USDA vs Healthy Eating

The food pyramids and plates conjured up by the USDA haven’t quite lived up to their expectations. In its attempts to get it right, this august, though somewhat misguided, body has delivered several versions, each one anticipated to be new and improved. So far, none has panned out.

Beta-Glucans, The Healer

There are quite a few products on the market that promise to heal wounds quickly. The one made from a combination of bacitracin, neomycin and polymyxin is so popular that it’s been copied as a generic. But it isn’t all-natural. For those interested in a natural alternative, there’s a new kid on the block, called beta-glucans, found in baker’s yeast and a few other common sources, and destined to be on the shelves as a gel in 2012. Heralded as a “super medicine,” beta-glucans are currently used in veterinary medicine, dietary supplements, and cosmetics. And Norwegian scientists say it has even more potential.

Diabetes Prevention: Can We Stop Type 2 Before It Starts?

Predictions for an increase in diabetes are dreadful. One in three children born in the United States in the year 2000 are apt to become diabetic unless they change the way they eat and start to move more. The implications of this epidemic are frightening because blindness, amputations, kidney failure and heart disease are in their futures. From the mid 60’s to the mid 90’s, the number of diagnosed diabetes cases has tripled. The type 2 diabetes that appeared at age forty is now showing up at age twelve. Almost all of those kids are overweight.

Pantothenic Acid—Vitamin B5

Pantothenic acid (vitamin B5) is essential to the metabolism of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats, as well as for the synthesis of hormones and cholesterol. Deficiency is rare and likely to occur in cases of malnutrition. Its anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, wound healing, and antiviral actions are now being studied.

Antibiotic Alternatives

Livestock and poultry live in such proximity to each other that they share more than food. They stand in it, they wallow in it, and they breathe it.  How does the farmer in the dell protect his animals from catching each other’s sicknesses and diseases?  From cattle to chickens, and probably even to farmed fish, antibiotics have been necessary evils, having resulted in tremendous increases in animal production and protection of human health.  (Hume. 2011)  It’s been a rare case when these drugs weren’t used.  Some factory farms that swore they were antibiotic free were later found to be in violation of the truth.  Primary care physicians prescribe antibiotics to satisfy their patients’ false beliefs that this class of drug will cure their common cold and remove symptoms of influenza.  (Smucny. 2000)  What’s wrong with this?  Antibiotic resistance is the concern, an issue that develops almost too quickly for science to keep ahead of the pathogens.

Antibiotic Abuse And Misuse

Antibiotics have changed the world since their discovery in the 1940’s. Their success in treating bacterial disease cannot be discounted. Antibiotics work by one of two mechanisms: they either kill bacteria outright or stop them from multiplying. Those that can treat a wide range of infections are called broad-spectrum; those treating only a few types are narrow-spectrum antibiotics. Unfortunately, the indiscriminate use of these wonder drugs has allowed the targeted microbes to rouse up a defense. 

Thiamin—Vitamin B1

About half of thiamin is found in skeletal muscle. Beriberi, more common in the 19th century, is a thiamin deficiency disease caused by a diet of highly polished rice, where the thiamin-rich husk is removed.  Deficiency appears in alcoholics, those with malabsorption syndromes, and in long-term use of loop diuretics. 

Don’t Jump To Occlusions

Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is among the most underdiagnosed, untreated and potentially deadly conditions people can face, raising the risk of heart attack and stroke. An aging population and an increase in obesity and diabetes are causing a wave of non-cardiac vascular disease, affecting as many as eight million people. Canadian cardiologists learned that five percent of the adults over fifty who were screened for PAD had it, but an astounding 80% were unaware of it. Those pains and cramps you feel in your legs when you climb the stairs or simply walk down the driveway to get the mail might be more than you think. 

Athletes And Fuel - Feeling Fuelish?

