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Phytochemicals have an important part to play in rejuvenating the body and continuing to de-age it afterwards. A diet for de-aging the body needs to be high-raw and rich in green vegetables, whole grains, fruits, beans and seeds. When you eat this way you get the very best complement of vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals for free radical protection and enzymes. And when it comes to de-aging the body enzymes move center stage. Here are a few of the most important recently discovered phytochemicals and some of their life-enhancing, antioxidant and anti-aging actions: Allicin Where Is It Found: onions, garlic, leeks, spring onions Benefits: lowers LDL (the negative) blood cholesterol, detoxifies by enhancing production of glutathione S-transferase, helps protect against breast cancer and heart disease as well as colon cancer and stomach cancer, enhances immunity Alpha Carotene Where Is It Found: seaweeds and carrots Benefits: heightens immunity, slows growth of cancer cells in animals, may help prevent cardiovascular disease and inflammation Anthocyanins Where Is It Found: cranberry juice Benefits: helps prevent and cure urinary tract infections Beta Carotene Where Is It Found: dark green vegetables, red & yellow vegetables such as carrot and marrow, peaches and apricots Benefits: decreases risk of many cancers including skin, colon, and female cancers. Also improves immune function Catechins Where Is It Found: green tea Benefits: together with polyphenol and theaflavin it lowers cholesterol, boosts fat metabolism and may boost immune functions as well as help prevent some cancers and much aging   Indoles Where Is It Found: cabbages, dark green vegetables Benefits: helps detoxify the body, protects against excessive oestrogen buildup, slows cancer growth in animals, enhances immune functions Limones Where Is It Found: citrus fruits Benefits: protects against breast cancer in animals, heightens production of enzymes involved in detoxifying the body, helps lower blood cholesterol and reduce plaque in arteries Lycopene Where Is It Found: red grapefruit, tomatoes, watermelon, apricots Benefits: protects against age-related cell damage and oxidation to proteins and fats Saponins Where Is It Found: chickpeas, lentils and other beans Benefits: help slow the rate of tumor growth in animals Sulphoraphane Where Is It Found: cauliflower, kale, turnip greens, Brussels sprouts Benefits: helps cancer fighting and age fighting enzymes detoxify cells, inhibits the development of breast cancer in animals Triterpenoids & Glycyrrhizin Where Is It Found: licorice root Benefits: enhances immune functions, has anti-tumour properties, fights gum disease and tooth decay, improves liver function by enhancing liver enzymes that help protect against excess oestrogens

Cellulite makes everybody uneasy - from the woman who worries about her orange peel thighs to the British or American 'obesity expert' intent on proving that fat is fat, cellulite is nothing more than a figment of foolish women's imagination, and what any woman with lumpy thighs should do is get down to a good old calorie-controlled diet to shed it. Even staunch feminists who write hard-hitting polemics about the coercion of women by the beauty industry get het up about cellulite. It is, they insist, something invented by fashion magazines to make women feel bad about themselves. Meanwhile hundreds of thousands of women with the problem bemoan their fate at having contracted a "nonexistent" condition and hope that if only they spend a little more money or endure a little more discomfort from one of the high-tech treatments - being pricked with multi-injector syringes or subjected to brutal pummeling for instance - it will make her legs smooth, sleek and svelte. banishing disbelief I've seen medical papers from all over Europe and America on cellulite, its cause and its development as well as proposed solutions to this lumpy bumpy flesh which can mar the thighs of even the leanest women. As of this moment literally hundreds of medical references to cellulite exist, some of them going back a hundred and fifty years. Next time someone tries to tell you you are imagining pea d'orange thighs smile knowingly and ignore them. None of the theories, analyses and descriptions of elaborate chemical treatments for cellulite have the full answer. In part this is because cellulite is a difficult condition to study in vivo - within the body of a woman who has it - since this means performing a biopsy of the tissue which is a painful medical process. In part it is because cellulite is a many-facetted syndrome with no single cause and no single effective treatment.

Most cellulite begins with a stiffening of the septa locked into the surrounding network of connective tissue. Lymph circulation to and from this subcutaneous layer gets blocked by wastes we accumulate from a sedentary lifestyle and from eating foods which, unbeknown to most women, are anathema to their bodies. This causes the septa to become more fibrous, and to squeeze down on fat cells. It also deprives the area of oxygen and vital nutrients, preventing both fat and toxins from being cleared. Toxic build-up is not only a main cause of cellulite build-up. It is the reason that many women retain water, experience heavy leg syndrome, and find their feet and calves swelling on an airplane. One of the great gifts of the Rohsäfte-Kur which I wrote about last week is that, even when followed for only a few days, your body begins to eliminate toxic build-up that has become trapped in the connective tissues. Now, if you’re ready to banish cellulite forever, improve your health and life for the better, where do you begin?Start with this three step process—making changes in what you eat, in when you eat, and in what kind of exercise you do. It’s important to remember the following things if you want to become cellulite-free while growing healthier and leaner: Important Truths 1. Cellulite build-up is the result of hormone disregulation, toxic build-up and a sedentary lifestyle. 2. Insulin is your body’s primary regulator of fat storage and waste build up in the tissues.  When insulin levels are high—either long-term or simply after eating a meal—fat deposits accumulate and produce cellullite. When insulin levels are low, your body becomes able to release cellulite from septa-bound connective tissue, turning it into energy. 3. Grain-based and cereal-based carbohydrates are the major culprit behind cellulite as well as obesity, fatigue and chronic degenerative conditions. They negatively affect insulin secretion seriously disrupting the symphony of hormonal balance in the human body. 4. Sugars—from glucose and sucrose to high-fructose corn syrup—are monumentally harmful. To clear cellulite and remain free of it, you must eliminate sugars from your diet. It is also essential that you use no artificial sweeteners. They are dangerous contributers to body pollution and therefore to cellulite itself. Use only real stevia (see my recommendations below). 5. Because of the negative effects that grains, cereals, starchy vegetables and sugars exert on insulin, they not only lay down cellulite deposits; they lead to the development of diabetes and coronary heart disease. Grains are also major contributors to cancer, Alzheimer’s disease and other diseases of civilization, as well as early aging. 