healthy weight loss supplement

Several years ago, it was all over the news. Free radicals were damaging – we all had them, and antioxidants were the solution. But what role really do free radicals play in damaging the body, and how are we supposed to best get rid of them? How do antioxidants work and what is the best way of adding them to our diet?

24 hours a day, while the body is constantly working, cells are metabolizing and creating energy as they carry out their tasks. This natural process results in free radicals, the same way driving to work in your car creates exhaust fumes. Some free radicals are natural byproducts of the ongoing workings of the body. Some are from environmental factors, such as pollution, radiation, and cigarette smoke.

A free radical is simply a molecule that is missing an electron. As soon as a molecule loses one of its attached electrons, it becomes unstable and seeks to re-stabilize itself by stealing an electron from the nearest molecule. This causes the attacked molecule to then become a free radical, and starts a chain reaction. Ultimately as the process continues this can lead to cell damage.

Free radicals become extremely damaging to the body as they steal electrons from your cells. They begin to spread like a wildfire through the years if your body does not have enough antioxidants to keep them in check. They can attack cell walls, get inside the cell, and cause damage to the DNA. This leads to cancer. Cancer is defined as a degenerative stress condition, and we can understand this better when we understand the role free radicals play.

The brain is the most active part of the body. It uses the most energy, and therefore is subject to bombardment with the most free radicals. The significance of this is not only that we feel negative effects in our mind – such as feeling tired and muddled – but also because brain is very important in its control of so many of the vital workings of our bodies.

When a free radical attacks, it can get into the cell and cause the mitochondria, the powerhouse of the cell, to die or cease to function fully. This can disrupt one of a multitude of processes. A dead or poorly functioning mitochondria in a cell can disrupt or slow down neuronal firing. Mental illness is largely due to imbalances in the neuronal processes of our natural brain chemistry. A poorly working or dead mitochondria can prevent certain natural functions from working, causing symptoms like hormonal imbalance.

Untreated, the damage from free radicals accumulates with age. They are the cause of many degenerative diseases, and are associated with many of the signs of the aging process.

Antioxidants are molecules loaded with extra free electrons. When we have enough antioxidants the free radicals get their electrons from the antioxidants in our body, rather than stealing them from our cells.

The body is naturally built to handle free radicals. Antioxidants are found in the vitamins A, C and E in the fruits and vegetables we eat. However even eating the 5-8 recommended servings a day, or using supplements still often does not do enough to combat the massive free radical damage.

Antioxidants from Vitamins E, C, and A actually pale in comparison to the phytonutrient antioxidants such as those found in red wine and blueberries. This is the reason for the French paradox, why it is being recommended to drink wine, eat chocolate, and drink green tea. They provide better sources of antioxidants.

There is an even better source: the newly discovered acai berry, of the Brazilian rainforest. It provides antioxidants in strengths 33 times more powerful than red wine. It floods the body with massive amounts of antioxidants and other essential nutrients. The acai berry is the number one ingredient for anti-aging recommended by Dr. Nicholas Perricone, in his book the Perricone Promise.

The acai berry can be best added to the diet in liquid form. A small dose of several ounces daily will flood the body with the vital antioxidants it needs. The acai berry is the best way to add to your diet the most powerful antioxidants combating free radical damage.

Many think of Yerba Mate as a tea beverage. While the chemical components are quite similar to green tea, it is in fact far more nutritious, because scientific study has shown it to contain nearly all of the necessary life-sustaining vitamins, minerals and nutrients. It has been found to be loaded with an even richer and more potent array of antioxidants than green tea.

Yerba Mate, a popular South American beverage, is brewed from the dried leaves and stemlets of the small evergreen Yerba Mate tree found in the highlands of Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina. Tea comes from a different plant altogether. So while Yerba Mate is similar in chemical structure to tea, it is a completely different beverage altogether.

The Guarani Indians of Paraguay and Uruguay have long been drinking this beverage, and introduced it into modern civilization. It is now consumed by millions of South Americans every day, as a healthy and beneficial energizing coffee alternative.

Yerba Mate contains 52 more known active chemical compounds than green tea. It is loaded with potent phytochemical antioxidants, and in far greater quantities than in green tea. Like green tea, it has anti-cancer and anti-aging benefits, again, in higher quantities.

