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5 Spices That Can Help You Lose Weight

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• by Kaboodle.com, on Wed Sep 22, 2010 9:47am PDT

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Although we’re inclined to scour the Web in search of the best diets and meal plans, the truth is, some of the tools to weight-loss success are already on your spice rack! Here are five ingredients that not only add flavor to your favorite dishes but can help in your battle against the bulge.

1. Cinnamon
A 2003 study published in Diabetes Care showed that as little as one teaspoon of cinnamon per day can boost the body’s weight-loss ability by reducing blood sugar and promoting healthier processing of carbohydrates. It also lowers LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol) by seven to 27% and total cholesterol by 12 to 26%. Plus, cinnamon has been shown to prevent the metabolic syndrome commonly seen in pre-diabetics. But before you go on piling the spice by spoonful, note that cinnamon contains a chemical called coumarin, which can lead to liver damage if consumed in very large amounts.

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2. Cayenne
The main ingredient in spicy cayenne—capsaicin, which is also found in other hot peppers—has long been studied for its fat-burning abilities and thermogenic properties (the stimulating of the central nervous system to produce heat in the body, leading to an increase in calorie burning). In fact, Nicholas Perricone, M.D., cites several of these studies in his wildly popular The Perricone Weight-Loss Diet and concludes that capsaicin acts as an appetite suppressant. Many think that cayenne pepper promotes weight loss because it’s simply difficult to overindulge in spicy food. However, later studies performed by the Journal of Obesity also found that the spice increases fat oxidation, “ramps up energy expenditure, and stimulates activity by the sympathetic nervous system”—all which help the body to shed excess weight. Not a fan of fiery cuisine? Not to worry! Research has found that cayenne’s ability to reduce appetite is equally effective whether ingested as food or in capsule form.

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3. Black Pepper
Among the dozens of health benefits of this common household ingredient is its ability to improve digestion and promote the absorption of nutrients in tissues all over the body. Plus, its main component—piperine (which gives pepper its pungent taste)—boosts fat metabolism by as much as 8% for several hours after ingesting it. If you want your pepper to pack the most punch, use freshly ground pepper, which has the most concentrated amounts of piperine.

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4. Mustard Seed
Like the other hot ingredients on this list, spicy mustard helps boost metabolism and allows you to burn fat more quickly, thanks in part to its thermogenic properties. Scientists at England’s Oxford Polytechnic Institute recently found that eating just one teaspoon of hot mustard can “boost metabolism 20 to 25% for several hours after eating, resulting in an additional burn of about 45 calories if a 700-calorie meal is consumed.”

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5. Ginger
Long used for its medicinal properties, ginger is also an effective diuretic (a substance that increases the elimination of urine). It improves gastric mobility (i.e. it pushes food and waste through the digestive system) and hinders the absorption of cholesterol. Although according to the Mayo Clinic, more study is needed, preliminary evidence suggests that this versatile spice helps to increase metabolism.

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Reposted From Kaboodle.com

A Repost From NaturalNews

Protect yourself from Alzheimer's disease with cinnamon Friday, September 24, 2010 by: Jonathan Benson, staff writer

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(NaturalNews) Degenerative mental diseases like Alzheimer's and dementia continue to ravish the lives of millions around the world. And to make matters worse, the financial burden of caring for dementia patients now tops one percent of the entire world's gross domestic product (GDP). But there are ways to help prevent and treat serious mental decline, including simply eating lots of cinnamon.

Dr. Richard Anderson, a diabetes expert from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, discovered several years ago that cinnamon helps to stabilize blood sugar levels by improving the quality of insulin in the body. But more recently, he found that cinnamon also helps to stop the formation of Alzheimer's disease, the sixth-leading cause of death in the U.S.

When eaten with food or taken in extract form, cinnamon helps block the formation of "tau filaments" that are associated with the development of Alzheimer's disease. In tests, cinnamon actually disassembled and eliminated these filaments from within cells, effectively reversing the effects of the disease.

