Until then….stay warm and take your Vitamin D.  No need to participate in the Seasonal Affective stuff.  None of us roll like that.

That’s all for today, folks.  I’ve got an entire website to rebuild. Wish me luck!

One of the secrets to longevity may have been right under our nose all along.  A recent study published in the Americal Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggested that vitamins may help promote telomere length, thereby increasing our longevity.  Telomeres protect your chromosomes from being damaged, kind of like the ends of your shoe lace strings keep the shoe lace from being unraveled.  The longer your telomere, the longer your life.  In fact, it has also been suggested that our real age can be measured by telomere length.  

The study showed a significant correlation between Vitamin C and Vitamin E intake and increased telomere length.  Vitamins C and E are both powerful antioxidants which protect the cells against free radicals.  Those who ingested higher levels of these two vitamins seemed to have significantly longer telomeres, and therefore, greater longevity.  The most likely reason for this finding is the fact that free radical damage is often the cause of aging and the beginning of degenerative disease processes.  

Let’s go back for a moment to explain this concept.  When we eat, breathe, or engage in unhealthy behaviors, free radicals are released that can damage our cells.   The top causes of free radical damage are:

• smoking nicotine
• chronic emotional stress
• prescription medications
• environmental toxins
• overexercise (i.e., serious and professional athletes have a 75%ish greater chance of degenerative disease)
• sleep deprivation
• trans fats, refined sugars
• alcohol and substance abuse

These interest me greatly in my line of work because most of these causes are behavioral.  In fact, 5-6 of these causes are maladaptive coping behaviors that I often see my clients using when feeling anxious or depressed.  Chronic emotional stress alone places an enormous amount of oxidative stress on the body, but the behaviors that people often use such as poor diet, sedentary lifestyle, and alcohol or substance abuse increase the free radical load significantly.

Protecting one’s cells against free radicals is probably the best approach to looking younger and increasing longevity.  This begins with awareness of the top causes noted above, behavioral modification, a diet high in organic, brightly colored fruits and vegetables, and proper nutritional supplementation.  Due to the depletion of mineral levels in our soils, it is impossible to get the optimal amounts of antioxidants and minerals from food alone these days.  Nutritional supplementation can fill in the gap, but the quality of the supplement is equally as important as the amount taken.  

I have discussed the importance of high quality supplements which contain optimal levels of nutrients as opposed to those established by the RDA in recent articles, but this distinction deserves added emphasis.  Those that I use are found here. 

Always use a supplement manufactured under pharmaceutical GMPs, and rank your supplement in the third party book called Nutrisearch:  The Guide to Nutritional Supplementation.    This book is found on Amazon.com, but if you would like to see how your vitamin compares with all others, write to me in the comment section here and I’ll look it up for you.

You can read more about this study and the entire article at:

http://www.nutraingredients-usa.com/content/view/print/247884

That’s all this morning from the beautiful coast of Pawleys Island, SC.   Enjoy your day and remember to get your Vitamin D3 replenishment outdoors in the sunny fall weather today.

One of the secrets to longevity may have been right under our nose all along.  A recent study published in the Americal Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggested that vitamins may help promote telomere length, thereby increasing our longevity.  Telomeres protect your chromosomes from being damaged, kind of like the ends of your shoe lace strings keep the shoe lace from being unraveled.  The longer your telomere, the longer your life.  In fact, it has also been suggested that our real age can be measured by telomere length.  

The study showed a significant correlation between Vitamin C and Vitamin E intake and increased telomere length.  Vitamins C and E are both powerful antioxidants which protect the cells against free radicals.  Those who ingested higher levels of these two vitamins seemed to have significantly longer telomeres, and therefore, greater longevity.  The most likely reason for this finding is the fact that free radical damage is often the cause of aging and the beginning of degenerative disease processes.  

Let’s go back for a moment to explain this concept.  When we eat, breathe, or engage in unhealthy behaviors, free radicals are released that can damage our cells.   The top causes of free radical damage are:

• smoking nicotine
• chronic emotional stress
• prescription medications
• environmental toxins
• overexercise (i.e., serious and professional athletes have a 75%ish greater chance of degenerative disease)
• sleep deprivation
• trans fats, refined sugars
• alcohol and substance abuse

These interest me greatly in my line of work because most of these causes are behavioral.  In fact, 5-6 of these causes are maladaptive coping behaviors that I often see my clients using when feeling anxious or depressed.  Chronic emotional stress alone places an enormous amount of oxidative stress on the body, but the behaviors that people often use such as poor diet, sedentary lifestyle, and alcohol or substance abuse increase the free radical load significantly.

