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Seabuckthorn:  Seabuckthorn berry supplement health benefit  by Ray Sahelian, M.D.

The berry, from a plant called the sea buckthorn, has been used for centuries in Asia and Europe as a medicinal product. Rich in antioxidant vitamins, healthy fatty acids and other nutrients, seabuckthorn berry is currently used in a range of products, from skin creams, dietary supplements, and edible oils.
Seabuckthorn is a thorny shrub that grows 2 to 4 feet in height. The seabucktorn berry is about half a centimeter in diameter and turns bright orange as it ripens by September.

Seabuckthorn herb has been used for skin conditions such as rosacea, eczema, and burns and it may also reduce inflammation.

Seabuckthorn for inflammation reduction
Sea buckthorn berries may reduce CRP, a marker of inflammation, and a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. C-reactive protein (CRP) is produced in the liver and is a known marker for inflammation. Increased levels of CRP are a good predictor for the onset of both type-2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Petra Larmo from the University of Turku recruited 233 healthy subjects and randomly assigned them to receive sea buckthorn or placebo product for 90 days. The daily berry dose was 28 g (frozen sea buckthorn berry puree). The daily dose contained 16 mg flavonol glycosides (the glycosides of isorhamnetin were the most abundant), 15 mg vitamin C, and 1 mg alpha-tocopherol. Calculated as aglycones the total daily amount of flavonols was about 8 mg. At the end of the study significant differences were observed between the groups. Supplementation with sea buckthorn was associated with a reduction in CRP. "Effects of sea buckthorn berries on infections and inflammation: a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial" European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2007.

Ingredients and composition
Sea buckthorn berries has a high amount of vitamin C and E content, essential minerals and amino acids, carotenoid and phenolic pigments, phytosterols, essential fatty acids, and several minerals. Consumption of sea buckthorn juice provides potassium, chromium, copper, manganese, molybdenum, and iron. See also Hippophae rhamnoides research information.

60 cp $

Aubrey organics facial products with seabuckthorn:
 

Dynamic Health Seabuckthorn Juice 32oz

African mango Extract:
Health Benefits Of African Mango Extract
Published:February 17th, 2011

There are several reasons for the steady increase in the demand of African mango Extract based supplements. This delicious succulent fruit is packed with nutritious elements, which come in handy to those who want to reduce their weight.

Clinical studies have found African Mango to help improve cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, blood glucose levels and most importantly aid weight loss.

Lets check out the main health benefits in detail:

Thermo genesis: African mango extract enhances the fat burning process so much that it helps people lose weight fast.

Scientific results show a staggering 28.1 pounds of weight loss (vs. the 1.5 lbs lost in the placebo group). Also, African Mango users showed body fat decreased by 6.3%.
Stimulant Free: The best African Mango Extract supplements only contain 100% pure African Mango that is fully exempt of steroids and stimulants. It produces no negative impacts compared to drug-based weight loss products.

Suppression of Appetite: African Mango is a type of appetite suppressant, which means it makes you feel fuller, and thus, it reduces the amount you want to eat.

Cholesterol: After doing extensive research, experts have concluded that mango also reduces the level of cholesterol in the body.

Brown Seaweed Ext (Fucoxanthin):

Fucoxanthin is a marine carotenoid derived from brown seaweed. Cartenoids are responsible for the color of many marine-based life. Fucoxnathin has been studied for its antioxidant properties, according to Dr. Julius Goepp, leading to evidence of its effectiveness in preventing strokes and reducing inflammation in animals. Goepp also notes that consuming fucoxanthins can lower your risk of heart disease without the unwanted side effects that other medications might bring.
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Benefits

In a 16-week study to determine the effects of fucoxanthin on weight loss, participants who ingested fucoxanthin supplements "lost an average of more than 15 pounds compared with just three pounds in their placebo-supplemented peers," according to Goepp. The weight loss is attributed to fucoxanthin's ability to help white adipose fat mimic brown fat, which burns energy rather than stores it.
Cancer Treatment

According to Colin J. Barrow and Fereidoon Shahidi, authors of "Marine Nutraceuticals and Functional Foods," fucoxanthin was found to be the main constituent that inhibited production of cancerous cells in a study of seafood extracts on tumors. The experiment was conducted to test the effect of fucoxanthin on prostate cancer. Of all the present cartenoids, fucoxanthin showed the highest activity in reducing the growth of prostate cancer cells. Further studies indicated evidence of fucoxanthin's ability "to reduce the viability of other human colon cancer cells," according to the Barrow and Shahidi's book.
Diabetes

In a study using mice with type 2 diabetes, researchers found that those given doses of fucoxanthin "showed significant reductions in their blood glucose levels and plasma insulin concentrations," according to Goepp's article "Safely Burn Away Body Fat," in Life Extension magazine. Moreover, in his article "The Carotenoid Fucoxanthin from Brown Seaweed Affects Obesity," Kazuo Miyashita reports that fucoxanthin improved insulin resistance in tested animals.

