Addressing Frequent MSM QuestionsThere are some compelling reasons to add MSM to your supplement protocol, especially if you're dealing with pain and/or inflammation. MSM is also an excellent source of sulfur, known as the "beauty mineral." Sulfur provides support for strong, thick, lustrous hair; a complexion free from blemishes and wrinkles; and nails that are strong without being brittle. In addition, MSM promotes detoxification.But how much should you take? And what about the possibility of adverse reactions?One 500 mg capsule a day is good insurance for most people to prevent sulfur deficiency and support construction of healthy connective tissues, detoxification, and beautiful, strong hair, skin and nails.Treating specific health problems can require anywhere from 1,000-6,000 mg a day (and higher doses under professional supervision) depending on body size, age and severity of symptoms. MSM is particularly good for symptom-relief related to allergies, asthma, athletic injuries, a…

Humans may have other species beat when it comes to doing higher mathematics, but where food choices are involved, wild geese proved to be significantly more intelligent. Consider this report from anti-GMO activist Jeffrey Smith’s important book, Seeds of Deception. An Illinois soybean farmer had been plagued by a neighboring flock of soybean-loving geese which habitually made a feast of his fields, reducing plant growth to almost a stubble. Unwittingly, genetic engineering helped him to solve this problem. One year, he planted part of one field with genetically modified soybeans. When the geese arrived for their usual feast, they completely ignored this portion of the field and ate only the conventional soybeans, leaving a distinct pattern of growth that showed where each type of soybean had been planted. This solved the problem of keeping the geese away, but it’s just like the refined flour that no bugs want to eat. What are these animals, who are obviously smarter than w…

You know that fresh fruits and vegetables are good for you, but when you feed yourself you’re also feeding trillions of guests. These “guests” are the bacteria (aka microbiota, or tummy bugs) that inhabit your intestines. And according to Justin Sonnenburg, PhD, Assistant Professor of Microbiology and Immunology at Stanford School of Medicine, diet is one of the most powerful impacts on gut microbiota, who feed on fiber-rich carbohydrates found in whole plant foods. Why would you want to treat your tummy bugs as honored guests? Because we have an age-old deal with these guys. We provide them with food and a warm place to live; they help us to digest and absorb food, to synthesize vitamins, to produce amino acids, to secrete mucus, to prevent constipation by increasing motility, to create food for intestinal cells, and, perhaps most importantly, to partner with our immune system (more than 2/3 of which is located in the intestines) by degrading toxins and competing with and killi…

Like bisphenol A (BPA), many endocrine disruptors are estrogen mimics, also known as xenoestrogens. These copycat estrogens add to your body’s estrogen load and lead to an increasingly common problem in women called “estrogen dominance.” Estrogen dominance is situation in which you have too much estrogen, particularly in relation to the hormone progesterone. Many women’s health issues, including fibrocystic breasts, uterine fibroids, ovarian cysts and hormone-related cancers are associated with estrogen dominance. Our main xenoestrogen exposure comes from pesticides (in produce, in the fat of conventionally raised animals, and in drinking water contaminated with pesticides) and plastics. A recent study found that almost all commercially available plastic products they sampled, including those advertised as BPA-free, leached chemicals having estrogenic activity. It is known that quercetin, a phytonutrient found in high amounts in onions (especially the outer layers) and cranberrie…

Bisphenol A (BPA) could be a poster child for the Precautionary Principle—the principle that synthetic chemicals should be proved safe before they are allowed to come into commercial use. Now that BPA is found just about everywhere and in everyone (see above article), it has been implicated in a host of dysfunctions and diseases. But there’s some good news. Scientists have been exploring various nutrients which may be able to limit BPA’s harmful biological effects and/or assist the body in breaking down and excreting this estrogenic compound. Fortunately these include many of the nutritional “good guys” Beyond Health has been recommending for years. Green and Black Tea One way in which BPA harms body tissues is through oxidative stress—it reportedly has effects similar to hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). However in two laboratory studies, extracts from both green tea and black tea were able to mitigate these effects and protect cells from oxidative damage. Green tea also stimulates…

Carnivore, herbivore or omnivore, it behooves us all to be locavores—people who buy food from local farms. Buying both local and organic is usually best the best option. This not only supports your health by consuming fresher food, it also supports your local economy and helps the environment. Buying locally is often a bargain for both consumer and farmer. The consumer may pay less by eliminating middlemen, and the farmer gets a fair return. According to the Organic Consumers Association (OCA), using conventional channels farmers get only an average of 20 cents for every dollar spent on food. They do much better selling direct. Local produce is fresher. Produce begins losing nutrient value within hours after it is harvested, and many vegetables and especially fruits are weeks and even months old before they reach outlets. Crops destined for shipping, especially fruit, are often picked before they’re ripe and never reach their maximum nutrient potential. According to one report,…

