11th form (regular) – “alternative lifestyles”

The following texts provide two good examples of alternative lifestyles. They may help you with your next test.

Green Tea for Oral Cancer Prevention?

Green tea may help guard against oral cancer, according to recent research.

For the study, researchers focused on 41 people with oral leukoplakia, a precancerous sore that develops on the tongue or the inside of the cheek in response to chronic irritation. For three months, study members took either green tea extract at one of three doses - 500 mg per meter squared of body mass (mg/m2), 750 mg/m2, or 1,000 mg/m2 - or a placebo daily. Of those taking the two highest doses of the extract, 58.8 percent had a clinical response, compared with 36.4 percent in the lowest-extract dose and 18.2 percent in the placebo group. \ The green tea extract also led to an improvement in a number of biomarkers that may play a crucial role in predicting cancer development. What's more, the green tea extract was well tolerated, although it did produce some side effects (including insomnia and nervousness) in the high-dose group.

Pumpkin Protein Fights Infection

Protein extracted from pumpkin rind could help fight off yeast infections, a new study suggests. The study focused on a number of germs, including Candida albicans (C. albicans), a type of fungus known to cause vaginal yeast infections. In lab experiments on cell cultures, scientists discovered that the pumpkin-rind protein Pr-2 hindered the growth of C. albicans without harming cells. The study's authors suggest that Pr-2 could be used in a natural medicine for treating yeast infections in humans. A condition estimated to occur in three out of four women over the course of their lifetime, vaginal yeast infection may be triggered by the use of antibiotics, oral contraceptives, or steroids. Yeast infections also often affect women who are pregnant, diabetic, or in their post-menopausal [link: http://altmedicine.about.com/cs/womenshealth/a/Menopause.htm] years. Natural remedies thought to relieve yeast infections include probiotics and tea tree oil.

Text andpictures from here and here