Outstanding nutritional benefits help curb disease

Whether enjoyed in a pie, baked good, soup or simply straight-up, pumpkin is a delicious and nutrient rich addition to any diet. Check out the exceptional qualities of this familiar orange food:

Vitamin A – Alpha- and beta-carotene antioxidants are a class of carotenoids that convert into usable vitamin A within the body. Beta-carotene is anti-inflammatory and helps to reverse skin damage caused by the sun. Alpha-carotene hinders tumor growth, slows aging and protects against cataracts. Additionally, carotenoids reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and boost immunity.

Vitamin C – Vitamin C balances cholesterol levels, fights free radicals and encourages collagen production. It also fortifies the body against cancer and supports the immune system.

Magnesium – Loaded with magnesium, both pumpkin seeds and pulp supply this important mineral. Required for healthy teeth and bones along with proper immune and heart function, magnesium plays a crucial role in the body.

Vitamin E – As a key antioxidant, vitamin E contributes to healthy skin and offers protection against Alzheimer’s disease along with certain types of cancer. Pumpkin seeds supply vitamin E in a range of forms including alpha-tocopherol, gamma-tocopherol, delta-tocopherol, alpha-tocomonoenol and gamma-tocomonoenol.

Fiber – Pumpkin is an excellent source of fiber — containing five grams per half-cup serving. Adequate fiber intake helps to protect against heart disease, assists in weight loss, supports healthy digestion and balances blood sugar levels.

Pantothenic acid – Otherwise known as vitamin B5, this nutrient helps the body to manage stress and equalize hormones.

Potassium and Zinc – Pumpkin flesh is potassium-rich and promotes heart health by calming hypertension. Zinc supports the immune and reproductive systems — pumpkin seeds are a first-rate source.

L-tryptophan – Abundant in this feel-good amino acid, pumpkin prevents depression and encourages a bright outlook.

Pumpkin is also anti-parasitic and a natural diuretic. Additionally, kidney stones can be avoided by consuming five to ten grams of pumpkin seeds a day. And lets not forget about the high protein value of the seeds — seven grams per ounce.

With all these great virtues, what’s not to like? Mix pumpkin puree into yogurt or oatmeal, add to baked goods and soup, sprinkle the seeds onto salads or use in granola, instead of pine nuts, use pumpkin seeds for a unique pesto. As you can see, it’s easy to reap the health benefits of pumpkin each day — no need to wait for Thanksgiving.

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Their work was published recently in the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy a follow-up to the author’s previous research in Applied and Environmental Microbiology which conclusively demonstrated that garlic concentrate was effective in inhibiting the growth of C. jejuni bacteria.

Garlic is probably nature’s most potent food. It is one of the reasons people who eat the Mediterranean diet live such long healthy lives. Garlic is also a powerful performer in the research lab.

“This work is very exciting to me because it shows that this compound has the potential to reduce disease-causing bacteria in the environment and in our food supply,” said Xiaonan Lu, a postdoctoral researcher and lead author of the paper.

One of the most interesting of the recent findings is that garlic increases the overall antioxidant levels of the body. Scientifically known as Allium sativa, garlic has been famous throughout history for its ability to fight off viruses and bacteria. Louis Pasteur noted in 1858 that bacteria died when they were doused with garlic. From the Middle Ages on, garlic has been used to treat wounds, being ground or sliced and applied directly to wounds to inhibit the spread of infection. The Russians refer to garlic as Russian penicillin.

“This is the first step in developing or thinking about new intervention strategies,” saif Michael Konkel, a co-author who has been researching Campylobacter jejuni for 25 years.

“Campylobacter is simply the most common bacterial cause of food-borne illness in the United States and probably the world,” Konkel said. Some 2.4 million Americans are affected every year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with symptoms including diarrhea, cramping, abdominal pain and fever.

The bacteria also are responsible for triggering nearly one-third of the cases of a rare paralyzing disorder known as Guillain-Barre syndrome.

Diallyl disulfide is an organosulfur compound derived from garlic and a few other genus Allium plants. It is produced during the decomposition of allicin, which is released upon crushing garlic

Lu and his colleagues looked at the ability of diallyl sulfide to kill the bacterium when it is protected by a slimy biofilm that makes it 1,000 times more resistant to antibiotics than the free floating bacterial cell. They found the compound can easily penetrate the protective biofilm and kill bacterial cells by combining with a sulfur-containing enzyme, subsequently changing the enzyme’s function and effectively shutting down cell metabolism.

The researchers found the diallyl sulfide was as effective as 100 times as much of the antibiotics erythromycin and ciprofloxacin and often would work in a fraction of the time.

