Healthy Living Tips, Nutrition And Healthy Living Guide » Diabetes

Beware of your chair - It’s killing you

irwanlib2063 — Fri, 21 May 2010 16:45:49 +0000

It doesn’t matter if you go running every morning, or you’re a regular at the gym. If you spend most of the rest of the day sitting — in your car, your office chair, on your sofa at home — you are putting yourself at increased risk of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, a variety of cancers and an early death. In other words, irrespective of whether you exercise vigorously, sitting for long periods is bad for you.

That, at least, is the conclusion of several recent studies. Indeed, if you consider only healthy people who exercise regularly, those who sit the most during the rest of the day have larger waists and worse profiles of blood pressure and blood sugar than those who sit less. Among people who sit in front of the television for more than three hours each day, those who exercise are as fat as those who don’t: sitting a lot appears to offset some of the benefits of jogging a lot.

So what’s wrong with sitting?

The answer seems to have two parts. The first is that sitting is one of the most passive things you can do. You burn more energy by chewing gum or fidgeting than you do sitting still in a chair. Compared to sitting, standing in one place is hard work. To stand, you have to tense your leg muscles, and engage the muscles of your back and shoulders; while standing, you often shift from leg to leg. All of this burns energy.

For many people, weight gain is a matter of slow creep — two pounds this year, three pounds next year. You can gain this much if, each day, you eat just 30 calories more than you burn. Thirty calories is hardly anything — it’s a couple of mouthfuls of banana, or a few potato chips. Thus, a little more time on your feet today and tomorrow can easily make the difference between remaining lean and getting fat.

You may think you have no choice about how much you sit. But this isn’t true. Suppose you sleep for eight hours each day, and exercise for one. That still leaves 15 hours of activities. Even if you exercise, most of the energy you burn will be burnt during these 15 hours, so weight gain is often the cumulative effect of a series of small decisions: Do you take the stairs or the elevator? Do you e-mail your colleague down the hall, or get up and go and see her? When you get home, do you potter about in the garden or sit in front of the television? Do you walk to the corner store, or drive?

Just to underscore the point that you do have a choice: a study of junior doctors doing the same job, the same week, on identical wards found that some individuals walked four times farther than others at work each day. (No one in the study was overweight; but the “long-distance” doctors were thinner than the “short-distance” doctors.)

So part of the problem with sitting a lot is that you don’t use as much energy as those who spend more time on their feet. This makes it easier to gain weight, and makes you more prone to the health problems that fatness often brings.

But it looks as though there’s a more sinister aspect to sitting, too. Several strands of evidence suggest that there’s a “physiology of inactivity”: that when you spend long periods sitting, your body actually does things that are bad for you.

As an example, consider lipoprotein lipase. This is a molecule that plays a central role in how the body processes fats; it’s produced by many tissues, including muscles. Low levels of lipoprotein lipase are associated with a variety of health problems, including heart disease. Studies in rats show that leg muscles only produce this molecule when they are actively being flexed (for example, when the animal is standing up and ambling about). The implication is that when you sit, a crucial part of your metabolism slows down.

Nor is lipoprotein lipase the only molecule affected by muscular inactivity. Actively contracting muscles produce a whole suite of substances that have a beneficial effect on how the body uses and stores sugars and fats.

Which might explain the following result. Men who normally walk a lot (about 10,000 steps per day, as measured by a pedometer) were asked to cut back (to about 1,350 steps per day) for two weeks, by using elevators instead of stairs, driving to work instead of walking and so on. By the end of the two weeks, all of them had became worse at metabolizing sugars and fats. Their distribution of body fat had also altered — they had become fatter around the middle. Such changes are among the first steps on the road to diabetes.

Conversely, a study of people who sit for many hours found that those who took frequent small breaks — standing up to stretch or walk down the corridor — had smaller waists and better profiles for sugar and fat metabolism than those who did their sitting in long, uninterrupted chunks.

Some people have advanced radical solutions to the sitting syndrome: replace your sit-down desk with a stand-up desk, and equip this with a slow treadmill so that you walk while you work. (Talk about pacing the office.) Make sure that your television can only operate if you are pedaling furiously on an exercise bike. Or, watch television in a rocking chair: rocking also takes energy and involves a continuous gentle flexing of the calf muscles. Get rid of your office chair and replace it with a therapy ball: this too uses more muscles, and hence more energy, than a normal chair, because you have to support your back and work to keep balanced. You also have the option of bouncing, if you like.

Or you could take all this as a license to fidget.

But whatever you choose, know this. The data are clear: beware your chair!

By Olivia Judson, The New York Times

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Acidosis - Causes and Its Natural Treatment

irwanlib2063 — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 10:17:13 +0000

Over acidity, which can become a dangerous condition that weakens all body systems, is very common today. It gives rise to an internal environment conducive to disease, as opposed to a pH-balanced environment which allows normal body function necessary for the body to resist disease. A healthy body maintains adequate alkaline reserves to meet emergency demands. When excess acids (acidosis) must be neutralized, our alkaline reserves are depleted, leaving the body in a weakened condition.

Every day we wage our own private war against molds, yeasts, bacteria, viruses and fungi. By using antibiotics as the first line of defense we have encouraged the development of more powerfully bugs and bacteria.

Our immune systems are becoming weaker and over-taxed in this war. Louis Pasteur declared the germ theory of disease that states germs are the cause of disease. But note Dr. Pasteur’s dying words: “The germ is nothing, the inner terrain is everything”.

The concept of acid alkaline imbalance as the cause of disease is not new. In 1933 a New York doctor named William Howard Hay published a ground-breaking book, A New Health Era in which he maintains that all disease is caused by autotoxication (or “self-poisoning”) due to acidosis in the body.

Now we depart from health in just the proportion to which we have allowed our alkalis to be dissipated by introduction of acid-forming food in too great amount… It may seem strange to say that all disease is the same thing, no matter what its myriad modes of expression, but it is verily so.
William Howard Hay, M.D.

More recently, in his remarkable book Alkalize or Die , Dr. Theodore A. Baroody, N.D., D.C., Ph.D. says essentially the same thing: “The countless names of illnesses do not really matter. What does matter is that they all come from the same root cause…too much tissue acid waste in the body!”

Modern science has revealed that the cause of aging may be far more simple than previously thought.
Almost 99% of the components of food that we consume every day are composed of carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen, and oxygen with only 1% been minerals.

