The Simple Fibromyalgia Treatment that’s Nearly Always Overlooked…

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Sex Rx for 5 Female Disorders

Sex is supposed to be fun. But what if you aren’t into it? Or worse yet, it’s painful? We’ll help you feel sexy again with these solutions to 5 common female sexual disorders. Plus, find out what’s lowering your libido with our quiz…

Does it seem like everyone’s enjoying sex except you? Well, you aren’t alone: 43% of women experience some type of sexual disorder, according to the 1992 U.S. National Health and Social Life Survey, considered by experts to be one of the most comprehensive reviews of sexual behavior in the U.S.

Whether your sex life has been derailed because of menopause, inhibition, anger or a physical problem, here are some ways to get the zing back:

1. Lack of Desire
He’s revved and raring to go, but you can’t even get in gear for a night of romping.

Not being in the mood is a common complaint among women and their partners, says sex researcher Beverly Whipple, Ph.D., R.N., professor emerita at Rutgers University.

“Men think their partner isn’t attracted to them anymore,” she says, but other reasons may be to blame.

Why it happens: Stress, exhaustion and spreading yourself too thin can wreck your sex life, says Stephanie Buehler, psychologist and director of the Buehler Institute (TheBuehlerInstitute.com) for sex therapy in Irvine, Calif.

So can a strict religious upbringing, fear of pregnancy and negative messages about sex in your head. A bad sexual experience and no emotional satisfaction in your relationship can also make you feel like a wet blanket in the bedroom.
“Lack of desire is probably the most complex sexual problem,” Buehler says. “And the causes are very individual.”

Even if your head and heart are in sync, physical conditions such as diabetes, fibromyalgia and hormonal imbalance (perhaps from thyroid disorders or menopause) can also throw your sex and love life for a loop.

That’s what derailed Leslie (identified by her first name only for privacy), 52, of Austin, Texas. She had a “super low libido” and vaginal dryness when she entered perimenopause.

“It literally felt like I was drying up like an old woman,” she says. “And that was not OK because I actually enjoyed sex and wanted to have as active a sex life as possible.”

Still, as her sex life declined, so did her 10-year marriage. It ended in divorce.

Finally, with hormone replacement therapy, Leslie got her sex life back on track. After a two-year break, she and her husband rekindled their relationship and remarried last February.

Sex Rx: So what’s the best way to ramp up your libido? It depends on the cause.

In pre-menopausal women, lack of desire is typically due to life circumstances, such as stress, lack of energy or fighting with your mate, says Elizabeth Houser, M.D., of the Urology Team in Austin, Texas, whose Web site, Wetmatters.com, deals with pelvic health.
Once you ID the cause, try these steps to put heat back between the sheets:

• Reduce stress and increase energy level. Maintaining a healthy diet, exercise and balance in your life can help ignite the fire within.
• Make time for sleepy sex. Try this suggestion from Seven Weeks to Better Sex (Westcom Press) by Domeena Renshaw, M.D., director of the Loyola University Health System Sex Clinic in Chicago.

  Pick a rendezvous night with your mate and set your alarm clock to ring 90 minutes after you go to bed, which takes advantage of the body’s first sleep cycle, when you should be at peak arousal. When the alarm goes off, take a shower together to refresh you, and then have sex, which will relax you and help you get back to sleep again.

  “You may be skeptical, but try it anyway and see what happens,” Renshaw says.

• • Look at your relationship. How much conflict do you have? Do you spend enough time together? Does he listen? Do you communicate with each other? Lack of desire could be a symptom of another relationshipproblem, Buehler says. Couples therapy can help address issues. So can restructuring your life so that your relationship is a priority, Houser says.
  • Get the bad thoughts out. Cognitive behavioral therapy, in which patients address negative beliefs and feelings, can help you examine your attitude about sex.
  • Expand your options. Sex isn’t just about inserting part A into part B. A woman may want a back rub or cuddling instead, Whipple says. “I encourage people to learn about different parts of the body and be aware of what they like – and to communicate to their partner what they find sensual.”

