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Archive for the ‘Disease’ Category

Several studies have been reported recently by the National Institute of Health on the health benefits of green tea.

One Japanese study in August 2008 at Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, indicates that green tea preparations inhibit cardiovascular disease and cancer. The study showed that women benefit more than men from the tea itself and it’s extracts. There is substantial support in the randomized control trials for stroke mortality was reduced by green tea.

Another study was completed in October 2009 at Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama, Japan. The purpose was o investigate the association between consumption and mortality from all causes, cancer, and cardiovascular disease among elderly people. The six year study showed consumption is associated with reduced mortality from all causes and cardiovascular disease. This study also suggests that it could have protective effects against colorectal cancer.

For more than ten years, researchers around the world, from Japan, Netherlands, Germany, Wisconsin, Florida and many others have been participating in this research. Hundreds of studies have been done and many of the scientists are convinced it is a preventative for several different types of cancer, including prostate cancer. Interestingly enough, not only the polyphenol fraction in tea, but also the caffeine, contributes to it’s cancer inhibiting qualities.

Green tea is being researched all over the world and the results keep coming in. Studies indicate consumption of three to five cups per day or the equivalent in supplements reduces esophageal cancer in the Chinese by more than 60%. It also lowers total cholesterol levels while improving the ratio of HDL cholestrol to LDL cholesterol.

In addition to disease prevention, green tea has recently been shown to aid in weight loss. Drinking 5 cups per day is shown to burn an additional 80 calories. By itself, it is not significant but, added to a healthy diet, with no other changes, it would burn away 1 pound in approximately 40 days.

All of us know that for a healthy proper body, it is very important that the heart functions properly. We need to take care of the heart as one of the main causes for heart blockage and in severe cases; a heart attack is nothing but the substance cholesterol. We need to ensure that we take in a proper diet with the correct levels of cholesterol. This involves ensuring that there is a balance between Low Density Lipoprotein cholesterol or LDL and High Density Lipoprotein cholesterol or HDL. This helps in reducing the chances of a coronary artery disease occurring in the individual.

LDL Cholesterol is also known as bad cholesterol because it transports cholesterol to the arteries. The risk here is that there is every chance that it will get stored there by the arterial protoglycans. This will lead to the formation of plaques causing the condition called atherosclerosis and finally to coronary artery disease. HDL or High Density Lipoprotein cholesterol is also called good cholesterol because it has found that it can remove cholesterol from the arteries and take it back to the liver to be excreted or to be re-utilized.

Therefore, having more of HDL than LDL can mean that you are protected from having a heart attack and any other coronary disease. This also means that we should learn to control our diet in such a way that the intake comprises more of HDL cholesterol and not LDL cholesterol.

One should learn to have soy protein, almonds, plant sterol-enriched margarines and oats, psyllium, okra, and eggplant as they help in reducing the levels of LDL Cholesterol.

The four most common causes of death in America are not drunk drivers, violent killings, AIDS, or illegal drugs; they are:
Heart disease Cancer Stroke Chronic lower respiratory diseases Americans spent over $7,400 per person in 2007 for health care, the highest in the world, yet our life expectancy is ranked number 45. Japan, on the other hand, spent less than 40% of what we did but the life expectancy is ranked number three in the world!

As Americans continue to spend more on health care, the death rates from these chronic degenerative diseases keep going higher. The data reveals that countries that eat less processed foods and more natural foods have less diseases and a longer life span. Research studies have also shown that almost all of these chronic diseases can simply be prevented through diet and lifestyle changes.

So, with the amount of processed foods that Americans eat on a regular basis (and definitely more than what the Japanese eat), are we depriving our bodies of certain nutrients found in natural foods that might help prevent us from these chronic diseases?

Lately, there has been a lot of talk about the benefits of antioxidants. In the following, we will look at what antioxidants are and their role in human health and disease prevention. We will also discuss the best way to get your antioxidant nutrients, be it diet or supplements.

What Causes Aging & Diseases?

More and more health science researchers have come to the conclusion that oxidation is the cause of cell damage and aging.

Oxidation is a chemical reaction where two or more substances interact, resulting in the loss of at least one electron. Examples of oxidation are a freshly cut apple turning brown, a bicycle fender becoming rusty, or a copper penny turning green.

Oxidation inside the body is introduced by stress, excessive sun exposure, environmental pollutants, cigarette smoke, alcohol, and unhealthy processed foods.

Oxidation creates free radicals that are highly unstable and reactive. Free radicals are atoms with unpaired electrons; they attack the nearest stable molecule (with paired electrons) to steal its electron. When the attacked molecule loses its electron, it becomes a free radical itself, hence, creating a chain reaction. Once the process is started, it can cascade and result in cell damage.

