The cholesterol drug Lipitor lost its patent today.  The generic Lipitor will be much cheaper. But does that make it a good deal to you?  Some side-effects are life-threatening.  Why not make a life-style change instead?

LIPITOR USERS are in a celebratory mood, because today Lipitor lost its patent.  Yes, the Lipitor patent – the legal imprimatur enabling Pfizer, Lipitor’s manufacture, a monopoly on the drug – has expired, which means that generic Lipitor can now be made by any drug company that can duplicate it and get FDA approval.

Pfizer may claim, but cannot back up, that the Lipitor it manufactures is superior to generic Lipitor.  But au contrare – molecule for molecule – the generic stuff will be identical, and thus will work the same, including offering all those nasty side-effects.

To the Lipitor-uninitiated, know that Lipitor is a “statin” mostly associated with cholesterol, but is also used to treat people with a high risk of stroke, heart attack, or other heart complications, as well as people with type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease.

So, the good news about Lipitor losing its patent is that the market opens up to Lipitor generic competitors.  Yes, the price will be going down. Now, it’s about $5.00 per pill.  Soon, the price of a Lipitor generic drug, as estimated by a Harvard doctor I just heard on the PBS Newshour, will be $2.50 per pill. As others join the fray and manufacturing capacity increases, the price will decline further.

(Don’t fret for Pfizer, as they’ve been actively putting together a cabal of various entities, such as pharmacies, doctors, benefit manager and patents to maintain its market share by offering various incentives, such as Lipitor Coupons.  More on that here.)

For those using Lipitor for all those ailments written above, paying less is a good thing.  Happy people.  However, I contend that many Lipitor users would be better off if, rather than now having a price incentive to use more, or beginning to use it, they made healthier life-style changes instead.

Consider the Side-Effects

Like most pharmaceutical drugs, Lipitor comes with a long list of side-effects, a partial list which includes:

Myalgias, arthritis/ arthralgias, diarrhea, headache, rashes, elevation of liver transaminases, elevation of creatine kinase a muscle enzyme, various gastrointestinal symptoms including flatulence, dyspepsia, diarrhea, and abdominal pain, and various infection symptoms.

If the above list of Lipitor side-effects are insufficient to give you pause, here are some that are life-threatening:

Rhabdomyolysi,  Stevens-Johnson Syndrome, toxic epidermal necrolysis, photosensitivity, vasculitis, polymyalgia rheumatica, angioedema, anaphylaxis.  (Source for Lipitor side-effects.)

Read again the list of health conditions that Lipitor is made to ameliorate.  Notice a common denominator among them?

Well, they’re all chronic, debilitating conditions that in many, many cases can be vastly improved through life-style changes.  And yet, so many people are unwilling to change behavior that they cumulatively will spend this year in the U.S.A. over $289 billion (the 2006 number) for drugs that attempt to fix their health problems, many of which can be improved by adopting healthy life-style changes.

This might be understandable if the drugs that improved chronic, debilitating health conditions were safe, but as noted above, they’re not… people die or get ill from the side-effects, and also become dependent on the drugs.

Rather Not Do Drugs?

UPDATE:  Check out Dr. Weil’s Four Alternatives to Antidepressant Drugs.

If you’re on Lipitor or some other pharmaceutical drug for a health condition that can be improved via a life-style change, check out some the information below and ask your doctor if your situation could be made better by doing something other than popping drugs.

Food is medicine, as you might have heard, and so start out by learning about superfoods and healthy diets.  On this blog, read My Approach to Health, and from there read Diet 101 and/or Dr. Oz and the 14-Day Reboot Plan.

For more information about cholesterol, check out: 12 Myths About Cholesterol. Interested in lowering your cholesterol the natural way? For information and inspiration, check out one man’s pursuit of healthy cholesterol numbers. Red Yeast is sometimes prescribed by doctors to help lower mildly increased cholesterol – check it out here.

If your issue involves the heart, read Dr. Oz’s Life Saving Heart Tips, and be aware of supplements to aide cardiovascular health.

Finally, medical types are connecting the dots between pernicious, chronic diseases and are finding that obesity is one main culprit – or “common denominator”, to use a phrase elsewhere in this missive.  So, here’s a fairly new term they devised – Diabestity.  It equals obesity + diabetes.

Yes, combine obesity and diabetes and you get “Diabesity”, which the ever-insightful Dr. Mark Hyman discusses in this post, The Diabesity Epidemic – It May Be Coming To You.  It’s about how to know if you’re at risk, or have diabesity, and what to do about it if you do.

Good reading to all!

Related posts:

1. High Cholesterol? Do Something!
2. 12 Myths About Cholesterol
3. Sally Fields and the Wonders of Boniva

Have you heard of “diabesity”?  Well, your doctor hasn’t either, and yet you have a 50% chance of having it.  Here’s what it is, 7 warning signs, and a discussion of how nuts can help.

[UPDATE 11/20/2011:  Dr. Hyman is staying on this diabestity topic, and well he should given that it’s both urgent and important (as businessmen like to say).  Go check out his 8 Steps to Reversing Diabesity, which speak to getting tested, the proper nutrition, supplementation, etc.  Statistically speaking there’s a  50-50 chance that you’re on your way to diabesity hell, so learn, reflect and act!]

AS YOU can imagine, I’m constantly reading about health matters.  When I come upon an article that I might want to share here on this blog in some fashion, I often bookmark it for later reference.  My last three bookmarks were all about a certain disease.  So, it seems, I’m attracting information about it, and as you read on, you’ll agree that it’s worth knowing about.

Consider these alarming factoids:

-          One of two of you have this deadly disease;

-          It will like make you sick and could kill you;

And here’s the kicker…

-          90 percent of you do not know you have it, which is partly because your doctor is not trained how to find it, nor are they seeking it in you.

Here’s another unsavory fact:  this health hazard will cost America $3.5 trillion over the next ten years.  If the trend is not reversed, in 30 years 100 percent of the U.S. federal budget will be required to pay for Medicare and Medicaid.

(Debt and Europe are not the only things threatening our bankruptcy.)

This nefarious disease is what Dr. Mark Hyman has helped popularize with the name, “Diabesity”, “the number one cause of obesity, heart disease, cancer, dementia and of course type 2 diabetes.”

As Dr Hyman explains it:

“Diabesity describes a continuum of disease, from optimal blood sugar balance to insulin sensitivity to full-blown diabetes. This biological imbalance is our modern plague. It affects 1 in 2 Americans and is the leading cause of most chronic disease in this country, including Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, dementia and cancer, not to mention its leading role in weight gain and obesity.”

For the confluence of these various factors to grow significantly enough to imperil not only our life, but health, signifies that our doctors are missing the clues that are quite evident well prior to a symptom becoming alarming.

This is a basic problem and failing of our medical system – simply put, doctors are not paid to keep us well, but to intervene once we’re sick.

7 Warning Signs of Diabetes

I’ll continue now with presenting some information that will help you determine if you may be in that 50% diabesity group, and, if so, you will want to read Dr. Hyman’s article, “Fifty Percent of Americans Suffer From This Deadly Killer”.

So, these 7 warning signs come from the second of the aforementioned three most recent health articles I’ve bookmarked, courtesy of Yahoo Health.

