Coach Pat Summitt Puts Spotlight on Early-Onset Alzheimer's

THURSDAY, Aug. 25 (HealthDay News) -- Alzheimer's disease is one of the most dreaded afflictions of old age, but the announcement by celebrated women's basketball coach Pat Summit of her Alzheimer's diagnosis at age 59 has put a spotlight on the less common, but perhaps even more devastating, form of the disease.

About 500,000 people in the United States, or about 5 percent of those with Alzheimer's, have early-onset Alzheimer's, also called "young-onset" because it's diagnosed before age 65, said Dr. Zoe Arvanitakis, a neurologist in the Alzheimer's Disease Center at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. Though rarer still, diagnoses among people in their 30s and 40s aren't unheard of, she noted.
"In contrast to what many people think, Alzheimer's disease does not only affect older persons. It can also affect persons in their middle adult ages," Arvanitakis said.

Symptoms for early-onset Alzheimer's are the same as for late-onset disease, experts said. Summit, coach of the University of Tennessee Lady Vols, told the Washington Post this week that she suspected her forgetfulness was a side effect of a rheumatoid arthritis drug, until Mayo Clinic doctors told her she was showing mild signs of the dementia.

Typically, early-onset Alzheimer's progresses more quickly than late-onset Alzheimer's, experts said.

Still, the time from which a person first has symptoms to the time they've lost so much of their mental abilities that they're truly disabled varies widely from person to person, said Dr. Gary Kennedy, director of the division of geriatric psychiatry at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City.

For older patients, that may be 10 to 15 years; for younger ones, time to disability is usually around five years, Kennedy said.

Younger patients also have a different set of worries than older patients. Many are still working, have mortgages and even families to support, Arvanitakis said.

Recently, a change in federal law enabled patients with early-onset Alzheimer's to receive Social Security disability insurance (SSDI) and supplemental security income (SSI) more easily, Arvanitakis said.

"There used to be significant roadblocks," she said. "I remember five, 10 years ago trying to help my patients get on disability being told, 'What proof do you have they have Alzheimer's disease?' It was hard for me to convince them it was true."

Because it's relatively uncommon, people in their 40s and 50s with Alzheimer's can have difficulty getting a diagnosis. Apathy and loss of interest in things once enjoyed can be one symptom of Alzheimer's. But that's sometimes mistaken for depression, Arvanitakis said.

Several gene mutations are believed to contribute to Alzheimer's in younger people, and early-onset Alzheimer's can run in families that have a hereditary component. But for other people, what causes Alzheimer's is unknown, experts said.

In addition to having a close family member such as a mother, father or sibling with early-onset Alzheimer's, having a major depressive episode as an adult also appears associated with going on to develop Alzheimer's, Kennedy said. Many people with Down syndrome also eventually develop the disease.

There are no medications that can slow or reverse the underlying biological processes that lead to damage in the brain. But like older people, younger people can benefit from certain drugs that boost levels of a neurotransmitter in the brain that is important for forming memories, Arvanitakis said.
Those who fare the best tend to be those who have a strong support system of family and friends, she said.

High blood pressure, stroke, diabetes, heart rhythm abnormalities and high cholesterol can reduce blood flow to the brain and lead to "vascular dementia," another form of progressive decline in memory and thinking skills, Kennedy said. Research has shown that many people with Alzheimer's also have vascular changes in the brain.

To combat that, "it makes good sense to follow a heart-healthy lifestyle," he said.
Those who are intelligent and educated also have brain "reserves" that they can use to cope with the brain degeneration and continue to function, at least for a time, Kennedy said.

"They have the software to compensate for what's happening to the hardware in the brain," Kennedy said.

And although the disease is relentless and people continue to lose memory and thinking abilities, there is often time before that happens to work, to accomplish things and to enjoy life, Arvanitakis added.
"If you're the type of person who is energetic and wants to fight it and do everything possible, we do have patients that live with this diagnosis for many years and continue to lead a fulfilling and productive life," she said.

Summitt is nothing if not determined. She's won more victories than any other college coach, men's or women's, and eight national titles. According to news reports, Summitt has said she does not believe her symptoms are severe enough for her to step down as coach, and that her goal is to coach at least three more years, if possible.

She also told her team about her condition, according to the Washington Post.

"I just want them to understand that this is what I'm going through, but you don't quit living," she said. "You keep going."

Experts praised Summitt for sharing her struggle with the public.

"When you're a very public figure and you share something so personal like your own illness, it brings attention to it, and bringing attention to this devastating illness might benefit others," Arvanitakis said. "It could mean more research will be done on it. It will be recognized earlier and people could have access to treatment earlier."

The Mind/Body & Body/Mind Effect

There is a dramatic and powerful connection between our mind and body, and of our body on our mind, in fact it really should not be called a connection because it is just one bidirectional system. Hans Selye, MD, the man who coined the word stress and first mapped out it biological effects said, “The modern physician should know as much about emotions and thoughts as about disease symptoms and drugs. This approach would appear to hold more promise of cure than anything medicine has given us to date.”

It is true. The most powerful pharmacy in the world is right between your ears!

Imagine if you could turn on fat burning–and lose weight–by using only your mind!

We are seeing an epidemic of stress related disorders. Americans live on caffeine and Prozac. We use substances to manage our moods. In fact the four top selling items in grocery stores are all the drugs we use to manage our mood and energy – caffeine, sugar, alcohol, and nicotine.

Depression, anxiety, autism, attention deficit disorder, memory disorders and dementia are epidemics in our society. They are making the pharmaceutical industry highly profitable. But how do we really deal with the root of this problem?

Let’s look at the power of the mind to harm or heal.

