Health Supplements, Antioxidants and the FDA

 

The Food and Drug Administration understands that people may not eat properly. That is why they have listed recommendations for consumers about health supplements – and specifically those with antioxidant properties. The simple fact is the human body cannot work properly without antioxidants. The FDA acknowledges that a lack of antioxidants in a person’s diet is detrimental to their health. They also recognize that health supplements are coming to the aid of many people.  

Most people -- even those who eat healthy -- do not consume the proper amounts of vitamins and minerals they need on a daily basis. When the human body lacks the proper nutrients that include antioxidants (foods that contain vitamins C and E, along with beta-carotene and selenium) the immune system is not as strong as it should be. This means that common illnesses and even serious diseases can arise.  

Antioxidants are a protection from free radicals. Free radicals should be thought of as dangerous, deformed enemies who are out to hurt us. Actually, free radicals are mutated oxygen molecules. They are “mutated” by pollution, sun and other hazards. When free radicals are allowed to run free inside the human body, they will attach to cell walls and start to change the cell. Changes in the cells can bring on early aging and even cancer.  

Health supplements, such as Resveracine, are the soldiers that guard us against the outside, enemy forces. Resveracine is a combination of super nutrients. This “superhero” is specially formulated to provide the human body with the highest level of free radical scavenger hunters in the world today.  

It should be noted that nothing will ever take the place of whole foods. However, the simple fact remains that in today’s world of processed foods, adding a health supplement such as Resveracine to your diet is the only sure way to ensure that you have a ready supply of antioxidants available to fight off disease and signs of early aging.  

Only in recent years has the importance of antioxidants been relayed to the general lay person. Education by cancer and disease organizations has prompted many to purchase health supplements for themselves and their families. People are coming to understand that if they take in enough antioxidant though healthy eating and health supplements, their bodies will have a strong defense system in place.  

The fact that antioxidants slow down the aging process is the added benefit. Doesn’t it just make sense to make sure you are getting all of the nutrients you need?

Cayenne pepper could help Stomach Ulcers

 If you suffer from a peptic or duodenal ulcer, the last thing you might consider taking is hot Cayenne Pepper. This goes against everything you've ever heard about what aggravates an ulcer, the facts are that most "spicy" foods do just the opposite. Capsicum can reduce pain which serves as a local anesthetic to ulcerated tissue in the stomach and can even help to control bleeding in the stomach.

    Some individuals may be bothered by eating "Red Pepper" or spicy foods, these foods do not cause the formation of gastric ulcers in normal people. An interesting note is that people suffering from ulcers usually avoid Cayenne Pepper, in fact those people may actually benefit from its therapeutic action. 

    Taking Capsicum may significantly reduce the risk of ever developing a peptic ulcer. A Chinese study published in 1995 stated, "Our data supports the hypothesis that the chile used has a protective effect against peptic ulcer disease."

    Another 1995 study found that Capsicum can even protect the stomach lining from aspirin induced ulcers.2  Aspirin can cause stomach ulceration in certain individuals or if taken with too little water or juice. Researchers have concluded after experimenting with human volunteers that the capsaicin content of capsicum has a definite gastro - protective effect on the mucous membranes of the stomach.3 Eighteen healthy volunteers with normal gastrointestinal mucosa took chile and water followed by 600 mg of aspirin and water. The study was conducted over a period of four weeks. Endoscopy results showed that taking 20 grams of chile before the aspirin definitely demonstrated a protective action on the stomach lining.4  Capsicum has the ability to rebuild stomach tissue.

Capsicum has the ability to bring blood to regions of tissue at a faster rate and boosts the assimilation of foods that are consumed with it.5  Several clinical studies support this phenomenon. It has been thought that Capsicum stimulate the release of substances which increase secretions in the stomach and intestines plus can increase an abundance of blood to the stomach and intestines.6  In fact, Capsicum can increases the flow of digestive secretions from the salivary, gastric and intestinal glands.

References:

1 J. Y. Kang, et al. "The effect of chile ingestion of gastrointestinal mucosal proliferation and azoxymethane-induced cancer in the rat." Journal of Gastroenterology-Hepatol. Mar-Apr. 1992: 7 (2): 194-98.

2 K. G. Yeoh, et al. "Chile protects against aspirin-induced gastroduodenal mucosal injury in humans." Dig-Dis-Sci. Mar. 1995: 40 (3): 580-83.

