Green Tea

A number of health claims have been made for green tea (http://www.jcm.co.uk/bookshop/v3/tea/news.phtml), claiming that its polyphenol content has antioxidant properties that can help prevent cancer. There is also the suggestion that it can increase endurance in exercise by improving fat metabolism.

An article in New Scientist magazine (20 March 2004) mentions that numerous studies suggest that green tea protects against a range of cancers, including lung, prostate and breast cancer. The secret is the antioxidant epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), according to Hirofumi Tachibana's team at Kyushu University in Japan. Their research showed that growth of human lung cancer cells that have a cell receptor called 67 LR is slowed significantly after drinking just two or three cups of green tea, which contains EGCG. The research also showed that 67 LR is involved in the propagation of prion diseases such as mad cow disease in humans. So knowledge of EGCG's effect on 67 LR might have implications in the treatment of these diseases too. (Full report in Nature Structural and Molecular Biology, DOI:10.1038/nsmb743).

According to the U.S. National Cancer Institute, in laboratory studies using animals, catechins scavenged oxidants before cell damage occurred, reduced the number and size of tumors, and inhibited the growth of cancer cells. White tea is said to be even more effective. However, human studies have proven more contradictory, perhaps due to such factors as variances in diet, environments, and populations.

Clinical trials conducted by the University of Geneva, in Switzerland indicate that green tea raises metabolic rates and speed up fat oxidation. In addition to caffeine, green tea contains catechin polyphenols that raise thermogenesis (the rate at which calories are burned) and hence increases energy expenditure

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Saw Palmetto

The Saw Palmetto Serenoa repens is the sole species currently classified in the genus Serenoa. It is a small palm, normally reaching a height of around 2-4 metres. Its trunk is sprawling, and it grows in clumps in sandy coastal lands or as undergrowth in pine woods or hardwood hammocks. It is endemic to the southeastern United States, most commonly along the Atlantic and Gulf coastal plains, but also as far inland as southern Arkansas.

Saw palmetto is a fan palm (Arecaceae tribe Corypheae), with the leaves with a bare petiole terminating in a rounded fan of about 20 leaflets. The leaves are 1-2 m in length, the leaflets 50-100 cm long with prickly sawtooth edges that give the tree its name. They are similar to the leaves of the palmettos of genus Sabal. The flowers are yellowish-white, about 5 mm across, produced in dense compound panicles up to 60 cm long. The fruit is a large reddish-black drupe.

Uses:

Native Americans used the fruit for food, but also in the treatment of a variety of urinogenital problems. The European colonists learned of the use of saw palmetto. It was used as a crude extract for at least 200 years for various conditions including asthenia (weakness), recovery from major illness, and urogenital problems. For instance, the Eclectic physician H. W. Felter wrote of it, "Saw palmetto is a nerve sedative, expectorant, and a nutritive tonic, acting kindly upon the digestive tract...Its most direct action appears to be upon the reprodutive organs when undergoing waste of tissue..." (Felter's complete text (http://www.ibiblio.org/herbmed/eclectic/felter/serenoa.html)).
In modern times, much research has been done on extract made from the fruits which are highly enriched with fatty acids and phytosterols. This research has been the subject of a thorough meta-analysis published in the medical journal JAMA and has been shown effective for the treatment of men with symptomatic benign prostatic hyperplasia compared to placebo and the two major categories of drugs used for men with this condition (JAMA meta-analysis http://jama.amaassn.org/cgi/content/full/280/18/1604)). There are also small, positive clinical trials published on the use of saw palmetto extracts topically and internally for male-pattern baldness. There are no studies on whole saw palmetto extracts or crude preparations for any condition despite their widespread use and historical backing.

Other research has shown that it works by multiple mechanisms, including inhibiting 5-alpha-reductase, interfering with dihydrotestosterone binding to the androgen receptor, by relaxing smooth muscle tissue similarly to alpha antagonist drugs, and possibly by acting as a phytoestrogen.