So how much is best to take? According to Dr. Anderson, getting 1000 milligrams (mg) of cinnamon a day is optimal. However a recent Fox News report suggests that people might benefit from taking even more. That report indicates that people can take up to a teaspoon a day of cinnamon for good health.

Since cinnamon is a food and not a drug, it is safe to consume even higher amounts than these if you choose. But it is important to obtain non-irradiated cinnamon in order to get the maximum therapeutic benefits from it. If you are unsure whether or not the cinnamon you buy is irradiated, it is best to contact the manufacturer to verify.

Reposted From NaturalNews

A Repost From NaturalNews

This low-sugar fruit cuts your risk of diabetes, high blood pressure

Thursday, September 23, 2010 by: Jonathan Benson, staff writer
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(NaturalNews) Two new studies add to the growing body of research about the many health benefits of consuming blueberries. Researchers from Pennington Biomedical Research Center (PBRC) have found that blueberries help to prevent obesity-related insulin resistance, which leads to type 2 diabetes, while researchers from Oklahoma State University (OSU) have found similar success in using blueberries to prevent hypertension.

Published in the October issue of The Journal of Nutrition, the PBRC study found that obese participants who consumed blueberry-rich smoothies twice a day for 42 days experienced an increase in insulin sensitivity compared to participants who consumed an equally nutritious, but blueberry-free, smoothie twice a day for the same time period.

None of the participants had diabetes at the time of the study, but the blueberry compounds appeared to actually regulate the obesity-related insulin factors that are implicated in causing pre-diabetes and diabetes.

"We now know that compounds in blueberries may help obese, non-diabetic individuals maintain healthy blood glucose levels," explained Dr. April Stull, a researcher at PBRC.

In the OSU study, which was also published in The Journal of Nutrition, researchers observed that patients with pre-hypertension -- that is, elevated blood pressure levels that are not quite at full hypertension levels -- responded well to drinking a beverage once a day for eight weeks that contained two cups of blended blueberries.

According to Arpita Basu, professor of nutritional sciences at OSU and author of the study, the blueberry group saw an average drop of seven-to-eight points in systolic blood pressure by the end of the evaluation period.

"Many patients rely too heavily on medication to help control blood glucose," explained Basu. "A diet that includes blueberries is a component of a healthier lifestyle that also includes diet and exercise."

Reposted From NaturalNews

A Repost From NaturalNews

Alkalize Your Way to Great Health

Tuesday, September 21, 2010 by: Dr. David Jockers, citizen journalist
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(NaturalNews) The human internal ecosystem is stabilized by several different buffering systems that keep the body functioning at a high level for as long as possible. One of these buffering systems is pH. Our blood stream should be slightly alkaline at 7.365 at all times. If it rises or falls one or two tenths of a pH unit it is catastrophic and potentially fatal to the body. Maintaining pH balance through proper diet and lifestyle is one of the most critical tools to optimizing your health.

The body has both short-term and long-term methods for buffering blood pH. In the short-term the kidneys will flush out more acidic wastes and the speed of breathing will increase to pump more alkalizing oxygen into the system and acidic forming carbon dioxide out of the system. If the blood pH becomes too acidic for a chronic period of time it turns to the various tissues to help stabilize the pH. The body will naturally excrete alkaline minerals such as calcium from our bones & teeth. Magnesium is taken from blood vessels, potassium from our neuromuscular system, and sodium from our joints. If these minerals are not replaced, the tissues become weak and degenerate quickly.

The primary alkalizing elements in our body include calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, vitamin C, selenium, oxygen, zinc, and the various B vitamins. The best sources of these essential nutrients are in fresh organically grown fruits and vegetables, apple cider vinegar, certain nuts & seeds, & natural pink salts.

