Juice benefits for Alzheimer’s

A recently concluded study which investigated Alzheimer’s disease in older Japanese populations living in Japan, Hawaii and Seattle, has found that people who drank fruit and vegetable juices more than three times a week had a 76 percent lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease than those who drank juice less than once per week.

This ten-year study was based on the fact that there is a very low incidence rate of Alzheimer’s disease in the Japanese population in their native country, but when Japanese people in the USA were studied they were found to have almost the same incidence rates as Americans have. Obviously this indicates that environmental factors like diet and lifestyle are important contributors to disease risk, but that the benefit of drinking juice was most apparent in those people who carry the genetic marker linked to late-onset Alzheimer’s disease — the most common form of the disease, which typically occurs after the age of 65.

Further research is being done on exactly what types of juice that would bring most benefit but from a natural healing viewpoint the most likely would seem to be pomegranate, cherry, red grape juice, red wine and fresh juiced vegetables. The researchers say that their findings are not yet conclusive so cannot be guaranteed to prevent Alzheimer’s but common sense would indicate that freshly juiced fruit and vegetables have all their essential minerals, vitamins and enzymes and would certainly improve overall health generally if not Alzheimer’s specifically.

Restless legs – Peace at last?

The headline may be mildly amusing, but Restl(RLS) certainly is no joke for sufferers. The name is highly apt because this is a condition in which you have very unpleasant sensations of tingling or itching in the calves, thighs, feet or arms and feel extremely uncomfortable while you’re sitting or lying down. It seems to help if you get up and move around to alleviate it – in other words it makes you restless.

It affects both sexes, can begin at any age and may get worse as you get older. Because it is often worse at night, restless leg syndrome can disrupt sleep so you start taking siestas and are less alert during the day, It certainly makes any form of confined travel, such as in an aeroplane, extremely difficult. Now there is news from the USA of a skin patch, which although intended for use on those with Parkinson’s disease, has in trials proved helpful for Restless Legs Syndrome. The rotigotine patch, a dopamine agonist, improved the trial subject’s condition by about 36%. The researchers are optimistic that this once-a-day application will be easier for patients than the current 2-3 times a day for oral medicine. The patch is FDA approved for Parkinson’s but not yet for Restless Leg Syndrome, but it may be worth talking to your doctor about to see if it is available here yet.

The key factors in keeping your kidneys healthy

As we get older, it is vital to keep your kidneys functioning at their optimum best and there are two very simple ways to do that which I will explain shortly.

First do you recognise the amazing job your kidneys do for you? Each one is not much bigger than a pack of playing cards and weighs only 4-5 ounces and yet they handle nearly 25 percent of the total amount of blood that your heart pumps while you’re resting and they consume the same amount of your body’s supply of oxygen. They need all that blood and oxygen because they have five critical functions to perform for you:

1. Keeping your blood clean by filtering it of waste products and eliminating these waste products from your body as urine.

2. Helping maintain your body’s fluid composition.

3. Stimulating the production of red blood cells in your bone marrow by secreting a hormone called erythropoietin.

4. Helping maintain your blood pressure by producing an enzyme called rennin

5. Convert vitamin D to its most active form for use by the body.

One of the most vital functions your kidneys carry out for you is in the process of creating urine through an incredibly complex filtering system and tip number one is to make it easier for it to do that by drinking plain water when you are thirsty. Small amounts drunk regularly is better than a large amount in a short period of time.

Those two tips for keeping our kidneys health as we age?

The first is to not eat too much protein as it leads to greater workload on your kidneys, which must filter a by-product of protein metabolism called blood urea nitrogen (BUN) out of your blood. How much is too much? Well, if you have healthy kidneys, you can safely eat up to half of your body weight (in pounds) in grams per day. For example, if you weigh 150 pounds and are in good health, you can safely eat up to 75 grams of protein from minimally processed foods per day. If you have problems with your kidneys, you should certainly decrease this amount to reduce the strain on your system. If you are not sure, then ask your doctor to monitor you as there are tests you can take to determine how well your kidneys are processing protein.

The second is not to take Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs like ibuprofen and aspirin on a regular or frequent basis as they are known to cause kidney damage and disease. Such over-the-counter pain medications probably don’t pose significant danger if your kidneys are relatively healthy and you use them for emergencies only, so we are back to my cold again – thank goodness I don’t get more than 2 or 3 a year!

