Dr. John's Health Matters
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The articles posted here are from various sources who are duly acknowledged. I would appreciate being immediately notified, if any copywritten material needs to be removed. This blog is not intended to replace the qualified advice of a licensed health practitioner. Readers should exercise their own judgment. Enjoy, subscribe, participate and tell others :)
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Posts tagged "juice"
Wednesday, Sep 2nd, 2009 ↓Blueberry juice displays weight management benefits: Mouse study →
Sept 2, 2009 (Foodnavigator.com)—Drinking a modified blueberry juice may reduce food intake and body weight, and offer weight management potential, suggest findings from a new study with mice.
Canadian researchers report that mice prone to obesity, insulin resistance, diabetes and hypertension drinking the blueberry juice were protected against the development of glucose intolerance and diabetes mellitus.
The blueberry juice used in the study was not standard juice but had undergone a transformation using the Serratia vaccinii bacterium.
“Results of this study clearly show that biotransformed blueberry juice has strong anti-obesity and anti-diabetic potential,” said lead researcher Pierre Haddad, from the Université de Montréal.
“Biotransformed blueberry juice may represent a novel therapeutic agent, since it decreases hyperglycemia in diabetic mice and can protect young pre-diabetic mice from developing obesity and diabetes.”
Blueberries, nature’s only ‘blue’ food, are a rich source of polyphenols, potent antioxidants that include phenolics acids, tannins, flavonols and anthocyanins.
For full article, see link above.
Tags: blueberry juice antioxidant weightloss weight management obesity carotenoid insulin diabetes hypertension serratia vaccinii bacterium cholesterol cancer alzheimer prevention
Defend Against Disease with Broccoli Juice →
Aug 28, 2009 (NaturalNews.com)— Broccoli is a member of the cauliflower family or a Brassica. It is a diverse super food that is delicious when steamed or can be finely chopped and sprinkled on food for added nutrition. Juicing is a great way to get the most out of this amazing food. By drinking broccoli juice daily, we can prevent disease and transform our health.
Broccoli juice offers a whole array of amazing benefits that help us to enjoy optimum health. It contains glucoraphanin that converts into sulphoraphane, a powerful anticancer agent. It contains isothyocyanate, the chemical that activates our natural cancer inhibiting genes. The sprouted seeds and the broccoli juice help to fight prostate cancer. It contains compounds that help to detox the liver from cancer causing toxins.
With high levels of selenium and fiber, the juice of Broccoli offers protection from stomach and bowel cancer.
Broccoli juice contains compounds that protect cells from ultraviolet light. It helps to increase the production of protective enzymes that protect cells against different aspects of UV damage by working inside the cells. It helps in prevention of skin cancer.
Glucoraphanin present in the broccoli juice promotes antioxidant defenses in the body that help lower blood pressure and harmful inflammation in the heart and arteries.
The phytochemical sulforaphane helps the body defend against H. pylori, a bacteria that causes gastrointestinal problems. Thus, it helps to prevent stomach ulcers and painful bloating.
Broccoli juice contains fibers which help to maintain a healthy gastrointestinal GI tract. It reduces cholesterol levels in the blood. Calcium present in the Broccoli juice promotes healthy bones and helps to burn fat. It decreases the production of cortisol, which is a stress hormone, relating to food cravings and stomach fat.
For full article, see link above.
Tags: prevention disease broccoli juice benefit glucoraphanin sulphoraphane antioxidant anticancer cancer prostate detox liver selenium fiber stomach bowel uv damage skin bacteria gastrointestinal inflammation heart arteries bloating ulcer pain cholesterol blood
Using Cranberry Juice To Combat Urinary Tract Infections 'Inconclusive' →
Aug 25, 2009 (Sciencedaily.com)—Current clinical evidence for using cranberry juice to combat urinary tract infections is ‘unsatisfactory and inconclusive’, according to Raul Raz.
Not all medical problems require a state-of-the-art solution, and it would be nice to think that products from the corner shop could treat a widespread and uncomfortable ailment. Cranberry juice and related products have been touted as a simple solution for urinary tract infections, but Raul Raz, a member of F1000 Medicine, finds little to support this claim.
Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are a common complaint. Between 10% and 20% of women will suffer a UTI at least once, and a third of these will experience it recurrently. Some recent studies support the use of cranberry as a preventative, but Dr Raz, Director of Infectious Diseases at the Technion School of Medicine in Israel, and his associate Faculty Member, Hana Edelstein, advise the medical community that “cranberry should no longer be considered as an effective [preventative] for recurrent UTIs”.
