© M.N. Hopkins
To read more of my poems & quotations, please click on the link below:
Tuesday, February 28, 2023
All Is In Order - An Insight by M.N. Hopkins
Monday, February 27, 2023
Hands Of Providence - A Poem by M.N. Hopkins
All dreams will be realized.
Hands of Providence.
© 2023 M.N. Hopkins
Note: I wrote this poem yesterday in the haiku style of poetry taken from a prayer that came through my mind many years ago. It turns out the first two verses of the prayer were already in haiku form, I just had to short the third line. Here is the original prayer which I just shorted, All is in order. All dreams will be realized. Trust in the hands of Providence. I published it for the first time today, the 27th of February, 2023.
To read more of my poems & quotations, please click on the link below:
Sunday, February 26, 2023
Saturday, February 25, 2023
Love Berries? 10 Reasons Why You Should Try Lingonberries by Dr. Diane Fulton
Eat lingonberries -- the new superfood with exceptional health benefits
Lingonberries, also known as partridgeberries, redberries or Alaskan lowbush cranberries, grow on an evergreen shrub in northern climates. These berries contain important polyphenols -- anthocyanins, resveratrol and quercetin -- vitamins --A, C and E -- micronutrients -- iron and zinc -- minerals -- manganese, magnesium and potassium -- free amino acids and omega-3 fatty acids.
Due to their antioxidant, anticancer, anti-inflammatory and immune-boosting properties, lingonberries are gaining notoriety as a health food.[i],[ii],[iii] Lingonberries’ most important benefits include fighting cancers, oxidative stress, obesity, metabolic disorders, heart, brain and liver diseases, infections and viruses as well as promoting health and longevity.
1. Fight Cancers
The most successful fractions of lingonberry leaves and fruits against cancer cell lines included proanthocyanidin and quercetin as examined through human in vitro studies of kidney, colon and malignant melanoma cancers.[iv]
Lingonberry extract inhibited the proliferation of liver cancer cells in a dose-dependent manner through in vitro study of human cancer and is believed to be a potential antitumor drug.[v]
Similarly, the effects of 10 different extracts of fruits and berries, including lingonberries, on cell proliferation of colon cancer cells and breast cancer cells in vitro showed significant decreases in both cancers’ growth in a concentration-dependent way.[vi]
A systematic review of 10 lingonberry and 21 bilberry in vitro studies suggested potent inhibition of colorectal cancer cell growth and tumor formation.[vii] Proanthocyanidins -- particularly high in blueberries and lingonberries -- showed the strongest ability to kill human colorectal cancer cells.[viii]
2. Mediate Oxidative Stress
In a plant study of lingonberry polyphenols, the anthocyanins and flavanols activated the nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 pathway, scavenged reactive oxygen species and inhibited cellular death -- showing its ability to prevent and ameliorate oxidative stress and protect cells.[ix]
In a mice model, a 14-day dose of lingonberry extract prevented acute toxicity from gamma radiation and indicated that lingonberry anthocyanins have immunostimulatory potential against oxidative stress and radiation induced illnesses caused by exposure in medical testing, energy plants and other industries.[x]
In scientific examination of lingonberry compounds, the combination of anthocyanins and copigments possessed the highest antioxidant activities, but all polyphenol fractions protected cells from oxidative stress.[xi]
Through in vitro analysis, total phenolics and flavonoids in lingonberry extracts were slightly higher than those in blueberry extracts but blueberries bested lingonberry in anthocyanin content and antioxidant activity. Both berries were effective against oxidative-stress-related diseases such as cancer, heart, neurological and kidney diseases and arthritis.[xii],[xiii]
3. Protect Heart Health
In an experimental rat model of high blood pressure, long-term treatment with lingonberry juice lowered blood pressure and improved vascular function -- two beneficial contributors to heart health -- due to its anti-inflammatory properties.[xiv]
Eating lingonberries resulted in decreased triglyceride levels, improved gut microbiome and reduced atherosclerosis in a study of mice for eight weeks.[xv] Lingonberry anthocyanins protected cardiac cells from oxidative-stress-induced apoptosis as studied in vitro.[xvi]
Both lingonberry and blackberry leaves showed strong cardioprotective properties and significantly lowered low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels associated with cardiovascular disease risk. Results were comparable to lovastatin, a cholesterol-lowering drug.[xvii]
In vitro research suggested that lingonberry’s antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties may help prevent and treat obesity and corresponding inflammation which can lead to endothelial dysfunction--a coronary artery disease where arteries narrow and interrupt blood flow to the heart.[xviii]
