No…not that kind of workout!

by Carole Jackson, Bottom Line Health

People who can’t sleep come up with all sorts of crazy ideas — and some great ones, too. For instance, how about a workout that you can do right in your bed? I’m not talking about a gentle routine involving wiggling one toe and then another and taking deep breaths in between… or even an interlude of vigorous romance… but rather a real exercise program that gets your blood circulating, builds muscle and strengthens your core — all without getting out of your bed!

The “Get Fit in Bed” workout is the brainchild of Ted Kavanau, the founding senior producer of CNN. Having a difficult time falling asleep, he did what comes naturally to insomniacs — he tried to find an activity that would make him tired enough to sleep. He began exercising… in bed. An avid fitness enthusiast with a background in martial arts and boxing, Kavanau adapted some of the exercises he did at the gym for the soft surface of a mattress and then added a few yoga and Pilates moves. Before long, he noticed that he had more endurance, his muscle mass was increasing, his mood was good — and, yes, he was sleeping like a baby.

Adjusted By a Chiropractor

Kavanau took his routine to Genie Tartell, DC, RN, a registered nurse and practicing chiropractor, and asked her to fine-tune the routine for safety. Working with patients of different ages and a variety of health issues, Dr. Tartell tweaked the exercise plan, eliminating moves that might cause any injuries and refining many of the others to accomplish practical efficiency.

According to Dr. Tartell, the new workout plan was a hit. “My arthritic patients found that they were getting out of bed in the morning without feeling stiff, while others who hated exercise were now exercising in bed while watching the news,” she said.

Kavanau and Dr. Tartell collaborated on a book, appropriately entitled Get Fit In Bed, which provides instruction on 42 different exercises for a variety of abilities. For readers of Daily Health News, Dr. Tartell offered to share the beginner level program. The routine is organized into exercises to do on your back… on your stomach… on your left side… and on your right side. There are modifications for people with particular physical challenges. The exercises can be done at your own pace and, as you get stronger and fitter, you can increase the number of reps and the speed at which they’re performed.

The Starter Program

Always begin your “Get Fit in Bed” routine with a basic gentle stretch. Lie on your back, arms down by your sides. Open and close your hands several times. Then extend your arms above your head, stretching like a cat… and lengthen your legs, one at a time, extending each from the hip. Fan your toes, one foot at a time, and then point your feet (together) toward your head and then away from it several times. This stretching should feel good, like you’re waking up your muscles.

Minimal crunch: Lie on your back, arms at your sides, and then tighten your stomach muscles while inhaling. Slowly raise your head and shoulders very slightly (maybe an inch) off the bed, exhaling as you do so. Hold this position for a second or two and then slowly drop your head and shoulders to the bed. Repeat five times.

The bridge: Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the bed, arms at your sides. Tighten the muscles in your buttocks while slowly lifting your pelvis toward the ceiling. Aim to bring your pelvis and thighs into a straight line, at about a 45-degree angle to your knees. Hold this position for a slow count of 10 (about 20 seconds) and then gently drop back to the bed. Repeat five times.

Crunch: Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the bed, arms at your sides. Using your abdominal muscles, bring your knees up toward your chest and extend your arms so that your hands reach toward your knees, continuing to bring your upper body closer to your knees. Note: Do not pull up with your neck! Lower your upper body halfway down toward the bed. Hold for a slow count of 10 (about 20 seconds). Now repeat five times before lowering your upper body all the way back down to the prone position.

Elbow-knee piston: Lie on your back. Put your hands underneath your head, fingers laced, and bend your knees so that your feet rest flat on the mattress. Raise your bent legs in alternating motions, bringing your left elbow and right knee toward each other — then, as you bring them back down, bring your right elbow and left knee toward each other, raising your upper body to bring knee and elbow as close together as you can. As you get more proficient, increase your speed so that it becomes a pumping motion. Repeat each left/right combination three to six times.

Bicycle with crunches: Similar to the previous exercise, for this one you again lie on your back, arms at your sides. Start with your legs flat on the bed, then raise them and begin moving them as if you were pedaling a bicycle. At the same time, raise your body in a crunchlike position (using your abdominal muscles) and begin “throwing punches” at your feet in sync with your leg movements. Repeat the cycle of left/right punches with corresponding pedaling five times — your goal is to do a total of 10 punches, five with each hand.

For these next two exercises, turn over onto your stomach…

Forearm-supported body lift: Lie on your stomach, palms flat and under your shoulders, elbows bent in an acute angle. Push off your hands and lift your upper body off the bed, eyes facing forward. Hold this position for two seconds then return to the original position. Repeat five more times.

Cobra: Lie on your stomach, elbows bent, and hands placed flat on the bed in line with your shoulders. Straighten your arms to lift your upper body while curving it back like a cobra — if you’re unable to straighten your arms fully, just push up as far as you can. (A soft mattress may limit your ability to get full extension of the arms.) Hold this “up” position for a slow count of 10 and then slowly return to starting position. Repeat just twice for a total of three. Tip: Try this exercise with deeper breathing to improve relaxation.

The beauty of this exercise program is that it can be adapted in a variety of ways to fit into your life and can be done as an early morning and/or evening workout. It provides an easy way to work out while traveling, for instance, or (as in Kavanau’s case) a good way to put your awake time in the middle of the night to good use.

