Locally produced honey and bee pollen can have quite an effect in reducing hay fever. I lived for thirty five years in Sacramento, California. Each year my hay fever got worse, until I would sneeze for half an hour each morning when I got up. If I drove around town I would often start sneezing all over again. A friend of mine gave me a pint of locally produced honey and a pound of bee pollen. She said that this would cure my hay fever. I thought to myself this has got to be an old wives' tale for sure. But, since it was given to me I thought I should at least try it.
I ate a teaspoon of honey and a teaspoon of been pollen each day for a week and my hay fever was completely gone! I sneezed about three times the rest of the summer. What a blessing that has been. Bee pollen has a slightly sweet taste. You put a teaspoon of it in your mouth and wash it down with some milk or soft drink.
Some people have a reaction to bee pollen, so you should take only a small amount at first. If you have no problems, then increase the amount. If it gives you problems then don't continue to take it.
Locally produced honey and pollen picked up by the bees from local plants, can act much in the same way as a natural type of vaccine. By introducing a small amount of allergen into your system, you immune system is activated and over time can build up you natural immunity against it.
You should try and use locally produced honey and bee pollen because your allergies are activated through exposure to pollens present in your local area. Different states, for example, can have wildly varying types of plants, grasses and other foliage, each of which can cause allergic reactions in different people.
It is wise to start taking locally produced honey and bee pollen several months before the spring season starts as this gives you body time to build up immunity. However, you can start any time you want and still reap the benefits for the rest of the season.
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Curing the Diseases of Western Civilization
The diseases of Western civilization are diabetes, high blood pressure, heart attacks and cancer. Two out of three Americans are overweight. These diseases were relatively uncommon in the third world until they adopted a more Western diet.
The basic reason that the Western diet is so unhealthy is that it contains a high level of refined carbohydrates: sugars, white flour and white rice.
The basic problem is that refined carbohydrates are absorbed very quickly by the gut and result in large blood sugar spikes that require large insulin surges to keep blood sugar in a healthy range. Over time, many people develop metabolic problems and are not able to cope with these repeated glucose surges and keep their blood sugar under control. As average blood sugar and insulin levels go up, they cause a cascade of increasing metabolic problems, leading to higher weight or obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, inflammation and increased risk of heart attack, stroke, cancer and dementia.
Cholesterol and saturated fat. This theory was championed by Dr Keys, who succeeded in turning it into dogma. The idea was that people with extremely high cholesterol (265 and up) had higher risks of heart attacks, so lower cholesterol must be good for everyone, even though only a very small percentage of people have total cholesterol over 265. Eating saturated fat increases total cholesterol, so it must be bad. Eating polyunsaturated fat reduces total cholesterol so it must be good. Eating less saturated fat means that you need to make up the calories that were coming from it, so you needed to eat more polyunsaturated fat or reduce fat and eat more carbohydrate (e.g. a "low fat" diet).
The problem with Keys' theory is that further research did not support it: the epidemiological studies showed a modest risk of increased heart attack for men with total cholesterol over 240 and no increased risk for women. LOW LEVELS OF CHOLESTEROL, UNDER 160, ARE ASSOCIATED WITH INCREASED RISK OF CANCER, so you don't want to get too low. High levels of polyunsaturated fat (think vegetable oils) are associated with an increased risk of cancer, so you don't want to eat too much polyunsaturated fat. Polyunsaturated fats (vegetable oils) increase inflammation which can lead to an increase of cancer.
Cholesterol is carried around in your blood in small globules of fat and cholesterol with a protein backbone, know as "lipoproteins". These globules range in size of very large VLDL for low-density lipoprotein) to medium sized (LDL for low-density lipoprotein) to small (HDL for high-density liproprotein). When you get a blood test for total cholesterol, what is really measured is the cholesterol carried in all of these different sized globules.
