Two More Foods To Help With Flu

The other two foods that help with flu are Lemons and Garlic.

Garlic stimulates the production of infection fighting white blood cells and sharpens their viral killing instincts. All you need is 2 cloves a day.

Lemons help to maintain and restore the proper pH balance in your system. Four Tablespoons of lemon juice can help maintain and internal climate where healthy bacteria thrive and the harmful bacteria and viruses do not. Also, fresh lemons are a bright fruit which is loaded with antioxidants.

Foods That Help Fight The Flu

If you're looking for ways to combat the flu, today and tomorrow I will share with you four foods that can help. Of course eating healthy is what it is all about.

First of all, increase your antioxidants by eating lots of colorful fruits and vegetables. The brighter and more vibrant the color, the better. Antioxidants are key to immune system health and its ability to ward off disease. Get at least 5-6 servings a day.

Second in the line up of things to eat is yogurt. Be sure to get the kind that is live culture and has the good bacteria in it. These good bacteria actually strengthen the immune system. The other thing about yogurt is that it can help alleviate diarrhea, prevent yeast infections and improve overall health.

I'll cover the other 2 foods tomorrow.

More tidbits on Herbs

Turmeric helps prevent joint inflammation, especially that associated with rheumatoid arthritis. Turmeric is also felt to slow the spread of prostate cancer.

Rosemary helps protect brain cells from the aging process and can also protect against cardiovascular disease.

I've written more about some of these herbs previously. Just look under the herb to see what else is good about them.

Good Herb Snippets

Here are some good things about a few herbs.

Cinnamon can help in numerous ways. Cinnamon lowers cholesterol, but more importantly it reduces blood sugar and slow the proliferation of cancerous cells in people with leukemia.

Sage was studied at the University of Georgia and they suggest that sage can prevent tissue damage caused by high blood sugar and offers some protection against cardiovascular disease.

Parsley contains Vitamin C, iron and is a good source of flavonoids, which help protect cells from cancer.

Nighttime Eating

Here are some more tips to curb nighttime eating.

Get your hands busy. Often times we turn to food if we are bored or lonely. There are a couple things you can do here. Take a walk, sign up for an evening class, take a bubble bath, or call a friend. Find a hobby. Something that will keep the hands busy, like knitting, journaling, puzzles, or sewing.

Go for liquids like a glass of water or a cup of tea instead of food. If you have to chew something, try some gum.

Clean out the pantry. Get rid of the chips and cookies and have fresh fruit and vegetables on hand.

Eat dinner later. Watch portion sizes and keep it healthy.

Go to bed early. You won't be eating if you're sleeping!!

Are You A Late Night Snacker?

Are you one of those folks who raids the kitchen every night? Here are some hints to help you control eating in the evening.

Clean your teeth right after dinner. If you brush with a mint toothpaste, this can signal the brain that you are through eating for the day and reduce cravings for treats. If it helps, you can repeat it several times a night.

Close up the kitchen. After dinner, put away all leftovers, clean up, shut any doors and turn out the lights.

Don't starve yourself. If you eat healthy meals throughout the day, this helps curb the hunger at night. Also, you can set out a healthy snack like a small handful of nuts and an apple to eat before going to bed.

More tomorrow.

Warding Off Winter Colds

Some of you will not be surprised and some of you will not want to hear how to ward off winter colds. This is based on research from Appalachian State University. They found that people who do moderate exercise on a regular basis are less likely to get colds and if they do the symptoms are usually mild and last for a shorter period of time.

There is a flooding of natural cells that help find and kill viruses about 3 hours after you workout. Now the workout does not have to be a heavy workout. If the exercise is too heavy, it may actually suppress the immune system function. A gently walk for 1 hour is great.

Benefits of Butternut Squash

A great treat in the fall is butternut squash. It is packed with nutrients that help you stay well.

Beta-carotene is present in the squash and your body converts this into Vitamin A. This helps your body ward off skin disorders, age related vision loss and even leukemia.

Smoking creates a Vitamin A deficiency which can lead to emphysema. Eating food rich in Vitamin A can reduce the chances of developing this disease.

The other powerful piece about butternut squash is that it contains potassium and fiber. This is an excellent source of potassium - better than bananas. It also contains folate which helps prevent heart disease.

So get some butternut squash!

Digestive Distress Home Remedies

Here are a few home remedies for common different digestive issues.

To prevent gas, drink 1 teaspoon of olive oil on an empty stomach each morning. Not only will it help alleviate the gas, but the olive oil is rich in fats that your body requires.lemon mixed with a pinch of salt in 8 ounces of water. After meals you can try a teaspoon of honey.

To prevent constipation and achieve regularity, drink 2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar in 8 ounces of water twice a day.

Heartburn - a word of caution, this may be a heart problem, so if you try this and it doesn't work, seek medical attention. If you have a history of heartburn, you can try drinking the juice of 1/2 fresh lemon and a pinch of salt in 8 ounces of water before you eat. After meals, try a teaspoon of honey.

Stomachaches - again, a word a caution, this may be a more serious problem, but if you are uncomfortable and want to try it, mix 1 teaspoon of baking soda with 4 ounces of water and drink. Usually in a minute or two, you will belch and feel better.

Vinegar and Blood Sugar

I've been asked if vinegar helps to lower blood sugar. Yes it does help lower blood sugar. The problems is that it is not the thing that you necessarily want to be drinking. The first thing is to be sure that the vinegar, whatever the type is 5% acidity. You should be able to see this on the label.

The best way to get it in, is to use it as a salad dressing. If you mix it with a little olive oil, you will get the benefits of the olive oil and the vinegar. Balsamic vinegar has the same benefits fi the acidity is there and is actually quite tasty as a salad dressing.

Tips For Stopping Smoking Part 4

Lastly, be aware of the symptoms of withdrawal. Some of these are grumpiness, restlessness, irritability, hunger, headache, anxiety, and drowsiness or insomnia. Write them down and be aware when you're not feeling your normal self. Look at the list, do any of them fit?

Before you start, write these down and devise a plan for how you will deal with it. If you're feeling grumpy, hungry or have a headache, eat some low calorie snack, like a small handful of nuts. In the early days of quitting, you may want to have some hard candy to suck on to keep the mouth busy or try chewing gum. Have a plan in mind before you start.

Tips For Stopping Smoking Part 3

Before you start, identify some activities to help yourself. These are activities that will make you feel good, healthy and energetic. For some of you it may be exercise, for others it will be something else, but think about what activities make you feel good, healthy and energetic.

Write them down and keep the list handy so that you can refer to it. Especially in the early weeks of quitting.

Tips For Stopping Smoking Part 2

Now that you have made the decision to stop smoking, set yourself up for success. Work with other family members who smoke and friends who smoke to join you in quitting. For your home, you will need to make it a no smoking zone. This may difficult if you have family members who smoke in the house. That's why it's critical to get them to join you in the decision to quit.

People who were successful at quitting, had smoke free homes. If others are smoking in your home, the likelyhood that you will succeed is very slim.

Tips For Stopping Smoking

Over the next couple of days, I will be giving you some tips to stopping smoking. You might be interested to know that there are actually more ex-smokers in the US than there are smokers today.

In my practice, I found that those who were successful in quitting, did it by quitting cold turkey and not relying on any smoking substitutes. Here are some of the things that helped them be successful.

First and foremost, tell your family and friends about your plan to stop. Set a quit date and let them know what that date is. This is really your decision piece, but by sharing it, you are letting all know what your decision is.

Picking The Right Exercise Class Part 4

I have 2 more tips for picking a class. Look for more than one class. Switching up your routine helps increase your body's ability to burn fat, and also keeps your interest going as you won't be doing the same thing every time.

The other thing that is helpful is to bring along a friend who is about at the same level as you are. When you're checking out a new class, this can be helpful to get your friend's take and take away the intimidation factor of checking out a new class.

Picking The Right Exercise Class Part 3

The next tip in picking an exercise class right for you is to determine the impact level that is right for you. If you have not exercised in some time, start out with a low impact class. Your goal should be to increase your impact level to high, but don't start there if this is your first class.

Also, consider your personality type. The loud, upbeat aerobics class may not fit an introvert as much as an extrovert. But don't be afraid to try something. The extrovert may be fitted more to the loud, upbeat aerobics class, but the quiet peaceful yoga class may be more what is needed.

Try something totally different, or something that seems intimidating to you such as belly dancing, spinning or yoga. These classes are often designed with everyone in mind so that your level of fitness is accomodated by the class. You may be surprised at what you like. Remember, if you really don't like it, you don't have to go back!

Picking The Right Exercise Class Part 2

I started talking about picking the right exercise class yesterday. Here is another thing you can do so that you find the right one for you.

Talk with the instructor. Find out what the fitness goal of the class is. Is it toning, weight loss or working on specific body parts. Also find out what the pace of the class is. Some classes will be more intense on some days and less intense on others. See if you are a fit with the instructor. If you don't like the instructor for some reason, this class is not for you. Look for an instructor that is a fit for you.

Picking The Right Exercise Class

Some of you may feel that you need to join an exercise class in order to regularly exercise. That's perfectly alright. The problem is that many times you don't actually ever get started because there are 25-30 different classes and you don't know which one you should join. Here are some things to help you make a decision and get started.

First, observe the class. Ack the instructor if you can stand in the back of the class and just watch. This will give you a better idea of what happens in the class. You can also talk with some of the participants after the class. Ask them how to get through that first class if you think this may be a fit for you. If it is not a fit, just leave and observe a different class.

More tomorrow.

Green Space and Health

I just read an article on green space and health. It was a large study done in Holland and looked at the health, not as individual's feelings of health, but rather on diseases present. They found that those who had green space around them such as parks were less likely to have disease present.

One of the most significant pieces was that those with green space around or near them were 90% less likely to have anxiety and depression, which we know accounts as the basis for most disease.

So find some green space near you!

