Natural News Reports:
“Scientists determined for the first time that regular consumption of cocoa negates the inflammatory effect of digestive oxidative stress that results in intestinal complaints and is a precursor to the genesis of colon cancer. Cocoa is now considered a superfood as it has been shown to improve blood lipids and help prevent cardiovascular disease in past research. The result of this current study demonstrates that a daily dose of the compound can help prevent colon cancer progression.

Researchers studied rats that had been fed a cocoa-rich diet consisting of twelve percent cocoa, as compared to a control group that received the same diet with the chocolate compound enrichment. Both groups were exposed to a chemical known to induce colon cancer. Animals such as mice and rats have been used for decades to conduct this type of research because they exhibit a similar line of carcinogenesis that is comparable to humans.

Cocoa polyphenols from dark chocolate significantly lower colon cancer risk

The study leader, Dr. Maria Angeles Martin Arribas noted“Being exposed to different poisons in the diet like toxins, mutagens and pro-carcinogens, the intestinal mucus is very susceptible to pathologies…foods like cocoa, which is rich in polyphenols, seems to play an important role in protecting against disease.”After a period of eight weeks, the scientists were able to confirm the protective effect of cocoa polyphenols in protecting against this insidious form of digestive cancer.

The study results showed a marked decrease in the number of pre-malignant neoplastic crypts in the lining of the colon in the cocoa-treated group as compared to the control animals. Further, the researchers found a rise in antioxidant defenses in the supplemented rats and a decrease in oxidative stress biomarkers that are known to be protective against chemical exposure and the prevention of colorectal cancer.

The team concluded that the protective effect of the bioactive compounds in cocoa stopped cell-signaling pathways that typically promote cell proliferation and lead to tumor development. The treated animals also exhibited a much higher degree of apoptosis, or normal programmed cell death of potentially cancerous tissues. It is important to note that milk chocolate is not a good source of cocoa due to its low concentration of the polyphenol and high sugar content, known to promote cancer. Choose a dark chocolate with a minimum 70 percent cocoa content to significantly lower the risk associated with colorectal cancer.”

At Nushie’s Natural we make our chocolate ice creamery with raw cacoa powder and nibs and as well as being healthy for you it tastes fabulous
Sources for this article include:

www.newsmaxhealth.com

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-01/f-sf-ccp012412.php

www.huffingtonpost.co.uk

About the author:
John Phillip is a Health Researcher and Author who writes regularly on the cutting edge use of diet, lifestyle modifications and targeted supplementation to enhance and improve the quality and length of life. John is the author of ‘Your Healthy Weight Loss Plan’, a comprehensive EBook explaining how to use Diet, Exercise, Mind and Targeted Supplementation to achieve your weight loss goal. Visit My Optimal Health Resource to continue reading the latest health news updates, and to download your Free 48 page copy of ‘Your Healthy Weight Loss Plan’.

Learn more:http://www.naturalnews.com/034883_cocoa_dark_chocolate_colon_cancer.html#ixzz1mMDdh7nA

Science Daily reports: “A groundbreaking study conducted by Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI) Senior Scientist Elizabeth Theil, PhD, is the first to reveal the existence of at least two independent mechanisms for iron absorption from non-meat sources-and a potential treatment for iron deficiency, the most common nutrient deficiency worldwide. Dr. Theil’s discovery of an alternative mechanism for iron absorption from vegetables and legumes may provide the key to helping solve iron deficiency by providing an alternative, affordable, and readily available source of iron

Time Healthland reports:

“The research, published in the journal Neurology, showed that people with healthier diets — rich in omega-3 fatty acids and a variety of vitamins — had bigger brains and better cognitive function than those whose diets were unhealthier on the whole.

Many previous surveys of people have found that those who report diets high in vitamin E and omega-3 fatty acids have slower rates of cognitive decline, compared with people whose diets are lower in these nutrients. But when researchers have conducted randomized trials with elderly patients, giving specific supplements to some and placebos to others, the association between the nutrients and intellectual abilities like memory, language, reasoning and planning fell apart.

Part of the problem, says Gene Bowman, a nutritional epidemiologist at Oregon Health & Science University, is that the participants in these observational studies were asked to remember what they ate by answering questionnaires. But if the primary outcome was to measure their cognitive abilities, including memory and recall, the studies were clearly flawed — how reliable could the volunteers’ answers be, if they were suffering from cognitive decline?

So Bowman and his colleagues came up with a way to address that fault. They conducted the first study to use an objective measure of dietary nutrient content: by measuring levels in the blood. The study involved 104 people, who were elderly (average age 87) but relatively healthy. Researchers analyzed their blood for a variety of vitamins and nutrients, including vitamins B, C, D and E, saturated fat, carotenoids, omega-3 fatty acids, cholesterol and trans fats. Then they compared those levels to participants’ performance on cognitive tests as well as MRI scans looking at differences in the size of certain brain structures related to Alzheimer’s.

