February 24, 2011 Healthy by Nature radio show this week: Alert your friends and family who have children because my first guest will be Mary Ann Block, DO, Medical Director of the Block Center and the author of a number of books such as:
No More ADHD
No More Amoxicillin: Preventing and Treating Ear and Respiratory Infections Without Antibiotics
Just Because You`re Depressed Doesn`t Mean You Have Depression, Depression Is a Symptom Not a Disease, So Find the Cause – Fix the Problem.
I included the subtitles to give you a better idea what she’s all about. (She is one of our speakers at HealthFest.) My second guest is nutritionist, Lani Jacobs-Banner. She is a nutrition educator for Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage. We’ll talk about how to pick better foods by making sense of the labels. Find out how to listen at this link. Call the show Saturday at 1-800-281-8255.
Research NEWS
Egg yolks benefit eyes. “Lutein and zeaxanthin [carotene nutrients] may reduce the risk of dry, age-related macular degeneration…” This human clinical study concluded that “Consumption of 4 egg yolks/day, and possibly of 2 egg yolks/day, for 5 weeks benefited macular health in older adults with low MPOD [macular pigment optical density]. Serum HDL cholesterol increased without an increase in LDL cholesterol in this study population, most of whom were taking cholesterol-lowering statins.”1
My 2 cents: Macular degeneration is an increasingly common eye condition that causes progressive loss of sight in older persons. Egg yolks are one of the best sources of Lutein, a carotene often added to nutrition supplement pills specifically for the eyes. It is unfortunate that for many years as concerns over fat and cholesterol heated up, Americans were told by “experts” to avoid eating eggs. That advice resulted in popularity of the “egg white omelet”. It contains good protein, but obviously lacks the benefits of the yolk. Also, notice that even when subjects were eating 4 eggs a day, the only cholesterol to increase was the good kind, HDL. (Most of the cholesterol in the blood is made in the body. If we eat food containing cholesterol, the body compensates by making less.) I think eggs are great. Just think about it…an egg contains everything it takes to create a whole chicken. Eggs brands that brag about their omega 3 content are better choices. But if you don’t eat eggs or at least not 2-4 each day, consider LuteinSorb by Jarrow or their more comprehensive product, Vision Optimizer.
Metabolic therapy for macular degeneration. Researchers called a combination of omega-3 fatty acids, coenzyme Q10 and acetyl-L-carnitine (an amino acid that is also beneficial for memory) “metabolic therapy”. They said, “According to a pilot study and a randomized, placebo-controlled, double blind clinical trial, both central visual field and visual acuity slightly improved after 3-6 months of treatment and they remained unchanged by the end of the study…All these findings strongly suggested that the metabolic therapy may be the first choice for treating age-related macular degeneration.”2
My 2 cents: It is handy that these same nutrients are also very important for protection from a number of degenerative conditions like heart disease. The article also referred to a previously popular eye treatment involving high dosages of the antioxidant vitamins C, E, beta carotene and zinc. They said that combo stopped intermediate disease from going on to advanced but didn’t seem to be helpful for early stage disease. Gee, don’t we want to do both?
Excess iron and eyes: “Many forms of neurodegenerative disease, for instance Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Friedreich’s ataxia, Hallervorden Spatz syndrome and macular degeneration, are associated with elevated levels of redox active metals in the brain and eye. A logical therapeutic approach therefore, is to remove the toxic levels of these metals, copper and iron in particular, by selective chelation.” 3
My 2 cents: Nutrition journalist, Bill Sardi, has been trying to tell us this for years. One substance that helps reduce excess iron storage is IP6 (often extracted from rice bran). One of my favorite supplements, Longevinex, contains that as well as the best form of the powerful antioxidant resveratrol. Find out how to determine if you have an excess by reading the answer to the 9th question down the list on this page.
HealthFest 2011, April 2nd. Buy tickets now. Not only will you save money, you will earn more entries for prizes.
My first book : Natural Alternatives to Nexium, Maalox, Tagamet, Prilosec & Other Acid Blockers. Subtitle: What to Use to Relieve Acid Reflux, Heartburn, and Gastric Ailments.
My latest book : Aloe Vera-Modern Science Sheds Light on an Ancient Herbal Remedy
Copyright 2011 Martie Whittekin, CCN
1Vishwanathan R, Goodrow-Kotyla EF, Wooten BR, Wilson TA, Nicolosi RJ.Consumption of 2 and 4 egg yolks/d for 5 wk increases macular pigment concentrations in older adults with low macular pigment taking cholesterol-lowering statins. Am J Clin Nutr. 2009 Nov;90(5):1272-9. Epub 2009 Sep 16.
2Fehér J, Kovács B, Kovács I, Schvöller M, Corrado Balacco G. Metabolic therapy for early treatment of age-related macular degeneration. Orv Hetil. 2007 Dec 2;148(48):2259-68.
3Hider RC, Roy S, Ma YM, Le Kong X, Preston J. The potential application of iron chelators for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. Metallomics. 2011 Feb 22. [Epub ahead of print]
Healthy By Nature Show