Kindly visit my other blogs as i am not posting any more post over here.My blog ID are:
http://burhaninaturaltherapies.blogspot.com,
http://rubyzubbysnaturalhealingguide.blogspot.com/
http://fatema-taher.blogspot.com/
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Kindly vist my other blogs as i am not posting any post over here
Kindly visit my other blogs as i am not posting any more post over here.My blog ID are:
http://burhaninaturaltherapies.blogspot.com,
http://rubyzubbysnaturalhealingguide.blogspot.com/
http://fatema-taher.blogspot.com/
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
The Amazing Cucumber
Never thought that CUCUMBER can do so much!
The Amazing Cucumber
This information was in The New York Times several weeks ago as part of their "Spotlight on the Home" series that highlighted creative and fanciful ways to solve common problems.
1. Cucumbers contain most of the vitamins you need every day, just one cucumber contains Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B3, Vitamin B5, Vitamin B6, Folic Acid, Vitamin C, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium and Zinc.
2. Feeling tired in the afternoon, put down the caffeinated soda and pick up a cucumber. Cucumbers are a good source of B Vitamins and Carbohydrates that can provide that quick pick-me-up that can last for hours.
3. Tired of your bathroom mirror fogging up after a shower? Try rubbing a cucumber slice along the mirror, it will eliminate the fog and provide a soothing, spa-like fragrance.
4. Are grubs and slugs ruining your planting beds? Place a few slices in a small pie tin and your garden will be free of pests all season long. The chemicals in the cucumber react with the aluminium to give off a scent undetectable to humans but drive garden pests crazy and make them flee the area.
5. Looking for a fast and easy way to remove cellulite before going out or to the pool? Try rubbing a slice or two of cucumbers along your problem area for a few minutes, the photochemical in the cucumber cause the collagen in your skin to tighten, firming up the outer layer and reducing the visibility of cellulite. Works great on wrinkles too!!!
6. Want to avoid a hangover or terrible headache? Eat a few cucumber slices before going to bed and wake up refreshed and headache free. Cucumbers contain enough sugar, B vitamins and electrolytes to replenish essential nutrients the body lost, keeping everything in equilibrium, avoiding both a hangover and headache!!
7. Looking to fight off that afternoon or evening snacking binge? Cucumbers have been used for centuries and often used by European trappers, traders and explores for quick meals to thwart off starvation.
8. Have an important meeting or job interview and you realize that you don't have enough time to polish your shoes? Rub a freshly cut cucumber over the shoe, its chemicals will provide a quick and durable shine that not only looks great but also repels water.
9. Out of WD 40 and need to fix a squeaky hinge? Take a cucumber slice and rub it along the problematic hinge, and voila, the squeak is gone!
10. Stressed out and don't have time for massage, facial or visit to the spa? Cut up an entire cucumber and place it in a boiling pot of water, the chemicals and nutrients from the cucumber will react with the boiling water and will be released in the steam, creating a soothing, relaxing aroma that has been shown to reduce stress in new mothers and college students during final exams.
11. Just finished a business lunch and realize that you don't have gum or mints? Take a slice of cucumber and press it to the roof of your mouth with your tongue for 30 seconds to eliminate bad breath, the photochemical will kill the bacteria in your mouth responsible for causing bad breath.
12. Looking for a 'green' way to clean your faucets, sinks or stainless steel? Take a slice of cucumber and rub it on the surface you want to clean, not only will it remove years of tarnish and bring back the shine, but it won't leave streaks and won't even harm your fingers or fingernails while you clean.
13. Using a pen and made a mistake? Take the outside of the cucumber and slowly use it to erase the pen writing, also works great on crayons and markers that the kids have used to decorate the walls!!
Pass this on to everybody you know who is looking for better and safer ways to solve life's everyday problems..
The Amazing Cucumber
This information was in The New York Times several weeks ago as part of their "Spotlight on the Home" series that highlighted creative and fanciful ways to solve common problems.
1. Cucumbers contain most of the vitamins you need every day, just one cucumber contains Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B3, Vitamin B5, Vitamin B6, Folic Acid, Vitamin C, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium and Zinc.
2. Feeling tired in the afternoon, put down the caffeinated soda and pick up a cucumber. Cucumbers are a good source of B Vitamins and Carbohydrates that can provide that quick pick-me-up that can last for hours.
3. Tired of your bathroom mirror fogging up after a shower? Try rubbing a cucumber slice along the mirror, it will eliminate the fog and provide a soothing, spa-like fragrance.
4. Are grubs and slugs ruining your planting beds? Place a few slices in a small pie tin and your garden will be free of pests all season long. The chemicals in the cucumber react with the aluminium to give off a scent undetectable to humans but drive garden pests crazy and make them flee the area.
5. Looking for a fast and easy way to remove cellulite before going out or to the pool? Try rubbing a slice or two of cucumbers along your problem area for a few minutes, the photochemical in the cucumber cause the collagen in your skin to tighten, firming up the outer layer and reducing the visibility of cellulite. Works great on wrinkles too!!!
6. Want to avoid a hangover or terrible headache? Eat a few cucumber slices before going to bed and wake up refreshed and headache free. Cucumbers contain enough sugar, B vitamins and electrolytes to replenish essential nutrients the body lost, keeping everything in equilibrium, avoiding both a hangover and headache!!
7. Looking to fight off that afternoon or evening snacking binge? Cucumbers have been used for centuries and often used by European trappers, traders and explores for quick meals to thwart off starvation.
8. Have an important meeting or job interview and you realize that you don't have enough time to polish your shoes? Rub a freshly cut cucumber over the shoe, its chemicals will provide a quick and durable shine that not only looks great but also repels water.
9. Out of WD 40 and need to fix a squeaky hinge? Take a cucumber slice and rub it along the problematic hinge, and voila, the squeak is gone!
10. Stressed out and don't have time for massage, facial or visit to the spa? Cut up an entire cucumber and place it in a boiling pot of water, the chemicals and nutrients from the cucumber will react with the boiling water and will be released in the steam, creating a soothing, relaxing aroma that has been shown to reduce stress in new mothers and college students during final exams.
11. Just finished a business lunch and realize that you don't have gum or mints? Take a slice of cucumber and press it to the roof of your mouth with your tongue for 30 seconds to eliminate bad breath, the photochemical will kill the bacteria in your mouth responsible for causing bad breath.
12. Looking for a 'green' way to clean your faucets, sinks or stainless steel? Take a slice of cucumber and rub it on the surface you want to clean, not only will it remove years of tarnish and bring back the shine, but it won't leave streaks and won't even harm your fingers or fingernails while you clean.
13. Using a pen and made a mistake? Take the outside of the cucumber and slowly use it to erase the pen writing, also works great on crayons and markers that the kids have used to decorate the walls!!
Pass this on to everybody you know who is looking for better and safer ways to solve life's everyday problems..
What is rancidity?
Rancidity is a very general term and in its most general meaning, it refers to the spoilage of a food in such a way that it becomes undesirable (and usually unsafe) for consumption. When people say that a food has "gone bad," what they're usually talking about is rancidity. Most of the time, but not always, rancidity can change the odors or flavors of a food in such a way that it becomes very unpleasant to smell or taste.
While most any food can technically become rancid, this term applies particularly to oils. Oils can be especially susceptible to rancidity because their chemistry can make them exceptionally susceptible to oxygen damage. When food scientists talk about rancidity, they are often talking about a specific type of rancidity involving oxygen damage to foods, and this type of rancidity is called "oxidative rancidity." During the process of oxidative rancidity, oxygen molecules interact with the structure of the oil and damage its natural structure in a way that can change its odor, its taste, and its safety for consumption.
While most any food can technically become rancid, this term applies particularly to oils. Oils can be especially susceptible to rancidity because their chemistry can make them exceptionally susceptible to oxygen damage. When food scientists talk about rancidity, they are often talking about a specific type of rancidity involving oxygen damage to foods, and this type of rancidity is called "oxidative rancidity." During the process of oxidative rancidity, oxygen molecules interact with the structure of the oil and damage its natural structure in a way that can change its odor, its taste, and its safety for consumption.
Friday, November 26, 2010
Natural Diabetes Cure
Natural Diabetes Cure
Alternative Natural Treatments
Diabetes and it's complications can be treated and/or prevented safely without prescription drugs. If you have diabetes or any of the risk factors for diabetes or are just concerned about diabetes, you should start now with a natural treatment plan to reduce your risk.
There are 3 components to a natural diabetes cure:
1. Diet: The single most important change any diabetic or person at risk can make is to improve their diet. A proper diabetic diet should have a low glycemic index . . . which means containing low simple carbohydrates, moderate protein and high fiber. This diabetic diet will reduce blood sugar, reduce insulin levels, and reduce the need for medications. It will also help to reduce weight, reduce blood pressure and support overall health and energy.
2. Exercise: Many studies have shown that exercise is of great benefit to diabetics and can significantly reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Regular physical activity helps reduce weight, lower blood sugar, improve insulin sensitivity, strengthen the immune system, improve circulation, lower blood pressure, lower LDL ("bad") cholesterol, raise HDL ("good") cholesterol, and reduce risk of heart disease.
