Eat More Chocolate for Health

Chocolate has been a favorite food of people since it was first discovered. A joke among chocolate lovers is that it is an essential nutrient. But aside from a velvety texture and indescribable taste, is chocolate good for you? Research has shown that raw, dark cocoa is. Chocolate in assorted candies or bars has been processed. It has been fermented and sweetened with unhealthy sugars. It has preservatives and other added chemicals. It isn`t good for you at all, unlike raw, dark, healthy chocolate.

Unlike money, chocolate really does grow on trees. Raw cocoa powder produced directly from the fruit of the cacao tree is a pure substance. It contains no additives and is high in antioxidants. A Cornell University study cites findings that it has two times the antioxidants of red wine.

Raw chocolate is high in tryptophan. The human body uses tryptophan to help manufacture serotonin, a biogenic amine or neurotransmitter that prevents depression, so if you`ve heard that chocolate is an anti-depressant, there is some truth to that.

There seems to be a positive link between raw chocolate and cardiovascular health. Early findings demonstrate that risk of blood clots, strokes and heart attacks is lessened in those people who regularly eat raw chocolate. One of the minerals needed for good heart function is magnesium (Mg). It is needed only in trace amounts, but in the majority of heart attack sufferers, the body`s Mg content is subnormal. Raw chocolate is an excellent source of Mg.

Raw chocolate contains oleic acid. This is a monounsaturated fat that early research findings show helps raise the good cholesterol or HDL.

Healthy, raw, dark chocolate is extremely bitter. In order to make it palatable, equal parts of raw cocoa powder, raw honey and raw cocoa butter should be mixed together. Kept in the refrigerator, this makes a healthy sweet chocolate treat. Hot cocoa can be made with a healthy milk such as hemp or raw sheep, raw cocoa powder and raw honey. Some people seem to enjoy raw chocolate without anything added whatsoever. Apparently, this is an acquired taste.

Just how healthy is raw chocolate? A study done in 2005 reported the following results:
(1) Those study patients who ate 3.5 ounces of dark chocolate daily for two weeks and a day experienced a drop in LDL or bad cholesterol.

(2) The investigators identified a lowering of blood pressure, both top and bottom numbers.

(3) Chocolate has been found to make cells more sensitive to insulin. When cells become insensitive to insulin, hypoglycemia and diabetes can develop. Therefore, chocolate seems to offer some protection against these diseases.

Other studies have shown that dairy products interfere with the antioxidant absorption of healthy chocolate. Bittersweet chocolate, if it is sweetened with a healthy sugar such as raw honey or xylitol, is the healthy alternative to the milk chocolate bars. White chocolate has none of the healthy chocolate in it; it`s made from cocoa butter. (by: Sheryl Walters)

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Endah Lasmadiwati: Promoting a healthy life with herbs

In the past, Endah Lasmadiwati had been a famous Balinese dance trainer at seven dance studios in Jakarta. But in 1980, life took a bad twist when all the studios went bankrupt, leaving her depressed, sick and almost paralyzed.

In this desperate situation she prayed to regain her strength, through meditation and fasting. She learned to let God's will direct her life.

Now, the 60-year-old is the proud owner of Taman Sringanis, a park of medicinal herbs and a center for the development of natural health remedies in Cimanengah village of Bogor, West Java.

She said Taman Sringanis was set up largely due to the suffering she experienced.

"In 1980, I was sick and almost paralyzed because I was so depressed," she said.

"At that time I believed my reputation as a Balinese dance trainer was finished. The seven Balinese dance studios where I taught had collapsed and I lost 350 students."

She tried hard to recover and became a member of the Susila Budi Darma meditation group in Cilandak, South Jakarta. Through meditation and prayer she found peace and strength, and in 1989 her health recovered.

Through her suffering, she said, she became aware that every human being has been given extraordinary strength by God.

"Every time I prayed I always asked God to bless me and to help me develop the strength within myself so I could be useful to other people," she said.

She started learning acupressure and acupuncture in 1992. A year later, she learned about the medicinal ingredients of herbs.

She also learned massage techniques from Broto Sudibyo, an expert on natural ingredients at the community development center Bethesda in Yogyakarta.

She also learned about breathing and meditation techniques with Sri Haryanto, the owner of the Anugerah Agung Yogyakarta training center.

"This training was designed to help us became capable of diagnosing a disease," she said. "Afterwards, I was aware that human beings have to create a balance between the power of thought and the power of sense."

Endah started to practice what she'd learned, going to villages across regions such as Lombok in West Nusa Tenggara, Medan in North Sumatra and Aceh. A nongovernmental organization involved in health once invited her to teach her skills.

She taught people how to massage and cure themselves using medicinal plants that can be found in the wild.

The meetings with villagers were interesting experiences, she said, because she could exchange information with them about the kinds of medicinal plants in their region.

She also used these opportunities to collect medicinal herbs which she added to the Taman Sringanis collection.

In the park, set up in 1992 on 1,000 square meters of land, she grows about 400 varieties of medicinal plants.

"Sometimes I was disappointed because the people who I entrusted to manage this plantation couldn't look after the plants properly, so many herbs died," she said.

Endah did not have enough time to personally take care of her medicinal plants since she was busy traveling to many places, giving speeches about maintaining health and explaining how to make compounds of traditional medicines.

Taman Sringanis has often been promoted as a tourist garden of medicinal herbs. It also serves as a training grounds for different health issues, from meditation to HIV, and hosts short training programs about compounding medicines.

There is also an acupuncture service and visitors can buy traditional medicine compounds sold at Sringanis traditional medicine house.

Endah's reputation has surprised her, she said.

She has authored several health-themed books, compiled with the help of her colleagues, including The Daily Beneficial Use of Plants to Overcome Disease, Increasing Your Mental Powers, Reducing Blood Sugar Levels, Expressing Thanks Through Plants, and Independent Health Through Acupressure and Herbs.

A senior high school graduate, she now hosts many important guests, from regency heads to high-ranking officials.

"There's even been a number of doctors and a group of people who were close to retirement who came here just to hear my talks about independent health.

"They enthusiastically followed every topic I presented. I'm happy if visitors who come to Taman Sringanis go home with a cheerful heart because they get a useful experience and valuable information about their health," she said. (thejakartapost)

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How to Have a Heart Attack: Keep Eating the Western Diet

A multi-national study just published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association concludes about 30 percent of heart attack risk comes from one thing - diet.

Is it your family history? Your age? Just plain bad luck?

No. Instead, according to the research, the cause is something people in 52 countries are doing to themselves -- eating the so-called typical Western diet loaded with fried foods, meat and salty junk food snacks.

However, the scientists found that when people's diets included a high intake of fruits and vegetables -- he same eating strategy natural health advocates have been urging for decades -- heart attack risk plummeted.

"The objective of this study was to understand the modifiable risk factors of heart attacks at a global level," Salim Yusuf, D.Phil., the study's senior author, said in a statement to the media.

The study also looked at the unique dietary pattern the scientists dubbed "Oriental" that contains a lot of soy and salt laden sauces. They found the "Oriental" diet did not raise the risk of heart attack but didn't lower it, either. In fact, it was only the eating style the research team labeled the "Prudent" diet -- the one loaded with fruits and veggies -- that dramatically decreased heart attack risk.

