Health Benefits You Can Get from Simply Eating Melons

Many people these days do not eat enough melons. It's almost like they just seem to be a summer fruit to eat, but did you know melons contain antioxidants, vitamins and minerals that help prevent many common health problems such as cancers, birth defects, high blood pressure, heart disease, prostate cancer, obesity, common colds and flues, colon cancer, and poor digestive systems. All you have to do is eat some melons all year round and you'll prevent all this bad health conditions.

Now your probably wondering what kinds of melons should I eat to get the proper health benefits from them? Well, the answers is simple all melons such as cantaloupes, watermelons, and honeydew melons. All these melons contain different nutrients that prevent different types of health conditions so I will explain what each melon is good to eat for prevent what health conditions for you so you can have a better understanding.

The first melon I will start telling you about it the cantaloupe. For those of you who do not know what a cantaloupe is it is a round yellowish orange melon with large seeds in the center and a greenish brown rough rind on the outside. The melon is sweet and tart tasting and is usually served in cold slices, or in fruit or melon salads in the summertime. Cantaloupe contains vitamin A and C, calcium, riboflavin, thiamine, niacin, iron, potassium, healthy fat, carbohydrates, healthy proteins, and antioxidants. Eating cantaloupe as a healthy snack helps prevent stomach cancer, poor digestive tracts, high blood pressure, heart disease, inflammation, kidney problems, prostate cancer, colon cancers, the common cold, and blood deficiencies. Cantaloupe also provides our bodies with tons of fiber that is very good for maintaining healthy weights and blood sugar levels. All you would have to do is eat a few slices of cantaloupe a day to get these health benefits from it.

The second melon we will talk about is the watermelon. I am sure everyone has some idea of what watermelon is right? Watermelon is that big 5 pound oval shaped melon with a green rind and the pink juicy melon in the center with black seeds that is super sweet and watery. It's usually served in the summertime in cold sliced or in chunks in a melon salad, but it should really be eaten all the time because it contains so many nutrients that can help out our health a lot. Watermelon contains potassium, antioxidants, carotenoids, carbohydrates, Vitamin A, B6, and C, calcium, thiamin, sodium, healthy protein, and fiber. Eating a couple slices of watermelon a day can help prevent strokes, heart attacks, kidney infections and stones, heart disease, breast, colon, prostate, lung, endometrial cancers, digestive disorders, poor eye sight, and hair loss. Now who wouldn't want those health benefits?

The third melon I will tell you about is the honeydew melon. Honeydew melons are green sweet melons with big tan seeds in the center and a hard pale color rind. Honeydew melons are good for maintaining healthy skin, hair, and weight, helps prevent cramping during menstrual cycles, birth defects in babies, high cholesterol, dehydration, and some cancers and diseases. The nutrients in the honeydew melon that helps maintain and prevent these health conditions are Vitamin C, healthy protein, sodium, natural sugar, healthy fat, carbohydrates, water, and fiber. All you have to do is eat once again a few slices of this melon to receive the health benefits from it.

So there you have it! A little melon information to help maintain your health and prevent some health conditions. Now all you have to do is go eat those melons to help get the benefits from them, and oh not just in the summertime! All the time!

http://voices.yahoo.com/health-benefits-simply-eating-melons-5535303.html?cat=5

Common Treatment for Stomach Flu Makes it Worse!

Parents whose children are suffering from vomiting and diarrhea are actually making those children more sick by giving them flat coke, lemonade or fruit juice.

It is a myth that sugary drinks will ease bouts of gastroenteritis. Instead, bad cases of stomach bugs in children under 5 need to be treated with rehydration drinks.

Half of all children under 5 develop vomiting and diarrhea over the course of the year. But some of the most serious cases could be avoided if parents followed the best advice.

In the United States, more than 3.5 million infants develop acute viral gastroenteritis -- also known as the “stomach flu” -- each year, resulting in more than 500,000 office visits, 55,000 hospitalizations and 30 deaths. Around the world, however, gastroenteritis is actually the leading cause of death among infants.

Of course, here in the United States and in much of the developed world, many well-meaning parents offer their sick kids soda, ginger ale or fruit juice to help “calm their stomach” and give them fluids. 

You likely also drink it yourself if you come down with a case of stomach flu.

