Sunday, November 25, 2012

Health Benefits of Carrots

Carrots are a daily part of my life, I mostly juice them, but also include them as part of my meals, raw or steamed. Here is a great article that describes their benefits;

Health benefits of carrots

  • Sweet and succulent carrots are notably rich in anti-oxidants, vitamins and dietary fiber; however, they provide only 41 calories per 100 g, negligible amount of fat and no cholesterol.
  • They are exceptionally rich source of carotenes and vitamin-A. 100 g fresh carrot contains 8285 µg of beta-carotene and 16706 IU of vitamin A. Studies have found that flavonoid compounds in carrots help protect from skin, lung and oral cavity cancers.
  • Carotenes are converted into vitamin A in the liver. Beta-carotene is the major carotene that is present in these roots. Beta carotene is one of the powerful natural anti-oxidant helps protect body from harmful oxygen-free radical injury.  In addition, it also has all the functions of vitamin A such as vision, reproduction (sperm production), maintenance of epithelial integrity, growth and development.
  • Carrots are rich in poly-acetylene antioxidant falcarinol. Research study conducted by scientists at University of Newcastle on laboratory animals has found that falcarinol in carrots may help fight against cancers by destroying pre-cancerous cells in the tumors.
  • Fresh roots are also good in vitamin C; provide about 9% of RDA. Vitamin C is water soluble anti-oxidant. It helps the body maintain healthy connective tissue, teeth and gum. Its anti-oxidant property helps the body protect from diseases and cancers by scavenging harmful free radicals.
  • In addition, this root vegetable is especially rich in many B-complex groups of vitamins such as folic acid, vitamin B-6 (pyridoxine), thiamin, pantothenic acid, etc., that acts as co-factors to enzymes during substrate metabolism in the body.
  • Further, They also compose healthy levels of minerals like copper, calcium, potassium, manganese and phosphorus. Potassium is an important component of cell and body fluids that helps controlling heart rate and blood pressure by countering effects of sodium. Manganese is used by the body as a co-factor for the antioxidant enzyme, superoxide dismutase.
    Read more: http://www.nutrition-and-you.com/carrots.html
NaturalNews) Juicing is the fast track to good health. Using organic vegetables for juicing allows you to take in more vegetables at one time than you would by eating raw or cooked vegetables. The concentrated vegetable mass in liquid form is easily assimilated, thus making juicing daily ideal for health problems.

The body is more able to metabolize nutrients into the body's cells, especially since uncooked vegetables retain their enzymes. Raw vegetables provide all the enzymes you need for optimum assimilation.

But it's important to use a slow speed masticating juicer. They don't overheat the veggies to destroy any enzymes while juicing veggies. And they're often less expensive and easier to clean than high speed commercial juicers.

One thing is noticeable among those who juice regularly. Carrots are usually a staple. You can add apples, greens or beets. But carrots aren't as perishable as greens, store well with less space, and offer more juice with less expense.

Carrots are great as a base for juicing whatever else you want to include in your fresh vegetable juice. More importantly, carrots are amazingly nutritious and healing by themselves.

Carrots' nutritional and healing benefits

The two obvious nutrients most are aware of are vitamin A and beta carotenes. Vitamin A toxicity is possible with vitamin supplements and fish oils, but you cannot overdose on vitamin A with carrots while enjoying their extra large amounts of this vitamin.

Beta-carotene is also a major antioxidant. The vitamin A and beta-carotene help maintain vision along with the carrots' fair share of lutein. Beta-carotene also maintains epithelial tissue, the tissue surrounding internal organs. Epithelial tissues are susceptible to cancerous growths.

Carrots are also rich in poly-acetylene anti-oxidant falcarinol. Research at the University of Newcastle has shown carrot falcarinol destroys pre-cancerous cells in tumors. Carrots do help keep cancer away.

Carrots are deep soil root vegetables, and this enables them to absorb an abundant array of minerals. They are also rich in other vitamins, including the B vitamins and folates. Folate is the natural and safe provider of folic acid.

The list of nutrients doesn't really measure up to carrots' actual regenerative capacity, especially when juiced. Obviously, the unique synergy of its enzymes, vitamins, minerals, and flavonoids provides herbal healers with a magical remedy when juiced.

Drinking carrot juice

Drinking carrot juice cleanses and restores the liver. The liver is our body's master cleanser - without which we would die from internal toxic buildups while detoxing all those external toxic sources we've taken in. Carrot juice has been called the golden juice of healing.

