New England Health Advisory

By Inger Pols

I recently had dinner with a friend who is fit, active, healthy and tries to eat well; he’s doing everything right. We got to talking about food labels and marketing claims. He told me that he reads the labels and that he thinks he’s making good healthy food choices.

It soon became apparent that he was reading the product claims on the front labels and occasionally, the nutrition facts label, but not the list of ingredients. I challenged him to read the ingredient list on the foods in his cabinets.  We pulled out the first item handy, Progresso Bread Crumbs, and I showed him the high fructose corn syrup and trans fats in the ingredient list.

We discovered 95% of the food in his house contained at least one, sometimes two or even all three, of the most harmful food additives: high fructose corn syrup, trans fats and MSG. It was a challenge to find anything in a box, bag, plastic bottle or jar that did not have one of these unhealthy additives.

Eating whole unprocessed foods is best, so I always recommend you stick to the outside aisles of the supermarket and avoid packaged and processed food.  But for many of us, it is simply not possible to avoid all processed foods. When you must buy prepared foods, how can you make the best choices?

While it’s easy to believe food manufacturers’ marketing claims, the only way to know if you’re making good food choices and know exactly what you are really eating is to read the ingredient list. Avoiding harmful additives could add years to your life.

Trans Fats or Partially Hydrogenated Oil

New York City made headlines when it banned all trans fats from foods. California then became the first state to do so.  Many European countries have done the same, or passed legislation for future elimination. What is it about trans fats that is so concerning? What led the National Academy of Science to say there is no safe level of trans fat consumption and to call for a full ban of its use at the city, state and country level?

Trans fats are made when a hydrogen atom is added to unsaturated fat. During this process, hydrogen gas bubbles through the oil in the presence of a nickel catalyst. Originally just an interesting science experiment, the result became attractive to food manufacturers looking to increase profits. Trans fats don’t spoil as readily as other oils, they don’t break down when heated repeatedly, and they can turn a liquid oil into a solid, which makes transport easier, and offer a cheaper substitute to solid animal fat.

The fast food industry saw the appeal, and almost every major chain found a use: Dunkin Donuts used them to fry donuts and McDonald’s used them to fry its french fries. (They and most others have recently eliminated trans fats due to public pressure).  Margarine, baked and snack goods benefited from increasing concern over the use of butter and lard several decades ago and the desire to shift to a vegetable-based oil product. But as trans fat consumption increased radically, researchers grew concerned about its effect on health.

Awareness of the harm of trans fats began in the 1990s, though a study done in the U.K. as far back as 1981 raised some questions.  In 1993, Harvard concluded that the intake of partially hydrogenated oils increased the likelihood of a heart attack. That study suggested that replacing just 2% of energy from trans fats with healthy unsaturated fats could reduce the risk of coronary heart disease by a third.

In 1999, a joint study by Harvard School of Public Health and Brigham and Women’s Hospital reported that  “at least 30,000 and as many as 100,000 cardiac deaths a year in the United States could be prevented if people replaced trans fats with healthier non-hydrogenated” oils.  The New England Journal of Medicine reported that same year that trans fats are directly linked to the development of diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular disease.

Today we know that trans fats increase LDL, the low-density lipoproteins, especially the smaller denser particles that we now know are more damaging to the arteries. At the same time, they reduce HDL, the high-density lipoproteins that are responsible for taking bad cholesterol and waste that needs to be returned to the liver for processing and disposal.  (For more detail, see our recent article on cholesterol.) They also create inflammation, which has been shown to lead to heart disease, stroke, diabetes and many other chronic conditions. Trans fats have also been linked to obesity and insulin resistance as well as Alzheimer’s disease.

At one point, the FDA estimated 95% of prepared cookies, 100% of crackers and 80% of frozen breakfast products contained trans fats.  They have also said that the average American consumes 5.8 grams of trans fats a day. While some companies are shifting their manufacturing processes, the majority of foods still contain some amount of trans fat.  (It breaks my heart every year when the Girl Scouts come calling because I’d love to support their cause, but their cookies all include trans fats, so typically, I make a donation and tell them to keep the cookies.)

When you eat at bakeries, restaurants, schools and cafeterias there is no way to monitor trans fat presence, so it’s likely that you’re consuming them. Trans fats do occur naturally in some meat and dairy products, so it’s hard to avoid them completely.

The American Heart Association recommends that no more than 1% of your calorie energy come from trans fats. If you eat a 2,000 calorie a day diet, that is 20 calories, or less than two grams of trans fats a day. Given what you likely ingest through your daily meat and dairy consumption, you are most likely reaching or exceeding that amount through natural sources.

Prior to 2006, when it was required to list trans fats on labels, it was hard to tell which foods contained them. Now it’s a little easier, but you still cannot depend on truth in labeling with regard to trans fats. In fact, many products claim to be trans fat free while still containing trans fats. Portion sizes under .5g per serving do not require listing on labels. (In Canada, it’s .2g.) So some manufacturers simply reduce portion sizes in order to meet the minimum requirements, but continue to process foods the same way.

