My Aching Knees

This Album Feeds Children

2012-02-25T04:46:00.000-08:00

Most of my charitable giving goes to the Children's Hunger Fund. This is really a first class organization routinely evaluated and praised by many. CHF operates with total financial integrity and efficiency, and are consistently ranked by CharityNavigator.org, MinistryWatch.org, and Forbes.com as one of the most cost effective charities in the nation.

Children's Hunger Fund has been selected to receive 100% of the proceeds (not profits, but proceeds) of ALL sales for Mark Swayze's new release, This Album Feeds Children. Mark is the worship leader at a major church in San Antonio and has become a dear friend of CHF.

Children's Hunger Fund - Mark Swayze Album

Mark and the band have created some incredible worship songs that will encourage you and help focus your heart. I invite you to listen for yourself, and I encourage you to support this Texan who has a huge compassionate heart for children suffering around the world.

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Heart Attack Info and New Aspirin

2012-02-20T04:28:00.000-08:00

MyAchingKnees received this Public Service Bulletin and wanted to pass it on for consideration. I say consideration because after all it contains a recommendation to buy a particular vendor’s product.

Heart Attack Info and New Aspirin

Bayer is in the news for making crystal aspirin to dissolve under the tongue. They work much faster than the tablets and could help heart attack victims.

About Heart Attacks

There are other symptoms of a heart attack besides the pain on the left arm.

One must also be aware of an intense pain on the chin, as well as nausea and lots of sweating, however these symptoms may also occur less frequently. There may be NO pain in the chest during a heart attack.

The majority of people (about 60%) who had a heart attack during their sleep, did not wake up.

However, if it occurs, the chest pain may wake you up from your deep sleep.

If that happens, immediately dissolve two aspirins in your mouth and swallow them with a bit of water.

Bayer is making crystal aspirin to dissolve under the tongue. They supposedly work much faster than the tablets.

Afterwards: CALL 911

- say "heart attack!"

- say that you have taken 2 aspirins.

- phone a neighbor or a family member who lives very close by

- take a seat on a chair or sofa near the front door, and wait for their arrival and.....DO NOT lie down.

Maybe a good idea to keep aspirin by your bedside.

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Toxins in Foods

2012-02-13T07:49:00.000-08:00

The Chair of Health contends that we have to eat right, take quality supplements, and, get some sort of physical exercise. The fourth leg of that chair is to avoid toxins. As the world gets more populated,...as we demand a quicker solutions to problems great and small, our ability to avoid toxins is going to be based on knowledge of where toxins are found. Aside from the occasional press release about e coli or other toxic substances found in a batch of baby food or canned soup, some foods can routinely be found to have toxins either natural or through the processing procedure. When researching some of these we found this article on arsenic found in fruit juices.

Toxic Levels of Arsenic Found in Popular Juice Brands

Arsenic has long been recognized as a poison and a contaminant in drinking water, but now concerns are growing about arsenic in foods, especially in fruit juices that are a mainstay for children.

Controversy over arsenic in apple juice made headlines as the school year began when Mehmet Oz, M.D., host of “The Dr. Oz Show,” told viewers that tests he’d commissioned found 10 of three dozen apple-juice samples with total arsenic levels exceeding 10 parts per billion (ppb). There’s no federal arsenic threshold for juice or most foods, though the limit for bottled and public water is 10 ppb. The Food and Drug Administration, trying to reassure consumers about the safety of apple juice, claimed that most arsenic in juices and other foods is of the organic type that is “essentially harmless.”

But an investigation by Consumer Reports shows otherwise. Our study, including tests of apple and grape juice, a scientific analysis of federal health data, a consumer poll, and interviews with doctors and other experts, finds the following:

* Roughly 10 percent of our juice samples, from five brands, had total arsenic levels that exceeded federal drinking-water standards. Most of that arsenic was inorganic arsenic, a known carcinogen.
* One in four samples had lead levels higher than the FDA’s bottled-water limit of 5 ppb. As with arsenic, no federal limit exists for lead in juice.
* Apple and grape juice constitute a significant source of dietary exposure to arsenic, according to our analysis of federal health data from 2003 through 2008.
* Children drink a lot of juice. Thirty-five percent of children 5 and younger drink juice in quantities exceeding pediatricians’ recommendations, our poll of parents shows.
* Mounting scientific evidence suggests that chronic exposure to arsenic and lead even at levels below water standards can result in serious health problems.
* Inorganic arsenic has been detected at disturbing levels in other foods, too, which suggests that more must be done to reduce overall dietary exposure.

Tainted brands include Minute Maid, Mott's, Gerber, Welch's, and Great Value (Walmart) among others. See results from tests on other apple and grape juice brands.

Our findings have prompted Consumers Union, the advocacy arm of Consumer Reports, to urge the FDA to set arsenic and lead standards for apple and grape juice. Our scientists believe that juice should at least meet the 5 ppb lead limit for bottled water. They recommend an even lower arsenic limit for juice: 3 ppb.

“People sometimes say, ‘If arsenic exposure is so bad, why don’t you see more people sick or dying from it?’ But the many diseases likely to be increased by exposure even at relatively low levels are so common already that its effects are overlooked simply because no one has looked carefully for the connection,” says Joshua Hamilton, Ph.D., a toxicologist specializing in arsenic research and the chief academic and scientific officer at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Mass.

As our investigation found, when scientists and doctors do look, the connections they’ve found underscore the need to protect public health by reducing Americans’ exposure to this potent toxin.

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Best Foods for the Winter

2012-02-06T04:32:00.000-08:00

This is from an article titled "The 6 Best Foods for Winter" by David Zinczenko with Matt Goulding on Yahoo! Health

It’s the first snow of the season, and it’s so heavy and wet that it clogs your snowblower. You have two choices. Option 1: Shove your arm between the augers and remove the blockage. The downside: You’ll lose your arm in the process, and having it reattached will probably bankrupt you. Option 2: Turn off the machine, grab a broom stick, and chip at the blockage until it crumbles.

You might be thinking, “What kind of lunatic would choose option 1?” Well, lunatics like the American people. The U.S. spends more than $2 trillion on health care each year, with much of that cash going toward the treatment of obesity-related complications like heart disease and diabetes. We’re fixing our health problems retroactively, with medication and surgery, even though we could prevent most of them by making smarter choices about what we eat.

There’s no better time to put this notion to the test than the winter months. Winter is not necessarily conducive to good health; the season conjures up images of calorie-loaded comfort foods, fireside naps, and runny noses. Read on for six everyday foods that will keep you healthy and strong from December to March and beyond, compliments of the all-new Eat This, Not That! Supermarket Survival Guide, which includes thousands of smart swaps that can help you shave 20 pounds or more in just 6 weeks.

Best Winter Food #1: Oatmeal

What it does: Helps you avoid the winter blues

Why it works: Sunlight signals your body to produce the feel-good hormone serotonin, so winter’s short, dark days may leave you in a less-than-cheery mood. If the doldrums persist, you may even find yourself suffering a serious form of depression known as Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). But don’t let Jack Frost get you down: Whole grain carbs like oatmeal can give your winter mood a much-needed boost. In a MIT study, researchers found that eating plenty of carbohydrates keeps serotonin levels up and can even prevent cravings for sweets. Refined carbs like doughnuts and white bread can be tempting winter comforts, but these foods will cause your blood sugar to quickly spike then plummet, leaving you in worse spirits than you were before. To stay happy and healthy, opt for whole grains instead.

Best Winter Food #2: Walnuts

What it does: Keeps your skin from drying out

Why it works: The winter months bring drier air (blame frigid winds and indoor heating), which can suck the moisture out of your skin, leaving it dull, tight, and itchy. Applying moisturizer can help, but the omega-3 fatty acids found in foods like walnuts will combat your dry-skin problem from the inside. Omega-3s help maintain healthy cell membranes, including those found in your skin. When your skin cells are strong they are better able to retain moisture, helping your skin avoid a reptilian fate.

MyAchingKnees tip: Try Walnuts in Steel Cut Oats. You can sweeten with lite Brown Sugar or Honey.

Best Winter Food #3: Garlic

What it does: Wards off cold and flu viruses (and vampires)

Why it works: British researchers recently discovered that garlic may prevent you from getting sick. In the 12-week study of 164 healthy adults, the group of participants that received a garlic supplement reported only 24 colds, while the group that received a placebo reported 64 colds. One explanation is a chemical in garlic called allicin, which may stimulate the production of infection-fighting white blood cells. Whatever the reason, adding garlic to your meals may help you stay above the weather. Just don’t eat too much—you want to keep disease at bay, not your friends and family.

MyAchingKnees tip: Garlic is a natural fly and mosquito repellent as well.

Best Winter Food #4: Winter squash

What it does: Prevents weight gain

Why it works: A 2006 Bastyr University study found that participants who routinely ate more fiber than the national average of about 14 grams per day were less likely to be overweight than those who consumed less than 14 grams. Fiber-rich foods, like squash, contain relatively low calories, and they’re digested more slowly, keeping you full long after you eat them—an important defense against the season of overindulgence otherwise known as winter. With about 9 grams of fiber per one-cup serving, eating winter squash (like acorn and butternut varieties) is a great way to load up on fiber and prevent post-holiday eaters remorse. Winter squash is also loaded with carotenes, which have been shown to reduce the risk of a variety of diseases from cancer to heart disease. Most winter squash is available year-round, but its peak season is early fall through late winter.

MyAchingKnees tip: A great way to cook squash is to slice it up, lightly coat in virgin olive oil, toss with your favorite seasoning mix, then cook on the grill in a deep dish pan.

Best Winter Food #5: Chicken Sandwich

What it does: Keeps your energy up

Why it works: Darkness signals your body to produce melatonin, the hormone responsible for making you sleepy, so the shorter days that come along with winter can cause you to feel like hitting the sack instead of the gym. But eating complex carbohydrates—most abundant in whole grains, starchy vegetables, and legumes—along with some protein can help you stay awake and energized. This combination, found in foods like a chicken sandwich on wheat bread, boosts energy in two ways: Your body digests the complex carbs slowly, keeping your blood sugar stable, and the protein helps you stay fuller, longer.

MyAchingKnees tip: Not a big Chicken fan, but I recently found thing chicken breasts at my grocery store. Easy and quick to grill and make a sandwich of. A Chipotle glaze adds a great deal of flavor. You can cut up the chicken and use in a salad as well.

Best Winter Food #6: Chicken Soup

What it does: Helps you breathe easy

Why it works: Chicken soup has long been touted at the best home remedy for cold and flu season, and it really can help. Hot liquids temporarily clear your sinuses, and a University of Nebraska study found that chicken soup may even reduce inflammation in your nose and throat. Plus, most chicken soups are low in calories and saturated fat, and high in fiber. For the healthiest version, try making the soup yourself with plenty of veggies and whole wheat noodles. If homemade isn’t an option, try Campbell ’s Healthy request Condensed Chicken Noodle soup, which has only 60 calories per cup. And remember, chicken soup may keep the doctor away, but some chicken-based meals could send you straight into the waiting room.

MyAchingKnees comment: I really like this article since it starts off warning us about that "The U.S. spends more than $2 trillion on health care each year, with much of that cash going toward the treatment of obesity-related complications like heart disease and diabetes". Obesity and heart related problems are symptoms of poor nutrition. Other indicators that the resulting inflammation is causing other problems for you too, are joint pain, lethargy, high cholesterol, back pain and a host of other problems.

Eat Better and Change your Life.

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Don't Forget Your Fiber

2012-01-31T04:36:00.000-08:00

I'll have to admit that I did not start being concerned with my fiber needs until about three years ago. What a difference an adequate amount of high quality Fiber, both from fresh foods and from supplements has made for my health. I was glad to see a recent article from Yahoo! Health talk about some of the best whole food sources of Fiber. Part of that article and some of the good sources are listed below. For the full article, go here: 20 Best Foods for Fiber

In addition to lowering blood sugar, helping with cholesterol and possibly even preventing colon cancer, in my mind the most basic reason a person;s fiber intake should be sufficient is to keep the digestive system working properly so nutrients can be better absorbed.

Fiber can lower blood sugar, cut cholesterol, and may even prevent colon cancer and help you avoid hemorrhoids. If it were a drug, the world would be clamoring for it.

But few people are getting enough.

Women should get about 25 grams a day and men at least 35 to 40, but the average person gets just 15 grams a day. Eating fiber-rich whole foods—not foods that tout "added fiber"—is the best way to increase your fiber intake, says Carolyn Brown, RD, a nutritionist at Foodtrainers, in New York City.

Here is a list of high-fiber foods:

Corn. A single ear of corn, which is about a half cup of corn kernels, contains 2 grams of fiber. Popcorn is also a terrific—and low-calorie—fiber source, with about 3.5 grams of fiber per three-cup serving.

Almonds. A quarter-cup handful makes a good balance, with about 3 grams of fiber and around 170 calories.

Black Beans. Black beans contain 15 grams of fiber per cup, and about 15 grams of protein.

Avocados. a great fiber source; a two-tablespoon serving of avocado has about 2 grams of fiber and an entire fruit contains around 10 grams.

Artichoke. A single boiled artichoke contains a whopping 10.3 grams of fiber, and you'll get 7.2 grams of fiber from a half cup of artichoke hearts.

Pear. A medium-size unpeeled pear contains about 5.5 grams of fiber.

Brown Rice. Every cup contains 3.5 grams of fiber. Remember brown rice, not white.

Edamame. A half-cup serving of edamame can contain up to 11 grams of protein and 9 grams of fiber.

Lentils. Of the legume family is super-rich in fiber, with 15.6 grams per cup.

Raspberries. one cup will give you about a third of your daily fiber needs—they're also chock-full of powerful antioxidants.

Peas. One cup of split peas boasts 16.3 grams of fiber, and a cup of frozen peas contains a not-too-shabby 8.8 grams after cooking.

Broccoli. about 5.1 grams in a cup of boiled broccoli.

Apples. A single regular-size apple contains about 4.4 grams of fiber. Eat it with the skin on.

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Do We Need More Fat?

2012-01-24T04:40:00.000-08:00

I read this article on Yahoo! HealthyLiving. I have previous written several posts on the benefits of an Omega 3 Essential Fatty Acid Supplement. Read this article then my comments at the bottom.

When you hear the word "omega," you probably think, "healthy!" However, just as we've been learning over the past few years that all fats are not created equal, turns out, neither are all omegas. William D. Lassek, M.D., a public health doctor and the co-author of Why Women Need Fat, says there are two types of polyunsaturated fats that are essential to your health and must come from your diet: omega-6 and omega-3.

"Both types are required by our bodies and both are found in large amounts in our brains," explains Lassek. "Omega-3 polyunsaturated fats are unquestionably beneficial, because they reduce both weight and inflammation and are very critical to healthy brain function," he says.

However, while our bodies do require some omega-6, Lassek says the excessive amount in the average American's diet has been shown to increase appetite and weight, and also promote inflammation in your body tissues. "Our extraordinarily heavy dose of omega-6 is not good for us," he says, noting that inflammation plays a critical role in coronary disease.

What is it about the modern diet that's leading you to eat too much omega-6? Like omega-3, omega-6 fats occur naturally in small amounts in plants and in the meat of animals that eat plants, while nuts and seeds tend to have more omega-3. "In the diet of our Stone Age ancestors, there was probably more omega-3 than omega-6," says Lassek. "The problem for us today is that there is more than 20 times as much omega-6 as omega-3 in the American diet."

The culprit? Industrially processed vegetable oils, like corn and soybean oils, which according to Lassek, are added to most prepared foods. Marjorie Nolan, RD, national spokeswoman for the Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics, agrees that the average American is consuming excessive amounts of omega-6. "A problem arises when the balance of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids is off," she says. "Omega-6 is easily found in the standard American diet, while omega-3 is not."

According to Nolan, your body needs a ratio of 1:1 omega-6 to omega-3, yet she says the typical American consumes at least 15 times as much omega-6 as omega-3.

