Goji Overview and The Tibetan-Himalayan Myth!

Goji berry product overview from California Academy of Health® CAOH® – discussing organic Goji Juice (Goji Fusion® and Absolute Goji®), Goji Berries and Goji Berry Powder. Also discussed is the Tibetan Goji and Himalayan Goji myth!

California Academy of Health proudly offers four extremely high quality açai products, our Goji Fusion™ juice and Absolute Goji Juice™, Absolute Goji Powder™ and our sun dried Goji Berries. All of these products are 100% certified organic and ethically harvested. In fact they are independently verified organic. We even have goji juice in our Mangosteen Elixir™ and our Liquid Power Multi-V™.

California Academy of Health, Inc.
800-643-7188
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Organic Seabuckthorn Oil

Sea Buckthorn oil is packed with wonderful bioactive compounds and nutrients.  This 2 oz bottle of Seabuckthorn oil is more nutrient packed than all the so-called Sea Buckthorn juices or powders.   Buying Sea Buckthorn in this form ensures that it is the most nutrient dense Sea Buckthorn available.  It is so naturally concentrated that 1 bottle equals over 3 – 32 oz bottles of Sea Buckthorn juice blends.

Do the math – that is real savings!  You can use it on your skin, hair nails and even add it to your juices, smoothies or protein mixes.

2 oz Bottle (60 ml)

Certified Organic

100% pure from whole berry!

No added ingredients or carrier oils!

Get your our Seabuckthorn oil here!

Q: Dr. Ettinger,

I had a question regarding the Ultra Supreme Greens. I got the product because it said to take in morning preferably, so i got the capsules and it says 3, 3x per day… I have only been taking 3 in the morning… having breakfast, then doing juices (Anti-Aging, Acai Max, Goji Fusion) … I have other things (herbs) to take during the day. Should I be taking 9 capsules in the morning on an empty stomach?

Michelle

A: Michelle,

Take the Ultra Supreme Greens w/food for better absorption. You can divide it-up or take them all at one time – both ways are fine but take at least 6. You can also use them to calm the stomach down, as an antacid if the need ever arises.

Sounds like you have a great program going!

Sincerely,

Marcus Ettinger BSc, DC

The Acaí berry is not your regular berry fruit!  One of the reasons is its high antioxidant content. We are sure you have heard over and over that there is consistent evidence in research that diets rich in fruit and vegetables and other plant foods are associated with better health. Sound familiar? Probably. So why is Acai a great anti-oxidant?

Fruits and vegetables rich in antioxidants, which protect our bodies against chronic disease by decreasing free radical oxidative damage.  Our bodies are in constant attack by free radicals, which are a common by-product of normal metabolism.  Think of free radicals as individuals with too much energy and no where to put it.  So they are extremely active and attack everything in their path.  In our bodies, this translates to the damage of our cells and genetic material. In the long term, this may cause permanent damage that is irreversible (such as cancer). In our day to day lives, we are further exposed to high amounts of free radicals through increased physical activity, stress, pollutants, chemicals and toxins.  Antioxidants which are obtained through our diet act like scavengers, which seek and “relax” the free radicals.

Once the free radicals are “relaxed”, they do no further damage. So what kinds of antioxidants are in CAOH® Acai berries? The Acai berry is rich in anthocyanins, compounds that provide color to the fruits and serve as natural antioxidants. Those are the same compounds found in red wine.

However, CAOH® Acai berry juice has 10-30 times more. CAOH®’s certified organic Freeze dried Acai contains 70-210 times more! The richer the pigment color of the fruit, the more antioxidants it generally contains. One way to help you achieve a high antioxidant diet is to make sure your plate is very colorful.  Ensure that you eat plenty of fruits and vegetables at your main meals, and snack on a CAOH® Acai smoothie or other fruits and vegetables instead of various candies or chocolate.

The Acai berry’s purple pigment not only makes the fruit appealing to eat, but studies have shown that berry anthocyanins are beneficial in reducing age-associated oxidative stress (or the free radical damage). If berries can combat premature aging with 25 to 40 times less antioxidants than Acai, then just imagine what CAOH® organic freeze dried Acai can do!