3. Nutritional Supplements: There are a number of nutritional supplements that every diabetic should be taking on a daily basis. These supplements are very effective in helping to lower blood sugar and insulin levels, reduce cholesterol levels, reduce triglyceride levels, reduce blood pressure, improve energy, and reduce the risk of heart disease.
These supplements can also protect your tissues (eyes, kidneys, blood vessels) from the damage diabetes often causes. They can also support your immune system, protect your heart, and improve circulation.
The effectiveness of these supplements is not at all theoretical, but rather is fact. There are thousands of published studies proving the beneficial effects these supplements have on diabetics. Amazingly enough, despite the overwhelming evidence, most M.D.'s do not recommend nutritional supplements to their diabetic patients. Fortunately, a prescription is not required.
If you have diabetes . . . supplementation is more than important . . . it is vital!
Every diabetic should take these proven supplements: Alpha Lipoic Acid, Chromax®, Vanadium,
Cinnamon, Banaba Leaf, Fenugreek, Gymnema Sylvestre and Momordica
Alpha Lipoic Acid
Alpha Lipoic Acid (also known as thioctic acid or lipoic acid), is a very powerful, natural antioxidant; and is the single most important supplement you can take to treat diabetes. Alpha Lipoic Acid (ALA) is a medium length, disulfide fatty acid. In other words . . . it is an 8 carbon, fatty acid, containing two sulfur atoms. It occurs naturally in our bodies, but not in the free form. The body actually converts Alpha Lipoic Acid (ALA) to DiHydro Lipoc Acid (DHLA).
ALA was first isolated in 1953 and was quickly discovered to be a very important cofactor in the Krebs cycle (the body's main process for converting carbohydrates into energy). ALA and its cousin DHLA are often referred to as the "ultimate universal antioxidants". They (referred to collectively as LA) are the only antioxidants that are both fat and water soluble. Both can actually cross the blood/brain barrier to enter the brain. These unique qualities are important, because it means that LA can access all parts of all cells, giving it tremendous ability to scavenge free radicals wherever they may be. Additionally, LA can also recharge other antioxidants that have been used up. In the body, LA helps regenerate other antioxidants such as vitamin C, vitamin E and glutathione. And, because LA functions much like a B-vitamin, it also helps convert food into energy.
Although the body makes some alpha lipoic acid, it is not enough for optimal nutrition. Likewise, there are only very small amounts of ALA found in some of our daily foods such as broccoli, potatoes, and liver. In these foods, it actually occurs as lipolylysine though, and not actual lipoic acid itself. You'll never get any useful amount of ALA from your diet alone . . . broccoli (one of the best food sources), for example, contains a mere 100 micrograms per 100 gram serving. This means you would have to eat over two pounds of broccoli to get one single milligram of lipolylysine to convert into alpha lipoic acid.
Everyone over the age of forty (diabetic or not) should be supplementing with 200 mg/day of ALA, for its powerful antioxidant properties. Supplementation is the only way to get this vital nutrient in your body. if you are diabetic . . . you simply must take ALA daily . . . there is a mountain of evidence supporting the major benefits it provides all diabetics.
The journal BioFactors (volume 10, 1999) published a study conducted at the Eberhard-Karls University in Germany titled "Thioctic Acid-Effects on Insulin Sensitivity and Glucose-Metabolism". In their study, real adult human diabetics were given various doses of ALA. The doctors found that in just 10 days, ALA helped cure insulin resistance, normalize blood sugar levels and cure diabetes.
The researchers pointed out that "Thioctic acid is a co-factor of key mitochondrial enzymes, involved in the regulation of glucose oxidation, such as the pyruvate dehydrogenase and the alpha-ketoglutatarate dehydrogenase, both enzyme complexes which are known to be diminished in diabetes." In plain words, this means ALA works with our bodies' enzymes to prevent glucose from being oxidized. They concluded "The clinical and experimental data indicate that this compound has beneficial effects on insulin sensitivity, correcting several metabolic pathways known to be altered in type 2 diabetes, such as insulin stimulated glucose uptake, glucose oxidation and glycogen synthesis." The authors quote two human studies published in Diabetologica 1995 and Arzneimittelorschung 1995. "Here insulin sensitivity was increased 27 to 51% in merely 10 days!"
This is nothing less than incredible! Keep in mind . . . these are real human studies, conducted at a major university, with 39 citations and with no funding from anyone. Results like this are far more than any pharmaceutical drug, anywhere on earth, at any cost . . . could even begin to approach.
Other studies have shown that ALA Increases glucose effectiveness. When ingested, ALA decreases serum lactate and pyruvate concentrations improving glucose effectiveness in both lean and obese patients with type 2 diabetes. Additionally, because ALA inhibits glycosylation and peroxidation of nervous tissues and increases the levels of intra-cellular glutathione, it has been used to improve diabetic nerve damage and reduce pain associated with that nerve damage.
Nerve damage or neuropathy effects over 50% of diabetics and is one of its most damaging complications. A study published in "Diabetes Care" has shown that supplementing with ALA can partly restore diabetic nerve function after only four months of high-dose oral treatment. In 2001, Nutrition 17 published a study which was conducted at the University of Southern California, titled "Molecular Aspects of Lipoic Acid in the Prevention of Diabetes Complications". The researchers concluded "Available data strongly suggest that ALA, because of its antioxidant properties, is particularly suited to the prevention and/or treatment of diabetic complications . . . In addition, ALA increases glucose uptake . . . increases glucose disposal in type 2 diabetics and markedly reduces the symptoms of diabetic pathologies, including cataract formation, vascular damage and polyneurpathy". These are rather powerful statements coming from very well respected research groups.
Chromium and Vanadium are two
very important minerals for diabetics.
Chromium can actually help insulin transport sugar to the cells. It works to make insulin more effective by "bridging" insulin to cell membranes, thus increasing the number of active insulin receptors, resulting in increased insulin sensitivity.
The trace mineral chromium is found in skin, fat, muscle, brain and adrenal glands. There is only about 6 mg in you, but it is ever so important! Chromium absorption through the small intestine is very poor; so normally, a lot of it gets excreted in urine. People with diabetes excrete even more chromium than healthy people; and the loss of this vital nutrient makes it harder for their bodies to respond to insulin. Studies show that chromium supplements can help both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetics control their blood sugar.
There are various forms of chromium suitable for human ingestion. The picolinate form of chromium called "chromium picolinate" is the most absorbable. It is a unique molecule that combines chromium with picolinic acid, a compound found in breast milk, which helps the body better absorb and process minerals.
In June of 2002, Chromax® (the "Nutrition 21" patented brand of chromium picolinate) was affirmed by the FDA as "Generally Recognized as Safe" (GRAS) for use in food products, one of only a handful of ingredients to have secured this status at clinically effective doses for use in foods marketed for weight loss and glucose control. In addition, Chromax®; has demonstrated that it is significantly more bioactive than other forms of chromium.
Vandium (vanadyl sulfate) is a trace element that exhibits a variety of significant insulin-mimetic properties . . . actually doing the job of insulin and transporting sugar to the cells.
Clinical trials indicate that "in vitro", vanadium salts have most of the same major effects of insulin on insulin-sensitive tissues. Favorable results are seen, as well, in animal models of insulin deficiency, where vanadium significantly reduces blood glucose levels, and in insulin-resistant diabetic animals, where vanadium improves glucose homeostasis.
In "in vivo" animal studies, examining the relationship between hyperinsulinemia, insulin resistance and hypertension, vanadium compounds produce significant, sustained decreases in both plasma insulin concentration and blood pressure. Restoring plasma insulin levels reversed the blood-pressure effect.
Clinical trials with vanadium compounds have produced benefits in both type 1 and type 2 diabetic patients. Results have been better, however, in type 2 patients. Six type 2 diabetic subjects treated with 100 milligrams of vanadyl sulfate daily for four weeks had significant reductions in fasting plasma glucose; beneficial effects on insulin sensitivity persisted for up to four weeks after vanadium treatment ended.
Cinnamon
Cinnamon is the brown bark of the cinnamon tree, which when dried, rolls into a tubular form known as a quill. It is available in either its whole quill form (cinnamon sticks) or as ground powder. Cinnamon is one of the oldest spices known.
It turns out that cinnamon is much more than just a spice . . . it has demonstrated great medical application in preventing and combating diabetes. According to cellular and molecular studies conducted at the University of California, Santa Barbara, Iowa State University and the U.S. Department of Agriculture . . . Cinnamon plays the role of an insulin substitute in type II diabetes.
This initial discovery was made quite accidentally, by Richard Anderson at the US Department of Agriculture's Human Nutrition Research Center in Beltsville, Maryland.
"We were looking at the effects of common foods on blood sugar," he told New Scientist. One was the American favourite, apple pie, which is usually spiced with cinnamon. "We expected it to be bad. But it helped," he says.
Anderson's team found that people who eat apple pie have a significantly lower probability of getting Type II diabetes. Upon further examination, he isolated cinnamon as the substance in the apple pies that was preventing the diabetes.
They recently completed a human study with associates in Pakistan using cinnamon. Their study included 60 Pakistani volunteers (30 men and 30 women ranging in age from 44 to 58 years) with type 2 diabetes, who were not taking insulin. Subjects were divided into six groups. For 40 days, groups 1, 2 and 3 were given 1, 3 or 6 grams of cinnamon per day, while groups 4, 5 and 6 received placebo capsules.
