Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Food as Medicine - 8/31/2010

Well, I had hoped to do one of these a little sooner, but it has gotten to the point (again) where I have way too many tabs stashed - and some good information that I want to share.

If we eat well, and exercise, we may never need pharmaceutical medicines. These articles can help with that.

Nutrition and Mental Health: Exploring the Relationship Between Food and Mood

Jun 8, 2008 Barbara Melville

Food and Mood - Bmaksym
Food and Mood - Bmaksym
This article looks at the links between nutrition and mental health, offering a snapshot of the essentials required for a healthy, varied diet.

People with mood problems may find benefit in becoming aware of their food and drink intake, and making step-by-step changes based on their findings. Research that specifically looks at nutrition and mood is still in its infancy, though the available studies do suggest strong causal links.

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You are what you eat – how your diet defines you in trillions of ways

Gutbacteria

We depend on a special organ to digest the food we eat and you won’t find it in any anatomy textbook. It’s the ‘microbiome’ – a set of trillions of bacteria living inside your intestines that outnumber your own cells by ten to one. We depend on them. They wield genes that allow them to break down molecules in our food that we can’t digest ourselves. And we’re starting to realise that this secret society within our bowels has a membership roster that changes depending on what we eat.

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Fish Oil Improves Metabolic Syndrome

Healthy Fats Improve Cholesterol and Triglyceride Levels in Metabolic Syndrome, Study Finds
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Wine May Cut Decline in Thinking Skills

Study Shows Wine Drinkers Perform Better Than Teetotalers on Cognitive Tests

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Ancient brew may reduce gut damage after chemotherapy

PHY906 is the laboratory formulation of a 1,800-year-old Chinese formula containing peonies, a purple flower called skullcap, licorice and fruit from a buckthorn tree. Called Huang Qin Tang, the brew has been used for a long time to treat diarrhea, nausea and vomiting.

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Green, Leafy Vegetables Linked to Lower Type 2 Diabetes Risk

Researchers, led by nutritionist Patrice Carter at the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom, examined six studies that looked at the links between diet and the incidence of type 2 diabetes. They found that compared with those who ate the least amount of green, leafy vegetables (0.2 servings daily), people who ate the most (1.35 servings daily) had a 14 percent reduction in risk for type 2 diabetes.

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Fish oil helps teenage boys fight depression
Japanese researchers have discovered yet another benefit to fish oil -- treatment for depression. According to a study out of the University of Tokyo, teenage boys who eat a lot of oily fish have a 27 percent reduced risk of depression compared to those who eat little oily fish.

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Vitamin D May Influence Genes for Cancer, Autoimmune Disease
In the study, Sreeram Ramagopalan of Oxford University and colleagues noted there is a growing amount of evidence that vitamin D deficiency is a risk factor for a wide range of diseases, but it's not known exactly how vitamin D is involved. It has been suspected that genetics may contribute to this connection.

Exposure to sunlight triggers the body to naturally produce vitamin D, although it can be hard to get enough in some regions during certain parts of the year. Vitamin D is also found in certain foods, such as fish, cheese, egg yolks and fortified milk and breakfast cereals.

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Mesquite flour is a high-protein, low-glycemic superfood from desert trees
Mesquite flour has a sweet, nutty taste. It has a texture like wheat flour, but perhaps a bit more grainy. It's about 17% protein, making it ideal for those who wish to avoid high-carbohydrate foods. It also has a significantly lower glycemic index than regular white flour... or even wheat flour, for that matter.
[ME: It's expensive, but gluten free - and my dog LOVES the pods.]

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Broccoli could help treat Crohn's disease by halting bacteria

Eating broccoli and bananas could help prevent relapses of Crohn's disease, bringing relief to tens of thousands of sufferers, researchers revealed today. The chronic condition inflames the lining of the digestive system causing diarrhoea and stomach cramps.

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Black rice is the new cancer-fighting superfood, claim scientists

Black rice - revered in ancient China but overlooked in the West - could be the greatest 'superfoods', scientists revealed today. 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 U.S. They found boosted levels of water-soluble anthocyanin antioxidants.

[ME: And it's cheaper (with more antioxidant power and less sugar) than my favorite blueberries.]

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Berries May Help Aging Brains
The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported that eating berries, as well as acai berries and walnuts, can help people rid their brain of toxic memory-clogging proteins and prevent further weakening of their cognition. With age comes a decline in the brain's ability to properly rid itself of biochemical waste, according to the study, and adding these antioxidant-rich foods to a diet could help trigger this function again.

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Grapefruit's Bitter Taste Holds A Sweet Promise For Diabetes Therapy
Naringenin, an antioxidant derived from the bitter flavor of grapefruits and other citrus fruits, may cause the liver to break down fat while increasing insulin sensitivity, a process that naturally occurs during long periods of fasting.

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Researchers Study Cinnamon Extracts - Could Help Reduce Risk Factors Associated With Diabetes And Heart Disease

The study demonstrated that the water-soluble cinnamon extract improved a number of antioxidant variables by as much as 13 to 23 percent, and improvement in antioxidant status was correlated with decreases in fasting glucose, according to Anderson.
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Antioxidant rich grape pomace extract suppresses postprandial hyperglycemia in diabetic mice by specifically inhibiting alpha-glucosidase
This is the first report that the grape pomace extracts selectively and significantly inhibits intestinal alpha-glucosidase and suppresses postprandial hyperglycemia in diabetic mice. The antioxidant and anti-postprandial hyperglycemic activities demonstrated on the tested grape pomace extract therefore suggest a potential for utilizing grape pomace-derived bioactive compounds in management of diabetes.
[ME: This is an open access article - it's geeky science, but interesting.]

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Diverse diet of veggies may decrease lung cancer risk
Adding a variety of vegetables to one's diet may help decrease the chance of getting lung cancer, and adding a variety of fruits and vegetables may decrease the risk of squamous cell lung cancer, especially among smokers.

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