THE GREATEST MEDICINE OF ALL… IS TEACHING PEOPLE HOW NOT TO NEED IT
Eating Like an Italian Mobster May Help Save Your Prostate
Article By Marc S. Micozzi, M.D., Ph.D.
The mainstream cancer industry spends billions of dollars studying breast cancer. (Even if they are largely barking up the wrong tree.) But research into prostate cancer has been abysmal by comparison…almost like an afterthought.
Thankfully, a new generation of scientists has picked up the research we started way back in the 1980s into lycopene—a powerful carotenoid found in tomatoes that can help prevent prostate cancer.
Let's take a look…
Tomatoes packed with healing nutrient
In the mid-1980s, I was on the team of researchers at the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center in Beltsville, Maryland that discovered the role of carotenoids in human nutrition and metabolism.
For this research, we recruited students from the University of Maryland, College Park, and took blood samples to analyze the amounts of different carotenoids present in the blood.
By the end of October 1984, we had our results.
First, we busted the myth about the importance of the well-known carotenoid beta-carotene. It turns out, beta-carotene is just a bit player—not a major factor in healthy foods…or in human blood.
Second, we discovered that the really important carotenoids were ones the National Institutes of Health (NIH) had never even heard about before…including lycopene.
It turns out, our college students all had sky-high blood levels of lycopene. And eventually, we realized these high levels stemmed from what we called their "frat boy" diet, which included lots of foods with tomato sauce—like pizza, pasta, and meatball subs—and ketchup, which they poured on hamburgers and fries.
Of course, these foods all contain cooked tomatoes—which hold concentrated sources of lycopene. (Cooking takes out much of the water content of tomatoes, leaving just the concentrated nutrient constituents like lycopene.) In fact, eating cooked tomatoes is like taking a lycopene supplement. Just one-half cup of cooked tomato sauce contains almost 20 mg of lycopene (which is a good, healthy dose for a carotenoid)!
Other foods high in lycopene include guava, papaya, red bell peppers, and watermelon. (Though, be careful, U.S. sources of papaya are all genetically modified, as I noted most recently in the July 2020 issue of my monthly newsletter, Insiders' Cures ["Your annual guide to the season's cleanest—and "dirtiest"—produce"].)
We eventually presented our findings about the importance of lycopene to the big bosses at NIH. But they persisted in spending tens of millions of dollars studying beta-carotene, the wrong carotenoid, despite our findings and my repeated warnings.
In time, the truth eventually came out that studying isolated beta-carotene was a dead-end…and that lycopene has a ton of health potential. Especially when it comes to preventing prostate cancer.
And that point brings me back to the new study I mentioned at the beginning on this Dispatch…
Lycopene offers strong prostate support
For this new study, researchers followed more than 27,000 men for about eight years. At the study's outset, all the men were cancer-free.
During the eight-year follow-up period, more than 1,000 men developed prostate cancer. However, men who consumed cooked tomatoes four or more times per week had a 28 percent lower risk for prostate cancer compared to those who did not eat any tomatoes at all. And men who consumed about one-third cup per day of cooked or canned tomatoes received the most protection.
Interestingly, the researchers did not find that eating raw tomatoes or tomato juice provided any protection against prostate cancer. But that finding makes sense to me, especially when you consider what we learned back in the 1980s about how cooking the tomatoes concentrates the lycopene.
So, instead of relying on the mainstream to finally pay some attention to prostate cancer…I suggest you focus on what you can do NOW to prevent the disease. Such as eating lots of cooked tomatoes during the week.
Walnuts Can Help You Beat Stress
Written By: GreenMedInfo Research Group
If you're feeling stressed out or you know that you're in for a bad day, you might want to eat a handful of walnuts to relieve the pressure
According to one study by researchers at Penn State University, a diet rich in walnuts and walnut oil may prepare the body to deal better with stress.
