Monday, November 4, 2013

Add the best natural anti-inflammatory to your diet

Inflammation is the human body’s attempt to protect itself. It is simply a biological response of the body to remove harmful substances; this includes pathogens, irritants or damaged cells. But in a lot of the cases this may go bad and can even be the cause of severe illness and health issues. An anti-inflammatory is a substance that reduces such inflammation i.e. redness, swelling or warmth. There are numerous natural substances that have these attributes and are very good for you as well. As these do not cause any side effects, unlike their synthetic and strong counterparts.

Following is the list of the best natural anti-inflammatory that can easily be added to your diet. Generally a diet that delivers an abundance of fruits and vegetables helps prevent inflammation in the body. 
  • Fruits: Regarded as one of the best natural anti-inflammatory, because they are rich in carotenoids and anti-inflammatory flavonoids. Brightly colored fruits like berries, oranges, pink grapefruit, plum, pomegranates, peaches, nectarines, red grapes, apples plums, cherries and pears are very good to add to the daily diet.
  • Vegetables: Dark leafy green vegetables that have been lightly cooked are rich in anti-inflammatory and antioxidant attributes too. Such as broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, collards, cabbage, onions, squashes, peas, beets and carrots. Even raw salad greens that are simply washed and eaten are good for this purpose.
  • Kelp: These are known to have fucoidan, with is a complex type of carbohydrate- which is a super anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor. Kelps are high in fiber so they slow down the process of fat absorption too thereby helping in weight loss. Make sure you eat only the organic variety though- that is free chemicals. Kelps like aroma, wakame, kombu and Limu moui are great sources of fucoidan.
  • Spices: One must add spice to every meal of the day, they are one of the best natural anti-inflammatory’s. These are more effective and far safer than the hard drugs that people usually have to reduce inflammation. Some spices that possess this quality are ginseng, garlic, red hot peppers, ginger, turmeric and curcumin.
  • Legumes: These are low glycemic foods that are full of magnesium, potassium, soluble fiber and folate. Some legumes that must be consumed for this purpose are soy nuts, edamame, tempeh, tofu and even soy milk. These give the body isoflavones that along with protects an antioxidant the body against cancer.
  • Essential Fats: Having at least 5-6 servings of Omega 3 fatty acids per day and other healthy fats is very important. Some sources of healthy fats that can be added to the diet are Chia seeds, flax seeds, algae, nuts, and phytoplankton. Flax seeds are rich in alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) which is an omega 3 fatty acid with potent anti-inflammatory properties. Soy products, walnuts, vegetables, fruits, wheat germ and beans are also all rich in ALA. Black currant, hemp, evening primrose and borage are rich in gamma-linolenic acid or GLA; which is also a natural fatty acid.
  • Tea: Yes, tea too is known to be one of the best natural anti-inflammatory’s; oolong teas, green tea and white tea all have catechins, which have the qualities to reduce inflammation.
  • Dark chocolate: Chocolate that has 70% cocoa or higher is a good anti-inflammatory too. But this must be eaten sparingly.
  • Mushrooms: These have compounds that aid in increasing the immune system of the body. They should always be cooked and then eaten, some good ones to be eaten for this purpose are enokidake, shiitake, oyster and Maitake.

All these are great natural ways to reduce inflammation and are far safer and better for the body than the strong drugs that are commonly recommended by doctors.


Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Get Joint Relief with Antioxidant Juice

Antioxidants, what are they
We define antioxidants as all those substances capable of interfering with the chemical reactions of oxidation that give rise to so-called free radicals.

Free radicals are constantly produced as a result of normal metabolic processes and some immune reactions, and can damage cellular structures (including the genetic material) and alter the operation of important biological molecules (for example proteins).

To counter the action as they are released, the body has at its disposal a number of defense mechanisms: certain chemical compounds, partly synthesized inside and partly in the diet, and some specialized enzymatic systems.

When the production of free radicals exceeds the capabilities of these protective systems, it is said that the body is exposed to a condition of oxidative stress.

How to act
Given that the damage caused by free radicals derived from a variety of chain chemical reactions triggered by them, the different antioxidants intervene at different levels of the chain of reactions, blocking its progression.

Among the antioxidant compounds that the organism synthesizes individually there are some products of metabolism, such as glutathione, the ubiquinol (or coenzyme Q) and uric acid, and the hormone melatonin.

Among food and Juice the antioxidants are:

ascorbic acid or vitamin C;
tocopherols (a family of eight compounds to which also belongs the vitamin E);
carotenoids (beta-carotene, lutein, zeaxanthin, cryptoxanthin, lycopene) and vitamin A;
some polyphenolic compounds (flavonoids, resvetarolo);
some trace elements (selenium, copper, manganese, zinc) essential for the functioning of the antioxidant enzyme systems of the organism.
Most of the food is sourced antioxidants in plant foods (vegetables, fruits, grains, legumes, seeds, cocoa, tea, coffee, red wine).

Cranberries antioxidant juice.

One of the most potent antioxidant juice is Cranberries which are a rich source of antioxidants. A recent study found that:

Cranberries are full of antioxidants and should be eaten more often than most other types of fruits due to their concentration of antioxidants. Studies show that cranberries have more antioxidants than most of the popular fruits eaten in the grocery stores.

Other studies also blueberries rank as a leader in content of phenolic compounds.  Antioxidants have been shown in studies in preventive measures for heart disease as well as some types of cancer.

Effects on health
There is no doubt that the oxidizing compounds may have adverse biological effects and that the systems endogenous and exogenous antioxidants help to counteract such damages.

It was also observed that diets rich in foods containing antioxidants seem to have a protective role against pathological conditions possibly related to oxidative stress.

One such antioxidant juice that has 13 super fruits packed with antioxidants is Jusuru. Find out more about how 4 oz of Jusuru a day can help to relieve your joints naturally here.