7 Best and Worst Foods For Healthy and Longevity

Brian Bartholomew - Saturday, March 10, 2012

Seven Best and Seven Worst Foods for Health and Longevity

Because food has the power to heal, my patients often ask me for my top list of healthy food – the anti-oxidant foods, heart healthy foods, and nutritious foods that are central to the Eat To Live program. These high nutrient foods, consumed regularly, will contribute to your health and longevity. What you eat -- now and when you were growing up -- dramatically affects the state of your health. The effect is cumulative, influencing everything from the amount of energy you have (or lack), to your emotional state, medical condition, and ultimately longevity

Top Seven Foods for Good Health and Longevity

Black raspberries
Strawberries
Blueberries
Flax Seeds
Green Leafy Vegetables
Tomatoes
Broccoli sprouts

The healthy and nutritious foods are high antioxidant foods, primarily fruits and vegetables. I selected these healthy foods because they contain the most powerful phytochemicals and anthocyanins which illustrate strong inhibition of chemocarcinogens.

Other foods with high antioxidant and high anti-cancer potential include walnuts, sunflower seeds, pomegranates, beets, cabbage, peppers, and parsley. Make your diet strongly cancer-protective and longevity-favorable by including these highly beneficial, nutritious foods.

A good way to think about nutritious food: Produce is the most important health care your money can buy.

Food also has the potential to harm, and these are effective foods for those attempting to die younger. One of my daughters calls this list the Seven Foods of Death.

Worst Seven Foods for Health and Longevity

Butter
Cheese
Potato Chips and French Fries
Doughnuts
Salt
Sausage, hot dogs
Pickled, smoked or barbequed meat

Foods high in saturated fat and trans fat are consistently associated with high cancer rates. Cheese and butter typically contain over ten times as much saturated fat as fish and white meat chicken and turkey.

Salt has been consistently linked to stomach cancer and stroke, even in populations that eat diets low in saturated fat.

Add the carcinogenic potential from heated and overcooked oils (usually trans containing) delivered in doughnuts and fries with the powerful cancer inducing properties of carbohydrates cooked at high heat (acrylamide formation) and you have a great cancer potion.

Needless to say, I advise people to avoid the foods on my “worst list” entirely.

The best foods to eat are the healthy, nutritious fresh fruits and vegetables. By making these antioxidant foods the major portion of your diet, you can protect yourself against cancer and other serious diseases. As you extend your youthful vigor into later years, you have contributed to your longevity by Eating to Live with a healthy, nutritious diet.

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New Study Low Cholesterol in Elderly Doubles Risk of Early Death

Brian Bartholomew - Thursday, December 22, 2011

New Study Finds that Low Cholesterol in Elderly Doubles Risk of Early Death

Study finds that elderly with cholesterol less that 189 had a double risk of dying.

Physicians were informed to consider very low levels of cholesterol as potential warning signs of a serious disease or as signals of rapidly declining health.

The study included 4520 men and women between the ages of 65-84.

The study concluded that low total cholesterol was associated with a higher risk of death.

Low cholesterol level is a robust predictor of mortality in the nondemented elderly and may be a surrogate of frailty or subclinical disease according to the research team.

References:

Brescianini S, Maggi S, Farchi G, Mariotti S, Di Carlo A, Baldereschi M, Inzitari D; ILSA Group. Low total cholesterol and increased risk of dying: are low levels clinical warning signs in the elderly? Results from the Italian Longitudinal Study on Aging. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2003 Jul;51(7):991-6.

Schupf N, Costa R, Luchsinger J, Tang MX, Lee JH, Mayeux R. Relationship between plasma lipids and all-cause mortality in nondemented elderly. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2005 Feb;53(2):219-26.

Before prescribing treatment, FMU recommends that you follow the standard of care of your profession, as well as confirm the information contained herein with other sources.

Functional medicine embraces the totality of the regulatory functions of the body. It encompasses all of the biophysical, biochemical, enzymatic, endocrine, immunological, and bioenergetic regulatory capacities.

Dr. Ron Grisanti, D.C., D.A.C.B.O., M.S., D.A.C.B.N.

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One Hormone That Predicts Aging and Weight Issues

Brian Bartholomew - Saturday, December 17, 2011

This Blood Test FAR More Important than Cholesterol in Determining How Old You Age

Story at-a-glance

New research found that higher glucose levels are associated with a higher perceived age; in other words, the higher your glucose levels, the older you’ll tend to look
The fasting insulin test can tell you whether high blood glucose levels have left your body insulin resistant and at risk of accelerated aging, as well as numerous other chronic diseases
Your body uses glucose for energy, but foods that keep your blood sugar levels elevated beyond your body’s capacity to use it, and also lead to insulin resistance, are essentially "toxic” – especially when consumed in excess or over a long period of time
Avoiding sugar/fructose and grains, while exercising regularly, will keep both your blood glucose and insulin levels low, which is the closest formula for a “fountain of youth” that’s currently known

By Dr. Mercola

Many people over the age of, say, 50 would like to turn back the hands of time and not only feel younger but look younger as well.

But very few people appreciate the fact that making dietary changes -- specifically in relation to sugar and grain consumption – is likely the closest formula for a "fountain of youth" that's currently known.

The journal Age recently featured an intriguing study on this very topic; it found that higher glucose levels are associated with a higher perceived age, which was assessed using facial photographs.

In other words, the higher your glucose levels, the older you'll tend to look, which makes perfect sense since the manner in which your body handles glucose is intimately connected to skin aging.

While many people are diligent (if not entirely neurotic) about having their cholesterol levels tested, many overlook the importance of fasting insulin levels.

This commonly overlooked and much more important measurement can clue you in to whether you're consuming a harmful amount of glucose, whether your body is capable of handling it, and by implication, the degree to which accelerating aging may be going on in your body.

Why it's Important to Know Your Insulin Level

Insulin is absolutely essential to staying alive, but the sad fact is that most of you reading this right now have unsafe levels of it accumulating in your bloodstream, and it is pushing you toward accelerated aging and the development of chronic degenerative illnesses, which sadly have become a right of passage in most Westernized societies.

Most adults have about one gallon of blood in their bodies and are quite surprised to learn that in that gallon, there is only one teaspoon of sugar! In other words, your body is designed to have just one teaspoon of sugar in your blood at all times -- if that. If your blood sugar level were to rise to one tablespoon of sugar you would run the risk of going into a hyperglycemic coma and even dying.

Your body works very hard to prevent this from happening by producing insulin to keep your blood sugar at the appropriate level. Any meal or snack high in grain and sugar carbohydrates typically generates a rapid rise in blood glucose. To compensate for this your pancreas secretes insulin into your bloodstream, which lowers your blood sugar to keep you from dying. Insulin, however, is also very efficient at lowering blood sugar by turning it into fat – so the more you secrete, the fatter you become.

Unfortunately, If you consume a diet consistently high in sugar and grains, your blood glucose levels will be correspondingly high and over time your body becomes "desensitized" to insulin and requires more and more of it to get the job done. Eventually, you become insulin resistant, and then full-blown diabetic.

If you have high cholesterol, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, or are overweight, it is quite likely that you are eating too many grains and sugars, as this is the most common cause of abnormal insulin levels. Fructose has been shown to be especially harmful, due to the way it disrupts the lock-and-key fit between insulin and its cellular receptor sites.Dozens of animal and human studies prove that fructose is a powerful endocrine disruptor, capable of rapidly inducing insulin resistance when consumed in, what by today's standards, is a relatively small amount (15 grams or more a day).

To find out your insulin levels, ask your physician for a fasting blood insulin test. It's one of the least expensive tests, yet it is one of the most empowering ones available to help you take back control of your health. A normal fasting blood insulin level is below 5, but ideally you'll want to be below 3.

You can also use a simple glucose test to check your fasting glucose, however it's possible to have low fasting glucose yet have significantly elevated insulin levels.

