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9 Alkaline Foods That Fight Cancer, Pain, Gout, Diabetes And Heart Disease

Trying to go alkaline?

It’s easier when you know which foods help you get to and stay in an alkaline state. A general rule of thumb is that you can eat these foods without worrying about any acidic effect they’ll have, although some are more alkaline than others.

IT ISN’T NECESSARY TO EAT ONLY ALKALINE FOODS IN ORDER TO GET BODY’S PH LEVELS TO BE ALKALINE, AND A CERTAIN PERCENTAGE OF FOODS CAN BE ACIDIC, BUT IT’S BEST IF THEY’RE NATURAL, WHOLE FOODS LIKE FRUITS.

Almonds

Almonds consistently rank on the list of healthiest foods to eat, so it’s no wonder that they’re also an alkaline food.

MOST NUTS AND SEEDS ARE CONSIDERED ACID UNLESS THEY’RE SPROUTED; HOWEVER THERE ARE SOME THAT ARE NEUTRAL OR JUST SLIGHTLY ALKALINE SUCH AS ALMOND

— Raw Foods Diet Center

Top stats (per 100g):
Calcium – 27%
Iron – 25%
Protein – 44%

Amaranth

This is a grain that not many people are familiar with, but that makes a great addition to any alkaline-focused diet plan.

TODAY AMARANTH IS VALUED WORLDWIDE. THE UNITED NATIONS FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION HAS FOSTERED AMARANTH’S USE SINCE 1967 BECAUSE WHEREVER IT IS CONSUMED THERE IS NO MALNUTRITION. AMARANTH HAS MORE PROTEIN THAN WHEAT AND HIGHER IN THE AMINO ACID LYSINE THAN OTHER GRAIN SOURCES OF PROTEIN.

BOTANISTS NOTE THAT AMARANTH BELONGS TO A REMARKABLE GROUP OF PHOTOSYNTHETIC SUPER PERFORMERS CALLED THE C4 GROUP, MEANING IT IS SUPER EFFICIENT IN CONVERTING SOIL, SUNLIGHT, AND WATER INTO PLANT TISSUE.

— Eden Foods

Top stats (per 100g):
Calcium – 16%
Iron – 42%
Protein – 14g

Artichokes

Artichokes are often seen on top of salads, or used in a dip, but there are a number of reasons why you can bring them to the forefront of your diet.

ARTICHOKES HAVE THE HIGHEST ANTIOXIDANT LEVELS OUT OF ALL VEGETABLES, ACCORDING TO A STUDY DONE BY THE USDA, AND OUT OF 1,000 PLANTS DIFFERENT TYPES OF FOODS, THEY RANKED #7 IN ANTIOXIDANT CONTENT. ANTIOXIDANTS ARE ONE OF THE PRIMARY MEANS OF DEFENSE FOR THE IMMUNE SYSTEM AGAINST THE EFFECTS OF FREE RADICALS, NATURAL BYPRODUCTS OF CELL METABOLISM THAT CAN LEAD TO A NUMBER OF DANGEROUS CONDITIONS AND DISEASES IN THE BODY, INCLUDING CANCER AND HEART DISEASE, AMONG OTHERS.

— Organic Facts

Top stats (per 100g):
Vitamin C – 20%
Vitamin K – 12%
Folates – 17%

Arugula

Here’s a leafy green that’s worth getting to know. Arugula is often used as part of a detox diet plan, and the fact that it’s an alkalinefood is a big part of that.

ARUGULA ALSO PROVIDES HIGH LEVELS OF PROTEIN, THIAMIN, RIBOFLAVIN, VITAMIN B6, ZINC, COPPER, AND PANTOTHENIC ACID (VITAMIN B5) FOR RAISING GOOD CHOLESTEROL LEVELS AND LOWERING THE BAD. ITS FLAVONOID CONTENT HAS MULTIPLE BENEFITS: TO PREVENT CHOLESTEROL FROM STICKING TO ARTERIES, LOWER BLOOD PRESSURE, INCREASE BLOOD FLOW, LOWER INFLAMMATION, AND IMPROVE BLOOD VESSEL FUNCTION.

— Dr. Mercola

Top stats (per 100g):
Calcium – 16%
Vitamin A – 47%
Iron – 8%

Asparagus

Asparagus has an alkaline effect on the body, and it just so happens that it’s one of the strongest foods you can eat in terms of alkalinity.

