Açaí, the not so new superfood

The Acai (ah-sigh-ee) berry has been around for thousands of years in its native lands of the Amazon jungle. It has only been until recently that the rest o the world has recognized the berry’s health properties.

The Acai berry’s legend spans back to Amazon villages on the edge of the Para’ river. As villages grew, food became scarce. The tribal leader Itaki told the people they could not have any more children or they would have to be sacrificed. At the time, the daughter of the leader, Iaca’, was pregnant. The leader was excited and abhorred with the news. During the pregnancy, Iaca’ prayed to Tupa’ that a food would be shown to their village. The child was born and as declared, the tribal leader had to sacrifice the baby. The daughter, devastated, wondered throughout the forest crying. While in the forest, she saw her child’s ghost in the form of a slender palm tree. Within this tree a new fruit was discovered and the Itaki called the fruit Acai (Iaca’ inverted).

The Acai berry is now known to be one of the most nutritious and powerful foods in the world! The fruit tastes like a vibrant blend of berries and chocolate and is packed full of antioxidants, amino acids and essential fatty acids.

The antioxidants of Acai are 10 times greater than the antioxidants found in red grapes and 10 to 30 times the anthocyanins of red wine. The fatty acid content in Açaí resembles that of olive oil, and is rich in monounsaturated oleic acid. Oleic acid is important for a number of reasons. For one, it helps omega-3 fish oils penetrate the cell membrane and together they help make cell membranes suppler. By keeping the cell membrane supple, all hormones, neurotransmitter and insulin receptors function more efficiently.

How is Acai consumed? The juice and pulp of Acai fruits (Euterpe oleracea) is frequently used in various juice blends, smoothies, sodas, and other beverages. Acai can be freeze-dried or bought in a concentrate formula. For those in northern Brazil, Açaí is traditionally served in gourds called "cuias" with tapioca and sometimes sugar. Acai has become a fad in southern Brazil where it is consumed cold as açaí na tigela ("açaí in the bowl"), mostly mixed with granola - a fad where acai is considered as an energizer. Acai is also widely consumed in Brazil as an ice cream flavor or juice.

However you take your Acai, you will certainly be pleasantly surprised by its flavor and results.

R. Fredriksen is the Vice President of Nutrition Dome, a leading provider of Jarrow Formulas, Pioneer Nutritional Forumulas, Lipodrene and other quality supplements. For more information, please visit www.nutritiondome.com.

How Probiotics Work For You

When we have a stomachache or are sick, we are often told we have a bug. It is true that there are ‘bugs’ that live in our digestive systems. But there are good bugs and bad bugs.

First of all, bugs are living microorganisms. Within our bodies there must be a balance with those microorganisms to keep us healthy and feeling at our best. This is where Probiotics come in. Probiotics are the good bugs.

Scientifically, Probiotic bacterial cultures are intended to assist the body's naturally occurring gut flora, ecology of microbes, to re-establish themselves. Doctors sometimes recommend them, and, more frequently, they are prescribed by nutritionists after a course of antibiotics, or as part of the treatment for gut related candidiasis. Claims are made that Probiotics strengthens the immune system to combat allergies, excess alcohol intake, stress, exposure to toxic substances, and other diseases.

When we take antibiotics, for instance, the good bugs that work well with our bodies decrease in number, an event that allows harmful competitors to thrive, to the detriment of our health.

Probiotics, which means "for life", have been used for centuries as natural components in health-promoting foods. The original observation of the positive role played by certain bacteria was first introduced by Russian scientist and Nobel laureate Eli Metchnikoff, who in the beginning of the 20th century suggested that it would be possible to modify the gut flora and to replace harmful microbes by useful microbes. Metchnikoff, at that time a professor at the Pasteur Institute in Paris, produced the notion that the ageing process results from the activity of putrefactive (proteolytic) microbes producing toxic substances in the large bowel.

Proteolytic bacteria such as clostridia, which are part of the normal gut flora, produce toxic substances including phenols, indols and ammonia from the digestion of proteins. According to Metchnikoff these compounds were responsible for what he called “intestinal auto-intoxication”, which caused the physical changes associated with old age. It was at that time known that milk fermented with lactic-acid bacteria inhibits the growth of proteolytic bacteria because of the low pH produced by the fermentation of lactose.