Yikes! So what should you be eating so you're getting enough omega-3 and not consuming an excess of omega-6? According to Lassek, your best bets are wild-caught seafood (which has lower amounts of mercury than farm-raised); eggs from chickens fed diets enriched in omega-3; and meat from grass-fed animals (corn-fed supermarket meats are high in omega-6). Other good sources include flaxseed, canola and walnut oils, as well as dairy products from grass-fed cows.

And step away -- far, far away -- from that package of chips, especially if you're trying to lose weight. According to Lassek, who's a big fan of the Mediterranean-style diet, "Cutting way down on prepared foods and increasing foods rich in healthy and slimming omega-3 fats should help most women to gradually return to more natural weights."

MyAchingKnees comments:

The sources I use articulate an Omega 6 to Omega 3 ratios of 2:1, while the average western diet has a ratio of 20:1 to 40:1. This imbalance can affect prostaglandins produced within the body which are like chemical messengers between the cells. When these prostaglandins are out of balance inflammation can occur increasing our susceptibility to degenerative diseases. Because our western diets are high in Omega 6 Fatty Acids and we consume relatively little Omega 3 Fatty Acids, westerners have a tendency to have a higher imbalanced ratios of Omega 6 to 3.

While I agree with the gist of the article to eat better and consume more foods with natural Omega 3, this just isn't possible for most people hence the need for supplementation of Omega 3's through nutritional supplements. However, with the supplementation of Omega 3 Fatty Acids the need to consume the highest quality product is doubly important as Omega 3 Fatty Acid supplements usually come in the form of fish oil and fish oil is thought to be the highest contaminated supplement with PCB's, mercury and other contaminants being found at a higher percentage than the toxins and impurities normally associated with food grade, off the shelf supplements.

There has been dramatic increases in the behavior of ADD/ADHD children when placed on Omega 3's; adults will sometimes feel a better cognitive function when taking high quality Omega 3's; joint health can be enhanced with Omega 3, not because they provide nutrients to the joint but because they decrease the Omega 6 to Omega 3 ratio and therefore inflammation which can results in many conditions including joint, particularly knee pain; lastly, Omega 3 can help lower cholesterol levels and be a good choice for people concerned about cardio-vascular and heart health.

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Do Orthotics and New Shoes Help Reduce Joint Pain?

2012-01-18T04:35:00.000-08:00

I had a discussion the other day with an law enforcement professional in his late 30's, we'll call him Pedro, who is also an avid runner. He is experiencing arch, ankle and knee pain and someone directed him him to me to discuss what he may be able to do for it. And as it turns out, he is not interested in taking supplements and to his credit he does not even take pain killers or anti-inflammatory drugs, which in his profession, and even with the general population, is rare.

This guy runs sometimes five times a week, 3 to 8 miles at a time. Not a skinny guy, there is much pounding on the pavement that is absorbed in his feet, ankles and knees.....even his hips and back, but those are not hurting him yet.

He did see a Doctor who advised him on getting some cushioning orthotics and recommended ice and Motrin after each run.

My advice to Pedro was:

Find a foot specialist, better if they work in the smaller niche of sports related foot injury. I have had good experiences with orthotics, not just for running but for daily use;

Contacting Road Runner Sports about their diagnostic work on running shoes that could result in a good recommendation for running shoes based on the client sending their used shoes in for an evaluation. Buy two pair of the same shoes and rotate them for each run to give their soles enough time to decompress,...sometimes that takes up to 48 hours.

Reduce the running, in frequency and even maybe distance. Use speed work or fartleks to make up the different in aerobic workload. Rest and reduction in work load can stave off chronic injuries.

I also believe that fixing the problems with his feet will also help the ankles and knees, but probably not to the point where the pain is diminished to discomfort. Any time you have actual pain, then something is wrong and a trip to the Doctor is in order. Just keep in mind that Doctors tend to treat using medications and that is usually treating the symptoms and not the pain. And lastly I told Pedro that he really needs to consider a high quality Glucosamine to see if this nutrient will help the type of knee pain he has. It would be a cheap and non-invasive way to determine if his knee pain problem was a nutrient deficiency issue rather than a structural problem.

All in all, the solution for most problems is one single thing,...it's usually a combination of small changes.

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Performance Enhancing Drugs

2012-01-12T04:42:00.000-08:00

If you are a baseball fan you'll know that Milwaukee Brewer's outfielder Ryan Braun, selected as the National League’s MVP in 2011, has tested positive for elevated levels of synthetic testosterone and now faces a 50-game suspension from baseball.

You can't read the news without an athlete once or twice a month getting "caught" using Performance Enhancing Drugs (PED's). In fact, it seems like athletes using banned substances are hunted as hard as terrorists.

Nobody likes a cheater, and I used to always assume these athletes were guilty, but after reading a report by the International Olympic Committee and the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) on supplements, now I have doubts about automatic guilt.

Both reports were based on studies on nutritional supplements and concluded that a large percentage of these nutritional supplements not only had toxins or impurities, but some of the non-declared ingredients would cause an athlete to come up "hot" on a urine test for PED's. Hence, the USOC's negative stance on food grade supplements.

There are however many athletic organizations endorsing pharmaceutical grade supplement which are manufacture under strict compliance eliminating chances of impurities or banned substances. Makes sense if your million dollar (and more!) salary is in part dependent upon your urine tests coming back clean.

With the London Olympics quickly approaching, the United Kingdom Anti-Doping Association warned athletes to avoid foods that will make an athlete test positive on a drug screening. One of the foods on the list is Liver, which can increase the risk of an athlete testing positive for anabolic agent clenbuterol. The Food Standard Agency (FSA), a British government agency similar to the Food and Drug Administration in the U.S., advised athletes against eating liver.

The FSA cannot rule out the possibility that if a large portion of liver is consumed containing clenbuterol at permitted residue limits, urine collected shortly after consumption may contain detectable levels of clenbuterol. This depends on many factors including the amount consumed, the timing of the urine test and the analytical methods used.

Bottom line for me is that I now, in my mind, give the athlete the benefit of the doubt until proven that they are a "cheater".

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Obese Children

2012-01-06T04:18:00.000-08:00

From an article titled ”Georgia Childhood Obesity Campaign Draws Criticism”, by Sarah B. Weir, Yahoo! Healthy Living

A blunt new television ad campaign targeting childhood obesity is stirring up controversy. Spearheaded by the non-profit organization Strong4Life under the auspices of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, the stark black and white images feature miserable-looking children, who happen to be paid actors, sharing how they are bullied and ostracized for being fat. The children also discuss being scared because they have been diagnosed with diabetes or hypertension.

James Zervios, the director of communications for the Obesity Action Coalition (OAC), told Yahoo! Shine that his group challenged Strong4Life about the legitimacy and effectiveness of the ad's message when they first appeared in a print campaign back in the spring of 2011. The OAC believes "that the inappropriate messaging could lead to bullying."

One of the statements that the OAC found humiliating for overweight children read, "Big bones didn't make me this way. Big meals did."

Georgia ranks second in the nation for childhood obesity. Linda Matzigkeit, senior vice president of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta asserts that the hard-hitting campaign is exactly the wake-up call Georgians require to avert a catastrophic public health crisis. "We needed something that was more arresting and in your face than some of the flowery campaigns out there," Matzigkeit told ABC News. Nearly 1 million, or 40 percent, of kids in Georgia are considered overweight or obese. The campaign also points out that 75 percent of parents aren't aware that there is a problem.

Rebecca Puhl, Director of Research at the Rudd Center for Food Policy at Yale University agrees that childhood obesity is a grave issue facing America 's families, but says, "This campaign has the potential to harm the very individuals it aims to help." She explains that it is possible to be direct and communicate the seriousness of the problem without shaming people. "If Georgia wants to effectively address childhood obesity, much more careful consideration should be given to the kind of public health messages they are sending so children and their families are supported in their efforts to lead healthier lives," Puhl told Yahoo! Shine. Puhl says the ads blame kids and their families, perpetuate negative stereotypes, and offer no useful information. She also points out the number one reason kids are bullied and teased at school is body size.

Childhood obesity in America. According to the Centers for Disease Control, childhood obesity has more than tripled in the last 30 years. Their research points out that overweight and obese children are at a much greater risk for cardiovascular problems, diabetes, bone and joint disorders, and other many other serious diseases.

Marjorie Nolan, national spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics sees the Georgia ad controversy as being complicated. "I agree that more needs to be done to raise awareness about childhood obesity," Nolan told Yahoo! Shine. "But these ads lack a message of what should be done to ultimately solve the problem."

MyAchingKnees comment: Sometimes the truth hurts. Something has to be done, because this country is in a “fat epidemic”. Some of it has to do with the quality of foods and availability of non-nutritional fast and processed foods that our kids eat, and, a lack of parental education on nutrition to our children. Childhood obesity is the main cause for the giant increase in adolescent diabetes that is being reported all over the country. The answer is in nutrition and education. However, I am not advocating, except in the most extreme cases, of abrogating parental rights like some people want when they suggest removing children from parents who let their children get too fat.

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Health Check From a Survey?

2012-01-01T05:50:00.000-08:00

I received a question from anonymous asking ”I recently ordered some nutritional supplements made specific to my needs based on an on-line survey I took. But as I began to think about this, I am now concerned with if this is a valid way to customize the supplements I need. Do you have any opinion on this?”

I would be interested in knowing the company you are using. I am aware of one company that sends you a urine kit. You provide a urine sample and mail it off. They supposedly determine your nutrients needs then custom build a nutritional supplement for you. I think this is as valid as the written on-line survey is to determine your nutrients and doses,……that is to say, not valid at all. I’ll bet if you ordered supplements from various parts of the country using different urine samples or different answers on your questionnaire, you will get the same nutrients in the same doses.

I an unaware of a company that customizes a nutrient package and doses per person. Even the most reputable companies, manufacturing the highest quality pharmaceutical grade supplements, make only one standard nutritional supplement for adults. Further deficiencies, although rare if the supplement you are taking is pharmaceutical grade, are made up by taking extra supplements called optimizers.

If you want to really see what nutrients you are lacking and what indicators of disease are troublesome, then you have to have a blood test.

LabCorp and HealthCheckUSA are two prominent companies who have really good service in this area. I have been using HealthCheckUSA and usually get a very complete blood workup done about every 18 months. Now I have about 5 blood tests going back eight years or so that allow me, and my physician (if I ever get one) to see the movement of scores across many categories related to the onset of degenerative disease.

LabCorp maybe only be usable via a Doctor’s script. I know HealthCheckUSA usually goes to local Pharmacies and this is a patient to lab relationship instead of a provider to Lab service relationship. There are undoubtedly other labs that can provide this service in your local area.

LabCorp

HealthCheckUSA

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Reader Likes Super Greens

2011-12-26T05:34:00.000-08:00

I received an e-mail from Kathy about a nutritional supplement called "Super Greens" and she asked me my opinion on it. I put this question on the back burner until I was also asked by a co-worker about this product who told me his wife takes them.

Super Greens advertises that there are 49 organic grasses, grains, and green vegetables in a nutrient-rich, alkaline formula which helps to gently pull the blood and tissue balance from an acid base to an increasingly healthy alkaline state. And that the blend (powder) provides 125 vitamins, amino acids and minerals that all are essential for your body. The powder easily dissolves in water, which you should be drinking as part of a healthy diet anyway.

The daily dose is four level teaspoons a day of the Super Green's powder. Four teaspoons equals 20 grams, so the $73.95 package of 110 grams of Super Greens powder (plus the one ounce of pH drops) would last 5 and one half days according to my 8th grade Math. These seems pretty expensive to me.

Add the fact there is no independent laboratory certifications; no US Pharmacopoeia (USP) certification logo on the website or bottles; and certainly no FDA certified manufacturing facility claims makes the quality of this food grade product suspect.

Additionally, the website lists 7 titles published by the creator of Super Greens, Dr. Robert O. Young, without anyway to order the books. So I did a search for Dr Young and his published works by title name and author name and could not find even one.

I did not create this site to bash products....that's why I am always writing "Let the Buyer Beware". So I'll change up a little and just say "If the Super Green are working for you, then maybe you ought to stick with it."

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Why Loading Doses for Joint Supplements?

2011-12-16T04:12:00.000-08:00

MyAchingKnees received a question from Karen "Why do joint supplements say to take double doses for two weeks, then revert back to a standard dose from then on?"

Taking a double daily dose of supplements is called a "loading dose". I don't have an answer other than my belief that "loading doses" are intended to put a lot of the product into your system in hopes that you will see or feel a return of investment and continue taking the product. It is not like your body stores the extra amount of supplements there creates a pool of nutrient reserves to draw from. A more negative thought would be the manufacturer wants you to have to purchase another box or bottle of the supplement quicker (more profits for them).

I also believe that if the supplement was a quality product then a loading dose would not be necessary. In other words if the efficacy, bio-availability and dissolution of the supplement is what is should be,.... look for the USP certification,...... then a loading dose would not be an issue.

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Eight Healthiest Spices & Herbs

2011-12-12T04:47:00.000-08:00

One of my friend's swears up and down on the validity of herbs and spices. Everything from the well know Ginseng to Sage to Cardamon. I believe herbs and spices are great optimizers with the other essential nutrients we should be getting in the right quantities each day. But beware of bad sources. The article below is from Eating Well Magazine, by Kerri- Ann Jennings, M.S., R.D., Associate Nutrition Editor.

8 of the World’s Healthiest Spices & Herbs You Should Be Eating
As a registered dietitian and associate nutrition editor at EatingWell Magazine, I know that herbs and spices do more than simply add flavor to food. They let you cut down on some less-healthy ingredients, such as salt, added sugars and saturated fat, and some have inherent health benefits, many of which Joyce Hendley reported on for EatingWell Magazine.

Modern science is beginning to uncover the ultimate power of spices and herbs, as weapons against illnesses from cancer to Alzheimer's disease. "We're now starting to see a scientific basis for why people have been using spices medicinally for thousands of years," says Bharat Aggarwal, Ph.D., professor at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston and author of Healing Spices
(Sterling, 2011).

Aggarwal notes that in his native India, where spices tend to be used by the handful, incidence of diet-related diseases like heart disease and cancer have long been low. But when Indians move away and adopt more Westernized eating patterns, their rates of those diseases rise. While researchers usually blame the meatier, fattier nature of Western diets, Aggarwal and other experts believe that herbs and spices-or more precisely, the lack of them-are also an important piece of the dietary puzzle.

"When Indians eat more Westernized foods, they're getting much fewer spices than their traditional diet contains," he explains. "They lose the protection those spices are conveying." While science has yet to show that any spice cures disease, there's compelling evidence that several may help manage some chronic conditions (though it's always smart to talk with your doctor). What's not to love? Here we've gathered eight of the healthiest spices and herbs enjoyed around the world.

MyAchingKnees comment: Keep in mind while although Spices and Herbs may help fight infection and disease, and I believe they do, they will have significant less potency, if any potency at all, based on who manufactures the item and how they do so. The dried herbs and spices, ground up and placed in little shaker bottles found in about any kitchen in America, probably have little or no potency or nutritional content left. Best case if you grow your own, harvest and use immediately or find another alike source, or, find a manufacturer who guarantees the potency, purity, bio-availability and dissolution of any herb or spice based product.

Chile Peppers
May help: Boost metabolism.
Chile peppers add a much-appreciated heat to chilly-weather dishes, and they can also give a boost to your metabolism. Thank capsaicin, the compound that gives fresh chiles, and spices including cayenne and chipotle, their kick. Studies show that capsaicin can increase the body's metabolic rate (causing one to burn more calories) and may stimulate brain chemicals that help us feel less hungry. In fact, one study found that people ate 16 percent fewer calories at a meal if they'd sipped a hot-pepper-spiked tomato juice (vs. plain tomato juice) half an hour earlier. Recent research found that capsinoids, similar but gentler chemicals found in milder chile hybrids, have the same effects-so even tamer sweet paprika packs a healthy punch. Capsaicin may also lower risk of ulcers by boosting the ability of stomach cells to resist infection by ulcer-causing bacteria and help the heart by keeping "bad" LDL cholesterol from turning into a more lethal, artery-clogging form.