Though men taking saw palmetto may develop mild nausea, reduced libido, or erectile dysfunction, the rate of such problems is clinically and statistically far less common than in men taking drugs to treat BPH symptoms, based on the JAMA meta-analysis cited above. There are no known drug interactions. It should generally be avoided in pregnancy and lactation and in small children due to lack of experience and knowledge in these populations and because of the purely theoretical risk of hormonal interference.

Because the fruit is the part used and because a prolific quantity is produced by an adult saw palmetto tree, this herbal medicine is highly ecologically sustainable. No saw palmetto is currently cultivated for medicine due to the fact that ample quantities are available and always have been from the wild.


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Protein

A protein is a complex, high molecular weight organic compound that consists of amino acids joined by peptide bonds. Proteins are essential to the structure and function of all living cells and viruses. Many proteins are enzymes or subunits of enzymes. Other proteins play structural or mechanical roles, such as those that form the struts and joints of the cytoskeleton. Still more functions filled by proteins include immune response and the storage and transport of various ligands. In nutrition, proteins serve as the source of amino acids for organisms that do not synthesize those amino acids natively.
Proteins are one of the classes of bio-macromolecules, alongside polysaccharides and nucleic acids, that make up the primary constituents of living things. They are amongst the most actively studied molecule in biochemistry and were discovered by Jöns Jacob Berzelius, in 1838.
In terms of human nutritional needs, proteins come in two forms: complete proteins contain all eight of the amino acids (threonine, valine, tryptophan, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, phenylalanine, and methionine) that humans cannot produce themselves, while incomplete proteins lack or contain only a very small proportion of one or more. Human bodies can make use of all the amino acids they extract from food for synthesizing new proteins, but the inessential ones themselves need not be supplied by the diet, because our cells can make them ourselves. When protein is listed on a nutrition label it only refers to the amount of complete proteins in the food, though the food may be very strong in a subset of the essential amino acids. Animal-derived foods contain all of those amino acids, while plants are typically stronger in some acids than others. Complete proteins can be made in an all vegan diet by eating a sufficient variety of foods and by getting enough calories. It was once thought that in order to get the complete proteins vegans needed to do protein combining by getting all amino acids in the same meal (the most common example is eating beans with rice) but nutritionists now know that the benefits of protein combining can be achieved over a longer period of time. Ovo-lacto vegetarians usually do not have this problem, since egg's white and cow's milk contain all essential amino acids. Peanuts, soy milk, nuts, seeds, green peas, Legumes, the alga spirulina and some grains are some of the richest sources of plant protein.
All eight essential amino acids must be part of one diet in order to survive and are needed in a fixed ratio. A shortage on any one of these amino acids will constrain the body's ability to make the proteins it needs to function.
Different foods contain different ratios of the essential amino acids. By mixing foods that are rich in some amino acids with foods that are rich in others, one can acquire all the needed amino acids in sufficient quantities. Omnivores typically eat a sufficient variety of foods that this is not an issue, however, vegetarians and especially vegans should be careful to eat appropriate combinations of foods (e.g. nuts and green vegetables) so as to get all the essential amino acids in sufficient quantities that the body may produce all the proteins that it needs.
Protein deficiency can lead to symptoms such as fatigue, insulin resistance, hair loss, loss of hair pigment (hair that should be black becomes reddish), loss of muscle mass (proteins repair muscle tissue), low body temperature, and hormonal irregularities. Severe protein deficiency is fatal.
Excess protein can cause problems as well, such as causing the immune system to overreact, liver dysfunction from increased toxic residues, possibly bone loss due to increased acidity in the blood, foundering (foot problems) in horses, and can also be linked to obesity.
Proteins can often figure in allergies and allergic reactions to certain foods. This is because the structure of each form of protein is slightly different, and some may trigger a response from the immune system while others are perfectly safe. Many people are allergic to casein, the protein in milk; gluten, the protein in wheat and other grains; the particular proteins found in peanuts; or those in shellfish or other seafoods. It is extremely unusual for the same person to adversely react to more than two different types of proteins.

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Diet What is?

Dieting is the practice or habit of eating (and drinking) in a regulated fashion, usually with the aim of losing weight. It is also used in some cases to gain weight or to regulate the amounts of certain nutrients entering the body. It usually involves a non-traditional diet.

