Truth in Medicine

Take Daily for Health and Longevity

2010-07-22T05:22:00.000-07:00

As a naturopathic doctor, I give A LOT of different types of advice to people on how to get healthy. Much of that advice is individual or tailored to the specific needs of the person sitting in front of me. In fact, I feel individualized treatment plans are a key part of my approach. I don't just see a person with "health condition A" and give them "treatment A". Very few "protocols" are used in my office. The primary goal is always to identify and treat the underlying issues which result in the symptoms each patient has. In other words, what is crucial for one patient, may be useless for another. It all depends on what's going on.

That all being said, there are also certain basic health tips I give to just about every single patient. I have chosen these health tips because, unlike the specific treatments I recommend to work on individual need, these tips will help EVERYONE.

Anyway, instead of just sharing them with each new patient I see, I figured why not share them with everyone I can?!

Take Daily for Health and Longevity:

Skin to Skin Contact with the Earth: Based on the information and research I have read in the new book "Earthing, the Most Important Health Discovery Ever?" I now consider "Earthing" to be the most simple, fundamental and crucial daily health tip of all. It is so easy to do, and yet so powerful and so potentially beneficial it's almost hard to believe. There is NO REASON why everyone of you cannot start "Earthing" today! In addition, optimal effects will be achieved by adding one or more grounding products from Earthing.com.

Real Food. Not too much. Mostly Plants and Meats: This is a modified version of the simple advice Michael Pollan came up with after researching for his book, "In Defense of Food". Being a big fan of paleo eating, I couldn't help myself but to add a little meat! Anyway, the statement pretty much speaks for itself. No reading between the lines here. Stay away from all processed, packaged, chemical-laden foods. Eat each meal until you're about 80% full and stop there. Base your menu plans around a variety of richly colored organic veggies and different types of pastured, anti-biotic and hormone free animal foods and don't eat much of much else. You won't regret it! There are a variety of books on the right side of this page that can go a long way in helping you accomplish these goals.

Pure Water til Your Pee is Light Yellow: Everyone seems to have their own idea about how much water you can drink. 8 cups a day. Half your body weight in ounces. Only drink when you're thirsty. So on and so forth. I honestly don't know if any of these are right and I don't believe there's ever been any hard research done to prove me wrong. Because of this I decided to come up with my own set of advice on fluid intake. I don't think any research has ever been done on this advice either, but it makes the most sense to me. I think, depending on a variety of factors, especially activity level and diet, that your body's water needs can vary widely. So I had to come up with some advice that took this into account. After all, drinking too much water isn't good for you either! Give this a try and see how you feel.

Vigorous Physical Activity: Everyone and their mother knows by now that exercise is important. Most people still don't quite get just how important it is, and almost no one I talk to understands that some types of exercise may be much more beneficial than others. This subject could be an entire blog posting on its own, so instead of rambling on, I'll simply direct you to Mark Sisson's book at the top right corner of this page for more info. After years of research I feel this book, Primal Blueprint, gives the single best set of advice on exercise for health that I have ever come across. If you couple that with his equally excellent advice on diet and other healthy lifestyle tips, I feel Mr. Sisson has created the best overall book on health I have come across yet. This book, along with "Earthing" are the two most important health advice books available to date.

Regular Outdoor Exposure in Nature: GO OUTSIDE. OFTEN. 'Nuff said.

Quality Sleep and Frequent Rest: Unfortunately, this one is much easier said than done. Nonetheless, I would rank it up there just under Earthing, in terms of importance. (as I write this at 5:30am instead of, you guessed it, sleeping!) If this is a challenging area for you, you should know there is a wide variety of advice available out there on how to get a good night's sleep. Of course the most obvious advice (read- "Go to Bed!") is also probably the most difficult for most of us, especially parents, to follow. However, if you are having real problems in this area, you need the help of a health professional. If that is the case, I nominate myself. Why not? It's my blog.

Positive Social Interactions: This is another important bit of advice that could take a number of different forms, depending on the person. Honestly, most anything will do, as long as it's not directly harmful to you or anyone else. The biggest problem I see in this category is that people just get stuck in their day to day life and don't go out and have some fun! What's the best social activity I can think of? Go to a park with your friends or family, run around barefoot on the grass playing some game or another that makes you all laugh and breath hard, drink some water, eat an organic salad with chicken on it, then take a nap. There's this whole list in about an hour. Wow. Was that easy or what??

Play, Laughter and Good Humor: Have you ever heard about how it takes way more muscles to frown than it does to smile? I always loved that bit of trivia. Well, if you're this lame-o, you can take time out of your precious day to disprove the theory, or you can just go with it! Smiling and laughter will make you live longer. No ifs, ands or butts about it (snicker, I just said butt).

Meaningful Participation in Your Community: And last but not least, what good is living longer if you are not helping out the rest of this world? We are all in it together here, and without all of us doing our part to help each other and this planet out, we will just not make it much longer. The signs are everywhere. (Whew man, I just stopped smiling). Sorry it needs to be said. So start small if you aren't doing do so already. You know, "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle". Then go from there. Volunteer. Coach a Little League team. Open the door for someone. Plant a tree. Pick up the garbage you see on the ground and throw it away. Choose a job that makes you feel like you are making a difference. You won't regret it and neither will I.

~Aloha

Health Research Links

2010-05-07T09:38:00.000-07:00

Hello there,
I have been very strapped for time these days, and unable to do a post lately. However, I have been posting quick bits of info almost everyday on my Twitter account. Because not everyone who reads this blog has chosen to follow my Twitter account, I thought I'd post some of the more interesting links I have made lately.

Be on the lookout for a more lengthy article soon!!

Carotenoids from food and anemia in children

CoQ10 and Migraines in children

How to Simplify Your Life for Less Stress

Coffee Consumption May Reduce Alzheimer's Risk

If you want to learn more about how to optimize your health, be sure to check out my healthstore at the top of the page, for some of my favorite resources on how to do just that!

New Study on Homeopathy May Quiet Critics Once and For All

2010-03-17T19:48:00.001-07:00

I just finished reading about one of the most amazing studies I've ever heard of on homeopathy. If this one doesn't stop the chatter about homeopathy being fake or only working via a placebo effect, I don't know what will!

In the study, performed by Moshe Frenkel, MD at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, and published in the prestigious International Journal of Oncology, breast cancer cell cultures were treated with four homeopathic preparations:

Carcinosin (also known as an "isode" being actually made from cancerous tissue)
Conium
Thuja
Phytolacca

All of these homeopathic remedies, for one reason or another, are suggested in homeopathic literature to be potentially useful in cases of breast cancer, and outside of the U.S., they are commonly employed in cancer care treatment plans.

Well, the study results certainly didn't disappoint. All four remedies (diluted well beyond the point where one would expect a bio-chemical effect) showed PRONOUNCED CYTOTOXIC EFFECTS. In other words, they stopped cancer cell growth, altered gene expression that regulated the cell cycles, and induced apoptosis (cancer cell DEATH!). Carcinosin and phytolacca had the strongest cytotoxic effects of all.

Of course (no surprise to anyone familiar with homeopathy) the remedies were also shown to have zero negative effects on non-cancerous breast cells.

So, does this mean that anyone out there with breast cancer should madly rush to their local health food store and pick up a bottle each of these remedies? I'd say at the very least it couldn't hurt, but researchers do caution (and I concur) that this was NOT a cancer treatment trial- ie a study done on people with cancer. Therefore, we should at most (right now) be cautiously optimistic.

It's also important to note that if homeopathic remedies may be effective in treating cancer, why wouldn't they be helpful in the treatment of ANY acutely or chronically diseased body tissue?

In my opinion, interested patients should not just run out to the store and start buying remedies, but instead should enlist the help of a practitioner trained in homeopathy, especially the use of isode remedies (like carcinosin). One of the key, most important facets of homeopathy is that, for it to work, it needs to be the right remedy. If it's not, it won't really do anything. Figuring out what remedy that is isn't always easy.

There are, or course, a number of ways to try and do this, the most commonly employed method being using your doctor's brain, or the combination of their brain and a homeopathy computer program. Fully admitting my bias, I feel kinesiological testing is as good as it gets. (See my website for more info on this), but I think any well trained homeopath has a good chance. That being said, I do still feel it's important to note that (again in my opinion and the opinion of some other docs out there) homeopathy is not as easy to practice today as it used to be. The sole reason for this is that the amount of toxins we are bombarded with on a daily basis in this modern age far exceeds anything the average person was exposed to back in the time that homeopathy first came about. These toxins sometimes can have the effect of "clouding the picture", making it difficult to see the right remedy, and/or rendering the remedies less effective or more likely to cause a negative reaction when the energetic wave they set off gets blocked on its way out of the body.

The system I employ helps me search for the affected tissues/organs, but also helps me identify these toxic "blocks" and (also using homeopathy and sometimes herbs) remove them first. Again, if you'd like to learn more about these techniques you can see my website, or contact me directly.

Lastly, I think it's also important to point out the fact that, not only does this study show promise for the effectiveness of homeopathic remedies, it also provides some pretty clear, undeniable proof as to the presence of something BELOW or BEYOND the level of biochemistry (ie blood and guts) at work here. In other words, it provides yet another piece of evidence that many types of healing, especially profound healing, happen on a deeper level. Based on some of the evidence I've been recently learning more about, I would go even further and just say that LIFE happens, begins and/or is influenced on a level deeper than we are consciously aware of.

This is another entire topic I hope to blog about and possibly lecture about in the near future. For now, if you are interested, click on the link to my store above and go to the "Additional Learning Tools" page on the right. Once there, check out the selection of videos I have listed that go into this topic in depth.

The future of medicine is definitely NOT going to come in the form of more drugs and more surgery, or at least the future of HEALING won't.

Aloha......

