• High content of flavonoids in foods may regulate blood glucose levels

• Flavonoids are antioxidants found in berry fruits, red wine and chocolate

• They can protect against a wide range of health issues including obesity

High levels of falvonoids in chocolate may help guard against diabetes

It sounds like the ingredient list for an indulgent dessert. But red wine, chocolate and strawberries are more than a guilty pleasure. They could all help guard against diabetes.
A study found for the first time the high content of flavonoids found in berry fruits may regulate blood glucose levels, and stave off type 2 diabetes.

Flavonoids are antioxidant compounds found in plants, as well as tea, red wine and chocolate, which can protect against a wide range of diseases, including heart disease, hypertension, some cancers and dementia.

The study found the main protective effect came from higher intakes of anthocyanins, which are present in strawberries, blackcurrants, blackberries and blueberries. Continue reading →

• Compound found in root could hold key to beating most lethal form of the disease

• Breakthrough could lead to new drug to combat malignant melanoma

Scientists identified a compound found in the root of the liquorice plant which slowed the growth of cancer cells during laboratory tests

Liquorice could hold the key to beating the most lethal form of skin cancer, scientists have discovered.

Research carried out in the US has identified a compound found in liquorice root which slowed the growth of cancer cells during laboratory tests.

Now they hope the tumour-busting compound can be developed into a new drug to combat malignant melanoma.

Previous studies have found liquorice contains an anti-cancer chemical called glycyrrhizin.

But attempts to turn it into a medicine have been hampered by the fact that long-term consumption of glycyrrhizin can cause high blood pressure and even swelling on the brain.

But experts at the University of Minnesota in the US have now found another ingredient – called Isoangustone A – which has the same benefits but without the dangerous side-effects. Continue reading →

Behind the beloved idea that processed food is “slowly poisoning everyone”

Around 237,000 people now have Dr. Dwight Lundell’s confession on their Facebook walls. His essay, headlined “Heart Surgeon Declares On [sic] What Really Causes Heart Illness,” was published on a website called Tuned Body in December. Over the past month it has taken off across social media with phenomenal force.

In the essay, Lundell describes his purportedly newfound understanding that a diet of natural, unprocessed food can prevent and reverse heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s disease. He recalls two and a half misguided decades as a cardiac surgeon prescribing cholesterol-lowering medications and recommending a low-fat diet. He says that he recently realized the error of his ways, stopped practicing, and dedicated his career to heart disease prevention. Continue reading →

A diet rich in fruits and vegetables is one of the best ways to reduce your risk of cancer, and numerous studies have suggested that tomatoes in particular have a strong cancer-preventing effect. People whose diets contain more tomatoes have been shown to develop cancers at significantly lower rates, particularly cancers of the breast and prostate.

Now, a study conducted by researchers from Rutgers and Ohio State Universities shows one mechanism by which tomatoes may fight breast cancer. The study has been published online ahead of print in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

“The advantages of eating plenty of tomatoes and tomato-based products, even for a short period, were clearly evident in our findings,” lead author Adana Llanos said.

“Eating fruits and vegetables, which are rich in essential nutrients, vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals such as lycopene, conveys significant benefits. Based on this data, we believe regular consumption of at least the daily recommended servings of fruits and vegetables would promote breast cancer prevention in an at-risk population.” Continue reading →

One of the keys to maintaining optimal health is discovering the correct way to eat food in order to maximize your alkaline potential, and in turn prevent chronic disease from developing in your body. But in order to do this, you have to first learn which foods are alkaline-forming, and which are acid-forming, as well as how to eat them in balance.

The continuous onslaught of chemicals, additives, and genetically-modified organisms (GMOs) throughout the common food supply, not to mention modern society’s heavy reliance on processed, nutrient-stripped foods, is no doubt taking a huge toll on human health. Most people also eat copious amounts of food that promote acidity, which in turn makes them more prone to disease. Continue reading →

The areas of nutrition and disease prevention are full of incompetence.

We have been wrongly advised to avoid saturated fat and cholesterol, despite no evidence of harm.

Here are the top 9 biggest lies, myths and misconceptions about dietary fat and cholesterol.

