TNP - What's New - RSS

What?s New? gives repeat visitors a simple way to keep track of changes and new additions on this site. Because this site is constantly evolving and growing, we hope you come back often. This page is intended to help you quickly identify new additions or changes.

New information is added in a couple of different ways. First, we link this information into its natural topic. For example, the page on lowering cholesterol, and its associated companion pages, were linked into Natural Cures with a brief introduction.

A symbol is added in front of each introduction to let you quickly scan the page to determine what was added. The new page does not contain this symbol.

For your convenience, you will find a contextually appropriate version of this introduction here, with a link to the newly added pages. These are provided in three categories, based on your area of interest: Body Cleansing and Detox Diet and Nutrition Natural Cures Coming to this page will let you get the introduction, as well as access the new information. We have added an RSS channel for each category to allow you to keep track of changes in your area of interest. By adding these channels into your RSS reader or personalized homepage ( such as MyYahoo!, Google Homepage, or MyMSN ) you will be notified of added pages, with descriptions and links to these pages. If you do not know how to use these feeds, here is a simple explanation of RSS and instructions for their use. Coming Soon - We are continuously updating this site. Please check back soon, subscribe to the RSS feed below, or subscribe to Natural Way our monthly magazine.

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I have added a simple master guide to help you understand how the various tools and techniques on cleansing, nutrition and natural cures provided on this site fit together. Follow the six steps to good health. Are you getting your daily requirement of vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients? Here is some background on vitamin and mineral supplements and your daily vitamin and mineral requirement. Also, learn about phytonutrients and why you should be adding them, to your diet. Coming Soon - We are continuously updating this site. Please check back soon, subscribe to the RSS feed below, or subscribe to Natural Way our monthly magazine.

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Vitamin C therapy is now being used to address a range of maladies including coronary artery disease, irregular heartbeat and cancer. The rationale centers around the body's ability to ensure the integrity of your cells and to make collagen, a primary building block in your body. Find out why Vitamin C therapy is looked upon as a promising treatment for coronary artery disease. Learning what's new in natural healing is The Natural Path to good health.

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TNP - High fiber food

TNP - Vitamin and Mineral Supplements

Vitamin supplements, actually dietary supplements in general, are an important part of getting the nutrition our bodies need. Why? Given our diets and lack of access to healthy foods, and given the dwindling nutritional quality of food generally available today, our bodies need vitamin, mineral and other dietary supplements to fill in this nutritional gap.

Background
There are at least 13 vitamins and 15 minerals that are considered essential for good health. Vitamins are organic compounds, which means they contain carbon, and are found naturally only in living things. Minerals are simpler, inorganic compounds and are found in all foods. Four of these vitamins ? A, D, E, and K are fat soluble ? meaning they can be stored in the body. Vitamins C and the eight forms of vitamin B are water soluble, meaning that excess amounts are eliminated through urination. Minerals are also classified in two categories - major minerals (macronutrients), such as calcium, magnesium and potassium, that are found in relatively high concentrations in foods, and trace minerals (micronutrients), such as copper, iron, zinc, and chromium, that are usually only found in minute amounts. All of these vitamins and minerals play an important role in your body?s ability to build cells, releasing energy from our food, and in maintaining the good health of our organs, bones and immune system. Taking vitamin and mineral supplements can help us target deficiencies in our diet, to fill in the gaps.

Is your supplement right for you?
You can find help in determining if your mineral and vitamin supplements are meeting your daily vitamin requirement and are nutritionally available to your body. Based on this information, if you are happy with your mineral and vitamin supplements, that is great. However, if you are not, I have found a good mineral and vitamin supplement that is absorbed well by the body and also provides Phytonutrients. Even if you are happy with your mineral and vitamin supplements, you should make sure you are getting the phytonutrients that your body needs to maintain good health.