EACH FOOD IS RANKED ACCORDING TO HOW ALKALINE IT IS, AND ASPARAGUS IS ONE OF THE “BIG DOGS”. BUT IT BRINGS A LOT MORE THAN THAT TO THE TABLE, INCLUDING ANTIOXIDANTS, NUTRIENTS, AND PLENTY OF DETOXIFYING QUALITIES. IT’S EVEN BEEN NOTED THAT ASPARAGUS HAS ANTI-AGING BENEFITS, WHICH IS ENOUGH FOR MOST PEOPLE TO START ADDING MORE OF IT TO THEIR MENU.

— Bembu

Top stats (per 100g):
Vitamin A – 15%
Vitamin C – 9%
Iron – 12%

Avocado & Avocado Oil

It’s no surprise that avocado is on our list of alkaline foods. It’s managed to make it onto our list of superfoods as well, so you know it’s packing a nutritional punch.

AVOCADOS ARE HIGH IN POTASSIUM AS WELL AS HEALTHY FAT, SO IN ADDITION TO HELPING YOU BE MORE ALKALINE, YOU’RE GETTING OTHER PERKS AS WELL. YOU CAN ALSO USE AVOCADO OIL IN FAVOR OF OTHER OILS THAT DON’T PROVIDE ANY ALKALINE BENEFIT, OR WORSE ARE ACID-FORMING IN THE BODY.

Top stats (per 100g):
Vitamin C – 17%
Vitamin A – 3%
Fiber – 27%

Basil

You might not have thought that the herbs and spices you use on your food have an effect on how alkaline or acidic your pH levels are.

BUT AS IT TURNS OUT THERE ARE GOOD SPICES AND BAD SPICES. BASIL HAPPENS TO BE ONE OF THE ONES THAT HELPS KEEP YOU ALKALINE, AND IT ALSO HAS PLENTY OF OTHER THINGS GOING FOR IT, SUCH AS THE FLAVONOIDS IT CONTAINS. THESE HELP THE BODY TO HEAL AND BASIL IN GENERAL CAN HELP WITH SEVERAL DIFFERENT AREAS OF THE BODY.

Top stats (per 100g):
Vitamin A – 175%
Vitamin K – 345%
Calcium – 18%

Beetroot

Beetroot gets more attention now than ever before, and it’s one of the foods out there that will act to help raise your pH levels.

THE REASON IT’S AN IMPORTANT VEGETABLE TO INCLUDE IN YOUR ARSENAL IS BECAUSE IT’S ONE OF THE ONLY SOURCES OF THE PHYTONUTRIENT BETALAIN WHICH MAY HAVE ANTI-CANCER PROPERTIES. ADD THESE AS A SIDE, OR USE THEM AS A SALAD TOPPER. BE SURE TO BUY THIS ONE FRESH AND STEAM IT, AS THE PICKLED VARIETY HAS REDUCED NUTRITIONAL VALUE.

Top stats (per 100g):
Vitamin C – 8%
Vitamin K – 11%
Folate – 75%

Broccoli

This is a quintessential healthy food and it’s easy to understand that it’s an alkaline food.

BROCCOLI IS ONE OF THOSE VEGETABLES THAT HAS SO MUCH GOING ON YOU SIMPLY HAVE TO MAKE AN EXTRA EFFORT TO GET MORE OF IT INTO YOUR SYSTEM. SOME PEOPLE EAT BROCCOLI EVERY DAY AS A WAY TO MAINTAIN GOOD HEALTH AND MAKE SURE THEY’RE ON THE ALKALINESIDE. YOU AT LEAST WANT TO EAT IT MULTIPLE TIMES A WEEK, WITH 3 OR 4 TIMES BEING A GOOD RULE OF THUMB.

Top stats (per 100g):
Vitamin C – 135%
Vitamin A – 11%
Calcium – 4%

Understanding How an Alkaline Diet Works

Alkaline diets are a popular choice for people who want to achieve optimum good health. However, many people don’t actually understand this diet or how it works. The concept is actually fairly simple – the diet just focuses on regaining the balance that was lost when man started to eat a more domesticated diet. Instead of focusing on foods that are high in sugar, fat, and cholesterol, an alkaline diet primarily consists of fresh fruits and vegetables, healthy whole grains, wholesome protein sources such as soy, beans and legumes, and healthy oils such as canola, olive and flax seed. These foods may be either alkaline or acid in their natural state, but they all produce what is termed as an “alkaline ash” once digested and metabolized by the body. When the body’s pH is kept at a slightly alkaline level, all the systems can work more efficiently.