Your entire body, including your DNA, is under endless, daily assault from the free radicals. Excessive oxidation weakens the immune system, speeds up the aging process, and is linked to diseases such as Alzheimer’s, arthritis, many types of cancer, diabetes, eye diseases (age-related macular degeneration, cataracts, glaucoma), heart disease, cirrhosis of the liver, and Parkinson’s disease.

Antioxidants Against Aging & Diseases

As nature always has a way to take care of itself, researchers found that antioxidants perform beneficial functions against free radicals:
Antioxidants block the process of oxidation by binding with free radicals and neutralizing their harmful effects, hence, shattering their destructive chain reaction of cell damage. Antioxidants scavenge the initiating radicals and destroy them before oxidation is set in motion. Hence, when your body has enough antioxidants to counteract the free radicals, aging is delayed and diseases caused by harmful free radicals are avoided.
Health Benefits Of Antioxidants

As stated before, antioxidants are nutrients that inhibit oxidation; they bind with free radicals and make them stable. Some antioxidants like catalase, glutathione peroxidase, and superoxide dismutase are produced within the body, while others have to be obtained from the diet. The following are some of the more commonly known antioxidants and their health benefits:

Alpha Lipoic Acid (ALA) is found in meats and vegetables such as red meats, liver, and Brewer’s yeast. ALA is a powerful antioxidant that helps regulate blood sugar and cholesterol levels, reduces inflammation, detoxifies the body of heavy metal, and enhances the immune system. ALA also has the ability to regenerate other antioxidants such as vitamins C, E, glutathione, and coenzyme Q10. So, when your body has used up these antioxidants, if there is ALA around, it helps regenerate them.

Carotenoids (e.g. beta-carotene, lutein, lycopene, and zeaxanthin) are the principal pigments responsible for the red, orange, yellow, and green colors of fruits and vegetables. Carotenoids help prevent night blindness, cataracts, macular degeneration, enhance immunity, protect against cancer formations, promote cardiovascular health, and relieve symptoms of both osteo- and rheumatoid arthritis.

Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) or ubiquinone, is found in meats, fish, and vegetable oils, and is mostly made by your liver. CoQ10 has shown to benefit congestive heart failure, Parkinson’s disease, dementia, muscle weakness, chronic fatigue syndrome, breast cancer treatment, AZT/AIDS treatment, and type II diabetes. CoQ10 improves athletic endurance and increase energy levels.

Flavonoids are compounds abundantly found in fruits and vegetables (e.g. blueberry, ginger, onion, tea). Flavonoids have anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-tumor, anti-carcinogenic, anti-inflammatory, and anti-allergenic effect. They can also widen blood vessels and prevent blood clots.

Glutathione Peroxidase (GSH) is the body’s most abundant natural antioxidant and is synthesized within the body cells. GSH protects the vision, boosts the immune system, helps turn carbohydrates into energy, and prevents the buildup of oxidized fats in arteries. It also plays an important role in detoxifying substances such as alcohol, pesticides, and drugs.

Resveratrol is an anti-inflammatory substance found in the stems, leaves, and skins of red grapes, and peanuts. Due to the fermenting process, a glass of red wine contains much more resveratrol than a glass of grape juice or a handful of peanuts. Resveratrol helps prevent blood clots by keeping blood vessels open and pliable, hence, lowering the risk of cardiovascular disease. It also discourages tumor growth and the development of colon cancer.

Vitamin C, also called ascorbic acid, is one of the most powerful and well-known antioxidants abundantly found in fruits and vegetables. It helps maintain healthy collagen in the skin, repair damaged tissue, promote healthy teeth and bones, and boost the immune system. Vitamin C functions as an anti-inflammatory and helps the body absorb iron. It combats free radical formation caused by pollution and cigarette smoke, and helps recycle oxidized vitamin E.

Vitamin E, or alpha-tocopherol, is a primary defender against oxidation. The best sources are nuts, seeds, and vegetable oils. It boosts the body’s immune system, helps ease respiratory problems, reduces the risk of heart disease, various types of cancer and cataracts, slows the progression of some neurological diseases, and is anti-inflammatory. Vitamin E recycles oxidized vitamin C and beta-carotene.

Food Sources Of Antioxidants

The best way to increase our antioxidant levels is to eat a diet rich in antioxidants. The body better absorbs antioxidants in foods and there is very little risk of overdosing. The following are six antioxidant-rich food groups and the examples given are the ones with the most antioxidants in their respective food groups:

Fruits: Apple, apricot, avocado, berries (blackberry, blueberry, cherry, cranberry, date, strawberry, raspberry), red grape (seed and skin), grapefruit, kiwi, lemon, orange, pineapple, plum, pomegranate, prune.

Legumes: Black bean, pinto bean, red kidney bean.

Nuts and Seeds: Cocoa, hazelnut, peanut, pecan, sunflower seed, walnut.

