Chlorophyll Can Help Treat Cancer

Chlorophyll is a pigment found in dark green plants that is important for photosynthesis to take place; however, this pigment does more than just facilitate energy production in plants. According to Michael T. Simonich of the Linus Pauling Institute, chlorophyll actually helps fight cancer cell growth and acts as an antioxidant in the body.

Chlorophyll protects against various chemical carcinogens found in fungus-contaminated nuts and grains, the toxic materials created when meat has been overcooked, and carcinogens in the air that result from pollution. It does this by blocking the metabolism of chemicals known as procarcinogens that damage DNA. By preventing DNA from being damaged, cancer growth is inhibited and prevented.
The strength of chlorophyll was demonstrated by applying it in eastern China where fungal contamination of grains and nuts is very common. Because of the contaminated grains and nuts, many Chinese people suffered from liver damage and cancer. After supplementing with chlorophyllin –- the synthetic counter part of chlorophyll –- at 300mg (100mg three times daily), the incidence of liver cancer among that population decreased significantly. Further investigation into the antioxidant, anti-mutagenic properties of chlorophyll by Chinese researchers has begun.

There is little known about the bioavailability of chlorophyll and how it is metabolized. What is known is that it is effective in aiding in cancer treatment and it has potent antioxidant properties. Supplementation of chlorophyll is fairly easy –- all that is needed is a supplement of a substance known as chlorella. Chlorella is green algae, and is a preferable source of chlorophyll than dietary sources because it is a more concentrated supply of chlorophyll. But supplementation isn’t always necessary. Supplementation would be more necessary for the chronically ill. Simple dietary changes that could be made would suffice for those who are not chronically ill, and would provide an adequate amount of chlorophyll to prevent any future complications. There may be more risk with supplementation anyway: even though current data cannot find a toxicity level for chlorophyll, more is not always better.

Great sources of chlorophyll would be dark greens such as spinach, kale, green beans, arugula, leeks and many more dark greens. Furthermore, taking chlorophyll before or at meal-time greatly reduces the carcinogenic effects of food. Since it primarily acts as a blocking agent, chlorophyll is able to block the absorption of the carcinogen by forming a molecular complex too large to be assimilated in the small intestine. In other words, to get the full anti-cancer benefits, eating a salad comprised of spinach, kale, parsley (or a chlorella supplement) and other green-goodies before that well-done steak will help prevent the development of those cancer-causing compounds.

If chlorophyll is consumed after having cancer-causing food items, however, there will be little benefit because the carcinogen has been ingested and assimilated. Therefore, it is important to have your veggie-filled salad before eating anything that may have carcinogenic effects.

sources:

(http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/fw06/chlorophylls…)

(http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/phytoc…)

About the author

Ella Andersen is a college student who intensely researchs topics on health and nutrition. In college, she is furthering her love of nutrition by pursuing a degree in clinical dietetics.
She also runs her own blog: http://www.snhbw.blogspot.com

Article taken from http://www.naturalnews.com, only for information purpose, article published with full reference, if author/publisher have any objection kindly send us an email at info@agrinfobank.com

Bright colors, rich diet

12 Benefits of Olive Oil

Rice: Why 'dirty' brown is better

By VERONICA PULUMBARIT

When I first saw brown rice as a child, I was told, “Huwag yan, maruming bigas yan.”
Well it turns out not all rice are created equal, with brown rice seeming to have the upper hand. Brown rice is, in fact, not dirty. It is a healthy choice being rich in B vitamins and potent antioxidants that fight cancer.
During the Brown Rice Campaign bloggers night at Sev’s Café in Manila on Tuesday, Jed Alegado of anti-poverty organization Oxfam said the “dirty-looking” feature of brown rice is actually the healthy “bran,” the hard outer layers of the rice grains.
Alegado explained that the Philippines has had brown rice since the 1950s but it has largely been edged out in popularity by white rice, which is generally considered “classy” and of better quality.Oxfam International, together with the non-government organization Dakila, ,launched “The Good Food Project” to promote brown rice this year which is the National Year of Rice.
The Good Food Project cites several reasons for promoting brown rice:
(1)  Good for one’s health – Citing medical experts and nutritionists, the Good Food Project said brown rice is rich in dietary fiber needed to fight diabetes. It is also high in phytic acids that combat cancer and proteins that prevent cardiovascular diseases.
(2)  Good for the environment – Brown rice requires only one milling process unlike white rice which needs two. This means that brown rice requires lesser fuel use. The Good Food Project also noted that the organic means of producing brown rice eliminates the use of insecticides and pesticides.
(3)  Good for the farmers – The Good Food Project said an increase in demand for brown rice will open economic opportunities for farmers. The cost of producing brown rice is also much smaller compared to white rice.
(4)  Good for the country – According to Oxfam, if more Filipinos will shift to brown rice, the country’s problem about over-importation of rice can be solved. Oxfam said the milling recovery of brown rice is 10 percent higher than white rice. This means that if you will mill the same quantities of brown and white rice, you will get 10 percent more sacks of rice from brown rice compared to white rice.
Higher price
While brown rice is seen as “dirty”, it is actually a little more expensive than white rice. While white rice generally sells for P30 per kilo and up, brown rice sells as much as P55 to P90 per kilo.
According to a flyer distributed by the brown rice advocates that night, only two independent distributors sold brown rice at only P40 per kilo: AG Agro-Eco Ventures and PARAGOS-Pilipinas.
The Good Food Project also noted the prices of some organic rice brands sold in supermarkets or groceries:
· Prime Organics P130 (two kilos)
· Jordan Farms P70 (800 grams)
· Farms and Cottages P157.50 (two kilos)
The other Metro Manila organic brown rice distributors cited by The Good Food Project included:
· RR Trade (P55 per kilo)
· Bios Dynamis (P90 per kilo)
· GLOWCORP
· Pecuaria
In an interview with GMA News Online, Atty. Ipat Luna, owner of Sev’s Café and a brown rice advocate, said the way to lower the price of brown rice is to encourage more people to shift from white to brown rice.
“Kailangan dumami tayong kumakain ng brown rice. Kahit man lang gradual o kung gusto ng tao, isang araw isang linggo magsimula, o kaya haluan yung kanilang white rice ng brown,” said Luna (Disclosure: Luna is married to Howie Severino, editor-in-chief of GMA News Online).
The Good Food Project is promoting the transition to brown rice through the hashtags #brb and #BrownRiceBiyernes.
The group is encouraging people to transition to brown rice by consuming it once a week - every Friday.
“Pag hindi tayo dumami [brown rice consumers] novelty item pa rin yan. Kaya mataas pa rin ang presyo. Pero napansin ko, bumababa na siya. Makakahanap ka na ng P45 at P50 pesos sa groceries. Hindi nga lang siya organic pero it’s still better than white rice,” Luna said.
Start early
Luna also encouraged parents to start their children on brown rice at a young age.
“Pag nasanay sila sa brown kahit later on magustuhan nila yung white, it just becomes a choice pero sanay sila sa brown,” Luna stated.
As for the popularity of white over brown rice, Luna said it was generational matter. "Yung nanay ko, ayaw na ayaw niya yung brown kasi yun yung panahon ng Hapon, yun ang palay nung gyera, yung bigas na di mamill dahil na kakainin mo na lang kahit brown. Feeling mo taghirap. May notion siyang ganun.”
However, she noted that brown rice is now seen by many as the “sosyal rice” especially as the food trend right now is toward healthier and organic options.
She noted that many restaurants are offering only brown rice, including her own café. “We want people to get used to it as a rice, as a regular part of their diet.”
Luna explained that eating too much rice in general is not healthy. With brown rice, people tend to consume less rice as it is more filling.
On cooking brown rice to perfection, Luna suggests soaking the rice in water for 30 minutes to an hour before cooking in a rice cooker. — DVM, GMA News