  2. Lack of Arousal
  “People associate arousal with vaginal lubrication,” Whipple says, but it’s more complicated than that.
  When women are aroused, more blood flows to the clitoris and its surrounding flesh, which stimulates fluids to seep through blood vessels into the vagina. It also causes the upper part of the vagina, uterus, cervix and clitoris to expand and swells the lower vagina and labia (the flesh at the opening of the vagina) so the vaginal opening shrinks. In other words, your body gets ready to receive a penis.
  When a woman isn’t aroused, the blood doesn’t flow and the process shuts down. “Women describe it as just being dead down there,” Houser says.
  Why it happens: Many of the same things that inhibit desire also tamp down arousal. “If your vagina is dry and uncomfortable, it isn’t going to feel any stimulation,” Whipple says.

• Often, it's because a woman can't let go of her worries and to-do list.

• “She can’t relax,” Houser says. “Or she really doesn’t like her husband. Or she is thinking about their kid’s soccer tournament.”

  Sex Rx: Water-based vaginal lubricants can help. Don’t use oil-based products, which can dissolve latex condoms and diaphragms, compromising your protection from a pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.

  If the vaginal dryness stems from a decrease in estrogen levels, hormone replacement therapy may help keep the vaginal lining plump and improve lubrication.
  Your doctor can prescribe estrogen in several forms, including cream, skin patch or an estrogen-dispensing ring or tablets, which are inserted into the vagina.

  Don’t use estrogen cream as a lubricant, Whipple cautions, because the body absorbs a small amount with each use and too much estrogen could be dangerous.

  And skip antihistamines. If they dry out your nose, they probably dry you out down under.

  Whipple also suggests ArginMax, a tested over-the-counter oral supplement (it contains the amino acid L-arginine) that may increase lubrication and satisfaction.

  3. Anorgasmia
  This is the inability for either sex to experience an orgasm, but the condition is far more common in women. In fact, only about 30% of women have orgasms from sexual intercourse, Whipple says.
  

• Why it happens: Medical problems such as diabetes, multiple sclerosis and gynecological cancers can interfere. So can antidepressants: 70-80% of women taking selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), a class of antidepressants, have a hard time peaking, Whipple says.

Check out 9 Drugs That Can Dampen Your Sex Drive.

But maybe you aren't feeling the fireworks because you don’t know how to have an orgasm or haven’t schooled your partner about your sweet spots.

Sex Rx: It’s time to explore your nether regions. “You'd be amazed at how many women don’t know what they look like,” Buehler says.
First, get out a hand mirror out and examine yourself.
Now let your fingers do the walking. Get used to touching your body in a non-sexual but pleasurable way. Give yourself a massage or take a warm bath or shower and explore your entire body to find out what feels good. When you’re comfortable, move your hands to your genitals.

Stimulating your clitoris, G-spot and even the cervix can bring on an orgasm. The trick is finding what works for you, Whipple says. For more tips, check out How to Find Your G-spot.

As you learn your sexual responses, have a show-and-tell with your partner so he can recreate the sensation.

“A lot of people give up too easily,” Buehler says. Because of socialization or fear, the ability to have an orgasm is shut down. “You have to reawaken the wiring.”

Having an orgasm is a skill. And practice makes perfect.

4. Vaginismus
This condition causes the pelvic floor muscles to spasm, essentially blocking a penis from entering the vagina.
How common is the disorder? That’s debatable, because many women don’t seek treatment or are misdiagnosed. At the Sexual Dysfunction Clinic at Loyola University in Chicago, the vaginismus incidence rate is 7%, Renshaw says.

Untreated, vaginismus can be long-term: Renshaw says she treated a woman who had the disorder for 23 years before she sought help.

Why it happens: Repeated yeast infections or urinary tract infections can cause the reflexive muscle reaction, but so can fear of sex, pregnancy or emotional trauma from past sexual abuse.

