A documentary introducing the benefits of pilates by an instructor based in Los Angeles.

A lymphatic drainage massage, sometimes called manual lymphatic drainage (MLD), is a gentle form of massage which stimulates the body’s lymphatic system, allowing it to naturally circulate fluids and increase the body’s metabolism and immune system. The lymphatic system can become blocked, causing fluids and toxins to build up, making us more susceptible to colds and viruses.

The Challenge

On January 9, 2008, the FDA sent numerous pharmacies, large and small, an order to stop using estriol, and the term “bio-identical” in their hormone replacement formulas. This was an unprecedented attack on compounders, patients and physicians because until then not a single compounded drug component with a USP monograph had been withdrawn from circulation unless there had been evidence of harm to patients. Yet that is what the FDA did. Furthermore, the FDA admitted in their press conference that there is no evidence of harm to any patient from the use of estriol in compounds. If they can do it to estriol, they can do it to anything they wish to! In response, Congress introduced House Concurrent Resolution 342 and Senate Concurrent Resolution 88. These resolutions call on the FDA to stop their new policy of restricting women’s access to prescriptions containing estriol. This is one of our best courses of action to restore estriol’s availability to the market. The resolution also calls on the need of FDA to respect the physician-patient relationship and recognizes that doctors, not the FDA, are in the best position to determine which medications are appropriate for their patients. It also points out the FDA has acknowledged that it is unaware of any adverse events associated with the use of estriol over the past three decades. AAHF was proud to sponsor 2 full-page ads in Roll Call to support these resolutions (Ad 1, Ad 2). Additionally, we organized a coordinated effort of groups to write a letter to support (click here for the list) and hand-delivered the letters to every member of Congress. The Action Our challenge to you is this: can you help us get 100 sponsors in 100 days? We currently have 45 sponsors on House Con. Res. 342 and only 3 sponsors for S. Con. Res. 88 (introduced last month) but in order to be successful, we must have more Congressional support. And you can help us get that. To get involved, please visit: http://ga4.org/campaign/Estriol_Resolution

Why People – Especially Kids – Are Not Getting Enough Minerals (and What to Do About It)

by Donna Gates for BodyEcology.com

You care about your kids and give them fruits and vegetables, but did you know many of today’s foods are mineral deficient? Here’s how to boost your health and that of future generations with foods rich in precious vitamins and minerals.

Once upon a time, people grew and harvested fruits and vegetables that they used to make healthy, whole food meals. Those fruits and vegetables were full of vital nutrients from the land and nourished the bodies of those who ate them, helping them to grow healthy and strong. Today we’re told to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables as part of a healthy diet, but even if you are eating them, something is most likely missing. Our produce no longer has all the nutrients we need. In fact, the USDA has reported that there is a 25-80% decline in the mineral content of the foods we eat.¹ Whether a result of over-farming, pesticides, genetically altered seeds, decreased soil quality, or fertilizers, one thing is for certain: Americans young and old are mineral deficient because our food supply no longer gives us the nutrients we need. Dangerous Mineral Deficiency Taking in significant amounts of minerals is an overlooked and underemphasized reason why so many of us are not really healthy today. It greatly contributes to early and needless aging. Active in every single function of your (and your child’s) body, minerals are absolutely essential to good health. Consider the Japanese, who many years ago consumed a diet very rich in minerals. Their diets consisted of sea vegetables at every meal. They enjoyed good health exemplified by their dark, shiny hair, few wrinkles, calm and focused demeanors, and long lives. Gradually, though, the influence of the West has taken over. Many modern Japanese have abandoned their traditional ways of eating in favor of processed foods, caffeine and sugar. These mineral–depleting foods cause gray hair, wrinkles and other signs of premature aging. The Japanese are now just as concerned as we are about their children’s health. We are all seeing a generation of young children and teens who are intellectually very bright, but are unable to sit still and focus. Read on and I’ll explain why. Tying the dots of research together will show you that mineral deficiencies play a major role in these changes and this has long been a factor in the declining health of adults and children the world over. The major reasons we are now lacking minerals are:

• Decreased amount of minerals in our food supply
• Consumption of mineral depleting processed foods
• Eating too much sugar
• Relying on caffeine for energy
• High stress lifestyles
• Lack of quality sleep

The Many Health Benefits of Minerals It is so important that it must be stated again: minerals are active in every single function of your body. Here are just a few of the almost endless examples of the health benefits of minerals:

• Magnesium helps convert blood sugar to energy, and is the 'anti-stress' mineral.
• Calcium is the most abundant mineral in your body; it initiates DNA synthesis, maintains bone health and strong teeth.
• Potassium maintains acid/alkaline balance in your blood.
• Zinc promotes proper nerve, immune and digestive health and boosts immunity.
• Phosphorous helps maintain heart regularity, provides energy and aids in metabolism of fats and starches.