Protecting one’s cells against free radicals is probably the best approach to looking younger and increasing longevity.  This begins with awareness of the top causes noted above, behavioral modification, a diet high in organic, brightly colored fruits and vegetables, and proper nutritional supplementation.  Due to the depletion of mineral levels in our soils, it is impossible to get the optimal amounts of antioxidants and minerals from food alone these days.  Nutritional supplementation can fill in the gap, but the quality of the supplement is equally as important as the amount taken.  

I have discussed the importance of high quality supplements which contain optimal levels of nutrients as opposed to those established by the RDA in recent articles, but this distinction deserves added emphasis.  Those that I use are found here. 

Always use a supplement manufactured under pharmaceutical GMPs, and rank your supplement in the third party book called Nutrisearch:  The Guide to Nutritional Supplementation.    This book is found on Amazon.com, but if you would like to see how your vitamin compares with all others, write to me in the comment section here and I’ll look it up for you.

You can read more about this study and the entire article at:

http://www.nutraingredients-usa.com/content/view/print/247884

That’s all this morning from the beautiful coast of Pawleys Island, SC.   Enjoy your day and remember to get your Vitamin D3 replenishment outdoors in the sunny fall weather today.

http://www.newsmax.com/health/vaccine_swine_flu/2009/07/07/232717.html

The statistics here will reorient you to the reality that the swine flu causes normal flu like symptoms and causes about the same number of worldwide fatalities annually.  

Why am I feeling more than a little chapped about this issue?  Take a look at the media hype surrounding the swine flu.  First, the media is usually quick to report “deaths” related to the swine flu and slow to provide the facts surrounding these cases.  I recently read and heard about a child dying from the swine flu, only to research the issue further and learn that the child had cerebral palsy.  While each and every death is a tragedy and not to be minimized, omitting the important details surrounding swine flu deaths is an intentional effort to mislead the public into mass hysteria surrounding the swine flu.  

I have yet to read or hear about any media reports providing substantial information on how to prevent the flu by strengthening one’s immune system.  You will find that information here, and I invite you to share it with others.  You can strengthen your immune system by improving your lifestyle habits on a consistent basis, and this is your greatest protection against any cold or flu:

1.  Take at least 2000-3000 mgs of Vitamin C daily.  Ascorbic acid is best.  More is better.  Yes, yes, I know it gives you the squirts sometimes.  Just stop taking it when that happens.  You’ll build a tolerance to it over time.  

2.  Take extra Zinc, Selenium, and Echinacea when you feel something coming on.  

3.  Get at least 7-8 hours of sleep per night.  This should not be considered a luxury.  Sleep is a basic need.  Do this regularly, not 2-3 times per week.

4.  Exercise almost daily.  Don’t get me started on the issue of sedentary lifestyles and the obesity epidemic.  Just do it.  Break a sweat and stop complaining about it.  I could write all day long on the benefits, but I’ve already done that.

5.  Consider using high quality colloidal silver.  One of the best I’ve seen is a prescribed colloidal silver at:

advancedrna.com.

6.  Manage your stress effectively in ways that improve your health.  Most people use unhealthy coping skills such as drinking too much, eating unhealthy foods, staying sedentary, smoking nicotine, or doing street drugs.  Needless to say, these behaviors will lower your immune system.  The more healthy ways to cope with stress are physical exercise, meditation, behavioral relaxation exercises (PMR, guided imagery, diaphragmatic breathing), cognitive behavioral therapy, social support, laughing, reading, sex (yes, sex), and self nurture (massages, pedicures, anything that you enjoy).  

Research has suggested that 80-85% of all hospital and medical visits are stress related.  This is largely due to the fact that chronic stress has long been known to suppress the immune system, leaving one more susceptible to colds and flus.  

7.  Excellent daily antioxidants to buffer the harmful effect of free radicals released due to emotional and physical stress, foods, toxins, sleep deprivation, medications, alcohol, etc.  You can access those that I use at greenhealth.usana.com, or you can view the top five supplements in a book called Nutrisearch:  The Guide to Nutritional Supplementation.

