Focus On Health Research

Eating Red Meat Daily Increases Risk of Dying Young, Says Study

2012-09-17T20:21:00.000-07:00

A US study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine had shown that eating a portion of processed red meat daily can increased a person’s risk of dying young.

“This study provides clear evidence that regular consumption of red meat, especially processed meat, contributes substantially to premature death,” said Frank Hu, the lead author of the study.

Researchers based their findings from a study involving 37,698 men who were monitored and tracked for 28 years. Subjects answered the survey form about their eating habits. Those who regularly consumed a card-deck-sized of unprocessed red meat each day saw a 13 percent higher risk of dying young than those who did not consume red meat as frequently.

The researchers added that between 7 and 9 percent of all deaths ”could be prevented if all the participants consumed fewer than 0.5 servings per day of total red meat.”

Previous research published have offered evidence of processed red meat containing carcinogenic ingredients such as saturated fat, sodium, nitrites that are linked to many chronic diseases including heart disease and cancer.

Diesel Exhaust Can Cause Cancer - WHO

2012-06-14T22:15:00.000-07:00

The World Health Organization rules on Tuesday that diesel fumes are classified as carcinogen substances. The ruling also said that diesel exhaust is a public health comparable to the risk if people are exposed to second hand smoke.

According to Kurt Straif, director of the International Agency for Research on Cancer, "It's on the same order of magnitude as passive smoking...This could be another big push for countries to clean up exhaust from diesel engines."

The last time IARC declared the status of diesel fumes was in 1989 when it was categorized a "probable" carcinogen. Raising the status of diesel exhaust to carcinogenic puts it into the same category as other known hazards such as asbestos, alcohol and ultraviolet radiation.

Diet High In Potassium Lowers Risk Of Stroke, Study Says

2011-09-05T01:48:00.000-07:00

A study , published and reported in the journal Stroke , says that people who eat high -potassium foods maybe less likely to suffer a stroke than those whose diet has little of the mineral.

Findings of the study comes from an analysis of 10 international studies involving middle-aged and older adults participants.. Of the 270,000 study participants, 8,695 or about one in 30- suffered a stroke. But a drop in stroke risk was observed with each 1,000 mg. increase in daily potassium with factors such as age, exercise habits and smoking taken into account.

"Dietary potassium intake is inversely associated with risk of stroke," wrote Susanna Larsson, lead researcher from Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden.

Potassium is a mineral needed for the body's fluid balance, and is also involved in nerve and muscle control, and blood pressure regulation. High potassium foods include a variety of fruits and vegetables, beans and dairy products. The findings adds another reason for people to eat more high potassium foods , the lead researcher told Reuters Health thru email.

Sugar: Sweet And Dangerous

2011-08-24T02:39:00.000-07:00

Most people do not realize how much sugar and sugar-rich foods we now eat.Few also have properly appreciated the harmful effects that can come from overloading our diet with sugar.

During the past years, research workers and studies from different countries have compared the effect, both in laboratory animals and in human subjects, of diets either with starch or with sugars. Some of the results from these studies : Sugar produces an increase in the blood in the amount of cholesterol, triglyceride (neutral fat), uric acid and at least two hormones, insulin and cortisol; Sugar produces a diminished glucose tolerance - that is , a dose of glucose taken by mouth causes an abnormally high and prolonged rise of the glucose in the blood, this is the main characteristics of diabetes; The liver and the kidney are enlarged; the kidney and the retina of the eye undergo abnormal changes as the same sort of way they do in diabetes.

These effects of sugar suggest that it is involved not only in producing diabetes but also in producing illness in other parts and organs of our body.

Cigarette Smoking Linked To Leukemia, Study Shows

2011-02-02T01:04:00.000-08:00

Tobacco use has been strongly linked to many diseases, including heart disease, bronchitis, emphysema, and roughly one-third of all human cancers. It has been estimated that smoking is responsible for : 90% of all deaths from lung cancer ; 80% of all deaths from cancer of the larynx ; 78% of all deaths from esophageal cancer ; 48% of all deaths from kidney cancer ; and 17% of all deaths from stomach cancer ( H.B Simon : Staying well : your complete guide to disease prevention). Here’s one study that linked smoking to an increased incidence of leukemia.

