Eating Berries Benefits the Brain

Mar. 7, 2012 — Strong scientific evidence exists that eating blueberries, blackberries, strawberries and other berry fruits has beneficial effects on the brain and may help prevent age-related memory loss and other changes, scientists report. 

Their new article on the value of eating berry fruits appears in ACS' Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.In the article, Barbara Shukitt-Hale, Ph.D., and Marshall G. Miller point out that longer lifespans are raising concerns about the human toll and health care costs of treating Alzheimer's disease and other forms of mental decline. They explain that recent research increasingly shows that eating berry fruits can benefit the aging brain. To analyze the strength of the evidence about berry fruits, they extensively reviewed cellular, animal and human studies on the topic.

Their review concluded that berry fruits help the brain stay healthy in several ways. Berry fruits contain high levels of antioxidants, compounds that protect cells from damage by harmful free radicals. The two also report that berry fruits change the way neurons in the brain communicate. These changes in signaling can prevent inflammation in the brain that contribute to neuronal damage and improve both motor control and cognition. They suggest that further research will show whether these benefits are a result of individual compounds shared between berry fruits or whether the unique combinations of chemicals in each berry fruit simply have similar effects.

Story Source:

The above story is based on materials provided by American Chemical Society. 

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

Journal Reference:

Marshall G. Miller, Barbara Shukitt-Hale. Berry Fruit Enhances Beneficial Signaling in the Brain. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 2012; : 120203155528007 DOI: 10.1021/jf2036033

 MLA 

American Chemical Society (2012, March 7). Eating berries benefits the brain. ScienceDaily.

The risks of high blood cholesterol

Looking at new views on the importance of blood lipid levels, especially the so-called bad cholesterol (LDL) and triglycerides, which question the validity of treatments intended to control dislipidemia, certain clarifications seem to be important.

My view is of a patient, a patient with proved organic tendency to exaggerated levels of cholesterol and the burden of atheromas, that diminishes my possibilities of a full and healthy life.

Some people questioned and denie the validity of anti-cholesterol treatments, especially those using statins. They are called "the deceitfulness of statin" or "statins scam".

Given this two clarifications.

There are many scientific studies that support the relationship between some types of blood cholesterol and the risk of heart problems, by the narrowing of the coronary arteries (due to the formation of atheroma).

An important amount of work tested the effectiveness of statins in the control of blood cholesterol levels.

As a seemingly opposite I mention the importance of inflammatory processes, especially at arterial walls level, in the formation of atheromatous plaques. This fact is also scientifically proved and is of great importance, so that, without inflammation of the vascular endothelium atheromas will nopt appear. Therefore it seems reasonable to require technical advise on substances that indicate the presence of inflammatory processes.

Independently and without reference to the critical importance of cholesterol, scientists have been working on the revision of the test parameters that should be used to assess the risk of coronary artery and other vascular problems. In this regard, new ways to measure lipid levels in blood and the introduction of measuring the presence of calcium in the arterial wall, appear to be of great importance.

It therefore seems relevant or necessary, rather than denying, to provide new tests and new treatments, according to a different approach about the results of routine laboratory tests, appears to be the way.

As a final note, it has been shown that statins improve endothelial dysfunction, are anti-inflammatory, antiproteolytic, antithrombogenic and furthermore, inhibit the new plaque formation and stabilize the existing ones.

So, being an avowed opponent of the trade policies of many pharmaceutical companies and a fervent promoter of herbal treatment, but with an atheromatous plaque in the left carotid artery and another in the external iliac artery, Should I say, after years of successful control, "Statins are a hoax, are scams, I stop taking them"? And to
who I would claim later, from a wheelchair or from ....?

Natural Products Could Be as Effective as Synthetic Drugs, Although the Odds Are Low

Feb. 5, 2013 — In a first-ever comprehensive study of 124 natural product combinations, a team of researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Tsinghua University, led by Professor Chen Yu Zong from the 

Department of Pharmacy at the NUS Faculty of Science, found that certain combinations of natural products can be as effective as human-made drugs in acting against specific disease processes. However, the chances of finding the

effective combination of natural products could be as low as below 3 per cent.

Natural product combinations as potent as human-made drugs

Published in PLOS ONE in November 2012, the research showed that active ingredients in combinations of natural products can achieve the same level of potency as synthetic anticancer and antibacterial drugs but they have to be taken in larger quantities or for a longer period of time. These combinations include traditional Chinese medicine such as the Realgar-Indigo naturalis formula designed for the treatment of leukemia, Wedelia chinensis for anti-inflammatory purposes and black tea used in Japan for the treatment of gastroenteritis.

Through an analysis of more than 1,601 previous studies conducted on natural products and 190 human-made drugs, the researchers found that natural products are generally 10 to 100 times weaker than human-made drugs. They concluded that combinations of natural products can achieve the same strength as human-made drugs, but with current traditional practices, the odds are low.

Prof Chen said, "There have been claims that natural products simply have a placebo effect. In our study, we looked at more than 100 types of natural product combinations that are perceived to be the best and found that it is possible for natural products to achieve the same effectiveness as human-made drugs. However, the probability of finding such combinations based on traditional methods is low (below 3 per cent) as the natural products have to be of sufficient potency and taken in the right combination."

Next steps for research on natural products

The findings from this research provide a foundation for further studies on the clinical effectiveness of herbal medicine and how a combination of natural products and synthetic drugs can be taken together to fight diseases.

The team will continue to conduct more research in this area, in particular, to determine how to achieve the same level of effectiveness for natural products as synthetic drugs. Their research will focus on popular herbal products and frequently prescribed traditional medicine.

National University of Singapore (2013, February 5). Natural products could be as effective as synthetic drugs, although the odds are low. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 28, 2013, 

from http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2013/02/130205101156.htm