*Avoid using those supplements purchased in stores.  You are wasting your money and worse, likely ingesting harmful fillers.  These products will not contain the ingredients listed on the label and may contain ingredients not listed on the label (like lead, as evidenced by this FDA report):  http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/pbvitami.html

7.  Eat a healthy diet consisting of organic fruits and vegetables, lean meats (organic, no skin), and whole grains.  Cut out “enriched flour” (the nutrients are stripped from the product and then two of them are added back, so these products are white flour plus two nutrients).  Lower or reduce your alcohol levels to 6-7 drinks weekly if you drink alcohol.

8.  Find a physician who practices Functional Medicine who can help you strengthen your immune system and work with you to prescribe an antiviral should you come down with a cold or flu virus.  You can do so at:  yourmedicaldetective.com

Functional medicine includes preventive medicine to help you prevent illness.  This is the new medical model which was recently proposed to Congress by Dr. Mark Hyman, Dr. Andrew Weil, and a few other notables.  Get familiar with the functional medical model at Dr. Mark Hyman’s blog post:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-mark-hyman/how-to-fix-obamas-health_b_217053.html  This is, by the way, the only answer to the healthcare debate that makes sense, but I digress.  

9.  Increase your social support and connections within your community.  Research has shown that being a part of a community has positive effects on one’s immune system.  

10.  Go on a media diet.  Cut off the news and minimize your media exposure.  It’s all hype, and it will likely increase your stress levels about the economy and the swine flu “pandemic.”  There are more fruitful ways to spend your time, like spreading awareness on how to strengthen your immune system.

That’s all from the South Carolina coast this evening, kids.  Stay well, get some sleep….tomorrow is another day of swine flu hysteria.

Sound information on safe, effective supplementation is rarely found, and the misleading information is confusing.  Here are some quick, sound pieces of information that you need to know when choosing a daily supplement:

1.  Most popular children’s vitamins contain significant amounts of lead, a popular filler used in many trusted name brands.  This information is public and readily available, but most people don’t even have enough information to be concerned about this issue.  You can find a full report, recently published by the FDA in August 2008 at the following link:

http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/pbvitami.html

2.  Most children’s vitamins contain iron.  Because these vitamins are also manufactured to look and taste like candy, 5-6 children in the United States die each year from iron poisoning.  Iron is unique in that it is “recycled” by the body in a way that becomes toxic for children when too much is ingested.  Most foods these days are iron fortified, and those who become anemic usually are so due to eating disorders, malnutrition, or medical problem which interferes with mineral absorption.  The safest children’s vitamins are those that are iron free.  If your child should need an iron supplement, you should work with a physician to establish this need and correct it under medical supervision.

3.  Most children’s vitamins taste and look like candy because they contain many of the same ingredients as candy:  synthetic food coloring, aspartame, and trans fats.  In fact, the Flintstones brand contains all three.  You would be better off not having your child take any vitamin at all than giving them this stuff every day.

4.  The only nutritional supplements which are regulated in this country are those which are voluntarily regulated by pharmaceutical Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs).  Nutritional supplements are manufactured under food GMPs in this country, which means that they must contain ingredients which are considered “generally safe” for human consumption.  This also means that there could be ingredients found within the supplement which are not listed on the label (the reason for Philly’s pitcher Romero’s suspension).  The few  that are manufactured under pharmaceutical GMPs are of the highest quality and can not contain anything in the vitamin which is not listed on the ingredient label.  These are generally found through chiropractors or independent distributors of the product.  We use Usanimals, which can be found at greenhealth.usana.com.

5.  You can compare your child’s vitamin with the 1500+ supplements on the market with a third party publication called Nutrisearch:  The Comparative Guide for Nutritional Supplementation.  There is a special children’s edition that can be found at Amazon.com.  You can also use the adult version to compare your own vitamin with most others manufactured in this country.

In reading through this information, you’ll be ahead of 99% of all parents in your knowledge about nutritional supplementation. It chaps me that manufacturers are allowed to add harmful fillers like lead to our children’s daily nutrition without any real regulation or reprimand.  I hope that you will pass this along to other parents in the future.

