Fried food in olive / sunflower oil NOT linked to heart disease/death.

Food fried in olive or sunflower oil was not linked to heart disease or premature death, researchers in Spain found.

Professor Pillar Gullah-Castillo of Autonomous University of Madrid surveyed the cooking methods of 40,757 adults ages 29-69 over an 11-year period. None of the study participants had heart disease when the study began.

Trained interviewers asked the study participants about their diet and cooking methods.

The participants' eating habits were divided into ranges of fried food consumption, the first quartile related to the lowest amount of fried food consumed and the fourth indicated the highest amount.

The study follow-up indicated 606 events linked to heart disease and 1,134 deaths, but eating fried foods was not associated with coronary heart events such as heart attack, the study said.

"In a Mediterranean country where olive and sunflower oils are the most commonly used fats for frying, and where large amounts of fried foods are consumed both at and away from home, no association was observed between fried food consumption and the risk of coronary heart disease or death," Gullah-Castillo said in a statement.

However, Gullah-Castillo emphasized the study took place in Spain, a Mediterranean country where olive or sunflower oil is used for frying and the study findings would probably not be the same in another country where solid and re-used oils were used for frying.

The findings were published in the British Medical Journal.

Iced and Hot Tea, a pleasant way to enjoy health benefits.

Teas can naturally be anti bacterial, prevent bad breath, be a source of anti oxidants, and also curb hunger pangs to help dieters. 01-13-12

"There is no trouble so great or grave that cannot be much diminished by a nice cup of tea," wrote Bernard-Paul Heroux. (http://www.quotegarden.com/tea.html)

What is it about a cup of hot tea that is so...soothing? I happen to think it's the warmth that emanates from pretty tea cups. But scientists credit a host of naturally-occurring compounds in tea with beneficial health effects.

All tea comes from the same plant: Camellia sinensis. And over the centuries as this plant grew in the sun, says the USDA Agricultural Research Service, it formed chemicals called "polyphenols" to protect it from the elements. Polyphenols are family to "flavonoids" - health-promoting antioxidant substances found in many fruits and vegetables.

When tea leaves are processed into the various forms of tea, the flavonoid content changes, say researchers. Green tea, for example, contains more simple antioxidant flavonoids while black tea contains more complex varieties.

Green, black and oolong teas are all from the same C. sinensis plant...just processed differently. Green tea is minimally fermented - the process of exposing to air and drying. Black tea is maximally fermented. And oolong tea is somewhere in the middle.        

Beside the fact that tea contains zero calories and soothes your soul, here are some other compelling reasons to enjoy a cup of tea:

Curb food cravings.  "Afternoon tea" was supposedly started by the 7th Duchess of Bedford (England) to keep her hunger pangs at bay between lunch and dinner. And (from personal experience) it also seems to work in those munch-prone hours after dinner.

Lower cholesterol. Tea drinking has shown to help lower "bad" LDL cholesterol levels in some studies. Powerful antioxidant substances in tea are believed to be the reason.

Fight infections. Several compounds have been found in black and green teas that work like antibiotics to fight off the bad bugs that make us sick.

Prevent halitosis (bad breath). Swish with tea to suppress foul mouth odor? Researchers at the University of Illinois found that some of the polyphenols in tea inhibit the growth of bacteria in the mouth that can cause this unpleasant smell.

What about herbal teas? While not officially "tea" from the Camellia sinensis plant, infusions from the leaves of other plants may have their own benefits, according to scientists at Tufts University.

Chamomile and peppermint teas, for example, appear to have infection-fighting capabilities. Peppermint tea is also rich in antioxidants that help fight against cancer growth. And a clinical trial with hibiscus tea showed a blood pressure lowering effect in volunteers who drank 3 cups a day for six weeks.

How to make a perfect cup of tea? Here are some key steps, according to Cindy Bigelow, whose grandmother invented Constant Comment:

-Start with cold fresh water every time, not the leftover in your tea kettle. "It's the oxygen in the water that opens up the tea leaf for full flavor extraction," says Bigelow.