The only way to know for sure is to read the label and to look for partially hydrogenated oils on the ingredient list.  It may surprise you where you find them: in addition to the obvious breads, cookies and crackers, I found them in a jar of marinated artichoke hearts!

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Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)

Almost everyone knows they should avoid MSG, so food manufacturers have gotten smart about hiding it. But it astounds me how many times I see it listed openly as monosodium glutamate in the ingredient list of a common kitchen staple.  It’s in so many foods because it’s a flavor enhancer that leads you to want to eat more, and which is exactly what food manufacturers want.

MSG is a neurotoxin that excites the brain. In addition to being toxic, it’s addictive. It can cause brain damage, lead to behavior disorders, learning disabilities, endocrine and reproductive disorders and neurodegenerative disease. It has been shown to lead to obesity regardless of caloric intake; it acts on the pancreas to secrete insulin and stimulate hunger, and if you are taking calcium blockers for high blood pressure, MSG acts as a calcium channel opener, counteracting that medication.

It’s in soups, salad dressings and dips, Hamburger Helper, frozen foods, prepared noodles and potato chips, it’s the secret ingredient at many big name fast food and chain restaurants, and it’s sold as the flavor-enhancing product, Accent. It’s not just a Chinese restaurant concern, though it gained attention after many people sensitive to its effects came down with headaches, dizziness and chest pains after eating it in Chinese food.

Glutamic acids are amino acids (the building blocks of proteins) commonly found in foods such as tomatoes, milk and mushrooms. They are also found in our cells and function as a neurotransmitter involved in a variety of brain functions. When we eat these foods, we break down the natural or sometimes called “bound” glutamic acid and it is delivered to receptors in our brain and body. It’s not harmful and in fact performs a valuable function.

But when glutamic acid is made in a factory, the “bound” glutamic acid in corn, molasses, beets or wheat is broken down by one of several processes: It is hydrolyzed, autolyzed, modified or fermented using powerful chemicals or specially engineered bacterias. (Most of the world’s production is made using bacterial fermentation, often with genetically engineered bacterias, but autolyzed and hydrolyzed processes are rampant in food products as well.)

It then becomes refined into a sugar-like white crystal form that is 78.2% glutamate, 12.2% sodium and 9.6% water. Anything 78%-79% processed free glutamic acid (MSG) will be listed as monosodium glutamate on the label. Other MSG-containing ingredients are listed in their technical form such as hydrolyzed vegetable proteins, autolyzed yeast, hydrolyzed yeast, yeast extract, soy extracts and protein isolate. Labels reveal that these forms are pervasive in the vast majority of foods we buy and eat.

So what’s the difference between the naturally occurring monosodium glutamate and the processed form?

Unprocessed glutamic acid is L-glutamic acid. When the processed version is created in factories, it is both L-glutamic acid and D-glutamic acid, along with pyroglutamic acid and a number of impurities. Several of the impurities such as mono and dichloro propanols and heterocyclic amines are carcinogenic. But even more importantly, our bodies are made to process and utilize naturally occurring L-glutamic acid, not the created D-glutamic acid that results from factory processing.

The FDA considers MSG to be naturally occurring since the basic ingredient is found in nature. But naturally occurring doesn’t mean safe. Arsenic is naturally occurring but you wouldn’t want to eat it. The factory version of MSG causes sensitivities and toxicity in people, as our bodies have never had to process this form before. Look out for all forms of monosodium glutamate including autolyzed or hydrolyzed yeast, yeast or soy extract and protein isolate on your ingredient lists and avoid them all.

High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS)

Because we already talked about HFCS in The Truth About Sugar report, I’ll keep this summary brief.

Research has shown that fructose inhibits our leptin signaling and directly leads to obesity, type-2 diabetes and a myriad of other conditions including heart disease. It alters our sweetness set points and interferes with satiety signals, leading us to eat more. We need to minimize fructose in our diets because fructose cannot be metabolized by the cells and must be metabolized by the liver; excess fructose consumption taxes our liver.

But high fructose corn syrup is not only a harmful form of fructose; it often contains mercury, it’s made from corn syrup that is derived from genetically modified corn, and it adds to the overload of corn already rampant in our diets as corn has shifted from a vegetable into a grain.

High fructose corn syrup is commonly found in bread and bread products, ketchup, tomato and spaghetti sauce, peanut butter, jelly, salad dressing, crackers and cookies and myriad other items including seafood cocktail sauce, barbecue sauce, sweet pickles or relish … just about everything!

When I had dinner with my friend, he wanted to make a special turkey burger recipe for me. Searching for bread without high fructose corn syrup can be quite a challenge in many traditional grocery stores. On a recent trip, I found only one offering out of 28 breads that was made without it. But finding high fructose corn syrup -free bread products such as hamburger buns and hotdog rolls is almost impossible at a traditional grocery store.

It takes a trip to the organic section of my local grocery store (I am fortunate to have access to Hannaford, which has a great selection), Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s to find products made without high fructose corn syrup. If your regular grocery store doesn’t carry non-high fructose corn syrup options, ask that they do. Or go without the bun.

