Natural Relief for Allergies

With allergy season in full bloom hereare some natural ways to live in peace with nature.


Green Tea

Green tea, which is full of a powerful antioxidant phytonutrient called epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), blocks histamine and immunoglobulin E (IgE). Both of these naturally-produced chemicals are linked with uncomfortable allergy-symptoms. Because EGCG blocks their production, allergy symptoms are reduced. Drink two to three cups of green tea daily for the best results.

Quercetin

Sources of this antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-histamine phytonutrient include:
apples
onions
berries
cabbage,
caauliflower
nuts
black, green or white tea


Pineapple Enzymee

Bromelain, which can be extracted from pineapple is anti-inflmmatory. It can help with sinusitis, bronchitis, pneumonia, and other respiratory disorders.

Source of information above is the Healthy and Living Section on Card2.com http://www.care2.com/greenliving/7-ways-to-beat-allergies-naturally.html

Supplemental Use Goes Mainstream

Even I was surprised by this statistic from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Half of the U.S. population is using supplements. The supplements include vitamins, herbs and minerals.

An article on CNN reports that use of calcium, vitamin D and folic acid has risen in the past few years with 61% of women over the age of 60 take calcium, compared with only 28% in 1988-1994. Also, 56% of women in that age group take vitamin D supplements, compared with only 30% in 1988-1994.

The article quotes Dr. Orly Avitzur, medical adviser for Consumer Reports as saying that while supplements are important it is not a substitute for eating well. "It's a Band-Aid approach to think you can eat poorly and just take a vitamin and you'll be equal to another person who eats well and exercises and takes care of their health and gets regular checkups. There's no substitute for a healthy lifestyle."

And my holistic MD, David Brownstein would whole-heartedly agree with that.

Foods that Burn Fat

Given the time of year where every living thing, dogs included, are on diets here are some ways to eat and burn fat at the same time.

--Include protein at every meal and during snacks. One holistic physician I know eats 2 eggs ( yolk and all) for breakfast every morning. (And I admit I feed my dog part my of my morning omelette.)

--Keeping with the breakfast theme, it is also a good idea to include muesli and peaches, for example. These have been show to help burn more fat during a subsequent workout than eating high-glycemic-index meal (like waffles).

--Green tea -- some studies have shown that drinking five cups of 5 ounces each a day helps. While that seems a lot some people use supplements.

--For snacks have almonds, cherries, yogurt, grapefruit, whole grains.

--Spicy foods have also been shown to melt fat.

And because I'm such a fan of vitamins, both Vitamin C and D help. Suggested amounts are 400-500 mg of C and 800 mg of D.

For other tips on foods and ways to burn fat see the article on Health.com

Did You Have Your Vitamin C Today?

Anyone who comes into contact with me can expect to be asked that question.

My children avoid this question by taking a daily dosage, as do most of my extended family members. My colleagues are realizing I will ask this when they volunteer their health conditions and it's not usual for someone to show up at my office looking for Vitamin C.

Besides being a powerful antioxidant, Vitamin C helps repair and regenerate tissues, protects cells from everyday stress and improves our immune system.

And there is plenty of proof. An article on Medicinenet, cited a recent study, published in Seminars in Preventive and Alternative Medicine, that looked at over 100 studies over 10 years. The study's lead author, Mark Moyad, MD, MPH, of the University of Michigan, points out that vitamin C can protect against cardiovascular problems, cancer and stroke.

Studies have also shown that Vitamin C can protect against immune system deficiencies, prenatal health problems, eye disease and even skin wrinkling.

As for dosage there is a debate. Many are recommending 500 milligrams (mg) daily but others suggest a higher dosage. Supplements are used since it's hard to consume that much.

However it's always a good idea to get vitamins from their natural sources so here is a list of some food and their Vitamin C content.


* Cantaloupe, 1 cup: 59 mg Vitamin C
* Orange juice, 1 cup: 97 mg
* Broccoli, cooked, 1 cup: 74 mg
* Red cabbage, 1/2 cup: 40 mg
* Green pepper, 1/2 cup, 60 mg
* Red pepper, 1/2 cup, 95 mg
* Kiwi, 1 medium: 70 mg
* Tomato juice, 1 cup: 45 mg

Selenium Boosts Your Mood

Rather than tell you that selenium can improve mild or moderate depression, I'd rather say that selenium can help put you in a good mood.

Selenium, a mineral found in soil, water, and some foods, has antioxidant properties that help the body prevent cellular damage from free radicals, according to Dr. Andrew Weil.

It also helps support a strong immune system, regulates thyroid function, and may help reduce the risk of prostate and secondary cancers. And if that's not enough it can play a role in the prevention of cataracts and heart disease.