But as The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence so rightly pointed out, using sugary drinks to treat vomiting and diarrhea is a myth, and a harmful one at that since the high sugar content can actually make the illness get worse.

Fortunately, there are some simple ways to help your system recover from the stomach flu, and I’ll detail those shortly. But first a bit of background on this common ailment …

What are the Causes and Symptoms of Stomach Flu?

A number of different viruses cause diarrhea and other stomach ailments, the most common being: 

• Rotavirus, which has been estimated to cause from 30 percent to 50 percent of all cases of severe diarrhea disease.

• Noroviruses, a group of related viruses that account for more than 90 percent of stomach flu outbreaks in the United States each year.

Anyone can come down with the stomach flu, as it’s highly contagious and transfers easily on objects, then into your body if you touch the object and then your mouth, eyes or nose. Symptoms often come on suddenly and typically include watery diarrhea, vomiting and nausea. The affected person may also have:

• Headache

• Fever

• Abdominal cramps ("stomach ache")

• Cough

• Runny Nose

Although these illnesses are usually self-limiting, lasting from one to 10 days if you are healthy, it is vitally important to make sure you don’t become dehydrated. 

How to Prevent and Treat the Stomach Flu

Preventing the stomach flu involves keeping your immune system healthy by following these 10 tenets of basic health, along with a few common-sense precautions like:

• Washing your hands (and your children’s hands) with soap and water if you’ve been in a public place or before eating. Be careful not to over-wash your hands, however, as this can create tiny cuts in your hands where a virus can enter.

• Trying not to touch your eyes, mouth or nose (which is how the virus enters)

• Avoiding sharing utensils, drinking cups, hand towels, etc. with others

If you do come down with a case of the stomach flu, the key conventional approach, and this time it is a vitally important one, is to make sure you don't become dehydrated, as that can cause serious problems, even death.

So if any of these natural approaches don’t work it is vital that you go to an emergency room for evaluation.  They will typically insert an IV into your vein and provide rehydration fluids directly into your blood stream which rapidly eliminates the danger of dying from fluid loss.

However, the following simple protocol is often very effective in clearing up the stomach flu long before you get to this point.

If you have thrown up, put your stomach at complete rest for at least three hours. That means absolutely nothing to eat or drink, including no water nor the old wives’ tale favorite of crackers and soda.

Once three hours have passed and no further vomiting has occurred then small amounts of water can be sipped slowly. Again, only after your stomach has stabilized and no additional vomiting is occurring, small amounts of water can be sipped and if that is tolerated you can gradually increase the water. 

Do this for one to two hours and if that is tolerated then you are ready for the final phase …

What is the final phase?

Massive amounts of a high-quality probiotic. 

Make sure you use a high-quality brand, then take large doses every 30 to 60 minutes until you feel better. By large doses, I mean finish the entire bottle in 24 hours if necessary. It usually won't be necessary, though, as most people seem to improve within several hours after following the above instructions.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/05/07/common-treatment-for-stomach-flu-makes-it-worse.aspx

What the Science Says About Intermittent Fasting

By Dr. Mercola

Is it a good idea to “starve” yourself just a little bit each day, or a couple of days a week? Mounting evidence indicates that yes ,intermittent fasting (IF) could have a very beneficial impact on your health and longevity.

I believe it’s one of the most powerful interventions out there if you’re struggling with your weight and related health issues. One of the primary reasons for this is because it helps shift your body from burning sugar/carbs to burning fat as its primary fuel.

As discussed in the featured article,1 intermittent fasting is not about binge eating followed by starvation, or any other extreme form of dieting. Rather what we’re talking about here involves timing your meals to allow for regular periods of fasting.

I prefer daily intermittent fasting, but you could also fast a couple of days a week if you prefer, or every other day. There are many different variations.

To be effective, in the case of daily intermittent fasting, the length of your fast must be at least 16 hours. This means eating only between the hours of 11am until 7pm, as an example. Essentially, this equates to simply skipping breakfast, and making lunch your first meal of the day instead.

You can restrict it even further — down to six, four, or even two hours if you want, but you can still reap many of these rewards by limiting your eating to an eight-hour window each day. 

This is because it takes about six to eight hours for your body to metabolize your glycogen stores; after that you start to shift to burning fat. However, if you are replenishing your glycogen by eating every eight hours (or sooner), you make it far more difficult for your body to use your fat stores as fuel.

