Wellness
• Self healing
The body is complex organism that has the ability to heal itself-if only you listen to it and respond with proper nourishment and care. In spite of all the abuse our bodies endure-whether through exposure to environment toxins, poor nutrition, cigarettes, alcohols consumption or interactivity they still usually serve us well for many years before signs of illness (infections, malnutrition) may start to appear.
The human body is the greatest machine in the earth, it is composed of millions of tiny engines.
Some of these engines work in unison, some work independently. All are on call twenty four hours a day. In order for the engines to work properly; they require specific fuels; if the type of fuel given is the wrong blend, the engine will not perform to its maximum capacity.
The fuel comes from the things we consume, the foods we eat contain nutrients. These nutrients come in form of vitamins, minerals, enzymes, water, amino acids, carbohydrates and lipids. If we don’t give ourselves the proper nutrients, we can impaired the body’s normal functions and cause ourselves great harm.
Good nutrition is the foundation of good health. Everyone needs the four basic nutrients-water, carbohydrates, proteins and fats-as well as vitamins, minerals and other micronutrients.
The human body is two thirds water, water is involved in every function of the body, digestion, absorption, circulatory and excretory functions. It is needed for the maintenance of proper body temperature.
Like water, carbohydrates,protein, fats and enzymes required to digest them, vitamins and minerals are essential to life. They are therefore considered nutrients, and often referred to as micronutrients simply because they are needed in relatively small amounts compared with the four basic nutrients. Nature has the answer we need to maintain our health, but we need to know what nutrients to take to make sure all the pieces of the puzzle fit together
Phytochemicals
• No magic, diets high in fruits, grains, legumes reduce risk of a number of deseases, including cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure.
• Phytochemicals are the biologically active substances in plants that are responsible for giving them color, flavor and natural disease resistance .
Diets high in fruits, vegetables, grains, and legumes appear to reduce the risk of number of diseases, including cancer, heart diseases, diabetes and high blood pressure. The disease preventing effects of these foods are partly due to antioxidants-specific vitamins, minerals and enzymes that help prevent cancer and other disorders by protecting cells against damage from oxidation. Phytochemicals are the biologically active substances in plants that are responsible for giving them color, flavor and natural disease resistance.To understand how Phytochemicals protect the body against cancer, it is necessary to know that cancer formation is a multiple process. Phytochemicals seem to fight cancer by blocking one or more of the steps that lead to cancer.For instance, cancer can begin when a carcinogenic molecule – from the food you eat or the air you breathe invades a cell. But if sulforaphane, a physiochemical found in broccoli, also reaches the cell, it activates a group of enzymes that whisk the carcinogen out of the cell before it can cause any harm.
Although no long-term human studies have shown that specific Phytochemicals stop cancer, research on Phytochemicals supports the more than 200 studies that link lowered cancer risk with a diet rich in grains, legumes, fruits and vegetables.
Moreover , animal and in vitro studies have demonstrated how some Phytochemicals prevent carcinogens from promoting the growth of specific cancers. For instance, the photochemical phenethyl isothiocyanate (PETTIC), found in cabbage and turnips has been known to inhibit the growth of lung cancer in rats and mice. Among other things, PEITC protects the cells DNA from a potent carcinogen found in tobacco smoke.
Health Benefits & Concerns for Legumes
AtherosclerosisRegular consumption of whole-grain foods is associated with a reduction in the risk of coronary heart disease. Diets high in fibers found in oats, psyllium seeds, fruit (pectin), and beans (guar gum) are linked to a reduction of cholesterol levels.
Atherosclerosis is hardening of the arteries, a common disease of the major blood vessels characterized by fatty streaks along the vessel walls and by deposits of cholesterol and calcium.
Atherosclerosis is hardening of the arteries, a common disease of the major blood vessels characterized by fatty streaks along the vessel walls and by deposits of cholesterol and calcium.Atherosclerosis of arteries supplying the heart is called coronary artery disease. It can restrict the flow of blood to the heart, which often triggers heart attacks—the leading cause of death in Americans and Europeans. Atherosclerosis of arteries supplying the legs causes a condition called intermittent claudication, which is characterized by pain in the legs after walking short distances.
People with elevated cholesterol levels are much more likely to have atherosclerosis than people with low cholesterol levels. Many important nutritional approaches to protecting against atherosclerosis are aimed at lowering serum cholesterol levels.
People with diabetes are also at very high risk for atherosclerosis, as are people with elevated triglycerides and high homocysteine.
Checklist for Atherosclerosis
Nutritional supplement
Tocotrienols - What are they?
