What supplements will help prevent memory loss?

Mom died in her 80's but she "left us" when she was in her 70's as her Alzheimer's took over a once incredibly talented and bright mind. It's a horrible thing to watch and the Alzheimer's Association estimates that 4 million people have Alzheimer's disease just in the United States. That's a lot of people and then of course the family members become an important part of that equation first, of course, because of their loss, and secondly because they begin to worry about their own brain health. Which is why I have dedicated a lot of my time doing research on how to maintain a healthy brain and prevent dementia. Dementia is not always Alzheimers. Alzheimer's disease is, however, the most common cause of dementia in older people. If you visit my Facebook page, you will see this picture of me and Mom many years ago. I wonder if we couldn't have been able to help her knowing what we do today about brain health.

What is dementia?

As we age, we become more and more aware of some loss of brain function and your doctor will often tell you "you ARE getting older you know", which if you're like me makes you extremely frustrated and you'd like to hit him/her over the head with your chart. But dementia is basically a definite measurable decline in intellectual functioning which can interfere with activities of daily living and family relationships - and, of course, social situations. I still remember one time when my sister and I took Mom to lunch and she had a very difficult time trying to read the menu and order. She was still at the stage where she realized something wasn't right and it broke my heart to see her embarrassed about her inability to do so. I'm sure it was very scary to her as well. Dementia can be caused by Alzheimer's as mentioned, but it is also often caused by strokes which may be a series of strokes or only one that does the damage. A stroke is when the blood supply is blocked to your brain due to a blood clot - the same thing that causes a heart attack, except the clot is supplying blood to the brain rather than the heart. There are other reasons for dementia, but these are the two most common.

What can I do to prevent dementia?

When I was in nursing school, it was believed that brain cells could not be regenerated and once you lost them, they were gone forever. Research has shown this is not true and brain cells can be regenerated - good news for all of us! Researchers at Princeton University discovered that the formation of new nerve cells, a process called neurogenesis disproves that out-dated belief. I don't know about you, but when I first heard that, I was very, very relieved as the potential for developing Alzheimer's can be hereditary.

So now that we KNOW we can actually do something about those dying brain cells, shouldn't we be doing everything we can to make that happen? You will find past articles in our blog (see here) concerning brain health and we will be constantly informing you of new research as well as ways to increase your brain function.

The latest research that is interesting and reveals to us an easy fix is as simple as supplementing our diets with vitamin B12 and Folic Acid. This study showed that when people between the ages of 60 to 74 were given daily amounts of vitamin B-12 and Folic Acid, there was significant improvement in short and long-term memory. The improvement was documented after 2 years of supplementation, but why wait until you're 60 to start! In this study patients were given daily doses of Folic Acid (800 mcg), vitamin B-12 (500 mcg), and vitamin B-6 (20 mg).(1)

Cognitive benefits were also seen in a study that used smaller daily doses of just two of these vitamins: folic acid (400 mcg) and B-12 (100 mcg).This particular study showed that long-term supplementation of these vitamins at these dosages did "promote improvement in cognitive functioning after 24 months."

And yet another study showed additional nutrients that were effective for enhanced brain cognition. This study done with an elderly population (mean age of 87) showed that when blood levels were examined for each participant, those with higher levels of vitamins B (B1, B2, B6, folate, and B12), C, D, and E, as well as high in "marine" Omega 3 fatty acids, closely correlated with better brain functioning and increased brain volume. However, this study also showed that those participants with higher levels of trans fats (can you say hydrogenated oils?) had a lower cognitive function and lower brain volume. (3)

This should be enough to convince you to throw out those tubs of margarine and stop buying so many boxes of processed foods! What this also shows I believe is that it is obvious that what we eat or don't eat has a direct and measurable affect on the health of our brain and our future. I can't think of a better reason to change to a healthier diet. There is a lot of debate that taking supplements just produces expensive urine. I think these studies prove them wrong.

Thanks for listening!

