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Day 27 - Garlic & Onions
 

Garlic and onions could help protect against stomach cancer, says a massive European-based study. The new study, part of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC), followed 521,457 subjects in 10 European countries with an average age of 52. It is said to be the largest cohort study on fruit and vegetable intake and the incidence of stomach (gastric) cancer in Western countries and the first to look at adenocarcinoma of the oesophagus.

After an average of 6.5 years of follow-up, 400 cases of gastric cancer and 188 cases of oesophagus cancer had been reported. While total vegetable intake was not associated with a decreased risk of gastric cancer, the researchers report that an increase in the intake of onions and garlic of 10 grams per day was associated with a 30 per cent reduction in the risk of intestinal gastric cancer.  

This is not the first time that onions have been linked to reduction in the risk of certain cancers. US researchers recently reported that onion extracts could inhibit the growth of liver and colon cancers in vitro. A large-scale epidemiological Iowa Women's Health Study looked at the garlic consumption in 41,000 middle-aged women. Results showed that women who regularly consumed garlic had 35% lower risk of developing colon cancer.  

Don't have time to slice and dice onions and garlic everyday?  Enjoy a delicious cup of Wholefood Farmacy V-8 Creamy Bean Soup.  This nutrient-dense soup is handcrafted from Kidney Beans, Tomatoes, Onions, Garlic, Chipotle Pepper, Pure Salt, & Brown Rice - all you do is add the water and enjoy!

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Cinnamon
 

Just half a teaspoon of cinnamon a day significantly reduces blood sugar levels in diabetics, a new study has found. The effect, which can be produced even by soaking a cinnamon stick your tea, could also benefit millions of non-diabetics who have blood sugar problem but are unaware of it.

The discovery was initially made by accident, by Richard Anderson at the US Department of Agriculture's Human Nutrition Research Center in Beltsville, Maryland. "We were looking at the effects of common foods on blood sugar; one was the American favorite, apple pie, which is usually spiced with cinnamon. We expected it to be bad. But it helped," he says.

The active ingredient in cinnamon turned out to be a water-soluble polyphenol compound called MHCP. In test tube experiments, MHCP mimics insulin, activates its receptor, and works synergistically with insulin in cells.

To see if it would work in people, Alam Khan, who was a postdoctoral fellow in Anderson's lab, organized a study in Pakistan. Volunteers with Type 2 diabetes were given one, three or six grams of cinnamon powder a day, in capsules after meals.

All responded within weeks, with blood sugar levels that were on average 20 per cent lower than a control group. Some even achieved normal blood sugar levels. Tellingly, blood sugar started creeping up again after the diabetics stopped taking cinnamon.

In the volunteers, the Cinnamon also lowered blood levels of fats and "bad" cholesterol, which are also partly controlled by insulin. And in test tube experiments it neutralized free radicals, damaging chemicals which are elevated in diabetics. Cinnamon's essential oils also qualify it as an "anti-microbial" food, and cinnamon has been studied for its ability to help stop the growth of bacteria as well as fungi, including the commonly problematic yeast Candida.

Research led by Dr. P. Zoladz and presented April 24, 2004, at the annual meeting of the Association for Chemoreception Sciences, in Sarasota, FL, found that chewing cinnamon flavored gum or just smelling cinnamon enhanced study participants' cognitive processing. Specifically, cinnamon improved participants' scores on attention related processes, virtual recognition memory, working memory, and visual-motor speed while working on a computer-based program.

(Hint: simmer a few cinnamon sticks in water while your kids are doing their homework - this will also serve as wonderful yet non-toxic air freshener for your home)

In addition to the active components in its essential oils and its nutrient composition, cinnamon has also been valued in energy-based medical systems, such as Traditional Chinese Medicine, for its warming qualities. In these traditions, cinnamon has been used to provide relief when faced with the onset of a cold or flu, especially when mixed in a tea with some fresh ginger.

You will find Cinnamon used in many of your favorite Wholefood Farmacy foods including Phi Plus, DetoxiPhi, Joule and Cornaborealis.


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30 Days To Wellness
A Public Service Campaign of
The Wholefood Farmacy
 
Day 25 - Tomatoes
 

Scientists are suggesting that tomato lovers may be more likely to reduce the risk of serious disease. Lycopene, an anti oxidant which gives tomatoes their lovely rich red color, helps remove free radicals from the body. Free radicals are unstable oxygen molecules and have been implicated in cancer and other serious diseases.

Professor Michael Avirim of the Rambam Medical Center in Haifa, Israel who is testing lycopene in clinical trials says, ' In its natural form, lycopene is an excellent antioxidant that helps to prevent formation of oxidized LDL, the 'bad' cholesterol in blood, which contributes to the build up of plaque that narrows, stiffens and constricts arteries and can lead to heart attacks. When this natural extract was added to cancer cell cultures, the lycopene inhibited their growth. Lycopene is the most potent nutritional antioxidant found to date.

Another study compared men who had had a heart attack with the same number of healthy men and found that those with high levels of lycopene appeared to reduce their risk of heart diseases by 50%.  The study's coordinator, Lenore Kohlmeier, professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the university of North Carolina, said, "Based on our findings, and other research, lycopene can be an excellent antioxidant, we recommend that people eat tomato based cooked foods."

Several recent studies have shown that a diet rich in tomatoes and tomato products is strongly linked to a reduced risk of certain cancers. In a six year study of 48,000 male professionals, Dr Edward Giovannucci and colleagues at Harvard Medical School found that consuming tomatoes and tomato based products between five to seven serving a week was associated with a reduced risk of prostate cancer of 21% to 34%.

Another study published in the International Journal of Cancer said that lycopene appears to protect against cancer of the mouth, pharynx, esophagus, stomach, colon and rectum. Researchers at the University of Illinois report that women with the highest lycopene levels had a 500% lower risk of developing precancerous signs of cervical cancer than women with lowest lycopene levels.

In one six-year study by Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Public Health, the diets of more than 47,000 men were studied. Of 46 fruits and vegetables evaluated, only the tomato products (which contain large quantities of lycopene) showed a measurable relationship to reduce prostate cancer risk. As consumption of tomato products increased, levels of lycopene in the blood increased, and the risk for prostate cancer decreased. The study also showed that the heat processing of tomatoes and tomato products increases Lycopene bioavailability.

The human body does not produce lycopene alone and therefore relies on a consumption of tomatoes and tomato based products for this antioxidant. Nutritionists and other health professionals have long advocated the cancer preventative benefits of a diet high in fruits and vegetables. .

The Wholefood Farmacy's Vichyssoise V-6 Creamy Tomato Soup is quick and easy taking only a minute to prepare.  Handcrafted using the finest whole food ingredients, our V-6 Tomato Soup is made from Tomatoes, Brown Rice, Soy Beans, Oats, Onions, Dill Weed & Pure Salt. If you haven't tasted it, you don't know what you're missing!

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