plantmedicine

 A tomato-rich diet may help protect at-risk postmenopausal women from breast cancer, according to new research accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's   Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. Breast cancer risk rises in postmenopausal women as their body mass index climbs. The study found eating a diet high in tomatoes had a positive effect on the level of hormones that play a role in regulating fat and sugar metabolism. "The advantages of eating plenty of tomatoes and tomato-based products, even for a short period, were clearly evident in our findings," said the study's first author, Adana Llanos, PhD, MPH, who is an Assistant Professor of Epidemiology at Rutgers University. Llanos completed the research while she was a postdoctoral fellow with Electra Paskett, PhD, at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center -- Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute. "Eating fruits and vegetabl...

 A diet rich in soy may help feminine hearts, but timing matters, finds a new study published online today in   Menopause , the journal of The North American Menopause Society. Life long soy consumption, similar to the diet of women in Asia, produces the least atherosclerosis. Switching to a Western diet after menopause, similar to Asian migrants to North America, leads to just as much atherosclerosis as a lifelong Western diet, and switching to soy from a Western diet after menopause helps only if there isn't much atherosclerosis already. Researchers at Wake Forest School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, NC, reached those conclusions based on their feeding study of cynomolgus monkeys before and after surgical menopause. They fed premenopausal monkeys a diet with protein derived mainly from animal sources or a diet with protein from high-isoflavone soybeans. After having their ovaries removed, mimicking human menopause, one group of monkeys continued to eat a soy d...

Eating five daily portions of fruit and vegetables is associated with a lower risk of death from any cause, particularly from cardiovascular disease, but beyond five portions appears to have no further effect, finds a new study. These results conflict with a recent study published in BMJ 's   Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health   suggesting that seven or more daily portions of fruits and vegetables were linked to lowest risk of death. There is growing evidence that increasing fruit and vegetable consumption is related to a lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease and cancer. However, the results are not entirely consistent. So a team of researchers based in China and the United States decided to examine the association between fruit and vegetable intake and risk of all-cause, cardiovascular, and cancer deaths. They analysed the results of sixteen studies involving a total of 833,234 participants and 56,423 deaths. Differences in study design an...

Many European studies have shown that saw palmetto improves symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), an enlargement of the prostate that causes uncomfortable urinary symptoms as men get older. Now the first American randomized clinical trial of saw palmetto shows that the plant also reduces swelling in enlarged prostate tissue. The study was published in the March issue of the peer-reviewed journal  Urology , followed by a presentation at the Annual Meeting of the American Urological Association in Dallas, Texas from May 1-6, 1999. The study was also chosen from among 1500 others as the feature article in the June issue of  Urology Times , a leading magazine for urologists. During the six-month double-blind, placebo-controlled study, researchers randomly assigned 44 men to take either 320 mg of saw palmetto and nettle root or placebo daily. The herbal treatment led to a modest reduction...

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia accounting for between 50 and 80 percent of all cases. Researchers are closer than ever to finding a cure, but sometimes prevention is the best medicine. ADVERTISEMENT There are some easy things you can do to prevent developing Alzheimer’s:  Add cinnamon to your diet – consuming a teaspoon of this spice has been shown to block the production of proteins in the brain that contribute to the onset of Alzheimer’s. Drink apple juice – it boosts the production of a chemical compound in the brain associated with learning, memory, mood and muscle movement. Drink coffee – it acts as an anti-inflammatory that can block cholesterol buildup in the brain. One large study showed that men and women who drank three to five cups of coffee a day reduced their chances of dementia by 65 percent. Socialize more – studies show that a busy social life can improve your cognitive abilities. Protect your vision – your eyes are...

The microbes living in the guts of males and females react differently to diet, even when the diets are identical, according to a study by scientists from The University of Texas at Austin and six other institutions published this week in the journal   Nature Communications .  These results suggest that therapies designed to improve human health and treat diseases through nutrition might need to be tailored for each sex. The researchers studied the gut microbes in two species of fish and in mice, and also conducted an in-depth analysis of data that other researchers collected on humans. They found that in fish and humans diet affected the microbiota of males and females differently. In some cases, different species of microbes would dominate, while in others, the diversity of bacteria would be higher in one sex than the other. These results suggest that any therapies designed to improve human health through diet should take into account whether the patient ...

Physical  inactivity has been linked with diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular disease, but it can also increase the risk of certain cancers, according to a study published June 16 in the   JNCI: Journal of the National Cancer Institute To assess the relationship between TV viewing time, recreational sitting time, occupational sitting time, and total sitting time with the risk of various cancers, Daniela Schmid, Ph.D., M.Sc., and Michael F. Leitzmann, M.D., Dr.P.H., of the Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, University of Regensburg, Germany, conducted a meta-analysis of 43 observational studies, including over 4 million individuals and 68,936 cancer cases. Data in the individual studies had been obtained with self-administered questionnaires and through interviews. When the highest levels of sedentary behavior were compared to the lowest, the researchers found a statistically significantly higher risk for three types of cancer -- colon, endometrial,...

