Fruit Juice Can Replace Low Dose Aspirin for Heart Health
Personally the daily use of low dose aspirin as a preventive for heart health has never really convinced me, and recent reports back that up. Researcher F. Gerald R. Fowkes, PhD, of the University of Edinburgh has found that “aspirin appears to have ‘marginal benefits’ for reducing initial cardiovascular events when used for patients without clinically evident CVD and is associated with higher rates of bleeding events in these patients” . There has been research showing that aspirin has some value in secondary prevention, but if you are looking for a natural alternative to reduce the risk of dangerous blood clots, I have some news for you.
The European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) has revealed that Fruitflow, the tomato extract and active ingredient in Sirco™ fruit juice, is of proven benefit for healthy blood flow and effectively promotes heart health. It has several benefits of low dose aspirin as a natural alternative to thinning the blood, without side effects. For healthy blood flow you need to maintain normal platelet aggregation, because if they become ‘spiky’, they are much more likely to clump together, forming clots, which can cause high blood pressure, thrombosis, strokes and heart attacks.
Fruitflow, like aspirin, works by dampening signals that cause platelets to become spiky (platelet aggregation), preventing clots forming without the associated side effects of aspirin such as internal bleeding. An ongoing trial at the Rowett Institute of Nutrition & Health, part of the University of Aberdeen, is comparing the effects of both Fruitflow® and aspirin on a single dose basis over a five hour time course and first results indicate that beneficial effects are apparent within 1 ½ and 3 hours from drinking the first glass.
Fruitflow is found in a natural fruit juice called Sirco™ that has no artificial sweeteners, preservatives, colours or flavours and is naturally cholesterol and salt free. One 250ml serving contains 3g of Fruitflow™ (the recommended daily consumption) and lasts up to 18 hours and you have a choice of Pomegranate & Orange or Blueberry & Apple.
You should find it in the chiller cabinet of your health store, or major supermarkets like Waitrose. To find out more go to www.sircoheart.com
The World’s Healthiest Airline?
Flying these days can present some challenges: risk of DVT, food poisoning from inadequately heated food, and all those airborne viruses so a round of applause for Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates based in Abu Dhabi. No, I have never heard of them either, but they fly from both London Heathrow and Manchester with 60 destinations in the Middle East, Europe, North America, Africa, Australia and Asia.
What’s so great about them? Well they are installing new state-of-the-art technology on their long and ultra long haul aircraft which can monitor the condition of passengers who display signs of sickness that might require immediate medical attention. Apparently the “Tempus IC” system allows cabin crew to take photo imagery and gather vital information about a passenger’s health and vital signs, including blood pressure and an electrocardiogram.
That information is then transmitted to a medical team of global experts who specialise in assistance in in-flight medical contingencies. Following their advice the crew will take a decision about what to do next for the passenger and the flight and hopefully you will be treated much more efficiently and swiftly than previously.
RDT is a British company who specialise in the development of leading-edge diagnostic device technology for use by non-experts in remote locations and have installed this technology for commercial shipping fleets, luxury yachts and with the US Military.
As someone who suffered a burst blood vessel in my eye on a Delta Airline flight and was pretty much ignored, I think this is good news and if you want more information go to www.etihadairways.com
Too Tired To Socialise? An Eastern Natural Remedy
We all get tired from time to time, but apparently today’s women, and men too, could do with an extra day in the week to get everything done. You could of course argue that they would do best to cut down what they do, but realistically that isn’t always possible and a new report commissioned by Red Kooga indicates that almost two thirds (60%) of British women miss out on social engagements due to feeling too tired. More worryingly is that over four in ten (41%) admit that getting fit and healthy is the main thing to suffer as a result, while healthy eating goes out the window for just under a third (31%) and two in five (40%) admit that relaxation and ‘me-time’ is unheard of and fatigue leaves over a third (36%) not wanting to do anything in the evenings.
Well I can relate to that as that ‘to do’ list gets longer and juggling all the daily demands also builds up stress levels and depletes energy. Exercise is the best and easiest way to up your energy levels but even a ten minute walk can seem like too much to fit in sometimes and if you want to turn to a natural boost for your energy you might think about taking an ancient asian herb like ginseng. I first came across it in the 1960’s when it got a lot of publicity for its use by the Soviet armed forces for improving both strength and stamina and it has remained popular ever since, particularly for its ability to maintain mental alertness.
