(NaturalNews – Michael Ravensthorpe) For centuries, shiitake mushrooms (Lentinula edodes) have been utilized as a medicine in their native East Asia. Traditional Chinese medicine, for instance, would commonly prescribe shiitake for people suffering from upper respiratory disease, poor blood circulation and fatigue. In Japan, shiitake were beloved for their anti-aging properties. And Europeans, who have rigorously studied shiitake under the microscope since they first arrived on the continent, appreciate their impressive cholesterol lowering and weight loss properties.

However, an American study published in the Cancer Prevention Research journal has also found that a compound present in shiitake mushrooms can suppress the rate of cervical cancer growth, making them a viable alternative for aggressive and unnatural allopathic cancer treatments.

AHCC vs. HPV

According to the study authors, shiitake mushrooms contain an alpha-glucan called active hexose correlated compound (AHCC), which is a mixture of amino acids, polysaccharides and minerals. This compound, which appears to be unique to shiitake, is well known for its anti-tumor benefits. With this information in mind, the researchers sought to determine whether AHCC could also eradicate human papillomavirus (HPV), an extremely common sexually-transmitted infection which, if left untreated, can cause women to develop cervical cancer.

For the study, the researchers treated two cervical cancer cells (SiHa [HPV 16/18 positive] and C-33A [HPV negative]) in vitro with a 0.42 mg/mL dose of AHCC, then incubated them for 72 hours. Two additional trials followed: one in which the same AHCC dose was repeated once every 24 hours for one week, and another in which mice suffering from HPV were fed a 50 mg/kg dose of AHCC daily for the same period.

The results showed that AHCC suppressed HPV in all three trials. In the first trial, the AHCC suppressed HPV expression during the first 24 hours, but the HPV came back with a vengeance during the next 24 hours. Fortunately, continuous in vitro exposure — such as that experienced in the other two trials — resulted in sustained HPV suppression. Specifically, sustained AHCC treatment resulted in an overall 15.9 percent decrease in HPV activity compared to the control groups.

“[T]hese data suggest daily dosing of AHCC will eradicate HPV 16/18 infections and may have a role in the prevention of HPV-related cervical cancer,” concluded Dr. Judith Smith, lead researcher, and scientist at the University of Texas. “Furthermore, there is a potential for the addition of AHCC to primary treatment regimens for cervical cancer, which may potentially improve response rates and prevent recurrence.”

Dr. Smith’s findings were presented at the Society of Gynecological Oncology’s 45th Annual Meeting on Women’s Cancer in Tampa, Florida in March 2014.

Sources for this article include:

• Shiitake – Half Hill Farm
• Shiitake Mushroom – Natural News
• Could MUSHROOMS prevent cervical cancer? Fungi extract kills virus and slows tumor growth – Daily mail
• http://cancerpreventionresearch.aacrjournals.org
• http://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/herb/ahcc
• http://www.cdc.gov/std/hpv/stdfact-hpv.htm

Artificial sweeteners don’t have calories — so why are these mice getting fat?

(Cornucopia – The Verge – Arielle Duhaime-Ross) When artificial sweeteners are in the news, it’s rarely positive. In the last few years, sweeteners have been linked to everything from Type 2 diabetes to cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, and stroke. Still, products like Splenda and Sweet‘N Low remain a cornerstone of many a weight-loss strategy, mostly because doctors don’t quite understand how sweeteners contribute to disease. That may soon change, however, as results from a study, published today in Nature, point to a possible mechanism behind these adverse health effects.

“Our results suggest that in a subset of individuals, artificial sweeteners may affect the composition and function of the gut microbiome” in a way that would lead to high blood-sugar levels, said Eran Elinav, an immunologist at the Weizmann Institute of Health in Israel and a co-author of the study, during a press conference yesterday. This, the researchers say, is bad for human health because when sugar levels are high in the blood, the body can’t break it down, so it ends up being stored as fat.

