10 Common Habits That Damage the Kidneys

Kidney disease is one of the costliest illnesses in the world and managing kidney disease is very expensive.
Each year, lots of people die of kidney disease all over the world, and the number of people suffering from chronic renal failure, and need dialysis or kidney transplantation to stay alive keep increasing.
Statistics have it that, worldwide, more than millions patients are waiting for kidney transplants, but only a few thousands will receive transplants because of shortage of suitable organ donors.
Patients usually felt surprised when they are diagnosed of Kidney Failure.
Experts have found the explanation from your daily life habits.
Here are the top habits which lead to your kidney failure:
1. Not emptying your bladder early:
Maintaining a full bladder for a long time is a quick way of causing bladder damage. That the urine stays in the bladder for a long time can cause the bacteria breeding in urine to multiply quickly. Once the urine refluxes back to ureter and kidneys, the bacteria can result in kidney infections, then urinary tract infection, and then nephritis, even Uremia.
So, no matter how busy you are, remember to drink a lot of water and urinate regularly. Once you form the habit of holding back urine, it will ultimately damage your kidneys.
2. Not drinking enough water:
The main functions of the kidneys are to regulate erythrocyte balances and eliminate metabolic wastes in urine. If we do not drink enough water, the blood will be concentrated and the blood flow to the kidney will not be adequate, thus the function of eliminating toxins in from blood will be impaired.
3. Taking too much salt:
95% sodium we consume through food is metabolized by the kidneys. Exceeding the salt intake will make the kidneys work harder to excrete the excess salt and can lead to decreased kidney function. This excess sodium will cause water retention, causing edema. Edema usually elevates blood pressure and increases the risk of developing kidney disease. The daily salt intake should be controlled within 6g per day.
4. Not treating common infections quickly and properly:
Common infections, such as pharyngitis, tonsillitis, common cold etc, usually triggers or aggravates kidney damage. They do this by causing an acute attack of acute glomerulonephritis or chronic nephritis. So, you will see that people who get kidney disease for the first time or whose illness condition becomes worse usually present in hospitals with a history of cold or sore throat.
If after having cold, symptoms like blood in urine, swelling, headache, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, poor appetite appear, you should consult your doctor immediately, to assess your kidney functions, and start treatment if compromised.
5. Eating too much meat:
Eating too much meat and protein can increase the metabolic load of the kidney. For those suffering from proteinuria, meat consumption too may aggravate protein leakage, worsening renal pathological lesion.
It is suggested that protein intake should be 0.8g/kg per day. This means that a person with 50 kg should consume 40g of protein per day. Meat consumption per day should be limited within 300g.
6. Not eating enough:
This is equally as dangerous as eating too much, both of them will lead damages to your digestive organs where is full of mucosal tissues. Mucosal tissues relates closely to your immune system. This is why many kidney failure patients are diagnosed with “autoimmune kidney damages”.
7. Painkiller abuse:
The use of analgesics for a prolonged duration may reduce the flow blood and greatly affect kidney function. In addition, patients with analgesic-induced renal failure are more likely to suffer from bladder cancer.
>> Use analgesics only when it’s absolutely necessary, learn to rest instead of taking to the bottles. If you have been on pain killers for a long term, it’s about time you had a test to access you renal function done.
8. Missing your drugs:
Hypertension and diabetes have been shown to precipitate or accelerate kidney damage, so if you are diagnosed as having any of these disease don’t live your life in denial, USE YOUR DRUGS.
This will ultimately help control your condition while also helping to preserve your kidneys.
9. Drinking too much alcohol:
Drinking alcohol without limitation may cause the deposition of uric acid in renal tubules, causing tubular obstruction and increasing risks of kidney failure.
10. Not resting enough:
In our society, hypertension as a severe threat to life is largely due to stress. A common symptom of stress is insomnia. Blood pressure may increase by an average of 2-5mg/Hg because of insomnia. Chronically elevated blood pressure can cause damage to kidney capillaries giving rise to kidney problems. Thus, we need to develop a good attitude to life and strike a good balance between work and rest to protect your kidneys and live a healthy life.
At the early stage of kidney diseases, there are usually no the special symptoms, so lots of patients are not diagnosed until the acute attack appears or the illness condition develops into the late stage. So you should endeavor to do kidney function test from time to time to assess how healthy your kidneys are.
Never ignore the soreness of waist, swelling of the feet, changes in urine color or volume, increase in night urination, palor, high blood pressure and other such symptoms. Once found, you should go and see your doctor immediately. 

Learn How to Make Cultured Veggies at Home to Boost Your Immune System

By Dr. Mercola

Your digestive tract is probably the most underappreciated system of your body, often ignored until its screams of discontent become loud enough to grab your attention.
By the time your gut reaches this degree of disgruntlement, the problems have usually been developing for months — or years — and are challenging to resolve.
Instead of waiting for obvious signs of a problem, why not perform some regular “gut maintenance” that will lessen your chances of developing a problem in the first place?
Your gut is much more than a food processing tube — it houses about 85 percent of your immune system. This is in large part due to the 100 trillion bacteria that live there, both good and bad that can stimulate secretory IgA to nourish your immune response.
When your GI tract is not working well, a wide range of health problems can appear, including allergies and autoimmune diseases. If you suffer from any major illness, you simply will NOT be able to fully recuperate without healing and sealing your gut. Balancing the menagerie of microorganisms that occupy your GI tract is a key part of maintaining your immune health, which will be the focus of this article.
Your stomach is where digestion really gets rolling, with the introduction of more enzymes and a whole lot of acid. Fortunately, your stomach is uniquely designed for this process, as it is SO acidic. Its lining must actually regenerate at a feverish pace — just to keep up with the continuous digestion of itself! You require a brand new stomach lining every few days.