The wastes produced from food are highly acidic and acidosis is one of the main contributors that lead to the aging process and various illnesses. Acid waste is excreted from the human body in the form of or sweat. But the wastes not excreted will be circulating around in the , in the body. This acidic waste will gradually accumulate somewhere in our capillaries vessels, and eventually clog them up. Also as a consequence of this, the cells of the human body will be deprived of their supply of oxygen and essential nutrients, rendering these cells inactive in reproduction. That’s the main reason why people age. Moreover, with the capillary vessels clogged up, the function of every organ in the human body accumulating acidic waste will begin to deteriorate, causing serious illnesses in the long run.

So when does the accumulation of age-contributing acidic waste begin?

Scientists say that aging begins when a child starts to wean. An unborn child lives on nutrients from his mother while in the womb and the body of the baby becomes alkaline, owing to the consumption of alkaline minerals.

Naturally, this is due to the release of alkaline minerals from the mother. This release of alkaline minerals during pregnancy does temporarily weaken the mother’s body, causing a lack of appetite etc.

The baby will remain alkaline while breast feeding, but will begin to reduce in alkalinity once put on infant cereals.

If the cause of aging lies in acidosis, then the answer to longer life must lie in eliminating such acidic wastes. Hence, to neutralize acidic meals, alkaline water could be the answer. Many doctors recommend a vegetarian or low meat diet as alkaline minerals and vegetables help neutralize acidic waste. But vegetables only contain a very small amount of alkaline minerals and that is why a very large quantity of vegetables needs to be consumed in order to neutralize these wastes in the body.

We live and die at the cellular level. All the billions of cells that make up our human body are slightly alkaline, and must maintain alkalinity in order to function and remain healthy and alive. However their cellular activity creates acid and this acid is what gives the cell energy and function. As each alkaline cell performs its task of respiration, it secretes metabolic wastes, and these end products of cellular metabolism are acid in nature.

Although these wastes are used for energy and function, they must not be allowed to build up. One example of this is the often painful lactic acid which is created through exercise. The body will go to great lengths to neutralize and detoxify these acids before they act as poisons in and around the cell, ultimately changing the environment of the cell. Most people and clinical practitioners believe the immune system is the body’s first line of defense, but in actuality it is not. It is very important, but more like a very sophisticated clean-up service. We must instead look at the importance of pH balance as the first and major line of defense against sickness and disease and for health and vitality.

Drinking alkaline water is an easy and efficient way to help neutralize an acidic human body.

One American cancer center showed significant improvements in their cancer therapy by getting 1,000 patients to drink 7 glasses of alkaline water a day. Their research concluded that the alkaline minerals in natural, alkaline water with a pH 7.5 helped to neutralize acidosis and thus helped to prevent cancer.

Water, the origin of Life, contains 2 parts hydrogen and one part oxygen. Alkaline water is water that contains a larger amount of oxygen as compared to hydrogen. By drinking alkaline water, we increase our intake of oxygen compared to drinking plain water. The advantage of drinking alkaline water is that while being absorbed by the body, it helps neutralize acidic wastes, making them more soluble in the vessels. Thus, acidic wastes will be easily drained out of the body in the form of or sweat.

If we were to ask what is us, the answer might be ACIDOSIS. It has been strated that an acidic, anaerobic (lacking oxygen) body environment encourages the breeding of fungus, mold, bacteria, and viruses. Let us look at an example. If we were to seal the door to our freezer and then unplug it, come back and open the door in two weeks, what would we find? Mold, bacteria and microscopic bugs that are growing and multiplying. Where did they all come from? They did not sneak in - remember the door was sealed. The answer is . . . they were always there.

It is simply that the environment changed to a more inviting and healthy one for these ‘critters’ to live in. This can be likened to a shift in our biological terrain from a healthy oxygenated, alkaline environment to an unhealthy anaerobic acidic environment. You see what is healthy for us is unhealthy for the body attackers and what is healthy for them is what is unhealthy for our body.

Understanding pH

pH (potential of hydrogen) is a measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a solution. It is measured on a scale of 0 to 14 - the lower the pH the more acidic the solution, the higher the pH the more alkaline (or base) the solution. When a solution is neither acid nor alkaline it has a pH of 7 which is neutral.

Water is the most abundant compound in the human body, comprising 70% of the body. The body has an acid-alkaline (or acid-base) ratio called the pH which is a balance between positively charges ions (acid-forming) and negatively charged ions (alkaline-forming.) The body continually strives to balance pH. When this balance is compromised many problems can occur.

It is important to understand that we are not talking about stomach acid or the pH of the stomach. We are talking about the pH of the body’s fluids and tissues which is an entirely different matter.

Test Your Body’s Acidity or Alkalinity with pH Strips

It is recommended that you test your pH levels to determine if your body’s pH needs immediate attention. By using pH test strips, you can determine your pH factor quickly and easily in the privacy of your own home. There is much to discover so that pH test result can be meaningful. Rather than give simplistic guidelines here it is recommended you look online or purchase a book on this subject from our online store.

Urine pH

The results of testing indicate how well your body is assimilating minerals, especially calcium, magnesium, sodium and potassium. These are called the “acid buffers” because they are used by the body to control the acid level. If acid levels are too high, the body will not be able to excrete acid. It must either store the acid in body tissues (autotoxication) or buffer it - that is, borrow minerals from organs, bones, etc. in order to neutralize acidity.

Saliva pH

You may also want to test the pH of your saliva. The results of saliva testing indicate the activity of digestive enzymes in your body, especially the activity of the liver and stomach. This reveals the flow of enzymes running through your body and shows their effect on all the body systems. Some people will have acidic pH readings from both and saliva. This is referred to as “double acid.”

Keeping the Balance Right for Excellent Health

Your body is able to assimilate minerals and nutrients properly only when its pH is balanced. It is therefore possible for you to be taking healthy nutrients and yet be unable to absorb or use them. If you are not getting the results you expected from your nutritional or herbal program, look for an acid alkaline imbalance. Even the right herbal program may not work if your body is struggling with acidosis.

A state of acidosis is simply the lack of oxygen and available calcium which the body uses to maintain its alkaline balance. Calcium makes up 1.6% of our body weight. It is literally the human glue that holds the body together. Calcium is so biochemically active that it has been likened to an octopus. A calcium ion can hold onto seven other molecules while it grabs onto one molecule of water. No other ion can do this. And it is the right size to easily get in and out of the human cell. As it does this, it takes a chain of nutrients into the cell and then leaves to get more nutrients.