When it comes to fueling an athlete, there had been as many approaches as there are sports to play. Several respected bodies have merged philosophies to incorporate and publicize nutritional recommendations that can be adapted to most athletic pursuits. There is much about diet that is common sense, but the habits cultivated from family traditions just might fly in the face of that. Ethnic or regional cuisines may feature foods that upset the balance of both macro- and micro-nutrient intake. There is no doubt that the physiological needs of serious athletes have to be the first consideration in finding and combining the right fuels.

Winterize Your Immune System

The relationship between vitamin D status and the strength of the immune system is a hot topic. Actually a steroid hormone more than a vitamin, vitamin D is made by the skin after exposure to the ultraviolet radiation of the sun. Because the sun’s angle of incidence outside the tropics is considerably lower in winter, the skin’s response is too weak to manufacture sufficient stores of this vital nutrient.  

Cold Weather Coronary Episodes

The way the body responds to low temperatures involves more than comfort. Cold temperatures cause arteries to tighten, restricting blood flow and reducing the oxygen supply to the heart, all of which can set the stage for a cardiac event. The heart has to work harder in the cold weather to keep the body warm, especially in the morning when blood pressure is on the upswing. The “blood pressure surge” just before waking is higher in the winter than at other times of the year. The tight management of blood pressure and cardiovascular health requires careful attention, but more so when the thermometer drops.  

B Vitamins And Energy

A considerable fraction of the general population reports using one or more vitamin supplements. Reasons include fighting stress and tiredness, and improving mental function. Until recent decades, there was only modest support from the allopathic community that supplements could render any benefit.  

Colorful Foods—Black

If a plant had cognitions, whereby it could think and perceive, it almost assuredly would pay attention to the environmental and predatory insults that bombard it regularly, never thinking that the chemicals it makes to protect itself could likewise benefit its animated aggressors. Plants defend themselves against oxidation, pests, and harmful ultra-violet radiation by making substances that people and animals can borrow to fend off sickness and disease, and to change the way the body reacts to the insults it might receive from bacteria, viruses, and renegade cell division.   

Breast Cancer Prevention

The natural, alternative approach to cancer treatment and prevention can’t make money for an entity because natural substances cannot be patented.  Therefore, little interest in their exploration and development has emerged.  Without funding, classic studies can’t be performed on a large scale.  Yet, there are a few brave souls who delve into the bright possibilities (hope) of promoting natural substances to heal disease, whether they come directly from foods or indirectly via sensible supplementation.   All the while, common elements that traditional and integrative medicine share are the promotion of health by altering one’s lifestyle and using known factors to predict risk of disease.  

Brain Fog

There is a relationship between central nervous system missteps and markers of inflammation. Age doesn’t matter; it happens across the board. If the occasional bout of forgetfulness strikes you, you might recoil in fear of early-onset dementia, especially if the “occasions” are too close together. Is there anything you can do about this? Could it be something you ate? Maybe it’s something you didn’t eat.  

Medium-Chain Triglycerides Effect Weight Loss

Medium-chain triglycerides (MCT) are a unique kind of dietary fat that lend a wide range of positive health benefits, weight loss among them. MCT’s have a fatty acid chain length that varies between six and twelve carbon atoms, which is only one characteristic that distinguishes them from the more familiar long-chain fatty acids, such as the highly-celebrated fish oil. MCT’s are transported through the blood by the portal system, which bypasses the usual route of digestion and sends them directly to the liver.  

Phthalate Exposure

Phthalates are endocrine disrupters, widely present in the environment and able to impede mental and motor development in children by causing changes in the nascent brain. These chemicals are found in many consumer products, from shower curtains to plastic toys to shampoo and hair spray. Their ubiquity has led scientists to look more closely into the risks associated with exposure to phthalates during pregnancy. What they found was sufficiently disconcerting to make you scrutinize the products you buy if you are pregnant or contemplating being so.   

