An open access anthropology paper on cryonics, illustrating in a number of subtle and less subtle ways the eternal divide between students of soft sciences and students of hard sciences: "Cryonics is a particularly American social practice, created and taken up by a particular type of American: primarily a small faction of white, male, atheist, Libertarian, middle- and upper-middle-income, computer/engineering 'geeks' who believe passionately in the free market and its ability to support technological progress. In this article, I investigate the relations between the discourses and practices of cryonics and its underpinnings in the values associated with neoliberal capitalism. I take seriously the premise that cryonics is an investment in the possibility of an extended future and a potential insurance policy against death. I show how cryonics is conceived of as an attempt to gain sovereignty over the limits of biological time, achieved through both monetary investment and the banking of biological objects understood to be actual selves. Cryonics demonstrates a unique way in which time, capital, and biotechnoscience can come together in the name of future life. An examination of the extreme example of cryonics reveals how speculative economic reasoning is applied to lives and bodies in the United States. I argue that cryonics is one response to American anxieties about time, the impending decline of the human body, and its culmination in death that draws on logics of biomedicine, technological progress, and investment forms. I describe some of the many unique aspects of cryonics and some of its similarities to venture capitalism, mainstream biomedical practice, and other sites where investment in the self and biotechnoscience come together, chiefly in other forms of tissue banking."

View the Article Under Discussion: http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/section?content=a921989939&fulltext=713240928

Read More Longevity Meme Commentary: http://www.longevitymeme.org/news/

This particular researcher is somewhat fixated on TOR (when all you have is a hammer...) but this open access paper provides an interesting set of ideas on why men and women have differing life expectancies: "Women have lived longer than men in different countries and in every era ... Yet, it is believed that men do not age faster than women but simply are weaker at every age. In contrast, I discuss that men [do] age faster. From [an] evolutionary perspective, high accidental death rate in young males is compatible with fast aging. Mechanistically, hyper-activated mTOR (Target of Rapamycin) may render young males robust at the cost of accelerated aging. But if women age slower, why then is it women who have menopause? Some believe that menopause is programmed and purposeful (grandmother theory). In contrast, I discuss how menopause is not programmed but rather is an aimless continuation of the same program that initially starts reproduction at puberty. This quasi-program causes over-activation of female reproductive system, which is very vulnerable to over-activation."

View the Article Under Discussion: http://www.impactaging.com/papers/v2/n5/full/100149.html

Read More Longevity Meme Commentary: http://www.longevitymeme.org/news/

Researchers continue to make progress in scaffolding materials that enable the body to regrow missing bone: "In contrast to long-term solutions based on titanium, degradable implants are intended to replace the missing pieces of bone only until the fissure closes itself up. That may last months or even years, depending on the size of the defect, the age and health status of the patient. A new implant improves the conditions for the healing process. It emerged from the "Resobone" project of the federal ministry for education and research, and is sized-to-fit for each patient. Unlike the conventional bony substitutes to date, it is not made up as a solid mass, but is porous instead. Precise little channels permeate the implant at intervals of just a few hundred micrometers. ... The porous canals create a lattice structure which the adjacent bones can grow into. ... the Resobone implants will primarily replace missing facial, maxillary and cranial bones. Currently, they are able to close fissures of up to 25 square centimeters in size. ... The patient's computer tomography serves as the template for the precision-fit production of the implants. The work processes - from CT imaging, to construction of the implant, through to its completion - are coordinated in such precise sequences that the replacement for a defective zygomatic bone can be produced in just a few hours, while a five-centimeter large section of cranium can be done overnight."