If this is the case, you're essentially pre-diabetic and need to take steps to improve your insulin sensitivity, and the most potent way is to reduce or eliminate sugar, particularly fructose, from your diet. Generally speaking, however, a fasting glucose under 100 mg/dl suggests that you're not insulin resistant, while a level between 100-125 suggests you're either mildly insulin resistant or have impaired glucose tolerance (sometimes referred to as pre-diabetes).

Can Eliminating Sugar from Your Diet Lengthen Your Lifespan?

Most of you probably know that your body does need, and uses, glucose for energy. Without it you wouldn't survive. But while glucose is certainly not toxic in and of itself, foods that raise and keep raised your blood sugar levels essentially are "toxic" in that they set in motion a cascade of detrimental health effects, especially when consumed in excess or over a long period of time.

Soda, candy, pasta, bread, pastries and fruit juice are examples of foods that quickly break down into glucose once consumed, generating a spike in your blood glucose levels and a corresponding release of insulin. It is becoming very clear that your longevity is intimately tied to this cycle, and by modifying your diet to restrict sugars and grains, you can slow down the rate at which your biological clock is ticking – and perhaps even turn back the dials a bit.

For instance, a study, published last year examined the effects of food on typical biological signs of advancing age. Typical signs of aging include elevated levels of glucose, insulin and triglycerides.

In this study, the participants were given a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet with an adequate amount of protein. This diet improved allof the measured factors related to the aging process, decreasing:

Insulin by 48 percent

Fasting glucose by 40 percent

Triglyceride by nearly 8 percent

Serum leptin by 8 percent on average

It's highly unfortunate that so few physicians have embraced this knowledge, because a firm appreciation of insulin's role in human health and disease is one of THE most important factors that can make or break your health! And again, the test to determine your levels is relatively inexpensive and widely available, while the steps for optimizing them, which I'll detail below, are also very straightforward.

Eating Carbs Turns Off Longevity Genes

Research by Professor Cynthia Kenyon found that carbohydrates directly affect two key genes in your body that govern longevity and youthfulness. I've previously written about how your diet can over-ride genetic predispositions to disease, and this research further strengthens those claims, as the two key genes in question can be turned on or off as a consequence of eating carbohydrates.

Professor Kenyon worked with Caenorhabditis elegans roundworms, but her findings have been successfully repeated in other labs around the world using other animals, including rats, mice, and to some extent, monkeys. Humans also have these genes, indicating these results should apply to us as well.

One of the most interesting details of her findings is that not only did the roundworms live up to SIX TIMES longer than normal, but they kept their health and youthful vigor until the end. Previous research has shown that you can extend your lifespan by reducing your caloric intake, and I've written about this technique in the past. The problem is that most people do not understand how to properly cut calories, because in order to remain healthy, you have to cut out calories from a specific source -- namely, sugar and grain carbohydrates!

Most of us eat far too many potatoes, rice, bread, and pasta. Of course we want to avoid all sugar and processed foods, but there is emerging evidence that most grains and legumes can contribute to health problems because:

They will quickly be converted into glucose, which will raise your blood glucose

As your blood glucose rises, your insulin- and leptin levels rise in response. While this mechanism is designed to optimize short-term survival, it's not healthy for a long, post-reproductive lifespan. The immediate effects of spiking your insulin levels are now well known and include vasoconstriction, inhibited fat burning, and reduced production of glycerol substrates to make glucose, just to name a few

Repeated elevations of insulin and leptin eventually lead to insulin- and leptin resistance, which are hallmarks of poor health and accelerated aging

However, Dr. Paul Jaminet provides a powerful argument that many, if not most people may benefit from a certain threshold of glucose carbohydrates that are necessary for optimal health.

What's the Best Diet for Looking (and Feeling) Younger?

To put it simply, when you "starve" your body of sugars and starchy carbs, your body starts to acclimatize itself to burn fatty acids and ketone bodies. Ketones are what your body produces when it converts fat (as opposed to glucose) into energy—a beneficial process that appears to promote longevity.

On the other hand, consuming sugars and grains will raise your blood sugar, and the higher the blood sugar rise, the more damage is done. In this new study, researchers found that perceived age increased nearly half a year per 1 mmol/L increase in glucose level in non-diabetic people.

So, is there such a thing as a "fountain of youth"? I believe there is, in the symbolic sense, and its three cornerstones are:

Avoid sugar/fructose and replace them with healthy fats

Avoid grains

Exercise regularly and effectively

These three cornerstones have one important factor in common, and that is helping you improve your insulin sensitivity -- the key to longevity and a youthful appearance.

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Never Too Old to Exercise!

Brian Bartholomew - Tuesday, October 11, 2011

The Best Anti-Aging Therapy

Posted by: Dr. Mercola | September 30 2011 | 160,906 views

By Dr. Mercola

Have you ever thought you'd like to take up ballroom dancing, yoga, or cycling, but then thought twice because you're no longer in your 20s or 30s? It's time to put such notions right out of your head, as when it comes to exercise age is just a number -- and no "number" is too high to start getting active.

Your mind may actually be your biggest hurdle to staying fit and athletic well into your 80s and 90s, especially if you buy into the myth that you've got to spend your afternoons sitting in a rocking chair once you reach 75.

Nothing, and I mean nothing, could be further from the truth!

From Triathlons to Rodeos, Seniors Do it All

If you're looking for a bit of "exercise" inspiration, look no further than this uplifting article from Happy News. It explains that more and more people are achieving stunning physical accomplishments in their "golden" years. Most of you are probably familiar with Jack LaLanne, who was the picture of fitness well into his 90s, but he is but one example. Others include:

Tao Porchon-Lynch, who is winning ballroom dance competitions and teaches at least 12 yoga classes a week at age 93.
Lew Hollander, who became the second 80-year-old to complete the Ford Ironman World Championship, which consists of a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mille bike ride and a 26.2-mile marathon
Allan Johnson, who at age 80 still competes in rodeo competitions

Further, there are only four living people (and 16 in all history) who have earned a tenth-degree black belt, which is the highest rank in the martial art Judo. The fourth is not only the first woman to earn the title … she also did it at the age of 98. So if you're having any thoughts that you're "too old" to exercise, keep Sensei Keiko Fukuda (and the others listed above) in mind.

At age 98, she became the first woman to earn Judo's highest-degree black belt, and she still teaches the martial art three times a week!

Not everyone has to become a world-class athlete to stay in shape, of course. Many communities have senior baseball leagues, swim teams, and other group sports that you can take part in, or you can simply exercise regularly with a personal trainer or on your own. The key to keep in mind is that the more active you are, the healthier, more nimble and happier you'll be -- AND …

You are Never Too Old to Start Exercising

You are never too old to start exercising and my mother is an excellent example.

Exercise can be a part of your life no matter what your age, and, in fact, becomes only increasingly important as you get older. Two years ago, my mother fell down a flight of stairs and broke her shoulder and wrist. It took quite awhile for her to recover, and when she did she started an exercise program to regain strength, balance, and flexibility.

My mom didn't start working out until she was 74 and now, at the age of 77, she has gained significant improvements in strength, range of motion, balance, bone density and mental clarity. After a bit of apprehension at first, she now, as you can see on the video, loves her workouts and, I'm hoping, will inspire you to get active as well, no matter what your age.

Yes, You Can Exercise at ANY Age

There's an overwhelming amount of evidence confirming that physical exercise is a key player in disease reduction, optimal mental, emotional and physical health, and longevity. After reviewing 40 papers published between 2006 and 2010, researchers found that exercise reduces the risk of about two dozen health conditions, ranging from cancer and heart disease to type 2 diabetes, stroke, dementia and depression. Exercise also slows down the rate of aging itself, providing perhaps the closest example of a real life fountain of youth as we will ever find.

Ideally, you will have made exercise a regular part of your life long before you reach your "golden" years … but if you haven't, there's no better time to start than the present. Research has shown that regular exercise, even initiated late in life, offers profound health benefits. For instance:

Even a small amount of exercise may protect the elderly from long-term memory loss and even help reverse some of the effects of aging.
Women between the ages of 75 and 85, all of whom had reduced bone mass or full-blown osteoporosis, were able tolower their fall risk with strength training and agility activities.
Moderate exercise among those aged 55-75 may cut the risk of developing metabolic syndrome, which increases heart disease and diabetes risk.
Among those who started exercising at age 50 and continued for 10 years, the rate of premature death declined dramatically, similar to giving up smoking and mirroring the level as seen among people who had been working out their entire lives.
Exercise significantly improved muscle endurance and physical capacity among heart failure patients with an average age of 76.