A group of 610 patients, all newly diagnosed with acute leukemia, were compared with 618 healthy matched controls to detect the influence of cigarette smoking on leukemia risk. It was found that, for persons over 60, those who had ever smoked were at a two-fold higher risk of developing acute leukemia. For the particular sub-type of leukemia known as acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL), smoking cigarettes increased the relative risk 3.4-fold among those over 60. However, the trends were not true for persons under 60 years of age. The discrepancy between older and younger person is unknown. It may be because there are simply too few cases of acute leukemia in younger person to detect the risk, researchers said. Nevertheless, the conclusion says that smoking can increase the risk of developing acute leukemia.

High Intake of Carotenoids Associated With Decreased Risk of Cancer, Study

2011-01-28T00:12:00.000-08:00

A variety of published studies show that a high carotenoid intake is directly related to a decreased risk of cancer. The carotenoids are the pigments that give vegetables such as carrots, squash, and tomatoes their bright colors. All yellow and orange fruits and dark-green leafy vegetables have these compounds. Carotenoids were first discovered in carrots, which is how they got their name.

High dietary intake of carotenoids is known to result in high concentrations of carotenes in the bloodstream. A large study of the effect of beta-carotene in cancer prevention was reported in the American Journal of Nutrition (1991 : v.53, 2605-2645). This study involved 25,802 volunteers in rural Washington County, Maryland, representing about 30% of the population of the the whole country. Blood samples were carefully drawn and kept frozen during a follow-up period of more than 10 years. A total of 436 people developed cancer in this interval. The cancer cases were matched to 765 controls of the same age, then all of the case and control serum samples were analyzed, with a focus on cancers of the colon, rectum, pancreas, lung, skin, breast, prostate, and bladder.

Results of the study showed the ff: High serum beta-carotene levels showed a strong protective effect for lung cancer, and a somewhat weaker protective effect for melanoma and bladder cancer. High levels of serum lycopene, another major carotenoid, were strongly associated with a reduced risk of pancreatic cancer and less strongly associated with protection from bladder and rectal cancer. The study shows a reduced risk of cancers, particularly lung cancer, with increasing consumption of beta-carotene, researchers concluded.

Menopause And Hormonal Imbalance

2011-01-05T01:20:00.000-08:00

Menopause is not an estrogen deficiency disease, and adding estrogen to the body of a menopausal woman is asking for problems, according to Dr. John R. Lee, the leading authority on the use of natural progesterone to balance hormones and popular author of What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Menopause.

Dr. Lee explains what happens when a woman has an imbalance of hormones characterized by excess estrogen and not enough progesterone. The author informs that estrogen levels only drop 0 to 60 percent at menopause but progesterone levels may drop to near zero in some women resulting to hormonal imbalance, which he termed as “estrogen dominance.” In other words, it is not an estrogen excess per se that causes estrogen dominance but too much estrogen relative to not enough progesterone.

According to Dr. Lee , estrogen is not the hormone most women need to be taking for menopausal symptoms as this will do most women more harm than good, making them feel great for a few months and then dropping them into a kind of permanent postmenopausal PMS. Dr. Lee also talks about the benefits of supplementing the body with natural progesterone in the form of a cream. Because progesterone is fat soluble, it is easily absorbed through the skin. The cream can be rubbed anywhere on the body, but areas where the skin is thin, such as the palms, inner arms, sides of the torso, and upper inner thighs, are probably best.

Osteoporosis And HRT

2010-12-15T01:32:00.000-08:00

Is osteoporosis an estrogen deficiency disease? Can it be cured with estrogen replacement therapy? The following results of a very large study has shown otherwise.

The study published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 1995 analyzed the risk fractures in white women. It followed over 9,500 women for eight years. Findings showed no benefit in estrogen supplementation in women over the age of sixty-five.

Dr. John Lee, author of “What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Menopause,” pointed out that the most important factor in osteoporosis is the lack of progesterone hormone, which drops much more at menopause than estrogen does. Dr. Lee who has an extensive clinical experience , says that with diet and lifestyle and the use of a natural progesterone cream, it will actively increase bone mass density and can reverse osteoporosis. After treating hundreds of patients with osteoporosis over a period of fifteen years, Dr. Lee found that those women with the lowest bone densities experienced the greatest relative improvement, and those who had good bone density to begin with , maintained their strong bones.

