Hopefully Helpful | Jasmine Mayfair | Reviews

Exercises for Women Getting Pregnant Over 40

Getting pregnant over 40 requires optimum health conditions. The would-be mothers would need to coordinate closely with their doctors to ensure that both mother and baby are safe and healthy. Exercise is vital and beneficial for older pregnant women because health, body strength and overall vitality generally decreases with age.

An exercise regime reduces the aches and pains associated with pregnancy, it boosts mood and morale, and improves sleeping habits. More importantly, exercise helps the body prepare for childbirth through stronger muscles and greater endurance. If a pregnant woman exercises religiously, she is also preparing the body to get back to its old shape and condition after childbirth.

It is always prudent to consult a doctor before embarking on a regular exercise regimen for women getting pregnant over 40. The recommended exercises are generally safe but they may not be advisable to do in the last trimester of pregnancy.

Most women getting pregnant at the age of 40 are career women. They keep to very tight schedules and so most doctors will recommend low-impact aerobics in the gym. There are regular daily classes at predetermined times, which makes it easier for would be mothers to incorporate exercise in their daily routines. An aerobics class for pregnant women will allow women to interact with other pregnant women and to gain insights on how to care for themselves and the babies they’re carrying.

Both doctors and fitness experts agree that swimming is a sound exercise option for women getting pregnant over 40. Swimming tones the arms and legs, while offering cardiovascular benefits. It also gives pregnant women the feeling of weightlessness despite the added weight.

The easiest form of exercise is walking. This is also the best physical activity for the older pregnant woman. Walking keeps a pregnant women fit without unnecessarily straining the knees and ankles. It can be done anytime, anywhere without any equipment other than a good pair of walking shoes. In addition, it is safe to be done all throughout the pregnancy.

All form of physical activity as long as its done moderately can be beneficial. If you are a party animal, you might want to go dancing at home to your favorite tunes just to be able to move around. You have to avoid routines that require twirls, jumps and leaps, though. Through all these possible exercise routines and regimens, it is wise not to push your body beyond limits. Getting pregnant over 40 may not be a walk in the park but there’s no reason why it can’t be fun and fulfilling.

Fertile at Forty! Tips on getting pregnant over 40

Getting pregnant over 40 has a lot of rewards. A woman in her 40s is more likely to be emotionally mature and financially stable. She is at the prime of her life. She is prepared to take on the responsibilities and enjoy the rewards of motherhood.

Women in their 40s are more likely to be in stable, loving relationships. They have overcome the emotional turmoil of their adolescence and early adulthood. They are more capable of nurturing a child in a warm and caring environment.

Women in their 40s have usually delayed pregnancy to seek career goals and enjoy financial stability. These women hold stable jobs, ensuring a future which is financially secure for their child.

However, there are trade-offs. Getting pregnant over 40 is not so easy to do. Several studies done on populations which do not practice contraception showed that there is a sharp decline in pregnancy rates once you reach the age of 35. Although age is just a number, this is not true when we are talking about reproductive function.

What about all those celebrities who have successfully conceived in their 40s? Fertility doctors are cautioning us to look beyond the glitter of these celebrity mothers. Some of these women have undergone assisted reproduction. Fertility doctors wish that women who underwent such technology be more forthcoming about it to debunk the myth that women can delay getting pregnant till they are over 40 without any significant risks.

For mothers-to-be, here are some tips for getting pregnant over 40:

1. Keep your body healthy. A healthy body ensures that your hormone levels are at normal. Maintaining the hormones estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone at optimum levels at each stage of your menstrual cycle ensures ovulation.

2. As a caveat to tip number 1, maintain your ideal body weight. Body weight per height, or body mass index, of 22 to 25 is optimal to getting pregnant. Being over- or undernourished wreaks havoc on your hormones. Some women who are too fat or too thin have irregular monthly cycles. Some stopped having menses entirely, a condition called amenorrhea. Irregular or absent menstrual periods are presumptive signs that you are not ovulating. This is definitely not a good sign.