What Causes Me to be Acidic?

The reason acidosis is more common in our society is mostly due to the typical American diet, which is far too high in acid-producing animal products like meat, eggs and dairy, and far too low in alkaline-producing foods like fresh vegetables. Additionally, we eat acid-producing processed foods like white flour and sugar and drink acid-producing beverages like coffee and soft drinks. We use too many , which are acid-forming; and we use artificial chemical sweeteners like NutraSweet, Equal, or aspartame, which are extremely acid-forming. One of the best things we can do to correct an overly-acid body is to clean up the diet and lifestyle.

Most people who suffer from unbalanced pH are acidic. This condition forces the body to borrow minerals including calcium, sodium, potassium and magnesium, from vital organs and bones to buffer (neutralize) the acid and safely remove it from the body. Because of this strain, the body can suffer severe and prolonged damage due to high acidity. A condition that may go undetected for years.

One of the first warning signs of an acidic biological terrain is calcium deposits. In testing where calcium deposits come not it has always been shown that they come from the structural calcium of our bones and teeth and never from the calcium in our water or diet.

This is important because it means that if calcium deposits are forming, we know our inner biological terrain is too acidic. Our dietary intake of calcium is not keeping up with the calcium buffering needed and we are actively pulling calcium from our bones and teeth. It all works like a little train, from the bones to the fluids and cells, to the . As our biological terrain becomes acidic, our pH level drops. When this happens we start losing calcium out of the , the bones, and the tissues. This is a safety mechanism. Now your biological terrain’s oxygen level drops leaving you tired and fatigued, allowing fungus, mold, parasites, bad bacteria, and viral infections to flourish and gain a hold throughout the body. It is interesting to note that you often won’t have just some of these invaders. If you have Candida you will likely have bad bacteria, fungus, and parasites because they all flourish in the same terrain.

Mild acidosis can cause such problems as:

Cardiovascular damage, including the constriction of vessels and the reduction of oxygen.
Weight gain, obesity and diabetes.
Bladder and kidney conditions, including kidney stones.
Immune deficiency.
Acceleration of free radical damage, possibly contributing to cancerous mutations.
Premature aging.
Osteoporosis; weak, brittle bones, hip fractures and bone spurs.
Joint pain, aching muscles and lactic acid buildup.
Low energy and chronic fatigue.

A recent seven year study conducted at the University of California, San Francisco, on 9,000 women showed that those who have chronic acidosis are at greater risk for bone loss than those who have normal pH levels. The scientists who carried out this experiment believe that many of the hip fractures prevalent among middle aged women are connected to high acidity caused by a diet rich in animal foods and low in vegetables. This is because the body borrows calcium from the bones in order to balance pH.
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition

The biggest problem scientists have found is that over time the human body becomes depleted of calcium. A compound called mono-ortho-calcium phosphate is the chemical buffer for the . This buffer maintains the alkaline level (or the lack of acidity) in your . Without it you would die. If the acidity level of your changes even slightly you die immediately. But in order to supply enough calcium for buffering we must have enough calcium being absorbed from our diet or our body will simply rob the needed calcium from our bones and teeth.

The more acidic we become, the harder it is for oxygen to be present, so our biological terrain also becomes more anaerobic. Without adequate oxygenation, unfriendly bacteria, viruses, molds, and fungus can live and prosper. Then our cells cannot carry on their life-giving functions in a very efficient manner because our biological chemical reactions need oxygen.

Some Common Diseases and their Relationship to Acidity

Cancer

While the normal cells of the human body degenerate, and acidic wastes accumulate, cancer will make a genetic transformation and keep propagating itself in order to survive in such acidic surroundings.

There have been two theories on the basic causes of cancer. One is the oxygen deficiency theory by a German biochemist, Dr. Warback. The other is the theory of acidic cells, by a Japanese doctor, Dr. Airashi.

Dr. Warback discovered that if oxygen is removed from a health cell, the cell will start to turn cancerous. Dr. Warback won the Nobel prize by proving this theory through his many experiments.

Dr. Airashi showed that cells that survive in acidic environments will eventually develop cancerous characteristics.

Even though cancer cells are eliminated entirely through an operation, they reoccur because the acidic surroundings still remain after the operation. So, to help prevent this, we should stop the development of acidosis by drinking alkaline water every day, eating the right foods, avoiding stress, living in a healthy environment and exercising.

Obesity

The human body is very intelligent. As we become more and more acidic the body starts to set up defense mechanisms to keep the damaging acid from entering our vital organs. It is known that acid gets stored in fat cells. After all, if the acid does come into contact with an organ the acid has a chance to eat holes in the tissue. This may cause the cells to mutate. The oxygen level drops in this acidic environment and calcium begins to be depleted.

So as a defense mechanism, your body may actually make fat to protect you from your overly-acidic self. Those fat cells and cellulite deposits may actually be packing up the acid and trying to keep it a safe distance from your organs. The fat may be saving your vital organs from damage. Many people have found that a return to a healthy inner biological terrain helps them to lose excess fat.

Diabetes

When acidic wastes accumulate in the pancreas, diabetes can develop due to lack of insulin in the body. Doctors say that symptoms of diabetes appear mainly in people above 40, with no symptoms of diabetes in their 20s. How do they differ from each other?

In general, the quantity of accumulated acidic wastes after the age of 40 is far more than those in their 20s, especially in the pancreas. Nevertheless, we can help avoid the onset of diabetes if we flush out the acidic waste in our bodies by drinking alkaline water.

Hypertension

Hypertension is a common illness that occurs due to three reasons.
1) Hypertension caused by clogged capillary vessels due to physical reasons.
2) Narrowed vessels caused by acidic wastes.
Thus, pressure has to be higher naturally in order to supply sufficient quantities of through the narrow vessels.
3) Lack of oxygen due to chemical reasons, namely solidified acidic waste in the vessels.

Hypotension

Hypotension occurs as the heart muscles deteriorate due to a lack of calcium ions, caused by acidic waste.

A patient with hypotension may regain his health by drinking enough alkaline water. This is because calcium ions in alkaline water can help to restore the heart’s activities when caused by a lack of calcium ions.