Dr. John Christopher, the father of modern American herbalism, has expressed amazement of carrot juice's healing qualities. The Gerson Therapy, carried on today by Dr. Max Gerson's daughter and grandson, relies heavily on fresh carrot combined with apple juices. The Gerson Therapy successfully treats cancer patients who have been given up on.

Dr. Max Gerson developed his dietary and detoxification approach to treat many diseases in addition to cancer. For critical illnesses, it's best to juice several carrots with a few apples often while fasting from solid foods for awhile.

The Gerson Therapy does this while detoxing with daily coffee enemas. You can read about coffee enemas here (http://www.naturalnews.com/026289_coffee_enemas_enema.html).

So get a big bunch of carrots. They store well in your refrigerator or cool cellar. Then juice them with some apples, celery, or beets using a slow speed masticating juicer. Don't store the juice. Drink each freshly juiced batch immediately as often as your health needs require.

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/034511_carrots_juicing_health_benefits.html#ixzz2DFmqF9Tp
NaturalNews) Juicing is the fast track to good health. Using organic vegetables for juicing allows you to take in more vegetables at one time than you would by eating raw or cooked vegetables. The concentrated vegetable mass in liquid form is easily assimilated, thus making juicing daily ideal for health problems.

The body is more able to metabolize nutrients into the body's cells, especially since uncooked vegetables retain their enzymes. Raw vegetables provide all the enzymes you need for optimum assimilation.

But it's important to use a slow speed masticating juicer. They don't overheat the veggies to destroy any enzymes while juicing veggies. And they're often less expensive and easier to clean than high speed commercial juicers.

One thing is noticeable among those who juice regularly. Carrots are usually a staple. You can add apples, greens or beets. But carrots aren't as perishable as greens, store well with less space, and offer more juice with less expense.

Carrots are great as a base for juicing whatever else you want to include in your fresh vegetable juice. More importantly, carrots are amazingly nutritious and healing by themselves.

Carrots' nutritional and healing benefits

The two obvious nutrients most are aware of are vitamin A and beta carotenes. Vitamin A toxicity is possible with vitamin supplements and fish oils, but you cannot overdose on vitamin A with carrots while enjoying their extra large amounts of this vitamin.

Beta-carotene is also a major antioxidant. The vitamin A and beta-carotene help maintain vision along with the carrots' fair share of lutein. Beta-carotene also maintains epithelial tissue, the tissue surrounding internal organs. Epithelial tissues are susceptible to cancerous growths.

Carrots are also rich in poly-acetylene anti-oxidant falcarinol. Research at the University of Newcastle has shown carrot falcarinol destroys pre-cancerous cells in tumors. Carrots do help keep cancer away.

Carrots are deep soil root vegetables, and this enables them to absorb an abundant array of minerals. They are also rich in other vitamins, including the B vitamins and folates. Folate is the natural and safe provider of folic acid.

The list of nutrients doesn't really measure up to carrots' actual regenerative capacity, especially when juiced. Obviously, the unique synergy of its enzymes, vitamins, minerals, and flavonoids provides herbal healers with a magical remedy when juiced.

Drinking carrot juice

Drinking carrot juice cleanses and restores the liver. The liver is our body's master cleanser - without which we would die from internal toxic buildups while detoxing all those external toxic sources we've taken in. Carrot juice has been called the golden juice of healing.

Dr. John Christopher, the father of modern American herbalism, has expressed amazement of carrot juice's healing qualities. The Gerson Therapy, carried on today by Dr. Max Gerson's daughter and grandson, relies heavily on fresh carrot combined with apple juices. The Gerson Therapy successfully treats cancer patients who have been given up on.

Dr. Max Gerson developed his dietary and detoxification approach to treat many diseases in addition to cancer. For critical illnesses, it's best to juice several carrots with a few apples often while fasting from solid foods for awhile.

The Gerson Therapy does this while detoxing with daily coffee enemas. You can read about coffee enemas here (http://www.naturalnews.com/026289_coffee_enemas_enema.html).

So get a big bunch of carrots. They store well in your refrigerator or cool cellar. Then juice them with some apples, celery, or beets using a slow speed masticating juicer. Don't store the juice. Drink each freshly juiced batch immediately as often as your health needs require.

