A study was published online in the June 29 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience.
Here are some conclusions:
Cells in the retina need to be 'bathed' in relatively high doses of vitamin C, inside and out, to function properly. said Because the retina is part of the central nervous system, this suggests there's likely an important role for vitamin C throughout our brains, to a degree we had not realized before.
The function of vitamin C in the brain is not well understood.
However, it is known that when the human body is deprived of vitamin C, the vitamin stays in the brain longer than anyplace else in the body.
This suggests that the brain is the last place you want to lose vitamin C.
This also may offer a clue as to why scurvy — which results from a severe lack of vitamin C — acts the way it does.
One of the common symptoms of scurvy is depression, and that may come from the lack of vitamin C in the brain.
It is currently widely believed that vitamin C helps protect against glaucoma.
There are many other known benefits to vitamin C.
This research was performed by Henrique von Gersdorff, Ph.D., a senior scientist at OHSU's Vollum Institute, and other scientists at Oregon Health & Science University.
Original Press release
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Friday, July 22, 2011
Man's Journey to be the Healthiest Man Alive
A.J. Jacobs was encouraged by his friend to discover for one year ways how to live a healthier life.
He tried strollering which entailed various types of walking, lunges and running with your child in a stroller. Next, he tried a caveman workout which entailed eating raw meat then going to the park and walking around with all fours, hands and feet on the ground. For his food he tried the reduced calorie diet where he ate very few calories to improve longevity. Even in his restroom habits he found healthier ways to improve his health. He used something called, Nature's Platform. Instead of sitting, the platform requires squatting on a platform over the toilet. His research indicates sitting in the restroom is a new thing only 400 years. He states it is much easier for the body when we use the squatting position and hemorrhoids are very rare if non-existent using this method.
After a year of searching to be the healthiest man alive. Mr. Jacobs believes there are five ways to live a healthier life. The first is quantify. Keep track of the number of times you do something or how many steps your take or how much you eat. He bought a bit to keep track of the calories he ate and how many calories he used in various activities. Number two: he recommends is to always be moving. Everything he's does in a day he tries to do it moving in some form because the sedentary lifestyle is very damaging to the health of the body. He has taken the advice from a Dr. from Mayo clinic who started encouraging people to have treadmill offices where people walk on a treadmill as they do their work. Number three: he recommends is honor the elder version of yourself. When you do not wish to choose to exercise your debt to the body, he recommends thinking of the Elders self and be kind to
yourself for an hour by exercising and being active. If you pay the debt now, you will be thankful when you are older to be able to be active. Number four: Design a healthier environment for yourself.
Eat in front of a mirror in order to eat less. Number five: Peer pressure. Have friends who encourage a healthy life style such as twittering your friends on what you ate that day or when you exercise to help keep accountability. In closing, if you are mindful of what you are doing everyday to maintain a healthier lifestyle by creating opportunities to keep yourself accountable; you too can start the journey to be the healthiest person alive.
The video is here.
He tried strollering which entailed various types of walking, lunges and running with your child in a stroller. Next, he tried a caveman workout which entailed eating raw meat then going to the park and walking around with all fours, hands and feet on the ground. For his food he tried the reduced calorie diet where he ate very few calories to improve longevity. Even in his restroom habits he found healthier ways to improve his health. He used something called, Nature's Platform. Instead of sitting, the platform requires squatting on a platform over the toilet. His research indicates sitting in the restroom is a new thing only 400 years. He states it is much easier for the body when we use the squatting position and hemorrhoids are very rare if non-existent using this method.
After a year of searching to be the healthiest man alive. Mr. Jacobs believes there are five ways to live a healthier life. The first is quantify. Keep track of the number of times you do something or how many steps your take or how much you eat. He bought a bit to keep track of the calories he ate and how many calories he used in various activities. Number two: he recommends is to always be moving. Everything he's does in a day he tries to do it moving in some form because the sedentary lifestyle is very damaging to the health of the body. He has taken the advice from a Dr. from Mayo clinic who started encouraging people to have treadmill offices where people walk on a treadmill as they do their work. Number three: he recommends is honor the elder version of yourself. When you do not wish to choose to exercise your debt to the body, he recommends thinking of the Elders self and be kind to
yourself for an hour by exercising and being active. If you pay the debt now, you will be thankful when you are older to be able to be active. Number four: Design a healthier environment for yourself.