Your Stomach Actually Protects You from Infections

A recent article in Scientific American¹ explores an alternate explanation about how your stomach works. The “sieve hypothesis” suggests your stomach may operate as a sieve or filter, preventing some of the more harmful microbes from passing through to your small intestine. Evidence for this is not new. It comes from a 1948 study by Dr. Orla-Jensen, a retired professor from the Royal Danish Technical College — a study that has essentially been “lost” in the literature for more than 60 years.
The professor argued that your stomach uses acid to kill pathogenic disease causing bacteria, fungi, viruses, worms and protozoa, while allowing the more beneficial microbes (which are acid-tolerant) to pass through. If your stomach is unsuccessful at killing these pathogens, then they can dominate your intestines, damaging and eroding your intestinal walls and causing illness.
Your stomach generally becomes less acidic as you age, particularly after age 70. In his study, Orla-Jensen compared the gut bacteria of young people with that of healthy seniors, as well as with seniors suffering from dementia. He found that as people age, they have a greater proportion of pathogenic microbes to beneficial microbes in their intestinal tracts. This was particularly pronounced in seniors with dementia... which begs the question about whether dementia could actually be caused by an “intestinal infection.”
A study done at UC Davis found that E. coli and salmonella bacteria in mice produce fiber-like structures very similar to the inflammatory brain plaques seen in people with Alzheimer’s disease². Your brain is shaped by bacteria in your digestive tract. Bacteria in your gut actually control how your brain cells express specific genes.³ Other studies report that disturbed gut flora in seniors contributes to accelerated aging, frailty and premature death.
More research is needed in order to understand the exact relationship between dysbiosis and dementia. But at the very least, these studies underscore the importance of maintaining high levels of beneficial bacteria in your intestinal tract. In fact, this bacterial community may be in charge of your entire metabolism.

Unhappy Gut Bacteria May Make You Fat

Inflammation from bacterial endotoxins may be a factor helping to drive the obesity epidemic.⁴ Junk food causes nasty microbes to bloom and friendly bugs to decline, just as sugar and refined carbohydrates feed the bacteria in your mouth that are responsible for tooth decay. Sugar and processed foods make your “friendly” microbe community unfriendly — even downright hostile. Humans today have lost the microbial diversity that once kept us healthy.
When dysbiosis occurs, bacteria release noxious byproducts called endotoxins. Endotoxins increase the permeability of your gut wall (“leaky gut syndrome”) and make their way into your bloodstream, triggering system wide inflammation. It’s been shown that the hypothalamus, which houses the appetite control center of your brain, is often inflamed and damaged in obese individuals. When inflammation affects your brain, and especially your hypothalamus, your entire metabolism changes.
So, here’s how it goes...
When you consume junk foods, certain bacteria flourish and produce endotoxins, which your immune system detects and, interpreting these endotoxins as an attack, responds with inflammation. Your body changes its metabolism to redirect energy for “battle.” The result is overproduction of insulin, increased fat storage, dampening of your appetite control signals, and eventually obesity. The best way to reverse this inflammation and restore a healthy metabolism is by eliminating excess sugar and processed food, and adding more friendly, beneficial bacteria from naturally fermented foods.

Cultured Vegetables are the Ultimate Superfood

One of the leading experts in the optimization of intestinal flora is Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride, who developed the GAPS nutritional protocol (Gut and Psychology Syndrome/Gut and Physiology Syndrome). For decades, Dr. McBride has successfully treated adults and children with severe illnesses, including autism, epilepsy, mood disorders, arthritis, multiple sclerosis, celiac disease and many more, with her GAPS protocol.
A key component of the GAPS program is the daily consumption of fermented foods. Fermented foods are potent chelators (detoxifiers) and contain much higher levels of probiotics than probiotic supplements, making them ideal for optimizing your gut flora. In addition to helping break down and eliminate heavy metals and other toxins from your body, beneficial gut bacteria perform a number of surprising functions, including:

• Mineral absorption, and producing nutrients such as B vitamins and vitamin K2 (vitamin K2 and vitamin D are necessary for integrating calcium into your bones and keeping it out of your arteries, thereby reducing your risk for coronary artery disease and stroke⁵)
• Preventing obesity and diabetes, and regulating dietary fat absorption
• Lowering your risk for cancer
• Improving your mood and mental health
• Preventing acne

Now that you understand the importance of optimizing your GI flora, let’s take a look at just how easy it is to accomplish this task by making fermented vegetables at home, in your own kitchen. If you aren’t accustomed to these foods, you may have to work them into your diet gradually. Many folks really enjoy the taste of fermented vegetables, which really have a pleasantly salty-tart flavor.
According to nutritional consultant Caroline Barringer, just one quarter to one half cup of fermented veggies, eaten with one to three meals per day, can have a dramatically beneficial impact on your health.
If you’ve never eaten fermented foods, too large a portion may provoke a healing crisis, which occurs when the probiotics kill off pathogens in your gut. When these pathogens die, they release potent toxins. If you are new to fermented foods, you should introduce them gradually, beginning with as little as one teaspoon of sauerkraut with a meal. Observe your reactions for a couple of days before proceeding with another small portion, and increase your dose gradually, as tolerated.
Realize that many food preferences develop very early in life, so the sooner you can introduce fermented vegetables to your child, the better. Traces of the flavors of the foods mothers eat are perceptible in their breast milk and amniotic fluid. Babies whose mothers eat things like garlic or broccoli while pregnant tend to be more likely to enjoy these foods later in life.

Making Cultured Veggies at Home: Equipment Checklist

Culturing your own vegetables is not difficult, but as with anything, having the right tools makes the job much easier and more fun. I have spent the last six months streamlining the process and refining my basic recipe. One of the key ingredients though is the starter culture. We are in the middle of a very extensive testing process to provide a culture that will give you large amounts of vitamin K2 in your fermented vegetables. We hope to have that available later this year if all goes well. In the meantime you can use the following kitchen tools to make your own fermented vegetables:

1. Food Processor: You’ll be cutting up large quantities of raw vegetables, which is very labor intensive without a food processor. Make sure yours has a shredding disc, as a typical S-blade will result in too fine a chop, which makes for a pulpier, mushier end product.
2. Juicer: My own experimentation has resulted in selecting celery juice as the basic brine for my cultured veggies, making a juicer necessary.
3. Good Knives: Make sure you have a set of good quality, sharp knives for prepping your vegetables.
4. Cutting Board: A large, sturdy cutting board is a must.
5. Very Large Bowl: This bowl should be large enough to hold the entire batch of shredded veggies, so a large capacity stainless bowl is a necessity.
6. Canning Jars: Basic wide-mouthed 32-ounce Mason jars are all that is necessary for both fermenting and storing the vegetables. These are inexpensive and easy to find at your local hardware store, grocery, or online. Make sure they are wide-mouthed, as you’ll need to get your hand or a tool down into the jar for tightly packing the veggies.
7. Krautpounder: This solid wood tool that looks like a small baseball bat is very handy for tightly packing the shredded veggies into your jars and eliminating air pockets.