Astaxanthin:

What is astaxanthin?

Astaxanthin (pronounced asta-ZAN-thin) is one of a group of natural pigments known as xanthophylls (pronounced ZAN-tho-fils), a subcategory of the carotenoid family.

Carotenoids are phytochemicals (plant chemicals) produced by plants (and some animals, too) as part of their survival mechanisms. Plants use carotenoids for their natural antioxidant properties to protect themselves from the harsh rays of the sun.

Sea animals with a red or pinkish color, such as salmon, lobster, shrimp and crab get this color from a diet of krill and other small organisms that eat astaxanthin-rich algae and plankton. Flamingos get their bright pink color from a similar diet, rich in astaxanthin.

The Benefits of Astaxanthin
Reach Every Part of Your Body

Astaxanthin has been shown in the lab to be the strongest natural antioxidant known.

It has been measured to be many times more potent than any of these well-known antioxidants: vitamin E or vitamin C, beta-carotene, lutein or pycnogenol.

A combination of factors unique to astaxanthin help explain this:

Astaxanthin can reach into every part of the cell, inside and out, similar to lipoic acid. Astaxanthin can cross the blood-brain barrier to protect the brain and nervous system.
Astaxanthin can cross the blood-retinal barrier and bring protection to the eyes.  Astaxanthin works in every part of your body, organs and skin.

The Benefits of Astaxanthin for Inflammation

Inflammation is your body's response against infection, and the mechanism it uses for repairing injured tissue. When a virus attacks your cells, your inflammatory system kicks in to fight it off. If you sprain an ankle, your inflammatory system works to repair the damage. Other examples of inflammation include the swelling you experience from arthritis and sunburn.

"Silent" inflammation underlies many diseases.

While occasional inflammation is a normal, healthy process, chronic inflammation can lead to serious problems. This is often called systemic or "silent" inflammation.

This chronic inflammation has commonly been associated with with asthma and arthritis, but now is thought to be an underlying cause of atherosclerosis, strokes, ulcers, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, cancer, diabetes and more.

Common treatments for inflammation come with significant side effects.

Common inflammation remedies include aspirin, acetaminophen and the prescription drug Celebrex. None of these are harmless; they all have significant side effects, serious enough to result in 103,000 hospitalizations and 16,500 deaths per year in the United States. Complicatiuons from the use of these medications represent 43% of all drug-related emergency visits.

Check with Wikipedia on the side effects of aspirin and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NAIDs).

People are discovering the benefits of astaxanthin for problems resulting from chronic inflammation. It's a completely safe alternative, and is effective for a large percentage of users. It may not work as quickly as a drug, but it appears to have far more benefits than any prescription medicine, especially over the long-term.
 

Astaxanthin can help reduce pain and inflammation in tendons, joints and muscles.

Astaxanthin has been shown to be a very effective remedy for all types of joint pain, including tennis elbow, carpal tunnel syndrome, arthritis, and joint soreness after strenuous exercise.

A health survey of 247 astaxanthin users taken by the Nutrex-Hawaii company showed that over 80% of those reporting back pain and symptoms from osteo- or rheumatoid arthritis reported an improvement from supplementing with astaxanthin.

Astaxanthin —
the Serious Athlete's Secret Weapon

The benefits of astaxanthin for serious athletes are significant. Regular users report that supplementing with astaxanthin:

• increases strength and stamina
• reduces recovery time
• prevents joint and muscle soreness after exercise

If you are a avid athlete, you don't want to be hampered with fatigue or sore joints and muscles. Anything that can reduce inflammation will benefit your athletic capacity — and astaxanthin has been shown to be one of the most effective natural inflammatories there are.

How does astaxanthin help with stamina and endurance?

Astaxanthin's ability to increase your endurance is due to its beneficial effect on your mitochondria, the part of your cells that generates up to 95 percent of your energy. Many of your mitochondrial cells are found in your muscle tissue; that's where you have the greatest need for them. When your mitochondria can't produce enough energy to meet your body's demands, your strength and endurance suffer.

This energy-producing activity of your mitochondria also has a downside — it generates highly reactive free radicals that damage your cell membranes. The more strenuous your activity, the more free radicals you produce. This cellular damage results in excessive inflammation which results in tired and sore muscles.

When you're running a marathon, your body is consuming oxygen at an accelerated rate, and generating 12 times as many free radicals as when you are resting. Numerous studies, with humans as well as animals, have shown that astaxanthin's powerful ability to quench these free radicals is what's responsible for its ability to give you more strength and endurance.

