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Science- Based Nutrition for Good Health and Well Being
Ease Menopause Symptoms with Combination of 2 Herbals: Black Cohosh & St. John's Wort
Berlin: German researches found a combination of St. John's Wort (hypericum perforatum) and Black Cohosh (cimicifuga racemosa) was able to help alleviate psychological and physical complaints associated with menopause.
In the double blind, placebo controlled, randomized study, 301 women with menopausal complaints and pyschological symptoms were treated with St. John's Wort extract and Black Cohosh extract, or placebo, for 16 weeks.
After the treatment period, the mean Menopausal Rating Scale score decreased 50 percent in the treatment group and only 19.6 percent in the placebo group. Similarly, the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale total score decreased 41.8 percent in the treatment group and only 12.7 percent in the placebo group. There were no major differences between groups regarding adverse events, laboratory values or tolerance.
The researchers concluded the combination of St. John's Wort and Black Cohosh was superior to placebo in alleviating both the emotional and physical complaints associated with menopause. Their results were published in Obstetrics & Gynecology (107:247 - 55, 2006)...May 15, 2006
USDA Study Shows Plant Sterols Lower Cholesterol...Take Good Health to Heart with Vegetables - Derived Phytosterols
People who already eat a low-fat diet to reduce cholesterol might lower it more by consuming a soybean extract with high levels of substances called plant sterols, according to preliminary new research, Agricultural Research Service. The research is preliminary but offers new evidence that soybean and other plant extracts containing sterols can increase the cholesterol lowering benefits of a healthy low-fat diet. People who want to reduce their cholesterol through diet may see better results by including low-fat foods having added sterols as part of their low-fat diet.
Researchers said cholesterol reductions nearly doubled in the study's men and women volunteers, when their low-fat diet included two daily servings (4 tablespoons total) of soybean sterols. The volunteers consumed the sterols 2.2 grams or about 1/2 teaspoon daily for three weeks of the six-week study.
The study was conducted at (ARS) Agricultural Research Service's Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center/ US Department of Agriculture.
Potential dietary benefits of plant sterols, including cholestorol reduction, have been studied for decades. The Beltsville study was unique in examining plant sterols as an ingredient in low-fat foods and as part of a tightly controlled low-fat diet. Most studies have looked at sterol effects in higher fat foods.
The soybean extracts used in the study are compounds known as sterol esters. Their molecular structure is similar to cholesterol. Researchers said sterol esters most likely lowered the volunteers' cholosterol by limiting its intestinal absorption.
The volunteers began the study with their levels of bad (LDL) cholesterol in the mildly elevated range. For six weeks they ate all their meals at the Beltsville center. For three of those weeks, their daily diet included 2.2 grams of soybean sterols as an ingredient in salad dressing. On the low-fat diet alone, without plant sterols, the volunteers' total and "bad" cholesterol levels dropped 7.3 and 8.4 percent, respectively. With the sterols, the reductions were nearly double: 14.1 and 18.2 percent. Not surprisingly, the volunteers' levels of good (HDL) cholesterol stayed the same.
Overall fat intake in the study amounted to 32 percent of total calories. A 36 percent fat diet is about the average for American adults. It is important to distinguish between healthful good fats and unhealthy saturated fats.
Curiously, 10 percent of the volunteers lowered their cholesterol only during the part of the study that included sterol esters. "Many people with high cholesterol," the leading researcher noted, "do not respond to a low-fat diet alone and rely on prescription cholesterol-lowering drugs. The key question is, could dietary plant sterols also help these kinds of people?"
Researchers conducted the study with the Diet and Human Performance Laboratory; including the chemist who lead the center's Phytonutrients Laboratory; and other scientists who specialize in plant derived nutrition.
The sterols used in the study already occur, in low concentrations, in many raw and refined vegetable-based foods including vegetable oils. A typical American diet provides approximately 0.25 g of plant sterol per day. It would be impractical to try to consume 2.2 grams a day of sterols from refined oils or other foods.
Not for Women Only...Calcium Doesn't Just Help Bones ... It's Also Involved in many other Vital Functions.
It's a well known fact...Calcium is important to the growth and maintenance of teeth and bones. A common question we receive is, "If bones are essentially finished growing y age 30, why should a person care about the calcium content of the diet?" Calcium is essential for many different reasons, not only building strong bones and teeth.
Providing Colon and Heart Protection.
Calcium has been shown to reduce the risk of colon cancer in recent studies. A high fat diet increases production of bile salts, which act as dangerous carcinogens in the colon. Calcium has the ability to bind with these salts, and then the Calcium-bile salt complex is safely excreted before damage can be done to the colon. Some studies have also found that Calcium causes the cell's lining the colon to mutate less often. This cell mutation is often recognized as the first stages of colon cancer.
Calcium is very important in fighting heart disease. It helps relax blood vessels, making it easier for blood to flow through the vessels, and thereby lowering blood pressure levels. Calcium is a synergistic nutrient, working with Magnesium and Potassium (and other minerals) to both decrease blood pressure in those already diagnosed with hypertension (high blood pressure), and to prevent it from developing.
Calcium also helps improve muscle functioning, including the heart muscle. There are preliminary studies that indicate Calcium supplementation might also help improve Cholesterol levels.
Calcium is Required to Help Stop Bone Loss!
Although your bones stop growing by age 30, you still need Calcium for bone health later in life. By age 70, both men and women start losing bone density equally. Osteoporosis is the major problem that develops from age-related bone loss. The average person over age 51 needs 1,200 mg of Calcium each day. Studies show the average adult only gets about 600 mg daily from their diet, so between 600 and 1000 mg of Calcium from supplements is usually enough.