Dr. Yusuf's team used data from the INTERHEART study and analyzed 5,761 heart attack cases and compared them to 10,646 controls who had no known heart disease. A dietary risk score questionnaire was used to interview and document the eating habits of the heart attack patients. "A simple dietary score, which included both good and bad foods with the higher score indicating a worse diet, showed that 30 percent of the risk of heart disease in a population could be related to poor diet," Romania Iqbal, Ph.D., Dr. Yusuf's co-researcher, explained in a press statement.

After adjusting for known cardiovascular risk factors, the scientists found:
• People who consumed more fruits and vegetables had a 30 percent lower risk of heart attack compared to people who ate few or no fruits and vegetables.
• People who ate a typical Western diet, no matter what part of the world they lived in, had a 35 percent greater risk of having a heart attack compared to people who consumed little or no fried foods and meat.

This shows an unhealthy dietary intake marked by meat, fried and salty foods and not enough fruits and vegetables accounts for nearly one-third of the world population's attributable risk for heart attack, Dr. Yusuf, Director of the Population Health Research Institute at Hamilton Health Sciences in Ontario, Canada,explained in a prepared statement.

Bottom line: Imagine the billions of dollars drug companies would make off of a medication that could slash the risk of heart attack by almost a third. Instead of waiting for such a "miracle drug", mindful eating of micronutrient, vitamin, mineral, fiber rich and delicious fruits and vegetables makes more sense – and following this style of healthy eating can help reduce the risk of a host of other diseases too, from diabetes to cancer.
by: Sherry Baker, Health Sciences Editor

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Purple GMO Tomato Inferior to Nature's Offerings

In what appears to be an attempt at softening the public`s attitude toward genetically-modified organisms (GMOs), British scientists have engineered a purple tomato, rich in antioxidants, by splicing certain genes from the snapdragon flower with those of a tomato in order to create a "super tomato" that they say may fight cancer. Cancer-prone mice that lacked the p53 gene, also called the "genome guardian", were fed the altered tomatoes in a scientific study and were shown to live an average of 40 days longer than other p53-deficient mice on a standard diet. But do these findings tell the whole story?

Of the hundreds of worldwide sources that reported these findings, some honestly side-noted that natural tomatoes already have cancer-fighting properties, also mentioning that natural, unmodified fruits such as blackberries, blueberries, currants, and a host of other dark red and dark purple fruits already contain high levels of cancer-fighting anthocyanins. Others were not so forthright, shrouding nature in inferiority as this "franken-fruit" was hoisted to miracle status.

The study is clear and limited in its findings that this new fruit has been shown to lengthen the life-span of a group of cancer-prone mice as opposed to other cancer-prone mice not fed the fruit. The study did not investigate the long-term safety of genetically-modified foods, especially in human beings, and it was not tested alongside natural alternatives. It merely "discovered" what many health-minded people already know – that high levels of antioxidants are vital to maintaining health and preventing cancer cells from forming in the body. Yet reports of the study`s findings vary in exotic verbiage, describing the find as everything from a new treatment to help keep cancer "at bay", to celebrating it as a new possible cure for cancer. Still others glowingly endorsed it as a unique new form of cancer prevention, which was not part of the study at all. Why all the hype when we already have a myriad of cancer-fighting fruits and vegetables?

One writer begins her report on this study by declaring,

"Now that we have tried and failed to win the cancer war, it`s time to change our strategy. A new study suggests that eating a new genetically modified tomato may help prevent many types of cancer."

This same writer later contradicts herself by mentioning that natural fruits and vegetables with high levels of anthocyanins also provide protection against cancer (even though the cancer war has already been lost, according to the author), but states that it takes many more servings of these natural fruits and vegetables to achieve the same effective benefits of this genetically-modified tomato. But is this actually true? On what basis is she making this claim?

While it is true that the typical Western diet is deficient in nutritional foods, including antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables, the conclusions drawn from this study by both the scientists who performed it and most of the journalists reporting on it are ultimately ill-informed and deceptive, favoring this engineered "fruit" that even the scientists themselves wouldn`t eat over natural fruits and vegetables that are readily available and far superior to anything that man creates in a lab.

The range of varying conclusions about this study all have the same incorrect common denominator, asserting that this new genetically-engineered tomato is a breakthrough in cancer prevention and treatment unlike anything currently available. Even those reports that admit the cancer-fighting properties of natural fruits and vegetables make the claim that this genetically-modified version has superior potency and effectiveness, discounting the comprehensive effectiveness of anything else in its natural, unadulterated form. These assumptions are clearly misguided and dangerous.

Interestingly, no mentions were made in any of the articles about natural, organic purple heirloom tomatoes that already exist, have high levels of anthocyanincs, and are perfectly safe and nutritious for both humans and mice.

Credit is due to the many reporters who did at least admit the cancer-fighting properties of fruits and vegetables in general, considering the FDA doesn`t even believe that food and nutrients play a role in health promotion and disease prevention. Yet all natural mentions were positioned as inferior in order to paint the picture that this new, genetically-modified tomato has unique cancer-fighting properties superior to its natural counterparts, a blatant lie. The presumptive belief that only man-made products are effective in the treatment, prevention, and cure of disease is a misconception that runs deep in conventional, nutritionally-illiterate thinking. In this case, writers around the world are reinforcing this lie while not-so-subtly plugging the "benefits" of GMOs to the public.

Speaking in regards to the supposed "positive effect" of the genetically-engineered purple tomato in the experiment, Cathie Martin, a plant biologist, said in a news release, "It is enormously encouraging to believe that by changing diet, or specific components in the diet, you can improve health in animals and possibly humans." Much like the altered tomato, this is hardly a breakthrough discovery; there are plenty of natural foods that will prevent, treat, and cure cancer without having to undergo dangerous genetic surgery.

In conclusion, there was absolutely no reason to fund and conduct the research, creation, and experimentation of a genetically-modified "super tomato" when we already have the real thing. Genetically-modified foods of any kind are dangerous, untested, and shouldn`t be touched with a ten foot pole. Thanks, but no thanks.
by: Ethan Huff, citizen journalist

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Study Suggests Fruits and Vegetables May Improve Bone Health

A recent study which was published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism has suggested that increasing the alkalinity of one`s diet via eating more fruits and vegetables could improve bone health by reducing the excretion of calcium from the body.

About Bone Health

When it comes to improving bone health, the nutrient which first springs to most minds is calcium. And many people would have the erroneous impression that milk is the best source of calcium for the body, and thus is very necessary for strong bones. Those who are a little more aware of the workings of nutrition would also be aware of the important role which vitamin D plays in the body`s ability to absorb calcium.

But there is one more very important variable which is not always discussed or harped upon - the acid-alkali balance in the body. In the said study, conducted by researchers from Tufts University and Northeastern University, both in Boston, it has been revealed that a diet containing a lot of protein and cereal grain causes excess acid in the body, and this may in turn increase calcium excretion.

"When it comes to dietary concerns regarding bone health, calcium and vitamin D have received the most attention, but there is increasing evidence that the acid / base balance of the diet is also important," said Bess Dawson-Hughes, the leader of the study.

About Bone Loss

As a person ages, his or her body becomes less able to eliminate the acid produced during metabolic processes. As the levels of acid in the body rise, the body has to find a way to neutralize this imbalance. Something has to give, and the body then carries out a process called bone resorption, whereby bones are broken done and minerals like calcium, phosphates and alkaline salts are released into the blood. As would be expected, such a process weakens the bones and raises the likelihood of fractures occurring.

With populations in developed areas rapidly aging, increasingly sedentary lifestyles further causing bone loss, and obesity epidemics raising the amount of stress placed on already fragile bones, diseases and degenerative conditions of the joints and bones are ballooning in their numbers.

