Dear Healthy Friend,

Simply put, you could discover ways to prevent - and in some cases even reverse - most health concerns without prescriptions, without side effects and without spending all of your hard-earned cash. Let me assure you, real solutions exist. There's just one catch: You have to know where to find the answers... 

And today, Christine O'Brien reveals the research that could cut back the risk of colon cancer by 2/3s.

In the name of good health,

Taryn Strugnell
Managing Editor of Nutrition & Healing

P.S. In last Thursday's edition of Health Bytes (I knew it! I knew there had to be some benefit!) Edward Martin revealed the benefits of chocolate - every woman's dream come true. Dr Wright answers a question which delves a little deeper....

How women could cut colon cancer risk by 2/3s
Christine O’Brien
Contributor, Nutrition & Healing

News of any little way to lower our cancer risk is always welcome.

News of how to lower it by two-thirds? Well, that's VERY welcome.

It turns out a certain vitamin - one long-time Health Bytes readers already know could prevent damage caused by heart attacks and boost brain power.

Men, this vitamin is good for you, too, but you're definitely going to want to forward this to the women in your life.

Because a group of researchers at South Korea's National Cancer Centre have found that eating a diet rich in folate can lower a woman's risk of colon cancer by a whopping two-thirds. The same effect wasn't seen in men.

The reason for folate's cancer-protective power?

Well, it's one of the nutrients that's key in repairing DNA. Researchers think that a lack of folate makes genetic mutations. And that damaged DNA can go cancerous.

So how much folate do you need for this big cancer-preventing boost? Women getting at least 300mgs a day saw the best benefit - a 64% lower risk of colon cancer. Women consuming more than 270mgs a day slashed their risk in half.

Besides supplements, you can get your daily folate in veggies and fruits like spinach, green beans, peppers and citrus fruits.

In Spetember 2004 Dr Wright actually wrote an article on the benefits of folate. It covers folate's heart benefits as well as how it could protect you from Alzheimer's. You can read it here...

A little secret I probably shouldn't tell you!

Only in recent years have dedicated researchers started figuring out the secret to keeping our eyes robust and healthy for a lifetime. The good news is, it's surprisingly simple to give your body what it needs to nourish your sight.

Now you could get real results, with a powerful, doctor-developed vision formula that could help you naturally and safely keep your vision healthy for years to come.

It's covered in our book The Programme for Better Vision. Normally you'd have to buy the book to find out this little secret, but today I'm going to tell you what it is and where you can get it.

It's called Eyemax and it contains the right combination of nutritional support that could help you:

    * Promote strong central vision
    * Improve focus - well into old age
    * Strengthen night vision
    * Block harmful effects of UV and free-radical damage

It's available only from Health Works. So contact them on (011) 325-5168 to get yours now!

Is chocolate really good for you?

Q: It seems like I'm seeing more and more commercials telling me how good dark chocolate is for me. But it's still chocolate! I'm just not buying it. What do you think?

Dr. Wright: Dark chocolate has become the latest media darling. And there is evidence showing that it offers some health benefits. Just like the one revealed last week, which concluded that eating approximately 50 grams of dark chocolate (which contains flavonols) on a daily basis helps in a small but significant degree to combat high blood pressure, insulin resistance, blood vessel dilation and LDL cholesterol in individuals with hypertension. The researchers referred to prior research that demonstrated the same effects in healthy individuals.

But what this study - and most of the other articles on this topic - didn't take into consideration are the adverse effects of the refined sugar in dark chocolate. But you can. Why not skip the chocolate bar and make your own hot chocolate using organic cocoa powder, almond milk and lo han or stevia. (Just like Edward suggested)