Sex Rx: If the condition has a physical cause, at-home exercises may reverse it. In Seven Weeks to Better Sex, Renshaw suggests the following exercises:

• Without your partner, lie down and get comfortable. Breathe slowly, opening your mouth when you exhale.
• Lubricate your finger with water-based lubricant or saliva and insert it into your vagina. Continue to breathe deeply. As you explore your vagina, you’ll feel it start to loosen.
• As if you're trying to stop the flow of urine, contract the muscles in the lower third of your vagina tightly around your finger. Relax and repeat to learn how to control the muscles.
• Repeat the exercises for five minutes, twice a day. Use one finger on the first two days. For the next two days, insert two fingers while breathing slowly and contracting your muscles.
• On the next two days, ask your partner to place one lubricated finger inside your vagina. Guide his finger and keep your mind focused on your sexual response.
• On the following two days, spend as much time on foreplay as you need to get aroused and then ask your partner to lie passively next to you.
• Straddle him and place his non-erect penis into your vagina. Contract and relax your muscles. You should feel your partner becoming erect without experiencing pain. If he is already aroused, you can insert his erect penis or slow things down until his erection subsides and try again. Allow yourself as much time as you need to feel comfortable at any stage of these exercises.

A physical therapist who specializes in pelvic floor biofeedback – a kind of training program that can help people regulate body functions – can teach a woman how to consciously relax her muscles.

A doctor also can prescribe vaginal dilators – a set of plastic or silicone dildos, graduated in size, that are inserted into the vagina by the woman or her partner for 10 minutes a few times a week leading up to intercourse. The dilators gradually stretch the vaginal skin.

5. Dyspareunia
Pain during and after intercourse makes sex unpleasant. Unfortunately, many women are too embarrassed to discuss the subject with their doctor and avoid the act altogether, Buehler says.

“There are couples who don’t consummate their marriage for years. If they’d come in sooner, they’d have a smaller problem to solve,” she says.

Sex is an important part of a long-term relationship or marriage, and its absence can threaten it.

Why it happens: Endometriosis (the growth of the uterine lining outside the uterus), vaginismus, urinary tract infections, a dry vagina or any combination of physical or psychological factors can cause dyspareunia.

Sex Rx: First, head to your doctor for a physical exam, blood work and a check of hormone levels. Once a physical problem is ruled out, physical and sex therapy can help.

After all, sexual disorders don’t involve only the genitals, Whipple says. “I view sexual disorders holistically. It's really important to evaluate the total person and not just one part.”

Remember, intercourse isn’t the only way to get sexual pleasure. Try alternatives, such as oral, manual and anal sex. Anything that feels good can provide satisfaction minus the pain.

An extra tip: If you suffer from unexplained pain, your doctor may prescribe the antidepressant amitriptyline (Elavil). In very low doses — one-tenth of the amount you would take for depression — it can ease pelvic pain.

Need more help? Visit the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists at www.aasect.org, and the Society for Sex Therapy and Research at www.sstarnet.org.
Get your own copy of Domeena Renshaw’s Seven Weeks to Better Sex.

What’s Lowering Your Libido?
Studies suggest that one third of women have lost interest in sex. How much do you know about what keeps your motor humming? Take our libido quiz and find out.

Check out Health Bistro for more healthy food for thought. See what Lifescript editors are talking about and get the skinny on latest news. Share it with your friends (it’s free to sign up!), and bookmark it so you don’t miss a single juicy post!

The information contained on www.lifescript.com (the "Site") is provided for informational purposes only and is not meant to substitute for advice from your doctor or healthcare professional. This information should not be used for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease, or prescribing any medication. Always seek the advice of a qualified healthcare professional regarding any medical condition. Information and statements provided by the site about dietary supplements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Lifescript does not recommend or endorse any specific tests, physicians, third-party products, procedures, opinions, or other information mentioned on the Site. Reliance on any information provided by Lifescript is solely at your own risk.

