Nov
5
Never Buy Meat, Potatoes or Herbs With This Label on it
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Irradiated herbs, seasonings and spices are exposed to HALF A BILLION chest X-ray's worth of gamma radiation. This information is clearly publicized by the USDA and FDA.
The FDA presently supports the use of Cobalt-60 culled from nuclear reactors on all domestically produced conventional food.
The level of gamma-radiation used starts at 1 KiloGray -- equivalent to 16,700,000 chest x-rays -- and goes all the way up to 30KiloGray (500,000,000 chest x-rays or 10,000 times a human lethal dose).
According to Green Med Info:
?Despite the irresponsible promotion of this process as safe, food irradiation destroys much of the vitamin content of food, produces a number of toxic byproducts: formaldehyde, benzene, and formic acid, as well as unique radiolytic products, e.g. 2-alklycyclobutanoes, that have been demonstrated to be cytotoxic (damages cells), genotoxic (damages DNA), and carcinogenic (causes cancer) in test tube and animal studies.?
By Dr. Mercola
You're probably well aware that certain foods, like milk and juices, at your grocery store are pasteurized -- a process that uses heat to kill off bacteria from your food, and in the process destroys nutrients and denatures the food.
But you may not know that foods may also be irradiated -- a process that exposes your food to radiant energy, including gamma rays, electron beams and X-rays.
Irradiation was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1963, and today is used on more than 40 food products dispersed throughout 37 countries. If this sounds a bit alarming to you, you are not alone.
After nuclear disasters like the Fukushima meltdown in Japan, radiation poisoning to food is one of the primary health concerns. So how is it that food processors can expose your food to radiation on purpose, in the name of food safety?
Are There Health Risks to Eating Irradiated Food?
The FDA claims, "Irradiation is an important food safety tool in fighting foodborne illness," noting that the sources and amounts of radiation applied to foods are not strong enough to cause the food to become radioactive. They also state that "food irradiation does not significantly change the nutrient content, flavor, or texture of food." However, as Sayer Ji, found of GreenMedInfo.com, states:
"The FDA presently supports and actively promotes the use of Cobalt-60 culled from Nuclear Reactors as a form of "electronic pasteurization" on all domestically produced conventional food.
The use of euphemisms like "food additive" and "pasteurization" to describe the process of blasting food with high levels of gamma-radiation cannot obviate the fact that the very same death-rays generated by thermonuclear warfare to destroy life are now being applied to food to "make it safer" ?
This is not a hypochondriac's rantings, as we aren't talking here about small amounts of radiation. The level of gamma-radiation used starts at 1KiloGray (equivalent to 16,700,000 chest x-rays or 333 times a human lethal dose) and goes all the way up to 30KiloGray (500,000,000 chest x-rays or 10,000 times a human lethal dose)."
As you might suspect, exposing food to the equivalent of hundreds of millions of x-rays does not appear to be an innocuous act. Alternatively, evidence to date suggests it may be having a detrimental effect on the health of those who consume it.
A New Class of Food Contaminants
2-alkylcyclobutanones (2-ACBs) are radiolytic derivatives of triglycerides found exclusively in irradiated food. The compounds are generated proportionally to fat content of the food and the dose of absorbed radiation.
Research in animals suggests the compounds may promote tumor growth and colon cancer, and studies show 2-alkylcyclobutanones are able to cross the intestinal barrier, enter into the bloodstream, and be stored in the fat tissue of an animal. The compounds have also been shown to be cytotoxic and genotoxic, which means they may damage cells and DNA, respectively. Studies on human cells also revealed potential cancer-causing effects, with researchers concluding "this compound may be regarded as a possible risk factor for processes in colon carcinogenesis related to initiation and progression."
More Reasons to be Wary of Irradiation
Needless to say, the research to date is raising major red flags that irradiation is NOT as safe as food safety officials would have you believe. In addition to the formation of potentially toxic 2-ACBs, irradiation leads to the formation of furan from ascorbic acid, fructose, sucrose, or glucose. Furan in foods has been linked to liver toxicity, including carcinogenicity.
Another study found that cats developed "mysterious" and "remarkable" severe neurological dysfunction, including movement disorders, vision loss and paralysis, after being fed a diet of irradiated foods during gestation. When they were taken off the irradiated foods, they slowly recovered. This is a major clue that irradiated foods deserve some serious regulatory scrutiny, but unfortunately they have already infiltrated the food system. And it's not as though this concerning evidence was just recently brought to light. One paper on potential dangers, prepared for the meeting of the Joint FAO/IAEA/WHO Expert Committee on Irradiated Food, dates back to 1969. The author stated:
" ? irradiation can bring about chemical transformations in food and food components resulting in the formation of potential mutagens."
Does Irradiation Actually Mask Filthy Food Production?
The FDA is quick to state that "Irradiation is not a substitute for good sanitation and process control in meat and poultry plants. It is an added layer of safety." But it is, in essence, a tool to wipe out bacteria, parasites and other potential pathogens that linger in food. This means food manufacturers have an out of sorts ? After all, they're going to nuke everything later anyway, so why go to the trouble of actually growing your food in sanitary conditions to begin with?