Lifestyle Changes For Diabetics

If you have diabetes or you need to decrease your blood sugar, lifestyle changes are better than the medications. You may still need to take medication, but altering your lifestyle can make a huge difference.

The first and most important change you can make is to begin to exercise. You don't need to go out and buy a gym membership, although if that will motivate you to go, then by all means do it. You can do simple exercises at home, or just walk every day for 60 minutes nonstop. You'll be amazed at how much this helps.

Secondly is to watch what you eat. I'm not saying to go on any rigid diet. I'm saying, watch portion size, always have protein with every meal and eat 3 meals a day at least. Not such rigid and hard guidelines to follow.

Diabetes Epidemic - Are You Part Of It?

I get asked lots of questions about diabetes. Rightfully so, diabetes is at near epidemic proportions in the US. Let me first say that it is not a sugar problem. It is a vascular problem with insulin. You can feel perfectly normal or maybe a little tired with elevated blood sugar levels. The problem here is that by the time you find out your blood sugar levels are high, irreversible damage has been done on the inside.

Risk factors for diabetes are obesity, sedentary life style, family history, and poor eating habits, you should get checked to see if you have diabetes. This does not even require a trip to the doctor. Go to the pharmacy and get a blood glucose monitor. The pharmacist can show you how to use it.

Fast for 8 hours and check you blood glucose (best is to do this over night) in the morning before you eat or drink anything. If your result is less than 100, that is great! It's normal. If you are 100-125, you really need to start looking at what you're doing in your life and start addressing those risk factors. If you're higher than 125, you need to see your doctor. Medication may not be required but lifestyle changes are a must.

Happy Thnaksgiving!

Happy thanksgiving to everyone!

Have a wonderful day relaxing and enjoying your turkey, the football games, or whatever is your Thanksgiving Day passion.

As for me, I will be enjoying the football games, eating turkey and pumpkin pie!

Workouts With Instruments

I mentioned yesterday my workout with the tower bells in the City and County of Denver building. One of the workouts was our tour up to the top of the tower to actually see the bells. We had to walk up several flights of stairs and a small ladder to get into the bell tower. I realized coming back down what a great workout that had been.

If your thing is shopping during this holiday season, consider walking around the mall one more time before you make your purchases. It's a great way to get a little exercise in while you're shopping. Also, remember to park as far out in the parking lot as you can. Just adds a little more walking and gives you some physical activity which is a good thing!

Playing An Instrument Can Be More Than A Mental Workout

We all know that music is really about our inner being. So playing an instrument can be not only good for that inner being but also for the physical being as well. I have played the piano since I was 6 and played handbells for the last 18 years. While I didn't always expend a lot of energy playing the piano the mental energies were always beneficial.

In playing handbells, I often work up a sweat if the music is challenging or difficult or if I am ringing a lot in quick succession. I was playing with a small group the other day and we were working on a fairly difficult piece and I found myself removing my sweater, so I know I was burning a lot of calories even though I was not moving my legs.

Well now I have a new challenge and a new way to exercise with bells. I am being given the opportunity to ring the big bells in the top of the City and County Building in Denver between Thanksgiving and Christmas. There are only 10 bells, but I figure it will be a good workout!

Hints For Maintaining Your Weight During the Holidays Part 4

Here's another tip to avoid eating more. Get plenty of rest. Sleep is critical for you to produce leptin, which is a hormone that helps increase your satiety. In other words, you feel satisfied with less food.

If you are sleep deprived, your body produces ghrelin, a hormone that tends to make you hungry. So your tendency when sleep deprived is to eat more because you feel more hungry.

So get lots of rest!

Hints For Maintaining Your Weight During the Holidays Part 3

We've all heard of vegging out, but most of us think about that as just laying around in mindless inactivity. What I mean by vegging out here is not the same. You guessed it, go for the veges. Be careful though. The dips and sauces that often accompany veges can be very detrimental. Go for the raw veges and avoid the dips. Savor the flavor of the vegetable itself. Another thing is to look for the fruit. Hopefully there will be some fresh fruit on the table which is also and excellent choice to make.

Again it will be easier to do this if you have had something to eat before you go to the party.

Hints For Maintaining Your Weight During the Holidays

I have mentioned this before, but again as we head into the holiday season and the parties and goodies that will be around, one of the most important things you can do is keep your plate small. The smaller your plate, the less food you will consume.

Research has demonstrated that on average, if you use a smaller plate you will decrease the number of calories by about 142 per meal. Now that may not sound like much, but over a year of 3 meals a day, this results in about 44 pounds of weight gain.

Also, before you go to a party eat something at home, like a bean soup or salad with beans in it. By the time you get to the party, you will not have the urge to eat everything in site.

Some Do's To Help You Stay Trim

As we move into the holiday season, people are always looking for ways to not gain another 10, 15 or 20 pounds during the holidays. Over the next couple of days, I'm going to give you some suggestions to help you not over eat and go crazy with food over the holidays.

My first suggestion is to eat more fiber. Fiber mixed with protein will give you a feeling of fullness much more quickly than if you are eating rice, pasta or breads. A good choice is to eat beans such as lentils, pinto, kidney, black, navy, or garbanzo beans. Beans naturally contain protein and fiber which slows mealtime digestion, so it takes fewer calories to fill you up.

Keep in mind that as you eat, you are actually "full" long before your brain tells you that you are full.

Fitness Mistakes #3

The third biggest mistake in exercising is not paying attention to form. Slopping your way through your exercise regime is not going to help you. You may not be able to do the exercise perfectly, but attempt to follow the very best form that you can.

If you rush through a set of exercises, muscles are likely to get strained and then you're not getting the benefit you want. It is far more important to concentrate on quality and not quantity. Straining your neck while doing crunches is not what you're hoping to accomplish and your neck is not even the area you are working on!

Fitness Mistakes #2

One of the things you need to do in your exercises is variety. Some people call this cross-training. If you do the same set of exercises every day, over and over, the muscles may become strained from overuse.

Vary your routine and try some new things so that you get a well rounded workout. The very best thing to do is to be sure that you have not only a cardio workout, but also strength training.

Fitness Mistakes #1

Over the next 3 days I will be giving you the 3 most common fitness mistakes. The number one mistake is forgetting to warm up or cool down. Have you ever just started to work out without really warming up first. The result is usually not something you feel immediately, but can lead to being sore later on.

The other thing that warming up does is it gets the muscles ready to work. If you don't warm up first, you may end up with a serious injury because the muscle wasn't ready to work yet.

The cool down is equally important. Stretching out after you exercise helps the muscles relax. Be carefully with stretching. You need to be doing it correctly, or you can injury yourself. Just stretch gently, do not bounce or force the stretch.

Healing Power Of Sleep

We do need our sleep. But there is a lot of controversy out there as to how much sleep do we need. The youngest among us need the most. Toddlers need 12-14 hours of sleep a day. School age children need 10-11 hours per day. Teens need 9-10 hours per day. Adults need 7-9 hours per day.

Sleep is important to our health. Usually when you come down with a cold, you have had some sleep deprivation. But there is research that has shown a decrease in sleep may add to the body's overall inflammation, increasing the risk for heart disease and stroke. Getting just 1 extra hour of sleep can decreases the risk by 33%. So you can see how important sleep is to us.

Give your body a rest, if you can't get your 7-9 hours a night, take a nap or 2 during the day.

Birth Control Pills and Muscle

If you're on birth control pills and trying to build muscle, you might want to consider the following. Researchers found that women taking birth control pills had higher levels of catabolic hormones which tend to destroy muscle. The anabolic hormones are the ones that build muscle. Women not taking the pill and put through identical 10 week courses of resistance training added more than 60 percent more muscle mass than those on the birth control pill.

So if you are working on building muscle and not seeing much result, are you taking birth control pills?

Vitamin D and Asthma

I just read a study about Vitamin D and Asthma. The upshot of this research was that kids who had higher levels of vitamin D tended to have less asthma treatment needs. Indicating that Vitamin D does make a difference in the immune system. Two of the markers that indicate immune activity, IgE and eosinophils were both lower in the kids who had higher levels of Vitamin D.

So how to we get it? The best way is to spend some time in the sun. Not hours but 15-20 minutes a day is enough to begin to replenish the body's Vitamin D requirements. You can also get it in Vitamin D fortified milk, fatty fish and fish oils.

Hooping Your Way To Health

Were you one of those kids that had a hoola hoop back in the 60's? If not, you may remember seeing them and some of you may have seen them more recently. The hoops today are a way of exercising, meditating and staying in shape.

The hoops today are bigger and heavier and afford a great workout with a little music. It really is a form of dancing which is great exercise as we all know. The hoops can be used on the waist, the chest, legs, arms, and hips. The movement is great and as you get into the music, you can put yourself in a meditative state.

Some Last Thoughts On Portion Control

Curb your appetite. Before a big meal, eat a salad or broth based vegetable soup. If you do this before you go to have the big meal, you will have a feeling of fullness much sooner and will tend to eat less.

Eating out - here are a couple of things for when you eat out. Ask for a lunch size portion of a dinner entree. Share whatever you order with a friend. My husband and I have found that the portions are so huge now in restaurants, that we do much better just ordering one and sharing it.

Ask for a takeout container or doggie bag when you place your order. When the order comes, place half of it in the container before you start eating.

Lastly, on eating out, steer clear of the "All-You-Can-Eat" buffets. If possible order off of the menu.

Portion Control

Another thing to do for portion control is to use smaller plates. If you have a smaller plate and it is full, you will have a sense of eating the right portion. If you have a big plate, you will want to fill it.

Another thing is the utensils. Use small spoons for gravies and heavy sauces and big spoons for vegetables. This way you will get more of the vegetables and less of the things that are not as good for you.

More to Control Portion Size

Slow down!! Eat more slowly. Most of us eat until our brain tells us we are full. The problem is that we have probably had 2-3 times as much food as we need by the time our brain says we're full.

