Besides protecting from cancer, obesity, autoimmune diseases and cardiovascular problems, vitamin D helps build strong bones. And scientists have found this health building vitamin has a remarkable impact on the immune system, too. Vitamin D, it turns out, is necessary for the production of anti-microbial peptides, substances that fight off infection-causing bacteria, fungi, and viruses when these pathogens try to move into organs and through mucous membranes.

Understanding is a wellspring of life unto him that hath it.” Proverbs 16:22

In fact, previous research has shown adequate vitamin D can help prevent colds and flu as well as serious lung infections, including tuberculosis. Now Swedish researchers from the Karolinska Institute and Karolinska University Hospital in Stockholm have evidence that higher vitamin D levels offer especially strong protection against another common health problem — urinary tract infections (UTIs).

In their new study, just published in the journal PLoS One, the scientists wrote: “In the light of the rapidly growing problem of resistance to common urinary tract antibiotics, we suggest that vitamin D may be a potential complement in the prevention of UTI. Determining the vitamin D status of individuals with a history of UTI may be of importance to evaluate their ability to fend off intruding bacteria.”

The research team pointed out that the urinary tract is frequently exposed to infection-causing agents and has a built-in, rapid defense system. When pathogens threaten, an antimicrobial peptide known as cathelicidin is expressed if a person has a healthy immune system. The peptide is secreted by bladder epithelial cells and protects the urinary tract from an infection.

The Role Of Vitamin D In Helping Against  Urinary Tract Infections

So what role does vitamin D play? The Swedish study found that vitamin D actually induces cathelicidin in the urinary bladder — but only when a boost in the antimcrobial peptide is needed in the face of a threatening infection. The researchers found this out when they analyzed bladder tissue biopsied from postmenopausal women to check for expression of cathelicidin before and after the research volunteers took supplements of vitamin D (in the form of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3) for three months. When the bladder cells were infected with the UTI-causing germ E. coli, the scientists observed a significant increase in cathelicidin expression after vitamin D supplementation.

The Advantage Of Vitamin D Over Drug Medications

This means vitamin D has a huge advantage over mainstream medicine’s widely prescribed antibiotics for urinary tract infections. That’s because when UTIs are treated with antibiotics, the drugs can harm beneficial bacteria in the gut and wreak havoc in the body. But vitamin D only produces germ-killing peptides at the site of an infection when needed, leaving “friendly bacteria” totally unharmed.

“By inducing and activating cathelicidin with vitamin D, a local rather than a systemic effect can be achieved. This could offer selective and site-specific treatment of pathogens without perturbing commensal [friendly] microbes elsewhere in the body,” the scientists stated in their paper.

Once again we see the power of a natural substance, in this case vitamin D, to heal.

Source: Natural News.Com

See natural news.com for other articles on vitamin d.

Keith Henry, N.D.

Below I have reprinted the contents of a newsletter that I receive from health educator Danny Vierra. The principles that he has outlined below are excellent and  if followed you will certainly benefit health wise in the upcoming  year.

Here are some wonderful health guidelines for you to practice in 2011. We are closer to Christ’s coming then ever before, and we need to get in the best shape as possible so we can share the health message with the world and the church. There is no better way of convincing people of God’s health program then by living out the principles in your own life. As people notice your health and energy and see the glow of health on your face, they will want to know what you are doing. Here are the guidelines for 2011 that you can share with them.

1. Eat a whole plant food diet with lots of organic fruits and vegetables from the garden. I always say, “Eat rainbows.” Remember that even the color of the plants have healing power. Such as the red pigment in tomatoes known as lycopene can help preventing prostate cancer. My advice for men is to eat many red fruits and vegetables to avoid prostate problems and cancer. Also a plant-based diet is highly alkaline. Acid foods like meat, dairy, and sugar will make you more vulnerable to disease and cancer.