6. Cellulite and an inability to shed it are the result of an imbalance—a disequilibrium—in the hormonal regulation of fat tissue and fat metabolism. When hormonal regulation and hypothalamic balance are restored by making vital changes in how you eat, this reverses the process. Step One—Clear The Decks Start right now by getting rid of all the low-fat and high-carb foods in your kitchen. These include jams and jellies, rice cakes, popcorn, flour, grains, pasta, pretzels, low-fat salad dressings, raisins, fruit-flavored yoghurts and sugars. (You might want to hang on to a little sugar so you can offer it to visiting friends who are not yet as savvy about how dangerous it is as you are. You might also want to hold on to some brown rice, buckwheat flour or chickpea flour—things you can use to thicken a soup.) Most women find that the process of clearing their fridge and pantry is a salutary experience. It brings with it a sense that they’re starting a whole new life—as indeed they are. The most important foods you will be buying to replace them are these: A good supply of wholesome natural fats like coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil and butter—preferably from grass-fed cows. Top quality protein foods including meat, seafood, eggs and the very best micro-filtered whey you can find (see recommendations below) if you like to make smoothies. Plenty of fresh green vegetables—preferably organic— both to eat raw and to cook. The best fiber in the world comes from these vegetables. Try eating half of your vegetables raw. Some low-sugar fresh fruit such as strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries. Say No To Packaged Foods What surprises most people when they go to a supermarket in search of genuinely healthy foods is that most of the stuff they find there is not worth eating. A good general rule when choosing foods is this: Foods with a long shelf life don’t belong in your body. Processed high-carb foods often have a very long shelf life. This makes them great sales material for food manufacturers and retailers, since these packaged foods can sit on the shelves for months—sometimes even years. But 90% of them have been whipped up out of flours and sugars, junk fats and chemical additives—all of which you will want to avoid. You’ll usually find the healthiest, freshest, most natural foods around the outside edges of any supermarket. These include crunchy fresh vegetables, fresh game and meats, seafood, eggs and cheeses. Fresh, wholesome foods are perishable and therefore have to be replaced often, unlike the ready-in-a-minute, pre-made stuff that populates the inner aisles. Organic Is Your Goal Whenever possible, go organic. Not only do organic vegetables, fruits and meats taste better, the organic matter in healthy soil is nature’s factory for biological activity. Organic foods supply us with an excellent balance of minerals, trace elements and vitamins which we cannot get any other way. Organic methods of farming also help protect against distortions in mineral balance. Good mineral balance is important, since an increase in one or more minerals can alter your body’s ability to absorb as much of another mineral that it needs. Conventionally grown fruits and vegetables have been sprayed with pesticides—petrochemical-derived compounds which behave like low-dose synthetic estrogens in the body. Many fruits and veg are also treated with fungicides or wax. Each one of these chemicals the body takes in contributes to its toxic load, putting pressure on your liver, stressing the entire body and causing free radical damage. When it comes to maintaining good blood sugar and insulin balance—all of which are essential to becoming cellulite-free—you do not want these things to happen. A stressed liver has trouble managing glucose levels and controls insulin poorly. Read Labels Carefully A word of warning: Just because you buy something in a health food store or natural food emporium does not mean that it will be helpful in reversing insulin resistance, clearing cellulite, and promoting fat loss. In addition to the good fresh foods they sell, these stores are also chock-a-block with high-carb treats full of sugar. And by the way, just because a food is labeled “organic” doesn’t necessarily mean you want to eat it. Organic sugar and organic flour can upset the insulin/blood sugar apple cart just as easily as their non-organic counterparts do. Although organic treats may look great in their packages, most of them are best avoided. Read labels as carefully here as in you do in a supermarket. Make sure that foods you buy contain no hidden sugars such as honey, corn syrup, fructose or other sweeteners. Step Two: Decide When To Eat Here’s where the power of meal spacing comes in. Its power can be monumental. You can call this intermittent fasting if you like, although I prefer to look upon it more as a way of developing your own schedule for eating as well as for resting from eating. Spacing your meals is an effective way of continuing to clear away cellulite as you cleanse the whole body creating new sleek muscles, heightening vitality and eliminating food cravings permanently. The ideal strategy for taking advantage of the gifts intelligent meal spacing has to offer is simple. Eat well at a meal, then wait 4 to 6 hours before your next meal. Here’s what happens metabolically each time you eat something. During the first couple of hours after a meal, your blood sugar rises and insulin spikes. After these first two hours—from the start of hour 3 after a meal for the next two hours—both insulin and blood sugar levels drop. Finally, from hours 4 to 6 after a meal, insulin gets so low that it almost disappears, while human growth hormone (HGH) rises directing metabolism to clear the body of more waste and metabolize fats from the body’s tissues including cellulite deposits by turning them into energy. Two Meals A Day To make the very best use of meal spacing you will need to eat only two good meals a day, made up out of the “good guy foods” listed above. Eat your fill of these health-giving foods and enjoy them. Be sure to include plenty of the good fats—coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil and butter from pasture-grazed cows—in each meal. Be sure to create your meal spacing in a way that works for your lifestyle. I eat my first meal between 11am and 12:30, depending on what I am doing. My second meal is usually about 6:30 or 7 in the evening. This means that I have a long period during the night while I sleep for my body to work its magic, both for detoxing and anabolic rebuilding. Make sure your first meal of the day is full of good quality protein. Don’t just through yourself in at the deep end when you begin your meal spacing. Ease your way into it by having a good quality snack between meals if you feel you need to for the first few days until you get used to the lengthy periods between meals. It won’t be long before you sense the beneficial changes that are taking place. After the first week or two you’re likely to find you no longer have any need for snacks, and that you are beginning to look and feel so good. Step Three: Move For Joy I love this definition of real fitness: When you’re not sitting or resting, your body is physiologically able to deal with whatever challenges it is asked to handle. Forget forever that you need to exercise to lose weight and all that nonsense. You don’t. The major reason why exercise is so important for shedding cellulite and improving health is that it heightens insulin sensitivity and quite naturally causes your body to replace belly fat and liver fat with beautiful sleek muscles. What kind of exercise is best? The kind that delights you. I would never exercise because the powers-that-be tell me I ‘should’, or out of a sense of duty, or for fear of putting on weight. To do that would not only imprison my body, it would kill my spirit. It would be like taking a thoroughbred and binding it so that it can’t get out of the starting gate. Experiment and discover what physical activities you love doing, then do them for the sheer pleasure of it. You could swim or jog or dance just because it feels good and makes your body sing. Try rebounding on a mini-trampoline—something that is particularly good for improving lymphatic drainage and clearing cellulite. Swimming can be great because it feels so sensuous. But don’t make yourself swim laps in some driven way. Instead, move deliciously through the water. Play as a child would. Notice the bliss your body feels. If you have no idea what kind of movement you enjoy, start with a simple walk each day, while paying attention to how your body moves with each step you take. Once you discover just how vast your body’s potential for joy is, and begin to delight in movement, your experience of exercise can change forever. Far from being something you once did because you’re told you should (how I hate that word), exercise can become one of the most enjoyable experiences in your life. American enthusiast, the late George Sheehan, whose legacy continues to inspire people about the true nature of exercise, describes this experience well: “Exercise that is not play accentuates rather than closes the split between body and spirit. Exercise that is drudgery, labor, something done only for the final result is a waste of time.” I couldn’t agree more. 