Here it is:

“Many oncologists believe that you have cancer that you should not be taking nutritional supplements. This is a theoretical concern that these supplements may improve the antioxidant defense system of the cancer cells. Since their chemo and radiation therapy uses free radicals and oxidative stress in an attempt to destroy these cells, they do have a concern. However, when you look at the medical research that studied patients who took high-quality, complete and balanced nutritional supplements while receiving their chemo or radiation therapy, the patients did better than those who did not take supplements.

A great metaphor for explaining the concept of neurotransmission is the idea of a light switch.  Think of neurotransmission as the light switch.  Think of the neurotransmitters as the dimmers on the light switch.  The two main neurotransmitters which can speed up or slow down the neurotransmission are serotonin and dopamine.  Serotonin is sort of like the brake pedal, while dopamine is the gas pedal.  All of us have an optimal speed for our physical and mental well being.  

Serotonin is often associated with mood and while this is appropriate, healthy levels of serotonin promotes impulse control, sound sleep, and an overall sense of joy.  If you have low levels of serotonin as with clinical depression, dysthymia, or Seasonal Affective Disorder, you might feel less joyful, more compulsive, and less satiated.  One of the reasons that people develop Seasonal Affective Disorder, or seasonal depression, is decreased sun exposure.  Sun exposure promotes Vitamin D3, a precursor to serotonin.  If you tend to have higher levels of overall cholesterol in the wintertime, you may benefit from a Vitamin D3 supplement.  The body can convert cholesterol to Vitamin D3 , which can cause a person to have slightly elevated cholesterol levels during the winter time.  

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter associated with attention and concentration, energy, creativity, and self confidence.  If your levels were too high, you may be excessively energetic and have trouble paying attention.  Think ADHD.  Those who abuse amphetamines or cocaine typically have higher levels of dopamine.  Their perception of the world is altered and life is good until the crash, when decreased dopamine levels can lead to depression, irritability, and lethargy.  Chronically low levels of dopamine are connected with anxiety, decreased self confidence, scattered thought, and decreased ability to concentrate and pay attention.  Interestingly, severely disturbed levels of dopamine are connected with Parkinson’s Disease and schizophrenia.

Neurotransmitter imbalances can be addressed by increasing the gas pedal (dopamine) or hitting the brakes (serotonin). Interestingly, research has led to the most interesting conclusion:  those behaviors that keep our neurotransmitters out of balanced are the ones to which we are drawn!  This, in my opinion, is the biological underpinning for avoidance of change.  In other words, we are attracted to do the things that cause that neurotransmitter imbalance in the first place:  drugs, behavioral patterns, addictions, alcohol abuse, etc.  Change is tough, but commitment can effect positive changes in health.

Changes in neurotransmitter levels are usually accomplished through antidepressant medications, but there are some behaviors which can also alter these levels.  Exercise, nutrition, music, supplementation, and thought modification can also change neurotransmitter levels.  For example, exercising at least four days in a row is known to increase dopamine levels after approximately 30 days.  Alternating cardiovascular exercise days with meditation or yoga is known to increase serotonin levels.  According to Dr. Joel Robertson, the world’s leading expert in pharmacology applied to brain health, recovering cocaine addicts often find relief in daily cardio until after the first 30 days, at which point they experience cocaine cravings again.  A chemical is released after intense exercise that burns off dopamine temporarily.  After approximately 30 day of this type of exercise, however, this effect wears off and dopamine levels can build again.  This is why those recovering from cocaine addiction or other drug which affects this neurotransmitter should use intense exercise every other day to avoid this effect, which can trigger relapses.

Nutrition, supplementation, daily activities, and thought modification are topics that will be addressed in later blog entries.   They are worth discussing at some length, particularly for those who wish to learn how to use behaviors to maintain healthy mood.  For more detailed information from the leading expert on this topic, I recommend Dr. Joel Robertson’s books.  His work is both well written and fascinating, and it should be more publicized so that everyone has access to good mental health.

RESET product can be purchased at GreenHealth.usana.com

The RESET program is a 5 day program, healthy weight reduction program clinically shown to promote an average of 4-6 pounds in weight reduction, significant decreases in hypertension, high overall cholesterol, bad cholesterol (LDL), and triglyceride levels.   Those not satisfied can always send their product back for a full refund.  