1. You’re overweight. Don’t hafta be obese… 10+ pounds increases the risk.  And for children… well, with so many children now addicted to the dopamine effect of Internet or gaming clicks, the future is grim.
2. Incessant bathroom trips.  Thirst begets drinking which begets peeing.
3. Blurry vision. It’s the glucose build up on the lens that does it.
4. Losing weight.  What’s the chance of that!!  But it happens to some pre-diabetics because the body isn’t making the insulin necessary to break down sugars for energy or fat storage.
5. Ring around the collar.  Actually, it’s around the neck and it happens when insulin receptors in the skin makes extra pigment.
6. Yeast infections (women). Too much glucose can make yeast overgrow.
7. You’re north of 45 years.  Yet another thing to worry about as the years set in.

OK, so a bit more info is at this Yahoo Health article.

And now to my last article that I want to share with you about diabesity, which by the way, my father contracted late in life because he was unwilling to change his eating behaviors…

Nuts Help Control Diabesity

If you’re nuts about nuts you’re several steps closer to controlling blood sugar and reducing inflammation. (If you’re not, practice a lot… it’s worth it!)

The damage that inflammation causes to our bodies is only now becoming widely recognized.  I’ve heard it referred to as the underpinning of many chronic illnesses that beset the elderly, such as diabetes and heart disease.

In the typical American diet, an over consumption of omega-6 fatty acids relative to omega-3 fatty acids strongly contributes to inflammation.  Most oils and nuts have more omega-6 than omega-3, with the exception of omega-3-rich flax and hemp seeds.  However, as two recent studies indicate – one the so-called “Toronto Trial” and the other the Spanish Trial, nuts somehow do not contribute to inflammation.

The explanation for this comes from the Spanish Trial, where it was reported:

“The results showed that eating one ounce of mixed nuts – raw unpeeled walnuts, almonds, and hazelnuts – a day increased the level of serotonin metabolites (break down products) in volunteers’ urine.

Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that plays important roles in the regulation of energy balance, metabolism, and blood sugar control.

Consequently, serotonin also tends to curb carbohydrate cravings, elevate mood, and improve heart health.

The results also provided the first evidence that nuts reduce blood markers for inflammation and other cardiovascular risk factors in people with metabolic syndrome.”

My take away is that it’s a good idea to eat raw nuts to mitigate cravings for blood glucose level spiking foods such as simple carbohydrates (white flour and rice and their derivatives).  Just remember that they’re high in fat so don’t eat them like their popcorn

Related posts:

1. Will Your Belly Fat Cause Cancer?
2. Eat Fiber, Live Longer, Healthier too! Watch
3. This Holiday, Overeat and Gain No Weight!

Meditation delivers better health, emotional resiliency and brain power.  All you have to do is… to do it a bit each day.  The science is clear – -meditation builds a better you.  Here are seven benefits of meditation.

MY BUDDY, Steve, is a peripatetic searcher for knowledge, particularly self-knowledge.  He has boundless energy, few preconceptions that he’s unwilling to challenge, punches through fears, and over the last few years has done what the cartoonist Stine made popular with his greeting cards — Steve is willing to “look in to find out.”

We’re talking live-in workshop retreats and various deep dive psychotherapies.  And now, Steve has added meditation to the list.  He recently learned Transcendental Meditation, and now sits daily and relaxes into the vibe.

“It’s making a difference”, Steve announced to me at our café hangout last weekend.  I looked up from the section of Sunday’s New York Times that he gave me to give him an inquiring look.  I said nothing but wondered how he could pin point the benefits of meditation given all the other modalities in which he’s immersed.

He punctuated the pause with a smirk, and we both returned to our respective reads.  It doesn’t matter that we didn’t dive into how meditation is affecting Steve, for we both know.

I’ve been an on and off meditator for 30 years.  It’s value is obvious to me.  And now with all the gadgets available to measure brain activity, scientists are learning just what’s going on.  Here are some…

Seven Benefits of Meditation

1. A more plastic brain. This is a strange term, but it’s nearly literal because consistent meditation leads to what’s referred to as neuroplasticity.  Neuroplasticity is the brain’s ability to respond to certain inputs by changing itself structurally and functionally.  Now, there are even methods presented online that studies show can improve your brains, such as the games developed by Lumosity.  That the brain is actually “plastic” – can change – is a big deal, as scientists formerly believed that the brain essentially stopped changing after adulthood.

2. A thicker brain. Get a thicker brain in just 40 minutes a day!  A 2005 study on American men and women who meditated a mere 40 minutes a day showed that they had thicker cortical walls than non-meditators.  Thicker biceps, yes, but why would you want a thicker brain? Well, a thicker brain results in a brain that’s aging at a slower rate, better decision making, attention and memory.  Thick brains are better than thick biceps after all.

3. A more alert brain. In a 2006 study, college students were asked to either sleep, meditate or watch TV. They were then tested on their alertness by being asked to hit a button every time a light flashed on a screen. By a significant 10%, the meditators did better than the nappers and TV watchers .

4. A more relaxed brain. Do you have high blood pressure? In 2008, Dr. Randy Zusman, a doctor at the Massachusetts General Hospital, asked patients suffering from high blood pressure, but not on medication, to try a meditation-based relaxation program for three months.  After meditating regularly for three months, 40 of the 60 patients showed significant drops in blood pressure levels . The reason? Relaxation results in the formation of nitric oxide which opens up your blood vessels.

5. A longer-lived brain. Telomeres — the protective caps at the end of our chromosomes — are the new frontier of anti-aging science.  (Watch Nobel prize winner Dr. Elizabeth Blackburn tell you about telomeres in Three Months to Longer Life. ) Having longer telomeres mean that you’re likely to live longer.  Research done by the University of California, Davis’ Shamatha Project has shown that meditators have significantly higher telomerase activity that non-meditators. Telomerase is the enzyme that helps build telomeres.  When telomerase activity shifts into high gear, it can translate into stronger and longer telomeres .

6. A more resilient brain. Meaning, a better immune system.  A 2008 study on HIV positive patients found that, after an eight-week meditation course, patients who’d meditated showed no decline in lymphocyte content compared with non-meditators who showed significant reduction in lymphocytes.  Lymphocytes or white blood cells are the “brain” of the body’s immune system, and are particularly important for HIV positive people.   The study also found that lymphocyte levels actually went up with each meditation session.

7. A pain-free brain. Well, the brain itself doesn’t actually feel pain, but it does command how you feel it.  Earlier this year, a study conducted by Wake Forest Baptist University found that meditation could reduce pain intensity by 40 percent and pain unpleasantness by 57 percent.  Pretty impressive given that morphine and other pain-relieving drugs typically show a pain reduction of only 25 percent.

There’s some more information for each of these seven at the original article that inspired this summary, so if interested, go take a read here.

Related posts:

1. Four Ways to Build a Better Brain
2. Three Months to Longer Life
3. How to Live to 100. Watch.

Strangely, two powerful weapons against heart disease and stroke are a toothbrush and dental floss.  Here’s the connection between oral health and the health of your entire body. [See Update link at bottom.]

