New England Health Advisory

As I wheeled a shopping cart through my local supermarket last week, I rounded the corner and saw a giant display that featured a photograph of crisp, blue ocean waters, clean white beach and palm trees loaded with coconuts. Piled high in the center were small bottles of coconut water and narrow glass containers of coconut oil.

I stopped and looked for a moment. As a health writer, I’m always intrigued by new foods and drinks, and what wellness benefits they may offer. And as a person whose exposure to coconut has been pretty limited, I was quite curious. As a kid, I saw coconuts used in myriad wacky ways on Gilligan’s Island. And I’ve certainly enjoyed shredded coconut on many a cake over the years. But now my interest was piqued: Can coconut contribute to good health? Come along on my coconut caravan as I find out!

Coconut Oil

I started by learning about coconut oil, which comes from the meat of the coconut and contains about 92% saturated fat. This means that when it comes to caloric content, coconut oil is very similar to other fats that people use for cooking; saturated fat-wise, it’s actually close to butter. It’s where the calories come from that may make coconut oil a bit healthier.

The calories in coconut oil are derived from fatty acids called medium-chain triglycerides, or MCTs. MCTs are shorter than long-chain triglycerides, or LCTs. MCTs have a shorter chain of molecules, which allows them to be absorbed faster and easier than other fats and metabolized by the digestive system more quickly. MCTs may also have a protective effect on the heart, by raising HDL (sometimes known as “good cholesterol”).

Coconut oil devotees say that the MCTs in coconut oil can help people lose weight and manage many other health conditions and diseases, from heart disease to diabetes.

But what’s the truth?

Unfortunately, right now there isn’t substantial evidence that proves that coconut oil is healthier than other oils. MCTs may have a leg up on LCTs, but there haven’t been any large-scale studies that show that shorter MCTs ultimately lead to weight loss, better heart health or a lower risk of stroke. Some decades-old research on populations whose cuisines feature coconut oil shows low rates of heart disease, but there are too many variables to consider: People of East Asian nations or the Pacific Islands may eat more fruits and vegetables, and fewer donuts, or get more exercise, or have any number of other health behaviors that can skew the results.

But this doesn’t mean that modern-day researchers aren’t interested in learning more. For example, the August 2009 issue of Diabetes featured an animal study, “Enhancement of muscle mitochondrial oxidative capacity and alterations in insulin action are lipid species-dependent: Potent tissue-specific effects of medium chain fatty acids,” which suggests that MCTs can help protect against insulin resistance, a precursor to Type 2 diabetes. In this study, mice were fed diets that contained either MCTs or LCTs; at the end of the five-week period, the mice that received the MCTs weighed less and had better glucose tolerance. The authors concluded that “ … dietary supplementation with MCFA [medium-chain fatty acids] may therefore be beneficial for preventing obesity and peripheral insulin resistance.”

This is promising and offers some proof that MCTs are beneficial and may help promote weight loss because of the way that mammalian bodies metabolize them. But it’s a long way from mice to men, and more research is needed on MCTs, as well as the role they play in foods.

If you want to add coconut oil to your diet, it’s certainly safe and easy enough to do: Simply replace the oils and fats you normally use with virgin coconut oil. Just remember that coconut oil is quite high in saturated fat, so be careful not to take in too many extra calories. At the end of the day, fat is fat. We know that olive, safflower and canola oils are healthier fats, so these are other good options for cutting calories when cooking.

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Coconut Water

Next I turned my attention to the other item in the beach-inspired product display: coconut water. Coconut water comes from young, green coconuts, and it tastes nutty and slightly sweet. It’s currently enjoying its moment in the proverbial sun, as industry giants Coca-Cola and PepsiCo have recently introduced their own lines of coconut waters.

Nutritionally, coconut water does boast special features and is in some ways deserving of its nickname, “Nature’s Gatorade.” It contains a good deal of potassium: almost 490 milligrams in an 8-ounce serving. (By way of comparison, a medium-sized banana contains about 450 milligrams.) An 8-ounce serving also contains 44 milligrams of sodium (salt), as well as 10 grams of carbohydrates.

