Turmeric is the most popular spice in Indian cuisine and a major ingredient of curry powders. Turmeric has a long history of medicinal use, especially to treat inflammation. Curcumin is the yellow pigment in turmeric. Curcumin is one of the best investigated botanical constituents in the biomedical literature; it has been shown to act as a master switch by turning off the inflammatory cascade at the inflammatory enzyme level.

A study published in Alternative Medicine Review, used 100 participants divided into two groups. the first group was given the “best available treatment” and the second group was given the same treatment plus 200 mg of the curcumin formulation each day.

In this trial, positive results were obtained for all end-points evaluated. Thus, after eight months of continuous use of 1 g/day Meriva, the WOMAC score for OA symptoms decreased by more than 50 percent, while the treadmill test showed an overall three-fold increase in walking distance compared to the control group. The objective and subjective clinical outcomes were substantiated by interesting findings in the biochemical evaluation of inflammatory status and oxidative stress in patients in the treatment group. The significant decrease of all inflammatory markers measured suggests that the clinical improvements observed have a clear mechanistic basis that validates previous in vitro observations of curcumin on joint cells.

The evidence is starting to suggest a that curcumin could be a possible replacement for NSAIDS, which can have serious side effects in the long term.

A study that involved 5929 Swedish women, found a 33 percent to 57 percent lower risk for ER-negative cancer (the most aggressive type of breast cancer) than did those who drank less than one cup a day.

“Now, we don’t have all the details,” he cautioned. “We don’t know, for example, what specific type of coffee we’re talking about here. But what we do know is that the protective effect is quite striking and remains even after adjusting for a lot of other factors that have the potential to play a protective role. And we know that we’re talking about what we could call a relatively normal amount of coffee drinking. Certainly we’re not talking about consuming gigantic amounts of coffee. So, this is a very intriguing finding.”

HealthDay

Now the challenge is finding what it is in coffee that produces this protective effect, and if it will work with other types of cancer.

Are you afraid that trying to eat healthily will drain your wallet? Not to worry, some of the healthiest foods in the world are actually very, very cheap. Planet Green lists a number of foods that are great for your body but won’t break the budget:

Kale-
It’s loaded with vitamin C, vitamin B, and calcium, and costs just over a dollar a bunch.

Broccoli and Cabbage-
These low-cost cruciferous vegetables neutralize toxins in your liver.

Winter Squash-
It’s just a few dollars a pound, it’s a good source of vitamin B6 and folate.

Sweet Potatoes-
They’re full of fiber, protein, vitamin A, and vitamin C.

Adzuki Beans-
They contain some of the highest levels of protein of any variety of beans, and they also contain high levels of potassium, fiber, B vitamins, iron, zinc, and manganese.

Black Beans=
These are a good source of folate, dietary fiber, manganese, protein, magnesium, vitamin B1 (thiamin), phosphorus, and iron.

Sunflower Seeds-
Raw sunflower seeds contain 76 percent of the RDA for vitamin E.

Almonds-
Almonds are good for heart health and loaded with vitamin E.

To see the rest of their cheap superfood selections, click on the link below.

greenplanet.com

46 million adults have been diagnosed with arthritis. 9% of these individuals claim arthritis limits their physical capabilities; 21 million people alone suffer from osteoarthritis. Unfortunately, the incidence of arthritis is on the rise, but there are things you can do to ease the symptoms.

Exercise can be a great way to deal with the aches and pains of arthritis. But it’s important to perform the right exercises under a doctor’s supervision.

Here are suggestions about exercising if you have arthritis, courtesy of the University of Washington School of Medicine:

• If you have a physical or occupational therapist, he or she should participate in creating your exercise plan.
• Your exercises should put minimal stress on your joints, especially when you first start out. Don’t overdo it.
• Try a combination of both therapeutic (designed to help ease symptoms and improve joint function) and recreational (just for fun) exercises.
• Use other methods to ease symptoms, such as using heating pads and ice packs, eating a healthy diet, taking medication as prescribed, and maintaining a healthy body weight.

(HealthDay News)

Exercise induced endogenous hormone levels have been studied extensively. Researchers have examined how the different components of training including sets, repetitions, load and rest intervals affect serum levels of hormones such as testosterone, growth hormone and cortisol. Many studies have demonstrated there is an acute increase in serum levels of anabolic hormones after intense resistance exercise.

