Importance of Dietary Fiber

Past food-processing techniques focused on eliminating fiber, considering it unnecessary and difficult to digest. Now, fiber is recognized as useful in preventing and treating such ailments as diabetes, obesity, and cancer.

A British scholar first addressed the importance of dietary fiber after realizing that the English suffer a higher incidence of colon cancer than Africans do. He noted that an English person's average daily stool quantity was 110 grams, and it took 45 to 60 hours for the excretion to pass through their colons. In contrast, Africans had average daily stool quantity of 200 grams for urban dwellers, 300 grams for rural people, and their stool took 30 to 40 hours to pass through their colons. He found that saprogenous bacillus existed largely in English stool, while African stool contained more beneficial bacteria. The reason: the Africans' greater amount of vegetable intake gave them more fiber, which reduced their chances of colon cancer.

Fiber is an excellent internal cleanser. It absorbs and removes harmful waste products and poisonous materials, while reducing cholesterol and heavy metal levels. Fiber absorbs water like a sponge, and adheres to digestive tracks, which reduces digestion duration. This cuts the time carcinogens stay inside the body.

According to a study at Washington University, lab mice with large fiber intake were less likely to develop cancer, even when injected with carcinogens: 39% of the mice fed a large quantity of fiber developed cancer, compared to 69% of those not fed fiber.

Your colon contains approximately one hundred types of bacterium, with a total of about a hundred trillion bacteria. Such beneficial bacteria as lactobacillus or lactobacillus bifidus thrive on fiber in the colon, thus retarding the growth of harmful bacteria. They dissolve fiber to make vitamins and amino acids.

Fiber can be obtained through vegetables, whole grains, marine plants, and mushrooms, but not through most processed food. And more fiber is obtained by eating raw food and fruits with rinds than through cooked food.

Peanuts Are Rich In Antioxidants

Peanuts, contrary to their name, are not really nuts. They are a member of the legume family along with peas, lentils, chickpeas and other beans. Peanuts start growing as a ground flower - but because the peanut flower is very heavy - it bends towards the ground and eventually pushes it’s way underground where the peanut matures.

A University of Florida team says peanuts are rich in antioxidants which protect cells from damage linked to heart disease and cancer. Peanuts also contain high levels of protein and "good" monounsaturated fat.

The US researchers tested the antioxidant content of a dozen different varieties of peanuts. Antioxidants are the naturally occurring substances in plants that protect the body from free radicals - 'volatile' chemicals in the blood.

Although free radicals do play an important role in the immune system, they also alter cholesterol in a process known as oxidation, which is thought to speed up the hardening of the arteries.

Red and orange fruits and vegetables are already known to be particularly high in antioxidants. But the researchers found peanuts were also high in the beneficial chemicals. They found peanuts contain high levels of polyphenols, a family of chemicals commonly found in foods, which have strong antioxidant properties.

Steve Talcott of the University of Florida, who led the research, said: "When it comes to antioxidant content, peanuts are right up there with strawberries. We expected a fairly high antioxidant content in peanuts, but we were a bit shocked to find that they're as rich in antioxidants as many kinds of fruit."

Use Ginger More Often

Ginger can kill ovarian cancer cells while the compound that makes peppers hot can shrink pancreatic tumors, researchers told a conference. Their studies add to a growing body of evidence that at least some popular spices might slow or prevent the growth of cancer.

Dr. Rebecca Liu, an assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center, and colleagues tested ginger powder dissolved in solution by putting it on ovarian cancer cell cultures. It killed the ovarian cancer cells in two different ways. First, through a self-destruction process called apoptosis and second, through the process of autophagy in which cancer cells digest themselves, the researchers told a meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Ovarian cancer kills 16,000 out of the 22,000 U.S. women who are diagnosed with it every year, according to the American Cancer Society. Ginger has been shown to help control inflammation, which can contribute to the development of ovarian cancer cells.