3 Ibid.

4 Ibid.

5 L. Limo Wongse, et al. "Effect of capsaicin on gastric acid secretion and mucosal blood flow in the rat." Journal of Nutrition. 1979: 109, 773-77. See also T. Kolatat

Carbohydrates and the Glycemic Index

You may have heard about the glycemic index and wondered what it is all about. The glycemic index is a ranking of carbohydrates based on their immediate effect on blood glucose (blood sugar) levels. It compares foods gram for gram of carbohydrate. Carbohydrates that breakdown quickly during digestion have the highest glycemic indexes. The blood glucose response is fast and high. Carbohydrates that break down slowly, releasing glucose gradually into the bloodstream, have low glycemic indexes.

Foods with a high glycemic index convert into sugar very quickly, with negative physical effects. Foods with a low glycemic index turn into sugar gradually, helping maintain your body's chemical balance. In general, foods with a low index are preferable.

Glycemic Load measures the amount of sugar a food actually releases in the body. Foods with a low glycemic load usually have a low glycemic index, yet still have a low glycemic load. Other foods have both a high index and a high load. You should avoid high load foods as a regular part of your meal plan.

When you choose carbohydrate foods, check both their glycemic index and glycemic load. Detailed tables with this information are widely available. Use the chart below to get started.

High Glycemic Index

-  Fruits and Vegetables

    * Corn

    * Cranberry juice

    * Orange juice*

    * Raisin 

- Starches

    * Bagel

    * Bread (white)

    * Refined cereal

    * Granola

    * Muffin

    * Pasta

    * Potato

    * Pretzel

    * Rice

    * Tortilla (flour)

Medium Glycemic Index

Fruits and Vegetables           Starches

Apricot*               French Fries

Grape*                                   Oatmeal

Pineapple*                              Pita Bread

Watermelon                         Waffle

Low Glycemic Index

Fruits and Vegetables

    * Apple*

    * Asparagus*

    * Broccoli*

    * Brussels sprout*

    * Cauliflower*

    * Celery*

    * Cherry*

    * Cucumber*

    * Grapefruit*

    * Green Bean*

    * Green pepper*

    * Kiwi*

    * Lettuce*

    * Onion*

    * Orange*

    * Peach*

    * Plum*

    * Spinach*

    * Strawberry*

    * Tomato*

    * Zucchini*

    * * Low glycemic load foods.

Simply eating more fruits and vegetables is not the answer - they must be the right fruits and vegetables. Starchy vegetables such as peas or lentils (200 to 250 calories per cup) are healthy, but they contain more calories than you may want. If you need to eat more to satisfy your hunger, add low glycemic load vegetables. For example, spinach and asparagus are better choices than higher calorie corn and peas. A cup of spinach topped with 1/2 cup of tomato sauce has only about 90 calories, but it gives you nutrients from two colour groups.

Why Not Brown and Beige?

When considering which foods to enjoy sparingly, also use colour as a guideline. Many brown and beige carbohydrates, like pasta, beans and potatoes, while healthy, also tend to be high in calories.

 

Caffeine Addiction - A Problem To Be Solved As Early As Possible

 

We all have this preconceived notion that only coffee contains caffeine but that is not the case. Beverages like cokes and chocolate products contain caffeine. A hot cup of coffee with the morning sunshine sounds so tempting and revitalizing.

It has the ability to keep you awake and help burn that midnight oil in time of dire need. Coffee becomes a matter for social gathering. It helps you socialize by letting you bump into one of your colleagues in the office which otherwise wouldn’t have happened.

It is being considered as one of your friends as it has helped you sit up late at night and clear those grueling Math papers. With all the usefulness one can think of we also happen to know that coffee contains caffeine which is not good for your health.

Having coffee can help you remain alert but it is the aftermath you should be worried about the ill effects it has on your health. It is a stimulus which does wonders to your central nervous system by stressing the hormones in the bloodstream and keeping you alert and awake whenever you have it. 

This unnatural way of keeping your body alert takes a toll on your body. The normal way of functioning gets disrupted due to the intake of coffee or any other product which contains a good amount of caffeine.

As caffeine gets into our system it makes us addicted. After knowing the ill effects of caffeine if you suddenly stop taking coffee, you will face caffeine withdrawal symptoms which can be anything from a headache, irritability, fatigue, constipation, lack of appetite, lack of concentration to even forgetfulness. 

The withdrawal symptoms can be very harmful leading to stomach ulcers as the coffee can be acidic. This excess acid gets into your blood streams causing loss of calcium in urine. Caffeine which has been freely used in most of the beverages has led kids get addicted to it. The high content of sugar just makes it very popular among children which are the future generation with excess weight. 

It is also the cause of abnormal fast, slow or irregular heartbeats. It is also known for increasing blood pressure which leads to constant stress and hypertension. There are increasing chances of heart disease; pancreas and bladder cancer which we all know can be very fatal. 