(1) Celeste, A, Oulhaj, A., Jacoby, R., Refsum, H., & Smith, A. D. (21 July 2011, 10.1212/WNL.0b013e3182436598). Cognitive and clinical outcomes of homocysteine-lowering B-vitamin treatment in mild cognitive impairment: A randomized controlled trial. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry

(2) Walker, Janine, et al. (2012, January). Oral folic acid and vitamin B-12 supplementation to prevent cognitive decline in community-dwelling older adults with depressive symptoms—the Beyond Ageing Project: a randomized controlled trial. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 95.1 (2012): 194-203.

(3)Bowman, G. L. e., Silbert, L.C., Howieson, D. (Published online before print December 28, 2011,). Nutrient biomarker patterns, cognitive function, and MRI measures of brain aging. Neurology.

Easy recipe for beautiful skin!

I love that some things are easy in life because so many aren't. This is one of those easy things and it really does make a difference in the look and feel of your skin. I know I have days when my skin looks vibrant and other days when it just looks drab (today for instance) - which is why I started reading one of the books on my shelves. I use the same facial regimen every day that I know to be effective and healthy, but sometimes you just have to start from the inside to achieve that healthy look. You need a juicer though - the kind with names like Champion that extracts the juice from the vegetable or fruit and expels the pulp. We got ours used for about $25.00 - just let people know you're looking for one. Or you can opt for a new one. I have an article somewhere that I wrote about which brands and types are available. Will have to find that.This recipe was adapted from Juicing, Fasting and Detoxing For Life by Cherie Calbom, MS.

BEAUTIFUL SKIN COCKTAIL

1 cucumber, peeled
1 parsnip, peeled
2 to 3 carrots, scrubbed well (peeled if not organic), tops removed
1/2 lemon, peeled
1/4 green bell pepper (Opt for the red if available, more vitamin C and phytonutrients, see below)

Cut fresh produce to fit your juicer's feet tube. Juice ingredients and stir gently to blend. Pour into a clear glass (I like to see the colors shining through) and drink as soon as possible. Precious vitamins and minerals are lost with each passing minute. Savor the taste - don't just gulp it down.  This should make 1 to 2 glasses.

Why this cocktail? 

Well, many reasons but I'll address mostly the benefits from bell peppers. However, carrots also contain a huge amount of carotenoids and vitamin A and contribute a great deal to healthy skin plus helping protect skin from UV damage. Below are other benefits from this particular juice:

1.  Silicon - cucumber, parsnip and bell pepper are good sources of the trace mineral silicon, which is recommended to strengthen skin, hair, and fingernails along with bones. In studies silicon has been shown to reduce signs of aging such as improving thickness of skin and reducing wrinkles. Silicon - not to be confused with silicone, refers to natural materials whereas silicone refers to man-made materials. Silicon is a nonmetallic element with the atomic weight of 28. Silicon increases absorption of calcium. As we age, silicon becomes depleted, so it can be an important addition to our diet as we age. There is no daily intake requirement but it is important that silicon be consumed on a daily basis.

2. Vitamins -  Bell pepper contains more than 30 different carotenoids. Carotenoids provide antioxidant and anti-inflammatory health benefits. Bell pepper is also an excellent source of vitamin C - two times the amount of vitamin C found in your typical orange. Red peppers have twice as much vitamin C as green ones. Go for the red! Every good Nebraskan knows that!! 

Bell pepper is also a good source of another antioxidant vitamin--vitamin E. German researchers report that the antioxidants vitamin E, selenium, and carotenoids - lutein, lycopene and beta-carotene - improve various aspects of skin health and reduce the effects of skin aging. "Subjects supplemented with the antioxidants in both groups also experienced a significant increase in skin density and thickness. In addition, roughness, scaling and wrinkling of the skin improved in both groups of subjects receiving the antioxidants." (1) 

Bell peppers contain a substantial amount of vitamin A with ripened red peppers having almost 16 times the amount of vitamin A than green bell peppers. According to WebMd, vitamin A is necessary for the maintenance and repair of skin tissue. "Without it you'll notice the difference." (2). Although being pharmaceutical-minded, they also recommend topical vitamin A creams. I have no doubt that increasing your intake of natural vitamin A would be much better - Mother Nature really does know best. 

Increasing our regular intake of antioxidant phytonutrients can decrease our oxidative stress and lower our levels of inflammation, both of which contribute to dry, aging skin and wrinkles.This is but one of many juicing recipes that can be easy and very inexpensive to do. There are many other health benefits beyond healthy skin, but usually the health of our bodies is directly reflected in the healthy appearance of our skin.