Source: http://www.gmanetwork.com

Facts on Black Pepper Plants

By Carol Wiley, eHow Contributor

Black pepper plants, scientifically known as Piper nigrum, are climbing vines with branches. These woody perennial vines produce fleshy fruits called drupes that contain a single seed. The dried fruits are called peppercorns. Black pepper plants belong to the plant family Piperaceae and are native to tropical forests in regions of the southwest Indian subcontinent.

Growing Conditions

• The pepper plant grows best in warm, wet climates that have a minimum of 100 inches of annual rain and no frosts. Because the plant is a climbing vine, it must have a tree, stake or other structure for support. The pepper vine can grow 12 feet tall, according to the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service. The vines like soil rich in organic matter and do not grow well above an altitude of 3,000 feet. You can grow smaller pepper plants at home, if you have a site with rich soil, partial shade, lots of water and humid conditions.

Description

• The pepper plant's almond- or heart-shaped leaves are about 4 inches long and grow in an alternating arrangement on the stems. Clusters of whitish to yellow-green flowers grow along flowering stalks called spikes that are usually 5 to 6 inches long. The flowers develop into round fruits that are green at first and turn red as they ripen.

ses

• The dried peppercorns from the black pepper plant are used to make pepper. Peppercorns can produce green, white or black pepper, depending on when the fruit is harvested and how it is treated after harvest. Black pepper accounts for 20 percent of the world spice trade, according to the Arkansas extension service. The spiciness of black pepper is from the chemical piperine.

Pepper Production

• Green fruits are used to produce either green or black pepper. For black pepper, the fruits are dried in the sun until they turn black. For green pepper, the peppercorns are subjected to a treatment such as sulfur dioxide, canning or freeze-drying to retain the green color. White pepper is produced from red fruits that have had the outer red skin removed, usually by soaking them in water for about a week, though other methods are also available for removing the outer skin.

Considerations

• Black pepper plants begin to bear fruit when the plants are 2 years old and produce fruit for up to 40 years. Pink peppercorns are not from Piper nigrum but from a species called Schinus molle.

Source: http://www.ehow.com

The Cheap DIY Anti-Cancer and Anti-Arthritis Treatment

By Dr. Mercola

Science has proven time and again that Mother Nature is the best physician, and food is the best medicine. Broccoli, for example—and to an even greater degree, broccoli sprouts—have been repeatedly shown to be one of nature’s most valuable health-promoting foods, capable of preventing a number of health issues, including but not limited to:

• Hypertension1
• Allergies2
• Diabetes3
• Osteoarthritis4,
• Cancer5

How Broccoli Can Help Slow Progression of Arthritis

What is Broccoli Good For?  For starters, it can help with arthritis.  Most recently, the benefits of broccoli for the prevention and treatment of the most common form of arthritis has made headlines. As reported by BBC News6:

“Eating lots of broccoli may slow down and even prevent osteoarthritis, according to a team of researchers at the University of East Anglia who are starting human trials following on from successful lab studies.7

Tests on cells and mice showed that a broccoli compound, sulforaphane – which humans can also get from Brussels sprouts and cabbage – blocked a key destructive enzyme that damages cartilage.”

According to lead researcher Ian Clark, the results are “very promising,” as they’ve now shown that sulforaphane works in each of the three laboratory models they’ve tried so far—in human and cow cartilage cells, tissue, and live mice.

Sulforaphane, which is known for its anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer benefits, can also be found in other cruciferous vegetables, such as Brussels sprouts, cauliflower and cabbage.

Broccoli, however, is one of the richest sources of this potent compound, and broccoli sprouts appear to be one of the richest sources of all. The compound also has anti-diabetic and antimicrobial activity. According to Clark:8

“As well as treating those who already have [osteoarthritis], you need to be able to tell healthy people how to protect their joints into the future. There is currently no way in to the disease pharmaceutically and you cannot give healthy people drugs unnecessarily, so this is where diet could be a safe alternative. Prevention would be preferable and changes to lifestyle, like diet, may be the only way to do that.”