How Fruits and Vegetables May Help - Details and Findings of Study

The said Boston study involved 171 men and women aged 50 and above who were randomly assigned potassium bicarbonate, sodium bicarbonate or potassium chloride supplements, or a placebo, for a period of 3 months. It was found that those subjects who consumed the bicarbonate supplements experienced significant reductions in calcium excretion, which suggests a reduction in bone resorption.

"When fruits and vegetables are metabolized they add bicarbonate, an alkaline compound, to the body. Our study found that bicarbonate had a favorable effect on bone resorption and calcium excretion. This suggests that increasing the alkali content of the diet may attenuate bone loss in healthy older adults," said Dr Dawson-Hughes.

Personal Changes to Improve Bone Health

So, what can an individual do to reduce his or her risk of bone loss? Two suggestions which the research team put forth were the use of supplements and food fortification. "Achieving alkali-producing diets would require drastic changes in food choices and be challenging in older people who tend to have long-established dietary patterns. Should it be shown to be beneficial, an alternative approach may be to administer bicarbonate in supplement form or to lower the acid-producing capacity of selected foods through alkali fortification," they wrote.

Fruits and vegetables, generally speaking, are alkalizing. On the other hand, animal flesh and food products, soda beverages as well as most junk and processed foods are highly acidifying. Based on the acid-alkali theory of bone health, if one can turn toward a fully or largely vegetarian diet containing mainly fresh and raw organic produce, then one would already be on an alkalizing and healing diet.

But if that is too drastic, then the least one could do is to increase intake of the said alkalizing foods, while drastically cutting down on the other group. These steps would not only be beneficial for bone strength, but for many other aspects of health, too.
(by: Reuben Chow, citizen journalist)

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Consume Super Foods for Super Health and Disease Prevention

We all know that when it comes to nutrition, all foods are not made the same. Whole wheat flour is better than white flour, almonds are more nutritionally sound than peanuts, and grilling is a much healthier alternative form of cooking than frying. When it comes to what we put in our bodies, we ought to be aiming for what the "Man of Steel" eats on a regular basis — super foods.

Super foods are not new to the marketplace. In fact, you may have lots of super foods in your pantry or refrigerator at this moment. What is new, however, is the realization of just how "super" these foods really are for our health and well-being through independent studies by health experts.

Super foods by definition are foods that are nutritionally dense, high in fiber and are believed to fight disease and increase longevity. And not surprisingly, most super foods are the ones you'll find in nature that don't require any kind of processing or refining. Take berries, for example. Every berry is considered "super" but a study done on blueberries and strawberries properties elicited some exciting results for berry lovers.

The study, published in the journal of Neurobiology and Aging, used 60 different rats and divided the rats into three groups. One group was fed strawberry extract, and the second was fed blueberry extract. The third was the control group and was not fed any berry extract. The rats were then released to run through a water maze, but not before they were exposed to a radioactive iron source which was meant to simulate age-related cognitive decline. After the run through was completed, results revealed that the control group showed significant impairment in learning ability, while the groups of rats that ate berry extract showed a resistance to cognitive decline.

While scientists who performed the study say more testing needs to be done, this study suggests that consuming berries protects the brain from radiation damage and decline in learning ability.

It's believed that the chemical responsible for blueberries' superpower is anthocyanin—what gives blueberries their color and may also play a role in their antioxidant activity. Blueberries, according to the USDA Human Research Center, are ranked #1 in antioxidant activity when compared to 40 other fruits and vegetables (Antioxidants help rid the body of cancer-causing free radicals).

Berries aren't the only super foods with super properties. Just as Superman's powers aren't relegated solely to super speed or super strength, each super food brings with it its own special power:

Avocados—Avocados do have a considerable amount of fat in them, but the right kind of fat. Like olive oil, avocados have healthy amounts of monounsaturated fat, which help lower "bad" cholesterol levels (LDL) while raising the "good" ones (HDL). Avocados are also great to combine with other foods as its properties help the body absorb nutrients from other nutrient-dense foods (like lycopene found in tomatoes, for example).

Beans— The old school days song of beans being good for your heart is true, thanks to the high amounts of betaine found in them. In addition, beans also have high amounts of lutein, which won't bring x-ray vision, but will help in protecting your eyes from sunlight.

Dark Chocolate—Believe it or not, chocolate, the dark variety, can help lower blood pressure and improve blood flow. The special power dark chocolate has lies in its flavonoids, a type of anti-oxidant. Even though flavonoids are found in apples, tea, onions and peanuts, research indicates that dark chocolate has the highest level of flavonoids. That doesn't mean you should go out and eat it to your heart's delight, but you no longer need to attach "guilty" with the "pleasure" you'll get out of eating moderate portions of dark chocolate each week.

Oats—Eating raw oats isn't exactly an appetizing meal, but they're quite appetizing in oatmeal. Oats are a great source of vitamins and minerals, have a low glycemic index level, are high in fiber, low in sugar and have been proven to reduce blood cholesterol levels.

This is just a partial list of the super foods that can bring you a life of abundant health. Remember: Eating exorbitant amounts of almonds or blueberries does not equal more health. As with all things, moderation is key.
(by: Frank Mangano)

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Flax Oil, Borage Oil Enhance Skin Health From the Inside Out

Borage and flaxseed oil appear to act internally to improve skin health, according to a study conducted by researchers from Laboratoire Oenobiol in France and Heinrich-Heine University and the University of Witten-Herdecke in Germany, and published in the Journal of Nutrition.

Researchers assigned 45 healthy, non-smoking women to receive a daily supplement consisting of 2.2 grams of either borage oil, flaxseed oil, or a medium-chain fatty acid placebo. The researchers regularly induced skin irritation (inflammation and reddening) in every woman by means of topically applied nicotinate. All participants were between the ages of 18 and 65.

Women who had been taking borage oil for several weeks were found to experience 35 percent less skin reddening than they had at the beginning of the study, while those taking flaxseed oil experienced 45 percent less. There was no change in the degree of reddening experienced by the placebo group. Women receiving borage or flaxseed oil also exhibited lessened blood flow to the skin in response to irritation.

After six weeks, those taking either oil supplement experienced a 10 percent decrease in water loss through the skin, and another six weeks showed even further improvement among the flaxseed group. Both groups showed significant decreases in skin roughness and scaling after 12 weeks, while no change was observed in the placebo group.

Borage oil consists of large amounts of the omega-6 fatty acids gamma-linolenic acid (GLA) and linoleic acid (LA), and the monounsaturated fat oleic acid. Flaxseed oil consists mostly of the omega-3 fatty acid alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), along with smaller quantities of omega-6 fatty acids and oleic acid. Blood levels of GLA were observed to increase in the borage oil group after six and 12 weeks, as were ALA levels among the flaxseed group.

The current study was not designed to uncover the specific mechanism by which the oils improve skin health.
Sources for this story include: www.foodnavigator-usa.com

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Scientists Find Blueberries Reverse Age Related Memory Deficits

Phytochemical-rich foods, such as blueberries, are not only healthy food choices, they may actually be able to reverse age-related memory problems. That's the conclusion of a study by a research team from the University of Reading and the Peninsula Medical School in England.

The researchers (from the Schools of Food Biosciences and Psychology in Reading and the Institute of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences at the Peninsula Medical School in Exeter) supplemented a regular diet with blueberries over a three month period. Within three weeks, they discovered improvements in spatial working tasks and the improvements continued throughout the course of the study.