3. Supplement with vitamins and minerals. If you are planning to get pregnant, stack up on folic acid at least 3 months prior to getting pregnant. You then continue taking this micronutrient for the first 3 months of your pregnancy. Taking at least 400 micrograms of folic acid daily before and during pregnancy reduces the risks for neural tube defects.

4. Stop smoking. Cigarette smoke damages your tubes, preventing fertilization. Smoking also has a detrimental effect on your ovaries, accelerating ovarian reserve loss. You need to take care of your remaining reserves, not lose them.

5. Stop drinking coffee and alcoholic beverages. Data are conflicting on how much of these drinks constitute too much. Some say 2 cups of coffee causes damage, others would say 6 cups. The same goes for alcohol. Some studies show that even a glass of wine weekly can adversely affect fertility. To be safe, abstain from these drinks totally, if you can.

6. Time your intercourse. There is no accurate way of predicting when ovulation occurs. However, you may use a combination of these methods to increase your chances of being right: monitoring of basal body temperature, checking your cervical mucus, and counting days based on the length of your menstrual period.

An increase in basal body temperature suggests ovulation. The presence of clear, sticky mucus similar to egg white is also suggestive of ovulation. Counting day 14 from the onset of menses in women with a 28-day cycle is also suggestive of ovulation. Combining these 3 methods increases your chances of accurately predicting ovulation.

You may try all these advice to optimize your chances of getting pregnant over 40.

Getting Pregnant Over 40: The All-Natural Route

With the speed at which we do things nowadays, getting pregnant over 40 is another area where women want to do things quickly, as time is clearly not on their side. So women discover that the shortest route to getting pregnant is assisted reproduction. These same women realize that fertility treatments oftentimes lead to heartbreak, and other medical interventions that they weren’t prepared to go through, and that no woman really should go through.

Now more and more women are discovering the benefits of employing natural methods of conceiving. What probably is the most attractive feature of the all-natural route is the fact that it is not costly and it can be carried out in the privacy of their own homes. A positive attitude towards natural conception is a good place to start.

Experience has taught us that our bodies respond to the dictates of our minds. There is some stock in all the new age meditation and visualization concept of realizing our goals, and there is no reason why this should not work for women who would like to conceive at a much later age. From the belief that it can be done, women should start visualizing the idea getting pregnant over 40, carrying a child to full term and giving birth.

But that does not end there. If we are able to meditate and visualize the desire to get pregnant, it would be so much easier to do things that support this belief and this vision. The route to getting pregnant over 40 starts to look promising. We become more receptive to the idea of keeping a more healthy outlook in life.

Still fertile, or over the hill: getting pregnant over 40


Take the case of actress Nicole Kidman. Kidman was previously married to Tom Cruise, a union which lasted for 10 years but failed to produce children. And not for want of trying, either. She had an ectopic pregnancy and an early miscarriage when she was in her 20s and 30s. The thrilling news of Kidman’s pregnancy is an inspiring story for 40-something women contemplating pregnancy. But is getting pregnant over 40 really easy to do?

Kidman attributes her surprise pregnancy to swimming in the fertility waters of the Kununurra falls in Australia. Before hopeful mothers-to-be rush to these waters, here are some facts to consider before attempting getting pregnant over 40.

Pregnancy is a result of three crucial steps: ovulation, fertilization, and implantation. Ovulation is the release of viable egg in the middle of a menstrual cycle. Most women who experience monthly menses are presumed to ovulate midcycle, or approximately on the 14th day after the start of their period. In women with irregular monthly periods, the occurrence of ovulation is more difficult to predict.

Some women in their 40s may not be ovulating as regularly as women in their 20s and 30s. More and more cycles of these women would be anovulatory. This means that they do not produce an egg.

Indeed, decreased fertility and fecundability (or the probability of pregnancy in a given time) in women over 40s is mainly due to a decrease in their ovarian reserve. A decline in ovarian reserve results in less eggs being produced.

What can be done to improve ovulation? Although we cannot increase a person’s ovarian reserve, there are some drugs and herbs which can induce ovulation. If you want to try natural remedies, you might consider taking Ginkgo biloba, Siberian ginseng, and/or chastetree berry. These herbs are believed to improve blood circulation to the reproductive organs, including the ovaries. They also have antioxidant properties. Chastetree berry have the added benefit of being able to induce ovulation by optimizing hormone levels conducive to ovulation.