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/034511_carrots_juicing_health_benefits.html#ixzz2DFmqF9Tp

NaturalNews) Juicing is the fast track to good health. Using organic vegetables for juicing allows you to take in more vegetables at one time than you would by eating raw or cooked vegetables. The concentrated vegetable mass in liquid form is easily assimilated, thus making juicing daily ideal for health problems.

The body is more able to metabolize nutrients into the body's cells, especially since uncooked vegetables retain their enzymes. Raw vegetables provide all the enzymes you need for optimum assimilation.

But it's important to use a slow speed masticating juicer. They don't overheat the veggies to destroy any enzymes while juicing veggies. And they're often less expensive and easier to clean than high speed commercial juicers.

One thing is noticeable among those who juice regularly. Carrots are usually a staple. You can add apples, greens or beets. But carrots aren't as perishable as greens, store well with less space, and offer more juice with less expense.

Carrots are great as a base for juicing whatever else you want to include in your fresh vegetable juice. More importantly, carrots are amazingly nutritious and healing by themselves.

Carrots' nutritional and healing benefits

The two obvious nutrients most are aware of are vitamin A and beta carotenes. Vitamin A toxicity is possible with vitamin supplements and fish oils, but you cannot overdose on vitamin A with carrots while enjoying their extra large amounts of this vitamin.

Beta-carotene is also a major antioxidant. The vitamin A and beta-carotene help maintain vision along with the carrots' fair share of lutein. Beta-carotene also maintains epithelial tissue, the tissue surrounding internal organs. Epithelial tissues are susceptible to cancerous growths.

Carrots are also rich in poly-acetylene anti-oxidant falcarinol. Research at the University of Newcastle has shown carrot falcarinol destroys pre-cancerous cells in tumors. Carrots do help keep cancer away.

Carrots are deep soil root vegetables, and this enables them to absorb an abundant array of minerals. They are also rich in other vitamins, including the B vitamins and folates. Folate is the natural and safe provider of folic acid.

The list of nutrients doesn't really measure up to carrots' actual regenerative capacity, especially when juiced. Obviously, the unique synergy of its enzymes, vitamins, minerals, and flavonoids provides herbal healers with a magical remedy when juiced.

Drinking carrot juice

Drinking carrot juice cleanses and restores the liver. The liver is our body's master cleanser - without which we would die from internal toxic buildups while detoxing all those external toxic sources we've taken in. Carrot juice has been called the golden juice of healing.

Dr. John Christopher, the father of modern American herbalism, has expressed amazement of carrot juice's healing qualities. The Gerson Therapy, carried on today by Dr. Max Gerson's daughter and grandson, relies heavily on fresh carrot combined with apple juices. The Gerson Therapy successfully treats cancer patients who have been given up on.

Dr. Max Gerson developed his dietary and detoxification approach to treat many diseases in addition to cancer. For critical illnesses, it's best to juice several carrots with a few apples often while fasting from solid foods for awhile.

The Gerson Therapy does this while detoxing with daily coffee enemas. You can read about coffee enemas here (http://www.naturalnews.com/026289_coffee_enemas_enema.html).

So get a big bunch of carrots. They store well in your refrigerator or cool cellar. Then juice them with some apples, celery, or beets using a slow speed masticating juicer. Don't store the juice. Drink each freshly juiced batch immediately as often as your health needs require.

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/034511_carrots_juicing_health_benefits.html#ixzz2DFmqF9Tp
(NaturalNews) Juicing is the fast track to good health. Using organic vegetables for juicing allows you to take in more vegetables at one time than you would by eating raw or cooked vegetables. The concentrated vegetable mass in liquid form is easily assimilated, thus making juicing daily ideal for health problems.

The body is more able to metabolize nutrients into the body's cells, especially since uncooked vegetables retain their enzymes. Raw vegetables provide all the enzymes you need for optimum assimilation.

But it's important to use a slow speed masticating juicer. They don't overheat the veggies to destroy any enzymes while juicing veggies. And they're often less expensive and easier to clean than high speed commercial juicers.

One thing is noticeable among those who juice regularly. Carrots are usually a staple. You can add apples, greens or beets. But carrots aren't as perishable as greens, store well with less space, and offer more juice with less expense.

Carrots are great as a base for juicing whatever else you want to include in your fresh vegetable juice. More importantly, carrots are amazingly nutritious and healing by themselves.

