July 1, 2010 On Healthy by Nature this week : Learn about an amazing rejuvenating product for weary old dogs and cats. Also a round table discussion with Andy Hopkins and Gayle Pruitt on weight loss products.
VITAMIN E / ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE
STUDY :Recently 232 subjects 80+ in age and free of dementia had their blood levels of Vitamin E assessed. After 6 years of follow-up, results showed that those with the highest blood levels of certain forms of Vitamin E had a significantly reduced risk of developing Alzheimer’s Disease compared to those with the lowest levels. A particular form of Vitamin E made most of the difference. 1
My 2 Cents: Many mass market vitamins like Centrum use synthetic Vitamin E. Watch for it listed in the ingredients as d l -Alpha tocopherol. Unfortunately, that form does not have the same health benefits as the natural form, known as d-Alpha tocopherol. The study above shows that even the natural d-alpha form is only a small part of the Vitamin E story. Vitamin E in nature is a collection of 8 forms, not just one form isolated. In the Alzheimer’s study, the best protection for brain tissue was provided by the “Beta” form. I recommend supplementing with a Vitamin E complex that contains all 8 forms because all are valued for something (e.g. cardiovascular health). Nature almost always knows best! The one I take, called FamilE, is the best I know of and is made by our sponsor Jarrow Formulas. (You can purchase it from any of the stores that sponsor our program.)
“SIDE DISH” vs. “VEGETABLE”
What I did on my summer vacation”. We just returned from Ohio where we attended a high school reunion and visited family. I now realize I’m not the only one that doesn’t look exactly like my yearbook photo. However, I do at least look better than the 20% of my classmates that have passed away. I can’t help but wonder if their premature demise was somehow related to eating food like that served at a large and popular local restaurant described below.
The average customer seemed very big around the middle and if that wasn’t a sufficient clue, the man with the prominent coronary bypass scar should have been. We had to enter and leave through a giant retail area tempting us with baked sweets.* Since it was late and most entrées on the all-you-can-stand buffet were deep-fried, I decided on the lighter “Vegetable Plate”—a salad and 3 hot vegetables. On closer inspection, of 21 “side dishes”, 8 were potatoes of various kinds.* There were more starches (e.g. stuffing and noodles), and the likes of Jell-O and sweetened applesauce.* Even including the fried onion rings, there were just 5 actual vegetables—all of which had the nutrients boiled out of them. (A good multivitamin helps fill in those blanks.) The “salad” was nutrient-poor iceberg lettuce that they had apparently run through a wood chipper so we wouldn’t have to burn any calories chewing it. The bread was white and, although that is dairy country, the “butter” was margarine.* I didn’t expect fancy, but had hoped for something a little closer to good ole country real food. (I’m told the fried chicken is good.) We visited a friend in the hospital nearby. His lunch looked like it might have been from the same restaurant.
*A recent exhaustive review of studies on saturated fat (e.g. meat, eggs, butter) concluded that, despite all the authoritative pronouncements and browbeating from “experts”, there is almost no scientific evidence to blame saturated fat for heart disease. The real culprit, including elevated cholesterol, seems to be carbohydrates like sugar and foods that quickly become sugar like white flour, white rice and potatoes.2 (One of the restaurant’s specials is potatoes with noodles on top. Seriously.) The study’s conclusion is what I’ve been saying for a long time and it’s why I worry that my hospitalized friend, recovering from a heart attack, was served a meal consisting mostly of white starch and a can of pop. These are the very foods that also make us fat. Meat, eggs and butter in normal quantities keep us from being hungry. I’ll write more about this in a later newsletter but wanted to give you at least a quick heads up.
New Book: Aloe Vera—Modern Science Sheds Light on an Ancient Herbal Remedy
1 J Alzheimers Dis. 2010 Apr 22. [Epub ahead of print], High Plasma Levels of Vitamin E Forms and Reduced Alzheimer’s Disease Risk in Advanced Age. Mangialasche F, Kivipelto M, Mecocci P, Rizzuto D, Palmer K, Winblad B, Fratiglioni L.
2 Am J Clin Nutr. 2010 Mar;91(3):502-9. Saturated fat, carbohydrate, and cardiovascular disease. Siri-Tarino PW, Sun Q, Hu FB, Krauss RM. Don’t suddenly stop medications. Consult your health practitioner. This newsletter is educational and not a substitute for professional advice. Please do your part in our grass-roots health revolution—one tiny step: forward this newsletter to friends and family and encouraging them to subscribe .
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