The Tao of Health

What's the Culprit?

2011-03-12T12:05:00.000-08:00

I noticed with interest that actor Forest Whitaker is cutting down on soy in an attempt to lose weight.

I have a theory that everyone can identify some culprit in their diet that is causing them to gain weight. Therefore, there is something in our diet that if we stopped eating it we would lose weight. For example, I used to eat a lot of peanut butter. When I stopped eating it, I lost a bunch of weight. Many people eat french fries. Others consume a lot of ice cream, or whole milk, or butter, you get the idea. Anything high in fat or calories is not going to help us manage a healthy weight.

One thing I have done is to find out what foods are good for me, decide which of those I like, and then those are the ones I eat. For example, tomatoes are good for me, so I might choose to drink V-8 juice because it has a lot of lycopene and only fifty calories per serving. Something else I might eat is pumpkin seeds. I really like Michael Season's cheese curls or Cheddar Pops. They are very tasty, baked, and low in fat, at only about 130 calories per serving.

Anyway, I think maintaining a healthy weight is important. Good luck to everyone in that endeavor.

If you're not too busy, please check out my poetry books (links to the right.) Even if you don't buy any, they all have free samples, so check those out. Thanks, and I hope you enjoy them.

The First Post in Two Years

2009-11-20T21:44:00.000-08:00

I am the son of this blog's creator, and I decided to contribute a bit to this blog since I too have an interest in health. The best way to go about this, I believe, is to jump right in. So here we go.

I was at Barnes & Noble last Saturday, and after browsing the 'general health' section, I found a book I've never seen before. It is called "Never Be Sick Again" by Raymond Francis. I flipped through it, it looked interesting enough, and decided on a whim to buy it. Well, after reading his story (which was rife with health problems of all kinds) and a few more selections, I realized that this guy was going overboard on the alternative health bandwagon.

His chapter on Toxicity (the one I read the most of) is overwhelming to say the least. He writes about the dangers of basically everything in the home. Carpeting made from synthetic fibers (nylon, acrylic and polyester) plus the soil, stain, moisture and moth repellents which are used in their manufacture. Mattresses of synthetic material and the flame retardants and dyes used in their manufacture. Furniture made of polyester, polyurethane, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride, and particleboard. All of which can off-gas toxic fumes including formaldehyde from the particleboard. The stuff in your bathroom, the stuff in your pantry, no room is safe. After reading all of this, I realized this was not the book for me, so I put it down. I have better things to do than worry about all the toxins in the world.

There's no doubt that the sheer volume of chemicals we use in the manufacture of everything from food to furniture is stressing our bodies and taxing our livers. However, I believe that a lot of these agents have no adverse effects. Say you pick up an average soup can at the grocery store. It may have twenty ingredients listed. A few of those may be bad, some questionable, and the rest might have no impact on one's health. How bad are the ones that are bad? Time will tell. Don't get too worried about it, paranoia is not good for you. The important thing is that we're not rumaging around in the foliage only to find a mushroom so poisonous it kills us upon ingestion. That's what our distant ancestors had to deal with. Not only that, but we're living longer than we have before, which is something this author fails to elaborate upon. We are going to get sick, it's a fact of life. A wise move is to make it easier for your body to recover. All that junk food, those sodas, and that big old slab of cattle is not going to cut it. You only get one body, be nicer to it.

One more thing about this book. In the appendix he lists his personal recommendations for products. Under deodorant he recommends IndiuMagic, which he claims to have spent months trying to find on his search for a "safe" deodorant. It's strange though, because his site is the only place on the internet you can find it. What's more, this product contains Indium, an element on the periodic table. This element is rare and has no known biological role, but some health companies swear by its supposed health benefits. But get this, according to an online periodic table, Indium can cause damage to certain organs and is potentially teratogenic, which means it can cause birth defects. This is a guy who's trying to cash in on the long-standing desire for never-ending vibrant health and longevity and I'm not buying it.

Oh Please!

2007-11-20T07:41:00.000-08:00

This article is just so full of it, particularly the headline which reads, “Having Lots of Kids Helps Dads Live to 100.” The article then goes on to say that farming also helps men live to 100, as does keeping off excess weight in youth. That part I can agree with. Farming can be a healthy activity. Farmers get lots of exercise, they are out in the fresh air a lot, and the potential is there for them to eat a healthy diet with food taken right from their farm. And of course it is healthy to keep off excess weight, in one’s youth or at any other time of one’s life. But I really doubt that having lots of kids helps men live to 100. Even the article itself says that “based on previous studies by other authors, and common sense, quite the opposite could be expected.” I tend to agree with the common sense part. My grandfather had four children and he died at the age of 77. Why? Because he smoked, ate an unhealthy diet which included lots of saturated fats, and at times he bordered on obesity. Also, maybe there was something in his genetic history that kept him from living longer, although many of his siblings lived into their 90s. Having four kids had nothing to do with it. Leading an unhealthy lifestyle had a lot to do with it.

Articles like these really make me mad. They are like articles in which you can prove almost anything if you choose the right statistics. In articles like these, some of the most outrageous conclusions can come up depending on what you are looking for. Much of that depends on coincidence. Surely you’re not going to tell me, “Go out, have four kids, and you’ll live to 100.” That’s ridiculous, and I think much of this study is ridiculous as well.

news, aging, cancer, children, cholesterol, diet, exercise, fat, food, health, heart disease, longevity, obesity, vegetables, vegetarian, weight loss, women,

Eddie’s Vegetable Soup

2007-11-13T12:20:00.000-08:00

1 carrot
1 onion
5 cloves garlic
1 can Beef Broth (15 oz.)
1 can tomato sauce (8 oz.)
8 oz can lima beans
8 oz can green beans
8 oz can green peas
8 oz chickpeas
8 oz dark red kidney beans
11 oz can white shoepeg corn
4 oz frozen spinach
Black pepper
Garlic powder
Salt

I can cook and eat this delicious soup within one hour, and it makes 4 or 5 servings, maybe more, so I have plenty to eat at lunch for most of the week.

Prepare one large carrot, chop it up and put in 3 qt. pot. I don’t particularly like crunchy carrot in my soup, so I put enough water with it (not much) so that I can boil it some while I’m cutting up the onion and garlic. Keep a close eye on the cooking carrot. Chop onion and garlic and add it to carrot, stirring often. I put some olive oil with this sometimes, but you could also just add a little more water so that you can cook it all until the onion is somewhat translucent. Then I add a 15 oz can of Swanson’s Beef Broth and an 8 oz can of Hunt’s tomato sauce (just the plain variety) with a little coarsely ground black pepper and some garlic powder on top, and increase heat under pot. While all that is heating, open and drain all your beans. Also, rinse the chickpeas and kidney beans, maybe to minimize gas? Then to the pot add an 8 oz can Del Monte lima beans, an 8 oz can cut Del Monte green beans (I cut some in half if they seem too long), an 8 oz can Lesueur very young small early peas, an 11 oz can Green Giant white shoepeg corn. Chickpeas and kidney beans usually come in 15 oz cans, so I add a half can of each to the soup and freeze the rest for next time. I use organic beans if they are available. Food Lion has started carrying a lot more organic beans lately. I add some frozen spinach to the pot. It thaws nicely as the soup heats. I bring all this to the point where it simmers, almost boiling, reduce heat, cover, and let it cook for little awhile before I eat it. I spoon a bunch of the soup into a bowl, sprinkle black pepper on top, and crumble up 3-5 Saltine crackers in it, then stir and eat. You could add a little elbow macaroni or maybe some orzo if you want, but the corn is your grain. Sometimes if I have something like blackeyed peas left over I might add it to the soup, but I try to be careful not to spoil the taste of this soup because I love it.

I think this soup is one of the healthiest things a person can eat. Look at all the vegetables, the variety of foods, etc. I think it might help you lose weight, too, but I’m not sure. I’ve lost a couple of pounds recently, and I’ve been eating a lot of vegetable soup for lunch. This is one reason, though, why I’m not a vegan. I do use beef broth occasionally. Other than that, and some occasional Locatelli cheese on pasta, I am a vegetarian.

recipes, soup, low fat, cancer, cholesterol, diet, fat, food, health, heart disease, immunity, inflammation, LDL, longevity, obesity, vegetables, vegetarian, weight loss, women,

False Assumptions Can Kill?

2007-11-12T10:31:00.000-08:00

It is interesting to me how some people are operating under false assumptions when it comes to their health. I don’t want to be judgemental or snobbish about this because I have done the same sort of thing myself. I used to eat potato chips, and I thought that since they didn’t have cholesterol, then they weren’t bad for me, or something like that. In other words, the potato chip bag had a label on the outside that said something like “Cholesterol Free,” and I thought that was a good thing. And of course it was a good thing, from my point of view, that they didn’t have cholesterol. But my sister pointed out to me the fact that they contain a lot of fat. So not only did they contain some saturated fat, which drives up a person’s cholesterol, but I am sure they contain more omega-6 fatty acids than I prefer to eat today.

When my elderly aunt had heart problems, her response was, “Well, I eat Cheerios every day.” And I said to her, if you’re expecting to control your cholesterol with Cheerios alone, that won’t do it. They will help, because of their soluble fiber, of course, but you can get a lot more soluble fiber just from using products like FiberSure, etc.

And this summer, in the middle all of our 104 degree days, my aunt had a fainting spell, no doubt because of dehydration, and her potassium was very low. Her response to that was, “Well, I eat a banana every day.” And I wanted to say to her that a banana only has a small amount of our daily requirements of potassium – even less if you factor in the heat of a summer day. If you’re expecting to control your potassium by eating a banana every day, well that won’t do it. If you are concerned about your potassium, there are many other foods that contain it. In this list, banana is at the bottom.

Here is an article that challenges our assumptions, for example, that we might be getting enough omega-3 fatty acids if we buy all the food in the grocery store that claims to contain it. The article says, “Consumers are in real danger of being misled.” Well, duh. Cheerios claim to lower cholesterol, potato chips have no cholesterol, some foods contain omega-3s – we’re not in danger of being misled, we’ve been misled for a long time. Sure, some of the processed food in the grocery store is good for us, but we are often wrong to assume that it is the best choice of food to put into our bodies based on what the food companies tell us. In some ways they need to mislead us so that we will buy their products. I go back to the fact that a corporation’s only responsibility is to make money.

Anyway, we need to make sure our assumptions are correct and not wait until a health crisis forces us to find out the truth. By the time that happens, it could be too late.

aging, cancer, dehydration, cholesterol, fiber, diet, exercise, fat, food, health, heart disease, longevity, obesity, soluble fiber, vegetables, vegetarian, weight loss, women, omega-3,

No More Trans Fat?

2007-11-05T15:49:00.000-08:00

Wow, I was at the store the other day and I discovered that Nutella no longer uses hydrogenated oil. One reason I stopped eating it was because of the trans fats. The only problem now is that instead of partially hydrogenated peanut oil they are using palm oil, which is also bad. Nutella has a lot of fat per serving, but a lot of that fat is from hazelnuts. I’m not recommending this product, but it is good, and I was just happy that they had taken out the trans fat. (Note: I just looked up the nutritional information on Nutella. Apparently their website hasn’t caught up with the change because it still has the old information. But I swear what I am saying is correct. Check it yourself next time you are at the grocery store.)

Green Tea

2007-08-07T11:32:00.000-07:00

Green tea is supposed to be a very healthy drink. Just look at all these posts for an idea of how healthy.

As healthy as green tea may be, just think about how cheap it is. You can get organic green tea bags for ten cents each. That means you can have four cups per day for less than fifty cents. I think that is incredible! Where else can you find such a value?

green tea, aging, cholesterol, diet, health, heart disease, immunity, inflammation, LDL, longevity, prostate cancer, PSA, weight loss,

Food Diary, Yesterday

2007-06-19T11:47:00.000-07:00

Morning:
Bowl of Cheerios (about 1.5 cups) w/Silk Lite Soy Milk, Vanilla
One cup Green Tea, w/2 tsp sugar, sipped throughout the morning
One tsp Carlson Fish oil

Noon and After
One serving Tabatchnick Yankee Bean soup, from Kroger, 160 calories, 1.5 g fat
One serving Tabatchnick Potato soup, from Kroger, 100 calories, 1.5 g fat
Cup of Green Tea, w/sugar sipped throughout the afternoon
Bought some plums, but they were not good. Going out to eat tonight. 97 degrees outside.

Evening
At the cafeteria I had tossed salad w/nonfat dressing, white rice, plain broccoli. I’ve got to stop eating at the cafeteria, or be very very careful. The other day the beans looked too greasy, so today I didn’t eat any at all. Besides, they were pinto, and I didn’t feel like having them. The broccoli usually seems like it has butter on it. I’ve asked them before how they cook it, and they say they boil it, but it still often seems like there is butter there, which I DO NOT WANT!!! I also bought some sliced tomatoes, but brought them home instead.
Walked 30 minutes at the mall.
Bought some hummus ($2.00) at the mall. Had hummus, a piece of pita bread, and a slice of tomato to finish off dinner.
One peach.

Night
2 glasses of wine
2 nonfat rice cakes from Kroger’s
Handful of roasted pumpkin seeds
1 slice whole wheat bread with grape jelly
1 slice whole wheat bread with bruschetta

Need to watch my fat intake. Key is low fat or non fat food. Also watch calories. Hopefully this is all I ate. I try to be conscientious and accurate.

cholesterol, diet, exercise, fat, food, health, heart disease, LDL, longevity, obesity, vegetarian, weight loss,

Checking on That Cholesterol

2007-06-18T15:46:00.000-07:00

I went to the doctor for a checkup recently and I just got the results of my blood work back. For the first time ever my cholesterol, lipids, etc. were relatively good. I am ecstatic.

When I had a checkup about 25 years ago the doctor told me for the first time that I had high triglycerides. This knowledge bothered me a lot at the time, but I didn’t know what to do about them. I tried to find out, but had no success. So as far as I know my triglycerides continued to be high. At about that time I quit smoking and started walking a lot, so those were two positive things I did for my health.

When I had a checkup in 2000 my cholesterol was still high as were my triglycerides. I still didn’t know what to do about any of that, so I am sure they continued to be high for quite awhile. In 2000 I started drinking a glass or two of wine in the evenings, and in 2001 I stopped eating meat as well as dairy and I adopted a low fat diet. For awhile I was a vegan. I lost a bunch of weight.

