Wishing A Sweet New Year to my Jewish Readers

L'SHANA TOVAH! on the occasion of ROSH HASHANA ("Head of the New Year": 5,769)!

This Holy occasion that started last evening, September 29, 2008 as part of "Ten Days of Awe and Repentance" honors "The Creation of the World" when (according to Jewish biblical tradition), on the 6th day, "The One and Only God" also created Man..culminating at the end of YOM KIPPUR (the Holiest "Day of Repentance" and fasting) next October 9th.

In breaking the 24 hour fast, after extensive prayer, soul searching, heartfelt repentance for all sins perpetrated against God and mankind during the past year, decision-making and vows of improved behaviors in the next...a symbolic new start is to consume a few slices of apple dipped in honey, and pray for a "Sweet New Year".


However, coming back to the realities of our contemporary world, "Sweet", sugary habits and cravings are of special concern these days when millions of people are plagued by excess weight and obesity.

Sometimes the weight war seems so overwhelming...as do all the rules, do's and don'ts, formulae and lifestyle issues you need to work on.

As a doable start, I suggest to just focus on one serious habit change, and it doesn't get more important than "limiting sugar." Aside from the fact that too much sugar means too many calories, watching your sugar intake can mean helping to keep diabetes and other serious health problems away.

So, how much sugar is too much? Try targeting 8 teaspoons or 32 grams of sugar daily - that means a lot of label reading.

What about artificial sweeteners? Well, they are very low calorie or calorie-free, but they can cause gastro-intestinal symptoms if you eat too many products made with these. Experts also say that too much artificial sweetener in your diet can actually encourage overeating because your brain perceives sweetness but there is less of a feeling of satiation. So you eat more.

Does the kind or source of the sugar matter? White sugar, brown sugar, confectioner's sugar, high fructose corn syrup - they are all forms of sucrose. Don't be deceived by "natural" or "raw" sugar labeling - nor evaporated cane sugar or turbinado (a specialty sugar) - they all increase blood sugar and they all have 4 calories per gram.

What about sugar in fruits and vegetables? They all have fiber which helps to slow the blood stream rapid sugar elevation caused by the natural sugar content.

Some examples of sugary products? Starbucks grande Mocha Frapuccino - 47 grams of sugar; Arizona 20 ounce regular iced lemon tea - 59 grams of sugar; Dunkin' Donuts glazed donut - 12 grams of sugar.

Be a label reader and introduce the habits of:

Watching sugar per serving

Watching trans fats per serving

Watching sodium per serving'

Watching saturated fat per serving

And, above all: Have a spiritual Sweet New Year!

Your Friend In Wellness,

Jacques

The "Energy Drinks" controversy

Energy Drinks: Hazardous to Your Health?
Products Need Warning Labels, Scientist Says; Industry Contends They're Safe to Drink
By Kathleen Doheny
WebMD Health NewsReviewed by Louise Chang, MDSept. 24, 2008 --

Caffeinated energy drinks that promise super alertness -- and sometimes imply better sports performance -- should carry labels that specify their amount of caffeine, says a Johns Hopkins University scientist.

Drinks with the highest caffeine content should also warn of potential health dangers, says Roland Griffiths, PhD, a professor of psychiatry and neuroscience at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, and senior author of a new report on the beverages.



"Many of these drinks do not label the caffeine content," he says, and some energy drinks contain as much caffeine as found in 14 cans of soda.

The industry begs to differ, with spokespeople pointing out that most "mainstream" energy drinks contain the same amount of caffeine, or even less, than you'd get in a cup of brewed coffee. If labels listing caffeine content are required on energy drinks, they should also be required on coffeehouse coffee, says Maureen Storey, PhD, a spokeswoman for the American Beverage Association.

Energy Drinks: The Back Story

Since Red Bull, the first energy drink to hit the U.S. market, launched in 1997, the market has boomed, Griffiths says, now totaling at least $5.4 billion a year in the U.S. Hundreds of brands are available.

Although the FDA limits the caffeine contents of cola-type soft drinks to 71 milligrams per 12 fluid ounces, no such limit is required on energy drinks, Griffiths tells WebMD.

"Makers of so-called "energy" drinks generally market them as dietary supplements," says Siobhan DeLancey, an FDA spokesperson. Dietary supplements are regulated differently than food. The FDA does not approve or review the products before they are marketed.

Energy Drinks: Caffeine Content

Griffiths and his colleagues contacted more than two dozen makers of energy drinks, asking for caffeine content. Here are some of the findings:

(The caffeine content is in milligrams per serving. Although serving sizes vary, Griffiths contends that most people will drink the entire can, whatever the number of ounces.)

Red Bull: 80 milligrams per 8.3-ounce serving
Tab Energy: 95 mg per 10.5-oz serving
Monster and Rockstar: 160 mg per 16-oz serving
No Fear: 174 mg per 16-oz serving
Fixx: 500 per 20-oz serving
Wired X505: 505 mg per 24-oz serving

In comparison, according to Griffiths:

Brewed coffee: 200 milligrams per 12-oz serving
Instant coffee: 140 mg per 12-oz serving
Brewed tea: 80 mg per 12-oz serving
Mountain Dew: 54 mg per 12 oz. serving
Dr. Pepper: 41 mg per 12-oz serving
Pepsi Cola: 38 mg per 12-oz serving
Coca-Cola Classic: 34.5 mg per 12-oz serving
Canned or bottled tea: 20 mg per 12-oz serving
Some of the energy drinks have lower caffeine contents, Griffith says. Among the lower doses:

Bomba Energy has 75 mg per 8.4-oz serving
Whoop Ass has 50 mg per 8.5-oz serving

Energy Drinks: The Report

Energy drinks are popular with teens and young adults, Griffiths found in his research. In a 2007 survey of 496 college students, 51% said they had consumed at least one energy drink during the past month.

