by Carole Jackson, Bottom Line Health

If you live in the US, the odds are nine to one that you ingest too much sodium, according to new research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). That doesn’t mean just a bit too much — for many, the excessive salt intake is enough to kick off high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke and/or kidney disease. In fact, dialing sodium intake back to the right amount could save 120,000 Americans from heart disease and 66,000 from strokes each year, researchers said.

However, the story behind the story is that consuming this “right” amount of salt will never be possible for people who don’t know exactly where all their dietary sodium lurks — and the hiding places are likely to surprise you.

According to the CDC report, the food group where most Americans are getting the highest amount of sodium is grains! This includes bread (even the healthy whole-grain kind), pasta and pizza crust (the tomato sauce and cheese add yet more sodium). Second-highest is meats — not only the lunch meat and sausage you’d expect, the report also specifically cited prepared chicken dinners and other prepared and packaged meats. And third is “processed vegetables” including vegetable-based soups and sauces and canned vegetables, not to mention the unsurprising potato products such as chips and fries.

Early Morning Peril?

According to Mark Houston, MD, head of the Hypertension Institute in Nashville and associate clinical professor of Medicine at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, the sodium-loaded surprises don’t stop there. Dr. Houston said that he was taken aback to see that the report barely mentioned other foods that contain sodium in plentiful amounts, including the all-American classic (and seemingly healthful) breakfast of milk (107 mg in one cup of low-fat milk) and cereal (200 mg in one cup of cornflakes). Most people don’t realize these contain any sodium at all!

We can’t just take a pass on sodium. We need it to help our nerves function properly, to aid nutrient absorption and for maintaining the right balance of water and minerals in our bodies. But, said Dr. Houston, most healthy adults require only 500 mg to 1,000 mg of sodium/day, and no one should ingest more than 2,300 mg. Some people should go lower still, setting 1,500 mg/day as the upper limit. This includes…

People with high blood pressure, diabetes or kidney disease.

African-Americans, who are genetically predisposed to high blood pressure.

People over age 50, who also are considered at higher risk for hypertension.

People who are “salt sensitive,” which describes about one-third of the adult population. Such individuals are extraordinarily reactive and will experience a rise in blood pressure after eating just a small amount of sodium.

HEART-SAVING STRATEGIES

Since you can’t rely on your taste buds to identify foods and beverages high in sodium, Dr. Houston made the following recommendations:

Read every label. You may be surprised to learn that one slice of whole-wheat bread typically contains about 100 mg of sodium and one ounce of cheddar cheese contains 180 mg. There are 390 mg of sodium in a half-cup serving of canned sweet peas, 709 mg in two ounces of turkey breast lunch meat and 780 mg in one cup of canned vegetable beef soup. Other surprisingly high sources of sodium: Four large black olives contain 150 mg of sodium… a one-ounce dill pickle has 260 mg… and two teaspoons of yellow mustard contain 115 mg.

Be mindful when adding salt. You may not realize that one-half teaspoon of salt (about what’s used in a pan of homemade lasagna or a batch of chocolate chip cookies) contains about 1,160 mg of sodium. A quick dash of salt (such as what you’d sprinkle on grilled fish or corn on the cob) contains 290 mg of sodium. Be aware that for the average American, about 70% of daily sodium intake is in prepared, packaged or processed foods, and the remaining 30% comes from the saltshaker.

Perk up your food without sodium. If you eat foods that are inherently more flavorful, you’ll be less likely to want to add salt. Try making salads with arugula, for example — it has a more intense flavor than more commonly used lettuces such as romaine or iceberg. Another idea: Add cilantro or ginger (both of which also have nutritional value) to salads and other dishes. Fresh lemon juice, peppermint, basil and vinegar are other zesty sources of flavor that add taste but contain virtually no sodium.

Eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables — meat and poultry, too. These are naturally very low in sodium.

Dr. Houston has one more piece of advice for those of us trying to reduce salt intake — go slow. He suggests cutting back gradually, by about 150 mg/day to 250 mg/day to reach your goal of 2,000 mg/day unless you are in a high-risk group, in which case it should be 1,500 mg/day. Not only will this help you feel less deprived, you’ll also learn to appreciate the true flavors of foods that had been masked by salt and other unhealthful condiments. Such an approach also helps your body adjust to and properly balance sodium concentrations. This is good advice that should not be taken with a grain of salt!

Source(s):

Mark Houston, MD, is the director of the Hypertension Institute in Nashville and an associate clinical professor of medicine at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. He is the author of What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Hypertension (Grand Central).

by Carole Jackson, Bottom Line Health

A good night’s sleep… there’s nothing more restorative — or elusive… for the 64% of Americans who report regularly having trouble sleeping. A disconcertingly high percentage of the sleepless (nearly 20%) solve the problem by taking sleeping pills, but you can guess how I feel about that! Not only do we know that sleeping pills are dangerous and potentially addictive, physically and/or emotionally — but swallowing a pill when you want to go to sleep doesn’t address the root cause of the problem. What, exactly, is keeping you up at night?

I have always felt strongly about this — and now even more so, since I had a conversation with Rubin Naiman, PhD, a psychologist and clinical assistant professor of medicine at the University of Arizona’s Center for Integrative Medicine, who called it “somewhat violent” that we expect to be able to climb into bed and fall immediately asleep… slumber soundly all night… and then rise and shine, on demand, at the buzz of the morning alarm! We discussed how to set more “natural” expectations, which can help bring about the “gentle experience” that he believes sleep is meant to be.

