Black Seed Oil

Many people know it by different names: Roman coriander, black sesame, black cumin, black caraway and onion seed. Today it’s primarily known as black seed. Black seed oil, in fact, was found in Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamen’s tomb, dating back to approximately 3,300 years ago. In Arabic cultures, black cumin is known as Habbatul barakah, meaning the “seed of blessing.” It is also believed that the Islamic prophet Mohammed said of it that it is “a remedy for all diseases except death.” The black cumin seed oil has the ability to inhibit cancer cell’s activity and it can even kill some types of cancer cells.

A recent scientific study has show that black cumin seed oil has been effective in the cancer treatment for cancer cells in animal studies. And they also claim that it can be as effective as some anti-cancer drugs for some types of cancer. The black seed oil extract – thymoquinone has powerful properties against many inflammatory issues, such as: liver cancer, melanoma skin cancer, pancreatic cancer, cervical cancer, breast cancer, bone cancer, stomach cancer, lymphoma, prostate cancer, colon cancer and brain cancer.

In the last few years, researchers have rarely advanced their study work on human subjects. But, they still claim that the benefits of the black seed oil are strong and the risks of negative side effects are extremely small. In this post, we are going to discuss about the latest research findings that were made for this amazing and super-healthy black seed oil. We will discuss the use of black seed oil for cancer prevention and its treatment has been proven to be a powerful strategy for many forms of cancer.

Black Seeds Interfere with Uncontrolled Cell Growth and Kill Liver Cancer Cells


According to a recent study, a group of researchers in India have studied the use of compound thymoquinone for killing liver cancer cells. The researchers had two groups of rats with liver cancer. They give water that contained 0.01% thymoquinone to the first group of rats, and the other group of rats was given plain water. They measured the liver cancer nodules, liver injury markers and tumor markers in both groups after 16 weeks. The group of rats that didn’t receive thymoquinone had substantial increases in their liver tumor size. And the rats who received 20 mg of thymoquinone per kilogram for body weight got their tumor markers decreased. Also, this group of rats didn’t develop liver cancer nodules, and the amount of new tumor formation was much less than the untreated group. Another study, conducted by group of researchers in Egypt had discovered the anti-tumor effects of bee hone and black seed oil on human liver cancer cells. The researchers found that the honey and black seed oil were extremely beneficial in reducing the liver cancer cells and they also improved the antioxidant status of cells and induced cancer cell death by apoptosis.

Black Seed Oil Kills Lung Cancer Cells

A group of researchers in 2014 have investigated the anti-cancer activity of black cumin seed oil when used in the treatment of lung cancer cells in the laboratory. The medical experts exposed lung cancer cells to black seed oil or black seed extract for one day. The researchers used 0.01 mg/ml of the black seed oil or the extract in this experiment. The cancer cell viability was assessed after the exposure. According to the study results, the black seed oil and the black seed extract significantly reduced the population of living cancer cells and altered the cellular morphology. They also found that the greater the concentration of oil/extract that was used in the cancer cell treatment, the greater the level of cancer cell death. They also made the cancer cells to lose their typical appearance and made them smaller in size. So, the medical experts concluded that black seed extract or oil significantly reduced the existence of human lung cancer cells.

Black Seeds Kill Leukemia Cells

A recent study, conducted by group of medical experts in Malaysia, in 2013, has found that the use of naturally occurring compounds from traditional medicine has great anti-cancer potential. Black seed is one of these natural anti-cancer plants. We mention before that the most effective anti-cancer compound found in black seed oil or extract is thymoquinone. The anti-cancer effect of thymoquinone, via the induction of apoptosis resulting from mitochondrial dysfunction, was assessed in an acute leukemia cell line. The medical experts also found that treatment of leukemia cells with thymoquinone resulted in leukemia cell death. So, these results were incredible and promising that the thymoquinone from black seed oil could be a useful “fighter” against the leukemia cancer cells.

