Most edible mushrooms are relatively small, but in West Africa as well as Zambia, there’s one particularly enormous species that outgrows all the rest of them.

The American spirit lives on at a 300-year-old, cream-line dairy farm, where a farmer is working around the clock to bottle his own milk after his processor told him to dump it. Locals are lining up to support him.

Known by a few names, such as African Pheasant and Guinea Hens, one could also call this African native the “Tick Assassin.”

In their homeland, these loud and prehistoric-looking fowl follow around the grazing herds and reportedly eat up to 4000 ticks a day.

Guinea fowl are relatively low maintenance. In the summertime, guinea will forage all of their food. They eat ticks, fleas, crickets, mosquitos, slugs, grasshoppers and small rodents (basically anything they can get their beaks on) without destroying the yard or garden as chickens do. Flocks of guineas have been known to eat snakes. They also love to eat weeds. A bit of feed in the coop will encourage them to come home at night. Coops can be provided, although flocks will find homes high in treetops, away from the threat of raccoons.

They are also free from most diseases that plague other poultry. They will give warning calls when unknown guests arrive, which helps to protect other farm animals. Their call will also keep unwanted rodents away.

Guinea fowl manure can be added to your compost and is a wonderful addition to nurturing the soil where your food is grown. Your plants will thrive.

Guineas are known for their hardiness, being able to withstand both hot and cold.

While not laying as often as chickens, guinea eggs may still be collected and eaten. Guineas tend to make their nests in hidden areas, so finding their eggs may be an adventure.


When starting your guinea flock, it’s best to buy them from keets (babies) so they will know where home is. Imported adult guineas will wander off.

If you have nearby neighbors, it’s best to check in with them, as their squawking can be unbearable for some. However, given their reputation as tick assassins, having them in the neighborhood can be a helpful, healthy alternative to pesticides if you are living in a tick-ridden area.

Bear in mind that guinea meat is also a known delicacy, so if you start your flock and someone complains, you can also have guinea stew.

Source

Kris Bosen, a 21-year old man from Bakersfield, California, underwent a landmark stem cell therapy procedure which is allowing him to heal from a state of paralysis that he feared would be with him for his entire life. When Bosen was younger, he was in a severe car accident that left him permanently paralyzed from the neck down.

Charles Liu, director of the USC Neurorestoration Center, lead surgeon of the team did the transplant, said that this was a very experimental procedure, and referred to it as a “study.” Bosen was injected with an experimental dose of 10 million AST-OPC1 cells at the Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center in Downey, California. The dose was shot directly into Boesen’s cervical spinal cord.



“Typically, spinal cord injury patients undergo surgery that stabilizes the spine but generally does very little to restore motor or sensory function. With this study, we are testing a procedure that may improve neurological function, which could mean the difference between being permanently paralyzed and being able to use one’s arms and hands. Restoring that level of function could significantly improve the daily lives of patients with severe spinal injuries,” Liu explained.


It has been nearly three years since Bosen received the treatment in April of 2016, and he has shown incredible progress during rehabilitation. It took only two weeks for Bosen to regain control and sensation in his arms and hands.

“As of 90 days post-treatment, Kris has gained significant improvement in his motor function, up to two spinal cord levels. In Kris’ case, two spinal cord levels mean the difference between using your hands to brush your teeth, operate a computer or do other things you wouldn’t otherwise be able to do, so having this level of functional independence cannot be overstated,” Liu told USC news.

Bosen hopes that this same treatment can help him walk someday as well.

“All I’ve wanted from the beginning was a fighting chance…But if there’s an opportunity for me to walk again, then heck yeah! I want to do anything possible to do that,” Bosen says.


These types of stem cell treatments are offering new hope to people in similar positions, as more facilities are comfortable with attempting the procedure after seeing Bosen’s success. Last year, the Mayo Clinic opened up stem cell therapy trials for ten people suffering from traumatic spinal cord injuries.




One of the Mayo Clinic’s stem cell patients, Geoffrey Craigie of Grand Rapids, Michigan, just received his first stem cell treatment last month.

“I can feel to like the middle of my chest. So far so good, it’s pretty exciting,” Craigie told WZZM.

“You know, when I got hurt, I was in a pretty dark place, depressed, thinking this is the end of the world type of thing. It really isn’t, there’s a lot of support out there for people like me,” he added.

According to a study conducted this year at the University of Minnesota Medical School, spinal cord stimulation using stem cells does, in fact, help to heal paralysis in many circumstances.