Intermittent Fasting — More a Lifestyle Than a Diet

I have been experimenting with different types of scheduled eating for the past two years and currently restrict my eating to a 6- to 7-hour window each day. While you’re not required to restrict the amount of food you eat when on this type of daily scheduled eating plan, I would caution against versions of intermittent fasting that gives you free reign to eat all the junk food you want when not fasting, as this seems awfully counterproductive.

Also, according to research published in 2010,2 intermittent fasting with compensatory overeating did not improve survival rates nor delay prostate tumor growth in mice. Essentially, by gorging on non-fasting days, the health benefits of fasting can easily be lost. If so, then what’s the point?

I view intermittent fasting as a lifestyle, not a diet, and that includes making healthy food choices whenever you do eat. Also, proper nutrition becomes even more important when fasting, so you really want to address your food choices beforeyou try fasting.

This includes minimizing carbs and replacing them with healthful fats, like coconut oil, olive oil, olives, butter, eggs, avocados, and nuts. It typically takes several weeks to shift to fat burning mode, but once you do, your cravings for unhealthy foods and carbs will automatically disappear. This is because you’re now actually able to burn your stored fat and don’t have to rely on new fast-burning carbs for fuel. Unfortunately, despite mounting evidence, many health practitioners are still reluctant to prescribe fasting to their patients. According to Brad Pilon, author of Eat Stop Eat:3

“Health care practitioners across the board are so afraid to recommend eating less because of the stigma involved in that recommendation, but we are more than happy to recommend that someone start going to the gym. If all I said was you need to get to the gym and start eating healthier, no one would have a problem with it. When the message is not only should you eat less, you could probably go without eating for 24 hours once or twice a week, suddenly it’s heresy.”

The Health Benefits of Intermittent Fasting

Aside from removing your cravings for sugar and snack foods and turning you into an efficient fat-burning machine, thereby making it far easier to maintain a healthy body weight, modern science has confirmed there are many other good reasons to fast intermittently. For example, research presented at the 2011 annual scientific sessions of the American College of Cardiology in New Orleans4 showed that fasting triggered a 1,300 percent rise of human growth hormone (HGH) in women, and an astounding 2,000 percent in men.

HGH, human growth hormone, commonly referred to as "the fitness hormone," plays an important role in maintaining health, fitness and longevity, including promotion of muscle growth, and boosting fat loss by revving up your metabolism. The fact that it helps build muscle while simultaneously promoting fat loss explains why HGH helps you lose weight without sacrificing muscle mass, and why even athletes can benefit from the practice (as long as they don't overtrain and are careful about their nutrition). The only other thing that can compete in terms of dramatically boosting HGH levels is high-intensity interval training. Other health benefits of intermittent fasting include:

Normalizing your insulin and leptin sensitivity, which is key for optimal health	Improving biomarkers of disease
Normalizing ghrelin levels, also known as "the hunger hormone"	Reducing inflammation and lessening free radical damage
Lowering triglyceride levels	Preserving memory functioning and learning

Intermittent Fasting Is as Good or Better Than Continuous Calorie Restriction

According to Dr. Stephen Freedland, associate professor of urology and pathology at the Duke University Medical Center, “undernutrition without malnutrition” is the only experimental approach that consistently improves survival in animals with cancer, as well as extends lifespan overall by as much as 30 percent.5 Interestingly enough, intermittent fasting appears to provide nearly identical health benefits without being as difficult to implement and maintain. It’s easier for most people to simply restrict their eating to a narrow window of time each day, opposed to dramatically decreasing their overall daily calorie intake.

Mark Mattson, senior investigator for the National Institute on Aging, which is part of the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), has researched the health benefits of intermittent fasting, as well as the benefits of calorie restriction. According to Mattson,6 there are several theories to explain why fasting works:

"The one that we've studied a lot, and designed experiments to test, is the hypothesis that during the fasting period, cells are under a mild stress, and they respond to the stress adaptively by enhancing their ability to cope with stress and, maybe, to resist disease... There is considerable similarity between how cells respond to the stress of exercise and how cells respond to intermittent fasting.”

In one of his studies,7 overweight adults with moderate asthma lost eight percent of their body weight by cutting their calorie intake by 80 percent on alternate days for eight weeks. Markers of oxidative stress and inflammation also decreased, and asthma-related symptoms improved, along with several quality-of-life indicators.