How to use your head to heal

One of a doctor's patients came to see me after his wife died. He’d suddenly developed heart failure. His heart just wouldn’t pump. It was flooded with grief molecules, hormones like adrenalin, noradrenalin, cortisol and more. The New England Journal of Medicine recently published a study about how grief or emotional trauma can cause heart failure, literally a broken heart.

Rather than give him drugs for “heart failure” as the doctor was taught, he suggested he have healing touch, a form of energy and emotional healing. He did and dramatically recovered. Touch, not medication, healed his heart.

We all learned how to read and write in school but never learned how to use our minds to help us with the most important survival skills–staying happy and healthy–that other cultures differ in their training. Herbert Benson M.D., from Harvard Medical School has demonstrated the amazing power of trained meditators from Tibet to control their physiology to slow their metabolism, change their heart rates, brain waves, and raise or lower their body temperature.

He even documented on film an ancient practice called tumo, the generating of internal heat, performed by initiated Tibetan monks. They are wrapped in icy cold sheets and must dry them from their internal heat. It is speculated that they do this by actively burning fat – something called brown fat. They can sit naked on a snowy mountaintop all night and not freeze, keeping themselves warm from their internal heat.

That’s something most of us don’t have any consciousness of, or control over. Imagine if you could turn on fat burning and lose weight through your mind!

That is ultimately the power of our mind and beliefs. Unfortunately we are not trained to address the stressful psychic loads that are the burden of the 21st century. And they are killing us.

Just consider these facts:

• 95% of all illness is caused or worsened by stress.
• Low socio-economic status is associated with poorer health outcomes and risk of death from all causes. This not related to poorer health habits, but to feelings of powerlessness and loss of control.
• Internalized racism and stress are associated with high amounts of belly fat.
• Stress hormones damage the hippocampus – the memory center in the brain causing memory loss and dementia.
• In a study of people who volunteered to have cold viruses injected into their noses, only people with a high level of perceived stress got colds.
• Women with metastatic breast cancer survived twice as long if they were part of a support group
• Belonging to a group – a religious group, a bowling club, a quilting group – reduces risk of death from all causes and increases longevity despite health habits.
• In a study of doctors, those who scored high on hostility questionnaires had a higher risk of heart attacks than those who smoked, were overweight, had high blood pressure or didn’t exercise!

The good news is we can change our beliefs and attitudes and their effects on our mind and our body. You may need to learn a few new skills, but they are essential survival skills we never learned in school or from our families.

We cannot thrive without them!

Even better news is it is not only about our beliefs and attitudes. Our mind and brain function is also influenced by what happens in our bodies. By addressing all the keys to UltraWellness “mental” problems can often be cured without changing your beliefs.

The effects of beliefs and attitudes are so important, but the effects of problems in our core body systems, on our mental state and brain function– such as our hormones, immune system, gut, detox system, energy system – and our nutritional status and other environmental inputs – are just as important and mostly ignored by medicine.

Here is what we know about how to influence the mind body and the body mind system:

• Find the biological causes of problems with the mind by working on all the keys to UltraWellness I have outlined in the last 7 lessons. It could be mercury toxicity, magnesium, B12 deficiency, a toxic gut chemical or a gluten allergy that is changing your brain. So by changing your body you can change your mind!
• Learn how to actively relax. To engage the powerful forces of the mind on the body you must Do something, you can’t just sit there watching television or drink a beer.
• Try learning new skills such as meditation, deep breathing, yoga, biofeedback, progressive muscle relaxation, take a hot bath, make love, get a massage, watch a sunset, walk in the woods or on the beach.
• Exercise is a powerful way to burn off stress chemicals and heal the mind – well studied and well proven – just do it! It has been proven better than or equal to Prozac for treating depression.
• Clean up your diet from mind robbing molecules like caffeine, alcohol, refined sugars, and eat regularly to avoid the short-term stress of starvation on your body.
• Take a multivitamin and nutrients to help balance the stress response such as vitamin C, the B complex vitamins including B6 and B5 or pantothenic acid, zinc, and most importantly magnesium, the relaxation mineral.
• Use adaptogenic herbs (herbs that help you adapt and be balanced in response to stress) such as ginseng, Rhodiola rosea, Siberian ginseng, Cordyceps, and Ashwaganda.
• Take a hot bath or a sauna to help your body deeply relax and turn on the relaxation response.
• Examine your beliefs, attitudes and responses to common situations and consider reframing your point of view to reduce stress.
• Consciously build your network of friends, family and community. They are your most powerful allies in achieving long-term health.

Magnesium Deficiency

Magnesium is a major mineral that your body needs for biochemical reactions to occur and for your muscles and nerves to function normally. About half of your body's magnesium is stored in your bones the rest is in the cells of your organs and other tissues.

The recommended dietary allowance for magnesium depends upon your age and gender. Adult males need around 400 to 420 milligrams per day and women need 310 to 32 milligrams per day.

Magnesium is found in green vegetables (such as spinach) legumes, nuts, seeds and whole-grains. Halibut, oatmeal, peanuts and yogurt are also good sources of magnesium.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Magnesium Deficiency Symptoms

Symptoms of magnesium deficiency aren't common, but they can mimic other disorders. Not getting enough dietary magnesium may increase your risk of cardiovascular diseases and decreases your immune system function.

When you don't get enough magnesium you may feel weak and tired, lose your appetite and you may become nauseated and start vomiting. As the deficiency progresses problems may include numbness, tingling, muscle cramps, seizures, and abnormal heart rhythms.

 

What Causes Magnesium Deficiency?

Magnesium deficiency can occur when you don't consume enough foods that contain magnesium, or if you suffer from certain health problems or take medications that may result in the loss of magnesium or reduce the amount your body can absorb in your small intestine. Diabetes, alcoholism, Crohn's disease, celiac disease, or intestinal surgery may result in magnesium deficiency.