Thanks for listening!

1.  Source: Heinricha U, Tronniera H, Stahlb W, Béjotc M, Maurettec JM. Antioxidant Supplements Improve Parameters Related to Skin Structure in Humans. Skin Pharmacology and Physiology. 2006;19:224-231.

2.  http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/features/skin-nutrition?page=2

Black beans and artichokes in a simple vegan stew:

Sometime last year I wrote a blog about "The Mighty Artichoke" - see here - and why it is so incredibly healthy and often overlooked as a superfood. And I also posted a recipe that we had adapted from AICR's website with permission - see here. At this time in our household we are dealing with what we believe to be yeast overgrowth which is presenting itself as a large area of Warren's body being covered with rashes. This has been going on for awhile. The dermatologist thought it was psoriasis, so he put him on prednisone, which is a steroid medicine often given for inflammatory conditions. However, it also feeds yeast and makes it worse. Which is what has happened. The reason I'm even telling you this is that we are now VERY interested in changing our diet to eliminate all sources of sugars that would feed anymore yeast growth. We are also treating the rash, but I can tell you it has been a painful miserable process for my husband. In this long process I have been doing a lot more research about yeast and what can be done about it.  Which means I've been searching through a lot of our recipes to see if they could be used now. The black beans and artichoke recipe originally was a simple quick recipe and I made it today. It was a hit and what we call a "keeper". I wanted to share with you this simple but tasty black bean and artichoke simmer II.

Olive oil (just lightly cover the bottom of the pan)
1 cup onion, chopped
2 fresh garlic cloves (one of the best things to fight yeast)
1 quart of Warren's canned tomatoes (I know you can't have these - substitute 2 cans of tomatoes with no sugar or salt added)
1 can (15 oz) organic black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (14 oz) artichoke hearts, drained and quartered
1 Tbsp Old Westporte Special seasoning (you'll see me use this spice a lot - here is where you can find it). It's not a "spice" per se but a proprietary blend of dehydrated vegetables.

In medium saucepan, saute the onions until transparent. Add the minced garlic - don't let burn or turn brown. Add the Westporte seasoning and stir in the tomatoes and simmer for about 3 minutes. Add the black beans, stirring to mix well, and simmer for an additional 5 minutes. Add the artichoke hearts and simmer uncovered for about 5 minutes or until heated throughout. 

I wasn't sure if it would turn out to be a soup, stew or casserole type dish. It was somewhere between a soup and stew and we served it in bowls. It was really very good. We happened to have cooked spinach as a side dish at the time and tried adding that to the stew, but it pretty much overwhelmed the clean, fresh taste of the artichokes and tomatoes. 

According to AICR's (American Institute for Cancer Research) website this recipe contains 9 servings, with 90 calories each, 1.5 grams total fat (0 grams saturated fat), 15 grams carbohydrate, 4 grams protein, 4 grams dietary fiber and 420 mg sodium. I think using our own canned tomatoes probably reduced the sodium content. I also did not add any salt while cooking. 

Easy, quick and incredibly healthy! Let me know if you have any recipes you'd like to share or advice about yeast overgrowth. After searching through quite a bit of information, it became clear that there is a lot of disagreement about what can or cannot, should or should not be eaten to control yeast. I've had to weigh my education as a nurse with my education as a holistic nutritionist to filter out those things that just don't make sense. I've also watched closely to see clinical improvements or something that might make it worse. I am certainly open to listening to anyone's knowledge in this area.

Thanks for listening!

I have to admit I'm always trying to find ways to incorporate and accommodate Warren's addiction for chocolate. By "trying" I mean finding healthier ways to make chocolate desserts that aren't full of saturated fat and high sugar content. This is a great one I think. I am going to surprise him with it this evening. You can leave out the dried fruit or top with chopped nuts. Sure it still has fat, but it's the good fats that are inherent in pecans. Not crazy about the sugar content of the pitted dates, but you have to make compromises at some point. This one is quick and easy. How many you can make from this recipe depends, of course, on the size you decide to make your bites. I like to make them large enough to satisfy that chocolate urge, but not so large that it's too much of a sugar rush, which means an insulin spike, which means it all gets stored as fat. This dark chocolate cocoa powder is just that - cocoa without added fats or sugars and it contains natural antioxidants. Okay - I have to tell myself all that so I can get rid of the guilt trip if I eat one - or two... 

