Is your child's toothpaste making him dumber?...

What the Volatility Index tells me about the market today...

Despite the massive uncertainty in the market today, our favorite gauge of the market's fear index remains low.

In today's Digest Premium, Porter explains what that means for investors today.

To subscribe to Digest Premium and receive a hardback copy of Jim Rogers' latest book, click here.

Is your child's toothpaste making him dumber?... A simple way to improve your heart's health... Two 'miracle' cures that aren't... A simple test that could save you from dementia... The truth about 'BPA free'...

Editor's note: In yesterday's Digest, we featured some of the most popular money-saving advice Dr. David "Doc" Eifrig gave his Retirement Millionaire subscribers.

Doc's Retirement Millionaire has become one of our industry's most popular newsletters. That's in large part because of the way he combines his expertise with both finance and medicine to show subscribers how to take control of their health and wealth.

Today, we've compiled some of the most important health advice he shared this year...

 Fluoride is making your children dumber... according to a 2012 study from Harvard. Fluoride has been poorly studied, but is marketed as a way to prevent tooth decay. Most toothpaste brands include fluoride, as do most municipal water supplies. According to the Harvard study, children who drank water with fluoride ended up with lower intelligence scores than children who didn't. Researchers also linked fluoride drinking by pregnant mothers with lower IQ scores in their children.

Unfortunately, that's not the only risk... Fluoride consumption is also linked to thyroid disease and cancer.

Water fluoridation – the addition of fluoride to the public water supply – has been terminated in many countries – including Germany, Sweden, and Japan – on suspicion of health harms. Cavity rates did not change. And yet, the U.S. continues to dump this dangerous chemical into your water.

To limit your exposure, do what I do... Avoid toothpaste with fluoride. I also limit the amount of tap water I drink and look for bottled or filtered water without fluoride.

 We've been claiming this all along: Walking is just as good for your heart as running. Scientists at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory found that walking and running similarly reduce blood pressure, cholesterol, and diabetes risk. The key, according to researchers, is not how long you walk or run, but how far. People who walked the same distance as runners experienced similar health benefits. One example... walkers lowered their risk of diabetes 12.1%. Runners lowered their risk 12.3%.

Walking is one of my favorite ways to get up and get moving. In addition to making your heart healthier, walking helps prevent dementia, improves your immune system, and lessens the symptoms of depression. And it's one of the easiest exercises to do. I take daily walks outside when the weather is warm. If I don't want to walk outside, I'll hop on the treadmill with a few magazines to read.

 Just having two bad nights of sleep in a row can harm your health... according to a new study from the University of Birmingham. Researchers found that sleep deprivation for two consecutive nights showed a decrease in breathing control (irregular breathing) and reduced vascular function (stiff blood vessels). After five nights of 10 hours of sleep, the negative effects were reversed. But if you regularly lack a good night's sleep, these dangerous effects could be more permanent – raising your risk of cardiovascular disease and sleep apnea.

Regular readers know that getting at least seven hours of sleep each night is one of the most important things to do to maintain a healthy lifestyle. To get the best night's sleep, keep your room cool and dark... and free of electronics. If you can't get at least seven straight hours of sleep a night, take a nap during the day.

 Here's a new reason to make sure you get enough sleep... It boosts the number of brain cells. Research published recently in the Journal of Neuroscience showed the production of myelin-making cells doubled as mice slept. Myelin is an insulating layer (called the myelin sheath) needed to keep the nervous system functioning properly. The increase occurred during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. This research could lead to big advances in the prevention and curing of certain inflammatory diseases that damage your nervous system, like multiple sclerosis.

I've told readers for years that sleep is the No. 1 way to improve your health. It's essential for proper brain function, preventing colds, and decreasing your risk of chronic health issues like heart disease. So do what I do and make sure you get at least seven hours of sleep every night. And if you can't get that much, take naps and meditate when you can.

 The evidence keeps mounting: The risks of taking vitamin D pills are much higher than I imagined... Recent tests from the independent health-product testing firm ConsumerLab.com, the watchdog organization Consumer Reports, and health insurance firm Kaiser Permanente found the labeling on vitamin D labels is wrong. Some vitamin D pills had 80% more vitamin D than labeled. Other bottles had less than the amount of vitamin D on the label. Amazingly, the amounts not only varied between manufacturers, but between pills in the same bottle. (I wouldn't be surprised if other supplements have this problem.)

If you use a lot of dietary supplements, look for bottles with a U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) label. USP provides voluntary standards for supplements and carries out testing on products.