The most acidic forming foods include sugars, grains, grain-fed meat & dairy products, coffee, and processed foods of any kind. Perhaps the worst culprit of all is soda. Soda is loaded with sugar, artificial sweeteners, preservatives, and phosphoric acid. These are all extremely acidic forming substances. Soda measures out at a pH around 3. This powerfully dehydrates the body as water is needed to help detoxify all the acidic waste.

When a person eats too much acid forming foods for a long period of time the body becomes deficient in alkaline forming elements and the digestive system becomes impaired. Food is then inadequately digested and mucous is secreted into the bowel to protect itself. Chronic conditions can cause the mucous to become hardened creating a mucoid plaque that impairs food absorption. This plaque build-up lodges into the walls of the colon and becomes a breeding ground for parasites and other unfriendly organisms

Parasites such as worms, fungal yeast, and antagonistic bacteria will steal valuable nutrients and secrete toxins and acidic particles back into the bloodstream. This multiplies the relative acidity of the system and profoundly lowers our energy and immunity. This also causes excessive strain on major organs depleting them of life-staining enzymes and nutrients in the battle to maintain blood pH. This onslaught of stress on the body eventually leads to disease and death.

Fortunately, our bodies were created with an incredible ability to heal and restore themselves. If we begin taking action with steps to move back into balance, our body will respond and we will dramatically improve our health.

Begin Alkalizing Now with these 7 simple tips:
1.Drink 1/2 - 1 gallon of clean, purified water daily
2.Squeeze fresh lemon in water
3.Use Apple cider vinegar instead of salad dressing or other vinegars
4.Use pink salts (such as Himalayan salt) instead of other salts.
5.Use oregano, dill, cilantro, parsley, rosemary, & fennel
6.Make a Green Drink every day
7.Try to eat 75% raw alkaline forming foods

Reposted From NaturalNews

A Repost From NaturalNews

Vitamin C Prevents Cancer, Stroke, Diabetes and Heart Disease

Monday, September 20, 2010 by: Melanie Grimes, citizen journalist
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(NaturalNews) Vitamin C is a vital nutrient that can prevent major diseases such as diabetes, heart attacks, strokes and even cancer. Most other animals (for instance monkeys and guinea pigs) produce their own vitamin C but a few other animals, as well as human beings, do not. Because vitamin C cannot be manufactured in the human body, intake from foods or supplements is necessary. Vitamin C is easily sourced in citrus fruits, as well as cherries and many other fruits and vegetables.

Vitamin C Functions in the Body
Vitamin C has a number of important functions in the body. It helps create collagen, which is needed for healthy skin, as well as bones and tendons. It helps stimulate neurotransmitters and aids brain function. Vitamin C also stimulates the production of carnitine, an important part of the body's energy conversion system. Vitamin C is important in reducing cholesterol and in preventing gallstones. It's also an antioxidant, and in this capacity, prevents colds and flu.

Vitamin C Deficiency
A severe deficiency of vitamin C leads to the disease scurvy. Scurvy can be diagnosed by blood tests to detect either carnitine or norepinephrine, a neurotransmitter.

Vitamin C Prevents Heart Attacks
With only 50 mg a day of vitamin C, heart disease was reduced by over 40 percent in a study with men. In the same study, women showed a 25 percent reduction.

Vitamin C and Diabetes
Research has shown that individuals with high amounts of vitamin C in their blood have a lower incidence of diabetes. This research was conducted at the Addenbrooke Hospital by reviewing medical records.

Vitamin C Lowers Cancer Risk
Research on over 800 men with lung cancer during a 25 year period showed a 64 percent reduction by taking only 83 mg of vitamin C a day. Further research has shown a 50 to 75 percent reduction in cancers in laboratory mice by adding vitamin C to the diet. This has fueled the National Cancer Institute to recommend five to ten servings of vegetables or fruits each day.

Vitamin C Reduces Risk of Stroke
Over two thousand participants in a Japanese study showed a 54 percent lower risk of stroke. These individuals ate fruit at least six times a week, compared to those who ate fruits less than twice a week.

Reposted From NaturalNews