Astaxanthin is also effective in reducing lactic acid buildup during intense exercise. Lactic acid is what produces the "burn" you feel when you're exerting your muscles to their maximum, and is a limiting factor in terms of stamina.

Many competitive and endurance athletes have become believers in astaxanthin supplements for all of the above reasons.

Astaxanthin for Youthful, Beautiful Skin

One of the most frequently-reported benefits of astaxanthin is an improvement in skin quality. There is evidence that astaxanthin not only prevents UV sun damage from occurring, but may actually help to reverse external signs of aging from the inside out. This has been clearly demonstrated in human clinical trials.

Many users of astaxanthin supplements report that they are able to spend significantly more time out in the sun without burning than they were able to before. This is due to the powerful anti-inflammatory properties that astaxanthin has. (A sunburn is essentially an inflammation of your skin).

Dr. Nicholas Perricone, one of the world's leading antiaging experts, highly recommends astaxanthin for reducing wrinkles and age spots, improving moisture levels, elasticity and smoothness, and for giving your skin a beautiful, healthy glow.

Several cosmetic manufacturers have begun to use astaxanthin as an ingredient in facial and body creams to provide UV protection and heal damaged skin.

The Benefits of Astaxanthin for Eye Health

Recent studies reveal that astaxanthin is the ultimate supplement for eye health and the prevention of blindness. A primary reason is because it's one of the few antioxidants that can penetrate the retinal barrier in your eyes. Supplementing with astaxanthin has been found to have protective benefits against a number of vision-related problems, including:

cataracts, macular degeneration, cystoid macular edema, diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma and many others

Other Reported Benefits of Astaxanthin

Astaxanthin benefits cover virtually the entire spectrum available from antioxidants. Aside from those previously mentioned, here are some other benefits of astaxanthin:
boosts immune system
helps prevent heart attacks
helps prevent the initiation of cancer cells
helps prevent Alzheimer's and Parkinson's
normalizes blood pressure
relieves prostate problems
gives you better resistance to colds
prevents and relieves diabetes
prevents gum disease
enhances reproductive health
protects all parts of the cells from oxidative damage

Tart Cherry Juice:

Research continues on the extraordinary health benefits of tart cherries. Emerging evidence suggests Montmorency Tart Cherry Juice Concentrate:
• Contains Natural Melatonin, which helps maintain Healthy/Normal Sleep Cycles*
• Supports Healthy Joint Function*
• Supports Healthy Cardiovascular Function*

Vitamins and Minerals

Tart cherries are a healthy whole fruit that is high in fiber, potassium, beta carotene, and antioxidants. One-quarter cup of dried cherries has 15% of the RDA for fiber. Many research studies have found that diets low in saturated fat and cholesterol and high in fiber are associated with a reduced risk of certain cancers, diabetes, digestive disorders, and heart disease. Cherries also contain potassium, calcium, iron, magnesium, vitamins A, C, B6, E, and folic acid. Tart cherries have virtually no fat and no sodium. This variety of nutrients in tart cherries translates into good nutrition. In fact, the nutrient profile of cherries is hard to beat.
 
Anti-oxidants

Tart cherry juice concentrate scored highest of all fruits and vegetables in recently conducted extensive nutraceutical evaluations and ORAC testing by Brunswick Laboratories. Read More

Melatonin

Cherries are one of the few known food sources of melatonin, a potent antioxidant produced naturally by the body's pineal gland that helps regulate biorhythm and natural sleep patterns. Experts indicate that just a handful of cherries contain more melatonin than what is normally found in the blood. Each ounce of King Orchards Cherry Juice Concentrate contains 4910ng of Melatonin. Read More
Anthocyanins

Anthocyanins are natural colorants belonging to a group of compounds called the flavonoids. They are widely distributed among fruits, such as cherries, vegetables and flowers. In addition to their colorful characteristics, anthocyanins possess potent antioxidant properties.

Hibiscus Tea:

Health Benefits

According to the American Heart Association, one in three adults in America has high blood pressure (over 75 million people over the age of 20 as of 2006). In one particular study, those who drank 3 cups of hibiscus tea per day for 6 weeks had a significant drop in blood pressure compared to the placebo group. Many tout hibiscus tea for its positive effect on hypertension and blood pressure. In Egypt it is commonly used as a medicine to treat high blood pressure.

Livestrong claim that hibiscus tea can aid in weight loss and reducing bloating, and many claim it is a diuretic as well. While these claims have not been studied in as much depth in the West, hibiscus tea has been used as various types of medicine around the world for centuries. To see the health benefits, it must be taken in large quantities, as in the study mentioned above. Since it is not caffeinated, drinking around 3 cups of tea or juice per day is perfectly healthy. Do not stop taking any medicines before consulting your doctor.