2. Get 60 to 80 percent of your diet from living or live food such as fresh organic fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds. There are many great raw cookbooks available with delicious recipes. Another easy way to get plenty of healthy raw food is to start the day with the following Super Energy Breakfast Drink: Start with a good blender or Vita-Mix. Add 1 apple, 1 banana, a handful of grapes, 1 kiwi, or whatever fruit you like, 3 tablespoons of Organic Flaxseed Oil, 2 Scoops of SuperManna, add a few ice cubes or use frozen fruit to give it a little chill but not too cold. I also may add a tablespoon of pumpkin, flax, and sunflower seeds  and perhaps 10 almonds. Add all of the above to 24 ounces of organic apple juice and blend for 30 seconds to one minute. This will make four or five servings. You will get amazing amounts of energy from the 14 Super Foods and the four or five servings of fresh live fruits seeds and nuts first thing in the morning, right when you need it. The Super Energy Breakfast Drink contains all the protein, essential fatty acids, and healthy carbohydrates you need for the a great start for the day. In addition to the breakfast drink, have a big green salad for lunch or dinner with all your favorite vegetables containing even more fiber and protein, vitamins, and minerals. If you will eat 8 servings of fresh organic produce every day you will protect yourself against cancer, heart disease and other major diseases. Eat a high alkaline diet of fresh fruits and vegetables.

3. Try growing some of your own food and plant some fruit trees. Citrus trees are beautiful in landscaping the yard and they are evergreen. Teach your children how to plant seeds and make a garden together. Make it fun. I just started a new garden method called the Square Foot Garden. You use less water, spend less time weeding, and get more produce with less time and energy. I bought 15 raised garden beds and am so excited on teaching this method at BellaVita and our coming Medical Missionary School — R I S E N!

4. Avoid eating animal foods. Animal food is high in protein and fat that increases one’s chance of getting cancer and other chronic diseases like heart disease and diabetes. Animal food is void of all fiber making it a major cause of colorectal cancer. It is also high in cholesterol and therefore a contributor of heart disease. Cultures that eat the highest amounts of animal foods have the highest amounts of cancer, heart disease, diabetes, stroke and other diseases. Eating the flesh of animals is not necessary, and in fact contributes to an early grave. Global obesity is plaguing the world and animal foods are a major cause of the increase in overweight people. Obesity is a major cause of disease and diabetes.

5. Avoid all dairy products. Dairy is liquid meat, and any disease in the animal is most likely also in its secretions. Milk is the number-one cause of childhood anemia and allergy. I remember the late Dr. Vigil Hulse once told me that as a Milk and Dairy inspector for 13 years in California, he found 80% of the herds had cows with leukemia and 50% of the herds had cows with Bovine AIDS. This was in the county in which I live. Milk Does A Body Good? Instead, drink water or fresh juices when thirsty. The FDA allows 750 million pus cells per liter of milk.

6. Avoid refined white sugar, white flour, and ordinary salt or sea salt. Use Sugar is acid forming and weakens the immune system. It contributes to diabetes and obesity. When using salt, use Celtic Salt or Real Salt instead for they contain all the minerals from the ocean instead of just sodium and chloride.  Regular table salt is a poison to your cells. Learn to eat foods as close to God’s original design as possible.

7. Avoid artificial sweeteners like Nutrasweet that causes lesions in the brain, MS symptoms, diabetes, and painful joints to name a few. Learn to eat food as God gave it in the garden like fresh fruit which I call “God’s candies.” Artificial sweeteners are associated with increase disease and cancers.

8. Exercise at least four or five days a week.  We need all the oxygen we can get. My favorite exercises are racquetball and weightlifting. This gives me the combination of aerobic exercise like racquetball for my heart and circulation and anaerobic exercise like weightlifting for building bone density, strength, and toning the muscles. Both forms of exercise are good and necessary for eliminating toxins through the lymph system. Exercise is wondeful for fighting depression and increasing longevity.  Perfect health comes with perfect circulation.

9. Increase your consumption of pure water and drink 6 to 8 glasses a day or more depending on your size and weight. One rule is a half-ounce for every pound of body weight. Avoid chlorine and fluoride. They can cause cancer, hypothyroidism, and other complications. Use a water filter if necessary.

10. Start drinking fresh organic juices everyday if possible. A combination of carrot, apple, celery, chard and parsley is a great immune-building formula that is high in potassium and phytochemicals. I make a green smoothie in the morning by adding green leafy vegetables like kale to my fruit smoothie. The leafy vegetables with the fruits do not cause indigestion.

