It seems that every day there’s a new article or new report published about a diet being good for us or a diet we thought was good suddenly turns out to be bad. A study suggesting that a vitamin has newfound health benefit is published the same week another tells us it harms the health of certain people. Is the entire world confused or do we just not understand the context into which all the information, even that which appears contradictory, fits?

It seems logical that nutrition should be incredibly simple and yet this deluge of information leads us to conclude that it isn’t possible for anyone to understand what is good for us and what is bad for us. By being able to put information from this field into context it is possible to navigate the sea of data and understand why information on nutrition appears to have become so complicated.

In the beginning nutrition was incredibly simple. We didn’t need to know anything. Pieces of plants were picked and eaten immediately. Some of those plants would make us a very ill. Sometimes only certain parts of the plant made us sick and other parts were tasty and nourishing. We simply avoided what we learned to be bad and, in an adaptation unique to humanity, we taught others to avoid bad foods through commandments and lore. Everything else was good by default.

Eventually humankind moved from being simple hunter-gatherers to basic farmers. Some estimates are that this move alone increased food production efficiency by over 50 times. This sparked the rise of civilization because some people were able to stay in one location and develop skills and crafts which benefited the rest of the tribe while others produced enough food to feed everyone else. Because the nutritional value of food is at its maximum when it is ingested directly from the moment of harvesting, the nutritional value of the food lowered slightly as the delay between harvesting and eating increased. Even so the food was still very nutritious and contained very few preservatives apart from brine used to preserve some foods for long-term storage.

Around this time different societies began to develop the understanding that certain foods were beneficial depending on a person’s state of health. Sometimes these foods contained phytochemicals that controlled symptoms and other times they simply contained high concentrations of nutrients that were specifically beneficial for a person’s particular needs at the time of illness.

For example, women would eat iron rich foods during menstruation to counteract iron deficiency during the period of blood loss. At the time they didn’t realize their lack of energy and other symptoms were due to iron deficiency. They simply knew that if they ate certain foods they’d feel better. What some regard today as so-called old wives tales actually represent the first understanding of the relationship between diet and an improved quality of life.

The further humankind moved away from a hunter-gatherer lifestyle, the more important this information became.

Fast-forward to the mid-20th century. At this point society had made a major shift from an agrarian lifestyle to an industrial age lifestyle. The percentage of the population directly involved in the production of food was approaching the 2% it is today.

In the United States children were no longer getting up early and working on farms until sundown. Instead they were getting up, having the same large breakfast their parents and their parent’s parents had every morning before going out to work on the farm, and yet they would go to a public school where they would sit at their desks for several hours a day. After school, they would go to the local diner and have a burger and French fries and a malt, only to come home and eat a large dinner with the family.

The cardiovascular disease rate went through the roof. The medical community responded by blaming the massive fat intake associated with all of the foods. These commonly eaten foods once provided large amounts of calories to people working hard labor on the farm. They did not serve a person working a desk job, an assembly line or while attending school. Unfortunately the available research at the time did not differentiate the negative effects that certain fats had on the body over others. The resulting fat-free diet hysteria did not result in a lowering of the obesity rate or cardiovascular disease rate, but people followed these guidelines just the same. As food products such as margarine, vegetable shortening and processed oils were introduced to the market, the available medical data simply could not recognize the detrimental affect these fats would have on long-term health compared to the fats they were replacing.

Another area of confusion involved naturally occurring versus artificially made compounds. In the field of nutrient study, scientists believed that they could duplicate anything in nature more efficiently and more effectively than nature could do so itself. While some researchers continued to study naturally occurring vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and other forms of nutrients in their natural state, other researchers studied the artificial forms of these compounds. Only those able to read the specific data behind the studies were realizing the growing picture that is validated more and more each day. Artificially created nutrients simply were not as effective in the body as naturally occurring ones. In fact in some cases they were actually harmful.