Fertilization, the next step, is the union of the egg and sperm. After ovulation, the egg is ready for fertilization for approximately 24 hours. This means that sexual intercourse must happen at around this time. Timing is very important. Couples are usually advised to have sex every other day during a woman’s fertile period. Luckily for women in their 40s, age does not decrease sexual fervor.

If you have been attempting pregnancy and is unsuccessful, you might have to be evaluated for tubal problems. Women in their 40s have a higher incidence of tubal diseases or conditions which hinder fertilization. These tubal conditions may be the result of chronic smoking and drinking of alcoholic and caffeinated beverages in their youth. Or it may be the result of diseases such as endometriosis, which worsen over time.

Lastly, a fertilized egg must successfully implant in the uterus. Luckily for us, uterine health does not significantly decline with age. Uterine pathologies such as polyps and fibroids do not significantly affect chances of a successful implantation.

It might not be that simple, but getting pregnant over 40 is possible. And holding that baby in your arms is worth all the effort.

When we are born, we have over 4 million egg cells.

Once we reach puberty, our supply has dwindled drastically to a few hundred thousands. And more of these eggs are dwindling away every day. By the time we are in our 40s, our egg supply may have gone down to only a few thousands.

Once a month, we release one of these eggs, a process called ovulation. But even with regular monthly periods, ovulation is not guaranteed. As we grow older, ovulation becomes more erratic. Indeed, getting pregnant naturally becomes more difficult as we reach the age of 35.

Aside from ovulation, we have to make sure that our eggs get fertilized. Once released, the egg would be ready for fertilization for approximately 24 to 36 hours. So for women trying to conceive, timing is very important. Sexual intercourse must occur within 24 hours of our ovulation. This is simpler said than done.

There is no reliable method to say that ovulation has occurred. The most commonly used method to detect ovulation is through the use of ultrasound. Your doctor would monitor your follicles as they mature, and tell you if an egg has been released. During this time, you might be advised to have sexual intercourse every other day.

You might also use other methods like monitoring your body temperature and using an ovulation kit (similar to a pregnancy kit), but these are not as accurate as the ultrasound.

To boost your chances of getting pregnant over 40, a major lifestyle overhaul may be in order. No more caffeinated drinks or alcoholic beverages for you. The same goes for cigarettes. Cigarettes, caffeine and alcohol have deleterious effects on the quality of your eggs. They may also wreak havoc on your menstrual cycle, thus interfering with ovulation. Caffeine and alcohol are also believed to cause other conditions which may impair your fertility like endometriosis and tubal diseases. Furthermore, if you do get pregnant, these compounds may result in spontaneous abortions. Now, have I given you enough reasons to turn your back on these three?

You will also boost your chances of getting pregnant naturally if you take up an exercise program, yoga, or meditation. Fertility is negatively affected by stress and excess weight. Being a few pounds overweight interferes with your menstrual cycle and ovulation. Regular exercise and yoga releases endorphins, natural hormones which relaxes you. These activities also help you maintain your ideal weight.

Despite all these concerns, why do women delay getting pregnant till they are in their 40s? Women getting pregnant over 40 are more emotionally and financially secure, and are more likely to be in a committed, loving relationship. For these women, motherhood is the final step to complete their womanhood.

As recent as a few years back, getting pregnant over 40 is considered obstetrically risky.

But with Hollywood celebrities like Madonna, Brooke Shields, Halley Berry, Marcia Cross, and Courtney Cox Arquette getting their stork visit in their 40s, people see this as a trend nowadays. More and more women are getting pregnant over 40.

But is age just a number? Is 40 the new 30? Not when it comes to matters of fertility.

Getting pregnant over 40 without the use of fertility-enhancing drugs or assisted reproduction techniques is possible. It may be more difficult than when you were in your 20s or early 30s, but it is not beyond your reach. It would entail some effort on your part. But if it means holding a baby in your arms at the end of 9 months, then everything is worth the sacrifice, right?

