Love....and the lesson He taught

First Corinthians 13: 


"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered. It keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres" (NIV)

Never fear shadows..they simply mean there is a light shining brightly nearby

A salad that can help stabilize your blood sugar.

Grapefruit and Cranberry Salad

Grapefruits are loaded with vitamin C but they also have an antioxidant, naringenin that appears to cut the risk of developing insulin resistance.

Spinach is a great source of magnesium which helps to stabilize blood sugar levels and relaxes your muscles.

Ingredients

• 2 red grapefruit
• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons minced scallions
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 8 cups torn butter lettuce
• 6 cups baby spinach
• 1 14 oz can hearts of palm drained and chopped
• 1/3 cup dried cranberries
• 1/3 cup toasted pine nuts*

12 servings

Remove the skin and the pith from the grapefruit with a sharp knife. Cut the segments from their surrounding membranes. Cut the grapefruit segments in half and place them in a large salad bowl.

Squeeze the membranes and the peel over a small glass bowl to collect at least 2 oz grapefruit juice.  Add to that juice the oil, scallions, vinegar and salt and pepper. Whisk them together to form a grapefruit vinaigrette.

Add the lettuce, spinach and hearts of palm to the salad bowl with the grapefuit segments. Just before serving toss the greens with the vinaigrette until evenly coated and garnish with the cranberries and pine nuts.

*toast the pine nuts in a small skillet over low to medium heat until light golden brown...watch them closely they burn rather easily.

** Caution Grapefruit and grapefruit juice can cause elevated levels of certain medications. If you take prescription medications check to see if you can safely have grapefruit. Cholesterol medications and blood pressure medication cannot be taken with grapefruits or grapefruit juice. Also you must be careful mixing grapefruit with some psychiatric drugs.

Think organic isn't important? Think again!

Prenatal Exposure to Organophosphate Pesticides Associated with IQ Deficits in School-Age Children

Three independent investigations published online April 21 ahead of print in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP) have reached similar conclusions, associating prenatal exposure to organophosphate (OP) pesticides with IQ deficits in school-age children. The fact that three research groups reached such similar conclusions independently adds considerable support to the validity of the findings.

The three studies were conducted at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Public Health; the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University; and Mount Sinai School of Medicine. All three involved cohorts of women enrolled during pregnancy. The Berkeley and Mount Sinai investigators measured OP pesticide metabolites in the pregnant women’s urine, while the Columbia investigators measured the OP pesticide chlorpyrifos in umbilical cord blood. Intelligence tests were administered to children of these mothers between ages 6 and 9 years at Mount Sinai and at age 7 years at Berkeley and Columbia.

Although the study findings are not directly comparable, all three investigations found evidence linking prenatal OP pesticide exposures with adverse effects on cognitive function that continued into early childhood.

The whole story is here. http://www.newswise.com/articles/prenatal-exposure-to-organophosphate-pesticides-associated-with-iq-deficits-in-school-age-children 

Upset tummy? Try Peppermint!

University of Adelaide researchers have shown for the first time how peppermint helps to relieve Irritable Bowel Syndrome, which affects up to 20% of the population. The peppermint acts through a specific anti-pain channel called TRPM8 to reduce pain sensing fibres, particularly those activated by mustard and chili. This is potentially the first step in determining a new type of mainstream clinical treatment for Irritable Bowel Syndrome. (IBS)

http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-04-peppermint-respect-mainstream-medicine.html

Feeling Frazzled? Sip some green tea...

This comforting drink naturally revs up the brain’s production of gamma-aminobutyric acid, a neurotransmitter that ushers in a feeling of calm, even when chaos is the order of the day. L-theanine, an amino acid compound found in green tea, has been studied for its calming effects on the nervous system.

