A few days ago EpiGaia issued a press release highlighting its impressive ORAC test results. The release was subtitled, “EpiGaia’s Antioxidant Power Out Rates Most Popular Health Drinks” - because EpiGaia’s ORAC value was:

… 16,450 units per daily serving (50 grams) - three times as powerful as pomegranate juice (ORAC of 5,250) and almost two times more powerful than Acai berry juice (ORAC of 9,200). It is over ten times more potent than juice made from Noni berries (ORAC of 856), Goji berries (ORAC of 706), and blueberries (ORAC of 1,600).

A brief explanation of ORAC:
ORAC is an acronym for Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity - basically, how well a food or supplement performs as an antioxidant. Foods and nutrients with a higher ORAC score are believed to be more effective at eliminating oxygen free radicals in the body, promoting improved health and function of the body.

So, EpiGaia’s high ORAC value - higher than several other nutrition/health drinks and juices - looks pretty impressive. One possible explanation comes from Guohua (Howard) Cao, a physician and chemist who developed the ORAC assay: “It may be that combinations of nutrients found in foods have greater protective effects than each nutrient taken alone.”

If you’d like to read the press release, it’s available here. For more information about EpiGaia, be sure to visit the EpiGaia website and download the free report, “Epigenetic Nutrition: Attaining Natural Good Health through Ancestral Sourced Whole Foods.”

Most articles or blogs that discuss “healthy eating” are geared more towards the types of food, necessary nutrients, and different diets or meal plans. But one article on Examiner.com (in the Sacramento edition, by Mykim Tran) takes things one step further: she actually discusses the mechanics of eating.

Mykim suggests eating in moderation, chewing slowly, and not watching television while eating. According to her article, we don’t eat just to survive anymore - we eat for enjoyment, or, conversely, if we’re depressed- and often we eat much more than is necessary.

She suggests chewing more slowly to “taste more of the sweet and delicious favors of the food.” Plus, eating slowly and chewing thoroughly gives the stomach time to realize that it’s full, and helps it digest food more efficiently.

Mykim also recommends not eating while watching television, because “when you watch television, you are focusing on the television and not on what and how much food you are consuming.”

These are some good points to consider - but make sure you’re eating the right foods and paying attention to proper nutrition while you implement these tips.

Back on May 2, we published a post titled “Swine Flu Concerns: Boost Immunity with Genetic Nutrition.” That post discussed how strengthening the immune system through proper nutrition could help people stay more healthy. As it turns out, the CDC has conducted tests that suggest people age 60 and over have increased immunity to the H1N1 virus.

According to a story by the Associated Press today, the new H1N1 virus seems to affect the young at a much higher rate than the elderly - which is in direct contrast to common seasonal flus, that have a much more profound effect on the very old.

Several theories have been presented as to why the new H1N1 seems to not affect the elderly as much. The most common is that flu viruses prior to 1957 affected patients’ immune systems in a similar way to H1N1, which could account for the apparently-increased immunity among the elderly. But scientists and doctors urge older people to “take the same precautions as everyone else.”

The bottom line of the story:

Scientists think it’s because older people have been exposed to other viruses in the past that are more similar to swine flu than more recent seasonal flus.

But the results come from complicated lab work and calculations, and it’s not yet clear how safe older people actually are from the new infection, federal officials said.

“We can’t say,” said Dr. Anne Schuchat of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. So older people are advised to take the same precautions as their children and grandchildren.

As part of these precautions, it’s always a good idea to make sure your diet has a full compliment of healthy nutrients designed to boost your immune system.

The Associated Press recently published this list of nutrition tips for people with cancer. These are excellent guidelines to keep in mind, and with cancer being so prevalent, odds are most people will have a friend or loved one who could benefit.

A good thing about these tips is that they include several suggestions for dealing with nausea, diarrhea, and other side affects from treatment or the disease itself. Here are a few selections from the list:

- Cancer patients tend to need more protein than healthy people. Peanut butter crackers, yogurt and fruit, a hard-boiled egg and piece of toast all are good mini-meals.

- White, bland foods tend to help with nausea, such as Cream of Wheat, mashed potatoes, cottage cheese.

- Odors often worsen nausea, and foods served at room temperature rather than warm tend to have milder odors.

- Fresh ginger about 30 minutes before eating also can take the edge off nausea, but not ginger flavoring common in many sodas. A study published last week found ginger capsules work, too.

The most important tip in the list is a reminder to tell your doctor about any over-the-counter dietary supplements you may be taking - including EpiGaia. It’s important to consult your physician whenever you are considering taking a supplement, but it is vital for cancer patients due to possible “dangerous interactions with anticancer medications.”

The complete list is available here: if you or someone you know has cancer, take advantage of these tips to make sure you’re getting the nutrition you need.