Declining Fruit and Vegetable Nutrient Composition: What Is the Evidence? -- Davis 44 (1): 15 -- HortScience: "Declining Fruit and Vegetable Nutrient Composition: What Is the Evidence?
Donald R. Davis1,2,3
Biochemical Institute, The University of Texas, Austin, TX 78712; and Bio-Communications Research Institute, 3100 North Hillside Avenue, Wichita, KS 67219
Three kinds of evidence point toward declines of some nutrients in fruits and vegetables available in the United States and the United Kingdom: 1) early studies of fertilization found inverse relationships between crop yield and mineral concentrations—the widely cited 'dilution effect'; 2) three recent studies of historical food composition data found apparent median declines of 5% to 40% or more in some minerals in groups of vegetables and perhaps fruits; one study also evaluated vitamins and protein with similar results; and 3) recent side-by-side plantings of low- and high-yield cultivars of broccoli and grains found consistently negative correlations between yield and concentrations of minerals and protein, a newly recognized genetic dilution effect. Studies of historical food composition data are inherently limited, but the other methods can focus on single crops of any kind,"
Friday, February 20, 2009
What Are NutriCircles?
What Are NutriCircles?: "NutriCircles were developed at the University of Texas, Austin by Donald R. Davis in collaboration with Roger J. Williams for his book, The Wonderful World Within You (1977, 1998). They show the nutritional quality of foods in a diagram that is far easier to grasp than a long list of numbers. They illustrate how Nature helps us get the nutrients we need, if we cooperate with her in our food choices. Similarly, they help us understand the value of limiting certain man-made foods that unfortunately dominate most Western diets.
NutriCircles are bar graphs bent into a circle so that the bars are like the petals on a flower. Each bar represents one nutrient in a food, and its length shows the amount of that nutrient. The amounts are expressed in amounts per calorie (known as nutrient density). This method shows the basic quality of a food, which does not depend on serving size."
NutriCircles are bar graphs bent into a circle so that the bars are like the petals on a flower. Each bar represents one nutrient in a food, and its length shows the amount of that nutrient. The amounts are expressed in amounts per calorie (known as nutrient density). This method shows the basic quality of a food, which does not depend on serving size."
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Chakra Chart: Chakras versus Endocrine Glands | Bright Eyes
Chakra Chart: Chakras versus Endocrine Glands
Here is an incredible chakra chart with endocrine glands shown along:
As you can see in it, chakras are shown to have very close proximity with the hormonal glands responsible for secreting hormones so essential to keep the vital body functions running in a smooth way keeping the two bright eyes intact on our face!
These are the associations:
- The root chakra and the testes responsible for producing sperm (spermatozoa) male sex hormones including testosterone in the male body
- The sacral chakra and the ovaries responsible for producing ovum in the female body
- The solar plexus chakra and the pancreas plus adrenal glands responsible for producing insulin, glucagon, and somatostatin plus adrenaline respectively.
- The heart chakra and the thymus gland responsible for producing T cell repertoire
- The throat chakra and the thyroid gland responsible for producing thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3)
- The third eye chakra and the pineal gland responsible for producing melatonin
- The crown chakra and the pituitary gland responsible for producing oxytocin, antidiuretic hormone and melanocyte-stimulating hormone
We shall be able to draw important inferences from these associations in our posts to come.
Chakras and the Body Mind Interface:
What's a Chakra?
Chakra is a Sanskrit word meaning wheel, or vortex, and it refers to each of the seven energy centers of which our consciousness, our energy system, is composed.
These chakras, or energy centers, function as pumps or valves, regulating the flow of energy through our energy system. The functioning of the chakras reflects decisions we make concerning how we choose to respond to conditions in our life. We open and close these valves when we decide what to think, and what to feel, and through which perceptual filter we choose to experience the world around us.
The chakras are not physical. They are aspects of consciousness in the same way that the auras are aspects of consciousness. The chakras are more dense than the auras, but not as dense as the physical body. They interact with the physical body through two major vehicles, the endocrine system and the nervous system. Each of the seven chakras is associated with one of the seven endocrine glands, and also with a group of nerves called a plexus. Thus, each chakra can be associated with particular parts of the body and particular functions within the body controlled by that plexus or that endocrine gland associated with that chakra.