Conclusion

I was asking myself this same question: if the black seed oil has so many anti-cancer properties, that have been shown and proven by many different researchers, and it also has been proven to not be toxic to healthy human cells – then why are scientists are still doing laboratory researchers and they don’t do human trials yes? Well, when it comes to cancer treatment, this natural remedy is still stuck in the laboratory as if it were a dangerous unproven toxic substance. But, don’t forget that black seeds and black seed oil are foods and they are completely edible. People use them for thousands of years. They used them for flavoring food, as daily tonics and for making homemade remedies. And, now when it’s clear that the thymoquinone in black seed oil is extremely effective against cancer cells – then it’s time for human trials.

As you can see, the black seed oil and it’s most beneficial anti-cancer compound – thymoquinone are very useful and effective against all types of cancer cells. You should most definitely add black seed and black seed oil to your healthy diet. It’s definitely worth it! If you enjoyed this post, make sure you share it with your friends and family.

Can Chlorophyll Protect You From Cancer?

Chlorophyll is a chemical compound in plants that collects light and uses the light to make energy. It also gives plants their green color. Chlorophyll is the life blood of plants. It has a long list of health benefits from alkalinizing the body to yes, protecting it from cancer.

A study at Oregon State University found that the chlorophyll in green vegetables “offers protection against cancer when tested against the modest carcinogen exposure levels most likely to be found in the environment.” The protective mechanism of chlorophyll is fairly simple – it just binds with and sequesters carcinogens within the gastrointestinal tract until they are eliminated from the body.

According to Michael T. Simonich of the Linus Pauling Institute, chlorophyll actually helps fight cancer cell growth and acts as an antioxidant in the body. Chlorophyll forms a complex with the carcinogens that your body has a difficult time absorbing, such as fungus-contaminated nuts and grains, the toxic materials created when meat has been overcooked, and carcinogens in the air that result from pollution, so your body eliminates these complexes through feces, helping to prevent cancer. It does this by blocking the metabolism of chemicals known as procarcinogens that damage DNA. By preventing DNA from being damaged, cancer growth is inhibited and prevented. It is important to have your veggie-filled salad before eating anything that may have carcinogenic effects, like a charbroiled steak, because if chlorophyll is consumed after having cancer-causing food items, there will be little benefit because the carcinogen has been ingested and assimilated. That said, including a lot of chlorophyll in your daily diet will help to protect you from other carcinogens like the polluted air we’re surrounded by.

The antioxidant action of chlorophyll, according to “Encyclopedia of Herbal Medicine” can lower your risk for developing certain types of cancer. Chlorophyll also aids in oxygenating the blood, and cancer can’t thrive in oxygen. It efficiently delivers magnesium and helps the blood in carrying the much needed oxygen to all cells and tissues.

What else does chlorophyll do besides protect against cancer? Keep reading…

The range of health benefits to gain from chlorophyll is nothing short of miraculous. Chlorophyll is known to improve the health of the circulatory, digestive, immune and detoxification systems of the body – leading to many different and overlapping health benefits.

Some of the numerous health benefits of chlorophyll include:

• Cleanses, oxygenates and builds the blood
• A powerful detoxification effect on the body
• Rich in enzymes that promote quick rejuvenation of our cells
• High in Amino acids
• Extracts toxins form the liver and improves liver function
• Regulator of calcium
• Helps break addiction
• Alkalizes the body
• Anti-inflammatory
• Wound-healing properties
• Eliminates bad breath and body odors
• Feeds heart tissues with iron & magnesium
• Regulates menstruation
• Revitalizes the vascular system
• Improves teeth enamel and gums
• Improves milk production in lactating mothers
• Improves blood sugar problems
• Fights infection
• Anti-oxidant – neutralize free radicals
• Promotes healthy intestinal flora
• Helps reverse protein-deficient anemia
• Protection from cancer
• Helps skin disorders
• Bind and removes toxic heavy metals from the body
• Can stimulate bowel movements and is a great aid in colon cleansing
• Improves the detrimental effects of radiation

How do we integrate more chlorophyll into our diet?