Forskolin:
Coleus Forskohlii extract, herb supplement benefit, dosage, medical uses by Ray Sahelian, M.D.

Coleus forskohlii is an important traditional Ayurvedic herb that has been a part of Indian medicine for centuries. An extract from the plant has been used for centuries in Ayurvedic medicine to treat various diseases such as hypothyroidism, heart disease and respiratory disorders. In the 1970s researchers isolated a unique chemically active extract from the herb and called it forskolin. Now available in supplement form, coleus forskohlii extract has been tested in a number of conditions.

Glucomannan:

Soluble fibers such as Glucommannan and Konjac root fibers offer many health-promoting benefits through their ability to form a soft gel with water. Research indicates that soluble fibers help lower blood cholesterol, slow glucose absorption, lowers the Glycemic index and promote regular bowel movements. While found in many sources such as fruits, vegetables, oats, and beans, the most-promising soluble fiber may come from Glucomannan. Derived from konjac root, glucomannan has an extraordinary water-holding capacity and is the most viscous of all known dietary fibers.

Glucomannan offers benefits for those seeking to lose weight. Studies show that supplementing with glucomannan enhances the weight-loss effects of a calorie-restricted diet. Glucomannan may promote weight loss in obese adults, even in the absence of a calorie-restricted diet. When obese adults consumed 1 gram of glucomannan fiber one hour before each meal for eight weeks, they lost an average of 5.5 pounds of body weight—with no other changes to their eating or exercise patterns.

Glucomannan creates a feeling of satiety or fullness through its water-binding effects. By creating a thick gel, glucomannan delays gastric emptying and slows the release of sugar into the bloodstream, which helps to lower levels of insulin and blood glucose. Additionally, glucomannan improves blood-lipid profiles and can lower systolic blood pressure. Because of these effects, glucomannan can greatly benefit individuals with metabolic syndrome or diabetes.

Ubiquinol:

Scientists have found that the ubiquinol, the reduced form of Co Q 10, dramatically improves absorption of Co Q 10 in patients with severe heart failure compared to supplements of ubiquinone, the unreduced form of Co Q 10. In other findings, the high antioxidant status of ubiquinol has allowed it to significantly inhibit inflammation. And to top it off, prices for the more effective ubiquinol have come down to levels commensurate with those of the unreduced Co Q 10 supplements in the ubiquinone form.

Heart patients show dramatic increase in Co Q 10 levels with the ubiquinol form

Scientists at East Texas Medical Center and Trinity Mother Francis Hospital in Texas noted that patients with chronic heart failure often fail to achieve adequate plasma levels of unreduced Co Q 10 even at doses as high as 900 mg per day. As a result of this, they show limited clinical improvement in their condition. For their study, these scientists identified seven patients in advanced chronic heart failure with sub-therapeutic plasma Co Q 10 levels at a mean of 1.6 microg/ml on an average dose of unreduced Co Q 10 of 450 mg per day. All seven of these patients were changed to an average dose of 580 mg per day of ubiquinol.

Mean plasma Co Q 10 levels increased to an average of 6.5 microg/ml. Measurement with echocardiogram showed mean improvement from 22% to 39%. Clinical status was remarkably improved from a mean of class IV to a mean of class II. The researchers concluded that the ubiquinol form of Co Q 10 dramatically improved absorption in patients with severe heart failure, and the improvement in plasma Co Q 10 levels is correlated with clinical improvement and improvement in measurement of left ventricular function. This study is from the 2008 journal Biofactors.

Ubiquinol is more compatible with the needs of the body

Ubiquinol is the new, reduced from of the Co Q 10 supplement that has been on the market for many years. The substance Co Q 10 is a critical component of human metabolism and a dynamic nutrient that moves between two states, the oxidized ubiquinone, and the reduced ubiquinol. While in the ubiquinol state, its ability to be assimilated into the human body is increased, and it develops the additional feature of being a first class antioxidant.

Due to its critical role in metabolism, the body is able to make Co Q 10 on its own, although some Co Q 10 is also obtainable from the diet. Although it is naturally in all cells, Co Q 10 is particularly concentrated in tissues having high energy requirements like the heart, liver, lungs, and muscles of the skeleton. Smaller amounts are centered in the brain, kidneys, and intestines, and the rest is in general circulation for use as needed. A normal adult has Co Q 10 amounts in the range of 0.5 and 1.5 grams. Within each cell, at least half the amount is centered in the mitochondra, the furnace of the cells where food is turned into energy, and this is where the final stages of its synthesis occur.