Making Cultured Veggies at Home in Six Easy Steps

The following are the basic steps to making wonderful cultured vegetables at home. For additional information, refer to our previous article on this topic.

1. Vegetable and Herb Selection: The first step is gathering up your veggies. Make sure they are all organic. Cabbage (red or green) should be the “backbone” of your blend, comprising about 80 percent (I use green.) Choose dense, tightly packed heads. Five or six medium-sized cabbages will yield 10 to 14 quart jars of fermented vegetables. Remember to reserve some cabbage leaves for the jar tops (see Step 3).
Add in hard root vegetables of your liking, such as carrots, golden beets, radishes and turnips. Peel your veggies as the skins can impart a bitter flavor. I also enjoy adding red bell pepper, granny smith apples, and even a hot pepper, like a habanero (make sure you wear gloves!). One pepper for the entire batch is plenty.
Aromatics can be added in small quantities — a little goes a long way, as fermenting concentrates the pungent flavors. Tasty additions include peeled garlic, peeled ginger, and herbs such as basil, sage, rosemary, thyme, or oregano. Onions tend to overpower the mix, no matter how little are used, so I avoid them.
Finally, you can add sea vegetables or seaweed to increase the mineral, vitamin, and fiber content. You can add pieces of whole dulse, or use flakes. Wakame and sea palm do not have any kind of fishy flavor but need to be presoaked and diced into the desired size. Arame and hijaki DO have a fishy flavor.

2. Culture and Brine: For your brine, I recommend using a starter culture dissolved in celery juice. One quart of celery juice is adequate for 10 to 14 quarts of fermented veggies. While you can do wild fermentation (allowing whatever is naturally on the vegetable to take hold), this method is more time consuming, and the end product is less certain. Inoculating the food with a starter culture speeds up the fermentation process. I currently recommend using two of our Complete Probiotics as the starter culture until we get our refined version which will make more vitamin K2. As I said above we are in the middle of a very extensive testing process to provide a culture that will give you large amounts of vitamin K2 in your fermented vegetables and we hope to have that available later this year if all goes well.
3. Packing the Jars: Once you have your shredded veggies and brine mixture combined in your large bowl, tightly pack the mixture into each Mason jar, and compress using a masher to remove any air pockets. Top with a cabbage leaf, tucking it down the sides. Make sure the veggies are completely covered with brine and that the brine is all the way to the top of the jar, to eliminate trapped air. Put the lids on the jars loosely, as they will expand due to the gases produced in fermentation.
4. Fermentation: Allow the jars to sit in a relatively warm place for several days, ideally around 72 degrees Fahrenheit. During the summer, veggies are typically done in three or four days. In the winter, they may need seven days. The only way to tell when they’re done is to open up a jar and have a taste. Once you're happy with the flavor and consistency, move the jars into your refrigerator.
5. Storage: Refrigerating your vegetables drastically slows down the fermentation. They will keep for many months this way, continuing to mature very slowly over time.
6. Enjoy! Always use a clean spoon to take out what you’re eating. Never eat out of the jar, as you will contaminate the entire batch with bacteria from your mouth. Make sure the remaining veggies are covered with the brine solution before replacing the lid.

Exercise regularly for better health

 

• Exercise is a key factor of optimal health; it's particularly important for controlling your blood sugar and normalizing your insulin levels. When done correctly, exercise can oftentimes act as a substitute for some of the most common drugs used today for things like diabetes, heart disease and depression
• Compelling and ever-mounting research shows that the ideal form of exercise is short bursts of high intensity exercise
• Not only does it beat conventional cardio as the most effective and efficient form of exercise, Peak Fitness exercises also provide health benefits you simply cannot get from regular aerobics, such as a tremendous boost in human growth hormone (HGH), aka the “fitness hormone”
• A recent article by the Human Performance Institute shows how you can fulfill the requirements for a high intensity exercise using nothing more than your own body weight, a chair, and a wall

10 ways to protect your kidneys

1. Limit your salt intake

Too much salt is not only bad for your blood pressure, it's also bad for your kidneys. Many die of kidney disease, which can be partly attributed to a high salt intake and fondness fo! r fish sauce, soy sauce, plain salt and salted fish. Even inst! ant nood les, chips and nuts are teeming with salt. The problem with salt is that it encourages the body to retain water, and can increase your blood pressure (which damages the kidneys).
2. Don't load up on high protein foods such as meat and steaks

A high protein diet makes the kidneys work twice as hard. Pretty soon, your kidneys could get tired and some of the weaker kidney cells can die. A friendly reminder to people on a high-protein Atkin's Diet or South Beach Diet. The time-tested doctor's advice of moderation in everything will serve you well. Eat a balanced diet of rice, vegetables, fish and fruits and you can't go wrong.
3. Keep your blood pressure at 130/80 or lower !

If your blood pressure is above 140 over 90, this can cause kidney damage within five years. The kidneys are said to be "happiest" with a blood pressure of 130/80 or lower. To help control your blood pressure, you should limit your salt intake, reduce weight and take medicines for high blood pressure, if needed.
4. Keep your blood sugar below 120 mg/dl
Diabetes and high blood pressure are the two leading causes of kidney failure. A person with uncontrolled diabetes for 5-10 years may develop significant kidney damage. Consult your doctor and keep your blood sugar under control with diet, exercise and maintenance medicines.

5. Drink 8 glasses of water a day

Doctors usually advise people to take in 8 glasses of water a day, but this really depends on your age and condition. If you're sweating a lot and work outdoors, you may need to drink more than 8 glasses a day. However, if you are above 65 years of age, you may do well with just 6 glasses a day. Drinking enough water also prevents the formation of kidney stones.
6. Watch your intake of pain relievers and other drugs

Taking pain relievers like mefenamic acid, ibuprofen and the coxibs (like celecoxib) for a prolonged period of time may cause kidney damage. Because of this, we should limit taking these medicines to only a week, or just take th! em as needed. For those with chronic arthritis, try to look for other ways to relieve the pain such as using a hot water bag, pain reliever ointments, or the safer paracetamol tablet.
7. Be careful with tests and procedures using contrast dyes

Some tests, like CT Scans and MRIs, and angiograms, use a contrast dye which helps doctors delineate the organs better. The problem with such dyes is that they can cause kidney damage. To be safe, I would strongly advise you to consult a kidney specialist before undergoing such procedures.
8. Don't drink too much Vitamin C
Excess vitamin C (ascorbic acid) ! can lead to the formation of kidney stones in predisposed indi! viduals. If you need to take vitamin C, a dose of 500 mg or less is safer.

