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Going to a wine tasting party can be a fun and enjoyable experience for everyone… http://tasywine.wordpress.com

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 (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 

Melanoma growth is reduced in fat-1 transgenic mice: impact of omega-6/omega-3 essential fatty acids. Xia S, Lu Y, Wang J, He C, Hong S, Serhan CN, Kang JX. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2006 Aug 15;103(33):12499-504. Epub 2006 Aug 3. PMID: 16888035 doi: 10.1073/pnas.0605394103 In vitro experiments showed that addition of the n-3 fatty acid eicosapentaenoic acid or PGE(3) inhibited the growth of B16 cell line and increased the expression of PTEN, which could be partially attenuated by inhibition of PGE(3) production, suggesting that PGE(3) may act as an antitumor mediator. These data demonstrate an anticancer (antimelanoma) effect of n-3 fatty acids through, at least in part, activation of PTEN pathway mediated by PGE(3).

This week sees the publication of yet another study showing the superiority of the low-carbohydrate diet as compared to the low-fat diet. This study, published in the prestigious American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, demonstrates that subjects following the low-carb diet experience a decrease in triglyceride levels and an increase in HDL-cholesterol (HDL) levels; and that these changes are accompanied by a minor increase in LDL-cholesterol (LDL), which prompts the authors to issue a caveat. Yes, although just about all the parameters that lipophobes worry about improved with the low-carb diet, the small increase in LDL has caused great concern and has prompted the authors to gravely announce that this small increase is troublesome and should be monitored closely in anyone who may be at risk for heart disease. Since most people who go on low-carb diets do so to deal with obesity issues, and since obesity is a risk factor for heart disease, it would appear that this small increase in LDL often seen in those following a low-carb diet could put these dieters at risk. Does it? We'll see.

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a type of winter-time depression experienced by people those who live in northern latitudes such as those of New York, Seattle, all of Canada, and Northern Europe. I believe it is primarily a disorder of sunlight/vitamin D deficiency. Vitamin D, when administered in late winter, produces a positive effect on mood in only five days.[1] One theory for this is that vitamin D stimulates the brain to produce more serotonin. In a wintertime experiment, serum vitamin D levels doubled in six months through supplementation and dramatically increased scores on a wellbeing assessment.[2] Two groups were given either 1,000 IU or 4,000 IU of vitamin D daily. And although both groups improved, the higher dose produced better results.

A few researchers are turning their attention to the sunshine vitamin as a culprit, prompted by the experience of immigrants that have moved from their equatorial country to two northern latitude locations As evidence of widespread vitamin D deficiency grows, some scientists are wondering whether the sunshine vitamin-once only considered important in bone health-may actually play a role in one of neurology's most vexing conditions: autism. The idea, although not yet tested or widely held, comes out of preliminary studies in Sweden and Minnesota. Last summer, Swedish researchers published a study in Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology that found the prevalence of autism and related disorders was three to four times higher among Somali immigrants than non-Somalis in Stockholm. The study reviewed the records of 2,437 children, born between 1988 and 1998 in Stockholm, in response to parents and teachers who had raised concerns about whether children with a Somali background were overrepresented in the total group of children with autism

ScienceDaily (Apr. 5, 2009) - Docosahexanoic acid (DHA), an omega-3 fatty acid found in fish oils, has been shown to reduce the size of tumours and enhance the positive effects of the chemotherapy drug cisplatin, while limiting its harmful side effects. The rat experiments provide some support for the plethora of health benefits often ascribed to omega-3 acids.

Mice injected with cancer cells experienced significantly elevated levels of C-reactive protein, white blood cells, and lipid peroxidation compared with control mice. These levels were reduced in animals that received cisplatin and/or DHA. While treatment with 125 mg/kg DHA inhibited tumor growth by 38 percent compared to untreated animals, 250 mg/kg suppressed tumor growth by 79 percent, which was a greater effect than that of cisplatin alone (which was associated with a 55 percent reduction). The combination of DHA and cisplatin resulted in an 81 percent inhibition of growth, while reducing elevated white blood cell levels (leukocytosis) to normal levels. Treatment with the higher dose of DHA alone was associated with a similar reduction in white blood cells, which, when elevated, are associated with tumor growth. A strong relationship was observed between tumor growth and white blood cell levels as well as C-reactive protein levels. In another experiment with rats treated with cisplatin, the addition of 250 mg/kg DHA prevented lethal kidney toxicity in 88 percent of the animals that received it, while none of the rats that received cisplatin alone survived.