IT TURNS OUT THAT LIPOPROTEIN GLOBULE SIZE IS CORRELATED WITH HEART ATTACK RISK. Having more HDL is good (so your total cholesterol can go up and you have a lower risk of hear attack, if the increase comes form HDL). For LDL, there is a wide range of sizes, and the large ones are innocuous (e.g. "pillows floating around in your blood'. The smaller LDL particles are indeed correlated with an increased risk of heart attack. This is because the small LDL particles can squeeze in between the cells of the blood vessels and this causes plaque to build up. Larger LDL particles are unable to do this. So if your total cholesterol goes up but it is because you have more large LDL globules, that is fine. IF it goes up because you have more small LDL globules, that is bad. So it is very important when you get a cholesterol test to get the total cholesterol broken down into its various parts.
EATING SATURATED FAT DOES INCREASE TOTAL CHOLESTEROL, BUT IT INCREASES THE LARGE LDL PARTICLES, WHICH APPEAR TO BE HARMLESS. EATING MORE CARBOHYDRATES INCREASES THE SMALL LDL PARTICLES, WHICH IS DANGEROUS. SO SATURATED FAT DOESN'T APPEAR TO INCREASE THE RISK OF HEART ATTACK, BUT EATING HIGH CARB DIETS DOES.
Weight problems are due to metabolic dysfunction and not a lack of will power. The obvious case are people with diabetes type 1, whose pancreas doesn't make insulin at all. These people cannot put on weight without insulin injections. On the other side of the spectrum, heavier people have higher than average insulin levels. PEOPLE WHO EAT DIETS THAT LOWER THEIR AVERAGE INSULIN LEVELS LOSE WITHOUT WITHOUT BEING HUNGRY (e.g. low-glycemic index diets or extremely-low carb ketogenic diets such as Dr Atkins).
The basic reason that the Western diet is so unhealthy is that it contains a high level of refined carbohydrates: sugars, white flour and white rice.
The basic problem is that refined carbohydrates are absorbed very quickly by the gut and result in large blood sugar spikes that require large insulin surges to keep blood sugar in a healthy range. Over time, many people develop metabolic problems and are not able to cope with these repeated glucose surges and keep their blood sugar under control. As average blood sugar and insulin levels go up, they cause a cascade of increasing metabolic problems, leading to higher weight or obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, inflammation and increased risk of heart attack, stroke, cancer and dementia.
Cholesterol and saturated fat. This theory was championed by Dr Keys, who succeeded in turning it into dogma. The idea was that people with extremely high cholesterol (265 and up) had higher risks of heart attacks, so lower cholesterol must be good for everyone, even though only a very small percentage of people have total cholesterol over 265. Eating saturated fat increases total cholesterol, so it must be bad. Eating polyunsaturated fat reduces total cholesterol so it must be good. Eating less saturated fat means that you need to make up the calories that were coming from it, so you needed to eat more polyunsaturated fat or reduce fat and eat more carbohydrate (e.g. a "low fat" diet).
The problem with Keys' theory is that further research did not support it: the epidemiological studies showed a modest risk of increased heart attack for men with total cholesterol over 240 and no increased risk for women. LOW LEVELS OF CHOLESTEROL, UNDER 160, ARE ASSOCIATED WITH INCREASED RISK OF CANCER, so you don't want to get too low. High levels of polyunsaturated fat (think vegetable oils) are associated with an increased risk of cancer, so you don't want to eat too much polyunsaturated fat. Polyunsaturated fats (vegetable oils) increase inflammation which can lead to an increase of cancer.
Cholesterol is carried around in your blood in small globules of fat and cholesterol with a protein backbone, know as "lipoproteins". These globules range in size of very large VLDL for low-density lipoprotein) to medium sized (LDL for low-density lipoprotein) to small (HDL for high-density liproprotein). When you get a blood test for total cholesterol, what is really measured is the cholesterol carried in all of these different sized globules.
IT TURNS OUT THAT LIPOPROTEIN GLOBULE SIZE IS CORRELATED WITH HEART ATTACK RISK. Having more HDL is good (so your total cholesterol can go up and you have a lower risk of hear attack, if the increase comes form HDL). For LDL, there is a wide range of sizes, and the large ones are innocuous (e.g. "pillows floating around in your blood'. The smaller LDL particles are indeed correlated with an increased risk of heart attack. This is because the small LDL particles can squeeze in between the cells of the blood vessels and this causes plaque to build up. Larger LDL particles are unable to do this. So if your total cholesterol goes up but it is because you have more large LDL globules, that is fine. IF it goes up because you have more small LDL globules, that is bad. So it is very important when you get a cholesterol test to get the total cholesterol broken down into its various parts.