More recently, Mattson and colleagues compared the effectiveness of intermittent fasting against continuous calorie restriction for weight loss, insulin sensitivity and other metabolic disease risk markers. The study, published in the International Journal of Obesity in 2011,8 found that intermittent fasting was as effective as continuous calorie restriction for improving all of these issues, and slightly better for reducing insulin resistance. According to the authors:

“Both groups experienced comparable reductions in leptin, free androgen index, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, total and LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, blood pressure and increases in sex hormone binding globulin, IGF binding proteins 1 and 2. Reductions in fasting insulin and insulin resistance were modest in both groups, but greater with IER [intermittent fasting] than with CER [continuous energy restriction].”

How Intermittent Fasting Benefits Your Brain

Your brain can also benefit from intermittent fasting. As reported in the featured article:

“Mattson has also researched the protective benefits of fasting to neurons. If you don't eat for 10–16 hours, your body will go to its fat stores for energy, and fatty acids called ketones will be released into the bloodstream. This has been shown to protect memory and learning functionality, says Mattson, as well as slow disease processes in the brain.”

Besides releasing ketones as a byproduct of burning fat, intermittent fasting also affects brain function by boosting production of a protein called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). Mattson’s research suggests that fasting every other day (restricting your meal on fasting days to about 600 calories), tends to boost BDNF by anywhere from 50 to 400 percent,9 depending on the brain region. BDNF activates brain stem cells to convert into new neurons, and triggers numerous other chemicals that promote neural health. This protein also protects your brain cells from changes associated with Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.

BDNF also expresses itself in the neuro-muscular system where it protects neuro-motors from degradation. (The neuromotor is the most critical element in your muscle. Without the neuromotor, your muscle is like an engine without ignition. Neuro-motor degradation is part of the process that explains age-related muscle atrophy.) So BDNF is actively involved in both your musclesand your brain, and this cross-connection, if you will, appears to be a major part of the explanation for why a physical workout can have such a beneficial impact on your brain tissue — and why the combination of intemittent fasting with high intensity exercise appears to be a particularly potent combination.

Give Intermittent Fasting a Try

If you’re ready to give intermittent fasting a try, consider skipping breakfast, make sure you stop eating and drinking anything but water three hours before you go to sleep, and restrict your eating to an 8-hour (or less) time frame every day. In the 6-8 hours that you do eat, have healthy protein, minimize your carbs like pasta, bread, and potatoes and exchange them for healthful fats like butter, eggs, avocado, coconut oil, olive oil and nuts — essentially the very fats the media and “experts” tell you to avoid.

This will help shift you from carb burning to fat burning mode. Once your body has made this shift, it is nothing short of magical as your cravings for sweets, and food in general, rapidly normalizes and your desire for sweets and junk food radically decreases if not disappears entirely.

Remember it takes a few weeks, and you have to do it gradually, but once you succeed and switch to fat burning mode, you'll be easily able to fast for 18 hours and not feel hungry. The “hunger” most people feel is actually cravings for sugar, and these will disappear, as if by magic, once you successfully shift over to burning fat instead.

Another phenomenal side effect/benefit that occurs is that you will radically improve the beneficial bacteria in your gut. Supporting healthy gut bacteria, which actually outnumber your cells 10 to one, is one of the most important things you can do to improve your immune system so you won’t get sick, or get coughs, colds and flus. You will sleep better, have more energy, have increased mental clarity and concentrate better. Essentially every aspect of your health will improve as your gut flora becomes balanced.

Based on my own phenomenal experience with intermittent fasting, I believe it’s one of the most powerful ways to shift your body into fat burning mode and improve a wide variety of biomarkers for disease. The effects can be further magnified by exercising while in a fasted state. For more information on that, please see my previous article High-Intensity Interval Training and Intermittent Fasting - A Winning Combo.