Source

Trader Joe’s was one of the first chain grocery stores to begin selling organic food, but their products have not necessarily been eco-friendly. A vast amount of the produce that can be found at Trader Joe’s is needlessly covered in plastic, but that is about to change soon.


The company recently announced that they will be cutting down on their use of plastic, and reduce their consumption of plastic by roughly 4 million pounds each year. More than half of that plastic, 2.5 million pounds, is being cut from the produce department.

Now, many produce items that can be safely sold loose will not contain any packaging. This change will save the company a ton of money, and those savings are reportedly being noticed by customers as well.

At one Trader Joe’s location, a customer said that they found a single head of garlic for $.49, when before the same item was sold in packs of two for $1.39 before. For this item, the loss of packaging came with a 25% reduction in price, and customers say that this has happened all over the produce section.

There were some food items that just needed plastic to be kept fresh, although a statement from Trader Joe’s noted that they were seeking solutions for more eco-friendly packaging for these situations.

“The outcome of our test was not tolerable from a food-waste perspective, so we are in pursuit of alternatives. While we may not always arrive at the right solution the first time, we remain steadfast in our dedication to this important work,” the statement read.

The company also said that they will be phasing out the use of styrofoam trays and looking for a variety of different ways that they can cut down on waste in their stores.

Over 5000 people have downloaded our free ebook “Growth Hacking Tips And Rituals For Optimal Living” CLICK HERE to get your free copy now

Trader Joe’s has been keeping their customers informed about the changes through their website and on their podcast, “Inside Trader Joe’s.”

In the press release, the company explained that:

A fundamental focus of sustainability is maintaining product integrity and preventing food waste. We strive to balance the key role packaging plays in this effort with the overall impact packaging has on the ecosystem, as we approach making any changes. We are also aware that the realistic opportunities for recycling materials, along with differing understandings of what is the “best choice” for sustainability, makes this work complex. While most of the plastic in our packaging has the highest recyclability acceptance rate in the U.S., reducing the amount of plastic packaging in our stores is another important focus of our sustainability.

Trader Joe’s has also taken some other measures recently, in addition to reducing packaging and no longer offering single-use plastic bags. The company has also promised to get rid of Bisphenol A, or BPA, from their packaging.

createSummaryAndThumb("summary4223638520792346370","Trader Joe’s Got Rid of Plastic Packaging And Produce Prices Fell By Up To 25%","https://www.natureknows.org/2019/10/trader-joes-got-rid-of-plastic-packaging-and-produce-prices-fell-by-up-to-25-percent.html","5:42 AM","0","Environment ,Food ,Healthy ,Smart Ideas");

Opossums attract and then kill thousands of ticks per acre, per week, making them one of our best allies in stopping the spread of Lyme disease, researchers say.


A study compared squirrels, mice and opossums, which all eat ticks, and found opossums were the most effective exterminators.

Ticks favor opossums twice as much as the other rodents, the researchers, from Syracuse University, found.

Fortunately, for humans, possums are also the most effective at killing the disease-carrying pests.

Opossums kill almost every tick that occupies them, the study found. A single opossum kills over 5500 ticks per week.

“Opossums are extraordinarily good groomers it turns out – we never would have thought that ahead of time – but they kill the vast majority – more than 95% percent of the ticks that try to feed on them,” disease ecologist Rick Ostfeld explained.

“So these opossums are walking around the forest floor, hoovering up ticks right and left, killing over 90% of these things, and so they are really protecting our health.”

Worldwide, more than 1.3 million people die each year of infectious diseases transmitted by a vector, such as a mosquito, sand fly or tick, according to the World Health Organization.

Vector-borne diseases also inflict heavy tolls on crops, livestock and wildlife, the study’s authors wrote.

Source

The Blue Java is a variety of banana that has a taste and consistency that are strikingly similar to vanilla ice cream. It is also known as ice cream banana in Hawaii, Cenizo in Central America and Hawaiian banana in Fiji.

It has a sweet aroma and an aqua blue peel when unripe. When ripe, these bananas are greenish or pale yellow, and the inside is whitish yellow. It originates from South East Asia, and unlike other banana varieties, it can keep growing in temperatures as low as 20F / -7c.

Bananas are low in fat, but energy dense, so 100 grams of banana provide about 0.3g of fat, 22.8g of carbs, and 89 calories. They are abundant in potassium, that supports proper muscles contraction, and nerve cell response, and regulates heart pressure.

