***********************************************
Moringa, also known as the Miracle Tree is widely known in various Asian and African countries for its numerous health benefits.
It is known as the Miracle Tree for many reasons. Each part of the tree comes with its own set of health properties, starting from the root and all the way to the leaves. Crushed moringa seeds are used to purify water. The moringa tree can grow in barren soil and survive with very little water. Its leaves which are consumed as a vegetable, can grow in abundance even in the harshest growing conditions. Because of this, it is a top candidate for alleviating hunger in some of the world's most poverty-stricken areas.
The leaves, which when cooked tastes similar to spinach, is a complete food source; containing over 90 nutrients and 46 antioxidants. It is rich in protein, iron, and calcium, and contains a significant amount of nearly everything else the body needs for proper function.
Tea made from the dry leaves is relaxing and raises alertness. The powdered leaves may be mixed in smoothies to create a supercharged energy drink. Regular consumption of the leaves promotes increased production of milk in lactating women.
Moringa: Keeping the Liver Healthy
One of the most important yet often overlooked major organs of our body is our liver. It detoxifies our blood, synthesizes essential proteins, and produces chemicals that are needed for digestion. It also plays a key role in the production of certain hormones and the storage of glycogen, which serve as our long term energy stores. As important as our liver is, though, it can be vulnerable to damage and disease brought about by a large number of factors. Viral infections, and hepatoxic chemicals absorbed through the consumption of large amounts of alcohol, food toxins, environmental factors, and even the very medicines we take can all harm our liver in the long term, leading to potentially dangerous conditions later in life. These hepatoxic chemicals lead to the formation of lesions on our liver, which can over time severely impair its functions. Fortunately, there is an effective and all natural remedy for this kind of liver damage: Moringa.
Moringa has been observed by scientists to contain unique compounds and enact mechanisms that help purge the liver of these toxins and even reverse the damage that they cause. Silymarin is a flavonoid or specialized molecule found in moringa that has been shown to help reduce the effects of hepatoxins on the liver, improving its resiliency. It also protects the liver from the toxic effects of rare earth metal salts such as praseodymium, cerium, and indium, which are known to cause the degeneration of the liver. Scientists theorize that moringa somehow causes the body to get rid of these poisonous compounds in a more rapid manner. This same mechanism also helps make moringa effective against several known poisonous compounds such as a-amanitin and phalloidin. Moringa prevents such toxic cell damage from occurring in two ways. First, it somehow alters the composition of our cell membranes, which only allow a small amount of toxin to seep into our cells. Secondly, the same cell regeneration mechanisms that moringa employs to reduce aging also ensures that there is a large number of healthy cells to replace those that do succumb to the toxins.
Moringa has also been observed to be an effective treatment against a wide array of liver diseases, such as both chronic and acute hepatitis, cirrhosis of the liver, fatty degeneration of the liver, and the metabolic liver disease brought about by alcohol and drug use. This is because moringa not only stops the toxicity that causes these diseases, but also helps reverse it. On its own, the liver is a very resilient organ, able to regenerate its cells and grow back even after over half of it is destroyed or removed. Moringa accelerates this regeneration process by about four times the normal speed, eventually helping the liver regain full functionality.
The best part about moringa is that as an all natural health food, it can be used in conjunction with medication, and even help enhance its effects. The drugs and medication we normally take can place a lot of toxic stress on the liver, which prevents its optimum recovery. With moringa adding an additional layer of protection for the liver, these drugs can now work faster and more effectively. Moringa is safe for consumption for people of all ages. By adding some moringa to your diet, you can enjoy all of its other benefits of improved nutrition, a more youthful appearance, and the knowledge that your body is well protected against whatever toxins we may encounter in the air, on our food, and in the water.
Bee Pollen for Fighting Multiple Sclerosis
Sunday, May 01, 2011
One of the most harmful diseases that can affect us is multiple sclerosis. Multiple sclerosis, or MS, is an inflammatory disease in which the sheaths of fatty myelin that are wrapped around the axons of the brain and spinal cord are damaged, leading to a whole host of neurological symptoms, such as loss of muscle strength, intermittent muscle spasms and difficulty in moving, visual impairment, fatigue, and acute or chronic pain. This makes it a very unpleasant and potentially fatal disease to have on its own, but what causes it is even more frightening.
Studies have shown that MS is caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors that cause the immune system to attack the sheaths of myelin on our nerve cells. Essentially, the body's own defenses are turned against itself, causing plenty of damage and long term health effects. Fortunately, one superfood can step up to the plate and slow down if not halt and reverse this self-destructive process: Bee Pollen.
One of bee pollen's most popular properties is the ability to help the body build a resistance to allergies. It does this by acting as a minor irritant that allows sensitive immune systems to learn how to deal with irritants and allergens. It is this same property that can help MS patients manage their disease better. When bee pollen is ingested, its minor allergen properties come into play, which triggers the immune response. While the immune system is busy dealing with this perceived threat, it is essentially distracted from taking apart the myelin sheathing of the axons. This has the net effect of slowing down the rate of deterioration as well as the onset and worsening of symptoms. In mild cases, it can even stop the deterioration completely. This strategy of 'distracting' the immune system is the same principle that drives MS patients to be voluntarily stung by bees in a controlled environment - of course simply eating the bee pollen is much more convenient for most people.
Most medication for MS simply stops at slowing down the deterioration and onset of symptoms, and to get such medication means dealing with their unpleasant and inconvenient side effects and their higher expense. Bee pollen goes one step further - it helps repair the myelin sheath that covers the axons of our nervous system.
Bee pollen is one of the few natural foods that is abundant in the compound lecithin. Lecithin is used by the body in the formulation of amino acids and proteins, and is the key ingredient in the synthesis of myelin itself. Taken as a whole, this means bee pollen approaches the problem of MS from two different directions: its mild allergenic properties distract the immune system from stripping the axons of their myelin coatings while the lecithin it contains help repair any damage done in the first place.
Taken together with bee pollen's other benefits, such as boosting brain function and protecting cardiovascular health, as well as the ease with which it can be consumed by anybody, it's hard to think of any reason not to try out this most unique and beneficial superfood.
- Bee Pollen products are available at Ilog Maria
- It is also available at (0919) 2127190