Clearly, it’s another powerful tool in your box to help you and your family take control of your health, and an excellent way to take your fitness to the next level.

http://fitness.mercola.com/sites/fitness/archive/2013/06/28/intermittent-fasting-health-benefits.aspx

TURMERIC OVERVIEW

Turmeric might just be one of the most versatile spices on the planet. Whether you're familiar with it or not, you've probably eaten it at some point or another because turmeric is one of the main ingredients in both curry and mustard. It not only helps to give them their unique flavors, but it's also responsible for giving them both their yellow color. For this reason, turmeric is also used in textile dyes. Beyond its abilities as a culinary spice and a coloring agent, turmeric has been used for hundreds of years in traditional and Ayurvedic medicine to treat a variety of medical conditions. It is a known anti-inflammatory and scientific research has been conducted regarding its use in treating several medical conditions including high cholesterol, Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), rheumatoid arthritis and scabies.

Turmeric is harvested from the roots of the Curcuma longa plant, which is native to India [source: Curcuma Longa]. To create turmeric, the roots of the Curcuma Longa plant, known as rhizomes, are boiled, dried and then ground into a powder. Eastern cultures have been incorporating turmeric into their diets and taking advantage of its medicinal properties for centuries. In recent years, the rest of the world has begun to take notice; time and resources are being put toward unlocking the secrets behind turmeric's healthy benefits in labs around the globe.

While there is still a lot to learn, it has been determined that turmeric has also proven to be a strong antioxidant, neutralizing free radicals throughout the human body. Aside from that, it's also shown promise in the fight against Alzheimer's and many different forms of cancer. For centuries, it's even been a home remedy for diarrhoea and bladder infections [source: Curcuma Longa].

Read on to find out about how turmeric works in your body.

TURMERIC AT WORK IN YOUR BODY

OK, so we've established the fact that turmeric is about as versatile as a spice can get. Now let's look at how it works in your body. One of the main components in turmeric is curcumin, which just happens to be an incredibly powerful antioxidant.

When we breathe, cells use the oxygen we take in and then they spit out free radicals. This is a process called oxidation and it's the same thing that causes iron to rust. Now imagine that happening inside your body. The thing with free radicals is that they have unpaired electrons, which makes them highly unstable. A molecule with unpaired electrons is either going to get rid of an electron, or steal one from somewhere else to become stable [source: Health Check Systems]. The problem with this is that it can cause a damaging chain reaction. In order for one free radical to become stable, another molecule has to become unstable and so on and so on. This is where antioxidants like curcumin come into play.

Curcumin and other antioxidants neutralize free radicals. They literally hunt them down and stabilize them. This can help in a couple different ways. If a chain reaction has already begun, antioxidants have the ability to put a stop to it or they can prevent it from ever getting started in the first place. Keep in mind that oxidation is a natural process. There's nothing we can do to stop it. In fact, it's necessary to sustain life. However, by taking antioxidants like curcumin in moderation, we can slow down its degenerative side effects.

Aside from containing powerful antioxidants, turmeric also happens to be an anti-inflammatory. Our bodies produce two prostaglandins, cyclooxygenase-1 and cyclooxygenase-2, known respectively as COX-1 and COX-2. While COX-1 is important in our bodies and necessary for proper blood clotting, COX-2 is only associated with inflammation [source: Mother Nature]. Aspirin prevent inflammation by blocking production of both prostaglandins, but turmeric only blocks production of COX-2. It is easy to see how this would be beneficial. Turmeric allows us to stop inflammation without affecting other important body functions.

Read on to find out more about turmeric's exciting health benefits.

Hair Removal

While dying your face yellow might seem like a possible and not-so-pleasant side effect, some people have used turmeric to remove facial hair. Reportedly, the process is pretty simple -- you make a paste from turmeric and sugar, apply it over the region of facial hair you wish to remove and let it sit for a few hours. Afterward, you just scrub it off, and voilà, the hair will be gone [source: Singh].

TUMERIC HEALTH BENEFITS

Turmeric happens to have powerful anti-inflammatory, antiseptic and antibiotic properties [source: Monda]. It can be made into a paste and applied directly to the skin to help heal sprains, open wounds and other injuries. As a result of its anti-inflammatory properties, it has been used for years to treat patients with many different types of arthritis. And some contend that it not only prevents heart failure but also can repair damage that has already been done. On top of all that, people use it to treat acne as well as other skin conditions like psoriasis and eczema.

Curcumin, the main component in turmeric, has been known to help "clean" the liver, which in turn improves liver function. As a result, the liver is able to get rid of more LDL cholesterol. And yes, that's the bad kind [source: WHFoods]. The same principles applied here could mean that turmeric can be helpful with treating digestive illnesses. Furthermore, many believe its ability to speed up metabolism can assist with weight loss.