Carrots' nutritional and healing benefits

The two obvious nutrients most are aware of are vitamin A and beta carotenes. Vitamin A toxicity is possible with vitamin supplements and fish oils, but you cannot overdose on vitamin A with carrots while enjoying their extra large amounts of this vitamin.

Beta-carotene is also a major antioxidant. The vitamin A and beta-carotene help maintain vision along with the carrots' fair share of lutein. Beta-carotene also maintains epithelial tissue, the tissue surrounding internal organs. Epithelial tissues are susceptible to cancerous growths.

Carrots are also rich in poly-acetylene anti-oxidant falcarinol. Research at the University of Newcastle has shown carrot falcarinol destroys pre-cancerous cells in tumors. Carrots do help keep cancer away.

Carrots are deep soil root vegetables, and this enables them to absorb an abundant array of minerals. They are also rich in other vitamins, including the B vitamins and folates. Folate is the natural and safe provider of folic acid.

The list of nutrients doesn't really measure up to carrots' actual regenerative capacity, especially when juiced. Obviously, the unique synergy of its enzymes, vitamins, minerals, and flavonoids provides herbal healers with a magical remedy when juiced.

Drinking carrot juice

Drinking carrot juice cleanses and restores the liver. The liver is our body's master cleanser - without which we would die from internal toxic buildups while detoxing all those external toxic sources we've taken in. Carrot juice has been called the golden juice of healing.

Dr. John Christopher, the father of modern American herbalism, has expressed amazement of carrot juice's healing qualities. The Gerson Therapy, carried on today by Dr. Max Gerson's daughter and grandson, relies heavily on fresh carrot combined with apple juices. The Gerson Therapy successfully treats cancer patients who have been given up on.

Dr. Max Gerson developed his dietary and detoxification approach to treat many diseases in addition to cancer. For critical illnesses, it's best to juice several carrots with a few apples often while fasting from solid foods for awhile.

The Gerson Therapy does this while detoxing with daily coffee enemas. You can read about coffee enemas here (http://www.naturalnews.com/026289_coffee_enemas_enema.html).

So get a big bunch of carrots. They store well in your refrigerator or cool cellar. Then juice them with some apples, celery, or beets using a slow speed masticating juicer. Don't store the juice. Drink each freshly juiced batch immediately as often as your health needs require.

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/034511_carrots_juicing_health_benefits.html#ixzz2DFmaKTaG

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Sugar and your Health

Sugar is one of our worse enemies and has been linked to many of the health problems we are all facing. I was a sugar-holic and it was not easy giving up sugar, but I did it. Since sugar feeds cancer and I am fighting cancer, I avoid sugars as much as possible, not just refined sugar and have learned to enjoy life without sugar. I found this great article with some great tips on getting rid of refined sugars;

The Natural Health and Holistic World According to Dr Akilah El

7 Ways to Get Rid of the Refined Sugar Habit

Increased consumption of sugar has been linked to some serious health issues such as heart diseases and cancer besides the obvious weight issues. It is also believed that our brain releases dopamine which helps to keep our body happy. However, the fact is that every person has unique physical needs. For example, many people do not prefer consuming sweets even in moderation because they don’t feel the urge to have them. However, contrarily, other people constantly nibble on sweet food because their bodies want so.
The dangers of consuming excessive sugar cannot be overlooked which is why we bring for you some incredible ways to get rid of consuming refined sugar:
1. Stop Drinking Sodas and Sweetened Drinks
All soft drinks contain huge quantities of sugar content in them. You consume around 10 teaspoons of sugar in a 12 ounce can. If you can stop drinking these soft drinks you can easily lose a lot of fat. Also, try getting rid of candies and cakes, as these contain the highest amount of sugar and carbohydrates both of which are dangerous for your health.
2. Avoid Consuming or Buying Packaged Foods
All sorts of organic packaged food are rich in sugar content. It is much better to prepare your own snacks such as homemade popcorns over the stovetop. You can even consume raw fruits and vegetables as snacks.
3. Choose Wisely When Eating Out
Whenever you choose to eat out, avoid desserts that are prepared using sugar. Instead, go for desserts prepared using fresh fruit and natural sweeteners such as honey. Prefer fruit smoothies, fruit salads, and other salads prepared using less sugar content and healthy dressings.
4. Try Going Sugar-Free At Least for a Week
This could be the best way to know how much sugar content your body needs on average. Go sugar-free for at least a week so your body starts adapting to the dietary change. This will help you gain a lot of confidence as well.
5. Deal with Sugar Cravings
Succumbing to sugar cravings is the major reason why people collect so much fat around their bodies. You can deal with sugar cravings by opting for foods that have natural sources of sugar. Consume fresh fruit when you wish to eat a bar of chocolate, for example.
6. Restrict You Daily Sugar Intake
You can control a lot of sugar intake by restricting your consumption to up to 2 teaspoons of sugar each day. You can either consume these two teaspoons of sugar at breakfast, during lunch or with snacks at any other time of the day.
7. Enjoy Other Food That You Like
Prepare meals that you like as a substitute for sugar laden food. You can always have healthy yet tasty meals every day. For example, roasted portobello mushrooms  toast nuts, roast squash, prepare dish salad, cook soups and stews, etc. There are several other foods that you can enjoy as well. 