Source: Lifescript: Sex Rx for 5 Female Disorders

Suzanne Somers swears by bio-identical hormone replacement. She says it keeps her young, sexy and help fight disease: Ageless: The Naked Truth About Bioidentical Hormones & The Sexy Years: Discover the Hormone Connection: The Secret to Fabulous Sex, Great Health, and Vitality, for Women and Men

Posted: True Health Is True Wealth

Other Resources:

Younger Next Year for Women: Live Strong, Fit, and Sexy - Until You're 80 and Beyond

The Wisdom of Menopause: Creating Physical and Emotional Health and Healing During the Change, 2nd Edition

The Miracle of Bio-Identical Hormones, 2nd edition

Natural Hormone Balance for Women: Look Younger, Feel Stronger, and Live Life with Exuberance

4 Fibromyalgia Treatments That Work

You’re in pain all over, always tired and can’t sleep, yet your doctor can’t figure what’s wrong. It could be fibromyalgia, and the answer to treating it may really be in your head. Here are 4 treatments that work. Plus, find out how much you know about the mysterious illness with our quiz…

If fibromyalgia were a pastime, it would be The New York Times’ infamous Sunday crossword: a confounding, bedeviling, even exhausting puzzle. The disease – a complex illness marked by chronic muscle, tendon and ligament pain, fatigue and multiple tender points on the body – affects about 2% of Americans, most of them women.

Since the first clinical, controlled study of fibromyalgia was conducted nearly 30 years, doctors still haven’t been able to pinpoint a cause or find a definitive treatment.

Physicians and patients alike are frustrated. Countless women are told the pain must be in their head.

Identifying a Puzzling, Painful Disease
But experts are inching closer to the causes of fibromyalgia and treatment, thanks to maverick thinkers like Daniel Clauw, M.D., who saw clues where many did not.

In the late 1980s, many patients with lower back pain were referred to him.
“As it turned out, most of these people had pain in many areas other than the back, as well as fatigue, insomnia, and memory problems. They had fibromyalgia – unrecognized and undiagnosed, as it often was,” recalls Clauw, a professor of anesthesiology and medicine at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and director of the Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center there.

Fast-forward 20 years: Clauw is still at it, still excited. But he’s now one of a growing number of physicians and practitioners approaching the puzzle of fibromyalgia from a new angle – the pain. Aided by dramatic advances in brain imaging and mapping, they’re getting a clearer view of the disease.

“We may not know what causes fibromyalgia, but it absolutely exists,” says George Griffing, M.D., a professor of medicine at St. Louis University in Missouri.

Seeing Is Believing
In the 1950s, when fibromyalgia was first described, the illness was thought to be a rheumatologic disorder like lupus because it was characterized by musculoskeletal pain. Despite this hypothesis – or maybe because it was inaccurate – fibromyalgia remained difficult to treat for decades.

But a landmark 2002 study, published by Clauw in the medical journal Arthritis and Rheumatism, shed new light on the disease. Rather than being rooted in the muscles and joints, the current thinking revolves around pain and sensory "amplification," he says.

His research showed that fibromyalgia sufferers are doubly sensitive to pain.

Clauw produced scans to show that the brains of fibromyalgia sufferers display significant pain signals from finger squeezes so gentle that they barely register as unpleasant in people without the disease.

"It’s as if the volume control on pain and sensory processing is set too high in people with fibromyalgia," Clauw says. The level at which touch to the skin [or noise or odor] becomes painful or uncomfortable is much lower in someone with fibromyalgia than in someone without it.

The brain, he says, is the key to the puzzle and, by quieting it, you’ll treat and manage the illness more effectively than before.

4 Ways to Manage Fibromyalgia
Here are four ways to calm your mind and improve your quality of life with fibromyalgia:

1. Find a doctor who "gets it." If you’re sore all over, suffer overwhelming fatigue and have trouble sleeping but don’t know why, see a rheumatologist. Such specialists are best able to differentiate fibromyalgia from other illnesses with similar symptoms.

But if your diagnosis is clearly fibromyalgia, start “with a physician – any physician – who fully acknowledges that the disease exists,” Griffing says.

2. Carefully test available meds and treatments. Many studies have shown that anti-convulsants and antidepressants can lower the pain volume for people with fibromyalgia.

One study, reported in the January 2009 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), revealed that antidepressants may reduce pain, depression, fatigue, sleep disturbances and improve quality of life.

