Wellness

Plant extract heals ulcerative colitis, may prevent colon cancer

(NaturalNews) Ulcerative colitis is a serious disease that affects about a million people in the U.S., causing inflammation and sores in the lining of the rectum and colon that bleed, produce pus and cause frequent diarrhea. Although drugs, especially steroids, can sometimes soothe symptoms, Big Pharma has been unable to come up with a cure. Fortunately, however, scientists are finding natural substances may be able to prevent and treat ulcerative colitis.

For example, as NaturalNews previously reported, University of East Anglia (UEA) researchers have discovered olive oil may stop ulcerative colitis from developing in the first place (http://www.naturalnews.com/028813_olive_oil_ulcerative_colitis.html). Now ongoing research by South Dakota State University (SDSU) scientist Moul Dey is providing evidence an extract made from a food plant in the Brassica genus can heal ulcerative colitis symptoms.

While a researcher at Rutgers starting in 2004, Dr. Dey screened about 3,000 extracts of this plant family (which includes cruciferous vegetables such as cabbage, cauliflower, watercress and broccoli), looking for anti-inflammation activity. She found that Phenethylisothiocyanate, PEITC for short, in cruciferous veggies has particularly strong anti-inflammatory properties. Early winter cress (also called upland cress) -- an herb in the Brassica genus that's used in salads, soups and garnishes -- is an especially rich source of PEITC.

"I tested this substance in a mouse model that is already established and widely used. What we found is that it not only alleviates several clinical signs of ulcerative colitis -- for example, it attenuates the damage that occurs in the colon tissues and colon epithelium, as well as the clinical signs like diarrhea and blood in stool. The weight loss is a major sign in colitis and that was alleviated, too," Dr. Dey said in a statement to the media.

Now her work, funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), is expanding to study whether the plant extract can treat colon cancer, too. "There is an established link between ulcerative colitis and colon cancer. People who have ulcerative colitis are at significantly higher risk to have colon cancer," Dr. Dey said in the press statement. "Whether this plant extract might help with colon cancer symptoms directly or perhaps delay the onset of colon cancer in ulcerative colitis patients, we don't know the answers to those questions, but it is something we would like to look into."

Editor's note: NaturalNews is opposed to the use of animals in medical experiments that expose them to harm. We present these findings in protest of the way in which they were acquired.

For more information: http://www.naturalnews.com/cruciferous_vegetables.html http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20423518 http://www.naturalnews.com/cruciferous_vegetables.html

Reserve your screen names now for the launch of NaturalNews.TV video sharing site

(NaturalNews) The NaturalNews.TV website is the new, up-and-coming community video website that lets you upload, share and promote videos on topics like natural health, green living, natural foods and much more. It will be officially launched in less than two weeks. Nearly 1,500 members have already joined the site even before we announced it!

That's why you may want to know about this right now: You can reserve your own screen name on NaturalNews.TV right now by simply joining the site as a member (it's free). To get the screen name you want, join as soon as possible before our public launch. This will give you control over your screen name.

For example, if your nickname is "Jungle Guy" then you'd want to reserve the screen name "JungleGuy" so that your NaturalNews.TV home page would be www.NaturalNews.TV/JungleGuy

You can reserve screen names that represent your real name, your nick name, your company name, organization name, product name or anything else. We do, of course, ask that you do not reserve trademarks terms unless you are the trademark holder or have some natural right to that term. So don't register "McDonalds" unless that happens to be your real last name. (We reserve the right to cancel accounts that attempt to squat on trademarked names or that attempt to reserve names with the intent of selling them for profit.)

Some of these screen names will one day be extremely valuable, and it's in your interests to reserve your own name right now. It's free, of course, and once you do that, you can upload videos, share them, post them on your website, link to them and much more.

Videos get promoted across the site
Better yet, once your video is uploaded and approved (we review and approve all videos before they appear on the site), it will automatically begin to appear in the "Related Videos" column located on the right of each video play page. So if you upload a video about yoga, for example, and someone else also has a video on yoga, when their video plays, your video may be recommended on the right.

NaturalNews.TV gets even more exposure for your videos using an unprecedented video distribution system that we'll be announcing shortly after the official launch of the site. We anticipate this resulting in millions of video views each month. These could be YOUR videos getting views, meaning your message can get out to a focused audience of people who are genuinely interested in healthy living, sustainable living, environmental protection, health freedom, natural medicine, foods and recipes, healthy pets and much more.

To get started, just JOIN as a new member at www.NaturalNews.TV and enter the screen name you want to reserve. You can only reserve one screen name per email address you use to sign up, so pick your screen name carefully.

Once you join, you can start uploading your videos. They'll usually be approved in 12 hours or less, and they'll appear on the NaturalNews.TV home page!

We'll have more exciting announcements about NaturalNews.TV coming soon!

