Cancer prevention with Vitamin D

A new study out of Oxford University pinpoints vitamin D deficiency as a culprit in serious illnesses like cancer and autoimmune disorders. According to the report, which was recently published online in the journal Genome Research, genetic receptors throughout the body need adequate vitamin D levels to prevent these and other serious illnesses from developing. Multiple sclerosis, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, Chron’s disease, leukemia — these and many more diseases are often caused by a lack of vitamin D. Your genes literally have receptors that need vitamin D in order to properly express themselves. If there is not enough of the vitamin, serious illness is prone to develop. The Oxford team made specific observations about the importance of vitamin D in the genome regions associated with autoimmune diseases and cancer, noting that the nutrient is absolutely vital in helping to prevent these diseases from forming. “Considerations of vitamin D supplementation as a preventative measure for these diseases are strongly warranted,” expressed Sreeram Ramagopalan, author of the study. However, current recommendations for vitamin D intake are unacceptably low, and many nations are considering updating their guidelines. The U.S. Institute of Medicine, for example, recommends getting a mere 200 to 600 international units (IU) of vitamin D a day, an amount far too low to have much therapeutic effect.

Since summer sun exposure creates about 20,000 IU of vitamin D in the skin in just 15 minutes, supplementation with at least 5,000 to 10,000 IU of vitamin D daily, particularly during the winter, is preferable. Healthy blood levels of vitamin D are somewhere between 50 and 80 nanograms per milliliter (ng/ml), so many natural health professionals recommend having a “25 OH Vitamin D” blood test performed to check these levels. (Source: NaturalNews.com)

Ashrita Furman presented Largest Seesaw of the World

It is 79 feet 2 inches (24.13 m) long and although you find it usually on a playground, it might be not recommended for children to use this record apparatus: the largest see-saw of the world. If you sit on the side that is up, you are 11 feet 7 inches (3.53 m) above the ground. With the giant teeter-totter Ashrita Furman made a new entry into the Guinness Book of Records. On Friday afternoon in the borough Queens of New York City the 55-year-old American health food store manager presented the giant teeter-totter during a birthday anniversary. 83 helpers were needed to carry the wooden construction from two blocks away to the anniversary function. He dedicated the see-saw to Indian born poet, composer and peace visionary Sri Chinmoy, who would have become 79 years on 27 August 2010. Ashrita Furman said: “As an expression of gratitude we celebrate Sri Chinmoy’s 79th birthday with a 79 feet long see-saw, which gives happiness to children small and big. Sri Chinmoy himself was such a childlike, happy person and he inspired me to set records with his weightlifting world records. His philosophy is that through happiness we can have peace.” It took Furman and his team of 15 people 7 days to construct the teeter-totter weighing almost 13,000 pounds (5900 kg) without the stand. The supersized apparatus works like the ones on the playground. “200 guests enjoyed the ride on the see-saw and smiled. I had to smile so much that it even hurt”, Furman, holder of 122 current Guinness World Records, including the record for the most records, said.

Ashrita Furman has been breaking Guinness World Records since 1979. His first entry in the Guinness Book he achieved by completing 27,000 jumping jacks. Since then he has broken 299 records on all seven continents, including racing against a Yak in Mongolia to set the mile sack-racing record, doing underwater Aqua Pogo for 3 hours 40 minutes in the Amazon River in Peru and bouncing the fastest mile on a kangaroo ball along the Great Wall of China. As a teenager Furman got inspired by Sri Chinmoy’s philosophy of self-transcendence. Indian born Sri Chinmoy himself set many records, such as lifting elephants, airplanes and trucks with a calf-raise machine and composing 21,000 songs in his lifetime. Furman attributes his success at breaking records to meditation, which he practices daily for 30 minutes in the morning and in the evening. Meditation helps him keep his childlike spirit and his  mental and physical strength which is needed to continuously set world records. Since Ashrita Furman started 31 years ago, he never stopped setting world records which need a lot of serious preparation or training: “Going beyond your every day capacity is such a fulfilling feeling. The day I break a record I’m just happy the whole day,” he says.

The Guinness Book of Records is published in more than 100 countries and 25 languages and is one of the highest-selling books. About 120 million copies were sold worldwide since it’s first publication in 1955.

Seekers worldwide celebrate the Anniversary of Sri Chinmoy

Today would have been the 79th birthday of spiritual master Sri Chinmoy (1931-2007). Seekers and disciples all over the world commemorate his life of devotion, love, peace, harmony and oneness. Sri Chinmoy is also the founder of the World Harmony Run that inspires millions of people each year with torch relay through most of the countries in all continents. More informations and pictures of Sri Chinmoy on his official website www.srichinmoy.org and on his photo blog srichinmoyphoto.com. Yesterday Ashrita Furman and a grouo of disciples of Sri Chinmoy, established a new Guinness Record reciting a poem of Sri Chinmoy in more than 140 languages, in Manhatten.

