The miracle berry that helps fight cancer, and other
ailments.
Citizen: Heal Thyself. (With apologies to Mr.
Hippocrates)
People are turning to alternative
forms of medical treatment and prevention. Not only is the medical
delivery system failing but our costs for health services are rising at
an astronomical rate. What this means for the medical consumer is that
we need to be more responsible for our own health. We need to look at
prevention instead of always looking to health care providers to "fix"
what exposure to a toxic environment and/or years of unhealthy
lifestyle practices have wrought. The quality of medical care is uneven
at best. Too often, our insurance providers do not cover necessary
tests and procedures, especially those of a preventative nature.
However, we can become involved in our own health care. A diet rich in
fresh fruits and vegetables is a good start towards preventing disease.
Unfortunately, current tests show that our soil is severely lacking in
many minerals or electrolytes and other components that are essential
for proper nutrition. It is necessary to sometimes take supplements, as
it may not be physically or
economically
possible to eat enough food to get the proper nutrition. In addition,
the cost of fresh fruits and vegetables can be prohibitive. For
instance, unless you grow your own raspberries, the cost of the
American Cancer Institute's recommended daily bowl of the whole berries
could run as high as $300 a month. Not only that, but research has
shown that the ellagitannin content is much higher in the seeds then in
the fruit. In addition, the powdered seed may be much more bioavailable
then the whole fruit, especially so for the short carnivorous gut of
the cat or dog. So nutraceutical supplements appear to be the answer.
Raspberry seeds contain many more times the ellagic acid than the fruit
at one-tenth the cost. It's your choice, whatever form you may decide
to use- the take home message is: "Eat your ellagitannins!"