Personally, I’m an early riser, and the winter mornings are cold up here in Connecticut — so I’m finding that these exercises are a wonderful way to start my day!

Source(s):

Genie Tartell, DC, RN, a sports chiropractor based in Kingston, New York, who was team chiropractor for the New York Reebok aerobic team. She has been a guest on The View, CNBC, Fox News, WOR radio and various national radio shows.

by Carole Jackson, Bottom Line Health

Anytime I think about rest, I picture myself sleeping or just relaxing on my bed with its nice fluffy pillows — but, according to Matthew Edlund, MD, author of the book The Power of Rest: Why Sleep Alone Is Not Enough, this restricted vision of rest limits the benefits that we get from it. Dr. Edlund is a proponent of what he calls “powerful resting,” which involves a lot more than snoozing, reading or watching TV. “Rest doesn’t mean just immobility,” he explains. “It is anything we do with the intention of regenerating the body.” There are other ways of resting, he says, that can help you increase productivity and improve your mood, health and pleasure — and even help you maintain a healthy weight.

In Dr. Edlund’s view, lying around on the couch or sleeping are classic examples of passive rest — which has value, of course. However, Dr. Edlund’s primary focus is something else — the pursuit of active rest. This includes activities and exercises that he describes as “restorative in that they rebuild and rewire body and mind… let you retune and reset… and consciously direct your body and brain to be more capable of doing whatever you want to do.”

A common mistake people make is to consider active rest as little more than engaging in “fun activities,” such as the things we all tend to do on vacations. But that view is incomplete, he says. In fact, active rest is not just fun — it contributes to longevity and health by creating a better mood and balance in your life as well as reducing stress. In Dr. Edlund’s mind, that is why it should be a regular part of our lives.

Exercises for Active Rest

Dr. Edlund has identified four life areas that provide opportunities for active rest and offered a specific exercise to experience and enhance each of them…

• Physical rest. Sleep is just one part of physical rest, Dr. Edlund points out. He suggests that we all can benefit from performing simple physiological tasks while we are awake to bring a calm, relaxed state and mental alertness — without taking a nap.

Suggested activity: “Paradoxical Relaxation.” Close your eyes and feel the motion of your eyeballs, which will automatically continue to move under your closed lids. Target any area of your body where you can feel muscle tension — if you can’t think of one, try your left eye (or the right one if you are left-handed, since it is easier to focus on the body part that you don’t automatically use). Keep your mental focus there, and experience the intensity of tension as the muscle moves — without trying to modify or change it in any way. Do this for several minutes, then shift your focus to another area of tension in a different body part, such as your neck, shoulder or hand, where you will repeat the same activity.

Benefit: The paradoxical aspect of this exercise is that paying attention to one specific area of tension, in this case your eye, relaxes muscles throughout the entire body. This can be a good trick to help you get to sleep as well.

• Mental rest. Actively resting your mind quickly produces relaxation and focus that can bring greater awareness, concentration and achievement.

Suggested activity: “Walking to Music.” Find a place where you have enough space to walk around comfortably for about one minute, such as a long hallway, a parking lot or, better yet, a park. But before walking, use a portable music player or just your imagination to “listen to” one fast tune and a slow one for about 30 seconds as you stand without moving. Then replay (on your device or in your head) the fast song and walk with its rhythm, getting your whole body into the beat. After you really start to feel it in your body (for most people, that’s about 20 seconds), switch to the slow song for the same period of time and adjust your gait accordingly. Notice how different your muscles feel and how each tune affects your mood. If you’re feeling good, you can continue this exercise longer and feel even more enlivened.

Benefit: Walking to music takes you away from your current thoughts and worries while also focusing your brain and engaging your muscles simultaneously. This in turn produces a quick boost of energy and activates the pleasure center of the brain (like dancing does). It will improve your mood!

• Social rest. The power of social rest comes from connecting with others, thus creating feelings of belonging and togetherness, both of which promote good health.

Suggested activity: Walk to lunch with a colleague, friend or neighbor. To do this, consider who in your life you would like to know better and spend more time with — say a coworker who is really in the know about your workplace, a neighbor who is full of good cheer, a friend who has long been special to you. Every few weeks, invite one of them to lunch. Here is the catch — you are to choose a place for lunch that takes about 10 minutes to walk to. As you walk to and from the restaurant with your companion, let him or her do most of the chatting initially while you pay close attention not only to the words but also to his or her carriage and posture, facial expressions and emotions.

Benefit: Focusing on someone else can take you deeper into the dynamics and flow of your relationships and at the same time remove you from a focus on your own life, producing a relaxing and enriching break.

• Spiritual rest. This type of rest connects you to larger and greater aspects of life (such as a higher power) while also promoting a sense of internal balance.

Suggested activity: “Moving through Time and Space.” This is a journey of the imagination that will take three to five minutes. As you sit at your table or desk, close your eyes and picture life as it was in that specific location one year ago… 10 years ago… 100 years… 1,000 years… and finally reaching all the way back to prehistoric times and then beyond, to the time before everything began. Stay in each time period for a few seconds before reversing the pattern and, just as quickly, moving forward. Then take another mental “trip,” but this time, focus on internal space, beginning by picturing your heart… then zooming in to the left side of it and the valves there… then the arteries… the blood vessel branches… the cells… the molecules… and, finally, the atoms. Once again, reverse the pattern — now quickly imagining your internal structure from the tiniest elements and zooming out to your heart in the present.

