Chocolate is good for you

Chocolate may be better for your health than tea because it contains more of a chemical that could prevent cancer and heart disease, researchers have said.

The findings follow earlier research revealing that moderate chocolate consumption offers health benefits.

The new research measures the amount of catechins - the chemical thought to be behind the benefits - in different types of chocolate.

The substance is also found in tea - leading the researchers to recommend a cup of tea with a chocolate biscuit as one way to help maintain good health.



Chemical diet

The researchers, from Holland's National Institute of Public Health and Environment, published their findings in The Lancet medical journal.

Dr Ilja Arts and colleagues examined the chemical compounds in a range of foods and discovered that catechins are found in chocolate.

Up until now tea was thought to contain the largest amount but the new research indicates that dark chocolate has four times as many.

Catechins are believed to protect against heart disease and cancer and so eating products that contain them could have health benefits.

In the UK, where more than £3.5bn is spent on chocolate each year - the research is likely to be welcomed by those with a sweet tooth although dentists may be less pleased.



Tea and biscuits

Dark chocolate had 53.5mg of catechins per 100g, milk chocolate contained 15.9mg per 100g, and the black tea infusion contained only 13.9mg per 100ml.

In a later survey, the researchers found that in a sample of 6250 men and women, tea was the most important source of catechins, accounting for 55% of total intake.

Chocolate contributed to 20% of the total intake of catechins.

The researchers said: "Drinking a cup of tea and eating a chocolate cookie might be not only enjoyable but healthy as well."

DARK CIRCLES UNDER THE EYES

Dark circles under the eyes tell us about the health
of an individual. They are produced due to overstrain,
after an illness or an allergy.
They can also be the result of undernourishment.
But these dark circles do not produce any harm to the body.
So anybody with dark circles should not worry about them.
In fact, sometimes they're not even an
indication of physical problems.

Dark circles can be aggravated by fatigue, allergies,

overexposure to the sun, menstruation or pregnancy.

But they're usually hereditary; if your parents have them,

there are more chances that you do, too have them.

Dark circles are the result of the engorged

blood vessels under your eyes.

Because the skin under eyes is thinner than skin

anywhere else on body, therefore blood vessels

there are more noticeable, especially in fair skinned persons.

Dark circles are caused by hyper pigmentation of melanin,

the substance that gives color to the skin.

In western countries, the kidneys are related to

the adrenal glands and with stress levels in life

being so high; these glands are very often exhausted.

When these glands are weakened, allergies are prevalent.

Dark circles under the eyes are known to be a

classic symptom of an allergy, together

other signs including edema and fatigue.

Dark circles under eyes may also be due to

aging which thins the skin around the eyes.

Eight hours of sleep is essential.

Do not leave cream on the skin around the eyes for long periods.

Circles under the eyes can worsen in people

who smoke or suffer from allergies.

HOME REMEDIES FOR DARK CIRCLES UNDER

THE EYES

Apply a cold compress this will help to constrict
blood vessels and turns tissue white,
and dark circles will lighten.
Drink at least eight to ten glasses of water everyday.
Put slices of raw potatoes or cucumber by closing
eyes over the eyelids for 15-20 minutes.
Wash with warm water and apply a cream.
Take out the juice of the cucumber.
Prepare a mixture of lemon juice, lanolin cream and
cucumber juice and apply around the eye for 10-15 minutes.

Prepare a mixture by adding equal quantity of potato
and cucumber juices. Dip a cotton swab in this mixture
and put the cotton on eyelids and keep for 20 minutes.
Wash your eyes with cold water.

Prepare a mixture of lemon and tomato juice (equal parts)
and apply it on the black circles 2 times a day.

Make a paste of turmeric powder with pineapple juice
for dark circles under the eyes.

Apply crushed mint around the eye.

Another home remedy for dark circles under the eyes
is - massage with almond oil under and around eyes at
bedtime daily for 2 weeks.
Almond helps to remove dark circles.