Indeed, research suggests that sipping just three 10-ounce mugs daily can help frazzled people feel more collected in as little as 48 hours.


http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17013636?ordinalpos=17&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum

Kimura K, Ozeki M, Juneja LR, Ohira H. L-Theanine reduces psychological and physiological stress responses. Biol Psychol. 2007;74(1):39-45.

Fatty Liver Disease Can Lead to Heart Attack

The liver is connected to the heart? Yes. Because so many Americans are overweight, we expect to see an increase in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. It is a threat to the liver, of course, increasing risk of cirrhosis and in some cases liver failure. 


Surprisingly the more serious risk is that non-alcoholic fatty liver will lead to coronary artery disease and a heart attack. Most people who have this disorder are more likely to die of a heart attack, than liver failure.
30 million Americans have  Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, but many are not diagnosed until liver enzymes are elevated. Yet there are warning signs much earlier. 
Many with this condition suffer from Metabolic Syndrome, a constellation of factors which include a large waist circumference (men greater than 40 inches, women greater than 35 inches), high blood pressure, high triglyceride levels and insulin resistance that heighten the risk of heart attack, stroke and type 2 diabetes.

Best news is... the condition is reversible. Just as with type 2 diabetes, Fatty liver disease can be cured with diet and exercise.” Vigorous exercise, such as weight lifting, swimming, running or aerobics, between 75 and 150 minutes a week with a heart rate of 120 or above will help you reverse this problem. Lose 12 percent of your current weight, no matter how much you weigh, and you will eliminate fat from your liver.


See the news release here: http://www.methodisthealth.com/body.cfm?id=495&action=detail&ref=773


And...Cut the sugars and starches...curbing carbohydrates is more effective than cutting calories for individuals who want to quickly reduce the amount of fat in their liver, report UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers.
http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/575768/?sc=dwhr&xy=24786

Denver Wines...

You might not think of Denver or Colorado as wine country...but it is! My favorite? Balistreri Vineyards right here in Denver.


Visit their website here. The 2008 Little Feet Merlot is big and bold, maybe my favorite merlot ever... and the 2008 Petite Sirah is another personal favorite.

An Apple a Day May Keep Heart Disease Away!

Amazing news was presented this week at the Experimental Biology Meeting in Washington D.C. Older women who consumed apples everyday were found to have an average of 23% reduced LDL cholesterol levels within six months and a 4% increase in HDL cholesterol.
The scientists came away with the impression that apples are a miracle fruit.  Its no miracle...pectin and polyphenols, two substances found in apples, enhance lipid metabolism and reduce the production of molecules that cause inflammation.
160 females aged 45-65 years were randomly selected to receive either 75 grams of dried apples daily or dried prunes daily for a whole year. Their blood was examined in a laboratory at months 3, 6 and 12.

Incredible changes occurred in the apple-eating women. Not only did their cholesterol levels improve, they also had reduced levels of lipid peroxidation, a marker of oxidative stress, and they had reduced levels of the inflammatory molecule C- Reactive protein.

It all adds up to less heart risk....

And the icing on the cake? Even though eating the apples added 240 extra calories to their day...the women did not gain weight..they lost an average of 3.3 pounds. Pectin, which makes you feel full..may be a factor in the weight loss.

Telomeres: Omega-3s and Slowing the Aging Process

Major Research: 65% Decrease in Biological Aging

Telomeres are the protective caps at the ends of chromosomes. Each time a cell divides, its telomeres shrink. So shorter telomeres are a sign that your cells are getting old. They're also linked to a higher risk of heart disease.

Between 2000 and 2002, researchers measured the length of telomeres in the white blood cells of roughly 600 San Francisco Bay-area residents with heart disease. Five years later, those who started out with the highest blood levels of DHA and EPA had the least telomere shortening, while those who started out with the lowest levels had the most shortening. The results were not influenced by income, education, blood pressure, weight, cholesterol, smoking, statins, vitamins, exercise, or other factors.