Cholesterol and Your Brain

2010-02-01T20:34:00.000-08:00

Quick Post, Quick Question:

How can the FDA approve of and allow the drug industry to heavily promote the use of cholesterol-lowering drugs like Lipitor, when they have also recently approved (no kidding) a cholesterol SUPPLEMENT to improve the retardation, hyperactivity, irritability, poor attention span, and tendency toward aggressive and self-injuring behavior seen in children with Smith-Lemli-Opitz Syndrome, a genetic disorder that prevents the body from being able to fully manufacture cholesterol itself????

If you get:

retardation
hyperactivity
irritability
poor attention span
tendency toward aggressive and self-injuring behavior

when you have really low cholesterol, where is the cutoff point when using drugs like Lipitor?

Answer- There is no accepted cutoff point!!!

I recently saw a patient of a heavy dose of a statin drug, with a TOTAL cholesterol of 90! That is scary. The above list doesn't even go into the additional uses of cholesterol in the body's immune system and other systems.

We need to wake up and smell the egg yolks people. Cholesterol is NOT the problem. Want to learn more? Take your pick from below or (better yet) read them both and more:

Statins, Statins and More Statins

Cholesterol and Health

The Fattiest Treat You'll Ever Meet

2010-01-19T19:17:00.000-08:00

If you subscribe to the to idea that a low carb/high fat primal diet is beneficial and are working on incorporating these ideas into your life, you will love this recipe. It's from page 324 of
Primal Body-Primal Mind: Empower Your Total Health The Way Evolution Intended (...And Didn't)

1 jar almond butter
1 full brick of KerryGold butter (available @ Trader Joe's) at room temp (can use ghee or coconut oil)
10 oz or so of nuts, preferably soaked and dried, chopped or 1 full package of Raw Organic Hemp Seeds
1-2 tsp cinnamon (my addition)
Alcohol-free vanilla
First mix together the nut butter and butter (a fork works well for this)
Then add other ingredients.

Leave it in the fridge and take tiny nibbles whenever you have a sweet craving.

**Keep in mind, eating a diet high in animal fats is beneficial IF you are eating low carb (less than 75-100grams a day total). For more info on the benefits of such a diet, be sure to check out Nora Gedgaudas' book: Primal Body-Primal Mind: Empower Your Total Health The Way Evolution Intended (...And Didn't)

Heart Healthy Cooking. Are you KIDDING ME??

2010-01-05T09:37:00.000-08:00

In yet another example of the backwards approach to health and nutrition the U.S. continues to follow, the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) recently released a list of atherosclerosis- promoting recipes listed under the paradoxical title "Stay Young at Heart: Cooking the Heart-Healthy Way". Please look it over and take note of the tremendous lack of nutrient density, the emphasis on simple carbohydrates, the frequent use of baking with vegetable oil and/or margarine, the lack of raw foods, and the scarcity of phyto-nutrients. All of these things have been proven beyond doubt by high level research to contribute to heart disease:

"Sunshine (white) rice" cooked with vegetable oil, orange juice, and lemon juice
"Homestyle biscuits" made from white flour, salt, and sugar
"Banana-nut bread" made from mashed ripe bananas, low-fat buttermilk, packed brown sugar, margarine, all-purpose white flour, egg and salt.
"Apricot-orange bread" made from dried apricots, margarine, white sugar, egg, white flour, dry milk powder, salt and orange juice
"Apple coffee cake" made with peeled apples (please note that >90% of the antioxidants contained in apples are in the peel-thus when the peel is removed, virtually all that remains is antioxidant-poor carbohydrate), one cup of sugar, one cup of dark raisins, one-quarter cup vegetable oil, 1 egg, and two-and-a-half cups of sifted all-purpose white flour
"Frosted cake" with 2 1/4 cups cake flour, 4 tablespoons margarine, 1 1/4 cups sugar, 4 eggs, low fat cream cheese, and 2 cups sifted confectioners sugar!!

If you want to learn more about the real causes of heart disease, check out these links instead:

If you are interested in determining where your current level of cardiovascular health is, get some diagnostic testing (which I can order for you if needed) that looks at truly reliable risk factors. Tests like these:

If you don't care about all that and just want to follow some dietary recommendations to truly prevent heart disease, diabetes and a bunch of other chronic diseases, make sure you read:

Primal Body-Primal Mind, by Nora Gedgaudas
Natural Health & Weight Loss
by Barry Groves

Keep fighting the good fight!!

Give the Gift of Health This Year!

2009-12-22T19:38:00.000-08:00

OK, so I realize this is a bit "Last Minute" but I figured, better late than never!

Below you will find a random list of my favorite "Healthy Gift Ideas". This list is not presented in order of my preference, for I feel that certain items are good for some people, while other ones are better for other people. I encourage you all to check out the items that sound interesting and match them appropriately. Not only will they all help improve the health of the person you give them to, they will also help the wonderful, hard-working person behind the gift as well!

Books on Health Eating:

Primal Body, Primal Mind, by Nora Gedgaudas
The Primal Blueprint, by Mark Sisson

Great Cookbooks that Follow Similar Principles:

Cuisine for Whole Health, by Pauli Halstead
Cooking for Health and Performance- Volumes 1 & 2, by Scott Hagnas
The Garden of Eating, by Rachel Albert-Matesz
Paleocookbooks, by Nikki Young(e-books)

Other Great Food Related Services:

Places to Learn the Right Way to Move (hint- buy someone a gift certificate!):

Academy of Kung Fu- Eastside and Westside
Ripcity Fitness
Crossfit Portland
The Yoga Shala
Sellwood Yoga
Renewal-Infused Pilates
The Bhakti Shop

Ways to Make Your Body Feel Good:

Go forth and help make your friends and family healthier this year!

Surviving the Holidays

2009-12-01T00:31:00.000-08:00

Well, they are definitely upon us everyone!

While I don't have any "last minute shopping tips", or "how to survive Christmas with the in-laws" tips, I did find a great little list of well thought out tips on how to stay as healthy as you can be during this holiday season.

These tips come courtesy of Nikki Young, author of two great little e-cookbooks on Primal Eating. Please support her wonderful efforts with these books and check out the site I've linked to above.

Anyway, on with the tips!

The Holiday Survival Checklist

• Never show up to a party on an empty stomach
• Drink plenty of Water all day/during a party
• Keep portions small, use a small plate & make several trips
• Eat Protein and Vegetable based dishes first
• Watch Sugary drinks as they do count
• Socialize, Talk, Dance, Have fun!
• Help offset a High Calorie day with Lower Calorie Days
• Be Active every day, make it a Lifestyle choice
• Use your Muscles to keep your Fat Burning factories
• Slow down and Enjoy the Holiday season

Primordial Ooze for Everyone!!

2009-11-14T13:19:00.000-08:00

Anyone out there who knows me knows I am a big fan of healthy eating. While, in my practice I use many types of natural medicines to help support the efforts of people's bodies as they work to become healthier, I fully believe that these medicines will not be able to do it all. In other words, I feel that, for true healing to occur, you must have a foundation of healthy life practices in place to build upon.

Perhaps the most important part of this foundation (or at least tied with exercise) is eating a healthy diet. The type of dietary approach I recommend, more than anything else, focuses on what I call nutrient dense foods. Nutrient dense foods are foods that contain the most nutrients per calorie.

To help you on your way to adopting more nutrient dense foods into your daily diet, I thought I'd share with you a recipe for a wonderful morning (or any time of the day!) drink you can make which perfectly follows these ideas. I try to drink this for breakfast at least 5 days a week. For more of a cleansing program, you can also make twice the amount and consume 1/2 for breakfast and 1/2 for lunch, then a sensible dinner.

The name given to this drink by its creator (not me I'm sorry to say) is PRIMORDIAL OOZE.

Sounds gross. Tastes pretty good. Helps IMMENSELY!

Primordial Ooze Recipe

For one serving, blend the following items in a high powdered blender in this order:

4 oz filtered water
4 oz organic, unsweetened juice (ideal choices are pomegranate or unfiltered apple)
1 tsp or 1 bunch (depending on form it comes in) of seaweed (dulse, arame, etc)- let it soak for a couple minutes while you get out the other ingredients
4 tbsp hemps seeds

Blend the above together til milky, then continue adding:

Large handful of dark, leafy greens (rotate kale, collard greens, spinach and dandelion greens)
Small bunch of cilantro
Small bunch of parsley
1 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 banana
1/2 avocado
1/2 to 1 cup frozen blueberries
Liquid stevia can be added to taste

Beneficial additions if tolerated:

1-2 tbsp grass-fed liver powder
1 clove raw garlic
1-3 raw egg yolks (save the whites and cook on the side for more protein)

Blend and ENJOY!!

Even MORE Info on the Swine Flu

2009-10-20T14:59:00.000-07:00

Well, believe it or not, there's MORE info to talk about here, specifically regarding measures to take for prevention and treatment of this nasty little flu.

Specifically, I have added the following suggestions to the measures I have already mentioned in previous posts:

NAC (n-acetyl cysteine)

Adults: 600mg twice a day throughout flu season
Children: 20mg per kg of body weight (1 kg = 2.2 lbs) throughout flu season
If flu symptoms start, DOUBLE dose and maintain there until symptoms subside.
Reduces likelihood of getting flu, and is a mucolytic (breaks up mucous) agent, which could be of particular benefit in the lung congestion that people get with this condition.

Vitamin C

Adults- 1000mg three times a day
Children: 250mg-500mg three times a day depending on size
If flu symptoms start, triple dose for one dose, then continue at above normal dose every hour (paying attention to how much you've taken) until stools become loose. Back this total off by 1 dose and take that each day until symptoms subside. If stools become loose again, continue lowering dose as needed.
Extremely important anti-flu virus remedy. See this article for more info.
Also keeps NAC from breaking down in the body.
Always consume vitamin C supplements along with a natural source of it, like organic oranges or orange juice.
If symptoms continue to worsen to a critical point, definitely consider intravenous vitamin C doses as explained here.

