Post from: Blisstree

Eating Fabulous Turns One!

However, reading that even the elderly can benefit from taking calcium pills daily indicates that mine is not yet a lost case. Based on the data from 29 studies from around the world which tracked the use and efficacy of calcium or calcium and Vitamin D supplements in 63,897 people aged 50 or over, calcium supplements apparently decrease the fracture rates and loss of bone density in older people.

“The efficacy of calcium supplements in reducing the risk of fractures later in life is comparable to more established preventative medicines such as aspirin and statins, which are widely taken to reduce the risk of cardiovascular events such as strokes and heart attacks,” Dr Tang says.

What about the dosage?

The study calculated a regular daily dose of 1200mg of calcium with 800 international units of Vitamin D provided the best therapeutic effect.

Post from: Blisstree

Daily Calcium Pills Reduce Fracture Risks

I’m not sure what and where the hooks are, and to be honest I’m pretty skeptical about any sort of online medical consultation. But if you have an urgent question or problem that can’t wait til your next trip to a real flesh-and-blood nutritionist/dietician (or perhaps for some reason, do not want to visit a real flesh-and-blood nutritionist/dietician), then you might want to give this a try. I can imagine that the first challenge is to find one from the hundreds of nutritionists listed there that’ll suit you.

Post from: Blisstree

Online Nutrition Advice

• Pigments from purple corn and chokeberries (almost black berries from shurbs native to North America) not only stopped the growth of cancer cells, but also killed roughly 20 per cent of the cancer cells while having little effect on healthy cells.
• Extract derived from purple corn was the most potent, in that it took the least amount of this extract (14 micrograms per millilitre of cell growth solution) to cut cell numbers in half.
• Chokeberry and bilberry extracts were nearly as potent.
• Radish extract proved the least potent, as it took nine times as much to cut cell growth by 50 per cent.

Is one fruit or vegetable then better than the other? A caveat from the study author:

“There are more than 600 different anthocyanins found in nature,” she said.

“While we know that the concentration of anthocyanins in the gastrointestinal tract is ultimately affected by their chemical structures, we’re just beginning to scratch the surface of understanding how the body absorbs and uses these different structures.”

In other words, it is still yet unknown how the anthocyanins from these foods fare in the human body.

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Anthocyanins in Dark Colored Fruits May Fight Colon Cancer

But the main challenge for many is to incorporate these healthy foods into their daily diet. Eating Well magazine has a collection of a dozen recipes for healthy, colorful, antioxidant-packed meals. The menus are categorized based on the main pigment, and thus the primary antioxidant flavonoid present. Click to see the recipes for:

• Quinoa & Smoked Tofu Salad
• Strawberry Bruschetta
• Sugar Snap Pea & Cherry Tomato Pasta Salad
• Watermelon Gazpacho
• Watermelon Slush

• Curried Chicken with Sweet Potatoes & Cauliflower
• Fresh Mango Chutney
• Mango-Lime Sorbet
• Moroccan-Rubbed Grilled Steak & Sweet Potatoes
• Sichuan Carrot Soup

• Avocado-Grapefruit Relish
• Broccoli with Caramelized Onions & Pine Nuts
• Calabacitas
• Chipotle Cheddar Chard
• White Sangria

• Blueberry Ketchup
• Grilled Eggplant Panini
• Quick Pork Saute with Blackberries
• Roasted Eggplant Dip
• Rustic Berry Tart

Choose one, or more, and have your antioxidant-fix for the day! Remember, the more colorful your meal is, the healthier it is!

Post from: Blisstree

12 Recipes for Antioxidant-Rich Meals

In a new study published in Cell, osteocalcin appears play a role in glucose metabolism by regulating the cells that produce insulin in the pancreas and release it into the bloodstream. Thus they study shows that osteocalcin may play a role in the development of diabetes.

Since the formation of osteocalcin is dependent on Vitamin K, naturally, manufacturers of Vitamin K supplements are quick to seize this as an opportunity to boost reputation of Vitamin K supplements. To prove that there is a real link between Vitamin K supplementation and diabetes, though, is still a long way to go.