Most of us consume large amounts of these three unhealthy food additives without knowing it. While we can’t control what’s in the food we eat in a restaurant or cafeteria, we can control what we cook at home. Once you start reading food labels, you’ll be surprised what’s actually in the products you’re buying. The good news is that there are healthy versions of every product out there that still taste great, if you take the time to look for them.

To your health!

Inger Pols
Editor of New England Health Advisory

P.S. Do you ever experience sickness, fatigue, or pain—and worry they might be symptoms of something more serious? Well, it could be your multi-vitamin that’s to blame!

Dr. Sears’ investigation into the multi-vitamins in the supermarket or health food store revealed that most fall short in the very vitamins and minerals you need most.

This chronic lack of critical nutrients puts you at risk for today’s most serious health threats. Even worse, most multi-vitamins on the market today … including the one you may take … don’t make up for the shortfall of vitamins and minerals in your diet.

Click here to make sure you get all the vitamins and minerals you need—every day!

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By Andrew Palmer

I’ll admit it … I love coffee.

The crisp aromas of the fresh brew … the smell of dark-roasted whole beans: Ahhh.

The fact is that I need my morning cup o’ joe. Without it I’ve been called a bear … well, worse actually.

It’s a ritual and my requisite pick-me-up.  My brain is just not the same without it.

And don’t get me started on the chronic drowsy feeling I get around 3 p.m. I really need that afternoon java jolt to finish the day.

So when I heard that our contributor, Dr. Sears had uncovered a “brain food” that is so powerful it not only boosts your brainpower, it also improves your memory recall and provides more long-lasting energy than a cup of coffee … my interest was perked. (Pardon the pun.)

This brain food comes from a remarkable Amazon rain forest healing herb that gives you lasting energy—without the crash—mixed with a powerful brain booster, that ramps up your mental energy and accelerates your thinking.

According to tribal folklore, the Indians of the Amazon River Basin have been using the herb to prevent fatigue and increase physical endurance since before recorded history. It’s a seed called Paullinia cupana. The active compound is guaranine, a member of the caffeine family. But unlike regular caffeine, Paullinia cupana is full of healthy fatty acids.

The good fat gives guaranine a slow release, so its effect gradually increases over a few hours. It doesn’t pick you up and throw you down like the quick release of caffeine. There’s no crash with this stuff … and you don’t get any of the nervous, jittery energy you do with caffeine.

Paullinia cupana works its magic by releasing acetylcholine—a neurotransmitter—in your brain. It’s the brain chemical that lets your nerve cells fire through the synapse—or gap—that exists between the trillions of neurons in your brain.

If you have lots of acetylcholine, your mind is sharp and your memory is clear. When you drink coffee in the morning, it’s the release of acetylcholine that gives you the buzz to get you going.

Dr. Sears brings this together with choline, the building block required for the synthesis of acetylcholine. When you introduce choline into the mix, you give your body the ability to manufacture this incredibly powerful neurotransmitter.

Choline and guaranine combined can give you a bigger release of acetylcholine—even more than taking guaranine on its own. It’s what gives you the feeling of energy and mental power.  Adding just a spoonful of Choline Punch to your favorite drink gives you:

* Mental clarity and alertness that lasts the whole day.
* Stronger memory and power of recall.
* Better physical coordination and a more stable gait.

Keep reading to find out how you can sharpen your brain, increase your alertness and have more energy than ever before! Click here now.

Yours for health and wellness,

Andrew Palmer
Publisher
New England Health Advisory

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There are 206 bones in the human skeleton that support and protect our internal organs and perform a number of important functions. But we rarely give them much thought unless we break one and we have to learn to function without it. When you’re a kid, it can be a cool badge of honor, but as an adult, it can wreak havoc with your life.

A few years ago, I broke my right wrist so severely that I now have a four-inch plate and two screws where my wrist bone once was. I was at the roller rink with my kids when a boy lost control and knocked me over. The accompanying nerve damage was excruciating and learning to bathe, dress, cook and take care of my little kids without the use of my wrist was quite a challenge.

It took me almost a year to fully recover, and as a result, I’m even more conscious of my bone health now.

If you’re struggling with wear and tear on hips or knees or perhaps you’re concerned about bone health and osteoporosis as you age (or you have a friend or family member who is), there is much you can do to prevent and even repair bone damage. Today I’m going to explore how you can avoid drugs, replacement surgeries and debilitating fractures as you age, and have strong healthy bones for life.

How our Bones Work

Our bones are meant to last: Exhumation at burial sites thousands of years old reveals intact skeletons. Ancient societies’ medical records reveal no issues or concerns with bone failure as people age. So what has changed?

Bones are continuously being built up and broken down. In fact, the entire human skeleton is replaced every 10 years. There are two types of cells in the bones needed to complete this task: Osteoblasts, which produce new bone, and osteoclasts, which are responsible for removing damaged or unnecessary cells from the bones. These cells work to structure your bones as you grow, to regulate calcium levels in the blood, and to repair stresses and damage from daily function.