"This not only adds science to the claim that eating blueberries are good for you, it also provides support to a diet-based approach that could potentially be used to increase memory capacity and performance in the future," said Dr. Matt Whiteman, a principal investigator of the study, which is soon to be published in the science journal Free Radical Biology and Medicine.

Blueberries are a major source of flavonoids, compounds found in fruits, vegetables, and certain beverages that have diverse beneficial biochemical and antioxidant effects. Flavonoids have been shown to cross the blood/brain barrier when blueberries are consumed.

The enhancement of both short-term and long-term memory is controlled in neurons (brain cells) at the molecular level. The researchers think flavonoids found in blueberries may help learning and memory by enhancing existing neuronal connections, improving communication between cells and stimulating the regeneration of neurons.

The scientists were able to pinpoint the ability of flavonoids to activate signaling proteins in a specific area of the hippocampus, the learning and memory-controlling part of the brain.

"Impaired or failing memory as we get older is one of life's major inconveniences. Scientists have known of the potential health benefits of diets rich in fresh fruits for a long time. Our previous work had suggested that flavonoid compounds had some kind of effect on memory, but until now we had not known the potential mechanisms to account for this," stated Dr. Jeremy Spencer, a lecturer in Molecular Nutrition at the University of Reading, who headed the study.

Dr. Spencer's research team plans on continuing to investigate the effects of diets rich in flavonoids on individuals suffering from cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease (AD).

According to the Alzheimer's Association, as many as 5.2 million people in the United States are living with AD and 10 million baby boomers will develop the memory-robbing disease in their lifetime.

The Association predicts between 11 million and 16 million people will have AD by 2050. The direct and indirect costs of Alzheimer's and other dementias to Medicare, Medicaid and businesses amount to more than $148 billion each year.

While no drug therapy has been shown to be an effective long-term treatment for AD, natural substances are offering hope.

In addition to the new findings suggesting blueberries may provide a treatment for memory loss, additional research published last December in the Journal of Neuroscience suggests omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oil could play an important role in preventing Alzheimer's disease.

According to a research team at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), omega-3 fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) increases the production of LR11, a protein that is found at reduced levels in Alzheimer's patients. LR11 is able to destroy the protein that forms the plaques associated with the disease, the researchers explained.
(By: Sherry Baker)

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New Anti-Cancer Compounds Discovered in Apples

Any news item that links apples with good health always brings to mind the old adage "an apple a day keeps the doctor away". But new research is showing not only is that statement true, but apples might specifically keep a particular kind of doctor away – an oncologist.

Dr. Rui Hai Liu, Cornell associate professor of food science, has identified a dozen compounds dubbed triterpenoids in apple peel that either inhibit or kill cancer cells in the lab. Three of these triterpenoids have never been reported before, according to Dr. Liu, whose research was just published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. He describes them as having potent anti-proliferative activities against human liver, colon and breast cancer cells.

In earlier Cornell studies, apples were found to reduce the number and shrink the size of breast tumor cells in rats. Dr. Liu has also previously identified compounds called phytochemicals in apples and other foods that appear to have anti-cancer properties, including inhibiting human breast cancer cells tumor growth.

Dr. Liu's research team took the peels from 230 pounds of red delicious apples and analyzed the individual compounds they found. Then the researchers tested many of the pure compounds against cancer cell growth in the laboratory.

"We believe that a recommendation that consumers eat five to 12 servings of a wide variety of fruits and vegetables daily is appropriate to reduce the risks of chronic diseases, including cancer, and to meet nutrient requirements for optimum health," Dr. Liu stated.

In more research published in the International Journal of Cancer (March 19, 2008), scientists in the department of nutritional toxicology at Freidrich-Schiller University in Jena, Germany, offer evidence apples may help fight human colon cancer. The researchers investigated whether polyphenols found in apples had an impact on genes related to colon cancer. The result? Apple extracts appear to protect precancerous cells from toxicological insults – disrupting their transformation into cancer.

Apples have already been shown to be rich a soluble fiber, pectin, which successfully lowers cholesterol by targeting the "bad" stuff – LDL. Eating just two apples daily has caused cholesterol levels in test subject humans to plummet by up to 16 percent. Pectin has also received raves from researchers who found it helps diabetics regulate blood sugar, preventing a sudden spike or drop in blood sugar levels.

What's more, flavonoids, a type of pigment in apples that helps give their peels color, have been extensively researched and found to fight heart disease. For example, researchers in Finland studied over 5,000 Finish men and women for over 20 years. The results? The people who ate the most apples and other flavonoid-rich foods like tea and onion (such as onions and tea), had a 20% lower risk of heart disease than those who ate the least of these foods.

More good news for fruit lovers who can't always get the fresh variety: fruits retain their powerful health-promoting powers even when frozen, according to a new study just published in the Journal of Medicinal Food. Scientists from the Instituto de Biotecnologia at the University of Caxias do Sul in Brazil have identified antioxidant and antimutagenic activity in frozen fruits. Natural cancer-fighting substances including polyphenols, carotenoids, and ascorbic acid were found in significant levels in fruits, despite being frozen. These data, the researchers concluded, suggest that eating frozen fruits can contribute to the prevention of biological damages that may precede cancer and other diseases.
(By: Sherry Baker)

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Indian Frankincense Herb Shown to Relieve Osteoarthritis Symptoms

An herb known as the "Indian Frankincense" can dramatically improve the symptoms of the most common form of arthritis –- osteoarthritis. What's even more amazing is the treatment appears to provide relief within just one week.

That's the good news from University of California at Davis scientists who published their research conclusions about this herbal therapy recently in the journal Arthritis Research & Therapy. They specifically tested an extract dubbed AKBA (3-O-acetyl-11-keto-beta-boswellic acid) from the herb Boswellia serrata on 70 patients with osteoarthritis of the knee in a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled study. B. serrata has been used for thousands of years in the system of traditional medicine known in India as "Ayurveda".

The research subjects were suffering from pain, limited movement, stiffness and other symptoms of osteoarthritis, which most commonly affects weight-bearing joints like knees and hips, as well as the hands, wrists, feet and spine. Symptoms were relieved in about seven days in this study -- which is the first to show that an enriched extract of B. serrata herb be used as a successful treatment in humans. The same scientists tested the herbal remedy earlier in animal experiments for safety.

In a statement for the press, the lead researcher of the study, Siba Raychaudhuri, a faculty member of the University of California at Davis, noted that "AKBA has anti-inflammatory properties, and we have shown that B. serrata enriched with AKBA can be an effective treatment for osteoarthritis of the knee... In this study, the compound was shown to have no major adverse effects in our osteoarthritis patients. It is safe for human consumption and even for long-term use".

This is important news for osteoarthritis sufferers who, according to the National Institutes of Health, number nearly 21 million in the U.S. alone. Although you are more likely to have this form of arthritis as you grow older, younger people can develop it as a result of genetic defects or joint injuries and malformations.

As the Baby Boomer population continues to age, the NIH estimates about 72 million Americans, 20 percent of the population, will be at high risk for osteoporosis by 2030. Medications currently often used to control pain from the disorder include acetaminophen, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and narcotics –- all of which can have serious side effects, including liver damage.
(By: Sherry Baker)

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Air Pollution Raises Blood Pressure According to New Study

It seems like a healthy thing to do: getting outside. Maybe you like to go for walks or spend an hour gardening or riding your bike. Unfortunately, if you live where the air is polluted, you could be hurting your health by simply breathing the not-so-fresh air.