To the untrained eye, naturally occurring and artificially made compounds appear to be the same. To many journalists these differences are not apparent in the published studies unless it is explicitly stated. This leads to a great deal of confusion when the journalists are often regurgitating study information through the media without a complete understanding of the underlying issues or context. Their inability to properly filter this information only makes it appear more self-contradictory and confusing.

While to some it may appear obvious that naturally occurring compounds are more bioavailable and efficacious than artificial ones, such assertions could not be logically proven until the data was available for review. This does make it seem as though the past several generations of humankind have been guinea pigs to trial and error and all of the errors involve humankind attempting to synthesize nature, or to drastically narrow the food supply and selection for the sake of economic efficiency.

When we look back on some of these mistakes, it is apparent that they were largely made due to incomplete data and a certain amount of hubris was mixed in as well. Moving forward, we must realize that the further humankind moves from the hunter-gatherer that we were designed to be, the more important the study of nutrition will become. For the past hundred years, the basis of that study has been a simple categorization of what is good for us and what is not good for us down to the molecular level. In the future, nutritional science will also need to embrace the synergistic effects, both good and bad, of what we put in our body.

At the heart of the confusion is a desire for simple answers. We would all be comfortable with a simple recommendation to eat a certain way, and be done with it. Given the right context, this sort of information is possible, but we need to balance how we were designed to receive nutrition originally with the reality of modern life and modern agriculture. What can you do? Understand that we need to be aware of nutrition because we no longer live the lifestyle of a hunter-gatherer.

As a National Speaker and Holistic Health Consultant, Dave Saunders has dedicated his life to helping others understand how the body is capable of restoring, protecting and defending itself against the effects of injury and disease to achieve better health and a better quality of life. You can learn more today by visiting glycowellness.com glycowellness.com

Related posts

• Slim Down and Eat Healthier By Making Intelligent Food Substitutions (0)
• 8 Keys To Healthy Weight Loss And Burning Body Fat (0)
• The Candida Diet (0)
• Pure Water - Alkaline Water (0)
• No One Ever Got Fat Eating Broccoli! (0)

Tags: antioxidant, diet, french fries, Heart, mineral, obesity, quality of life

Baby Boomers facing memory decline may not receive as much attention in the news as their impact on Social Security and the retirement issues they’ll encounter, but it is a potential problem. The mental health of America’s population as it ages will impact us all.

As more Americans reach their golden years and beyond, not only will our nation have to face the issue of the economics of a large retired population, but we’ll have to deal with the health care issues that come from an older demographic. It is not just the problem of how to keep Social Security and Medicare up and running that we need to be concerned with, but also how do we deal with the effects of aging like brain cognitive decline?

The effects of age on the body can create a number of health care issues that will have economic and social impact when multiplied by a large generation. The mental care issues may be even more dramatic in their impact. As medicine has become more adapt at helping the body to live longer, we run into the issue of how to help the mind keep up with the increase in years. Memory decline being one of the top issues to deal with as we live longer.

The intervention and care required to assist people with degenerative brain issues can in many ways be more intensive then other physical ailments. It may be that there will not be enough facilities and healthcare workers out there qualified to handle the increase in mental health issues faced by the baby boomer generation.

As brain cognitive decline become more prevalent, we may have to turn to alternative or historical means of dealing with an aging population. We may have to turn to family supported care for our aging loved ones and find ways to cope with the care of our older family members ourselves. Trying to increase the number of facilities and healthcare workers may not be enough or even possible. As we are beginning to see with the nursing shortage, throwing more into the system has yet to provide any noticeable gains on the lack of qualified nurses. Schools simply cannot produce enough new RN’s to keep up with the growing need and the number of existing nurses retiring themselves.

Unfortunately, one of the best ways of dealing with this issue may be the one least understood by the general population. Working on the health of our brain now may be the best preventative medicine for memory decline.

The root causes for memory decline are varied, but much of what happens in the brain as we age is impacted by the nutrients we get in our diet and the amount of activity we give our minds. As with any other part of our body, eating healthy is important for our brains. Getting sufficient levels of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals is critical to keeping our brains working well as we age.