The study showed that these drugs worked but with varying success. Tricyclic and tetracyclic antidepressants such as Elavil or Pamelor provided the most pain relief. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) can help with fatigue and depression.

Because there’s not enough evidence on the long-term effects of antidepressants, patients should be evaluated regularly to determine if the benefits outweigh adverse effects, according to the JAMA report.

Clauw adds that patients should systematically try a few medications – butslowly. “One of the biggest problems I see is that doctors and patients want to try too many things at once,” he says. So they can’t tell if something is working or whether a new symptom is a side effect of a treatment.

“There is no silver bullet – not yet,” says Griffing. The cocktail approach – a dash of pharmacology here, a dose of non-drug therapies there – has been proven to work.

Coming soon: Neurostimulatory therapies in which the brain or spinal cord is stimulated by electricity or magnets to reduce pain. Ask your doctor about it.

3. Be your own advocate. Learn as much as you can about the disease and the myriad ways you can manage it. How do you find out about options? Sites like the American Fibromyalgia Syndrome Association, the National Fibromyalgia Partnership and Know Fibro, which Clauw helped develop, can help educate patients about non-drug approaches such as cognitive behavioral therapy.

“They’re an excellent way for people with fibromyalgia to get the non-drug therapies that are rarely prescribed in routine clinical practice,” he says.

4. Retrain your brain. The key to coping with the illness is to manage your brain’s sensitivity to stimuli – which means, in part, “unlearning what you’ve always done," says Barbara Keddy, Ph.D., professor emerita in the School of Nursing at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Keddy, founder of the blog womenandfibromyalgia.com, has struggled with and studied fibromyalgia for 40 years.

Living in the moment is one effective tool, she says. “It means being constantly aware of how your body is responding to different stimuli in the moment and working to breathe deeply, engaging your diaphragm and moving your body in different ways to subvert the stress response.”

For more information on this strategy, called the "relaxation response," check out relaxationresponse.org.

How Much Do You Know About Fibromyalgia?
Fibromyalgia is one of the world’s oldest medical mysteries. How much do you know about the illness? Find out now.

Source: By Megan Othersen Gorman, Special to Lifescript - Published June 25, 200

Posted: True Health Is True Wealth

Fibromyalgia Pain Linked to Memory Problems

Many people with fibromyalgia report having problems with cognitive functioning.  We often refer to this difficulty concentrating and short-term memory loss as fibro-fog or brain-fog because it feels as if our minds are in a fog – we know the information is there; we just can't find it at the moment.

Pain and Memory
A new study has found that the cognitive functioning problems of fibromyalgia may exacerbated by the pain.  The University of Alberta study compared 30 women with fibromyaglia with 30 healthy women.  Two tests were conducted.  In the first, subjects performed simple tasks such as reading a map or using a phone book.  In the second test, researchers looked at the quantity of information subjects could handle and their ability to multi-task.  

Lead researcher Bruce Dick, a professor in anesthesiology and pain medicine, reported that the working memory was impaired in those who had FM and they had difficulty focusing on specific bits of information.   What was significant, though, was the fact that as the tasks became more difficult, their performance dropped off dramatically if they had pain. 

Opioids and Memory
Dick also made another unexpected and surprising discovery.  The patients who were taking opioid medications had better memories.  Since opioids are not usually recommended for fibromyalgia, this opens up a whole new area for consideration.  He wants to do further studies on the use of  these medications for FM, stating that when properly screened and supervised, he feels the benefits may outweigh the risks. 

Fibro-fog Tips
If fibro-fog is a problem for you, there are things you can do to help clear away some of the fog.   Read Dealing with Fibro-Fog for tips on how to improve your cognitive functioning.

Be:  Karen Lee Richards

Hidden Health Truths...

