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Or so they say. Of course it is plant-like and dark green, but it's not spinach. The apparent super food of our time is a single-celled micro-algae which is cultivated in fresh water ponds. Eck.


Chlorella was identified in 1890 by a Dutch microbiologist, Martinus W. Beijerinck. It is the number one selling health food supplement in Japan. Yaeyama Chlorella helps boost energy levels while it supercharges your immune system. Yaeyama Chlorella also removes toxins from the body, promotes healthy brain and memory function, digestion, muscle and joint health and cardiac function while supporting healthy blood pressure and cholesterol levels. It cleanses the colon, blood, kidneys, lungs and liver.

Obviously you're not eating algae out of the pond. You take this in pill form just like you would any other vitamin or mineral supplements.

If it boosts immune systems and memory I might need to give it a try. I mean anything than can stimulate healing and improve your biological response to illness is something worth giving a shot, right?

In my research I have come across some people who are not fans of chlorella. Their reasoning is because if you end up taking contaminated chlorella it can cause harm. It is also not good for people who naturally have high amounts of sulfur in their system.

Pros and cons exist for nearly everything. I think if you were able to find this supplement from a store or brand you trusted than it would be worth a shot to give it a try.

Labels: algae, Immune System, supplement, toxins

There are a katrillion things worse than a cold, but let's face it...a cold can be a bugger and totally make you feel miserable for over a week.

One to three days after being exposed to a cold virus, you can begin feeling symptoms ranging anywhere from runny nose, cough, nasal congestion, sore and itchy throat to watery eyes and sneezing.

So what are some popular remedies to a meddling virus without a quick antibiotic to clear things up?

1. I'll tell you to take Airborne. Yes it's true. I plop an Airborne tablet in some water and drink up. A lot of people say it is the placebo effect, but I think it is physically beneficial. Follow the directions though, one glass and one try alone WILL NOT WORK!

2. Zinc Lozenges are pretty popular during cold season. The truth of the matter is that more than 300 enzymes in our body require zinc. It is said that using said lozenges will cut down on the duration of a cold.

3. And apparently garlic does more than just keeping vampires away. Many folks increase their garlic uptake during cold season. The cold-fighting compound in garlic is thought to be allicin. To maximize the amount of allicin, fresh garlic should be chopped or crushed and it should be raw. "In a study involving 146 people, participants received either a garlic supplement or a placebo for 12 weeks between November and February. People who took garlic reduced the risk of catching a cold by more than half."

4. Most commonly is Vitamin C...In 1968, Linus Pauling, PhD, proposed that 1,000 mg of vitamin C daily could reduce the incidence of colds for most people. As is with all cold remedies, this is theory based, but if it works it works right? Don't try taking more than the daily allotment of vitamin C though because it will irritate your digestive system.

5. Last but not least is honey. My Dad swears by this and I know he attempts to put honey in everything. (Not always a good thing haha.) A new study in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine provides the first evidence showing that honey may help to calm children's coughs and help them sleep better. And the darker the honey, the more antioxidants it has. =o)

To all of you, I hope you make it through the cold season as comfortable as possible.

Labels: alternative medicine, cold remedies, herbal

From a very young I age I became fascinated with the autism spectrum disorder. Observing children has always been something I revel in and I often can sense things in children that other people cannot. When it comes to autism I am intrigued as to why it causes such turmoil in some children and is barely noticeable in others. I have bought books, done research and signed up for all sorts of groups and newsletters to learn more.

This morning doing my daily reading through the news I stumbled across an article about how studying children with autism while they are running a fever has caused the need for further observation with doctors.

Researchers studied 30 patients with autism and the results were overwhelming. "They found that a fever of at least 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit improved symptoms such as arm flapping and body rocking, as well as irritability and hyperactivity." Clearly the disorder is completely neurology based, but how can a fever decrease those symptoms?

Of course the argument from other doctors is that a fever can cause lethargy in anyone. But to me this doesn't sound like a matter of lethargy. And a fever of 100.4 is still low enough that it shouldn't change your actions THAT much.

A fever can restore nerve cell communications in the brain, perhaps because the extra heat causes slight inflammation. The stimulation in children with autism causes them to behave more calmly and less erratically. Perhaps instead of being completely due to nerve cell communications it is also due to the immune system focusing efforts on healing the infected part of the body. Or maybe it is related to some sort of bacteria made by the body of a person with autism...? Because when you have a fever bacteria will begin to die due to the higher temperatures around it. Once your immune system stops inducing a fever because it has fought the infection then your body returns to normal temperature and the bacteria can fester again. So if for some reason there is a certain residue of bacteria made by the brains of people with austism then it would make sense they behave substantially different during a fever.

I don't know the answers, I'm not a doctor, but I am thrilled beyond belief that this study has brought forth such questions and possibilities. It has definitely got me thinking!

SOURCE

Labels: autism, fever, research