Slow Down…

According to Dr. Naiman, most of our sleep problems have to do not with our bodies, per se, but with our habits. The modern American lifestyle — replete with highly refined foods and caffeine-laden beverages, excessive exposure to artificial light in the evening, and “adrenaline-producing” nighttime activities, such as working until bedtime, watching TV or surfing the Web — leaves us overstimulated in the evening just when our bodies are designed to slow down… and, importantly, to literally cool down as well.

Studies show that a cooler core body temperature — and warmer hands and feet — make you sleepy. “Cooling the body allows the mind and the heart to get quiet,” said Dr. Naiman. He believes that this cooling process contributes to the release of melatonin, the hormone that helps to regulate the body’s circadian rhythm of sleeping and waking.

Deep Green Sleep

Dr. Naiman has developed an integrative approach to sleep that defines healthy sleep as an interaction between a person and his/her sleep environment. He calls this approach Deep Green Sleep. “My goal was to explore all of the subtleties in a person’s life that may be disrupting sleep,” he told me. “This takes into account your physiology, emotions, personal experiences, sleeping and waking patterns and your attitudes about sleep and the sleeping environment.” This approach is unique because it values “the subjective and personal experience of sleep,” he said — in contrast with conventional sleep treatment, which tends to rely on “computer printouts of sleep studies — otherwise known as ‘treating the chart.'”

It’s important to realize that lifestyle habits and attitudes are hard to change, so Dr. Naiman cautioned that it often can take weeks, even months, to achieve his Deep Green Sleep. The good news is that the results are lasting and may even enhance your waking life.

Here are his suggestions on how you can ease into the night…

Live a Healthful Waking Life

“The secret of a good night’s sleep is a good day’s waking,” said Dr. Naiman. This includes getting regular exercise (but not within three hours of bedtime) and eating a balanced, nutritious diet.

Cool Down in the Evening

It’s important to help your mind and body cool down, starting several hours before bedtime, by doing the following…

• Avoid foods and drinks that sharply spike energy, such as highly refined carbohydrates and anything with caffeine, at least eight hours before bedtime.

• Limit alcohol in the evening — it interferes with sleep by suppressing melatonin. It also interferes with dreaming and disrupts circadian rhythms.

• Avoid nighttime screen-based activities within an hour of bedtime. You may think that watching TV or surfing the Web are relaxing things to do, but in reality these activities are highly stimulating. They engage your brain and expose you to relatively bright light with a strong blue wavelength that “mimics daylight and suppresses melatonin,” said Dr. Naiman.

Create a Sound Sleeping Environment

It is also important that where you sleep be stimulation-free and conducive to rest.

In your bedroom:

• Be sure that you have a comfortable mattress, pillow and bedding. It’s amazing how many people fail to address this basic need — often because their mattress has become worn out slowly, over time, and they haven’t noticed.

• Remove anything unessential from your bedside table that may tempt you to stay awake, such as the TV remove control or stimulating books.

• When you are ready to call it a night, turn everything off — radio, TV and, of course, the light.

• Keep the room cool (68°F or lower).

Let Go of Waking

Each day, allow your mind and body to surrender to sleep by engaging in quieting and relaxing activities starting about an hour before bedtime, such as:

• Gentle yoga

• Meditation

• Rhythmic breathing

• Reading poetry or other nonstimulating material

• Journaling

• Taking a hot bath

Sex seems to help most people relax and can facilitate sleep, in part because climaxing triggers a powerful relaxation response, Dr. Naiman said.

Consider Supplementing with Melatonin

If sleep is still elusive after trying these Deep Green Sleep tips, Dr. Naiman often suggests a melatonin supplement. Dr. Naiman believes that this is better than sleeping pills since melatonin is “the body’s own natural chemical messenger of night.” “Melatonin does not directly cause sleep, but triggers a cascade of events that result in natural sleep and dreams,” he said, adding that it is nonaddictive, inexpensive and generally safe. Not all doctors agree however, so it is important to check with your doctor first.

If you’re interested in learning more about Dr. Naiman’s Deep Green Sleep program, you can visit his Web site (www.TheSleepAdvisor.com) and take a free quiz that helps identify your particular sleep challenges. But, since it is computer-based, make sure you do it several hours before bedtime!

Source(s):

Rubin Naiman, PhD, is a psychologist specializing in sleep and dream medicine and clinical assistant professor of medicine at the University of Arizona’s Center for Integrative Medicine. He is founder and director of Circadian Health Associates, an organization that offers a broad range of sleep-related services, training and consultation. Dr. Naiman is author of the book Healing Night (Syren) and is coauthor with Dr. Andrew Weil, of the audiobook Healthy Sleep (Sounds True).

by Carole Jackson, Bottom Line Health

It’s not exactly a crystal ball, but doctors have a new way to predict the future health of your knees — research shows that patients who have both osteoarthritis of the knee and bone cysts are headed for severe arthritis. But don’t get discouraged — if you’re not there yet, you still have time to change the outcome.