If you have magnesium deficiency symptoms, you need to see a health care provider who can order blood tests to determine if a magnesium deficiency is the problem or if there are other causes.

 

Can You Get Too Much Magnesium?

Getting too much magnesium from the foods you eat is very unlikely; however taking large amounts of dietary magnesium supplements can cause diarrhea and abdominal cramps. Taking too much magnesium for longer periods of time may result in changes in mental status, nausea, loss of appetite, diarrhea, weakness, low blood pressure, difficulty breathing and irregular heartbeat. Don't take magnesium supplements in large doses (more than 350 mg per day is the tolerable upper intake) without speaking with your health care provider.

Chocolate Linked to Fewer Heart Attacks

A recent huge German study found that chocolate lovers had a 39% lower risk of heart attack and stroke, confirming earlier but smaller research reports. For instance, the flavonoids in chocolate reduce blood pressure, inflammation, and the tendency of blood platelets to stick to each other (part of the clotting mechanism that causes many heart attacks and strokes).

The German study at hand included over 19,000 middle-aged participants followed over the course of 10 years. Researchers studied 1,500 of them in greater detail to clarify the types of chocolate consumed, not just the total amount. Fifty-seven percent ate milk chocolate, 24% dark chocolate, and 2% white chocolate.  Dark chocolate has more of the healthful flavonoids, so that may be the best to eat if optimal health is the goal.  Stroke risk reduction was even greater than heart attack prevention.

But note that it doesn't take much chocolate to reduce cardiovascular risk.  The highest chocolate consumers in the German studies ate an average of 7.5 grams a day.  That's not much at all. The bulk of prior studies suggested that the healthy dose is about 20 grams every three days - right in line with the German research.  Higher amounts of chocolate don't seem to help with risk reduction, and might make you fat.  Twenty grams of the average chocolate has 100 calories.

We can't prove yet that starting a low-grade dark chocolate habit actually prevents heart attacks and strokes going forward.  The prior studies were looking back in time, questioning people about their chocolate habit.  I've read enough suggestive research reports that I'm going to continue eating my chocolate, thinking it may do me some good.

The ABC's of CPR: Now It's C-A-B

Chest compressions are the No.1 task in cardiopulmonary resuscitation, according to new guidelines issued by the American Heart Association.  Remember the old "ABC's" of  bystander resuscitation?

"Airway...Breathing...Circulation (chest compressions)."  Now it's C first: chest compressions. 

And someone should call 911 right away; you do that first if no one else is around to help.
Over a million Americans have taken CPR (cardiopulmonary circulation) classes to be able to safe a life in the event a victim stops breathing or has no detectable pulse. 

What do you do when you see a 60-year-old man collapse at the mall, unconscious, without a pulse, and not breathing (or just infrequent gasps for air)?  This is not a rare scenario.  In an adult, the most common cause is Sudden Cardiac Death related to a heart rhythm disturbance. The man isn't dead yet, but he will be if no one takes action within the next few minutes, and the sooner the better.

What's the "A" in the resuscitation sequence?  Airway.  Is something obstruction the airway of the victim?  A piece of food stuck at the back of the mouth?  Will the position of the head on the neck allow airflow into the lung? 

The "B" is Breathing.  Once adult resuscitation is underway, artificial breathing (such as "mouth-to-mouth") is done at a ratio of two breaths for every 30 chest compressions.  Also new in the current guidelines is that the breast bone should be compressed at least 2 inches.  It's a minor change from 2005 guideline's "1.5 to 2 inches."  Compress hard and fast.

Recent studies indicate that chest compressions even without artificial breathing is at least as good as the combination.  So if you're squeemish and won't do "mouth-to-mouth," just do compressions.

For information about CPR classes in your area, call toll-free 877-242-4277.

Warm-up Properly with Dynamic Stretching!

Unlike static stretching, dynamic stretching has been shown to improve flexibility, increase range of motion, and engage the nervous system through active movements in multiple planes.

Although dynamic stretching does involve quick movements like lunges, squats, swings, and rotational work, it does not incorporate ballistic and bouncing movements. Stretching too fast is unsafe in most cases and should be avoided unless you are an advanced athlete and already thoroughly warmed up.

Dynamic stretching is most useful in preparing the body to begin that day's exercise program. That means you will be completing a range of body weight exercises to prime the nervous system and stimulate the muscles in a way that resembles what you may be doing later in that workout.

 

Here's an example of a 5-minute dynamic warm-up:

1. Forward lunges x 10 reps each leg
2. Backward lunges x 10 reps each leg
3. Lateral side lunges x 10 reps each leg
4. Medicine ball rotations x 20 reps
5. Hand walkouts (like and inchworm or downward facing dog from yoga) x 10

This dynamic warm-up will have your body temperature up, your muscles feeling more limber, and your heart rate pumped and ready to get right into your exercise program!

Give it shot and remember you will begin to loosen up with each repetition, so don't feel like you have to push the range of motion from the start.

Herbalife Ltd. Announces Record Second Quarter 2011 Results and Raises FY'11 Guidance

Second quarter net sales growth of 27.7 percent on volume growth of 17.1 percent.

LOS ANGELES, Aug 01, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) --

--Second quarter diluted EPS(1) of $0.88 increased 35.4 percent compared to the $0.65 diluted EPS from prior year period.

--Raises FY'11 EPS guidance to a range of $2.97 to $3.07.

--Board of directors approved a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share.

Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE: HLF) today reported that second quarter net sales increased 27.7 percent and local currency net sales increased 19.9 percent compared to the same time period in 2010. Net income for the quarter of $111.2 million, or $0.88 per diluted share compares to 2010 second quarter net income and EPS of $82.2 million and $0.65, respectively.