Taking B vitamins doesn’t slow mental decline as we age, nor is it likely to prevent Alzheimer’s disease, conclude Oxford University researchers who have assembled all the best clinical trial data involving 22,000 people to offer a final answer on this debate. High levels in the blood of a compound called homocysteine have been found in people with Alzheimer’s disease, and people with higher levels of homocysteine have been shown to be at increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Taking folic acid and vitamin B-12 are known to lower levels of homocysteine in the body, so this gave rise to the ‘homocysteine hypothesis’ that taking B vitamins could reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. The new analysis was carried out by the B-Vitamin Treatment Trialists’ Collaboration, an international group of researchers led by the Clinical Trial Service Unit at the University of Oxford. The researchers brought together data from 11 randomised clinical trials involving 22,000 people which compa...

We know that happiness and social connection can have positive benefits on health. Now research suggests that having a sense of purpose or direction in life may also be beneficial. To find out if having a sense of purpose has an effect on aging and adult development Patrick  Hill, an assistant professor of psychology at Carleton University   in Ottawa, Canada, looked at data from the Midlife in the United States  study, which is funded by the National Institute on Aging. Hill and his colleague Nicholas Turiano   of the University of Rochester Medical Center  looked   to see how more than 6,000 people answered questions like "Some people wander aimlessly through life, but I am not one of them," and other questions that gauged positive and negative emotions. They found that 14 years after those questions were asked, people who had reported a greater sense of purpose and direction in life were more likely to outlive their peers In fact, people ...

Researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston have shown for the first time that people with higher levels of brown fat, or brown adipose tissue, in their bodies have better blood sugar control, higher insulin sensitivity and a better metabolism for burning fat stores. Their findings suggest that, because of the brown fat's ability to better regulate blood sugar, this could be a potential medical weapon against diabetes. "We showed that exposure to mild cold raised whole body energy expenditure, increased glucose removal from the circulation and improved insulin sensitivity in men who have significant amounts of brown adipose tissue depots," stated UTMB's Labros Sidossis, professor of Internal Medicine, Division of Geriatric Medicine. "These results support the notion that brown adipose tissue may function as an anti-obesity and anti-diabetic tissue in humans." People have two types of fat tissue in the...

People's emotional reactions and desires in initial romantic encounters determine the fate of a potential relationship. Responsiveness may be one of those initial "sparks" necessary to fuel sexual desire and land a second date. However, it may not be a desirable trait for both men and women on a first date. Does responsiveness increase sexual desire in the other person? Do men perceive responsive women as more attractive, and does the same hold true for women's perceptions of men? A study published in   Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin  seeks to answer those questions. Femininity and Attractiveness Researchers from the Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) Herzliya, the University of Rochester, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, collaborated on three studies to observe people's perceptions of responsiveness. People often say that they seek a partner that is "responsive to their needs," and that such a partner would arouse t...

 There are two new antimalarial plants , which is found to be effective in curing malaria From Brazil,  Caesalpinia pluviosa  (stem bark) ethanol extract was effective against the two main strains of the malaria parasite. It’s important that we continue to find new antimalarials because the parasite becomes resistant. The current main therapy is ACT (artemisinin-based combination treatment), introduced when the parasite became resistant to chloroquine, a quinine derivative. Now artemisinin resistance is becoming increasingly common and no new class of antimalarial has been introduced since 1996. The authors warn “the discovery of new potential anti-malarial compounds is urgently needed.” Caesalpinia  is a legume with numerous local medicinal uses, many of which have a rational basis. The plant is antiviral, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant. Apparently, it is also anti-malarial. In previous research, the crude extract proved inactive. Th...

Tamarind or Imli , is botanically known as Tamarindus Indicus, belongs to family leguminosae. It is a native of Africa, but is now grown in most tropical countries. It is found throughout India. The mineral and vitamin content of tamarind are calcium, phosphorus, iron, carotene, riboflavin, niacin, and vit. C. The pulp contains tartaric acid and other acids, sugars like invert and pectin. The ripe fruit or tamarind pulp is widely used in culinary preparations such as sambar, rasam, and chutney Fruits, seeds, leaves and flowers are used. MEDICINAL USES Indigestion- It is an effective remedy for indigestion, loss of appetite, and tastelessness. Rasam- a soup of tomato with tamarind pulp, coriander seeds, black pepper, curry leaves, ginger and garlic , either drink straight or with plain steamed rice Pulp of the ripe fruit is effective in the treatment of bilious vomiting, flatulence, and indigestion. It is also useful in constipation. An infusion of the pulp mixed in water...