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Feb. 23, 2009 -- A walk in the sun may be better than popping a vitamin C tablet for boosting your chances of preventing the common cold or flu.\n\nA new study adds to mounting evidence that vitamin C may have been stealing the spotlight all these years from the real cold fighter, vitamin D.

People in Asia have been eating fermented foods for more than 1,000 years. One vegan fermented food, renowned in Asia for its ability to protect against heart attacks, was recently shown to have a powerful ability in lab experiments to prevent formation of the clumps of tangled protein involved in Alzheimer's disease. if this works as well in the human brain as scientists expect, it will be a great addition to the tables of anyone who is concerned about this terrible disease

ScienceDaily (Mar. 11, 2009) - For every gram of salt that Americans reduce in their diets daily, a quarter of a million fewer new heart disease cases and over 200,000 fewer deaths would occur over a decade, researchers said at the American Heart Association's 49th Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention.

Vitamin D's days of obscurity seem pretty much over. Once just an afterthought to most people-relegated to the sides of milk cartons and the pages of medical texts-it's now on the cusp of becoming a full-fledged disease prevention star. Although vitamin D has long been known as an important factor in bone health, a quickly growing body of evidence now shows that it may also help lower the risk of cancer, heart disease, and even premature death.[1], [2] Not surprisingly, scientists and the public have started to take note, particularly of vitamin D's potential to protect against cancer

Evidence continues to pile up that the sunshine vitamin protects against much more than bone-softening rickets. Vitamin D, also found in milk and oily fish, is becoming king, from fighting colds to preventing cancer. Investigators at the Medical University of South Carolina shut down part of a National Institutes of Health study that left nursing mothers and infants deficient, even though the mothers received the maximum safe amount of vitamin D allowed by the Institute of Medicine.\n\nBut here's the kicker. New research suggests we're not getting nearly enough, and recommended levels may be woefully inadequate.

March 9, 2009 -- Red or white wine with dinner? A new study suggests a woman's wine choice should be based on personal preference rather than any hope that a wine's color may affect its breast cancer-fighting ability. "We found no difference between red or white wine in relation to breast cancer risk. Neither appears to have any benefits," researcher Polly Newcomb, PhD, MPH, head of the Cancer Prevention Program at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, says in a news release.

ScienceDaily (Feb. 20, 2009) - A vegan food renowned in Asia for its ability to protect against heart attacks also shows a powerful ability in lab experiments to prevent formation of the clumps of tangled protein involved in Alzheimer's disease, scientists in Taiwan are reporting. \n\nRita P. Y. Chen and colleagues point out that people in Asia have been eating natto - a fermented food made from boiled soybeans -for more than 1,000 years. Natto contains an enzyme, nattokinase, that has effects similar to clot-busting drugs used in heart disease.Nattokinase is sold a dietary supplement to impro 

Lappe JM, Travers-Gustafson D, Davies KM, Recker RR, Heaney RP. \nVitamin D and calcium supplementation reduces cancer risk: results of a randomized trial.\nAm J Clin Nutr. 2007 Jun;85(6):1586-91.\nPMID: 17556697 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Our vision: To significantly improve the health of Canadians through the preventative health strategy of maintaining optimum vitamin D blood levels.

Body detoxification plays an important role in determining our health status and prevent most common diseases. Whether we like it or not, toxins in various

dbroadwa I had a case of macular degeneration 7 years ago. For about three months I couldn't make out any features on a person's face from across a room with my right eye. My eye doc told me there was no cure. I contacted a person who worked at a holistic health college and she told me it sounded like I was dangerously deficient in zinc and selenium. She also sent me a chinese herbal formula called Celosia 10, some died red berries and told me to pick up bilberry supplement. I started taking these five supplements and in a week to ten days my eyesight was back to normal. On the next visit to the eye doc he was reading my file as he came in and asked if there were any changes since my last visit. I said 'as a matter of fact, yes'. He wrote down all the supplements I'd taken and I later printed out all the info off the containers and dropped it off at his office. He called to tell me that I was taking too much zinc and it could do liver damage, but I'd stopped taking it by then. Three times since, I've started to get the symptoms back and took at least some of these things with the same results. There are two types of MD, and I think only one responds to this approach. bpfsa Spinach truly is a wonderful vegetable, full of healthy properties. There's a website at http://www.spinachwords.com that shows how spinach is a multi-vitamin, multi-mineral, multi-amino, multi-phytonutrient powerhouse. There's alot more to spinach than just lutein and zexanthin and it is beneficial for much more than just your vision. It is great for your heart, for cancer prevention, for maternal & fetal health & development, it boosts your natural SPF levels in your skin, it wards of memory loss, dementia and other signs of ageing, and it is good for strong bones, too. Popeye was right - except maybe about eating a highly processed, canned product instead of fresh spinach.

