Need a guilt-free alternative to orange juice? New fruit juice derived from a FLOWER could be the answer

There is no evidence cited in support of the claims below and there is very little about it online generally.  Dubious

With sugar coming under fire for causing obesity and heart disease, many people are looking for an alternative to their breakfast orange juice.

Now, one drinks company claims it has come up with a revolutionary beverage that can counteract the negative effects of sugar.

The drink contains a naturally occurring compound called Pinitol - derived from the Asian flower bougainvillea. Pinitol has been shown to help prevent blood sugar spikes

This, it is claimed, can mitigate some of the harmful effects associated with sugar by lowering the blood sugar surges that occur in the body after a person consumes something sweet.

Pinitol is registered as a prescription supplement for the prevention of lifestyle-related diseases by the Food and Drug Administration.

It has also recently been officially approved as an effective natural ingredient for diabetes prevention by South Korea.

The Simply Great Drinks Company - which has created juices with extracts of apple, carob and grape - says the blend was created by a team of bio-medical consultants led by Dr Sepe Sehati.

He said: ‘There are a number of modifiable risk factors involved in causing diabetes.  ‘A significant one is constant over-stimulation of the complicated mechanism that keeps our blood sugar at the optimum level.

‘When over-stimulated by enormous surges of sugar from sweets and soft drinks the pancreas can gradually become exhausted and the production of insulin diminishes, resulting in diabetes.

‘Pinitol has been shown to significantly lower the area under the plasma glucose response curve and in doing so it lowers the surges of sugar.’

He added: ‘The science has provided compelling evidence that Pinitol can have benefits for treating hyperglycaemia, insulin resistance state and the associated complications.

'Future research is warranted and underway to provide more definitive answers.’

Dr Sehati explained that drinking a 125ml glass of the drink every day for 12 weeks is enough to have the desired effect on blood sugar. He said: ‘The approach is a major breakthrough in tackling some of the harmful effects of sugar in juice and juice drinks.’

SOURCE





Sensible people really DO live longer: Personality is 'as important' as family history when it comes to health

That reckless people are more likely to come to harm is surely not big news

We are all used to having our blood pressure and BMI checked by a GP, but now researchers are claiming doctors should also assess people’s personalities.

U.S. researchers say this is important in helping young adults avoid serious health problems later in life.

In fact, they say personality is as important as family medical history and smoking habits in determining future health.

The researchers, at Duke University in North Carolina, say this is because personality determines how well a person will look after themselves.

For example, they say people who are conscientious are much less likely to develop health problems than those who are not.

Dr Norman Anderson explained: ‘The best health care is one that treats the whole person including how their personality traits impact their attitudes and behaviours vis-à-vis their health.

The researchers say that being conscientious is the most important character trait in determining future health.

They say that their research showed people who are conscientious when they are 26 are in much better health at 38 than those who are not conscientious in their 20s.

Dr Salomon Israel, from Duke University, said: ‘Among the least conscientious, 45 per cent went on to develop multiple health problems by age 38, while just 18 per cent of the most conscientious group developed health problems.

‘Individuals low in conscientiousness were more often overweight, had high cholesterol, inflammation, hypertension and greater rates of gum disease.’

Conscientious people are more likely to have active lifestyles, maintain healthy diets and have more self-control, so are less likely to smoke or abuse alcohol and drugs, the study noted.

This could explain the relationship between the character trait and better health, the researchers said.

To carry out the study the scientists examined data from a New Zealand health and development study involving 1,037 people born between April 1972 and March 1973.

The participants were assessed about every two years from birth until they were 38 years old.

At age 26, the participants nominated a person who knew them well, such as a parent, spouse or friend, to describe their character.

Researchers also gathered participants' clinical health information and risk factors commonly recorded by doctors, including income, education levels, smoking habits, weight, current and past illnesses and family medical history.

At age 38, the participants had physical examinations that checked for abnormalities of liver and kidney functions, blood pressure, heart and lung fitness, vascular inflammation and periodontal disease.

‘Personality traits can be measured cheaply, easily and reliably, and these traits are stable over many years and have far-ranging effects on health,’ said Dr Israel.

‘Our findings suggest that in addition to considering “what” a patient has among risks for chronic age-related diseases, physicians can benefit from knowing “who” the patient is in terms of personality in order to design effective preventive health care.’

SOURCE