Healthy by Nature radio show this week: A food ingredient that you most likely eat every day might be causing you big trouble. And that trouble could be more than symptoms you might suspect such as heartburn, gas, or irritable bowel. Surprisingly, this food can also cause fatigue, headaches, joint pain, weight gain, osteoporosis, infertility, lupus, skin problems and much more. Dr. Tom O’Bryan talks about this very common cause of 55 diseases, testing and the solution. My special co-host for the day is Certified Nutritionist and Health Coach, Betty Murray. Reminder: You can join the show in person Sept 8 (to make sure I don’t do the show in my jammies) when we broadcast live from the Gluten and Allergen Free Expo at the Westin Park Central Hotel in Dallas (SE corner of Coit and LBJ). We’ll be right there in the lobby. Darlene and I will also participate in both days of this important event. Call the live show this Saturday at 1-800-281-8255. Click here to find podcasts, show archives and ways to listen nationwide.
 
Macular Degeneration in Middle Age?
Lutein and Zeaxanthin May Improve Retina Function. Blindness can result when the macula of the eye degenerates (MD) due to age and free radical damage. The “macula” might be compared to the film in a camera–it is where the image is created by the lens focusing light. We think of the disease as affecting only seniors, but this study looked at subjects as young as 50 who had probable MD. Long-term supplementation with two plant antioxidants, Lutein and Zeaxanthin, was shown to significantly improve vision. The smallest amount supplemented was 10 mg of each nutrient but the benefit was even greater when Lutein was increased to 20 mg. LINK

If stated in micrograms instead of milligrams, that higher Lutein dose is 20,000 mcg. Centrum Silver® multivitamin’s advertising brags that it contains Lutein to protect eyes. However, it only contains 250 mcg. Therefore, to reach the most effective dose used in this and other studies, you would have to take 80 of these one-per-day multivitamins. That would obviously be ridiculous and would create overdoses of other ingredients. Misleading advertising? Maybe. However, someone who mistakenly believed that they were being protected by Centrum but became blind might well call it fraud. (The Federal Trade Commission should fine them as well as the makers of drugs for heartburn whose advertising enthusiastically implies that you can safely take their pills all the time rather than the approved 14 days.)

 How old is too old for us to care?
Have you ever seen a doctor or hospital staff person be dismissive and give less than their best service just because a patient is old? That makes me jaw-clenching furious. Mother Teresa didn’t retire until she was 87! Jack LaLanne was still teaching us how to be healthy late into his 90’s. The famous painter, Grandma Moses, didn’t even start painting until she was 76 and continued until she was nearly 100 years old. If a person is still trying to improve and is finding some pleasure in life, then I think he or she deserves the same treatment as anyone else. Who is to say that even an invalid isn’t making a contribution simply by giving their family the opportunity to be of service.

“Ageism” is just one reason that I worry about turning health care over to bureaucrats. (I’ve previously discussed some of the government’s extraordinarily bad advice.) Bureaucrats tend to deal in statistics, averages and cost/effectiveness ratios. A panel created under President Obama’s health care reform is charged with deciding which therapies make sense for which categories of people. Whenever there isn’t enough money to go around (already the case), rationing of services follows. There is a tendency to shift funds to the care of younger citizens because they have longer to live and are therefore a better “investment”. That might make mathematical sense, but in terms of real people, could it mean withholding treatment from a 70-year-old Mother Teresa in order to treat a death-wish slacker featured in the Jackass movies? Or money might be diverted from treating your beloved mother to provide services to a child-abusing drunkard. I don’t have much use for averages in healthcare because every one is unique.

The shape we are in when we arrive at old age is the sum of the good and bad choices we’ve made for decades in lifestyle and diet. On the radio, in my books, newspaper columns and this newsletter, my goal is to provide information and hopefully motivation for people to make better choices and stay off the slippery slope to crisis medicine. (The information above about protecting your eyesight is one example.) If our loved ones are already elderly, there still is a lot we can do to keep them healthy and productive. Studies of persons relegated to nursing homes always find that the subjects suffer from numerous deficiencies. Nutrients such as protein, vitamin D and B-vitamins are inadequate. Moreover, the greater the deficiency, the greater their disability.  We can help assure that old folks eat well and take supplements. Incidentally, because medications interfere with nutrients, typically, the more drugs they consume, the more nutrient deficient they become.

I’m thinking of elders especially today because husband, Bill, and I lost his mother on Sunday. She was 92, but thankfully still quite sharp. In spite of some very serious heart and kidney issues, she was fighting to get better right up until the end. She was a sweet, smart, generous, fun-loving and righteous lady devoted to her family. No mother-in-law jokes here. I loved her and will miss her greatly.

 Consumer Reports September Cover Story, cont’d
I have been discussing one per week of the 10 reasons the magazine
proposed for worrying about supplements.

#8, Gagging on pills. 900 of the complaints the FDA received over 5 years were about this issue. The trouble was most likely caused by not wetting the throat first and not drinking enough water with the pills. That can cause them to irritate the throat and be slow going down. If a person isn’t good at swallowing pills, they can switch to liquids, powders or the great instant-dissolving micro-lingual tablets from Superior Source. I take several of their products including this B12 / B6 / Folic Acid combination. (Give that B12 and their vitamin D to an elder and watch them perk up. The D helps strengthen feeble muscles.)

  Last Week
LINK to Archive. Dr. Parris Kidd talked about a special form of magnesium to improve brain cell communication. It is quite interesting! Also, Dr. Nancy Appleton returned to talk about her new book, Killer Colas.

Please help spread the good word-forward this newsletter to friends and family.
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

The information contained in this newsletter has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. The contents are for informational purposes only and should not be used as a substitute for professional medical advice.

Copyright 2012 Martie Whittekin, CCN