EATING SATURATED FAT DOES INCREASE TOTAL CHOLESTEROL, BUT IT INCREASES THE LARGE LDL PARTICLES, WHICH APPEAR TO BE HARMLESS. EATING MORE CARBOHYDRATES INCREASES THE SMALL LDL PARTICLES, WHICH IS DANGEROUS. SO SATURATED FAT DOESN'T APPEAR TO INCREASE THE RISK OF HEART ATTACK, BUT EATING HIGH CARB DIETS DOES.
Weight problems are due to metabolic dysfunction and not a lack of will power. The obvious case are people with diabetes type 1, whose pancreas doesn't make insulin at all. These people cannot put on weight without insulin injections. On the other side of the spectrum, heavier people have higher than average insulin levels. PEOPLE WHO EAT DIETS THAT LOWER THEIR AVERAGE INSULIN LEVELS LOSE WITHOUT WITHOUT BEING HUNGRY (e.g. low-glycemic index diets or extremely-low carb ketogenic diets such as Dr Atkins).
Monday, May 16, 2011
The Top Food for Your Eyes
Do you know what causes the orange color of wild salmon? It is one of the most important new nutrient discoveries from a marine algae called astaxanthin, which is a far more powerful cousin of beta-carotene. Baby flamingos are born white and do not become pink until they start eating food with astaxanthin in it.
Astaxanthin is one of the most important nutrients, perhaps next to vitamin D3 in importance. Astaxathin belongs to class of naturally occurring pigments called carotenoids which have powerful antioxidant properties that are crucial for your health. Carotenoids are the compounds in your foods that give them vibrant colors, from green grasses to red beets, to the spectacular yellows and oranges of bell peppers.
Astaxanthin is produced only by algae and the sea creatures that the consume the algae such as krill, shellfish and salmon.
Astaxanthin is by far the most powerful carotenoid antioxidant when it comes to free radical scavenging: astaxanthin is 65 times more powerful than vitamin C, 54 times more powerful than beta-carotene, and 14 times more powerful than vitamin E.
Astaxanthin is far more effective than other carotenoids at "singlet oxygen quenching," which is a particular type of oxidation. The damaging effects of sunlight and various organic materials are caused by this less stable form of oxygen. Astaxanthin is 550 times more powerful than vitamin E and 11 times more powerful than beta-carotene at neutralizing singlet oxygen.
Astaxanthin crosses the blood brain barrier and the blood retinal barrier (beta carotene and lycopene do not), which brings antioxidant and anti-inflammatory protection to your eyes, brain and central nervous system and reducing your risk for cataracts, macular degeneration, blindness, dementia and Alzheimer's disease.
Axtaxanthin is soluble in lipids, so it easily incorporates into cell membranes and protects them from oxidative damage. It is a potent UVB absorber and reduces DNA damage. It is also a very potent natural anti-inflammatory.
Astaxanthin is protective against:
Glaucama
Cataracts
Retinal arterial occlusion
Venous occlusion
Diabetic rentinopathy
Age-related macular degeneration (ARMD)
Cystoid macular edema
Injuries to the brain and ans spine
Inflammatory eye diseases (i.e., retinitis, iritis, keratitis, and scleritis)
Parkinson's, Huntington's and Lou Gehrig's disease, Alzheimer's diseases, dementia
Synthetic astaxanthin is made from petrochemicals and is not as good for you as astaxanthin from natural sources.
You can obtain astaxanthin from natural sources such as salmon, shellfish and krill oil or from supplements.
Astaxanthin is one of the most important nutrients, perhaps next to vitamin D3 in importance. Astaxathin belongs to class of naturally occurring pigments called carotenoids which have powerful antioxidant properties that are crucial for your health. Carotenoids are the compounds in your foods that give them vibrant colors, from green grasses to red beets, to the spectacular yellows and oranges of bell peppers.