4. Counteract Obesity
Dietary berry fruits -- blueberries, cranberries, raspberries, strawberries, mulberries, lingonberries, blackberries, black chokeberries, elderberries, bilberries, grape, blackcurrants, jaboticabas, red bayberries, sea-buckthorns, goldenberries and goji berries -- were found to counteract obesity or obesity-associated complications based on animal experiments and human studies.[xix]
Mice fed whole lingonberries showed fewer atherosclerotic plaques, while mice fed the lingonberry fiber fraction had the highest caecal butyric acid -- an indicator of gut health. All groups fed lingonberry diets -- fiber or berries -- had improved plasma lipid profiles.[xx]
5. Prevent Diabetes
In an obese mouse model, mice ate a low-fat, high-fat or lingonberry-supplemented high-fat diet for six weeks. Lingonberries prevented the high-fat diet induced adverse changes in blood cholesterol and glucose levels and had a moderate effect on weight and visceral fat gain -- demonstrating its obesity-fighting ability and prevention of comorbidities such as Type 2 diabetes.[xxi]
Mice fed a high-fat diet for eight weeks became obese and insulin-resistant and then were given three different lingonberry extract doses -- 125, 250 and 500 milligrams per kilograms (mg/kg) -- for eight weeks, which significantly decreased glycemia and insulin levels -- Type 2 diabetes markers -- in a dose-related way.[xxii]
6. Protect Your Brain
Forty healthy 50- to 70-year-olds drank a mixed berry beverage -- 150 grams (g) blueberries, 50 g blackcurrant, 50 g elderberry, 50 g lingonberries, 50 g strawberry and 100 g tomatoes -- or a control beverage with no fiber or polyphenols for five weeks.
The berry intervention reduced total and LDL cholesterol, lowered glucose and insulin concentrations and improved memory test performance compared to the baseline and control beverage. Berries showed preventive potential for Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cognitive decline.[xxiii]
In a systematic review of blueberries and lingonberries in cell models of neurotoxicity and brain inflammation as well as in vivo models of neurodegenerative diseases, both berries combated reactive oxygen species and showed significant neuroprotective abilities and benefits for brain aging. Surprisingly, the leaves have a much higher antioxidant capacity than the fruits.[xxiv]
Lingonberry extract improved the cognition and memory of mice with cognitive impairment, induced by chronic uncertainty stress, by enhancing the antioxidative ability of tissues and improving the disorder of neurotransmitter levels caused by chronic stress.[xxv]
In an in vitro oxygen-glucose deprived injury rat model, lingonberry significantly protected the brain by suppressing the inflammatory biomarkers in primary neurons and modulating key proteins following hypoxic -- when oxygen is lacking in the brain such as in a stroke -- injury.[xxvi]
7. Improve the Liver and Kidney
In a high-fat diet-induced obese mouse model, lingonberry supplementation prevented adverse changes in the liver -- involving inflammation, and glucose and lipid metabolism -- that are known to predispose the development of anonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and its comorbidities.[xxvii]
Polyphenol extracts from arctic berries -- lingonberry, alpine bearberry and especially cloudberry -- targeted the gut-liver axis and protected against metabolic endotoxemia,[xxviii] insulin resistance and NAFLD in a diet-induced obese mice study.[xxix]
In a mouse model of high fat diet-induced NAFLD, lingonberries inhibited hepatic signaling and improved the liver lipid profile by regulating the expression of genes involved in hepatic lipid metabolism.[xxx]
Eating lingonberries for 12 weeks alleviated high fat diet-induced liver injury in a mouse model by preventing hepatic lipid accumulation, oxidative stress and inflammatory responses.[xxxi] In both animal and in vitro studies, lingonberry treatment demonstrated anti-liver fibrosis activities by increasing antioxidant enzymes.[xxxii]
Taking lingonberry for 12 weeks not only improved high-fat diet-induced renal inflammatory responses but also reduced kidney damage in a mouse model by regulating plasma lipid and glucose profiles and reducing plasma inflammatory cytokine levels.[xxxiii]
8. Regulate Insulin and Glucose
In a study of 20 healthy females consuming either white or rye bread, those who took the 150 g whole-berry purée of strawberries, bilberries, lingonberries and chokeberries had a significantly reduced insulin response.[xxxiv]
In comparison with taking sucrose alone in a study of 20 healthy women, ingestion of sucrose with lingonberries or blackcurrants resulted in reduced glucose and insulin concentrations, slower absorption of glucose and a significantly improved glycemic profile.[xxxv]
9. Prevent Infections and Viruses
