Tag Archives: antioxidants

Cantaloupe – a sweet fruit that protect our sight.

August 27, 2019Health & Nutritionantioxidants, beta-carotene, carotenoids, cataracts, LDL cholesterol, vitamin Cpinockio

Cantaloupe is a strange word for a fruit, but when we consider that cantaloupe was first cultivated in the Italian village Cantalupo, around AD 1200, it makes more sense.

This fruit, with his bright colors, belongs to the same family as the cucumber, squash, pumpkin, and gourd . It contains strong compounds that not only helps to protect your sight, but also controls your blood pressure. lowers your cholesterol level, keeps your blood running smoothly, and protect you against cancer.

“Cantaloupe is one of the few fruits or vegetables which are rich both in vitamin C and beta-carotene,” says John Erdman, PhD, professor of nutritional sciences at the University of Illinois in Urbana.
These antioxidant compounds have been shown to protect against cancer, heart disease and other age-related health problems, such as cataracts.

Cantaloupes are loaded with carotenoids, the pigments that give fruits and vegetables their bright colors and provide strong health protection. A study in the Netherlands found, that eating carotenoid-rich fruits caused a 35% less risk of developing age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of irreversible blindness in developed countries.

Cantaloupe gives also protection for another aspect of sight problems: cataracts. Another study found that women who got the most vitamin A through their diet had a 39% reduced risk of developing cataracts. Once beta-carotene is inside the body, it is converted to vitamin A. Another study found that people whose diets included the most vitamin A, cut their risk of cataract surgery in half.

Cantaloupe is a rich source of two potent antioxidants: vitamin C and beta-carotene. As I wrote before, antioxidants are compounds that neutralize free radicals, which can cause cellular changes that can lead to heart disease, cancer and cataracts.

Vitamin C, like potassium, helps to keep the arteries clear and blood moving smoothly by preventing bad LDL cholesterol from oxidizing and clogging the artery walls. Vitamin C is also used by our body to produce collagen, a protein that makes up skin and connective tissue.

Cantaloupe is an excellent source of vitamin C and beta-carotene. One cup contains 68 mg vitamin C, which is 113% of the Daily Value for this vitamin. Half a cantaloupe provides 5 mg beta-carotene, which is about half of the daily amount recommended by most experts.

Important Tips
Cutting cantaloupe under water keeps it longer fresh. Scientists from the USDA found that when you cut cantaloupe under water, it short-circuits the signals plant cells send to each other when they detect an injury, like being sliced.

Buy them ripe.
The riper the cantaloupe, the more beta-carotene it contains. The challenge is that melons are often picked while they are still unripe so that they can make it through the shipping process undamaged. To check for ripeness, tap the melon and listen for a hollow sound. Then lift the fruit to make sure that it’s heavy for its size. Finally, smell the fruit to make sure that it exudes a sweet, musky odor. (The smell shouldn’t be too strong; an excessively strong smell indicates an overripe fruit.) If there is no smell, put it down and try another one.

There should be no stem.
Mature cantaloupes will only have a smooth, symmetrical basin where the stem once was and flesh that yields slightly to pressure.

Leave a firm cantaloupe at room temperature for several days to allow it to become softer and juicier. Once’s it’s ripe, put it in the fridge.

Eat it straight away.
When exposed to air, vitamin C degrades quickly. So it’s important to eat cantaloupe fairly soon after cutting, says Dr. Erdman. This is particular necessary when the fruit is cut into small pieces, which significantly increases the amount of air to which it’s exposed. Research found that cantaloupe cubes lost 25% of their vitamin C content and 10-15% of their carotenoids after being exposed to air for 6 days.

Cancer Prevention from Cherries

July 26, 2018Health & Nutritionanti, antioxidants, arthritis, cancer prevention, gout, perillyl alcohol, vitamin Cpinockio

The hard little pits from cherries give a bit more work to eat than most other fruits.
But research suggests that this fruit, which contains a compound called perillyl alcohol,
is worth the bother.

According to Michael Gould, PhD, professor of oncology and medical physics at the University of Wisconsin Medical School in Madison, “perillyl alcohol is about the best thing we’ve ever seen for curing mammary cancer in laboratory animals”
In fact, it shows so much promise that it’s being tried in cancer patients at the University of Wisconsin.

Perillyl alcohol belongs to a group of compounds called monoterpenes. Limonene, which is found in the peel of citrus fruits, also belongs to this family. These compounds have been shown in studies to block the formation of a variety of cancers, including those of the breasts, lungs, stomach, liver, and skin. Expectations from perillyl alcohol are high, mainly because it is 5 to 10 times more potent than limonene, which itself has been proven to be very effective.

It’s not yet known how much perillyl alcohol there is in cherries, but even a small amount of the compound probably has some beneficial effects. So cherries, when eaten as part of a well-rounded diet, can play a small but important role in helping the body ward off cancer.

Vitamin C +
In addition to exotic new compounds, cherries also contain a variety of antioxidants.
Researchers have found that 1 cup of sweet cherries has more than twice as many antioxidants as green tea.

Additionally, a half-cup of sour cherries has 5 mg vitamin C, about 8% of the Daily Value (DV) for this vitamin.
Sour cherries also provide vitamins A and E, and more than in sweet cherries.

The vitamin E in cherries is of particular interest, since one study of postmenopausal women found that those who consumed the most vitamin E had the least risk of heart disease. And there was an interesting twist. The women who got their vitamin E naturally- solely from food -had less risk than women who were taking vitamin E supplements.

The problem with vitamin E is that it is difficult to get the DV of 30 IU from food alone.
In facts, the only foods with a lot of vitamin E are high-fat cooking oil and nuts, but you can’t eat a lot of them.
Cherries are one of the better food sources for vitamin E.

Finally, cherries contain a compound called quercitin.Like vitamin C and other antioxidants quercitin helps to prevent damage caused by free radicals.

Relief from gout and other forms of arthritis
Folklore is full of stories about people who relieved the agonizing pain of gout by eating cherries or drinking cherry juice daily. Although the Arthritis Foundation still says that there’s no absolute evidence to suggest that cherries really can ease the ache of this form of arthritis or any other, many gout sufferers swear by them.

The results of several studies showed that natural compounds in cherries may reduce the painful inflammation from arthritis.The first study conducted at the University of California, Davis, instructed 10 healthy women to eat 45 fresh Bing cherries one day for breakfast. The women were asked not to eat other fruits or vegetables or to drink tea or red wine for the two days before the cherry breakfast, because the researchers were concerned that these other high-oxidant foods would interfere with the results. The researchers measured the women’s plasma urate, a marker for gout, before and after the cherry breakfast. The researchers found that the women’s urate levels decreased significantly after eating cherries, which suggest that cherries might play an important role in fighting gout.

A survey by Prevention magazine found that 67% of readers who tried cherries for gout had good results. Steve Schumacher, a kinesiologist in Louisville, Kentucky, enthousiastically recommends them. He advises people with gout to quit eating red meats and organ meats and also to drink two to three glasses of cherry juice daily. He recommends using pure black-cherry juice diluted with an equal amount of water. “All who have followed this diet faithfully have all gotten results, some within 48 to 72 hours, and some within a week, depending on the severity,” Schumacher says.

Some tips when buying cherries
Fresh cherries are at their best during the summer months.
When buying cherries, check the stems, they should be green with fresh cherries.
Cherries are highly perishable, even when properly stored in the fridge.
So plan to buy only what you’re going to eat right away.
It’s best not to wash them, but store them dry. it’s important, however, to wash them
thoroughly. Cherries arre often coated with a mixture of insecticides, anti fungal oils,
and moisture seals that producers use to keep them fresh.
When you’re tired of munching cherries, you may want to try some juice.
Simply wash, stem, pit, and crush the sherries. Heat them in a saucepan, then
press the mixture through a strainer. Refrigerate several hours, then pour off the
clear juice and add sugar to taste.

The Superior Protection from Buckweat

July 19, 2018Health & Nutritionantioxidants, cancer protection, flavonoids, healthy immune system, protein, vitamin Bpinockio

Buckweat has been an under appreciated food in America. In the past, if you had a diet rich in buckweat, you would probably be a farm animal. Until recent years, it was primarily grown as feed for livestock. The name may confuse you. It’s not a grain, but a seed from a plant related to rhubarb.

However, buckweat is popular in Japan and some researchers suspect that this may be the reason for the remarkable low cancer rates in Japan. If you’re familiar with Japanese cuisine, you might recognize soba noodles, which contain buckweat. It’s also commonly available in pancake mixes.

Wide protection
Buckweat contains a variety of compounds called flavonoids that have been shown in studies to help block the spread of cancer. Two compounds in particular, quercetin and rutin, are especially promising because they appear to thwart cancer in two ways.