No cream should be left on the skin around the
eyes for long periods.

Rub the area with a powdered Vitamin E capsule
and wash off with a mixture of honey and egg white.

Put hot and cold clothes alternatively under eyes
for 10 minutes. Then apply some almond oil on the dark circles
before going to bed.

The acupressure point for eyes is on the mount
below the index finger of your palms.
Pressing this mount may help.

Dip some carrot leave in hot water and leave for a
few minutes. Drink the liquid 3 times a day before meals.

Dip cotton balls in rose water or cold water and
keep under the eyes for 10 minutes.

Make a paste of 1 tsp. tomato juice, 1/2 tsp. lemon juice,
a pinch of turmeric powder, and 1 tsp. of flour.
Apply around eyes. Leave on for 10 minutes before washing.
This is an effective home remedy for dark circle treatment.

Take some freezed parsley. Use the parsley cubes instead
of eye creams to reduce the dark circles and puffiness.
Parsley is packed with chlorophyll which helps fade darkness,
while the ice cubes reduce the swelling.

Takes vasoline, put it on a metal spoon and freeze it for

15 minutes. Then apply it to the eyes for a few minutes.

Add some mint leaves, lemon juice, and salt to

tomato juice and drink.

Grate some cucumber and freeze in an ice tray.
Massage frozen cucumber cubes onto eyes to
reduce puffiness and dark circles.

Avoid excess of chocolates and try to take more

fibres in the diet.

To prevent dark circles take 2 magnesium tablets per day,

especially if you're taking calcium.
Use a sunscreen especially made for the face with

a sun protection factor (SPF) to keep the sun's rays

from darkening the skin under your eyes
Eat vegetables and fruits rich in vitamin A for

the treatment of dark circles under eyes

Fresh Lemon Grass Drink Causes Apoptosis to Cancer Cells

Fresh Lemon Grass Drink Causes Apoptosis to Cancer Cells

The importance of LILY CHAI. Please read.

For your information and Good health!!!
Fresh Lemon Grass Drink Causes Apoptosis to Cancer Cells (apoptosis) noun:
a type of cell death in which the cell uses specialized cellular machinery to kill itself;
a cell suicide mechanism that enables metazoans to control cell number and
eliminate cells that threaten the animal's survival. In other words, cell commits suicide.

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Fresh lemon grass fields in Israel become Mecca for cancer patients
By Allison Kaplan Sommer April 02, 2006

A drink with as little as one gram of lemon grass contains enough citral
to prompt cancer cells to commit suicide in the test tube.

Israeli researchers find way to make cancer cells self-destruct
- Ben Gurion University

At first, Benny Zabidov, an Israeli agriculturalist who grows greenhouses
full of lush spices on a pastoral farm in Kfar Yedidya in the Sharon region,
couldn't understand why so many cancer patients from around the country
were showing up on his doorstep asking for fresh lemon grass.
It turned out that their doctors had sent them.
'They had been told to drink eight glasses of hot water with
fresh lemon grass steeped in it on the days
that they went for their radiation and chemotherapy treatments,
' Zabidov told ISRAEL21c.
'And this is the place you go to in Israel for fresh lemon grass.'

It all began when researchers at Ben Gurion University of the Negev
discovered last year that the lemon aroma in herbs like lemon grass
kills cancer cells in vitro, while leaving healthy cells unharmed.
The research team was led by Dr. Rivka Ofir and Prof. Yakov Weinstein,
incumbent of the Albert Katz Chair in Cell-Differentiation
and Malignant Diseases, from the Department of Microbiology
and Immunology at BGU.



Citral is the key component that gives the lemony aroma and taste
in several herbal plants such as lemon grass (Cymbopogon citratus),
melissa (Melissa officinalis) and verbena (Verbena officinalis. )

According to Ofir, the study found that citral causes cancer cells to
'commit suicide: using apoptosis, a mechanism called
programmed cell death.' A drink with as little as one gram
of lemon grass contains enough citral to prompt
the cancer cells to commit suicide in the test tube.

