Dear Health Enthusiast,

One study investigated long-term (10-year) use of 14 nutritional supplements marketed as weight control aids among individuals aged 53 to 57 years.  A form of statistical analysis known as linear regression was used to create representations of 10-year weight change among study subjects divided into categories according to sex and body mass index.  The resulting statistical models were controlled for race, education, caloric intake, physical activity, weight at age 45 years, and smoking history.  Among overweight and obese men and women, long-term use of multivitamins in general, vitamins B6 and B12 in particular, as well as the trace mineral chromium was significantly associated with lower levels of weight gain and, in the case of obese men and chromium, it was actually associated with a slight weight loss.

A second recent study compared serum and blood vitamin concentrations in morbidly obese individuals with those of normal weighted individuals.  Investigators found low concentrations of vitamin C, vitamin B6, 25-hydroxyvitamin D, and vitamin E among the obese group.2  Though this study did not directly address supplementation, it adds to a growing body of evidence that obesity is a multifactorial disease paradoxically associated with many forms of nutrient deficiency.

REFERENCES

1.  Nachtigal MC, Patterson RE, Stratton KL, Adams LA, Shattuck AL, White E. Dietary supplements and weight control in a middle-age population. J Altern Complement Med. 2005 Oct;11(5):909-15.
2. Aasheim ET, Hofso D, Hjelmessaeth J. Birkeland Kl, Bohmer T. Vitamin status in morbidly obese patients: a cross-sectional study. Am J Clin Nutr. 2008 Feb;87(2):362-9.

Yours for better health,

Chris Lydon, M.D.

Contributor and Editor

Dear Health Enthusiast,

Imagine waking up refreshed and energized each morning. For many of us, that idea is a dream! The experts agree that a minimum of seven hours of sleep per night is vital for daytime alertness. And eight to nine hours per night is required for optimal health. 

The steps listed below can help you make the most of your bed time by decreasing the time it takes you to fall asleep and permitting a deeper, more restful slumber. 

Recommendations for healthy sleeping patterns:

1. Exercise regularly.   A half hour of moderate, daily activity decreases the amount of time needed to fall asleep and the frequency of nightly awakenings.
2. Get on a schedule:   Start making a habit of going to bed and rising at the same time every day.
3. Do something relaxing every night before bedtime like reading or listening to beautiful music.  Calm your nerves and relax your muscles with a nutritional supplement like Osticare, with a balance of premium calcium and magnesium. Once you have established a routine, your body will respond to the pre-bedtime cues and you will feel drowsy.
4. Use your bed for sleep and sex only.  Do not read, eat, or watch television in bed.
5. Avoid substances which interfere with normal sleep including caffeine (coffee, tea, chocolate, and soft drinks), alcohol, and nicotine. 
6. Maintain a dark, quiet, sleeping space between 55 and 75 degrees F.  If your bedroom is too bright even with window coverings, a sleeping mask can make a huge difference!  If noise is an issue, try silicone earplugs usually sold for swimming.  Silicone earplugs form a near-tight seal that is unbeatable for blocking air-conducted noise.  In fact, you should check to be sure you can still hear your alarm!  If the earplugs aren’t enough, adding the drone of a fan or a white noise generator may help.
7. To maximize nocturnal growth hormone release and ensure the most recuperative sleep possible, avoid high glycemic load carbohydrates for at least two hours before your bed time.  Instead, have a high protein snack such as nuts, chicken or turkey, milk, fish, or eggs 30-60 minutes prior to retiring.
8. For at least four hours prior to bedtime, avoid consuming foods containing high concentrations of the amino acid tyramine which can cause agitation.  These include: pork, cheese, wine, potatoes, tomatoes and spinach.
9. In contrast, foods containing high concentrations of the amino acid tryptophan can cause drowsiness.  If you are prone to insomnia, try consuming these foods in the evening:  turkey, bananas, yogurt, milk, and tuna.

I hope this helps…and remember, if you suffer from chronic, prolonged, or recurrent sleeplessness, contact your health care provider. 

Yours for Better Health,

Chris Lydon, MD

Contributor and Editor

The Healthy Herald

Dear Health Enthusiast,

We’ve all done it…the bike, the swim…only to be derailed by a side-stitch or muscle cramp that stops the day’s exercise routine in its tracks.

Eating too much too soon before you exercise can have distressing results.  Unlike water, which moves passively from your intestines to your bloodstream, food must undergo both chemical and mechanical digestive processes before it is broken down into particles which are small enough to pass from your intestines into your bloodstream.

