Marigolds: full of antioxidants and healing

Most of know Marigolds, also known as Calendula, as bright and yellow annual plants that thrive throughout the United States, Europe, Western Asia. But did you know that the flower has many natural healing powers too?

As an anti-fungal agent, marigold preparations can treat athlete's foot, ringworm, and candida. As a tincture, it also helps heal cold sores. Calendula oil is used as an anti-inflammatory, an anti-tumor agent, and a remedy for healing wounds.

One of the health benefits of marigolds is that it is used in the treatment of minor burns when used in the form of ointments or a tincture. On account of the anti-inflammatory properties of marigold it is also used in the treatment of allergic reactions, eczema and bruising. In oil form it can be used in the treatment for plantar lesions that tend to occur on the feet.

Another one of the benefits of the flower is that it is very beneficial in getting rid of an oily complexion naturally. In this treatment, fresh flowers need to be soaked in warm water and then applied to the skin at least once a day and allowed to remain for 10 minutes before washing it off.

Marigolds are also known to have plenty of health benefits on account of their high content of antioxidants. These antioxidants are known to be effective in combating the damage that may b caused by free radicals which are typically the by-products of environmental factors such as pollution or cigarette smoke or even normal body functions. The lycopene present in marigold is also known to lower the risk of heart disease and prostrate cancer. The antioxidants present in marigolds are also known to protect the eyes from  degeneration and cataracts.

Some studies show that the leaves of the marigold can be beneficial in minimizing the number of tumors in the case of breast cancer, as well as in the prevention of the development of new cancer cells. Besides breast cancer, Marigolds are also known to be effective against colon, leukemia and melanoma cancer cells.

One of the medicinal uses of marigolds is that it promotes the growth of both new blood vessels as well as new skin tissue and hence it is used in the healing of wounds such as burns, scrapes as well as irritated skin.

When consumed internally , marigolds are also known to help against digestive inflammation in the form of duodenal or gastric ulcers on account of its anti-inflammatory properties.

Marigold tea is also known to be effective against painful mouth and stomach ulcers as well as colitis. Marigolds are effective in this aspect because they tend to stimulate the lymphatic system and thereby minimize the swelling as well as cleanse the body of toxins which may be contributing to the ulcers.

Marigold is also used in the form of an ointment for women who are suffering from breast cancer to minimize the dermatitis  that is usually caused by chemotherapy.

Precautions/ Side Effects/ Warnings:
Some of the side effects of marigold may include allergic reactions, medication interactions, and even adverse hormonal effects. Make sure to always check with your doctor first before using it or any new therapy.

To learn more about natural healing, check out www.basichealthpub.com.

Eat more vitamin D-rich food

Unlike other nutrients, vitamin D isn't really a vitamin at all – it's a hormone, made by your body as you are exposed to sunlight. The result plays an important role in maintaining bone strength. If you eat a varied diet and get some sun (about 20 minutes a day, unfiltered by sunscreen) then you are probably getting all the vitamin D you need. But if a busy schedule keeps you inside too much, try eating more of these vitamin D-rich foods instead:

Salmon
Salmon has by far the most vitamin D of any food (and wild salmon has much more than farmed salmon, which is cheaper and easier to find). Half a fillet of sockeye salmon has more than 1,400 iu of Vitamin D — more than twice as much as most people need in a day.

Tuna
A serving of tuna has a healthy dose of vitamin D — more than one-third of a daily dose. Light tuna in oil has the most. Light tuna in water has about one-fourth of a daily dose, while white tuna has about one-tenth. Light tuna also has less mercury than white tuna, making it a safer choice. The other fish-in-a-can, sardines, also have a lot of vitamin D — about one-fourth of a daily dose (along with a healthy dose of calcium), and pickled herring have about one-sixth of a daily dose.

Sole or Flounder
Flatfish like sole and flounder have about one-fourth a day's worth of vitamin D. (The other white fish, cod, has less than one-tenth.) Look for Pacific flounder, sole, or cod at the fish market, because Atlantic stocks are depleted.

Milk
Fortified milk has about one-fifth a day's worth of vitamin D — and whole milk has more than skim.

Eggs

Two large eggs have about one-tenth of a daily dose of vitamin D. Eggs from truly free-range chickens, like those many people are raising in backyards these days, are often more delicious and nutritious than the factory farmed kind; unfortunately, the free-range label on eggs isn't a regulated term, so it could be meaningless.