View the Article Under Discussion: http://www.fraunhofer.de/en/press/research-news/2010/06/bone-replacement-laser-melting.jsp

Read More Longevity Meme Commentary: http://www.longevitymeme.org/news/

From the Sydney Morning Herald: "A full thickness artificial skin which should dramatically reduce the pain and scarring associated with skin grafts is being developed by Sydney researchers. Burns experts from the University of Sydney and Concord Hospital have started animal trials of a living skin that is grown outside the body and is completely functional when grafted on to the body. Unlike traditional skin grafts, which involve only the thin outer layer of the skin known as the epidermis, the new skin will be able to replace the crucial second layer of skin called the dermis. ... It takes the body weeks to grow into a skin graft and in that time a lot of excess elastic fibres and collagen will be produced that will then turn into a scar. The scar contracts and it can get so tight that patients lose the movement of their mouth and can't talk, or they can't bend their fingers. ... Initial testing of the artificial dermis in mice has found it does not scar and contract when it is transplanted. ... The research has been so successful that a new foundation has been created to centralise the burns research being done at three Sydney hospitals. ... They hope to create scaffolds that can individualise the skin, allowing it to be different colours."

View the Article Under Discussion: http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/wellbeing/fully-functional-artificial-skin-being-trialled-by-sydney-researchers-20100614-yaau.html

Read More Longevity Meme Commentary: http://www.longevitymeme.org/news/

From the Telegraph: a new methodology "could be used to recycle thousands of donated organs which are at present considered too old or damaged for transplantation. ... Many livers have to be discarded because they are too old or too damaged to be of any use.
The new technique works by effectively chemically stripping the old liver down too its basic 'scaffold' or exoskeleton in a process of called 'decellularisation'. Onto this frame of connective tissue and blood vessels, they then regrow the new liver using stem cells from the patient. Stem cells from embryos could also be used. The effectively brand new liver is then transplanted back into the patient. At the moment the technique will require donor organs but it is hoped that eventually pig's livers or artificial scaffolds can be used instead - effectively avoiding donors altogether. ... This scaffold retains for the most part the detailed microarchitecture of the liver, including essential structures such as the blood vessels. We take advantage of this remaining structure to repopulate the scaffold with liver cells to recreate a functional liver. As we have shown this re-engineered liver performs the most essential liver functions in the lab and can be transplanted into rats and stays intact, with the cells able to survive."

View the Article Under Discussion: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/7825180/Livers-grown-in-the-laboratory-could-solve-organ-transplant-shortage.html

Read More Longevity Meme Commentary: http://www.longevitymeme.org/news/

A recent review paper: "Calorie Restriction (CR) research has expanded rapidly over the past few decades and CR remains the most highly reproducible, environmental intervention to improve health and extend lifespan in animal studies. Although many model organisms have consistently demonstrated positive responses to CR, it remains to be shown whether CR will extend lifespan in humans. Additionally, the current environment of excess caloric consumption and high incidence of overweight/obesity illustrate the improbable nature of the long-term adoption of a CR lifestyle by a significant proportion of the human population. Thus, the search for substances that can reproduce the beneficial physiologic responses of CR without a requisite calorie intake reduction, termed CR mimetics (CRMs), has gained momentum. ... The first results from a long-term, randomized, controlled CR study in nonhuman primates showing statistically significant benefits on longevity have now been reported. Additionally, positive results from short-term, randomized, controlled CR studies in humans are suggestive of potential health and longevity gains, while test of proposed [CR mimetics] have shown both positive and mixed results in rodents. ... Whether current positive results will translate into longevity gains for humans remains an open question. However, the apparent health benefits that have been observed with CR suggest that regardless of longevity gains, the promotion of healthy ageing and disease prevention may be attainable."

View the Article Under Discussion: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20534066

Read More Longevity Meme Commentary: http://www.longevitymeme.org/news/

More data from primate studies: "Caloric restriction (CR) reduces the pathological effects of aging and extends the lifespan in many species, including nonhuman primates, although the effect on the brain is less well characterized. We used two common indicators of aging, motor performance speed and brain iron deposition measured in vivo using MRI, to determine the potential effect of CR on elderly rhesus macaques eating restricted and standard diets. Both the CR and control monkeys showed age-related increases in iron concentrations in globus pallidus (GP) and substantia nigra (SN), although the CR group had significantly less iron deposition in the GP, SN, red nucleus, and temporal cortex. A diet x age interaction revealed that CR modified age-related brain changes, evidenced as attenuation in the rate of iron accumulation in basal ganglia and parietal, temporal, and perirhinal cortex. Additionally, control monkeys had significantly slower fine motor performance on the Movement Assessment Panel, which was negatively correlated with iron accumulation in left SN and parietal lobe, although CR animals did not show this relationship. Our observations suggest that the CR-induced benefit of reduced iron deposition and preserved motor function may indicate neural protection similar to effects described previously in aging rodent and primate species." You might recall that iron buildup is associated with lipofuscin accumulation in our cells, which damages the process of autophagy, which in turn leads to degeneration.