The BGU investigators checked the influence of the citral
on cancerous cells by adding them to both cancerous cells
and normal cells that were grown in a petri dish.
The quantity added in the concentrate was equivalent
to the amount contained in a cup of regular tea using
one gram of lemon herbs in hot water.
While the citral killed the cancerous cells,
the normal cells remained unharmed.

The findings were published in the scientific journal Planta Medica,
which highlights research on alternative and herbal remedies.
Shortly afterwards, the discovery was featured in the popular Israeli press.
Why does it work? Nobody knows for certain, but the BGU scientists have a theory.
'In each cell in our body, there is a genetic program which causes
programmed cell death. When something goes wrong,
the cells divide with no control and become cancer cells..
In normal cells, when the cell discovers that the control system
is not operating correctly - for example,
when it recognizes that a cell contains faulty genetic material
following cell division - it triggers cell death,' explains Weinstein.
'This research may explain the medical benefit of these herbs.'
The success of their research led them to the conclusion
that herbs containing citral may be consumed as a
preventative measure against certain cancerous cells.
As they learned of the BGU findings in the press,
many physicians in Israel began to believe that while the research
certainly needed to be explored further, in the meantime it would
be advisable for their patients, who were looking for any possible tool
to fight their condition, to try to harness the cancer-destroying
properties of citral.
That's why Zabidov's farm - the only major grower of
fresh lemon grass in Israel - has become a pilgrimage
destination for these patients.
Luckily, they found themselves in sympathetic hands.
Zabidov greets visitors with a large kettle of aromatic lemon grass tea,
a plate of cookies, and a supportive attitude.
'My father died of cancer, and my wife's sister died young
because of cancer,' said Zabidov..
'So I understand what they are dealing with.
And I may not know anything about medicine, but I'm a good listener.
And so they tell me about their expensive painful treatments and
what they've been through. I would never tell them to stop being treated,
but it's great that they are exploring alternatives and
drinking the lemon grass tea as well.'

Zabidov knew from a young age that agriculture was his calling.
At age 14, he enrolled in the Kfar Hayarok Agricultural high school.
After his army service, he joined an idealistic group which
headed south, in the Arava desert region, to found a new moshav
(agricultural settlement) called Tsofar.
were very successful; we raised fruits and vegetables,
and,' he notes with a smile, 'We raised some very nice children.
'On a trip to Europe in the mid-80s, he began to become interested in herbs.
Israel , at the time, was nothing like the trend-conscious cuisine-oriented
country it is today, and the only spices being grown commercially were
basics like parsley, dill, and coriander.
Wandering in the Paris market, looking at the variety of herbs and spices,
Zabidov realized that there was a great export potential in this niche.
He brought samples back home with him, 'which was technically illegal,'
he says with a guilty smile, to see how they would grow in his desert greenhouses.
Soon, he was growing basil, oregano, tarragon, chives, sage,
marjoram and melissa, and mint just to name a few.

His business began to outgrow his desert facilities,
and so he decided to move north, settling in the moshav of Kfar Yedidya,
an hour and a half north of Tel Aviv.. He is now selling 'several hundred kilos'
of lemon grass per week, and has signed with a distributor to package
put it in health food stores. Zabidov has taken it upon himself to learn more
about the properties of citral, and help his customers learn more,
and has invited medical experts to his farm to give lectures
about how the citral works and why.
He also felt a responsibility to know what to tell his customers about its use.
'When I realized what was happening, I picked up the phone and
called Dr. Weinstein at Ben-Gurion University ,
because these people were asking me exactly the best way to consume the citral.
He said to put the loose grass in hot water, and drink about eight glasses each day.'

Zabidov is pleased by the findings, not simply because it means business for his farm,
but because it might influence his own health.
Even before the news of its benefits were demonstrated,
he and his family had been drinking lemon grass in hot water for years,
'just because it tastes good.'