Edible mushrooms are a versatile functional food and have been touted as a way to preserve youth, longevity and overall health for centuries. Now nutrition researchers from Arizona State University and Pennsylvania State University are finding that they may even help boost the immune system and reduce inflammation, especially in the colon. Keith R. Martin, ASU assistant professor in nutrition, along with his Penn State colleagues, experimented with various types of mushrooms, from the more common white button to the exotic like shiitake and oyster, to see what sort of effect they had on the immune system. Their paper was published in late February in BMC Immunology, a peer reviewed online journal. "We found that the white button mushroom seemed to be the most effective in boosting the immune system, which is good because they are the most affordable," said Martin.

I stumbled on one of the growing number of local media stories on the power of vitamin D. \nIn one story, a purported "expert" was talking about the benefits of "high-dose" vitamin D, meaning up to 1000, even 2000 units per day. \nI regard this as high-dose---for an infant. \nJudging by my experiences, now numbering well over 1000 patients over three years time, I'd regard this dose range not as "high dose," nor moderate dose, perhaps not even low dose. I'd regard it as barely adequate.

Weston Price established the importance of the MK-4 isoform of vitamin K2 (hereafter, K2) with a series of interesting experiments. He showed in chickens that blood levels of calcium and phosphorus depended both on vitamin A and K2, and that the two had synergistic effects on mineral absorption. He also showed that chickens preferred eating butter that was rich in K2 over butter low in K2, even when the investigators couldn't distinguish between them. Young turkeys fed K2-containing butter oil along with cod liver oil (A and D) also grew at a much faster rate than turkeys fed cod liver oil alone.

The material presented on this site comes from individuals with years of hard-won experience either practicing alternative diets or observing those who do. As you'll find, no two writers will necessarily agree on all topics. A unifying theme, however, is the intent to squarely acknowledge and discuss the sometimes serious problems that can occur on alternative diets but often go unreported, and to go beyond the simplistic dogmas readily available elsewhere--in fact almost everywhere--to "explain them away." A sense of admirable idealism is often a motivating factor encouraging people to take responsibility for their own health and to explore different diets. However, the development of emotional attachments to philosophies underlying such diets can often end up becoming far more important for some individuals than the results they obtain--or fail to. One result has been widespread refusal in the alternative diet community to face health and behavioral problems that may arise on these diets. A common thread in what you'll read here is that a kind of subjective, "blinded naturalism" has become more or less endemic in the vegetarian, raw-food, and alternative diet movements, which can lead to serious health troubles.

"Meat eating made us human. The anthropological evidence strongly supports the idea that the addition of increasingly larger amounts of meat in the diet of our predecessors was essential in the evolution of the large human brain. Our large brains came at the metabolic expense of our guts, which shrank as our brains grew. In April 1995 an article appeared in the journal Current Anthropology that was an intellectual tour de force and, in my view, an example of a perfect theoretical paper. "The Expensive-Tissue Hypothesis" (ETH) by Leslie Aiello and Peter Wheeler demonstrated by a brilliant thought experiment that our species didn't evolve to eat meat but evolved because it ate meat. It was our gradual drift toward the much higher quality diet provided by food from animal sources that allowed us to develop the large brains we have. It was hunting and meat eating that reduced our GI tracts and freed up our brains to grow. As I wrote at the start of this post, the evidence indicates that we didn't evolve to eat meat - we evolved because we ate meat."

"Some people promote coconut oil as a healthy addition to a weight-loss diet, even though it has higher levels of saturated fat. WebMD Feature Reviewed By Brunilda Nazario Is it possible to add fat to your diet and lose weight? Yes, if it's the right fat, says naturopath Bruce Fife, ND, author of Eat Fat Look Thin. He recommends adding coconut oil and substituting it for polyunsaturated oils to suppress appetite, boost metabolism, and bring about weight loss. "Lots of people have reported that when they add coconut oil to their diet, it was enough to promote weight loss," says Fife. "Some people don't notice a drop in weight, which often means they're simply eating too much. Calories are important." His own experience with coconut oil produced a gradual weight loss over six months of about 20 pounds, which he'd been unable to lose previously through diet and exercise. He advises using about three tablespoons of natural coconut oil, either virgin or processed, daily. His patients use it in place of polyunsaturated fats for stir-frying and salad dressings, add it to other foods, or take it straight. The fat is also present in canned coconut milk (not the liquid inside the coconut), which can be substituted for milk in many recipes, and fresh coconut fruit, which can be eaten as a snack or grated over fruits and salads"

