I remember when I told my grandfather I was going to medical school…
He replied: “There are more old wine drinkers than there are old doctors.”
My grandfather liked to quote provocative sayings. But it turns out that in this case, and a lot of times, Grandpa was right. The resveratrol in red wine provides powerful anti-aging qualities.
Today’s modern wine production is much different from your ancestor’s traditional brew.
It helps prevent heart disease by increasing levels of HDL cholesterol, and protect against artery damage and high blood pressure. It even stimulates the production of adult stem cells, which boosts your immune system.
But there’s a problem with most of the wines we drink here in America.
They’re full of toxic chemicals.
Winemaking was once a very simple process. You would gather wild grapes, crush them up and leave them to ferment for a while. That was it. The result was
a low-alcohol beverage rich in antioxidants.But today, winemakers add up to 80 chemical additives to their wines.
And now the problem is even worse than it ever was.
According to a new study by a group of French nuclear physicists, some of California’s red and rosé wines contain toxic radioactive materials.1
It’s fallout from the deadly and devastating tsunami that struck Japan in 2011 that caused the meltdown of a nuclear power plant.
Radiation spread from Japan all the way to the California coastline — contaminating everything in its path. Including the soil where the grapes are grown.
I can get around this problem when I visit Africa in the next few months. When I’m there I get to drink one of the healthiest wines in the world. It’s a completely organic wine, without any toxins.
It’s infused with a local herb called rooibos, also known as “red bush.” You may have seen rooibos tea on supermarket shelves.
But until this organic wine makes its way to our shelves, I have a simple solution I share with my patients. A way to enjoy your wine and clear your body of all the toxins that inevitably build up in us all.
Clean Out Hidden Toxins and Enjoy Your Glass of Wine, Too
Here are three of the best ways to cleanse and detox naturally from environmental toxins that are hiding in your wine, your grapes and more…
- First, supplement with the most nutrient-dense food known to man. Spirulina (Arthrospira platensis) is a blue-green algae cultivated in clean fresh water and natural sunlight.
It’s packed with protein, essential amino acids, vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids (including γ-Linolenic acid, or GLA).2 And it’s just another tool nature provides us to take on the devastating effects of industrialization and pollution.
Spirulina contains the powerful antioxidant, phycocyanin, which gives it its bluish tint. Scientists in Spain showed that phycocyanin is a potent free-radical scavenger and prevents cell destruction.3 In fact, when spirulina was combined with zinc in a study involving people who tested high for arsenic, the concoction significantly reduced the arsenic poison.4
You can find spirulina supplements as a pill or powder. I like adding the powder to guacamole or salad dressings. It’s also a great addition to my morning smoothie.
I recommend that my patients start with 500 mg of spirulina and work up to 3,000 mg per day.
- If that doesn’t work, eliminate pollutants with activated charcoal. This comes in a fine, black powder. It’s odorless, tasteless, safe to consume and very potent.
Just a small amount of charcoal can wipe out decades of toxic heavy metals like arsenic, copper, mercury and lead that have been building up in your body. Take 20 to 30 grams a day of powdered activated charcoal (in divided doses) mixed with water over a period of 1 to 2 weeks.
- If you don’t like those options, then I recommend modified citrus pectin. This is made from the inner peel of citrus fruits and is one of the most powerful detoxifying substances I’ve found in the world.
What’s great about modified citrus pectin is that while it eliminates toxic metals and pesticides, it doesn’t deplete your body of zinc, calcium or magnesium. Make sure you get the right kind of citrus pectin. Most pectin is made of large long-chain carbohydrate molecules. They’re too big to digest and will just pass through your body.
The citrus pectin used in clinical studies is specially formulated for absorption, so it can easily find and bind to toxins. Look for “modified” citrus pectin. Start with 5 grams (1 teaspoon) three times a day.
To Your Good Health,
Al Sears, MD, CNS
References
1. Pravikoff MS, et al. “Dating of wines with cesium-137: Fukushima’s imprint.” Centre d’Études Nucléaires de Bordeaux-Gradignan. 19 Chemin du Solarium. 2018.
2. Dillon JC, et al. “Nutritional value of the alga Spirulina.” World Rev Nutr Diet. 1995;77:32-46.
3. Yong Chang S, et al. “Stable isolation of Phycocyanin from Spirulina platensis associated with high-pressure extraction process.” Int J Mol Sci. 2013;14(1):1778–1787.
4. Misbahuddin M, et al. “Efficacy of spirulina extract plus zinc in patients of chronic arsenic poisoning: A randomized placebo-controlled study.” Clin Toxicol (Phila). 2006;44(2):135-141.