“In multiple ovarian cancer cell lines, we found that ginger-induced cell death at a similar or better rate than the platinum-based chemotherapy drugs typically used to treat ovarian cancer,” said Dr. Jennifer Rhode, who helped work on the study.

Ginger mint dressing is great on salads, great for tossing with steamed veggies or drizzling over fresh veggies!

Distrubing Whole Food Marketing Trends

There are some rather disturbing marketing trends going on right now that are geared towards women and children. Television and print advertisements show smiling, athletic women racing from one place to the next while nibbling on a "just for women" candy bar that has been "fortified with a bunch of synthetic vitamins and minerals as well as a whole host of other artificial additives and preservatives.

Children have 'fortified' juices, cereals, cereal bars, and even fluoridated 'nursery water'!

What these ad campaigns don't show is no matter how fancy these products are dressed up and displayed, they are still dead, processed foods that may contain harmful ingredients like hydrogenated oils, preservatives, and neurotoxins.

For some time now there has been creative marketing going on in the field of health and nutrition. Part of it is due to the type of research being done, and the way the research is interpreted to serve the corporations sponsoring it. Specific nutrients that are shown to be beneficial in clinical studies are isolated, often in synthetic form, and heralded as the new weapon against cancer, heart disease, old age, etc.

There is something to be said for using plants and foods in their whole forms. It's very hard to improve on a diet of whole foods and herbs. Well-nourished bodies and minds enjoy balanced hormones and hearty immune systems. Eat your required amounts of fruits and vegetables everyday. If you are not able to because of your active lifestyle consider getting live whole food nutrition from real organic whole food supplements.

The Need For Organic Foods!

It should not be surprising that chemicals strong enough to kill insects and plant infections can be harmful to the human body and environment. There are literally hundreds of permitted pesticides, insecticides, fungicides, hormones, antibiotics and other chemical additives present in non-organic food, not to mention food additives and flavourings introduced after cultivation and in food processing. All important reasons for eating organic whole food.

Over 3,000 high-risk toxins are present in the US food supply, which by law are excluded from organic food. These include 73 pesticides classified by the Environmental Protection Agency as potential carcinogens. Pesticides also leak into the water supply - for example, a 1996 study by the Environmental Working Group found 96 per cent of all water samples taken from 748 towns across the US contained the pesticide atrazine.

Toxic metals such as cadmium, lead and mercury enter the food supply through industrial pollution of soil and groundwater and through machinery used in the processing and packaging of foods. For example, lead solder used to seal tin cans imparts residue into the food, despite the adversity to health. Cadmium has links with lung, prostate and testicular cancer and mercury is toxic to brain cells and has been linked to autism and Alzheimer's disease. Heavy metals damage nerve function, block haemoglobin production causing anaemia and contribute to lower IQ and diseases such as multiple sclerosis. Organic food safe-guards against toxic metals.

Solvents are also used in commercially processed foods which can damage white blood cells, lowering immune defense. Further, the solvents benzene and toluene, have known links with numerous cancers. Produce imported from developing countries may contain agrochemicals that have been outlawed in developed countries.

Pecans are Nutrient Dense

Did you know pecans have it all? They are one of the most elegant, versatile and rich-tasting nuts you can eat. Pecans offer up an impressive package of health benefits as do whole foods and supplements. The new 2005 Dietary Guidelines from the U.S. Department of Agriculture recommend eating 4 to 5 servings of nuts each week.

The Mayo Clinic conducted a study which found that all nuts are nutrient dense and naturally cholesterol free. Not only are nuts cholesterol free but, studies have suggested that eating pecans may help reduce LDL cholesterol levels, leading to a reduction in the risk of heart attacks and coronary artery disease. The serving size for nuts is about one ounce, which equals about 15 pecan halves. Pecans are a great staple for vegetarians, because one serving of pecans can take the place of the protein found in an ounce of meat.