Getting back to the basics, for pregnancy to occur, a viable egg must meet a sperm and be fertilized. This is the reason why most fertility experts agree that trying to get pregnant for the first time at the age of 40 is difficult. Our bodies are just not as young as they used to be. For one, the quality of our eggs has declined considerably. And secondly, there is no guarantee that we are even ovulating, or releasing these eggs, every cycle.

I had to pull this article as it's a dilemma ...

That I have heard about a mothers feelings that often sneaks up and springs on you at the most unexpected times ... As told in the article by Lowri Turner:

'I love my mixed race baby - but why does she feel so alien?'

Emotional turmoil over the colour of her child's skin

"She's getting very dark, isn't she?" This is what one of my friends recently said about my much adored - 12-week-old daughter.

She didn't mean to be rude. But it was a comment that struck me with the force of a jab to the stomach.

Immediately, I was overwhelmed by a confusion of emotions. I felt protective, insulted, worried, ashamed, guilty, all at once. The reason? My lovely, wriggly, smiley baby is mixed race.

Now, I think of myself as pretty 'right on'. My home is on the border of the London Republic of Hackney. I've been to the Notting Hill Carnival, even if I found the music a bit loud. Yet now I realise what a 'white' world I inhabit.

I am white and I have two sons from my first marriage who are both milky complexioned and golden haired. My twin sister, who I spend a lot of time with, has a Danish partner. As a consequence, she has two boys who are also pale skinned and flaxen haired.

Into this positively Scandinavian next generation, I have now injected a tiny, dark-skinned, dark-haired girl. To say she stands out is an understatement.

My colouring and that of my children has never really been an issue before. However, three years ago I met the man who became my second husband and who is the father of my daughter.

Although born in the UK, his parents came from India in the Sixties. This makes him British-Asian and our daughter mixed race.

There is another more PC term for the plump little bundle I strap to my front. She is 'dual heritage'. It's a bit trendy, but I quite like it. It implies a pride in coming from two cultures, rather than the less attractive connotations of 'mixed race'.

The usual time something is labelled 'mixed' is when it's a packet of nuts and they've bulked out the luxury cashews with cheaper peanuts. I'm not sure I want my daughter to be regarded as an adulterated version of some pure original. Still, it is the most accepted description.

The truth is, whatever the label, the fact there is a label proves that my daughter's conflicting parentage matters.

At the more frothy end of the scale, mixed-race children are regarded as pretty dolls ? white kids with a nice tan.

When I was pregnant and people asked me about the child I was having, and I explained her father was Indian, they would often coo something along the lines of: "Ooh, she's going to be beautiful!" as if I was discussing a new rose, made from an exotic cross-breeding programme.

On a less benevolent level, mixed-race children can receive a hostile welcome from both white and black communities. Being neither one thing nor another may get you on the cover of Vogue, but it isn't an easy way to make friends.

How To Stop stuttering permanently - Nicholas Brandon Stopped Stuttering

If you suffer from shuttering then it would really interest you to know that without going any kind of therapy you get cured of this problem for good and Stop stuttering in just 9 minutes!!!

It may sound unbelievable but it is very much true with shuttering annihilation technique.

It is basically a video that will show you how you can stop shuttering or stammering fro good which definitely would take more than minutes of yours but when you will practically apply the technique, it will bring a sure shot remedy to your problem!

As many as 458 people have already tried this video and all have been able to overcome their shortcoming. And if you still don’t believe, your money would be refunded in case this technique does not work for you.

If you are fed up of all the therapies and treatment you have undergone but to no respite, then try out this technique and stop stuttering within minutes. You need not pay for those expensive sittings of the therapist. Learn step by step procedures how by sheer will power and motivation you may end up your age old problem.

The entire course offers a stop shuttering video and a work book that would together do all the magic for you. This technique would ensure that you need not go to any other website after this to cure your shuttering problem.

Stop Stuttering Secrets - Did you know Julia Roberts Used to stutter?