LAST NIGHT, my buddy Steve entered my home looking distracted and holding his jaw.  “I just bit off a piece of my tooth”, he exclaimed, as he opened his hand and displayed a tooth particle.

“That’s about a thousand bucks worth of dentistry”, I replied…  “Good thing you have Cadillac health insurance.”  (Yeah, he’s one of my few friends with BOTH a job and great health insurance.)

As Steve went to the bathroom mirror to examine his plight, I remembered my father’s bout with a life-threatening bacteria that put him in the hospital for a week.  It was caused by an abyss under his tooth which over time became a cauldron of bacterial brew that then launched from the tooth into his whole body, becoming a systemic health crisis that completely overwhelms the immune system.

Healthy teeth are more than a matter of a flashy white smile.  Healthy teeth help keep the entire body healthy.

In this article, Why Oral Health Leads to Overall Health, Dr. Glenn D. Braunstein dives into recent research that indicates that a few health issues and diseases can be linked to oral health, or the lack thereof.

Take heart disease and stroke for example.  Two common items in most households are weapons to help defend against these pernicious health issues – the toothbrush and dental floss.

Have plaque on your teeth?  It could indicate that plaque is in your arteries as well, as well as periodontal disease.

Cavities?  Well, we all know that this indicates a diet rich in sugars.

Dr. Brausnstein’s article is a good look into the connection between overall physical health and the health of one’s mouth, so I encourage you to check it out, especially if you’re not particularly diligent about the condition of your teeth.

[Update: Just read similar article here that connects dental health to premature birth, difficulty of conception, dementia, diabetes and lung health.]

Related posts:

1. The Heart of the Matter
2. Dr Oz’s Life Saving Heart Tips
3. Cardiovascular Health Ain’t Hard

(And 5 Ways to Get It)

This is a pretty comprehensive story about Vitamin D.  This sun-made vitamin has gotten much press lately indicating that it may be a wonder-supplement that can help combat everything from cancer to obesity.  The Vitamin D story is important for everyone to know, but certainly for the elderly, for those with dark skin, and you summer sun worshipers too.

TODAY IS a good day to write about Vitamin D.  The season is turning to winter.  And here in the Bay Area, California, it’s overcast and raining; certainly, no Vitamin D producing sun is in sight.

You may have noticed a plethora of articles written over the last couple of years touting the marvels of Vitamin D — indeed, the bulk of this post, particularly the video of internationally acclaimed Vitamin D expert Dr. Michael Holick (below), underscores this view.

However, a recent study casts a cloud of confusion over what has been a near ubiquitous view of the necessity of relatively (by historical standards) high doses of Vitamin D.  I refer to a recent report released from the Institute of Medicine (“IOM”) that sets new RDAs (recommended daily averages) for Vitamin D and calcium.

The IOM report has something in it for both those who tout and decry the benefits of Vitamin D.

Two New York newspapers that reviewed this report aptly demonstrate the arm wrestling match:

On one side, The New York Times headline concludes, “Extra Vitamin D and Calcium Aren’t Necessary, Report Says.” (Which gives the wrong impression because the report from the IOM increased the Recommended Daily Allowance for Vitamin D).

Representing the contrary view, The Wall Street Journal’s clarion call was, “Triple That Vitamin D Intake, Panel Prescribes.”

Confused yet?  Is Vitamin D the Real Deal?

In this article published by the Huffington Post, Dr Leo Galland dives into the IOM report and presents his readers with his informed insights about what’s really going on.  His conclusion:

“The bottom line: The IOM report does not advise against Vitamin D supplementation and in fact raises both the recommended daily allowance and tolerable upper limits of Vitamin D… So, when it comes to Vitamin D, one size doesn’t fit all and supplementation should be based on individual needs.”

As an example of individualization, Dr. Galland cites a little known peccadillo of Vitamin D.

Apparently, there’s an enzyme in our bodies that deactivates Vitamin D as its levels rise. The effect this winds up having is to more dramatically reduce the Vitamin D in a person who is exposed to high Vitamin D supplementation or sunlight, and subsequently stops supplementation or exposure to sunlight.

Dr. Galland:

“The result is that people taking higher doses of Vitamin D supplements may not have a predictable, stable increase in their Vitamin D levels, and people who get a lot of sun exposure in summer, but take no supplements in winter may have a lower Vitamin D level in winter than people who don’t get a lot of summer sun.

Dr. Galland’s conclusions are not surprising to those who have followed the Vitamin D story, for it’s a compelling one, as you’re about to learn should you continue reading this post and watch the long, but entertaining and informative video (below).

A Cancer and Heart Disease Fighter?

If Dr. Galland sounds like a strong proponent of Vitamin D, consider what Dr. Soram Khalsa wrote in this article about the Vitamin D-shortage epidemic (and the resulting deleterious effects) in this country today:

“As a board certified internist, I have chosen, for the last 30 years, to take a personalized approach in my practice of integrative medicine. I have worked with literally hundreds of herbs, vitamins and dietary supplements, to help my patients, often when drugs did not work. In all this time, I have not seen one nutritional supplement that has the power to affect human health as much as vitamin D. This is because Vitamin D is not actually a vitamin — it is a hormone that has the ability to interact and affect more than 2,000 genes in the body.

“… countless times I have had to deliver or discuss with a patient their sad and possibly terminal diagnosis. Diseases like cancer and heart disease are at best life altering, and most times life threatening. When I have this kind of difficult conversation with a patient, I often reflect that if their vitamin D level had been normal for the previous many years, maybe they would never have developed this disease.

“Ideally, your health care provider is your partner in exploring your vitamin D status, but patients usually do not want to visit their doctor just to ask for a vitamin D level, and many doctors are not yet up to date on the importance of vitamin D. If you use the at-home test kit and your blood level of vitamin D is low, I would encourage you to discuss this information with your physician.”

Sounds convincing, yes?

Well, there’s plenty more. Consider the following core dump of most of the benefits you’re likely to discover about Vitamin D, much of it presented by Dr. Michael Holick in his video below.

Cruise through the list and see if there’s anything there that’s meaningful to you, a loved one or friend.

After the video, I continue with the “Five Ways to Get Vitamin D”.

30 Reasons to Take Vitamin D

(My appreciation to one of my favorite health bloggers, Dr. Ben Kim for most of the list below.)

