Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. Hopefully you had a great day and didn't eat too much! I have been working on my website which is why you haven't seen any new posts here for awhile. I will let you know when things are ready to go.

I am going to northern California next week to learn from Dr John Gray more about enzymes and getting the right ones and right amounts in order to keep our bodies healthy. I will be sharing this information with you, so you will have the opportunity to learn about this as well.

I have been using some of his products and what I found for Thanksgiving is that sugars just don't make me feel as well and hence I don't want to eat them. I did have my pumpkin pie, but it did not make me feel so great, so I'm don't feel the need to have more of it! This is a good thing.

Meals and Foods to Eat

I am not a believer in the food pyramid. Balance is important, but there are certain things that you should be eating. First of all you should be eating some form of protein with every meal or snack. Now a snack could include something like 5-7 raw almonds and a piece of fruit.

Whole grains are also important, you should be getting 2-3 servings per day. I'll talk more about whole grains later.

You should strive to hit 8-10 servings per day of fruits and vegetables. Vegetables are often a great source of carbohydrate plus other nutrients such as vitamins and minerals.

Women require more fat than men. I'll get into this more later. Look for fats that are not dehydrogenated. Your best source is from fish or olive oil.

How often should you eat

Eating three meals a day is essential. The old adage that the most important meal is breakfast is absolutely true. Here is the reason why. Our bodies were designed to withstand famine. So when you haven't eaten since the night before and you don't eat in the morning, the body thinks it is in famine. It will then store as much as it can when you do eat into the fat depots so that if the famine continues it has something in the store house. What this relates to today, is that we see ourselves gaining weight and saying things like "I only eat once a day!" There in lies the problem.

So eat at least three meals a day. They don't have to be 7 course meals, but those of you who are attempting to lose weight will do much better if you eat 4-6 meals per day. The in-between meal snacks can be things like fruit, plain nuts such as almonds, or raw vegetables.

Tip for Cold and Flu Season

As I flew home from LA, I realized that we are into flu and cold season. One of the things you can do for yourself and those in your family to help prevent spread and further infection, is to thoroughly clean your tooth brushes. You can actually put your tooth brush in the dishwasher and it will be sanitized. Now I would recommend that you check before you put the electric tooth brush in, but certainly standard tooth brushes can be put directly into the dishwasher.

Chocolate and your health

Eating chocolate or cocoa can actually be good for you. But before you run out and buy a box of chocolates, read on. Pure cocoa has a positive effect on blood pressure and glucose metabolism. The problem is that most people eat processed cocoa which contains hydrogenated fats, sugar, milk fats and diary cream. The actual amount of cocoa in these products is usually less than 20%, so you have lost whatever effect the cocoa might have had is gone.

Raw cocoa is not the yummy flavor that we think of as chocolate. It can have a bitter taste to it. So if you're going to eat raw cocoa you might want to mix it with berries to make it more palatable.

Anthocyanins and Inflammation

In any inflammatory process, enzymes are released that damage connective tissue. Anthocyanins neutralize enzymes that destroy connective tissue. Because they are powerful antioxidants, they prevent oxidants that get released when connective tissue is damaged. Anthocyanins also help repair proteins in the blood vessel walls, so that the vessels stop leaking and producing enzymes that cause the damage.

Due to their anti-inflammatory effect, anthocyanins also help to decrease allergic reactions. The exact effect on histamine and serotonin is not known.

Anthocyanins have also been found to inhibit the growth factor receptor in cancer cells.

Fruits that contain the highest and best types of anthocyanins are bilberry, blueberry, sweet cherries, cranberries and peaches.

Anthocyanins and Diabetes continued

Another effect of anthocyanins in blood vessels is that they relax the vessels. This relaxation of the blood vessels may assist in decreasing the mortality related to cardiovascular disease. It may also have some effect on blood pressure.

One of the things that also contains anthocyanins is red wine. You may have heard that red wine is good in moderation for cardiovascular disease in all individuals. The presence of anthocyanins in red wine is thought to be the reason why.

Tomorrow I will talk a little more about how anthocyanins work to reduce inflammation.

Diabetes and Anthocyanins Continued

Yesterday I spoke about these potent antioxidants. Anthocyanins not only help to stabilize the capillary walls, but they assist in making larger blood vessels stronger and have less atherogenesis. A more common term for this is "hardening of the arteries." In diabetics because of the damage caused by high blood sugars which make the blood vessels inflamed, the migration of white cells to the area occurs. There is also oxidation the low density lipoproteins (LDL) which result in plaques in the vessels. Oxidation of a plaque can make it break loose from the vessel wall and send it to one of the coronary arteries where it becomes lodged and causes a blockage of blood flow. You know this as a heart attack.