The team found that people who had higher blood levels of vitamins B, C, D and E and omega-3 fatty acids scored higher on the mental-function tests, including attention tasks and visual and spatial skills, than those with lower levels of these nutrients. People who had higher levels of trans fats in their blood, by contrast, scored lower on these tests; they took more time overall to complete the tests and had more trouble with memory and language skills.

Omega-3s and vitamin D are found primarily in fish, while vitamins B, C and E are high in fruits and vegetables. Trans fats come largely from packaged, fried, frozen and fast foods, along with baked goods and margarine spreads.

When the scientists took into account known risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease — age, gender and genetic mutations — they found that these factors were responsible for 46% of the difference in participants’ cognitive scores. In other words, people who were older and had the APOE4 gene mutation that is a risk factor for Alzheimer’s, were more likely to score lower on cognitive tests than younger participants who didn’t have the genetic mutation.

When Bowman’s group added in the effect of participants’ diet, however, they found that their nutritional profiles explained another 17% of the variation in cognitive scores.

The researchers then looked at the size of specific brain structures on the MRI. Known Alzheimer’s risk factors accounted for about 40% of the difference in cognitive scores between those with normal-size brains and those with smaller brain volumes, while diet explained another 37% of the variance. Brain size normally shrinks with age, but with Alzheimer’s disease, that shrinkage is accelerated — a sign that the condition is getting worse. “That means that diet, plus known risk factors, explained a total of 76% of the variance,” says Bowman. “That tells us that imaging and structural changes in the brain may be very sensitive to dietary intake. So imaging may actually have a greater power to detect relationships between diet and cognitive decline than tests of mental skills. That’s quite remarkable.”

It’s possible, then, that clinicians may someday use brain scans to identify brain-size changes — and cognitive decline — attributable to deficiencies in certain nutrients or supplements. This is the first study to objectively measure the potential association between diet and brain aging, however, so further research is needed to confirm the connection.

It’s also the first study to capture the combined effect of a variety of nutrients on the brain. Previous studies that have focused only on single nutrients may have failed to detect an effect because nutrients may work together to protect brain functions from the effects of aging or disease.

The study also opens up the possibility that we may be able to use individualized dietary treatments to enhance whatever aspects of brain function — memory, attention or higher learning — are declining fastest. For example, Bowman found that participants in the study who had higher levels of vitamins B, C, D and E did not have problems with memory, but did show trouble with attention and visual-spatial tasks, while those with higher levels of carotenoids (found in carrots and dark leafy green vegetables) also showed fewer problems with memory.

“It’s a platform for individualized nutritional therapy,” he says. “We’re already seeing different nutritional patterns associated with different cognitive domains, so not only does this help us understand the role of diet in brain aging, but also how we might individualize nutritional therapy to enhance brain function as we age.”

By Alice Park via Time Healthland, December 29, 2011.

Original article: http://healthland.time.com/2011/12/29/how-your-diet-may-affect-your-risk-of-alzheimers-disease/

Bowman is a naturopathic doctor and an assistant professor in the OHSU Brain Institute’s Department of Neurology. OHSU co-authors in the study included Joseph Quinn, M.D., an associate professor in the Department of Neurology and Jackilen Shannon, Ph.D., R.D., M.P.H., an associate professor in the Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine.

Dr. Bowman conducts research at The C. Rex and Ruth H. Layton Aging and Alzheimer’s Disease Center at Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU). The Layton Aging and Alzheimer’s Disease Center is integrated around the activities of the Oregon Alzheimer Disease Center (OADC), one of 30 national centers funded by the National Institute of Aging. The OADC ranks among the top centers nationally. The OADC is at the forefront of a worldwide effort to discover the causes of Alzheimer’s disease, find effective treatments, and improve the quality of life for persons with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia.”

Nushie’s Natural flaxseed crackers and Nushie’s Natural Chia crackers are rich in omega 3 fatty acids and have a high mineral and fibre content. With no preservatives are artificial additives, they are dehydrated and not cooked, thereby maintaining the goodness of the natural ingredients. Try them they are delicious.

Fisetin  a Favanoid Found in Many Fruits and Vegetables Helps Prevent Inflammation in the Brain to Boost Memory and Cognition

“(NaturalNews) Fisetin is a unique flavonoid compound found naturally in many fruits and vegetables including strawberries, blueberries and the skin of cucumbers. A wealth of scientific research now explains how a diet packed with raw fruits and vegetables can help prevent amyloid plaque formation in the aging brain and can promote the early destruction of cancer cells by triggering the body’s innate immune response. Researchers reporting in the journal Neuroscience Letters found that fisetin is neuro-protective and helps to maintain normal memory processes while inhibiting plaque formation around synapses. The International Journal of Oncologyhas published the work of Chinese scientists documenting how fisetin promotes the natural death of potentially malignant breast cancer cells. Fisetin is rapidly emerging as a powerful tool in the arsenal against a number of diseases associated with premature aging.