Lack Of Sleep Alters Hormones, Affects Weight

Sleep disorders are coming under closer scrutiny in a society plagued by their ubiquity, prompted by extraneous and self-induced pressures and obligations.  Discovery of the genetic basis for circadian rhythms has expanded our knowledge of the temporal role of behavior and physiology.  The relationship between sleep deprivation and hormone imbalance is publicized, but disregarded.  That part of the hypothalamus in charge of daily metabolic rhythm is called the suprachiasmatic nucleus, and it controls physical activity and hormone levels, as well as sleep, body temperature, immunity, and digestion.   

Purple Foods (Red + Blue = Purple)

Part of the mouth-watering experience of eating is what appeals to your color perception. Unless visually impaired, we see our food before we taste it. Aroma may precede that. What we anticipate enhances what we taste. The more colors there are on the plate, the more nutritious the tasting. Beyond the humdrum nature of tan, ecru, and washed-out pale, there is an array of colors that can arouse a more than casual interest in eating: blue, red, and purple.  

Child Athletes Nutrition

A child is not a miniature adult. His or her nutrition and hydration needs are not exactly the same, especially in sports participation.  With the growth and availability of sports opportunities, you’d think that related nutrition needs would be a concern. To the contrary, sports nutrition for youngsters receives less attention than it deserves. 

Blood Pressure And Body Fat

If you’re in the upper part of your normal weight range or are outright overweight, you might want to do something about it, especially if you’re getting up there in age. The relationship between being overweight and having high blood pressure is well-established.

Yoga

If there exists such a philosophical regime that can bring a person closer to Elysium in every aspect of life—balance, health, aging—its enthusiasts argue that it is yoga. Investigations into the complexities of this physical / mental / spiritual discipline have focused on the almost inexplicable efficacy of its practice. That it is conjectured to effect a return to normal following a physical or mental derangement deserves at least a little attention.

Atopic Dermatitis / Eczema

Some unfortunate persons are not able to convert essential fatty acids (EFA’s) from their parent forms to their more active metabolites, such as converting linoleic acid, the primary omega-6, to gamma-linolenic acid (GLA). More than twenty years of research points to the inefficiency of this active conversion pathway as causative of inflammatory skin conditions. Wherever and whenever a metabolite cannot be made by the body on its own, administration of that substance may be in order.

Sleep and Kids

It would be too easy if we put our kids to bed and they fell asleep in the average nine minutes it takes for an adult to drop into the arms of Morpheus. If your child struggles to fall asleep, know that this is not likely to resolve merely by moving from crib to bed. As he ages, there will fewer cries and screams, and more pleas and refusals. Could there be a reason behind this? Maybe television? Video games?

Herbicides And Birth Defects

After years of acceptance as a safe and effective weed killer, a popular herbicide is facing the guillotine as teratogenic—it causes malformations in an embryo or fetus. Initial investigations (in the 1970’s) into the safety record of the chemical, glyphosate, indicated that its safety to humans was guaranteed. An organization called Earth Open Source has now indicted the chemical as a serious risk to public health while accusing the herbicide industry of hiding the truth for decades.

Laundry: A Toxic Venture

We like to think of ourselves as clean and fresh-smelling. But at what price? Although suspect for several years, the gentle aromas wafting from our laundry appliances are giving us more than we asked for—pollution. Venting the dryer outside contributes to the air many of the same chemicals emanating from vehicle and industrial exhausts, but better-smelling. If the dryer is vented indoors into a bucket of water for lack of a suitable alternative, the effect is concentrated to a much smaller environment. Although dozens of potentially harmful compounds have been identified in laundry fragrances, from soap to dryer sheets, none, by law, needs to be listed on the product label. We don’t know what we’re getting for our money, but you can bet it’s more than we bargained for.

Technology And Children: A Negative Effect On Health?

One of the vagaries of parenthood is that we think we know more than our kids, enough to maintain a watchful eye over all they do and the places they go. That might have been true before the advent of wireless technology and electronic media, but that’s an iffy proposition today. Of course, the connected parent is concerned about his child’s safety and does all he can to ensure it. But that idea transcends the physical, for the motivational, psychological and emotional dangers are ubiquitous.