NGC 1365 – A majestic island universe

Barred spiral galaxy NGC 1365 is truly a majestic island universe some 200,000 light-years across. Located a mere 60 million light-years away toward the chemical constellation Fornax, NGC 1365 is a dominant member of the well-studied Fornax galaxy cluster. This impressively sharp color image shows intense star forming regions at the ends of the bar and along the spiral arms, and details of dust lanes cutting across the galaxy’s bright core. At the core lies a supermassive black hole. Astronomers think NGC 1365′s prominent bar plays a crucial role in the galaxy’s evolution, drawing gas and dust into a star-forming maelstrom and ultimately feeding material into the central black hole. (Souce: NASA/Martin Pugh)

Sun light can cure Psoriasis

According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) about 7.5 million Americans suffer from the chronic, autoimmune skin disease called psoriasis that causes irritated, flaky and thick patches of red skin; some forms of psoriasis are also associated with joint pain. Most medical treatment for the often painful and quality-of-life robbing disease center around controlling symptoms with medications like cortisone. But now research just published in the August issue of the Archives of Dermatology indicates there’s a non-drug way to clear and maybe cure the disease naturally — exposure to vitamin D boosting UV-B light. Comprising the “tanning rays” from the sun that are blocked by sunscreen and long feared for supposedly causing wrinkles and “age spots”, UV-B light, it turns out, actually promotes health by increasing levels of vitamin D. Now a team of scientists from St. Vincent’s University Hospital in Dublin, Ireland, have found that treatment with narrow-band UV-B rays greatly increases serum levels of vitamin D in the wintertime. And they’ve shown how adequate exposure to UV-B light therapy can clear psoriasis. In fact, the new finding is powerful evidence that a lack of the “sunshine” vitamin is involved in the development and worsening of this skin condition.

The researchers studied 30 consecutive patients with psoriasis who were treated with narrow-band UV-B light three times per week between October 2008 and February 2009. The research subjects’ psoriasis cleared and their serum vitamin D levels (which were measured before the study, after four weeks of treatment and after the treatment was finished) were compared with those of 30 control patients who also had psoriasis but did not have any UV-B therapy. The researchers also assessed the severity of the patients’ psoriasis symptoms and their skin disease-related quality of life before and after treatment. The results showed that levels of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D, which is considered the most accurate measurement of vitamin D levels in the body, had increased significantly among individuals receiving UV-B therapy — rising from about 23 nanograms per milliliter to 59 nanograms per milliliter at the end of treatment. However, there was no change in the control group. (Source: NaturalNews.com)

Czech Hotel with a new Spirit

At the beginning of this year a group of spiritual people opened a new kind of hotel at the border of the Czech and Slovak Republics, in the beautiful and isolated place of virgin nature in the Beskyd Mountains. All employees are meditating, offer good vegetarian home-made food and have many possibilities for holidays in the nature such as running in the woods, hiking, mountain cycling and in winter time skiing (two sky lifts are just around the corner). Massage and sauna are also part of the available facilities. More details here: http://antarik.cz.

The Benefits of the Grapefruit

Grapefruits are a popular citrus fruit enjoyed by millions of people and are often eaten regularly as a breakfast staple as well as a popular snack. What many may not be aware of is that grapefruits are also one of the most highly regarded fruits when it comes to healthy nutrients and health benefits. Grapefruits contains powerful antioxidants and valuable nutrients, such as Vitamins C, A, K, D, and B complex. Other important nutrients contained in grapefruits are potassium, folic acid, calcium, phytonutrients and phosphorus. Consuming grapefruits on a regular basis boosts the immune system and helps prevent colds. Additionally, grapefruit juice is effective in healing sore throats, eliminating coughs, and reducing fevers. Grapefruits are also instrumental in increasing the body’s alkalinity and reducing acidity, and in preventing or treating various diseases.

Grapefruits additional benefits include:

* Promoting proper functioning of the digestive system. The fibers in the fruit aid in preventing constipation.
* Controlling blood pressure.
* Lowering cholesterol.
* Helps to control blood sugar levels. Grapefruits are an excellent addition to a diet for diabetics.
* Alleviates fatigue. Those needing a quick pick-me-up will find that a glass of grapefruit and lemon juice, mixed in equal parts, will dispel general fatigue.
* Relieves insomnia. People suffering from this condition should drink one glass of grapefruit juice before going to sleep.
* Daily consumption of grapefruits seems to relieve inflammation caused by inflammatory disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus.
* And, last but not least, grapefruits contain fat burning enzymes that are instrumental in promoting weight loss.