The results were quite remarkable:
All three of the groups given cinnamon showed reduced blood sugar levels.
Collectively, all three levels of cinnamon resulted in:
reduced blood sugar levels by by 18-29%,
reduction of triglycerides by 23-30%,
reduced LDL cholesterol by 7-27%,
reduced total cholesterol by12-26%.
Even the group with the lowest amount of cinnamon (1 gram per day),
produced an approximately 20% drop in blood sugar.
When daily cinnamon was stopped, blood sugar levels began to increase.
No significant changes were seen in those groups receiving placebo.
The researchers' concluded: "Including cinnamon in the diet of people with type 2 diabetes will reduce risk factors associated with diabetes and cardiovascular diseases."
"I don't recommend eating more cinnamon buns, or even more apple pie . . . there's too much fat and sugar," says Anderson."The key is to add cinnamon to what you would eat normally."
Cinnamon triples insulin's efficiency
at least 1/2 teaspoon is critical to "soften" the cell membranes.
Further studies by the Anderson team have coroberated cinnamon's ability to improve insulin activity; and have led to the discovery of cinnamon's active ingredient; as well as an understanding of it's structure, and the mechanism by which it enhances insulin activity.
Using nuclear magnetic resonance and mass spectroscopy, the Anderson team was able to describe the chemical structure of a molecule with "insulin-like" activity in cinnamon, as a water-soluble polyphenol compound called methylhydroxychalcone polymer (MHCP).
Dr. Anderson discovered that MHCP not only stimulates glucose uptake by our cells, but it can even help in the synthesis of glycogen, a polymer of glucose that our bodies produce as a means of storing energy for later use, when it is depolymerized back to glucose. Producing adequate amounts of glycogen is a principal function of blood sugar metabolism, and MHCP can help. Anderson notes . . . "The chemical is very easily obtained." One of his colleagues tried soaking a cinnamon stick in tea. "He isn't diabetic . . . but it lowered his blood sugar." said Anderson. The Anderson team was awarded patents related to MHCP in 2002.
In their latest paper, published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, Anderson et al. conclude that MHCP mimics insulin, has effects similar to that of insulin and works almost as well as insulin. He asserts that both of these substances work by chemically modifying our cells' insulin receptors in a manner that activates them to do their job, which is to allow glucose molecules to pass through the cell wall into the insulin cascade. He also discovered that when MHCP and insulin act together, the effect is synergistic, i.e., the total effect is greater than the sum of its parts." They characterize the insulin-enhancing complexes in cinnamon as "a collection of catechin/epicatechin oligomers that increase the body's insulin-dependent ability to use glucose roughly 20-fold".
Don Graves of UCSB (a former professor of Anderson) has focused his studies on the way cinnamon operates at cellular and molecular levels, looking at how it works with the cell's insulin receptor and other proteins involved in the action of insulin. Both test tube and animal studies have shown that compounds in cinnamon not only stimulate insulin receptors, but also inhibit an enzyme that inactivates them, thus significantly increasing cells' ability to use glucose.
Additionally, Graves found that cinnamon is a very powerful antioxidant with the ability to neutralize free radicals, often elevated in diabetics, helping to minimize oxidative stress which plays such a big role in the disease. In fact, when compared to six other antioxidant spices (anise, ginger, licorice, mint, nutmeg and vanilla) and three chemical food preservatives (BHA (butylated hydroxyanisole), BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene), and propyl gallate), cinnamon prevented oxidation more effectively than all the other spices (except mint) and more effectively then any of the chemical antioxidants.
Some scientists had been concerned about potentially toxic effects of regularly consuming cinnamon. The latest research shows that the potentially toxic compounds in cinnamon bark are found primarily in the lipid (fat) soluble fractions and are present only at very low levels in water soluble cinnamon extracts, which are the ones with the insulin-enhancing compounds.
Banaba Leaf
Banaba (Lagerstroemia speciosa) is a plant native to India, Southeast Asia and the Philippines and has several medicinal uses. In many cultures the banaba leaf is brewed into a tea and used as a treatment for diabetes and as a weigh loss aid. Banaba Leaf Extract provides a blood sugar lowering effect similar to that of insulin in that it induces glucose transport from the blood into body cells.
Recently, researchers have isolated an active ingredient in the banaba leaf called corosolic acid which was originally thought to be "the" blood sugar regulating substance in the leaf. Other researchers have found that corosolic acid may not be the only active ingredient in banaba leaves. A study published in the journal Planta Medica in 2001 compared a whole-leaf extract of banaba with insulin in cell cultures. The researchers concluded that the whole herb has a glucose lowering effect. Another study reported that banaba leaf extract contains at least three active ingredients that effect blood sugar.
In animal studies, administration of banaba leaf extract resulted in a significant decrease of blood glucose. The same studies suggest that corosolic acid may stimulate glucose transport into tissue. In other animal studies, administration of banaba leaf extract resulted in reduced weight gain, reduced triglyceride accumulation and reduced adipose tissue, with no changes in diet. In noninsulin-dependent animals, administration of banaba leaf extract resulted in suppressed blood plasma glucose, lower serum insulin and lower urinary excretion of glucose.
In clinical studies conducted by Dr William Judy and associates at the Southeastern Institute of Biomedical Research in Bradenton, Florida, a one per cent corosolic acid extract of banaba leaf reportedly reduced serum glucose 20-30% in people with type 2 diabetes, but did not reduce serum glucose in healthy individuals.
In a prior study, some of the same researchers observed that individuals receiving the corosolic acid extract also had an increased tendency toward weight loss . . . an average of about 3.2 pounds.
Gymnema Sylvestre
Gymnema Sylvestre is another herb, whose traditional use in treating diabetes, has been backed up by recent medical research. Originating from India, Gymnema Sylvestre is known as gur-mar, or "sugar destroyer." When gymnema leaf is placed directly on the tongue, it eliminates the sensation of sweetness, even if sugar is put in the mouth immediately following. When taken internally, it helps to control blood-sugar levels in diabetes.
The leaves of Gymnema sylvestre perform two significant functions relative to diabetes. First, they suppress blood glucose, especially after eating. Secondly, they are insulinotropic and promote insulin secretion. By this two-pronged approach, Gymnema sylvestre proves a valuable aid in diabetes control.
Scientists think its active ingredients (gymnemic acids) protect the cells of the pancreas from free radical damage, so allowing them to regenerate and produce insulin more effectively (Nutrition 2004; 20(3): 280-285). Studies have shown that gymnema can also reduce glucose absorption from the intestine, so helping to regulate blood sugar levels. A recent Harvard study indicates the Gymnema lowers blood sugar levels in Type 1 and Type 2 diabetics. A recent King's College, London, study states that Gymnema acts by increasing cell permatibility, therefore reducing insulin resistance.
Momordica
Bitter melon is the common name for Momordica charantia, also known as African cucumber, balsam pear and bitter gourd. The plant is aptly named, as all parts of the plant, including the fruit, taste bitter. Widely sold in Asian groceries as a vegetable, bitter melon is employed as a folk remedy primarily for regulating blood sugar in cases of diabetes, as well as for colitis and dysentery, intestinal worms, jaundice and fevers. Current understanding of the phytochemicals in bitter melon suggests that these multiple uses are well founded.
Among the constituents in bitter melon, charantin is identified as a primary agent for blood-sugar regulation. Charantin demonstrates hypoglycaemic (blood sugar lowering) or other actions of potential benefit in diabetes. The fruits also contain insulin-like peptides, including one known as polypeptide P, and alkaloids. It is likely that several substances in bitter melon contribute to its blood sugar-modifying effects. In human studies, bitter melon demonstrates significant blood-sugar control after food intake and overall blood sugar-lowering effects.
Momordica has also been found to be just as effective as glibenclamide in reducing blood sugar levels (J Ethnopharmacol 2003; 88(1): 107-111). In fact, a large study at Harvard University Medical School concluded that mormodica is one of the best natural remedies for diabetes (Diabetes Care 2003; 26(4): 1277-1294). It appears that mormodica contains compounds similar in structure to insulin, which have the same effects in regulating blood sugar levels. There is also evidence that mormodica can prevent the release of excess glucose into the bloodstream from the liver (Am J Health Syst Pharm 2003; 60(4): 356-359).
Fenugreek
Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum) is a tall annual herb that is native to the Mediterranean, Ukraine, India and China. The plant bears pods filled with numerous light brown, diamond-shaped seeds that possess a sweet maple aroma and are commonly used in cookery and flavouring.
Studies reveal that fenugreek helps regulate blood glucose. The glucose-regulating, antidiabetic properties of fenugreek seed are linked to a novel free amino acid, 4-hydroxyisoleucine. This compound stimulates insulin secretion, thereby limiting the extent to which blood glucose is elevated; by promoting insulin secretion and inhibiting the rise of blood glucose, it helps stabilise blood sugar and reduces body fat production. In one human study, 15g/day fenugreek significantly reduced glucose levels after meals. Today fenugreek shows value as an antidiabetic agent with potential for weight control due to its 4-hydroxyisoleucine content. Some supplements are capsules of powdered seed, while others are more concentrated extracts standardized to 4-hydroxyisoleucine.