Also, I recommend you do what I do... Don't rely on supplements to get your nutritional needs. Go for a walk in the sunshine... Try to add foods that naturally include vitamin D in your diet. If you live in a climate that gets little sunshine (especially in the winter), take a small amount of vitamin D. Most people need less than 800 international units (IU) of vitamin D a day. Unless you don't get any sunlight or don't eat any foods with vitamin D for days, you'll need less than 800 IU. One bottle of 100 pills should easily last you a year or two.

 Omega-3 fatty acids supplements aren't the miracle cures the ads and manufacturers claim. I've previously encouraged subscribers to make sure they're getting a lot of omega-3 fatty acids in their diet... Omega-3 improves heart function, decreases inflammation, and improves mental health. But getting your omega-3s from supplements won't give you the same benefits as getting them directly from a whole food source (like fish)... according to a study recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Researchers studied more than 12,000 people taking either a fish oil supplement or a placebo. There was no difference in the risk for heart attack, stroke, or death from cardiovascular events between the two groups.

Past studies show getting omega-3 fatty acids from fish (in whole food form) reduces your risk of dying of a heart attack by 30% or more. The researchers in the supplement study believe that while omega-3s found in food have benefits, the supplements don't (although the exact reason is unclear).

Do what I do and avoid omega-3 supplements (I take only about one per week) and get the nutrients the natural way... through foods like fish (which contain the highest amounts), walnuts, cauliflower, broccoli, kidney beans, and spinach.

 If you need another reason to throw out your heart pills... a new review published in the British Medical Journal found that for patients recovering from a stroke, exercise was just as effective as medication. People with heart disease or prediabetes had similar results... drugs were no more effective than exercise.

This is more proof you don't need to waste your money on medications that can come with a dozen or more harmful side effects. Even better, you don't need to do intense exercise, like marathon training. Regular moderate exercise is enough to get the benefits. Just 20 to 30 minutes a day, four or five days a week helps. I go on short walks during the day or walk on the treadmill while I read.

 This simple test could save you from dementia. New research from the University of California, San Francisco found that seniors with anemia have up to a 60% increased risk of developing dementia. For the 23% of seniors with anemia, this is a huge concern. Scientists believe that the lower amount of oxygen delivered to the brain in people with anemia could contribute to dementia.

A year ago, I also told you anemia can raise the risk of a man's likelihood of dying in the hospital after an ischemic stroke.

Getting tested for anemia is simple... A physical exam and/or blood tests can determine if you're anemic. Treatment can range from an improvement in diet, to supplements, to blood transfusions (in extreme cases). If you maintain a diet packed with green leafy vegetables, berries, and citrus fruits, you can prevent anemia from occurring in the first place. And increase absorption of iron by taking vitamin C... 500mg whenever you eat meat helps your body absorb eight to 10 times more.

 Your dishwasher may be cultivating a deadly fungus. A dishwasher is the perfect breeding ground for fungi. The science journal, Fungal Biology, recently published findings that 62% of dishwashers tested (in more than 100 cities) contained fungi... 55% of those had two types of black yeast – Exophiala dermatitis and Exophiala phaeomuriformis. These fungi cause potentially fatal lung infections. They're especially dangerous to people with weakened immune systems.

It was previously unknown that these fungi could survive inside a dishwasher. Scientists had thought the high temperatures, detergents, and salts found in dishwashers would kill fungi. But certain types of black yeast thrive in these conditions.

Keeping your dishwasher free of fungi is simple... Leave your dishwasher open for at least 30 minutes after you've washed dishes. This gives the rubber seal around the door – the place most of the fungi live – time to dry. To clean your dishwasher, use equal parts baking soda and vinegar to clean the seal. To get the inside clean, pour a cup of baking soda on the dishwasher floor. Then, put vinegar where you would put detergent. Run your dishwasher on its hottest setting to kill the fungi.

 It turns out "BPA-free" isn't as safe as we thought... We've written about Bisphenol-A (BPA) several times. Manufacturers have used it for more than 50 years to make hard plastic and some paper products. Despite its wide use and the FDA's insistence that it's safe... BPA has been linked to prostate and breast cancers, diabetes, and heart disease. I've told readers to avoid using plastic bottles and touching receipts... at a minimum, wash your hands after touching paper with it.

And I suggested people look for bottles labeled "BPA-free."

Unfortunately, many manufacturers have replaced BPA with Bisphenol-S (BPS) – which is probably just as dangerous. Studies show it alters proper hormone function in the same way that BPA can. While more research still needs to be done, I don't want something near my body that is already known to mess with hormones and kills living cells.

