Pomegranate juice has become a very popular new drink among the health-conscious in the last few years. Indeed there is an interesting body of research about this fruit, including indications that it may help lower “bad [LDL] cholesterol,” or that it may slow progression of prostate cancer. One caution, however: pomegranate juice may interact with certain drugs, in particular blood pressure-lowering drugs. For that reason, it’s advisable for anyone taking prescription drugs to consult with their health care provider before adding pomegranate juice to their daily routine.
NYBC stocks a pomegranate juice concentrate, which can be mixed with other beverages. Using a concentrate such as this can be significantly less costly than buying the well-known juice brands from your local grocery or health food store.
Here’s the basic NYBC entry:
Pomegranate Juice CONCENTRATE (Jarrow) Each bottle, 12 oz (355 ml) of 100% pomegranate juice concentrate. This is one of the most powerful sources of antioxidants, superior even to blueberries and strawberries. Derived from a California variety, this juice is concentrated to a level of 4 times that of ordinary pomegranate juice…it is thick! The antioxidants found in the juice include ellagic and gallic acid, anthocyanins and tannins, and punicalagin. Punicalagin is perhaps the most powerful. Various studies suggest that this may help to improve the level of glutathione in cells (see the entries on NAC and glutathione), particularly macrophages. It may have benefit for maintaining platelet levels, lowering LDL and sustaining vascular tone.
Researchers have found that a (virtually unknown to the public) form of cholesterol called oxycholesterol may be your most serious cardiovascular health threat.
“Total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL), and the heart-healthy high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL) are still important health issues,” says study leader . “But the public should recognize that oxycholesterol is also important and cannot be ignored.
Our work demonstrated that oxycholesterol boosts total cholesterol levels and promotes atherosclerosis ["hardening of the arteries"] more than non-oxidized cholesterol.”
Q. So, how do we get this oxidized cholesterol – oxycholesterol?
A. Fried food, processed food, junk food…basically all of the food that makes you fat also has high levels of oxycholesterol. Quel surprise.
Scientists have known for years that a reaction between fats and oxygen, a process termed oxidation, produces oxycholesterol in the body.
Oxidation occurs, for instance, when fat-containing foods are heated, as in frying chicken or grilling burgers or steaks.
Food manufacturers produce oxycholesterol intentionally in the form of oxidized oils such as trans-fatty acids and partially-hydrogenated vegetable oils. When added to processed foods, those substances improve texture, taste and stability.
Until now, however, much of the research focused on oxycholesterol’s effects in damaging cells, DNA, and its biochemical effects in contributing to atherosclerosis. Dr. Chen believes this is one of the first studies on oxycholesterol’s effects in raising blood cholesterol levels compared to non-oxidized cholesterol.
In the new study, researchers compared the effects of a oxycholesterol rich diet to a diet rich in regular non-oxidized cholesterol.
The oxycholesterol group showed greater deposition of cholesterol in the lining of their arteries and a tendency to develop larger deposits of cholesterol. These fatty deposits, called s, increase the risk for heart attack and stroke.
More importantly, oxycholesterol had undesirable effects on “artery function.”
Oxycholesterol reduced the elasticity of arteries, impairing their ability to expand and carry more blood.
In a healthy, elastic artery, expansion allows for more blood to flow through arteries that are partially blocked by plaques, potentially reducing the risk that a clot will form and cause a heart attack or stroke.
Luckily, a healthy diet rich in antioxidants can counter these effects, Chen said, noting that these substances may block the oxidation process that forms oxycholesterol.
Scientists do not know whether the popular anti-cholesterol drugs called statins lower oxycholesterol.
And how do we get a diet rich in antioxidants?
Fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs and spices….aka real food.
Canadian dairy producers have a fantastic new propaganda machine. It’s called, “.” Just linking to it makes me feel sick.
I’ve been seeing “Get a Load of Milk” ads for a while, but I never quite looked at them closely enough. Then on Friday I went to see a movie at the theatre, and during the previews I was subjected to a Clockwork Orange-style barrage of pro-dairy images. The images spoke quickly and clearly. Girls: bovine milk makes you pretty. Boys: bovine milk makes you strong. If you don’t drink milk you will have sallow skin and parts of your body will detach without warning. Milk milk milk suck it up you little piglets. Each ad lasted about six seconds, and concluded with an animated cow roaring like a lion.
That’s fucking fantastic. Let’s drink the baby juice of artificially impregnated, mutant cows. Surely without that, humanity is in jeopardy – or at least, ugly and weak.
How did people ever get the idea that this shit is normal? Plants are a healthier, far more natural source of calcium and protein. Not to mention that plants are cholesterol-free. You’d think that that would be important in a country where heart disease kills someone every 7 minutes and kills more people than any other disease (accounting for 31% of Canadian deaths) (). Drink some fucking nut milk, you nutters.
Of course, it’s not surprising that dairy milk gets a brand-spanking new media campaign even though it’s deadly and biologically horrific – not to mention torturous to the animals involved. It takes a lot of political lobbying to keep dairy, egg, and meat farming from being exposed as the barbaric and inane practices that they are.
This is all aside from the fact that “Get a Load of Milk” is a disgusting campaign name. It sounds to me like a cum-guzzling nightmare machine.