Read more:
http://docakilah.wordpress.com/2012/11/14/7-ways-to-get-rid-of-the-refined-sugar-habit/

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Health Benefits of Yams



Health Benefits of Yams

Yams are the vine plants native to countries of Tropical America, Africa and Asia. They are cylindrically long plants with scaly, rough exteriors. It is also worshiped in some areas due to its great health and nutritional benefits. The

health benefits of yams

are many and moreover they are of about 200 varieties of yams with each variety providing diverse health benefits. The scientific names of some beneficial yams are Dioscorea batatas, Dioscorea alata and Dioscorea esculenta.

The health benefits of yams are as follows:

  • Wild yam has got many medicinal benefits. It helps in effective

    functioning of female endocrine and renal systems

    . This is a traditional medicine used from centuries in Chinese medicine. Research studies are now been going on to create an evident theory to support this treatment.
  • Wild yam is also good for pregnant woman. It alleviates nausea and

    decreases water retention

    in the body.
  • Yams are beneficial in

    treating premenstrual syndrome (PMS)

    . The high vitamin B6 content present in yams provides relief from depression that is experienced during premenstrual stage. It effectively fights against heart diseases such as heart stroke and attacks.
  • Yams have rich amounts of manganese which is very essential factor for

    antioxidant metabolism and carbohydrate metabolism

    . It even acts as a co-factor in many enzymes for energy production.
  • They help

    maintain blood sugar levels

    as they have very low sugar content and gets absorbed in the bloodstream slowly.
  • The high fiber content in yams helps in controlling body weight and therefore it is a

    good source for dietary fiber

    .
  • Yams are beneficial for efficient

    functioning of nervous, urinary, respiratory systems

    . It also helps in proper optimal glandular functioning.
  • Mexican wild yam variety has got

    antispasmodic properties

    and therefore used in treating pains, menstrual cramps, neurological disorders, improper circulation, muscle tension, nerve tension, intestinal and abdominal cramps.
  • Yams aid

    digestion process

    by dilating vessels and stimulating flow of bile juice.
  • Yams are very good source of potassium and therefore helps in

    controlling and maintaining blood pressure levels

    .

Read more:  http://naturecure.ygoy.com/2010/11/02/health-benefits-of-yams/

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Liver Detoxification

I found this great article on Milk Thistle to detoxify the liver, as with everything else I post, please do your own research.

Milk Thistle For Liver Detoxification? 

Family: Asteraceae
Genus and Species: Silybum marianum

milk thistle for liver detoxification
Milk thistle is an edible plant native to southern Europe, southern Russia, Asia Minor, and nothern Africa, and has been used for food in the countries surrounding the Mediterranean for a long time as well as a tonic herb for the liver. Virtually all parts of the plant have been used as food with no known toxicity. Milk thistle was introduced to North America by European colonists.
Today, milk thistle is best known as a producer of liver protectant known as silymarin, a group of milk thistle flavonoids. The milk thistle in commerce is a standardized extracts prepared from the fruits (seeds) of Silybum marianum. Like Ginkgo biloba, milk thistle is required to be standardized and rendered to concentrated forms to be effectively used for desired medicinal purposes, which, in this case, is as a hepatoprotectant. In general, milk thistle extracts are standardized to a concentration of 70-80% of flavone lignans including isosilybinin, silybinin, silychristin, and silydianin, which are collectively called silymarin.