The Anti-Cancer Properties of Broccoli

Sulforaphane, a sulfur compound, has also been shown to kill cancer stem cells, thereby slowing tumor growth. Some researchers believe eliminating cancer stem cells may be key to controlling cancer.

This is something current chemotherapies cannot do, but food can! I have long touted the cancer busting power of broccoli; ever since studies in the mid-1990s showed that the broccoli compound glucoraphanin – a precursor to sulforaphane – boosts cell enzymes that protect against molecular damage from cancer-causing chemicals.9, 10

Studies have also found that sulforaphane normalizes DNA methylation11—a process by which a methyl group (one carbon atom attached to three hydrogen atoms) is added to part of a DNA molecule. DNA methylation is a crucial part of normal cell function, allowing cells to “remember who they are and where they have been” and is important in regulating gene expression.

DNA methylation also suppresses the genes for things you don’t want, such as viral and other disease-related genes, and abnormal DNA methylation plays a critical role in the development of nearly all types of cancer.

The sulforaphane from broccoli plays a role in activating more than 200 different genes. Specifically, it appears that broccoli contains the necessary ingredients to switch ON genes that prevent cancer development, and switch OFF other ones that help it spread. And you don’t have to consume a truckload of broccoli to reap its benefits.

In fact, a 2008 study published in PLoS One12 found that just four servings of broccoli per week could protect men from prostate cancer. One serving of broccoli is about two spears, so that’s only 10 broccoli spears per week. In this study, the researchers collected tissue samples over the course of the study and found that the men who ate broccoli showed hundreds of beneficial changes in genes known to play a role in fighting cancer.

Sulforaphane Works on a Wide Variety of Cancers

Other researchers have looked at sulforaphane’s effect on breast cancer, and discovered that it hinders the growth of human breast cancer cells as well—at least in the laboratory. Here, they found that it does so by disrupting the action of protein microtubules within the cancer cells, which promote cell division and growth. Interestingly enough, certain cancer drugs also work in this manner. The upside of broccoli, of course, is that it doesn’t come with ANY of the side effects associated with synthetic drugs. Furthermore, as reported by PreventDisease.com13:

“Previous research has also proven that the compound blocks the formation of breast tumors in rats, and it can even force colon cancer cells to commit cell suicide. It seems that sulforaphane works its magic on the detoxification enzymes that try to defend the cancer-promoting substances.”

The interesting aspect of chemoprotection strategies is that they’re almost never organ-specific. Rather, chemoprotection produces a general cancer protective effect which blocks multiple steps — a cascade of steps — that are common to cancer formation. This is probably a reason why broccoli appears to work against a variety of different types of cancers.

Sprouts—An Even More Potent Alternative

As stated earlier, about 10 broccoli spears per week has been shown to offer protection against prostate cancer, which isn’t a whole lot, but research14 has shown that fresh broccoli sprouts are FAR more potent, allowing you to eat far less in terms of quantity. This is also an excellent alternative if you don’t like the taste (or smell) of broccoli. In terms of research, even small quantities of broccoli sprout extracts have been shown to markedly reduce the size of rat mammary tumors that were induced by chemical carcinogens. According to researchers at Johns Hopkins University15:

“Three-day-old broccoli sprouts consistently contain 20 to 50 times the amount of chemoprotective compounds found in mature broccoli heads, and may offer a simple, dietary means of chemically reducing cancer risk.”

When compared to either broccoli or cauliflower, which also contains sulforaphane,16 three-day-old broccoli sprouts contain anywhere from 10 to 100 times higher levels of glucoraphanin, compared to the mature varieties. Best of all, you can grow broccoli sprouts at home quite easily and inexpensively. Another major benefit is that you don’t have to cook them. They are eaten raw, usually as an addition to salad.

Furthermore, if you opt for mature broccoli heads, it becomes more important to make sure you’re purchasing a variety of high potency.17 In tests, the chemoprotective abilities of samples from 22 varieties of fresh and seven brands of frozen mature broccoli varied greatly. Fresh broccoli sprouts, on the other hand, are far more uniform in their potency.

Interestingly, researchers have found that an extract of broccoli sprouts helps protect your skin from sun damage, which could potentially lead to skin cancer. According to Dr. Paul Talalay, a professor of pharmacology and molecular sciences at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore:18

“Cells contain an elaborate network of protective genes that code for proteins that protect against four principal injurious processes to which all of our cells are exposed and which are the causes of cancer, degenerative disease and aging. Those four processes are: oxidation; DNA damage; inflammation and radiation, namely ultraviolet radiation. The cells’ protective system normally operates at about one-third capacity, so the real question is what would ramp up that system.

The highest doses of sulforaphane extract reduced UV-induced redness and inflammation (erythema) by an average of 37 percent, although protection varied from 8 percent to 78 percent. If you apply an extract of broccoli sprouts that contains high levels of sulforaphane to regions of human skin, you can protect them very substantially.” [Emphasis mine]

How to Grow Your Own Broccoli Sprouts

Broccoli sprouts look and taste similar to alfalfa sprouts, and are easily grown at home, even if you’re limited on space. I strongly recommend using organic seeds, and a pound of seeds will probably make over 10 pounds of sprouts. From the researcher’s calculations mentioned earlier, this can translate up to as much cancer protecting phytochemicals as 1,000 pounds (half a ton) of broccoli!

I used to grow sprouts in Ball jars over 10 years ago but stopped doing that. I am strongly convinced that actually growing them in soil is far easier and produces far more nutritious and abundant food. It is also less time consuming. With Ball jars, you need to rinse them several times a day to prevent mold growth. Trays also take up less space. I am now consuming one whole tray of sprouts every 2-3 days and to produce that much food with Ball jars I would need dozens of jars. I simply don’t have the time or patience for that. You can find instructions on how to grow sprouts by viewing a step-by-step guide at rawfoods-livingfoods.com.