Understanding the Effects of the Body’s pH Level

The pH level of the body has the ability to affect every single cell of the body. When the blood has an alkaline pH instead of an acidic pH, it will have a positive effect on how every bodily system functions. The brain, circulatory system, nerves, muscles, respiratory system, digestive system, and reproductive system can all benefit from a proper pH level. On the other hand, when the pH of the body is too acidic, it is susceptible to many diseases and problems. Weight gain, heart disease, premature aging, fatigue, nerve problems, allergies, muscle disease and cancer are all more prevalent when the body’s pH is not optimal. Because these problems are all more likely to occur when the body’s pH is too acid, it makes good sense to eat a diet rich in alkalizing foods. The primary goal is usually to eat approximately 75-80% alkaline foods along with only about 20-25% acidifying foods. If this level is maintained in the diet, the end result is a slightly alkaline pH in the body, which is perfect for optimum good health.

Choosing Foods for an Alkaline Diet

It’s actually quite easy to eat a diet rich in alkaline-producing foods. Most fresh fruits and vegetables are excellent choices. Red meat is not a good choice, but you can add plenty of protein to your meals by using soy products, delicious beans, legumes, and nuts such as almonds. You should eliminate unhealthy fats from your diet, but you can use good fats such as olive, canola, and flax seed oil. High fat dairy products should be avoided, but you can drink soy milk and goat’s milk. Cheeses made from soy milk and goat’s milk would also be good choices. Replace the empty calories of soda with delicious iced herb tea, green tea and lemon water. Coffee should be avoided, but you can drink hot herbal or green tea. Replace pasta with healthy whole grains such as wild rice, millet and quinoa. When sweetening your foods, focus on natural products such as raw sugar, Stevia and maple sugar. As you can see, you’ll have many nutritious choices that are both delicious and high in alkalizing properties.

Editor’s Note:

I found a great site with an extensive acid-alkaline food chart, recipes and guide.

If you don’t know much about an alkaline diet, it is highly recommended for giving you a dramatic increase in energy levels along with restoring radiantly good health.

The site explains how a high alkaline foods diet works and why eating alkaline foods is recommended.

If you haven’t tried this yet, I highly recommend you do now.

To download everything –> click here

This Poison Destroys Your Bones But Everyone Drinks It (Even Daily)

Statistics shows that Americans drink more soda than ever before. They account for more than 25 percent of all drinks consumed in the United States. More than 15 billion gallons were sold in 2000 — about one 12-ounce can per day for every man, woman and child.

But here’s some information that may keep you away from opening the can:

1. Extra pounds

Soda is a significant contributor to obesity. Drinking a single can a day of sugary drinks translates to more than a pound of weight gain every month. And diet soda is just as likely to cause weight gain as regular, or even more — it may sound counterintuitive, but people who drink diet soft drinks actually don’t lose weight. Artificial sweeteners induce a whole set of physiologic and hormonal responses that actually make you gain weight.

2. Liver damage

Soda damages your liver. Consumption of too many soft drinks puts you under increased risk for liver cirrhosis similar to the increased risk faced by chronic alcoholics.

3. Tooth decay

Soda dissolves tooth enamel. Soft drinks are responsible for doubling or tripling the incidence of tooth decay. Soda’s acidity is even worse for teeth than the solid sugar found in candy.

4. Kidney stones and chronic kidney disease

Colas of all kinds are well known for their high phosphoric acid content, a substance that changes the urine in a way that promotes kidney stone formation. Drinking one quart (less than three 12-ounce cans) of soda per week may increase your risk of developing kidney stones by 15 percent.

5. Diabetes

Anything that promotes weight gain increases the risk of diabetes. Drinking soda also stresses your body’s ability to process sugar. Some scientists now suspect that this may explain why the number of Americans with type 2 diabetes has tripled from 6.6 million in 1980 to 20.8 million today.

6. Heartburn & acid reflux

Heavy consumption of soda is a strong predictor of heartburn. Many carbonated beverages are very acidic. They also deliver a lot of air in the form of carbon dioxide, which can cause distension of your stomach. And that distension appears to be associated with more reflux.