Fortunately my blood pressure is really good. I don’t know why. I think that is because of my exercising and my weight loss. Blood pressure is supposed to rise as you get older. Something like 120/85 is supposed to be normal. Whenever I go to the drug store I check it on their free machine, and usually it is about 110/70, which is low. When the nurse checked it the other day during my checkup it was 98/70.

Over the past several years I have done some more things to improve my health. In the past year I lost about 15 pounds. I now weigh 137 and have a better Body Mass Index (BMI). I started drinking two cups of green tea per day. I started consuming more soluble fiber, whether from foods like bananas and oatmeal, or from products like FiberSure. I started exercising more. I lost five pounds by just eating salads with nonfat dressing for lunch every day for a couple of weeks. Of course I continue to be a vegetarian. It was also important for me to limit my calories. I also ate a few walnuts every day, and watched my snacks in the evening, concentrating on fiber. My diet is complicated. I’ve touched on some things. I suppose I could be more specific. Maybe I will at some point. (Oh, don’t forget the fish oil.) Anyway, my diet has led to good results from my blood test about two weeks ago.

I am a sixty year old man. I am not on any medication whatsoever, thank God. Currently my total cholesterol is under 200 (181). My triglycerides are under 150 (128). My HDL is greater than 40 (52), and my LDL is 103. My VLDL is less than 40 (26). All in all I am very happy with the results of my blood test. OK, so my LDL is a little high (>100), but my LDL/HDL ratio is <2, so that is not bad. I am really glad that I had my blood checked. I have been wondering for a long time how I was doing with my diet, etc. Now I know. What I am doing actually works, at least for me. Following a low fat vegetarian diet, along with some other things like the green tea, fish oil, wine, exercise, etc., have helped me get my lipids to more healthy levels. Now that I know where I am I can take steps to try and improve my blood. I need to reduce my LDL and my total cholesterol. I also need to increase my HDL. I have some ideas about what to do now.

By the way, I don’t think it is ever too late to do positive things for your health. Seven years ago my lipids were still bad, and yet now they are good. What you do can have an impact on your health.

A lot of people are surprised when I tell them I am not on any medication. Sure, I am a sixty year old man, but not a typical sixty year old man. I avoid fast food restaurants like the plague. I exercise 30-60 minutes per day. I watch my diet carefully. I do research on how to eat healthy and live naturally. I cook. I consider that I am constantly evolving. The results of all that show up in my blood test. Hooray.

(BTW, I am lucky I was married to Arlene Malinowski for 18 years before she died. Many of the things I am doing now with my diet I learned from her.)

cholesterol, diet, exercise, fat, food, health, heart disease, LDL, obesity, vegetarian, weight loss, triglycerides

Food Diary, Sunday, June 17

2007-06-17T12:33:00.000-07:00

Morning:
Bowl of Cheerios (about 1.5 cups) w/Silk Lite Soy Milk, Vanilla
One cup Green Tea, w/2 tsp sugar, sipped throughout the morning
One tsp Carlson Fish oil
Cut the grass, front yard and back, before it got too hot. Good workout.

Noon and After
One banana, organic
One bowl Quaker instant oatmeal, heart healthy, with a tsp of FiberSure added plus extra cinnamon
One serving Tabatchnick Cabbage soup, from Kroger, 100 calories
Cup of Green Tea, w/sugar, sipped throughout the afternoon

Evening
One bowl blackeye peas with elbow macaroni, tomato sauce, onions, garlic, vinegar which I cooked from “scratch”. Really good.
4 nonfat Nabisco saltine crackers
Walked 30 minutes at the mall

Night
3 plums
One peach
2 glasses of wine
1 nonfat rice cake from Kroger’s
1 slice whole wheat bread with grape jelly

Need to watch my fat intake. Key is low fat or non fat food. Also watch calories. Hopefully this is all I ate. I try to be conscientious and accurate.

diet, exercise, fat, food, health, heart disease, LDL, obesity, vegetarian, weight loss,

Food Diary, Saturday, June 16

2007-06-16T21:11:00.000-07:00

Morning:
Bowl of Cheerios (about 1.5 cups) w/Silk Soy Milk, Vanilla
One cup Green Tea, w/2 tsp sugar, sipped throughout the morning

Noon and After
Bowl of Chili and Beans, low fat, vegetarian, from Kroger, with couscous added
4 nonfat Nabisco saltine crackers
Cup of Green Tea, w/sugar sipped throughout the afternoon

Evening
Went out to eat at local cafeteria: tossed salad w/nonfat French dressing, Veggie plate with Great Northern beans, white rice, and plain broccoli. Drink water as needed. It looked like there was grease in the beans, but I ate them anyway. These beans are cooked with meat, Southern style, but you rarely see any, and usually they seem relatively fat free.

Night
2 glasses of wine
10 pistachio nuts
1 non fat rice cake from Kroger’s
1 slice whole wheat bread with grape jelly

Need to watch my fat intake. I thought it would be interesting to start and keep a food diary. It is really difficult to limit your fat intake. As I've said before, a bowl of Cheerios in the morning with soy milk can amount to substantial amt of fat. I tried this in 2001 and had very good success, but as time has gone by it has been easy to relax. If I want to be really healthy, though, I think I need to limit my fat intake even further. I want to get and keep my cholesterol down, and that is one way. I'll talk about that further in a couple of days.

cholesterol, diet, fat, food, health, heart disease, LDL, obesity, vegetarian, weight loss,

TrueBlue Encore

2007-06-16T07:47:00.000-07:00

In this article, apparently blueberries are better at lowering LDL cholesterol than even statin drugs. Wow, isn’t that cool? Some people, like me, will opt for the blueberries. Most everyone else will opt for the statins, even though there could be some troubling side effects involved.

HOWEVER, this article says that blackberries are better at lowering LDL cholesterol than blueberries are. How cool is that? I’m always looking for ways to naturally lower my cholesterol, and now all I’ve got to do is have a few berries for my snack.

Of course some of this research is a few years old, but the bottom line on all this, I think, is that berries are good for you. They’re good at helping control cholesterol. They may help fight cancer. What’s not to like about them?

I spoke recently about TrueBlue blueberry juice. Thing is, TrueBlue puts out a juice cocktail I guess that is a combination blackberry and blueberry juice in addition to their regular blueberry juice. I’ve tried the blueberry/blackberry and it is really good. And apparently, according to research regarding the blackberry, it might be really good for you, particularly in helping lower cholesterol or fighting cancer.

aging, blueberries, blackberries, antioxidants, juice, cancer, pterostilbene, anthocyanins, cholesterol, polyphenols, diet, memory, fat, food, health, heart disease, berries, LDL, statins, vegetables, vegetarian, weight loss, women,

TrueBlue Blueberry Juice

2007-06-03T08:27:00.001-07:00

There used to be a program on TV in the 1950s called Tightrope. Sometimes I feel that dealing with my diet and health is like walking on a tightrope. I drink a little wine, take a little fish oil, have a cup of green tea. I try to maintain a healthy weight, so I don’t have too many calories, but all the while I want to have stuff that I like, not torture myself with stuff I don’t like.

Recently I came across a great new drink called TrueBlue Blueberry Juice.

If anyone knows me they know I am really big into taking antioxidants, watching calories, avoiding stuff like high fructose corn syrup, etc. TrueBlue Blueberry Juice addresses all of those concerns: blueberry juices are full of antioxidants. They are very healthy, especially when compared to soft drinks and most other juice products. I know I sound like a commercial here, but it’s all true. TrueBlue only has about 110 calories per serving, it contains none of that corn syrup, and is FULL of stuff that is good for you.

Recently I have occasionally tried to add juices to my daily diet. For awhile there I was drinking pomegranate juice. The only problem with that was that it was so sweet that I stopped drinking it, even though it was supposed to be good for me. I found that TrueBlue blueberry juice was not all that sweet, which is a good thing because it made it easier to drink. I personally don’t want a really, really sweet drink.

So, where can I get TrueBlue? Well, I found it at my local grocery store, Kroger. There it was, up there with all the other fruit juices, but of course totally unlike all the other fruit juices. And it was only $3.99 for a half gallon, compared to my pomegranate juice which was six or seven dollars a quart. So TrueBlue is a really great value, with a lot of health benefits concentrated in one glass of juice, and for a very reasonable price. When you visit the TrueBlue website they have a link where you print off free coupons, as well as a link where you can find stores that carry the product. Also there is a wealth of information, including the fact that blueberry juice is supposed to help lower cholesterol and protect against heart disease, which I did not know. That is really cool. You all know how concerned I am about heart disease.

So, I plan to continue drinking TrueBlue for quite awhile. Not only is it good but it’s good for me.

blueberries, aging, juice, pterostilbene, anthocyanins, polyphenols, memory, cholesterol, diet, food, health, heart disease, inflammation, LDL, longevity, sugar, weight loss, women,

Health Notes

2007-04-29T07:51:00.000-07:00

The Bad News

Low dose aspirin does not protect women from cognitive decline.

Apparently Naproxen does not prevent Alzheimer’s disease, but what about Ibuprofen?

If a single high-fat meal is bad for you, just think of what those people who eat nothing but high-fat meals are doing to themselves.

Using ethanol fuel may be healthy for the environment, but what good is a great environment if you kill all the people?

The Good News

Consuming omega-3 fatty acids appears to slow cognitive decline as we age.

Alzheimer’s disease is fairly uncommon in India, where they eat a lot of curry and turmeric.

Eating less salt could be good for your heart.

Eating chocolate or cocoa appears to help lower blood pressure, although I don’t think they are talking about eating a bunch of Hershey bars to get this effect. It is possible to buy and eat cocoa while at the same time avoiding the fat, calories, and cholesterol associated with candy bars. (I think I’ll have some now. I microwave about a half cup of water for a minute, then mix in two teaspoons of sugar and two teaspoons of cocoa. I like it.) You don’t have to go overboard in order to enjoy a little chocolate.

aspirin, aging, dementia, Alzheimer's disease, cognitive, blood pressure, decline, naproxen, cancer, Ibuprofen, stress, cholesterol, fuel, diet, exercise, fat, food, health, heart disease, ethanol, inflammation, LDL, environment, omega-3, curry, turmeric, salt, chocolate, cocoa, pollution, obesity,

A Great Deal

2007-04-29T00:49:00.000-07:00

I saw an advertisement on TV recently that said every hour you exercise may add two hours to your life. To me that seems like a great deal. Exercise is not a waste of time. Not only do you get back the hour spent exercising, but you get another hour on top of that. It is like investing in yourself, with a wonderful rate of return.

Anyway, this is the website to which the advertisement was referring. If you press on the START button you get a lot of information about leading a healthier lifestyle. I have explored it a little and it is all very interesting.

walking, aging, cooking, calorie restriction, cholesterol, diet, exercise, fat, food, health, heart disease, immunity, inflammation, LDL, longevity, obesity, smoking, sugar, vegetables, vegetarian, weight loss, women, life expectancy,

Influenza Causes Heart Attacks?

2007-04-28T07:51:00.000-07:00

Now I am really confused. This article says “flu is a trigger of heart attacks.” It goes on to say that “vaccinations could save thousands of deaths from heart disease.”

I am nearly sixty and have never had a flu shot. Why not, you might ask? For one reason I never saw the need to get one before. Also, I have changed a lot in the past twenty years or so. I used to be all for vaccinations. Now, not so much.

But the above article got me to thinking, and this article also says “flu shots prevent cardiac death.” I am very afraid of having a heart attack. If flu causes heart attacks, then I should probably get a flu shot, right?

I don’t know. This article says that the first article above “doesn't prove that flu caused fatal heart attacks or other heart disease deaths. For instance, the researchers don't know the medical history, medications, or heart risks of the people who died of heart attacks or other types of heart disease -- or whether those people actually had the flu about the time of death.”

OK, well that makes me feel better. Maybe this was all just a false alarm, and maybe I just got scared for nothing. Besides, there are, I think, a lot of reasons not to take a flu shot. There seems to be some question as to whether or not the flu shot might contribute to Alzheimer’s disease, or Guillain-Barre Syndrome. There is some question as to whether or not the flu shot protects against the correct strains of influenza. And there are substances in the flu vaccine – such as mercury, aluminum, and formaldehyde – that you might not want to have injected into your blood. I know I don’t want them.

Here is more discussion. And Doctor Bob doesn’t seem to be for getting a flu shot. And here is something else. I may have already included it, but better safe than sorry.

(By the way, they say more people die from heart attacks during flu season, but more people have heart attacks in the winter anyway.)

This article says it is important to have a flu shot if you have heart disease. Maybe that is true. I don’t know. But so far I don’t have a diagnosed medical condition, so I still don’t see any real reason to get vaccinated. I think I am pretty healthy. The last time I got really sick was about seven or eight months ago. That was definitely not during flu season, although I may have had the flu. I really felt bad for more than a week. I was glad, however, that it gave me a chance to lose some weight I had wanted to lose. Since that time I have occasionally been around people who had the flu, but fortunately I dodged those bullets.

Here are articles from Wikipedia on the Flu Vaccine, Vaccines generally, and Vaccine Controversy. And here is a link to the National Vaccine Information Center.

I remember that I had a tetanus shot (which I think was unnecessary) when I was about twenty years old. I had a bad reaction to it. I was in the bed for several days afterwards. I don’t want to go through anything like that again.

As I say, I think I am fairly healthy now. I don’t see any reason to do anything. And I don’t see any reason to inject something into my system that might not even work; that I might not even need; and that might compromise my health. If I were in imminent and real danger, then maybe I would do something, but as of right now I don’t see an imminent or real danger from the flu. And certainly not serious enough to warrant my getting a flu shot, which seems to have enough threats and dangers of its own.

influenza, aging, shot, Alzheimer's disease, heart attack, vaccine, vaccination, flu, death, adverse, reaction, mercury, illness, sick, controversy, health, heart disease, immunity,

PFOA AGAIN

2007-04-26T08:36:00.000-07:00

Researchers found the chemical PFOA in 100 percent of newborns examined. This just makes me sick. Even newborn babies are not safe in their mother’s wombs from PFOA.

