Stem Cells and 10 Illnesses

I just read some more information about another illness that stem cells may be able to help, so I thought I would put together my top 10 list of illness.

Probably one of the illnesses more in the lime light are spinal cord injuries. Last year, researchers started looking at the effects of stem cells on spinal cord injury patients, with hopes that these individuals would regain some feeling and use of their extremities.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Someone remarked to me recently that there seems to be an epidemic of obstructive sleep apnea and she wondered why. To me it seems obvious, because one of the leading causes of sleep apnea is obesity.

With the increasing weight of Americans, you should expect to see more sleep apnea. Yes there can be problems with tonsils and other related causes, but the number one thing is weight. Many people who lose weight stop having the sleep apnea issues.

Potential Symptoms of Ovarian Cancer Part 4

The last thing to watch for is pressure or pain. Sometimes this is very subtle, but if you are experiencing any kind of discomfort in the stomach or pelvic areas, you should be checked out. Especially if you have any of the other symptoms I've talked about over the last 4 days.

While these symptoms can relate to many problems which are easily treatable, discovering ovarian cancer early is essential in terms of optimal treatment.

If you're not sure, see you health care provider and let them evaluate what is going on.

Potential Symptoms of Ovarian Cancer Part 3

The third thing to watch for is a sense of urinary urgency. Now this is also related to a urinary tract infection, so it is definitely something to get checked out. As we age, women have less of the traditional signs and symptoms of a urinary tract infection as they did at younger ages.

If you don't have a urinary tract infection, someone needs to be checking for why you are feeling the urinary urgency. An ovarian tumor as it grows puts pressure on the bladder and causes that sense of urgency.

Potential Symptoms of Ovarian Cancer Part 2

The next symptom to watch for is similar to bloating, but is really an unusual feeling of fullness. This usually occurs during meals that you have a sense of feeling full faster than usual.

Be aware of this and get it checked out.

Potential Symptoms of Ovarian Cancer

Sometimes I think I need to make you aware of subtle symptoms that may indicate that you have a problem. Over the next few days I'll be giving you some symptoms that you should be aware of and see medical attention should they occur.

First of all is bloating. It is easy to write this off to something you ate, but if it happens more often than not, get checked for an ovarian problem. Fluid from ovarian tumors can start to build and a sensation of bloating occurs. Many women can write this off to a few pounds of weight gain, but listen to what your body is saying and get it checked out.

What to Drink?

I just saw another article about what we should be drinking. I have said this before, but it is still worth repeating. Get rid of those sodas. If you're drinking regular sodas or diet sodas, it does not matter. The regular sodas cause weight gain and are definitely linked with Type 2 Diabetes and heart disease as well as any other disease that is a result of obesity.

Diet soda really do not help you lose weight. In fact you may gain weight drinking diet sodas because they increase your appetite, so you end up eating more. Not to mention the fact that you are putting artificial sweeteners, flavors and other chemicals into your body.

You best bet - good old water.

Omega 3 Protects Us Part 5

The last disease I will talk about is one that millions of us have or suffer from, and that is arthritis. For those of you suffering from rheumatoid arthritis, there are some studies that show less morning stiffness, pain and swelling.

Because the omega 3s work as an anti-inflammatory, it is easy to understand why they would be helpful in arthritis. Any disease whose basis is inflammation will be subject to at least some improvement with the use of omega 3s as a supplement or in foods that you eat.

Exercise and HDL

One of the things that I have recommended to my patients for a long time is that exerecise can actually help increase your good cholesterol. For those of you who are concerned about cholesterol levels, look at your HDL - that is the most protective lipid in the body.

And yes exercise does help raise the HDL levels. The higher these levels the better.

Omega 3 Protects Us Part 4

Are you one of the millions of people who have high blood pressure (hypertension)? If so, you should be on an omega 3 supplement. Omega 3 has shown a moderate improvement in blood pressure. This seems to be somewhat dose related in that the higher the dose of omega 3, the more the benefit to the blood pressure.

Omega 3 Protects Us Part 3

I will mention this, although if you have read this blog much you will know that I do not believe that cholesterol is our problem. The problem is inflammation.

But to be specific about cholesterol since it has been beaten into our heads, omega 3 has been studied a great deal in relation to cholesterol. While the omega 3s don't work specifically on cholesterol, they have shown a reduction in tryglycerides which is a fat related to cholesterol and heart disease.

Omega 3 Protects Us Part 2

The first disease I will talk about in relation to the omega 3s is heart disease. As you know, omega 3 is a power anti-inflammatory. So it is not surprising that studies have shown a significant decrease in the number of sudden death from heart disease in those individuals that take an omega 3 supplement. In fact, in one study of 11,000 people talking omega 3 supplements, there was a 45% decrease in the risk of sudden death from heart disease.