In addition, almost all of our hormones, including testosterone, estrogen, progesterone, cortisol, thyroid hormones and growth hormones have an effect on bones. We hear a lot about women being at risk for osteoporosis post-menopause, when estrogen levels in the body fall; clearly the hormone connection is real.

Osteoporosis occurs when bone tissues thin as we age, resulting in a loss of bone density. But is osteoporosis a problem? Rather, it is the fractures that could potentially result that cause the most concern. Research indicates that there are people with thin bones who never experience fracture and people whose bones are dense who do. So is bone density really the issue, or is it really all about minimizing fractures?

Thanks to aggressive marketing campaigns, everyone knows of the connection between calcium and bone health. I cringe every time I go into my kids’ schools and see posters of athletes and pop stars with white mustaches. The U.S., Australia, New Zealand and most of Western Europe are the largest consumers of dairy in the world. Yet we have more fractures than people from Asia and Africa. In fact, the populations of Africa and Asia consume almost no dairy, but have fracture rates 50%-70 % lower than ours.

Calcium may be important, but clearly it is not enough on its own.

Let’s look at how bones are structured.  Bones are made of an interwoven lattice-like structure: a collagen matrix. This makes up about 35% of the bones and it is what gives bone its flexibility. This matrix forms the base that then traps calcium phosphate, a mineral salt, which is also known as hydroxyapetite. Hydroxyapetite forms about 65% of bone mass and it is what gives bones its strength. Bones are also the depositories of many minerals that the body needs such as sodium, potassium and magnesium.

Tests measure bone density. But if you fall, what determines whether your bones fracture? Is it the density of the bone? If so, why don’t we see that thin bones consistently fracture and that dense bones do not?

Perhaps it’s not how thick the bone is, but rather, how flexible the collagen matrix is and how able it is to support you when you fall or find yourself out of your natural alignment. Caring for bones means more than just calcium; it means ensuring the flexibility of the collagen web.

What About Bisphonates?

Bisphonates such as Fosomax, Actonel and Boniva work in two ways: By preventing bone perforations that can weaken structure and by inhibiting the osteoclasts, the cells that break down old bone. Normal bone processes includes resorption, in which old bone is cleared away. But osteoporosis drugs prevent that process, so the old bone stays around longer.

Instead of a natural process that renews the bone skeleton every 10 years, the old bone is kept around and during the first year, new bone keeps getting built. That’s why many people see such great results short-term from bone building drugs. But after a while, that process peaks and just as the bone resorption stops, so does the bone creation. Somehow the osteoblasts that build bone are repressed by the bisphonates and the natural process is halted.

New research reveals that many people on these drugs have spontaneous fractures that are not trauma related but simply bones breaking while walking up stairs or performing normal daily routines. Ultimately, the old bone buildup and the lack of new bone growth may make the bones even more brittle than they were before!

When we looked at cholesterol, we talked about the “number needed to treat,” or NNT. (Some scientists say anything over 50 is like buying a lottery ticket.) A study of post-menopausal women showed that twice as many of the high-risk fracture group (history of a previous fracture and low bone density) on placebos had a fracture versus those on the drug Fosamax. This study result allowed Fosamax to claim a 50% reduction in fractures. But just as in the cholesterol fine print, we need to dig deeper to understand what that means.

The study shows that 2.2% of the placebo group had a fracture versus 1.1% of the Fosamax group. The net result of risk reduction was 1%. For every 100 women treated, 99 got no benefit. Those 99 would be much better served with diet and exercise changes given all the side effects of these drugs, including irregular heartbeats, increased fractures of the femur (isn’t that what we are trying to prevent?), ulcers and upper GI irritation, joint, bone and muscle pain, and rare but serious jaw bone decay.

So if drugs aren’t the answer, what can we do? The answer lies in exercise and diet.

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Exercise: Get Moving

Weight bearing exercise is critical to bone strength. As a cycling instructor, I paid attention when a cycling magazine reported that they looked at the bones of professional/serious cyclists and found men in their 50s with hip bone density similar to that of elderly women. There is something about the cycling movement that grinds the hipbone and if you ride to excess without weight bearing exercise, it takes its toll on your hips.

Cyclist or not, we all need to walk, run, hike, dance or climb stairs to get exercise. And we should also work on strength training. While lifting weights can be done in a gym, you can also use household or kitchen items and perform body weight exercises such as push-ups.

And since fractures have a lot to do with flexibility, stretching is key. The hip flexor muscle in particular needs to be flexible enough to respond should you fall out of normal alignment. Yoga and tai chi can be helpful, but you can just lie on the floor and stretch at home, too.

Balance training can also be helpful: The better your balance the less likely you are to tumble and encourage fractures. Try standing on one foot without holding onto anything. If that’s easy, close your eyes. Practice over time and your balance will improve: You’ll be able to hold that pose for longer periods of time with greater stability.

