Month: November 2009

Categories
News on Health & Science

Grape Seeds May Prevent Worst Health Disasters

[amazon_link asins=’B01B9PUI2Y,B000UZUAFA,B00Y664NXY,B01CFVJ1XI,B01JX5KT8A,B012U732RI,B00HT6LDN6,B01E9ER0X2,B00Y66EI16′ template=’ProductCarousel’ store=’finmeacur-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’d133970f-5c8e-11e7-b3cf-c33a5c821b22′]

For years, scientists have given two thumbs up to grape seed extract as a powerful disease fighter. Now, findings by the American Association for Cancer Research show it may be powerful enough to blast away leukemia cells!
.click & see
As its name implies, grape seed extract is pressed from the seeds of grapes. Laboratory studies have shown that grape seeds contain helpful antioxidants that prevent cell damage caused by free radicals.

Grape seed extract has also been shown to strengthen the heart and blood vessels… reduce high blood pressure… improve symptoms of diabetes… lower high cholesterol… and may even help treat and prevent cancer!

According to a statement from the association, a study revealed that after laboratory leukemia cells were exposed to grape seed extract, 76 percent of the cancer-laden cells were completely eliminated! Even more amazing was the fact that other cells were not harmed.

“What everyone seeks is an agent that has an effect on cancer cells but leaves normal cells alone, and this shows that grape seed extract fits into this category,” said Xianglin Shi, one of the researchers and a professor in the Graduate Center for Toxicology at the University of Kentucky.

“These results could have implications for the incorporation of agents such as grape seed extract into prevention or treatment of hematological malignancies and possibly other cancers,” Shi said.

However, the results of the study do not suggest that people should go overboard in eating grapes in hopes of staving off cancer. “This is very promising research, but it is too early to say this is chemo-protective,” Shi added.

Source: Better Health Research. Jan.29 ’09

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]
Related articles
Categories
Positive thinking

Energy to Spare

[amazon_link asins=’B00B9L5LQW,B01LC3IGWC,B01M3MQNPU,B01NAN90LH,B002659UYE,B0026EUQ6G,1400082161,B01AGY8HIQ,B003U54KLC’ template=’ProductCarousel’ store=’finmeacur-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’a575cd45-6fd8-11e8-ad64-616be8eb2eac’]

Knowing Your Limits …...click & see
Every human life is defined, to some extent, by limits. No one person is capable of fulfilling every possibility. We are all born with unique aptitudes and sensitivities, and it is these qualities that largely determine the paths we will travel in life. What invigorates, excites, and inspires one individual may exhaust or overwhelm another. When we understand what we as individuals are capable of reasonably handling, we gradually learn to accept that we have control over our wellbeing. Yet determining where our limits lie can be difficult, as it is likely we have been told time and again that the discomfort, fatigue, and stress we felt while engaging in activities outside the range of our comfort zones was all in our heads. If you have never before given thought to the notion of personal limits, creating a list of those tasks and situations that leave you feeling drained can give you insight into your own.

You will know definitively that you are operating within your limits when you have the necessary energy and drive to address your personal and professional commitments. This is not to say you should not push yourself or work to extend the range of your capabilities. The wisdom you gain through dynamic self-examination will give you the tools you need to create an individual life strategy that allows you to achieve your goals without compromising yourself or your needs. The limits you honor by focusing your energy on what you can do rather than what you cannot do will not interfere with your ambitions unless you allow them to interfere. You can thrive within your limits, actively shape your circumstances, and avoid anguish by simply recognizing that certain aspects of life nourish you while others drain you, and doing your best to perceive the fine line between applying yourself diligently and overworking yourself.

You may be surprised to discover that your limits change over time. Your willingness to accept these limits as they reveal themselves to you can smooth your passage through life and give you the means to flourish.

Source: Daily Om

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]
Related articles
Categories
Exercise News on Health & Science

Stretch of Imagination

Experts now say that stretching before exercise may actually harm you. ……Lenny Bernstein reports

It’s been a long, hard day at the office, and you need a good workout to blow off all that stress. But before you hit the free weights, the stationary bike or the elliptical machine, you spend 10 minutes carefully stretching all those stiff muscles, just as every coach, trainer and physical therapist has advised for as long as you can remember.

click & see
Now the question is why ?

There’s no evidence that you’ll prevent injury. In fact, some people believe you’re more likely to cause one.

“There is not sufficient evidence to endorse or discontinue routine stretching before or after exercise to prevent injury among competitive or recreational athletes,” concluded the National Center for Injury Prevention Control, part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in a 2004 study that may be the most thorough look at the research on stretching.

Research and anecdotal information attribute many benefits to stretching: reduced muscle tension, improved circulation, pain reduction and management. Perhaps most important, stretching helps us maintain range of motion as we age, allowing older people to continue with the activities of daily living.

The question is whether “static stretching” — the most common type, which involves holding a muscle in one position for a defined period of time — has been misinterpreted, or oversold, as a preventive for what ails you.

“People believe all kinds of amazing things, and it changes every 10-15 years,” said William Meller, a physician and associate professor of evolutionary medicine at the University of California at Santa Barbara. The merits of stretching are “not based on any science. It’s spread by coaches, trainers and all kinds of people.”