Benefit: This provides perspective and a sense of awe about the vastness of the universe as you take yourself backward and then hurtle forward through time and space.

Each of these activities — and others that Dr. Edlund describes in his book — takes only a few minutes to accomplish. They are easy to fit into your day whenever you feel the need to “power up,” as he puts it. You can catch your breath by calming down, bringing the focus back to who you are — all truly regenerative and restorative, just as he says.

Source(s):

Matthew Edlund, MD, sleep, biological clocks, performance and rest expert, and author of The Power of Rest: Why Sleep Alone Is Not Enough (HarperOne). He is director of the Center for Circadian Medicine, Sarasota, Florida.

by Carole Jackson, Bottom Line Health

Oh boy, do I have good news to share!

Evidence demonstrates that sleeping in on the weekend is a smart idea after a tough week at work (or anywhere else). I’ve been known to sleep late myself on occasion, but always with a twinge of guilt, since we’re told that it’s better to go to sleep and get up at the same time every day. But juggling my job, kids, household tasks and other requirements all week sometimes leaves me weary and sleep-deprived by Friday afternoon — and I bet you know exactly how I feel.

Americans have a sleep debt that makes the national budget deficit look minor, warns Matthew Edlund, MD, MOH, an expert on rest, biological clocks, performance and sleep based in Sarasota, Florida, and author of the new book, The Power of Rest. Sleep is as important to health as food and water, and we should stop feeling guilty for allotting time for our bodies to rest, recharge and regenerate, he said.

Here’s Proof…

At the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, researchers conducted a study of the effect of sleep deprivation on the brain power of 159 healthy adults aged 22 to 45. A control group of 17 spent 12 consecutive days in the sleep lab — 10 hours in bed each night for seven nights — while the others spent 10 hours in bed for the first two nights, then were in bed only from 4 a.m. to 8 a.m. for five consecutive nights. Next, this group was assigned randomized amounts of recovery sleep, up to 10 hours per night.

All participants completed 30-minute computerized tests to assess their levels of alertness and neurobehavior performance every two hours while awake — and no one will be surprised to learn that in comparison with those who had adequate sleep, people with restricted sleep experienced:

• Impaired alertness
• Shortened attention span
• Reduced reaction time.

Why You Need a Vacation

But here’s the happy finding: Normal function (alertness and performance, as above) was restored in sleep-deprived participants after just one solid night of recovery sleep — 10 hours, or the equivalent of squeezing in extra shut-eye on Saturday morning after a long week. (The more recovery sleep, the higher the scores.) In contrast, participants whose sleep continued to be restricted to an average of four to six hours per night performed poorly on tests and continued to get worse as their restricted sleep continued. Researchers also warned that even 10 hours of sleep in one night is not enough to bounce back if you continually push yourself too hard and burn the candle at both ends. Dr. Edlund said that, in fact, many studies have shown that even a few weeks of normal sleep won’t make up for a longtime habit of sleep deprivation — and he added that nowadays people rarely know what it’s like to feel fully rested. In that case, it is likely to take more than a day — think many weeks, and that’s only if you don’t go back to your old ways — to get back to par… which is why we need to take vacations!

These results were published in the August 2010 issue of the journal Sleep.

Just as we don’t expect our bodies to function without adequate nutrition, we can’t expect to feel fully fueled and alert without sufficient sleep, Dr. Edlund told me. The best scenario, of course, is to not allow yourself to become sleep-deprived in the first place — but this is not always possible. Most people require seven or eight hours a night to be at their best the next day. But when that doesn’t happen, we now know that you can get tremendous benefit from snoozing a little longer even for just one morning. It gives your brain time to recover and reboot — you’ll be more focused, productive and energetic as a result.

Source(s):

Matthew Edlund, MD, MOH (masters in occupational health), Center for Circadian Medicine, Sarasota, Florida. Dr. Edlund is author of The Power of Rest: Why Sleep Alone is Not Enough: A 30-Day Plan to Reset Your Body (HarperOne). Visit his Web site at www.TheRestDoctor.com.

by Carole Jackson, Bottom Line Health

Here’s a not-so-nutty idea: Urge your holiday guests to get over the guilt and enjoy a piece of pecan pie as a healthy (albeit occasional) indulgence that can enhance their neurological function!

It’s not such a stretch. New research finds that eating pecans helps strengthen your nervous system, thus helping your brain to function better. Pecans are the tree nuts highest in disease-fighting antioxidants (such as vitamin E), according to the US Department of Agriculture, and they number among the 15 top antioxidant foods overall. Antioxidants shield your body’s cells from oxidative damage and may offer protection against central nervous system diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease). While it is true that pecans contain significant levels of saturated fats, they also contain protective antioxidants (including proanthocyanidins) that make them helpful to heart and brain health.

The Study

At the Center for Cellular Neurobiology at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, Thomas B. Shea, PhD, director and professor of biological sciences, and his colleagues conducted several lab studies on the effects of pecan-enriched diets in mice. Mice bred to experience age-related neurological decline in motor neuron function (motor neurons are the nerve cells that send signals to the muscles) were divided into three groups. One group was given food that had lots of pecans ground into it… one group got somewhat less pecans… and the third group ate food with no pecans at all.