Bone-Building Diet Options

The complex interplay of minerals and nutrients for bone health means that dietary answers are not as simple as taking more calcium. Calcium needs approximately 16 other nutrients in order to be utilized by your body and dairy calcium does not deliver those nutrients. So taking dairy as a source of calcium is not helpful unless you also consume a wide variety of plant foods to access those other nutrients. But since calcium can also be delivered through those same plant foods, increasing dairy is ultimately unnecessary.

Calcium is not enough. Collagen and the vitamin C required to make it are critical. In fact, some researchers have suggested that vitamin C is as integral to bone health—or given our deficiencies, perhaps even more so—than calcium. Vitamin C stimulates the enzymes that create the connective tissue and the collagen. But collagen also requires adequate protein for formulation. A deficiency of either one, protein or vitamin C, may weaken the collagen matrix and prevent the calcium salts from being retained.

Man is one of the few mammals that cannot make vitamin C in its liver, so we must ingest all our daily vitamin C requirements. Vitamin C is not stored in the body, so it must be continually replenished.

The prior Recommended Daily Allowance of vitamin C—60 mg—was selected to avoid scurvy, a disease that occurs when we are extremely vitamin C deficient.

Researchers now recommend that we get a minimum of 200 mg of vitamin C a day, though a recent study on college age men showed they needed as much as 1,000 mg a day. 200 should be sufficient for most of us, but getting that amount means at least five servings of fruits and vegetables. We know about citrus fruits like oranges and grapefruits, as well as berries like strawberries and raspberries, but vegetables are good sources of vitamin C as well, without the blood sugar impact. Dark green leafy vegetables like kale, spinach, collard greens and asparagus are all good sources of vitamin C.

Vitamin D is also required for calcium absorption (so we need to get our daily dose of sunshine), as are a host of other minerals including phosphorus, magnesium, boron, copper, manganese, silica, zinc, folic acid and vitamins B12, A and K.

Its best to get these minerals through a whole plant food diet: dark green leafy vegetables, beans, nuts, seeds, seaweeds and some fish. But if you can’t do that, a whole food supplement can help bridge the gap. (Just note that with vitamin C, you will want to consume several smaller doses a day instead of one larger one.) We also need the presence of healthy fats (omega-3s) to perform necessary body functions around vitamin absorption.

Finally, it’s important to know that an overly acidic diet will weaken our bones. Acid creating foods such as alcohol, sugar, flour, grains, meat fish, poultry and eggs pull calcium and other minerals out of teeth and bones. The more minerals there are in a food, the more alkaline it is, so eating fruits, vegetables, seaweeds, salt and other alkalizing foods can help balance out too much acid and support our natural healing and bone repair process.

To your health!

Inger Pols
Editor of New England Health Advisory

P.S. As I mentioned above, humans cannot produce their own vitamin C, so it must come from our diet. It’s one of the most important, yet often overlooked vitamins. Most animals make 4,000 mg to 6,000 mg of vitamin C just to carry out regular functions. While most people are lucky to get 150 mg a day from their normal diet.

Aside from regular maintenance, vitamin C is needed for the production of collagen, which forms the walls of you blood vessels. This makes vitamin C a key player for heart and brain health. It’s also a powerful antioxidant, critical for good skin and vital for healthy bones.

In addition to fighting the action of free radicals, vitamin C reduces inflammation and boosts immune response. To get this vital nutrient, click here.

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By Andrew Palmer

Do you want to lose some weight? Who doesn’t?

I know my waistline seems to grow every year, especially before the family vacation!

The science of losing weight isn’t a mystery. It’s a simple matter of burning more calories than you eat. We all know that … but if it were really that simple, no one would have a weight problem.

Yet dropping extra weight doesn’t mean you need to drastically change your life with fad diets, fasting, TV infomercial miracle cures, etc.

The secret may just be a synergistic approach to making small changes to your diet, as well as increasing your exercise, to slowly lose those extra pounds. At New England Health Advisory, we believe in working toward the goal of improved overall health slowly and not insisting on instant results.

But what if I told you there was a new product on the market that could quickly help you drop your unwanted fat?

Something revolutionary that would boost your progress as you gradually make better lifestyle decisions, allowing you to avoid unreasonable hours at the gym or forcing yourself to eat rice cakes and tofu burgers?

It’s true.

Our contributor Dr. Sears found a new clinical study that says it’s possible. In fact, he’s found what may be the most successful weight loss compound ever tested.

The people in this study—which was published in the medical journal “Lipids in Health and Disease”—lost an average of 28 pounds, as well as six inches off their belly. And they didn’t change their diet or exercise habits. (Although, for anyone to successfully, and healthily, lose weight we do recommend changing both.)

The key is a little-known West African herb that could potentially become recognized as the most effective weight loss supplement ever discovered.

Remember the days when you could eat anything you wanted … and nothing made you fat?

There’s a reason. Back then, your body had the right balance of certain factors that control the size and production of fat cells.

But as you’ve aged, your body’s chemistry has shifted. And it doesn’t help that much of the food you eat is processed and full of additives and chemicals that interfere with the signals that move between the cells in your body.