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Last week we looked at intermittent fasting for clearing cellulite deposits and keeping them away. It’s an enormously valuable tool. But the important first step for creating a cellulite-free body is to clear as much of the tissue sludge that creates it as quickly as possible. How? By using the most powerful natural detox protocol I have ever found, for 2 or 3 days. Then, in CELLULITE PART 3 next week, I’m keen to share with you how to go about creating in your own life an on-going intermittent fasting food style which helps make peau d’orange a thing of the past while rejuvenating you—mentally, emotionally and spiritually. IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER Cellulite is always a manifestation of the wrong kind of lifestyle for health and beauty: eating wrongly (or too much), living under prolonged stress, hormonal imbalances, being exposed to too many pollutants, and all the other things that we often assume we can get away with, but never really do. Also, cellulite exists—whether or not one wishes to call it cellulite or something else—despite the fact that the majority of adamant medical voices loudly deny its existence. It is real enough for the woman who, in spite of being lean and well, reaches down and pinches her thigh only to find it puckers, ripples, and looks like the skin of an orange. Cellulite differs from normal fat in three ways: It doesn't disappear just because you slim down and exercise regularly as ordinary fat does. Cellulite areas hold different kinds of fat than ordinary fat tissue. Radioisotopic examinations show that, while the components of ordinary fatty tissue change every eight days, gel-like cellulite remains almost stagnant. CLEAR THE SLUDGE Quite simply, cellulite is a pollution problem. It is the result of a build-up of wastes settle in specific areas of a woman’s body. Where distortions in female hormones are present, we tend to collect cellulite deposits as part of our secondary sex characteristics—on our thighs, hips, buttocks and so forth. Cellulite areas not only contain fat. When you examine a layer of cellulite under a microscope, you find that the fat imbued with water and wastes is held there by a fine network of hard fibrous adhesions. Settling in the subcutaneous (subsurface) layer just beneath the skin, cellulite areas have been surrounded by a cushion-like network of connective tissue known as septa. When the septa tighten down on fat cells present in the area or when fat cells push upwards this forms adhesions—a kind of sclerosis of the connective tissues, which get worse with the passage of time. You can liken it to an overstuffed cushion which, with wear and tear, bursts out above the structural support, tightening down even more on the support. All of this leads back to an impaired lymphatic system. When blood and lymph flow in the body becomes restricted as a result of sludge stored in the body, septa fibers continue to thicken while cellulite deposits in the subcutaneous layers of the skin get worse. It’s time to begin the process of clearing this sludge. It’s time to activate the body’s ability to deliver fresh nutrient-rich blood to skin, and restore good lymph flow so it carries away wastes and toxins from the tissues. THE AMAZING ROHSÄFTE-KUR In my opinion, the best contribution German nature-cure experts ever devised for this is called Rohsäfte-Kur. It’s a protocol you can also use when you find yourself feeling "dead" because of too much stress, too little sleep, or fatigue. It is also the best way to begin clearing cellulite. What is it? It’s a raw juice fast, in many ways superior to a water fast. On it you drink plenty of freshly made raw fruit and vegetable juices. These raw juice meals have remarkable properties, in no small part thanks to the living enzymes they contain in high concentration. The program can make you feel super-alive—mentally clear and sparklingly aware of the world around you. A Rohsäfte-Kur as short as two or three days can make a woman look years younger. It is the best way I have ever found to begin eliminating tissue sludge quickly. Of course you must consult a professional practitioner before beginning—especially if you are on any pharmaceutical drugs. You should not stay on it for more than two or three days unless you are under proper supervision. All that being said, we’re ready to get the ball rolling. In addition to their enzyme content, raw juices made from organic fruits and vegetables are rich in vitamins, minerals, and trace elements to help bring biochemical balance to the cells of skin and muscles, since on your Rohsäfte-Kur the assimilation of these nutrients becomes almost total. To do a Rohsäfte-Kur properly, you need a juice extractor—an excellent investment for long-lasting health and beauty. Some juicers have attachments so they can be used as a blender and shredder for vegetables, although I prefer dedicated juice extractors—either centrifugal or masticating juicers—which are slower speed but reduce oxidation. HERE’S HOW The day before you begin, eat lightly. Have some low glycemic fruit such as berries for breakfast and a salad for lunch and dinner, perhaps with a little cottage cheese or some yoghurt. This helps prepare your body for the juice fast. You can also take a mild laxative the night before if you wish. FIRST THING IN THE MORNING: A tisane: take a cup of herb or flower tea such as Maté, peppermint, camomile, nettle, rose-hip or solidago— goldenrod—which is particularly good, but often hard to come by, for eliminating excess water from the tissues if you tend to retain it. BREAKFAST Prepare a 250ml glass of organic fresh fruit juice chosen from berries such as strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, apples or pears. Dilute this with enough clean filtered water to make two glasses. Sip slowly until you've drunk both glasses. MID-MORNING Drink a glass of herb tea or homemade vegetable broth if desired. Here is my favorite recipe: Leslie’s Home-made organic vegetable bouillon or vegetable broth. You can use green vegetables to make your own, such as broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, bean sprouts, asparagus, mustard greens, spinach, watercress, ginger, garlic. Bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Season with herbs and sea salt as desired then store in the fridge, reheating as needed. This is a good drink if you're feeling weak or headachy when your body begins the natural process of cleansing itself after years of following the inaccurate advice we have all been given. LUNCH A 250ml of fresh vegetable juice made from organic vegetables such as carrot, celery, spinach, kale or cucumber, or a mixture of these. Again dilute with half clean water to make two glasses and drunk slowly. MID-AFTERNOON Another herb tea or homemade organic vegetable bouillon as desired. DINNER Same as lunch. BEFORE BED If you are hungry, take a few raisins (not more than a dozen) chew each one slowly, and another tisane, or glass of spring water if you prefer. OVERVIEW In other words, throughout the