You need to reverse the acid overload and return to an alkaline state to optimally support the following areas of health:

• Circulation
• Joints and muscles
• Regular heartbeats
• Flexible veins and arteries
• Energy
• Aging

Here’s a simple way to determine your acid/alkaline status. Take special test strips that measure pH and dip them in your saliva or urine. Using the color of the strip once exposed to your bodily fluid, you can determine your levels with a special acid/alkaline chart. The scale ranges from zero to 14, with the lowest being the most acidic and the highest being the most alkaline. For optimum health, you should aim for a 7.5 measurement.

If you find you are more acidic, foods can help regulate your alkaline balance. Alkaline foods include vegetables, fruits, tofu, goat’s milk, soy products, nuts, seeds, whey protein powder, mineral water and green tea. Acid-forming foods to avoid include fatty meats, dairy products, artificial sweeteners and sugars, processed foods, starchy beans and vegetables, soda drinks, beer, wine and white breads.

By consuming a diet made of 80 percent alkaline foods and 20 percent acid-forming foods while drinking at least eight glasses of alkaline water daily, you should see an improvement in your health in no time.

As you get older, illness and stress can affect your heart as significantly as nutrition. When your heart can’t keep pace with your body’s needs for oxygen and nutrients, you may experience:

• Occasional swelling in your feet or ankles
• Weight gain from fluid retention
• Increase in urination
• Lung health issues
• Low energy and decreased stamina

To avoid these health issues, you should nourish your heart with the right kind of fuel—and that means getting more coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10). This super nutrient is the “energy switch” that sparks all 100 trillion of your body’s cells and helps keep them fueled for optimal performance.

When you were younger, your body made its own CoQ10. But as you get older, your ability to produce natural CoQ10 significantly decreases. Without enough CoQ10, you could experience less-than-optimal heart health.

The exciting news is that you can restore your natural levels of CoQ10 through supplementation and maximize your heart health. Plus, you’ll also be keeping your circulation flowing to deliver nourishing blood to every cell in your body.

If you continue to experience constipation, diarrhea, bloating, embarrassing gas, heartburn and irritable bowels then the importance of regular, clockwork elimination can be the answer to your painful digestive problems.

According to world-renowned British physician Denis Burkitt, M.D., African tribesmen experienced a rapid bowel transit time of four to six hours compared to 60 to 90 hours for people eating a traditional Western diet. Burkitt discovered the tribesman consistently experienced:

• Healthier bowels
• Stronger hearts
• Powerful digestive systems
• Regular elimination

What’s their secret for regular and healthy bowel movements? Fiber. According to the American Dietetic Association, most Americans consume only 12 to 17 grams (g) of fiber daily although the recommended dose is 75 g.

Fiber is either soluble or insoluble, and both promote a whistle-clean colon and digestive system. While insoluble fiber moves bulk through your intestines and pushes out toxins with your waste, soluble fiber helps maintain healthy cholesterol levels and boost cardiovascular health.

So how can you boost your fiber intake? Try to increase your consumption of fiber-rich foods like fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts, beans and whole grains. Also look for quality supplements containing cascara sagrada, senna leaf extract, black walnut bark and slippery elm bark.

Not to mention the startling side effects cholesterol-lowering drugs—or statins—can have on your CoQ10 levels. Check out some of the research from the world’s top medical schools and journals:

• The Journal of the American Medical Association reports that taking just 20 mg of simvastatin a day lowered CoQ10 levels by 22 percent.
• Columbia University conducted a study and found that patients taking Lipitor^® significantly reduced their levels of CoQ10 in just 14 days.
• Medical journals reported as early as 1990 that the statin drug lovastatin reduced CoQ10 levels and resulted in potentially fatal deterioration of heart muscle.

However, the medical journal Cardiovascular Drugs and Therapy indicated that by supplementing with CoQ10, the blood flow to your heart could improve by up to 91 percent. Plus, it’s been reported that 75 percent of patients have fewer heart rhythm disturbances… 66 percent of patients report diminished chest pain… and 50 percent of patients reduced their chance of a future heart disaster.