Irradiation is essentially a very effective medium for masking filthy conditions in slaughterhouses and food processing plants. The foundational solution to this problem lies in preventing contamination at the source -- on the farm, during processing and shipping, and so on -- not in wiping out pathogens later using questionable technological interventions like radiation! There simply shouldn't be any need for irradiation, as there simply shouldn't be E. coli in your lettuce or Salmonella in your poultry in the first place.
So why is there?
Our "global food system," which encourages farming on a massive scale, poses steep problems for food safety. Not only can one batch of contaminated spinach or peppers easily sicken people across an entire country, but it's very difficult to trace a contaminated food back to its source ? and even harder to then pinpoint the source of the contamination.
Public health agencies like the FDA use the term "field-to-fork continuum" to describe the path any given food takes on the way to your plate, and during any of the following steps, contamination is possible:
- Open field production
- Harvesting
- Field packing
- Greenhouse production
- Packinghouse or field packing
- Repacking and other distribution operations
- Fresh-cut/value-added processing
- Food service and retail
- Consumer
As you can see, the more steps your food goes through before it reaches your plate, the greater your chances of contamination becomes.
But again, the solution is not to subject your foods to radiation to make them "safe" ? they should be safe from the get-go, and this is one of the primary reasons why I encourage you to think long and hard about the sources of your food. If you are able to get your food directly from the field or after harvest, such as directly from a farmer or farmer's market, you knock out five potential operations that could expose your food to contamination, not to mention you'll have assurance the food has not been irradiated.
Do You Want to Avoid Irradiated Foods?
In the United States, the following foods may be irradiated:
| Fresh meat and poultry (including whole or cut up birds, skinless poultry, pork chops, roasts, stew meat, liver, hamburgers, ground meat, and ground poultry) | Wheat and wheat powder | White potatoes |
| Many spices | Dry vegetable seasonings | Fresh shell eggs |
| Fresh produce |
Fortunately, the FDA currently requires that irradiated foods include labeling with the statement "treated with radiation" or "treated by irradiation" and the international symbol for irradiation, the radura:
However, there are exceptions:
- Irradiated meat used in another product (such as sausage) does not have to contain the radura image on the package (it does have to list irradiated meat in the ingredients, though).
- Restaurants are not required to disclose the use of irradiated foods. So be aware that any time you eat out, you have no way of knowing if your food has been irradiated.
You can also avoid irradiation by choosing locally grown, organic foods as much as possible. Certified organic foods may not be irradiated, and foods from a small, local farm are unlikely to be either. So, as I've said many times before, supporting the small farmers in your area and, as much as possible, getting your food from these types of high-quality, small-scale local sources is one of the simplest ways to access pure, unadulterated food.
Related Articles:
Irradiated Food Causes Brain Damage FDA Allows Irradiation of Produce What are the Most Common Food Infections?Oct
6
Can Inflammation in this Organ be at the Root of Your Depression?
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Recent studies have shown that inflammation may be involved in the pathogenesis of depression. In fact, some research has demonstrated that depression is frequently associated with gastrointestinal inflammations and autoimmune diseases as well as with other ailments in which chronic low-grade inflammation is a significant contributing factor.
It is possible that depression could be a neuropsychiatric manifestation of a chronic inflammatory syndrome. And the primary cause of inflammation may be the dysfunction of the "gut-brain axis".
According to a study reprinted on the website Green Med Info:
"... [A]n increasing number of clinical studies have shown that treating gastrointestinal inflammations with probiotics, vitamin B, D and omega 3 fatty acids, through attenuating proinflammatory stimuli to brain, may also improve depression symptoms and quality of life. All these findings justify an assumption that treating gastrointestinal inflammations may improve the efficacy of the currently used treatment modalities of depression and related diseases."
By Dr. Mercola
The notion that inflammation in your gut could be linked to your symptoms of depression may sound far-fetched, but it actually makes perfect sense when you understand the intricate connection between your brain and your digestive tract.
Perhaps the simplest example to use is getting butterflies in your stomach when you're nervous, thus your thoughts, i.e. brain, are manifesting symptoms in your gut. But another route of connection is via low-grade inflammation, which is a significant contributing factor to numerous diseases that often occur alongside depression, and may, in fact, be manifesting your depressive symptoms.
Is Depression the Result of Chronic Inflammation?
A recent review has pointed out several mechanisms by which gastrointestinal inflammation may play a critical role in the development of depression.
Among them:
- Depression is often found alongside gastrointestinal inflammations and autoimmune diseases as well as with cardiovascular diseases, neurodegenerative diseases, type 2-diabetes and also cancer, in which chronic low-grade inflammation is a significant contributing factor. Thus researchers suggested "depression may be a neuropsychiatric manifestation of a chronic inflammatory syndrome."
- Research suggests the primary cause of inflammation may be dysfunction of the "gut-brain axis." Your gut is literally your second brain -- created from the identical tissue as your brain during gestation -- and contains larger amounts of the neurotransmitter serotonin, which is associated with mood control.
It's important to understand that your gut bacteria are an active and integrated part of your body, and as such are heavily dependent on your diet and vulnerable to your lifestyle. If you consume a lot of processed foods and sweetened drinks, for instance, your gut bacteria are likely going to be severely compromised because processed foods in general will destroy healthy microflora and sugars of all kinds feed bad bacteria and yeast, as well as promote systemic inflammation.
