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The summer season each year brings wafting memories of a juicy and luscious fruit called litchi. The origins of Litchi lie in southern China where as a crop it has been cultivated uninterruptedly for close to 2500 years. Its geographical propagation has been rather slow, which is due to the short life-span of its seed and the peculiar soil and climatic requirements associated with the plant.A classical instance of this is India which is the second largest producer just behind China, but litchi farming is chronologically speaking, very recent having been introduced only sometime in the middle of the 1700's. Together China and India between themselves produce more than 90% of the world's Litchi, leaving the rest of the world far behind. In the backdrop of all this it is interesting to know the various cultivars and varieties which dot the world of Litchi farming. Most or all of them have their genesis probably in China but have been suitably bred and modified to thrive in countries of their adoption.

The terms 'cultivar' and 'variety' have often been used interchangeably but this convention often seems to ignore the obvious differences which exist between the two. A 'cultivar' is bred with the help of vegetative propagation, which could include cutting, grafting,budding and tissue culture and is a product of human effort and ingenuity. A 'variety' on the other hand is a natural phenomenon and is bred through seedlings. A 'variety' will always produce clones of the parent plant, but in a cultivar,there may be slight variation in a progeny compared to the parent particularly in the case of hybrids. The Litchi cultivars in India number about 40 out of which around 12 or 13 are commercially cultivated.The same cultivar or variety may be known by different names in various parts of the country. In China there are about 200 known cultivars although only 20 or so are in commercial farming, which means the genetic repository is much more widespread compar

Vitamin D is associated with improved survival in early-stage non-small cell lung cancer patients. Zhou W, Suk R, Liu G, Park S, Neuberg DS, Wain JC, Lynch TJ, Giovannucci E, Christiani DC. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2005 Oct;14(10):2303-9. PMID: 16214909 In conclusion, the joint effects of surgery season and recent vitamin D intake seem to be associated with the survival of early-stage non-small cell lung cancer patients. In summary, for early-stage NSCLC patients, patients who had surgery in summer with "high" recent vitamin D intake have a statistically significantly improved RFS and OS than patients who had surgery in winter with "low" vitamin D intake. These results should be confirmed in a prospective study to assess the serum vitamin D levels at time of surgery. If the results are confirmed, our results, combined with findings in other studies, suggest that dietary vitamin D supplementation may be advisable for early stages of lung cancer patients, particularly during the winter season and in groups that tend to be deficient in vitamin D.

"Supplements of French maritime pine bark extract may improve the flow of blood in the tiny blood vessels of the retina, and enhance sight in diabetics with early stage eye problems, says a new study. Visual acuity, or the clearness of vision, was found to improve from 14/20 to 17/20 in people with early stage retina damage associated with diabetes (diabetic retinopathy) following daily supplements of the pine bark extract, Pycnogenol, for two months. Forty-six diabetics participated in the randomised controlled study with the findings published in the Journal of Ocular Pharmacology and Therapeutics. "Our study suggests that Pycnogenol taken in the early stages of retinopathy may enhance retinal blood circulation accompanied by a regression of oedema, which favourably improves vision of patients," said lead researcher Dr Robert Steigerwalt. "Pycnogenol may be particularly beneficial for preventing this complication in diabetic patients, based on the large number of individuals who were diagnosed when the disease had already significantly progressed"

A seasonal variation of calcitropic hormones, bone turnover and bone mineral density in early and mid-puberty girls - a cross-sectional study. Viljakainen HT, Palssa A, Kärkkäinen M, Jakobsen J, Cashman KD, Mølgaard C, Lamberg-Allardt C. Br J Nutr. 2006 Jul;96(1):124-30. PMID: 16870000 Seasonal variation in S-25-OHD and bone remodelling markers accompanied by negative correlation between S-25-OHD and S-iPTH was seen in this cross-sectional study of adolescent girls. In addition, the seasonal rhythm contributed 7.0-7.6 % difference in the BMD of lumbar vertebrae and left femur in early puberty girls. This variation should be avoided since it could hamper peak bone mass attainment.

Vitamin D is associated with improved survival in early-stage non-small cell lung cancer patients. Zhou W, Suk R, Liu G, Park S, Neuberg DS, Wain JC, Lynch TJ, Giovannucci E, Christiani DC. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2005 Oct;14(10):2303-9. PMID: 16214909 In conclusion, the joint effects of surgery season and recent vitamin D intake seem to be associated with the survival of early-stage non-small cell lung cancer patients.

Vitamin D supplement in early childhood and risk for Type I (insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus. The EURODIAB Substudy 2 Study Group. [No authors listed] Diabetologia. 1999 Jan;42(1):51-4. PMID: 10027578 DOI: 10.1007/s001250051112 In conclusion, this large multicentre trial covering many different European settings consistently showed a protective effect of vitamin D supplementation in infancy. The findings indicate that activated vitamin D might contribute to immune modulation and thereby protect or arrest an ongoing immune process initiated in susceptible people by early environmental exposures.