These substances make it difficult for cancer promoting hormones to attach to healthy cells.
They can literally stop cancers before they start. Should cancer-causing substances get into cells, these compounds may be able to reduce damage to the DNA, the body’s chemical blueprint for normal cell division.

Japanese researchers have found that buckweat extract can help interfere with colon and breast cancer in rats.

Keeping blood flowing
The rutin in buckweat plays yet another protective role. Working in conjunction with other compounds, it helps prevent platelets – the components in blood that assist in clotting – from clumping together.
By helping to keep blood fluid, buckweat can play an important role in any heart-protection plan. Rutin has also proved to stabilize blood vessels and help lower blood pressure, thus helping to protect against heart disease. And it act as an antioxidant, protecting your cells from the damaging attacks from free radicals.

Research believe that when flavonoids are combined with vitamin E, which is also found in buckweat, the benefits are even more significant. Fat-soluble vitamin E can neutralize dangerous free radicals, that can damage cells, in the fatty portion of cells. Flavonoids, on the other hand, are water soluble; they attack free radicals in the watery parts of cells.”That puts an antioxidant in both the watery and fatty portions of cells,” says Timothy Johns, PhD, professor at the School of Dietetics and Human Nutrition at McGill University in Montreal.

An Italian Study tested the antioxidant capacity of a number of spices, fruits, cereal products, and other foods. It found that among the 18 cereal products tested, whole-meal buckweat and wheat bran had the highest total antioxidant capacity.

Protein Power
Buckweat is the best known non-animal source of high-quality protein. That’s good news if you are vegetarian or trying to cut back on meat. It also helps to lower cholesterol as well.
We need protein for everything, from healing wounds to producing brain power.

In laboratory experiments, animals that were fed extracts of buckweat protein had significantly lower cholesterol levels than there non-buckweat-eating companions. Levels in the buckweat-fed animals, in fact, were even lower than in animals given soy protein extract, one of the most cholesterol-busting foods.

In addition, buckweat is an excellent source of essential nutrients. “It’s rich in several minerals, most especially magnesium and manganese, but also zinc and copper,” says Dr. Eskin.

One cup of buckweat flour made from whole groats (the grain with the hull removed ) contains 301 mg of magnesium, or 75% of the Daily Value (DV) for this mineral. It also contains 25% of the DV for zinc, 40% of the DV for phosphorus, 27% of the DV for iron, and 20% of the DV for potassium.

Blood Sugar Control
One of the most valuable aspects of buckweat is its ability to help control blood sugar levels in people with adult-onset, or type-2 diabetes, the most common form of the disease.

The carbohydrates in buckweat, amylose and amylopectin are digested more slowly than other types of carbohydrates. This causes blood sugar levels to rise more evenly. While this good for everyone, it’s especially important for people with diabetes, whose blood sugar levels tend to rise steeply and stay high too long. Keeping blood sugar under control has been shown to reduce or prevent many of the serious complications of diabetes, including kidney damage.

Because buckweat is absorbed more slowly than grains, it leaves you feeling full longer. This makes it easier to eat less and thus control your weight.

British researchers found that using buckweat flour in pasta made it more filling. One easy way to get buckweat into your diet is in pancake mixes that contain buckweat flour. You may find that buckweat pancakes “stick with you” than those made with regular flour.

People who are sensitive to gluten who have celiac disease, a serious intestinal problem, caused by gluten found in wheat and other grain products will have no problem with buckweat, because it is free of gluten.

Excellent Source of Vitamin B
Buckweat is also an excellent source of several B vitamins. One cup of buckweat flour contains 37% of the DV for niacin, 35% of the DV for vitamin B6 and 33% of the DV for thiamin.

Niacin helps to transform the food your body uses into energy.Vitamin B6 is needed because it helps the hemoglobin in your red blood cells to carry oxygen, and it plays a role in maintaining a healthy immune system and a healthy nervous system.
Like niacin, thiamin also helps to transform fuel into energy and helps your nervous system.

If you have a sweet taste, some honey producers bottle honey that is made by bees that harvest nectar from buckweat fields. This honey is rich in antioxidants, like phenolic acid, and flavonoids. This honey seems to be particularly powerful. Researchers found that buckweat honey has 20 times more antioxidant activity then any light-colored honey.

However, buckweat honey has a strong flavor that some people call “full body”, but it’s taste is not for everyone.

How to use buckwheat in the kitchen
As already mentioned, buckweat contains no gluten like rice and wheat. Without gluten to hold the grain together, it will turn to mush unless you precook it.

Here is what you can do. Put the buckweat in a hot skillet, and toss gently for 3 to 5 minutes. This expands and strenghtens the outer skin, which will help it stay in tact during the simmering process.

If you’re using kasha (the roasted form of buckweat) that’s been cracked, toss it with an egg white before before adding it to the pan. The albumen in the egg will help to keep it firm. Uncracked kasha however, can be cooked without an egg.

Put the buckweat in a saucepan. Cook it the same way as brown rice.Add two cups of boiling water for each cup of buckweat.
Boiling water will seal the outer shell and keeps the buckweat together during cooking.

Simmer the buckweat, covered, untill all the water is absorbed and the kernels are tender. Cracked kasha will take 8 to 10 minutes, and whole kasha 10 to 12 minutes.

The Mighty Nutritional Value of Beans

June 29, 2018Health & Nutritionantioxidants, cholesterol, diabetes, healthy diet, insoluble fiber, protein, soluble fiberpinockio

Beans are an excellent way to add to a healthy diet. Although they are small in seize, they are packed with a variety of nutrients which are vital for good health.
Firstly, they are full of fiber. “They are one of the better sources of fiber there is,” according to Joe Hughes, PhD, assistant professor in the nutrition and food sciences program at California State University in San Bernardino, who has beans at the center of his research.

What’s so good about this is that they have a high content of soluble and insoluble fiber, which causes different effect in the body. Besides beans, oats are also one of the few other foods which are high in both types of fiber. But you can use beans in many more other type of dishes than oats.

Besides fiber, beans are also rich in minerals, protein, and surprisingly: antioxidants.

Although beans are not the only food that help lower cholesterol levels, they certainly are one of the best. The soluble fiber is the same gummy stuff found in apples, barley and oat bran.
In the digestive tract, soluble fiber traps cholesterol-containing bile and remove it from the body before it gets absorbed.

“Eating a cup of cooked beans a day can lower total cholesterol by 10% in 6 weeks, “ says Patti Bazel Geil, MS, RD, a diabetes educator and nutrition author in Lexington, Kentucky, who has written about the benefits of beans. While 10% doesn’t seem like much, keep in mind that every 1% reduction in total cholesterol means a 2% less risk for heart attack.

Beans can lower cholesterol in just about anyone, but the higher your cholesterol content, the better they work. In a study at the University of Kentucky, 20 men with high cholesterol ( over 260 milligrams per deciliter of blood ) were given about 3/4 cup of pinto and navy beans per day. The men’s total cholesterol dropped an average of 19% in three weeks, possibly lower their risk of heart attack by almost 40%. Even more remarkable, the dangerous low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol – that’s what cause the blocking of arteries, plunged by 24%.

Apparently all beans can help to lower cholesterol levels, even canned baked beans.
In another study at the University of Kentucky, 24 men with high cholesterol ate 1 cup of canned beans in tomato sauce every day for 3 weeks. Their total cholesterol dropped by 10.4 %, and their triglycerides ( another blood fat that contributes to heart disease)dropped 10.8 %.)

In further research into the cholesterol-lowering effects of beans and other legumes, authors of a report in the British Journal of Nutrition compiled the findings of 11 studies that looked at the relationship between cholesterol and different types of legumes, such as pinto beans, chickpeas, white beans, and mixed beans ( except soybeans).
They found that the beans in these studies lowered total cholesterol by 7.2%, LDL (bad)
cholesterol by 6.2%, and triglycerides by 16.6%. The soluble fiber in these foods appeared to be the most important factor responsible for their cholesterol lowering effect.

Steady Blood Sugar
Keeping steady blood sugar levels is vital to keep diabetes under control.
“Many people don’t realize how good beans are for people with diabetes,” says Geil.
In fact, eating about 1/2 to 3/4 cup of beans a day has proved to significantly improve
blood sugar control. And beans provide yet another benefit for people with diabetes,
she says.”People with diabetes have a four to six times greater change to develop heart
disease,” she says.”Eating more beans will keep their cholesterol low, thereby reducing
their risk.”