The US food industry is now labeling the antioxidants in food with ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity).  Data from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) suggests a serving of fresh fruit and vegetables has between 890 and 2,500 ORAC units.

Just one 5g serving of CAOH® organic freeze dried Acaí will provide you with around 4,695 ORAC units!

CAOH®

Click here to get Acai Berry online now!

Acai Berry Heart Friendly Nutrients!  It is known that certain diets promote heart disease. And we also know that the proper diet can help reduce heart risk, even if you have risk factors which cannot change (such as age, genetics and family history of the disease). However, we also know that the lifestyle factors such as diet, exercise and smoking are modifiable! That's great news.

A heart friendly diet not only protects us from dangerous health related conditions. One of the key aspects of a heart friendly diet is the inclusion of fruits and vegetables and the replacement of saturated fat in the diet by unsaturated fats. One way that antioxidants guard against health conditions is by protecting the LDL, or bad cholesterol from oxidizing – which is what forms plaque in our arteries and hence cause atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries.

CAOH® Acai is cholesterol-free. It is naturally cholesterol-free since cholesterol only comes from animal products! Why do we want to lower our cholesterol? This is because it is linked to heart disease. CAOH® Acaí berries are not only cholesterol-free, but low in the heart-clogging saturated fat and high in the heart-friendly unsaturated fats and fiber. Together, these nutrients help reduce cholesterol.

Let!s take a look at the types of fat in CAOH® Acaí. There are three types of fats found in our foods. Saturated fat, polyunsaturated fay, and monounsaturated fat. Polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats tend to be liquid at room temperature (your vegetable oils, with the exception of coconut and palm which are mainly saturated). Acai berries are low in saturated fats. These are the fats that increase your cholesterol and clog up your arteries. The Acai berry contains the unsaturated fats omega-6 and omega-9 (a classification of the type of unsaturated fats), which reduce LDL-cholesterol levels (think L = Low, so we want them to be low in our blood) when they replace saturated fats in our diet.

Acai is richer in monounsaturated fats than polyunsaturated fats. Monounsaturated fats maintain the good HDL-cholesterol levels (think H = healthy, or you want it to be high) in our blood. Monounsaturated fats are less susceptible to oxidation than polyunsaturated oils. This makes monounsaturated fats a heart-healthy choice.

Recall that CAOH® Acai is a good source of dietary fiber. Dietary fiber helps lower cholesterol and maintains sugar levels in our body.

CAOH® Acai is a true heart-friendly fruit!

Get CAOH® Acai Berry Online Now!

The pulp of acai berries may counter the effects of a high-fat diet and reduce the risk of developing high blood cholesterol levels, says a new study with rats from Brazil.  Animals fed a high-fat diet and supplemented with acai pulp had lower levels of total and non-HDL cholesterol, compared to animals just eating a high-fat diet, according to findings published in Nutrition.

“This is the first study, to our knowledge, addressing the potential benefits of acai intake in the cholesterol profile,” wrote the researchers, led by Maria Lucia Pedrosa from the Federal University of Ouro Preto. “We observed that the addition of acai pulp in the hypercholesterolemic diet had a hypocholesterolemic effect by reducing cholesterol levels (total and non-HDL), which could be explained by a lower food intake and higher faecal excretion,” they added.  High cholesterol levels, hypercholesterolaemia, have a long association with many diseases, particularly cardiovascular disease (CVD), the cause of almost 50 per cent of deaths in Europe, and reported to cost the EU economy an estimated $202 bn per year.

Super fruits from Central and South America

Acai berries (pronounced ah-sigh-ee) have long formed part of the staple diet of Indian tribes. With the appearance of a purple grape and taste of a tropical berry, it has been shown to have powerful antioxidant properties thanks to a high level of anthocyanins, pigments that are also present in red wine.

It is presently being sold in a number of countries, including New Zealand, Australia, South America, Japan, USA, and the Middle East

Commenting independently on the study, acai expert Dr Alex Schauss from US-based contract research organization AIBMR told NutraIngredients that the study does provide in vivo experimental evidence that acai pulp can improve mammalian lipid profiles in response to a high fat diet.  Regarding the safety data, Dr Schauss added that “acai does not appear to cause liver damage as evidenced by the fact that acai does not alter activities of several liver enzymes. This is important since liver damage is a common phenomenon when a drug is taken for a long period of time.”