To reach these conclusions, Elinav and his team first tested the effect of three common artificial sweeteners — aspartame, sucralose, saccharin — on rodents. They found that each of the sweeteners induced a change in blood sugar levels that surpassed that of the mice who consumed actual sugar. And later tests involving the main sweetening agent in Sweet‘N Low, saccharin, yielded similar results in both lean and obese mice.

But mammals don’t actually digest artificial sweeteners — that’s why they’re “calorie-free” — so the reasons why these mice were experiencing blood-glucose alterations was still mysterious, Elinav said. Still, the researchers had an idea: maybe the bacteria that lived in the guts of the mice were interacting with the sweeteners.

So the researchers performed several experiments to test their idea. In one, they gave antibiotics to mice who had been fed sweeteners regularly. Antibiotics kill gut bacteria, and when these mice had their microbial guests cleaned out, their blood sugar levels went back to normal. In another experiment, the scientists transplanted feces — a rich source of gut microbes — from sweetener-fed mice into rodents that had never consumed artificial sweeteners. The procedure caused the recipient mice to experience oddly high blood glucose, like the mice in the sweetener group. Finally, Elinav and his colleagues used genetic analysis to reveal that alterations in the composition of microbial colonies were also accompanied by changes in bacterial function — changes that could very well explain why the mice were experiencing such high blood sugar.

But findings in mice aren’t nearly as convincing as findings in people, so the researchers set out to investigate human sweetener consumption. In the first experiment, the researchers analyzed the blood-sugar levels and gut bacteria colonies of 381 participants. And, as expected, Elinav and his colleagues found that people who consumed sweeteners in large quantities also showed disturbances in several metabolic parameters — including increased weight — as well as distinct microbial changes in their guts.

The results from the second, much smaller human experiment might actually be the most illuminating.

“We followed for a single week a group of seven human volunteers who do not consume sweeteners as part of their normal diet,” Elinav said. During that period, the researchers gave them a single dose of saccharin, and monitored their vitals. After just four days, half the participants showed microbial alterations and increases in blood sugar levels, he explained, “while the other subset had no meaningful effect immediately following the consumption of sweeteners.”

In other words: some people are more susceptible to the effects of artificial sweetener than others.

A causal link

The handful of studies suggest that consuming non-caloric artificial sweeteners boosts the risk glucose intolerance in both humans and mice, as a result of changes in gut microbe function, the researchers wrote in their report. Yet, because of the preliminary nature of their results and the small number of human participants involved, they stopped short of suggesting that people change their eating habits. “By no means are we prepared to make recommendations as to the use and dosage of artificial sweeteners based on the results of this study,” said Eran Segal, a study co-author also at the Weizmann Institute of Health.

Other researchers, however, were more forthcoming.

“People need to be much more mindful of what they are eating and drinking and make efforts to avoid products that have added sweeteners in any form” said Susan Swithers, a behavioral neuroscientist at Purdue University who wasn’t part of the Nature study, in an email to The Verge. The studies showed not only a causal link between the changes in the gut and artificial sweeteners, but that the observed changes happen quickly, she wrote.

Not everyone agrees with the design the researchers used to address the question about artificial sweeteners and weight gain. Christopher Gardner, a food scientist at Stanford University who didn’t participate in the study, says that the fact that the researchers gave the FDA’s maximal acceptable daily intake of saccharin to the human participants — about 5 mg / kg body weight per day — isn’t ideal. In a real-life setting, that dose would be the equivalent to a 150-pound person consuming 42 12-ounce sodas per day, or 8.5 packets of pink Sweet ‘n Low per day. “That may be ‘acceptable’ according to some set of guidelines,” Gardner wrote in an email, “but it should be noted that realistically this is a very high dose they are using and one that wouldn’t be consumed by a typical consumer.”

Still, the idea that we might finally have an explanation for the adverse health effects seen in certain sweetener studies is worth paying attention to. Should the findings prove reproducible, doctors will be tasked with understanding why some people are susceptible to microbiome alterations, while others aren’t. And sweetener companies will have to address the criticism — in addition to rethinking their marketing strategies. “The work is important,” Swithers said, “because it underscores the role that artificial sweeteners may play in contributing to the very problems they were designed to help.”