"Here's just a smattering of the studies performed over the past 30 years on the psychological effects of wheat consumption. Oddly, this never makes the popular press. But wheat underlies schizophrenia, bipolar illness, behavioral outbursts in autism, Huntington's disease, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The relationship is especially compelling with schizophrenia: Opioid peptides derived from food proteins: The exorphins. Zioudrou C et al 1979 "Wheat gluten has been implicated by Dohan and his colleagues in the etiology of schizophrenia and supporting evidence has been provided by others. Our experiments provide a plausible biochemical mechanism for such a role, in the demonstration of the conversion of gluten into peptides with potential central nerovus system actions." "

"(NaturalNews) New research published in The Journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) has found that the "Western" diet, typically high in sugar and fat, may be responsible for activating genes that signal the body to become fatter. According to scientists, the body's response to high amounts of energy-dense food is to activate the kappa opioid receptor which triggers increased fat storage. Researchers arrived at this conclusion by conducting an experiment on two groups of mice. One group had its kappa opioid receptors genetically deactivated while the other remained intact. Both groups were fed diets high in fat and sugar for 16 weeks. At the end of 16 weeks, the group with the deactivated receptor remained lean while the control group gained significant weight. Besides limiting their bodies' ability to store energy-dense food in their fat stores, the mice whose receptors had been deactivated were noted to also have a limited ability to assimilate and store nutrients from the foods they ingested. Traci Ann Czyzyk-Morgan, one of the study's researchers, indicated that the findings prove the hypothesis long held by many in the scientific community that the kappa opioid receptor may be responsible for causing widespread obesity in Western countries. She and others continue to encourage people to avoid diets high in fat and sugar. "

"Tuesday, December 15, 2009 Overweight, hungry, diabetic, and fat-free Let me tell you about my low-fat experience from 20 years ago. At the time, I was living in Cleveland, Ohio, and served on the faculty at a large metropolitan university-affiliated hospital, supervising fellows-in-training and developing high-tech cath lab procedures like directional athererectomy and excimer laser coronary angioplasty. (Yes, another life.) I was concerned about personal heart disease risk, though I knew next to nothing about lipids and coronary risk prediction outside of the little I learned in training and what the drug industry promoted. I heard Dr. Dean Ornish talk while attending the American College of Cardiology meetings in Atlanta. Dr. Ornish spoke persuasively about the dangers of fat in the diet and how he "reversed" coronary disease using a low-fat, no added oils, no meat, vegetarian diet that included plenty of whole grains. So I thought I'd give it a try. I eliminated all oils; I removed all meat, eggs, and fish from my diet. I shunned all nuts. I ate only low-fat products like low-fat yogurt and cottage cheese; and focused on vegetables, fruit, and whole grains. Beans and brown or wild rice were a frequent staple. I loved oatmeal cookies--low-fat, of course! After one year of this low-fat program, I had gained a total of 31 lbs, going from 155 lbs to 186 lbs. I reassessed some basic labs: HDL 28 mg/dl Triglycerides 336 mg/dl Blood sugar 151 mg/dl (fasting) I became a diabetic. All through this time, I was also jogging. I ran on the beautiful paths along the Chagrin River in suburban Cleveland for miles north and south. I ran 5 miles per day most days of the week. "

Vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene polymorphisms and haplotypes, interactions with plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D, and prostate cancer risk. Mikhak B, Hunter DJ, Spiegelman D, Platz EA, Hollis BW, Giovannucci E. Prostate. 2007 Jun 15;67(9):911-23. PMID: 17440943 DOI: 10.1002/pros.20570 RESULTS No association was found between these SNPs or their associated haplotypes and all PC subtypes except that haplotype 2 (A-f-b) with Cdx2 A, Fok1 f, and Bsm1 b alleles and haplotype 3 (A-F-B) with Cdx2 A, Fok1 F and Bsm1 B alleles compared to the most common haplotype (A-F-b), were associated with reduced risk of aggressive PC (high stage or Gleason sum 7; P = 0.02), both with two alleles suspected of being low risk. Carriers of the variant Cdx2 A allele who were deficient in plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D (15 ng/ml) compared to non-carriers with normal 25-hydroxyvitamin D, had a lower risk of total and poorly differentiated PCs (Gleason sum 7) (P for interaction = 0.02 and 0.04, respectively). Plasma 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D deficiency (26 pg/ml) was associated with a threefold risk of poorly differentiated PC (P for interaction = 0.01) when comparing carriers of the Cdx2 A allele to non-carriers with normal 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D. CONCLUSION In this population of men, none of the VDR polymorphisms studied was associated with susceptibility to PC. Carriers of the variant Cdx2 A allele with low plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D may experience a reduction in risk of total and poorly differentiated prostate cancers compared to non-carriers with adequate 25-hydroxyvitamin D.