Cranberry contains hundreds of compounds, and it has been difficult to determine which might be responsible for any therapeutic effect, hindering its adoption. Raz and Edelstein point to differences in clinical trial design and the lack of standardization for doses and formulation. There is a range of potential side-effects including stomach upsets and weight gain. Cranberry can also interact badly with other medicines such as Warfarin, commonly used to treat heart disease.
For full article, see link above.
Tags: cranberry urinary tract infection juice prevention therapeutic stomach upset interaction medication heart disease
Juice Health Benefits →
(NaturalNews.com)— Some mornings on my way to work, I drop by the local Jamba Juice store a block from my office and down 16 ounces of carrot juice and four ounces each of wheatgrass juice and a green tea energy drink. I drink this cocktail for overall health and vitality. The wheatgrass is full of vitamin K and amino acids, the carrot juice is packed with beta-carotene, and the green tea gives me a boost of caffeine and antioxidants to get my day started.
However, this is not a story about general health maintenance. It is about “targeted” juices that have predictable and rapid therapeutic effects on specific health conditions. Let’s start with a very common problem: high blood pressure.
Celery Juice Lowers Blood Pressure
When you think about lowering blood pressure, celery probably isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. But this crunchy vegetable deserves some serious attention. Loaded with potassium and magnesium, celery contains something even more important: 3-n-butyl-phthalide, a compound that relaxes the smooth muscle cells in the arterial walls, allowing the arteries to dilate and effectively lowering blood pressure.
One of the physicians at Whitaker Wellness decided to put celery to the test. Every day for a month, she and her father juiced and drank one bunch of celery, mixed with a little orange juice for flavor (it’s somewhat bitter on its own). Her father’s systolic blood pressure went from 148 to 128 and hers went from 120 to 105. Imagine results this dramatic without dangerous prescription drugs!
Another great juice for people with hypertension is Low-Sodium V8 Juice. It works on two fronts to lower blood pressure. First, it contains a particularly high dose of potassium (840 mg per eight ounces) that helps keep blood pressure in check. Second, according to a study recently published in JAMA, it is an effective blood thinner, which further contributes to its antihypertensive effects. For Ted, one of my longtime patients, simply drinking 12 ounces of Low-Sodium V8 Juice daily was enough to keep his blood pressure in the normal range.
For full article, see link above.
Tags: juice antioxidant vitamin amino acid celery cabbage stomach blood pressure cardiovascular therapeutic vegetable digestion cherry cranberry pain relief anthocyanin flavonoid gout uric acid urinary tract infection mannose prevention
Beetroot Juice Boosts Stamina, New Study Shows →
Aug 7, 2009 (sciencedaily.com)—Drinking beetroot juice boosts your stamina and could help you exercise for up to 16% longer. A University of Exeter led-study shows for the first time how the nitrate contained in beetroot juice leads to a reduction in oxygen uptake, making exercise less tiring.
The study reveals that drinking beetroot juice reduces oxygen uptake to an extent that cannot be achieved by any other known means, including training.
The research team believes that the findings could be of great interest to endurance athletes. They could also be relevant to elderly people or those with cardiovascular, respiratory or metabolic diseases.
The research team conducted their study with eight men aged between 19 and 38. They were given 500ml per day of organic beetroot juice for six consecutive days before completing a series of tests, involving cycling on an exercise bike. On another occasion, they were given a placebo of blackcurrant cordial for six consecutive days before completing the same cycling tests.
After drinking beetroot juice the group was able to cycle for an average of 11.25 minutes, which is 92 seconds longer than when they were given the placebo. This would translate into an approximate 2% reduction in the time taken to cover a set distance. The group that had consumed the beetroot juice also had lower resting blood pressure.
For full article se link bove.
Tags: beetroot juice stamina exercise physical activity tired tiring oxygenm uptake use training endurance blood pressure supplement
Administration of lemon juice can decrease the absorption of radiation for patients with thyroid cancer →
July 2, 2009 (Medscape.com)) — Intermittent administration of lemon juice can decrease the absorption of radiation for patients with thyroid cancer who are undergoing treatment with iodine-131 (I-131). Those findings were presented in a poster presented here at the 56th annual meeting of the Society of Nuclear Medicine.
Principal investigator Douglas Van Nostrand, MD, director of nuclear medicine at Washington Hospital Center in Washington, DC, explained that clinicians have made attempts to preserve salivary gland function through minimizing radiation absorption to the parotid glands in patients receiving treatment for thyroid cancer.
“It’s a major concern within the radiation therapy community, regarding how one protects salivary glands from radioiodine that you are treating the thyroid cancer with,” explained Dr. Van Nostrand.