11. Cleanse your elimination organs on a seasonal basis. Cleanse the colon, liver, kidney, lung, blood, lymph and skin using organic herbal formulas, saunas, skin brushing, etc. And do not be afraid of cleansing. Remember the old saying: “Death begins in the colon.” I recommend doing a 10-day cleanse like Modern Manna’s Super Cleanse. Many people come to BellaVita for a fabulous cleansing and detoxifying experience like no others. We constantly witness healing miracles at our programs.

12. Have a positive attitude and get moving if you feel depressed. Doing something for someone else that has a need will help heal your own discouragement. My #1 recommendation for depression is exercise! Memorize Scripture promises and claim them when you are assailed with negative thoughts. I recite Isaiah 26:3, 4: “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength:

13. Breathe deeply several times a day of fresh air. Take a walk in the open air. Walking outside or through a forest is always nice and refreshing. Exercise in the open air is a blessing.

14. Get 30 minutes of sunshine every day on your front and back if possible, but do not burn. The best times are before 11 AM or after 4 PM.

15: Exercise self control and practice temperance. Temperance is a Bible doctrine. It means to abstain entirely from things that are harmful and use judiciously the things that are good. In other words do not overeat or be a glutton. Some Bible verses to review on temperance are: Acts 24:24-26; 1 Cor. 9: 24-27; Galatians 5:22-25; Titus 2:1, 2; 2 Peter 1:6. Try to avoid eating between meals or before bed. Eat at regular intervals so digestion will be thorough and complete.

16. Trust in God, spend time in prayer, and study your Bible every day. Prayer is the key in the hand of faith that unlocks Heaven’s storehouse. Ask for fresh supplies of grace everyday. Make time for morning prayer, devotion and have family worship everyday. I have made family worship a priority and have seen the difference in my children.

17. Love your enemies and forgive those that have wronged you. Remember, Forgiveness is the key to freedom. Don’t delay since Christ is coming soon!

Please forward  email to your friends and family or anyone else who may benefit from it. May God richly bless you as you begin a new year!

Victoria Franklin, of Paulding County, Georgia, noticed lumps on her breast after being bitten Easter Sunday morning but didn’t think a great deal of it until the next Friday, when the wound worsened and she could no longer stand the horrible pain.

Spider Bite Leads To Breast  Lost

The 51-year-old Franklin at first didn’t know she had been bitten on her left breast. Sadly as time went by, she began having difficulties from severe nausea and vomiting.
Consequently her breast was infected so terribly that it started to turn black and swell.

Franklin, described that her breast grew to become so huge in size that she could not even manage to fit it in a bra. She also noted the bite injury smelled very bad. “It was like a stench, like I say, like rotten eggs or something like that, but it was stronger and I couldn’t take it anymore,” FOX News quoted Franklin as saying. “Her breast was three times the size, black as tar and had a horrible smell,” Dapaa,noted of her sister’s infected breast which had blown up to the size of a loaf of bread, reports ABC News.

“They call it the smell of death,” noted Dapaa. “The physicians revealed they didn’t know if they could possibly save her. She was diabetic and her sugar was as much as 700.”

ABC News reported that Franklin called her twin sister to take her to the hospital in Atlanta on April 9. Her sister Valerie Dapaa, also 51, took almost unconscious Franklin to the hospital, where they removed her breast after finding it ravaged by gangrene.

The main surgery sent Franklin right into a diabetic coma on a respirator for 11 days. Once she woke up, the hospital staff shared with her they had to surgically remove the muscle along with breast tissue from her left side

Franklin was absolutely shocked that a brown recluse spider could deliver so much damage. I would have never known in a million years that a spider could ever do this much destruction, said Franklin, as reported by WSBTV.com. “I didn’t flip out more than that. I was glad be alive,” she mentioned of her emergency surgery.

She was much more shocked that a spider bite could do so much harm than worried about losing her breast.

Franklin urged others to understand from her experience and issued a plea to individuals to not to wait to seek treatment for spider bites.

“If they’ve spiders, and they know they’ve spiders like I knew I did, I want them to become really aware and get their houses exterminated,” FOX News quoted her as saying.

Want to know a powerful natural remedy which render the venom of the brown recluse spider virtually harmless when used correctly. Download my free report below…HURRY.

Keith M Henry, N.D. is the Director of phase 3ministries, based in Orlando FL. He is medical missionary herbalist, and Naturopath . Download your free copy of his report, Emergency Herbal Medicine, HERE. It may very well save your life.