"We believe that we are just getting started," said Michael O. Johnson, the company's chairman and CEO. "Eight consecutive quarters of growth in the average number of sales leaders ordering illustrates the engagement of the distributors and the strong foundation being built as Herbalife helps consumers tackle the global issues of obesity."

For the quarter ended June 30, 2011, the company generated cash flow from operations of $142.7 million, an increase of 71.5 percent compared to the second quarter 2010, paid dividends of $23.9 million, invested $16.1 million in capital expenditures and repurchased $98.8 million in common shares related to our share repurchase program.

Why Eating Quick, Cheap Food is Actually More Expensive

I WAS IN THE GROCERY STORE YESTERDAY. While I was squeezing avocados to pick just the right ones for my family’s dinner salad, I overheard a conversation from a couple who had also picked up a fruit.

“Oh, these avocados look good, let’s get some.”

Then looking up at the price, they said, “Two for five dollars!” Dejected, they put the live avocado back and walked away from the vegetable aisle toward the aisles full of dead, boxed, canned, packaged goods where they can buy thousands of calories of poor-quality, nutrient-poor, factory-made, processed foods filled with sugar, fat, and salt for the same five dollars. This is the scenario millions of Americans struggling to feed their families face every day.

The odd paradox is that food insecurity — not knowing where the next meal is coming from or not having enough money to adequately feed your family — leads to obesity, diabetes, and chronic disease. Examining this paradox may help us advocate for policies that make producing fresh fruits, vegetables, and whole other foods cheaper, while rethinking the almost $300 billion in government subsides that support the production of cheap, processed food derived from corn and soy.

At the same time, a Food Revolution, along the lines of that advocated by Jamie Oliver, a radical chef, can help Americans take back their table and their health from a food industry that has driven us to eat more than 50 percent of our meals out of the home compared to less than 2 percent 100 years ago. And most of those meals eaten at home are produced in plants, not grown on plants, are from a food chemist’s lab, not a farmer’s field. Cooking and eating whole fresh foods at home, can be cheaper, more fun, and simpler than most people think.

So I would ask you to consider: Have you ever made poor food choices because of cost? What is the REAL cost of this cheap food — the cost in dollars, on our health, on our environment, and even on the fraying fabric of our social and family systems?
This is what you need to remember:

1. The true cost of unhealthy food isn’t just the price tag — in fact, the real costs are hidden.
2. Eating healthy doesn’t have to cost more.

Sure, it seems cheaper to eat a burger, fries, and a soda from McDonald’s than to eat a meal of whole foods, but there are healthier options. Let me review why the true costs of eating unhealthy food are hidden, and give you some suggestions that will help you save money and suffering by eating well for less. Poverty or financial limitations do not preclude eating well, creating health, and avoiding disease.

Let’s start by looking at how our economy and public policy are geared toward the production of cheap, unhealthy food.

Government Policy Supports the Production of Unhealthy Food

Unhealthy food is cheaper because our government’s policies support its production. We’re spending nearly $30 billion a year to subsidize corn and soy production. Where do those foods go? Into our food supply as high-fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated soybean oil (trans fats), that are the foundation of almost all fast food and processed foods that are “manufactured” by the food industry.
Since the 1970s — when our agricultural policies where changed to support corn and soy farmers — we’re consuming, on average, an extra 500 calories (mostly in the form of cheap, artificial high-fructose corn syrup) per person.

When you eat unhealthy foods like these, the costs of medical visits, co-pays, prescription medications, and other health services skyrocket. Corn and soy are also used to feed cattle for the production of meat and dairy. In fact, 70 percent of the wheat, corn, and soy farmed in this country is used to feed animals used for our food. The world’s cattle alone consume a quantity of food equal to the caloric needs of 8.7 billion people — more than the entire human population on Earth!
So, when our government helps pay for these foods — well, of course they’re cheaper! That explains the low price tag. But what about the OTHER costs to you?

The Hidden Costs of Eating Poorly

We all know that bad foods are bad for your health. It turns out they are also bad for the national pocketbook. For example, one expert has estimated that healthcare costs related to obesity are $118 billion per year. That’s nearly 12 percent of total healthcare expenditures — and more than twice that caused by smoking! Seventy-two percent of Americans are overweight and over one third are medically obese. One in three children born today will be diabetic in their lifetime and the life expectancy of our population is declining for the first time in human history.

A report from the Worldwatch Institute called Overfed and Underfed: The Global Epidemic of Malnutrition documented the real costs of obesity related to poor diet — and this does NOT include the other effects of poor diet such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes, dementia, autoimmune diseases, and osteoporosis. Here were some of the conclusions of that report:

• Obese people account for a disproportionate share of health-related absences from work.
• Obesity accounts for 7 percent of lost productivity due to sick leave and disability.
• 7 percent of all of North Carolina’s healthcare expenditures are related to obesity.
• Obese people visit their physicians 40 percent more than normal weight people.
• Obese people are 2.5 times more likely to require drugs prescribed for cardiovascular and circulation disorders.
• Liposuction is the Number 1 form of cosmetic surgery in the US, with 400,000 operations a year.
• Over 100,000 people a year have gastric bypass surgery.

According to a recent study in The New England Journal of Medicine (i), we’re spending about $20,000 per person for each extra year of life gained from medical interventions like drugs and surgery … as if that’s something to be proud of!

That doesn’t even take into account the $282 billion in costs resulting from medical interventions that go wrong — hospital infections, medical errors, deaths from drug reactions, bedsores, or unnecessary surgeries.

And what if that $20,000 per year was given to each person during his or her lifetime to support better nutrition, lifestyle, and stress management? My guess is that we would save trillions of dollars in health care expenditures on chronic disease!