Kidney Ailment and Kidney Stone

One of the major functions of alkaline water is to purify or help remove the wastes in the body. The accumulation of excessive wastes in the kidneys weakens the kidneys. When cells survive in an excessive acidic environment, swelling of the kidneys occurs.

In order to remain healthy, cells should expel all the waste produced by them. But if the becomes more acidic them the waste will cling to the walls of cells, causing solidification of acidic fluoride in the kidneys and kidney stones.

Osteoporosis and Gout

Human bones function as a calcium bank for the body. A combination of calcium and phosphorus, bones stay healthy as long as there are adequate amounts of these two substances present. To neutralize excessive quantities of waste or acidity, the body starts to deprive the bones of calcium, which may be harmful to the body. Symptoms of calcium deficiency are not evident through X-ray examinations and are only visible when 30-40% of the calcium in the bone has already been depleted.

Gout happens when calcium accumulates in the capillary vessels of the hands and legs. Normally, gout occurs in toe joints, knee joints, and finger joints and drinking alkaline water is one of the best treatments.

Chronic constipation

Dr. Choi, a medical practitioner at the Seoul National Medical University, observed 15 patients (10 men and 5 women) who had suffered from constipation for over a year. Results showed that the symptoms of constipation were alleviated when alkaline water was consumed for a period of 1-2 weeks. Twelve of the fifteen patients recovered remarkably well after this period. This is true because by lubricating the wastes secreted on the walls of the large intestine, excretion become easier.

Dr. Choi also observed that there was a remarkable improvement in how alert his patients were after drinking alkaline water.

Stress and Headache

When we suffer from stress, our body produces more acidic waste, leading to acidosis. Physical stress can be relieved by getting a good rest. Nowadays, however, most of us do not find the time to relieve mental stress. Continued long term stress will create harmful problems like headaches, mental disorder, bad temper and unbalanced hormone excretion, etc. There are two kinds of stress. One is physical stress caused by physical activities and the other is mental stress caused by mental fatigue.

To conclude it is reasonable to say that there are no specific diseases, only specific disease conditions.

There is only one disease. And that one disease is acidosis.

The statements enclosed herein have not been evaluated by the Food and Administration. The products mentioned on this site are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Information and statements made are for education purposes and are not intended to replace the advice of your family doctor.

For those who are not so sceptical about the benefits of the alkaline lifestyle, alkaline water helps to neutralise acids and remove toxins from the body - it is a great cleanser and helps to detoxify our system. Contact powerhealths(a)gmail.com if you are interested in the best economical machine to produce alkaline water at the convenience of your home.

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Dehydration - Your Body Cries for Water

irwanlib2063 — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 11:07:54 +0000

Dehydration - “Chronic pains of the body which cannot easily be explained as injury or infection, should first and foremost be interpreted as signals of chronic water shortage in the area where the pain is registered. These pain signals should first be considered and excluded as primary indicators for dehydration of the body before any other complicated procedures are forced on the patient.” - Dr F Batmanghelidj

Dehydration - The human body is a bio-electrical water machine that requires a quart a day for every 50 lbs of body weight. The blood alone is made up of a large percentage of watery serum. The lymph fluids which transport waste and nutrients, comprising four times the volume of blood in the body, are made from the water we consume. Every cell that makes us who we are literally owes its life to an adequate supply of fresh, clean water. When the body does not receive a constant, reliable supply of water, it has to ration what is available and cut back on certain functions to make the supply go round. Essential systems like the brain are prioritized; others are impaired or cut back until the brain has decided a reliable source of water has been garnered.

Dehydration - Here’s the rub. Most citizens have become chronically and dangerously dehydrated (especially the elderly), since we decided water was too bland to drink and ignored it in favor of tea, coffee, beer, wine, addictive sodas, flavored water and other chemical-laced water alternatives. A disastrous and dangerous move for the body and society’s health in general, to be sure, compounded further since most doctors today cannot readily identify the many water-deficient diseases and associated pains. Thus the underlying dehydration process continues to wreak its havoc while the inevitable drugs given will switch off the warning signals (symptoms).

Consider the following conditions:

Heartburn, arthritis, lupus, asthma, ‘high cholesterol’, high blood pressure, heart disease, cancer formation, hot flushes and menstrual problems, obesity, allergies, bulimia, chronic fatigue syndrome, ME, angina, lower back pain, gout, kidney stones, skin disorders, diabetes, fungal/yeast overgrowths, multiple sclerosis, allergies, migraine headaches, general aches and pains, morning sickness, depression, heavy/burdensome periods, colitis, dyspepsia, peptic ulcers…

Are all of these conditions linked to a chronic state of dehydration?

World-renowned water expert Dr Fereydoon Batmanghelidj, in his latest bestseller, Water and Salt - Your Healers From Within, maintains that the above conditions are the body’s many cries for water, complaints dramatically improved with a consistent and long-term intake of the fresh, clean water. Dr Batman’s timely work has helped thousands quash long-term health problems effortlessly and inexpensively. He writes:

“The report of my having successfully treated with water more than three thousand people with symptoms and clinical signs of peptic ulcer disease was published in the Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology in June 1983. I came away from that experience with the understanding that the people I treated were thirsty, and I uncovered the phenomenon that ‘pain’ in the body indicates thirst, even though the condition is classified as a disease.”

Water is used by the body for digestion, detoxifying cells, watering the lungs, lubricating joints, keeping the body alkalized and a host of cleaning duties. Many warning signals (’symptoms’) arise out of the body’s inability to neutralize or rid itself of acid, a common enough complaint given the number of antacids sold around the world each day.

‘I drink coffee, tea, diet sodas, beer and a host of other liquids. They contain water, don’t they?’

This is a common and dangerous misconception. Many of today’s designer drinks are diuretic in their effect (water-expelling) because their mostly acidic compositions require the body to give up water and alkalizing minerals to eliminate their harmful residues. Diet sodas especially are harmful in that they require large amounts of body-water to neutralize the phosphoric acid component (2.8 pH). Cells that started off healthy and ‘plum-like’ shrivel to prunes as water, the stuff of life, is progressively denied them. The sick in our hospitals are fed the sodas, tea and coffee they ask for in woeful ignorance of the damage wrought to the micro cell-world within them.

Batmanghelidj’s extraordinary work should rightly be considered by a mainstream medical community ever fixated on the drug cure.