7. Soft drinks = Soft Bones = Osteoporosis

Soft drinks containing phosphoric acid are definitely linked to osteoporosis (a weakening of your skeletal structure) because they lead to lower calcium levels and higher phosphate levels in your blood. When phosphate levels are high and calcium levels are low, calcium is pulled out of your bones.

8. Hypertension (high blood pressure)

Experts have reasons to believe that overconsumption of soda leads to an increase in blood pressure. It doesn’t matter if the soda is regular or diet.

9. Heart disease

Heavy soda drinkers are more likely to develop risk factors for heart disease. Research shows that drinking more than one soft drink a day is associated with an increased risk of developing metabolic syndrome — a group of symptoms such as central obesity, elevated blood pressure, elevated fasting blood sugar, elevated fasting triglycerides, and low levels of HDL or “good” cholesterol. Having three or more of the symptoms increases your risk of developing diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

10. Impaired digestion (gastrointestinal distress)

Gastrointestinal distress includes increased stomach acid levels requiring acid inhibitors, and moderate to severe gastric inflammation with possible stomach lining erosion. Drinking sodas, especially on an empty stomach, can upset the fragile acid-alkaline balance of your stomach and other gastric lining, creating a continuous acid environment. This prolonged acid environment can lead to inflammation of your stomach and duodenal lining.

I’ve been warning my readers of the dangers of soda since I started this site, and this is a good list of reasons why you’ll want to avoid this beverage like the plague.

Soda is on my list of the five absolute worst foods and drinks you can consume. Because even though fat has 250 percent more calories than sugar, the food that people get MOST of their calories from is sugar from corn, or high fructose corn syrup (HFCS).

According to USDA estimates, the per capita consumption of HFCS was about 40 pounds per year as of 2007, primarily in the form of soft drinks. Tragically, high fructose corn syrup in the form of soda, is now the number one source of calories in the United States.

Food and beverage manufacturers began switching their sweeteners from sucrose (table sugar) to corn syrup in the 1970s when they discovered that HFCS was cheaper to make.

HFCS is only about 20 percent sweeter than table sugar, but it’s a switch that has drastically altered the American diet.

The good news about all these shocking health facts is that stopping the pernicious habit of drinking soda is one of the easiest things you can do. As you can clearly see from all the examples above, you can radically improve your health simply by cutting soda out of your diet.

In fact, I am confident that your health improvement would be even more profound than if you quit smoking – a statement that has raised quite a few eyebrows through the years.
Why do I believe this?

Because soda clearly elevates insulin levels, and elevated insulin levels are the foundation of nearly every chronic disease, including:

Cancer
Heart disease
Diabetes
Premature aging
Arthritis
Osteoporosis

In addition to the ten health problems above, most of which I have reported on through the years already, there is one more that is not discussed as often: drinking soda also increases your cancer risk.

Soda Drinkers Have a Higher Risk of Several Types of Cancer

Numerous studies have pointed out the link between sugar and increased rates of cancer, suggesting that regulating sugar intake is key to slowing tumor growth.

In one human study, 10 healthy people were assessed for fasting blood-glucose levels and the phagocytic index of neutrophils, which measures immune-cell ability to envelop and destroy invaders such as cancer.

Eating 100 grams of carbohydrates from glucose, sucrose, honey and orange juice all significantly decreased the capacity of neutrophils to engulf bacteria.

Another four-year study at the National Institute of Public Health and Environmental Protection in the Netherlands compared 111 biliary tract cancer patients with 480 controls. In this study the cancer risk associated with the intake of sugars more than doubled for the cancer patients.

Many studies have linked sugar intake with different types of cancer, such as:

Breast cancer — An epidemiological study in 21 modern countries that keep track of morbidity and mortality (Europe, North America, Japan and others) revealed that sugar intake is a strong risk factor that contributes to higher breast cancer rates, particularly in older women.

Throat cancer – Throat cancer is a particularly hard cancer to beat–more than 90 percent of patients with invasive esophageal cancer die within five years of diagnosis.

Research has revealed that those who drink soda might have a higher risk of developing esophageal cancer. They found a strong link between the accelerated rate of people drinking carbonated soft drinks and the growing number of cases of esophageal cancer over the course of two decades.

Colon cancer — According to another study, women who consume a high dietary glycemic load may increase their risk of colorectal (colon) cancer. Glycemic load is a measure of how quickly a food’s carbohydrates are turned into sugars by your body (glycemic index) in relation to the amount of carbohydrates per serving of that food.

