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Nutraceuticals
Nutraceuticals are natural bioactive compounds with medicinal properties that are used to promote health and prevent disease. They are sometimes referred to as phytochemicals or functional foods.
Nutraceuticals have shown to be beneficial adjuncts to the treatment of cancer, chronic degenerative diseases and immune disorders by supporting the complex mechanisms of the body’s immune system.
There is a great variety of nutraceuticals with different functions. According to various studies nutraceuticals can assist in
- enhancing natural killer cell function;
- enhancing macrophage activity;
- enhancing production of tumor necrosis factor;
- neutralizing oncogenes (cancer promoting substances);
- re-differentiation of cancer cells (transforming cancer cells to normal cells through re-establishment of cell cycle controls);
- inducing programmed cell death (apoptosis).
- The Fishy Benefit of omega-3s
Probably the best known of the nutraceuticals, the omega-3 fatty acids, are also the most intensively studied. Like all fatty acids, the building blocks of fats and oils, omega-3s are linear molecules with a carboxylic acid “head” at one end trailing a “tail” of linked carbon atoms. Those links can be made with either single (saturated) or double (unsaturated) chemical bonds. “Omega-3” simply refers to a double bond in the third position from the end of the carbon tail. Starting with alpha-linolenic acid (ALA, an essential nutrient common in many nuts and vegetable oils), our bodies can synthesize all the omega-3 fatty acids they need to build cell membranes and carry out a host of cellular functions.
- Co-Enzyme CO-Q10, has become known as powerful anti-oxidant. It has shown a strong anti-tumor effect in a breast cancer trial in Copenhagen, Denmark. Principal investigator Karl Folkers reports regression of liver and lung tumors in a current German trial.
Recent studies conducted at the University of Miami's Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine suggest, according to research director Niven R. Narain, that CO-Q10 restores apoptotic potential (programmed cell death) to cancer cells without harming the healthy cells.
In 2005, the National Cancer Institute in Washington (NCI) analyzed reports on CO-Q10 that appeared in the peer-reviewed scientific literature. The reports reveal that CO-Q10 has been shown to lengthen the survival of patients with breast, prostate, pancreatic, lung, and colorectal cancer
Melatonin
Melatonin is a neurohormone secreted at night by the pineal gland in the brain. It is important in the regulation of many hormones in the body. Among its key roles, melatonin controls the body's circadian rhythm, an internal 24-hour time-keeping system that plays an important role in our sleeping pattern. Darkness stimulates the release of melatonin and light suppresses its activity. Normal melatonin cycles are disrupted when we are exposed to excessive light in the evening or too little light during the daytime.
Melatonin also has strong antioxidant properties and improves immune system function. Research studies found that melatonin levels in the body play an important role in cell mediated immunity. Melatonin has been shown to stimulate the production of Interleukins, among them IL-2 which constitutes the main anti-tumoral cytokine in humans.
Several studies indicate that low levels of melatonin may be linked with an increased risk of various chronic degenerative diseases and cancer, especially Breast and Prostate Cancer. Laboratory experiments have found that low levels of melatonin stimulate the growth of certain types of breast cancer cells and adding melatonin to these cells inhibits their growth. Laboratory and clinical evidence has shown that melatonin may enhance the effects of some chemotherapy drugs and reduce their toxic side effects. It improves quality of life and in synergy with anti-cancer treatments it increases the chance of survival of cancer patients. Melatonin prescribed according to individual needs, is an important complementary component of a comprehensive cancer treatment program.
The health-conferring benefits of walnuts have been widely studied, but new research has shown that they are a source of the antioxidant hormone melatonin. It indicates that consumption of walnuts can boost blood levels of melatonin and antioxidants in rats.
Autohemotherapy: The ability of the living body to combat infection is itself truly magical. Autohemotherapy may uniquely help the body perform this magic, by facilitating the identification of infective organisms in the bloodstream, and enabling the launching of a counterattack.
Autohemotherapy, referring here to the immediate intramuscular or subcutaneous reinjection of one's own blood, appears to comprise a compelling therapy option in the absence of others, one that may also merit replacing other (experimental and often risky) attempts at therapy currently in vogue. Since the introduction of this method by Ravaut in 1913
The procedure may also boost the person's vitality. It is mostly used to bolster immunity; to treat bronchitis, allergies, fungal infections, rheumatic ailments, skin inflammations and eczema; to aid in smoking cessation; and to hasten recovery after a long illness.
Enzymatic Therapy
Enzymatic therapy, or enzyme therapy, plays an important part in many chronic degenerative diseases and immune disorders, including cancer.
Enzymes are catalysts for virtually every biological and chemical reaction in the body. For example, digestive enzymes such as lipases and proteases are essential for the breakdown of food into molecules the body can absorb.
Proteins, fats, and carbohydrates cannot be fully digested without sufficient digestive enzymes. Important minerals and fat-soluble vitamins may also not be fully utilized without adequate levels of digestive enzymes present.
Various digestive enzymes are produced in different parts of the digestive tract, ranging from the salivary glands in the mouth to the small intestine. Several of the most important enzymes are produced in the pancreas. If the pancreas is chronically infected or damaged, the result may be severe mal-absorption, diarrhea, and malnutrition. In such cases, enzyme supplements can be used to supplement the body while starting the healing process.