Tocotrienols are members of the vitamin E family. Like vitamin E, tocotrienols are potent antioxidants against lipid peroxidation (the damaging of fats by oxidation).
Where are they found?Tocotrienols are found primarily in the oil fraction of rice bran, palm fruit, barley, and wheat germ. Supplemental sources of tocotrienols are derived from rice bran oil and palm oil distillates. Tocotrienol supplements are available in capsules and tablets.
1. Human studies indicate that, in addition to their antioxidant activity, tocotrienols have other important functions, especially in maintaining a healthy cardiovascular system
2. Test tube and animal studies indicate a possible role for tocotrienols in protecting against cancer (particularly breast and skin cancer).
3. Like vitamin E, tocotrienols may offer protection against hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis) by preventing oxidative damage to LDL cholesterol (oxidation of LDL cholesterol is believed to be one of the triggering factors for atherosclerosis).4. In a double-blind study in patients with severe atherosclerosis of the carotid artery—the main artery supplying blood to the head—tocotrienol administration (200 mg per day) reduced the level of lipid peroxides in the blood. Moreover, in a small sample of patients receiving tocotrienols for 12 months, the size of atherosclerotic plaques became smaller. In contrast, none of the patients receiving the placebo showed an improvement in their atherosclerosis.
5. Although tocotrienols inhibited cholesterol synthesis in test tube studies,
6. & 7. human studies have produced conflicting results. In a preliminary study, supplementation with 200 mg of gamma-tocotrienol reduced total cholesterol levels significantly—by 13% in four weeks.
In a double-blind study, 200 mg of tocotrienols per day produced a significant 15% drop in total cholesterol and an 8% reduction in LDL levels. There were no changes in these levels in the placebo group.
9. However, another double-blind study showed that 200 mg of tocotrienols per day failed to lower cholesterol levels.
10. In the most recent double-blind study, a group of men with slightly elevated cholesterol levels given 140 mg of tocotrienols and about 120 IU mg of vitamin E daily demonstrated no changes in total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, or HDL cholesterol levels after four weeks of supplementation.
11. Test tube studies indicate that tocotrienols exert some anticancer effects, especially against skin and breast cancer.
12. 13. 14. 15. & 16 These results still need confirmation in human studies, however.
Checklist for Atherosclerosis
Garlic
Botanical name: Allium sativum
Parts used and where grown
Garlic has been used since time immemorial as a culinary spice and medicinal herb. Garlic has been cultivated in the Middle East for more than 5,000 years and has been an important part of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
The region with the largest commercial garlic production is central California. China is also a supplier of commercial garlic. The bulb is used medicinally.
Garlic has been used in connection with the following conditions (refer to the individual health concern for complete information):
Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia ~ Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is a non-malignant enlargement of the prostate gland.
The prostate is a small gland that surrounds the neck of the bladder and urethra in men. Its major function is to contribute to seminal fluid. If the prostate enlarges, pressure may be put on the urethra, acting like a partial clamp and causing a variety of urinary symptoms. Half of all 50-year-old men have BPH, and the prevalence of the condition increases with advancing age. The name “benign prostatic hyperplasia” has replaced the older term “benign prostatic hypertrophy”; both terms refer to the same condition.
Probably the first person to see the bacteria under the microscope was Antoni Leuwenhoek of Delft, Holland , 1683. But the credit for the discovery of the relationship of bacteria to disease was given to Louis Pasteur, and known as the founder of what came to be known as Germ Theory of Disease. The following are the chief points upon which the Germ Theory was founded.
Micro-organisms enter the body in number of ways-via nose and mouth (e.g diphtheria); by drinking water or milk (e.g typhoid fever); by infected food (e.g choleras); through the skin (e.g tetanus), by insects (e.g Malaria) and so on.
Bacteria create disease by producing toxins (poisons).
Specific diseases are caused by specific microorganism: e.g pneumococus bacterium has an affinity to lung tissue and believed to be cause of pneumonia, the polio myelitis virus tend to infect the particular cells of the spinal cord and so causes paralysis.
On the other hand certain bacteria was regarded as non-specific, such as streptococci (rheumatic fever). While staphylococci were responsible of septicaemia and other conditions.
The Germ theory has to include a theory of immunity' in fact without this the whole theory of bacterial infection would be quite untenable. Pasteur stated that disease is a germ and a germ is a disease and having also stated that germs are universally present, unless animals, including man, possessed some form of immunity, the whole of animal life would have been wiped out thousands of years ago.
Natural immunity is an inherited resistance to infection. For example dogs are immune to anthrax, rats for diphtheria, animals are immune to syphilis, even in the same species there are relative degrees of natural immunity e.g tropical natives are much less liable to malaria than white visitors.
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