Several studies in recent years have linked the powerful compounds of spinach to far more than muscle strength. Though Popeye may have popularized the plant as a nutritious, muscle-building food, he didn’t tell us it was useful for cancer prevention and treatment.

According to NaturalNews, one study from Harvard Medical Center found a connection between the intake of flavonoids and lowered risk of ovarian cancer. Of some 67,000 women surveyed over a period of 14 years, those with the greatest intake of flavonoids (found highly concentrated in spinach) were 40% less likely to develop ovarian cancer—a disease that killed about 15,000 U.S. women in 2004 despite about $2.2 billion spent on it annually.

Also from Harvard, apigenin was identified as the flavanoid with the most anti-ovarian cancer powers. Apigenin concentration is highest in spinach and parsley, and is also found in celery.

For prostate health, spinach offers similar benefits. Published in the Journal of Nutrition, one study found that a carotenoid called neoxanthin induces prostate cancer cell death. It also prevents their reproduction. This year alone, the American Cancer Society estimates more than 238,000 men will be newly diagnosed with prostate cancer and nearly 30,000 will die.

And if ovarian and prostate cancer fighting wasn’t enough—there is evidence that spinach can similarly protect against breast cancer.

As reported by Natural News:

“Researchers at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences studied the correlation between breast cancer risk and diets high in beta carotene and vitamin A. They found that eating spinach and carrots more than twice weekly compared to not eating them at all was associated with an odds ratio of .56. This means that the risk of having breast cancer was reduced by 44% in the women who consumed spinach and carrots. (Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention, November, 1997)”

Antioxidant nutrients are important for limiting damaging oxidative reactions in cells, which may predispose to the development of conditions like heart disease and cancer. Add to these cancer-fighting benefits the fact that spinach is good for your eyesight, your waistline, and your brain health, and you’ve got a superfood for sure. Add it to salads, wraps, and green smoothies to get the most potent, raw benefits.

Alzheimer’s disease is scary—for those who have it, for those with a loved one who has it, and for those who are concerned they might get it in the future. Confusion, delusions, and loss of memory are frightening and stressful, to put it mildly. But, there are growing signs that Alzheimer’s disease can largely be prevented through diet. While coconut oil is seen as a miracle solution for Alzheimer’s, other foods like apples can also be highly beneficial.

Dr. Shea has been researching the benefits of apples for years, culminating with a study on humans and the effects of apples in Alzheimer’s in 2006. In that study, 21 participants with Alzheimer’s disease were given just four ounces of apple juice twice a day for thirty days. The results on the 72 to 93-year olds was remarkable.

The research found that drinking apple juice only three times a week could reduce your risk of the disease by a whopping 75%.

Dr. Shea commented that “These findings provide further evidence linking nutritional and genetic risk factors for age-related neurodegeneration and suggest that regular consumption of apple juice can not only help to keep one’s mind functioning at its best, but may also be able to delay key aspects of Alzheimer’s disease and augment therapeutic approaches.”

Participants experienced improved memory and decreased negative moods associated with Alzheimer’s disease. The effects are comparable with the benefits obtained from a popular Alzheimer’s drug—but without the side effects.

“The findings of the present study show that consumption of antioxidant-rich foods such as apples and apple juice can help reduce problems associated with memory loss,” said Shea.

The antioxidants and flavonoids within apples are credited with the brain-health benefits. These compounds protect the brain from inflammation and damage by free-radicals. Just two apples a day increases the amount of acetylcholine in the brain—responsible for movement and sensory perception. In addition, regular apple consumption reduces the accumulation of a toxin called beta-amyloid, frequently blamed for the development of Alzheimer’s.

Before you go out and drop your money on any-old apples, however, take heed: not all apples are created equal. Apples are some of the most highly pesticide-treated fruits there are. So, purchase organic apples whenever possible. Don’t purchase the pasteurized juice hoping to stave off Alzheimer’s disease either. If you want juice, juice the apples yourself and only make enough to drink in a single sitting.