When you are mineral deficient, your whole body suffers. But nowhere in your body suffers more from mineral deficiency than your adrenals. Your adrenals are walnut sized glands that sit on top of your kidneys. The workhorses of your body, healthy adrenals ensure that you have lots of energy, help you sleep soundly, and regulate your brain, heart, liver, digestive, endocrine, and nervous systems. We age because our hormone levels decline each decade, and minerals are a vital nutrient for the organs in our body that produce our hormones. Your adrenals are also an integral part of your body’s response to stress. To be healthy our adrenals need feeding. And what they like to eat are minerals, B Vitamins and plenty of Vitamin C. Unfortunately, one of the major ways we “stress out” our adrenals is by not feeding them with the minerals they need to function. When our adrenals are mineral deficient, we may suffer from insomnia, have an acidic, achy stomach and have trouble digesting food. Our hormones will be out of balance, we feel sluggish and tired, gain weight, feel depressed and have difficulty concentrating. So feeding your adrenals with minerals is important for everyone, especially children and teens who are not only growing but who will become the future parents of the world. Create healthy children and teens, help them create a healthy new generation of babies someday and we can turn around the health crisis on the planet. Minerals are so important that it’s critical to nourish your own adrenals even before you have children AND extra amounts of minerals should be taken by a mother-to-be when she is creating a new life inside her womb! Research has shown that when a pregnant woman experiences stress during her pregnancy her fetus experiences stress too. Stress has a negative effect on the mother’s adrenals, but it also affects her baby’s newly-forming adrenal cells. One research study shows that when babies experience stress in the womb the cells of their adrenals are expanded and become weak. The study showed that these children were highly intelligent but could not handle stressful situations.  They had trouble focusing and sitting calmly in school. They had trouble going to sleep at night.  (Sound familiar?) This certainly helps explain behavioral and learning problems after birth. Research also indicates that children whose mothers experienced stress during pregnancy may be at greater risk for mental illness later in life.² (This may explain the climbing rate of teen depression today and depression among those of African American decent.)

Clearly our current epidemics of mental health problems and developmental disorders like autism and ADD can be traced back to poor nutrition, environmental toxins and stressful lifestyles. Fortunately, Body Ecology has a number of wonderful solutions to offer the world at this time.

From conception, our children are not receiving the valuable minerals they need to grow healthy and strong. For those of us who are well past childhood, the fatigue, stress, chronic diseases, and deterioration of our bodies indicate that mineral deficiency is taking its toll. But if we can’t depend on our food supply to nourish us with the minerals we need, what are we to do? Simple Antidote to Mineral Deficiency I created the Body Ecology system of health and healing as a mineral-rich antidote to our modern world. By following the Body Ecology diet, you can replenish your body with the minerals it needs, not only to function properly, but also to attain vibrant health! Whether you are a parent yet or not, a diet rich in minerals will prepare you to pass on a legacy of health to our most precious resources: the next generation of children. Here are 6 easy tips for you to reclaim your health and get missing minerals for you and your kids:

1. Choose organic foods. When you dine on organic foods, you are eating foods that more flavorful but are free of toxic pesticides AND have more vitamins and minerals. Organic farmers have strict rules for keeping the soil mineral rich, like the soil that kept our ancestors healthy and safe from mineral deficiency.
2. Have a mineral-rich green drink every day. VITALITY SUPER GREEN should be your morning MUST!!!  It’s made from whole-food green powder that has fermented grasses, algae, green vegetables, enzymes and probiotics that pack a powerful mineral punch. Read about one mom who sends her kids to school with their very own mineral-rich green drink!
3. Include fermented foods and drinks. In fact, you won’t be able to really correct a mineral deficiency long term without the use of fermented foods, like cultured vegetables and fermented drinks, like Young Coconut Kefir or ready-made Coco-Biotic.
   

