Healthy Bytes

More March (recall) madness - Zelnorm

read time: 291 words, just a minute

Novartis drug Zelnorm has been withdrawn from the market per the request of the FDA.
Zelnorm is for relieving constipation. Apparently the FDA thinks the higher risk of chest pain, heart attack and stroke as a result of relieving constipation with Zelnorm is not a good trade off.

What do I think…
Fe-Fi-Fo-FIBER
Enough with the toilet paper conservation. Eat fiber, don’t get constipated.

Our fine ancestors ate about 100 grams of fiber a day.
Us?… 8 grams. Yup, that would be 92% LESS.

And where do you get fiber…
Veggies, fruit, veggies, legumes, veggies, flax seed, nuts, whole grains.

Not only will be spared constipation, but you’ll get some other massive benefits…

• Fiber slows the rate food and nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream – this keeps
  blood sugar and cholesterol in ideal balance and prevents blood sugar spikes. In fact fiber can lower blood sugar (which reduces insulin) as well as diabetes drugs.
• Fiber speeds the rate food passes through the digestive track – this quickly eliminates toxins.
• Fiber promotes weight loss by signaling the brain you’re full, stop eating.
• Fiber has bulk with far less calories than “empty calorie” foods.
• Fiber has been shown to reduce colon cancer by as much as a third and breast cancer by nearly 40%.

Soluble fiber is better than insoluble fiber. Soluble fiber gets digested; insoluble fiber does not.

Oh and if you really need extra help with constipation, there’s Glucomannan - a fiber product made from the root of elephant yams. It’s soluable and one of the most viscous fibers known (absorbs up to 50 times its weight in water). So it will bulk up food in your stomach… you feel full more quickly, you eat fewer calories.

Now go eat your veggies.

Pet food recall extended

read time: 260 words, just a minute

So first it was wet food that was recalled and they confidently came out after two days and said it was wheat gluten from a specific source.

Horrible consequences for all of the many pets – and pet owners – sickened and killed by the food.

At least folks could feel confident dry food was ok, until…
today when Hills issued a recall of a specific Science Diet formula.

Seems maybe there are traces of some kind of fertilizer. But essentially, they aren’t sure what the issue is.
Now the FDA is getting involved.

I was watching the news this evening and the President/CEO of Menu Foods – the manufacturer of all the brands of tainted food – “assured” us the problem has been solved. Hmm, interesting how he can assure us of such when they don’t know what the bleeping problem actually is.

Please, if you work for a PR firm, or know someone that does, this man desperately needs help.

Even when that food isn’t “tainted”, it’s quite horrible.
Much like horrible processed made-for-human chemical cuisine, it’s not health supporting food.

Our tribe includes a dog and two kitties. They get real food. Food that supports their health. I’m absolutely sure they eat far better than the average American.

Dr. Pitcairn’s Complete Guide To Natural Health For Dogs & Cats is a pretty good book.

If you have some four-leggers in your tribe you most definitely should do a little research and consider making real food for them.

Start your research at the Pet Connection Blog. A lot of good info there.

Kids eat what they watch

In the largest study of TV ads for kids the Kaiser Family Foundation no ads for good stuff such as veggies and fruits.
40% of the commercials were for candy, snacks and fast food.

The food ads were for:
Candy and snacks – 34%
Cereal – 29%
Fast food – 10%
Beverages – 10%
Dairy – 4%
Prepared food – 4%
Bread, pastries, dine-out restaurant – 9%

Rather like the cigarette industry… get ‘em young.

Does your retirement plan include this?

Fidelity Investment has been estimating the average health care cost during retirement since 2002.

Their latest estimate: $215,000/year for a 65 year old couple.
They anticipate health care costs will increase 7% a year.
These estimates DON’T include the cost of long-term care.

Organic, local… decisions, decisions

read time: 236 words, about a minute

Now that organic has transitioned from counter culture to nearly ordinary, we have a replacement counter culture gastro-movement stretching our food consciousness… “local”.

First, a disclaimer… I live in the San Francisco Bay Area which is (a) very food centric; (b) within 500 miles of a heck of a lot of agriculture, including quite a bit of organic.
To say I’m spoiled with choice is an understatement.

Back to local… the definition of local varies a bit depending on what food religion you follow. Some worship within 100 miles, some 200 miles, some 250 miles.
Let’s accept - less than a full passenger car gas tank.

What’s the big deal?
Here are the main issues:

1. environmental. No pesticides make organic produce less environmentally damaging. Put it on a plane and fly it half way round the globe and the environmental impact increases.
Local scores “carbon credits”

2. freshness. If your buying local produce it is likely to be fresher, perhaps more nutrient dense.

3. economy. Support your local economy.

There was a fun article recently in Time - Eating Better Than Organic. The author lives in New York State and wrote from that perspective. Fun - and interesting - read.

Another great book is What To Eat by Marion Nestle. She’s a Professor of Nutrition at New York University. Excellent book. She walks you through a grocery store explaining things in a balanced, realistic way.

Depressed – sweat it off

More research has come out showing that regular exercise decreases anxiety, improves mood, sleep and self-esteem.

The flow of blood and oxygen to the brain creates more nerve cells which slows aging and helps with stress.

Exercise has been shown to have a biological effect equal to antidepressants.

Fast – STAND UP
Do one hard minute of jumping jacks.
Good job. Now don’t you feel much better?