Experimental and clinical studies have demonstrated the antidiabetic properties of fenugreek seeds. The active ingredient responsible for the antidiabetic properties of fenugreek is in the defatted portion of the seed that contains the alkaloid trogonelline, nicotinic acid and coumarin. Fenugreek contains six compounds that help regulate blood sugar levels. Modern research shows that fenugreek seeds not only lower blood glucose but reduce insulin levels, total cholesterol and triglycerides, while increasing HDL (the good cholesterol).
Alternative Natural Treatments
Diabetes and it's complications can be treated and/or prevented safely without prescription drugs. If you have diabetes or any of the risk factors for diabetes or are just concerned about diabetes, you should start now with a natural treatment plan to reduce your risk.
There are 3 components to a natural diabetes cure:
1. Diet: The single most important change any diabetic or person at risk can make is to improve their diet. A proper diabetic diet should have a low glycemic index . . . which means containing low simple carbohydrates, moderate protein and high fiber. This diabetic diet will reduce blood sugar, reduce insulin levels, and reduce the need for medications. It will also help to reduce weight, reduce blood pressure and support overall health and energy.
2. Exercise: Many studies have shown that exercise is of great benefit to diabetics and can significantly reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Regular physical activity helps reduce weight, lower blood sugar, improve insulin sensitivity, strengthen the immune system, improve circulation, lower blood pressure, lower LDL ("bad") cholesterol, raise HDL ("good") cholesterol, and reduce risk of heart disease.
3. Nutritional Supplements: There are a number of nutritional supplements that every diabetic should be taking on a daily basis. These supplements are very effective in helping to lower blood sugar and insulin levels, reduce cholesterol levels, reduce triglyceride levels, reduce blood pressure, improve energy, and reduce the risk of heart disease.
These supplements can also protect your tissues (eyes, kidneys, blood vessels) from the damage diabetes often causes. They can also support your immune system, protect your heart, and improve circulation.
The effectiveness of these supplements is not at all theoretical, but rather is fact. There are thousands of published studies proving the beneficial effects these supplements have on diabetics. Amazingly enough, despite the overwhelming evidence, most M.D.'s do not recommend nutritional supplements to their diabetic patients. Fortunately, a prescription is not required.
If you have diabetes . . . supplementation is more than important . . . it is vital!
Every diabetic should take these proven supplements: Alpha Lipoic Acid, Chromax®, Vanadium,
Cinnamon, Banaba Leaf, Fenugreek, Gymnema Sylvestre and Momordica
Alpha Lipoic Acid
Alpha Lipoic Acid (also known as thioctic acid or lipoic acid), is a very powerful, natural antioxidant; and is the single most important supplement you can take to treat diabetes. Alpha Lipoic Acid (ALA) is a medium length, disulfide fatty acid. In other words . . . it is an 8 carbon, fatty acid, containing two sulfur atoms. It occurs naturally in our bodies, but not in the free form. The body actually converts Alpha Lipoic Acid (ALA) to DiHydro Lipoc Acid (DHLA).
ALA was first isolated in 1953 and was quickly discovered to be a very important cofactor in the Krebs cycle (the body's main process for converting carbohydrates into energy). ALA and its cousin DHLA are often referred to as the "ultimate universal antioxidants". They (referred to collectively as LA) are the only antioxidants that are both fat and water soluble. Both can actually cross the blood/brain barrier to enter the brain. These unique qualities are important, because it means that LA can access all parts of all cells, giving it tremendous ability to scavenge free radicals wherever they may be. Additionally, LA can also recharge other antioxidants that have been used up. In the body, LA helps regenerate other antioxidants such as vitamin C, vitamin E and glutathione. And, because LA functions much like a B-vitamin, it also helps convert food into energy.
Although the body makes some alpha lipoic acid, it is not enough for optimal nutrition. Likewise, there are only very small amounts of ALA found in some of our daily foods such as broccoli, potatoes, and liver. In these foods, it actually occurs as lipolylysine though, and not actual lipoic acid itself. You'll never get any useful amount of ALA from your diet alone . . . broccoli (one of the best food sources), for example, contains a mere 100 micrograms per 100 gram serving. This means you would have to eat over two pounds of broccoli to get one single milligram of lipolylysine to convert into alpha lipoic acid.
Everyone over the age of forty (diabetic or not) should be supplementing with 200 mg/day of ALA, for its powerful antioxidant properties. Supplementation is the only way to get this vital nutrient in your body. if you are diabetic . . . you simply must take ALA daily . . . there is a mountain of evidence supporting the major benefits it provides all diabetics.
The journal BioFactors (volume 10, 1999) published a study conducted at the Eberhard-Karls University in Germany titled "Thioctic Acid-Effects on Insulin Sensitivity and Glucose-Metabolism". In their study, real adult human diabetics were given various doses of ALA. The doctors found that in just 10 days, ALA helped cure insulin resistance, normalize blood sugar levels and cure diabetes.
The researchers pointed out that "Thioctic acid is a co-factor of key mitochondrial enzymes, involved in the regulation of glucose oxidation, such as the pyruvate dehydrogenase and the alpha-ketoglutatarate dehydrogenase, both enzyme complexes which are known to be diminished in diabetes." In plain words, this means ALA works with our bodies' enzymes to prevent glucose from being oxidized. They concluded "The clinical and experimental data indicate that this compound has beneficial effects on insulin sensitivity, correcting several metabolic pathways known to be altered in type 2 diabetes, such as insulin stimulated glucose uptake, glucose oxidation and glycogen synthesis." The authors quote two human studies published in Diabetologica 1995 and Arzneimittelorschung 1995. "Here insulin sensitivity was increased 27 to 51% in merely 10 days!"
This is nothing less than incredible! Keep in mind . . . these are real human studies, conducted at a major university, with 39 citations and with no funding from anyone. Results like this are far more than any pharmaceutical drug, anywhere on earth, at any cost . . . could even begin to approach.
Other studies have shown that ALA Increases glucose effectiveness. When ingested, ALA decreases serum lactate and pyruvate concentrations improving glucose effectiveness in both lean and obese patients with type 2 diabetes. Additionally, because ALA inhibits glycosylation and peroxidation of nervous tissues and increases the levels of intra-cellular glutathione, it has been used to improve diabetic nerve damage and reduce pain associated with that nerve damage.
Nerve damage or neuropathy effects over 50% of diabetics and is one of its most damaging complications. A study published in "Diabetes Care" has shown that supplementing with ALA can partly restore diabetic nerve function after only four months of high-dose oral treatment. In 2001, Nutrition 17 published a study which was conducted at the University of Southern California, titled "Molecular Aspects of Lipoic Acid in the Prevention of Diabetes Complications". The researchers concluded "Available data strongly suggest that ALA, because of its antioxidant properties, is particularly suited to the prevention and/or treatment of diabetic complications . . . In addition, ALA increases glucose uptake . . . increases glucose disposal in type 2 diabetics and markedly reduces the symptoms of diabetic pathologies, including cataract formation, vascular damage and polyneurpathy". These are rather powerful statements coming from very well respected research groups.
Chromium and Vanadium are two
very important minerals for diabetics.
Chromium can actually help insulin transport sugar to the cells. It works to make insulin more effective by "bridging" insulin to cell membranes, thus increasing the number of active insulin receptors, resulting in increased insulin sensitivity.
The trace mineral chromium is found in skin, fat, muscle, brain and adrenal glands. There is only about 6 mg in you, but it is ever so important! Chromium absorption through the small intestine is very poor; so normally, a lot of it gets excreted in urine. People with diabetes excrete even more chromium than healthy people; and the loss of this vital nutrient makes it harder for their bodies to respond to insulin. Studies show that chromium supplements can help both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetics control their blood sugar.
There are various forms of chromium suitable for human ingestion. The picolinate form of chromium called "chromium picolinate" is the most absorbable. It is a unique molecule that combines chromium with picolinic acid, a compound found in breast milk, which helps the body better absorb and process minerals.
In June of 2002, Chromax® (the "Nutrition 21" patented brand of chromium picolinate) was affirmed by the FDA as "Generally Recognized as Safe" (GRAS) for use in food products, one of only a handful of ingredients to have secured this status at clinically effective doses for use in foods marketed for weight loss and glucose control. In addition, Chromax®; has demonstrated that it is significantly more bioactive than other forms of chromium.
Vandium (vanadyl sulfate) is a trace element that exhibits a variety of significant insulin-mimetic properties . . . actually doing the job of insulin and transporting sugar to the cells.
Clinical trials indicate that "in vitro", vanadium salts have most of the same major effects of insulin on insulin-sensitive tissues. Favorable results are seen, as well, in animal models of insulin deficiency, where vanadium significantly reduces blood glucose levels, and in insulin-resistant diabetic animals, where vanadium improves glucose homeostasis.
In "in vivo" animal studies, examining the relationship between hyperinsulinemia, insulin resistance and hypertension, vanadium compounds produce significant, sustained decreases in both plasma insulin concentration and blood pressure. Restoring plasma insulin levels reversed the blood-pressure effect.