The study consisted of more than 38,450 women who were followed for almost eight years. The participants filled out questionnaires about their eating habits, so researchers could examine the associations of dietary glycemic load, overall dietary glycemic index, carbohydrate, fiber, non-fiber carbohydrate, sucrose, and fructose with the subsequent development of colon cancer.

They found that women who ate the most high-glycemic-load foods were nearly three times more likely to develop colon cancer.

Do You Want to Radically Improve Your Health?

Then replace soda and other sugary drinks with clean, pure water.

Normalizing your insulin levels is one of the most powerful physical actions you can take to improve your health and lower your risk of cancer along with all the other diseases and long-term chronic health conditions mentioned above.

Fortunately, it is also the variable most easily influenced by healthy eating and exercise.

10-Day Sugar Detox Diet (Removes Fat, Headaches, Pain & More)

If sweet is sweet then what is sugar? Diabetes, cancer, dementia, depression, acne, infertility, heart disease. Doesn’t sound too sweet. The average American consumes about 152 pounds of sugar a year. The average American man weighs 195.5 pounds, the average American woman weighs 167lbs. In the 1960s the average American man weighed in at 167lbs and the average American woman at 141lbs.

That is astounding.

152 pounds of sugar a year roughly translates to 22 teaspoons per day. And kids consume about 34 teaspoons every day, making nearly 1 in 4 teens pre-diabetic. Refined sugar and flour cause inflammation, raise blood sugar levels, and have no nutritional value that can’t be gotten elsewhere.

In a Harvard study scientists found that a high-sugar milkshake spiked blood sugar levels, insulin production, and the sugar craving centers in the brain. In a brain scan, the sugar lit up the addiction center like fireworks on the Fourth of July.
The Big 10

600 people tried out Mark Hyman, M.D.’s diet and lost 4,000 pounds in 10 days. When was the last time you lost 7 pounds in less than two weeks? And how hard did you work? The diet promises no cravings, no bland foods or boring diets, no deprivation – simply rewire the way you think about food.

Dr. Hyman created this diet to be full of sugar addiction-reversing foods that will reset your body and brain and let cut sugar from your diet and regain your life.

10-Day Detox Diet

Here are the top 10 big ideas for detoxing from sugar and refined carbs that will work for you in just 10 days.

Decide To Detox

In his book, Mark Hyman has a set of questions to help you know whether you need to detox or not. If you answer yes to any of the questions, a sugar detox will help you feel better and lose weight painlessly.

Going Cold Turkey

There is one way to stop physiological addictions: just stop. An alcoholic cannot have “just one drink” – the trick is to go cold turkey. Stop eating all forms of sugar, all flour products, and all artificial sweeteners – as they slow metabolism, spike cravings, and store fat. Ideally, for 10 days you will avoid any foods that come in a box, package, or can that have a label. Instead stik to real, whole, fresh foods.

Don’t Drink Your Calories

“Any form of liquid sugar calories is worse than solid food with sugar or flour,” says Dr. Hyman. It’s like mainlining sugar straight to your liver. Juices, sodas, sports drinks, and sweetened teas and coffees are the biggest source of sugar calories in most people’s diets.

One can of soda a day increases a kid’s chance of being obese by 60 percent and a woman’s chance of type 2 diabetes by 80 percent.

Protein Power

Protein helps balance blood sugar and insulin levels by being a “carb-free” source of energy. Start the day with whole farm eggs or a protein shake. Use nuts, seeds, eggs, fish, chicken, or grass-fed meat for protein at every meal. Protein helps you stay fuller longer because it breaks down more slowly while delivering the energy we need. 4-6 ounces – about the size of your palm – is the average serving size.

Unlimited (Good) Carbs

Did you know that a lot of veggies are carbs? You can eat all of them you want – just not the starchy ones like potatoes, sweet potatoes, winter squash or beets. But feel free to eat as many greens, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, asparagus, peppers, green beans, mushrooms, zucchini, tomatoes, and artichokes you like for 10 days.

Fight Sugar With Fat

Fat doesn’t make you fat, it makes you full. Plus it balances blood sugar and is a necessary part of your cellular structure. Good fats at every meal, like nuts and seeds, extra virgin olive oil, coconut butter, avocados, and fish are a good way to keep your mind off of sugar.