Astaxanthin is produced only by algae and the sea creatures that the consume the algae such as krill, shellfish and salmon.
Astaxanthin is by far the most powerful carotenoid antioxidant when it comes to free radical scavenging: astaxanthin is 65 times more powerful than vitamin C, 54 times more powerful than beta-carotene, and 14 times more powerful than vitamin E.
Astaxanthin is far more effective than other carotenoids at "singlet oxygen quenching," which is a particular type of oxidation. The damaging effects of sunlight and various organic materials are caused by this less stable form of oxygen. Astaxanthin is 550 times more powerful than vitamin E and 11 times more powerful than beta-carotene at neutralizing singlet oxygen.
Astaxanthin crosses the blood brain barrier and the blood retinal barrier (beta carotene and lycopene do not), which brings antioxidant and anti-inflammatory protection to your eyes, brain and central nervous system and reducing your risk for cataracts, macular degeneration, blindness, dementia and Alzheimer's disease.
Axtaxanthin is soluble in lipids, so it easily incorporates into cell membranes and protects them from oxidative damage. It is a potent UVB absorber and reduces DNA damage. It is also a very potent natural anti-inflammatory.
Astaxanthin is protective against:
Glaucama
Cataracts
Retinal arterial occlusion
Venous occlusion
Diabetic rentinopathy
Age-related macular degeneration (ARMD)
Cystoid macular edema
Injuries to the brain and ans spine
Inflammatory eye diseases (i.e., retinitis, iritis, keratitis, and scleritis)
Parkinson's, Huntington's and Lou Gehrig's disease, Alzheimer's diseases, dementia
Synthetic astaxanthin is made from petrochemicals and is not as good for you as astaxanthin from natural sources.
You can obtain astaxanthin from natural sources such as salmon, shellfish and krill oil or from supplements.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Vitamin K2 Reduces Heart Disease by 57 Percent
Dr Leon Schurgers says vitamin K2 can reduce heart disease by 57 percent. Dr. Schurgers is a graduate of the prestigious University of Maastricht in the Netherlands. He currently leads research at the world renowned Cardiovascular Research Institute.
Research shows that Americans have too much calcium in their arteries and not enough in their bones. It's called the Calcium paradox. And it leads to osteoporosis and heart disease.
Dr Schurgers says that it is not because we get too little calcium in our diet, but because we get too little vitamin K2. Vitamin K2 controls where your calcium goes. That is the key to heart health.
A diet rich in vitamin K2 get calcium into your bones while removing it from your arteries. If your diet is low in vitamin K2, you get calcium deposits in your arteries. That leads to plaque and calcification and ends in heart disease and heart attack.
Headed up by Dr. Schurgers, the Rotterdam Heart Study followed 4,800 participants for seven years. It's the largest clinical trial to directly link vitamin K2 to heart disease.
The study showed that people who got plenty of vitamin K2 in their diet had 57 percent fewer heart attacks than those who didn't.
The study also showed that plaque results when calcium leaves you bones and ends up in your arteries. This plaque leads to heart disease. It presents heart disease in a whole new light.
If there's a vitamin K2 there's got to be a vitamin K1. Vitamin Ki is found in green, leafy vegetables like spinach.
A study at the University Medical Center Utrecht in the Netherlands studied 16,057 women for eight years. The women had no coronary heart disease at the start of the study. The studies followed their intake of vitamin K1 and vitamin K2. The women getting Vitamin K1 had 480 incidents of heart attack over the eight years. But the women getting vitamin K2 again had a 57 percent lower rate.
Researchers concluded that vitamin K1 had little effect on cardiovacular health, but vitamin K2 dramatically reduced it.
How do you get vitamin K2 into your diet? Vitamin K2 is found largely in meats and eggs. Be sure to buy lean UNPROCESSED meats. Also, a very good source of vitamin K2 is from vitamin K2 supplements or from the Japanese food Natto which is by far the richest source of vitamin K2.
Research shows that Americans have too much calcium in their arteries and not enough in their bones. It's called the Calcium paradox. And it leads to osteoporosis and heart disease.
Dr Schurgers says that it is not because we get too little calcium in our diet, but because we get too little vitamin K2. Vitamin K2 controls where your calcium goes. That is the key to heart health.