Take sips of water between bites. Take time to really enjoy what you are eating. Pause before you take seconds and ask yourself if you really need that second helping. Think about it for a few minutes and have another sip or two of water. If there are going to be leftovers, put them away before you start your meal after you have dished up. This will make it more of an effort to go get seconds.

Better yet is to cook so that there will not be left overs. Then the temptation for seconds is removed.

Limiting Portion Sizes

Yesterday I started to talk about controlling portion sizes. Here are a couple more tips on controlling portion sizes.

Read the label. How much is actually one serving? Sometimes what we think is one serving is actually 2 or 3 servings.

Put left overs into single serving size containers. This will help you limit that next portion instead of grabbing the entire leftover and eating what may be 3-4 portions.

Ways to Control Portion Size

Here are some tips to help control portion sizes. Start out with half of your usual portion of your favorite foods. Then substitute vegetables and fruits for the rest of your portion. This is a great place to start.

Try to avoid the big snack bags of chips and cookies. Either buy the smaller pre-portioned sized bags, or if you buy the big bag, as soon as you get home, immediately divide the bigger bags into single serving plastic bags.

Shellfish

Yes, shellfish are good for you. Shellfish have gotten a bad rap because they are said to contain too much cholesterol. If you have been reading this blog for any length of time, you will know what I think of the cholesterol myth. While they do contain cholesterol, shellfish also contain lots of omega 3 fatty acids and are actually low in fat.

My husband was ecstatic when I told him he could really eat shrimp and not worry about the fat or the cholesterol. He wasn't so ecstatic when I told him, that was the sauces and butter that he had to watch a little more carefully. He's happy with the boiled shrimp and low cal cocktail sauce.

Other shellfish that are great for the same reasons are mussels, scallops and oysters.

Memory and Mood

Thinking happier thoughts will help your mood. Yesterday I mentioned movement as part of memory.

Here's something for you to ponder. If you put a pen or pencil in your mouth and hold it with your teeth, the facial muscles are utilized in the same way as when you're smiling. If you hold the pen or pencil with your lips, the facial muscles are ina downward or sad place. Smiling makes you think happy positive thoughts. Frowning or a sad face makes you think sad or negative thoughts. Think about this the next time you put your pen or pencil in your mouth.

More On Improving Your Memory

I mentioned yesterday that going for a walk can improve your memory. If you are learning something, walking can help you not only clear your mind, but then add some movement to help you remember what you are learning. Create a hand gesture that you can relate to whatever it is you are learning.

Repeating the hand gesture will help you remember.

Improving Your Memory

I get asked by many of my older patients if I think they are getting Alzheimers Disease. Usually it is because they have forgotten somethings. But the bottom line is that if they are asking the question, they don't have it.

Most of us have experienced times when we have forgotten something. Or have you ever been at work and you suddenly just can't seem to think any more, your brain is in a fog. Then it's time to clear it. One of the things that will help you improve your memory is simply by going for a walk. What this does is change your environment and also your thoughts. While you're walking, you may come up with a solution to whatever you were working on that you might not have thought of otherwise.

Exercise and Diabetes

I recently read an article about exercise and diabetes. It was a study conducted on NFL players and their risk factors for heart disease and diabetes. The finding that was being stressed, was the fact that the blood sugars of the NFL players tended to be lower on average than men in the control group who were not particularly physically active.

I found this somewhat amusing because for one thing, the diet of NFL players tends to be very high in protein. This is to help them build muscle. Their diets tend to be less in the realm of fruits and vegetables and hence how many times have we heard that an NFL player has the flu - there are at least a couple every week. They're not building their immune systems. But that is another issue. Back to the sugar. We also know that if you are physically active and the more physically active you are, the more efficient your cells become in terms of utilizing glucose. Also muscle cells tend to use more than fat cells. So it is reasonable to believe that these fairly large NFL players who are very physically active would have lower blood sugars.

My case in point here. When I was practicing in endocrinology, I had a patient who was a world class bicyclist. He was also a Type I Diabetic. When he quit riding his bike 6-8 hours a day, and started to work in an office where he sat at a desk most of the day, his insulin requirements started to go up and his fat to lean body mass changed.

The lesson here is to get out and move!

How The Nutrients Work When Your Engine Is Running #4

The fourth major output when your body is functioning well is the waste and recycling. The fiber you eat helps you eliminate the solid waste. Yes, we have our own internal recycling plant in the form of our kidneys. Once cells have grabbed the nutrients from the food we eat to nourish themselves, they send the rest back into the blood stream to get filtered and recycled.

Basically the blood carries the waste to your kidneys (your own person recycling center). The kidneys filter about 45 thousand gallons of fluid every 24 hours. In the filtering process, they return needed water and chemicals to the blood. Only about 1% of filtered fluids gets turned into urine.

How The Nutrients Work When Your Engine Is Running #3

In addition to the blood vessels dilating and bringing blood to the surface to cool the body, your body also begins to sweat. This is the body's most effective way of cooling itself. The sweat evaporates and results in cooling of the body.

There is a downside to this and that is if you sweat a lot, you can become dehydrated for two reasons. First, if you are sweating you are usually doing some activity that is going to require more oxygen, so you may have an increased respiratory rate. Usually, as you begin to breath faster you will open your mouth and breath through both nose and mouth. This will begin to dry the membranes of the air passages and hence begin the dehydration process. Secondly, as you sweat, you are not only losing water through the skin. If you lick your skin after you have been sweating, it will taste salty, because you lose sodium, chloride and potassium through the skin as well with the sweat. These elements stay on the skin while the water evaporates. Beware that you are replacing what you are losting.

How The Nutrients Work When Your Engine Is Running #2

As you move and your muscles begin to use energy, you begin to produce heat as a result of that energy. We all know that if we are doing something physical we begin to get warmer. Your body needs to dissipate the heat produced by the muscles in order to keep your internal temperature stable.

As you warm up, the blood vessels become closer to the skin surface. The vessels dilate and there is increased blood flow to the surface. This releases heat through the skin and the internal temperature is maintained.

How the Nutrients Work When Your Engine is Running #1

Normally the nutrients that I mentioned over the past week circulate in the blood stream and go where they are needed. One of the things that we require to do anything is power or energy. When your muscles start to work, they require energy. Energy can be supplied by glucose which is either stored in your muscles as glycogen or it can be brought to the muscle via the blood.

In order for your body to convert the glucose into energy, the body must also supply oxygen, which comes via the blood stream.

Nutrients That Make Your Body Work #7

The last of the 7 essential nutrients for your body to run smoothly is water. We don't always think of water as a nutrient, but it is vital to the human body. It doesn't have any caloric value and is not a source of energy.

What water does do is transport nutrients and waste in and out of cells. Water is a necessary part of all digestive, circulatory, and excretory functions of the body. In addition, water helps maintain the body temperature.

If you have every been really dehydrated, none of your body functions works properly including your brain. I once got very dehydrated while doing a lot of physical activity on a very hot day. At one point I could not speak except for a word here and there. As they got me cooled down and I started drinking water, after about 15 minutes they asked me to recite the alphabet. I could not do it. It astounded me that I was totally unable to recite the alphabet, but then I knew just hoe dehydrated I had gotten.

Nutrients That Make Your Body Work #6

The next nutrient which is essential to the functioning of the body is fiber. Fiber is a type of carbohydrate that the body can't digest. Let me clarify something, many foods have carbohydrate content that is digestible and some that is not. Vegetable and fruits are prime examples. They contain carbohydrates that your body can absorb and utilize in the cells to make energy. They also contain fiber that is not digestible and that fiber helps push food through the intestinal tract, helping to prevent constipation.

So the fiber that is not digestible is what helps your body eliminate waste products. I'll talk more about this in a few days.

Nutrients That Make Your Body Work #5

You'll like this next essential nutrient. It's fat. Yes we all need some fat in our diet. Interestingly, women require more than men. Here's just one reason for having some fat in your diet. Vitamins which I mention yesterday are either water or fat soluable. If you're not eating some fat when you take your vitamins, you won't be able to absorb the fat soluble ones.

Fats are also a concentrated form of energy. Some of the things that fats do in your body are to form an insulating layer to prevent heat loss in the body. Unfortunately even though we are sometimes called a "fat head", we don't have a layer of fat between the skull and the skin. It is muscle and that is why we lose so much heat from our heads. Those without hair lose even more heat because the hair acts as an insulator.

Another thing that fat does is act as a shock absorber to help protect organs. Now that being said, it doesn't mean that the fatter you are the more protected you are. Because remember that the more fat we have in our bodies the more that is placed on all of the organs to keep things functioning.

Nutrients That Make Your Body Work #4

I mentioned yesterday that minerals are necessary for vitamins to do their job. So you might guess that the next essential nutrients are vitamins. Vitamins are organic substances that are only found in living things. Vitamins help activate chemical processes that release energy within the cells.

The most important function of vitamins is their reaction with oxygen which makes them able to neutralize free radicals which cause damage to the DNA structure. The vitamins are essential to your having a strong immune system. In and of themselves, vitamins do not contain energy, but what they will do is help your body convert fat and carbs into energy.

Best sources are fresh organic fruits and vegetables. If you are not eating organic, be sure that you are on a reputable brand of vitamins. Remember you get what you pay for - if they are very inexpensive, they may not have quality control and your batch may be lacking some of the ingredients.

Nutrients That Make Your Body Work #3

One of the most critical nutrient necessary for our bodies is minerals. We used to absorb alot of minerals through our skin when we went barefoot. Now we rarely go barefoot and the next best source of minerals for us comes from soil and water and are absorbed by plants or eaten by animals. But unless plants are organically grown, the soil and water may be robbed of most of the mineral content. Animals that are grown in feedlots or are never let out of the nest, also don't get the opportunity to eat natural vegetation and many minerals are lost and not available to us when we eat the animals.