Floyd Chilton and colleagues wanted to examine whether theses fatty acids might have other effects, and developed a dietary intervention strategy in which 27 healthy humans were fed a controlled diet mimicking the w6/w3 ratios of early humans over 5 weeks. They then looked at the gene levels of immune signals and cytokines (protein immune messengers), that impact autoimmunity and allergy in blood cells and found that many key signaling genes that promote inflammation were markedly reduced compared to a normal diet, including a signaling gene for a protein called PI3K, a critical early step in autoimmune and allergic inflammation responses. This study demonstrates, for the first time in humans, that large changes in gene expression are likely an important mechanism by which these omega fatty acids exert their potent clinical effects

White Europeans could have evolved as recently as 5,500 years ago, according to research which suggests that the early humans who populated Britain and Scandinavia had dark skins for millenniums. It was only when early humans gave up hunter-gathering and switched to farming about 5,500 years ago that white skin began to be favoured, say the researchers. This is because farmed food was deficient in vitamin D, a vital nutrient. Humans can make this in their skin when exposed to sunlight, but dark skin is much less efficient at it.

March 27, 2009 - Red meat consumption is positively associated with early age-related macular degeneration (AMD); high intake of chicken, on the other hand, is inversely associated with late AMD, according to findings from a prospective Australian study.

You don't have to lie awake for hours past your bedtime to have insomnia. The condition manifests itself in several ways: trouble falling asleep (known as sleep-onset insomnia), staying asleep (sleep-maintaining insomnia), or waking up too early (early morning awakening

"Grains might have been an important part of human diets much further back in our history than previous research has suggested. Although cupcakes and crumpets were still a long way off during the Middle Stone Age, new evidence suggests that at least some humans of that time period were eating starchy, cereal-based snacks as early as 105,000 years ago. The findings, gleaned from grass seed residue found on ancient African stone tools, are detailed online Thursday in Science. Researchers have assumed that humans were foraging for fruits, nuts and roots long before 100,000 years ago, but cereal grains are quite a new addition to the early prehistoric gastronomic picture. "This broadens the timeline for the use of grass seeds by our species," Julio Mercader, an assistant professor at University of Calgary's Department of Archeology and author of the paper, said in a prepared statement. "

Mozambican Grass Seed Consumption During the Middle Stone Age Julio Mercader Science 18 December 2009: Vol. 326. no. 5960, pp. 1680 - 1683 DOI: 10.1126/science.1173966 The role of starchy plants in early hominin diets and when the culinary processing of starches began have been difficult to track archaeologically. Seed collecting is conventionally perceived to have been an irrelevant activity among the Pleistocene foragers of southern Africa, on the grounds of both technological difficulty in the processing of grains and the belief that roots, fruits, and nuts, not cereals, were the basis for subsistence for the past 100,000 years and further back in time. A large assemblage of starch granules has been retrieved from the surfaces of Middle Stone Age stone tools from Mozambique, showing that early Homo sapiens relied on grass seeds starting at least 105,000 years ago, including those of sorghum grasses.

October 17, 2006 | Steve Stiles Boston, MA - A review of the literature on the health effects of dietary fish or fish-oil intake has a reassuring message for seafood lovers, anyone eating fish for health reasons, and perhaps most everyone else [1]. Levels of mercury and other contaminants in commercially bought fish are low, and their potential risks are overwhelmed by likely reductions in cardiovascular mortality, according to a report in the October 18, 2006 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. "The main message is really that everybody should be eating one or two servings of fish or seafood per week for their health," Dr Dariush Mozaffarian (Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA) told heartwire. In his analysis, coauthored with Dr Eric B Rimm (Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA), regular "modest" intake of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), the two long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) abundant in finfish and shellfish (collectively referred to as "fish" in the article), is associated with a 36% drop in coronary disease mortality (p Those potential benefits are immense compared with the highly publicized but apparently low health risks associated with methylmercury, dioxins, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) that have been found in some fish species, they write. The evidence suggests a potential for neurodevelopmental deficits from early exposure to methylmercury, but the risk is likely diminished by limiting intake of fish with high methylmercur

"Lisa is one of early success stories: a heart scan score of 447 in her early 40's, modest reduction of CT heart scan score three years ago. However, Lisa had a difficult time locating oil-based vitamin D. There has, in fact, been a national run on vitamin D and I'm told that even manufacturers are scrambling to keep up with the booming demand. So, she bought tablets instead and was taking 3000 units per day. She came in for a routine check. Lisa's 25-OH-vitamin D3: 17 ng/ml, signifying severe deficiency, the same as if she were taking nothing at all. (Recall that we aim for 50 ng/ml.) In other words, vitamin D tablets do not work. It is shameful. I see numerous women taking calcium tablets with D--the vitamin D does not work. I've actually seen blood levels of zero on these preparations. "