Milk Thistle For Liver Detoxification

milk thistle helpful for liver detoxification
Milk thistle has been known in Europe and other Mediterranean countries since ancient times. Theophrastus mentioned about milk thistle around 4th century, B.C. Dioscorides wrote about the medicinal value of milk thistle, and Pliny the Elder wrote on the improvement of bile flow by milk thistle, calling it "Silybum" around the 1st century, A.D. Nicholas Culpeper, an English herbalist mentioned in 1650 that milk thistle is effective for removing liver obstructions.
Von Haller documented the use of milk thistle for liver ailments in 1744. Milk thistle has been mentioned as a folkloric remedy for asthma, cancer, catarrh, chest pains, dropsy, fever, hepatitis, rabies, jaundice, vaginal discharge, malaria, plague, spasms, and spleen problems. Milk thistle has been under scientific and clinical investigation since turn of the last century, mainly in Germany. In the 1960s, German scientists identified a group of active ingredients from milk thistle, mainly from the seeds, and named them collectively as "silymarin". The preparation of milk thistle fruits and seeds were approved by German Commission E as a highly safe and effective herb for liver health.
Usage

German Commission E approved the internal use of crude milk thistle fruit preparations for dyspeptic complaints. Standardized extracts (usually ranging in silymarin concentration from 70 to 80%) are approved for toxic liver damage and as a supportive treatment for chronic inflammatory liver disease and hepatic cirrhosis.
liver detoxification with milk thistle
Silymarin is known to protect the liver by altering and strengthening the structure of outer cell membranes of hepatocytes (liver cells), preventing toxins from entering the liver cells, and by stimulating the regenerative ability of the liver and the formation of new hepatocytes through the activation of an enzyme nucleolar polymerase A, which leads to the increase in ribosomal protein synthesis and cell division.
Silymarin, as an anti-oxidant, may also reduce damages to liver cells caused by chronic use of certain prescription drugs. The silybin component of sillymarin has been related to cholesterol-lowering effects. Through the capability to increase bile solubility, sylimarin may also help prevent or alleviate gallstones.
Dose: 12-15 grams per day of powdered seed is recommended for making infusions or other preparations to be taken orally. For standardized extract, 200-400 mg of silymarine per day is recommended.
Side Effects: No side effects are known for crude preparation, as milk thistle is a food, and a relative of artichoke. For standardized extract with high concentration of sylimarine, a mild laxative effect has been observed occasionally.

Chemistry and Pharmacology Of Milk Thistle

A rather complete chemical composition list of milk thistle can be found in Dr. Duke's Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases. Milk thisle seeds contain 1.5-3% flavonolignans, collectively called silymarin; 20-30% fixed oils, of which approximately 60% is linoleic acid, approximately 30% is oleic acid, and approximately 9% is palmitic acid; 25-30% protein; 0.038% tocopherol; 0.63% sterols, including choleterol, campeterol, stigmasterol, and sitosterol; and some mucilage. [Herbal Medicine - Expanded Commission E monographs, by Mark Blumenthal, Alicia Goldberg, and Josef Brinckmann, first edition, 2000]. Silymarin's constituents are isosilybinin, silybinin, silychristin, and silydianin, of which silybinin accounts for approximately 50% of silymarin. [Dr. Duke's Essential Herbs, by James A Duke, 1999].

There have been very few clinical tests on milk thistle or any herb for women at pregnancy. Thus, although an extremely safe herb and food, milk thistle is recommended against women who are pregnant or lactating largely due to the lack of data and our ignorance.

Milk Thistle Protects Liver Function

As a mild food and herb, milk thistle's anecdotes and folklores may not be as fancy and splendid as those of ginseng or ginkgo. Unlike the latter two herbs, milk tistle is strictly non-Asian, and has been used in the regions surrounding the Mediterranean. Medicinal efficacies of milk thistle fruits and seeds for protecting the liver and helping with various ailments associated with liver function have been known and exploited for more than two thousand years, even before the preparation methods for standardized extracts were available. 

http://www.healingdaily.com/liver-detoxification/milk-thistle-for-liver-detoxification.htm

Friday, November 2, 2012

GMO FOODS

I believe we should all have the right to know what we buy and eat, please make your voice count. I found a great article that explains the harmful effects of GMO Foods.