Genes And Breast Cancer Risk

2010-12-15T01:12:00.000-08:00

Is there evidence for cancer proneness? It has been known for many years that a maternal history of breast cancer is a major breast cancer risk factor. This suggests that although many factors interact to increase or decrease breast cancer risk, genes and the family history are important in determining breast cancer proneness.

One study followed 20,341 women for six years, to determine whether they showed any evidence of unusual proneness to breast cancer. Results showed that women were about twice as likely to develop breast cancer if their mothers had the disease (Cancer, v.64 ; 1989 ; 582-590). If two or more close relatives were afflicted with breast cancer, a woman is four to six times more likely to develop the disease. Cancer risk is heightened if several close relatives developed breast cancer at an early age, or if the cancer affected both breasts. Based on the findings of the study, the hereditary component of risk is likely to induce breast cancer at a relatively young age. Excess risk declines with increasing age of the relative at diagnosis.

Thus, for the most common case of a woman whose mother had unilateral breast cancer diagnosed after the age of 60, the risk of breast cancer is only about 40% higher than that for the rest of the population.

Lipo Or Dieting ?

2010-12-10T00:48:00.000-08:00

A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine (June 17,2004) found that liposuction, although it removes excess fat under the skin, doesn’t provide all the added benefits of weight loss through dietary changes.

Researchers study 15 obese women with excess abdominal fat, measured risk factors such as insulin sensitivity, heart disease, including blood pressure and cholesterol levels before the study starts. These tests were repeated ten to twelve weeks after liposuction.

Findings of the study showed that lipo removes fat cells under the skin but doesn’t reduce the fat that accumulates in other tissues, such as the liver, muscles, and around the heart. Researchers said that this may be the reason why lipo doesn’t share the same benefit as diet-induced weight loss.

Asbestos Exposure And Mesothelioma

2010-12-10T00:10:00.000-08:00

Asbestos has been recognized as a public health hazard. Thanks to the efforts of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to regulate public exposure to asbestos, the incidence of asbestosis, a lung scarring disease, has been declining in the United States for nearly 40 years.

The relationship between asbestos and lung cancer is well known, what is not widely reported is the link between asbestos and a rare form of cancer called mesothelioma. A study published in the British Journal Industrial Med. (1988:v.45:182-187) has shown that mesotheliomas occur in men exposed to asbestos in the workplace, or occasionally in family members who either live near asbestos mines or are exposed to asbestos fibers brought home on clothing.

The study involved a group of 17,800 male asbestos insulation workers in the United States and Canada, was followed from 1967 until 1986. During this period, 356 of the men died of malignant mesothelioma. Mesothelioma affects the membranes, or pleura, lining the cavities of the thorax and abdomen. In this study, the average period between first exposure to asbestos and a diagnosis of mesothelioma is 35 to 40 years, with most deaths occurring in patients well over 60 years of age.

Ways To Reduce Heartburn

2010-12-09T01:36:00.000-08:00

As you probably know heartburn’s real medical name is gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD. Symptoms include a burning, acidic feeling in your belly, caustic burps, and the occasional hiccups. Sometimes, you’ll hear it called indigestion or acid indigestion.

There are a few things that you can do to lessen the symptoms of heartburn, says Robert Jay Rowen, M.D., a holistic physician at the Complementary Medicine Center in Anchorage, Alaska, and a pioneer in the effort to have alternative medicine recognized in Alaska.

Number one, slow down at mealtime. Eating too much food too quickly doesn’t give your digestive system time to get in gear. Chew your food about 40 times before swallowing, says Dr. Rowen. The second thing you can do is back off the coffee and spicy food for a while. If you need a caffeine, get it from tea, which is less caustic to your innards. You can also make a tea from ginger. Ginger is a powerful stomach soother. Finely chop or grate 1 teaspoon of fresh ginger, put it in a mug, and fill the mug with boiling water. Cover the mug with a saucer and steep for 10 minutes. Let it cool slightly, then sip it slowly.