Staying lean and trim as you age is not easy. You can eat right and exercise and still end up with a “spare tire” around your belly. It doesn’t seem fair.

But if you know why this is happening you can do something about it, starting with this herb that helps reset your body to the point where you naturally and easily resist the production of new fat cells.

Please click on the link below to find out how this new safe and effective natural remedy ramps up your body’s ability to burn fat … and may just change your life.

Click here for details!

Yours for health and wellness,

Signature

Andrew Palmer
Publisher
New England Health Advisory

P.S. Sounds to good to be true, eh?  Take a look at this …

“I’m 50-years-old and started taking Primal Lean about six months ago. I’ve lost a total of 75 pounds and I’m now a size 2. A SIZE 2!!! I have never been a size 2 ever, probably not even as a child. Thrilled is an understatement. It has brought my marriage back to life. I am noticed everywhere I go. I have so much energy and am so sincerely happy I cannot begin to tell you. The ability to try on anything and be happy with the way it fits and looks is amazing.

“Dr. Sears, you have given me something I could never accomplish on my own. The smallest I could ever get was a size 8, which seems huge compared to the size I am wearing now. THANK YOU!!!!”

Our contributor Dr. Sears gets emails like this every week from the thousands that are already experiencing the benefits of his Primal Lean. And once they see results, no one wants to stop. Please click here to read more about this completely risk-free offer …

If you ate chocolate on Valentine’s Day or Easter, I have some news for you. You don’t have to feel guilty.

In fact, I have evidence that you may have cut your risk from dying of a stroke nearly in half.

Two studies give us great news about chocolate.

The first study found that people who ate one serving of chocolate per week were 22% less likely to have a stroke.1

The second study found that people who ate 50 grams of chocolate once a week were 46% less likely to die following a stroke than those who didn’t eat chocolate.2

About 80% of strokes occur when there isn’t enough blood getting to the brain.3 Your brain is starved of oxygen and nutrients and begins to die immediately.

Chocolate helps to counteract that in two ways. It’s rich in antioxidants and helps to increase circulation.

You may get a rush of pleasure when you bite into a piece of chocolate. But chocolate gives you more than instant gratification. Chocolate is filled with antioxidants called flavonoids. Flavonoids protect the body.

Flavonoids fight silent inflammation, which is the leading cause of chronic diseases such as cancer, heart disease, stroke, dementia, and many others.4

You can find flavonoids in vegetables, tea, and red wine, but cocoa has more flavonoids.5 In fact, dark chocolate contains up to four times the antioxidants found in tea.6

But that’s not all this Valentine’s Day treat can do.

The flavonol-rich cocoa in chocolate is also a vasodilator.7 It widens blood vessels so circulation is improved. This brings an increased blood flow to the brain. It helps to lower blood pressure and improve heart function. Vasodilators like the cocoa in chocolate also help to increase circulation to sexual organs so they’re ready to respond when you are.

No wonder the scientific name for cocoa translates to “food of the gods.”

When you’re looking for a good source of chocolate, keep this in mind:

•    Look for chocolate that contains 70% or more cocoa. This is the ingredient that contains health benefits.

•    Check how much sugar is added to the chocolate you choose. Keep it as low as possible. But choose sugar over artificial sweeteners or chocolate labeled “sugar free.”

•    Beware of other chemicals in the chocolate. Choose a brand that has pure ingredients and no chemical additives.

•    Make chocolate your special treat of choice once a week.

•    You can find good quality chocolate at a health-food store. More and more it’s finding its way into grocery and drug stores. Read the label to be sure of the quality and content.

To your good health,

Al Sears, M.D.

Contributor to New England Health Advisory

1.    “Can Chocolate Lower Your Risk of Stroke?” American Academy of Neurology. www.aan.com. Accessed 02 2010.
2.    Ibid.
3.    “Causes of Strokes.” http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/stroke/DS00150/DSECTION=causes.
4.    Wang, J.F., Schramm, D. D., et al. “A Dose-Response Effect from Chocolate Consumption on Plasma Epicatechin and Oxidative Damage,” Journal of Nutrition. 2000;130:2115S-2119S.
5.    Ki Won Lee, KW., Kim, YJ., et al. “Cocoa Has More Phenolic Phytochemicals and a Higher Antioxidant Capacity than Teas and Red Wine” J. Agric. Food Chem. 2003; 51(25):7292–7295.
6.    I.Arts, P.Hollman, D.Kromhout “Chocolate as a source of tea flavonoids,” The Lancet. 354; (9177): 488-488.
7.    Fisher, N., Hughes, M., et al. “Flavanol-rich cocoa induces nitric-oxide-dependent vasodilation in healthy humans,” Journal of Hypertension: 2003. 21; (12):2281-2286.

Most of us know we need to start—or increase—our fitness efforts, but many of us have difficulties getting started. In addition to weight management, exercise improves your mood, increases energy, reduces stress, helps you sleep better, boosts self-esteem, supports hormonal balance and reduces risks of chronic diseases and conditions including heart attacks, osteoporosis and breast cancer.