Surprisingly, turmeric can also provide relief from diarrhea and it reportedly cures bladder infections. Research regarding its effect on cancer is ongoing; it's shown promise in the area of slowing the spread of cancerous cells. Indian men who ingest turmeric regularly rarely develop colon cancer. New studies are also showing that turmeric may be able to prevent Alzheimer's and slow down the disease's progression in patients who already have it [source: WHFoods]. Studies are currently underway to determine whether or not turmeric can also be used in the fight against HIV and cystic fibrosis. Is there anything this spice can't do?

The number of health benefits linked to turmeric is truly extraordinary. We'll talk about some of them more in depth a little later. For now, let's focus on the side effects.

Here Comes the Bride

In India, it is customary for a bride, and sometimes the groom, to be covered in a paste made of turmeric. The paste, called Haldi, is applied to the face and arms. The purpose is to beautify the skin and ensure a good complexion for the special event [source: Turmeric].

TUMERIC SIDE EFFECTS

Most remedies come with side effects. You have to exchange your stuffy nose for drowsiness or your depression for headaches and diarrhoea. With turmeric, you don't really have to worry about that. Taken in moderation, there are very few negative side effects, if any.

With that being said, if you were to take too much turmeric your body might react adversely, but you'd have to take massive amounts in order for that to happen. There is also a possibility that you could be allergic to turmeric, so be careful if you're trying it for the first time. You might want to rub some on your skin and see if a rash develops before ingesting it. An allergic reaction isn't the only possible negative side effect. For persons being chemically treated for diabetes and high blood pressure, turmeric could increase the strength of your medication, which could be dangerous. Also, turmeric can interact with other medications, dietary supplements and herbs. So be sure to check with your doctor of pharmacist before inserting turmeric into your daily regimen.

Though the FDA has yet to weigh in on the use of turmeric, a similar commission based out of Germany has stated that turmeric is only dangerous for people with biliary obstruction [source: Mother Nature]. It has also been advised that people with gastrointestinal problems like ulcers and gallstones should shy away from turmeric and if you have a sensitive stomach, it may upset you. Studies have also shown that extraordinary amounts of turmeric can damage white and red blood cells. However, the amount of turmeric you would have to consume to make this happen is great, making it very unlikely.

While more research needs to be done regarding turmeric and its possible side effects, you might want to stay away from it if you have blood-clotting issues or if you're pregnant [source: Tattva's Herbs]. There is no hard evidence to support negative effects in regards to either condition, but the anti-inflammatory nature of turmeric means it could adversely affect blood-clotting disorders and the effects on pregnancy and nursing are completely unknown.

Biopiracy

In 1995, the University of Mississippi Medical Center was awarded a patent for turmeric. They were the only ones allowed to sell the spice specifically for the purpose of healing wounds. India fought the patent claiming that it had been using turmeric for that purpose for more than 2,000 years, a fact that was confirmed by ancient documents. In 1997, the patent was revoked, but the issue of biopiracy -- the misappropriation of traditional medicine -- remains [source: IAHF].

TURMERIC FOR BLADDER INFECTIONS

If you've ever had a bladder infection, you know how uncomfortable it can be. What you probably didn't know is that turmeric might help.

Bladder infections usually involve frequent urination, a burning sensation while you urinate and the urge to urinate when you really don't have to. These symptoms could be accompanied by a fever and, in some cases, blood will appear in your urine. Bladder infections are caused by bacteria, most commonly the bacteria Escherichia coli, or E. coli [source: Livestrong]. You've probably heard of this before. It is the same bacteria often associated with food poisoning.

When bacteria get into the bladder, they multiply very quickly. As a result, the bladder becomes inflamed. Luckily, as we've already discussed, turmeric happens to be a very effective anti-inflammatory and in the case of bladder infections, researchers believe it is able to stop the production of NF kappa-B, which is the main culprit responsible for inflammation in the bladder [source: WHFoods]. This unique ability makes turmeric a useful treatment for Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis as well.