9. Don't rely on food supplements to protect your kidneys

The above tips are so far the best tips to care for the kidneys.
10. Get a kidney check-up

Simple tests, such as a complete blood count, BUN and creatinin, and a urine analysis are the first screening tests for the kidneys. Finding a trace of protein in the urine can alert the doctor of possible kidney disease.Bottomline is: Kidney diseases are expensive and difficult to treat. Let's take the necessary steps to protect our kidneys today.

Coffee can do lots of good to our health. Yes, but what is a good coffee?

Even if you might not be a coffee aficionado, knowing what to expect from a good cup of coffee will certainly enhance your coffee experience. Here are 5 of our favourite tips on how to judge a cup of coffee.
The 10 second rule

The big coffee machine that produces shots of thick black coffee that gets poured into your coffee base is called an espresso machine. Espresso is made from a blend of coffees brewed under great pressure, using a large amount of coffee and a small amount of water. Espresso is dense and intense and is used as a base for most of your favourite coffee drinks like Lattes, Cappuccinos, Mochas and so on. Once an Espresso shot has been brewed, it only lasts for 10 seconds if it is not poured straight into your drink. So if you are standing in line waiting for your Latte and you see that the Barista has left your espresso shot for a long time after it is brewed and then pours it into your coffee, demand a fresh one. An expired espresso shot is definitely not worth paying for.
The Scent

A good cup of coffee gives a pleasant, satisfying scent, so trust your nose when it comes to assessing your cup of coffee. If you detect a slightly burnt, onion-y or a somewhat vegetable-y scent, that means it’s probably badly brewed coffee, or has been sitting on a burner all day.
The Taste

Good coffee should always have an underlying sweetness to it. This comes from the coffee cherry’s ripeness. If your coffee tastes salty instead, that’s a bad sign. Processing defects usually causes salty tasting coffee.
The Roast


The jury is out on this one, some prefer light, some medium while some argue that coffee is not really coffee unless it is dark roasted coffee. Whatever your preference, it should never taste burnt. If you detect a burnt quality in your coffee, it may be a bad roast.
The Texture

A good cup of coffee is always rich and a little thick, never watery. It is full-bodied and satisfying down to the last drop. The last lingering taste that you should experience is a smooth, sweet aftertaste.
Know Your Coffee Lingo

Ever wanted to order more than a just a cappuccino but stumped by all the Italian coffee names? Here’s a short list to help you keep your cool the next time you find yourself at a coffee chain counter.
Affogato (means “drowned”): Espresso served over ice-cream, or gelato, usually vanilla
Americano (means “American”): Espresso and hot water, basically strong black coffee.
Cappuccino (named after the resemblance of the frothy top to the hoods of the Italian Catholic Capuchin monks): Traditionally, one-third espresso, one-third steamed milk, and one-third milk foam. Sometimes topped (upon request) with a light dusting of cocoa powder.
Doppio (means “Double”): A double shot of espresso.
Espresso con Panna (means “espresso with cream”): Espresso with whipped cream on top.
Latte (means “milk”): This term is an abbreviation of “caffellatte” (or “caffè e latte”), coffee with milk. An espresso based drink with a volume of steamed milk, served with a thin layer of foam.
 
Latte macchiato (means “stained milk”): Essentially an inverted cafè latte, with the espresso poured on top of the milk.
Mocha (named ‘Mocha’ because it is associated with the original Mocha bean that had a “chocolate-y taste): Normally, a latte blended with chocolate.
Frappe (means “milkshake”): Usually called Frappacino – as in “Coffee Milkshake” – A shot of Espresso mixed with chocolate or other ingredients and blended with ice.

Benefits of coffee are many.

1. With regular drinking of coffee  ( 2 cups a day) it can keep Parkinson's  disease and dementia (type 2 diabetes) at bay.
2. Coffee drinking can also ward off cancer and strokes
3. It can reduced risk of Alzeimer's disease.
4. It acts an antioxidant
5. Offers some protection to liver
6. It is antidiabetic
and many more

So drink coffee and enjoy the benefits.

SWEET POTATO

SWEET POTATO

Did you know that SWEET POTATO (kamote) far exceeds the nutrition and health values of rice? Here are the benefits of substituting rice with kamote:

1.    Sweet potato is more filling and suppresses hunger pangs longer. It is also cheaper than rice.

2.    Unlike rice, it is  easy to grow. It grows in backyards with or without fertilizers. Local government executives can provide their poor communities with idle government land for planting kamote which the entire community can share.

3.    Unlike rice which needs to be eaten with a dish, Sweet Potato tastes good and can be eaten by itself. Thus, substituting rice with sweet potato saves money for other needs.

4.    Rice cannot match the nutritional values of potato. Because rice converts to sugar in the body, the Philippines registers as a top producer of diabetics in the world.The poor tends to load up on rice and less on the dish which are more expensive. That makes them vulnerable to diabetes, an ailment known in developed countries as a rich man's disease.

5.    The nutritional values of a 3 oz. baked sweet potato are: calories 90, fat 0 g, saturated fat 0 g, cholesterol 0 mg, carbohydrate 21 g, protein 2 g, dietary fiber 3 g, sodium 36 mg, vitamin A 19,218 IU, folic acid 6 micrograms, pantothenic acid 1 mg, vitamin B6

6.    Too much rice consumption can make you sick, but sweet potato(kamote) can bring you to health and keep away some health problems. These have been proved medically.
In a medical documentary I watched recently on KBS World (the South Korean TV Network), I was awed by the results of the research the Koreans conducted on the nutritional and medicinal benefits of kamote (which they refer to as sweet potato).