Mushrooms
Mushrooms can have a significant amount of vitamin D, but the amount varies widely by type. Shiitake mushrooms (pictured) have 45 iu — about one-thirteenth of a daily recommended serving. White mushrooms, on the other hand, have just 5 iu.

Ricotta Cheese
Ricotta cheese stands out among cheeses for its relatively high vitamin D content. With 25 iu of Vitamin D, it would still take about 24 servings to get your daily dose solely from ricotta cheese (and considering the amount of fat you'd consume, that's not recommended). That said, ricotta has about five times as much vitamin D as most other cheeses.

Readers of the book, Sunshine and Vitamin D, will be ahead of the curve on one of the most exciting health stories of the 21st century. Author Frank Murray spotlights the latest research into how and why this much-maligned and misunderstood vitamin is finally coming into its own, and how to gain the greatest benefits from it.

To learn more about vitamin D and how to take your health into your own hands, visit www.basichealthpub.com

Why Vitamin D is so critical to our health

While you’re catching some rays this summer, you can feel good about all that vitamin D does for your body. Sometimes called the “sunshine vitamin” because it’s produced in your skin in response to sunlight, this fat-soluble vitamin can affect as many as 2,000 genes in the body.

Vitamin D has several important functions. Perhaps the most vital ones are regulating the absorption of calcium,  phosphorous, and facilitating normal immune system function. Getting a sufficient amount of the vitamin is important for normal growth and development of bones and teeth, as well as improved resistance against certain diseases. If your body doesn’t get enough vitamin D, you’re at risk of developing bone abnormalities such as osteomalacia (soft bones) or osteoporosis (fragile bones).

The sunshine vitamin can fight off a variety of diseases. In addition to its primary benefits, research suggests that vitamin D may also play a role in:

• Reducing your risk of multiple sclerosis, according to a 2006 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association
• Decreasing your chance of developing heart disease, according to 2008 findings published in Circulation
• Helping to reduce your likelihood of developing the flu, according to 2010 research published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition

Your body produces vitamin D naturally through direct exposure to sunlight. A little can go a long way: just 10 minutes a day of mid-day sun exposure is plenty, especially if you’re fair-skinned.

Besides getting vitamin D through sunlight, you can also get it through certain foods and supplements. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recommends that you obtain vitamin D from all three of these sources in order to ensure adequate levels of the vitamin in your blood.

Many lifestyle and environmental factors can affect your ability to get sufficient amounts of this vitamin through the sun alone. These factors include:

• Pollution
• Use of sunscreen
• Spending more time indoors
• Working longer hours in offices
• Living in big cities where buildings block sunlight

These factors contribute to vitamin D deficiency in an increasing number of people. That’s why it’s important to get some of your vitamin D from sources besides sunlight.

Vitamin D from the sun, from our diet, and from dietary supplements keeps a range of chronic and life-threatening diseases at bay, from osteoporosis and osteoarthritis to breast cancer, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, cardiovascular disease, and many others.

Readers of the book, Sunshine and Vitamin D, will be ahead of the curve on one of the most exciting health stories of the 21st century. Author Frank Murray spotlights the latest research into how and why this much-maligned and misunderstood vitamin is finally coming into its own, and how to gain the greatest benefits from it.

Readers will learn:

• How and why vitamin D is crucial to helping the body absorb calcium and phosphorous, and to strengthening bones.
• How the news media often exaggerate the dangers of sunshine and downplay the benefits of vitamin D from the sun and other sources.
• How much sun exposure and/or vitamin D supplementation is needed by people of all skin types.
• Why older adults are especially prone to vitamin D deficiency and how they can best address this for optimal health.

To learn more about vitamin D and how to take your health into your own hands, visit www.basichealthpub.com

Next up: Learn about the best food sources of Vitamin D

We are hardwired to be fit

Learn how to switch on your four main “fitness circuits” to achieve the level of fitness you’ve always wanted

We know that most of us need to move more and lose weight to be at optimum health. The problem is, most diet and exercise programs just don't stick. In fact, weight loss alone is not the key to long-lasting fitness and—what’s perhaps more surprising—neither is exercise.

It’s estimated that the number of overweight and obese adults in the developing world has almost quadrupled to around one billion since 1980. Research shows that people who diet regularly are more likely to gain the weight back. And while many people start an exercise program with the best of intentions, a good number of them drop out of the habit after a short time. We just aren’t hardwired for rigid exercise routines and restrictive diets. That’s why most diets and exercise programs are not successful in the long term. Yet, our ancestors didn’t have to work at being fit. They were naturally fit, out of necessity.