View the Article Under Discussion: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20534842

Read More Longevity Meme Commentary: http://www.longevitymeme.org/news/

PopSci examines medical tourism for stem cell therapies, an entirely rational response to the unnecessary costs and delays imposed on medical development by the FDA: "The FDA thinks all stem-cell procedures should undergo clinical trials for safety and efficacy before companies begin selling them as therapies. Its formal review process, the agency maintains, is the only way to protect patients from treatments that are ineffective or downright dangerous. But with multistage clinical trials lasting up to five years and costing as much as $100 million, a growing number of doctors and patients have started pursuing other options. ... In a controversial move in 2005, the FDA reclassified autologous stem cells that are manipulated by growth factors or other compounds as drugs. This criterion holds whether the cells are derived from a patient's own body or from someone else's. Many believe that the policy change gives the agency more authority than Congress ever intended it to have. Grekos's theory is that pharmaceutical companies are pressuring the FDA to treat autologous stem cells as a drug in order to secure their own future profits." Clinical trials are taking place overseas, as the article notes. The quality of therapies offered varies widely, as is true whether or not a market is regulated: this means you have to do some legwork to find out who is well regarded. But at least the option is available - there has to be freedom to experiment and to choose if there is to be rapid progress.

View the Article Under Discussion: http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2010-06/offshore-operations-crossing-atlantic-pursuit-stem-cells

Read More Longevity Meme Commentary: http://www.longevitymeme.org/news/

Here is a dense scientific post from the SENS Foundation that might be better read back to front, starting with the research partnership announcement at the end. Some fraction of degenerative aging is caused by an accumulation of various forms of amyloids between cells, probably the best known of which is that involved in Alzheimer's disease. One goal for the Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence (SENS) approach to aging is to establish a general technology platform that can be used to remove any form of amyloid: "In late 2008, we reviewed then-unpublished work by Dr. Mark Pepys, who was working on an ambitious project anticipated to allow for the disaggregation of nearly all disease-associated amyloids. ... I am therefore delighted to have the privilege to be given permission [to] make the first public announcement that the Supercentenarian Research Foundation has recently helped to facilitate a collaboration between researchers already working in amyloid diseases, to develop antibodies to cleave aggregated wild-type and mutant transthyretin - the form responsible for senile cardiac amyloidosis (a prevalent, but not exclusive, cardiac amyloidosis in supercentenarians)."

View the Article Under Discussion: http://www.sens.org/node/831

Read More Longevity Meme Commentary: http://www.longevitymeme.org/news/

Via EurekAlert!: "A team of researchers has developed a method to produce cells that kill tumour cells in the lab and prevent tumours forming in mouse models of cancer. ... In this research, T cells were transformed into cells similar to another type, Natural Killer (NK) cells, which commonly act against viruses and cancer cells. ... We had shown that a gene called Bcl11b was essential for normal development of immune system cells - and of particular interest in the development of T cells. Here we can see the fruits of that work: we show, for the first time, that we can modify the developmental fate of immune system cells to produce a novel type that - if we can see the same effect in humans - could be of enormous value in cancer treatment. ... the Bcl11b gene was active only in T cells in the immune system and that its activity was needed at the earliest stages of production of T cells. When the team knocked out the Bcl11b gene, the mice produced no T cells. ... Remarkably, the mice lacking the Bcl11b gene produced a new type of immune system cell - the Induced T to Natural Killer cells. This is the first time we have seen these cells ... Even more important, we can see that these reprogrammed killer cells can attack cancer cells, whether in test tubes or in mouse models. ... The ITNK cells killed melanoma and lymphoma cells in experiment in test tubes and were much more efficient than unmodified Natural Killer cells in the mouse and in human."

