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You’ve heard it before, but why is it true?

By Sara Novak
Thu Aug 18, 2011

I stand by the research that my guilty pleasure, red wine is so loaded with antioxidants that it’s necessary to indulge in it regularly. It’s known for polyphenols found in grapes, which protect the body from free radicals that damage cells. Damaged cells can lead to a host of ailments down the line as well as aging.

Continue reading Why is Red Wine Good For Your Heart?

By Sara Novak
Wed Sep 14, 2011 08:00

One food seems to have a big impact on breast cancer.

According to Marshall University researchers in a report published in the Journal Nutrition and Cancer, a modest amount of walnuts decreased chances of breast cancer in mice. The amount tested was about 2 ounces of walnuts per day.

Science Daily reports:

[Elaine Hardman, Ph.D., of Marshall’s Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine] said that during the study period, the group whose diet included walnut at both stages developed breast cancer at less than half the rate of the group with the typical diet. In addition, the number of tumors and their sizes were significantly smaller.
These changes came even after mice were genetically mutated to develop cancer. When healthy fats were were added, unhealthy fats were removed, so researchers aren’t sure whether it was the addition of healthy fats, the reduction of the unhealthy fats, or both.

“Food is important medicine in our diet,” Hardeman said, according to Science Daily. “What we put into our bodies makes a big difference — it determines how the body functions, our reaction to illness and health. The simple stuff really works: eat right, get off the couch, and turn off the TV.”

Walnuts are undoubtedly a super food. They have high levels of vitamin E and Omega 3 fatty acids. These fatty acids have anti-inflammatory properties, protect heart health, and guard against arthritis. Vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant that protects cells from the damaging impact of free radicals.

More on Breast Cancer
In Honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Christina Pirello Talks Frankly About Disease Prevention
$4.5 Million Grant to Study Yoga & Breast Cancer Treatment Given to University of Texas Medical Center
Lunafest: A Mostly-Awesome Event That Isn’t Just for Women

EFSA Continues With Draconian Laws Despite Criticism

On 1 May 2011 the most stringent laws against herbal remedies and natural medicine came into full force across Europe.

These laws, which fall under the Traditional Herbal Medicinal Products Directive (THMPD), will make it impossible for a traditional herbal medicine to be licensed in Europe unless it has been used for 30 years in the European Union (EU) – or 15 years in the EU and 15 years elsewhere. If it hasn’t been used for this amount of time, then it won’t be licensed and it will be illegal to sell! This is very bad news indeed for the thousands of Ayurvedic and Traditional Chinese Medicine remedies countless people rely on.

Massive intrusion on our basic human rights

We’ve been campaigning relentlessly against this clampdown on alternative and natural medicine because, ultimately, we’re losing our freedom to choose how we want to take care of our own health! Worst still, these rigid laws will reach much further than simply regulating the supplement market and herbal remedies… they will eventually regulate the food you and I put into our mouths.

I’m not joking or blowing things out of proportion!

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) — tasked with evaluating all health claims regarding food in the EU — has started a campaign to ban anyone from claiming that drinking water can help prevent dehydration! If you do so, you can land yourself in jail!

Luckily, it looks as if some European Members of Parliament (MEPs) have started to smell smoke, especially since the EFSA has been rejecting more than 80 per cent of health claims for natural, and especially botanical, ingredients.

Raising some serious questions

What did these guys expect? If you’re going to impose such unrealistic and draconian measures on something that countless people benefit from, then a backlash is inevitable!

Some MEPs have asked how on earth it is possible that most of the health claims filed for approval under the THMPD, received a negative opinion (meaning its claims have been rejected.) Furthermore, they also object to the tremendous impact these negative opinions will have on small-and medium-sized businesses, which in some cases, are the economic backbone of certain European countries.

If you ask me, it’s a little bit too late to cry foul play now. Over the past two years, we’ve been trying our utmost to get the message across that the EFSA’s regulations are far too stringent and are based on very little (if any!) scientific evidence.

Shockingly, many of the claims dismissed by the EFSA, have already been approved in several European countries. By rejecting these claims, the EFSA directly contradicts the European Medicines Agency, which recognises the healing properties of dozens of plants through the directive on traditional herbal remedies.

This whole saga is a right old mess… and sadly it’s consumers and business owners that suffer the most… let alone the fact that it makes absolutely no sense to impose these rigid laws at a time when almost every country in Europe could benefit from an economic boost!

Travesty of justice!

Now, one might think that the bureaucrats at the EFSA would at least give full and considered responses to their critics’ concerns – especially when they come from elected members of parliament! – and take their misgivings seriously. But of course, that wasn’t the case!

In fact, the EFSA actually believe that their 20 per cent approval rate for positive evaluations of claims is good! See, in the world of the EFSA, consumer confidence and sustainable innovation can only be maintained if health claims made on foods (remember that includes drinking water and supplements!) “represent a real benefit for consumers and are backed by robust science”.

Come on! That’s just ludicrous, considering the fact that the so-called ‘robust science’ now prevents anyone from saying that regular consumption of water can reduce the risk of dehydration! Any monkey knows that this is a fundamental truth and not some fraudulent health claim!

I stand aghast at the EFSA’s stubbornness to recognise reasonable warnings and questions… If this continues, we’re all facing a huge tragedy… not to mention the tremendous injustice that is being done to future generations.

Francois Lubbe

Health Science Institute

Nature gives us a great clue as to what foods help what part of our body!
Nature’s Pharmacy – Amazing!

A sliced Carrot looks like the human eye. The pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like the human eye… And YES, science now shows carrots greatly enhance blood flow to and function of the eyes.

A Tomato has four chambers and is red. The heart has four chambers and is red. All of the research shows tomatoes are loaded with lycopine and are indeed pure heart and blood food.

Grapes hang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart. Each grape looks like a blood cell and all of the research today shows grapes are also profound heart and blood vitalizing food.

A Walnut looks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums. Even the wrinkles or folds on the nut are just like the neo-cortex. We now know walnuts help develop more than three (3) dozen neuron-transmitters for brain function.

Kidney Beans actually heal and help maintain kidney function and yes, they look exactly like the human kidneys.

Celery, Bok Choy, Rhubarb and many more look just like bones. These foods specifically target bone strength. Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23% sodium. If you don’t have enough sodium in your diet, the body pulls it from the bones, thus making them weak. These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body.

Avocados, Eggplant and Pears target the health and function of the womb and cervix of the female – they look just like these organs. Today’s research shows that when a woman eats one avocado a week, it balances hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight, and prevents cervical cancers. And how profound is this? It takes exactly nine (9) months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit. There are over 14,000 photolytic chemical constituents of nutrition in each one of these foods. Modern science has only studied and named about 141 of them.

Figs are full of seeds and hang in twos when they grow. Figs increase the mobility of male sperm and increase the numbers of sperm as well, to overcome male sterility.

Sweet Potatoes look like the pancreas and actually balance the glycemic index of diabetics.

Oranges, Grapefruits, and other Citrus fruits look just like the mammary glands of the female and actually assist the health of the breasts and the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts.

Onions look like the body’s cells. Today’s research shows onions help clear waste materials from all of the body cells. They even produce tears which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes. A working companion, Garlic, also helps eliminate waste materials and dangerous free radicals from the body.

13 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Cucumbers.

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 phytochemicals 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 with react with the boiling water and 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 finish a business lunch and realize 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 phytochemcials 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 is won’t leave streaks and won’t harm you 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!!