Additional Sources:

ScienceDaily

The Numerous Benefits of Activated Charcoal

Charcoal is “activated” because it is made to have a very small particle size. This increases its overall surface area and absorptive capacity. Activated charcoal is produced by adding acid and steam to carbonaceous materials such as wood, coal, rye starch, or coconut shells. To understand just how effective this substance is at absorbing toxins, one standard 50-gram dose of activated charcoal has the surface area of 10 football fields. It also encourages bowel movements, so it can help to rid the body of toxins rather quickly.

Hippocrates, the Greek physician considered the father of natural medicine, used activated carbon to cure many patients. Activated charcoal (also referred to simply as carbon) has been called black magic because of it’s color and healing abilities. Carbon:

• Has a negative ionic charge that attracts the positive ionic charges of toxins and poisons causing them to bind to the charcoal. They are then surreptitiously escorted out of the body via the eliminative channel of the intestines.

• Removes heavy metals like lead and aluminum.

• Deodorizes foul smells.

• Removes symptoms of traveler’s diarrhea.

• Reduces ulcers in the stomach.

• Can be used as a toothpaste to whiten teeth and eliminate foul breath since it kills bacteria.

• Reduces gas from eating beans and other gaseous foods.

• Eliminate many micro-organisms and chlorine from drinking or bath water.

• Removes pharmaceutical toxins from the body. This includes aspirin overdose, accidental household toxin ingestion, and heavy metals. It has been used for hundreds of years in cases of food poisoning. Ancient Egyptians used activated carbon as did the Native Americans.

• Removes parasites and bacteria from the body. This includes bugs that cause everything from a stuffy nose to more invasive parasites.

• Removes fungal toxins.

Those with Crohn’s disease or irritable bowel syndrome need to prepare their activated charcoal a little differently, or use it externally, as a poultice, instead of mixing it with water and drinking it or taking it in pill form.

Their research was performed on mice who were predisposed to obesity. Half of the mice were given apples and the other half were not. Both groups had identical calories, sugar, and fiber amounts in their diet, but, at the end of the study, those in the apple group saw less incidence of heart disease as well as overall health improvements.

A similar study published in the Journal of Functional Foods, this one on humans, found that eating apples every day could reduce hardening of the arteries. Study participants ate one apple daily for a period of four weeks, finding that the intake reduced oxidation of LDL (commonly referred to as “bad” cholesterol). By stopping oxidation, the arteries avoid developing plaque associated with heart disease. As a matter of fact, participants with established coronary artery disease (CAD) who were put on the apple regimen were able to reverse their arterial damage.

Similar benefits were reproduced with capsules containing active polyphenols, though the results didn’t last as long. The researchers went so far as to say that these polyphenols derived from apples are “significantly more effective at lowering oxidized LDL than other antioxidants studied, including the spice-based compound curcumin, green tea and tomato extract.”

This doesn’t mean that you should stop drinking green tea or using turmeric (the spice where curcumin is found), because these foods have a wealth of benefits. However, you may want to take the age-old advice of eating an “apple a day” to help keep your heart healthy.

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If a fruit’s shape has anything to do with its health benefits, it should be no surprise that apples are good for your heart. And in this day and age—when heart disease is the number one killer of Americans, we need all the help we can get. If preventing heart disease is as simple as an “apple a day”, everyone should be partaking of this fruit basket staple.

Heart disease risk increases as the health of your diet decreases. Meaning, the more processed your diet, the greater your risk of being diagnosed with heart disease or even cancer. Processed, unnatural foods don’t only lead to cholesterol oxidation and the resulting hardening of the arteries, but they take the place of healing foods—like apples.

Additional Sources:

NaturalNews.com/030348

According to a press release on the Target official website, the initial roll-out will include a selection of foods that are 40% organic and the majority of them will not contain GMOs. GMOs will be completely absent from the ingredients within the next year and a half.