To understand what this means to arthritis sufferers, I turned to Patience White, MD, chief public health officer at the National Arthritis Foundation, pediatric rheumatologist and a professor of medicine and pediatrics in the department of medicine at George Washington University. She told me that bone cysts (abnormal pockets of synovial fluid, which is the liquid that normally lubricates joints) are present in about half of patients with osteoarthritis of the knee — most particularly if it is advanced. She said the relationship between the two is a chicken and egg dilemma — it’s unclear whether people have bone cysts because of their severe arthritis or it’s the other way around, that the arthritis is made more severe by the bone cysts.

To learn more about this relationship, researchers at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, recruited and examined 109 people with knee osteoarthritis. About half of these people also had bone cysts. The group was then reexamined two years later, and researchers found that…

• Patients whose previous MRI showed both bone cysts and arthritis at the start of the study experienced an average 9.3% loss of cartilage.

• Those who’d had arthritis and bone marrow lesions — less serious abnormalities that may or may not lead to bone cysts — had a 6.3% cartilage loss.

• Individuals with arthritis only — no cysts or bone lesions — experienced only a 2.6% cartilage loss.

With increasing bone abnormalities (i.e., lesions and cysts), the likelihood that a patient would require knee replacement also rose significantly. This research was reported in the March 2010 issue of Arthritis Research & Therapy.

Fight Arthritis Aggressively!

Dr. White told me that there’s more to be learned from a larger osteoarthritis study going on now at the National Institutes of Health. In the meantime, she said there’s not much you can do to treat bone cysts (they’re removed surgically only in rare cases where they present specific difficulties), but their presence should be viewed as a call to action. To that end, Dr. White urges anyone with knee osteoarthritis to…

• Stay active — movement is the best medicine, Dr. White said. Physical activities such as swimming, walking, stretching and range-of-motion exercises keep your joints flexible and improve muscle strength, which helps take the strain off joints. If you are not sure about the right exercises for people with arthritis, check with your doctor and go to www.Arthritis.org and look for the AF Life Improvement Series that offers programs and DVDs on how to exercise.

• Shed pounds if you are overweight. The heavier you are, the more damage is done to weight-bearing joints like the knees — but the good news is, every pound lost reduces the load on each knee when you stand or walk by four pounds. That’s a big result from just a bit of weight loss!

Source(s):

Patience White, MD, vice president of public health, National Arthritis Foundation, pediatric rheumatologist and professor of medicine and pediatrics, department of medicine, George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Washington, DC.

by Carole Jackson, Bottom Line Health

Old-fashioned Epsom salts — the stuff Grandma used as a soak for her aching feet — is undergoing a very modern makeover… to the point where the “Epsom Salt Council” has its own Facebook page and Twitter feed! I’m all for spreading the word — magnesium sulfate (the scientific name for Epsom salts) is indeed a great go-to solution for a wide swath of modern-day maladies, including stress, joint problems, inflammation and even cardiovascular disease. It’s important to know, however, that some Epsom salts enthusiasm is misplaced, according to Daily Health News medical editor Andrew L. Rubman, ND. Although he is a proponent of Epsom salts for many purposes, he warns that some suggestions now floating around the Internet are not only off base, they’re dangerous.

First — Epsom Benefits

The two most popular longtime uses of Epsom salts are in the bath and to soak the feet. These are great ways to allow the body to absorb magnesium, a mineral that has many health virtues, including easing stress, improving mental focus and sleep, boosting muscle and nerve function, regulating enzyme activity, supporting circulation, increasing oxygen flow and more.

Bath: Soaking in Epsom salts is a superb way to facilitate absorption through the skin, which raises magnesium levels throughout the body, said Dr. Rubman. He recommends a pre-bedtime bath with Epsom salts as being “great for relaxation.” This is a far better way to get your magnesium than taking supplements, he said, since it avoids nasty potential side effects, including loose bowels or diarrhea. Dr. Rubman’s bath recommendation: Add several cups of Epsom salts to your running bath, allowing them to dissolve. Note: If you are being treated for a chronic disease and are on multiple medications — or are pregnant — check with your doctor first.

Foot soak: Your feet will benefit along with the rest of your body from the aforementioned bath — but if (as Grandma used to say) your “dogs are really barking,” Dr. Rubman has a recipe that will help immensely. For a super-saturated foot soak: Boil the water first, using a large pot, and then add several spoonfuls of Epsom salts until they dissolve… reheat the water until it boils again… add more salts… continue repeating until the salts no longer dissolve completely. When the solution has cooled down to “hot bath temperature” (around 104°F), carefully remove the pot from the stove and take it to the bathroom, setting it on the floor by the side of the bathtub. Soak your feet for seven to eight minutes, then douse your feet under cold running water from the faucet for a minute. People suffering from athlete’s foot or calluses (or other uncomfortable conditions) might want to repeat this two or three times a day. (It’s okay to reuse the solution, Dr. Rubman said.) If you have diabetic ulcers, poor circulation or a compromised immune system, check with your doctor first.

Toenail fungus: If you’ve got stubborn toenail fungus, Epsom salts are an easier solution than expensive laser therapy or medications with nasty side effects. Try this: First, make sure the affected nail is short. File across its surface before soaking, which enables the salts to easily reach the fungus. Add several tablespoons of Epsom salts to a shallow pan with hot water. Soak for 15 to 20 minutes two or three times a day. Dr. Rubman says this will help even more if you first add a few drops each of tea tree oil and oregano oil. Since toenail fungus is a tough adversary, be prepared for healing to take many months, and don’t be alarmed if your nail looks worse (“gnarly” as Dr. Rubman puts it) during the healing process.

