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Monday, November 22, 2010
Black rice is anti-cancer super food
Today black rice is mainly used in Asia for food decoration, noodles,
sushi and desserts.
sushi and desserts.
Black rice - revered in ancient China but overlooked in the West -
could be the greatest 'superfoods', according to research done by
scientists from Louisiana State University.
The cereal is low in sugar but packed with healthy fibre and plant
compounds that combat heart disease and cancer, say experts.
Scientists from Louisiana State University analysed samples of bran
from black rice grown in the southern US They found boosted levels of
water-soluble anthocyanin antioxidants.
Anthocyanins provide the dark colours of many fruits and vegetables,
such as blueberries and red peppers. They are what makes black rice
'black'.
Research suggests that the dark plant antioxidants, which mop up
harmful molecules, can help protect arteries and prevent the DNA
damage that leads to cancer.
Food scientist Dr Zhimin Xu said: 'Just a spoonful of black rice bran
contains more health promoting anthocyanin antioxidants than are found
in a spoonful of blueberries, but with less sugar, and more fibre and
vitamin E antioxidants.
"If berries are used to boost health, why not black rice and black
rice bran? Especially, black rice bran would be a unique and
economical material to increase consumption of health-promoting
antioxidants."
Centuries ago black rice was known as 'Forbidden Rice' in ancient
China because only nobles were allowed to eat it.
Today black rice is mainly used in Asia for food decoration, noodles,
sushi and desserts.
But food manufacturers could potentially use black rice bran or bran
extracts to make breakfast cereals, beverages, cakes, biscuits and
other foods healthier, said Dr Xu.
When rice is processed, millers remove the outer layers of the grains
to produce brown rice or more refined white rice - the kind most
widely consumed in the West.
Brown rice is said to be more nutritious because it has higher levels
of healthy vitamin E compounds and antioxidants.
But according to Dr Xu's team, varieties of rice that are black or
purple in colour are healthier still.
They added that black rice could also be used to provide healthier,
natural colourants. Studies linked some artificial colourants to
cancer and behavioural problems in children.
The scientists presented their findings today at the 240th National
Meeting of the American Chemical Society in Boston.
Victoria Taylor, senior dietician at the British Heart Foundation,
said: 'In reality, it's unlikely there's a single food out there that
will have a great impact on lowering your risk of heart disease.
Healthy eating is about a balanced diet overall.
"It's great if you can eat more of some groups of healthy foods, like
having five portions of fruit and veg a day, but there is still no
conclusive evidence that 'super foods' alone make a real difference to
your heart health."
Source: Daily Mail
Published Aug 28 2010
IS YOUR SEX LIFE KILLING YOU?
Sex feels good, and the proper amount of sex can help maintain physical and emotional health. But balance is the key. Both having too little or too much sex can lead to unhealthy conditions. Let us look at the effects of too much sex, too little sex, and what the proper amounts should be based on your age and condition.How Much Sex Is Too Much? The theories of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) warn that a man who engages in too much sex can become what is known as "kidney jing deficient." Jing is a term that refers to the body's essential fluids, distilled by the kidneys from what we eat and drink. The kidneys are thought of as the body's "batteries" and the place where jing is stored. Chinese health theory suggests we are actually equipped with enough jing (life essence) to live 120 years. The problem is we exhaust this essence through poor diet, lack of rest, lack of exercise, the effects of stress, disease and… an unhealthy amount of sex. Signs and symptoms of kidney jing deficiency include a weakening of the bones, hair loss, a graying of facial color, loosening or loss of teeth, soreness in the lower back, weakness of the legs (particularly behind the knees), poor memory, loss of libido, impotence and a general lack of sexual desire. If you are suffering from any of these signs and symptoms, perhaps you should consider if too much sex is killing you… or at least weakening you. With too frequent ejaculation, jing (semen, the essence of pure fluids and life energy) is depleted from the body. Moreover, as a man passes middle age, the excessive loss of jing can cause the disastrous effects described above. Like contact sports, sex is a young man's game. Middle aged and older men need to retain their jing (semen essence) and ejaculate less frequently. (There is an entire art in Yogic and Taoist traditions of men learning to come to orgasm while not releasing a single drop of semen. (More on this in another article) Two-thousand years ago Su Nu Jing, the classic text on TCM, was published. It advised how much sex/ejaculations are safe for a man to have. For example, a healthy 20-year-old can ejaculate twice per day with no adverse effects. Also, to maintain proper health, the 20-year-old should have a minimum of one ejaculation every four days. The following chart suggests the sex guidelines from that classic text:
Of course, these are rough guidelines set forth within the theories of TCM. This gives you an idea of the frequency a man should have sex in order to maintain good health and balanced emotions. The average 20-year-old male who is engaging in masturbation three times a day is probably overdoing it. This could possibly affect his grades (poor memory) or affect his tennis match (with weak knees and sore low back). If you are a 40-year-old executive thinking of having that affair with the 24-year old-intern, you might want to consider if you are in good enough health to survive an extramarital affair. You could wind up suffering from hair loss, aging of the face, low back soreness, weak legs, poor memory, loss of libido, impotence and lack of sexual desire that could cost you your career and your health… not to mention your marriage (if applicable). How Much Sex Is Too Little? Keep in mind that no sex at all is unhealthy. Psychologically, it can cause resentment, depression and anxiety. Sex is important for relationships, not just emotionally, but for the organ systems as well. Ladies, when men tell you they feel like they are dying from lack of sex, it's partially true. In reality, the choked up emotions and lack of connection can cause him to suffer what is known in TCM as liver qi stagnation. According to TCM theory, the liver functions to move the qi (life energy) freely in the body. So, liver qi stagnation is a pathogenic flow of qi manifesting in some of the following signs and symptoms: feeling of distension in the chest and hypochondrium, sighing, hiccup, melancholy, depression, moodiness, unhappiness and feeling of a lump in the throat. Often the etiology of this syndrome includes emotional problems, a state of anger, frustration and/or resentment. If this condition persists it can grow into what is called liver fire. The signs and symptoms associated with liver fire include irritability, anger, shouting, ringing in the ears, temporal headache, bitter taste in the mouth, dream disturbed sleep, a red face and red eyes. This is the result of long-standing emotional states of anger, resentment or frustration. This can cause problems like high blood pressure, tinnitus, insomnia, migraine headache and the like. Good sexual relations are a part of good health. Overdoing it can be detrimental to health, and so can too little of it. My advice: Be happy and be wise in the ways of lovemaking. —Dr. Mark Weily |
Sunday, November 21, 2010
HOMOCYSTEINE AMINO ACID REAL CAUSE OF HEART DISEASE
By Dr C.S. FOO
Cholesterol has always been painted as the bad guy in heart disease, but the real troublemaker may be something else.
IN the history of mankind, wars have been waged throughout the centuries.
Behind every conflict, there is always an initiator that provokes revolt or annihilation, and sets the stage for battle.
There will also be the collaborators who fan the fires of discord, and the rebels who fight for the cause.
Hidden instigator: Meat is a rich source of homocysteine, as are eggs and dairy products.
Certainly, there has never been a battle without collateral damage.
In the chronicles of war within the body, cholesterol is the unwitting rebel.
In its attempt to patch up the wounds of arterial damage, it itself is drawn into a web of deceit, which – with the help of other collaborators – sets ablaze the fires of inflammation within artery walls.
As this waxy agent becomes involved in the complex formation of atherosclerosis (the forerunner of heart disease), the good work cholesterol does in maintaining cell membrane integrity, keeping hormones in balance, and sustaining cellular functions goes unnoticed.
Instead of being the good guy, cholesterol has gained notoriety as the bad guy of heart disease.
In order to keep our body functioning, the network of waterways known as the arteries need to be kept open and clear to deliver nutrients, oxygen, hormones and other essential substances to the organs.
If blood supply is cut off, organs will perish – and so will the body's owner.
Fruity prowess: The seed of red grapes are said to prevent the oxidation of LDL-cholesterol.
One such organ is the heart, but what happens here can occur elsewhere as well.
In my previous article (Cholesterol: Friend or Foe?, StarTwo, Oct 6), I discussed the role of cholesterol in the development of heart disease.
I noted that it is not just the overall cholesterol levels that are important, but more crucially, the levels of LDL-cholesterol.
We now know that as LDL-cholesterol becomes oxidised, it literally "sticks" under the inner lining of arterial walls, forming a fatty sludge that sets off inflammation.
Specialised white blood cells, like an efficient army, try to clean up the mess.
But in the process, they cause much collateral damage, with the scars of battle showing up as fibrosis and hardening of the artery walls, thus, paving the way for high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke.
The real culprit
To reduce the casualties of war, the real instigators of unrest should be unmasked and neutralised. In this case, it is the troublemaker called homocysteine.
This amino acid has been identified as a key initiator of atherosclerosis, and has been proposed as the mastermind behind heart disease and stroke.
Eggs, meat and dairy products are rich sources of homocysteine, which is an intermediate product of protein metabolism.
The body further breaks it down to a form (cysteine) that can be utilised, through certain enzymes with the help of vitamins B6, B12 and folic acid.