Blue Java bananas contain a fair amount of fiber, as well as several antioxidants that strengthen the immune system. They are also high in vitamin B6 and C, magnesium, copper, manganese, and protein.

The high pectin and resistant starch content moderate blood sugar levels after meals and suppress appetite by slowing the emptying of your stomach. These fruits also rank low to medium on the glycemic index (GI).

The high amounts of vitamin B6 help the body to synthesize its own serotonin, meaning that the consumption of these bananas significantly improves mood. A smoothie or delicious banana ice cream with 2-3 Blue Java bananas will provide over 75% of your RDA of vitamin B6.



Furthermore, these bananas are abundant in non-digestible fibers like cellulose, hemicellulose, and alpha-glucans, which prevent constipation and restore and maintain regular bowel function.

The resistant starch also escapes digestion and ends up in the large intestine where it becomes food for the beneficial bacteria in the gut.

This banana variety has wide, thick, and strong leaves, which can be used instead of aluminum foil, and parchment paper for cooking, as well as for The Blue Java Banana has wide, strong, and thick leaves like any other banana variety. These leaves can also be used for baking, boiling, steaming, grilling, and drying.

You can replace ice cream with these bananas, or add it to various recipes for an added vanilla flavor, like smoothies, banana cakes, oatmeal cookies, pancakes, and more.

Therefore, if you decide to grow a Blue Java banana here, and reap the benefits of these delicious fruits, you should know the following facts:

-- It the U.S. it is suitable for growing in the USDA’s zones 9b through 11, although some farmers grow from zones 8 through 11, which are part of the hardiness zones

-- It takes about 9 months from the time the first leaves appear for the fruits to mature if you plant a pseudostem

-- Bananas love mushy conditions and warm, rich soil, so you should water the banana tree frequently

-- They also require a lot of fertilizing, so you will need to use an NPK fertilizer with nutrients in the ratio of 3:1:6 to nurture it. You will need to spray a cup of fertilizer around the roots a month for a one-foot tall plant.

-- Also, you need to prune the secondary shoots around each rhizome, but leave at least one shoot around the plant to improve photosynthesis

-- Bananas require sunlight to germinate, but it is best for the banana tree to be partially to fully exposed to sunlight

Source

This Thai supermarket chain is now wrapping its fruits and veggies in an abundant biodegradable, renewable resource — banana leaves.


A supermarket chain in Chiangmai, Thailand, is doing its part to stem the tide of single-use plastics flooding into the ocean.

While most supermarkets bundle their strawberries in plastic boxes, their corn in plastic shrink wrap and their mushrooms in plastic produce bags, this grocer has come up with an innovative, eco-friendly solution.


Banana leaves are a plentiful and nearly free resource, except for the cost of gathering them.


They’ve been used for millennia as plates and food wrappers and are still used as stylish serving dishes today in Indian and Filipino restaurants.


Banana leaves are said to lend a special flavor to a dish and can even be used to steam foods like Vietnamese sausage.

Not only do the leaves make for a lovely presentation, but it is believed that an enzyme on the leaf, which is released into the food, aids in digestion.


So instead of contaminating our produce with hormone-disrupting BPA, we could actually be making it more nutritious.

Now the benefits of the banana leaf are being expanded beyond fine dining and into the grocery store. They’re large, flexible and waterproof, making for sturdy packaging.




Researchers in Sri Lanka have also perfected a technique for curing banana leaves so they can be kept for more than a month under refrigerated conditions without any change in color or quality.

Source

Plants are the most effective way to increase oxygen levels in the room and improve air quality. There are also beneficial plants that will help you improve mood, and fight anxiety, depression, and prevent panic attacks.

Researchers have found that there is a direct link between stress and oxygen levels and showed that high levels of toxins in the air lead to anxiety and stress. Therefore, you can drastically improve your mood and relieve stress and anxiety.

Scientists have conducted studies on mice and discovered that the aroma of jasmine plant and jasmine essential oil significantly calmed them, and made them stop all activity and sit quietly in a corner. Their brain scans showed that jasmine fragrance boosts the effects of a chemical called GABA on nerve cells, and thus relieves anxiety and encourages rest.

According to Professor Hanns Hatt, these findings published online in the Journal of Biological Chemistry can “be seen as evidence of a scientific basis for aromatherapy”.