Skin problems: Epsom salts can soothe skin eruptions such as poison ivy, allergic hives and sunburn. What to do: Depending on the severity of symptoms, you can either take an Epsom salts bath or, for more intense problems, soak a clean cloth in hot water that you have super-saturated with Epsom salts (as described above), and place it on the affected area for about 10 minutes several times a day. For even better results, Dr. Rubman suggests following the hot compress with an ice pack for one minute. For persistent skin problems, check with your dermatologist to make sure a different sort of treatment isn’t warranted.

Now… the Cautionary Note

The Epsom salts warnings concern the idea that it can be used in a drink or an enema to detox the colon and/or liver and gallbladder. The claim — seen on many Web sites — is that the magnesium in Epsom salts can help the digestive system better utilize oxygen, while the sulfate helps to improve digestion and produce useful enzymes. While magnesium sulfate theoretically does both, swallowing even small amounts can be dangerous and should be done only under medical advice and supervision, cautions Dr. Rubman. Epsom salts are powerful enough to disrupt the colonic environment, he explained, noting that in excess they can cause “hypermagnesemia,” which can be lethal. Another danger of using Epsom salts to internally “cleanse” is that it can upset the immune system, potentially even leading to chronic autoimmune problems. As far as using it as a laxative (another of those Internet ideas), Dr. Rubman cautions that drinking even small amounts as a laxative can result in unpredictable and possibly dramatic diarrhea — your bowels will indeed move, but likely not in the way that anyone would wish. Don’t even think about using Epsom salts internally without first discussing it with your doctor.

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

After a long day of gardening last week, I awakened with an intense muscle cramp in my leg that was so painful I might have been worried — except that I knew what I could drink to make it go away (you won’t believe that I could it get down at 3 am — I’ll tell you what it was in a minute). But sometimes muscle cramps aren’t so easy to get rid of and, in fact, sometimes they are a sign of a serious illness. And, of course, not everyone knows about my magic cure… so I thought this was a topic you might like to know some more about.

Who Gets Muscle Cramps?

Muscle cramps are a common problem — medically speaking, a muscle cramp is a sudden, involuntary contraction of one or more muscles that can be very painful, sometimes leaving tenderness for up to 24 hours after the cramp subsides. Aging and overuse of the muscles are two common causes, but other triggers can include dehydration… low blood sugar… calcium, sodium and/or magnesium deficiency… underactive thyroid… kidney or liver dysfunction… peripheral vascular disease (which restricts blood flow to the legs)… nerve compression… Lou Gehrig’s disease (ALS)… brain tumors/cancer… multiple sclerosis… well, you get the picture.

What you need to know

To get some useful advice, I contacted Barry Wiese, DC, a board-certified chiropractic neurologist in private practice in Rochester, New York, whose specialty work with geriatric patients and background as a marathon runner have given him especially unique expertise on this topic. Cautioning that there is no surefire, works-every-time solution, he told me how to differentiate a run-of-the-mill (if excruciating) cramp from one that you must tell your doctor about.

Here’s a list of questions to ask yourself:

Are my cramps random? According to Dr. Wiese, a cramp that comes on suddenly and inexplicably is usually not a problem. Noting that the majority of random cramps are no big deal, he suggested that it’s fine to try the “old standby” cures, including eating a banana (for potassium)… drinking more water to counter dehydration… light stretching of the affected area… self-massage… and heat packs to relieve pain and tenderness.

Are my cramps becoming more frequent and/or following a pattern? Cramps that begin to establish themselves in a predictable pattern — such as at a particular time of day or when you walk — may be a worrisome sign that you should discuss with your doctor.

Did I do something that might explain this cramp? If you realize that you are getting cramps often, even predictably in certain situations, start a log of when they strike including time of day… what you’ve eaten… how long they last… how painful they are (consider a score between one and 10)… and what you were doing before and during the episode. Share this information with your doctor.

Should I see my doctor? With persistent or worsening muscle cramps, you need to see your doctor to discuss potential causes and treatments. Though muscle cramping represents abnormal function, it’s only rarely serious, Dr. Weise said. However, he pointed out that “many disease processes include cramping in their list of symptoms… and for many of those, the earlier you get treated, the better the outcome — so it pays to follow a conservative, cautious route until proven otherwise.”

You’ll be asked about your medical history, and your doctor may suggest some tests, including blood work, to find the root cause. Treatment options could range from vitamin B supplementation… to prescription medications, such as diltiazem (a calcium-channel blocker) and baclofen (a potent muscle relaxant sometimes used to treat muscle spasms in patients with MS and ALS)… and possibly even quinine, the malaria treatment, though it’s used only in extreme cases because of the potential adverse side effects.

Kitchen Cures

Of course, you know already that my muscle cramp fell into the “random and not worrisome” category, painful as it was. So now I will tell you about my secret cure… pickle juice! (You could also just eat a pickle.) No, I’m not kidding, and you may be surprised to learn that Dr. Wiese didn’t even find it strange when I told him. I learned about pickle juice from my college field hockey coach, who suggested drinking it — and/or eating mustard — when players complained of muscle cramps. Both contain acetic acid, salts and other ingredients that help neutralize the compounds or electrolyte deficiencies that may cause cramps. Other helpful remedies you may be able to pull out of your kitchen cabinets include apple cider vinegar (mix two teaspoons with one teaspoon of honey into a glass of warm water), which works much like the pickle juice… and chamomile tea, which contains glycine, an amino acid that helps relieve muscle spasms.

