Cordyceps: Numerous Medicinal Benefits

Cordyceps is an ancient Tibetan healing fungus with a wealth of medicinal properties. One of these – its ability to treat asthma – has just been proven a human clinical study.

Furthermore, as we’ll discuss, this ancient medicine has also been proven to treat a number of other medical conditions.

Broccoli Repairs DNA, Reduces Inflammation, Osteoarthritis

Research shows that broccoli helps our body repair damaged DNA. It also reduces inflammation and helps osteoarthritis sufferers.

Parsley Boosts Immunity, Curbs Inflammation and Fights Cancer

Parsley may be a great garnish. And it can seriously freshen the breath. But research proves that parsley also boosts the immune system, reduces inflammation and fights off cancer.

Multiple studies show that Parsley (Petroselinum crispum) contains significant anti-inflammatory properties, boosts liver health, is antioxidant and even anti-carcinogenic. It also supplies numerous nutrients and relaxes smooth muscles.

Parsley (Petroselinum crispum) fights cancer.

Lotus Herb for Depression, Anxiety, Liver Disease, Inflammation and More

The Lotus is not only beautiful. It can help fight depression, anxiety, inflammation, liver damage and help prevent cavities among other things.

Lotus herb provides numerous medicinal benefits.

Switch to Brown Rice for Weight Loss, Inflammation

Most health foodies know that brown rice is better than white rice. Research confirms that brown rice not only contains more nutrients. It also helps drop the pounds and reduce inflammation.

Brown Rice encourages weight loss

Cherries Lower Inflammation Help Osteoarthritis

Tart cherries are delicious especially when they are fresh. Turns out that tart cherries also help the body reduce inflammation.

Cereal Fiber Reduces Inflammation

Cereal fiber lowers inflammation according to multiple studies.

Dietary fiber has received a lot of attention in food research over the past couple of decades. That’s because fiber from plants provide a lot of health benefits.

These fiber benefits include better heart health, boosting our probiotic populations, reducing cancer risk and others.

Now we can add to the list another benefit of dietary plant fiber: reducing inflammation. But this benefit confers most to not just any type of fiber.

Topical Ginger Reduces Osteoarthritis Symptoms

Clinical research has proven that ginger can help relieve osteoarthritis when applied topically.

High Fiber Breakfast Reduces Diabetes Risk Among Children

High fiber cereal breakfast reduces diabetes risk according to studies.

Most of us knew that high fiber breakfast was good for us. But new research finds breakfast with good fiber can also reduce the risk of diabetes among children.

Children who ate a good breakfast had less diabetes

Research from the University of Glasgow’s School of Medicine studied and tested 4,116 children aged nine and ten years old. The children attended 200 primary schools in London, Birmingham, and Leicester – all in the U.K.

The children completed dietary recalls and underwent examinations for weight, body fat, and were tested for cholesterol levels, insulin levels, glucose levels, urate levels, and levels of glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c). HbA1c is a marker for diabetes.

The researchers found that 74 percent of the children ate breakfast every day, while 26 percent of the children did not eat breakfast every day – 11 percent ate breakfast most days, nine percent ate breakfast only sometimes while six percent did not usually eat breakfast.

The researchers found those who did not always eat breakfast had an average of 26 percent higher fasting insulin levels and 26 percent higher insulin resistance compared with those who ate breakfast.

Those not eating breakfast also had 26 percent higher fasting insulin levels, and slightly higher levels of HbA1c, glucose and urate levels. In other words, a high risk of diabetes.

All of these factors are related to diabetes. Higher levels of these occur coinciding with a lack of glucose control and spikes in blood sugar.

Fat mass and inflammation linked to no breakfast

The research also found that kids who didn’t eat breakfast had an average fat mass index of 2.26 while the breakfast eaters had 2.00 kg/m-5.

The breakfast eaters also had lower levels of C-reactive protein, at .48 mg/L, compared to .68 mg/L among the no-breakfast eaters.

In addition, cholesterol levels and systolic blood pressure levels were all slightly better among the breakfast eaters compared with the no-breakfast eaters.

Furthermore, these markers decreased as the frequency of breakfast decreased.

Fiber breakfast had the lowest risk of diabetes

The researchers also categorized and analyzed the types of breakfasts eaten, particularly with respect to fiber. The researchers divided the breakfasts into five categories:

– high fiber cereal breakfast (more than 3 grams per 40 grams of food)
– low fiber cereal (less than 3 grams/40 grams)
– bread breakfasts
– bisquit breakfasts
– other breakfasts (such as eggs, fruit and yogurts)

The researchers found that diabetes markers were all significantly better among those children who ate a high-fiber cereal, compared to the other types of breakfasts and compared to few or no-breakfast children. These included fat mass, insulin resistance, insulin levels, HbA1c levels, glucose levels, C-reactive protein and others.

The nutrition factor

At least part of the results may be due to nutrition in addition to fiber content of the breakfast. Those kids who didn’t eat breakfast all had significantly lower levels of important nutrients such as vitamin B12, calcium, iron and folate. This also relates to fiber because high-fiber foods also tend to contain greater levels of nutrients.

Breakfast also reduces diabetes risk in adults

This study confirms some of the other research that has found breakfasts to be healthier in general. A 2012 study from Harvard of 29,206 men found that skipping breakfast increased the risk of type 2 diabetes by 21 percent.

This study also tracked number of meals per day, and found that those eating three meals per day had significantly lower risk of diabetes than those eating two meals per day.

This becomes even more important as some research has found up to 40 percent of kids among certain ethnic groups do not eat breakfast. And breakfast-skipping seems to increase with age.

Scientific References

Donin AS, Nightingale CM, Owen CG, Rudnicka AR, Perkin MR, Jebb SA, Stephen AM, Sattar N, Cook DG, Whincup PH. Regular Breakfast Consumption and Type 2 Diabetes Risk Markers in 9- to 10-Year-Old Children in the Child Heart and Health Study in England (CHASE): A Cross-Sectional Analysis. PLoS Med. 2014 Sep 2;11(9):e1001703. doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1001703. eCollection 2014 Sep.

Mekary RA, Giovannucci E, Willett WC, van Dam RM, Hu FB. Eating patterns and type 2 diabetes risk in men: breakfast omission, eating frequency, and snacking. Am J Clin Nutr. 2012 May;95(5):1182-9. doi: 10.3945/ajcn.111.028209.

Harding S, Teyhan A, Maynard MJ, Cruickshank JK. Ethnic differences in overweight and obesity in early adolescence in the MRC DASH study: the role of adolescent and parental lifestyle. Int J Epidemiol. 2008 Feb;37(1):162-72. doi: 10.1093/ije/dym252

 

Noni Reduces Pain, Inflammation and Cholesterol

Multiple studies are confirming that the fruit and juice of Noni (Morinda citrifolia) can significantly reduce inflammation as well as cholesterol levels. Research also finds that noni provides pain relief that rivals the NSAID ibuprophen. It also boosts immunity.

Leafy Greens for Gut Immunity

Australian researchers have determined that green leafy and cruciferous vegetables stimulate the immune system of the intestines by donating a gene that regulates the gut’s defense mechanisms.

Burdock Herb Inhibits Cancer, Boosts Memory

New research has revealed that a central constituent of the traditional herb Greater Burdock (Arctium lappa L.) blocks cancer growth and boosts cognition and memory.

Burdock leaves are large and broad.