When compared ounce-for-ounce to Gatorade (a longtime workout standby), coconut water has virtually the same number of calories and carbohydrates. The main differences are the amounts of potassium and sodium (Gatorade has 30 milligrams and 110 milligrams, respectively). The other big difference is price: You’ll pay roughly $2 for an 8-ounce container of coconut water, and $3 for a 32-ounce bottle of Gatorade.

If you are curious about coconut water and eager to sip a new drink after your next moderate-intensity workout, it may be worth a try. Some people love the taste and say it re-hydrates and rejuvenates them better than other sports drinks. Others say that the potassium boost is just what their muscles need after a run or trip to the gym.

Just be forewarned that if you’ve completed a hard workout that makes you very sweaty, you may need to drink a lot of coconut water to restore your electrolytes. Gatorade or similar sports drinks, with their higher sodium content that is calibrated specifically to replenish the body’s salts and minerals, may be a more effective choice. And for everyday light workouts or walks, don’t forget about plain old water! It’s free, easy to find, and calorie-free—and although it doesn’t have the cachet of coconut, it does the trick when it comes to keeping you hydrated.

Yours in health,

Eugénie Olson
Contributing Editor
New England Health Advisory

Here’s a question I want you to answer. And be honest.  How often do you exercise? I don’t mean regularly getting off the couch to manually change the channel on the TV or hoisting a quarter pounder to your mouth. I mean, physical activity that makes you huff and puff and break out in a sweat.

Like most people, you probably don’t get enough exercise. And you—like everyone else—are paying for it big time. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 68% of American adults—or 72% of men and 64% of women—are overweight or obese and 26 million have heart disease. The American Heart Association estimates that 74.5 million of Americans—or one in three—have high blood pressure, a risk factor for heart disease. And the National Institute of Health reports that 23.6 million of us have Type 2 diabetes.

What’s wrong with this picture? Many of these problems could be prevented—or our risk for them reduced—if we exercised regularly.

Exercise lowers blood pressure and our risk for heart disease and diabetes as well as colon, breast and other cancers. It helps us lose, and maintain, weight. It keeps our minds sharp and improves mood. It keeps joints and muscles flexible and strong. It may even add years to our lives.  And I mean quality years.

Skeptical?  Stanford University researchers started following runners and non-runners when they were in their 50s and older.  About two decades later, runners were less likely than non-runners to have problems doing everyday tasks like walking, dressing, getting out of a chair and grasping objects. Runners who did have difficulty developed problems about 16 years later than non-runners. Runners were also less likely to die. At the 19-year mark only 15% of runners had died compared to 34% of non-runners. The runners averaged about four hours of running each week at the start of the study; two decades later they were logging about 76 minutes per week, but they were still reaping benefits. That sounds pretty good to me.

Exercise has so much going for it that the government’s new Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommend being physically active most days of the week.  The guidelines recommend two-and-one-half hours of moderately intense exercise or one hour and 15 minutes of vigorous activity per week. To get major health benefits from exercise, we should do five hours of moderate activity or two-and-one-half hours of vigorous activity weekly.

Moderate activity includes brisk walking, gardening or water aerobics. Vigorous activity includes jogging, swimming laps, jumping rope or hiking up a hill while wearing a heavy backpack.  You can spread physical activity over the course of the day, but for best results, you should exercise at least 10 minutes at a time.

Everyone should also do strengthening exercises, such as strength training, toting heavy loads, push-ups and sit-ups, at least twice per week. Weight-bearing exercise keeps bones and muscles strong. Strong bones lower our risk for osteoporosis, the brittle bone disease. And strong muscles mean we are less likely to fall or become frail.

All of this exercise may seem like a big time commitment, but think of it this way: Heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, cancer and other health problems take time, too. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather work out than while away the hours visiting doctors; having diagnostic tests; monitoring my blood sugar; or recovering from a heart attack.  I would rather run or walk a few hours a week now than not be able to walk at all when I’m 80.

