Happy Memorial Day!

Cinnamon: The Spice of Life!

If there’s one spice almost everyone has in their pantry, it is cinnamon.  If you happen to love it sprinkled on applesauce or across your morning toast, I have great news for you.
Researchers have found that cinnamon is a viable contender in the fight against diabetes, as the study in Diabetic Medicine reveals.
One of cinnamon’s most impressive health benefits is its ability to improve blood glucose control. Just half a teaspoon of cinnamon a day has been shown to significantly reduce blood sugar levels, triglycerides, LDL (bad) cholesterol, and total cholesterol levels in people with type 2 diabetes.
However, as helpful as supplements like cinnamon can be they are not substitutes for proper diet and lifestyle choices. Still, it is a powerful addition to an already healthy lifestyle.

Here’s a sprinkling of cinnamon’s healthy benefits:
1. Cinnamon can increase your glucose metabolism about 20-fold, which significantly improves blood sugar regulation.
2. Cinnamon has been found to have “insulin-like effects” due to a bioactive compound, qualifying it as a candidate for an insulin substitute.
3. Cinnamon slows the emptying of your stomach to reduce sharp rises in blood sugar following meals, and improves the effectiveness, or sensitivity, of insulin.
4. Cinnamon actually enhances your antioxidant defenses. A study published in 2009 stated, “Polyphenols from cinnamon could be of special interest in people who are overweight with impaired fasting glucose since they might act as both insulin sensitizers and antioxidants.”
5. A bioflavonoid found in cinnamon called proanthocyanidin may alter the insulin-signaling activity in your fat cells.

In addition cinnamon can play a role in …
• Supporting digestive function
• Relieving congestion
• Relieving pain and stiffness of muscles and joints
• Reducing inflammation and symptoms of arthritis
• Helping to prevent urinary tract infections, tooth decay and gum disease
• Relieving menstrual discomfort
• Stimulating circulation with blood-thinning compounds
With all these benefits, you may want to grab your spice container of cinnamon out of the cabinet and put it on the table next to the salt and pepper!

Resources: Dr. Joseph Mercola, Huffpost Health, 4-03-11.  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-mercola/cinnamon-diabetes-_b_839487.html

Slimming Strawberries For Weight Loss

Red, ripe and delicious, strawberries are a little fruit that work overtime for your health.
Peak strawberry season is just around the corner, so now is the perfect time to add strawberries to your menu for summer weight loss. From farm stands to your local supermarket, these luscious berries are sure to turn up just about everywhere.
And don't forget about the amazing organically grown strawberries that come from California year round.
The exciting research that is being done shows that the special nutritional components in strawberries might be able to stimulate your metabolism and help suppress your appetite. They can control blood sugar and can also help you lose weight.
It is no wonder that scientists across the United States, in Sweden and other countries have been researching the wonders of the strawberry and discovering more evidence of its health benefits. There is no doubt that strawberries have joined the other rock stars of super nutritious fruit such as blueberries, cherries, cranberries and pomegranates.
What Gives Strawberries Their Nutritional Punch?
Strawberries are a healthy food to eat to lose weight, because there are 49 calories in one cup of strawberries. They are also loaded with Vitamin C, 3 grams of fiber, and some calcium, magnesium, and potassium.

Strawberries are rich sources of phenolic antioxidants that can help:

1. reverse inflammation
2. aid in weight loss
3. reduce the risk of chronic disease.

Read More! Article Link: Slimming Strawberries For Weight Loss

By Leo Galland, MD

A full night’s sleep can help you stay healthy

Getting a good night’s sleep is important. It can sharpen your focus, give you more energy, and even help you ward off the common cold. But did you know that it can affect your long-term health, too? A recent study in the European Heart Journal suggests that people who regularly get fewer than 6 hours of sleep a night are at an increased risk for cardiac problems, including heart attack and stroke. In fact, sleep-deprived study participants were 15 percent more likely to have a stroke. And more and more people are cutting back on their shut-eye in order to meet the daily challenges of life and work.
To help protect your health, try these tips and aim for 7 hours of sleep each night.

• Set a regular time each night for powering down your computer, putting away your smartphone, and turning off your TV.
• Before bed, make time for a quiet activity, such as writing in a journal, reading, meditation, or taking a bath.
• Create a healthy sleep environment.
• Go to bed at the same time every night and wake up at the same time every morning — even on weekends.

5 Ways to Boost Brain Power!

“Where are my keys?” “What was that person’s name again?” Memory glitches like these, though ordinary enough, can sometimes be an upsetting reminder that our memory may not serve us forever. If your brain function is not quite as sharp as it once was, here are 5 natural ways to protect your memory and boost your brain power, no matter what age you are! Where does your memory go?

