Healing in Nature

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Recently I was chatting with a few people at work and they told me about the wonderful healing qualities of Tart Cherry Juice. These women were older and very practical ladies and they were just raving about what this juice has done for their aches and pain. So I checked it out, bought some and I have become a huge fan of this powerful blessing in nature! So far I have been taking this juice for 3 days and the night I first drank it the low back pain I had all my life was gone! I woke up with no pain in any joints! There are a huge list of things these juices can do, from healing all types of cancer to reducing blood pressure. I can not yell loud enough DRINK THIS JUICE!

In addition to the TART Cherry juice , you should check out the Wild Blue Berry concentrate and the Pomegranate. I recommend them all. Someone even suggested elderberry, but I have not tried it yet. You can also get them in gel tabs from health food stores, which might end up being cheaper. If you can get them eat the fruit! I will post the link to the company I have tried, but you can search the net and find others that are more local for you.

Tart Cherry Juice;
For Gout, Arthritis, Migraine Headaches, Fibromyalgia, Inflammation

Wild Blue Berry Juice;
For Urinary Tract Health, Cancer Prevention, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Huntington's Disease and Macular Degeneration.

WONDERFUL POMEGRANATE JUICE CONCENTRATE ;
For Lowering LDL, Heart Health, Menopause, Breast Cancer, Prostate Cancer, Hypertension

God Bless you!

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www.brownwoodacres.com/pomegranate.htm

The link above is the brand I found in my local grocery store. They have a lot of information on their web page and it's well worth your time to research it. I found that you have to look around in about 4 places in the store to find all the varieties. Some of it is with the orange juice in the coolers, some of it is on the "New Age Drinks" aisle (what ever that means!) and some of it is near the organic drinks, and some of it is in Produce! The first time I tried the coolers it was sold out, but the next day it was there. I have also found that the concentrate is cheaper in the long run. The pill form may even be more practical. I find I am drinking a lot of juice and you have to replace the fruits in your regular diet with the juice.

The tart cherry is to tart for me so I mix it with the Welch's concord grape which was recommended by Edgar Cayce. I also mix it in with my water that I try to drink everyday, so you end up with a nice flavored water. Remember, it has to be cold pressed, not cooked or anything else! COLD PRESSED! It makes a difference!

Hears to your Health!

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For several years, The Cherry Marketing Institute (CMI), a Michigan based cherry growers organization, has funded scientific research on the health benefits of cherries at Michigan State University (MSU). The research show that the anthocyanins (natural chemicals that give cherries their ruby red color), in the pigment of tart cherries is 10 times more effective in fighting inflammation than aspirin.
In addition, other research has revealed that the production of human hormone (prostaglandin) is the cause of most joint pain. The production of this hormone is directly related to the presence of two enzymes. It is believed the chemical components of tart cherry have the ability to inhibit the enzymes thus preventing the formation of the pain causing hormones.

The scientists have produced evidence to support what farmers and health conscious folks have believed for years - that tart cherry juice offers the possibility of improved health and pain-free living.

The Michigan State University scientists, led by Natural-products chemistry Professor Muralee Nair, have also discovered tart cherries have remarkable high levels of melatonin, higher than other plant products previously studied. Melatonin is a potent antioxidant with a variety of reported beneficial health effects. The Cherry Marketing Institute (CMI) plans further funding to support scientific research on melatonin in cherries. Visit us often. As soon as we hear of any developments we will post it here for you.

Listed below are some scientific facts and some benefits according to Research conducted at the National Food Safety and Toxicology Center at Michigan State University:

There are three anthocyanins present in tart cherry concentrate with
the potential to inhibit the growth of colon cancer tumors.


Tart cherry concentrate contains anthocyanins and bioflavonoids
which inhibit the enzymes Cyclooxygenase-1 and ­2, and prevents
inflammation in the body. These chemicals have similar activity as
aspirin, naproxin and ibuprofen.


Daily consumption of cherry concentrate has the potential to reduce
the pain associated with inflammation, arthritis and gout.


There are 17 compounds in tart cherry juice concentrate with
antioxidant properties, which, in total, are superior to the activity of
vitamins E and C.


Tart cherry concentrate is an excellent source of powerful anti
oxidants including kaempferol and quercetin.


