Elderberry Extract: Nature’s “Tamiflu”

Daisy Luther, Contributor

Activist Post

The most important weapon against influenza that you can add to your herbal arsenal is elderberry extract.

Whether you are concerned with the seasonal flu or the potential of a deadly strain of influenza becoming pandemic, elderberry extract is a vital addition to your vault of flu remedies.

Unlike the highly touted flu shot, black elderberry has actually been conclusively proven to be effective. It is one of the few natural remedies that has been written up in the medical journals. The studies I’m listing here are based on black elderberry extract (Sambucus nigra L) - name brand Sambucol.

According to PubMed:

Sambucus nigra L. products – Sambucol – are based on a standardized black elderberry extract. They are natural remedies with antiviral properties, especially against different strains of influenza virus. Sambucol was shown to be effective in vitro against 10 strains of influenza virus. In a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized study, Sambucol reduced the duration of flu symptoms to 3-4 days.

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Eating lots of chocolate helps people stay thin, study finds

(CBS News) What's the best way to stay thin? A new study finds it's exercising and eating a healthy diet full of - chocolate?

Mindless eating: 8 food goofs that pack on pounds

The study found that people who frequently ate chocolate had a lower body mass index (BMI) than people who didn't.

Is it time to ditch fat-free for fudge?

For the study, published in the March 26 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, researchers examined more than 1,000 healthy men and women who were free of heart disease, diabetes and cholesterol problems. They were all enrolled in another study that measured the effects of cholesterol-lowering statin drugs, but for this study researchers assigned them questionnaires that gauged how often participants chowed down on chocolate.

The researchers found that the participants - who were an average age of 57 - ate chocolate for an average of twice of week and exercised roughly 3.5 times per week. But the more frequent chocolate-eaters had smaller BMIs, a ratio of height and weight that's used to measure obesity.

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Uncle Sam Updates Food Pyramid links and updates...

Home

The Food and Nutrition Information Center - a leader in food and human nutrition information dissemination since 1971 - provides credible, accurate, and practical resources for nutrition and health professionals, educators, government personnel and consumers. Learn more about FNIC.

Healthy Diet & Lifestyle, Food Groups, Nutrition Before & During Pregnancy, Child Nutrition, Physical Activity
http://krilloil.com/blog/nutrition-pyramid/

In addition you can find more info below:

The Food and Nutrition Information Center
http://fnic.nal.usda.gov/

Nutritional Values For Common Foods And Products
http://www.nutritionvalue.org/

NutritionData.com: Nutrition facts, calories in food, labels and more
http://nutritiondata.self.com/

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Overdosing on Vitamin D: Side Effects, Toxicity, Symptoms, Poisoning

Here are the side effects that I feel aren't well described on the Mayo Clinic list:

1) Irritable lungs. For example, when I breath in alcohol vapors I need to cough. When I drink my coffee in the morning I need to cough (probably a reaction to the caffeine).

2) Sensation in the teeth. I feel my teeth. I can’t decide if this is good or bad. What is definitely bad is that when I switch from warm food to a cool drink I get nasty electric shocks in my teeth. Rarely I have experienced tooth-ache like pain as a result of chilling my teeth with cold air or cold food. This pain lasts for 10 or fifteen minutes.

3) Bone pain in the fourth finger on my left hand. This is very strange. Often within minutes of taking a vitamin D supplement, I notice a slight pain in the fourth finger of my left hand and nowhere else. I first experienced this feeling while taking 4000 IU/day and, at that dose, the pain got quite severe on the last day I took that dose.

4) Nausea with fatigue.

5) Ringing ears.

6) Chest pain and heart sensations. I find this to be the worst and most alarming side effect. It caused me to shun all forms of vitamin D for two months. I went for a full cardiac workout and blood testing. I was informed that I’m in terrific health. Like the bone pain, for me this side effect is more severe from supplements than from sunshine. 