Dr. Shea and his team tested the motor neuron function in the mice before and after instituting the three diets. They found that…

• Both groups of pecan-eating mice staved off motor function decline significantly, compared with the group that ate no pecans.

• The mice who ate the most pecans (0.05% of their diet) fared the best.

These results were published in the June 2010 issue of Current Topics in Nutraceutical Research. Dr. Shea told me that the findings suggest that pecans “may enhance or sustain motor neuron health as we age.”

These findings motivated me to search out a really great recipe for a pecan pie that is healthful while also being delicious. After all, to my way of thinking, Thanksgiving isn’t complete without pecan pie for my dessert… and the recipe I discovered also includes heart-healthy dark chocolate.

Recipe: Dark Chocolate Pecan Pie

This pecan pie recipe comes from Southern cook extraordinaire Paula Deen, and since I’ve invited a friend with celiac disease to Thanksgiving dinner, I plan to make it with a ready-made gluten-free crust.

The Filling:

Ingredients
2 cups pecan halves
3 large eggs, beaten
3 Tablespoons butter, melted
½ cup dark corn syrup
1 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons good-quality bourbon
3 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Cover bottom of pie crust with pecan halves.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and melted butter. Add the corn syrup, sugar, bourbon and the chopped chocolate. Stir until all ingredients are combined. Pour mixture into the pie shell over the pecans and place on a heavy-duty cookie sheet.

Bake for 10 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 350°F, and continue to bake for an additional 25 minutes or until pie is set. Remove from oven, and cool on a wire rack.

Recipe courtesy of Paula Deen.

Source(s):
Thomas B. Shea, PhD, professor of biological sciences, and director, Center for Cellular Neurobiology and Neurodegeneration Research, University of Massachusetts, Lowell.

by Carole Jackson, Bottom Line Health

I’m still deeply involved in the time-intensive job of raising my family, so I admit to harboring some wistful dreams of the days and years ahead when I’ll be able to indulge myself with brainy pursuits such as doing crossword puzzles, playing Sudoku and taking classes at the local college just because I want to — all the more so since it’s been thought that these activities help us stay sharp and stave off dementia.
That’s been the conventional wisdom, at least… but new research I’ve just read adds a bizarre twist — it appears that using your brain is protective only to a point. Then it may make matters worse. A new study from Rush University Medical Center in Chicago shows that once dementia symptoms set in and affected people who had been mentally active, the deterioration seemed to occur faster and to be more destructive. Can this really be true?
You can bet I picked up the phone right away to learn all I could about this study from its author, senior neuropsychologist Robert. S. Wilson, PhD. He told me that he and his research team evaluated 1,157 healthy people age 65 and older who did not have any signs of dementia. At the start of the 12-year study, each participant was assigned points (from one to five) based on the quantity and quality of mental activities he/she engaged in regularly. When these folks were checked again about six years later, about half (614) had no cognitive impairment… and, over the next six years, each point that they had earned on their mental activity scale correlated to a reduced rate of cognitive decline by an impressive 52% per year.

But there was a bit of bad news, too: Mentally active participants who did develop symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease had an average 42% increase (compared with those who weren’t as intellectually active) in their annual rate of decline for each point that they had originally scored on the mental activity scale.
In other words, said Dr. Wilson, exercising mental skills did help people retain their cognitive abilities if — and it’s a big if — they did not develop Alzheimer’s. For people who did, once symptoms were apparent, the decline appeared to be much faster than if they had been living a less stimulating life.

What Does This Mean?
How to make sense of these results? Dr. Wilson believes that the protective effect of increased mental stimulation actually masks the early signs of cognitive decline. When the symptoms finally do become evident, the disease is already far along — more so than among people who showed signs earlier because they had less mental stimulation.
Dr. Wilson told me that his research team is still following the same subjects — those who are still mentally sharp as well as those who now are officially diagnosed with Alzheimer’s — in order to learn more about how long a “cognitive lifestyle” is protective. Since other research has now established that Alzheimer’s starts decades before symptoms actually start to show up, it’s important to learn whether keeping the brain active is a way to delay the onset of disease symptoms even as the disease pathology moves forward, which may be a way to keep people living in a vital, independent state for a longer time.

Source(s):
Robert S. Wilson, PhD, senior neuropsychologist, professor of neurological sciences and psychology, director of the section of cognitive neuroscience, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago.

by Carole Jackson, Bottom Line Health

I know lots of people who complain that they don’t hear as well as they used to — and plenty of others who make similar complaints about their loved ones. When my ears were ringing and I couldn’t hear so well in the days after I took my teenage daughter to a concert, I found myself wondering whether getting older makes us more vulnerable to hearing loss caused by loud noise.

Interestingly, a new study in the American Journal of Epidemiology reported that adults today are actually 31% less likely to suffer hearing loss than the previous generation. This seems to be the result of environmental and not physical causes. Researchers speculate that the reasons relate to workplace trends (fewer people work in factory settings with loud industrial noise, and even those who do are protected by health and safety regulations requiring noise abatement and earplugs) and medical advances (in particular, the fact that antibiotics now treat many illnesses and infections that previously resulted in hearing damage).

