Question:  I read the article in your October ZINE, “Your Doctor Works for You.” Recently I developed a problem of pain and sciatica in my lower back and have been working with a physical therapist. Although with her suggestions, an antiinflammatory diet and a supplement regimen of my own creation – lots of vitamin C, 2 Cell Repair and 2 Curcumin, each 3 times a day, and proteolytic enzymes – my pain was well managed, but the underlying condition didn’t seem to be getting better. When she suggested that I consult with Dr. S, an apparently well-respected MD at a hospital clinic here in Des Moines to get her take on what was causing the problem, I remembered the ZINE article. For the past twenty years I’ve avoided conventional doctors, but I thought maybe I should be more open-minded and perhaps learn something from this doctor. So I approached the experience in that spirit. Before the appointment I was sent a 10-page questionnaire concerning my problem, which I dutifully completed, d…

. . . catechins make the difference Green tea (and its even healthier cousin, white tea) is already known for multiple health benefits, most of them having to do with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory polyphenols called catechins. Numerous studies have shown that green tea is protective against heart disease, cancer, osteoporosis, and a host of other health problems, and that it promotes detoxification and weight loss. Recently researchers in China reviewed all the randomized controlled trials that have been published to date on green tea/green tea extracts and glucose control and insulin sensitivity in humans. They concluded that green tea significantly reduced fasting glucose in those whose blood sugar was too high; reduced hemoglobin A1c (a long-term measure of blood glucose control), especially in subjects at risk for metabolic syndrome; and lowered fasting insulin concentrations.  The higher the catechin content the better the results were. Our green and white teas are hi…

. . . and why proponents are on the right side of this consumer rights debate Saturated fat 3 g, Trans fat 1.5 g…best if used by 31 Aug 2013…processed in a facility with products that contain egg, soy, shellfish, and tree nuts. We’ve come to expect these kinds of statements on our food labels. Yet there’s one listed in over 60 other countries that you won’t find in the United States. An ingredient label stating, “contains genetically modified organisms” (GMOs). While we’ve repeatedly warned of the significant health dangers of genetically engineered (GE) foods, a movement to mandate labeling of all GMO foods has been slowly building momentum. The past several months, consumers like you have voiced your concern at the grocery store and ballot box. Now, both food industry and your state representatives are on notice to stop the lies and get on the right side of GMO labeling. Separating GMO labeling fact from fiction The food industry claims GMO labeling would only confu…

. . . think again! Consumers in search of weight loss and blood sugar control often turn to toxic artificial sweeteners for help. But a new study indicates this is a poor strategy. Sucralose, also known as Splenda®, impacts glucose metabolism in ways you might not expect. After non-diabetic obese individuals who don’t normally consume artificial sweeteners were given either water or a drink sweetened with sucralose, it was noted that the sucralose group had about a 20% higher rise in blood sugar, 22% more insulin, a 7% decrease in insulin clearance, and a 23% decrease in insulin sensitivity. Even if it didn’t affect blood sugar, Splenda is not something you want to be putting into your body. Sucralose is a toxin, and about 15% of what we consume ends up stored with other toxins in our fat cells. Splenda causes symptoms like skin rashes, shortness of breath, tissue swelling, headaches, runny nose, itchy and bloodshot eyes, diarrhea, bloating, heart palpitations, joint aches,…

. . . our freedom to buy nutritious food is on the line It’s healthiest to consume nuts raw. At high temperatures, enzymes are killed and fats are corrupted and made toxic. But when you buy “raw” almonds these days, you’re probably not getting what you think. With few exceptions, which we’ll talk about later, “raw almonds,” even organic “raw almonds,” are now pasteurized with heat or chemicals. This is due to a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) regulation that has been in force since 2007 at the request of the California Almond Board (almost all almonds grown in the US are grown in California). Although heat pasteurization (steaming, blanching or roasting) is bad enough, chemical pasteurization is worse. The chemical generally used is propylene oxide, a toxin that has been classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as a possible carcinogen and has been banned by the European Union, Canada, Mexico, and many other countries. There are now only…

There are dangerous chemicals lurking in your tap water. Chlorine, fluoride, nitrates, heavy metals, microorganisms, radiation—these and  thousands of other toxins come to us courtesy of our own government, landfill and agricultural runoff, industrial chemicals, nuclear disasters…to name a few. Now, one familiar toxin is making headlines across the country again. A new study by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) indicates an alarming number of water taps contain the live bacterium Legionella pneumophila. Chemist Maura Donohue and colleagues at the EPA collected over 274 samples from 68 public and private water taps across the U.S. They found that nearly half of all taps—including kitchen and bathroom sinks, drinking fountains, and refrigerator dispensers— contained traces of L. pneumophila in at least one sample. Even worse, 11 of those contained the bacterium in multiple samples! What are my chances of getting Legionnaires’ disease? Legionella pneumophila…