This process necessitates a significant energy commitment in the form of oxygen-rich blood.  If you exercise on a full stomach, your working skeletal muscles must compete with your working intestines for a limited supply of oxygenated blood.  And guess what:  skeletal muscle takes priority over digestion.

By following the simple dietary guidelines listed below, most people will avoid the stomach upset,  nausea and/or vomiting which can come from eating too much too soon prior to physical exertion.  Remember, everyone is different.  You may have to experiment to find your own unique comfort zone.

• Wait 3-4 hours before exercise after a 1000 calorie meal.
• Wait 2-3 hours before exercise after a 600-1000 calorie meal.
• Wait 1-2 hours before exercise after a 300-600 calorie meal.
• Wait 30 minutes to an hour before exercise after a 200-300 calorie meal.
• For snacks under 200 calories, you probably won’t have to wait before exercising.

I hope these tips will be useful to you in the coming year in achieving your fitness goals.

Yours for better health,

Chris Lydon, MD

Contributor and Editor

The Healthy Herald

How many ORAC units should you eat for good health?

The USDA recommends consuming at least 3,000 ORAC units per day, though most experts maintain that you need to ingest a maximum of 5000 ORAC units per day to have a significant impact on blood and tissue antioxidant levels.  Unfortunately, the average American consumes only about 1,000 to 1,200 ORAC units per day and most of these derive from coffee–not fresh fruits and vegetables.

In order to obtain 5000 ORAC units from fruits and vegetables, you would need to eat between seven and ten servings of most fruits and vegetables.  That being said, different fruits and vegetables have an extremely wide range of ORAC scores.

For example, seven servings of a vegetable with a low ORAC score, such as lima beans, would provide you with only about 1500 ORAC units, whereas just one serving of blueberries would provide around 6500 ORAC units.

Which fruits and vegetables boast the most ORAC?

As a general rule of thumb, brightly colored fruits and vegetables and rich, dark greens tend to boast the greatest ORAC scores.  An increasing number of food suppliers and supplement manufacturers are beginning to list ORAC scores as part of their labeling.  Hopefully, this will help ensure that more consumers meet their recommended daily quotient of antioxidants.

       According to research, semi-perishable food sources such as green tea and olive oil, both known for their high antioxidant content, gradually lose their antioxidant properties over time.  In the case of green tea, researchers found that quantities of the two most prevalent antioxidants, catechins known as epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) and Epicatechin gallate (ECG), plummeted by 28 and 51% respectively during the first six months after packaging.    

       In related work, Italian researchers tested several varieties of extra virgin olive oil during the production and packaging processes.  Although antioxidant capacity remained stable for the first three months, by six months, most of the oils had lost about 40 percent of their antioxidant capacity. 

       The take-home message is simple:  to derive maximum health benefits from semi-perishable antioxidant-rich foods, it is best to purchase amounts that you can consume in a short period of time.

Spring sneezes got you down?

The following lists include simple, non-pharmaceutical steps you can take to minimize your exposure to common allergens.

Pollen and Mold

• Remain indoors in the early morning when pollen counts are at their highest.
• Avoid walks through tall vegetation.
• If you work or exercise outdoors during high pollen counts, wear a tight fitting dust or surgical mask designed to filter airborne particles.
• Keep your lawn mowed, raked, and well tended; delegate yard work to a non-allergic person whenever possible.
• Equip vacuum with a special high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter and vacuum your home weekly.
• Seasonal residences (such as summer cabins) and camping gear should be aired out and cleaned thoroughly before use.
• In damp climates, a dehumidifier in the cellar will help prevent mold growth.

Dust Mites

• Replace venetian blinds with shades.
• Wash curtains once every month in 130 degree water to kill mites.
• Encase pillows, duvets, mattresses, and box springs in airtight plastic covers.
• Equip vacuum with a special high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter and vacuum your home weekly.
• Replace wall-to-wall carpets with washable throw rugs over hardwood, tile, or linoleum.
• Never install rugs over concrete floors as it encourages dust mite propagation.
• Dust surfaces and wood floors frequently with a damp cloth or oiled mop.
• Replace down and feather bedding with synthetic pillows and duvets.
• Avoid stuffed animals in or near the bed.

Pets

• Equip your home with a HEPA air purifier.
• Bathe cats and dogs weekly and brush frequently.
• Keep pets out of the bedroom.
• For your next pet, choose a hypoallergenic (non-shedding) breed of dog.  For more information, consult your veterinarian.