Bad reactions to energy drinks have been reported to U.S. poison control centers, Griffiths writes in the report, published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence. From 2002 to 2004, he says, 41 cases of caffeine abuse from caffeine-enhanced beverages were reported.

In a report of nine cases of adverse reactions to the energy drink Redline, the patients reported nausea and vomiting, high blood pressure, tremors, dizziness, and numbness.

Data also suggest those who drink the energy drinks may combine them with alcohol, reported Griffiths. In the college student survey, 27% said they mixed alcohol and energy drinks at least once in the past month. One danger to that: Users may feel alert enough to drive, even if they are inebriated.

Griffiths worries that the energy drinks are sometimes "gateways" to use of other substances. In one study, college students who used energy drinks were more likely to later use stimulants for recreational use, he says.

Energy Drinks: Industry View

Storey, of the American Beverage Association, took exception with Griffiths' view. "It's a review, not a study," she says of his report. "We need to be careful about taking too much out of one review. He looked at some studies."

In a statement issued by the association, officials note that most "mainstream" energy drinks typically contain half the caffeine found in regular coffeehouse coffee. A 16-oz cup of coffeehouse coffee has about 320 milligrams of caffeine, according to the statement, while a typical 16-oz mainstream energy drink has 160 mg.

If labels should be required on energy drinks, Storey says, coffeehouse coffee should also be required to label caffeine content.

Most companies market their energy drinks responsibly, the association contends. Only a few companies give the products illicit or suggestive names (such as Cocaine, an energy drink that triggers controversy).

"Energy drinks can be part of a balanced lifestyle when consumed sensibly," the statement reads.

Energy Drinks: Griffiths' Response

Griffiths stands by his proposal to require warning labels on the energy drinks with the highest caffeine content, although he is not certain what that threshold should be.

There's a difference, he says, in the marketing of energy drinks and marketing of traditional caffeine beverages. The energy drink makers, he says, ''are marketing to vulnerable populations."

Simple steps to lowering "bad" cholesterol

Prevention

Adoption of a healthier lifestyle, including aerobic exercise and a low-fat diet, should reduce the prevalence of obesity, high cholesterol, and, ultimately, the risk of coronary heart disease.

First, see your doctor. A simple blood test checks for high cholesterol. You may be asked to fast overnight before the test. Just knowing your total cholesterol level isn't enough. A complete lipid profile measures your LDL, total cholesterol, HDL (the good cholesterol), and triglycerides. The guidelines say healthy adults should have this analysis every 5 years.

Next, set dietary goals based on the guidelines from the National Cholesterol Education Program.

Strive for daily intake of less than 7% of your calories from saturated fat and less than 200 mg of cholesterol from the food you eat.

You may eat up to 30% of your calories from total fat, but most should be from unsaturated fat, which doesn't raise cholesterol levels.

Add more soluble fiber (found in cereal grains, beans, peas, and many fruits and vegetables) and foods that contain plant stanols and sterols (included in certain margarines and salad dressings) to boost your LDL-lowering power. The best way to know what's in the foods you eat is to read the nutrition label.

Lower cholesterol levels start at the grocery store. Read food labels, and buy foods low in saturated fat and low in cholesterol. To help you know what to look for when grocery shopping, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute has a partial shopping list for you.

Breads - Whole wheat, rye, pumpernickel, or white


Soft tortillas - Corn or whole wheat


Hot and cold cereals - Except granola or muesli


Rice - White, brown, wild, basmati, or jasmine


Grains - Bulgur, couscous, quinoa, barley, hominy, or millet


Fruits - Any fresh, canned, dried, or frozen without added sugar


Vegetables - Any fresh, frozen, or (low-salt) canned without cream or cheese sauce


Fresh or frozen juices without added sugar


Fat-free or 1% milk


Cheese with 3 grams of fat or less per serving


Low-fat or nonfat yogurt


Lean cuts of meat - Eye of round beef, top round, sirloin, or pork tenderloin


Lean or extra lean ground beef


Chicken or turkey - White or light meat, skin removed


Fish - Most white meat fish is very low in fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol.


Tuna - Light meat canned in water


Peanut butter, reduced fat


Eggs, egg whites, egg substitutes


Low-fat cookies or angel food cake


Low-fat frozen yogurt, sorbet, sherbet


Popcorn without butter or oil, pretzels, baked tortilla chips


Margarine - Soft, diet, tub, or liquid


Vegetable oil - Canola, olive, corn, peanut, or sunflower


Nonstick cooking spray


Sparkling water, tea, lemonade

Manage your cholesterol. You can take an important first step toward a healthier heart by enrolling in the American Heart Association's Cholesterol Low Down Program. High cholesterol is a leading risk factor for coronary heart disease and stroke. Sign up by phone ([800] AHA-USA1) or online at American Heart Association's Cholesterol Low Down Program to receive life-management tools such as a newsletter, health risk assessment, and healthy-living cookbooks and fitness tips.


