Re: Olive Oil Dampens Genes Responsible for Inflammation

[Guest guest]

I had read that the olive oil is best if not cooked with -coconut oils are

better to cook with. So I'm just curious what breakfast foods the people ate

that contained olive oil.

On another note I'm happy to read more and more about the links between

nutrition and health...seems like while the public is still living under the

rule of Mcfood and Mcdrug land -science is heading in the correct

direction..back to what benefits nature hold.

In regards to this study -if it's phenolic compounds one is seeking to support

metabolic disorders, I suggest all study the amalaki. Dr. Deepak Chopra

http://pursuitofresearch.org/advisors.html says if he had to choose just one

food to recommend to all it would be amalaki- that it's " divine " and if you read

the following article which is just one it's clear why. Dried as it is in

nutriiveda it's even richer in phenolic compounds - but for me way easier to see

myself consuming at breakfast. Again for anyone using turmeric/ curcumin,

amalaki or any other slow growing vegetation (and am aware more are today than

ever due to the health benefits)-make sure it's tested free of heavy metals. A

majority of those tested coming into the US contained heavy metals including

lead and mercury an again not all supplement companies do testing to make sure

the end product is heavy metal free. I have the references to the study here

http://pursuitofresearch.org/science.html that if lead is in the soil it's in

every aspect of the vegetation.

Below are two articles -one that is of interest linking diet to longevity (again

well discussed in the book The Genius in All of Us which I have shared here

before...which talks about how genetics can only go so far but what we do with

our bodies through diet and environment can suppress or express to the fullest

the genetic potential) And hey Happy 4th tomorrow -maybe just pour some olive

oil on those hamburgers once cooked or or sprinkle some nutriiveda powder on

that pound cake shaped like the US Flag

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Genes help centenarians, healthy diet helps you to live longer

Editor's note: The majority of centenarians have longevity genes, according to a

new study. But if you don't those genetic variants, you can still do something

to help yourselves to live longer. One thing to do is follow a healthy

lifestyle, which may add years to your life-span. It is not easy to become a

centenarian even if you have the genes, but it should not be as hard to live a

few years longer. Let us know if you have something to share with others.

Genetic patterns found in centenarians

A new study of more than 1000 centenarians led by Tom Perls at Boston Medical

Center and colleagues suggests that a set of 150 genes may largely determine a

person's longevity or how long a person can live.

The researchers pubulished in Thursday's online edition of the journal Science

saying that a math model based on gene variants identified in The New England

Centenarian Study may be enlisted to predict whether a person can live over 100

years and the accuracy can be up to 77 percent.

The 150 newly identified genetic markers may be used soon in genetic testing

kits, some expert said.

Genetics may be the foundation of longevity. But Winifred Rossi, of the National

Institute on Aging's Division of Geriatrics and Clinical Gerontology, which

funded the study, said that the genetic influence is complex and a person's life

span is also determined by environmental factors.

Those who do not carry the longevity genes may still benefit from following a

healthy lifestyle even though they may be able to live long enough to be a

centenarian.

Caloric restriction

Researchers have been studying since 1930s how caloric restriction (CR) affects

the life-spans of animals and humans and found that eating less calories

generally makes animals live longer. It is speculated that with low intake of

calories, the body shuts down many physiological functions and turns into a

conservative maintenance mode, preventing the body from suffering many adverse

effects such as inflammation induced when the energy is abundant and delaying

the aging process.

Fontana L. from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis MO and

colleagues reported in the April 2010 issue of Science that in rodents, both CR

can help prevent age-related loss of function and diseases, including tumors and

neurodegeneration, increases life span, protects against diabetes, cancer, and

cardiovascular disease in rhesus monkeys, and prevents age-related diseases in

humans.

Fontana and colleagues also reported in the March 2010 issue of Age that

individuals aged 28 who followed a calorie-restricted diet and engaged in

endurance exercise for an average 7 years were leaner and had higher insulin

sensitivity compared to those using Western diet.