To avoid BPA and BPS, don't buy foods stored in the harder plastic containers. Where possible, buy products in glass or softer plastics. And switch out your plastic water bottle for a stainless-steel one. Klean Kanteen is a leading manufacturer of stainless-steel bottles.

Here's to our health, wealth, and a great retirement,

Dr. David Eifrig, Jr., MD, MBA 
Raleigh, North Carolina 
December 25, 2013

Editor's note: Dr. Eifrig recently launched a new investment advisory service, Income Intelligence, designed to help subscribers maximize the returns they enjoy from a range of income-generating vehicles – from municipal bonds to high-yielding equities.

Income Intelligence is based on indicators Doc has developed to tell us exactly when to get in and out of specific cash-generating assets. Using these strategies can generate 10%-20% more money than simply buying and holding the same income investments.

With interest rates at record lows... we believe Doc's income strategies are more important today than ever before. In Income Intelligence, Doc shows you how to earn big income, while protecting yourself from downside risk.

We think Doc's latest research is so important, we've decided to give you a gift for the holidays... You can sign up for one year of Income Intelligence for $900. (That's $300 off the regular price.) And we'll give you one year of Retirement Millionaire (normally $99 a year) free.

We've never made this offer before... And it's only available to Digest readers through December 27. You can learn more here (without watching a long sales pitch)...

What the Volatility Index tells me about the market today...

Editor's note: In yesterday's Digest, we featured some of the most popular money-saving advice Dr. David "Doc" Eifrig gave his Retirement Millionaire subscribers.

Doc's Retirement Millionaire has become one of our industry's most popular newsletters. That's in large part because of the way he combines his expertise with both finance and medicine to show subscribers how to take control of their health and wealth.

Today, we've compiled some of the most important health advice he shared this year...

 Fluoride is making your children dumber... according to a 2012 study from Harvard. Fluoride has been poorly studied, but is marketed as a way to prevent tooth decay. Most toothpaste brands include fluoride, as do most municipal water supplies. According to the Harvard study, children who drank water with fluoride ended up with lower intelligence scores than children who didn't. Researchers also linked fluoride drinking by pregnant mothers with lower IQ scores in their children.

Unfortunately, that's not the only risk... Fluoride consumption is also linked to thyroid disease and cancer.

Water fluoridation – the addition of fluoride to the public water supply – has been terminated in many countries – including Germany, Sweden, and Japan – on suspicion of health harms. Cavity rates did not change. And yet, the U.S. continues to dump this dangerous chemical into your water.

To limit your exposure, do what I do... Avoid toothpaste with fluoride. I also limit the amount of tap water I drink and look for bottled or filtered water without fluoride.

 We've been claiming this all along: Walking is just as good for your heart as running. Scientists at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory found that walking and running similarly reduce blood pressure, cholesterol, and diabetes risk. The key, according to researchers, is not how long you walk or run, but how far. People who walked the same distance as runners experienced similar health benefits. One example... walkers lowered their risk of diabetes 12.1%. Runners lowered their risk 12.3%.

Walking is one of my favorite ways to get up and get moving. In addition to making your heart healthier, walking helps prevent dementia, improves your immune system, and lessens the symptoms of depression. And it's one of the easiest exercises to do. I take daily walks outside when the weather is warm. If I don't want to walk outside, I'll hop on the treadmill with a few magazines to read.

 Just having two bad nights of sleep in a row can harm your health... according to a new study from the University of Birmingham. Researchers found that sleep deprivation for two consecutive nights showed a decrease in breathing control (irregular breathing) and reduced vascular function (stiff blood vessels). After five nights of 10 hours of sleep, the negative effects were reversed. But if you regularly lack a good night's sleep, these dangerous effects could be more permanent – raising your risk of cardiovascular disease and sleep apnea.

Regular readers know that getting at least seven hours of sleep each night is one of the most important things to do to maintain a healthy lifestyle. To get the best night's sleep, keep your room cool and dark... and free of electronics. If you can't get at least seven straight hours of sleep a night, take a nap during the day.

 Here's a new reason to make sure you get enough sleep... It boosts the number of brain cells. Research published recently in the Journal of Neuroscience showed the production of myelin-making cells doubled as mice slept. Myelin is an insulating layer (called the myelin sheath) needed to keep the nervous system functioning properly. The increase occurred during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. This research could lead to big advances in the prevention and curing of certain inflammatory diseases that damage your nervous system, like multiple sclerosis.