Don’t let stress turn you into an overwrought gargoyle!  With these four simple steps, it will only take a few minutes and the space of a cubicle to drastically reduce tension and instill a sense of calm control that will enable you to charm your boss, meet your deadline, have a generous gift certificate couriered to your assistant, and face the dreaded prospect of your extended family without popping a single antacid.

Immediate Stress Reducers

1. Release pent up energy.  Thanks to a long evolutionary history of physical threats, our natural response to stress involves the release of powerful hormones that prepare our bodies to fight or flee for our lives.  Rather than suppressing these impulses by forcing yourself to remain seated at your desk, go directly to the nearest stairwell and climb briskly for two or three minutes.  No stairwell handy?  Do some jumping jacks right in your office, or take a brisk walk around the block. 
2. Drink a glass of water.  In addition to preventing dehydration that can intensify feelings of anxiety and contribute to that headache you’ve been cultivating all morning, the act of drinking a glass of water forces you to slow your breathing which, in and of itself, will decrease your agitation.
3. Make a plan.  Take a couple minutes to make a list of only the most crucial things that need to be done, then formulate a brief, one or two-sentence plan of attack for each item.  The simple act of jotting things down will help put them into perspective, making them seem less threatening than they were when they existed only as abstract notions in your mind.  A one or two sentence plan of attack helps instill a sense of power and control.  Now you are ready to tackle your day!
4. Breathe Deeply.  When stressed or anxious, we all have a tendency to take shallow, rapid breaths that contribute to feelings of tension.  The following two-minute breathing exercise will help slow your heart rate, lower your blood pressure, and leave you feeling calmer, cooler, and more collected:

• Lie down on the floor on your back
• Place one hand on your stomach just above your navel
• Breathe in slowly with your diaphragm, which would make your stomach rise
• Hold your breath for a count of one-Mississippi
• Breathe out slowly through pursed lips, making your stomach fall
• Repeat for a total of ten repetitions

Now you are ready to tackle your day!

Top 9 Ways to Wake Up!

1. Get enough sleep.  It seems almost too obvious to mention but, the fact is, most of us don’t!  Experts say the average person needs at least seven hours a night for general wakefulness the next day, and at least eight for optimal alertness, physical performance, and mental clarity.
2. Eat breakfast.  After lack of sleep, the main cause of morning grog is low blood sugar.  Even if you aren’t terribly hungry in the morning, something as simple as a hard boiled egg and a piece of fruit will supply the glucose and amino acids that your brain and body need to revive.
3. Stay hydrated.  Although measurable decrements in mental and physical performance will begin to manifest at as little as 1% dehydration, we do not generally “feel thirsty” until we are approximately 2% dehydrated.  Prevent dehydration and the mental decline that accompanies it by keeping a glass or bottle of water on hand to sip throughout the day.
4. Eat frequent, small meals.  Stabilize your blood sugar and avoid those afternoon energy crashes by eating at least five small meals and snacks throughout the day.
5. Choose smart snacks.  Although a trip to the candy machine might seem like a good idea at the time, cookies, crackers and chips are perfect examples of the high glycemic load carbohydrates that cause energy crashes as soon as the empty wrapper hits the round file.  Opt for healthier fare by keeping a stash of fresh and dried fruits, nuts and turkey jerky handy for between-meal noshing.
6. Limit caffeine intake after noon.  When caffeine is consumed late in the day, it can negatively impact the quality of your sleep, leaving you more tired the following day.
7. Exercise.  As little as 20 to 30 minutes a day of brisk physical activity will improve the quality of your sleep, helping to ensure increased wakefulness the following day.
8. Express your stress.  Even if you’re doing everything else right, repressed stress and anxiety can be powerful energy sappers and can leave you feeling stiff, achy, and exhausted.  Discussing your anxieties with a trusted friend, spouse, or therapist can have a tremendously positive impact on your ability to cope with troubling issues.
9. Try CoQ10.  A 2005 study found that supplementing with CoQ10 helped combat unexplained, chronic fatigue in 69% of study participants.  (Source:  Bentler SE, Hartz AJ, Kuhn EM.  Prospective observational study of treatments for unexplained chronic fatigue.   J Clin Psychiatry. 2005 May;66(5):625-32.) Watch Healthy TV to learn more: http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid62043818001?bclid=61894765001&bctid=62043139001