Let your tap run twenty seconds before drinking or cooking with water. Polluted water can result from sitting still in the pipes, where toxic chemicals from the metal can seep in.
Dr. Andrew Weil
Archive for July, 2007
Is Policosanol A Placebo?
Policosanol is a compound traditionally extracted from Cuban sugar cane. There is an embargo on Cuban products being exported to the US so companies here derived a compound using beeswax, wheat germ oil or rice bran wax.
In 2002 a large study reported in the “American Heart Journal” praised policosanol for its ability to reduce cholesterol. In this study there were approximately 3,000 participants with over 60 trails for a period of two months up to two years using the form of extract made from Cuban sugarcane wax.
The review in the American Heart Journal reported that 10mg daily doses of policosanol were as effective at lowering total cholesterol or LDL cholesterol as the satin drugs zocor and provastin. Dr. Mark Stengler reported that he was puzzled by these findings because his patients were not having the same positive results.
Quote: “I noticed that my patients who took policosanol seldom acheived the expected cholesterol improvements no matter what brand we tried”.
Dr. Stengler concluded these studies must be wrong or that the compounds used here were not similar enough to the Cuban extract. New studies are now coming out that confirm Dr. Stengler’s suspicions, the most notiable is a German study. The participants using policosanol had a decrease of less than 10% in their LDL cholesterol; the placebo group had a reduction of 8%.
Similar studies conducted between 2004 and 2006 in Canada, the Netherlands and South Africa also found policosanol ineffective.
Why such a difference in the results found?
The original studies were funded by Cuba’s National Center for Science as well as founding the company “Dalmer Laboratories” to market policosanol.
Source: May issue of Bottom Line Natural Healing
Lime as a salt substitute
I love Rachael Ray, although many of her recipes are not heart healthy, her bubbly personality just makes me feel good. Even though heart healthy cooking is not her speciality on her show this morning she offered a great tip for a salt substitute.
Lime zest, the food taste as though you have added salt without the addition of sodium and the added bonus of vitamin C.
Rachael had First Lady Laura Bush as a guest this morning; in honor of the First Lady she prepared a great turkey burger. Go to www.rachaelray.com click on Rach cooks and you will find the recipe there.
Pain Relievers May Lead To Pain
From University Of California, Berkeley
Quote from the June 2007 issue of the Wellness Letter:
“Blood Pressure: All OTC pain relievers, including acetaminophen, can raise blood pressure, and this may be at least partly responsible for the increased risk of heart attack and stroke. A new study of 16,000 male health professionals (age 56 to 76) without hypertension found that those who took pain relievers most days were about one-third more likely to develop hypertension over a four-year period. In 2002 a large study found that daily use could increase the risk even more in women.”
McDonalds and Your Children
Before you take your child to McDonalds for their next “Happy Meal” go to www.mercola.com and read “McDonald’s Tries to Convince Moms That Its Food is Nutritious” under Current Health Newsletters. You will find this section near the bottom of the page.
While there read Dr. Mercola’s many other eye opening articles.
Be Careful Where You Dip
You are at a barbecue or party munching on celery sticks in order to avoid the temptation of the chips setting next to the vegetable tray. There is just no way to get around the fact that a life full of celery sticks is boring so to add a little flavor you dip your celery into the bowl of vegetable dip. After all, it is a vegetable dip, how bad can it be? Unfortunately not all dips are created equal.
A good rule of thumb is a serving of dip is 2 tablspoons possibly adding 170 calories and 18 grams of fat. For that amount of calories and fat you could have eaten 2ozs. cocktail sausages; not that I am suggesting you eat cocktail sausages rather than celery.
What I strongly recommend is to check how many calories and fat grams there are in a serving. Look for dips with ingredients like fat-free sour cream, yogurt, or salsa, even better create your own dips.
Omega-6 Fatty Acids and Depression
From Food & Fitness Advisor newsletter published by Weill Cornell Medical College.
“A study published in the April Psychosomatic Medicine found that higher blood levels of omega-6fatty acids, found in refined vegetable oils used in margarine, commercially produced baked goods and snack foods, were associated with more symptoms of depression and higher levels of inflammation-causing compounds that have been tied to heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and arthritis. The ratio of omega-6 to healthier omega-3 fatty acidswas key: Six of the 43 study participants had been diagnosed with major depression, and their omega-6 to omega-3 ratio was 18 to one. The study authors suggest increasing dietary intake of omega-3 fats from salmon, mackerel, walnuts and flaxseed oil to acheive a healthier balance between the omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids and replacing processed foods containing omega-6 with more fruits and vegetables.”
To subscribe to this great publication go to www.foodandfitnessadvisor.com
Cherries and Your Burger
Do you love a grilled burger on Independence Day but worry about the risk of cancer; Real age.com has a great tip to make your burger juicer, lower in fat, and fewer carinogens during the high-heat of grilling.
Click on www.realage.com, on the life side of the home page you will see the article “Healthy-Up Your Burger”. A must read before you grill that burger on The Fourth Of July.
Hi there. I'm Patricia Setzer, and I show you how to prepare your favorite foods in a way that can help boost your energy, maintain a healthy weight and improve your overall health ...