https://www.istorya.net/forums/blog.php?222404-mrdarwinb en Sun, 17 May 2026 09:27:30 GMT vBulletin 300 https://www.istorya.net/forums/images/metro/blue/misc/rss.jpg https://www.istorya.net/forums/blog.php?222404-mrdarwinb https://www.istorya.net/forums/entry.php?2477-Taking-a-closer-look-at-cranberry Sun, 05 Apr 2015 11:14:31 GMT Scientific Name: Vaccinium macrocarpon

Common Name: Bearberry, Mossberry, Cranberry

History of Use

Cranberries were originally used by North Americans as fabric dye, food and healing agent. High in Vitamin C, these fruits were transported by American whalers and mariners while on long travel at sea to prevent scurvy (History of Cranberries, n.d.). Traditionally, cranberries are incorporated in the diet of North Americans as pemmican (crushed cranberries, dried deer meat and melted fat). As a medicine, they are used in treating arrow wounds (Neto & Vinson, 2011).

Currently, good scientific evidence for preventing urinary tract infection has been established. This is achieved because of a property of the fruit proanthocyanidins (PACs) with double A-type linkages that inhibit P-fimbriated E. coli from adhering to the uroepithelial cells (Rane, Bernardo, Howell, & Lee, 2014).

Cranberry PACs also impacts the bacterial anti-adhesion activity in the stomach cavity by preventing Helicobacter pylori, the bacteria associated with the onset of stomach ulcers, from attaching to isolated stomach cells (Burger, Weiss, Sharon, Tabak, & Neeman, 2002).

Cranberry PACs also prevents the adhesion of Streptoccocus sobrinus to hydroxyapatite and prevents biofilms associated with coaggregation and adhesion of bacteria to teeth and gums (Girardot, et al., 2014).

Cranberry is considered the best source of flavonols with content almost twice as high as other commonly consumed fruit juices such as pomegranate and grape (Neto & Vinson, 2011). Flavonols are part of the many groups of phytochemicals and, as such, functions as active antioxidants that could improve your health by increasing the ability to fight inflammation and neutralize free radicals (Busch, 2013). Because Cranberry naturally contains other phytochemicals such as resveratrol, epigallocatechin gallate, and quercetin, evidence has been emerging for the key role of apoptosis in cranberry’s anticancer activity especially in inducing apoptosis in breast tumor cells, and inhibiting proliferation of cancer cell lines in vitro, including breast, colon, pancreas, and leukemia (Neto C. C., 2007).

How to Get your Cranberry On

Cranberry is readily available in the form of cranberry juices, cranberry sauces and dried cranberries. These are normally added in desserts and stuffings.

Since the fruit is not naturally occurring in the Philippines, cranberry products are a bit expensive. You might want to incorporate the fruit in your day in the form of convenient once-a-day capsules of pure cranberry extract or cranberry softgels packed with a punch of vitamin c.

For a complete list of Health Funatics product line, visit its online shop.

Works Cited

Burger, O., Weiss, E., Sharon, N., Tabak, M., & Neeman, I. O. (2002). Inhibition of Helicobacter pylori Adhesion to Human Gastric Mucus by a High-Molecular-Weight Constituent of Cranberry Juice. Food Science and Nutrition, 42(3), 279-284. doi:10.1080/10408390209351916

Busch, S. (2013, November 27). What Are Flavonol Antioxidants? Retrieved April 5, 2015, from LiveStrong: What Are Flavonol Antioxidants? | LIVESTRONG.COM

Girardot, M., Guerineau, A., Boudesocque, L., Costa, D., Bazinet, L., Enguehard-Gueiffier, C., & Imbert, C. (2014, April). Promising results of cranberry in the prevention of oral Candida biofilms. (P. Bavoil, Ed.) Pathogens and Diseases, 70(3), 432-439. doi:Promising results of cranberry in the prevention of oral Candida biofilms | Pathogens and Disease

History of Cranberries. (n.d.). Retrieved April 5, 2015, from Cape Cod Cranberry Growers Association: History

Neto, C. C. (2007). Cranberry and Its Phytochemicals: A Review. The Journal of Nutrition. Retrieved April 5, 2015, from http://www.cogsci.umassd.edu/enginee...inks/neto1.pdf

Neto, C. C., & Vinson, J. A. (2011). Cranberry. In I. F. Benzie, & S. Wachtel-Galor (Eds.), Herbal Medicine: Biomolecular and Clinical Aspects (2nd ed.). Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press. Retrieved April 5, 2015, from Cranberry - Herbal Medicine - NCBI Bookshelf

Rane, H. S., Bernardo, S. M., Howell, A. B., & Lee, S. A. (2014, February). Cranberry-derived proanthocyanidins prevent formation of Candida albicans biofilms in artificial urine through biofilm- and adherence-specific mechanisms. Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, 69(2), 428-436. doi:10.1093/jac/dkt398

About Us

Health Funatics - Cebu's premier online vitamins and supplements shop. Established to reach the busy and working class audience that cannot otherwise be reached through traditional means. Health Funatics and Dive Funatics are active divisions of Lifestyle Fanatics Group, Inc.