Source(s):

Barry Wiese, DC, a board-certified chiropractic neurologist in private practice in Rochester, New York.

by Carole Jackson, Bottom Line Health

Americans are widely recognized as hard workers, but lots of us aren’t quite up to snuff when it comes to relaxation. In fact, the term “leisure sickness,” which describes a flulike syndrome that workaholics get from taking time off from the job, is in the running for dictionary publisher Webster’s “Word of the Year” for 2010! But far more typical is the vague but persistent sense of guilt that many people experience when relaxing — as if anything that feels this good can’t possibly be a good use of time. Well, you can and should relax about that. In fact, there is a great deal of research demonstrating that regular relaxation — the kind where you really chill out and do nothing — is as important to your health as eating right and exercising.

Many people assume that effective relaxation requires two weeks at the beach, but that’s not at all the case. Research has shown that even little bits can produce bountiful health benefits that we usually associate with visits to the gym and languorous vacations… and in fact, to attain the maximum benefits of relaxation, you need to build some relaxation activity into every single day. To help you find what works for you, here are research-supported relaxation suggestions that deliver actual health benefits in just minutes…

• Grab some midday ZZZZs. A study at Harvard that investigated the napping habits of more than 20,000 adults discovered that people who took brief naps (under a half hour) two or three times a week reduced risk for coronary disease by 12%. Upping the nap ante, the folks who napped three or more times a week, reduced risk by an astonishing 37%.

• Just quietly chill out. Yet another study, at New York University, established that “wakeful resting” (otherwise known as just sitting there) promotes memory and cognition function. The study asked students to observe images and then take a short rest while remaining awake. During this nonactivity, they were hooked up to functional MRI brain scans, which revealed that their brains at rest were busily absorbing and consolidating the new information just gained.

• Get a massage. Many studies have shown that even a brief hands-on session from a pro can elevate the feel-good brain hormones dopamine and serotonin, which are known to slow the heart rate, reduce blood pressure and cortisol levels and contribute to deeper sleep at night. This deep sleep, in turn, enables the body to heal in a myriad of subtle but important ways — for instance, by facilitating the ongoing repair and regeneration of tissue.

More Powerful Ideas from a Relaxation Expert

For even more healthful everyday relaxation techniques, I called psychiatrist James S. Gordon, MD, psychiatrist and founder and director of the Center for Mind-Body Medicine in Washington, DC, and author of Unstuck: Your Guide to the Seven-Stage Journey Out of Depression. Dr. Gordon says the way to a saner, healthier and happier life is to practice relaxation at least several times a day. Here are some of his effective techniques…

• Close your eyes and breathe deeply into the belly. Sit quietly for a few minutes, eyes closed, belly relaxed, and breathe deeply, inhaling through your nose and exhaling through your mouth. If you can do this twice a day, you’ll find that you can look at the world differently, he says. “We are constantly in high gear — just taking a few minutes like this gives you fresh perspective and actually changes your psychology and physiology.”

• Go outdoors. Use nature as a no-cost, convenient, personal spa. Numerous studies show that going outside where there are trees and plants relieves stress and sharpens cognition. It’s literally healing — a study of patients recovering from surgery found that those with windows facing trees healed faster and took fewer pain medications than patients without a view.

• Even brief spurts of movement help. It would take pages to list all the proven health benefits associated with regular exercise — just one of which is that it boosts brain neurotransmitters that help ease anxiety. Research has shown that simply taking a brief walk (indoors or out) can improve your mood… leading Dr. Gordon to advise grabbing any chance you can to move around, for example, periodically getting up from your desk to take stretch breaks, walking up steps instead of taking an escalator, taking a walk after dinner.

• Build actual activity into your schedule. If you want to maximize your relaxation prescription, you need to engage in regular, extended periods of exercise. You’ve tried but failed before? The key to commitment is finding exercise that you enjoy. As Dr. Gordon observes, “jogging is great for health — but if you hate to jog, it’s not great for you.” You don’t have to be “serious” and “focused” to get the benefits, he adds — consider dancing each morning to your favorite CDs… immersing yourself into the deeply serene environment of a swimming pool for a few laps several times a week … biking around the neighborhood… sampling different classes to try Pilates, yoga, karate or the zippy Zumba dance technique — the list of possibilities is endless.

How Much Do You Need?

Dr. Gordon suggests looking to your life for signals that you’re relaxing well and sufficiently — or that you need a bit more. Signs that you need to increase your “relaxation prescription” include a tendency to be irritated and impatient… difficulty focusing clearly… insensitivity to the needs of others… digestive upset… insomnia… and feeling anxious or depressed. If that sounds like a typical day or week in your life, it’s time to sit down, breathe deeply and contemplate which of the many relaxation activities sound good to you right now — and then do them.

