Cranberry for Your Health, yes, and get some FREE

I have always been a great fan of the cranberry.  I like it because it has differing enzymes than found in most other fruits and it has long been known to help you keep a healthy UT (urinary tract).
Recently, a new product has emerged in the rapidly growing "shots" market.  This time, one that's a healthy choice.
Northland's Cranberry Care™ liquid supplement is made from whole cranberry and hibiscus extracts – clinically proven* to support urinary tract health – and blended with antioxidant-rich blueberry and pomegranate juices for a powerful, all-natural, straight shot. This tiny drink also provides an excellent source of vitamin C with only 40 calories per serving.
Two clinically proven, all-natural ingredients* create one super shot. PACran^® (whole cranberry extract) has been shown to help support urinary tract health by harnessing the powerful antioxidants found in the skin and seeds of the cranberry. UTI Rose™, which is extracted from the Hibiscus flower, has unique properties that have also been proven to support UT health.
Priced at $19.99 for the familiar 2.5 ounce 'shot size' bottle, the 10 pack can be found at Northwest Costco stores and through their web site.
If you're looking for an option to support UT health, this might fit the bill.
And if you'd like to try it for free, send us an email  with your name and shipping address as we're giving away a month's supply to three lucky readers. 

Selections from Natural Health News

Natural Health News: Devil in the Details

Feb 03, 2011

You can also make your own cranberry juice from whole cranberries. Simmer them in water until they pop, then blend the water and berries on high in your blender. Use one pound of berries to one quart of pure, filtered water.

http://naturalhealthnews.blogspot.com/

Natural Health News: Antibiotics Up Birth Defect Risks

Nov 04, 2009

Pure cranberry juice, the very tart kind with no additives that you get in the health food section is an excellent help. Adding a small amout of pure apple juice is good for a bit of sweetness if you aren't used to cranberry juice's ...

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Natural Health News: New Level of Insanity

Nov 16, 2010

We all know there is the issue of personal hygiene, cranberry nectar, cranberry sugar extract, and even something as simple as drinking more pure water... Vaccine to prevent urinary tract infections due to E. coli bacteria ...

Natural Health News: Removing Your Right of Access to Health ...

Aug 27, 2010

A sneak preview obtained by NutraIngredients of 100s of herbs that have been processed by EFSA's health claims panel but not yet published, indicates an exhaustive list has been assessed including cranberry, ...

http://naturalhealthnews.blogspot.com/

Natural Health News: Natural Blood Thinning

Nov 08, 2009

This week we're published the most recent issue of our long-standing column, "Natural Notes" featuring the cranberry, another healthy food offering natural blood thinning. Once it is published the links where you can find it will ...

http://naturalhealthnews.blogspot.com/

Natural Health News: More Foods for Health

Apr 22, 2010

Cranberries Alleviate prostate pain Fight lung, colon and leukemia cancer cells Prevent urinary tract infection. Green Cabbage Promotes healthy blood clotting Reduces risk of prostate, colon, breast and ovarian cancers ...

http://naturalhealthnews.blogspot.com/

Natural Health News: Energy Drinks: Again!

Aug 20, 2010

I so wish all products would have Stevia as their sweetner of choice. As for a Energy drink...I have discovered Oceanspray pure cranberry juice! This has so many health benefits and for me, it's helping my R.A. inflammation!

Helpers for Your Failing Heart

A group of people with heart failure was studied to see how well they responded to COQ10 and other antioxidants.  Patients had a 40% or lower ejection rate and had been diagnosed for at least six months.  Daily dose of COQ10 was 350 mg.  Pycnogenol was the antioxidant used in this study.

None in this group was taking statin drugs or supplements because of the impact on COQ10.  Statins deplete this critical enzyme.

