Sudhir Ahluwalia's Blog, page 34
October 24, 2021
Can curcumin slow the growth of cancers?
Curcumin is the yellow pigment in turmeric spice. Let me present the science behind the anti-cancer properties of this molecule.
Curcumin boosts the levels of BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor), a protein and brain hormone that increases the growth of new neurons and fights various degenerative processes in the brain.
Researchers from the Cancer Biology Research Center, South Dakota, claim curcumin may be an effective chemopreventive and therapeutic agent for preventing and treating cervical cancer. They found that curcumin treatment suppresses growth in cervical cancer cells by altering the HPV-associated molecular pathways.
The anti-cancer action of curcumin is attributed to its ability to inhibit a cancer master switch, which is called nuclear factor kappa beta. Inflammation is said to fuel the nuclear factor kappa beta activity, which is claimed to account for 95% of all cancers. Cancer activity is also indicated by high levels of interleukin 6 (IL6) in the blood.
Preclinical and phase 1 clinical trials in various cancers have shown that curcumin may prove to be useful in the chemoprevention of colon cancer in humans (Azuine & Bhide, 1994).
It has further been shown that curcumin inhibits proliferation and helps kill cancer cells. These are attributed to the ability of this molecule to interfere in the functioning of cancer-causing genes (Bar-Sela & Schaffer, 2011) positively.
Ar turmerone isolated from turmeric is said to suppress the growth of leukemia cells (Kuo et al., 1996).
Sharma et al. (2004) have shown that the efficacy of curcumin, which is an antioxidant derived from turmeric, is due to its action on glutathione S-transferase enzyme, inhibition of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) production, and suppression of oxidative DNA adduct (M1G) formation.
Additional reading references:
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October 21, 2021
What are the best business strategies in the Covid 19 world?
Covid 19 has disrupted supply chains. Companies that deal in physical goods have suffered the impact of supply disruption most.
The impact will continue till supply chains get fully restored.
Companies with connected business strategies that relied on digital means to generate and service their customers thrived during these times of physical disruption.
Companies whose business was end-to-end digital thrived the most. Their workforce could work from home and deliver services.
If you look around you, you will note that digital companies and the financial services industry that relied on digital means to provide customer services have generally done well.
Connected retailers like Amazon, for instance, have weathered the disruption better than pure-play physical retailers. Amazon is a connected business strategy, and it has continued to perform well during these times.
Food delivery companies with partially connected business strategies were able to come out quickly. Their supply chains were generally local and hyperlocal, and as soon as movement restrictions eased, they were able to bounce back.
The worst performers were manufacturing companies and hospitality companies. These had only peripherally connected business strategies. Physical disruption impacted them the most.
The pandemic is a great opportunity for businesses to look at their business strategies and models to weather the next disruption better.
Contact:
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October 20, 2021
What do you do if you are looking for healthier and authentic alternatives to your regular home delivery?
As a chef, you would probably want to look for pesticide-free products. I would therefore recommend that you use certified organic products. Let me explain the concepts that drive certification.
The certification covers not just cultivation but also storage, processing, packaging, and shipping. Standards for certification can vary from country to country. In some countries, certification is overseen by the government, while in others – like the US, and to some extent in India — certificate is provided by notified private institutions.
Certified organic foods do not necessarily need to be free of all pesticides; they do permit the use of some pesticides. Organic certification is issued to producers of agricultural and farm products and to seed suppliers, food processors, retailers and restaurants, and all those who deal in organic farm products.
The food industry’s use of labels — natural, all-natural, free-range, or hormone-free — should not be confused with organic; the two are not synonymous. The use of natural, free-range, hormone-free is simply a statement describing the property in the food item. The natural label will mean minimally processed and could include non-use of artificial flavors and colors, preservatives, and other artificial ingredients.