Colostrum

Adults and children: 400-500mg per day for duration of the flu season
In a recent study, colostrum was shown to be 300% more effective than flu vaccination, in preventing flu symptoms. In other words, those people who got vaccinated ended up getting the flu 3 times more often than those people taking ONLY colostrum! Those who got vaccinated and took colostrum fared better than the straight vaccine group, but WORSE than the group taking colostrum alone!

OK, that's IT!

If we do all these things (and you know I will be doing them) and we still end up getting the flu, then this is a nastier bug than the experts think it is!

**I am in the process of designing a customized nutritional and herbal formula specifically for prevention and treatment of the Swine Flu, which contains the above ingredients and more in one formula.

Please stay tuned for more info in this regard, and contact me if you have any questions.

Follow Up on the Swine Flu- What ELSE Can You Do?

2009-09-29T15:00:00.000-07:00

Hopefully after reading my last post, you can see there is a very simple thing you can do to help prevent yourself and your loved ones from getting the flu (Swine or otherwise) this winter. However, I couldn't call myself a naturopathic doctor if I didn't have some additional suggestions. While admittedly it is a huge one, vitamin D is still just the tip of the iceberg.

Since my last post was so long, I will try to keep this one brief and to the point. All of the recommendations below have general benefits for one or more aspects of your health and well being, as well as some more specific benefits regarding flu prevention.

Preventing the Flu Naturally (click on each entry for more info on why)

Avoid Sugar
Avoid White Flour
Exercise
Eat Raw Sauerkraut
Take Tulsi
Reduce Stress
Get good sleep (contact me if this is easier said than done for you)
LAUGH (start by watching this video clip)

Treating the Flu Naturally

OK, so what if you do all of the above and you still get this little bug? First of all, keep in mind that there is a much greater likelihood you will be fine than in trouble. Again, most cases are fairly mild. If, however, things seem to be getting out of hand, you might consider the following:

IV Vitamin C and the Swine Flu
Asafoetida Can Kill the Swine Flu Virus (I will be carrying a supply of this hard to find herb in my office)

What to Do If You Get a Swine Flu Vaccine

Finally, what about that vaccination everyone is talking about? First, if you haven't done so already, read my previous post to find links for more info on it. If you still choose to get one, or are forced to get this vaccine for some reason, consider the following information:

Dealing with Effects from the Swine Flu Vaccine

Vitamin D and the Swine Flu

2009-09-22T12:55:00.000-07:00

No longer needing an introduction, nearly every human with access to the news has undoubtedly heard of the swine flu (or H1N1) by now. Not one to scare easily when it comes to the media's standard depiction of the horrors of the upcoming flu season, I have to admit, this time around I am paying much closer attention to things.

While there is a good chance the swine flu will turn out to be less harmful than even the typical winter flu (which, by the way, still kills many thousands of people worldwide each year), there is also a legitimate chance it could turn out to be much, much worse. Some authorities speculate that, if H1N1 turns out to be as nasty a bug as it could be, this flu season could end up rivaling the Spanish Flu of 1918, when nearly 1 BILLION people contracted the virus worldwide, 1/2 a billion people got sick, and approximately 100 million people died.

The problem right now is we have no idea how minor or how bad things could become, as we have no idea yet as to how lethal this strain of virus could become. The 1918 virus had a potent combination of high lethality, novelty (it was a new strain) and a high transmission rate. So far, this virus has not shown us much in terms of lethality, but it is very contagious and transmissible. It is also a new virus, so no one has antibodies in their systems to fight a specific fight against it.

So, with all this bad news, is there any good news? Well, a vaccination is now available, but, based on what I've read here and here and here, I'm not going to be getting one any time soon. I am not telling anyone else to get vaccinated or not to, but I would recommend reading as much as you can about it before making your decision.

It is also important to remember that, in the majority of cases, the swine flu produces fairly minor symptoms, akin to a standard flu. What worries many authorities the most is that there have been some cases of a very severe form of the disease in young and otherwise healthy people, where the virus directly infects the lung, causing severe respiratory failure. If anything, that is what worries me a bit too. It could also mutate into a more lethal strain.

So, what's a father of two otherwise healthy young boys to do?

Well, lots of things!

However, if you get your information from the popular media, it might sound to you like the only chance we have of avoiding this bug is to wash our hands enough times that you never expose yourself to it. While hand washing is certainly a valid option for reducing transmissibility of the bug, the intense focus on this single activity still makes it seem like our bodies are basically helpless otherwise.

How on Earth can that be?

Remember, as is the case in virtually any other disease out there, we do have at least some say in what does and doesn't happen to our health. For one thing, there are these pretty fancy things in our bodies called "immune systems" that, if supported properly and treated well, can do some pretty cool stuff, namely keep us from catching this or any other bug this winter at all!

So, I'd say right about now it would be a good idea to start supporting the health and function of your fancy immune systems, which brings us (finally!) to today's topic- my favorite nutrient, vitamin D.

Many of my patients are already aware of the general health benefits of vitamin D, as I talk to nearly every one of them about it. But because of the way things work in this country, few if any of you out there are aware of the particularly important role vitamin D could play in all of this swine flu business.

While even the experts out there, like Dr. John Cannell of the Vitamin D Council, aren’t saying that optimizing your vitamin D levels will provide your body 100% immunity to the Swine Flu, they certainly feel it is well worth it to make sure your levels are optimized. Considering two key facts about vitamin D, I would tend to agree with him.

Fact 1:

Vitamin D has a profoundly positive effects on your innate immunity, the portion of your immune system that acts as your first line of defense, protecting you from anything foreign, whether your body recognizes it or not. This is the part of your immune system that would be involved in keeping you from getting sick in the first place. This is also a crucial issue, because (remembering that no one who hasn’t already caught it has antibodies to the swine flu yet) the other part of your immune system that makes antibodies to help you fight things (the “acquired” or “adaptive immune system”) will be relatively ineffectual in this case.

Fact 2:

Vitamin D is known to help suppress the release of what are known as “pro-inflammatory cytokines”. These substances are normally an important part of your immune system’s reaction to a bug, as they help to create the inflammation that results in symptoms which will help you more quickly rid yourself of the bug and return to a state of health. However, things are a bit different with the Swine Flu. Recall that, while symptoms in most people who have caught it already appear to be relatively minor, there is a subset of people (mostly young healthy people) who get severely affected. The process involved in these cases has a lot to do with these pro-inflammatory cytokines, as they are behind the massive over reaction (termed a “cytokine storm”) that leads to the lungs shutting down. Again, what does vitamin D appear to do? Suppress this action.

To summarize vitamin D’s effects on your immune system, I will quote Dr. Cannell directly:

“Thus, vitamin D appears to both enhance the local capacity of the epithelium (skin and mucous membranes) to produce endogenous (made by our bodies) antibiotics and at the same time dampen certain destructive arms of the immune response, especially those responsible for the signs and symptoms of acute inflammation, such as the cytokine storms operative when influenza kills quickly.”

Sound important? It does to me!!!

Optimizing Your Vitamin D Levels

So how do we make sure we have enough vitamin D in our bodies to be able to accomplish the feats mentioned above? Well the magic number, according to Dr. Cannell is 50. Specifically 50 ng/mL, which he says is the minimum level of vitamin D we want to see in our blood in order to do a good job of fighting bugs this winter. Remember also, the specific test to order for investigating your levels is called 25, OH Vitamin D.

To reach this level, the average adult needs to take about 5000 iu of vitamin D per day (assuming they have little to no sun exposure), and children need to take 1000 iu per 25 lbs bodyweight. I recommend you start taking extra vitamin D now (I use a specialized form of vitamin D with my patients, that is emulsified, so it is more easily absorbed, and provides 2000iu per drop), then get your levels tested in a month or so. There are numerous options available for getting your levels tested. For patients with high deductibles or no insurance coverage, I can get tests done for about $55. Another option which takes longer, but is cheaper, is to get tested via the Grass Roots Health Organization. If you can get it fully covered by insurance, that will be your cheapest option. The point is, just get it tested!

It’s important to realize though, that everyone is an individual, and some people may need to take higher doses. That is why getting tested is so crucial.

What about the naysayers?

Many authorities (especially the drug companies selling us their vaccines, and the doctors they have brain washed) aren’t quite ready to accept vitamin D as a viable option for helping to prevent this potential disaster. This is mostly due to the fact that there is no hard research yet available to fully prove it can help against the Swine Flu, and the fact that there were some aspects of the Spanish Flu that seem to prove vitamin D probably didn’t play a big role. For those of you who are still with me, I will review those issues now.

Facts from Dr. Cannell on the 1918 flu, leading to uncertainty about vitamin D’s role or lack thereof in this case:

1. Black people were less likely to contract the flu or die from the flu than whites in 1918. (people with darker skin tend to make lower amounts of vitamin D)

2. Young people, presumably with the highest 25(OH) D levels, were the most likely to die in 1918, as they have been in Mexico to date.

3. In October of 1918, the Spanish flu erupted simultaneously in both Northern and southern hemispheres.

4. Significant deaths occurred in the Northern hemisphere during the summer of 1918 although the extraordinary killing erupted in October of 1918 in the Northern Hemisphere.

5. One of the worst affected countries was Western Samoa. A crippling 90% of the population was infected; 30% of adult men, 22% of adult women and 10% of children were killed. This devastation occurred during their summer. I doubt 90% of the population of Western Samoa

6. had levels below 50 ng/mL in 1918 but I have no way of knowing. More likely, the population had little acquired immunity to any influenza virus.