Your Diet Can Be a Powerful Cancer Prevention Tool

There’s little doubt that one of the best ways to improve your health is to make sure you’re eating plenty of fresh, organic vegetables, ideally locally-grown, with a majority of them consumed raw. Two of the easiest and most efficient ways to optimize your vegetable intake is to juice your vegetables and add sprouted seeds. Sprouting is undoubtedly one of the best ways to increase the nutritional content of your diet, as the sprouting process tends to increase nutrient content and bioavailability of those nutrients.

Sprouts—which again are eaten raw—also contain valuable enzymes that allow your body to absorb and use the nutrients of all other foods you eat as well. Some sprouts, like sunflower seeds, have up to 30 times the nutrient density of even home grown organic vegetables. I personally consume about 4-6 ounces of sunflower seed sprouts every day that I either grow at home or our team does in our office.

Juicing is another great way to get a wider variety of veggies into your diet, and will help your body absorb all the nutrients from the vegetables by making them easily digestible. You’re also avoiding the risk of damaging any of their sensitive micronutrients through cooking, which destroys many micronutrients by altering their shape and chemical composition. For more in-depth guidelines and information about juicing, I recommend you review the juicing section of my nutrition plan.

My Recommended Vegetables List provides a guide to the most nutritious vegetables and those to limit due to their high carbohydrate content. Broccoli is certainly on the most nutritious list, but so are many others like celery, Bok Choy and beet greens. Remember, variety is key. So while broccoli and broccoli sprouts are the focus of this article, they should be part of a wide variety of vegetables and legumes in your diet. There are many other foods that contain other cancer-protective nutrients and compounds, as well as so-called anti-angiogenetic foods, which effectively help “starve” cancer by preventing blood vessels from forming to feed microscopic tumors in the first place:

Green tea
Berries: strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries
Cherries

Red grapes
Kale
Turmeric

Nutmeg
Artichokes
Parsley

Garlic
Tomato
Maitake mushroom

Fermented veggies are another outstanding superfood. But whatever method you choose; juiced, whole, sprouted, cooked or fermented, do make it a point to eat your veggies. This is one food group that is incredibly diverse, so there’s a wide variety to choose from and plenty to suit virtually everyone’s tastes. And, as you can see, mounting evidence shows that eating vegetables every day is a cornerstone of good health, and a habit that can go a very long way toward preventing disease of all kinds, including cancer.

Sources and References

• 1 American Journal of Hypertension February 2012 2012 Feb;25(2):229-35
• 2 Preventdisease.com August 29, 2013
• 3 See ref 2
• 4 BBC News August 28, 2013
• 5 CNN Health August 29, 2013
• 6 See ref 4
• 7 Arthritis & Rheumatism 2013 Aug 27 [Epub ahead of print]
• 8 See ref 2
• 9 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences October 14, 1997 vol. 94 no. 21 11149-11151
• 10 Johns Hopkins University September 15, 1997
• 11 Nature 2008
• 12 PLoS One 2008 Jul 2;3(7):e2568
• 13 See ref 2
• 14 Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1997 September 16; 94(19): 10367–10372
• 15 See ref 10
• 16 See ref 14
• 17 Horticultural Science 40(l):50-53. 2005 (PDF)
• 18 See ref 2

Source: realfarmacy.com

10 Amazing Health Benefits Of Garlic

By Natural Blaze

Garlic is well known as a natural health remedy that has long been used to treat various ailments. It is extremely easy to source in most countries and can be consumed cooked or fresh. It is most easily included in your food or can be eaten on its own. You don’t need to limit yourself to fresh garlic either. Garlic powder or dried garlic flakes are just as effective and super easy to keep in the cupboard for everyday use.
It is recommended that adults consume no more than one clove two or three times a day and that children have one quarter to one half a clove, once or twice a day.
As you will see from the list below, as well as being a tasty addition to almost every cooked dish, garlic has some amazing abilities to help in our everyday lives. When used for medicinal purposes, garlic can help to treat a wide variety of ailments as well as making your dinner taste amazing.
If you’re keen to find out how garlic can be used to assist in your health, sit back and read our 10 amazing health benefits of garlic!

1. Garlic has been found to assist babies to gain weight while they are in the womb. Next time you have a baby prepare to have garlic breath. Except if you have a history of large babies in which case maybe you want to skip the extra doses?
2. Garlic strengthens the immune system as well as helps to fight chest infections, coughs and congestion. In the winter months garlic is a great food to boost your immune system and ward off colds and flu. An old folk remedy is to eat a clove of garlic that has been dipped in honey at the first sign of a cold. Why not try it and see if it works for you?
3. Garlic contains high levels of iodine which makes it a very effective treatment for hyperthyroid conditions. Treatment with garlic has been shown to greatly improve this condition.
4. Scurvy is treated by vitamin C and garlic contains good levels of vitamin C too.
5. Popular folklore says that garlic is good for more than scaring hungry vampires away! Impotency has long been thought to benefit from doses of garlic, and treatment continues in many communities to this day. Why not try treating yourself with garlic for several months before you head off to the doctor for that Viagra prescription?