Reprinted with permission from Experience Life Magazine.

(DrFrankLipman – Cary Neff) Kale, with its frilly leaves and rich colors, is a gorgeous plant. Although officially a “dark leafy green,” it also comes in vibrant purples and dramatic winter whites. And kale’s beauty runs deep: It is packed with powerful phytonutrients, minerals and fiber.

Kale’s complex flavor wins it fans at breakfast, lunch and dinner. It boasts deep, earthy flavors that can range from rich and meaty to herbaceous and slightly bitter. It tastes supremely healthy — in a good way.

Kale belongs to the Brassica family, which also includes cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, kohlrabi and collards. It is an offshoot of wild cabbage, which originated in Asia Minor.

The ancient Greeks and Romans grew kale in their gardens. Europeans brought kale to the Americas in the 1600s. During WWII, it was a recommended plant for Victory Gardens because it provided so many nutrients. And today, this leafy green is enjoying a revival, particularly among the health-inclined.

Kale is easy to find, and it’s a cinch to work into virtually any style of cooking. Read on for more about kale, as well as a few ways to start experimenting with it.

Nutrition Know-How

• Three servings of leafy greens each day has been found to slow cognitive loss by 40 percent.
• Kale is packed with phytochemicals like sulfur-containing glucosinolates and isothiocyanates that help ward off cancer.
• The fiber in kale helps absorb and sweep out DNA-damaging chemicals and other toxins that enter our bodies.
• Open-leafed plants in the cabbage family, like kale, have higher amounts of vitamins C and A and carotenoids than plants whose leaves don’t see the sun. Carotenoids are powerful antioxidants that also support proper functioning of the immune and reproductive systems and lower the risk of cataracts.
• Kale is an excellent source of minerals, including calcium, and manganese, a mineral the body requires for many physiological functions.
• One cup of kale provides 1,300 percent of the recommended daily allowance of vitamin K, which is important for healthy blood coagulation and maintaining bone mass.

Shopping Tips

• For optimum nutrition, buy kale in season. A light frost sweetens kale, so depending on where you live, fall or winter is the perfect time to enjoy it.
• Choose kale from organic, biodynamic or responsible local growers when possible. Greens grown in better-managed soils help you net maximum flavor and nutrition and minimize exposure to pesticides.
• Whenever you shop for kale, buy lots of it because it cooks down dramatically.
• Keep blanched or precooked leftovers on hand to add to the week’s breakfasts, lunches and dinners.

Kitchen Tricks

Washing: Avoid washing kale until just before use, since it will hasten spoilage.

Cutting: To make cutting easier, remove any thick stems (just hold the kale upside down by the stems and pull the leaves off), then stack large greens on top of one another, roll them into tight bundles and slice into desired widths. The stems, finely chopped, can be used in soups.

Blanching: Blanching reduces bitterness and softens thick greens, which is useful if you want to follow up with a quick sauté or freeze the greens for later use. To blanch kale, stir leaves into boiling water for a minute or two, drain, then immediately run under cold water.

Braising: Braising tenderizes and adds flavor. To braise, slow cook 1 pound of greens in a ½ to ¾ cup of seasoned cooking liquid (chicken or vegetable stock or wine) or water for about 20 minutes or until greens are tender and ready to eat.

Sneak-It-In Strategies

• Blend a few chopped-up young kale leaves (but not the stems) into fruit smoothies. It’s a great way to get more greens into the diets of the veggie-averse, especially kids.
• Chop, cook and mix kale with grains to add nutrients and flavor to dishes like barley risotto or rice pilaf.
• Blanched and frozen kale can be crumbled into soups, stews, beans and pasta sauces.
• Substitute sautéed kale for cooked spinach in spanakopita, on pizza, or wherever you typically use greens.
• Whip up a quick summer kale sauté with garlic, olive oil, tomatoes and basil.

Recipes: Kale 3 Ways

Incredibly versatile, kale varieties can be used interchangeably in most recipes, including these classic, easy preparations.