   Need more minerals? Then try this energy-boosting whole food. Vitality SuperGreen is a delicious way to boost your mineral intake while you get powerful probiotics and healthy fiber to restore the health of your digestive system at the same time. Try Vitality SuperGreen for a boost of energy in your day!

   Yes,  they are an excellent source of much needed vitamins and minerals. But perhaps even more importantly, the microflora in these probiotic foods,enhance digestion of all foods you eat. Remember it is not just WHAT you eat but HOW IT IS DIGESTED that is important. Yes, you will need to consume, drink and devour mineral-rich foods but you want to digest them as well. When it comes to minerals, probiotic-rich foods pack a powerful nutritional punch!

4. Eat your sea vegetables. Sea vegetables, or seaweed, are some of nature’s most nutritious foods. Introduced to the American health food stores by the macrobiotic movement, sea vegetables have been a staple in Asian cultures for thousands of years. Sea veggies improve thyroid function, naturally detoxify your body, and are important foods to help you overcome mineral deficiencies. We suggest you find a way to eat them at least once a day. The traditional Japanese diet includes them in every meal. (Japanese women are the longest lived group in the world.)
5. Eliminate processed sugars from your diet and use natural sugar substitutes instead. Every time you eat sugar, it causes your blood to become too acid. To make your blood more alkaline again, minerals are pulled from your bones and teeth where they are stored until needed.Sugar interferes with your body’s absorption of calcium and magnesium and may cause chromium and copper deficiencies. But if you still need the sweet taste that sugar provides, try Body Ecology’s all natural sugar substitute, Lakanto, for baking delicious recipes without the dangers of sugar.
6. Stress less and sleep more. This goes for parents and kids alike. Stressed parents and kids have weaker immune systems and have trouble sleeping.³Institute early bed times and stick with it. Find fun ways to handle stress. You’ll pass these positive habits on to your children and nourish your adrenals at the same time. Read Sleeping Trouble? Discover Why Winter is the Ideal Time to Learn How to Sleep Right to learn more about the minerals and sleep connection.

Essential Minerals As our modern world puts more stress on our bodies, our minds and our environment, it becomes even more important to take charge of our health and the health of our kids. Minerals are essential to your well-being, but the Standard American Diet does not provide you with all the nutrients you and your children need. By following the Body Ecology system of health and healing you can replenish your body’s storehouse of minerals and improve your health, as well as the health of generations to come. Sources: 1 Jack, Alex, “Fruit Basket Upset: The Disappearing Nutrients in America’s Orchards,” CommunicationAgents.com. http://www.communicationagents.com/emma_holister/2004/12/12/the_disappearing_nutrients_in_americas.htm 2 Dingfelder, Sadie, “Programmed for psychopathology?” APA.org. http://www.apa.org/monitor/feb04/programmed.html 3 Caffeine, Nutrition.com.sg. http://www.nutrition.com.sg/atd/atdcaffeine.asp 4 Children Under Stress Develop More Fevers, MedicalNewsToday.com, 9 Mar 2007. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/64586.php