So, what do you do if your fatigue levels are high… your natural CoQ10 levels are low… and your health is being compromised? Try increasing the foods in your diet that contain higher levels of CoQ10 such as soybeans, sesame oil, sardines, mackerel, peanuts and sesame seeds, just to name a few.

Krill is a shrimp-like crustacean that abounds in the ocean. In fact, this tiny sea creature is a favorite food of marine life, including Beluga whales. Krill are almost 100 percent free of heavy metals and other toxins. By contrast, large predatory fish are often "filled to the gills" with dangerous toxins.

The reason krill oil is more effective than other marine oils is the amount of omega-3 fatty acids, phospholipids and extremely potent antioxidants it contains. It’s the unique combination of these essential ingredients that provide the greatest health benefits.

Krill oil has been shown to outperform fish oil supplements when it comes to lowering your bad low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels. Patients who took 1 to 1.5 grams (g) of krill oil a day—compared to three times the dose of fish oil—showed a significantly greater decrease in bad cholesterol than the fish oil patients.

In an Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) test, krill oil was shown to contain 300 times the amount of vitamin A and E, plus 48 times the antioxidant power of standard omega-3 fish oils.

Krill oil contains a healthy balance of omega-3 fatty acids and omega-6 fatty acids—which help fight infection. These two fatty acids need each other and work together to prevent other inflammation-related ailments like heart disease, arthritis and diabetes. As you can see, taking omega-3s every day can be lifesaving.

Boosting your intake of healthy omega-3 fats can help you soothe your minor joint aches… promote healthy blood sugar balance… promote healthy heart and brain function… improve memory and “senior moments”… support healthy cholesterol levels… promote healthy blood pressure… provide healthy support for PMS symptoms… and promote healthy mood levels. Omega-3 fatty acids are essential for your diet—and should be supplemented since your body doesn’t produce them on its own.

Another compound found in the skin of red grapes and berries works synergistically with resveratrol to enhance and boost the health benefits of the cell-protecting nutrient. An “identical sister” nutrient called pterostilbene (tare-oh-STILL-bean) can help block abnormal cell growth before it starts, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Research Service (ARS).

Agnes Rimando, Ph.D., of the ARS Natural Products Utilization Research Laboratory, and colleagues from the University of Medical Science in Poland, discovered a dangerous enzyme called P450 that turns carcinogens like cigarette smoke and pesticides into cancerous substances in your body. By working with resveratrol, pterostilbene inhibits the P450 enzyme and essentially “turns off” the abnormal cell growth.

And pterostilbene may even help fight blood sugar imbalance and insulin resistance. In the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, laboratory testing shows the compound pterostilbene lowered blood glucose levels by up to 42 percent.

Studies show pterostilbene may also help lower cholesterol and triglycerides better than dangerous lipid-regulation prescription drugs on the market. According to the American Chemical Society (ACS), pterostilbene targets specific structures in your body responsible for “bad” low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels and doesn’t exhibit any of the side effects of statin drugs such as liver and kidney damage, muscle weakness, fatigue, digestive troubles and headaches.

So to help boost your health and fight the signs of aging caused by free radical damage, then put the power of resveratrol and pterostilbene to work for you.

But if you’re like most people, you don’t give your liver much thought. However, your liver is crucial for maximum health, increased longevity and mere survival.

This organ handles a multitude of essential functions, including filtering toxins, chemicals and metabolic byproducts of prescription drugs out of your body… producing more than 13,000 hormones (such as testosterone and estrogen)… managing more than 50,000 enzymes… manufacturing bile to help your body break down fat and absorb fat-soluble vitamins and nutrients… regulating blood sugar levels… and performing more than 400 additional bodily functions that you need for optimal health.

To help your liver eliminate all these chemicals and toxins and avoid inflammation, find a high-quality supplement that contains milk thistle, artichoke leaf, N-acetyl cysteine and Chinese skullcap. The benefits of these nutrients include:

• Milk thistle—This well-known plant is the ultimate liver protector and detoxifier. Numerous scientific studies found it turbocharges your liver’s abilities to sweep out toxins… helps fight off the damage of free radicals and inflammation… and keeps your liver strong and healthy.
• Artichoke leaf—Years of research shows this ancient, medicinal plant has been found to help stimulate bile, decongest your liver, improve your cholesterol and triglyceride metabolism and protect your body from harmful toxins.
• N-acetyl cysteine (NAC)—One of the most scientifically proven amino acids, NAC has been shown to help protect your liver from the damages of over-the-counter and prescription drugs… sweep out toxins, heavy metals and harmful microorganisms… and support a balanced inflammatory response.
• Chinese skullcap—prized by Chinese natural doctors for more than 2,000 years, this amazing plant has been shown to promote a normal, balanced inflammatory response… … and stimulate the release of bile that helps "wash" cholesterol off your liver to be metabolized properly.

