Tag Archives: food

Could dog food additive prevent disabling chemo side effect?

The Food and Drug Administration-approved preservative, an antioxidant called ethoxyquin, was shown in experiments to bind to certain cell proteins in a way that limits their exposure to the damaging effects of Taxol, the researchers say. The hope, they say, is to build on the protective effect of ethoxyquin’s chemistry and develop a drug that could be given to cancer patients before taking Taxol, in much the same way that anti-nausea medication is given to stave off the nausea that commonly accompanies chemotherapy. While half of Taxol users recover from the pain damage, known as peripheral neuropathy, the other half continue to have often debilitating pain, numbness and tingling for the rest of their lives…

Celery, artichokes contain flavonoids that kill human pancreatic cancer cells

"Apigenin alone induced cell death in two aggressive human pancreatic cancer cell lines. But we received the best results when we pre-treated cancer cells with apigenin for 24 hours, then applied the chemotherapeutic drug gemcitabine for 36 hours," said Elvira de Mejia, a U of I professor of food chemistry and food toxicology. The trick seemed to be using the flavonoids as a pre-treatment instead of applying them and the chemotherapeutic drug simultaneously, said Jodee Johnson, a doctoral student in de Mejia’s lab who has since graduated…

Meet the man who claims he doesn’t need food

It may seem a little hard to digest, but a man who hasn’t eaten three solid meals a day in months claims he has stumbled upon the secret to good health — and it doesn’t involve calorie counting and exercise. But Rob Rhinehart isn’t on a fad diet or starving himself in a bid to lose weight. He simply wanted to revolutionize his life when he created what he says is a formula which gives his body the exact amount of vitamins and minerals it needs to survive. Spurned on by a poor diet and lack of time to shop and prepare food, the 24-year-old began researching what his body needed, down to the biochemical level, and made Soylent — a drink mixture of vitamins and minerals which includes calcium, potassium, zinc, vitamins A, B, C, D, E and K. “I was really tired of eating poorly and wondered why it had to be difficult to obtain healthy food,” he said. “I started seeing food on a biochemical level and developed a new form that is much more efficient and scalable by including only the necessary components — and was surprised to find it worked.” He swapped his favorite pizzas, burgers and other foods with his Soylent formula for a month and says he begun to enjoy food for the first time as he learned how to eat for pleasure instead of greed. Mr Rhinehart, who now has Soylent for 90 percent of his meals, said he believed his formula could be the ideal replacement for unhealthy fast food, or for time-poor people who wanted to avoid the stress of shopping and cooking. Not to be confused with the 1973 sci-fi film Soylent Green in which most of the population lives off rations including one aptly called Soylent Green, Mr Rhinehart’s says his formula may be just as effective in helping solve food shortages. He admits to still having the occasional craving for a big hearty meal, but says he mostly wants healthy, fresh tasting flavors. “I still eat, but I have not been to the grocery store, cooked, or cleaned a dish in months,” he said. “I enjoy my favorite foods a few times per week, mostly out with friends on the weekends, which is really all I crave.” Mr Rhinehart insists his diet is far from boring. “I assumed I would quickly get tired of the taste but this does not happen,” he writes in his blog. “It’s really nice to always be full and healthy, and still enjoy food just for fun when I want to.” And he reckons even the biggest foodie could learn to eat less using a mix of Soylent and prepared meals as people would be left with more time to enjoy the things they want. “People will find a good balance of Soylent meals and regular meals to ensure maximum enjoyment of food and health. I think it could vastly improve our relationship with food and agriculture,” he said. But nutritionists warn that such a formula-type diet is not only restrictive, but unsustainable. Sydney-based nutritionist Susie Burrell said while supplements could be developed to replace the contents of a meal, the reality was that humans enjoyed sitting down to meals. “While technically you can develop supplements that replace the nutrients content of a meal, which can be used to support weight loss or feed those who do not have access to food, the reality is that human beings like to eat, which is why dietary restriction and meal replacements are not proven to work long term,” she said. “Claiming such a product can solve the nutrition issues of the world is a simplistic view of very complex issues including obesity, malnutrition, food security, eating behaviour and basic nutrition.” Nutrition consultant Tracie Hyam said Mr Rhinehart may think he’s learning to eat properly, but that it actually wasn’t the case. “Meal-replacement shakes can definitely have a place in a weight-loss program or plan, but in the long-term the shakes will not deliver a healthy eating habit for him,” she said, adding there were a lot of other reasons such a diet was far from ideal. “If his digestive system isn’t used to chewing or digesting food, that one meal a week out with friends might be a big shock to the system,” she said. “Food in moderation, and definitely nutritious food, is there to be enjoyed. So replacing most meals of the day, is really taking away that enjoyment.” Click for more from news.com.au. source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/06/17/meet-man-who-doesnt-need-food/