View the Article Under Discussion: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-06/wtsi-mck061010.php

Read More Longevity Meme Commentary: http://www.longevitymeme.org/news/

Could Coffee Reduce the Risk for Diabetes Development?

Lab tests show rats drinking coffee (black) had lower blood sugar levels than rats drinking water.

Coffee drinking is rarely associated as being a boon for someone’s health.  It’s derided for being too high in caffeine, disparaged as being a cause for tooth staining, and pilloried for being a high calorie diet buster.

While the negative health claims of coffee have elements of truth, the anti-coffee crusaders conveniently ignore the benefits of coffee, such as its ability to reduce a person’s risk of liver cancer and alcohol-related liver disease.

But there’s another reason to grab your cup o’ Joe before leaving for work tomorrow:  It may reduce your risk for diabetes.

With the recent health concerns of former Poison front man Bret Michaels, diabetes has been in the news headlines quite a bit lately.  Michaels suffers from type I diabetes and has become the diabetic community’s front man in helping garner attention to a condition that affects hundreds of millions of people worldwide.  Michaels recently appeared on Donald Trump’s “Celebrity Apprentice,” earning hundreds of thousands of dollars for his charity, the American Diabetes Association, in the process.

The hope is that that money will go a long way in helping discover a cure for a disease affects 23.6 million people in the United States alone, as diabetics cope with their disease day after day through insulin therapy, diet alterations and various other treatments.

No one is immune from getting diabetes, and while type I diabetes is usually acquired at birth, type II diabetes—or adult onset diabetes—can occur at any time in life.

But researchers think that people may be able to reduce their risk for type II diabetes by drinking coffee.

Dr. Fumihiko Horio found this link after feeding a group of laboratory rats either water or coffee.  Through blood testing, they found that the rats fed coffee showed an improvement in their sensitivity to insulin and had lower blood sugar levels compared to the water-drinking rats.  Researchers believe coffee’s prevention qualities is due to its high caffeine content, calling caffeine “one of the most effective anti-diabetic compounds in coffee.”

This latest round of research is in contradistinction to a 2008 study that said coffee tended to increase blood sugar levels among diabetics.  In that study, researchers followed 10 people with type II diabetes to see what, if any, effect high levels of caffeine had on their blood sugar levels.  They found that blood sugar levels increased by an average of eight percent when participants consumed a caffeine pill that contained about the same amount of caffeine as an eight ounce serving of coffee.

Of course the difference between the two studies is that one looked at how coffee prevented diabetes, while the other looked at how coffee affected people who already had diabetes.  Another difference is that one study used coffee, while the other used caffeine pills in place of coffee.

This fact alone suggests that it may be something other than caffeine that has diabetes preventive qualities, especially when past studies reached the same conclusions while using decaffeinated coffee.

More research is in the offing.  In the meantime, don’t beat yourself up over your coffee habit.  So long as you’re consuming coffee black and that you’re consuming no more than a couple cups a day, drinking coffee is a healthy habit to have.

Sources
latimesblogs.latimes.com
sciencedaily.com

Discuss this post in Frank Mangano’s forum!

Researchers:  Skip Pre-Workout Meal, Increase Fat Loss

Why you may be better off postponing your meal until after you've exercised.

There are plenty of opinions out there regarding the benefits and detriments of eating immediately prior to working out.  Advocates say that food provides the fuel an athlete needs to perform at his or her best.  But detractors say that pre-workout meals prevent the body from burning off stored fat, thus reducing the benefits exercise has in helping people lose weight.

Both arguments have their validity, which is why you need to consider what your goals are before deciding on whether or not to chow down prior to working out.  If your goal is to maximize performance—to leg out that extra mile, or to bench that extra rep—then eating is the way to go.  Fat and carbohydrates provide the muscles with the fuel they need to perform rigorous tasks.

But if the purpose of your exercise program is to lose weight, you may be better off skipping out on that pre-workout shake.

Now, I know what you’re thinking:  Uh, duh Frank – if you want to lose weight, then of course you have to consume less than you’re burning!  But there’s a plethora of data out there suggesting that skipping meals is a bad way to try and lose weight.  Skipping meals slows down the body’s metabolic rate and it also encourages us to eat more later in the day because we’re feeling famished.  In fact, some studies suggest the best way to lose weight is to eat more.