But the news wasn’t all good. About 15% of all adults between age 20 and 69 have already suffered some hearing loss specifically from exposure to loud noise, according to the latest statistics from the National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders.

That figure came as no surprise to Aaron G. Benson, MD, a neurotologist in private practice in Toledo and clinical professor of neurotology at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Life is loud, he pointed out, even beyond concerts and (as I’m constantly reminding my daughters) in-ear headphones. Dr. Benson rattled off a bunch of examples of noisy assaults we suffer, including sirens, motorcycles and other traffic sounds, lawn mowers, leaf- and snowblowers, hair dryers and vacuum cleaners.

According to Dr. Benson, single explosive sounds and ongoing ambient noise both can be damaging — how much so relates to both the decibel level and length of exposure. For example, you’ll likely experience some hearing loss after eight hours of exposure at 90 decibels (which is the decibel level of a train whistle or trucks on the highway). As the noise gets louder, the damage happens faster, though genetics are a factor in how much noise exposure you can tolerate without damage.

HOW HEARING LOSS HAPPENS

Dr. Benson explained that loud noise is destructive to the tiny hair cells in your ear that convert sound into electrical signals for the brain. The more of these cells that get destroyed over time, the worse your hearing.

Some suggestions on how to protect yourself by turning down the volume in your life…
• Turn down iPods, Bluetooth receivers and other in-ear listening devices. Dr. Benson suggests finding a quiet spot where you can test the volume range at which you can hear comfortably. Use a permanent marker to identify this particular spot on your device’s controls, and avoid turning the volume up any higher.
• When you listen to music, talk on the phone or watch television, don’t use a headset or earbuds all the time. Varying the way sound comes into your ears helps protect your hearing, so use your speakers some times — at a moderate level.
• Consider using noise-canceling earphones if you know that you’ll be spending time in a loud environment, for instance on an airplane or at a racetrack.
• Buy quieter consumer goods. Check out Noise Free America’s site, www.NoiseFree.org/quietproducts.php.
• Studies suggest that antioxidants such as magnesium or vitamins A, C and E, if taken prior to noise trauma, may provide some protection. (See Daily Health News, “Everyday Vitamins May Prevent Common Hearing Loss,” January 1, 2008, for more about this.) Check with your doctor first for information about proper dosage and drug interactions.
As can happen after a random exposure, my hearing returned to normal — for which I am thankful. However, Dr. Benson told me that cumulative damage, the kind that’s done over years of exposure to loud sounds, can’t be reversed. Clearly, it makes sense to do all that you can to protect the hearing you still have.

Source(s):

Aaron G. Benson, MD, clinical adjunct professor, division of neurotology, department of otolaryngology head and neck surgery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He is in private practice in Toledo.

by Carole Jackson, Bottom Line Health

The continuing onslaught of awful health news for people who take antacids is enough to cause heartburn itself — it just goes from bad to worse! A brand-new study has linked the use of proton-pump inhibitor (PPI) medications with increased risk for another heart attack in patients who’ve already had one. That finding follows closely on the heels of other research linking these drugs with a higher risk for intestinal infections in hospital patients and fractures in postmenopausal women. Each of these dangers can be life-threatening — so it seems unnecessarily risky to take a drug for something that can be controlled by making some lifestyle changes.

What makes this especially worrisome is that these new findings are getting tossed onto a heap of others that are being ignored — not only by the folks who are loathe to give up the quick relief that antacids bring after intemperate eating and drinking but also by their doctors, who continue to churn out enough prescriptions for popular PPIs such as esomeprazole (Nexium), lansoprazole (Prevacid), omeprazole (Prilosec) and pantoprazole (Protonix) to make them the third best-selling drug category in this country.

Why So Many Problems?

People are literally asking for trouble. “These antacids continue to be over-requested by patients, who depend on them to control chronic heartburn, and overprescribed by physicians for patients in the hospital and for everyday life to manage digestive disturbances,” said Daily Health News contributing editor Andrew L. Rubman, ND. “As a result, we’re seeing both long- and short-term medical complications.”

Dr. Rubman and I sat down once again to discuss the latest round of risks posed by PPIs. Other than as a short-term solution for serious digestive conditions, Dr. Rubman is vehemently opposed to these drugs and recommends that you explore safer alternatives.

PPIs, which work by suppressing stomach acid, are effective short-term treatments for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and peptic ulcers. But, said Dr. Rubman, if taken daily for more than three weeks, they impair digestion, harm the liver and suppress immune functions. Even though their dangers have been widely reported, PPIs continue to be prescribed for longer periods of time than is safe and/or for less serious conditions, such as indigestion and heartburn.

Heart Attack Danger

The newest study connecting PPI use with subsequent cardiovascular events in patients who have had a first heart attack comes from Denmark and was published in the September 21, 2010, issue of Annals of Internal Medicine. Following more than 56,000 patients for one year after their first heart attacks, researchers found that taking PPIs raised the likelihood that a patient would have an additional heart event within 30 days of discharge by 30%!

Why? Dr. Rubman explained that PPIs skew nutrient absorption, impede liver function and alter the bacterial balance in the intestines, making the heart more vulnerable to inflammation, arrhythmia and oxygen starvation.

