Our favorite health food vlogger Natalie talks about what makes coconut a super food:
Now you know why we added organic coconut flour to our BoKU Super Protein. Not only does it add a nice light flavor, but it’s loaded with nutrients, a truly super food!
Middle aged and elderly people with high levels of vitamin D could reduce their chances of developing heart disease or diabetes by 43%, according to researchers at the University of Warwick.
A team of researchers at Warwick Medical School carried out a systematic literature review of studies examining vitamin D and cardiometabolic disorders. Cardiometabolic disorders include cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes mellitus and metabolic syndrome.
Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that is naturally present in some foods and is also produced when ultraviolet rays from sunlight strike the skin and trigger vitamin D synthesis. Fish such as salmon, tuna and mackerel are good sources of vitamin D, and it is also available as a dietary supplement.
Researchers looked at 28 studies including 99,745 participants across a variety of ethnic groups including men and women. The studies revealed a significant association between high levels of vitamin D and a decreased risk of developing cardiovascular disease (33% compared to low levels of vitamin D), type 2 diabetes (55% reduction) and metabolic syndrome (51% reduction).
The literature review, published in the journal Maturitas, was led by Johanna Parker and Dr Oscar Franco, Assistant Professor in Public Health at Warwick Medical School.
Dr Franco said: “We found that high levels of vitamin D among middle age and elderly populations are associated with a substantial decrease in cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome.
“Targeting vitamin D deficiency in adult populations could potentially slow the current epidemics of cardiometabolic disorders.”
All studies included were published between 1990 and 2009 with the majority published between 2004 and 2009. Half of the studies were conducted in the United States, eight were European, two studies were from Iran, three from Australasia and one from India.
Source: http://www.physorg.com/news185446287.html
The need for vitamin can clash with the need to protect your skin from sun damage. That is why Boku Super Food contains one of the few vegan diet sources of vitamin D. Boku’s Super Tàke Mushroom blend contains 14 kinds of medicinal mushrooms that have already absorbed plenty of vitamin D2 so your skin doesn’t have to! Each scoop of Boku contains 20% of the recommended daily allowance. Your body digests and internalizes the vitamin D from ingesting the powdered mushrooms in your Boku drink!
Here’s to your health!
Before buying that box of chocolates for your Valentine, it is important to understand the type of chocolate to buy if you are looking for health benefits, according to Brian Lindshield, Kansas State University assistant professor of human nutrition.
Lindshield said dark chocolate can be good for you — but it depends on how the chocolate is processed.
“The whole idea behind chocolate being beneficial comes from the Kuna who live on a remote island off of Panama,” Lindshield said. “The Kuna people have a unique diet, and one of the reasons scientists were interested in them is because they are one of the only populations that does not develop high blood pressure.”
Generally, as Americans age, blood pressure rises, which results in many developing the chronic high blood pressure condition known as hypertension, Lindshield said. However, when researchers studied the Kuna, they found that their blood pressure did not increase as they aged. Scientists also studied Kuna who had moved off the remote island to Panama City and found that after they moved, their blood pressure increased as they aged, more like most other populations in the world.
“Clearly, there was something that they were doing on the island that was resulting in lower blood pressure,” Lindshield said. “What researchers found was the Kuna’s cocoa consumption on the island was huge compared to when they moved off the island. We’re not talking chocolate, we’re talking cocoa powder, which is super bitter.”
That bitterness is due to compounds found in cocoa called flavinols which have been attributed to lowering blood pressure, Lindshield said.
The problem with most chocolates, however, is that most of their flavinols are destroyed during processing.
This is why only organic, raw cacao powder is used in BōKU® Super Food. We want to retain all of the mineral and antioxidant (flavinol) health benefits of chocolate.
Article Source: http://www.physorg.com/news184874071.html
What is maca?
Maca is a cruciferous root vegetable in the same family as the turnip. It is native the Andes of Peru and Bolivia grown at altitudes between 13,000 and 15,000 feet (highest crop grown). The Andean Incas highly valued the root as they 
believed it to increase energy, endurance and fertility in both humans and animals. They also used it as currency when bartering with peoples of other regions.
The root has recently been rediscovered for its high nutritional value. It is very mineral rich (such as calcium, iron, copper, magnesium, and zinc) as well as significant amounts of vitamins B1, B2, C, proteins, carbohydrates, and lignans.
However, it is the possible sexual functions of maca that arouses the most interest. Even today it is thought that this little root may alleviate menopausal symptoms in women, increase semen volume, sperm count and motility in men and enhance libido, endurance and fertility in both sexes. The research that has been done on the herb has shown that even though it can create these types of results, it does not contain or directly influence actual sex hormones.
Since maca research is still in its infancy it is unknown why these hormonal effects often take place over long term maca use. One theory is that the alkaloids found in maca stimulates the endocrine system, another is that its adaptogenic properties allow the body to maintain hormonal homeostasis. Likely, it is the synergy of these as well as other biological processes that maca promotes.
The maca used in BōKU® Super Food is a special organic, fresh pressed maca root juice that is far more potent than plain powdered maca root. It is only one of the ingredients in BōKU® that can help add years to your life and life to your years!
