How Cruciferous Vegetables Kick Cancer to the Curb

 

You know that consuming plenty of vegetables is vital for you’re your nutritional wellness, but which ones? Sure, plant foods are all good for your wellbeing – they’re rich in vitamins, minerals, and gut-healthy fibre – but are all vegetables created equal? Or could some vegetables provide enhanced benefits as compared to others? In truth, the answer is…not really. All veggies are great but, if you are literally forcing yourself to eat more vegetables, new research suggests that cruciferous ones are the way to go.

 

Cruciferous vegetables belong to the cabbage family, and include broccoli, collard greens, Watercress, arugula, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, Kale, bok choy and wasabi, to name just a few. All of these veggies are absolutely packed with vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals. If you want to get specific, all cruciferous vegetables have a high content of beta carotene, zeaxanthin and lutein from the Carotenoids group, along with being rich in folate and Vitamins C, E and K. With the addition of gut-friendly fibre that these veggies provide, it’s no wonder that they can help make up a healthy diet.

 

However, considering the fact that a lot of other vegetables have these healthy components, we need to explore the things that set cruciferous vegetables apart from all the others; glucosinolates and myrosinase. When your body digests cruciferous vegetables, the myrosinase to come into contact with glucosinolates, initiating a chemical reaction that has a vital effect on your wellness: protecting you against cancer. Powerful anti-cancer compounds release active compounds like nitriles, indoles, isothiocyanates and thiocyanates as a result of this chemical reaction, and this prevents cancer in four key ways:

 

1. Protecting against DNA damage

2. Having a holistic antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and antiviral effect within the cells

3. Making potential carcinogens inactive

4. Helping to negate oxidative stress and fight against oxygen free radicals produced by the body. Reducing these helps cut down the risk of several cancers, including prostate cancer.

 

In fact, research recommends you add about two to three servings of cruciferous vegetables to your diet, but this can be daunting if you’re not particularly fond of veggies. The down side to cruciferous vegetables is that they contain sulphur based chemicals (the very same beneficial glucosinolates) which gives these vegetables a slightly bitter taste. That said, once you take a look at the wellness numbers, you will agree that cruciferous vegetables are no doubt better for you as compared to other vegetables!

 

• Research found that 28 servings of vegetables per week decreased prostate cancer risk by 33%, but just three servings of cruciferous vegetables per week decreased prostate cancer risk by 41%.


• Just one more servings of cabbage per week can reduce your risk of pancreatic cancer by 38%.


• One serving per day of cruciferous vegetables can lower your risk of breast cancer by over 50%.

 

Cruciferous vegetables are very beneficial when it comes to preventing hormone based cancers – like breast cancer and ovarian cancer – in particular. This is due to the fact that compounds like indole-3-carbinol (abundant in broccoli, Brussels sprouts and cabbage), can help your body excrete oestrogen and other hormones. New research has reveals that these ITCs blunt the growth-promoting effects of oestrogen on breast and cervical cancer cells. Chinese researchers recently found that women who regularly ate one serving of cruciferous vegetables per day had a 50% reduced risk of breast cancer. Moreover, a European study revealed that consuming cruciferous vegetables at least once a week led to a 17% decrease in breast cancer risk. Plus, breast cancer survivors who eat cruciferous vegetables regularly have lower risk of cancer recurrence – the more cruciferous vegetables they ate, the lower their risk.

 

Categories: cancer prevention, Cruciferous Vegetables, vitamins

The Health Benefits of Bananas that Will Blow Your Mind

Ok, there’s nothing particularly new or exciting about bananas – apart from, you know, a certain hilarious phallic appeal. However, while current, hip superfruits saturate headlines and diet plans, it’s the banana that has quietly and brilliantly benefited your wellbeing in more ways than you know. Sure, it goes great in a sundae or milkshake, but making a banana one of your five-a-day is one of the healthiest decisions you can make for your diet wellness.

 

As well as a heaping helping of dietary fibre, there are three sugars in bananas; glucose, fructose and sucrose. This means a huge boost to your digestive health, and instant energy for your workouts. Forget protein shakes; banana is the true energy food. However, if you think bananas are limited to providing energy and enhancing your digestive system, you’ve got another thing coming. Bananas help to regulate your blood pressure, improve your overall mood and even fight against major diseases! In fact, studies have shown that there’s the potential for bananas to be a new oral vaccination against the Hepatitis B virus. Rest assured, once you see all the health benefits of bananas, you’ll know that you’ve found the right fruit:

 

1. Cancer protection: A fibre known as pectin is found in bananas, and has been classified as the best way to beat colon cancer. While the fibre you find in wholegrains is insoluble, pectin is a soluble fibre, which slows down your digestion and helps you to control your weight. In each serving of banana, you will find two grams of pectin.

 

2. PMS prevention: You face a lot of problems during your period. However, for those times when you forget your pill, a banana can come to the rescue. Bananas contain vitamin B6, meaning they can help to regulate your sugar levels, alleviate your mood and help you relax. Plus, as bananas fight off signs of depression and anxiety, they also make you feel happier.