By Dr Stanley Bass, N.D. D.C. Ph.D. If I were asked which is the greatest misunderstanding and confusion in the field of nutrition, I would respond, "to properly understand and interpret the symptoms and changes that follow the beginnings of a better nutritional program. (A "healing crisis") Now, what happens when a person follows the rules and makes a decided improvement in the quality of food consumed? Remarkable things begin to happen to the body as well as the mind. The amazing intelligence present in every cell of the body and the wisdom of the body in its operation immediately becomes manifest. The rule may be stated thus: When the quality of food coming into the body is of higher quality than the tissue that the body is made of, the body begins to discard the lower grade materials and tissues and makes room for the superior materials that make new and healthier tissue. What are the symptoms or signs that become evident when we first begin to omit the lower grade food and instead introduce superior foods-those that are more alive, more natural than those we are accustomed to? When the use of toxic stimulants such as coffee, tea, chocolate or cocoa is suddenly stopped, headaches are common, and a letdown (healing crisis) occurs. This is due to the discard by the body, of toxins called caffeine and theobromine, which are removed from the tissues and transported through the blood stream during its many bodily rounds. Before the toxins agents reach their final destination for elimination, these irritants register in our consciousness as pain-in other words, headache. The letdown is due to the slower action of the heart- the resting phase that follows the stimulation of more rapid heart action forced on the body by certain poisons called stimulants. The more rapid heartbeat (or pulse) produces a feeling of exhilaration, and the slower action produces a depressed state of mind. Usually, within three days, the symptoms vanish and we feel stronger due to the recuperation that follows. To a lesser extent, the same process occurs when we abandon lower quality foods and replace them with better foods. Lower quality foods have undergone more preparation. Spices, salt and other ingredients have been added, and they tend to be more stimulating than less prepared and more natural foods. Animal food, such as meat, fowl, fish etc, is more stimulating than cheeses, nuts and vegetable proteins. Consequently the withdrawal of stimulation, which follows the abandonment of animal food produces a slower heart action, a resting phase that registers to the mind as relaxation or a decrease in energy. This initial letdown (healing crisis) lasts about ten days or slightly longer, and is followed by an increase of strength, a feeling of diminishing stress and great well-being. Now, let us return to the symptoms that occur in the process of regeneration. The person who starts a better diet, stays on it for three days to a week and then quits, will say, &##34;Oh, I felt better on the old diet – the new one makes me feel weak". He failed because he did not give his body a chance to adjust and complete its first phase of action, recuperation. If he had waited a while longer, he would have begun to feel better than before he started. During this initial phase (lasting about ten days on the average, to several weeks in others), the vital energies that are usually in the periphery or external parts of the body, such as the muscles and skin, begin to move to the vital internal organs and start reconstruction. This shunting of much of the power to the internal region produces a feeling of less energy in the muscles, which the mind interprets as some weakness. Actually power is increased, but most of it is being used for rebuilding the more important organs, and less of it is available for muscular work. Any weakness that is felt here is not a true weakness, but merely a redeployment of forces to the more important internal parts. Here it is important for the person to stop wasting energy, and rest and sleep more. This is a crucial phase, and if the person resorts to stimulants of any kind, he will abort and defeat the regeneration intent of the body. It is important that he have patience and just wait it out and after awhile he will get an increasing strength that will exceed what he felt before he began the new program. Success in recovery or improvement of health hinges upon the correct understanding of this point . realizing that the body is using its main energies in more important internal work and not wasting it in external work involving muscle movements. Be wise – take it easy and relax. Just coast in your work and social obligations until you are out of the woods. As one continues on the improved diet and gradually raises the food quality, interesting symptoms begin to appear. The body begins a process called "retracing". The cellular intelligence reasons something like this "Oh! Look at all those fine materials coming in. How wonderful-now we have a chance to get rid of this old garbage and build a beautiful new house. Let us get started immediately. Let us get this excess bile out of the liver and gall bladder and send it to the intestines for elimination. Let us get this sludge moving out of the arteries, veins and capillaries. These smelly, gassy, brain-stupefying masses have been here too long- out with them! These arthritic deposits on the joints need cleaning up. Let us get these irritating food preservatives such as aspirins, sleeping pills and drugs out of the way, along with these other masses of fat that have made life so burdensome for us for so long." During the first phase of the healing crisis (called catabolism), the accent is on elimination or breaking down of tissue. The body begins to clean house – in short, to remove the garbage deposited in all the tissues. Wastes are discarded more rapidly and new tissue is made from the new food. This becomes evident as weight loss. This persists for a while then is followed by the second phase-stabilization. Here the weight remains more or less stable. During this phase, the amount of waste material being discarded daily is equal to the amount of tissue that is being formed and replaced by the newer, more vital food. This occurs after the excess of obstructing material in the tissues has been removed. This stage persists for a while and is then followed by a third phase – a build up period (called anabolism), wherein weight starts to go even though the diet is lower in calories than it was before. At this point, much or more of the interfering wastes have been discarded. Returning to the symptoms that occur on a superior nutritional program – people who have had tendencies in the past to recurring skin rashes or eruptions will frequently tend to eliminate poisons and harmful drugs through the skin with new rashes and eruptions. If they go to a doctor now who is not familiar with this aspect of nutrition, he will diagnose it as an allergy. They ask, "How come I am eating better than I ever did before and instead I'm getting worse?" They don't understand that the body is "retracing" The skin is getting more alive and active. It is throwing out more poisons more rapidly. Headaches may occur at the beginning, fever and/or colds may also appear, the skin may break out, there may be a short interval of bowel sluggishness, diarrhea, feeling of tiredness and weakness, disinclination to exercise, nervousness, irritability, negativity, mental depression, frequent urination, etc. However the great majority of people find their reactions tolerable and are encouraged to bear with them. With some, colds that have not appeared for a long time may occur, or even fevers. Understand that these actions are constructive, even though unpleasant at the moment. Do not try to stop these symptoms by the use of certain drugs. These symptoms are part of a curing process; so don't try to cure a cure. These are NOT deficiency problems or allergic manifestations. The symptoms will vary according to the material being discarded, the condition of the organs involved in the elimination, and the amount of energy you have available. The more you rest and sleep when the symptoms are present, the milder they are and the more quickly they are terminated. Be happy you are having symptoms. Realized deeply that your body is becoming younger and healthier every day. You are throwing off more and more wastes that would eventually have brought pain, disease, and following through to their successful termination, avoiding some of the worst diseases that would eventually have developed had you continued your careless eating habits. Do not expect to go on an ascending scale of quality. Do not expect that improving your diet will make you feel better and better each day until you reach perfection. The body is cyclical in nature. And health returns in a series of gradually diminishing cycles. For example, you may start a better diet and for a while you feel much better. After some time, a symptom occurs – you may feel nauseous for a day and have diarrhea with a foul smelling stool. After a day, you feel better that ever before, and all goes fine for a while. Then you suddenly develop a cold, feel chills, and lose your appetite. After about two or three days (assuming you do not take drugs or do anything else about it), you suddenly develop an itch or rash. You still do not take anything special for it. This rash flares up, gets worse, and continues for ten days, and immediately subsides. Immediately after this, you find your hepatitis is gone and your energy has increased more than ever before. The rash became an outlet for the poisons in the liver, which produced the hepatitis. This is how recovery occurs. You recover and go even higher. And so it goes – each reaction milder than the last as the body becomes purer, each becoming shorter in duration and being followed by a longer and longer period of feeling better than ever before, until you reach a level plateau of vibrant health. Let us give ourselves, through our "healing crisis" a chance to experience what it means to be really healthy and fully alive.