Woman attempting to live on nothing but water and sunlight for 6 months

A Seattle woman is attempting to live without food for six months -- planning to sustain herself on water and sunlight alone. Navenna Shine is calling her experiment “Living on Light.” “This is a paradigm for living in which we as human beings do not have to ingest any kind of food whatsoever into our stomachs in order to thrive,” Shine said. Shine, 65, says her experiment is an attempt to follow an obscure group of yogis called The Breatharians, who for thousands of years have claimed they have the ability to live on light alone. “At 'Living On Light' we propose that we have a nutritional source already embedded within our body/mind/spiritual systems that can give us exactly what we need to be healthy and well,” Shine wrote on her website. “Since we do not yet know exactly what that source is I am symbolically calling it Light.” Thursday marked Shine’s 33rd day without food, although she has lost more than 20 pounds. In order to verify that she is indeed sticking to the diet, Shine has placed several cameras throughout her house to keep a record of the experiment.  She also hopes to begin live-streaming her experience within the next few weeks. Click for more from My Fox 8. To follow Shine's updates, visit her Facebook page.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/06/07/woman-attempting-to-live-on-nothing-but-water-and-sunlight-for-6-months/

Malnutrition condemns millions to stunted lives, UNICEF claims

Some 165 million children worldwide are stunted by malnutrition as babies and face a future of ill health, poor education, low earnings and poverty, the head of the United Nations children's fund said on Friday. Anthony Lake, executive director of UNICEF, told Reuters the problem of malnutrition is vastly under-appreciated, largely because poor nutrition is often mistaken for a lack of food. In reality, he said, malnutrition and its irreversible health consequences also affect relatively well-off countries, such as India where there is plenty of food, but access to it is unequal and nutritional content can be low. “Undernutrition, and especially stunting, is one of the least recognized crises for children in the world,” Lake said. “It's a horrible thing. These children are condemned.” Stunting is the consequence of undernutrition in the first 1,000 or so days of a baby's life, including during gestation. Stunted children learn less in school and are more likely themselves to live in poverty and go on to have children also stunted by poor nutrition. These in turn increase poverty in affected countries and regions, and drive greater gaps between the rich and the poor, Lake said. “The numbers are phenomenal. In India, for example, about 48 percent of children are stunted, and in Yemen it's almost 60 percent. Just think of the drag on development,” Lake said. “And the key point is that it is absolutely irreversible. You can feed up an underweight child, but with a stunted child, because of the effects on the brain, it has a permanently reduced cognitive capacity by the age of around two years old.” “Nutrition for growth” Lake spoke to Reuters in London ahead of a “Nutrition for Growth” summit on Saturday co-hosted by the British and Brazilian governments and the Children's Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), at which donor countries are expected to pledge more funding to tackle the problem. The summit coincides with the publication in The Lancet medical journal of a series of studies on the issue, which found that as well as the 165 million children stunted by poor nutrition, nearly half of all deaths among under fives - 3.1 million deaths a year - are caused by malnutrition. UNICEF says it wants to focus global efforts for now on 20 countries - mostly in Africa and Asia - which are home to 70 percent of the world's stunted children. The cost of tackling poor nutrition in these countries is estimated to be about $7 billion a year, Lake said. Saturday's summit aims to secure pledges for about half that amount. Securing those funds and using them effectively to improve nutrition would be “extraordinarily cost-effective”, Lake said, since the negative effects of malnutrition and stunting currently cost an estimated 11 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) economic output in Africa and Asia. Achieving food security - ensuring countries have enough food to go around - however, should not be mistaken for addressing the problem of poor nutrition, he said. “The fact is that India, with 48 percent (childhood) stunting, is considered food secure - but that doesn't mean food is distributed equitably within India. “And in Africa, for instance, if you only eat cassava, then your belly may be full and you may technically have food security, but that doesn't mean you're getting the nutrition needed to prevent stunting.” Lake also stressed that increased funding was only part of the solution and that spending donor funds wisely in trusted community-based programs is essential. Such programs need to cover a range of measures, including promoting more nutritious foods, recommending exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of a baby's life and using micronutrient supplements to boost vitamin A, folic acid, zinc and iron.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/06/07/malnutrition-condemns-millions-to-stunted-lives-unicef-claims/