Further, the older you get, the faster your muscles atrophy if you're not regularly engaging in appropriate exercise, so the key to avoiding sarcopenia (age-related muscle loss) is to challenge your muscles with appropriately intense exercise. Age-related muscle loss affects about 10 percent of those over 60, with higher rates as age advances, but you can prevent this from occurring if you exercise.

For the Elderly Exercise Can, Quite Literally, Save Your Life

Exercise is a key to remaining steady on your feet as you get older, which is of incredible importance because not only are falls responsible for most fractures and traumatic brain injuries among the elderly, but those who fall can also develop an intense fear of falling again, which leads them to limit their activities and in turn increases their risk of falling even more.

So while it may seem like exercises to improve balance and strength are optional as you get older, they should really be viewed as a necessity -- like eating and sleeping -- as they can quite literally save your life. As you get older your muscle and bone mass decrease and the senses that guide your balance -- vision, touch, proprioception -- may all start to deteriorate, and this can make you unsteady on your feet.

By taking the time to do balance, strength and other exercises on a regular basis you can keep your sense of balance strong, and even restore what's already been lost.

In a study published last year, eight weeks of balance training reduced slips and improved the likelihood of recovery from slips among the elderly. Separate research, which noted that "altered balance is the greatest collaborator towards falls in the elderly," found balance training is effective in improving functional and static balance, mobility and falling frequency in elderly women with osteoporosis.

The ability to balance on one leg is also an important predictor of injury-causing falls, so if you know that you'd be shaky if you tried to stand on one foot, you're at an increased risk of being hurt in a fall and should start appropriate exercises immediately.

Making Exercise Safe and Effective

In the videos above you'll hear Darin mention safety a number of times. This is always an important aspect of exercise, but is of crucial importance if you're older and just beginning. Many elderly people forgo exercise altogether because of a fear of injury or pain, but what's important to remember is that proper exercise will ultimately reduce your risk of injury as well as help toimprove pain.

As Darin mentioned, if you're older it's best to get a workout buddy -- a personal trainer or someone who is experienced -- to help guide you through your routine, at least at first. You will want to start slowly and gradually increase intensity as you grow stronger, avoiding activities that aggravate or cause pain. While you need to use caution and avoid starting out too intensely, you do need to exercise at a level that is challenging to your body or the benefits will be lost.

Ideally your fitness program should be comprehensive, providing the necessary balance-training activities for stability while also improving your strength, flexibility, cardiovascular fitness and fat-burning capabilities with high-intensity "Peak" exercises. Just like strength training, you are never too old for anaerobic Peak exercises. The only difference is that the older you are the less your maximum heart rate will be, but you still work out with the same intensity.

During the 'peak exercises,' you raise your heart rate up to your anaerobic threshold for 20 to 30 seconds, followed by a 90-second recovery period. You repeat this cycle for a total of eight repetitions. For an in-depth explanation of my peak fitness regimen, please review this past article. Depending on your fitness level, you may need to perform Peak exercises while walking or riding a stationary bike.

As I mentioned earlier, regular exercise is essential to counteract muscle loss. However, it's important to realize that simply lifting weights will not necessarily result in gaining muscle mass. In order to effectively build muscle you also need to incorporate high-intensity exercises such as Peak 8 in addition to strength training.

An Exciting Exercise Option for Building Balance

You can certainly build an excellent exercise program using nothing more than free weights, resistance bands and items you have around your home, but there is one form of exercise you may also want to consider, which is performed on a vibrational machine called the Power Plate.

This multi-directional vibration machine has a number of benefits for your health beyond the cardiovascular and metabolic aspects commonly associated with exercise. For example, the vibrational action of the Power Plate can help improve the following:

Strength	Proprioception	Balance
Flexibility	Circulation	Neurological processes

The tri-directional movement promotes proprioception, which is just a medical term for sensing the relative position of neighboring parts of your body. Proprioception is an internal feedback mechanism crucial for balance, as your body constantly adjusts to uneven terrain as you walk.

The unique ability of the Power Plate to train and build your neurological system has huge implications for treating people with neurological problems as well as elderly individuals who are prone to falls because of instability. As the video below shows, you can re-train motor patterns and re-establish communication within your body as the Power Plate balances muscle groups, resulting in profound improvements in your overall balance.

Now's the Time to Take Control of Your Health

I'm very proud of my mom for taking control of her health and starting an exercise program in her 70s, and she is already experiencing the benefits. If you are older and currently weighing whether or not to start one of your own, please use your age as a reason to exercise, as opposed to an excuse not to.

If my mom can do it, there's a good chance you will be able to too.

If you don't have access to a personal trainer or experienced exerciser who can help guide you, many health clubs now offer fitness classes geared toward seniors, ranging from dance classes and water workouts to yoga and tai chi. The more active you are, and the wider the range of activities you do, the more mobile, independent and, likely, happy you will be as you get older.

One final tip -- make sure you engage in activities you enjoy. There was one common thread among the elderly athletes mentioned above, and that is, as Happy News reported:

" … they absolutely love the activities they've found to do. Even if some of it is a hard slog, the pleasure they get from it always outweighs the tedium."

Porchon-Lynch, the 93-year-old ballroom dancer and yoga teacher, expanded:

"Don't be scared to live. Don't procrastinate. There's very little time on this Earth and there's so much to do and so much beauty. ... There's nothing you can't do."

You can find even more fitness tips, videos and articles to help keep you in optimal health no matter what your age at Mercola Peak Fitness.

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Yes, You're Getting Shorter! Now What?

Brian Bartholomew - Friday, October 07, 2011

Height Loss May Signal Health Risks, Especially for Men; Some Exercises and Chiropractic Care Help

by Melinda Beck edited by Dr. Brian

You're not just getting older. You're probably getting shorter, too.

Why are you shrinking? Starting in their late 30s, it's not normal for men and women to lose about a half-inch in height every 10 years.

Height loss is a [not] natural part of aging yet some people start shrinking slightly as early as 30. Losing too much height too rapidly, however, can signal a high risk for hip fractures, spinal fractures and even heart disease, particularly in men, several recent studies have found.

"If you are a female, between the ages of 45 and 65, and you notice you are shrinking, that's common but not normal," says Marian Hannan, an epidemiologist at Hebrew Senior Life, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School. "If you're a man, it may be a warning sign to speak to your health-care provider."

It's common, but not normal to shrink by a quarter to a third of an inch every decade after age 40. Think of a house settling on its foundation [That is rotting]. Disks—the gel-like pads between vertebrae—lose fluid over the years and flatten if the spine is not properly maintained with corrective chiropractic care. Muscles commonly lose mass and weaken, especially in the abdomen, which can exacerbate poor posture. Even the arches of the foot may flatten out slightly, reducing height by a few millimeters more.

The process accelerates with age, particularly after age 70. In one long-running study of individuals not under corrective chiropractic care more than 2,000 Baltimore residents, men lost an average of 1.2 inches between ages 30 and 70, and a total of 2 inches by age 80. Women lost an average of 2 inches between 30 and 70 and 3.1 inches total by age 80.

Smoking cigarettes, drinking alcohol or caffeine excessively, extreme dieting, high stress levels, eating too much acidic, sugary, carb dense foods, and taking steroids and other medications can exacerbate height loss b/c they cause your body to wear out or degenerate/rot rapidly. Sticking to a healthy diet with adequate calcium and vitamin D, getting weekly chiropractic adjustments, doing regular weight-bearing, traction, wobble and head weight exercises can help stave it off, although having strong genes also helps.

Photo Illustration by John Kuczala

When people shrink more or faster, one big concern is osteoporosis, in which bones become weak, brittle and vulnerable to breakage. Another big concern is the fact that as your body spine degenerates all organs and tissues suffer greatly and you lose function!