Foods rich in selenium:

* Seafood (oysters, clams, sardines, crab, saltwater fish and freshwater fish)
* Nuts and seeds (particularly Brazil nuts)
* Lean meat (lean beef and beef, skinless chicken and turkey)
* Whole grains (whole-grain pasta, brown rice, oatmeal, etc.)
* Beans/legumes
* Low-fat dairy products

Vitamin D Can Make You Smarter

Well that might be overstating it but two recent studies showed that low levels of Vitamin D led to lower scores on cognitive function tests and slower information processing speed.

In an article in Scientific American scientists found that compared to people with optimum vitamin D levels, those in the lowest quartile were more than twice as likely to be cognitively impaired. This applied to the 65 and older group (men and women).

Another study looked at men ages 40-79 and found that those who had lower levels of Vitamin D exhibited slower information-processing speeds.

An ideal range for Vitamin D intake is 1,000 to 2,000 IU daily since this the amount that our bodies can synthesize during 15 to 30 minutes of exposure to the sun, according to the article.

Further Good News on Calcium


It's always great to learn that minerals, a natural source, can help our bodies fight cancer. In this case it's calcium that can fight colon cancer.

In a recent study by National Cancer Institute in Maryland, both men and women whose regular diet included calcium, were able to reduce the risk of developing colon cancer or other tumors of the digestive system.

How much was needed? For women 1,881 milligrams a day, cut their cancer risk by 23% over those who had the lowest calcium intake of around 494 milligrams a day.

For men, those with the highest intake of calcium -- 1,530 milligrams daily -- had a 16% smaller risk of developing cancer.

Sources of calcium from The George Mateljan Foundation include:

Excellent sources of calcium include spinach, turnip greens, mustard greens and collard greens.

Very good sources of calcium include blackstrap molasses, Swiss chard, yogurt, kale, mozzarella cheese, cow's milk, and goat's milk. Basil, thyme, dill seed, cinnamon, and peppermint leaves.

Good sources of calcium include romaine lettuce, celery, broccoli, sesame seeds, fennel, cabbage, summer squash, green beans, garlic, tofu, Brussel sprouts, oranges, asparagus and crimini mushrooms. Oregano, rosemary, parsley, kombu and kelp.

Study Says Children Need to Take Vitamin D Supplements

A new study out by the American Academy of Pediatrics says that to meet the new recommendation of 400 units daily of Vitamin D, children will need to take daily supplements.

In an article on CNN.com, Dr. Frank Greer, author of the study said that while milk is fortified with Vitamin D, most children and teens don't drink the four cups daily that would be needed to meet the new requirement.

Potential benefits from vitamin D besides keeping bones strong, includes reducing risks for cancer, diabetes and heart disease.

Magnesium Cuts Risk of Infant Cerebral Palsy

A study, published on August 28 in the New England Journal of Medicine, discovered that if magnesium is given to women prior to premature delivery, the chances of those babies developing cerebral palsy is greatly reduced.

Previously magnesium sulfate had been given only to prevent pre-term birth or preeclampsia, but the study showed that giving magnesium before that time is beneficial.

Each year about 8,000 infants are diagnosed with cerebral palsy, according to the article in the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

One part of the article that I found very interesting was that the doctors said they still don't know how it works. This is true of much of natural medicine that works but hasn't been studied in a lab. But good for the authors of the study who released this information to the public so people can begin using it now instead of waiting to find out exactly how it works.

There is precedent for this since my culture has been using chicken soup to ease many ailments for over 5000 years and only within the last 50 years did scientists test it and find out it worked!

Vitamin D Increases Breast Cancer Survivor Rates

In a recent article on CNN, a study by Dr. Pamela Goodwin of Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, found that only 24% of women in the study had sufficient blood levels of Vitamin D at the time their breast cancer was diagnosed. Those who were deficient were nearly twice as likely to have their cancer recur or spread over the next 10 years, and 73% more likely to die of the disease.

She commented that this was a significant difference and the first time that Vitamin D has been linked to breast cancer progression.

However what exact level of Vitamin D is still under question since in this particular study the women with the highest levels of Vitamin D had the worse outcomes.

Earlier research suggests that Vitamin D may help prevent prostate, breast and especially colon cancer.

The source of Vitamin D is at issue as well . While it's found in salmon and other oily fish, and milk is routinely fortified with it, dietary sources account for little of the amount circulating in the blood, experts say.

It's Almost Spring, Let's Boost That Metabolism

Like spring cleaning, most of us use March to get off those pesky pounds that crept up while we were tuned to the TV watching the Democratic presidential debates.

In addition to adding more drinking water to our diet ( 8 glasses per day is ideal) and getting back to exercising (30 min or keeping your heart rate up according to my friend Steve who is a personal trainer), we can also boost our metabolism by including some vitamins, minerals and foods in our diet.