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Calorie

A calorie refers to a non SI unit of energy. There are two common but different meanings: one is used in food and nutrition, the other was formerly widely used in chemistry, and a food calorie represents 1000 chemistry calories. The food calorie is sometimes capitalized as Calorie to distinguish it from the chemistry calorie; however, this capitalization is rarely observed in practice.
Nutritionists measure the energy content of food in "calories" (usually capitalized and abbreviated as Cal or sometimes C), where each food calorie represents 4,186 joules. This is equivalent to 1000 of the calories used in chemistry, and thus the food Calorie would more accurately be called a kilocalorie. However, in chemistry calories have been deprecated as a scientific unit of measure in favour of joules, and therefore in common modern usage the word "calorie" will usually refer to a food calorie.
This situation provides two ways of talking about the amount of calories in food which look quite different but that express the exact same amount of energy. One may say that dietary fat has 9 kcal per gram, while proteins and carbohydrates have 4 kcal per gram, or, one may say that fat has 9 Calories per gram while carbohydrates and proteins have 4 Calories per gram.
The amount of food energy in a particular food is measured by completely burning the food in a bomb calorimeter, a method known as direct calorimetry (http://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec12/ch152/ch152e.html).
Dieticians recommend counting calories to avoid obesity. The government of the United Kingdom recommends consumption of 2000 Calories (2000 kcal) by women each day and 2500 Calories (2500 kcal) by men each day.

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Zinc

zinc is an essential element in human beings, necessary for sustaining life. Deficiencies of zinc have marked effects on weight gain in animals. Zinc is found in insulin, zinc finger proteins, and such enzymes as superoxide dismutase.
According to some sources, taking zinc tablets may provide some immunity against colds and flu, although this is disputed.
Eyesight, taste, smell and memory are also connected with zinc and a deficiency in zinc can cause malfunctions of these organs and functions.
Natural food sources of zinc include oysters, red meat and poultry, beans, nuts, whole grains, pumpkin seed or sunflower seeds.
In males, zinc is important for the production of semen. Up to 5 mg of zinc is lost during ejaculation. Deficiencies in zinc in males can lead to reduced sperm count and sex drive. Frequent ejaculations can lead to zinc deficiency.

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Cholesterol

Cholesterol is a steroid lipid, found in the cell membranes of all body tissues, and transported in the blood plasma of all animals. Most cholesterol is not dietary in origin, it is synthesized internally. It is present in higher concentrations in tissues which either produce more or have more densely packed membranes; for example the liver, spinal cord, brain and atheroma. Cholesterol plays a central role in many biochemical processes, but is best known for the association of cardiovascular disease with various lipoprotein cholesterol transport patterns in the blood....

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Acne

Acne is an inflammatory disease of the skin, caused by changes in the pilosebaseous units (skin structures consisting of a hair follicle and its associated sebaceous gland). The most common form of acne is known as "acne vulgaris", which means common acne. Excessive secretion of oils from the glands combine with naturally occurring dead skin cells to block the hair follicles. Oil secretions build up beneath the blocked pore, providing a perfect environment for the skin bacteria Propionibacterium acnes to multiply uncontrolled. In response, the skin inflames, producing the visible lesion. The face, chest, back and upper arms are especially affected.
The typical lesions of acne are: small whitish or skin-colored bumps (whiteheads) or blackish elevations (blackheads). More inflammed rashes take the form of pus-filled, or reddish bumps, even boil-like tender swellings. After resolution of the lesions, prominent unsightly scars may remain.
The condition is common in puberty as a result of an abnormal response to normal levels of the male hormone testosterone. The response for most people diminishes over time and acne thus tends to disappear, or at least decrease, after one reaches the third decade of life. There is, however, no way to predict how long it will take for it to disappear entirely, and some individuals will continue to suffer from acne decades later, into their thirties and forties and even beyond.
Acne affects a large percentage of humans at some stage in life. Aside from scarring its main effects are psychological, such as reduced self-esteem and depression. Acne usually appears during adolescence, when people already tend to be at their most socially-insecure. For this reason acne should be treated if severe.

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