I've told readers for years that sleep is the No. 1 way to improve your health. It's essential for proper brain function, preventing colds, and decreasing your risk of chronic health issues like heart disease. So do what I do and make sure you get at least seven hours of sleep every night. And if you can't get that much, take naps and meditate when you can.

 The evidence keeps mounting: The risks of taking vitamin D pills are much higher than I imagined... Recent tests from the independent health-product testing firm ConsumerLab.com, the watchdog organization Consumer Reports, and health insurance firm Kaiser Permanente found the labeling on vitamin D labels is wrong. Some vitamin D pills had 80% more vitamin D than labeled. Other bottles had less than the amount of vitamin D on the label. Amazingly, the amounts not only varied between manufacturers, but between pills in the same bottle. (I wouldn't be surprised if other supplements have this problem.)

If you use a lot of dietary supplements, look for bottles with a U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) label. USP provides voluntary standards for supplements and carries out testing on products.

Also, I recommend you do what I do... Don't rely on supplements to get your nutritional needs. Go for a walk in the sunshine... Try to add foods that naturally include vitamin D in your diet. If you live in a climate that gets little sunshine (especially in the winter), take a small amount of vitamin D. Most people need less than 800 international units (IU) of vitamin D a day. Unless you don't get any sunlight or don't eat any foods with vitamin D for days, you'll need less than 800 IU. One bottle of 100 pills should easily last you a year or two.

 Omega-3 fatty acids supplements aren't the miracle cures the ads and manufacturers claim. I've previously encouraged subscribers to make sure they're getting a lot of omega-3 fatty acids in their diet... Omega-3 improves heart function, decreases inflammation, and improves mental health. But getting your omega-3s from supplements won't give you the same benefits as getting them directly from a whole food source (like fish)... according to a study recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Researchers studied more than 12,000 people taking either a fish oil supplement or a placebo. There was no difference in the risk for heart attack, stroke, or death from cardiovascular events between the two groups.

Past studies show getting omega-3 fatty acids from fish (in whole food form) reduces your risk of dying of a heart attack by 30% or more. The researchers in the supplement study believe that while omega-3s found in food have benefits, the supplements don't (although the exact reason is unclear).

Do what I do and avoid omega-3 supplements (I take only about one per week) and get the nutrients the natural way... through foods like fish (which contain the highest amounts), walnuts, cauliflower, broccoli, kidney beans, and spinach.

 If you need another reason to throw out your heart pills... a new review published in the British Medical Journal found that for patients recovering from a stroke, exercise was just as effective as medication. People with heart disease or prediabetes had similar results... drugs were no more effective than exercise.

This is more proof you don't need to waste your money on medications that can come with a dozen or more harmful side effects. Even better, you don't need to do intense exercise, like marathon training. Regular moderate exercise is enough to get the benefits. Just 20 to 30 minutes a day, four or five days a week helps. I go on short walks during the day or walk on the treadmill while I read.

 This simple test could save you from dementia. New research from the University of California, San Francisco found that seniors with anemia have up to a 60% increased risk of developing dementia. For the 23% of seniors with anemia, this is a huge concern. Scientists believe that the lower amount of oxygen delivered to the brain in people with anemia could contribute to dementia.

A year ago, I also told you anemia can raise the risk of a man's likelihood of dying in the hospital after an ischemic stroke.

Getting tested for anemia is simple... A physical exam and/or blood tests can determine if you're anemic. Treatment can range from an improvement in diet, to supplements, to blood transfusions (in extreme cases). If you maintain a diet packed with green leafy vegetables, berries, and citrus fruits, you can prevent anemia from occurring in the first place. And increase absorption of iron by taking vitamin C... 500mg whenever you eat meat helps your body absorb eight to 10 times more.

 Your dishwasher may be cultivating a deadly fungus. A dishwasher is the perfect breeding ground for fungi. The science journal, Fungal Biology, recently published findings that 62% of dishwashers tested (in more than 100 cities) contained fungi... 55% of those had two types of black yeast – Exophiala dermatitis and Exophiala phaeomuriformis. These fungi cause potentially fatal lung infections. They're especially dangerous to people with weakened immune systems.

It was previously unknown that these fungi could survive inside a dishwasher. Scientists had thought the high temperatures, detergents, and salts found in dishwashers would kill fungi. But certain types of black yeast thrive in these conditions.

Keeping your dishwasher free of fungi is simple... Leave your dishwasher open for at least 30 minutes after you've washed dishes. This gives the rubber seal around the door – the place most of the fungi live – time to dry. To clean your dishwasher, use equal parts baking soda and vinegar to clean the seal. To get the inside clean, pour a cup of baking soda on the dishwasher floor. Then, put vinegar where you would put detergent. Run your dishwasher on its hottest setting to kill the fungi.