Fermented lingonberry juice exerted a positive response in Candida glabrata -- the second most common yeast infection -- by expressing proteins related to oxidative stress and maintaining cell wall integrity in vitro.[xxxvi]
The extracts of all tested berry fruits, particularly bilberry, strawberry and lingonberry, strongly inhibited coxsackie virus -- a marker of Type 1 diabetes -- and flu viruses A and H3N2, confirming their antiviral properties.[xxxvii]
Because of the strong effect of lingonberry polyphenols found on oral microbial (viral) load reduction and consequent beneficial respiratory tract anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial and antiviral effects, scientists suggest further research on lingonberries to fight respiratory and coronavirus infections.[xxxviii]
In a comparison study of two berries, lingonberries contained more polyphenols than cranberries but both effectively decreased biofilm formation and oral streptococci activities to prevent dental caries (cavities).[xxxix]
10. Promote Longevity and Healthy Aging
Lingonberries -- "superfruits" with the highest content of antioxidants among berries -- promote a long life due to their anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antiviral and anticancer effects.[xl]
Lingonberries both help prevent and treat brain aging and neurodegenerative disorders. In a study of 16,010 patients 70 and older, higher intake of flavonoids, particularly from berries, reduced rates of cognitive decline in older adults.[xli]
Eating lingonberries has a positive influence on healthy aging and promotes longevity.[xlii] Lingonberry seed oil on the skin reduced age spots and eating lingonberries can help fight aging due to their potent vitamin, mineral and polyphenol content.[xliii]
In a study of 99 healthy female subjects taking either a low-dose mix of lingonberry (25 mg) and amla (30 mg) fruit extracts, a double dose of both extracts or a control drink for 12 weeks, significant dose-dependent improvements from the fruit drink in skin elasticity, thickness and hydration as well as the degree of wrinkles showed its antiaging effectiveness.[xliv]
Lingonberries as a Superfood
Why are lingonberries so effective in keeping you healthy? These super berries fight inflammation, which is a key factor in serious illnesses such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, neurological diseases, obesity, diabetes and infectious diseases.[xlv] To learn more, see GreenMedInfo.com’s research on lingonberry and all berries.
Source:
Friday, February 24, 2023
Share With Others - A Chinese Proverb 与他人分享--中国的一句谚语
A Chinese Proverb
当有人与你分享有价值的东西并且你从中受益时，你有道德义务与他人分享。
一句中国谚语
Thursday, February 23, 2023
Begin The Practice Of....A Quotation from M.N. Hopkins
© M.N. Hopkins
To read more of my poems & quotations, please click on the link below:
Envision A Time - A Quotation from M.N. Hopkins
© M.N. Hopkins
To read more of my poems & quotations, please click on the link below:
Tuesday, February 21, 2023
Re-examine All - A Quotation from Walt Whitman
American poet, journalist, and essayist whose verse collection Leaves of Grass, first published in 1855, is a landmark in the history of American literature.
Discern What Is Real - A Poem by M.N. Hopkins
Live with dignity
Not following deceivers
Discern what is real
© 2023 M.N. Hopkins
Note: I wrote this poem yesterday in the haiku style of poetry which was inspired by current events in our world or at least the politics and theater that often passes for reality. I published it for the first time today, the 21st of February, 2023.
To read more of my poems & quotations, please click on the link below:
Monday, February 20, 2023
Do Not Seek Praise - The Wisdom of Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov
 Praise - do not seek it if you want to be able to move forward You can tell right away from people’s faces what they are after; and for many it is clear that they want to be bowed down to and recognized as the centre of the universe. As long as they nurture this desire instead of trying to fight it, they will not be able to move forward. Let them forget about themselves a little and they will see how free they will feel. Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov was a Bulgarian philosopher, pedagogue, mystic, and esotericist. A leading 20th-century teacher of Western Esotericism in Europe, he was a disciple of Peter Deunov, the founder of the Universal White Brotherhood. |
Sunday, February 19, 2023
Leef Die Lewe Van Een Wie...'n Aanhaling van MN Hopkins
Leef die lewe van iemand wat die duisternis kan sien en die pyn kan sien en voel, maar nie daardeur beïnvloed of vergiftig word nie.
© MN Hopkins
To read the original quotation in English, please click on the link below:
लिव द लाइफ ऑफ वन हू...एमएन हॉपकिंस का एक उद्धरण
उसका जीवन जियो जो अंधेरे को देख सकता है और दर्द को देख और महसूस कर सकता है, फिर भी उससे प्रभावित या जहरीला नहीं है।
© एमएन हॉपकिंस
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