Dr. Hannan's study, in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research last week, found that men over age 70 who lose 2 or more inches in two years have a 54% higher risk of fracturing a hip in the next two years than men who lose less height. Elderly women who lose that much height that fast have a 21% higher risk of hip fracture, said the study, which examined data from over 3,000 adults from the Framingham Heart Study.

Height loss is also a marker for heart disease in men. A large study of British men, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine in 2006, found that men who lost 1.2 inches or more over 20 years were 46% more likely to have suffered from coronary heart disease, and 64% more likely to have died from any cause than men who lost less height.

Why is height loss in men more telling than in women? Because men typically have more muscle mass than women and lose bone more slowly, underlying health problems may be much more advanced by the time the height loss becomes apparent, says Sundeep Khosla, an endocrinologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

For both men and women, many of the common diseases of aging—including osteoporosis, heart disease and respiratory problems—go hand in hand. "If you have one of these risk factors, that may increase your risk of having others," says Dr. Khosla, who is president of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research, a professional organization of osteoporosis specialists.

He and other experts say that keeping close tabs on patients' heights can be a simple and inexpensive way for doctors to stay alert to other health problems. Another option would be to help them get better with corrective chiropractic care.

Height loss can alert doctors to osteoporosis that other tests miss, particularly those that measure bone density in the wrist or hip. In a study in the journal Bone in February, University of Pittsburgh researchers found that for each ½ inch that patients over 65 had lost from their tallest adult height, their chance of having a vertebral fracture increased by 20%. While some are extremely painful, vertebral fractures are often asymptomatic until the spine begins to collapse.

Not everyone loses height as they get older. Some 20% of people don't shrink noticeably thanks to a combination of genetics and following healthy habits throughout their lives, such as corrective chiropractic care, core exercises, traction, head weighting and wobble exercises, experts say.

Although about 70% of a person's [Initial] height is determined by genetics, children need good nutrition, with plenty of protein, vitamins and calcium, to reach their full adult potential. Prenatal care makes a difference too: If your mother smoked or was malnourished while she was pregnant, you're probably slightly shorter than you should be.

Experts say the best way to stave off height loss and osteoporosis in later years is to build strong bones in childhood and to maintain your spinal health throughout life. As well, eating a healthy diet and consuming sufficient calcium and vitamin D continue to be crucial for bone health in middle age and beyond.

Regular weight-bearing exercise, including running and walking, is important too. Israeli researchers who measured more than 2,000 men and women in 1965 and again in 1995 found that those who engaged in moderately vigorous aerobic activity, either throughout their lives or just after age 40, lost only about half as much height as those who stopped exercising in middle age or never exercised at all.

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World's Longest Living Cultures

Brian Bartholomew - Monday, September 05, 2011

The World’s Longest Living Cultures

Posted By Dr. Axe On November 18, 2009 @ 7:00 am In Anti-Aging | No Comments

The life expectancy in the United States is currently 77 years of age. Yet the quality of life for senior citizens in this country is one of the poorest in the world.

There are a host of different reasons why this is so, but I believe there is something to be learned from the example of people in other countries and cultures who are consistently living much longer lives with a much higher quality of life to boot.

People with the longest life expectancies and concurrent high quality of life are from:

Andorra—the mountainous region between France and Spain
Vilcamba Valley—the Andes mountains in Ecuador
Himalayas—the Hunzas in Pakistan are the 3rd longest-living group of people
Abkhasians and Georgians live in a mountainous region near the Black Sea in Russia
Macau in Southern China
Okinawa
Japan
Singapore
San Marino, a nation state in Italy
Hong Kong
Australia
France
Canada
Switzerland
Sweden

These groups have some general commonalities concerning their diet.

Diversity

80,000 different edible species of plant foods have been identified. 3,000 have been commonly used throughout human history. 150 plant species are widely cultivated and yet just 3—corn, soy and wheat–account for 60% of the world’s food supply.

These subsidized crops are usually highly processed and refined and are contributing to the development of food allergies worldwide. We were never meant to rely on such a small range of foods and doing so puts us at severe risk both health-wise and environmentally.

Long-lived peoples eat a wide variety of foods and eat seasonally ^[1].

Japan’s recommended dietary intake is to eat 30 different varieties of food every day. Hong Kong, Macau and Singapore are some of the world’s largest seaports containing richly diverse cuisines from all over the world.

Fish

Fish is a very common staple in diets of the long-living. Whether they live in the mountains or by the sea, trade for fermented fish paste or eat brook trout, these cultures value fish in their diets. What is important to remember here is that the fish these cultures eat is, for the most part, wild-caught ^[2], not farmed ^[2].

Whole Grains

Many of these people live in isolated regions that are as yet unaffected by the expansion of the Western diet and its processed and refined grain products. Buckwheat noodles are a staple in Japan, grasses are part of the Abkhasian and Hunza diets, the Swiss eat dark breads. Pulsed, sprouted and fermented grains are part of these traditional diets.

Plant Foods

Vegetables, fruits, nuts and berries are found in abundance in these cultures’ diets. Long-living people eat natural and organic plant foods regularly that are free of pesticides and herbicides.

Animal Protein/Fats

Contrary to popular belief, longevity doesn’t belong in the vegetarian domain. These people do eat a large quantity of herbs, fruits and vegetables, but animal products play a large role in their diets. Meats, cheeses, butters, yogurts and lard are staple components in these diets. These animals are grass-fed, free-range and respected ^[3]. ^[3]

Dairy

Cultured dairy products are also another commonality with these groups. But the dairy products consumed are cultured by the people themselves in many cases, so they don’t consume the pasteurized and compromised ^[4] products we do in the West.

Probiotics

Traditional diets all contain fermented products of some kind. Pulsed grains, fermented drinks, fish sauces, yogurt, pickled vegetables or cured meat—necessary methods of preservation–have made naturalprobiotics ^[5] a common part of these diets.

Tea

Tea ^[6] is another universal part of traditional diets. Herbal tonics and other brewed plant drinks are common to all long-lived cultures.

These cultures are also characterized by communal values and social interaction, meditative practices and moderate daily physical activity. Their nutritional choices are based on traditional wisdom—not TV. They eat what their ancestors have eaten for generations—not what commercial messages advertise as cheap and convenient.

Dr. Axe's Action Steps

Learn from the examples of the longest living cultures in the world. We must recognize that what we are doing in the Western world as far as diet is concerned is just not working.
Find farmer’s markets in your area or start your own garden so you can eat locally-grown, chemical-free produce that is in season.
Completely remove refined grains from your diet.
Introduce fermented teas, such as Kombucha, or other probiotic-rich foods into your diet. Many people will also want to supplement with a high-quality probiotic supplement because we have become so deficient.
Switch from daily coffee to hot tea.

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Seniors and Chiropractic

Brian Bartholomew - Thursday, September 01, 2011

Seniors And Chiropractic

The general population is going to chiropractors in record numbers. Seniors, the fastest segment of the population is no exception. According to a recent August 24th 1999 article in USA Today, more than 80% of seniors age 65 or greater are aware of what the article termed alternative medicine. This awareness has lead to a fairly fast growing utilization of these services. The breakdown for usage of chiropractic and other non-medical health care is as follows:

Chiropractic lead the way with a utilization of 32%, second was massage therapy at 16%, followed by acupuncture 9%, homeopathy at 4%, naturopathy 3% and Chinese medicine 3%.

A recent study published in Topics in Clinical Chiropractic of a randomized clinical trial showed data that found chiropractic geriatric patients were "less likely to have been hospitalized, less likely to have used a nursing home, more likely to report a better health status, more likely to exercise vigorously, and more likely to be mobile in the community."

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7 Top Foods that Slow Aging

Brian Bartholomew - Sunday, July 24, 2011

Top 7 Foods That Slow Your Aging

Posted By Dr. Mercola | February 27 2010 | 142,208 views

Seven Superfoods That Will Keep You Young

The following seven foods are among the most highly nutritious you can consume.