Beans are also rich in complex carbohydrates. Not like sugarly foods, which dump sugar
(glucose) into the bloodstream all at once, complex carbohydrates are digested more slowly. This means that the glucose enters your bloodstream a little at a time, and helping to keep blood sugar levels steady, says Geil.

The effect that food has on blood sugar is commonly measured on a scale called the
Glycemic Index. The lower the GI, the better. Beans have a low GI, which is very good,
because of their soluble fiber, says Dr. Hughes. This should be good news for the 21 million Americans with diabetes, and the 54 million with “prediabetes,” a condition that
causes a rise in blood sugar and usually occurs in people before they develop diabetes.

Unfortunately, Americans only eat 17 grams of fiber daily, on average – and people with
diabetes only eat 16 grams – according to a survey from the federal government.
The American Dietetic Association recommends 25 grams daily.

Something nice about beans is that you can buy them in many varieties – and you can
prepare them in different ways – which makes it easy to eat beans even more than once
a day in relatively large quantities to benefit from their fiber content, says Dr. Hughes.

Cancer-Licking Legumes
As we all know, fruits and vegetables are the foods rich in antioxidants.
To prove this fact, the USDA researchers compiled the antioxidant capacity of hundreds
of foods in the American diet and many of these foods stood out.
The Granny Smith apple, for example, scored a 5,381 on the measurement of total
antioxidant capacity per serving. The artichoke scored 7,904 and the low bush blueberry
got a hopping 13,427. But several beans more than held their own, too.
The pinto bean scored 11,864 and the red kidney bean scored 13,259!

Beans are rich sources of phytochemicals, which are plant components that have
antioxidant and other disease fighting properties, says Dr. Hughes.
Beans may contain hundreds of types of antioxidant chemicals.
If you can remember what I have written in my previous articles, that antioxidants
help to protect you from cancer by limiting damaging attacks on your cells from
free radicals. Also, unlike some antioxidant rich plant foods like blueberries,
you can put lots of different beans on your plate, meal after meal, without getting
bored or overwhelmed by the flavor.

Some other compounds in beans – like lignans, isoflavones, saponins, phytic acid,
and protease inhibiters – have proved to inhibit cancer cell growth.
These compounds appear to keep normal cells from turning cancerous and prevent
cancer cells from growing.

The Healthy Alternative to Meat
Beans used to be called the ” poor man’s meat”. But a more accurate name would be
the healthy man’s meat. Like red meat, beans are loaded with protein. But unlike
meat, they’re low in fat, particularly dangerous, artery-glogging saturated fat.
For example, a cup of black beans contains less than 1 gram of fat and less than 1%
of that comes from saturated fat. Three ounces of lean, broiled ground beef on the
other hand, has 15 grams of fat, of which 22% is of the saturated kind.

Beans are also a great source of vitamins and minerals. A half cup of black beans
contains 128 micro grams, or 32% of the Daily Value for folate, a B vitamin that may
lower risk of heart disease and fight birth defects. That same cup has 2 milligrams
of iron, 11% of the Daily Value, and 305 milligrams of potassium, or 9 % of the DV.
Potassium is a mineral that has been shown to help control blood presure.

The darker the beans, the more antioxidants they contain. Black beans also contain
more fiber, about 6 grams.
If you don’t have the time to cook you can buy canned beans as they contained their
nutrients. Only they may have a higher sodium content.

If you have a problem with uncomfortable and embarrassing gas, start eating beans
once a week and the next month twice a week, for example.
It may also help to add ground ginger to the beans.

The Healing Power of Vegetarian Diets

June 9, 2018Health & Nutritionantioxidants, carotenoids, fiber, macular degeneration, meatless meals, monounsaturated fat, phytonutrients, polyunsaturated fat, protective chemicals, saturated fat, vegetarian diet, vitamin B12, vitamin C, vitamin E, vitaminspinockio

In the 1960’s chefs started to experiment with cooking without meat.
But the meals were often tasteless. But now-a-days after experiencing
for more than a quarter of a century, cooks are combining fruits, vegetables
grains, and legumes in exciting new ways. The tastes are so good that even
large restaurants are now offering meatless meals.

As a result, more than 30 million Americans, including one in three teens,
have tried vegetarian meals, according to the American Dietetic Association.
They like the health benefits and how good the food tastes.
Vegetarian diets have changed, but one thing stayed the same: a plant based diet ,
which is low in saturated fat, high in fiber,vitamins, antioxidants, and a powerful
array of protective chemicals. This is the ultimate prescription for a longer and
healthier life, according to Virginia Messina, MPH, R.D. a dietitian in Port Townsend,
Washington, and coauthor of The Vegetarian Way.

Research results have showed that vegetarians have lower rates of cancer, heart
disease, high blood pressure, type two diabetes and obesity than people who eat meat.
According to British researchers, vegetarians have a 20% lower risk of fatal heart
disease and a 40% lower risk of cancer.

Other studies found more positive facts. Fifty years ago a large study of 27,530
Seventh-Day Adventists, whose religion advocates a vegetarian diet, provided the
first scientific link between vegetarian diets and better health.
Researchers were amazed to discover that among the vegetarian Adventists,
death rate from cancer were 50 to 70% lower than among other Americans.
Since then, study after study has confirmed the benefits of vegetarian eating.

In China, where people eat little or no meat, diseases such as heart disease,
breast cancer and diabetes, are far less common than in the United States.

Naturally lean
Something that makes vegetarian meals so healthy is that they don’t have all the
saturated fat and cholesterol that comes from meat. In fact, while most Americans
get about 36% of their total calories from fat, vegetarians get less, usually
between 30% and 34%. And most of the fat they get is the healthier polyunsaturated
and monounsaturated type – and not the dangerous saturated fat that comes from
animal foods.

In one study, researchers put 500 people on a vegetarian diet. After twelve days,
cholesterol levels had dropped an average of 11%.

Besides the fact that vegetarian meals don’t contain saturated fat that makes
vegetarian meals so healthy, they also contain the “good” fats.
According to studies, both polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats, which are
found in olive oil, canola oil, nuts, seeds, and many other plant foods, can lower
the level of cholesterol when they’re used to replace saturated fat in the diet.
And the omega-3 fatty acids found in some plant foods, such as walnuts and
flaxeed, can further protect against heart disease by helping to keep artery walls
flexible and supporting the electrical “system” within the heart that regulates
a healthy heartbeat.

The Power of Plants
Doctors in the US have been pleading with Americans for years to eat more fruits,
vegetables, whole grains, and legumes, the same foods that vegetarians eat in
abundance. Most plant foods are loaded with antioxidants, like beta-carotene and
vitamin C and E. They are essential to protect you against diseases.
Also, plant foods contain an abundance of phytonutrients, which are natural plant
compounds that have been shown to lower the risk of cataracts, heart disease,
and many other serious problems.

In another study researchers found that people who got the most carotenoids,
the plant pigment that are found in dark green and deep orange, yellow, and red
fruits and vegetables, had half the risk of developing macular degeneration
(the leading cause of irreversible vision loss in older adults) as people getting less.

Vegetarian diets cut the risk of breast, colon, ovarian, and prostate cancer in a
number of studies. The magic ingredients include a number of cancer-fighting
phytochemicals. The naturally lower levels of saturated fat in most vegetarian diets
(except those that rely heavily on cheese) avoid a problem which is connected
with meat-rich diets: High-saturated fat diets seem to promote the production of
a form of estrogen called estradiol, which is linked to breast cancer.
In a study it showed that women who ate the most animal fats had a one-third
higher risk of breast cancer than those who ate the least.

Another study found that vegetarians have higher levels of “natural killer cells” –
special white blood cells that attack cancer cells – in their bloodstreams.

But even if you took all the nutrients out of plant foods, the vegetarian diet
would still have an edge, because of all the dietary fiber it contains.
The average American gets only 12 to 15 grams of fiber per day,
while vegetarians are getting as much as three times that amount.

It is almost impossible to exaggerate the importance of getting enough dietary
fiber. because it isn’t absorbed by the body, fiber passes through the
digestive tract, adding bulk to stools and helping them to move more quickly.
This does more than preventing constipation. The more quickly stools
and any harmful substances they contain move through the colon,
the less likely they are to do cellular damage that could lead to cancer.

Also, one type of fiber called soluble fiber, forms a gel in the intestine that
helps to prevent fat and cholesterol from passing through the intestinal wall
and into the bloodstream. In a study of more than 43,000 men, for example,
researchers found that those who added just 10 grams of fiber a day to their
diets – about 25% of the amount vegetarians get each day – decreased their
risk of heart disease by almost 30%.

Vegetarian diets also guard against other health issues, like kidney stones,
gallstones, and asthma. Because high-protein diets with much meat prompt
your body to excrete more calcium, oxalate, and uric acid – which are the
main building blocks of kidney stones. Diets with a lot of meat increase
the change of getting gallstones in women and could threaten bone density
by prompting the excretion of calcium.