PPIs Make Hospital Patients Sicker

At Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, researchers examined the records of more than 100,000 adults who were admitted to the hospital for three days or more during a recent five-year period. They found that about half were prescribed acid-suppressing medications — and that these were associated with higher incidence of infections caused by the dangerous bacterium C. difficile. The risk was 53% higher in patients taking mild acid-suppressing drugs (known as H2RA drugs — such as Pepcid, Tagamet or Zantac)… and 74% higher in those taking the more powerful ones (Nexium and rabeprazole/Aciphex). This study was published in the May 10, 2010, issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

The explanation: Doctors routinely administer PPIs to hospital patients whose digestion is impaired by illness, medications or surgery, Dr. Rubman explains. This offers short-term relief of discomfort but also drastically decreases digestive efficiency and removes an important natural barrier against pathogens such as C. difficile. Other research shows that hospital patients taking PPIs are at an increased risk for hospital-acquired pneumonia, with fragile seniors being especially vulnerable.

Fracture Risk

Another study (also in the May 10, 2010, Archives of Internal Medicine) affirms the link between PPIs and broken bones. Following 130,000 postmenopausal women (age 50 to 79) with no history of hip fracture for more than seven years, researchers found that those regularly taking PPIs experienced…

• 47% increased risk for spine fractures.

• 26% increased risk for forearm and wrist fractures.

• 25% increased risk for total factures.

Possible cause: Based on earlier research with similar findings, the authors speculate that suppressing stomach acid over sustained periods may impair the body’s ability to absorb calcium.

Dr. Rubman’s Advice

Don’t mess with your digestive system, warns Dr. Rubman. It is your body’s most important point of interaction with the outside world, and altering its natural function causes a wide range of serious problems, some quite dangerous.

He suggests instead trying to improve digestive function by following these strategies: Avoid hard-to-digest foods such as red meat, fatty or fried items and sugary desserts… eat more fiber-rich whole foods, such as steamed vegetables and ripe fruits… chew food thoroughly… and don’t eat within 60 to 90 minutes of bedtime so that your digestive system is calm at night.

For occasional heartburn or indigestion: Dr. Rubman suggests sipping four ounces of water with one half-teaspoon of baking soda stirred into it — but cautions that even this natural remedy should be used only occasionally.

If your problems persist, see a physician with expertise in digestive issues, such as a licensed naturopathic doctor who can prescribe appropriate digestive enzymes to help your body process food better as part of a comprehensive treatment program. Solving the problem is far better than masking the symptoms.

Source(s):
Andrew L. Rubman, ND, founder and director, Southbury Clinic for Traditional Medicines, Southbury, Connecticut. www.SouthburyClinic.com.

by Carole Jackson, Bottom Line Health

For many years, butter was replaced by margarine on the menus of health-conscious consumers. But like many dietary taboos, that’s beginning to change. A little butter is better than the fake stuff, says Daily Health News contributing medical editor Andrew L. Rubman, ND. Butter is a natural food that supports good health, while margarine is a processed product chemically fashioned from refined polyunsaturated oils. Don’t take this as license to drench your vegetables in pools of butter or slather it on your toast with abandon — but unless you have health challenges such as a serious digestive or metabolic disorder, Dr. Rubman says to go ahead and use the real thing!

Butter with Benefits

Butter consists of butterfat and trace amounts of milk proteins and water. You may be surprised to hear that butterfat is butyric acid, which is basically the same substance that mothers produce to nourish their babies, Dr. Rubman explains.

Butter’s beneficial components include…

• Antioxidants. Beta-carotene, selenium and other antioxidants shield the body from free-radical damage.
• Butyric acid. This short-chain fatty acid supports colon health.
• Conjugated linoleic acids. CLAs fight cancer, build muscle and boost immunity.
• Iodine. Butter is rich in iodine, which is essential to thyroid health.
• Lauric acid. A medium-chain fatty acid, lauric acid encourages the body’s immune system to fend off yeast and other infections.
• Lecithin. This phospholipid protects cells from oxidation and may contribute to cholesterol metabolism.
• Vitamin A. Butter contains the readily absorbable form of vitamin A, which is a must for eye and endocrine health.
• Vitamin D. This vitamin helps your body absorb calcium to maintain strong bones and plays a role in reducing your risk for chronic diseases such as osteoporosis, heart disease, and colon and other cancers.
• Vitamin E. Anti-inflammatory vitamin E speeds wound healing, promotes skin health, enhances immunity and may protect against a host of illnesses, including diabetes, heart disease and Alzheimer’s.
• Vitamin K. Proper blood clotting and bone health are among the benefits offered by fat-soluble vitamin K.

But What About the Fat?

The biggest rap against butter is its high fat content. Butter bashers argue that saturated fat and cholesterol in butter contribute to heart disease, but Dr. Rubman disagrees — and the research bears him out. In a study published in the May 2010 The Lancet, scientists point out that countries with the highest saturated fat consumption have lower cardiac mortality rates than countries that consume the least fat. For example, the French enjoy three times more saturated fat than the Azerbaijanis but have one-eighth the rate of heart disease deaths. The Finns eat half as much fat as the French, but the death rate from heart disease is three times greater in Finland. In research from the UK, 2,000 men with heart disease who cut back on saturated fat for two years had no fewer heart attacks than men who did not cut back.