Ginger
May help: Soothe an upset stomach, fight arthritis pain.
Ginger has a well-deserved reputation for relieving an unsettled stomach. Studies show ginger extracts can help reduce nausea caused by morning sickness or following surgery or chemotherapy, though it's less effective for motion sickness. But ginger is also packed with inflammation-fighting compounds, such as gingerols, which some experts believe may hold promise in fighting some cancers and may reduce the aches of osteoarthritis and soothe sore muscles. In a recent study, people who took ginger capsules daily for 11 days reported 25 percent less muscle pain when they performed exercises designed to strain their muscles (compared with a similar group taking placebo capsules). Another study found that ginger-extract injections helped relieve osteoarthritis pain of the knee.

Cinnamon
May help: Stabilize blood sugar.
A few studies suggest that adding cinnamon to food-up to a teaspoon a day, usually given in capsule form-might help people with type 2 diabetes better control their blood sugar, by lowering post-meal blood-sugar spikes. Other studies suggest the effects are limited at best.

Turmeric
May help: Quell inflammation, inhibit tumors.
Turmeric, the goldenrod-colored spice, is used in India to help wounds heal (it's applied as a paste); it's also made into a tea to relieve colds and respiratory problems. Modern medicine confirms some solid-gold health benefits as well; most are associated with curcumin, a compound in turmeric that has potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Curcumin has been shown to help relieve pain of
arthritis, injuries and dental procedures; it's also being studied for its potential in managing heart disease, diabetes and Alzheimer's disease. Researcher Bharat Aggarwal is bullish on curcumin's potential as a cancer treatment, particularly in colon, prostate and breast cancers; preliminary studies have found that curcumin can inhibit tumor cell growth and suppress enzymes that activate carcinogens.

MyAchingKnees comment: The Glucosamine I take contains and is optimized by a very bio-available form of Curcumin complex.

Saffron
May help: Lift your mood.
Saffron has long been used in traditional Persian medicine as a mood lifter, usually steeped into a medicinal tea or used to prepare rice. Research from Iran's Roozbeh Psychiatric Hospital at Tehran University of Medical Sciences has found that saffron may help to relieve symptoms of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and depression. In one study, 75% of women with PMS who were given saffron capsules daily reported that their PMS symptoms (such as mood swings and depression) declined by at least half, compared with only 8 percent of women who didn't take saffron.

Parsley
May help: Inhibit breast cancer-cell growth.
University of Missouri scientists found that this herb can actually inhibit breast cancer-cell growth, reported Holly Pevzner in the September/October 2011 issue of EatingWell Magazine. In the study, animals that were given apigenin, a compound abundant in parsley (and in celery), boosted their resistance to developing cancerous tumors. Experts recommend adding a couple pinches of minced fresh parsley to your dishes daily.

Sage
May help: Preserve memory, soothe sore throats.
Herbalists recommend sipping sage tea for upset stomachs and sore throats, a remedy supported by one study that found spraying sore throats with a sage solution gave effective pain relief. And preliminary research suggests the herb may improve some symptoms of early Alzheimer's disease by preventing a key enzyme from destroying acetylcholine, a brain chemical involved in memory and learning. In another study, college students who took sage extracts in capsule form performed significantly better on memory tests, and their moods improved.

Rosemary
May help: Enhance mental focus, fight food borne bacteria.
One recent study found that people performed better on memory and alertness tests when mists of aromatic rosemary oil were piped into their study cubicles. Rosemary is often used in marinades for meats and poultry, and there's scientific wisdom behind that tradition: rosmarinic acid and other antioxidant compounds in the herb fight bacteria and prevent meat from spoiling, and may even make cooked meats healthier. In March 2010, Kansas State University researchers reported that adding
rosemary extracts to ground beef helped prevent the formation of heterocyclic amines (HCAs)-cancer-causing compounds produced when meats are grilled, broiled or fried.

MyAchingKnees comment: I would add Garlic to this list. From personal experience and also with others I believe Garlic cloves, crushed and chopped then lightly cooked with food provides the an immune boost at least for the first 24 to 48 hours. I found this out by our practice of taking a handful of garlic tabs while in the woods and swamps in order for our bodies to emit either an odor or sweat that kept insects, like mosquitoes, away. One of the guys I knew used to keep crushed garlic cloves in a zip lock bag and would chew on them throughout the day. He swore up and down that it helped him get over colds quicker.

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WholeEating Cookbook Just Offered

2011-12-08T08:07:00.000-08:00

Elizabeth Rider just today launched her WholeEating Cookbook on Amazon.com and anyone who buys the book today can download some really incredible free bonuses that come along with the book, including two yoga videos, and more. There are also bonus glycemic index charts and shopping lists to download that will come with the book forever.

Ms Rider recommends some solutions for fast paced life styles as well as over 50 low-glycemic gluten-free vegetarian recipes.

The book, priced at It's only $9.95, is a good value as well as a good gift for those people you know who make health a priority. The book will now be available on Amazon.com forever, but get your copy today if you can, to download the launch day bonuses. The book is also available at Elizabeth's blog.

You can visit Elizabeth's Blog here at WholeLivingBlog

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Top Cholesterol Fighting Foods

2011-12-05T04:50:00.000-08:00

From the article “Top 10 Foods for Lowering Cholesterol” from RealAge

If you have unhealthy cholesterol levels (or want to prevent them), one of the first things you should examine is your diet. Are you eating foods that help reduce cholesterol? Or avoiding the ones that cause unhealthy cholesterol levels to creep higher? If not, we've got 10 cholesterol-lowering foods you should grab next time you're at the grocery store. Lowering your bad (LDL) cholesterol can make your 3.3 years younger if you're a man, 0.6 years younger if you're a woman!

Almonds
Almonds are pretty hardworking nuts when it comes to lowering your cholesterol. First, they're rich in unsaturated fats that help raise healthy HDL cholesterol while lowering unhealthy LDL. Second, these fats also help make LDL cholesterol less likely to oxidize. Which is a fabulous thing, because when LDL oxidizes, it's more likely to gunk up your arteries and cut blood flow to the heart. Snack away. But do keep an eye on portion size. Almonds are high in calories, and all you need are a couple of ounces a day to reap benefits.

Orange Juice
OJ manufacturers are doing everything they can to make their health food more appealing -- including fortifying their juice with plant-derived cholesterol-busting compounds known as phytosterols. A review of 84 scientific studies revealed that getting 2 grams of phytosterols a day - the amount in a couple 8-ounce glasses of sterol-fortified OJ -- could help lower harmful LDL levels by more than 8 percent. Check with your doctor first regarding whether citrus will interact with any of your medications. If it does, look for sterol-fortified margarine, milk, soymilk, cheese, or breads instead.

MyAchingKnees comment: I'd lay off the orange juice, unless I drank organic, not from concentrate or freshly squeezed OJ.

Olive Oil
This oil is a nutritional superstar -- rich in antioxidants and heart-healthy monounsaturated fats that help lower "bad" LDL cholesterol and increase "good" HDL. In fact, in a study of people with high cholesterol, blood samples showed less potential for harmful clotting just two hours after the study subjects ate a meal with olive oil. That's because olive oil is rich in phenolics, plant substances that makes blood less likely to clot. All you need is about 2 tablespoons a day for benefit (use it in place of other fats).

Steamed Asparagus
There's nothing wrong with a platter of crudités or a salad if you want to improve your diet, but steaming may help improve the cholesterol-lowering capabilities of some produce, including asparagus. Other veggies that get better after a short bout in the steam: beets, okra, carrots, eggplant, green beans, and cauliflower. Researchers think steaming these veggies may help them do a better job of binding bile acids, which means your liver needs to use up more LDL cholesterol into order to make bile. That translates into less circulating LDL in your bloodstream.

Oatmeal
Your mama was right. Starting the day with a bowl of warm, toasty oatmeal is a smart move. Of all the whole grains, oats are the best source of soluble fiber -- the kind that forms a gel to prevent cholesterol from being absorbed into your bloodstream. Shoot for five to 10 grams of soluble fiber per day. If you have 1¼ cups of cooked oatmeal for breakfast, you'll start your day with 5 grams of the stuff. Top your oatmeal with a chopped-up apple for an extra 3 grams of fiber, and you're set.

MyAchingKnees comment: Make sure this is not the packaged oatmeal – get the oats, even better steel cut oats, and take the time to cook. These store well in the fridge for a weeks worth of easy breakfasts or snack meals. Add organic honey to sweeten.

Pinto Beans
Next time you make chili, add pinto beans to the pot. They're packed with soluble fiber to help drive down cholesterol. And in a study, people who ate a half-cup of pinto beans a day lowered their total cholesterol by 8 percent in just 12 weeks. Ole! (Tip: If you use canned beans, rinse them to wash away excess sodium.)

MyAchingKnees comment: This is a staple to the Hispanic diet, but many times they are made with lard and other fats or cheese is added. I like to cook pinto beans by themselves and flavor with a little sea salt…..and maybe a little olive oil.

Blueberries
You've heard by now that blueberries are a nutritious superfood. One reason why they're so great? They help keep your arteries clear by reducing blood levels of artery-clogging LDL. Researchers suspect it's because the berries support liver function so well. The end result: cholesterol gets swept out of your system much more easily. Enjoy blueberries fresh, frozen, or freeze-dried. They still have the same benefits.

MyAchingKnees comment: Add to your oatmeal as well. You can also make a fruit salad of blueberries, blackberries and strawberries to replace after support deserts or just to snack on.

Tomatoes
Include lycopene-rich tomato products in your diet every day for a few weeks, and you may knock your bad LDL cholesterol levels down by as much as 10 percent, according to a recent study. Researchers think the lycopene in tomatoes inhibits LDL production while at the same time helping break down this artery-clogging fat. You'll need to consume at least 25 milligrams of lycopene a day for cholesterol benefits. That's about a half cup of tomato sauce. Bring on the marinara!

MyAchingKnees comment: Lycopene are a essential nutrient for prostrate health as well. Maybe you ladies can get the men in your lives to eat more tomatoes because of this.

Avocado
We always keep ripe avocados in the RealAge kitchen. Why? They're chock-full of heart-healthy monounsaturated fats that help knock down bad LDL cholesterol and triglycerides while boosting healthy HDL cholesterol. Even better, we love the fruit's (yep, it's a fruit) mild flavor and creamy texture. Mash avocado into guacamole, add slices to a sandwich, chop it up in a salad, or -- for a tasty snack -- simply spread a little on whole-grain crackers with a tiny pinch of coarse sea salt.

MyAchingKnees comment:Here’s a tip,….add chopped tomatoes and onions to your guacamole…maybe a squeeze of lime. Fresh guacamole doesn’t do well in the fridge, so eat it up all at once.

Dark Chocolate
If you're a chocoholic, here's some good news. Study after study confirms dark chocolate is pretty amazing, healthy stuff. It's full of flavonoids, which are antioxidants that help lower cholesterol. It also has oleic acid, the same type of heart-healthy monounsaturated fat found in olive oil. To improve your cholesterol, just have a little nibble -- up to 1 ounce of dark chocolate a day. And check the label to make sure your chocolate is at least 70 percent cocoa. Cocoa is the stuff with all the heart-healthy ingredients.

MyAchingKnees comment:Obviously, the Real Age article was written for women. Dark Chocolate indeed! For the boys – Milkshakes don’t count.

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Question on Gout

2011-12-01T05:12:00.000-08:00

MyAchingKnees received a question from William: I think I have Gout. A lot of pain in my joints, coming and going. Sometimes it is only in one ankle and sometimes in the ankle and knee. What do you know about Gout and what can I do about it?

William, in a nutshell Gout is about too much uric acid in the blood stream leaving uric acid crystals that concentrate in your joints causing the pain. A look at Web MD will provide some base line information, see below:

What is gout?

Gout is a kind of arthritis. It can cause an attack of sudden burning pain, stiffness, and swelling in a joint, usually a big toe. These attacks can happen over and over unless gout is treated. Over time, they can harm your joints, tendons, and other tissues. Gout is most common in men.

What causes gout?

Gout is caused by too much uric acid in the blood. Most of the time, having too much uric acid is not harmful. Many people with high levels in their blood never get gout. But when uric acid levels in the blood are too high, the uric acid may form hard crystals in your joints.

Your chances of getting gout are higher if you are overweight, drink too much alcohol, or eat too much meat and fish that are high in chemicals called purines. Some medicines, such as water pills (diuretics), can also bring on gout.

What are the symptoms?

The most common sign of gout is a nighttime attack of swelling, tenderness, redness, and sharp pain in your big toe camera. You can also get gout attacks in your foot, ankle, or knees. The attacks can last a few days or many weeks before the pain goes away. Another attack may not happen for months or years.

See your doctor even if your pain from gout is gone. The buildup of uric acid that led to your gout attack can still harm your joints.

How is gout diagnosed?

Your doctor will ask questions about your symptoms and do a physical exam. Your doctor may also take a sample of fluid from your joint to look for uric acid crystals. This is the best way to test for gout. Your doctor may also do a blood test to measure the amount of uric acid in your blood.

How is it treated?

To stop a gout attack, your doctor can give you a shot of corticosteroids, or prescribe a large daily dose of one or more medicines. The doses will get smaller as your symptoms go away. Relief from a gout attack often begins within 24 hours if you start treatment right away. To ease the pain during a gout attack, rest the joint that hurts. Taking ibuprofen or another anti-inflammatory medicine can also help you feel better. But don't take aspirin. It can make gout worse by raising the uric acid level in the blood.

MyAchingKnees comment: Ahh, he we go again treating the symptoms. In all seriousness it may be necessary to treat the pain symptoms, however wouldn't a person suffering from Gout symptoms want to minimize the potential bad side effects from pain medication and try, at least initially, to get better through a solid diet of good foods and a healthy lifestyle? I would ensure I received all the nutrients in the most potent and pure form I could to reduce any effects from a poor diet and nutrient deficiency. Good luck William.

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Are Nutritional Supplements Killing You?

2011-11-26T06:26:00.000-08:00

I imagine a lot of people read this article on Yahoo! And thought “Should I quit taking supplements? Is he crazy?!” What is not stated is the publishing date of the “study from the Archives of Internal Medicine. Maybe it was published in 1922. There is no doubt that the vitamin and supplement business is in the tens of billions of annual sales. But there is a doubt as to what good supplements do for people. When the vast majority of supplements sold in store fronts and some through direct sales are food grade and do not have any guarantees as to their potency, purity, bio-availability or dissolution there is certainly reason to believe that studies can conclude supplements as a whole either don’t do a person any good or are actually harmful.

Anyway, make up your own mind…here is the article:

Should You Quit Taking Vitamins?
By Bill Phillips and the Editors of Men's Health, 24 Oct 2011

I'm a big fan of vitamins. And judging by the size of the vitamin and supplement industry—$20 billion in annual sales, a quarter of that in multivitamins—so are you. Pop one pill and you get a day’s worth of nutrients. What’s not to love?

Well, there is this: A recent study in the Archives of Internal Medicine found that taking multivitamins and other supplements may actually shorten your life. Uh-oh.

Researchers in the study collected information from nearly 40,000 women (but say the findings apply to men too) several times over 22 years. They asked about all sorts of health issues, including vitamin and supplement use. After reconciling this data with health and death records, researchers identified seven supplements that actually seem to hasten death: vitamin B6, folic acid, iron, magnesium, zinc, copper, and your innocent-looking multivitamin. The increase in mortality rate ranged from 2.2 percent (multivitamins) to a whopping 18 percent (copper).

All of which begs the question: Should you quit taking your vitamins? Well, I’m not going to quit—and you shouldn’t either. Here’s why:

MyAchingKnees comment: I’m not going to quit taking supplements either. But I know the quality of the nutrients I take. Do you?

1. The Study Was Observational.

This means that researchers followed a group of people over time, but didn’t test the supplement group against a placebo group. Although researchers did carefully control for factors such as age, diabetes, physical activity, high blood pressure, and a few dietary habits, even they say the findings should be interpreted with caution. There may be factors they didn’t account for that skewed the results, admits lead author Jaakko Mursu, Ph.D., of the University of Eastern Finland and the University of Minnesota.