You’ll Never Get the Whole Story 
From Traditional Sources

Appreciation for the Unbiased and Timely Newsletter Thank you for producing the most clearly written, unbiased, timely medical newsletter that I know of. I especially appreciate that the your newsletter is written to help people, not just to promote products your other monetary agendas." -Dennis Cantwell, Traverse City, MI

• Recently uncovered data shows that the new HPV vaccine given to girls as young as 9 is much more dangerous than reported by Merck and the FDA...
• How the Mediterranean diet may reduce your risk of Alzheimer’s by a whopping 68 percent...
• 5 commonly-found toxins to avoid (If you want to protect your brain)...
• Little-known dangers of aerobic exercise (Exercising regularly is good — if done smartly)...
• The real story on the link between prostate cancer and multivitamins (What they don’t want you to know)...
• Another reason to avoid soft drinks (This commonly-used preservative helps prevent mold in the soda can, but can lead to neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s)...
• Plus, natural recommendations to help fibromyalgia, osteoporosis, edema and leukemia...
• And much more helpful information...

You Can’t Expect the Truth from 

Regular Media Coverage

Why? Pharmaceutical companies spend billions of dollars on ads with the traditional media. It seems like every time you turn on the TV, you’re likely to see drug commercials to treat everything from insomnia to erectile dysfunction.

And mainstream medical journals are literally crawling with drug ads as well. 

All those commercials and print ads equal big dollars — money the media and the journals don’t want to give up by creating a ruckus with a little thing like the truth!

Source:  Dr. Blaylock, who accepts no commission for his recommendations, not money from the multi-billion drug companies, no research money from Big Pharma.

Source:  NewsMax-Health

Oxidative Stress

Even though the average life expectancy in the United States has increased dramatically during this past century, our quality of life due to chronic degenerative disease has taken a major hit. We are essentially "living too short and dying too long". Most of us can simply look forward to suffering and dying from heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes, Alzheimer’s dementia, Parkinson’s disease, arthritis, macular degeneration, and the list goes on and on, unless we literally attack the underlying cause of all of these diseases—oxidative stress.

How long do you expect to live? Now envision what your last twenty years will look like. I can assure you my patients today are not as concerned with the number of years in their lives as they are the quality of life in those years. Who wants to live to a ripe old age if he or she cannot even recognize close family members because of Alzheimer’s dementia? Who looks forward to a decade or two of suffering severe joint or back pain due to degenerative arthritis?

One of my close friends told me recently that he simply wants to live until he dies. Is this your desire? It certainly is mine. That is why I recommend preventative rather than post-problem medicine--empowering people to avoid getting major diseases in the first place. Over the past seven years, I have changed my approach. I now strongly encourage and support my patients in taking a three-fold approach to health: eating well, practicing a consistent exercise program, and daily consuming high-quality nutritional supplements. I now use medication as a last resort—not as my first choice.

Do you fear growing old? Have you accepted chronic disease or pain as a given in your future? Are you willing to make necessary life changes to ensure your health? I believe a full and abundant physical life does not need to start slipping away at age forty. Each year of your life can be your very best. But first you must understand the war that is waging within every one of our bodies.

Oxygen is essential for life itself. But did you know it is also inherently dangerous to our existence? I call this the "dark-side" of oxygen. And as a result, we are essentially rusting both inside and out. The same process that causes a cut apple to turn brown or iron to rust is the cause of all the chronic degenerative diseases we fear and even the aging process itself.

Consider the aging of our skin. Oxidative stress is the cause of wrinkles, sagging skin, and age spots. The next time you are with a large gathering of people of different ages, observe closely the change you see in people’s skin. Aging is a process we all take for granted, but when you look more closely, and compare a baby’s face, to that of a grandparent’s, the effects of our largest organ being exposed to all the pollutants in the air, sunlight, and cigarette smoke is baffling. This aging of the skin is an outward manifestation of "oxidative stress," which is occurring within every cell in your body.

Over the past 7 years, I have reviewed well over 2,000 medical and scientific studies in regards to nutritional supplements and their affect on your health. These studies appearing in medical journals like the New England Journal of Medicine, Journal of the American Medical Association, British Lancet, and Annuals of Internal Medicine report that beyond any doubt the "root" cause of well over 70 chronic degenerative diseases is "oxidative stress." These are the "who’s who" of diseases we all fear and want to avoid; diseases like heart attacks, strokes, diabetes, cancer, arthritis, Alzheimer’s dementia, macular degeneration, lupus, MS, fibromyalgia, and chronic fatigue. "So what," you may be wondering, "is ‘oxidative stress’?"