Essentially, any green plant that you consume contains some level of chlorophyll as this is what gives it its green color, but some foods are higher in chlorophyll than others. Generally speaking, the darker the green color, the more chlorophyll, so dark leafy greens are a great source, especially dino kale and other kale varieties, swiss chard and darker greens like arugula. Click here to learn ways to incorporate more kale into your diet. Adding herbs like parsley and cilantro are also great ways to spruce up your salads and increase chlorophyll content in your diet. Blue-green algae such as spirulina and chlorella are also especially high in chlorophyll, as are all sprouts. Wheatgrass has one of the highest sources of chlorophyll available. Juicing it on a regular basis can have powerful detoxification effects.

Chlorophyll is very easy to absorb and assimilate. Eating organic whole green foods or fresh juice are by far the best ways to get more chlorophyll into your body. Another way that’s really simple to integrate it is with concentrated supplement drops that can simply be added to your water. It is tasteless, but will create a dark green color. When people ask you what in the world you’re drinking, you can share your knowledge about this wondrous substance that can do so much to add to our health and well-being.

Let’s approach our health from a standpoint of prevention. Let food be thy medicine, and eat more chlorophyll.

Feel a Cough or Cold Coming On? Eat a Pear!

Fall is the perfect time of year to munch down on a pear, so take a moment to sink your teeth into the juicy fruit and feel the energizing health benefits sprawling throughout the body. The pear, savored by most of the world cultures since the Stone Age, can heal with cooling compounds, excrete phlegm and cleanse the body of toxins.

Eating a pear is a stellar way to prevent colds and coughs from happening during fall and winter seasons. Known as a super fruit in some regions of the world, the pear holds precious cooling compounds to energize the lungs, keeping the area moist and free of bacteria. The pear can help excrete phlegm, as well. The fruit is packed with potent nutrients and can help prevent chronic ailments.

Have you ever bit into a juicy, crunchy pear and all of a sudden felt a rush of energy, health and refreshment? Perhaps that is due to its health benefits. Besides being an excellent source of vitamins such as C and K, the pear holds potent nutrients and minerals along with cooling properties, healing many ailments including coughs and colds.

Coughs and Colds

Colds and coughs usually find their way into the body from August through April when humidity levels drop in the air. A cold or cough within the body is usually your body’s way of telling you that it needs to rid excess toxins, waste and bacteria overgrowth. Over 66 million Americans catch colds per year and catching a cold in the fall usually signifies the lungs are being challenged. If a cough is happening, the body is trying to release unwanted toxins to cleanse itself. There is usually an energy imbalance or stagnation, according to Traditional Chinese Medicine. So it is best to harmonize with the body than fight it. Allow it to bring harmony and balance on its own and speed the recovery process with diet and natural remedies. Adding pears, which are in season from August through October, to the diet can boost immunity, release toxins and deliver all that is needed to keep colds and coughs away.

History of the Pear

The pear has been around since the Stone Age. The Chinese cultivate more pears than anywhere in the world, but pears are in abundant supply in the United States and Italy. Pears have been presented as a luxury delicacy and also referred to as the “gift of the gods.” Pears have a multiple of varieties including the common Bosc, Anjou, Bartlett and Seckel. The pear works as an anti-inflammatory in the respiratory system, and they help maintain moisture in the lungs. Pears, due to their sour properties, help eliminate phlegm. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, when the lungs take in dry, pathogenic factors, then the intestines and other areas of the body get involved. Since the pear is a cooling food, it helps prevents lung damage and adds moisture to the lungs and prevents bacteria. If you are a smoker, eating pears is one way to help prevent the lungs from disease.

Other Benefits of the Pear

Pears add approximately three grams of water, non-soluble fiber to the diet. The fiber binds to unwanted toxins and bacterium in the colon and leads the way out of the body, reducing the onset of heart disease, cancer and Type-2 Diabetes. The fiber in pears also helps reduce cholesterol.

Appetites usually diminish with coughs and colds. However, it is important to drink plenty of fluids. Eating pears can be a refreshing way to gain nutrients and help rid the ailments. It is also crucial to communicate with a medical practitioner to properly diagnose the illness and proceed with any additional care.