Updated February 28, 2014

What's interesting, to me at least, is that I had spent the better part of the day documenting how and why some of the chemical constituents in Black Pepper (Piper nigrum) essential oil actually inhibited the proliferation of cancer cells. I usually check the internet last - and for a reason. It usually is full of contradictory information, lots of fluff and I particularly hate those "information-based" sites that have far more advertisements than anything resembling researched, evidence-based information. Most of them are just repeating what they've seen on other websites and/or some of the million aromatherapy books on the market place today. Don't get me wrong, there are lots of very good books on the subject of essential oils and aromatherapy. I use mine often and greatly appreciate the time and effort that must have gone into the research and information the authors have shared with us. We do have a list of "resources" where we list the books I have used over the years that are definitely well worth purchasing. I need to update that, but I don't recommend a book unless I have actually read it and feel that it's worth recommending.

I noticed, however, as I did a search for black pepper, I came up with quite a few sites telling me that black pepper (the spice) was in fact "pathogenic and carcinogenic." One website in particular also included in that category cayenne pepper, vinegar and garlic and "hundreds of other condiments that are likewise pathogenic and carcinogenic." Okay - I'm thinking whatever. I checked, however, and they are not the only websites out there stating the same thing! This one article was dated 1980, but this website had a current blog and frankly some other inaccuracies about some subjects that I am familiar with. Of course they are talking about the pepper berry itself that we all use as ground pepper along with our salt shakers, not the essential oil. They also said this information was "according to the University of Kentucky." So I did a search trying to find the abstract for this information. Of course all I got was more links back to this particular website.

Black Pepper actually fights cancer!

I was originally researching the essential oil of black pepper and I'll talk more about that in a minute. But while doing so, I came across many articles (with references this time) stating that black pepper as a spice has a principal phytonutrient called piperine. According to scientists at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center, they found that when piperine is combined with curcumin, an anticancer extract of the turmeric herb, it stopped the growth of cancer-forming cells. "High concentrations of the two extracts completely inhibited breast-cancer-forming stem cells." The information published online in the journal Breast Cancer Research and Treatment (1), is the first to suggest these dietary compounds could prevent cancer by targeting stem cells. I wasn't able to determine at this point what "high concentrations" consisted of, but there were many references to this phytonutrient's ability to inhibit cancer cells. I'm assuming that is also why there are a lot of supplements now available for both curcumin and piperine.

Now I have to admit, I could not find piperine mentioned anywhere as a chemical constituent of the essential oil of black pepper. I'm not a molecular biologist but I'm sure someone can enlighten me as to the correlation. I do know that we aromatherapists often assume that the plant (spice in this instance) and the essential oil have the same properties - and they usually do, but not always.

Black Pepper essential oil fights cancer!

What I did find, however, is that the essential oil of black pepper does contain chemical constituents that have been researched and shown to inhibit the proliferation of cancer cells. Let me start by mentioning that some of the main chemical constituents of black pepper are b-caryophyllene, limonene, sabinene, a-pinene and b-pinene. One study found that the common active principles that showed results as having anti-cancer properties were α-pinene, γ-terpinene, 4-terpineol, α-terpineol, τ-cadinene, τ-cadinol and caryophyllene. "Both caryophyllene and α-terpineol showed important antiproliferative effects."(2) Limonene has also been researched and has been shown to inhibit cancer cells. Limonene is found in high percentages in many essential oils, but more about that in another blog when we talk about some of the citrus essential oils.

However, in another study they found that among the tested constituents the highest activity of inhibition was found when a-humulene was applied to cells.(3) A-humulene is also another name for a-caryophyllene.It is an isomer of b-caryophyllene and they are both often found together as a mixture in nature.

