Food packaging chemicals may be harmful to human health over long term

Synthetic chemicals used in the packaging, processing and storage of food might be harmful to human health over the long term, according to a new commentary in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. 

The authors claim that tiny amounts of synthetic chemicals leak into food. While these minute quantities in themselves do no harm, no one knows how safe we are from a lifetime's exposure to the chemicals, such as formaldehyde, through eating food previously wrapped or stored in plastics. In a commentary piece in the journal the scientists note that some of the chemicals that could cause concern are regulated but this does not prevent their being used widely in food packaging. They say that people who eat packaged or processed foods are likely to be chronically exposed to low levels of these substances throughout their lives.

Consumers exposed to known toxicants
The writers, who include Jane Muncke, from the Food Packaging Forum Foundation, in Zurich, say there is cause for concern on several grounds. Chemicals known to be toxic, such as formaldehyde, a cancer causing substance, are legally used in these materials. Formaldehyde is widely present, albeit at low levels, in plastic fizzy drinks bottles and melamine tableware. Other chemicals known to disrupt hormone production and used in food and drink packaging, include bisphenol A, tributyltin, triclosan, and phthalates. Altogether, more than 4000 chemicals are involved. Nevertheless, chemicals used in the food manufacturing process are seldom listed on packaging labels. One reason is that foods come into contact with chemicals at all stages of the supply chain, including during storage, processing and packaging. But information on the chemicals used along the way "is not shared" in the food industry, Muncke said. Even organic milk sold in glass bottles may have come into contact with chemicals leeching from the tubes connected to machine-operated pumps, she said.

Doubts on the adequacy of chemical regulatory procedures
"Whereas the science for some of these substances is being debated and policy-makers struggle to satisfy the needs of stakeholders, consumers remain exposed to these chemicals daily, mostly unknowingly," authors write. They warn that potential cellular changes caused by food contact materials, and in particular, those with the capacity to disrupt hormones, are not even being considered in routine toxicology analysis. They suggest this "casts serious doubts on the adequacy of chemical regulatory procedures".

Gaps in knowledge need to be filled
It will not be easy to monitor and assess the effects over decades of exposure to these chemicals, scientists say. There are no large groups of people who are not exposed to wrapped and processed and stored food. Studies have shown that we all have traces of these chemicals in our bodies. That means it is not possible to carry out a study comparing people who have been exposed to them with people who have not. But a population-based assessment is urgently needed as well as bio monitoring to establish any potential links between food-contact chemicals and chronic conditions such as cancer, obesity, diabetes, and neurological and inflammatory disorders, particularly given the known role of environmental pollutants, they argue. "Since most foods are packaged, and the entire population is likely to be exposed, it is of utmost importance that gaps in knowledge are reliably and rapidly filled," they say.

How high is the risk
Critics, however, insist that the dangers of toxic chemicals in food contact materials are overblown.
Formaldehyde, a known carcinogen, maybe be found in plastic drinking bottles – but it is naturally present in certain foods as well.
"To consume as much formaldehyde as is present in a 100-gram apple, you would need to drink at least 20 litres of mineral water that had been stored in PET [polyethylene terephthalate] bottles. Obviously the concern about formaldehyde from food packaging is significantly overrated, unless we are willing to place ‘potential cancer hazard’ stickers on fresh fruit and vegetables," said Dr. Ian Musgrave, senior lecturer in the medicine faculty at the University of Adelaide.
But according to Muncke and colleagues, toxic chemicals in the food supply chain are so pervasive that consumers can do little to avoid them.

Ironically, products made by large corporations such as Coca-Cola and Nestle may be a relatively safe bet. Unlike smaller companies with fewer resources, these corporations have set up in-house labs to test for chemicals in their packaging and food products, Muncke said.
"They’re doing a good job," said Muncke, who described the testing measures as a form of enlightened self-interest. "It only takes one consumer organization to go and test their products and blow up in the media that their products contain [a toxic substance]" to hurt a corporation’s bottom line, she pointed out. Unfortunately, smaller food companies do not have the financial resources to test their products for trace amounts of chemicals, she said.

