(NaturalNews) A recent study conducted by researchers at Columbia University in New York has found that people who eat a diet rich in olive oil, fish, nuts, poultry, and fruits and vegetables, lower their risk of developing Alzheimer's disease by 40 percent.
Dr. Yian Gu, one of the researchers involved in the study, commented on what most in the natural health community already know. "Diet is probably the easiest way to modify disease risk," she explained concerning the research.
In comparison to other Alzheimer's studies that focus on isolated nutrients, this study focused on food groups that are commonly associated with lowering Alzheimer's disease risk. These include brain-boosting foods that are rich in omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, B vitamins, folate and vitamin E.
"People who adhered mostly to this dietary pattern compared to others have about a 40 percent reduction in the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease," explained Gu in a Reuters interview.
The team evaluated more than 2,100 people over the age of 65 for about four years. Every 18 months, they checked patients for Alzheimer's disease, and they discovered that those who ate best were least likely to have developed the illness.
People in the healthier category ate less red meat and dairy products, and more fruits, nuts, fish, cruciferous vegetables, and dark, leafy greens.
The researchers determined that a heart-healthy diet protects the brain from strokes, which in turn protect people from developing Alzheimer's disease. The isolated nutrients also work to promote brain health and protect it from degenerative disease.
The researchers did insist the diet only works preventatively and that there is no cure for Alzheimer's, however other research seems to indicate that high doses of certain nutrients and foods may actually reverse the serious form of dementia that afflicts more than 26 million people around the world.
Some of the things that are commonly attributed to causing Alzheimer's include aluminum in anti-perspirant deodorants, artificial nitrates and nitrites added to meat, food additives and preservatives like MSG, and foods in general that are high in bad fats and processed sugars.
Eating a Mediterranean diet like the one evaluated in the study is a good start, but there are additional ways to help ensure that you never get Alzheimer's disease. Some examples include juicing fresh, organic fruits and vegetables everyday and supplementing your diet with a wide variety of antioxidant-rich superfoods.
Sources for this story include:
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUS...
Showing posts with label benefits. Show all posts
Showing posts with label benefits. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Friday, June 25, 2010
New research: probiotic found in breast milk benefits nerves in gut, calms digestive disorders
(NaturalNews) Meat allergies may be much more common than previously thought and may even induce potentially fatal anaphylaxis in some people, according to a study conducted by researchers from the University of Virginia and presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology in New Orleans.
The researchers tested three groups of people across the U.S. Southeast with a history of recurrent anaphylaxis without known cause for an immune reaction to alpha-gal, a kind of sugar found in mammal meat.
Although most allergic reactions are caused by proteins, scientists recently discovered that alpha-gal is responsible for anaphylactic reactions to cetuximab, a cancer drug. Further studies revealed that people who experience immune responses to alpha-gal also develop allergic symptoms within three to six hours of eating mammalian meat.
Alpha-gal is not found in the flesh of bird or fish.
The researchers found that between 20 and 50 percent of participants tested positive for allergy to alpha-gal. Overall, 25 of 60 participants (42 percent) showed signs of meat allergy.
Although doctors have known of meat allergies for some time, they have previously presumed them to be uncommon. The new study suggests that as many as half of all unexplained food allergies may be attributed to meat, however.
"This would make me personally think about including these foods in my differential diagnosis," said Michael Pistiner of Children's Hospital Boston, who was not involved in the study.
Meat allergies may be harder to detect than other food allergies because it takes the body three to six hours to produce a reaction to alpha-gal. They also tend to develop in adults rather than children, in contrast to most food allergies.
Although the study only looked at patients suffering the most severe reactions, co-author Scott. P. Commins noted that alpha-gal allergies probably occur in a wide variety of severities, just like other allergies.
Sources for this story include: http://www.businessweek.com/lifesty... http://www.emaxhealth.com/1275/74/3... http://www.medpagetoday.com/Meeting....
The researchers tested three groups of people across the U.S. Southeast with a history of recurrent anaphylaxis without known cause for an immune reaction to alpha-gal, a kind of sugar found in mammal meat.
Although most allergic reactions are caused by proteins, scientists recently discovered that alpha-gal is responsible for anaphylactic reactions to cetuximab, a cancer drug. Further studies revealed that people who experience immune responses to alpha-gal also develop allergic symptoms within three to six hours of eating mammalian meat.
Alpha-gal is not found in the flesh of bird or fish.
The researchers found that between 20 and 50 percent of participants tested positive for allergy to alpha-gal. Overall, 25 of 60 participants (42 percent) showed signs of meat allergy.
Although doctors have known of meat allergies for some time, they have previously presumed them to be uncommon. The new study suggests that as many as half of all unexplained food allergies may be attributed to meat, however.
"This would make me personally think about including these foods in my differential diagnosis," said Michael Pistiner of Children's Hospital Boston, who was not involved in the study.
Meat allergies may be harder to detect than other food allergies because it takes the body three to six hours to produce a reaction to alpha-gal. They also tend to develop in adults rather than children, in contrast to most food allergies.
Although the study only looked at patients suffering the most severe reactions, co-author Scott. P. Commins noted that alpha-gal allergies probably occur in a wide variety of severities, just like other allergies.
Sources for this story include: http://www.businessweek.com/lifesty... http://www.emaxhealth.com/1275/74/3... http://www.medpagetoday.com/Meeting....
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Universal healing principles unveiled during Natural News Talk Hour
(NaturalNews) This week's NaturalNews Talk Hour features a special program on "The Fundamentals of Universal Healing". Healing is a result of enabling and/or stimulating life. But what area of our body helps us stimulate life? We'll talk about how to improve your digestion, absorption of nutrients and removal of waste products from each and every part of the body to maintain optimal wellness.
Click Here for a video of show details and a FREE health tip.
Our show begins this Thursday evening at 6pm Pacific / 9pm Eastern, and registration is FREE. Simply enter your email address in the registration form on the right column of this page and you'll receive call-in details for the show.
I thoroughly enjoy all of your talk shows! Thank you for giving us the knowledge on how to treat diseases and to get healthy again! - Bev
Speed-Healing Process Revealed
A baby blind and brain damaged - doctors said for life - healed in five days! A man given up to die with five by-pass valves - healed in 2 months! Broken fingers - set in five hours and healed within eight! How? By activating the electrical system within our body - amazing things can happen.
Deep breathing, rubbing the body, stroking the body, compressing tissues, and energy healing are things we can learn for ourselves. When these meridians or electrical pathways are properly activated they have the ability to pull out the dead cells, poisons, and excess water from around the cells to get the cells into what is called the "Dry-State".
Jonathan Landsman, Host of the Talk Hour says, "It's time to remove the mystery surrounding dis-ease and healing. All of us have the capacity to enjoy a perfectly healthy life. With the right information - everything is possible. Our next guest has a lot to offer everyone!"
Life-Saving Discoveries Revealed
Every cell in the body has a sodium-potassium pump in it that generates electricity which is POWER! This power is used to pull out all the dead cells, poisons and excess water from the spaces around the cells - keeping us in a "dry state". The dry state enables us to get OXYGEN from the blood vessels.
Oxygen-rich cells are healthy cells. It is interesting that 99.9% of the people throughout the entire world do not even know that every cell has a "Sodium-Potassium Pump" critical in maintaining perfect health.
Professor Karl West is continuing the work of his father; Dr. C. Samuel West, and is the President of the International Academy of Lymphology. He was a speaker at the Health Freedom Expo in Long Beach, California and is passionate about bringing cellular ecology out of obscurity.
Don't Miss Out! Connect with other NaturalNews readers, listen to great health content and have fun with us. Space is limited. Be sure to call a few minutes early to reserve your spot on the show. Register now using the email form in the right column, and you will be emailed show details. Register Now!
Click Here for a video of show details and a FREE health tip.
Our show begins this Thursday evening at 6pm Pacific / 9pm Eastern, and registration is FREE. Simply enter your email address in the registration form on the right column of this page and you'll receive call-in details for the show.
I thoroughly enjoy all of your talk shows! Thank you for giving us the knowledge on how to treat diseases and to get healthy again! - Bev
Speed-Healing Process Revealed
A baby blind and brain damaged - doctors said for life - healed in five days! A man given up to die with five by-pass valves - healed in 2 months! Broken fingers - set in five hours and healed within eight! How? By activating the electrical system within our body - amazing things can happen.
Deep breathing, rubbing the body, stroking the body, compressing tissues, and energy healing are things we can learn for ourselves. When these meridians or electrical pathways are properly activated they have the ability to pull out the dead cells, poisons, and excess water from around the cells to get the cells into what is called the "Dry-State".
Jonathan Landsman, Host of the Talk Hour says, "It's time to remove the mystery surrounding dis-ease and healing. All of us have the capacity to enjoy a perfectly healthy life. With the right information - everything is possible. Our next guest has a lot to offer everyone!"
Life-Saving Discoveries Revealed
Every cell in the body has a sodium-potassium pump in it that generates electricity which is POWER! This power is used to pull out all the dead cells, poisons and excess water from the spaces around the cells - keeping us in a "dry state". The dry state enables us to get OXYGEN from the blood vessels.
Oxygen-rich cells are healthy cells. It is interesting that 99.9% of the people throughout the entire world do not even know that every cell has a "Sodium-Potassium Pump" critical in maintaining perfect health.
This week's guest: Professor Karl West
Professor Karl West - "The Fundamentals of Universal Healing" Thursday June 10thProfessor Karl West is continuing the work of his father; Dr. C. Samuel West, and is the President of the International Academy of Lymphology. He was a speaker at the Health Freedom Expo in Long Beach, California and is passionate about bringing cellular ecology out of obscurity.
Don't Miss Out! Connect with other NaturalNews readers, listen to great health content and have fun with us. Space is limited. Be sure to call a few minutes early to reserve your spot on the show. Register now using the email form in the right column, and you will be emailed show details. Register Now!
Top new whole food bars
(NaturalNews) The market for food bars is seemingly endless. Countless companies now produce bars which they claim are the best, most wholesome bars available. But which ones are truly everything they say they are?
