Question: from Marc – Does Beta Carotene Increase Risk of Cancer?

The WCRF have recently released the results from the research carried out looking into foods associated with increased risk of cancer. I noticed that Beta carotene is a supplement they found to increase the risk of Lung Cancer and that your Total balance contains 5000IU of this ingredient. Please let me know whether it is still safe to be taking this supplement.

Comment: from Warren Matthews of Xtend-Life

Joanna will answer this question, but I thought that I should first make a comment. This is another example of a misleading study. There is also a world of difference between taking NATURAL Beta-Carotene in conjunction with many other co-factors such as are present in Total Balance as opposed to taking a synthetic Beta-Carotene as a single stand alone ingredient which should never be ingested in that manner. To suggest that beta-carotene in a natural form in sensible quantities is risky is a bit like saying don’t eat your carrots because you may get cancer. It is nonsense.  Read more...

Every day, the human body fights off environmental toxins, airborne germs, chemicals in food, and any number of other damaging substances. How the body manages it and how people can help the process along are the subjects of Boosting Immunity.

Topics include acidity/alkalinity, allergies, body temperature, diet, digestive flora, nutrients, exercise, and sleep…. More >>

Boosting Immunity: Creating Wellness Naturally

The immune system is an amazing piece of work. When our bodies are invaded with foreign germs it springs into action, sending defenders to fight them off. It’s too bad that our immune system is often not working as well as it could.

Stress, improper diet, lack of exercise and environmental factors can all negatively impact the immune system. And if the immune system is having a bad day, we’re more likely to get sick. Illness is harder on our bodies, and we do not recover as quickly as we should.

But we can boost our immune systems, and we don’t need prescription or over-the-counter drugs to do it. Eating the right foods gives us the nutrients that our immune systems need to be at the top of their game. Here are some of the best immune-boosting foods:

* Citrus fruits – Oranges, lemons and other citrus fruits are powerful immune boosters. They contain lots of vitamin C, a nutrient that helps increase the production of white blood cells and antibodies. A medium orange contains 75 milligrams of vitamin C.  Read more...

The fall and winter season brings us Thanksgiving and Christmas.  It also brings us runny noses and sore throats.  Many people suffer from colds and flu symptoms during the winter.  The flu can be more severe even life threatening.  This article will help you learn to tell the difference between a cold and the flu.

The cause of the common cold is the rhinovirus.  And, like all other viruses, the rhinovirus has no cure.  A virus infiltrates a cell and rewrites the DNA to mimic the virus.  From there it continues to replicate these viral cells.

The way to fight a virus is to fight the symptoms.  There are over 200 types of rhinovirus causing the common cold.  The cold virus you get today may not be the same one you contract next year.

Cold viruses attack the respiratory system.  We cough, sneeze, our noses run, our eyes run, we get a sore throat, and we generally feel really, really bad.  People can function with a cold but often it takes all the strength we can muster.  Read more...

The benefits of soy milk have been touted for several years now, especially for people who either are unable to unwilling to drink cows milk. Approximately 60-75% of the world is lactose intolerant. There are entire cultural groups, which have a tendency toward lactose intolerance that results in gas and moderate to severe intestinal cramping. The Asian population in particular is 90% intolerant to ingesting products with lactose; milk, cheese, yogurt anything dairy.

There is also some research to show that drinking cows milk actually has some negative effects on health, although more objective research is needed to determine the long-term effects of cows milk on humans.

The benefits of soy milk is also controversial. It is accepted that it does contain some healthy compounds. It is high in protein, contains more fiber than cows milk and doesnt contain the animal fats that cows milk does.  Read more...

What causes airborne allergies, hayfever and allergic rhinitis?

With every breath we take, we breathe in millions of microscopic particles such as dust, pollen, plant spores, viruses, bacteria and even pollutants in the form of chemicals in the air.

Many of these particles are filtered and removed by the nose and respiratory system, while others enter the body. If the immune system is strong and healthy, it can ward off infection against pollutants, viruses and other harmful airborne substances that may enter the body.

Normally the immune system will ignore harmless airborne particles entering the body such as pollen, house dust, animal dander, etc. In some people, however, the immune system misinterprets these harmless particles and identifies them as being dangerous to the system.

This triggers a release of a substance called histamine, as well as other inflammatory compounds in the body, which cause a condition called ‘allergic rhinitis’ and hayfever.  Read more...