Anthocyanins interrupt this process by decreasing the inflammation of the vessels and also helps to prevent oxdation of the plaque that may already be there. So eating those cherries, berries, beets and red cabbage can assist you in preventing damage to your vessels.

I'll talk more about cnthocyanins tomorrow.

Diabetes and Anthocyanins

You're probably wondering what anthocyanins are and where or how do I get them. First of all, anthocyanins are very potent antioxidant flavonoids. You can find them in purple cabbage, beets, cherries, raspberries, blueberries, purple plums and purple grapes. They are responsible for the bright colors you see in theses fruits and vegetables.

Because anthocyanins are very potent antioxidants, they have a strong anti-inflamatory effect. This is particularly helpful in diabetics because of the problems caused by having high blood sugars which causes oxidative damage in the blood vessels. The oxidative damage caused can result in leaking of the microvascular vessels. This is how diabetics lose their vision. The vessels in the eyes begin to leak from oxidative damage from the elevated blood sugar. Anthocyanins help by stabilizing the capillary membrain so that leakage does not occur.

I'll cover more on this tomorrow.

Buckwheat in Type II Diabetes

One of the components of buckwheat is d-chiro-inositol. D-chiro-inositol is in our cell membranes and it helps the receptor sites respond to the components they are suppose to respond to. What this means for the diabetic, is that the insulin receptor sites will be enhanced by d-chiro-inositol. This enhancement allows insulin to more freely join to the receptor site allowing sugar from the blood into the cell. This in turn decreases blood sugar levels.

There is also some research ongoing to see if cholesterol levels can be reduced by d-chiro-inositol. In addition, women with polycystic ovary syndrome may find that it will assist them in getting pregnant. If there are those of you that would like more information about polycytic ovary syndrome, please send me an email and I can give you more information.

Cinnamon and Diabetes

There have been several studies done in diabetics using cinnamon. Using 1 Gram of cinnamon a day can actually decrease blood glucose levels. It does not cure diabetes, but the studies have shown that cinnamon does decrease blood glucose levels and may be helpful in diabetics who are out of control. Additionally, it can't hurt those who are not out of control.

Keep in mind that if you are going to use cinnamon, this does not mean mixing it with sugar to make it more palatable!

Type 2 Diabetes

After talking about diabetes yesterday, I realized that many people may not truly understand what type 2 diabetes is. So I decided today to put this in terms that you can understand what's happening in the body of a type 2 diabetic.

Most type 2 diabetics have been diabetic for 4-5 years at least prior to the time they are diagnosed. This is because you don't feel particularly bad, but damage is definitely being done this during this time. During this period, if we actually measured the output of insulin from the pancreas, what we would find is that the individual is actually putting out higher amounts of insulin than a normal individual puts out.

What happens is this. Think of the cell as a room and the hall way outside is the blood. For glucose which is carried in the blood to get into the cell (where it feeds the cell), insulin is required to open the door to the room. If the insulin - let's think of it as the key to the door - if it doesn't open the door because it doesn't fit quite right into the key hole, glucose cannot get into the cell and stays in the blood stream. Hence, the person ends up with elevated blood glucose or blood sugar levels.

The body in it's efforts to answer the cry of the cells for glucose increases insulin production. Now in the early stages, occasionally the insulin will unlock the door and glucose gets in but perhaps not as much as the cell needs.

This is a simplistic way to look at what is happening on the cellular level in the body. The polyphenols mentioned yesterday assist the insulin in fitting properly into the key hole and opening the door for the glucose.

Diabetes and Diet

I just heard about a family with 4 children, three of which are diabetics. This is a disease that is on the rise in this country very much due to our diets. I'm not going to give you a diabetic diet here, but I am going to make some suggestions about things you should eat and things you should avoid.

I want to mention some of the latest research on polyphenols. These are potent antioxidants found in green tea. They are also in black and oolong tea, but in lesser amounts. There is recent research that demonstrates that polyphenols increase the sensitivity of cells to insulin. In type 2 diabetes there is an increased insensitivity to insulin resulting in higher sugar levels in the blood.

So green tea in particular assists in increasing insulin sensitivity and thereby decreasing blood sugar levels. Now, a word of caution. Teas all contain caffeine and in come cases tea contains more caffeine than coffee. Caffeine in excessive amounts can result in impairing the metabolism of carbohydrates and actually increasing blood glucose levels. So caution is needed here. There are sources of green tea that are decaffeinated. However, investigate what process was used, because most tea that is decaffeinated is done with a high heat process and this actually destroys the polyphenols, so you lose the benefit of the tea.

