Archive for February, 2010
Polyphenols are the Natural Life Savers
February 16th, 2010 | 
Author: Polyphenols are the natural life savers that are in the vivid colored fruits and vegetables. This is the non-manufactured life saver.
Research
Researchers have found that baking British garden rhubarb for 20 minutes increases its levels of anti-cancerous chemicals. The findings are from academics at Sheffield Hallam University, together with the Scottish Crop Research Institute, were published in the journal Food Chemistry.
These chemicals, called polyphenols, have been shown to selectively kill or prevent the growth of cancer cells, and could be used to develop new, less toxic treatments, even in cases where cancers have proven resistant to other treatment.
Dr. Nikki Jordan-Mahy, from Sheffield Hallam University’s Biomedical Research Center, said: “Our research has shown that British rhubarb is a potential source of pharmacological agents that may be used to develop new anti-cancerous drugs.”
Plant Polyphenols
The natural source of polyphenols is plants. Dietary polyphnols have caught the attention of nutritionists rather recently. Up till the mid-1990s, the studies centered on antioxidant vitamins, carotenoids, and minerals. After 1995 research began in earnest on flavonoids, and other polyphenols, and their antioxidant properties. Their effects on human health are now being studied.
Polyphenols have been found in a wide array of phytochemical-bearing foods. These include such fruits as apples, blackberries, blueberries, cantaloupe, cherries, cranberries, grapes, pears, plums, raspberries, and strawberries. The highest levels of polyphenols are found in the fruit skins.
Vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage, celery, onion and parsley are rich in polyphenols. Red wine is known for its health benefits, which in large part come from the grapes. Coffee is considered healthy because it is an alternative source of this, as is green tea, olive oil, bee pollen and whole grains.
Studies
Population studies have linked fruit and vegetable consumption with lowering the risk for many chronic conditions. These included heart disease and many cancers. What the medical community wants is to establish proof that documents the role of functional foods in healing.
Population studies found that elderly men with the highest intake of dark green and deep yellow vegetables had about a 46% decrease risk of heart disease compared to those who consumed the least amount. The men who consumed the darkest green and yellow vegetables had about a 70% lower risk of developing cancer than those consuming the lowest amount of these vegetables.
The most interesting part of the study was that the men that consumed the highest level which was more than two (>2.05 and >2.2) servings of dark green and yellow vegetables a day. The men at the lowest level consumed less than one serving daily (<0.8 and <0.7). This is proof that small consistent changes matter. (Gaziano et al. Annals of Epidemiology 1995; 5:255 and Colditz et al. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1985,:41:32)
This study was one conducted in 1995. Where are all the physicians advocating this diet change for their patients?
While many alternative health and wellness advocates have actually produced some remarkable discoveries, the scientific community has their head in a test tube.
Strategy
Searching for a strategy to remain healthy? Follow Kathy Bee our nutrition/lifestyle educator with www.yourhealthupdates.com
Posted in Cancer, Nutrition, Preventitive RX | 
Tags: Cancer, fruit, fruits and vegetables, Nutrition, nutritious foods, plant food, polyphenols, rhubarb, vegetables, wellness | 
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Childhood Obesity Affects Health
Childhood obesity affects health and that is critical when looking at this epidemic.
Obesity
Overweight children are at risk of developing adult conditions at a young age.
Genes
A parent’s job is to turn on their child’s longevity genes. This is done by neutralizing today’s lifestyle.
Parents
Parents have busy lifestyles, and it seems that fast food solutions are the norm. However, it can wind up being costly and time consuming in the long run. Sedentary children who consume a high junk food diet are not only on there way to developing atherosclerosis, type 2 diabetes, and high blood pressure, they also will need prescriptive drugs at a younger age.
We can go on and on about the culture’s influence on eating habits which are seen on TV network advertisements in the form of junk food ads.
As a result of all these influences one in three children is overweight or obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Facts
The fact is overweight children are at risk of developing serious and costly health conditions that are usually seen in middle aged adults. The Center For Disease Control (C.D.C.) study found that 22 percent of overweight (and 43 percent of obese) young people had, abnormal blood lipid levels with high triglycerides, a known risk factor for heart disease.
If this is our culture’s way to save time and money by fast food purchases they are making a big mistake. This is the junk food generation that can bankrupt our nation.
