Curry Compound Kills Cancer Cells in University Research Lab Tests

Whether we realize it at the time or not, everything we eat has some sort of effect on our health - positive or negative, but never neutral.

Before synthetic modern medicines (and some of them work wonders), millenniums of people stayed in great health by the foods and medicines they derived from nature.

Turmeric has anticancer chemical. Photo by sallybernstein.com.

Well taking some lessons from the past, many researchers in highly respected institutions of medical science are starting to re-examine the properties of the foods and spices we get from nature. They’re finding some promising chemical compounds with properties capable of both contributing to the prevention and fighting of many serious conditions and diseases, such as cancer.

Most recently, a study was published in the British Journal of Cancer, found that certain molecules found in a curry spice have been shown to kill oesophageal (also spelled as esophageal) cancer cells in laboratory tests.

Scientists at the Cork Cancer Research Center, in Ireland, treated oesophageal cancer cells with curcumin, which is a chemical found in the curry spice turmeric. They found that the curcumin started to kill cancer cells within 24 hours.

Click to read more ...

Undiagnosed Celiac Disease Contributing to Premature Deaths, Says Mayo Clinic Study

Celiac Disease- more commonly known as the gluten allergy making people unable to eat grains such as wheat, rye, and barley- is becoming an increasingly lethal problem in America, according to Dr. Joseph Murray, the Mayo Clinic gastroenterologist who led a study published this month in Gastroenterology.

“It now affects about one in every 100 people. Part of the problem is that Celiac Disease symptoms are variable and can be mistaken for other diseases that are more common, such as irritable bowel syndrome.

“Some studies have suggested that for every person who has been diagnosed with Celiac Disease, there are 30 who have it, but are not diagnosed. Also, given the nearly quadrupled mortality risk for silent Celiac Disease that we have shown in our study, getting more patients and health professionals to consider the possibility of the disease is important,” said Murray.

Click to read more ...

Parents and Schools: Joining Together to Make Food Allergy Management Work

Image courtesy of Chelsey Amer NutritionMaking sure students with food allergies are safe in schools is always a community effort, joining everyone together- parents, the allergic children, schoolmates, medical providers, school faculty, and public officials who make policy.

The greatest advocates though for allergic children must always be their parents. This was a key theme of the third and final session of the School Nutrition Foundation’s webinar series dealing with food allergies.

Parents are the ones who need to both inform everyone else about their children’s medical issues as well as become educated about what benefits their children are entitled to have.

Emphasizing this position was Deb Scherrrer, vice president of education programs at the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network, who said, “The parents educate the school staff about the child’s medical condition. They collaborate with the school chain to establish avoidance strategies and participate in the development of the emergency plan.”

Click to read more ...

Salmonella Fears Result in Nature’s Path Recalling Select Granola Products

RICHMOND, British Columbia - Nature’s Path Organic Foods is voluntarily recalling a select group of its granola bar and granola cereal products due to potential Salmonella contamination. The recall is a precautionary measure because the peanuts in the products came from the Peanut Corporation of America, Blakely, Ga., which earlier this year distributed potentially contaminated products to more than 100 consignee firms for use as ingredients.

Salmonella is an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy people infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea (which may be blooded), nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain.

In rare circumstances, infection with Salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections, endocarditic, and arthritis.

Click to read more ...

Foods That Will Make Your Skin Glow

Photo courtesy of the Oklahoma State Government.

NEW YORK- While we’ve been largely habituated to think about food only as far as what it can do for our taste buds - and don’t get me wrong, I won’t eat anything I find unappealing either - we also need to become more conscious of what food does for our bodies.

We generally know that all unprocessed or at least minimally-processed foods are good for us, especially organics if your budget allows, but different foods have particular properties that are especially significant to specific parts of our human biology.

Researchers have found that Vitamins A, C, E, and Bs are all excellent for promoting healthy skin from the cellular-level as well as performing other vital functions in the body. This article will discuss what each vitamin does, and what foods it can be found in. Some foods as you will see, contain a combination of these vitamins.

Click to read more ...