If you or your family has a history heart disease, follow the American Heart Association's advice to take a daily fish oil supplement that provides 1,000 mg of DHA plus EPA, combined.

J. Am. Med. Assoc. 303: 250, 2010

Blueberries can help you burn fat!

The benefits of blueberry consumption have been noted in several nutrition studies, an example being the cardio-protective benefits derived from the high polyphenol content in blueberries. Studies looking at the protective nature of blueberries have shown potential to have a positive effect on everything from aging to metabolic syndrome, to loss of brain mass.

Plant polyphenols have been shown to fight adipogenesis, which is the development of fat cells, and induce lipolysis, which is the breakdown of lipids and or fat.

In mice, the highest dose of blueberry polyphenols yielded a 73% decrease in lipids; the lowest dose showed a 27% decrease.

Studies will now be done with humans..but I’m not waiting…since we already know they protect the brain from shrinking and give us better night vision…I’m having blueberries today!

See the story here.

Green Tea and Tai Chi Enhance Bone Health and Reduce Inflammation in Postmenopausal Women

Green tea, historically consumed in the Orient and now an international mainstay, is chock full of compounds called polyphenols known for their potent antioxidant activity. Dozens of epidemiological (observational) studies have shown that people who consume the highest levels of green tea polyphenols (GTP) tend to have lower risks of several chronic degenerative diseases such as cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis.

A new study found that consumption of Green Tea Polyphenols (at a level equivalent to about 4-6 cups of steeped green tea daily) and participation in tai chi independently enhanced markers of bone health by 3 and 6 months, respectively. A similar effect was found for muscle strength at the 6-month time point. Women taking tai chi classes also reported significant beneficial effects in quality of life in terms of improving their emotional and mental health. Perhaps most remarkable, however, was the substantial effect that both GTP and tai chi had on biological markers of oxidative stress. Because oxidative stress is a main precursor to inflammation, this finding suggests that green tea and tai chi may help reduce the underlying etiology of not only osteoporosis, but other inflammatory diseases as well.

Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) 2011

Food for Thought...dark chocolate lowers blood pressure! mmmm....

The next time you crave chocolate, give in. Besides lifting your mood, the flavonols in dark chocolate may protect against high blood pressure and stroke, in part by improving the elasticity of your blood vessels.



When choosing chocolate, go as dark as your taste buds can stand. Check labels for the percentage of cacao, which is the source of all that antioxidant goodness. Dark chocolate typically ranges from 60 percent to 80 percent cacao. Note.. eat a square or two, not the whole bar.


“When the external

begins to define the internal,

instead of the internal

defining the external,

one begins living as a mortal

rather than as a god.

Trust me, as a “god” is better.

Zing,

The Universe”

—	www.tut.com

Our Big Pig Problem!

The U.S. should follow Denmark and stop giving farm animals low-dose antibiotics.

For more than 50 years microbiologists have warned against using antibiotics to fatten up farm animals. The practice, they argue, threatens human health by turning farms into breeding grounds of drug-resistant bacteria. Farmers responded that restricting antibiotics in livestock would devastate the industry and significantly raise costs to consumers. We now have empirical data that should resolve this debate. Since 1995 Denmark has enforced progressively tighter rules on the use of antibiotics in the raising of pigs, poultry and other livestock. In the process, it has shown that it is possible to protect human health without hurting farmers.

Read the rest of the article here at Scientific American

Get cold sores? Treat them quickly!

Researchers Link Herpes to Alzheimer’s Disease; “Cold Sores” Connected to Cognitive Decline.

Researchers recommend people treat a cold sore as quickly as possible to minimize the amount of time the virus is actively traveling through a person’s nervous system. The faster a cold sore is treated, the faster the HSV1 returns to a dormant stage.

How prevalent is this virus? In developed countries such as the U.S., approximately 20 percent of children are infected with HSV1 prior to the age of five. By the second and third decades of life, as much as 60 percent of the population is infected, and late-in-life infection rate reaches 85 percent.

