Health Enhancement Products - Smart drugs, Life enhancement & anti-aging medications by mail

Welcome to the Health Enhancement Newsletter. Here we will share news and views about smart drugs, alternative health aids, and other health news. We will also provide information on what's happening on the political front as regards the smart drug industry. Often, we will offer news and views on what's happening around the world; This will not always be exclusively health oriented.

Please be sure to fill out our HEP Questionnaire and let us know if you have any particular area of interest that you would like for us to pursue in this Newsletter.

HEP FOCUS

About Smart Drugs and Vitamins

What is DHEA?

DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone) is a steroid hormone, produced primarily in the adrenal glands. Its daily production drops from 30 mg at age 20 to less than 6 mg at age 80. In just the past year it has become a popular topic in the news, the subject of several best selling books, and a multimillion-dollar item in the supplement industry.

Why has it caught on so big?

Probably because the body of scientific research is so overwhelming. Then there is the fact that people almost always get a strong positive response when they try it. According to the studies, DHEA supplements may be able to increase your energy level, enhance your sex drive, improve your immunity to diseases (including cancer), reduce the ill effects of stress, enhance your memory and cognitive functions, decrease your body fat, and perhaps even extend your life.
What can I expect to feel?

Most people feel a substantial increase in energy level and well being after a week or two. However, some people don't feel anything at all. If you don't have a noticeable subjective response, don't assume the DHEA isn't working. You are still likely to be getting benefits such as immune-system enhancement and long term preventive effects.
What is the right dose?

According to leading researchers on DHEA, most people over 25 years old can take 25 to 50 mg of DHEA per day. That is the amount - when taken orally - that is apt to bring your DHEA back up to the level found in a healthy 25-year-old. Some women may need only 10 to 25 mg/day.
Summary of some of the most notable studies of DHEA

In a key double-blind placebo-controlled study by Dr. Samuel S. C. Yen of th University of San diego, DHEA resulted in a "remarkable increase in perceived physical and psychological wellbeing for both men and women.

When DHEA was given to middle-aged and older people with major depression and associated memory problems, the depression was relieved, and memeory improved.

In several animal models, DHEA provided 100% protection against the potentially lethal effects of stress on the immune system. In humans, a recent study has shown that DHEA can significantly activate immune function, and that it has powerful immuno-enhancing properties

Other studies suggest that DHEA can block cancer during its early stages in animals. it has also been called the "ultimate antioxidant," because it disarms NADPH, the enzyme that activates carcinogens and generates oxygen free radicals. (Life Enhancement, 1997)

MELATONIN: THE AGE- REVERSING HORMONE

Melatonin is a naturally-occuring hormone produced in the body primarily by the pineal gland, which is located at the base of the brain, not far from such vital regions as the pituitary gland, the hypothalamus, and the amygdala. A significant amount of melaatonin is also produced in the gastrointestinal tract under certain conditions.
Melatonin Makes a Difference

In 1996, melatonin broke out of its sleepy niche as an obscure hormone, known primarily to scientists as a regulator of circadian body rhythms, to become a supplement that promised everyone a better night's rest and - just possibly - protection against cancer, heart disease and aging. Melatonin's staus as one of the body's most potent natural antioxidants, say proponents like Russel Reiter, Ph.D., a professor of neuroendocrinology at the University of Texas at San Antonio, also makes it a good candidate for staving off age- related dementias like Alzheimer's, which some evidence suggests is caused or at least exacerbated by a lifetime of free-radical bombardment in ever- active brain cells. Moreover, melatonin enters the brain from the bloodstream with ease, and has already been shown to help protect stroke victims against injury when blocked blood vessels are opened. (As blockages are removed, a flood of oxygen - and a blast of free radicals - accompanies the established blood flow.