Metchnikoff had also observed that certain rural populations in Europe, for example in Bulgaria and the Russian Steppes who lived largely on milk fermented by lactic-acid bacteria were exceptionally long lived. Based on these facts, Metchnikoff proposed that consumption of fermented milk would “seed” the intestine with harmless lactic-acid bacteria and decrease the intestinal pH and that this would suppress the growth of proteolytic bacteria. Metchnikoff himself introduced in his diet sour milk fermented with the bacteria he called “Bulgarian Bacillus” and found his health benefited. Friends in Paris soon followed his example and physicians began prescribing the sour milk diet for their patients.

The term “probiotics” was first introduced in 1965 by Lilly and Stillwell, when it was described as growth promoting factors produced by microorganisms (protozoa). In the 1960s the dairy industry began to promote fermented milk products containing Lactobacillus acidophilus. In subsequent decades other Lactobacillus species have been introduced including Lactobacillus rhamnosus, Lactobacillus casei, and Lactobacillus johnsonii, because they are intestinal species with beneficial properties.

In most circumstances, people use Probiotics to prevent diarrhea caused by antibiotics. Antibiotics kill "good" (beneficial) bacteria along with the bacteria that cause illness. Taking probiotic supplements (as capsules, powder, or liquid extract) may help replace the lost beneficial bacteria and thus help prevent diarrhea.

A decrease in beneficial bacteria may also lead to development of other infections, such as vaginal yeast and urinary tract infections, and symptoms such as diarrhea from intestinal illnesses.

Because many of us don’t eat the foods that put the good bugs back in our bodies, a course of Probiotics can help put our system back on track. The best part is, you have nothing to lose.


R. Fredriksen is the Vice President of Nutrition Dome, a leading provider of Jarrow Formulas, Pioneer Nutritional Forumulas, Lipodrene and other quality supplements. For more information, please visit www.nutritiondome.com.

The Benefits of Green Tea

We have all heard how green tea is good for us, but what does that mean? How is it good for us and why?

Historically speaking, the Chinese have known about the medicinal benefits of green tea since ancient times, using it to treat everything from headaches to depression. There is archaeological evidence that suggests that tea has been consumed for almost 5000 years, with China and India being two of the first countries to cultivate it.

Green tea has been used as traditional medicine in areas such as India, China, Japan and Thailand to help everything from controlling bleeding and helping heal wounds to regulating body temperature, blood sugar and promoting digestion.

The Kissa Yojoki (Book of Tea), written by Zen priest Eisai in 1191, describes how drinking green tea can have a positive effect on the five vital organs, especially the heart. The book discusses tea's medicinal qualities, which include easing the effects of alcohol, acting as a stimulant, curing blotchiness, quenching thirst, eliminating indigestion, curing beriberi disease, preventing fatigue, and improving urinary and brain function.

Today, scientific research in both Asia and the west is providing hard evidence for the health benefits long associated with drinking green tea. For example, in 1994 the Journal of the National Cancer Institute published the results of an epidemiological study indicating that drinking green tea reduced the risk of esophageal cancer in Chinese men and women by nearly sixty percent. University of Purdue researchers recently concluded that a compound in green tea inhibits the growth of cancer cells. There is also research indicating that drinking green tea lowers total cholesterol levels, as well as improving the ratio of good (HDL) cholesterol to bad (LDL) cholesterol.

A German study found that an extract of green tea and hot water (filtered), applied externally to the skin for 10 minutes, three times a day could help people with skin damaged from radiation therapy (after 16-22 days).

The secret of green tea lies in the fact it is rich in catechin polyphenols, particularly epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). EGCG is a powerful anti-oxidant: besides inhibiting the growth of cancer cells, it kills cancer cells without harming healthy tissue. It has also been effective in lowering LDL cholesterol levels, and inhibiting the abnormal formation of blood clots. The latter takes on added importance when you consider that thrombosis (the formation of abnormal blood clots) is the leading cause of heart attacks and stroke.