day you will be drinking between one and a half and three pints of juice, teas or homemade vegetable broth, depending on how much you feel you want. The reason that half of the juices are vegetable and half of them fruit is that fruits are the natural cleansers of the system and the vegetables are the revitalizers. As with any true fast, if you experience feelings of discomfort such as headache (a sign that you are quickly eliminating wastes), take whatever pain killers you feel you need and tuck yourself away in a dark room to rest until it passes. If you take a lukewarm bath (not hot) in the evening; this will help you to sleep well. It is important that all the juices you drink be freshly made and drunk right away. If they are allowed to stand in a room for a few minutes they oxidize and lose much of their therapeutic and nutritional value. When you choose your vegetables and fruit, make sure they are fresh and carefully washed in running water. You can mix juices in delightful ways, and as a final addition, try a teaspoonful of fresh lemon juice or fresh cream added to each glass. Fresh finely minced herbs such as basil or chives sprinkled in also add something special. GREAT HERB TEAS Here are a few herb teas that are particularly good for helping to clear cellulite, either because of their blood purifying capabilities or because they are natural diuretics and encourage the elimination of excess water from the tissues. Maté Tea is a tonic for the kidneys, a tension soother, and is so satisfying to drink that you feel less inclined to eat. It is nice taken plain or with a squeeze of lemon in it. Solidago Tea (wild goldenrod) is an excellent natural diuretic and a mild stimulant. It is a favorite for spring-cleaning the system at the Bircher-Benner Clinic in Zurich but it can be hard to find these days. Nettle Tea is another diuretic and tonic, excellent for the lymphatic system. It doesn't taste as nice as solidago, so needs to be sweetened with a little stevia. COMING NEXT WEEK Next week, we will not only look specifically at how, after carrying out a Rohsäfte-Kur, you can create for yourself a simple, doable way of spacing meals that can help clearing cellulite long-term and keep it away. We will also expose as yet little-known nutritional mistakes most everybody makes which need to be corrected—not only for keeping cellulite at bay, but for protecting you from early aging and all those degenerative diseases which now plague the Western world. See you then... I have also included some great tea's to try below: The Tao of Tea, 100% Organic Famous South American Herb, Roasted Maté Maté (Ilex Paraguariensis) is an evergreen plant of the holly family (Aquifoliaceae). Although the plant does produce small flowers and fruit, only the distinctive oval shaped leaves and stems are plucked for processing. Toasty, smooth and full-bodied with light cacao taste. Will provide at least 3-4 infusions. Maté contains vitamins (A, B1, B2, C and E), mineral salts, 15 amino acids and high levels of antioxidants. Its chemical constituents also include alkaloids (such as caffeine). Maté is known to help cope with stress and is beneficial for the nervous and immune systems. Order The Tao of Tea: Roasted Maté from iherb Traditional Medicinals, Organic Nettle Leaf Herbal Tea, Caffeine Free Nettle plants grow in the wild throughout much of Europe and North America and are now also grown on farms. Fresh pressed juice of the herb, and tinctures or tea infusions of the dried leaves are commonly used in Europe. Organic Nettle Leaf has a pleasantly refreshing and slightly bitter taste. For maximum benefit, herbal tea must be properly prepared. Pour 8 oz. freshly boiled water over 1-2 tea bags in a cup. Cover cup and steep 10 minutes. These steps directly influence the amount of beneficial components that will end up in your teacup! Gently squeeze the tea bag to release the remaining extract. Drink 3-4 cups daily. Order Organic Nettle Leaf Herbal Tea from iherb BEST LIQUID STEVIA Wisdom Natural, SweetLeaf, Liquid Stevia, English Toffee Sweet Leaf liquid stevia with all natural flavors is convenient and easy to use. As a supplement, add this nutritious stevia to water, tea, coffee, milk, sparkling water, protein shakes, plain yogurt or anything else you can imagine. It comes in many different flavors including lemon but English Toffee flavor is the best by far. Order SweetLeaf Liquid Stevia from iherb ORDERING FROM IHERB.COM: If you decide to order any products from Iherb.com, you will automatically receive $5 or $10 off your first order. Their products are the cheapest and best in the world…I use them for everything no matter where I am. Get it sent to you via DHL. It will be with you in three to four working days… iHerb.com ship all over the world very cheaply. IMPORTANT - Do not be fooled by the artificially made Stevia products such as Truvia and Purevia. These products are not the natural Stevia plant. To learn more read my post here called beware of Truvia. Click here To View Part 3 – Cellulite: How To Live Cellulite Free

Ten years ago the idea that free radical damage underlies both the aging process and the development of degenerative diseases like heart disease, cancer, diabetes and arthritis, seemed absurd. Nowadays we know different. Free radicals are all the rage. Every other book on health you come across is warning about the dangers of free radicals and telling you to take lots of vitamins A, C, and E, to protect yourself from these horrible demons. A free radical is a molecule with an unpaired electron, lustfully searching for a mate. There are several kinds of free radicals. Oxygen free radicals are particularly malevolent. They react quickly and greedily with other molecules. When they find a mate - and just about any mate will do - they can destroy cell membranes, disrupt DNA (the cell's genetic material) and wreak havoc with the body. Many things cause the production of free radicals. Air pollution, for instance, being exposed to ultra violet light or radiation, pesticides on foods, drugs, cigarette smoke, exposure to some plastics, and even polyunsaturated fats. Flying in jets also produces free radicals, as does living at a high altitude because in both cases you are subject to high levels of gamma radiation. Even exercise produces free radicals. And the experts on aging are right. Free radicals do cause terrible damage to the body. But only when they are produced in excess. There are lots of good things to be said about free radicals as well. This is something all those little books and articles on swallowing more ACE vitamins fail to tell you. energy equations What makes energy yielding metabolism possible in our bodies - in effect what keeps us alive - is the ability that we have evolved throughout the ages to take nutrients in through our foods and convert them into chemical and bioelectrical energy. We do this through oxidation or burning in a process known as aerobic metabolism. Enzymes in the body - living catalysts that make redox reactions possible - carefully control a series of small steps which liberate the maximum amount of energy present for effective use, while causing the minimum amount of disturbance to our cells. It is an enormously efficient way of producing and releasing energy which involves the transfer of electrons from one molecule to another. Scientists call this transfer an oxidation-reduction or a redox-reaction. So long as we live redox-reactions take place ceaselessly. The trouble is - and here's where free radical damage comes in - a number of highly reactive, potentially toxic and destructive species of molecules are generated in the process. The greater the bodily activity at any particular place or time, the more free radicals we generate. Our brain is a particularly demanding organ when it comes to energy. About 20% of our body's oxygen consumption is used by the brain. This gives the brain an enormous amount of energy but it also