Healthy by Nature radio show this week: Most of the nation: Stress is an aging factor and contributes to many diseases. Normal levels of other hormones reduce the damage caused by the stress hormone. We talk about how to achieve balance and enjoy fringe benefits like fat loss around the middle. My guests for that segment are John Woodward, MD and Hugh Woodward, supplier of Twist25 DHEA cream The second half of the show starts out pretty funny because we woke our second guest, D. John Cannell, MD, from a dead sleep. When he finally shakes off the cobwebs, he tells us about his new book Athlete’s Edge-Faster, Quicker, Stronger with Vitamin D. (This show originally aired on Aug 27 but satellite transmission was knocked out by the hurricane.)   Click here to find podcasts, show archives and ways to listen nationwide.

For those in North Texas: We’ll be broadcasting live from my new classroom in the HealthWorks Center and you are invited to join us. Several guests are lined up and it should be fun. We’ll be on the air from 8-9 AM. We are doing the remote as part of the Grand Opening festivities for the center which is also the home of RealFoodGrocery.com’s brand new outlet store. The event features Howard Garrett, the organic Dirt Doctor of radio, newspaper and book fame. He will answer questions and sign books Sat. from 2-4 PM. I’ll be doing 10 min. free consultations. Other activities include demos (like the Ezzilift facial device and a far infrared sauna), samples, special savings, refreshments and prizes. Although Saturday is the main day, the Grand Opening runs Friday (10-5), Saturday (8-5) and Monday (10-5). Location: on the SW corner of Parker and Independence, across Independence from Tom Thumb and behind RadioShack. Address: 3221 Independence, Plano, 75075.

Our new Thursday Workshop Series: A few seats are still available in the first session. This one is probably the most important because we talk about laying a solid foundation to achieve more energy, a cheerier mood, stronger immunity and better disease prevention. We’ll cover the big food debates, overturn some myths and learn the secrets hidden in food labels. Then we discuss which supplemental nutrients are basic and how to know what you need. September 15th from 7-8:30 PM. Call Darlene at 972-372-0603 for reservations. Tell her you are a subscriber and receive a $5 discount.

The News Media LOVES “Man Bites Dog” Stories
Periodically the news runs a story claiming that dietary supplements are worthless or even detrimental. The current Time magazine is an example. What is wrong with that picture?

Each week I receive dozens of scientific abstracts proving the value of supplements. (Sometimes the studies have even been done in countries that eat much better than we do and supposedly shouldn’t need supplements.)

Typically the news stories are knee-jerk reactions to one poorly controlled study taken out of any scientific or logical context.

Sometimes the stories are repetitions of what at the root are basically rumors or propaganda spread by the competition (e.g. pharmaceutical companies that lose if we stay well).

In the case of the Time article, the author, a lay person, didn’t see a difference in blood tests that he had completed before and after taking supplements. Please understand that standard blood tests look for disease, not to determine if your cells are adequately nourished. During the supplementation period his diet had worsened. That change might have offset any improvements we would have expected. But then again, most supplement benefits are long term and not always noticeable. The author did see a noticeable improvement in vitamin D and his good cholesterol. (Both of which could save his life.) He was right about one thing-pills are supplements, not substitutes for good food.

Here are three studies I recently came across that for some strange reason didn’t appear in Time magazine. (Gee, I hope the omission has nothing to do with the billions drug companies spend in advertising.)
This study was completed by rock-star scientist Bruce Ames, PhD, Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of California, Berkeley, and a Senior Scientist at Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute. He and his associate discovered how, over the decades, the accumulation of tiny insufficiencies of important nutrients like the mineral selenium can result in a worsening of age-related diseases like cancer and heart disease, as well as the loss of immune and brain function. Link.

In spite of the elderly eating food with plenty of calories, a multivitamin appears to still be necessary for them avoid deficiency in a number of nutrients. Link.

Mothers that take a multivitamin before getting pregnant are significantly less likely to have premature and underweight babies. Link.

For my nutrition news, I think I’ll just continue to rely on scientific journals, not the shallow and profit-driven commercial media.

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