Are you concerned about getting sufficient Phytonutrients, in addition to vitamins and minerals? A very natural method of increasing our intake of Phytonutrients is to start juicing regularly. Despite juicing a couple of times a day and eating a balanced meal containing vegetables, I still find it difficult to consume the recommended dosage of fruits and vegetables. This becomes even more difficult when I travel, and do not have access to fresh juice on a regular basis. If you feel you are getting the amount of phytonutrients, that is great. However, if you have the same concern as I have, I have found an amazing source of Phytonutrients from 24 fruits and vegetables, packaged in a convenient ?health-on-the-go? approach.

Taking good mineral and vitamin supplements
The Natural Path to good health.

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TNP - Daily Vitamin and Mineral Requirement

What is your daily vitamin requirement? Many of us are familiar with the US RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance) of certain nutrients. While the RDA helped to educate people about the various vitamins and minerals they needed, according to Dr. Michael Janson, a leading authority on preventive and alternative medicine ?The RDA is actually a useless guideline for today, because it was designed to prevent deficiency diseases such as scurvy and beriberi ... [not for] achieving optimal health and treating disease...?. Similar things can be said for the Daily Value (DV) that are referred to on many supplement labels.

I have complied the following table from various sources. It contains information on a daily mineral and vitamin requirement, based on a 2,000 calorie per day diet, and natural food sources for each nutrient. You can use this to determine what mineral and vitamin supplements you may need, based on your diet. The daily mineral and vitamin requirement range has been derived from various sources. Look at the nutritional content for any supplements you are taking to determine if your supplement is right for you.

Taking a supplement based only on a label that says that it fulfills your daily mineral and vitamin requirement may not mean your body is getting what it needs. The supplement needs to be properly absorbed by the body. Although bio-availability is difficult to measure outside of a laboratory, a simple test can weed out obvious problems.

Do your vitamin supplements pass the crumbling and dissolving test? If not, your body may not be getting the benefit of what you are consuming. Drop your vitamin-mineral supplement in a glass of plain water. It should start crumbling in about 30 ? 45 minutes and completely dissolve in 4-5 hours. If your supplement does not crumble and dissolve in the specified time, it is a pretty good indication that it will not get absorbed by your body. Consuming vitamins and minerals in a liquid or powder form will help your body better breakdown and absorb their nutritional content, and give you your daily mineral and vitamin requirement. These forms start entering your system in your mouth, as they come in contact with your saliva. The next best option is gelatin-free capsules that easily dissolve in stomach acid. Supplements in hard tablet form - especially time released varieties - are most likely to pass through your system relatively intact.

If you feel you are getting your daily mineral and vitamin requirement and are happy with your supplement, that is great. However, if you are not, I have found a great supplement that is absorbed well in the body, provides the daily recommended mineral and vitamin requirement and also provides some phytonutrients. Here is my recommendation.

Daily Mineral or Vitamin Requirement *

Cod liver oil, egg yolks, butter, raw whole milk, liver

Mixed carotenoids (e.g. beta carotene)

Carrots, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, spinach, butternut squash, tuna, cantaloupe, mangoes, apricots, broccoli, watermelon

Heart , Brain, red blood cell development

Legumes, poultry, tuna, wheat germ, mushrooms, oranges, asparagus, broccoli, spinach, bananas, strawberries, cantaloupes

Brain, Heart, Immune System, protein metabolism

Fish, soybeans, avocados, lima beans, chicken, bananas, cauliflower, green peppers, potatoes, spinach, raisins

Fat, protein and carbohydrate metabolism, nervous system

25 mg (more in supplement form with medical supervision)

Meats, poultry, fish, peanut butter, legumes, soybeans, whole grains, broccoli, asparagus, baked potatoes

Salmon, eggs, cheese, swordfish, tuna, clams, mussels, oysters

Energy, protein and carbohydrate metabolism

Fish, whole grain, mushrooms, avocados, broccoli, peanuts, cashews, lentils, soybeans, eggs

Peanut butter, eggs, oatmeal, wheat germ, poultry, cauliflower, nuts, legumes

Milk, cottage cheese, avocados, tangerines, prunes, asparagus, broccoli, mushrooms, beef, salmon, turkey