The same antioxidant benefits tart cherry juice concentrate provide
humans are also useful in the prevention of rancidity in food product
www.cherryjuicepower.com/research.htm

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From: The American Chemical Society and its journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry
They have identified a group of naturally occurring chemicals abundant in cherries that could help lower blood sugar levels in people with diabetes. In early laboratory studies using animal pancreatic cells, the chemicals, called anthocyanins, increased insulin production by 50 percent, according to a peer-reviewed study scheduled to appear in the Jan. 5 issue of the American Chemical Society’s Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. ACS is the world’s largest scientific society.
Anthocyanins are a class of plant pigments responsible for the color of many fruits, including cherries. They also are potent antioxidants, highly active chemicals that have been increasingly associated with a variety of health benefits, including protection against heart disease and cancer.
“It is possible that consumption of cherries and other fruits containing these compounds [anthocyanins] could have a significant impact on insulin levels in humans,” says study leader Muralee Nair, Ph.D., a natural products chemist at Michigan State University in East Lansing. “We’re excited with the laboratory results so far, but more studies are needed.” Michigan is the top cherry producing state in the nation.
Until human studies are done on cherry anthocyanins, those with diabetes should continue following their doctor’s treatment recommendations, including any medicine prescribed, and monitor their insulin carefully, the researcher says. The compounds show promise for both the prevention of type 2 (non-insulin-dependent) diabetes, the most common type, and for helping control glucose levels in those who already have diabetes, he adds.
While fresh cherries and fruits containing these anthocyanins are readily available, medicinal products may be the most efficient way to provide the beneficial compounds, according to Nair. It’s possible that anthocyanins eventually could be incorporated into new products, such as pills or specialty juices that people could take to help treat diabetes. Such disease-specific products may take several more years to develop, he notes.
Scientists in Nair’s laboratory have even developed a unique process, patented by the university, for removing sugar from fruit extracts that contain anthocyanins. This could lead to “sugar-free” medicinal products for people with diabetes.
The current study, partially funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, involved tart cherries (also known as sour cherries or pie cherries), a popular variety in the United States, and the Cornelian cherry, which is widely consumed in Europe. Nair and his associates, B. Jayaprakasam, Ph.D., L.K. Olson, Ph.D., and graduate student S. K. Vareed, tested several types of anthocyanins extracted from these cherries against mouse pancreatic-beta cells, which normally produce insulin, in the presence of high concentrations of glucose.
Insulin is the protein produced by the pancreas that helps regulate blood sugar (glucose) levels. Compared to cells that were not exposed to anthocyanins, exposed cells were associated with a 50 percent increase in insulin levels, the researchers say. The mechanism of action by which these anthocyanins boost insulin production is not known, Nair says.
Nair and his colleagues are currently feeding anthocyanins to a group of obese, diabetic mice to determine how the chemicals influence insulin levels in live subjects. Results of these tests are not yet available.
www.brownwoodacres.com/cat20.htm

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By John Flesher / Associated Press
EASTPORT, Mich. -- Steve de Tar's sprint toward big-time success for his fruit products business started with achy feet.

In the late 1990s, he was suffering from plantar fasciitis -- inflammation of tissues supporting the foot arch. Cortisone shots didn't work, nor did shoe supports. Finally, in desperation, he tried daily doses of cherry juice concentrate.

Industry-backed research was suggesting that antioxidants in tart cherries might relieve painful swelling. And de Tar had plenty of the concentrate around. It was an ingredient in many products made by his company, Brownwood Acres Foods, which sold jams, sauces and other goodies featuring northern Michigan's signature fruit.

Within a month, de Tar says, the pain was gone.

"I know this is anecdotal, but I haven't had any heel pain in four years," the 46-year-old company president said during a recent interview in his rural Antrim County office. "So we said, „Hey, we should start bottling this stuff and selling it."'

They listed cherry juice concentrate on the company Web site. Before long, orders started coming in. Then the Kroger grocery chain made a bulk purchase, and the trickle grew to a flood. Cherry concentrate eventually became such a runaway best seller that de Tar added wild blueberry and pomegranate juices to the product line.

Within four years, revenues shot up 691 percent, earning Brownwood Acres Foods a spot on Inc. magazine's 2004 list of the nation's 500 fastest growing, privately held companies.

Not bad for a family enterprise that began as a roadside honey stand during the sugar rationing days of World War II. But de Tar says the exponential growth is more than one company's story.