About NaturalNews.TV

NaturalNews.TV is a multi-lingual, global video sharing community website serving the natural health and green living community with quality video content created by members. All uploaded videos are reviewed by real people before being published, and the site restricts content to relevant videos that serve the interests of its members.

Behind the scenes, NaturalNews.TV is driven by a global network of servers located in over two dozen key cities around the world, including New York, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Sydney, London and more. This provides fast, reliable streaming of video content with the built-in scalability to deliver thousands of terabytes of video data each month, almost anywhere in the world.

NaturalNews.TV was co-created by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, editor of NaturalNews.com, with the purpose of providing a quality video site without all the noise and pollution of more popular video sites. All the videos on NaturalNews.TV are approved with the intention of supporting happier and healthier lives through education, how-to videos, instruction and commentary. The site supports free speech for the natural health community and strives to share information that can help people increase their health and happiness through knowledge empowerment.

The Cancer-Preventing Vitamin Your Doctor Is Likely Completely Clueless About

In this interview, Dr. Cees Vermeer, one of the world’s top vitamin K researchers discusses the importance of this largely ignored and oft-forgotten vitamin.

Vitamin K, just like vitamin D, is crucial for preventing cancer, osteoporosis, and heart disease, and nearly everyone is deficient.

For those who are interested in getting a supply of vitamin K2 we do have it in our store.

Superfood Expert, David Wolfe, Shares Latest Insights on How to Stay Healthy

David "Avocado" Wolfe, a leading authority on raw foods and superfoods, coaches Hollywood celebrities and leading business people on nutrition and wellness.

In this interview, David shares his extensive knowledge about the holistic treatment of chronic inflammation.

If you want to purchase the DVDs of the Longevity Conference that I spoke at earlier this year with David Wolfe you can watch the free Longevity Conference presentation here.

If you want to join me live on Friday, September 24, 2010 - Sunday, September 26th, 2010 at The Orange County Hilton in Costa Mesa, CA, then you can go to David's page in which he fully describes the fall Longevity Now Conference and you can see all the speakers that will be attending. I am very excited about being a part of this event, as the energy and conversations that occur there are extraordinary. 

I feel like this group of people are the graduate students of how to maximize healthy living to the fullest, and one of the reasons I attend is because I learn so much.

Not to worry if you can't attend that weekend as you can always get the Longevity Conference DVDs now.

Is This Popular Sports Drink as Damaging as Coca-Cola?

Glaceau Vitaminwater sold 142 million cases in the United States in 2009. ; Vitaminwater, which is owned by Coca-Cola, offers hip-looking packaging and engaging product names such as Revive, Focus and Connect.

But the main selling points of Vitaminwater and its competitors, such as SoBe Life Water and Propel, are the added vitamins and electrolytes.

But is it worth it? ; Probably not. ; According to the Washington Post:

"... only people 'dedicated' to exercising need to replenish [electrolytes] ... and then it's necessary only if they work out vigorously for more than an hour. ; Tap water has the added benefits of being all but free, and free of calories.

Critics have bashed Vitaminwater for being a calorie trap ... a bottle contains 2.5 servings, so you could easily drink 125 calories -- just 15 ounces shy of the calories in a can of Coca-Cola -- at once."

And as for the vitamins?; Vitaminwater focuses on B vitamins and Vitamin C, which are water-soluble and not stored in your body. ; Once you go beyond what you need, you urinate it out.

Organic Pesticides Not Always Best Choice

Consumers cannot assume that a product is environmentally friendly just because it is organic. A new study shows that some organic pesticides can have a higher environmental impact than conventional pesticides.

Researchers compared the effectiveness and environmental impact of organic pesticides to those of conventional and reduced-risk synthetic products on soybean crops.

An organic mineral oil-based product was among the less effective ones, as it killed ladybugs and flower bugs, which are important regulators of aphid population and growth.

According to Science Daily:

"These predator insects reduce environmental impact because they naturally protect the crop, reducing the amount of pesticides that are needed."

Some Manicures Can Cause Nerve Damage

In a gel manicure, a special solution is applied to your nails.  It is then hardened under a UV light for a longer-lasting manicure.

But there's concern that the procedure may not always be safe -- either because the technicians don't do them right, or the nail salon is passing off other procedures as gel manicures.

In some cases, the electric file can slip and scuff up your skin, which is then dipped into a pot of powdered chemicals. Especially if the chemicals are not a true gel manicure, they can get into the abrasion and migrate, causing nerve damage.

ABC News offers some tips for spotting a manicure procedure that could harm you:

• Your salon uses bottles in unmarked containers.
• The products smell unusually strong or have a strange odor.
• Your skin is abraded or cut during the procedure.
• The instruments used on you are not sterilized.
• Your skin or nails hurt during or after the nail service.
• You see swelling, redness or other signs of infection.

For the complete list, please see ABC News' article linked below.