Grapefruits can be classified as one of “nature’s medicines” as they are instrumental in addressing various diseases. One important attribute is that grapefruits have anti-cancer properties which can help prevent and help treat certain types of cancer. A recent study conducted at UCLA and Zhongshan University in China concluded that a beneficial plant compound found in grapefruit, Naringenin, helped repair DNA in human prostate cancer cells. It should be noted, however, that grapefruits do interact with certain medications which may cause potentially dangerous side effects. This is due to the fact that they interfere in the absorption of certain medications. Therefore, if taking medications, consult a qualified health professional before consuming grapefruits or grapefruit extracts. On a final note, grapefruits can also be beneficial to the environment, itself. Little known facts are that grapefruit hulls can be used to condition soil. Old grapefruit trees can be salvaged for firewood, and, lastly, grapefruit hulls and dried grapefruit can be used to feed cattle when combined with dried pulp. (Source: NaturalNews.com)

Zero Race started today – Around the Wold without emissions

Electric vehicles from Australia, Germany and Switzerland set off today on the “longest and greenest” round-the-world drive to promote emissions free transport and November’s world climate conference in Cancun, Mexico. The UN-backed “Zero Race” is organised by Swiss schoolteacher Louis Palmer, who made headlines with his 18-month pioneering world tour in a solar-powered “taxi” two years ago, picking up celebrities on the way. “With this race we want to show that seven billion people on this planet need renewable energy and clean mobility,” said Palmer. “Petrol is running out and the climate crisis is coming, and we are all running against time.” The Zero Race is planning to stop off at the World Climate Conference in Cancun, Mexico, after touring through Europe, Russia, China, Canada and the United States before heading back to Geneva in January 2011. Each plug-in electric vehicle can travel at least 250 kilometres on a single charge, with 80 days of driving time ahead of them. They are obliged to consume no more electricity than each team has generated or purchased from clean energy sources such as wind, solar and hydroelectric power. Australian team TREV, run by Jason Jones and his 24-year-old son Nick, an electrical engineer from Adelaide, told AFP the trip through 16 countries would cost them about 400 Australian dollars (360 US dollars) in fuel. “We’ve already bought the power and put it back in the grid,” 57-year-old Jones senior explained, standing next to their plastic-bodied two-seat three wheeler. “We thought it just a great way to show what this car is capable of. The future of automotive transport is not a one-and-a-half tonne gas guzzler.” The vehicles, which also include the Vectrix scooter from Germany and a Swiss Zerotracer two wheeler claiming a top speed of 240 kilometres per hour (150 mph), will be followed by Palmer in a repair van with a trailer. Palmer said emissions from the the van as well as ship crossings across the Pacific and Atlantic oceans would be carbon offset. (Source: AFP)

Perseid meteor shower tonight

Experts said the annual Perseid meteor shower, which occurs each August, would be one of the most spectacular in recent years. Every August, the Earth ploughs through a swarm of dusty particles shed by passing comet Swift-Tuttle. As the particles, each no bigger than a grain of sand, hit the atmosphere at 135,000mph they burn up, producing trails of light that shoot across the sky. This year, the Perseid shower will peak at around 11pm GMT tonight, when observers in the countryside may be able to see meteors streaking overhead at a rate of one almost every half a second. Even in light-polluted cities, where only the brightest meteors would be visible, as many as 10 an hour may be seen. The meteor shower was expected to continue through the night, with activity still strong in the early hours of Friday. Robin Scagell, vice president of the Society for Popular Astronomy, said: “The best time to see the Perseid display is after about 10.30 pm GMT on Thursday evening. You can look anywhere in the sky. Though the meteors come from the direction of the stars of Perseus in the eastern part of the sky, they can appear anywhere.” Weather forecasters MeteoGroup said clear skies were expected over much of southern and western Britain. (Source: Yahoo News)

78 year old Nun is Triathlon Champion

I had the privilege to meet and interview an extraordinary woman in New York. Sister Madonna is a 78 old catholic nun from Spokane, Washington, who was not only dedicating her life to her religious life but also made history in the running scene. At 52 she ran her first race, soon after she completed a marathon in less than 3 1/2 hours. Since then she has participated in 20 Hawaiian Ironman races and 300 Triathlons throughout the world. At 78 she is by far the fastest in her age category. The whole interview lasted for almost one hour and it was amazing and fascinating to hear her stories and learn about her experiences. This is the full version (41:45 min) of the interview I made for the LIFE Voices series. The shorter 13-minute version with various illustration you can find here: vimeo.com/1164787