Myintegrativehealth Blog – Adrenal Fatigue – Natural Hormone Therapy – Thyroid Dysfunction – Pain Relief – Digestive Health

By now most of you have read or heard directly from me about my bicycle crash two weeks ago.  I’ve been overwhelmed by the deluge of positive thoughts, emails, cards and well-wishes from everyone.  For those of you who missed the story, I shattered my collarbone into six pieces two weeks ago following a crash during a Saturday century ride.  This photo is right after the crash as my ride-mates loaded my broken bike into the car before my ER visit.  Thirteen screws later, the bone is back into one “piece” and the pain is improving everyday.  With my doctor/patient roles reversed and this being my first broken bone and surgical procedure, it’s been an emotionally eye-opening educational experience for me.  The constant pain and the mental lows lead to my inability to perform my daily work and home responsibilities requiring major adjustments.  No fun.

Yet with the help of my wife, I made some powerful insights that have been invaluable to me and, I believe, to my future practice with my patients.  Maintaining good physical and mental strength through a medical challenge can be, well, challenging.  But with all my down time (I felt like I visited every website ever created) I was able to pour over the research and I think I’ve discovered three approaches that seem to apply to nearly anyone with any difficult medical situation.  If you can implement these three tenets, you should be able to overcome most challenges.  They are:  1) keep moving, 2) monitor your daily progress, and 3) design a healthy environment.

There’s a lot to consider in those three tenets and that last one may sound intimidating, but I promise, they’re all very simple.  First, keep moving.  Our bodies are designed to stay in motion.  In no other time during our history as humans on this planet have we been able to survive through our daily routines with so little physical movement.  From desk jobs to nearly limitless access to goods and services, we physically work much less than we should.  Most studies suggest as little as 30-minutes of dedicated briskly-paced walking can do the trick although upwards of 60-minutes a day is even better.  Even with my busted shoulder, I made it a point to keep moving with walks around the neighborhood to waist-deep plunges in the pool.  Make it a point to move around and your body will thank you for it.

Next, monitoring daily progress.  With half of 2011 already over, you too might see how easy it is to let the days slip by without recognizing both positive and negative changes you make to your lifestyle.  There is nothing more powerful than frequently tracking your progress throughout each day in order to take control of your lifestyle.  I constantly recommend to patients “Diet Diaries,” or writing down everything you eat and drink, along with fitness achievements.  Studies have shown time and time again that this simple approach is more effective than any other strategy at evaluating and modifying basic lifestyle behaviors. With my collarbone, I measured the angles surrounding my shoulder’s range of motion daily, along with slow but daily additions of gentle strengthening exercises.  Sprinkle on multiple cryosauna applications and my surgeon, during a recent follow-up visit, couldn’t believe my progress in two short weeks.

Third, create an environment that is conducive to better health. Surround yourself with positive influences like people who have healthy lifestyles–studies show it will motivate you to do the same.  Think of it as a healthy dose of peer pressure.  Also, build into your daily routine healthy food choices at home and work that are readily accessible. More specifically, if healthy food choices are not easily available at home, when you’re hungry, your concept of what’s healthy quickly becomes skewed.  In addition, when it comes to a healthy diet, use smaller plates (which decreases portion-sizes), serve yourself a healthy portion and then store left overs before eating.  One last strategy I discovered is to consider eating in front of a mirror, which seems weird, I know, but a great German study last year showed it dramatically decreased the amount of calories test subjects ate.  You have incredible control over the environment in which you live.  Take the time to make it conducive to better health.

Finally, after doing all that you can to implement the first three tenets, be sure to be kind to yourself.  Don’t be hard on yourself if you have a tough day and “fall off the wagon.”  Studies show that the stress hormones released as a result of this added pressure on yourself is much more harmful than simply moving back to your healthy baseline. Life isn’t about being perfect.  Do the best you can, strive for your best, but allow yourself to recover from expected and unexpected setbacks.  On the day of my crash I was in great physical shape through great strides I had made during my training.  Instantly I was forced to “slow things down” and quickly have lost my physical stamina.  But, by taking proactive and preventative steps now, including the above ideas, my recovery has been relatively quick.