This, they say, is in an effort to align with the “increasing demand for healthy food products at a great price.” The Simply Balanced brand will also exclude other harmful ingredients while striving to provide consumers with a natural and affordable store-brand option.

Read: Bhutan To Be First Country to Go 100% Organic

The Simply Balanced collection is crafted to be free of artificial flavors, colors and preservatives, and avoids high fructose corn syrup. The collection never uses trans fats, is mindful about the amount of sodium in each product, and forty percent of the products are organic – giving guests more of the simple, recognizable ingredients they know and want – and a food label they can understand.

As a wellness brand built on purity and simplicity, Simply Balanced products exclude 105 common food additive ingredients, and the vast majority of the items within the collection are made without GMOs. As part of Target’s commitment to wellness, the Simply Balanced collection will eliminate all GMOs by the end of 2014.  

In all, there will be nearly 250 products carrying the brand name, ranging in price from $1 for water to $14.99 for seafood products. Snacks, pasta, drinks, dairy, cereal, and frozen seafood will all be included in the lineup.

This brand is replacing two subsets of the current store-brand Archer Farms: Archer Farms Simply Balanced and Archer Farms Organic. The store will begin rolling out the new products this month.

As consumers continue to voice their opinions with the almighty dollar, corporations have no choice but to respond accordingly. Continue supporting businesses that provide organic, local, and GMO-free products and urge local stores to carry more of these options.

1.   GMO seeds are sterile. FALSE. However, GMO seeds have been called suicide seeds or terminator seeds because they have an approximate termination date so that farmers have to keep purchasing new seed from the companies that make them, like Monsanto. This, in turn, allows those companies to maintain a monopoly on the world food supply. Once all our major crops are sewn with patented seeds with specific termination dates, Monsanto and its cohorts will be able to collect royalties just like Michael Jackson’s family does on the song ‘Thriller.’

2.   GMO foods taste as good or better than organics. FASLE. Most people can taste the difference between an organic apple and a poison one. Even squirrels can taste the difference in organic vs. non-organic food.

3.   Monsanto can sue farmers who grow organic crops but later grow ‘contaminated’ or GMO cross-bred plants – FALSE. However, organic farmers recently lost a federal court battle with Monsanto when they tried to sue the company for contaminating their organic fields.  The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a previous ruling that found ‘organic growers had no reason to try to block Monsanto from suing them as the company had pledged it would not take them to court if biotech crops accidentally mix in with organics.” This still makes Monsanto-crops a concern for farmers who don’t trust that Monsanto will be good for their word. Monsanto, is after all, suing farmers who save seed, claiming they are violating patents.

4.   You can keep bio-tech seeds and organic or heirloom seeds separate. FALSE. Mother nature will always blend seed. Wind, rain, storms, bees, etc. can’t be controlled. Recently two organic farmers in Australia talked about how easily their crops were cross-contaminated with GMO seed after a big storm. The more GMO seed that is planted, the more acreage it covers, the more we need to worry about a non-GMO seed supply.

5.   We need GMO seed to feed the world. FALSE. Consider this statement from 24 delegates from 18 African countries who addressed the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, “We strongly object that the image of the poor and hungry from our countries is being used by giant multinational corporations to push a technology that is neither safe, environmentally friendly nor economically beneficial to us. We do not believe that such companies or gene technologies will help our farmers to produce the food that is needed in the 21st century. On the contrary, we think it will destroy the diversity, the local knowledge and the sustainable agricultural systems that our farmers have developed for millennia, and that it will thus undermine our capacity to feed ourselves.”

Also consider one March, 2012 report by Anthony Gucciardi that reveals over 900 scientists working under the United Nations were forced to admit that traditional farming actually outperformed GMO crops following their research.