This amazing plant has an incredibly rich nutritional profile. It provides: Vitamins A, C, E, B1, B2, Niacin, B5, B Complex, Calcium, Chromium, Manganese, Iron, Selenium, Potassium, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Zinc, Carotene, Fatty Acids, Chlorophyll, Flavonols, Polyphenols, Inositol, Trace Minerals, Antioxidants, Tannins, Pantothenic Acid and even Amino Acids. Scientists are saying it is quite likely that it contains more powerful nutrients that are yet unknown and undiscovered.

There are so many incredible benefits attributed to Yerba Mate, both from scientific studies and centuries of observation. Some of these benefits include:

anti-aging
boosts immunity
increases mental clarity
helps with digestive problems
improvement in general well-being, mood, and sleep
helps to lose weight
cleanses and detoxifies the blood
increases supply of oxygen to the heart
supplies many nutrients needed by the heart for growth and repair
reduces stress
reduces the effect of debilitating disease
allergy relief
firmer and smoother skintone
Experiencers of digestive problems such as constipation and hemorrhoids have found these to be relieved and easily overcome over a short period of daily use. Some people who require antacids have reported they no longer need to use them after a short time of using Yerba Mate.

People with heart problems have reported clogged arteries clearing up in even just 3 weeks of using Yerba Mate – their doctors have ordered them to stop taking their pills for circulation and clogged arteries.

It has even been used as a food substitute due to its rich nutritional profile. It will eliminate feelings of hunger and give the sensation of having had a full meal. While this is important for those experiencing conditions of famine, it is also helpful for people desiring to lose weight.

There are far too many benefits to go into detail in the space of this article. This is a very powerful healing plant. Because of its vast amount of health benefits for the whole body, Yerba Mate is truly a tonic for wellness.

In addition, essential vitamins and nutrients are best absorbed by the body when taken in their live, natural state. This is why it is far more efficient to use a liquid nutrient like Yerba Mate instead of a multivitamin supplement.

Yerba Mate is one of the most excellent nutrients available in the world today, and should be given the attention of all who are interested in excellent health, anti-aging, wellness, and healing.

We’ve heard a lot about antioxidants lately and with good reason. They provide essential uses to our health and are an important anti-aging supplement. Most often, antioxidants come from fruits and vegetables, but the lowly flaxseed is perhaps one of our most powerful sources.

What is Flaxseed Oil?

Flaxseed Oil is also known as Linseed Oil. The oil is created from the seeds of the flax plant. Typically, linseed oil is the yellowish drying oil that is extracted and used as a carrier in oil paint and also as a wood finish. When the flax seed is cold pressed without the extraction, it is called flaxseed oil and is used as a nutritional supplement. More information than you need to know? Maybe, but I thought it was interesting that a lowly plant seed could be used for both furniture finish AND the next best nutritional supplement since the multi-vitamin.

Flaxseed oil is rich in Omega 3 fatty acids which are excellent in a whole host of ways – heart disease, inflammatory bowel disease, and arthritis to name a few. Omega 3
fatty acids are typically linked with fish oils but flaxseed oil provides a good alternative source of the Omega 3′s for the vegetarian that prefers plant based supplements.

Lignan is a chemical compound produced in plants that is a powerful antioxidant. Flaxseed oil contains one of the highest concentration of lignan known. Why is that important? Studies have shown populations that ingest a high amount of lignans have a lower incidence of cancer. Lignans are antioxidant molecules with anti-cancer, anti-viral, and anti-bacterial attributes. These plant hormones are also believed to block the manufacturing of hormone-based tumors.

Here’s an interesting tidbit:
Dark chocolate is also an antioxidant. It has the same antioxidants as tea.

Antioxidants have proven to have considerable health uses and anti-aging attributes. As an antioxidant, the flaxseed oil’s lignans can help increase the body’s immune system, keeping harmful, disease-causing germs from deteriorating the cells. Lignans also increase the manufacturing of a substance attached to estrogen and transports it out of the body which also makes it helpful in relieving PMS symptoms.

Other uses of flaxseed oil include helping to protect the body against inflammations, high blood pressure, lowering cholesterol and triglycerides and improves the absorption of calcium.

As you can see, flaxseed oil is a nutritional supplement that should not be overlooked. Easy to take and less expensive than the considerable supplements touted today.