All of your senses, all of your perceptions, all of your possible states of awareness, everything it is possible for you to experience, can be divided into seven categories. Each category can be associated with a particular chakra. Thus, the chakras represent not only particular parts of your physical body, but also particular parts of your consciousness.
When you feel tension in your consciousness, you feel it in the chakra associated with that part of your consciousness experiencing the stress, and in the parts of the physical body associated with that chakra. Where you feel the stress depends upon why you feel the stress. The tension in the chakra is detected by the nerves of the plexus associated with that chakra, and transmitted to the parts of the body controlled by that plexus. When the tension continues over a period of time, or to a particular level of intensity, the person creates a symptom on the physical level.
The symptom speaks a language that reflects the idea that we each create our reality, and the metaphoric significance of the symptom becomes apparent when the symptom is described from that point of view. Thus, rather than saying, "I can't see," the person would describe it as keeping themselves from seeing something. "I can't walk," means the person has been keeping themselves from walking away from a situation in which they are unhappy. And so on.
The symptom served to communicate to the person through their body what they had been doing to themselves in their consciousness. When the person changes something about their way of being, getting the message communicated by the symptom, the symptom has no further reason for being, and it can be released, according to whatever the person allows themselves to believe is possible.
We believe everything is possible.
We believe that anything can be healed. It's just a question of how to do it.
Understanding the chakras allows you to understand the relationship between your consciousness and your body, and to thus see your body as a map of your consciousness. It gives you a better understanding of yourself and those around you.
What else is there?
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Closing the Achievement Gap
"Dr. Donna Elam, a senior research associate at the University of South Florida and Barth presented the report of the study.
In their findings, Barth stated that there are diverse and deeply rooted reasons for the gap in test scores and graduation rates between white students and African Americans and Latino students, as well as between middle class and low-income students. Elam stressed that a multitude of problems exist in the education system because teachers lack cultural competence."
Project ELECT
Donna Elam, Ed.D.
In their findings, Barth stated that there are diverse and deeply rooted reasons for the gap in test scores and graduation rates between white students and African Americans and Latino students, as well as between middle class and low-income students. Elam stressed that a multitude of problems exist in the education system because teachers lack cultural competence."
Project ELECT
Donna Elam, Ed.D.
Scientists stop the ageing process
Scientists have stopped the ageing process in an entire organ for the first time, a study released today says.
Published in today's online edition of * Nature
Medicine*<http://www.nature. com/nm>,
researchers at the Albert Einstein College of
Medicine<http://www.aecom. yu.edu/>at Yeshiva
University <http://www.yu. edu/> in New York City also say the older organs
function as well as they did when the host animal was younger.
The researchers, led by Associate Professor Ana Maria Cuervo, blocked the ageing process in mice livers by stopping the build-up of harmful proteins inside the organ's cells.
As people age their cells become less efficient at getting rid of damaged protein resulting in a build-up of toxic material that is especially pronounced in Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and other neurodegenerative disorders.
The researchers say the findings suggest that therapies for boosting protein clearance might help stave off some of the declines in function that accompanies old age.
In experiments, livers in genetically modified mice 22 to 26 months old, the equivalent of octogenarians in human years, cleaned blood as efficiently as those in animals a quarter their age.
By contrast, the livers of normal mice in a control group began to fail.
The benefits of restoring the cleaning mechanisms found inside all cells could extend far beyond a single organ, says Cuervo.
"Our findings are particularly relevant for neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's, " she says. 'Misbehaving proteins'
"Many of these diseases are due to 'misbehaving' or damaged proteins that accumulate in neurons. By preventing this decline in protein clearance, we may be able to keep these people free of symptoms for a longer time."
If the body's ability to dispose of cell debris within the cell were enhanced across a wider range of tissues, she says, it could extend life as well.
In healthy organisms, a surveillance system inside cells called chaperone-mediated autophagy (CMA) locates, digests and destroys damaged proteins.
Specialised molecules, the "chaperones" , ferry the harmful material to membrane-bound sacs of enzymes within the cells known as lysosomes.
Once the cargo has been "docked", a receptor molecule transfers the protein into the sac, where it is rapidly digested.
With age, these receptors stop working as well, resulting in a dangerous build-up of faulty proteins that has been linked, in the liver, to insulin resistance as well as the inability to metabolise sugar, fats or alcohol.