Fortunately, there is a simple way to achieve lasting overall fitness. In Hardwired for Fitness, authors Robert Portman and John Ivy explain that because the body has an inherent tendency toward fitness, there is no good reason for anyone to be overweight or out of shape.

As readers of this book will discover, the human body’s fitness circuitry is a remarkable, integrated piece of engineering. When the circuits are functioning in harmony, they can activate the body’s metabolic machinery far more effectively and safely than any commercial product. For example, the human body has the natural ability to:

• Burn fat more quickly than most hyped thermogenic supplements

• Decrease food intake more effectively than the most costly appetite suppressant

• Synthesize protein faster than the leading protein powder

Based on more than 50 years of research and recent breakthroughs, Hardwired for Fitness shows how you can switch on your four main “fitness circuits” and, with minimal lifestyle changes, achieve the level of fitness you’ve always wanted.

To learn how to to re-sync our body to match its natural rhythms and therefore be naturally programmed to keep us fit and optimally functioning, check out Hardwired for Fitness at www.basichealthpub.com

Fidget your way to better health

This is the second installment about how sitting too much is making us sick and can be life threatening...

Even if you think you are energetic, sitting all day at work is common for most of us. And it's killing us—literally—by way of obesity, heart disease, and diabetes. We know that exercise is the key, but what else can we realistically do every day to turn our sedentary lifestyle around?

The answer lies in speeding up your daily non-exercise activity thermogenesis—or NEAT. That's the energy (i.e., calories) you burn doing everything but exercise, and if you fidget than you're already way ahead of the game. In a groundbreaking study on NEAT, the Mayo Clinic tracked every single step and fidget of 20 people who weren't regular exercisers (half of them were obese; half were not). After 10 days, they found that the lean participants moved an average of 150 minutes more per day than the overweight people did—enough to burn 350 calories, or about one cheeseburger.

Fidgeting, standing, and puttering may even keep you off medications and out of the doctor's office. Think of your body as a computer: As long as you're moving the mouse and tapping the keys, all systems are go. But let it idle for a few minutes, and the machine goes into power-conservation mode. Your body is meant to be active, so when you sit and do nothing for too long, it shuts down and burns less energy. Getting consistent activity throughout the day keeps your metabolism humming along in high gear.

When you get out of your chair and start moving around, you turn on fat burners. Simply standing up fries three times as many calories as sitting on your butt, according to the study.

Research has shown that swapping sedentary habits, such as watching television, for pretty much anything that doesn't involve sitting down can make a world of difference. The experts explain how to take every opportunity to flex your muscles, boost your heart rate, and eat foods that yield maximum fullness for minimal calories.

Here are 10 simple lifestyle changes that you can do everyday to turn your health around...

1. Take vitamin D 
Women who were deficient in it lost weight more slowly in a study in the British Journal of Nutrition.

2. Drink coffee 
Studies have found that caffeine increases the rate at which you burn calories.

3. Do things by hand 
Wash your dishes, vacuum, or cook dinner.

4. Eat lightly and often 
For most people, the body uses up more energy digesting smaller meals every few hours than by eating the same number of calories in two or three sittings.

5. Move briskly 
Make a point wherever you are headed – at work, home, or out on errands to consciously move faster.

6. Laugh 
It burns up to 50 calories if you laugh for 10 to 15 minutes per day.

7. Eat breakfast 
You send your body a signal that you're not starving, so it starts burning fat — even when you're just doing normal activities.

8. Time yourself 
Spend the last five minutes of each hour (set your computer timer) up and moving around.

9. Watch less television 
Adults who halved their television viewing time (by using an electronic lock-out system) not only burned an extra 119 calories per day, but did so without altering what they ate.

10) Fidget 
You can burn up to 350 more calories a day than someone who remains stationary, according to a study at the Mayo Clinic. The impulse to fidget may be hardwired, but non-fidgeters can imitate it: Tap your feet, pace, or move restlessly in your seat.

The bottom line is any kind of motion or activity can help offset the effects of being too sedentary. All of these little changes will add up in a big way. In the course of a day, trivial exercise such as walking rather than driving, and washing dishes by hand added up to more than 108 calories. Over a year, that adds up to nearly 40,000 calories.