This program promotes healthy weight reduction by increasing insulin receptor sensitivity and resetting the  metabolic setpoint.  controlling the glycemic index and resetting the insulin response over the course of five days.  This is not a diet, and few people feel hungry.  The program is easy, convenient, and cost effective.  If you would like to lose several pounds relatively quickly, decrease your blood pressure or cholesterol, or conquer food/sugar cravings, this is the perfect opportunity to do so within a supportive group.

The program is appropriate for those looking to:

-jump start their weight reduction for the spring

-reduce food cravings

-reduce hypertension

-decrease LDL and overall cholesterol

-prevent or decrease Metabolic Syndrome

-prevent or decrease symptoms of Diabetes Type II

 I will be starting the first RESET group on March 29th.  We will have a telegathering and daily contact with one another to provide education and support during this program.  A weekly call will be held on Monday evenings on topics related to lifestyle changes such as exercise, low glycemic cooking, and emotional eating to provide follow up support for those interested in continuing with Phase II.

If you are someone you know may be interested in losing weight, increasing energy, or improving overall health, please pass this email along.  The first round begins March 29th, and it is helpful to sign up about 8 days ahead of time.  

Please feel free to contact me with any questions by email or phone.

Many women that I see in my own practice suffer from panic symptoms, and the majority of those have blown their adrenals out from chronic stress. In fact, it’s been estimated that 1 in 4 women suffer from adrenal fatigue.  This means that your adrenal glands got tired of putting out stress hormones during a very stressful time in your life.  Chronic stress, inadequate sleep and nutrition, and lack of activity can predispose women to adrenal fatigue.

Adrenal fatigue can negatively affect thyroid functioning and female hormonal levels.  Some women develop a hyperactive thyroid or thyroid disease that causes this gland to function improperly.  This can trigger bodily symptoms which are very similar to panic symptoms.  This cluster of problems can also lead to imbalanced hormones.

Women with higher estrogen levels are prone to depression.  High estrogen levels typically cause sore and engorged breasts, water retention, weight gain, and low mood.  Women who have low progesterone levels, however, are prone to anxiety.  In my practice, I have seen a trend that has led me to wonder if women with a history of miscarriage and recent childbirth are prone to low progesterone.  Those with anorexia nervosa, especially women who run on asphalt pavement day after day, tend to also have lower progesterone levels.  

I recommend to all women experiencing panic symptoms to consider getting their adrenals, thyroid, and female hormones tested.  Adrenals are the toughest to test, as the medical community only has cortisol “norms” based on Addison’s disease.  It can be done with a simple saliva test.  Thyroid functioning and female hormonal levels can be tested fairly easily as well, and some people prefer to do these types of tests in the privacy of their own home.  Home test kits for all of this can be found at neurogistics.com or integrativepsychiatry.net.  It is recommended, however, that you consult with a physician with whom you feel comfortable about the results for professional guidance in correcting the problem.

Most people don’t realize that alcohol is actually the quickest acting sugar on the brain.  In short, a “buzz” is actually a sugar high.  The first research on sugar addiction in 2001 was conducted at Princeton University, and scientists have come so far since then that research is now focusing on how to address the problem (not whether or not it exists).  

Sugar tends to affect the same part of the brain that heroine, cocaine, and other hard drugs do when a person uses them.  The two main neurotransmitters involved with sugar addiction are serotonin and beta endorphins.  We think of serotonin as the depression hormone, but it’s also responsible for concentration, attention, and impulse control.  When your serotonin levels are lower, you may become less able to say “no.”  Beta endorphins are that feel good chemical that is released after exercise, but this neurotransmitter is also associated with self esteem.  Those with lower levels of beta endorphins who have excellent insight and are well accomplished might still have great difficulty with self esteem.

Sugar tends to increase both of these important neurotransmitters, thereby altering the brain’s biochemistry and correcting the deficiencies that may have been there.  In other words, there are many people who are self medicating for specific deficiencies with sugar, and they are likely addicted to sugary foods for this reason.  Even sugar replacements such as Splenda tend to trigger cravings for sweet foods, thereby feeding the sugar addiction.

An excellent 7 step program for changing the brain’s biochemistry and effectively treating sugar addiction is the book, 
Potatoes, Not Prozaac.  In this book, the author outlines and describes these seven steps, which have been highly effective in helping people considered “treatment resistant” in other treatment centers.  I would recommend referring to this book as an excellent resource if you believe any of this information applies to you.  You may find that all along, your problem was actually sugar addiction, not alcohol abuse and depression.