The same breakdown of the cell's cleaning machinery can also impair the liver's ability to remove the toxic build-up of drugs at a stage in life when medication is often part of daily diet.
In genetically modified mice, Cuervo compensated for the loss of the receptors in the animals by adding extra copies.
"That was enough to maintain a clean liver and to prove that if you keep your cells clean they work better," she says. Settles debate
The study goes a long way towards settling a sharp debate in the field of ageing research.
Leading Australian ageing researcher David le Couteur, Professor of Geriatric Medicine at the University of Sydney <http://www.usyd. edu.au/>, says the paper is a major breakthrough.
"She has single-handedly shown that lysosome function is a crucial part of the ageing process," he says.
Cuervo has also shown, he says, the critical role the lysosomal receptor molecules play in keeping the liver clean of damaged proteins.
While her paper does not show increased survival rates among the mice, le Couteur, who has advised her recently on the research, says Cuervo does have data on improved survival rates which she intends to publish.
He also says she is now working with pharmaceutical companies to identify drugs that will turn the receptors on, or make them more active.
Cuervo believes maintaining efficient protein clearance may improve longevity and function in all the body's tissues.
It is also possible that the same kind of "cellular clearance" can be achieved through diet, she says.
Research over the past decade has shown that restricted calorie intake in animals, including mammals, significantly enhances longevity.
"My ideal intervention in the future would be a better diet rather than a pill," she says.
Published in today's online edition of * Nature
Medicine*<http://www.nature. com/nm>,
researchers at the Albert Einstein College of
Medicine<http://www.aecom. yu.edu/>at Yeshiva
University <http://www.yu. edu/> in New York City also say the older organs
function as well as they did when the host animal was younger.
The researchers, led by Associate Professor Ana Maria Cuervo, blocked the ageing process in mice livers by stopping the build-up of harmful proteins inside the organ's cells.
As people age their cells become less efficient at getting rid of damaged protein resulting in a build-up of toxic material that is especially pronounced in Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and other neurodegenerative disorders.
The researchers say the findings suggest that therapies for boosting protein clearance might help stave off some of the declines in function that accompanies old age.
In experiments, livers in genetically modified mice 22 to 26 months old, the equivalent of octogenarians in human years, cleaned blood as efficiently as those in animals a quarter their age.
By contrast, the livers of normal mice in a control group began to fail.
The benefits of restoring the cleaning mechanisms found inside all cells could extend far beyond a single organ, says Cuervo.
"Our findings are particularly relevant for neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's, " she says. 'Misbehaving proteins'
"Many of these diseases are due to 'misbehaving' or damaged proteins that accumulate in neurons. By preventing this decline in protein clearance, we may be able to keep these people free of symptoms for a longer time."
If the body's ability to dispose of cell debris within the cell were enhanced across a wider range of tissues, she says, it could extend life as well.
In healthy organisms, a surveillance system inside cells called chaperone-mediated autophagy (CMA) locates, digests and destroys damaged proteins.
Specialised molecules, the "chaperones" , ferry the harmful material to membrane-bound sacs of enzymes within the cells known as lysosomes.
Once the cargo has been "docked", a receptor molecule transfers the protein into the sac, where it is rapidly digested.
With age, these receptors stop working as well, resulting in a dangerous build-up of faulty proteins that has been linked, in the liver, to insulin resistance as well as the inability to metabolise sugar, fats or alcohol.
The same breakdown of the cell's cleaning machinery can also impair the liver's ability to remove the toxic build-up of drugs at a stage in life when medication is often part of daily diet.
In genetically modified mice, Cuervo compensated for the loss of the receptors in the animals by adding extra copies.
"That was enough to maintain a clean liver and to prove that if you keep your cells clean they work better," she says. Settles debate
The study goes a long way towards settling a sharp debate in the field of ageing research.
Leading Australian ageing researcher David le Couteur, Professor of Geriatric Medicine at the University of Sydney <http://www.usyd. edu.au/>, says the paper is a major breakthrough.
"She has single-handedly shown that lysosome function is a crucial part of the ageing process," he says.
Cuervo has also shown, he says, the critical role the lysosomal receptor molecules play in keeping the liver clean of damaged proteins.
