Curiously Awesome

Artificial sweeteners can cause metabolic changes in the way the body reacts to real sugar.

Researchers tested 22 healthy young volunteers. The volunteers fasted for several hours and then drank either a diet soda the same amount of carbonated water. Ten minutes later participants drank a sugary beverage and their body’s responses were measured.

Increases in blood glucose levels were the same for everyone. Participants who drank the artificially sweetened drink first showed larger increases in a hormone that is released by the gut when food enters the stomach. This hormone signals the brain to create the feeling of “fullness.” This reaction does not seem to occur in people consuming artificial sweeteners.

Bottom line: Artificial sweeteners have a significant effect on the body’s reaction to other kinds of food.

Junk food seems to be almost as addictive as heroin, according to a recent study.

Researchers fed rats one of three different diets: a nutritious diet, a healthy diet with no access to junk food, and a diet of unlimited junk food. Rats in the third group quickly became overweight and the weights of rats in the first two groups did not change.

To test the effects of junk food on the brain’s pleasure centers, the researchers stimulated those areas whenever the rats ran on an exercise wheel. The longer the rat ran, the more pleasure it would get.

Rats in the first two groups did not change their exercise behavior. However, the rats eating junk food began running on the wheel longer. This suggests that their brain’s pleasure centers were desensitized.

Researchers then began shocking the rats painfully whenever they ate junk food. The rats in the first two groups quickly stopped eating the junk food but the third group rats continued with the junk food.

A vegetable common in India and China called bitter melon has a beneficial impact on blood sugar and cholesterol levels. A new study shows that the vegetable stops breast cancer cells from multiplying and also kills them.

Scientists are now investigating how bitter melon stops cancer cell growth. They want to test the vegetable extract in animals to see if it will kill breast cancer cells. The next step would be clinical trials in human breast cancer patients.

Breast cancer is a major killer. This study may provide a new tool to fight breast cancer.

Bitter melon grows in Asia, Africa and South America. Extracts are currently included in some dietary supplements.

A recent report has found that black women who eat fried chicken or burgers (from fast food restaurants) at least two times per week are between 40 and 70 percent more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those who do not. Black women are not the only demographic that should be concerned about this study; however. Everyone who eats fast foods (even on a moderate basis) are susceptible to developing diabetes.

The two foods that increased the incidence of diabetes the most were fast food hamburgers and fried chicken. These two menu items were instrumental in causing the most weight gain (resulting in more cases of diabetes).

A previous fast food study conducted in 2004 found similar results.

Some experts recommend consuming smaller amounts and fewer overall calories. It would be far better to make healthier food choices. Eating less fast food is a good start; but changing your diet to include whole foods would be even better.

A stroke occurs when blood supply to part of the brain is either blocked by a blood clot or when a blood vessel in the brain bursts(diverting blood into the spaces around brain cells, or neurons). Brain damage often results–leaving stroke survivors with a range of different disabilities.

New research concludes that a specific type of vitamin E (called TCT) could keep brain cells from dying after a stroke.

TCT is not widely found in the typical American diet but it is common in foods that make up a typical Southeast Asian diet. Some food sources of TCT are rice bran oil, wheat germ, barley, and oats.

Researchers have identified an enzyme called cPLA2 that TCT targets to protect neurons after a stroke.

Blocked blood flow associated with stroke causes an excess of glutamate to be released. Normally, glutamate is beneficial and important for memory and learning. If it is produced in large amounts (in response to the brain trauma of a stroke), it triggers reactions that lead to the destruction of neurons and causes stroke damage.

The amount of TCT necessary to achieve these brain cell protecting effects is small (about 10 times lower than the average amount of TCT circulating in the bodies of humans who regularly consume vitamin E).

Many breast cancers depend on estrogen to fuel them. There is a class of drugs called aromatase inhibitors (AI) that block the movement of estrogen. These drugs are used by mainstream medical doctors to attempt to slow the growth of estrogen sensitive breast tumors. Unfortunately, these drugs come loaded with side effects including hot flashes, joint pain, headaches, fatigue, fractures and even heart disease.