- An increasing number of clinical studies have shown that treating gastrointestinal inflammation with probiotics, vitamin B, vitamin D and omega-3 fats may also improve depression symptoms and quality of life by attenuating proinflammatory stimuli to your brain.
What this all boils down to is that chronic inflammation in your body disrupts the normal functioning of many bodily systems, and can wreak havoc on your brain. But it appears inflammation may be more than just another risk factor for depression; it may in fact be THE risk factor that underlies all others. Although this refers to postpartum depression, the inflammatory response is the same in its impact on all forms of depression.
Published in the International Breastfeeding Journal, researchers stated:
"The old paradigm described inflammation as simply one of many risk factors for depression. The new paradigm is based on more recent research that has indicated that physical and psychological stressors increase inflammation. These recent studies constitute an important shift in the depression paradigm: inflammation is not simply a risk factor; it is the risk factor that underlies all the others.
Moreover, inflammation explains why psychosocial, behavioral and physical risk factors increase the risk of depression. This is true for depression in general and for postpartum depression in particular.
Puerperal women are especially vulnerable to these effects because their levels of proinflammatory cytokines significantly increase during the last trimester of pregnancy -- a time when they are also at high risk for depression.Moreover, common experiences of new motherhood, such as sleep disturbance, postpartum pain, and past or current psychological trauma, act as stressors that cause proinflammatory cytokine levels to rise."
This is Why Sugar is Also a Major Factor in Depression
There's a great book on this subject, The Sugar Blues, written by William Duffy more than 35 years ago, that delves into the sugar-depression link in great detail. The central argument Duffy makes in the book is that sugar is an extremely health-harming addictive drug, and that simply making that one dietary change -- eliminating as much sugar as possible -- can have a profoundly beneficial impact on your mental health. He even advocated eliminating sugar from the diet of the mentally ill, stating it could be an effective treatment in and of itself for some people.
It's become increasingly clear that one route by which sugar is so detrimental to your mental health is because sugar consumption triggers a cascade of chemical reactions in your body that promote chronic inflammation. Further, excess sugar and fructose will distort the ratio of good to bad bacteria in your gut, which also plays an integral role in your mental health. Sugar does this by serving as a fertilizer/fuel for pathogenic bacteria, yeast and fungi that negatively inhibit the beneficial bacteria in your gut.
For instance, recent research showed the probiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus was found to have a marked effect on GABA levels in certain brain regions and lowered the stress-induced hormone corticosterone, resulting in reduced anxiety- and depression-related behavior. But if you consume a lot of processed foods and sweetened drinks (which are typically fructose-heavy), your gut bacteria are likely going to be severely compromised and so is your mental health! So the dietary answer for treating depression is to severely limit sugars, especially fructose, as well as grains.
It's worth noting that sugar can also lead to excessive insulin release that can lead to hypoglycemia, which, in turn, causes your brain to secrete glutamate in levels that can cause agitation, depression, anger, anxiety, panic attacks and an increase in suicide risk.
So radically reducing your sugar intake, especially fructose, to less than 25 grams per day will be one of the most powerful interventions for dealing with depression, as well as fighting chronic inflammation and supporting healthy gut bacteria. Consuming more than 25 grams of fructose a day will clearly push your brain biochemistry, and your overall health, in the wrong direction.
Relieving Gastrointestinal Inflammation May Ease Your Depressive Symptoms
We discussed the importance of limiting sugar and fructose, which is one of the primary ways to treat gastrointestinal inflammation, above. You will also want to be sure your gut is regularly "reseeded" with good bacteria, or probiotics, which are the foundation of a healthy gastrointestinal tract.
My recommendations for optimizing your gut bacteria are as follows:
- Fermented foods are still the best route to optimal digestive health, as long as you eat the traditionally made, unpasteurized versions. Healthy choices include lassi (an Indian yoghurt drink, traditionally enjoyed before dinner), fermented raw (unpasteurrized) grass-fed organic milk such as kefir, various pickled fermentations of cabbage, turnips, eggplant, cucumbers, onions, squash and carrots, and natto (fermented soy).
If you regularly eat fermented foods such as these that, again, have not been pasteurized (pasteurization kills the naturally occurring probiotics), your healthy gut bacteria will thrive.
- Probiotic supplement. Although I'm not a major proponent of taking many supplements (as I believe the majority of your nutrients need to come from food), probiotics are definitely an exception. I have used many different brands over the past 15 years and there are many good ones out there.
- If you do not eat fermented foods, taking a high-quality probiotic supplement certainly makes a lot of sense considering how important they are to optimizing your mental health.
Probiotics have a direct effect on brain chemistry, transmitting mood- and behavior-regulating signals to your brain via the vagus nerve, which is yet another reason why your intestinal health can have such a profound influence on your mental health, and vice versa. Two other important factors to treat gastrointestinal inflammation and also help relieve depression are:
- Animal-based omega-3 fats: These not only regulate inflammatory processes and responses, but also positively influence outcome in depressive disorders. So if you are currently struggling with depression, taking a high-quality, animal-based omega-3 fat supplement like krill oil daily is a simple and smart choice.