Clinical trials with vanadium compounds have produced benefits in both type 1 and type 2 diabetic patients. Results have been better, however, in type 2 patients. Six type 2 diabetic subjects treated with 100 milligrams of vanadyl sulfate daily for four weeks had significant reductions in fasting plasma glucose; beneficial effects on insulin sensitivity persisted for up to four weeks after vanadium treatment ended.
Cinnamon
Cinnamon is the brown bark of the cinnamon tree, which when dried, rolls into a tubular form known as a quill. It is available in either its whole quill form (cinnamon sticks) or as ground powder. Cinnamon is one of the oldest spices known.
It turns out that cinnamon is much more than just a spice . . . it has demonstrated great medical application in preventing and combating diabetes. According to cellular and molecular studies conducted at the University of California, Santa Barbara, Iowa State University and the U.S. Department of Agriculture . . . Cinnamon plays the role of an insulin substitute in type II diabetes.
This initial discovery was made quite accidentally, by Richard Anderson at the US Department of Agriculture's Human Nutrition Research Center in Beltsville, Maryland.
"We were looking at the effects of common foods on blood sugar," he told New Scientist. One was the American favourite, apple pie, which is usually spiced with cinnamon. "We expected it to be bad. But it helped," he says.
Anderson's team found that people who eat apple pie have a significantly lower probability of getting Type II diabetes. Upon further examination, he isolated cinnamon as the substance in the apple pies that was preventing the diabetes.
They recently completed a human study with associates in Pakistan using cinnamon. Their study included 60 Pakistani volunteers (30 men and 30 women ranging in age from 44 to 58 years) with type 2 diabetes, who were not taking insulin. Subjects were divided into six groups. For 40 days, groups 1, 2 and 3 were given 1, 3 or 6 grams of cinnamon per day, while groups 4, 5 and 6 received placebo capsules.
The results were quite remarkable:
All three of the groups given cinnamon showed reduced blood sugar levels.
Collectively, all three levels of cinnamon resulted in:
reduced blood sugar levels by by 18-29%,
reduction of triglycerides by 23-30%,
reduced LDL cholesterol by 7-27%,
reduced total cholesterol by12-26%.
Even the group with the lowest amount of cinnamon (1 gram per day),
produced an approximately 20% drop in blood sugar.
When daily cinnamon was stopped, blood sugar levels began to increase.
No significant changes were seen in those groups receiving placebo.
The researchers' concluded: "Including cinnamon in the diet of people with type 2 diabetes will reduce risk factors associated with diabetes and cardiovascular diseases."
"I don't recommend eating more cinnamon buns, or even more apple pie . . . there's too much fat and sugar," says Anderson."The key is to add cinnamon to what you would eat normally."
Cinnamon triples insulin's efficiency
at least 1/2 teaspoon is critical to "soften" the cell membranes.
Further studies by the Anderson team have coroberated cinnamon's ability to improve insulin activity; and have led to the discovery of cinnamon's active ingredient; as well as an understanding of it's structure, and the mechanism by which it enhances insulin activity.
Using nuclear magnetic resonance and mass spectroscopy, the Anderson team was able to describe the chemical structure of a molecule with "insulin-like" activity in cinnamon, as a water-soluble polyphenol compound called methylhydroxychalcone polymer (MHCP).
Dr. Anderson discovered that MHCP not only stimulates glucose uptake by our cells, but it can even help in the synthesis of glycogen, a polymer of glucose that our bodies produce as a means of storing energy for later use, when it is depolymerized back to glucose. Producing adequate amounts of glycogen is a principal function of blood sugar metabolism, and MHCP can help. Anderson notes . . . "The chemical is very easily obtained." One of his colleagues tried soaking a cinnamon stick in tea. "He isn't diabetic . . . but it lowered his blood sugar." said Anderson. The Anderson team was awarded patents related to MHCP in 2002.
In their latest paper, published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, Anderson et al. conclude that MHCP mimics insulin, has effects similar to that of insulin and works almost as well as insulin. He asserts that both of these substances work by chemically modifying our cells' insulin receptors in a manner that activates them to do their job, which is to allow glucose molecules to pass through the cell wall into the insulin cascade. He also discovered that when MHCP and insulin act together, the effect is synergistic, i.e., the total effect is greater than the sum of its parts." They characterize the insulin-enhancing complexes in cinnamon as "a collection of catechin/epicatechin oligomers that increase the body's insulin-dependent ability to use glucose roughly 20-fold".
Don Graves of UCSB (a former professor of Anderson) has focused his studies on the way cinnamon operates at cellular and molecular levels, looking at how it works with the cell's insulin receptor and other proteins involved in the action of insulin. Both test tube and animal studies have shown that compounds in cinnamon not only stimulate insulin receptors, but also inhibit an enzyme that inactivates them, thus significantly increasing cells' ability to use glucose.
Additionally, Graves found that cinnamon is a very powerful antioxidant with the ability to neutralize free radicals, often elevated in diabetics, helping to minimize oxidative stress which plays such a big role in the disease. In fact, when compared to six other antioxidant spices (anise, ginger, licorice, mint, nutmeg and vanilla) and three chemical food preservatives (BHA (butylated hydroxyanisole), BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene), and propyl gallate), cinnamon prevented oxidation more effectively than all the other spices (except mint) and more effectively then any of the chemical antioxidants.
Some scientists had been concerned about potentially toxic effects of regularly consuming cinnamon. The latest research shows that the potentially toxic compounds in cinnamon bark are found primarily in the lipid (fat) soluble fractions and are present only at very low levels in water soluble cinnamon extracts, which are the ones with the insulin-enhancing compounds.
Banaba Leaf
Banaba (Lagerstroemia speciosa) is a plant native to India, Southeast Asia and the Philippines and has several medicinal uses. In many cultures the banaba leaf is brewed into a tea and used as a treatment for diabetes and as a weigh loss aid. Banaba Leaf Extract provides a blood sugar lowering effect similar to that of insulin in that it induces glucose transport from the blood into body cells.
Recently, researchers have isolated an active ingredient in the banaba leaf called corosolic acid which was originally thought to be "the" blood sugar regulating substance in the leaf. Other researchers have found that corosolic acid may not be the only active ingredient in banaba leaves. A study published in the journal Planta Medica in 2001 compared a whole-leaf extract of banaba with insulin in cell cultures. The researchers concluded that the whole herb has a glucose lowering effect. Another study reported that banaba leaf extract contains at least three active ingredients that effect blood sugar.
In animal studies, administration of banaba leaf extract resulted in a significant decrease of blood glucose. The same studies suggest that corosolic acid may stimulate glucose transport into tissue. In other animal studies, administration of banaba leaf extract resulted in reduced weight gain, reduced triglyceride accumulation and reduced adipose tissue, with no changes in diet. In noninsulin-dependent animals, administration of banaba leaf extract resulted in suppressed blood plasma glucose, lower serum insulin and lower urinary excretion of glucose.
In clinical studies conducted by Dr William Judy and associates at the Southeastern Institute of Biomedical Research in Bradenton, Florida, a one per cent corosolic acid extract of banaba leaf reportedly reduced serum glucose 20-30% in people with type 2 diabetes, but did not reduce serum glucose in healthy individuals.
In a prior study, some of the same researchers observed that individuals receiving the corosolic acid extract also had an increased tendency toward weight loss . . . an average of about 3.2 pounds.
Gymnema Sylvestre
Gymnema Sylvestre is another herb, whose traditional use in treating diabetes, has been backed up by recent medical research. Originating from India, Gymnema Sylvestre is known as gur-mar, or "sugar destroyer." When gymnema leaf is placed directly on the tongue, it eliminates the sensation of sweetness, even if sugar is put in the mouth immediately following. When taken internally, it helps to control blood-sugar levels in diabetes.
The leaves of Gymnema sylvestre perform two significant functions relative to diabetes. First, they suppress blood glucose, especially after eating. Secondly, they are insulinotropic and promote insulin secretion. By this two-pronged approach, Gymnema sylvestre proves a valuable aid in diabetes control.
Scientists think its active ingredients (gymnemic acids) protect the cells of the pancreas from free radical damage, so allowing them to regenerate and produce insulin more effectively (Nutrition 2004; 20(3): 280-285). Studies have shown that gymnema can also reduce glucose absorption from the intestine, so helping to regulate blood sugar levels. A recent Harvard study indicates the Gymnema lowers blood sugar levels in Type 1 and Type 2 diabetics. A recent King's College, London, study states that Gymnema acts by increasing cell permatibility, therefore reducing insulin resistance.
Momordica
Bitter melon is the common name for Momordica charantia, also known as African cucumber, balsam pear and bitter gourd. The plant is aptly named, as all parts of the plant, including the fruit, taste bitter. Widely sold in Asian groceries as a vegetable, bitter melon is employed as a folk remedy primarily for regulating blood sugar in cases of diabetes, as well as for colitis and dysentery, intestinal worms, jaundice and fevers. Current understanding of the phytochemicals in bitter melon suggests that these multiple uses are well founded.
Among the constituents in bitter melon, charantin is identified as a primary agent for blood-sugar regulation. Charantin demonstrates hypoglycaemic (blood sugar lowering) or other actions of potential benefit in diabetes. The fruits also contain insulin-like peptides, including one known as polypeptide P, and alkaloids. It is likely that several substances in bitter melon contribute to its blood sugar-modifying effects. In human studies, bitter melon demonstrates significant blood-sugar control after food intake and overall blood sugar-lowering effects.