Post from: Blisstree

Vitamin K, Osteocalcin, and Diabetes

Sadly, not all potential functional foods and nutraceuticals undergo the kind of rigorous testing required by the FDA to prove that they are indeed effective against a certain disease or not. Not only is the task complicated, it is also rather costly. And when a big multinational company funds a research study on one of its products, one cannot help asking if perhaps some of the data are skewed or distorted to show the results they want to see. This article in Scientific American brings the point home:

The influence of sponsors may be unconscious, the investigators suggest, and could occur at many levels, manifested by how researchers pose questions in the hypothesis, how they design studies, which data they collect or do not collect, how they analyze the data and how they derive their conclusions.

But how does one get unbiased results? As it is, government funds are never quite enough.

Post from: Blisstree

Nutrition Claims Based on Biased Studies?

Emphasis, however, is placed on the type of grapes. Concord grapes are what’s inside Welch’s Grape Juice–the purple, not the white, variety. According to Welch’s website, Welch’s 100% Grape Juice, made from Welch’s own Concord grapes, recently ranked #1 in antioxidant capacity per serving among all juices and beverages tested in an independent study of 1000+ common foods. Other health benefits of drinking grape juice include promoting cardiovascular health as well as protecting memory and brain health.

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Grape Juice May Protect Against Breast Cancer

GST enzymes are believed to be crucial to the body’s defense against cancer-causing chemicals and other toxins, according to the study’s lead investigator, H.-H. Sherry Chow, Ph.D., a research associate professor at the University of Arizona. They modify the cancer-causing molecules that would otherwise damage cellular DNA, thus rendering them inert.

“They actually convert known carcinogens to non-toxic chemicals, and studies have shown a correlation between deficient expression of these enzymes and increased risk of developing some cancers,” Chow said.

For further reading, you might want to study the article published in the August issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention or see the press release from the American Association for Cancer Research.

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Green Tea Concentrate May Protect Against CAncer Development

1. Beets: “…one of the best sources of both folate and betaine. These two nutrients work together to lower your blood levels of homocysteine, an inflammatory compound that can damage your arteries and increase your risk of heart disease.”

2. Cabbage: “…loaded with valuable nutrients. At the top of the list is sulforaphane, a chemical that increases your body’s production of enzymes that disarm cell-damaging free radicals and reduce your risk of cancer.”

3. Guava: “Guava has a higher concentration of lycopene — an antioxidant that fights prostate cancer — than any other plant food, including tomatoes and watermelon.”

4. Swiss chard: “A half cup of cooked Swiss chard provides a huge amount of both lutein and zeaxanthin, supplying 10 mg each. These plant chemicals, known as carotenoids, protect your retinas from the damage of aging, according to Harvard researchers.” See related info on my previous post on Xangold and macular degeneration.

5. Cinnamon: “Cinnamon helps control your blood sugar, which influences your risk of heart disease. In fact, USDA researchers found that people with type-2 diabetes who consumed 1 g of cinnamon a day for 6 weeks (about 1/4 teaspoon each day) significantly reduced not only their blood sugar but also their triglycerides and LDL (bad) cholesterol.”

6. Purslane: “Purslane has the highest amount of heart-healthy omega-3 fats of any edible plant [and] 10 to 20 times more melatonin — an antioxidant that may inhibit cancer growth — than any other fruit or vegetable tested.”

7. Pomegranate Juice: “… 2 ounces of pomegranate juice daily for a year decreased their systolic (top number) blood pressure by 21 percent and significantly improved bloodflow to their hearts. What’s more, 4 ounces provides 50 percent of your daily vitamin C needs.” Also, see my posts on the studies pomegranate juice and Alzheimer’s Disease and Cancer (lung cancer and prostate cancer).

8. Goji berries: “Goji berries have one of the highest ORAC ratings [and have been] found that the sugars that make goji berries sweet reduce insulin resistance — a risk factor of diabetes — in rats.” I’m not sure you can get them in the supermarket, but they are ubiquitous online! Just look at the choices of Goji Berry Juice products in Amazon.

9. Dried plums: “Prunes contain high amounts of neochlorogenic and chlorogenic acids, antioxidants that are particularly effective at combating the “superoxide anion radical” [snip] thought to be one of the primary causes of cancer.”

10. Pumpkin seeds: “Downing pumpkin seeds is the easiest way to consume more magnesium. [snip] Men with the highest levels of magnesium in their blood have a 40 percent lower risk of early death than those with the lowest levels.”

If these stuff sound foreign to you, have a look at the Men’s Health article on how to incorporate these superfoods in your diet. Some recipes sound easy enough to toss together. Check it out!

(Thanks for the tip, David!)

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Ten Superfoods from Men’s Health