- Vitamin D: Most people are not aware that vitamin D deficiency is associated with inflammation and depression. One previous study found that people with the lowest levels of vitamin D were 11 times more prone to be depressed than those who had normal levels, so you will want to be sure your levels are in the healthy range by getting proper sun exposure or using a safe tanning bed. As a last resort, you can also take a high-quality vitamin D3 supplement, but make sure you have your levels monitored if you choose this route.
There's a wealth of evidence showing gastrointestinal involvement in a variety of neurological disease. With this in mind, it should also be crystal clear that nourishing your gut flora with good bacteria is extremely important, from cradle to old age, because in a very real sense you have two brains, one inside your skull and one in your gut, and each needs its own vital nourishment.
Related Articles:
3 Ounces of This a Day May Be Harming Your Brain If You Can't Beat Depression, This Could be Why Hike Up Your Happy Hormones - With This Popular SupplementSep
28
Why Was This Ancient Spice Given to Slaves Building the Pyramids?
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Garlic has a truly astonishing number of health benefits. Green Med Info has assembled studies that list more than 150 beneficial effects that garlic can have on your health.
The studies show that garlic:
- Inhibits cholesterol accumulation
- Reduces risk for heart attack and stroke
- May be effective against drug-resistant bacteria
- Lessens cadmium-induced liver damage
- May have protective effects against cancer
According to one of the studies linked on the site, garlic may also help fight multi-drug resistant tuberculosis:
"Alternate medicine practices with plant extracts including garlic should be considered to decrease the burden of drug resistance and cost in the management of diseases. The use of garlic against MDR-TB [multi-drug resistant tuberculosis] may be of great importance regarding public health."
Saffron is another spice making headlines, as there is increasing evidence to suggest that it may be an effective means of managing Alzheimer's disease. A study found that saffron had an effect similar to the drug donepezil in the treatment of mild to moderate Alzheimer's after 22 weeks -- and had fewer side effects.
Another study found that dietary supplementation with vitamin E and folic acid, as well as ALA, DHA, and GPC, could aid in decreasing oxidative stress in mouse brains.
According to FYI Living:
"... [T]his reveals that such dietary supplementation also helps improve cognitive performance in the normal mice. This study is a significant step towards development of newer preventive nutritional therapies in the elderly who are susceptible to cognitive decline and related diseases such as Alzheimer's. It also enables an understanding of the involvement of oxidative stress and other molecular mechanisms that lead to age-related loss of cognitive abilities."
Dr. Mercola's Comments:
If you want a simple way to increase the disease-fighting power of your meals, be generous with your use of high-quality herbs and spices. There is no shortage of research showing that these foods are among the healthiest you can consume, and the best part is they taste wonderful and are relatively inexpensive, so they're a "secret weapon" that just about everyone can take advantage of.
When it comes to using herbs and spices, you really can't go wrong as long as you choose those that appeal to you and "agree" with you. But I want to highlight two in specific that are showing great therapeutic promise, one that you're already familiar with -- garlic -- and one that you may not be -- saffron.
Garlic: One of Nature's Most Impressive Foods
Garlic has been treasured for its medicinal properties for centuries. In ancient times, Greek and Roman soldiers ate garlic before going off to war, and it was reportedly given to the slaves who built the Egyptian pyramids in order to enhance their strength and endurance.
It also happens to be one of the most heavily researched plant foods around. At GreenMedInfo you can find 133 studies involving 153 different conditions that garlic may benefit. Among them:
| Atherosclerosis | High blood pressure | Cancer | Gallstones |
| Ear infections | Mercury poisoning | Diabetes | Low immune function |
| MRSA | High triglycerides | Candidiasis | Ulcerative colitis |
| Wound healing | Stroke | Heart attack | Bacterial infections |
As you can see from the wide range of conditions it impacts, garlic exerts its benefits on multiple levels, offering anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-fungal and antioxidant properties. It's thought that much of garlic's therapeutic effect comes from its sulfur-containing compounds, such as allicin, which are also what give it its characteristic smell.
An Infection-Fighting, Heart-Protective, Cancer-Preventive Powerhouse
Researchers have revealed that as allicin digests in your body it produces sulfenic acid, a compound that reacts faster with dangerous free radicals than any other known compound. This is one of the reasons why I named garlic as one of the top seven anti-aging foods you can consume.
Garlic is also a triple threat against infections, offering antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal properties. Not only is it effective at killing antibiotic-resistant bacteria, including MRSA, but it also fights yeast infections, viruses and parasites.
Garlic also helps relax and enlarge the blood vessels in your body, improving blood flow, especially to your heart. This can help prevent conditions like high blood pressure and life-threatening events such as a heart attack or stroke. Garlic also inhibits the formation of plaques in your arteries, and prevents cholesterol from becoming oxidized, a condition that may contribute to heart disease.
This powerhouse food is also known to help increase your protection against at least five forms of cancer: breast, colon, ovarian, prostate and esophageal. In one study, the more often participants ate vegetables from the allium family, particularly garlic and onions, the lower their risk of certain cancers became. Part of this effect may be due to garlic's ability to increase tissue activities of phase II detoxification enzymes, which are necessary to help your body excrete chemicals and other toxins.