creates a fertile ground for free radicals to breed. Surges of various hormones in our bodies such as adrenaline and noradrenaline generate hydrogen peroxide which can also result in the formation of more free radicals - so much so that we frequently generate more than our antioxidant defense mechanisms can handle. Most free radicals are generated during the day. Some researchers believe that free radical formation in the day time and free radical quenching that occurs at night while we sleep may be the driving power behind the circadian rhythms - that is the biological control of events in the body. 10,000 hits a day What is amazing is just how enormous free radical activity is in the human body. One of the major experts in free radical biochemistry, Dr Bruce Ames at the University of California, Berkeley, estimates that every cell in our body experiences 10,000 free radical `hits' each day of our life. A well nourished, healthy body is equipped to handle them. As humans we have amazing antioxidant defense mechanisms - enzymes like glutathione peroxidase, super-oxide dismutase and catalase. Provided we are leading a balanced life, eating plenty of fresh foods, getting optimum amounts of exercise, and are not exposed to excessive amounts of chemical pollution, all should go well. What's happening to many of us, however, is that we are subjected to more free radical activity than our natural antioxidant mechanisms can detoxify. Then we get oxidation damage as excess free radicalss wreak havoc with our bodies. They can form cataracts in the eyes, trigger Alzheimer's disease, cause premature aging and the build up of cholesterol in the arteries, as well as a thousand other negative changes associated with aging. strange paradox So free radicals put us in the strange position of being totally dependent upon them for our life energy yet completely susceptible to their toxic effects - what in biochemistry is know as oxidizing-stress or oxy-stress. It is this oxy-stress which poses a continuous challenge to the integrity of our cells and tissues. As the free radical enthusiasts point out, this is the central cause of premature aging. The key to making free radical biochemistry work for you instead of against you, is balance. When there are too many free radicals produced in your system as a result of poor digestion, or stress, or exposure to excessive ultraviolet light, or pollutants in air and water, then you suffer oxy-stress. Antioxidants such as vitamins A, C, and E, beta carotene, Co Enzyme Q10, selenium and many potent plant-based factors like pycogynol, help quench oxy-stress and prevent free radical damage. So nowadays we are continually urged to take more of them to prevent premature aging and illness. Yet this is not quite as simple as the free radical rockers would have us believe. And popping pills is not always the best way to go about it.

In our vastly overmedicated society, a mind-boggling 230 million prescriptions for antidepressants are filled every year. Over the course of one decade, their use has doubled—they are now the most popular class of drugs in the US. Yet they are far from the miracle drugs many believe them to be. Not only do they carry the risk of seriously dangerous side effects. Many trials have suggested they are no more, and perhaps even less, effective than placebos—mere sugar pills. In light of all this, it would be a mistake to ignore the safe, effective help for anxiety and depression provided by nature, which comes in the form of some wonderful herbs and supplements. It’s vital that you become aware of these natural alternatives in case you, or one of your loved ones, are in need of the remarkable healing they can bring. Natural Remedies For Depression - Banish The Blues There are many causes of depression—some are of the body and some of the psyche. I don’t think you can separate the two. Just as body and mind feed each other in producing the dark, seemingly endless blues which can set in at any period of your life, the herbs you call on for help will improve both body and spirit. When you feel depressed, you can feel anxious as well. Many of the plants which are effective in lifting the blues also help to clear fear and anxiety. Here are a couple of the best. St John’s Wort Known botanically as Hypericum perforatum, St John’s Wort is possibly the best herbal antidepressant nature has to offer. Its Latin name means ‘over an apparition’—a reference to the belief that a mere whiff of St Johns Wort will banish any evil spirit. Used since the time of the Greeks and Romans to treat nerve-related disorders, it is now the most commonly prescribed antidepressant in Germany. This makes good sense when you look at the research: At least 23 randomized clinical trials have shown that this plant is just as effective as standard antidepressant drugs, if not moreso. It’s earned its name as “nature’s answer to Prozac”, but can be used without fear of the dangerous side effects that pharmaceuticals bring. How to use The bright yellow flowers of St John’s Wort contain a red oil called hypericin which is antiviral and probably mood enhancing. Many studies show that it is whole plant extracts, however, rather than hypericin alone, that have the best anti-depressant effects. You can pick the flowers, leaves and stems of St John’s Wort while the plant is in flower. Dry them quickly, as you want to preserve the red oil in the flowers. To make tea, use 1-2 teaspoons of the dried herb in a cup of boiling water. Steep for 10-15 minutes, strain, and drink 3 times a day. One of the most effective ways to use St John’s Wort for depression is as a tincture. Take 1 teaspoon of St John’s Wort tincture in a little water 3 times a day. It should be taken for at least a month before results can be expected. A lucky few people, however, respond right away. Nature's Tranquilizer The drug valium takes its name from a plant. Valerian (Valeriana officinalis) was the primary herbal sedative used on both sides of the Atlantic before the advent of barbiturate sleeping pills. It is a safe and well-tested herbal remedy with a smell like dirty old socks. But don’t let that put you off since valerian is a powerful herb for inducing safe sleep – more potent than hops or camomile. You can take valerian in a couple of ways. I like the tincture best – 10 to 20 drops in a little water before bedtime or in the middle of the night when you awaken. Alternatively you can take a couple of capsules of the dried root. Valerian in lower doses is equally useful when your nerves feel ‘shot’, even during the day. It has the remarkable ability to enhance your ability to deal with stress and bring you stamina while it calms. Very occasionally, and only to a very few people, valerian will cause a hangover in the morning, if this happens to you lower the dose or try a different herb. Sam-E Short for S-adenosyl methionine, Sam-E was discovered in Italy in 1952. It is not actually a herb, but an amino acid, which occurs naturally in our bodies when we are in good health. However it easily becomes depleted by stress, illness and deficiencies. Though it has been popular for treating depression in Europe since 1975, it has largely remained unknown elsewhere in the world—that is, until recently, when it became available in the US. It’s still unknown exactly how it works to lift depression. One hypothesis suggests that it can increase the availability of two neurotransmitters that regulate our mood: serotonin and dopamine. Studies repeatedly find in its favor compared with pharmaceuticals and placebo. (You may be interested to read this 2002 analysis of depression trials by the Agency for Health Care Research and Quality) Sam-E is especially recommended for those who have tried and not responded to traditional prescription antidepressants. Help From Omegas Last but not least, there is ever growing evidence to demonstrate the importance of fatty acids in the diet to guard against depression. In particular, the