In that Korean medical documentary I watched (which I followed through the English subtitles), they presented the research findings on people with established health problems who were placed on a kamote/sweet potato diet.

Believe it or not - Sweet Potato (kamote) lowers hypertension, bad cholesterol and even blood sugar when eaten as SUBSTITUTE TO RICE! The purple sweet potato (kamote) is particularly effective for lowering hypertension.
   
Not only that, the Korean medical documentary credits the sweet potato (kamote) as high fiber and is one of the best foods that one can eat to prevent cancer!

For those who are only impressed by US doctors, read this: the North Carolina Stroke Association, American Cancer Society, and the American Heart Association have all endorsed the sweet potato for its disease prevention and healing qualities.

The Americans, the South Koreans - both progressive nations - have raised the kamote to a high pedestal. Many of them even call the sweet Potato a "super food that heals."

Chinese mushrooms

Chinese mushrooms

I was in China recently and we went to a few "mushrooms steamboat " restaurants where we can select all different kinds of mushrooms to put into our steamboat. It was very good. The waiters in ALL such restaurants told us NOT to eat until the soup has been boiling for at least 12 to 15 mins. In the first restaurant, we were very hungry , so we didnt bother to wait for 12 mins and started to dish out our mushrooms from the steamboat when the waiter ran over quickly to our table to stop us from eating. Every restuarant gave us very stern warning that we CANNOT eat until it is 15 mins of continuous boiling. Apparently, they had to kill all the bacteria in the mushrooms. I was thinking maybe it is toxic. Sulfide 硫化氫has potential to cause allergies, mostly asthmatic. 10% of asthma cases are cause by an allergy to sulfides. It is a preservative, but strictly regulated. It has been found that Mushrooms from China contain carbon disulfide二硫化碳 in them. Carbon disulfide is a pesticide/fungicide with acceptable/legal residue levels defined for fresh/dried foods. Always discard the soak liquid and do not use it in the cooking process. China's regulations are questionable. Most of the mushrooms on the market are from China, and are contaminated with chemicals which are soluble in water. Discard the water that you soak the dried mushrooms in to soften. According to Mr. L.W. Chan of the Health Department (USA), most mushrooms are smuggled into the country from China. The recent opening of traffic between China and Taiwan made it difficult for the government to control these illegal activities. It is better to use Taiwanese mushrooms or Japanese Shiitake Mushrooms. Soak them in water before cooking and the water used to soak the mushrooms must be thrown away. Mr. Chan continued to say that it is customary and a common practice for people to cook the mushrooms with the water saved from soaking. This habit should stop, because most fertilizers used in farming are water soluble. According to tests in the past, it was known that mushrooms were contaminated by fertilizer.

Mushrooms contain sulfur and when mixed in with fertilizer, carbonate tests showed a 20% higher reading on carbon disulfide which made it difficult to obtain a reliable reading on results.

Alcohol may ward off certain cancer.

By Larissa Long,

For those who love to enjoy a glass of wine with dinner or a cold beer while watching a football game, even more good news has recently come out about the health benefits of light-to-moderate alcohol consumption.
By now, it’s a pretty well known fact that red wine has properties that make it heart-healthy. Specifically, it contains an antioxidant called resveratrol that helps protect against heart disease and atherosclerosis.
More recently, research has come out touting alcohol’s ability to protect the kidneys against cancer. This conclusion was reached after researchers conducted a meta-analysis of 24 studies that examined alcoholic beverage intake and its influence on kidney and renal cell cancers.[1]
After analyzing the data obtained in these 24 studies, researchers found a common thread — those who drank alcohol showed a decreased risk of renal cell cancer. Best results were obtained with the consumption of about 15 grams (about 1/8 cup) of alcohol per day.
Interestingly, they noted that all three major types of alcohol — beer, wine and liquor — significantly lowered the risk of renal cell cancer, suggesting that ethanol was likely the cause of these benefits. Furthermore, factors like gender, smoking status and hypertension didn’t seem to change the results.

How Does Alcohol Protect the Kidneys?

Researchers believe alcohol’s effect on insulin sensitivity and kidney vasculature (the arrangement of blood vessels in the kidneys) has something to do with these amazing protective benefits.
Diabetes, obesity and insulin resistance are strong factors in the development of renal cell cancer, and some studies have shown that light-to-moderate alcohol intake can improve insulin sensitivity.
In addition, alcohol may increase “good” HDL cholesterol levels and decrease clotting in the blood vessels around the kidneys, providing further protection.

Moderation is Still — and Always Will Be — Key!

As exciting as these results are, keep in mind that 15 grams, or 1/8 cup — the amount found to be protective — is not a lot of alcohol. In fact, researchers emphasized that consuming more than 15 grams didn’t offer any additional benefit.
Plus, drinking alcohol in excess has been proven without a doubt to increase the risk of serious conditions like hypertension, stroke, and various forms of cancer like breast, colorectal, esophageal, oral, stomach and liver.
So, avoid falling into the “too much of a good thing” trap and stick to one glass of your favorite alcoholic beverage per day. Due to its heart-health-promoting characteristics, red wine will always be the best choice. But whatever you choose, raise that glass knowing that your kidneys may just be thanking you!

25 Simple Steps to Prevent Alzheimer's

25 Simple Steps to Prevent Alzheimer's

Alzheimer’s strikes fear in all of us. The thought of losing your mind as you grow older is terrifying and made worse by the fact that, before now, there appeared to be little we could do to slow down or avoid Alzheimer’s, the most common form of dementia.

However research has found a lot of factors that raise or diminish the risk of Alzheimer's disease. Following these tips, you could slash your chances of developing the disease:

1. Check out your ankle

Low blood flow in your foot is a clue to trouble in your brain and a simple test can reveal its cognitive state and your likelihood of stroke and dementia. The theory is blood vessel health is similar throughout the body. The degree of clogged arteries and blood flow in the feet can suggest atherosclerosis in cerebral blood vessels. Ask your doctor for an ankle-brachial index (ABI) test which involves an ultrasound device and a blood pressure cuff that compares blood pressure in your ankle with that in your arm. To remedy any impairment of blood flow your GP may advise stepped-up exercise or a change in diet/medication.