2. The Study Followed a Group of Older Women.

Average age: 62. That’s not quite a representative sample of the population. Plus, it’s been well established that iron supplements increase the risk of heart disease in post-menopausal women (which is why there’s no iron in Centrum Silver and other multi’s formulated for older adults). And copper—which can be toxic in large amounts—is prevalent in many natural foods, such as vegetables and nuts, so few people need large doses of supplementation.

MyAchingKnees comment: Centrum Silver? Does anyone really take that? Iron, at least in several tableted forms, interferes with the absorption of other nutrients. Hence the need to get the majority of what you need via foods.

3. People Who Take Vitamins Generally Make Poorer Health Choices.

A study in Psychological Science earlier this year found that the perceived benefits of multivitamins may cause many people to cheat on their diets and workout routines. “Taking dietary supplements increases perceived invulnerability,” Wen-Bin Chiou, Ph.D., a professor at National Sun Yat-Sen University and author of the study, told Men's Health. In other words: It’s not the vitamins that are harmful; it’s the life choices people make while taking vitamins. So, you know, don’t do that.

MyAchingKnees comment: Well, you are partially right. Supplements are necessary since you cannot get the amount of nutrients you need for optimal health with today’s food supply,…..and you must make lifestyle changes such as avoiding the bad foods and consuming the better foods; avoiding toxins that are so prevalent in today’s environment; and, get some type of physical exercise.

4. Scores of Studies Have Found Benefits to Certain Vitamins and Supplements.

“In my mind, there's no question that low levels of vitamin D are associated with heart disease and many other issues including obesity and type 2 diabetes. I recommend it routinely and have for years,” says Robert Tozzi, M.D., chief of pediatric cardiology at the Hackensack University Medical Center . While your body produces vitamin D from sun exposure—and you consume it in certain foods—roughly one-third of Americans don’t have sufficient levels. (Mursu’s study found that vitamin D supplementation had no effect on total mortality.)

The American Heart Association recommends eating three servings of omega 3–rich fish per week, but how many of us meet that lofty goal? That’s why many experts recommend supplements. Studies show that men with the highest omega-3 levels, whether it's from natural sources or supplements, have the lowest risk of dying of heart disease. In fact, when researchers in Italy gave 2,800 heart-attack survivors 1 g fish oil a day, they found that the supplement reduced their risk of dying of heart disease by 30 percent and of sudden cardiac death by 45 percent, compared with those who didn't supplement their diets. That's pretty compelling evidence.

MyAchingKnees comment: Absolutely Omega 3 Fatty Acids are a hidden secret. The benefits are robust, carrying over not just for cardiac health, as a cholesterol fighter, but for joint health and brain energy and connectivity as well. Just be aware that low quality Omega 3 supplements are reported to have the highest levels of toxins such as PCB's, Dioxins and Mercury. Before I took any off the shelf, food grade Omega 3 supplement, I would use whole foods high in Omega 3's, such as quality Olive Oil, flax seed and meal, and almonds.

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Healthy Drinks

2011-11-23T05:07:00.000-08:00

I found this article on FitnessMagazine.com concerning healthy drinks. Go read the original article here.

The article starts off by stating "Say So Long to Soda", which is great advice as soda pop, diet or otherwise, especially with the artificial sweetener Aspartame, is a terrible product to consume.

Fitness Magazine offer's the tip to drink plain water or sparkling water with lemon instead of soda. However most people want some type of actual flavor rather than drinking something that tastes like you emptied it out of a clothes iron. So Fitness Magazine also offers these recommendations:

Green Tea

The Benefit: Helps reduce risk of osteoporosis, cancer, heart disease, and cavities. Green tea contains a rich concentration of flavonoids and polyphenols, natural antioxidants that may protect cells from carcinogens (cancer-causing substances) and inhibit tumor growth by helping to neutralize free radicals in the body. The tea's antioxidants may also guard against heart disease by relaxing blood vessels, inhibiting the formation of blood clots that trigger heart attacks and strokes. Green tea also contains fluoride, which strengthens teeth; the flavonoids may build up bones as well, reducing the risk of osteoporosis and tooth decay. Calories: 0

Mint Tea

The Benefit: Eases cramps and helps ward off indigestion. "Mint is an antispasmodic, so it can relax muscles, which combats stiffness and aches," says Susan Lark, MD, author of The Chemistry of Success (Bay Books, 1999). It also aids in digestion by promoting the movement of food through the digestive tract. Calories: 0

One Percent Reduced-Fat Milk

The Benefit: Curbs cravings and helps protect against osteoporosis. Because it has the components of a healthy meal -- carbohydrates, protein, and a little fat -- you absorb it slowly and stay full longer, says Molly Pelzer, RD, a nutrition educator in Tipton, Iowa. It also stabilizes blood sugar, so you're less susceptible to cravings. Milk is the ideal source of calcium, because it contains vitamin D, which is needed for maximum calcium absorption. It may also help your body stop storing fat. In a recent study, women who consumed three to four servings of low-fat dairy foods (milk being one) lost nearly twice as much weight as those who took in lower amounts. "The calcium causes your body's cells to burn the fat instead of holding on to it," says Pelzer. "This makes it easier to reach and maintain your goal
weight." Calories: 120 for 8 ounces.

MyAchingKnees Comment: I buy whole milk and cut it to a 1:1 ratio with cold tap water. Tastes good and makes my bucks go a greater distance. Also use this same mix for my low-glycemic meal replacement drinks every morning.

Soy Milk

The Benefit: Lowers risk of heart disease. Soy milk contains soluble fiber and soy protein, which lowers LDL (bad) cholesterol levels and triglycerides, reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease. If you're drinking it instead of cow's milk, buy soy milk fortified with calcium and vitamins A and D. One caveat: Soy contains phytoestrogens, which may be linked to an increased risk of breast cancer. Talk to
your doctor about drinking soy milk if you have a family history of the disease or have had it yourself. Calories: 81 for 8 ounces.

MyAchingKnees Comment: Sure, drink Soy milk if you can stand the taste. I'd rather drink warm ketchup juice.

Hot Chocolate

The Benefit: Improves mood and may help protect against heart disease. Chocolate increases the production of the neurotransmitter serotonin, which is responsible for regulating mood. (Low levels of serotonin have been associated with depression.) Cocoa is also rich in polyphenols, plant-derived antioxidants that may protect cells against oxidative damage that can lower HDL (good) cholesterol levels, possibly putting you at higher risk for a heart attack. Calories: 195 for 8 ounces homemade cocoa; 115 for a powdered mix.

MyAchingKnees Comment: My choice over Hot Chocolate? Black Coffee.

Low-Sodium Tomato Juice

The Benefit: May protect against numerous cancers. Processed tomato products are the richest source of the antioxidant lycopene, which has been associated with a reduced risk of lung and stomach cancer, as well as pancreatic, colorectal, esophageal, oral, breast, and cervical cancers. Lycopene also appears to protect the lungs and heart against oxidative damage, helping to ward off cardiovascular disease. Calories: 31 for 6 ounces.

Cranberry Juice

The Benefit: Helps prevent gum disease. Research suggests that the same antibacterial properties present in cranberry juice that fight off urinary tract infections may also protect against periodontal disease. Experts theorize that a component of the juice called nondialysable material (NDM) inhibits bacteria from sticking to the gums. Many nutritionists are wary of fruit juices because of their sugar content, so limit your intake to no more than one glass (6 to 8 ounces) daily. "Make sure the label says 100 percent juice, not 'juice drink' or 'cocktail,'" suggests Heidi Reichenberger, RD, a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. You can find this type of juice in health-food stores and some supermarkets. Calories: 140 for 8 ounces.

Orange Juice

The Benefit: May ward off cataracts, cancers, and birth defects and boost immunity. An excellent source of vitamin C, orange juice is also a potent antioxidant that may protect against a variety of diseases including cataracts (a clouding of the eye's lens that can lead to blindness) and lung cancer. Vitamin C may prevent oxidative damage that can cause cells to become cancerous, and it improves immune-cell functioning, enabling your body to fight off infections more efficiently. And it's a good source of folate, which protects against neural-tube defects in fetuses. To get the extra benefit of bone protection, try some calcium-fortified orange juice. Calories: 115 for 8 ounces.

MyAchingKnees Comment: Make sure you buy the "not from concentrate". I drink the brand called "Simply Orange" and in fact I use all their juice products - "not from concentrate". Vitamin C is also a nutrient thought to be significant for joint health, particularly connective tissue health. Vitamin C is one of the ingredients in the Glucosamine based product I take.

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More Nutritional Rating Systems?

2011-11-18T04:36:00.000-08:00

From the National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine, this report was initially printed in several daily newspapers under the heading "Food Labels Need Energy Star Type Ratings" but the whole report from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) is available here.

Congress directed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to undertake a study with the Institute of Medicine (IOM), with additional support provided by the Food and Drug Administration and the Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, U.S. Department of Agriculture. The task was split into two phases. A first report analyzed the nutrition rating systems and the scientific research that underlies them and was released in 2010. This second report delves into consumer use and understanding of front of package systems.

A variety of nutrition rating systems and symbols are now on the front of food packages—meant to make it easier for consumers to make healthful choices. However, the number and variety of nutrition rating systems in grocery stores today often lead to confusion in the grocery aisle, especially when consumers are pressed for time and may not understand a product rating system.

The report concludes that it is time for a move away from front-of-package (FOP) systems that mostly provide nutrition information on foods or beverages but don’t give clear guidance about their healthfulness, and toward one that encourages healthier choices through simplicity, visual clarity, and the ability to convey meaning without written information.

The report recommends that the Food and Drug Administration develop, test, and implement a single, standard FOP symbol system to appear on all food and beverage products, in place of other systems already in use. The symbol system should show calories in household servings on all products. Foods and beverages should be evaluated using a point system for saturated and trans fats and sodium, and added sugars. The more points a food or beverage has, the healthier it is. This system would encourage food and beverage producers to develop healthier fare and consumers to quickly and easily find healthier products when they shop.

Federal agencies should develop a new nutrition rating system with symbols to display on the front of food and beverage packaging that graphically convey calorie counts by serving size and a "point" value showing whether the saturated and trans fats, sodium, and added sugars in the products are below threshold levels. This new front-of-package system should apply to all foods and beverages and replace any other symbols currently being used on the front of packaging, added the committee that wrote the report.

The report envisions a rating system in which foods and beverages earn points if their amounts of nutrients of concern -- saturated and trans fats, sodium, and added sugars -- are at or below levels considered acceptable based on qualifying criteria. The more points a food or beverage has, the healthier it is. A product could earn up to three points, one each for having sodium and added sugars that do not exceed threshold amounts and one for having saturated and trans fats below designated levels. For example, 100 percent whole wheat bread could qualify for all three points while graham crackers could earn two points for having levels of sodium and saturated and trans fats below the thresholds. Points would be graphically displayed on packaging as check marks, stars, or some other icon to be determined by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

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Question of Food Grade v Pharmaceutical Grade

2011-11-14T04:33:00.000-08:00

I received an e-mail from Ray, who asked: "What is the difference between what you call food grade and pharmaceutical grade? Do I have to get a prescription?"

MyAchingKnees response: Short answer - No. Food Grade products are manufactured where there is no requirement to be accurate on the label. What it says on the label is not necessarily what is in the bottle. There is no guarantee for purity (lack of toxins), potency or dissolution. It is literally crazy what companies can put on the label as opposed to what's in the bottle. pharmaceutical-grade standard would meet FDA standards of pharmaceutical grade products just like the prescriptions that an M.D. would write for you, but fortunately there are nutritional products that are pharmaceutical grade that do not require an expensive Doctor's visit. Heck, most Doctor's couldn't tell what are good nutritional supplements or not,...unless they looked in the Physicians Desk Reference,.....and would probably tell you just to buy Centrum from Walgreen's.

But the lack of enforcement on label claims for food grade products extends past nutritional supplements,....all foods are affected. I found this article on www.naturalnews.com concerning store bought honey.

Shock finding: More than 75 percent of all 'honey' sold in grocery stores contains no honey at all from www.naturalnews.com, November 9, 2011.

Just because those cute little bear-shaped bottles at the grocery store say "honey" on them does not necessarily mean that they actually contain honey. A comprehensive investigation conducted by Food Safety News (FSN) has found that the vast majority of so-called honey products sold at grocery stores, big box stores, drug stores, and restaurants do not contain any pollen, which means they are not real honey.

For the investigation, Vaughn Bryant, one of the nation's leading melissopalynologists, or experts in identifying pollen in honey, and director of the Palynology Research Laboratory at Texas A&M University , evaluated more than 60 products labeled as "honey" that had been purchased by FSN from ten states and the District of Columbia .

Bryant found that 76 percent of "honey" samples purchased from major grocery store chains like Kroger and Safeway, and 77 percent of samples purchased from big box chains like Sam's Club and Wal-Mart, did not contain any pollen. Even worse were "honey" samples taken from drug stores like Walgreens and CVS, and fast food restaurants like McDonald's and KFC, 100 percent of which were found to contain not a trace of pollen.

The full FSN report with a list of all the pollen-less "honey" brands can be accessed here:

So what is all this phony honey made of? It is difficult to say for sure, as pollen is the key to verifying that honey is real. According to FSN, much of this imposter honey is more likely being secretly imported from China , and may even be contaminated with antibiotic drugs and other foreign materials.

Most conventional honey products have been illegally ultra-filtered to hide their true nature. According to FSN, the lack of pollen in most conventional "honey" products is due to these products having been ultra-filtered. This means that they have been intensely heated, forced through extremely tiny filters, and potentially even watered down or adulterated in some way prior to hitting store shelves.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) holds the position that any so-called honey products that have been ultra-filtered are not actually honey. But the agency refuses to do anything to stop this influx of illegitimate "honey" from flooding the North American market. It also continues to stonewall all petitions to establish a national regulatory standard for verifying the integrity of honey.

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Omega 3 - Where Art Thou?

2011-11-09T04:54:00.000-08:00

I received a question from a reader, Jack in Oregon, asked: "Can you explain why you think Omega 3 oils are beneficial for your joints? I use Flax Seed oil in my food and think it's a good thing and can't find anything that shows to take Omega 3 for joint pain."

MyAchingKnees reply: Omega 3 Fatty Acids are found in Flax Seed Meal and Oil. It's great for a person to use with their foods, if they are getting a whole source. I buy Flax Seed and use a coffee grinder to grind up and use in Steel Cut Oats for Breakfast or Lunch most of the time.

There are many sources that claim not only the joint pain reduction benefits of adding a good source of Omega 3 Fatty Acids to your diet, but link Omega 3 to other degenerative disease fighting benefits and energy transfer between cells especially in cognitive functions.

I don't think Omega 3's are the end all to nutritional supplements, but I think they are an essential optimizers to a balanced daily nutritional supplement. I think there is truck loads of information that you bring a person to believe that there are amazing changes in your health that can be brought about from taking a quality (read pharmaceutical grade) nutritional supplement and optimizers, especially combining that eating good foods and avoiding bad foods, getting physical exercise and avoiding a toxic lifestyle. I am convinced of that and will be taking the supplements I do for the rest of my life, including the Omega 3 Fatty Acids and Glucosamine, which I attribute to not only reducing, but eliminating my knee pain.

Below is a recent article (you have to do your diligence to find these articles) on Omega 3 Fatty Acids and the link to slowing arthritis and osteoarthritis both degenerative diseases and causes of sometimes unrelenting joint pain. The article from Natural News can be found here.

Omega-3 fats from fish oil and supplements prevent and slow arthritis progression

Humans have been consuming omega-3 fats from natural fish, nut and seed sources for countless generations. Our core genetic structure depends on a regular supply of the long chain omega-3 fats EPA and DHA to form cell wall structures and perform millions of metabolic functions that we normally associate with vibrant health. Imbalance of omega-3 to omega-6 fats cause a surge in inflammatory cytokines that can lead to the painful and debilitating condition known as osteoarthritis.

New research published in the journal Osteoarthritis and Cartilage has shown for the first time that omega-3 fats supplied by fish oil could "substantially and significantly" reduce the signs and symptoms of osteoarthritis as we age.