In the case of meat, animals may continue to be given growth-enhancing chemicals or hormones. Labels could describe the meat as naturally raised, free-ranging, grass-fed, pasture-raised, hormone-free, and the likes. These represent one property or the other of the dairy, meat, or other food product. It is important to distinguish between such labels and the ones certified as organic.
Under the US National Organic Program (NOP), products with entirely organic ingredients and methods are labeled “100% organic.” Products with at least 95% organic ingredients can be labeled “organic.” A third category has a minimum of 70% organic ingredients, marked as “made with organic ingredients.” These products are permitted to display the logo of the approved certification body.
Would you please check for the authentic organic certification agencies in your jurisdiction and ask the supplier to provide you with products that are certified by these agencies?
You will be able to secure genuine food ingredients for your work. All the best.
Additional reading:
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October 19, 2021
Medicinal properties of garlic
There are extensive references to its medicinal properties in the Charaka Samhita and the Sushruta Samhita, ancient Indian medical texts. Both Indians and Chinese regard garlic as an aphrodisiac. It aids digestion, improves respiration, and gets rid of intestinal worm infestation (Woodward, 1996).
It helps in improving qi—life energy. Charaka Samhita recommends the use of garlic to treat heart disease and arthritis too. Garlic’s effect is also said to be diuretic.
The plant is rich in vitamins C and B6, magnesium, sodium, potassium, and calcium. The active ingredient isolated from the plant is allicin, along with a few other alkaloids. Allicin is responsible for the pungent odor of garlic.
It is a widely-researched species and is a popular herbal supplement cleared for use in the US, Europe, and across the globe. The plant is effective in reducing high blood pressure, showing promise in reducing cardiovascular risk (Ackermann et al., 2001).
Fresh garlic is effective against bacteria like Escherichia coli, Salmonella enteritidis, and Staphylococcus aureus. It is topically used to treat fungal infections like ringworm, jock itch, athlete’s foot, etc.
In homeopathy, the plant produces the Bryonia group of medicine that acts on the intestinal mucous membrane increasing peristalsis. It is used to treat colitis caused by pathological flora in the stomach, dyspepsia, and catarrhal affections. Homeopathy also uses the drug to treat atherosclerosis. The Bryonia group is used to treat tuberculosis.
In naturopathy, garlic is used for its anti-microbial and anti-fungal properties and to treat intestinal worms, fungal infections, etc. Native American tribes and other folkloric medical systems use garlic to treat cold, chest, and lung infections.
Additional reading:
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October 18, 2021
How do I reimagine my food business?
If you want to re-imagine your food business gives me a feeling that it is not making the requisite headway. Let me give you some generic insights on turning things around.
Begin by taking a close look at your business strategy. The objective of the relook is to analyze your business to secure a competitive advantage over your competitors.
Business strategy planning is a specialist task. It is best undertaken by a trained and certified business strategy expert.
Still, I will provide an overview. The key elements of a business strategy review are:
Undertake a review of your internal systems, external systems including competition, the interplay between the two. You will be surprised by the insights that this analysis will reveal.
Armed with this information, begin the strategic planning and re-imaging exercise. It is done by independently generating three to five ideas. Each idea is put through rigorous testing. The testing will finally throw up the best idea that you will then test and then implement.
There are no shortcuts in business strategy planning, no bright ideas that anyone can prescribe. It is an evolutionary process that you will need to undertake with deliberation.
Here below is my link:
Certified business strategy expert Similar Posts:
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October 17, 2021
Kindly provide some business overview to organic cultivation for me to succeed?
Let me present some facts for you to get the big picture.
The US is the largest market for organic food and food products. Its demand has been put at 24.3 billion Euros. Approximately 43% of the world’s revenues from organic food come from the US alone. Other major contributors are Germany 13%, France 8%, China, Canada, UK, Italy together constitute 4%. The total European organic food market put together has been estimated in 2013 at US $31 million (FiBL-IFOAM 2015).
Organic food market size is said to constitute 5% of the total food market.