He believes the popularity of Brownwood Acres' juice concentrates -- and softgel capsules of condensed whole fruit the company began selling last year -- reflects growing consumer belief in the idea of "nutraceuticals," or "functional foods."

These are foods that some believe not only relieve hunger and provide basic nutrition, but also have specific medical or health benefits, including prevention and treatment of disease.

"It's finally becoming mainstream," de Tar said. "It's obvious that the consumer is looking for a higher-quality product that has some functional food benefit, not just a filler. It's taken years for that to happen."

The Cherry Marketing Institute, a trade group representing tart cherry growers, promotes the fruit as a health food. It publishes a newsletter that trumpets favorable results of scientific research.

Among the findings: Tart cherries are packed with antioxidants, which could relieve inflammation and pain that come with arthritis, gout and similar ailments. Cherries also contain compounds that might ward off cancer and heart disease.

A recent Michigan State University study found that anthocyanins -- naturally occurring chemicals that give cherries and some other fruits their color -- might help lower blood sugar levels in people with diabetes.

Researchers emphasize such findings are tentative and study is needed. So those who market cherry products as health foods must choose their words carefully to avoid problems with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Brownwood Acres Foods' brochures and Web site play up the health angle and refer customers to the studies. But they make liberal use of the word "may," and de Tar says they assert only what can be documented.

"Obviously we don't want to fall under the FDA radar as being someone who's making false claims," he said. "We do tell people that thousands of our customers are taking our products for pain relief or other (health-related) reasons, and that's a fact."

Yvonne Howell, an optometrist's secretary in Jonesboro, Ark., said she began taking cherry juice concentrate for neck arthritis that was making it almost impossible to turn her head.

"I was very skeptical at first," she said in a phone interview. "But about six weeks later, I turned my neck and it didn't hurt. I figured maybe it was a fluke, but it just got better and better. Now, it's like I don't even have it any more."

Howell bought the cherry juice at a Kroger store. The grocery chain carries Brownwood Acres Foods products in 10 states in the Midwest and South, de Tar said.

A 32-ounce bottle -- Brownwood Acres recommends drinking an ounce per day, diluted in water -- retails for $14.99. The softgels, with a 45-day supply per bottle, sell for $18.99.

Brownwood Acres' prices for Internet sales are $13.95 for cherry concentrate and $19.95 for softgels, but shipping charges are added. Blueberry and pomegranate juices cost more.

One sign of the rising appeal of cherries, blueberries and other fruits to health-conscious consumers is an increase in the number of juice and concentrate vendors. Perhaps five companies offered them in the late 1990s, said Joe Lothamer, promotions director for the Cherry Marketing Institute. Today, nearly 40 do.

"As the baby boom generation gets older, we're going to see more demand for these products," Lothamer said. "A lot of these people want natural remedies to cure or prevent disease."

De Tar is getting ready. He's already expanded his Eastport plant three times in the past couple of years and is looking for more space.

When he and his sister, Mary Waller, began selling cherry concentrate a few years ago, they stood at a sink filling bottles by hand. Now, with sales exceeding 200,000 bottles a year, the process is automated.

An air compressor sucks concentrate from 52-gallon barrels into the plastic bottles, which clank along a conveyor belt for labeling and capping, then are loaded onto wooden pallets for shipment.

It's a long way from the shack where earlier generations of de Tar's family sold honey and garden vegetables. Over the years, they developed a line of homemade food products -- cherry preserves, dried and chocolate-covered cherries, cherry butter -- and sold them at a country store.

De Tar began wholesale marketing of the products with the Brownwood Acres label in 1980. Annual revenues typically reached $400,000 to $500,000 -- profitable but "kind of stagnant," he said.

Last year, bolstered by the juice concentrates and softgels, they topped $3.4 million.

It's nice to pull in that kind of money, de Tar says. But just as rewarding are the phone calls from customers who say their health has improved.

