Welcome back to my series of blogs on my new book, The UltraMind Solution.

You can download a free sneak preview of the book by going here:

www.ultramind.com

Now for today’s blog ...

I have some bad news and some good news for you about your brain.

The bad news is that we live in a poisoned world that damages our brains.

The good news is that we know how to avoid and help our bodies get rid of toxins, which gives our brain a chance to heal and repair itself.

We are exposed to toxins we were never designed to deal with—and nearly all of them cause brain injury.

A recent study of umbilical cord blood found 287 toxic chemicals, 217 of which are toxic to the brain and nervous system. And that is what infants are exposed to even before they take their first breath. (1) These toxins include mercury, lead, PCBs, BPA, phthalates, plasticizers, flame retardants and more.

There are 6 million pounds of mercury emissions from coal burning every year and 2.5 billion pounds of toxic chemicals released into the environment every year. Where does it all go?

At least some of it gets into your body—and your brain!

In fact, a recent government survey found an average of 148 chemicals in our bodies. And those were only the ones they tested.

Did you know that 25 percent of New Yorkers have toxic blood levels of mercury from eating too much sushi?

Or that 15 percent of American women of child-bearing age have toxic levels of mercury in their blood? (2) That means that 15 percent of the 4 million children born in the United States each year, or 600,000 children, are exposed to toxic levels of mercury in the womb. (3)

And then there are the 3,500 different chemicals that are added to our food, and the more than 3,000 chemicals found in our homes.

In today’s blog I will discuss some of the effects these toxic chemicals have on our brains. I’ll tell you a story about what happens when you limit your toxic exposure and enhance your body’s detoxification system. And I’ll reveal the master detoxifying molecule made in your body.

It's the most important molecule you need to stay healthy and prevent disease -- yet you've probably never heard of it. It's the secret to prevent aging, cancer, heart disease, dementia and more, and necessary to treat everything from autism to Alzheimer's disease. There are more than 89,000 medical articles about it -- but your doctor doesn't know how address the epidemic deficiency of this critical life-giving molecule ...

What is it? I'm talking about the mother of all antioxidants, the master detoxifier and maestro of the immune system: GLUTATHIONE (pronounced "gloota-thigh-own").

The good news is that your body produces its own glutathione. The bad news is that poor diet, pollution, toxins, medications, stress, trauma, aging, infections and radiation all deplete your glutathione.

This leaves you susceptible to unrestrained cell disintegration from oxidative stress, free radicals, infections and cancer. And your liver gets overloaded and damaged, making it unable to do its job of detoxification.

In treating chronically ill patients with Functional Medicine for more than 10 years, I have discovered that glutathione deficiency is found in nearly all very ill patients. These include people with chronic fatigue syndrome, heart disease, cancer, chronic infections, autoimmune disease, diabetes, autism, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, arthritis, asthma, kidney problems, liver disease and more.

At first I thought that this was just a coincidental finding, but over the years I have come to realize that our ability to produce and maintain a high level of glutathione is critical to recovery from nearly all chronic illness -- and to preventing disease and maintaining optimal health and performance. The authors of those 76,000 medical articles on glutathione I mentioned earlier have found the same thing!

So in today's blog I want to explain what glutathione is, why it's important and give you 9 tips that will help you optimize your glutathione levels, improve your detoxification system and protect help yourself from chronic illness.