Being overweight or pregnant can be a factor, too, as the extra pound below pushes on your stomach, forcing acid up into the esophagus. That said, if your heartburn persist on a daily basis, make an appointment to see your doctor to rule out anything serious, such as an ulcer or esophageal cancer. Increased pain often signifies that something else is wrong, advised Dr. Rowen. (The Doctors Book of Herbal Remedies, p.265).

What Causes Ashma?

2010-12-05T18:33:00.000-08:00

“Ashma” means panting, a lung condition that owes it’s name to it’s predominant clinical symptoms, shortness of breath. Because of oxygen deficiency, the asthmatic is compelled to force air into his lungs.

Exactly what causes ashma is not yet fully understood. For many years doctors were certain that in all cases ashma was an illness of allergic nature. Some substance – pollen, dust, even tiny particles of one’s own skin – were thought to play the role of touching off excessive secretion of histamine. This histamine, although a perfectly natural substance created the insupportable ill feelings ashmatics suffer from.

But a study carried out in a Californian clinic would seem to indicate that ashma is not always caused by an allergy. American specialists have noted that the attacks of ashma are provoked by factors which have nothing to do with any allergy. They can be caused by physical exercise, hearty laughter, particularly strong emotions, a passing irritation of the air tubes, a change in the temperature of the air breathed in, particularly if the change is towards colder.

According to the American researchers, it would seem that these various phenomena which touch off ashma attacks cause a constriction of the bronchial tubes. The walls of those tubes retract and their muscular movement, once it has begun, continues to amplify. This is what causes the growing ill feeling of the asthmatic.

The Anti-Stress Vitamin : Vitamin B5

2010-12-03T01:36:00.000-08:00

Pantothenic acid, also known as Vitamin B5 is a member of the Vitamin B complex family. It was discovered in 1938 by a brilliant biochemist, Dr. Roger J. Williams. Dr. Williams and the other research groups that follow after him, have found that panthothenic acid certainly improves endurance and strength, which is why super achieving athletes love it.

Benefits discovered of this B5 vitamin are : Pantothenic acid boosts the auto-immune system, and protects against serious illness or infections ; It helps repair exhausted adrenal glands ; improves our capacity to handle stress ; relieves arthritis and all allergic conditions; gradually restores color to graying hair. Quite an impressive list for a vitamin, which in the words of it’s discoverer, Dr. Williams was left languishing unnoticed for thirty years before anyone realized it’s full potential.’

One English study, reported in the medical journal Lancet, showed how dramatically pantothenic acid helped the adrenal glands. The Schizophrenia Association of Great Britain found that a high proportion of schizophrenics had impaired adrenal function and consequently low levels of testosterone, the male hormone. When pantothenic acid was given to the patients, adrenal function improved and there was ‘a considerable improvement in lassitude and depersonalization symptoms.’

Dr. Williams named it appropriately enough, after the Greek word meaning ‘everywhere,’ indicating that every cell and every muscle needs this nutrient. This nutrient is found in a wide variety of everyday foods. Best food sources are : cod’s roe, Royal Jelly, liver (calf and chicken), kidney (beef), peanuts, brains, mushrooms, soybean flour, eggs,oatmeal, sunflower seeds, cashews, salmon, turkey, chicken (dark meat).

If taken in supplement form, Dr. Williams believed that everyone would benefit from 50 mg taken with a Vitamin B complex and an all-round multi-vitamin.

Mental Stress Linked To Heart Disease, Study Says

2010-12-03T01:28:00.000-08:00

Research done by Dr. David S. Sheps, published in Circulation journal , linked mental stress to heart disease. Dr. Sheps said that mental stress is a very powerful rish factor for heart disease, comparable to what cigarette smoking or high cholesterol can affect on your heart health. He added that a chronic state of psychological stress from unreleased anger and bitterness tend to promote hardening of the arteries and raise uncontrolled blood pressure.

The study evaluated 196 participants who have heart abnormalities while they were made to believe some form of psychological stress in a hypothetical situation. The subjects were then given five minutes to vent out their anger.