Poison Sumac

I just returned from northern Wisconsin and was reminded that in addition to poison ivy and poison oak, there is poison sumac. Poison Sumac is beautiful red in the fall and with a hard freeze there, it started to turn.

With any of these, the oil from the plant is the problem. If you know you have been exposed, wash the area with just plain cold water as soon as possible. If the oil bonds with the skin, this is when the reaction occurs. You need to wash the skin off as soon as possible. While the reaction usually does not occur until 24-48 hours after exposure, you need to wash the area in the first hour after exposure.

Some home remedies which will help with the itching are using a baking soda paste on the areas of the itch. You can also use distilled white vinegar to relieve the itching.

Poison Ivy and Poison Oak

A word of caution regarding treatment of poison ivy and poison oak. I found that some references recommend the use of bloodroot. I would not recommend blood root for the treatment of poison ivy or oak.

Bloodroot contains morphine like alkaloids which will attack fast growing cells such as tumors. The primary action is to seal off the tumor and other things are required in order to destroy the tumor itself.

Stay with nature's cure for poison ivy and oak and that is jewelweed.

Poison Ivy

Trusting you all had a great Labor Day holiday. I mentioned in the last post that jewelweed grows near poison ivy. Jewelweed is nature's cure for poison ivy and poison oak. Nature provides for us the remedies to the ills presented by something else in nature.

Jewelweed will inhibit the itching and blister formation that occurs with poison ivy and poison oak. Having once suffered from poison ivy, I understand how uncomfortable that can be. Unfortunately, I did not know about jewelweed as a child and got to suffer with the itching and blistering and breakdown of the skin. Not a fun experience.

You can learn to recognize Jewelweed in the wild and if exposed to poison ivy or oak, take a stem and break it and put the liquid from within the stem of the exposed area. In most cases this will alleviate the outbreak before it starts.

Treatment for eczema

I believe that something from nature is always better for us. The biggest problem with eczema is that our skin is itchy and red. Itching probably is the most annoying factor. There are a couple of naturally occurring plants which can provide relief. One of them is Yarrow (achillea Millefolium) used by native Americans and also by the ancient Greeks to calm irritated skin and for it's healing powers. Achilles was supposed to have used Yarrow for it's healing properties. You may know Yarrow by other names such as Old Man's Pepper, Soldier's Woundwort, Milfoil, knight's Milfoil, Herbe Militaris, Thousand weed, Bloodwort, Staunchweed or Carpenter's weed. Form the names you get the sense that this botanical has been used for wounds for many years.

The second is Jewelweed (impatiens capensis). This was also used by native Americans to sooth and calm the skin. Jewelweed often grows nears poison ivy. It is nature's cure for poison ivy and lives in the same area. It gets it's name because the leaves are water-repellent and when it rains the water beads on the leaves and looks like sparkling jewels. It is also one of the main ingredients in Preparation H - hmmm soothes and calms itching and irritated skin! I wouldn't recommend Preparation H for eczema though because of the petroleum base. Remember skin needs to breathe.

If you would like more information about where to find these particular botanicals in usable form for eczema, send me an email and I will give you the information.

Eczema

Just a word about eczema today. This is a condition that many people suffer from and usually get a prescription for steroids or triamcinolone which on a short term basis helps, but long term makes the condition worse.

In case you're not clear about what eczema is or what it looks like, it is a red scaly appearing rash, usually near a joint or over a joint area. I have seen some of the worse cases cover the entire lower leg. These cases are usually ones in which the patient was given triamcinolone as a prescription and while this takes the red and rash away initially, if used for more than a week to 10 days, makes the rash worse and it spreads.

The most important thing to do for eczema is to keep it moist with a good moisturizer. This in and of itself may not be enough. Oh, and when I say keep it moist, I mean apply the moisturizer at least 4 times a day. This is not an easy feat for most of us.

There are some other things that will help eczema which are naturally occuring in nature. I will write more about this tomorrow.

Skin and Soaps

The skin is fairly acidic in nature. Therefore, use care with soaps which tend to be alkaline in nature. These alkaline soaps can be drying to the skin. To test your soap you can use a simple litmus paper to see if it is more alkaline or neutral. Use special care when using soaps on the face. My recommendation is don't use your bath soap on your face because it can damage the skin by not being acidic enough.