The researchers wanted to examine how walnuts and walnut oil, which contain polyunsaturated fats, influence blood pressure at rest and under stress. That's because people who have an exaggerated biological response to stress are at higher risk of heart disease. According to the researchers, they wanted to find out if omega 3-fatty acids from plant sources would blunt cardiovascular responses to stress.
In the study 22 healthy adults with elevated LDL cholesterol followed three different diets for six weeks each. The participants were subjected to stress either by giving a speech or immersing a foot in cold water. The results, published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition, showed that when participants were following a diet that included walnuts and walnut oil, their blood pressure and stress responses were lower.
The "average" American diet does not include any nuts on a daily basis and the diet found to be effective to reduce the stress reaction included about 9 whole walnuts as an average serving. That may be all it takes for you to feel the calming effects.
A quarter cup of walnuts provides over 90% of the recommended daily value of omega-3 fats. Previous studies had already shown that omega-3 fatty acids like the alpha linolenic acid found in walnuts and flax seeds, can reduce LDL (the so-called "bad") cholesterol, and may also reduce inflammation.
Walnuts are rich in healthy fats, dietary fiber, minerals, vitamins, antioxidants and phytosterols, and have long been associated with improved heart health. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration allows walnut providers to make the health claim that "eating 1.5 ounces per day of walnuts as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol may reduce the risk of heart disease."
Besides its beneficial effects on blood pressure and inflammation, walnuts have also been shown to be an excellent source of antioxidants, help to prevent gallstones, improve sleep by boosting melatonin, protect bone health and prevent weight gain.
Now this study points out that walnuts and walnut oil reduce blood pressure during stressful periods. And since we can't completely avoid all the stresses in our lives, it's good to know that such a simple and convenient snack could help us deal with the pressure.
Amazingly, the walnut actually resembles the organ it nourishes: the brain.
Relieve Arthritis Pain By Harnessing The Power of This Winter Berry
Marc S. Micozzi, M.D., Ph.D.
Mainstream medicine pours most of its attention and funding into research and treatment of "fatal diseases" like cancer and heart disease.
But it woefully neglects non-fatal, chronic pain conditions like arthritis. And this neglect has directly contributed to the opioid epidemic—which is a tragic cause of death.
What's worse, in the midst of this opioid epidemic, the coronavirus panic made it much more difficult for men and women with chronic arthritis pain to receive safe and effective non-drug treatments—such as acupuncture, bodywork, massage, mindfulness meditation, and yoga.
Fortunately, new research suggests you can relieve arthritis pain by harnessing the power of a bright-red berry you may find on your late-fall, early-winter walks in the woods…
It is said that the rose's rarest essence lives on the thorn. But in my view, the real wonders are the rose's "hips", or berries, which form just below the petals. As the fruit of the rose plant, they also contain the seeds.
For centuries, natural healers have used rose hips to help with skin infections, toothaches, kidney problems, diarrhea, and epilepsy.
Fresh rose hips contain high levels of vitamin C. In fact, rose hips are the single-most potent sources of vitamin C occurring in Nature. And centuries ago, when people didn't have access to "greens" during the winter months, they got their vitamin C by gathering rose hips in the wild and adding them to foods and beverages or preserving them as jellies and jams.
Rose hips also contain other powerful antioxidants, including anthocyanidins, carotenoids, flavonoids, phenols, and terpenoids. These antioxidants neutralize free radicals, including hydrogen peroxide, nitric oxide, and superoxide.
Plus, studies show rose hips can also help you lose weight—and keep it off. (Unlike over-hyped, synthetic, "weight-loss supplements.")
And most recently, researchers have also begun to recognize its potential to help ease the pain of arthritis…
Rose hips extract demonstrates "significant" pain reduction
In a 2009 meta-analysis, researchers looked at three previously published clinical trials involving nearly 300 patients diagnosed with osteoarthritis (OA). In all three studies, the participants either took 5 grams of rose hip powder or a placebo each day for three to four months. (That amount is essentially a food quantity…and is what you might get by drinking an infusion made with fresh rose hips.)