But researchers from the University of Birmingham say that skipping the pre-workout meal “tricks” the body into tapping into fat stores for fuel.

They discovered this after following 14 people who either ate prior to working out or did not eat prior to working out.  For those that did eat, they waited one hour before mounting their bicycles.  Both groups used bicycling as their modes of exercise for the experiment.

At the end of one week, the researchers found that the pre-workout eaters outperformed those that didn’t eat prior to working out (i.e. they didn’t travel as many miles), but the fasting group wound up burning off more fat.

The study is published in the journal American College of Sports Medicine.

Now, does this mean that everyone should skip out on eating prior to working out?  Of course not.  Many people simply can’t exercise on an empty stomach without feeling dizzy.  If this is the case, then by all means, EAT!

Others are able to eat prior to working out and can lose weight just fine.  In fact they’ve tried fasting before exercising, but it left them feeling listless and lethargic, severely hampering their exercise efforts.

For everyone else, though, skipping your pre-workout meal may lead to big gains—or should I say “losses”—in your weight loss endeavors.

Source:
newsmaxhealth.com

Discuss this article in Frank Mangano’s forum!

A chemical compound called epigallocatechin gallate showed much promise by killing cancerous cells during a phase 2 clinical study.

According to a study performed by researchers from the Mayo Clinic, the extract of the world-popular green tea has been effective in regulating the growth and proliferation of cancer cells in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).  The study was classified as a phase two human clinical trial, and the results were very promising indeed.

Epigallocatechin gallate vs. cancer cells

The compound epigallocatechin gallate was shown to have the ability to kill cancer cells in patients with CLL.  The compound prevented the cancer cells from surviving, thereby effectively reducing the total cancer cell count. The first phase of the human clinical trial of epigallocatechin gallate also showed similar, positive results.

What does this all mean?  According to one of the Mayo researchers, Dr. Tait Shanafelt, the two clinical trials show that epigallocatechin gallate showed some promise in stabilizing or normalizing the condition of patients with CLL.  While the compound is not classified as a definitive cure for the condition, it shows promise in slowing down the progress of the medical condition.

Instead of a cure, Mayo clinic researchers state that the compound should be viewed as a cancer preventive rather than cancer cure. And there was a catch: the patients that were subjected to the nutraceutical treatment were patients who had early signs of CLL (not advanced stage CLL).

The study involved thirty-six respondents and resulted in a fifty percent reduction of leukemia cell count at the end of the human clinical trial.  Including the patients from the first clinical trial, the total number of CLL patients involved in the study is forty-two.  A third clinical trial is needed before the Mayo Clinic researchers can make a definitive recommendation regarding the use of epigallocatechin gallate for CLL sufferers.

Other benefits of green tea

Tea is the second most drunk beverage in the world (right next to water). It contains natural antioxidants and caffeine (50% less than regular coffee).  And did I mention that it’s good for you for a lot of reasons?  It’s more than just a cancer preventive.  Here are some more health benefits of drinking green tea:

1. According to a study published by the American Medical Association, 40,000 respondents (from Japan; all of them drank up three cups of green tea per day) showed no evidence of cardiovascular anomalies and coronary heart problems since the study started back in the year 1994.  Not one individual from the 40,000 strong group developed any cancer, too!

2. Drinking green tea reduces the risk of dying from heart disease by twenty six percent (for males).  For women, drinking three to five cups of the precious elixir reduced the risk of dying from heart attacks and other cardiac problems by a staggering thirty-one percent.

3. Having chronic problems with sleep apnea (disturbances during sleep) and poor sleep quality, generally?   Reach for green tea.  US studies found out that chemical compounds in green tea can help prevent cognitive troubles resulting from poor sleep.

4. If you have trouble memorizing for school, don’t drink soda.  Instead, make yourself a nice, warm green tea brew.  There is no reason not to enjoy this beverage as it now comes in many natural flavors, like blueberry, cinnamon, etc.