Research is beginning to suggest that many of the brain cognitive decline issues we face as we get older are in part caused by cellular damage from free radicals. Free radicals are particles that can cause cellular destruction as well as damage to the DNA of normal cells. Antioxidants are your best bet for reducing or eliminating these particles from your system. Eating foods rich in antioxidant vitamins C and E as well as Manganese and other nutrients that act to protect brain cells is the first step in safeguarding our brains.

Reducing fats and other harmful substances from our bodies is huge as well. The brain consumes more oxygen than almost any other organ in the body and as such is especially susceptible to reduced blood flow due to clogged arteries. Controlling the fats in our diet will not only help our bodies, but our brains too.

Using natural remedies may also be a powerful tool against memory-enhancement-guide.com/enhancing_memory.html brain cognitive decline. As researchers discover more about the health properties of various herbs and other substances, the better we can utilize them to bolster our brains. Scientists are discovering that old time favorites like Ginkgo Biloba and Ginseng are indeed potent in their effect on the brain. Their ability to increase cerebral blood flow, improve mood and enhance recall has been touted for years, but that is being bore out by recent studies.

Remedies that provide huperzine A, L-Tyrosine and 5-hydroxytryptophan help the body produce neurotransmitters and various other chemicals the brain needs to function and in the case of huperzine A, keep those neurotransmitters from being destroyed in the body. Looking for supplements that include those ingredients may be another way we can combat the aging process in our minds.

Nobody enjoys the thought of memory decline as we age and it is certainly something that most will have to face as our society continues to age. However, it is not a battle that we are helpless to fight. With the right steps now, including diet, exercise and even supplements we can hold out as long as possible. If enough people are proactive in protecting their minds then we may even reduce the impact of an aging population on the economy and the rest of society.

J. Wall has an avid interest in natural remedies for the treatment of memory loss. He is a regular contributor to the memory-enhancement-guide.com Memory Decline section of memory-enhancement-guide.com www.memory-enhancement-guide.com, a site dedicated to improving mental ability and cognitive function.

Related posts

• Combating Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Naturally (0)
• Brain Food: How The Food We Buy May Be Impacting The Long Term Health Of Our Brains (0)
• Zrii - Bringing Ayurvedic Wisdom Into the 21st Century (0)
• Why You Should “Just Say No” To Diets To Burn Fat (Part I) (0)
• Why Should I Eat My Greens? (0)

Tags: antioxidant, diet, memory loss, mineral

It is very simple to explain what the negative calorie diet means. According to this theory, for digesting certain foods, your body burns more calories than the foods themselves actually contain. For example an orange may contain about 50 calories. Let’s say for its digestion, your body needs 75 calories. As a result your body will spend 25 calories more from its own energy burning existing fat, allowing you to lose weight.

There are many fruits and vegetables on the list of negative calorie foods. The negative calorie diet claims you can create a deficit of calories in your body jut by eating asparagus, broccoli, onion, garlic, lettuce, spinach, cucumber, apples, oranges, watermelons and more.

I have a feeling that this theory sounds a bit controversional. Let’s say a person eats only negative calorie foods. So for every orange this person eats, he or she should burn off 25 calories. Day after day its body will burn an amount of energy from its previous accumulations. This person would soon cease to exist!

Critics of the negative calorie diet claim that there are no foods possessing ‘negative’ calories and nobody can eat this way to weight loss. On the other hand, I must concede that this theory promotes consumption of foods rich in vitamins and minerals. And this is a great benefit for our body.

Until pro or cons scientific evidences will be provided, let’s say that the foods listed above provide energy with relatively little tendency to cause one to become overweight.

Valerian D is a freelance writer interested in health issues such as

Related posts

• What Are You Eating? (0)
• Weight Loss: Need to Stop Overeating…But How? (0)
• Weight Loss Surgery: Benefits and Risks (0)
• Weight Loss Surgery When Medications Fail (0)
• Weight Loss Methods: Its Advantage - Natural Therapy! (0)

Tags: diet, lose weight, mineral, weight Loss

One of the newly discovered berry “stars” of antioxidant plants is the acai (“ah-sigh-ee”) palm berry (Euterpe oleracea Mart.) that comes from the tropical regions of Central and South America.
The genus is named after the muse Euterpe of Greek mythology and the major plant family is Arecaceae. The vernacular name is sometimes called Assai Palm.