In a third study, three constituents were found to be active against the two cell lines tested. They were linalool, b-caryophyllene and alpha-cedrol. The authors of this study also stated: "Interestingly, beta-caryophyllene and linalool exhibited comparable IC(50) values to the commercial drug vinblastine on the ACHN cell line."(4)

So, as excited as I was with this encouraging information, I still was wondering where the misinformation about the black pepper spice originated. I found what might be the answer in Robert Tisserand's classic book on essential oil safety where he mentions that the chemical constituent safrole was banned in the United States in the 1960's after it was discovered that injecting large amounts of this isolated constituent caused liver cancer in lab rats.(5) Apparently, black pepper has "trace" amounts of safrole. After this study, sassafras use was eliminated since it contains approximately 80% safrole.

Bottom line? Black pepper as a spice and black pepper as an essential oil have been shown in repeated studies to inhibit the proliferation of cancer cells! Black pepper is listed as a safe, nontoxic essential oil. To find out more about some of the safety cautions and usage for black pepper essential oil, see our Essential Oil Database, and/or our product description. Even before discovering this important information, black pepper essential oil would be included in one of my top five oils for a home medicine kit.

Thanks for listening!

1. Breast Cancer Research and Treatment, DOI: 10.1007/s10549-009-0612-x

2. Lampronti I, Saab AM, Gambari R (2006) Antiproliferative activity of essential oils derived from plants belonging to the Magnoliophyta division. International Journal of Oncology 29:989-995. http://www.spandidos-publications.com/ijo/29/4/989. Accessed August 14, 2011.

3. Loizzo MR, Tundis R, Menichini F et al (2007) Cytotoxic activity of essential oils from labiatae and lauraceae families against in vitro human tumor models. Anticancer Research 27:3293-3299. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17970073. Accessed August 14, 2011.

4. Loizzo MR, Tundis R, Menichini F et al (2008) Antiproliferative effects of essential oils and their major constituents in human renal adenocarcinoma and amelanotic melanoma cells. Cell Proliferation 41:1002-1012. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19040575. Accessed August 14, 2011.

5.Tisserand R, Balacs T. Essential Oil Safety, A Guide for Health Care Professionals. London, England; 1995

Meet Ann: Ann's mission statement is to provide health and wellness information to you and your family that you may not find in your every-day newspapers or Prevention magazines. Her college studies, certifications and passionate self-study have provided her with a huge spectrum of understanding of the intricate issues and debates concerning health and nutrition. Ann is a Critical Care Registered Nurse, a Certified Clinical Aromatherapy Professional, and has been studying nutrition, aromatherapy, skin care health and medicinal herbalism for at least 13 years. Not so surprisingly, all of these interact for health and wellness at a level we all want to achieve. She is an ardent pursuer of verified research and information and spends huge amounts of time searching for information that is relevant and evidence based. We sincerely hope you benefit from her efforts.

It's very satisfying to me and rewarding that more and more people are discovering the benefits of buying products that are organic. I recently wrote a post about skin health and the debate about whether and to what degree chemicals are absorbed into your skin - see here. In that article I also talked about why we use certified organic ingredients, but also that our company is not a certified organic company, so we can't use the USDA certified organic label or the label of any 3rd part certifier on the front of our labels - and we don't. We can say, however, that our products "contain certified organic ingredients and we can say at what percentage they are in a particular product. What that means is, although our products would meet and surpass the requirements for being certified organic, we hadn't taken that step yet. 

EYE CANDY:

Unfortunately, there are companies out there - and usually some of the larger big box companies - who use the words certified organic ingredients just as eye candy. We don't do that! We are proud of our ingredients and hope that you will take time to look at the long list of organic ingredients included in all of our products.

WHY DO WE USE ORGANIC INGREDIENTS?

Well, if the ingredients are NOT used just for marketing purposes - and considering they are usually 2 to 3 times more expensive than non-organic products, then why do we? We decided from the beginning that we wanted clean and effective ingredients. We wanted products that we were assured would not contain any pesticides, additional hormones, insecticides or residue left from pests in large warehouses. We also discovered that unrefined certified organics when compared to their non-organic look alikes do not "look alike". 