Calculate your 10-year risk of having a heart attack. The risk assessment tool presented at this link is from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's National Cholesterol Education Program. It uses scientific research information to predict your chance of having a heart attack in the next 10 years. For adults older than 20 years who do not have heart disease or diabetes, click the link to assess your risk score. Those with diabetes and others with a 10-year risk greater than 20% are considered to have the same risk for future heart disease events as people with known coronary heart disease. You'll need to know your total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol level, and systolic blood pressure (the first number).


The National Cholesterol Education Program Web site will tell you what your LDL cholesterol goal should be. For people with known coronary heart disease and similar risk, the LDL cholesterol goal is less than 100 mg/dL.

WebMD Medical Reference from eMedicineHealth
Reviewed by Marc C. Levesque, MD, PhD on March 01, 2007

How to prevent the ravages of High Cholesterol and Atherosclorosis - regardless of you age.

No matter your age, try these steps to prevent hardening of the arteries.
By Matthew Hoffman, MD
Reviewed by Brunilda Nazario, MD

Atherosclerosis starts early and progresses throughout life. You can't see or feel it, but in most of us the process is already under way.

The plaques of atherosclerosis can grow to become blood vessel blockages. If a plaque ruptures, the sudden blood clot causes a heart attack or stroke.

Atherosclerosis is common, unpredictable, and potentially deadly. Is there any good news? Because atherosclerosis takes decades to progress, the process can be slowed down at any point, reducing the risk.

Regardless of your age, there are specific steps you can take to slow down atherosclerosis. Take a moment to consider what changes you can make today, to protect your arteries later.

Preventing Atherosclerosis: In Your 20s and 30s

Almost no one develops complications from atherosclerosis at this age. Still, studies show the process has begun by our 20s or even younger. In these studies, risk factors mattered: young people with obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or who smoked had more-advanced early atherosclerosis.

The American Heart Association recommends seeing your doctor beginning at age 20 to routinely assess your risk for heart disease.

Instead of treating atherosclerosis, the key here is developing good habits that will last a lifetime. Don't force it; instead, try to imagine how better habits might fit into your life.

Exercise: Make it a hobby to find some physical activity you enjoy. The idea of sticking to a boring, unpleasant exercise schedule for the next 40 years would send anyone to the couch. Experiment with different activities until you find something you like. If you get sick of that, try something else.

Diet: Eating five servings of fruits and vegetables daily is effective at preventing heart disease. Make it a habit to try something different in the produce aisle each time you hit the supermarket.

Preventing Atherosclerosis: In Your 40s and 50s

The rate of developing atherosclerosis accelerates in middle age, and so should your approach to reducing the risk.

Risk factors (high blood pressure or cholesterol, diabetes, obesity, and smoking) become extremely important through these years. Everyone should see a doctor sometime soon after turning 40. He or she can assess your risk factors and provide a treatment plan.

Exercise: If you've been sedentary most of your life, you don't need to run marathons to get a benefit. Any activity is better than none.

Start slow and work up to 30 minutes of walking daily.

Take the stairs. Walk up one flight, or down two.
At the grocery store, park the car at the far end of the lot and walk.
Take an extra lap around the mall before heading home.

Diet: Ask each member of your family to choose a favorite (or least-hated) vegetable. Rotate through everyone's favorite at dinnertime. Toss in a salad, and you're well on your way to reducing your atherosclerosis risk.

Cut back on the red meat, as well. Keep meat portions small (the size of a deck of cards). Lean, skinless poultry is a great choice.

Don't use the excuse, "at my age, changing my lifestyle won't make any difference." In fact, adopting a healthy lifestyle in middle age reduces the risk of death from atherosclerosis by two-thirds.

Preventing Atherosclerosis: In Your 60s and Up

The near- and post-retirement years should be a time to enjoy oneself. But it's also a time to think about health risks. The No. 1 threat by far, for both men and women, is atherosclerosis.

The rates of atherosclerosis complications skyrocket after age 65. For example, 85% of deaths from atherosclerosis occur in this age group. But you can reduce this risk dramatically by making changes to your routine.

Risk factors: A large number of people in this age group will need medicines to treat high blood pressure and cholesterol. These medicines make a profound difference, reducing the risk of atherosclerosis dramatically.

Despite the known benefits, studies show that many people stop taking cholesterol medicines after several months, increasing their risk unnecessarily. Don't be one of them. Discuss any concerns with your doctor, and stick with your treatment plan.

Exercise: Exercise has a stronger beneficial effect in older age than ever before. Find an exercise buddy, roust your spouse off the couch, or start a neighborhood walking club, but get moving!

Atherosclerosis starts early and progresses throughout life. You can't see or feel it, but in most of us the process is already under way.

The plaques of atherosclerosis can grow to become blood vessel blockages. If a plaque ruptures, the sudden blood clot causes a heart attack or stroke.

Atherosclerosis is common, unpredictable, and potentially deadly. Is there any good news? Because atherosclerosis takes decades to progress, the process can be slowed down at any point, reducing the risk.