MSG and Weight Gain

The Body Mass Index (BMI) is a measure of the relative percentages of fat and muscle mass in the human body, based on a person’s weight and height, used to assess obesity. This barometer was used by researchers to determine the effect of the food additive, monosodium glutamate (MSG), on weight over a period of time. It was learned that those persons who consume MSG regularly experience changes in the part of the brain that controls appetite, thus having an influence on energy balance and consequent weight gain.

Calorie Restriction Extends Lifespan

Calorie restriction (CR) in animals extends longevity by a considerable margin. Both primary and secondary aging processes are decelerated by limiting foods to those that are high in nutrients and relatively low in calories. Studies on humans are only now in progress, while those in animals have been unfolding for a few years. One of the boons of CR is a lowered core body temperature, which is that at which all physiological activity is most efficient. Not only this, but also fat reduction and consequent cardiac health can defer the foibles and imperfections of old age.

Cell Phones and Cancer

They are called international experts. They work for the International Agency for Research on Cancer, part of the World Health Organization (WHO), and are highly respected in their field. Their recent statement about cell phones and their relationship to cancer has drawn a ho-hum reaction from the garrulous public. This august body has reviewed possible connections between the kind of electromagnetic radiation in cell phones and irregularities in body tissues that might cause brain tumors, both cancerous and non-cancerous, and tumors of the auditory nerves and salivary glands.

Plate and Weight

Portion distortion and super-sized everything have taken their toll on the waists of the world, especially in the United States. In every town and city you’ll find an all-you-can-eat buffet within easy driving distance. If not that, how about a diner / restaurant that piles the food so high you can’t see the person across the table? The dining establishments may be feeding the frenzy, but it is the consumers who are getting out of control. And not just when eating out. Dinner plates are larger than ever, and, being good Americans, we feel obligated to empty them.

Hot Dog!

Are we knowingly jeopardizing our collective lives? Common more to developed countries, colon cancer is the third most frequently diagnosed form of the disease. The risk in the United States is about 7%, but is based on certain factors: family history, colon polyps, and age among them. At the 2009 All-Star Game, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) posted a 48-feet-wide billboard on the highway near Busch Stadium in St. Louis proclaiming the causative nature of the lowly hot dog in colorectal disease. Why? Because processed meats have been convincingly linked to colorectal cancer.

Photosensitivity And Supplements

Ah, the red, painful skin that feels hot to the touch. Many of us have had the pleasure…or, rather, the pain. In our youth we were not told of what was to come from repeated aspirations to the beauty of the bronze. And, if we were told, we didn’t listen. If you’re a fair-haired beauty, you’re more likely to burn than your darker peers. Skin types range from very light to very dark, but you already knew that. What you may not know is that the sun’s rays penetrate all skin types and wreak havoc on your DNA. Yes, dark brown and black skin tans and burns, though burning is not so common. Ultra-violet damage can lead to serious problems, not only with your skin, but also with your eyes.

Glutathione: It’s Your Gut

Some things are so grossly unconventional that we think they’ll never get off the ground. To the contrary is the ultimate use of waste water, but not the kind you’re thinking of. This is olive water, the leftovers from the olive grinding mill. It seems that this material is able to influence some measures of oxidative stress in humans by affecting levels of glutathione, the body’s premier endogenous (self-made) antioxidant, able to be synthesized by all cells of the body.

Sunflower Seeds Lower Cholesterol

Sunflower seeds and pistachio nuts are top snacks for reducing cholesterol. Scientists have known for a long time that nuts and seeds are rich sources of phytosterols, plant compounds that are structurally related to cholesterol and may lower LDL levels. Keeping cholesterol in check may be your goal, but it’s not realistic to accomplish this without some work…as in exercise.

Maple Syrup – M’m! M’m!

Astounding as it may seem, maple syrup—real maple syrup—has been found to have anti-cancer and anti-diabetes properties. Plant researchers at the University of Rhode Island have isolated compounds from maple tree sap that are strikingly beneficial to human health. What’s more, some of these compounds are brand new, and surface only after the sap is processed into syrup.