If you are tired of visiting doctors for treatments that are heavy on pockets but show no sign of improvements, if you are fed up of the number of therapies you have undergone till date and find none helpful, then you should know about the shuttering annihilation technique that firsts finds the reasons that triggers shuttering and then help you to cure it in mere 9 minutes!!!

Nothing could be as simple and as quick as this technique that guarantees to be successful and if you are not benefitted like the rest 438 people who have tried to stop stuttering and succeeded with the technique, you money would be refunded!!! It may sound unbelievable but it’s a magical truth that has already transformed hundreds of life.

Thus there is no need to struggle with long therapies that take ages and still don’t guarantee any success. Within 9 minutes you may be able to stop shuttering by watching video that informs you about the reasons for triggering of shuttering and how you can curb the problem for good.

There also is a workbook to accompany the video that clears all your doubts and lets you understand where you shutter and when you shutter. This makes the entire process logical and simple and enables you to stop shuttering in only 9 minutes!!!

Solve the problem of shuttering in mere 9 minutes

It is indeed nothing less than a breakthrough to stop stuttering which the technique in question enables its users to do.

It may sound unbelievable but even a long time problem like shuttering or stammering as we often call it can also be solved and that too in as less time as 9 minutes.

All you need to do is to understand the reason for your stammering which is generally emotional and acknowledge the words where you stammer. Once you know the very point, the shuttering annihilation technique will cure your problem for good.

All you need to do is to follow the instruction provided in the video and read the work book that comes along with the video thoroughly. This will curb your stammering problem permanently. As many as 438 people have used the technique and their lives have transformed thereafter.

It is a solution to stammering by teaching you how to stop a shuttering and if you won’t get results, even your money would be refunded back.

So now there is no need of long treatments that make a hole in your pocket or long sessions of therapies that seem to be never ending. All you need to do is follow the procedure and practice them learn how to stop stuttering get rid of this irritating problem permanently

The FDA seeks to outlaw pyridoxamine (vitamin B6)

Your first thought might be, "How could it matter?" Lots of companies trademark names of ingredients. Heck, I've done it with some of my formulations. But in those cases, you're just talking about marketing differentiation. But with Polyphenon E, you have a whole different ballgame.

First, think about the status of green tea in the world. It's only known side effect is that it might make it more difficult for you to sleep if you took too much of it too close to bedtime. In exchange for this minor effect, you get all of the benefits cited above (cancer, heart disease, longevity, etc.), all demonstrated in study after study after study. In point of fact, you would be hard pressed to find a single drug in the world that has so few side effects and so many benefits and so many studies to back it up. Even the so-called miracle drug, aspirin, is not as clean. Remember, the smallest dosage of aspirin causes internal bleeding.

And yet, given green tea's remarkable safety record and proven benefits, not a word of these benefits can be mentioned in connection with any product being sold that contains green tea -- not in the US, not in Europe, not anywhere. And yet, Polyphenon E is being pitched as a potential cancer cure all over the internet and in medical literature. It even has a featured position on the Prostate Cancer Foundation website. How can this be?

Perhaps we can find the answer by looking at the curious case of pyridoxamine – the only form of B6 that can be taken without fear of peripheral neuropathy, and the only form, according to some experts, that should ever be used in supplements. And yet, given all this, pharmaceutical interests have filed a petition with the FDA seeking to ban the use of pyridoxamine in supplements. And the FDA is seriously considering it.

Why? Because pyridoxamine has shown promise in protecting against diabetic complications! According to the FDA, if low cost pyridoxamine was available in supplements, there would be no incentive for the pharmaceutical industry to invest the money necessary to get it classified as a prescription drug! In other words, if there is enough money involved, the FDA is quite willing to reclassify everyday supplements as pharmaceutical drugs.

For a more detailed look at this issue, check out William Faloon's article in the most recent issue of Life Extension Magazine. But for now, let's cut to the heart of the matter....

Read the rest at the source

The Polyphenon E curve ball

So what is this miracle antioxidant Polyphenon E found in green tea and used in the study? Well, according to the National Cancer Institute, Polyphenon E "is a substance being studied in the prevention of cancer. It is made from decaffeinated green tea, and contains chemicals called catechins, which are antioxidants." And according to its manufacturer, Mitsui Norin Co., Ltd., Polyphenon is a highly purified tea catechin extract, and is going to be the first pharmaceutical grade green tea catechin in the world.