According to the researchers, 40 percent of those who followed the CR diet had

elevated hyperglycemic response to a glucose load and this impaired glucose

tolerance is correlated with lower circulating levels of IGF-1, total

testosterone, and triiodothyronine (a thyroid hormone called T3), which actually

retard the aging process.

T3 affects almost every physiological process in the body, including growth and

development, metabolism, body temperature, and heart rate, according to previous

studies.

A recent trial led by Weiss at Saint Louis University and colleagues

found in those following a CR diet reduced levels of T3 even though their body

mass indexes were similar to those of inviduals on a regular diet, suggesting

that CR has a direct or indirect impact on the production of T3 in the

aging-retarding process.

The one-year trial involved one group of sedentary, non-smoking and

post-menopausal women aged 50 to 60 using a diet with its total energy cut by

300 to 500 calories and another group using a regular diet.

The researchers published their findings in the June 2008 issue of Rejuvenation

Research.

CR has been known to retard the aging process at genetic levels.

Leonard Guarente of Massachusetts Institute of Technology reported in the Sept

2005 issue of Mechanisms of Ageing and Development that SIR2 genes regulate CR

in low species like yeast and Drosophila and the mammalian Sirt1 may be

responsible for physiological changes during CR.

Mediterranean diet

Pérez-López FR and colleagues of Universidad de Zaragoza in Spain found people

who followed Mediterranean diet or a similar diet tended to have a longer

lifespan and they were 10 to 20 percent less likely to die of heart disease,

cancer or any other cause.

The authors reviewed clinical and laboratory studies cited in the PubMed

database and found the Mediterranean diet helps bone metabolism, rheumatoid

arthritis, and neurodegenerative age-related diseases (cognitive deficit,

Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease).

Their findings were published in the Oct 2009 issue of Maturitas.

Tyrovolas S. and colleagues from Harokopio University in Athens, Greece also

published a report in the Nov 30 2009 issue of Eur. J. Public Health saying that

Mediterranean diet was associated with the longevity people enjoy in

Mediterranean islands.

Okinawa diet

Willcox D.C. and colleagues from Okinawa International University in Japan

reported in the Aug 2009 issue of J. Am Coll Nutr. that a diet used by people

including many centenarians in Okinawa, the southernmost prefecture of Japan may

play a role in the longevity enjoyed by the people in this area.

The so called-Okinawa diet is similar to Mediterranean diet and DASH diet in

that it includes high amounts of vegetables and fruit and reduced amounts of

meat, refined grains, saturated fat, sugar, salt, and full fat dairy products.

Okinawa diet uses the lowest amounts of fat, particularly saturated fat and

highest amounts of carbohydrate, antioxidant-rich orange-yellow root vegetables

such as sweet potatoes and green leafy vegetables.

These three diets share some features like all using low levels of saturated

fat, high antioxidant intake and low glycemic load, which help protect against

cardiovascular disease, some cancers, and other chronic diseases through

multiple mechanisms, including reduced oxidative stress.

Miscellaneous foods/nutrients

Dr. Joe Mercola, owner of mercola.com, says in one of his newsletter articles

that 7 foods may help you live a longer life. They are whey protein - a source

of glutathione; raw organic eggs - a good source of essential amino acids,

lutein and other nutrients (cholesterol as well); leafy greens like spinach,

kale, turnip greens, collard greens - good sources of cancer-fighting

antioxidants like beta carotene, vitamin C, and sulforaphane; broccoli;

blueberries; chlorella; and garlic.

Rockenfeller P, and Madeo F. from the University of Graz in Australia reported

in the April 2010 issue of Biochim Biophys Acta that epidemiological studies

suggest that human lifespan can be extended by physical exercise, caloric

restriction and consuming certain nutrients or foods such as resveratrol,

selenium, flavonoids, zinc, omega 3 unsaturated fatty acids, vitamins E and C,

Ginkgobiloba extracts, aspirin, green tea catechins, and antioxidants.