6. Cardiovascular disease can be reduced by ingesting garlic. LDL cholesterol is no friend of garlic and the aortic plaque deposits that gather on the walls of your body’s veins can be reduced with the use of garlic too. Studies have shown the amazing benefits of taking garlic in relation to heart disease.
7. Fungal and bacterial vaginal infections are toast when treated with garlic! When crushed or bruised, garlic releases Allicin which is a sulphuric compound that is a natural antibiotic. WWI soldiers even apparently used crushed garlic on infected wounds suffered in battle. If you decide to take garlic in tablet form be sure to use powdered capsules. The processes used to create garlic tablets destroy the Allicin that is present.
8. Garlic is a great source of vitamin B6 which is needed for a healthy immune system and the efficient growth of new cells. Vitamin B6 can also assist with mood swings and improve your cheery disposition!
9. Garlic can aid in the prevention of multiple types of cancer. Bladder cancer, prostate cancer, breast cancer, colon cancer and stomach cancer have all been shown to have their tumors reduced when treated with garlic. Vitamin B6 is said to have cancer fighting abilities.
10. Garlic regulates blood sugar as it enhances the level of insulin in the blood. This may assist in the control of diabetes. Seek medical advice if you believe the use of garlic could help your condition.
A word of warning about consuming too much garlic; in large doses, garlic can be detrimental to your health and you should never take more than the recommended dosage. Also be aware that the properties of garlic actually get into your bloodstream which is why it is so effective in so many ways. What this does mean, however, is that when you sweat, garlic will leave your body through your pores. Many people who eat larger than normal amounts of garlic report increased body odor.
Also consider another area of your health when you choose to consume more garlic than your friends and family. If you are the only one taking increased doses of garlic, chewing a sprig or three of parsley after each garlic dose is recommended to combat the lovely aroma of garlic breath!
Those around you will thank you for it!

Source

7 Ways To Use Stevia In Your Summer Menu

If you’re on a sugar-restricted diet, summer might be a difficult season. From frozen treats to bbq'd meats, summer is filled with sugary delights. A great option for sugar-free foods is Stevia, a natural sweetener extracted from the stevia plant. Here are 7 ways you can use Stevia in your summer menu.

Chocolate Frozen Yogurt – A sweet frozen treat doesn’t have to be bad for you! This chocolate frozen yogurt is easy to make and healthy, and can be eaten frozen or as a pudding. Mix 6 oz of plain Greek yogurt with 2 tablespoons of unsweetened baking cocoa, and add Stevia to taste. Freeze for about thirty minutes, then stir.

Cheesecake Pops – A cool twist on an old favorite, these strawberry cheesecake pops are a great way to cool down on a summer night. Mix 4 oz cream cheese, ¼ cup almond milk, and 4 tablespoons of Stevia until smooth. Stir in sliced strawberries and pour into Popsicle molds. Freeze for two to four hours and serve.

Sticky chicken on the Grill – Sweet and savory combine for this summer grilling dish. Combine 1 ½ tablespoons Stevia, 3 tablespoons soy sauce, 3 tablespoons tomato sauce, 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce, 2 tablespoons fresh ginger, 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, 1 teaspoon 5 spice powder and 1 clove of garlic. Marinate four chicken breasts in this mixture for at least two hours, then grill as normal.

Tangy Salad Dressing – Sweet, tangy and fresh, this is a great dressing for summertime meals. Mix 1/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil, juice from 1 large lemon, ½ teaspoon Stevia, one clove of garlic and salt and pepper to taste. Whisk together well, drizzle over mixed greens and toss the salad well before serving. This mixture can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Iced Mocha – For your summer afternoon shot of energy, try an Iced Mocha. Mix 2 tablespoons of Stevia and 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder, then whisk ½ cup of milk into the chocolate mixture. Add ½ cup brewed coffee (if possible, chill the coffee before mixing), then pour the mixture into a tall glass. Garnish with a long cinnamon stick.

Asian Chicken Salad – This quick, cool salad has Asian inspiration, and can be eaten as a meal or a side. For the dressing, mix 1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce, 1 tablespoon rice vinegar, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, 2 packets of Stevia, ½ tablespoon of mustard and ½ teaspoon bottled ground ginger. Whisk together the ingredients. Toss 3 cups of coleslaw mix, 3 oz of chopped chicken breast, a small mandarin orange and 1 tablespoon of sliced almonds. Drizzle the dressing over your salad and toss until fully coated.

Coffee Baked Beans – Beans are the perfect match for barbeque food, but this twist will leave your guests’ mouths watering. Bring together ½ cup tomato sauce, 3 tablespoons Stevia, 2 tablespoons molasses, 1 tablespoon chili powder, 2 teaspoons dry mustard and ½ teaspoon ground ginger to a boil, and stir until well mixed. Add the mixture to a crock pot filled with 1 pound of cooked navy beans; Add ½ cup brewed coffee, 1 ½ cups boiling water and 1 medium onion. Cook for 7 to 8 hours, adding water as the mixture cooks to keep them soft.
About Author: 

Amanda is a social media manager for a health care organization by day and a blogger and freelance writer by night. She's also a mom to an amazing 2 year-old boy and wife to a great guy who indulges all her celebrity gossip. Amanda loves coffee, fashion, Twitter, makeup, nail polish, and cats (not always in that order.) Her work has been published on family.com and blogher.com. For more celebrity gossip, fashion, beauty and DIY, visit Amanda's blog, It's Blogworthy (http://itsblogworthy.com) or follow her on Twitter and Google+.

How to grow your own pharmaceuticals

Monday, July 11, 2005
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
Editor of NaturalNews.com

It's very easy to grow powerful medicines that can lower your cholesterol, protect your heart, reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease, enhance nervous system function, and protect you from diabetes and many other chronic diseases. Every plant is a pharmaceutical factory provided by nature. It's like a multi-million dollar pharmaceutical laboratory that takes raw materials and converts them into healing medicines. It does this free of charge, without asking anything back from you other than a little bit of care, some water, and some sunlight.

If you think about how plants operate, they're quite remarkable manufacturing engines. They take nutrients out of the soil, carbon dioxide out of the air, water, and photons from sunlight. Then, through a complex system of metabolism and photosynthesis, plants manage to convert those elements into healing phytonutrients, including vitamins, enzymes, heart-healthy oils, fiber, proteins, and complex carbohydrates. Plus they produce all of these fantastic phytochemicals which we're now learning more about in terms of preventing, and even reversing, chronic diseases such as cancer.

Plants give you one more thing, too: the energy of life. This is another form of nutrition, which I call "vibrational nutrition." It's something that you can't get from synthesized pills or manufactured foods. You can only get it from plants, because it has to do with the energy of living, breathing organisms.