Interestingly, the allicin in garlic is so powerful it has even been found to help weight loss in rats fed a fructose-rich diet -- which is virtually guaranteed to make most people gain weight. Animals being fed only the fructose-rich diet gained weight, but those whose diets were supplemented with allicin did not, and some even lost weight. Of course, this does not mean you can eat all the fructose you want and then eat a couple of cloves of garlic and expect to lose weight ? but it does give you an idea of just how far-reaching garlic's benefits appear to be.
The Healthiest Way to Eat Garlic
In many cases, eating whole foods is a far better approach to taking a supplement, and in the case of garlic this is especially true. Typically, garlic must be crushed or chopped in order to stimulate the process that converts alliin into the beneficial allicin. Once the garlic is cut, the active compound loses potency rapidly and will all but disappear within about an hour of chopping.
So the best way to eat garlic is to take a whole, fresh clove, chop it, smash it or press it, wait a few minutes for the reaction to occur, and then eat it. If you use jarred, powdered, or dried garlic, you will not get all the benefits that fresh garlic has to offer.
Saffron: An Important Spice for Brain Health?
The other spice that deserves attention, but is far less well known in the United States than garlic, is saffron. Saffron comes from the flower of the crocus plant (it's actually the plant's dried stigma) has a reddish thread-like appearance, and is a rich source of carotenoid antioxidants.
Used since ancient times for a variety of medicinal purposes (saffron is known for its immune-boosting power, among others), in the modern day it is widely used in Persian, European, Indian and Turkish cooking, both for its unique sweet, grassy flavor and its ability to add vibrant yellow-orange color to foods.
There are quite a few studies that reveal saffron's beneficial properties, and one of the most recent showed promise for treatment of mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease. In a 22-week, double-blind study of patients with Alzheimer's, a saffron supplement worked as well as the drug donepezil (brand name Aricept), but with significantly less vomiting experienced among the saffron group.
"This phase II study provides preliminary evidence of a possible therapeutic effect of saffron extract in the treatment of patients with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease."
It is becoming increasingly clear that supplementing your diet with foods and supplements rich in a variety of compounds, such as vitamin E, folic acid, DHA (docosahexaenoic acid), and ALA (alpha-lipoic acid), may help reduce oxidative stress and delay the progression of age-related cognitive decline. And it appears saffron is no exception.
Separate research has shown saffron to help prevent and treat dementia, and inhibit platelet aggregation (which can lead to blood clots) and lipid peroxidation (which causes cell damage). It's also known to have chemopreventive properties against cancer, which are also strongly associated with the common saffron alternative turmeric (which is often referred to as Indian saffron). While in China, Marco Polo in 1280 AD recorded information on turmeric in his diary:
"There is also a vegetable which has all the properties of true saffron, as well the smell and the color, and yet it is not really saffron."
So, turmeric has been used as a substitute for saffron (an old world spice) in Europe for over 700 years, and this spice has been found to have many of the same health advantages, including showing promise for Alzheimer's.
If you've never tried saffron, the reason may be because it's earned the moniker "most expensive spice in the world." There are only three stigmas in each crocus flower, and it reportedly takes 80,000 flowers (about the number of plants on one acre of land) to produce one pound of saffron. Turmeric is much easier to come by and is also much less expensive, while offering many of the same potential health benefits, as well as the same characteristic yellow color. You can learn more about turmeric, or "Indian saffron," here.
There's Good Reason to "Spice" Up Your Life
Herbs and spices have very low calorie content, they're relatively inexpensive, and they're a great way to turbo-boost the natural antioxidant and anti-inflammatory power of your diet. All these benefits, and the ones noted above, give you ample reasons to be adventurous in adding spices to your meals, and to be generous in the amounts you use. It will be worth it for the flavor enhancement alone, and the boost it will give your health is the icing on the cake.
There's obviously much more to herbs and spices than the garlic, saffron and turmeric mentioned in this article ? you can get more information on healing herbs, including how to select spices for their medicinal benefits, here.
Related Articles:
Boost Your Metabolism, Curb Cancer, and Slash Blood Sugar with this Easy Culinary Trick Spices Play Role in Reduced Cancer Risk Spice Up Your HealthSep
28
Why Was This Ancient Spice Given to People Building the Pyramids?
Filed Under Main Content, Other News | Leave a Comment
| Story at-a-glance |
|
Garlic has a truly astonishing number of health benefits. Green Med Info has assembled studies that list more than 150 beneficial effects that garlic can have on your health.
The studies show that garlic:
- Inhibits cholesterol accumulation
- Reduces risk for heart attack and stroke
- May be effective against drug-resistant bacteria
- Lessens cadmium-induced liver damage
- May have protective effects against cancer
According to one of the studies linked on the site, garlic may also help fight multi-drug resistant tuberculosis:
"Alternate medicine practices with plant extracts including garlic should be considered to decrease the burden of drug resistance and cost in the management of diseases. The use of garlic against MDR-TB [multi-drug resistant tuberculosis] may be of great importance regarding public health."
Saffron is another spice making headlines, as there is increasing evidence to suggest that it may be an effective means of managing Alzheimer's disease. A study found that saffron had an effect similar to the drug donepezil in the treatment of mild to moderate Alzheimer's after 22 weeks -- and had fewer side effects.