Study details

Pedrosa and her co-workers used female Fischer rats and divided them into four groups: Two groups consumed a standard diet, and two groups consumed a high fat diet containing 25 per cent soy oil and 1 per cent cholesterol. One standard diet group and one high fat diet group received additional acai pulp at a level of 2 per cent.  After six weeks, the researchers noted an increase in blood levels of total and non-HDL cholesterol and a decrease in levels of HDL cholesterol in the high-fat diet only animals. Such changes were attenuated in the acai-supplemented high-fat diet animals.  The researchers did not directly examine the mechanism behind the effects but noted that the benefits may not be solely due to the polyphenol content of the fruit.

“These results suggest that the consumption of acai improves antioxidant status and has a hypocholesterolemic effect in an animal model of dietary-induced hypercholesterolemia,” concluded the researchers.

Future study

• AIBMR’s Dr Schauss noted that future studies should focus on using a better high fat mouse model. “There is a published rodent diet that is close to a typical high fat American diet or McDonald diet that could be used,” he said. He also said that the length of intervention should be increased to six months, while the effects of acai pulp on lipids can be further investigated by looking at both liver and blood vessel morphology, signalling pathways, LDL levels and cardiovascular functions.

• Source: Nutrition – Published online ahead of print, doi: 10.1016/j.nut.2009.09.007: “Diet supplementation with acai (Euterpe oleracea Mart.) pulp improves biomarkers of oxidative stress and the serum lipid profile in rats” – Authors: M. Oliveira de Souza, M. Silva, M. Eustaquio Silva, R. de Paula Oliveira, M.L. Pedrosa

ScienceDaily (Mar. 30, 2010) — A new study from Iowa State University’s Nutrition and Wellness Research Center (NWRC) may give men a way to combat high cholesterol without drugs — if they don’t mind sprinkling some flaxseed into their daily diet.

Suzanne Hendrich, an ISU professor in food science and human nutrition, led a study that examined the effects of flaxseed lignan in 90 people diagnosed with high cholesterol. The results showed that consuming at least 150 milligrams of flaxseed lignans per day (about three tablespoons) decreased cholesterol in men, but not women, by just under 10 percent over the three months that they were given the flaxseed.

While Hendrich admits that’s considerably less than the expected outcome from cholesterol-lowering drugs — approximately 10 to20 percent for three months, depending on the individual — it’s still enough to make flaxseed a more natural option for some men.

“Because there are people who can’t take something like Lipitor, this could at least give you some of that cholesterol-lowering benefit,” Hendrich said. “The other thing is, there are certainly some people who would prefer to not use a drug, but rather use foods to try to maintain their health. So this potentially would be something to consider.”

Americans suffer from high blood cholesterol

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 17 percent of Americans suffer from high blood cholesterol — a fat-like substance found in the body that can clog arteries and contribute to heart disease.

Hendrich developed the study with ISU master’s student Kai Ling Kong and doctoral graduates Zhong Ye, Xianai Wu, and Sun-Ok Lee to determine whether the main lignan in flaxseed, secoisolariciresinol diglucoside, could lower cholesterol. They’ll be presenting results of the research at the American Society for Nutrition’s annual meeting at Experimental Biology 2010, April 24-28, in Anaheim, Calif.

The study’s 90 subjects — which included twice as many men as women — all had high cholesterol, but no other underlying health conditions. The participants were divided into three groups and were randomly assigned to daily consume tablets that contained zero, 150, or 300 milligrams of flaxseed lignans for 12 weeks.

It’s the flaxseed lignans — a group of chemical compounds found in plants that are known for their protective health effects — that may help lower cholesterol, according to Hendrich. These compounds are converted to their bioactive forms by gut microbes. Hendrich reports that they made a healthy conversion in the subjects in this study, with no adverse health consequences.

No cholesterol-lowering effect in women

While the study found that the flaxseed lignans lowered cholesterol in men, it did not produce a significant change in women.