Researchers from the University of Bristol in England tested the effect of omega-3 fats on a breed of guinea pigs that are genetically predisposed to develop arthritis. Guinea pigs were chosen for this study as they develop osteoarthritis in a similar manner to humans. Anecdotal reports over the years provide support for the beneficial effect of fish consumption on joint health. Dr. John Tarlton from the Matrix Biology Research Group and his team set out to confirm the impact of omega-3 fatty acids, either sourced from fish oil or flax oil, in preventing or slowing down the progression of osteoarthritis.

Omega-3 Fat Supplementation Slashes Osteoarthritis Disease Progression by Half

The team fed one group of guinea pigs a diet including full-spectrum omega-3 fats (EPA and DHA) and compared the results to a second control group of non-supplemented animals. Typical degradation of collagen in cartilage and the loss of molecules that give it shock-absorbing properties were both reduced in the omega-3 supplemented group. Researchers noted that omega-3 fats reduced disease by
50 per cent compared to the control group.

Upon examination of the results, Dr. Tarlton explained: "there was strong evidence that omega-3 influences the biochemistry of the disease, and therefore not only helps prevent disease, but also slows its progression, potentially controlling established osteoarthritis." This is a critical finding, as most people suffering from arthritis are prescribed a plethora of ineffective pain medications that
dramatically increase the risk of developing cardiovascular disease or of suffering a heart attack.

Omega fat imbalance from a poor diet causes excessive joint inflammation and needless suffering. Researchers performing this study concluded "Most diets in the developed world are lacking in omega-3, with modern diets having up to 30 times too much omega-6 and too little omega-3. Taking omega-3 will help redress this imbalance and may positively contribute to a range of other health problems such as heart disease." Many health-minded individuals will want to supplement with a
molecularly distilled form of fish oil (minimum 1200 mg EPA/DHA content) each day to combat inflammation and osteoarthritis.

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Are Vitamins Killing Women? Really?

2011-11-05T04:50:00.000-07:00

From the title of the article below, pulled from Yahoo!, you would conclude that the researchers, who that think taking supplements increase a woman’s chance of death, are just plain morons.

Vitamins May Increase Women's Risk of Dying, Research Finds, by Joseph Brownstein of Live Science, (for the article click here)

Popping vitamins may do more harm than good, according to a new study that adds to a growing body of evidence suggesting some supplements may have health risks. Researchers from the University of Minnesota examined data from more than 38,000 women taking part in the Iowa Women's Health Study, an ongoing study with women who were around age 62 at its start in 1986. The researchers collected data on the women's supplement use in 1986, 1997 and 2004.

Women who took supplements had, on average, a 2.4 percent increased risk of dying over the course of the 19-year study, compared with women who didn't take supplements, after the researchers adjusted for factors including the woman's age and calorie intake.

"Our study, as well as other similar studies, have provided very little evidence that commonly used dietary supplements would help to prevent chronic diseases," said study author Jaakko Mursu, an epidemiologist at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health.

"We would advise people to reconsider whether they need to use supplements, and put more emphasis on a healthy diet instead," Mursu said.

MyAchingKnees comment: No doubt one should avoid bad foods and consume only healthy foods; get a moderate amount of physical exercise and activity; and, avoid toxins or a toxic environment;...... but, with today’s food supply be as low as quality as it is, taking high quality nutritional supplements is a necessity since we just cannot get all the nutrients our bodies need through foods.

A toxic combination?

The new study linked a number of individual vitamins and minerals to the slight mortality risk, including multivitamins, vitamin B6, folic acid, iron, magnesium, zinc and copper. For example, of the 12,769 women in the study who took a daily multivitamin, 40.8 percent had died by the end of 2008, whereas 39.8 percent of the 10,161 women who hadn't taken a daily multivitamin had died.

MyAchingKnees comment: Yes look at those numbers again,….40.8 percent versus 39.8 percent. The researchers are basing their conclusion on 1%. Really?

Mursu said that the design of the study did not allow the researchers to determine if there was a specific cause for the increased mortality.

"However, we do know that most compounds are toxic in high amounts, and long-term use might predispose [a person] to detrimental outcomes," he told MyHealthNewsDaily. The increased chance of dying" could be related to generally high concentration of compounds that these supplements contain. Most supplements contain higher amounts of nutrients than would be derived from food, and it is known that several compounds can be toxic in higher amounts, especially when consumed for a long time, as some of these accumulate to body," Mursu said.

Taking calcium supplements, on the other hand, actually seemed to lower the woman's death risk slightly, by 3.8 percent, although the researchers noted that there was not a relationship between consuming increasingly higher amounts of calcium and a continuing decrease in mortality rate.

Less is more!

While vitamins and minerals are necessary for proper nutrition, excess intake has not shown further benefit, and recent studies have cast some doubt on the idea that vitamin supplements provide a "safety net" for people not getting enough of a given nutrient. Instead, too much may be a problem. The study, published today (Oct. 10) in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine, is part of a series examining interventions in medicine that may be unnecessary. "Until recently, the available data regarding the adverse effects of dietary supplements has been limited and grossly under reported. We think the paradigm "the more, the better" is wrong," wrote Dr. Goran Bjelakovic and Dr. Christian Gluud, of the Center for Clinical Intervention Research at Copenhagen University Hospital in Denmark in an accompanying commentary.

"We believe that for all micronutrients, risks are associated with insufficient and too-large intake. Low levels of intake increase the risk of deficiency. High levels of intake increase the risk of toxic effects and disease," they wrote.

MyAchingKnees comment: If “high levels of (supplement) intake increase the risk of toxic effects and disease” then why hasn’t my wife or daughter or a hundred other ladies that I know who are taking high doses of pharmaceutical grade products laying dead right now? Hello? It’s the quality and purity of the products for one thing....

"Therefore, we believe that politicians and regulatory authorities should wake up to their responsibility to allow only safe products on the market," they wrote.

MyAchingKnees comment: Again, I am not in favor of the government controlling anymore things. They have done a bad enough job with what they do control so far. It is up to the consumer to figure out what are good products and what are worthless or even bad for you. There are plenty of resources out there. Make sure you are getting science based products rather than relying on products with fancy advertisements or emotional appeals.

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Healthy Fruits and Veggies You May Not Know About

2011-11-01T04:38:00.000-07:00

Although the Scientists I have partnered up with will recommend taking the highest quality nutritional supplements you can find, they will be the first to admit that getting your nutrients from fresh and whole foods is best, however that is just near impossible.

If you are one of the rare people who make a tremendous effort in ensuring you get the best and most fresh whole foods possible then consider these five fruits and vegetables you may have not heard about.

This is from an article written by Mara Betsch of Prevention, titled "5 Surprisingly Healthy Fruits and Veggies You Aren't Eating". The original article can be found here:

1. Purple Potatoes
Even though low-carb diets are no longer the rage, potatoes still have a bad reputation for wrecking diets. Brand new research from the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania comes to a different conclusion, at least about the purple variety. A study followed 18 overweight and obese people who also had high blood pressure. Participants were asked to either eat six to eight golf ball-sized purple potatoes for lunch and dinner, or stick to a potato-free diet. After a month, participants switched diet routines. Participants who ate potatoes saw a significant drop in their high blood pressure—diastolic pressure fell an average 4.3 percent while systolic blood pressure dropped an average 3.5 percent.

2. Lychees
This sweet white fruit is popular in Asia , but with its big health benefits, it should make its way into your cart, too. According to a 2006 study in the Journal of Nutrition, lychee has the second-highest level of heart-healthy polyphenols of 24 fruits tested. They were beat only by strawberries, and the study found they had nearly 15% more disease-preventing polyphenols than grapes. Lychee's powerful antioxidants may also help to prevent the formation of breast cancer cells, according to a recent test-tube and animal study from Sichuan University in China .

3. Guava
Eat just one cup of this South American fruit, and you're getting 5 times as much vitamin C as a medium orange (377 mg versus 83 mg). Like other red fruits, including tomatoes and watermelon, guava contains lycopene, which may help prevent heart disease. And according to research by microbiologists in Bangladesh , guava can even protect against food borne pathogens such as Listeria and staph. MyAchingKnees comment: Lycopene is also a nutrient for healthy prostrates………I’m just saying,…..

The Center for Science in the Public Interest released a report in June 2011 comparing the nutritional info of 50 popular fruits. They ranked them based on the percentages of certain nutrients—fiber, vitamin C, potassium, folate, iron, calcium, and antioxidant-packed pigments called carotenoids–in each serving. Guava beat out apples, bananas, and grapes to be the number one fruit.

4. Bok Choy
This leafy green cabbage is the number one veggie in China and boasts 10 times the recommended amount of vitamin A in just one cup. Packed with antioxidants, it's no surprise that several studies show that high intake of Brassica vegetables (a family of vegetables including kale, broccoli, and bok choy may reduce the risk of certain cancers, including prostate cancer.

5. Asian Pears
Snack on one large Asian pear, and you'll get 10 g of fiber, nearly half of your daily recommended amount. So what's so great about fiber? Not only does it lower cholesterol, but it also keeps you full longer and helps to control blood sugar levels.

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New Information on Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)

2011-10-26T04:36:00.000-07:00

We ran across this older article from Health Day News, titled “Researchers Say They've Found Common Cause of All Types of ALS”. ALS of course is Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. This is degenerative disease and a terrible one at that. I just find it fatiguing that research into any degenerative disease, be it ALS, Diabetes, Parkinson’s or whatever is largely focused on drug therapy as opposed to using a holistic approach, considering all avenues of treatment including advanced doses of nutritional supplementation as a part of the overall strategy.

From Health Day News August 21, 2011 -- The apparent discovery of a common cause of all forms of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) could give a boost to efforts to find a treatment for the fatal neurodegenerative disease, a new study contends.

Scientists have long struggled to identify the underlying disease process of ALS (also known as Lou Gehrig's disease) and weren't even sure that a common disease process was associated with all forms of ALS. ALS afflicts an estimated 350,000 people around the world. About 50 percent of patients die within three years of the first symptoms. They progressively lose muscle strength until they're paralyzed and can't move, speak, swallow and breathe, the researchers said.

In this new study, Northwestern University researchers said they found that the basis of ALS is a malfunctioning protein recycling system in the neurons of the brain and spinal cord. Efficient recycling of the protein building blocks in the neurons are critical for optimal functioning of the neurons. They become severely damaged when they can't repair or maintain themselves.

This problem occurs in all three types of ALS: hereditary, sporadic and ALS that targets the brain, the researchers said.

The discovery, published in the journal Nature, shows that all forms of ALS share an underlying cause and offers a common target for drug therapy, according to the researchers.

"This opens up a whole new field for finding an effective treatment for ALS," study senior author Dr. Teepu Siddique, of the Davee Department of Neurology and Clinical Neurosciences at Northwestern's Feinberg School of Medicine, said in a university news release. "We can now test for drugs that would regulate this protein pathway or optimize it, so it functions as it should in a normal state."

This finding about the breakdown of protein recycling in ALS may also prove useful in the study of other neurodegenerative diseases, specifically Alzheimer's and other dementias, the Northwestern researchers said.

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Protein - How Much is Enough?

2011-10-20T11:26:00.000-07:00

There is considerable debate on how the body synthesizes protein. Some say no more than 50 grams at an one time; other say around 20-30 grams is the maximum limit.
And yet others will say it isn't the amount you take at any one time, it the amount of protein you get during the whole day.

Protein, of course, is necessary to repair damaged cells and to build new ones. It is a pretty fair statement to say that it is universally accepted that eating within 3 hours of your workout enhances protein synthesis and therefore recuperation and muscle building.

The average person eats about double the amount of protein that their body requires, consuming an average of almost 70 pounds per year, when the average man needs about 65 grams a day compared to the average woman's needs of around 55 grams.

Too much protein can reflect in less energy and even lethargy. Eating too much protein, especially from red and processed meats is associated with higher rates of heart disease and cancer. Although it is not the greater amount of protein that is causing the cancer,...it is much more likely that the affected person is not getting a complete diet of nutrients and/or is consuming too many toxins in their whole foods.

It just may not only be safer and more healthy but more and easier to consume smaller amounts of protein each day, shooting for 4 to 5 servings. One serving could be two eggs; or several tablespoons of peanut butter; a hamburger patty, a large glass of milk among other protein sources.

There seems to be an organized effort to get people to discard red meat sources of protein, such as beef which is among some of the most complete single source foods you can eat. Impact on the environment. Claims that meat and dairy production require tremendous amounts of fuel, pesticides, and chemical fertilizers, and generates a large amount of greenhouse gases are all published reasons from environmental groups to stop using these sources of protein. In fact, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) recently published a Meat Eater’s Guide, pointing out that if you ate once less burger a week it would be the environmentally-positive equivalent of taking your car off the road for 320 miles.

Meat is also expensive. Not all proteins are created equal -- neither at the doctor’s office, nor the cash register.

Anyway, as always the consumer should do their own research and make up their own mind. But watch out for the wacko environmentalists,....anybody seen Al Gore? Come on now, I'm just having some fun.

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Truths About ADD/ADHD

2011-10-15T18:11:00.000-07:00

I wanted to address this article for several weeks now. This is from an article entitled "The Top 10 Myths About ADHD" by the Editors at RealAge, on 18 August 2011, which appeared on Shine by Yahoo,...which I sometimes call "shine you on"......just kidding.

Just-released government statistics confirm that ADHD (attention deficit/ hyperactivity disorder) is more prevalent than ever before, increasing over the past decade from 6.9% to 9% among children ages 5 to 17. With nearly 1 in 10 kids being diagnosed with ADHD, and more adults learning they have it, too, it's become commonplace to blame it for everything from bad behavior to a messy house.

Everyone, from friends and neighbors to Hollywood celebrities, has something to say about it, much of it with no basis in science. Here to help you get your facts straight, the top 10 misconceptions about ADHD:

Myth #1: Only kids have ADHD.

Although about 10% of kids 5 to 17 years old have been diagnosed with ADHD, at least 4% of adults have it, too -- and probably many more, since adult ADHD is often undiagnosed or misdiagnosed. That's partly because people think only kids get it.

Myth #2: All kids "outgrow" ADHD.

Not nearly always. Up to 70% of children with ADHD continue to have trouble with it in adulthood, which can create relationship problems, money troubles, work strife, and a rocky family life.

Myth #3: Medication is the only treatment for ADHD.

Medication can be useful in managing ADHD symptoms, but it's not a cure. And it's not the only treatment. Lifestyle changes, counseling, and behavior modification can significantly improve symptoms as well. Several studies suggest that a combination of ADHD treatments works best.

MyAchingKnees comment: Medication should be the last choice in my book unless you readily accept the risks of many side effects. The hands down best treatment for what may be termed ADD or ADHD is nutrition. We have had several parents who once they reduced high glycemic foods and put their children on high doses of nutritional supplements, they have seen remarkable changes in weeks. Omega 3 Fatty Acids isn't just a joint health supplement. Lack of Omega 3 Fatty Acids and/or a high ratio between Omega 6 Fatty Acids to Omega 3 Fatty Acids are thought by a increasing number of nutritionists and Medical professionals to be a major contributing factor in ADD/ADHD. Why wouldn't any parent, who has a so -called ADD/ADHD child, try a low cost, lower risk experiment of placing their child on high quality nutrients and an Omega 3 supplement to see if it will help?

Myth #4: People who have ADHD are lazy and lack intelligence and willpower.

This is totally not true. In fact, ADHD has nothing to do with intelligence or determination. It's a neurobehavioral disorder caused by changes in brain chemicals and the way the brain works. It presents unique challenges, but they can be overcome -- which many successful people have done.

MyAchingKnees comment: It is outside the realm of belief to think that a lack of nutrients, including Omega 3 Fatty Acids, has something to do with a neurobehavioral disorder? Everything from energy transfer to absorption of micro nutrients by the cells has to be effected by a lack of nutrients provided.

Myth #5: ADHD isn't a real disorder.

Not so. Doctors and mental-health professionals agree that ADHD is a biological disorder that can significantly impair functioning. An imbalance in brain chemicals affects brain areas that regulate behavior and emotion. This is what produces ADHD symptoms.