That sounds pretty amazing…and pretty unique. The reality, however, is a tad less dramatic. The Polyphenon E used in the prostate study came in a 416.7 mg capsule with a breakdown as follows: 200 mg EGCG, 48.5 mg EGC, 34.2 mg EC, 20 mg ECG, and other tea catechins, 28.8 mg pregelatinized starch, 2.25 mg colloidal silicon dioxide, and 2.25 mg magnesium stearate. In other words, there's nothing particularly special about Polyphenon E. It's a fairly standard mix of green tea catechins. And as far as being "pharmaceutical grade," green tea extracts now come standardized to 95-98 percent polyphenol content. That's about as pharmaceutical grade as you're going to get.

So, does it matter that tests were being conducted using a standardized green tea extract with a registered trademark for a name and that the National Cancer Institute is singling out for special attention?

And the answer in this case is, "Yes, big time!"

Now let's turn to the study in the news that triggered this Green Tea Report.

The headlines started making the media rounds a couple of weeks ago, "Green tea slows prostate cancer." In summary, according to the results of a study published in Cancer Prevention Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, men with prostate cancer who consumed the active compounds in a green tea extract demonstrated a significant reduction in serum markers predictive of prostate cancer progression.

"The investigational agent used in the trial, Polyphenon E (provided by Polyphenon Pharma), may have the potential to lower the incidence and slow the progression of prostate cancer," said James A. Cardelli, Ph.D., professor and director of basic and translational research in the Feist-Weiller Cancer Center, LSU Health Sciences Center-Shreveport.

The study included 26 men, aged 41 to 72 years, diagnosed with prostate cancer and scheduled for radical prostatectomy. Patients consumed four capsules containing Polyphenon E until the day before surgery – four capsules are equivalent to about 12 cups of normally brewed concentrated green tea, according to Cardelli. The time of study for 25 of the 26 patients ranged from 12 days to 73 days, with a median time of 34.5 days.

Findings showed a significant reduction in serum levels of HGF, VEGF and PSA after treatment (HGF and VEGF are good prognostic indicators of metastatic disease), with some patients demonstrating reductions in levels of greater than 30 percent, according to the researchers.

Cardelli and his colleagues found that other biomarkers were also positively affected. There were only a few reported side effects associated with this study, and liver function remained normal. Said Cardelli, "There is reasonably good evidence that many cancers are preventable, and our studies using plant-derived substances support the idea that plant compounds found in a healthy diet can play a role in preventing cancer development and progression."

Green tea is one of the best known supplements in the world.

It has been touted for everything from weight loss to cancer prevention to longevity. It's used by serious herbalists (who actually understand it), and it's used in some of the most basic formulas in the world such as One A Day WeightSmart, albeit at meaningless pixie dust levels. But more to the point, it's back in the news with the release of a new study that shows it may actually help slow the progression of prostate cancer. But this newsletter isn't about the virtues of green tea, although we will explore them. Instead, it's about some of the shenanigans going on behind the scenes concerning not just green tea, but all supplements, and even some basic vitamins – specifically B6.

But first, let's talk about some of the virtues of green tea as demonstrated in clinical studies.

The biochemicals of health in green tea

Green tea antioxidants are of the same family as grape seed and pine bark extracts. They are polyphenols, chief of which are the flavonoids called proanthocyanidins. In green tea, the main proanthocyanidins are the catechins, and the most powerful of the catechins is Epigallocatechin Gallate (EGCG), found in the high concentrations in green tea. Why don't other teas have similar properties – particularly since many of them come from the same plant, Camellia sinensis? Quite simply, what sets green tea apart is the way it is processed.

Green tea leaves are lightly fermented and steamed, which prevents the EGCG compound from being oxidized. By contrast, black and oolong tea leaves are made from heavily fermented leaves, which results in the EGCG being converted into other compounds that are not as effective in preventing and fighting various diseases.

I should probably mention its lesser known sibling, white tea.

