Let hunger be your guide

With the wide availability of convenient foods engineered for maximum tastiness-- such as potato chips, chocolates, and bacon double cheeseburgers-- in the modern food environment and with widespread advertising, the contemporary consumer is incessantly being bombarded with the temptation to eat. This means that, in contrast to people in traditional societies, people in contemporary societies often eat not on account of hunger but because tasty food is available and beckoning at all hours of the day. New research published in theJournal of the Association for Consumer Research, found that the tendency of today's consumers to eat when they are not hungry might be less advantageous for health than eating when they are hungry.

The individuals participating in the study were 45 undergraduate students. The participants were first asked to rate their level of hunger and then to consume a meal rich in carbohydrates. To measure how the meal was impacting participants' health, participants' blood glucose levels were measured at regular intervals after they consumed the meal. Blood glucose levels tend to rise after a meal containing carbohydrates and it is generally healthier if blood glucose levels rise by a relatively small amount because elevated blood glucose is damaging to the body's cells.

The results of the study showed that individuals who were moderately hungry before the meal tended to have lower blood glucose levels after consuming the meal than individuals who were not particularly hungry before consuming the meal. These findings suggest that it might be healthier for individuals to eat when they are moderately hungry than when they are not hungry.

Source:This article is published in the inaugural issue of the Journal of the Association for Consumer Research entitled "The Behavioral Science of Eating." This issue has been edited by Brian Wansink of Cornell University and Koert van Ittersum of the University of Groningen

Sugar in western diets increases risk for breast cancer tumors and metastasis

The high amounts of dietary sugar in the typical Western diet may increase the risk of breast cancer and metastasis to the lungs, according to a study at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

The findings, published in the Jan. 1, 2016 online issue of Cancer Research, demonstrated dietary sugar's effect on an enzymatic signaling pathway known as 12-LOX (12-lipoxygenase).

"We found that sucrose intake in mice comparable to levels of Western diets led to increased tumor growth and metastasis, when compared to a non-sugar starch diet," said Peiying Yang, Ph.D., assistant professor of Palliative, Rehabilitation, and Integrative Medicine. "This was due, in part, to increased expression of 12-LOX and a related fatty acid called 12-HETE."

Previous epidemiological studies have shown that dietary sugar intake has an impact on breast cancer development, with inflammation thought to play a role.

"The current study investigated the impact of dietary sugar on mammary gland tumor development in multiple mouse models, along with mechanisms that may be involved," said co-author Lorenzo Cohen, Ph.D., professor of Palliative, Rehabilitation, and Integrative Medicine. "We determined that it was specifically fructose, in table sugar and high-fructose corn syrup, ubiquitous within our food system, which was responsible for facilitating lung metastasis and 12-HETE production in breast tumors."

Cohen added that the data suggested that dietary sugar induces 12-LOX signaling to increase risks for breast cancer development and metastasis.

Identifying risk factors for breast cancer is a public health priority, say the authors. The researchers state that moderate sugar consumption is critical, given that the per capita consumption of sugar in the U.S. has surged to over 100 lbs. per year and an increase in consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages has been identified as a significant contributor to an epidemic of obesity, heart disease and cancer worldwide.

"Prior research has examined the role of sugar, especially glucose, and energy-based metabolic pathways in cancer development," said Yang. "However, the inflammatory cascade may be an alternative route of studying sugar-driven carcinogenesis that warrants further study."

No previous studies have investigated the direct effect of sugar consumption on the development of breast cancer using breast cancer animal models or examined specific mechanisms, she added.

The MD Anderson team conducted four different studies in which mice were randomized to different diet groups and fed one of four diets. At six months of age, 30 percent of mice on a starch-control diet had measurable tumors, whereas 50 to 58 percent of the mice on sucrose-enriched diets had developed mammary tumors. The study also showed that numbers of lung metastases were significantly higher in mice on a sucrose- or a fructose-enriched diet, versus mice on a starch-control diet.

"This study suggests that dietary sucrose or fructose induced 12-LOX and 12-HETE production in breast tumor cells in vivo," said Cohen. "This indicates a possible signaling pathway responsible for sugar-promoted tumor growth in mice. How dietary sucrose and fructose induces 12-HETE and whether it has a direct or indirect effect remains in question."

The study team believes that the mechanism by which dietary sucrose or fructose affects breast tumor growth and metastasis, especially through the 12-LOX pathways, warrants further investigation.