In a Swedish study of 24 women and men, vegetable-based meals cut
the frequency and severity of asthma attacks.

Balance is the Key
A vegetarian diet can provide all the nutrients your body needs, including protein.
This is even true for strict vegetarians, who may avoid eggs, milk and other
animal foods all together. The proteins in meat are complete, that means they
contain all the amino acids your body needs.
The proteins in legumes and grains, however, may be low in one or more of the
amino acids, but because legumes and grains contain some amino acids, eating
a variety of these foods throughout the day will provide the proper balance.

However, vegetarians have the risk of vitamin B12 deficiency, which the body
needs to make red blood cells. It’s only found in animal foods.
People who don’t get enough vitamin B12 feel weak and tired.
You can get plenty of vitamin B12 by eating foods which are fortified with this
nutrient, such as fortified cereals, or/and you can take vitamin B12 supplements.

Why don’t you try Vegan Cooking? It’s one of the best things you can do for your health!
Try it here!

Prevention of Diabetes

June 4, 2018Health & Nutritionantioxidants, chromium, diabetes mellitus, diet, Glycemic Index, high glycemic, insulin resistance, low glycemic, magnesium, obesity, Syndrome X, vanadium, vitamin Epinockio

The number of diabetes cases have increased five fold over the past fifty years.
An estimated 16 million people in the US have diabetes and $150 billion is spent annually on the treatment of diabetes.
But amazingly, almost half of these people don’t even know that they are diabetic.

Although diabetes itself is a big enough health problem, the side effects are also ominous.
For example, one-third of the new cases of end-stage kidney disease are the result of diabetes.
Four out of five patients will die – not from diabetes itself, but from cardiovascular disease
(heart attack, stroke, or peripheral vascular disease) initiated by the diabetes.
Diabetes is the leading cause of amputations and blindness in older people.

Diabetes mellitus has reached epidemic proportions.More than 90% of these cases are known as type-2 diabetes (formerly known as adult-onset diabetes). We must seriously consider what is going wrong.
Type-one diabetes used to be called juvenile diabetes, because this type
of diabetes is usually found in children and is the result of an autoimmune attack on the pancreas.
Which leaves these children without any insulin and therefor they must take insulin
to survive. However, there is a way to decrease the risk of developing diabetes.

Syndrome X
Dr. Gerald Reavens, a physician and professor at Stanford University chose this term to
describe a number of problems that have a common cause: insulin resistance.
Through medical research, Dr. Reavens estimates that more than 80 million Americans
have insulin resistance, or Syndrome X.

What is the common cause of developing insulin resistance?
Over the years, our diet has taken its toll. Because of a high carbohydrate and high fat
diet, many people have become less and less sensitive to insulin as a result.

The body desires to control our blood sugars. Therefore, when the body becomes less
sensitive to its own insulin, it compensates by making more insulin.
In other words, our bodies respond to increasing blood sugar levels by forcing the beta
cells of the pancreas to produce more insulin in order to control our blood sugars.

Insulin is basically a storage hormone that drives sugar into the cells to be utilized
or stored as fat.
We know that diabetes damage from sugar occurs mainly by oxidation of fat molecules,
to form toxic lipid peroxides.
Insulin enables the body to deal with sugar. But people usually don’t know that insulin also
controls fat and muscle.

People with insulin resistance need more and more insulin as the years go by to keep
there blood sugars normal. Although these elevated insulin levels are effective in controlling our blood sugars,
they also may lead to some serious health problems.
Here follows a list of harmful effects caused by elevated insulin levels, called syndrome X.

* significant inflammation of the arteries, which can cause heart attack and stroke
* elevated blood pressure (hypertension)
* elevated triglycerides – other fat in the blood besides cholesterol
* lowered HDL (good cholesterol)
* increased LDL (bad cholesterol)
* increased tendency to form blood clots
* development of significant “uncontrolled” weight gain – usually around the middle

When all the syndrome X factors are combined, our risk of developing heart disease
actually jumps twenty fold! When we consider the fact that heart disease is the number
one killer in the industrialized world today, we can’t afford to disregard a growing risk
of developing it!

After patients have had Syndrome X for several years, possibly even ten to twenty,
the beta cells of the pancreas simply wear out and can no longer produce such high
levels of insulin. At this point insulin levels begin to drop and blood sugars begin to rise.

At first only mild elevations of blood sugar may develop, which is known as glucose
intolerance (preclinical diabetes). More than 24 million people in the United States
are at this stage of glucose intolerance. Then, usually within a year or two, if no change
in lifestyle occurs, full blown diabetes mellitus will develop. The aging of the arteries
then accelerates even faster as blood sugar begin to steadily rise.

The cause of Insulin Resistance
There are several reasons which are suggesting why we become less and less sensitive
to insulin over the years. But I truly believe that insulin resistance is the result of the
Western diet. Although we are cutting back on fats, we still like to eat far too much
carbohydrates. Most people don’t realize is that carbohydrates are simply long chains
of sugar that the body absorbs at various rates. White bread, white flour, pasta,rice,
and potatoes release their sugars into the blood stream even faster than table sugar.
That’s why these foods are called high-glycemic.

Compared with foods such as green beans, Brussels sprouts, tomatoes, apples,
and oranges , which release their sugars into the bloodstream much slower and are
therefore considered low-glycemic foods.

When you eat too many high-glycemic foods,it causes blood sugar to rise very rapidly
and stimulates the release of insulin.When our blood sugar drops, we feel hungry.
So we grab a snack or have a big meal and the whole process starts all over again.
After a period of time, the release of insulin has been overstimulated so often that
our bodies simply become less and less sensitive to it. In order for the body to control
the blood sugar levels, the pancreas need to put out higher levels of insulin. It is these
elevated levels of insulin that cause the destructive metabolic changes associated with
syndrome X.

How do you know if you have Syndrome X?
After a blood test, you should get the level of HDL (good) cholesterol . LDL (bad)
cholesterol, and triglycerides (the other fat in the blood).
If you divide the triglyceride level by the HDL cholesterol, the ratio you get is an
indication of whether you are developing the syndrome.
If the ratio is greater than two, you may be starting to develop Syndrome X.
Also, if you notice that your blood pressure or that your waistline is increasing,
it is even more likely that you are developing a serious case of Syndrome X.

When a patient treats his insulin resistance with simple but effective lifestyle changes,
not only does he prevent accelerated damage to the arteries, but he also avoids
diabetes itself.This is true preventive medicine. A healthier lifestyle, not the drugs
doctors prescribe, will make the difference.

Diagnosis of Diabetes
The most common test for diabetes is a fasting blood sugar test. Physicians also use
a sugar-challenge test, in which a patient is given a sugar load (a pop-like drink
that is loaded with sugar), and then takes a blood sugar level test two hours later.

Most physicians believe that a two-hour blood sugar above 200 is the level
to diagnose diabetes. A normal two-hour blood sugar level should be less than 110.
Patients who have a slightly elevated fasting blood sugar and a two-hour blood sugar
between 130 and 190 are classified as having glucose intolerance- preclinical diabetes-
and not actual diabetes.)

Since a blood sugar measurement indicates only how a patient is doing at a particular
moment, another helpful test is a hemoglobin A1C, which reveals the amount of sugar
found in a red blood cell. This test is preferably done every four to six months.
Since our red blood cells remain in our body for approximately 140 days, this test is
a great indicator of how well a patient is truly controlling his or her diabetes.
The normal range for a hemoglobin A1C in most labs is 3.5 to 5.7.
A diabetic should keep good control so that the hemoglobin A1C level remains below
6.5%. Then the risk of complications is less than 3%.

Of greater concern is the fact that at the time of actual diagnosis of diabetes, a majority
(more than 60% ) of these patients already have major cardiovascular disease.
This is why it is critical for physicians as soon as possible and encourage lifestyle changes
that can correct the problem. A patient may have Syndrome X for many years before
he truly becomes diabetic.

Obesity
People who are seriously overweight, men and women over 50-60 lbs, are 3000% more likely to develop diabetes.
Even if you are moderate overweight, your risk of diabetes increases by 100%. Insulin resistance (Syndrome X)
leads to central obesity, not the other way around. In fact, obesity is a major aspect of this Syndrome.