A recent study on mature women showed that just to maintain their current weight, the women needed to exercise for an hour a day; to lose weight would require even more time. In our busy lives, finding an extra hour can be a challenge, even if we have the desire to do so and the willpower to stick with it.

The good news is that we don’t need to work out for an hour in one session: We can break it into smaller blocks. And doing something is better than nothing, so even small efforts will make a difference in your health and well-being. This week, I’m going to give you some tips that I use when coaching that can help make your workouts work better for you.

Tip #1: Set a Goal and Measure Your Progress

Knowing what you are working toward will increase your effectiveness. As in everything else, what is measured and monitored gets done. Begin by setting an overall goal for your fitness plan. Be clear on what you want, for example, losing 25 pounds, training for a 10K or building enough endurance to be able to be comfortably active with your grandkids. The more specific you can be, the better. If your goal is to get fitter, define what that means to you.

Set a mini goal before each workout. Your first time, it may be as simple as walking without stopping for 15 minutes. That becomes your baseline and you can adjust from there by adding 5 minutes to your workout each time or running a mile a few seconds faster.

Be realistic with your goals, and yourself: If you didn’t sleep well the night before or you are fighting a cold, your goal may be just to complete the same workout you did the time before. And that’s OK. But if you are feeling good that day, decide how you can push a little.

Make a log to track your progress. When I was training to cycle from Banff to Jasper in the Canadian Rockies, my first cycling vacation, I kept a log of each training ride that included how far I rode, how long I rode, the time of day, the weather conditions and how I felt. Tracking that let me see how I was improving and how my performance was impacted by wind, time of day and my mood. This let me get smarter over time about how to train and when to push.

Tip #2: Know Yourself and Leverage Your Strengths and Passions

We all have different times of day when we feel most energetic and creative: Don’t resist your natural patterns. If you are forced to adopt new body rhythm patterns, you can do so over time, but it will take a little extra effort, so it may be harder to stick with.

Follow your passions to keep exercising from feeling like a chore. Go back to things you loved as a child like bike riding or tennis, or take up a new activity you have always wanted to try like golf or rowing. If you love watching Dancing with the Stars, try a ballroom dance or Zumba class.

But don’t feel you have to take on things that don’t appeal to you just because they are effective for others. If you hate the gym, don’t join a gym! If you don’t like exercising alone, find a class, team or group. Create a program that you will look forward to, not dread.

Tip #3: A Little Help from Your Friends

Studies show that people who join the gym with a buddy stick with their fitness efforts longer. It may be the accountability factor or the social factor, or most likely, both. If you take a class or play on a basketball team, the fun and social aspect will keep you committed and motivated beyond the pure physical benefits.

If you decide to workout on your own—at a gym, in your home, or outside—try to engage a partner or friend to either join you or to hold you accountable. For example, if you join a gym, get a friend to join too; while you may not work out “together,” you can plan to go several times a week at the same time. If you decide to walk your neighborhood after work, find someone to join you.

If you are using an exercise machine in your house and there is no way for someone to participate along with you, get creative. Find someone else that’s doing the same routine, and meet once a week to compare progress. Set some goals or challenges for each other and know that on Monday when you meet for coffee she is going to ask you if you met—or exceeded—your goal.

Tip #4: Schedule Your Workout

Life gets crazy at times and often the first thing to suffer is our workout time. Sometimes we feel selfish “indulging” in time for ourselves when there is so much else to do. Other times, people demand we prioritize other things. But taking care of yourself by working out ensures you will be around a lot longer to take care of others. And after you work out, release stress and improve your mood, you will be a better partner, parent or friend. So don’t let the workout slide.

Instead, schedule your workout just as you would a meeting or a dentist appointment. Mark the time in your calendar in ink and consider it unchangeable. If you think about everything you have to do in a day, there really is very little if anything more important than taking a little time to get or stay healthy. And you’ll feel so much better! Let it be known that you are unreachable during that time; you’ll find the world will still be waiting for you when you are done.

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Tip #5: Find Your Motivation

When you are working out and feeling like you want to stop, or you are avoiding beginning your exercise, try to remember your initial goal and motivation for starting your fitness program. The more you focus clearly on that outcome, see it in your mind and feel how good it will feel to achieve that and be living that life, the easier it will be to find the strength to continue. Also remembering how good you feel when you’re done can help get you going.

But there will be days when even that is not enough. When you are working out, it will be easier to push to new levels if you also draw on other motivation techniques. Find what works for you, whether it is just inspiring music, a bet with yourself or creating scenarios to encourage you to continue on.

As a spinning instructor, I see lots of competitive people in my classes. (Spinning, or indoor cycling, is a form of high-intensity exercise that involves using a stationary exercise bicycle in a classroom setting.) It is easy to inspire them with race situations where they are competing for the podium or to beat their best time. If that works for you, use your competitiveness to make some fun scenarios in your workout to make you work harder.

For non-competitive people, I use a lot of visualization to encourage increases in effort. As you accelerate and push for your interval, imagine a group of runners or riders ahead of you that you need to go around.