It is pretty well accepted today that if you are at risk for heart disease because of family history or for any other reason, you should be taking an omega 3 supplement. You can also get omega 3 from fish, but you need to eat wild fish not farm fish. Of course my favorite is salmon.

Omega 3 Protects Us

We hear a lot about how much fat we need to lose, but lets talk about the fat we need to live. The omega 3 fatty acids are essential for us to live well. Why omega 3 is so important is that the body cannot make it on it's own. We have to eat it. The food supply being what it is today, we get more omega 6 which we don't need - these are the bad fats when we get them excessively.

You may have seen the ads on TV for the new "prescription" omega 3 fatty acids. Don't buy into that one. If you get a good brand of omega 3 you can do it over the counter. This is the drug companies putting it in a bottle and expecting that you will pay more for it.

Over the next few days, I will talk about various diseases and the effect of omega 3.

Melanoma Risk Part 7

Lastly, keep your immune system strong. A weakened immune system is not always able to protect you from melanoma. Remember that the immune system helps ward off cancers and is killing cancer cells every day of our lives so that they can take hold in our bodies.

Melanoma Risk Part 6

While I talked about different climates yesterday, you need to keep in mind that some of the northern climates like areas in Canada have increased risk because the ozone layers have developed holes. So sunburn increases the risk. A high intensity sun burn that causes blisters really increases your risk of melanoma significantly.

Melanoma Risk Part 5

Where you live also plays a part in the risk for melanoma. Those who live in sunnier climates are more likely to develop a melanoma. Places like Floriday or Arizona tend to increase your risk just because of the amount of sun each day. If you live in Michigan, or Pennsylvania your risk is decreased.

Melanoma Risk Part 4

The next risk factor has to do with your complexion. If you have fair skin, you are more likely to develop a melanoma than someone with darker or olive skin. The melanin in darker skin helps protect you from the sun.

Melanoma Risk Part 3

Have you ever had a mole removed that was "precancerous"? You should know what the pathology of the mole is. If the pathology report showed a dysplastic nevus you are at increased risk to develop a melanoma.

Melanoma Risk Part 2

The next risk factor for melanoma is freckles or moles. If you have lots of moles or freckles, you may have an increased risk of developing melanoma. This is particularly true if the moles or freckles are large.

Are You at Risk for Melanoma?

Are you even worried if you are at risk? First you should know that melanoma is the most deadly of skin cancers. It's not as common as basal cell or squamous cells cancers, but melanoma is the one to fear the most.

I'll be going over some of the risk factors over the next several days.

First is history. If you have ever been diagnosed with a skin cancer - any skin cancer you are at increased risk for melanoma. Additionally, if a parent or sibling has had a melanoma, your risk increases even more.

Control Your Health Part 3

Today I'm going to talk about hypertension or high blood pressure. It's estimated that over 70 million Americans have this disease. Some are being treated and there are a great many who have no idea that their blood pressure is elevated. First and foremost, get it checked, know what your numbers are.

Then you can begin to manage it. Even if you don't know your numbers, assume that you have it and begin to take care of yourself. First thing is to reduce your salt intake. The end of June I did a series on salt. Go back and take a look at those posts for more information. Avoid the prepared or processed foods as well as foods that are just naturally salty.

Reduce the saturated and trans fats in your diet. the trans fats are mostly in processed foods.

Avoid excessive alcohol which elevates the blood pressure.

Manage your stress through exercise, meditation, better sleep. Ask for support from your family and friends.

Lastly, but should be the first thing that you do is to control your weight. Losing just 5% of our body weight can have a significant impact on the blood pressure. Eat lots of greens, fruits and vegetables. Specific foods that are helpful for blood pressure include avocados, cantaloupe, broccoli and kidney beans.

Control Your Health Part 2

Yesterday I talked a little about Diabetes. Today I want to talk about gastroesophageal reflux (GERD). Because of our increasing weight in this country, we are seeing more and more of this disease. What it causes is persistent heart burn and indigestion.

The first thing is to lose weight - see yesterday's post - all that is there on losing weight pertains to this disease as well. There are a couple of other things you can do to take control here. Cut down on caffeine and alcohol intake. Both of these will make the symptoms worse.

Eat so that you have 3-4 hours before you go to bed. Eating and immediately lying down will make the symptoms worse. Try to stay up right after eating for at least 2 hours.

Eating smaller more frequent meals will also help. If you eat a big meal you are more likely to feel the symptoms increase, due to the increase pressure in the stomach from all the food.

Lastly reduce your intake of fatty foods and chocolate. Both of these will relax the sphincter that is between the stomach and the esophagus which will allow more acidic stomach contents to come up into the esophagus and cause a burning sensation.