In Ancient India, the pineal gland, the maker of melatonin, was known as the "gateway to perfect rest and harmony." Taking a clue from that reputation, some researchers have speculated that melatonin may have the potential to treat a variety of psychological conditions, from seasonal affective disorder (SAD) to depression and schizophrenia. Their reasoning: Abnormally low levels of melatonin have been detected in some kinds of depressives (by Swedish scientists at the Karolinska Institute), in schizophrenics (by a team including Reiter) and in suicides (by Michael Stanley of Columbia University).
HEP TALK ABOUT VITAMINS

Vitamin C

Vitamin C, a premier antioxidant, is considered by many researchers to be the number one vitamin. This essential nutrient has the widest range of therapeutic applications in both the prevention and treatment of disease. By preventing much of the damaging effects of free radicals, vitamin C plays a star role in virtually all degenerative diseases. Studies show that people who supplement their diet with this powerful antioxidant may lower their risk of heart disease and live longer.

We lose vitamin C on a daily basis. It is destroyed by the effects of toxins in foods, pollution, stress, oral contraceptives, alcohol and cigarettes. With the other all-star antioxidants, Beta Carotene and vitamin E, vitamin C is considered one of the three essential vitamins everyone should take on a daily basis. Vitamin C is a water soluble vitamin. The body does not manufacture it and will only absorb what it needs and excrete the rest. Because it is not stored in the body, it must be taken everyday.
Vitamins A & D

These two vitamins do a lot to ensure proper health and functioning. Vitamin A, which has come to be known as the "eye" vitamin because it is thought to prevent night blindness and other eye problems, also improves resistance to infection and promotes proper bone and tooth formation. Protein cannot be properly utilized by the body without adequate amounts of vitamin A. Vitamin D is required by the body for calcium and phosphorus absorption and utilization. D is especially important for normal growth and development of bones and teeth in children, plus its crucial for maintaining strong bones and teeth as we age. Deficiencies in vitamin D lead to reduced rigidity in bones and will ultimately cause bones to become soft, pliable, break easily.
Vitamin B

Everyday Stress Can rob You of Necessary B Vitamins The B vitamins are a family of nutrients that are especially valuable for the "nervous 90's." For most of us, daily stress and tension is almost a normal occurance. Common sense dictates that we take necessary precautions to protect our health. the B vitamins are especially vulnerable to stress in our body and lose their effectiveness quite rapidly. For this reason - and because the B vitamins are water soluable, they are not stored by the body. Therefore, they require daily replenishment.

The B vitamins play an integral role in the functioning of the nervous system and help the brain synthesize chemicals that effect moods. A balanced complex of the B vitamins is also essential for energy, balancing hormone levels, and keeping the skin clear. In short, B vitamins are vital to maintaining almost every aspect of health - from your mental and emotional health - to your beauty needs.
Vitamin E

A Powerful Antioxidant Essential in Cellular Formation Vitamin E might be called the "Everything" vitamin. It has been hailed as a powerful antidote to cellular aging and air pollution, a promoter of athletic endurance, a preserver of eye health, a healer and beautifier of skin; and as a natural female health aide for premenstrual syndrome, menopause and breast cysts.

Vitamin E has been noted as one of the most important vitamins needed by the body. It has been recognized as essential to human nutrition. Vitamin E is an oxygenator of the heart and all other muscles. It helps to stabilize and protect cell membranes, especially red blood cells and tissue sensitive to oxidation like lungs, eyes and arteries.
Antioxidants

Researchers have begun to identify a family of nutrients known as antioxidants which are able to neutralize free radical damage. Free radicals are atoms or groups of atoms that can cause damage to our cells, impairing the immune system and leading to infections and various degenerative diseases. Free radicals are present in tobacco smoke, air polution, radiation, herbicides and other environmental toxins, excess sun exposure, dietary imbalances, processed food and stress. Although we cannot escape their presence, steps can be taken to neutralize them.
Essential Minerals

Minerals are inorganic elements found in the earth. They are classified as either major or trace minerals depending on the amount of them the body needs to function properly. Major minerals such as calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium and phosphorus are utilized by the body in much larger amounts than the trace minerals like zinc, copper, magnesium, chromium, selenium and iodine. Even a small deficiency in either category can have devastating effects on the body. Researchers say Humans can tolerate a deficiency of vitamins longer than a deficiency of minerals. A slight change in the blood's level of important minerals may rapidly danger health and survival.