Sun Allergies

Some of you may have actually sun allergies. This is when the exposed to the sun and the skin does burn, you have intense itching of the area that is burned. You make also see swelling of the burned areas. Do not use any cortisone creams on the area. Yes, it will relieve the itching, but it also dries the skin out even more and can lead to more itching.

You can use benadryl cream, but only for a short time, like a day or two. This will help stop the histamine release and decrease the itching. I would also use a good moisturizer as I mentioned before several times a day to keep the skin moist.

As you can see, I have been gone most of August. I just returned from a trip into the mountains. We had a rather overcast day which was warm enough for shorts and we were down by the lake for about 3 hours. Because the ambient air was cool, one doesn't think of sun screen, but there we were applying our sun screen. The people nearby us looked at us a bit skeptically until we pointed out they were getting a bit pink.

Just a word again about altitude. Use lots of sun screen and especially if you are around water. The refraction of the sun off of the water can give you a pretty severe burn in no time. So what if you get burned, what do you do?

First and foremost, do not put butter or oil onto the burned area. This keeps the heat in and the tissue will continue to burn. Aloe will help take the burning away, but you should also use a good moisturizer frequently on the skin. You actually lose moisture from the skin when it gets burned and you want to replace that and help it to heal.

Keeping Skin Moisturized - Good and Bad Oils

I mentioned previously that oils found in skin care products may not help the skin. One of the most common found in skin care products which actually block pores and can dry the skin out is mineral oil. It is inexpensive and makes the lotion go on smoothly, but it has a petrolatum base which blocks pores and does not allow the skin to breathe. If you see petrolatum or mineral oil in a product, this would not be the best thing for your skin.

When you read labels get familiar with the oils which are actually emollients which help the skin by increasing water levels and act as a natural barrier on the skin surface. Some of these emollients which come from nuts or plants are; Shea Butter (Butyrospermum Parkii), Babassu oil (Orbignya Oleifera), Jojoba Oil (Simmondsia Chinensis), Kukui Nut Oil (Aleurites Moluccana), and Evening Primrose Oil (Oenothera Biennis). Again be reading those labels

Moisturizing Your Skin

One of the things that happens to us as we age is our skin tends to dry out. If we are in arid or very dry climates, it tends to be worse. My suggestion is that you use a good moisturizer that contains humectants and either stearyl or cetearyl alcohol to give your skin the most moisture you can.

The best time to apply the lotion is right after you shower. Don't completely dry the skin, leave it a little bit damp. Then as you apply the lotion you are give the skin a little extra moisture. This will help keep the cells healthy and give your skin a soft appearance.

In the aging process, the keratin level in the skin drys out. As this happens, you will see the eruption of the keratin. It will appear as a light brownish spot that is raised and has kind of a firm or hard crust. There are usually many of these on the body. They should be looked at by a health care professional to be sure they are not cancerous lesions. Most likely they are what we call keratoses and it's just that keratin level eruption on the skin surface. They usually don't go away once you have them, but you can help prevent them with the application of lotion at least 2-3 times a day to keep the skin well moisturized.

Moisturizers and Alcohol

I mentioned the other day about reading the labels. You may know to look for alcohol as an ingredient in hand and body lotions and moisturizers. You should also know that alcohols have different molecular weights. Now I know that's probably of no interest, but what should be of interest is that alcohols like Cetearyl Alcohol actually act similar to humectants in that they hold water in the tissue because of their molecular weight.

If a label just says alcohol or ethyl alcohol then the alcohol is a drying agent because it evaporates quickly and when it does, it takes water away from the tissue.

So be sure to read the label to see if there is a specific type of alcohol listed in whatever moisturizer you plan to use.

Moisturizing Your Skin

If you've been out in the sun or you live in a dry climate, you will want to be moisturizing your skin with good moisturizing lotions. Be sure to read the labels. The first thing to look for with any lotion is whether it has humectants in it. Humectants are molecules that have an affinity for water. They actually will pull water from the air into the molecule. As you apply this to your skin, it pulls water into your skin which is what the skin needs. It is a misconception that oils moisturize the skin. Oils block pores and don't allow the skin to breathe. If you think about it, tanners use oils to dry out hides of animals. Not all oils are bad and I will address that later.

Humectants that you can look for on the label are glycerine, propylene glycol, glyceryl triacetate, sorbitol, xylitol, maltitol, polydextrose, quillaia, lactic acid, urea, sodium PCA, and hyaluronic acid.

Humectants not only moisturize the skin but they also work to maintain the nature moisture found in the skin. So look for them in your lotions.