Or imagine you are in one of those charity rides/races and there are hundreds of people you need to pass because the road is full of riders. As you go around each one, ride for the cause that that race represents. Imagine yourself passing—or climbing that hill—to beat cancer or heart disease, for yourself or for the loved one you lost to them who cannot be here to ride.

It doesn’t have to be serious, though; sometimes motivation can be just pure fun. An elderly woman in one of my classes once confessed to me that every time she took an interval, she imagined racing her husband—the loser had to clean the bathrooms. In all her years in my classes, in her mind, she never lost.

For endurance situations, I often think of Terry Fox, the Canadian who decided to run across his home country to raise cancer awareness after his leg was amputated. He ran the equivalent of a full marathon for 143 days in a row until he had to end his journey because the cancer returned.

When I am tired after running a few miles, I think about that: A full marathon every day for 143 days, all on one leg. That inspires me to keep going. When Terry was asked how he kept going, he once said that he told himself just one more telephone pole. So think OK, just one more telephone pole, one more set, one more …

Tip #6: Pace Yourself and Be Realistic

We often get excited upon starting a new plan and take on too much too soon. You didn’t gain that weight overnight: In most cases it was small choices each day that built up over time. An extra 500 calories a day would net 3500 extra calories a week, or a gain of about 50 pounds in a year, assuming no change in exercise.

Most of us aren’t gaining 50 pounds a year, so more likely it’s the extra 100-200 calories here and there that just add up slowly over time. Generally speaking, you cannot escape the calories in/calories out equation, though it is really important to note that 500 extra calories of fiber and vegetables will not have the same impact in your body as 500 extra calories of cookies and bread.

You can’t lose more than a pound or two a week safely and keep it off long term. If you keep your food habits the same, to lose a pound a week, you’ll need to burn 500 extra calories a day. But physically, you can’t run an hour the first time out, nor can you serve and volley after your first tennis lesson.

It takes time, but that’s OK. Making the commitment and sticking with it is what matters. Creating a solid fitness foundation that you can build upon will serve you over the long haul: Trying to take on too much too soon will burn you out or result in injury and leave you on the sidelines.

Tip #7: Change is Good

We tend to find something that works and stick with it. And while that’s good, our bodies quickly adapt to what we do regularly. Intensity progression and cross training can yield great benefits. If you take a set of 10-pound weights (or whatever would be appropriate for your fitness level) and do three sets of 10-12 repetitions, the first time you do it, you’ll probably be sore.

If you continue to lift the same 10-pound weights in the same three sets over time, after awhile, it will not be hard any more. Eventually it will be easy. What burned the first time and built some muscle, no longer has any muscle growth because the body has adapted to it. When lifting, we know you need to progress and either increase sets or increase weight.

It is also true for your other workouts: Your body will quickly adapt to the same hour-long spin class or 18 holes of golf and it will not be a challenge anymore. Varying the intensity will allow you to continue to progress while doing the same thing, and cross training will force your muscles to work in different ways.

Throwing something new at your body through cross training has many benefits physically, including helping you get stronger, faster and fitter. But it’s also good for the soul. Trying new things and being a little uncomfortable challenges us; succeeding at them helps us grow and builds confidence and self-esteem.

Getting out of a training rut and mixing it up will keep you from burning out and will make your training fresh and new. And most of all, it keeps working out fun! And if it’s fun, you’ll stick with it longer.

To your health!

Inger Pols
Editor of New England Health Advisory

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Many leading health and wellness experts will tell you that in addition to eating a healthy diet, most people should take a multivitamin, fish oil, coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) and anti-inflammatory botanicals like ginger.

These are all important, but today I want to focus on CoQ10.

Its many health benefits include increased energy, improved metabolism, weight loss, cell protection and better cardiovascular health. In fact, research shows that CoQ10 may promote neurological health as well. But are you taking the right CoQ10?

There’s a new form of CoQ10 and it may be the most critical discovery since Karl Folkers first identified it back in 1958.

This new CoQ10—from our contributor Dr. Al Sears—is called Accel. It’s eight times more potent than regular CoQ10 and has already been shown to slow the aging process by up to 51%!

Accel is made of 100% ubiquinol, a vastly superior form of CoQ10. With Accel, you can feel like a teenager well into your 60s and 70s.

The science behind this new discovery is published and peer reviewed. It’s not a theory or hopeful speculation. It’s a done deal.

Getting old doesn’t have to mean getting slow, weak and feeble—you can maintain the mental and physical powers you’ve enjoyed all your life.

Please visit the link below and keep reading to learn how you can benefit from this new form of CoQ10 and ignite the power source inside every one of your body’s trillion cells.

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Yours for health and wellness,

Andrew Palmer
Publisher
New England Health Advisory

P.S. I take Accel daily and think every adult should take it as well. Give it a try, and if for any reason (or for no reason at all) you do not want to continue taking Accel, just return it in 60 days for a full refund.  This is a completely risk free offer. What are you waiting for?

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