A major health issue can very quickly derail you from a healthy lifestyle.  But by following the above three tenets, you can regain control of your health, your surrounding environment and treat yourself better than you ever have before.

Over the last two weeks I’ve witnessed, and been a part of, a group of the first 100 people in our office who have experienced our cryosauna.  We’ve discussed this revolutionary new piece of equipment in our office during past newsletters and explained the profound effect it can have on improving your metabolism, burning calories, heal sore joints and calm down inflammation.  During this short period of time I have seen patients have less pain, improved mood and better athletic performance.  Personally, this past weekend I rode my bike up Mount Lemmon in Tuscon and have found the cryosauna to significantly improve my recovery time.  Bottom line, the therapeutic effects are impressive.

Let’s start with a small example.  I’m willing to bet you can’t look at this picture of my new 11-week-old daughter, Julia, and not smile.  Universally people are happier at the sight of babies, but the effect isn’t one way.  You might have noticed that babies smile quite a bit themselves.  In fact there have been multiple 3-D ultrasound studies that show smiling babies while still in the womb.  Their smiling, however, continues almost involuntarily during the first few months of life while they are sleeping.  Even more profound is the study of blind babies who smile upon hearing their mother’s voice.  It seems like a simple act, but smiling has powerful effects that can be appreciated even at the very start of life.

It’s smiling’s long-term effects that are even more surprising. Two studies found smiling to improve overall success in life and even lifespan.  The first study, done at the University of California Berkley in the 1950s, was a 30-year longitudinal examination of a group of students’ photos in the school’s yearbook.  By studying the “amount” of smiling in one yearbook picture and after following students for 30 years, researchers were able to predict with amazing accuracy how fulfilling and long-lasting their marriage would be and how inspiring they would be towards others–a strong leadership trait. The other study, done in 2010, looked at pre-1950 baseball cards and found that those with the widest smile “span” also had the longest lifespan (72 years vs. 80 years).

The trouble, unfortunately, is that only about 1/3 of people smile more than 20 times a day, meaning the vast majority of people smile much less, except for one group of people.  Younger people, that is.  Children can smile up to 400 times a day!  This exaggerated amount of smiling, you might not be surprised to know, reduces stress-inducing hormones like cortisol and adrenaline, can increase endorphins and reduce blood pressure. In fact, a 2008 British study showed that one smile can generate the same amount of brain stimulation as eating 2,000 bars of chocolate.

Saying smiling is good for you is a little like saying exercise, good food and clean water will improve your health.  It seems obvious.  But numerous studies suggest that faking a smile actually does more harm than good.  The positive thoughts behind that smile are just as important as the act of smiling itself.

So don’t be surprised the next time you come in the office and see us all smiling–we’ve known for years that smiling is good for you and we love to spread that happiness.  I hope this article helped you think about your happiness but most importantly, I hope it helped you smile.

“I will never understand all the good that a simple smile can accomplish.”  Mother Teresa

May is National Osteoporosis Awareness and Prevention month.  The National Osteoporosis Foundation estimates that 1 out of every 2 women and 1 out of every 4 men, over the age of 50 will break a bone due to osteoporosis.  I find that figure staggering.

What are the risk factors?

Well, based on the statistics I just mentioned, being female and over the age of 50 are risk factors.  If you have a family history of osteoporosis, statistically you are more likely to break a bone due to this condition.  Obviously these are risk factors that cannot be changed; so let’s look at the ones that we can do something about:

• Low body weight/dieting – Women tend to have a lower body weight then men, as well as a history of dieting.  Unbalanced “trendy” diets lead to poor nutritional status.  Diets with severe caloric restriction may trim your waistline but at a cost to your bones.
• Inactivity – Exercise strengthens your bones.  Aerobic exercise, such as jogging or walking, and weight-bearing exercise, such as strength training, creates micro fractures in weight-bearing bones.  These micro fractures trigger your body to rebuild and strengthen bone by recalcifying the micro fractures.
• Poor nutrition status – If you are deficient in calcium, your body will not be able to respond to your body’s need to rebuild bone.  Calcium, along with co-factor vitamin D, supports recalcification.
• Excess salt – High levels of salt in the diet have been linked to excessive levels of calcium in urine.  Some researchers believe that the high salt diet in America is a major causative factor in osteoporosis.  Read labels when shop; salt is used as a flavor enhancer and a preservative in most processed foods.  Many foods that do not taste salty are actually high in sodium.
• Smoking – Smoking is bad for us for countless reasons.  Smoking interferes with the body’s utilization of calcium and estrogen in bone formation.
• Alcohol consumption – Drinking too much alcohol will interfere with the body’s absorption of calcium.  It also robs the body of vital nutrients and causes poor nutritional status.
• Consumption of Caffeinated or Carbonated drinks – Phosphoric acid and caffeine leach calcium from bones, increasing you risk of osteoporosis.  Caffeinated drinks and supplements are often used to suppress appetite during calorie restriction diets. This is another reason why women tend to be more at risk of osteoporosis.

FRAX is a great tool that calculates your risk for a potential fracture.  It takes race, age, weight and other risk factors into consideration.  Under the menu select Calculation Tool, then follow the menus to select your continent, country, and race.  For those of you who do not know your weight in kilograms or your height in centimeters, do not panic.  On the right side of the screen is a handy conversion tool for you.

My diet is healthy and I exercise every day.  Am I still at risk?

Some of the most commonly prescribed medications actually lead to bone loss.  Corticosteroids are anti-inflammatory agents that are commonly prescribed to help control chronic conditions such as asthma and arthritis.  Unfortunately, studies show that patients lose an average of 14% of bone mineral content in the first year after starting corticosteroid treatment.  Most people achieve peak bone density around age 25.  However, for patients who develop asthma at an early age, and use corticosteroids to manage their condition, they may never achieve maximum bone density.

SSRIs such as Lexapro, Prozac and Zoloft have been linked to decreased bone density.  Here is a great article from the May 2009 issue of Psychology Today explaining the misuse of these medications.  According to Dr. Lane, 80% of patients surveyed who were taking these medications showed no depressive symptoms at all.  These medications are often prescribed to women for PMS symptoms or menopause symptoms.  This may be another reason that more women than men are diagnosed with osteoporosis.

Here are some other common prescription drugs that affect bone health:

• Antibiotics such as tetratcycline, commonly used to treat acne
• Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), including Prilosec, Nexium, Prevacid, and Aciphex used for acid reflux and gastritis
• Diuretics that are used to treat high blood pressure
• Depo-provera, or the Depo Shot, a form of birth control

When should I request a bone density test?

The US Preventative Screening Task Force (yes, the same task force that caused an uproar with their breast cancer screening recommendations) recommend bone density screenings for the following demographics:

• Women aged 65 years or older
• Younger women whose risk fracture is equal to or greater than that of a 65 year old white woman with no additional risk factors (use the FRAX tool to assess risk)
• No recommendation to screen men for osteoporosis

The National Osteoporosis Foundation recommends bone density testing of:

• Women age 65 or older
• Postmenopausal women under age 65 with one or more risk factors
• Men age 70 or older
• Men between age 50 and 70 with one or more risk factors
• Anyone older than age 50 and who have experienced a broken bone
• Postmenopausal women who discontinue hormone therapy

I utilize the NOF’s guidelines when making recommendations to my patients.  However, for patients with long-term SSRI use or corticosteroid use, I encourage them to get a DEXA scan earlier.  If you suspect that osteoporosis may be a problem for you, ask your doctor for a bone density test.  You may have to pay out of pocket for it, but the sooner you start to reverse bone loss, the better off you will be.

Did you know there is a hot, new nutrient out on the market? This one can help reduce your seasonal allergies.  It works wonders on heartburn.  It improves your skin, regulates your bowels and can help you lose wei.ght.  It can even reverse arthritis symptoms.  It can even lower your blood pressure.  You may not believe it, but you already have some of it at home right now….WATER!