Source(s):
James S. Gordon, MD, psychiatrist and founder and director of The Center for Mind-Body Medicine, and clinical professor, departments of psychiatry and family medicine, Georgetown University, both in Washington, DC. He is author of Unstuck: Your Guide to the Seven-Stage Journey Out of Depression (Penguin), which contains these and many other techniques for relaxation. www.cmbm.org.

by Carole Jackson, Bottom Line Health

Forget about black coffee and dry toast if you’re trying to lose weight and get healthier — the best way to begin your day is with a hearty breakfast, one that includes fats. Yes, fats! If you choose healthy fats, a high-fat breakfast actually serves to jump-start your metabolism so that you can more efficiently process food from dawn to dusk, say researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Their findings suggest that loading some fats onto your morning plate can help prevent metabolic syndrome — a dangerous mixture of belly fat, insulin resistance, elevated triglycerides and other risk factors for heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

High-Fat Trumps High-Carb

In the UAB study, researchers fed mice either a high-fat (45% fat) or high-carbohydrate breakfast (10% fat). Mice given the high-fat breakfast subsequently had a high-carbohydrate dinner, while the ones that consumed a high-carbohydrate breakfast had a high-fat dinner. (The mice were not given lunch.) In this way, all received the same number of calories from fat and carbohydrates respectively (as well as total calories) over the course of the day.

Investigators found that…

• A high-fat breakfast activated fat metabolism. Mice that ate most of their fat at breakfast had better metabolic markers — including body weight, glucose tolerance and blood insulin and triglyceride levels — compared with mice that ate most of their fat at dinner.

• A high-carbohydrate breakfast switched off fat metabolism. Mice that ate heavy carbohydrates in the morning and heavy fat at dinner experienced weight gain, increased body fat, glucose intolerance and other signs of metabolic syndrome.

“The first meal seemed to ‘program’ their metabolisms very effectively for the rest of the day,” said senior study author Martin E. Young, PhD, associate professor of medicine in the UAB Division of Cardiovascular Disease. In other words, it prepared their bodies to efficiently break down fats and other foods. In contrast, a carb-rich breakfast seemed to prime the mice’s bodies to break down primarily carbs, leaving fats to build up — something we humans definitely don’t want.

These results were published in the March 30, 2010, issue of the International Journal of Obesity. Other evidence, previously published, suggests these findings may apply to people as well — and studies are ongoing to improve our understanding of time-of-day consumption of fats and carbohydrates in humans, says Dr. Young.

Don’t Skip Breakfast

In the meantime, remember that not all fats are created equal. The high-fat breakfast study does not suggest that we should wolf down bacon, sausage and cheese blintzes every morning. Much more healthful fats include nut butters (almond butter on whole-grain bread is delicious)… whole-milk yogurt (sprinkle ground flaxseeds on top for their healthful omega-3 essential fatty acids)… or even a Japanese-style breakfast with broiled salmon.

Source(s):

Martin E. Young, PhD, associate professor of medicine, UAB Division of Cardiovascular Disease, University of Alabama at Birmingham.

by Carole Jackson, Bottom Line Health

 Drinking an average of five sodas a week doesn’t sound like much… but what would you say upon learning that they nearly double your risk of getting pancreatic cancer — one of the deadliest of all malignancies?

 This shocking statistic about soda comes from a study at the University of Minnesota. Researchers analyzed medical records and diet histories of 60,524 Asian adults over a 14-year period (the records came from the Singapore Chinese Health Study, the Singapore Cancer Registry and the Singapore Registry of Births and Deaths), comparing consumption of soft drinks (in one group) and fruit juice (in another group) with the incidence of pancreatic cancer… and found that the incidence was 87% higher among those who drank soda.

 The researchers established that this link was independent of other risk factors
— such as smoking, body weight, type 2 (adult-onset) diabetes, caloric intake and the consumption of red meat. Having established that lifestyles in Singapore are very similar to those in the US, lead study author Noel Mueller, MPH, research associate at the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington, DC, assured me there’s nothing uniquely dangerous about soda in Singapore — it’s the same stuff people drink here. Acknowledging that there are some genetic differences between the populations, he told me that he doesn’t think that those are as significant as the fact that soda drinkers likely don’t have the same healthy habits as fruit juice drinkers.

 Not So Sweet

 Researchers hypothesize that sugar is the culprit, with 12.5 teaspoons of sugar (usually in the form of high-fructose corn syrup) in a 16-ounce, 200-calorie sugar-sweetened soda, on average — that’s enough to trigger the pancreas to produce a surge of insulin. Dr. Mueller theorizes that this habitual “blasting” of the pancreas with so much sugar may stimulate cancerous tumor growth over time. Though fruit juice is also high in sugar, researchers think that the nutrients and fiber in juices may buffer any unhealthy impact.

 The resulting advice to limit sugar intake is predictable, of course — but I’m guessing that even those of us who already do that have vastly underestimated the potential damage that even a few sodas a week can do. This is no time for sweet talk: Stay away from sugary soda. 

Source(s):

Noel T. Mueller, MPH, research associate, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC.

by Carole Jackson, Bottom Line Health

 Last weekend as I watched my daughter’s soccer team battle their archrivals, I was also planning the week’s meals in my head (we working parents rarely do one thing at a time!). Seeing the girls execute an impressive string of passes — great teamwork! — my brain jumped to synergistic foods, the idea of making nutritious ones even better by combining them with others. So later, I called contributing editor Andrew L. Rubman, ND, to ask what his favorite power food combos are — and he had plenty to share. He assured me that there are indeed many tasty ways to mix foods so that they interact synergistically with one another, delivering more health-giving nutrition than you could get by eating them separately.

