Healthy Healing : Flush Out Your GI Tract -- Naturally By James B. LaValle

Constipation may be more than simply uncomfortable. According to the National Institutes of Health, it may be a symptom of more serious health conditions, including the second-leading cause of cancer death in the U.S.: colon cancer. It's important to take constipation seriously and treat it correctly.

The most common recommendations for constipation are to take laxatives and/or to increase fiber and water intake. Laxatives are for short-term relief only, as long-term use can become habit-forming. Turning to increased fiber and water is preferable, but studies have shown that this is often not effective for alleviating constipation and can sometimes create other problems, such as gas and bloating. So what can you do?

Constipation occurs primarily because of decreased peristalsis, the muscular movement of the intestines that promotes digested food through the GI tract. But what causes decreased peristalsis? Decreased bulk in the stool, for one thing. (That's what fiber and water are supposed to do - increase bulk.) But there are other factors that influence peristalsis.

Beneficial gut flora, also known as probiotics, are the helpful bacteria in human intestines that:

• Help digest foods.
• Manufacture vitamins, like biotin and vitamin K.
• Interfere with disease-promoting bacteria.
• Prevent immune system changes that lead to allergies and auto-immunity.
• Help absorption of nutrients.

They also produce organic acids like lactic acid that in turn help stimulate peristalsis. So making sure you have enough gut flora is crucial for many reasons, but it can also help prevent constipation.

Gut flora can be wiped out in the intestines by a number of factors. Antibiotics, corticosteroids, H2 blockers, and oral contraceptives are known to deplete them. So do some lifestyle factors like high stress, increased intake of refined sugars and excessive alcohol intake. So, to keep a good supply we have to get them in adequate quantities through diet or supplements.

Yogurt contains beneficial flora in low amounts, but usually they are not human strains so they may or may not live in human intestines. Supplementing with a good human-strain probiotic product is far better to ensure you are getting enough. We need billions of these bacteria, so I recommend capsules or powders with at least a 15 billion bacteria count per daily dose.

Magnesium is also extremely important. It helps relax the smooth muscle tissue in intestines that is responsible for peristalsis, so it is absolutely critical for keeping bowels moving regularly. The best-absorbed forms are magnesium taurate, citrate, malate and bisglycinate. I recommend supplementing dietary intake with 400 to 800 mg per day.

A good protocol for constipation is to start by taking probiotics and magnesium. Probiotics can help with digestion of dietary fiber and so help people to tolerate it better. And magnesium starts to relax the intestinal muscles. Together with the increased fiber and water, we almost never need to turn to laxatives.

Exercise & Fitness: My Top 10 Interval Training Workouts By Craig Ballantyne

If you don't have variety in your fat-burning interval program, you could end up at a fat-loss plateau. My experience as a trainer shows me that variety in your interval cardio program is one of the keys to keep that fat burning off.

Not only should you have variety within your training week (or example, alternate between two different workouts, rather than just doing the same interval workout each time), but you should also change these workouts every four weeks.

To modify your interval training workouts, you can:

• Switch exercise methods (even using bodyweight exercises for intervals).
• Increase or decrease the length of the interval (while decreasing or
  increasing the intensity, respectively).
• Increase or decrease the number of intervals per workout.
• Increase or decrease the rest time between intervals.

Here is my list of preferred ways to do your intervals, ranked in order from best to worst, based on my experiences:

1. Sprinting outdoors (and hills might be the absolute best).
2. Strongman movements (farmer's walks, tire flips, car pushing).
3. Kettlebell swings, dumbell swings or sandbag swing.
4. Bodyweight interval circuits.
5. Treadmill running.
6. Stationary cycle (upright preferred).
7. Stairmaster.
8. Rower.
9. Swimming (really only works for competent swimmers).
10. Elliptical and crosstrainer machines.

[Ed. Note: Craig Ballantyne is an expert consultant for Men's Health magazine.]