We can change some habits
Food-borne chemicals are a policy issue, and until regulators step in to require broader testing of chemicals that come in contact with food, consumers will have difficulty limiting their exposure to toxic chemicals in foods, she said.
Nevertheless, Muncke said her research has influenced her own habits. She tries to buy mainly fresh organic foods to cook at home; avoids packaged foods and plastic cutlery, drinking bottles and food containers; and uses glass or stainless steel containers for storing food.

Sources: http://esciencenews.com/, http://www.sciencedaily.com, http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/, http://www.theguardian.com/, http://www.theglobeandmail.com/

What makes you fat: too many calories, or the wrong carbohydrates?

Why do so many of us get so fat? the answer appears obvious. “The fundamental cause of obesity and overweight,” the World Health Organization says, “is an energy imbalance between calories consumed and calories expended.” Put simply, we either eat too much or are too sedentary, or both. By this logic, any excess of calories—whether from protein, carbohydrate or fat (the three main components, or “macronutrients,” in food)—will inevitably pack on the pounds. So the solution is also obvious: eat less, exercise more.
The reason to question this conventional thinking is equally self-evident. The eat less/move more prescription has been widely disseminated for 40 years, and yet the prevalence of obesity, or the accumulation of unhealthy amounts of body fat, has climbed to unprecedented levels. Today more than a third of Americans are considered obese—more than twice the proportion of 40 years ago. Worldwide, more than half a billion people are now obese. Besides getting fatter, we are also developing more metabolic disorders, such as type 2 diabetes, which is marked by hormonal abnormalities in the processing and storage of nutrients and is far more common in obese individuals than in lean ones.

The dissonance of an ever worsening problem despite a seemingly well-accepted solution suggests two possibilities. One, our understanding of why people get fat is correct, but those who are obese—for genetic, environmental or behavioral reasons—are unable or unwilling to heal themselves. Two, our understanding is wrong and hence so is the ubiquitous advice about how to make things better.
If the second option is true, then maybe what makes us fat is not an energy imbalance but something more akin to a hormonal defect, an idea embraced by European researchers prior to World War II. If so, the prime suspect or environmental trigger of this defect would be the quantity and quality of the carbohydrates we consume. Under this scenario, one fundamental error we have made in our thinking about obesity is to assume that the energy content of foods—whether avocado, steak, bread or soda—is what makes them fattening, not the effects that these foods, carbohydrates in particular, have on the hormones that regulate fat accumulation.

The research
To test this last hypothesis a new research program has been planned by Gary Taubes and The Nutrition Science Institute and described in the Scientific American special food issue. This study will entail having subjects consume 80% of their calories as fat, and 5% as carbohydrates, in an effort to determine if consuming calories as fat results in better insulin control and in weight loss.

The Hormone hypothesis

To understand what makes the hormone hypothesis of obesity so intriguing, it helps to grasp where the energy-balance hypothesis falls short. The idea that obesity is caused by consuming more calories than we expend supposedly stems from the first law of thermodynamics, which merely states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed. As applied to biology, it means that energy consumed by an organism has to be either converted to a useful form (metabolized), excreted or stored. Thus, if we take in more calories than we expend or excrete, the excess has to be stored, which means that we get fatter and heavier. So far, so obvious. But this law tells us nothing about why we take in more calories than we expend, nor does it tell us why the excess gets stored as fat. And it is these “why” questions that need to be answered.

Specifically, why do fat cells accumulate fat molecules to excess? This is a biological question, not a physics one. Why are those fat molecules not metabolized instead to generate energy or heat? And why do fat cells take up excessive fat in some areas of the body but not others? Saying that they do so because excess calories are consumed is not a meaningful answer.