Curcumin's role as a powerful antioxidant also helps fight bladder infections. When our bodies get infected, oxygen molecules are damaged and they turn into free radicals [source: MC2Supermix]. They move throughout our bodies causing damage by stealing electrons from other molecules. This causes a nasty chain reaction. As we discussed earlier, antioxidants help stabilize these free radicals and keep them from doing harm. Antioxidants can also be preventative, which means that eating turmeric might just keep you from getting a bladder infection in the first place.

Absorption Problems

Turmeric isn't easily absorbed. When making a paste to treat injuries or wounds, it is a good idea to mix turmeric with a component known to help absorption. An example would be bromeline, something commonly found in pineapples. The same goes for cooking. Turmeric will be better absorbed if you use black pepper to facilitate the process [source: Pure Inside Out].

TURMERIC FOR DIARRHEA

Having intestinal issues is never fun, but turmeric could help. Eastern cultures have been using the spice to relieve diarrhea for hundreds of years.

Diarrhea can be caused by a couple different factors. In most cases, it is directly related to the fluids involved in digestion. A balance of fluids in our digestive tracks help break down food and turn it into energy for our bodies. Some of these fluids are created naturally inside our bodies, while others are ingested. If for some reason our bodies excrete too much of these fluids or don't absorb enough of what we consume, diarrhea will result [source: Mama Herb]. Turmeric's ability to aid in digestion provides relief by helping to balance out these fluid levels in our bodies.

Sometimes bacteria in our intestines can cause diarrhea. Salmonella is one of the worst culprits. Lucky for us, turmeric's antiseptic properties can provide relief [source: Hub Pages]. Not only will the spice fight bacteria that have already set up shop, but it can be taken preventatively as well. A diet with even moderate doses of turmeric can help keep your system working properly.

Aside from eating curry, there are a few other ways to take turmeric. The simplest method involves mixing a single teaspoon of the spice with a glass of warm water [source: IBS Tips]. Some people prefer mixing it with milk or yogurt. Of course, if you're lactose intolerant, these could just make the problem worse. There are also pill supplements and a number of herbal teas that contain turmeric.

Read on to find out how turmeric is helping in the fight against cancer.

Turmeric in Tandem

A recent study showed that turmeric combined with Taxol, or Paclitaxel, used as chemotherapy for breast cancer, has very promising results. Not only does the spice seem to make the chemotherapy more powerful, but it diminishes the procedure's side effects as well [source: MacGregor].

TURMERIC AND CANCER

Perhaps one of turmeric's most exciting benefits is its potential ability to prevent cancer and even slow down the spread of cancer that has already developed. People who regularly include the spice in their diet have much lower occurrences of cancer.

In the case of colon cancer, turmeric's role as a powerful antioxidant is probably most significant. Cells throughout our bodies are constantly being turned over but in the colon, this process happens much faster and much more often. If free radicals get into the colon, they can disrupt this turnover and cause damage resulting in colon cancer. Turmeric's antioxidant properties prevent this from happening.

In the case of patients who already have cancer, turmeric could potentially be of help. Some reports indicate that turmeric has been capable of slowing down the spread of tumors in mice. As cancer cells spread and a tumor grows, transcription factors control the process. Curcumin, one of the main components in turmeric, actually shuts down many of these transcription factors. It can't stop them completely, but it slows down the process considerably. Turmeric's ability to inhibit COX-2 and NF kappa-B, as we discussed earlier, also comes into play [source: WHFoods]. Both of these inflammatory agents help contribute to cancer growth. Keeping them at bay could also help slow the formation of cancer cells.

Turmeric also looks promising as a treatment for lung and prostate cancer as well as childhood leukemia. Studies have shown that turmeric can completely stop the replication of leukemia cells in a cell culture [source: WHFoods]. While more time and resources are needed to unlock the full potential of turmeric, early results are encouraging.

The Numbers

There is still a lack of hard evidence to support claims that turmeric can prevent cancer, but many researchers are confident that it can. Considering the numbers, it's possible those researchers are right. The four most common types of cancer in the U.S. are colon, breast, prostate and lung cancer. In India, these types of cancer occur 10 times less frequently [source: Science Daily].

http://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/natural-medicine/alternative/turmeric6.htm

Colloidal Silver

Colloidal Silver reviews

Colloidal silver is a health supplement that is created by immersing tiny particles of silver in a colloidal base solution. It is consumed by those who would like to stave off such serious health ailments as cancer, AIDS and herpes. Silver is thought to make the immune system more active and thereby more effective at fending off disease. It is most commonly available in a liquid form that is dispensed with a dropper. Clear or pale yellow colloidal silver is the best as the particle size affects the colour of the solution and the larger particles produce a darker coloured liquid but they aren't easily absorbed by the body.