I have talked about some of this before, most notably on Jan. 29 and 31, 2006, as well as Feb. 6 and 13, 2006 (to which you can refer for background material.) PFOA is a chemical byproduct of Teflon. It is used in many packaging materials to prevent sticking, including microwave popcorn bags, storage bags for frozen french fries, pizza boxes, etc.

PFOA persists in the environment for a very long time. It is in virtually everyone’s body. And I do not believe it is a harmless chemical. And I am extremely dismayed that it is found in the blood of newborn babies. Don’t they deserve a chance to develop in an unpolluted environment? Is no one safe from pollution these days, not even unborn fetuses?

They’re presumably going to stop using PFOA by 2015. That’s great, but is it too little too late? The PFOA that is already here will continue to affect us for years to come. And apparently it will even affect those who are as yet unborn. There is no escaping it, and I also think there is no avoiding it because it is apparently ubiquitous. So the only thing we can do, it seems, is just hope it doesn’t kill us or cause anymore dreaded birth defects than we already have. I am not very optimistic.

PFOA, pollution, prenatal, babies, children, pregnancy, food, health, chemicals, environment, birth defects, Teflon, nonstick,

Green Tea and Autoimmune Disease

2007-04-25T08:27:00.000-07:00

This article says that green tea may help prevent autoimmune diseases such as Sjogren’s Syndrome. I was curious to know what that is, so I looked it up. Sjogren’s Syndrome is a condition in which immune cells attack and destroy tear glands and salivary glands, leading to dry eyes and dry mouth. About nine out of ten people with this syndrome are women. There is no cure or prevention available. But in the research reported above the doctors said, “Those treated with the green tea extract beginning at three weeks, showed significantly less damage to those glands over time.” And in China, where they drink a lot of green tea, only 5 percent of the elderly suffer from dry mouth, compared to 30 percent of elderly Americans. Who knows, maybe green tea could help.

I was having dry eyes recently. I remember I was blinking them repeatedly because they were uncomfortable. I think it was associated with using the heater in my car, though – the warm air blowing up and into my eyes. I don’t have that condition much anymore, but I was interested to read about Sjogren’s Syndrome, and I will definitely pay more attention to the condition if my eyes become dry again.

I know that people who smoke often have dry eyes, and perhaps dry mouth as well. That is just a function of having heated smoke swirling around your face and being inhaled all the time. I guess the point is, sometimes dry eyes are a result of something quite simple like air blowing in your face, or cigarette smoke irritating them. Sometimes it is a result of something more serious. If you think you might have Sjogren’s Syndrome, or anything similar, please see your doctor. He or she might be able to help. In the meantime I will continue drinking my two cups of green tea per day.

aging, autoimmune, health, immunity, inflammation, autoimmunity, EGCG, green tea, Sjogren’s Syndrome, dry eyes, smoking, women,

Depression and Diabetes

2007-04-24T08:55:00.000-07:00

This article says that depression may cause a person to be diabetic. If this is true, then I think we want to do all we can to treat depression, because we certainly do not want to get diabetes or any other health disorder.

The above article mentions cortisol, a stress hormone, as a possible cause of diabetes in depressed people. This just goes back to what I have said for a long time, that stress is potentially a big problem, and we should do all we can do to deal with it effectively. Here is an extensive discussion of stress which also mentions cortisol.

The question arises, however, that if cortisol is a problem, is there any way to lower it in our blood? I think the answer to that is maybe. Here is an article that discusses cortisol at some length, and here is an article that talks about ways to possibly lower cortisol levels. I do not vouch for the accuracy or validity of these two articles, but I present them in hopes that you can make your own determination of their accuracy and validity. And maybe you will get some ideas about how to deal with cortisol.

This is a very complex issue that is not going to be solved right away. But if we become aware of it because of articles like these, maybe that can lead to a solution in the future.

aging, health, heart disease, inflammation, diabetes, depression, cortisol, stress, hormone,

Bypass the Bypass?

2007-04-24T07:23:00.000-07:00

I still think I may eventually need some sort of cardiac intervention, mainly because of my earlier unhealthy lifestyle, so I am constantly interested in any discussion of bypass operations, angioplasties, stents, etc.

When I think about having a bypass or having a stent, I think that these procedures in large measure take care of the problems that existed before they were performed. And in most cases, of course, they do. But some people have major complications, such as heart attack, following the procedures: five percent of patients who had drug-eluting stents, and 3.8 percent of patients who had a bypass. Also, research suggests that about six percent of patients die within three years of having a bypass, compared to about nine percent treated with drug-eluting stents. This whole discussion is complicated, so please read the entire article for fuller understanding.

Here is another article that discusses the same research. It makes the point that about 50% more people die following stent therapy than following bypass. One expert is quoted as having said, “So the trend is not in favor of drug-coated stents.” And another person said, “When we tried to tackle the tougher patients -- those with greater risk, like the typical patient sent to bypass surgery -- our complication rate went up. We can no longer say we are safer with stents than with bypass at the time of procedure." Once again, read the entire article for fuller understanding.

In the meantime, I am thankful that whatever my condition is, I seem to be healthy enough at the present time to avoid both of the interventions mentioned above. I hope to stay healthy long enough for doctors to figure out how to have safer cardiac procedures. Besides, I have plans for the next three years, and I don’t want to be part of whatever percent of patients it is who die following a trip to the hospital.

health, heart disease, heart attack, stent, bypass, death, recovery, complications, surgery,

Aspirin and Cancer

2007-04-19T08:50:00.000-07:00

This article says that “A daily dose of adult-strength aspirin may modestly reduce cancer risk in populations with high rates of colorectal, prostate, and breast cancer if taken for at least five years.” I thought this article was interesting, although I personally would not take aspirin of any strength for five years because I would be afraid I might get tinnitus, which is one common side-effect of aspirin use. But this article is interesting not only because of the cancers against which it may protect, but also because of the cancers against which it does not protect, namely lung cancer, bladder cancer, melanoma, leukemia, non-Hodgkins lymphoma, pancreatic cancer, and kidney cancer. More research needs to be done.

Here is another article that says aspirin may help protect against cancer, while other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) may not.

If you Google this you get a number of articles that suggest aspirin protects against cancer. In fact one article, in seeming contradiction of the first article above, says aspirin may reduce lung cancer risk.

Sorry, I still don’t plan to take aspirin.

aspirin, prostate cancer, lung cancer, smoking, breast cancer, leukemia, Ibuprofen, cancer, NSAID, colon cancer, health, tinnitus,

Omega-3

2007-04-19T06:22:00.000-07:00

This article says that Omega-3 fatty acids – and DHA in particular – may help prevent two types of brain lesions found in Alzheimer’s disease: neurofibrillary tangles and an accumulation of beta amyloid.

The article goes on to talk about the unhealthy amount of omega-6 fatty acids found in a typical American diet, with ratios of at least 10:1 to as high as 30:1 omega-6 versus omega-3.

It concludes by saying that we may be able to prevent Alzheimer’s disease if, in addition to consuming more omega-3 we exercise, get mental stimulation, quit smoking, and avoid stress.

omega-3, aging, omega-6, Alzheimer's disease, diet, exercise, food, health, fish oil, DHA, stress, smoking, fatty acids,

Aneurysms of the Abdominal Aorta

2007-04-18T07:32:00.000-07:00

We have talked about this before, and I thought we pretty much had it settled: male smokers and former smokers over a certain age (65, I think) needed to get checked regularly for aneurysms of the abdominal aorta. It is a dangerous condition that could lead to death, and it is just good to get it checked. I did not realize there was any controversy surrounding the whole thing, but apparently there is. Read this article, and discuss any questions you may have with your doctor. I have known two people who had successful surgery to repair an aneurysm of the abdominal aorta. I knew another person who died of a ruptured abdominal aorta, AND there was a big story in the Raleigh News and Observer in the 1960s or 1970s about a famous Raleigh resident (I forget his name now, sorry) who died unexpectedly of a ruptured abdominal aorta, so this is not some obscure condition that never comes up. And as I said, it can be dangerous.

aorta, aneurysm, surgery, smoking, men, health,

Juice

2007-04-16T07:52:00.000-07:00

This article says that flavonoids are only contained in citrus fruit. Since I love to prove statements like that wrong, or at least verify their accuracy, I found that they are also contained in onions, green tea, wine, etc. I will say, however, there may be some natural substances that are found only in citrus fruit, and for that reason alone they deserve to be included in a healthy diet.

At another point the above article says Americans consume 21 quarts of orange juice per year. That is amazing – amazing that it is so little! When you consider the fact that Americans consume 55 GALLONS of soft drinks per year, and that children consume about 80 gallons of soft drinks per year, is it any wonder that we are a sick, obese society? We should consume more juice and less soft drinks.

soft drinks, juice, citrus, orange, green tea, wine, flavonoids, diet, food, health,

DMAE

2007-04-16T07:23:00.000-07:00

If you go someplace like Amazon.com and type in “DMAE” you come up with lots of products including nutritional supplements and anti-wrinkle cosmetics. This article talks about some of the effects of DMAE on the skin. I must say that any article that uses words like “pathological swelling” and “mortality rate” tends to frighten me, but maybe that’s just me. Needless to say, I don’t use cosmetics, and I am glad I don’t.

aging, wrinkles, DMAE, supplements, cosmetics, skin, health, face lift, women,

Cauliflower

2007-04-15T14:36:00.000-07:00

After my recent bout with cooking soups I had some unused cauliflower left over. I did not know what to do with it, and I certainly did not want to let it spoil or anything because it was organic and a little pricey. Anyway today I had another bout of cooking, so I decided to find some way to use the cauliflower. (It was about the size of the back of my fist.)

I steamed it for thirteen minutes. When it was finished cooking and had cooled off enough I cut it apart some with my paring knife, put a little salt on it, and ate some. I was surprised at how good it tasted. I have eaten cauliflower a lot over the years. I always try to get some when I eat at Whole Foods. But usually the taste is bland and hardly appealing. My cauliflower, however, actually tasted good. Even my son agreed.

The fact that it tasted so good will encourage me to eat it more often. Cauliflower is in the same family as broccoli, which I LOVE, and Brussel sprouts. They are very healthy for you, particularly when eaten with turmeric or curry.

Here’s to discovering that not only is cauliflower good for you, but also it can be quite good to the taste. Hooray.

cauliflower, recipes, cooking, diet, food, health, vegetables, vegetarian, vegan,

Health Notes

2007-04-15T08:38:00.000-07:00

Here is an article that says some brain functions actually improve with age. And here is an article about a possible new tool for the early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease.

This article has a discussion of stroke symptoms, as well as treating ischemic stroke with intravenous clot-busting drugs. And this article says that after heart surgery, using corticosteroids may reduce risk of atrial fibrillation and stroke. It also mentions inflammation, which is often a problem after heart surgery, so presumably administration of steroids helps reduce inflammation as well? The article was not totally clear on that point, but that would be something to discuss with your doctor.

Exercise is supposed to reduce our risk of developing high blood pressure. Is this really news? I have assumed for some time that was true.

There is a link between the immune system and high plasma lipid levels? I would not be surprised. High levels of cholesterol and triglycerides are not good. Lowering those levels is definitely a worthwhile goal.

I talk a lot about weight loss and diet. These are serious subjects, mainly because I think our health depends on them to a large extent. For a more humorous look at these subjects, though, check this installment of Miss Cellania’s blog.

brain, memory, diagnosis, Alzheimer's disease, EEG, dementia, stroke, ischemic, corticosteroids, blood pressure, cholesterol, surgery, diet, exercise, bypass, food, health, heart disease, immune system, inflammation, LDL, hypertension, triglycerides, humor, jokes, blood clot, immunity,

Diabetes and Heart Disease

2007-04-13T08:00:00.000-07:00

MayoClinic.com says that “many cases of diabetes are preventable and even small changes can help reduce your risk.”

For those who don’t have diabetes, one reason to do everything you can do to avoid getting it is that apparently having diabetes can take 15 years of health from a person’s heart. In other words, a 40 year-old person with diabetes has about the same risk of cardiovascular disease as a 55 year-old person. Stated another way, diabetes can age a person’s heart by 15 years. My mother was diabetic. She died from a stroke at the age of 70. Without diabetes she might have lived to 85.

For those who have diabetes, here is more information about the condition as it relates to heart disease, and some things you can do to possibly lower your risks.

MayoClinic.com also has a wealth of information about diabetes, as you can imagine, including tips on prevention, diabetes diet, and other articles that deal with treatment of and coping with diabetes.

Diabetes is a serious disease. For some people it may be unavoidable. For everyone else it just makes good sense to live a sensible lifestyle so that we don’t get diabetes along with all the complications that it can bring.

diabetes, aging, stroke, diet, exercise, fat, food, health, heart disease, longevity, obesity, vegetables, vegetarian, weight loss,

Health Notes

2007-04-12T08:52:00.000-07:00

There are so many interesting stories out there I thought I would just pass on to you some things I have been reading lately.

Here’s another reason to try and avoid diabetes, as if we needed anymore reasons: apparently there is some risk that a person with diabetes might develop some cognitive impairment. Diabetes takes a real toll on a human body.

While I am on the subject of diabetes, here is something that I have mentioned before: apparently having diabetes can take 15 years of health from a person’s heart. In other words, a 40 year-old person with diabetes has about the same risk of cardiovascular disease as a 55 year-old person. Stated another way, diabetes can age a person’s heart by 15 years. My mother was diabetic. She died from a stroke at the age of 70. Without diabetes she might have lived to 85.

Canada appears to be an example of an evolved society: apparently there is a “national effort to curb obesity.” Good for them.

I have talked a lot about stress before. Managing it is one thing that is well within our power to do, and it can have a real positive impact on our health. We can eat a healthy diet, lose weight, but if we are stressed out, a lot of our efforts can go for naught. For example, this article says that stress may make cancer more difficult to kill.

This is very interesting: the drug Lithium, which is used to treat bipolar disorder, is said to build gray matter in the brain. Maybe I could try some. (Just kidding. Bipolar disorder is a serious condition.)