levels of omega-3 in the blood of depressed individuals was found to be significantly lower than those of non-depressed people. This is in addition to the wealth of other well-documented benefits that omega-3s bestow. Yet in the United States alone, it is estimated that over 90% of adults are deficient in this essential fatty acid. Therefore, adding a good quality omega-3 supplement to your diet (see recommendations below) is one simple and effective measure you can take to bolster your mental and overall wellbeing. LESLIE RECOMMENDS I have tested all of the products that follow, both personally and with others who wanted to leave behind antidepressant drugs in favor of natural alternatives. I have also listed below what I believe to be the best brand you can buy in the case of each product. Valerian Root Liquid Phyto-Caps - Gaia Herbs' patented technology delivers a concentrated full spectrum alcohol-free liquid extract in a 100% vegetarian capsule. Extra Strength Liquid Phyto-Caps For Ultimate Support of Restful Sleep 100% Vegetarian A Dietary Supplement Not to be used during pregnancy or lactation. If you have a medical condition or take pharmaceutical drugs, please consult with your doctor Order Gaia Herbs-Valerian Root from iherb Omega 3-6-9 Essential Fatty Acids in Hexane Free Nutritional Oils A balanced blend of two essential polyunsaturated fatty acids (and their derivatives) necessary for many body functions: Omega-3 oil from Flax Seed and Canola, and Omega-6 oil (GLA) from Primrose and Black Currant. Oleic Acid, an Omega-9 oil from Canola and Flax Seed, is a monounsaturated fat not considered "essential" but does play beneficial roles in human health. Order Now Foods - Omega 3-6-9, 1000 mg from iherb Flora, St. John's Wort Extract A Wild-grown Full-Spectrum Extract. Flora's premium St. John's Wort is prepared in the traditional manner using freshly gathered wild-grown St. John's Wort flowers. They are sun-infused in extra-virgin olive oil for 1,000 hours to maximize extraction of the full-spectrum active principles into the oil. Flora's St. John's Wort can help reduce the effects of mild depression, anxiety, and nervous tension caused by daily stress. Order Flora, St. John's Wort Extract from iherb Nature's Bounty, SAM-e The body makes SAM-e from the amino acid methionine. However, you may not be able to obtain sufficient methionine levels simply by ingesting food. In addition, because of age or other factors, levels of SAM-e can fluctuate or decline. Supplementation with SAM-e is the easiest way to increase intake. The enteric coating helps the breakdown of SAM-e occur in the small intestine. In addition, the enteric coating is designed to protect SAM-e from moisture and serve as a protective barrier so that SAM-e can be absorbed where it can provide you with the greatest benefits. Order Nature's Bounty, SAM-e from iherb ORDERING FROM IHERB.COM: Get $5 OFF your first order. They ship all over the world very cheaply, and their products are the cheapest and best in the world. Get your order sent to you via DHL. I use them for almost everything no matter where I am.

In our world where grains of every kind—gluten-free or not—turn to sugar when you eat them, quinoa is a fabulous superfood you should make part of your diet. With its high fiber content and good quality protein, plus a wide variety of powerful health-giving compounds—from polyphenols, saponins and phytosterols to free radical scavengers—it’s not only yummy, but a great meat-free food to grace your table. It has very little carb content compared to all those stodgy grains and is far lower on the dangerous glycemic index. SUPER NUTRIENTS Although it’s spelled “kwin-OH-a” you pronounce quinoa’s name as “KEEN-wa”. It has been a staple of South American diets for an amazing 4000 years. But not until 50 years ago did curious scientists start to investigate the nature of this food and discover that it comes as close as any other in the plant kingdom to supplying a vast array of the essential nutrients we humans need to thrive. This seed is high in magnesium to calm the body and reduce blood pressure. It brings you an abundance of good quality fiber when you eat it. Quinoa also contains a lot of anti-inflammatory compounds. It is safe to eat even if you have delicate digestion, inflammatory bowel trouble, celiac disease or gluten intolerance. And it’s brimming with important minerals and vitamins from magnesium, zinc and phosphorous to vitamin E, thiamin, riboflavin, vitamin B6 and folate. This makes quinoa an excellent choice for people savvy enough to go for foods that are low on the glycemic index, low-carb dieters, vegans, and all of us who need to increase our fiber intake. THE NEW FUNCTIONAL FOOD Studies continue to report that eating quinoa brings us all sorts of health-promoting effects. It can help reduce high blood pressure, alleviate cardiovascular troubles, promote cellular energy production and act as a pre-biotic. Thanks to its high level of bio-active compounds, many also believe this unique natural food has the potential to help lower the risk of cancer, diabetes, and heart conditions. At the University of Milan, researchers discovered it also satisfies your appetite far better than, say, wheat or rice. It promotes a sense of fullness, helping to alleviate your desire for more food and helping to halt weight gain. The seeds of quinoa can also help reduce most of the negative effects that come from fructose on your lipid profile and glucose level. To discover what this wonderful non-grain can do for you, you need to know how to prepare and use it in your life. After all, the proof of any pudding is in the eating. And there is an art to preparing it. HERE’S HOW Make sure the quinoa you buy is fresh and organic. Most of the stuff in supermarkets is neither, so shop in good, reliable organic food stores. Read labels carefully to check for both before you buy. Stale quinoa is dusty and can taste “dead” since it has lost so much of its goodness through food processing or just sitting on shelves for too long. Rinse it well Do not be tempted to skip this direction. You must wash away the thin coating on these tiny seeds, otherwise they will taste bitter. You will need a very fine-meshed strainer so that the little seeds don’t slip through it in the process. Hold it under streaming water for two minutes while swirling around its contents. Time to Cook To 1 cup of your rinsed seeds add two cups of water, a pinch or two of sea salt or Himalayan salt, then bring to a boil. Reduce the heat as much as possible and let it simmer until it becomes tender. This usually takes about 15 minutes. You’ll be able to tell when it is cooked because the tiny grains will have become translucent and the germ of each seed will show up as a little spiral on its surface. You do not want to overcook it as this will make it mushy. Drain it Remove from heat and drain it using the same fine-mesh strainer. Then put the drained quinoa back in the pot, cover it and let it sit without any heat for another 15 minutes. This helps dry it a bit so it does not become clumpy. Time to serve Aerate it with a fork. It should look light and feel fluffy, and you should begin to see the way the germ is separating from the seed itself. Its texture is very much like that of rice or couscous. Serve immediately You can eat it as a porridge with a handsome glob of butter on top, add it to a casserole, a curry, or the way you might serve rice on a plate with other vegetables. MORE FABULOUS FAUX GRAINS Quinoa is but one of the amazing “false” grains which have none of the negative effects of grains and cereals. You can make all sorts of wonderful things using them, from muffins and pancakes to loaves and pilaf. Learn more about all of these by clicking here, and enjoy! Do let me know how you get on, and if you discover any of your own wonderful recipes using this gem of a faux grain, so we can share them with other people in the future.