The fact is obesity is expensive, for the parent, child, and country.
Intervention
Intervention has to begin in the home. The food manufactures don’t have the incentive that the family has. For the faux food industry it is all about profit. For the family it is about raising healthy children. That means making wise choices about what is served at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. What goes on the grocery list and the table is one of the most important elements in your child’s life.
Comprehensive weight-loss programs for children are scarce. It is up to parents to begin their own intervention program. Making changes are not expensive and pay off big time.
“The family is the underutilized weapon in the fight against childhood obesity,” said Dr. David Ludwig, director of the obesity program at Children’s Hospital Boston.
Get Nutritional Advice
To change your family’s food habits, get good nutritional advice. The reason that this has become a learning process is because of all the misinformation put out for public consumption.
Children will tend to mimic what they see the adults around them do. This means to be a good role model includes what you stock your pantry with. The food industry is not as interested in your children’s health, as it is in successful ad campaigns. It is wise and prudent to seek the counsel of someone well versed in nutrition.
It is next to impossible for children to change eating habits if the rest of family is not changing their way of eating. When children eat better they have more energy for activities that are part of a healthy lifestyle.
A Child’s Health Begins with the Parent
That is why the L.E.A.N. Start Program is so effective. The parents go thought the learning process with the child, in an interactive and fun way. This program was developed by one of the most highly respected pediatricians in America, Dr. William Sears.
Kathy Bee is a nutrition/lifestyle educator who is a certified coach for the L.E.A.N Start Program.
Type-2 Diabetics Have Poor Impulse Control
There is a study that shows type-2 diabetics have poor impulse control. Researchers writing in BioMed Central’s open access journal BioPsycho Social Medicine, suggested that neurological changes result in this inability to resist temptation, which in turn exacerbates diabetes.
Hiroaki Kumano, from Waseda University, Japan, worked with a team of researchers to assess response inhibition, a measure of self-control, in 27 patients with type-2 diabetes and 27 healthy controls. He said, “Patients with type 2 diabetes are required to make strict daily decisions; for example, they should resist the temptation of high-fat, high-calorie food, which is frequently cued by specific people, places and events. Appropriate behavior modification thus depends on the patients ability to inhibit impulsive thoughts and actions cued by these environmental stimuli”.
In order to gauge the patients’ ability to resist such impulsive behavior, the researchers used a test in which participants had to quickly press a button in response to the correct signal on a computer screen, while pressing the button in response to the wrong symbol counted against their score. They found that patients with diabetes performed significantly worse at the test, suggesting that they struggled to control the impulse to press the button. Other results showed that the inhibitory failure observed in diabetic patients was mainly explained by cognitive impairment of impulse control, rather than by deficits in motor performance, error monitoring and adjustment. According to Kumano, “This suggests the possibility that the neuropsychological deficits in response inhibition may contribute to the behavioral problems leading to chronic lifestyle-related diseases, such as type 2 diabetes”.
Really
Previous generations did not have all the chronic conditions that American’s face today. These studies are similar to a dog chasing his tale. We are going in circles, without understanding the problem. Any amount of neurological damage can occur because of the poor diet being shoved down our throats.
People who are overweight already have an impulse problem. The most common one stems from poor glucose regulation, and poor nutrition. Cravings are set up by the food giants, and now we can study the effects and blame the victim.
Question
Which came first poor impulse control or a poor diet that changed hormones, cells, gene expression, and brain circuitry. Again, it is a question of which came first the chicken or the egg. Science in the 21st century is chasing their tail at our expense.
Looking at every and any angle of why type-2 diabetics haven’t enough control in front of food is alright, if you ask the right questions. Extending it to impulse behavior that effects other things would make sense, if the whole population wasn’t heading down the same path.
Then the question becomes why is the entire population at risk, including the very young.
Sense and Cents
These studies really don’t make sense. I really would like to see more productive use of the funds that are being used for this so-called research.
Taking a look at our food supply might be a good start. People in this country are nutrient deficient while on a high calorie diet. A good part of the population is undernourished and overweight. All studies are being conducting on people who are not operating at their optimate level. In that case many functions will be frequently out of whack.
Whack rhymes with quack, and I see quack science searching for all the capabilities lost to an American diet. With all the research the solution remains elusive.