You probably associate getting enough fiber—the non-digestible “roughage” we get from plant foods—with good elimination. You may also know that fiber helps maintain a healthy weight by filling you up so you eat fewer calories, or even that fiber helps to maintain good cholesterol levels. But how can eating fiber strengthen your immunity? The answer is that fiber nourishes the trillions of beneficial bacteria (probiotics) that live in our intestines, where they are a crucial part of our immune systems. Anywhere from 60-80% of immune system activity takes place in the intestines, where probiotics attack pathogens with powerful antimicrobial substances. These substances are often as powerful as the strongest antibiotic medications, but they don’t kill off good gut bacteria as is done by antibiotic drugs. According to Rachel Begun, MS, RDN, quoted in a recent issue of Environmental Nutrition, various aspects of modern life have altered gut microflora, damaging immunity and leading to s…

In Never Be Sick Again, Raymond Francis refers to a healthy, 131-year-old man named Jose Maria Roa, living in the Andes Mountains of Ecuador. When asked if he’d ever been sick, Roa said well, yes, he’d had a few colds. A few colds in 131 years! Contrast Mr. Roa to the average person living today, who gets a few colds every year, and you begin to see how far we’ve come from healthy living. But some of us aren’t getting colds anymore. Nor do we fear Ebola. And we’re not poisoning ourselves with flu shots either. How do we do it? By keeping our immunity strong! The immune system is designed to recognize and clear pathogens from the body before they cause disease. If you give your body the nutrients it needs, protect it from toxins, get enough exercise and sleep, and minimize stress, you enable your immune system to work the way nature intended. One vitamin you must have in sufficient quantities for proper immune function is vitamin D. Vitamin D is critical to many immune func…

Is this the year you finally establish a regular exercise program? Exercise is the wonder drug par excellence. We can’t think of a single body system—whether it’s cardiovascular, digestive, neurological, musculoskeletal—you name it, that exercise doesn’t improve. It even makes the senses keener. Yet, only 20 percent of US adults meet the government’s exercise guidelines: 150 minutes a week of moderate aerobic activity (or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise, or an equivalent combination) plus two sessions per week of muscle-strengthening activity. Want a free and easy way to find out how fit you are? Click here. The most convenient and efficient way we’ve found to exercise is rebounding. What's rebounding? Simply bouncing up and down on a specially constructed trampoline called a rebounder. There is no more efficient form of exercise, bar none, because it exercises every single cell in your body simultaneously. One or two 15-minute sessions a day will provide you with…

As 2014 ends, we’re celebrating the three exceptional products in our Basic Wellness Kit: our Vitamin C (powder and tablets), Multi-Vitamin, and EFA (Essential Fatty Acids) Formula. All of these products are best-sellers with good reason. Each is critical to health, and each product stands head and shoulders above similar products in quality and results. Beyond Health Vitamin C We call vitamin C “the most miraculous molecule you can put into your body.” Of its more than 300 functions in the human body, perhaps most important is its role as a key antioxidant, able to interact with and regenerate most of the other antioxidants, including glutathione. C is critical for maintaining body tissues for younger looking skin, supple joints, healthy blood vessels, and strong bones. Our immune system cannot function without it, and vitamin C also supports the adrenal glands, especially during stress, and removes heavy metals and other toxins from the body. Yet most people get far less than…

Feeling tired all the time? Cold intolerant? Depressed? Constipated? Losing your hair? Do you gain weight easily, or have muscle or joint pain, or are you forgetful and unable to concentrate? These are some of the major symptoms of hypothyroidism, a condition in which your thyroid gland is not producing enough thyroid hormone or not enough hormone is getting into your cells to do its job. If hypothyroidism is a problem for you, you may be surprised to learn that fluoride, which is dumped by the ton into much of our public water, was once used as a medication for deliberately suppressing thyroid function in cases of overactive thyroid. Why are we dumping a thyroid-suppressing drug into our public water?  Good question! Even the government’s National Research Council voiced concern about fluoride’s effects on the thyroid in a 2006 report. They found “clear evidence” that amounts of fluoride at or near levels added to US water present potential risks to the thyroid gland.…

We’ve been singing the praises of fish oil for years now. That’s because fish oil provides certain fats that are sorely lacking in the average diet: the omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA. In fact, if you’re not going out of your way to get omega-3 fatty acids, you are almost certainly not getting enough. Our bodies synthesize about one trillion new cells every day. Each cell requires the right kinds of fats for its cell membrane. If you aren’t getting enough omega-3s in your diet, you are creating malfunctioning cell membranes and hence malfunctioning cells. Over time, this will have disastrous effects, especially in the brain (which is mostly fat) and nervous system. Now it seems that fish oil may take some of the pain out of nicotine withdrawal. Israeli researchers asked 48 smokers who were not trying to quit to take capsules containing 2,710 milligrams of EPA and 2,040 milligrams of DHA daily or a placebo for one month. At the end of the month, nicotine cravings were down sub…

