Friday, June 29, 2007
BERSYUKURLAH
Jika populasi bumi berkurang hingga menjadi sebuah desa dengan hanya 100 orang penduduk, seperti apakah profil desa kecil yang beragam ini, jika seluruh perhitungan rasio kependudukan dianggap masih berlaku?
Philip M. Hartner, MD dari Fakultas Kedokteran Stanford University, AS, mencoba menemukan jawaban atas pertanyaan ini.
Berdasarkan analisanya, desa kecil bumi akan terdiri dari:
57 orang asia, 21 orang eropa, 14 orang berasal dari belahan bumi sebelah barat, 8 orang Afrika
52 perempuan dan 48 laki-laki
80 bukan kulit putih dan 20 kulit putih
89 heteroseksual dan 11 homoseksual
6 orang memiliki 59% dari seluruh kekayaan bumi, dan keenam orang tersebut seluruhnya berasal dari amerika serikat
80 orang tinggal di rumah-rumah yang tidak memenuhi standard
70 orang tidak dapat membaca
50 orang menderita kekurangan gizi
1 orang hampir meninggal
1 orang sedang hamil
1 orang memiliki latar belakang perguruan tinggi
1 orang memiliki komputer
Marilah kita merenungkan analisa Hartner dan mulai dari hal-hal sebagai berikut:
Jika anda tinggal di rumah yang baik, memiliki banyak makanan dan dapat membaca, anda adalah bagian dari kelompok terpilih.
Jika anda memiliki rumah yang baik, makanan, dapat membaca dan memiliki komputer, anda bagian dari kelompok elit
Jika anda bangun pagi ini dan merasa sehat, anda lebih beruntung dari jutaan orang yang mungkin tidak akan dapat bertahan hidup minggu ini
Jika anda tidak pernah merasakan bahaya perang, kesepian karena dipenjara, kesakitan karena penyiksaan, atau kelaparan, anda berada selangkah lebih maju dibandingkan 500 juta orang di dunia.
Jika orang tua anda masih hidup dan menikmati bahagianya kehidupan pernikahan mereka, maka anda termasuk salah satu dari kelompok orang yang dikategorikan langka, terutama di amerika serikat
Jika anda mampu menegakkan kepala dengan senyuman dibibir dan merasa benar-benar bahagia, anda memiliki keistimewaan tersendiri, karena sebagian besar orang tidak memperoleh kenikmatan tersebut
Jika anda dapat membaca pesan ini, anda baru saja menerima karunia ganda, karena seseorang memikirkan anda, dan anda jauh lebih beruntung dibandingkan lebih dari 2 milyar orang yang tidak dapat membaca sama sekali
Semoga anda menikmati hari yang indah ini. Hitunglah karunia keberuntungan anda, dan sampaikan hal ini kepada orang lain untuk mengingatkan bahwa sebenarnya, kita adalah orang-orang yang sangat beruntung
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
The possibility tick-borne illness preventive by antioxidants
For hikers, campers and others who enjoy the outdoors, summer can bring concerns about tick bites and related illnesses such as Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Researchers are investigating the role that antioxidants -- alpha-lipoic acid and potentially others like green tea and vitamins C and E, for example – might play in preventing or treating the deadly rickettsia bacteria. Rocky Mountain spotted fever is the most frequently reported illness in the United States caused by the rickettsia bacteria, which is transmitted by tick parasites. Sahni's research group first began investigating the rickettsia bacteria as a model to study the biological changes that occur in the lining of the blood vessels (endothelium) as the bacteria travels through the blood stream. Initially they were looking at what types of cellular changes occur in response to the infection. They discovered that cells undergo oxidative stress and produce harmful free radicals, causing inflammation and other complications. Researchers hypothesized that antioxidants might serve as useful therapies after examining the damage to infected cells, as seen by electron microscopy, and through biochemical evidence proving oxidative stress (OS), a term used to describe a level of damage in cells, tissue and organs. Antioxidants can generally neutralize free radicals and reduce oxidative damage. Earlier experiments in which scientists infected cells with rickettsia bacteria and then treated the cells with alpha-lipoic acid, a powerful antioxidant, showed that the infected cells did, indeed, marshal a defense against the bacteria.
Beneficial of Grape Seed Based on Its Antioxidant Properties
In laboratory tests, grape seeds have been considered to have possible anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer and anti-atherogenic properties. Lab tests suggest that the anti-cancer properties include cardioprotective (heart) properties, hepatoprotective (blood / liver) properties and capillary protective properties. Grape seeds also have, through in vitro tests, been observed to help fight lung, breast and stomach cancers. In other in vitro tests, the grape seeds have been linked with helping the vascular system.
Grape seeds contains remarkable natural medicine with greater safety and efficacy than any pharmaceutical for treating cardiovascular disorders. Grape seed extract is ignored by drug companies because, being a natural substance, it cannot be patented and sold for profit. But with natural health practitioners, it is well known as powerful medicine
Cloudy vs Clear Apple Juice
Too many treatment to the fruit will reduce its beneficial nutriton such as antioxidant. A team of researchers from the Agricultural University of Wroclaw in Poland -- led by Dr. Jan Oszmianski -- created four juices using two apple varieties, and tested the juices for antioxidant activity.
The researchers made both cloudy and clear juice from the apples -- Champion and Idared varieties -- and tested for levels of plant antioxidants called polyphenols. Oszmianski and colleagues found that the cloudy juice contained as much as four times the antioxidants as the clear juice.
The clarified juice -- long thought to be more aesthetically pleasing to consumers -- was created by extra processing to remove any apple solids. Apple juice manufacturers and retailers have also favored the highly processed, clear variety because it has a longer shelf life than cloudy juice.
However, Oszmianski's team found that cloudy apple juice -- particularly cloudy juice from Champion apples -- was far more effective than clear juice at "scavenging" free radicals, which damage cells and play a part in the development of disease. When cloudy juice from either Champion or Idared apples was clarified, the researchers found that the juice's antioxidant activity was significantly reduced.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