ADHD drugs – all that and more

read time: 181 words, just a minute

One of the side effects of ADHD drugs is suppressed appetite and weight loss.
Not wanting a let side effect to go to waste, some Docs are prescribing the drugs to teens for weight loss. And here I thought they didn’t really pay attention to side effects.

That would be known as an “off label” use meaning, that’s not what the drug was approved for, there are no studies using the drug for this purpose and such uses are not monitored.

Interesting how parents* have been arrested and their child literally taken away from them and subjected to court ordered harsh medical treatment they did not want and yet it’s ok to give an overweight kid ADHD drugs and a can of soda to gulp em down with.

* Three cases in the news last year:
1. Virginia 16 year old boy with Hodkins who didn’t want another round of chemo
2. Texas 13 year old girl with Hodkins who didn’t want to do radiation after she did chemo
3. Washington mother who didn’t want her 9 month old son to have kidney surgery

A generation of wealth for health transference

read time: 156 words, about a minute

News out about Alzheimers hitting the major news venues…

• More than 5 millions Americans currently living with it – a 10% increase over the last 5 years
• 7.7 million expected by 2030; 16 million by 2050
• One in 8 folks over 65; nearly one in 2 over 85
• Medicare beneficiary cost for Alzheimers is nearly triple the average beneficiary cost ($13,207 a year vs. $4,454)
• Medicare spending is projected to double by 2015 to $189 million

There are two contributing factors recognized by the conventional medical establishment:
1. Modern medicine is keeping people alive longer
2. The large baby boomer population is moving into the 60+ years

I’d add one more… nutrition and exercise (ok, that’s two more).
Alzheimers has been linked to both.
Let’s face it, our health has been on a downward spiral. That’s just going to multiply as the boomer generation increasingly realizes the consequences of years of bad eating, sedentary lifestyle and stress packed days.

Weight loss surgery and brain decline

Weight loss surgery, such as gastric bypass surgery, can lead to a vitamin deficiency that can cause memory loss and confusion, inability to coordinate movement, and other problems, according to a study published in the March 13, 2007, issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
The syndrome, called Wernicke encephalopathy, affects the brain and nervous system when the body doesn’t get enough vitamin B-1, or thiamine. It can also cause vision problems, such as rapid eye movements.

Weight loss surgery and brain decline

Bariatric and lap band surgeries are getting rather popular.
Post surgery, folks consume a very limited amount of calories. Essentially, you’re shrinking your stomach size to that of a two year old. Of course you haven’t shrunk your nutritional needs to that of a two year old.

A study published this week in the Journal of the American Academy of Neurology points out numerous folks are experiencing memory loss and confusion as well as muscle coordination problems and vision problems.

They are tying the symptoms to lack of nutrition for the brain and nervous system – mostly B vitamins.

There have been other reports as well regarding brain functionality after weight loss surgery.

It’s basically mal-nourishment, whether you’re talking about a skin draped over bones person in a third world country, or a post-surgery “fluffy” person. The body still requires nourishment to function and rebuild itself.

Belly fat -> inflammation -> disease: cardiovascular, diabetes

read time: 417 words, about two minutes

In an apple versus pear comparison, the pear is by far the healthier option.
I’m not referring to fruit here, but rather to physical shape. Apple shape being wide through the belly. Pear shaped being wider through the hips.

What researchers have found is that not all fat is created equal. They’ve shown that ab fat has a high association with poor insulin response and inflammation.

In a study done back in 2004 at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, liposuction was used to remove about 20% of people’s total body fat mass. While that gave them different wardrobe options, there weren’t the expected metabolic benefits found with weight loss by diet and exercise.

Liposuction removes subcutaneous fat… fat right under the skin.
It does not remove visceral fat… fat that surrounds the organs. Those fat cells are more difficult (and dangerous) to get to.
Diet and exercise doesn’t remove fat cells – it shrinks them, with no apparent preference for subcutaneous versus visceral.

Back to the results… in a second phase, researchers studied the blood to determine if visceral fat was the problem, or a symptom. In this study, they took blood from obese patients going through gastric bypass surgery.

They showed visceral fat was secreting interleukin-6 (IL-6) - an inflammatory molecule – into portal vein blood. Portal vein blood had levels of IL-6 50% greater than blood at the periphery.

Increased levels of IL-6 correlated with C-reactive protein (CRP) which is an inflammatory substance.

Chronic inflammation is associated with insulin resistance, hypertension, Type 2 diabetes, atherosclerosis and other diseases.

So let’s look at a few things…
Sucking out the fat doesn’t remove the health consequences.
Manufacturers of statin drugs keep telling you to lower your cholesterol – by taking their drugs for the rest of your life. And yet, folks with low and “normal” cholesterol have heart attacks and congestive heart failure. Why – inflammation.

Assistant professor of medicine Luigi Fontana, M.D., Ph.D.:

“Many years ago, atherosclerosis was thought to be related to lipids and to the excessive deposit of cholesterol in the arteries. Nowadays, it’s clear that atherosclerosis is an inflammatory disease. There also is evidence that inflammation plays a role in cancer, and there is even evidence that it plays a role in aging. Someday we may learn that visceral fat is involved in those things, too.”

A lifetime of poor nutrition and lack of exercise isn’t going to be sucked away in a simple outpatient procedure or blasted away with a daily pharmaceutical regimen.