Huperazine for Alzheimer's; Self-medication not Advised

NATURAL HEALTH

Chinese Medicine; Club Moss vs. Aricept
Naturally occurring alkaloid comes to the aid of Alzheimer's

By Mark Isaac Thyss
Garden of Healing®

Has Aricept met its match? Is Huperazine THE natural alternative for treating Alzheimer's?

They always start out this way: "a botanical (that) has been used in China for centuries for the treatment of ...".

Advertising, scientific papers and articles all tend to include phrases like the one above, as if this is real evidence enough for recommending the use of anything for your health or illness.

It's great to point out, "get the facts", but where are they? Do any facts really exist? All you can do is read on and form your own opinion.

In the case of Huperazine, caution is advised for people with high blood pressure, kidney disease, and liver disease. Before you jump to take Huperazine, Aricept, or anything else, here's some information to consider.

Self-medicating with Huperazine A for Alzheimer's is not advised

For the mental decline and dementia of Alzheimer's, get the facts on both Aricept and Huperazine A.

Huperzine A is an alkaloid extracted from the Chinese club moss plant, Huperzia serrata, and it's been used for various treatments such as swelling, fever and blood disorders.

In recent years, Huperzine A, has been studied for its potential in treating dementias. Mental decline and dementia are an increasing deficiency in thought processes caused by brain damage or disease.

Like the prescription drugs currently available for individuals with Alzheimer's, Huperzine A, temporarily blocks an enzyme known as acetylcholinesterase, which is concentrated in the brain, spinal cord, and red blood cells. This enzyme, also called cholinesterase, breaks down one of the body's neurotransmitters, acetylcholine.

Neurotransmitters are chemicals that carry messages from nerve cells to other cells. Acetylcholine plays a role in learning, remembering, and thinking; and decreased amounts of it are associated with conditions involving the loss of mental functioning.

In treating the mental decline caused by Alheimer's, which should it be? Huperazine or the pharmaceutical Aricept?

Basic Information on Aricept or Donepezil

ARICEPT® (donepezil HCl tablets) is a pharmaceutical that has been approved and is used for the symptomatic treatment of mild or moderate dementia and/or mental decline caused by Alzheimer's (AD). It has a half life of about 70 hours and can be taken once a day. The initial dose is 5 mg per day, which can be increased to 10 mg per day after an adjustment period of at least 4 weeks.

Full article coming soon.


© 1996-2009 Mark Isaac Thyss/Garden of Healing®. All rights reserved.

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Folate-rich Foods promote healthy cell division

PREGNANCY

Folate Wise Pregnancy
B vitamins; pregnancy and normal growth & development

By Arlie Maylin
Garden of Healing®

Fruits, dark-green leafy vegetables, dried beans and peas. These and many other foods are natural sources of folate.

If you are pregnant or plan to have a child, think folate or folic acid.

Folate is needed to make DNA and RNA, the building blocks (the genetic material) of every body cell. It helps to prevent birth defects. Consuming adequate folate is important during periods of rapid cell division and growth - infancy and pregnancy.

Folate can help reduce the risk of serious and common birth defects called neural tube defects (NTD), which affect the brain and spinal cord.

Research on folic acid shows that it may help in preventing premature births, boosting baby weights, and by preventing preeclampsia.

A distinction between folate and folic acid must be made. Both folate and folic acid are forms of the water-soluble Vitamin B9. Folate occurs naturally in food. Folic acid is the synthetic form of this vitamin that is found in supplements and fortified foods.

Both adults and children need folate to make normal red blood cells and to prevent anemia. Choose foods such as dark leafy green vegetables, legumes, citrus fruits, beets, meat, and wheat germ.

Nutrients for Pregnancy

Nutrients important during pregnancy are folate, zinc, vitamin A, vitamin C and protein-rich foods.

For folate, eat legumes, lentils, chickpeas, collard greens, papaya, peas, asparagus, broccoli, strawberries and oranges.

