Caper

Tiny Capers Pack Big Disease-fighting Punch is the title of this Science Daily article revealing that a small part of a meal may yield large health benefitis in the form of natural antioxidants. This appears to describe capers and their cancer and heart disease fighting attributes according to researchers in Italy. Capers could be particularly effective when consumed with meat.

Capers are found in Meditteranean dishes. Being flower buds, capers are decorative but their salty tang also is used flavor food.

An Unexpected Benefit of Safflower Oil

RealAge has a suggestion for a skin moisturizer that is inexpensive, easy to obtain, can be used for multiple purposes and gets results. It's safflower oil. The effective ingredient is a fatty acid called linoleic acid. Linoleic acid is synthesized by our bodies but as we age the efficiency of linoleic acid production declines. That's where safflower oil can come to the rescue.

Green Tea- an Inflammation Suppressor?

Green tea may help prevent autoimmune diseases is the title of the linked article indicating that a diet, which includes green tea, may inhibit inflammation resulting from autoimmune disorders. Researchers at the Medical College of Georgia produced the data associated with the related study.

Researchers gave one group, afflicted with Sjogren’s Syndrome, water and another a green tea extract. Sjogren’s Syndrome induces the body to attack its own salivary and lacrimal glands. The green tea group suffered significantly less glandular damage. A protein group, known as TNF-alpha, kills salivary and lacrimal gland cells but a substance in green tea, labeled EGCG, appears to somehow alter the regulatory mechanisms affecting TNF-alpha proteins. Further research is needed to determine how this occurs. But the good news is that consumption of green tea seems to ameliorate the effects of Sjogren’s Syndrome.

Fight Breast Cancer with These Foods

4 Foods to Fight Breast Cancer is a good article which specifies foods which can minimize the likelihood of breast cancer. They include salmon, sardines, herring and other omega-3 fatty acid rich fish. Broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage are excellent foods as are colorful berries. As the article notes, strawberries and raspberries both contain ellagaic acid. Ellagaic acid has been cited as a possible anti-carcinogin specific to breast cancer in some studies. Whole grains also receive mention. The details are available in the linked article.

Nutritional Components of Honey

Honey's Nutritional Profile details components of honey relevant to human nutrition. Included is a listing of vitamins and minerals. Also present in honey are flavenoids and phenolic acids which enhance the body's antioxident arsenal.

Honey Used to Enhance Beauty

Honey has a number of uses apart from its food value. It has medicinal properties when used as an antiseptic and it can also serve as a skin moisturizer. The Magic of Honey, a post at the blog RealAge, discusses the advantages of honey.

The blog entry notes that the sugar content and thick constituency of honey make it an ideal salve for wounds. The healing power of honey was previously noted in this blog.

As The Magic of Honey blog entry states:

"Honey is a terrific moisturizer for the face and body, too. "Honey is a natural humectant, meaning it draws 'free water' from interior tissues to the surface layers of the skin," says Wechsler. That subtle fluid shift creates a plumping effect that temporarily improves the appearance of wrinkles--handy before a morning presentation or a big night out."

There is also a formula provided for skin treatment which consists of two tablespoons of honey and two teaspoons of whole milk prepared and applied as indicated.

Hot Chili Peppers- a Pain Killer?

WebMD features an article about possible pain relief benefits to be gained from hot chili peppers. The linked article is titled Hot Chili Peppers May Relieve Pain. Capsaicin, an ingredient in the peppers which gives them their "hotness," when combined with a derivative of lidocaine, was used by researchers who tested rats. Following injections of the chemical, rats seemed to become tolerant of inflicted pain.

Research results were published in the journal Nature.

An Animation Showing an Immune Response to Cancer

Click here to find an animation showing T cells attacking cancer.