What do we mean by “central obesity”? This has to do with how your weight is distributed
in your body. If it is evenly dispersed all over or you are heavy in the bottom (pear shaped),
you may need to drop some weight. But in relation to Syndrome X, you are fine.
But if you have gained substantial weight around your waist line (apple shaped), you may be
in trouble. You have developed a resistance to insulin. If you have essentially a high-
carbohydrate, low fat diet, this makes the insulin resistance worse.
The solution is to balance your diet by eating low-glycemic carbohydrates with good protein
and good fat and when this diet is combined with a modest exercise program and cellular
nutrition, the insulin resistance may be corrected.

Treatment of Diabetes
All physicians agree in order to improve their patients condition that they should encourage
them, firstly: to pay more attention to insulin resistance, the underlying problem in most cases of
type 2 diabetes mellitus, and not simply focus on treating blood sugar levels.
This accounts for the fact that 80% of diabetics still die from cardiovascular disease.
Secondly: they should encourage patients to make effective lifestyle changes that will improve
insulin sensitivity. Physicians should rely on medications only as a last resort.

Healthy Diet
The American Diabetic Association primarily encourage diabetics to have a low fat,
high carbohydrate diet. When we want to treat the underlying problem of insulin resistance,
we have to take into consideration that there are low-glycemic and high glycemic
carbohydrates.The Glycemic Index gives an indication of the rate in which the body absorbs
various carbohydrates and turns them into simple sugar.

Complex carbohydrates (the ones with a lot of fiber) like beans, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts,
and apples release their sugars slowly. When we combine these low-glycemic carbohydrates
with good proteins and good fats, in a balanced meal, our blood sugar does not spike.
Few people know that high-glycemic foods raise blood sugar much faster than when you
eat candy.

The best protein and fats come from vegetables and vegetable oils. Avocados, olive oil,
nuts, beans, and soy are great sources of protein and contain fats that will actually lower
your cholesterol. The best carbohydrates come from fresh whole fruits and vegetables.
Avoid all processed food. An apple is better than apple juice.Whole grains are essential
and avoiding processed grains is critical in developing a healthy diet for everyone,
especially the diabetics. The worst fats and protein comes from red meats and dairy
products, except low-fat cottage cheese, milk and egg whites.

Trans-fatty acids are one of the worst fats you can eat. These are called rancid fats,
because they are so harmful to our bodies. Look at labels when you shop.
When you read “partially hydrogenated”, don’t buy it.

If everyone would eat this way, exercise, and take some basic nutritional supplements,
the diabetic epidemic would be nonexistent.

Exercise
Modest exercise has tremendous health benefits. And exercise is especially critical
for people with Syndrome X or diabetes mellitus. Because exercise makes patients
significantly more sensitive to their own insulin and is therefore a critical part of the
lifestyle changes needed for diabetes and those who have insulin resistance.

Nutritional Supplements
Several studies have indicated that all antioxidants may improve insulin resistance.
It is important for diabetics to take a good mixture of several antioxidants in
supplementation at optimal levels.

Chromium is critical in the metabolism of glucose and to improve insulin resistance.
A study has shown that 90% of the American population has a chromium deficiency.
Chromium significantly increase insulin sensitivity, especially for those who are deficient
in this mineral. Diabetics and patients with Syndrome X need 300 mcg of chromium
in supplementation.

Vitamin E not only improves antioxidant defenses, but also seems to help the body
in the problem of insulin resistance. People with low levels of vitamin E have a five fold higher
risk of developing diabetes than those with a normal amount of vitamin E.

Many studies have proven that vitamin E can protect animals with diabetes from this damage.
It works by complex mechanisms that also neutralize sugar directly, besides reducing peroxide formation.
Vitamin E works in humans too.
In a study by Dr. Guiseppe Paolisso at the University of Napels in Italy gave groups of diabetics
900 IU of vitamin E. After four months the diabetics showed a remarkable reduction in blood sugar.

Magnesium
Magnesium deficit has been associated with both type1 and type 2 diabetes, as well as an
increased risk of retinopathy in diabetic patients.Studies have shown that when this deficiency
is corrected in the elderly, insulin function improves significantly.

Unfortunately, diagnosing magnesium deficiency is very difficult. Typically, serum magnesium
levels are tested where only a trace amount of the body’s total magnesium is located.
Cellular levels of magnesium are much more sensitive and accurate; however, these can only
be tested in research labs, not in hospitals. This is why magnesium deficiency is so under diagnosed.
We all need at least 400 – 500 mg of magnesium in supplementation.

Vanadium
Vanadium is not a well-known mineral, but it is very important for the diabetic patient.
It has been shown to significantly increase insulin sensitivity when taken in supplementation.
A diabetic needs to take 50 – 100 mcg of vanadium in supplementation each day.

As I said before, diabetes is increasing at epidemic proportions.
In spite of the billions of dollars spent on this disease, we are losing the battle.
Physicians and laypeople alike must refocus their attitudes and attack insulin resistance
rather than elevated blood sugars. When we see elevated triglyceride levels along with
lower HDL cholesterol levels, hypertension, or unusual weight gain, we need to recognize
the possible development of Syndrome X and accelerated cardiovascular damage that
may have already begun.

Rather than simply treating the diseases that insulin resistance causes, we need to
aggressively treat the insulin resistance itself. Isn’t it amazing that such simple lifestyle changes
can effect a near-miracle: the disappearance of diabetes? .

Prevention of Neuro-degenerative Diseases

May 26, 2018Health & Nutritionacetyl choline, acetyl-l-carnitine, aging of the brain, alpha-lipoic acid, Alzheimer's Dementia, antioxidants, blood brain barrier, brain cells, coenzyme Q10, glutathione, grape seed extract, Multible Schlerosis, nerves, oxidative stress, Parkinson's Disease, vitamin C, vitamin Epinockio

Have you ever thought about your ability to think? Thinking about thinking –
what a concept! When you search back into your memory banks and remember
a vivid childhood experience or that special moment with your family, do you
ever marvel at how you can remember even some of the smallest details?
Stop reading for a moment and take a look outside your window.
Have you ever thought about how amazing your colored, wide-angled, binocular
vision is? This is all possible with the brain, one of God’s marvelous creation.

The brain is our most precious organ. Without its full function, we humans
simply exist, unable to relate to the world around us.
The ten billion nerve cells of your brain process such uncountable amounts of
information each second, they make our most advanced computers look like
children’s toys.
Your brain controls everything, from the merest wiggle of toes, to the moment
to moment balancing of hundreds of hormones, to the microscopically regulated
metabolism of all the thirty trillion cells that enable you to think, feel, and behave
as a human being. When even a few thousand brain cells get damaged or die,
your whole body suffers.

However the brain (central nervous system) and our nerves (peripheral nervous
system) are not out of the reach of oxidative stress. This common enemy has been
strongly implicated in a variety of diseases that wreak devastating damage
on the brain and nerves, known as neurodegenerative diseases.
Some of these include Alzheimer’s dementia, Parkinson’s disease, ALS
(Lou Gehrig’s disease), multiple sclerosis, and Huntington’s chorea.
There are several reasons why the brain and the nerves are especially vulnerable
to oxidative stress:

* Relative to its size, the brain experience an increased rate of oxidative activity,
which creates a significant number of free radicals.

* The normal activity, which various chemicals create to establish nerve conduction
is a major producer of free radicals.

* The brain and nerve tissue contain relatively low levels of antioxidants.

* Millions of nonreplicable cells make up the central nervous system.
This means that once they are damaged, they are most likely dysfunctional for life.

* The brain and nervous system are easily disrupted. a small amount of damage
in a critical area can cause severe problems.

The brain is the most important organ of our body. Our thoughts, emotions,
our ability to reason and communicate with the outside world are all in danger
if something damages our brain. How can we best defend this most precious asset?
It’s not just a matter of trying to avoid the devastation of neurodegenerative diseases,
but first and foremost, it’s a matter of protecting our ability to think and reason.

Aging of the brain
Oxidative stress is the leading cause of the aging process. Nowhere is evidence
stronger for this concept than when it comes to the actual aging of the brain.
Several scientific studies have shown oxidative damage to the mitochondria
(the furnace of the cell) and to the DNA of the brain cell.
This can lead to the malfunction and even death of these very sensitive brain cells.

Brain cells do not have the ability to regenerate themselves. So as we lose more
and more brain cells throughout our lifetime due to this oxidative damage,
the brain simply does not function as well as it did when we were younger.
In medical terms this lead to what is called loss of cognition.
In lay terms this is a decrease in our ability to think or reason.
Therefore, oxidative damage to our sensitive brain cells is the greatest enemy
to the functioning of our brain.

Aging of the brain is essentially the first stage of degeneration of these very important
cells in our body. Just as we don’t contract other degenerative diseases out of
the blue, people don’t wake up one day and have Alzheimer’s dementia or
Parkinson’s disease. These diseases represent the final stages of oxidative damage
to the brain. They are part of a progression that begins with the aging of the brain.
When eventually enough brain cells are damaged, a disease manifests.