Answering these questions leads to consideration of the role that hormones—insulin, in particular—play in stimulating fat accumulation in different cells. Insulin is secreted in response to a type of carbohydrate called glucose. When the amount of glucose rises in the blood—as happens after eating a carbohydrate-rich meal—the pancreas secretes more insulin, which works to keep the blood glucose level from getting dangerously high. Insulin tells muscle, organ and even fat cells to take up the glucose and use it for fuel. It also tells fat cells to store fat—including fat from the meal—for later use. As long as insulin levels remain high, fat cells retain fat, and the other cells preferentially burn glucose (and not fat) for energy. The main dietary sources of glucose are starches, grains and sugars. (In the absence of carbohydrates, the liver will synthesize glucose from protein.) The more easily digestible the carbohydrates, the greater and quicker the rise in blood glucose. (Fiber and fat in foods slow the process.) Thus, a diet rich in refined grains and starches will prompt greater insulin secretion than a diet that is not. Sugars—such as sucrose and high-fructose corn syrup—may play a key role because they also contain significant amounts of a carbohydrate called fructose, which is metabolized mostly by liver cells.

The author's conclusion

The result, according to the hormone hypothesis, is an ever greater proportion of the day that insulin in the blood is elevated, causing fat to accumulate in fat cells rather than being used to fuel the body. As little as 10 or 20 calories stored as excess fat each day can lead over decades to obesity.

The hormone hypothesis suggests that the only way to prevent this downward spiral from happening, and to reverse it when it does, is to avoid the sugars and carbohydrates that work to raise insulin levels. Then the body will naturally tap its store of fat to burn for fuel. The switch from carbohydrate burning to fat burning, so the logic goes, might occur even if the total number of calories consumed remains unchanged. Cells burn the fat because hormones are effectively telling them to do so; the body's energy expenditure increases as a result. To lose excess body fat, according to this view, carbohydrates must be restricted and replaced, ideally with fat, which does not stimulate insulin secretion.  This alternative hypothesis of obesity implies that the ongoing worldwide epidemics of obesity and type 2 diabetes (which stems to great extent from insulin resistance) are largely driven by the grains and sugars in our diets. It also implies that the first step in solving these crises is to avoid sugars and limit consumption of starchy vegetables and grains, not worrying about how much we are eating and exercising.

A different point of view

The right nutrition question is “What should we eat to have the longest, healthiest life?” Instead, author Gary Taubes is asking “What should we eat to lose weight?” There are many ways to lose weight, and still be sick and die. Taubes’s study isn’t even designed to measure health or longevity. So when his study shows that one can lose weight with an low-carb diet, he will argue that obese people should go on a low-carb diet because obesity is correlated with many fatal diseases. However, a low-carb diet changes that correlation. There are plenty of thin people who die of heart disease.

According to John Tanner, -Ph.D. Director, NuSci, The Nutrition Science Foundation- Gary Tauber's study will most likely result in a confusing and misleading result because it is asking the wrong question. Instead, the right premises will lead to a clear answer. In his intense study of research results Tanner says he found a consistent pattern emerging: a whole-food plant-based diet low in fat and high in carbs results in the total elimination of heart disease and dramatic reduction and/or reversal of type 2 diabetes, stroke, high blood pressure, cancer, and about 30 other diseases. And as a nice side effect, obese and overweight people lose weight, often in a dramatic fashion.

What's your priority? What is worth the price of a diet: your look or your health? Re-thinking your goals will help you stay committed to a healthy diet...


Sources: http://www.scientificamerican.com/, http://www.nusci.org/

RECENT STUDY FINDS LACK OF SLEEP CAUSES PEOPLE TO EAT HIGHER CALORIE FOOD

You know the advice not to go to the grocery store when you're hungry? According to a new study, perhaps you shouldn't go to the grocery store sleepy, either.
When you lose even just one night of sleep you end up binging on food, especially high calorie food, a new study suggests. Not only does a loss of sleep decrease your self-control and decision-making abilities, but it also seems to make you hungrier.