Pecans are also a rich source of oleic acid, the same type of fatty acid found in olive oil. Researchers from Northwestern University in Chicago recently found in laboratory tests that oleic acid has the ability to suppress the activity of a gene in cells thought to trigger breast cancer. While this area of study is still in its early stages, the researchers say it could eventually translate into a recommendation to eat more foods rich in oleic acid, like pecans and olive oil.

Researchers from Loma Linda University in California and New Mexico State University in Las Cruces , New Mexico , have confirmed that when pecans are part of the daily diet, levels of “bad” cholesterol in the blood drop. Pecans get their cholesterol-lowering ability from both the type of fat they contain and the presence of beta-sitosterol, a natural cholesterol-lowering compound. Eating 1 ½ ounces of pecans a day, when its part of a heart-healthy diet, can reduce the risk of heart disease. Moreover, a study published in the June 2004 issue of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry found that pecans, hazelnuts, and walnuts contained the highest antioxidant levels of all nuts tested.

The same natural compound that gives pecans its cholesterol-lowering power, has also been shown to be effective in treating the symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), a non-cancerous enlargement of the prostate gland in men. About two ounces of pecans provides a dose of beta-sitosterol found to be effective. In addition, a recent laboratory study from Purdue University found that gamma-tocopherol, the type of vitamin E found in pecans, has the ability to kill prostate cancer cells while leaving healthy cells alone. Last but not least, despite the widely held belief that “nuts are fattening,” several population studies have found that as nut consumption increased, body fat actually decreased.

Healthy Reasons to Eat Grapes

Getting your nutritional requirements by eating Whole foods like fruits and Vegetables have profound health benefits that can not be ignored.

Take grapes for instance. Eating fresh grapes may prevent the accumulation of harmful oxidized cholesterol as well as the development of atherosclerotic lesions. According to the study, as reported in the Journal of Nutrition (vol. 135, pp. 722-728, 2005.), naturally occurring antioxidants in fresh grapes known as polyphenols are believed to be responsible for this beneficial impact.

In order to ensure the scientific validity of grape health studies, a representative sample of fresh California grapes was collected, freeze-dried and ground into an edible grape powder. The grape powder used in this study contains all of the biologically active compounds found in fresh grapes.
"We found a remarkable reduction in the development of atherosclerosis following consumption of grape powder," said principal investigator Bianca Fuhrman, Senior Scientist at the Lipid Research Laboratory headed by Dr. Michael Aviram at the Rambam Medical Center in Israel . "Grapes contain an abundance of powerful antioxidants that appear to inhibit an array of critical factors that can cause atherosclerosis."

Atherosclerosis, also known as hardening of the arteries, is the result of cholesterol build-up on the arterial wall, which leads to blockage of the vessels that supply blood to the heart or the brain, resulting in a heart attack or stroke, respectively. Blood cholesterol is carried throughout the body by two lipoproteins. Low density lipoprotein (LDL), also known as the "bad" cholesterol, deposits cholesterol in arterial walls when it is present in excess. High density lipoprotein (HDL), or the "good" cholesterol, removes the excess cholesterol from the arteries to the liver and out of the body. When cholesterol is damaged by oxidation, such as oxidized LDL cholesterol, it is more easily deposited in the arterial walls, leading to a blockage of the vessels. Diseases caused by atherosclerosis are the leading cause of illness and death in the U.S.

Dr. Fuhrman's study showed that grape polyphenols reduced oxidative stress, increased serum antioxidant capacity, reduced cell uptake of oxidized LDL cholesterol and decreased the oxidation of LDL in general. These processes eventually reduce the accumulation of cholesterol in the cells and prevent foam cell formation, thus inhibiting the development of atherosclerosis.

"We are pleased to see studies such as this further the mounting evidence that grapes exert a protective role in heart health," said Kathleen Nave, president of the California Table Grape Commission. "Importantly, this work provides insight that grapes impact a number of mechanisms that may lead to a reduction in atherosclerosis.”