Prepare For Emergencies

A maze of fast food joints and vending machines will have anyone’s head spinning, especially when blood sugar levels are dropping. Dr. Hyman weighs in:

“You need an Emergency Life Pak. I have one with me all the time, filled with protein, good fats, and good snacks so I never have to make a bad choice. Here’s what’s in mine: Packets of Artisana nut butters and coconut butter, almonds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, salmon jerky or turkey jerky, a can of wild salmon or sardines and unsweetened wild blueberries.”

Distress or De-Stress?

Cortisol, the stress hormone, makes you hungry, causes belly fat storage, and can lead to type 2 diabetes. Some studies show that taking deep breaths activates the vagus nerve which shifts metabolism from fat storage to fat burning, and quickly moves you out of your stress state. Just follow Dr. Hyman’s Five Deep Breaths exercise:

“Simply take five slow deep breaths – in to the count of five, out to the count of five. Five times. That’s it. Do this before every meal. Watch what happens!”

Douse Inflammation

Inflammation triggers blood sugar imbalances, insulin resistance, and type 2 diabetes. Gluten and dairy are two hidden food sensitivities that most people have. Unfortunately most people crave these allergens. They may be tough to quit, even for just 10 days, but give it a shot and you’ll see you have renewed energy and relief from cravings.

Sound Sleep

In studies, college students were deprived of just 2 of the recommended 8-hours of sleep. This led to a rise in hunger hormones, a decrease in appetite-suppressing hormones and huge cravings for refined sugar and carbs. When you don’t sleep you look for energy, and reach for high-sugar products that give you a boost, and a crash. Sleep is the best way to ensure cravings are kept at bay.

Part of breaking the sugar habit is to still get that sweet craving with other healthier whole food sources. This is where plant-based sugar replacements (not equal, splenda or sweet n’ low, these are neurotoxins) but good sources of sweet flavor that include nutritional value come into play.

Recommended Reading: The 5 Worst Sweeteners And Their Organic Replacements

Using Manuka Honey As Medicine. Treat Diabetes, Inflammation And Cancer

Honey is truly a gift from the busy bees, and it has numerous uses that we’ve so widely enjoyed. It has played a significant role in cultures around the world throughout the history, both as a desired food and an important medicine.

Manuka trees grow almost exclusively in the Eastern Cape region of New Zealand. Manuka honey is derived from the nectar collected by bees feeding off these trees (Leptospermum scoparium) in New Zealand. This kind of honey has been labeled as a superfood, deservedly. Namely, honey collected from these trees contains a unique set of antibacterial, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal, antiseptic, digestive, antioxidant, overall health properties.

Manuka Honey As Medicine

Manuka honey has enormous benefits for the health. It has been primarily used in New Zealand by native Maori who considered it to be a native medicine. They valued its numerous medicinal benefits (for the treatment of flu, fever, colds, skin diseases, ulcers and believe it or not it manuka honey can be used for treating some types of cancer).

When Captain James Cook discovered New Zealand, the settlers gave him a drink from the spiny leaves of the Manuka, and later, he wrote in his journal:

“Manuka leaves are used by many of us as tea, which has a very pleasant bitter flavor and aroma, but loses both when the leaves are dry.”

Dr. Ralf Schlothauer, Ph.D., at Comvita, New Zealand’s largest supplier of medical Manuka Honey, states that true medical manuka is sold with a “UMF” label. This marks that the honey contains “unique manuka factor.” According to Schlothauer, this unique factor is a concentration of antioxidant phenols that inhibit bacterial growth. Therefore, before purchasing Manuka honey, make sure it contains an official logo, stating its certification in special UMF (unique manuka factor).

Manuka honey is usually more expensive, but more healing than regular honey. Not only it has special enhanced healing properties that cannot be found in other honeys, but it often has a better effect than the conventional drugs as well.

Doctors maintain that its high sugar content creates a waterless environment in which the bacteria that are infecting a wound are unable to survive. In addition, due to the presence of an enzyme called glucose oxidase, it is acidic, which apparently adds to its unique antibacterial properties.

Manuka honey acts as an anti-inflammatory agent. Furthermore, it stimulates the growth of new blood capillaries and provides nutrients, enhancing the regeneration of new skin cells.

Also, according to several studies published in the journal Food Chemistry and the journal Immunopharmacology and Immunotoxicology, Manuka honey is abundant in novel proteins known as arabinogalactans, which enhance immune activity and the release of anti-inflammatory cytokines when applied to the wounds.