Some estimate a CAGR growth of 12% for North America. US farmers are nearly totally reliant on genetically modified crops like corn and soybeans. The total imports into the US in 2014 stood at $1.28 billion.
Organic coffee led the pack with implications of $332.5 million. US organic exports in the same year stood at $553 million. Europe, on the other hand, is both a producer and consumer of organic food.
Three major factors are impacting the organic food business.
Firstly, consumers need to be convinced that the product that they are buying is authentic. Certification, therefore, is a business imperative. The cost of certification is not just high but is time-consuming. It takes around three years for a farm to get certified as organic.
Second, there are fairly strong barriers to importing organic food in the major organic food products consuming markets of the US and Europe.
Thirdly, while it may appear that the developing parts of the world with access to cheaper labor should produce organic food cheaply, in reality, that is not so. The organic food business is not just about producing an organic food crop, but the crop also has to be packaged and transported. Logistics costs in most developing economies are just too high, making the final productive uncompetitive in the market.
Unfortunately, most people in the organic food business do not realize that this too is as much a business as any other and requires business strategy and logistics planning and management as much as any other business.
With the right business tools, you will succeed in this business, and not just on sentiment and hype.
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October 14, 2021
What is the best diet for bringing about sustained weight loss?
Several popular diets promoting claims of dramatic weight loss exist in the market. The popular diets are Paleo, Vegan, Low carb, Dukan, Ultra Low fat, Atkins, HCG, Zone, Weight Watchers, Intermittent Fasting, Keto, and Ornish name some of them.
The assortment of diets has the weight loss enthusiast confused—proponents of each diet claim that their recommendation is the best for you.
Diet plans, in general, provide structure and discipline to eating. A reduction of half a kilogram a week is possible by reducing daily calorie consumption by 500 calories. Low carb and very low-carb diets may lead to faster weight loss, but studies have shown that over an extended period of 12 to 24 months, benefits from such low carb diets are not very large.
A diet rich in protein and low in carbohydrates may offer a slight advantage. Extra protein keeps you feeling full longer, making you eat less, reducing total food intake. Most diets improve blood cholesterol and blood sugar levels. Low-carb diets help enhance high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood compared to moderate-carb foods.
Rapid reduction of carbs can have temporary health effects like headache, bad breath, weakness, muscle cramps, fatigue, skin rash, constipation, or diarrhea. Low-carb diets may not necessarily be the right choice as a weight-loss method for preteens and high schoolers. Their bodies need nutrients found in whole grains, fruits, and vegetables, and these, in a low-carb diet, are cut.
The idea is to create a calorie deficit without causing a nutritional deficiency. The choice of food will vary from individual to individual. We all have our preferences. It is best to consult a nutritionist and get a diet plan customized for yourself. If the diet plan has food that you are comfortable with, you will stick to it. It is all about healthy eating and an active lifestyle.
Additional reading:
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October 13, 2021
How does green tea help to reduce weight?
The most well-known chemical constituent of tea is caffeine, which is stimulating in nature. Caffeine in tea is approximately 4 percent in dry weight. Tannin is the other principal constituent of tea.
Caffeine, theobromine, and theophylline are polyphenols belonging to the phenolic group of compounds. The major flavonols in tea are- catechin, epicatechin, epicatechin gallate, gallocatechin, epigallocatechin, and epigallocatechin gallate. Epigallocatechin gallate is the most active of these catechins. Another compound – L-theanine, is an amino acid found in tea. Theanine in green tea plays a role in reducing stress. Oxidized catechins (theaflavins in black tea) are said to reduce cholesterol levels in the blood.