Excessive levels of homocysteine (as a result of a high protein diet, deficient vitamins or a genetic enzyme defect) can irritate the inner lining of artery walls, thereby preparing these sites for plaque formation.
It appears that homocysteine is not the direct cause of heart disease, but it orchestrates the chain of events behind the scene, like a puppet master.
And the fall guy is, undoubtedly, our misunderstood friend (or foe) cholesterol.
In his book The Homocysteine Revolution, Harvard University pathologist Dr Kilmer S. McCully reveals his research on children with genetically high homocysteine levels in the late 1960s.
Upon performing autopsies on these children after their deaths, he found that they had advanced atherosclerosis.
After much intensive study and research of past cases, he made the provocative suggestion that homocysteine may have been the cause of damage to arteries and triggered the atherosclerosis.
This did not go down well in the medical community as much research was focused on anti–cholesterol treatment.
Going against the grain cost him his job and research grant, and his research was largely forgotten.
However, over the last 20 years, there has been a resurgence of interest in his work as other scientists looked at the link between homocysteine and cardiovascular diseases.
Harvard professor Dr Meir Stamfer studied data collected on 15,000 participants in the Physician's Health Study (reported in the Journal Of The American Medical Association, 1992), which supported the association of mildly elevated homocysteine levels and heart disease.
Subsequently, many studies have confirmed homocysteine as a predictive marker of heart disease, stroke and peripheral artery disease.
At present, there are a few ongoing large, randomised trials in the United States and Canada, studying the impact of lowering homocysteine levels on the incidences of heart attack and stroke.
However, despite having such a prime suspect for the role of instigator, the verdict is not certain. Some say it is guilty; others think it deserves a "fair" trial.
In the meantime, its clandestine operation of provoking heart disease goes on.
Damage control
As the development of atherosclerosis involves homocysteine, the oxidation of "bad" (LDL–cholesterol) and subsequent arterial inflammation, there is much research that can be done from a nutritional point of view.
How else can one interrupt the cycle of oxidation and inflammation?
Antioxidants are known to quench the ravages of free radicals.
Vitamin E, in particular, has been likened to a bodyguard travelling in the same vehicle carrying cholesterol from the liver to the tissues; thus, offering protection to the LDL-cholesterol from being oxidised.
Much has been written about the protective benefits of red wine as it contains certain antioxidants.
OPC (oligomeric proanthocyanidins) belongs to a class of nutrients called flavanoids, which is extracted from the seeds of red grapes.
This grape seed extract is said to benefit the heart by preventing the oxidation of LDL-cholesterol.
A word of caution though; swallowing a bowl of seeds is not in the best interest of the bowels, as seeds cannot be digested.
The role of omega-3 fish oil in preventing heart disease is well documented. Taking high-quality fish oil can reduce the chances of a heart attack by at least 20%.
Omega-3 is an essential fatty acid that has anti-clotting and anti-inflammatory effects – working like a fireman dousing the flames of inflammation.
Niacin (vitamin B3) has been shown to increase HDL-cholesterol. High doses can, however, cause troublesome flushing symptoms.
Recent research has suggested that low levels of sunshine (vitamin D) has been linked to a higher risk of heart disease, and most people are deficient in this area.
Oats contain many nutritious and healthy ingredients. Among the various types of oats, a logical choice is rolled oats, which does not need prolonged cooking.
In fact, soaking it for 10 minutes offers a slightly chewy meal, but if left overnight in the refrigerator, it turns into tasty porridge.
A wave of interest swept across the world when the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved food claims that oats reduce heart risks.
This grain can reduce LDL-cholesterol through beta-glucan (soluble fibre found in oat bran) and avenenthramide, which has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory functions.
If, despite sound nutritional and healthy lifestyle measures, your cholesterol – in particular, the LDL-cholesterol – remains elevated, then lowering it by pharmaceutical means to a target level is a therapeutic goal.
The main message here is not to abandon anti-cholesterol treatment if prescribed by your doctor, but to adopt preventive actions at the same time.
A group of drugs that effectively lower cholesterol is popularly called the statins.
In high doses, apart from potentially raising liver enzymes, side effects like muscle weakness can occur.
The statin blocks the enzyme that produces cholesterol, but also blocks the synthesis of coenzyme Q10.
Understanding the cause of heart disease carries the hope that we can avoid or postpone that massive bang in the chest!
The big question is: When do we start to take action? Before or after we get the disease?
Even the less informed would agree that practising a healthy lifestyle should start early.
Sadly, many are oblivious to the "war within our bodies" and need a wake-up call to take heed. Indeed, some unfortunate people will never get a second chance!