A recent China study published in Feb 2010 in Zhonghua Yu Fan YiXue Zaxhi finds

that the concentrations of serum selenium, manganese, iron, copper and zinc were

higher in centenarians. The study led by Xu J.W. from the Chinese Center for

Disease Control and Prevention in Beijing involved 446 elderly people including

208 centenarians.

http://www.foodconsumer.org/newsite/Nutrition/Diet/genes_help_centenarians_03071\

00335.html

EMBLIC MYROBALANS: AMLA

Key herb of Ayurvedic medicine

by Subhuti Dharmananda, Ph.D., Director, Institute for Traditional Medicine,

Portland, Oregon

Amla (or Amlaka, Amlaki, or other variants) is one of the most frequently used

of the Ayurvedic herbs; it is the fruit of Phyllanthus emblica, also called

Emblica officinalis. The fruit is similar in appearance to the common gooseberry

(Ribes spp., a type of currant), which is botanically unrelated to amla.

However, due to the similar appearance of the fruit clusters (see below), amla

is usually called the " Indian gooseberry. " The plant, a member of the

Euphorbiaceae, grows to become a medium-sized tree (pictured below) that is

found growing in the plains and sub-mountain regions all over the Indian

subcontinent from 200 to nearly 2000 meters above sea level. Its natural

habitat, like other members of its family, ranges from Burma in the East to

Afghanistan in the West; from Deccan in south India to the foothills of the

Himalayan range.

Emblica fruits are one of three " myrobalans, " a term deriving from the Greek for

acorn, which is a well-known astringent used in tanning. In fact, both emblic

myrobalans and chebulic myrobalans (Terminalia chebula) are relied upon for

their high content of tannins; chebulic myrobalans have long been used for

tanning leather; the emblica twig bark and immature fruits are used for tanning.

The third fruit, beleric myrobalans, is a close relative of chebulic myrobalans,

from Terminalia belerica, also a tanning agent.

These three fruits together make up the popular remedy " Triphala, " a

rejuvenating formula that is frequently applied to treating intestinal disorders

(inflammation, infection, diarrhea, constipation). The Caraka Samhita, the main

text of Ayurvedic herbal medicine, describes emblic and chebulic myrobalans as

possessing the same virtues, though they have slightly different nature. Here is

what is said (1):

" They have healing virtues and are auspicious (used in sacred and ceremonial

occasions). They restore the faults (doshas) to their normal course. They are

light (as food). They enkindle digestive fire, and are good pacanas (digestive

aids). They promote longevity and induce nourishment. They deserve every praise

(for the virtues they possess). They prevent the effects of age more than any

other drug. They alleviate all varieties of ailments, and impart strength to the

intellect and the senses. They quickly conquer vitiligo, abdominal tumors,

flatulence, dropsical swellings (edema), chlorosis, alcoholism, piles, ailments

of the grahani (duodenum), chronic intermittent fever, diseases of the chest,

diseases of the head, diarrhea, disgust for food, cough, gonorrhea, epistasis,

enlargement of the spleen, abdominal dropsy when new, discharge of phlegm

matter, hoarseness of the voice, discoloration or loss of complexion, anemia,

intestinal worms, waste of dhatus (main body components), some forms of asthma,

vomiting, loss of virility, weakness of the limbs, blockage of ducts of various

kinds, sensation like a wet blanket covering the chest, a similar sensation in

the heart, and dullness of the memory and understanding. Those who are suffering

from indigestion, those who habitually take dry food and drink, those who have

been weakened by sexual indulgence and wine and poisons, and those who are

afflicted by hunger and thirst and heat, should eat myrobalans. "

Most of the " rasayana " (rejuvenation and longevity tonics) of Ayurveda are made

with amla as an ingredient, and often with Triphala as a base to which numerous

other herbs are added. Emblic myrobalans is the main ingredient of Chyawanprash,

one of the important rasayanas and the principal Ayurvedic remedy currently

produced in India (accounting for well over half the sales of the Ayurvedic

medicines industry). It is a complex combination of about three dozen spicy

ingredients in small amounts, with a large proportion of amla in a honey base.