It turns out, in all three studies, those who took the rose hip powder experienced a significant reduction in pain. In fact, they were twice as likely to report improved pain levels as those who took the placebo!
In a larger and more recent meta-analysis, researchers reviewed 15 previously published clinical trials involving more than 1,500 patients with OA. Again, in these studies, people with OA who took rose hips experienced improvements in pain and stiffness. In addition, the participants did not experience any side effects. (This excellent report stands in sharp contrast to the dangerous prescription drugs doled out to deal with arthritis pain.)
In a third study, my friend Jorge Gruenwald and his colleagues in Germany looked into the berries' "mechanism of action." In other words, they studied exactly how the berries seems to alleviate pain. (Nearly 20 years ago, I worked with Dr. Gruenwald when he published his findings that the botanical extract kava kava does not cause liver problems in my scientific journal Seminars in Integrative Medicine. Still, it took years to finally put the medical myths about kava kava to rest.)
According to Dr. Gruenwald's research, rose hips seem to work by inhibiting pro-inflammatory compounds in the body. Which makes a lot of sense. Because, as I always discuss, inflammation is the root cause of OA (and a whole host of other chronic diseases). Meaning, the key to preventing and reversing OA is to tame the inflammation. Only then can the body can repair the joints with normal cartilage.
My Comment:
Rose Hips are very inexpensive and available in capsule form. They are one of the few plants that help reduce belly fat and aid in weight loss. Their high vitamin C content make them perfect for helping strengthen your immune system and fight off illnesses like Covid 19. And since they are natural you can take it several times a day without any side effects. Loading up on vitamin C is a great idea and helps your body in many ways to stay healthy, reduce weight and fight off colds and viruses. I highly recommend it.
Until next time, stay healthy and happy
JD Roma
The information on this blog is provided for educational purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional medical care, and medical advice and services are not being offered. If you have, or suspect you have, a health problem you should consult your physician (preferably a Naturopath).
Article By Marc S. Micozzi, M.D., Ph.D.
The mainstream cancer industry spends billions of dollars studying breast cancer. (Even if they are largely barking up the wrong tree.) But research into prostate cancer has been abysmal by comparison…almost like an afterthought.
Thankfully, a new generation of scientists has picked up the research we started way back in the 1980s into lycopene—a powerful carotenoid found in tomatoes that can help prevent prostate cancer.
Let's take a look…
Tomatoes packed with healing nutrient
In the mid-1980s, I was on the team of researchers at the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center in Beltsville, Maryland that discovered the role of carotenoids in human nutrition and metabolism.
For this research, we recruited students from the University of Maryland, College Park, and took blood samples to analyze the amounts of different carotenoids present in the blood.
By the end of October 1984, we had our results.
First, we busted the myth about the importance of the well-known carotenoid beta-carotene. It turns out, beta-carotene is just a bit player—not a major factor in healthy foods…or in human blood.
Second, we discovered that the really important carotenoids were ones the National Institutes of Health (NIH) had never even heard about before…including lycopene.
It turns out, our college students all had sky-high blood levels of lycopene. And eventually, we realized these high levels stemmed from what we called their "frat boy" diet, which included lots of foods with tomato sauce—like pizza, pasta, and meatball subs—and ketchup, which they poured on hamburgers and fries.
Of course, these foods all contain cooked tomatoes—which hold concentrated sources of lycopene. (Cooking takes out much of the water content of tomatoes, leaving just the concentrated nutrient constituents like lycopene.) In fact, eating cooked tomatoes is like taking a lycopene supplement. Just one-half cup of cooked tomato sauce contains almost 20 mg of lycopene (which is a good, healthy dose for a carotenoid)!