Below is a summary of body functions and that rely on an adequate intake of water:

Brain function: The brain comprises 2% of the body’s total weight, yet receives 15-20% of the blood supply, mostly comprised of water. Dehydration will affect cognitive ability drastically, and, through histamine’s action, can create depressive states (many anti-depressant medications are anti-histamines).

Bone function: Bones require plentiful supplies of water. 75% of the weight of the upper body, for instance, is supported by the water core contained within the fifth lumbar disc, the remaining 25% by muscle fibers around the spine.

Nerve function: Microstreams exist along the length of nerves which transport nutrients and conduct energy along microtubules to the synapses to transmit messages. Dehydration disrupts proper nerve function, resulting in the sensation of pain.

Hydrolysis: Water, far from being an inert solvent, is intricately involved in the body’s water-dependent chemical reactions. Lack of water means incomplete or faulty metabolic processes, with obvious implications for continued health and well-being. Proteins and enzymes, for instance, do not function as well in acidic solutions of higher viscosity (stickiness) where the body is dehydrated.

Cellular energy: As water is drawn through the cell membrane, its osmotic flow generates a voltage gradient which can be used in the manufacture of ATP and GTP energy. Dehydration will obviously affect the proper functioning of cells and even kill them.

Histamine: This neurotransmitter plays a major role in activating systems which encourage water intake when dehydration is detected. Functions in the body which consume large quantities of water are cut back, namely the bronchial tubes constricted to cut down on water use in the lungs; increased peristalsis in the bowels to wring more water out of fecal material, and so on. Other signs of histamine’s activity, namely allergies, asthma, depression and chronic pains, are interpreted by the physician as ‘disease’ and treated with anti-histamines, pain-killers (analgesics), etc. Thus the signals of thirst are turned off and the dehydration state continues unabated.

Dyspepsia (heartburn/reflux): Over time, this can lead to ulceration and even cancer. Dr Batmanghelidj recommends that these conditions - also gastritis and duodenitis - be treated with water alone as they are one of the body’s major thirst signals. Arrested in his native Iran by the Revolutionary Council during the troubles of the late 1970’s, Dr B was confined to Evin prison, Tehran, during which time he successfully treated with water alone over three thousand people complaining of dyspeptic pain and associated symptoms.

Digestion: Requires plentiful supplies of water. The stomach relies on mucus lining the walls to shield it from the effects of the stomach’s hydrochloric acid. A bicarbonate solution is produced from the cells in the lining which neutralizes any acid attempting to break through the mucus. Water is needed to maintain this effective defense system. Too little water, and the mucus barrier is ineffectual, the acid will penetrate and will lead to pain. Ideally, water should be consumed half an hour before a meal, in time to anticipate the production of digestive acid from glands in the stomach wall.

Ulcers: Often located at the valve between the stomach and duodenum. Said to be caused by curved bacteria known as helicobacters. Yet many people have helicobacters in their small intestine, yet not all of them suffer from ulcers. Histamine-producing nerves are located at this site, which monitor the through-put of acidic food chyme from the stomach into the intestine. Histamine has growth-hormone effects on these micro-organisms, resulting in small intestine bacterial overgrowths (SIBOs). Once again, an adequate regime of water intake will allow all the functions relating to digestion to normalize. Prolonged water intake should therefore be considered before more drastic drug treatments are entered into.

By Phillip Day
Investigative Journalist & Founder of “The Campaign For Truth In Medicine”

As Featured in Food Matters

Just to give a further idea of the importance of water in our diets, to survive the body can stand to lose the following:

50% of your glucose
50% of your fat
50% of your protein; but
only 20% of your water!

So water is important, but what about the quality of water?

The average suggestion of water consumption per day ranges from 2.5 litres to 4 litres - so it is imperative that we ensure that this water is of the highest quality.

There is a lot of discussion about the merits of alkaline water (particularly in the open publishing medium known as the Internet) - however, regardless of who you listen to regarding this debate there is one thing that is certain:

the process of making making water alkaline increases the purity of the water by filtering out toxins and impurities

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Yoga Breathing To Rejuvenate The Mind, Body, And Spirit

irwanlib2063 — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 11:05:47 +0000

Breath sustains life. While it’s possible to go without food and water for a short period of time, you simply can’t survive without air. And while breath is an essential life-sustaining element, the benefits reach even beyond the continuance of life. When you learn about yoga breathing, the mental, physical and spiritual aspects of living are enhanced in ways you never thought possible.

In the practice of yoga breathing is the bridge that connects the mind, body, and spirit. To experience the full benefits, it’s important to learn about yoga breathing and master the techniques with as much dedication as given to the yoga asanas, or poses.

Breathing Is Powerful

It connects and expands the senses, rejuvenating the body and soul. The diaphragm, the muscle that separates the chest from the abdomen, plays a crucial role in the physical benefits you derive from yoga.

In a relaxed state the diaphragm pushes air upwards from the lungs. As it contracts, it presses into the abdomen and digestive organs. With all the discomforts and stresses in everyday life, we often breathe only from the upper part of our lungs. This type of breathing severely restricts the lung’s ability to function properly - it can no longer gather fresh, renewing oxygen and expel carbon dioxide at peak efficiency.

When this happens, our bodies pay the price. We tire easily, we lack energy, a mental fog descends, and we find our moods shifting towards negativity. However,when you learn about yoga breathing, you’ll find just a few cleansing, deep breaths from the diaphragm will dramatically change all of that. Oxygen floods the body and energizes circulation. As the diaphragm contracts downward, our cells are better able to receive essential nutrients while toxins are released.

Proper breathing also aids digestion and bowel movements as food and waste moves more freely through the digestive tract. The meditative state associated with yoga breathing unites and mental and physical states.

Breathing Is Powerful

With each breath, we become aware of being fully present in “the now”. As our breathing becomes more focused, a connection to the spiritual begins. When the mental and physical combine we are able to observe and simply “let be” without passing judgment. The trivial things that once seemed so significant lose their relevance. Rather than longing for our desires, we feel content. Pressures dissipates and acceptance flows.

Our dreams, needs, and goals are fully within our reach. With every breath, prana, the vital life force, is brought in. If performed properly, yoga breathing allows the life energy to flood our body, which in the process, enhances our our connection and perceptions while improving our physical state.

By Analia Kerner

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Diet Soda Makes You Fat

irwanlib2063 — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 11:10:32 +0000

Diet Soda is seen as an innocuous, harmless beverage that can’t possibly cause any harm to their waistline since it doesn’t have any calories. Think again.

