With stories about the swine flu all around us, it is not hard to become worried. But there is no use and no reason to panick. Falling in the other extreme -just ignoring the whole situation- is definitely not something wise either. Best thing you can do is to be prepared and do all you can to protect yourself against this virus.

Here are some simple and handy, but at the same useful and efficient things you can do to protect yourself from the swine flu virus. Most of them involve strenthening your immune system, so that you are far less likely to get infected.

• Optimize your vitamin levels. Eat fresh fruits and vegetables. Get sunshine. Rays from the sun activate chemical processes in the body that support the immune system and create vitamin D- which is essential for optimal health and which is a very good help in avoiding infections. To have a good amount of vitamin D, you should get at least 30 minutes of direct sunlight a day.

Supplements are a good way to make sure you get all the vitamins you need. Here are a few supplements that we recommend:

Cellfood MultiVitamin

Liquid Vitality Liquid Vitamins

PlentiFood: Powdered Superfood!

R-Alpha Lipoic Acid is also very important because it recycles vitamins C and E, along with bringing a whole bunch of other health benefits.

• Avoid sugar and processed foods. Sugar decreases the function of your immune system. Canned and packed foods are stripped of vitamins and often contain chemical additives that the body’s immune system has to work to remove.
• Relieve stress and get enough rest. Excessive stress depresses the immune system. And if your body is fatigued it will be harder for it to fight the flu.
• Exercise. Exercises improves circulation, which helps deliver white blood cells (the workforce of our immune system) to every part of our body, and this way they can find an illness fast, before it spreads. Exercise not only strengthens your muscles, but your immune system as well.
• Take a good source of animal based omega-3 fats like Krill Oil. Omega-3 is crucial for maintaining good health.
• Consume garlic. Garlic works like a great natural antibiotic. And if you don’t like the taste of it or if you want to avoid the smell, there are garlic extract supplements that you might want to consider taking. Allimax is a great garlic extract supplement!
• Wash your hands. This way you will decrease the possibility of spreading viruses to your mouth, nose, eyes or other people.

I hope you find this tips helpful. I wish you all the best! And stay healthy!

Ruth Taylor

Image by Brent and MariLynn via Flickr

If I were to listen to my mother-in-law, I should have thrown away the peanut butter and the pistachios we had,  because she’s heard of this and that contamination. But I haven’t. Sunday night, when she called my husband to tell us not to eat pork, my reaction was: “She’s just watching too much TV.” Couldn’t she let me enjoy my dinner? I had just had a copious meal of pork riblets!

This morning I heard my colleagues talking about the swine flu and I realised it is something serious. A few minutes later I found out that a school in our vecinity is closed after three seventh-graders have tested posite for the swine flu virus.

And then, I started looking for more info and for the latest news about the swine flu evolution.

Right now I am listening to a live video on CBS News -Emergency swine flu hearing with multiple government agencies on Capitol Hill.

152 people have died so far in Mexico because of swine influenza, there are 50 cases of infected persons in the US, and the virus has spread as far as the New Zeeland. None of the US cases registered so far has been fatal and only one person is hospitalized at this moment because of swine influenza, but Dr. Schuchat warns that we can’t assume we’ll only have as mild cases as we have seen so far. Past similar occurrences have shown that the flu can drop, but then additional waves can come up. Another fact is that the influenza viruses are very unpredictable, they are notorious for changing. This virus has pandemic potential, which means that it is something we haven’t seen before. Consequently, our immune system is not prepared to fight against it. With no immunity to protect us from this virus and no vaccine available at this point, we are pretty vulnerable.

What can be done about this situation?

There’s a lot you can do yourself to protect from contamiantion and to stop this virus from spreading. Personal hygiene measures, such as frequent hand-washing and avoiding people who are coughing or sneezing can prevent flu infection. People who have planned to travel to Mexico are advised to try to postpone or cancel their trip, if possible. People who get sick with flu symptoms (coughing, sneezing, headaches, body aches, fever, chills, and sometimes vomiting and diarrhea) should consult with their doctor.

Everybody knows about antioxidants and how beneficial they are for our health. But while everybody has heard of vitamin C and E or about green tea, few people have heard about alpha lipoic acid, an extraordinary antioxidant that plays the most important role in fighting free radicals.

What makes alpha lipoic acid (ALA) so special?

All the other antioxidants are one-time-use. Once they have eliminated a free radical, they are lost forever. It is not so with the alpha lipoic acid. ALA is the only antioxidant that has the unique ability to regenerate itself. And it not only regenerates itself, but it also recycles other antioxidants, such as vitamins C & E.