That’s why I make physical activity a priority. I have run three New York City Marathons. I have taken classes in step aerobics and spinning. I have worked with a personal trainer. These days I walk briskly for two or three miles nearly every weekday and cycle on weekends. (If it’s rainy or frigid, I walk instead.)  If we have a blizzard, I cross-country ski in the neighborhood. And because I live in New York City, I do lots of incidental walking every day—to the grocery store, the dry cleaner, the subway station (where I also climb stairs) or the post office.

Sure, there are times when I’ve skipped my workout. And I have been sidelined by a broken ankle, a torn meniscus, a herniated disc and lousy weather. But as soon as my injuries mended and the weather cleared, I got back on track. And I am better off for it.

Now it’s your turn.  It takes three to six months for something to become a habit. I promise you once exercise becomes just that, you’ll wonder how you managed without it. Ready to begin? These tips will get you started. The rest is up to you.

Get your doctor’s OK. If you are out of shape, are overweight or obese or have health issues, have your doctor sign off on your regimen and tell you what you can or can’t do.

Choose an activity you’ll enjoy. If you like it, you’re more likely to continue it.

Get the right gear. I’m not saying you should spend a fortune. But having the right shoes matters. If you don’t, your feet will hurt and you’re more likely to call it quits. Clothing that breathes and doesn’t irritate your skin will make your workout more enjoyable. If you cycle, buy bicycle shorts with cushioning. If Lycra isn’t your thing, get a cushioned liner to wear under shorts or sweats.

Go slowly. Getting out of shape takes time; so does shaping up. Each day, go a little further; each week, push a little harder. The government recommends that once you can comfortably walk 30 minutes three times a week, bump up the time you spend walking to 50 minutes. If you cycle three days a week for 25 minutes, gradually work up to six days. And stick to a schedule. Write the day and time of your workout in a calendar. If something comes up, reschedule.

Hire a personal trainer for a while. He or she can devise a training schedule for you; show you proper form—say, for strength training; and keep you on track as you build fitness.

Set goals. They’ll keep you motivated and challenged.  If you walk or jog, sign up for a race. If you bicycle, take a weekend jaunt with a local cycling group. When I was a runner, I used to run in weekend races. As a cyclist, I have taken eight bicycle trips through the French countryside.

Rethink your views about exercise. I have always thought of my walk, jog, exercise class or bicycle ride as recess for grown-ups. It’s fun and the one time I can get away from work and family pressures. It clears my mind and helps me unwind. And knowing that it may lower my risk for lots of diseases and add years to my life are big pluses.

Yours in health,

Catherine Winters
Contributing Editor
New England Health Advisory

My husband’s family in Ireland is an adherent of the Irish temperance movement known as the Pioneers. So it was a surprise to find his Uncle Miah sipping an Irish whiskey after dinner at his house in County Cork. “Doctor’s orders,” he said with a sheepish shrug. Miah had suffered a heart attack a few months earlier, and his doctor suggested an after dinner dram of whiskey would be good medicine.

That’s not just Blarney. More than 60 separate studies find that drinking alcohol in moderation is good for your heart. And the good news doesn’t end there—moderate drinking is connected to lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes and stroke, as well as weight loss. One Tuscan study even linked light to moderate red wine drinking to improved sexual function in women.

Scientists are still unraveling the reasons why drinking can be good for you—everything from the alcohol itself to its concentration of antioxidants may be the reason. Or it may even be some complex interaction of many different components. Some conflicting research says the same benefits can be had from grape juice, while other studies find that’s not the case. There is even some evidence to suggest that moderate drinking can slow declines in cognitive function brought on by old age. But on the other side of the coin, heavy drinking has been linked to a faster decline.