Eat in front of a mirror in order to eat less. Number five: Peer pressure. Have friends who encourage a healthy life style such as twittering your friends on what you ate that day or when you exercise to help keep accountability. In closing, if you are mindful of what you are doing everyday to maintain a healthier lifestyle by creating opportunities to keep yourself accountable; you too can start the journey to be the healthiest person alive.
The video is here.
Monday, July 18, 2011
Do artificial sweeteners cause cancer?
In an interview given onJuly 17 2011
At Sound medicine
The authors of this book,
Don't Cross Your Eyes...They'll Get Stuck That Way!: And 75 Other Health Myths Debunked
by
Aaron Carroll MD and Rachel Vreeman MD,
state that despite a tremendous amount a research no link between artificial sweeteners and cancer can be found.
They say that for example, huge studies involving giving large doses of artificial sweeteners to monkeys for 17 years,
have been unable to determine a link between artificial sweeteners and cancer.
The authors say that this belief is deeply ingrained and many people become upset when they hear this, but they insist no link can be found.
However, at one time it was thought that saccharin caused cancer in mice, which caused saccharin to be pulled from shelves;
However it was later determined that those mice were prone to cancer anyway, and as a result saccharin is permitted again.
Other myths that are dressed in the book include:
At Sound medicine
The authors of this book,
Don't Cross Your Eyes...They'll Get Stuck That Way!: And 75 Other Health Myths Debunked
by
Aaron Carroll MD and Rachel Vreeman MD,
state that despite a tremendous amount a research no link between artificial sweeteners and cancer can be found.
They say that for example, huge studies involving giving large doses of artificial sweeteners to monkeys for 17 years,
have been unable to determine a link between artificial sweeteners and cancer.
The authors say that this belief is deeply ingrained and many people become upset when they hear this, but they insist no link can be found.
However, at one time it was thought that saccharin caused cancer in mice, which caused saccharin to be pulled from shelves;
However it was later determined that those mice were prone to cancer anyway, and as a result saccharin is permitted again.
Other myths that are dressed in the book include:
- A fever of 104° F causes brain damage (not true, the actual value is higher)
- Don't cross your eyes so they don't get stuck (false)
- Dying your hair causes birth defects (false)
- Tilt your head back to stop a nosebleed (false and bad)
Sunday, July 17, 2011
High levels of radiation found in the Northwest
A Seattle nuclear watchdog group is accusing the federal government of failing to keep the public informed of radiation from the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
In the days following the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, the U.S. began monitoring radiation from Japan's leaking nuclear power plants.
Most of the public attention went to the air monitoring which showed little or no radiation coming our way. But things were different on the rain water side.
"The level that was detected on March 24 was 41 times the drinking water standard," said Gerry Pollet from Heart of America Northwest. He reviewed Iodine 131 numbers released by the Environmental Protection Agency last spring.
"Our government said no health levels, no health levels were exceeded.When in fact the rain water in the Northwest is reaching levels 130 times the drinking water standards," said Pollet.
Elevated rain water samples were collected in Portland, Olympia and Boise, which had the highest.
But EPA officials say the data was there for anyone to read on their website. A spokesman sent this statement, in part:
"Since Iodine 131 has a very short half-life of approximately eight days, the levels seen in rainwater were expected to be relatively short in duration."
State health agencies added that they constantly monitored public drinking water sources and never found levels even approaching the unhealthy range.
Even the watchdog group admits, watering plants with water exposed only briefly to those levels is unlikely to cause health problems.
But they say it's information the public deserves to know about.
The EPA points out this was a brief period of elevated radiation in rainwater, and says safe drinking water standards are based on chronic exposure to radiation over a lifetime.
We can only hope that Japan can get their nuclear plants under control soon meaning within the next fifty years. What is also worth mentioning the EPA increased the radiation "safe" levels after Japan started dumping radiated water into the Pacific Ocean.