So often the simplest things are the most critical.  One I try to bear in mind is good hydration. Probably 1/4 of the time when I review someone’s lab tests I’ll see various signs of short or long term dehydration.  It’s a big deal and the crazy thing is those who need it the most often do not feel thirsty.

Water Facts and Fallacies:

#1- Fallacy: Your body is 70% water just like the surface of the earth.

Fact: According to Guyton’s Physiology, the standard medical text for how the body’s functions work, we start out as infants in the low 60% range but get to the low 40% range as we age. Most adults are around half.  You know how we get shorter with age? That is primarily loss of intervertebral disc space in our spines from dehydration.

Tip: Urine color is the simplest indicator of hydration.  Here’s a good picture of urine colors, 1-3 represent good hydration, higher numbers mean you’re dried out.  If your computer screen gets wet while doing this test, don’t blame me!

#2 – Fallacy: Distilled water leaches minerals out of your body.

Fact: You can absorb minerals from water but water enters your body from your small intestines and leaves through your kidneys and stools.  It has no means of taking anything out that you already had.

Tip: Purified water is best for day to day use.  I recommend home reverse osmosis systems for the simplest, most economical way to get pure drinking water.  Be sure filters are changed at least twice each year or per schedule.  Our family has rented a unit from Arizona Water Rentals for well over a decade, the rental cost is about the same as annual filter costs and they do all the work.  Filters are a little better but don’t take out pesticides and solvents.

#3 – Fallacy:  When you’re exercising you should avoid cold water since your body can’t absorb it.

Fact: Here’s a case where you can trust your instinct.  Which would you drink first on a hot day?  The absorption rate is the same regardless of the temperature.  And drinking cold water lowers your core body temperature which improves your performance and heat tolerance.

#4 – Fallacy: Spring water comes from high mountain springs.

Fact: Unless it says “purified by distillation” or “reverse osmosis”, it is tap water with a picture of a mountain.  Do you buy bottle water?  Take the time to watch ‘Tapped‘.  Bottle water is a disaster for your health since it is unregulated and full of toxic plastic by products, and it is a source of huge amounts of pollution and carbon.

Tip: Drink your water from glass or stainless steel containers.  Avoid plastic.  Trace amounts of plastic residue have been shown to promote breast and prostate cancer, cause thyroid disease and disrupt male and female fertility.

#5 – Fallacy: If you drink when you’re thirsty, you’ll get enough water.

Fact: Your thirst is unfortunately a poor indicator of hydration.  If you lose as little as 3% of your body’s fluids your thirst can become unreliable.  Look at your urine color and plan to consume 1/2 to 1 ounce of water per pound of body weight daily.  This is 3-5 quarts for most of us.

#6 – Fallacy: You get lots of fluid from coffee, tea, juice, soda, etc.

Fact: Caffeine is a diuretic, you pee out more than you get.  Sugar makes fluid absorb poorly. If you’re still drinking soda I don’t know what to say, but I’ll still try to help

Tip: You can help your water intake by consuming herbal teas and soups.

Tip: Most who are well hydrated need to urinate at least every few hours.  I’ve known about a dozen people who bragged about their ability to thrive in Arizona on little water intake and how they urinate only once or twice a day.  All but one went on to have massive kidney stones. The other, I hope I’m wrong, but I think he’s next.

# 7 – Fallacy:  When you run, bike, hike in the heat, you need to consume as much water as you can.

Fact: Here’s a tricky one.  We can lose water at an amazing rate when we’re out sweating in the heat.  Unfortunately we can’t absorb it as quickly.  If we take it in too fast, it stays in our intestines.  This can case us to get cramps, diarrhea and dangerously low sodium levels.  No matter how hard we sweat, we can absorb no more than 22-28 ounces per hour. Do not go under or over this when out in the heat.  If you’re active for more than an hour you’ll need electrolytes with this, that’s another topic.  Easiest solution is Endurolytes caps or powder by Hammer Nutrition.  We stock it and so do REI and most bicycle shops.

