Mandel News Service Natural Health Care Report Blueberries Can Help Preserve Your Memory An article in Bio-Medicine by Andrew Gould has reported on a research team from the University of Reading and the Peninsula Medical School in the South West of England whose research shows that blueberries are good for your brain. These researchers have found that phytochemical-rich foods, such as blueberries, are effective at reversing age-related deficits in memory. The researchers working on this study at the Schools of Food Biosciences and Psychology in Reading and the Institute of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences at the Peninsula Medical School in Exeter supplemented a regular diet with blueberries over a 12-week period. They found that improvements in spatial working memory tasks emerged within three weeks and continued throughout the entire period of the study. A chemical analysis of blueberries shows that they are a major source of flavonoids, in particular anthocyanins and flavanols. Although the precise mechanisms by which these plant-derived molecules affect the brain are not exactly understood, they have been shown to cross the blood brain barrier after dietary intake. It is postulated that they exert their effects on learning and memory by enhancing existing neuronal (brain cell) connections, improving cellular communications and stimulating neuronal regeneration. Both short-term and long-term memory enhancement is controlled at the molecular level in neurons. This research team has been able to show that the ability of flavonoids to induce memory improvements are mediated by the activation of signalling proteins via a specific pathway in the hippocampus which is the part of the brain that controls learning and memory. This interesting research was conducted by a multidisciplinary research team led by Dr. Jeremy Spencer, a lecturer in Molecular Nutrition at the University of Reading and included Dr. Claire Williams, a Psychologist also from Reading and Dr. Matt Whiteman, a Principal Investigator at the Institute of Biomedical and Clinical Science, Peninsula Medical School. Dr Spencer has commented: "Impaired or failing memory as we get older is one of lifes major inconveniences. Scientists have known of the potential health benefits of diets rich in fresh fruits for a long time. Our previous work had suggested that flavonoid compounds had some kind of effect on memory, but until now we had not known the potential mechanisms to account for this." Dr. Whiteman has added "This study not only adds science to the claim that eating blueberries are good for you, it also provides support to a diet-based approach that could potentially be used to increase memory capacity and performance in the future." Green Tea May Help Fiight Eye Disease A report ffrom the American Chemical Society gives hope that green tea may help fight eye diseases. Scientists have now confirmed that the healthy substances found in green tea which are renowned for their powerful antioxidant and disease-fighting properties penetrate into tissues of the eye. This report, documents how the lens, retina, and other eye tissues absorb these substances and raises the possibility that green tea may protect against glaucoma and other common eye diseases. Chi Pui Pang and colleagues have pointed out that so-called green tea "catechins" have been among a number of antioxidants believed to be capable of protecting the eye. Those have included vitamin C, vitamin E, lutein, and zeaxanthin. Until recently, however, it was not known if the catechins in green tea actually passed from the stomach and gastrointestinal tract into the tissues of the eye. Pang and his colleagues resolved the uncertainty about this matter in experiments with laboratory rats that were given green tea to drink. An analysis of the eye tissues of the rats showed beyond a doubt that eye structures absorbed significant amounts of individual catechins from the green tea. The retina was reported to have absorbed the highest levels of gallocatechin, while the aqueous humor absorbed more epigallocatechin. The positive effects of green tea catechins in reducing the harmful oxidative stress in the eye lasted for about 20 hours. "Our results indicate that green tea consumption could benefit the eye against oxidative stress," the report concluded. Chocolate Can Benefit Your Health Chocolate is made from plants and so it contains many of the health benefits of dark vegetables. The primary benefits in chocolate are from flavonoids which act as antioxidants. Antioxidants protect your body from aging which is caused by free radicals which can cause damage that leads to heart disease. Dark chocolate contains a very large number of antioxidants. Flavonoids also help to relax blood pressure via the production of nitric oxide and also help balance certain hormones in the body. So dark chocolate is good for your heart. A small bar of dark chocolate daily can help keep your heart and cardiovascular system running well. Studies have revealed that consuming a small bar of dark chocolate everyday can reduce blood pressure in individuals with high blood predssure. Dark chocolate also has been shown to reduce LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol) by up to 10 percent. Chocolate also has a pleasing taste and stimulates endorphin production, which gives you a feeling of pleasure. And serotonin is present in chocolatewhich acts as an anti-depressant. Also chocolate contains theobromine, caffeine and other substances which are stimulants. However, many people feel the beneficial properties of chocolate are countered by its high sugar and calorie content. Therefore low sugar or sugarless chocolate is often preferable for many people. Hyperactivity and Diet Evidence suggests that certain compounds found naturally in many foods and many compounds added to some foods can cause hyperactivity. A natural health care approach to deal with hyperactivity involves avoiding certain food additives such as all food colorings, the preservarives BHA, BHT and TBHQ, and all medicines containing artificial colors or flavors. Also all foods containing salicylates should be avoided. These foods include almonds, apples, apricots, all berries, cherries, cucumbers, coffee, pickles, currants, grapes, raisins, nectarines, oranges, peppers, peaches, plums, prunes, tangerines, tea and tomatoes. |