When a patient is first diagnosed as having Parkinson’s disease, more than 80%
of the brain cells in a particular part of the brain, called the substancia nigra,
have already been destroyed. The same is true for someone who develops
Alzheimer’s dementia. These neurodegenerative diseases have actually been
developing over a period of ten to twenty years.
Let’s look at some of these diseases individually.

Alzheimer’s Dementia
Alzheimer’s dementia affects more than 2 million Americans and is the major cause
for admission in nursing homes.Alzheimer’s patients not only don’t know what day
it is, they don’t even recognize their own families.

Nothing is more devastating than losing the ability to think.Most folk who become
senile, develop Alzheimer’s, or other irriversable forms of brain degeneration know
it is happening. Their anguish is far worse than physical pain.
Progressive senility is living death, turning the most brilliant professors, the greatest
athletes, the most gifted artists, into dribbling zombies. The worst of it is, we do
most of the damage to ourselves.

Anyone who has had to deal with Alzheimer’s dementia within his family understands
just how tragic this is.If you have a loved one who suffers from Alzhemer’s,you
appreciate the fact that it’s the quality of life, not the quantity, with which most of us
are concerned.
The passage of another birthday becomes an empty and painful event for those
suffering from Alzheimer’s dementia and their families.

Numerous studies have shown evidence that free radical damage as the cause of
Alzheimer’s dementia. Recent findings by researchers at Case Western Reserve
University concluded that increasing oxidative stress with age most likely accounts
for all aspects of Alzheimer’s disease. Strong evidence exists that patients with
Alzheimer’s disease have significantly depleted levels of antioxidants in their brains
as well as high levels of oxidative stress.

There is now great interest in the therapeutic benefits that Alzheimer’s patients
could receive from antioxidants. The New England Journal of Medicine
reported a study showing that high doses of vitamin E could significantly decrease
the progression of Alzheimer’s dementia.
Other clinical trials in which patients with Alzheimer’s dementia used various
antioxidants, such as vitamin C, vitamin A, zinc, selenium, and rutin ( a bioflavanoid
antioxidant) have also been encouraging.

Parkinson’s disease
A stooped posture, slow voluntary movement, rigidity, and a “pill rolling” tremor
that causes the hands to move back and forth in a “rolling” action characterize
Parkinson’s disease. Public appearances by Muhammad Ali have made us all
more aware of effects of this debilitating disease.

A wide variety of studies support the role of free radicals as the underlying cause
of Parkinson’s. The actual cell death (approximately 80%) in the area of the brain
called the substantia nigra leads to decreased production of dopamine,
a substance that allows the brain to function normally.

Studies indicate that patients with early Parkinson’s disease who received high
doses of vitamin C and vitamin E were able to slow down the progression of
their disease. They actually avoided taking any medication for their disease for
approximately two years longer than the control group.
Glutathione and N-acetyl-L-cysteine (both antioxidants) were also effective in
protecting the nerves in the substania nigra from further damage by oxidative stress.

Multiple Sclerosis
Multiple Sclerosis affects more than 250,000 Americans and is about twice as
common in women as in men. Unlike Alzheimer’s dementia and Parkinson’s
disease, in which the brain cells are actually damaged, this disorder affects
the myelin sheath (the insulation around the nerve). This breakdown of the myelin,
called demyelination, results in impairment of the function of the nerve.
It is like an electrical wire that shorts out because of a breakdown in the insulation
around the wire, and is responsible for the clinical symptoms of multiple sclerosis.

Investigators have stated the fact that oxidative stress was significantly higher in
patients with MS during a flare-up when compared to MS patients who were stable.
MS differ from the other forms of neurodegenerative diseases in that the mechanism
of injury to the central nervous system and peripheral nerves is the immune system,
rather than outside toxins. When one’s own immune system attacks the myelin sheath,
this creates oxidative stress that then damages the nerves.

Multiple sclerosis responds amazingly well to cellular nutrition. The body does have
the potential to repair damage to the myelin sheath. Placing MS patients on potent
antioxidants is critical.

If we are going to have any success decreased risk or delayed progression of neuro-
degenerative diseases, we must research the effects of antioxidants that cross over
into the brain easily. Researchers are not studying antioxidants that can smoothly pass
through what is known as the blood brain barrier.

The Blood Brain Barrier
The brain needs a barrier that separates it from the blood to permit complex nerve
signaling. The blood brain barrier is a thick lining of epithelial cells that are present in
the small arteries that course through the brain. This lining is designed with very tight
junctions, which makes crossover of nutrients into the brain cells particularly difficult.

Important nutrients needed by the brain actually have specialized transporting proteins
available that allows them to cross this barrier. At the same time, toxic substances,
infectious organisms, and most other nutrients, have difficulty passing through this barrier.
This keeps the brain isolated with only the most essential nutrients to be able to enter.
Our brain has significant protection from the dangers of the outside world.
God created this amazing defensive barrier for the protection of this very sensitive area
of our body.

What has gone wrong in the case of aging of the brain and neurological disease?
The neurology department of the Rabin Medical Center in Tel Aviv concluded that
as a result of today’s environment, the brain is exposed to significantly increased amount
of toxins, such as heavy metals, and thus oxidative stress.
The antioxidant defense system is no longer completely effective in protecting this vital
organ. They believe that additional antioxidants, which particularly need to be taken in
as supplements, have the potential for reduce or even preventing the damage from
increased oxidative stress. They stress, however, that the antioxidants must be able to
readily cross the blood brain barrier.

The Right Antioxidants for the Brain

Vitamin E
Vitamin E is a fat-soluble antioxidant which is very important in the protection of brain
and peripheral nerve cells. It has some difficulty crossing the blood brain barrier and
need therefore to be supplied in high doses. This vitamin is important to protect the brain
cells but probably not the best one for this purpose.

Vitamin C
Vitamin C can concentrate in the tissue and fluid around the brain and nerves.
It is able to pass through the blood brain barrier, and in fact, vitamin C levels are 10 times
higher in this tissue than in the plasma. When you realize that vitamin C is not only a great
antioxidant but also has the ability to regenerate vitamin E and glutathione, it becomes
a very important nutrient in protecting brain and nerve cells.

Dr. M. C. Morris reported a study showing that vitaminC and vitamin E given as
supplements to normal patients over the age of sixty-five actually decreased their risk
of developing Alzhemer’s dementia. This was only a small study, but larger and more
aggressive studies need to be done.

Glutathione
Glutathione is the most important antioxidant within the brain and nerve cells.
But this nutrient is difficult to absorb from oral supplements, and its ability to cross
the blood brain barrier is not yet clear.
The best strategy at tis time is to supplement the nutrients the body needs to make
its own glutathione (N-acetyl-L-cysteine, niacin, selenium, and vitamin B2).
You also need to have those antioxidant nutrients available that regenerate glutathione,
so it can be used again and again ( vitamin C, alpha-lipoic acid, and QoQ10).

Alpha-lipoic Acid
The medical community is recognizing alpha-lipoic acid more and more as an important
antioxidant. It is both fat- and water-soluble and it has also the ability to cross over the
blood brain barrier. It can regenerate vitamin C & E, intracellular gluthacione and CoQ10.

Another important property of this antioxidant is that it can attach itself to
toxic metals in the brain and help eliminate them from our body.
Heavy metals, such as mercury, aluminum, cadmium, and lead have been implicated in
increasing the risk of developing neurodegenerative diseases.
These metals tend to deposit themselves in brain tissue because of the high amount of fat
concentrated in that part of the body.These metals can cause an increased amount of
oxidative stress and are extremely difficult to remove from the central nervous system
once they are there. Antioxidants that not only are potent but have the ability to help
remove these toxic heavy metals will become more and more important in the prevention
and treatment of these diseases.

Coenzyme Q10
Coenzyme Q10 is a very potent antioxidant as well as one of the most important nutrients
for the production of energy within the cell. Clinical studies have shown that oxidative
damage in the mitochondria (this is where CoQ10 works) is an important aspect in the
developing of neurodegenerative diseases.

As we age, the level of CoQ10 in our brains and nerve cells decreases significantly.
CoQ10 may be a missing link in the prevention of diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s
disease. However, more study in this subject is necessary. How well QoQ10 passes
through the blood brain barrier is not yet been fully evaluated.

Grape-Seed Extract
Studies show that grape-seed extract crosses the blood brain barrier quite easily.
It is an exceptionally potent antioxidant, and the mere fact that high concentrations can be
obtained in the fluid and cells of the brain and nerve tissue makes it an ideal antioxidant
for the brain.