CLEAN YOUR MATTRESS

Even if you change your sheets and pillowcases weekly, chances are you haven’t thought about how to clean a mattress lately. Dust and dust mites accumulate in our bedding very quickly and can cause anywhere from mild to severe allergic reactions. Getting rid of dust mites is an ongoing battle and one effective way to fight them is to keep your mattress and bedding clean. Below are simple steps to help you clean your mattress on a regular basis

Pour about 1 cup of baking soda into a Mason jar & drop in 4 drops of lavender essential oil. Put on lid & shake jar. Using a kitchen strainer, sprinkle the baking soda mixture all over the mattress & let it sit for an hour or more. Thoroughly vacuum the mattress. Bye, bye dust mites, & other nasty things. The baking soda helps draw up any moisture & deep dirtiness. It deodorizes & leaves the mattress smelling fresh & clean

Falling in love is easy; staying in love is the challenge

It felt like not too long ago when falling in and out of love was a part of my everyday life. I watched as it happened around me and I also saw how it manifested in my own life. Falling in love felt like the highest point of a rollercoaster ride- the point right before the drop- it was exhilarating yet nerve-wrecking. What came soon after was not as thrilling; it was just gut-wrenchingly painful.

One day I decided, “Enough of heartbreaks; I want to settle down.” I thought that was one of the best decisions of my life, until I realised how hard it was to achieve what seemed like a simple goal of “settling down”.

For a long time, I yearned to be part of a blissful couple- one that has been together through thick and thin, and still able to look at each other with a loving and longing gaze. The kind of couple portrayed in movies and dramas, where they would drive off into the sunset and live happily ever after.

I wanted that but I had no idea how to get there…not till experience taught me what it took to become such a couple; effective communication and conscious effort.Falling in love was the easy part, and the honeymoon period that came straight after made it all the more better. Conversations were filled with sweet nothings, and smiles were constantly plastered on faces. Mistakes were overlooked, and annoying habits were thought to be cute.

However, as all good things must come to an end, the honeymoon period will soon be over when small little habits that used to be adorable become the reason for arguments. This then becomes a vulnerable phase for couples, and many (my past relationships included) have failed to emerge victorious from the stormy waters.

“How will one survive such harsh conditions?”

How does a couple pull through such difficult times then?It all boils down to how much the couple treasures and wants the relationship to work out. Needless to say, it takes effort from both sides, because as much as it takes two to argue, it also takes two to build a happy relationship.

The key to it all is effective communication, and such communication requires conscious effort. The effort put in to keep the love boat afloat transcends to all areas of the relationship. This means in all things said and done, both parties have to consciously choose to speak and behave in a loving and patient manner. Sounds easy? Wait till you give it a try.

Being loving and patient all the time means we have to fight back a large number of our natural tendencies. It means not snapping at our other half because we have had a bad day. Or to yell when we think our other half is not listening or not understanding what we are trying to say. It also means that we need to patiently explain why a particular habit bothers us, instead of simply disapproving the action.

In summary, putting in conscious effort to maintain the relationship means choosing to stay even when the going gets tough. It means showing your other half that you are here to stay, and the both of you will make it through, together.

I remember my mum telling me, “Love is a module that you will spend your entire life learning, and never graduating.” True enough, settling down and having a long-lasting, happy relationship is one that requires hard work that will last a life time…but the rewards are always a plenty.

Anti-Cancer Apples

Over the last decade, a host of studies have been done on the anti-cancer properties of apples. Many of these studies have made headlines by producing surprising and favorable results.

Although most of the studies done thus far have focused on specific chemical compounds or nutrients in apples, when we look at the nutrients studied together we get a clearer picture of apples as anti-cancer powerhouses.

Due to the weight of mounting evidence for apples’ anti-cancer properties, they have been added to the American Institute of Cancer Research’s “Foods That fight Cancer” list.

Aspects of apples studied in relationship to anti-cancer properties and other disease prevention:

-       Vitamin C (antioxidant)

-       Fiber/Pectin (cleansing, lowering cholesterol)

-       Flavonoids, such as quercetin (which slow development of cancers of the colon, lung and breast.)