Minerals are essential for vitamins to do their work in making the immune system stronger. We need minerals for growth and maintenance of body structures. Minerals are what helps our body maintain fluids in and around cells. Minerals also help us to build tissues such as bone and regulate the metabolic activities.

Nutrients That Make Your Body Work #2

The second important nutrient for your body to hum along in good shape is protein. Proteins are the primary building blocks of the blood, skin, hair, nails, organs, and muscles. We require 22 different amino acids, eight of which our bodies cannot produce and we must ingest these in order to have them available in our systems.

Proteins are essential for growth, body building and tissue repair. We also use proteins for fuel when carbs and fat supplies are inadequate. Proteins are what help us maintain and repair muscles and bones.

Nutrients That Make Your Body Work #1

There are seven major nutrient groups that are necessary for your body to run in good condition. Most of these you know, but hopefully you will learn a little from this.

The first group is carbohydrates. Yes, you do need them. Carbs are the chief source of energy for the body. You really need them for muscle activity and they help in the regulation of fat and protein metabolism.

Carbs are broken down in the body to form glucose which is converted by the cells into energy. This glucose can be stored as glycogen in the muscle or it can continue to circulate in the blood stream. Diabetics tend to have a lot circulating in the blood stream because they are not able to get it into the cells. Once the glucose is in the cells, it must combine with oxygen to become energy.

The biggest problem we have today is that our American diet incorporates way to many carbs in the form of grains, ie pasta, bread, etc. Your greatest and best source of carbs should be coming from fruits and vegetable.

What Causes Disease? #3

The one process that I believe is the cause of 99% of our disease is stress. The AMA states that it is 95%, but I think we can really look at almost everything as being caused by stress. The body was designed to deal with stress by using what we know as the flight or fright response. The adrenalin starts to flow but there are other chemicals released in this response as well that make our blood pressure rise, heart rate goes up, blood sugar rises, and a host of other things occur.

Now the original design was to make it so that you could get away from the saber tooth tiger. The problem today is that the tiger no longer exists and the stresses in our lives are everywhere and constant, so our bodies are in an endless flight or fright response. I mentioned earlier in this series about needing your immune system to be strong. Well, it won't be for long if you are under a lot of stress.

The fact of the matter today is that we have so many stressers coming at us on a minute to minute basis, that we have become somewhat oblivious to stress and its effects. For more on this interesting topic and how to use your body to combat stress, click here.

What Causes Disease? #2

One can't talk about disease without mentioning inflammation which is one of the root processes of most diseases. As you've heard me mention before cholesterol is not the problem in terms of heart disease. What is the problem is inflammation. For more about this search my list to the right on inflammation.

What Causes Diseases? #1

You can probably starting naming things that you believe cause diseases, but what you may not know is that there are really only four processes involved in the development of a disease in your body.

By understanding these 3 processes, you can begin to work on those that you really need to work on to help prevent disease.

The first one that I'm going to talk about is free radical damage. Free radicals basically cause damage to the DNA in cells. Your immune system neutralizes free radicals every second of the day, but if your immune system is compromised, it may not be able to neutralize the free radicals or fix the damage done to the DNA. Your role in this battle is to make your immune system as strong as you possibly can. How? Eat 10 servings of fruits and vegetables a day. Organic is better than just whatever is at the grocery store. Bright colors - reds, oranges, dark greens are best. For more information see my posts on antioxidants.

Staying Healthy - 6 Things to Keep You Healthier #6

One other place that you may not think about as harboring lots of bugs, is your purse. Think about where it has been and where have you set it down. Many long years ago, when I was in school and we were doing public health, I learned that when we went into a home, we carried paper towels which we were supposed to put on the floor or any surface before we put our bag on the floor or on any surface.

You should be cleaning your purse regularly, so that you don't pick up a bug which has gotten to you via your purse.

Staying Healthy - 6 Things to Keep You Healthier #5

Staying in the kitchen, think about your dish cloth of sponge. How often do you change your dish cloth? Have you ever put your sponge in the dishwasher? This is a great way to clean your sponges and should be done on a regular basis. Change your dish clothes frequently.

If you think about what you may be spreading around when you wipe the table or the counter, it will be easier to think about throwing that sponge in the dish washer, or getting a clean dish cloth.

Staying Healthy - 6 Things to Keep You Healthier #4

Now let's move into the kitchen. We know there are lots of things growing in there, but one of the places that you may not thing about is the cutting board. Wooden cutting boards are the worse. The hard plastic ones are much better because you can put them in the dishwasher after each use. How many of you have used the cutting board to cut something up and then just wiped it down with the dish cloth?

We've all probably done that at least once! If you don't want to or can't put your wooden cutting board in the dishwasher, mix up a mild bleach solution - 1 Tablespoon of bleach in 1 quart of water. I recommend that you clean your cutting board after each use.

Staying Healthy - 6 Things to Keep You Healthier #3

I'll bet you haven't thought about this, but one of the dirtiest things in your home is the TV remote. Everyone in the household has handled it - sometimes with food in hand which just sets up a great place for organisms to grow. Also, remember if you or someone in the family is home sick, what is the most likely thing that they touch? The TV remote!

Keep a canister of sanitary wipes near the TV so that the remote can be cleaned often.

Staying Healthy - 6 Things to Keep You Healthier #2

One of the ways to help you stay healthy is to be aware of places where germs and viruses might be. This one might surprise you. Refillable liquid soap dispensers are a wonderful place for bacteria to grow. Hospitals have gone to nonrefillable liquid soap dispensers for this very reason. But the other thing that hospitals have done is to have antibacterial/antiviral foam outside every room. This is a much better way to sanitize hands. Not only should nurses and doctors being using this foam, but all visitors should foam as you go into the patient's room and foam as you come out.

If you really like liquid soap, get the kind of dispenser that is not refillable.

Staying Healthy - 6 Things to Keep You Healthier

We know that contact with microbes either bacteria or viruses is how we get sick. So how do we prevent that contact. Living in a germ free bubble is not the answer!

I know you have all heard this, but the number one thing you can do to prevent illness, is to wash your hands. Almost everything you touch is covered with germs which are looking for a good place to set up and cause infection. So be diligent about washing your hands.

If you are not some place where you can wash your hands, carry around a small bottle of hand disinfectant. This is especially useful when you go into a restaurant, handle the menu, before you eat, just disinfect your hands. You never know who else has handled that menu and what may be on it.

Stayed tuned for the next 5 things that can keep you healthy.

More on Drumming

One of the things that happens when you are in a drumming circle or just drumming yourself, you are doing a cardiovascular exercise, but you are also putting your body and heart beat into the rhythm of the drum. This has a healing property that is difficult to describe.

We're all familiar with that fact that most indigenous people have drumming as a part of their culture. Not only does drumming connect you with your roots, but it also exercises both sides of your brain. If you are drumming with both hands, both sides of your brain are being used. This is a great mental exercise.

Vibration and Wellness

Have you ever been annoyed by someone drumming their fingers or a pencil. Beating out a rhythm is a natural human impulse. And beating out rhythms helps us stay healthy.

I had the opportunity last summer to participate in a drumming circle. It was an incredible experience. What I saw were people who to start with were sitting on the outside of the circle and before long they were looking for a drum or some instrument to join into the circle. the number of faces that went from a "I don't know about this" look to smiles and active participation was mind boggling. And the best part was, that no one wanted to stop to rest.

What drumming does according to researchers is to improve the cardiovascular system, strengthens the immune system, improves moods, reduces stress, actually helps reverse the effect of stress at the cellular level. Drumming also reduces anxiety, depression, and feelings of loneliness.

One more Snack

Another great snack is grapes. But here is the twist. Take a handful of red grapes and put them in the freezer. Freezing them makes them sweet and flavorful as well as crisp. You can freeze them for a longer period of time, but 5-10 minutes is usually enough.

This often satisfies that sweet tooth and makes you feel like you've ha something special.

More Healthy Snacks

I mentioned pumpkin seeds yesterday as a healthy snack. There are other things that are great for a quick healthy snack. Nuts like almonds or walnuts make a great snack. They are nutrient rich and are a great source of protein. Now this doesn't mean to eat a whole can or jar as a snack. What I mean is for you to have a small handful 1-2 times per day.

A great way to eat nuts is with a piece of fruit. Have 8-10 nuts and the fruit and you've had a great snack.

Healthy Snacks

Here are some healthy snacks. We are into fall and you may be thinking about getting a pumpkin for Halloween. A very healthy snack is to take the seeds from the pumpkin and roast them in a low heat oven. A handful to pop in your mouth is a great source of fiber for you.

Keep Your Immune System Healthy

What's most important for your immune system is to keep it strong and healthy. In this day and age we are bombarded on a minute to minute basis with free radicals, viruses, stress, and multiple other things that can weaken the immune system.

So taking care of the immune system becomes crucial. One way to do that is to get plenty of rest. Make sure that you get your 7-8 hours a day of rest. This is a time when your body is able to actually rejuvenate it's army, the immune system.

Also, as with any army, you need to feed it. Eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables as these contain antioxidants which help strengthen your immune system. Supplementing with a good multiple vitamin and mineral supplement is also advisable since our food source have lost a great deal of their nutritional value. Eat organic - these items are really better for you because they contain more of the nutritional value needed by the immune system.

More on the Immune System

Yesterday I talked a little about the immune system. There are some viruses which do not get completely killed off by the immune system. One of the most common is the virus that causes chicken pox - Varicella virus. You may know this virus by its more common name shingles or herpes zoster. If you had chicken pox, you will not have it again, but the virus usually lies dormant in your body, waiting for a time when the immune system becomes compromised so that it can take hold.

This usually happens latter in life, but can happen any time that the immune system becomes compromised. Today we are seeing more of this in younger people because of the stress of our lives. For more on stress, visit a site about conquering stress by clicking here.