While her paper does not show increased survival rates among the mice, le Couteur, who has advised her recently on the research, says Cuervo does have data on improved survival rates which she intends to publish.
He also says she is now working with pharmaceutical companies to identify drugs that will turn the receptors on, or make them more active.
Cuervo believes maintaining efficient protein clearance may improve longevity and function in all the body's tissues.
It is also possible that the same kind of "cellular clearance" can be achieved through diet, she says.
Research over the past decade has shown that restricted calorie intake in animals, including mammals, significantly enhances longevity.
"My ideal intervention in the future would be a better diet rather than a pill," she says.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Fw: What's Your Love Type? Take the Test
The Four Love Personalities
hen your spouse does things that mystify you or drive you crazy, you probably wish he/she would behave more reasonably. Yet your partner may not be "programmed" to behave any other way.
Helen Fisher, PhD
Rutgers University
hen your spouse does things that mystify you or drive you crazy, you probably wish he/she would behave more reasonably. Yet your partner may not be "programmed" to behave any other way.My research suggests that each of us has a "love personality" -- how we are naturally inclined to behave with a romantic partner -- that may depend on the particular chemicals dominant in one's brain. This research comes from my analysis of existing genetic and pharmaceutical studies, as well as from my work as chief scientific adviser to the Internet dating site Chemistry.com. I devised a series of questions to establish to what degree we express specific chemicals in the brain and collected data on 28,000 men and women.
I determined that love personalities can be divided into four main types, based on which brain chemicals -- serotonin, dopamine, estrogen and testosterone -- are predominant. Some people show characteristics of one type... others are a combination. The four types...
BUILDERS
Serotonin promotes orderly, cautious behavior and respect for authority. More than the other three types, Builders enjoy planning far ahead. They are literal and predictable, fastidious about their possessions, conscientious and dutiful. They tolerate routine well.
Sources of stress: Builders are stubborn -- if you helpfully suggest to a Builder a better way to mop the floor, you may find yourself in an argument. Builders can be moralistic and overly rule-bound. They are suspicious of new experiences and ideas -- in fact, they will be quick to point out all the reasons why an idea might not work.
Sex and fidelity: Builders are most likely to be attracted to other Builders. They are serious when they court. Sex may become routine, but Builders like routines, and two Builders will rarely fight about their life in the bedroom. Highly loyal, Builders are unlikely even to consider divorce.
Living with a Builder: Let the Builder do things his way, even if you're convinced there is a better way. If you crave more adventure than the Builder, map out a new experience beforehand so that it doesn't look like a risk... or let the Builder plan the details.
EXPLORERS
High dopamine activity is associated with curiosity, spontaneity, risk-taking, novelty-seeking, irreverence, mental flexibility and optimism.
Sources of stress: The Explorer's impulsiveness can grate on someone who would like to know what time to be ready for dinner or who prefers to buy theater tickets in advance. An Explorer doesn't like repetitive tasks, so you shouldn't depend on an Explorer to take out the garbage every night.
Sex and fidelity: Explorers tend to be attracted to other Explorers, and they make exciting sex partners. Instead of discussing the deep meaning of a relationship, an Explorer would rather make love or go out together for a good time. Big fights may be followed by passionate lovemaking. It is important to have adventures with an Explorer, lest he decide to find someone else to share his experiences with.
Living with an Explorer: Don't try to keep an Explorer from doing what interests him. Instead of imposing rules, find parameters that the Explorer can live with.
Example: A Builder husband and Explorer wife had repeated showdowns over the Explorer's chronic lateness. They finally agreed that the Explorer would call her husband when she was running late... and that the Builder would go ahead with plans instead of waiting for his wife, who would join him later.
NEGOTIATORS
Men, as well as women, can have high estrogen activity in the brain, promoting connection-seeking.
Sources of stress: The ability to see many sides of an issue can make it difficult for Negotiators to reach decisions. They are so imaginative about possibilities that they may create constant anxiety for themselves. Because Negotiators want everyone to be happy, they don't always say clearly what they need or mean, leading to confusion and misunderstanding.
Sex and fidelity: Negotiators tend to be most attracted to Directors (see below). The Negotiator needs the Director's logic, forthrightness and decisiveness to get things done.