Vitamin C is always needed; get it by eating parsley, broccoli, bell peppers, strawberries, oranges, lemon juice, papaya, cauliflower, kale, mustard greens, and Brussels sprouts.

For zinc, eat sesame and pumpkin seeds, shrimp, and crimini mushrooms.

To get your vitamin A, eat carrots, spinach, sweet potato, kale, turnip greens, winter squash, swiss chard, and bell peppers.

Include protein-rich foods like protein rich foods such as beans, lean proteins and tempeh.

B vitamins, such as thiamine, niacin and vitamin B12 all have important roles in a child's normal growth and development. Infants and children continue to need adequate levels of folate in order to grow properly and have normal growth rates.

Folate Wisdom

Folate has many benefits specific to women. It helps to create healthy fetuses, seems to prevent cervical cancer and can reduce osteoporosis. Folate also releases serotonin, which makes it act as a mild antidepressant.

Nourishing yourself with folate and other essential nutrients is important for the whole family; it allows you to give more of yourself to those you love.

© 2009 Arlie Ian Maylin/Garden of Healing®. All rights reserved.

Health, self, love & creative expression ~ Wahhh! ~ Your Garden of Healing® BABY™

http://www.gardenofhealingbaby.com/

Nourish Yourself in everything you do!

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For more articles and recipes leading to natural health and healing, please visit:

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Tangled up in Plaque; Amyloid proteins, Alzheimers and Lion's Mane mushrooms

NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENT ADVISOR

Alzheimer's and Natural Treatments; Lion's Mane Mushrooms

QUESTION:

Dear Garden of Healing® Supplement Advisor:

Is Amyloid toxicity a measure for Alzheimers? What is the connection between Alzheimer's, Dementia and the Lion's Mane mushroom (Hericium erinaceum)?

ANSWER:

We need a new starting point for developing therapeutic compounds for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD).

The number of people with Alzheimer's is expected to triple over the next three to four decades. New treatments and prevention for the disease are urgently needed.

A focus on Amyloid plaques might be a good place to start in understanding AD.

Amyloid plaques are abnormal protein fragments that collect in the brains of Alzheimer's patients. Are there natural compounds that could clear away these plaques? What other approaches could be used to prevent nerve cell death, and also prevent the formation of fibrillary tangles in the brain?

Amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles are thought to contribute to the degradation of nerve cells, and this in turn causes the subsequent symptoms of Alzheimer's disease.

Amyloid is a protein that deposits in the body's cells and may accumulate between the neurons as we age. This build up of Amyloid protein is termed amyloid toxicity, and is thought to produce neuronal cell death in the patient's brain, causing loss of memory and, in the latter stages, dementia.

Conventional approaches to treating Alzheimer's disease involve the use of pharmaceuticals to treat the symptoms caused by the death of these neurons.

Currently on the market and approved by the FDA are the drugs: Aricept by Pfizer, Exelon by Novartis, Reminyl by Janssen, and Cognex by First Horizon. But, none of these drugs reverses the damage done to cognitive functioning; they only delay further deterioration.

Natural, therapeutic compounds to support the survival of nerve and brain cells

A compound in the medicinal mushroom Lion's Mane (Hericium erinaceum) shows evidence of promoting nerve cell survival, and may also stimulate the production of Nerve Growth Factor (NGF) in the brain.

Keep your eye out for new information about these two specific items:

1) The substance amyloban
2) Other active compounds called hericenones isolated from the fruit body of Lion's Mane.

These are both found in the same mushroom, Lion's Mane.

Outside of research performed on mice, there is not a lot of hard evidence at this early stage, but there are supplements on the market made from Lion's Mane containing amyloban and hericenones.

To date, no consistent results have emerged from various studies having been completed, and further research needs to be undertaken to find the safest and most effective treatments.

It's exciting to think that some day natural substances like those from medicinal mushrooms could be at the forefront of alleviating the devastating symptoms of Alzheimer's disease.


