Read this post on CoQ10 and then take the short quiz to see how much you have learned.
CoQ10 is a type of antioxidant. It is very important for:
a. heart health (Blood pressure, supporting heart energy production)
b. Migraine Headaches.
c. Muscle pain induced by statin , cholesterol lowering medication.
d. Kidney health
e. Fatigue (CoQ10 supports the power centers of each cell.)
When you hear of vitamin d, what is the first think you think of?…. Most likely, you are thinking of bone health. It turns out that vitamin d receptors occur on many organs and via these receptors, vitamin d has many different effects such as promoting heart, kidney, musculoskeletal and pancreatic health. Vitamin D receptors are also on the thyroid gland and studies have shown that low vitamin d levels can result in autoimmune hypothyroid condition called Hashimoto. How is this possible you ask? Vitamin D plays a role as an immune inhibitor that can suppress and prevent the development of autoimmune diseases such as Hashimoto’s, but with low vitamin d levels, the effect of the immune inhibitor is less. If you are taking synthroid for hypothyroid issues, you might talk to your doctor to have your vitamin d levels measured and dose vitamin d accordingly.
Do you suffer from asthma that is made worse when exercising? If so, you will be glad to know that there are several nutrients that may help. It turns out that dietary factors such as an elevated omega-3 fatty acid and antioxidant intake and decrease sodium, sweets, soda and snack consumption can reduce this condition.
Why does this nutrient approach help reduce asthma?
a. Omega-3 fatty acids help to produce anti-inflammatory compounds that lead to less airway constriction.
b. Excess oxidation in the lungs contributes to lung inflammation and asthmatic symptoms. By increasing antioxidant intake , there is less lung oxidation and resulting asthmatic symptoms.
c.High sodium intake increases an inflammatory compound called IL-17. By reducing sodium intake, levels of IL-17 decrease which results in less lung airway inflammation and asthma. Also, it is important to point out that a diet that is high in dairy products, sweets, sodas, snacks, can increase IL-17. Thus, reducing these foods will help to reduce IL-17 levels and improve lung function.
Cardiovascular disease costs the U.S. one billion dollars per day! Yes, you heard me, correctly. While there are various drugs treating heart disease, there is one natural option that you want to consider: beans. Now, you might associate beans as a source of fiber to improve bowel regularity, but it turns out “.. a cup a day of beans, chickpeas, or lentils for three months may slow resting heart rate as much as exercising for 250 hours on a treadmill” ((Faclm, 2016). This is not to suggest that you should avoid exercising and that all you need to do to promote heart health is eat beans, but as part of an overall program to promote hearth health and overall wellness, incorporating beans into your diet may help and reduce the health financial burden on the U.S. economy.
Reference:
Faclm, G. M. M. D. (2016, May 25). Slow Your Beating Heart: Beans vs. Exercise | NutritionFacts.org. NutritionFacts.Org. https://nutritionfacts.org/video/slow-beating-heart-beans-vs-exercise/
Constipation due to chemotherapy can occur for several reasons:
1. Increase fiber intake: A 2016 study examined the relationship between eating sweet potatoes and constipation in leukemia patients. Patients consumed 200 grams of sweet potato per day which amounted to eating 1 and 1/3 US cups of sweet potatoes. The study concluded that “sweet potato had a positive impact on the prevention of constipation and the defecation sensation in leukemia patients receiving their first chemotherapy”
2.Keep hydrated. Drink at least eight, 8 ounces of water per day.
3.Exercise can help keep bowels regular.
4. Acupuncture: A 2021 acupuncture study studied TENS acupuncture on chemotherapy induced constipation in Non Small cell lung cancer and found it to be beneficial.
You may have heard about the benefits of high protein diets:
However, it is important to point out that these benefits are mainly attributed to plant-based proteins and not so much for animal proteins. This is because a high animal protein diet, which is often wrongly associated with Atkins diet, increases a growth factor called IGF-1 (insulin like growth factor). As the name implies , IGF-1 looks like insulin but instead of lowering blood sugar, IGF-1 enhances cellular growth pathways. IGF-1 has benefits but too much IGF-1 can play a role in cancer development and increasing mortality. Scientists stumbled across this phenomena when looking at patients in a remote part of southern Ecuador called Quito Ecuador. These patients suffer from Laron syndrome which is a genetic condition that leads to stunted growth. People with Laron syndrome rarely grow beyond 3 1/2 feet tall. The genetic mutation results in the IGF-1 not functioning normally which results in their stunted growth, but amazingly, they never get cancer nor diabetes !