Tip:  Don’t use tap water for cooking or making coffee or tea.  Use purified water.

Tip:  Run your water for 10 seconds before showering; most wastes concentrate in your water lines when they sit overnight.

When I turned 7, I thought it might be fun to take up ice hockey.  In the cold Colorado mornings, getting up at 5 a.m. for a 5:30 practice wasn’t too tough (my dad might not agree), and I quickly learned the importance of perseverance and teamwork.  Over the years, I’ve kept up with my hockey playing and have suffered with the typical bruises and sore muscles and joints.  A few years ago, however, while playing in a playoff tournament, I skated towards the opponent’s net, as I typically would, but collided with a defenseman and tweaked my knee in a way I had never experienced.  For months I suffered with daily aching and decreased range of motion and more importantly, had to stop playing hockey!  Then I decided to try prolotherapy (more in a minute) as a natural solution to my knee pain and am quite pleased to say that not only am I back on skates, but I am absolutely pain free!  In addition to prolotherapy, I have discovered a number of natural options to treating arthritis.

Hope for a Debilitating Condition

Recent statistics from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) put the number of Americans suffering with all types of arthritis at over 43 million.  In general, there are many different types of arthritis, including osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, gout, lupus and ankylosing spondylitis, to name a few.  The most common form is osteoarthritis that we associate with the aging process; rheumatoid arthritis, on the other hand, is an autoimmune condition where the body mysteriously turns its own immune system against the joints.  Both conditions can cause significant joint pain and in some cases, deformities to the joints as well.

Arthritis is simply the pain associated with any joint in the body, although the knee and lower back are the most common sites.  These joints tend to take the brunt of abuse we put on our bodies as a result of poor posture and increased demand on these joints, which leads to inflammation.  This is where standard therapy targets:  the inflammatory process.  Specific messengers within the body known as prostaglandins initiate the inflammatory process, while at the same time protecting stomach lining and regulating blood pressure.

With the advent of anti-inflammatory medications, millions of people have found relief from their joint pain.  Unfortunately, more and more studies are suggesting that anti-inflammatory use comes with a price, particularly irritation to the gastrointestinal tract, kidney and liver disease, elevated blood pressure and prolonged bleeding after injury (easy bruising).  If you use anti-inflammatory medications, be sure to use the smallest dose for the shortest amount of time possible.  As an interesting side note, I have heard plenty of patients admit to using anti-inflammatory medicines (e.g., Advil, Motrin, etc.) before exercise to hopefully prevent joint and muscle pain.  In theory this makes sense, however, research has shown that not only does this not prevent joint and muscle pain, but it can affect the kidneys such that electrolyte balance can become wildly disrupted and in some cases cause kidney failure.  Yikes!

Three Natural Solutions for Arthritis

Addressing inflammation in the joints does not have to come with the many side effects seen with traditional approaches and the following strategies can be quite effective.  First, aside from avoiding the obvious sources of trauma to joints that can cause inflammation, like playing hockey when you have knee pain, there can be other external factors that can lead to joint inflammation.  At the top of the list lies the food that you put into your body.  It appears that foods, which cause gastrointestinal inflammation like sugar, members of the nightshade family, trans fats, and to some degree red meat can worsen joint pain.  In addition, the lack of good omega-3 fatty acids in the diet along with absent fruits and vegetables, particularly berries, green, orange and yellow veggies (not corn!) prevent your body from creating its own anti-inflammatory mechanisms.  Another simple addition to your diet is fresh, clean drinking water.  Arizonans are chronically dehydrated and you should try to aim for about half of your body weight in ounces for water intake each day.