Source:UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS M. D. ANDERSON CANCER CENTER

A father's diet affects the RNA of his sperm, mouse study shows

Two new studies in mice demonstrate how a father's diet affects levels of specific small RNAs in his sperm, which in turn can affect gene regulation in offspring. These results add to the growing list of ways in which a male's lifestyle can influence his offspring, including through the sperm epigenome, microbiome transfer and seminal fluid signaling. In the first study, Qi Chen and colleagues fertilized mouse eggs using sperm from a group of male mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD), as well as a group of male mice on a normal diet (ND). The two groups of offspring exhibited no obvious differences in body weight within 16 weeks, but as early as seven-weeks-old, offspring whose fathers were in the HFD group developed impaired glucose tolerance and insulin resistance, which became more severe at 15 weeks. To assess whether the fathers' sperm RNA contributed to these differences between the HFD and ND offspring, the researchers purified RNAs from the two groups of sperm and injected them into normal zygotes. While the HFD offspring had significantly higher blood glucose and insulin levels, their insulin sensitivity was comparable to that of ND offspring. These results suggest that RNAs from sperm of HFD males contain the information to induce glucose intolerance, but not insulin resistance. Further investigation identified tRNAs fragments, containing about 30-34 nucleotides, as the class of small RNA that caused the glucose intolerance observed in HFD offspring. A genome-wide comparison between ND and HFD offspring found significantly less expression of genes involved with ketone, carbohydrate, and monosaccharide metabolism in the HFD group.

In a second study, Upasna Sharma et al. tested whether the sperm of mice on a low protein (LP) diet experienced any changes in RNA levels. The researchers showed that small RNAs from immature sperm in the testis did not correlate with dietary effects; yet, sequencing of small RNA in mature sperm in the epididymus revealed great expression of certain RNAs. The team then isolated RNA in sperm from LP mice and controls, finding particularly high levels of a RNA, tRNA-Gly-GCC, in the LP group. Further analysis revealed that tRNA-Gly-GCC suppresses a subset of genes, including a gene that contributes to the plasticity of mouse embryonic stem cells. These results, along with those from Chen et al., demonstrate how RNA in sperm can be affected by diet, and that this can cause changes in gene regulation of offspring and associated metabolic disorder.

Source:AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE

Papaya Enzyme: Something To Consider If You Are Trying To Lose Weight

According to research carried out in the US, a lot of people are overweight, while many others are actually obese. This is a big danger because this excess weight increases the risk of these people succumbing to diseases like heart problems, diabetes, and hypertension. It is this realization, among many other factors, that has led to the increase in the number of people searching for weight loss programs. Our narrow cultural ideals regarding beauty are also a significant motivator. It has become a general feeling that big is not beautiful: you are only beautiful if you are petite, and, particularly in recent years, this standard has extended to both sexes. Men are also under pressure to get their abs in place and achieve those six packs. It is the rise of all these motivations that has led to the success of the diet and weight loss industry in recent decades.

Every day a new way to cut down calories appears, some more reasonable than others. Exercise trends change nearly as often as dietary ones, and it can be difficult to determine which course is the best to take. The problem with most people is that they want an instant and easy route towards weight loss. This has led to people consuming pills and teas and other ‘miracle’ solutions which promise instant weight loss. Yet, more often than not, these pills contain harmful chemicals which place your health at risk. The most sound solution would be to exercise, and if you must use supplements, use those that are naturally derived and approved by experts. Don’t just drink any concoction because it promises you weight loss in three weeks.

Aware of the risks posed by these chemicals, most people are taking an interest in natural solutions. The good thing with these options is that they are generally quite safe. Take for instance the papaya fruit, which is our point of concern here.

Healing Properties

The papaya fruit has been around for centuries. It has been used for a variety of reasons that range from skin care to constipation healing. You may be surprised to learn that some people even use it for birth control.

More recently, papaya has been garnering attention for its ability to promote weight loss. When using it in this capacity, you should use the green unripe pawpaw. I know the ripe one is much tastier, but it is, unfortunately, far less effective. This is because the unripe pawpaw contains papain and chemo papain enzymes that help in the breaking down of macronutrients from foods, easing their absorption.