Other foods high in lycopene include guava, papaya, red bell peppers, and watermelon. (Though, be careful, U.S. sources of papaya are all genetically modified, as I noted most recently in the July 2020 issue of my monthly newsletter, Insiders' Cures ["Your annual guide to the season's cleanest—and "dirtiest"—produce"].)
We eventually presented our findings about the importance of lycopene to the big bosses at NIH. But they persisted in spending tens of millions of dollars studying beta-carotene, the wrong carotenoid, despite our findings and my repeated warnings.
In time, the truth eventually came out that studying isolated beta-carotene was a dead-end…and that lycopene has a ton of health potential. Especially when it comes to preventing prostate cancer.
And that point brings me back to the new study I mentioned at the beginning on this Dispatch…
Lycopene offers strong prostate support
For this new study, researchers followed more than 27,000 men for about eight years. At the study's outset, all the men were cancer-free.
During the eight-year follow-up period, more than 1,000 men developed prostate cancer. However, men who consumed cooked tomatoes four or more times per week had a 28 percent lower risk for prostate cancer compared to those who did not eat any tomatoes at all. And men who consumed about one-third cup per day of cooked or canned tomatoes received the most protection.
Interestingly, the researchers did not find that eating raw tomatoes or tomato juice provided any protection against prostate cancer. But that finding makes sense to me, especially when you consider what we learned back in the 1980s about how cooking the tomatoes concentrates the lycopene.
So, instead of relying on the mainstream to finally pay some attention to prostate cancer…I suggest you focus on what you can do NOW to prevent the disease. Such as eating lots of cooked tomatoes during the week.
Walnuts Can Help You Beat Stress
Written By: GreenMedInfo Research Group
If you're feeling stressed out or you know that you're in for a bad day, you might want to eat a handful of walnuts to relieve the pressure
According to one study by researchers at Penn State University, a diet rich in walnuts and walnut oil may prepare the body to deal better with stress.
The researchers wanted to examine how walnuts and walnut oil, which contain polyunsaturated fats, influence blood pressure at rest and under stress. That's because people who have an exaggerated biological response to stress are at higher risk of heart disease. According to the researchers, they wanted to find out if omega 3-fatty acids from plant sources would blunt cardiovascular responses to stress.
In the study 22 healthy adults with elevated LDL cholesterol followed three different diets for six weeks each. The participants were subjected to stress either by giving a speech or immersing a foot in cold water. The results, published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition, showed that when participants were following a diet that included walnuts and walnut oil, their blood pressure and stress responses were lower.
The "average" American diet does not include any nuts on a daily basis and the diet found to be effective to reduce the stress reaction included about 9 whole walnuts as an average serving. That may be all it takes for you to feel the calming effects.
A quarter cup of walnuts provides over 90% of the recommended daily value of omega-3 fats. Previous studies had already shown that omega-3 fatty acids like the alpha linolenic acid found in walnuts and flax seeds, can reduce LDL (the so-called "bad") cholesterol, and may also reduce inflammation.
Walnuts are rich in healthy fats, dietary fiber, minerals, vitamins, antioxidants and phytosterols, and have long been associated with improved heart health. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration allows walnut providers to make the health claim that "eating 1.5 ounces per day of walnuts as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol may reduce the risk of heart disease."
Besides its beneficial effects on blood pressure and inflammation, walnuts have also been shown to be an excellent source of antioxidants, help to prevent gallstones, improve sleep by boosting melatonin, protect bone health and prevent weight gain.
Now this study points out that walnuts and walnut oil reduce blood pressure during stressful periods. And since we can't completely avoid all the stresses in our lives, it's good to know that such a simple and convenient snack could help us deal with the pressure.
Amazingly, the walnut actually resembles the organ it nourishes: the brain.
Relieve Arthritis Pain By Harnessing The Power of This Winter Berry
Marc S. Micozzi, M.D., Ph.D.
Mainstream medicine pours most of its attention and funding into research and treatment of "fatal diseases" like cancer and heart disease.