"We hypothesized that sleep deprivation’s impact on hunger and decision making would make for the 'perfect storm' with regard to shopping and food purchasing—leaving individuals hungrier and less capable of employing self-control and higher-level decision-making processes to avoid making impulsive, calorie-driven purchases," study researcher Colin Chapman, of Uppsala University, said in a press release.
In the tests, adults who spent an entire night with no sleep were given a selection of 40 food items the following morning. They bought food with 9% more calories compared to mornings when they had a night's sleep. Shopping while tired could have a knock-on effect for our overall wellbeing, the researchers warned, as individuals will often purchase several meals during one trip.
The study, published in the journal Obesity, examined 14 men who were of normal weight.
After one night of total sleep deprivation, they were given a fixed budget of around $50 to spend on a display of foods that included 20 high-calorie and 20 low-calorie options.

The experiment was also repeated after they had enjoyed a good night's rest. Before the task, participants received breakfast to minimise the effect of hunger on their purchases. Despite having a full stomach, sleep-deprived men purchased food with nine% higher calories and weighing 18% more than they did after one night of sleep.

"Our finding provides a strong rationale for suggesting that patients with concerns regarding caloric intake and weight gain maintain a healthy, normal sleep schedule," said Mr Chapman. The report concluded: "Our findings demonstrate that participants purchased significantly more calories and grams of food, within the same budget, following sleep deprivation. This is significant as the stocks that one purchases last beyond the acute sleep deprivation, and will influence food consumption choices long after the purchases are made."
They warned their findings could be relevant to shift workers who often lose out on sleep, such as taxi drivers and health workers.


The new study builds on a bunch of older research about sleep and obesity.

• One study, conducted by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, showed that sleep deprivation not only makes people want junk food more than healthy food, but it also altered brain activity by impairing the decision-making region of the brain and increasing activity in a reward-linked region.

• Researchers from the University of Colorado at Boulder found that people tend to consume more calories from after-dinner snacks if they sleep fewer than five hours a night for a week. The findings are published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 

• A similar study from University of Pennsylvania researchers showed that getting insufficient sleep at night (four to five hours) is linked with consuming more calories in the form of late-night snacks.

• Researchers from the German Universities Tubingen and Lubeck and Uppsala University in Sweden found that sleep deprivation is linked with feeling hungrier and having higher blood levels of ghrelin (also known as the hunger hormone). The researchers found that the amount of sleep a person gets is linked with feelings of hunger -- meaning, the more sleep-deprived a person was, the more hunger he or she felt. In addition, the findings suggested that when a person stayed awake for a whole night, it decreased the amount of energy use performed by the body while resting. People who had disrupted sleep the night before also had less physical activity the following day.

• Another study from Northwestern University showed that people who regularly stay up late are also more likely to eat unhealthier food, weigh more and eat more during the evening, compared with people who go to bed early. That study, which was published in the journal Obesity, showed specifically that people who regularly go to bed late and wake up late consume an added 248 calories a day than people who go to bed early and wake up early. 

 Have you concerns about your waistline? You better sleep them off!

Sources:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/

The elixir of life: a mug of coffee

Tea drinkers may look down at coffee drinkers for what has long been considered an unhealthy habit, but that may soon end: more and more evidence is showing that not only is coffee not bad for you, it actually might be good for you.

Coffee is more than just dark-colored liquid with caffeine… coffee actually contains hundreds of different compounds, some of which have important health benefits. Several massive studies have now shown that the people who drink the most coffee live longer and have a reduced risk of diseases like Alzheimer’s and diabetes.