Links are being made between the effects of drinking green tea and the "French Paradox." For years, researchers were puzzled by the fact that, despite consuming a diet rich in fat, the French have a lower incidence of heart disease than Americans. The answer was found to lie in red wine, which contains resveratrol, a polyphenol that limits the negative effects of smoking and a fatty diet. In a 1997 study, researchers from the University of Kansas determined that EGCG is twice as powerful as resveratrol, which may explain why the rate of heart disease among Japanese men is quite low, even though approximately seventy-five percent are smokers.

Why don't other Chinese teas have similar health-giving properties? Green, oolong, and black teas all come from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant. What sets green tea apart is the way it is processed. Green tea leaves are steamed, which prevents the EGCG compound from being oxidized. By contrast, black and oolong tea leaves are made from fermented leaves, which results in the EGCG being converted into other compounds that are not nearly as effective in preventing and fighting various diseases.

New evidence is emerging that green tea can even help dieters. Researchers found that men who were given a combination of caffeine and green tea extract burned more calories than those given only caffeine or a placebo.

Green tea can even help prevent tooth decay! Just as its bacteria-destroying abilities can help prevent food poisoning, it can also kill the bacteria that cause dental plaque.

How much green tea should you drink? The suggested amount is three to four cups a day. If you aren’t up to drinking that much there are green tea patches and supplements. The choice is yours.

R. Fredriksen is the Vice President of Nutrition Dome, a leading provider of pioneer nutritional formulas. For more information, please visit www.nutritiondome.com.

Why Should You Detox?

Our environment is full of toxins, that is, substances that are toxic to our body. It has become impossible to go anywhere or do anything without being exposed to toxins these days. Toxins are found in the air, water, food, and pharmaceutical drugs as well as our home and work environments. We can’t even avoid them by eating and drinking organically (although we dramatically reduce our exposure by eating organically and raw).

To get rid of toxins, our bodies are naturally equipped with a wondrous mechanism, our lymph system. The lymph system is designed to filter out toxic substances and excess fluid from tissues, all which is intricately involved in our immune function.

The lymph system is our body’s antibody roadway and it removes cellular waste and undesirable toxins that have found their way into our system. The lymph has been called “the River of Life” and cannot cleanse or purify if it is weak on congested. The lymph system does not have a pumping mechanism except for muscle contraction. Therefore, the need for physical movement, exercise, and periodic detoxification is imperative for a well functioning lymph system.

So what happens when our lymph system becomes overloaded? We experience toxic overload. Virtually any adverse symptom a person may experience can be caused by toxic overload. Toxins work in the body by competing for mineral receptor sites at the enzyme level. The inability of an enzyme to function properly can manifest itself in many different disease states depending upon each individual’s genetic makeup (DNA). Consequently, it is always important to address your own toxic load whenever you have any kind of symptom that does not seem normal. The speed of symptom onset, from acute (fast) to chronic (slow) depends upon the degree of toxic exposure as well as each individual’s genetic make-up.

Today, many of our unexplainable diseases are directly associated with high levels of tissue toxins. Some of them are as follows:

1. Fatigue and chronic fatigue
2. Foggy thinking
3. Memory Loss
4. Chronic Pain
5. Weak immune system
6. Weak thyroid
7. Arthritis
8. Constipation
9. Heart Disease
10. Skin Ailments
11. Depression

So how can we detox? One way is through the feet? Why the feet? It is said that whatever is happening inside the body is identical and similar at the end of the nerves in the hands and feet. The sole of the foot is viewed as an area that reflects the wellness of the body.

The feet are a map of the body; they are divided into zones that correspond to specific body systems. It is possible to target and cleanse ones liver, colon, kidneys, or other body systems by positioning detox foot pads on that target area of the foot.

Japanese researchers have developed a blend of powders with the unique ability to energetically stimulate reflex points and nerve endings on the bottom of the foot, which in turn stimulates the secretion of lymph fluid.

In essence, the secretion of the lymph becomes a fourth vehicle for tissue and organ detoxification assisting the liver, kidneys, and sweat glands. The beauty of the patches is that they work with the body’s most extensive detoxification system. This then takes pressure off the other systems.

So if you think your body has been exposed to too many toxins, the quickest and easiest way to address the issue is by starting with your feet.



R. Fredriksen is the Vice President of Nutrition Dome, a leading provider of pioneer nutritional formulas. For more information, please visit www.nutritiondome.com.