That's the conclusion of a new Ohio State University Medical Center study –- the first ever to report a direct link between air pollution and high blood pressure, or hypertension. The results of the study are set to be published in Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology, a journal published by the American Heart Association.

The cardiovascular researchers exposed rats to levels of airborne pollutants inside chambers. The animals breathed particulate matter equivalent to what people inhale every day. In fact, the scientists noted the levels were actually far below pollution levels in some parts of the U.S. and in many developing countries such as China and India. Over a ten week period, the blood pressure of the test animals spiked upwards

"We now have even more compelling evidence of the strong relationship between air pollution and cardiovascular disease," Sanjay Rajagopalan, section director of vascular medicine at Ohio State's Medical Center and co-author of the study, stated in an announcement to the media. "Recent observational studies in humans suggest that within hours to days following exposure, blood pressure increases."

Over three million premature deaths each year are caused by air pollution, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the most frequently found pollutants in the air are particulate matter, ozone, nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide –- mostly as a result of power plants, car exhaust, and industrial emissions. In the press statement, Rajagopalan said his team's research could provide "guidance for the EPA to change pre-existing stringent standards in the effort to reduce air pollution."

Another of the study's researchers, Qinghua Sun, is continuing to study the link between air pollution and cardiovascular risk by documenting vascular function in people before and after they attend the upcoming summer Olympics in Beijing, China.

Fortunately, you can take some control over the air you breathe indoors by reducing sources of air pollution in your home. For example, avoid the use of chemical cleaners and air fresheners, use air filters if needed, and make sure heat and air conditioning filters are cleaned frequently.

In addition, specific vitamins may help protect your health from the effects of bad air. Previous research at the University of Washington School of Public Health and Community Medicine found that vitamins A and C benefited people with asthma who were sensitive to air pollutants and a recent study by scientists at the Harvard School of Public Health found the nutrients folate, vitamins B6 and B12 help guard the heart from the impact of particulate air pollution.
(By: Sherry Baker)

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Top Five Secret Reasons You May Need More Vitamin C

Back in the late l950s and l960s, Nobel prize winner Linus Pauling turned his attention to studying and documenting how vitamin C could improve health status and help the human body resist and heal from disease. His reward? By the time of his death in l994, he had been branded a "quack" by a large part of the medical community.

Now, almost 25 years after his passing, not only is his research being taken more seriously but other scientists are documenting how vitamin C can be the key to preventing and treating a host of health problems.

In fact, most everyone knows vitamin C is now lauded for helping to reduce symptoms of a cold if taken in sufficient quantity when sniffles first appear. But what you may not know is that researchers have found evidence strongly suggesting vitamin C can be used to head off some serious diseases and disorders -- and may even help you lose weight!

In fact, some of these uses for the vitamin are just plain amazing. Yet you'll seldom find vitamin C "prescribed" and, instead, are more likely to get drugs to treat maladies after they develop. And the odds are, your family doctor may be clueless about these ways vitamin C can help you.

Here's the latest on the relatively secret but very real ways vitamin C can improve your health:

1. Burn more fat and keep pounds away.

Researchers in the Department of Nutrition at Arizona State University found that research subjects who had low blood concentrations of C burned a whopping 25 percent less fat than those who had plenty of the vitamin in their body. The scientists think this may be because vitamin C is a co-factor for the biosynthesis of carnitine, a molecule your body needs to oxidize fatty acids. They concluded inadequate vitamin C could explain why some people have such a hard time losing and keeping off excess pounds.

2. Stop wheezing!

British scientists at the Department of Public Health and Primary Care at the Institute of Public Health in Cambridge studied 515 adults with asthma and 515 matched controls. They found that adults with symptomatic asthma had the lowest intake of fruit, especially citrus fruit, and low plasma vitamin C levels. These findings, the scientists stated in their research paper, suggest diet may be a potentially modifiable risk factor for the development of asthma.

3. More reasons to smile.

In the l700s, sailors found that eating limes during low sea voyages kept their gums healthy. No doubt the vitamin C in the fruit was responsible. Research published in the Journal of Periodontology showed that people with too little vitamin C have higher rates of periodontal disease. Also, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) report inadequate C is associated with weakened tooth enamel as well as the painful inflammation of gums known as gingivitis.

4. Guard your looks.

The NIH also lists rough, dry and scaly skin as signs of too little C. So is dry hair and even split ends. What's more, research published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that people who ate a lot of vitamin C-rich foods had fewer wrinkles than those with inadequate amounts of the vitamin.

5. Protect your heart.

While we all are bombarded with ads about statins and other drugs that purport to reduce the risk of heart disease, you seldom hear about the mounting evidence a natural therapy -- vitamin C -- may protect your cardiovascular system. A case in point: Finnish researchers published a study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggesting higher doses of supplemental vitamin C cause the incidence of major coronary heart disease events like heart attacks to plummet.

So how much vitamin C do you need? Most experts agree that you can take large amounts, usually up two grams, safely unless an excess causes diarrhea or other stomach upset (if that happens, simply cut back on your dose). Vitamin C is not stored in the body so toxicity is very rare.

To increase the C in your diet, eat more green peppers, citrus fruits and juices, strawberries, papayas, mangos, watermelons, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage, winter squash, red peppers, raspberries, blueberries, cranberries, tomatoes, broccoli, turnip greens and other leafy greens, sweet and white potatoes, pineapples and cantaloupes.
(By: Sherry Baker)

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grape juice Drinking Grape Juice Improves Memory in Older Adults

It's one of the most dreaded problems associated with growing older –- memory problems. But dementia and even plain old "senior moments" don't have to be inevitable with age. Research is mounting that do-it-yourself strategies like continuing to challenge your brain by learning new things and exercise can help preserve your cognition as you age. Now scientists have found that a delicious natural drink can actually improve memory in older adults who have already experienced early memory decline. The brain power booster isn't anything exotic or rare, either –- it is Concord grape juice.

A ground-breaking pilot study, led by Robert Krikorian, PhD, of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, was recently presented at the 38th annual scientific meeting of the American Aging Society in Boulder, Colorado. Dr. Krikorian and his research team gave 12 adults with early memory decline a total of 15 to 21 ounces of Concord grape juice or placebo daily (the amount varied depending on body weight) for 12 weeks.

This was the first placebo-controlled human study to investigate whether regular consumption of a polyphenol-rich food or beverage such as grape juice could positively impact age-related cognitive decline. Polyphenols are found in a wide variety of phytonutrient-containing food, including grapes, and are known to have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Previous research has linked them to combating oxidative stress and suggested they could hold the key to preventing cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases.

The study participants who drank the Concord grape juice were found to have significant improvements when given learning tests. The researchers concluded this suggests a measurable improvement in short-term memory retention –- so adding Concord grape juice in the diet may provide benefit for older adults with early memory decline.

The evidence that a diet including phytonutrient-rich fruits, vegetables and juices may help slow and possibly even reverse age-related mental declines is especially good news for America's aging Baby Boomer population. The number of people 65 years of age and older will double to 70 million by 2030 and cases of age-related cognitive decline as well as dementia from Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other causes are expected to soar. In fact, a Duke University study published early this year in the Annals of Internal Medicine concluded that 22 percent over age 70 have mild cognitive problems and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) estimates up to 4.5 million Americans have AD.