Uses of Manuka Honey

ulcers
colds and flu
diseases of the eye and throat
Heartburn
diarrhea
protecting the gastrointestinal tract
gastritis

Researchers Suggest Cannabis Can Reduce Obesity And Risk Of Diabetes

Though cannabis use is often associated with unmitigated sloth and gluttony, a new study suggests the opposite: cannabis use may be associated with a decrease in obesity. An analysis of over 20 years of data found that obesity dropped by a significant margin in states where medical cannabis is legal. Though the researchers’ findings represented correlation as opposed to causation, the results, like many new findings about cannabis, chip away at decades-old stereotypes about the plant and its users.

The study, titled “The Effect of Medical Marijuana Laws on Body Weight,” was published in Health Economics, an academic journal that focuses on health policy and services, health care sciences and services, and economics. Researchers from Cornell University’s Department of Policy Analysis and Management and San Diego State University’s Department of Economics analyzed data from the Center for Disease Control’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. The BRFSS is the “premier system of health-related telephone surveys that collect state data about U.S. residents regarding their health-related risk behaviors, chronic health conditions, and use of preventive services,” according to the CDC.

The researchers studied data from 1990-2012 — gleaned from over five million individual survey responses — in what they call the first ever study to “examine the effects of medical marijuana laws (MMLs) on body weight, physical wellness, and exercise.” They used a “difference to difference” approach, a method in which researchers use ‘before and after’ data in one group and analyze it alongside “a comparison group that is experiencing the same trends but is not exposed to the policy change.”

Though the study acknowledged that previous randomized control studies found cannabis was associated with increased appetite and caloric intake, their findings determined that “the enforcement of MMLs [medical marijuana laws] is associated with a 2% to 6% decline in the probability of obesity.”

The researchers presented different explanations of the trend for different age groups and posited that among older individuals, cannabis use is often used to treat chronic pain. They hypothesized that with reductions in pain come increased physical activity, and as a result, lower rates of obesity.

The study’s authors offered an alternative analysis for adults aged 18-24, suggesting the availability of cannabis is associated with reductions in alcohol consumption. “Our findings show that the enactment of MMLs is associated with a 3.1 percent reduction in the probability of alcohol consumption and a 4.8 percent reduction in the probability of binge drinking,” they explained. Alcohol is high in calories, and compared to cannabis, which has zero calories, the difference is substantial. When cannabis is more accessible, the authors reasoned, it can “cause substitution toward lower-calorie recreational ‘highs’ among younger individuals.”

The study also suggested that over the long term, results may be even more pronounced. Further, they suggested the apparent reduction in obesity associated with cannabis use leads to lower healthcare costs. “We estimate a back-of-the-envelope-per-person reduction in MML-induced obesity related medical costs of $58 to $115 per year,” they wrote.

The findings were not without mitigating factors. The Washington Post noted that while some studies have found states with legalized cannabis also see decreased alcohol consumption, other studies indicate alcohol intake actually increases in MML-friendly states, leaving conclusions on the matter murky.

Rosalie Pacula, director of the BING Center for Health Economics at the RAND Corp., argued that the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System is not particularly accurate in determining state-level effects, though she did not explain why. She also noted that cannabis legalization is relatively new, and ongoing consequences of such policies are still evolving.

“These data aren’t going to provide us with the definitive answer because of the issues with the data and time period being evaluated,” Pacula told the Post in an email. “Thus, I believe that these findings should be interpreted very cautiously – as they could plausibly be reversed in the future, when other analyses are done using data sets that contain either (a) state representative populations over time, or (b) longer time periods for later policies.”

Though the study has caveats, the findings echo similar studies on related issues. One 2013 study linked cannabis use to a lower risk of developing diabetes, finding cannabis helps control blood sugar. Murray Mittleman, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and lead author of that study, explained that the “most important finding is that current users of marijuana appeared to have better carbohydrate metabolism than nonusers. Their fasting insulin levels were lower, and they appeared to be less resistant to the insulin produced by their body to maintain a normal blood-sugar level.”

In reporting on the study, Time noted additional studies that determined “marijuana users are less likely to be obese, have a lower risk for diabetes and have lower body-mass-index measurements. And these trends occurred despite the fact that they seemed to take in more calories.”

Though the findings of the new study must be replicated and further explored to be confirmed, they shed light on as-yet-unknown benefits of cannabis legalization, a policy voters increasingly embrace — and for increasingly good reasons.

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