Findings showed that one-fifth of angry patients had heart abnormalities as detected by the machine radionuclide angiogram. After five years, these patients were followed up and were found to be three times more likely to die.

Daytime Napping Can Predict Stroke Risk , Study

2010-11-26T00:23:00.000-08:00

Daytime drowsiness can show stroke risk, according to researchers from Columbia University led by Bernadette Boden-Albala.

Researchers asked 2,100 people, average age 73, how often they nodded off during the day, while watching TV, reading, sitting and talking to someone, sitting in traffic, or sitting quietly after lunch.

Results showed the following : Forty had strokes after 2 years and 127 had other blood vessel-related problems such as heart attacks or blood clots in the lungs. The chance of having a stroke were nearly five times greater among heavy dozers, and three times greater among occasional dozers compared with people who rarely dozed off. The odds of other vessel-related problems were higher too.

Benefits of Liquid Vitamins

2009-06-25T02:17:00.000-07:00

Vitamins and minerals can be absorbed by the body in a number of ways. They first enter our body through the food we eat. Secondly, we can take vitamin supplements to increase the amount of pertinent vitamins and minerals. There are different methods of taking medication and one of the most common methods is absorbing it in its liquid form. Do the advantages of liquid vitamins far outweigh its disadvantages – if there are any? Read on and find out.

Better or Easier Absorption for Kids

Although liquid vitamins may taste worse than vitamins in flavored, chewable tablet forms, they are however easier to absorb. There are numerous cases in which children have problems with choking, breathing and swallowing simply because of their inability to absorb medication or vitamins in this form.

This is the same problem as well for adults who have lost their ability to control their jaws or are unable to digest anything that is not in liquid form.

Liquid Vitamins are More Effective

Because of its form, liquid vitamins can be assimilated immediately into the blood stream for a more systemic administration of the vitamin and its average absorption rate is approximately 90 to 98%. It is also three to five times more concentrated than vitamin pills and this lead to higher bio-activity and greater therapeutic benefits.

The Link between Antioxidants and Liquid Vitamins

Have you ever wondered whether or not liquid vitamins contained oxidants as well? Vitamins E, C and A are examples of antioxidants and they are commonly found in vitamin supplements but what about liquid vitamins?

And the answer is an absolute YES. Liquid vitamins must in fact contain such antioxidants or they’ll prove to be ineffective compared to other vitamins. Remember that the most important of all antioxidants – Vitamins A, C and E – are not internally produced by the body so they must be a regular fixture in our diet. Antioxidants are our main defense against effects of damaging oxidation reactions. Antioxidants are our best weapons against suffering from any form of cancer. Without it, we are basically weaker and less healthy.

Liquid Vitamins versus Digestive Acids

One reason why people refuse to acknowledge the benefits of liquid vitamins is because of the supposed destruction by digestive acids of any vitamin or mineral that it does not recognize as part of the process of digestion. The opposite is, in fact true. Our digestive system actually prefers or is able to better absorb liquid vitamins and minerals rather than those made in pill or capsule form.

A vitamin pill or tablet has to be digested completely before it can benefit the human body. It must be broken down into absorbable nutrients or only up to thirty percent of it will be absorbed by the human body. Liquid vitamins however provide a better and easier solution for the digestive system. Because it does not depend in any way on mechanical digestion, an estimated 90% of it can be absorbed directly by the body.

It’s vital to remember that digestion does not mainly function to destroy vitamins and minerals but rather to transform them into substances it can use to improve the general constitution of the body.

Liquid Vitamins: Toxic or Not?

Another problem posed is the amount of colloidal minerals found in liquid vitamins. Are they harmful or not?

In truth, even plants and fruits contain a trace of such minerals in them. Apples, for instance, contain 3-5 mg of aluminum as it’s one of the most abundant elements that can be found in the surface of the Earth. But do you hear anyone telling you that apples are dangerous to your health? On the contrary, what we are more likely to hear is that an apple a day keeps the doctor away.

And so it must be with liquid vitamins as well. Containing a slight amount of colloidal mineral doesn’t mean it’s bad for our health right away. Colloidal minerals, are above all else, naturally occurring elements and can not therefore be avoided.