Facts from Dr. Cannell suggesting vitamin D could indeed play an important role:

1. The mass of deaths in the Northern hemisphere occurred when Vitamin D levels were low (fall and winter).

2. While infection rates were similar for sailors and troops on infected troop transport ships, the sailors had 1/4 the mortality of the troops. One has to assume the 25(OH)D of sailors aboard 1918 troop transport ships was higher than the troops inside.

3. Underground coal miners in North America had the highest mortality of any occupation.

4. The incidence of influenza in the French army was much higher in troops away from the front (assumably in barracks) than in front line troops.

5. Open air hospitals in North America allegedly had lower mortalities than regular hospitals.

6. Mortality for sailors at sea was markedly lower than sailors ashore, despite the crowed conditions on board.

7. In the Western Front, the 1918 flu disappeared in August (when 25(OH)D levels reach their peak) only to return in September, when 25(OH)D levels fall rapidly.

Although there are obviously other factors at work here (stress? sugar consumption?) these facts present strong enough evidence to me to take this extremely simple step with myself, my family and to recommend it my patients.

Another key point about vitamin D Cannell points out is that, if you are going to take it, make sure you take enough vitamin D to get your levels up high enough (and of course, test yourself to be sure). He says that levels just over 30 (while considered “normal” by the conventional medical system) are not high enough to stop the pro-inflammatory cytokine release I mentioned earlier.

The Truth Begins to Trickle In

I thought it best to end this post with what seems to be some actual evidence that the swine flu can be prevented using vitamin D. You see, Dr. Cannell is a pretty popular guy amongst "physicians in the know", in other words, there are many docs out there who are actually reading what he has writes, then doing what he recommends.

Below are copies of actual letters sent to him from two such doctors. To say the results are encouraging would be an understatement! Reading these letters is what sold me on the whole idea and prompted this blog posting.

September 17, 2009- Dr. Cannell’s newsletter:

I’m writing to alert readers to a crucial email from a physician who has evidence vitamin D is protective against H1N1 and to ask you, the reader, to contact your state representatives to help protect Americans, especially children, from H1N1 before winter comes.

Letter #1

Dear Dr. Cannell:

Your recent newsletters and video about Swine flu (H1N1) prompted me to convey our recent experience with an H1N1 outbreak at Central Wisconsin Center (CWC). Unfortunately, the state epidemiologist was not interested in studying it further so I pass it on to you since I think it is noteworthy.

CWC is a long-term care facility for people with developmental disabilities, home for approx. 275 people with approx. 800 staff. Serum 25-OH vitamin D has been monitored in virtually all residents for several years and patients supplemented with vitamin D.

In June, 2009, at the time of the well-publicized Wisconsin spike in H1N1 cases, two residents developed influenza-like illness (ILI) and had positive tests for H1N1: one was a long-term resident; the other, a child, was transferred to us with what was later proven to be H1N1.

On the other hand, 60 staff members developed ILI or were documented to have H1N1: of 17 tested for ILI, eight were positive. An additional 43 staff members called in sick with ILI. (Approx. 11-12 staff developed ILI after working on the unit where the child was given care, several of whom had positive H1N1 tests.)

So, it is rather remarkable that only two residents of 275 developed ILI, one of which did not develop it here, while 103 of 800 staff members had ILI. It appears that the spread of H1N1 was not from staff-to-resident but from resident-to-staff (most obvious in the imported case) and between staff, implying that staff were susceptible and our residents were protected.

Sincerely,

Norris Glick, MD

Central Wisconsin Center

Madison, WI

Dr. Cannell's Response:

Dear Dr. Glick-

This is the first hard data that I am aware of concerning H1N1 and vitamin D. It appears vitamin D is incredibly protective against H1N1. Dr. Carlos Carmago at Mass General ran the numbers in an email to me. Even if one excludes 43 staff members who called in sick with influenza, 0.73% of residents were affected, as compared to 7.5% of staff. This 10-fold difference was statistically significant (P<0.001).>

Second, if you read my last newsletter, you will see that children with neurological impairments, like the patients at your hospital, have accounted for 2/3 of the childhood deaths for H1N1 so far in the USA. That is, the CDC knows, because they reported it, that patients with neurological impairments are more likely to die from H1N1.

The problem is that I cannot get anyone in authority at the CDC or the NIH to listen. I need readers to email or call their senators and congresspersons in Washington. Ask your senator or congressperson to contact the CDC and NIH to complain about CDC and NIH inaction on Vitamin D and H1N1. Also, ask your senators and representative to demand congressional hearings on Vitamin D and H1N1, before it is too late. Here is the link below, just click it and follow instructions to contact your own represenatives.

http://www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml

Letter #2

Dear Dr. Cannell:

Thanks for your update about the hospital in Wisconsin. I have had similar anecdotal evidence from my medical practice here in Georgia. We are one of the 5 states with widespread H1N1 outbreaks.

I share an office with another family physician. I aggressively measure and replete vitamin D. He does not.

He is seeing one to 10 cases per week of influenza-like illness.

In my practice-- I have had zero cases. My patients are universally on 2000-5000 IU to maintain serum levels 50-80 ng/ml.

Ellie Campbell, DO

Campbell Family Medicine

3925 Johns Creek Court Ste A

Suwannee GA 30024

AND FINALLY, STAY TUNED FOR A FOLLOW UP POSTING ON WHAT ELSE YOU CAN DO TO HELP PREVENT THE FLU THIS WINTER!

Best Options for a Vice

2009-08-14T10:35:00.000-07:00

Everyone is human.

Myself included.

Lately, I've been drinking coffee. Of course it's organic and I only have one cup a few times a week, but it's still the dreaded COFFEEEEE (supposed to look spooky) that I learned in naturopathic school is something akin to devil water, especially if you have adrenal stress.

I admit, I have, at various times in the past, asked my patients to stop drinking this stuff. It is very dehydrating and can lead to mineral imbalances and even constipation if consumed excessively. It can also overstimulate a tired person, giving them a false sense of 'energy' when really they should be feeling so horribly fatigued that the only viable option for them should be a nap.

AND- It stains your teeth!

These are not good things.

Why then do I drink it sometimes? Why then have I recently adopted more of a lenient attitude about this beverage with my patients (and myself)? Well, a couple of reasons.

For one thing, as I mentioned already, I'm human. So are most of my patients.

Being human, amongst other things, means we are typically unable to maintain a perfect diet and lifestyle 100% of the time, especially if our lives are so crazy that we have no choice but to become so tired that even though we should (correction- we HAVE to) take a nap, we can't.

What are we all supposed to do then? Drinking green tea would a MUCH better idea if we needed a bit of caffeine pick-me-up, but green tea doesn't taste like coffee. So some of us, addicted as we are to its lovely flavor and aroma, will keep on drinking it, regardless of what I or anyone else tells them.

The point of this post then is this- For various reasons, some better than others, many of us feel as though we need a vice- some 'bad' habit or another that is less than perfectly healthy but makes us feel good. And so, I have come to realize that my job is not only to teach you about the healthiest possible things you can do in your life, but also to teach you about the healthiest UN-healthy things you can do in your life.

In other words, I know many of you think I'm a perfectionist when it comes to health, but I'm trying to be a realist here OK people? I know that this world if FULL of unhealthy things, many of which smell good, look good, taste good and can even make you feel good. These are attractive attributes, especially for someone who is so wiped out and worn down they don't smell good, look good, taste good OR feel good! So, I've come up with a short list of the healthiest options out there for a good old fashioned vice.

Here is my list:

Coffee
Dark Chocolate
Red Wine

What, no doughnuts? No french fries? Come on people, this isn't a free for all. There actually has to be some benefit to be had here. (I know, I know, "But french fries are made from potatoes, and potatoes are VEGETABLES!" Blah, blah, blah. I've heard it all before.)

Coffee

So you are already familiar with some of the negative attributes of coffee. Well, there may be some other ones that are potentially much worse, but for the most part the jury is still out. You see, while some studies suggest that coffee could actually contribute to heart disease, cancer and osteoporosis, other studies show just the opposite, like this one and this one.

All that being said, coffee is still my least favorite vice, mainly because people tend to drink it (or "need it" as some of my patients like to say) when they really shouldn't, ie when they are wiped out and need a nap! If this is you, try the nap- it's cheaper and healthier. However, if you are basically healthy and just like the taste and the gentle pick me up it provides you, I don't really have a problem with it. I would, however, recommend always drinking an extra cup of water and making sure you are taking regular amounts of magnesium and other minerals to help compensate for some of the potential negative effects.

Dark Chocolate

Yummy.

High in powerful, disease preventing antioxidants.

Good fat source.

Lowers blood pressure and reduces stroke risk.

Potential aphrodisiac.

'Nuff said.

Red Wine

There is rapidly growing list of the likely health benefits to be had from consuming alcohol in moderation, in particular red wine. In fact, when consumed in moderation (1-2 small glasses per day) this is probably my favorite, "healthy" vice of all for most people.

The simple fact that red wine is high in resveratrol, perhaps one of the most health-benefiting antioxidants to be discovered yet, is good enough for me. But now, even the big boys in the health care industry are starting to sing its praises.

For a more comprehensive look at the health benefits of red wine, you can also take a look at my favorite blog, Mark's Daily Apple.

Conclusion

So, should we all just skip the exercise, sleep and organic whole foods eaten in a more 'primal way' and instead just eat chocolate, and alternate between cups of coffee and red wine?

Funny enough, if you did you'd probably still be better off than the average American, but obviously I gest.

The idea instead would be to do the exercise, get the good sleep and eat really good foods in a primal way, AND THEN feel free to dabble in a few, higher quality vices like these.

Adios from one human to another.....

Are Drugs EVER Good For You?