According to Julie Gilchrist, a medical epidemiologist who helped conduct the CDC study, “it’s probably important that we maintain some norm of flexibility throughout our life spans, but I don’t think anyone has really defined what that (norm) is.

“Our belief is there are probably people who would benefit from stretching. But then the question is who should stretch, when to stretch,” how much to stretch and, most important, what benefits can be expected.

Even for the elderly, “we don’t have the kinds of controlled intervention studies that we need to make a definitive statement about the benefits of doing flexibility exercises,” said Chhanda Dutta, chief of the clinical gerontology branch at the National Institute on Aging.

Similarly, coaches wouldn’t dream of putting athletes on a field, even for practice, without a battery of stretches that help them take the pounding and awkward landings of contact sports.

“As a coach, if I didn’t do that and somebody got hurt, I would probably have a tough time sleeping at night,” said Paul Foringer, a football coach at a high school in Gaithersburg, Maryland. “It’s kind of common sense. If you take something that’s taut and tough and you yank it, you’re going to tear it.”

But that’s not what studies show. “Stretching was not significantly associated with a reduction in total injuries,” said the CDC study, “and similar findings were seen in the subgroup analyses.”

In static stretching, “you’re taking the muscle to the point where it naturally wants to go, and then you’re taking it a little bit farther,” said Meller. That produces microscopic tears of muscle fibres and does nothing to prevent injury, he said. It also may weaken the muscle slightly, increase the possibility of injury and inhibit performance, according to him and the CDC study.

For those who want to stretch, it should be done after a warm-up or at the end of an exercise routine because warm muscles are more pliable.

Research indicates that warming up before exercise is more valuable than stretching. Specifically, Meller said, you should spend three to five minutes gently putting your body through the actions you’re about to perform, slowly increasing the intensity. If you’re going to play tennis, he said, swing forehands, backhands and serves, and run forward, backward and laterally before you hit the first ball.

Source: The Washington Post

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]
Related articles
Categories
News on Health & Science

Green Tea May Help Reduce Risk of Certain Cancers

[amazon_link asins=’B00DE4NPV0,B003D4F2US,B01G0S3Y44,B0042IMPTU,B000GG0BNE,B00PFDH0IC,B000WB1YSE,B0016BFR4G,B0017T2MWW’ template=’ProductCarousel’ store=’finmeacur-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’ebebe9be-5c8d-11e7-ae93-dd4a39e89aff’]

Researchers in Japan have said drinking green tea may be an important health resource to reduce the risk of developing certain types of cancer.

The study appearing in the American Journal of Epidemiology suggests drinking five or more cups of the antioxidant-rich beverage can reduce the risk of developing blood cancer by 42 percent. The same amount of green tea was also associated with a 48 percent lower risk of lymph system cancer, according to Reuters.

Researchers followed 19,749 men and 22,012 women with no previous history of cancer over a period of nine years for the study.

WebMD notes that previous research has linked the tea to fighting heart disease, lowering cholesterol and preventing diabetes and dementia.

“Taken altogether, the evidence certainly suggests that incorporating at least a few cups of green tea every day will positively affect your health. It’s not going to cure anything and it shouldn’t be consumed as a drug, but it can complement the rest of the diet,” Tufts University scientist Dr. Diane McKay tells WebMD.

Researchers involved with this study say further work is needed to confirm the health benefits of drinking green tea, and to determine whether daily consumption might prevent certain cancers.

Source:Better Health Research. Oct.20 ’09

Related articles by Zemanta
Reblog this post [with Zemanta]
Categories
Positive thinking

Half-Full Consciousness

[amazon_link asins=’0321919068,B0099G785Q,B0036S49NC,0307452980,B00L4WO2XY,B00MB9PGZM,0962687499,B07CZXQ7G6,0135014638′ template=’ProductCarousel’ store=’finmeacur-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’d2419611-6fd9-11e8-880d-7b75cfa44db6′]

Starting from Empty ……..CLICK & SEE
We are all familiar with the metaphorical story of two people looking at the same glass and one perceiving it as half-full while the other sees it as half-empty. As much as we’ve heard this, it’s still a valuable exercise to really observe our minds and notice whether we are engaged in half-full or half-empty thinking. People will refer to themselves as being of one type or the other as if it was a permanent characteristic, but we are all capable of shifting into a half-full consciousness if we simply make the effort.

When we look at our lives with half-empty consciousness, we perceive a lack and think that the other half of what we want is missing. We are coming from a position of expectation and entitlement. On the other hand, when we look at our lives as half-full we perceive fullness. It is as if we recognize that our cup could be fully empty and so we are grateful for what we see as bounty—not something we expect or believe we are owed, but a gift. In half-full consciousness, we count our blessings. When we look at our lives we see all the elements that are in place and all the things we do have. This doesn’t necessarily mean we don’t seek more, but we seek from a place of fullness instead of from a place of lack. This fullness draws positive energy into our lives and often attracts more abundance.

If you would like to begin to make the shift into half-full consciousness, try imagining your life as an empty glass. This is your life without all the people you know, the work you do, your home, or your current state of physical wellbeing. This is just an empty, open space waiting to be filled. Once you have that feeling of openness in your mind, begin filling it with all the people, things, and places that make up your life. You may be surprised to find your glass overflowing.

Source: Daily Om

Related articles by Zemanta
Reblog this post [with Zemanta]
css.php