The Pros of Prebiotics
By now, most people are aware of the many benefits of probiotic supplementation, including improved digestive health. However, a relatively new area of study regarding the digestive system concerns prebiotics, which are non-digestible fibers found in certain foods.
These carbohydrates, oligosaccharides, provide a food source for the beneficial gut flora (probiotics such as bifidobacteria and lactobacilli) and help promote their growth in the colon. To be classified as a prebiotic, the fibers such as oligofructose or inulin must demonstrate that they are fermented by gastrointestinal microflora, they stimulate the growt...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - July 2, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Most Of Your Asparagus Comes From Abroad These Days. Here's Why.
These are hard times for the American asparagus farmer.
A casual supermarket shopper, even one who loves asparagus, may not realize this is so. Fresh asparagus is now available in most U.S. supermarkets all year long. And sales of asparagus have steadily climbed over the past couple of decades as consumers have embraced healthier diets. But the odds have never been lower that the asparagus at your local grocery store was indeed grown domestically.
Why? In the early '90s, two trade agreements -- the North American Free Trade Agreement and the Andean Trade Preference Act -- eliminated protective tariffs on asparagus impo...
Source: Science - The Huffington Post - April 10, 2015 Category: Science Source Type: news
What Temperature Should Food Be Cooked To for Botulism Prevention?
Discussion
Clostridium botulinum is a gram-positive, motile, anaerobic rod. C. botulinum produces spores which themselves produce a toxin that causes paralytic disease which may be fatal. About 145 cases per year are reported in the US.
Foodborne botulism is caused by eating food contaminated with the spores or toxin. 15% of US cases yearly.
Wound botulism is caused by a wound that is infected with the spores which produces toxin causing botulism. 20% of cases yearly.
Infantile botulism is considered separate from foodborne botulism and is caused by consuming the spores and the toxin is produced in the infant’s gut...
Source: PediatricEducation.org - March 23, 2015 Category: Pediatrics Authors: pediatriceducationmin Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: news
Folic acid, a B vitamin, lowers stroke risk in people with high blood pressure
If you’re among the one in three American adults with high blood pressure, be sure you’re getting plenty of the B vitamin known as folate. Doing so may lower your odds of having a stroke, an often disabling or deadly event linked to high blood pressure, a new study suggests.
Folate occurs naturally in many foods, but especially green leafy vegetables, beans, and citrus fruits. Here in the United States, add to the list most grain products, including wheat flour, cornmeal, pasta, and rice. They are fortified with the synthetic version of folate, known as folic acid.
That’s not the case in many countries ar...
Source: New Harvard Health Information - March 18, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Julie Corliss Tags: Drugs and Supplements Hypertension and Stroke high blood pressure Source Type: news
Five vegetables which benefit from being cooked
Nutritionists now say that cooking some vegetables frees up more nutrients for your body to absorb. Tomatoes, spinach, carrots, asparagus and mushrooms all benefit from being cooked. (Source: the Mail online | Health)
Source: the Mail online | Health - March 12, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
The Great Herb Heist
For a long time, I’ve been warning you that the big box stores are being less than honest with you when it comes to supplements. In fact, it appears they want to rip you off.
Investigators in New York State have discovered that the merchandising giants, riding high on the health-and-wellness wave, have been overcharging customers for cut-rate herbs, vitamins, minerals and other supplements.
You may have read about it or heard it on the news. But it’s even worse than I previously thought.
I started out warning you to stay away from synthetic multi-vitamins that require 400 times the recommended dose to do you an...
Source: Al Sears, MD Natural Remedies - March 11, 2015 Category: Complementary Medicine Authors: Dr. Al Sears Tags: Nutrition diet FDA herbs nutrients omega-3s supplements vitamins Source Type: news
Ask JJ: Breakfast or Fast?
Dear JJ: You say to eat a substantial breakfast within one hour of waking up. However, several experts believe intermittent fasting, which usually involves skipping breakfast, is best for fat loss and better health. I'm confused!
As intermittent fasting becomes more popular and anti-breakfast studies occasionally surface, haters have more ammunition to skip out on the day's first meal.