Another study found that dietary supplementation with vitamin E and folic acid, as well as ALA, DHA, and GPC, could aid in decreasing oxidative stress in mouse brains.
According to FYI Living:
"... [T]his reveals that such dietary supplementation also helps improve cognitive performance in the normal mice. This study is a significant step towards development of newer preventive nutritional therapies in the elderly who are susceptible to cognitive decline and related diseases such as Alzheimer's. It also enables an understanding of the involvement of oxidative stress and other molecular mechanisms that lead to age-related loss of cognitive abilities."
Dr. Mercola's Comments:
If you want a simple way to increase the disease-fighting power of your meals, be generous with your use of high-quality herbs and spices. There is no shortage of research showing that these foods are among the healthiest you can consume, and the best part is they taste wonderful and are relatively inexpensive, so they're a "secret weapon" that just about everyone can take advantage of.
When it comes to using herbs and spices, you really can't go wrong as long as you choose those that appeal to you and "agree" with you. But I want to highlight two in specific that are showing great therapeutic promise, one that you're already familiar with -- garlic -- and one that you may not be -- saffron.
Garlic: One of Nature's Most Impressive Foods
Garlic has been treasured for its medicinal properties for centuries. In ancient times, Greek and Roman soldiers ate garlic before going off to war, to enhance their strength and endurance.
It also happens to be one of the most heavily researched plant foods around. At GreenMedInfo you can find 133 studies involving 153 different conditions that garlic may benefit. Among them:
| Atherosclerosis | High blood pressure | Cancer | Gallstones |
| Ear infections | Mercury poisoning | Diabetes | Low immune function |
| MRSA | High triglycerides | Candidiasis | Ulcerative colitis |
| Wound healing | Stroke | Heart attack | Bacterial infections |
As you can see from the wide range of conditions it impacts, garlic exerts its benefits on multiple levels, offering anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-fungal and antioxidant properties. It's thought that much of garlic's therapeutic effect comes from its sulfur-containing compounds, such as allicin, which are also what give it its characteristic smell.
An Infection-Fighting, Heart-Protective, Cancer-Preventive Powerhouse
Researchers have revealed that as allicin digests in your body it produces sulfenic acid, a compound that reacts faster with dangerous free radicals than any other known compound. This is one of the reasons why I named garlic as one of the top seven anti-aging foods you can consume.
Garlic is also a triple threat against infections, offering antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal properties. Not only is it effective at killing antibiotic-resistant bacteria, including MRSA, but it also fights yeast infections, viruses and parasites.
Garlic also helps relax and enlarge the blood vessels in your body, improving blood flow, especially to your heart. This can help prevent conditions like high blood pressure and life-threatening events such as a heart attack or stroke. Garlic also inhibits the formation of plaques in your arteries, and prevents cholesterol from becoming oxidized, a condition that may contribute to heart disease.
This powerhouse food is also known to help increase your protection against at least five forms of cancer: breast, colon, ovarian, prostate and esophageal. In one study, the more often participants ate vegetables from the allium family, particularly garlic and onions, the lower their risk of certain cancers became. Part of this effect may be due to garlic's ability to increase tissue activities of phase II detoxification enzymes, which are necessary to help your body excrete chemicals and other toxins.
Interestingly, the allicin in garlic is so powerful it has even been found to help weight loss in rats fed a fructose-rich diet -- which is virtually guaranteed to make most people gain weight. Animals being fed only the fructose-rich diet gained weight, but those whose diets were supplemented with allicin did not, and some even lost weight. Of course, this does not mean you can eat all the fructose you want and then eat a couple of cloves of garlic and expect to lose weight ? but it does give you an idea of just how far-reaching garlic's benefits appear to be.
The Healthiest Way to Eat Garlic
In many cases, eating whole foods is a far better approach to taking a supplement, and in the case of garlic this is especially true. Typically, garlic must be crushed or chopped in order to stimulate the process that converts alliin into the beneficial allicin. Once the garlic is cut, the active compound loses potency rapidly and will all but disappear within about an hour of chopping.
So the best way to eat garlic is to take a whole, fresh clove, chop it, smash it or press it, wait a few minutes for the reaction to occur, and then eat it. If you use jarred, powdered, or dried garlic, you will not get all the benefits that fresh garlic has to offer.
Saffron: An Important Spice for Brain Health?
The other spice that deserves attention, but is far less well known in the United States than garlic, is saffron. Saffron comes from the flower of the crocus plant (it's actually the plant's dried stigma) has a reddish thread-like appearance, and is a rich source of carotenoid antioxidants.
Used since ancient times for a variety of medicinal purposes (saffron is known for its immune-boosting power, among others), in the modern day it is widely used in Persian, European, Indian and Turkish cooking, both for its unique sweet, grassy flavor and its ability to add vibrant yellow-orange color to foods.
There are quite a few studies that reveal saffron's beneficial properties, and one of the most recent showed promise for treatment of mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease. In a 22-week, double-blind study of patients with Alzheimer's, a saffron supplement worked as well as the drug donepezil (brand name Aricept), but with significantly less vomiting experienced among the saffron group.
"This phase II study provides preliminary evidence of a possible therapeutic effect of saffron extract in the treatment of patients with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease."