Health Funatics carries known and trusted brands such as Puritan’s Pride, Life Extension, Madre Labs, Doctor’s Best, Jarrow Formulas, Nature’s Origin, Solgar, Nature’s Bounty, Himalayan Institute, Nature’s Way and other food supplements that are derived from natural and organic sources. Health Funatics also manufactures its healthy refreshing line of vegetable and fruit juices, popsicles and yogurts.

This article has been originally posted at (Taking a Closer Look at Cranbery | Health Funatics) ]]> mrdarwinb https://www.istorya.net/forums/entry.php?2477-Taking-a-closer-look-at-cranberry https://www.istorya.net/forums/entry.php?2476-Taking-a-closer-look-at-milk-thistle-%28silymarin%29 Sun, 05 Apr 2015 11:03:54 GMT Scientific Name: Silybum marianum

Common Name: Our Lady’s thistle, Marian thistle, St Mary’s thistle, Sow thistle and Wild artichoke


History of Use

Milk Thistle has been used in as early as 23 AD. Traditionally, it has been used “for infants that have their sinews drawn together, and for those that be bitten of serpents” in Rome. In Britain, it has also been used as treatment of disorders affecting the liver and spleen, the kidneys in provoking the flow of urine, to break and expel stones and also to treat dropsy. By the 19th century Milk thistle was recommended and used by German physicians for the treatment of liver and blood problems, as well as for intestinal cleansing (McCorrie, n.d.)

Currently, good scientific evidence for the following use has been established (Drugs and Supplements: Milk Thistle, 2013):

• Cirrhosis (liver scarring)
  
  • Studies have been performed in Europe in a span of over 5 years and the studies suggest benefits of oral milk thistle for cirrhosis and have come to the conclusion that milk thistle slightly improved liver function and decreased the number of deaths in people with liver disease.
  • Studies show that silymarin and it active constituent silibinin provide potent protection against liver damage from nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), in at least one case, genuinely reversing some of the more ominous findings (Campbell, 2015).
  
  
• Diabetes (type 2)
  
  • Research showed that milk thistle improved control of blood sugar in people with diabetes with and without liver disease.
  • Some research shows that taking silymarin, a chemical found in milk thistle, along with conventional treatment can decrease blood sugar, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL or “bad”) cholesterol, and triglycerides in people with diabetes(Milk Thistle Uses & Effectiveness, n.d.).
  
  
• Diabetic nephropathy (kidney disease)
  
  • Research suggests that silymarin improves blood and urine markers associated with diabetic kidney disease.
  • In rat studies, silymarin treatment has been found to markedly restore kidney tissue damaged by diabetes and significantly improve impaired kidney function, largely by restoring diminished levels of natural enzyme systems (Campbell, 2015).
  
  
• Liver disease (chronic)
  
  • Several studies of milk thistle in liver disease caused by viruses or alcohol report improvements in liver tests.

The following uses for milk thistle have also been established as possibly effective (Milk Thistle Uses & Effectiveness, n.d.):

• Seasonal allergies (allergic rhinitis). Some research shows that people who take a milk thistle extract in combination with a conventional antihistamine have reduced symptoms compared to people who just use an antihistamine.
• Heartburn (dyspepsia). When used daily for 4 weeks, a specific combination product (Iberogast, Medical Futures, Inc) that contains milk thistle plus peppermint leaf, German chamomile, caraway, licorice, clown’s mustard plant, celandine, angelica, and lemon balm seems to reduce the severity of acid reflux, stomach pain, cramping, nausea, and vomiting.
• Menopausal symptoms. Research in women suggests that taking a specific product containing milk thistle, black cohosh, dong quai, red clover, American ginseng, and chasteberry (Phyto-Female) twice daily for 3 months reduces menopausal symptoms, including hot flashes and night sweats.
• Skin damage caused by radiation treatment. Research suggests that applying a specific product (Leviaderm) containing silymarin, a certain chemical found in milk thistle, to the skin reduces skin damage caused by radiation treatment in women with breast cancer.