Regardless of your age, there are specific steps you can take to slow down atherosclerosis. Take a moment to consider what changes you can make today, to protect your arteries later.

Preventing Atherosclerosis: Suitable for All Ages

And the single best way to reduce your risk of atherosclerosis, at any age: don't smoke! If you do smoke, see your doctor

------
Jacques' recommendation:

To help make this coming weekend even better than I wish for you and yours...make a short list of "Things to Do" from the above article : things you actually Can See yourself doing and Enjoy!...And Start Doing these As Soon As Possible (NO more procrastination, excuse-making, postponing, evading please!)...

REMEMBER that old, true, wise commercial "The Life You Save May Be YOUR OWN!".

Your Friend,

Jacques

Letting go of the past, Opening up to the future

By Perrin Braun

We have all sorts of experiences in life, both good and bad. But when it seems like your past is fragmented with an overwhelming amount of pain, it’s detrimental to your ability to move forward with your life. Letting go of the past can be difficult, especially if you’re dealing with failure, death, or loss. We’ve all been there at some point in our lives, but the question still remains: how can you really move on?

One of the hardest parts of life is letting go and saying goodbye—whether you’re struggling with an addictive behavior or grieving over a loved one. The good news is that you don’t have to feel badly forever. There are ways of getting over the past that can help you to face your demons and get on with your life. Lots of people use a combination of the following tactics to re-build their lives:

Tap into your memories by whatever vehicle you choose. Whether it’s painting, writing, or talking, it’s healthy to open up and accept the past.

Sometimes it might help to revisit the past. Going back and talking to certain important people in your life can allow you to relive and let go.

Share what you’re feeling. This means talking to someone you trust about your past. Sometimes you might have to bury your pride and own up to certain feelings, but you’ll feel better afterwards.

Make yourself a little vulnerable. Even if you feel guilty and need to confess something, you need to find some way of expressing your emotions.

Moving on means… accepting that you can’t change the past.


Letting go means…forgiving others and forgiving yourself.

Moving forward with your life does not have to mean forgetting or blocking out precious memories. Letting go of the past will help you to have a healthier and happier future. The key to remember about moving on is that it is a slow process that cannot be completed in a day. Working through your issues takes time and patience, so take care to be kind to yourself and let the healing begin.

Best of all: you can Start Now! LOL

Courtesy of: Mind/Body Sanctuary

Do You Yogurt?

There’s no question that yogurt is one of the best health-boosting foods you can eat. It’s a healthy source of “gut friendly” bacteria like Lactobacillus and Streptococcus, which are key players in your digestive and immune systems.

Not only do these bacteria help break down food and absorb nutrients, they also crowd out harmful bacterial in your gut—boosting your immune system. When these systems are in tip top shape, you should notice a real difference in how you feel. That’s why yogurt is one of the top 10 foods in my PAMM diet.

But not all yogurts deliver what they promise. I’m sure you’ve noticed as I have that yogurt manufacturers have started to make some pretty big advertising promises. But you need to be careful, since many yogurts are nothing but a poor imitation of the real thing.

First off, you need to read the ingredients carefully. Most store-bought yogurts contain added sweeteners, artificial preservatives, and colorants that "aren’t good for you".

Plus, you can’t always take what you read at face value. Yogurt containers only have to state how many “live and active cultures” there were in the yogurt at the time of manufacturing. But these healthy bacteria are extremely delicate, and many can die in transit before they even reach the grocery store shelf.

Our ancestors made their own—and many of these yogurt-lovers lived to see 100!

The healthy bacteria in yogurt were first discovered by Nobel Prize winning Russian scientist Elie Metchnikoff, back in the early 1900s. He noticed that Russians who regularly ate yogurt rich in “live cultures” lived longer than their counterparts who didn’t. Many of these yogurt-lovers lived to see 100.

But what’s important is that they were getting a full dose of potent health-boosting bacteria—and the only way to do that is with fresh, home-made yogurt. Not the processed stuff we buy today.

Making it yourself is the best way to go.

There’s no question that if you’re eating yogurt for the health benefits, it’s best to make your own. But if you’ve ever tried it, it’s complicated and time consuming. It’s easy to end up with a batch that’s sour and runny.

A much better option is to use a high-quality yogurt maker. A little research and comparison shopping should do the trick.

Almost half a centuryago, my dear friend Ken and his wife raised their children - including my God-daughter Alison - in the belief that yogurt was ice cream (the home-made kind, enhanced by delicious fruits).

To date, they still delight in their "ice cream" which, amongst other benefits, has contributed to keeping them pleasantly slim and trim. So, do YOU Yogurt?

A Votre Bonne Sante! (To Your Good Health!)

Jacques

Why step out of the dark

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Catch Some Healthy Rays
By Jon Herring

Have you ever noticed how you feel happier when you have a chance to sit or walk in the warm sun? Doesn't just going outside on a sunny day calm your nerves and lift your spirits?

By contrast, consider what happens and how you feel during the cold and dreary winter months. Many of us experience darker moods. We are more likely to become sick with colds and flu. We often gain weight and crave carbohydrates.

Then, come spring and summer, these symptoms magically disappear without treatment. Well, there is a reason for this.