To be more specific, high intensity exercise coupled with short rest intervals that is performed with large muscle groups are associated with large rises in these hormones when compared to other training methods. Conversely, training small muscle groups like the biceps has been shown to have no effect on serum hormone levels. Because of the findings in many studies, training programs have been constructed to maximize the post-exercise rise in these hormones based on the assertion that exercise-induced increases in hormones like testosterone and GH will enhance muscle size and strength. But, considering the fact that these increases in hormone levels are very small and of short duration, will they produce muscular gains.

A study from the Kinesiology Dept. of McMaster University in Canada found that exercise induced hormone levels had no effect on muscle size or strength after 15 weeks of resistance training.

There is evidence that a minimal basal level of testosterone is required to support strength and hypertrophy gains, which are otherwise attenuated. Therefore, the hormone-sensitive processes that underpin muscle anabolism at hypo- and supra-physiological hormone levels are not being activated appreciably by exercise-induced increases in hormone availability or at least do not result in any measurable enhancement of strength or hypertrophy.

(J Appl Physiol 108(1); 2010)

The reason why you get addicted to any food, but particularly sugar, is because your brain has opioid receptors (heroin is an opioid). Interestingly, sugar binds to the same addictive receptors as cocaine and other addictive drugs. These opioid receptors are part of a primitive reward system that helps you detect, select and enjoy eating fresh foods over rancid ones.

Today, however, we live in a world where we are surrounded, not only by food in general, but by processed foods that are typically loaded with sugar. Unfortunately, this has led to a saturation of our opioid receptors, and we’ve become addicted to foods that are extremely harmful.

Now, there are compounds called opioid receptor antagonists. That means once they occupy the receptors, they prohibit you from being addicted to something else. And coffee is an opioid receptor antagonist. Caffeine can bind to your opioid receptors and may diminish the addictive impact of another substance like sugar.

“If you are addicted to sugar, for instance, and you really want to train your body gradually get rid of this addiction, using coffee would be a viable way to help yourself achieve this. Train yourself to drink black coffee. Drink it sugarless on an empty stomach and you will see how, gradually, the cravings will dissipate…”
Ori Hofmekler

So, all in all, it appears coffee may have some valuable redeeming benefits, particularly to boost the benefits of your morning workout, as long as you get high quality organic coffee, ground your own beans to make sure it’s fresh, and avoid adding sugar.

Ori Hofmekler, author of The Warrior Diet, The Anti-Estrogenic Diet, Maximum Muscle Minimum Fat, and the upcoming book Unlocking the Muscle Gene is an expert on how to improve your health with foods.
Mercola.com video transcript

Many people when shopping for a convenient ready to eat meat at the grocery store would choose rotisserie chicken over hot dogs or pepperoni, but as it turns out in a new study, they’d be wrong. Surprisingly, according to a new study, hot dogs and similar meats like pepperoni and deli meats are relatively free from carcinogenic compounds, and rotisserie chicken would be the riskier option.

The carcinogens in question are heterocyclic amines (HCAs), which are compounds found in meat that has been fried, grilled or cooked at high temperatures. Diets high in HCAs from meat increase people’s risk of stomach, breast and colon cancers, according to the National Cancer Institute.

Researchers from Kansas State University tested the HCA levels of eight popular ready-to-eat meat products: beef hot dogs, beef-pork-turkey hot dogs, deli roast beef, deli ham, deli turkey, fully cooked bacon, pepperoni and rotisserie chicken.

Pepperoni had the lowest levels of HCAs; hot dogs and deli meat came in second. Overall, these products were low in HCAs, researchers said, while cooked bacon and rotisserie chicken meat had the highest levels. However, rotisserie chicken skin had the highest levels of HCAs overall.

But, before you go purchase pepperoni, consider that its low HCA levels may have to do with processing, which is in itself a health hazard. According to a KSU statement.

Remember, You cannot judge the danger of a food by its HCA content alone, which is based on the manner in which its been cooked. You also have to evaluate all those added ingredients, such as preservatives, flavoring, and food colors. Hot dogs, deli meats and bacon are notorious for their nitrite content, so even though they might be low in HCA’s, they are far from healthful.