"A simple, easy-to-incorporate dietary intervention that could improve or protect memory function, such as drinking Concord grape juice daily, may be beneficial for the aging population. These results with Concord grape juice are very encouraging and certainly warrant additional study," Dr. Krikorian stated in a prepared statement for the media.
(By: Sherry Baker)

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Herb Officially Recognized In England as A Cure for Colds

There is no cure for the common cold, right? Wrong. The Zulus of Africa have insisted for centuries that there's a remedy created from geraniums that zaps colds and flu, halting sniffles and coughs almost immediately. Now 21st century research has backed up these claims -- just in time for the beginning of cold and flu season.

In fact, the British government's department of health just announced the same kind of herbal remedy used by the Zulus for centuries has been granted an official license and can now be marketed and sold as a cold and flu medicine in England. The treatment carries the brand name Kaloba and comes in both oral drops and tablets. It is one of the first herbal remedies to be officially recognized in the UK as an effective, non-drug therapy for treating common ailments.

Umckaloabo, the technical name for the substance derived from the colorful geranium plant, has been found "effective in resolving all symptoms including headaches and nasal discharge" of colds and flu, according to research recently published in the Cochrane Review.

British health advocates have suggested the approval may help stop the over-prescribing of antibiotics. According to the British clinical organization NICE (National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence), £200million (the equivalent of about $357 million) are needlessly prescribed each year for antibiotics to treat cold and flu.

Those drugs are not only useless for the viral infections that cause colds and flu, but they can contribute to the rise of "super bugs" which are resistant to antibiotics. "In the light of inappropriate antibiotic use and increasing drug resistance rates worldwide, the need for an alternative, effective remedy for these medical conditions is crucial," concluded the Cochrane Review geranium research article.

Kaloba is derived from a species of geranium called Pelargonium sidoides and is made specifically from the plant's flowers. The medicine has been available in Germany for over 25 years, but has only just been licensed by Britain's Medicines and Health Products Regulatory Agency.

Although it isn't sold as a medicine in the US, the geranium therapy is not the only natural treatment known to help fight colds and flu. Here are some more non-drug health boosters that can help you stay sniffle and cough-free this winter:

Garlic has been shown to be potent against several kinds of bacteria and viruses. It's also an immune system booster.

Vitamin C has become a favorite in the fight against colds and flu. Linus Pauling,Ph.D.,the two-time Nobel laureate, was the pioneering researcher into the benefits of vitamin C . He showed it spurs the immune system to fight infections by boosting interferon, which is a natural anti-viral substance.

Zinc has been found in several studies, including research conducted at Dartmouth and Cleveland Clinic, to shorten the length of time a cold lasts. Look for zinc gluconate lozenges or get your fill of the virus-fighting mineral from whole grains, beans, pumpkin seeds and nuts.

Be Happy isn't just the title of an old song, it's another way to boost your immunity and keep colds and flu at bay. A mounting body of research suggets colds and flu are most likely to strike if you are under excess work or psychological stress. Not getting enough sleep can also leave you more vulnerable to infection. Meditation, relaxation techniques like yoga and exercise can help you de-stress and also fight insomnia -- which, in turn, can lessen your chances of coming down with colds and flu.

Astragalus is one of several herbs long purported to have a powerful impact on fighting infections, including colds and flu. Now scientists at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center have published research in the medical journal Vaccine stating they found the botanical therapy "surprisingly active" as a consistent immune enhancer.
(By: Sherry Baker)

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How to Have a Heart Attack: Keep Eating the Western Diet

A multi-national study just published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association concludes about 30 percent of heart attack risk comes from one thing - diet.

Is it your family history? Your age? Just plain bad luck?

No. Instead, according to the research, the cause is something people in 52 countries are doing to themselves -- eating the so-called typical Western diet loaded with fried foods, meat and salty junk food snacks.

However, the scientists found that when people's diets included a high intake of fruits and vegetables -- he same eating strategy natural health advocates have been urging for decades -- heart attack risk plummeted.

"The objective of this study was to understand the modifiable risk factors of heart attacks at a global level," Salim Yusuf, D.Phil., the study's senior author, said in a statement to the media.

The study also looked at the unique dietary pattern the scientists dubbed "Oriental" that contains a lot of soy and salt laden sauces. They found the "Oriental" diet did not raise the risk of heart attack but didn't lower it, either. In fact, it was only the eating style the research team labeled the "Prudent" diet -- the one loaded with fruits and veggies -- that dramatically decreased heart attack risk.

Dr. Yusuf's team used data from the INTERHEART study and analyzed 5,761 heart attack cases and compared them to 10,646 controls who had no known heart disease. A dietary risk score questionnaire was used to interview and document the eating habits of the heart attack patients. "A simple dietary score, which included both good and bad foods with the higher score indicating a worse diet, showed that 30 percent of the risk of heart disease in a population could be related to poor diet," Romania Iqbal, Ph.D., Dr. Yusuf's co-researcher, explained in a press statement.

After adjusting for known cardiovascular risk factors, the scientists found:
• People who consumed more fruits and vegetables had a 30 percent lower risk of heart attack compared to people who ate few or no fruits and vegetables.
• People who ate a typical Western diet, no matter what part of the world they lived in, had a 35 percent greater risk of having a heart attack compared to people who consumed little or no fried foods and meat.

This shows an unhealthy dietary intake marked by meat, fried and salty foods and not enough fruits and vegetables accounts for nearly one-third of the world population's attributable risk for heart attack, Dr. Yusuf, Director of the Population Health Research Institute at Hamilton Health Sciences in Ontario, Canada,explained in a prepared statement.

Bottom line: Imagine the billions of dollars drug companies would make off of a medication that could slash the risk of heart attack by almost a third. Instead of waiting for such a "miracle drug", mindful eating of micronutrient, vitamin, mineral, fiber rich and delicious fruits and vegetables makes more sense – and following this style of healthy eating can help reduce the risk of a host of other diseases too, from diabetes to cancer.
(By: Sherry Baker)

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Eat These Twenty Foods for A Long Life, Says British Scientist

British scientist Gary Williamson, professor of "functional foods" at Leeds University, has released a list of the top foodstuffs that he believes can lead to longevity.

What makes these foods so special, he contends, is that they are rich in naturally occurring phytochemicals including tannins, lignins and flavonoids, that research has shown have a host of health benefits, including offering protection from cardiovascular disease by boosting the function of cells that line the inside of the blood vessels.

"Epidemiology studies support the protective effects of polyphenol-rich foods. Lack of these components in the diet, because of low intake of fruit and vegetables, increases the risk of chronic disease. This means that they are essential to fulfill the maximum individual lifespan, and so I propose that they are 'lifespan essential'," Prof. Williamson said in a statement to the UK media. He added that the foods on his list, which are primarily fruits and vegetables, can help slow the process of aging because they protect cells from the normal wear-and-tear that occurs with time.

So what's included on Prof. Williamson's list of longevity super foods? Here's are what he dubs the "Lifespan Essentials":
* apples
* blackberries
* black tea
* blueberries
* broccoli
* cereal bran
* cherries
* cherry tomatoes
* coffee
* cranberries
* dark chocolates
* green tea
* oranges
* peaches
* plums
* raspberries
* red grapes
* red onions
* spinach
* strawberries

Surprised to find a scrumptious treat like dark chocolate on the list? Researchers like Prof. Williamson have found it is rich in flavonoids that reduce "bad" cholesterol (low density lipoproteins, or LDL) and also make blood platelets less likely to clump together and cause heart attack and stroke producing clots.