Dark times: Natalie Adler has a medical condition that prevents her eyes opening. Picture: Darren Tindale

TUESDAY, April 14 (HealthDay News) -- A particular type of stem cell transplantation using the patient's own cells led to short-term freedom from insulin injections in 20 of 23 patients newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes participating in an experimental protocol in Brazil. One patient even managed to go four years without needing outside sources of insulin, although the average was 31 months, said the authors of a report in the April 15 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, a themed issue on diabetes. The patients also kept their blood sugar under control, which is key to preventing complications from diabetes. And, the authors stated, increased C-peptide levels indicated that the pancreas' beta cells were alive and well.

Strong correlations have been noted between cardiovascular diseases and low bone density / osteoporosis-connections so strong that the presence of one type of pathology is considered a likely predictor of the other. This potentially causal relationship has led to the hypothesis that these conditions share core mechanisms. Recent advances in our understanding of the complimentary roles played by vitamin D3 and vitamin K2 in vascular and bone health provide support for this hypothesis, along with insight into key metabolic dysfunctions underlying cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis. Part I of this review summarizes current research linking vitamin D deficiency to cardiovascular disease, the physiological mechanisms underlying vitamin D's cardiovascular effects, and leading vitamin D researchers' recommendations for significantly higher supplemental doses of the pro-hormone. Part II reviews the vitamin K connection to cardiovascular disease; the ways in which vitamin D and vitamin K pair up to prevent inflammation, vascular calcification and osteoporosis; and the necessity of providing vitamin K along with vitamin D to preclude adverse effects associated with hypervitaminosis D, which include vascular and other soft tissue calcification.

Did you know that cutting the florets into smaller pieces and the stems into thin slices and letting them sit for 5 to 6 minutes before cooking will enhance their cancer protective properties? Cutting broccoli into smaller pieces breaks the cells and activates an enzyme called myrosinase. The myrosinase converts some of the sulfur-containing chemicals found in broccoli (call glucosinolates) into other sulfur containing chemicals (called isothiocyanates) which research has shown to contain cancer preventive properties not found in the glucosinolates . Studies have actually pinpointed specific mechanisms, like changes in cellular genetic processes, which are involved in increasing cancer protection.

Higher blood levels of selenium may reduce the incidence of skin cancer by about 60 per cent, according to a new study from Dutch and Australian researchers. Writing in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, the researchers report that the mineral was associated with reduced risks of both basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). On the other hand, blood levels of carotenoids and alpha-tocopherol (vitamin E) were not associated with any influence on skin cancer risks, report the researchers from Queensland Institute of Medical Research, the University of Queensland, and Maastricht University.

A recently completed study from researchers at Colorado State University supported by the Division of Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has demonstrated that AHCC(R) (Active Hexose Correlated Compound) enhances host resistance by boosting protective immune responses specific to the West Nile Virus. Since its discovery in the United States in 1999, infections caused by the West Nile Virus have become a major public health concern. West Nile Virus is caused by people being bitten by mosquitoes infected with the virus. According to the CDC, there have been 28,018 reported cases with 1,092 deaths since 1999. In 2003, the highest number of cases was reported at nearly 10,000. Currently there is no effective treatment for the disease.

A proprietary extract prepared from co-cultured mycelia of several species of Basidiomycete mushrooms, including shiitake (Lentinus edodes), active hexose correlated compound (AHCC) is extracted from mushrooms using hot water following an enzyme pretreatment, but specific mushroom source and preparation details have not been fully disclosed. Patients use this to prevent and treat cancer. Animal studies suggest that AHCC has antioxidant effects and may protect against disorders induced by oxidative stress (1) and may also enhance resistance against bacterial (2) (7)and viral infections (3). In healthy humans, AHCC increased dendritic cell number and function (4) In vitro and animal studies show that AHCC exhibits some anticancer activities, but the results of these studies are vague