By
Sarah A LoBisco, ND
Chocolate (Too
much pleasure?)
I’ve
written about this before, and I can’t write about it enough. The benefits of
dark chocolate on the heart keep popping up! Here’s another about its
antioxidant role in protecting the blood vessels:
Conclusion Flavanol-rich chocolate acutely
improves vascular function in patients with CHF. A sustained effect was seen
after daily consumption over a 4-week period, even after 12 h abstinence. These
beneficial effects were paralleled by an inhibition of platelet function in the
presence of FRC only.
Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00538941
Source:
Flammer et al. Cardiovascular Effects of Flavanol-Rich Chocolate in Patients
With Heart Failure. Medscape. 09/27/2012; Eur Heart J. 2012;33(17):2172-2180. http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/770473?src=mp
Think Your
Pain Away
I
recently listened to a wonderful seminar in Ayurveda, the ancient science of
medicine with great emphasis on individualized and holistic health. One aspect
of specific importance is the quality of the mind. The following excerpt
explains:
An important principle in Ayurveda is
acknowledgment of the importance of the emotional and spiritual aspects
of health and healing. Health is achieved by balancing not only the body, but
mind and spirit as well. Meditation provides a way to achieve this balance. The
practice of meditation also creates many physiological changes, including
reduction of inflammation in the body.
Mind-body practices such as meditation have
value as part of a treatment regimen for chronic pain caused by a variety of
conditions. Although to date there are no studies specifically done on the
effects of meditation on osteoarthritis, several studies have shown that
mindfulness meditation can be useful in the treatment of pain syndromes.
A landmark study conducted in 1982 showing
the beneficial effect of meditation on pain reduction was carried out by Dr.
Jon Kabat-Zinn with a group of patients suffering from chronic pain. After
completing a ten-week program of mindfulness meditation, 65 percent of the
participants showed a significant reduction in pain levels. Since then,
many other studies have confirmed these findings.
A Tool to Diminish Feelings of Pain
Researchers have found that through the
regular practice of meditation, we can actually change how our mind perceives
pain. Meditation doesn’t take the sensation of pain away; it develops our
capacity for detached observation, which helps us separate our experience of
physical sensations from the painful stories and emotions we generate in
reaction to those sensations.
Source:
Patel, S. An Ayurvedic Perspective to OA. Integrative Practicioner.com. October
3, 2012. http://www.integrativepractitioner.com/article.aspx?id=19384
Broccoli,
Blood Pressure, and DNA
Finally,
let’s end with some broccoli. This latest study showed the blood pressure
balancing effect in the kidneys and genetic protection power of these little
sprouts:
Sulforaphane administration rectified
pathological abnormalities in SHRSP kidneys and significantly improved blood
pressure. This was associated with normalization of global kidney DNA
methylation suggesting that DNA methylation could be associated with
hypertension.
Source:
Gamarallage V.K. Senanayake, Ali
Banigesh, Lingyun Wu, Paul Lee and Bernhard H.J. Juurlink. The Dietary Phase 2
Protein Inducer Sulforaphane Can Normalize the Kidney Epigenome and Improve
Blood Pressure in Hypertensive Rats. American Journal of Hypertension 25,
229-235 (February 2012) | doi:10.1038/ajh.2011.200. http://www.nature.com/ajh/journal/v25/n2/full/ajh2011200a.html