Your body needs sunlight just like it needs nutrients. In many ways, your physiology is as closely linked to the sun as that of plants. Plants use sunlight to photosynthesize chlorophyll. By a comparable process your body uses sunlight to photosynthesize vitamin D -- a molecule that is vitally essential to almost every aspect of your biochemistry and physiology.

Decades of scientific research prove the importance of vitamin D. In addition to the noticeable lift it gives your mood, it also helps lower blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar; improves your immunity; regulates your weight; increases muscle strength; normalizes sleep cycles; and boosts brain function.

It has also been shown to prevent many chronic diseases, including the three biggest killers of our generation -- heart disease, cancer, and diabetes.

On the other side of the coin, a deficiency of vitamin D is clearly associated with increased risk of a long list of health conditions, including everything from Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and autism, to bone and muscle pain, behavior disorders, depression, gluten intolerance, arthritis, multiple sclerosis, infertility and tooth decay... just to name a few.

And here's why this should matter to you:

It is estimated that more than 90% of the population is deficient in this vital nutrient (technically, it is a hormone), at least part of the year. That means there is a good chance that YOU are deficient, putting your health at risk, including potentially doubling your risk of cancer. With fall and winter weather coming soon, this is something you should address right away.

There are several risk factors for vitamin D deficiency. The most obvious is your lifestyle and the amount of sunlight you are exposed to. If you work indoors, spend most of your time indoors, and get very little sunlight on your skin, you are almost certainly deficient.

Three to five days per week, you should aim for at least 15 to 20 minutes in the sunlight (with as much of your skin exposed as possible).

Where you live is also a factor. In the mid to higher latitudes, UV-B radiation is extremely limited during the fall, winter and spring. In his book, The UV Advantage, Dr. Michael Holick shows that any area north of 35° latitude (or south of the corresponding latitude in the southern hemisphere) will not receive enough UV radiation to trigger adequate vitamin D production for approximately six months out of the year. In the US, this is anywhere above Atlanta, Georgia.

That means even if you spend a significant amount of time outside, about half the year the sun is too low in the sky for your body to produce vitamin D. Likewise, if you usually wear sunscreen when you are exposed to the sun, you are likely to be deficient. A sunscreen with an SPF of 8 reduces vitamin D production by 95%!

Other risk factors for vitamin D deficiency include your age (as you age, you need more sun to produce vitamin D), your skin type (darker skin types need more sun to produce vitamin D), and even your weight (vitamin D becomes trapped in body fat and cannot exert its effects).

In any case, the only way to really know if you are deficient is to have your blood tested for levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D, also called 25(OH)D. It's best to measure twice a year -- once at the end of winter when your levels are lowest, and once at the end of summer when your levels are highest. At the very least, you should get an annual measurement. The gold standard vitamin D test is from the company DiaSorin.

To get an idea of what "normal" is, let's look at populations living near the equator where we all evolved from. At or near the equator, the average person has vitamin D levels around 50 ng/mL. This is considered optimal.

Here are the generally accepted graduated levels of vitamin D deficiency:

Extreme deficiency: 20 ng/mL (high risk of various conditions)
Clinically deficient: below 32 ng/mL (increased risk of various conditions)
Borderline deficient: below 35 ng/mL
Acceptable: 35-45 ng/mL
Healthy: 45-55 ng/mL, or
Optimal: 55 ng/mL
Excess: greater than 100 ng/mL
Intoxication: greater than 150 ng/mL
Ideally, you want to maintain a healthy year-round level around 50 ng/mL. The question now is, how much vitamin D do you need... and how can you get optimal levels when the sun is low in the sky?

The government says if you are a male or female between 1 and 50 years of age, you need only 200 IU of vitamin D per day. But according to current research, the government is dead wrong on this point. The recommended daily allowance will only serve to prevent the most serious deficiency.

In one study performed at Creighton University in Omaha, researchers found that adults will use 3,000 to 5,000 units of vitamin D per day, if it is available to the body.1 In other words, the amount your body actually uses on a daily basis is 20 times more than the government says you need!

Also consider how much vitamin D your body makes when exposed to sunlight. During the summer months, if you expose most of your body to direct sunlight until your skin turns very slightly pink, your body will produce approximately 20,000 IU of vitamin D. This is 100 times greater than the recommended daily allowance (RDA).

After a review of numerous studies, it appears that 4,000 IU of vitamin D per day, from all sources, is about optimal. If you get some (but not a lot) of sun exposure, then you probably only need to consume about 2,000 IU per day from food and supplements.

Finally, let's address how to get enough vitamin D when you cannot get it from sunlight.

It is important to recognize that very few foods naturally contain vitamin D. Those that do, provide only a small amount. For example, a 3.5 ounce portion of salmon (one of the richest food sources) contains just 360 IU. The same amount of sardines contains 270 IU. One egg delivers just 25 IU. You should definitely be consuming these foods, but don't expect them to affect your vitamin D status very much.

Cod liver oil is the most concentrated natural food source of vitamin D. But cod liver oil also contains a significant amount of vitamin A. And too much vitamin A can be harmful. To get the vitamin D you need from cod liver oil, could mean that you are consuming too much vitamin A. That's why I strongly suggest taking fish oil for the omega-3s (fish oil has no vitamin D), and getting your vitamin D from sunlight and dedicated supplements.