6.   GMO foods are good for our health. FALSE. There is so much proof in this department, it is insulting that Monsanto would tell us otherwise. The French have proven GMO causes cancer. Other scientific research proves that GMOs cause birth-defects and miscarriage. GMO corn has been linked to organ failure. The list of genetically modified food’s damaging effects is long, and the evidence is continually mounting against it. GMO even changes our DNA via interference with our micro RNA!

7.   GMO foods are good for the planet. FALSE. Billions of dollars have been spent to convince us that GMO seed is good for the planet, but the real science tells a different story. It hurts the planet, wildlife and even microorganisms.

Do you have other myths about GMO foods you want to debunk? Please comment on them with appropriate links below.

There’s a reason restaurants that once only served iceberg now have spinach salads on the menu, and it’s because more people became aware of just how good these leaves really are. Popeye knew it could help boost muscular strength, and research has even found the green veggie to prevent vision loss and protect against macular degeneration. In addition to all of the health benefits, spinach is versatile in the kitchen, reasonably cheap, and easy to grow. So, with new and more obscure greens popping up—don’t forget about the spinach.

What makes spinach so great?

Let’s start with its anti-inflammatory properties. The phytonutrients within spinach are both anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer. Inflammation being a risk factor for cancer means that spinach can help protect the body at a cellular level from life-long disease. An early study in the late 1990′s showed a decreased risk of breast cancer among women with the greatest intake of spinach. Similarly, extracts from spinach used in lab experiments have been found to slow down cancer cell division.

Even when not related to cancer, inflammation can have dire health effects which spinach can help protect against. Heart health, brain function, and inflammatory diseases like arthritis may all be positively affected by the active phytonutrients in this leafy green.

Vitamin K is another positive component within spinach, with the veggie containing a whopping 181% of your recommended daily allowance of vitamin K in 180 grams of spinach leaves. What does vitamin K do? It’s beneficial to bone health on a few different fronts, and is also needed to proper blood clotting. Here are 5 vitamin K deficiency symptoms.

Spinach has been around for ages, used in traditional Ayurvedic medicine throughout. In that field of healing, it’s seen as a headache remedy and a way to better your complexion. It’s even used as a remedy for insomnia.

Raw spinach is a great way to reap benefits, but know that raw spinach contains something called oxalic acid. Oxalic acid can be damaging to blood vessels and can negatively impact people with arthritis and gout. Boiling the spinach can reduce oxalic acid while also allowing you to eat more (because spinach wilts so much with cooking).

Whether you have it in a salad or on the side of your meal, spinach is a superfood that deserves a constant place in the spotlight and your home.

According to recent research from Wheeling Jesuit University, the smell or flavor of peppermint can have profound effects on cognitive functions. These include reasoning, problem solving, concept formation, judgment, attention span, and even memory.

For their research, the participants of this particular study chewed peppermint, cinnamon or cherry flavored gums. Flavorless gum and no gum was offered to control groups. All three flavored gums, including peppermint, increased working memory and visual-motor response.

In another aspect of the research, odors were looked at. Both peppermint and cinnamon scents were shown to improve memory test scores.

“Finding a non-pharmacological adjunct to the enhancement of cognitive performance in humans would be both groundbreaking and readily accepted by society,” said Phillip Zoladz, a senior psychology major who worked on the study.

But this research isn’t the only evidence of mint and mental aptitude.

In 2008, researchers in England looked at peppermint scent and brain power. They compared it to the scent of ylang ylang and a control group who received no odor. Those who received peppermint smell increased both alertness and memory. Unfortunately, ylang ylang had the opposite effect.

Similar results were found in a study published in the International Journal of Neuroscience and yet another from Ohio.

These studies are interesting in that they don’t require you to ingest anything at all. Even if you don’t like the taste of mint, you can enjoy the benefits simply with the scent. Whether you purchase peppermint essential oils or grow the mint plant itself, try inhaling some of it before an important report is due or when you need a particularly great amount of focus.