MyAchingKnees comment: In my opinion, ADD or ADHD is by and large a nutritional disease. However, I am sure that there are some causes of ADD or ADHD that cannot be effectively managed through lifestyle change and a solid nutritional plan. In one particular case a friend of mine put her 11 years old son on a high quality nutritional supplement and an Omega 3 Fatty Acid supplement. I also had her change from white bread and orange juice from concentrate in the mornings before school to a multi-grain bread and fresh or organic juice and within 3 weeks she told me her son's teacher and her noticed a big change in the boy's behavior and attention span. And this is a boy who when I was visiting the family one day, he came crashing out of the ceiling into the living room! He had been up in the attic jumping on the insulation and sheet rock ceiling!

Myth #6: Bad parenting causes ADHD.

Absolutely not! ADHD symptoms are caused by brain-chemical imbalances (see #4 and #5) that make it hard to pay attention and control impulses. Good parenting skills help children deal with their symptoms.

MyAchingKnees comment: Of course bad parenting does not cause ADD or ADHD. But what kind of parent pumps ritalin or whatever into their kids without first trying less risker protocols? Boy, writing that is going to get me some hate mail!!

Myth #7: Kids with ADHD are always hyper.

Not always. ADHD comes in three "flavors": predominantly inattentive; predominantly hyperactive-impulsive; and combined, which is a mix of inattentive and hyperactive-impulsive symptoms. Although kids with hyperactive-impulsive or combined ADHD may be fidgety and restless, kids with inattentive ADHD are not hyper.

Myth #8: Too much TV time causes ADHD.

Not really. But spending excessive amounts of time watching TV or playing video games could trigger the condition in susceptible individuals. And in kids and teens who already have ADHD, spending hours staring at electronic screens may make symptoms worse.

Myth #9: If you can focus on certain things, you don't have ADHD.

It's not that simple. Although it's true that people with ADHD have trouble focusing on things that don't interest them, there's a flip side to the disorder. Some people with ADHD get overly absorbed in activities they enjoy. This symptom is called hyperfocus. It can help you be more productive in activities that you like, but you can become so focused that you ignore responsibilities you don't like.

Myth #10: ADHD is overdiagnosed.

Nope. If anything, ADHD is under diagnosed and under treated. Many children with ADHD grow up to be adults with ADHD. The pressures and responsibilities of adulthood often exacerbate ADHD symptoms, leading adults to seek evaluation and help for the first time. Also, parents who have children with ADHD may seek treatment only after recognizing similar symptoms in themselves. For people with severe small intestine inflammation, doctors sometimes prescribe steroids.

MyAchingKnees comment: Over diagnosed? No, I agree probably not. But over medicated? For sure.

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Another View - The 5 Most Important Supplements

2011-10-11T16:52:00.000-07:00

From an article on Yahoo! News, comes a reasonable accurate recommendation about the 5 most important supplements, with our comments following each recommendation.

1. A high-quality multi-vitamin

Topping the list is an excellent quality multi-vitamin. This is essential because a multi “fills in the blanks” of your diet (no matter how good it is), so you’re not running dangerously low on the essential nutrients your body needs for optimal functioning.

Be sure to avoid the TV-advertised one-a-days you find in your local drugstore. These are nearly worthless because their ingredients are based on the “bare minimum” official Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA), now upgraded to the Recommended Daily Intake (RDI). The RDA evolved from the old Minimum Daily Requirement (MDR) set by the government. This means the nutrients in most of the popular multis contain the minimum doses necessary to prevent nutritional -deficiency diseases, such as scurvy (vitamin C), beriberi (vitamin B1), and others. This certainly is not how to guarantee optimal health.

These mainstream multis are notoriously feeble. For example, Consumer Reports recently concluded that Centrum is the worst vitamin for seniors in its class. Consumer Reports also found that The Vitamin Shoppe’s One Daily failed to dissolve in a simulated stomach environment, while containing less vitamin A than its label claims.

You can avoid this pitfall by sticking to high-quality, bioavailable multivitamins that are reasonably priced and lab-tested.

MyAchingKnees comment: There is nothing to regulate what of the shelf food grade supplement manufacturers list on their label. The U.S. Olympic Committee doesn't trust them why should you? Pushing aside the quality issue, yes everyone should take a multi-mineral, mega antioxidant supplement - if you think you are geting his from you foods, then you are fooling yourself.

2. A quality omega-3 supplement

Fish oil is today’s bestselling supplement — and with good reason. The EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) in omega-3 fish oil have profoundly positive effects on human health. DHA slows your liver’s production of undesirable triglycerides, making it extremely protective against heart disease and diabetes.

In addition, fish oil is incredibly effective at reducing inflammation. It accomplishes this by triggering the release of prostaglandins (natural substances that regulate immunity, inflammation, blood clotting, brain function, plus a host of other essential functions).

There’s not enough room here to list all the healing effects of omega-3. The highlights include: Healing blood vessel walls … keeping the blood thin (thus minimizing clotting) flowing smoothly … lowering blood pressure … stabilizing blood sugar … and brightening your mood.

The American Heart Association recommends a daily dose of 500-1,000 mg of DHA and EPA from fish oil to reduce heart disease — but I think this is a paltry dose. I prefer to take 6,000 to 9,000 iu daily in three equal doses — and find this really helps my arthritis.

MyAchingKnees comment: I also think that a Omega 3 Fatty Acid supplement, combined with Glucosamine are what has eliminated by decades old knee pain and greatly reduced my back pain. It has been known to help brain function, hence the appropriate use in ADD/ADHD kids.

3. Co-enzyme Q-10

CoQ-10 (also known as ubiquinol) is a nutrient produced by the “energy factories” in your cells called mitochondria. Taking a CoQ-10 supplement boosts the way your cells produce and use energy. It also helps your body burn fat … improves cholesterol ratios … boosts your physical energy levels … and improves thyroid and pancreas functions.

By the way, statins — the widely — (or is it “wildly”?) prescribed cholesterol-lowering drugs — actually deplete your body’s natural CoQ-10. Statins block production of cholesterol in the liver, where CoQ-10 is also manufactured. Without sufficient CoQ-10, statins can cause liver damage … irregular heartbeat … muscle weakness … leg cramps … heart attack and stroke (the two potentially fatal conditions that statins are supposed to prevent).

Other medications also can limit your body’s production of CoQ-10, including: Diabetes drugs....antidepressants.....female hormone replacement therapy … and blood pressure meds. If you take any of these, you definitely need to supplement with CoQ-10.

MyAchingKnees comment: I do not take CoQ-10, although in the limited people I have known that have taken a pharmaceutical grade version of it that is three times as potent dose wise as the common dose, have experience great benefit. Through not changing my real food diet, and only through the daily consumption of pharmaceutical grade supplements, my cholesterol went from 210 to 150. I would not hesitate to add CoQ-10 to my supplements if I had any reason to believe I needed this potent optimizer in my body. And I very well may need some at some point, as our bodies manufacture CoQ-10 but that diminishes with age.

4. Magnesium citrate

You’ve been hearing about calcium and bone health forever — but did you know that magnesium and calcium are like conjoined twins? Calcium can’t even be absorbed unless magnesium is present. Without it, calcium is much less effective in maintaining your bones and regulating your nerve and muscle tone.

In fact, new research shows that Americans need far more magnesium than the current RDI — and that you should really be consuming twice as much magnesium as calcium for optimal health.

Magnesium may be the most important mineral you can take because it’s a key player in 300 essential bodily functions, and is used by all of your organs. It activates enzymes … powers your energy … and helps your body absorb vitamin D, potassium, and zinc.

The majority of Americans are magnesium-deficient due to the low-quality, processed foods in the typical American diet. Produce grown in mineral-depleted soil won’t provide much magnesium, either.

If you have blood sugar issues, you should know that magnesium helps regulate blood sugar and insulin activity. In addition, magnesium’s ability to relax muscles and nerves makes it one of your best allies in the battle against anxiety.....hypertension.....restless leg syndrome......sleep disorders......and
abnormal heart rhythm.

MyAchingKnees comment: I would have named this essential supplement Calcium. You cannot take a high quality calcium supplement without Magnesium in the same tablet. It is believed most women are calcium (and magnesium) deficient as well as an appropriate supplement for teenage girls to ensure they are getting enough. I have had my daughter on it since age 11. Additionally, an absence of Calcium may very well be a factor in joint pain.

5. Sunshine vitamin D

This is rapidly becoming the miracle vitamin of our time. Every week, it seems, there’s a new finding about D’s marvelous benefits. Most Americans are badly deficient in vitamin D because doctors consider the sun our enemy — and your skin converts solar rays into this essential vitamin.

Numerous studies show that this amazing vitamin is protective against all cancers (even skin cancer and melanoma!)......strengthens bones.....prevents and even heals diabetes … protects against heart disease … lowers blood pressure … reverses depression … and elevates mood.

Whenever you can, spend 10-20 minutes sunbathing — without sunscreen. (Your body transforms sunshine into all the vitamin D it needs.) If your access to sunlight is limited by season or geographic location, take 2,000-5,000 IU of a good quality vitamin D supplement daily. (The elderly and African-Americans need higher doses.) Official recommendations call for a scant 600 IU, which is far too low. Just make sure you purchase vitamin D3 (not D2) because the D3 form is 87% more potent than
vitamin D2.

MyAchingKnees comment: Ha Ha, you will not get enough Vitamin D from the Sun. A minimum of 2,000 IU per day will ensure your body and therefore your immune system get the Vitamin D it requires. You may need more. I have several friends taking 4,000 to 8,000 IU a day and swear by that dose.

As always, let the consumer be aware. Do your own research and do not limit it to vitamin ads making claims there is no way to check. Unless of course they use "in-house" labs.

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Reducing Your Blood Pressure

2011-10-07T05:03:00.000-07:00

While I was looking on the Real Age site, I found this article on "Reducing Your Blood Pressure with Drinks....

The article states:

Whether you choose soymilk or cow's milk, having a glass now and then may be doing great things for your blood pressure.

So say investigators of a recent clinical trial. Their study found that milk and soy proteins may each have the ability to reduce systolic blood pressure.

Putting the Clamps on Pressure

In the study, researchers randomly assigned people with pre-hypertension and stage-1 high blood pressure to receive either 40 grams per day of protein from soymilk, 40 grams per day of protein from cow's milk, or a carbohydrate-rich drink. After 8 weeks, both the soymilk and cow's milk groups experienced improved blood pressure. Systolic blood pressure dipped 2.0 mm Hg in the soymilk group and 2.3 mm Hg in the cow's milk group, while the carb-supplemented group saw no change.

Less Is More

A 2 or 2.3 mm Hg drop in systolic blood pressure might not sound like much. But health experts believe that even this modest reduction could lead to 6 percent fewer stroke-related deaths, a 4 percent lower rate of heart disease deaths, and a 3 percent reduction in overall deaths among Americans. So even a little bump down translates into major life saving.

Take the Yogurt Challenge

Want to get more blood-pressure-friendly food into your life? Try eating 2 to 3 servings of nonfat or low-fat yogurt each day. Choose sugar-free varieties to keep calorie count down.

I don't know about the milk, though. I have been drinking cow milk for over 45 years now. My blood pressure did not improve until I started taking daily high doses pharmaceutical grade nutritional products six years ago. My blood pressure was always around the 138/98....even when I was in my late 20's and early 30's. It was high enough to get me referred to the Health Clinic for monitoring. In the last six years, having been on these products, my blood pressure is now in the 118/84 range.

So I don't think Cow Milk has a lot of do with reduced blood pressure. I think that the nutrients provided by good quality cow milk (or soy milk) are a partial solution for what your body needs for optimal health and a robust immune system, the body obviously needs a wide range of nutrients in high doses. And you can't get the quality nor amount strictly from foods.

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Vitamin D as Brain Food?

2011-10-04T04:46:00.000-07:00

MyAchingKnees.com received a question from P.B. concerning Vitamin D: "What do you think about Viatmin D? I just read something on the internet about Vitamin D being necessary for brain health. The article said that Cod Liver Oil was a good source for Vitamin D."

P.B.....the article you probably read was from Real Age, click here to read the entire article, titled "Clear Brain Plaques with This Nutrient"

It did state that cod liver oil is rich in Vitamin D and if your mother gave it to you, she was ahead of her time.

Whenever I saw my mother reaching for the Cod Liver Oil bottle,....I ran out the back door!

The article when on to state that a new animal study from Japan suggests that vitamin D may help clear the brain of amyloid beta, a toxic protein-like compound that accumulates in the brains of Alzheimer's patients. And that this animal study validates the results of a previous study done in human Alzheimer's patients. In the human study, vitamin D together with curcumin -- a chemical found in turmeric spice -- appeared to stimulate the immune system in a way that helped clear the brain of toxic amyloid beta. But this new animal research suggests that vitamin D alone may be able to do that job nicely. Even more amazing, the lab animals that received vitamin D were able to remove a significant amount of amyloid beta buildup in their brains, literally overnight. It seems the vitamin may somehow regulate production of transporter proteins that ferry amyloid beta across the blood-brain barrier and out of the brain. Pretty exciting stuff.

The RealAge article was correct in that many adults lack vitamin D. But not just in the winter months. You cannot synthesize enough Vitamin D from sunshine to provide the body with the necessary Vitamin D nutrient levels for optimal health.

The article also stated that in order to get Vitamin D, a person should try eating canned salmon that supplies a "whopping" 530 international units (IU) of vitamin D for each 3-ounce serving.....or open the canned tuna for 360 IU of vitamin D from a 3-ounce serving.

The article went on to recommend drinking orange juice that's been fortified with vitamin D and you'll add an additional 100 IU of the Vitamin D to your day with each cup you drink. I won't drink orange juice unless it is NOT from concentrate. Be careful of high glycemic fruit juices.

Vitamin D is absolutely a necessary nutrient and one to take in much higher doses than the FDA recommends in their RDA. They recently upgraded their recommendation from 400 IU to 800 IU. Many well known nutritional scientist recommend much higher doses in the minimum 2,000 IU daily range. That would be almost four cans or 12 ounces of Salmon a day. You would probably grow gills and maybe a dorsal fin or two with that.

I prefer to get my Vitamin D from pharmaceutical grade supplements. I take a minimum of 1,800 IU's a day and sometimes 3,800 IU's a day. This is to support my immune system, combat oxidative stress which impacts across the body. Vitamin D is a known nutrient to help prevent Osteporosis and other related joint pain as well.

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Bisphenol A - Another Common Toxin

2011-09-30T04:39:00.000-07:00

From an article entitled "BPA: Should You Worry?", by Lisa Collier Cool on Health Line, we're glad we seeing more and more articles on common toxins, as the fourth leg of health is to avoid toxins. It is hard to avoid every single toxic substance, and it generally takes exposure over and over to develop health problems, but any toxins at all degrade the body's cellular health and that of course can manifest the damage in any number of ways,....from headaches; inflamed cells, organs and blood vessels; and, chronic pain to include joint pain, especially on weight bearing joints such as knees. Anyway, Lisa Collier Cool's article brings to focus the relative unknown, to most consumers, toxic BPA.

BPA: Should You Worry?", by Lisa Collier Cool

For 40 years we ate and drank from containers containing bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical used in producing polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins. Those substances are found in hundreds of products, from water bottles to compact discs and medical devices. Until recent years, the American public didn’t suspect that BPA could be harmful.

This week, BPA is in the news: the Breast Cancer Fund, a California-based organization working to identify and eliminate environmental causes of breast cancer, issued a report blasting the use of BPA in canned foods aimed at kids.

Why is BPA dangerous?

In 2010, the National Toxicology Program (NTP), collaborating with the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, issued a statement expressing “some concern” regarding the effects of BPA on the brain, behavior and prostate gland in fetuses, infants and children. BPA can leach from the materials in plastic tableware, baby cups, and the epoxy resin coatings inside cans, especially when
those products are heated, releasing the harmful chemical into food and liquids we consume.

BPA leaches because the ingredients used in producing polycarbonates and epoxy resins are just loosely bound enough that they break down under heat or when damaged. This isn’t the first time we’ve heard about BPA: In 2008, following news reports about possibly harmful effects of BPA in plastic water bottles, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) declared that the amount of BPA exposure Americans receive from food-related materials on the shelves at that time was safe.
However, more recent studies prompted the NTP to take another look.

