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Fresh Pineapple has many health benefits

The pineapple is a member of the bromeliad family. It is extremely rare that bromeliads produce edible fruit. The pineapple is the only available edible bromeliad today. It is a multiple fruit. One pineapple is actually made up of dozens of individual flowerets that grow together to form the entire fruit. Each scale on a pineapple is evidence of a separate flower. Pineapples stop ripening the minute they are picked. No special way of storing them will help ripen them further. Color is relatively unimportant in determining ripeness. Choose your pineapple by smell. If it smells fresh, tropical and sweet, it will be a good fruit. The more scales on the pineapple, the sweeter and juicier the taste. After you cut off the top, you can plant it. It should grow much like a sweet potato will. This delicious fruit is not only sweet and tropical, it also offers many benefits to our health.

Pineapple is a remarkable fruit. We find it enjoyable because of its lush, sweet and exotic flavor, but it may be one of the most healthful foods available today. If we take a more detailed look at it, we will find that pineapple is valuable for easing indigestion, arthritis or sinusitis. The juice has an anthelmintic effect; it helps get rid of intestinal worms. Let’s look at how pineapple affects other conditions.

Pineapple is high in manganese, a mineral that is critical to development of strong bones and connective tissue. A cup of fresh pineapple will give you nearly 75% of the recommended daily amount. It is particularly helpful to older adults, whose bones tend to become brittle with age.

Bromelain, a proteolytic enzyme, is the key to pineapple’s value. Proteolytic means “breaks down protein”, which is why pineapple is known to be a digestive aid. It helps the body digest proteins more efficiently.

Bromelain is also considered an effective anti-inflammatory. Regular ingestion of at least one half cup of fresh pineapple daily is purported to relieve painful joints common to osteoarthritis. It produces mild pain relief. In Germany, bromelain is approved as a post-injury medication because it is thought to reduce inflammation and swelling.

Orange juice is a popular liquid for those suffering from a cold because it is high in Vitamin C. Fresh pineapple is not only high in this vitamin, but because of the bromelain, it has the ability to reduce mucus in the throat. If you have a cold with a productive cough, add pineapple to your diet. It is commonly used in Europe as a post-operative measure to cut mucus after certain sinus and throat operations. Those individuals who eat fresh pineapple daily report fewer sinus problems related to allergies. In and of itself, pineapple has a very low risk for allergies.

Pineapple is also known to discourage blood clot development. This makes it a valuable dietary addition for frequent fliers and others who may be at risk for blood clots.

An old folk remedy for morning sickness is fresh pineapple juice. It really works! Fresh juice and some nuts first thing in the morning often makes a difference. It’s also good for a healthier mouth. The fresh juice discourages plaque growth.

The Health Benefits of Walnuts

Walnuts are not only delicious, they also pack a nutritional punch. Check out the health benefits of walnuts

1. They can reduce the risk of breast cancer

Eating about 28 walnut halves a day provides antioxidants and phytosterols that may help reduce the risk of breast cancer, according to a study at the Marshall University School of Medicine in West Virginia. Mice were fed a daily diet with the human equivalent of two ounces (60 g) of walnuts. Compared to mice fed a control diet, the walnut eaters had significantly decreased breast tumour incidence and a slower rate of tumour growth.

2. They’re packed with omega-3 fatty acids

A diet rich in omega-3s is beneficial in reducing depression, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), cancer and Alzheimer’s disease and there’s also strong evidence that omega-3s counter inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn’s disease.

3. They can reduce risk of diabetes

Women who reported eating one ounce (30 g) of nuts at least five times per week reduced their risk of type 2 diabetes by almost 30 percent compared to those who rarely or never ate nuts, say researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health. The mono- and polyunsaturated fats in nuts are good for insulin sensitivity.

4. They contain antioxidants that boost heart health

A new study from the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania shows walnuts have higher quality antioxidants and a mix of more healthful antioxidants than any other nut.