Pork, sheat germ, pasta, peanuts, legumes, watermelon, oranges, brown rice, oatmeal, eggs

Citrus fruit, strawberries, tomatoes, bell peppers, spinach, cabbage, melons, broccoli, kiwi fruit, raspberries

Sunlight, eggs, milk, butter, tuna, salmon

Nut and vegetable oils, wheat germ, mangoes, blackberries, apples, broccoli, peanuts, spinach, whole wheat

Spinach, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, parsley, eggs, dairy products, carrots, avocados, tomatoes

Daily Mineral or Vitamin Requirement *

Bones, teeth, muscle and nerve function

Milk, cheese, yogurt, salmon, sardines with bones, broccoli, green beans, almonds, turnip greens, kale

Blood pressure, nerve and muscle function

Molasses, nuts, spinach, wheat germ, pumpkin seeds, seafood, dairy products, baked potatoes, broccoli, bananas

Meats, whole grain, dairy products, fish, shellfish, mushrooms, Brazil nuts

Fluid balance, nervous system function

Salt, processed food, soy sauce (most people will not need to supplement their sodium intake, given the prevalence of sodium in our diets)

Acid balance in body, fluid balance (works with sodium)

3,000 ? 6,000 mg (from food sources)

Potatoes, avocados, bananas, yogurt, cantaloupe, spinach, mushrooms, milk, tomatoes

Immune system, prostate, wound healing

Oysters, lean beef, wheat germ, seafood, lima beans, legumes, nuts, poultry, dairy products

Energy, bones (teams up with calcium)

Meats, fish, poultry, eggs, dairy products

Nuts, whole grains, legumes, fea, dried fruits, spinach, green leafy vegetables

Legumes, meats, whole grains, milk and dairy products

Aids digestion, fluid balance (works with sodium)

Foods with salt (note most people will not have to supplement their chloride intake due to their high salt intake)

Whole grains, broccoli, grapes, oranges, brown sugar, meats, black pepper, brewer?s yeast, cheese

Blood cells, connective tissue formation

Oysters, other shellfish, nuts, cherries, cocoa, mushrooms, gelatin, whole grains, eggs, fish, legumes

Flouridated water, fish, tea (most people do not have to supplement their fluoride intake due to fluoridation of the water supply)

Spinach, lobster, shrimp, oysters, milk, iodized salt

Carries oxygen in blood, energy metabolism

Clams, asparagus, meats, chicken, prunes, raisins, spinach, pumpkin seeds, soybeans, tofu

* Based on a diet consisting of 2,000 calories per day. Your daily mineral and vitamin requirement is proportional to your daily calorie intake. For example, if you consume 3,000 calories per day, your daily vitamin requirement is increased by 50%.

Fulfilling your daily mineral and vitamin requirement is
The Natural Path to good health.

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TNP - Parasite Cleanse

A parasite cleanse is required if your body is overburdened with other toxins. For the most part, if your body is healthy, then your immune system can deal with the parasites. If your circulation is poor, or your organs and tissues are oxygen deprived, or your pH is out of balance, tissues begin to deteriorate. This sets up an environment suitable for parasites to invade your body. They will naturally migrate to those areas of the body where your body is not functioning optimally. So they can be present in your blood, your joints, your organs, you name it! While parasites may not necessarily be the cause of a disease, they are extremely opportunistic and can make a disease worse.

There are many reasons to consider a parasite cleanse. It is estimated that parasites infect up to 80% of the world population, and that these infestations are not limited to developing nations with poor sanitation. Common lab tests screen for only forty of the hundreds of parasites that can live within the human body. In addition, most tests are performed on stool samples, but in reality only a few parasites inhabit the intestinal tract. Thus many people can test negative when in fact they do have parasites.

What is a parasite?
A parasite is an organism that derives its food, nutrition and shelter by living in or on another organism.