As mentioned above, prolotherapy was highly effective in treating my knee pain and provides millions of Americans pain relief each year as well.  Prolotherapy was formally introduced into the medical fray in the 1940s and its usage grows each year, with notable athletes like Tiger Woods and many members of the U.S. Olympic team employing the technique.  A few well-designed studies have demonstrated improvement in the structures that support the joint following prolotherapy.  So, how does it work?  It is a type of injection medicine where regions of tendons or ligaments around joints are injected with a non-pharmacological natural solution (glucose, lidocaine, vitamin B12 and folic acid) to stimulate the body to strengthen weakened connective tissue and therefore reduce or eliminate pain. Unlike steroid injections (“cortisone”), which only provide temporary relief and carry numerous side effects, prolotherapy is designed to stimulate tissue growth and promote true healing that ultimately alleviates pain without any side effects.

Nature has also provided us with a number of botanical herbs that for centuries have been highly effective in treating arthritis. These botanicals include quercetin, boswelia, curcumin, nettles and cramp bark to name a few.  More recently, studies have demonstrated that botanicals target a number of inflammatory signaling molecules and shut down the inflammatory process.  One well-designed study in 2009 showed that curcumin and resveratrol were superior to traditional non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medicines in reducing inflammatory markers, but more importantly reducing pain felt by test subjects.

When you start to feel the aches and pains that typically settle in your joints, you might consider examining your foods and discussing prolotherapy or botanical interventions with your doctor to help you feel better.  But if you’re ever out on the hockey rink, you might want to watch out for me!

As Naturopathic physicians, our medical heritage traces back to the spa/hospitals of Switzerland and Germany of the early 1800′s.  Patients were treated with fresh air, sunlight, simple food and brisk mountain water.  These spas documented cures from many conditions including diabetes, cancer, tuberculosis and influenza.

This medical modal was ‘Vitalistic’ meaning the doctors healed not by fighting disease but by raising the patients’ ‘Vital Force’. It was believed that living things possessed a tangible property separating them from the non-living.  This concept was shared by nearly all
cultures with developed medical systems.  This is exactly what the Chinese called ‘Chi’ and the Yogis called ‘Prana’.

The European spa tradition developed methods of giving the body a gentle, controlled ‘shock’ which caused the body to respond and increase it’s vitality.  Cold water was one of the preferred methods of inducing such a shock.  Imagine being on a long hike in a remote woodland wilderness.  Think about how invigorated you would be after splashing your face with alpine stream water.  No one likes to get chilled but when you are exposed to brief, controlled cold your body triggers numerous healing responses.

First your metabolism increases.  Did you hear about how Michael Phelps ate 10,000 calories per day during his training?  Guess what, he did not swim enough to burn that much.  But spending hours each day in an 80 degree pool caused his body to raise its metabolism to maintain body temperature.

Circulation is strongly stimulated by cold.  What is the first thing we do for acute pain? We put ice on it.  This increases the underlying blood supply while lowering the inflammatory process.  These changes reduce underlying cellulite and reverse the effects of aging.

Our immune systems are also strengthened by cold.  It has been shown that brief, controlled exposure can increase the activity of our natural  killer cells by 5 fold. This protects us against colds and flus and lowers our cancer risk.

How can we use cold to our advantage?  We’ll have more info on how to do so in a powerful way soon; in the meantime, here’s an easy way you can try tonight.

Get two pairs of socks: one thin cotton ankle high, and the other heavy full length wool.  When you’re ready for bed, wet the cotton socks in the sink with cool water and ring them out well.  Sit on your bed the put on the wet socks (trust me) then put the wool socks on over the top.

When your skin is exposed to water, your nerves respond by sending more  blood to the area and increasing your metabolism.  Remember wool warms even if it is damp.  The cotton socks are just there to hold some water.  Not only will you not chill, but your feet will feel toasty warm.  Since your circulation is in a closed system, anytime you increase blood flow in one area, you increase it everywhere else.

You’ll sleep much more deeply than normal and wake up feeling refreshed.  Any chronic
pains will be lower and your circulation will get stronger.  You’ll even burn a few hundred more calories without exercising.  This is a great trip if you feel like you’re coming down with a cold or feeling especially run down.

Promise me to try it at least once, I guarantee you’ll see some benefits and be hooked!