For nearly every chronic disease, there is a plant that can treat it. Are you battling cancer? Grow yourself some garlic, onions, and broccoli. Are you battling high cholesterol? Grow and eat some blueberries. Are you suffering from macular degeneration? You can grow a wide variety of berries. If you're in the right climate, you can grow nut trees that provide heart-healthy oils right off the tree. In fact, regardless of what type of climate you're in, there are plants as healing medicine that can be grown in your region, whether you're in the great white north, or the jungles of Central America. Whether you're in a dry desert climate, the plains, forest, rainforest, swampland, the icy north, the Rocky Mountains, or the Smoky Mountains, there are plants you can grow that will help heal you.

This is one of the main areas of research on which I'm focusing right now. I'm working on finding new ways for people to more easily grow plants that have a healing potential. I'd like to share with you what I've learned so far, and then invite you to stay in touch, because there's a lot more good information coming on this subject. One goal I have is to create or promote some sort of device that can function as a home pharmaceutical factory, with which people can plant seeds and basically enjoy a hands-off operation that grows these plants without requiring much effort on their part.

It's quite silly to pay $100 per pill to a pharmaceutical company when you can grow more effective and safer pharmaceuticals right in your own home, balcony, or backyard. In fact, the word "pharmaceutical" means "plant medicine." The word "pharma" has the same root used in the word "farming," of course. So medicines really do have their origins in plants. It's only through the atrocious politics of pharmaceutical companies today that people have forgotten the plant origins of medicine. What I'm hoping to do is help you get back to the plants, because the plants have the healing characteristics that we need.

For widespread adoption, we need something that works without soil. Soil works great for the outdoors, but if you really want a system that works for people who don't have yards, soil is obviously not the way to go. There are now plant growing technologies available that grow plants far more efficiently with far better yields than with soil. They aren't necessarily new, although there are some new technologies emerging in these fields. I'm talking about hydroponics and aeroponics. Hydroponics has been around for quite a while. It is the growing of plants in nutrient solutions that have no soil. Basically, you're exposing the plant roots to liquids containing the nutrients needed to grow. This is achieved through an ebb-and-flow hydroponic system, or some other hydroponic configuration.

You may be surprised to learn that you can grow plants without soil. The reality is that the soil is just a medium that holds nutrients for the plants. So if you get rid of the soil, but still provide the nutrients to the plant roots, they're going to be just fine. In fact, you can increase yields through this technique versus growing them in soil. I've done this myself in many experiments, in which I've planted the same plants in soil vs. a hydroponic system. I have found much faster growth and greater yields in a hydroponic system. Hydroponic systems do require electricity, and they take some effort to learn how to operate correctly. But they can be very rewarding. They're also far more portable than growing plants in soil, because it's easier to move a tray, a timer, and a pump than it is to move 400 lbs of soil.

If you want to boost yields beyond those achieved by hydroponic systems, a better system to use is an aeroponic system. This is what you see at the Epcot Center in Florida, where hydroponic scientists are using this technology to grow vertical stands of plants. They essentially spray the roots with a nutrient solution on timed intervals.

Spraying the roots of a plant every 15 minutes with this nutrient solution has advantages over the hydroponic approach, because you're able to create even more surface area between the nutrients in your liquids and the roots of the plant. In my experience, an aeroponic system produces substantially greater yields than the hydroponic system. If you think about what's responsible for that increase, you realize that it's the greater surface area of the smaller droplets of water being sprayed on the roots.

You can purchase home-built aeroponic systems on the internet. None of them are really elegant, but they work, and they do produce outstanding plant yields. Right now, I'm growing tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, herbs, strawberries and even watermelons on aeroponic systems. Plant growth is very aggressive, although I am having some challenges getting the tomato plants to fruit (it's probably just a nutrient oversight on my part, due to my relative inexperience in plant chemistry).

When I'm ready to retire these plants for the season, I'll snap some photos of the root mass to show you just how effectively aeroponic growth systems can be. You'll be absolutely amazed at how quickly and aggressively these plant root networks can grow.

The bottom line here is that I believe home-grown plants are going to make a big comeback in the years ahead, and we're going to see nutrient-rich varieties of plants (like red carrots with lycopene) that treat and prevent chronic disease, coupled with new technologies that allow hands-free cultivation of healing plants. After all, who needs to build a $100 million drug factory when nature can manufacture all the medicine you need for the price of a handful of seeds? I say, let nature build the medicines.

Source

Beets are excellent cancer fighter

July 25, 2013

Beets are strongly effective in breaking up tumors mainly by their excellent amount of betacyanin; Betacyanin is the main ingredient that causes red beet its purple reddish color.

Bee Venom Can Kill HIV, Study Shows

Scientists from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have discovered bee venom can kill the HIV virus without harming the body.http://www.agrinfobank

Bees could hold the key to preventing HIV transmission. Researchers have discovered that bee venom kills the virus while leaving body cells unharmed, which could lead to an anti-HIV vaginal gel and other treatments.

Scientists at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis found that melittin, a toxin found in bee venom, physically destroys the HIV virus, a breakthrough that could potentially lead to drugs that are immune to HIV resistance. The study was published Thursday in the journal Antiviral Therapy. http://www.agrinfobank

"Our hope is that in places where HIV is running rampant, people could use this as a preventative measure to stop the initial infection," Joshua Hood, one of the authors of the study, said in a statement.http://www.agrinfobank

The researchers attached melittin to nanoparticles that are physically smaller than HIV, which is smaller than body cells. The toxin rips holes in the virus' outer layer, destroying it, but the particles aren't large enough to damage body cells.

"Based on this finding, we propose that melittin-loaded nanoparticles are well-suited for use as topical vaginal HIV virucidal agents," they write.http://www.agrinfobank

Theoretically, the particles could also be injected into an HIV-positive person to eliminate the virus in the bloodstream.http://www.agrinfobank

Because the toxin attacks the virus' outer layer, the virus is likely unable to develop a resistance to the substance, which could make it more effective than other HIV drugs.