Saturated fat and cholesterol have been falsely demonized by manufacturers of cholesterol-lowering statin drugs, observes Dr. Rubman, noting that since butter is typically used in small amounts, this can be a good place to get the fat your body needs, not only for optimal health but for life itself. Every cell in your body contains saturated fat and cholesterol, which contribute to proper digestive function, growth and other essential processes. According to Dr. Rubman, for best health, most people should follow a diet that contains approximately 15% to 30% fat, including some saturated fats. How much saturated fat depends on factors such as caloric expenditure and digestive efficiency — the more calories you burn, the more saturated fat you can appropriately consume.

Go with Organic

You are best off with organic butter made from the milk of grass-fed cows, Dr. Rubman notes — since conventional butters often contain dangerous pesticides, antibiotics and added growth hormones. Indeed, the Pesticide Action Network North America ranked non-organic butter as one of the top 10 foods most contaminated with persistent organic pollutants (POPs), toxic chemicals linked with breast cancer, immune system suppression, nervous system disorders, reproductive damage, hormone disruption and more!

Besides containing toxins, non-organic butter also is less nutritious than organic butter… less creamy… and less tasty. Is there any reason to buy any butter that’s not organic? Well, organic butter is more expensive than conventional butter — but the difference in a household’s overall budget is truly small, especially now that national grocery chains, such as Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s, are offering their own organic store brands.

Butter is a staple of the human diet that people have safely and happily consumed for thousands of years, and Dr. Rubman says we should no more ban it from our lives than we should ban mother’s milk. It should be enjoyed in moderation, a pat here and a pat there — but enjoyed it can be… and that’s more than can be said of margarine or other butter substitutes.

Source(s):

Andrew L. Rubman, ND, founder and director, Southbury Clinic for Traditional Medicines, Southbury, Connecticut. www.Southbury.com <http://edhn.bottomlinesecrets.com/a/hBMmEo1B74VNIB8UzAuNFNjQQGS/dhn3> .

 

by Carole Jackson, Bottom Line Health

What really causes dementia? What a relief it would be to know the answer, since practically everyone I know worries about whether the occasional “senior moment” or “brain fog” is a sign that something more serious is going on. With the incidence of dementia rising worldwide, scientists are studying this issue from every possible angle, trying to learn what illnesses, lifestyle habits and environmental factors are at play — but, to be honest, as yet no one knows for sure.

Making this particular challenge even more difficult (or rewarding, I suppose, depending on your perspective) is that dementia researchers seem to find new associations with every rock they turn over. Having a big head? Exposure to bright lights? Both may be protective. Living a sedentary lifestyle, smoking and having high cholesterol at midlife? Trouble lies ahead.

What We Do Know…

Let’s take a quick trip through some of the more recent research findings so that you can see what I mean:

Healthy habits that seem to protect against dementia…

Using your brain, living a full life. A study of 951 older, dementia-free patients found that those who reported having a purpose in life at the study’s start were half as likely to have Alzheimer’s disease seven years later… while numerous studies showed that engaging in mentally stimulating activities, such as doing crossword puzzles, playing cards and attending movies and plays, holds back development of dementia.

Good nutrition — including taking tea. A four-year study of 2,258 dementia-free New Yorkers found 40% lower risk for Alzheimer’s among those who followed the Mediterranean diet (lots of fruit, vegetables, fish, olive oil, legumes and cereals and moderate alcohol intake) than for those whose diets weren’t as healthy. Studies have also found that drinking tea regularly is protective — for instance, one 14-year study found that tea drinkers were 37% less likely to develop dementia than those who don’t drink tea.

Exercise. A vast body of research finds regular exercise is protective. For instance, one study found that those who engage in active exercise, such as doing yard work or biking, had a 29% lower risk for dementia than people who got little or no exercise.

Meanwhile, signs that point to increased risk for other health problems are also associated with a higher risk for dementia…

Vitamin D deficiency. An international group that assessed cognitive decline of 858 seniors over six years found that people deficient in vitamin D were more than 60% more likely to have experienced significant cognitive decline and 31% more likely to have problems with executive function (which includes thinking, learning and memory) than those with healthy levels of vitamin D.

Cardiovascular risk factors. One large study that followed almost 10,000 people over age 40 found that even marginally high cholesterol (200 mg/dL to 239 mg/dL) at middle age increased risk for late-life dementia by about 50%, while other studies have correlated high blood pressure with dementia.

First- and secondhand smoking. Beyond the countless studies linking smoking and cognitive impairment, a six-year study of almost 5,000 nonsmoking adults by researchers from the Universities of Cambridge and Michigan found that those who reported long-term exposure (30 years or more) to secondhand tobacco smoke were about 30% more likely to develop dementia than those who reported no regular exposure.

And if you already have certain diseases, odds are higher that you’ll get dementia, too…

Diabetes. Substantial research has found diabetes is a risk factor for dementia. For example, a new study by London’s Institute of Psychiatry found that participants with diabetes were nearly three times as likely as nondiabetics to develop dementia.

Depression. Several studies find depression increases dementia risk. Of nearly 1,000 elderly participants from the 62-year Framingham Heart Study, those who were depressed when first examined had almost double the risk for dementia 17 years later.

Is There a Theme Here?