Candida Questionnaire and Score Sheet*

MONDAY, May 5 (HealthDay News) — The overproduction of a protein may be what starts harmless colon polyps on their journey to becoming malignant tumors, Finnish researchers report.
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The University of Helsinki research, published online in Cancer Cell, reveals that PROX1, a protein that controls formation of normal organs in embryos, is produced in excess during the early stages of cancer development. PROX1 even encourages tumor cell growth without additional signals from surrounding normal tissues.

The removal of PROX1 from cancer cells appears to reverse their malignant behavior, suggesting that future research may focus on the protein’s use in colon cancer therapies.

Men and women face a lifetime risk of nearly 6 percent for the development of invasive colorectal cancer, making it one of the most common malignancies in the Western world. Past epidemiologic studies have cited obesity and several dietary factors — including fat, red meat and a lack of vegetables and fiber — as increasing the risk of the disease.

—Kevin McKeever

SOURCE: University of Helsinki, news release, May 5, 2008

One of the products that Transformational Health clients love is Celtic Sea Salt.

Why? Because it’s taste and the presence of trace minerals and sea water.

The presence of trace minerals and sea water is essentially “the good stuff ” you wish to find in sea salt. It’s what differentiates sea salt from common table salt; Celtic Sea Salt is engineered to be virtually 100% sodium chloride. Also, Celtic Sea Salts contain the highest amount of trace mineral and sea water (13.36%) of any brand on the market today, now that’s just good news for your health.

Celtic Sea Salt is available for purchase at our office at any time.

“No level of trans fats is safe,” so says the United States Institute of Medicine. The recent requirement for all food labels to list trans fat content has manufacturers scrambling to find replacements for hydrogenated vegetable oils-the sole source of artificial trans fats in our diet. Hydrogenated vegetable oils, including margarine and shortening, are found in most every packaged food item on grocery shelves and used extensively in the food service industry.