Researchers have found a substance that could prevent the development of estrogen-dependent breast cancer: pomegranate fruit.

Pomegranates contain phytochemicals that work much like AIs. Any cancer treatment derived from pomegranates would not have harmful side effects because the fruit is a basic food. Phytochemicals suppress estrogen and this, in turn, prevents the spread of breast cancer cells and estrogen-related tumors.

The health benefits of broccoli and related vegetables may come in part from a chemical known as sulforaphane, which appears to activate a specific heart-protecting protein.

Researchers studied the chemical sulforaphane (occurring naturally in vegetables in the family Brassicaceae–known as cruciferous vegetables). Cruciferous vegetables include cabbage, cauliflower, radish, and turnip. Sulforaphane increases the activity of the protein Nrf2. In these areas, blood flow is usually slowed or even disrupted completely.

These findings provide a possible way by which eating vegetables can help protect against heart disease. The biochemistry revealed could lead to more medical approaches for controlling disease that leads to heart attacks and strokes.

Sweet potatoes are rich in antioxidants and contain beneficial anti-inflammatory properties. Sweet potatoes have a positive effect on some health conditions, including asthma, allergies, and arthritis. Sweet potatoes are also high in fiber and calcium. They contain high amounts of potassium, folate, vitamin c, and beta carotene.

Sweet potatoes are also beneficial for a diabetic diet. They are naturally sweet but only release their natural sugars in the form of glucose. This means they release into the body at a much slower rate. Foods like these allow diabetics to better manage their blood sugar levels.

Sweet potatoes are easy to prepare as well. Add sweet potatoes to your list of autumn vegetables and you will have a superfood on your menu. Sweet potatoes will increase your fiber and calcium intake, increase your vitamins, level your blood sugar, improve arthritis symptoms, and may improve eyesight problems.

It seems that every summer at least one of my kids battles swimmer’s ear.

Swimmer’s ear is an inflammation of the outer ear canal. Symptoms include itching, pain, and temporary hearing loss. Water in the ear is usually noticed after swimming. There may also be an infection in the outer ear that appears later. Grasp the outer ear and pull it forward gently. If this hurts, you more than likely have swimmer’s ear. Here are some natural remedies to try:

Isopropyl alcohol will kill bacteria and help to evaporate moisture in the ear canal.

Apple cider vinegar is a good preventative measure. If you notice that water is remaining trapped in your ears, place 3-4 drops of apple cider vinegar in your ears to guard against future infection.

Place a hair dryer set to low about an arm’s length from the ear and move it back and forth. The warm air will evaporate water in the ear.

Full strength white vinegar dropped into the ear every two hours. This will help bacterial and fungal infections.

Make a 50/50 mixture of isopropyl alcohol and distilled white vinegar. The alcohol will kill germs and evaporate water. Use several drops after swimming.

Keep ears dry while healing. Use ear plugs or Vaseline-coated cotton balls when swimming or showering.

Researchers have recently found that black pepper can reduce the perception of pain, reduce inflammation, and fight arthritis. Other studies show black pepper can block complications from diabetes, act as an antioxidant and fight off colon cancer. Black pepper improves digestion and frees nutrients for absorption within the body. It stimulates amino-acid transporters in the intestinal lining, regulates enzymes that metabolize nutritional substances, and inhibits the removal of substances from cells.

Before the invention of modernmedicines and drugs people kept themselves well through the use of natural substances. The New Testament of the Bible tells of the gold, frankincense and myrrh brought by the Maji to the infant Jesus. This tells us that frankincense and myrrh, substances from trees, were compared to gold. Black pepper has played a similarly important role throughout history and has been prized since ancient times. It was so valued that it was used as a currency and offering. Taxes and ransoms could be paid in black pepper.