This article says that Australian teenagers eat a really poor diet. Do American teenagers do any better?

diabetes, aging, memory, Alzheimer's disease, dementia, stroke, Canada, cancer, stress, children, cholesterol, diet, fat, food, health, heart disease, longevity, mental health, obesity, fast food, junk food, teenagers, brain, Lithium, bipolar, vegetables, vegetarian, weight loss, women,

You've Gotta Have Heart

2007-04-11T07:06:00.000-07:00

I woke up yesterday morning at 6 am with a burning pain in my left shoulder. Needless to say I was a little worried about this since the pain seemed to have come out of the blue, and I had heard that most heart attacks happen in the morning.

Maybe I should have gotten up and gone to the hospital, which really is quite nearby, but I did not do that. I stayed in bed and eventually the pain went away.

I did not really feel bad, but later in the day I did go to a doctor. The nurse gave me sort of a hard time for not coming sooner. They checked my blood pressure, which was 100 over something – a really fantastic number for a guy my age. They gave me an electrocardiogram (ECG) and took some blood to check for cardiac enzymes, etc – I guess to determine if I had had a cardiac incident like a heart attack or something. The ECG was normal, and all the numbers from my blood test were within normal range. According to the doctor, my heart was fine. Yayyy!!!!

She said that I was doing about everything right – drinking a little wine, losing weight, cutting down on fat in my diet, going vegetarian, exercising, not smoking, dealing with stress. In fact, if a person has heart disease, these are the risk factors that the doctor suggests that you address first. (Does anyone remember my post a few weeks ago that talked about this?) In other words, short of taking medication or having surgery I am already doing most everything I can do to avoid serious heart problems.

Do I feel better now that I have gone to the doctor? Somewhat. The main reasons I went were to find out if I was ok, and to consult with someone who could tell me what I should do in the future if I encountered a similar situation. I got the answer to the first question, but I am not extremely clear on the second one. And I wonder what I am supposed to do if I wake up at 6 am tomorrow morning with a burning pain in my left shoulder. After all, I have already been to the doctor and there was nothing wrong with me.

I don’t know. I don’t think my condition has reached heart attack proportions yet. If I were having a heart attack I think I would have shortness of breath, the pain would probably be worse, and I may even be nauseous. Therefore, if I ever have trouble breathing, if I can’t bear the pain, and if I throw up for no apparent reason, then I will call 911. Until then I guess I will just keep my fingers crossed and hope for the best.

I do worry about all this, though. I smoked for a long time, and I did not always eat a healthy diet. But there’s nothing I can do now except keep doing what I am doing and hope it is not too late to avoid serious consequences for my youthful behavior.

PS, It is now the next morning after all the excitement at the doctor’s office. I had a good night’s sleep last night without any pain. In fact it was so dark and rainy this morning that I wish I had stayed in bed longer, but my son got up early and started moving around, so that was that.

I put some BenGay and a heating pad on my left shoulder last night. That seemed to help. And I tried to be sure not to roll over on my left side while sleeping.

I find that the older I get, the more precautions I have to take: don’t sleep on my left side, don’t lace my shoes up too tight, don’t eat too much fat, etc. I liked it better when I didn’t have to worry about all that. But that is ok. You live and learn. If you don’t learn, life can be pretty miserable. If you do learn, and if you do have to take certain precautions, well that’s life. And besides, the alternatives really don’t seem so appealing.

aging, cholesterol, diet, exercise, fat, food, health, heart disease, heart attack, diagnosis, LDL, obesity, smoking, stent, life, vegetables, vegetarian, weight loss,

Walking

2007-04-10T09:02:00.000-07:00

I recently doubled my exercise routine from 30 minutes per day to two sessions of 30 minutes each, for a total of 60 minutes per day. That was partly responsible for my being able to lose about twelve pounds. (Changing my evening snack routine was also a big part of the equation.)

I was curious to know how many calories l was burning by doing all that walking. I measured the distance I covered by setting my car odometer back to zero and then driving over my exercise route. The results showed that I walk about 3.2 miles in one hour, which is not really all that fast – one mile in about nineteen minutes – although I do not know how I could really go any faster unless I started jogging, or something like that.

Anyway, I calculated that I was burning about 250 calories per day for one hour of walking.

Here is a table that shows number of calories burned per mile.

Here is a calculator for determining number of calories burned walking over a period of time.

The above two links contain many other links for information about walking. And here is another page with a lot more links.

I believe that a healthy lifestyle should include exercise as one component, and it does not necessarily have to be walking. Hard work qualifies as exercise too. I know, the weather has been so cool the last few days that I have done a lot of cooking. Rinsing beans and chopping vegetables can be a little strenuous at times. I have enjoyed it, though, but I still found time to fit in a walk or two.

walking, exercise, burn, calories, health, weight loss,

Calorie Restriction

2007-04-06T07:16:00.000-07:00

I am thinking about going on a calorie restricted diet. A lot of research says that calorie restriction may lead to a healthier, longer life. I certainly want to be healthier (although I think I am pretty healthy as it is) and I don’t want to die anytime soon.

There was a great article the other day which said, in effect, that it is never too late to start restricting calories. This was particularly interesting to me because I am no longer as young as I used to be. Apparently a person can still receive many of the supposed benefits of calorie restriction later in life. Some of those benefits include potentially lower risk of cancer and heart disease.

This article says that calorie restriction is “the most potent, broadly acting cancer-prevention regimen in experimental carcinogenesis models.” That sounds like a pretty strong statement to me, and makes me sit up and take notice. If I were afraid of getting cancer, I would take a serious look at calorie restriction as a strong preventive measure.

Apparently, as with the first article above, calorie restriction is supposed to protect against aging.

And it is supposed to have a particularly protective effect on aging of the heart.

Here is more information on calorie restriction from Wikipedia, including some aguments against it.

Here is a review of the literature on calorie restriction. It is a few years old, but it covers some important topics. And here is a website that serves as sort of a clearinghouse for articles on calorie restriction.

There is one potential downside to all this – at least most people would call it a downside – besides the objections mentioned in Wikipedia. The man in this article said something to the effect that by following a calorie restricted diet he lost all of his sex drive. He even said that his testosterone level was about the same as that of a woman’s. Now in all fairness, the article in question does say that the man followed an “extreme” calorie restricted diet. I am not really talking about anything too extreme – just enough to have a noticeable effect on my health. And I don’t know if everyone responds to this type of diet in the same way as this man did. (BTW, the man who was interviewed in this article claims that calorie restriction had some very positive psychological benefits for him.)

(Just for the record, let me mention the Hallelujah Diet. It is a raw food diet. And I realize it has some religious components that some people might find distasteful. But it is a viable, relatively easy to follow, low-calorie vegan diet, and their website has some pretty good soup recipes. Also on their website are testimonials from people who claim to have recovered rather dramatically from serious disease while following the diet, or some version of it. Usually I take all that with a grain of salt, but if I were faced with a truly serious disease myself, I would probably not hesitate to try this diet, or some version of it. What would I have to lose? The idea for me, however, is to take steps to make myself healthier before I am faced with a truly serious disease, not after.)

Going on a calorie restricted diet would be a major step for me. It would be comparable to when I gave up smoking, or when I became a vegetarian. It took me a long time to get used to the idea of making those changes. It may take me a long time to get used to the idea of really restricting my calories, and eating a truly nutritious diet. I think it would entail a lot more grocery shopping, and a lot more cooking, or food preparation in general, not to mention a lot more research and planning about what to eat and how to eat it.

I want to do everything I can to make myself healthier. Calorie restriction might accomplish that goal, but I’m just not quite ready yet to make that change. Besides, in some ways I am restricting my calories now, in an informal way, by eating less and exercising more. That is really about all I can handle for now. When I get ready to go to the grocery store, buy a lot of fresh vegetables, bring them home, and cook them (or eat them raw) then I suppose I will. In the meantime I’m doing what I can do, especially within my comfort zone, and that’s not too bad.

libido, aging, sex, sex drive, calorie restriction, happiness, cancer, cholesterol, diet, exercise, fat, food, health, heart disease, longevity, obesity, smoking, stent, vegan, vegetarian, weight loss, women,

Omega-6 Fatty Acids

2007-04-02T09:07:00.000-07:00

According to this article, “The current typical American diet contains 20 times more omega-6 than omega-3, a ratio that researchers say should be lowered to 4-to-1, or even 2-to-1.” One of the main reasons I mention this article is that I have long understood this situation to be the case – i.e., that Americans consume too many omega-6s, and that such a diet is not good – but so far it has been difficult to find a trustworthy article that explicitly stated these numbers. Furthermore this article goes on to talk about a possible relationship between omega-6 consumption (think French fries, corn oil, soybean oil, etc.) bodily inflammation and other health issues such as depression. We need to stop consuming so much omega-6 fatty acids. We would be a lot healthier if we did.

omega-6, omega-3, fatty acids, depression, fast food, junk food, diet, fat, food, health, immunity, inflammation,

Huntington's Disease

2007-04-02T09:05:00.000-07:00

Here is an article on possible new treatment for Huntington’s disease. I don’t fully understand it all, but I am sure someone out there would be interested in seeing it.

Huntington's disease,

Green Tea

2007-04-02T09:01:00.000-07:00

We have often talked about the health benefits of green tea. Now they are saying that drinking green tea might “reduce the risk of becoming infected by HIV, and could also slow down the spread of HIV.” Wow! That is quite an assertion. Of course there are better ways of avoiding HIV infection, but if green tea helps, great. I wouldn’t rely on it working, though. HIV is still a problem in China where they presumably drink a lot of green tea.

green tea, EGCG, HIV, AIDS,

Health Notes

2007-04-02T08:53:00.000-07:00

Apparently diabetes and high blood pressure play a greater role in heart failure than race does.

If a pregnant woman eats a lot of beef, that might adversely affect her son’s sperm count.

The Mediterranean Diet may be a viable alternative for those who have suffered a heart attack.

diabetes, hypertension, blood pressure, heart failure, pregnancy, prenatal, children, Mediterranean diet, diet, fat, food, health, heart disease, heart attack,

Triglycerides

2007-03-31T09:28:00.000-07:00

Nearly every time I have had a blood test the doctor has told me that my triglycerides were high. Of course this was before I became a vegetarian, stopped drinking soda, lost a lot of weight, etc. I don’t know what they would say now.

Triglycerides are supposed to contribute to heart disease, atherosclerosis, and risk of heart attack. According to the MayoClinic.com, some ways to lower your triglycerides include: lose weight, eat fewer calories, avoid sugary foods, limit cholesterol, use healthier fats like olive oil, exercise, and avoid alcohol.

Ok, well I have lost about 12 pounds, and my BMI says I am nowhere close to being overweight. I accomplished the weight loss by eating fewer calories and doubling my exercise time to one hour per day. I don’t eat cake, cookies, doughnuts, soft drinks, milk chocolate, muffins, pancakes, cupcakes, meat, or much of anything else that is bad for me anymore. I do have a little sugar with my green tea and with my morning cheerios. I eat a lot of vegetables and fruit. I also eat a lot of ethnic food such as Indian and Middle Eastern, because they have a strong and very tasty vegetarian component. I do have a glass or two of wine per evening (the article says to avoid alcohol for triglycerides, but other articles praise the role of alcohol in preventing heart disease) and I do take fish oil, which is supposed to help, so I feel that I am doing about everything I can humanly do to keep my triglycerides low. If the alcohol makes them high, I may eventually cut that out, but sometimes I really feel like I am in the process of giving up everything that is really good to eat, and I hope it is all worth it. (That is not totally accurate. I do eat a lot of good food, it is just not fast food, or junk food, or things like that. Besides I have eaten enough of that unhealthy stuff in the past. If I never eat anymore of it I will be a lot better off. If I want to be healthy I must take responsibility for my health, and to me that means eating a healthy diet, which I did not do for the first 40 or 50 years of my life.)

In order to get my weight down I drastically changed my evening snacking routine. And at the present time I am in the process of changing my snacks again because I would like to lose another five pounds, and I think the way to do that is to cut even more fat from my diet, à la Dean Ornish. Dr. Ornish recommends that if I want to reverse heart disease, according to his formula I should consume no more than about 23 grams of fat per day. Now considering that I might consume 23 grams of fat before lunch, especially if I have some heart-healthy walnuts, and a teaspoon of heart-healthy fish oil, that does not leave me with room for much more fat for the rest of the day and night. So I have stopped eating pistachio nuts because even though they have a lot of monounsaturated fats, that is still a lot of fat. (I might not be doing any of this if I had not smoked for so long.)

Anyway, I expect to continue my war with triglycerides and fats in general. For those who want to join me in the fight, or who just find out more information, here are some interesting articles:

This article says that green tea lowers triglycerides. I drink two cups of green tea per day.

This article has some very important information on maintaining a healthy heart.

No post would be complete unless Wikipedia told us how to reduce triglycerides.

This article has a very thorough and interesting discussion of triglycerides. It says, “Anything that increases blood glucose will potentially increase triglycerides.” I eat a lot of fruit, and I drink wine and pomegranate juice, all of which is supposed to be healthy for my heart. But all of them have a significant amount of sugar. Granted, most of it is fructose, not glucose, but I wonder what effect fructose has on triglycerides. In looking around quickly on the internet it is difficult to get a definitive answer. Here is another article about which I am not sure.

Here are nine ways to lower blood fats, including triglycerides.

This article says that exercising in the morning before breakfast helps keep triglycerides low all day. I have one reservation about that: since most heart attacks happen in the morning I am a little hesitant to do my exercising then, and especially before breakfast.

As I said, I am doing all I can do for now to keep my triglycerides low. It remains to be seen if there is anything else I can do. In the meantime I must go eat lunch now and hope I don't eat too much fat or sugar. Boy, it can be difficult to eat a healthy diet.

fish oil, green tea, calorie restriction, cholesterol, diet, exercise, fat, food, health, heart disease, wine, alcohol, LDL, triglycerides, fructose, obesity, sucrose, heart attack, atherosclerosis, fruit, Ornish, sugar, vegetables, vegetarian, weight loss, women,

HDL and Carbohydrates

2007-03-29T08:42:00.000-07:00

I think I eat a lot of carbohydrates, so you can imagine my consternation when I read that eating carbs causes a reduction in HDL, the ‘good’ cholesterol. I could not imagine giving up pasta or any other carbs for that matter. Yet I wanted to increase my HDL, because it is supposed to help fight heart disease and clogged arteries. This article, however, says that eating carbs may not be a problem after all. Sure, they still lower HDL, but according to the article “lower HDL probably means less HDL is needed to remove cholesterol from peripheral tissues.”