How dangerous is canned food for kids?

For their report, BPA in Kids' Canned Food, the Breast Cancer Fund studied six canned foods that are marketed directly to youngsters: Annie’s Homegrown Cheesy Ravioli; Campbell’s Disney Princess Cool Shapes, Shaped Pasta with Chicken in Chicken Broth; Campbell’s Spaghettios with Meatballs; Campbell’s Toy Story Fun Shapes, Shaped Pasta with Chicken in Chicken Broth; Chef Boyardee Whole Grain Pasta, Mini ABC’ & 123’s with Meatballs; and Earth’s Best Organic Elmo Noodlemania Soup All six products tested positive for BPA, with the Campbell’s soups—Princess Cool Shapes and Toy Story Fun Shapes—testing the highest.

The Breast Cancer Fund’s report stresses that it is not the occasional canned-soup lunch that has them worried, but “…the repeated servings of canned soups, pastas, vegetables, fruits that a child eats in a week, in a year, and throughout her developing years, are what drive our…campaign.”

How can you protect your family?

The jury is still out on just how much BPA exposure is safe for children and adults. The FDA's National Center for Toxicological Research continues to study BPA, and the Breast Cancer Fund is staging a “Cans Not Cancer” campaign to get BPA out of canned foods and replace it with a safer substance.

In the meantime, parents can take steps to protect their infants and children from possibly harmful effects of BPA:

• The Centers for Disease Control advises mothers to breastfeed babies for at least their first 12 months, if possible, as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics.
• Discard scratched baby bottles and feeding cups. Damaged utensils harbor germs, and they might release small amounts of BPA.
• Don’t pour hot baby formula or other liquids into bottles or cups that contain BPA. When you mix powdered formula with water, heat it in a BPA-free container and allow it to cool down before transferring it to the baby’s bottle.
• Never heat baby bottles in a microwave oven. If a ready-to-feed liquid needs to be heated, warm it by running warm water over the bottle.
• After sterilizing and cleaning baby bottles, allow them to cool before adding formula or milk.
• Canned formula does contain small amounts of BPA. The good nutrition in the formula outweighs the small risk of BPA exposure when baby drinks the formula, but be sure never to heat formula in the can.
• Every plastic container displays a recycle code on the bottom. Those with code 3 or 7 may contain BPA; take special care to avoid putting hot liquid in these bottles and cups.
• The Breast Cancer Fund suggests cooking with fresh and whole foods, rather than canned, as much as possible: instead of canned macaroni lunches, consider cooking dry pasta and mixing it with fresh or jarred sauce. Instead of canned soup, buy prepared soups-in-a-box—the large boxes that resemble oversized juice boxes, now available in most supermarkets. And instead of canned fruit, cut up fresh or dried fruits for kids’ snacks.

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FDA Releases Draft Guidance on New Dietary Ingredients

2011-09-26T09:09:00.000-07:00

The FDA released its updated draft guidance on new dietary ingredients (NDIs) on July 5, 2011. The draft guidance is intended to assist industry in deciding when a pre-market safety notification for a dietary supplement containing an NDI is necessary. The draft guidance provides the FDA’s interpretation of what qualifies as an NDI, advises when an NDI notification is necessary, and explains the procedures for submitting an NDI notification—the types of data and information manufacturers and distributors should consider when evaluating the safety of a supplement containing an NDI.

Upon initial review, the nutritional supplement industry generally believes the draft guidance is overly burdensome and plans to submit comments to the FDA during the 90-day public comment period (July 5-Oct. 3, 2011). After taking those comments under review, the draft guidance could be revised and then will be finalized. Should the draft guidance as it stands become official guidance from the FDA, every other nutritional supplement company in the United States would likely incur added costs and spend more time bringing new products to market.

Generally, Supplement manufacturers, the good and the not so good, are considering that the intent of the draft guidance is not to ban or make illegal existing dietary supplement products that contain recognized dietary ingredients. It’s still early in the FDA’s typically long process for creating official industry guidance documents. Much could still change during the next few months. FDA guidance documents do not have the force of law. On the contrary, the FDA states that guidance documents only “represent the FDA’s current thinking on a particular subject. They do not create or confer any rights for or on any person and do not operate to bind FDA or the public.”

MyAchingKnees comment: I believe most Nutritional Supplement companies are sweating bullets over this (FDA regulations) as any new regulations and requirements by the FDA will shoot up their costs of manufacturing not just significantly but exponentially. Some of you may be paying three times as much for a bed pan pill! The only companies that are not sweating it are the ones who already make pharmaceutical grade products at FDA registered facilities. Still, I think the makers of high quality products still prefer not to have over regulation as this would force the vast list of food grade supplement makers to up their quality and this would greatly diminish the heretofore great differences between food grade and pharmaceutical grade nutritional supplements.

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Fish Oil Supplements

2011-09-22T14:05:00.000-07:00

I see people taking Fish Oil capsules, usually from large bottles purchased at national store chains. I usually ask them why are they taking Fish Oil supplements and I'll usually get an answer like "someone told me fish oil is good for my health."

Indeed, Fish Oil and Omega 3 Fatty Acids are good for your health. Omega 3 Fatty acids are linked to cognitive function in the brain and who doesn't want a sharper mind? A healthier cardiovascular system is another known benefit as well as the often told result of lowering your cholesterol.

I have had great benefit from my aching knees and back from a combination of Omega 3 Fatty Acid and Glucosamine whereas my chronic pain is completely gone.

However, back to those large off the shelf bottles of Fish Oil. I tell people, if I were you I would be careful taking food grade, off the shelf Fish Oil as there is no other nutritional supplement being sold today with the impurities and toxins. in fact there is a reported law suit against multiple fish oil manufacturers because of PCB's and other chemicals found in these supplements.

There is thought to be many trillion gallons of mercury, petroleum products, dioxins, and fertilizers among other toxic substances dumped into our water supplies each year. Way more than enough to cause the consumer to re-think buying non-pharmaceutical grade fish oil supplements, let alone give them to your kids. In fact, several friends of mine had giant bottles of fish oil, a three month supply, on their desks that they purchased for $9.99. This is a very necessary nutrient so you think you are getting quality at $3.33 per month? To ad insult to possible toxic injury, those tablets smelled,...well, fishy! And you get to taste it twice, once going down and then again with the "fish burp"! Great.

I take a highly purified, pharmaceutical grade version of Fish Oil capsules giving me the a high dose of Omega 3 (EPA and DHA) nutrients that is really necessary in tooday's western diet where we often exceed the recommended 2:1 Omega 6 to Omega 3 ratios in our bodies by 10 to 20 times, providing a fertile ground for oxidative stress and the resulting inflammation to affect our health, sometimes first detectable in joint pain.

The link to better brain function cannot be tossed aside with quality Omega 3 supplements. I have several friends who I introduced to a daily pharmaceutical grade mineral and anti-oxidant supplement and adding an alike quality Omega 3 has significantly decreased ADD/ADHD behavior in their children, between the ages of 6 and 14 years old.

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Scary (and Toxic) Substances

2011-09-18T05:31:00.000-07:00

MyAchingKnees has written many times before about the four legs of health and one of those legs being “Avoidance of Toxins”. Devon Jarvis, of SELF, wrote an article posted on Yahoo! About Scary Products: Which to Eliminate, Cut Back On or Quit Worrying About.

Why this is important to us is because toxins can interfere with our immune system, creating more oxidative stress which of course results in inflammation and that inflammation can manifest itself to joint pain and connective tissue and muscles which can enhance the pain from that joint.

1. Triclosan, the chemical used in hundreds of germ-fighting products, may damage the liver and disrupt thyroid hormones. These products contribute to drug resistance, and people using antimicrobial soap get sick as often as regular suds users, a review in the American Journal of Public Health finds. Toss triclosan. Gotta sanitize? Opt for alcohol-based gels.

2. Tobacco smoke contains ammonia, benzene, formaldehyde and 50 chemicals known to cause cancer. "Plus, smoking damages your lungs, kidneys and liver, the body's detoxifiers, which protect you from other chemical exposures," notes consumer advocate Debra Lynn Dadd, author of Toxic Free.

3. "Fresh" paint smell signals volatile organic compounds, solvents that can trigger breathing issues, headaches and dizziness, and that research links to reproductive problems and birth defects, says Gina Solomon, M.D., senior scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) in San Francisco. Low- or no-VOC paints from brands such as Benjamin Moore have a similar texture but less toxicity.

4. BPA, the synthetic estrogen linked to cancer and abnormal brain development, is in the lining of most food and beverage cans, and it can leach out. Whether the food is organic doesn't matter, USDA tests show. When possible, buy fresh or frozen items; there's no BPA in plastic freezer bags, says Sarah Janssen, M.D., senior scientist at the NRDC.

5. Using chlorine bleach, cleaning sprays and disinfectants more than once a week is linked to asthma, says the author of a 2010 Spanish review of studies. Dr. Solomon adds, "There is a role for strong cleaning agents if used with care." Save them for serious mold and mildew, and never mix chlorine bleach with ammonia, because the combo produces toxic fumes. Wear gloves, open the windows, and dilute every cup of bleach you use in 10 cups of water.

6. Plastics Memorize the numbers 3, 6 and 7. These recycling codes mean plastic may have BPA, Dr. Landrigan says. Instead, store food in glass or plastic with codes 4, 5 and 12. But no plastic is "microwave safe." The claim means a container won't melt, not that chemicals won't seep into your dinner.

7. “The word fragrance on a label may stand in for hundreds of chemicals," Dr. Solomon says, including phthalates and musks, endocrine disrupters that have been linked to reproductive dysfunction. The laundry room is a good place to cut back. Seek out unscented detergents and dryer sheets, as coating clothes with chemicals means you're exposed all day, all over your skin.

8. AspartameDespite Internet rumors, a National Cancer Institute study of nearly 500,000 people discerned no link between consuming this sweetener and developing leukemia, lymphoma or brain cancers. Nor is it tied to multiple sclerosis or lupus. (But remember, most soda cans do contain BPA.) MyAchingKnees comment: Boy, they got this wrong! Do not use Aspartame! It has been linked to lethargy, headaches, muscle fatigue, memory loss, tremors, even seizures. If you consume diet drinks with Aspartame, do yourself a favor and stop for a week and notice the difference!

9. Cotton Even though conventional cotton farmers use high levels of potentially planet-harming pesticides, there's no evidence that simply wearing the fabric harms consumers, testing by the Bremen Cotton Exchange in Germany reveals. As for tampons, they expose us to 13,000 to 240,000 times fewer dioxins than our everyday diet does, according to a report in Environmental Health Perspectives. Be confident choosing any brand that works for you, organic or not.

10. The debate over water fluoridation shouldn't have you questioning your Crest. The feds have advised utilities to lower the amount of fluoride allowed in tap water, due to studies linking fluoridation with bone fractures and stiffness; however, both environmentalists and dentists agree that fluoride toothpaste is safe and necessary for everyone older than two. Check the label for a paste without triclosan—some brands add it, supposedly to prevent germs, plaque or gingivitis. MyAchingKnees comment: I have not used a fluoride toothpaste for 5 years now. I have been using a natural toothpaste. My dentist always remarks how well my gums look and I have had no cavities. The last time I had my teeth cleaned, I relented and took the fluoride treatment afterwards and I about vomited and developed a headache. Nobody can tell me that Fluoride is either necessary or not a toxin.

11. Teflon coated pots and pans. The EPA is working to phase out perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), used in making Teflon coating. Nonstick cookware, however, doesn't expose you to PFOA, even when you subject it to extreme heat, confirms a study in Food Additives & Contaminants. Scratched parts are fine, too, so flip your flapjacks fearlessly.

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Choosing a Multi-Vitamin

2011-09-13T09:14:00.000-07:00

My topic really isn't choosing a multi-vitamin, it's more aimed towards rebutting an article I saw in the local newspaper about Nutritional Supplements and some of the not so good advice the article was passing out to ti's readers.

Newspaper. Avoid supplements that provide more than 100 percent of the daily value (DV) for any vitamin or mineral.

MyAchingKnees: What?!? The DV's are in most cases 70 years old. Consuming 100% of the RDA was supposed to protect you against the diseases of that time,...scurvvy, ricketts, etc. The rise in degenerative disease over that time frame is, in my mind, largely due from the lack of nutrients we consume and the degrading value of food produced. Add in the population's propensity to eat fast foods and heavily processed and packaged items for the microwave then you have an environment where you are most probably getting very little nutrients unless you are very careful. Even then a person needs enhanced does of nutrients to enable the bodies immune systems to protect against oxidative stress and the degenerative diseases that result.

Newspaper: Take 600 IU's of Vitamin D each day.

MyAchingKnees: Even the USDA recently changed the RDA from 400 IU's to 800 IU's. Most Nutritional experts will now agree that 1,800 IU's of Vitamin D is more of a minimum dose. Vitamin D is very important to immune system function,..and no, you will not produce enough Vitamin D from spending your days in the Sun.

Newspaper: Before taking supplements, check with your Doctor and ask him/her what they recommend.

MyAchingKnees: With my respects to all Doctors, maybe the first question should be "Do you know anything about nutrition and/or nutritional supplements?" Most Doctors will reply, concerning supplements, that you get most of what you need from foods. Oh really? I supposed they know what you eat? The sad fact is that almost everyone cannot get the nutrients they need from foods.

Newspaper: The newspaper article went on to list a bunch of recommended supplements, based on their daily cost broken down! That's called selling your health to the lowest bidder.

MyAchingKnees Taking the recommended supplements from the newspaper, I checked them against the Comparative Guide to Nutritional Supplements, 3rd Edition, to see where these recommended supplements rate on the scale of 0.1 to 100, with 100 being the highest quality, although no supplement yet has attained a score of 100. FYI: The highest score is 96.1.

Nature's Bounty Ultra Man Time Release , Score of 12.5
Kroger Advanced Formula Complete , Score of 4.9
One A Day Active , Score 5.1
Nature Made Essential Mega , Score of 17.9
Rite Aid Whole Source , Score of 6.2
Kirkland (Costco) Signature Daily Multi-Vitamin , Score of 5.2
Equate (Wal-Mart) Complete , Score of 4.9
Centrum Silver , Score of 4.7

......again, the above choices were the Newspaper's recommendation. Like I always say "Proof is in the pudding" and "Let the Buyer Beware"

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Vitamins You Need and What You Don't?

2011-09-10T21:41:00.000-07:00

Came across an article titled "Discover which of these vitamins you need to be taking—and which you don’t" from Yahoo! Health. I thought it did not go far enough and actually had a couple things wrong, so I am posting it below with my comments.

The use of supplements in the United States has risen in the last 20 years: While only 40% of the American adult population took supplements in 1994, the number rose to over half of all adults by 2006, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This increase could be attributed to more people becoming concerned that they aren’t getting enough nutrients, but how do you know which vitamins you need, how much you need and how often you need them? Read on to get the lowdown on 11 of the most common dietary supplements. If you’re considering adding any of them to your healthcare regimen, be sure to talk to your doctor first about any side effects, risks or complications.

B Vitamins
There are several B vitamins, from B1 to B12, and they're all incredibly important to our body's functioning. But a commonly deficient one is B12, a nutrient that helps keep the body's nerve and blood cells healthy and helps make DNA, according to the National Institute of Health (NIH). "B12 is a common deficiency; some people just have a harder time genetically absorbing it than other people do," says Max Langhurst, a naturopathic specialist and supplements advisor at Patients Medical. "We put people on B12 because they're either low or they have a diet that doesn't support it enough. For instance, someone who has dietary restrictions, whether it be an allergen, [dairy or shellfish in particular] or a different lifestyle, like if they're not eating meat." He also says people who consume a lot of alcohol might want to supplement B12. Otherwise, Langhurst says a multivitamin should be fine. "Every multivitamin will have a spectrum of B vitamins."