This year, several companies have unveiled new lines of food bars that are worthy of mention. These bars are free of genetically-modified ingredients (GMOs), artificial sweeteners and processed fillers, and are either completely or mostly organic. None of them contain any refined sugars or artificial sweeteners.
The companies that produce these bars have demonstrated a genuine commitment to honesty in both the way they conduct business and the methods by which they produce their products. This means sourcing ingredients of the highest quality and nutritional content and maintaining operations that are environmentally-friendly.
This is by no means an exhaustive list, but it does represent some of the most impressive new whole food bars available. They were evaluated primarily based on taste, nutritional content and ingredient quality.
It is also important to note that the companies represented here did not pay for these endorsements. These products truly are some of the best in their class and we simply want to share this valuable information with our readers.
Greens Plus 22 Days Energy Bars
To complement its already stellar lineup of energy and food bars, the makers of Greens Plus are introducing a new line of certified organic, vegan energy bars called "22 Days". Hatched from the notion that it takes 21 days to break a habit (and thus 22 to start a new one), these delicious bars are made with raw, organic superfoods. They are gluten-, dairy- and soy-free and come in four flavors: Cherry Chocolate Bliss, Enlightened Pumpkinseed, Goji Mate Firecracker and Daily Mocha Mantra.
The bars contain between six and eleven grams of hemp and rice protein each depending on the type. They are lightly sweetened with things like organic raw agave syrup and organic tropical blossom honey. Organic evaporated cane juice is also used in the flavors containing chocolate. The bars are also rich in various raw, organic superfoods like goji berries, almonds, hemp seeds, pumpkin seeds, cashews and dates.
Overall, these bars taste amazing. They are not too sweet and each variety is rich in flavor. In other words, you can actually taste the luscious ingredients and not be overpowered with too much of one ingredient, too much sweet or too much salt. Also, 22 Days bars are made using sunflower lecithin, an excellent alternative to soy lecithin.
For more information, please visit www.22daysnutrition.com.
Sequel Naturals Vega Food Bars
Brendan Brazier, formulator of the Vega product line, is passionate about his line of products, which includes his whole food bars. These bars are mostly raw, plant-based and alkaline-forming.
This year's newest offering, the Vibrancy bar, is a unique new bar that is raw, organic and enzymatically-active. Like all Vega bars, the Vibrancy bar is plant-based, but what sets it apart from the others is its sprouted ingredients like buckwheat and almonds which add a unique enzymatic element.
Vega Vibrancy bars are loaded with essential fatty acid (EFA) oils like hemp seed oil, flax seed oil, pumpkin oil, coconut oil, green tea seed oil, pomegranate seed oil, and many others. They also contain a rich array of green foods like spirulina, wheat grass, dulce, kelp, chia and kale. They are very lightly sweetened and rich in complex flavor, making them a welcomed alternative to many of the other food bars available on the market.
For more information, please visit www.sequelnaturals.com/vega.
Macro Greens Superfood Bars
The makers of Macro Greens and Macro Reds superfood supplement powders have come up with some delicious new food bars that combine powerful, whole food ingredients with great taste. Each raw, organic bar contains either Macro Greens or Macro Reds as well as a host of other nutritious ingredients like brazil nuts and dates. They are also chock full of probiotics, antioxidants, herbs, fiber and enzymes.
Free of corn, soy, wheat, GMOs and preservatives, these bars are healthy and alkalizing. They are gently sweetened and rich in flavor and come in three delicious flavors: Lemon Ginger, Berri Berri, and Chocolate & Cinnamon.
For more information, please visit www.macrolifenaturals.com.
Betty Lou's Just Great Stuff Bars
Betty Lou's new line of Just Great Stuff bars are loaded with delicious blends of organic fruits, vegetables and nuts. The fruits and vegetables have been freeze-dried, which according to Betty, is a superior method of delivery that ensures the preservation of delicate nutrients. Betty also uses sunflower lecithin rather than soy lecithin in the bars that contain lecithin.
Just Great Stuff bars are gluten-free and vegan, and they contain strong antioxidant ingredients like cacao, acai and goji berries. They are also USDA certified organic.
For more information, please visit www.bettylousinc.com.
This year, several companies have unveiled new lines of food bars that are worthy of mention. These bars are free of genetically-modified ingredients (GMOs), artificial sweeteners and processed fillers, and are either completely or mostly organic. None of them contain any refined sugars or artificial sweeteners.
The companies that produce these bars have demonstrated a genuine commitment to honesty in both the way they conduct business and the methods by which they produce their products. This means sourcing ingredients of the highest quality and nutritional content and maintaining operations that are environmentally-friendly.
This is by no means an exhaustive list, but it does represent some of the most impressive new whole food bars available. They were evaluated primarily based on taste, nutritional content and ingredient quality.
It is also important to note that the companies represented here did not pay for these endorsements. These products truly are some of the best in their class and we simply want to share this valuable information with our readers.
Greens Plus 22 Days Energy Bars
To complement its already stellar lineup of energy and food bars, the makers of Greens Plus are introducing a new line of certified organic, vegan energy bars called "22 Days". Hatched from the notion that it takes 21 days to break a habit (and thus 22 to start a new one), these delicious bars are made with raw, organic superfoods. They are gluten-, dairy- and soy-free and come in four flavors: Cherry Chocolate Bliss, Enlightened Pumpkinseed, Goji Mate Firecracker and Daily Mocha Mantra.
The bars contain between six and eleven grams of hemp and rice protein each depending on the type. They are lightly sweetened with things like organic raw agave syrup and organic tropical blossom honey. Organic evaporated cane juice is also used in the flavors containing chocolate. The bars are also rich in various raw, organic superfoods like goji berries, almonds, hemp seeds, pumpkin seeds, cashews and dates.
Overall, these bars taste amazing. They are not too sweet and each variety is rich in flavor. In other words, you can actually taste the luscious ingredients and not be overpowered with too much of one ingredient, too much sweet or too much salt. Also, 22 Days bars are made using sunflower lecithin, an excellent alternative to soy lecithin.
For more information, please visit www.22daysnutrition.com.
Sequel Naturals Vega Food Bars
Brendan Brazier, formulator of the Vega product line, is passionate about his line of products, which includes his whole food bars. These bars are mostly raw, plant-based and alkaline-forming.
This year's newest offering, the Vibrancy bar, is a unique new bar that is raw, organic and enzymatically-active. Like all Vega bars, the Vibrancy bar is plant-based, but what sets it apart from the others is its sprouted ingredients like buckwheat and almonds which add a unique enzymatic element.
Vega Vibrancy bars are loaded with essential fatty acid (EFA) oils like hemp seed oil, flax seed oil, pumpkin oil, coconut oil, green tea seed oil, pomegranate seed oil, and many others. They also contain a rich array of green foods like spirulina, wheat grass, dulce, kelp, chia and kale. They are very lightly sweetened and rich in complex flavor, making them a welcomed alternative to many of the other food bars available on the market.
For more information, please visit www.sequelnaturals.com/vega.
Macro Greens Superfood Bars
The makers of Macro Greens and Macro Reds superfood supplement powders have come up with some delicious new food bars that combine powerful, whole food ingredients with great taste. Each raw, organic bar contains either Macro Greens or Macro Reds as well as a host of other nutritious ingredients like brazil nuts and dates. They are also chock full of probiotics, antioxidants, herbs, fiber and enzymes.
Free of corn, soy, wheat, GMOs and preservatives, these bars are healthy and alkalizing. They are gently sweetened and rich in flavor and come in three delicious flavors: Lemon Ginger, Berri Berri, and Chocolate & Cinnamon.
For more information, please visit www.macrolifenaturals.com.
Betty Lou's Just Great Stuff Bars
Betty Lou's new line of Just Great Stuff bars are loaded with delicious blends of organic fruits, vegetables and nuts. The fruits and vegetables have been freeze-dried, which according to Betty, is a superior method of delivery that ensures the preservation of delicate nutrients. Betty also uses sunflower lecithin rather than soy lecithin in the bars that contain lecithin.
Just Great Stuff bars are gluten-free and vegan, and they contain strong antioxidant ingredients like cacao, acai and goji berries. They are also USDA certified organic.
For more information, please visit www.bettylousinc.com.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Green tea blocks lung cancer
(NaturalNews) Drinking at least a cup of green tea a day may significantly decrease a person's risk of lung cancer, according to a study conducted by researchers from Shan Medical University in Taiwan.
Cancer rates are significantly lower in Asia than in other parts of the world, and high consumption of green tea has been suggested as one of the potential explanations. Laboratory studies have suggested that the polyphenols in green tea can halt the growth of cancer cells, but the results of human studies have been mixed.
In the current study, researchers analyzed green tea consumption, smoking, genetic factors and lung cancer risk in more than 500 people. They found that among non-smokers, those who did not drink tea had five times the lung cancer risk of those who drank at least one cup per day. Among smokers, not drinking green tea was linked to 12 times the cancer risk of those who drank at least one cup per day.
A genetic analysis of all the study participants revealed that a specific variant of the gene known as IGF1 was associated with the correlation between higher tea consumption and lower cancer risk. Among those without this variant, green tea consumption had little effect on cancer risk. This could explain the inconsistent results of prior studies.
Health experts warned that whatever the benefits of green tea might be, they do not outweigh the danger posed by smoking.
"Smoking tobacco fills your lungs with around 80 cancer-causing chemicals," said Yinka Ebo of Cancer Research U.K. "Drinking green tea is not going to compensate for that. Unfortunately, it's not possible to make up for the harm caused by smoking by doing other things right like eating a healthy, balanced diet. The best thing a smoker can do to reduce their risk of lung cancer, and more than a dozen other cancer types, is to quit."
Sources for this story include: news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8453628.stm.
Cancer rates are significantly lower in Asia than in other parts of the world, and high consumption of green tea has been suggested as one of the potential explanations. Laboratory studies have suggested that the polyphenols in green tea can halt the growth of cancer cells, but the results of human studies have been mixed.
In the current study, researchers analyzed green tea consumption, smoking, genetic factors and lung cancer risk in more than 500 people. They found that among non-smokers, those who did not drink tea had five times the lung cancer risk of those who drank at least one cup per day. Among smokers, not drinking green tea was linked to 12 times the cancer risk of those who drank at least one cup per day.
