If you’re dealing with Type II diabetes, cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease or prostate cancer, or simply too busy to prepare healthy meals yourself, here’s an option: the leViv meal programs.

According to their press release:

Each of leViv’s meal programs features 28 days’ worth of food, delivered to the consumer’s door, starting at $299. The orders include more than 110 items, averaging out to two meals and two snacks per day. Consumers are encouraged to rely on leViv’s grocery recommendations when shopping for their third meal each day. Meals are delivered twice per month. The entrées arrive frozen to give customers the flexibility to consume them when they choose.

Aside from a month’s worth of meals, you also get grocery recommendations and professional advice. Not only is the stress of meal planning and preparation taken off your shoulders, you are also guaranteed of delicious meals that are designed with your particular illness taken into consideration.

The benefits of targeted nutrition and lifestyle can include increased energy, balanced blood sugar, lowering of bad cholesterol, increasing of good cholesterol, endothelial health, strengthening organ function and more. leViv, along with many in the medical community, understands the powerful synergy between nutritious foods, traditional medicine and an active lifestyle. leViv regularly incorporates emerging scientific benefits associated with antioxidants, phytonutrients, plant-based proteins, cruciferous vegetables, omega-3 fatty acid, isoflavones and more.

Check it out!

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leViv’s Chef-Inspired Meal Programs for People Managing Chronic Health Conditions

A specific type of tannin found only in cranberries and blueberries interacts with the little projections on the Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria (the most common cause of UTI), preventing them from sticking to the walls of the bladder and causing infection.

A new study published in the journal Colloids and Surfaces: B looks into the effect of cranberry juice on the bugs in the urinary tract in closer detail. Apparently, cranberry juice changes the thermodynamic properties of bacteria in the urinary tract, creating an energy barrier that prevents the microorganisms from getting close enough to latch onto cells and initiate an infection.

For the fimbriaed bacteria, they found that even at low concentrations, cranberry juice altered two properties that serve as indicators of the ability of bacteria to attach to cells. The first factor is called Gibbs free energy of attachment, which is a measure of the amount of energy that must be expended before a bacterium can attach to a cell. Without cranberry juice, this value was a negative number, indicating that energy would be released and attachment was highly likely. With cranberry juice the number was positive and it grew steadily as the concentration of juice increased, making attachment to urinary tract cells increasingly unlikely.

The good thing about using cranberry juice to treat UTI is that, apparently, it does not have any effect on non-fimbriaed (in other words, non-pathogenic) bacteria. The authors of the study also found out that when E. coli. bacteria that have been treated with cranberry juice are placed in normal growth media, they regain the ability to adhere to urinary tract cells. This implies that regular, perhaps daily, consumption of cranberry juice may be necessary to fully benefit from the antibacterial properties of cranberry juice. And for those who are watching their calorie intake, the researchers say that the sugar-free versions of cranberry juice are just as good!

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How Cranberry Juice Prevent Urinary Tract Infections

Did you know that artichokes are nutrient dense?

Artichokes are an excellent source of dietary magnesium, fiber, and the trace mineral chromium. They are also a very good source of vitamins A and C, folic acid, biotin, niacin, riboflavin, thiamine, potassium, the trace mineral manganese, and a carbohydrate that is in the form of insulin.

In addition, artichokes have also been demonstrated to impart a wide range of health benefits:

It is known to positively help poor liver function (thus helping to lower the blood cholesterol), arteriosclerosis, gout, supports the treatment of hepatitis and improves the gall secretions. It can slightly lower the blood sugar, improve the appetite and digestion, is diuretic and may help some migraine conditions (most especially those caused by toxins in the blood). As it helps the body rid itself of excess water and moves toxins it also has the added side effect of an improved skin luminosity.

Wow, what a superfood indeed. Hm, got artichoke recipes to share?

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Health Benefits of Artichokes

• prevent cancer
• lower blood cholesterol
• improve blood sugar control

Your best sources of fiber? Fruits, vegetables, beans and whole grains.

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Fiber in Your Diet

“We discovered that catechins found in green tea protected both normal and cancerous bladder cells from inflammation when we exposed the cells to hydrogen peroxide,” said Michael B. Chancellor, M.D., professor of urology and gynecology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. “Although further studies are needed, these results indicate herbal supplements from green tea could be a treatment option for various bladder conditions that are caused by injury or inflammation.”

If you’re prone to bladder infections or inflammation, cranberry juice may also be another option.

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Green Tea May Help Prevent Bladder Infection

Cranberries are not just rich in vitamin C, they also help fight bacterial infections, particularly in the bladder.