Prof Hatt, of the Ruhr University in Bochum, Germany, added:

“We have discovered a new class of GABA receptor modulator which can be administered parentally and through the respiratory air. Applications in sedation, anxiety, excitement, and aggression relieving treatment and sleep induction therapy are all imaginable.”

Researchers found that jasmine is much more effective than sleeping pills, anti-anxiety medications, and sedatives, as it increased the GABA effect by more than five times.

Additionally, Kaliana.com reports:

“Research at Wheeling Jesuit University by Dr. Bryan Raudenbush, assistant professor of psychology, shows dispensing jasmine odor into a room where participants were sleeping “led to greater sleep efficiency and reduced sleep movement.” The research showed a greater quality of sleep even though there wasn’t more quantity of sleep.



Participants who breathed jasmine in the air “rated their level of anxiety and vigor lower, and performed cognitive tests more rapidly.” In addition, “level of alertness in the jasmine odor condition was greater during the afternoon hours, thus helping maintain students’ focus on academic work throughout the day.”

Jasmine essential oil is an effective natural way to improve sleep, boost happiness, regulate hormones, and treat anxiety and fatigue. It can be used to improve concentration, soothe spasms, and ease mild depression, since it:

• Reduces anxiety and nervous tension
• Boosts mood
• Improves cognitive performance and alertness
• Improves sleep quality
• Balances hormones
• Treats hot flashes and mood swings
• Increases libido

Therefore, keep a jasmine in your bedroom, and you will reap all the benefits of this amazing plant!
Source

Supermarkets around the world should be commended for banning plastic bags, but there's another single-use foe on the environmental radar: produce packaging. Sales of some vegetables have soared by up to 300 per cent following moves by a number of New Zealand supermarkets to ditch plastic packaging.

"A group of New World supermarkets have abandoned the use of plastic wrapping for virtually all of their fruit and vegetables in a project labelled 'food in the nude'. Pioneered by the New World store at Bishopdale in Christchurch, it has led to stunning sales figures.

"We monitor them year on year and after we introduced the concept we noticed sales of spring onions, for example, had increased by 300 per cent," says Bishopdale owner Nigel Bond. "There may have been other factors at play but we noticed similar increases in other vegetable varieties like silver beet and radishes.

"When we first set up the new shelving our customers were blown away," he says. "It reminded me of when I was a kid going to the fruiterer with my Dad, you could smell the fresh citrus and spring onions. By wrapping products in plastic we sanitise and deprive people of this experience; it (dispensing with plastic) was a huge driver for us."


Of the 300 million tons of plastic produced worldwide every year, half is used just once and thrown away, while only nine per cent is recycled. In New Zealand about 252,000 tonnes of plastic waste goes into landfill each year, a significant amount also ending up in our waterways and ultimately the sea.



Bond says eight or nine New World supermarkets in the South Island have followed Bishopdale's example, a move which is part of a suite of sustainable practices adopted by New World owner Foodstuffs.

"I went on a study tour to the United States and saw what the Whole Foods supermarket chain is doing over there," he says. "They have a massive range of fresh food and their merchandising is almost an art form.

Bond began discussions with growers and suppliers, most of whom he says were happy to look at ways of providing produce free of plastic packaging (Foodstuffs is also continuing to work with suppliers to look at how it can be reduced across-the-board including areas other than produce).

A new refrigeration shelving system for displaying fresh fruit and vegetables was installed along with a process known as 'misting' to help keep items fresh.

"Vegetables are 90 per cent water and studies have shown that misted produce not only looks better, retains its colour and texture, but also has higher vitamin content," Bond says. "We've also installed a reverse osmosis system that treats the water by removing 99 per cent of all bacteria and chlorine, so we are confident the water we're misting with remains pure."

Bond says some produce - including berries, grapes and some tomatoes - still come in plastic containers while mushrooms are packaged in cardboard trays. Most of this packaging is, however, recyclable.

Although many suppliers are reviewing the way produce is packaged, Bond believes manufacturers don't always understand what consumers want: "We know, but we are like an intermediary, we sell what they give us. I think manufacturers have a much bigger part to play."

New World is also trialling another initiative – bring your own containers. The trial, in which customers can use BYO containers for meat and seafood, is under way in a number of stores including Howick in Auckland, Hastings, Levin and Rototuna.