2009-07-15T16:01:00.000-07:00

Well the answer, I guess, has to be yes, but it pains me to say so. There are indeed some drugs out there that save lives. There are also others that eliminate symptoms which might otherwise be unbearable. So, I guess you could say (wince) some drugs are good for you.

Maybe my real question then should be stated differently. How about:

Do drugs save more lives than they eliminate?

This question pops into my head all the time as I see patient after patient who are on some medication or another to help "treat" their health condition. However, when looked at from an objective standpoint, many of these patients are also suffering from one or more side effects of the same drug. Some of these effects are so severe that, if nothing were to be done about them, they could eventually result in my patient being one of those nearly 200,000 deaths!

The true problem is that so many of these folks are being told by their doctors they can never get off their drugs. However, if treated appropriately, they could indeed eliminate the vast majority of these drugs they have been told they "need".

OK, back to the question- Do drugs save more lives than they eliminate?

One way to obtain more insight into this query is to simply look at how many people are actually harmed or killed by prescription drugs. When you do that, the answer you will find is downright scary. According to a recent study, each year drug related "problems" put 8.8 million people in hospitals, accounting for up to 28% of all hospital admissions. Of those 8.8 million, 198,815 people end up dead.

By the way, if we include surgeries and other medical procedures, we come to a staggering number of nearly 800,000 deaths PER YEAR being caused by direct medical treatment. This is more than either of the so-called #1 and #1a biggest killers in the U.S.- Heart Disease and Cancer.

The answer of "Yes" I gave at the beginning of all this seems to be even harder to say now don't you think?

Nonetheless, there must be at least a few drugs out there that help more than they hurt right? What about the simpler, "safer" ones? What about the ones that EVERYONE should be taking?

They're OK right?

How about a little test? Let's pick three common drugs and really dig to see if they help more than they hurt. My selection criteria for these three drugs is simple- If asked, most people would consider them either useful, harmless or both.

Aspirin

Why does nearly every senior citizen you know take a daily aspirin? Because it will help keep you alive right?

Wrong.

Did you know that all large, long term (the larger and longer term the better usually) research on using aspirin after having a heart attack show it has no effect on improving overall mortality rates? Instead, most research shows regular aspirin intake simply leads to a reduction in NON-fatal cardiovascular events, but an INCREASE in sudden cardiac death!

Some would also argue that daily aspirin use to "prevent" heart disease can divert attention away from other more useful preventative measures like eating well, reducing stress and exercising, as those taking it may be feeling a (likely unfounded) greater sense of security and protection.

Not only that, when we consider some of the real dangers involved with taking aspirin, we begin to realize it really has no place in the (dare I say mythical?) category of drugs that help but do not harm. You see, even though they're called "baby" aspirin they pack a mighty big, and harmful punch indeed.

Studies on aspirin have actually shown that, when taken long term it can cause:

A 58% increase in pancreatic cancer from as little as 2 aspirins per week.*
An 86% increase in pancreatic cancer from 14 aspirin per week (common dose for many people)*
A 200% increase in gastrointestinal bleeding (which can prove to be fatal in some cases)
A 300% increase in gastrointestinal bleeding when consumed along with an NSAID, like Ibuprofen

*An important side note- pancreatic cancer is one of the nastiest of all, with average survival rates of less than 3 years after diagnosis)

Tylenol (Acetaminophen)

Have you ever had a bad headache, toothache, injury or some other type of pain that prompted you to take a little more Tylenol than was recommended on the label? (if you happened to read it at all) I'd bet most of you answered yes.

Is Tylenol helpful? Yup- definitely helps reduce that pain.

Is Tylenol harmful? ........Yup.

This post is getting really long, really quick, so I'll get right to the point. Excessive (and possibly even recommended) intake of Tylenol can cause liver damage, liver failure and death. In fact, here are the FDA's recommendations on Tylenol intake:

Follow dosing directions and never take more than directed; even a small amount more than directed can cause liver damage.
Don’t take acetaminophen for more days than directed.
Don’t take more than one medicine that contains acetaminophen at a time. For example, your risk of liver damage goes up if you take a medicine that contains acetaminophen to treat a headache, and while that medicine is still working in your body, you take another medicine that contains acetaminophen to treat a cold. (a VERY common occurence!!)

Did you know there were such stringent directives out there for a "harmless" little drug like Tylenol? Scary huh?

The strangest thing of all to me is that the FDA makes it sound like, as long as you stay within recommended dosing guidelines, Tylenol is perfectly safe.

How can that possibly be???

If taking even a little more than the recommended dose can cause acute liver failure and death, how can a little less than that be totally harmless? In other words, I don't think a person goes from zero effects to acute liver failure and death with the addition of a couple more pills. In all likelihood, there's at least a some harm being done (to a very important organ by the way) well before such thresholds are reached.

So, does Tylenol pass the "more helpful than harmful" test? I think not.

Lipitor

The most popular in a long and (unfortunately) growing line of "wonder drugs" for lowering cholesterol and reducing heart disease risk. Now, if you were to simply pay attention to mainstream media, you'd think Lipitor and other statins were the greatest things out there since sliced bread. (Of course, sliced bread's greatness should be questioned as well, but that's a different post.)

However, there is a lot of research and opinion out there suggesting statins don't do much at all for us. And even though, in most circumstances, they don't seem to kill people right away, their safety is still a big question mark for me. More of my opinions on this topic can be read about here and here.

My last question then is- If such "helpful" and "harmless" drugs like Tylenol, Aspirin and Lipitor fail our test, which drugs actually pass the test?

There are probably a few out there, but I don't want to put forth the effort or expend the brain power to try and come up with one.

Wouldn't it just be easier to try and live a life that creates such boundless energy and vibrant health that you don't even need to bother with these drugs anyway?

Check out some of the links on the right side of this page and start investigating ways to do so. You won't regret it!!!

Thoughts on Swine Flu

2009-04-27T23:22:00.000-07:00

By now most of you have heard about the recent outbreaks of Swine Flu. Though confirmed cases in the US have thus far been mild, with no deaths and nearly no hospitalization, the nation still seems on the verge of a bit of a panic, perhaps rightfully so.

I wanted to give you my two cents on the matter, plus some simple, practical tips that everyone can follow to shore up their immune systems and make them more resistant, as well as some things to do if you feel you have come down with the flu, or worst of all may have contracted this virus.

How Concerned Should We Be?

First of all, let me state that this is indeed a potentially serious threat. Though the cases in the US have been mild, there have been over 100 confirmed deaths in Mexico attributed to this illness, since April 13th. That is not something to take lightly. While I don't think it is close to a time for panic, I think we should all take positive steps to improve upon our immune system function, in turn reducing our susceptibility to this or any other virus. I am definitely in support of the "better safe than sorry" tactic on this one.

On the other hand, it is important to also remember that even though the media seems to be saying a pandemic is all but imminent, the number of cases in the US is still tiny when looked at on a grander scale, or compared to even the average winter flu. In other words, you should keep a watchful eye, follow at least some of the steps I recommend and basically brace for a problem, but at the same time, keep living your life and not let the typical, overblown media coverage scare you too much!

How to Prevent the Spread of this or any other Flu

The basics-

Avoid contact with people if they are sick.
Stay at home — from work, school or other public activities — when you are ill.
Shield others from your coughs and sneezes by using a tissue.
Wash your hands often with a natural (vs antibacterial) soap.
Keep your hands away from your eyes, nose or mouth.

Additional Prevention Tips

Eat lots of garlic. I recommend a raw clove every day or every other day, along with cooking with it whenever possible.
Eat lots of shiitake mushrooms.
Practice these the Healing Breath Exercise every morning and night.
Do regular exercise without over doing it. And rest if you start getting flu symptoms.
Get lots of sunshine and vitamin D.
Eat like a caveman and Stay away from soda, juice and other forms of sugar as much as possible.
Use Now Foods Activated Nasal Mist once or twice a day.

You Feel a Flu Coming On, Now What???

Constitutional Hydrotherapy Everyday
Take large, frequent doses of Echinacea, Garlic and Elderberry, three of the best antivirals around.
Take Oscillococcinum at recommended doses, at the first sign of illness. (available in most healthfood stores)
If you have a fever over 99.5 DO NOT consume anything other than bone broth, unsweetened electrolyte formulas (if vomiting or diarrhea), water or herbal tea until the fever goes below this number. Nursing children should continue nursing as they desire.
ABSOLUTELY NO GLUTEN, DAIRY, SUGAR OR SUGARY FOODS.
Pick a homeopathic remedy that most closely matches your symptoms.
Take Vitamin D3 at 1000iu per kilogram body weight (1 kg + 2.2 lbs) for three days in a row.
Continue Healing Breath Exercise.
Contact me or another doctor if you are not getting better!

At least 2 hours of high intensity exercise per day required to gain benefit.....April Fools!!

2009-04-01T20:02:00.000-07:00

Many people out there are still under the impression that a veritable TON of exercise, lasting a long, long time, is required if you even have a snowball's chance in Jamaica to get some real benefit for your heart. Thoughts of what is necessary often conjure up images of you slaving away for hours on a treadmill or elliptical machine, eyes darting back and forth between the "calories burned" and "pulse rate" monitors, as you search for validation of the supreme effort you are putting forth.

Well don't despair! Some new research continues to support the notion that running on a treadmill until the cartilage in your knees has thinned to rice paper consistency may not be necessary. In fact some research suggests that large amounts of cardiovascular exercise may actually do more harm than good.

Quality vs. Quantity

A recent study took a fresh approach to exercising for disease prevention. Sixteen inactive men in their early twenties took part in the program, which consisted of short, all-out bouts of sprinting on a stationary bicycle alternating with periods of rest. During each session, the men sprinted for 30 seconds against a resistance, rested for enough time to recover, then repeated three to five repetitions of the same sprint/rest sequence. These sessions were repeated three times each week, bringing the grand total of time spent actively exercising to 7 minutes per week (or about 20 minutes, three times per week, including the rest time), with total calories spent doing so to about 250.