We are poised at the beginning of a profound revolution in health. It encompasses long-lasting weight control, drug-free ageless aging and protection from degenerative diseases. Until recently, the genuine research findings which are fueling this revolution have been hidden from us by a dark cloud consisting of outright lies, false medical and government directives and corporate greed. For the past 60 years, we have been fed dangerous, inaccurate information in regard to the causes of heart disease, obesity, mental disorders, and other widespread degenerative conditions—from diabetes to cancer and Alzheimer’s, as well as emotional and mental problems. As a consequence, we have experienced an exponential rise in long-term degenerative conditions, a massive dependence on pharmaceutical drugs, and dangerously inaccurate information about what constitutes good nutrition. I’ve just posted on the lesliekenton.com site two videos of programs aired over ABC News in Australia. Do watch them. They could be life-changing for you and your family. I’ll give you a link to them at the bottom. THE TRUTH WILL OUT Here’s what’s important for you to know: The guidelines about health we have been given in the decades following World War II have been wrong. For example, there is NO correlation between high cholesterol plaque formation and heart disease. Second, saturated fats are good for us. Third, statin drugs which are commonly prescribed to lower cholesterol are dangerous. For generations, we’ve been told that “saturated fat is a prime cause of heart disease.” This theory, known as the ‘lipid hypothesis’, was concocted 60 years ago by a number of mainstream scientists, including a physiologist named Ancel Keys, whom I knew personally. Keys’ totally inaccurate “revelations” about the dangers of eating saturated fats were based on bogus research. Yet they earned him a cover on Time Magazine. Other erroneous research, which in truth amounted to little more than “best guesses”, were also accepted as truths by government, the medical establishment and the media, even though several well researched studies showed clearly that they were also wrong. This is how the false notion that “eating fat causes heart disease” became accepted worldwide and it has endured for more than half a century. BIG FAT LIES As award-winning journalist Gary Taubes has pointed out, “In the 1970s and 1980s the US government spent half a billion dollars trying to prove that dietary fat causes heart disease and they couldn’t do it.” Taubes is a courageous science writer. He first wrote about the public fat deceptions in a New York Times magazine article in June of 2002, called “What if It’s All Been a Big Fat Lie?” Since then, he has written two superbly researched books, in relation to this issue as well as other massively inaccurate beliefs that have also been foisted upon us including the notion that eating a low-fat, high-carb diet is the best way to stay healthy. For five decades, governments and health agencies in the United States and elsewhere have pontificated about what we should eat to prevent degenerative diseases. Most of us have done our best to follow their advice. In doing so, we have become sicker and fatter with each decade that passes. Of course, the powers-that-be still insist that this is all our fault. They tell us that this is because we have not been following their advice carefully enough. So their “best guess” advice, concocted in error all those years ago, still goes on harming millions of people. THE DECEPTIVE 70S The tale continues: After high-level government discussions and consultations about what diet the majority of Americans should eat for health, the McGovern Committee in the United States published nutritional guidelines which, they told us, would “combat cancers, heart disease, high-blood pressure, obesity and diabetes.” Hearings for Senator McGovern’s Senate Select Committee took place between 1976 and 1980. And it was clear right from the start that the outcome would be a bogus recommendation to reduce fat and cholesterol and eat plenty of carbohydrates for energy—despite the fact that valid scientific research had shown quite clearly that both of these recommendations were just plain wrong. Before long, the US government issued their skewed ‘Dietary Guidelines for Americans.’ Their advice boiled down to was this: Replace natural dietary fats (which we humans have been eating for millions of years and which the body handles with ease) with high doses of carb-laden grains, sugars and cereals and use lots of polyunsaturated fats. Then the now infamous U.S. “Dietary Recommendations Pyramid” came along. It urges us to eat as many as 11 portions of bread, cereal, rice and pasta a day. Like obedient citizens, we ate porridge, toast and cereal for breakfast, munched our way through a bagel at 11 o’clock, and downed a sandwich, pizza or pasta for lunch. At dinner, along with our meat and potatoes, or rice and beans, we indulges in a roll or two to make sure we got the 10 carb servings they recommended to us believing that we were living on a healthy diet. Just in case you think these absurd directives only affected the lives of Americans, think again. The rest of the world—with a few exceptions such as France and China—still follow US government directives with amazing slavishness. HOW TO AGE FAST A diet high in cereals, grains and sugars (which 90% of the Western World still consumes) is not only a prescription for obesity—it’s a fast track to rapid aging and degenerative diseases. Grains and sugars in excess lower energy levels, create cravings and addictive eating while encouraging a myriad of long-term health issues. TRUTH ABOUT STATINS Then there is the issue of statins. I was stunned when I learned about the new guidelines just issued by the American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology. These bodies are now encouraging doctors to prescribe statin drugs to well people. The so-called medical experts who issued these directives insist that all healthy people be given statin drugs as a “preventative against possible future illness.” In effect they are keen to see one third of all adults taking statins. One in four Americans over 45 are already on statins, despite more than 900 studies reporting dangerous side effects from these drugs. Side effects range from heightened risks of cancer and diabetes to sexual problems, neuropathy and liver dysfunction to immune system suppression—even a higher risk of cataracts. In Britain, between 6 and 8 million people take statin drugs. If the new directives are accepted by the US and UK medical establishment—as they are likely to be—the numbers of men and women being prescribed statins will become legion. WHY ARE THEY USED Statins are a group of drugs that commonly prescribed to lower cholesterol levels by inhibiting the enzyme HMG-CoA reductase, which plays a central role in the production of cholesterol in the liver. They have many different names: Lipitor, Lescol, Mevacor, Altocor, Zocor and so on. Statins are given to patients on the assumption that they will lower the risks of heart attacks and strokes. Meanwhile, a recent study in the Journal of Cancer Epidemiology, “Biomarkers & Prevention” by Jean A McDougall and her team, showed that long-term use of statins increases the risk of both lobular and ductal breast cancer in women between 55 and 74. COME THE REVOLUTION I suggest you take a look at my recent blog, “Beware The Statin Pushers”. (Click here.) I also suggest that you read Healthy and Lean For Life, the book I wrote at the beginning of 2013. You are able to download free until the end of December. (click here) Meanwhile I celebrate Dr Maryanne Demasi’s admirable investigative journalism in the two ABC programs which you can watch by clicking here. Come and take part in the exciting revolution based on truth. Share what you learn with those whose health and life may be made better by what you have learned.