"Take-up has been slow," says Brendon Jones, owner-operator at New World in Howick, "but we're committed to conducting the trial. We have limited it so far to the butchery and seafood counters, where potential food safety risks are reduced because these products are likely to be cooked after being purchased."

He says Foodstuffs is also trialling paper alternatives to foil seafood bags and fibre-based deli trays.

Foodstuffs have signed the NZ Plastic Packaging Declaration which is committed to making all store and private label packaging 100 per cent reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025. It has also introduced recyclable food trays – a measure that gives customers the opportunity to divert more than 80 million trays from landfill every year.

keep your clothes on....’food in the nude’ means beginning of the end for plastic in supermarkets.
Source

The success of the traditional food movement boosted the popularity of fermented foods, and we finally realized the wisdom of our ancestors. People have consumed fermented foods for centuries, due to the numerous health benefits they offer.

According to Jillian Levy, CHHC:

“Sauerkraut, a form of fermented cabbage, has been popular throughout Central Europe for hundreds of years. Sauerkraut combines one of the healthiest foods there is (cabbage) with one of the most beneficial and time-honored food preparation methods ever used (fermentation).

According to the Institute for Integrative Medicine at the University of Witten in Germany, sauerkraut is one of the most common and oldest forms of preserving cabbage and can be traced back as an important food source to the fourth century B.C.

Fermentation simply refers to an ancient technique and perseveration method that naturally alters the chemistry of foods. Similar to cultured dairy products like yogurt and kefir, sauerkraut’s fermentation process produces beneficial probiotics that are now linked to improvements in immune, cognitive, digestive and endocrine function.”

Sauerkraut is made by pickling cabbage in a process called lacto-fermentation. It is a rich source of enzymes that support digestion and help the absorption of nutrients in the body.

However, the store-bought sauerkraut is pasteurized and treated with numerous chemicals, so it no longer offers the same benefits.



Here is how to make your homemade sauerkraut and boost the intake of probiotics:

Homemade sauerkraut recipe

Ingredients:

• 6 pounds cabbage
• 3 tablespoons sea salt

Instructions:

1. Remove the large outer leaves of the cabbage, and shred the rest of it. In a bowl, mix it with the salt, and in order to stimulate the release of its juices, massage it with your hands for about 15 minutes.
2. Then, transfer the mixture to a larger fermentation container, pound it down for the juice to come up to the surface, and cover it with a plate. You should leave about 2 inches of space at the top.
3. Place a heavy glass jar with water over the plate to press it down and force the water out of it.
4. Keep the container at room temperature, in a cool, dark place, covered with a towel.

The fermentation process will take about a month. Afterward, store the sauerkraut in the fridge, and enjoy its benefits on a daily basis!

Source

Celery is one of the most nutritious vegetables we can consume, as it is a rich source of magnesium, potassium, and vitamins C, A, B, and K. It is also high in phytonutrients, which act as potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant agents, strengthen the immune system, boosts the intracellular communication, and repairs the DNA damage due to toxins.

According to Jillian Levy, CHHC:

“Fresh celery benefits nutrition thanks to all the tremendous vitamins and minerals it contains. One cup of chopped raw celery (about 101 grams) contains approximately:

• 16.2 calories
• 3.5 grams carbohydrates
• 0.7 gram protein
• 0.2 gram fat
• 1.6 grams fiber
• 29.6 micrograms vitamin K (37 percent DV)
• 453 international units (9 percent DV)
• 36.5 micrograms folate (9 percent DV)
• 263 milligrams potassium (8 percent DV)
• 3.1 milligrams vitamin C (5 percent DV)
• 0.1 milligram manganese (5 percent DV)
• 0.1 milligram vitamin B6 (4 percent DV)
• 40.4 milligrams calcium (4 percent DV)
• 0.1 milligram riboflavin (3 percent DV)
• 11.1 milligrams magnesium (3 percent DV)

All with some sugars, celery also contains some vitamin E, niacin, pantothenic acid, iron, phosphorus, zinc, and selenium.”