According to the accounts in the Caraka Samhita, by consuming a rasayana made

with amla as the main ingredient, one will " live for a hundred years without any

sign of decrepitude. " Relying on amla alone, and following a unique ceremonial

approach-including hand collection of the fruits from a forest of amla trees on

the day of the full moon and reciting the mantra Om until the fruits are imbued

with a sweet nectar (that overcomes the sour, astringent taste)-it is said that

" one will live in enjoyment of youth for as many thousands of years as the

number of fruits on eats according to this method. "

HOW DOES AMLA PRODUCE THE DESIRED EFFECTS?

Most advertisements for amla products describe the fruit's rich content of

vitamin C, which is often said to be responsible for several of the therapeutic

actions of the herb. The advertisements are sometimes very peculiar, saying that

emblic vitamin C is far more potent than ordinary vitamin C (e.g., one promotion

specifies " Dr. B.B. Arora has proved that 8.7 mg of vitamin C from amla is

equivalent to 100 mg of vitamin C from synthetic sources. " ) In fact, it has been

shown that amla does not contain any significant amount of vitamin C, but other

organic acids (such as malic acid and mucic acid) and various common tannoids

(small tannin-like molecules) and some unique tannins, one or more of which were

mistaken for vitamin C in the initial tests conducted more than 50 years ago.

Even so, at the levels described (at about 0.5-0.7% of the fruit pulp), the

amount of vitamin C consumed would be small by modern standards. The dominant

active constituent of amla is a group of tannins derived from gallic and ellagic

acids, which make up a large portion of the extractable non-nutritive

constituents. The fresh fruit pulp has been analyzed, roughly as follows:

Moisture: 81-84%

Carbohydrates:14.0-14.3% (sugar/starches/gums, about 5%; polyphenols, about

5.7%; fiber, about 3.4%)

Minerals: 0.7-2.4%

Miscellaneous other compounds: 0.5-0.7%

Protein: 0.5-0.7%

Fat: 0.1-0.5%

When the fruit is dried, the main ingredient, water, is mostly eliminated, and

the remaining constituents are present in considerably larger proportions. The

contents of the dry fruit include roughly:

Carbohydrates 70-75% (fiber, about 17% and sugars/starches/gums, about 25%;

polyphenols: 28%)

Minerals: 4-6% (calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, zinc, iron, etc.)

Miscellaneous other components: 2.5-3.5%

Protein: 2.5-3.5%

Fats 1.5-2.0%

Residual moisture: 6-9%

A high tannin standardized extract has been prepared by Sabinsa Corporation, at

40% polyphenols (mostly in the form of tannins), leaving behind some of the

other carbohydrates. The presence of a large proportion of tannins in the fruit

may easily explain some of the more prosaic proclaimed benefits of amla,

including treatment of respiratory and intestinal disorders, particularly

intestinal ulcerations. In addition, polyphenols have been shown to have

numerous health protective benefits, including lowering blood lipids and blood

sugar, enhancing blood circulation, and blocking the action of carcinogens,

which together contribute to the antiaging effect. The apparent superior effect

of the mistaken " vitamin C " component is actually the more stable and potent

anti-oxidant effect of the tannins that appeared to be the vitamin.

Dr. Shibnath Ghosal, at the Banaras Hindu University, published his findings

about active constituents of emblica fruits in 1996, reporting on the mistaken

identification of vitamin C (2). He turned his research findings into a patent

just four years later, describing the production of the mixture he called

Capros. It is derived from amla by a careful process of extraction that prevents

breakdown of the tannins. It contains (3):

Emblicanin-A: 27%

Emblicanin-B: 23%

Punigluconin: 8%

Pedunculagin: 14%

Gallo-ellagitannoids : 18%

Rutin: 10%

The first four ingredients listed are polyphenols (tannins); the next

constituent is a combination primarily of gallic acid and ellagic acid, the

tannoid components that are linked together to make the other tannins. Rutin is

another phenolic compound, a common flavonoid found in many plants and isolated

as a natural health care product. Dr. Ghosal describes his extract (U.S. patent

# 6,124,268) as having a greater antioxidant potential than vitamin C, while

being more stable against heat and oxidation. It can be formulated into skin

creams that are designed to protect the skin from damage due to excess sun

exposure and may also be used as a component of internal remedies for health

protective effects, especially for cardiovascular risk factors.