1. Vitamin D is essential to building and maintaining healthy bones, teeth, and muscles.
2. Without vitamin D, calcium can’t be absorbed. But if you get enough vitamin D, it can help you avoid osteoporosis, bone fractures and falling, which is a cause of morbidity among the elderly.
3. There is a strong association between vitamin D deficiency and increased risk of requiring a C-section.
4. In addition to taking a multivitamin (typically containing 400 IU of vitamin D) and getting some vitamin D from meals, pregnant women should be taking a minimum of 1000 IU of vitamin D per day.
5. If you give lactating women between 4000 and 6000 IUs of vitamin D per day, through breastfeeding alone, their babies can get all of the vitamin D that they need.
6. Infants need vitamin D at birth.
7. There aren’t too many foods that are naturally rich in vitamin D. Oily fish like wild salmon contain about 500 to 1000 IUs per serving (3.5 ounces), so you would have to eat salmon almost every day to barely get enough vitamin D to meet all of your needs.
8. Wild salmon get their vitamin D from the food chain, where it’s abundant. Food pellets that are fed to farmed salmon don’t contain vitamin D, so farmed salmon typically provide 100 to 250 IU of vitamin D per serving, which is only 10 to 25% of the vitamin D found in wild salmon.
9. In the summer, UV-B rays from the sun can create all of the vitamin D that we need if we get some exposure on our skin.
10. In the winter, the further away we get from the equator, the less chance we have of being exposed to UV-B rays to make vitamin D in our skin. For example, in Boston, you can make all the vitamin D that you need in the spring, summer, and fall months, but from about November to February, you can’t make any at all from sunlight exposure.
11. Above 35 degrees north latitude and below 35 degrees south, you can’t make any vitamin D from sunlight exposure from November to February.
12. Excessive exposure to sunlight increases risk of non-melanoma skin cancer, which is relatively easy to detect and treat if detected early enough.
13. Using a sunscreen with an SPF of 15 will decrease your ability to make vitamin D via sunlight exposure by 99%.
14. The key to responsible use of sunlight to ensure optimal vitamin D status is to make sure that you don’t get sunburned.
15. Getting enough sunlight (1 MED) to create a light pinkness in skin tone creates around 20,000 IU of vitamin D in your system.
16. Aging decreases our ability to produce vitamin D via sunlight. A 70-year old has a 70% reduced ability to produce vitamin D via sunlight compared to a 20-year old. So the older we get, the more likely it is that we will need to get some of our vitamin D from supplementation.
17. Obesity increases the need for vitamin D intake and/or creation via sunlight because storage of vitamin D in fat cells reduces the amount of vitamin D that’s available to the rest of the body.
18. You need vitamin D to effectively lose weight. Your insulin works better, and vitamin D helps you lose belly fat. Diabetes is also related to low vitamin D levels.
19. For most people and locations, during the summer, a good amount of sunlight exposure is 5 to 15 minutes on the arms and legs, two to three times a week. After this amount of time, sunscreen can be used to help prevent premature aging and increased risk of non-melanoma skin cancer.
20. People with darker skin tone need significantly more sunlight than Caucasians to produce optimal vitamin D levels. This is particularly true if you live much North, say, of Atlanta AND if you’re a woman over 45 years of age.
21. 21. The best blood test to assess vitamin D status is 25 hydroxy D.
22. Dr. Holick believes that most people (adults and kids) should be supplementing with a minimum of 1000 IU of vitamin D per day in addition to the vitamin D found in a multivitamin and a couple servings of foods that contain vitamin D.
23. Vitamin D deficiency is extremely common among all races, even in the summer.
24. Many people that exhibit symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia may actually have osteomalacia, which is caused by vitamin D deficiency.
25. Higher levels of vitamin D (within the normal range) are associated with optimal lower extremity function (healthy bones and muscles in your legs).
26. Optimal vitamin D status reduces risk of fracture as you age.
27. You want your 25 hydroxy D level to be above 30 ng/ml. The optimal range is likely between 50 and 60 ng/ml.
28. For every 100 IU of vitamin D that you ingest, you raise your blood level by 1 ng/ml.
29. Optimal vitamin D status is associated with a decreased risk of breast, colon and prostate cancers.
30. Vitamin D improves blood flow by relaxing the blood vessels and lowering blood pressure.

Dr. Michael Holick: Diagnosis and Treatment of Vitamin D

Click here to view the embedded video.

So  now that – presumably – you’re convinced that Vitamin D is important for your health, here are

Five Ways to Get Vitamin D

1. 15 Minutes of Sun 3 Times Per Week
   You can get 10-15 minutes of high-noon sun exposure in warmer climates a few times a week. In the South you can do this all year long; but in the North it will work only in the summer months. But this is unrealistic for those who already wear sunscreen all day, or have been warned to stay out of the sun by their doctors.
2. Fatty Fish and Cod Liver Oil
   If you are one of those people who have been warned to stay out of the sun, another good natural source of Vitamin D is fatty fish, like salmon and in cod liver oil.
3. Fortified Dairy Products
   You also can get Vitamin D in fortified dairy products; however, there are only 100 units of Vitamin D per cup, so children and most adults would need at least four cups of dairy products per day. (Do you really want to ingest that much diary? Go for #5)
4. Multivitamin Supplements
   Although it varies by brand and the amount taken, most multivitamins have a substantial amount of vitamin D.
5. Vitamin D Supplements
   A good target is to take 1000 to 2000 international units of Vitamin D supplements every day. D3 is considered more potent and longer lasting, but if unavailable, both D2 and D3 are acceptable.  All versions are cheap and side effects are very rare.

I take Pro Health’s Vitamin D3.

Well, if you’ve stayed with me this long, you must be either my mother or an endurance mentat, but I thank you, nonetheless.

Related posts:

1. Vitamin D is Good, A Dozen to Avoid
2. Nine Reasons to Drink Green Tea (and limit coffee)
3. Supplements and Food that Protect Against Radiation Poisoning

You’ll be blown away by the specific health benefits of these foods!

NEVER BEFORE has there been more research devoted to life extension via nutrition.  The Baby Boomers simply refuse to age. I can relate, and I do relate to you on this blog about some of the pearls I run across and experience myself.

The editors of Men’s Health report about the latest science on the muscle building, brain enhancing, wrinkle erasing, heart strengthening, bone protecting, immunity boosting, and inflammation fighting foods you should be eating every day.

I’ll here present what was written, and point out that another scientific journey into the  same subject was funded by 86 year-old billionaire David Murdock, who himself is intent on turning back the clock – or at least stopping it.

In Murdock’s recipe for longevity, I report on his “healthiest foods on earth”.  In the list below, I note which of the 40 “age-erasing superfoods” reported by Men’s Health match Murdock’s list.  Personally, I indulge mightily in most of these foods, and I heartily suggest that you do too.

Choose a couple each week new to you, and once assimilated, add some more each  week till the good stuff crowds out the bad stuff, and that face in the mirror reflects the former you.

1. Almonds (a match with Murdock’s Healthiest Foods on Earth)

Rich in amino acids, which bolster testosterone levels and muscle growth, these energy-rich snacks lower bad cholesterol, thanks to plant sterols, and benefit diabetics by lowering blood sugar.  Almonds are also stuffed with vitamin E, which helps defend against sun damage. In a study, volunteers who consumed 14 milligrams of the vitamin (about 20 almonds) per day and then were exposed to UV light burned less than those who took none. And because vitamin E is an antioxidant, it also works to keep your arteries free of dangerous free radicals. Low levels of vitamin E are also associated with poor memory performance and cognitive decline, says dietitian Sari Greaves of New York Presbyterian Hospital–Cornell.

2. Flaxseeds

Abundant in protein and fiber, these little seeds offer a payload of omega-3 fatty acids, which erase spots and iron out fine lines in the skin. The British Journal of Nutrition reported that participants in one study who downed about half a teaspoon of omega-3s daily in 6 weeks experienced significantly less irritation and redness, along with better-hydrated skin. A recent study of people with high cholesterol (greater than 240 mg/dL) compared statin treatment with eating 20 grams of flaxseed a day. After 60 days, those eating flaxseed did just as well as those on statins. Try sprinkling ground flaxseed on oatmeal, yogurt, and salads.  Or grind them into a powder (or buy them) and sprinkle them on high glycemic foods, such as a bowl of fruit, or in a fruit smoothie.