Vitamin D3, which is technically a prehormone, has a whole host of benefits. This invaluable substance has a role in preventing or treating many diseases including cancer. Below you’ll find a letter I received as being a participant in a Vitamin D study, the results of which were published in the International Journal of Cancer Research and Treatment

GrassrootsHealth New Research Publication in the Anticancer Research Journal, 2/21/2011
Dear Michael,

Congratulations and thanks to absolutely everyone who has participated in and supported this project! According to one of our panel members, Dr. Anthony Norman:

“This paper provides a long awaited insight into a dose-response relationship between orally administered vitamin D3 and the resulting levels of serum 25(OH)D in over 3600 citizens. The results will allow a new definition of high vitamin D dose safety and reduce concerns about toxicity. This is a landmark contribution in the vitamin D nutrition field!”
Anthony Norman
Distinguished Professor of Biochemistry & Biomedical Sciences, Emeritus
University of California Riverside

Key findings:

There were 3667 people’s first test data reported on

No suggestions of toxicity were reported even up to intakes as high as 40,000 IU/day (not a recommended amount, however)

It’s going to take about 9600 IU/day to get 97.5% (almost everyone) to the 40 ng/ml level. Individual variations however range from 0 to over 50,000 IU/day!

Testing is necessary to determine what the starting serum level is and how to adjust intake

It took 3 tests (1 year) to determine the optimal dose for each individual

The NEW rule of thumb for dosing will be changed. We’ll publish a chart for all very shortly. Currently, it is stated that you can increase the serum level by 10 ng/ml with 1000 IU/day. Per our research, this is true only when starting at about 10 ng/ml. If you want to go from 50 to 60 ng/ml, it will take an additional 2000 IU/day (i.e., the rise is only 5 ng/ml for each 1000 IU/day).

Please visit our website, GrassrootsHealth and listen to the interviews with the study’s authors, Dr. Cedric Garland and Dr. Robert Heaney. They both speak to the significance to public health of this study.

Another key item that I am very aware of is the public’s readiness to ‘take charge’ of their own health. With this view and the information to make it happen, we are bound to see some very exciting things with own health!

The research article is ‘open access’ so that everyone can download and read it! Please do so here: GrassrootsHealth Research Article

Again, very, very many thanks to all of you for your participation and support. You are helping change the face of public health! We CAN move to a much more ‘preventive’ model of healthcare. Please let me know at any time how we can best help.

We do need your ongoing financial support as well, to keep ‘spreading the word’. Please consider a donation to Prevent Vitamin D Deficiency for our future health.

Onwards!

Carole Baggerly

Director, GrassrootsHealth
carole@grassrootshealth.org

It’s natural to feel nervous when you forget something, knowing that Alzheimer’s disease now affects 5.3 million Americans. But a memory slip doesn’t always mean the worst. According to KPHO, the following five situations point toward normal, age-related memory loss.

1. Lapses Don’t Interfere With Everyday Life

Slowed recall of information from time to time is normal — erverybody forgets stuff. What’s not normal is when memory impairment interferes with your ability to get through the day.

2. You See an Improvement After ‘Brain Training’

Dementia is not a problem of retrieving old memories so much as it is is an inability to form new ones. If you can still learn new things, you’re still forming new memories.

3. You’ve Just Started A New Medication

Drug side effects are one of the more common causes of memory trouble.

4. Nobody Else Seems To Notice Anything’s Amiss

Usually, there’s a lot of family friction around the kind of memory loss that predates a diagnosis — arguments over who neglected to do something, missed appointments, or forgotten messages.

5. You’re Forgetful When Stressed, Sleep Deprived or Multitasking

A stressed brain is not the same thing as a demented brain.

For the entire article go toKPHO.com

low testosterone levels put men at risk for cardiovascular disease, diabetes and early death?? One study shows that testosterone treatment reduces LDL cholesterol and increases HDL cholesterol.? Another study that looked at the cause of death in almost 2000 men aged 20 to 79 years.? The men with low testosterone at the start of the study had a 2.5 times greater risk of dying during the next ten years compared with men with higher testosterone levels.? These studies, and more, will be presented at The Endocrine Society’s annual meeting, in San Francisco, suggest that testosterone therapy has several positive effects.
(Vitacost.com Daily Health Tip; June, 2008)