As for additional benefits, peppermint is also good for soothing the stomach and even irritable bowel syndrome. Make a simple tea with some leaves from the mint plant and boiling water. Or, add it to a fresh fruit salad.

Cooking your own food is a great way to make sure you know 

1. Cilantro

Used in numerous Latin, Asian and Mediterranean dishes, cilantro offers dietary fiber, vitamins, minerals, and essential oils as well as antioxidants that help to fight a long list of diseases. One ounce of cilantro provides about 38% of the daily recommended value of vitamin A and 109% of the RDA for vitamin K. It is also a rich source of Vitamins c and B-6, as well as numerous trace minerals like potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, and manganese. Cilantro is an analgesic, and aphrodisiac, has fungicidal properties and also helps with digestion.

2. Ginger

Ginger in used in countless dishes for delectable taste, but the health benefits ginger may just outweigh its delightful flavor. Ginger can be used as a detoxifier and can even prevent stomach ailments from eating ‘bad’ seafood. Perhaps most notable is ginger’s anti-inflammatory properties, which helps to reduce pain and swelling, purifies the blood, and protects against anti-inflammatory-related disease. It has been used in the East for centuries for everything from increasing energy to treating a stuffy nose and head congestion.

3. Turmeric

If you love curries, then turmeric can be a great spice to add to your rice dishes, vegetables, and curried foods. This super-spice comes from tubular roots that grow profusely in India, and its bright orange color tells of its medicinal benefits. Turmeric has been known to be better at reducing inflammation and pain in the body than Motrin. It is antiseptic and antibiotic, is a natural pain-killer and cox-2 inhibitor, treats depression in Chinese medicine, reduces many forms of cancer, slows mental dementia in Alzheimer’s patients, stops the growth of new blood vessels in unwanted tumors and speeds up wound healing. This powerful spice is a must-have for any health conscious cook.

4. Garlic

Like turmeric and ginger, garlic is extremely beneficial. This stand-by spice for many gourmet kitchens is a natural antioxidant, helps support gut health, is full of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, and can even be put in your pet’s food to keep fleas away.

5. Pine Nuts

Roasted pine nuts over baked salmon or drizzled on a salad are not only delectable, but also health-promoting. Pine nuts are a great source of non-animal protein that is full of magnesium for more energy, contain lot’s of vitamin D, C, and A, iron, pineolic acid, as well as lutein for better vision, strong bones, and boosted immunity.

Additional Sources:

Cancer.gov

Here are 7 health benefits of Jicama.

• 1. Like any fruit or vegetable, jicama is full health-boosting vitamins and minerals, including an amazingly healthful vitamin, vitamin C. Because of its high vitamin C content, jicama is great for boosting the immune system, supporting eye and skin health, and helping with anti-inflammatory action in the body to reduce everything from arthritis to a stuffy nose and watery eyes. Vitamin C could even be the answer to heart disease prevention.

• 2. Jicama has very low sodium and hardly any fat (around .01% of polyunsaturated fat per one medium size jicama root) so they support heart health and maintenance of a healthy weight.

• 3. Due to containing low calories and being high in fiber, the root is a great tool for weight loss.

• 4. The soluble fiber in jicama is excellent for lowering cholesterol as well. It also helps to stabilize blood sugar levels and boosts digestive health.

• 5. One small jicama root contains about 4 milligrams of iron – that amounts to about 22% of the daily recommended allowance. Iron is responsible for making sure our red blood cells have enough oxygen, and helps to boost our energy levels.

• 6. Jicama is full or potassium (around 989 milligrams for one medium root), calcium and magnesium – all important trace minerals for our sustained health.

• 7. Jicama contains vitamin B-6, the vitamin that supports healthy brain functioning, and helps our body to break down protein into usable energy. B-6 also supports nerve functioning, helps to form red blood cells, and helps to synthesize antibodies that fight foreign viruses and bacteria in our body.

Additional Sources:

NutritionData.Self