“We’re really puzzled about that because we were looking at post menopausal women and these lignans are known as plant estrogens, so they have a very weak but measurable estrogen effect,” Hendrich said. “So potentially, they would have a mild effect for substituting some estrogens in women. It’s really hard to know why [there was no effect in women] and whether these substances are counteracting, possibly, some testosterone in men, which of course women don’t have. It’s definitely something we’d like to investigate further.”

Hendrich reports the flaxseed lignan tablets used in this study are not currently available in the U.S. to her knowledge. In the absence of tablets, she says flaxseed can also be sprinkled on cereal, or added in a muffin mix or bread, although whole seeds are not very digestible. Ground flaxseed meal can also provide the desired cholesterol-lowering lignans, according to Hendrich, but it will oxidize over time and could potentially affect the flavor of the foods that it’s in. She points out that the oxidation of the product also would diminish the flaxseed’s omega-3 fatty acids, which can prevent heart attacks, so freshness is important in the product’s impact.

The ISU researcher hopes to publish the study in a professional journal. She also plans further investigation on whether flaxseed can be taken in combination with other known cholesterol-lowering substances, and whether it could prevent high cholesterol in the first place.

The $190,000 research study was jointly funded by the Archer Daniels Midland Company and Grow Iowa Values Fund.

Q: MY COLONOSCOPY LAST MONTH, SHOWED NO POLYPS THIS TIME BUT IT WAS NOTED THAT INTESTINE WAS QUITE NARROW DUE TO DIVERTICULOSIS…I HAVE BEEN TAKING SUPER POWER ENZYMES, ONE PILL EACH MORNING AND HAVE HAD NO FLAREUPS IN LAST TWO YEARS WHILE TAKING THESE…..PRIOR COLONOSCOPIES (3) HAVE ALWAYS SHOWN POLYPS THAT WERE REMOVED…. IS THERE SOMETHING BETTER FOR MY DIGESTION THAT YOU COULD SUGGEST?

THANKS,
DALE FRANKENBERG

Dale,

A: I would add the Probiotic FloraHealth (1 per day) and a (1 Tbsp/day) of the Ultra Supreme Greens powder. If you want to cover every base, add an ounce of noni juice each day. It’s amazing for the stomach and intestines.

Let me know if you have any additional questions or need any help with ordering the products.

Sincerely,

Marcus Ettinger DC, BSc

Why are organic products higher in antioxidants?

“Selecting organic produce and organic processed fruits and vegetables will increase antioxidant levels by about 30 percent, compared to produce grown on otherwise similar conventional farms.”

There are two reasons why organic fruits and vegetables are higher in antioxidant compounds. The first reason is linked to what is called “pest pressure.”  Plants under stress from pests have to engage their natural defense mechanisms, called secondary plant metabolites or SPMs.  Most SPMs tend to be antioxidants and they’re also responsible for giving plants their bright colors and distinctive flavors.  When organically grown plants have to engage their defense mechanisms, they yield fruits and vegetables that are higher in SPMs and therefore higher in antioxidants.  This also explains why you can actually taste the difference between organic and conventionally grown produce.  Organic produce tends to have a much richer and fuller flavor in part because of those antioxidant rich SPMs.

The second reason has to do with using the natural growing methods on organic farms. Conventional farms speed up plant growth by heavily fertilizing plants and spraying pesticides to get plants to grow as quickly as possible. This actually shortens the growth cycle for plants and yields fruits and vegetables that are lower in vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Organic farms, on the other hand, rely on slower/natural growth cycle to allow fruits and vegetables to mature naturally.  This leads to better tasting and far more nutritious produce.

Obviously this is good and good for you!

Foods with the most antioxidants per serving:

Acai and Maqui berries offer some of the highest antioxidant levels of all super fruits and berries.

Elderberries are also high in antioxidants and are related to blueberries and cranberries. Studies have also shown elderberries can be effective in boosting the immune system and helping reduce your risk of colds, flu and coughs. For more on elderberries and the benefits of elderberry juice in boosting your immune system naturally, click here.

But remember, a person can not live on just one fruit alone!  Variety is the spice of life, and that’s why it’s so great we have all these wonderful organic products to choose from.  Click here to see more great antioxidant rich fruit and berry products.

Full product catolog for California Academy of Health (CAOH).