Healing Facts -Watermelon

watermelon700 Did you know that a watermelon can weigh upwards of 90 pounds? Watermelons are native to the Kalahari Desert of southern Africa. Depicted in hieroglyphics on ancient Egyptian tomb walls, dating back as far as 3,000 B.C.E., watermelons were left to nourish the dead in the afterlife. From Egypt, merchants spread watermelons along the Mediterranean Sea. By the tenth century watermelons had reached China, and by 1615 the word ‘watermelon’ appeared in the English dictionary.

Nutritional Highlights:

Watermelons are 92% water, making them very low in calories – one cup of watermelon has only 48 calories.
Watermelon is also a source of vitamins C, B1, and B6.
It also contains beta-carotene, pantothenic acid, biotin, magnesium, potassium, and dietary fiber.

Heath Benefits:

Watermelon is an excellent source of pure water and acts as a diuretic.
It is a unique fruit as it delivers more nutrients per calorie.
Watermelons are packed with the antioxidant lycopene, giving it its red color.

Perfect for the summer, watermelon is a great side dish for any meal. In many Asian countries it is common eat roasted watermelon seeds as a snack food. Try freezing pureed watermelon in ice cube trays and then blending them in a blender for a great frozen granite dessert, perfect for hot summer days!

Sleeping Pills Can Be Deadly

sleepy When you can’t sleep, the temptation to pop a sleeping pill is strong. But did you know you could be risking your life?
There’s a large body of research indicating that sleeping pills may contribute to as many as 500,000 deaths each year in the United States. Most sleeping pills are “sedative hypnotics”—a class of drugs used to treat anxiety. Examples include Xanax, Valium, Lunesta, and Ambien. Most of these drugs are highly addictive and come with a range of side effects, such as dizziness, drowsiness, and impaired coordination.

Sleeping Pills’ Dark Side
The most serious risks of these drugs relate to their effects on memory and behavior. Because they act on brain chemistry, sleeping pills can cause changes in brain function and behavior, including memory impairment, nervousness, confusion, hallucinations, irritability, and aggressiveness. They have also been shown to increase feelings of depression, including suicidal thinking.

Daniel F. Kripke, MD, Professor of Psychiatry Emeritus at the University of California, San Diego, has worked for more than 30 years assessing the risk of sleeping pills, and his findings are stunning.
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For one thing, 18 population-based studies have shown a clear link between the use of sleeping pills and increased mortality risk. Four of these studies specifically found that the use of sleeping pills predicted increased risk of death from cancer.

In Kripke’s latest study, published February 2012 in BMJ Online, his team obtained medical records for 10,529 people prescribed hypnotic sleeping pills, and compared them to records for 23,676 matched patients never prescribed sleeping pills. Over an average of 2½ years, the death rate for those who did not use sleeping pills was 1.2 percent, versus 6.1 percent for those who did. Subjects with sleeping pill prescriptions also had a 35 percent higher risk of cancer. Based on these findings, Kripke estimates that sleeping pills can be linked to 320,000—507,000 US deaths each year.

Poor Sleep Quality
Sleep recharges the energy within our cells and, among other things, helps to remove harmful chemicals from the body—particularly the brain. Sleep also helps enhance antioxidant mechanisms that reduce free radical damage. A likely explanation for the potential negative effects of sleeping pills is that they interfere with these normal sleep patterns, thereby robbing the body of sleep’s powerful healing effects.

Sleeping pills are also notorious for preventing deeper stages of non-REM sleep. That’s usually why these drugs produce a morning “hangover” feeling.

Cause and Effect
The first step is to identify and address the causes of the problem. Consider sleep maintenance insomnia, when people are able to fall asleep but awaken in the middle of the night and have difficulty getting back to sleep. Many people with this condition suffer from faulty blood sugar control, so addressing that issue can dramatically improve sleep quality.

Other common causes of insomnia are stress, depression, anxiety, caffeine sensitivity, and even certain medications—there are well over 300 drugs that can interfere with normal sleep.

Natural Sleep Aids
It’s important for people to utilize natural measures to treat insomnia, as doing so avoids the major health consequences associated with sleeping pills.

I recommend a combination of melatonin (3 mg), 5-HTP (30 mg), and L-theanine (200 mg). These ingredients work together to decrease nighttime awakenings and the time required to fall asleep.

Recent studies have also substantiated the herb valerian’s ability to improve sleep quality and relieve insomnia. As a mild sedative, use up to 900 mg, 30-45 minutes before going to bed.