. . . how drug companies now control medical science When it comes to statins, there is such a vast discrepancy between public perception, including perception in the medical community, and the truth that one wonders how it is possible.  However a book was published ten years ago that offers an explanation. Overdosed in America: The Broken Promise of American Medicine. How the Pharmaceutical Companies are Corrupting Science, Misleading Doctors and Threatening Your Health was written by a family doctor on the clinical staff at Harvard Medical School named John Abramson. In it, he shatters the illusion that we can trust traditional sources to supply accurate “scientific” information that we can use as consumers to improve our health. In an interview, Dr. Abramson explains: . . . [We] think that medical knowledge is produced and disseminated in order to improve our health . . . [but it] is produced and disseminated in order to maximize corporations’ return on investment. And I…

. . . making the case for using clean water in preparing food for consumption Most water is unfit for human consumption. You may recall the EPA coming down hard on the Marine Corps base at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. Or, how the U.S. Council of Environmental Quality reported that cancer risks of people drinking chlorinated water are 93% higher than those who don’t. Plus, toxins from landfill and agricultural runoff, sewage, industrial chemicals—even radiation from Japan’s 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster—continue to show up in our water supply. Role of water in food health Thus, it’s no surprise that water plays a big role in the quality of the foods we eat. In fact, whether you grow your own produce or buy from a local farmers’ market or grocery store, your food comes into direct contact with numerous water sources. Crops are irrigated…animals are hydrated…and some foods are grown entirely in water (aquaponics). Plus, foods are washed, rinsed, canned, cooked, and…

For most mothers, it’s all about family. You sacrifice daily to ensure loved ones are well cared for and healthy. If that’s you, we applaud you for the miracles you work to make your family stronger, safer, and healthier. The world is a better place because you take care of loved ones. Yet, who takes care of mom? So for all your selfless acts—and with Mother’s Day right around the corner—we wanted to give you some healthy ways to indulge on your big day. Whether it’s your first or fiftieth—or, if you’re a loved one looking to treat your mom—here are 11 ways all moms can feel better this Mother’s Day. Sleep in. Moms are notorious for trading sleep for other priorities. Unfortunately, the health effects of poor quality sleep is cumulative. So, treat yourself to a full night of sleep. Exercise detox. Today’s the perfect day to cleanse your body by working up a sweat. If you’re just starting out, take it slow…move to some music…then be sure to shower off to complete your detox.…

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nearly 1 in 10 U.S. adults experience depression. Of those, 1 in 4 encounter serious difficulties in functioning day-to-day. Depression is the most common mental health problem facing older adults. Those who suffer say it makes chronic disease conditions—such as arthritis, asthma, heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and obesity—feel much worse. To minimize the negative impact on quality of life, mental health experts generally recommend medication to treat depression. They say in some cases, like those of severe depression, it can save lives.Yet, the benefits of depression medication are often exaggerated. In fact, recent studies like the Antidepressant Drug Effects and Depression Severity published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) indicate that people with mild to moderate depression taking antidepressants don’t get any more relief from their symptoms than those taking a placebo! If that we…

By now you’ve heard eating certain foods can be essential for creating beautiful, healthy-looking skin. Foods like avocados, green tea, broccoli, olive oil, tomatoes, walnuts, and beans all contain important skin nutrients—like polyphenols, vitamin E, carotenes, omega-3s, proteins, and more—that help firm up skin, slow down cellular aging, break the cycle of oxidation and inflammation, and speed up the healing process. Skin health becomes even more critical as you age.In fact, we’ve shown how your skin is a window to your overall health and we offered some timeless tips to start implementing an effective daily skincare regimen, but skin health goes much deeper than physical wellness. Consider the emotional impact of skin health in your life Let’s “face” it. The first thing other’s see—and what you see in the mirror each day—is the complexion of your skin. When your skin looks dull and wrinkly, you get discouraged. When it looks smooth, youthful and radiant, you become elated w…

The toll of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) on our nation is enormous and growing.Roughly 5 million American seniors age 65 and older are living with AD and that number climbs to around 16.5 million (about 1 in 3) for those 85 and older. Worse, Alzheimer’s cases are expected to more than triple by 2050. Alzheimer’s disease is a result of progressive brain cell death, causing memory loss and cognitive decline. While physically debilitating, an even bigger threat is the accumulated stress AD places on the finances, relationships, and independence of its victims and their families. New evidence also shows that women may be bearing the brunt of this debilitating condition. The burden of Alzheimer’s and its impact on women According to a new report released last month from the Alzheimer’s Association, AD takes a disproportionate toll on women more than men. In 2010, the Alzheimer’s Association partnered with Maria Shriver and The Shriver Report to conduct a groundbreaking poll explorin…