When the virus emerges, it attaches itself to the nerves and basically what you end up with is a viral infection that follows the nerve routes. Diagnostic of this virus is the fact that it will only present on one side of the body.

Why You Need Your Immune System

With all of the information out there about swine flu and people being worried about whether they should get a flu shot or not, someone asked me about their immune system. Here's a layman's guide as to how the immune system works for viruses.

When a virus enters your body, your immune system recognizes the virus as NOT you, so it begins to attack the virus and kill it. In addition, the immune system is able to take an imprint of the virus so that is makes something called antibodies, which float around in the blood and attach themselves to that particular virus if it is found in a cell or in the blood stream. The virus is only able to thrive and multiply if it gets into the cells and is not killed by the immune system. Of course, the response depends upon the particular virus and your body.

Many people wonder if this is how it works how come I keep getting colds, isn't that a virus. The answer is yes, it is a virus, but the virus keeps mutating just slightly, so that your immune system does not recognize it when it first enters your system. That's why there are flu shots every year, because the viruses mutate and change.

Prescription Medications - Questions To Ask #3

The next question to ask is are there any side effects to this medication? I was always a bit hesitant to answer this question because I knew that some patients would automatically develop any side effects that I mentioned. But you do need to know.

For example, if you are taking an anti-cholesterol medication, you should know that it can cause muscle weakness and that this is not an OK side effect. This is something that warrants stopping the medication immediately no matter what.

You should also know whether any tests are required to monitor the drug. The best example of this is the statin drugs (anti-cholesterol medications) which can cause problems in the liver. Liver function tests should be checked to be sure that your liver, which you won't sense, isn't getting into trouble.

Any drug that may effect the liver, the kidneys or any other major organ system must be checked to be sure that you are not developing a side effect.

Prescription Medications - Questions To Ask #2

Next make sure you understand exactly what time of day you should take you medication. This is extremely important with medications used to treat diabetes. To have the maximum benefit, you should take some of these 30 minutes before you eat, not with the meal or after the meal.

Also ask how you should take the medicine and for how long you should take the medicine. Taking an antibiotic until you feel better is not the way to take it. On the other side of that coin is be sure that you actually need the antibiotic. Remember that almost all bacterial infections are cured by your immune system and all viral infections are cured by the immune system. If your immune system is compromised, then you may need medicines to help your immune system fight the infections. Most colds do NOT need to be treated with an antibiotic. You're not doing yourself any favors by requesting and getting an antibiotic for a cold. In fact many times an antibiotic will make the cold symptoms last longer.

Prescription Medications - Questions To Ask #1

Over the next few days I will be giving you some questions to ask whenever you are started on a new medication by your doctor. I am an advocate of no medicine is good medicine, but sometimes you will be placed on a medication.

First be sure you know the name of the medication and exactly what it is for. Why is the doctor giving you this medication? Ask if the name you are told is the brand name or the generic name.

You should have a list of any medications and what they are for that you are on in your wallet or in your purse. In the event you end up in the Emergency Department or in another doctor's office, you can let them know exactly what medications you are on and why you are on them.

Another Word About Sodium

Recently I wrote about how much salt you should intake in a day. One of my readers wrote and asked about what happens when you exercise very vigorously and you sweat, don't you lose more than just water? The answer is yes, you do lose sodium as well.

So here is the answer. If you are going to be doing vigorous exercise where you will be sweating, keep hydrated. You don't need any fancy vitamin water or gatorade. Just keep drinking plain old water. I recommend that you drink filtered water, but if you don't have filtered water then plain water from the tap will do.

To replenish the sodium, do it with organic foods like fruits and vegetables or nuts. If you go for the electrolyte drinks, you will likely over shoot and you will end up raising your blood pressure.

Time To Touch on Fats Again

I've had several questions about fats recently, so I feel the need to write about them one more time. First I have to say that all fat is not bad. What you have to do is begin to read labels, when it says "Fat Free" what does that mean, what is actually in the product.

The three fats we hear about are unsaturated, saturated, and trans fat. The unsaturated can be good as can some of the saturated fats. The trans fats are a result of processing of the food and are like sticking poison into your system. Even just a little trans fat is very unhealthy for your body. So be sure you're reading the labels.

Now that I've beat into you reading the labels, here's somethings to be aware of. If a label says "zero trans fat" that does not mean there is no trans fat in the food. In fact according to labeling guidelines, a manufacturer can put zero trans fats if there is less than 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving. Your maximum amount of trans fat per day should be no more than 2 grams totally according to the American Heart Association, but for me that is too much. If trans fat is poison to my system why would I want to put any amount into my body?!

Here are the things to watch for on the label: partially hydrogenated oil, shortening, and any food with an extended shelf life. See my postings on fat starting September 6, 2008.

Alternatives To Driving To Work

Here's a thought that might strike a chord with you. We are so accustom to jumping in the car to go to work, have you ever considered riding your bike or walking? I know it may be "too far". But think about this. If you bike to work and it takes you an hour, on average you will burn approximately 500 calories a day. In 5 days that adds up to 2500 calories burned, which could result in a 2 pound weight loss without changing your eating habits or diet.

I also just saw something about a bill in congress that would make you eligible for a $20/month tax credit for riding your bike to work - that's $240 a year, and they're thinking about doubling this to $40/month. This may be an incentive with the cost of gas and up keep on your car.

Here's something else to consider. Do you drive your children to school or do they ride their bike? Encouraging them to walk or ride their bike to school will start them on an exercise habit that will stay with them for life.

Best Diet

You all know that I really don't like the word diet. But I recently read an article on the best diet for life. It started out by saying that the Mediterranean diet was the best diet but soon digressed to say that really only part of that was true.

What the researchers found was that the healthiest part of the Mediterranean diet was eating lots of fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts and legumes (like beans and peas). This is not exactly what I think of when I here Mediterranean diet. But it is what I have been saying for a long time.

Eating these things was associated with a longer lifespan. In a separate but similar study, the researchers found that by eating these components, there was a reduced risk of developing dementia.

Strengthening Your Abs

Here's an abs workout that will help your lower body as well. Lying on your back, put your hands flat on the floor, and bring your heels as close to your buttocks as you can. As you inhale, raise your head and your heels up slightly. You will feel this in your upper abs.

As you exhale, bring your knees toward your chest - you'll feel this in the lower abs - make sure you lift your buttocks off the ground. As you lower your body begin to inhale.

Repeat this 12 times, then rest for 1 minute. Repeat another 12 times and rest for 1 minute. Repeat a third set of 12.

Sodium Intake

How much salt should you actually be getting? That's a common question that I get asked frequently. The normal, healthy adult (no know medical problems) should eat no more than 2300 milligrams of salt a day. This is about 1 teaspoon of salt. Now that is not just what you add at the table. Read the label of any processed food such as canned soup and you will see that you are probably way beyond your daily amount with one serving.

Most of the sodium that we get in our diets today comes from eating in restaurants and eating processed foods. Be sure to read the labels on any food you purchase. Many restaurants now will tell you the sodium content of their foods. You can always ask for a low-sodium entree, just ask the waiter.

Your best choice is to pick fresh fruits and vegetables.

If you are at risk for or have heart disease, stroke or high blood pressure your daily salt intake should be no more than 1500 milligrams a day.

Soy - Not A Great Choice For Men

While soy does lots of good things for women, it can do just the opposite for men. The phyto-estrogens in soy can actually lower testosterone in men, causing their breasts to grow and their libido to drop.

Remember also that men do not require as much fat as women to be healthy. Men should be cautious with soy products.

Eat Whole Grains

Most of us in this country are concerned about fiber and how much we are getting. A recent study indicated that the average American only consumes about 12 grams of fiber a day. What you actually need each day is 30-25 grams to maintain a healthy weight and avoid disease such as heart disease and diabetes.

So how do you increase your fiber? Start increasing the amount of fruit and vegetables that you eat each day. These are your best sources of fiber. When you eat bread, be sure that it is whole grain. Better yet is to eat old fashion oatmeal which is a whole grain. Remember most cereals are not whole grain, contain lots of sugar and very little fiber.

Osteoporosis - Can It Happen To You?

Osteoporosis is one of those diseases which comes on slowly - actually years before we realize that it is happening. As you know I have a real problem with the amount of carbonated beverages we consume in this country. It's not just the sugar, sugar substitutes that are the problem. One of the major problems with carbonated beverages is that they leach calcium out our bones, so the matrix becomes weakened - osteoporosis. When bones become fragile they are more likely to break and more difficult to heal. We tend to think of this as a disease of the elderly because that is when we actually see it.

But the truth is that the disease starts when we are in our teens, twenties and thirties. Did you know that you have your peak bone mass at age 35? It's all down hill from there. So you need to work at keeping your bones strong. But also think about your children. What are you letting them drink? I believe we are going to see way more osteoporosis in the coming years as the baby boomers age. Partly due to the fact that we had no idea what carbonated beverages were doing to our bones when we were young.

What you can do, no matter what age you are is cut out all carbonated beverages. Do weight bearing exercise - walking is a good one.

Want A Flatter Stomach?

Here's some exercises to help you strengthen your core and flatten your tummy. Now these are not as easy as they sound. First and foremost, remember to breathe as you exercise. Muscle need oxygen, so if you're not breathing, they're not getting any!

Lie on your side with legs extended. With the arm that is against the floor, push up so that the forearm is against the floor and you are propped up. Take a deep breath in and as you exhale, lift youf hips off the floor so that your body weight is supported by the forearm that is on the floor and the outer edge of your foot. Hold this for 15 seconds. If you are unable to do 15 seconds, then start with 10 or 5 seconds. Repeat again. Rest for 1 full minute and turn so that the up side is now the down side (in other words, switch sides being against the floor). Do the same procedure 2 times on this side.