As these numbers prove, the costs of eating fast, junk, and processed foods are often deferred until later. And that’s the key point: When you go to McDonald’s for a cheap burger and fries, you might immediately compare that lower price to whole organic foods which are more expensive in the short term. But the total cost isn’t reflected in how much you pay for your meal in the immediate moment, it’s the cumulative cost of what those decisions cost you over a lifetime.

For example, when you eat unhealthy foods like these, the costs of medical visits, co-pays, prescription medications, and other health services skyrocket. There are other non-economic costs of eating poorly as well. You reduce your ability to enjoy life in the moment due to increased fatigue, low-grade health complaints, obesity, depression, and more.

The biggest advantage of eating well now is not just preventing disease and costs later, but simply enjoying each day to its fullest. You can make that happen. Eating well doesn’t have to cost more.
It’s true that there are very few, if any, subsidies for the production of produce or healthier alternative foods. And the same government agency that supports the production of the ingredients for junk food provides less than $300 million for education on healthy nutrition.

But change is in the air. Dean Ornish, MD, has shown that a program to teach people to eat better, exercise, and learn stress reduction can prevent heart disease and reduce the need for heart bypass or other treatments. Insurance companies are starting to take notice as some cover the costs for that program. Paying $5,000 for such a program now, Medicare has finally recognized, is better than paying $50,000 later for a cardiac bypass operation.

A number of us advocated last year that a “health council” be established to coordinate and develop national polices that create and support health for Americans. This was part of the health reform bill and the National Council on Prevention, Health Promotion and Public Health was created by executive order of the President in June. Drs. Dean Ornish, Memhet Oz, Michael Roizen and I, among others, have been nominated to be on a 25-member advisory council that helps guide the council. The council is made up of all the cabinet secretaries in charge of departments that in some way affect our health — agriculture, health, transportation, environment, trade, labor, and more — and will be chaired by the Surgeon General. This provides a way to influence national policies to support and create health — including our food and agriculture polices — for the first time.

The idea that you can save money by eating well is further supported by studies like the one published by the American Dietetic Association that shows eating well to lose weight is actually cheaper — or at the worst, no more expensive — than eating poorly! The authors of the study concluded that “adopting a lower-energy, nutrient-dense diet did not increase dietary costs over time. Consequently, cost should not be a barrier in the adoption of a healthful diet.”
That’s powerful evidence that eating well is not just good for your body, it’s good for your wallet, too!

Here are some ideas to get you started.

Four Tips to Start Eating Healthy for Less Today

1. Listen to Gandhi. Yes, Gandhi! He said that we should never mistake what is habitual for what is natural. Case in point: Some Chinese are very poor and yet they eat extremely well — small amounts of animal protein, with an abundance of vegetables.
2. Be willing to learn. We have to learn new ways of shopping and eating, new ways of ordering our priorities around our health and nutrition that supports our well-being, even if it is hard at the beginning.
3. Do your research. There are ways to find cheaper sources of produce, whole grains, beans, nuts, and lean animal protein. You just need to seek them out. It doesn’t all have to be organic. Simply switching from processed foods to whole foods is a HUGE step in the right direction.
4. Make an effort. Eating healthy does take more planning. It may require you to find new places to hunt and gather for your family. You might have to reorder your priorities regarding where you spend your money and your time so that you can make healthier eating choices.

Remember, eating healthy foods without spending a lot is possible-and you can do it.

Supportuning Your Immune System

How do you support your immune system toward the end of the year? No one likes to get a cold or flu. Recent research confirms many ways we can stay healthy. For example, studies have shown that people with vitamin D deficiency are 11 times more likely to get a cold or flu, while supplementing with vitamin D can reduce colds and flu by 42 percent.

 Below are some suggestions for staying healthy. There are many simple things you can do and some extra supplements you can take.

First let’s review the controversy over the flu vaccine and then I will share exactly what you can do and what to take. The guiding principle of functional medicine is personalized care, not the one-size fits all belief that everyone should have the same treatment. This applies equally to vaccines. There is risk and benefit to every medical treatment or procedure.

Here are the 2 important facts to consider when it comes to flu vaccination:

1. The Center for Disease Control recommends vaccination for high-risk groups, not necessarily everyone. The key groups that would benefit most from the vaccine are health workers with direct patient contact, pregnant women, care givers of children younger than 6 months, children and adults under age 24 and adults who have underlying medical conditions, such as asthma, heart disease, or diabetes. If that doesn’t describe you, you should think twice about having the vaccine.
2. The multi-dose vials of the vaccine contain mercury as a preservative. This is the majority of vaccines. If you are a pregnant or nursing woman you should insist on the single dose vial which does not contain mercury. Unfortunately there are a limited number of the mercury-free vaccines.

That is vaccination is only recommended for high-risk individuals. But whether you get vaccinated or not, it is critical to support your immune system through natural means to help you prevent the flu.

Remember; Let Food Be Your Medicine!