The idea to quit caffeine should be very strong and not one to tampered with. The process should be slow and gradual. As we all know the withdrawal symptoms of caffeine is very bad. Avoid other caffeinated products which would just make matters worse. If you happen to drink 6 cups of coffee a day, cut it down. Try to have 2 cups of green tea and 4 cups of coffee and similarly as you go ahead you will completely stop until you get rid of caffeine from your life.

Addictive Foods and their Harmful Consequences

Most of us are fond of at least one product that has the effect of a stimulant and that eventually becomes an addiction. These products include exercise stimulant drinks (they come in cans and look like cola), fizzy aerated drinks, tobacco, betel nut, betel leaf, strong coffee, strong tea, ma huang (an ephedrine-like compound consumed in china), and alcohol.

Before I tell you why we shouldn’t consume these products, I’d like to deal with the question of why we do consume them in the first place.

There’s no one who doesn’t know that products like these, consumed in excess, can severely harm our bodies. Yet, we still find them hard to resist. The need to eat stimulant food is a simple human weakness that has existed for ages: humans (and many animals) have always indulged in foods that give a sort of emotional high. In clinical terms, this means rapid heart beat, a little sweating, dilation or constriction of the pupils of the eye, a warm flush on the face, and a sense of greater sensitivity, concentration and perception.

These sensations of ‘high’ die down within a few hours, and we are left feeling listless and low. This leads to a craving for that food again, to experience the high one more time. And there we are going round and round in a vicious circle.

The physiology of addictions is as follows:

When you eat an addictive food, it stimulates the hormone like substances found at the end of your nerves, which triggers an avalanche of similar stimulatory substances and you experience a high. As the substances near the nerves are depleted, you get into the low phase, which leads you to crave that food again. This yo-yo phase of nerve stimulation and depletion leads to a pattern of addiction.

Consuming addictive foods is one of the oldest unhealthy food practices and, despite a revolution in health consciousness; it shows no signs of dying out.

Below are some side effects of certain addictive foods.

Alcohol Addiction: Erosion of stomach and intestinal lining, liver damage, nutritional deficiency.

Tobacco: Erosion of gum and tongue can lead to cancer of the buccal mucosa.

Betel nut: Leads to the discoloration of teeth, erosion of the lining of the mouth, and cancer of the mouth and upper tract. It also leads to heart problems among people who already have a weak heart.

Ma huang: It contains ephedrine and leads to heart problems.

Aerated drinks: High doses of caffeine.

Caffeine and xanthine: Found in tea, coffee. These become harmful only in very high doses; don’t consume more than five cups a day.

Mixed drug reactions: People who consume medications for the heart, hypertension and asthma have to be very careful about the interactions of the drugs with stimulant foods, as mixing the two can be fatal. After years of experience, all doctors know how difficult it is to break the food addictions of their patients. So like them, I can only advise a good compromise. If you can’t break the addiction, then at least you should practice moderation.

 

A Juicy, Fun Way To Take Your Vitamins

 

While kids want great taste, you want to give them the vitamins, minerals and fiber their growing bodies need. Serve watermelon and you can both be happy.

Watermelon is a fun, nutritious way to make sure active kids don't get dehydrated; it's 92 percent water. 

A two-cup serving of watermelon is an excellent source of vitamins A, B6 and C, and it provides 7 percent of the recommended daily value of potassium, with only 80 calories. 

Watermelon is fat-free and also contains fiber. Its beautiful red color comes from all-natural lycopene, an antioxidant that can help keep kids' bodies healthy. 

Watermelon can be eaten at any meal, breakfast, lunch or dinner, and it's a wonderful snack for the whole family. Delicious on its own, watermelon is a fantastic ingredient in recipes, too. Previously just a summertime treat, tasty watermelon is now available year-round.

A watermelon carving makes a great addition to a kids' party buffet, and the birthday boy or girl can help make it. The salad inside can be as simple as a mixture of blueberries, seedless green grapes and balls of watermelon, cantaloupe and honeydew melon. It's colorful and kids love it.

Carving Instructions for Watermelon Fish

Slice 1/4 inch off the bottom lengthwise to provide a stable base. 

With a melon baller, cut half circles over half the top of the watermelon in a rectangular shape, remove and set aside. This piece will be used for the top fin and tail. 

Scoop out the flesh.

Cut out the tail shape and the melon balled fin-piece from the rectangular piece set aside earlier. Attach the fin and tail with sturdy, round toothpicks.

Cut out eyes using a melon baller. Trim around the outside of the eye socket, then place it back in, rind side out.