A genetic analysis of all the study participants revealed that a specific variant of the gene known as IGF1 was associated with the correlation between higher tea consumption and lower cancer risk. Among those without this variant, green tea consumption had little effect on cancer risk. This could explain the inconsistent results of prior studies.
Health experts warned that whatever the benefits of green tea might be, they do not outweigh the danger posed by smoking.
"Smoking tobacco fills your lungs with around 80 cancer-causing chemicals," said Yinka Ebo of Cancer Research U.K. "Drinking green tea is not going to compensate for that. Unfortunately, it's not possible to make up for the harm caused by smoking by doing other things right like eating a healthy, balanced diet. The best thing a smoker can do to reduce their risk of lung cancer, and more than a dozen other cancer types, is to quit."
Sources for this story include: news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8453628.stm.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Eating chocolate regularly may prevent strokes
(NaturalNews) Stroke takes an enormous toll on health. In fact, it's the third leading cause of death in the US, according to the American Stroke Association. So imagine how much money Big Pharma could rake in if drug manufacturers came up with a medication that not only reduced the risk of having a stroke but slashed the risk of dying from a stroke in half. It turns out there's a substance already on the market that does just that. Only, it isn't an expensive prescription drug but a delicious, natural food -- chocolate.
A report just released by Canadian scientists from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, and the University of Toronto provides evidence that consuming chocolate regularly significantly reduces the odds of having a stroke. What's more, if a person who eats chocolate does suffer a stroke, their risk of dying afterwards is almost half that of non-chocolate eaters.
The research team reached these conclusions after analyzing three studies for any links between chocolate intake and strokes. Although one study didn't reveal any risk or benefit, two others did. A large study of 44,489 people showed that those who ate at least one serving of chocolate each week were 22 percent less likely to have a stroke than the research participants who didn't indulge in chocolate.
Another study of 1,169 people found that when someone did experience a stroke, if they ate 50 grams of chocolate each week they were about 50 percent less likely to die afterwards than those who had strokes but didn't eat chocolate. The researchers stated that chocolate's abundant antioxidant content could be the key to its apparent stroke-protective effect.
"More research is needed to determine whether chocolate truly lowers stroke risk, or whether healthier people are simply more likely to eat chocolate than others," study author Sarah Sahib, BScCA, of McMaster University, said in a statement to the media.
Historically, traditional healers have long contended that chocolate is good for body and spirit. For example, the ancient Aztecs and Mayans are believed to be the first people who drank a chocolate drink to help matters of the heart. And in recent years, scientists have found that some phytochemicals in chocolate can alter a person's sense of well being, producing a lift similar to the feeling of being in love. As NaturalNews has previously reported (http://www.naturalnews.com/023499_c...), Harvard Medical School scientists have discovered that cocoa, which is the main component of chocolate, may literally be good for the heart -- their research shows it could reduce the risk of heart disease and also cancer.
For more information:
http://www.aan.com/press/index.cfm?...
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/...
A report just released by Canadian scientists from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, and the University of Toronto provides evidence that consuming chocolate regularly significantly reduces the odds of having a stroke. What's more, if a person who eats chocolate does suffer a stroke, their risk of dying afterwards is almost half that of non-chocolate eaters.
The research team reached these conclusions after analyzing three studies for any links between chocolate intake and strokes. Although one study didn't reveal any risk or benefit, two others did. A large study of 44,489 people showed that those who ate at least one serving of chocolate each week were 22 percent less likely to have a stroke than the research participants who didn't indulge in chocolate.
Another study of 1,169 people found that when someone did experience a stroke, if they ate 50 grams of chocolate each week they were about 50 percent less likely to die afterwards than those who had strokes but didn't eat chocolate. The researchers stated that chocolate's abundant antioxidant content could be the key to its apparent stroke-protective effect.
"More research is needed to determine whether chocolate truly lowers stroke risk, or whether healthier people are simply more likely to eat chocolate than others," study author Sarah Sahib, BScCA, of McMaster University, said in a statement to the media.
Historically, traditional healers have long contended that chocolate is good for body and spirit. For example, the ancient Aztecs and Mayans are believed to be the first people who drank a chocolate drink to help matters of the heart. And in recent years, scientists have found that some phytochemicals in chocolate can alter a person's sense of well being, producing a lift similar to the feeling of being in love. As NaturalNews has previously reported (http://www.naturalnews.com/023499_c...), Harvard Medical School scientists have discovered that cocoa, which is the main component of chocolate, may literally be good for the heart -- their research shows it could reduce the risk of heart disease and also cancer.
For more information:
http://www.aan.com/press/index.cfm?...
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/...
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Beet Juice Boosts Athletic Performance by up to 16 Percent
(NaturalNews) Regular consumption of beet juice may boost athletic performance, increasing endurance while lowering blood pressure and reducing fatigue, according to a study conducted by researchers from the University of Exeter and published in the Journal of Applied Physiology.
On two separate occasions, the researchers had the same group of eight men between the ages of 19 and 38 drink 500 milliliters of an unknown beverage for six consecutive days, then perform a series of standardized tests on an exercise bicycle. On one occasion, the beverage was 500 milliliters of organic beetroot juice; on the other, it was a placebo of blackcurrant cordial.
The researchers found that men who drank the beetroot juice were able to cycle for 16 percent longer (92 seconds) than those who drank the placebo. This, in turn, would allow a cyclist to cover a set distance 2 percent faster. Participants also had a lower resting blood pressure after drinking beetroot juice than they did after drinking the placebo.
The beetroot juice apparently caused the body to burn oxygen more slowly, thus staving off tiredness longer.
"We were amazed by the effects of beetroot juice on oxygen uptake, because these effects cannot be achieved by any other known means, including training," said researcher Andy Jones. "I am sure professional and amateur athletes will be interested in the results of this research.
Jones noted that the research might also lead to benefits for people who have diseases related to lack of physical activity, such as metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease and respiratory diseases.
"I am also keen to explore the relevance of the findings to those people who suffer from poor fitness and may be able to use dietary supplements to help them go about their daily lives," he said.
The researchers do not know why beets cause the observe effect, but they believe that the nitrates in the vegetables might slow the body's oxygen uptake.
"Certainly, a diet high in nitrate-rich fruits and vegetables is good for your heart health and this study provides further evidence of this," Jones said.
Sources for this story include: news.bbc.co.uk.
On two separate occasions, the researchers had the same group of eight men between the ages of 19 and 38 drink 500 milliliters of an unknown beverage for six consecutive days, then perform a series of standardized tests on an exercise bicycle. On one occasion, the beverage was 500 milliliters of organic beetroot juice; on the other, it was a placebo of blackcurrant cordial.
The researchers found that men who drank the beetroot juice were able to cycle for 16 percent longer (92 seconds) than those who drank the placebo. This, in turn, would allow a cyclist to cover a set distance 2 percent faster. Participants also had a lower resting blood pressure after drinking beetroot juice than they did after drinking the placebo.
The beetroot juice apparently caused the body to burn oxygen more slowly, thus staving off tiredness longer.
"We were amazed by the effects of beetroot juice on oxygen uptake, because these effects cannot be achieved by any other known means, including training," said researcher Andy Jones. "I am sure professional and amateur athletes will be interested in the results of this research.
Jones noted that the research might also lead to benefits for people who have diseases related to lack of physical activity, such as metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease and respiratory diseases.
"I am also keen to explore the relevance of the findings to those people who suffer from poor fitness and may be able to use dietary supplements to help them go about their daily lives," he said.
The researchers do not know why beets cause the observe effect, but they believe that the nitrates in the vegetables might slow the body's oxygen uptake.
"Certainly, a diet high in nitrate-rich fruits and vegetables is good for your heart health and this study provides further evidence of this," Jones said.
Sources for this story include: news.bbc.co.uk.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Heal yourself in 15 days by fasting for 24 hours (part six)
(NaturalNews) Continuing our 15-part article series called Heal Yourself in 15 Days, today we focus on not doing something. In particular, I'm talking about not eating for 24 hours.
It sounds simple in theory, of course: Refrain from eating anything (or drinking any beverages other than water) for 24 hours. Your body has plenty of calories stored to carry you through those 24 hours, and the pause from digestion will give your body a chance to focus its healing energies on other parts of your body.
Note: Be sure to check with your naturopathic physician about the safety of fasting. While fasting is safe for most people, it's not for everyone. People in a weak state of health or those suffering from diabetes should take special precautions to make sure fasting is safe for them.
People habitually reach for food in all sorts of circumstances that have nothing to do with actual hunger:
• When they're bored...
• When they feel emotionally stressed...
• When they watch television or movies...
• When they're traveling in their car...
• When other people are eating around them...
• At social events, parties or gatherings...
Try fasting for 24 hours and you'll see for yourself just how many times you habitually reach for food.
This will teach you many important things about your own eating habits, and that's the point of this exercise. Just pick a day -- preferably a weekend when nothing big is going on -- and fast for 24 hours, drinking nothing but water.
In accomplishing this, you will realize three very important things:
1) You didn't die from starvation in 24 hours. In fact, most people have enough spare calories to go 30 days or more without eating.
2) You found the self-discipline to achieve 24 hours without eating. This is a milestone accomplishment in self control.
3) You learned to observe yourself and recognize the numerous situations in which you habitually reach for food. This can be extremely educational in helping you reform your eating habits in the future.
On top of all that, of course, you gave your digestive system a break and encouraged more rapid healing throughout your body. You may notice some detox effects (like bad breath) or a difference in your energy levels. This is all a normal part of the fasting process, and it indicates your fasting is working!
If you want to make your fasting more tolerable and more cleansing, you also have the option of drinking an 8-oz. glass of fresh vegetable juice in the middle of your fast. I did this during my fast, and it not only gave me more energy to make it through the fast; it also greatly enhanced the cleansing effects of my fast. I further enhance my own fasts with products from Ed Group's company, Global Healing Center (www.GHChealth.com). I especially like the Oxy Powder and Paratrex products. I take them with every fast.