You Have a Choice

At the end of the day, however, it’s still up to you whether or not you wish to take vitamin supplements in liquid or solid form. What really matters is what you prefer and which will ultimately work better for you.

Scientists Found A Way To Reverse Memory Loss, Study

2008-08-05T02:21:00.000-07:00

Scientists who had been performing brain surgery on an obese man to suppress his appetite using deep brain stimulation, have accidentally discovered a way to reverse memory loss.

The study published in the Annals of Neurology (2008) reported that while the researchers were identifying potential points in his brain that controls appetite, the hypothalamus, that part of the brain associated with hunger the man suddenly began to say that memory was flooding back.

"He reported the experience of being in a park with friends from when he was around 20 years old and, as the intensity of stimulation increased, the details became more vivid. He recognized his girlfriend (from the time). The scene was in color. People werewearing identifiable clothes and were talking, but he could not decipher what they were saying," the study reported.

The result of the experiment surprised the scientists. Andres Lozano, a professor of neurosurgery at the Toronto Western Hospital, Ontario, who is leading the study said : "This is the first time that anyone has had electrodes implanted in the brain which have been shown to improve memory. We are driving the activity of the brain by increasing it's sensitivity - turning up the volume of the memory circuits. Any event that involves the memory circuits is more likely to be stored and stained."

Lozano, who is a known authority on deep brain stimulation, said the study "gives us insight into which brain structures are involved in memory. It gives us a means of intervening in the way we have already done in Parkinson's and for mood disorders such as depression, and it may have therapeutic benefit in people with memory problems."

Study Shows Genetic Causes of Schizophrenia

2008-06-22T20:11:00.000-07:00

A study reported in the magazine Science showed that multiple errors or deletions in a person's genetic code, or DNA, can lead to schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is a mental illness characterized by delusions, hallucinations, and disordered thinking. Today, it affects about one of every 100 people.

Scientists have long suspected that schizophrenia runs in families. What is surprising to the team who conducted the study is that they found strong evidence that it's usually not the same set of genes going bad in people who develop schizophrenia.

The scientists from the University of Washington and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory examined the DNA of 150 people with schizophrenia and compared what they found with the genetics of 268 people without the illness. Findings shows that people with schizophrenia had flaws in brain-related genes 15 percent of the time compared with 5 percent in healthy people. But it was never the same set of genes going bad.

"They were all different", said Mary-Claire King, a world renowned geneticist and co-authors on the report. "The standard dogma is that any complex trait (such as mental illness) is going to be caused by the cumulative effect of multiple common defects. But that's not what we found," said King. "The only way we could have found this was to look at the overall (genetic) profile," she added.

Those Who Keep Their Emotions In Check Are Healthier Than Those Who Vented, Study Says

2008-06-18T01:10:00.000-07:00

A study led by Mark Seery published in the June issue of the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology reveals that those who chose not to express themselves were generally healthier than those who vented. The result is against popular belief that we have to express what we feel all the time after common tragedies.

The study found out that people who did not choose to express how they feel after known tragic community episodes were better off in terms of their "post-traumatic stress symptoms, their physical health and generalized distress."

The study, however, did not include those who experienced direct personal loss of a family member or friend from the collective tragedy such as 9/11.

Health Threats From Burning Wood

2008-05-13T01:16:00.000-07:00

A lot has been written about the dangers of cigarette smoking and not enough information about the dangers of burning wood. Yet studies show many of the toxins found in tobacco smoke are the same found in smoke from burning wood.

Burning wood, like cigarette smoke, produce fine particle pollution which contains toxic chemical substances, including carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, benzene, formaldehyde and dioxin, the most toxic substances. Studies also found that cancer risk from wood smoke may be 12 times greater than from an equal amount of tobacco smoke.

Recent researches show that particle pollution is linked to many health risks such as respiratory diseases, heart attacks and stroke. Here's some tips one can do to reduce wood smoke pollution :

* Replace wood stoves with gas appliances. If you need to burn wood, make sure you burn seasoned hard wood that is clean and dry.

* Do not burn wood that is chemically treated and painted, or wet wood. Do not burn garbage, tires, plastics, old furniture to avoid releasing very toxic chemicals.