For increased organ protection, you should increase the amount of liver-supporting foods in your diet such as onions, garlic, artichokes, beets, burdock root and leafy green vegetables.

Elevated levels of estrogen can lead to fluid retention, blood clotting, fibroid and tumor growth, increased blood fat levels, weight gain, allergic reactions, copper retention, loss of zinc, anxiety, irritability, mood swings, food cravings and depression. What most people don’t realize is that there are actually two basic types of estrogens… good estrogens and bad estrogens.

Di-indole methane (DIM) is a natural plant nutrient found in cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower and cabbage. DIM can greatly improve metabolism of good estrogens by stimulating beneficial estrogen production. At the same time DIM increases the good estrogen metabolites, there is a simultaneous reduction in the levels of bad estrogen metabolites, which include the 16-hydroxy estrogen. The bad estrogen metabolites are fueled by obesity and exposure to many commercial and household chemicals. 

DIM causes the good estrogen metabolism to dominate, resulting in increased production of testosterone and progesterone. DIM helps eliminate the problem of estrogen dominance that plagues both women and men.

The most important thing you can do is to take matters into your own hands. Reduce the amount of synthetic estrogen you are getting from all sources, especially from hormone-laden foods and contaminants in your environment. Talk to your healthcare provider about natural ways to help balance your progesterone and estrogen levels. Each person’s individual needs vary, so make sure that you’re comfortable with the course of action so you can enjoy optimum health for decades to come.

The critical balance between acidity and alkalinity is measured on a scale of 0 to 14 known as the pH—or “potential of hydrogen.” On this scale, 0 to 7 is acid, 7 is neutral and 7 to 14 is alkaline. If you’re a healthy person with perfectly balanced pH, you would have a reading of about 7.4 in your blood and about 7.25 in your tissues. However, most people fall in the acidic range of 6.2 to 6.4.

Why? Because we Americans are overrun with stressful lifestyles that lead to dehydration and poor diet.

Just as acid can ruin your car battery, increased acidity in your cells and tissues can eat away at the linings of your arteries and increase your chances of both brain and cardiovascular problems… erode cartilage and cause inflamed joints… and damage skin cells which contributes to premature wrinkling and other aging issues.

But that’s not the only damage you face. Excess acid can cause blood sugar problems, high blood pressure, calcium-deprived bones, low energy, poor circulation, sexual problems, sleep problems, leg cramps and a host of other issues.

However, by understanding the importance of the acid/alkaline balance in your body—and taking steps to reverse acid overload—you can decrease your chances of poor health and improve your mental and physical well-being for years to come.

But there is a nutrient that has been scientifically shown to help protect your brain from mental decline. It’s called phosphatidylserine (PS) and can help rejuvenate brain cell membranes, stimulate neurotransmitters, transfer electrical impulses more easily and supercharge brain cell membranes to perform like they did when you were younger.

In a study associated with researchers from Stanford University, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and the Memory Assessment Clinic in Maryland, 149 people aged 50 to 75 who were suffering typical age-related mental decline either took PS or a placebo. After 12 weeks, the group who took PS showed a 30 percent improvement in cognitive learning, including memory retention associated with names, faces and numbers.

That’s not all. In a double-blind, placebo-controlled study at the University of Catania in Italy, 170 patients aged 55 to 80 took either PS or a placebo for 90 days. Results showed that the PS group scored five out of five, or 100 percent, on memory tests.

Dozens more academic studies prove that PS can help scrub the rust off your brain for improved memory recall and prevention against age-related memory decline. And doctors agree… PS is one of the most effective nutrients to help restore and retain your memory for decades to come.