For the mouth, point a paring knife at a downward angle above the stem and slice through 3 inches on either side of the stem, cutting through the rind. Push out the mouth from the inside. For the side fin, cut 3 cuts into the side using the melon baller to make the curves on the back of the fin. Then slice straight cuts to form the top and bottom of the fin.

A Colon Detox Can Improve Your Colon Health

 

A healthy colon is a vital part of a healthy body.  The colon, along with the small and large intestines, are a major area where the nutrients in food are absorbed.  If the colon is not clean, it cannot fulfill this important task.  Not only that, but the impacted fecal material that builds up in the colon and intestines also releases toxins into the bloodstream.  You are in effect getting toxins instead of nutrients - not a very good trade.

Symptoms that a colon detoxification might be in order include tiredness, PMS, headaches, and of course, constipation.  There are a variety of ways colon cleansing can be done, including colonic irrigation, enemas, dietary fiber, and laxative herbs.  These methods can help, but each has negative points.

Another natural option for colon health is to use an oxygen based colon cleanser.  This method uses magnesium oxide that has been treated with oxygen and ozone.  This substance will react with the hydrochloric acid in the stomach to release oxygen.  The oxygen gets into the bloodstream to nourish all parts of the body, but it does more than that.  It also nourishes the favorable bacteria that live in the digestive tract.

Unfavorable bacteria in the digestive tract will give you vomiting, diarrhea, and cramps.  Favorable bacteria compete with the unfavorable ones for living space.  An oxygen based colon detox will encourage those good microbes, for better all around health.  So how exactly does it work?

An oxygen based colon health product creates a chemical reaction that releases oxygen and melts the impacted material in the intestines and colon into gas and liquid.  It will make you need to stay close to a bathroom for a day or so while you eliminate the material from your colon, but you will feel much better afterwards.

Look for an oxygen based colon detox product that is available in a capsule form.  Make sure it does not include ascorbic acid among the ingredients because ascorbic acid is an antioxidant.  An antioxidant will undo the good that could be done by the oxygen.  A good ingredient to look for, however, is GE-132.  This is the germanium-132, which is good for the health of the immune system.  It also facilitates and adds oxygen.  It is considered to be a nutrient that is helpful for many ailments.

Cleansing the colon can help with weight loss.  Many people who have eaten an average diet for years have accumulated ten to twenty pounds of impacted fecal matter in their colons.  An oxygen based colon cleanse will help the body eliminate this material, resulting in a quick loss to jump start your weight loss plan.  Follow up the cleanse with reasonable portions of healthy natural food.  You should have enough energy after the cleanse to start an exercise program, too.

7 Reasons to Grow Your own organic vegetable garden

 During the last decades there has been a change towards mechanization and homogenization of farming, which uses pesticides, additives, herbicides, synthetic fertilizers and mass-production techniques. All this is clearly affecting mankind's health, and new diseases are spreading rapidly amongst humans and animals (bird's flu being the most recent one). 

The World Health Organization produces reports to show how the use of chemicals and other products on food, coupled with the manufacturing processes involved, are actually a threat for our health. 

If you have space for a few pots or even a small piece of land, it is a wise decision to grow your own organic vegetable garden. Today I'm presenting you with seven reasons for doing this:

1. You will have no additives in your vegetables. Research by organic food associations has shown that additives in our food can cause heart diseases, osteoporosis, migraines and hyperactivity. 

2. There will be no pesticides or synthetic fertilizers used. These chemical products are applied to obtain crops all the time regardless of plagues or weather conditions, and affect the quality of the vegetables. Besides, pesticides are usually poisonous to humans.

3. Your vegetables will not be genetically modified (GM). Antibiotics, drugs and hormones are used on vegetables to grow more and larger ones. One of the consequences of this practice are vegetables which look all the same and are usually tasteless. Besides, we end up consuming the hormones that have been used on the vegetables, with the potential risks for our health.

4. Eating your own organic vegetables will be much more healthy for you. They will not contain any of the products or chemicals named above, and they will be much more natural than any

ones you would find at the supermarket. Your health will not be at risk because you will then know that nothing has been added to your vegetables.

5. Your own organic vegetables will be much more tasty. The use of pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, hormones and antibiotics make vegetables grow unnaturally and take the taste away from them. With organic vegetables, your cooking will be enhanced as their flavour will show fully.

6. Organic farming is friendly to the environment. Because you won't use pesticides or other equally harming products on your vegetables, you will not damage the soil or the air with the chemical components.

7. When you grow your own organic vegetables you are contributing to your own self-sustainability and the sustainability of the planet. Small communities have been founded where members exchange products that they grow naturally, thus contributing to create a friendly and better place for us all.