As reported on MSNBC, here a couple of supplements to add to your new spring regime.

-- B Vitamins -- If you don't have enough B6 or B 12, folate, thiamin or niacin you could be slowing your body's metabolism. Of course the best source is food which includes: spinach, asparagus, beans (navy, soy, black beans), melon, broccoli, fish, poultry and eggs. But good quality supplements work too.

-- Magnesium --Magnesium is is used in than 300 biochemical reactions in the body including energy metabolism, according to the article. Sources of food include: spinach, halibut, nuts such as almonds, cashews and peanuts, soybeans (edamame), whole-grain cereals, oatmeal, and legumes such as black-eyed peas and lentils.

What Foods Can I Eat to Get Calcium?

While we all know about the benefits of calcium -- proper nerve and muscle function as well as strong bones and teeth -- we are not always sure about the sources other that milk.

So here are some other food sources:

Cornmeal
Wheat flour
Collards
Rhubarb
Sardines
Spinach
Soybeans
Turnip greens
Salmon, canned with bone
Kale

Source: USDA, National Institutes of Health

A Shot of Vitamin B-12

This is a happy day for all of us who have used vitamins for years. As reported in Bottom Line Personal, Dr. Arthur Winter, who is the director of the New Jersey Neurological Institute, said that B-12 shots can fight:

Alzheimer's disease
Depression
Panic Disorders

B-12 can break down chemicals that help maintain memory and mood.

One reason that so many people face these issues could be the fact that, according to Dr. Winter, 20% of Americans over age 40 do not produce enough stomach acid to absorb B-12 from protein in food so they are deficient in B-12.

Dr. Winter is the author of Smart Food

Vitamin D Can Fight Cancer

New research, as reported in Bottom Line by Michael F. Holick, MD, is showing that Vitamin D can fight cancer three ways: By slowing or stopping unregulated cell growth
By killing off cancer cells
By reducing the blood supply to tumors.

People with high blood levels of Vitamin D have a 50% lower risk of colon cancer, 50% lower risk of breast cancer and 50% less risk of developing "aggressive" prostate cancer.

Dr. Holick reports t hat research has shown that increasing blood levels of Vitamin D could result in 185,000 fewer cases of cancer and 30,000 fewer deaths.

How much Vitamin D. do you need? 30-100 ng/ml (nonograms per milliliter)

How do you get it? A daily supplement of 1,000 IU ( international units) or milk, fortified orange juice or other foods. However milk contains less than 50% of the Vit D that is listed on the label says Dr. Holick.

The sun is a good source as well. you need to spend 10-15 minutes in the sun 3-4 times a week.

Fish & Walnuts Lower Blood Pressure

That Omega-3. You just hear about it everywhere. Everyone I know is taking it for a variety of reasons. A new study came out recently that it can help lower blood pressure as well.

A study by Dr. Jeremiah Stamler, professor emeritus of preventive medicine at Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois, reported by CNN , found that people who ate diets rich in omega-3 fatty acids had slightly lower blood pressure, on average, than people who ate diets with less of the nutrient. But the article points out that any minor reduction in blood pressure produces great health benefits.

What should you eat? If you like fish than eat trout, salmon and mackerel. If you don't like fish try walnuts, flaxseed and canola oil. Turns out any of those sources work.

Omega-3 fatty acid has also been linked to better brain development and a lower overall risk of cancer and heart disease.

On a personal note, I have found that for some reason it helps with minor weight loss as well.

The Fight Is On

On February 27, the first shots... hate to use a word like that but it seems to fit... were fired at the natural supplement industry. The headline on CNN was "Antioxidant Supplements Tied to Death Risk."

Which supplements are going to kill us you ask? Why those nasty beta carotene, vitamins A and E.

How will this happen? Well here is the part I find particularly interesting.
Careful to mention that it's not the fruits and vegetables that will kill us but instead the manufactured supplements, the study from the Center for Clinical Intervention Research at Denmark's Copenhagen University Hospital said that "by eliminating free radicals from our organism, we interfere with some essential defensive mechanisms."

So the answer is that while about a million (not the official number) of studies have demonstrated that these nutrients can fight free radicals that can cause cell damage... this study says that getting rid of free radicals could harm us.

Luckily not too many people are falling for this logic or the validity of the study. As CNN reported, "critics who said it was flawed and based largely on studies of people who were already chronically ill before they were treated with the supplements." And the Natural Products Association, a supplement trade group, said the study "stands in stark contrast to large actual clinical studies that have not demonstrated any increased risks."