Research published this summer in the medical journal Circulation shows that people who drink more than one soda a day — whether it’s regular or diet — have an almost 50 percent increased risk for metabolic syndrome, which doubles their risk for heart disease and diabetes.

Diet Soda consumed daily in research conducted in Texas. Two years ago, a study at the University of Texas Health Science Center found that there was a 41 percent increase in the risk for being overweight for every single can of diet soda a person consumed daily.

But how can something with no calories increase the risk for obesity and heart disease?

There are several possible ways.

First, my own theory is that the sweet taste works in the brain to create a conditioned response. The body responds as it usually does to normal sugar — with insulin, the fat-storing hormone. Those circuits in the brain are pretty primitive and ancient, and they can’t immediately distinguish chemical fakery. As far as your brain is concerned, sweet means sugar. It’s entirely possible that physiologically, you would respond to aspartame in the same way as you would to table sugar. It’s only a theory, but it makes sense to me.

Second, sugar creates its own cravings. Just as a taste of rum creates an unstoppable craving in an alcoholic, it’s entirely possible that the taste of sweet, even if it’s fake, creates the same cascade of cravings in a carb addict that regular sugar does, leading to overeating and binging and all the rest of the reasons
people put on weight.

Third, many people think that by drinking diet beverages they’re “saving” calories. They subconsciously allow themselves to eat more, figuring it’s not doing as much harm since they’re drinking a diet drink. The diet drink gives them subconscious “permission” to eat more.

What’s worse than making you fat, aspartame may be toxic. Aspartame is made primarily from three ingredients: aspartic acid, phenylalanine and methanol. Methanol, an alcohol, breaks down in the body to formaldehyde, a poison if there ever was one. Apologists for aspartame say that it doesn’t create enough formaldehyde in the body to cause any damage, but I’m not so sure.

Exposing children to formaldehyde levels as low as .75 mg daily for several months has been shown to cause gradual toxicity. Plus, diet soda is frequently stored in hot warehouses, causing chemical breakdowns that went undetected in the original safety studies that looked at “ideal” conditions.

Soda is bad news, whether regular or diet. Period!

Note: Dr. Bowden is a nationally known expert on weight loss, nutrition and health. He’s a board certified nutrition specialist with a Master’s degree in psychology. Dr. Bowden is also a life coach, motivational speaker, former personal trainer and author of the award-winning book, Living the Low Carb Life.

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Muscle Weakness, Fatigue and Heart Problems Caused By Too Much Drinking Cola

Muscle Weakness, Fatigue and Heart Problems Caused By Too Much Drinking Cola

irwanlib2063 — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 10:57:56 +0000

Health News

Muscle Weakness, Fatigue and Heart Problems — Drinking too much cola can increase the risk of a muscle problem called hypokalemia, experts warn.

In people with hypokalemia, a drop in blood potassium levels results in problems with vital muscle functions. Symptoms can range from mild weakness to serious paralysis, say Greek researchers who conducted a review of people who drank between two to nine liters of cola a day.

Muscle Weakness, Fatigue and Heart Problems - Two of the patients were pregnant women who were admitted to hospital with low potassium levels. One was a 21-year-old woman who drank up to three liters of cola a day and complained of fatigue, appetite loss and persistent vomiting. An electrocardiogram revealed she had a heart blockage, and blood tests showed she had low potassium levels, the researchers explained in a news release.

The second pregnant patient, who’d consumed up to seven liters of cola a day for 10 months, had low potassium levels and was suffering from increasing muscular weakness, the researchers noted.

Muscle Weakness, Fatigue and Heart Problems - Both patients made a rapid and full recovery after they stopped drinking cola and took oral or intravenous potassium. The case studies are described in the June issue of the International Journal of Clinical Practice.

“We are consuming more soft drinks than ever before, and a number of health issues have already been identified including tooth problems, bone demineralization and the development of metabolic syndrome and diabetes,” and there’s increasing evidence that excessive cola consumption leads to hypokalemia, Dr. Moses Elisaf, of the University of Ioannina, said in the news release.

Elisaf said the three most common ingredients in cola — glucose, fructose and caffeine — can contribute to hypokalemia.

“The individual role of each of these ingredients in the pathophysiology of cola-induced hypokalemia has not been determined and may vary in different patients,” Elisaf said. “However, in most of the cases we looked at for our review, caffeine intoxication was thought to play the most important role. This has been borne out by case studies that focus on other products that contain high levels of caffeine but no glucose or fructose.”

However, “caffeine-free cola products can also cause hypokalemia because the fructose they contain can cause diarrhea,” Elisaf said.

By Robert Preidt
SOURCE: International Journal of Clinical Practice, news release, May 19, 2009

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Diet Soda Makes You Fat

Are you a Yin or Yang?

irwanlib2063 — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 10:52:18 +0000

We’re constantly told that everything in our life needs balance – play vs. work, exercising vs. relaxing, veggies vs. chocolate and so on. But how important is that balance? As much as we’d all love to indulge in one thing more than another – usually something that’s more pleasurable and doesn’t require much effort – that sadly isn’t the way life works, and indeed it’s also not the way our body works. It all comes down to one thing – balance. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) practitioners believe that our body is created with two opposing sides – the Yin and the Yang or rather, the cold and the hot. When both sides are balanced, your body is a happy mix of energy. If that balance is out of whack, your body will be off track.

Where does the balance come from?

It’s thought that food makes the man, and in this case it could be true. Food gives us more than a wonderful culinary experience; it also provides our bodies with the strength to heal and to correct the balance of Yin and Yang. An imbalance in Yin and Yang energies creates a number of problems, including pain, insomnia, tumors, blood loss and a whole host of irritating and often frustrating ailments. But with the right foods (either rich in cooling or heating elements) this imbalance can be corrected preventing illness, lessening pain and giving you a much longer, healthier life. Now, when we’re talking about Yin and Yang foods (or cold and hot foods), it’s not about the temperature of the food, but rather the effect the food has on the body. Cold foods provide less energy, and help to balance the hot foods. Hot foods, on the other hand, are high in calories and energy and can be used to treat general weakness.

How do you balance everything?