Spices: Cinnamon, cloves, oregano, tumeric.

Tea: White tea has the most antioxidants, followed by green tea and black tea.

Vegetables: Artichoke, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, garlic, ginger, kale, onion, parsley, peppers, pumpkin, red beets, red cabbage, spinach, tomato.

Do We Need Supplements?

Although the ideal source of nutrients is your diet, in modern times, supplements have become increasingly important for three reasons:
The American diet is high on processed foods and low on the nutrients available in natural, whole foods. Modern lifestyles, stress, and environmental pollutants have contributed to an increased need for supplemental nutrients. Intensive monoculture farming practices have depleted the soil of nutrients. Studies have shown that today’s produce contains fewer nutrients than the same fruits and vegetables 50 years ago, making supplements an essential component of a healthy diet. However, when it comes to antioxidant supplements, it is not advisable to take a mega dose of only one or two antioxidants. The reason is that the combinations of antioxidants work together like a balanced symphony. For example, Vitamin C and glutathione recycle oxidized Vitamin E, whereas, Vitamin E recycles oxidized Vitamin C and beta-carotene. Therefore, the key is not the quantity, but the blend. The whole gamut of antioxidants works together in a cycle to protect against all types of free radicals. No one antioxidant can do all of these.

Although there is no solid evidence that mega doses of a single antioxidant supplement are really harmful, it is common sense not to take too much of any one on its own. For this reason, you should consult a trained healthcare professional for the appropriate combination of antioxidants if you do choose to use supplements.

Super Foods

Last but not least, there are now many so-called super foods available on the market. Some of these super foods are processed foods that claim to have certain health benefits or disease-preventing properties. Read the ingredient labels carefully and watch out for other unhealthy ingredients such as sugar and additives.

Remember, super food is not a substitute for “real” food. The best source of antioxidants is still a natural, wholesome diet consisting of a variety of fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts and seeds.

Looking for effective koi treatment that will stop your fish contracting disease? This could be one of the most overlooked forms of disease prevention that you will find… and just as the name suggests, it is all about preventing disease, rather than treating and trying to cure your koi fish once they get sick.

And I could almost guarantee that there is not one koi fish enthusiast out there who would not jump at the opportunity to keep their fish free from any form of disease, because we know that just one sick or ailing fish will ultimately spread whatever it has to the others in the pond unless it is stamped out immediately.

So rather than merely hoping and praying that fish disease won’t invade your koi pond, here’s the very best way to get proactive with a koi treatment that will stop the vast majority of diseases before they ever have the chance to get started… and it’s called stress prevention!

Stressed koi fish are prone to disease!

You may think it a bit weird… but nonetheless it’s a fact…

In the same way that too much stress plays a major part in many of the diseases contracted by humans such as cancer, heart disease, mental illnesses and any number of other sicknesses… stress also plays a major part in affecting your koi and making them much more prone to disease.

The reason for this is that it slowly but very surely diminishes their immunity and of course a lower immune system will open them up to any type of disease carrying organism… where as healthy koi fish are much more disease resistant and far less likely to contract diseases.

So you may be wondering “how do koi get stressed?”

Well it mainly depends on their physical surroundings and environment. If you are a wise koi keeper you can gain good understanding of what koi need most, then seek to provide your koi with the very best natural environment… thereby eliminating many factors that stress your fish.

So here’s what you need to do:

Provide your koi with high quality water

Just think about this for a moment… would you survive for long breathing in thick, dirty, smoggy air? Probably not, right… in the same way koi fish need clean, well oxygenated and well chemically balanced water – if they don’t have it they start to get stressed!

And here’s what happens when they get stressed…

As soon as a koi comes under stress it produces and releases adrenalin into it’s body… which is a natural defence system, giving the fish strength, speed and stamina. So in the event of a predator being present the adrenalin produced allows the koi to quickly move to a safer position – and that’s fine under natural circumstances, because predators are not present all the time.

However, if your koi get stressed from poor water quality and start producing too much adrenalin as a defense, the effects can have dangerous consequences… because this excessive adrenalin release will seriously upset the balance of salt in the pond’s ecosystem… which in turn diminishes the koi’s immunity system making them more disease prone… do you see the problem here?

Ok that’s the first reason why poor water quality creates stress… here’s the second reason…

Koi naturally produce a mucus which acts as a kind of protective barrier between the fish, it’s environment and… harmful parasites! However…an oversupply of this mucus will actually act as an agent that assists the growth of two nasty little parasites called costia and trichodina.

So you also get this problem from excess adrenalin – the extra adrenalin affects the salt / water balance and the water quality starts to deteriorate – so the koi naturally produces more mucus as a form of protection – but without the fish knowing it, the extra mucus actually attracts costia and trichodina so it’s a no win situation for your poor koi…

So… can you see how vitally important it is to keep the koi’s water quality absolutely spot on?