Hydrogenated vegetable oils are popular in food processing because they are firm, resist oxidization, retard spoilage-all necessary for packaged, prepared foods. Liquid vegetable oils are unsuitable because they oxidize easily, readily develop off flavors, and lack the firmness needed for baking.

In an effort to find a replacement for hydrogenated oils, food chemists have been busy fractionating fats and oils, creating new fats, and recombining them in various ways to create relatively hard fats that are trans fat-free and contain as little saturated fat as possible. Agricultural scientists are also experimenting with genetically modified plants to find a solution. Some of these manufactured oils are now being incorporated into our foods.

A far simpler and healthier solution is to go back to the fats we used before we had hydrogenated oils-traditional fats that have been used successfully for generations. Some food manufacturers are doing that. One such fat that is gaining wider use is palm oil. Compared to other fats, palm oil is far superior in nutrient content and cooking properties. Palm oil is highly resistant to oxidation and rancidity, and can withstand the high temperatures used in cooking, baking, and deep frying.

Palm oil comes from the fruit of the oil palm (Elaeis guineensis). The oil palm originated in tropical Africa but is now also cultivated in Southeast Asia and South America. Palm oil has been a part of the human diet for at least 5,000 years. In the wild, animals regularly feast upon the fruit for its nutrient-rich oil.

Palm fruit is about the size of a small plum and grows in large bunches. Each bunch may contain 1,000 individual fruits. The oil palm produces fruit continuously year round, with a new bunch ripening about every month. So the fruit is always in season.

Palm fruit is rich in vitamins, antioxidants, and other phytonutrients. Crude or virgin palm oil is called “red” palm oil because of its characteristic dark red color. The color is from the high content of beta-carotene and lycopene, the same nutrients that give tomatoes and carrots their red and orange colors. Red palm oil contains the highest natural source of provitamin A carotenes (beta-carotene and alpha-carotene). It contains 15 times more provitamin A carotenes than carrots and 300 times more than tomatoes. Our bodies can convert provitamin A carotenes into vitamin A. Because red palm oil is a rich source of carotenes, as well as many other nutrients, it is being used by governments throughout the world to fight malnutrition and vitamin A deficiency.

Palm oil is also one of the richest natural sources of vitamin E and the best source of a (powerful) form of vitamin E known as tocotrienol. There are two major forms of vitamin E-tocopherol and tocotrienol. Each type has four subtypes, which are distinguished from one another by the prefix alpha, beta, gamma, or delta. Tocopherols are the most common form of vitamin E. Alpha-tocopherol is the form of vitamin E which we hear about most and the one used in dietary supplements and fortified foods. When people talk about vitamin E they are usually referring to alpha-tocopherol. For many years it was believed that alpha-tocopherol was the most biologically active form of vitamin E and, therefore, the most important. Most fruits and vegetables contain some mixture of all four tocopherols.

The more potent tocotrienols are not nearly as abundant. Some grains like wheat and rice contain small amounts. By far the richest source of tocotrienols is from palm oil. Palm tocotrienols display up to 60 times more antioxidant activity than regular vitamin E, making them super-antioxidants, capable of affecting health far beyond the ability of ordinary vitamin E or even most other antioxidants. Recent medical studies have demonstrated the power of tocotrienols in blocking the formation of arterial plaque, regulating blood pressure, lowering cholesterol, fighting cancer, preventing neurological disorders, accelerating healing, and preventing free-radical damage that promotes premature aging. For these reasons, palm tocotrienols are now considered the premier form of vitamin E. They are even appearing in vitamin supplements.

You can, of course, get this vitamin directly from red palm oil. Red palm oil is not only loaded with tocopherols and tocotrienols, but it comes with a variety of nutrients such as vitamin K, CoQ10, squalene, flavonoids, phytosterols, beta-carotene, alpha-carotene, lycopene, and some 20 other carotenes. One tablespoon of red palm oil supplies the adult daily requirement for vitamins A and E in a synergistic mixture with other nutrients. The antioxidant content is extremely high so the oil provides protection from destructive free-radical activity that occurs in our bodies every day. When you eat palm oil it is like taking a natural vitamin supplement. In terms of nutrient content, no other dietary oil comes close.