Early research in lung cancer suggests that milk thistle stops the spread of lung cancer and may possibly reverse its effects (Fassa, 2013). According to the study, an inflammatory response leads to a chain of cellular events that can eventually result in tumor growth. The authors discovered that targeting a certain pair of enzymes part of the way into that chain of events eliminates the creation of the final pair of enzymes that produce tumors. It has been found out that milk thistle’s silibinin (aka silybin) eliminates those enzymes that continue a chain of events resulting in the enzymes that produce tumors.


Dosage

Recommended dosage for milk thistle varies depending on the targeted use. They are as follows (Milk Thistle Dosing, 2013):

• For diabetic nephropathy (kidney disease), 140 milligrams of silymarin has been taken by mouth three times daily for three months.
• For diabetes (type 2), 200-230 milligrams of silymarin has been taken by mouth one to three times daily for four weeks to 12 months, together with regular therapy.
• For cirrhosis, 160-800 milligrams of silymarin has been taken by mouth in 2-3 divided doses daily by mouth for up to two years.
• For allergic nasal symptoms, 140 milligrams of silymarin has been taken by mouth three times daily for one month.

How to Get your Milk Thistle On

Highly used in Germany, milk thistle leaves and flowers are eaten as a vegetable for salads and a substitute for spinach. The seeds are roasted for use as a coffee substitute. Milk thistle tea is also available in the market today. Seeds can also be incorporated in the diet as additions to fruit juices and smoothies. Powdered seeds are also used as burger, smoothie and salad sprinkles (How to Use Milk Thistle In Your Diet, 2011).

Click here to order our Milk Thistle in softgel form.

Works Cited

Campbell, M. (2015, April). Milk Thistle Extract Provides Liver Protection. (P. Smith, R. Price, L. Mathena, J. M. Henry, & A. D. Kessler, Eds.) LifeExtension April 2015, XXI(4), 48-57.

Drugs and Supplements: Milk Thistle. (2013, November 1). Retrieved March 27, 2015, from Mayo Clinic Web site: Milk thistle (Silybum marianum) Evidence - Mayo Clinic

Fassa, P. (2013, September 9). Beyond Liver Support: Milk Thistle Shows Promise as Cancer Therapy. Retrieved March 28, 2015, from Natural Society: Beyond Liver Support: Milk Thistle Shows Promise as Cancer Therapy | Natural Society

How to Use Milk Thistle In Your Diet. (2011, June 17). Retrieved March 28, 2015, from Newsmax: How to Use Milk Thistle In Your Diet

McCorrie, J. T. (n.d.). Milk Thistle. Retrieved March 27, 2015, from Dr. Christopher’s Herbal Legacy: History of Milk Thistle

Milk Thistle Dosing. (2013, November 1). Retrieved March 28, 2015, from WebMD: Milk thistle (Silybum marianum) Dosing - Mayo Clinic

Milk Thistle Uses & Effectiveness. (n.d.). Retrieved March 27, 2015, from WebMD Web site: milk thistle: Uses, Side Effects, Interactions and Warnings - WebMD

Tyagi, A., Agarwal, C., Dwyer-Nield, L. D., Singh, R. P., Malkinson, A. M., & Agarwal, R. (2011, August 31). Silibinin modulates TNF-α and IFN-γ mediated signaling to regulate COX2 and iNOS expression in tumorigenic mouse lung epithelial LM2 cells. Retrieved March 28, 2015, from Wiley Online Library: Silibinin modulates TNF-[] and IFN-[] mediated signaling to regulate COX2 and iNOS expression in tumorigenic mouse lung epithelial LM2 cells - Tyagi - 2011 - Molecular Carcinogenesis - Wiley Online Library

About Us

Health Funatics - Cebu's premier online vitamins and supplements shop. Established to reach the busy and working class audience that cannot otherwise be reached through traditional means. Health Funatics and Dive Funatics are active divisions of Lifestyle Fanatics Group, Inc.


Health Funatics carries known and trusted brands such as Puritan’s Pride, Life Extension, Madre Labs, Doctor’s Best, Jarrow Formulas, Nature’s Origin, Solgar, Nature’s Bounty, Himalayan Institute, Nature’s Way and other food supplements that are derived from natural and organic sources. Health Funatics also manufactures its healthy refreshing line of vegetable and fruit juices, popsicles and yogurts.

Although the Health Funatics brand is only recently launched, the backbone of our health food supplement retail and wholesale business has been around for over 20 years, serving Iloilo, Cebu and some parts of the Visayas.

This article has been originally posted at (Taking a Closer Look at Milk Thistle (Silymarin) | Health Funatics) ]]> mrdarwinb https://www.istorya.net/forums/entry.php?2476-Taking-a-closer-look-at-milk-thistle-%28silymarin%29