Two previous works published last year by Lu and WSU colleagues in Applied and Environmental Microbiology and Analytical Chemistry found diallyl sulfide and other organosulfur compounds effectively kill important food-borne pathogens, such as Listeria monocytogenes and Escherichia coli O157:H7.

“Diallyl sulfide may be useful in reducing the levels of the Campylobacterin the environment and to clean industrial food processing equipment, as the bacterium is found in a biofilm in both settings,” Konkel said.

“Diallyl sulfide could make many foods safer to eat,” said Barbara Rasco, a co-author on all three recent papers and Lu’s advisor for his doctorate in food science. “It can be used to clean food preparation surfaces and as a preservative in packaged foods like potato and pasta salads, coleslaw and deli meats.”

“This would not only extend shelf life but it would also reduce the growth of potentially bad bacteria,” she said.

The natural substance could also be derived without artificially introducing harmful chemicals to disruptive its disease-reducing abilities.

Ironically, many researchers think that antibiotics may be just one of several factors that contribute to intestinal blockage in young children.

(Source)

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Elderberry Syrup

Take a tablespoon daily to ward off illness and a teaspoon every 2-3 hours while sick. For children under 2, add the syrup to hot water to kill any microbes in the honey. You can even drizzle the delicious syrup over pancakes, yogurt, or ice cream!

Elderberry Syrup Recipe

– 1 cup fresh or 1/2 cup dried organic Elderberries (harvest blue or black, avoid poisonous reds)

– 3 cups water

– 1 cup raw local honey

– 1 organic Cinnamon stick, 3 organic Cloves, and organic Ginger (optional)

Place berries, water, and spices in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes. Smash the berries to release remaining juice and strain the mixture. Allow liquid to cool and stir in honey. Will last for 2-3 months stored in the fridge.

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It’s All In The Grape

For centuries, wine has been credited for a myriad of health benefits, however little is said about primary constituent. Consuming grapes protect against high blood pressure, ultraviolet radiation, heart disease, cancer, diabetes, alzheimer’s and even disables viruses. New research shows that grapes may also help protect against organ damage associated with the progression of metabolic syndrome.

The grape polyphenol powerhouse resveratrol, has been erroneously credited to the wine industry for years to further promote red wines around the world as healthy and even anti-aging beverages. However, the consumption of wine is not necessary to benefit from resveratrol–all you need are grapes and their seeds.

Compounds found in grapes help to protect skin cells from the sun’s ultraviolet radiation.

Grapes also have anti-fungal agents that help prevent cancer.

Resveratrol is believed to have an anti-aging effect as it boosts activity of a protein called SIRT.

Rats fed resveratrol do not develop insulin resistance or a loss of bone mineral density, as those who were not fed resveratrol.

The potential health benefits of resveratrol may be due to its ability to activate the powerful fat controlling hormone adiponectin.

Intake of grape seeds or grape seed extracts can also reduce blood pressure and protect against obesity-induced organ damage caused by high-fat diets.

In a study, led by investigator E. Mitchell Seymour, Ph.D., of the University of Michigan Health System, studied the effects of a high fat, American-style diet both with added grapes and without grapes (the control diet) on the heart, liver, kidneys, and fat tissue in obesity-prone rats. The grapes — a blend of red, green and black varieties — were provided as a freeze-dried grape powder and integrated into the animals’ diets for 90 days.

Specifically, the results showed that three months of a grape-enriched diet significantly reduced inflammatory markers throughout the body, but most significantly in the liver and in abdominal fat tissue. Consuming grapes also reduced liver, kidney and abdominal fat weight, compared with those consuming the control diet. Additionally, grape intake increased markers of antioxidant defense, particularly in the liver and kidneys.

Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of conditions that occur together — increased blood pressure, a high blood sugar level, excess body fat around the waist or low HDL (the good cholesterol) and increased blood triglycerides — significantly increasing the risk for heart disease, stroke and Type 2 diabetes. Intake of fruits and vegetables is thought to reduce these risks, and grapes have shown benefits in multiple studies. Metabolic syndrome is a major public health concern, and is on the rise in the U.S.

“Our study suggests that a grape-enriched diet may play a critical role in protecting against metabolic syndrome and the toll it takes on the body and its organs,” said Seymour. “Both inflammation and oxidative stress play a role in cardiovascular disease progression and organ dysfunction in Type 2 diabetes. Grape intake impacted both of these components in several tissues which is a very promising finding.”

This work extends and reinforces the findings of Seymour’s previously published research which demonstrated that a grape-enriched diet reduced risk factors for heart disease and diabetes in obesity-prone rats.

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