But it woefully neglects non-fatal, chronic pain conditions like arthritis. And this neglect has directly contributed to the opioid epidemic—which is a tragic cause of death.
What's worse, in the midst of this opioid epidemic, the coronavirus panic made it much more difficult for men and women with chronic arthritis pain to receive safe and effective non-drug treatments—such as acupuncture, bodywork, massage, mindfulness meditation, and yoga.
Fortunately, new research suggests you can relieve arthritis pain by harnessing the power of a bright-red berry you may find on your late-fall, early-winter walks in the woods…
It is said that the rose's rarest essence lives on the thorn. But in my view, the real wonders are the rose's "hips", or berries, which form just below the petals. As the fruit of the rose plant, they also contain the seeds.
For centuries, natural healers have used rose hips to help with skin infections, toothaches, kidney problems, diarrhea, and epilepsy.
Fresh rose hips contain high levels of vitamin C. In fact, rose hips are the single-most potent sources of vitamin C occurring in Nature. And centuries ago, when people didn't have access to "greens" during the winter months, they got their vitamin C by gathering rose hips in the wild and adding them to foods and beverages or preserving them as jellies and jams.
Rose hips also contain other powerful antioxidants, including anthocyanidins, carotenoids, flavonoids, phenols, and terpenoids. These antioxidants neutralize free radicals, including hydrogen peroxide, nitric oxide, and superoxide.
Plus, studies show rose hips can also help you lose weight—and keep it off. (Unlike over-hyped, synthetic, "weight-loss supplements.")
And most recently, researchers have also begun to recognize its potential to help ease the pain of arthritis…
Rose hips extract demonstrates "significant" pain reduction
In a 2009 meta-analysis, researchers looked at three previously published clinical trials involving nearly 300 patients diagnosed with osteoarthritis (OA). In all three studies, the participants either took 5 grams of rose hip powder or a placebo each day for three to four months. (That amount is essentially a food quantity…and is what you might get by drinking an infusion made with fresh rose hips.)
It turns out, in all three studies, those who took the rose hip powder experienced a significant reduction in pain. In fact, they were twice as likely to report improved pain levels as those who took the placebo!
In a larger and more recent meta-analysis, researchers reviewed 15 previously published clinical trials involving more than 1,500 patients with OA. Again, in these studies, people with OA who took rose hips experienced improvements in pain and stiffness. In addition, the participants did not experience any side effects. (This excellent report stands in sharp contrast to the dangerous prescription drugs doled out to deal with arthritis pain.)
In a third study, my friend Jorge Gruenwald and his colleagues in Germany looked into the berries' "mechanism of action." In other words, they studied exactly how the berries seems to alleviate pain. (Nearly 20 years ago, I worked with Dr. Gruenwald when he published his findings that the botanical extract kava kava does not cause liver problems in my scientific journal Seminars in Integrative Medicine. Still, it took years to finally put the medical myths about kava kava to rest.)
According to Dr. Gruenwald's research, rose hips seem to work by inhibiting pro-inflammatory compounds in the body. Which makes a lot of sense. Because, as I always discuss, inflammation is the root cause of OA (and a whole host of other chronic diseases). Meaning, the key to preventing and reversing OA is to tame the inflammation. Only then can the body can repair the joints with normal cartilage.
My Comment:
Rose Hips are very inexpensive and available in capsule form. They are one of the few plants that help reduce belly fat and aid in weight loss. Their high vitamin C content make them perfect for helping strengthen your immune system and fight off illnesses like Covid 19. And since they are natural you can take it several times a day without any side effects. Loading up on vitamin C is a great idea and helps your body in many ways to stay healthy, reduce weight and fight off colds and viruses. I highly recommend it.
Until next time, stay healthy and happy
JD Roma
The information on this blog is provided for educational purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional medical care, and medical advice and services are not being offered. If you have, or suspect you have, a health problem you should consult your physician (preferably a Naturopath).
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