I called Peter Rabins, MD, MPH, Richman Family Professor for Alzheimer’s and Related Diseases at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, to ask his opinion. He told me that it makes sense, in practical terms, to summarize risk factors for dementia as being pretty much inclusive of everything that we already know is bad for your heart. But when it comes to prevention, he added — frustratingly — the massive amount of research has so far produced “no strong evidence that we can ‘prevent’ dementia by doing anything in particular.”

A major problem is that most of the studies have some basic limitation or flaw in research design, Dr. Rabins told me. For instance, most of the existing research compares people who develop dementia with those who don’t… but new research indicates that dementia may be present decades before symptoms are noticeable enough to make a diagnosis, so it may be that some of those patients weren’t actually dementia-free. Another flaw: Healthier people tend to take better care of themselves, so it’s hard to tease out which factors or habits are responsible for cognitive health.

In the Meantime…

What scientific advice can we offer, based on what we know at this point? I asked Dr. Rabins this question. He pointed out that when it comes to preventing dementia, the odds clearly favor those who live a healthy lifestyle. For instance, since 10% to 20% of dementia in the US is known to have vascular causes, we can infer that eating a healthy diet, exercising and managing stress are beneficial. The fact that only 30% to 60% of dementia risk is thought to be genetic means that there is plenty of reason to do all you can to reduce environmental risk — another argument for health-promoting habits and choices.

The search for the cause or cure will certainly continue, but reviewing what we already do know says quite a lot. Living well and with joy seems to boost the odds that you will remain cognitively intact, whereas all those things that are bad for you… are bad for you.

Source(s):
Peter V. Rabins, MD, MPH, Richman Family Professor for Alzheimer’s and Related Diseases, vice-chair for academic affairs, department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, and coauthor of The 36 Hour Day (The Johns Hopkins University Press).

by Carole Jackson, Bottom Line Health

Here’s a sappy story about a sweet breakfast treat that you don’t have to feel guilty about enjoying (unless you have diabetes) — maple syrup, which I love to drizzle onto my morning oatmeal. With a few nuts and some raisins or dried cranberries sprinkled on top, it’s my go-to breakfast for weekday mornings in cool weather. I called nutritionist Jane Kirby, RD, CD, CCP, author of Eat Great, Lose Weight and founder of Vermont Grain Mills in Charlotte, Vermont, for both the details on the health benefits of maple syrup and to get some ideas on different ways to enjoy it.

Unlike the many processed products that try to imitate it, real maple syrup contains significant amounts of both zinc (1.6 mg per ounce), an immune supporter and helpful to male reproductive health, and manganese (1.2 mg per ounce), which is good for bone health.

Also, Kirby points out that maple syrup is a healthier sweetener than table sugar for a variety of reasons…

• The sugars in maple syrup are absorbed more slowly by the body than refined sugar.

• There is no chemical processing involved, so it’s completely natural.

• Maple syrup has some nutrients, while sugar has none.

buy the real thing

Most of what you’ll find in the “syrup” section of your supermarket contains exactly 0% real maple syrup. Therefore you have to check the package carefully to find “pure maple syrup,” which is USDA-graded according to color and intensity of flavor. Here’s how real maple syrups differ from each other…

• Grade A Light Amber or Vermont Fancy usually is made early in the season and has a mild, delicate flavor. It’s often used for maple candies.

• Grade A Medium Amber is darker and has a more robust maple flavor. It’s typically used for pancakes and waffles.

• Grade A Dark Amber, darker still, has strong maple and caramel-like flavors. It can be used for pancakes if you like a more intense flavor, as well as for cooking.

• Grade B is very dark and has the strongest flavor, mostly maple but also with hints of caramel. It’s the best choice for cooking.

The differences among these grades relate to variances in weather, growing conditions and time of harvest, but all grades are nutritionally equal.

Now You’re Cooking! (With Maple Syrup)

Kirby told me that she often substitutes maple syrup for sugar in recipes — she recommends a one-to-one replacement, using Grade B (or cooking grade) syrup because it works best. Note: Decrease the amount of other liquid in your recipes by three tablespoons per cup since the syrup adds liquid.

She shared some of her favorite easy ways to use maple syrup in the kitchen…

• Fizzy maple. Drizzle maple syrup in a glass of carbonated water, with a lime wedge squeezed and dropped in.

• Maple carrots. Shred carrots in a food processor, pile on a plate, drizzle with a bit of olive oil and maple syrup, sprinkle with salt, pepper and grated fresh ginger. Microwave, covered, two to three minutes until carrots begin to soften.

• Maple glaze. Grade B (cooking-grade) maple syrup is thick, like molasses, and serves as a delicious glaze to be slathered on before roasting a chicken or ham.

And let’s not forget about the classic — maple syrup on pancakes! Kirby suggests warming Grade A Light or Dark Amber syrup slightly before pouring it onto a fresh, hot stack. This, by the way, is what we enjoy at my house on the more leisurely weekend mornings — with a swallow of fresh-squeezed orange juice to counter the sweetness, I can’t think of a better way to start the day!

Source(s):
Jane Kirby, RD, CD, CCP, author of Eat Great, Lose Weight: Tried and True Recipes from Real Weight-Loss Winners (Rodale) and founder of Vermont Grain Mills in Charlotte, Vermont. www.vermontgrainmill.com.