In the USA, one in nine adults has kidney disease and the best advice as ever is to be preventive and proactive. The same old boring, essential, stuff about a healthy non-processed diet, plenty of rest, exercise and freedom from stress. Take your body on holiday every day and get out into the fresh air – your body, including your kidneys, will thank you for it.

Painful Hands?

If your hands are painful, do you know for sure whether what causes it? You could have arthritis or might it actually be Carpal tunnel syndrome, one of the most common forms of Repetitive Strain Injury? About three in 100 of people in the UK suffer from carpal tunnel syndrome and it is characterised by pain, tingling or numbness in the hand.

About half of all carpal tunnel cases are work-related, and it a ccounts for the highest number of days missed at work compared to all other work-related injuries or illnesses. The condition develops when the median nerve in the wrist becomes compressed as it passes through the carpal tunnel, the narrow passageway of bones and ligaments on the underside of the wrist. The median nerve controls sensations to the palm side of the thumb and fingers (not the little finger), as well as impulses to some small muscles in the hand that allow the fingers and thumb to move. Symptoms include:

· difficulty holding objects
· difficulty performing repetitive movements without pain
· numbness, burning pain, tingling in hand or wrist that increases at night

Some professions are more vulnerable to this condition than others. Particularly at risk are musicians, particularly pianists and violinists, hairdressers, reflexologists and masseuse, manual labourers, computer operators, and even surgeons. If you already have arthritis or any rheumatic conditions then this again can increase the risk of developing carpal tunnel syndrome as can conditions such as obesity, pregnancy, hypothyroidism, and diabetes.

What can you do about it?

Well painkillers, cortisone injections, splints and surgery (usually the final option) are the conventional route to go. However, my personal experience of a small sample of people I know that have had it done is that it needs to be carefully considered before you go under the knife. It can be painful and success is certainly not guaranteed, even orthopaedic surgeons admit that although surgery can cure night symptoms and transient tingling, if the nerve has been damaged as a result of carpal tunnel syndrome it probably won’t fully recover and complications from surgery can include complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS),which will permanently affect hand function.

On the alternative front, there are several options available:

1 Acupuncture can relieve the pain as it releases natural pain-relieving chemicals into the body, promotes circulation and balances the nervous system. If you can’t abide needles, then Acupressure will do the same job but usually takes a little longer to be effective in my experience.

2 Vitamin B6 deficiency has been associated with carpal tunnel syndrome in several research studies. If your diet is low in food sources such as sweet potatoes, avocados, brown rice, sunflower seeds, chick peas, salmon, pork, chicken, turkey, potatoes, bananas, and mangoes then supplementing with 50 mg 2 to 3 times a day is the suggested dose. At particular risk of B6 deficiency, in addition to poor diet, are those using oral contraceptives or HRT. The maximum intake of B6 from all sources should be less than 200 mg a day, unless otherwise recommended by your doctor or nutritionist.

3 Vitamin B12 – a study looked at the effectiveness of vitamin B12 for people with carpal tunnel syndrome due to overuse of the nonparalyzed arm after a stroke. For two years, 67 people in the study received 1500 mcg of vitamin B12 a day, and the remaining 68 did not. After two years, there was significant improvement in the group taking vitamin B12 compared to the untreated group. B12 is normally found in organ meats, and vegetarians may find they need supplemental amounts via injection which is often available on the NHS.

4 Enzyme supplements such as bromelain, found naturally in the juice and stems of pineapples, which are believed to help with the digestion of protein and may help to reduce tissue swelling associated with carpal tunnel syndrome. It can take several weeks to notice results.

5 One of my favourite homoeopathic remedies is Arnica, and in a double blind random study by the Department of Plastic Surgery of Queen Victoria Hospital in West Sussex, they found that arnica can speed up the recovery of hand surgery compared to a placebo. They used a combination of tablets and arnica ointment and saw a significant reduction in pain after two weeks.

Avoiding lung cancer – Go with green

It is one of the most common and deadly chronic diseases that afflicts both men and women, and you don’t have to be – or have been – a smoker to contract it. Women in particular are more susceptible to lung cancer than men. In fact, about 80 percent of non-smokers who develop lung cancer are women and it is responsible for more deaths than ovarian, breast, and uterine cancers combined.