As mentioned earlier prevention is far, far better than cure… and in this case prevention of stress in your pond through good water quality is actually the best koi treatment available – and it costs you nothing except a little bit of time.

Of course it will not prevent every disease… there will still be a few that you will need to treat from time to time – but it goes a long, long way toward keeping most diseases at bay, and keeping your pond full of healthy, vibrant koi fish.

For more info on disease prevention and koi treatment – click the link below

Is there any condition that green tea won’t benefit? In recent news, green tea consumption has been shown to help with glaucoma prevention. A study done by the University of Hong Kong tested the beverage on rats to observe the effects of the antioxidants on their eyes. The results indicated that, for up to 20 hours after green tea consumption, the antioxidants still had an effect of reducing oxidative stress on the eye. While, for humans, this may come as a result of drinking four or more cups per day, these benefits compound to those offered to weight loss, depression, and cancer prevention.

The study done by the University of Hong Kong consists of several rats being fed green tea overtime. Although the form of the tea – either in pill or liquid – isn’t known, the antioxidant compounds in it appeared to reduce the oxidative stress in the rats’ eyes during a period of 20 hours after consumption. More specifically, the catechins were found to be absorbed by several parts of the eye. The retina, for example, absorbed a large amount of gallocatechins, while the aqueous humor absorbed mostly epigallocatechins.

When applied to humans, this study indicates that the consumption of green tea can help prevent eye diseases like glaucoma that result from the oxidation of eye tissues. Essentially, as shown by the study, the eyes absorb the catechins – the antioxidants – found in the beverage. The effects aren’t permanent, however. As the study indicates, the absorption of the catechins lasts for up to 20 hours. While this may be the entire time a person is awake and active, he or she will need to consume a few cups of tea the next morning – and every morning after – to continue receiving the same benefits.

Why is green the only type of tea that appears to have significant health benefits? Out of the three types, white tea hasn’t been studied as often, although the antioxidants are higher, and black tea has been processed too much. Generally, teas keep more antioxidants with less processing. Because green tea is consumed more in parts of the world, its effects have been studied regularly for nearly 20 years.

Alzheimer is a most familiar form of dementia. Diagnosed generally in people of over the age of 65yrs. Common symptoms of Alzheimer’s is usually mistaken to be age related problem or stress related manifestation. Most common symptom is memory loss where a person finds difficult to remember most recent events. Alzheimer’s disease is confirmed with cognitive and behavioral test, followed by brain scan. As the disease grows to next stage symptoms also include, irritability, aggression, mood swings and confusion, language break down and long term memory loss.

Prevention is better than cure, and some recent findings suggest that individuals can reduce the risk of this disease by adopting a healthy lifestyle and diet system.

Studies reveal that smoking at a latter stage in life that is after 65 years of age manifolds the chances of getting Alzheimer’s disease by 79 percent. So in the best interest of your health it is advisable that you refrain from smoking.

Obesity is also considered as a factor which makes a person susceptible to Alzheimer’s disease. Research has shown that an obese person is most likely to get Alzheimer’s disease is three and half times more than a normal built person. Hence losing weight should be a priority for those who are over-weight.

Studies also highlight that consumption of certain nutrient contained foods can circumvent Alzheimer’s disease. Consuming diet rich in vegetables, fruits, legumes, olive oil, cereals and fish lowers the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. These nutrients help by giving protection from stress and also by reducing inflammation in brain.

Foods containing Omega-3 fatty acids are also considered to useful to prevent Alzheimer’s disease. Found in foods like tuna, salmon and flaxseed they contain healthy fats also known to reduce cholesterol and other heart problems.

Another fundamental characteristic to prevent Alzheimer’s disease is maintaining healthy lifestyle by managing stress in positive manner. Stress is also one of the contributing elements in the development of Alzheimer’s disease.

Another main component of maintaining healthy and balanced lifestyle is exercise. Regular exercise reduces risk of numerous diseases including Alzheimer’s. Exercise provides you with healthy mind and body and reduces stress.

Adequate sleep also contributes to prevention of Alzheimer’s disease. So it is advisable to have appropriate sleep daily in order to prevent Alzheimer’s and other numerous diseases.

Some specific things like vitamin B12, vitamin D and fish oils when incorporated in your life can also prove to be beneficial in lowering risk of Alzheimer’s disease. These special supplements are believe to preserve memory and improve it as well.

Diabetes and stress too increases your chances of developing Alzheimer’s disease. So always make it a point to keep stress and diabetes in control.

The cause of Alzheimer’s disease is yet not known, so it is not easy to determine in surety what will prevent Alzheimer’s. Unarguably healthy lifestyle is the best and only way to keep several diseases away. To sum it up adequate sleep, proper stress management and exercise can prove to be useful to lower the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

To Your Health!