ALL ABOUT:

Figs

by Wayne Blank

Fig trees are native to The Mediterranean area, although they may be found more extensively from Asiatic Turkey to northern India. Today, they are also found growing on a commercial basis in numerous other countries around the world. They are also often grown as large decorative potted trees in greenhouses or "sun rooms" in cold climates.

The fig plant is cultivated as a bush from 1 meter (3 feet) tall, to large trees over 10 meters (33 feet) tall. Their wide, coarse deciduous leaves are easily identified. The sweet fruit develops above the points of shed leaves, or in the axil of leaves of the current year, with one or two figs set together. Depending upon local temperature and rainfall, there may be one or two crops harvested per year.

Figs have been a major food for people of the Mediterranean and Middle East for thousands of years. Their ability to store easily by drying made them, along with various grains and raisins, a dependable long-term food source. The same can just as truly be said about them today.

Figs are mentioned from beginning to end throughout The Bible, all the way from the Seven Days Of Creation in Genesis, to Revelation. They were in the Garden of Eden at the time of The Creation Of Adam And Eve, and the birth of Cain And Abel, and they are used as a symbol in end-time Prophecy. Virtually everyone in the Bible ate, or at least was familiar with, figs.

• Figs were used as a sign of peace and prosperity, "each man under his own vine and fig tree" (1 Kings 4:25).

• King Hezekiah's life-threatening infection was cured by "a poultice of figs" (2 Kings 20:7).

• Figs were stored in "pressed cakes" (1 Samuel 30:12).

• Jesus Christ put a curse on a fig tree that was in full leaf but had no fruit, as a good productive tree should have had by that time of the season (Matthew 21:18-22).

• James used figs to describe appropriate Christian Living - "can a fig tree bear olives?" (James 3:12).

• Figs are used to symbolize a great end-time meteor storm that will occur as part of the prophesied Signs In The Heavens - "The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, and the stars (i.e. meteorites] in the sky fell to earth, as late figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind." (Revelation 6:12-13)

Fact Finder: Of what material was the first clothing made?
Genesis 3:7

source: http://www.keyway.ca/htm2000/20001206.htm

Chemo May Limit Fertility in Breast Cancer Survivors

SATURDAY, May 31 (HealthDay News) -- Chemotherapy may reduce fertility in breast cancer survivors, according to a study led by researchers at Boston's Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

They found that premenopausal breast cancer survivors treated with chemotherapy following surgery were more likely than women who'd never had breast cancer to have diminished ovarian reserve -- the capacity of the ovaries to produce eggs capable of being fertilized.

The study included 20 breast cancer survivors who were one or more years out from their diagnosis and had no evidence of cancer recurrence. They were compared to 20 age-matched women who'd never had breast cancer.

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Celebrex May Reduce Levels of Lung Cancer Biomarker

SUNDAY, June 1 (HealthDay News) -- A widely prescribed pain reliever may one day have value in helping to prevent lung cancer.

Researchers report that Celebrex (celecoxib), the last remaining cox-2 inhibitor on the U.S. market, may reduce levels of a biomarker indicating risk for this deadly disease. The team presented its findings Sunday at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting in Chicago.

They stressed that this doesn't mean people should start taking the drug for this reason, as Celebrex has noted cardiovascular side effects, albeit effects that were not seen in this short-term study.

"This is a very early study," said Dr. Shakun Malik, director of the lung cancer program at Georgetown's Lombardi Cancer Center, in Washington, D.C. "It hasn't shown any effect on actual lung cancer. All it is showing is that it affects biomarkers. The hypothesis is that if biomarkers are affected, it will help, but we haven't shown that as of yet."

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Exercise Cuts Cancer Deaths in Men

Men who exercise often are less likely to die from cancer than those who don’t exercise, according to a new study from the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet. In the study, the researchers looked at the effect of physical activity and cancer risk in 40,708 men aged between 45 and 79.

Over the seven year period of the study, published in the British Journal of Cancer, 3,714 men developed cancer and 1,153 died from the disease. Men who walked or cycled for at least 30 minutes a day had an increased survival from cancer with 33 per cent, than the men who exercised less or did nothing at all. The researchers also found that a more extensive programme of walking and cycling for between 60 and 90 minutes and a day, led to a l6 per cent lower incidence of cancer. But these activities only led to a five per cent reduction in cancer rates among the men who walked or cycled for 30 minutes day, a finding which could be due to chance.

The researchers surveyed men from two counties in central Sweden about their lifestyle and the amount of physical activity they did. They then scored these responses and compared the results with data officially recorded in a central cancer registry over a seven year period.

“These results show for the first time, the affect that daily exercise has in reducing cancer death risk in men aged between 45 and 79”, says Professor Alicja Wolk, who led the study. “We looked at more moderate exercise such as housework, undertaken over a longer period of time and found that this also reduced men’s chances of dying from the disease.”

 

source NewsMax.com

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“You pop it in your mouth and scrape the pulp off the seed, swirl it around and hold it in your mouth for about a minute,” he said. “Then you’re ready to go.” He ushered his guests to a table piled with citrus wedges, cheeses, Brussels sprouts, mustard, vinegars, pickles, dark beers, strawberries and cheap tequila, which Mr. Aliquo promised would now taste like top-shelf Patrón.

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For people with diabetes, sipping a mug of steaming, flavorful cocoa may seem a guilty pleasure. But new research suggests that indulging a craving for cocoa can actually help blood vessels to function better and might soon be considered part of a healthy diet for the prevention of cardiovascular disease.

Flavanols, natural plant compounds also found in tea, red wine, and certain fruits and vegetables, are responsible for cocoa’s healthful benefits. In fact, according to new research published in the June 3 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC), after diabetic patients drank specially formulated high-flavanol cocoa for one month, blood vessel function went from severely impaired to normal. MORE