Seeing blood in your urine (doctors call it “hematuria”) can mean different things. Most often in women it’s due to a urinary tract infection. But it can also be caused by kidney stones, bladder stones, or, in men, a prostate infection. And, according to an article in the Johns Hopkins newsletter, Health After 50, 10% of those who report blood in their urine have bladder cancer. This is especially true after the age of 55. But doctors seem to be dragging their heels in referring women with hematuria to a urologist to be tested for bladder cancer compared with men. This was found in Great Britain in a study published in 2013 in the British Medical Journal.  In 2008, similar results were found here in the US. In the British study, 27% of the women reviewed had to see their doctor three or more times before being referred to a urologist compared with 11% of the men, even though clinical guidelines in England say patients with hematuria should be “referred urgently” to a urologist. I…

Vitamin D continues to impress as an important protective nutrient. Previous research linked this amazing nutrient to reduced risk of heart disease, bone fractures, depression, and more. Now, a research team at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine has confirmed the important role vitamin D plays in helping women survive breast cancer. Vitamin D doubles a woman’s chances of surviving breast cancer Led by Professor Cedric F. Garland, the team analyzed five separate studies investigating the presence of the activated form of vitamin D (25-hydroxyvitamin D or 25(OH)D) in the blood. The research included data from 4,443 breast cancer patients who had their blood levels tested upon diagnosis and at periodic intervals over the following nine years. Then researchers compared women with high blood serum levels of 25(OH)D averaging 30 nanograms per milliliter (ng/ml) or more to those with low levels of 17 ng/ml or less, which is the current average for breast cance…

You may have heard that overuse of antibiotics has created dangerous “superbugs” that no antibiotic drug can tame or about people losing hands, feet, legs and arms to these “flesh-eating” superbugs. Could you get attacked by one? It’s possible. But maintaining a strong immune system can keep you safe from harm. In 1947, just four years after penicillin was mass marketed, a common bacterium, found on the mucus membranes and skin of about 1/3 of the population, called Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) was found to be resistant to it. That is, someone got a staph infection, and a health practitioner gave them penicillin expecting it to make short work of the critter . . . but it didn’t. Oh-oh. Methicillin then became the antibiotic of choice. But an S. aureus was found to be resistant to methicillin in 1961. Oh-oh again. This time the resistant strains of S. aureus were called methicillin-resistant S. aureus, or MRSA. Vancomycin became the next antibiotic of choice; the first vancomyc…

With warmer weather, grilling fish and meat outside is a great way to enjoy the fresh air. But there’s a catch: high heat used in grilling reacts with proteins in the meat to form cancer-causing toxins called heterocyclic amines (HCAs). The longer these proteins are cooked, and the higher the temperature used, the more HCAs develop. This is one reason why people eating high meat diets get more cancer. If that’s not bad enough, fat dripping into fire produces another cancer-causing compound, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Smoke dense with PAHs gets into lungs and also coats the meat being cooked. Fortunately, you can greatly reduce HCAs and PAHs and the damage they do: Trim fat. This reduces the formation of PAHs as less fat drips into the fire. Use smaller, thinner cuts of meat to reduce cooking time. Flipping burgers once a minute versus only once reduced cooking time in one study by 1.8 minutes, and cut HCAs by more than 11-fold. Score thicker cuts of meat…

According to a recent article in the New York Times, each year more than half a million Americans get a metal mesh tube called a stent inserted into a clogged artery to push back arterial plaque, allowing for better blood flow. A stent can save your life during a heart attack, but it will not prevent a future attack. Yet nine out of ten patients who choose to have stents inserted believe that they do. And, despite the evidence, many cardiologists share this mistaken belief and recommend stents for patients with stable heart disease. In an editorial written for the American Heart Association journal, Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, Michael B. Rothberg, MD, MPH, of the Cleveland Clinic, explains that the belief that stents prevent heart attacks is based on an outmoded picture of coronary artery disease as the slow build-up of arterial plaque until it comes to completely block an artery. “Although the image of coronary arteries as kitchen pipes clogged with fat is sim…

Olive oil is good for us. Studies have shown that olive oil is an especially healthy food that is good for the heart, protects against cancer, reduces pain, lowers blood pressure, protects against oxidative damage, prevents gallstones, protects against ulcer development, controls cholesterol and protects against cognitive decline. The road to getting healthier includes incorporating natural olive oil into your diet. So you probably have some “extra virgin” olive oil in your cupboard that you use to make “healthy” salads. But what if you found out that your olive oil was a sham—a fake food designed to fool both regulators and the public, made from a mixture of olive oil and processed sunflower, soy or hazelnut oil? That it wasn’t healthy at all; in fact it wasn’t any better or less toxic than the processed supermarket oils you must avoid. You’d probably be pretty angry about it. Well, if you don’t already know about the olive oil scandal, be prepared to be outraged. One of the…