Next: Learn how there is a simple way to achieve lasting overall fitness. In Hardwired for Fitness, Robert Portman and John Ivy explain that because the body has an inherent tendency toward fitness, there is no good reason for anyone to be overweight or out of shape. As readers of this book will discover, the human body’s fitness circuitry is a remarkable, integrated piece of engineering. When the circuits are functioning in harmony, they can activate the body’s metabolic machinery far more effectively and safely than any commercial product. Find out more at www.basichealthpub.com

Want to save your life? Get up and move more

One story seems to be popping up over and over again in the news lately– as human beings in this modern age, we are sitting way too much.

According to a poll of nearly 6,300 people by the Institute for Medicine and Public Health, it's likely that you spend a stunning 56 hours a week planted like a flower—staring at your computer screen, driving, or collapsed in front of your high-def TV. And it turns out women may be more sedentary than men, since they tend to play fewer sports and hold less active jobs.

Even if you think you are energetic, sitting all day at work is common for most of us. And it's killing us—literally—by way of obesity, heart disease, and diabetes. All this downtime is so unhealthy that it's given birth to a new area of medical study called inactivity physiology, which explores the effects of our increasingly butt-bound, tech-driven lives, as well as a deadly new epidemic researchers have dubbed "sitting disease."

Our bodies have evolved over millions of years to do one thing – move. As human beings, we evolved to stand upright. For thousands of generations, our environment demanded nearly constant physical activity.

But thanks to technological advances, the Internet, and an increasingly longer work week, that environment has disappeared. "Electronic living has all but sapped every flicker of activity from our daily lives," Levine says. You can shop, pay bills, make a living, and with Twitter and Facebook, even catch up with friends without so much as standing up. And the consequences of all that easy living are profound.

What happens when we sit too long?

Health experts say that when you sit for an extended period of time, your body starts to shut down at the metabolic level. When muscles, especially the big ones meant for movement, like those in your legs—are immobile, your circulation slows and you burn fewer calories. Key flab-burning enzymes responsible for breaking down triglycerides simply start switching off. Sit for a full day and those fat burners plummet by 50 percent.

That's not all. The less you move, the less blood sugar your body uses; research shows that for every two hours spent on your backside per day, your chance of contracting diabetes goes up by 7 percent. Your risk for heart disease goes up, too, because enzymes that keep blood fats in check are inactive. You're also more prone to depression: With less blood flow, fewer feel-good hormones are circulating to your brain.

Sitting too much also wreaks havoc your posture and spine health. It's no wonder that the incidence of chronic lower-back pain among women has increased threefold since the early 1990s.

And even if you exercise, you're not immune. Consider this: We've become so sedentary that 30 minutes a day at the gym may not do enough to counteract the detrimental effects of eight, nine, or 10 hours of sitting, says Genevieve Healy, Ph.D., a research fellow at the Cancer Prevention Research Centre of the University of Queensland in Australia. That's one big reason so many women still struggle with weight, blood sugar, and cholesterol woes despite keeping consistent workout routines.

In a recent study, Healy and her colleagues found that regardless of how much moderate to vigorous exercise participants did, those who took more breaks from sitting throughout the day had slimmer waists, lower BMIs (body mass indexes), and healthier blood fat and blood sugar levels than those who sat the most. In an extensive study of 17,000 people, Canadian researchers drew an even more succinct conclusion: The longer you spend sitting each day, the more likely you are to die an early death—no matter how fit you are.

Ironically, the answer doesn't have to be just exercise more. Learn in our second blog of this series how people who fidget live longer. Check back here this Saturday, Aug. 16th, for more information. Then stay tune to learn how we are hardwired to be fit, and the simple life changes that can indeed save your life.

For more information on living a healthier life, check out a vast amount of proactive books and knowledge at www.basichealthpub.com

Megavitamin therapy proven fighter against many chronic conditions

Many "health cures" come and go over the years, but one has remained for almost a century, making it the leading crusader for therapeutic and preventive health. It's called orthomolecular medicine, which translates to the use of megavitamin therapy to fight off chronic diseases.

High doses of vitamins have been known to cure serious illnesses for nearly 80 years. Looking for proven cures? The list is powerful and definitive. Klaus Jungeblut, M.D., prevented and treated polio in the mid-1930s with a vitamin. Chest specialist Frederick Klenner, M.D., was curing multiple sclerosis and polio back in the 1940s, also using vitamins. William Kaufman, M.D., cured arthritis, also in the 1940s. In the 1950s, Drs. Wilfrid and Evan Shute were curing various forms of cardiovascular disease with a vitamin. At the same time, psychiatrist Abram Hoffer was using niacin to cure schizophrenia, psychosis, and depression.

