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PROTECT YOUR VISION WITH SPINACH -- Early age-related macular degeneration (ARMD) might be put on hold with a daily dose of spinach. In a preliminary study, men with the most common dry form of ARMD showed vision improvements after consuming four to seven servings a week. Spinach contains lutein and zeaxanthin, antioxidants that may protect the retina. Try spinach sauteed in a dab of olive oil (fat promotes lutein absorption). Or try a daily supplement with 6 to 12 mg of lutein (equal to 1 serving of spinach). Do not take more. Higher doses of lutein have not been tested. Note: if you are prone to kidney stones or take blood-thinning medication, talk to your doctor before consuming spinach regularly.

SOME FACTS -- According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, bad reactions to prescribed medicines kill over 100,000 people and seriously injure an additional 2.1 million every year! Keep in mind these are legally prescribed drugs being discussed, not illegal drugs bought on some street corner. On the other hand, deaths occurring from vitamins and food supplements number only one per year.

ANTI-ARTHRITIS BREW -- If you are a woman past menopause with a family history of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), listen up: You may be able to slash your odds of getting RA by drinking 3 to 4 cups of green tea a day. Scientists slipped some mice a green tea ingredient (polyphenols) in their drinking water - the equivalent of 3 to 4 cups of green tea for a human. When injected with a RA-forming compound, fewer than half of the mice developed RA, compared to 92% of the mice who drank plain water. Green tea's polyphenols pack 300 to 400 times the antioxidant power of vitamins E and C. Also, polyphenols seem to halt dangerous inflammatory cells that migrate into joints and do most of RA's damage. Early test-tube studies hint that green tea may stop the destruction of human cartilage cells caused by osteo-arthritis.

FYI -- According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute smoking is the #1 cause of preventable death in the United States! Being overweight or obese is #2.

RUB AWAY THAT CRAVING! -- A relaxing two-minute hand or ear self-massage cut cigarette cravings significantly in a month- long study of 20 men and women at the University of Miami's Touch Research Institute. Those who performed this simple technique reduced daily cigarette use from 16 to 1, and reported better moods, less anxiety, and fewer and less intense nicotine cravings. Self massage alone will not help smokers quit, but it would be an excellent addition to other treatments such as the nicotine patch. It may also help ex-smokers curb cravings. Here is how to do it: 1. gently pinch your ear, working from the top down to your earlobe; 2. using your index finger, stroke the inside of your ear, around the outside of the canal, and along the grooves (do not put finger all the way inside the ear canal); 3. gently tug your earlobe; 4. stroke the back of your ear with your index finger; 5. massage the upper and outer areas of the front and back of your ear with your thumb and index finger.

NATURAL FURNITURE POLISH RECIPE -- This is as effective as any store-bought product and only costs about 30 cents a bottle. Combine in a 16-oz spray bottle: 2 tsp. olive oil; 20 drops or more of pure (not synthetic) essential lemon oil; 1/4 cup of white distilled vinegar; fill the rest of the bottle with water. Shake well. Shake well before each use. Spray this onto a rag or directly onto furniture and wipe dry. The olive oil will condition the wood and the vinegar cleans it. It is also handy with dust-mopping hardwood floors. Simply spray onto the dust-mop.

CAREGIVERS AND STRESS -- Older people under chronic stress due to caring for their ailing spouses were more likely to die during a 4-year period than older people who were not caregivers, a new "Journal of the American Medical Association" study indicates. Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh tracked 819 married people ages 66 to 96, including 392 who were the primary caregiver for an ailing spouse. Of the caregivers, 179 reported that they were under mental, emotional, or physical strain. After taking into account social and demographic factors and health status, researchers determined that caregivers experiencing stress had a 63 percent higher mortality risk. The stressed caregivers died of illnesses such as heart disease, stroke, cancer, pneumonia, and kidney failure. Richard Schulz, Ph.D., director of the University Center for Social and Urban Research at Pittsburgh, says the study is among the first to show that caregiving is an independent risk factor for mortality.

FYI -- Adding soy to your diet can block the action of an enzyme called tyrosine kniase, whose overactivity has been linked to cancer. In men, it also seems to block the transformation of the hormone testosterone into potentially harmful estrogen. Soy even seems to prevent the formation of the blood vessels that tumors need in order to grow and spread.

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The Value of Eating Fatty Fish

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Older people who eat at least one serving of fatty fish like mackerel or salmon each week are less likely to die from a heart attack, according to a recent study by scientists in Washington state. Researchers from the University of Seattle found that patients who ate leaner fish, typically prepared by frying, did not enjoy the same heart-health benefits.

The study was presented at the American Heart Association's Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention in San Antonio. The findings add more data to a growing body of evidence about the health benefits of fish that are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, said Dr. David S. Siscovick, a professor of medicine and epidemiology at the University of Seattle's Cardiovascular Health Research Unit.

"We found that eating modest amounts of fatty fish was associated with a 44 percent lower risk in fatal heart attacks," Siscovick said. "We did not observe a lower risk among individuals who ate fried fish." So-called fatty fish like tuna, mackerel, and salmon have higher amounts of omega-3 fatty acids than leaner fish like cod and snapper. Omega-3 fatty acids are believed to reduce the risk of arrhythmias, or irregular heartbeats, that can trigger fatal heart attacks.

In their study, researchers examined a database of about 4,000 patients involved in a large study that looked at the causes of heart disease and strokes among older men and women. The participants were all 65 or older and free of cardiovascular disease when they enrolled. A food-frequency questionnaire collected data on fish consumption by the participants, who were followed for almost seven years. Leaner fish typically was prepared by frying, Siscovick noted, and researchers could not determine what impact the cooking method had on the lack of heart benefits.

"We could not separate out whether it was that the fish were lean or that the fish was fried," he said. "But it looks like fatty fish and fried fish differ in their association with fatal heart attacks."

Dr. Artemis Simopoulos, president of the Center for Genetics, Nutrition and Health in Washington, D.C., said the evidence surrounding omega-3 dates back to prehistoric times. Studies suggest the nutrient was a greater component of human diets as the species evolved.

Contemporary research has shown omega-3s are integral to development of visual acuity in children and has beneficial effects on patients with inflammatory or autoimmune illnesses like lupus, arthritis, and Crohn's disease, Simopoulos said.

The current study bolsters earlier findings about heart benefits of omega-3, she said.

"We have had very good clinical studies that show (omega-3 fatty acids) lower blood pressure, lower triglyceride (blood fat) levels, and lower the tendency for thrombosis (blood clots)," Simopoulous said. Siscovick noted that fatty fish should be just one component of a balanced and healthful diet. The Heart Association's new dietary guidelines, published last year, recommend that adults eat two servings of fatty fish weekly as part of a diet that includes plenty of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, while limiting saturated fats.

If you are not getting enough omega-3 fatty acids in your diet, then you might consider supplementation using an all-natural product such as EPA PLUS.

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Grape Juice: A Better Antioxidant than OJ

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Purple grape juice provided far greater antioxidant effect than orange juice, according to a preliminary research study published in the Winter 2000/2001 issue of the "Journal of Medicinal Food." In the study, which analyzed lab tests as well as results of human subjects drinking the juices, purple grape juice was shown to have significant antioxidant properties, whereas orange juice showed virtually no effect.

"The take-away message from our study is that people who are looking to promote their cardiovascular health through increased antioxidant consumption might prefer a glass of purple grape juice in the morning to orange juice," says Joe A. Vinson, Ph.D., and Professor of Chemistry at The University of Scranton and lead author of the study. "In our tests, we saw dramatically superior antioxidant performance by the grape juice in in-vitro and ex-vivo oxidation studies, as well as when human subjects consumed the two juices."

In the human testing, sixteen healthy subjects were asked to drink two glasses daily - one morning, one evening - for a week of either purple grape juice or orange juice (13 ounces of purple grape juice per day; 11 ounces of orange juice per day). After the week, blood was drawn and the LDL (low density lipoproteins) oxidation lag times were measured. In lag time measurement - a well-accepted method of determining antioxidant effect - LDL is isolated and exposed to an oxidizing agent. The duration of time between exposure and oxidation is called lag time. This is important because the longer it takes for LDL to oxidize, the less likely it is to contribute to the atherosclerotic process. Subjects consuming purple grape juice showed an increase in lag time of 27% - an indicator of antioxidant effect comparable to that previously reported for taking a vitamin E supplement. Subjects drinking the orange juice showed no change in lag time.

Dr. Vinson notes that his study's conclusions build upon and support previous research. In 1996, research at the United States Department of Agriculture showed that total antioxidant capacity of purple grape juice was more than three times that of either orange, grapefruit, tomato, or apple juice using ORAC analysis. In 2000, Keevil et. al., compared purple grape juice to orange and grapefruit juice and found that only the grape juice inhibited platelet activity in humans. Relatively low platelet activity (i.e. greater inhibition) is another indicator of healthy cardiovascular function.

Vinson also notes that the methodology employed in his study for isolating lipoproteins is novel and extremely accurate. "What separates our research from some of the other work in the literature," he explains, "is that we use the rapid affinity column method for isolating the LDL." This, according to Vinson, eliminates the ultracentrifugation and lengthy dialysis procedures that are typically employed to isolate the lipoproteins, both of which can cause premature oxidation and, potentially, compromise the data.

"People drink fruit juice for many reasons," concludes Vinson. "Orange juice, for example, is an excellent source of vitamin C, folate, and potassium - nutrients many people may consume in sufficient quantity in their diets otherwise. But for people looking for dietary approaches to increase consumption of natural antioxidants that may help reduce the risk of heart disease, purple grape juice appears unique in its potential ability to provide a beneficial effect to a variety of cardiovascular functions."

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THE HERBAL CORNER

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Did you know that the obnoxious weed in most everyone's lawn, the DANDELION, is edible, contains many nutrients, and is considered a natural diuretic? DANDELION is also noted for supplying potassium, a mineral often lost through diuretic use.

The DANDELION, also known as Blowball, Cankerwort, Lion's Tooth, and Puffball, is a perennial plant found, to the dismay of many, almost everywhere. It is a bitter but nutritious herb prepared from the roots and leaves of the common yellow-flowered plant. Cultivated DANDELION greens are less bitter and have longer leaves than their wild cousins. The leaves, provided they have not been sprayed with garden chemicals, work well in salads, soups, stews, or even as part of a mixture of steamed greens.

DANDELION has traditionally been used as a digestive tonic, blood cleanser, mild diuretic, and laxative. Today, DANDELION is also used as a weight loss aid, to relieve inflammation of the liver and gallbladder, congestive jaundice, skin diseases, dyspepsia, and PMS. It may also be useful to lower blood cholesterol levels, reduce high blood pressure, and prevent heart disease!

Although the active compound underlying DANDELION's many health effects has not been identified, the fresh leaves are high in several nutrients including beta carotene, vitamin C, and potassium.

DANDELION is sold as tablets, capsules, concentrated drops, tinctures, fresh leaves or roots, and extracts. People have been known to eat all parts of the plant, and it appears to be safe and nontoxic, with the exception of provoking allergic reactions, flulike symptoms, or upset stomach in some persons. If any of the following conditions apply, use DANDELION only in consultation with a professional herbalist or naturopath: pregnancy, heart condition, or inflamed stomach or colon. Children under 2 years of age should not be given the herb and adults over 65 should use low-strength preparations only.

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HEALTHY RECIPE-OF-THE-MONTH