Alternative Eating: An Apple a Day for Heart Health By Dr. Jonny Bowden

Grandma was right: An apple a day really does keep the doctor away. And, as it turns out, probably a whole lot more than just the doctor. New research examined the dietary habits of over 34,000 women in the Iowa Women's Health Study and found that three foods stood out for their significant ability to lower both the risk of coronary heart disease and cardiovascular disease: Apples, pears and red wine.

The reason? Plant compounds called flavonoids. Based on food-frequency questionnaires and data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, researchers were able to approximate the flavonoid consumption of the women and calculate the impact of those flavonoids on their health. The results were impressive. Flavonoid-rich foods like apples were associated with significant reduction in heart disease and overall mortality.

The most abundant, most bioavailable and most studied of these flavonoids is a compound called quercetin. Apples are a significant source of quercetin, which has quite a resume of health benefits.

The quercetin in the apple is in the peel. The peel prevents the harmful effects of the UV rays of the sun from hurting the fruit and also prevents microbes from getting in. So quercetin is the first line of defense for the apple. It appears to have many of these same protective effects on human cells, acting as both an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant.

This is significant. In cardiovascular disease, inflammation and oxidation hasten the process of plaque buildup. So anything that reduces inflammation and oxidation, like quercetin and the other flavonoids in apples, is going to help.

And as an added bonus, quercetin's antioxidant properties impact the immune system and react against cancer cells as well. Quercetin has been linked to a reduction in the risk of lung cancer.

So be sure to indulge in this fall's apple crop. And remember -- the good stuff is in the peel.

[Ed. note: Dr. Bowden is a nationally known expert on weight loss, nutrition and health. He's a board certified nutrition specialist with a Master's degree in psychology. Dr. Bowden is also a life coach, motivational speaker, former personal trainer and author of the award-winning book, Living the Low Carb Life. For more information, click here.]

Recipes & Nutrition: Belgian Endive Stuffed with Apples, Walnuts and Gorgonzola Cheese By Kelley Herring

Dr. Bowden's article this week mentions several health benefits delivered by apples, so here's a tasty apple-based recipe. Remember that the health benefits are found mostly in the colorful nutrients in the peel. When choosing apples, the redder the better.

Serves: 4

Time to Table: 15 minutes

Healing Nutrient Spotlight
• Quercetin
• Good Source of calcium, folate, copper

Ingredients
2 small organic Red Delicious apples
4 ounces organic Gorgonzola cheese
4 heads organic Belgian endive (Witloof chicory)
2 ounces organic walnuts (about 28 halves)
2 Tbsp organic lemon juice

Preparation
Separate endive leaves and place on a serving plate. You can use 16 leaves and each serving will be four leaves. Core apples and chop into 1-inch pieces. Place in a bowl and coat with lemon juice to prevent browning. Divide apples evenly and place inside endive leaves. Top with Gorgonzola and walnuts. Serve.

Nutritional Information
227 calories, 17 g total fat, 6 g saturated fat, 0 g trans fat, 3.4 g monounsaturated fat, 6.8 g polyunsaturated fat, 21 mg cholesterol, 393 mg sodium, 12 g carbohydrate, 4 g fiber, 6 g sugars, 9 g protein

[Ed. Note: Kelley Herring is the Founder & CEO of Healing Gourmet, a multimedia company that educates on how foods promote health and protect against disease. She is also the creator of Healing Gourmet's Personalized Nutrition Software and Editor-in-Chief of the Healing Gourmet book series published by McGraw-Hill, including Eat to Fight Cancer, Eat to Beat Diabetes, Eat to Lower Cholesterol and Eat to Boost Fertility. For more information, click here.] __________________________________________________
These articles appear courtesy of Early to Rise’s Total Health Breakthroughs [Issue 10-19-07] which offers alternative solutions for mind, body and soul. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.totalhealthbreakthroughs.com/

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