Most people over the age of 40 experience some memory loss. Our memory is facilitated by chemicals in the brain called neurotransmitters; these messengers transfer information from one neuron to the next. Find out more about neurotransmitters in The Natural Health Dictionary. As we age, our levels of these chemical neurotransmitters are lowered, and a mild slowing down of the memory and thought processes can occur. Sometimes a glitch in memory is just reflecting physiological swings in the brain, which can be brought on by hormonal changes, reactions to environmental toxins, too much stress, or too little sleep. Emotional stress diminishes blood flow to the brain and stimulates production of the hormone cortisol, which is toxic to nerve cells in high quantities. Also, when plaque narrows the blood vessels, blood flow to the brain is reduced. All of these factors come into play and affect your brain function.

Alzheimer's disease is much more serious than run-of-the-mill forgetfulness. Microscopic examination shows that nerve cells in the thinking parts of the brain have died and disappeared. There are many signs to look for, but if you are forgetting how to do things that you’ve done many times before, are unable to learn new things, or your memory is getting progressively worse, see your physician right away.
1. Eat Brain Foods
A balanced diet rich in essential amino acids, omega oils, minerals, and vitamins will ensure a vibrant and sharp memory. Eat right to keep your memory bright:
• Choose complex carbs, such as brown rice, oatmeal, lentils, whole beans, and other whole grain foods, which will bring your brain lasting energy and help fuel your cognitive abilities.
• Eat a rainbow of veggies. Chock full of protective antioxidants, vegetables of every hue can help you boost brain power, especially bell peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, yams, and squash.
• Get a mega boost with omega’s. There is more and more evidence indicating that omega-3 fatty acids are especially beneficial for brain health. A particularly rich source is fish, especially salmon, tuna, halibut, trout, mackerel, and sardines. Almond oil, fish oil, flaxseed oil, olive oil, and sesame oil are rich in monounsaturated fats and are good choices for brain health. Population studies show that a diet high in unsaturated, unhydrogenated fats tends to correspond to reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease, whereas a diet higher in saturated fats and trans fats exhibits an increased risk.
• Micro-algae brings big brain benefits. Blue-green algae, spirulina, and chlorella are easy to digest, high-protein, and high-energy food supplements that support healthy brain functions. Look for powders you dissolve in juice or flakes you can sprinkle on your food.
• Mix it up with nuts, seeds, and fruit. The essential fatty acids, rich carotenoids, and antioxidants in a trail mix of nuts and fruit will nourish and support your brain: choose walnuts, pine nuts, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, dried goji berries, dried apricots, and dried blueberries. 
• Bonus Tip: Super Clarity is a specially blended formula that contains brain-nourishing herbs.
2. Stay Social
Having a vibrant social life is a surefire strategy for improving your life--and it may improve your memory, too. A study conducted with elderly individuals in Taiwan suggested that participation in social activities outside of the family unit positively benefited their cognitive impairment. The study, published in the International Journal of Epidemiology, adjusted for previous cognitive impairments, health history, and social background. The results showed that the individuals who participated in one or two social activities failed 13% fewer cognitive tests; those who took part in three or more outside activities failed 33% fewer cognitive tasks than those with no social activities.
3. Combat Mental Decline with L-carnitine
One simple amino acid can help you hang onto your memory: L-carnitine may help slow down the onset of mental deterioration, according to research. Found chiefly in the heart and skeletal muscles, L-carnitine’s main job is to carry fatty acids through cell membranes to the mitochondrion-- the cell’s “engine”--and use them as cellular energy. Brain tissue also holds a rich supply of L-carnitine. Even if you are taking in high levels of the beneficial omega fatty acids from above, if your L-carnitine level is low, your brain and muscles can’t use them. How to get L-carnitine into your system? The main dietary source of this amino acid is meat. Vegetarians may find it worthwhile to take supplements to help fight the onset of age-related memory loss. Learn more about L-carnitine in The Natural Health Dictionary.
4. Supplement Your Memory
Phosphatidylserine (PS) is a compound made by the body from the amino acid serine. Taken in supplement form, it lowers stress response and promotes the release of neurotransmitters in the brain that facilitate thought, reasoning, and concentration. PS has been well-documented in Europe for reversing age-related memory loss. One study worked with individuals that had memory loss (although not dementia), and PS provided significant benefits. The individuals that had the most severe memory loss exhibited the most improvement.
5. Drink Green Tea
Green tea has enjoyed plenty of attention for its brainy benefits in the past decade. Studies indicate that green tea may defend against Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of mental degeneration. Green tea is packed with polyphenols--antioxidants that have been found to increase cognitive acuity and learning ability. One particular polyphenol is responsible for all of these beneficial brain effects: catechin. The concentration of catechins in green tea is four times that of black tea. Researchers aren’t exactly sure why, but the minimal processing used for green tea may help to preserve a higher concentration of the antioxidants. Drink up to gain long-term benefits for your brain! Find out more about polyphenols and catechins in The Natural Health Dictionary.
Many of the above defined terms were adapted from my newest Kindle book, The Natural Health Dictionary, a comprehensive guide that answers all your questions about natural remedies, healing herbs, longevity foods, vitamins, and supplements. In addition, you can find more ways to live a long and healthy life in Secrets of Longevity: Hundreds of Ways to Live to Be 100, which is now available on Kindle.
I invite you to visit often and share your own personal health and longevity tips with me.
May you live long, live strong, and live happy!
—Dr. Mao

How Sugar Affects the Body in Motion

More on sugar...  interesting.