Naturally, the choice is yours on how to approach this. You also have complete freedom to decide WHEN you want to do this. It doesn't have to happen on Superbowl Weekend. Pick a nice, easy Saturday or Sunday when you don't have anything big going on, and make that day your 24-hour fast. You'll feel better for it, and you will have achieved an important new milestone in your journey toward improved health.
Once you fast for just 24 hours, you'll then know that you can choose to avoid food at any particular time you want. You will discover new flexibility in your food consumption. You'll realize that you can say no to food any time you choose, and you won't die from lack of calories. You'll eliminate that fear and gain a new level of maturity in your relationship to food.
So if your fast fails, don't fret. Simply take the next 30 days to improve your eating habits, making them healthier and supported with more fresh food rather than processed food. Work to get safely off all prescription drugs (with the help of your naturopathic physician, of course). Drink more superfoods and fresh juices. Then 30 days later, try the 24-hour fast again and see if you can make it through the entire thing.
If you ever feel extremely weak, ill or you think you might pass out, that's a sign to stop the fast and get some calories. This isn't some sort of "no pain no gain" situation. Fasting should be tolerable and not dangerous. Again, the healthier your diet to start with, the easier your fast will typically be.
I have a friend who fasts for 24 hours each week, every week. He's extremely healthy and looks fit and trim well into his 50's. Other people I know (like David Rainoshek) go on 90-day juice fasts / feasts where they drink nothing but fresh living vegetable juice for 90 days.
Personally, I feel really good on a 72-hour fast, and a 48-hour fast is relatively straightforward because I can do it over the weekend. A 24-hour fast is now a no-brainer.
A few years ago, I never could have even entertained the idea of not eating for 24 hours. The thought would have terrified me. If you're in that camp right now, stop to consider what this means: You are a slave to food, just as I was!
Fasting helps free your mind from the enslavement of thinking you have to eat every few hours. It gives you new options, new freedoms and new self discipline. It's about much more than simply not eating food for 24 hours; it's also about self observation and spiritual mindfulness. Why do you think nearly all the great spiritual figures throughout world history fasted as part of their spiritual practice? They did that because too much food messes with your head while fasting clears your head.
Fasting gives you the opportunity to clear the food-induced cobwebs and see things with improved clarity. Now, just as a disclaimer here, please know that you're not going to see God after just a 24-hour fast. When spiritual leaders fast, they often fast for weeks at a time. Some go as far as 40 days. Some "breatharians" claim not to eat food at all, ever! But those are more advanced topics for another day.
For today, just focus on picking a day where you fast for 24 hours and observe the changes in your own mind and body. You'll be a wiser, healthier and more enlightened person for doing so.
http://www.naturalnews.com/028053_s...
Part Two - Unleash your inner healing potential
http://www.naturalnews.com/028060_s...
Part Three - You are what you absorb
http://www.naturalnews.com/028067_s...
Part Four - Transform your health by making new blood
http://www.naturalnews.com/028075_b...
Part Five - Experience the healing potential of living plant juices
http://www.naturalnews.com/028100_s...
It sounds simple in theory, of course: Refrain from eating anything (or drinking any beverages other than water) for 24 hours. Your body has plenty of calories stored to carry you through those 24 hours, and the pause from digestion will give your body a chance to focus its healing energies on other parts of your body.
Note: Be sure to check with your naturopathic physician about the safety of fasting. While fasting is safe for most people, it's not for everyone. People in a weak state of health or those suffering from diabetes should take special precautions to make sure fasting is safe for them.
Why fasting?
Fasting has been used from Biblical times through the modern world to help purify and heal the body. It can help detox your liver, kidneys and digestive tract. It also encourages you to rethink your eating habits. When you fast for just 24 hours, and you're really committed to it, you'll be shocked to discover how many times you habitually reach for food.People habitually reach for food in all sorts of circumstances that have nothing to do with actual hunger:
• When they're bored...
• When they feel emotionally stressed...
• When they watch television or movies...
• When they're traveling in their car...
• When other people are eating around them...
• At social events, parties or gatherings...
Try fasting for 24 hours and you'll see for yourself just how many times you habitually reach for food.
This will teach you many important things about your own eating habits, and that's the point of this exercise. Just pick a day -- preferably a weekend when nothing big is going on -- and fast for 24 hours, drinking nothing but water.
In accomplishing this, you will realize three very important things:
1) You didn't die from starvation in 24 hours. In fact, most people have enough spare calories to go 30 days or more without eating.
2) You found the self-discipline to achieve 24 hours without eating. This is a milestone accomplishment in self control.
3) You learned to observe yourself and recognize the numerous situations in which you habitually reach for food. This can be extremely educational in helping you reform your eating habits in the future.
On top of all that, of course, you gave your digestive system a break and encouraged more rapid healing throughout your body. You may notice some detox effects (like bad breath) or a difference in your energy levels. This is all a normal part of the fasting process, and it indicates your fasting is working!
My own fasting experience
I recently fasted for 90 hours, then I had food for 24 hours followed by another 48-hour fast. The experience was quite enlightening. I had virtually no negative side effects, most likely due to the fact that I consume a very cleansing, healthy diet on a day-to-day basis. Typically, the worse your diet, the more detox side effects you may experience when fasting.If you want to make your fasting more tolerable and more cleansing, you also have the option of drinking an 8-oz. glass of fresh vegetable juice in the middle of your fast. I did this during my fast, and it not only gave me more energy to make it through the fast; it also greatly enhanced the cleansing effects of my fast. I further enhance my own fasts with products from Ed Group's company, Global Healing Center (www.GHChealth.com). I especially like the Oxy Powder and Paratrex products. I take them with every fast.
Naturally, the choice is yours on how to approach this. You also have complete freedom to decide WHEN you want to do this. It doesn't have to happen on Superbowl Weekend. Pick a nice, easy Saturday or Sunday when you don't have anything big going on, and make that day your 24-hour fast. You'll feel better for it, and you will have achieved an important new milestone in your journey toward improved health.
Once you fast for just 24 hours, you'll then know that you can choose to avoid food at any particular time you want. You will discover new flexibility in your food consumption. You'll realize that you can say no to food any time you choose, and you won't die from lack of calories. You'll eliminate that fear and gain a new level of maturity in your relationship to food.
What to do if your fast fails
If you can't make it 24 hours without feeling like you're going to pass out and die, you probably have some rather serious blood sugar imbalances. These can be caused by poor food choice on a day-to-day basis, or even by prescription drugs such as antipsychotics or SSRIs (which imbalance blood sugar metabolism).So if your fast fails, don't fret. Simply take the next 30 days to improve your eating habits, making them healthier and supported with more fresh food rather than processed food. Work to get safely off all prescription drugs (with the help of your naturopathic physician, of course). Drink more superfoods and fresh juices. Then 30 days later, try the 24-hour fast again and see if you can make it through the entire thing.
If you ever feel extremely weak, ill or you think you might pass out, that's a sign to stop the fast and get some calories. This isn't some sort of "no pain no gain" situation. Fasting should be tolerable and not dangerous. Again, the healthier your diet to start with, the easier your fast will typically be.
I have a friend who fasts for 24 hours each week, every week. He's extremely healthy and looks fit and trim well into his 50's. Other people I know (like David Rainoshek) go on 90-day juice fasts / feasts where they drink nothing but fresh living vegetable juice for 90 days.
Personally, I feel really good on a 72-hour fast, and a 48-hour fast is relatively straightforward because I can do it over the weekend. A 24-hour fast is now a no-brainer.
A few years ago, I never could have even entertained the idea of not eating for 24 hours. The thought would have terrified me. If you're in that camp right now, stop to consider what this means: You are a slave to food, just as I was!
Fasting helps free your mind from the enslavement of thinking you have to eat every few hours. It gives you new options, new freedoms and new self discipline. It's about much more than simply not eating food for 24 hours; it's also about self observation and spiritual mindfulness. Why do you think nearly all the great spiritual figures throughout world history fasted as part of their spiritual practice? They did that because too much food messes with your head while fasting clears your head.
Fasting gives you the opportunity to clear the food-induced cobwebs and see things with improved clarity. Now, just as a disclaimer here, please know that you're not going to see God after just a 24-hour fast. When spiritual leaders fast, they often fast for weeks at a time. Some go as far as 40 days. Some "breatharians" claim not to eat food at all, ever! But those are more advanced topics for another day.
For today, just focus on picking a day where you fast for 24 hours and observe the changes in your own mind and body. You'll be a wiser, healthier and more enlightened person for doing so.
Previous articles in this 15-day "Heal Yourself" series
Part One - Remove barriers to healinghttp://www.naturalnews.com/028053_s...
Part Two - Unleash your inner healing potential
http://www.naturalnews.com/028060_s...
Part Three - You are what you absorb
http://www.naturalnews.com/028067_s...
Part Four - Transform your health by making new blood
http://www.naturalnews.com/028075_b...
Part Five - Experience the healing potential of living plant juices
http://www.naturalnews.com/028100_s...
Friday, February 5, 2010
Heal yourself in 15 days with the Health Ranger's living juice recipe (part five)
(NaturalNews) Continuing our 15-part article series called Heal Yourself in 15 Days, today we focus on cleansing your digestive tract and energizing your cellular energy with the help of some living foods. This is in preparation for part six in the series, which we'll get to tomorrow.
Here's the cool part about this: You don't need a juicer to do this step. All you really need is a blender and a nut milk bag (a fine mesh bag used to squeeze out the juice). Of course, a proper juicer really helps, but it's not required. Below, I'm going to give you an absolutely delicious live foods juicing recipe that I think you'll really enjoy. I'm using special ingredients in this juice that help mask the more bland tastes of the green ingredients, so even if you've tried fresh living juices in the past and didn't like them, check out what you'll read below...
Raw living foods offer one of the greatest secrets to disease reversal and lasting health, and nothing beats fresh living foods right out of the garden. So if you can grow any of your own ingredients for this when Spring comes around, definitely make an effort to do so. Otherwise, buy them at a store or farmer's market.