"I really don't care if the whole world thinks it's anecdotal," he said. "If our product's helping people and they're buying it because they believe it helps them, that's really all that matters."

www.detnews.com/2005/business/0501/22/business-66920.htm

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Me & My Cherries: I had to Know... are they really the Healing Fruit?
Al Fresko

I had come to a time in my life when my knees began to creak with a painful tweak. Could it be arthritis incurred by all those years of running, cycling, and generally pounding the crap out of my tender knees -- aka the most delicate joints of the body?
I wondered if drinking cherry juice could make the difference as I examined the half-gallon jugs of vaguely purple elixer at Meijer’s, piled high on a palette halfway between the onion bin and the fancy nuts. A write-up next to the jugs claimed that drinking cherry juice (or blueberry juice, for that matter) on a daily basis could help control arthritic pain.
Hmmm... If drinking cherry juice could prevent the pain of arthritis, perhaps it could prevent arthritis itself if you started drinking it at an early enough age, I reasoned.
Drinking cherry juice isn’t for the faint-hearted; and by that I mean you have to pony up about $24 for a half-gallon container of concentrate, good for appoximately 60 servings. So, okay, that’s far less than what you’d pay for 60 Cherry Cokes, 60 cherry wheat beers or 60 glasses of cherry wine. But still, it’s tough to cough up $24 when you know your grocery bill is going to weigh in on the other side of $100.
But with my knees reminding me that time is of the essence, I plunked down my $24 and started drinking a shot of curative cherry juice each night along with my glucosamine and chondroitin supplements.
I drank, and I waited.

CHIPPER CHERRIES
The science of cherries as a curative goes like this, as presented by the chipper Cherry Marketing Institute (CMI) of Lansing.
“The day when doctors say -- ‘Take 10 cherries and call me in the morning’ -- may not be far off,” the CMI claims in its cherry-boosting literature.
What follows is a raft of scientific rigamarole that perhaps only a biochemist or a rheumatologist could verify:
“Current research shows tart cherries contain anthocyanins and biolfavonoids, which inhibit the enzymes Cyclooxgenase -1 and -2 and prevent inflammation in the body,” claims the Cherry Marketing Institute. “These compounds have similar activity as aspirin, naproxen and ibuprofen. Potentially, daily consumption of tart cherries may reduce the pain associated with inflammation, arthritis and gout.”
The cherry marketeers back up their claims with research from MSU:
“Twenty cherries provide 25 milligrams of anthocyanins, which help shut down the enzymes that cause tissue inflammation, according to researchers at the National Food Safety and Toxicology Center at Michigan State University.
“In addition, ongoing research shows that tart cherries are a rich source of powerful antioxidants including kaempferol, quiercetin and melatonin. These compounds are thought to help fight cancer and heart disease.”

MILKSHAKE INSTITUTE
It sounds like a good rap. On the other hand, it’s what one might expect from an outfit that calls itself the Cherry Marketing Institute. No doubt, the Chocolate Milkshake Institute (if there is one) is making similar healthful claims, urging sufferers to slug down chocolate slurpees each day to boost their mucous levels.
How does the average person know, for instance, if other beverages or foods also contain the sort of anthocyanins and biolfavonoids that prevent inflammation in the body? For all we know, ginger ale or red wine are even better than cherry juice.
As the CMI notes in its literature, up to 70 million Americans suffer from some form of joint disease, including arthritis, gout and osteoarthritis. It’s easy to imagine that there’s a lot of money at stake, convincing people with painful joints that cherry juice can do them some good.
Fortunately, there are testimonials.
Marie from Texas claims her life has been a bowl of cherries since she started drinking tart cherry concentrate six weeks ago. “I have enjoyed a great improvement in an arthritic knee and I’m able to sleep peacefully for seven hours,” she notes.
Don from Florida said he had gout so bad he could hardly walk until he started drinking cherry juice. He’s been pain-free for three years now.
And Aggie from Illinois has had fibromyalgia for 12 years. Drinking cherry concentrate “has turned my life around,” she reports... (it) has helped tremendously with the pain.”
Then there’s me, the cherry skeptic who doesn’t trust fruit marketing firms, even though I live in the Cherry Capital of the World.
Call me a skeptic no more. After drinking a glass of cherry concentrate mixed with water each night for two weeks, I noticed that the arthritic pain in my knees was gone.
Was it wishful thinking? The power of mind over matter? Was it the change in seasons from spring to summer? Or was it those marvelous anthocyanins and biolfavonoids percolating in my cherry juice?
I don’t know any of the above, but I do know that I’m sold on the fruity drink. And that I’ll be coughing up my $24 for another half-gallon of cherry concentrate once the last slurp is gone.
www.northernexpress.com/editorial/features.asp?id=450

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Ankylosing spondylitis... arthritis
I was diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis about 15 years ago. After a few rough years, it settled down though I have always had low level continuous back pain. Recently, it has started flaring up again and is quite painful. What do you recommend?