A compilation of applications for emblica fruits was carried out by several

Ayurvedic writers during the last 25 years. The main indications are:

* Digestive system disorders: dyspepsia, gastritis, hyperacidity,

constipation, colic, colitis, hemorrhoids

* Bleeding disorders: bleeding hemorrhoids, hematuria, menorrhagia, bleeding

gums, ulcerative colitis

* Metabolic disorders: anemia, diabetes, gout

* Lung disorders: cough, asthma

* Aging disorders: osteoporosis, premature graying of hear, weak vision

* Neurasthenia: fatigue, mental disorders, vertigo, palpitations

According to the Ayurvedic system of classification, the fruit has these

properties (4):

Rasa (taste): sour, astringent are dominant, but fruit has five tastes,

including sweet, bitter, and pungent

Veerya (nature): cooling

Vipaka (taste developed through digestion): sweet

Guna (qualities): light, dry

Doshas (effect on humors): pacifies all three doshas: vata, kapha, pitta,

especially effective for pitta

Because of its cooling nature, amla is a common ingredient in treatments for a

burning sensation anywhere in the body and for many types of inflammation and

fever; these are manifestations of pitta (fire) agitation.

The popularity of emblica fruits, especially for use in making Chyawanprash and

Triphala, has led to the cultivation of amla trees, despite widespread

distribution of the wild trees. A problem has arisen whereby collectors take a

short-cut in collecting the fruits; instead of climbing the trees and carefully

hand picking each fruit, large branches containing numerous fruits are lopped

off, which can eventually kill the trees. As a result, some areas have been

virtually denuded of these valuable trees. Government and non-government

agencies in India are undertaking efforts to educate collectors to avoid

damaging their economic future by such practices and is encouraging development

of plantations of amla trees that are devoted specifically to yielding raw

materials for medicinal products. In addition to the fruit pulps, the fruit

seeds, and the tree's leaves, branches, and bark can all be collected for

production of health care and tanning products.

REFERENCES

1. Kaviratna AC and Sharma P (translators), Caraka-Samhita, Second Revised

Edition [volume 3], 1996 Indian Books Centre, Delhi

2. Ghosal S, Triethi VK, and Chauhan S, Active xconstituents of Emblica

officinalis: Part 1.-The chemistry and antioxidative effects of two new

hydrolysable tannins, Emblicanin A and B, Indian Journal of Chemistry 1996; 35B:

941-948.

3. Anonymous, Case Study on Amla-related patent, Technology Information,

Forecasting & Assessment Council (TIFAC) Bulletin, 2001; 7(3-4): 6-6.

4. on EM (editor), Major Herbs of Ayurveda, 2002

Churchill-Livingstone, London.

http://www.itmonline.org/arts/amla.htm

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[Guest guest]

a bit off topic but you mentioned coconut oil.  We use coconut oil often.  I

spread it on toast for breakfast and the kids think it's butter.  I also stir

fry with it and the best part is that it keeps for a very long time.  I buy

jars at the vitamin shoppe and they are about $5.  I started using it because

of my metabolic disorders and autoimmune thyroid disease and soon found that the

kids like it too.

[Guest guest]

My boys don't always like the flavor of the coconut oil -but they seem to love

that hint of coconut flavor when I make french toast or pancakes with it...not

so much eggs

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[Guest guest]

I bought coconut because of what I read in this group and nobody in my house

likes for me to use it when I cook. That includes my husband LOL!!! Kate

>

> My boys don't always like the flavor of the coconut oil -but they seem to love

that hint of coconut flavor when I make french toast or pancakes with it...not

so much eggs

>

> =====

>