Coffee is rich in antioxidants
When hot water runs through the coffee grounds while brewing, the substances in the coffee beans mix with the water and become part of the drink. Some of these substances are well known, including caffeine, but there are hundreds of other compounds in there as well, many of which science has yet to identify. Many of these compounds are antioxidants that protect our bodies from oxidation, which involves free radicals that damage molecules in the body. Oxidation is believed to be one of the mechanisms behind ageing and common diseases like cancer and heart disease. The very good news is that coffee happens to be the biggest source of antioxidants in the Western diet, outranking both fruits and vegetables… combined.

Several massive studies show that coffee drinkers live longer
There are several studies showing that when people drink coffee, they have a lower risk of dying from a range of serious diseases. A groundbreaking study, the largest of its kind, was published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2012. In this study, 402,260 individuals between 50 and 71 years of age were asked about their coffee consumption. The results were fairly remarkable… after following the people for 12-13 years, those who drank the most coffee were significantly less likely to have died.

As you can see from the graph, researchers found a small but significant inverse association between coffee drinking and mortality. In other words: the more coffee people drank, the likelier they were to still be alive when the study ended. When researchers looked at particular causes of death, they found that the coffee drinkers were less likely to die from infections, injuries and accidents, respiratory disease, diabetes, stroke and heart disease. The benefit does not appear to be attributable to the caffeine, because both decaf and regular coffee had the same effect.
 
Some caveats: those who drank 4-5 cups per day were better off than those who pushed it to 6+, and the finding was only true after the researchers controlled for bad habits like smoking. So, if you take a cigarette with your coffee, any protective effect disappears.

Other studies have lead to similar results
One study in the European Journal of Epidemiology found “quantitative evidence that coffee intake is inversely related to all cause and, probably, [cardiovascular disease] mortality.”
A 2013 analysis of almost a million people came to the same conclusion: “Our findings indicate that coffee consumption is associated with a reduced risk of total mortality.”

More research is underway, and a cause-effect relationship will be difficult to demonstrate. But based on the research we have so far, the time may not be distant when we celebrate coffee as a health food.

Mug-bottoms up!

Sources: http://authoritynutrition.com/, http://www.businessinsider.com.au/, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/, http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/

10 TRICKS TO STOP OVEREATING - infographic

It's so easy to overeat. Between the super-sized servings we receive at restaurants to the common habit of eating while distracted by the television, it can be hard to maintain good habits when it comes to portion control. But research into our eating behavior shows that there are actually a number of easy ways to curb mindless eating. Here you can find some useful tricks.

 If you'd like to embed this infographic, here's the code: <a href="https://s3.amazonaws.com/easel.ly/all_easels/288334/trickstopreventovereating/image.jpg"/><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/easel.ly/all_easels/288334/trickstopreventovereating/image.jpg" alt="trickstopreventovereating title="easel.ly" /></a><br /><a href="http://easel.ly" style="text-align:left;" align="left">easel.ly</a>

Tired? It can be your best chance to be thinner and healthier

If you're too tired to think, you’d be surprised at how that might work to your advantage.
Authors Monika Lisjak (Erasmus University) and Angela Y. Lee (Kellogg School of Management) write in the Journal of Consumer Research that we make better health care decisions when we're feeling tired and run down: "We proposed that people are more motivated to engage in healthful behavior when they are depleted and perceive their safety to be at stake."

The study
Across five experiments, the researchers looked at how consumers use what they term "self-protective motivation" when it comes to avoiding danger. They also studied consumer preference for products that emphasize safety.

In one study, participants were asked to read a health message that both described the dangers of kidney disease and advocated the benefit of early detection. The risks associated with a family history of kidney disease were also highlighted in the message. The authors found that for people with a family history of kidney disease, those who were feeling depleted exhibited a higher likelihood of being tested than those who were feeling healthy. Participants without a family history of kidney disease expressed a similar low interest in being tested regardless of how they were feeling.

