Nutrition. Vitamins. You.
For many people, the change of seasons can bring about respiratory changes as well. Let’s discuss how beneficial omega-3s can be for respiratory health.
Mushrooms contain a good amount of fiber, but are also packed with antioxidants. It’s these antioxidants that a lot of the scientific research has been focusing in on, especially for immune health and inflammation.
Invite Health Podcast, Episode hosted by Jerry Hickey. Ph
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We have all heard the saying, “you are what you eat”. But have you thought about what foods have common components? Interestingly enough, when we look at specific foods – apples, onions, berries, grapes, citrus fruits – they have a common component, called Quercetin. Quercetin is an extremely powerful flavonoid that provides the body with a significant amount of antioxidant power. This is important we want to be able to neutralize free radicals, that can damage cell membranes, damage our cellular DNA, leading to cell death. But the more antioxidants we have on board, the more we can fend off that type of oxidative stress and damage that can occur.
What is Quercetin?
Quercetin in a plant-based flavonoid, sometimes referred to as a citrus bioflavonoid, found naturally in some the healthiest known food sources, such as dark berries, organic tomatoes, and black tea. Generally speaking, we do not obtain a high enough amount of this antioxidant through our diet alone. Most individuals are not following a balanced diet that has adequate amounts of antioxidants from fruits and vegetables alone. To do this, a diet I would highly recommend is the Mediterranean Diet. Click here to learn more about the Mediterranean Diet now!
The University of Maryland released a great breakdown, where they described the way in which Quercetin has been researched in terms of being able to help stabilize cells. This is extremely important because, when we think about histamine in the case of seasonal allergies or hives, Quercetin has been studied in the stabilization of the cells that release histamine in the body, demonstrating an anti-inflammatory and anti-histamine effect. “In the setting of asthma, allergies, hay fever, hives it has been shown that Quercetin has been very beneficial,” according to researchers. This scientific research has also demonstrated the link between Quercetin and cardiovascular health. Its powerful flavonoids have been shown to protect against the damage caused by elevated cholesterol and high blood pressure. Quercetin has also been shown to support urinary tract and prostate health.†
Research on Quercetin
Published in the journal Frontiers of Immunology, a couple of different universities are currently studying Quercetin and Vitamin C’s impact on the COVID-19 virus – Eastern Virginia Medical School, a major university in Italy and Saint Peter’s Hospital in England. They are “presenting current evidence for the utilization of Vitamin C and Quercetin, both for prophylactic and high risk populations as well as for the treatment of COVID-19 patients.” This is something that we should all keep our eyes on!†
Questions for Amanda Williams, MPH? Leave a comment below to join the discussion!
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What happens when you combine the Greenlip mussel with the powerful herb Perilla? Here’s what you need to know regarding airway inflammation when it comes to this unique omega-3 blend and the support of a healthy respiratory system.
On today’s episode, Amanda Williams, MPH discusses one of the world’s longest used medicinal foods available – Garlic. Many times, it is only looked at for its heart health benefit, but it really has advantages for overall health, especially in its supplemental form, Aged Garlic.
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Today, doctors know of many factors that contribute to heart disease and the risk of heart attack. The Framingham Risk Score developed from the Framingham Heart Study takes into account a number of these risk factors to help estimate your risk of a heart attack over the next ten years. A separate study by German and English researchers published in the British Journal of Nutrition shows that Cocoa improves the Framingham Risk Score.†
Consuming this powerful superior that is rich in Flavanols over a 30 day period made significant improvements to important risk factors such as blood pressure, circulation, and cholesterol in 100 healthy middle-aged men and women. It improved Flow Mediated Dilation, meaning that when the heart pumped blood, the blood vessels reacted more appropriately – opening up for improved circulation. This takes a great deal of pressure off of the heart; if blood vessels do not adequately open, the heart must pump harder to force blood up to the brain and down to the legs.†
Cocoa and Heart Health
In a different study, a review of 19 randomized clinical trials by researchers at Harvard, Brown, and Emory University’s, Cocoa was found to improve insulin sensitivity, boost HDL-good cholesterol, reduce triglycerides, which is one of the greasy fats that contributes to heart disease, and cocoa lowered dangerous inflammation in the heart and arteries. This is all great news, since cocoa is loved by so many, but researchers caution that the flavanols in cocoa can be lost or diminished when cocoa is processed into chocolate. This is due to a process called dutching that adds sugars and milk fats commonly found in your favorite chocolate bars.†
Interestingly, a number of large recent studies indicate that many people who suffer a heart attack have normal or even low cholesterol and often these heart attack sufferers are taking cholesterol lowering medications. The common cause here appears to be inflammation in the blood vessel walls and the heart. You can have a test to see if you have this sort of inflammation as part of your blood test; it is called hs-CRP. Once again; this superfood is able to help curtail this form of inflammation according to human clinical trials.†
Cocoa has been shown to reduce hsCRP in a number of studies, and elevated hsCRP is a major cause of heart attacks. A large, long-term study from researchers in Boston and Stockholm of over 1,000 heart attack survivors over an eight year period shows that consuming cocoa flavanols reduced their risk of dying from a future heart attack by 44% and that was if they consumed the cocoa just once a week. If they consumed the cocoa more than once a week it reduced their risk by a powerful 66%.
This is a linear, dose-related response; the more frequently cocoa was consumed, the lower their risk of dying making this a strong result from a well-powered study. Well-powered means the study included many heart attack survivors and they were followed for a long enough time; eight years on average.
The Impact of Pollution on Your Heart
Another source of inflammation is pollution. Pollution from cars, trucks and buses, contains millions of tiny particles. These tiny particles, referred to as fine particulate matter, when inhaled are easily diluted into our blood and when passing from the lungs into the heart and circulation trigger inflammation in the circulatory system. Research from the University of Missoula, Montana have found that Cocoa reduces this inflammation within as little as 9 days. Again showing value for protecting the heart.†
According to research having a serving of cocoa as little as twice a week has real benefit for the heart. One caveat; don’t mix cocoa into milk; milk seems to offset the benefits of cocoa for reducing circulatory inflammation; mix it in water or unsweetened almond beverage.
That’s episode two! Stay tuned for tomorrow’s episode.