Eat 5 to 10 servings of fruits and vegetables per day. If this is not practical with your busy lifestyle, there is a more conventient way to get your live whole food nutrition requirements.

Cooked Veggies Can Weaken Immune System

You may believe cooking is needed for food to get rid of bacteria and make food more digestible. This is true in vegetables that are more difficult for some to digest raw, such as broccoli(cruciferous family) but most foods do not become more digestible once cooked.

As far back as 1930, Dr Paul Kouchakoff observed that after eating a meal, a person`s white blood cells (leukocytes) would increase. Generally an increase in white blood cell count can indicate a stress reaction by the body. Eating a raw meal does not have this same effect on the body. He also observed that most foods that have been altered produce this immune suppressing effect.

Our immune system is basically finishing the digestion process for us, although this is a function that it was not meant to do consistently. It is wise to minimize this effect by eating fresh, raw vegetables to go with anything cooked. Also chew your food thoroughly and that will lessen the immune systems response to the cooked food.

A good practice is to eliminate as much processed, altered, and cooked food from your diet as possible. That includes milk, as it is pasteurized and homogenized. Try to removing sugar and white flour from your diet also. Begin eating most meals with a big salad or fresh cut vegetables to save your immune system a lot of unnecessary work.

You can well imagine the toll this has taken on your immune system after years of cooked and processed foods. If you at least include raw vegetables or supplement with live whole foods with your cooked meals, you are giving your immune system a break. Nutrition from live whole food have positive effects, like keeping you healthy! Cooking also can take away the antioxidants and reduce the amount of bioavailable vitamins. In effect, you double your benefits when you can eat raw whole foods.

If you can not give up cooked food, at least add some raw whole foods to your diet to prevent further harming to your body. Feed your body the whole foods it wants and needs so it has a chance to heal itself since that is what it has been designed to do. Eat the right foods so you can work on having a healthier body and mind!

Benefits of Raspberries

Raspberries are a delicious fruit, and according to the latest research, a very healthy fruit as well. Research published in the May 2005 issue of the journal Biofactors shows that Raspberries are loaded with powerful phytonutrients and antioxidants that can support your immune system and help your body to ward off disease.

The antioxidants in Raspberries include ellagic acid which protects your cells from becoming damaged. Other nutrients in Raspberries include quercetin, kaempferol, and the cyanidin-based molecules called cyanidin-3-glucosylrutinoside and cyanidin-3-rutinoside. These flavonoid molecules are also classified as anthocyanins, and they belong to the group of substances that give raspberries their rich red color.

The anthocyanins in Raspberries are very powerful antioxidants that have antimicrobial properties as well, including the ability to prevent overgrowth of certain bacteria and fungi in the body such as Candida. The biggest contribution to raspberries' antioxidant capacity is their ellagitannins, a family of compounds almost exclusive to the raspberry, which are reported to have anti-cancer activity.

In addition to their abundant phytonutrient and antioxidant content, raspberries are a rich source of manganese and vitamin C that help protect the body's tissue from oxygen-related damage. They are also a good source of important whole food nutrients such as riboflavin, folate, niacin, magnesium, potassium, B vitamins and copper.

Importance of Carbohydrates Before Exercising

The consumption of carbohydrates is important for several reasons. Most importantly the body depends on carbohydrates to provide almost all the energy for the first 20 to 30 minutes during exercise. In an intense workout such as high intensity aerobics or weight training, the percentage of carbohydrate use can be as high as 100%. So it is important to eat properly in the two hours before you exercise. This will lead to a meaningful productive workout.

Active people need more water than the average person and carbohydrates are a great source of naturally fortified water. The weight of fruits and vegetables is mostly water. Also carbohydrates are a natural source of vitamins and minerals. Many of the these nutrients are necessary for muscle contraction during physical activity.