Following two weeks of this exercise training, all men showed significant improvements in insulin sensitivity compared with the beginning of the study, meaning that their ability to process sugar (glucose) from a meal improved by adhering to the program. Three other measures of glucose metabolism also improved, demonstrating that short bouts of intense exercise can have a profound effect on cardiovascular and diabetes risk factors.

The study's authors concluded, “This novel, time-efficient training paradigm can be used as a strategy to reduce metabolic risk factors in young and middle-aged sedentary people who otherwise would not adhere to time consuming traditional exercise regimens."

In other words, it doesn't take much! The neatest thing of all is that you can take this formula and apply it to nearly any exercise that suits your fancy and fitness level. The key is the mixture of approximately 3o seconds of exercise with enough intensity that you really couldn't do much more, followed by a period of rest in order to recover, and repeating this sequence a few times.

For some this could mean all out sprints plus brisk walking to recover, for others this could mean brisk walking plus standing in place to recover. Others might even find benefit from simply standing in place and swinging your arms like you are sprinting, then resting. The possibilities are endless!! I would actually recommend choosing from a variety of exercises and just applying these principles to each one on a different day.

If you are totally new to exercise or in pretty poor shape, I would encourage you to speak to your doctor or at least a trainer before embarking on this plan. If you don't want to then start off very gently.

Is Extreme Cardio Even Good For You?

I have been an exercise fanatic for a long time, but I have to say my views and approach to it have changed drastically over time. I used to think a lot like the way I poked fun at above-
ie. cardiovascular exercise is king and the more of it the better. In fact, I used to workout about 2 hours a day, sometimes at extremely high levels for nearly the whole time. And, guess what, I got sick a lot more often than I do now. These days, my workouts take anywhere from 10-30 minutes. Just about the only time I do straight exercise for longer than that is when I play basketball once a week, and I always feel bad afterwards (too bad I'm addicted).

However, not only is there research supporting the idea that we can derive benefit from the new style of exercise I have described thus far, there is a lot of opinion and research out there suggesting this style of exercise is much better for your health.

In fact, nowadays I cringe when I hear a friend or patient tell me they are training to run a marathon. Surely they are doing it because from what they understand it is an ultimate test of endurance and completing one means they are in supreme physical condition. Again, recent research is now suggesting these people are actually putting themselves in danger by pursuing such activities.

Here are some great resources for starting an exercise program that will be safe and beneficial for you:

If you prefer to exercise at home and keep things simple the various routines recommended in the book TBK Fitness, by Tamir Katz, are great. I often do these sorts of workouts when I travel. There are a wide variety of exercise routines suggested that will fit nearly every fitness level, and he also gives a wonderful description of how to eat the healthiest diet on the planet.

If you are in the Portland area and prefer to exercise in a group or even get some private lessons with a high quality trainer who will teach you what I deem to be the absolute BEST exercise methods I have come across yet, check out CrossfitPortland.com.

And get some rest wouldja???

More Help For Healthy Eating

2009-03-03T21:07:00.000-08:00

Well, in my continued quest to get you all eating as well as I possibly can, I wanted to provide you with a bunch of awesome links I found recently. With help like this, it's going to be hard to convince me that you can't adopt some of these ideas at least once or twice a day, if not all day everyday!
What to do if you can't be "perfect" about your diet
Paleo/Primal Office Snacks
Paleo/Primal Breakfast Ideas
Grain Free Muffins
Inexexpensive Homemade Jerky Without a Dehydrator
Additional Recipe Ideas
Even More Recipe Ideas
A great description of basic guidelines for a Paleo/Primal eating plan
A great description of how to live a more Primal (healthy) Lifestyle

Cod Liver Oil, Bugs, Organs and Sunshine- Key Factors in Your Health

2009-01-13T11:10:00.001-08:00

There has been a tremendous amount of controversy lately, swirling around the various nutritional circles I am connected to, involving the supposed toxicity of vitamin A and one of its most potent nutritional sources- cod liver oil.

The topic was first brought to light after early research showed an increase in fracture rates and osteoporosis risk from excessive vitamin A intake. However, additional studies in 2005 and 2009 seem to have discredited the original findings, suggesting there was no connection between the two.

More recently, the Vitamin D Council came out with a statement again suggesting that vitamin A can indeed be toxic and that cod liver oil should be avoided. This article suggested that while cultures around the world who are deficient in vitamin A certainly benefit from taking it, more affluent cultures like ours have no such deficiency and cited studies showing that taking additional amounts could be harmful.

An article by Dr. Joe Mercola followed soon afterwards, echoing the statements made by the Vitamin D Council. In this article Dr. Mercola, a long-time proponent of cod liver oil, completely reversed his stance based on the findings reported by the Vitamin D Council, suggesting we all avoid it from now on.

Finally, the Weston Price Foundation, another long time supporter of cod liver oil consumption, had previously published articles supporting the use of vitamin A and refutting the vitamin A-osteoporosis connection. They then came out with a preliminary rebuttal to the statements by Mercola and the Vitamin D Council and plan to publish a more in depth article exploring this topic further in the next edition of their journal.

The problem with all of this is that these three groups, especially Weston Price and Mercola.com have been some of the main influences in my nutritional education and research. Having also been a long time consumer and supporter of cod liver oil, I was (for lack of a better term) FREAKING OUT a bit when I read all the recent information from Mercola and the Vitamin D Council.

After taking a few breaths, researching more on my own, re-reading the article by the Vitamin D Council and contacting Dr. Mercola, Sally Fallon (president of the Weston Price Foundation), Dave Wetzel (owner of Green Pasture- the company who makes the cod liver oil I take and recommend to my patients) and Dr. Ron Schmid (owner of DrRons.com and long time cod liver oil advocate) all directly, I was finally able to revise my opinion on this entire topic. The remainder of this post will contain my best effort at summarizing my current stand on things.

Basically when it comes to vitamin A or cod liver oil my feelings are the same as they are when considering any other vitamin or supplement. In essence, natural and whole is better and safer than processed, isolated or synthetic.

What quickly became apparent to me when re-reading the information from the Vitamin D Council is that they kept referring to "modern cod liver oil" as being a problem. I would agree whole heartedly with this contention. You see, "modern cod liver oil" is not fully natural or whole. It is processed, molecularly distilled, heated, and basically altered in many ways from it's original form. It's difficult to say just how much all of these actions do to change its constituents, but one thing is for sure. The processing many cod liver oils go through significantly reduces their vitamin D levels. In turn we are left with a product that has much LESS vitamin D than whole, unprocessed cod liver oil does.

This brings me to my second point. As seems to be the case in other categories of nutrition and life in general, with vitamin A, vitamin D and cod liver oil, it's really all about balance. It's pretty well established that both vitamin A and D are essential nutrients for us. The problem comes when we over consume one over the other. Typical store bought cod liver oil, having been through all the processing it has, has less vitamin D than it should, thus decreasing its ratio in comparison to vitamin A. This is where I along with other experts I have spoken with feel the problem truly lies. Most cod liver oil brands are, in fact, unsafe, because they contain too much vitamin A compared to vitamin D.

In fact, some experts in the field have already come out in direct opposition to the Vitamin D Council's statements about cod liver oil, stating that they were making sweeping generalizations and, in essence, throwing the baby out with the bathwater!

Thankfully, all this time I have been recommending a brand of cod liver oil to my patients that is not nearly as highly processed, and still contains the natural ratios of vitamin A to vitamin D in it. I have also taken to recommending many of my patients take additional vitamin D during the winter time. I feel these steps have eliminated the risks proposed by the Vitamin D Council and Dr. Mercola.

Remember, cod liver oil has been used to complement traditional diets throughout the world for centuries. Traditional diets centered on foods rich in vitamins A and D – liver and other organ meats, seafood and the fats of grass-fed animals. People spent much more time outdoors in the sun than we do. Yet these people still used fish liver oils as an essential part of their diets.

The basic fact then is that extensive evidence shows natural vitamin A in foods such as cod liver oil is not toxic except in cases where vitamin D is deficient. The key is to avoid cod liver oil that contains low levels of vitamin D in relationship to vitamin A. The natural ratio is about ten to one, yet in some brands the ratio is as high as one hundred to one.

I have even come to find out that soon the company I get cod liver oil from for my patients (greenpasture.org) will only be carrying a fermented version of cod liver oil, the most truly natural form of all. Fermented cod liver oil not only contains the appropriate ratio of vitamin A to vitamin D, it is also easier to digest than regular cod liver oil, and contains a variety of other known and unknown nutrients produced directly via the fermentation process (see below for more details). Fermented cod liver oil is indeed one of nature's true super foods.

Finally, in all this discussion about vitamins A and D, something very important has been left out. Vitamin K. More specifically vitamin K2, the form of vitamin K found only in certain fermented foods and certain animal foods. Vitamin K1, found in plants and grasses, is not nearly as useful to us humans as K2 is now being found to be. Research is now showing K2 to be crucial for cardiovascular and bone health. Some research is now showing evidence that consuming it may even reduce plaque formation already present in a person's arteries!

It is my belief that we must eat a good balance of all three of these fat soluble nutrients- A, D and K, and that doing so will keep us safe from any potential toxic effects over consuming any one of them may cause. If we consume a traditional diet rich in high quality animal foods and the fats they naturally come with, and we are sure to get into the sun regularly, whenever we are able, we will get substantial, live-giving portions of all three of these nutrients.

Vitamin A can be found in beef and chicken livers, high quality, full fat dairy foods and fish liver oil. It's precursors-the carotenes are found in dark colored (especially reds and oranges, but also dark green) vegetables. If you are not a fan of organ meats, you can take these items in capsule or powdered form like I do.