Crispy Kale Chips With Sea Salt

An indulgent side dish for dinner — or a healthier snack alternative to chips. Roasting brings out smoky, buttery flavors and creates an irresistible, melt-in-your-
mouth texture.

Roasting to the point of crispness at high heat does involve some nutritional sacrifices, but it’s such a simple and delicious preparation (and one that has earned kale so many new fans), it’s worth making now and then. You can also cook longer at a lower temperature, if you prefer. And if you’re not afraid of fat, you can be more generous with the oil. For a twist, substitute Cajun spice or lemon pepper for the salt.

Serves two:

4 cups kale (1 large bunch)
1 tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp. sea salt

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Wash the kale. Fold each leaf in half and tear or cut out the tough stem, then stack and slice into manageable-size pieces.
• Toss pieces in a bowl with olive oil until coated, then arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet.
• Roast for five minutes, then turn carefully with metal tongs and roast another seven to 10 minutes until kale begins turning brown, crisp and brittle.  Remove from oven and sprinkle with sea salt. Serve promptly.

Asian Greens

This quick sauté works well with kale or virtually any dark leafy green (spinach, Swiss chard, collards, dandelion greens, etc.) to create a healthy, delicious side dish.  By varying the seasonings (subbing in chili-garlic sauce, curry paste or peanut sauce for the soy sauce, for example), you can create an eclectic array of variations.

This basic preparation (sans seasonings) can also work to prep kale for using in other recipes, including a delicious egg scramble (see Web Extra for recipe).

For another classic preparation, sauté kale with small amounts of bacon for flavor, then lightly braise in vegetable stock to soften.

Serves eight:

12 cups kale (3 large bunches)
1 tbs. sesame oil
1 cup diced yellow onions
2 tsp. minced fresh garlic
1 tsp. grated fresh ginger
2 cups vegetable stock
1 tbs. tamari soy sauce
1/8 tsp. ground black pepper

• Wash kale, remove stems and cut into 1-inch squares.
• Heat a large sauté pan over medium-high heat and add the olive oil to just coat the bottom of the pan. Add onions and garlic and sauté for one to two minutes. Stir in kale, ginger and vegetable stock.
• Cook until the kale starts to wilt, about two minutes. Stir in tamari soy sauce and pepper. Remove from heat and serve.

Raw Kale Salad

Combining finely chopped kale with lemon and olive oil — then gently massaging them together — breaks down kale’s stiffness and bitterness, leaving you with tender greens bursting with flavor. Don’t skimp on the chopping: Not having to chew through large chunks of raw kale will increase your eating pleasure.

Serves four:

1 large bunch of kale, stems removed and thinly sliced
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1 minced garlic clove
1/8 tsp. sea salt
1/4 cup toasted walnuts
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup chopped kalamata olives
1 tbs. finely shredded basil

• Place the kale in mixing bowl. Add the lemon juice, oil, garlic and salt. Massage the kale to soften for about one minute.
• Add remaining ingredients and toss to combine.
• Allow the salad to rest and soften for about 15 minutes before serving.

Kale Glossary

A quick overview of the most common types of kale:

Green Kale: With vibrant green wrinkly leaves, this is the most common kale found in grocery stores, and you can add it to just about anything!

Red Kale: Similar in texture and flavor to leafy green kale, red varieties — which are actually more purple — add a splash of exotic color, whether raw or cooked.

Tuscan Kale: Discovered in Italy in the 19th century, Tuscan kale (also called dinosaur kale or lacinato kale) has deep green, smooth stems and a rugged, wrinkly texture. It’s great for braising or sautéing and it’s terrific finely shredded and tossed into stir-fries.

Ornamental Kale: Also known as salad savoy, ornamental kale — often green, purple, pink or white — is popular in flower gardens and makes a great garnish. But it’s edible too, as long as it hasn’t been sprayed with pesticides. It’s best harvested when still small and tender.