Now, for people who don’t have Laron syndrome, how can they apply this knowledge to improve their health, reduce risk of cancer and diabetes? They should focus on getting the majority of their protein intake from plant sources. Animal protein is similar to human protein and this explains why animal protein will cause a rapid spike in IGF-1. In contrast, plant-based protein is less similar to animal protein and will increase IGF-1 to a much lesser degree. If you compare this to a volume dial, animal protein is turning the volume to full blast whereas plant-based protein is set to low volume setting.
The answer to this question is yes. I am not suggesting that mushrooms can cure cancer but they can have positive impact on helping the immune system fight cancer. How is this possible you ask? Well, to answer that question you need to understand how tumor cells promote tumor development. Tumor cells release inflammatory cell signaling molecules called cytokines such as transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) and interleukin-10 (IL-10) which transforms macrophages into a type that promotes cancer. There are two types of macrophages: M1 and M2. M1 is characterized by resisting the development of tumors and M2 is characterized by the development of tumors. As with tumor cells, M2 macrophages also secrete transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) and interleukin-10 (IL-10) and this adds fuel to the fire. This leads to tumor cells evading detection by the immune system and spreading of tumors (metastases). So, is there a way for the body to create an anti-tumor environment full of M1 macrophages? The answer is yes and this is where mushrooms can help. It turns out that mushrooms contain a polysaccharide called beta-glucan which can change the tumor environment by making more M1 macrophages.
Serotonin is a type of neurotransmitter and hormone that has positive effects on regulating mood, state of well-being and happiness. If the brain make too little serotonin, depression can result. In these cases, patients will be given a SSRI (selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitor) such as Zoloft, Lexapro, and Prozac among other SSRI’s which increases the levels of serotonin in the brain. However these SSRI have side effects such as:
Fortunately, there are ways to increase serotonin in the human brain without drugs. These include:
Are you concerned about your bone health? Have you been told you have osteopenia or osteoporosis? Perhaps, you are taking calcium and vitamin D and you are doing weight bearing exercises. What else can you do? Four words: Eat prunes and almonds! A study showed eating 5 t0 6 prunes per day stimulated bone formation cells called osteoblasts and improved bone mineral density. Another study showed that the serum taken from people who ate 40 almonds a day had a 20% decrease effects on osteoclast activity. Osteoclasts are types of cells that break down the bone matrix. So, perhaps an almond and prune trail mix for bone health?
If you spend at least several hours a day looking at a computer screen, you may be suffering from eye fatigue. Symptoms of eye fatigue include:
You could have these symptoms for other reasons, and so you want to check with your medical doctor to rule out other causes. Nevertheless, given that a majority of people who work in front of computer monitor on a daily basis, scientist have studied an herb called bilberry to help reduce eye fatigue. In a 12 week study, a standardized bilberry extract was found to relieve eye fatigue. Eye fatigue occurs when the ciliary muscle is strained. The ciliary muscle is involved in adjusting the lens to allow it to focus. When one is staring at a computer , the ciliary muscle is under constant tension and eventually this results in the aforementioned eye fatigue symptoms. In an ideal world, the obvious solution to this eye fatigue is to reduce the time spent looking at computer screens or stop completely. However, this is not always possible. An herbal option such as taking bilberry may help. Anthocyanins, a type of antioxidant found in the bilberries, have a high affinity for the eyes. It is believed that these anthocyanin compounds can reduce the tension in the ciliary muscles and thus potentially contribute to reduce eye fatigue. So you might be asking what about blueberries? Yes, blueberries have anthocyanin compounds , but bilberries have 4 times the amount of anthocyanin compounds. Bilberries are also know as wild blueberries and are specific to Northern Europe. You can not grow them in USA. You can buy European bilberries, but they do cost approximately $13.00 per pound Your best best is to find a bilberry extract supplement.m