I don’t know about all that, but I do feel somewhat better having read the above article. Here is another article that credits a low fat, high carb diet with a 12% reduction in overall risk of cardiovascular disease compared with the average American diet. That looks good. And besides, these diets do not exist in a vacuum. For example, if I exercise for an hour per day, that has a beneficial effect on my HDL level, doesn’t it? And certain foods in my diet also have a similar effect, not to mention taking niacin. So even though HDL levels may fall under certain circumstances, they also rise under certain other circumstances.

There are a lot of articles out there that talk about raising HDL or reducing LDL. Here is one article on boosting your HDL levels. Here is an article on food and cholesterol.

The Mediterranean Diet is supposed to be very healthy, but it contains a significant amount of carbs. (Can you imagine Italians not eating pasta or pizza? Give me a break.) Some other diets are not intrinsically unhealthy. For example, can you imagine billions of people in Asia not eating rice?

This article says “a healthy diet should consist of approximately 60% carbohydrates.” That sounds good. I think I will stop worrying. We need carbs. And besides, what are my options, start eating meat again? That is not going to happen. So I will just enjoy my meals with pasta or rice or bread and do all I can, aside from that, to live a healthy lifestyle, with exercise and stress reduction. That is all I can do, at least for now.

cholesterol, diet, exercise, fat, food, health, heart disease, carbohydrates, HDL, LDL, stress, obesity, vegetables, vegetarian, weight loss,

Multiple Sclerosis

2007-03-28T08:37:00.000-07:00

A woman from England wrote to me yesterday and asked if I knew of any new treatments for Multiple Sclerosis. As fate would have it I had run into this article recently, and I was happy to be able to pass it along for her information. (In case that link does not work, here is another.) Basically the article says that women, when they are pregnant, often have fewer symptoms of MS than when they are not pregnant. They think this is due to the action of Estriol, a female hormone produced by the placenta. In one study four years ago, women who were given Estriol experienced “an 80 percent drop in inflammatory lesions in the brain, a hallmark of the disease.” That is really great, and I think it gives some hope to sufferers of MS. The article goes on to say that more studies are going to be done with Estriol, and researchers are optimistic about the drug’s potential.

Here is more information on MS.

Here is more information on Estriol and MS.

Multiple Sclerosis, MS, Estriol, health, immunity, immune, system, inflammation, pregnancy, treatment, women, brain, autoimmune, disease, nerves

Premature Babies

2007-03-28T08:17:00.000-07:00

In giving birth to babies prematurely, mothers who were treated with nitroglycerin “had significantly healthier babies.” This is great news considering that caring for premature infants can be very expensive, not to mention the emotional impact that such a birth can have on the family.

birth, premature, babies, infants, childbirth, children, women, health, nitroglycerin, health care,

Stents and Drugs

2007-03-27T17:32:00.000-07:00

I am still digesting the study about stents and heart medication. Of course some of it depends on which article one reads. Some articles say that most angioplasties are unnecessary. Other articles say other things. It is a lot to digest. For a long time now I have been convinced that angioplasty and/or bypass was the way to go. Now I am not so sure. The conclusion seems to be that as long as I do not have an emergency situation, then drug therapy is just as good as angioplasty, etc. Actually that is good news to me. Of course I do not want to start taking a bunch of pills, but I think I would rather take them than have someone put a stent in one of my arteries.

Jeffry Fawcett at Your Own Health and Fitness has an interesting take on the whole thing. He says, in effect, that you can resist those who want to stick a stent in your artery, unless you get caught up in the fog of fear, and give in to the inertia that will exist once you enter an emergency room. It is difficult to resist that inertia, especially if you are in enough pain. As Fawcett says, “most importantly you can take control by taking care of your heart and your blood vessels so you won’t get wheeled into the emergency room in the first place.” I am with him on that. I just hope that all my efforts now will trump all the indiscretions of my youth – smoking, eating at McDonald’s, ordering fried food instead of baked, etc. And I also hope that today’s youth do not have to learn their lessons the hard way. I hope they can take care of their hearts and blood vessels. Maybe I am hoping for too much.

As a followup on the above study, they are now saying that the results of the study are unlikely to change the status quo: doctors will probably continue putting in stents, even though some of them are apparently unnecessary. That may be true generally, but the results of this study have certainly changed my attitude toward the whole thing. Now, if I am faced with an angioplasty, I will certainly explore other alternatives. (I know a thing or two about getting railroaded into a procedure that I ended up regretting. As I have said before, I wish I had not had that prostate biopsy in 2000. I think it was unnecessary.) In any event, I will continue to digest this latest news. I am thankful that, so far, I am not faced with a medical crisis. That gives me the opportunity now, with no pressure, to consider what I might do if I am faced with a medical crisis in the future.

health, heart disease, inflammation, prostate cancer, PSA, second, opinion, smoking, stent, angioplasty, medication, controversy,

Breast Cancer

2007-03-26T08:27:00.000-07:00

Eating more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains may cut your risk of getting breast cancer.

Controlling fat, whether it be how much of it you eat, or how much body fat you have, may decrease your risk of getting breast cancer.

Can exercise reduce your risk of getting breast cancer?

According to this story, some day you may be able to get a painless, 3-D mammogram.

breast cancer, cancer, whole grain, fruit, diet, exercise, fat, food, health, risk, body fat, mammogram, obesity, vegetables, vegetarian, weight loss, women,

Exercise After 55

2007-03-26T07:47:00.000-07:00

This article suggests that you may still benefit from a supervised exercise routine even if you start it after the age of 55. In this study there were two groups, both aged 55 to 75. One group exercised and the other group remained sedentary. After ten years the group that exercised showed a 3.5% increase in fitness. I feel bad for the sedentary group, though, because they had a 13.8% decrease in fitness and also had other problems, such as symptoms of metabolic syndrome. And it did not have to be that way. Apparently all they had to do to feel better was exercise like the other group did.

The thing is, though, I don’t think any of this is really unexpected. If you don’t exercise, you’re not going to be as fit as you would be if you did exercise. If you get up and move around, in many cases it will be easier for you to get up and move around.

On the other hand, if people know that exercise is good for them but they don’t do it, it is a little hard to really feel sorry for them.

aging, exercise, metabolic, syndrome, health, heart disease, weight loss,

Zinc

2007-03-26T03:57:00.000-07:00

High levels of zinc have now been found to be associated with the eye deposits that contribute to age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Previously zinc had been associated with the plaque buildup in brains of Alzheimer’s patients. What does all this mean? Who knows? It might be one of those pieces of information that, at the present time, we are better off not knowing, because there may be nothing we can do about it. Zinc is found in such food as chickpeas, peanut butter, frozen peas, pumpkin seeds, raisins, and cheddar cheese, so there doesn’t seem to be any way of avoiding it. Nor would we want to, I suppose. Zinc is an essential nutrient which in many cases contributes to good health. So I’ll repeat: what is it doing in the eyes of AMD patients and the brains of Alzheimer’s patients? I don’t think we know yet, but someone somewhere is working to solve that puzzle.

zinc, aging, Alzheimer's disease, macular, degeneration, food, health,

Aspirin

2007-03-26T00:08:00.000-07:00

I don’t take aspirin, but those who do might be interested in this research: “lower doses of aspirin may be as effective as higher doses when used to prevent blood clots after procedures such as angioplasty and stenting.” It also seemed to reduce “the long-term risk of major bleeding.” By low dose they mean less than 100 milligrams, as opposed to 200+ milligrams, which would be high dose.

health, heart disease, bleeding, clot, blood, aspirin, stent,

Oral Cancer

2007-03-25T08:48:00.000-07:00

I went to the dentist the other day and he offered me a new diagnostic test to screen for oral cancer: Vizilite Plus. After some temporary anxiety I made a quick decision on the spot and decided to go ahead and have the screening.

With this new test I had to rinse my mouth with a special liquid, spit it out, and then let the doctor look into my mouth with a special light. The liquid and the light together are supposed to disclose any problem areas and make them easier for the doctor to see. The whole procedure was painless, relatively quick, and cost $55. I guess I’m glad I had it done, especially since it didn’t turn up any problem areas for me. Whew!

If you have to go to the dentist or the periodontist anytime soon, you might be given this same decision: have the test, don’t have the test? You might want to read up on it beforehand.

More diagnostic tests like this are certainly in our future. I mentioned the other day about a saliva test to detect breast cancer. And while Vizilite Plus is not a saliva test, there are more saliva tests in development.

I think all this is really good, and I think this is what scientists should be doing instead of genetically modifying our food supply. Better diagnostic tools are always welcome as far as I’m concerned.

Vizilite, plus, diagnostic, diagnosis, oral cancer, test, saliva, breast cancer, dentist, periodontist, screening, cancer, genetic engineering, science, health,

Coronary Artery Disease

2007-03-23T07:51:00.000-07:00

I grew up with a copy of the Merck Manual in my home. I didn’t read it much myself, but my father was something of a hypochondriac, so he was always reading it. The thing about the Merck Manual is that it, like the Bible, contains no jokes. It is a very serious book. If you are looking for information about a particular disease, the Merck Manual probably has a no nonsense, very clinical, and authoritative discussion of it. At least that is the way I remember it used to be.

Yesterday I was looking for information about diagnosing narrowing of the arteries. I ran across this article in the Merck Manual online that says, “Doctors diagnose angina largely based on a person's description of the symptoms.” This is very interesting to me. That’s a little subjective, isn’t it? I thought they would give you an MRI, shoot some dye into your blood stream, something like that. In all fairness, though, if you scroll down the page a bit, there are other methods of evaluating coronary artery disease. I just thought it was funny that doctors would rely on patients to diagnose angina, but as I said, there are no jokes in the Merck Manual.

Then, however, the article goes on to say that “Treatment begins with attempts to slow the progression of coronary artery disease or to reverse it by dealing with risk factors.” Dealing with risk factors means quitting smoking, eating a low-fat diet, exercising, and losing weight, among other things. That is amazing. According to this you are supposed to be able to slow or reverse heart disease by dealing with these risk factors. And the thing is, I am already doing all these things. I quit smoking 23 years ago; I became a vegetarian, and cut out a lot of fat in my diet (particularly trans fat) about 6 years ago; I have been exercising since I quit smoking; and I lost about 12 pounds recently, down to about 140 (BMI of 21.9, which is right in the middle of “normal weight” BMI) so in theory I am already doing all I can to prevent progression of coronary artery disease and avoid having a bypass operation, which was one of my main motives in dealing with these risk factors in the first place.

Let me say that Dr. Dean Ornish advocates pretty much the same thing (dealing with those risk factors) in his book on reversing heart disease. I have been sort of following his recommendations for about five or six years. From what I have seen, Ornish has not gotten very good press recently. In fact, a lot of articles that came out several weeks ago loudly trumpeted the fact that Atkins beat Ornish in a study on losing weight. Ornish published an article in Newsweek that attempted to rebut many of those claims. None of that really matters to me, though, because from what I now understand, the Merck Manual agrees with Ornish. That is good enough for me.

As I say, I have been following Ornish for some time now. (I admit that I have been eating a little too much fat recently, mainly from olive oil and pistachio nuts, but I think I’m going to change all that. I think I am going to seriously limit my fat intake like I used to do and see what happens.) On the whole, though, I plan to continue doing what I have been doing. I seem to be doing all the right things. I wasn’t sure before, but I feel a lot better now that I’ve read it in the Merck Manual.

bypass, operation, Ornish, Atkins, dieting, Zone, cholesterol, diet, exercise, fat, food, health, heart disease, angina, coronary, artery, clogged, unclogged, arteries, diagnosis, risk, trans fat, smoking, cessation, BMI, vegetables, vegetarian, weight loss, women, inflammation

Medical Tourism, Hospitals, Etc.

2007-03-22T06:47:00.000-07:00

Dick Gordon has a program produced at North Carolina Public Radio – WUNC – entitled The Story. There was an interesting item on his program recently about a man who had no health insurance but who needed open heart surgery. Apparently the man found a hospital in New Delhi, India that was willing to perform the operation for a small fraction of the amount charged by hospitals in this country. Listen to that story, Outsourcing Healthcare, and more here.

This story, as you can imagine, interested me a lot. So far I don’t have a diagnosed medical problem, but I smoked for a long time and being a realist I feel that a stay in the hospital may be in my future. I don’t know if I would want to go to India to have surgery. Fortunately I have hospital insurance, which presumably would cover most of my hospital expenses. I realize I still might have to pay a considerable amount of money beyond what the insurance would cover, but I suppose I would still choose a hospital in the United States.

U.S. News and World Report published a list of the best hospitals in the country. Within that list is a ranking of the best hospitals for different specialties, including heart surgery. Apparently the best of the best is the Cleveland Clinic. (I find it interesting that most of the major heart centers are found in places like Cleveland which, as far as I know, is not known as a center of vegetarianism.)

I don’t know who would seriously consider medical tourism. For those of you who would, maybe you can find more information here. This hospital is supposed to be the best one in India. It may be the one where the man who was interviewed by Dick Gordon went, I’m not sure. The figures may be outdated, but apparently you can get a bypass for $6,000 instead of ten times as much; a nose job for $2,000; hip replacement for around $4,300. I don’t know – this is looking better. This place provides a real comprehensive service. They provide an escort to stay with you until full recovery. They have package deals which enable you to sightsee throughout the country. Check out their tour packages. Here is some more. And here is a page on cardiac care. Wow. It sounds really cool. I might go for a hip replacement or a knee replacement. I don’t know. Maybe I’ll just go to India for a vacation. I don’t have to get major surgery and a tour guide, even though it is tempting. It’s funny how appealing things can appear online.