A diet rich in vitamin K2 get calcium into your bones while removing it from your arteries. If your diet is low in vitamin K2, you get calcium deposits in your arteries. That leads to plaque and calcification and ends in heart disease and heart attack.
Headed up by Dr. Schurgers, the Rotterdam Heart Study followed 4,800 participants for seven years. It's the largest clinical trial to directly link vitamin K2 to heart disease.
The study showed that people who got plenty of vitamin K2 in their diet had 57 percent fewer heart attacks than those who didn't.
The study also showed that plaque results when calcium leaves you bones and ends up in your arteries. This plaque leads to heart disease. It presents heart disease in a whole new light.
If there's a vitamin K2 there's got to be a vitamin K1. Vitamin Ki is found in green, leafy vegetables like spinach.
A study at the University Medical Center Utrecht in the Netherlands studied 16,057 women for eight years. The women had no coronary heart disease at the start of the study. The studies followed their intake of vitamin K1 and vitamin K2. The women getting Vitamin K1 had 480 incidents of heart attack over the eight years. But the women getting vitamin K2 again had a 57 percent lower rate.
Researchers concluded that vitamin K1 had little effect on cardiovacular health, but vitamin K2 dramatically reduced it.
How do you get vitamin K2 into your diet? Vitamin K2 is found largely in meats and eggs. Be sure to buy lean UNPROCESSED meats. Also, a very good source of vitamin K2 is from vitamin K2 supplements or from the Japanese food Natto which is by far the richest source of vitamin K2.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Leptin: How Diabetes and Obesity Are Linked
Leptin is the way that your body fat speaks to your brain to let your brain know how much energy is available and, very importantly, what to do with it. Studies have shown that leptin plays significant if not primary roles in heart disease, obesity, diabetes, osteoporosis, autoimmune diseases, reproductive disorders, and perhaps the rate of aging itself. Many chronic diseases are now linked to excess inflammation such as heart disease and diabetes. High leptin levels are very pro-inflammatory, and leptin also helps to mediate the manufacture of other very potent inflammatory chemicals from fat cells that also play a significant role in the progression of heart disease and diabetes.
Leptin plays a far more important role in your health than, for instance, cholesterol, however few doctors are taught to pay attention to it, or even know much about it. Leptin's critical importance is largely unknown to the medical community because there are no know drugs that regulate its activities and therefore there is no incentive to spend money to educate doctors about leptin's critical role in health and disease. The only known way to reestablish proper leptin (and insulin) signaling is via diet and, as such, there can have a more profound effect on your health than any other know modality of medical treatment.
Many studies have shown that the brain and liver are of paramount importance in regulating your blood sugar levels especially in type 2 or insulin resistant diabetes. It had been previously believed that the insulin sensitivity of muscle and fat tissues are the most important factor in determining whether one would become diabetic or not. It should be noted that leptin plays a vital role in regulating your brain's hypothalamic activity which regulates much of your "autonomic" functions: those functions that you don't necessarily think about but which determines much of your life and health such as:
Body temperature
Heart rate
Hunger
Stress response
Fat burning or storage
Reproductive behavior and
Newly discovered roles in bone growth and BLOOD SUGAR LEVELS
Past studies have also show the complexity of hormonal orchestration. Especially with very important hormones like insulin and leptin with far ranging effects, a particular cell can be resistant to one effect while the other stays intact. For instance, it had been shown previously that cells may become resistant to the effects of insulin on glucose influx (which may be protective in limiting the amount of glucose entering cells and thus intracellular glycation), while that same cell may not become resistant to the effects if insulin on cellular proliferation that tell cells to multiply, as these are mediated by two separate pathways.