Your goal is to increase your time each day until you can do 1 full minute, repeated twice on each side. (that's a total of 4 minutes with 1 minute rest between sides)

Another Way To Exercise

I know I've mentioned this before, but it is time to bring it up again. One of the ways you can challenge yourself in the exercise game is to get a pedometer. Wear it for a few days before you really start to do any walking beyond your usual and see how many steps you're taking each day.

After you've done that for a few days, begin to add steps in your day. Take the stairs, park further from your place of business, walk the dog, go for a 10 minute walk after work, and see how these activities add to the number of steps that you're taking each day. Try to increase your number of steps each day by 500 steps. That's really not that many and you will find yourself competing to increase those steps more and more each day.

Oh and the side benefit. You may shed some unwanted weight. You'll have stronger, healthier heart and bones. You'll have healthier lungs. And you'll live a healthier life.

What Exercise Can I Do For 10 Minutes?

Here's a 10 minute exercise that I call bounce and shake. When you first start this, you may find that 10 minutes is a long time especially if you have not been exercising. But stand with your legs about shoulder width apart. Begin bouncing on your feet up and down. As you do this then begin to shake your arms. You can shake them at the floor, to either side of you, or up in the air. Continue bouncing and shaking your arms for 10 minutes. Remember to take some deep breaths through all of this.

As I said, you might find that the first week or two of this is pretty tiring, but as you continue to do it, your endurance will improve. I have one individual who has lost over 100 pounds using this simple exercise on a daily basis for 10 minutes. See her blog.

Exercise -What's Good For You

I just read a recent study that shows that you can reduce your risk of major disease and improve your quality of life with as little as 10 minutes a day of exercise! I'd say that is pretty phenomenal!

But remember the one jumping jack study where they had a test group who only had to do 1 jumping jack a day and the other group had to do 30 minutes a day of exercise. At the end of the testing period, the group who was supposed to do 1 jumping jack a day was in better shape and lost more weight than the group who was supposed to exercise 30 minutes a day. Why, because most people doing 1 jumping jack felt like and did more than 1 jumping jack a day. The people in the exercise group found excuses not to exercise because it felt too much like work to them.

So can you commit to 10 minutes a day? Stayed tuned for more on what you can do during that 10 minutes.

Brain Health

Researchers have shown that marriage helps keep your mind sharp. Now that's a new twist right. But what they found was that individuals who were single at midlife (age 50) and remained single were at greater risk to develop diseases such as Alzheimer's.

What the researchers believe is that by having a partner, you may be given social and mental challenges that stimulate the brain. I know someone out there is saying something like, boy, I'm really challenged alright. But be happy that you have that challenge and that it may delay or prevent the onset of dementia.

Good News Or Bad News

Is it good news or bad news if you going your doctor does some tests on you and does not call you back? Researchers have found that this does not always mean everything is OK. In some medical practices there is a 26% failure to notify. This means that a quarter of the time, you may not be notified when you should be about a test result.

Make sure you get your results. Ask your doctor when you can expect the results and if you are notified, call the office and ask for the results. Never assume that because they have not called all is well!

Who's Job Is It For You To Be Healthy

I just read an article about the state of Alabama employees who have until November 30 to be checked for chronic diseases in order to keep their free health insurance. The plan is that they will have to be doing something about what ever is identified in order to keep their free health insurance. I think this is not a bad idea. Who is responsible for your health? Pushing you in the direction of getting healthier is not a bad idea.

I know that some people are way opposed to this because they feel the problem is the health care system and to an extent they are right. But we need to be our own best advocate and start living healthier so we don't need to get into the unhealthy health care system in this country.

Vegetable Juice

One of the juices that is good for you is Low sodium V8 juice. Be careful not to get the regular V8 juice as it has way too much sodium in it. The low sodium V8 can actually help your blood pressure, while the regular V8 may make your blood pressure go up as a result of the sodium content.

Cabbage - You Got To Love It

Most of us probably don't think about cabbage as having a lot of healthy benefits, but there's where we are wrong. Cabbage was touted as being the best vegetable back in Roman times 2000 years ago.

So what is so great about cabbage? One of things about cabbage is that it contains glutamine which is an amino acid that feeds the mucosa of the rapidly growing GI tract. The mucosa of the GI tract is rapidly replacing itself and requires glutamine to grow properly. Cabbage is a rich source of glutamine and has been recommended for years as a therapy for GI disorders like ulcers, heart burn, GERD (gastric reflux).

Additionally, sauerkraut also is extremely healthful for the GI tract. The one thing that sauerkraut contains is that it is fermented and the bacteria found in it help nurture the normal bacteria found in the GI tract.

More on Juices

I just read an article on juicing, and while I agree that you can drink a lot of healthy nutrients in the juice, the raw fruit or vegetable may be better for you. One the vegetables that you may not be aware of is celery. Most of us think of celery as "rabbit food" or "diet food". But there are some really good benefits to celery.

You can juice it, but you will want to mix some raw fruit that you juice with it to take away some of the bitter flavor. The good news about celery is that it can help decrease you blood pressure. Celery contains a compound which helps relax the smooth muscle in the walls of the arteries. The vessels dilate and this effectively lowers the pressure within the arteries. Hence your blood pressure lowers. The compound responsible for this 3-n-butyl-phthalide.

Juices Versus Raw Fruit

I can't tell you how many times when I ask people if they are eating fruit, they say oh yes, I drink juice. A big buzzer goes off in my head every time. Most people think that the juice is as healthy or healthier than the fruit. Not true.

Read those labels. There is a reason to eat the raw, fresh fruit. First and formost, raw fruit contains good fiber. Juices such as apple juice contain absolutely no fiber. Secondly, most juices contain sugar which makes them a sweet drink, but not particularly healthy.

Even fresh squeezed orange juice, you're losing a lot of the fiber contained in the orange. Better to eat the orange!

Should I Eat Frozen Yogurt or Ice Cream?

You may be surprised at my answer here. Pick the ice cream, just don't eat too much. Frozen yogurt is another one of those products that the manufacturers have perpetrated as a health food. The fact of the matter is that while yogurt with live culture actually does support your digestive tract, frozen yogurt does not contain any active live cultures! In addition, the frozen yogurt is often loaded with artificial sweeteners which actually make your sugar cravings increase. This is not to mention all of the other chemicals in the frozen yogurt.

Read those labels and you'll see. Pick the ice cream, just limit your portion. Here's a trick instead of buying the 5 gallon bucket of ice cream, buy a quart of smaller size and then eat less of it. You can put it in a custard cup which will look full but you will be getting less.

Eggs - Should I Just Eat The Whites?

I mentioned before that eggs have gotten a bad rap for many years and many reasons. Again, you want to read those labels because you're looking for free range chickens to be laying the eggs that you eat. The whites are the best part, however, you should also know the benefits of the yolks and there is one very specific one.

The yolk of the egg contains lutein and xeazanthin both of which are important for eye health and helping to prevent macular degeneration. But both of these need fats to be absorbed and that is also contained in the yolk of the egg. There is another reason to eat the yolk. It also contains phosphatidylcholine which is an important nutrient for good brain health.

But I Eat Granola Bars

So you think you're eating healthy if you eat granola bars? Think again. Have you read the label? The granola bars you get in the grocery store are basically a candy bar where the name has been changed to make you think you're getting something healthy. They have lots of sugar and processed carbs in them and very little fiber content.

If you like the idea of a granola bar, then make your own with raw old fashioned oat meal, coconut, almonds, raisins and a little raw organic honey or black strap molasses to make it all stick together. Then you will have a healthy granola bar. When I used to travel a lot, I would make up some of my own granola bars and take them with me for breakfast. They were awesome and very tasty. And in those days, I didn't realize that I was eating something healthier!

Isn't Salmon A Healthy Food?

Everyone believes that salmon is a healthy food and it is. But once again, you need to read the label. What you want to look for is "wild" salmon. Most of the salmon in the grocery stores is farm salmon.

Because farm salmon are raised in pens, fed grains, plus a variety of other things including antibiotics, they are not the healthy food of wild salmon. They are more likely to cause cancer and have less of the good omega 3 in them. As with most of our food, you can consider farm raised salmon as processed food. Not the healthiest of choices.

Read the label and look for "wild" salmon.

More On Healthy Foods

I started talking a couple of days ago about healthy foods. Most of us have heard that canola oil is one of the better oils to be using these days. Well, once again you need to read the label. The canola oil which is good is that which is cold processed.

The most common process for getting canola oil out of the plant is to extract it with extremely high temperatures. What this does to the good omega 3 is make it rancid. To help correct this the manufacturers use some caustic refining to improve the taste and remove the smell. which creates some trans-fatty acids. So this type of canola is not all its cracked up to be.

Read the label and look for organic, cold processed.

Happy Labor Day

A day of rest for everyone - well most everyone. Have a great day. Take some time for yourself.

What Is A Healthy Food To Eat

There are lots of healthy foods out there and some that are not so healthy. You as a consumer have to be able to discern what is healthy and what is not. The first thing I would tell you is not to listen to the advertising by the company pushing a product. They can say whatever they want to get you to buy the food. The best example I can think of at the moment is the ad for Fruit Loops which says it is a healthy choice.

So what is healthy and what is not. Cereals have been drilled into us by the media as the healthy thing to eat for breakfast. We are told how much fiber they have, but in fact there really isn't much fiber in cereals. The other thing about cereals is that most of them are loaded with sugar. Read those labels. You should be looking for cereals that contain at least 5 grams of fiber and less than 5 grams of sugar.

The best cereals are the old fashioned ones like oatmeal or the ones tha most people don't really want to eat like All-Bran. Look for whole grains, these are your best choices.

Exercising Your Brain As Well As Your Body

I know I've talked about this before, but I'm going to bring it up once again. If you're lifting weights, walking, jogging, or doing strenuous physical exercise, don't forget to exercise your brain.