In this 12 week study the improvement level was very good for 86% of the participants and these included -

Ejection fraction increased by 22.4%

Quality of life issues improved from 43% to 54% 

3.3 times longer walking distance on treadmill

Decrease in distal edema

Decrease in blood pressure by 8% both systolic and diastolic

Decrease in heart rate

Decrease in respiratory rate up to 8.25%

Selections from Natural Health News

For Your Healthy Heart

Feb 02, 2011

September 22, 2008 — A new study has found that older adults with severe subclinical hypothyroidism had almost double the risk of developing heart failure (HF) compared with those with normal thyroid function over a 12-year follow-up . ...

http://naturalhealthnews.blogspot.com/

Natural Health News: Finding Fibrillation

Jul 05, 2011

Atrial fibrillation is often asymptomatic and is not in itself generally life-threatening, but it may result in palpitations, fainting, chest pain, or congestive heart failure. People with AF usually have a significantly increased risk of ...

http://naturalhealthnews.blogspot.com/

UPDATE - Herbal extract extends heart patients' lives: study

Mar 27, 2007

An extract from the leaves of the crataegus, or hawthorn tree, already available in Europe, extended the lives of patients with congestive heart failure who were already receiving medicinal treatment by an average of four months, ...

http://naturalhealthnews.blogspot.com/

Low Cholesterol Does A Body Bad - Once More, with feeling

Dec 23, 2008

Dec 22 - In patients hospitalized with acute decompensated congestive heart failure, low total cholesterol levels independently predict a higher risk of in-hospital death, a report in the December issue of the American Heart Journal ...

http://naturalhealthnews.blogspot.com/

Is Chocolate the New Superfruit?

Just one thing to remember: best to select dark chocolate and also make sure it is from fair trade, organic sources, as well as the related ingredients like sugar to avoid exposure to GMO, as Hershey seems to be using these days. 

Chocolate is the new super fruit, claim Hershey scientists
By Jane Byrne, 07-Feb-2011
Cocoa powder and dark chocolate has equivalent polyphenol content and greater antioxidant and flavanol content than various super fruits, claims a new study by research scientists based at the Hershey Center for Health and Nutrition.The authors, who published their findings in the Chemistry Central Journal said that their results indicate that cacao seeds thus provide nutritive value beyond that derived from their macronutrient composition and thus should be termed ‘super fruit’.
The fruit pulp of the Theobroma cacao pod that surrounds its seeds can be consumed; however the vast majority of people have only consumed the seed-derived portion of cacao in the form of cocoa powder or chocolate. So the goal of the study, said the Hershey scientists, was to compare cocoa powder and chocolate, products representing the commonly eaten portion of the cacao fruit, with powders and juices from so-called “Super Fruits”.
Cocoa powder and chocolate were compared with powders derived from acai, blueberry, cranberry, and pomegranate, continued the authors, on measures of antioxidant activity, as measured by oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC (μM TE/g)), total polyphenol content (TP (mg/g)), and total flavanol content (TF (mg/g)).
MethodTo limit sampling error with each analysis method, each brand of fruit powder and product was prepared and analyzed in triplicate using chemical assays, said the team.
The materials selected, they explained, included commercially available fruit powders, natural (non-alkalized) cocoa, 100 per cent non blended fruit juices, natural cocoa beverage, solid dark chocolate (60-63 per cent cacao), and hot cocoa mix.
All powders were obtained via food ingredient suppliers, while the juices, solid dark chocolate, and hot cocoa mix were obtained at retail and analyzed in the form sold to consumers.
They said that a cocoa beverage was produced by combining 240 ml water, 25 g sugar, 1 g salt, and 12 g of natural cocoa powder and was designed to have a composition similar to that of the other fruit juices. 240 ml was considered a typical single serving of fruit juice or cocoa beverage, 40 g was considered a typical single serving of dark chocolate, and 28 g was considered a typical single serving of hot cocoa mix.
ResultsThe authors’ findings demonstrated that the antioxidant capacity of cocoa powder (634 ± 33 μMTE/g) was significantly greater than blueberry, cranberry, and pomegranate powder on a per gram basis.
They said that the total polyphenol content of cocoa powder (48.2 ± 2.1 mg/g) appeared to be greater than acai, blueberry, and cranberry powder; however these differences did not reach statistical significance, added the researchers.
And the Hershey team found that the total flavanol content (of cocoa powder (30.1 ± 2.8 mg/g) was significantly greater than all of the other fruit powders tested.
Analysis of fruit products demonstrated that the antioxidant capacity of dark chocolate (9911 ± 1079 μMTE/serving) was not significantly greater, on a per serving basis, than pomegranate juice but was greater than that of all other products tested. In contrast, hot cocoa mix had significantly less antioxidant capacity (1232 ± 159 μMTE/serving) than all of the other products tested, noted the team.
“The results of the current study demonstrate that cocoa powder has equivalent or significantly higher in vitro antioxidant activity, as measured by ORAC values, compared to the tested fruit powders.Similarly, the TP content of cocoa powder was equivalent to that of the fruit powders and its TF content was significantly higher than that of all the fruit powders tested,” reported the Hershey scientists.
They also stress that the cocoa powders, cocoa beverages, and dark chocolate used in the study all contained natural (or non-alkalized) cocoa but that the hot cocoa mixes were made with alkalized cocoa.
The extent of polyphenol destruction, continue the researchers, is proportional to the degree of alkalization and change in the water extractable pH of the resulting powder antioxidant capacity and polyphenol content may be severely diminished in alkalized cocoa powder and products made with alkalized cocoa.
“Alkalinization is used to mellow the flavor of cocoa, however the process has been shown to destroy polyphenolic compounds and is likely responsible for the significant differences in ORAC, TP, and TC values observed between hot cocoa mix and the other cocoa products,” commented the team.
Source: Chemistry Central Journal