In a second study looking at product selection, participants were asked to fill out a survey on health and fitness habits either before or after working out at the gym. As a thank you gift, the participants were able to choose either sunblock or moisturizer. When participants were surveyed after working out, the likelihood of choosing sunblock was much greater than choosing the moisturizer.
"Consumers value products that emphasize safety features more when they are feeling depleted. Retailers may benefit from placing safety-related products near the checkout or running ads for security-related products at the end of the day," the authors conclude.

Bottom line
The results are surprising, given past research about how exhaustion affects the brain. According to the Division of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School, sleep deprivation affects our mood, appetite, and ability to focus. And gym-goers can attest to that feeling of denial when their alarm goes off in the morning.

But making wise health decisions is doable, even when you’re not feeling it, according to Will Torres, personal trainer and owner of Willspace, a gym in New York City: "If you’re truly exhausted, it’s best to just go to sleep, but if you just need to recharge, there are simple things you can do".

Get your heart rate up: Let’s say you’re exhausted because you’ve been slouched over your desk all morning. Simply straightening up will boost your energy levels. : "When you’re slumping, you can’t take a full breath because bad posture compresses the diaphragm," says Torres. "Sitting up straight allows your lungs to take in more air, which sends a message to your brain to wake up."
Eat more fiber: "People tend to reach for sugary foods to give them a quick boost of energy, but without fiber to slow digestion down, they’ll crash," says Torres. Rather than an energy bar or mixed-fruit smoothie (both of which are loaded with sugar), try a fiber-filled apple, piece of watermelon, or pear.
Stay away from new routines: You’ve been wanting to try kickboxing for ages, but when you're tired is not the time. "Starting a new type of workout takes coordination and focus and tired people have neither," says Torres. "When you’re exhausted, do things you’ve always done or try running, weight machines, or brisk walking to avoid injury."

Still tired? Studies show some vitamins and minerals—like vitamin B12—can boost your mood.
Let's start your day with this light and refreshing smoothie: it contains antioxidant-rich berries and banana, plus vitamin B12–rich yogurt.

HEALTH BENEFITS OF MINT

A favorite herbal medicine of the ancients, peppermint leaves have been found in Egyptian pyramids dating back to 1,000 BC. Modern scientific investigations have now confirmed that this remarkable plant has over a dozen healing properties.
What’s so sensational about this herb is that once you put a fresh leaf in your mouth it will leave a refreshing aftertaste, for a long time. This is one of the reasons why it is used in products like toothpaste, chewing gums, mouthwash and breath fresheners.
Let’s take a look at its nutritional facts. Its leaves are blessed with some powerful antioxidants in the form of some essential vitamins like vitamin A, vitamin B-6, vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin K, beta carotene, folate and riboflavin. The beneficial minerals contained in it are calcium, iron, potassium, magnesium and manganese. Besides being the power source of these essential nutrients this is what its magical leaves can do:

mint promotes digestion
One of the most important functions mint leaves can perform is that it supports the digestive system by activating the salivary glands and digestive enzymes. For best results, use mint tea. Moreover, the leaves are also beneficial for soothing colic pain and for gastrointestinal problems.

Mint can help weight loss
Mint can also help in your efforts to lose weight in a healthy way! Mint is a stimulant, and it also stimulates the digestive enzymes that absorb nutrients from food and consume fat and turn it into usable energy. Therefore, by adding mint to your diet, you are increasing the amount of fat that is being consumed and put to use, rather than being stored and contributing to your weight gain!

Mint is a good treatment for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and colic spasms
Peppermint oil capsules have been described as “the drug of first choice” in IBS patients, as it safely helps alleviate symptoms and improve quality of life. Research has shown that it is effective in children and adults alike, with one study showing a 50% reduction in “total irritable bowel syndrome score” among 75% of patients who tried it.
Peppermint oil is an effective alternative to drugs like Buscopan for reducing colonic spasms. It may also relax the muscles of your intestines, allowing gas to pass and easing abdominal pain. Try peppermint oil or leaves added to tea for gas relief.