3. Tomatoes (a match with Murdock’s Healthiest Foods on Earth)

There are two things you need to know about tomatoes: red are the best because they’re packed with more of the antioxidant lycopene; and processed tomatoes are just as potent as fresh ones, because it’s easier for the body to absorb the lycopene. Studies show that a diet rich in lycopene can decrease your risk of bladder, lung, prostate, skin, and stomach cancers, as well as reduce the risk of coronary artery disease, and help eliminate skin-aging free radicals caused by ultraviolet rays. “Cooked tomatoes and tomato paste work best,” says celebrity trainer Gunnar Petersen.

4. Sweet Potatoes (a match with Murdock’s Healthiest Foods on Earth)

Often confused with yams, these tubers are one of the healthiest foods on the planet. In addition to countering the effects of secondhand smoke and preventing diabetes, sweet potatoes contain glutathione, an antioxidant that can enhance nutrient metabolism and immune system health, as well as protect against Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, liver disease, cystic fibrosis, HIV, cancer, heart attack, and stroke. What’s more, they’re also loaded with vitamin C, which smoothes out wrinkles by stimulating the production of collagen. A recent study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that volunteers who consumed 4 milligrams of C (about half a small sweet potato) daily for 3 years decreased the appearance of wrinkles by 11 percent.

5. Spinach (a match with Murdock’s Healthiest Foods on Earth)

It may be green and leafy, but spinach—a renowned muscle builder—is also the ultimate man food. Spinach is replete with the essential minerals potassium and magnesium, and it’s one of the top sources of lutein, an antioxidant that may help prevent clogged arteries. Plus its vitamins and nutrients can bolster bone-mineral density, attack prostate cancer cells, reduce the risk of skin tumors, fight colon cancer, and, last but not least, increase blood flow to the penis. “Popeye was on to something,” says Susan Bowerman, assistant director of the Center for Human Nutrition at the University of California at Los Angeles.

6. Rosemary

The carnosic acid found in this spice has been shown to reduce stroke risk in mice by 40 percent, according to a study published in the Journal of Neurochemistry. Carnosic acid appears to set off a process that shields brain cells from free-radical damage, which can worsen the effects of a stroke. It can also protect against degenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and the general effects of aging.

7. Wild Salmon

A 4-ounce serving of salmon has approximately 2,000 milligrams of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), omega-3 fatty acids that serve as oil for the brain’s hardware by helping nerve cells communicate with one another. Thirty-five percent of your brain consists of fatty acids like these, but they can decline as the years stack up. A 2008 University of Cincinnati study, for instance, found that the brain tissue of 65- to 80-year-olds contained 22 percent less DHA than the brain tissue of 29- to 35-year-olds. “If you want to keep your wits about you as you age, start consuming omega-3s now,” says William Harris, Ph.D., a nutrition researcher at the University of South Dakota. Why is wild so important? Because farmed fish, which are fattened with soy, can be as high in inflammatory omega-6 fats as a cheeseburger. If in doubt, opt for sockeye salmon, which can’t be farmed and is always wild. Aim for at least two servings a week, says dietitian Joan Salge Blake, author of Nutrition and You.

8. Blueberries (a match with Murdock’s Healthiest Foods on Earth)

“This potent little fruit can help prevent a range of diseases from cancer to heart disease,” says Ryan Andrews, the director of research at Precision Nutrition, in Toronto, Canada. Think of blueberries as anti-rust for your gray matter, too. Besides being rich in fiber and vitamins A and C, they’re also packed with antioxidants—only açai, an Amazonian berry, contains more—that neutralize the free radicals that cause neuronal misfires. Eat a cup a day, and opt for wild blueberries whenever possible, as they contain 26 percent more antioxidants than cultivated varieties.

9. Green Tea

Green tea releases catechin, an antioxidant with proven anti-inflammatory and anticancer properties. Research found that drinking 2 to 6 cups a day not only helps prevent skin cancer but might also reverse the effects of sun damage by neutralizing the changes that appear in sunexposed skin. Other studies show that green tea—infused with another antioxidant called epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG)—can boost your cardiovascular health and reduce the risk of most types of cancer.

10. Dark Chocolate

Flavonoids, a natural nutrient in cocoa, improve blood flow in the brain, which helps boost cognitive function. Plus dark chocolate contains a tannin called procyanidin, which is also found in red wine, that can keep your arteries flexible and your blood pressure low. It helps on the outside, too. In a study from the Journal of Nutrition, women who drank cocoa fortified with a chocolate bar’s worth of flavonols had better skin texture and stronger resistance to UV rays than those who drank significantly fewer flavonols. Indulge in 1 ounce a day to get all the benefits, says dietitian Sari Greaves of New York Presbyterian Hospital–Cornell.

11. Tuna

Your favorite deli sandwich has a little secret: Selenium. This nutrient helps preserve elastin, a protein that keeps your skin smooth and tight. The antioxidant is also believed to buffer against the sun (it stops free radicals created by UV exposure from damaging cells). Tuna is also a great source of protein, contains no trans fat, and a 3-ounce serving of chunk light contains 11 mg of heart-healthy niacin, which has been shown to help lower cholesterol and help your body process fat. University of Rochester researchers determined that niacin raises HDL cholesterol (the good kind) and lowers triglycerides more than most statins alone.

12. Carrots (a match with Murdock’s Healthiest Foods on Earth)

Think of carrots as orange wonder wands—good for the eyeballs, and good for clearing up breakouts. No magic here, though, just plenty of vitamin A, which prevents overproduction of cells in the skin’s outer layer. That means fewer dead cells to combine with sebum and clog pores. They’re also spiked with carotenoids-fat-soluble compounds that are associated with a reduction in a wide range of cancers, as well as a reduced risk and severity of inflammatory conditions such as asthma and rheumatoid arthritis.

13. Dried Plums

Also known as prunes, prunes are rich in copper and boron, both of which can help prevent osteoporosis. “They also contain a fiber called inulin, which, when broken down by intestinal bacteria, makes for a more acidic environment in the digestive tract,” says Bowerman. “That, in turn, facilitates calcium absorption.”

14. Whole Grains

Whole grains—oatmeal, wheat flour, barley, brown rice—are high in fiber, which calms inflamed tissues while keeping the heart strong, the colon healthy, and the brain fueled. Whole grains can be loaded with carbs, but the release of those sugars is slowed by the fiber, and because they can pack as much as 10 grams of protein per 1/2-cup serving, they also deliver steady muscle-building energy. But not all breads and crackers advertised as “whole grain” are the real deal. “Read the label,”says Lynn Grieger, an online health, food, and fitness coach. “Those that aren’t whole grain can be high in fat, which increases inflammation.”