1. A Low-Fat, High-Carb Diet is The Optimal Human Diet
Back in 60s and 70s, many prominent scientists believed that saturated fat was the main cause of heart disease, by raising the “bad” cholesterol in the blood.

This idea was the cornerstone of the low-fat diet. Because of a few bad studies and misguided political decisions, this diet was recommended to all Americans in the year 1977.

However, there wasn’t a single study on this diet at the time. The American public became participants in the largest uncontrolled experiment in history. Continue reading →

A bowl of wild blueberries a day could protect against a range of health problems including obesity, heart disease and diabetes.

Regular consumption of the berries over an eight-week period can improve or prevent metabolic syndrome, researchers say.

Metabolic syndrome is the medical term for a combination of diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity.

It increases the risk of heart disease, stroke and other conditions affecting blood vessels.

On their own, diabetes, high blood pressure, and obesity can potentially damage the blood vessels, but having all three together is particularly dangerous.

Berries are rich in polyphenols – antioxidants that protect cells in the heart and help lower blood pressure. Continue reading →

How would you like to live in a land where cancer has not yet been invented? A land where an optometrist discovers to his amazement that everyone has perfect 20-20 vision? A land where cardiologists cannot find a single trace of coronary heart disease? How would you like to live in a land where no one ever gets ulcers, appendicitis or gout? A land where men of 80 and 90 father children, and there’s nothing unusual about men and women enjoying vigorous life at the age of 100 or 120?

We see a lot of hands going up. Fine. But first, you have to answer a few more questions before setting out for a place called Hunza, a tiny country hidden in the mountain passes of northwest Pakistan.

Are you willing to live 20,000 feet up in the mountains, almost completely out of touch with the rest of the world? Are you ready to go outside in every kind of weather to tend you small mountainside garden, while keeping you ears open for an impending avalanche? Are you prepared to give up not only every luxury of civilization, but even reading and writing? Continue reading →

Drinking up to seven glasses of wine a week ‘cuts the risk developing depression by more than a THIRD’

A few glasses of wine each week could ward off depression, according to a new study.
Spanish scientists have found that drinking moderate amounts of alcohol, particularly wine, can be linked with a lower risk of depression.

Those who consumed two to seven small glasses of wine weekly were 32 per cent less likely to suffer from depression compared with people who never drank alcohol. Continue reading →

Mediterranean diet found to lower risk of developing dementia

Eat like the Greeks: Mediterranean food is both delicious and nutritious

Eating a Mediterranean diet is good for the mind, research has concluded.

Scientists say people who eat large quantities of fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts, fish and olive oil have a lower risk of age-related diseases such as dementia.

The research, by the University of Exeter’s Medical School, is the first systematic review of previous studies into the diet’s benefits to the brain.

It comes after research last month showed the same diet could help counteract a genetic risk of strokes. Continue reading →

If you can’t get going in the morning without a sugary coffee, need a treat to boost your energy in the afternoon and have tried and failed to cut down on eating carbs, then you could be a sugar addict.

It’s no secret that too much sugar is bad for our health. The NHS recommend about 70g of sugar a day for men and 50g for women but many of us are exceeding this.

Either by regularly indulging in treats such as cakes or thanks to ‘hidden sugars’ in products like low-fat yoghurts, excess sugar consumption can cause weight gain, energy slumps and even wrinkles. Continue reading →

Scientists warn build-up of iron may damage the brain

Eating too much red meat could trigger Alzheimer’s, suggests new research.

Scientists found that a build-up of iron – abundant in red meat – could cause oxidant damage, to which the brain is particularly vulnerable.

Researchers say this could in turn increase the risk of Alzheimer’s. Continue reading →

We’ve all heard the term pH balance before, but do you know what it actually means? The pH scale is one that measures the acidity or alkalinity of something. In the case of alkaline foods, we are concerned with the pH of your body. Eating certain foods may affect this measurement, which can lead to several potentially negative health effects.

Ph levels are measured on a scale of 0 to 14. 7.0 is considered neutral; 0 is completely acidic, and 14 is completely alkaline. Your blood needs to be slightly alkaline, with a pH somewhere between 7.35 and 7.45. Generally, your body adjusts its pH levels automatically, keeping your blood right within that target area. However, some argue that many of today’s processed and unhealthy foods are acid-forming and throw off that natural balance. Continue reading →