Taking Calcium supplements with food is a good idea; it helps the nutrient absorb better. If you need 600mg extra Calcium in your diet, you could take a 300 mg - 500 mg supplement with breakfast and another 300 mg - 500 mg at dinner.
Keep your Food Intake Consistently Healthy.
Calcium is not a magic bullet for preventing heart disease. You need a heart healthy diet, high in Omega 3 fatty acids from fish, fruits, vegetables, legumes, and low fat dairy products and low in saturated fats, total fat, cholesterol, and red meats. So choose food products that are high in Calcium, but low in fat. For example, when choosing dairy products use skim or 2% milk instead of whole milk, or part skim cheeses. Certain bread products (including frozen waffles) are fortified with Calcium, but choose high fiber, whole grain items.
Remember other foods contain Calcium (see accompanying chart.) It's in many vegetables, including kale, collards, turnip greens, mustard greens, and broccoli and certain sea foods, including clams, oysters, and bone-in canned salmon and sardines. Certain brands of orange and grapefruit juice are fortified with Calcium.
It's not just your food choices but preparation that's critical. Stir-fry with Olive Oil or saute your veggies instead of dousing them with heavy sauces. Good food choices you will help assure Calcium that's good for bones and your overall health.
How Much Calcium is in Your Diet?
Dairy sources like milk, cheese, and yogurt are the best sources of Calcium, but there are others. Here are a comparison of some leading Calcium sources:
High intake of Green Tea may inhibit risk of Type 2 diabetes, according to studies published in the Annals of Internal Medicne (144, 8:554-62, 2006) and the Journal of Pharmmacy and Pharmacology (58, 5:599-604, 2006).
Over a five-year period, researchers from Osaka University and Osake City University looked for a relationship between consumption of Green Tea on development of Type II diabetes in 17,413 individuals (6,727 men and 10,686 women; 40 to 65 years of age) from 25 communities across Japan, who had no history of the disease.
There were 444 self-reported new cases of physician-diagnosed diabetes in 231 men and 213 women. Consumption of Green Tea was inversely associated with risk of Type II diabetes after adjustment for age, sex, body mass index, and other risk factors.
Further, total caffeine intake from Green Tea was associated with a 33 percent reduced risk of developing the disease. These inverse associations were even more pronounced in women and overweight men....July 25, 2006
Fresh Fruit, Daily Vitamin C Intake Can Lower Asthma Risk
Not getting enough fresh fruit and vitamin C in your daily diet can up the risk of developing asthma, a new British study finds. Conducted by researchers at Cambridge's Medical Research Council, the study was recently in a recent issue of Thorax.
Researchers monitored more than 500 adults over the course of a year, finding that those with the lowest fresh fruit consumption and overall vitamin C intake were twice as likely to develop asthma as the patients who consumed the most fruit and vitamin C. The relationship between low fruit and vitamin C consumption and asthma risk held even among those patients who otherwise engaged in healthy habits such as exercise and caloric moderation.....August 21, 2006
Get the Benefits of Pomegranate, Power-Packed with Natures Own Bio-Nutrients for Your Daily Health
The Pomegranate (Punica granatum L) has been praised for centuries as a health giving plant. Juice pressed from the seeds of ripe fruit has become popular for its rich content of antioxidant phenolics shown in an increasing number of medical studies to have powerful anti-disease potential.
Pomegranate seed pulp is primarily carbohydrate, with insignificant amounts of fat and protein and low levels of dietry fiber. Its natural nutrient content includes vitamins A (alpha and beta-carotene), C, E and K, Folic Acid, Niacin (B3) and Pantothenic acid with high levels of essential minerals- Postassium and Phosphorous. Antioxidant phytochemicals include punicalagin, elolagic acid, gallocatechins, prodelphinidins, delphinidin, cyanidina and pelargonidin.
A rich source of antioxidant phenolics, Pomegranate juice has a wide diversity of potential health benefits currently under study. In particular, there has been a great deal of research interest in the potential role of Pomegranate extracts specifically on preventing cancer, especially prostate cancer. It also appears to help improve cardiovascular functions, with valuable application in blood pressure management and cholesterol control...November 6, 2006
MANGANESE is One of the Most Important Minerals in Human Nutrition. Here's Why...
Manganese is an activator of several essential enzyme systems specifically involved in protein and energy metabolism as well as the formation of beneficial mucopolysaccharides. It is necesary for optimal health of bone and connective tisue, muscle growth and regeneration.
This essential mineral is also involved in vital insulin activation, cholesterol synthesis and in the active functioning of enzymes necssary in the metaboism of carbohydrates, fats, protein and nucleic acids (RNA & DNA). Manganese and Vitamin K work synergistically in the promotion of healthy blood clotting function.
Good food sources for Manganese include: Blueberries, Lettuce, Beans, Peanuts, Potatoes, Soy beans, Sunflower Seeds, Wheat Flour and Whole Grains (Barley, Oats and Wheat). Other rich sources include Brown Rice, Rice Bran, Walnuts, Wheat Bran and Wheat Germ.
Supplementation of Manganese is recommended because food value is dependent on rich soil content which unfortunately has been depleted due to modern farming and food processing methods. Manganese supplements are best in the form of an Aspartate. Managanese Aspartate is formed by binding the essential mineral to Aspartic Acid, a natural amino acid which acts as a transport mechanism, providing optimum absorbtion and efficient utitilization in the body....April 6, 2007