How would I possibly get bad parasites?
Malaria, giardia, and roundworm can be spread from country to country due to increased immigration and travel. Popularity of raw or undercooked foods, in particular meats and fish, can spread parasites. Until recently, the US government had banned the import of Italian prosciutto because the traditional method used to cure the pork did not involve heat of any kind.

You know how certain beaches are closed to swimmers after heavy rains? This is because the bacterial and parasite levels are extremely high and create the risk of infection. If you live in high smog areas, you will be more susceptible to parasite invasion.

Probably the most common method of transmission is through pets. Even if you wash your hands after petting your dog or cat or handling your scaly or feathered friends, you can still get parasites by picking up their bedding or their food dish or when they come over and lick you. This is the reason why women are advised to stop emptying the cat litter box while they are pregnant.

So what is a toxin-conscious person to do? A routine parasite cleanse!

Possible Signs of Parasitic Infestation
Since parasites will naturally inhabit the weaker areas of your body, symptoms can manifest in many different ways. Stomach pain, indigestion, ulcers, constipation or colitis may indicate parasites in the digestive tract Uncontrollable movements, such as Parkinson?s disease, may indicate parasites in the nervous system Joint or muscle pain, such as arthritis, can be a sign that the presence of a parasite is irritating the joint or tissue and thereby causing inflammation Increased susceptibility to infections in lungs, sinuses, vagina, bladder or any mucous membrane may indicate the presence of a parasite Food and environmental allergies are often linked to parasites because as digested food is released into the intestines, it can seep through perforations caused by the parasites into the lymphatic system Dermatitis, itching, psoriasis, eczema, hives, swelling and rashes can indicate parasites in the skin Anemia, fatigue or drowsiness after meals may indicate that parasites are competing with the body for nutrients
Cleansing Sequence
I have seen conflicting information on when to undertake this cleanse ? in conjunction with the colon cleanse or after the liver cleanse. However, the consensus is that if your body has a low level of toxicity (no chronic symptoms and regular bowel movements), then sequence is less important. If you are experiencing any chronic symptoms or have not been following a natural and organic food diet, then I would recommend that you do the colon cleanse and the parasite cleanse first, followed by the kidney cleanse and then the liver cleanse.

Parasite Cleanse Guide
You may have read about certain foods and herbs that kill certain parasites. Studies have shown that 4 glasses pomegranate juice daily will kill tapeworms. One-quarter cup of finely ground pumpkin seeds can eliminate many other varieties of worms. But, if you suspect that you have a parasite, but cannot rely on the common lab tests to tell you what you have, then what can you do?

As with other types of cleanses, there are two way to arrive at a solution. The do-it-yourself method requires that you find and purchase all of the ingredients and then administer them in the right dosages. This task can be time consuming and not necessarily inexpensive, despite the label "do-it-yourself".

Using the kit method, you can purchase a kit, consisting of a mixture of various anti-parasite supplements and herbal laxatives. While this may seem like it should cost more, take it from someone that has done a lot of cleanses, by the time you purchase all of the ingredients in their minimum quanities, you really do not save that much money using the do-it-yourself method. If you wish to, you can skip ahead to the kit method.

Do-It-Yourself Parasite Cleanse
All sources that I have read agree that the best parasite cleanse consists of a combination of herbs to eliminate adult parasites and their eggs. A common formula uses three particular herbs: black walnut hulls, wormwood and cloves. The walnut hulls and wormwood kill parasites in the adult and developmental stages, while the cloves kill the eggs. Thus by using the three herbs in combination, you kill the parasites at all stages of its life cycle.

PRECAUTIONS:
1. Be careful with your source of black walnut hulls. The hulls must be harvested green, before they decay and turn black, in order to retain their medicinal properties. Look for black walnut hulls in a tincture solution in most health food stores.

2. There are a lot of different plants that are commonly called wormwood. The one with the maximum parasite-fighting capability is the one with the scientific name ?Artemesia?. It is extremely bitter and best taken in capsule form.