The Antioxidant Theory

A lot of research about alcohol’s benefits has focused on antioxidants, present in sizable amounts in certain kinds of alcohol, including whiskey, red wine and darker beers, and to a lesser amount in lagers and white wine. Antioxidants are thought to protect cells from free radicals—potentially harmful molecules your body produces when breaking down food or in reaction to environmental exposures like tobacco smoke and radiation. Scientists say free radicals can damage cells, and may play a role in heart disease and cancer, among other diseases.

Resveratrol, a particular type of antioxidant present in red wine, has been much discussed for its apparent ability to reduce inflammation in the arteries. It may have other important functions as well. New research on mice published in the July issue of the American Journal of Pathology links resveratrol to a shrinkage of abnormal blood vessels in the eye, yielding a promising breakthrough in dealing with leading causes of blindness. However, since the dose given to mice would be the equivalent of several bottles of wine, it would likely be given in pill form.

The Mediterranean Connection

While numerous studies, including a recent one done by French scientists at the Center for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention, point to better overall health among moderate drinkers, most researchers admit that the drinking may be a signifier of an overall healthier lifestyle, rather than a cause itself.

Much fuss was made, several years back, of the inclusion of wine in the so-called Mediterranean Diet, but it was important to note that the diet is low in saturated fat and high in whole grains and fruits and vegetables—all things that we know lead to better overall health.

The French study, published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, questioned nearly 150,000 Parisians about their drinking habits, then subjected them to a battery of tests.

Moderate drinkers of both sexes were found to have low body mass index, heart rate, good blood sugar levels, lower “bad” cholesterol and higher “good” cholesterol. Men also showed lower stress and depression scores. Further, moderate and low drinkers displayed better health status than did the never-drinkers. Researchers concluded that “moderate alcohol consumption may represent a marker of higher social level, superior health status and lower cardiovascular risk.”

Moderation is Key

The key to realizing better health through drinking alcohol, as in so many things in life, is moderation. A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine linked drinking as little as the equivalent of a half glass of wine, three to four days a week, to a sizable reduction in risk for heart attack. Drinking more didn’t improve health further, and it didn’t matter what type of alcohol (wine, beer, whiskey, etc.) was consumed.

Currently, the U.S. government defines moderate drinking as one 12-ounce beer, a five-ounce glass of wine or 1.5 ounces of liquor per day for a woman and up two drinks per day for a man. Each of these servings has about the same amount of alcohol and the same number of calories. The National Institutes of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism recently released new guidelines expected to be adopted by the U.S. government, defining low-risk drinking as no more than seven drinks a week for women and fourteen for men, with no more than three drinks in any one single day for women and four for men.

Dangers of Heavy Drinking

For all the beneficial effects scientists have determined can be gained through moderate alcohol consumption, this is one area where you can definitely have too much of a good thing.

Many studies link excessive alcohol consumption to cancer—particularly breast, liver and colon cancer—and stroke, among other health problems. And for those who cannot restrict their consumption to moderate drinking, the dangers of excessive drinking far outweigh the possible benefits. Excessive drinking is also implicated in unintentional injury from car accidents, falls and drowning.

Experts advise enjoying your drinks with food—never on an empty stomach—and drinking slowly to avoid intoxication. Of course, you should never drink alcohol if you’ll be driving, and double check that any medication you are taking is safe to be consumed with alcohol.

Odds are prescribing a drink a day won’t be the first thing your doctor thinks of to combat heart disease. But if you’re like Uncle Miah, it might be worth exploring with your physician. If you already enjoy a few drinks a week, relax. And as they say in Ireland when posing a toast, Slainte, which means good health!

Yours in health,

Jeanne O’Brien Coffey
Contributing Editor
New England Health Advisory

In the 20 years that I’ve been practicing medicine, diagnoses of diabetes have gone up every year.

It looks like it will keep getting worse, because medicine is still not focusing on the real solution.

Diabetes is a problem of diet, and the solution must come from food, not drugs.

Yet new drugs are used in ever-greater numbers.

And some of these drugs cause real problems!

The new diabetic drugs Avandia and Actos, for example increase a woman’s chance of breaking a bone by 50%. If you’re over 65 years old, your chances jump to 70%.

