How Healthy are Almonds?

Written by Tena Moore


Almonds, like most nuts, are very healthy. Many large studies have linked the consumption of nuts to reduced risk of heart disease, and almond studies have shown them to help prevent cancer, increase levels of good cholesterol, and decrease levels of bad cholesterol.

Almonds are jam packed with nutrition. While vitamin E, magnesium, tryptophan, copper, phosphorus, manganese and vitamin B2 (riboflavin) are the most noted, almonds also offer calcium, iron, selenium, sodium and zinc. They also contain 6 grams of protein per ounce, and are a great source of dietary fiber.

Many people want to steer away from nuts such as almonds, based on hearing that they are high fat. Most people think that anything high fat must not be good for you and will make you gain weight. Although a quarter cup of almonds contains 18 grams of fat, 11 grams of that fat is monounsaturated fat – a very heart healthy fat. The key to almonds, just like any other food, is to be moderate with consumption. As a snack, almonds can help fill you up and deliver nutrients, and are a great choice as opposed to most snacks that truly are high in bad fats and can pack on the weight.





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Burdock: A Weed For Health

Burdock is a common weed found all over Europe, North America and Asia. You may know it as burr, or simply know it for its prickly burrs which get stuck on everything it comes in contact with. While the weed may be common and even annoying at times, the roots of burdock are well known for their many healing properties, such as their phytochemicals that ward off fungi and bacteria.

Ayurvedic and traditional Chinese medicine practitioners have used burdock for centuries as a diuretic and decongestant, while western herbalists use it frequently to eliminate toxins in various organs of the body. Studies have shown that burdock can help treat cancer, slow tumor growth and reduce blood sugar levels.

Burdock

Garlic for Heart Health and Cancer Protection

Available in every grocery store and easy to grow, garlic is a much more than a great seasoning or something to help support your immune system when you are feeling under the weather; garlic offers over 70 health-promoting natural chemicals and improves cardiovascular health.

Garlic can help lower bad cholesterol and blood pressure. It can be used to treat ear infections and other bacterial issues. It can decrease the risk of stroke and heart attack. It can help slow tumor growth and protect against certain cancers, such as stomach, colon, esophageal and breast cancers. It is even used to help people undergoing chemotherapy. The newest studies on garlic have shown it to decrease blood sugar levels and increase insulin release in laboratory animals.

Garlic

Ginkgo for Aging and Longevity

Did you know that ginkgo biloba is a tree? Not only is it a tree but it is the oldest tree on earth, called the maidenhair tree. No wonder ginkgo is a great treatment for aging disorders and helps promote longevity. Ginkgo helps aging by fighting against free radical damage and helps prevent against blood clotting and the buildup of cholesterol.

Ginkgo protects against atherosclerosis, increases blood circulation and improves brain function. It is used to treat macular degeneration, glaucoma, stroke, heart disease and even cancer. Due to ginkgo’s ability to increase blood circulation it is gaining popularity as a great treatment for sexual dysfunction and is now being studied for sexual dysfunction treatment caused by antidepressants.

Ginkgo Biloba

Does Juice Consumption Reduce the Risk of Alzheimer’s Disease

Researchers in the United States have published the results of a ten year study that involved nearly two thousand individuals in the American Journal of Medicine, which investigated the affect of vegetable and fruit juice upon an individual’s risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers found that individuals who drank juice more than three times per week were more than seventy five percent less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease.

Recent studies have linked Alzheimer’s disease to the build up of beta-amyloid protein in the brain. Some studies have suggested that polyphenols contained in fruits and vegetables may slow the process that creates beta-amyloid clumps in the brain. Researchers believe that the phenols contained in fruit and vegetables may somehow disrupt the process that creates clumps of beta-amyloid protein in the brain. While other scientists have put forth a theory that free radicals contained with in the body and brain may be associated with the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. Fruits and vegetables are rich in antioxidants neutralize free radicals within in the body; consequently the findings of this study may strengthen the belief that free radicals cause the early brain cell changes that lead to the onset of Alzheimer disease.

No matter what theory you subscribe too, diet is key in every individual’s risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers hope that diet may become an inexpensive way to prevent the development of a disease that devastates individuals’ lives and costs the national health system more than stroke, heart disease and cancer combined.

Perhaps, the results of this study will encourage family doctors to pass on this information to their patients who are at high risk for Alzheimer’s disease.

Can Gum Disease Lead to Cancer?

Studies seem to indicate that gum disease may lead to an increased risk of lung, kidney, pancreatic, and blood cancer. Researchers in England studied the medical records of nearly fifty thousand men who were patients at Lancet Oncology in an effort to ascertain if there is a link between the immune system and both gum disease and cancer.

What they found seems to confirm what scientists have theorized for years, and that is that inflammatory processes within the body may lead to other more serious medical conditions including cancer.

In fact, researchers theorized that gum disease might even of a weak immune system, which in turn may make an individual more susceptible to periodontal disease and hematological cancers. Some researchers even suggested that long-term gum disease might trigger a response from the body’s immune system that allows cancer cells to form.

The study results revealed that the risk of kidney cancer and pancreatic cancer increased nearly fifty percent for individual’s who suffer from gum disease. Additionally, patients with gum disease were thirty percent more likely to suffer from blood cancers such as leukemia. The risk lung cancer increased about fourteen percent if a smoker also had gum disease, and even more astonishing was the fact that gum disease increased the risk of lung cancer among non-smokers as well
The alarming thing about these statistics is that gum disease is preventable with regular dental treatment. This, therefore, signifies the extreme importance of good dental hygiene.