Here's the journal article:

Herpes Simplex Virus Dances with Amyloid Precursor Protein while Exiting the Cell.

Read it here.

Zovirax or acyclovir is an antiviral drug that slows the growth and spread of the herpes virus so that the body can fight off the infection. Zovirax contains an active antiviral ingredient called acyclovir. Acyclovir stops the herpes virus from spreading from one host cell to other normal cells. Acyclovir converts itself into a more active agent inside the infected cells of the body. Then, it blocks the action of an enzyme called DNA polymerase which copies the herpes virus’ genetic material from RNA to DNA. By blocking DNA polymerase, Zovirax prevents the multiplication and growth of the herpes virus. This allows the body to treat the existing outbreak and relieve the pain caused by cold sores.

Tell the E.P.A.: Ban the pesticide that's killing honey bees.

Since 2006, U.S. honey bee populations have been in precipitous decline, with some estimates suggesting losses as high as 30% per year. While that's terrible, the problem is far greater than just the destruction of a species. Without bees, a big piece of our food supply is in serious danger. Pollination by honey bees is key in cultivating the crops that produce a full one-third of our food.

Scientists have been scrambling to understand the crisis -- termed Colony Collapse Disorder -- but have yet to find a single, definitive cause. There are likely multiple interacting causes, and mounting evidence suggests that one widely used class of pesticides may be a critical factor.

One such chemical, called clothianidin, was quietly granted approval by the EPA whist no major independent study has verified the safety of its use. It has been used on our corn crops since 2003. And it was officially approved by the Environmental Protection Agency last year on the basis of a single study, conducted by the company that manufactures it.

It is outrageous that the E.P.A. is putting a vital species, the livelihoods of farmers and beekeepers, and our very food supply at risk.

Read more and sign the petition to the EPA here.

Walnuts are best for a healthy heart!

A new study has suggested that walnuts have a combination of more healthful antioxidants and higher quality antioxidants than any other nut.

 It positioned walnuts in the No. 1 slot among a family of foods that lay claim to being among Mother Nature's most nearly perfect packaged foods: Tree and ground nuts.

 "Walnuts rank above peanuts, almonds, pecans, pistachios and other nuts," said researcher Joe Vinson.

 A handful of walnuts contains almost twice as much antioxidants as an equivalent amount of any other commonly consumed nut. But unfortunately, people don't eat a lot of them. This study suggests that consumers should eat more walnuts as part of a healthy diet.

The report was presented at the 241st National Meeting and Exposition of the American Chemical Society.

What Would the World Look Like if We Relied on Industrial Agriculture to Feed Everyone?

On March 8, Dr. Olivier De Schutter, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to food, released a report arguing that the use of small-scale, diverse farming methods, which he calls “agroecology,” can double agricultural production in poverty-stricken areas, increase the economic prospects of the inhabitants, and improve their local environment.

 Read the whole article here...

http://organicconnectmag.com/wp/2011/03/what-would-the-world-look-like-if-we-relied-on-industrial-agriculture-to-feed-everyone/

More evidence: Eating fish ( and taking marine omega 3's) protects your brain.

Temple University scientists have discovered that blocking activity of an enzyme in the brain protects the brain. DHA and EPA from fish block that enzyme. Take your DHA and EPA everyday! 

In previous studies, the Temple researchers discovered that 5-lipoxygenase, an enzyme long known to exist in the brain, controls the activation state of gamma secretase, another enzyme that is necessary and responsible for the final production of amyloid beta. When produced in excess, amyloid beta causes neuronal death and forms plaques in the brain. The amount of these amyloid plaques in the brain is used as a measurement of the severity of Alzheimer's.

The researchers published their findings, “Pharmacologic Blockade of 5-Lipoxygenase Improves the Amyloidotic Phenotype of an AD Transgenic Mouse Model,” in the American Journal of Pathology.