And broken bones aren’t the only problem.

Avandia is linked to over 83,000 heart attacks between 1999 and 2007. If you take Avandia, you have a 43% greater chance of having a heart attack. And your risk of dying from a heart attack increases by 65%.

In 2009, Avandia caused 304 deaths in three months. It was the highest death rate of any prescription drug during that period.

Before you think you can just switch to Actos:

Actos does seem to lower the risk of heart attack, stroke, and death. But when it was tested, researchers found Actos actually increased the chance of serious heart failure.

Thousands of people are still on these drugs. If you’re one of them, I suggest you talk to your doctor about the risks, your options, and what it means to you.

A better way to manage your blood sugar is to pay close attention to what you eat and supplement with the nutrients we are lacking in modern times:

• Avoid starches: Stay away from bread, bagels, muffins, cookies and cake, as well as grains like corn, potatoes, and rice.
• Choose good-quality protein: Grass-fed beef, free-range poultry, cage-free eggs and wild salmon are all good choices.
• Choose low-glycemic vegetables: Above-ground veggies are best. They don’t spike your blood sugar. Cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, green beans and leafy green vegetables are good examples.
• Eat low-glycemic, whole fruit: Such as berries and those you eat with the skin on. Skip dried fruit and fruit juices, and avoid high fructose corn syrup, as it contributes to insulin resistance.
• Avoid processed foods: They’re loaded with bad fats and carbs, artificial sweeteners and preservatives.

The main nutrient deficiency causing blood sugar problems in modern America is chromium:

• Chromium: Chromium makes your insulin work better. It moves your blood glucose from the bloodstream into your cells for energy. Ninety percent of American adults have a chromium-deficient diet even though chromium is in foods like meat, cheese, fruits, and vegetables. Chromium isn’t absorbed when you take it by itself. Take 400 mcg in a form called “chromium polynicotinate.” This form contains a carrier molecule to help it get into your blood and tissues.

Before considering medications, I usually try a combination of herbs to lower blood sugar:

• Gymnema Sylvestre: This herb may reduce your cravings for sugary snacks. Patients who took 400 mg of this extract daily for 18 to 20 months along with their oral medications showed a significant drop in their fasting blood sugar levels.
• Cinnamon: The same spice you use in apple pie contains a compound that works with insulin to increase glucose metabolism by roughly 20 times. Take 1-6 grams per day for best results.
• Fenugreek: Fenugreek is one of the herbs used in curry. Fenugreek stimulates insulin release. Many studies confirm the seed and herb help stabilize blood sugar in patients with insulin problems.8 Start with 100 mg of powdered seed. You can find it in capsules, or you can soak powdered seed in water or juice and drink it. You can increase the dose to as much as 10 grams.

To Your Good Health,

Al Sears, MD
For New England Health Advisory

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1.    Morrow, R., Carney, G. et al. “Impact of rosiglitazone meta-analysis on use of glucose-lowering medications.” Open Medicine. 2010; 4(1).
2.    Nissen SE and Wolski K. “Effect of Rosiglitazone on the Risk of Myocardial Infarction and Death from Cardiovascular Causes.” N Eng J Med 2007; 356: 2457-2471.
3.    Harris, G. “Research Ties Diabetes Drug to Heart Woes.” NY Times. 2010 Feb.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/20/health/policy/20avandia.html?pagewanted=al
4.    Kaul, S., Bolger, AF., et al. “Thiazolidinedione Drugs and Cardiovascular Risks: A Science Advisory From the American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology Foundation.” Circulation 2010;121;1868-1877.
5.    Juturu V., Komorowski J. R. ”Effect of Chromium Picolinate/Biotin Supplementation with Diabetes Education on Blood Sugar Levels in Type 2 Diabetes: A Pilot Program” The Internet Journal of Nutrition and Wellness. 2007; 3(1).
6.    Baskaran, K., et al. “Antidiabetic effect of a leaf extract from Gymnema sylvestre in non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus patients.” J Ethnopharmacology. 30(3):295-305, 1990.
7.    Khan A, et al. “Cinnamon improves glucose and lipids of people with type 2 diabetes.”Diabetes Care. 2003 Dec;26(12):3215-8.
8.    Raghuram, TC. et al. “Effect of fenugreek seeds on intravenous glucose disposition in non-insulin dependent diabetic patients.” Phytotherapy Research. 2006; 8(2):83-86.
9.    Kassaian N, et al. “Effect of fenugreek seeds on blood glucose and lipid profiles in type 2 diabetic patients.” Int J Vitam Nutr Res. 2009 Jan;79(1):34-9.