There are lots of free articles about safe, effective, natural alternatives to prescription and over-the-counter medications at my website: www.drmurray.com. And if you sign up for Weekly Fast Facts at the website, you’ll receive a free copy of my book, Stress, Anxiety and Insomnia! What the Drug Companies Won’t Tell You and Your Doctor Doesn’t Know.

This was first published in Care2.com

Fish Oil Supplementation Reduces the Effects of Mental Stress

Introduction:
Fish oils concentrated for EPA and DHA have been shown to have positive effects for patients with many different types of psychological disorders associated with stress including depression, bipolar disorder (manic depression), borderline personality disorder, and attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity (ADHD).

Positive results in clinical trials in these psychological disorders indicate that EPA and DHA may exert an effect in blunting the stress response.

The stress response is largely the result of activation of the sympathetic nervous system – the arm of our autonomic nervous system that produces the flight or fight response. The stress response is characterized by increased heart rate, blood pressure, and shunting of blood flow to muscles so that we can escape danger.

Since fish oils are also known to affect cardiovascular function, it is once again possible that some of the beneficial effects may be due to blunting of the sympathetic nervous system within the brain.
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Background Data:
The importance of omega-3 fatty acids to brain function relates to their role in the phospholipid composition of nerve cell membranes. Studies have shown that EPA and DHA influence:

The fluidity of brain cell membranes.
Neurotransmitter synthesis.
Neurotranmitter binding.
Signal transmission.
The activity of key enzymes that break down neurotransmitters like serotonin, epinephrine, dopamine, and norepinephrine.

Clinical studies in patients with a variety of psychological conditions indicate that fish oils produce a mild antianxiety effect. This effect may be due to dampening the sympathetic nervous system’s response to stress.

New Data:
In an elaborate double-blind study conducted at Michigan Technological University, blood pressure, heart rate (HR), muscle sympathetic nerve activity, and blood flow through the calf were recorded during a 5-minute mental stress protocol in 67 non-hypertensive subjects before and after 8 weeks of fish oil or placebo supplementation. The dosage of fish oil provided 1.6 g eicosapentaenoic acid and 1.1 g docosahexaenoic acid for total EPA+DHA of 2.7 g).

Results showed that fish oil reduced the increase in heart rate produced by mental stress, but did not alter blood pressure reactivity to mental stress. However, fish oil did blunt muscle sympathetic nerve activity to mental stress.

These results indicate that fish oils reduced the effects of the sympathetic nervous system on the cardiovascular system indicating that some of its beneficial effects in both psychological and cardiovascular disorders are due to this central effect.

The take away message is that it is important to take roughly 3,000 mg EPA+DHA if a person is exposed to significant mental stress on a daily basis as it is good for both your brain and your heart.

Reference:
Carter JR, Schwartz CE, Yang H, Joyner MJ. Fish oil and neurovascular reactivity to mental stress in humans. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol. 2013 Apr 1;304(7):R523-30.

Healing Facts – Kiwi

Kiwifruit is perhaps one of the most unique fruits. With its brown fuzzy skin, and bright green meat, there isn’t another comparable fruit. Kiwi is native to China, where it was consumed for thousands of years. In the early twentieth century, missionaries brought kiwi trees to New Zealand from China. Before its introduction to the United States, kiwifruit was known as Chinese gooseberries. However, upon its appearance in the U.S. it was named kiwi in honor of the native bird of New Zealand.

Nutritional Highlights:

· Kiwifruit is especially rich in vitamin C.
· It is also a good source of dietary fiber, and the minerals potassium, magnesium, copper, and phosphorous.
· Kiwi also contains the antioxidants vitamins E and C.
· A 3½ ounce serving of kiwi contains a mere 61 calories.

Health Benefits:

· Similar to other vitamin C-rich foods, kiwis are beneficial for respiratory tract health.
· Kiwis can help prevent respiratory issues such as wheezing, shortness of breath and coughing.

Kiwis are excellent when paired with most fruits, but taste especially good when served with banana, strawberry, grapes, apples, and oranges. Try adding kiwi on top of yogurt for a healthy and light snack. Tossing kiwis in with a salad, is a fun and easy mix up to a typical dish. What is your favorite way to enjoy kiwifruit? The Good Cacao team and I would love to hear!

7 Ways To Free Yourself From Food Cravings

FoodChoiceAppleOrDanish-850x618 Despite what you may have heard, overcoming food cravings has nothing to do with willpower. The body has powerful mechanisms that move us to eat. The brain is quite sensitive to drops in blood sugar when we haven’t eaten, and releases a number of chemicals that drive us to crave sugars and sweets to raise blood sugar levels. Our intestinal tract and fat cells also secrete hormones that tell us it’s time to eat.