15. Red Wine

Swimming in resveratrol—a natural compound that lowers LDL, raises HDL, and prevents blood clots—red wine can truly be a lifesaver. A recent review in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, for instance, suggests that resveratrol may prevent or delay the onset of chronic disease. But limit your intake to two drinks a day. According to a study of 6,000 patients in the Journal of the American Medical Association, you’re 97 percent more likely to reach your 85th birthday if you keep your daily alcohol consumption to fewer than three drinks. Vin rouge is also a rich source of flavonoids, antioxidants that help protect the lining of blood vessels in your heart, and may make you less likely to die of cardiovascular disease, according to Japanese researchers.  If you want to get resveratrol, you’ll have to use resveratrol supplements.

16. Yogurt

Various cultures claim yogurt as their own creation, but the 2,000-year-old food’s health benefits are not disputed: Fermentation spawns hundreds of millions of probiotic organisms that serve as reinforcements to the battalions of beneficial bacteria in your body, which keep your digestive tract healthy and your immune system in top form, and provide protection against cancer. Not all yogurts are probiotic, though, so make sure the label says “live and active cultures.”  Stay away from those that are sweetened.

17. Avocado (a match with Murdock’s Healthiest Foods on Earth)

Chock full of monounsaturated fat, avocados deliver a double-barreled blast to LDL cholesterol (the bad kind). They are also rich in folate, a water-soluble B vitamin that helps lower the levels of homocysteine, an amino acid that can hinder the flow of blood through blood vessels. Eat a 1/4 cup twice a week, says Greaves.

18. Walnuts

Richer in heart-healthy omega-3s than salmon, loaded with more anti-inflammatory polyphenols than red wine, and packing half as much musclebuilding protein as chicken, the walnut sounds like a Frankenfood, but it grows on trees. Other nuts combine only one or two of these features, not all three. A serving of walnuts—about 1 ounce, or seven nuts—is good anytime, but especially as a post-workout recovery snack.

19. Turmeric

Curcumin, the polyphenol that gives turmeric its tang and yellow hue, has anti-cancer properties, anti-inflammatory effects, and tumor-fighting activities known in nutrition speak as anti-angiogenesis. Researchers at UCLA have also found that it helps deter the accumulation of amyloid plaques in the brain, tiny blockages that may cause Alzheimer’s disease. Turmeric’s prevalence in India, the researchers suggest, may help explain why so few of the country’s senior citizens have the disease, whereas the statistic is close to 13 percent in the United States, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. One tip: Pair it with pepper in curries. “Adding black pepper to turmeric or turmeric-spiced food enhances curcumin’s bioavailability by 1,000 times, due to black pepper’s hot property called piperine,” says nutritionist Stacy Kennedy of the Dana Farber Cancer Institute.

20. Black Beans

People who eat one 3-ounce serving of black beans a day decrease their risk of heart attack by 38 percent, according to a study in the Journal of Nutrition. And while other beans are also good for your heart, none can boost your brainpower like black beans. That’s because they’re full of anthocyanins, antioxidant compounds that have been shown to improve brain function. They’re also packed with superstar nutrients, including protein, healthy fats, folate, magnesium, B vitamins, potassium, and fiber.

21. Apples (a match with Murdock’s Healthiest Foods on Earth)

An apple a day reduces swelling of all kinds, thanks to quercetin, a flavonoid also found in the skin of red onions. Quercetin reduces the risk of allergies, heart attack, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and prostate and lung cancers. If given the choice, opt for Red Delicious. They contain the most inflammation fighting antioxidants.

22. Alaskan King Crab

High in protein and low in fat, the sweet flesh of the king crab is spiked with zinc—a whopping 7 milligrams per 3.5-ounce serving. “Zinc is an antioxidant, but more important, it helps support healthy bone mass and immune function,” say Bowerman.

23. Pomegranates (a match with Murdock’s Healthiest Foods on Earth)

The juice from the biblical fruit of many seeds can reduce your risk of most cancers, thanks to polyphenols called ellagitannins, which give the fruit its color. In fact, a recent study at UCLA found that pomegranate juice slows the growth of prostate cancer cells by a factor of six.

24. Pak Choy

This crunchy cruciferous vegetable is more than the filler that goes with shrimp in brown sauce. “Bok choy is rich in bone-building calcium, as well as vitamins A and C, folic acid, iron, beta-carotene, and potassium,” says celebrity trainer Teddy Bass. Potassium keeps your muscles and nerves in check while lowering your blood pressure, and research suggests that beta-carotene can reduce the risk of both lung and bladder cancers, as well as macular degeneration.

25. Oysters

Shellfish, in general, is an excellent source of zinc, calcium, copper, iodine, iron, potassium, and selenium. “But the creamy flesh of oysters stands apart for its ability to elevate testosterone levels and protect against prostate cancer,” says Bass.

26. Broccoli (a match with Murdock’s Healthiest Foods on Earth)

One cup of broccoli contains a hearty dose of calcium, as well as manganese, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, and iron. And that’s in addition to its high concentration of vitamins—including A, C, and K—and the phytonutrient sulforaphane, which studies at Johns Hopkins University suggest has powerful anticancer properties.

27. Kiwis (a match with Murdock’s Healthiest Foods on Earth)

Like bananas, this fuzzy fruit is high in bone-protecting potassium. “They’re also rich in vitamin C and lutein, a carotenoid that can help reduce the risk of heart disease,” says Bowerman. “I try to eat at least one or two a week after exercising.” Freeze them for a refreshing energy kick, but don’t peel the skin: It’s edible and packed with nutrients.

28. Olive Oil

The extra-virgin variety is rich in beneficial monounsaturated fats. “Its fatty acids and polyphenols reduce inflammation in cells and joints,” says Grieger. A study in the journal Nature found that it’s as effective as Advil at reducing inflammation. “Have 2 tablespoons a day,” says Bowerman.

29. Leeks

“Leeks can support sexual functioning and reduce the risk of prostate cancer,” says Michael Dansinger, M.D., an assistant professor of medicine and an obesity researcher at Tufts–New England Medical Center, in Boston. “Chop the green part of a medium leek into thin ribbons and add it to soups, sautés, and salads as often as possible.” These scallionlike cousins of garlic and onions are also packed with bone-bolstering thiamine, riboflavin, calcium, and potassium, and they’re also rich in folic acid, a B vitamin that studies have shown to lower levels of the artery-damaging amino acid homocystein in the blood.

30. Artichokes (a match with Murdock’s Healthiest Foods on Earth)

Lauded for centuries as an aphrodisiac, this fiber-rich plant contains more bone-building magnesium and potassium than any other vegetable. Its leaves are also rich in flavonoids and polyphenols—antioxidants that can cut the risk of stroke—and vitamin C, which helps maintain the immune system. “Eat them as often as you can,” says Bowerman. Ripe ones feel heavy for their size and squeak when squeezed.

31. Chili Peppers

“Chilis stimulate the metabolism, act as a natural blood thinner, and help release endorphins,” says Petersen. Plus, they’re a great way to add flavor to food without increasing fat or calorie content. Chilis are also rich in beta-carotene, which turns into vitamin A in the blood and fights infections, as well as capsaicin, which inhibits neuropeptides (chemicals that cause inflammation). A recent study in the journal Cancer Research found that hot peppers even have anti-prostate-cancer properties. All this from half a chili pepper (or 1 tablespoon of chili flakes) every day.

