I’m a big olive oil snob. In the future, I’ll post about what to look for in terms of good quality extra virgin olive oils, how to store them, etc. but for now here’s a report from UC Davis that analyzed a variety of different “extra virgin olive oils” and the results are very revealing. Some highlights: 
 

 
UC Davis Olive Oil Report

If any of us have told you to consume more foods that are high on the ORAC index (high in antioxidants), know that culinary herbs and spices are among the highest. Even more than regular vegetables and fruits. So I decided to geek out and put all of the indexed culinary herbs on a spreadsheet to graph out for you. Keep in mind that all fresh herbs are good but note which ones are the highest. I personally like to get my fresh organic herbs from the farmers markets. One of my favorite farms that I don’t get to often because they are only at the Santa Monica market here in LA is Coleman Family Farms. Brandon and I visited their farm years ago and their herbs truly have a lot of… “Qi.” But there are a few stands at the Hollywood market that has excellent herbs as well. Even better would be if you grow them yourself! I always put a ton of fresh herbs in my salads either mixed in with the lettuce or incorporated into a dressing (perhaps a non-dairy green goddess?). I also like to make pesto and pistou with an assortment of fresh herbs. I don’t recommend cooking fresh herbs too much as that will inactivate some of the antioxidant activity. 
 

This recent study looked at both piperine and curcumin to examine their effects on breast cancer and both compounds were found to be potent inhibitors of breast cancer. Piperine is a compound found in black pepper and is responsible for the pungency, so if you are using black pepper for cancer prevention, freshly cracking it so you have the pungency is a good idea. It’s easy to add onto many foods. When you combine it with curcumin from tumeric for example, piperine can amplify curcumin’s effects by up to 2000%. They are very synergistic. However, keep in mind that piperine can affect drug metabolism, so if you are taking medications, use piperine very moderately.
 
Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2009 Nov 7. [Epub ahead of print]

Compounds from yet another Chinese herb (Ai Wei/F. Assafoetida) were found to be potent inhibitors of the H1N1 class of viruses. They were also shown to kill breast cancer and liver cancer cells as well. Chinese herbs have been used for millenia to help fight off a wide variety of epidemics. In fact, there are entire schools of Chinese herbal medicine dedicated to identifying infectious disease patterns and treating them. We will be finding many more novel compounds in the future from herbal medicine. Unfortunately, as conventional researchers get a hold of these, they mass produce them, use them inappropriately and then organisms develop resistance to them. In the mean time, herbal medicine extracts are novel enough to our pathogens to be very effective. If you want to learn some of the ancient Chinese strategies for dealing with epidemics, including the use of herbs, you can learn about it here.
 
J Nat Prod. 2009 Sep;72(9):1568-72.

Researchers from the CDC analyzed data from 13,155 women who had children with birth defects. They found statistically significant correlations with antibiotic use. Two classes were identified as the main culprits: sulfonamides and nitrofurantoins (commonly used to treat UTI’s e.g., Macrobid). Other classes of antibiotics such as penicillins, erythromycins and cephalosporins seemed safer and were not significantly associated with birth defects, though there were some.
 
The main point here is that we need to be very careful with indiscriminate use of antibiotics. If you are sick, it doesn’t mean you have a bacterial infection and if you have a bacterial infection it doesn’t mean that just any antibiotic will kill it. There are also a lot of people taking antibiotics prophylactically during pregnancy to prevent all sorts of things like UTI’s, etc. I think this study is a wake up call. We should only use antibiotics when they are necessary and when we know that the organism is susceptible to the particular antibiotic.
 
Also note, that the women they looked at included women who took antibiotics one month before becoming pregnant. Prevention is the best medicine and during pregnancy there are many things you can do that have been proven to optimize your immune system such as acupuncture, good food choices, moderate exercise and stress relief.
 
Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 2009; 163 (11): 978

Researchers at Cornell University found that apple skins (from Red Delicious apples) had powerful antioxidant (stronger than vitamin C) and anti-proliferative effects. Specifically they tested certain flavanoids from apple skins against certain liver cancer and breast cancer cell lines and found that both were potently inhibited. This may help explain some of the treatment strategies used by certain natural anti-cancer therapies such as Gerson Therapy, or other juicing regimens that include heavy use of apples. One of the problems though is that the skins of the apples also have the most pesticides, so remember to only use organic apples since peeling them takes out most of their anti-cancerous properties. It may be even more beneficial when juicing apples to save the fiber and then eat it later since some of the skin components will not make it into the juice (don’t mix it in with the juice or you may impair nutrient absorption). Hopefully, Steve Gomberg can give us a recipe for how to do this in a palatable way.
 
J Agric Food Chem. 2008 Nov 12;56(21):9905-10. Epub 2008 Oct 2.

A Chinese herb known as y? zh? c?o (Commelina communis) was recently shown to reduce the H1N1 death rate by more than 50% in mice when administered after infection. If the herb was taken prophylactically (for prevention), the H1N1 virus was inhibited by up to 90%. Thus, ya zhi cao is yet another Chinese herb we can add to the arsenal against H1N1.
 
Arch Virol. 2009 Sep 23. [Epub ahead of print]

Researchers in Italy recently examined the antiviral activity of tea tree oil. They found that it effectively inhibited H1N1 replication at doses that were not toxic to normal cells. Therefore, you may want to consider diffusing tea tree oil in your office space to help prevent H1N1 infection, and if you have already contracted it, you may want to diffuse it at home to protect other family members.
 
Lett Appl Microbiol. 2009 Sep 18. [Epub ahead of print]

Researchers have been frantically looking for new and potent antivirals to combat the recent potential epidemics/pandemics of the Swine Flu (H1N1), Avian Flu (H9N2 and H5N1) and others. Chinese Medicinal compounds have shown powerful antiviral effects, so researchers looked into an herb called andrographis that had already exhibited broad spectrum antiviral properties including inhibition of HIV. A compound isolated from andrographis resulted in a 100% survival rate for pandemic H1N1 when administered at the proper time in the proper dose. If you are around sick people, then taking andrographis prophylactically might be prudent. If you think you have the flu, get to an herbalist right away (be sure to wear a mask to minimize the risk of infecting other people). According to this study, if you wait 72 hours after exposure to the flu, this herb and the antiviral drugs have no significant effects.
 
We are recommending the equivalent of about 5g/day for prevention and 10 - 14g for treatment (AE). This herb should be combined with other herbs to mitigate some of the potential side effects according to your particular constitution.
 
Biol Pharm Bull. 2009 Aug;32(8):1385-91

In case you were suspicious about cell phones, it looks like you had good reason to be. Recent, comprehensive epidemiological data has demonstrated that cell phone use for 10 years or more doubles your chance of getting a brain tumor on the side of the head that you put the phone close to. It’s really amazing how far common sense gets you. Common sense tells you that if you can fry an egg on your ear after a phone conversation, then maybe that’s not going to be the best thing for your brain. But somehow we are convinced of the safety of these things. Companies that have financial interests submit safety data and our government makes decisions based on these. My advice is to keep cell phones as far away from you as you practically can. When talking use the speakerphone or car bluetooth and hope for the best.
 
Surg Neurol. 2009 Sep;72(3):205-14; discussion 214-5. Epub 2009 Mar 27.