7) Insomnia. Vitamin D will make me fatigued during the day while at the same time it sometimes causes me to wake up near 4 am in the morning. I have alot of trouble falling back to sleep and sometimes get up between 5 and 6 instead of between 6:30 and 7:00.

8) A bad mood. Vitamin D is known to have psychological effects. It is supposed to improve mood. I’m really uncomfortable with listing this as a side effect because it is so subjective. The other side effects are sufficient to put me in a bad mood. But my gut tells me it is worse than that and that the excess vitamin D is actually causing a feeling of doom. As time passes, I've become aware of more reports of feelings of doom.

The following side effects have just emerged in April 2009. They are perfectly described on the Mayo Clinic list:

9) Discharge of the eye, eyelid, and lining of the eyelid

10) Increased sensitivity of eyes to light or irritation of eyes
Read the Rest HERE

Weight loss surgery 'HALVES the risk of dying from any cause up to 14 years

Obese people can gain extra years of life after weight-loss surgery – halving their risk of dying early from any cause.

Dramatic new evidence shows bariatric surgery – giving people procedures such as gastric bands – can improve long-term survival for patients from any age group.

Researchers say it works by cutting diabetes and other obesity-related conditions including heart problems.

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Weight loss surgery includes gastric band surgery and gastric bypass (the stomach and intestines are pictured before, left, and after, right, the procedure). It can halve the risk of dying early from any cause It has also become safer in recent years, according to a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The study found obese people had a 53 per cent lower risk of dying from any cause at five to 14 years after weight-loss surgery.

The study involved 2,500 obese patients and nearly 7,500 matched control receiving care at medical centres in the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health system.

Study leader Dr David Arterburn, of the Seattle-based Group Health Research Institute, said ‘We have tracked a large group of patients for a long enough time that we can clearly see a strong link between bariatric surgery and long-term survival.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2899124/Weight-loss-surgery-HALVES-risk-dying-cause-14-years-procedure.html#ixzz3O8leSyJb

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The 'Miracle berry' that makes even Brussels sprouts taste good

If you can’t stomach vegetables there is a surprising  - and all natural -solution.

Known as the Miracle Berry, this jellybean-shaped fruit can make sour and bitter foods taste sweet - and the sensation lasts for up to two hours after eating.

The fruit contains a protein called miraculin that binds to the taste buds on the tongue and ‘trips’ flavors to appear sweeter.

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Known as the Miracle Berry, this jellybean-shaped fruit (pictured) can make sour and bitter foods taste sweet - and the sensation lasts for up to two hours after eating. It contains a protein called miraculin that binds to the taste buds on the tongue and ‘trips’ all flavours to appear sweetened 

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2899162/The-Miracle-berry-makes-Brussels-sprouts-taste-good-help-curb-rising-obesity-levels.html#ixzz3O8g9gKQi

Pill tricks the body into thinking it has consumed large number of calories

Could an 'imaginary meal' pill solve the obesity crisis? Drug tricks the body into feeling full - AND lowers cholesterol and blood sugar

Fexaramine sends out the same signals that normally happen when you eat a lot of food, so the body starts clearing out space to store it, say the Californian scientists behind the research. The pill tricks the body into thinking it has consumed a large amount of calories - as if you have just eaten a substantial meal.

The dieter's dream, it would allow them to continue to enjoy fatty foods without putting on weight.

The drug, which tricks the body into believing it has eaten, also cuts cholesterol and keeps blood sugar levels under control.

Researcher Ronald Evans said: 'This pill is like an imaginary meal.

'It sends out the same signals that normally happen when you eat a lot of food, so the body starts clearing out space to store it. 

'But there are no calories and no change in appetite.'

British doctors described the US breakthrough as potentially of great importance – but cautioned that much more work needs to be done.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2897443/Could-imaginary-meal-pill-solve-obesity-crisis-Drug-tricks-body-feeling-lowers-cholesterol-blood-sugar.html#ixzz3O0UYshnv
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