 Here are some of Dr. Rubman’s favorite one-two food punches…

 Tea with Lemon

 Made from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant, tea contains powerful catechins that improve digestion and reduce heart disease and cancer risk. Many tea drinkers already squeeze lemon into their cups because it tastes so great, but it also significantly increases your absorption of the disease-fighting antioxidants in the tea. To extract the most catechins, steep tea in hot water for at least five minutes and don’t reuse tea bags.

 Your best bet: All tea is good for you, but white and green teas are richer sources of catechins than black tea.

 Beets with Vitamin C-Rich Vegetables

 Eating produce with a variety of colors — yellow peppers, orange sweet potatoes, purple eggplant, etc. — gives you the greatest variety of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients. You can add more power yet by serving iron-rich greens such as kale, mustard greens, spinach or Swiss chard with vitamin C-packed beets (or tomatoes or lemon). The reason? Vitamin C makes plant-based iron more absorbable by your intestines.

 Fruits with… Fruits

 Along the same lines, eating several fruits at one time generates greater antioxidant action than eating single fruits separately. Blueberries top many “Best Fruit” lists, since they are a rich source of polyphenols that reduce inflammation. Combine them with whatever else is fresh, in season and at peak ripeness — raspberries, strawberries, purple grapes, mango, apples, oranges, etc. Aim for three to five servings (each serving one-half to one cup) of different fruits daily. Dr. Rubman said doing this will boost the synergistic effect of these phytochemicals, which work better in combination than alone.

 For maximum health: Don’t eat fruit within 20 minutes of meals, before or after, as their sugars will then rest longer in the digestive tract, where they ferment and cause gas.

 Pasta with Tomato Sauce

 No doctor has to work hard to convince me to eat this delicious, classic combination! Tomatoes contain the potent antioxidant lycopene, which fights heart disease and certain cancers — since lycopene is fat soluble, the tomato sauce should be made with olive oil, which facilitates absorption. Dr. Rubman said that olive oil is also helpful in offsetting the challenge of digesting gluten in pasta — though he notes that this doesn’t give a pass to people with celiac disease, since the soothing mechanism isn’t sufficient to solve the problem completely.

 Beef with Marinade

 Marinate beef before grilling or barbecuing (even if just for 10 minutes or so) to reduce your exposure to cancer-causing heterocyclic amines (HCAs) that are created when meat is cooked at high temperatures. Make your own marinade, since sugar-infused store-bought brands end up increasing HCA production. Look for recipes that use members of the antioxidant, anti-HCA mint family — rosemary, thyme, basil, sage and oregano.

 For maximum health: We actually need a little saturated fat for digestive health and other body functions, Dr. Rubman observes — just not at the levels in the typical American diet. Limit your beef consumption to one three-ounce serving per week.

 Fish with Citrus

 You may have seen or eaten a delicious dish called ceviche, which is made by marinating raw seafood, such as fish, shrimp or scallops in highly acidic citrus juice (usually lemon or lime). What you probably didn’t know is that serving fish with citrus fruits enhances the healthful anti-inflammatory properties of both. Latin American chefs often also toss in other fresh ingredients, such as cilantro, tomato, onion and avocado — excellent sources of antioxidant phytonutrients and flavonoids that likewise discourage inflammation, boost heart health and help flush toxins from the body.

 Caution: People with a compromised immune system shouldn’t take chances with raw seafood — you can achieve the same health effect by poaching, grilling or sautéing fish with citrus juice and sprinkling it with cilantro.

 Beans and Grains — Not Necessarily Together

 If you’re a vegetarian or vegan, you probably eat beans and grains together often since it’s widely known that they contain different amino acids that are all necessary to build the complete proteins you require for good health. But did you know that you don’t have to eat beans and grains in the same meal to reap this benefit? Eating them within a single 24-hour period — for example, brown rice with dinner tonight, black bean chili for lunch tomorrow — will do the trick.

 For maximum health: Even if you aren’t a vegetarian, declare “Meatless Mondays” — choosing beans and grains instead of meat even one day a week can reduce your risk of heart disease, diabetes, obesity and cancer.

 Making a habit of eating some of these foods together regularly is a great recipe for better health!

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

As we’re all diligently slathering on sunscreen to prevent cancer, out comes a new report suggesting that ingredients in many brands — including the most popular ones — may actually raise cancer risk, and that’s not the only health problem associated with them. It isn’t just a single common ingredient that new research has raised some concerns about — it’s far worse than that. Many widely available sunscreens contain potentially dangerous ingredients… provide inadequate protection… and are portrayed by their marketers as far more helpful than they actually are. The list of offenders includes leading brands that you know and trust and even some products designed just for babies.

When the Environmental Working Group (www.ewg.org) issued its 2010 guide to the best and worst sunscreens, the nonprofit watchdog gave its OK to just 39 products — which amounts to a mere 8% of the 500 sunscreens evaluated! When I saw this newest report, I immediately placed a call to EWG research analyst Nneka Leiba, MPH, to find out what’s going on and to see what she thinks we all should know about our sunscreens.

According to Leiba, the FDA bears some serious responsibility for this problem — she said that the agency has had no mandatory regulations for sunscreens or their ingredients. (Regulations may be in place by October 2010, according to the most recent official estimate.) Companies have not been required to verify that sunscreens work… to test that their sun protection factor (SPF) levels are accurate… or to show that other claims, such as whether they are waterproof or protect against UVA rays, hold up.