I would personally like to find out who funded this study. Could it be companies who manufacture drugs that will help us fight cancer? Are those drugs safer or more cost effective than natural supplements? That's the topic of another discussion, but I would suggest you read the new book by Dr. Brownstein called, " Drugs That Don't Work and Natural Therapies That Do "

What I find interesting is that in the past there have been studies that have said that natural supplements are ineffective. Now these studies seem to go further and say they will kill us. I don't think the timing is a co-incidence since lately all you hear about is the adverse affects of a variety of drugs.

Vitamin D Might Ward Off MS

In a report out today by Amy Burkholder of CNN, Vitamin D may ward off MS (Multiple Sclerosis). A study by the Harvard School of Public Health showed that people who had higher levels of Vit D in their blood were at lower risk for developing MS.

MS is a serious ailment that currently affects 400,000 people in the US with 200 cases diagnosed each week according to the CNN report.

It's a disorder of the central nervous system in which the body's immune system attacks the brain and spinal cord, specifically the myelin, the substance that insulates nerve cells and helps messages travel among them.

Researchers were unsure about how to correlate the evidence to prevention of MS."We established with a certain degree of confidence that people with high vitamin D levels have a lower risk of developing MS. What we don't know for sure if increasing their vitamin D levels will actually prevent MS," said study author Dr. Alberto Ascherio of the Harvard School of Public Health.

Vit D is found in cheese, fish and fortified juices and cereals. It can also be produced in the body by exposure to sunlight.

The article goes on to say that people should hold off using a Vit D supplement until they have proved it works. What! How can someone not increase their Vitamin D given the results of this study?

What would be the adverse side effects? Too much sun? Too much cheese? Excessive use of any vitamin would not be good but increasing intake of Vit D at a moderate level would just be smart, whether you think you are at risk or not. Many holistic doctors will tell you the recommended daily vitamin amounts are way below what they should be.

This is what makes me so angry. Our "medical" opinions are always to wait until things are studied when it comes to natural medicine. Does it make sense to wait to take Vit D? Not to me it doesn't.

Somehow we accept the risk of the very serious adverse affects of drugs on the market that were studied according to government standards. Turns out they were wrong in many instances and now are issues warnings. Just today another warning came out about common pain pills.

There are even very serious warnings about the increase of suicide for children taking antidepressants. And what do they want to do? Increase the size of the black box on the label?

But they are warning us about increasing Vit D?

I think the American public is quickly losing faith in our medical system's ability to clearly evaluate natural medicine and they are voting with their feet and using these natural methods. Currently 62% of Americans use some form of natural medicine according to the NIH.

At least we think for ourselves!!

Red Wine Study Drives Consumer To Stores

I just love it that while the scientists and the government are debating about what works and why, consumers are willing to try natural supplements. If the ingredient in red wine, resveratrol ,will help you live longer and increase your endurance, consumers say... I'll try it.

What's great about this story is that the scientists doing the study were so impressed with the preliminary results that they are taking it in supplement form as is the staff. The Wall Street Journal report on Nov. 30 in an article titled, "Sales Surge Of Compound In Red Wine", that David Sinclair, a biologist at Harvard Medical School and the lead author of the Nature study began taking a resveratrol supplement 3 years ago. Members of his staff take it as well.

Whole Foods Market, the national health-food chain sold out of its resveratrol supply earlier this month.

And an interesting anecdote from the Wall Street Journal article was that of Harry Highkin, a retired biologist in Kailua Kona, Hawaii takes resveratrol - 1.44 grams daily which equates to 36 capsules -- daily. He says that these supplements have helped him stay alive after he was diagnosed with a rare precursor of leukemia in 2000. He is 89.

Red Wine - Drink To Your Health

Wasn't there a song a million years ago extolling the virtues of red wine? I think it went red, red wine, stay close to me...
The song writers knew something that we have learned only last week, that the resveratrol, found in red wine, helps mice to live longer.

If it works for mice, it's good enough for me.

The study was conducted by Harvard Medical School and the National Institutes of Health. (Let's note however that the amount of resvertol that were given to the mice was equivalent to 300 glasses of wine per day, so we'd need supplements to get such high doses.)


Since other studies have also extolled the virtue of drinking red wine, I think I'll join my French friend who drinks one glass of red wine per day.

The additional health benefits are that when I have a glass of wine with him we relax, laugh and share our thoughts for that day and we feel happy. And I know happiness is good for your health.

Food Can Fight Sun's UV Rays

Reading this blog you must think I spend my life in the kitchen eating. And every day I seek out health reasons to eat. That's actually not true as I'd much rather exercise than eat... however I just find it amazing that food can prevent so many ailments.

To protect against ultraviolet radiation ( UV) that can lead to skin cancer consume antioxidants such as Vitamins C and E. They ca protect your skin. Carotenoids are helpful as well and you can find them in fruits and vegetables. The polyphenols in green tea is a good source of protection as is omega-three found in fish. And don't forget Vitamins A And E.