Here's what you'll need (always choose organic):
• 1 container of Blackberries (use all the blackberries)
• 1 bunch of Parsley (use all the parsley)
• 1 bunch of Kale (only use 2-3 large leaves in this recipe)
• 1 bag of Carrots (only use 3 large carrots for this recipe)
• 1 bunch of Celery (use 2-3 stalks for this recipe)
• 2 Pears (use both pears)
If you can't find these ingredients, substitute something close. It's crucial to have some berries in the mix, however. They are part of the recipe for making it all taste good.
After proper preparation (washing, etc.), push all these ingredients through a juicer to generate the fresh juice. If you only have a blender, then blend all these ingredients with water, then pour the juice into a nut milk bag and squeeze out the juice from that. With either method, you'll end up with a container of fresh juice.
This juice will be extremely potent, so mix this with water (add an equal amount of water to the juice). You may also wish to add some stevia if you'd like to sweeten up the taste a bit.
• Blackberries also have a powerful anti-cancer effect through your entire digestive tract, from your mouth and gums down through your colon.
• Parsley is a super digestive cleanser. It will help eliminate toxins while providing your body with a burst of chlorophyll that will help cleanse your blood and liver.
• Kale contains potent anti-cancer phytonutrients. It also contains healthy plant-based proteins and lots of chlorophyll.
• The carrots are used primarily as a sweetener here (they really do sweeten up the juice), and they also contain a wide assortment of beneficial nutrients, most notably beta carotene (from which carrots get their name).
• The pears are the sweeteners here. I find that pear juice tastes much better than apple juice in these raw living juices, but of course it's your choice of what's best for you. If you're diabetic or want to reduce the sugars in this recipe, reduce the numbers of pears to just one or eliminate them altogether (when I juice here in Ecuador, I don't use pears at all. I just use carrots.) Some people prefer to use oranges instead of pears. The tart taste of the oranges in some ways provides a better overall taste. Try the recipe both ways and see what you like best.
In addition to all the benefits listed above, these foods are alive with nutrients and energies. They are live foods, not dead processed foods, and they provide both the nutrients and the energies of life! It's a simple concept, really: If you want to stay alive, eat more living foods. If you want to be dead, eat more dead foods.
How much juice should you drink? Just drink whatever amount you feel comfortable with. I recommend an 8 oz. glass of this juice at minimum, but if you only feel like drinking half that much, that's fine, too. Some people will drink as much as 64 ounces of fresh juice in a day! (Juice Feasting)
For the purposes of this 15-day experience you can still eat all your other normal food during the day. This isn't about eliminating everything else, it's about adding some fresh, living juice to your day. Ideally, you'll make this a regular part of your diet because whatever your diet consists of -- whether it's pure vegan or based on McDonald's cheeseburgers -- it will be helped by adding several ounces of fresh juice.
You can, if you wish, consume juice from a superfood powder such as EnerFood, VitaMineral Green, Boku Superfood, Delicious Greens or others. These are all reasonable alternatives to fresh juice, but by their very nature they are not as fresh as living foods would be.
Do NOT reach for a Naked Juice, or Odwalla juice and make the mistake of thinking they are fresh living juices. All of those juices are DEAD, pasteurized juices made by the big soft drink companies (Coke and Pepsi). None of them are fresh, raw and alive. They still have nutritional benefits, so I'm not saying they're worthless, but they pale in comparison to fresh, raw juices that you make at home.
You can drink this juice between meals, or during a meal, or any time you want. Just drink it quickly after making it, because fresh juice oxidizes in mere minutes. The nutritional quality of the fresh juice you make literally starts to degrade with each passing second. Ideally, start to consume it within two minutes of juicing it, and finish it in no more than five.
You may feel some "detox" side effects from this juice, especially if you currently pursue a relatively unhealthful diet. But they should be mild. After all, this is just simple juice from simple foods. These aren't drugs or extracts. They are the foods your body was meant to consume.
By the way, I'm not here to push a vegan diet or a vegetarian diet on you. Decide to eat whatever you wish to eat, for your own reasons. Just add this fresh juice to your day and see what happens for yourself. Even if you gobble down pepperoni pizza and diet soda, these fresh juices will improve your health results in a noticeable way.
In case you're curious, I drink about 16 ounces of this fresh juice each day, right from my own garden. Except I don't use the pears, and I add in fresh aloe vera gel from fresh leaves that I grow myself here in Ecuador. I grow all my own fresh berries, kale, carrots, parsley, broccoli, cucumbers and more, and these go right into my juice.
Just so you know how powerful this is, I just finished a 90-hour fast. Aside from a raw coconut food bar a friend gave me, I didn't eat any solid food for 90 hours. I did, however, drink one glass of fresh, living vegetable juice each day.
If I had been consuming a junk food diet, my energy would have collapsed within the first 24 hours. I would have been dead tired, detoxing in bed and probably suffering through it all. But because my daily diet is so clean, I was able to eat virtually nothing for nearly four days and still have the energy to write these articles, to go hiking up the mountains behind my house and generally get along with a normal day. (Yes, it got difficult on the fourth day, which is why I ended the fast at 90 hours.)
Fresh living juice is such a powerhouse of nutrition and energy that even when you eat virtually nothing for several days in a row, the juice you had before the fast keeps you alive, healthy and energetic. That's been my experience, at least.
Here's my take on it:
First off, I don't want vegetable fibers, and I don't need 'em. The fruit fibers, on the other hand, are very good for your digestive health. Fruit pectin even helps prevent cancer according to many naturopaths. So if you want more pulp in your juice, then do this:
#1) JUICE the vegetables to get pure juice while tossing out the fibers.
#2) BLEND the fruits to keep the fruit pulp. Then pour in the veggie juice and add water.
To me, this is the best "pulpy" juice. It's easy to remember, too: KEEP the fruit fiber, TOSS the vegetable fiber.
But for those who are using juice therapeutically to treat disease under the care of a naturopathic physician, for example, they will probably want no fiber at all. That's because the fiber makes it more difficult for your body to absorb the juice. So for people who are fasting, or treating cancer, or detoxing or whatever, it's often recommended that they discard all the fiber and go for the pure juice.
There's no absolute right or wrong about this. What's important is what works for you! Try it both ways and do what makes you feel healthier and happier.
Tomorrow I'll talk more about fasting. For today, enjoy your juice!
Here's the cool part about this: You don't need a juicer to do this step. All you really need is a blender and a nut milk bag (a fine mesh bag used to squeeze out the juice). Of course, a proper juicer really helps, but it's not required. Below, I'm going to give you an absolutely delicious live foods juicing recipe that I think you'll really enjoy. I'm using special ingredients in this juice that help mask the more bland tastes of the green ingredients, so even if you've tried fresh living juices in the past and didn't like them, check out what you'll read below...
Raw living foods offer one of the greatest secrets to disease reversal and lasting health, and nothing beats fresh living foods right out of the garden. So if you can grow any of your own ingredients for this when Spring comes around, definitely make an effort to do so. Otherwise, buy them at a store or farmer's market.
Here's what you'll need (always choose organic):
• 1 container of Blackberries (use all the blackberries)
• 1 bunch of Parsley (use all the parsley)
• 1 bunch of Kale (only use 2-3 large leaves in this recipe)
• 1 bag of Carrots (only use 3 large carrots for this recipe)
• 1 bunch of Celery (use 2-3 stalks for this recipe)
• 2 Pears (use both pears)
If you can't find these ingredients, substitute something close. It's crucial to have some berries in the mix, however. They are part of the recipe for making it all taste good.
After proper preparation (washing, etc.), push all these ingredients through a juicer to generate the fresh juice. If you only have a blender, then blend all these ingredients with water, then pour the juice into a nut milk bag and squeeze out the juice from that. With either method, you'll end up with a container of fresh juice.
This juice will be extremely potent, so mix this with water (add an equal amount of water to the juice). You may also wish to add some stevia if you'd like to sweeten up the taste a bit.
Health benefits of the fresh living juice
• The blackberries will mask the bitter tastes of the other ingredients with their acidity. This acidity greatly improves the overall taste of the recipe. It also improves digestion of the minerals in the vegetables (you need an acidic digestive environment to absorb minerals).• Blackberries also have a powerful anti-cancer effect through your entire digestive tract, from your mouth and gums down through your colon.
• Parsley is a super digestive cleanser. It will help eliminate toxins while providing your body with a burst of chlorophyll that will help cleanse your blood and liver.
• Kale contains potent anti-cancer phytonutrients. It also contains healthy plant-based proteins and lots of chlorophyll.
• The carrots are used primarily as a sweetener here (they really do sweeten up the juice), and they also contain a wide assortment of beneficial nutrients, most notably beta carotene (from which carrots get their name).
• The pears are the sweeteners here. I find that pear juice tastes much better than apple juice in these raw living juices, but of course it's your choice of what's best for you. If you're diabetic or want to reduce the sugars in this recipe, reduce the numbers of pears to just one or eliminate them altogether (when I juice here in Ecuador, I don't use pears at all. I just use carrots.) Some people prefer to use oranges instead of pears. The tart taste of the oranges in some ways provides a better overall taste. Try the recipe both ways and see what you like best.
In addition to all the benefits listed above, these foods are alive with nutrients and energies. They are live foods, not dead processed foods, and they provide both the nutrients and the energies of life! It's a simple concept, really: If you want to stay alive, eat more living foods. If you want to be dead, eat more dead foods.
Your body will thank you
The point of today's living foods juice is to both introduce you to the joy of juicing (if you don't already know about it), and to prepare your digestive tract for tomorrow's action item.How much juice should you drink? Just drink whatever amount you feel comfortable with. I recommend an 8 oz. glass of this juice at minimum, but if you only feel like drinking half that much, that's fine, too. Some people will drink as much as 64 ounces of fresh juice in a day! (Juice Feasting)
For the purposes of this 15-day experience you can still eat all your other normal food during the day. This isn't about eliminating everything else, it's about adding some fresh, living juice to your day. Ideally, you'll make this a regular part of your diet because whatever your diet consists of -- whether it's pure vegan or based on McDonald's cheeseburgers -- it will be helped by adding several ounces of fresh juice.
Pointers and shortcuts
Don't have time to make your own fresh juice? There are shortcuts, but none of them are as good as actual living fresh juice.You can, if you wish, consume juice from a superfood powder such as EnerFood, VitaMineral Green, Boku Superfood, Delicious Greens or others. These are all reasonable alternatives to fresh juice, but by their very nature they are not as fresh as living foods would be.