Keep in mind that to get the most out of them, you must first understand the best foods for yournutritional type. Even the healthiest foods aren’t ideal for everyone, so it’s important to know which foods serve your body best.

1. Whey Protein

You may be wondering why the first food on this list is actually a supplement and not a whole food. Great question. The answer is fascinating, if a bit complex.

Whey has been shown to increase your body’s stores of the antioxidant glutathione, or GSH. Glutathione is known to increase the integrity of telomeres. Telomeres are bundles of DNA found in every cell, and they shorten with age.

Stem Cell Information, The National Institutes of Health resource for stem cell research, Appendix C: Human Embryonic Stem Cells and Human Embryonic Germ Cells, http://stemcells.nih.gov/info/2001report/appendixC.asp

Researchers suspect telomeres shorten due to damage by free radicals. Free radicals play a role in DNA mutations, and there is evidence that mutations in your telomeres can cause larger chunks than normal to be lost during cell division.

Low levels of GSH are always found in people with oxidative stress-related diseases like cancer and AIDS. Further, as glutathione levels drop, these patients get sicker.

In November 2009, I had the privilege of attending a gathering of some of the leading anti-aging biologists and experts in the world. In a discussion I sparked about telomere lengthening, we agreed it is, without question, one of the most exciting methods that holds great promise to actually REVERSE aging.

Much of the research is on proprietary chemicals to lengthen telomeres, but I was surprised to learn that there are studies in progress that show increasing glutathione levels will actually provide similar results.

Glutathione is not a compound you can ingest directly. It is manufactured inside your cells from its precursor amino acids, glycine, glutamate and cystine.

But what is really exciting is that you don’t have to take expensive glutathione supplements. I confirmed with some of the leading scientists there that you can actually increase your levels through dietary manipulation.

And guess what the most potent dietary way to increase your glutathione levels happens to be?

Whey protein!

The best way to increase and maintain your GSH levels is to make sure your diet includes foods (such as animal foods and eggs) rich in the sulfur amino acids your cells need to synthesize glutathione.

Whey protein is the easiest and most convenient way to do this. But not just any whey protein will do, it needs to be high quality and very carefully processed from grass fed organic cows to preserve the fragile amino acid precursors. I am so convinced of this research that I take our Miracle Whey protein every morning, typically after my morning exercise program.

2. Raw, Organic Eggs

Eggs are another super food. Research has ended the debate -- there is no link between egg consumption and heart disease.[1]

A single egg contains:

Nine essential amino acids.

Six grams of the highest quality protein you can put in your body. Proteins are nutrients that are essential to the building, maintenance and repair of your body tissues such as your skin, internal organs and muscles. They are also the major components of your immune system and hormones.

Lutein and zeaxanthin (for your eyes).

Choline for your brain, nervous- and cardiovascular systems.

Naturally occurring vitamin D.

However, it’s critical to understand that not all eggs are created equal. There is a major nutritional difference between TRUE free-range chicken eggs and commercially farmed eggs.

The USDA defines “free-range” chickens as those with “access to the outside.” “Outside,” however, can be a field or a cement courtyard and has nothing to do with what the chickens eat. Commercially farmed hens are fed corn, soy and cottonseed. True free-range chickens eat a natural, nutrient-dense diet of seeds, green plants, insects and worms.

I recommend you try to get your eggs locally. To find free-range pasture farmers in your area, ask at your health food store or visitwww.eatwild.com or www.localharvest.org.

If you have no choice but to buy your eggs at the grocery store, look for free-range organic. Avoid all omega-3 eggs, as they typically come from hens fed poor quality omega-3 fat sources that are already oxidized.

Eat your eggs raw whenever possible. Allergic reactions to eggs are generally caused by the changes that take place in the cooking process. Eating eggs raw also helps preserve many of the highly perishable nutrients they contain.

Avoiding raw egg yolks is conventional nutritional dogma, as raw egg whites contain a glycoprotein called avidin that is very effective at binding biotin, one of the B vitamins. The concern is that this can lead to a biotin deficiency.

The simple solution is to cook the egg whites, as this completely deactivates the avidin. The problem is that this also impairs the structure of nearly every other protein in the egg. While you will still obtain nutritional benefits from consuming cooked eggs, from a nutritional perspective it would seem far better to consume them uncooked.

What is important to realize is that there is plenty of biotin in the egg yolk. Egg yolks have one of the highest concentrations of biotin found in nature. So it is likely that you will not have a biotin deficiency if you consume the whole raw egg, yolk and white.

It is also clear, however, that if you only consume raw egg whites, you are nearly guaranteed to develop a biotin deficiency unless you take a biotin supplement.

So to be clear, my advice is that you can safely eat WHOLE raw eggs, from a healthy fresh source. I eat four whole raw eggs each morning with my breakfast. I would strongly advise against eating raw egg whites alone. They simply need to be consumed with the yolks.

3. Leafy Greens

Like eggs, leafy greens such as spinach, kale, turnip greens, collard greens, and romaine lettuce, are great sources of lutein and zeaxanthin. Studies have shown eating foods rich in these antioxidants can significantly reduce your risk of AMD (age-related macular degeneration), as well as non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

Leafy greens like spinach and kale are also packed with cancer-fighting antioxidants like beta carotene, vitamin C, and sulforaphane.

Spinach provides folate, which research shows can dramatically improve your short-term memory. Eating folate rich foods may lower your risk for heart disease and cancer by slowing down wear and tear on your DNA.

Spinach has a very high ORAC score. ORAC stands for Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity, which is a measurement of a food’s ability to destroy the free radicals that cause damage in your body. The higher the ORAC score, the better a food is for you.

Naturally grown fresh vegetables are also rich in sun stored energy in the form of minute particles of light called biophotons.

Sunlight is vital to life, and you can actually absorb this sun energy through the food you eat, in addition to absorbing it through your skin.

Every living organism emits biophotons or low-level luminescence. The higher the level of light energy a cell emits, the greater the potential for transfer of that energy to the individual who absorbs it. This light energy manifests as a feeling of well-being and vitality.

Research shows that, in addition to the chemical composition of our food, light energy (biophotons) is also a key factor in its quality. The more biophotons a food is able to store, the more nutritious it is.

Some leafy greens like collard and salad greens and spinach, contain vitamin K1, which is linked to good vascular health [2] , including fewer varicose veins.

Vitamin K1, a fat-soluble vitamin, is also vital for:

Blood clotting

Strong bones

Prevention of heart disease

Prevention of Alzheimer’s disease

Regulation of your insulin and blood sugar levels

Treatment of certain cancers, including lung and liver cancer

It is important to realize, though, that the vitamin K in vegetables is vitamin K1. Fermented foods like natto and cheeses also have vitamin K2, which provides even more potent benefits for your bones and reduces the risk of calcification of your arteries.

Whenever possible, buy organic greens. Organic produce has been shown to have higher nutrient-content than conventional fresh produce. On average, conventional produce has only 83 percent of the nutrients of organic produce.

4. Broccoli

Broccoli is another dark green, antioxidant rich vegetable in the cruciferous family, with near miraculous powers of healing and disease prevention.

Broccoli contains the highest amount of isothiocyanates, a cancer-fighting compound, of all the crunchy vegetables.

Isothiocynates work by turning on cancer-fighting genes and turning off others that feed the disease.

Other vegetables containing isothiocyanate include:

brussel sprouts

cauliflower

cabbage

arugula

watercress

horseradish

Research shows eating cruciferous vegetables can significantly reduce your risk of breast, bladder, lung and prostate cancer.

You don’t need to eat large amounts of these veggies to take advantage of their health benefits, either. Studies have shown men who eat more than one portion of cruciferous vegetables a week are at lower risk of prostate cancer.

One serving of broccoli is about two spears, so just 10 spears a week can make a difference in your health.

5. Blueberries

Blueberries not only taste delicious, they are powerhouses of nutrition, ranking at the very top of the list of fresh fruits and vegetables. They are full of antioxidants which help your body neutralize free radicals, molecules that can harm brain cells and brain function.