R ed paper hearts, heart-shaped boxes full of chocolate, one whole day dedicated to love – it must be February! But this month isn’t just about valentines and chocolate, it is also about the heart; February is heart disease awareness month.

According to the American Heart Association in 2006, 81 million Americans had some form of cardiovascular disease.  About 73 million had high blood pressure, which is a common risk factor for strokes and heart attacks.  But high blood pressure isn’t the only risk factor, others to be aware of include:

• Age
• Gender
• Personal history of cardiovascular events

Ok, so you cannot do anything about those three risk factors, but here are some that you can do something about:

• Smoking
• Diabetes
• Cholesterol (Watch Dr. Christianson’s video on cholesterol)
• Obesity
• Sedentary lifestyle
• Stress

What are the warning signs of a cardiovascular event?

Stroke:

• Numbness or weakness of face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body
• Confusion, trouble speaking or understanding
• Trouble seeing out of one or both eyes
• Trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination
• Severe headache with no known cause

Heart attack:

• Chest pain or discomfort, pain may radiate down left arm
• Pain that radiates to the jaw, neck, back or stomach
• Shortness of breath, with or without chest discomfort
• Cold sweat, nausea or lightheadedness

Cardiac arrest:

• Sudden loss of responsiveness
• No normal breathing (someone does not take a normal breath when you tilt their head up and check for a breath for at least 5 seconds)

It is important to note that men and women are very different.  (You probably didn’t need a doctor to tell you that!)  Women typically don’t manifest the same symptoms of a heart attack as men.  Indigestion and extreme fatigue are the most common early warning signs of a heart attack in women.

New Research

A new study published Tuesday, February 15, 2011, in the Journal of Cardiovascular Electrophysiology shows that the heart’s ability to handle premature contractions (known as heart rate turbulence) may be the strongest indicator of a potential heart attack.  The study showed that even individuals considered to have a low cardiovascular risk are 8-9 times more likely to die of cardiovascular disease if they have abnormal heart rate turbulence. Heart rate turbulence is a measure of how well someone can handle sudden or extreme stress.  At this time, testing heart rate turbulence is not a standard test used to assess cardiovascular risk.  However based on this research, it may soon be.

So what can you do to maintain a healthy heart?

• Eat healthy, nutritious whole foods.  Avoid processed foods, fried foods, and fast foods.  Give your body the fuel it needs to keep it healthy.  This will also help you maintain a healthy body weight and lower your cholesterol levels.
• Remove all sodas (diet and regular) from your diet!  Consumption of sugary sodas leads to diabetes, which is a modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease.  But don’t think that you can safely switch to diet sodas.  A recent study shows that people who consume diet sodas have a 48% greater risk of CVD (cardiovascular disease) than those who don’t.
• Get out and move every day! We cannot say enough about the benefits of exercise.  Exercise helps lower other risk factors on this list such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, diabetes, and obesity.  It is also a great stress reliever and helps maintain a healthy body weight. Get your family, friends and neighbors involved, make active living a group event and part of your daily life.
• Maintain healthy, loving relationships with your family and friends.  These are the people who make you happy and who support you when you need them. A smile on your face is great for the heart!
• If you smoke, please stop.  Smoking leads to atherosclerosis which can cause high blood pressure.

Awareness and education is key to understanding how to reduce your risk of heart disease.  See your doctor regularly and ask for help in reducing your risk factors.  It is the best way to show your love for your family, and yourself, in February.

No, not the cereal, K is for Kalium, or potassium as we now call it.  One of the first natural health legends I learned about was a man named Karl Jurak.  The story goes that he was a youth enjoying the Austrian high country, when suddenly he lost all of his strength.  After being forced to wait for rescue, he dedicated his life to combating weakness and fatigue.  He created the KM formula now sold as Natrol.  Back in the day, those who made tonics kept their ingredient lists closely guarded.  Now we know that KM/Natrol’s main ingredient is a substantial dose of potassium.