When you’re suffering and shivering in cold conditions, you’ll probably be more likely to eat foods that are warm in flavor (and temperature) – think of all those wonderful soupy dishes you crave on a cold day. You’re also more likely to avoid cold and raw foods. So just what will warm you up? Anything with a spice like nutmeg, mustard, peppers, ginger, curry and black peppers are considered hot. Warmer foods are coffee, chicken, cuttlefish, garlic, green onions, guava, organ meats, rosemary, seeds and nuts, and of course, wine. In hot climates, such as in Singapore or during the Shanghai summer, you are likely to want cooler foods to ward off anxiety, hemorrhoids, fever, and even insomnia. Head towards foods like bamboo shoots, clams, crabs, grapefruit, kelp, watermelons, most green leafy vegetables, pears, and generally most fruits, to keep cool when things heat up. There are neutral foods too, that you can eat in any condition and any climate. Just add healthy doses of apricots, beets, black fungus, Chinese cabbage, carp, chicken eggs, corn, figs, lotus and papayas to your diet to keep things varied and interesting.

Knowing Your Yin/Yang Body Type

It’s believed that each person is categorized into different body types. Your body’s metabolism and organ functions will determine how it reacts with the environment.

The Yin or Cold Type: These people tend to be frailer and feel cold easily. They’re the ones you’ll spot drinking hot soups and steaming mugs of coffee or hot chocolate. Notice the quiet, fair-skinned person in the corner? They’re likely to be the Yin type. If you get the chance (although I’m not sure how), you’ll also find that their tongue appears pink and bulky with a whitish coating.
Yang or Hot Type: That hot-tempered insomniac you know; he could be a Yang type. They’re often sturdily built and feel warm. They’ll pick a nice cold drink anytime and have a slightly reddish complexion. If there’s a change in temperatures (usually when it starts getting hot), they’ll be the first to feel it. If you look at their tongues, it’ll appear red with a yellowish coating.
Phlegm or Damp Type: Sweet foods are what attract the damp type the most, and they tend to feel tired and sleepy during the day while snoring down the house at night. Armed with low metabolic rates, they’re more prone to being overweight or bloated due to water retention. They may look fat, but really they’re just lethargic. Their tongue looks moist and bulky, often with a greasy coating.
Dry type: If you’ve got a friend that drinks like there’s no tomorrow because they are always thirsty, they could be the dry type. Watch out for the one who always has a cough, is skinny like a stick and doesn‘t put on weight easily. Because of the dryness they feel, they tend to have itchier skins, nose or eyes and constipation, and will be the first to get affected by low levels of humidity.
Neutral type: There are some lucky ones who are in between – a nice balance of everything. They’re healthy with a normal skin color, get enough food and sleep and don’t feel hot or cold easily. Needless to say, they’ve probably got the best-looking tongue among the lot.

With all of this information, you should know one size doesn’t fit all. Some people can be a mix of a few different types not fit neatly into a category. When you’re planning your diet, consider talking to your doctor or your TCM practitioner for their best advice, so you’ll be able to get the right balance for your health.

Edited by Lisa Rochester, based on an article by By Deborah Giam; The Living Room.

Delay Heart Attack, Diabetes and Cancer with Cane-Fu Fighting

irwanlib2063 — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 07:08:58 +0000

Found this interesting articles and would like to share with the regular member and visitor of Powerhealths.com

Senior centers and retirement communities are looking for new ways to promote exercise in order to stave off physical decline.

CANE FU…NOT KUNG FU evolved out of a regular aerobics class, not only imparts self-defense techniques, but also develops flexibility, strength and balance.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than one-third of adults aged 65 and older fall each year. Of those who fall, between 20 percent and 30 percent suffer moderate to severe injuries.

Older adults are hospitalized for fall-related injuries five-times more often than they are for injuries from other causes.

The good news is there are different exercise programs that may reduce an elderly person’s risk for falling.

BENEFITS OF EXERCISE FOR SENIORS:

There are many benefits of exercise for seniors. Some of these include:

Delaying diseases such as heart attacks, diabetes and cancer
Improving balance, mobility and flexibility
Increasing energy levels
Improving sleep

CANE FU…NOT KUNG FU! There’s a new exercise trend among senior citizens who use canes to get around. It’s called “Cane Fu,” and it’s a combination of aerobic training and self-defense.

Instructors teach participants how to perform self-defense moves like breaking a choke-hold with a cane. The class also helps participants improve their balance and coordination.

Sheldon S. Zinberg, M.D., President and Founding Chairman of Nifty After Fifty, said: “It actually produces improved balance, improved mobility and a sense of self-confidence and security.”

In a review conducted by 1,428 members, Cane Fu, along with other training classes, reduced falls by 89-percent and fractures by 85-percent when compared to CDC statistics.

THE CANE AS A WEAPON: Instructors say any kind of cane is fine for self-defense, including aluminum canes or the wooden canes make of pine, which are available at drugstores. They say the best are hardwood canes made of hickory or oak, which don’t easily break on impact. The cane has a rich history as a weapon. A number of 19th century canings at the Capitol included a brutal 1856 attack on the Senate floor by South Carolina Rep. Preston Brooks on abolitionist Massachusetts Sen. Charles Sumner.

For More Information, Contact:
Sheldon S. Zinberg, M.D.
Chairman and President
Nifty After Fifty
(714) 823-4400
Sheldon.zinberg@niftyafterfifty.com
http://www.niftyafterfifty.com

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Best that Nature Has to Offer - Gifts From GOD!

irwanlib2063 — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 11:03:13 +0000

By Irwan Lee

Found this very interesting old article from my mailbox and it is worth to share with the world…
The author of this article is unknown…

More findings are added and the article has been revised to proper English.

God is an amazing creator!
He puts lots of thought onto his design of the universe…
If we just look closely the miraculous of his designs and how he communicates with us through his design!
God left us a great clue as to what foods help which part of our body!