Acai is well-known in the exotic functional food industry as a rich tasting, darkly pigmented (deep blue-purple) fruit whose delicious juice is either consumed from bottles or combined with yogurt and other health foods to create smoothies.

Where do acai palms grow and what are the characteristics of the berries?

According to Wikipedia, acai is a genus of 25-30 palm species native to tropical Central and South America, from Belize to Brazil and Peru. It grows mainly along rivers, in floodplains and swamps. They are tall, slender, attractive palms that grow 15-30 m tall, with pinnate leaves up to 3 m long. The fruit is a small, round, black-purple berry similar in size to a grape. They are produced in branched clusters of 700-900 fruits that must be picked by hand. Though its appearance is similar to that of a grape, the acai has a smaller amount of pulp and a single large seed about 7–10 mm in diameter.

What is it about the acai that has caught the attention of consumers?

Besides its deep blue color and delectable taste (hinting of chocolate), the preliminary analysis of nutrient content shows acai as one of the tropic’s most nutritious fruits and certainly an exceptional source of antioxidant pigments.

What nutrients stand out in the acai berry?

Although the data has not been published or independently verified, the early research on acai shows it is rich in vitamins A, B and C, minerals (particularly iron and calcium), dietary fiber and proteins. It also contains an omega-3 fatty acid, a beta-sitosterol (a phytosterol that inhibits cholesterol formation in humans) and essential amino acids. Oleic acid, an omega-9 fatty acid found in virgin olive oil, is especially rich in the acai.

What about the antioxidant strength of acai?

A manufacturer of acai products states on its website that acai has three times the antioxidant strength of blueberries and eight times that of strawberries. The likely source of such unusual antioxidant power would come from the dark blue pigments found in acai berry skin – the large class of flavonoids called anthocyanins and particularly from two (cyanidin-3-glucoside and cyanidin-3-rutinoside), which are the main pigments isolated from acai.

What does medical research say about the health properties of acai?

As a relatively new discovery, acai has appeared in the online database of the US National Library of Medicine—PubMed—only since 2004. Since then, just five reports are listed (June 2006).

Three studies analyzed the antioxidant properties of acai, showing its powerful effects against specific oxidizing agents like peroxyl radicals and peroxynitrite. One interesting finding was that the total antioxidant capacity of acai could be accounted in just 10% of the identified anthocyanins. This finding indicates that acai is loaded with other, yet unidentified, antioxidant phytochemicals.

In 2006, a study performed at the University of Florida showed that acai antioxidants could induce more rapid death (apoptosis) of leukemia cells in vitro. This preliminary research indicates a possible anti-cancer effect of anthocyanins and other pigments, as shown for North American dark berries like the blueberry and black raspberry.

With research beginning to show remarkable benefits of acai, why not introduce this tasty berry into your diet?

Reading

* US National Library of Medicine, PubMed, pubmed.gov
* Acai Products, Sambazon, sambazon.com/acai.asp?pg=13
* Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acai

Copyright 2006 Berry Health Inc.

Dr. Paul Gross is a scientist and expert on cardiovascular and brain physiology. A published researcher, Gross recently completed a book on the Chinese wolfberry and has begun another on antioxidant berries. Gross is founder of Berry Health Inc, a developer of nutritional, berry-based supplements. For more information, visit berrywiseonline.com berrywiseonline.com

Related posts

• Which Is The Healthier Choice For Texans? Margarine Or Butter? (0)
• What You Should Know Before Buying Any Nutritional Supplements (0)
• The Wonderful Benefits of the Mediterranean Diet (0)
• The Weight Loss Detox Diet (0)
• The Many Benefits of Green Tea Extract (0)

Tags: antioxidant, cholesterol, diet, mineral