Control Your Health

If you've been diagnosed with a disease such as diabetes, gastroesophageal reflux, or hypertension (high blood pressure), take control and don't let the disease control you. You can change your outcome by taking control of your life instead of letting the disease take control of you.

Let's talk about diabetes first. I'm specifically going to talk about type 2 diabetes. The first and the most impact on taking control of this disease is to lose weight. The first step in losing weight is to look at what you're eating. You want to lose about 10% at least of your body weight. The heavier you are, the more you will want to lose. Don't turn to some diet plan, learn to eat sensibly and avoid that foods that will make the diabetes worse. Sugar is not always the enemy. Simple carbs like bread, pasta, and rice are by far worse enemies than sugar. You want to get your carbs from fruits and vegetables. Foods to focus on are beans, nuts, vegetables and fruit. Be sure that you get some protein with every meal. Your first bite should be of protein so that the pancreas begins to create insulin in the right amount to help you utilize the calories you will be consuming.

If you must have dessert, make it a piece of fruit - that is the best dessert ever!

Strength Training #2

A little more about endurance versus strength. Muscle are made up of different fibers, two of which are what are called fast twitch and slow twitch.

Fast twitch fibers can exert a great amount of force (needed for muscle strength). However, these fibers lack endurance, they fatigue easily. Just to give you the idea, someone who is a competitive power lifter, can lift a weight so heavy that only 1 rep can be performed.

Slow twitch fibers are those needed for endurance. While these fibers are not capable of exerting a great amount of force, they can sustained repeated contractions over a long period of time. An example of the use of this fiber is the long distance runner, or someone who is lifting a very light weight and can do a very high number of reps.

So the bottom line is to vary your exercise routine - one day use lighter weights and go for endurance. The next time use heavier weights and go for strength.

Strength Training

I'll be giving your a few tips about strength training over the next few days.

To get the most out of your workout, more is not necessarily better. To obtain the best results in strength training, chose a weight that fatigues the muscle by the time you reach the end of the set. The higher the number of repetitions the greater the muscular endurance, while the lower the number of reps the more strength is gained.

My formula for a simple set is to start with 12 reps, wait 1 minute then do 10 reps, wait 1 minute then do 8 reps, wait 1 minute then do 6 reps, wait 1 minute then do 24 reps. At the end of the 24 reps the muscle should be fatigued if the weight if heavy enough.

Top Antioxidant Rich Foods

Here are 10 of the best antioxidant rich foods - start incorporating them into your diet.

1. Blackberries
2. Blueberries
3. Strawberries
4. Walnuts
5. Artichokes
6. Cranberries
7. Raspberries
8. Pecans
9. Cloves
10 Coffee - yes but see my other posts about coffee!

Happy Fourth of July

Enjoy the day - eat good things and celebrate safely!

Give up the Soda Pop

I was just at the store and watching what people were buying in preparation for the fourth of July. I almost got sick when I saw people buying case of soda pop. I was reminded how so many people who are trying to lose weight say to me "but I drink diet soda." My question to them is why? What is the nutrient value of soda pop - zilch, zero, none, nada. It doesn't matter whether it's diet or regular. What you're getting is either sugar or chemicals that taste like sugar, carbonated water which leaches the calcium out of your bones setting you up for osteoporosis later in life, more than a healthy dose of caffeine depending upon what brand you are drinking and oh yes, you get that other chemical artificial flavor!

Why or why would you put that stuff into your body?? The other thing that dieters may not be aware of is that diet soda can actually increase your appetite, so that you eat more. Go back to the basics - water, it's good for you!

Back Pain Good Habits to Get #7

Avoid high-impact exercise like running, softball, rowing, basketball, and tennis. All of these sports increase the pressure on the back and the musculature which can increase the back pain. Once you have resolved your back pain, you can return to these exercises, but do it gradually. If the pain returns, give up that exercise - it is not going to be right for you!

Better yet is to start walking or use low-impact machines like a bike or elliptical trainer. Another thing that will help is to work on the musculature in the core of the body. Crunches and reclined leg lifts will help strengthen the back muscles and take the strain off of the spine.

Back Pain Good Habits to Get #6

If you are lifting things, lift with you leg muscles. Not sure why this is italicized today, but that's technology!

So lift with your upper legs. Squat to pick something up and then come up from the legs not the lower back. Do not bend to pick up things.

You can also use a three point stance if you're picking up something that you can hold in one hand. Using a table or solid object that will not move, place one hand on the object, as you bend at the waist, lift the opposite leg straight out behind you. (hold the solid object with the left hand and lift the right leg out straight behind). Pick up the object with the free hand.