3. There are no particular precautions with cloves. However, if you are putting them in capsules yourself, freshly grind whole cloves yourself. Ground cloves found in the spice aisle of most grocery stores are often stale, which means they have lost their medicinal value.

Typical Side Effects
There are no typical side effects from these herbs at recommended dosages, though you may experience a healing crisis as your body eliminates the parasites and begins to heal itself. Drink plenty of water while on any parasite cleanse. Nevertheless, do not exceed recommended dosages in an effort to speed up the parasite cleanse! Always remember that too much of a good thing isn?t necessarily better for you. Lastly, you do not need to stop other medications or herbal therapies.

Complete Parasite Cleanse
You will need: Organic apple juice Tincture of black walnut hull Bottle of Wormwood capsules (200-300mg each) Bottle of Clove capsules (500 mg each) Bottle of L-ornithine capsules (500 mg each)
Begin the parasite cleanse around the full moon, which is when parasites are most active. Take the herbal combination 30 minutes before meals or on an empty stomach. Plan on taking 1-4 L-ornithine capsules at night if you have trouble sleeping during the cleanse.

Week 1: Add 30 drops of the black walnut hull to one cup of organic apple juice. Drink with one capsule each wormwood and cloves. Take this dose of herbs 3 times per day.

Week 2: Stay at 30 drops of the black walnut hull to one cup of organic apple juice. Increase the wormwood and cloves to 2 capsules each. Take this dose of herbs 3 times per day.

Week 3: Stay at 30 drops of the black walnut hull to one cup of organic apple juice. Increase the wormwood and cloves to 3 capsules each. Take this dose of herbs 3 times per day.

Most parasites will die within a week, but continue for at least three weeks and for up to three months. If you continue longer than three weeks, simply maintain the Week 3 dosage for the remainder of the cleanse.

Concerns About Do-It-Yourself Cleanses
While I wholeheartedly believe in the parasite cleanse described on this page, and I have used it and recommended it with great success, I have growing concerns about the efficacy and variability of do-it-yourself cleanses based on individual ingredients. The efficacy can vary greatly depending on the manufacturers' quality standards, and the age / shelf life of the supplement.

Kit Method of Parasite Cleanse
Instead of assembling all of the ingredients yourself, you may choose from one of numerous supplement-based parasite cleansing kits available at your health food store or online. A complete supplement-based parasite cleansing kit should have some form of herbal laxative and herbs to expel adult parasites and kill the eggs. You should also make sure that the whatever supplement based product you purchase is fresh (not past its shelf life) and comes from a reputable supplier. There are a large number of suppliers of herbal supplements that produce their supplements without the sufficient quality controls and standards to guarantee purity, quality and efficacy.

The easiest kits to use are ones that come with all of the ingredients pre-mixed, to save you the time and hassle of looking up dosages. I have found that while the kit method may appear to be more expensive initially, after using the do-it-yourself method on numerous occassions, it is actually not more expensive to use the kit method.

After having investigated a number of kits available on the market in terms of ingredients, ease of use and supplier credibility and quality, here is my recommendation for a parasite cleanse kit.

Drink Plenty of Water
Remember to drink plenty of water each day to flush the excreted toxins out of your system! Information on the benefit of drinking water will provide you with guidelines on the minimum amount of water you should be drinking. The more water you drink, the more toxins your body will be able to expel as part of this cleanse, and the better you will feel through the cleansing process.

Re-infestation will occur so consider doing the parasite cleanse once or twice a year. Children are especially susceptible to parasites since they are always sticking things in their mouths. While teenagers can take adult dosages, please consult a natural doctor for the proper doses for children.

Cleansing your body of parasites is a fundamental step on
The Natural Path to good health.

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TNP - Organic Meats and Organic Dairy Products

TNP - Healing Crisis

A healing crisis is when you experience symptoms from diseases and toxins that are released during your detoxification process. Perhaps a simple example may help.

