by Ed
There is an interesting article in the International Herald tribune, today. Apparently, doctors and media tend to focus exclusively on blood sugar in helping diabetics. Obviously blood sugar is very important in diabetes, but it turns out that most diabetics die from heart disease. If you are diabetic, blood pressure and cholesterol are just as important to control as blood sugar is. Fortunately, diet and exercise are important for all three. The problem is, if you are focusing on reducing blood sugar without considering blood pressure or cholesterol, or basic healthy nutrition, you are doing yourself considerable harm.
Whether you are diabetic or not, whether you believe in a low carb or low protein diet, there is one basic dietary guideline that I think will help everyone. Eat everything as close to its live state as possible. Ideally that would mean growing all of your own food. Practically, it means avoiding all processed foods. That includes flours and grains that are not whole grain, canned foods, and all packaged foods. By your foods fresh and whole, and cook them simply.
Back to Diabetes, monitor your blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar and get good professional advice on how to control them. That professional may not be your doctor. In North America, at least, doctors are given very little training on nutrition. Find someone who really is an expert in nutrition and follow their advice.
by Ed
A recent review of research into the effects of vitamin C concludes that it is largely ineffective in preventing colds. See the article in the International Herald Tribune.
But read it carefully. They talk about people taking at least 200 mg of vitamin C. Everybody knows that if you want to fight off a cold you need several grams a day. I’m surprised they found 200 mg to be as useful as they did.
Next in the article they say that lycopene has no effect in preventing cancer. However they do not mention details of the study at all. Who knows what they were looking at.
All this is very interesting, considering the FDA is getting ready to shut down the supplement industry. They are raising safety standards above that of drugs. They even admit that most supplement companies will not be able to stay in business.
Look out America. Your health choices are going away. (And we call this democracy?)
by Ed
I find it interesting that this research comes out of th US, but I found the article on the BBC News web site. Is the US media more interested in helping big Agribiz than in reporting the news?
A ten year study in the US, shows that tomatoes grown organically have almost double the flavonoids of their non-organic counterparts. Flavonoids are anitoxidants that have been shown to lower blood pressure and the risk of heart disease, stroke, and some types of cancer.
Peter Melchett, Soil Association policy director in the UK said: “We welcome the now rapidly growing body of evidence which shows significant differences between the nutritional composition of organic and non-organic food.
“This is the second recent American study to find significant differences between organic and non-organic fruit.
“These findings also confirm recent European research, which showed that organic tomatoes, peaches and processed apples all have higher nutritional quality than non-organic.”
by Ed
If you’ve read most of my posts, you have probably figured out that I am not a fan of taking vitamins. I think we should get our nutrients from whole food. Now researchers into fatal prostate cancer agree with me. It seems that men who take multivitamins more than 7 times per week nearly double their risk of fatal prostate cancer.
See the whole story in the BBC News.
To see more on my views about why we should not generally take vitamins see this post.
Here are some other interesting tidbits:
Increasing your intake of fresh fruits and vegetables decreases your risk for prostate cancer.
Countries where people eat more beans have a lower death rates from breast, colon, and prostate cancer.
Anabolic steroids probably increase the risk of prostate cancer.
Eating fish decreases your risk of prostate cancer.
Those tidbits are from the book, Avoiding Cancer One Day at a Time, which I reviewed here.
by Ed
Last week, someone emailed me with a question about a skin problem. After replying with a few suggestions, I remembered a book I have on the bookshelf in my clinic. Healing Skin Disorders, by Andrew Gaeddert is a great book for healing your own skin condition. He talks about everything from acne to diaper rash to eczema to psoriasis to warts. Western and Chinese herbs that are good for the skin are covered, as are other natural forms of treatment. For each condition he gives symptoms and causes, self treatments, professional treatments, and case studies. He also talks about the importance of the digestive system in healing skin disorders. There is a digestive cleansing protocol at the end of the book. This is a great book for any lay person wanting to heal themselves, as well as for practitioners who want to improve their skill in treating skin disorders.
Andrew Gaeddert studied Chinese Medicine after his colitis was healed by Chinese Medicine. He has gone on to become one of the foremost herbal authorities in the West. He is the president of Health Concerns, a company that specializes in Chinese herbal formulas for health practitioners.
The following Anti-inflammatory Program from his book is useful for anyone with chronic inflammatory conditions, not just skin conditions.
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Consume fish three or more times per week
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Eat lean meats, poultry and game, and also use vegetables such as beans and nuts for protein.
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Eliminate margarine, butter, and shortening.
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Each day use 40 to 50 grams (3 to 4 tbsp) of polyunsaturated oils (avocado, hemp, flax, olive, walnut) as a dressing for salad or cooked vegetables
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Supplement with 1 to 3 tsp of cod liver oil daily.
Buy in Canada: Healing Skin Disorders: Natural Treatments for Dermatological Conditions