Momordica has also been found to be just as effective as glibenclamide in reducing blood sugar levels (J Ethnopharmacol 2003; 88(1): 107-111). In fact, a large study at Harvard University Medical School concluded that mormodica is one of the best natural remedies for diabetes (Diabetes Care 2003; 26(4): 1277-1294). It appears that mormodica contains compounds similar in structure to insulin, which have the same effects in regulating blood sugar levels. There is also evidence that mormodica can prevent the release of excess glucose into the bloodstream from the liver (Am J Health Syst Pharm 2003; 60(4): 356-359).
Fenugreek
Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum) is a tall annual herb that is native to the Mediterranean, Ukraine, India and China. The plant bears pods filled with numerous light brown, diamond-shaped seeds that possess a sweet maple aroma and are commonly used in cookery and flavouring.
Studies reveal that fenugreek helps regulate blood glucose. The glucose-regulating, antidiabetic properties of fenugreek seed are linked to a novel free amino acid, 4-hydroxyisoleucine. This compound stimulates insulin secretion, thereby limiting the extent to which blood glucose is elevated; by promoting insulin secretion and inhibiting the rise of blood glucose, it helps stabilise blood sugar and reduces body fat production. In one human study, 15g/day fenugreek significantly reduced glucose levels after meals. Today fenugreek shows value as an antidiabetic agent with potential for weight control due to its 4-hydroxyisoleucine content. Some supplements are capsules of powdered seed, while others are more concentrated extracts standardized to 4-hydroxyisoleucine.
Experimental and clinical studies have demonstrated the antidiabetic properties of fenugreek seeds. The active ingredient responsible for the antidiabetic properties of fenugreek is in the defatted portion of the seed that contains the alkaloid trogonelline, nicotinic acid and coumarin. Fenugreek contains six compounds that help regulate blood sugar levels. Modern research shows that fenugreek seeds not only lower blood glucose but reduce insulin levels, total cholesterol and triglycerides, while increasing HDL (the good cholesterol).
Food, Diet & Herbal Remedies Therapy for osteoarthritis.
Food
Proper diet and nutrition are key elements in the prevention of all types of disease, including arthritis. An important first step in treating arthritis lies in achieving normal body weight. Excess weight puts increased stress on weight-bearing joints affected with arthritis.
Eat a diet that is high in fiber and that is not tainted with chemicals, which stress the body. Maximize your intake of fresh vegetables, fruits, fish, nuts, seeds, and whole grains.
Make sure your menu includes cold-water fish such as salmon and halibut.
Avoid saturated fats, hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils, rich fattv foods, fried foods, and refined sugar. These substances make the internal environment more acidic. Acid in the joints promotes inflammation, which worsens symptoms and increases pain.
Fatty meats, eggs, margarine, shortening, caffeine, alcohol, tobacco, sugars and dairy products should be dramatically cut down or eliminated from the diet.
About one-third of those who suffer from rheumatoid arthritis are sensitive to solanines, or nightshade plants, which include potatoes, peppers, eggplant, tomatoes, and tobacco. These should be eliminated from the diet.
Drink at least six to eight glasses of pure water daily. This will help to flush out toxins from your body.
Foods to eat
Green vegetables, such as watercress, parsley, celery, kale, and okra
Seaweeds
Carrots
Spirulina
Barley and wheat grass products (anti-inflammatory and detoxifying)
Avocados
Pecans
Potassium broth
Soy products
Whole grains, such as brown rice, millet, oats, wheat, and barley
Cold-water fish such as salmon, sardines, or herring
Foods to Avoid
Studies have shown that all arthritis symptoms are reduced, even for those with rheumatoid arthritis, after a person adopts a vegetarian diet, free of all animal foods, including-and especially-dairy products.
Calcium Inhibitors
Reduce or eliminate red meat, dairy, eggs, and chicken
Alcohol
Coffee
Refined sugar and too many sweets
Excess salt
Foods High In Oxalic Acid
Rhubarb
Cranberries
Plums
Chard
Spinach
The Nightshade Family of Foods
Tomatoes
Eggplant
Potatoes
Peppers
Tobacco
Foods that will Create Wind and Dampness
Buckwheat
Dairy foods
All animal fat
Nuts, oil-rich seeds, and nut butters
Diet Therapy
1. Remove all inflammatory causes from your diet. Dairy products, wheat, and nightshade plants, including potatoes, peppers, eggplant, tomatoes, and tobacco, are most often responsible for these food allergies. Eliminate all the suspect foods from your diet for at least one month. If this is helping with your arthritis, gradually reintroduce them (one new food every three to four days). This way you can determine which specific food is contributing to your arthritis.
2. Remove or decrease consumption of all animal products other than fish. If possible eat a raw food vegetarian diet (vegetarian plus elimination of all animal products, especially dairy).
3. Periodic supervised fasting is also very effective for osteoarthritis. For more than 50 years, fasting clinics throughout Europe have successfully employed periodic juice fasting for managing arthritis. Fasting enhances the eliminative and cleansing capacity of the lungs, skin, liver, and kidneys. It also rests and restores the digestive system and helps to relax the nervous system and mind.
4. Besides green vegetables, your diet should include: carrots, avocado, sea weeds, spirulina, barley and wheat grass products, sprouts, pecans, soy products, whole grains (such as brown rice, millet, oats, wheat, and barley), seeds (sesame, flax, and pumpkin), and cold-water fish (such as salmon, sardines, herring, and tuna).
5. Avoid the following foods: alcohol, coffee, sugar, saturated fat, hydrogenated fat (margarine), excess salt, spinach, cranberries, plums, buckwheat, nuts.
6. Weight reduction, through diet and exercise, is also recommended in treating arthritis.
Diet & Osteoarthritis
For centuries, we humans have considered that our health is influenced by what we eat. Let's face it - if you eat beef with hot sauce and have diarrhea followed by anal burning the next morning, the food affected your body!
The concept that diet can, in any way, affect osteoarthritis (degenerative arthritis) is being evaluated by researchers. Keep in mind that this field is just developing and few hard conclusions can be reached. Here is the latest:
1.Obesity increases the risk for developing osteoarthritis. Overweight persons might reduce their chances for developing or aggravating their osteoarthritis by losing weight. Furthermore, if a person already has substantial osteoarthritis in a weight-bearing joint, such as a knee or hip, weight reduction can significantly improve their ability to rehabilitate after joint surgery as well as decrease their risk of surgical complications.
2.Vitamin C is important in the development of normal cartilage. A deficiency of Vitamin C might lead to the development of weak cartilage. Vitamin C is commonly available in citrus fruits. Supplementation with a Vitamin C tablet may be advised if dietary fruits are unavailable.
Persons with low bone mineral density, such as in osteoporosis, may be at increased risk for osteoarthritis. Exercise and adequate calcium intake, as recommended for age and gender, can help to maintain bone density.
3.Vitamin D deficiency has been shown to increase the risk of joint space narrowing and progression of disease in osteoarthritis. Many doctors are recommending Vitamin D supplementation of 400IU daily. This can also help to prevent osteoporosis.
In recent years, there have been studies originally conducted in Europe and more recently in the United States that have verified that the food supplements:-
4.Glucosamine and chondroitin can help to relieve osteoarthritis symptoms, including pain and stiffness. Each of these supplements can be taken alone or in combination formulations. Keep in mind that glucosamine has been marketed as a "cartilage rebuilder." This is in part under the assumption that, because glucosamine is a component of normal cartilage, consuming it will assist in the rebuilding of damaged cartilage. There is no strong evidence that glucosamine alone, or in combination with chondroitin, is of value in rebuilding cartilage that has been damaged by osteoarthritis.
Herbal Remedies
Many herbal remedies are useful for arthritic sufferers. Depending on your condition, and the availability of herbal products, some remedies might be more suitable than others. Fresh juices are more easily absorbed by the body and capture the whole synergistic complex of healing ingredients locked in the plant. Find the one that works best for you.
Boswellia has unique anti-inflammatory action, much like the conventional non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) used by many for inflammatory conditions. Unlike NSAIDs, however, long-term use of boswellia does not lead to irritation or ulceration of the stomach.
Cayenne (Capsaicin) Capsaicin, the "burning" substance in cayenne creams has been used topically to relieve pain from osteoarthritis. The benefit from cayenne creams, generally containing 0.025-0.075% of the active ingredient capsaicin, has been confirmed in double blind research.
Devils claw (Harpagphytum procumbens)-an analgesic and anti-inflammatory
Dosage: one to two grams, three times daily
Ginger (zingiber officinale)-acts as an anti-inflammatory
Suggested Dosage: 0.5 to 1 mg of powdered ginger daily
Ginger Tea- Add one grated teaspoon of fresh ginger to a cup of hot water. Take two times daily.
Horsetail: The silicon content of horsetail is believed to exert a connective tissue strengthening and anti-arthritic action in traditional medicine.
Licorice root (Glycyrrhiza glabra)-an anti-inflammatory. Long-term use can elevate blood pressure and increase potassium loss.