WEB EXTRA

More Kale Cooking Tips

• Blend a few chopped-up young kale leaves — but not the stems or very thick leaves — into fruit smoothies. It’s a great way to sneak greens into the diets of the veggie-averse, especially kids.
• Add kale to breakfast egg dishes. Try an omelet with par-cooked potatoes, caramelized onions and steamed kale — or a scramble made with tomatoes, bell peppers, green onion and kale sprinkled with feta cheese.
• Whip up a quick summer kale sauté with garlic, olive oil, tomatoes and basil. Sauté kale with small amounts of bacon for flavor, then lightly braise it in vegetable stock to soften. Great with roasted turkey, meatloaf or grilled tofu.
• Chop, cook and mix kale with grains to add nutrients and flavor to dishes like barley risotto or rice pilaf.
• Kale is wonderful in miso soup or tossed with rice noodles.
• Kale’s earthy flavor pairs well with hearty meats, beans and sausages. I particularly like kale with braised pork. I often substitute sautéed kale for cooked spinach in spanakopita, on pizza, or layered with ricotta cheese in calzone.
• Blanched and frozen kale is great to have on hand. If you gently break it in the bag, it can be easily added to simmering marinara sauce, soups, stews and beans.

WEB EXTRA

Kale, Mushroom and Cream Cheese Scramble

Conscious Cuisine®

Sautéed, steamed or braised kale (especially refrigerated leftovers) is an easy and delectable addition to your breakfast eggs — or just about any other meal.

Serves one: 

1/2 tsp. olive oil
1/4 cup julienned kale
1/4 cup diced fresh shiitake mushrooms
1 tbs. finely chopped green onion
1/4 cup small diced tomatoes
2 eggs, lightly whipped
1 tbs. milk
1/8 tsp. sea salt
1/8 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 tbs. cream cheese

• Heat a sauté pan over medium heat and add olive oil. Add vegetables and sauté until they begin to sweat, about five minutes.
• Whip the eggs with the milk and season with salt and pepper. Slowly pour into the pan with vegetables. With a heat-resistant spatula, gently push one edge of the egg into the center of the pan, while tilting the pan to allow the uncooked egg to flow in underneath. Repeat with the other edges, until there’s no liquid left.
• Turn off the heat and add the cream cheese, gently stirring and turning the egg until all the uncooked parts become firm. Place on plate and serve with fresh fruit.

Reprinted with permission from Experience Life Magazine.

(DrFrankLipman – Frank Lipman) These days, just about everything is mass-produced, including our food, with large, factory-style farms churning out a seemingly endless supply of meat, chickens, eggs and dairy products. All that mass production equals abundance and lower prices, but if those factory-farmed products are eroding your health, is the savings really worth it? Not in my book. Here’s what’s really going on with mass-produced meats and why you should steer clear:

1. Factory-farmed animals eat crap. Literally.

To keep production costs low, animals raised in factory farms are fed the cheapest possible grains and feeds containing among other things, “by-product feedstuff, ” which begs the question, what’s feedstuff? It’s a nausea-inducing assortment of disturbing ingredients, including municipal garbage, stale cookies, poultry manure, chicken feathers, bubble gum and even restaurant waste. So, when you eat factory-farmed animals, you’re also getting an unintentional serving of “feedstuff.” In short, their bad diet becomes your bad diet – which is counter-productive to your health.

2. Bad diets make for sick animals – and people too.

Cud-chewing critters such as cattle, dairy cows, goats, bison and sheep were designed to eat fibrous grasses, plants, and shrubs—not starchy, low-fiber grains and feedstuffs. When these animals are switched from pasture greenery to grains, many wind up suffering from a number of disorders and painful conditions. The sickened animals are then given chemical additives, plus constant, low-level doses of antibiotics. Their drugs in turn enter your system when you eat antibiotic-treated animals, setting the stage for drug-resistance in your body, particularly if you’re a heavy-duty carnivore.

3. Lousy ingredients won’t create a nutritious product.

It should come as no surprise that animals fed a crappy diet will make for a less nutritious meal. Compared to grass-fed, factory-farmed, grain-fed meats have less vitamin E, beta-carotene, and little of the two health-promoting fats called omega-3 fatty acids and “conjugated linoleic acid,” or CLA. So what’s the end-result of the feed-’em-fast-and-cheap factory farmed method? Inferior food with negligible nutrients and more of the unhealthy fats. Small wonder the stuff is so much cheaper than grass-fed.