"Now new findings from two randomized controlled trials are poking holes in our common acceptance of the morning meal as a panacea," writes Anna Almendrala. "[T]aken together, the two studies reveal some holes in the so-called 'most import...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - January 7, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Nicotine poisoning from an asparagus look-alike
This report, from the University of Wisconsin in Madison, describes two patients who developed symptoms consistent with nicotinic poisoning after ingesting foraged B australis.
Patient 1 was an 85-year-old woman developed nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal distress, and dizziness within 15 minutes of ingesting what she took to be “wild asparagus.” Patient 2, her 48-year-old daughter, developed similar symptoms plus vertigo within a similar time frame after ingestion. Each patient was described as having severe truncal ataxia and was not able to stand unassisted.
The patients were treated with fluids, anti...
Source: The Poison Review - December 30, 2014 Category: Toxicology Authors: Leon Tags: Medical asparagus baptisia look alike nicotine toxicity Source Type: news
Why does asparagus make your pee smell? New video suggests your NOSE may be to blame
A video from Youtube channel SciShow draws together 40 years worth of scientific research on why asparagus can give urine a bizarre pong. (Source: the Mail online | Health)
Source: the Mail online | Health - December 1, 2014 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
One Good Reason To Stop Mocking Gluten-Free Diets
Going gluten-free is an ever-so-mockable decision, despite the fact that an estimated 18 million Americans suffer from some kind of gluten sensitivity that results in embarrassing and painful symptoms like gas, bloating, constipation and urgent diarrhea.
Unlike celiac disease, which is an autoimmune disorder that damages the small intestines if gluten is present, there’s no blood test to confirm gluten sensitivity -- which contributes to even more skepticism about the condition. Gluten-free diets undertaken by people without celiac disease have been called the “new, cool eating disorder” or, more seriously, have bee...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - November 7, 2014 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
One Good Reason To Stop Mocking Gluten-Free Diets
Going gluten-free is an ever-so-mockable decision, despite the fact that an estimated 18 million Americans suffer from some kind of gluten sensitivity that results in embarrassing and painful symptoms like gas, bloating, constipation and urgent diarrhea.
Unlike celiac disease, which is an autoimmune disorder that damages the small intestines if gluten is present, there’s no blood test to confirm gluten sensitivity -- which contributes to even more skepticism about the condition. Gluten-free diets undertaken by people without celiac disease have been called the “new, cool eating disorder” or, more seriously, have bee...
Source: Science - The Huffington Post - November 7, 2014 Category: Science Source Type: news
Asparagus Pee Is Real, But Only Some Of Us Can Smell It
(Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post)
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - October 31, 2014 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Detection of Plant Viruses in Mixed Infection by a Macroarray-Assisted Method
The protocol for a simple, sensitive, and specific method using a cDNA macroarray to detect multiple viruses is provided. The method can be used even at the production sites for crops, which need a reliable routine diagnosis for mixed infection of plant viruses. The method consists of three steps: RNA extraction, duplex RT-PCR, and “microtube hybridization” (MTH). Biotinylated cDNA probes are prepared using RT-PCR and used to hybridize a nylon membrane containing target viral cDNAs by MTH. Positive signals can be visualized by colorimetric reaction and judged by eyes. We here demonstrate this method to detect a...
Source: Springer protocols feed by Plant Sciences - October 9, 2014 Category: Biology Source Type: news
Recipe: Penne tossed with tomatoes, asparagus and goat cheese
(Source: MayoClinic.com Recipe of the Day)
Source: MayoClinic.com Recipe of the Day - August 19, 2014 Category: Nutrition Source Type: news
Recipes for Health: Red Quinoa Salad With Walnuts, Asparagus and Dukkah
This salad is garnished with steamed asparagus and the Middle Eastern nut and spice mix called dukkah. (Source: NYT)
Source: NYT - June 23, 2014 Category: Nutrition Authors: By MARTHA ROSE SHULMAN Tags: Salads Cooking and Cookbooks Vegetables Diet and Nutrition Quinoa Source Type: news
