News by Nature – Healthy Living, Wellness, Vitality News

Can Diet Prevent Breast Cancer From Spreading?

Healthy diets that include plenty of antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables that can boost the body’ s natural immune system can help people in their fight against cancer.

While some foods, namely unhealthy, high-fat/high-caloric foods, are best avoided, women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer who want to prevent the spread of cancer to other areas of their bodies may want to cut some surprising foods from their diets.

A study published in the journal Nature found that reducing asparagine consumption in laboratory mice with triple-negative breast cancer could dramatically reduce the ability of cancer to travel to distant sites in the body.

Asparagine is found in foods like asparagus, whole grains, soy, seafood, eggs, poultry, beef, legumes, and more. While reducing asparagine will not affect the original breast cancer tumor, it could stop cancer from showing up elsewhere in the body.

Continue Reading at Daily News

Improve GERD Symptoms With Natural Remedies

TEMECULA – Gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD, is a painful condition in which stomach acid flows up the esophagus and into the mouth. Sometimes called dyspepsia, acid reflux or heartburn, GERD can generate a fiery sensation in the chest and throat that can range from mild to severe.

GERD can affect anyone regardless of their age, gender or ethnicity. In the United States, approximately 20 percent of the population has GERD, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Five million Canadians experience heartburn or acid regurgitation at least once each week, according to the Canadian Digestive Health Foundation.

In many mild to moderate cases of reflux, individuals can rely on lifestyle changes and natural remedies to prevent symptoms.

First, avoid food triggers. Certain foods and beverages, such as greasy or spicy recipes and alcoholic beverages, can make GERD symptoms strike. Acidic foods, chocolate, onions, carbonated beverages, and caffeinated beverages also may trigger GERD.

Fasting before bedtime can help. Avoid eating food and consuming beverages two to three hours before bedtime.

Lose weight. According to the Center for Esophageal Motility Disorders at Vanderbilt University, obesity is the leading cause of GERD. Extra stomach fat puts pressure on the abdomen, pushing gastric acids into the esophagus. Losing weight can reduce this pressure.

Ohio Banning Sales of Kratom and CBD

At a time when many pain sufferers are turning to natural supplements to relieve their pain, the state of Ohio is moving to ban two of the most popular ones.

The Ohio Board of Pharmacy voted Monday to classify kratom as a Schedule I controlled substance alongside heroin, LSD and other dangerous drugs. The move came two months after the board issued an advisory warning that sales of CBD-infused products are illegal under Ohio’s new medical marijuana program.

The pharmacy board considers kratom – which come from the leaves of a tree that grows in southeast Asia – a “psychoactive plant” that can cause hallucinations, psychosis, seizures and death. State health officials have identified six recent deaths in Ohio in which kratom “was indicated as the primary cause of death.” You can find kratom for sale at a wide range of online retailers based across the country.

A recent report from the Ohio Substance Abuse Monitoring Network raised the demonization of kratom to a new level by comparing it to heroin — and falsely claiming it was common for people to inject kratom.

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Diet Affects The Breast Microbiome In Mammals

Diet influences the composition of microbial populations in the mammary glands of nonhuman primates, researchers report October 2 in the journal Cell Reports. Specifically, a Mediterranean diet increased the abundance of probiotic bacteria previously shown to inhibit tumor growth in animals.

Diet has been extensively studied as a lifestyle factor that could influence breast cancer development. Breast cancer risk in women is increased by consumption of a high-fat Western diet full of sweets and processed foods but reduced by a healthy Mediterranean diet consisting of vegetables, fish, and olive oil. Intriguingly, a recent study in humans revealed that malignant breast tumors have a lower abundance of Lactobacillus bacteria compared to benign lesions, suggesting that microbial imbalances could contribute to breast cancer.

To address this question, Shively and Cook used macaque monkeys because the animals mimic human breast biology and have been used to study breast cancer risk. One advantage over human studies is that the food intake of the monkeys can be carefully controlled for a prolonged period of time, increasing the chance of observing the profound effects of diet.

Taken together, these results suggest that diet directly influences microbiome populations outside of the intestinal tract and could impact mammary gland health. But for now, it is not clear what impact these microbes or microbial-modified metabolites have on breast cancer risk.

Pensioners Warned Not To Mix Statins And Herbal Remedies

More than a million pensioners risk worsening their chances of suffering a heart attack or stroke by taking herbal remedies alongside statins and warfarin, researchers have warned.

A new study found older people on the life-saving drugs are often also taking three or more herbal supplements, such as St John’s Wort or ginseng, which can reduce their effect.

Published in the British Journal of General Practice, the study surveyed patients at two surgeries and found that one-third of those over 65 were taking both prescribed drugs and herbal remedies.

According to the survey, women were around twice as likely to use prescribed medicine alongside a dietary supplement to men, 43.4 percent compared to 22.5.

The most commonly used dietary supplements were cod liver oil, glucosamine, multivitamins, and vitamin D.

While common herbal medicinal products were evening primrose oil, valerian, and a branded herbal product that includes hops, gentian, and passion flower.

The study suggested that doctors print warnings about the risks of herb interactions on prescriptions and that pharmacists should be trained to ask customers what herbal supplements they are taking.

Continue Reading at Telegraph UK

Scientists Urge New EU Rules On Gene Editing Crops

The European Commission needs to quickly propose new rules for crops created by modern targeted plant breeding techniques such as Crispr –Cas9 genome editing, or face a withering of Europe’s agricultural research base.