History of Use

Before the invention of antibacterial soap, colloidal silver was used as a disinfectant. It is still most commonly used to kill bacteria. Silver is effective at both preventing and combating bacterial illnesses and infections because it does not corrode. In ancient times silver was used in wound dressings and it was frequently used for the same purposes in America following the Civil War. It is also why churches use silver chalices in Communion to stop disease spreading through the congregation. Silver fell out of favour with the advent of regulated synthesized medications but has become popular again along with lifestyle trends that promote natural organic food.

Blue Bloods 

Even thousands of years ago, Ancient Greeks realised that the rich families who ate, drank and stored food in silverware were much less likely to be ill than the commoners who ate from ceramics and used iron utensils. The rich people developed a slight blue tinge to their skin from years of silver ingestion; hence the term Blue Bloods was born.

How it Works

Proponents of colloidal silver claim that it is effective against every virus and illness and that it has never reacted dangerously with other medications. Scientific studies have shown that pure silver quickly kills bacteria. It even kills the super-bacteria that evolve after conventional disinfecting agents kill the weak strains of bacteria. Silver acts as a catalyst and disables an enzyme that facilitates actions inside cells. It is not consumed in the process so it is available to keep working again and again. The enzyme silver destroys is required by anaerobic bacteria, viruses, yeast and moulds. (Unfriendly bacteria tend to be anaerobic and friendly bacteria aerobic). This is the action that destroys pathogens. It stops them from using the body's own cells as vehicles for replication. Colloidal silver creates an environment that makes it impossible for pathogens to survive and multiply.

Since it is not designed to combat a specific pathogen but rather works against the very nature of their life cycles, it is an effective preventative agent against all illnesses caused by all pathogens including future mutations. There is no known disease-causing organism that can live in the presence of even minute traces of colloidal silver. Laboratory tests show that anaerobic bacteria, virus, and fungus organisms are all killed within minutes of contact. Parasites are also killed whilst still in their egg stage. Colloidal Silver is effective against infections, colds, influenza, fermentation and parasitic infestations.

Colloidal Silver is touted as a treatment for HIV and AIDS. These claims have not been recognized by the medical community but there is no denying the lengthy survival rates of some AIDS patients who swear by colloidal silver.

The same mechanism that hinders the replication of pathogens also seems to prevent the body from developing cancer. Cancerous tumours form when the cells' internal regulators stop working. The cells divide at a rate that outstrips the body's need for them. Colloidal silver recalibrates cells' rates of division.

When colloidal silver is used as a broad-spectrum viral and bacterial preventative it may cure other seemingly unrelated ailments. People who have sustained severe burns can use colloidal silver to promote healthy cell growth and fend off infections. It reduces the appearance of acne that is bacterial in origin. It helps maintain a healthy digestive environment and it maximizes the amount of nutrients that the body is able to extract from food. Colloidal silver makes it impossible for parasites to flourish and lay their eggs.

Colloidal Silver is also effective as a digestive aid when taken with meals as it stops fermentation of food in the stomach and intestines. Fermentation can occur if food sits there for too long and this can lead gas, bloating, pain, indigestion and reflux, so taking silver can help avoid all these unpleasant symptoms which a lot of people suffer with after meals.

Silver has also been known to destroy water-borne parasites and to filter out impurities.

How to Use

People who use colloidal silver tend to develop their own ways of maximizing its efficacy. People who suffer from conjunctivitis sometimes drop it directly into their eyes several times every day. Throat problems are treated by gargling colloidal silver. The most common way to ingest it is to mix three or four drops into a large glass of water.

Side Effects 

  

All of these positive claims considered, colloidal silver is still ignored by the medical community at large. Scientifically speaking, the human body has no essential need for silver. Someone who is overzealous in his consumption may experience a build-up of the metal in his organs. The most common negative side effect of colloidal silver is a condition called argyria. It causes the skin and eyes to permanently become grey but it does not otherwise affect one's health. It is claimed that silver does not interact with other drugs or herbs.

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