 

3. Anaemia aversion: Bananas have a high content of iron, meaning that they work to stimulate haemoglobin production in your body. Therefore, bananas are ideal if you suffer from anaemia, or you’re at particular risk to it – this includes vegetarians and women who experience heavy periods.

 

4. Blood pressure improvement: This tropical fruit is filled with the goodness of potassium, while also being very low in sodium. Hence, if you suffer from high blood pressure and are more prone to heart diseases, bananas are the perfect fruit for you.

 

5. Brain power enhancement: Have trouble getting your brain into gear in the morning? Eat a banana for breakfast! According to research, eating bananas in the morning have helped children to be more alert at school and improved their ability to grasp new things. Not only is this the case in adults, but bananas also regulate your sugar levels and offer a boost of energy, meaning you can stay on top of your game all day.

 

6. Spot relief: Whether you have painful pimples or irritating and itchy mosquito bites, the peel of the banana is the natural remedy you seek. It sounds too good to be true, but banana peel reduces swelling and soothes the affected area.

 

7. Ulcer reduction: It’s difficult to eat many fruits if you suffer from stomach ulcers, particularly those with a high acidic content like oranges, pineapples and grapes. Bananas, on the other hand, do not irritate your stomach ulcers but bring relief by coating the lining of your stomach with their cool, smooth texture.

 

8. Smoking cessation: The vitamins B12 and B6 in bananas help against signs of withdrawal, making it easier for you to quit smoking.

Categories: banana, Bananas, blood pressure, cancer prevention, energy, fibre, Health Benefits, nbsp, quit smoking, stomach ulcers, sugar levels

The Medicine of Kings: Could Reishi Mushrooms Benefit You?

If you heard something was hailed in ancient Eastern medicine as the “mushroom of immortality” and the “medicine of kings,” you’d expect it to benefit your wellbeing in a pretty monumental way, right? Luckily for you, this is an accurate assumption to make about reishi, the fungus prized for the role it plays in complementary wellness. According to wellness experts, reishi can help to to boost your immune system, fight cancer, ward off heart disease, calm your nerves and relieve both allergies and inflammation – mushroom of immortality indeed!

 

In her book New Whole Foods Encyclopaedia, Rebecca Wood writes, ‘Reishi indeed sounds like a cure-all…An immunostimulant, it is helpful for people with AIDS, leaky-gut syndrome, Epstein-Barr, chronic bronchitis and other infectious diseases. It is used as an aid to sleep, as a diuretic, as a laxative and to lower cholesterol.’ It almost seems too good to be true – but is it? According to Andrew Weil, MD, author of 8 Weeks To Optimum Health, ‘Reishi is a purely medicinal mushroom, not a culinary one, both because it is hard and woody and because it tastes very bitter. But it is non-toxic and has been the subject of a surprising amount of scientific research, both in Asia and the West…Like maitake and other related mushroom species, reishi improves immune function and inhibits the growth of some malignant tumours. Additionally, it shows significant anti-inflammatory effect, reduces allergic responsiveness, and protects the liver.’

 

So how does it work? Weil explains, ‘One key function, identified long ago by Eastern medical science, is defence — that is, the body has the need and ability to defend itself against threats to its equilibrium, whether they be physical, emotional, or energetic. Having noted and studied the body’s defensive capabilities, Chinese doctors then explored the natural world to find ways of maintaining and enhancing them, and they discovered a number of ways to do so, including the administration of herbal remedies. Among these remedies are ginseng, astragalus, and several mushrooms that grow on trees, such as Ganoderma lucidum (known to the Chinese as ling chih and the Japanese as reishi).’

 

As well as enabling your cells to defend themselves against cancer, reishi helps immune cells bind to tumour cells and actually reduces the number of cancerous cells in your body, which makes it easier for T-cells and macrophages to get rid of them. However, there’s a fourth way in which reishi guards your wellbeing against cancer; through a substances called canthaxanthin. Phyllis A. Balch, author of Prescription for Dietary Wellness, comments, ‘Canthaxanthin acts as an antioxidant, boosts immunity, slows the growth of cancer cells, and may help to prevent skin and breast cancers. Food sources include mushrooms, particularly reishi, maitake, and shiitake.’

 

But it’s not only your body that can benefit from reishi; it’s also the mind. Dr. Ray Sahelia, author of Mind Boosters, asserts that the reishi mushroom can calm the mind, as well as improve memory, concentration and focus. It’s no wonder that, with all that reishi does, Herbal Medicine-Maker’s Handbook author James Green calls it a ‘remarkably beneficial fungus for the human body.’ The question remains, however; how much reishi should you take? Vitamin expert Earl Mindell, author of the Vitamin Bible for the Twenty-first Century, advises an average dose of 100 milligrams of reishi extract daily to boost your immune system. The Herbal Drugstore author Dr. Linda B. White, on the other hand, recommends up to three 1,000-milligram tablets up to three times per day. Therefore, you should consult your physician before taking reishi supplements, especially if you’re pregnant or lactating.

Categories: author, Better Memory, body, cancer prevention, cells, mushroom, reishi, Reishi Mushrooms