Strawberry Orange Ginger Smoothie

Fresh ginger gives this smoothie a refreshing and delicious taste.

The healing properties of ginger are similar to non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), therefore, it can regulate biochemical pathways which are activated with chronic inflammation. Adding ginger to your daily diet can soothe the aches and pain associated with aging. If you wake up with stiff joints or sore hands, this smoothie in the morning may put a smile on your face.

Ingredients

~1 cup orange juice.

~1 cup Vanilla Almond Milk

~1 tsp grated ginger root

~1 cup fresh or frozen strawberries

In a blender, combine orange juice, milk, ginger root and berries. Puree until smooth. Serve cold.

Excellent source of vitamin C, potassium and anthocyanins (antioxidants in berries).

Tip: turn this into your daily serving of Omega-3 by adding a teaspoon of Carlson’s The Very Finest Fish Oil, Orange or Lemon Flavor. Adding the Omega-3 EPA/DHA rich oil boosts the ginger's inflammation balancing power and you'll be supporting heart, brain, and vision health too! And I assure you this taste award winning oil is never fishy. Try it you'll be hooked!

Sleep better with tart cherry juice...

Tart Montmorency cherries have been reported to contain high levels of phytochemicals that produce a wide array of benefits. Now those benefits extend to boosting melatonin, a molecule critical in regulating the sleep-wake cycle in humans.

A group of people were given tart cherry juice in the morning and again before bedtime. There were significant increases in time in bed, total sleep time and sleep efficiency total with cherry juice supplementation.

The results suggest that consumption of a tart cherry juice concentrate provides an increase in exogenous melatonin that is beneficial in improving sleep duration and quality in healthy men and women and might be of benefit in managing disturbed sleep.

Other benefits have been seen for tart cherries including reduction in symptoms of gout, reduction in circulating inflammatory markers, pain relief after long distance running, reduced oxidative stress, improved recovery following exercise induced muscle damage, and improved sleep quality in late life insomnia. It appears that the phenolic compounds in the cherries act as free radical scavengers that reduce oxidative stress. The anti-inflammatory properties of tart cherries appear to rival those of noon-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Cherries are high in protective phytonutrients called anthocyanins.

European Journal of Nutrition

“Effect of cherry juice ( Prunuscerasus) on melatonin levels and enhanced sleep quality.”

Studies link common painkillers to increased death risk...

Bad news for people who have high blood pressure and use NSAID’s routinely for pain relief. The habit may be downright deadly!

In persons who were average age 65 who had high blood pressure and reported chronic use of NSAID’s the NSAID use was associated with a 47% increase in the occurrence of death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, or nonfatal stroke. This was due to a 990% increase in all cause mortality, a 126% increase in cardiovascular mortality and a 66% increase in heart attacks.

Reference: "Harmful Effects of NSAIDs among Patients with Hypertension and Coronary Artery Disease"

See the study abstract here

The use of pain meds has also been associated with irregular heart rhythm. increased risk of irregular heart rhythm, also known as atrial fibrillation can be caused by common painkillers that are also used to treat inflammation.

Both the new generation anti-inflammatory drugs known as selective COX-2 inhibitors as well as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID’s) were linked to the sometimes dangerous form of arrythmia. Atrial fibrillation is a condition associated with an augmented long term risk of stroke, heart failure and death.

Although these pain drugs have already been associated with an increased risk of heart attacks and strokes, this is the first study to link them to increased risk of atrial fibrillation.

See this study here

If you depend on these drugs for frequent pain relief you might want to try more holistic approaches to pain management. Go to the word cloud on the right side of the page and click on "pain" to bring up an earlier article that talks about omega 3's and vitamin D for pain relief.

Tell Me Where it Hurts...

Nearly one in three among us contends with long-lasting pain — the kind that lingers for weeks to months — and more often than not are not helped by the US healthcare system poorly prepared to treat them, the Institute of Medicine said Wednesday.

As great as the suffering is, the cost from a financial standpoint is enormous: the tab for chronic pain is costing the nation at least $558 billion a year in medical bills, sick days, and lost productivity. That's more than the cost of heart disease, the No. 1 killer. And all that money isn't bringing relief to the majority of those who are suffering.

All kinds of ailments can trigger lingering pain, from arthritis to cancer, spine problems to digestive disorders, injuries to surgery. Sometimes, chronic pain can be a disease all its own, the report stressed.

Whatever the cause, effective pain management is "a moral imperative," says IOM, urging the government, medical groups, and insurers to take a series of steps to transform the field.

Jolie adds: Some chronic pain conditions are relieved in part or sometimes fully by taking marine omega 3's, but the dose is far greater than a single capsule...for real relief a person usually needs to take between 2400 mg EPA and DHA combined and may need to boost the dose in some very difficult cases by a factor of three.

Other pain sufferers find that getting their vitamin D levels assessed and then raising them to a level between 40-60ng/ml will help relieve pain of rheumatoid and musculoskeletal conditions and also neuropathies.