continue to work.

Additionally, alpha lipoic acid is a lipid antioxidant. This makes it especially good for areas of your body that are lined with fat layers, because it can make it into those areas. Your nerves, for example, are surrounded by a lipid layer. So alpha lipoic acid benefits MS and other disorders of the nervous system

The benefits of alpha lipoic acid in the body

As you’ve learned above, one of the major benefits of alpha lipoic acid relates to its antioxidant activities. But this is just one of many other reasons that alpha lipoic acid is so helpful for protecting the tissues in your body.

Alpha lipoic acid does a lot of different things in the body. Here is a list of alpha lipoic acid benefits to be aware of:

• It is an antioxidant and it rejuvenates other important antioxidants like glutathione and vitamin E.
• It is a heavy metal chelator (which can help you detoxify mercury, for example). It crosses the blood-brain barrier, and so it is good for the nervous system.
• It helps to protect the myelin sheath, the protective fat layer surrounding your nerves.
• It helps mitochondria make more energy.
• It can support healthy blood sugars and decrease A1C levels.

These qualities allow alpha lipoic acid benefits to extend to a wide range of health issues and conditions. The health benefits of alpha lipoic acid include supporting conditions such as:

Multiple sclerosis
Diabetes
Nerve damage
Different forms of neuropathy
Heavy metal toxicity
And much more.

If you have any sort of nervous system condition, heavy metal toxicity, or any health concern that could benefit from counteracting free radical damage, alpha lipoic acid may be worth your while.

How can you get more alpha lipoic acid?

Your body can make alpha lipoic acid. But you can also get more of this healthy antioxidant from your diet and from supplements.

Dietary foods sources of alpha lipoic acid include red meat and certain vegetables like broccoli, spinach, and Brussels sprouts.

Supplements are another option. If you take an alpha lipoic acid supplement, you can get 1000x more of it than your body can make.

If you opt for a supplement, I recommend taking 600 mg three times per day. Take it on an empty stomach, as it does compete with food. It will be more effective if you don’t take it at the same time as when you eat.

As far as what brand to choose, you’ll have to go and do your own research to find a quality brand that you can trust.

Key takeaways

Alpha lipoic acid is a natural compound that is designed to help protect our bodies. It helps us to protect against oxidative damage from free radicals, whether that is from outside sources (such as chemicals) or from oxidation being produced by our own bodies.

The benefits of alpha lipoic acid in the body are widespread. It is a powerful antioxidant that helps to support our antioxidant network in staying recharged and ready to go. It is also a heavy metal chelator, supports healthy blood sugars, helps our mitochondria make energy, and so much more.

If you have conditions like diabetes, nerve damage, mercury poisoning, or even multiple sclerosis, it may be worth trying out to see if it can support your health and healing.

To take advantage of the health benefits of alpha lipoic acid, consider foods rich in this compound like red meat, spinach, and Brussels sprouts. Or, consider the health benefits of taking alpha lipoic acid as a supplement (600 mg three times per day on an empty stomach).

Have you ever experienced the health benefits of alpha lipoic acid supplements? What did you notice? Share your comments = email us

Disclaimer: Our educational content is not meant or intended for medical advice or treatment.
Editor’s Note: This post has been updated for quality and relevancy.

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