The warning comes this week from the German Bioeconomy Council (BEC), a panel of 17 researchers who advise the German government, and is widely echoed by plant researchers around the continent.

The moves follow a surprise ruling by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in July, which said that new products created by Crispr and similar techniques that offer a precision tool for editing a plant’s genetic code, must go through the same time-consuming approval process prescribed under 2001 EU legislation for older genetic modification techniques.

“In its current form, EU genetic engineering legislation cannot do justice to the opportunities and challenges of [Crispr] technologies,” BEC said.

Plant breeders working with Crispr say the technique can speed development of a new generation of hardier, more productive, more nutritious food crops, improving traits such as pest, salinity and drought resistance, or boosting nutritional content.

If the ruling had been different, “Big funders and companies would, of course, have invested a lot in developing new crop varieties. Now, they are unlikely to do it,” said Stefan Jansson, a plant biochemist at Umeå University in Sweden. “European taxpayers will [also] be hesitant to fund research that only will strengthen agriculture in other parts of the world.”

Scientists say making Crispr techniques subject to laws developed for older genetic modification techniques which involve introducing genes from other species, imposes expensive and risky hurdles. Even when crops pass strict regulatory criteria, EU countries can ban them.

Intestines Modify Their Cellular Structure In Response To Diet

Body organs such as the intestine and ovaries undergo structural changes in response to dietary nutrients that can have lasting impacts on metabolism, as well as cancer susceptibility, according to Carnegie’s Rebecca Obniski, Matthew Sieber, and Allan Spradling.

There are three major types of cells in fruit fly (and mammalian) intestines: Stem cells, hormone-producing cells, and nutrient-handling cells. Think of the stem cells as blanks, which are eventually programmed to become either hormone-producing or nutrient-handling cells. The authors discovered that this programming can be influenced by dietary nutrients and that young animals are particularly sensitive to these changes.

The effect of cholesterol is to promote the programming of more new, “blank” cells into hormone-producing cells rather than nutrient-handling cells. Conversely, decreasing dietary cholesterol results in more nutrient-absorbing cells and fewer hormone-producing cells.

Moreover, the researchers were able to identify the detailed molecular mechanism by which cholesterol causes these changes in cell fates, and to show that it is closely related to the way human intestinal cells regulate cholesterol production.

What does this mean?

It shows that low nutrient availability, especially early in life, such as the low-cholesterol diet for the fruit flies, triggers changes in intestinal structure and metabolism that have long-term effects. These changes persist for quite a while even if the diet changes, which can increase the risk of metabolic health problems down the road.

Continue Reading at Science Daily

Sore point: Ancient Remedies For Toothache Often Worse Than The Pain

If you found a live frog in your mouth in 19th or 20th century Ireland, it probably wasn’t a kiss attempt gone awry. You were just probably trying to draw out its healing powers to cure a toothache.

If that didn’t work, you could try sucking on cloves. Or drinking water from the Holy Well. There was also the option of taking a tooth from a corpse.

These cures are among the many found in new research by Dr. Carol Barron of DCU’s school of nursing and human sciences and her research assistant, Tiziana Soverino, published in the Journal of the History of Dentistry.

Over 400 of the cures addressed in the folklore were for treatment of an aching tooth. They were categorized into plant and mineral, quasi-medical and magico-religious cures.

Other cures were slightly more quotidian than the frog method. Salt and water were two of the most widely used curative substances. Potatoes were kept in pockets acting as an amulet to ward off a toothache, and infected teeth were often packed with tobacco.

Continue Reading at The Irish Times

Can Dietary Changes Help With Microscopic Colitis?

Microscopic colitis is an inflammation of the bowel lining that doctors can only see under a microscope. It is often possible to treat this condition with medication, but dietary and lifestyle changes may also help reduce or prevent symptoms.

The symptoms of MC tend to come and go, and diarrhea can last for weeks or months. In some people, the condition may resolve without treatment. The cause of MC is still not clear.

Researchers are currently studying the possible connection between diet and MC.

There is little evidence to suggest a link between what people eat and the symptoms of MC. Researchers in Sweden published a study in 2016 that followed 135 people with MC over the course of 22 years and monitored their intake of the following:

Protein
Carbohydrate
Sucrose
Saturated, monounsaturated, or polyunsaturated fat
Omega-3 or omega-6 fatty acids
Fiber
Zinc
Read more at Medical News Today

3 Effective Home Remedies To Ease A Sore Throat

Due to the change in weather, seasonal allergies or excessive use of air conditioners, a common problem that most people face from time to time is a sore throat. Just like a cold, a sore throat can be frustrating as you deal with the annoying itch and pain in your throat.

While there are many medications that one can take to get rid of a sore throat, you can also resort to natural home remedies to ease the condition and build your immunity.

1. Pepper water
The fact that black pepper is an incredible ingredient when it comes to fighting cold, cough and flu is not unknown. Thanks to the presence of the essential oil called piperine, which helps in fighting viruses and bacterial infection, and in relieving chest congestion.

2. Ginger, honey and lemon
This has got to be one of the most common remedies you will come across in most Indian households. Gingerol in ginger has powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Honey is known as a natural healer and an antibiotic. And lemon with its high Vitamin C content can help boost the immune system and fight off infection.

3. Haldi doodh
Haldi doodh or turmeric latte may be getting a lot of attention in the recent years, but since the ancient times, it has been a part of Indian traditional diet. Turmeric is known for its miraculous properties because of its rich bio active compounds called curcumin. As such it is a great antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and immunity boosting agent. It also helps in breaking up mucus and provide pain relief.

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