© 1996-2009 Mark Isaac Thyss/Garden of Healing®. All rights reserved.

For more articles and recipes leading to natural health and healing, please visit:

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Organic Farmers use Natural Methods

ORGANICS

Organic Food is more nutritious for you and your family

By Mark Isaac Thyss
Garden of Healing®

Choosing organic is the best way to avoid pesticides in your food. Organic farmers predominantly use natural methods to control pests, and this in turn produces a cleaner harvest of good quality food.

Some pesticides can be stored in your body's fatty tissues for years. This raises concern about these pesticides being carcinogenic (cancer causing), mutagenic (causing birth defects) and neurotoxic (damaging to your nervous system).

A non-organic apple can be sprayed up to 16 times with 36 different chemicals, many of which cannot simply be washed off. In the UK, the latest Government tests (carried out in 2005) found pesticides in 80% of non-organic apple samples.

Organic is a better choice

No other food has higher amounts of beneficial minerals, essential amino acids and vitamins than organic food.

Take organic milk for example; according to research carried out by scientists across Europe, organic milk has nearly 70% more essential fatty acid omega-3 than its non-organic equivalent. Essential fatty acids are essential for maintaining normal bodily functions.

Organic milk contains significantly more vitamin E and beta-carotene, an antioxidant that our body converts to vitamin A.

One of the reasons that milk from organic cows is so good is because they eat a much more natural diet, grazing freely on fresh grass and clover. In comparison, most non-organic cows eat a more grain-based diet containing cereals, maize and protein supplements.

Make health your biggest concern

Food is in our headlines every week. Connections to disease are being drawn to artificial ingredients, additives and flavorings, and are increasingly coming under the public's spotlight for safety, with good reason.

People are eating organic because they believe it is a better way to feed themselves and their family.

Research shows that organic food is more nutritious for you and your family, as it contains more vitamins and minerals, and less poisonous substances you do not need - pesticides, additives and drugs.


© 1996-2009 Mark Isaac Thyss/Garden of Healing®. All rights reserved.

For more articles and recipes leading to natural health and healing, please visit:

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New York City Board of Health wins Calorie-Count Rule

RESTAURANT NEWS

NYC Rule Forcing Restaurants to Post Calorie Counts Upheld
Restaurants must abide by Law

By Mark Isaac Thyss
Garden of Healing®

Restaurant goers will continue to read calorie counts of their favorite fattening foods in New York City restaurants.

Taking a blow was The New York State Restaurant Association which challenged the City’s 2007 regulation requiring fast-food and chain restaurants to display calorie information on their menus. Victorious was New York City's Health department and its campaign against obesity.

In February, a federal appellate court rejected the restaurant association's position to do away with the 2007 regulation.

In their fight, advocates of the calorie law see it as a critical tool in America's struggle with obesity. The City had cited evidence showing that customers often and "sometimes significantly" underestimate the calorie content of meals.

Enforcement of the rule began in July 2008, but, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, eliminates, for now, uncertainty over the rule.

“This is good news for everyone,” said Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, the city’s health commissioner. “Nearly all chain restaurants are now complying with the law. Consumers are learning more about the food before they order, and the market for healthier alternatives is growing. We applaud the court for its decision, and we thank the restaurant industry for living by the rules.”

The appellate court rejected the restaurant association’s arguments that the rule was pre-empted by federal Food and Drug Administration regulations and that it violated the First Amendment rights of restaurants.

Three judges found that Congress intended to exempt restaurant food from the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 1990, and left the question of whether to require the posting of information like calorie counts to state and local governments.

The rule applies to restaurants that are part of chains with at least 15 establishments doing business nationally.

The calorie-count rule, adopted by New York City’s Board of Health in 2007, originally applied to restaurants that had already voluntarily made nutritional information available.

© 1996-2009 Mark Isaac Thyss/Garden of Healing®. All rights reserved.

For more articles and recipes leading to natural health and healing, please visit:

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