Tea decreases lipid and carbohydrate absorption, increases lipid metabolism, inhibits de novo metabolic production of fat, and increases carbohydrate utilization. (Grove et al., 2010) Green tea intake is associated with increased weight loss due to diet-induced heat generation attributed to the catechin epigallocatechin gallate. (Shixian et al., 2006)
High caffeine intake was associated with weight loss through heat and fat oxidation and suppressed leptin in women. (Leptin is a molecule that triggers a signal of satiation to the brain). The green tea-caffeine mixture improved weight management in habitually low caffeine consumers, partly through heat generation and fat oxidation. (Westertep-Plantenga et al., 2005)
Additional reading:
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October 12, 2021
Do vegetarians especially require nutritional supplements?
It is estimated that about 2 billion people live primarily on a meat-based diet worldwide, while 4 billion focus on a plant-based diet.
A plant-based diet has smaller quantities of bioavailable iron when compared to meat, poultry, and fish eaters. Iron in heme form is better absorbed when compared to non-heme form iron. Plant-based food or non-heme iron absorption is inhibited by phytic acid present in these foods.
And, although vegetarians have lower iron stores because of low quantities of it in their diets, the adverse health impact of lower iron and zinc absorption was not seen. (Hunt, 2002). In fact, in some cases, a plant-based diet combined with stress reduction led to a decrease in recurrent prostate cancer (Saxe et al., 2006).
Zinc deficiency can occur in diets low in bioavailable zinc food, like red meat and unrefined cereals rich in phytate and dietary fibers. In US diets, more than half of Zinc comes from animal food. Vegetarian diets contain legumes, whole grains, nuts, and seeds; while they have adequate Zinc quantities, the bioavailability is restricted due to phytic acid present in these foods. High levels of calcium can also reduce the bioavailability of Zinc.
Elimination of meat and increased intake of phytate-containing legumes and whole grains leads to lower absorption of trace elements iron and Zinc. However, the consequences of lower bioavailability are still not completely understood (Hunt, 2003).
Zinc is a non-toxic element. Excessive supplementation can lead to copper deficiency (Sandstead, 1995). The best sources for Zinc are red meats, liver, shellfish, nuts, whole grains, and legumes.
Plant-based sources of Omega3 are flaxseed, chia seeds, canola, walnut and soybean oils, leafy and green vegetables. These are short-chain omega 3 molecules that need to be converted in the body into long-chained fatty acids. Converting plant-based omega3 foods into a nutritionally useful form is an inefficient metabolic process. The absorption levels of this type of fatty acid are quite low.
Natural food-based nutrition will continue to be attractive, and these are best obtained from organically raised fatty fish. It will need to come from less efficient Omega3s sources like flaxseed, chia seeds, canola, and walnut for vegans.
Vitamin B12 supplementation may occur in vegans. Excess supplementation can lead to difficulty in sleeping and other side effects.
Replacing animal protein with plant protein will likely reduce mortality rates, lower cholesterol levels, and higher health benefits.
I have only provided an overview. Minerals, supplements, and nutrition is a vast subject, and it is best to take the help of a nutrition expert.
References:
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October 11, 2021
How do we control obesity and diabetes?
Obesity is a complex interplay of genetics, environment, and other factors. The magnitude of this disorder’s impact on health can be understood when we realize that obesity impacts 236 diseases, of which 13 are cancers. (Obesity Medicine Association).
We know that obesity management has three key components – lifestyle modification, nutrition, and exercise. Medication, too, is recommended in some cases. I would rate behavior change at the top of the list of solutions.
Motivation helps to improve physical activity levels and quality.
Through behavioral interventions, changes in diet and physical activity can be affected. These assist in weight loss, which in turn leads to improvements in health parameters.
According to the non-profit Obesity Action Coalition organization based out of the US, the following are the critical components of a behavior change strategy:
1. Setting up realistic goals and self-monitoring mechanisms
2. Increasing physical activity
3. Teaching the body and understanding how to nourish behavior change.
4. Engaging in a support group
Conventional treatment of diabetes broadly speaking is composed of:
1. Diet modification
2. Exercise
3. Medication
Both obesity and diabetes are vast subjects and this, at best, is an overview.
Additional reading:
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