This is the last of four issues in the fruits and vegetables series. Previously, I looked at picking the right fruits and vegetables, examined how pesticides affect produce and why frozen fruits and vegetables are better than canned.

One reason why frozen comes out the winner is that canned food contains Bisphenol A or BPA, which is a major concern when eating canned fruits and vegetables.

BPA is an industrial compound that has been shown to be toxic even at low doses. It is an endocrine disruptor, which means that it acts as a hormone in the body, taking up space in receptor sites and leaving excess hormones to flow through the body and cause damage. BPA has been tied to numerous health concerns including breast and prostate cancer, infertility, cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes and liver-enzyme abnormalities.

BPA is ubiquitous as it is found in so many places including water bottles, cans, air, dust, office water coolers, printer inks and toners and thermal receipt paper used by grocery stores and gas stations (which can rub off onto the hands and then be absorbed by skin or ingested after contact with the mouth). The CDC found BPA present in the urine in 93% of the U.S. population and the Environmental Working Group found BPA present in the cord blood of newborns.

Avoiding BPA is a positive step toward improving wellness, and while some exposure may be hard to avoid, avoiding canned products can prevent one big source of exposure. Virtually all cans, including those containing fruits and vegetables, soda, soup, baked beans, spaghetti and ravioli and even infant formula, are lined with BPAs. Most tin cans have an epoxy liner made from BPAs (ironically to prevent the interaction of the food with the metal in the can). It’s estimated by the FDA that 17 % of the American diet comes from canned foods (and that doesn’t account for all the canned foods served at restaurants), so this is a big area where we reduce can our exposure to BPAs.

The Environmental Working Group tested canned food across the U.S. and found that in more than half of the products tested, there were levels of BPAs 200 times the government’s traditional safe level of exposure for industrial chemicals. (There is no safe standard specifically for BPAs. The FDA acknowledges it’s a concern and examined BPA levels but failed to set a safe standard level against which to test.)

The National Workgroup for Safe Markets recently released a report titled No Silver Lining that tested a random sampling of 50 cans from across the U.S. and Canada, looking at typical products many Americans might eat on a daily basis. BPA was found in 46 of the 50 products. The highest level ever found in the U.S. was found in a can of DelMonte French Style Green Beans, with a level of 1,140 parts per billion or ppb.

Walmart’s store brand (Great Value) of Sweet Peas came in at 329.3 ppb. Healthy Choice Old Fashioned Chicken Soup had 323.6 ppb. Healthy Choice Chicken with Rice Soup had 172.4 ppb.  Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Soup had 130.4 ppb and Campbell’s Chicken Noodle Soup had 127.5 ppb. The amounts varied by can even among the same product offering, perhaps reflecting the time the product remained in the can.

While again there are no specific acceptable levels of BPAs, the study found that consumption of even one can of food might yield more BPA levels than were shown to cause health effects on developing fetuses in laboratory animals.

Unfortunately, there are no viable alternatives that work across all food products, which poses a manufacturing challenge that has made the industry reluctant to change. Eden Organic is the only company using a BPA-free lining for canned foods that I know of; they bake an oil and plant-based resin onto the cans instead. Muir Glen, another organic company, hopes to be BPA-free within the next year or so. There is one premier fish product, Henry and Lisa’s Natural Seafood (Sashimi-Grade Canned Albacore Tuna) that is also BPA free.