The best source for vitamin D is sunshine. If that is not available and/or you live at a latitude where in the winter you can't make vitamin D from the sunshine no matter what, the next best source in my opinion is a vitamin D lamp. The third best option is old fashioned, fermented cod liver oil and straight vitamin D supplements. Again, if the vitamin D lamp is not an option for you, I recommend consuming both fermented cod liver oil and extra vitamin D during the winter (preferably emulsified).

The best sources of vitamin K2 are the traditional Japanese fermented food natto, raw fermented cheeses, raw butter and egg yolks. Interestingly enough, another way we are designed to obtain vitamin K2 is through the fermentation process that is supposed to be going on naturally in all of our guts. You see we are all supposed to have a high level of probiotic organisms in our guts, some of whom actually make vitamin K2 for us to absorb, when they ferment the vegetables and other healthy foods we are supposed to be consuming every day.

Unfortunately, many of us either don't eat the foods these bugs want to ferment, or we've done too many things like take antibiotics, prednisone and birth control pills, all of which destroy these precious friends of ours.

So the bottom line in all of this again is two fold:
1) Consume things in their most natural, unprocessed states.
2) Consume a balanced amount of ALL the nutrients needed for health, especially the fat soluble vitamins A, D and K.

This is obviously a vast topic and there is even more to it all than I am able to get down on a single blog posting. I've already gone way longer than usual! So, if you'd like to know more about this truly crucial component of nutrition and health, please contact me.

Eat Some Olive Oil, Save Your Colon

2008-10-04T22:29:00.000-07:00

While the silly notion that all fat is bad continues to linger in the minds of many Americans, my hope is that everyone is at least clear on one thing:

Stay away from trans fats.

There are few if any foods on the market that I consider worse for your health than those containing these nasty little buggers. Past research has confirmed their contributing role in conditions like heart disease, arthritis, diabetes and yes, even the "C" word.

In fact, new research has surfaced recently further proving the strong connection between trans fats and cancer.

In this new study, published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, 622 people who underwent a routine screening colonoscopy were interviewed about dietary and other factors thought to be related to colorectal cancer. Researchers used this information to estimate how much trans fat each person regularly consumed and compared these numbers to the colonoscopy results.

Compared with those who ate the least trans fats, people who ate the most had an 86% higher likelihood of having colorectal adenomas—small growths, or polyps, in the colon and rectum that, if left untreated, can develop into colorectal cancer.

Ding, ding, ding, ding! We have a winner! Trans fats take first place in the "not fit for human consumption" contest! (Followed closely by runners up corn syrup, white sugar, white flour, preservatives, food dyes, Splenda, Nutrasweet, MSG.......)

In fact, Dr. Walter Willett, a professor of epidemiology and nutrition at Harvard Medical School and one of the nation’s foremost experts on food and health recently concluded that trans fats represent “the biggest food processing disaster in US history.”

What kinds of fats and oils are OK to eat? I have a simple rule to follow that will pretty much cover it. Just ask yourself one question:

If I were placed on an Earth with no machines, chemicals, or chemistry labs available anywhere, what kinds of fats could I find and eat?

Well, trans fats which require all three in order to be produced, would definitely be out. So would corn, soy, and other liquid vegetable oils. All of these products require a machine to press the oils out of them.

On the other hand, the oils from foods like olives, coconuts, and fish can be procured by simple means. Even if you just rub one of them in your hands a bit, your hands will soon be covered with oil. Try doing that with a corn kernel or dry soybean!

Admittedly, this is a simplistic way of looking at things, but I for one prefer simplicity. Of course for those of you who need more proof, just remember that there have now been countless studies done on the tremendous benefits to be had from olive and fish oil consumption. There is also emerging research now available which proves the value of the once maligned coconut.

I actually recommend the above rule to my patients in order to help them select all of their foods, not just their oils, and it works like a charm! What could you eat in a natural environment if you had nothing but your hands, feet, some primitive tools and your brains? Meats, plants, fruits, eggs, raw honey, sea salt (in certain environments), eggs, nuts and seeds, give or take a Twinkie or two (they've been around forever!!).

What has research shown to be the ultimate diet for preventing heart disease, cancer, diabetes and other chronic diseases? A so-called "Primitive" or "Paleo" diet. The components of this diet? The exact foods I just mentioned.

Finally, it might interest you to know some ways to help prevent colon cancer, aside from just avoiding trans fats. Here's a brief list:

Get your "25, OH Vitamin D levels" tested through a blood test with your doctor. If your levels are less than 60, start taking concentrated cod liver oil and getting as much regular sunshine as possible without getting burned. If your levels are less than 30, add an additional vitamin D supplement and get your levels retested until they range between 60-80 consistently.
Exercise.
Eat your veggies, especially of the cruciferous variety (broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, kale, etc).
Eat and drink unpasteurized, fermented or cultured foods like kombucha, raw sauerkraut, homemade yogurt or kefir made from raw milk and miso soup on a regular basis. If these foods are unacceptable or unavailable to you, get a really good acidophilus product and take that instead.
Add 2 tbsp of freshly ground organic flax seeds to a smoothie at least a few times a week.
Drink green tea often.
Eat turmeric or take curcumin supplements.
Stay away from processed meats containing nitrites.
Don't overcook or char the meats that you eat. If you are going to cook them in this way, marinate them in ginger and garlic first, which will lessen the damage that happens to them from this kind of cooking.
Drink gelatin rich, homemade bone broth regularly.
Eat a handful of brazil nuts (an excellent source of selenium) on a regular basis.

FIBER IS NOT ALL IT'S CRACKED UP TO BE

2008-09-15T14:38:00.000-07:00

I have recently discovered some fascinating work by a man named Konstantin Monastyrsky, author of The Fiber Menace. His book goes to great lengths to expose the untruths surrounding the universally accepted notion that fiber is good for everyone and more of it is even better.

What I was most interested in and surprised by was that even though this man was coming from a totally different perspective that I do when talking to my patients about their diets, his conclusions about the best diet were basically identical to mine.

I have to admit though that I was not aware of ALL the particular dangers behind excessive fiber consumption, especially in the supplemental form used by so many people, and that this info has really opened my eyes to how potentially harmful excess fiber consumption can be.

To get started, I would strongly recommend watching Mr. Monastyrsky's video introduction to the topic. You can find a link to it by clicking HERE.

Now Will We Take This Eating Thing Seriously?

2008-08-11T21:04:00.000-07:00

Thus far, it hasn't seemed to matter. Someone can perform an experiment on themselves in which they eat only fast food for a month (see SuperSize Me) and nearly die in the process, then make a major motion picture about it for all the world to see.

And what do people do?

They keep driving towards that drive through window and ordering up the latest meal deal from that funny little voice coming out of the speaker.

Someone can create a hit television contest that uses money as a way to coax contestants into exercising and eating well in order to see who will be crowned "The Biggest Loser", but the average person keeps gaining weight.

Even Shaquille O'Neal can get involved, trying to save overweight kids with a TV show contest of his own, but what happens? The show gets canceled half way through because the kids aren't trying hard enough. Mind you, these kids were not even teenagers yet and already showing signs of diabetes and heart disease!

Well maybe, just maybe, the latest news from the front lines of the war on obesity will finally be enough.

In what I have decided is the scariest study I have seen yet, researchers from the federal government's Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality have determined that, if we continue on our current trend of diet and exercise (or lack thereof) EVERY ADULT AMERICAN will be overweight or obese within 40 years.

Just want to make sure you have caught my drift on this one:

EVERY ADULT AMERICAN COULD BE OVERWEIGHT IN 40 YEARS.

What would such a statistic mean for all of us if it actually came true?

For starters, it would mean that health care expenditures on weight related issues alone would likely exceed ONE TRILLION DOLLARS.

It would also mean that every single American would have a vastly increased risk of cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and early death.

In other words....RISING GAS PRICES ARE NOT THAT BIG OF A DEAL!

With news like this, making positive, healthful changes in your life is no longer good enough. It's time to start talking to your family, friends, neighbors and co-workers too.

The saddest thing of all is that being overweight or obese is so.....fixable. While making positive diet and lifestyle changes is obviously quite difficult for some people, at least there are no hidden answers. There are no mysteries here. If you want to lose weight, it takes two things, education and a willingness to change.

I have found that the patients of mine who have had the most success with their weight issues DO NOT try to fit weight loss efforts into their old lifestyles. They make the decision to change their lives, and then ask me for advice on how best to do so.

Changing your life is not easy, but every single person can do it. We might not all be able to eat the perfect diet, filled with purely organic, local, perfect foods, or join a gym and lift weights for 2 hours every day of the week, but we don't need to.

We can all choose a salad with chicken, sunflower seeds, olive oil, lemon juice and a little salt on it for lunch instead of pasta, a burger or a sandwich.

We can all have some apple slices smeared with almond butter for a snack instead of chips.

And, unless we are actually physically unable to move, we can all MOVE. We just need to do it.
There's obviously a lot more to it than this, but it's not much harder than that.

We've run out of time people. There is nothing left to do but get better. Please don't wait another minute!!

Statins, statins and more statins. Anyone else want some statins?

2008-07-10T14:03:00.000-07:00

The American Academy of Pediatrics recently decided to recommend more "aggressive" drug therapy for obese children. These recommendations basically put up a green light for all pediatricians to start prescribing statins to every overweight child that comes through the door.

If you've read this blog before, you are probably already aware my feeling about statins for adults is apprehensive at best. In essence I think they are likely to be dangerous and basically unnecessary for just about everyone, as long as other means of improving your health have been implemented.

Now we have our kids getting involved. Oh boy. Here we go.

Well, I guess the drug companies have pretty much got us covered now.....wait a second, what about our pets? They need to be saved too! Didn't I read something somewhere about high cholesterol in Siamese cats being linked to heart disease AND hairballs?