We, ourselves, try to eat as organically as possible and are finding that it's not that expensive, unless you are looking for grass fed, pastured meat (doesn't have to be certified organic if you know where it comes from). I've noticed that more and more people are beginning to see why that is so important. I've attached the link to a recent survey that shows many and many more people are asking for organic products. It's an "organic poll" taken from 3,000 people asking what their preference is. It's a short article, but a good one I think that shows the tide is turning more and more to organic. Click on the "check out this link" below.

Thanks for listening!

Easy, fast raw food dish - Raw Thai Peanut Ginger Butternut Squash:

People are always asking me how they can possibly find time to "cook" raw food dishes. I will admit the initial switch in mind set takes some time and some pre-planning. Mostly you need to remember to soak your nuts and seeds the day before, dehydrate for sometimes 3 days before eating and starting sprouts up to 3 days in advance. Sounds a little daunting? It does - at first. Once you start your regimen of soaking and sprouting, you'll always have a ready supply for whatever recipe you want to make.

However, this meal that I prepared today took possibly less than 3 minutes, but I did cheat and used a bottled "simmer sauce" made by Robert Rothschiild Farm readily available at most health food stores and even in a lot of the main stream grocery stores. Warren paid (yep, he does the grocery shopping!!) $6.50 for an 8 oz bottle. There are various flavors and they are all really good. One serving is only 2 Tbsp. and I used probably less than that. YES! I want to make it from scratch myself using my own spices, but today was a quick fix and that's just what we all need some times. Warren was working hard on canning salsa, the sun was shining and the flowers beds were calling to me - so I just needed something that would give me quick but lasting energy - this was it.

Butternut squash raw noodles (fresh from our garden)  - probably about 4 oz piece peeled and spiralized. See note below.
Thai Peanut Ginger Simmer Sauce - 2 tablespoons
Sunflower Seeds (raw) (use could use any variety of raw seeds or nuts here and preferably soaked overnight - mine weren't)
Chopped fresh cilantro (luckily Warren was already chopping some for his salsa - so I stole about 1 tbsp.)

That's it! I filled my plate with the raw noodles, dribbled on the Thai Peanut Ginger Sauce and sprinkled on the seeds and Cilantro. It really was amazingly good, filling, full of vitamins and phytonutrients plus staying power. Meaning that it didn't spike my blood sugar requiring my body to release a lot of insulin and give only a short period of energy - which is what happens when you eat enriched flour type noodles. I love the chewing too - they say it's good for the neck and jaw muscles and actually helps sagging skin - who knows - I don't, but I do love the crunch and the fiber.

Spiralizing is so much fun. We did some research prior to purchasing the model that we did finally decide to purchase. The brand is Benriner and I think we purchased it from Amazon. Picture below - wish I'd thought to take a picture of the final dish! Take a look at all the various You Tube demonstrations before deciding on which type would be best for you.

These are fun, easy, cheap and fast.

Thanks for listening!

Do you know which foods fight cancer? 

I know most of us have heard that turmeric is a very good choice to include in your diet to fight cancer, but actually getting enough into your diet is fairly difficult unless you eat a lot of Indian curry-type dishes and/or take supplements. I'm always looking for ways to easily fit foods into my diet that have been proven to increase my body's ability to fight off cancer. I came across this article just after admiring my swiss chard and kale growing in flower boxes on the deck. I have plans to grow larger amounts in the garden but never quite got the chance. The farmers' market, of course, is a great place to find foods that fight cancer. I will put out my seeds soon for my fall crop.

According to recent research funded by the American Institute for Cancer Research, dark green leafy vegetables are a great way to incorporate cancer-fighting components into your diet. Included are spinach, kale, romaine lettuce (not so dark, but full of the properties you're looking for), leaf lettuce, mustard greens, collard greens (love this coming from a Southern girl), chicory and swiss chard. They didn't mention bok choy, parsley, cilantro or basil, but I'm thinking those would be included but will check.

These particular foods are excellent sources of fiber, folate and lots of carotenoids including lutein, zeaxanthin, saponins and flavonoids. According to AICR's report, "Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity, and the Prevention of Cancer: A Global Perspective", these foods can protect us against cancers of the mouth, pharynx and larynx. I know we've all read that research has shown that carotenoids in particular are very good antioxidants that fight the free radicals we are bombarded with every day. Additional research has shown that these dark green leafy vegetables can also help stop the growth of some breast, skin, lung and stomach cancer. Folate was identified as decreasing the risk of pancreatic cancer. Most nutrition experts will also tell you to "shop the rainbow" - meaning the darker the color, the more antioxidants are included. An easy example is that red peppers are a better choice than green peppers; however, both are very good choices. In our green leafy choices, the dark purple kale would be better than green kale - although, again, both are very good choices. We prefer red cabbage over green cabbage for that reason as well.