Researchers have confirmed the numerous health benefits of celery:

• Celery treats and prevents chronic inflammation
• It regulates the pH balance of the body
• it helps weight loss since it is low in calories but high in fiber
• Celery helps digestion and treats stomach issues and constipation
• It is 96% water, so it hydrates the body
• It lowers the risk of gastritis and gastric ulcers
• It treats urinary tract infections as it has potent diuretic properties
• It soothes the nervous system and helps you fall asleep
• It regulates cholesterol and blood pressure, as it contains phthalide
• It is low in acids and relieves heartburn and acid reflux
• Celery is abundant in vitamin A, so it improves vision, treats dry eyes, and protects the cornea
• It acts as a natural aphrodisiac since it is rich in the male pheromones, androstenol, and androsterone
• It boosts the levels of the hormone aldosterone, so it improves male’s fertility and the count of sperm
• It can clean your teeth like a natural dental floss since it is breaking into fibrous strands while chewing

You can enjoy the amazing taste and numerous benefits of this vegetable in numerous ways. You can add it to soups, stir-fries, salads, stews, and salad dressings, or dip it in peanut butter, sauces, or hummus.

Source

Researchers from England, Holland and Sweden have shown great interest in the experiment done by 5 girls from northern Jutland in 9th grade. They did an experiment for a biology test, so brilliant, that it has attracted international attention among acknowledged biologists and radiation experts.

The girls got really surprised by the sudden attention from all around the world.

“It has been such a rollercoaster ride. I still cannot believe it”, says Lea Nielsen, one of the girls.

“It’s totally overwhelming and exciting. It’s just not something you experience every day”. added Mathilde Nielsen, another girl from the group.

It all started because they found it difficult to concentrate during the school day:

“We all think we have experienced difficulty concentrating in school, if we had slept with the phone next to our head, and sometimes also experienced having difficulty sleeping”, explains Lea Nielsen.

So here is what they did:

They took 400 cress seeds and placed them in 12 trays. Then, they placed 6 trays in 2 separate rooms at the same temperature. They gave the same amount of water and sun to all the trays for 12 days.

However, 6 of the trays were put next to two [Wi-Fi] routers. Such routers broadcast the same type of radiation as an ordinary mobile.

After 12 days what the result spoke was clear: cress seeds next to the router did not grow, and some of them were even mutated or dead.



“It is truly frightening that there is so much affect, so we were very shocked by the result”, says Lea.

Olle Johansson, a renowned professor at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, is one of the impressed researchers.

He will now repeat the experiment with a Belgian research colleague, Professor Marie-Claire Cammaert at the Université libre de Bruxelles.

According to him, this is absolutely brilliant:

“The girls stayed within the scope of their knowledge, skilfully implemented and developed a very elegant experiment. The wealth of detail and accuracy is exemplary, choosing cress was very intelligent, and I could go on”, he says.

He is not slow to send them an invitation to go on the road:

“I sincerely hope that they spend their future professional life in researching, because I definitely think they have a natural aptitude for it. Personally, I would love to see these people in my team!”


But the experiment proved something really huge. Something the majority of the world does without knowing the consequences.

“None of us sleep with the mobile next to the bed anymore. Either the phone is put far away, or it is put in another room. And the computer is always off”, says Lea.

If your bed is close to a WiFi Router we strongly advise to change the bed’s or the router’s location. And when it is time to sleep, leave the technology where its place is.

Source

Cycling is one of the most eco-friendly ways to travel, and thanks to this solar-powered bike lane that glows in the dark, it just got even moreso. 

Germany has opened the first three-mile stretch of a bicycle highway that will eventually span over 62 miles, connecting 10 western cities including Duisburg, Bochum, and Hamm, as well as four universities. 

The Huffington Post reported on a new study out of The University of Alberta that shows that drinking a glass of red wine may have the same effect on the body as an hour at the gym. A component in the wine, resveratrol, was seen to improve physical performance, heart function and muscle strength similar to the effect exercise has on the body.



Principal investigator Jason Dyck said, "We were excited when we saw that resveratrol showed results similar to what you would see from extensive endurance exercise training. I think resveratrol could help patient populations who want to exercise but are physically incapable. Resveratrol could mimic exercise for them or improve the benefits of the modest amount of exercise that they can do."

Discussion over the health benefits of red wine has been well documented. Previous studies have revealed that those who drink a glass of red wine a day are less likely to develop dementia or cancer, that it's good for anti-ageing, and can regulate blood sugar.

Source

Caleb Howard was just 6 years old when a head-on car collision left him with broken bones and a traumatic brain injury. His heartbroken parents weren’t sure how quickly he’d be able to recover — or if he’d make it at all — as much of Caleb’s progress was nearly impossible to recognize.