Do NOT reach for a Naked Juice, or Odwalla juice and make the mistake of thinking they are fresh living juices. All of those juices are DEAD, pasteurized juices made by the big soft drink companies (Coke and Pepsi). None of them are fresh, raw and alive. They still have nutritional benefits, so I'm not saying they're worthless, but they pale in comparison to fresh, raw juices that you make at home.
You can drink this juice between meals, or during a meal, or any time you want. Just drink it quickly after making it, because fresh juice oxidizes in mere minutes. The nutritional quality of the fresh juice you make literally starts to degrade with each passing second. Ideally, start to consume it within two minutes of juicing it, and finish it in no more than five.
You may feel some "detox" side effects from this juice, especially if you currently pursue a relatively unhealthful diet. But they should be mild. After all, this is just simple juice from simple foods. These aren't drugs or extracts. They are the foods your body was meant to consume.
By the way, I'm not here to push a vegan diet or a vegetarian diet on you. Decide to eat whatever you wish to eat, for your own reasons. Just add this fresh juice to your day and see what happens for yourself. Even if you gobble down pepperoni pizza and diet soda, these fresh juices will improve your health results in a noticeable way.
In case you're curious, I drink about 16 ounces of this fresh juice each day, right from my own garden. Except I don't use the pears, and I add in fresh aloe vera gel from fresh leaves that I grow myself here in Ecuador. I grow all my own fresh berries, kale, carrots, parsley, broccoli, cucumbers and more, and these go right into my juice.
Just so you know how powerful this is, I just finished a 90-hour fast. Aside from a raw coconut food bar a friend gave me, I didn't eat any solid food for 90 hours. I did, however, drink one glass of fresh, living vegetable juice each day.
If I had been consuming a junk food diet, my energy would have collapsed within the first 24 hours. I would have been dead tired, detoxing in bed and probably suffering through it all. But because my daily diet is so clean, I was able to eat virtually nothing for nearly four days and still have the energy to write these articles, to go hiking up the mountains behind my house and generally get along with a normal day. (Yes, it got difficult on the fourth day, which is why I ended the fast at 90 hours.)
Fresh living juice is such a powerhouse of nutrition and energy that even when you eat virtually nothing for several days in a row, the juice you had before the fast keeps you alive, healthy and energetic. That's been my experience, at least.
What about the pulp?
I've added this section to the article because people are asking why they shouldn't drink the pulp and fibers of the fruits and veggies instead of juicing them.Here's my take on it:
First off, I don't want vegetable fibers, and I don't need 'em. The fruit fibers, on the other hand, are very good for your digestive health. Fruit pectin even helps prevent cancer according to many naturopaths. So if you want more pulp in your juice, then do this:
#1) JUICE the vegetables to get pure juice while tossing out the fibers.
#2) BLEND the fruits to keep the fruit pulp. Then pour in the veggie juice and add water.
To me, this is the best "pulpy" juice. It's easy to remember, too: KEEP the fruit fiber, TOSS the vegetable fiber.
But for those who are using juice therapeutically to treat disease under the care of a naturopathic physician, for example, they will probably want no fiber at all. That's because the fiber makes it more difficult for your body to absorb the juice. So for people who are fasting, or treating cancer, or detoxing or whatever, it's often recommended that they discard all the fiber and go for the pure juice.
There's no absolute right or wrong about this. What's important is what works for you! Try it both ways and do what makes you feel healthier and happier.
Tomorrow I'll talk more about fasting. For today, enjoy your juice!
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Magnesium found to boost learning and memory
(NaturalNews) Magnesium, as NaturalNews has reported through the years, is an essential nutrient that benefits health in many important ways. For example, research has shown it helps to prevent heart disease (http://www.naturalnews.com/027392_m...), slashes the risk of cerebral palsy (http://www.naturalnews.com/025350_m...), and can even treat age-related hearing loss (http://www.naturalnews.com/026834_h...). Now a study by Chinese scientists, published in the in the January 28th issue of the journal Neuron, shows magnesium could have a powerful impact on the brain, too -- and boost learning and memory.
In a statement to the media, the researchers noted that diet can affect cognitive capacity. Because learning and memory tend to decline with age and disease, they decided to search for dietary factors that could prevent these changes by having a positive influence on the sites of communication between brain cells (neurons) called synapses. Professor Guosong Liu, Director of the Center for Learning and Memory at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China, led the new study to see whether supplementing the diet with magnesium could boost brain power in this way.
The results suggest increasing magnesium intake could be a successful, drug-free way to improve brain function. It also supports the idea that too-low levels of magnesium could result in increased deterioration of memory in aging humans.
"Magnesium is essential for the proper functioning of many tissues in the body, including the brain and, in an earlier study, we demonstrated that magnesium promoted synaptic plasticity in cultured brain cells," Dr. Liu explained in the press statement. "Therefore it was tempting to take our studies a step further and investigate whether an increase in brain magnesium levels enhanced cognitive function in animals."
Using a new magnesium compound dubbed magnesium-L-threonate (MgT) that can significantly increase magnesium in the brain when used as a dietary supplement, the research team gave magnesium to lab rats of different ages along with their regular diet. Then the scientists checked the animals for behavioral and cellular changes associated with memory.
"We found that increased brain magnesium enhanced many different forms of learning and memory in both young and aged rats," stated Dr. Liu. In fact, the research revealed an increase in the number of functional synapses and enhancement of a host of processes in the brain that are necessary for learning and memory.
"Our findings suggest that elevating brain magnesium content via increasing magnesium intake might be a useful new strategy to enhance cognitive abilities," Dr. Liu concluded in the media statement. "Moreover, half the population of industrialized countries has a magnesium deficit, which increases with aging. This may very well contribute to age-dependent memory decline; increasing magnesium intake might prevent or reduce such decline."
Editor's note: NaturalNews is opposed to the use of animals in medical experiments that expose them to harm. We present these findings in protest of the way in which they were acquired.
For more information:
http://www.cell.com/neuron/fulltext...
http://www.naturalnews.com/magnesiu...
In a statement to the media, the researchers noted that diet can affect cognitive capacity. Because learning and memory tend to decline with age and disease, they decided to search for dietary factors that could prevent these changes by having a positive influence on the sites of communication between brain cells (neurons) called synapses. Professor Guosong Liu, Director of the Center for Learning and Memory at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China, led the new study to see whether supplementing the diet with magnesium could boost brain power in this way.
The results suggest increasing magnesium intake could be a successful, drug-free way to improve brain function. It also supports the idea that too-low levels of magnesium could result in increased deterioration of memory in aging humans.
"Magnesium is essential for the proper functioning of many tissues in the body, including the brain and, in an earlier study, we demonstrated that magnesium promoted synaptic plasticity in cultured brain cells," Dr. Liu explained in the press statement. "Therefore it was tempting to take our studies a step further and investigate whether an increase in brain magnesium levels enhanced cognitive function in animals."
Using a new magnesium compound dubbed magnesium-L-threonate (MgT) that can significantly increase magnesium in the brain when used as a dietary supplement, the research team gave magnesium to lab rats of different ages along with their regular diet. Then the scientists checked the animals for behavioral and cellular changes associated with memory.
"We found that increased brain magnesium enhanced many different forms of learning and memory in both young and aged rats," stated Dr. Liu. In fact, the research revealed an increase in the number of functional synapses and enhancement of a host of processes in the brain that are necessary for learning and memory.
"Our findings suggest that elevating brain magnesium content via increasing magnesium intake might be a useful new strategy to enhance cognitive abilities," Dr. Liu concluded in the media statement. "Moreover, half the population of industrialized countries has a magnesium deficit, which increases with aging. This may very well contribute to age-dependent memory decline; increasing magnesium intake might prevent or reduce such decline."
Editor's note: NaturalNews is opposed to the use of animals in medical experiments that expose them to harm. We present these findings in protest of the way in which they were acquired.
For more information:
http://www.cell.com/neuron/fulltext...
http://www.naturalnews.com/magnesiu...
Friday, January 22, 2010
Natural form of vitamin E protects the brain after stroke
(NaturalNews) A stroke occurs when the blood supply to part of the brain is suddenly blocked by a blood clot or when a blood vessel in the brain bursts, driving blood into the spaces surrounding brain cells, or neurons. The result can be brain damage that leaves stroke survivors with disabilities ranging from one-sided paralysis or weakness to problems with thinking, attention, memory and learning. But new research by Ohio State University scientists set for publication in an upcoming edition of the Journal of Neurochemistry concludes a specific type of vitamin E known as tocotrienol (TCT) could prevent brain cells from dying after a stroke.
Tocopherols are the best-known form of vitamin E and the kind usually found in supplements. However, the vitamin occurs naturally in seven other different forms, including TCT. Although not widely found in the typical American diet, it is common in foods that comprise a typical Southeast Asian diet. Food sources of TCT include rice bran oil, barley, wheat germ and oats.
"Our research suggests that the different forms of natural vitamin E have distinct functions. The relatively poorly studied tocotrienol form of natural vitamin E targets specific pathways to protect against neural cell death and rescues the brain after stroke injury," Chandan Sen, professor and vice chair for research in Ohio State's Department of Surgery and senior author of the study, said in a statement to the media.
Over the past decade, the Ohio State University research team has studied how this form of vitamin E protects the brain in animal and cell models. But according to Dr. Sen, their new study provides specific details about how that protection works. Bottom line: they've identified an enzyme called cystolic calcium-dependent phospholipase A2 (cPLA2, for short) that tocotrienol targets to protect neurons after a stroke.
"We have studied an enzyme that is present all the time, but one that is activated after a stroke in a way that causes neurodegeneration. We found that it can be put in check by very low levels of tocotrienol," Dr. Sen said. "So what we have here is a naturally derived nutrient, rather than a drug, that provides this beneficial impact."
The researchers explained that the blocked blood flow to the brain associated with a stroke causes an excess of the neurotransmitter glutamate to be released. In normal amounts, glutamate is beneficial and important for memory and learning. But when produced in large amounts due to the brain trauma of a stroke, it triggers a cascade of reactions that leads to the death of neurons and causes the most serious stroke damage.