Athletes and Hydration

Are you wet behind the ears, all wet, or a wet blanket?  Maybe you’re not wet enough.  If that’s the case, you could be in for trouble if you’re an athlete or a wannabe, or even if you’re just working in a hot environment, like the back yard.  The benefits of fluid and electrolyte intake during intense exercise or competition—or grass cutting—are expressed through improved performance and reduced physiological stress on the central nervous, cardiovascular, and muscular systems.  The general theory for staying amply hydrated is well-founded, but the practical recommendations need to be polished.

Chocolate Covered Prevention

Chocolate consumption can reduce cardiac risk by a third, according to a very recent pronouncement based on meta-analyses of previous works.  Scientists report that chocolate could be a viable factor in the reduction of heart disease and metabolic syndrome by virtue of its polyphenol content, keeping company with fruits and vegetables, extra virgin olive oil, wine and teas.  The scientists who offered this report were careful to note that none of the seven trials that were examined had followed all the hallmarks of the scientific protocol, including control and randomization, meaning that a control group / trial group selection was not done to eliminate bias in treatment.  On the other hand, empirical results were used to support the hypotheses.

Germs At The Gym

Putting in time at the gym is supposed to make you healthier, but if you’re not careful, it could be the cause of an unexpected surprise—sickness.  The gym is one of the best places for pathogens (germs) to hide.  It provides germs exactly what they need to thrive and multiply:  dampness, darkness, and warmth.  While other body systems and tissues may be affected, skin is the primary site of exogenous infection.

Spices Cut the Fat

Many spices are known for their antioxidant potential, that is, they are able to prevent the breakdown of other substances by oxidation.  In this case, we are the other substance.  Eating a diet beautified with spices, such as cinnamon or turmeric, reduces the body’s negative response to eating high-fat meals.  Such dining experiences may have a cumulative toll in elevated triglyceride levels, a marker for increased risk of heart disease.

Food Safety: Packed Lunch

The featured abstract, from the respected journal, Pediatrics, explores the condition of packed lunches at a pre-school.  There is no reason to think that other school environments are any different.  Despite a parent’s best efforts at keeping a child’s lunch from spoiling and causing food-related illnesses, such incidents still occur because of inattentive food handling at school.  Malevolence is not usually a factor.

ADHD and Magnesium

Magnesium deficiency has been reported in children with ADHD syndrome.  Signs of this malady include hyperactivity, hypermotivity with aggressiveness, and lack of attention, especially at school.  Biochemical and concurrent behavioral improvements have been realized by magnesium therapy in association with vitamin B6 supplementation.

Vitamin D & The Brain

Vitamin D deficiency has hit an epidemic level. Not only are intakes devastatingly low, but also exposure to the sun has become increasingly limited for fear of contracting skin cancer. In his June 23, 1011, newsletter at Newsmax Health, Dr.Russell Blaylock educates his readers when he states that vitamin D3 is actually a hormone rather than a vitamin, and that a deficit of this compound may result in undesirable consequences in the brain, including depression.

The Eyes Have It

Diet is vital to preservation of vision as we age. Some people have a higher risk of losing central vision than others—based partly on genetics—but that can be postponed or prevented by consuming sufficient levels of certain dietary nutrients. Clinicians are advised to provide dietary counsel especially to young persons who are susceptible to the vision-disabling consequences that accompany the genetic variations responsible for early onset of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). That gene is officially termed “complement factor H,” abbreviated to CFH. Researchers in the Netherlands tested more than two thousand individuals over age 55 for genetic susceptibility to AMD by way of the CFH gene. The subjects were followed for more than a decade, receiving eye exams every three years to learn who suffered from vision deterioration or loss. Careful, detailed dietary intake records were kept, and eating habits were monitored. The risk reduction ascribed to specific nutrients was associated with normal dietary intake.

Salt May Not Be As Bad As They Say…Or Is It?