One day, it was suggested that a dog named Colonel step in and act as Caleb’s therapy animal. His parents were desperate for a solution, so they obliged. The video below follows Caleb and Colonel’s journey together. You’ll see an immediate boost in Caleb’s awareness, and how this relationship marked a turning point for Caleb’s family in their belief in his ability to recover.

Caleb learned to gain control over his hands again by playing fetch with and petting Kernel. He gained mobility by taking the dog for short walks and being more active than he had been in a very long time.

Colonel the therapy dog also helped Caleb find excitement and joy again. Who would have thought this very special dog would hold the key to Caleb’s recovery? Before his parents and the doctors knew it, Caleb made strides in leaps and bounds, helping to prove the power of therapy animals.

Though this video was posted to YouTube in 2009, it’s just as powerful as ever. Dogs truly do have healing properties!

Watch the emotional and heartwarming video below, and please SHARE this with all your fellow dog lovers on Facebook.


Source

Did you know that the nutritional properties of bananas change as they ripen? Have you noticed that the taste of the bananas changes as they ripen, it gets sweeter? This happens because of the enzymes contained in the bananas are progressively breaking down the starch (a long polymeric form of sugar that doesn’t taste sweet) turning it into simple sugars (disaccharides or monosaccharides which taste sweet).

When the banana ripens that means that the starch has already turned into simple sugar and it is easier to digest. Although according to researches, the quantities of vitamins and minerals reduces as the banana ripens. That is why it should be stored in a refrigerator.


Japanese researchers discovered a very interesting fact about bananas. According to them as the banana ripens it produces more antioxidants and more anticancer properties. When the banana is fully riped with dark spots on the yellow skin it produces a substance called TNF (Tumor Necrosis Factor), a substance that can combat abnormal cells.

The research also shows that the more darker spots it has the better the anti-cancer properties are. Moreover, a banana with yellow skin and dark spots is eight times more effective in boosting body’s immune system than the green skin banana.

Therefore, the best time to eat the banana is when it’s fully ripen. But if you suffer from type 2 diabetes or you want to avoid a fast increase of your blood sugar levels, you might want to consider eating a riped banana with nut butter – because the fat slows down the sugar absorption into your blood stream. Or you can consume the banana while it’s still green. (level 3 or 4 in the pic)

Source

When it comes to young kids, dogs are very reliable and they can protect kids. We came across many cases where kids were protected by their dogs. 

Australian researchers have been astonished to discover a cure-all right under their noses — a honey sold in health food shops as a natural medicine.

Far from being an obscure health food with dubious healing qualities, new research has shown the honey kills every type of bacteria scientists have thrown at it, including the antibiotic-resistant “superbugs” plaguing hospitals and killing patients around the world.

Some bacteria have become resistant to every commonly prescribed antibacterial drug. But scientists found that Manuka honey, as it is known in New Zealand, or jelly bush honey, as it is known in Australia, killed every bacteria or pathogen it was tested on.

It is applied externally and acts on skin infections, bites and cuts.
The honey is distinctive in that it comes only from bees feeding off tea trees native to Australia and New Zealand, said Dee Carter, from the University of Sydney’s School of Molecular and Microbial Biosciences.
The findings are likely to have a major impact on modern medicine and could lead to a range of honey-based products to replace antibiotic and antiseptic creams.


Professor Carter’s two sons, Marty, 8 and Nicky, 6, think it’s funny the way their mother puts honey on their sores. But she swears by it, telling stories of how quickly it cures any infection.
“Honey sounds very homey and unscientific, which is why we needed the science to validate the claims made for it,” she said.

The curative properties of various types of honey have been known to indigenous cultures for thousands of years, and dressing wounds with honey was common before the advent of antibiotics.
“Most bacteria that cause infections in hospitals are resistant to at least one antibiotic, and there is an urgent need for new ways to treat and control surface infections,” Professor Carter said.

“New antibiotics tend to have short shelf lives, as the bacteria they attack quickly become resistant. Many large pharmaceutical companies have abandoned antibiotic production because of the difficulty of recovering costs. Developing effective alternatives could therefore save many lives.”

Professor Carter said the fascinating thing was that none of the bacteria researchers used to test the honey, including superbugs such as flesh-eating bacteria, built up any immunity.

She said a compound in the honey called methylglyoxal — toxic on its own — combined in unknown ways with other unidentified compounds in the honey to cause “multi-system failure” in the bacteria.
The results of the research project are published in this month’s European Journal of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases.

Inform your Family and Friends by sharing