• Drink plenty of fluids, especially warmer fluids. With the dryer air inside and out, winter can be a particularly challenging time to stay hydrated! Consuming adequate fluids supports all your bodies’ functions including the immune system. Make soups and broths (with fresh vegetables is always best) and have them throughout the week. Drink herbal teas like ginger and echinacea daily. Keep a bottle of filtered water with you at all times. Avoid concentrated fruit juices and sweetened beverages, as the sugar content is harmful for the immune system. If you do drink juice, dilute it with 2/3 water!
• Try a daily saline flush. Along with staying hydrated, flushing your sinuses with mild salt water helps to keep mucous membranes moist which protects you from microbes. You can use a neti pot, or easy to carry plastic bottles that come with saline packets to take with you when traveling or even at the office! Be sure to rinse them well with warm water and soap and air dry between uses. Studies have also indicated that flushing one to two times daily is appropriate and you should not go over this.
• Avoid simple sugars as much as possible! This includes those sweet treats and desserts but also the white flour and refined grain products that turn into sugar quickly. Studies have shown that refined sugars can suppress your immune system for hours after ingested.
• Have protein with each meal. Proteins are the building blocks of the body. This includes your immune and detoxification systems. Organic, clean and lean animal protein as well as plant-based (legumes, nuts/seeds) proteins are important to get with each meal and snack.
• Add garlic, onions, ginger, and lots of spices (oregano, turmeric) to your meals! Add these to your soups and vegetable dishes, as well as bean dips and sauces. Garlic and onions offer wide spectrum antimicrobial properties.
• Eat multiple servings of colorful fruits and vegetables high in vitamins C, A, and phytonutrients that supports the immune system. Choose more leafy greens, cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, brussel sprouts, and cauliflower), peppers, sweet potatoes and squashes. Aim for three to four servings of fruits and four or more servings of vegetables!
• Get sufficient sleep! We all know sleep restores and heals the body. Without adequate sleep, optimal immune function is next to impossible! Get in a better rhythm and head to bed earlier on those dark winter nights. Aim for seven to eight hours a night. Incorporating various relaxation and breathing techniques throughout the day to help with stress and allow the mind to rest is also very helpful!
• Get regular exercise. Mild to moderate exercise (for approximately 30-45 minutes) helps boost immune system. Avoid overexertion such as training for endurance events when you are feeling run down. This will lower your immune defenses.

It is critical to support your immune system through natural means to help you prevent the flu.

Supplements for Adult Immune Support

Here is overview of the vitamins, minerals, and herbs you need and why they are important.

• Multivitamin/Mineral: This is the foundation for any health support regimen. It’s a good way to cover the basic vitamins and minerals your body needs for day-to-day function. If you aren’t on a good multivitamin you should get and stay on one. Look for a high-quality, broad-spectrum multivitamin and mineral.

• Vitamin D3: Adequate vitamin D status is critical for optimal immune function and this cannot be achieved without supplementation during the winter months. It is best to get your levels of 25 OH vitamins D checked for accurate dosing. Blood levels should be above30 ng/dl. However, optimal levels are probably closer to 50ng/dl for most. Many need 5,000 IU or more of vitamin D3 a day in the winter. Start with 2,000 IU for adults, 1,000 IU for children.

• Buffered Vitamin C: The role of vitamin C in supporting the immune system has long been known. Take 500-1,000 mg throughout the day with meals and snacks.

• Zinc citrate: You can take an additional supplement or consume more foods high in this powerful immune supporting nutrient. Seafood—especially oysters—red meat, and pumpkin seeds are the best food sources. Take 30 mg per day.

• Probiotics: A healthy gut flora supports a healthy gut, a major barrier against pathogens and integral to the immune system. Look for brands that offer several species of good bacteria and contain at least 5-10 billion organisms per capsule.

• Fish Oil (Artic Cod Liver Oil): This old time remedy for good health and robust immunity still stands true! In addition to the good fats, cod liver oil contains additional vitamin A and D for added immune protection.

• 1-3, 1-6 Beta Glucans: Research has shown that these compounds up-regulate the function of the innate immune system. This part of your immune system is the first line of defense against viruses and bacteria. It helps your white blood cells bind to and kill viruses and bacteria.

Note: Patients with autoimmune diseases should not take this.

• Natural Anti-viral/Anti-bacterial Herbs: Many herbs have broad-spectrum antimicrobial effects or immune-enhancing effects. Formulas contain different immune boosters such as astragalus, echinacea, green tea extract, elderberry, andrographis, goldenseal, monolaurin, various immune-enhancing mushrooms, and beta 1, 3 glucan.

• Cordyceps and Mushrooms Extracts: These provide immune supporting properties. Cooking with medicinal mushrooms like shitake is also helpful.

Save Your Life By Eating At Home

The slow insidious displacement of home cooked and communally shared family meals by the industrial food system has fattened our nation and weakened our family ties. In 1900, 2 percent of meals were eaten outside the home. In 2010, 50 percent were eaten away from home and one in five breakfasts is from McDonald’s. Most family meals happen about three times a week, last less than 20 minutes and are spent watching television or texting while each family member eats a different microwaved “food.” More meals are eaten in the minivan than the kitchen.

Research shows that children who have regular meals with their parents do better in every way, from better grades, to healthier relationships, to staying out of trouble. They are 42 percent less likely to drink, 50 percent less likely to smoke and 66 percent less like to smoke marijuana. Regular family dinners protect girls from bulimia, anorexia, and diet pills. Family dinners also reduce the incidence of childhood obesity. In a study on household routines and obesity in US pre-school aged children, it was shown that kids as young as four have a lower risk of obesity if they eat regular family dinners, have enough sleep, and don’t watch TV on weekdays.

We complain of not having enough time to cook, but Americans spend more time watching cooking on the Food Network, than actually preparing their own meals. In his series Food Revolution, Jamie Oliver showed us how we have raised a generation of Americans who can’t recognize a single vegetable or fruit, and don’t know how to cook.

The family dinner has been hijacked by the food industry. The transformations of the American home and meal outlined above did not happen by accident. Broccoli, peaches, almonds, kidney beans, and other whole foods don’t need a food ingredient label or bar code, but for some reason these foods—the foods we co-evolved with over millennia—had to be “improved” by Food Science. As a result, the processed-food industry and industrial agriculture has changed our diet, decade by decade, not by accident but by intention.

That we need nutritionists and doctors to teach us how to eat is a sad reflection of the state of society. These are things our grandparents knew without thinking twice about them. What foods to eat, how to prepare them, and an understanding of why you should share them in family and community have been embedded in cultural traditions since the dawn of human society.