Another characteristic that makes alpha lipoic acid so special is the fact that it is both fat and water soluble. This makes it able to access all parts of the cell, giving it tremendous ability to trap free radicals wherever they may be. ALA is also one of the very few substances that can cross the blood-brain barrier to enter the brain and reach the cells that need it the most.

Since it is a powerful antioxidant, alpha lipoic acid can help people suffering from various aging related ailments, such as stroke and neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson’s and Alzhaimer’s. Studies also show possible alpha lipoic acid benefits for people suffering from diabetes, cataracts and glaucoma, HIV/Aids, radiation poisoning, heart disease and more.

After we have looked at the extraordinary antioxidant qualities of ALA and some of its health benefits, there is one important thing I have to mention:

ALA’s basic, most important function inside the cells is that of energy production. Our bodies produce enough alpha lipoic acid for this function, but hardly any extra. ALA gets to act as an antioxidant only when there is an excess of it and it is in the free state in the cells.

What are some sources of alpha lipoic acid?

ALA is a natural fatty acid that can be found in vegetables such as broccoli, spinach, brussel sprouts, peas, and also in organ meats (heart, liver and kidneys). But the amount found in these foods is very little.

In conclusion, for your body to have an excess of free alpha lipoic acid that can be used to fight free radicals and a variety of health problems, you need to take alpha lipoic acid supplements.

There is one more important thing to be added here. If you intend to take ALA supplements, read first this material about what you need to know when purchasing alpha lipoic acid: All ALA is not the same! Many ALA supplements on the market are a 50/50 mixture of the natural R-alpha lipoic acid and the synthetic S-alpha lipoic acid. In some cases the S form counteracts the effects of the R form, so in order for you to take advantage of the ALA benefits, you need to take R-alpha lipoic acid. Now, many companies have understood the importance of taking the S part out, but the problem is that once they do that, the R-alpha lipoic acid becomes unstable, which is not good either. So, if you want to get the real good thing, look for Stabilized R-Alpha Lipoic Acid.

For more information you can read these materials:

alpha lipoic acid

To purchase Stabilized R-Alpha Lipoic Acid go here:

Stabilized R-Alpha Lipoic Acid

Ruth Taylor

Everybody in America seems to be obsessed with diet. People count their calories. Food stores sell all these “light” and “fat free” sorts of almost any food or drink, and that is, obviously, because this is big thing customers are after. And then, as if dieting is not enough of a worry when eating, entertainment also features it. “The Biggest Loser” is one of the most popular shows on TV.

Then how come there are so many people who are overweight or dealing with obesity?

Has it ever occurred to you that our parents and grandparents, who ate more fat than we do (they never saw a “lite” snack), still weighed less on the average than we do? If we were to compare one regular meal today and a regular meal 30 years ago, we would see the difference is not as much in quantity as it is in quality.

For example the beef our parents had, came from grass fed cattle. Nowadays, small farms are fewer and fewer and they have been replaced with conglomerates that no longer feed the cows with grass, but with corn, grains, antibiotics and growth hormones. The beautiful image of cows grazing in green pastures is now only a nice memory to think of.

Cows are raised in massive feed lots. The whole process of their growing is now much faster and the meat from these cattle has more fat than the meat from grass fed cattle. And this fat we get more of is unhealthy, not to mention the hormones, antibiotics, pesticides, and other synthetic chemicals found in most every package of beef at your local supermarket.

One important nutrient that helps control the fat in our body is conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), a fatty acid. Fatty acids play an important role in our body. The body produces all the fatty acids it needs, except three -linoleic acid, arachidonic acid, and linolenic acid. The body can produce linolenic acid and arachidonic acid from linoleic acid, so, ultimately, linoleic acid is the only fatty acid that our body needs for optimal health, but cannot produce.

CLA occurs naturally in many foods, including some vegetable oils. The best natural sources of CLA (conjugated linoleic acid) are beef, veal and some dairy products. But the amount of CLA found in beef and dairy products has drastically been reduced by 65% due to the way cattle are raised nowadays. This means we are no longer naturally getting from our diet the amount of CLA we need to keep our body fat under control. This is obviously one of the reasons why the incidence of overweight and obesity has skyrocketed over the past few decades.

What can you do about this?

Even if more expensive, grass-fed beef is still available, so try to have more of that, instead of the forage-fed beef. Another thing you can do is help your body get the amount of CLA it needs by taking supplements. There are many different companies that sell CLA. The leading CLA brand is Tonalin.

For more information about CLA follow this link: conjugated linoleic acid

To compare shopping for CLA go here: shopping for CLA

Ruth Taylor