Mangoes are the richest source of most important vitamins (A, C, B, E, K), minerals, dietary fibbers, electrolytes and iron which are mostly required by the for better growth and development as well as being healthy and live life without any diseases and infections. It is liked by all people due to its nice color, taste, flavor and quality health aspects. I have mentioned below the few beneficial aspects of the mangoes which you must know to enhance your interest while eating mangoes: Benefits of Mango juice for Cancer Prevention Mango fruit has antioxidant compounds (such as quercetin, fisetin, astragalin, gallic acid, isoquercitrin, methyl gallate and etc) and lots of enzymes which help in protecting against various body organs cancers like colon, leukemia, breast, stomach, prostate, lungs, cervical, oral cavity cancers and etc. These compounds include, as well as the abundant. Polyphenols found in it acts as an anti inflammatory agent and restricts the growth of cancerous cells. The soluble dietary fibers, pectin found in it has property of decreasing the action of protein (galectin) found in the cancerous cells. Benefits of Mango juice for Heart health It contains highest level of soluble dietary fibers (pectin) and vitamin C which involves in lowering the bad serum cholesterol levels means Low-Density Lipoproteins as well as enhancing the good serum cholesterol levels means High-Density Lipoproteins thus keeps the heart healthy by keeping all the heart problems away. It is the rich source of potassium which involves in controlling the blood pressure thus heart rate. Benefits of Mango juice for Skin It is beneficial for the skin in both ways whether it is eaten or applied externally on the skin. It India juice has antioxidants which make the skin healthy, smooth, glowing and wrinkles free. It clear out the blocked pores and provides solution to get free from the pimples if applied on the face. It makes the skin glowing by reducing the dark spot

Good remedy for diabetes Diabetes is not a condition that one can ignore or consider trivial. The condition is essentially a disorder that is characterized by excess amounts of blood sugar leading to serious medical complications such as damaged blood vessels. Some of the more common causes of diabetes include: high cholesterol, hereditary, insulin resistance and high blood pressure. There are three main types of diabetes type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes and gestational diabetes in pregnant women. In order to control the blood sugar levels properly, one needs to be careful of the different kinds of sugar ingested meaning that a number of sweet foods will have to be avoided. When discussing about diet for diabetics, most people wonder if mangos for diabetics are safe. Mango juice still Leaves For Diabetes One of the best natural treatments is to use mango leaves for diabetes. You just need to boil about three or four mango leaves and drink the water. The benefits of mango leaves for blood sugar have been ascertained after lot of research. The research substantiates that the medicinal properties contribute to the lowering of the blood sugar levels within the body. For better results, you should try soaking the leaves over the course of the night in water and consume the solution early the next morning. Ensure that you consume the solution on an empty stomach first thing in the morning. Mango Juice Diabetes Prevention and Management Further Mango juice research is still ongoing, but some studies have already revealed that mangoes are a great natural remedy for diabetes. It was a long-told myth that diabetic patients should avoid mangoes because of its sweet taste; now it is being shown that other than the fruit, the mango leaves are also helpful in curing diabetes. Place 10 or 15 mango leaves in warm water and close it with a lid before going to bed. In the morning, drink the water on an empty stomach after filtering the leaves. Regular practice of this meth

Association of low 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations with elevated parathyroid hormone concentrations and low cortical bone density in early pubertal and prepubertal Finnish girls. Cheng S, Tylavsky F, Kröger H, Kärkkäinen M, Lyytikäinen A, Koistinen A, Mahonen A, Alen M, Halleen J, Väänänen K, Lamberg-Allardt C. Am J Clin Nutr. 2003 Sep;78(3):485-92. Erratum in: Am J Clin Nutr. 2006 Jan;83(1):174. PMID: 12936933 CONCLUSIONS: Vitamin D-deficient girls have low cortical BMD and high iPTH concentrations, which are consistent with secondary hyperparathyroidism. A low vitamin D concentration accompanied by high bone resorption (TRAP 5b) may limit the accretion of bone mass in young girls.

Prognostic effects of 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels in early breast cancer. Goodwin PJ, Ennis M, Pritchard KI, Koo J, Hood N. J Clin Oncol. 2009 Aug 10;27(23):3757-63. Epub 2009 May 18. PMID: 19451439 DOI: 10.1200/JCO.2008.20.0725 Conclusion Vitamin D deficiency may be associated with poor outcomes in breast cancer.

Phospholipase A(2) activation as a therapeutic approach for cognitive enhancement in early-stage Alzheimer disease. Schaeffer EL, Forlenza OV, Gattaz WF. Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2009 Jan;202(1-3):37-51. Epub 2008 Oct 14. PMID: 18853146 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-008-1351-0