32. Ginger

Contrary to popular belief, ginger—a piquant addition to so many Asian dishes—isn’t a root, it’s a stem, which means it contains living compounds that improve your health. Chief among them is gingerol, a cancer suppressor that studies have shown to be particularly effective against that of the colon. Chop ginger or grind it fresh and add it to soy marinated fish or chicken as often as you can. The more you can handle, the better.

33. Cinnamon

Known for making desserts sweet and Indian food complex, cinnamon is rich in antioxidants that inhibit blood clotting and bacterial growth (including the bad-breath variety). “Studies also suggest that it may help stabilize blood sugar, reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes,” says dietitian Nancy Clark, author of Nancy Clark’s Sports Nutrition Guidebook. “What’s more, it may help reduce bad cholesterol. Try half a teaspoon a day in yogurt or oatmeal.”

34. Eggs

Those who have eggs for breakfast lose 65 percent more weight than those who down a bagel breakfast with the same number of calories, according to a study in the International Journal of Obesity. Eat the yolk, too. Recent studies have proved that the fat in the yellow part is important to keep you satiated, and the benefits of its minerals and nutrients outweigh its cholesterol effect.

35. Figs

Packed with potassium, manganese, and antioxidants, this fruit also helps support proper pH levels in the body, making it more difficult for pathogens to invade, says Petersen. Plus, the fiber in figs can lower insulin and blood-sugar levels, reducing the risk of diabetes and metabolic syndrome. Select figs with dark skins (they contain more nutrients) and eat them alone or add them to trail mix.

36. Grass-Fed Beef

Nothing beats pure protein when it comes to building muscle. The problem with most store-bought beef, however, is that the majority of cattle are grain fed, which gives their meat a relatively high ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids. That, in turn, contributes to inflammation. The fatty acids in grass-fed beef, on the other hand, are skewed toward the omega-3 variety. Such beef also contains conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), which studies have shown help reduce belly fat and build lean muscle.

37. Mushrooms (a match with Murdock’s Healthiest Foods on Earth)

Delicious when added to brown rice, reiki, shiitake, and maitake mushrooms are rich in the antioxidant ergothioneine, which protects cells from abnormal growth and replication. “In short, they reduce the risk of cancer,” says Bowerman, who recommends half a cup once or twice a week. “Cooking them in red wine, which contains resveratrol, magnifies their immunity-boosting power.”

38. Pineapples (a match with Murdock’s Healthiest Foods on Earth)

With its potent mix of vitamins, antioxidants, and enzymes—in particular, bromelain, pineapple is an all-body anti-inflammation cocktail. It also protects against colon cancer, arthritis, and macular degeneration, says Grieger. (If only the “colada” part of the equation were as healthy.) Have half a cup, two or three times a week.

39. Fruit or Vegetable Juice

Raise a glass of the good stuff. In a 2006 University of South Florida study, people who drank three or more 4-ounce glasses of fruit or vegetable juice each week were 76 percent less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease than those who drank less. The high levels of polyphenols—antioxidants found in fruits and vegetables—may protect brain cells from the damage that may be caused by the disease, says study author Amy Borenstein, Ph.D.

40. Bing Cherries (a match with Murdock’s Healthiest Foods on Earth)

Research by the U.S. Department of Agriculture shows that eating about 35 bing cherries a day can lower the risk of tendinitis, bursitis, arthritis, and gout, says Bowerman. Studies also suggest that they reduce the risk of chronic diseases and metabolic syndrome.

Related posts:

1. Sunday Summary: Lifespan, Superfoods and Happiness
2. Superfoods, Anyone?
3. 86 Year-old Billionaire’s Recipe for Longevity

A Funny Bit from the Internet

I DON’T know who to attribute this funny bit to (below) since I received it via a mass email mailing with no author identified.

I want to share it though because it made me smile. More importantly, this is a good parody of the drug companies’ TV commercial onslaught to make everyone think that they have some health problem, such as erectile dysfunction or indigestion, when in reality only a small percent of the population does.

(And, by the way, a 70-year old man IS SUPPOSED to be less sexually vigorous than a 20-year old — this is not a problem that needs to be corrected by drugs. And, by the way, indigestion can be solved by eating more fruits, vegetables and fiber, along with digestive enzymes. You don’t need drugs! Check out this post, End Sluggish Digestion.)

As the doctors say, a glass of red wine in the evening reduces stress and may reduce the chances of heart disease… but beware of these side effects (ha!)…


Important Health Advice for Women

Do you have feelings of inadequacy?
Do you suffer from shyness?
Do you sometimes wish you were more assertive?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, ask your doctor or pharmacist about Cabernet Sauvignon.

Cabernet Sauvignon is the safe, natural way to feel better and more confident about yourself and your actions. It can help ease you out of your shyness and let you tell the world that you’re ready (and willing) to do just about anything.

You will notice the benefits of Cabernet Sauvignon almost immediately and, with a regimen of regular doses, you can overcome any obstacles that prevent you from living the life you want to live.

Shyness and awkwardness will be a thing of the past and you will discover many talents you never knew you had.

Stop hiding and start living.

Cabernet Sauvignon may not be right for everyone. Women who are pregnant or nursing should not use it. However, women who wouldn’t mind nursing or becoming pregnant are encouraged to try it.

Side effects may include:

Dizziness, nausea, vomiting, incarceration, loss of motor control, loss of clothing, loss of money, loss of virginity, delusions of grandeur, table dancing, headache, dehydration, dry mouth, and a desire to sing Karaoke and play all-night rounds of Strip Poker, Truth Or Dare, and Naked Twister.

WARNINGS:

* The consumption of Cabernet Sauvignon may make you think you are whispering when you are not.
* The consumption of Cabernet Sauvignon may cause you to tell your friends over and over again that you love them.
* The consumption of Cabernet Sauvignon may cause you to think you can sing.
* The consumption of Cabernet Sauvignon may make you think you can converse enthusiastically with members of the opposite sex without spitting.
* The consumption of Cabernet Sauvignon may create the illusion that you are tougher, smarter, faster and better looking than most people.

Please feel free to share this important information with as many women as you feel may benefit!

Now just imagine what you could achieve with a good Shiraz …………..

Related posts:

1. Consumer Reports Health Service
2. The Seriously Serious Problems of Obesity, Sleep Apnea and Obesity
3. Jimmey Kimmel on iPhone Health Care

Part 5 of 5: Obesity and Sleep Apnea

This is one part of a five-part series about the many chronic and debilitating health issues connected to obesity.  Please scroll to the bottom of this post for the list (and links) to the other posts in this series.

Sleep Apnea Strikes

IF YOU’VE been reading the other posts in this series of five, by now you’re wondering if the solution to everything is to lose weight.

Well, to the extent that we experience everything on Planet Earth via our bodies and our bodies must be healthy to have a good experience of such… then, yeah, maybe if you’re obese, the solution to having a better experience of life is to lose weight.

Take sleep for example.  How glorious is the experience of a good night’s rest!  We spend about a third of our existence sleeping, so why not make it a great experience? Especially since if it’s chronically not good, you’re in trouble.