While red palm oil is recognized as an excellent source of antioxidants and other nutrients, some people have questioned its use because of its high saturated fat content. Most of the criticism comes from those who believe the saturated fat in the palm oil will adversely affect cholesterol levels. However, research shows that, if anything, palm oil has a beneficial effect on blood cholesterol.

Studies show that when red palm oil replaces other vegetable oils in the diet there is little change in total cholesterol. However, the cholesterol ratio often improves significantly. The cholesterol ratio is a far better indicator of heart disease risk than total cholesterol. Even if total cholesterol increases, if the cholesterol ratio decreases, then the risk of heart disease decreases.

In addition to lowering the cholesterol ratio, red palm oil also reduces a particularly insidious form of LDL cholesterol known as lipoprotein(a) or Lp(a). Lp(a) is similar in structure to LDL but contains a adhesive protein that enhances its ability to stick to artery walls. Lp(a) has been identified as a separate and distinct risk factor for heart disease. In fact, it is associated with ten times the risk of ordinary LDL cholesterol. Judging from cholesterol values, red palm oil appears to protect against heart disease.

Palm oil supplements rich in tocotrienols and other antioxidants have been shown to reverse blockages in the arteries of heart disease patients and reduce platelet aggregation (excessive blood clotting), thereby reducing the risk of a stroke or heart attack.

The high antioxidant content of red palm oil makes it a powerful natural weapon against cancer. Research at the University of Louisiana, University of Wisconsin, University of Reading (UK), and University of Western Ontario (Canada), show that red palm oil is effective in preventing cancer and reducing tumor growth. The antioxidants in the oil not only block free radicals that promote cancer, but stimulate apoptosis or cell death in diseased cells. Much of red palm oil’s anticancer effects have been attributed to the tocotrienols. Researchers consider tocotrienols to be among the most potent natural anticancer agents known.

Free radicals have been identified as the primary cause or a contributing factor in at least 60 common health problems ranging from heart disease and cancer to arthritis and osteoporosis. Antioxidants quench the destructive action of free radicals. Because of its high antioxidant content, red palm oil has the potential to help prevent and even reverse many of these conditions. Therefore, palm oil may be of great benefit in helping to curb the onset and progression of many common health problems.

Palm oil not only protects your health but make an excellent cooking oil. Its high saturated fat and antioxidant content makes it extremely stable and highly resistant to heat. It has a high smoke point of 437 degrees F, making it suitable for all types of cooking. Because it’s packed with health-giving nutrients, it enhances the nutrient content of foods. One of the great things about cooking with red palm oil is that when heated, it does not lose these valuable nutrients. Even fried foods, which many consider unhealthy, are made more nutritious.

Red palm oil is available at most good health food stores and from online dealers. Red palm oil has a high melting point so when you see it in the store it will be mostly solid. Its appearance may look orange-red. When melted it turns a darker red. You can use red palm oil in all of your cooking at home. In recipes that call for vegetable oil, margarine, shortening, or some other fat, you can substitute in red palm oil. The main difference you will notice is that the dark red color of the oil may give your foods a yellowish or orange color, depending on how much oil you use. This can actually enhance the appearance of your foods.

Because red palm oil is rich in carotenes, the oil has a distinct flavor. A good quality red palm oil will have a mild, savory taste that will enhance the flavor of your foods, just as butter enhances the flavor of foods. In Brazil, Africa, and other places that regularly use red palm oil in cooking, the flavor of the oil is essential for many of their traditional dishes.

When red palm oil is refined and processed, many of the carotenes are lost but most of the tocotrienols and other nutrients remain, so even refined palm oil contains more nutrients than any other vegetable oil. Refined palm oil is sometimes referred to as “white” palm oil because it is white when solid. When liquid, it takes on a light yellow color. Unlike red palm oil, white palm oil does not impart any additional flavor or color into foods. For this reason, it is more popular with restaurants and food producers.

As hydrogenated vegetable oils are being removed, palm oil is becoming more popular in the food processing industry. When you look at ingredient labels and see “palm oil” listed, you know you are getting a healthy trans fat-free oil packed with nutrients.

Used with permission by Bruce Fife, N.D.