-       Triterpenoids, found in the peels of apples (which inhibit or kill cancer cells)

-       Oligosaccharides (which kill cancer cells)

Along with these anti-cancer benefits, apples may also help ward off strokes and give you better lungs. If I were an apple grower I would get planting, or rather grafting!

Although it’s become a common saying, don’t just expect to “eat an apple and keep the doctor away,” regardless of the rest of your diet and lifestyle. Just as viewing an apple’s multiple beneficial nutrients together gives a much clearer picture of its anti-cancer properties, when we think about our health it’s best to look at our diets and lifestyles as a whole…

For compassion, for ethics, for the environment, for the phytochemicals, whole foods and plant-based is the way to go!

Shocking Ingredients in McDonald’s French Fries

It would be fair to assume that there are three ingredients in McDonald’s French fries:  potatoes, oil, and salt.  But if you assumed that you’d be far from correct.

Starting last year McDonald’s began a transparency campaign most likely to create a more health- and consumer-conscious image of the corporation.  As a result the company has made their ingredient lists and processing techniques available on their website. Out of curiosity, I had to know exactly what is in those fries.

It turns out that there are 17 ingredients in MickeyD’s French fries!  They contain:

-Potatoes (whew! I’m glad that was the first ingredient)

-Canola oil—Most canola oil is now genetically-modified.

-Hydrogenated soybean oil—Like canola oil, most soybean oil is now extracted from genetically-modified soybeans. Plus the hydrogenation process makes the oil more saturated than it would be in its natural form, and unhealthy.

-Safflower oil—Believed to be a healthier cooking oil, most safflower is unfortunately heated to high temperatures long before it is ever used for cooking, causing it to be chemically-altered from the heat, and a source of inflammation in the body when that is the case.

-”Natural flavor”—McDonald’s natural flavor is apparently obtained from a vegetable source, but the “natural” moniker means nothing since it can even potentially contain the nerve- and brain-toxin monosodium glutamate (MSG).

-Dextrose—a type of sugar.

-Sodium acid pyrophosphate—This ingredient is apparently used to maintain the color of the fries.  On the chemical industry’s own safety data sheets it is listed as hazardous for ingestion, which is exactly what you’ll be doing if you eat those French fries.

-Citric acid—used as a preservative.

-Dimethylpolysiloxane—used as an anti-foaming agent, this industrial chemical is typically used in caulking and sealants and comes with a list of safety concerns.

-Vegetable oil for frying, which is a blend of 7 ingredients, including:  canola oil, corn oil, soybean oil, hydrogenated soybean oil with tert-butylhydroquinone (TBHQ), citric acid, and dimethylpolysiloxane.  We discussed most of these ingredients above.  Corn oil, like its canola and soybean counterparts is now primarily made of genetically-modified corn.

TBHQ is a petroleum-based, butane-like (yes, that’s lighter fluid!) ingredient used as a preservative.  It has been linked to asthma, skin conditions, hormone disruption, and in long-term animal studies to cancer and damage to DNA.

Contrary to what McDonald’s may claim in its slogan, I’m NOT lovin’ it!

Why Relationships Fail: 4 Tips to Make Love Last

“Happiness mainly comes from our own attitude, rather than from external factors.” ~Dalai Lama

If you get married today, there is a 60% chance that your relationship won’t last. Is finding true love really that hard or is there something else going on?

A research group from the Heriot-Watt University found that many people have a “warped sense of the perfect relationship” and “unrealistic expectations from their romantic partner.” They concluded that they got these unrealistic expectations from Hollywood love stories.

These movies have us longing for a Cinderella or Prince Charming who will sweep us off our feet and make us happier than we have ever been. But can we really expect our partners to make us happy? Is that even fair to them?

When I figured out this wasn’t the right approach to a relationship, I had already been in two failed ones. “Failed” may not be the right word, because I don’t regret them and I’m still friends with both of my exes, but these relationships were based on needs, from both partners.

After the second relationship, I was single for a long time, and that’s when I started working on myself.

When I started to see some changes in myself and in my life, I felt the desire to have a girlfriend again. I mentioned this to my mentor, and he said, “It’s not the girlfriend you want; it’s what you think she can give you.”

