Can you prevent rheumatoid arthritis?
People in the UK are low in vitamin D because of the weakness of the sunlight and the short summers. In addition there is greater concern in the UK about getting skin cancer from sunbathing or being out in the sun. Almost every rheumatoid arthritis sufferer has low levels of vitamin D and this is likely to be true for people with other inflammatory diseases too.
Sunshine isn’t the only source of vitamin D. Some foods such as eggs, oily fish such as sardines and salmon are rich in vitamin D too. Reserachers from the university of brimingham are the lastest to report in the importance of vitamin D. In a series of tests, they discovered that the immune cells of rheumatoid arthritis pateients could still respond normally to vitamin D by supressing inflammatory signalling – if those cells were circulating in the blood, but the same cell type when localisec to the fluid around the arthricitc joints, showned no anti-inflamatory reaction to vitamin D. This is because arthritis leads to vitamin D insensitivity which means that cells no longer respond to it.
The research suggest that vitmain D therapy could still work on patients if they are given very high doeses, although standard suplements amy not. Prof Martin Hewison says that “almost everyone in the Uk has vitamin D deficiency”. High levels of vitamin D can help prevent inflamatory diseases including rheumatiod arthritis.
Reference
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0896841117304201
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Mundane superfoods – part 3
Continue my series (see part 1 and part 2) on swapping exotic superfoods for more readily available and cheaper but just as nutritious alternatives, this week I turn my attention to Wheatgrass.
Chickweed: The New Wheatgrass
As green as any grass you've ever seen, wheatgrass has been a main event in health food circles for decades. People will line up to pay big bucks for a small shot of the stuff, which tastes pretty much like you'd imagine, similar to the aroma of new-mown hay; as one company describes it, "unfamiliar, but not unpleasant." Several of this commodity's features include fighting aging by revitalizing skin cells, cleansing the blood and fighting tumors. Clinical studies show that it contains 90 minerals, 20 essential amino acids, 13 vitamins and 80 enzymes. But it's the 70 percent ratio of chlorophyll, structurally similar to red blood cells (hemoglobin), that makes it a superfood. World Lifestyle notes that once it's absorbed, it converts to hemoglobin, mimicking red blood cells and carrying oxygen to vital areas of your body, and may even kill off cancer cells because "cancer cells can't survive and thrive in oxygen-rich environments." But get this: Chickweed (Stellaria media) is a wild, edible plant growing prolifically in every area of the world other than those that are coldest, like Antarctica. Besides decreasing insect damage to other plants, it's chockfull of many vitamins, minerals and, like wheatgrass, chlorophyll. Chickweed stems and flowers can be used raw in salads and sandwiches, tossed into soups and stews or added to cooked dishes (but at the end as the stems and leaves are delicate). Frontier foragers learned that when they gathered chickweed, almost exclusively in the spring, it was useful as both food and medicine. As a food, Foraged Foodie observes, the raw form is covered with a fine layer of fibers, which are minimized when they're gently chopped and sautéed or wilted. Natural medicine expert Dr. Josh Axe notes:"Chickweed is taken by mouth to treat stomach problems, intestinal complaints such as constipation, disorders of the blood, arthritis, lung diseases including asthma, kidney disorders, inflammatory conditions of the urinary tract, rabies, and scurvy or vitamin C deficiency. It is also used to relieve extreme exhaustion. Chickweed is applied on the skin relieve various skin conditions such as skin wounds, ulcers, burns, arthritis pain and symptoms of eczema."
References Dynamic Greens 2017 World Lifestyle Foraged Foodie March 3, 2016 Dr. Axe February 10, 2014Is there something in the quackery?
Many people think that homeopathy is unscientific nonsense - however a new study reports that homeopathy can reverse the skin condition vitiligo, which are the white patches on people's skin.
Classical homeopathy which is where individualized remedies are perscribed - has been sucessfully used on 14 vitiligo sufferers say researchers are the Centre for Classical Homeopathy in Bangalore , India. The remedies reduces the white patches on skin in all 14 patients within an average of 5 years of starting treatment.
With classical homeopathy, the remedy will vary and is determined by the characteristics of each individual patient, and so researchers are unable to point to one remedy that could treat the problem.
Vitiligo is an autoimmune condition that causes the loss of melanin, the skin pigment. Conventional medicine treats the condition with light therapy and drugs, which can restore some pigmentation but doesn't treat the underlying condition.
Reference
https://www.amjcaserep.com/abstract/index/idArt/905340Can exercise help reduce blood pressure?
High blood pressure is known as the silent killer becuase of its the link to heart attacks and strokes. The causes of high blood pressure are: Mental stress: Stress can have a severe impact on blood pressure, especially when it is chronic. It can occur as a result of both socioeconomic and psychosocial factors. Some aspects of sex: In general, high blood pressure is more common among adult men than adult women. However, after the age of 55 years, a woman's relative risk of hypertension increases. A recent study compared the impact of medication and exercise for reducing high systolic blood pressure. The researchers reviewed 197 exercise randomised control trials and 194 randomised control trials looking at medication. While anti-hypertensive medications achived hight reductions in blood pressure that exercise. Researches concluded that modest but consistent reductions in systolic blood pressure can be achieved with exercise. Reference