Dr C.S. Foo is a medical practitioner. Visit www.thestar.com.my60 YEARS OLD
Many people feel unhappy, health-wise and security-wise, after 60 years of age owing to the diminishing importance given to them and their opinion. But it need not be so, if only we understand the basic principles of life and follow them scrupulously. Here are ten mantras to age gracefully and make life after retirement pleasant.
2. Health is wealth: If you really love your kith and kin, taking care of your health should be your priority. Thus, you will not be a burden to them. Have an annual health check-up and take the prescribed medicines regularly. Do take health insurance cover.
3. Money is important: Money is essential for meeting the basic necessities of life, keeping good health and earning family respect and security. Don't spend beyond your means even for your children. You have lived for them all through and it is time you enjoyed a harmonious life with your spouse. If your children are grateful and they take care of you, you are blessed. But never take it for granted.
4. Relaxation and recreation: The most relaxing and recreating forces are a healthy religious attitude, good sleep, music and laughter. Have faith in God, learn to sleep well, love good music and see the funny side of life.
5. Time is precious: It is almost like holding a horse's reins. When they are in your hands, you can control them. Imagine that everyday you are born again. Yesterday is a cancelled cheque. Tomorrow is a promissory note. Today is ready cash — use it profitably. Live this moment.
6. Change is the only permanent thing: We should accept change — it is inevitable. The only way to make sense out of change is to join the dance. Change has brought about many pleasant things. We should be happy that our children are blessed.
7. Enlightened selfishness: All of us are basically selfish. Whatever we do, we expect something in return. We should definitely be grateful to those who stood by us. But our focus should be on the internal satisfaction and happiness we derive by doing good to others, without expecting anything in return.
8. Forget and forgive: Don't be bothered too much about others' mistakes. We are not spiritual enough to show our other cheek when we are slapped in one. But for the sake of our own health and happiness, let us forgive and forget them. Otherwise, we will be only increasing our BP.
9. Everything has a purpose: Take life as it comes. Accept yourself as you are and also accept others for what they are. Everybody is unique and right in his own way.
10. Overcome the fear of death: We all know that one day we have to leave this world. Still we are afraid of death. We think that our spouse and children will be unable to withstand our loss. But the truth is no one is going to die for you; they may be depressed for some time. Time heals everything and they will carry on.
Friday, November 19, 2010
BEETROOT JUICE
Drinking beetroot juice dramatically lowers risk of heart disease and strokes
By Sophie Borland
You'll look a little bloodthirsty while slurping it down.
But don't let that put you off beetroot juice - because it could save your life.
The bright-red juice contains the chemical nitrate, which dramatically reduces blood pressure, cutting the risk of heart disease and strokes.
Dramatic effect: Patients who drank a glass of beetroot juice a day were found to have significantly reduce blood pressure 24 hours later
Patients who drank a glass of beetroot juice a day were found to have significantly lower blood pressure just 24 hours later.
The findings, published in Hypertension, the journal of the American Heart Association, could now see beetroot juice being used as a treatment.
Researchers at William Harvey Research Institute at Queen Mary University in London compared patients who were given a 250ml glass of beetroot juice a day with those who took nitrate tablets.
They found that the two methods were equally successful in reducing blood pressure.
The researchers concluded that the nitrates which naturally occur in beetroot are the cause of its beneficial effects.
They produce a gas known as nitric oxide in the blood which widens blood vessels and arteries and lowers blood pressure.
High blood pressure, or hypertension, affects 16million Britons - one in five - and is a major risk factor for heart disease, stroke and kidney failure.
Amrita Ahluwalia, Professor of Vascular Biology at the William Harvey Research Insti tute, said: 'We showed that beetroot and nitrate capsules are equally effective in lowering blood pressure indicating that it is the nitrate content of beetroot juice that underlies its potential to reduce blood pressure
'We also found that only a small amount of juice is needed - just 250ml - to have this effect, and that the higher the blood pressure at the start of the study the greater the decrease caused by the nitrate.
'Our previous study two years ago found that drinking beetroot juice lowered blood pressure; now we know how it works.'
Scientists have already showed how drinking beetroot juice can boost stamina.
Last year researchers from the University of Exeter and Peninsula Medical School found that it could have as much effect as a punishing training regime.
They found that healthy young men were able to increase their stamina by up to 16 per cent after drinking a glass of beetroot juice for a week.
Beetroot juice is found in most health food shops and usually costs around £2 a bottle.
Though very good for your body, it has one rather alarming side-effect.
Those who consume large amounts are likely to experience purple urine, or beeturia as it is known to scientists.
PAPAYA JUICE TO FIGHT CANCER
Papaya was the only studied food found to halt breast cancer |
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