In the end, eating organic products only means that we do not add anything else to them than they would naturally have. As you can guess, additives, fertilizers, pesticides or hormones are not components of naturally grown food. To better care for your health, grow your own organic vegetables -and a few pots is all you need.

 

22 Reasons To Drink Mangosteen Juice

 

A coworker of mine at work brought in a mangosteen supplement drink and she was selling it for $30 (her price) for a 25 fl oz bottle.  She also gave me information and these 22 reasons why everyone should be drinking mangosteen juice:

1. Prevents hardening of the arteries

2. Protects the heart muscle

3. Anti-Parkinson, anti-Alzheimer and other forms of dementia

4. Anti-depressant

5. Prevents and arrest fungus

6. Prevents bacterial infections

7. Viral fighters and prevention of infections

8. Prevents gum disease

9. Anti-diarrheal

10. Lowers fevers

11. Eye care-prevents glaucoma and cataracts

12. Pansystemic - a synergistic effect on the whole body

13. Energy boosters - anti-fatigue

14. Anti-aging

15. Weight loss (wooo, I'll drink to this!)

16. Lowers blood fat (what the heck, I didn't know there is fat in our blood!)

17. Anti-tumor benefits

18. Cancer: Mangosteen helps in the prevention of cancer with its powerful antioxidants.

19. Lowers blood pressure

20. Numerous references to "Immunostimulants"

21. Blood sugar lowering

22. It tastes good

I thought to myself, holy smokes!  Who in the world would buy that? What is mangosteen? I have never heard of it or have the slightest idea what it looks like.

Upon further research, the mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana) is a tropical evergreen tree, believed to have originated in the Sunda Islands and the Moluccas. The tree grows from 7 to 25 meters tall. The edible fruit is deep reddish purple when ripe. In Asia, the mangosteen fruit is known as the "Queen of Fruits," while the durian (Durio spp.) is known as the "King of Fruits." It is closely related to other edible tropical fruits such as button mangosteen and lemon drop mangosteen. 

The outer shell of the fruit is rather hard, typically 4-6 cm in diameter. Cutting through the shell, one finds a white, fleshy fruit 3-5 cm in diameter. Depending on the size and ripeness, there may or may not be pits in the segments of the fruit. The number of fruit pods is directly related to the number of petals on the bottom of the shell. On average a mangosteen has 5 fruits (round up figure). 

I have eaten a lot of exotic fruits in my life, including the King Of Fruits - durian, but I have never seen or tasted this Queen of Fruits.  I bought the $30 bottle from my coworker and chucked down the mangosteen juice.  I do feel more energetic for the rest of day, and I will have to let you know in the near future if it will help lose some weight!

10 Possible Causes of the Obesity Epidemic

 

10 Possible Causes of the Obesity Epidemic

It's well accepted that reduced physical activity and fast food are linked to obesity. But the evidence that these are the main causes of obesity is largely circumstantial. To stimulate debate, experts suggest 10 other possible causes of obesity, outlined in the International Journal of Obesity.

   1. Sleep debt. Getting too little sleep can increase body weight. Today, many get less shut-eye than ever.

   2. Pollution. Hormones control body weight. And many of today's pollutants affect our hormones.

   3. Air conditioning. You have to burn calories if your environment is too hot or too cold for comfort. But more people than ever live and work in temperature-controlled homes and offices.

   4. Decreased smoking. Smoking reduces weight. People smoke much less than they used to.

   5. Medicine. Many different drugs including contraceptives, steroid hormones, diabetes drugs, some antidepressants, and blood pressure drugs can cause weight gain. Use of these drugs is on the upswing.

   6. Population age, ethnicity. Middle-aged people and Hispanic-Americans tend to be more obese than young European-Americans. Americans are getting older and more Hispanic.

   7. Older moms. There's some evidence that the older a woman is when she gives birth, the higher her child's risk of obesity. Women are giving birth at older and older ages.

   8. Ancestors' environment. Some influences may go back two generations. Environmental changes that made a grandparent obese may "through a fetally driven positive feedback loop" visit obesity on the grandchildren.

   9. Obesity is linked to fertility. There's some evidence obese people are more fertile than lean ones. If obesity has a genetic component, the percentage of obese people in the population should increase.

  10. Unions of obese spouses. Obese women tend to marry obese men, and if obesity has a genetic component, there will be still more obese people in the next generation.

These other contributing factors deserve more attention and study. Even more explanations include: a fat-inducing virus; increases in childhood depression; less consumption of dairy products; and hormones used in agriculture. What do you think can be attributed to the epidemic?