Most people should supplement with vitamin D in the late fall, winter, and early spring. You should also consider supplementing year round if you have darkly pigmented skin, are over 65, if you're overweight, or if you just can't bring yourself to go into the sun without sunscreen.

You can start by adding a good quality multivitamin to your daily routine. But most multivitamins are only a start. The average multi contains 400 IU of vitamin D -- only about 10 to 20% of what you need.

There are two companies that make dedicated vitamin D supplements I would recommend -- Carlson's and Bio-Tech Pharmacal. Carlson's brand is carried in many health food stores and they have products that contain 2,000 or 4,000 IU in small, easy to take gel caps.

For larger amounts, consider Bio-Tech Pharmacal, a federally licensed, FDA approved manufacturer that produces pharmacological doses of vitamin D in 1,000, 5,000, and 5,0000 IU strengths.

However, please note: you should never take more than 5000 IU of vitamin D on a regular basis without consulting a physician and having your blood levels tested. You want to measure your vitamin D levels periodically to make sure that you bring your levels into a healthy range, without overdoing it.

Don't wait. Arrange today, to have your vitamin D levels checked. If they're low, it's easy to fix. By taking these steps in the wintertime, you can boost your vitamin D to a healthy level year-round and dramatically reduce your risks of many chronic diseases.

Reference

Heany RP, et al. Am J Clin Nutr 2003; 77(1): 204-10.
[Ed. Note: Dramatically reduce your risk of heart disease, cancer and diabetes... by spending just a few minutes each day in the sun? Yes you can! Achieving optimal vitamin D levels is one of the most important (not to mention one of the cheapest and easiest) ways to ensure great health. And Jon Herring and Dr. Al Sears tell you everything you need to know in their groundbreaking new book, Your Best Health Under the Sun.]

Grapefruit Juice: Its Dangers and Benefits.

By Rallie McAllister, M.D., M.P.H.

Doctors and pharmacists have known for nearly two decades that grapefruit juice can boost the body's absorption of certain prescription medications to a dangerous degree. In some cases, the tart and tangy beverage can cause normal drug doses to behave like toxic overdoses in the body.

Medications known to be affected in this way by grapefruit juice include many that are used in the treatment of high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, cancer and those taken by organ transplant recipients to help prevent organ rejection. More than 50 medications are now known to interact unfavorably with grapefruit juice.

Earlier this month, researchers from the University of Western Ontario reported their most recent findings concerning drug-grapefruit interactions at the 236th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society. They demonstrated that the fruit juice can also have the opposite effect, substantially reducing the absorption of certain medications.

In a study of healthy volunteers, the Canadian scientists asked subjects to take fexofenadine, an antihistamine widely used in the treatment of allergies. Fexofenadine is sold under the brand name Allegra in the United States.

In the volunteers who took the drug with a single glass of grapefruit juice, only half the drug was absorbed compared to volunteers who washed down the medication with a glass of plain water. When less than the appropriate dose of a given drug is absorbed by the body, the scientists noted, its performance is likely to be negatively affected.

Previous research has shown that orange juice and apple juice may also reduce the absorption of certain medications, including antibiotics and several drugs commonly used in the treatment of heart disease and cancer.

Although grapefruit juice may not be the best chaser for prescription pills, it offers a bounty of benefits for healthy folks who are not taking grapefruit-sensitive medications. It's a tasty, refreshing drink that is completely fat free, and it has no cholesterol or refined sugar.

Grapefruit juice is packed with important vitamins and minerals. A single serving provides 100 percent of the recommended daily allowance for vitamin C, and it's an excellent source of folate, a B vitamin that helps prevent certain types of birth defects.

The juice is known to offer several important benefits for the heart and circulatory system. It's packed with antioxidants and other compounds that may reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular disease.

In a study conducted at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, researchers demonstrated that eating a single serving of grapefruit daily brought about significant reductions in cholesterol levels in patients with heart disease. The study included 57 patients with high cholesterol levels who had recently undergone coronary bypass surgery and who had failed to respond sufficiently to cholesterol-lowering statin drugs.

After being assigned to one of three treatment groups, the patients were given either a single serving of red grapefruit, white grapefruit or no grapefruit along with regular, nutritious meals for 30 days. The patients who received either red or white grapefruit showed significant reductions in blood lipid levels, while those consuming the grapefruit-free diets showed no changes.

Red grapefruit was more effective than the white variety in lowering lipid levels, particularly levels of triglycerides in the blood. Elevated triglycerides are associated with a number of serious diseases, including heart disease and diabetes.

The impact of grapefruit juice on cancer risk is less clear. Although a 1996 animal study demonstrated a 50 percent reduction in breast tumor growth with the consumption of grapefruit juice, more recent studies yielded different results. In a study published last year in the British Journal of Cancer, researchers announced their findings that women who regularly consumed grapefruit had a 30 percent higher risk of developing breast cancer than women who ate none at all.

The study included more than 46,000 women and lasted for nearly 10 years. Drugs containing estrogen, a hormone responsible for fueling certain types of breast cancer, are known to interact unfavorably with grapefruit. At least two previous studies have found higher estrogen levels in women consuming grapefruit or grapefruit juice. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration requires hormone replacement products and many other medications to carry warning labels stating that grapefruit juice may increase drug concentrations in the body.