Naturalnews.com commented,
"So what do you do? If your the United States Environment Protection Agency, there's only one option: Declare radiation to be safe!"
Information provided by kgw.com and Naturalnews.com
In the days following the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, the U.S. began monitoring radiation from Japan's leaking nuclear power plants.
Most of the public attention went to the air monitoring which showed little or no radiation coming our way. But things were different on the rain water side.
"The level that was detected on March 24 was 41 times the drinking water standard," said Gerry Pollet from Heart of America Northwest. He reviewed Iodine 131 numbers released by the Environmental Protection Agency last spring.
"Our government said no health levels, no health levels were exceeded.When in fact the rain water in the Northwest is reaching levels 130 times the drinking water standards," said Pollet.
Elevated rain water samples were collected in Portland, Olympia and Boise, which had the highest.
But EPA officials say the data was there for anyone to read on their website. A spokesman sent this statement, in part:
"Since Iodine 131 has a very short half-life of approximately eight days, the levels seen in rainwater were expected to be relatively short in duration."
State health agencies added that they constantly monitored public drinking water sources and never found levels even approaching the unhealthy range.
Even the watchdog group admits, watering plants with water exposed only briefly to those levels is unlikely to cause health problems.
But they say it's information the public deserves to know about.
The EPA points out this was a brief period of elevated radiation in rainwater, and says safe drinking water standards are based on chronic exposure to radiation over a lifetime.
We can only hope that Japan can get their nuclear plants under control soon meaning within the next fifty years. What is also worth mentioning the EPA increased the radiation "safe" levels after Japan started dumping radiated water into the Pacific Ocean.
Naturalnews.com commented,
"So what do you do? If your the United States Environment Protection Agency, there's only one option: Declare radiation to be safe!"
Information provided by kgw.com and Naturalnews.com
Ways to keep grilling fun and safe
- Wash your hands before grilling.
- Before grilling, keep meats below 40° F.
- When you slice meat before grilling, make sure that you don't use the same utensils as the meat with the produce.
- The sauces you want to use for your barbecue should keep cool at about refrigerator temperature.
- When you're grilling, make sure that it is 140° F before serving.
- Before eating, make sure your family wash their hands before you serve the meat.
- Enjoy!
Saturday, July 16, 2011
What happened to the Mediterranean diet?
What happened to the Mediterranean diet?
It was about 70 years ago that Ancel Keys began to study the people of Piopi, Italy.
Ancel Keys, who followed this diet lived to be 101 years old.
Ancel Keys is the person after whom the famous K-Rations are named, used by American soldiers during world war two.
The people of that area had a diet that consisted of pasta, beans, breads, veggies, olive oil, fish and meat.
What stood out to Ancel Keys was how these people had a lower incidence of heart disease compared to other more well-fed people.
Today, however Italy has the biggest obesity problem in Europe.
Adolescents avoid the traditional diet and 36% of 12 to 16 year olds are overweight or obese.
Spain and Greece are also abandoning the diet.
Ancel Keys noted that the diet was never a diet of choice; rather when asked the people of Crete indicated they would have preferred to eat more meat.
Now with more affluence people are eating four times more meet them in the fifties, and the prevailing dive looks a lot more like the American diet and McDonald's.
Orginal NPR podcast is here:
It was about 70 years ago that Ancel Keys began to study the people of Piopi, Italy.
Ancel Keys, who followed this diet lived to be 101 years old.
Ancel Keys is the person after whom the famous K-Rations are named, used by American soldiers during world war two.
The people of that area had a diet that consisted of pasta, beans, breads, veggies, olive oil, fish and meat.
What stood out to Ancel Keys was how these people had a lower incidence of heart disease compared to other more well-fed people.
Today, however Italy has the biggest obesity problem in Europe.
Adolescents avoid the traditional diet and 36% of 12 to 16 year olds are overweight or obese.
Spain and Greece are also abandoning the diet.
Ancel Keys noted that the diet was never a diet of choice; rather when asked the people of Crete indicated they would have preferred to eat more meat.
Now with more affluence people are eating four times more meet them in the fifties, and the prevailing dive looks a lot more like the American diet and McDonald's.
Orginal NPR podcast is here:
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