THUS A PERSON WITH HIGH INSULIN LEVELS, BEING INSULIN RESISTANT IN REGARDS TO GLUCOSE, WOULD STILL BE AT A MUCH HIGHER RISK OF CANCER, AND THIS INDEED IS WHAT HAPPENS: HIGH INSULIN LEVELS ARE ASSOCIATED WITH MANY COMMON FORMS OF CANCER. ALSO, DIFFERENT ORGAN SYSTEMS BECOME RESISTANT AT DIFFERENT RATES. THEREFORE, JUST TAKING OR ARTIFICIALLY RAISING (BY DRUGS) INSULIN, AND/OR LEPTIN, WILL NOT CORRECT THE PROBLEMS IN THE ORCHESTRATION OF THE SIGNALS, ANY MORE THAN PLAYING THE TUBA LOUDER WILL FIX MISTAKES IN THE WRITTEN MUSIC.
A DIET THAT EMPHASIZES GOOD FATS AND AVOIDS BLOOD SUGAR SPIKES COUPLED WITH TARGETED SUPPLEMENTS TO ENHANCE INSULIN AND LEPTIN SENSITIVITY SUCH AS THE ROSEDALE DIET WILL INCREASE YOUR CELL'S ABILITY TO HEAR HORMONAL MESSAGES CORRECTLY.
The above article was from a lecture by Dr. Ron Rosedale, who is an expert on leptin physiology. We will have more on the role of leptin in the future as it takes a little while to fully comprehend the important role of leptin in good health.
Leptin plays a far more important role in your health than, for instance, cholesterol, however few doctors are taught to pay attention to it, or even know much about it. Leptin's critical importance is largely unknown to the medical community because there are no know drugs that regulate its activities and therefore there is no incentive to spend money to educate doctors about leptin's critical role in health and disease. The only known way to reestablish proper leptin (and insulin) signaling is via diet and, as such, there can have a more profound effect on your health than any other know modality of medical treatment.
Many studies have shown that the brain and liver are of paramount importance in regulating your blood sugar levels especially in type 2 or insulin resistant diabetes. It had been previously believed that the insulin sensitivity of muscle and fat tissues are the most important factor in determining whether one would become diabetic or not. It should be noted that leptin plays a vital role in regulating your brain's hypothalamic activity which regulates much of your "autonomic" functions: those functions that you don't necessarily think about but which determines much of your life and health such as:
Body temperature
Heart rate
Hunger
Stress response
Fat burning or storage
Reproductive behavior and
Newly discovered roles in bone growth and BLOOD SUGAR LEVELS
Past studies have also show the complexity of hormonal orchestration. Especially with very important hormones like insulin and leptin with far ranging effects, a particular cell can be resistant to one effect while the other stays intact. For instance, it had been shown previously that cells may become resistant to the effects of insulin on glucose influx (which may be protective in limiting the amount of glucose entering cells and thus intracellular glycation), while that same cell may not become resistant to the effects if insulin on cellular proliferation that tell cells to multiply, as these are mediated by two separate pathways.
THUS A PERSON WITH HIGH INSULIN LEVELS, BEING INSULIN RESISTANT IN REGARDS TO GLUCOSE, WOULD STILL BE AT A MUCH HIGHER RISK OF CANCER, AND THIS INDEED IS WHAT HAPPENS: HIGH INSULIN LEVELS ARE ASSOCIATED WITH MANY COMMON FORMS OF CANCER. ALSO, DIFFERENT ORGAN SYSTEMS BECOME RESISTANT AT DIFFERENT RATES. THEREFORE, JUST TAKING OR ARTIFICIALLY RAISING (BY DRUGS) INSULIN, AND/OR LEPTIN, WILL NOT CORRECT THE PROBLEMS IN THE ORCHESTRATION OF THE SIGNALS, ANY MORE THAN PLAYING THE TUBA LOUDER WILL FIX MISTAKES IN THE WRITTEN MUSIC.
A DIET THAT EMPHASIZES GOOD FATS AND AVOIDS BLOOD SUGAR SPIKES COUPLED WITH TARGETED SUPPLEMENTS TO ENHANCE INSULIN AND LEPTIN SENSITIVITY SUCH AS THE ROSEDALE DIET WILL INCREASE YOUR CELL'S ABILITY TO HEAR HORMONAL MESSAGES CORRECTLY.
The above article was from a lecture by Dr. Ron Rosedale, who is an expert on leptin physiology. We will have more on the role of leptin in the future as it takes a little while to fully comprehend the important role of leptin in good health.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)