Potassium carries electrical signals throughout the brain, nerves and muscles.  It is the most abundant electrolyte inside our cells.  Although it is measured in most blood tests, the blood only shows how much potassium is outside our cells.  Since 99% of it is inside the cells, our stores have to get quite low before this shows up as a critical value in lab tests.

Many have argued that pre-modern humans consumed over 10 times as much potassium as sodium.  Now the average American consumes far too much sodium and far too little potassium – they are in nearly equal ratios in the typical diet.  This disparity wears out our kidneys and our blood vessels.

How much potassium should we consume?  The latest report suggests that 4700 mg daily is an adult minimum.  How many bananas is this?  At least 7.  Don’t worry, potassium is abundant in the diet; all produce has lots of it, as do most beans and dairy products.

Potassium pills are over the counter, but they are legally restricted from having more than 99 mg pill.  This is because many prescription medications are not compatible with potassium supplements.

There is a version of salt called Lite Salt that has more potassium than sodium.  It actually tastes fine and works great for cooking.  It even supplies the right amounts of iodine.  There also is one called Nu Salt and another called Salt Substitute that are pure potassium with no sodium.  Um, sounds great but you won’t buy them twice – they taste really bad.

What are the best 10 food sources of potassium?  Bananas don’t even make the list, check them out:

Sweet potatoes

Orange juice

Beet green

White potatoes

White beans

Dates

Tomatoes

Raisins

Yogurt

Clams

If there is anyone anywhere that hasn’t tried the 5 a day drink yet, it is the easiest way I know of to get your potassium.

Next time your tired, cramped, sore or grumpy, try some extra potassium and get your mojo back!

Choose at least one goal for each of the key areas of your life: physical, emotional, spiritual, financial, social and environmental.

Physical is simple.  What is the easiest thing you can do to improve your health the most?  If you don’t smoke, weight loss may be it.

Not sure if this applies?  Visit http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/ and plug in your height and weight to the BMI calculator.  This is your Body Mass Index, and it is a score of your height in centimeters divided by your weight in kilograms.  Don’t worry the site will let you enter data in good old feet/inches and pounds.  Tons of data has correlated many causes of mortality to an elevated BMI. Readings above 25 are overweight, and readings above 30 are obese.  Many people who look quite normal may have BMIs in the overweight range, don’t be surprised if you do.  Unfortunately, even having a low body fat percent may not negate the risks of a high BMI.

About a year and a half ago, I was wading through a mountain of research papers showing that even high/normal BMI readings raised the mortality risk.  This is when I calculated mine and saw it was barely under 25.  I got motivated to finally master the trick of body weight once and for all.  If your BMI is in the low 20′s, you’re set, if not, we can help.

If you do not smoke and have a good BMI, you are doing great!  The third factor affecting your health is alcohol intake.  Remember all those news reports that stated that wine was good for us?  Guess where that data came from?  If you guessed wine makers, then you’ve figured out how this works!  Alcohol – up to 5 servings per week – is harmless for most adults, but here’s the rub.   That fish bowl on a leg is not a serving, 4 ounces is a serving.  If you are opening a bottle of wine each night, and sharing it with one person, then you are getting too much alcohol.  The first health risks to show up for people who consume more than 5 servings per week are breast and prostate cancer. My favorite ‘cocktail’ is 1 part pomegranate juice with 1 part of mineral water.  I live on the edge!

Emotional health is so important.  The cornerstone of emotional health is healthy relationships.  Don’t hold grudges, appreciate those around you, and tell them how you feel.  Life is fragile.  You never know what tomorrow will bring.  If you do not feel happy most of the time, something is not right.  If you are fearful most of the time, something is not right.  Depression and anxiety are terrible but treatable.  Customized supplement regimes, talk therapy and medication, when necessary, can help.  Do not be afraid to ask.  A fun book to perk you up is The Rational Optimist by Matt Ridley.  He lays out a very strong case that all aspects of life are getting better.

Invest all of ½ hour daily in growing yourself this year. When you make this a habit it is so much fun to look back on last year’s goals.  You will be amazed.  Not only are the goals achieved, they are almost always surpassed!