One simple, natural, everyday habit that can help you avoid it is to think green. We have seen how you need your greens for magnesium, but there is one green vegetable that stands leaf and root above the others for its potent combination of antioxidants and flavonoids.

Leafy greens such as spinach, cabbage, and kale, are all excellent but the king of them all turns out to be not some exotic hard-to-get item but your ordinary lettuce. At least it is according to a study done by researchers at Spain’s Galician Public Foundation for Health Emergencies who examined the correlation between fruit and vegetable intake and lung cancer risk. Of the 600 subjects, nearly half were lung cancer patients, and the rest were cancer-free and all from the same area in Northern Spain. At the conclusion of the trial an analysis of each subject’s dietary intake revealed no link between fruit intake and a reduced risk of lung cancer BUT those who ate at least one serving per day of leafy green vegetables – particularly lettuce – had half the risk of lung cancer compared to subjects who only ate these types of vegetables a few times each week. Other ‘highly commended’ foods for avoiding lung cancer were also noted to be tomatoes, green beans, potatoes, and turnip tops. These vegetables have this protective effect because they are abundant in vitamin A, so all round it looks like a daily salad has even more going for it – just keep the dressing a simple one of olive oil and lemon juice and you max the health benefits even more.

If you are concerned you might be vulnerable to lung cancer, these are the primary warning signs:

- A cough that changes character (such as severity or frequency)
- Coughing that wakes you up at night
- Shortness of breath
- Blood in sputum

Lower your risk of gallstones

There is a simple way to do it – just make sure your diet contains plenty of the mineral magnesium. According to a new study, a diet rich in magnesium can reduce the risk of developing this very painful condition.

Researchers studied data of more than 42,000 men from ages 40 to 75 and found that those with the highest magnesium intake decreased their risk of gallstones by as much as 33 percent. Magnesium helps to keep down triglyceride levels and raise the levels of HDL (the ‘good’ cholesterol)in the blood. Cholesterol is a major component in the formation of gallstones, in fact some gallstones are made up entirely of cholesterol,so it makes sense that higher magnesium levels will help to stop the gallstones from forming in the first place.

Magnesium is the fourth most abundant vitamin in the body, with 40 percent of it being found in our bones. It has plenty of other health benefits too and is needed for more than 300 biochemical reactions in the body. It helps maintain normal muscle and nerve function, keeps your heart rhythm steady, supports a healthy immune system, and keeps bones strong. Magnesium also helps regulate blood sugar levels, promotes normal blood pressure, and is known to be involved in energy metabolism and protein synthesis. Research is also now focusing its role in preventing and managing disorders such as hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes.

What foods provide magnesium? Green vegetables such as spinach and broccoli are good sources of magnesium because the centre of the chlorophyll molecule (which gives green vegetables their colour) contains magnesium. Beans and peas, nuts and pumpkin seeds, and whole, unrefined grains are also good sources as is halibut and, strangely enough, peppermint. In spite of its benefits, magnesium consumption has declined over the years, partly as a result of our food becoming subject to so many more processes that deplete the magnesium, along with many other vitamins and minerals. As ever, a varied, wholegrain and natural food diet is your best bet.

How to lower stroke risk

Do you have plenty of asparagus, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, spinach, chick peas, oranges, wheat germ and kidney beans in your diet? If so, then you are naturally getting high levels of folate, which is a water soluble member of the B vitamin family, B9 to be exact. Folate is vital in protecting you against the risk of a cerebral infarction, the most common kind of stroke. In fact it accounts for 80% of all strokes, and so a recent study wanted to look at whether supplementing with vitamins, or increased intake of foods high in , could make a difference.

A dual study in Sweden and Finland have been looking at the relationship between folate, vitamin B6, vitamin B12 and the amino acid methionine – all of which are involved with homocysteine production. Why should they be interested in that? Because high levels of blood homocysteine are linked to increased stroke risk, and much interest is being shown in how to use supplements, and diet, in a more preventive way in healthcare.

The findings of the study are encouraging if you are at risk of a stroke: those with the highest intake of folate had a 20% lower risk of stroke than those with the lowest levels.

These findings are based on the subjects’ normal, everyday, diet. They were not given any supplements or asked to eat any differently with special foods. So if you have any incidence of strokes in your family, it makes sense to include as many of these foods as possible in your diet. I certainly have a family history and much as I dislike Brussels sprouts, I must try to love them – although I think it will be my asparagus intake that goes up first!