Negotiators seek deep intimacy with their partners -- they want a soul mate -- so they will be patient, forgiving and compassionate. But if a Negotiator feels that he won't ever "reach" you to share an intimate life together, he may eventually turn elsewhere for the romance he craves.
Living with a Negotiator: Recognize that what sounds to you like endless processing is a way for the Negotiator to address the needs of everyone involved. Don't rush the Negotiator's decision. Trust that once he has examined all the angles, the solution will make a lot of people happy, including you.
DIRECTORS
Both women and men can have high testosterone activity in the brain, leading them to be competitive, straight-forward, logical and pragmatic.
Sources of stress: Directors can alienate people with their bluntness, coming across as dictatorial and aloof. They get impatient when others are not as focused as they are or don't immediately grasp their ideas. They have a hard time leaving work behind -- at the beach, the Director is the one checking e-mail.
Sex and fidelity: Directors are most likely to be attracted to Negotiators. The Director relies on the Negotiator's people skills. Sex is a genuine form of intimacy for them. They tend to be loyal, but if they cannot get the physical connectedness they need, they will seek it elsewhere.
Living with a Director: Don't give a Director hints or make gentle requests -- the message will not get through. Instead of "Would you have time to... " say, "I need you to do this by Friday." During disagreements, appeal to logic ("This would be more efficient") rather than emotion ("This makes me frustrated").
To get Directors to relax outside work hours, encourage activities that are absorbing, challenging or competitive enough to distract them, such as joining a tennis league or a book club.
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Bottom Line/Personal interviewed Helen Fisher, PhD, research professor of anthropology at Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey, and chief scientific adviser to the online dating site Chemistry.com. She is author of four books on human sexual and social behavior, including, most recently, Why We Love: The Nature and Chemistry of Romantic Love (Holt). She is working on a fifth book about why we fall in love with one person rather than another. www.helenfisher.com
Wednesday, February 04, 2009
Fw: Brain or Mind Meditation?
| In the spring of 1979 a 26 year old student at the University of Sheffield in the United Kingdom walked into the university doctor's office with complaints of a cold. The doctor on staff noticed that the student, who held a first-class honors degree in mathematics, was rather normal except he had a slightly larger than average head. Curious, the doctor sent the student to James Lorber who was part of a world-leading spinal surgery team at Sheffield Children's Hospital. What Dr. Lorber found was almost unbelievable! The student, with a reported IQ of 126 had no signs of any mental deficiency. Yet, when Dr. Lorber X-rayed the student's head he discovered he had almost no brain tissue to speak of. His head was filled with fluid. What little brain matter he had was crushed against his spinal cord, a measly few millimeters thick rather than the typical CENTI-meters. This condition is called hydrocephalus. It results when cerebral fluid expands and fills the brain causing the cortex to be squashed against the inside of the skull. There have been many other reported cases where normal functioning people have been found to have virtually no brain matter. In this particular case Lorber calculated the man's entire brain weighed about 100 grams compared to the average adult brain weighing 1500 grams. 100 grams is little more than the average weight of a dog's brain and this from an honors student in mathematics! Let's pause and think about this for a moment. How many dogs do you know who have an honors degree in mathematics? Can't think of any? Neither can I. How was the student capable of functioning on the level that he was? Lorber asked himself a similar question and it begged him to wonder whether the brain was even necessary at all. In 1980 the journal Science headlined with the discovery and the rest is history. The history lesson may go back farther than you think. To ancient spiritual yogi's. Many scientists have been quietly but steadily growing in suggesting the brain is more of a receiver than the total warehouse storing our consciousness. This leads to another unusual question. If the brain is a receiver what is sending the signals? The answer is one we have been hearing from mystics for thousands of years. You are not flesh. You are an energy being using a physical body to interpret and explore this reality. By reflecting on that knowledge you have been given power because now you can work to affect your energy body. If you are not aware of it how can you help it? Like your physical body, your energy body needs food. Albert Einstein said that energy can never be destroyed; only transformed. If you learn to absorb energy you will begin to awaken and strengthen your energy mind. So, the question is when you meditate, reflect, make decisions… which 'mind' are you going to use to do these tasks? The slow, organic brain or the energy mind? Well, listen to this next session for some answers… www.dimensionalconsciousness.com/foundation2 Good Journeys, Higher Balance |
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