I have a patient who is 105 years old. She is sharp as a tack and knows more about the world and the affairs of the US then I every thought of knowing. So how does she stay so sharp you might ask? She exercises her brain on a daily basis. Her body is actually getting pretty frail, but she uses her brain daily. She reads the newspaper from cover to cover every day. When we had 2 newspapers in this city, she read them both. Then she talks to people about what she has read.

Another thing she does is to learn a new word every day. Not just the word and what it means, but also how to spell it. She is always the champion at the spelling bee each month in the senior highrise that she lives in.

Some other things you can do is to change things up every couple of days. Take a new route to work, brush your teeth with the opposite hand, put your clothes on differently than usual. If you put your shirt on first, put it on last. Obviously you can't put your underware on last, but for women if you put on your panties first, put them on after you put on your bra.

Do mind games. One of the things I have always done is the crossword puzzle every morning. Now I have added a second crossword and the Sudoku puzzle. Any kind of brain game will help exercise your brain and keep you young.

Heart Disease On The Rise

I saw this question in the paper and I just had to respond to it. Someone asked why heart disease seemed to be on the rise even though many people are taking anti-cholesterol medicines and all the information out about low fat diets.

The interesting thing about this question is the response which was that heart disease is on the rise because of the aging of the population, obesity, and diabetes. While I don't necessarily disagree with this, the real underlying problem is not cholesterol which is the myth that the American government has fed us. The underlying issue is inflammation. And how many people do you think are following a low fat diet? Would we see the amount of obesity in this world if they were? We're eating junk - or at least most people are. I'm reminded of the ad that I heard a few weeks ago about Fruit Loops being a healthy choice. What are we buying into here.

I won't get back on my band wagon about the cholesterol issue, but if you are new to this blog, then go back and read my post starting 9/6/08. You can also just search the Cholesterol category to find out more - better yet search on the inflammation category on the lower right of this page.

Here's A Laugh About The Flu Vaccine

I often read Mike Adams who is the health ranger. He recently published a list of 10 things he'd rather do than get a flu shot, so thought I would share them with you.

That's why there are ten things I'd rather do than get a swine flu vaccine shot:

#1) Eat nothing but McDonald's hamburgers and fries for 30 days straight until I cough up my own liver.

#2) Kiss an H1N1-infected pig smack on the lips.

#3) Legally change my name to "Barack Obama" and then announce it over the loudspeaker of a cowboy bar in rural Texas, just to see what happens.

#4) Be forced to work as a writer in the public relations department of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

#5) Base jump off a tall building with nothing more than a parachute made under the same quality control oversight as FDA-approved swine flu vaccines.

#6) Be subjected to forced chemotherapy at gunpoint, just like all the other U.S. teens who are kidnapped by state authorities and forcibly injected with chemo.

#7) Have all the superfoods in my pantry secretly replaced with MSG-laced processed food products made by Frito-Lay.

#8) Work as a biological hazards disposal volunteer in the "superbug ward" of a local hospital.

#9) Drink diet soda until my brain explodes from the aspartame exposure.

#10) Get a public relations job at the White House where my sole responsibility is to show the brain-numbed masses how to stupidly sneeze into their own shirt sleeves.

Vaccines - What You Should Know

This information is available out at a site www.vaccinationdebate.com. This site specific gives you information about vaccinations and what has happened as a result of them.

Many times when there is a mass vaccination, the result is that most cases of the disease the vaccination is suppose to prevent are actually caused by the vaccine. How many times have you heard, I got the disease and I had already had my vaccination?

Dr Jonas Salk, developed of the polio vaccine, testified in 1977 that mass inoculation done in 1961 was the cause of most of the polio cases in the USA.

There are multiple of these same findings regarding measles, diphtheria, small pox, and whooping cough, to name a few. When I see this information, I have to wonder why we are so intent on continuing to vaccinate everybody, especially if the vaccine is a live virus!!

Just somethings for you to ponder before you decide to get your flu shot.

Swine Flu

This seems to be all the rage these days. One of my friends asked me if I had gotten a flu shot. I said no and that I had no intention of getting one. The risks are way too high. There are reports out there that are claiming millions will die from swine flu. In fact, the people who have died from swine flu are those with a compromised immune system to begin with. It's not normal healthy people who die from the swine flu.

Those whose immune system is not strong are more prone to get any infectious disease and are more likely to not be able to fight the disease because of their compromised immune system.

I would say the risk for you to develop a complication from the vaccine are greater than your risk of getting the swine flu.

Another Way To Relieve Stress

I have a colleague who has developed a home study course for relieving stress and anxiety and actually reversing some of the problems that stress and anxiety cause in the body. He has not released it, but will be doing so this Fall. I wanted to just make mention of the fact that alternatives to prescriptive medications exist which can help you alleviate stress and anxiety. Better still is to learn how to keep your body running maximal with energy medicine.

My colleague also has a basic course in energy medicine that will help you do just that. This again is not available except at a live event which will be happening in Denver on Sept 12. For more information respond to this blog post and I will get it to you.

Is This A Healthy Choice?

I was watching television, actually I just had it on in the hotel room. When I heard "Fruit Loops" was a healthy choice food. WHAT??? How could anyone say that? Don't they realize that this cereal is 41% sugar!! How can that be a healthy choice? Not to mention that fact that it contains processed flour and partially-hydrogenated vegetable oil.

I nearly fell out of the chair when I heard this. Then I heard this was being endorsed by Tuft's University. What I quickly realized is that just as the big pharmaceutical companies have the government in their pocket, so must the manufacture have Tuft's in its pocket. No one with a sound nutritional base could ever say this cereal was a "Healthy Choice". This has to be the food manufacturers creating yet another label to put on food to get consumers to buy it. What mother wuold not buy fruit loops if she thought it a "healthy choice". All I can say is consumers beware!!

Ten Things To Do To Decrease Stress #10

Take some time for yourself. I just spent a very intense week finding my inner strength. Yes, it was stressful but a truly amazing experience. Yesterday, 2 new friends and I ventured into the land of the giant sequoias. These magnificent old soldiers have been standing for centuries. The strength that they conveyed just by being in their presence was amazing. While we were all tired from the strenuous week we had been through, we found an awesome peace amoung these giants.

I'm glad we took this day to be among these giants. Find a place where you can go to find peace. This will be one of my new guided imagery spots to go in times of stress when I can't actually get there in person.

Ten Things To Do To Decrease Stress #9

Yesterday I spoke about taking care of yourself. There is a great way to put yourself first and that is to go get a massage. A good therapist can work the tension out of the muscles to relieve pain and create relaxation. This will help your whole body to relax and let the stress drain away.

When you're done, know that you have done something wonderful for yourself and you will feel more relaxed, refreshed and revitalized to move on in your day and life.

Ten Things To Do To Decrease Stress #8

Another way to relax is with Yoga. This gets you in touch with your body so you can relieve the stress within. Yoga incorporates many aspects which will help you relax, such breathing, flexibility and strength. I've spent this entire week in a very stressful environment where we started each day with at least an hour of Yoga. It's unbelievable how much this helped all of us to cope with the stresses of the week.

Being in touch with your inner self even for a short period each day will help you find that calm, relaxing point to bring a feeling of well-being to you.

There are a plethera of yoga DVDs out there, get one and spend some time taking care of you.

Ten Things To Do To Decrease Stress #7

When I was a college professor years ago, I learned the value of guided imagery. This is something you can do for yourself at home or in the office. Just take a few moments. You don't need anything but you, however, if you have music that takes you to a place of peace then by all means put it on. My place of peace is the mountains and I have several songs that take me into the serenity that the mountains hold for me. I can get there in an instant.

You can close your eyes - this is often helpful until you become proficient at this. Visualize your place of peace. Where do you feel the most calm - the mountains, on the beach with the surf rolling in, on a boat, - where is your favorite spot? Visualize that spot and feel the feelings you feel when you're there, hear the sounds that are present around you. Take a deep breath. Stay in this place until you feel your body relax.

Ten Things To Do To Decrease Stress #6

A great way to release tension and stress is to exercise. Now I know if you are really busy, you're going to tell me you don't have time. Actually quite the opposite is true. You can't afford to not take the time to exercise. Not exercising could cost you your health.

Start with 10 minutes a day. If you're really stressed, you'll be amazed at how much less stress you feel just by doing some form of exercise for 10 minutes.

Ten Things To Do To Decrease Stress #5

Remeber the old song lyric "Slow down you move to fast, got to make the morning last." Well that was great advice especially if you are stressed. As we become more and more stressed we tend to put ourselves in hyper-gear! This just increases our stress. So slow down. Take a deep breath as I mentioned yesterday before you do something. You have time, don't feel like it is crushing you to death.

If someone comes to the door, take a deep breath before you answer it. If you are headed into a meeting, take several deep breaths before you enter the room or before they come in to meet with you.

Take it down a couple of notches and you'll live longer and healthier!

Ten Things To Do To Decrease Stress #4

Here's something you can do anytime to decrease stress. Take a slow deep breath. We tend to breathe shallowly when we are under stress. This can lead to feeling even more stressed. So wherever you are, think about your breathing and take 5-6 slow deep breaths, feeling your chest rise as you inhale and feeling the tension in your shoulders and neck release as you exhale.Stre

Ten Things To Do To Decrease Stress #3

How much water have you had to drink today? One of the causes of stress in our bodies is to become dehydrated. This stresses all of the muscle cells as well as our brain cells. We tend to take hydration for granted, but it is something we have to work at each day.

The average person does not drink enough water each day. Coffee and tea do not count. These both contain caffeine which actually dehydrates you more. Herbal teas are Ok because they do not contain caffeine.

How much to drink? Se my blog post on 3/05/09 to find out exactly how much water you minimally need each day.

Ten Things To Do To Decrease Stress #2

How's your posture? One of the things that can happen to us when we are stressed is that we let our shoulders droop and our posture becomes saggy. Physiologically what this does is increase the tension in the muscles of the shoulders, back and neck. This can actually lead to pain and discomfort in these areas, making us feel more stressed.