One hundred years ago all we ate was local, organic food; grass-fed, real, whole food. There were no fast-food restaurants, there was no junk food, there was no frozen food—there was just what your mother or grandmother made. Most meals were eaten at home. In the modern age that tradition, that knowledge, is being lost.

The sustainability of our planet, our health, and our food supply are inextricably linked. The ecology of eating—the importance of what you put on your fork—has never been more critical to our survival as a nation or as a species. The earth will survive our self-destruction. But we may not.

Common sense and scientific research lead us to the conclusion that if we want healthy bodies we must put the right raw materials in them: real; whole; local; fresh; unadulterated; unprocessed; and chemical-, hormone-, and antibiotic-free food. There is no role for foreign molecules such as trans fats and high-fructose corn syrup, or for industrially developed and processed food that interferes with our biology at every level.

That is why I believe the most important and the most powerful tool you have to change your health and the world is your fork. Imagine an experiment—let’s call it a celebration: We call upon the people of the world to join together and celebrate food for one week. For one week or even one day, we all eat breakfast and dinner at home with our families or friends. For one week we all eat only real, whole, fresh food. Imagine for a moment the power of the fork to change the world.

The extraordinary thing is that we have the ability to move large corporations and create social change by our collective choices. We can reclaim the family dinner, reviving and renewing it. Doing so will help us learn how to find and prepare real food quickly and simply, teach our children by example how to connect, build security, safety and social skills, meal after meal, day after day, year after year.

Here are some tips that will help you take back the family dinner in your home starting today.

Reclaim Your Kitchen

Throw away any foods with high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated fats or sugar or fat as the first or second ingredient on the label. Fill your shelves with real fresh, whole, local foods when possible. And join a community support agriculture network to get a cheaper supply of fresh vegetables weekly or frequent farmers markets.


Reinstate the Family Dinner

Read Laurie David’s The Family Dinner. She suggests the following guidelines: Make a set dinnertime, no phones or texting during dinner, everyone eats the same meal, no television, only filtered or tap water, invite friends and family, everyone clean up together.


Eat Together
No matter how modest the meal, create a special place to sit down together, and set the table with care and respect. Savor the ritual of the table. Mealtime is a time for empathy and generosity, a time to nourish and communicate.

Learn How to Cook and Shop
You can make this a family activity, and it does not need to take a ton of time. Keep meals quick and simple.

Plant a Garden
This is the most nutritious, tastiest, environmentally friendly food you will ever eat.

Conserve, Compost, and Recycle
Bring your own shopping bags to the market, recycle your paper, cans, bottles and plastic and start a compost bucket (and find where in your community you can share you goodies).

Invest in Food
As Alice Waters says, food is precious. We should treat it that way. Americans currently spend less than10 percent of their income on food, while most European’s spend about 20 percent of their income on food. We will be more nourished by good food than by more stuff. And we will save ourselves much money and costs over our lifetime.

Curbing Late-Night Cravings

Does this sound familiar?

You wake up in the morning motivated to stick to your diet and exercise. You make it to the gym and have a great workout. You prepare and enjoy low-calorie, high-fiber, tasty meals. After dinner, you relax in your living room.

An hour or two later, your mind wanders off to the kitchen. You're drawn to the goodies therein. You imagine how wonderful a snack would be right about now... and why not? You were good all day, and just a little won't hurt...

Before you know it, you've gone way overboard.

I think we've all done it. But over time, those extra indulgences can really add up. Not to mention, it can do a number on your dignity and self-respect, which is never good for your emotional well-being.

The best defense against behavior we later regret is to prevent that behavior in the first place. Here are some ways to curb those late-night cravings.

- Try to imagine how you will feel after giving in. If you can remember the sense of regret from former lapses clearly enough, it might be enough to motivate you to steer clear. If you do lapse, write down your feelings right afterward to serve as a detractor in the future.

- Try to imagine how you will feel in the morning, knowing that you didn't overeat the night before. When you do succeed, write down how it feels to have made the right decision, and keep your journal handy. This, along with the tip above, are powerful motivators.

- When you're teetering between "cheating" and "being good," try to visualize yourself being successful.

How do you define success?

- Ask yourself: Is the pleasure I will derive from going off my diet greater than the reward I would feel if I didn't? What are the benefits of sticking to your plan? What would the consequences be for not sticking to it?

- Set up a reward system. For example, for each evening that you stick to your intended eating plan, schedule yourself a massage or buy a new workout top.

- Distract yourself with an enjoyable and/or productive activity. Read a novel. Plan your meals and workouts for next week. Take up scrapbooking. Scour the sink. Go for a walk. Call a friend. Organize those photos. Clean out your email.

- Otherwise engage your tastebuds. Chew sugar-free gum. Brush your teeth. Drink a tall glass of water or cup of herbal tea. If you truly are hungry, eat a piece of fruit or something similar.

I portion my calories in such a way that I can afford to eat a treat every night if I like, which is 150 calories or less. This way I don't feel deprived and end up binging. No one needs to eat perfectly 100% of the time, after all. I don't eat the treat every night though, only if I have a craving. However, if I don't have a treat one night, I do not bank those calories for later. I just let them go.

The Dangers of the Medical Industrial Complex

Doctors think they make decisions based on medical evidence.

But they don’t!

In fact, half of medical evidence is hidden from your doctors. And the half that’s hidden is the half that shows drugs don’t work.

The bad news is that drug companies are not policed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the way they should be. A drug should be proven both effective and safe before it is prescribed to millions of people.

Sadly, that often isn’t the case.

Let me share with you two recent examples that highlight the dangerous collusion between drug companies and our government agency. They show why the FDA should really stand for “Federal Drug Aid.”