5. They can help you deal with stress

A diet rich in walnuts and walnut oil may help the body deal better with stress. Research published last year in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition found that walnuts and walnut oil lowered both resting blood pressure and blood pressure responses to stress in the laboratory. The researchers said the study shows that a dietary change could help our bodies better respond to stress.

Anti Aging benefits of Resveratrol

After some debate, Harvard Medical School researchers are saying they have confirmed that compound resveratrol that’s found in red wine does provide anti-aging benefits.

The study, which was published on March 8 in Science, shows that resveratrol stimulates production of SIRT1, a serum that blocks diseases by speeding up the cell’s energy production centers known as mitrochondria.

Researchers have also figured out which gene allows resveratrol to produce SIRT1, and believe that some drugs currently in clinical trials may be able to provide the same anti-aging benefits as well.

“In the history of pharmaceuticals, there has never been a drug that binds to a protein to make it run faster in the way that resveratrol activates SIRT1,” senior author David Sinclair, Harvard Medical School professor of genetics, said in a press release. “Almost all drugs either slow or block them.”

Resveratrol is a naturally-occuring polyphenols antioxidant that is found in some plant products like grapes and cocoa. It is categorized as a phytoalexin, an antimicrobial compound that is produced by plants to protect them from rough environments like excessive ultraviolet light, infections and climate changes.

Resveratrol has been linked to protection against obesity and diabetes, a reduced risk for blood clotting and a way to lower “bad” LDL cholesterol, due to the compound’s ability to dilate blood vessels, increase nitric oxide and block the stickiness of platelets. However, some research came into question when Dr. Dipak K. Das, director of the cardiovascular research center at the University of Connecticut who led several reseveratrol studies, was accused of making up results in January 2013.

There was also a controversy behind whether SIRT1’s production was actually influenced by resveratrol. Earlier studies have used a man-made chemical group which glowed brighter the more SIRT1 activity went up. Without this chemical, the experiments didn’t work. Some scientists believed that because of this, it meant that SIRT1’s activity was only a laboratory construct and didn’t exist in nature.

Can you get resveratrol’s anti-aging benefits by putting it on your skin?

Study examines red wine’s anti-aging ingredient, resveratrol

Large amounts of red wine compound resveratrol may help with balance in elderly people

“We had six years of work telling us that this was most definitely not an artifact,” Sinclair, who initially published a study in 2006 linking resveratrol to SIRT1 and longevity in mice using that man-made chemical, said. “Still, we needed to figure out precisely how resveratrol works. The answer was extremely elegant.”

To prove that there was a link between resveratrol and SIRT1, scientists discovered that the man-made chemical was actually close to three amino acids that were naturally found in cells, one of which is tryptophan, the chemical thought to make people drowsy after eating turkey. Instead of using the florescent chemical, researchers used a tryptophan residue in a test tube to see if it would create more SIRT1, which it did.

Then, Sinclair and his team looked at 2,000 mutants of the gene responsible for SIRT1 to find out how resveratrol worked, and found one mutation that stopped resveratrol’s effects by swapping out one of the 747 amino acid residues.

After they found where this mutation was found on SIRT1-creating gene and how to control it, researchers replaced the normal SIRT1 gene in manufactured muscle and skin cells with the one that stopped resveratrol’s effect. They then introduced resveratrol and some other medications in clinical trials. Resveratrol and some of the medications were able to speed up mitrochondria by activating more SIRT1 in normal cells, but the mutated cells were unaffected by the substances.

“This was the killer experiment,” said Sinclair. “There is no rational alternative explanation other than resveratrol directly activates SIRT1 in cells. Now that we know the exact location on SIRT1 where and how resveratrol works, we can engineer even better molecules that more precisely and effectively trigger the effects of resveratrol.”

It is important to note that Sinclair is a co-founder and scientific advisor of Sirtris, a GlaxoSmithKline company. Sirtris currently has a number of sirtuin (SIRT1)-activating compounds in clinical trials.