Selections from Natural Health News

Chocolate Works Better

Sep 13, 2006

Chocolate, in its natural powder form has been known to be an herb/food or great anti-oxidant value for centuries. Of course it is the Western maintream crowd that thiks they just discovered the benfits of these wonderful natural things ...

Dark and Good

Dec 03, 2007

Of course the chocolate was plain cocoa powder or raw chocolate. While we love it in its marketed form we should consider the downside of too much of sweetened and fat added treat. Organic and non-GMO chocolate is the best kind for ...

Arrogance Does Not A Good Researcher Make

Aug 11, 2008

Adding on to the thread regarding studies I can't overlook something that struck me as exemplifying mediocrity while reading an abstract about the anti-inflammatory benefits of chocolate. One star-struck doctor seems to take the prize ...

and 

Cocoa For Better Brain Blood FlowSubstances in cocoa protects your health from stroke, myocardial infarction, cancer and diabetes.
Flavanoli from cocoa improve blood flow to the brain, shows study published in the magazine “Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment.”
Experts have found a beneficial cocoa effect to the flow of blood in brief and long-term tests to the brain and, and they believe that is responsible for the positive effect of antioxidant flavanoli activity.
The authors suggest that better long-term flow

of blood has a positive impact on cognitive abilities, but also provides protection against dementia.

Science research have confirmed what was known from the Aztec’s time – cocoa encourage brain to create enorfina (brain sedative and anesthetics), which leads to relaxation, and eliminate stress and pain.
Cocoa stimulates dopamine and serotonin secretion (carriers of brain information), which increase mood level- the effect is the reason why depressed people eat huge quantities of chocolate.
Cocoa is the source of mental health and good mood, rather than synthetic drugs has no adverse effects.

Antioxidants Extend Longevity, Protect Your Health

What really amazes me is the ignorance and stupidity that rules at agencies like FDA and FTC.

With this in mind, just how can you believe what they tell you when the science refutes their position, especially on their new attack on pomegranate juice.

At the same time the attacks go against real food, the nutritional status of food is decreasing rapidly and the need for more antioxidant intake comes from the mouths of FDA paid pundits who really seem never to read the plethora of available science.