Are these coincidences or are these true? Read more…

A sliced Carrot looks like human eyes. The pupil, an iris and radiating lines of the human eye… Research shows that carrots greatly enhance blood flow and function of the eyes.
Goji berry looks like droplet of blood and tears. A sliced goji berry looks like an eye with lots of seed similar to blood platelets. The goji berry contains key nutrients for healthy vision: Antioxidant vitamins A-C-E, Zinc, Zeaxanthin and Lutein, Beta-carotene and lycopene, Magnesium & Selenium, Riboflavin (vitamin B2), and Phenolics. It also helps reversed the blood acidity to alkalinity.
A sliced Kiwi fruit looks like human eyes. The pupil, an iris and radiating lines of the human eye. Kiwi fruit is rich in antioxidants (Vitamin C & E) and carotenoids (Beta carotenes, Lutein & Xanthophylls). Lutein is known as important compounds to prevent of Age-Related Macular Degeneration leading cause of irreversible blindness.
A sliced Tomato has four chambers and red. Human heart is red and has four chambers. Tomato contains Lycopene that acts as an inhibitor to heart disease and the most abundant carotenoid in the blood serum, act as antioxidant to prevent Age-Related Macular Degeneration.
Pomegranate fruit has lots of seeds looks like the blood platelets. They are rich in heart healthy antioxidants, they also help to keep platelets from clumping together to form dangerous blood clots.
Grapes hang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart. Each grape resemblance a blood cell Research shows that grapes are also profound heart and blood vitalizing food.
A Walnut looks like a brain: a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums. Even the wrinkles or folds are on the nut just like the neo-cortex. Walnuts contain high concentration of omega-3 fats that help to develop over 3 dozen neuron-transmitters for brain function.
Kidney Beans look exactly like the human kidneys. Kidney beans heal and help maintain kidney function
Celery, Bok Choy & Rhubarb look like bones and are excellent source of calcium. These foods are 23% sodium similar to bone. If you don’t have enough sodium in your diet the body pulls it from the bones, making them weak. These foods replenish and strengthen the bones.
Eggplant, Avocadoes and Pears look like the uterus (womb and cervix). Consuming 1 avocado a week helps balancing hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight and prevents cervical cancers. And how profound is this? …. It takes exactly 9 months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit. There are over 14,000 photolytic chemical constituents of nutrition in each one of these foods.
Hang in twos when they grow (look like testicles) and flush with seeds, from 30 to 1,600 per fruit, the fig is a symbol of fertility in Mediterranean cultures. Figs rich in zinc, folic acid and other essential minerals necessary for increasing sperm count and the motility of the sperm.
Olives and ovaries look alike. Olives assist the health and function of the ovaries.
Bean sprouts looks like sperm. Bean sprouts are rich in vitamin C, E, Folate, Potassium, Zinc and Iron. Vitamin E and Zinc increase the production of healthy sperm count while Vitamin C and Zinc increase the sperm mobility. Zinc and essential fatty acids are vital to healthy functioning of the male reproductive system.
Sweet Potatoes look like the pancreas which secretes hormones that affect the level of sugar in the blood (balancing the glycemic index). Sweet Potatoes have low glycemic index and are very good blood sugar regulator that help to stabilize and lower insulin resistance.
Sweet Potatoes also look like the stomach. Sweet Potatoes help to promote a healthy digestive tract, relieving constipation and also helps prevent colon cancer.
Brussels sprouts resemblance a cancer cell. Brussels sprouts are very high in fiber, rich in vitamin C, beta-carotene (vitamin A), and nitrogen compounds phytochemicals called indoles which may reduce the risk of cancers.
Onions resemblance body cells. Onions are a significant source of antioxidants that help neutralize the effects of free radicals, which cause cellular damage in the body. Slicing an onion ruptures the cell walls and releases the compounds thiopropanal sulfoxide which has antimicrobial and its ability to make us cry. Tears cleanse the epithelial layers of the eyes.
Grapefruits, Oranges, and other Citrus fruits look just like the mammary glands. Citrus family contains flavonoid and limonene that assist the health of the breasts and the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts.

Click here to download the slide presentation (PPT Format) of Best that Nature Has to Offer - Gifts From GOD!oing Bananas to Reduce Heart Disease and Boost Up Energy

Now you know the great benefits of fruits and vegetables, to eat them more fun and to easily digest it. you can always mix them as a fruit juice.

Coffee: Benefits to your health?

irwanlib2063 — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 11:00:53 +0000

By Irwan Lee

What was bad news is now good news for coffee lovers. Earlier findings showed that coffee might raise the risk of major diseases and linked to everything from headaches to cancer. However new research published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, of more than 100,000 coffee lovers, including 84,000 women showed that women who drank two or three cups of coffee a day were 25 percent less likely to die of heart disease (the number one killer for women). Coffee drinkers were also found 18 percent less likely to die from something other than cancer or heart disease.

Latest research shows that the coffee habit may actually help you live longer, reduce your risk of premature death, protects you from other ailments. According to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, people over 65 who drank four or more cups of coffee a day had a 53 percent lower risk of heart disease than non-coffee-drinkers. It may also lower the risk of type 2 diabetes, protect your brain against Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease, gallstones and fight against liver and colon cancer by filtering out pollutants and keeping your digestive system running smoothly.

Why a sudden findings change? Simply because most early studies focused on caffeine, and some – such as those studies that show female coffee-drinkers had a higher risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis (RA) than non-drinkers – failed to account for other risk factors, such as smoking, diet or alcohol consumption. Latest research is looking beyond caffeine to evaluate other substances in coffee, including antioxidants and other substances that provide health benefits to help protect cells in the body against damage.

A recent study by Joe A. Vinson, a chemistry professor at the University of Scranton -Pennsylvania, it was found that Antioxidants in a cup of coffee, regardless of whether or not your coffee is caffeinated, are quantitatively superior source of antioxidants to those in a typical serving of grapes, dates, blueberries, raspberries, and oranges. Coffee may be the primary source of antioxidants as we simply consume more coffee than any other source of antioxidants.

“Because Americans drink so much coffee, they get more of their antioxidants from coffee than from any other dietary source. Nothing else comes close,” says Joe Vinson.

They concluded that the average adult consumes 1,299 mg antioxidants daily from coffee. The closest second largest source was tea at 294 mg. The next highest source was bananas at 76 mg, dry beans at 72 mg and corn at 48 mg, the typical adult American.

It does not mean that one should stop eating fruits and vegetable which, of course, have a much higher nutritional value; higher content of vitamins, minerals and fiber. Sadly to say that the Americans do not eat enough fruits and vegetables but rather in the average they drink 1.64 cups of coffee daily coffee is the largest source of antioxidants according to the Agriculture Department.

Overall, the decision to consume coffee should be based on your personal health profile. Drink accordingly. Also, keep in mind that, like any other herb or other substance you might consume, dosage is very important. Few people will be especially bothered by one or two cups of coffee, however, on the negative sides, coffee can cause a number of problems for susceptible individuals, particularly for those gulping down in large doses per day.