If these fruits are uncommon where you live, you can still reap the benefits of papaya; many supplements offer the same results. However, these supplements should be taken in moderation — no more than one tablet a day, or as otherwise directed — because taking too much can be dangerous.

Normally, weight gain is as a result of the storing of excess nutrients. The body stores nutrients when they are taken in excess or when it is unable to absorb them. This is why the body produces its own enzymes to aide in the breaking down of foods. Although chemo papain and papain are not produced by the body itself, they still have the same function. This explains why pawpaws are given to people with digestion problems: they help in the breaking down of foods. Papain will, in particular, help break down proteins into smaller and soluble molecules that will be easily absorbed by the body. This will help ensure that none of the proteins are stored as fats in the body.

In essence, if you incorporate papaya into a healthy diet, your body will be able to effectively utilize the nutrients you take in and thus ensure that no fats are stored around your stomach to form those rolls and tummies. Also, this constant breakdown will help keep you energized. This is especially important if you are exercising. The production of more energy will help you work out effectively — another bonus for weight loss.

It should be noted that papaya enzymes used in isolation cannot grant you the weight loss you desire. You have to use them in conjunction with other healthy habits, such as exercising and maintaining a proper diet. You must still eat healthy foods. Avoid fast foods, take in lots of fruits and vegetables, and drink plenty of water. This way the enzymes will help ensure that your body does not store any fats, while the workouts ensure you burn the already accumulated calories.

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The road to weight loss is hilly and even the weak ones must survive. This has lead to the invention of numerous strategies to make it easy. Papaya enzymes are a recent entry. These enzymes aid in the breaking down of nutrients to ensure all of them are utilized and that none of them are stored in the form of fats. They should thus be taken as one exercises and eats healthily.

SOURCES

https://www.consumerhealthdigest.com/weight-loss/

https://www.glozine.com/lifestyle/health

This Experiment Proves Why Staying In Tune With The Earth’s Pulse Is Key To Our Wellbeing

Have you ever felt disconnected from the earth? Interesting question to ponder, and while some of us feel that in some sense we become disconnected when we spend too much time indoors or on technological devices, the truth is, we don’t disconnect from the earth and its natural rhythms entirely, cause if we did, you would notice it big time.

That isn’t to say there isn’t huge benefit in being in nature, putting down your phone or even practicing some like earthing, instead, I’m saying there is a deeper connection we all have to this planet that we may not be aware of.

The law of biogenesis states that life cannot be created from nothing, it is always life that creates life. This profound statement can begin a series of questions into the scientific unknown relating to who or what created human life.

“Omne vivum ex vivo – all life is from life”

In 1952 German physicist Professor W.O.Schumann of the Technical University of Munich began attempting to answer whether or not the earth itself has a frequency — a pulse. His assumption about the existence of this frequency came from his understanding that when a sphere exists inside of another sphere there is an electrical tension that is created. Since the negatively charged earth exists inside the positively charged ionosphere, there must be tension between the two, giving the earth a specific frequency. Following his assumptions, through a series of calculations he was able to land upon a frequency he believed was the pulse of the earth. This frequency was 10hz.

It wasn’t until 1954 that Schumann teamed up with another scientist (Herbert König) and confirmed that the resonance of the earth maintained a frequency of 7.83 Hz. This discovery was later tested out by several scientists and confirmed. Since then The Schumann Resonance has been the accepted term used scientifically when one is looking to describe or measure the pulse or heartbeat of the earth.

Even though the existence of the Schumann Resonance is an established scientific fact, there remain few scientists who fully understand the importance of this frequency as it relates to life. In the 1920’s another German scientist, Hans Berger, built an EEG machine himself which led to the first ever recording of frequency transmitted by the brain. While this was a profound discovery on its own, it is when we link it to the Schumann resonance that we see an even more profound truth.

Dr. Anker Mueller, a colleague of Hans Berger, stumbled across Schumann’s published research results in the journal Technische Physik. Upon reading Schumann’s results about the earth’s frequency, Dr. Anker Mueller was astonished to discover that the frequency of the earth was an exact match with the frequency of the human brain. Herbert König, who became Schumann’s successor at Munich University, discovered and further demonstrated a clear link between Schumann Resonances and brain rhythms. He compared human EEG recordings with natural electromagnetic fields of the environment (1979) and found that the main frequency produced by Schumann oscillations is extremely close to the frequency of alpha rhythms.