In the 1960s, Robert Cathcart, M.D., cured influenza, pneumonia, and hepatitis. In the 1970s, Hugh D. Riordan, M.D., was obtaining cures for cancer with intravenous vitamin C. Dr. Harold Foster and colleagues arrested and reversed full-blown AIDS with nutrient therapy, and in just the last few years, Atsuo Yanagasawa, M.D., Ph.D., has shown that vitamin therapy can prevent and reverse sickness caused by exposure to nuclear radiation.

Since 1968, much of this research has been published in the Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine. This book brings forward important material selected from more than 45 years of JOM directly to the reader.

If readers want to know which illnesses best respond to nutrition therapy, and how and why that therapy works, they will find it in the must-read new book, The ORTHOMOLECULAR TREATMENT OF CHRONIC DISEASE: 65 Experts on Therapeutic & Preventive Nutrition. Part One presents the principles of orthomolecular medicine and the science behind them. Part Two is devoted to orthomolecular pioneers, presenting an introduction to maverick doctors and nutrition scientists in a way that brings the subject to life. Part Three brings together extraordinary clinical and experimental evidence from expert researchers and clinicians.

If the word "cure" is intriguing, this book will be even more so. It shows exactly how innovative physicians have gotten outstanding results with high-dose nutrition therapy. The author, Andrew W. Saul, M.S., Ph.D., is editor-in-chief of the Orthomolecular Medicine NewsService and is on the editorial board of the Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine. He has published over 180 peer-reviewed articles and has written or co-authored 12 books. He is also featured in the documentary movie Food Matters and, in 2013, was inducted into the Orthomolecular Medicine Hall of Fame.

To read more about this definitive book on therapeutic and preventative medicine, check out www.basichealthpub.com or www.amazon.com

Natural remedies for motion sickness

Summer is the best time for a road trip, but riding in the car can often bring on motion sickness for people. Before you reach for an over the counter medicine to fight off the effects, try a natural remedy from your own kitchen instead.

No one can completely avoid motion sickness. Fortunately, what you eat or drink can ease, and even prevent, a bout of motion sickness. Here are a few such remedies...

Crackers: Take these easily digestible snacks along and nibble on them every couple of hours to help prevent nausea and vomiting. An empty stomach makes it more likely that you will get sick.

Ginger: Ginger has long been known as an herbal remedy for queasiness, but modern science has proved this spice has merit, especially for motion sickness. One study discovered that ginger was actually better than over-the-counter motion sickness drugs. Make a ginger tea to take along with you when you're traveling by cutting 10 to 12 slices of fresh ginger and placing them in a pot with 1 quart water. Boil for ten minutes. Strain out the ginger, and add 1/2 cup honey or maple syrup for sweetening if you like.

Low-fat foods: If you eat a low-fat meal before you head out on your trip, you may avoid getting sick. Eating something before you leave makes your stomach more capable of handling the ups and downs of the road. Experts say not eating destabilizes the stomach's electrical signals, making you susceptible to nausea and vomiting.

Peppermint candies or lozenges: If you start feeling sick, get out the peppermints. Not only will you end up with fresh minty breath when you arrive at your destination, you'll also calm your queasiness. And if you're traveling with little ones, try placing 1 drop peppermint oil on their tongues before the trip. It may quash that queasy feeling.

Tea: Sip on some warm tea if you start feeling sick. Warm beverages tend to be easier on a nauseated tummy than a tall glass of cold water. Go for the decaf brew; caffeinated drinks aren't a good idea for unstable stomachs.

Ice: Sucking on some ice chips may help calm your stomach and help divert your attention from your unsettled tummy.


Apple juice: Drink a glass of apple juice with your pre-travel low-fat meal. Giving your body a bit of sugar with fluids before you start your journey should help you down the road. And if you start feeling ill, sipping (not gulping) some juice may help you feel better. Almost any non-citrus juice will do. Citrus juice irritates an already unstable stomach.


Whether it's on a car trip, train, or an airplane, motion sickness can be crippling to those affected by it. Use the home remedies outlined here to help get rid of that queasy feeling before it begins.

For more information on a variety of home remedies for what ails you, check out NATURAL REMEDIES: An A–Z Reference Guide to Tried-and-True Cures for Common Complaints at www.basichealthpub.com or www.amazon.com