What do you have in common with a racehorse?

Naturally, I assume you are a high stepper with a glossy coat and a fine turn of speed, but if your point of similarity is excessive wear and tear on the joints then there is good news for both of you.

Cortaflex is a supplement that was first developed in the USA in 1997 for racehorses, whose joints are continually under huge strain and it has become a staple product for vets. Research trials have vindicated its effectiveness and it is now used for many types of animals including working dogs, elderly dogs and cats with less than ideal mobility and for young animals in those breeds that have associated weaknesses in their joints. In fact it even works on elephants – just ask the vets at Dudley Zoo and the London Zoo! hey of course buy it in 5 gallon drums, but it is available in rather more modest quantities as a liquid, or tablet supplement.

How can it help you? For the same reasons as the animals: the developer of the supplement, Bruce Snipes, suffered from crippling arthritis, and when he could no longer tolerate anti- inflammatory drugs he developed this natural product instead. He now plays golf again, and among regular users of the product are premier league football clubs, jockeys like Richard Quinn swear by it and it has the semi-royal seal of approval from Zara Phillips for herself and her horses who claims that ‘it’s the best joint supplement on the market’. It is now recommended by many osteopaths, physiotherapists and doctors.

If you have been taking glucosamine and chondroitin for joint problems then this could be the next step up. Cortaflex has a unique formulation of the smaller key active isolates of both these substances as they are absorbed more effectively through cell walls and into the joints. Research indicates that when taken orally, only 2.5% of normal glucosamine supplements are actually absorbed through the digestive tract, making them relatively low penetration. Cortaflex comes in two strengths, and the higher strength version also has aleuronic acid which boosts the fluid retention around the joints which cushion them from impact and makes them better able to act as ‘shock absorbers’.

I met the UK importer at a recent health fair and was impressed by the many endorsements they have from grateful customers (animal and human both) – you would be amazed how well an elderly Labrador can write!I tried it myself for a week, which is the time they suggest you ought to be able to see a difference, and I certainly found my knees were less creaky though still not able to emulate Red Rum. If you would like to know more please visit the website at www.cortaflex.co.uk

Cholesterol – Keeping the balance naturally

If you watch television, or read magazines, you cannot miss the constant bombardment on the ‘evils’ of high cholesterol. Certainly, out of control levels of high cholesterol are to be avoided, but so too is low cholesterol. It is not the cholesterol itself that is ‘evil’; we actually require normal levels for the production of the hormones testosterone and oestrogen, and it is found in our cell membranes as part of the structure to keep them waterproof.

Without cholesterol, we could not have a different biochemistry on the inside and the outside of the cell. When cholesterol levels are not adequate, the cell membrane becomes leaky or porous, a situation the body interprets as an emergency, and then releases a flood of corticoid hormones to repair the damage.

Cholesterol is therefore essential as it is the body’s chief repair substance: scar tissue contains high levels of cholesterol, including scar tissue in the arteries. So you can see that so cutting out all cholesterol is actually a bad idea. Studies have shown that there is an increased risk of strokes and a compromised immune system when cholesterol drops too low, but as always the answer lies in balance.

If you do have high cholesterol then it can lead to hardening of the arteries and heart disease, but statin drugs, given for the inhibition of cholesterol, – as I have reported before – have their problems too. They have been associated with side effects such as muscle pain and weakness, memory loss, nerve problems and interference with production of Co-Q10.

Natural Solutions?

So, if you don’t want to take drugs to lower your cholesterol, what can you do? Back to the advertisers, who imply that by switching to their margarine, or yoghurt product, you can lower your levels naturally. Well, that depends on what you mean by ‘naturally’. If you read the labels on those products, they contain many chemical compounds, and the ‘healthy’ yoghurt drinks contain not only sugar but sweeteners as well.

So what else is left? Enter the humble grapefruit, wholly natural and a lot cheaper than buying the aforementioned products.