‘What goes up must come down’. These words should be engraved on everyone’s brains, particularly those of us who live full and busy lives. We worry about stress, wonder why we don’t do anything about it, and wish it would go away. Seldom do we even stop to ask what it is. If stress gets out of hand it can wear you down, ruin your looks and destroy your peace of mind. Yet stress is the spice of life, the exhilaration of challenge and excitement, the ‘high’ of living with heavy demands. The big secret about stress is that it is not what appears to be causing it that does the damage. It’s how you respond to it that does that. Change your attitude to stress, and you can make it work for you rather than against you. In short, chill out. What is Stress? Stress is hard to pin down: fatigue, overwork, loss of blood, physical injury, grief and joy can all produce stress, but none of them accurately describes what it is. The word stress comes from the language of engineering, meaning ‘any force which causes an object to change’. Austrian-Canadian scientist Hans Selye first coined the word stress in relation to humans back in the 1930s. In human terms, it refers to your body’s response to physical, chemical, emotional or spiritual forces that ask you to adapt to them. Selye discovered a typical physical reaction to stress which he called the General Adaptation Syndrome. Its function is to keep your body in a steady state, known as homeostasis. Every stressor you come into contact with threatens to destroy this steady state. The General Adaptation Syndrome has three states: alarm, where the body becomes alert; resistance, where all systems go in order to meet the challenge and protect you from harm; and exhaustion, which happens if stress lasts for too long and the body’s weakest systems begin to break down, causing illness, chronic fatigue, even death. You are Unique Everyone responds differently to stress. This depends to some degree on your conditioning and on the amount of adaptive energy you were born with. This is why some people seem to breeze through stressful situations while others quickly reach exhaustion. Selye believed that once adaptive energy is used up, nothing can be done to restore it. We now know that this is not altogether true, but adaptive energy is certainly precious. This makes it imperative to examine carefully how yours is being used and if it is being burnt up unnecessarily. It also makes it important to remember that what goes up must come down. For making stress work for you means being able to switch off at will. This is something that most of us have to learn to do. Learn to move easily between stress and relaxation, and you will begin to experience your life as a satisfying and enriching challenge, like the ebb and flow of the tides. Then you will never again have to worry about getting stuck in a high-stress condition which saps your energy, distorts your view of the world, and can lead to premature ageing and chronic illness. Humans are natural seekers of challenge. Primitive man faced the daily challenge of survival—when in danger, the body reacts instantaneously to provide the energy needed to fight or flee, then relax again when the danger has passed. We may no longer need to worry about meeting a sabre-toothed tiger, but we still react to stress with the same physical responses—raised blood pressure and breathing, and a rush of adrenalin throughout the body. The trouble is that modern life, with its noise, quick pace, social pressures, environmental poisons, and our tendency to sedentary, mental work presents many of us with almost constant threat situations. This is particularly true in the business world, where someone, instead of moving rhythmically in and out stressful situations, remains in the danger state for long periods, with all the internal physical conditions that accompany it. Getting the Balance Right The automatic, or involuntary, functions of your body are governed by the autonomic nervous system. It looks after the changes in the rate at which your heart beats. It regulates your blood pressure by altering the size of veins and arteries. It stimulates the flow of digestive juices, and brings on muscular contractions in the digestive system to deal with the foods you take in. It makes you sweat when you are hot, and is responsible for the physical changes in your body that come with sexual arousal. This autonomic system has two opposing branches: the sympathetic and the parasympathetic. The sympathetic branch is concerned with energy expenditure—particularly the energy involved with stress and meeting challenges. It spurs the heart to beat faster, makes you breathe hard, encourages you to sweat, raises your blood pressure, and sends blood to the muscles to get you ready for action. The other branch of the autonomic nervous system—the parasympathetic—is concerned with rest and regeneration rather than action. The parasympathetic branch slows your heartbeat, reduces the flow of air to your lungs, stimulates the digestive system, and helps relax your muscles. When you are in a state of stress, the sympathetic nervous system comes into play. The parasympathetic branch is dominant when you are relaxed. A good balance between the two is the key to making stress work for you. Balance makes it possible for you to go out into the world to do, to make, to create, to fight, and to express yourself as well as to retire into yourself for regeneration, rest, recuperation, enjoyment, and the space to discover new ideas and plant the seeds of future actions. Unfortunately, few of us get it right by accident—we have to learn. Chill Out The secret of getting the right balance between stress and relaxation, between the sympathetic and parasympathetic branches, is three-fold. First, take a look at the kind of stress you think you are under, eliminate unnecessary stressors and discover new ways of working with the others. Second, begin to support your body physically with food, exercise and natural stress relievers (see below for an excellent one) to enable you to face stress with ease. Finally, learn to relax fully so that you can find the right balance between stress and relaxation and keep it. Not only will this help your body stay in balance and increase your level of overall vitality, it can bring you a sense of control over your life that is hard to come by any other way. HELP WITH STRESS IF YOU NEED IT 200mg of Zen To help you chill out: This unique combination of L-theanine and GABA has been formulated to support the production of alpha-wave activity in the brain. And it keeps its promises. Two capsules offer a unique and natural path to relaxation without sedation. I use it often to great effect. 200 mg of Zen is the brainchild of one of my favorite manufacturers of dietary supplements in the world, Allergy Research Group, who since 1979 have used only the purest raw materials available and are known for the strictest quality control procedures available. They are even licensed by The California Department of Health Services—Food and Drug Branch. Order 200mg of Zen from iherb 200 mg of Zen is a real find, so long as you are not taking drugs of any kind. IT IS CONTRAINDICATED WITH DRUGS OR MUST BE USED ONLY UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF A HEALTHCARE PRACTITIONER