Sun at High Altitude

I just returned from the Seminar of the Century in Snowmass, Colorado. It's about 9,000 feet above sea level there and I spent 3 days on the mountain sitting in the hot blazing sun. I started on the first day to apply sunscreen every 2 hours. While I did not burn, I did discover a few spots I had not covered very well. So on the second day I started applying the sunscreen every hour. On the third day there was a hazy overcast - not the clear intense sun of the previous 2 days, but probably more serious situation for burning. I continued to apply sunscreen every hour and excaped without being burned and damaging my skin. I was also wearing a hat and realized on the second day that I needed to apply extra sunscreen to the lower half of my face. The reason was the angle that we were sitting and the direction, early in the day the sun was still hitting the lower part of my face. While I did not burn, there is one more bit of advice I would give you. Be sure to keep the skin moisturized well after such types of exposure. I may not have burned, but I did dehydrate the skin and it requires moisture. When you moisturize, use something that is water soluble not oils. I will speak more about that tomorrow.

Tanning Beds

While many of you may have been told that tanning beds were safe, they are not as safe as you may think. The problem with getting sunburned is that we damage our skin with free radicals from the sun. The damage that occurs actually happens within the cell at the DNA level. The DNA chain is damaged when hit by the free radical. Your immune system has to fix that damage. Most of time the immune system is able to fix it. However, when it is unable to fix it you have damaged cells which may mutate and end up being cancer cells. It makes no difference whether those free radicals are generated by the sun or by a tanning bed, the effect is the same.

My best advice is to not use tanning beds. Sunscreen is your best bet to protect yourself from free radical damage.

Hot Sun and those over 65

Those of you who are over 65 are probably pretty good about using sunscreen or keeping yourselves protected with hats and clothing. The issue for you is not that you don't use sunscreen, but it is one of being aware of how sunscreen my interact with medications you are taking or applying to your skin. You should also be aware that your skin may have increased sensitivity to the sun because of the medications that you are taking.

Hot Sun and Teens

Sunscreen for teens is very important. Their skin may be more sensitive to the sun because of acne medications. When prescription acne medications are used the skin becomes more sensitive and may burn more easily. But it isn't just prescription medications that could lead to a problem. There are other skin care products over the counter which make the skin more sensitive to the sun. The best prevention is to use sunscreen every 2-3 hours.

Hot Sun and Infants

Infants less than 6 months of age should be protected with clothing and kept in shaded areas. Sunscreen should not be used on these little ones. For infants greater than 6 months, sunscreen should be used with caution until they are at least 1 year of age. As a rule of thumb, until they are walking freely, they should be protected with shade and light clothing.

Hot Sun in the Summer Time

We all know to wear sunscreen when we're out in the sun. Here a few things to keep in mind about sunscreens.

While many brands of sunscreens are available, the active ingredients work by absorbing, reflecting, or scattering some or all of the sun's rays. Most sunscreen products contain combinations of ingredients.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration requires sunscreen products to carry a sun protection factor rating on their labels. We know this as the SPF. This number tells how well the sunscreen protects against burning. Supposedly, the higher the number, the longer a person can stay in the sun without burning. This is not the case. To be safe you should reapply the sunscreen every 2-3 hours, no matter what the SPF is. You should be using at least a SPF of 15 and even very fair people can use a an SPF of 30 and reapplied every 2 hours they will be safe.

Be sure to read the instructions that come with the sunscreen. Some need to be applied as long as 1-2 hours before sun exposure. Others should be applied 30 minutes before exposure.

Apply sunscreen liberally to all exposed parts of the skin, including the hands, feet, nose, ears, neck, scalp (if the hair is thin or very short), and eyelids. Take care not to get sunscreen in the eyes, as can irritate the eyes. I don't recommend using sunscreen on the eyelids if you tend to perspire a lot. You will end up with lots of sunscreen in your eyes and have lots of eye irritation. Better to wear sunglasses to protect your eyelids. Protect the lips with a lip balm that has a sun screen in it. No matter what the sunscreen says, always reapply it after swimming or being in the water.

Cloudy days can be some of the worse days for skin damage to occur. Be in the habit of always wearing sunscreen so that your skin stays protected. Living here in the state of Colorado we are exposed to sun at higher elevations. While it might not be as warm around us, the damage from the sun is intensified. Wherever you are be aware that some surfaces reflect the sun's rays, such as sand, water, concrete, or snow. I know, snow isn't a summer problem unless you are at altitude!

We tend to be more aware of fair individuals developing a sunburn, but the truth is that all people are subject to skin damage from the sun and should be wearing sunscreen - darker skin tones can still burn.

Enjoy the sun and the beautiful out doors, but protect your skin.