But no company has been able to offer BPA-free canned tomatoes due to the acidity of the tomatoes and their tendency to leach more from the metal of the can. Glass may be an option for pre-made sauces, but keep in mind that manufacturers may purchase canned tomatoes as a base ingredient for the sauce, so they may still contain BPAs from their original content sources.

For those of you who use canned tomatoes, there are options other than using fresh tomatoes. Pomi tomatoes, distributed by Boschi Food and Beverage of Italy, offers tomatoes in BPA-free containers. Their chopped and strained tomatoes are available on Amazon. And Trader Joe’s offers tomatoes in cartons that are also BPA-free. Short of preserving them yourself, those are the best options.

Senator Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., is sponsoring a bill banning BPA from food packaging, allowing for a one-year delay in the ban to enable manufacturers to make the shift. Senator Feinstein stated, “I no longer eat food out of cans. I no longer buy cans. I look for jars.” (I am thrilled that she is working to eliminate BPA in cans, though she might suggest eating more fresh local fruits and vegetables instead of opting for those in jars!)

Sadly, in all but five states (Maryland, Connecticut, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Washington) baby and infant products are still sold in BPA-laden cans. Given babies’ size and developing systems, that seems criminal to me.

We should all try to avoid BPAs and proactively work to minimize our exposure: Avoiding food in non-BPA-free cans is a great first step. But it’s an effort that is even more important for pregnant women and young children.

According to obstetrician Hugh Taylor of Yale University School of Medicine, who studies the effects of BPA on pre-natal development, “Fresh fruits and vegetables may be more expensive, but I believe that the risk is too high not to spend the extra. The entire life of that individual may be altered by a few months of BPA exposure in pregnancy. This is where the greatest risk lies. We are programming the hormonal response of the next generation. The worst effects may not become apparent for years.”

One final word before we end this series on fruits and vegetables: Don’t let the cautions we’ve discussed prevent you from eating more fruits and vegetables. Try to get up to 13 servings a day. Fresh, local and organic is always best, but do the best you can. Definitely choose organic for the “dirty dozen,” even if it means opting for frozen. Buy local mixed with frozen for the rest, with as much organic as your wallet and lifestyle will allow.

To your health!

Inger Pols
Editor of New England Health Advisory

P.S. This was the last issue in the four-part fruits and vegetables series. If you missed any of them past issues, you can read them on our website.

By Al Sears. M.D.

With a simple test I can tell you if you’re likely to have a heart attack or stroke.

I can also give you a remedy to help make sure you never do – no matter how high your risk is…

The test checks for levels of homocysteine. It’s your number one indicator of heart disease.

The big drug makers play down the importance of this critical factor. They haven’t figured out a way to make any money from it, so they try to convince you that it doesn’t matter.

Turns out knowing your homocysteine level is even more useful than we thought. Homocysteine can foretell a host of other diseases as well.

And here’s the good news: It’s easy to keep your level low.

Homocysteine is a naturally occurring amino acid. But too much of it irritates the lining of your blood vessels and prevents them from dilating. This increases your risk of heart attack and stroke.

One study found that levels of homocysteine were dramatically higher in men who died from heart attacks. They discovered that men with high levels were four times more likely to suffer a fatal heart attack than those with lower levels.1

In Norway, doctors studied men with heart disease for six years. Again, they found that those with high levels of homocysteine suffered the highest number of heart attacks. The higher their levels, the lower their chances of surviving.2

But their most startling discovery is that homocysteine levels are your strongest predictor of death. More so than any other measured factor, including cholesterol.

High levels of homocysteine can also alert you to other problems and potential diseases including:

• Kidney disease
• Acute Lymphoblastic leukemia
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Depression
• HIV/AIDS
• Psoriasis
• Hypothroidism
• Gout
• Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, (SLE)
• Cancer

As you can see, many of these conditions don’t have a direct link to heart disease or stroke. Yet my own experience backs up the evidence.

The connection between high homocysteine and an underactive thyroid is also critical. Many times doctors fail to recognize thyroid problems. The result can leave patients with fatigue, migraines and depression.