Coffee may also seem like an unlikely "super food" because too much caffeine is known to cause jitters, upset stomach and even heart palpitations in some people. However, in moderation, coffee has been found to be a natural health-enhancer. Consider this: Harvard researchers analyzed data on 126,000 people for as long as 18 years and found that drinking caffeinated coffee daily can drastically reduce diabetes risk ( by as much as 54% for men and and by 30% in women).

What's more, half a dozen studies indicate that people who drink coffee on a regular basis are up to 80% less likely to develop Parkinson's. Other research indicates that compared to not drinking coffee, at least two cups of daily java can lower the risk of colon cancer by 25% reduced risk of colon cancer and nearly half the risk of gallstones.
(By: Sherry Baker)

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Study Finds Grapes Offer a Bunch of Ways to Help Hearts

Love grapes? Hate heart disease risk factors? Here's good news for you: University of Michigan Cardiovascular research suggests eating grapes could lower blood pressure, help heal signs of heart muscle damage and improve heart function.

Just published in the October issue of the Journal of Gerontology: Biological Sciences, the study concludes grapes potentially could dramatically reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. The reason? The scientists think it's most likely due to the high level of naturally occurring antioxidants called phytochemicals present in grapes. Phytochemicals have consistently been shown in other studies, including earlier University of Michigan research, to reduce potentially harmful cell-damaging free radical activity in the body.

Although the study was performed in laboratory rats bred especially to have salt-sensitive high blood pressure, the researchers note their findings are very encouraging for people. Their data adds more evidence to a quickly accumulating body of knowledge about the health benefits of grapes.

"These findings support our theory that something within the grapes themselves has a direct impact on cardiovascular risk, beyond the simple blood pressure-lowering impact that we already know can come from a diet rich in fruits and vegetables," said Mitchell Seymour, M.S., in a statement to the media. Seymour led the research as part of his doctoral work in nutrition science at Michigan State University and manages the University of Michigan Cardioprotection Research Laboratory.

The scientists looked at the effect of a blend of powdered green, red, and black table grapes that were mixed into the rats' diet. Then they compared the rats that ate the grape powder-laden meals with control rats who didn't have any grapes, including some animals who received a small dose of a commonly prescribed blood-pressure medication called hydrazine.

After 18 weeks, the rats that ate the grape-enriched food had lower blood pressure, better heart function, reduced inflammation throughout their bodies, and far less signs of heart muscle damage than the rats fed the otherwise same salty diet but without grapes. What's more, the rats that received hydrazine with a salty diet also had lower blood pressure but, significantly, their hearts were not protected from damage like those in the grape-supplemented group.

Bottom line: Grapes offered cardioprotective benefits while a widely used drug did not.

In the press statement, University of Michigan heart surgeon Steven Bolling, M.D., said the rats in the study were not so different from millions of Americans who also have high blood pressure related to diet and who often develop heart failure because of prolonged hypertension.

"The inevitable downhill sequence to hypertension and heart failure was changed by the addition of grape powder to a high-salt diet," stated Bolling, who is professor of cardiac surgery at the University of Medical School and also heads the University of Michigan Cardioprotection Research Laboratory. "Although there are many natural compounds in the grape powder itself that may have an effect, the things that we think are having an effect against the hypertension may be the flavanoids -- either by direct antioxidant effects, by indirect effects on cell function, or both. These flavanoids are rich in all parts of the grape, including the skin, flesh and seed."
(By: Sherry Baker)

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Study Shows Vegetable Juice Helps Build Health

A new study by University of California at Davis researchers backs up advice natural health advocates have been giving for decades: Juice is a great way to get the health-building benefits of vegetables.

The research, presented this week at the American Dietetic Association's annual conference in Chicago, looked at three groups of healthy men and women. All three groups met with dietary counselors who discussed different ways of adding more vegetables to the participants' diets. However, two of the groups were also instructed to drink at least one 8-ounce serving of 100% vegetable juice daily. The study found the research subjects who consumed vegetable juice were far more likely to meet or exceed the minimum daily vegetable servings associated with good health (about five servings). Those who didn't drink vegetable juice took in less than 25% of the vegetables recommended for health.

A growing body of science documents that eating a variety of nutrient-packed, fiber-rich vegetables reduce the risk for heart disease, diabetes and many cancers and can help keep weight under control. However, according to the University of California researchers, about seven out of 10 Americans fail to meet even the minimum U.S. Dietary Guidelines for daily vegetable intake – and they conclude that adding vegetable juice to meals could be a simple way to boost intake of this important food group.

The researchers also pointed out that changing eating behaviors is much more effective when nutrition advice is partnered with easy and convenient solutions, such as drinking juice. In fact, the vegetable juice drinkers reported that they actually enjoyed drinking their veggies and, after six weeks of the study, reported they felt "more satisfied" with the ease of getting vegetables into their diet by drinking more juice.

"We found that drinking vegetable juice seemed to address some of the key barriers to vegetable consumption such as convenience, portability and taste, so individuals were more likely to meet their daily recommendations," Carl Keen, PhD, study author and professor of nutrition and medicine at the University of California at Davis, said in a prepared statement for the media.

Other research has pointed out some of the specific health benefits of juices. For example, a study published in the American Journal of Medicine suggests that both vegetable and fruit juices could help fight the mind-robbing Alzheimer's disease. The reason? Both fruit and vegetable juices are rich in polyphenols. These natural phytochemicals may offer protection against Alzheimer's, the scientists concluded, because of their ability to powerfully neutralize cell-damaging free radicals. Moreover, theVanderbilt University research team found that frequent drinking of fruit and vegetable juices was associated with a substantially decreased risk of Alzheimer's disease.
(By: Sherry Baker)

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Plants Aid Recovery from Surgery, Ease Pain

You visit someone who is in the hospital following an operation or a sick friend confined to bed at home and you bring along a gift of colorful flowers or a lovely potted plant. That may sound like simply a thoughtful gesture to spread some cheer. But, it turns out, your gift of greenery may actually have a therapeutic effect that can help people recover physically from illness -- even serious surgery.

That`s the conclusion of a recent study by Seong-Hyun Park and Richard H. Mattson, researchers from the Department of Horticulture, Recreation and Forestry at Kansas State University. Using a host of medical and psychological measurements, the scientists found strong evidence that contact with plants is directly beneficial to a hospital patient`s health.

The research, published in the American Society for Horticultural Science (ASHS) journal HortTechnology, was conducted on 90 patients recovering from appendectomies who were randomly assigned to hospital rooms with or without plants during their recovery periods after surgery. The scientists collected data on the length of hospitalization, administration of drugs for postoperative pain control, vital signs, ratings of pain intensity, distress, fatigue and anxiety, and how satisfied patients were with their rooms. The results showed the surgery patients who had plants in their rooms needed significantly less pain medication, had lower blood pressure and heart rate and reported less pain, anxiety, and fatigue. These non-drug ways plants can improve recovery is good news for patients, doctors, and insurers alike because plants are cost effective and provide medical benefits with no side effects.

The patients with plants in their rooms also expressed better overall satisfaction with their recovery rooms than the patients in the control group who had no plants in their rooms. In fact, 93 percent of patients with plants in their rooms reported that the plants were the most positive qualities of their rooms.

The researchers also suggest that potted plants are more beneficial than cut flowers. That`s because the plants last longer and, in addition, nurses reported that as patients recovered, they began to interact with the plants, actively watering, pruning, and moving their plants for a better view or light. There`s another reason plants could boost recovery: several past studies have shown indoor plants can improve indoor air quality by increasing humidity and reducing the quantity of mold spores and airborne germs.
(By: Sherry Baker)

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Eight Natural Ways To Prevent Cold and Flu

With the cold weather coming upon us in the northern hemisphere everyone naturally becomes concerned about catching a cold or flu and staying healthy. Of course mainstream medicine and news talks a lot about getting flu shots as if that's the only possible thing that you can do to prevent the flu. That may be the case in their view of health and healing, but this is not so in the case of Chinese and other alternative medical systems.