2. Anti-oxidant-rich foods

Certain foods infuse your brain with antioxidants that can slow memory decline and help prevent Alzheimer’s. All fruit and vegetables are good but top of the list are black raspberries, elderberries, raisins and blueberries.

3. Beware of bad fats

The type of fat you eat changes your brain’s functioning for better or worse. Stay away from saturated fats which strangle brain cells causing them to become inefficient. Buy low fat or fat-free dairy products including milk, cheese and ice cream. Cut down on deep-fried foods.

4. Grow a bigger brain

Your brain starts to shrink when you reach 30 or 40 so it takes longer to learn. However scientists now believe you can increase the size of your brain through the act of learning. Try studying, learning new things or broadening your circle of friends for stimulation.

5. Chocolate Treat

Cocoa, the main ingredient in chocolate, has sky-high concentrations of antioxidants called flavanols, which possess strong heart and brain-protecting properties. Drinking cocoa increases blood flow to the brain. Cocoa powder has twice as many flavanols as dark chocolate which has twice a many as milk chocolate. White chocolate has zero.

6. The oestrogen evidence

Sixty eight per cent of Alzheimer’s patients are women, possibly as midway through life they lose the protection of the hormone oestrogen which boosts memory. Unless your GP says otherwise, start taking oestrogen immediately at the time of menopause – starting any later risks dementia and strokes.

7. Raise good cholesterol

It’s well known that having high good-type HDL blood cholesterol protects you from heart disease. But it can also save your brain. Researchers claim it blocks sticky stuff that destroys brain cells and acts as an anti-inflammatory to lessen brain damage. Ways to ramp up good cholesterol include exercise, drinking moderate amounts of alcohol and losing weight.

8. Google something

Doing an internet search can stimulate ageing brains even more than reading a book.

And MRI scans show that savvy surfers have twice as many sparks of brain activity as novices. Go online to search for information, things to buy or games to play. Although it’s not known how much it will benefit your brain, it’s better than passive pursuits.

9. The ApoE4 gene

One in four of you reading this has a specific genetic time bomb that makes you three to 10 times more susceptible to developing late-onset Alzheimer’s. The gene is called apolipoprotein E4. If you inherit a single variant of ApoE4 from one parent, your Alzheimer’s risk triples. If you inherit a double dose from both parents, your risk rises by 10 times. Ask your doctor about a DNA test to reveal your ApoE4 genotype.

10. Say yes to coffee

Coffee is emerging as a tonic for the ageing brain. It is anti-inflammatory, helps block the ill effects of cholesterol in the brain and cuts the risks of stroke, depression and diabetes, all promoters of dementia. It is also high in antioxidants and caffeine which stop neuronal death and lessen diabetes, high blood pressure and strokes that bring on dementia. For most people, a moderate daily intake of coffee, two to four cups, won’t hurt and may help.

11. Dangers of underweight

Unexplained weight loss after age 60 or so may be a sign of Alzheimer’s. A study showed that women with the disease started losing weight at least 10 years before dementia was diagnosed. Among women of equal weight, those who went on to develop dementia slowly became thinner over three decades and, when diagnosed, weighed an average 12lb less that women who were free of Alzheimer’s. Talk to your doctor about unexplained weight loss after 60.

12. Drink wine

A daily glass of wine may help delay dementia. Research says that alcohol is an anti-inflammatory and raises good cholesterol which helps ward off dementia. High antioxidants in red wine give it additional anti-dementia clout. Such antioxidants act as artery relaxants, dilating blood vessels and increasing blood flow which encourages cognitive functioning.

13. Know the early signs

Memory problems are not the first clue. You may notice a decline in depth perception, for example you reach to pick up a glass of water and miss it. Or you misjudge the distance in walking across a street.

Doing a jigsaw puzzle or reading a map may also be confusing. Losing your sense of smell can also be an early clue, as well as asking the same question repeatedly or misplacing belongings in odd places (like putting keys in the fridge). Be aware of memory problems as the earlier the signs are spotted, the more successful lifestyle changes and medications are likely to be.

14. Mediterranean diet

The Mediterranean diet, no matter where you live, can help save your brain from memory deterioration and dementia. Studies consistently find that what the Greeks and Italians eat is truly brain food. Following this diet – rich in green leafy vegetables, fish, fruits, nuts, legumes, olive oil and a little vino – can cut your chances of Alzheimer’s by nearly half. Rather than depending on just one food or a few nutrients, it is a rich menu of many complex brain benefactors, including an array of antioxidants, which shield brain cells from oxidative damage.

15. Middle Age Obesity

Your brain cares if you are fat. A study showed obese people had 8% less brain tissue and overweight people had 4% less brain tissue than normal weight people, which according to one scientist hugely increases the risk of Alzheimer’s. Moreover, brain shrinkage

occurred in areas of the brain targeted by Alzheimer’s, and which are critical for planning, long term memory, attention and executive functions, and control of movement.

Tackle signs of rising weight early, when you are young or middle aged. Oddly, being obese after the age of 70 does not raise the risk of Alzheimer’s but that doesn’t mean you should neglect exercise as it is the best way of stimulating cognitive functioning and may delay the onset of Alzheimer’s at any age.

16. Get a good night’s sleep

A lack of sleep is toxic to brain cells. Sleep has surprising powers to protect your brain against memory loss and Alzheimer’s. It is a wonder drug that helps manipulate levels of the dreaded brain toxin peptide beta-amyloid, a prime instigator of Alzheimer’s, which according to one scientist puts you at accelerated risk. Research has also found that sleeping an average of five hours or less a night is linked to large increases in dangerous visceral abdominal fat, which can cause diabetes and obesity that can lead to Alzheimer’s. Take naps and seek treatment for sleep disorders.

17. Have a big social circle

Studying the brain of a highly sociable 90-year-old woman who died from Alzheimer’s, researchers in Chicago found that having a large social network provided her with strong “cognitive reserve” that enabled her brain to not realise she had Alzheimer’s. Why this happens is a mystery but interacting with friends and family seems to make the brain more efficient. It finds alternative routes of communication to bypass broken connections left by Alzheimer’s. So see friends and family often and expand your social network. The stronger the brain reserve you build through life, the more likely you are to stave off Alzheimer’s symptoms.