Within every cell of the body is a furnace called the mitochondria. As oxygen is utilized within the furnace of the cell to create energy and life itself, occasionally a charged oxygen molecule is created, called a "free radical." This free radical has at least one unpaired electron in its outer orbit essentially giving it an electrical charge. If this free radical is not readily neutralized by an antioxidant it can go on to create more volatile free radicals, damage the cell wall, vessel wall, proteins, fats, and even the DNA nucleus of our cells. Chemically this reaction has been shown to be so volatile that it actually causes bursts of light within our bodies!

Imagine yourself in front of a crackling fireplace and I’ll give you the best illustration I have to explain the process of oxidation. The fire burns safely and beautifully most of the time, but on occasion out pops a hot cinder that lands on your carpet and burns a little hole in it. One cinder by itself doesn’t pose much of a threat; but if this sparking and popping continues month after month, year after year, you will have a pretty "ratty" carpet in front of your fireplace.

The fireplace represents the furnace of the cell (the mitochondria), the cinder is the charged "free radical," and the carpet is your body. Whichever part of your body receives the most free radical damage will be the first to wear out and potentially cause one of these degenerative diseases. If it’s your arteries, you could develop a heart attack or stroke. If it is your brain, you could develop Alzheimer’s dementia or Parkinson’s disease. If it’s your joints, you could develop arthritis.

Through biochemical research we’re learning that we are not defenseless against this attack on our body by free radicals. Antioxidants are like the glass doors or fine-wire mesh we place in front of our fireplace. The sparks are still going to fly but our carpet will then be protected. As you begin to imagine the war that is taking place within every cell in your body, you can envision the two opposing forces: the enemy--free radicals; and your allies--antioxidants and their supporting nutrients.

Living a healthy life becomes a matter of balance. You must have enough antioxidants available to readily neutralize the number of free radicals your body produces. If you don’t, "oxidative stress" will occur. When this oxidative stress is allowed to persist over a prolonged period of time, you will most likely develop a serious chronic degenerative disease.

Each of us must ask, "Am I getting enough antioxidants from my diet to protect myself from this onslaught of free radicals or do I need to be taking nutritional supplements?" This is the question that I’ve had to ask myself as I have spent countless hours researching medical literature. You see I was taught in medical school that you don’t need supplements—that you can get everything you need from a good, healthy diet. And this is what I told my patients for years. I was wrong.

Since balance is the key, we need to look closely at the individual players that are at war within. The number of free radicals you produce each and every day is never the same. All the pollutants in our air, food, and water dramatically increase the number of free radicals we produce. Enormous stress, excessive exercise, cigarette smoke, sunlight, radiation, and every drug prescribed greatly increases the number of free radicals produced in the body. In fact, there has never been a generation on this planet subjected to more oxidative stress than this present one. We are literally under attack from our polluted environment, stressful lifestyles, and over-medicated society.

This ongoing attack is depriving us of our most precious gift—our health. But God did not leave us defenseless against this onslaught by free radicals. In fact, we actually have our own army of antioxidants, which are able to neutralize free radicals and render them harmless. In generations past, these defense systems were sufficient. Unfortunately this is no longer the case. Our bodies’ defense systems need additional allies.

Most antioxidants come from vegetables and fruit. This creates a gap in our protection, because our foods have become significantly depleted in their content of antioxidants and supporting minerals as a result of mineral depletion in our soils, green harvesting, cold storage, foods that are highly processed, our poor food choices and food preparation.

At a time when we are under the heaviest attack from the environment around us, our natural defense systems are becoming overwhelmed and depleted. We must do all we can to rebuild our antioxidant systems with a healthy diet, but too you need to learn how complete and balanced nutritional supplementation with high quality supplements (cellular nutrition) is our best hope in winning this war within and protecting our health.

Source: Dr. Ray Strand