A relative newcomer on the energy scene in the west has been the herb guarana and combined with ginseng and B vitamins it can naturally give you a boost. Ginseng brand Red Kooga’s Natural Energy Release might be a place to start as it has all those in a handy supplement. If you had more energy what would you do? The respondents in the survey put self development top of their list with over half (55%) opting to do more exercise, two in three (42%) wanted to take more time to relax while a third (35%) would learn a new skill or hobby. If you want to know more about ginseng visit www.redkooga.co.uk
The Sound Asleep MP3/ipod Comfort Pillow- and how it can Help Tinnitus
I love technology that makes life better, and reminds me that most of the things I read about in 1930’s sci fi books have now mostly come true – how we laughed at the idea of a complete meal cooked in minutes from a box in the wall – hello microwaves and M&S ready meals! Now we have listening devices that are so small they are almost invisible and this means they can be used in places you might never have imagined – like your pillow.
Have you ever used music to help you drift off, or one of those subliminal tapes to learn a language or help you lose weight or stop smoking while you sleep? If you have you may have used headphones, or had to keep the volume low so your partner wasn’t disturbed by it, and you will know how annoying it is to start to drift off and hear the click as the music ends or you have to stretch to your bedside table and switch it off. Now there is a revolutionary new concept which marries a very comfortable memory foam pillow with a tiny built in speaker that you can plug your mp3, cassette player and most radios so you can drift off to sleep without uncomfortable headphones, or disturbing your partner. .
I asked a poor sleeper to test it out and they reported that the pillow was very comfortable as it moulded to their head shape and the tiny lead to their mp3 player could not be felt at all. They used a relaxing background track on their mp3 and found that a plus was that the pillow ‘switches off’ the sound at the end of your selected tracks. So no annoying click and, although you can hear your music or language cd clearly, it’s not audible to anyone else.
What particularly interested me about this whole concept is how it can use by those suffering from tinnitus. The continuous ringing or clicking sounds in the ear they experience seem more pronounced in quiet settings, such as in the bedroom before going to sleep. Sound therapy is often suggested and it works by reducing the difference, or contrast, between tinnitus sounds and a background sound which makes the tinnitus seem less intrusive. You can get ‘masking’ tracks to help muffle the tinnitus or just choose your favourite soft relaxing music to help you drift off.
The Sound Asleep Comfort Pillow will not emit any sound until it is connected to your device of choice such as a cd player or mp3/ipod and the cable is removable to keep the pillow tidy and safe when it’s not in use. Ideal if you like lying down and listening to music or audio books and don’t want to disturb anyone else.
High Fat Diet Linked to Strokes in Post Menopausal Women
This information comes from the US, but it is likely to be highly relevant for all women on a western diet. Before menopause, women have a lower risk of stroke compared to men of similar age, but this situation reverses after menopause and women with a high fat intake at this point in their lives have a 40 percent higher incidence of clot-caused strokes than women on a low fat diet.
This finding was reported at the American Stroke Association’s International Stroke Conference 2010 and the warning bell is for women having more than 7 grams a day of trans fats, mostly found in processed, baked and fried foods.
Ischemic strokes are caused by blockages in blood vessels in or leading to the brain and the researchers reported positive associations between total fat intake and ischemic stroke incidence and between trans fat intake and ischemic stroke incidence. We know from previous studies shows that different types of fat have different effects on the incidence of coronary heart disease (CHD), with trans fat being identified as a risk factor but those were small scale studies. This one involved 87,230 post-menopausal women ages 50 to 79 who participated in the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) Observational Study, by answering a food frequency questionnaire when they entered the study and were then followed for an average of 7.6 years.
During that time, 1,049 ischemic strokes occurred and the researchers looked for links between dietary fat intake of all types (saturated fat, monounsaturated fat, polyunsaturated fat and trans fat) and ischemic strokes and covered all health variables including physical activity, drug use, smoking, alcohol and hormone therapy. The top 25% of women had an average total fat intake of 86 grams a day and the lowest 25% consumed just 26 grams a day. With a 40% risk of stroke at the top end of fat intake it makes sense to monitor fat intake, and particularly trans fats to keep their levels down.
If you are not sure of how much fat a day you take in, there is a handy way to determine it and the example below is based on the average amount that a woman needs which is a total of 2,000 calories a day, but you can be more accurate by exactly working out your daily calorie intake.
1. Take the number of calories you eat each day and multiply it by 30 percent (.30). For example: 2,000 calories x .30 = 600 calories from fat
2. Divide your answer by 9 because there are 9 calories in each gram of fat. This will give you the number of grams of fat per day that should be your goal.
600 ÷ 9 = 65 grams
You can use a calculator if you need to I certainly did!