AICR is our chosen choice for donations and if you take a look at their website and what they offer, I think you can see why. They, like us, believe that health begins and ends with good nutrition. Finding the correct and reliable information about that is not always easy. We believe that AICR provides a very good balance and evidence for all that they report. They have funded additional research on the subject of dark green leafy vegetables and why they fight cancer. Also read the full list of their recommendations for cancer prevention. You will see as you click the subjects we've mentioned such as fiber, folate, carotenoids and flavonoids, you will be taken to a page full of research showing why they are making these recommendations. And for those of you who think you can't or won't eat collards or mustard greens, you'd be pleasantly surprised at some recipes. AICR has provided one in particular for this subject and it can be found here. We will also post this recipe on our blog section under healthy recipes - and I'm going to try it out this week. I personally love them just raw, steamed or lightly sauteed - add a little balsamic vinegar.

So - let me know what you think about dark green leafy vegetables. Take a stroll down the tables at your local farmer's markets and see the vast array of vegetables that are available.

Thanks for listening!

Looking for a healthy snack?

Well, look no more. Following a large study investigating ways to prevent or reduce metabolic syndrome, it was found that adding 30 grams of nuts per day decreased the incidence of this increasingly prevalent syndrome approximately 14% after one year. Whereas adding olive oil and no nuts, the incidence decreased 6.7%. Either way - it's a decrease and the research is showing that the Mediterranean diet is effective for dealing with this problem.

Research now gives us reason to believe that those people with this syndrome characterized by multiple health issues such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol,  high blood sugar, and with the easiest to diagnose - an expanding waistline due to excess belly fat.  I'll talk more about why belly fat is so dangerous in another blog. But it is helpful that this study shows that these symptoms can be reduced just by adding about one ounce of mixed nuts per day. Now don't overdo it, because although the fat in nuts is "good" fat, too much of any fat is just that - too much. I also would add that the nuts should not be the roasted kind that contain large amounts of salt which is obviously counterproductive. I recommend raw nuts only - soaked overnight if possible and then dehydrated at temperatures below 106 degrees. You can season them easily this way according to your own preferences. I realize not everyone has a dehydrator or the time to do it this way, so please at least eat raw nuts easily found in bulk at your local health food store. Researchers believe the fiber, potassium, magnesium, calcium, and omega-3 fatty acids in the nuts helped regulate insulin, blood pressure, and inflammation - all of which can result in metabolic syndrome.

Participants in the study ate about five walnuts, five hazelnuts, and five almonds daily. Kathy McManus, RD, director of the department of nutrition at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, recommends eating the same amount (approximately 1 ounce) when you have a snack attack.

The link below provides the results of a large meta study on this subject.

Thanks for listening!

The synergy of using green tea and citrus juice enhances the absorption of the antioxidants!

In a Japanese study with more than 40,500 participants, it was discovered that those with the lowest risk of dying of heart disease or stroke drank at least five cups of green tea every day. Not anything really new, but the authors of the study again found that the catechins, the powerful antioxidants in green tea, are responsible for this health-saving effect. They also found, however, that only 20% of the catechins actually survive the digestive system. 

What to do? Well, if you're like a lot of us, I like lemon with my tea! I look for organic though, but regardless, it was found that the vitamin C in lemons or lemon juice help your body absorb 13 times the antioxidants as you would from drinking the tea without lemon - this according to a Purdue study. I'm thinking then maybe I don't need to drink a full 5 cups a day if I add the lemon. I've also discovered some easier ways to get my green tea into my daily routine with some of the antioxidant flavored teas that you will find in even regular grocery stores. Substitute that glass of iced black tea for green tea this summer with lemon (organic please!)

ADDENDUM ADDED May 24, 2011:

Thanks for listening!

More detailed information here: