Acai Berry Supplements: True, False or Scam?

Much of today’s quest for health involves drinking juices from supposed super anti-oxidant fruits. The latest anti-oxidant fruit to enjoy hype for anti-aging is the Acai berry.

The Acai berry is a small grape-like fruit and is a native fruit of Central America and South America, and can be found in swamps and floodplains from Belize to Brazil and Peru.

Acai berry products have recently become popular thanks to the marketing of Acai berry products. For the most part, Acai products are touted to do the following:  increases energy levels, improves sexual performance, improves digestion, helps you sleep better, detoxifies the body, makes skin look younger, alleviates chronic illnesses like diabetes, and reduces cholesterol levels.

Acai Berry: Should You…?

So, should you drink Acai berry products? There is nothing inherently wrong in drinking Acai berry juice. However, it becomes a problem when you drink it to cure the myriad of diseases that the Acai berry is supposed to heal, and which you may be suffering from.

None in the long list of Acai’s supposed health benefits have ever been supported by clinical studies. It is true that the Acai berry has around ten times more antioxidants than grapes and twice the antioxidants in blueberries. Acai berries also contain a good amount of vitamins and Omega-3. A study by the University of Florida showed that Acai berry extract slows the growth of leukemia cells, but it was done in a laboratory and did not involve leukemia patients.

All told, there really is nothing that the Acai berry can do that a balanced diet (and a healthy lifestyle) cannot do for you. Claims of Acai berry of being practically a panacea for all illnesses have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.

The Acai berry, at best, is a refreshingly potent juice, like fresh orange juice is. However, if you are really keen on consuming Acai berry juice, do the math on how much it will cost you. The typical Acai berry product being sold by network marketing companies cost $40 per week. It might be cheaper to buy fresh fruits and vegetables.

How To Improve Memory

As we age, one of the first things to go is our memory. You don’t have to be a septuagenarian to suffer from what people normally associate with old age. For example, you walk into the living but forget what you need. Or you were desperately trying to find your eyeglasses, only to have your son (embarrassingly) tell you that it’s sitting slightly above your forehead.
People who seek to improve memory are either not young, are preoccupied, or have a medical condition that’s causing the memory loss. If you’ve been suffering from short-term memory loss for sometime, the first thing you need to do is to see a doctor if you haven’t had a checkup for sometime. If you don’t suffer from any serious condition, take some vitamins and food and herbal supplements to improve memory. Here are the vitamins and foods that can help you improve memory.

Essential Fatty Acids

Essential fatty acids are also known as fish oils or EPA-DHA. Although they are more known for their anti-inflammation properties, they are actually important for normal brain function. A decrease in your brain’s DHA levels can cause age-related Alzheimer’s disease, cognitive decline, and dementia.

Polyphenol

Some studies suggest that Polyphenol, which is found in red grape skins and that of other plants have anti-inflammation properties and may prevent cognitive disorders.

Alpha-Lipoic Acid (ALA)

ALA is an excellent antioxidant that can prevent neurological diseases. Aside from supporting healthy glucose levels and insulin activity in the blood, ALA has been shown to increase antioxidant levels in various regions of the brain and to improve memory.

Vitamin E

Vitamin E is THE antioxidant that is found in all tissues of the body. Low vitamin E levels have consistently been associated with an increased risk in the occurrence of neurological diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

Ginkgo Biloba Extract

Ginkgo biloba extract is actually approved in Germany for treating dementia. In Canada, it is the only non-prescription product for treating dementia. Ginkgo biloba extracts improve memory and enhances mental efficiency of elderly patients who suffer from mild to moderate memory impairment.

Adaptogenic herbs

Adaptogenic herbs are actually anti-stress substances that are known to reduce the physiological effects of stress, aging, and the degeneration of the body’s neurological system. Ayurvedic herbs like ashwagandha, brahmi and holy basil are examples of adaptogenic herbs.

Carotenoids

Carotenoids occur naturally in plant pigments and they provide the bright colors of red, orange, and yellow in fruits and vegetables. Consuming carotenoids is the best protection against oxidation damage to the brain.

Folate, Vitamins B6 and B12

Folate and vitamins B6 and B12 are essential for the proper functioning of the brain. A lack in these nutrients causes confusion, depression, dementia, forgetfulness, memory loss, and mood swings.

Colon Cleaning: Can You Really Lose Weight?

Since obesity became a somewhat national epidemic in the United States, people have been trying to find the perfect product to lose weight. The most recent products to be associated with weight loss are the colon cleaning products.

What is colon cleaning?

Colon cleaning used to be considered an “alternative treatment” for detoxifying your body. Colon cleaning does NOT remove fat from your belly. Rather, it removes the accumulated toxins in your body and removes plaque build up in your colon or large intestines.

After colon cleaning, however, your system becomes more efficient at processing food. As a result, fats and certain carbohydrates get flushed out of your system rather than being absorbed and turned into fat. Colon cleaning and other detoxification methods also reduce water bloating. Toxins cause your body to retain water as the body tries to flush away and dilute the toxins.

Where All The Toxins Come From

The toxins in our body come from the food we eat. Processed foods are rich in toxins that slowly tax your body as you grow older. But while food introduces toxins to your body, they are, and have always been our source of nutrition.

If you want to flush out the toxins in your body, eat more fruits, vegetables, fiber, and protein. Supplement your diet with Vitamin C since it supports detoxification.

Colon Cleansing

Colon cleansing can take the form of oral cleansing regimens or colon hydrotherapy (also known as colonics or colonic irrigation).

Oral colon cleaning uses dietary supplements, dietary fiber, herbs, or laxatives to eliminate toxins from the colon and the intestinal tract. On the other hand, colon cleansing hydrotherapy uses enemas to inject water. Sometimes the water in the enema is mixed with herbs, or other liquids. Water is introduced into the colon using special equipment.

Colon cleansing practitioners believe that this detoxification method reduces the accumulation of feces from the large intestine’s walls. Feces accumulation is believed to putrefy, play host to parasites or pathogens to cause symptoms of general ill-health.

Read related posts:

Why You Should Detoxify
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Vitamin D – Benefits and Side Effects

Vitamin D, also known as calciferol, is a fat-soluble vitamin that can be produced by your body after being exposed to the sun’s ultraviolet rays. This vitamin takes on several forms, with each form performing a different activity.

Vitamin D is important for keeping the body’s blood levels of calcium and phosphorus normal. It is important for calcium absorption and, in conjunction with other nutrients and hormones, promote the mineralization of bones. If you lack Vitamin D, your bones can turn brittle, soft, thin or misshapen. An acute lack of Vitamin D causes rickets in children and osteomalacia in adults, both which are bone diseases that weaken the bones.

Vitamin D Sources

Fortified milk is a major dietary source of Vitamin D. Before milk products were fortified in the 1930s, rickets was a major health problem in the US. Milk in the US fortified with 10 micrograms of 400 IU of Vitamin D per quart. However, other dairy products like cheese, ice cream and yogurt are generally not Vitamin D-fortified.

One cup of fortified milk supplies around one-fourth of the RDA for adults. There are only a few food sources that naturally contain significant amounts of this vitamin. These include fatty fish and fish oils.

Exposing yourself to sunlight should be a major part of your routine. Exposure to the sun’s ultraviolet rays synthesizes the Vitamin D in the skin. This synthesizing effect is affected by the season, latitude, time of day, cloud cover, smog, and sunscreen.

Too Much Vitamin D

Taking in too much Vitamin D through supplements like cod liver oil can cause constipation, nausea, poor appetite, vomiting, weakness, and weight loss. A Vitamin D overdose can also raise calcium levels in the blood and cause hearth rhythm abnormalities.