An international team of researchers from Israel, Singapore and Poland put grapefruit to an extremely rigorous cholesterol test. Researchers at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, recruited nearly 60 subjects who had several things in common: they all had undergone recent coronary bypass surgery, had high cholesterol levels, and had used a cholesterol-lowering statin drug with no success. At the outset of the study, none of the subjects had taken any statins for at least 30 days and they were divided into three groups. Over the 30-day study, everyone followed the same low-fat diet, but one group ate one yellow grapefruit a day, while another group ate one red grapefruit daily. They all ate their normal, everyday diet and the third group got no grapefruit at all.

At the end of the study, the two groups who had eaten the daily grapefruit had lower levels of both total cholesterol and LDL – and it was even more marked in the group who ate red grapefruit. Another benefit seemed to be that triglyceride levels also dropped in the red grapefruit group, but not in the other groups. Triglycerides are blood fats that can leave deposits in coronary arteries, and so increase the risk of heart disease.

Now my problem is that my local supermarket has red, yellow and pink grapefruit so I might have to ask them for advice on whether ‘pink’ has a diluted effect from the ‘red’ benefits!

More Good Grapefruit News

Oh, and if you are wanting to lose some weight, there was a study at the Scripps Clinic in San Diego four years ago, in which a group of 100 obese subjects were told to stay on their normal diets, and in addition were given either grapefruit or grapefruit juice to have once a day. On average they lost 3lb, and one person lost 10lbs, as opposed to the non-grapefruit trial group who lost less than a 1lb.

Diabetics may also be interested to learn that the subjects in that same study also showed better management of insulin levels. Those in the two grapefruit groups had lower levels of insulin and glucose than they did at the outset, while levels in the non-grapefruit group were unchanged. The Scripps researchers believe that enzymes in grapefruit help control insulin spikes that occur after a meal, which frees the digestive system to process food more efficiently. This means that less nutrients are stored as fat.

Caution

Many foods can interact with the effectiveness or efficiency of drugs, and grapefruit are no exception. Chemicals in grapefruit interfere with the enzymes that break down certain drugs in your digestive system and this can result in excessively high levels of these drugs in your blood, and an increased risk of side effects. The following list is a generic overview of the classes of drugs that may be affected. Bear in mind that it may not be all drugs within a particular group, so consult with your doctor if you are taking any of the following types of medication:

Anti-seizure medication – anti-arrhythmia drugs – antidepressants – erectile dysfunction – Calcium channel blockers -HIV medications – HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors used to treat high cholesterol – Immunosuppressant drugs – Methadone Pain relief – Tranquillisers.

Can’t sleep? Women at risk

Yesterday it was reported in Brain, Behavior, and Immunity that women with sleep problems have higher levels of biomarkers for cardiovascular disease and diabetes than do men who can’t sleep. Poor sleep patterns in this instance is defined as problems falling asleep, taking 30 minutes or more to fall asleep, or awakening frequently. Apparently, researchers at Duke University found that such women also have greater psychological distress than men who sleep poorly. The difference in gender risk is marked, as when comparing men and women with the same poor sleep patterns, they found that the women had high levels of C-reactive protein, interleukin-6, and insulin, leading to higher risks of cardiovascular disease and hypertension.

The women who had the biggest risk were those who took over half an hour to fall asleep, so if this is you it could be time to look at alternative methods to aid sleep such as camomile tea, valerian or a warm, not hot, bath with lavender oil before going to bed. If those simple methods don’t help, then you might also consider looking at these factors:

Are you a late night snacker?
Avoid anything containing grains and sugars (biscuits, cakes, bread, crackers) before bedtime as they will raise your blood sugar and inhibit sleep. Later, when your blood sugar drops back to a lower level then you might wake up and not be able to get back to sleep.

Is your bedroom dark enough?
If there is even the tiniest bit of light in the room it can disrupt your circadian rhythm and your pineal gland’s production of melatonin and seratonin. If you get up in the night to go to the bathroom then try and keep any light to a minimum because as soon as you turn on a light your body responds and immediately ceases all production of the important sleep aid melatonin and doesn’t recommence that night at all.

Late night tv watcher?
Watching tv right before bed is too stimulating to the brain and it will take longer to fall asleep. If you must watch, stay in the living room and don’t have set in your bedroom. Watching tv in bed is also disruptive of pineal gland function for the same reason as light in the bathroom/bedroom.

Cold feet?
Because our feet have the poorest circulation, they often feel cold before the rest of the body. A study has shown that wearing socks to bed reduces the possibility of you waking through feeling cold.

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