For their study, Dr. Sen and colleagues took cells from the hippocampus region of developing mouse brains and added excess glutamate to produce the type of changes seen in the brain after a stroke. In the presence of excess glutamate, the cPLA2 enzyme released a fatty acid called arachidonic acid which normally helps maintain the stability of health cell membranes. Under stroke conditions, however, with high levels of glutamate present, arachidonic acid undergoes an enzymatic chemical reaction that makes it toxic -- then brain cells are poisoned and start to die.
But when the researchers added tocotrienol to the cells that had been exposed to excess glutamate, the vitamin E decreased the release of fatty acids by 60 percent when compared to cells exposed to glutamate alone. What's more, the brain cells treated with the TCT form of vitamin E were about four times more likely to survive than brain cells exposed to glutamate alone.
In the press statement, Dr. Sen noted that the amount of TCT needed to achieve these brain cell protecting effects is quite small -- a concentration about 10 times lower than the average amount of tocotrienol circulating in humans who consume this form of vitamin E regularly. The Ohio State University researchers intend to continue their research to see if TCT can successfully prevent and treat strokes in humans.
Editor's note: NaturalNews is opposed to the use of animals in medical experiments that expose them to harm. We present these findings in protest of the way in which they were acquired.
For more information:
http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive...
http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/...
http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocent...
Tocopherols are the best-known form of vitamin E and the kind usually found in supplements. However, the vitamin occurs naturally in seven other different forms, including TCT. Although not widely found in the typical American diet, it is common in foods that comprise a typical Southeast Asian diet. Food sources of TCT include rice bran oil, barley, wheat germ and oats.
"Our research suggests that the different forms of natural vitamin E have distinct functions. The relatively poorly studied tocotrienol form of natural vitamin E targets specific pathways to protect against neural cell death and rescues the brain after stroke injury," Chandan Sen, professor and vice chair for research in Ohio State's Department of Surgery and senior author of the study, said in a statement to the media.
Over the past decade, the Ohio State University research team has studied how this form of vitamin E protects the brain in animal and cell models. But according to Dr. Sen, their new study provides specific details about how that protection works. Bottom line: they've identified an enzyme called cystolic calcium-dependent phospholipase A2 (cPLA2, for short) that tocotrienol targets to protect neurons after a stroke.
"We have studied an enzyme that is present all the time, but one that is activated after a stroke in a way that causes neurodegeneration. We found that it can be put in check by very low levels of tocotrienol," Dr. Sen said. "So what we have here is a naturally derived nutrient, rather than a drug, that provides this beneficial impact."
The researchers explained that the blocked blood flow to the brain associated with a stroke causes an excess of the neurotransmitter glutamate to be released. In normal amounts, glutamate is beneficial and important for memory and learning. But when produced in large amounts due to the brain trauma of a stroke, it triggers a cascade of reactions that leads to the death of neurons and causes the most serious stroke damage.
For their study, Dr. Sen and colleagues took cells from the hippocampus region of developing mouse brains and added excess glutamate to produce the type of changes seen in the brain after a stroke. In the presence of excess glutamate, the cPLA2 enzyme released a fatty acid called arachidonic acid which normally helps maintain the stability of health cell membranes. Under stroke conditions, however, with high levels of glutamate present, arachidonic acid undergoes an enzymatic chemical reaction that makes it toxic -- then brain cells are poisoned and start to die.
But when the researchers added tocotrienol to the cells that had been exposed to excess glutamate, the vitamin E decreased the release of fatty acids by 60 percent when compared to cells exposed to glutamate alone. What's more, the brain cells treated with the TCT form of vitamin E were about four times more likely to survive than brain cells exposed to glutamate alone.
In the press statement, Dr. Sen noted that the amount of TCT needed to achieve these brain cell protecting effects is quite small -- a concentration about 10 times lower than the average amount of tocotrienol circulating in humans who consume this form of vitamin E regularly. The Ohio State University researchers intend to continue their research to see if TCT can successfully prevent and treat strokes in humans.
Editor's note: NaturalNews is opposed to the use of animals in medical experiments that expose them to harm. We present these findings in protest of the way in which they were acquired.
For more information:
http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive...
http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/...
http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocent...
Chlorophyll blocks absorption of toxic carcinogens
(NaturalNews) A recent study conducted by researchers from Oregon State University (OSU) has found that chlorophyll works effectively to block bodily absorption of aflatoxin, a fungal contaminant found in many grain and legume stocks. Research participants who were given chlorophyll alongside aflatoxin did not absorb the carcinogen as readily as those who were given only aflatoxin.
Published in the journal Cancer Prevention Research, the study utilized a new, state-of-the-art assessment method called "Phase 0" which essentially evaluates the effects of carcinogens by administrating them in safe micro-doses. Praised by researchers as a breakthrough testing procedure, Phase 0 utilizes an accelerator mass spectrometer that is able to measure minute variations of toxic exposure and assess toxicity levels down to the smallest increments.
Many developing countries around the world have food supplies that are tainted with high levels of aflatoxin. Aflatoxin is implicated in causing problems in the liver, including liver cancer. George Bailey, an OSU scientist who has studied aflatoxin exposure in China, found that in one region ten percent of inhabitants die from aflatoxin-induced liver cancer.
Using Phase 0 technology, researchers were able to determine that aflatoxin is absorbed very rapidly by the body once ingested. In the presence of chlorophyll, however, aflatoxin is prevented from entering the bloodstream and quickly eliminated from the system. Supplementation with chlorophyll and chlorophyllin, its derivative, may reduce the number of cases of liver cancer.
Researchers hope to conduct further research in order to better understand logistically how chlorophyll works to block aflatoxin absorption.
Chlorophyll offers a lot more benefits as well: It cleanses your blood and helps detoxify your liver, colon and entire digestive tract.
Modern medicine, of course, has utterly failed to recognize any use for chlorophyll whatsoever. But followers of raw living foods understand very well how important chlorophyll is to human health.
What are the best sources? One of the best is parsley juice. Grow your own parsley (or buy it in a store), then juice it with some other fruits and vegetables to make a chlorophyll-rich, highly-nutritious beverage!
Sources for this story include:
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_relea...
Published in the journal Cancer Prevention Research, the study utilized a new, state-of-the-art assessment method called "Phase 0" which essentially evaluates the effects of carcinogens by administrating them in safe micro-doses. Praised by researchers as a breakthrough testing procedure, Phase 0 utilizes an accelerator mass spectrometer that is able to measure minute variations of toxic exposure and assess toxicity levels down to the smallest increments.
Many developing countries around the world have food supplies that are tainted with high levels of aflatoxin. Aflatoxin is implicated in causing problems in the liver, including liver cancer. George Bailey, an OSU scientist who has studied aflatoxin exposure in China, found that in one region ten percent of inhabitants die from aflatoxin-induced liver cancer.
Using Phase 0 technology, researchers were able to determine that aflatoxin is absorbed very rapidly by the body once ingested. In the presence of chlorophyll, however, aflatoxin is prevented from entering the bloodstream and quickly eliminated from the system. Supplementation with chlorophyll and chlorophyllin, its derivative, may reduce the number of cases of liver cancer.
Researchers hope to conduct further research in order to better understand logistically how chlorophyll works to block aflatoxin absorption.
Comments by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
Here's yet more evidence showing the importance of including fresh, raw plants in your diet. Chlorophyll protects you from other dietary toxins and can theoretically even save you from liver cancer.Chlorophyll offers a lot more benefits as well: It cleanses your blood and helps detoxify your liver, colon and entire digestive tract.
Modern medicine, of course, has utterly failed to recognize any use for chlorophyll whatsoever. But followers of raw living foods understand very well how important chlorophyll is to human health.
What are the best sources? One of the best is parsley juice. Grow your own parsley (or buy it in a store), then juice it with some other fruits and vegetables to make a chlorophyll-rich, highly-nutritious beverage!
Sources for this story include:
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_relea...
Friday, January 15, 2010
Alcohol Sharply Reduces Risk of Heart Disease in Men
(NaturalNews) A Spanish study on alcohol consumption revealed that men who consume large amounts of alcohol cut their risk of heart disease by more than a third. At the same time, excessive alcohol consumption, which is responsible for 1.8 million deaths a year, will increase one's risk of developing many other diseases.
The study analyzed 41,500 people, both men and women, between the ages of 29 and 69. Participants were followed for ten years and were asked to keep documentation about their drinking habits. What researchers found was that men who consumed alcohol daily reduced their risk of developing heart disease by 35 percent. Women did not experience the same results.
More extreme levels of alcohol consumption among men, between three and eleven (or more) shots of hard liquor a day, suggested a 50 percent decrease in heart disease. It is believed that women do not experience the same effects from alcohol as men do because of differences in female hormonal activity and the methods by which females process alcohol.
While partially unclear as to how it works logistically, scientists understand that consumption of alcohol tends to raise high-density lipoproteins, also known as "good" cholesterol, which prevents bad cholesterol from accumulating in the arteries.
Intake of alcohol is linked to the development of another type of heart disease called cardiomyopathy, which is a weakening of the heart's ability to adequately function. Such a condition can result in death if not dealt with properly.
Experts reiterated the fact that while alcohol consumption may reduce one type of heart disease, it can cause many other problems including liver, brain, and pancreatic illnesses. The Stroke Association noted that high alcohol consumption increases one's risk of having a stroke by 300 percent.
While adding to existing literature on the subject of the alleged benefits of alcohol, experts from across the board warned people not to take the study as a license to binge drink. The risks far outweigh the benefits and, unless a person is very careful in monitoring his or her intake, he or she may easily go over what is considered moderate alcohol limits.
Better ways to prevent heart disease include limiting intake of unhealthy fats and excess processed foods. Some nutrient-dense foods that are known to assist in maintaining healthy cholesterol levels include blueberries, grass-fed meats, wild salmon, garlic, avocados, coconut oil, dark green vegetables, apples and raw almonds.
Sources for this story include: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8... https://health.google.com/health/ref/Cardiomyopathy, http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?...