-For black and oolong teas, bring the water to a rolling boil and then pour over leaves or tea bag. Steep for 1 or 2 minutes.

-Green teas are more delicate.  Use water that has just begun to boil and steep for 3 to 4 minutes.

-Do not, do not squeeze your teabag into your tea, says Bigelow. This releases bitter tannins that destroy flavor.

Lastly, "Remember the tea kettle," someone once said."It is always up to its neck in water, yet it still sings!"

http://www.lef.org/news/LefDailyNews.htm?NewsID=12131&Section=NUTRITION

S.Korean Led Team Announces Cancer Breakthrough.

Research recently conducted, has discovered how certain cancer fighting cells that naturally exist in the body act with various biological stimuli that may, someday, help lead to more effective and targeted cancer therapy. 

Asia Pulse Pte Ltd

10-11-11

SEOUL, Oct 11 Asia Pulse - An international research team led by a South Korean scientist has identified an agent that affects the ability of killer cells already present in human bodies to fight cancer, the science ministry said Tuesday.

Scientists are discovering ways to help "Natural Killer Cells" do their job to fight cancer. The team from the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB) has confirmed that an abundance of newly identified microRNA-27a* (miR-27a*) in the so-called "natural killer cells" inhibits the production of perforin and granzyme, which help fight cancer, according to the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology.

"So for natural killer cells, microRNA-27a* is a negative agent," Kim Tae-don, a researcher from KRIBB, said in a telephone interview.

The discovery is significant because scientists did not previously know how the production of perforin and granzyme was controlled.

Laboratory experiments showed that injecting miR-27a* into natural killer cells caused a significant deactivation of the cancer-fighting cells, while an injection of microRNA inhibitor led to significantly increased activities of killer cells, the ministry said.

The research, partly funded by the science ministry, was jointly conducted with a team led by Prof. E. Peter Greenberg from University of Washington. It was published Sept. 30 on the Web site of a U.S. science journal, Blood.

"For effective treatment of cancer, optimizing activities by immune cells such as natural killer cells is an important step," the ministry said in a press release.

"The discovery of miR-27a* will be helpful in strengthening natural killer cells, and can be applied to other immune system cells, which in turn may help develop a cure for cancer."

http://www.lef.org/news/ LefDailyNews.htm?NewsID=11754& Section=DISEASE.

Sweden Accepts Homeopathy As Valid Medical Treatment.

Sweden accepts homeopathy into it's valid medical practices, via the Supreme Administrative Court, and over rules the Swedish Medical Association's prohibition on treatments. 

A ruling by Sweden’s Supreme Administrative court this week struck down the Swedish Medical Association’s prohibition of homeopathy.

Swedish doctors may now recommend it.

The ruling has drawn the usual spears from its competitor of allopathy (common modern medicine), but this time the defense of the embattled doctrine has been joined byMarilyn vos Savant, the woman the Guiness Book of World Records claimed has the world’s greatest IQ for a woman,  rated to be as high as 230.

Savant points out a noted fact, that criticisms of homeopathy bear little or no references. At 12:59 on September 24, 2011 she posted a reply to the announcement that Swedish courts are recognizing homeopathy.

http://www.nationalcenterforhomeopathy.org/content/world’s-smartest-woman-sweden-accept-homeopathy

Direct Physiologic Effects of Homeopathic Medicines Objectively Measured

Direct Physiologic Effects of Homeopathic Medicines Objectively Measured

News Source: 

Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine

Sentiment: 

Positive

News Date: 

July 25, 2011

"Researchers from the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai, India used a Medical Analyzer System to explore the autonomic response of selective homeopathic medicines in healthy persons. The objective of this investigation was to observe the changes produced in the variability spectrum of heart rate variability and blood flow variability following administration of placebo and different potencies of certain homeopathic medicines. This investigation is particularly interesting because, even though several clinical studies have demonstrated an effect of highly diluted homeopathic medicines, until now their action had not been directly observable."

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21787219