Serotonin and memory
Professors Eric Kandel and James Schwartz at the Center of Neurobiology at
Columbia University have shown that memory storage can be increased by putting
additional serotonin into the neuron. In humans also, we know that periods of additional
serotonin release improve memory storage.

Acetylcholine and memory
As memory declines with age, so does acetylcholine. This biochemical deficit is especially evident in the post-morton bains of people who had suffered the severe
memory problems of premature senility or Alzheimer’s disease.

Studies using drugs to block acetylcholine synthesis in the brain, provide further strong
evidence that optimum acetylcholine levels are crucial to good memory.

Acetyl-l-carnitine
The big discovery about the brain is that much of the damage to brain cells occurs
by oxidation. In addition to the antioxidants we have discussed previously, European
research shows that the amino acid acetyl-l-carnitine maintains brain function partly by
antioxidant action.

More than 50 controlled studies show that this remarkable nutrient has profound effects
in addition to antioxidant action. It improves memory, prevents brain cell loss, boosts
intelligence, and restores acetylcholine metabolism. It is used in millions of doses of
1000- 2000 mg per day throughout Europe, for treatment of Alzheimer’s, depression,
and memory loss in the aged, and for improvement of cognition in normal folk.

Protecting our most precious asset
Everyone desires to maintain and protect the ability to reason and to think.
In fact, losing this ability is probably the number-one fear of most people.
As we age, we all have this concern at one time or other.

The principle of optimizing our own natural antioxidant defense system is paramount
when it comes to protecting the cells in our brain against our common enemy:
oxidative stress. Remember, we must focus on prevention and protection, because
once a brain cell is destroyed, it is not readily replaced.

There are two main concepts to keep in mind.
Firstly, we must use a cocktail of antioxidants that will work in synergy while readily
crossing the blood brain barrier.
Secondly, we must avoid any excessive exposure to the heavy metals, and other toxins
in our environment.
Balance is th. key, and we must work on decreasing our toxic exposures as well as
building up our body’s natural defenses.

It is quite obvious that the proper function of our brain and our nerves is an essential
aspect of our health, and we now realize that the main enemy to this central part of
our body is oxidative stress. It is paramount that we protect these sensitive cells from
being damaged in the first place.
Supplementing our diet with potent antioxidants that readily cross over the blood
brain barrier can effectively protect us against these horrible diseases.

I believe the evidence in the medical literature is strong enough to advice people
to supplement a healthy diet with antioxidants at optimal levels.
Such a regimen can only help!

The Healing Power of Currants

April 14, 2018Health & Nutritionantioxidants, cancer protection, currants, fiber, vitamin Cpinockio

Currants are a favorite fruit in various countries.
The British love currant jams and jellies. The French consider black currant liquor
as their favorite. Until the turn of the previous century, Americans enjoyed fresh currants,
as well as currant jellies and sauces.

Today, fresh currants are hard to find in the US. (Don’t be fooled by the black “currants”
sold in supermarkets, they are really zante grapes.
What caused the end of our craving for currants? In the early 1900s, the USDA banned
the cultivation of currants because the shrubs harbored a fungus that was destroying
white pines. Even though the ban was lifted in the 1960s, currants never really made
a comeback. This is unfortunate, because currants, the forgotten fruit are a superb source
of vitamin C and fiber. What’s more, they contain a compound that present a powerful
cancer fighting potential.

Alzheimer’s Disease Prevention
It’s ironic that the forgotten fruit might prove to be helpful in keeping your memory sharp.
Researchers in New Zealand found that substances in currants could help prevent
Alzheimer’s disease. Two compounds in the currants, anthocyanins (which give them
their deep red color) and polyphenolics ( which is also abundant in red wine and chocolate),
where found to protect the brain cells of rats against the kind of damage that occurs in
people’s brains afflicted by Alzheimer’s disease.

Anthocyanins as well as polyphenolics are powerful antioxidants that provide protection
against free radicals.These highly reactive oxygen molecules can damage the brain and
other tissues if left to run amok. Much more research is needed to see if these results
would actually translate to people too.

Cancer Protection
Besides the fact that currants are extremely high in vitamin C content – a half cup of black
currants for example, has 101 milligrams of vitamin C, which is 168% of the Daily Value
and three times that of oranges – there is another thing that gets researches excited.
It’s the fact that berries contain a compound called ellagic acid, which has the ability
to prevent cancer from starting.

Ellagic acid belongs to a disease-fighting family of compounds known as polyphenols.
(Cranberries, raspberries, strawberries, and grapes also contain polyphenols).
It has been shown in laboratory studies to be a powerful antioxidant that helps neutralizing
free radicals, according to Gary Stoner, PhD, professor and cancer researcher at Ohio
State University in Columbus.
Free radicals try to replace their missing electrons by stealing electrons from healthy cells,
causing cellular changes that can lead to cancer.

It may surprise you that researchers found that currants are a much higher source of
antioxidants than blueberries, long regarded as the antioxidant champ.

Ellagic acid also has the ability to block the effects of cancer-causing chemicals in the body
at the same time that it stimulates the activity of enzymes that fight cancer growth.
This two-pronged approach makes this compound a powerful alley for blocking cancer.

Another antioxidant that has been found in currants is quercetin. In general, the most
common sources of quercetin are onions, tea, apples and red wine.
That’s for most of us anyway. The Finns, however, commonly eat certain types of berries
that contain quercetin – currants, lingonberries, and bilberries.
Researchers in Finland reasoned that these berries may be an important source of quercetin
in that country. The scientists divided 40 healthy men into two groups.
Half of the men ate their usual diets, but the other half 100 grams of black currants,
lingonberries and bilberries every day. After 8 weeks, the researchers found that the men
who ate the berries had blood levels of quercetin 32 to 51% higher than the men who ate
their regular diets. So the researchers concluded that these berries are a good source of
quercetin.

Like ellagic acid, quercetin has long been considered important in possibly helping to
prevent cancer. In test tube studies, it inhibits the growth of cancer cells, including those
from breast, colon, prostate, and lung tumors.

Protection against Digestion and Heart disease
Like most berries, currants are also high in fiber. The black, red, and white types all provide
about 2 grams, or 8% of the Daily Value. Apart from controlling digestive problems like
constipation and hemorrhoids, fiber also helps to deal with more serious health problems,
like high cholesterol and heart disease.

From a study of 21,930 Finnish men it showed that those who got just 10 extra grams of
fiber a day were able to reduce their risk of dying from heart disease by 17%.
Eating one or two servings of currants a day , along with extra fruits and vegetables,
will provide all the fiber you need to help keep your circulation in optimum form.

The only problem with fresh currants is that they are hard to find, since most supermarkets
don’t stock them. Your best change to find them is to check out roadside stands or farmers’
markets, as growers sometimes sell small amounts of these homegrown favorites.

When you are lucky enough to get your hands on fresh currants, you will get the most
out of them by storing them in an airtight container in the refrigerator. That way you will
be able to keep them fresh for 2 to 3 days. Or you can freeze them for use throughout
the year.

Benefits of Apples are Skin Deep

April 7, 2018Health & Nutritionantioxidants, apple fiber, cancer protection, digestive health, flavonoids, phytonutrientspinockio

Apples are more than just a wholesome snack. Research have shown that eating apples can help reduce the risk of heart disease, and they may also help protect you from lung cancer. In addition, they may lower your risk of asthma and improve your overall long function.
Antioxidant Protection Phenolics are some of the most powerful disease-fighting components in apples, and they have been getting a lot of research attention lately. Phenolics are a type of phytochemicals that can act as powerful antioxidants, neutralizing free radicals before they can get a change to damage your DNA and other important components within your body.

Researchers at the Cornell University in Ithaca, New York and Seoul University in South Korea found that these phenolics may provide the bulk of the antioxidant power in apples, rather than the vitamin C. Other research from Cornell set out to rank the total phenolic content in many popular fruits. Apples came in second place behind the cranberries, and beat out other favorites such as the red grape, strawberry, pineapple, banana, peach lemon, orange, pear, and grapefruit.

This study also found that apples have the second highest total antioxidant activity of these fruits, again beaten by the cranberry. If you take into account their tastiness, easy preparation time and versatility, apples are hard to beat as an easy way to get a quick dose of antioxidants.

Getting to the Heart of the Matter
The phytochemicals in apples may make them useful tools in warding off heart disease. A study that followed almost 40,000 women for about seven years associated apples with a 13% to 22% lower risk of cardiovascular disease.

Research in Finland has found that intake of flavonoids – a type of phenolics found in apples – was inversely associated with death from heart disease in women.

Another study, involving more than 30,000 older Iowa women found that, consuming catechin and epicatechin – both flavonoids found in apples – was associated with a lower risk of death from coronary heart disease.