People without weight problems benefit from a fully functioning system of appetite control — compounds such as hormones, peptides, neurotransmitters, and glucose that circulate in the blood and are sensed and acted upon by the brain. People of normal weight don’t usually experience frequent cravings for unhealthy foods. They simply feel hungry at appropriate times and are satisfied after they eat modest amounts.

Unfortunately, when abdominal fat cells are enlarged in overweight and obese individuals, this complex system of appetite control becomes altered. The key factor that leads to this disruption is insulin resistance, which sets the stage for intense food cravings. The first step to eliminating food cravings is to treat the cause — in most cases, blood sugar volatility due to insulin resistance.

When people are on a blood sugar roller coaster, they have very little control over their appetite or portion sizes. This is because every time they experience a quick drop in blood sugar levels, the brain goes into panic mode and secretes powerful appetite stimulators, as well as hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline to boost blood sugar. Because of insulin resistance and its accompanying poor glucose regulation, overweight people often experience near constant commands to eat.

So how do you improve blood sugar control and insulin resistance? Here are seven keys:

1. Eat a low-glycemic-load diet.

Stay away from sugary foods and keep portion sizes of bread and other carbohydrate sources to a very small amount.

2. Use PGX.

PGX is the most important natural product for appetite control. It promotes feelings of satiety to reduce the amount of food (calories) consumed. For more information go to www.PGX.com. Take 2.5 to 5 grams before each meal.

3. Supplement with chromium.

Chromium is necessary for insulin to work properly, at a dosage of 200-400 mcg per day.

4. Get a handle on stress.

Most people’s food cravings get worse when they’re under stress. Work on achieving a good balance of sleep, work, home activities, leisure time and R&R, and exercise.

5. Don’t let yourself get hungry.

Ensure that you never really get hungry by consuming low-calorie snacks, such as high-fiber fresh vegetables and fruit, between meals.

6. Get moving.

Engage in physical exercise for at least 30 minutes every day.

7. Plan your meals and shopping.

Plan your daily menu—including between-meal snacks—in advance, and make sure your kitchen is stocked with healthy choices. If you don’t buy unhealthy foods, you won’t be tempted to grab them out of habit.

Carnosine Produces Exciting Results

Introduction:
Carnosine is a molecule composed of two amino acids, histidine and alanine that is naturally found in “excitable” tissues, such as muscle and nerve tissue, and reaches high concentrations in skeletal muscle and the brain.

Because of carnosine’s beneficial effects in improving both muscle and brain function, researchers at Georgetown University recently assessed its effects in Gulf War illness (GWI) or Chronic Multisymptom Illness (CMI); terms used to describe the disabling fatigue, widespread pain, and cognitive dysfunction experienced by about 25% of 1990-1991 Persian Gulf War veterans.

A leading theory proposes that GWI/CMI is the result of wartime exposure to a variety of factors including vaccinations, various chemicals, and stress. These factors initiate prolonged production of inflammation, free radicals, and the resulting injury to the brain, nervous system and muscle tissue.
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Background Data:
Carnosine has been shown to protect the brain and muscle cells from the sort of damage underlying GWI/CMI. Carnosine possesses additional benefits that may also be of benefit in GWI/CMI including neutralizing toxic heavy metals, promotion cellular rejuvenation, and stimulation of improved blood flow. All of which are thought to be useful in benefitting patients with GWI/CMI.

Carnosine has also been shown to:

Improve muscle function and recovery from muscle fatigue.
Protect against degeneration of the brain as well as loss of cognitive function and memory associated with aging.
Improve mental function and behavior in patients with attention deficit disorder.
Dramatically extend the life expectancy of laboratory animals and human cells in culture.

New Data:
A double-blind, placebo controlled study was designed to determine if nutritional supplementation with L-carnosine would significantly improve pain, cognition and fatigue in GWI. The 12 week study involved 25 GWI subjects who were given L-carnosine at 500, 1000, and 1500 mg increasing at 4 week intervals or a placebo. Primary outcomes included measures assessing cognitive function; feelings of fatigue and pain; and activity levels. The only measure that showed consistent benefit was the influence of carnosine supplementation on improving mental function.

While researchers had hoped to see improvement in all areas of GWI/CMI, the ability of carnosine supplementation to improve mental function in these patients was significant and adds additional clinical support for carnosine in this application.

Reference:
Baraniuk JN, El-Amin S, Corey R, Rayhan R, Timbol C. Carnosine treatment for gulf war illness: a randomized controlled trial. Glob J Health Sci. 2013 Feb 4;5(3):69-81.