Similarly, if the small intestine fails to produce enough of its own the digestive enzymes, such as lactase, the milk sugar called lactose will move down the intestinal tract unabsorbed, causing gas, bloating and diarrhea. If partially digested protein molecules are absorbed into the bloodstream, they can be mistaken as foreign invaders and attacked by the immune system. The resulting circulating immune complexes (CIC's) can provoke inflammation, arthritis, allergies, ulcers, sciatica and a variety of pains.
18 Foods That Make Your Skin Glow
Posted Wed, Mar 19, 2008, 1:20 pm PDT
Top skin creams average about $400 an ounce (and you thought gas was expensive!), yet most offer little proof that they do half of what they promise. Want to save a bundle and improve your skin? Load your shopping cart with nutrients that research has shown to have skin-hydrating, sun-protecting, and even wrinkle-preventing powers, says Manhattan dermatologist Amy Wechsler, MD. Here’s her grocery list of best foods for your skin.
Firm and Bright
You’re probably up to your eyebrows (Botoxed or not) with hearing “eat more fruits and vegetables.” But if you have yet to take that advice to heart, maybe knowing that they prevent wrinkles will do the trick. The colorful pigments that produce bright orange and red also refill antioxidant levels in your skin.
The skin doc’s 3 top picks: SWEET POTATOES, TOMATOES, CANTALOUPE
What they do: Replenish your skin’s supply of antioxidants, so they're ready to scarf up free radicals whenever they make an appearance. Free rads are highly reactive oxygen molecules that damage cells and contribute to just about everything that can go wrong with skin, from dryness to crinkles.
Fresh and Juicy
Your body can’t store much wrinkle-fighting vitamin C, so you need to keep your supplies stocked. The easiest, simplest way: Have some citrus every day.
The skin doc’s 4 top picks: ORANGES, LEMONS, LIMES, GRAPEFRUIT
Actually, ounce for ounce, oranges are the top citrus C source but you can only eat so many, right? For variety, make lemonade, squeeze limes on melon, add grapefruit to salad, and instead of drinking soda, fizz up OJ with sparkling water. It all adds up.
What they do: Keep skin’s vitamin C levels high. While C’s a nifty antioxidant, that’s not the key reason it’s here. It helps keeps collagen -- the supportive protein fibers that stop skin from sagging -- strong and resilient. (Flimsy collagen means lines and wrinkles.) Since collagen breakdown really picks up in your mid-30s, eat citrus early and often to head off aging.
Smoothing and Soothing
There’s a particularly potent antioxidant known as EGCG that does all kinds of good things for skin. The best place to find it? True teas: black, green, or white (not herbal). Brew a teapot full every morning, so that sipping four to six cups throughout the day is a no-brainer.
The skin doc’s #1 pick: GREEN TEA
While all true teas contain EGCG (epigallocatechin-3-gallate), the various types of green tea have the most. Wechsler’s personal favorite is green tea ). “The roasting process that turns this green tea a brownish color also lowers its caffeine content,” she says -- handy if you’re caffeine sensitive or it’s one of those days when you do not need another stimulant.
What it does: Gives your skin a healthy dose of EGCG, which is a great multi-tasker. EGCG puts a damper on inflammatory chemicals involved in acne and sun-related skin aging; it also helps prevent skin cancer; and it has a lion-tamer effect on tumor cells. What’s more, green tea contains L-theanine, a de-tensing amino acid -- and anything you can do to staunch the flow of the stress hormone cortisol helps keep collagen fibers intact.
Green and Leafy
Certain dark leafy greens, whether they’re fresh, frozen, raw, or steamed, really deliver on vitamin A, one of the most skin-essential vitamins going.
The skin doc’s 3 top picks: SPINACH, TURNIP GREENS, BROCCOLI
What they do: Deliver a hefty supply of vitamin A, which supports skin cell turnover, the process that keeps cell growth and development humming along flawlessly. Without enough A, skin becomes dry, tough, and scaly.
Fisherman’s Faves
Several cold-water catches give your skin a double benefit: age-fighting omega-3 fatty acids plus the restorative powers of protein.
The skin doc’s 7 top picks: SALMON, TROUT, TUNA, ATLANTIC MACKEREL, SARDINES, PACIFIC HERRING, MOST SHELLFISH
Just don’t, uh, go overboard. As good as omega-3s are for skin (and the rest of you, too), worries about the amount of mercury in many fish mean it’s smart to limit seafood to two meals a week. That’s a must for women who are or might become pregnant or are nursing, and for young children, too.
What they do: Omega-3s fight inflammation, now considered one of the top skin-agers, and they also help protect against sunburn, enhancing the effects of your SPF sunscreen. Protein is required to build and repair skin cells and to make enzymes and hormones that help keep it glowing.
Fill your weekly grocery cart with all of the above foods and you won’t just look younger, you’ll be younger. Eating at least 1 serving of fish a week and getting the right amount of antioxidants through diet or supplements lower your biological age. In fact, the antioxidants alone can make your RealAge up to 6 years younger.
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