Sugar is getting a bad reputation. A cover article in The New York Times Magazine several weeks ago persuasively reported that our national overindulgence in fructose and other sugars is driving the epidemics of obesity, diabetes and other illnesses. But that much-discussed article, by the writer Gary Taubes, focused on how sugars like fructose affect the body in general. It had little opportunity to examine the related issue of how sugar affects the body in motion. Do sweeteners like fructose — the sweetest of the simple sugars, found abundantly in fruits and honey — have the same effect on active people as on the slothful?
A cluster of new studies suggests that people who regularly work out don’t need to worry unduly about consuming fructose or other sugars. In certain circumstances, they may even find the sweet stuff beneficial.
The unique role that the various sugars play in exercise is well illustrated by a new study published in March in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. It involved a group of highly trained cyclists and their livers. For the experiment, Swiss and British researchers directed the cyclists, all men, to ride to exhaustion on several different occasions. After each ride, they swallowed drinks sweetened with fructose or glucose, another simple sugar often identified as dextrose on ingredient labels. (Some also drank a milk-sugar sweetener.)

The liver is often overlooked when we consider organs integral to exercise, but it is an important reservoir of glycogen, the body’s stored form of glucose. All sugars, including sucrose, or table sugar, and high-fructose corn syrup, which usually consists of almost equal portions of glucose and fructose, are converted into glucose, and stored as glycogen, in the body. Strenuous exercise diminishes or exhausts this liver glycogen, and until those stores are replenished, the body isn’t fully ready for another exercise bout.
In this study, the scientists used magnetic resonance imaging to measure the size of each rider’s liver, before and after the rides. All of the cyclists lost liver volume during their workouts, a sign their livers were depleted of glycogen. But those who afterward drank fructose replaced the lost volume rapidly, showing a 9 percent gain in volume after six-and-a-half hours versus a 2 percent gain among the riders drinking glucose-sweetened drinks. Over all, the researchers concluded, fructose-sweetened drinks were twice as effective as the glucose-sweetened drinks in stimulating the liver to recover.
This finding concurs with a large body of earlier research suggesting that fructose is particularly useful for avid athletes. During long, hard workouts, they can burn through almost all of their stored glycogen and fade. But drink or eat something sugary, and the muscles can keep working.
Interestingly, absorption seems to be best if the sweetener contains both glucose and fructose. A 2008 study of cyclists found that if they downed a sports drink sweetened with glucose during a two-hour bout of moderate pedaling, they rode faster during a subsequent time trial than riders who had drunk only water. But if the sports drink contained both glucose and fructose (in a two-to-one ratio), the riders were 8 percent faster in the time trial than those drinking glucose-sweetened fluids alone. (Most bottled sports drinks on the American market are sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup, so contain glucose and fructose in a closer to one-to-one ratio.)
Does this suggest that those of us who regularly but moderately work out might want to consider sugar loading? Alas, the answer is no. Large amounts of sweetened sports drinks, gels and bars are recommended only for the “serious athlete” who works out for more than two hours at a time, Asker Jeukendrup, director of the human performance lab at the University of Birmingham in England and co-author of both studies, said in an e-mail. “If someone goes for a 30-minute walk, the duration and intensity will be too short” for sugar to make a difference in terms of performance, he said.
But that half-hour stroll could affect how your body responds to sugar, other new science suggests. You may not need Skittles to fuel the walk, but the walk will affect how your body metabolizes the candy, if you do indulge. Activity can “significantly reduce the health risks associated with fructose and other forms of sugar,” said Dr. Richard J. Johnson, a professor of medicine at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus in Denver, who has long studied fructose metabolism and was an author of a review article last year about fructose and exercise.
Consider, again, the liver. In sedentary people, ingesting large amounts of fructose, which is mostly metabolized in the liver, has been associated with the development of a disorder known as fatty liver. That condition can reduce the body’s ability to respond to insulin, the hormone that helps to control blood sugar. A person with a fatty liver often develops resistance to insulin, becomes less able to control levels of glucose in the blood, and drifts almost inexorably toward Type 2 diabetes.
But exercise can derail this process. A review of recent studies, published in December, concluded that beginning an exercise program could significantly lessen the amount of fat in someone’s liver, even if that person didn’t lose weight during the program.
Moderate exercise — about 30 minutes a day five times a week — also aids in the control of blood sugar levels if a person has developed Type 2 diabetes, according to a comprehensive review published this week in The Journal of the American Medical Association.
Over all, Dr. Johnson said, the “current science suggests that exercise exerts a positive physiological influence” on some of the same metabolic pathways that sugar harms. “Exercise may make you resistant to the undesirable effects of sugar,” he said.
Not that any of us should live on sweets. “Sugar is not all bad,” Dr. Johnson concluded, “but it’s hardly nutritionally good, either.” The best sweet option, he added, is fruit, which comes prepackaged with a small but satiating dose of all-natural fructose.

By GRETCHEN REYNOLDS