This was a real eye opener for me. I realized that this desire was my ego telling me there was something missing in my life and that I needed to find someone else to fill this gap for me. I didn’t have a person in mind yet, but I was already being unfair to her by expecting so much of her. I was demanding love.

Demanding Love Vs. Sharing Love

If you expect your partner to make you happy, you are demanding love. If you were happy when you were single, you’re more likely to be happy in your relationship. And when you’re happy, you can focus on “sharing your love” instead of “demanding happiness.”

Do you see how this can make a world of difference in your relationship? When you go from “needing” love, affection, and support to fill a hole in yourself, to “sharing” love and happiness from a place of fullness, your relationship (and life!) will blossom into something truly amazing and lasting.

The Love Illusion

Not expecting anything from your partner doesn’t mean you can’t rely on them for support. It just means you don’t depend on them to ease the discomfort of being with yourself.

Even if it seems like they do that for a while, the absence of discomfort will be an illusion. It’s like taking aspirin. You may not feel the headache anymore, but what caused the headache is still there.

If you don’t like to spend time with yourself, you most likely don’t really love yourself. And if you don’t love yourself first, you cannot sincerely love someone else—or let yourself be loved by someone else.

What “True Love” Really Is

When two people get together and start working on themselves—when they aim to grow together instead of avoiding growth by depending too much on each other—they build a connection on a higher level. Couples who understand that this is the greatest gift they can give each other will be the happiest couples; they will experience true love!

4 Tips for a Loving, Lasting Relationship

1. Love yourself First

Many people don’t realize that their feelings toward other people are largely determined by their feelings about themselves. Learning to love yourself will not only benefit yourself, but also your partner.

A couple of ways to start loving yourself in action:

The mirror exercise: Stand in front of the mirror, look yourself in the eye, and say, “I love you. I really, really love you!” Don’t just say the words; try to feel them. It may take some practice, but if you do this two or three times a day for a couple of minutes, you will feel the results!

Practice self-acceptance. You are a magnificent human being. You may have some flaws, but that’s okay. Everybody has flaws and we all make mistakes. You can learn from them, accept them, and even be grateful for them, because they have helped form the person you are today.

2. Choose to be happy.

True happiness comes from within. Nothing or no one can “make” you happy. When you are a happy person because you choose to be, this will rub off on your partner, or attract more potential partners if you are single. Being happy feels good on the inside and looks good on the outside!

A few ways to choose happiness every day:

-Practice gratitude and optimism. People who see the world optimistically see opportunities and love everywhere they go. There’s truth in the saying “Change the way you look at things and the things you look at will change.” Make a habit out of gratitude. When the sun shines on your face, when someone lets you cut in line, when someone smiles at you, say “thank you.” You don’t even have to say it out loud; thinking it will do just fine.

-Don’t let others determine how you feel. Try not to worry about what others say, think, or do—even if they talk badly about you. You can still respond to them, but don’t let it affect your level of happiness. The moment you get emotionally involved you have lost your inner peace.

-Accept your circumstances. You cannot control everything that happens in life. Sometimes, bad things happen. We cannot escape from this; we can only accept it. Choose to accept the circumstances you can’t change instead of causing yourself to suffer.

-Have fun! Find something you love to do and do it on a regular basis. For me, it’s snowboarding. Even though I’m physically exhausted after a day of snowboarding, mentally, I’m fully recharged.

-Meditate. Meditation was the foundation of my whole transformation process. I still meditate two hours a day. But if you are just starting out, fifteen minutes will do. Meditation will help you with all the points above; it will give you focus, mental clarity, and inner peace. It takes some practice, but if you put in the effort, the results will astound you.

3. Fall in love when you are ready, not when you are lonely.

Don’t compromise or get into a relationship for the wrong reasons. Being alone isn’t the same as being lonely. When you love yourself, you don’t mind being alone sometimes because you are spending time with your best friend. Ironically, being in a bad relationship can make you feel like the loneliest person in the world.