* Design kitchens with adequate ventilation in your home, especially those in the countryside that use wood as fuel for cooking.

Cooking At High Temperature May Be Culprit Behind Diseases, Study Says

2008-03-16T21:27:00.000-07:00

A study in New York by a team from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine shows that cooking at high temperature such as frying, grilling and even microwaving creates compounds that are associated with disease when they are found in the body. Findings also showed that foods cooked through low-temperature methods such as boiling and steaming do not contain as many of these compounds.

It may not be the food itself, but how you cook it, that affects whether food causes heart disease, diabetes and other conditions, reports said. Researchers also added, that while they do not discount the benefits of a healthy diet, their findings may help explain why people who stick to such a diet continue to suffer from heart disease and diabetes.

Too much Protein In The Diet Linked To Osteoporosis

2008-02-28T20:06:00.000-08:00

The article "Osteoporosis and the Calcium Myth," published in the Malaysian Vegnews, debunked the idea that we need to eat food rich in calcium to prevent osteoporosis. The article says calcium intake has nothing to do with osteoporosis. Rather, the article explores what is causing our bones to surrender their calcium by a study into African women of the Bantu race populations.

The study reveals some very startling facts. The women of the Bantu race in Africa do not suffer from osteoporosis, a broken bone is rare, and on average, Bantu women produce nine children, yet present remarkable bone density. Their daily average consumption of calcium is nearly four times lower than our average consumption. So, why do we get osteoporosis when our daily average of calcium is higher than that of the bantus?

The answer lies, according to the study, in the amount of protein we consume, especially animal protein. Here's an excerpts from the article:

"The human body is constantly working to maintain a state of balance. When the blood becomes too acidic, in an effort to balance the pH, the blood draws calcium and magnesium from the bones, as these are the two most readily available alkaline substances in the body."

"The more protein we eat, the more calcium our blood draws from our bones. The end result is high levels of uric acid, calcium and magnesium in the urine. It is very simple, very basic biochemistry."

Is Diabetes A Deficiency Disease?

2008-02-26T19:32:00.000-08:00

A diabetes research conducted by a Taiwanese company has been working on the theory that most forms of diabetes are due to a deficiency in the body of a natural element called GTF or Glucose Tolerance Factor. GTF's most important component is trivalent chromium. When these two elements are found low in the body, human cells are unable to absorb glucose and hyperglycemia or high blood sugar occurs, according to Dr. Frank Mao Chia Hung, endocrinologist from Maxluck Biotechnology Corp. and the Taiwan Chung Hoing University.

The study also found that trivalent chromium from natural foods is not easily absorbed by the body. Previous studies have shown that the body absorbs only uo to three percent of the substance. According to Dr. Mao, by using Lactoferrin, a kind of protein as the carrier of trivalent chromium, blood glucose levels are lowered. Dr. Mao discovered that Lactoferrin is the best carrier for trivalent chromium.

Breast Cancer May Run In The Family, Study Says

2008-02-20T22:13:00.000-08:00

The risk of getting breast cancer may have been there before being born, as some studies have shown. One research shows there is a close correlation between consanguinity and breast cancer incidence. Women with breast cancer have family members also suffering from the disease Women whose first-degree relatives such as their mothers, daughters, or sisters, who have breast cancer, have a higher risk of contracting the disease.

Although results of studies are conflicting, don't let a lack of family history of breast cancer give you a false sense of security, there are ways to improve your odds of avoiding the disease. Here's some tips from the "Natural Remedies Encyclopedia," to avoid and prevent breast cancer :

* Eat a nutritious diet centered around fresh fruits and vegetables.

* Get extra fiber in your diet.

* Take CoenzymeQ10, as well as full vitamin mineral supplementation.

* Exercise by walking 4-times a week.

* Do not eat too much soy or peanut products. Do not eat meat or dairy products. No alcohol, caffeine, or nicotine. No processed, fried, white flour, and junk foods. Birth control pills, x-rays, and permanent black hair dyes increase the likelihood of later breast cancer.

* Wearing a bra for more than 12 hours a day increases the likelihood of breast cancer.

* Examine your breasts regularly.