The first lifetime feeding study assessing the health risks of GM foods has confirmed that genetically engineered foods are harmful. The results of this 2-year long study were published online on 19th September.
In the study, rats were fed genetically engineered corn that is being sold in the US for last two years. Scientists found that rats that were fed genetically engineered corn, the test group that is, developed tumors and many other serious health problems.
The scientists made the following observations:
  • Mortality rate of female rats in all treated groups was significantly higher than the subjects in the control group
  • The mammary glands in females that were fed genetically engineered cord developed faster than subjects in the control group. Also, the size of the mammary gland in female rats in all treated groups was bigger than those in control groups
  • The hormonal balance in females in all treated groups was altered
  • Male rats in all treated groups recorded up to 5.5 times higher instances of necrosis and liver congestion
  • Male rats that were fed genetically engineered corn recorded up to 2.3 higher instances of severe kidney nephropathies
  • Male rats in target groups recorded significantly large number of tumors than rats in the controlled group
  • Both male and female rats in all treated groups recorded substantial kidney chronic deficiencies

 Why abnormalities are not being observed in humans
The average life expectancy for Americans is approximately 80 years. Rats, on the other hand, live for only 2 to 3 years. So, it is natural that the effects of GM-foods are visible in rats long before they start appearing in humans. GM foods are only a decade old. According to experts, it will be many years before we see the proof of harmful effects of GM foods on humans.
Animal studies have consistently demonstrated the dangerous effects of GM foods. The effect of GM foods on humans cannot be seen right now because we have not been eating these foods for long enough. So, what should we do? Do we wait until the negative effects of GM foods start appearing in humans, which can be decades from now?
Animal studies, this two-year long study being the latest one, suggest that we handle the issue of GM foods now. If we wait, it may just be too late.
Biotech companies’ claim that GM foods are safe is a weak one
In their defense, the biotech companies mention various peer-reviewed studies and other studies that have found GM foods to be safe.
It is true that hundreds of peer-reviewed scientific studies, including many feeding studies, have found GM foods to be safe. However, what is also true, and of utmost concern, is that all these studies, including the feeding studies cited by biotech companies, inexplicably had too short a time frame to record any abnormalities.

All studies cited by biotech companies were small-term studies, the longest lasting just 90 days. While the adverse effects of GM foods on rats in all longer studies were not recorded until a few months. In long-duration studies, such as the aforementioned two year study, the real onslaught of diseases happened from the 13th month onwards, although male rats started showing signs of severe kidney and liver damage from the fourth month itself. In the case of females, signs of kidney and liver damage were seen as early as in the sixth month.
With damaging effects of GM foods taking at least 4 months to surface in animal subjects, it is no wonder then that the 90-days long feeding studies did not record any harmful effects of GM foods. Maybe these studies were not meant to record any harmful effects and that is why they were completed so quickly.
Why GM foods serve no good purpose
GM foods, we were told, will help eradicate world hunger. However, it does not solve any problem, least of all world hunger. On the other hand, it can cause severe, irreversible health problems.
Genetically engineered foods are also responsible for development of resistant weeds and pests; increased pathogenic virulence; degradation of soil quality; reduced nutrient content in food; exponential rise in infertility and birth defects; and reduced crop yields.
According to the International Assessment of Agriculture Knowledge, Science and Technology of Development, GM foods does not contribute in any way to the goals of decreasing hunger, improving health, nutrition, and rural livelihoods and helping environmental stability and social stability.
The solution to world hunger, experts agree unanimously, lies in increasing sustainable agriculture and biodiversity.
Passing Proposition 37 can increase sustainable agriculture
The importance of passing the California Right to Know Genetically Engineered Foods Act, or Proposition 37, cannot be emphasized enough. If it is passed, manufacturers will not be able to market or label genetically modified foods or foods that contain genetically engineered ingredients as “all natural” or “natural”.
This law will give us the power to reject GE-tainted foods. Most of us, if not all, don’t want GE foods. The problem, however, is that we have no way of knowing which food is GE-tainted and which is not. All this can change- but for that to happen, we must support Proposition 37.
This law has the potential to trigger change throughout the country. Once this law is passed, all large companies will have to change the label on their GE-tainted foods in other states as well. They are unlikely to take the risk of selling GE-tainted foods as “all-natural” or “natural” when the same products will be sold in California as genetically engineered.
The fight, natural health activists warn, will be tough, and is between the will of people who want to live healthy, and powerful million-dollar companies.
If you care for your health and that of your family and the coming generations, now is the time to get involved and contribute to a good cause.
Choose wisely, choose organic.
http://www.bewellbuzz.com/featured/gm-foods/