It is becoming increasingly clear that supplementing your diet with foods and supplements rich in a variety of compounds, such as vitamin E, folic acid, DHA (docosahexaenoic acid), and ALA (alpha-lipoic acid), may help reduce oxidative stress and delay the progression of age-related cognitive decline. And it appears saffron is no exception.
Separate research has shown saffron to help prevent and treat dementia, and inhibit platelet aggregation (which can lead to blood clots) and lipid peroxidation (which causes cell damage). It's also known to have chemopreventive properties against cancer, which are also strongly associated with the common saffron alternative turmeric (which is often referred to as Indian saffron). While in China, Marco Polo in 1280 AD recorded information on turmeric in his diary:
"There is also a vegetable which has all the properties of true saffron, as well the smell and the color, and yet it is not really saffron."
So, turmeric has been used as a substitute for saffron (an old world spice) in Europe for over 700 years, and this spice has been found to have many of the same health advantages, including showing promise for Alzheimer's.
If you've never tried saffron, the reason may be because it's earned the moniker "most expensive spice in the world." There are only three stigmas in each crocus flower, and it reportedly takes 80,000 flowers (about the number of plants on one acre of land) to produce one pound of saffron. Turmeric is much easier to come by and is also much less expensive, while offering many of the same potential health benefits, as well as the same characteristic yellow color. You can learn more about turmeric, or "Indian saffron," here.
There's Good Reason to "Spice" Up Your Life
Herbs and spices have very low calorie content, they're relatively inexpensive, and they're a great way to turbo-boost the natural antioxidant and anti-inflammatory power of your diet. All these benefits, and the ones noted above, give you ample reasons to be adventurous in adding spices to your meals, and to be generous in the amounts you use. It will be worth it for the flavor enhancement alone, and the boost it will give your health is the icing on the cake.
There's obviously much more to herbs and spices than the garlic, saffron and turmeric mentioned in this article ? you can get more information on healing herbs, including how to select spices for their medicinal benefits, here.
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One of The Most Important Supplements You Can Take
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The more I study health, the more I have come to appreciate how crucially important the bacteria in your gut are to your health. The website Green Med Info has assembled an amazing list of more than 200 studies, which together explore more than 170 diseases which can be helped or treated with probiotics.
The conditions include:
- Irritable bowel syndrome
- Atopic Dermatitis
- Diarrhea
- Allergic Rhinitis
- And even the common cold!
According to just one of the many studies linked on the site:
"The ability of the gut microbiota and oral probiotics to influence systemic inflammation, oxidative stress, glycemic control, tissue lipid content and even mood itself, may have important implications ..."
Eating sugar actually nourishes the bad or pathogenic bacteria yeast and fungi in your gut, which may actually harm you more than its impact on insulin resistance. One of the major results of eating a healthy diet is that you cause your beneficial gut bacteria to flourish, and they secondarily perform the real "magic" of restoring your health. You may have noticed that probiotics are now featuring in articles relating to all sorts of health problems, including obesity, diabetes, depression and heart disease.
As explained by Russian neurologist Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride, a woman's gut flora can also influence the health of her child, and if your child's gut flora is compromised from birth, he may be at an increased risk of vaccine damage. In fact, this imbalanced gut flora may be the primary factor that contributes to children having an adverse reaction to a vaccine! Fortunately, you can easily screen for this imbalance and if it is found, all immunizations should be avoided until it is corrected with strategies that are comprehensively described in Dr. McBride's book, Gut and Psychology Syndrome, which is in my opinion essential reading for all parents and parent-to-be. The simple and inexpensive screening she suggests could prevent a lifetime of suffering...
All in all, the research into probiotics indicates that supplementing with probiotics is probably more important than taking a multi-vitamin and its true importance for your health is likely right up there with vitamin D.
Your Inner Ecosystem Influences Countless Aspects of Your Health
Your body contains about 100 trillion bacteria -- more than 10 times the number of cells you have in your entire body. It's now quite clear that the type and quantity of micro-organisms in your gut interact with your body in ways that can either prevent or encourage the development of many diseases. The ideal ratio between the bacteria in your gut is 85 percent "good" and 15 percent "bad." Maintaining this optimal ratio is essential for good health, as probiotics (healthy bacteria) has over 30 beneficial pharmacological actions that we know of, including:
| Anti-bacterial | Anti-allergenic | Anti-viral | Immunomodulatory |
| Anti-infective | Antioxidant | Antiproliferative | Apoptopic (cellular self-destruction) |
| Antidepressive | Antifungal | Cardioprotective | Gastroprotective |
| Radio- and chemo protective | Upregulates glutathione and certain glycoproteins that help regulate immune responses, including interleukin-4, interleukin-10, and interleukin-12 | Downregulates interleukin-6 (a cytokine involved in chronic inflammation and age-related diseases) | Inhibits tumor necrosis factor (TNF) alpha inhibitor, NF-kappaB, epidermal growth factor receptor, and more |
Probiotics are also essential for optimal digestion of food and absorption of nutrients, and they help your body produce vitamins, absorb minerals and aid in the elimination of toxins. Green Med Info lists over 200 studies linking probiotics to more than 170 different diseases and health problems. Here's just a sampling of the ailments that your gut flora can affect:
| Celiac disease, leaky gut and irritable bowel syndrome | Mood, psychological health, and behavior | Epstein-Barr virus | Chronic fatigue syndrome |
| Insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, and diabetes | Common cold, influenza, and pneumonia | High cholesterol and hypertension | Acne |
| Eczema and atopic dermatitis | Liver diseases, such as cirrhosis and cancer | Herpes | Food- and wheat allergies |
How Do You Know Your Gut is Out of Whack?