18. deal with stress

When you are under stress, your body pours out hormones called corticosteroids, which can save you in a crisis. But persistent stress reactions triggered by everyday events like work frustration, traffic and financial worries can be dangerous. Over time, it can destroy brain cells and suppress the growth of new ones, actually shrinking your brain. Sudden traumatic events like the death of a loved one or a life-changing event like retirement can leave a hangover of severe psychological stress that precedes dementia. Be aware that chronic stress can increase older people’s vulnerability to memory decline and dementia. Seek professional advice. Antidepressants, counselling, relaxation techniques and other forms of therapy may head off stress-related memory loss if treated early.

19. Take care of your teeth

Bad gums may poison your brain. People with tooth and gum disease tend to score lower in memory and  cognition tests, according to US dental researchers who found that infection responsible for gum disease gives off inflammatory byproducts that travel to areas of the brain involved in memory loss.

Consequently, brushing, flossing and preventing gum disease may help keep your gums and teeth healthy but also your memory sharper. In another study, older people with the most severe gingivitis – inflamed gums – were two to three times more likely to show signs of impaired memory and cognition than those with the least.

20. Get enough Vitamin B12

As you age, blood levels of vitamin B12 go down and the chance of Alzheimer’s goes up. Your ability to absorb it from foods diminishes in middle age, setting the stage for brain degeneration years later. Researchers at Oxford University found that a brain running low on B12 actually shrinks and a shortage can lead to brain atrophy by ripping away, myelin, a fatty protective sheath around neurons. It can also trigger inflammation, another destroyer of brain cells. Take 500 to 1000mcg of vitamin B12 daily after the age of 40. If you or an older family member has unexplained memory loss, fatigue or signs of dementia, be sure to get tested for vitamin B12 deficiency by your GP.

21. Vinegar in everything

There is plenty of evidence that  vinegar sinks risk factors that may lead to memory decline, namely high blood sugar, insulin resistance, diabetes and pre-diabetes and weight gain. Researchers in Phoenix, Arizona, have noted in studies of humans and animals that the acidic stuff packs potent glucose-lowering effects. Studies have also found it can curb appetite and food intake, helping prevent weight gain and obesity, which are associated with diabetes, accelerated dementia and memory loss. Pour on the vinegar – add it to salad dressings, eat it by the spoonful, even mix it into a glass of drinking water. Any type of vinegar works.

22. Have your eyes checked

If you preserve good or excellent vision as you age, your chances of developing dementia drop by an astonishing 63%. And if it’s poor, just visiting an optician for an eye test and possible treatment at least once in later life cuts your dementia odds by about the same amount. Exactly how vision problems promote dementia is not clear but impaired vision makes it difficult to participate in mental and physical activities such as reading and exercising, as well as social activities, all believed to delay cognitive decline. Be aware that your eyes reflect and influence how your brain is functioning, especially as you age. Don’t tolerate poor vision as often it can be corrected.

23. Eat curry

Curry powder contains the yellow-orange spice turmeric, packed with curcumin, a component reported to stall memory decline. One study showed elderly Indians who ate even modest amounts of curry did better in cognitive tests. Curcumin works by blocking the build-up of Alzheimer’s-inducing amyloid plaques (deposits found in the brains of sufferers) then nibbles away at existing plaques to slow cognitive decline.

It is recommended to eat two or three curries a week, and make it a yellow curry. Otherwise, sprinkle the spices on your food.

24. diabetes control

Having type 2 diabetes makes you more vulnerable to Alzheimer’s. Studies show it may double or triple your risk and the earlier diabetes takes hold, the higher the odds of dementia. Some experts refer to Alzheimer’s as “diabetes of the brain”. The two disorders have similar causes – obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high fat and high sugar diets, low physical activity as well as high blood sugar. In short, diabetes can deliver a double whammy to the brain, destroying neurons and increasing inflammation. Do everything possible to keep blood sugar levels low and stick to a low-saturated fat diet and regular exercise.

25. Drink more tea

Evidence suggests that tea stalls the cognitive loss that precedes Alzheimer’s and that the more tea you drink, the sharper your ageing memory is. Tea’s secret is no mystery. The leaves are packed with compounds able to penetrate the blood-brain barrier and block neuronal damage.

One particular green tea antioxidant can block the toxicity of beta-amyloid, which kills brain cells. Make a point of drinking black and green tea. Don’t add milk, it can reduce tea’s antioxidant activity by 25%.

Easy tips on weight loss

The first key to weightloss is understanding a few basic concepts. A pound is equal to 3500 calories. Weightloss can be simplified as math, you eat more than you burn you will gain, you eat less you will lose. However calories from different sources do vary and will help your body in different ways. Both protein and carbohydrates have 4 calories per gram while fat has 9. Carbohydrates are best eaten in the early morning or lunch as they are the first to break down and give you energy. if you eat them late at night without burning them off they will turn into fat. protein is important in keeping muscle mass as well as giving you energy. and as bad as a rap as fat has gotten it is necessary for many bodily functions, though should be highly moderated.
Easy tips
1. Brush your teeth if you feel you will be tempted by snacking. Not only will your dentist love you, but you'll be a lot less likely to indulge.
2. Drink a glass of water everytime that you feel hungry. A lot of times what you mistake for hunger is actually thirst.
3. To lose a pound a week, burn an extra 500 calories a day. This can easily be split up into eating 250 calories less and burning 250 more.
4. Jump roping is not just for kids. This is a great cardiovascular exercise that can burn upwards of 600 calores an hour. It's also usually not more than $2-5 for a rope depending.
5. Learn some isometric exercises. Think squats, lunges, pushups. Despite the flashbacks to high school gym class, these will keep both you and your wallet in good shape, and take less time than commuting to the gym.
6. Variety. Make sure to eat a good variety of fruits and vegetables. Not only are they usually low in calories but are very dense on many vital vitamins and minerals that we don't often get in our 21st century diets. It may even stave off a visit to the doctor.
7. Hold it. For every ten seconds that you hold in your abdominal area it is the equivalant of doing a sit-up. Next time you're stuck in traffic, don't get mad at the delay, instead, get in some probably well needed exercise.
8. Move it. Its said the the average american walks less than a mile a day. Try to incorporate extra movement into daily activies ie, take the stairs, park farther away from the store, or better yet walk to the store if close enough, take the family for a walk, etc.
9.Be a kid again. Just because you are over the age of 18 does not mean you should not have fun. Get a pick up game of soccer, football, baseball going with friends, organize a street hockey game and ref, roll down the hill, what ever catches your fancy. What matters is that you're active and that you enjoy yourself. Your waist will enjoy it too.
10. Last but not least. The most important thing is to take everything in moderation. Exercise and food included. Variety is necessary with both in order to ensure a life change, not just a diet that you will rebound in. Dont ever deny anything as it tends to make you crave it more. Just remember, that ice cream or cake can be eaten tommorrow, do you really need it tonight? Reward yourself with a hot bath or relaxing walk instead. And remember, don't ever give up what you want in the long run for what you want today.