Medical tourism, for me, may involve nothing more bold than going to Duke Hospital if I ever need major surgery instead of going to one of the hospitals in Raleigh, where I live. Duke is twenty-some miles down the road and that is a long enough trip for me. Besides, it is supposed to be the seventh best hospital in this country for heart surgery, better even than the one where President Clinton had his bypass operation. So right now I am thinking Duke, even though I am not particularly partial to their basketball team. But I will not tell them that if I ever need to go to their hospital. In fact, maybe I’ll buy a Duke Blue jersey to wear over there. And who knows, if I ever need an operation, and if it is successful, and if I come back home alive, then maybe I would finally become a Duke fan after all. Stranger things have happened . . . .

medical, tourism, bypass, operation, nose job, surgery, heart, insurance, hip replacement, knee replacement, dental care, oral surgery, liver transplant, bone marrow, transplant, health, heart disease, stent, vegetarian, weight loss, women,

Breast Cancer Diagnosis

2007-03-21T08:46:00.000-07:00

This would be really cool if it worked out: scientists are working on a new diagnostic tool for detecting breast cancer in women. It might be possible for dentists to routinely administer a simple test of women’s saliva to screen for breast cancer. The idea is that people go to the dentist more often than they go to the doctor, so the dentists would be likely candidates for administering the test.

I wonder how the dentists feel about this, though. It is one thing to tell someone they need a root canal. It is quite another thing to tell someone they may have cancer. Of course, the sooner any diagnosis is made, the better off the patient is.

If we can save lives by having better diagnostic tools, then I am all for it. Maybe they’ll develop saliva tests for other cancers as well.

breast cancer, dentists, diagnosis, cancer, health, women,

Lung Cancer and Green Tea

2007-03-21T08:24:00.000-07:00

This article says that drinking green tea may reduce your risk of getting lung cancer. I drink green tea, but I don’t think I could do five cups a day like the article suggests. Two cups are my maximum right now, one morning, one afternoon. Otherwise I’d be going to the bathroom too much. I suppose one could take green tea extract. Maybe I’ll consider doing that? Anyway, here are more articles for further reading.

cancer, health, lung cancer, green tea, smoking,

Obesity and Prostate Cancer

2007-03-21T08:06:00.000-07:00

Here is an article on prostate cancer and obesity. Basically it says that losing weight may reduce the risk of dying of prostate cancer. Now the researchers don’t have definitive proof that obesity makes you more likely to die of that disease, but some people don’t need definitive proof. I am one of those. I will continue to control my weight because I do not want to die of some weight-related disease. What will others do? I cannot say. But for me a word to the wise is sufficient: losing weight may reduce the risk of dying of prostate cancer. If others choose to ignore that – well, is that wise?

cancer, diet, food, health, obesity, prostate cancer, death, die, vegetarian, weight loss,

Inflammation Is Bad!

2007-03-20T08:44:00.000-07:00

I talked about inflammation in my previous post. The following information is very important, and I did not want its importance to be lost or obscured. This article says that there is a much greater risk of heart disease from inflammation than from cholesterol.

Some ways to combat inflammation include: cutting SUGAR and PROTEIN, taking fish oil, drinking alcohol (I do not recommend drinking alcohol – I am just passing on what I read), losing weight, as well as taking vitamin C.

So, now let’s all reduce our inflammation and get healthy!

cancer, diet, fat, food, health, heart disease, inflammation, obesity, vitamin C, wine, alcohol, smoking, protein, sugar, vegetables, vegetarian, weight loss, fish oil,

Inflammation

2007-03-20T08:21:00.000-07:00

Recent research suggests that inflammation may be the culprit that causes prostate cancer to metastisize. The article goes on to say “promoting inflammation of the cancerous tissue, for instance, by performing prostate biopsies, may, ironically, hasten progression of metastasis.” They use the word “ironically.” I might say “tragically.” I assume that the prostate biopsies they are talking about are necessary. If not, then the situation would be even more tragic, especially in this day when some people are talking about a wait and see approach to prostate cancer. If, however, “inflammation associated with the progression of tumors actually plays a key role in the metastasis of prostate cancer,” then that would seem support the idea that the sooner we get rid of the cancer the better, because presumably we would be avoiding the inflammation.

I know I seem ambivalent in this post – operate, don’t operate – but prostate problems apparently are complicated, and it is sometimes difficult to know what to do.

Don’t get me started on biopsies, though. I wish I had never had one. There was really nothing wrong with me at the time and I think my biopsy was unnecessary. Now they’re saying that doing biopsies could trigger a process that leads to cancer’s metastisizing? Lord, save me from the doctors.

One thing about it all, though: I think we can draw the conclusion that inflammation is not a good thing. I personally am doing everything I can do to keep inflammation down, as I talked about yesterday in the post “More Reasons to Lose Weight,” and as I will touch on in my next post "Inflammation is Bad."

health, inflammation, LDL, prostate cancer, PSA, biopsy, medicine, doctors, men,

More Reasons to Lose Weight

2007-03-19T06:39:00.000-07:00

The bad news:

Obese patients have a higher risk of complications following surgery than non-obese patients, including a five times greater rate of heart attack, and nearly twice the rate of death.

Abdominal fat may promote inflammation that leads to heart disease and other conditions.

The good news:

Oily fish, omega-3, and fish oil may reduce inflammation.

Fiber in your diet may help reduce inflammation. Note: there is not much fiber in burgers or in many snack foods.

And lo and behold, exercise may help reduce inflammation. (Please talk to your doctor if you are planning to start exercising.)

omega-3, fish oil, fiber, cancer, diet, exercise, fat, food, health, heart disease, immunity, inflammation, obesity, vegetarian, weight loss, women,

Pancreatic Cancer

2007-03-19T05:40:00.000-07:00

Someone asked me recently how taking vitamins might affect getting pancreatic cancer. I don’t know the answer to that really, but I do know that taking vitamin D might cut your risk of getting it.

cancer, pancreatic, vitami D, health,

Purple Grape Juice

2007-03-19T01:58:00.000-07:00

Apparently purple grape juice has the most antioxidants of any of the juices. We may have already suspected that but it is good to have an article like this to confirm it. Purple grape juice may help prevent heart disease, and it may reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease by up to 76%. That is great.

Welch’s, which is not a neutral observer in all this, nevertheless has some interesting information on their website.

This website says that grape juice may contain more resveratrol than is contained in many wines. And it gives you a link where you can order grape juice concentrate direct from growers. That is wonderful, although I would rather have organic if I could. Apparently one quart of concentrate can make more than one gallon of juice drink.

Here are other articles for your reference.

The only problem with the grape juice, besides its not being organic, is that it contains a significant number of calories. So whatever you choose to do with your diet, you need to balance the number of calories you take in with the number of calories you actually need. Otherwise you might gain weight.

I have been looking at the purple grape juice recently in the grocery store. I would drink it occasionally. It is important to get your nourishment from a variety of sources. Besides, it is cheaper than buying a bottle of wine, and a lot safer in some respects.

Alzheimer's disease, cholesterol, diet, exercise, fat, food, health, heart disease, obesity, calories, organic, sugar, grape juice, antioxidants, weight loss, flavonoids,

Walk-2-Quit (Smoking, that is)

2007-03-18T12:51:00.000-07:00

If you’re trying to quit smoking, a short walk or moderate exercise might help reduce cravings. I know it helped me. When I quit in 1984 I often went for a walk to avoid smoking. Also I would often go to bed to avoid smoking. Whatever it takes to quit – as long as it is legal and ethical – is all right with me. It is important that everyone quit smoking, but you have to really want to quit or else it will not work.

cancer, exercise, health, heart disease, lung cancer, smoking, cessation, cravings, addiction, cigarettes, walking,

Fruit, Fruit, Good for Your Heart

2007-03-18T08:23:00.000-07:00

There’s an old joke of course that begins, “bean, beans, good for you heart. . . .” (The joke aside, beans probably are good for your heart, what with the fiber, etc.) However I don’t want to talk about beans right now. I want to talk about fruit.

This article says that apples, pears, and red wine may reduce the risk of heart disease in post-menopausal women. It goes on to say that, “Women of all ages are encouraged to consume more fruit and vegetables.” This study did not deal with men, but I am sure they could benefit from more fruit and vegetables as well.

cholesterol, diet, fat, food, health, heart disease, menopause, fruit, apples, pears, wine, obesity, flavonoids, meat, vegan, vegetables, vegetarian, weight loss, women, men

Bumper Sticker Wisdom

2007-03-18T07:56:00.000-07:00

I saw a bumper sticker today that said, “Be kind to animals – don’t eat them.” That is one point of view. Another point of view is, “Be kind to yourself – don’t eat animals.”

I think that being a vegetarian is one of the best things someone can do for his or her health. If we all became vegetarian, the only drawback I can see is that certain industries that depend on animal products might lose money. The thing about businesses and industries, however, is that if they lose money in one area, they could easily make money in a different area. So what appears to be a drawback might not actually be a drawback after all. As usual, though, businesses don’t go down without kicking and screaming and making an awful fuss. But people will pay you just as much, maybe more, to give them healthy food as they pay for you to give them unhealthy food. Besides, if you don’t kill your consumers, they will be around longer to give you more money. Providing healthy food really makes good economic sense, and it’s the right thing to do.

breast cancer, cancer, children, cholesterol, colon cancer, diet, meat, fat, food, health, heart disease, longevity, obesity, ovarian cancer, prostate cancer, vegan, sugar, vegetables, vegetarian, weight loss, women,

Blood Sugar and Cancer

2007-03-17T08:27:00.000-07:00

High blood sugar increases your risk of cancer? I guess I'm not too surprised, although this article seems to confirm it.

You know, I was beginning to worry a little about the sugar I put in my Cheerios, the sugar in my green tea, all the fruit I eat; but then I remembered that the average American consumes about a gallon of soft drinks per week (somebody else is consuming my gallon because I don’t drink any), so whatever I am doing I think it pales in comparison to what everyone else is doing. I see these people carrying around these Big Gulp-type soft drinks, sipping on them regularly; I go to some (unnamed) fast food restaurants where it is very difficult to buy a truly small soft drink; and if sugar really does increase our risk of cancer, then these places that are selling us all these soft drinks are certainly contributing to the epidemic of cancer in the country.

The article above says, “By avoiding excessive fat and other dietary risk factors, and by getting regular exercise, you can decrease your risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes -- and cancer." The only problem with all this is that people would defend their right to drink a gallon or more of soft drinks per week a lot more vigorously than they defend their right to kill themselves eating trans fat, etc., so I don’t know how much good reports like these do. There are some people, however, who are glad to make healthy choices, and I suppose those people are glad to know that by limiting their sugar intake they are doing something positive for their lives.

Here is an interesting article. I don’t know how accurate it is. And here are more articles on sugar and cancer.

One more thing: it is getting more and more difficult to ignore the fact that what you eat and how you live can have a profound effect on your health. Think about it.

blood, diabetes, cancer, colon cancer, diet, exercise, fat, food, health, heart disease, immunity, obesity, ovarian cancer, prostate cancer, soft drinks, sugar, vegetables, vegetarian, weight loss, women,

Sleep Apnea

2007-03-17T07:26:00.000-07:00

Apparently sleep apnea can be a serious condition leading to brain damage and possibly stroke. Here are some articles to help get you up to speed on sleep apnea.

Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis, and Treatment

Mayo Clinic has great coverage on many subjects, including this one.

Here’s one solution to sleep apnea, albeit a little drastic.

Here are some results from Google. Check the ads, etc, too.

The more you read about sleep apnea, the more you realize how complicated it is. Good luck dealing with it.

sleep, apnea, brain, dementia, stroke, snoring, health, heart disease, breathing, inflammation,

Soy

2007-03-16T08:48:00.000-07:00

A recent study on the relationship between eating soy and developing prostate cancer apparently came to the conclusion that “intake of isoflavone chemicals, derived largely from soy foods, decreased the risk of localized prostate cancer but increased the risk of advanced prostate cancer.”

The results, of course, seem contradictory, and the situation might be humorous if it were not for the seriousness of the issues involved. These scientists can’t figure out how to explain the results of the study. For example, “they also calculated that the risk of developing advanced prostate cancer was twice as high in men who consumed two or more bowls of miso soup a day than in men who ate less than one bowl of soup.” Isn’t that a little ridiculous? Many people believe that miso soup is very healthy, but this statement seems tantamount to saying that eating more than two bowls of miso soup a day increases the risk of developing advanced prostate cancer. Maybe it does, but I don’t believe it. I do, however, believe that eating two cheeseburgers per day increases the risk of prostate cancer. Of course I don’t eat miso soup or cheeseburgers anymore so I don’t have to worry about that.

One good thing about publishing the results of studies like these is that maybe some scientist will come along and either explain the contradictions in this study, or design a better study that will give us some clearer results. In the meantime I plan to continue having Cheerios and soy milk every morning for breakfast.

diet, fat, food, health, prostate cancer, soy, isoflavone,

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome

2007-03-16T07:55:00.000-07:00

This article says that using a pacifier may lower the risk of SIDS. Let us hope something would help. Too many infants die from this cause.

Just a word about pacifiers, though. Problems can develop with children’s teeth if they use the pacifiers too long. Their top front teeth can be pushed forward somewhat, resulting in problems with their bites, so you might want to try to stop using it before these problems result.

SIDS, pacifiers, infants, children, teeth, health,

Exercise and Breathing

2007-03-15T08:45:00.000-07:00

I think that breathing is a very important part of exercising. Oxygen is like fuel for your blood, your muscles, and your heart, which of course is also a muscle. The reason I bring all this up is that I have been walking a lot – an hour per day – but I don’t think I have been breathing properly or enough. And of course with my new interest in biofeedback, I can see how beneficial proper breathing can be. Here is a rather extensive article on walking and breathing, with lots of links.

One thing about breathing is that when you exhale, that activates the nerve that calms your heart. If you don’t exhale enough, or properly, then maybe your heart remains agitated, your pulse remains elevated, and from what I understand that could increase the possibility of sudden cardiac arrest. (A small digression: eating fatty fish, or taking fish oil – omega-3s – is supposed to reduce heart rate and be good generally for proper functioning of the heart, unless you have heart failure, in which case it could be bad for you.) Whenever I have checked my blood pressure on the machine at the drug store, my pulse rate has seemed rather high, so anything I can do to bring my heart rate down would be good, I think.