The study analyzed 41,500 people, both men and women, between the ages of 29 and 69. Participants were followed for ten years and were asked to keep documentation about their drinking habits. What researchers found was that men who consumed alcohol daily reduced their risk of developing heart disease by 35 percent. Women did not experience the same results.
More extreme levels of alcohol consumption among men, between three and eleven (or more) shots of hard liquor a day, suggested a 50 percent decrease in heart disease. It is believed that women do not experience the same effects from alcohol as men do because of differences in female hormonal activity and the methods by which females process alcohol.
While partially unclear as to how it works logistically, scientists understand that consumption of alcohol tends to raise high-density lipoproteins, also known as "good" cholesterol, which prevents bad cholesterol from accumulating in the arteries.
Intake of alcohol is linked to the development of another type of heart disease called cardiomyopathy, which is a weakening of the heart's ability to adequately function. Such a condition can result in death if not dealt with properly.
Experts reiterated the fact that while alcohol consumption may reduce one type of heart disease, it can cause many other problems including liver, brain, and pancreatic illnesses. The Stroke Association noted that high alcohol consumption increases one's risk of having a stroke by 300 percent.
While adding to existing literature on the subject of the alleged benefits of alcohol, experts from across the board warned people not to take the study as a license to binge drink. The risks far outweigh the benefits and, unless a person is very careful in monitoring his or her intake, he or she may easily go over what is considered moderate alcohol limits.
Better ways to prevent heart disease include limiting intake of unhealthy fats and excess processed foods. Some nutrient-dense foods that are known to assist in maintaining healthy cholesterol levels include blueberries, grass-fed meats, wild salmon, garlic, avocados, coconut oil, dark green vegetables, apples and raw almonds.
Sources for this story include: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8... https://health.google.com/health/ref/Cardiomyopathy, http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?...
Friday, December 18, 2009
Nutty news from scientists: pistachios reduce lung cancer risk
(NaturalNews) Researchers have reported over the past year that nuts offer a wide range of health benefits -- from helping fight the pre-diabetic condition known as metabolic syndrome (http://www.naturalnews.com/025098_n...) to preventing age-related blindness (http://www.naturalnews.com/026369_o...) and lowering breast cancer risk (http://www.naturalnews.com/026115_w...). Now there's even more good news about nuts. According to data presented at the American Association for Cancer Research Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research Conference held in Houston recently, eating a handful of pistachios daily may protect you from lung cancer.
"It is known that vitamin E provides a degree of protection against certain forms of cancer. Higher intakes of gamma-tocopherol, which is a form of vitamin E, may reduce the risk of lung cancer," Ladia M. Hernandez, a PhD candidate at Texas Women's University and a senior research dietitian in the Department of Epidemiology at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, said in a statement to the press. "Pistachios are a good source of gamma-tocopherol. Eating them increases intake of gamma-tocopherol so pistachios may help to decrease lung cancer risk."
Pistachios have already been shown in previous studies to be a heart-healthy food. The nuts have a cholesterol-lowering effect and are loaded with immune system boosting antioxidants. Hernandez and her research team conducted a six-week, controlled clinical trial to investigate whether the consumption of pistachios would increase levels of gamma-tocopherol in the body.
Their study, which was at conducted at Texas Woman's University in Houston, involved 36 healthy research subjects. The participants were randomized into a control group and an intervention group. For two weeks, both groups ate their normal diets so the scientists could take baseline measurements. Then for four weeks the control group continued on their regular diet while the other study participants added 68 grams (about 2 ounces or 117 kernels) of pistachios to their diets each day.
By weeks three and four, the scientists found that the research subjects eating pistachios had significantly higher serum gamma-tocopherol levels, compared to their baseline measurements and the vitamin E levels measured in the control group not eating the nuts. This substantially increased amount of gamma-tocopherol in the body of pistachio eaters could help lower the risk of not only lung cancer but other malignancies, as well. "Because epidemiologic studies suggest gamma-tocopherol is protective against prostate cancer, pistachio intake may help," Hernandez said.
But what about the added calories? Hernandez explained the amount of pistachios needed to lower the risk of cancer isn't enough to pack on extra pounds. "Pistachios are one of those 'good-for-you' nuts, and two ounces per day could be incorporated into dietary strategies designed to reduce the risk of lung cancer without significant changes in body mass index," she stated.
For more information:
http://www.aacr.org/home/public--me...
"It is known that vitamin E provides a degree of protection against certain forms of cancer. Higher intakes of gamma-tocopherol, which is a form of vitamin E, may reduce the risk of lung cancer," Ladia M. Hernandez, a PhD candidate at Texas Women's University and a senior research dietitian in the Department of Epidemiology at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, said in a statement to the press. "Pistachios are a good source of gamma-tocopherol. Eating them increases intake of gamma-tocopherol so pistachios may help to decrease lung cancer risk."
Pistachios have already been shown in previous studies to be a heart-healthy food. The nuts have a cholesterol-lowering effect and are loaded with immune system boosting antioxidants. Hernandez and her research team conducted a six-week, controlled clinical trial to investigate whether the consumption of pistachios would increase levels of gamma-tocopherol in the body.
Their study, which was at conducted at Texas Woman's University in Houston, involved 36 healthy research subjects. The participants were randomized into a control group and an intervention group. For two weeks, both groups ate their normal diets so the scientists could take baseline measurements. Then for four weeks the control group continued on their regular diet while the other study participants added 68 grams (about 2 ounces or 117 kernels) of pistachios to their diets each day.
By weeks three and four, the scientists found that the research subjects eating pistachios had significantly higher serum gamma-tocopherol levels, compared to their baseline measurements and the vitamin E levels measured in the control group not eating the nuts. This substantially increased amount of gamma-tocopherol in the body of pistachio eaters could help lower the risk of not only lung cancer but other malignancies, as well. "Because epidemiologic studies suggest gamma-tocopherol is protective against prostate cancer, pistachio intake may help," Hernandez said.
But what about the added calories? Hernandez explained the amount of pistachios needed to lower the risk of cancer isn't enough to pack on extra pounds. "Pistachios are one of those 'good-for-you' nuts, and two ounces per day could be incorporated into dietary strategies designed to reduce the risk of lung cancer without significant changes in body mass index," she stated.
For more information:
http://www.aacr.org/home/public--me...
Friday, December 4, 2009
Meditation slashes risk of heart attack, stroke and death in heart disease patients by half
(NaturalNews) Transcendental Meditation (TM) first became well-known in the U.S. during the 1960s when the Beatles showed interest in studying the stress-reducing technique. But meditation hasn't gone the way of love beads and flower power since then. In fact, various techniques, including TM, have received serious scientific scrutiny and researchers have documented many health benefits of meditation.
Now a $3.8 million study funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) has reached a first-ever finding: patients with coronary heart disease who practiced TM had a nearly 50 percent lower rate of heart attack, stroke, and death compared to a matched group that didn't meditate.
The results of the study, which was conducted at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee in collaboration with the Institute for Natural Medicine and Prevention at Maharishi University of Management in Fairfield, Iowa, were presented recently at the annual meeting of the American Heart Association in Orlando, Florida. "Previous research on Transcendental Meditation has shown reductions in blood pressure, psychological stress, and other risk factors for heart disease, irrespective of ethnicity," Robert Schneider, M.D., the study's lead author and director of the Center for Natural Medicine and Prevention, said in a statement to the media. "But this is the first controlled clinical trial to show that long-term practice of this particular stress reduction program reduces the incidence of clinical cardiovascular events, that is heart attacks, strokes and mortality."
The randomized controlled trial followed 201 African American men and women for nine years. The research subjects had an average age of 59 and all were diagnosed with narrowing of arteries in their hearts. The study participants continued taking their regular medications and continued other usual medical care during the study. But half were randomly assigned to a group that practiced stress reducing TM and the other half were placed in a non-meditating group that received health education classes covering standard cardiovascular risk factors.
In addition to a dramatic reduction in the risk of death, heart attacks, and strokes in the TM group, the researchers found a clinically significant reduction in blood pressure. Mediation also reduced psychological stress in a sub-group of patients who were experiencing high levels of anxiety and other signs of stress.
"This study is an example of the contribution of a lifestyle intervention -- stress management -- to the prevention of cardiovascular disease in high-risk patients," Theodore Kotchen, M.D., co-author of the study and associate dean for clinical research at the Medical College, said in the press statement.
For more information:
http://www.mcw.edu/Releases/2009Rel...
Now a $3.8 million study funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) has reached a first-ever finding: patients with coronary heart disease who practiced TM had a nearly 50 percent lower rate of heart attack, stroke, and death compared to a matched group that didn't meditate.
The results of the study, which was conducted at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee in collaboration with the Institute for Natural Medicine and Prevention at Maharishi University of Management in Fairfield, Iowa, were presented recently at the annual meeting of the American Heart Association in Orlando, Florida. "Previous research on Transcendental Meditation has shown reductions in blood pressure, psychological stress, and other risk factors for heart disease, irrespective of ethnicity," Robert Schneider, M.D., the study's lead author and director of the Center for Natural Medicine and Prevention, said in a statement to the media. "But this is the first controlled clinical trial to show that long-term practice of this particular stress reduction program reduces the incidence of clinical cardiovascular events, that is heart attacks, strokes and mortality."
The randomized controlled trial followed 201 African American men and women for nine years. The research subjects had an average age of 59 and all were diagnosed with narrowing of arteries in their hearts. The study participants continued taking their regular medications and continued other usual medical care during the study. But half were randomly assigned to a group that practiced stress reducing TM and the other half were placed in a non-meditating group that received health education classes covering standard cardiovascular risk factors.
In addition to a dramatic reduction in the risk of death, heart attacks, and strokes in the TM group, the researchers found a clinically significant reduction in blood pressure. Mediation also reduced psychological stress in a sub-group of patients who were experiencing high levels of anxiety and other signs of stress.
"This study is an example of the contribution of a lifestyle intervention -- stress management -- to the prevention of cardiovascular disease in high-risk patients," Theodore Kotchen, M.D., co-author of the study and associate dean for clinical research at the Medical College, said in the press statement.
For more information:
http://www.mcw.edu/Releases/2009Rel...
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