Remember to check your posture. Are you sitting upright - are you standing upright? Move those shoulders back and straighten your spine. You'll be amazed at how good this makes you feel.

Ten Things To Do To Decrease Stress #1

Remember to eat. This sounds pretty simple, but often times when we are stressed, we simply forget to eat. Eating 3 meals a day is critical to keeping up your energy.

Also, when you don't eat you can begin to develop symptoms of a body in need of food such as headache and fatigue.

The other side of this coin is also prevalent in our society today and that is that when we are stressed all we do is eat. While you need food, don't make it a comfort in times of stress. Eat sensibly and at appropriate times.

New Frontier in Wellness

Dr Oz on Oprah said that the next frontier in medicine is energy medicine. Well, it is here. My colleague and I will be doing our first hands-on course for anyone in the Denver area September 12, 2009. If you would like to come or you know people in the area who would like to know more about energy medicine, please signup on our Energy Medicine site.

There is a free audio on that site for you to get more information. I will be relaying more soon about ways to increase your energy, relieving pain and a host of other information, so stay tuned!

Think Your Weight is a Result of Your Genes

I have heard many times people say that they are fat because they have a genetic predisposition or it runs in my family. Runs is the operative word here. If you are overweight or obese you likely never run or even exercise. One of my coaching students was obese and lost over 100 pounds. She used to complain about all of the pain in her knees and hips and how she couldn't exercise because of her painful joints. Now she exercises without effort and doesn't feel any of the pain she used to feel.

Are you using your joint pain which is a result of the extra weight you're carrying around as an excuse not to exercise? You can start slow and easy, but the biggest factor here is to start. Learn how to start simply by getting some exercise in your every day routines. Pick up my free ebook on Too Busy To Exercise. Another good thing to do is to participate in the great summer free health giveaway.

Better Balance

We all need balance in our lives, but today I'm going to talk about the balance we need to keep from falling and injuring ourselves. As we get older, the risk from a fall is a fracture and if we don't get our arm or shoulder, we will very likely get our hip. Hip fractures can be lethal at any age, but particularly for people over the age of 65.

So there are some simple ways to improve balance. First is standing on one leg. Hold on to the back of a chair the first time you do this. Balance for a count of 15 and switch legs. Try not to wobble but to stand as steady as possible. The next step is to stand on one leg without the assistance of the chair. Start for a count of 5 and begin increasing that until you are able to stand for the full count of 15 without using the chair and without being overly wobbly. The next step is to close your eyes while you do this. I would definitely recommend that you keep the chair with you but see how long you can go without it. The longer you go the better your balance the less likely you are to fall and break a hip or an arm.

Breathing Art

If you are in a yoga class or a meditation class, you have learned that breathing is important. Learning to work with your breathing can be as healing for you as a medication. In fact, it is likely more beneficial than most medications.

If you've never taken a yoga or meditation class, I would highly recommend that you do so, just to learn about breathing. Concentrating on breathing takes you away from your constantly busy mind and makes you present to this moment as you breathe.

Exercise and Breathing

Breathing should be an integral part of your exercise routine. Many people tend to hold their breath during exercise, especially while lifting weights. Get in the habit of being aware of your breathing and if you are lifting weights, exhale as you lift the weight. Since you gain more from lifting if it is done slowly, this will help you in the process.

If you are walking, can you walk and talk at the same time. You should be able to carry on a conversation as you walk without feeling short of breath or breathless to talk. This is the first thing to work on if you are just beginning to walk. You may be amazed at how many people cannot really walk and talk. One of the signs of not being able to do this, is not just the breathless sound of the conversation or the pauses in between words, but often times the telltale sign is that these individuals will stop frequently while they are talking.

The Art of Breathing Part 5

Learning to use breathing as a relaxation tool is easy. The next time you are feeling stressed about something or you have some unwanted tension, or you're feeling impatient because you are in a long line, try the following:

Stand, sit or lying in a comfortable position, with your back straight, draw in a deep breath and count to 5 slowly. As you begin to exhale, let your muscles begin to relax. Repeat this 2-3 times until you are feeling completely relaxed. While you're doing this, imagine your favorite most relaxing relaxing place in the world. Natural scenes not only include the scene but the sounds that go with that scene, as well as smells.

The Art of Breathing Part 4

Some of you may experience breath holding. To determine this, pay attention to the transition between inhalation and exhalation. If you feel a little "catch" between these two, and you find that you have a slight difficulty in initiating the exhalation, you may be breath holding. This tends to happen most often during exercise.

You can reduce the breath holding by consciously relaxing the abdomen at the end of the inhalation. It is particularly important to breathe during exercise since you are increasing the demand for oxygen in the body. Be aware of how you breathe during exercise.

The Art of Breathing Part 3

Today I want you to lie down on your back and let your body just assume it's relaxed breathing rate. Now as you exhale, count the length of your exhalation. Don't force an exhalation or inhalation, just breathe as you normally would in this relaxed state and once again count the length of the next exhalation.

The first exhalation that you counted should be shorter than the second exhalation. If it is not, you may be an overbreather. As a test try to shorten your inhalation. If that causes you to feel distressed or stressed or uncomfortable, you are probably an overbreather. Since it is hard to not manipulate these tests, you may want to have somebody count for you when you are not aware of your breathing.

This particular piece is important as far as sleep goes. If you are having trouble going to sleep, become aware of your breathing and consciously make the exhale longer than the inhale. before very long, you will be asleep.

The Art of Breathing Part 2

Yesterday you became aware of what type of breather you are. Now, still lying on your back, put your hands around your lower ribs. Continue to breathe in your normal fashion, focusing on your hands. What you should feel is an effortless expansion of the ribs as you inhale and slow recoil as you exhale.

If you ribs remain motionless, your breathing is too shallow even if you are an abdominal breather. Many times people who are chest breathers will not feel any movement of the lower rib cage when they do this, because they are by nature of the way they breath shallow breathers.

Shallow breaths do no use the full capacity of the lung and decrease the amount of oxygen available to the blood stream and hence the rest of your body.

The Art of Breathing

Most of us just taking breathing for granted. We don't really spend much time thinking about it, we just breath. But there is an art to breathing. Taking a little time each day to think about your breathing will help you in many ways.

First just become aware of what type of breather you are. Lying on your back, put one hand on your chest and one hand on your abdomen. Just think about your hands and become aware of the movement of your hands. If the hand on the chest is moving and the one on the abdomen is not, you are a chest breather. If the hand on the abdomen is moving more than the hand on the chest, you are an abdominal breather.

Why is this important? Chest breather's are less efficient in their breathing. If you are an abdominal breather, you are filling the little air sacs in your lungs down to the bases of the lungs which is more efficient and gives your body more oxygen to work with.

Pulmonary Hypertension

Yesterday I mentioned the disease pulmonary hypertension. Today I want to explain a little about this complex disease. Pulmonary hypertension is basically a high blood pressure in the pulmonary system vasculature. It can be in the arteries, veins or capillary beds or a combination of these. Like the high blood pressure that we are all familiar with, this high blood pressure is in the lungs. This makes it difficult for oxygen to get into the blood stream and CO2 to get out of the blood stream. Hence you may become short of breath because your oxygen saturation levels will drop.

These high pressures in the lungs will put high pressures on the heart and result in a heart that fails. But these pressures don't just affect the heart, they also affect the liver and can result in liver failure as well.

While we do have earlier detection these days and we can closely monitor someone with this disease, the survival rate is not great beyond 3 years from the time of the diagnosis.

So if you end up with this disease as a result of a weight loss drug, is it worth losing a few pounds to the total detriment of your health?

Weight Loss Drugs Drawbacks

Lastly, I want to talk about Phenteramine (Adipex, Ionamin). This is one of the more dangerous drugs in terms of the side effects. While it can cause things like an increase in blood pressure, increase in heart rate, diarrhea, anxiety or restlessness, these are not the things to be mostly concerned about. The bigger risk here is the development of a disease called pulmonary hypertension. This is an insideous disease that comes on without any symptoms. Once we discover that it is present, we have very few things we can do to treat it.

This is a lethal complication for you and while losing weight is important, this drug can actually totally rob you of your future health and your future. The risk with this drug is just way too high to even consider using it.

More on the Weight Loss Drugs

The next drug which is fairly familiar out there is Meridia (sibutramine). While this drugs has a slightly higher weight loss average as compared to orlistat, the side effects are much more dangerous to your health.

First and foremost, if you are on this drug be sure that you are watching your blood pressure. Meridia not raises your blood pressure, but it can also increase the heart rate, compounding the problem with the blood pressure. You should never be using this drug if you already have high blood pressure or a problem with heart rate.

Additionally, this drug can cause nausea, constipation, dry mouth, or insomnia.

Having done some the clinical trials with this drug, I can tell you that the weight loss was fairly minimal at best.

Weight Loss Prescription Drugs

I have often been asked by patients for a prescription for a weight loss drug. My usual answer is no for several reasons. Mostly it is no because of the side effects of these drugs. First and foremost you need to know that no drug whether it is prescription or over the counter is going to be a majic pill for weight loss. Taking a pill to lose weight just is not going to do it.

The economy being what it is currently, for you to lose a significant amount of weight with any of the major prescription drugs is going to cost you upwards of $1000 a year. So cost in my mind is an issue for many, but it is not the most disturbing issue about these drugs.

The most disturbing is the side effects. Here's some of the side effects of the more common drugs out there. Orlistat (Xenical, Alli) cause oily stools which can leave oil spots on your underware and often causes a very uncomfortable urge to have a bowel movement. In addition it may cause a decrease in the absorption of vitamins which you normally get from foods that you eat. The studies have shown that an individual will lose about 6 pounds a year. That's not very impressive folks and you would do better to just eat sensibly and get some exercise in your life.

More tomorrow on some of the other weight loss drugs.