All you have to do is choose your favorite flavor and use a French press to make an instant cup of tea.  Or you can just buy tea bags and allow the tea to infuse itself into the water for a few minutes.  I recommend this and that’s how I make my green tea.  The longer you keep the teabag in the hot water, the stronger the tea.

You can also add a bit of cinnamon to make the tea more interesting.  Since tea has caffeine, it can also help keep you more alert and awake when working or studying.   Green tea also has theanine, which has been shown to have beneficial effects in that region of the human brain that is responsible for alertness.

5. Suffering from poor immunity against common illnesses like the flu and the common cold?  Green tea is rich in chemical compounds called polyphenols, which can help boost your immune system.  Polyphenols can also help slow down aging by reducing the oxidative stress that the body experiences from free radicals.  Polyphenols are capable of disabling free radicals in the body.

6. Substituting polyphenol-rich beverages like green tea for soda and the like can also reverse the spike in body weight.  Because green tea doesn’t have much sugar, it does not contribute much to your weight (apart from its water content).  If you are having trouble with ‘water weight’, then all you have to do is to sip on the green tea during the day instead of downing a whole cup in one go.  But don’t forget: being well-hydrated is more important.  Also, water helps the body lose weight by helping in better digestion and also by helping the body burn calories more efficiently.

7. According to researchers from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the antioxidants present in green tea can also penetrate the tissues in the eyes and do a world of good there.  Increased antioxidant activity in any body tissue has always been linked to decreased inflammation and healthier tissues and cells.

8. All kinds of tea come from the same camella plant – and tea always has more than ten times the amount of antioxidant chemicals than regular vegetables and fruits.  So drink up!  Green tea can also help prevent dangerous blood clots from forming in veins and arteries (which can lead to heart attack and stroke).  You also reduce the risk for atherosclerosis when you drink plenty of tea, say Dr. John Weisburger, the US’s pro-tea champion and veteran researcher (who is also, incidentally, already eighty two years old!)

Cancer prevention

In the spirit of global cancer prevention, here are some easy steps that you can prevent different types of cancer.

Prostate Cancer

• In a European study, it was discovered that regular intake of legumes and other vegetables lowered the risk of prostate cancer over the long term.
• Nutrients like vitamin D, isoflavanoids and selenium can help reduce prostate cancer by stopping the chemical processes that can lead to the formation of cancer cells.

Skin Cancer

• Increase your intake of antioxidants prior to sun exposure or take an umbrella with you when going out into the direct heat of the sun for a long period of time!
• Beta-carotene has been linked to reduced risk of developing cancerous skin cells.

Lung Cancer

• Long term tobacco smoke has been linked to lung cancer – so stop the habit before it leads to something much, much worse than just stained teeth.
• Regular exercise produces a protective effect on the body – including the respiratory system. Get enough exercise to strengthen your breathing apparatus.

Sources:
sciencedaily.com
blogs.webmd.com
blogs.webmd.com
webmd.com
webmd.com
webmd.com
webmd.com
webmd.com

Discuss this article in Frank Mangano’s forum!

Kiwifruit, a world favorite, is now being seen as one of the leading “super foods” around because of myriad of health benefits, including its prebiotic potential and anti-cancer potential.

In a recently published Journal of Functional Foods, researchers from the NZ Institute of Plant and Food Research claim that pectin that has been derived from kiwifruit may help improve the levels of good bacteria in the digestive tract.

The humble pectin… was actually a health superstar!

The same pectins (the researchers found a total of six varieties of pectin in the species Actinidia deliciosa) the study says, may also help protect the good bacteria as they flourish in the digestive tract.  A growing body of studies suggest that the once humble pectin (usually used as a gelling agent for fruit jams and as material for encapsulating supplements and drugs) can provide the following benefits:

• Better digestion with pectin’s natural fiber content
• Prebiotics
• Increased heart health with its capacity to lower LDL (low density lipoproteins) or “bad cholesterol”

Compared to inulin fiber, the pectins from kiwifruit showed an enhanced effect on the good bacterias Lactobacillus rhamnosus and Bifidobacterium bifidum. The pectins also helped the body fend off bacterial invasions by lessening the adhesion of bad bacteria like Salmonella typhimurium.