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Research carried out by E. Jacobi at the University of Dusseldorf showed that the absence of Schumann waves creates mental and physical health problems in the human body. Professor R.Wever, from the Max Planck Institute for Behavioral Physiology in Erling-Andechs, began a study where he built an underground bunker that completely screened out magnetic fields. He then got student volunteers and had them live in the bunker for four weeks where they were hermetically sealed in this environment. Throughout the four weeks, Professor Wever noted that the student’s circadian rhythms diverged and that they suffered emotional distress and migraine headaches. Considering that they were young and healthy, no serious health conditions presented — which likely would not have been the case with older people or people with compromised immune systems. Wever then added the Schumann frequency back into the environment and the results were astonishing. After only a brief exposure to 7.8 Hz (the frequency which he had been screening out), the volunteer’s health stabilized. This demonstrated a direct link between humans and their connection with the pulse of the earth. This was later confirmed in 2011 by Luke Montanye who stumbled upon a discovery during research of water memory.

We go back to the statement that all life must come from life. This life was always believed to come from material forms like egg and sperm or spore and cell division. The professor showed that DNA sequences communicate with each other via frequency. Further, he was able to show that the frequency communication was so advanced that it was able to organize nucleotides, which are the ingredients that make up DNA, in such a way that it could make brand new DNA. While other previous studies were able to show this, Montanye did something different that no other study had done. He removed all DNA from the water and introduced a frequency. That frequency was 7.38 Hz, Schumann Resonance. When introduced, the test tubes were producing new DNA helixes. When the frequency was not present, no new DNA formed. Thus we have a link between Schumann Resonance and the creation of life.

Even though Schumann Resonance could be confirmed by measurements at the time of discovery, it is now much harder to detect that resonance due to the fact that our atmosphere is now heavily inundated with manmade radiation and various frequencies. This suggests that our wireless technologies of today are drowning out the natural signal our mental and physical body requires to function in a healthy way. Could this be a link to the increase in cancer cases over the past few decades? Considering the importance of the Schumann Resonance as it relates to health and the creation of life, one would assume our energetically polluted air space is certainly not helping.

More About Professor W.O.Schumann

Winfried Schumann was born in Tubingen, Germany, the son of a physical chemist. His early years were spent in Kassel and in Berndorf, a town near Vienna. He majored in electrical engineering at the Technical College in Karlsruhe. In 1912 he gained a doctorate with high-voltage technology as his thesis.

Prior to the First World War, he managed the high voltage laboratory at Brown, Boveri & Cie.

During 1920, he was made a professor at the Technical University in Stuttgart, where he had previously been employed as a research assistant. He subsequently took a position as professor of physics at the University of Jena. In 1924, he was made professor and director of the Electrophysical Laboratoy at the Technical University of Munich.

The Munich laboratory subsequently became the Electrophysical Institute, where Schumann continued working until retiring from active research in 1961 at the age of 73, though he continued teaching for a further two years. Schumann was 86 years old when he died on September 22, 1974.

SOURCES

http://www.dpl-surveillance-equipment.com/articles/article_34.html

http://www.fosar-bludorf.com/archiv/schum_eng.htm

The Science Behind What Happens To Your Body When You Overeat

Who doesn’t love eating? Alongside its necessity in our overall existence, it’s also just an incredible pastime. The nourishment and the pleasure it provides us is inconceivable. Personally, I’ve never understood people who take just a few bites of something and move on. I’m the type of person who, if I like it, must devour all that is in front of me and more — hence why the idea of making larger portions for leftovers never seems to work.

From the smile that surfaces on people’s faces at the simple smell of food being prepared to the flavour dance that unfolds as the first bite hits their mouths, food is undoubtedly a pleasurable experience. But, when one bite becomes too many, the opposite seems to happen. People crawl to the couch, holding their stomachs as the bloating begins. They reach for pills that will alleviate their heartburn. Their face, in comparison to the one just before their plate of food was served, is one of pure misery, discontentment, and even regret. But it never fails to stop many of us from doing it time and time again.

The discomfort of overeating isn’t just your imagination. Your brain and your stomach are telling you invarious ways that you need to put down the utensil and give it up for your own good. As a human race, we like to push the limits, especially when it comes to how much we can eat, but is it really worth it? It’s not a matter of feeling guilty if, during a holiday, a birthday, or a random night when the food is just too good to stop, you can’t help but overindulge in scrumptiousness before you. Overeating on such occasions isn’t a detriment to your health, but consistently doing so can be a big problem.