Anyway, one thing I have been doing recently on my walks is deliberately breathing. I have been timing my breaths to my steps. Six steps equal one complete cycle of inhale and exhale, except I have been inhaling for two steps, and exhaling four steps, counting 1-2-3-4 on my exhale. This gives me about 20 complete breaths per minute, and 12 to 20 is supposed to be normal, although I'm not sure about the normal breath rate while exercising.

It occurs to me that I might be better off – the breathing might be more meditative – if I inhaled 1-2-3-4 and exhaled 1-2-3-4 – one with each step. This would give me 15 breaths per minute. I might try that soon and see how it works. I thought about doing 1-2-3 inhale and 1-2-3 exhale. Part of the reason I place the emphasis on exhale is because that is what calms the heart. However, there probably should also be a big emphasis on inhale, because that is what gives the heart muscle fuel to function.

Usually when I walk I like to just daydream and think about things. Often I have some of my best ideas while out on a walk. I can still daydream and think about things, but I believe I need to think more about how and how much I am breathing. I believe that would be good for my health.

blood pressure, exercise, breathing, omega-3, health, heart, fish oil,

Breast Cancer

2007-03-14T09:03:00.000-07:00

Do antiperspirants cause breast cancer? According to this article “ there was no conclusive research linking the use of underarm antiperspirants or deodorants to breast cancer.”

One thing that interests me about this article though is the fact that “ the average adult is exposed to 126 chemicals every day -- just in their personal care product use alone,” and that “one in every 13 women is exposed to a known or a probable human carcinogen every day, with one in every 24 women -- or 4.3 million total -- exposed to personal care ingredients that are known or probable reproductive and developmental toxins.”

I, for one, would like to get rid of all these toxins. But I suppose everyone remembers what happened when people proposed getting rid of trans fats. There was a big uproar, with an extremely vocal segment of society crying FOOD POLICE, or NANNY STATE, or things like that. So I presume if we call for the elimination of toxins in our personal care products you would probably have an extremely vocal segment of society screaming that they have a right to expose themselves to 126 chemicals every day, including reproductive and developmental toxins. Doesn’t anyone see how absurd all that is?

Do antiperspirants cause breast cancer? So far scientists don’t know for certain. But put another way, if I don’t use antiperspirants, then I know for sure that they will not cause me to get breast cancer. If I do use them, then I can’t be so sure. The question then becomes, do I want to take that chance? For me the answer is no. I do just fine without antiperspirants. I daresay that most people do, or would if they gave it a try. In many cases they are just one more thing that we the public have been sold.

If we don’t use these products though, some corporation is not going to make the money they were planning to make. But don’t worry. I’m sure they’ll come up with something else to sell us.

antiperspirants, deodorants, trans fat, carcinogen, environment, toxins, women, cancer, health, breast cancer

Blood Clots

2007-03-13T11:31:00.000-07:00

Wow! According to this article it seems that people are more than 30 times more likely to develop blood clots in the legs sitting at a desk in an office (or at a computer terminal, I daresay, in the case of bloggers like me) than are people cooped up on very long flights. In this study, 34% of the people admitted to the hospital with blood clots had been sitting in an office, compared to about 1.4% who had been sitting on a plane.

I’m not surprised. This is one reason why I bought a massage cushion from Discovery Channel store. Of course it was on sale for $99 at the time.

I am glad I bought one. We need to take care of our health, even if it means buying a massage cushion. But at the very least we need to move around occasionally to keep the blood pumping. It is often a matter of life and death.

aging, massage, thrombosis, exercise, clot, blood, health,

Exercise

2007-03-13T08:45:00.000-07:00

Apparently exercise is beneficial to us for many reasons. This link details many of those reasons. It is very interesting and informative. Check it out. And now there is new research that says exercise may actually build “new brain cells in a brain region linked with memory and memory loss.” That seems to be some pretty significant information. I walk for an hour per day, so hopefully I am building new brain cells, as well as making my body healthier generally. At least that’s the theory anyway.

aging, brain, exercise, memory, aerobics, health,

Cancer Diagnosis

2007-03-12T08:57:00.000-07:00

There is new hope that in the future it will be easier to diagnose some cancers.

Researchers have found biomarkers that might help point to the presence of ovarian cancer tumors, and therefore might help in earlier diagnosis and treatment. Part of the problem with ovarian cancer is that it is often not found until it is too late. It would be great if we could have better diagnostic tools.

In related news, scientists at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine are developing a blood test that might lead to earlier detection of pancreatic cancer. Researchers apparently have identified ten biomarkers which give “a high level of accuracy and very few false positive results.” That’s good news.

It is good to know that scientists, doctors, and researchers are working to find cures for these diseases. It is also good to know that they seem to be making progress.

cancer, ovarian cancer, pancreatic cancer, research, medicine, biomarkers, diagnosis, health

StressEraser

2007-03-11T11:03:00.000-07:00

I bought one of those StressErasers from The Sharper Image. I know, it was about $300, but I feel like it was some of the best money I’ve ever spent. I’ve been though a lot of stress recently. My wife died, and a lot of other stuff has been happening. You often don’t know the toll that stress is taking on you until maybe it’s too late.

Anyway, the StressEraser has really helped me relax. Basically it leads you in breathing exercises that help you quiet the nerves that are keeping you agitated. I found the device very easy to use. I think anyone would find it easy to use, especially if you follow the instructions, which are really very simple: exhale slowly whenever you see a triangle, mentally count until you find a number that works, and don’t inhale too deeply.

Too often we learn to be helpless. With the StressEraser I am being proactive in doing things to improve my health. Oh and BTW, I don’t get any money for a “testimonial” like this. But I do believe in dealing with stress, and the StressEraser has helped me.

stress, health, heart disease, longevity, mental health,

Copper

2007-03-11T09:32:00.000-07:00

Recent research is saying that increasing your intake of copper may help prevent heart disease. However if you take copper, I just discovered that you need to control your intake of fats because the excessive consumption of two together have been associated with mental decline. That’s actually good news, because I had thought that copper generally was associated with mental decline, and now that doesn't seem to be the case. Copper is apparently found in shellfish, navy beans, peas, walnuts, whole wheat, tofu, avocado, chili, and chocolate, some of which I eat in abundance – walnuts, whole wheat, chocolate without the fat, etc. And I also follow a low-fat diet, which, according to some of this research, is probably a good idea.

aging, Alzheimer's disease, diet, trans fat, fat, food, health, heart disease, copper, supplements, memory, dementia, vegetables, vegetarian,

Acne and Stress

2007-03-11T08:59:00.000-07:00

If there were any doubt that dealing with stress was important, now they are saying that it may make acne worse in teenagers. And of course, worse acne probably leads to more stress.

acne, stress, teens, teenagers, skin, diet, food, health,

Don’t Inhale?

2007-03-10T09:07:00.000-08:00

I worry about having to undergo surgery. Now it seems I may have even more to worry about. Apparently a new study says that some inhaled anesthetics used in surgery might affect the accumulation of amyloid plaque in the brain and “accelerate the onset of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's.” Gee, I might have to stop working on this blog. I encounter a lot of bad news, like this little tidbit. Of course the bright side of this is that if they know about this problem, maybe they can do something about it. In the meantime I’ll just keep on eating my salads and broccoli, my beans and rice. I’ll just keep on drinking my pomegranate juice and soy milk. And I’ll hope I never have to undergo general anesthesia.

dementia, aging, anesthesia, Alzheimer's disease, calorie restriction, diet, pomegranate, food, health, vegan, vegetarian, surgery

Endometriosis and Pycnogenol

2007-03-10T08:40:00.000-08:00

Pycnogenol might actually help with endometriosis. That’s great news if it’s true.

Additionally Pycnogenol is supposed to help with menstrual pain. I wonder how many people knew that. Read this article. Very interesting.

endometriosis, pycnogenol, pain, menstrual, menstruation, antioxidants, health, inflammation, women,

The Best Life

2007-03-09T08:14:00.000-08:00

I ran across an interesting magazine called Best Life. They have an interesting approach to things for men, and some really good articles.

This article gives ten ways to “Stifle Stress, Sleep Soundly.” I agree with a lot of the recommendations, but I am definitely not going to drink a glass of milk before bed, or at any other time of the day for that matter. I like milk, but I don’t need those calories or that fat and cholesterol.

This article is about LDL, HDL, Lp(a) cholesterol and niacin. It has some interesting information.

This article has a very good discussion of inflammation in your arteries, along with recommendations on what to do about it, including drinking green tea instead of coffee, eating eggplant and curry, as well as taking omega-3 fatty acids or eating fatty fish like salmon, mackerel, or herring. They also say that if you have to eat steak, have a small one, lots of vegetables, and a glass of red wine. You know, a lot of men’s magazines wouldn’t have recommendations like that. This is one that seems willing to go against popular trends occasionally because it’s the right thing to do for your health.

This article is the reason I checked out Best Life in the first place. Apparently muscadine grapes are supposed to have a lot of resveratrol. This is not a secret. I’ve known about it for some time. But this article actually mentions a North Carolina winery, Duplin Winery, which specializes in muscadine and scuppernong wines. And they recommend a glass of Duplin’s sweet Magnolia wine for its age-defying characteristics. I must say that I like Magnolia, but it is not sweet, and it does not have as much resveratrol as a wine like Scuppernong Blush has. For those of you who do not live in North Carolina, most of you can order a case of wine from Duplin Winery. (They ship to 28 states. Check here to see if yours is one of the lucky ones.) As I say, Magnolia is my favorite, but there are some other good wines too. (I think they have a special going now with Hatteras Red, which is sweet and good.)

Anyway, Best Life, as you can see, has some interesting articles. Check them out from time to time. (BTW, they have a lot of good articles on prostate cancer.)

C-reactive protein, aging, CRP, Alzheimer's disease, omega-3, niacin, green tea, cancer, coffee, caffeine, cholesterol, colon cancer, stress, diet, exercise, fat, food, health, heart disease, HDL, inflammation, LDL, longevity, obesity, prostate cancer, scuppernong, muscadine, wine, salicylic acid, aspirin, sugar, vegetables, vegetarian, weight loss, resveratrol, men

Healthier Than Thou?

2007-03-08T08:47:00.000-08:00

It sometimes seems to me that people used to be healthier than they are today. Earlier generations seem to have lived longer than current generations. My grandmothers and great-grandmothers lived well into their nineties. This article talks about whether people today are less healthy than were people from previous generations. It says, “Americans in their early to mid-50s today report poorer health, more pain and more trouble doing everyday physical tasks than their older peers reported at the same age in years past.” That’s pretty enlightening. We are led to believe that our health care system is great, people are living longer, life is better, and yet a report like this seems to cast doubt on all that. We’re doing some things right in this country, but I daresay we’re doing some things wrong. Otherwise our citizens wouldn’t be in pain and poor health.

aging, retirement, health,

Calorie Restriction

2007-03-08T08:05:00.000-08:00

Calorie restriction and longevity are in the news again. This time scientists have more theories about why restricting calories might make us live longer. Apparently this type of diet “increases the life span of mice and delays the onset of age-related chronic diseases such as cancers, heart disease, and stroke in rodents.” Maybe that would work for humans, but it is really difficult to restrict your calories, particularly when you’re sitting there watching TV and it’s still three hours until bedtime. Snacking just helps pass the time, although I do stop eating and drinking at about 9:00 every evening, but that’s mainly so I don’t have to wake up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. If you must snack, however, choose some healthy snacks like nuts, pumpkin seeds, and fruit, or other high fiber foods. Limit the fat you consume in order to limit the fat that consumes you. NO CHEESE PUFFS! (article 1, article 2)

aging, calorie restriction, cancer, diet, fat, food, health, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, longevity, snacks, obesity, vegetarian, weight loss, women,

Omega-3s and Mood

2007-03-08T05:35:00.000-08:00

I’m a big fan of omega-3 fatty acids. I take a daily fish oil supplement (Carlson). I remember my mother used to tell me about how her parents used to line the children up every day and make them take cod liver oil. Maybe the cod liver oil helped. In any event, this article talks about the beneficial effect that omega-3 fatty acids may have on the health of the brain and on mood.

omega-3, fatty acids, fish oil, brain, mood, , health,

Losing Weight

2007-03-07T07:49:00.000-08:00

According to a recent study, Atkins is supposed to beat Ornish et al for losing weight. However the study participants didn’t follow their respective weight loss programs correctly, so doesn’t that invalidate some of the results?

I think that each person has to choose the diet that is right for him or her. I try to follow Ornish to a large extent. I think I am at risk of heart disease because of my history as a former smoker and having rather high cholesterol. I would never choose the Atkins diet with its steak, hamburger, and butter. In fact I used to eat that kind of diet. That’s one reason why I had high cholesterol, constipation, and other health issues. Now I eat a low fat, high fiber vegetarian diet with lots of nuts, seeds, and fruit, and I walk an hour per day. I lost about 8% of my body weight (12 pounds) in the past year so I must be doing something right. I do believe that some of the things I am doing – exercising, eating nuts and fiber – are objectively good for everyone. But I don’t think everyone needs to be vegetarian, only those who are being harmed by a non-vegetarian, high fat, high cholesterol, low fiber diet. The problem is that sometimes you can’t know what the food is doing to you until it’s too late. That’s why I chose to go vegetarian. I’d rather do it myself than have some doctor tell me I have to do it.

Oh, and let me clarify something I said earlier. I do think it would be better if everyone went vegetarian. I think everyone would be healthier if they did. But some people can tolerate some meat. It’s just that in the American scheme of things “some meat” gets translated into “a lot of meat” and that’s what I don’t think is good.

Sears, Brownell, Ornish, Atkins, Zone, LEARN, meat, cholesterol, colon cancer, diet, exercise, fat, food, health, heart disease, LDL, longevity, obesity, smoking, sugar, vegetarian, weight loss, women,

Again with Stress

2007-03-06T21:20:00.000-08:00

I know I’m talking a lot about stress lately, but it is a very important topic, I am very interested in it, and coincidentally a lot of other people seem to be talking about it as well.

Apparently children subjected to chronic stress get sick more often than children under less stress.

It may be the case that severe stress can damage a child’s brain.

I had a GREAT night’s sleep last night. I used one of those biofeedback devices that you can get from The Sharper Image called the StressEraser. I’ve always been interested in biofeedback, but now even more so.