Fruits and vegetables in their natural state are typically packed with polyphenols; these polyphenols are structurally bioactive and target specific areas of the body or help to lower oxidative stress and inflammation that is behind many disease processes. The brain is particularly sensitive to stress from a high rate of metabolism necessary to oxygenate and fuel the sensitive neurons that control memory and cognition.

Researchers have found that fisetin operates in a very specific pathway to boost nerve cell glutathione levels and to reduce one of the most damaging free radicals, peroxynitrite. Scientists have determined that the natural compound protects nerve cells from damage during stroke, while at the same time maintaining vital energy production in the brain. Fisetin also prevents excess activation of specialized glial cells in the brain that helps deter inflammatory nerve damage, excitotoxicity, and declining neurological health. And fisetin reduces amyloid beta fiber accumulation to improve memory and thwart cognitive decline.

In a separate body of research, scientists examined the effect of fisetin from dietary and supplemental sources on breast cancer programmed cell death. Cancer cells normally are detected and destroyed by an alert immune system response. Inflammatory messengers such as TNFa (tumor necrosis factor alpha) allow cancer cells to become cloaked and invisible to our immune system, which prevents cancer cell death through the process known as apoptosis. Fisetin negates the damaging effect of TNFa, reducing systemic inflammation and enabling the normal immune response.

Many health-conscious individuals may not be immediately familiar with fisetin, although they already consume therapeutic quantities from their healthy dietary choices.
Nutrition experts recommend including fruits such as strawberries and mangoes as a source of dietary fisetin or supplementing with 50 mg per day to boost memory and high-level brain function and to promote natural cancer cell death.”

Natural News reports:

“Everybody likes chocolate, a fact supported by the annual increase in consumption documented by chocolate manufacturers around the globe. This may be good news for many chocolate consumers, but caution is advised to carefully monitor the quantity consumed and the cocoa content of the product purchased. We now have documented evidence to explain how dark chocolate consumption lowers stroke risk in women and slashes heart disease risk in adults. Researchers publishing theJournal of the American College of Cardiologyfound high chocolate consumption correlates with a lower risk of stroke in women. Further proof of vascular benefits is documented in theBritish Medical Journalas scientists explain that chocolate consumption lowers heart disease risk by more than a third.

A number of recent studies have shown that eating chocolate has a positive influence on human health due to its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. This includes reducing blood pressure and improving insulin sensitivity, a primary factor in diabetes development and progression in millions of at-risk children and adults. The World Health Organization predicts that nearly 24 million people will die from heart disease by the year 2030, yet proper diet and lifestyle could significantly lower the mortality rate.

High Levels of Chocolate Consumption Dramatically Lower Heart Disease and Stroke Risks

In an effort to confirm past research efforts that suggest a connection between chocolate consumption and lowered risk of heart disease and stroke, Dr. Oscar Franco and colleagues from the University of Cambridge in England analyzed the results of seven studies involving over 100,000 participants with and without existing heart disease. Researchers compared the group with the highest chocolate consumption against those with the lowest, taking into account differences in study design and quality of reporting.

Researchers performing a meta-analysis of all studies examined found a significant correlation between higher levels of chocolate consumption and the risk of cardiovascular events. They determined that the“highest levels of chocolate consumption were associated with a 37% reduction in cardiovascular disease and a 29% reduction in stroke compared with lowest levels.”Although the final analysis did not distinguish between dark and milk chocolate consumption, nutritional experts recommend choosing dark chocolate with minimal added sugar and at least 75% cocoa content.

There are many documented lifestyle changes that have been shown to dramatically lower the risk of heart disease and stroke including vitamin D optimization, fish oil supplementation and potent antioxidants such as resveratrol. Chocolate eaten in small amounts several times a week can now be added to the list as research confirms the powerful human health benefits of cocoa.”

Nushie’s Natural Chocolate  Ice Creamery contains 99% pure cocoa and is a great source of anti oxidants and nutrition. It is organic, diary free and gluten free and tastes fabulous.

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/034077_chocolate_stroke_risk.html#ixzz1d1Old8Tt

1. Green Tea confirmed as a weight loss nutrient and heart health antioxidant

Many studies over the past decade have shown that green tea is a powerful tool to improve metabolism in a way that is supportive of weight loss.

