KORAN AND SUNNA ON HEALTHY FOOD
KORAN AND SUNNA ON HEALTHY FOOD
Some Benefits of Wheat Bran
Do not be tempted by white flour as the wheat bran from which it is removed has the majority of the medical benefits. Therefore, the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) used to eat whole wheat bread and in this matter we shall find a prophetic miracle.
When people start removing the bran from wheat, diseases spread and after a long time it was verified that this bran has many medical benefits! Many researches and studies have also confirmed that these husks have many vitamins and minerals necessary for human body and when they are removed we lose them. So, doctors today advise that everyone, especially those with diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure, should have whole wheat bread with the husk on: this advice was clarified only in the 20th century.
Bran has minerals necessary for insulin excretion, which is good for diabetics. In addition, there are new studies that affirm the importance of bran in the prevention of cancer, other studies verifying that whole wheat is considered a suitable food for children and can prevent asthma in them.
There are numbers of antioxidants in bran that are beneficial in activating cells and preventing cancer. Recent studies have confirmed that intake of whole wheat helps in the treatment of heart diseases, arteriosclerosis and other diseases.
The astonishing fact, dear readers, is that the Messenger of Mercy (peace and blessings be upon him) used to eat whole wheat bread which never had the husk removed, as narrated by Al-Bukhari in the Hadith: “Allah’s apostle, peace be upon him, never saw purified flour (of hulled wheat grains) after he was sent by Allah till He, the Almighty, had captured his soul”. Thus we know that this process was known at the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).
From this we can realise that miracles are not only in what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, but also in all his actions.
Grape Seeds for the Treatment of Cancer and Other Diseases
Grape seeds were mentioned in the Holy Koran by Allah, be He Exalted. Nowadays, science has discovered that one of its medical benefits is in the treatment of leukemia.
The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said that Allah did not send down any illness without a cure for it. Currently scientists have found many remedies available in nature. Thus, the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) had already found what the science has recently confirmed; that nature is the principal source of cures.
One of the most important kinds of fruit that is used as a remedy is the grape. Allah mentioned this fruit in the Holy Koran as a fruit of the people of Paradise and certainly Allah’s choice for this fruit for the people of Paradise is great wisdom and guides us to the importance of this fruit. He, the Exalted, says (meaning), “Then We brought forth for you therewith gardens of date-palms and grapes, wherein is much fruit for you, and whereof you eat”. (Sura Al Mu’minun, ayah 19). Not only the fruit but even the seeds of grapes have been found to have great benefits in the treatment of the most dangerous of diseases, cancer!
A product extracted from grape seeds has proved effectiveness in the self-destruction of leukemia cells, experimental studies showing the effectiveness of commercially available product in killing 76% of cancerous cells after 24 hours of exposure through a self-destruction process known as Apoptosis, while the unaffected cells remains intact.
Professor Exianglin Shi of Kintaki University, who led the study, said that what everybody is searching for is a tool that affects only the cancerous cells and not the intact cells and that this study has shown that a grape seed extract can be such a tool.
Grape seeds have a group of phytochemical antioxidants, such as Resveratrol, which has anti-cancer properties. Researchers believe that this discovery will open the door for many promising new treatments of leukemia, a type of cancer of unknown causative factor, although scientists suspect many causative factors, viral, genetic, environmental and immunological which could result in this disease.
The above-mentioned scientist exposed leukemia cells to different doses of grape seed extracts. High doses of the extracts had a clear influence in the self-destruction of many cancerous cells. It is remarkable to say that self-destruction system or Apoptosis is a naturally occurring mechanism for eliminating the destructed cells or those exposed to carcinogenesis, when this mechanism stops cancerous cells from starting to multiply.
Although, researchers have discovered that the extract strongly activates the JNK protein, which is involved in the self-destruction process, they have warned that the time is too early to recommend eating grapes or grape seed extract for the prevention of cancer.
Previous experimental studies had already proved that grape seeds have effective properties in fighting cancerous cells in skin, breast, intestine, lung, stomach and prostate, whereas none had proved the effectiveness of the seed in preventing leukemia. Nevertheless, related observations and experiments have confirmed that the seeds, leaves and juice of grapes, as well as grapes themselves, all have numerous health benefits.
According to folk medicine, developed over thousands of years, the grape is considered an ideal food for activation of cells, especially brain cells, and is a good food for the heart. It is also an important energy source for muscles and cells.
This discovery indicates that Allah, who is the best knower of his servants, their diseases and cures, mentioned this fruit in the verses of the Koran as a kind reference to its significance which is being discovered by scientists day after day.
Let us contemplate the following verse and thank Almighty Allah for his blessings (meaning): “And a sign for them is the dead land. We give it life, and We bring forth from it grains, so that they eat thereof. And We have made therein gardens of date-palms and grapes, and We have caused springs of water to gush forth therein. So that they may eat of the fruit thereof – and their hands made it not. Will they not, then, give thanks?” (Sura Yasin, ayat 33-35).