Sinclair told the Telegraph in a separate interview that he wants to continue the studies to see if reveratrol can help people who are already really healthy.

“Things there are also looking promising. We’re finding that ageing isn’t the irreversible affliction that we thought it was,” he commented. “Some of us could live to 150, but we won’t get there without more research.”

Many agree that the information is promising.

“This is not weak evidence at this point,” Leonard Guarente, a biologist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Sirtris scientific advisory board member, added to the Los Angeles Times.”You would really bet the ranch on this one.”

“It might bring together the different views so we can move forward,” Brian Kennedy, president and chief executive of the Buck Institute for Research on Aging in Novato, Calif., added in a press release. Kennedy previously questioned the results of studies using resveratrol and yeast. “This is how science works.”

What are the results of deficiency in CoQ10?

Firstly, What is CoQ10?

Coenzyme Q10 (or CoQ10) is a natural chemical compound that we make in our bodies and consume in our diets, primarily from oily fish, organ meats such as liver, and whole grains.

It resides in the energy-producing part of cells and is involved with producing a key molecule known as adenosine-5-triphosphate (or ATP).

ATP is a cell’s major energy source and it contributes to several important biological processes, such as the production of protein, and muscle contraction.

Why is CoQ10 important?

CoQ10 has the potential to vastly improve human health. It can help you combat fatigue, for example, as well as obesity, and a weak immune system (particularly for those with HIV, other viruses, and yeast infections).

It helps boost athletic performance (CoQ10 levels are low in people who exercise excessively), and it improves exercise tolerance in people with muscular dystrophy.

It also prevents toxin overload, and swollen gums (those with periodontal disease tend to have low levels of CoQ10 in their gums). Early studies show it may also increase sperm motility, leading to enhanced fertility. It’s all in a day’s work for CoQ10!

What’s the importance of COQ10 for heart disease?

The American Chemical Society’s most prestigious honour, the Priestley Medal, was awarded to Karl Folkers, Ph.D., for his landmark Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) research. That’s because Folkers found that in addition to the benefits listed above, CoQ10’s most valuable role may lie in fighting heart disease.

In fact, he says he found the blood levels of CoQ10 to be significantly lower in heart-disease patients than in those who were disease free, and he discovered that 70 percent of his heart patients with congestive heart failure benefited from taking CoQ10.

Eminent heart surgeon Denton Cooley, M.D., agrees. He says that in heart biopsies, he found 75 percent of his cardiac patients had varying, but significant, deficiencies of CoQ10. Reports by over a hundred Japanese cardiac specialists who gave CoQ10 to thousands of patients with heart problems for nearly ten years also seemed to support these findings.

Additional benefits of CoQ10

Not only that, but several studies with small numbers of people suggest that CoQ10 may lower blood pressure after a few weeks, and it might help to prevent some of the heart damage caused by chemotherapy.

Introducing CoQ10 before heart surgery may reduce the damage caused by free radicals and oxidative damage, as well as lowering the incidence of irregular heart beat, and strengthening heart function during recovery.

Interesting effects on cholesterol lowering drugs

CoQ10 levels tend to be lower in people with a high cholesterol count, compared with healthy individuals of the same age.

What’s more, certain cholesterol-lowering drugs (statins such as cerivastatin, atorvastatin, pravastatin simvastatin and lovastatin) seem to reduce the natural levels of CoQ10 in the body.

Taking CoQ10 supplements can correct the deficiency caused by statins, without changing the medication’s positive effects on cholesterol levels.

As a result of its beneficial effects on one of the body’s most important organs, Folkers calls CoQ10 “a natural and essential co-factor in the heart.”

CoQ10 and diabetes

Of course, managing cholesterol levels, helping the circulatory system, blood sugar levels and heart health is particularly important for diabetics, and CoQ10 supplements may be a help to them.

Despite concern that CoQ10 may cause a sudden drop in blood sugar, two recent studies of people with diabetes given CoQ10 twice a day showed they experienced no hypoglycemic response. If you’re diabetic, talk to your doctor about how you can safely take CoQ10.

CoQ10 for Alzheimers and cancer

Now, scientists are hoping its effects on the heart, blood systems, and tissue toxicity means CoQ10 can soon be used as part of a treatment program for Alzheimer’s disease, and for recovery from stroke. They’re also hopeful about the possibility of using it as part of a treatment regimen for women with breast cancer (together with conventional treatment and a nutrional program involving high levels of other antioxidants and fatty acids).

How does CoQ10 perform all these roles?

So how does it do it? Researchers think it may all be possible on account of CoQ10’s ability to inhibit blood clot formation, improve energy production in cells, and act as an antioxidant.

Antioxidants are substances that hunt for free radicals and escort them out of the body, which prevents the free radicals causing oxidative damage to cell membranes and DNA when they accumulate in the tissues and blood as a result of pollution, UV light, cigarette smoking, and as a by-product of normal metabolic processes.

Free radicals cause us to age more quickly, and they contribute to a number of health problems including heart disease and cancer. Helping the fight agaist free radicals

Antioxidants such as CoQ10 can neutralize free radicals and may reduce or even help prevent some of the damage they cause.

CoQ10 may have found its perfect partner in another potent antioxidant: vitamin E. Together they are the principle fat-soluable antioxidants in cells, and CoQ10 may help vitamin E act more effectively in the body.

Another friend of CoQ10 is the spectacular antioxidant dihydrolipoic acid (DHLA). It’s unique in its ability to zap every known free radical that occurs in living tissue; it’s also readily absorbed and has a very low toxicity.

Its talents make it a valuable resource in combating the free radical damage associated with Alzheimer’s disease, for example, as well as Parkinson’s disease, and other degenerative brain conditions.

CoQ10 may not work as effectively alone, so to take advantage of its enormously helpful health benefits, be sure to combine your good quality supplements with a healthy diet, stress reduction techniques, and responsible levels of exercise. Enjoy!

Health Benefits of Ginkgo Biloba

Ginkgo biloba is the oldest living tree species – the tree could live up to 1,000 years. More than 40 components of the ginkgo biloba tree have been isolated and identified, but only two of them — flavonoids and terpenoids — are believed to account for Ginkgo biloba’s beneficial health effects. Flavonoids are plant-based antioxidants, and studies have revealed that flavonoids protect the nerves, heart muscle, blood vessels, and retina from damage. Terpenoids aid blood flow by dilating the blood vessels and reducing the stickiness of platelets.

Ginkgo biloba’s natural health benefits have been recognized by practitioners of traditional medicine. They use the health benefits to treat circulatory disorders and enhance memory. The top five health benefits of ginkgo biloba are:

1) Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease: Ginkgo biloba was used originally to regulate blood flow to the brain. Further studies revealed that it may protect nerve cells damaged by Alzheimer’s disease. Many studies reveal that ginkgo biloba can improve memory and thinking in people affected by Alzheimer’s or vascular dementia.

2) Intermittent Claudication: For people with intermittent claudication, it is very painful to walk. Published studies reveal that people taking ginkgo biloba can walk roughly 37 yards more than people taking a placebo.

3) Glaucoma: According to one study, people with glaucoma who took 120 mg of ginkgo biloba daily for eight weeks realized that their vision had improved.

4) Memory Enhancement: Ginkgo biloba is popular as a “brain herb.” Studies have proven that it can improve memory in people with dementia. Ginkgo biloba is commonly added to nutrition bars, soft drinks, and fruit smoothies to boost memory and enhance cognitive performance.

5) Macular Degeneration: It is a progressive, degenerative eye disease that impairs the retina. It is one of the most common causes of blindness in the United States. The flavonoids found in ginkgo biloba may help cure or alleviate some retinal problems.

Read Latest Breaking News from Newsmax.com http://www.newsmax.com/FastFeatures/Health-benefits-of-ginkgo/2010/11/10/id/371447#ixzz2Or3iKTTe

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