The main difference between white and green tea is that white tea leaves are harvested at a younger age than the green tea leaves. It should be noted that white tea actually trumps green tea in several ways. First, whereas green tea is lightly fermented, white tea is totally unfermented leaving even more of the EGCG intact. Second, studies have shown that the young, white tea leaves retain antioxidants in higher concentrations than does green tea. In fact, the concentration of antioxidants in white tea is approximately three times higher than in green tea. Bottom line: anything we say about the health benefits of green tea also apply to white tea, but even more so.



1, 2, 3). Although the studies are conflicting, it's probably best to err on the side of caution. The studies are far less conflicted when it comes to milk reducing the antioxidant potential found in dark chocolate. The mechanism is simple. The caseins in the dairy interact with the polyphenols in the tea or chocolate and decrease their effectiveness. Then again, if you use a concentrated, full-spectrum green tea extract, you avoid the problem altogether.

Green tea health benefits

As I mentioned earlier, the reported benefits of green tea are multitudinous…and well studied. For example, green tea inhibits tumor growth in a variety of cancers, including: breast, lung, and prostate cancers. Specifically, the EGCG in green tea works to suppress angiogenesis, the growth of blood vessels that tumors need to survive. And if that's not enough -- stopping the growth of cancer at the front end -- green tea polyphenols have been shown to inhibit metastasis, the spread of cancer at the back end. And finally, EGCG is the first known natural telomerase inhibitor. That is to say, it eliminates the "immortality" of cancer cells which is their trademark and which makes them so deadly. The bottom line is that green tea is particularly effective in destroying the causes of leukemia, prostate cancer, breast cancer, and seems to provide the best protection known in terms of preventing lung cancer. And green tea seems to be able to almost totally prevent cancer causing DNA damage in smokers -- a possible explanation as to why the Japanese, who are among the world's heaviest smokers, have such a low incidence of lung cancer.

And the benefits of green tea don't stop there. It has also been shown to be effective in regulating blood sugar, reducing cholesterol and triglycerides, and in reversing the ravages of heart disease. (Incidentally, the Japanese, who drink large amounts of green tea, have some of the lowest rates of cardiovascular disease in the world.)

And finally, green tea has great benefits for the brain as well. It serves as an effective MAO inhibitor. It also protects against brain-cell death from glucose oxidase, over-production of nitric oxide, and it lowers the amount of free iron reaching the brain (a bad thing). The net result is that there are strong indications that green tea extract may play a major role in protecting against both Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease.

Nothing's Faster Than Raw Food

For health-conscious eaters, a question arises when processed foods are to be avoided and cooking three full meals a day takes too much time. Raw foods may be the answer. Naturally, a piece of fruit is always a better snack than a bag of chips. But there are numerous health and environmental benefits to eating raw foods on a consistent basis, as well.

Raw food consumption is considered to have a “cleansing” or “detox” effect on the body; adherents to raw diets note increased energy and overall health, as well as weight loss. Many claim that food loses most of its nutritional value when cooked over 120oF, and it is known that cooking certain substances at high temperatures can increase the growth of potential cancer-causing components. Furthermore, eating raw can help you avoid the massive energy consumption and waste of food processing.

Eating raw does not mean committing to a vegetarian or vegan diet, nor does it mean swearing off cooking altogether. What’s important is consumption of appropriate levels of fruit, vegetables and even fish products that are best and easiest when raw. You can start by eating a salad of raw greens and vegetables each day, looking for a raw-foods restaurant in your area, or learning some sashimi preparations. Or, try a whole day of raw eating—a balance of fruits, vegetables and legumes can cover all major nutrients with little to no prep time.

Nothing's Faster Than Raw Food
What?
Save time - and improve your health - by incorporating raw food into your diet.

How?
Try to consume more fruit, veggies, nuts and salads every day. As a result, you'll eat healthier, and spend less time cooking.

Why?
Processed food takes more fossil fuel energy to manufacture and oftentimes more human energy to prepare.

Did You Know?
You can soak legumes and beans in water overnight to soften them without cooking.

Okay, But How Hard Is It?
As easy as rinsing and eating!