Raymond Francis often says, “If you are deficient in only one nutrient, you will get sick, guaranteed.” Although many people still focus single-mindedly on calcium, bone-building is a team sport. While calcium may be the star player, it’s ineffective and even dangerous without its teammates. If even one member of the team goes AWOL, your bones will suffer. Bones are about half mineral and half protein. Minerals give bones their hardness—an important quality if you want to stand up straight. However a large part of bone consists of “bone matrix:” flexible tissue made of collagen and studded with hard minerals. Calcium accounts for about 64% of bone’s mineral content, but phosphorus and magnesium also contribute to bone hardness. Zinc, manganese, silica and copper are used as co-enzymes in constructing bone matrix. Vitamin C is needed to create collagen. Vitamins C, D and K and the minerals boron, chromium, germanium, selenium and vanadium play various roles in what’s called bone…

A friend of ours recently took an over-the-counter medication for intestinal gas. The results were amazing, and not in a good way. Although she got minor relief, it was followed by a splitting headache, and that night she had horrible, violent nightmares. While we were still musing about the power of what we ingest to affect the body-mind, we noticed the cover of the new issue of The Intelligent Optimist. It announcedan article within on “Why taking supplements leads to enlightenment.” While we’ve noticed being happier and more clear-minded since cleaning up our diet and adopting a program of high-quality supplements, we were especially intrigued that this article’s author is a modern-day shaman. While he has academic credentials, Alberto Villoldo, PhD, reports spending thirty years in the high Andes and the Amazon, training with master shamans. Yet, as we read his article, we found him recommending a similar diet and many of the same supplements Beyond Health recommends. Alth…

Beyond Health is a unique company in many ways. One way is that while most companies perform a service in order to make money, we’re in business to provide a service. So service comes first with us, and we’d love it if you’d tell us how we can serve you better.Scientist Raymond Francis, our company founder and president, already had a very successful career as an international management consultant when he got sick and almost died. His death was a medical certainty. He was forced to use his own knowledge of biochemistry to save his life. After he recovered, he vowed to use that knowledge to help others get well and stay well. As a citizen, he was also worried about the enormous drain our current epidemic of chronic illness has been on our national economy, and he wanted to do what he could to address and solve that national problem.In his recovery process Raymond also discovered the need for high-quality vitamin supplements. Only high-quality vitamins will supply the body with what it…

When people get sick, their first concern is generally getting well so they can “get back to their lives.” But sometimes a serious illness catapults you into a whole new life you never could have imagined. Such was the case with our company founder and president, Raymond Francis. Three decades ago, Raymond had parlayed his MIT-education in engineering and chemistry into a career many would envy. As a corporate turnaround consultant and an expert in industrial quality and productivity, who was called in to make failing businesses profitable again, Raymond had established an impressive record of international success. He had even been called in to advise the governments of China and Fiji. However, a life-threatening illness changed all that. When doctors not only failed to help him, but only made things worse, he saw that getting well was going to be his greatest challenge yet. It would require digging deep into his reservoirs of strength and hope and working simultaneously on eve…

Gloria Swanson is known for playing the delusional Norma Desmond in the movie “Sunset Boulevard.” But in real life, she was a very sane and smart woman, and an early convert to the natural health movement. In the 1970s she toured the US helping her husband William Duffy to promote a book he authored that became a dietary classic, Sugar Blues. Sugar Blues is an indictment of refined sugar as a dangerous and addictive toxin with disastrous effects on the brain and mental health (both Linus Pauling and psychiatrist Thomas Szasz, who agreed with Duffy about sugar, are cited in the book). Although Duffy’s book has had a significant impact on a health-conscious minority, sugar consumption continues to ravage the mental health of millions of Americans in minor and major ways. It has been linked with all kinds of mental distress, from depression to schizophrenia, while sugar and a high-glycemic diet have been linked specifically with depression. As noted in a recent Newsclips article,…

High-quality supplements are a pivotal part of Raymond Francis’s approach to getting well and staying well, and supplying them is a cornerstone of our business at Beyond Health. We believe that even if you eat an exceptionally healthy diet, high-quality supplements, especially a multivitamin, essential fatty acids extra vitamin C, and vitamin D if levels are tested and found to be low, are essential to maintaining optimal health. (For the many reasons why, see Raymond’s free report, The Roadmap to Supplements.) So we were pleased to read that Mark Hyman, MD, Director of the prestigious Cleveland Clinic’s Center for Functional Medicine, wholeheartedly agrees. The Cleveland Clinic is an academic medical center and a leader in research, education and health information in Cleveland, Ohio. It is rated the second best hospital in the country by US News & World Report, and #1 for heart care. Dr. Hyman himself is well-known for his best-selling books and many appearances on public te…