Dosage: one-eighth to one-quarter teaspoon of a 5: 1 solid extract up to three times daily
Turmeric (Curcumin (Curcuma longa))- an effective anti-inflammatory
Suggested Dosage: 400 mg three times daily; take on an empty stomach and combine with 1,000 mg of bromelain
White willow has anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving effects. Although the analgesic actions of willow are typically slow-acting, they tend to last longer than aspirin. One double blind study found that a product featuring white willow (though also containing black cohosh, guaiac [Guaiacum officinale], sarsaparilla, and aspen bark) effectively reduced osteoarthritis pain compared to placebo. White willow products providing approximately 100 mg salicin per day are generally recommended by doctors of natural medicine.
Yucca-has long been used to reduce arthritic pain.
Cherries, hawthorn berries and blueberries: Cherries, hawthorn berries, blueberries and other dark red-blue berries are rich sources of anthocyanidins and proanthocyanidins. These compounds are flavonoid molecules that give them their deep red-blue color. These compounds are remarkable in their ability to enhance collagen matrix integrity and structure.
Celery seed extract-acts as an anti-inflammatory
Castor oil hot packs-apply to affected joint
Apply angelica root compress or add 5 drops of angelica oil to a hot bath to reduce spasms.
Take 3 capsules of horsetail daily for two weeks each month to help rebuild bones.
Acute Joint Inflammation:
In the acute, inflamed stage, slowly start with movement exercises and hot, moist fenugreek packs on the painful areas. Take 1 tbsp. fenugreek seeds internally three times daily.
For internal 10-day cleansing and to reduce inflammation, drink willow bark tea. Add 1 tsp. willow bark to 1 cup boiling water, steep for ten minutes, strain and drink unsweetened twice daily.
Take a hayflower bath. Combine wild yam with celery seeds or willow leaves and make an infusion, strain and add to bath water.
Proper diet and nutrition are key elements in the prevention of all types of disease, including arthritis. An important first step in treating arthritis lies in achieving normal body weight. Excess weight puts increased stress on weight-bearing joints affected with arthritis.
Eat a diet that is high in fiber and that is not tainted with chemicals, which stress the body. Maximize your intake of fresh vegetables, fruits, fish, nuts, seeds, and whole grains.
Make sure your menu includes cold-water fish such as salmon and halibut.
Avoid saturated fats, hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils, rich fattv foods, fried foods, and refined sugar. These substances make the internal environment more acidic. Acid in the joints promotes inflammation, which worsens symptoms and increases pain.
Fatty meats, eggs, margarine, shortening, caffeine, alcohol, tobacco, sugars and dairy products should be dramatically cut down or eliminated from the diet.
About one-third of those who suffer from rheumatoid arthritis are sensitive to solanines, or nightshade plants, which include potatoes, peppers, eggplant, tomatoes, and tobacco. These should be eliminated from the diet.
Drink at least six to eight glasses of pure water daily. This will help to flush out toxins from your body.
Foods to eat
Green vegetables, such as watercress, parsley, celery, kale, and okra
Seaweeds
Carrots
Spirulina
Barley and wheat grass products (anti-inflammatory and detoxifying)
Avocados
Pecans
Potassium broth
Soy products
Whole grains, such as brown rice, millet, oats, wheat, and barley
Cold-water fish such as salmon, sardines, or herring
Foods to Avoid
Studies have shown that all arthritis symptoms are reduced, even for those with rheumatoid arthritis, after a person adopts a vegetarian diet, free of all animal foods, including-and especially-dairy products.
Calcium Inhibitors
Reduce or eliminate red meat, dairy, eggs, and chicken
Alcohol
Coffee
Refined sugar and too many sweets
Excess salt
Foods High In Oxalic Acid
Rhubarb
Cranberries
Plums
Chard
Spinach
The Nightshade Family of Foods
Tomatoes
Eggplant
Potatoes
Peppers
Tobacco
Foods that will Create Wind and Dampness
Buckwheat
Dairy foods
All animal fat
Nuts, oil-rich seeds, and nut butters
Diet Therapy
1. Remove all inflammatory causes from your diet. Dairy products, wheat, and nightshade plants, including potatoes, peppers, eggplant, tomatoes, and tobacco, are most often responsible for these food allergies. Eliminate all the suspect foods from your diet for at least one month. If this is helping with your arthritis, gradually reintroduce them (one new food every three to four days). This way you can determine which specific food is contributing to your arthritis.
2. Remove or decrease consumption of all animal products other than fish. If possible eat a raw food vegetarian diet (vegetarian plus elimination of all animal products, especially dairy).
3. Periodic supervised fasting is also very effective for osteoarthritis. For more than 50 years, fasting clinics throughout Europe have successfully employed periodic juice fasting for managing arthritis. Fasting enhances the eliminative and cleansing capacity of the lungs, skin, liver, and kidneys. It also rests and restores the digestive system and helps to relax the nervous system and mind.
4. Besides green vegetables, your diet should include: carrots, avocado, sea weeds, spirulina, barley and wheat grass products, sprouts, pecans, soy products, whole grains (such as brown rice, millet, oats, wheat, and barley), seeds (sesame, flax, and pumpkin), and cold-water fish (such as salmon, sardines, herring, and tuna).
5. Avoid the following foods: alcohol, coffee, sugar, saturated fat, hydrogenated fat (margarine), excess salt, spinach, cranberries, plums, buckwheat, nuts.
6. Weight reduction, through diet and exercise, is also recommended in treating arthritis.
Diet & Osteoarthritis
For centuries, we humans have considered that our health is influenced by what we eat. Let's face it - if you eat beef with hot sauce and have diarrhea followed by anal burning the next morning, the food affected your body!
The concept that diet can, in any way, affect osteoarthritis (degenerative arthritis) is being evaluated by researchers. Keep in mind that this field is just developing and few hard conclusions can be reached. Here is the latest:
1.Obesity increases the risk for developing osteoarthritis. Overweight persons might reduce their chances for developing or aggravating their osteoarthritis by losing weight. Furthermore, if a person already has substantial osteoarthritis in a weight-bearing joint, such as a knee or hip, weight reduction can significantly improve their ability to rehabilitate after joint surgery as well as decrease their risk of surgical complications.
2.Vitamin C is important in the development of normal cartilage. A deficiency of Vitamin C might lead to the development of weak cartilage. Vitamin C is commonly available in citrus fruits. Supplementation with a Vitamin C tablet may be advised if dietary fruits are unavailable.
Persons with low bone mineral density, such as in osteoporosis, may be at increased risk for osteoarthritis. Exercise and adequate calcium intake, as recommended for age and gender, can help to maintain bone density.
3.Vitamin D deficiency has been shown to increase the risk of joint space narrowing and progression of disease in osteoarthritis. Many doctors are recommending Vitamin D supplementation of 400IU daily. This can also help to prevent osteoporosis.
In recent years, there have been studies originally conducted in Europe and more recently in the United States that have verified that the food supplements:-
4.Glucosamine and chondroitin can help to relieve osteoarthritis symptoms, including pain and stiffness. Each of these supplements can be taken alone or in combination formulations. Keep in mind that glucosamine has been marketed as a "cartilage rebuilder." This is in part under the assumption that, because glucosamine is a component of normal cartilage, consuming it will assist in the rebuilding of damaged cartilage. There is no strong evidence that glucosamine alone, or in combination with chondroitin, is of value in rebuilding cartilage that has been damaged by osteoarthritis.
Herbal Remedies
Many herbal remedies are useful for arthritic sufferers. Depending on your condition, and the availability of herbal products, some remedies might be more suitable than others. Fresh juices are more easily absorbed by the body and capture the whole synergistic complex of healing ingredients locked in the plant. Find the one that works best for you.
Boswellia has unique anti-inflammatory action, much like the conventional non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) used by many for inflammatory conditions. Unlike NSAIDs, however, long-term use of boswellia does not lead to irritation or ulceration of the stomach.
Cayenne (Capsaicin) Capsaicin, the "burning" substance in cayenne creams has been used topically to relieve pain from osteoarthritis. The benefit from cayenne creams, generally containing 0.025-0.075% of the active ingredient capsaicin, has been confirmed in double blind research.
Devils claw (Harpagphytum procumbens)-an analgesic and anti-inflammatory
Dosage: one to two grams, three times daily
Ginger (zingiber officinale)-acts as an anti-inflammatory
Suggested Dosage: 0.5 to 1 mg of powdered ginger daily
Ginger Tea- Add one grated teaspoon of fresh ginger to a cup of hot water. Take two times daily.
Horsetail: The silicon content of horsetail is believed to exert a connective tissue strengthening and anti-arthritic action in traditional medicine.
Licorice root (Glycyrrhiza glabra)-an anti-inflammatory. Long-term use can elevate blood pressure and increase potassium loss.
Dosage: one-eighth to one-quarter teaspoon of a 5: 1 solid extract up to three times daily
Turmeric (Curcumin (Curcuma longa))- an effective anti-inflammatory
Suggested Dosage: 400 mg three times daily; take on an empty stomach and combine with 1,000 mg of bromelain
White willow has anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving effects. Although the analgesic actions of willow are typically slow-acting, they tend to last longer than aspirin. One double blind study found that a product featuring white willow (though also containing black cohosh, guaiac [Guaiacum officinale], sarsaparilla, and aspen bark) effectively reduced osteoarthritis pain compared to placebo. White willow products providing approximately 100 mg salicin per day are generally recommended by doctors of natural medicine.