First, we now know that the cholesterol-lowering drug Zetia actually causes harm and leads to faster progression of heart disease despite lowering cholesterol 58 percent when combined with Zocor.

This challenges the belief that high cholesterol causes heart attacks and shakes the $40 billion dollar cholesterol drug industry at its foundation.

Second, it’s come to light that nearly all the negative studies on antidepressants – that’s more than half of all studies on these drugs – were never published, giving a false sense of effectiveness of antidepressants to treat depression..

Do not blame your doctor, instead, blame deceptive scientific practices and industry-protective government policies.  Let’s talk a closer look at these findings and their implications.

When a drug company designs and performs a study, it has to be registered with the FDA and all the results must be submitted to the FDA.  But it doesn’t work that way.

Instead, the pharmaceutical companies only submit the data they want to get published to medical journals.  That means that any negative studies are hidden from the scientific community and from the public.

And when drug studies are sponsored by drug companies – as most are – they find positive outcomes at 4 times the rate of independently funded studies. This is also true for nutrition studies funded by the food industry that show the benefits of dairy or high-fructose corn syrup.

The FDA does not release this information.

Since drug companies fund most of the research in the world, other therapies that work better – such as diet and lifestyle or nutritional therapies – never get enough funding.

That was, it didn’t until 2004 when all the major scientific journals banded together and refused to publish any data from any drug study that did not list the results of all trials, either positive or negative, in a central database.

Well, that sounds good – but listing obscure, unpublished studies buried deep in a hard-to-navigate public database run by the National Institutes of Health is hardly visible public disclosure.

The research studies are at least listed, but try to find out the results.  After a few hours searching around on the website clinicaltrials.gov, I gave up.

Last year, Congress passed legislation expanding how much detail must be listed, but at the end of the day, who even looks at that?  Most doctors don’t even have time to read the medical journals they receive. They get tiny bits of information from drug reps, whom come to their office with free lunch and a sound bite about their drug.

They get slightly more information from researchers who are funded by pharmaceutical companies and present their findings at conferences sponsored by pharmaceutical companies, using presentations prepared for them by pharmaceutical companies.  Not exactly independent, evidence-based medicine!

Now let’s get back to the news about Zetia.  Zetia is a new drug that lowers cholesterol by a different mechanism than statin drugs like Lipitor and Zocor.

Why does this matter?

Well, doctors have been brainwashed to think that cholesterol is the cause of heart attacks even though half of all people who have heart attacks have normal cholesterol.  And it seemed like the statins, which lowered cholesterol, actually reduced heart attacks.

Seems logical. If you lower cholesterol, you reduce heart attacks, right?

No!

The reason statins lower risk is not because they lower cholesterol, but because they reduce inflammation.  In fact, studies by Dr. Paul Ridker of Harvard show that the risk of heart attacks was only reduced if inflammation was lowered along with LDL cholesterol – but not if LDL cholesterol was lowered alone.

So then along comes a drug that can be combined with statins to lower cholesterol even more. Great idea?  Not really.

You see, the FDA approved Zetia without any proof that it lowered heart attacks or reduced the progression of heart disease. The drug was approved solely on the basis that it lowered cholesterol.

Yet Zetia was given to 5 million people – and made the drug companies $5 billion a year. That’s almost $14 million a day!  And once Zetia was approved, its makers had no incentive to prove that it actually did what it was thought to do – lower heart attacks.

They dragged their feet doing the studies and then released the negative data (which they did only under pressure from news agencies and Congress) after a long delay. Wouldn’t you drag your feet too if you were making $14 million a day?

But the FDA had the negative data on Zetia – and it didn’t speak up.  The data that was withheld proved that Zetia did not reduce heart attacks but actually increased fatty plaques in the arteries despite lowering cholesterol.

Let that sink in for a moment.

That’s right: Lowering cholesterol led to more heart disease!

That turns our whole medical model upside down. It shows us that high cholesterol is not a disease and may or may not be related to heart attacks.

Another recent study put another nail in the coffin of the Cholesterol Myth.

A major new cholesterol drug, torcetrapib, was pulled from the pipeline in December 2006 because despite lowering LDL cholesterol and raising HDL cholesterol in 15,000 people, it caused MORE heart attacks and strokes. This was to be the new cholesterol wonder drug. Oops.

This points to a big research mess that is flawed in three ways.

First, what gets studied depends on who is funding it.

Since drug companies fund most of the research in the world, other therapies that work better – such as diet and lifestyle or nutritional therapies – never get enough funding.

Second, drug companies are aided by the FDA, which suppresses, hides, and doesn’t publish negative studies on drugs, only positive ones. This leads doctors to think they have all the evidence when they don’t.

Third, doctors, patients, and the media believe they have the whole truth, often until it is too late, like with Zetia or Premarin or Vioxx. The evidence was there, but no one looked or publicized it.  This makes it very difficult for consumers to get the best treatments for their health and the whole truth about drugs.

Here is  advice on how to make sense of things.

1. Follow the money. Look carefully at who funded the study. Be suspicious if it was funded by drug companies.
2. Call or email your congressperson or Senator to demand better legislation providing an easy-to-navigate database of all drug trials, with consumer-friendly summaries of both published and unpublished data submitted to the FDA so you can look up the drug you are prescribed and have a balanced opinion.
3. Don’t assume that drugs are the answer to your health problems. Heart disease is not a Lipitor deficiency but the result of your lifestyle interacting with your genes.
4. Learn to ask the question “why?” – and search for the answers. Dealing with lifestyle and environmental factors (the basis of UltraWellness) almost always works better for chronic illnesses. Drugs are there as a backup only if needed.

So take a closer look at the information you’ve been given about drugs. You might be surprised by what you find.