A new human study should erase any lingering doubt as to whether or not nattokinase enzyme can really make a difference in terms of heart health. Find out what nattokinase is and how it helps heart health in today’s AllStarHealth blog.

The FDA is going after General Mills for the health claims they made for Cheerios cereal (read the warning letter here).

Are you familiar with nitric oxide? You see a great many supplement products now with names coined around the terms “nitric oxide” and its common abbreviation; “NO”. Nitric oxide is a highly desirable natural compound that promotes better circulation by inducing a natural process known as vasodilation. There are many reasons people may want to increase nitric oxide production and vasodilation; better blood pressure, improved erectile function and muscle fullness are the most common. In response, the supplement industry has created a whole category of supplements to promote vasodilation (” nitric oxide boosters”) most of which rely on, essentially, a single amino acid to get job done. A new study suggests that soy isoflavones are effective NO boosters, too, which could pave the way towards much more effective NO products.

Men taking a logical approach to natural testosterone management know that there’s no magic-bullet pill that magically raises and improves testosterone status just by taking it. And there never will be. Testosterone support products can work well, but if all you’re willing to do is buy and take a pill, don’t expect to be bowled over by your results. Instead, getting good results with natural approaches depends doing everything you can – great or small – that favors testosterone production. At the same time, you’d want to avoid all the things that undermine testosterone production. So at a bare minimum, a man would want to be in a program of regular strenuous exercise like weight training, eating a healthy diet, taking supplements (especially zinc) , and working with a doctor to determine what his hormone levels actually are. By the same token, he’d want to avoid alcohol (and other drugs), overeating, gaining weight and failing to get enough sleep. Should we add also green tea extract to this list of things to avoid? Find out in today’s AllStarHealth blog.

A frequently-asked question pertaining to omega 3 fatty acids is whether fish oil or flax oil is better, or whether there’s any difference or benefit to taking one or the other.   Vegetarian considerations aside,  we do recommend fish oil (here’s our favorite fish oil)  and there are in fact significant differences that shed light on […]

Some supplements seem to be a victim of their own success; they become so well-known for one thing, that any other good things about them are overlooked. We’ve recently been talking about some of these multi-purpose supplements like glutamine, alpha lipoic acid and coconut oil. Another supplement we could add to this group is SAMe. Most people think “depression” when they hear the word SAMe (which is pronounced “sammy”), and that makes sense since it’s one the very best and fastest-acting mood boosters. But there’s a few other really great benefits to taking SAMe that make it something almost anyone can benefit from. By adding SAMe to your regimen, you’ll be enhancing and protecting your health in ways that basic supplements like multis and fish oil cannot. You’ll feel SAMe working within the first few doses, especially where mood and joint comfort are concerned. But you certainly don’t have to be depressed to use SAMe. It’s gone way down in price and way up in popularity since it was introduced in the 90’s, so let’s take another look at SAMe and see if it’s something you might want to use, too.

As most readers as probably aware, Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is an increasingly-common degenerative disease of the nervous system. Still lacking a cure or a even clear etiology, Alzheimer’ s involves a gradual loss of nervous system function, ultimately erasing a the victims memory, personality and ability to function and care for themselves, let alone others. Most readers are also probably aware that AD is devastating to both victims and caregivers. A considerable amount of research resources are now devoted to finding out more about Alzheimer’s and discovering drugs and natural substances which may be protect against Alzheimer’s. A new study suggests that grape seed extract may protect against the very process responsible for the progressive loss of mental functions that characterizes Alzheimer’s.

A frequent reason people cite for not using nutritional supplements is that they’re too expensive. We think nutritional supplements are a good investment no matter what your budget. You can’t put a price on health, but you can bet insurance companies, hospitals, labs, pharmacies and doctors can put a price on your health problems. If you value your financial security, then you’re crazy to take your health for granted. And even if you’re on a shoestring budget, there are some very affordable supplements that can make a huge contribution to protecting your health. How affordable? These five supplements – as of this date – cost less than five dollars for a one month supply. And reading today’s blog, of course, costs you nothing.

Some supplements really do a lot for the time, money and trouble you go to take them. We’ve recently been discussing a few of them here such as alpha lipoic acid and coconut oil. Another good one is the amino acid L-glutamine. Strictly speaking, glutamine supplements are not usually clinically or nutritionally essential, but there are limits to how much the body can produce and how much can be obtained from food. So since glutamine supports so many critical functions and structures in the body – muscle mass, immune function, pH balance and many others – millions of people use daily glutamine supplements to support overall health by ensuring that there’s there’s plenty of glutamine to go around at all times.

In a study reminiscent of the back-and-forth over whether beta carotene increases lung cancer risk in smokers or not, a study now suggests that curcumin too can increase the risk of lung cancer development when cancer-promoting factors like smoking, or a history of smoking, are present. As a possible mechanism for this effect, the researchers suggested that curcumin may promote cancer in smokers by accelerating the formation of free radicals in damaged lung tissue.