A. Ankylosing spondylitis is an inflammatory arthritis that always involves the sacroiliac joints in the lower back, but can progress to involve other joints and ligaments of the spine. The condition can also involve the eyes as an iritis and rarely the heart and nervous system. There is a genetic predisposition with 95% of affected individuals having the HLA-B27 antigen.

Of note, however, is that only 20% of people with this genetic marker develop the condition, which strongly hints that environmental factors play an important role as well. Conventional medicine most commonly treats the symptoms with anti-inflammatory medication but has little else to offer.

When the joint changes are evaluated at a microscopic level, they are virtually the same as those in rheumatoid arthritis with the invasion of white blood cells and the presence of immune complexes. This is helpful in giving us clues on the best ways to approach treating this in an alternative manner.

From the perspective of the Cayce readings, the diet should be “alkaline-reacting”, with large amounts of raw vegetables, especially carrots, watercress, celery, and lettuce. This makes the body less prone to inflammation. Iodine, either as atomidine or using the wetcell battery “charged with iodine”, is recommended to help correct the glandular dysfunction. Epsom salts are suggested to break up the collections of toxins either as a hot bath or as packs over the involved joints. Massaging during the bath or immediately afterwards with peanut oil alone or combined with olive and pine needle oil was also recommended.

Other ideas on how to quiet inflammation come from more recent studies. When there are digestive issues, food lectins get through the digestive barriers and act as allergens. One study found gastrointestinal inflammation and “leaky gut” in 80 percent of people with reactive arthritis such as anklylosing spondylitis. Common dietary culprits include wheat, corn, citrus, tomato, dairy, beef, and chicken. It can be helpful to eliminate these foods one at a time for three or four days and monitor symptoms.

In addition to foods, certain bacteria in the gut can trigger an inflammatory response. Optimizing stomach HCl production, especially in the elderly, and the use of probiotic supplements (friendly bacteria) can help. Use of both American saffron tea and L-glutamine as a supplement can both heal the gut mucosa. Finally, scientists have found that omega- 3 fatty acids act as natural anti-inflammatories without risking further injury to the lining of the gut. Both fish oil and flax seed oil are good sources for these.

Finally, ankylosing spondylitis is the condition that affected Norman Cousins and that he wrote about in his book Anatomy of an Illness. In his own case, Mr. Cousins had great success in improving his symptoms by decreasing the stressors in his life and spending weeks laughing with funny movies. His book served as a wake-up call 20 years ago about the importance of the mind-body relationship and was important in gaining mainstream acceptance for alternative approaches. It reminds us of the reading’s admonition that “mind is the builder” and would invite your use of relaxation training and positive affirmations in treating your own case.

Q. My wife has had limiting arthritis in both knees for over 10 years, with the condition becoming progressively worse. She is unable to flex either knee more than 10 degrees and X-rays have shown that the cartilage in both knees is completely gone. We have elected not to have surgery and instead have used anti-inflammatory medicines and glucosamine HCl and chondroitin sulfate. I know Cayce recommends the use of castor oil but I am not sure how much or how frequently.

A. While the Cayce readings commonly recommended castor oil, it was never recommended directly for arthritis. Castor oil was almost exclusively recommended for use as a pack over the abdomen, intended to stimulate the liver and dissolve abdominal adhesions. It was occasionally suggested to be rubbed onto the skin, but usually to help remove a wart or other skin lesion or to soften a hardened area.

For arthritis, the readings recommended peanut oil. It was advised to have a general body rub-down or massage with the peanut oil once a week, to help stimulate superficial circulation, coordinate peripheral nerve impulses and help with eliminations. With arthritis, as mentioned earlier in this column, it was often recommended that a hot Epsom-salt bath or Epsom-salt packs over the affected joints precede the peanut oil massage.

Gentle motion to the joints is also helpful. As joints do not receive direct circulation, this movement helps the nutrients get into the joint. With severe arthritis, this is best done in water where body weight is displaced and trauma to the joint is minimized. Finally, you may want to reconsider the surgery. While joint replacement surgery was not available in Cayce’s day, the readings didn’t shy away from conventional methods when they felt them helpful.

www.edgarcayce.org/venture_inward/05062002/the_doctor_is_in.htm