A study published by Tufts University showed that anthocyanins in blueberries (the pigments that give them their deep color), appear to combat oxidative stress.[3] Oxidative stress is one of the main causes of aging.

Anthocyanins also aid your brain in the production of dopamine, a chemical that is critical to coordination, memory function, and your mood.

Blueberries, especially grown wild, can give an enormous boost to your health. They can help:

Reduce your cancer risk

Reduce cholesterol levels

Prevent heart disease and stroke

Protect you from Alzheimer’s and other neurological diseases

Reverse short term memory loss and prevent brain aging

Relieve symptoms of arthritis

Fight infection and support your immune system

Improve urinary tract health

Improve your vision and the health of your eyes

Blueberries are low in sugar, but it’s still best to eat them in moderation to keep your insulin levels from spiking. And as with all fruits and vegetables, try to buy organic.

Other varieties of berries also have powerful healing and disease-prevention properties. Examples:

Black raspberries are potent cancer fighters as well, with about three times the amount of antioxidants found in blueberries. These berries can be harder to find than other varieties because they’re grown in smaller quantities. It’s harder still to find them fresh, so you may need to look for them frozen.
Cherries are rich in queritrin, a flavonoid, and ellagic acid. Both are potent anti-cancer agents.
Strawberries contain phytonutrients, natural anti-inflammatory agents that also protect your heart and have cancer fighting properties.
Blackberries contain antioxidants, ellagic acid, and vitamins C and E, all of which may reduce cancer risk and fight chronic disease.
Cranberries are loaded with polyphenols, a powerful antioxidant. Studies show they may inhibit the growth of breast cancer cells and reduce the risk of stomach ulcers and gum disease.
Acai berries, from Brazil, contain antioxidants with the power to destroy cultured human cancer cells. Amazingly, these berries triggered self-destruction of over 85 percent of leukemia cells tested.

6. Chlorella

Chlorella, a single-celled fresh water algae plant, is often referred to as a near-perfect food.

Its range of health benefits is astounding and includes:

Boosting your immune system

Improving your digestion, especially if constipation is a problem

Enhancing your ability to focus and concentrate

Increasing your energy levels

Balancing your body’s pH

Normalizing your blood sugar and blood pressure

Reducing your cancer risk

Even freshening your breath

But arguably the most important property of chlorella is its ability to help rid your body of heavy metal toxins.

Most people are being harmed in some way by heavy metals in their body. If you’ve received a vaccine, had silver fillings in your teeth, or eaten fish, it’s highly likely you have some level of metal poisoning which is compromising your health.

Chlorella plays a particularly crucial role in systemic mercury elimination because the majority of mercury is rid through your stool. Once the mercury burden is lowered from your intestines, mercury from other body tissues will more readily migrate into the intestines -- where chlorella will work to remove it.

Again, as with any supplement, different brands of chlorella will vary widely with regard to overall quality, potency and purity, so make sure you purchase from a reputable source.

7. Garlic, the “Stinking Rose”

The component of garlic, allicin, which causes the familiar strong smell and flavor, is actually an extremely effective antioxidant. As allicin digests in your body it produces sulfenic acid, a compound that reacts faster with dangerous free radicals than any other known compound.

Garlic is also a triple threat against infections due to its antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal properties. It is effective at killing antibiotic-resistant bacteria, including MRSA, as well as fighting yeast infections, viruses and parasites.

Garlic helps relax and enlarge the blood vessels in your body, improving blood flow, especially to your heart.[4] This can help prevent conditions like high blood pressure and life-threatening events such as a heart attack or stroke. Garlic also inhibits the formation of plaques in your arteries, and prevents cholesterol from becoming oxidized, a condition that may contribute to heart disease.

Both garlic and onions can increase your protection against at least five forms of the deadliest types of cancer: breast, colon, ovarian, prostate and esophageal.

It also appears that allicin may be useful as a cancer treatment. When alliinase and alliin (the two components that covert to allicin) were injected into a tumor cell, the reaction not only penetrated the cell but also killed it.

In addition to all those benefits, research also indicates garlic may be useful for controlling weight.

Garlic cloves must be crushed or chopped in order to stimulate the process that converts alliin into the beneficial allicin. Once the garlic is cut, the active compound loses potency rapidly and can disappear completely within about an hour of chopping.

The best way to eat garlic is to take a whole, fresh clove, chop it, smash it or press it, wait a few minutes for the conversion to occur, and then eat it. If you use jarred, powdered, or dried garlic, you won’t get all the benefits fresh garlic has to offer.

It is important to know though that a number of people are allergic to garlic. If you are one of them you should definitely avoid garlic. Actually that is true for any food in this article. It might be the healthiest food in the world, but if your body gives you a signal to avoid it, then it is typically best to honor your body’s wisdom.

The Most Important Way to Slow Aging

Do you know what the number one way to slow aging in your body is? If you’re like most people, you don’t.

Most people don’t understand the importance of optimizing their insulin levels, as insulin is without a doubt THE major accelerant of aging. Fortunately, you can go a long way toward keeping your insulin levels healthy by reducing or eliminating grains and sugars from your diet.

This one crucial step, combined with nutritional typing and the inclusion of nature’s anti-aging miracle foods in your diet, can dramatically improve your health and longevity.

It is also crucial to include a comprehensive exercise program as that is another lifestyle choice that will radically improve the sensitivity of your insulin receptors and help to optimize your insulin levels.

References:

[1] Harvard School of Public Health, The Nutrition Source, Fats and Cholesterol: Out with the Bad, In with the Good

[2] Journal of Vascular Research, Identification of Differentially Expressed Genes in Human Varicose Veins: Involvement of Matrix Gla Protein in Extracellular Matrix Remodeling, 7/20/07

[3] Tufts University e-news, Researchers At Tufts University Report Blueberries May Reverse Memory Loss

[4] Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, A new gaseous signaling molecule emerges: Cardioprotective role of hydrogen sulfide, 11/08/07

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Just 1 TBSP a Day: An Easy Way to Lower Your Cholesterol, Blood Pressure and...

Brian Bartholomew - Monday, July 18, 2011

Just 1 TBSP a Day: An Easy Way to Lower Your Cholesterol, Blood Pressure and...

Posted By Dr. Mercola | July 17 2011 | 204,446 views

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By Dr. Mercola

What if consuming a tablespoon or two per day of a simple food could drastically lower your chances of developing cancer, heart disease or stroke, or of contracting a life-threatening virus such as HIV?

Would your interest be piqued?

There is a unique freshwater plant that has been of enormous interest to nutritional scientists over the past decade, and it shows promise for doing all of the above—and then some. It's one of the most nutrient-packed dynamos of the superfood world.

This simple food is spirulina.

I recently posted a report about the radioprotective effects of spirulina. But its health benefits go far beyond that application. But what exactly is spirulina? You may be surprised!

Spirulina: One of Nature's Near-Perfect Foods

Spirulina is similar to sea vegetables such as dulse, kelp, nori, Kombu, arame, and wakame. Along with its cousin chlorella (another one of my favorites), spirulina is a member of the "blue-green" family—but this family is actually not truly algae.

Although you will often hear the term "blue-green algae," spirulina and its kin are actually cyanobacteria. Cyanobacteria are classified as bacteria because their genetic material is not organized in a membrane-bound nucleus. Unlike other bacteria, they have chlorophyll and use the sun as an energy source, in the way plants and algae do.

Spirulina is primarily produced by two species: Arthrospira platensis and Arthrospira maxima.

One of the special traits of spirulina is its rich protein content—it's 50 to 70 percent protein by weight and contains all of the essential amino acids. Records of the Spanish conquistadors suggest that the Aztecs consumed spirulina as a food source, and the Kanembu people of Central Africa harvested it from what is now called Lake Chad.

Wild spirulina grows in the alkaline lakes of Mexico and on the African continent, although it is commercially grown and harvested all over the world. It reproduces quickly, and because the individual organisms tend to clump together, it's easy to harvest. Commercial production of spirulina is estimated to reach 220,000 tons by the year 2020. Japan is the largest producer of spirulina, as well as the largest consumer.