4. Do not lose yourself in a relationship.

Make time for yourself, pursue your own goals, and do things without your partner. Maintain a healthy balance between your personal time and your time together. Putting yourself first in a relationship might seem strange at first, but it makes perfect sense. If you go into a relationship expecting your partner to make you happy, your partner might expect the same from you. Do you really want to be responsible for your partner’s happiness? That’s quite a responsibility to take on.

Wouldn’t it be much better if you and your partner entered a relationship and committed to becoming the best people you both can be while sharing your love with each other? No needs, no expectations, no obligations. Do you see how in a relationship like that, love has the freedom to grow into something truly amazing?

Lower Your Cancer Risk by 44 Percent

An exciting new study was juCancer Prevention Research showing the incredible ability of raw garlic to lower cancer risk by 30 to 44 percent, even in smokers.

st published in the journal

The study examined almost 6,000 people and was conducted between 2003 to 2013 by the Jiangsu Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention in China to explore the association between eating raw garlic and lung cancer.

They found that eating raw garlic twice a week can cut the risk of lung cancer by 44 percent in non-smokers and by 30 percent in smokers. Since cigarette smoking is the leading cause of lung cancer, this is a surprising effect. The lowered risk of cancer was even found in those people exposed to high-temperature cooking oil fumes–a known risk factor for lung cancer, suggesting a protective effect exerted by the raw garlic.

The ingredient believed to be responsible for the anti-cancer effect appears to be allicin, which is released and activated when the garlic clove is crushed or chopped and exposed to air. It is not clear whether cooked garlic had a similar protective effect.

According to the scientists conducting the study: “Garlic may potentially serve as a preventive agent for lung cancer.”

Here’s an easy way to get more raw garlic into your diet: make fresh salsa from chopped tomatoes, minced jalapenos and a bit of minced onion, a dash of sea salt, and a squeeze of lime juice. I also add minced raw garlic and olive oil to roasted, sautéed, or steamed vegetables just before serving them. Or, throw a clove of raw garlic into a blender with 1 cup olive oil and 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar, and a dash of sea salt and mustard for a simple, delicious, and nutritious salad dressing.

For more ways to arm yourself against cancer, check out my book, Cancer-Proof.

Are You Killing Yourself by Sitting?

You can skip this article if you rarely engage in the following activities, or do so only for a few minutes of the day: TV viewing, video game playing, computer use (collective termed “screen time”), driving automobiles, and reading.

But if, for work or for entertainment, you spend a hefty part of your day sitting in one place, this article is essential reading. It could even save your life.

These days, it is easy to sit for up to eight hours a day. Almost everything we have to or love to do requires us to sit in one place. Accounting, writing, messaging, speaking on the phone, watching our favorite show, the commute to work…sure, we take the occasional break, but that’s mostly for the loo or a drink or water — simply not enough.

A sedentary lifestyle makes you a sitting duck for disease, and possibly early death.

A recent study of 17,000 Canadian adults conclusively proves the connection between sitting long hours and mortality. What’s worse, the dangers of sitting long hours are not seen to diminish even among those who exercise, which was demonstrated by an Australian study of more than 200,000 adults. Even if you spend 30 regular minutes a day pounding the treadmill or taking a brisk walk, you are at a high risk of developing serious health issues. That’s because 30 minutes are a very small fraction of your entire day.

Sitting for long hours, day after strenuous day, can lead to a clot in the leg. It’s called a pulmonary embolism. If a sedentary person also suffers from obesity, diabetes and circulatory problems, the likelihood of an embolism is much greater. But perhaps more significantly, it works the other way around, too: sitting for long hours can increase your risk of developing a cluster of health problems. Think obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, high cholesterol, fatty deposits around the middle…

Spend some time on www.sedentarybehaviour.org, the website of the Sedentary Behavior Research Network. It is a gold mine of information for those who are yet to confront the chilling dangers of sitting too many hours in a day.

Meanwhile, make sure you take short, frequent light-intensity walking breaks—they can dramatically reduce your risk of developing health problems caused by lack of activity. If you get too absorbed while working to remember getting up, simply set up a regular alarm. Let it go off every 30 minutes; your cue to taking a 5-minute walk.