For most healthy individuals, drinking grapefruit juice is a great way to meet the minimum daily recommendation for fruit intake. But for folks taking prescription medications, it's wise to read all drug labels or check with a pharmacist before drinking up.

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Rallie McAllister is a board-certified family physician, speaker and the author of several books, including "Healthy Lunchbox: The Working Mom's Guide to Keeping You and Your Kids Trim." Her website is www.rallieonhealth.com. To find out more about Rallie McAllister, M.D., and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

ALERT: Red Bull Can Give You a Stroke

Hello, my dear fiends and readers!

Many of you who are overweight may also suffer from ancillary ailments, including heart disease. If so, especially for you, the following may be a life-saving WARNING.

Just one can of the popular stimulant energy drink Red Bull can increase your risk of heart attack or stroke. The effect was seen even in young people.

The caffeine-loaded beverage causes blood to become sticky, a pre-cursor to cardiovascular problems such as stroke.

One hour after drinking Red Bull, your blood system becomes abnormal, as might be expected from a patient with cardiovascular disease.

Red Bull is banned in Norway, Uruguay and Denmark because of health risks.

Sources:
Reuters August 14, 2008

Thinner people, fatter wallets

DALLAS (UPI) -- U.S. adults looking for ways to save money should focus on their waistlines to make their wallets a bit fatter, the fitness people at Gold's Gym suggest.

Gold's Gym-sponsored research found that Americans' expanding waistlines comes with a price tag of $123 billion for the country, with obese Americans losing nearly $10,000 per year out of their own pockets -- based on the median U.S. salary of $48,451.

"If everyone began to take small steps towards healthy lifestyle changes, including a balanced diet and regular exercise, Americans' health and well-being would not only improve, but so would the

fiscal health of our nation," Robert Reames of Gold's Gym Fitness Institute, said in a statement.

Gold's Gym research includes that:

-- Obese Americans burn at least 9 more gallons of gas per year than a typical American for a fat gas tax of $36 annually.

-- An average of one full week of work is lost to obesity-related ailments for $932 in lost wage annually.

-- Americans spend 4 percent of annual income on clothing each year, but those who are obese pay an extra 25 percent for their clothes, or $485 annually.

-- Obese Americans will often pay for an extra seat on flights for a fat tax of $828 annually.

-- And the list goes on---

------------ Food for thought---------

Are You an Emotional Eater?

By Dr. Roger Gould

I eat because I'm ravenously hungry. I eat because I'm bored, or lonely, or married or single. I eat because I pass a doughnut shop, or because I had too much to drink, or was at a party, or because my mother cooked and I didn't want to disappoint her, or because I want to eat as much as my husband can, or I don't want to deprive myself or I'm depressed.

Do any of these excuses for overeating sound familiar? If so, it's a good bet that your weight problem is closely linked to the phenomenon of emotional eating. You've somehow chosen eating as your preferred way to handle negative emotions.

This psychological pattern makes you fall off the diet wagon time and time again. Are you ready to finally take charge of your hunger, your weight and your life?

There is no magical bullet for your extra pounds. First, you must learn to control your emotional eating and, in effect, flick off your hunger switch. Only then can a great healthy eating plan allow you to take off the weight and keep it off.

Let's get started on the path to a better life. The first step is to take an insightful little emotional eating quiz to determine if you indeed are an emotional eater.

Simply answer the following seven questions, then check out what your answers mean.

The last time you ate too much:

1. Did you notice your hunger coming on fast, or did it grow gradually?

2. When you got hungry, did you feel an almost desperate need to eat something right away?

3. When you ate, did you pay attention to what went in your mouth, or did you just stuff it in?

4. When you got hungry, would any nutritious food have sufficed, or did you need a certain type of food or treat to satisfy yourself?

5. Did you feel guilty after you ate?

6. Did you eat when you were emotionally upset or experiencing feelings of "emptiness?"

7. Did you stuff in the food very quickly?


Emotional Eating Quiz Answers

Didn't take the quiz yet? First, take the Are You an Emotional Eater quiz, then come back and check your answers!

1. Emotional eating hunger comes on suddenly while physical hunger develops slowly. Physical hunger begins with a tummy rumble, then it becomes a stronger grumble, and finally it evolves into hunger pangs, but it's a slow process, very different from emotional hunger, which has a sudden, dramatic onset.

2. Unlike physical hunger, emotional eating hunger demands food immediately, and it wants immediate satisfaction. Physical hunger, on the other hand, will wait for food.

3. A difference between physical and emotional eating hunger involves mindfulness. To satisfy physical hunger, you normally make a deliberate choice about what you consume, and you maintain awareness of what you eat. You notice how much you put in your mouth so that you can stop when you're full. In contrast, emotional hunger rarely notices what's being eaten. If you have emotional hunger, you'll want more food even after you're stuffed.

4. Emotional eating hunger often demands particular foods in order to be fulfilled. If you're physically hungry, even carrots will look delicious. If you're emotionally hungry, however, only cake or ice cream or your particular preferred indulgence will seem appealing.

5. Emotional eating hunger often results in guilt or promises to do better next time. Physical hunger has no guilt attached to it because you know you ate in order to maintain health and energy.