We went one by one through the various health hazards we need to know about…

Danger: Cancer-Causing Ingredients

Leiba told me that nearly half the sunscreens examined by EWG contained one or two cancer-causing ingredients. One is a hormone-disrupting chemical that penetrates the skin, disrupting the normal functioning of the body in ways that can lead to cancer and other serious medical problems… and the other is a vitamin A derivative that when exposed to sunlight — sunlight! — may encourage skin cancer.

What not to buy: Avoid sunscreens with these dangerous ingredients…

• Oxybenzone. A hormone-disrupting chemical linked with endocrine disruption and cell damage (and low birth weight when used by pregnant women). Oxybenzone can penetrate the skin and enter your bloodstream and is an ingredient in about half of sunscreens.

• Retinyl palmitate. A vitamin A compound associated with the accelerated growth of skin lesions and tumors. Manufacturers put vitamin A derivatives in sunscreens because they are popular antioxidants that slow signs of aging, such as wrinkles and rough skin. But FDA data suggest that vitamin A has photo-carcinogenic properties, which means that when exposed to the sun, it may speed up cancer formation. EWG found retinyl palmitate in 41% of sunscreens.

Danger: No UVA Protection

Many sunscreens offer protection only from UVB rays — the type of ultraviolet radiation that causes sunburn — while it is known that UVA rays are also destructive and can cause skin cancer… in addition to all those other unattractive things the sun can do to our skin over time.

What to buy: EWG recommends purchasing broad-spectrum sunscreens that derive their protective properties not from chemicals that penetrate the skin, but from the metals titanium or zinc, which stay on the surface of the skin, do their job to protect you and then can be washed off entirely.

Danger: Accidental Inhalation

Sunscreens are meant for external use only, but when you use them in the increasingly popular spray or powder forms, you are in danger of inhaling them. While inhaled particles of any size can pose a health risk, tiny nanoparticles — ultra-tiny particles used in many of these formulations — can more easily penetrate linings and tissues in your body and cause inflammation.

Advice: EWG suggests using sunscreens only in cream or lotion form and says not to apply any type of sunscreen to broken skin.

Danger: You’ll Get Burned

The high SPF levels touted on many sunscreen labels are a growing concern at EWG. The organization says that these claims are misleading because the products may not provide more protection than sunscreens labeled with lower SPFs — and people may therefore be misled into thinking that the higher number means that they can spend more time in the sun. It’s not widely understood that SPF applies to only one type of cancer-causing ultraviolet ray — UVB. It tells you nothing about a product’s ability to filter UVA rays. That’s a false sense of security, warns Leiba. People end up staying out in the sun longer than they can safely tolerate.

What to do: Apply safe sunscreen in lavish amounts. Studies show that most consumers use only one-quarter to two-thirds of the amount needed to reach a product’s SPF rating. Sunscreen should be applied generously (about an ounce or palmful to cover all exposed skin)… early (30 minutes before sun exposure) to allow its protective capabilities to work… and often, typically every two hours (more often when swimming or exercising enough to make you sweat). There’s no consensus on an optimal SPF: The American Cancer Society recommends that you use a sunscreen with an SPF of at least 15… while the American Academy of Dermatology says 30… and the FDA says that any SPF rating above 50 is “inherently misleading.”

HALL OF SHAME: THE WORST OFENDERS

Beware of sunscreens with SPF ratings higher than 50, especially when combined with “baby” on the label. The implication is that they are safe as can be, but the reality is that many offer little or no UVA protection and some also contain dangerous ingredients. The EWG’s “Hall of Shame” indicts…

• Banana Boat Baby Max Protect, SPF 100: No UVA protection — and it contains oxybenzone and vitamin A.

• Aveeno Baby Continuous Protection, SPF 55: Label says “mild as water,” but warns “keep out of reach of children and seek medical help from poison control center if ingested.” Also contains oxybenzone.

• Banana Boat Ultra Defense Sunscreen Stick, SPF 50: Misleading advertising says “it doesn’t break down,” which might lead consumers to think it will last all day.

• Hawaiian Tropic Baby Crème Lotion, SPF 50: Does not have the advanced UVA protection advertised on the label, and also contains oxybenzone and vitamin A.

See a full list of EWG’s lowest-rated sunscreens at http://www.ewg.org/2010sunscreen/buyer-beware/.

 HALL OF FAME: TOP-RATED SUNSCREENS

 All 39 of EWG’s top-rated sunscreens contain either zinc oxide or titanium dioxide. Top recommendations include…

• All Terrain Aquasport Performance Sunscreen, SPF 30

• Badger Sunscreen for Face and Body, SPF 30

• Loving Naturals Sunscreen, SPF 30+

• Purple Prairie Botanicals Sun Stick, SPF 30

• Soleo Organics All Natural Sunscreen, SPF 30+

See a full list at http://www.ewg.org/2010sunscreen/best-beach-sport-sunscreens/.

 I wouldn’t be doing my job, however, if I failed to point out that even these EWG-approved products aren’t perfect, as they contain nanoparticles.

 Leiba says her organization has deemed them not dangerous… but not everyone agrees: see Daily Health News, June 16, 2009, “Bad Nanoparticles in Good-for-You Supplements,” for our review of safety concerns with products manufactured with nanoparticles.

Source(s):

Nneka Leiba, MPH, research analyst, Environmental Working Group (www.ewg.org), Washington, DC.