"Theoretically, melittin nanoparticles are not susceptible to HIV mutational resistance seen with standard HIV therapies," they write. "By disintegrating the [virus'] lipid envelope [it's] less likely to develop resistance to the melittin nanoparticles."

The group plans to soon test the gel in clinical trials.

Source: usnews.com

Chlorophyll - Health Benefits and Natural Food Sources

Chlorophyll is the  green pigment that gives plants  and algae their green color.   Chlorophyll is an antioxidant  nutrient and also an essential  component in photosynthesis,  the process which allows plants  to obtain energy from the sun.  Plants use chlorophyll to trap  light that's needed for  photosynthesis.  Although the natural chlorophyll found in green plants and algae is fat-soluble, most chlorophyll found in health food stores is water-soluble.  In order for chlorophyll to be water-soluble, the natural fat-soluble chlorophyll must be altered chemically. Natural chlorophyll from green plants and algae is the most nutritious source of chlorophyll.  It offers some advantages over the chemically altered water-soluble chlorophyll.  One of the most important advantages of natural chlorophyll is that it can stimulate hemoglobin and red blood cell production , while water-soluble chlorophyll cannot.  The chlorophyll molecule is very similar to the heme portion of the hemoglobin molecule of red blood cells.  Chlorophyll is a natural blood purifier and is often called "the blood of plant life".  It provides management of bacterial growth, it removes unwanted residues, and it activate enzymes.  Chlorophyll is nutrient dense and it's an anti-inflammatory.  Due to it's alkalizing qualities, chlorophyll also helps the body to be pH balanced.  Maintaining pH balance increases the body's resistance to disease.  Since water-soluble chlorophyll is not absorbed by the digestive system, its use is limited to soothing the gastrointestinal tract and reducing fecal odor. 

Natural Food Sources of ChlorophyllCereal Grasses (wheat grass juice and barley grass juice) - Cereal grasses are a nutrient dense, high chlorophyll food.  Although wheatgrass and barley grass have similar nutritional qualities, barley grass is milder and more bitter than the slightly sweet wheatgrass.  People who are allergic to wheat or gluten are usually not allergic to wheat in it's grass stage.  Barley grass is a great alternative for individuals who can't tolerate wheatgrass.  Cereal grasses are an excellent source of many nutrients and enzymes.  Wheatgrass juice is especially known for the following health benefits:  it cleanses the lymph system, it restores balance in the body, it removes toxic metals from the cells, and it restores vitality.   Barley grass juice is well known for the following health benefits: it improves stamina and increases energy, it provides clarity of thought, and it improves the texture of the skin.    
Microalgae (Spirulina, Chlorella, and Wild Blue-Green Algae) - These three types of microalgae contain more chlorophyll than any other food on the planet.  In addition to chlorophyll they're also a great source of complete protein, beta carotene, and nucleic acids (RNA and DNA).  Of the three types of microalgae, spirulina is an especially rich source of protein, beta-caroteine, and the beneficial fatty acid GLA (gamma-linolenic acid).  Unlike the other two microalgae, spirulina also contains a pigment called phycocyanin.  Phycocyanin has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.  The cell wall of spirulina contains mucopolysaccharides (MPs), which are composed of amino acids, sugars, and protein.  The nutrients in MPs are completely digestible unlike the nutrients within the cell walls of other microalgae.  
Although chlorella has a similar nutrient composition to spirulina, chlorella contains a little less protein, much less beta-carotene, and much more chlorophyll and nucleic acids than spirulina.  Chlorella has more chlorophyll than any other food, and it contains a higher amount of fatty acids when compared to other microalgae.  Another health benefits of chlorella is that it has a tough outer cell wall that binds with heavy metals, pesticides, and other carcinogens.  It then carries the toxins safely out of the body.  
Wild blue-green algae offers similar nutritional benefits as spirulina and chlorella.   Although wild blue-green algae is highly nutritious, during the growing period it can transform into a very toxic plant.  For this reason, it's crucial that any purchases made for wild blue-green microalgae are from well known, reputable sources.     
Green Leafy Vegetables - Aside from cereal grasses, green leafy vegetables are the most nutrient dense of all vegetables.  Not only are they a rich source of chlorophyll, they're also an excellent source of many other nutrients including vitamins A and C, calcium, potassium, and fiber.   The amount of each nutrient varies with each green leafy vegetable.  There are several varieties of green leafy vegetables available in most grocery stores and farmer's market stands including collard greens, mustard greens, kale, spinach, bok choy, kolrabi, and swiss chard.   They all contain their own unique  composition of nutrients.

Sources:

Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia

Murray , Michael N.D. The Encyclopedia Of Healing Foods. New York: Atria Books, 2005.

Bowden, Jonny, Ph.D., C.N.S. The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth. Fairwinds Press, 2007

Linus Pauling Institue http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/phytochemicals/chlorophylls/

Everynutrient http://www.everynutrient.com

Fruit Facial Mask

Cosmetic company are now using fruit acids (AHAI’s), vitamins (antioxidants) and enzymes in many beauty products but also include a large amount of synthetics which can actually be injurious to the skin. In organic beauty, only fresh ingredients are used and therefore a highly active and most effective cure can be given. You will be amazed at how something as simple as dabbing some fresh lemon juice on your face every morning can make an vast difference in how soft your skin feels.

Try any of the following fruit acids, but always take care to avoid your eyes.