What if every year, you painted your walls a different color? As time went on, you layered color upon color. Finally after 30 years in the house, you found that the newest paint was not sticking properly because layers of paint underneath were cracking and coming off. So you decided to strip all of the paint off the walls and give it a fresh coat of paint. Well, as you started stripping off paint, you saw earlier layers. There was the year when you decided that a lot of color would go well with your white furniture. Then there was the year that neutral off-white colors were the right answer. Finally, you reach the part of the wall that had the ugly wallpaper that the previous owners had put up before you moved in. Once you get that wallpaper off and a few more layers of paint, you have finally cleaned the wall sufficiently to give the new paint a solid surface on the wall to stick to. In the process of stripping all the paint and wallpaper, you get glimpses of what your walls were like and what they went through.

Well, believe it or not, your body works in a similar way. As our bodies store fat, the chemistry of the fat reflects the internal body conditions at the time the fat was stored. Each year, the illnesses that you caught left a small residue of the virus or bacteria in your fatty deposits. The toxins you ingested left their mark as well. Maybe it was that year in college when you drank too heavily because you were inexperienced ? or trace amounts of antibiotics and growth hormones that were embedded in the abundance of meat you ate during your high-protein diet phase. Deposits throughout your body have kept a sampling record of what you have been through.

Well, now picture that any cleansing you undergo is like stripping paint and wallpaper from the analogy above. As you cleanse and detoxify your body, you will be releasing the toxins, bacteria, and viruses that were built up in your fatty deposits. As they are released, you may experience symptoms that you experienced when you initially dealt with that particular malady or event ? albeit in a milder form. You may get a runny nose, you may feel tired, you may develop body aches or you may even develop a fever, as your body works its way through years of toxins and disease. In fact, as with the paint and wallpaper analogy, the symptoms you experience will likely be in the reverse order of when you first experienced them. Toxins that your body was exposed to in recent years will show their effect first, then will be followed by things that occurred earlier in your life.

This is called a healing crisis. During the healing process, you may experience some discomfort and you may feel like you are catching something. In extreme cases of toxicity, you may actually feel quite ill. However, rest assured that it is your body?s way of cleansing ? getting rid of these toxins once and for all. During your cleansing, if you feel sick, chances are it is from toxins, bacteria and viruses that are being released into your body from your fatty deposits.

You may experience a healing crisis when you are detoxifying your elimination organs, such as your liver. During a liver cleanse , your liver releases a large amount of toxins into your blood. Although your kidneys try and filter these toxins out and expel them through your urinary system, you may feel sick during the process. Generally, the symptoms surrounding this resemble a hangover ? headache, upset stomach, and listlessness. Additionally, your liver and gall bladder will release fatty deposits that will make their way into your colon. Some of these deposits may get reabsorbed during their journey through your colon, thus introducing toxins back into your body that may have been suspended for years by your liver. This may cause allergy or flu like symptoms, or cause acne, or even aches and pains as your body tries to eliminate these toxins. Drinking plenty of water helps your body flush out these toxins through your colon and kidneys.

You may also experience a healing crisis when you are undergoing a whole body detoxification, such as through fasting . Since fasting is one of the most effective forms of whole body detoxification, it is also the most likely to cause a healing crisis. Fasting can release toxins or diseased cells that were stored in your fat deposits from quite some time ago.

One of the biggest misconceptions people face with the healing crisis is the belief that they have caught some hideous infection or that a condition like acne that they thought they were long rid of has once again returned. However, with a healing crisis, these symptoms are a sign that your body is finally purging itself of the last remnants of the toxins or substances that created the disease or ailment in the first place.

The best way to get rid of these symptoms is to drink plenty of water and continue with the detoxification process. Avoid overeating during a healing crisis, eating only light meals that are easy to digest. Obviously if you were fasting, then you would just continue to fast.

Healing Crisis Article provides additional information on possible symptoms of a healing crisis and other ways to alleviate symptoms.

A healing crisis is a natural process in your journey ?
The Natural Path to good health.

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