It's important to realize that your gut bacteria are very vulnerable to lifestyle- and environmental factors, such as:
| Sugar / fructose | Refined grains | Processed foods | Antibiotics (including antibiotics given to livestock for food production) |
| Chlorinated and fluoridated water | Antibacterial soaps etc | Agricultural chemicals and pesticides | Pollution |
All of these factors throw your gut flora out of balance, and, as you can see, many of these factors are pervasive and can be difficult to avoid. However, it's not impossible. Simply altering your diet to avoid processed foods and focusing on whole (ideally locally grown organic) foods will make a big dent! That change alone will dramatically reduce the amount of sugar and fructose you consume, as well as automatically limit your exposure to antibiotics and agricultural chemicals.
How can you tell whether your health is already starting to suffer from a lack of healthy bacteria in your digestive system? The following symptoms are all signs that unhealthy bacteria have taken over too much real estate in your gut, and that you probably need to add some healthy probiotics to your diet:
| Gas and bloating | Constipation or diarrhea | Fatigue |
| Nausea | Headaches | Sugar cravings, and cravings for refined carb foods |
Remember: Your Gut, Brain and Primary Immune Defense are All Connected...
Two additional signs that your gut flora may be adversely impacted are depression and lowered immunity. Both of these are actually common-sense side effects of poor gut health, but they're usually completely overlooked...Most people, including many physicians, do not realize that 80 percent of your immune system is located in your digestive system, making a healthy gut a major focal point if you want to maintain optimal health.
Furthermore, your gut is quite literally your second brain, as it originates from the same type of tissue as your brain! During fetal development, one part turns into your central nervous system, while the other develops into your enteric nervous system. These two systems are connected via the vagus nerve, the tenth cranial nerve that runs from your brain stem down to your abdomen. Hence your gut and your brain work in tandem, each influencing the other. And this is why your intestinal health can have such a profound influence on your mental health, and vice versa.
This also helps explain the link between neurological disorders (including ADHD and autism) and gastrointestinal dysfunction. For example, gluten intolerance is frequently a feature of autism, and many autistic children will improve when following a strict gluten-free diet.
However, even more importantly, establishing normal gut flora within the first 20 days or so of life plays a crucial role in appropriate maturation of your baby's immune system.
Babies who develop abnormal gut flora are left with compromised immune systems, and this may be a crucial factor when it comes to vaccine-induced damage. As Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride explained in a recent interview, vaccinations were originally developed for children with healthy immune systems, and children with abnormal gut flora and therefore compromised immunity are not suitable candidates for our current vaccine schedule as they're more prone to being harmed. To learn more about this, please see this previous article. Another detail that helps explain how abnormal gut flora can impact your neurological status is that certain probiotics also appear to play a role in detoxing harmful chemicals.
How to Optimize Your Gut Flora
The best way to ensure optimal gut flora is to regularly consume traditionally fermented foods. Healthy options include:
| Lassi (an Indian yogurt drink, traditionally enjoyed before dinner) | Various pickled fermentations of cabbage sauerkraut,, turnips, eggplant, cucumbers, onions, squash, and carrots | Tempeh |
| Fermented raw milk such as kefir or yogurt, but NOT commercial versions, which typically do not have live cultures and are loaded with sugars that feed pathogenic bacteria | Natto (fermented soy) | Kim chee |
Just make sure to steer clear of pasteurized versions, as pasteurization will destroy many of the naturally occurring probiotics. For example, most of the "probiotic" yogurts you find in every grocery store these days are NOT good choices. Since they're pasteurized, they will be associated with all of the problems of pasteurized milk products instead. They also typically contain added sugars, high fructose corn syrup, dyes, or artificial sweeteners; all of which will only worsen your health.
An added boon of traditionally fermented foods is that some of them are also excellent sources of vitamin K2, which is important for preventing arterial plaque buildup and heart disease. Cheese curd is an excellent source of both probiotics and vitamin K2. You can also obtain all the K2 you'll need (about 200 micrograms) by eating 15 grams, or half an ounce, of natto daily.
That said, I realize that a lot of people do not enjoy the taste of fermented foods. In this case, taking a probiotic supplement is definitely advised. While I do not generally advocate taking a lot of supplements, a high quality probiotic is an exception. I recommend looking for a probiotic supplement that fulfills the following criteria, to ensure quality and efficacy:
- The bacteria strains in the product must be able to survive your stomach acid and bile, so that they reach your intestines alive in adequate numbers.
- The bacteria strains must have health-promoting features.
- The probiotic activity must be guaranteed throughout the entire production process, storage period and shelf life of the product.
Through my years of clinical practice, I've found that no single probiotic supplement works for everyone. However, more people seem to respond favorably to Lactobacillus sporogenes than any other probiotic, so when in doubt, that's a great place to start.
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