When you make a habit of overeating, you are transforming the way your body responds to the feeling of fullness, which in turn can have some serious effects on your wellbeing, including: becoming addicted to food, changing your body clock, lowering your body’s pleasure receptors, and losing the ability to recognize when you’re full.

But, perhaps before you get to that point, you might want to become aware of what happens during just one indulgent night in order to help you steer clear of making it a habit.

1. Your Intestines Tell Your Brain That It’s Time To Stop

Ever notice how one minute you can be face deep in your plate, then the next, the feeling of fullness suddenly smacks you in the gut? It can feel like it comes out of nowhere. When you finally get that overwhelming feeling of fullness, your stomach and intestines’ satiety hormones called oxyntomodulin and peptide tyrosine-tyrosine make their way to the brain where they work with receptors to communicate that fullness has been reached, and that your appetite should now go down. Another hormone that kicks in is leptin, which tells your brain how much energy you currently have in your body and how much food you need. And because it takes time for these messages to register, eating too fast can easily lead to overeating — hence the necessity to take your time consuming each bite.

2. You Go Into A Food Coma

Post food intake, you might feel like you have nothing left in you energy-wise, and you begin to plot your exit from the dinner table and to the couch. You’ve somehow exhausted yourself from the act of overeating and are now far too full and depleted of energy to think about anything else other than getting horizontal. When this happens, your small intestine is telling your brain that the body must recover by resting and digesting, which puts your body in a state of lethargy. Your insulin levels also increase in order to rid the bloodstream of the excess sugar intake, which can leave your body feeling tired. Your body doesn’t stop producing insulin until your brain becomes aware that your blood sugar levels are in a good place, but because this message takes time to receive, too much sugar can be cleared away, which can result in low blood sugar. This can make you feel drowsy, among other things.

3. Your Body Experiences Discomfort In The Form Of Gas

After consuming loads of food, your body breaks it down into energy and in turn, gas is made in the stomach and intestines. To get rid of the excess gas that has now built up, your body resorts to exit strategies (hello burping), making you feel like a balloon that’s about to explode from all the pain and pressure. To counteract the situation, there are quite a few holistic remedies you can try, including chewing on organic ginger root or making a tea with it.

4. You Experience Heartburn

Heartburn is a funny term for something that doesn’t actually have something to do with the heart. Used interchangeably with acid reflux, it is a burning sensation that occurs when digestive acid in the stomach makes its way toward the oesophagus, typically as a result of too full a stomach and high-fat meals. To alleviate the issue, stir 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar into 1/2 cup of water to promote digestive relief.

Source:CE

Saffron biomolecule keeps liver cancer at bay

The humble saffron has come to rescue people who are at the risk of developing liver cancer. A biomolecule found in the golden spice is good for your liver, find the researchers.

The saffron-based "crocin" can protect people against a deadly form of liver cancer, they have added.

New study led by professor Amr Amin from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) University has unravelled mechanisms by which saffron-based 'crocin' protects against hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

"The aims of this study were to examine the chemopreventive action of saffron's main biomolecule - crocin - against chemically-induced liver cancer in rats and to explore the mechanisms by which crocin employs its anti-tumour effects," the authors noted.

The team investigated the anti-cancer effect of crocin on an experimental carcinogenesis model of liver cancer by studying the anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of crocin in vivo.

To further support the results, in vitro analysis was also carried out.

"We assessed the effects of crocin on HepG2 cells viability by treating them with various concentrations of crocin. In addition, effects of crocin on cell cycle distribution of HepG2 cells were investigated," the team elaborated.

The findings revealed the anti-proliferative and pro-apoptotic properties of crocin when administrated in induced-HCC model.

Crocin exhibited anti-inflammatory properties where NF-kB, among other inflammatory markers, was inhibited.

Using murine model, human liver cancer cells, gene expression profiling and computer-assisted modeling analyses, Amin's study identified "NF-kB" as a regulatory hub and a candidate therapeutic drug target for liver cancer.

"Taken together, our findings introduce crocin as a candidate chemopreventive agent against HCC," the authors concluded.

The study, funded by Al-Jalila Foundation and Terry Fox Foundation, was published in the journal Recent Patents on Anticancer Drug Discovery.
Source:IANS