 It turns out "BPA-free" isn't as safe as we thought... We've written about Bisphenol-A (BPA) several times. Manufacturers have used it for more than 50 years to make hard plastic and some paper products. Despite its wide use and the FDA's insistence that it's safe... BPA has been linked to prostate and breast cancers, diabetes, and heart disease. I've told readers to avoid using plastic bottles and touching receipts... at a minimum, wash your hands after touching paper with it.

And I suggested people look for bottles labeled "BPA-free."

Unfortunately, many manufacturers have replaced BPA with Bisphenol-S (BPS) – which is probably just as dangerous. Studies show it alters proper hormone function in the same way that BPA can. While more research still needs to be done, I don't want something near my body that is already known to mess with hormones and kills living cells.

To avoid BPA and BPS, don't buy foods stored in the harder plastic containers. Where possible, buy products in glass or softer plastics. And switch out your plastic water bottle for a stainless-steel one. Klean Kanteen is a leading manufacturer of stainless-steel bottles.

Here's to our health, wealth, and a great retirement,

Dr. David Eifrig, Jr., MD, MBA 
Raleigh, North Carolina
December 25, 2013

Editor's note: Dr. Eifrig recently launched a new investment advisory service, Income Intelligence, designed to help subscribers maximize the returns they enjoy from a range of income-generating vehicles – from municipal bonds to high-yielding equities.

Income Intelligence is based on indicators Doc has developed to tell us exactly when to get in and out of specific cash-generating assets. Using these strategies can generate 10%-20% more money than simply buying and holding the same income investments.

With interest rates at record lows... we believe Doc's income strategies are more important today than ever before. In Income Intelligence, Doc shows you how to earn big income, while protecting yourself from downside risk.

We think Doc's latest research is so important, we've decided to give you a gift for the holidays... You can sign up for one year of Income Intelligence for $900. (That's $300 off the regular price.) And we'll give you one year of Retirement Millionaire (normally $99 a year) free.

We've never made this offer before... And it's only available to Digest readers through December 27. You can learn more here (without watching a long sales pitch)...

 Investors are too complacent today...

The CBOE Volatility Index (the "VIX") is the market's fear gauge.

The VIX measures the prices people are willing to pay for options that protect the value of their stock holdings. That's why we call it the market's "fear index"... The higher the VIX, the more people will pay to insure their stocks... hence, the more scared they feel.

And today, the VIX is telling us that the market has been way too complacent for a long time. The VIX has been under 15 for most of 2013 and under 20 for much of the last three years. For comparison, the VIX hit a panic-stricken 80 during the 2008 crisis. And following the Fed's taper announcement on December 18 – when it said it would reduce its monthly bond purchases by $10 billion to $75 billion – the VIX plunged 15%.

 The market thinks the Fed's tapering is a sign the economy is improving. And the economy is improving. But it's all been manufactured by the nearly $4 trillion the Fed has pumped into the economy. As I explained yesterday, I believe the Fed withdrawing its support will lead to higher interest rates, which in turn will lead to falling stock prices.

So the VIX says that we have just been far too complacent. When the VIX is low, it's a very bad time in general to sell puts or calls because the premiums you receive are low.

 When the VIX goes higher, it might be a good time to sell options. In the meantime, while the VIX is low, it indicates that it's a good time to buy options. And in general, I'm not a buyer of options. There are some exceptions... for example, in our Stansberry Alpha product, where we sell certain options so that we generate the funds to buy others. But a trader like Jeff Clark is paying very little premium for his options today.

– Porter Stansberry with Sean Goldsmith

What the Volatility Index tells me about the market today...

Despite the massive uncertainty in the market today, our favorite gauge of the market's fear index remains low.

In today's Digest Premium, Porter explains what that means for investors today.

To read more, scroll down or click here.

Stansberry & Associates Top 10 Open Recommendations
(Top 10 highest-returning open positions across all S&A portfolios)

As of 12/18/2013

Please note: Securities appearing in the Top 10 are not necessarily recommended buys at current prices. The list reflects the best-performing positions currently in the model portfolio of any S&A publication. The buy date reflects when the editor recommended the investment in the listed publication, and the return shows its performance since that date. To learn if a security is still a recommended buy today, you must be a subscriber to that publication and refer to the most recent portfolio.

Stansberry & Associates Hall of Fame
(Top 10 all-time, highest-returning closed positions across all S&A portfolios)