For full article see link above.
Tags: cancer radiation lemon juice thyroid iodine 131 salivary gland function absorption parotid
Orange Juice Worse For Teeth Than Whitening Agents, Study Finds →
July 1, 2009 (Sciencedaily.com)—With the increasing popularity of whitening one’s teeth, researchers at the Eastman Institute for Oral Health, part of the University of Rochester Medical Center, set out to learn if there are negative effects on the tooth from using whitening products.
Eastman Institute’s YanFang Ren, DDS, PhD, and his team determined that the effects of 6 percent hydrogen peroxide, the common ingredient in professional and over-the-counter whitening products, are insignificant compared to acidic fruit juices. Orange juice markedly decreased hardness and increased roughness of tooth enamel.
Unlike ever before, researchers were able to see extensive surface detail thanks to a new focus-variation vertical scanning microscope. “The acid is so strong that the tooth is literally washed away,” said Ren, whose findings were recently published in Journal of Dentistry. “The orange juice decreased enamel hardness by 84 percent.” No significant change in hardness or surface enamel was found from whitening.
For full article see link above.
Vegetable juice may aid weight loss: Study →
Apr 20 09 (FoodNavigator-USA.com) — One glass of a reduced salt vegetable juice a day may help overweight people with metabolic syndrome lose more weight, according to a new study.
Partly funded by the Campbell Soup Company and using its low sodium V8 brand juice, the study reported that a daily 8-ounce glass of the juice, as part of a calorie-controlled DASH diet lost four pounds over 12 weeks, while those who followed the same diet but drank no juice lost one pound.
The researchers from Baylor College of Medicine also reported that participants in the vegetable juice group were more likely to meet the daily five-a-day recommendations for fruit and vegetable intakes.
For full article, see link above.
Blackcurrant Juice and Orange Juice Give Heart Health a Boost →
Feb 25 09 (NaturalNews) A recent study conducted in Denmark has found that blackcurrant juice and orange juice may help lower the levels of compounds in the body which are associated with cardiovascular disease.
Background and Details of Study
Population studies had previously suggested that increased consumption of fruits can lower the markers for inflammation and endothelial activation, which are factors associated with risk of cardiovascular disease. In addition, vitamin E has known anti-inflammatory effects. With these in mind, the study team looked into the effects of orange and blackcurrant juices as well as vitamin E supplements on the said markers in 48 peripheral arterial disease sufferers.
The study subjects were randomly allocated to four possible consumption scenarios - both juice and vitamin E, juice and placebo, sugar drink and vitamin E, or sugar drink and placebo. The dosages used were 500ml of juice and 15mg of vitamin E per day. The different combinations were consumed for 4 weeks, with 4-week wash-out periods separating the interventional periods.
Findings of Study
The study, published in the British Journal of Nutrition, found that the juices helped to lower levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), a compound which is made in the liver and is a known marker for inflammation, by 11% and fibrinogen, also a marker for inflammation, by 3%. The sugar drink, on the other hand, raised these markers by 13% and 2% respectively instead. Elevated CRP levels are said to be a good predictor for the development of not just cardiovascular disease, but also type 2 diabetes.
For full article, see link above.
A Health Drink for Your Teeth →
Feb 20 09 (Real Age) - Which is better for your teeth — orange juice or tea? Turns out that OJ ranks right up there with soda in terms of its enamel-damaging potential. But tea’s effect on teeth is like water’s: It leaves enamel unscathed. Guard Your Teeth Think of enamel as armor for your teeth. Once that armor gets worn down or damaged, it can’t repair itself. That’s why acidic beverages — soda, citrus juice, sports drinks — are so bad for your pearly whites: They contain enamel-stripping acids (phosphoric, citric, malic, and tartaric acids, to name a few). But green and black teas don’t attack enamel, and they even have a bit of tooth-friendly fluoride to boot.
For full article, see link above.
Vegetable Juice Helps Build Health →
NaturalNews) A new study by University of California at Davis researchers backs up advice natural health advocates have been giving for decades: Juice is a great way to get the health-building benefits of vegetables.
The research, presented this week at the American Dietetic Association’s annual conference in Chicago, looked at three groups of healthy men and women. All three groups met with dietary counselors who discussed different ways of adding more vegetables to the participants’ diets. However, two of the groups were also instructed to drink at least one 8-ounce serving of 100% vegetable juice daily. The study found the research subjects who consumed vegetable juice were far more likely to meet or exceed the minimum daily vegetable servings associated with good health (about five servings). Those who didn’t drink vegetable juice took in less than 25% of the vegetables recommended for health.
For full article, see link above.