Even though, many people favor the flesh, much of an apple’s healing power can be found in the skin, which ccontains large amounts – about 4 milligrams – of an antioxidant compound called quercetin. Like vitamin C and beta-carotene, quercetin can help prevent harmful oxygen molecules from damaging individual cells.

Even in the healing world of antioxidants, quercetin is thought to be exceptional. Another Finnish study, this one following more than 10,000 men and women, found that the people who ate the most quercetin had a 20% lower risk of dying from coronary heart disease than those who ate the least.

Cancer Protection
A study involving more than 120,000 men and women found that women who ate at least one serving of apples daily had a lower risk of lung cancer. A Hawaiian study looked at the diet history of 582 people who had lung cancer and 582 without the disease found that the people who consumed the most apples and onions and white grapefruit had nearly half the risk of lung cancer than those who ate the least amounts of these foods.

Effect of Apples on Lung Problems Apples may also help reduce your risk of asthma and improve your lung health. An Australian study involving 1,600 adults associated apple and pear consumption with a lower risk of asthma. And a study of more than 13,000 adults in the Netherlands found that those who consumed more apples and pears had a better lung function and less chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Apple Fiber for Digestive Health
Apples are also a rich source of both soluble and insoluble fiber. A 5-ounce apple including the skin has about 3 grams of fiber. Insoluble fiber, found in the skin, has long been recommended to relieve constipation. Studies show that a smoothly operating digestive tract can help prevent colon cancer. Also, insoluble fiber is filling which make apples an excellent weight control food for people who want to lose weight without feeling hungry.

The soluble fiber in apples, which is the same kind that is found in oat bran, acts differently from the insoluble kind. In stead of passing through the digestive tract more or less unchanged, soluble fiber forms a gel-like material in the digestive tract that helps lower cholesterol and with it, the risk of heart disease and stroke.

A particular form of soluble fiber called pectin is very helpful to reduce the amount of cholesterol produced in the liver. An average-seize apple contains 0.7 gram of pectin, more than the amount in strawberries and bananas.

Indeed, it appears that having an apple or two a day really can help to keep the doctor away.

What is Breast Cancer?

September 22, 2017Health & Nutritionantioxidants, breast cancer, cancer, cells, free radicalspinockio

To answer the question “What is breast cancer?”, we have to start with the fundamentals, the smallest parts our bodies are made up with: the human cells.

When we talk about aging, getting sick and getting disease, usually we don’t realize that we don’t, but actually our cells do. The health of our body depends on how healthy our cells are. The human body is made up of about 80 trillion cells.
Those cells continually replicate themselves.
Consequently, to slow down our aging process and limit our change of getting sick we have to protect and feed our cells properly.

Our cells are made up of atoms. If these cells are healthy, they consist of paired electrons. Healthy cells replicate and keep our body young and disease free. But if atoms are missing electrons, they destroy surrounding atoms by “stealing” their electrons. Atoms that are missing an electron are called “free radicals”. Free radicals alter or destroy cells and
are the cause of premature aging, sickness and disease, like cancer, heart disease, stroke, osteoporosis and many others.

Every day, the DNA in each cell in your body faces about 10,000 attacks from
cell-damaging free radicals.
Free radicals are naturally produced as your body turns fuel to energy, but you also get them from pollution in air and water, stress, smoking and radiation from the sun.

These volatile molecules cruise around your body trying to stabilize themselves
by stealing electrons from other molecules. When they succeed, they create
still more free radicals, causing a sort of snowballing procession of damage.

Free radicals don’t just occasionally pop up here and there. Up to 5% of the
oxygen that each cell uses is converted into free radicals.

Free radical damage is thought to play a role in the accumulation of low-density
lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and the lining of your artery walls.
This can lead to a narrowing of the arteries called atherosclerosis, which
contributes to heart disease. And when free radicals damage DNA inside the cells,
it can replicate a damaged cell.The results can be cell mutations that lead to cancer.

Pollution in our environment, pesticides and insecticides used on our land, water treated with chlorine and smoking are sources of free radicals.

So what’s the solution? Fortunately, there are antioxidants who have extra electrons to give away to free radicals, which eliminates their harmful effect and are our body’s defense against the harmful effect of free radicals, causing aging, sickness and disease like cancer.

Cabbage contains an abundance of vitamins, C, E, and carotene and two compounds that studies show can help prevent cancer.
Researchers reviewed almost 100 studies that evaluated the relationship between cruciferous vegetables, such as cabbage and cancer. They found that in 70% of the studies, cabbage consumption was associated with a lower risk of cancer. Cabbage is particularly effective in preventing breast-, lung-, and prostate cancer.

However, only 2% of these vitamins are present in the average American diet.
Most Americans today don’t eat their cabbage or any other vegetable.The average intake is less than one serving per day of either fruit or vegetables.

The first of these compounds, indole-3-carbinol, or I3C, is especially effective against
breast cancer. The compound acts as an antiestrogen, which means that it sweeps up harmful estrogens that have been linked to breast cancer.

Most breast cancer is linked to deficit in estrogen metabolism.
The under-nourished female body can’t deactivate its estrogen properly. It uses what is called the estradiol 16-alpha hydroxylation pathway, which leaves the hormone still active enough to cause cell transformation in the breast (and reproductive organs).
Over years these cells gradually transform to cancer.The properly nourished female body, however, uses what is called the estradiol 2-alpha hydroxilation pathway, which neutralizes the hormone completely and never leads to breast cancer.

The other compound found in cabbage, called sulforaphane, has been shown to inhibit carcionogens and aid in DNA repair.

Women in Poland eat three times as much cabbage,especially raw cabbage,
as women in the US.
Researchers studied hundreds of Polish women living in the US and found that women who ate four or more servings of cabbage per week while preteens were 72% less likely to develop breast cancer as adults than the women who ate one serving or less of cabbage a week while preteens. Eating lots of cabbage as adults also provided significant cancer protection.

Dr. Donald Malins, a biochemist from Seatle, reported a new method fot identifying structural changes in the DNA of breast tissues. By using an instrument that bounces infrared radiation off the DNA and by analyzing the signals via a sophisticated computer, he was able to follow the structual damage to the DNA caused by free radicals.

Researchers agree with Malins that the development of cancer is a multistage process that usually takes decades to develop. In adults, cancer may take twenty or even thirty years to develop from the initial mutation of the DNA to its full-blown manifestation. In children, this process may develop more quickly because of their more rapid cell turnover.

Malins noted significant changes within the structure of the DNA as he followed it from normal breast tissue to metastatic breast cancer in all its developmental stages.

Dr Malin believed oxidative stress was the cause of this predictable damage to
the DNA, which eventually led to the formation of breast cancer.
He further argued that cancer was not so much the result of disfunctional genes as it was the result of genetic damage that highly reactive free radicals caused.

For the past forty years, researchers have believed that abnormal genes are the driving force behind all cancers. But now researchers are beginning to believe instead that individuals with certain genes are simply more vulnerable to oxidative stress than others. This may explain the familial patterns of many types of cancer.

Nutritional science offers us the greatest hope in our fight against cancer and
several other degenerative diseases.
They not only help to prevent cancer but may actually enhance the traditional chemo- and radiation therapy.
How can the process of building up the body’s natural defence be bad?
Shouldn’t physicians want their patients to be as healthy as possible,since cancer treatments are going to put patients under the greatest stress they have had to endure in their lives?

Natural antioxidants and their supporting nutrients are the ideal chemo-preventive agents for many reasons.

* They limit and even prevent the free-radical damage to the DNA nucleus of
the cell.
* They provide the proper nutrients needed for the body to repear any damage that has been done already.
* They are save and may be taken over a lifetime. (Pharmaceutical drugs do not share this advantage. Tamoxifen, which has been shown to decrease the risk
of breast cancer, has very serious side effects.)
* They are relatively inexpensive.
* They provide the best defense against further advancement of cancer.
* They protect the body against oxidative stress that chemotherapy and radiation create.
* They support the cancer-fighting ability of chemotherapy and radiation.
* They inhibit the replication and growth of the cancer.
* They have been shown to cause tumor regression in some cases.

We can’t deny that the effectiveness of traditional cancer treatments has reached a plateau. Oncologists and radiation therapists must become more open-minded about antioxidant use in their patients. As researchers seriously consider the use of multiple antioxidants at optimal levels, cancer prevention and treatment may well be revolutionized. In the meantime, the research that is presently available supports the use of antioxidants in all stages of chemo- prevention and cancer therapy.

The CSIRO has given practical guidelines to minimize free-radical damage.
You can read them in my article: How to protect against cancer.

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