Using a sufficiently large set of data, the Cochrane Library, a highly respected international collaboration of evidence-based medicine reviews, was able to draw startling conclusions about the association of salt intake with high blood pressure and cardiovascular risks. After looking at almost 6,500 people, comprising several well-conducted studies, Cochrane found that, for CVD mortality and all-cause mortality in persons with normal or elevated blood pressure, there is no strong evidence for restricting salt intake.

Diet Soda is Not A Free Ride

There is little doubt that obesity in America is on the upswing. Lots of people think that an artificially-sweetened beverage can offset the poor dietary decisions to which they have become accustomed. There has been established a relationship between non-sugar sweeteners and weight gain based on physiological responses to the message of satiety and the perceived need to consume more calories to achieve it. While the perception of sweet taste is supposed to satisfy appetite, the calculated deception to the body just might boomerang and call off all bets.

Do you wash your produce? Why?

In his June 11, 2011 column for Newsmax Health, Dr. Russell Blaylock, noted neurosurgeon and lecturer, admonished his readers to pay careful attention to the washing of their produce, especially in light of the recent outbreak of deadly E.coli in Europe, where more than 4,000 people were afflicted, and more than a few dozen died.  None of us can tell where our food has been before it hit the home refrigerator.  Not only E. coli, but also other strains of pathogenic bacteria can lurk in our foods.  The steps we take to ensure food safety after we get it home from the store or the garden market makes all the difference in the world.

Flu and Vitamin D3

In a sequestered environment such as a classroom or dormitory, influenza can evoke concerns that are more than just casual. It has been noted by scientists and physicians that seasonal variations in ultraviolet radiation from the sun parallel the outbreak of the flu. The more obvious the sun’s activity, the less pronounced are viral infections. The converse is also true. Places at high latitudes do not receive enough sunlight to help the body produce vitamin D, known for its ability to cause an immune response to pathogens.

Hydration: How much do you need?

We have been counseled to drink eight, 8-ounce glasses of water a day (“8 x 8”) for such a long time that the advice has become unwritten law…and slavishly followed at that. This chant started so long ago that most people have no idea of its origin. At the same time, we are cautioned not to count alcohol and coffee as hydration elements. The science behind the recommendation is so scant that little support can be given to the exhortation, yet the possession of a water bottle is ubiquitous. It is possible that this idea is the result of misinterpretation or misreading of a notion proposed by the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Research Council that recommended one milliliter of water for every calorie consumed. The neglected fact is that there is water in our food. That would surely separate liquid intake from total dietary intake.

Soda and Obesity

While a major study relating soda and obesity was done in California, the hypothesis, observations and outcomes are applicable to all the states of the Union.  More than half the adolescents in that state and almost a fourth of the adults treat themselves to at least one sweetened beverage every day. One of the concerns expressed by UCLA researchers is that the serving size has grown from an average of 6.5 ounces and eighty-eight calories in the 1950’s to 20 ounces and two hundred sixty-six calories by the 2000’s.  In fast food restaurants in 2003, the average serving was 23 ounces (almost 300 calories).  These added caloric sweeteners, including high fructose corn syrup, are not only markers of a poor diet, but also are associated with overweight and obesity in all age groups.

Indoor Air Pollution

Indoor air pollution is one of the most overlooked threats to human health.  Households in developing countries might be the hardest hit.  Because children spend almost eighty percent of their time indoors, they are the most likely victims.  In the past several years it has been determined that conditions ranging from asthma, headaches and fatigue to allergic reactions, hormone imbalances and central nervous damage may be attributed to indoor air quality—or, rather, the lack of it.  Most of us realize that outdoor air quality can affect health, but few pay attention to the indoor air…unless it smells bad.

Importance of Iodine

Iodine (I) is essential, we must have I, just as we need zinc or magnesium or any essential mineral, we also need I. The iodine deficiency disorders include goiter, hypothyroidism, mental retardation, reproductive impairment, and decreased child survival (Dunn JT 1998); however that short group is only the beginning of health problems with a lack of iodine.