Spirulina Packs Quite a Nutritional Punch

Spirulina is one of the most nutritious and concentrated food sources on the planet. As a result, it's appearing more frequently all the time in natural foods and beverages, such as green foods and drinks, energy bars and oral supplements.

Spirulina consistently boasts an amazing protein level of 60 percent on average—even better than red meat, which is about 27 percent protein. And spirulina's protein is biologically complete, containing all of the essential amino acids needed for human health. Spirulina also contains a potent array of other beneficial nutrients, including the following:

B vitamins (including exceptionally high B-12), vitamin K, and other vitamins	Naturally rich in iodine	Minerals (including calcium, iron, magnesium, selenium, manganese, potassium, and zinc)
One of best known sources of gamma-linolenic acid (GLA, an important fatty acid for heart and joints)	Other essential fatty acids, including sulfolipids, which may be protective against HIV infection of T-helper cells	Phytopigments (phycocyanin, chlorophyll, and carotenoids)
Metallo-thionine compounds (proteins combined with metals that bind heavy radioactive isotopes)	Low in carbohydrates (15-20 percent)	Eighteen different amino acids

(For specific concentrations of the above-mentioned nutrients in spirulina, refer to Table 1 in this spirulina report by S. Thomas of Parry Nutraceuticals.) In addition to this rich nutritional blend, spirulina has the following special properties:

The proteins in spirulina are of a highly digestible type (83 to 90 percent digestible), due to the fact that it does not have cellulose walls, like yeast and chlorella do. Therefore, the net protein utilization (NPU) is high (between 53 and 61 percent) and requires no cooking to increase the bioavailability of its proteins.

Studies confirm a very high "protein efficiency ratio" (PER) for spirulina, meaning your body will be able to efficiently use these amino acids.

Gamma-linolenic acid is rarely this high in ANY food and normally has to be synthesized by your body from linoleic acid. GLA is a precursor to important biochemicals such as prostaglandins, leukotrienes, and thromboxanes, which serve as chemical mediators for inflammatory and immune reactions.

Spirulina has no fatty acids with uneven carbon numbers and very low-level branched-chain fatty acids—two types of lipids that higher order animals, like you and me, cannot metabolize.

Spirulina has about the same calcium, phosphorous, and magnesium content as milk, a vitamin E (tocopherol) level comparable to wheat germ, and four times as much vitamin B12 as raw liver!

Research-Based Health Benefits of Spirulina

Now that you have spirulina's nutritional overview, let's take a look at what this unique blue-green cyanobacteria can do for your health. The health benefits of spirulina continue to be widely researched. As a result, there is really no way to cover all of the literature related to its potential benefits because there are so many! There are scientific studies supporting spirulina's potential usefulness in preventing and/or treating the following health conditions:

ARMD (Age-related macular degeneration)	Type 2 Diabetes
Cardiovascular disease, including hypertension	NAFLD (Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease)
Liver health and decreased damage from heavy metal exposure	Cerebrovascular disease (including stroke)
Nutritional diseases, such as iron deficiency anemia, pernicious anemia (B12 deficiency), vitamin A deficiency, and kwashiorkor	Neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's
Protection from HIV and other viruses	Reduced allergy symptoms
Cancer protection	Radiation protection (LINK to recent spirulina radiation article)
Bone marrow and blood health (especially during use of anticancer drugs)	Strengthening immune defenses and modulating inflammatory response
Reduced pain sensitivity by inhibiting prostaglandins, which contribute to pain and inflammation	Reduction of arthritis symptoms
Protection from the damage of ionizing radiation

As you can see, the health benefits of spirulina are truly far-ranging. The remainder of this report will focus on how spirulina can address some of the diseases listed in the above table (the ones shown in bold).

Spirulina and Your Eyes

As the population ages, the prevalence of Age-Related Macular Degeneration (ARMD) is on the rise. ARMD is the deterioration of your macula (the region in your eye that controls acute vision), which typically occurs later in life. ARMD is the leading cause of blindness today.

Your eyes' macular membranes contain several carotenoid pigments called xanthophylls—lutein, zeaxanthin, and possibly astaxanthin, if you're getting it as part of your diet. These special pigments help protect your eyes from damage by slowing down ultraviolet-induced oxidation of lipid membranes, thereby helping prevent degeneration of your macula.

Additionally, xanthophylls may be effective in preventing cataracts. Spirulina provides 3,750 to 6,000 mcg zeaxanthin per serving size (3 grams). Eggs are another excellent source of both lutein and zeaxanthin (200mcg zeaxanthin per yolk). Astaxathin is also another marine based nutrient that is in the carotenoid family and is also a potent preventor of ARMD.

Spirulina and Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes is an epidemic in the Western world today. It is really a cluster of related pathologies, including insulin resistance, obesity, dyslipidemia and hypertension. Spirulina has been shown to benefit diabetics in the following ways:

Reducing systemic inflammation. (Insulin resistance has come to be associated with a state of systemic low-grade inflammation.)

Favorably altering your lipid profile by reducing serum triglycerides and increasing HDL.

Improving vasodilation in those who are obese as a result of high fructose diets (which has benefits for diabetics, as well as for those with hypertension and cardiovascular disease).

Spirulina and Your Cardiovascular Health

Diabetes and cardiovascular health are intimately connected, so it's no surprise that spirulina shows great potential for people with cardiovascular disease, in terms of creating better lipid profiles, controlling hypertension, and increasing blood vessel elasticity. Diabetic patients given 2 grams per day of spirulina showed improved glycosylated hemoglobin and better lipid profiles in this 2001 study. And in this study of the Mexican population, 4.5 grams per day of spirulina significantly reduced serum triglyceride levels and total cholesterol, boosted HDL, and reduced blood pressure in test subjects.

It is thought that the lipid action of spirulina may be due to its phycocyanin content, which inhibits pancreatic lipase activity, and this in turn causes higher excretion of triglycerides through your feces.

In one animal study, spirulina prevented hypertension and vasoconstriction in rats fed fructose-rich diets, but rats fed fructose-rich diets without spirulina had those adverse health effects. Hamsters consuming spirulina were protected from developing atherosclerosis inthis 2007 study.

Spirulina and Your Liver

The accumulation of fats in your liver is closely associated with metabolic syndrome and strongly raises your risk for dying from cardiovascular disease. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common cause of chronic liver disease in North America and notoriously difficult to treat, at least with traditional medical measures.

Animal studies suggest spirulina can protect your liver, probably as a result of its high antioxidant properties and its ability to synthesize or release nitric oxide. Studies show that spirulina does the following for your liver:

Prevents the buildup of triglycerides in your liver

Inhibits lipid peroxidation

Reduces liver inflammation

Protects your liver from damage by heavy metals, like lead and mercury

Spirulina and Your Brain

The third leading cause of death in the U.S. is stroke. Diets high in antioxidants have been shown to lower your risk for stroke. Two studies (one in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, the other in the British Journal of Nutrition) showed that Spirulina reduces platelet aggregation, which plays an important role in vascular diseases by reducing your risk for thromboembolism.

In another study, three antioxidant-rich diets (blueberries, spinach, and spirulina) were compared for their neuroprotective effects. Spirulina was found to have the highest neuroprotective effect, possibly due to its ability to squelch free radicals and reduce inflammation.

And in an Oregon State University study of rats that had induced strokes, the group fed spirulina showed brains lesions that were 75 percent smaller than those in control groups.

Oxidative stress is one major source of inflammation, and in your brain, it can result in loss of dopamine neurons and lead to neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. An enzyme complex called NADPH oxidase has been shown to play a role in these diseases, and the phycocyanin in spirulina can suppress NADPH oxidase, lowering your risk for these age-related brain diseases. (I will go into this further in the next section.)

In animal studies, diets enriched with spirulina were found to reverse the inflammation that can lead to diminished neurogenesis (production of new neurons), which is another factor in degenerative diseases of the brain. Bob Capelli, of Cyanotech Corporation said:

"Spirulina has long been associated with immune building and anti-viral properties, eye and brain health and cardiovascular health, but we now see that spirulina also has anti-inflammatory properties through this research on one of the principal constituents in spirulina, phycocyanin. This study isolates the mechanism of action for phycocyanin as an anti-inflammatory."