→ Lemon juice
→ Strawberries
→ Grapes
→ Malic acid (apples, vinegar, applesauce, cider)
→ Lactic acid (buttermilk, yogurt, powdered skim milk, sour cream, blackberries, tomatoes)
→ Tartaric acid (grapes, grape juice, wine, cream of tartar)
→ Citric acid (citrus fruits such as lemons, limes, grapefruit, and orange)
→ Glycolic acid (sugar cane)

We all are aware of the fact that fresh fruits are good for health and the core vitamin and the mineral lies in the pulp and the skin of any fruit. And just as they are useful to the body, these nutrients can provide excellent rejuvenating factor for our skin too. If you know the properties of each fruit, you can pamper yourself with an all-natural fruit mask, without spending too much time or money. Here are few fruits that can keep your skin smooth and healthy.

Apple & Avacado facial mask

Apple Facial mask

Ingredients:

• 1 cored apple cut into quarters
• 2 tablespoons of honey
• ½ teaspoon of sage

Procedure:

Chop up the apple quarters in a food processor. Add the honey and sage and then refrigerate for about 10 minutes. Lightly pat the mixture onto the face until the honey feels tacky. Leave it on the skin for 30 minutes and then rinse the face mask off with cool water.

Avocado Facial mask

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons hot water
• 1 tablespoon honey

Procedure:

Mash the Avocado with a fork. Dissolve the honey into the water and mix well with fruits. Apply on your face smoothly. Let it sit on the skin for 10 minutes. Wash your face. It makes your skin soft and clean.

Source:Fruitsinfo

Health Benefits of Dates

What nutrients are there in dates? A lot indeed! Here are sweet, delicious fruits from the tropical oasis, brimming with much-needed minerals and energy to help you stay fit and healthy.

Botanically; they are the fruits grow on the palm tree belonging to the family of Arecaceae in the genus: Phoenix and scientifically named as Phoenix dactylifera. The tree is believed to originate in the lands on the banks of Nile and Euphrates Rivers of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. Date palm is now grown extensively for its edible fruits under warmer climates across all the continents.

Dates can provide lot of health benefits. Dates are high in iron content and fluorine. Dates are rich source of vitamins and minerals.  Consuming dates regularly can help to lower cholesterol and keep many health disorders away. Read on to know more about the top 10 benefits of consuming dates.

Health benefits of dates are uncountable, as this fruit is affluent in natural fibres. Dates are even rich in several vitamins and minerals. These natural products contain oil, calcium, sulphur, iron, potassium, phosphorous, manganese, copper and magnesium which are advantageous for health. It is said that consumption of one date daily is necessary for a balanced and healthy diet. Dates help in fighting constipation, intestinal disorders, weight gain, heart problems, sexual weakness, diarrhoea and abdominal cancer.

Health benefits of dates have made them the best nourishment for muscles development. People consume dates in several ways, like mixing the paste of the dates with milk, yoghurt or with bread or butter to make the food tasty and healthy. This paste is beneficial for both adults and children, especially during the time of recovery. According to the modern medicine survey, it is known that dates are useful in preventing abdominal cancer. It is also seen that many Muslims break their fast by eating dates and water according to their traditions. Breaking fast with eating dates helps us to avoid overeating of the food after the fast. When the body absorbs the nutritional value of the dates, the feeling of hunger gets pacified.

§  Wonderfully delicious, dates are one of the most popular fruits packed with an impressive list of essential nutrients, vitamins, and minerals that are required for normal growth, development and overall well-being.

§  Fresh dates compose of soft, easily digestible flesh and simple sugars like fructose and dextrose. When eaten, they replenish energy and revitalize the body instantly. For these qualities, they are being used to break the fast during Ramadan month since ancient times.

§  The fruit is rich in dietary fiber, which prevents LDL cholesterol absorption in the gut. Additionally, the fiber works as a bulk laxative. It, thus, helps to protect the colon mucous membrane by decreasing exposure time and as well as binding to cancer-causing chemicals in the colon.

§  They contain health benefiting flavonoid polyphenolic antioxidants known as tannins. Tannins are known to possess anti-infective, anti-inflammatory, and anti-hemorrhagic (prevent easy bleeding tendencies) properties.

§  They are moderate sources of vitamin-A (contains 149 IU per 100 g), which is known to have antioxidant properties and essential for vision. Additionally, it is also required maintaining healthy mucus membranes and skin. Consumption of natural fruits rich in vitamin A is known to help to protect from lung and oral cavity cancers.

§  They compose antioxidant flavonoids such as ß-carotene, lutein, and zea-xanthin. These antioxidants found to have the ability to protect cells and other structures in the body from harmful effects of oxygen-free radicals. Thus, eating dates found to offer some protection from colon, prostate, breast, endometrial, lung, and pancreatic cancers.

§  Zea-xanthin is an important dietary carotenoid that selectively absorbed into the retinal macula lutea, where it thought to provide antioxidant and protective light-filtering functions. It thus offers protection against age-related macular degeneration, especially in elderly populations.

§  Dates are an excellent source of iron, contains 0.90 mg/100 g of fruits (about 11% of RDI). Iron, being a component of hemoglobin inside the red blood cells, determines the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood.

§  Further, they are very good in potassium. 100 g contains 696 mg or 16% of daily-recommended levels of this electrolyte. Potassium is an important component of cell and body fluids that help controlling heart rate and blood pressure. They, thus, offers protection against stroke and coronary heart diseases.

§  They are also rich in minerals like calcium, manganese, copper, and magnesium. Calcium is an important mineral that is an essential constituent of bone and teeth, and required by the body for muscle contraction, blood clotting, and nerve impulse conduction. Manganese is used by the body as a co-factor for the antioxidant enzyme, superoxide dismutase. Copper is required for the production of red blood cells. Magnesium is essential for bone growth.

§  Further, the fruit has adequate levels of B-complex group of vitamins as well as vitamin K. It contains very good amounts of pyridoxine (vitamin B-6), niacin, pantothenic acid, and riboflavin. These vitamins are acting as cofactors help body metabolize carbohydrates, protein, and fats. Vitamin K is essential for many coagulant factors in the blood as well as in bone metabolism.

References:

1.     http://www.indiaparenting.com

2.     http://www.organicfacts.net

3.     http://www.nutrition-and-you.com