Jon's Health Tips - Apples

An Apple Peel a Day Could Keep Cancer at BayAn apple peel a day might help keep cancer at bay, according to Rui Hai Liu, Cornell associate professor of food science, who has identified a dozen compounds -- triterpenoids -- in apple peel that either inhibit or kill cancer cells in laboratory cultures. Three of the compounds have not previously been described in the literature."We found that several compounds have potent anti-proliferative activities against human liver, colon and breast cancer cells and may be partially responsible for the anti-cancer activities of whole apples," says Liu, who is affiliated with Cornell's Institute of Comparative and Environmental Toxicology and is senior author of the study, which is online and published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.In...

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Certain Vegetables Combat Cancer

Women should go for the broccoli when the relish tray comes around during holiday celebrations this season. While it has been known for some time that eating cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage, can help prevent breast cancer, the mechanism by which the active substances in these vegetables inhibit cell proliferation was unknown - until now. Scientists in the UC Santa Barbara laboratories of Leslie Wilson, professor of biochemistry and pharmacology, and Mary Ann Jordan, adjunct professor in the Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, have shown how the healing power of these vegetables works at the cellular level. Their research is published in this month's journal Carcinogenesis. "Breast cancer, the second leading cause...

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Jon's Health Tips - Yogurt

I eat non-fat yogurt several times a week as a dessert or snack. Here’s why:Health Benefits of YogurtYogurt may not be the miracle food some have claimed, but it certainly has a lot to offer in the health department. Besides being an excellent source of bone-building calcium, it is believed that the bacterial cultures Lactobacillus bulgaricus (L. bulgaricus) and Streptococcus thermophilus (S. thermophilus), that are used to make yogurt, carry their own health benefits.For example, research has suggested that eating yogurt regularly helps boost the body's immune-system function, warding off colds and possibly even helping to fend off cancer. It is also thought the friendly bacteria found in many types of yogurt can help prevent and even remedy diarrhea.For people who suffer from lactose intolerance,...

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Jon's Health Tips - Oatmeal

I eat a big bowl of oatmeal (flavored with organic raisins) almost every day for breakfast. The reasons are outlined below. (I also eat mostly whole wheat bread, and whole wheat pasta when I can, and snack on whole wheat dry cereal once in a while.) Oatmeal's Health Claims Strongly ReaffirmedA new scientific review of the most current research shows the link between eating oatmeal and cholesterol reduction to be stronger than when the FDA initially approved the health claim's appearance on food labels in 1997.Dr. James W. Anderson, professor of medicine and clinical nutrition at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine, co-authors "The Oatmeal-Cholesterol Connection: 10 Years Later" in the January/February 2008 issue of the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine.Anderson presents a contemporary...

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Antioxidants are unlikely to prevent aging

Diets and beauty products which claim to have anti-oxidant properties are unlikely to prevent ageing, according to research funded by the Wellcome Trust. Researchers at the Institute of Healthy Ageing at UCL (University College London) say this is because a key fifty year old theory about the causes of ageing is wrong."Superoxide" free radicals – oxygen molecules that have an imbalance of electrons to protons – are generated in the body through natural processes such as metabolism. These free radicals can cause oxidation in the body, analogous to rust when iron is exposed to oxygen. Biological systems, such as the human body, are usually able to restrict or repair this damage.In 1956, Denham Harman proposed the theory that ageing is caused by an accumulation of molecular damage caused by "oxidative...

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Good cholesterol isn't good enough

Researchers learn that some 'good cholesterol' isn't good enoughNew article in the FASEB Journal describes how the quality of HDL cholesterol is as important as its typeIf you think your levels of "good cholesterol" are good enough, a new study published in the December 2008 issue of The FASEB Journal suggests that you may want to think again. In the report, researchers from the University of Chicago challenge the conventional wisdom that simply having high levels of good cholesterol (HDL) and low levels of bad cholesterol (LDL) is necessary for good heath. Instead, they show that the good cholesterol has varying degrees of quality and that poor quality HDL is actually bad for you."For many years, HDL has been viewed as good cholesterol and has generated a false perception that the more HDL...

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Jon's Health Tips - Nuts

I eat a handful of nuts several times a week. I am going to try to increase the frequency.Here’s why:From Dr. John Livesey, Department of Endocrinology Christchurch Hospital .New Zealand:“Frequent eating of nuts appears to dramatically improve health1. In particular, nut eating greatly lowers the risk of heart disease2. In 1992 researchers working on the Adventist Health Study at Loma Linda University in California reported that those eating nuts daily had up to 60% fewer heart attacks than those who ate nuts less than once per month3. The beneficial effect of nut consumption was found for men, women, vegetarians, meat-eaters, fatter people, thinner people, the old, the young, those who did much exercise and those who did little exercise. The study was large, comprising 31,000 white Californian...

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Gasping after collapse - CPR should be initiated

Gasping helps cardiac arrest victims surviveGasping should not be mistaken for breathing and CPR should be initiatedPeople who witness an individual collapse suddenly and unexpectedly should perform uninterrupted chest compressions even if the patient gasps or breathes in a funny way, research from the Resuscitation Research Group at The University of Arizona Sarver Heart Center shows. The study is set to publish in the Nov. 24 online issue of Circulation, the official journal of the American Heart Association, http://circ.ahajournals.org.When an individual breathes abnormally or gasps after collapsing from sudden cardiac arrest there is a greater chance of surviving, the researchers report. Gasping can be thought of as a survival reflex triggered by the brain.Each day, about 500 Americans...

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Jon's Health Tips - Vitamin D

I have recently added a new pill to the few I take daily – a major decision for me. But the spate of recent research is so overwhelming that I had to do it. I have also made an effort to get more sun in the cold months, eat more dairy products, especially no-fat yogurt, and drink only fortified orange juice. The pill is Vitamin D. The recent research is summarized very briefly below. A complete report is available atLow Vitamin D Levels Pose Large Threat to Health; Overall 26 Percent Increased Risk of Death Researchers at Johns Hopkins are reporting what is believed to be the most conclusive evidence to date that inadequate levels of vitamin D, obtained from milk, fortified cereals and exposure to sunlight, lead to substantially increased risk of death. In a study set to appear...

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