Minerals, the spark plugs of life are essential for optimum health. They play an important role as co-factors for enzymes, hormones, and energy production in everyday bodily functions.

Minerals are inorganic, therefore, living organisms cannot create them nor do they come from plant or animal material. Plants absorb minerals from the soil in which they grow and we absorb them from the plants we eat as food. Unfortunately, modern agricultural methods, pollution, dietary and lifestyle habits leave many people either with mineral deficiencies or excesses. Heavy use of chemical fertilizers have depleted much of the soil of minerals.

PLEASE NOTE

Dr. Linus Pauling wrote, "You can trace every sickness, every disease, and every ailment to a mineral deficiency." Joel Wallach, M.D., D.V.M., N.D. confirmed this by doing over 17,000 autopsies on animals and people. Dr. William R. Kellas says, "minerals are imperative to sustain life...vitamins are important...but without minerals, vitamins are useless to the body!"
In 1936 the USDA declared that most topsoil is devoid of essential minerals. Do you think the soil has improved since then? NO! Plants cannot provide what the soil doesn't contain. You must supplement your diet!

OTHER HEP HEALTH NEWS AND INFO

Life Depends On enzymes - They are essential For Maintaining Proper Function Of The Body

No life could be sustained without these essential proteins. Found in all living matter, enzymes serve to assist in practically all body functions, yet they cannot be manufactured synthetically. the key functions include:

Breaking down food particles for storage in the liver and muscle tissue

Converting stored food into energy

Utilizing food to construct new muscle tissue, nerve cells bones and skin

Aiding in elimination of toxins by the colon, kidneys, lungs and skin

Enzymes are extremely sensitive to heat and most are destroyed in food through the cooking process or improper storage. Many people also come in contact with the enzyme inhibitors fluoride, chlorine, and copper through drinking water.

An enzyme deficient body can be sabotaging your ability to break down all the nutrients you should be getting from your diet or supplements. Supplemental enzymes assist in the digestion of proteins, fats and carbohydrates. They are responsible for the digestion and transformation of nutrients into energy.
TWELVE POINTS ON ENZYMES

1. Enzymes rule over all other nutrients. Enzymes are responsible for nearly every facet of life and health and far outweigh the importance of every other nutrient.

2. Enzymes are needed to help control all mental and physical functions. Each body cell has in excess of 100,000 enzyme particles necessary for metabolic processes.

3. Enzymes cannot function properly without the presence of other substances which are known as coenzymes. Coenzymes are minerals, vitamins and proteins.

4. Once enzymes have completed their appointed task they are destroyed. For life to continue you must have a constant enzyme supply which requires continual replacement of enzymes.

5. Enzymes are found in all living cells including raw foods or those that are cooked at a temperature lower than 118 degrees. The degree of enzyme destruction is a function of time and temperature.

6. Enzymes are primarily proteins. Yet, enzymes need amino acids for normal function. Hormones are primarily proteins which require interaction with enzymes to regulate body processes.

7. Enzymes aid in transforming proteins into amino acids. Protein does not perform its fuinction unless broken down into amino acids. Amino acids can be considered as an enzyme carrier whose function is to transport enzymes to various functions in the body.

8. Enzymes help extract chelated minerals from food. Enzymes transform chelated minerals into an alkaline detoxifying agent which combines with acid cellular wastes and toxic settlements within the body thus neutralizing them and preparing them for elimination.

9. Enzymes use minerals to create an even balance of dissolved solids both inside and outside the cells, thus equalizing both internal and external pressures which we call osmotic equilibrium.

10. Vitamins are required as coenzymes to work with enzymes in every chemical reaction in every cell of the body. Without minerals extracted from food by enzymes, vitamins would be unable to perform their function.

11. An enzyme deficiency must be carefully considered as a possible precursor of bodily imbalance and consequent disease symptoms.

12. Enzymes are, therefore, justified as a supplemental dietary substance which need is parallel with mineral, vitamin and all other supportive therapies.