A recent study (yet another one) shows conclusively that, simply speaking: lose weight, sleep better; stay fat, sleep poorly.  The cost of not sleeping is more than that of additional cups of java.

Sleep apnea is a disorder where you actually stop breathing for an extended period of time during sleep and must wake up to breathe again, although most of the time you don’t realize you’ve awoken.  If you more than five such incidents per hour during sleep, it’s considered a sleep apnea disorder. Severe cases can result in hundreds of such incidents each night.

WebMD says that sleep apnea is a disorder that causes loud snoring and sleep disruptions resulting from the temporary blockage of the airway during sleep. If untreated, sleep apnea increases the risk of high blood pressure, stroke, and heart disease.

In that aforementioned recent study, researchers measured the effect of weight loss on sleep apnea in 264 obese adults with type 2 diabetes.  The participants were randomly divided into two groups.

One group received a weight loss program with portion-controlled diets and an exercise program of 175 minutes of exercise per week. (Easy, that’s only 35 minutes per day with two days off — just walk around the house a few times.) The second group received no weight loss advice and participated in a diabetes management program.

After one year, the weight loss group lost an average of 24 pounds; the second group lost just over 1 pound, a whopping 0.0027 pounds per day.

Those in the weight loss group were three times as likely to experience a remission of their sleep apnea symptoms (13.6% vs. 3.5%), and had about half the instances of severe sleep apnea as the second group.

3x is a pretty significant and says a lot about the ill effects of sleep deprivation on one’s health.

And so this unceremoniously concludes the last of a five part series on four chronic, and debilitating health problems resulting from obesity.  From cancer to diabetes, sleep apnea and brain degeneration — these are just a few of the physical travails that many substantially overweight people experience.

Given that about two-thirds of Americans are overweight and half of this group are obese, you can get a feel for the health challenges ahead for way too many people.

What manifests at the physical level often has emotional underpinnings, and none of us have lived very long with unwounded hearts.  So, look kindly on anyone struggling with a physical issue, even if you think it’s their own fault.  And if asked, lend a hand, cause nothing lifts up another person as connecting with someone who cares.

As I’ve before written…Want to bone up on a new eating plan? Click on “Diet” under “Topics” in the sidebar on the right hand side of your screen.  There are several posts listed there.

Go experiment for the fun of it!

These are the titles and links to each of my five-part series on obesity:

The Seriously Serious Problems of Obesity. Intro: Part 1 of 5

Focus: Introduction to the many ills associated with obesity

The Seriously Serious Problems of Obesity, Part 2 of 5

Focus: Cancer’s relationship to obesity

The Seriously Serious Problems of Obesity, Part 3 of 5

Focus: Diabetes’ (type 2) relationship to obesity

The Seriously Serious Problems of Obesity, Part 4 of 5

Focus: Brain Degeneration’s relationship to Obesity

The Seriously Serious Problems of Obesity, Part 5 of 5

Focus:  Sleep Apnea’s relationship to obesity

Related posts:

1. The Seriously Serious Problems of Obesity, Diabetes and Obesity
2. The Seriously Serious Problems of Obesity, Brain Degeneration and Obesity
3. The Seriously Serious Problems of Obesity. Intro: Part 1 of 5

TODAY, November 11, 2009, I remember our soldiers and sailors, particularly my Father.  Today, you can choose your celebratory term: Remembrance Day, Veteran’s Day, Armistice Day, even Poppy Day.  It doesn’t matter.  What does, is that today we remember the signing of the armistice that concluded WWI, and honor those that served all America’s wars, justified or not.

A military man, my Father was shaped by WWII, and was reshaped again in Korea. Again in Vietnam, three tours.

The total American dead and wounded of those three wars tallied over 1.4 million.  Add those in WWI, and the number increases to 1.7 million. Add U.S. allies and enemies, and that number soars by several million more.

From the black quagmire of such horror, my Father stumbled away with just an injured back that would flare up from time to time over the course of his life. As well as memories sealed tight.

My Father lived to marry, have children, divorce, remarry, become distant… hiding himself somewhere deep and safe.  He died in a hospital at the age of 82, rather than in Germany or Japan at 18, or Korea at 30, or Vietnam at 45.  Lucky guy.

The poppy came to symbolize WWI. In the lore of war, the Flanders Poppy was said to be the first flower to show itself after the initial battles had spilled blood in Flanders; the red color representing the blood of fallen comrades returning to the light of the Sun.

So, to my Dad and all the others who served, let’s read this poem and remember them.

In Flanders fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Lt.-Col. John McCrae (1872 – 1918)

Related posts:

1. The Day for Rememberance
2. Remember Your Memory

Start By Knowing Your Resting Pulse

I WANT to relate something important that I just saw on the new Dr. Oz Show.

For those of you unfamiliar with the good doctor, Mehmet Oz is a heart surgeon, author and peripatetic dispenser of health information made pretty famous by appearing 55 times on the Oprah Winfrey Show.  Now he has his own, co-produced by Winfrey’s Harpo Productions and Sony Pictures Television.

I’ve seen him numerous times in several venues and find that he has a knack for simplifying complex health issues, and for suggesting simple things to do to avert, or cope with potentially major health problems.

Which brings me to the topic at hand, the heart.

Dr. Oz says that for most of us, we first find out we have a heart problem when that magnificent organ goes rogue and has an attack.  Not a good time to be alerted about your cardiovascular problem.

How to get a clue before it’s too late?  Get focused on your pulse.

Your pulse is a window into the health of your heart.  Dr. Oz recommends that if you are in the high risk category for cardiovascular disease — you’re overweight, have high cholesterol, high blood pressure, are sedentary, experience shortness of breath doing simple physical activities — you should check your pulse in bed each morning before you launch into your day .

Dr. Oz instructs that you measure your pulse, which mirrors your heat beat, by taking two finger of one hand and applying them to the wrist of the other hand below the and wrist under the thumb, as the picture shows.

I have an easier time measuring my pulse by placing two fingers to either side of my throat, like Oprah is doing in the picture above. For me, it’s easier to find the pulse and it feels stronger, as in more prominent, or obvious.

In either case, as you watch a clock or watch tick off six seconds, count the beats of your pulse and then multiple the number you count by ten. This gives you the beats per minute, which is how the pulse rate is calibrated.

If your pulse exceeds 75 beats per minute when you’ve just awakened and are still in bed, your chances for a heart attack increase if you’re in the high risk category, says Oz.

If that’s the case — your pulse is over 75 and stays there — I’d pick up the phone and call a doctor for instructions before I’d begin jumping rope.

Dr. Oz ends this segment on his show by suggesting that there are some helpful, if not sufficient, things you can do to help your heart, along with the typical bromides of a better diet and exercise, and these are:

- Take 1,000 milligrams of Vitamin D. It has a knack for distributing calcium to your bones instead of your heart and arteries, a signal to heart attack risk.

- Take aspirin daily. It thins the blood and reduces inflammation in the arteries.

For more about heart care centered around vitamin supplementation, check out this post, The Heart of the Matter.

Related posts:

1. Man vs Wild: A Life-Saving Enema (Video)
2. Eating for a Long Life: WebMD’s 13 Tips
3. The Heart of the Matter