6. Emotional eating hunger results from some emotional trigger. Physical hunger results from a physiological need.

7. When you are feeding physical hunger, you can eat your food and savor each bite, but when you eat to fulfill emotional eating hunger you stuff the food in. All of a sudden the whole pint of ice cream is gone.

A study I conducted of 17,000 failed dieters showed that virtually all of them relapsed because of emotional issues -- mostly related to self-esteem or emotional hurt. They were doing really well on their diets, and then their husband started having an affair, or they lost their job, or a parent got sick, and so on. Perhaps you had a similar kind of thing trip up your diet efforts in the past.

One thing I've learned is that attacking emotional eating hunger by counting calories is almost like trying to run a marathon while lying on your couch. It just doesn't make any sense. You need to go deep within to control emotional hunger, because as real as the hunger feels, it originates not in your belly, but in your mind.

Dr. Roger Gould is a psychiatrist who specializes in adult behavior and the author of the best-selling book Shrink Yourself: Break Free From Emotional Eating Forever! For more information on emotional eating and handling the stress of everyday life, go to www.shrinkyourself.com.

Improving your mood and heart

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (UPI) -- Light to moderate aerobic exercise can improve mood for two to four hours following the activity, a researcher at Indiana University said.

"These same positive benefits apply to children," psychologist Jack Raglin said in a statement. "At the same time, it's becoming more and more challenging to find time for kids to have physical activity. Kids are overly scheduled -- parents have to work at finding avenues for activity."

Raglin, who has conducted research examining overtraining syndrome, meditation and other issues involving mood and exercise, said:

-- People are more likely to experience the mood-boosting benefits after aerobic activities such as jogging, lap swimming or cycling, compared to activities such as strength training.

-- The benefits can be experienced after just 20 minutes of light or moderate activity, such as a slow jog.

-- People who are clinically depressed experience the most mood-boosting benefits, but people who generally already are relaxed, with low levels of depression or anxiety, can still experience the feelings of calmness, lowered levels of anxiety and less fatigue.

-- Intense exercise routines can cause depression in otherwise healthy individuals.


Omega 3 reduces mortality in heart failure

FLORENCE, Italy (UPI) -- A daily capsule of omega-3 fish body oil can reduce mortality and admission to the hospital in patients with heart failure, Italian researchers said.

Luigi Tavazzi and Gianni Tognoni of the ANMCO Research Centre in Florence, Italy, and Mario Negri Institute in Milan, Italy, and colleagues said the randomized controlled trial involved 357 cardiology sites in Italy.

Almost 3,500 patients with chronic heart failure received omega-3 in a capsule once daily, while the same number received a placebo.

In the group that received the omega 3 -- 955 patients, or 27 percent died, compared with 1,014, or 29 percent in the placebo group -- meaning a relative risk reduction of 9 percent in the fish body group, Health Day News reported.

The study, published online in the journal The Lancet, said the study shows the long-term administration of 1 g per day omega was effective in reducing both all-cause mortality and admissions to hospital for cardiovascular reasons.

Hypnotherapy helps San Francisco man drop 110 lbs. in 14 months

"Hypnosis can reduce stress, lower blood pressure, help you quit smoking...but What about WEIGHT LOSS?...can it possibly work for THAT?" was the headline of a short item on NBC-TV, San Diego news last night.

The answer was then reported when the newscaster announced that a San Francisco man, Michael Casey, stated that he shed 102 lbs. in 14 months with the help of a local Hypnotherapist. He only underwent six 90 minute sessions.

Casey's Hypnotherapist says that she reached his sub-conscious mind to help him change some of his thoughts and beliefs about food. And she says: "you can actually go to the root-cause of those emotions which are linked to over-eating or eating unhealthy foods. And you can neutralize those emotions."

Some dieticians question whether it can work for most people and they say that the people it does work for are so determined they might lose the weight without it.

JACQUES' REMARKS:

As do many other skeptics and "Experts" in nutrition and dieting such as the ones quoted above, who find success stories like that above threatening... to plant seeds of doubt and dropping discrediting snide remarks has been a favorite defense weapon for years.

As the California State's President of my Clinical Hypnotherapists' Association, I had ample occasions to face and prove such smear campaigns unfair and ludicrous.

But that was almost a quarter of a century ago. Today, more and more Physicians, such as one of my own, are cautiously beginning to acknowledge and endorse ethical hypnosis as an allied field of alternative and effective medecine.

And the Doctor who discovered my aggressive colon tumor about a year ago recently wrote me a self-explanatory letter in which he clearly states that "...on evaluation and your repeat colonoscopy on 04/15/2008, your CEA blood test which is done to monitor spread of disease, was negative...This is a very good result..."

He then mentioned that "...I suspect that your working with your hypnotherapy and positive suggestion may be helping in this situation..."

A few years ago, a similar event produced resistance on the part of a known Physician who felt uncomfortable endorsing or even considering giving credit to the "possibility" that what he naively compared to magic tricks or palm reading may have contributed to another cancer's total eradication. :o)

In hopes that you and yours are enjoying a safe and pleasant Labor Day weekend, I wish you all the benefits afforded by clinical Hypnotherapy!

Your Friends Always,

Jacques