Different Parts of Our Body Age At Different Times

WE all accept that getting older is inevitable, and now leading clinicians have revealed the exact age when different body parts start to decline, most alarming being the brain and the lungs.

French doctors have found that the quality of man's sperm starts to deteriorate by 35, so that by the time a man is 45,

a third of pregnancies end in miscarriage.

 

Here, with the help of leading clinicians, Angela Epstein tells the Daily Mail, the ages when different parts of the body start to lose their battle with time. 

BRAIN - Starts ageing at 20.
As we get older, the numberof nerve cells - or neurons - in the brain decrease. We start with around 100 billion, but in our 20s, this number starts to decline. By 40, we could be losing up to 10,000 per day,affecting memory, co-ordination and brain function.

GUT -Starts ageing at 55.
A healthy gut has a good balance between harmful and 'friendly' bacteria. But levels of friendly bacteria in the gut

drop significantly after 55, particularly in the large intestine,

says Tom MacDonald, professor of immunology at Barts Medical School in London . As a result, we suffer from poor digestion and an increased risk of gut disease. Constipation is more likely as we age, as the flow of digestive juices from

the stomach, liver, pancreas and

small intestine slows down..

 

BREASTS - Start ageing at 35.
BY their mid-30s, woman's breasts start losing tissue and fat,

reducing in size and its fullness. Sagging starts at 40 and the aerola (the area surrounding the nipple) can shrinks considerably.

BLADDER - Starts ageing at 65.
Loss of bladder control is more likely when you hit 65.

Women are more vulnerable to bladder problems as, after the menopause, declining estrogen levels make tissues in the urethra - the tube through which urine passes - thinner and weaker, reducing bladder support. Bladder capacity in an older adult generally is about half that of a younger person

- about two cups in a 30-year-old andone cup in a 70-year-old....

LUNGS - Start ageing at 20.
Lung capacity slowly starts to decrease from the age of 20.

By the age of 40, some people are already experiencing breathlessness. This is partly because the muscles

and the rib cage which control breathing stiffen up.

VOICE - Starts ageing at 65.
Our voices become quieter and hoarser with age. The soft tissues in the voice box (larynx) weaken, affecting the pitch, loudness and quality of the voice. A woman's voice may become huskier and lower in pitch, whereas a man's might become

thinner and higher.

EYES - Start ageing at 40.
Glasses are the norm for many over-40s as failing eyesight kicks in - usually long-sightedness, affecting our ability to see

objects up close.

HEART - Starts ageing at 40.
The heart pumps blood less effectively around the body as we get older. This is because blood vessels become less elastic, while arteries can harden or become blocked because of fatty deposits forming on the coronary arteries - caused by eating too much saturated fat. The blood supply to the heart is then reduced, resulting in painful angina. Men over 45 and women over 55 are

at greater risk of a heart attack.

LIVER - Starts ageing at 70.
This is the only organ in the body which seems to defy the aging process.

KIDNEYS - Starts ageing at 50.
With kidneys, the number of filtering units (nephrons) that remove waste from the bloodstream starts to reduce in middle age.

PROSTATE - Starts ageing at 50.
The prostate often becomes enlarged with age,leading to problems such as increased need to urinate, says Professor Roger Kirby, director of the Prostate Center in London . This is known as benign prosthetichyperplasia and affects half of men over 50, but rarely those under 40. It occurs when the prostate

absorbs large amounts of the male sex hormone testosterone, which increases the growth of cells in the prostate. A normal prostate is the size of a walnut, but the condition can increase

this to the size of a tangerine.

BONES -Start ageing at 35.
'Throughout our life, old bone is broken down by cells called osteoclasts and replaced by bone-building cells called osteoblasts - a process called bone turnover, explains Robert Moots, a professor of rheumatology at Aintree University Hospital in Liverpool . Children bone growth is rapid

- the skeleton takes just two yearsto renew  itself completely.

In adults, this can take ten years. Until our mid-20s, bone density is still increasing. But at 35 bone loss begins as part of the natural aging process.

TEETH - Start ageing at 40.
As we age, we produce less saliva, which washes away bacteria, so teeth and gum are more vulnerable to decay. Receding gum - when tissue is lost from gums around the teeth - is common in adults over 40.

MUSCLES - Start ageing at 30.
Muscle is constantly being built up and broken down, a process

which is well balanced in young adults. However, by the time we're 30, breakdown is greater than build up, explains Professor Robert Moots. Once adults reach 40, they start to lose between 0.5 and 2 per cent of their muscle each year.

Regular exercise can help prevent this.

HEARING - Starts ageing by mid-50s.
More than half of the people over 60 lose hearing because of their age, according to the Royal National Institute for the Deaf.

SKIN - Starts ageing by mid-20s.
The skin starts to age naturally in your mid-20s.

TASTE AND SMELL

- Start ageing at 60.
We start out in life with about 10,000 taste buds scattered on the tongue. This number can halve later in life. After we turn 60, taste and smell gradually decline, partly as a result of

the normal aging process.

FERTILITY - Starts ageing at 35.
Female fertility begins to decline after 35, as the number and quality of eggs in the ovaries start to fall. The lining of the womb may become thinner, making it less likely for a fertilized egg to take, and also creating an environment hostile to sperm.

HAIR - Starts ageing at 30.
Male hair loss usually begins in the 30s.

Hair is made in tiny pouches just under the skin's surface, known as follicles. A hair normally grows from each follicle

for about three years, is then shed, and a new hair grows.

Most people will have some Grey hair by the age of 35. When we are young, our hair is colored by the pigments

produced by cells in the hair follicle known asmelanocytes.