The Chinese in particular have a deep understanding of what truly happens in the body when you catch a cold or flu. This does not have to do with viruses and bacteria, but rather with various atmospheric energies that are prevalent during each of the seasons that cause various illnesses due to the effects of those seasonal energies. The young and elderly are usually particularly susceptible to these seasonal changes and need to take extra precautions to guard against getting sick at these times.

The reason that a seasonal change, particularly from the warm to cold weather affects us all is because the body can often be slow to adjust to the changes in prevalent atmospheric energies at these times. In the summer warm yang energies are prevalent which generally strain the kidneys. The kidneys are a water organ meaning that they control water functions of the body. This includes keeping the body cool which is why drinking enough fluids in warm weather is so critical. In the fall the lungs are affected as the dryer air usually causes an increase in coughs and sometimes allows us to catch a cold.

In the winter the heart is stressed because the heart being the fire organ has to work harder to keep us warmer. If the heart is not able to adjust sufficiently then external cold energies that are strongest in the winter time, then cold (yin) energies can penetrate the bodies external shielding and cause us to catch a cold or flu. This is what people commonly call "catching a chill". When this happens it's often a sign that external cold energies have gotten into the body.

These terms are not just outdated colorful language but very real descriptions of very real energies that exist in nature. This is because the Chinese know that one of the major energy laws that affect all health issues in the body has to do with the balance of fire and water energies within the body. This is even true within each internal organ. When someone gets a cold or flu it really means that external cold energies have penetrated the body and taken hold thus causing the common symptoms of a cold or flu.

The skin and lungs are the most common places that these cold energies pass through our bodies and enter our systems. In Chinese medicine the skin and lungs are linked together which is one reason that people who smoke often have dry skin. Because smoking weakens and dries out the lung tissue itself and thus weakens other organs directly linked to the lungs such as the skin. The lungs and skin are paired organ system in Chinese medicine. Many have heard that if someone's skin is completely covered with paint for example, they can actually suffocate even though they can breathe through their lungs. This is more proof of the accuracy of this and many other linked organ pairs in Chinese medicine.

In the body there are four different main types of Chi or energy that govern the four main systemic functions of the body. One of these four energies is called "Wey Chi" or "guardian Chi" Wey chi is energy that sits on the surface of the skin and radiates out about a centimeter or so from surface of your skin. It is the responsibility of this energy field to protect the body from external cold and wind energies. Anything that causes you to become too fatigued or tired such as lack of sleep, stress and poor nutrition or simply being out in the cold too long without adequate protection will weaken your guardian chi field and increase your chance of catching cold, flu or other similar illnesses.

How to Strengthen Your Energy Shield

So what can you do to increase your energy shield and help protect yourself from cold and flu this and every season? Fortunately there are many simple and easy methods available to help boost your guardian energy.

You can simply add some more physical exercising to your regimen. You can do everything from push ups with static holding at the end of each push up set which will help heat up the body and thus lead more energy to the skin and beyond. Just about any kind of physical exercise with light to moderate resistance will help in this regard. This is particularly true when doing exercises that cause you to hold either your arms with our without weights in various postures for a minute or more. Working the mid section via crunches and sit ups with holding at the end of each set will strengthen the core organs so vital to immunity. This also applies to the legs which have many major organ/energy meridians that travel down them. These include the kidneys, liver and spleen in particular.

One simple exercise to do is to stand with your feet shoulder width apart and toes pointing foreword. Keep the hips pulled back slightly. Raise the arms up to shoulder height with the fingers pointing towards each other and the palms facing your chest making a sort of basketball hoop with your arms. Bend the knees enough so that when you look down you can't see your feet with your back straight and try holding this simple posture for several minutes each day. This is a classic exercise to build up yang energy and strengthen guardian chi. It can even build up a good amount of strength and endurance when done regularly.

You can also make sure that you're eating enough warming yang foods this winter such as organic meats like turkey, chicken, fish and even small amounts of red meat and butter which are effective at building yang energies. The long burning calories from these animal sources are necessary in colder climates to help the heart keep the body warm. Since the heart prefers natural fats over all other dietary sources for its fuel, these foods will help increase warming (yang) energy production and ease the strain on the heart at the same time.

There are herbs and herbal teas that you can drink to increase internal fire energies in the right way too. Some of these include warming herbs such as ginger, ginseng, cayenne and horny goat weed. Drinking teas made with these herbs can be a good measure to help prevent or treat a cold or flu.

Some other simple methods to help fight cold or flu include getting in a warm to very warm bathtub and letting the warm yang energies of the water penetrate the skin and boost the overall warming energy of the body. You can do this for as long as you like up to forty minutes to an hour or more. This is particularly helpful in strengthening the kidneys and lungs as they are main organs involved in the immune system and are often affected in illnesses of external cold penetration such as cold and flu. The body will absorb the warming energy from the water and this balances the internal cold in the body thus resulting in symptom relief and accelerated healing.

Another technique along these same lines is to place just your hands in warm to very warm water for five minutes or more. Try to make it as warm as you can comfortably stand without burning yourself. The many energy meridians that terminate in the hands will absorb the warmth of the water via these energy channels and the nerves and transmit that warmth back to their respective organs. This technique is good to give a quick boost to the immune system when taking a long bath is not an option such as at work or at a friend house. Even just running the hands under a warm faucet can have similar immune boosting effects too.

Practicing an exercise called the "thymus tap" is also beneficial. The thymus gland is located above the breast bone in the center of the upper chest. Using the flats of the knuckles to tap this gland with light to moderate pressure 200-300 times several times a day will boost immune function significantly. The thymus gland is one of the master glands of immunity in the body and this helps to stimulate and increase the production of T-cells that help fight off germs and infections which often result from a weakened immune system. This is also an excellent exercise to add to your regular health regimen for added immunity.

Lastly you can practice this simple breathing technique as a daily preventative or during a bout of cold or flu to help increase warming yang energy in the body. Take a long deep breath and then upon exhalation lightly tense up all the muscles of your body. Keep the muscles tensed for the duration of your exhalation which should last about five seconds. Take one or two slow deep cleansing breaths, and then repeat. You can do this exercise between five and ten times in a row. Rest for a few minutes and take several slow deep breaths to cleanse the body and calm the heart between sets and begin again if needed. You should feel warmer after even a few breaths and you may notice some mild to moderate symptom relief too.

If you have any existing heart conditions then I would skip this exercise and consult with your doctor first. That's because this can build up significant amounts of yang energy and can cause increase in your heart rate. This is a martial art technique that was discovered centuries ago in the north of China. They found out that it was also very effective at keeping warm during the cold winter months and also that it greatly helps during an invasion of cold (yin) energy characterized by cold and flu symptoms.

If you practice these and other natural techniques which include simply dressing for the season, getting plenty of rest which also boosts overall guardian energies, proper supplementation via herbs, vitamin and mineral supplements and adjusting of the diet to keep you warm, you'll greatly reduce or even eliminate your changes of catching a cold or flu this season. You'll also increase your overall resistance to many other diseases via the combined immune boosting effects of all of these techniques.
(By: Richard Stacel)

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