Let's look a little more at the antioxidant properties of spirulina—in particular, its special pigmented component, phycocyanobilin.

The Spirulina-Bilirubin Connection

Phycocyanobilin contained in spirulina is a close chemical relative of bilirubin. In mammalian cells, phycocyanobilin is converted into phycocyanorubin, a compound nearly identical to bilirubin. Bilirubin is the chemical responsible for the yellow color of bruises, urine, and jaundice and occurs as a breakdown product of your red blood cells (heme). When a newborn baby gets jaundice, he is placed under "bili lights" in the hospital nursery to prevent brain damage (kernicterus), if his bilirubin levels become too high. The lights break down the bilirubin so it can be excreted.

But bilirubin, at appropriate levels, has a strong free radial scavenging effect.

Until recently, scientists were not aware that bilirubin may actually have anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and atheroprotective properties—and there is a growing body of scientific and clinical evidence to support this. From an evolutionary/biological perspective, it makes sense that nature would have created a way for your body to break down heme, which can be toxic if it accumulates.

The way bilirubin is thought to provide these health benefits is through its ability to inhibit NADPH oxidase, a metabolic enzyme that is activated in a large number of pathological conditions and generates a great deal of oxidative stress in your body. In fact, NADPH overactivity appears to play a significant roll in a wide range of adverse health conditions, including but not limited to the following:

Vascular diseases and vascular complications of other diseases (diabetes, kidney failure, blindness, heart disease, etc.)

Insulin resistance

Neurodegenerative disorders, like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's

Many human cancers

Glaucoma

Pulmonary fibrosis

Erectile dysfunction

NADPH seems to be a chemical that can be helpful or harmful, depending on how much of it is circulating at the time, so it needs to be carefully regulated by your body. For example, NADPH oxidase plays a key role in helping your immune system fight bacteria and helps your T-cells to function properly.

It follows then that preventing many chronic diseases would require finding a means of inhibiting or modulating NADPH oxidase.

Bilirubin is now believed to assist with this modulating effect.

People with Gilbert Syndrome comprise 5-10% of the population and illustrate this phenomenon very nicely—they are genetically predisposed to chronically elevated levels of unconjugated bilirubin. These individuals, having two to three times as much bilirubin as the rest of us, enjoy a greatly reduced risk for coronary artery disease, hypertension and carotid atherosclerosis, and these protections are thought to be related to their high bilirubin levels. I happen to be one of those with Gilbert's and did not realize until reviewing the research for this article that my elevated bilirubin levels were actually a major benefit.

Since phycocyanobilin is a very close relative of bilirubin—and spirulina is a great source of phycocyanobilin—spirulina has enormous clinical potential due to its NADPH oxidase inhibiting effect. This is why phycocyanobilin has been the focus of a large amount of research of late. Phycobilin extracts have been shown to inhibit NADPH oxidase activity in human aortic endothelium, aortic smooth muscle, and renal cell cultures. And bilirubin protects against diabetic nephropathy via downregulation of NADPH oxidase in rats.

Concluding Remarks

The scientific evidence for spirulina's health benefits is abundant, frequently showing remarkable clinical results. And spirulina's safety is equally impressive! Rodents show no ill effects when fed diets very high in Spirulina. And remember, it was a major component of the Aztec diet.

Spirulina is even good for your pet (be he dog, cat, bird, fish or reptile) promoting a strong immune system, a healthy coat, heart and joint health, and even fresher breath—which is why I now offer SpiruGreen Superfood for Pets. It appears this is a near-perfect food for everyone in your family—one more natural way to take charge of your health.

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Tips To Grow Your Brain

Brian Bartholomew - Wednesday, June 08, 2011

Tips to Grow Your Brain!

Posted by Dr Jen as Children's Nutrition, Your Health & Wellbeing

For decades we have been led to believe that the human brain deteriorates with age. My own mother spends countless hours each week doing crosswords and puzzles through fear, she says, “of losing her marbles.”

There is good news though. Research now shows that our brain and nervous system are not rigid or unchanging like we once thought but are “neuroplastic”, or capable of adapting and re-wiring.

We have long known that childhood is the peak period for growth and development of the brain and we assumed that we were unable to learn new skills or employ mental focus as we aged. It would seem that this is not the case.

The old adage of “use it or lose it” specifically applies. Acknowledging that we need to treat the brain just like our muscles, through strengthening, training and exercise, we can (quite literally) change the structure of our minds! So to help with this I have outlined below a number of tips on keeping your brain as “sharp as a tack.”

Activities that require a high degree of sensing, imagining and perceiving are those that help our brain to change and reorganise itself. The science of neuroplasticity is revolutionising not only the treatment of stroke patients, victims of brain injury and patients with psychiatric disorders, but is offering a wide range of applications for general learning and performance. To my dismay the latest research suggests that “multi-tasking” may not be such a clever feat after all. This I can’t quite get my head around!!!

There have been many psychologists and neuroscientists over the years including Hebb, Bach-y-Rita, Taub and Merzenich who have paved the way for these latest discoveries. It is the recent work of Norman Doidge however, a Canadian psychiatrist and the author of The Brain That Changes Itself (Scribe 2010), that has brought this science to the public in an accessible way. His book that describes the leading scientists in this field whose remarkable insights transforms their patients’ lives, is a must-have for your library.

I have endeavoured to summarize the key tips recommended by these leaders for keeping our brains healthy and alert. Included is the work of Dr Haavik, PhD, a chiropractic researcher, who has looked at the chiropractic adjustment and it’s powerful effect on brain function.

Here are some suggestions to consider:

Daily sweaty exercise is important. Exercise to keep your mind and heart physically alert and healthy.
Focus on breathing well throughout the day. If you are a shallow breather seek advice on how to breathe more effectively.
Avoid multi-tasking. Multi-tasking trains the brain to lose focus and constantly search for information and stimulation. Finish one task before moving onto the next.
Avoid Stress. Being chronically stressed releases brain chemicals that actually shrink parts of your brain!
Get some downtime throughout the day to clear and refocus your mind. Rest between activities helps to cement plastic changes.
Get adjusted. Dr Haavik’s research shows that chiropractic adjustments over a period of time improve the quality of information travelling between our body and our brain. This creates global improvements in our health, wellbeing, mood and performance.
Learn a new language. Learning a second language improves brain function and stimulates creativity.
Acquire new skills. Frequently doing this helps to change the physical structure of the brain and create new routes in brain mapping – consider taking up dancing for example.
Try brain-training exercises and games. These help us process what our brain hears and sees. There are plenty online exercises available.
Identify bad habits. Identifying poor physical and emotional habits and seeking new approaches such as talking with a professional can help us “unlearn” old habits and unwanted responses.
Ground yourself in nature as often as you can. Feeling the earth under your feet and the breeze on your face helps connect you to the world beyond the “noise” of your mind.
Regularly include foods that are good for your brain in your diet. Foods high in essential fatty acids, tryptophan, vitamin B6, folate and iron are excellent “food for thought”. I will outline these foods specifically in the next blog, Foods that feed your brain.

With these tips in mind it would seem that the catch phrase, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks” no longer applies. We now know that a variety of activities, including chiropractic care, stimulate the brain to form new connections and new habits. This is such good news!!!

Dr Jennifer Barham-Floreani
B.App.Clin.Sci, B.Chiropractic

REFERENCES
Doidge N The Brain That Changes Itself Scribe 2010
MC Diamond. Response of the Brain to Enrichment. An Acad Bras Cienc Jun;73(2)pp211-220.
Haavik Taylor H, Murphy B. Altered Central Integration of Dual Somatosensensory Input Following Cervical Spine Manipulation. J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 2010;33(3):178-88.
Our Brain is Plastic and Adaptable. Alive Australia.Francis C. Summer 2011

Read more —> http://welladjustedbabies.com/tips-to-grow-your-brain/#ixzz1Ojyj8SEO
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