Prebiotics?

The majority of health-inclined individuals around the world know of prebiotics. But how about prebiotics? What do they do?

Probiotics are compounds that encourage the growth and flourishing of good bacteria or essential bacteria in the digestive tract.  They directly contribute to the growth of the organisms in the intestinal flora.

Prebiotics on the other hand, protect the bacterial growth in the intestinal flora.  Since prebiotics are non-digestible substances they can also help carry away waste from the intestines.  Prebiotics are also important because they prolong the life of good bacteria and  they also keep the bacteria healthy.

Other benefits of prebiotics include:

1. May help ease the symptoms of diarrhea caused by taking antibiotics
2. Also helps people suffering from traveler’s diarrhea.
3. Helps reduce the pain and inflammation associated with gastroenteritis.
4. Helps normalize and regulate bowel function.
5. May help improve colitis
6. Can help reduce the incidence of irritable bowel problems.
7. Helps the body absorb calcium
8. Can help strengthen the immune system

Natural sources of prebiotics include:

• Whole grain products
• Leguminous foods
• Onions
• Fresh honey
• Fresh and cooked greens
• Garlic
• Yogurt, milk and other dairy products
• Different types of berries
• Bananas
• Apple cider vinegar (raw, not cooked)
• Jerusalem artichokes
• Other grains (gluten-free)

Amazing benefits of kiwifruit

Does kiwifruit offer other benefits other than prebiotics? Yes! Here are some of the main benefits of getting your healthy dose of kiwifruit everyday:

1. Kiwifruit is rich in vitamins and minerals, including ascorbic acid (vitamin C – one kiwifruit has more vitamin C than a regular orange), beta carotene and potassium. Potassium is brain food that increases one’s alertness and also improves one’s memory.

2. According to research performed in Italy, kiwifruit can also help improve the health of the respiratory tract. Seven portions of the fruit every week can yield respiratory benefits (respondents, children aged six to seven, showed less wheezing and shortness of breath compared to other respondents who received little or no kiwifruit throughout the testing period)

3. Kiwifruit  can also help ward off the effects of age-related macular degeneration.

4. Kiwifruit is a potent source of natural antioxidants, which can help reduce the incidence of certain types of cancer, heart disease and can also improve one’s vision.

5. Kiwifruit is a natural source of soluble fiber, which improves the digestive function and also helps transport human waste more efficiently.

6. Kiwifruit may be helpful in reducing harmful mutations or changes to one’s DNA. This is important in keeping your DNA pristine for the next generation (your children, who will be receiving your DNA – and all that comes with it, including risks to certain types of diseases, etc.)

7. Kiwifruit, because of its high soluble fiber content, can help individuals with insulin-dependent diabetes (or type-2 diabetes) and people with high cholesterol. Natural fiber has been known to control blood glucose levels and bad cholesterol levels.

8. Also due to its high fiber content, kiwifruit may also help prevent deadly colon cancer.

9. Kiwifruit is a natural source of the nutrient inositol. Recent studies show that inositol is very beneficial as a supportive treatment for depression.

10. It contains the compound arginine, which is capable of dilating or opening up constricted blood vessels.  As such, it is not only good for people with hypertension but is also very beneficial for males suffering from impotence or erectile dysfunction. Arginine has been long used for the treatment of impotence in males.

11. In China, a study made use of kiwifruit to see whether Chinese athletes can last longer during the rigorous physical exertion during training.  With the addition of five percent carbohydrates to kiwi juice, the athletes were able to last longer – their blood glucose levels remained stable after taking the kiwi juice.

12. Amazingly, this small fruit also has a high percentage of the natural brain chemical serotonin. This compound has a relaxing effect when utilized by the body.

Kiwifruit is a type of fruit that provides the best ratio of calories to fiber & essential nutrients.

Sources:
foodnavigator.com
nutrition.about.com
mayoclinic.com
bodyecology.com
kiwi-fruit.info
whfoods.com
calharvest.com
bimuno.com

Discuss this article in Frank Mangano’s forum!