Here is a really good article on biofeedback from the Mayo Clinic. Here’s one on relaxation in general. And here’s one on meditation.

This news article says transcendental meditation may help patients with congestive heart failure.

And biofeedback might also help with congestive heart failure. (article 1, article 2) These two articles are about the same thing but I include them both because the comments at the end of each are different. It is important, I think, to read them both. The main point, as I understand it, is that after one session of biofeedback, cardiac output improved by nine percent. Wow!

We all undergo stress as individuals, and we undergo stress as a nation. Anything we can do to improve our health as a nation and as individuals is a good thing. Can biofeedback, meditation, and stress reduction help? I think so. In any event I don't think they can hurt.

transcendental meditation, meditation, biofeedback, children, insomnia, relaxation, sleep, illness, PTSD, stress, health, heart disease, heart failure, women,

Unclogging Clogged Arteries

2007-03-05T08:30:00.000-08:00

If you’ve already got clogged arteries how do you get them unclogged? I don’t know personally, but here are some suggestions.

Dr. Dean Ornish has a program for reversing heart disease. He says it works. Check out his book, Dr. Dean Ornish's Program for Reversing Heart Disease. Apparently there is a revised edition coming out in 2008, presumably with updated information! Great! I’ve been looking forward to this. I like Ornish and I think he has a good program. The only drawback I could see was that his book was published in 1990. And although the approach detailed in the 1990 edition is supposed to work, there have been a lot of new developments since then. Presumably Ornish incorporates some of these into the revised version of his wonderful book. (BTW, the 600 page book is priced at only $7.99, which tells me that Ornish is really not trying to make any money here, but is trying to make his book affordable to as many people as possible.)

Other strategies:

This article says pomegranate juice may clear clogged arteries (see my 2/19 post on pomegranate juice).

This article says fish oils keep arteries clear.

This article says green vegetables keep arteries clear.

This article says oats keep arteries clear.

This article says eating nuts may help keep arteries clear.

As far as I can tell, the only one of these that actually claims to clear clogged arteries, besides the pomegranate juice, is the Dean Ornish program. Fish oil, vegetables, oats, and nuts are all good for you. A healthy diet includes all of them. And a diet designed by Dean Ornish might include all of them as well. I know he has written extensively about most of these foods over the past few years. When Dr. Dean Ornish talks, I listen. Whatever you might think about him, it wouldn’t hurt you to read his book. And who knows, it might help.

Note: before you start doing anything new, you might want to do further research and/or ask your doctor. For example, fish oil is good for you, but too much fish oil might be bad for you, especially if you have heart failure.

cholesterol, diet, exercise, fat, food, health, heart disease, diabetes, nuts, LDL, oats, fish oil, obesity, smoking, stress, meditation, vegan, vegetarian, weight loss, Dean Ornish, pomegranate juice,

Heart Health

2007-03-05T08:08:00.000-08:00

This article from USA Today says there are nine risk factors that account for 90% of heart disease. They include: abdominal obesity, sedentary lifestyle, fatty diet, diabetes, eating too few fruits and vegetables, high blood pressure, smoking, and as I discussed at great length yesterday psychosocial stress. Ok, so now that we know what causes heart disease, how about if we all get busy doing something about it?

blood pressure, hypertension, cholesterol, diabetes, diet, exercise, fat, food, health, heart disease, LDL, obesity, smoking, stress, vegan, vegetarian, weight loss,

More on Stress

2007-03-04T12:21:00.000-08:00

Dr. Dean Ornish, as I have mentioned before, talks a lot about stress. In this article he gives seven tips for stress management, which include Exercise, Enhancing Social Support, Breathing, Meditating, Trying Yoga, Cutting Caffeine, and Working on Getting Rid of Anger, Hostility, etc. Read the article for more discussion and better understanding.

This article says meditation may lower cholesterol and also lower “the risk of heart attack and stroke by lessening blood vessel blockage.” Wow, that’s interesting. Also the article quotes extensively from Dr. Ornish.

Here are some stress management tips. There are useful links at the bottom of the page. I have mentioned some of them already, but some of them I haven’t.

We talked earlier about quitting smoking. Here are some tips on “Ways to get the benefits of smoking without the risks.”

Something I ran across recently is the StressEraser. It’s a little expensive, but apparently it is a biofeedback machine that helps you control your breathing, your pulse rate, and your ability to deal with stress by teaching you how to relax?

It looks like a really good thing to me. My pulse rate tends to be a little high, which could lead to an elevated risk of sudden cardiac death – not a happy thought. Hopefully something like the StressEraser could help with that. Anyway I present the information here for anyone interested. You can use the Google search box on the right of this page to search for where to buy one if you’re interested, or if you just want to find more information.

stress, breathing, meditation, yoga, anger, management, cholesterol, , exercise, health, heart disease, immunity, longevity, family, friends, smoking, smoking cessation, biofeedback, Ornish, Dean Ornish, TM, transcendental meditation

Stress and Illness

2007-03-04T08:43:00.000-08:00

I really do believe that it is important for us to deal with stress in our lives. I also believe that too often stress is a forgotten factor in our health. I think stress can make us sick. This article says, “Long-term stress changes the hard wiring of our brains. It breaks down our immune systems and causes illness.” This article seems to agree with that statement, although it suggests that short-term stress might boost the immune system while long-term stress might undermine it.

There are many stressors in our lives, both positive and negative. Here are scales for adults and children that may help you evaluate how much stress you have in your life.

I remember when I stopped smoking. That was stressful process. Stopping smoking involved learning to deal with the stress of wanting to smoke – but learning to deal with it in a healthy way, i.e., by not giving into it – learning to lower my stress level without using a cigarette to temporarily lower my stress level.

We are all subjected to stress on a daily basis. According to this article, “Stress can cause migraines, stroke, eczema, a weak immune system, and many other diseases.” So as you can see, it is very important that we all learn to deal with or manage our stress.

I have thought about self-hypnosis and biofeedback for a long time. I may investigate them further to see if they might help me deal with stress in my life.

BTW, when Dr. Dean Ornish talks about reversing heart disease, one of the major components of his program is stress management.

exercise, biofeedback, hypnosis, health, heart disease, immunity, immune system, illness, migraine, smoking cessation, smoking, stress, stroke, Ornish, Dean Ornish

Heart attack in the morning

2007-03-02T13:26:00.000-08:00

So, most heart attacks and strokes happen in the morning. I knew that, although it’s not a piece of information that I’m really happy knowing. In any event, scientists now seem to better understand this phenomenon. Maybe that means they can do something about it. In the meanwhile I plan to keep my mornings about as stress free as possible.

health, heart disease, heart attack, stroke, blood pressure,

To your health

2007-03-02T12:31:00.000-08:00

Good news for light wine drinkers: they might live about four years longer than those who do not drink wine.

AOL often has interesting health features.
For example: Here are ten snacks under 100 calories.
Here are twelve tips for a better night’s sleep.

relaxation, stress, sleep, diet, low calorie, fat, food, health, heart disease, snack food, snacks, wine, longevity,

It's all about the money

2007-03-01T08:25:00.000-08:00

What if you had a safe pill that might improve the brains of Alzheimer’s patients, reduce the incidence of colorectal cancer by 50 percent, reduce the incidence of breast cancer by 50 percent, and reduce the risk of multiple sclerosis by 62 percent? Would you use it? Of course, you say. Of course I’d use it.

Well it turns out that vitamin D is supposed to do all those things and maybe more. But according to this article the research may never be done that might establish its effectiveness, and the pharmaceutical industry probably won't encourage its use because “there is little money to be made off a non-proprietary substance such as vitamin D.”

In other words, in this case at least, it looks like it’s all about the money, not about what is good for the public. Because the drug companies can’t patent it and own it and sell it to the public it won’t go forward. Of course I’m not surprised by any of this. In fact it is what I expect, and it’s what’s going on with the Biotech industry too: when a biotech company creates a new product – like a new brand of corn, or something like that – I don’t think it is about improving nutrition or even making a better product. It’s all about making money. The more people understand this, the less favorable impression I think they’ll have of the Biotech industry.

In the meanwhile, just because the pharmaceutical industry probably won’t give us a vitamin D pill that will make us healthier, that doesn’t mean we can’t take some of it ourselves. And that doesn’t mean we can’t get out and get a little sunshine. After all, that is free. And if we don’t overdo it, then it might actually do us some good.

vitamin D, multiple sclerosis, drug companies, Alzheimer's disease, breast cancer, Biotech, ultraviolet, cancer, UV, sunshine, flu, colon cancer, health,

Of Death and Vitamins

2007-02-28T08:14:00.000-08:00

This article says, “Supplements ‘raise death rate by 5%’” They are talking about vitamin A, beta carotene, and vitamin E. Is this really news? Haven’t we known for some time not to take beta carotene? I even think I heard something a few years ago about vitamin E, but I'm not sure. This article talks about the current issues surrounding vitamin E. There is even a reference that says taking vitamins E and C together might reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s by 64 to 78%? That's interesting.

There was an article the other day that said selenium and vitamin E taken together work to strengthen the immune system. And when I had my prostate checked a few years ago the doctor recommended I take selenium, yet the above article even questions the effectiveness of selenium.

What are you supposed to believe in all this? What are you supposed to do? Take supplements or not take supplements?

Since I am vegetarian I will continue to take a B supplement. But I do think that when it comes to getting vitamins and antioxidants it has always been, and will continue to be better to get them from your diet.

beta carotene, vitamin A, vitamin E, Alzheimer's disease, health, vitamin C, supplements, cancer, selenium, prostate, cholesterol, diet, food, heart disease, immunity, immune system, vitamin B12, longevity, lung cancer, antioxidants, safety,

Health Notes

2007-02-28T05:59:00.000-08:00

Here are some miscellaneous articles of interest:

Too many women don't get enough vitamin D during pregnacy.

Vitamin A may protect against stomach cancer, but that doesn’t mean go out and take a supplement.

New research says garlic apparently does not lower cholesterol.

Men who take common pain relievers might increase their risk of high blood pressure?

cancer, diet, food, women, stomach cancer, garlic, health, heart disease, pregnancy, vitamin D, vitamin A, ibuprofen, acetaminophen, hypertension, blood pressure, cholesterol, prenatal,

Gene Therapy to Save Limbs?

2007-02-27T12:58:00.000-08:00

Doctors may someday use gene therapy to treat critical limb ischemia caused by peripheral artery disease. The results of clinical trials have been very promising. More trials are ongoing. Let us hope they get this figured out and more people don’t have to lose their limbs because of diseased arteries.

Here are some symptoms of peripheral artery disease. This is a pretty serious condition. If you have symptoms, it is a good idea to see a doctor.

health, heart disease, critical limb ischemia, peripheral artery disease, amputate, limbs, legs, stent, gene therapy,

Uric Acid

2007-02-27T09:14:00.000-08:00

This article says that uric acid could affect the cognitive functioning of elderly people. The thing about this article, though, is that sometimes uric acid can be good and sometimes it can be bad – for example, sometimes uric acid might protect against Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Scientists do not yet know why this is the case. Here are some dietary sources of uric acid and purines.

uric acid, aging, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, gout, purines, antioxidants, memory, thinking, elderly, cognition, diet, food, health,

Brain

2007-02-26T20:47:00.000-08:00

There are a lot of important organs in the human body, but the brain is pretty important. Here are some interesting articles about what Woody Allen called his second favorite organ:

Good sleep is just as important to your health as are diet and exercise. I might add that learning to deal with stress is important too. Then of course there are brain exercises.

Then there is this article that says physical exercise might be beneficial for the brain.

I had always believed that when brain cells died, they were gone. But here are some brain cells that regenerate.

Researchers may have reduced the levels of certain proteins in the brains of mice, which could have positive implications for someday treating Alzheimer’s disease in humans.

There may be new ways to determine who is at risk of developing schizophrenia.

KetoCal, a commercially available high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet designed to treat epilepsy in children may be effective in treating brain tumors.

Regarding Down syndrome, here are two articles. One says that taking Gingko might improve the memory of Down’s patients. The other article is about the same research, I think, and talks about improving the memory of Down’s patients, but it doesn’t seem to mention Gingko. I don’t know why, but you can check it out for yourself.

sleep, disorders, stress, Alzheimer's disease, brain, brain cancer, KetoCal, cancer, memory, Down Syndrome, diet, exercise, health, mental health, schizophrenia, Gingko, insomnia,

Breastfeeding

2007-02-26T19:57:00.000-08:00

Pennsylvania does not have a law allowing women to breastfeed in public, although apparently Philadelphia does have such an ordinance. This came up recently when a woman was harassed and threatened by mall security at the Berkshire Mall near Reading, PA for breastfeeding there. This led to a huge “nurse in” at the mall, with about 150 mothers participating with their babies. Let us hope that Pennsylvania soon joins the other thirty six states that do have laws allowing breastfeeding in public.

In other news, many sources say that breast milk is really good for babies, but here is an article that says breastfeeding may help protect mothers from heart disease. That’s good news, and is just one more reason to breastfeed as far as I’m concerned.

mothers, babies, heart attack, breastfeeding, children, health, heart disease, women,

Eating Disorders

2007-02-25T08:43:00.000-08:00

This article says “Improving Body Image Key to Treating Eating Disorders.” I can understand that. I do think that too many girls feel they are overweight when they really are not. Or they feel their weight and appearance are problems when they really are not. Or they receive messages from society or their families that lead to unhealthy obsessions with their appearance. Or they are somehow led to reject their natural appearance and try to make themselves over with a different appearance. Psychological intervention might help all that.

Eating disorders are complex problems, though. The woman in this article says, “It wasn't about body image for me but having some control.” So this is another perspective.

While we’re on this subject, this article says that some people may have a genetic predisposition to develop anorexia, so that is another perspective, which may be true as well. Very complex.

The thing is, all this does not have to be either/or. It is probably all correct. Eating disorders are probably about body image and control and genetics and other things as well. So when we are raising our girls, we need to help them feel good about themselves. And if they somehow get off track, then we need to get them some help. This is very important. We’re talking about lives possibly being ruined here.

eating disorders, bulimia, anorexia nervosa, girls, body, self, image, control, exercise, fat, food, health, mental health, therapy, obsession, appearance, genetics, weight loss, women,