While searching for recipes, I’ve come across a website that sounds remarkably similar to mine: Fabulous Foods. A fabulous website, with fabulous resources and articles! Back to recipes, though, here are some cranberry sauce recipes you can try. The tangerine-apricot-cranberry combo makes me salivate! And when Thanksgiving is over, you may try these other cranberry recipes, too!

Of course, for those that are culinarily-challenged like me, you can also get ready made sauces, chutneys, and even port wine spiked varieties.

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Cranberry Sauce for Thanksgiving

Well some people even made it healthier… by fortifying OJ with plant sterols, and thus coming up with a heart-healthy drink.

Plant cholesterols known as sterols — recognized for their cholesterol-lowering power when added to margarines, salad dressings and other fats — also have been found to be effective in reducing low-density lipoprotein, or “bad” cholesterol” levels, when added to orange juice. Now, UC Davis researchers have found that twice-daily servings of a reduced-calorie orange juice beverage fortified with plant sterols also reduces levels of C-reactive protein, a marker of inflammation and an accepted risk marker for heart disease.

The study has been published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The beverages used in the study were provided by the The Coca-Cola Company’s Beverage Institute for Health & Wellness. Didn’t say which brand, though, but my guess would be Minute Maid Heart Wise Orange Juice, launched as a heart-healthy juice a couple of years ago.

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Plant Sterol-Fortified Orange Juice May Prevent Heart Disease

Here’s part of her list, and the medicinal benefits that can be derived from them:

BASIL
relieve gas and soothe stomach upsets
active ingredient: eugenol

CAYENNE
relieves pain, improves digestion and relieves gas, nausea, and indigestion, thins mucus (and may ease cough, colds, bronchitis)
active ingredient: capsaicin

CINNAMON
antimicrobial, helps regulate the menstrual cycle and checks flooding during menopause, helps reduce anxiety and stress
active ingredient: cinnamaldehyde

CLOVE
antimicrobial, temporarily eases tooth pain, helps heal cold sores, may lower blood sugar
active ingredient: eugenol. A potent pain

DILL
soothe the digestive tract, treat heartburn, colic and gas, may treat bad breath

FENNEL ease bloating, gas pains, and digestive spasms, reduce bad breath and body odour, increases milk flow in lactating women

GARLIC help lower cholesterol and blood pressure and therefore reduce risk of atherosclerosis and heart disease (see my previous entry on garlic). may also be antimicrobial, and effective against digestive ailments and diarrhoea. may also have anti-cancer properties.
active ingredient: allicin.

MINT counteract nausea and vomiting, promote digestion, calm
stomach muscle spasms, relieve flatulence, and ease hiccups. acts as an antimicrobial, and may boost mental alertness. mint can also relieve pain.
active ingredient: menthol

See the rest of her entry here. I’ve also written previous entries on some of the herbs she mentioned such as turmeric, which has been found to reduce risks of colon cancer.

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Healing Herbs From Your Kitchen

A new study presented by researchers from the Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) during the the annual meeting of the American Chemical Society in San Francisco last week suggests that a group of tannins called proanthocyanidins found primarily in cranberries may affect potentially pathogenic bacteria in three ways:

• They change the shape of the bacteria from rods to spheres.
• They alter their cell membranes.
• They make it difficult for bacteria to make contact with cells, or from latching on to them should they get close enough.

Collectively, this makes is difficult for bacteria to adhere to the host cells and iniate infection. Just how much cranberry juice does one need to reap the benefits? Recommended doses range from 90 to 480 milliliters (3 to 16 ounces) of cranberry cocktail twice daily, or 15 to 30 milliliters of unsweetened 100% cranberry juice daily. See my previous entry on cranberry juice and bladder infections for more details.

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Cranberry Juice Helps Fight Infections, But How?

Coffee, strawberry probiotic yoghurt, cereals with cranberries, and… orange juice.

Coffee for your brain, strawberries too, probiotic yoghurt for your gut, cranberries for a healthy bladder, and orange juice to prevent kidney stones.

Orange juice, researchers found, boosted the levels of citrate in the urine and reduced the crystallization of uric acid and calcium oxalate – the most frequently found ingredient in kidney stones.

According to their study, lemonade, another citrus juice with comparable citrate content, did not have the same effect. The researchers think the form in which the citrate is present in the juice matters.

[snip]… the citrate in orange and grapefruit juice is accompanied by a potassium ion while the citrate in lemonade and cranberry juice is accompanied by a hydrogen ion. Ions of hydrogen, but not potassium, counteract the beneficial effects of the high citrate content.

Now, for tea afficionados, I wonder whether lacing tea with orange or lemon will make any difference.

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Orange Juice Keep Kidney Stones Away