Scientists publishing in the Journal of Agricultural Food Chemistry demonstrate that it activates genes associated with fat burning while also helping to reduce absorption of fat from the digestive tract. Further evidence on the gene-altering activity of green tea is reported in the International Journal of Cardiology, as polyphenols from the drink lower free radical damage to help maintain telomere length in heart cells. Drinking several cups of green tea each day may hold the key to effective weight management and cardiac health.

Researchers from the Departments of Chemical Biology and Pharmacology and Toxicology at Rutgers University in New Jersey examined the effect of green tea supplementation on obese mice, known to exhibit similar metabolic characteristics to humans. The animals were broken into two groups and both were fed a traditional high fat/Western style diet. One group received water supplemented with the green tea bioactive catechin EGCG, while the second group acted as a non-supplemented control.

The study determined that EGCG supplementation significantly reduced body weight gain, associated with increased fecal lipids and decreased blood glucose levels, compared to those of the control group. Scientists further found that fatty liver incidence, associated liver damage and liver triglyceride levels were also decreased by the EGCG treatment. Treated animals also experienced improved insulin response as well as lowered C-reactive protein (CRP) and interlukin-6 (IL-6) levels, both strong indicators of systemic inflammation and immune response.

The study authors concluded “Our results demonstrate that the high fat/Western diet produces more severe symptoms of metabolic syndrome and that the EGCG treatment can alleviate these symptoms and body fat accumulation. The beneficial effects of EGCG are associated with decreased lipid absorption and reduced levels of inflammatory cytokines.” Green tea helps our cellular engines (mitochondria) to better metabolize calories more efficiently, providing a significant weight management tool.

Additionally, supporting research documents the effect of green tea catechins on extending the lifespan of heart muscle cells. Scientists found that EGCG supplementation exerted a potent antioxidant effect that lowered free radical damage to preserve telomere length and reduce heart cell death. Nutrition experts recommend two to four cups of fresh brewed green tea daily or an organically compounded and standardized EGCG supplement (300 to 500 mg daily) to assist weight management goals and improve cardiovascular health.

2. Green Tea can also help naturally lower bad cholesterol levels.

A recent study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association  reveals that consuming green tea or green tea supplements regularly can help naturally lower LDL, or “bad,” cholesterol levels.

For their study, Olivia Phung, an assistant professor of pharmacy at Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona, Cal., and her colleagues analyzed data from 20 clinical trials on green tea that included more than 1,400 adults. They found that participants who consumed green tea or green tea supplements every day experienced a five-to-six point average drop in LDL cholesterol compared to those taking a placebo.

The various trials included in the evaluation lasted anywhere from three weeks to six months, and the benefits of green tea were most apparent in participants that already had high cholesterol prior to joining the studies. Green tea in beverage form was reportedly more effective than green tea in capsule or supplement form at lowering cholesterol levels.

Green tea contains polyphenolic compounds known as catechins, which in previous studies, has been shown to promote weight loss (http://www.naturalnews.com/News_000…). These same antioxidant compounds are believed to be what is responsible for green tea’s cholesterol-lowering effects.

“Green tea catechins have been studied fairly extensively as preventive agents for cardiovascular disease,” writes Tori Hudson, ND, in her book Women’s Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine: Alternative Therapies and Integrative Medicine for Total Health and Wellness. In one cited study, “flavanoid-rich green tea extract (375mg) for three months along with a low-fat diet decreased total cholesterol by 11.3 percent and LDL by 16.4 percent in men and women with mild to moderate hypercholesterolemia.”

Not all cholesterol is bad, however, and the jury is still out as to whether or not having “low cholesterol” is a good thing. It appears as though cholesterol itself is not the culprit in heart disease and artery hardening, but rather the accumulation of oxidized cholesterol, which is a result of other dietary factors.

Researchers from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, for instance, recently found that women with high cholesterol levels actually have fewer heart attacks and strokes than women with lower cholesterol levels.

Try Nushie’s Natural Green Tea Ice Creamery. It tastes fabulous and is very healthy being non dairy and gluten free. It contains more than 15% steeped brewed and fresh organic raw Green Tea leaves. It also contains wheat grass which is full of anti oxidants as well as natural epicatechin compounds.

Sources:

www.naturalnews.com/033975_high_cholesterol_heart_attacks.html

www.foxnews.com/health/2011/11/17/green-tea-may-trim-bad-cholesterol-study-says/

http://www.naturalnews.com/034153_green_tea_weight_loss.html#ixzz1dkzNWzyj

www.wellnessresources.com/weight/articles/green_tea_as_a_potent_weight_loss_nutrient/

The  ‘Food Labelling to Advance Better Education for Life’ (FLABEL) project currently being conducted in Europe has found that  lack of motivation and attention of consumers prevents nutritional information on food labels from impacting positively on food choices.

The FLABEL project provides research on consumer behaviour and nutrition labels to help guide industry players and policy-makers in Europe.