Yucca-has long been used to reduce arthritic pain.
Cherries, hawthorn berries and blueberries: Cherries, hawthorn berries, blueberries and other dark red-blue berries are rich sources of anthocyanidins and proanthocyanidins. These compounds are flavonoid molecules that give them their deep red-blue color. These compounds are remarkable in their ability to enhance collagen matrix integrity and structure.
Celery seed extract-acts as an anti-inflammatory
Castor oil hot packs-apply to affected joint
Apply angelica root compress or add 5 drops of angelica oil to a hot bath to reduce spasms.
Take 3 capsules of horsetail daily for two weeks each month to help rebuild bones.
Acute Joint Inflammation:
In the acute, inflamed stage, slowly start with movement exercises and hot, moist fenugreek packs on the painful areas. Take 1 tbsp. fenugreek seeds internally three times daily.
For internal 10-day cleansing and to reduce inflammation, drink willow bark tea. Add 1 tsp. willow bark to 1 cup boiling water, steep for ten minutes, strain and drink unsweetened twice daily.
Take a hayflower bath. Combine wild yam with celery seeds or willow leaves and make an infusion, strain and add to bath water.
MEALS OF RASULALLAH(PBUH)
Meal of Rasulallah(PBUH)
we should include in our meals to live healthy
Breakfast
The prophet(SAWS) said : “I advise you to drink honey.”
Preparation:
Use a full table spoon of honey along with a glass of water (200ml).
Steer until the honey dissolves totally in the water before usage.
Benefits:
- Awaken the entire digestive system, from mouth to intestines.
- obtain a sufficient amount of energy required for the daily activities by supplying the body with salt, minerals and the vitamins.
- Mixes the order of the water molecules with that of the honey so the whole drink becomes beneficial. This method is used in the modern treatments named “treatment with water” (or hydropathy) where the water is enriched with the needed substance that the body needs.
Dates and Milk
Preparation:
Soak 7 dates into a glass of milk. To be taken around noon.
The prophet(SAWS) said: “ whomever starts his day with seven pressed dates will not suffer any poison or magic”.
Benefits:
- Milk contains vitamins and minerals that fruits have.
- Pressed Dates help the liver resist toxic elements using the anti-toxic or antibiotics that the dates contains.
- Pressed dates help the body get rid of the harmful chemical elements that the body has to deal with, like the lead that a high rate of it in the body can cause renal failure.
The Prophet (SAWS) said: “use olive oil in your food and for massage for it’s from a blessed tree”
Lunch:
A piece of bread made of barley, a table spoon of olive oil and few drops of apple vinegar.
Benefits:
- Olive oil resists fat in the body.
- Olive oil prevents from skin cancer and bone cancer.
- Olive oil dissolves cholesterol.
- A daily spoon of Olive oil can treat the problem of fatty liver.
- Olive oil can treat and prevent from arteriosclerosis and weakness of memory.
Benefits of Olive oil with vinegar:
Olive oil helps in the increase of beneficial fat (high in density), and decrease the proportion of harmful fat (low in density), which reside on the wall of arteries, causing intransigence.
Vinegar helps the body get rid of the harmful fats by turning it into a beneficial element that is used in internal generation of body power.
The Prophet (SAWS) said:
“ God bless vinegar for it was part of prophets diet.”
Dinner:
The Prophet (SAWS) said:
” whomever skips the dinner meal his body weakens.”
The dinner meal should contain a piece of bread made of barley and a glass of milk.
The dinner helps the large intestines fermenting food and benefiting from some of its vitamins that results from the process of fermenting. Like a vitamin that prevents the body from bleeding.
Medical benefits in prophetic diets
The Prophet (SAWS) had the habit of eating carrots, dill, parsley.
Benefits
Carrots is scientifically proven to be one of the most important anti-oxidation tool. It helps prevent from cancer and aging diseases.
Benefits of Dill and Parsley:
Dill protects the body from the formation of stones on the gallbladder with its ability to resist cholesterol, as 70% of the stones and appear in the gallbladder happens because of Cholesterol.
Parsley protects the body from the composition of urine tract stones.
The Prophet (SAWS) said:
“If I am to say that a fruit is from paradise I would have said it is fig.”
You can eat ripe or dry figs
The benefits of the pomegranate in the treatment of ulcers and acidity
The Prophet (SAWS) said:
It is preferred that pomegranate is eaten along with the while fiber encircling it because it contains a white substance that treats stomach ulcer. In addition it could be used dry to eliminate the symptoms of acidity.
we should include in our meals to live healthy
Breakfast
The prophet(SAWS) said : “I advise you to drink honey.”
Preparation:
Use a full table spoon of honey along with a glass of water (200ml).
Steer until the honey dissolves totally in the water before usage.
Benefits:
- Awaken the entire digestive system, from mouth to intestines.
- obtain a sufficient amount of energy required for the daily activities by supplying the body with salt, minerals and the vitamins.
- Mixes the order of the water molecules with that of the honey so the whole drink becomes beneficial. This method is used in the modern treatments named “treatment with water” (or hydropathy) where the water is enriched with the needed substance that the body needs.
Dates and Milk
Preparation:
Soak 7 dates into a glass of milk. To be taken around noon.
The prophet(SAWS) said: “ whomever starts his day with seven pressed dates will not suffer any poison or magic”.
Benefits:
- Milk contains vitamins and minerals that fruits have.
- Pressed Dates help the liver resist toxic elements using the anti-toxic or antibiotics that the dates contains.
- Pressed dates help the body get rid of the harmful chemical elements that the body has to deal with, like the lead that a high rate of it in the body can cause renal failure.
The Prophet (SAWS) said: “use olive oil in your food and for massage for it’s from a blessed tree”
Lunch:
A piece of bread made of barley, a table spoon of olive oil and few drops of apple vinegar.
Benefits:
- Olive oil resists fat in the body.
- Olive oil prevents from skin cancer and bone cancer.
- Olive oil dissolves cholesterol.
- A daily spoon of Olive oil can treat the problem of fatty liver.
- Olive oil can treat and prevent from arteriosclerosis and weakness of memory.
Benefits of Olive oil with vinegar:
Olive oil helps in the increase of beneficial fat (high in density), and decrease the proportion of harmful fat (low in density), which reside on the wall of arteries, causing intransigence.
Vinegar helps the body get rid of the harmful fats by turning it into a beneficial element that is used in internal generation of body power.
The Prophet (SAWS) said:
“ God bless vinegar for it was part of prophets diet.”
Dinner:
The Prophet (SAWS) said:
” whomever skips the dinner meal his body weakens.”
The dinner meal should contain a piece of bread made of barley and a glass of milk.
The dinner helps the large intestines fermenting food and benefiting from some of its vitamins that results from the process of fermenting. Like a vitamin that prevents the body from bleeding.
Medical benefits in prophetic diets
The Prophet (SAWS) had the habit of eating carrots, dill, parsley.
Benefits
Carrots is scientifically proven to be one of the most important anti-oxidation tool. It helps prevent from cancer and aging diseases.
Benefits of Dill and Parsley:
Dill protects the body from the formation of stones on the gallbladder with its ability to resist cholesterol, as 70% of the stones and appear in the gallbladder happens because of Cholesterol.
Parsley protects the body from the composition of urine tract stones.
The Prophet (SAWS) said:
“If I am to say that a fruit is from paradise I would have said it is fig.”
You can eat ripe or dry figs
The benefits of the pomegranate in the treatment of ulcers and acidity
The Prophet (SAWS) said:
It is preferred that pomegranate is eaten along with the while fiber encircling it because it contains a white substance that treats stomach ulcer. In addition it could be used dry to eliminate the symptoms of acidity.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Tips for good night sleep
There are many simple steps you can take to help you fall asleep faster and stay asleep. Here are some tips:
- Avoid large meals within two hours of bedtime. If you are hungry, a glass of milk or a light snack is a good choice. Milk contains the amino acid L-tryptophan, which has been shown in research to help people go to sleep.
- Get aerobic exercise during the day to reduce stress hormones, but avoid anything too strenuous within three hours of bedtime. Regular exercise may promote deeper sleep.
- Go to bed at a regular time and avoid napping late in the afternoon. If you need to nap, take a brief nap for 10-15 minutes about eight hours after you awake.
- Stop working at any task an hour before bedtime to calm mental activity.
- At bedtime, keep your mind off worries or things that upset you; avoid discussing emotional issues in bed.
- Make sure your bedroom is having comfortable temperature.
- Keep your bedroom for sleeping. If you can't sleep or if you wake up in the middle of the night, go into another room and read a book or watch television until you feel sleepy.
- Learn a relaxation technique such as progressive muscle relaxation and practice it in bed.
- Caffeine should be discontinued at least four to six hours before bedtime. Caffeine is a stimulant that is present in coffee, cola, tea, chocolate, and various over-the-counter medications. Consider gradually reducing the amount of caffeine you consume to avoid withdrawal symptoms like headaches.
- If you are still having trouble sleeping after trying some of these suggestions, tell your doctor about it. There may be an underlying medical condition that is causing your sleep problem.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)