Mint treats nausea and headache
The strong and refreshing aroma of mint is a quick and effective remedy for nausea. Even just the smell of mint oil or freshly crushed mint leaves or the use of any product with mint flavor, and your stomach issues will be alleviated. In fact, many people keep menthol oil or mint-flavored products with them at all time to avoid nausea. Balms with a mint base or basic mint oil, when rubbed on the forehead and nose, gives quick relief in case of headache. Mint is a naturally soothing substance, so it can alleviate the inflammation and temperature rise that is often associated with headaches and migraines.

Mint is an effective relief for respiratory disorders and coughs
The strong aroma of mint is very effective in clearing up congestion of the nose, throat, bronchi and lungs, which gives relief for respiratory disorders that often result from asthma and the common cold. As mint cools and soothes the throat, nose and other respiratory channels, it relieves the irritation which causes chronic coughing. This is the main reason why so many balms are based on mint.
Some studies have also revealed its benefits for the tuberculosis patients.
For an instant relief from congestion, add 4 to 5 mint leaves to the boiling water and inhale the steam.

Mint fights depression and fatigue
Mint is a natural stimulant, and the smell alone can be enough to charge your batteries and get your brain functioning on a high level again. If you are feeling sluggish, anxious, depressed, or simply exhausted, mint and its derivative essential oils can help. It can be ingested, applied topically in a salve form, or inhaled as a vapor, and all of those techniques can give you a much-needed boost! A popular way to get good results in an easy manner is to put a few drops of mint essential oil or menthol oil on your pillow at night and let it work on your body and mind while you sleep.

Mint improves memory
A recent study explored the effects that mint has on alertness, retention, and cognitive function. It found that people who frequently use chewing gum, whose major active ingredient is mint, had higher levels of memory retention and mental alertness than those who did not. The stimulant qualities of mint, once again, have shown yet another reason to pop that stick of gum in your mouth, or chew some leaves when you’re feeling less than brilliant!

Mint promotes oral health
Since mint has germicidal qualities and quickly freshens breath, it adds to oral health by inhibiting harmful bacterial growth inside the mouth and by cleaning the tongue and teeth. This is why mint used to be rubbed directly on the teeth and gums to refresh the mouth and eliminate dangerous forms of growth. In modern times, for the same reason, mint is one of the most common elements in toothpastes, mouthwashes, and other dental hygiene products. Of course, the easiest way to get these results is to simply chew on the leaves.

Mint can prevent cancer
The compound called menthol present in mint leaves has the power to treat various types of cancer, especially prostate cancer.

Mint is good for your skin health
While mint oil is a good antiseptic and anti-pruritic material, mint juice is an excellent skin cleanser. It soothes skin, and helps to cure infections and itchiness, as well as being a good way to reduce pimples, and it can even relieve some of the symptoms of acne. Its anti-pruritic properties can be used for treating insect bites like those of mosquitoes, honeybees, hornets, wasps, and gnats.

Mint aids in shingles-associated pain and inhibits herpes simplex virus Type 1
A 2002 case study found that topical peppermint oil treatment resulted in a near immediate improvement of shingles associated neuropathic pain symptoms; the therapeutic effects persisted throughout the entire 2 months of follow-up treatment. Peppermint has also been shown to help inhibit drug-resistant herpes simplex virus type 1

Mint alleviates allergies and hay fever
Season allergies and hay fever (also known as rhinitis) affect millions of people around the world at certain times of the year. Extracts from mint leaves have been shown to inhibit the release of histamines, which often spur on the severe nasal symptoms that are associated with hay fever and seasonal allergies.

Mint protects against radiation-induced DNA damage
Preclinical research indicates peppermint protects against radiation-induced DNA damage and cell death.

Are you feeling tired or bored after reading all of that info on mint? Why don’t you have a cup of this chocolate-mint pudding? That may be just the refreshing boost you need!