4. Stress hurts everyone.

If your goal is to sustain wellness, factory-farmed products just don’t deliver the nutritional goods. In factory farms, chickens, turkeys, and pigs are typically raised in inhumane conditions, tightly packed into cages and pens, unable to practice normal behaviors, such as rooting, grazing, and roosting. In these conditions, the animals get stressed and wind up producing products that are lower in a number of key vitamins and omega-3 fatty acids – talk about empty calories!

5. Factory farming pollutes the earth.

In a conventional feedlot operation, for example, confined cattle deposit large amounts of manure in a small amount of space. The manure must be collected and removed. As it costs money to haul it away, the manure is often dumped nearby, close to the feedlot. As a result, the surrounding soil gets over-saturated with the stuff, resulting in ground and water pollution. But when animals are raised on pasture, their manure is a welcome source of organic fertilizer, not a “waste management problem.” Bottom line: raising animals on pasture is kinder to the environment.

In short, though factory farming enables us to have plenty of cheap and convenient food, it’s food with little nutritional benefit, that can increase your resistance to antibiotics as it pollutes your air, land and water. With so little going for it, doesn’t it seem slightly crazy to eat factory-farmed meats? It does certainly does to me – which is why I strongly suggest that if you’re going to eat meat, buy the good stuff, even if it means having to pay a bit more or buy less of it. Choose grass-fed beef, lamb, bison and poultry, to insure that you’re eating nutritious and healthy meats, as nature intended.

To learn more about what to look for when buying meat, check out my post on meat labeling and for some additional inspiration, check out this animation movie about the meat you eat at themeatrix.com.

Approximately 200 synthetic industrial chemicals interact with our cells every single day.

Autism now affects one in 50 children.

Cancer is the leading cause of death (after accidents) in children younger than 15 years in the United States.

In the last twenty years, the rates of asthma, allergies, and ADHD are on the rise:

• 400 percent increase in allergies
• 300 percent increase in asthma
• 400 percent increase in ADHD

$2.6 trillion of the GDP is spent on treating disease every year.

These are facts. Unacceptable facts.

And Ed Brown wants to do something about it.

Moved by his wife’s two unexplained miscarriages and a nasty tasting glass of water at work, Ed (now father of two healthy children) was determined to uncover the possible cause of these and other health issues. With camera in hand, he traveled the country seeking insight from the top minds in the fields of science, advocacy, and law.

The result: an award-winning documentary, Unacceptable Levels.

The film poses challenges to our companies, our government, and our society to do something about a nearly unseen threat with the inspired knowledge that small changes can generate a massive impact.

You don’t have to take on the world to change it. Just pick one thing in your life. Water, food, regulations—it doesn’t matter. Just pick something. Become curious about it and start asking questions. Find the answers just like I did.

“And know that of all the people out there, you finally found someone that can truly make a difference. That person is—and always has been—you.” ~ Ed Brown

His documentary dissects the ways chemicals saturate our homes and environment amid a backdrop of a glaring lack of regulation. It chronicles the results of the post-WWII chemical boom and details common avenues of exposure, from food to fluoride to toxic sludge. The film brings together 47 non-profit organizations and 91 companies to support the overwhelming need for chemical reform in the United States.

Unacceptable Levels opens the door to conversations about the chemical burden our bodies carry so that we can make informed decisions now and in the future.

Screening in San Francisco July 11th and Chicago July 24th (with special guest actress/eco activist Mariel Hemingway), the film will hopefully reach beyond the typical environmentally conscious audience… and empower all viewers to make better decisions for their children and themselves.
http://www.youtube.com/embed/PVB6XSyBTVE

Please help spread the word about the film by sharing this post and liking their facebook page here. You can also follow them on twitter @UnacceptableLev.

If you live near San Francisco or Chicago, please come out for the screening! Both will be followed by a panel discussion led by Ed Brown. I’ll be attending the Chicago event and hope to see you there!