The irony is that you can easily manage your homocysteine. A simple blood test will tell you if you have high homocysteine levels. I like to keep my patients’ levels at 7 or below.

I have not had a single case of elevated homocysteine that couldn’t be corrected with the right combination of natural supplements.

Here’s what I use with my patients. (Amounts are daily.) You can find these at your local health-food store:
•    Vitamin B12 – 500 mcg
•    Folic acid (B9) – 800 mcg
•    Vitamin B6 – 25 mg
•    Riboflavin (B2) – 25 mg
•    TMG (Trimethylglycine) – 500 mg

To your good health,

Al Sears, M.D.
Bibliography:

1.    Wald NJ, et al. Homocysteine and ischemic heart disease: results of a prospective study with implications regarding prevention. Arch Intern Med. 1998; 158:862-7.
2.    Nygard O, et al. Plasma homocysteine levels and mortality in patients with coronary artery disease. New England Journal of  Medicine, 1997, 337:230-6.

By Al Sears, M.D.

If you enjoy breakfast or lunch on-the-go, I understand. Our lives are so busy; we don’t always have time to cook.

But beware: Some “convenience foods” aren’t worth it. You’ll pay for it with added inches to your waistline. And those excess pounds lead to chronic diseases like obesity, cancer, and heart disease.

Here are three foods that will put you on the fast track to fat:

Breakfast Cereal: This one is a little deceptive. No one thinks of cereal as being a threat to their health.

But no matter which one you choose, breakfast cereals are high on the glycemic index (GI). For many people, a dose of high-glycemic carbs in the morning is the prescription for building excess body fat.

You’d almost be better off eating a candy bar or a piece of cake.

The GI of an average piece of chocolate cake is between 31 and 38… a Snickers bar is about 43. Not bad.

Compare that to the GI of Kellogg’s Corn Flakes… which registers a whopping 132. That means corn flakes break down into sugar in your bloodstream faster than pure glucose!

And if you add fuel to the fire by putting sugar on your cereal, you’re sending an overwhelming surge of sugar into your system.
Remember, high blood sugar triggers a wave of insulin. And insulin is the hormone that sends the message to build and store fat.

Even “healthy” cereals like Grape-Nuts have a GI of 80. That’s also very high.

It might be a fast fix when you’re rushing in the morning, but cereal in the morning will make you fat. Avoid it at all costs.

French Fries: Possibly the worst foods you can eat. First off, potatoes are high-glycemic and not good for you in any form. But when you take potatoes and deep-fry them in trans fatty oil, you have a recipe for sickness and disease.

While white potatoes aren’t the best choice, the oil they’re cooked in adds much more danger than the potatoes do. If you need a potato fix now and then, opt for a baked potato or, better yet, sweet potatoes. They’re loaded with carotenoids, vitamin C, potassium, and fiber.

Bagels and Breads: Don’t fall for the “whole-grain goodness” trap. When it comes to the glycemic index, it matters very little whether breads are made from whole grain or not. Grains spike your blood sugar, and you know what that means.

Forget about the commercials you see on TV. Unless you are very poor and can’t get enough calories without them, you should avoid grains at least until you get as lean as you want to be. You’ll be better off without them.

In the morning, take a few extra moments and scramble some eggs. Before you throw the eggs in, sauté some sliced tomatoes and spinach. Maybe some onion, too. In less than 10 minutes, you can have a breakfast that will make you feel pumped and energetic for the whole morning.

And if you need a fast lunch, try a wrap instead of a sandwich. More and more restaurants offer wraps these days. They come in all styles – spinach is my favorite. (Try and avoid the heavy flour tortillas.)

To your good health,

Al Sears, M.D.

Bibliography

1.    Whitehouse MW, Macrides TA, Kalafatis N. “Anti-inflammatory activity of a lipid fraction (Lyprinol®) from the N. Z. green-lipped mussel.” Inflammopharmacology. 1997;5:237-46.