You have to guess that they do not think the science is good if they are always on the attack, or that they only want certain sources to produce the science.

Sounds like "bait and switch" to me.

In defense of antioxidants, from such sources as pomegranate, how about digesting this science -

A report published online on September 1, 2010 in the British Journal of Nutrition revealed a protective effect for a number of antioxidant nutrients against all-cause and disease-specific mortality in older individuals over a 13 year average period. "The purpose of the present paper is to explore the predictive significance of a selection of biochemical indices for nutrients that are believed to mediate redox-modulatory (antioxidant or pro-oxidant) functions in living tissues," the authors write. "Evidence that subsequent all-cause mortality may be predicted by vitamin C intakes and/or status has been obtained in several previous studies, and similarly for carotene and selenium."

Researchers at MRC Human Nutrition Research in Cambridge and University College in London evaluated data from 1,054 participants in the British National Diet and Nutrition Survey, which enrolled men and women aged 65 and older from 1994 to 1995. Blood samples obtained upon enrollment were analyzed for plasma vitamin C, retinol, alpha-tocopherol, gamma-tocopherol, carotenoids, zinc, copper, iron, selenium and a1-antichymotrypsin, a serine protease inhibitor that is increased during inflammation. Four day dietary records were analyzed for the intake of these nutrients and energy intake. The participants were followed through September, 2008 and the causes of any deaths were documented.

Seventy-four percent of the men and 62 percent of the women enrolled in the Survey died over the course of follow-up. Increased plasma vitamin C, alpha-carotene, selenium, zinc and iron were signficantly associated with a reduction in all-cause mortality, as was the dietary intake of vitamin C, carotenoids, zinc, copper and total energy. These patterns remained fundamentally similar when deaths from vascular, cancer and respiratory diseases were separately considered, however, increased dietary vitamins C and E were found to confer a significant protective effect against cancer, and dietary vitamin E protected against respiratory disease in males (while carotenoid intake was protective in women). An association of elevated plasma copper and a1-antichymotrypsin levels with increased mortality was explained by the fact that a1-antichymotrypsin and a major copper-containing plasma protein increase during inflammatory states.

"A number of baseline nutrient status indices with ‘redox-modulatory’ connotations appear to predict all cause, primary vascular disease, cancer or respiratory disease mortality in older British adults," the authors conclude. "Future studies should attempt to determine, first, which nutrients are the most frequent predictors of all-cause and specific-cause mortality in different populations, and second, whether these predictions can imply causal relationships, such that dietary or other interventions might promote disease-free longevity."

from Natural Health News

More Foods for Health

Apr 22, 2010

Pomegranate Enhances sunscreen protection Lowers "bad" cholesterol Fights prostate cancer. Pumpkin Protects joints against polyarthritis Lowers lung and prostate cancer risk Reduces inflammation. Raspberries Inhibit growth of oral, ...

Learn more about antioxidants

Mar 02, 2009

The anti-prostate cancer effects of pomegranate and its extracts may be related to stopping an enzyme in the liver that processes environmental carcinogens, according to a new study. Pomegranate, a rich source of antioxidants, ...

More natural substances on their way to drug status

Nov 05, 2008

A few days ago I make a smoothie with pomegranate juice, goji juice crystals, plums, and Concord grapes, plus all my hemp protein and other nutritionals I add in. I even shared a little of this thick, velvety purple blend with my Golden ...

Avoiding Harsh Chemicals in Egg Dyes

Apr 11, 2009

Red: Lots of Red Onions Skins (boiled), Canned Cherries with Juice, Pomegranate Juice, Raspberries. This information is provided by Creating Health Institute through our Health Matters(c) project.

October Pink Promotions

Oct 01, 2008

Vitamin D, pomegranate, and curcumin may help promote breast health and reduce breast cancer risk. * These foods contain an abundant variety of polyphenols, healthful compounds that regulate cell growth and metabolism. ...