What about my fish, Henry? Do they make fish food-sized, little statin pills? Do they float?

OK, OK, I'm getting a little carried away here. But seriously, let's forget for a moment all of the things we know about statins and how they are probably not very effective at all anyway, and just think about this for a moment.

Shouldn't the money being spent towards getting statins approved for kids, along with the millions that will inevitably be spent on future TV ads with Elmo talking about the dangers of high cholesterol, be put towards trying to educate children and their parents about healthy eating, exercise and stress reduction? After all, these are much more creditable, effective ways of preventing heart disease.

If a child is obese, shouldn't we be spending our money trying to get PE programs back into their school curriculum, or to support the local soccer league and encourage them to join a team?

I swear, our health care system is so incredibly backwards and corrupt I think it may drive me insane!

Please do your child a favor, the next time you see Elmo on TV holding a bottle of pills up to the screen, change the channel. Better yet, turn the TV off and take your kid to the park.

Tim Russert's Death- A big surprise? I don't think so.

2008-06-20T21:45:00.000-07:00

A recent article in the Health section of the New York Times describes in detail how Mr. Russert's physicians were nothing short of shocked at his recent death from sudden cardiac arrest. After all, he was on an "aggressive" treatment regimen to lower his significantly elevated risk of heart disease, including high blood pressure medication and statin drugs to control his cholesterol.

What more could one ever need to prevent heart disease?

Well....Lots of things!

For starters he should never have started that statin drug, a class of drug that research shows is completely useless in all but a small minority of cases. The fact that even though he was on this drug, his triglycerides were still too high and his HDL was still too low, proves that statins do nothing to affect these more accurate predictors of heart disease.

High triglyceride and low HDL levels are caused by excessive consumption of carbohydrates, and too little exercise. This deadly combination results in excessive outputs of insulin and the storage of fat in both the mid-section (another true risk factor for heart disease) and around the internal organs.

High insulin levels also contribute to systemic inflammation in the body, which in all likelihood is the truest risk factor for heart disease of all.

It's also important to remember that statins actually reduce your body's ability to manufacture Coenzyme Q-10, a key component for proper heart function!

The strangest thing about this article is that in one section it does everything short of literally telling you that statin drugs are not nearly as helpful as improving dietary habits and exercising:

"If there is any lesson in his death, his doctors said, it is a reminder.... that people, especially those with known risk factors, should pay attention to diet, blood pressure, weight and exercise — even if they are feeling fine." If statin drugs were as effective as they are touted to be in drug ads, why the important reminder?

Because they aren't.

If you want to start truly reducing your risk factors for heart disease, at the very least consider the following:

A "primitive" diet, that avoids the majority of high carb foods like sugars and flour, reduces or eliminates grain and dairy intake, and instead focuses on lots of veggies, a moderate amount of fruit, good quality proteins and fats from healthy animals raised in a natural way, and other healthy fats from nuts and seeds, fish oil, avocados and olive oil.
Exercise at least 5 days a week, with at least 2 of those days involving an interval based exercise routine. (If you have known heart disease or risk factors, check with a doctor first to learn how to properly implement this style of exercise)
Practice stress reduction techniques such as meditation, prayer, progressive relaxation and deep breathing exercises on a regular basis.
Get your vitamin D levels checked.
Drink green tea every day.
Consider a vitamin K2 supplement, or one with it as a component.

Blood Sugar Levels Important for Everyone, Not Just Diabetics

2008-06-12T21:10:00.000-07:00

A new study out of New Zealand has provided insight into just how important it is to keep your blood sugar levels much more in check than previously thought.

It used to be that most doctors didn't even bat an eye until their patients' fasting blood sugar levels rose higher than 126, the cut-off point for diagnosing diabetes. In recent years the medical profession has become more picky about things and now people with fasting blood sugars higher than 110 are considered 'pre-diabetic', which is basically just a nice way of saying, 'You better get your act together right now my friend, or trouble's coming'.

In fact, some the lab I use regularly to test my patients' blood cuts off 'normal' blood sugar at 99! Are we going overboard a bit? Are we being too picky? Is this just another ploy by the pharmaceutical industry to try and get the standard for a blood marker lowered for no good reason other than selling more drugs? (i.e. The Great Cholesterol Con)

Unfortunately, this doesn't appear to be the case. This new study out of New Zealand looked at hemoglobin A1C (Hgb A1c) levels in over 47,000 people. Hgb A1c is a marker that gives information on what a person's blood sugar levels have been averaging over the last few months. It is considered a much more valuable marker for determining true risks for high blood sugar than a single measurement of fasting blood sugar is, because it basically gives an average over time, rather than one single measurement, which can be affected by numerous things.

The typical goal for diabetics is to get under a Hgb A1c of 6, but the "normal range" is about 4-5%. Until now, most people thought that if your levels are under 6, you're doing pretty well.

Well...not so much.

The New Zealand study has found that, from an optimal level of 4, the higher your HgbA1c rises (even if you are still within the "normal range") the more likely you are to die!

I must say, that was news to me. Being a fairly healthy person thus far, I have never had my HgA1c checked, but I will be doing so soon.

This study brings up two important points for me:

1) A simple screening blood test (if looked at with a truly discerning eye) can reveal A LOT about your health. It's not just for checking to see if you can "justifiably" be put on cholesterol-lowering drugs, which seems to be how it is being used these days in the conventional medical field. This is why every one of my new patients is asked to get one done. (I will by, the way, be adding HgA1c to the typical panel I run)

2) It reinforces in my mind the notion that, if you care about your health or the health of your loved ones, it's simply not good enough to just be "normal". In other words, if you don't have a diagnosable disease, does that mean you are truly healthy?

Maybe....Maybe not.

Another way to look at this is, while they are still obviously important, don't let some once-a-year physical exam or lab test that comes back "in the normal range" fool you into thinking you are optimally healthy. If you want to thrive in life and be a happy and functional human being well into your later years, examine the various parameters of your diet and lifestyle and MAKE SURE you are as healthy as you can be!

In the case of blood sugar levels, make sure you are eating a diet filled mostly with protein rich foods like good quality meats, nuts and seeds, healthy fats, vegetables and a moderate amount of fruit. Also make sure you are exercising regularly. In particular, regularly partake in exercise routines in which you are following a pattern of short bursts of high intensity work, followed by a period of rest, repeated over and over until tired. This form of exercise seems to be particularly good for your heart and blood sugar levels.

Also, do your best to reduce stress in your life and, perhaps more importantly, learn to moderate your response to the stress that you do have, by practicing stress relieving activities such as meditation, breathing exercises, progressive relaxation, prayer, etc. High stress levels usually result in high outputs of cortisol in your body. Amongst other things, one of cortisol's jobs is to literally increase your blood sugar levels by telling your liver to release extra amounts from your storage depots.

This was an important function during ancient times when our stresses mainly came from infrequent scenarios when we needed to physically act in a vigorous manner in order to catch something, fight something or run away from something. Lots of sugar in the blood for fuel was important in such circumstances. These days, however, our stresses rarely require physical action from us. They are mostly just mental. Unfortunately, the response in our bodies hasn't changed though. We still release a lot of cortisol and, in turn, a lot of blood sugar into our systems.

According to this recent study, that is not such a good thing.

I could go on and and on about this, but I'll end this by saying if you want to be really healthy:

Eat well. Exercise. Get your Hgb A1c levels checked. And, if you're stressed out, make sure it's because you are being chased by a large animal.

Vitamin D and Cancer

2008-05-11T20:40:00.000-07:00

Further proof of the important role Vitamin D plays in cancer protection was revealed in a recent issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. It discussed a twelve year study, involving more than 16,000 participants, which showed that people with the highest blood levels of vitamin D were 72% less likely to die of colon cancer than those who had the lowest levels. Current data states that colon cancer is killing 50,000 people in the U.S. per year.

To be completely honest, there's nothing new here. We are simply seeing further proof of what has been proven, seemingly beyond any reasonable doubt. If you have a lot of vitamin D coursing through your veins, you probably won't die of cancer.

What is important to realize, however, and what this study makes note of, is that this and many other positive studies involving vitamin D, have looked specifically at blood levels of vitamin D, not supplemental intake. Studies looking at the prevention of cancer and other chronic diseases from taking vitamin D supplements are less prevalent than those looking simply at blood levels.

In other words, while we know that the vitamin D we get "the natural way" (i.e. from our skin creating is when exposed to the sun) is helpful, we don't know for sure if supplements have exactly the same benefit.

So, what is a Portlander (or anyone else living in a less than balmy environment) to do? Well, try as hard as you can to get in the sun as often as possible for starters. Next, test your blood levels of vitamin D at least a couple times a year to see where they are at. (contact me if you have to pay more than $46 for this test) If they are low, I would start taking a concentrated, high-dose form of cod liver oil (containing at least 500 iu per 1/2 tsp).

I am absolutely convinced that food based forms of vitamins (cod liver oil is the highest natural source of vitamin D) are superior to isolated or synthetic nutrients in terms of absorption and safety. I also think that, in the case of vitamin D, when we aren't sure how well taking it compared to making it works for us, our best bet in supplementation is the most natural form possible, i.e. high dose cod liver oil.

If you get your vitamin D levels tested and they are extremely low, you may need to augment your cod liver oil supplementation with a pure vitamin D supplement for some time. Again, the proof is less solid with this form of vitamin D, but I still believe it's far better than nothing, and I've certainly seen it raise my patients blood levels. I like to give pure vitamin D supplements (and other single nutrients when necessary) along with the food or foods that naturally contain it, as doing so will provide a myriad of other nutrients and cofactors that your body is used to seeing come along with that nutrient.

For more info on the value of whole food supplements, be sure to read my article at Mercola.com: The Truth About Whole Food Supplements.