MyAchingKnees comment: Recommend: Thaimin 27 mg; Riboflavin 27 mg; Niacin 40 mg; Vitamin B6 32 mg; Folate 1000 mcg; Vitamin B12 200 mcg; Biotin 300 mcg; Pantothenic Acid 90 mg.

Calcium
Due to the growing focus on osteoporosis and bone health, calcium supplementation rose from 28% in 1994 to 61% in 2006 among women 60 and over. "If you eat a fair amount of green leafy vegetables, dairy and meat, you're getting plenty of calcium. So to me, 500 mg a day is enough as a supplement—again 'supplement,' not 'replacement,'" says John Pan, MD, executive director at the George Washington University Medical Center for Integrative Medicine. While Langhurst recommends a bit more for anyone over 50 years old, there is a limit. "No more than 1,200 mg per day for people over 50 because there's a concern of calcium deposits [which leads to unabsorbed calcium settling into the body’s soft tissue]. Excessive calcium is also associated with mineral imbalances," he says. Dr. Pan, however, doesn't really think the problem with bone health is solely related to calcium deficiency. "Taking extra calcium doesn't hurt. We want them taking calcium, but the problem is that calcium isn't enough for bone health. Vitamin D is really more important," Dr. Pan says. "Vitamin D regulates how the body uses calcium."

MyAchingKnees comment: Recommend: I take about 1,070 mg of Calcium a day. I have my wife and aughter take 1,600 mg a day. You also need about half that amount in Magensium as well.

Coenzyme Q10
Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) may not be a vitamin you've heard much about before, but it's an important one, especially for people taking certain medications for high cholesterol. "Statins (a medication millions of people around the world take) are used to lower cholesterol, but they also block the formation of CoQ10, an essential ingredient [used by] the mitochondria to make energy," says Dr. Maroon. "This can lead to muscle cramps, memory impairment and a whole lot of other complications." If you are taking a statin, Dr. Pan says your doctor should be telling you to take CoQ10. If he or she is not, ask why. "Most cholesterol drugs are a statin, which deplete CoQ10, so you really need to take an additional 10 mg," Dr. Pan adds.

MyAchingKnees comment: Recommend: CoQ10 is what we call an optimizer. The body produces it, but begins to reduce this production as the person reaches middle age. It is a great supplement for people with circulatory and heart issues. A 70 year old friend of mine had good luck taking a pharamceutical grade nutritional product and adding CoQ10. His heart ejection fraction went from around 19 to 27 and his blood presure went down 10 points both sistolic and diastolic. I do not take a CoQ10 supplemt, but sure as heck reserve the right to take it if I feel like it can help.

Omega 3 Fatty Acid
An important supplement for just about everyone is fish oil, which contains an omega-3 fatty acid that can help with everything from cardiovascular health and brain functioning to arthritis and inflammation. "Science is saying you need 500 mg and is encouraging people to eat cold water fatty fish (like salmon, sardines, herring, anchovies, trout and mackerel) twice a week," says Duffy MacKay, ND, a naturopathic doctor and vice president of Scientific Regulatory Affairs at the Council for Responsible Nutrition. But the reality is that people aren't eating enough fish, so fish oil supplements have become globally accepted. However, according to Langhurst, not all fish oil supplements are created equal. "You want to look for whether or not it's molecularly distilled, because that's the process that will filter out some of the metals," he says. Some of the higher-quality brands Joseph Maroon, MD, professor of neurosurgery at the University of Pittsburgh and author of The Longevity Factor, recommends include Nordic Naturals, GNC and Carlson.

MyAchingKnees comment: Recommend: I feel that the benefits from an Omega 3 Fatty Acid are grossly overlooked. I feel it is a key ingredient in my reduction of knee and back pain as well as enhances my cognitive functions. I have several friends of mine who are Mothers who report a change in their ADD children when put on a daily nutritional supplement and optimized with a Omega 3 Fatty Acid supplement.

Folic Acid
From 2003 to 2006, only 34% of women aged 20 to 39 used a dietary supplement containing folic acid—a number doctors would like to be higher. Folic acid is very important for women, especially during their childbearing years, because it helps prevent neural defects in fetuses and is beneficial during the early stages of development. However, sometimes women don't know they're pregnant until they are two, three or four weeks into it, which is why it’s important for young women to start taking a supplement before conception, says Dr. MacKay. Folic acid is found naturally in leafy greens, citrus fruits, beans and whole grains. "If you have a robust and varied diet with lots of fruit and vegetables, you might be one of the few Americans who can get all your nutrients from food. But for the rest of women, folic acid in a multivitamin is important," Dr. MacKay adds.

MyAchingKnees comment: Recommend: Folate 1000 mcg a day;

Iron
Iron is an important part of overall health, as it is an integral part of many of the body’s proteins and enzymes. Because it helps with the transportation of oxygen in the blood cells, iron deficiency can cause fatigue, poor work performance and decreased immunity. "Iron is so important and it can be hard to get with specific diets, like vegetarians, who aren’t exposed to a lot of iron. But it's one you shouldn't be supplementing unless you need to," says Dr. MacKay. "When you get a blood count at the doctor's office, that's an indicator of your iron status, so a lot of times a doctor will tell a young woman, 'You're a borderline anemic; I want you to take a multivitamin with iron in it.'" Unless your doctor recommends it, however, you do not need to take an iron supplement. "If you take too much it is not good for you," says Dr. Pan , MD.

MyAchingKnees comment: Recommend: Not to take a supplement that has Iron in it as it interferes with the abodrbtion of toehr nutrients and is an easy supplement to take a toxic amount of. Generally in the western diet we get enough iron with red meat and green vegetables.

Melatonin
Sleep disorders affect between 50 and 70 million Americans—that's nearly 20% of the population, according to the NIH. While melatonin is not a sleep aide, it can help balance a person's wake-sleep cycle. "It's a hormone produced in the pineal gland that regulates your circadian rhythm," says Langhurst. "Each person is different, but when the lights are off, your body produces it. If you are exposed to too much light, it can throw that off." Langhurst cautions that no one under 18 years old should take melatonin, because their body produces enough of it. For those over 18, Langhurst says it is safe to use for insomnia in low doses. "Start with 1 to 2 mg," Dr. Pan recommends. "That's the standard dose for sleep."

MyAchingKnees comment: Recommend: Meltonin will work if you get a quality product. Try .5 mg first, then inch up by .5 mg but do not exceed 2 mg. I weigh 180 lbs and took 1 mg several nights in a row to test. I drifted off to sleep in about 20 minutes, sleep good, but when I awoke I was alittle groggy.

Multi-Vitamins
According to the CDC, 40% of U.S. adults take multivitamins, making them the most commonly consumed dietary supplement. And for good reason: "If you have a good, healthy diet—you eat cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, etc.) and don't have a high meat intake—then I think you're going to get most of the nutrients you need. But the majority of people don't do that…because of the nutritional status of most people in this country I think a good multivitamin is the best place to start," says Dr. Maroon. He recommends a "targeted" multivitamin (one intended for your gender and age group), that contains B vitamins, vitamins A, C, D, E and K as well as various minerals, like calcium and magnesium. "I think the GNC products, the Mega Men and Mega Women vitamins, work well."

MyAchingKnees comment: Recommend: The fact is that a person cannot eat good enough to provide their bodies with all the nutrients it needs for optimal health. A multi-vitamin, mineral anti-oxidant is essential. However, the GNC products are rated very low in the Comparative Guide to Nutritional Supplements. GNC Mega Men is rated on a scale of 1 to 100, at a fairly low 21.1, while the Women's Ultra-Mega are rated at 28.2, don't subject your health to the lowest bidder.

Vitamin C
Vitamin C, a nutrient found in foods, like citrus fruits and cruciferous vegetables, and fortified products, like juice, acts as an antioxidant, protecting cells from damage by free radicals, which are "compounds formed when our bodies convert the food we eat into energy," according to the NIH. "Vitamin C is a vitamin that's water soluble, and it's excreted very rapidly, so taking a high dose in one pill doesn't make sense," says Dr. Pan. "If you're taking 1,000 mg at a time, you're not absorbing it fast enough. So generally speaking, taking 500 mg is all you need to take. But if you want to [increase dosage] because you feel a cold coming on, then taking 500 mg three times a day is better because you're excreting it every eight hours."

Vitamin D
Vitamin D, a nutrient found in fatty fish, meat, dairy and fortified soy beverages, helps build and maintain strong bones by helping in the absorption of calcium, according to the NIH. It also helps muscle, nerve and immunity functions. While the use of dietary supplements containing vitamin D has increased for both men and women since 1988, it hasn't been enough, according to Dr. Maroon. "Vitamin D is either low or deficient in 50% to 60% of people in the United States . They should take at least 800 to 1,000 IU of vitamin D a day," he says. "And optimally, whenever an individual gets a physical examination, they should get their vitamin D level measured and then supplement accordingly." Dr. Pan agrees, saying that people really need to make sure their vitamin D levels are high enough. "Vitamin D is the only vitamin that I measure first and, depending on the level, determine how much they should be taking. Then I re-test until they get to the optimum level," he says.

MyAchingKnees comment: Recommend: Even though the FDA upped the RDA for Vitamin D from around 400 mg to 800 mg daily, we feel a person needs around a minimum 1,800 IU - again this is a minimum. I take 3,800 IU a day.

Zinc
Zinc is a necessary nutrient found in the body's cells that aids the immune system, as well as helps the body grow from conception and through childhood, according to the NIH. But once you've reached adulthood, it's not necessary on a day-to-day basis says Ed Park, MD, MPH, an anti-aging expert at Recharge Biomedical Clinic. "Zinc has been shown to shorten the time of colds and flu. So if you're feeling that scratchy nose or throat, zinc will shorten that up," says Dr. Park. "But in general, zinc deficiency is not a big problem. It’s a metal, so I wouldn't recommend daily supplementation. It's not something you need to replace, like iron or calcium."

MyAchingKnees comment: Recommend: I disagree that as an adult Zinc is not necessary on a day to day basis. I take 20 mg each and every day.

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Celiac Disease on the Rise?

2011-09-08T04:55:00.000-07:00

I am posting this article because there are so many people with degenerative diseases that they just accept,…..”Oh, I’m getting old”,…..”It’s genetic and I can’t do anything about it except manage the symptoms”,…….Some people’s comfort level is actually at the point where they accept the disease as opposed to the sometimes “uncomfortable” changing their life style somewhat. A lot of degenerative disease has it’s root cause in oxidative stress resulting from poor nutrition. This can be true from joint pain to circulatory issues to digestive problems such as IBS and Celiac disease. Why someone would not make changes in their nutritional program, such as eating better and taking quality supplements in order to provide a much better quality of life is beyond me. But we all know someone whose identity is wrapped up in their “sickness”, and they are comfortable with that. I’m niot and never will be. I am in better health now at 52 years old when I was 40 or 30 or even 20 years old.

By Lisa Collier from Yahoo! Health

Nearly five times as many Americans have celiac disease today than in the 1950s, a recent study of 9,133 young adults at Warren Air Force Base found. Another recent report found that the rates of celiac disease have doubled every 15 years since 1974. The debilitating digestive disease is now estimated to afflict about 1 in 100 Americans. Why is exposure to gluten--a protein in found in barley, wheat, rye, and possibly oats, as well as other everyday products, including some brands of lipstick, vitamins and lip balms—making more people sick than ever before?

To find out more about celiac disease and the health effects of gluten-free diets, I talked to Christina Tennyson, MD of the Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University in New York City

What is celiac disease? A debilitating digestive disorder, celiac disease is a chronic autoimmune disorder triggered by gluten. When people with the disease eat foods that contain gluten, a damaging reaction occurs in the lining of the small intestines, blocking its ability to absorb certain nutrients. This can lead to vitamin deficiencies and malnutrition, even if the person is eating a seemingly healthy diet.

What are the symptoms? One reason why this autoimmune disease often goes undiagnosed for as long as 10 years is that symptoms can vary from person to person. Among the more common warning signs of celiac disease are abdominal pain, bloating, gassiness, diarrhea, constipation, lactose intolerance, nausea and fatigue.

How serious is it? Because celiac disease robs the body of vital nutrients, people who have it are at increased risk for anemia and osteoporosis. People who have celiac disease and don’t eat a gluten-free diet also face a higher threat of bowel cancer and intestinal lymphoma. The Air Force Base study found that during 45 years of follow-up, those with undiagnosed celiac disease were four times more likely to die.

What causes it? Although the cause isn’t fully understood, two genes are known to play a role, says Dr. Tennyson.

Why are rates rising? One theory is that today’s grain-based foods contain more gluten than they did in the past. Another is that kids are exposed to gluten at an earlier age, contributing to increased risk. A frequently proposed explanation is the “hygiene hypothesis,” the theory that we are too clean for our own good, resulting in weaker immune systems because we’re not exposed to as many diseases.

Does a gluten-free diet help people lose weight? Many gluten-free foods are actually higher in calories than their gluten-containing counterparts and therefore lead to weight gain, reports Dr. Tennyson. “One of the pitfalls is that these foods are often highly processed and high in fat. Some ingredients that are used are low in fiber, such as white rice flour, tapioca and corn starch, causing constipation.” To avoid these problems, people with celiac disease should work with a nutritionist, she advises.

Does a gluten-free diet have any health benefits if you don’t have celiac disease? Possibly. In a randomized study in which neither the researchers nor the participants knew if the foods they were eating contained gluten or not, 68 percent of people who thought that a gluten-free diet improved their GI symptoms reported worsening of their symptoms when they were fed gluten-containing foods without their knowledge. However, the study only looked at 34 patients. Use of gluten-free diets for other conditions, such as autism, is highly controversial.

How trustworthy is gluten-free labeling? While products as diverse as lipstick brands to chocolate and many types of groceries carry gluten-free labeling, right now, there are no legal standards that have to be met in the US. In 27 other countries, food labeled as gluten-free food can’t have more than 20 parts of gluten per million. Nearly three years after the FDA’s deadline for a rule to define “gluten-free,” the agency is finally getting serious about tackling the dangerous risks people with celiac disease can face due to misleading labeling.

What’s the treatment? Although there’s no cure, symptoms can be effectively controlled through dietary changes to avoid all foods with gluten. However, if you think you might have celiac disease, don’t start a gluten-free diet until you’ve been tested for the condition, since eliminating gluten can cause misleading test results, cautions Dr. Tennyson. Because the disease can also spark vitamin and mineral deficiencies, patients may also need supplements. For people with severe small intestine inflammation, doctors sometimes prescribe steroids.

Read the original article here:

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TOSH - The Orthopedic Specialty Hospital

2011-09-03T21:09:00.000-07:00

Located in Murray, Utah, The Orthopedic Specialty Hospital or TOSH is a sports based scientific research and care facility internationally recognized as a premier facility and leader in sports medicine, orthopedics, science and research.

TOSH provides sports and nutritional science and research, physical rehabilitation and surgery at their state of the art 100,000 square foot facility.

Clinical researchers at TOSH report that more than 10 million Americans suffer from knee osteoarthritis or osteoarthritis symptoms, and that muscular weaknesses, such as in he quadriceps is a risk factor for predisposing the knee the osteoarthritis, impaired physical function and patient reported pain and increasing pain.

Interesting to MyAchingKnees because of our focus on nutritional supplementation, not only to address causes (not symptoms) of knee and joint pain, but for optimum health, is TOSH's research into the influence of Vitamin D with Glucosamine, Omega 3 Fatty Acids and other micro-nutrients for patients with osteoarthritis symptoms and/or knee pain and diminished mobility.

Come visit TOSH, who is making real, positive differences in the lives of people, at their website

Go to their Sports Science and Research area and click on research for some ground breaking articles on nutrition, oxidative stress and joint pain.

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Creatine Hurt My Joints

2011-08-31T06:32:00.000-07:00

MyAchingKnees.com received this comment from Anonymous, our previous post Link between Creatine and Chronic Joint Pain?:........"I have absolutely concluded that cycling creatine for 4-6 weeks for me has caused terrible knee pain, when i cycle off creatine my knees feel great, then when im back on it starts to hurt again, so for me ill get off of it for good this time and yes yes yes I drink plenty of water."

I used to take Creatine as well as alot of other "supplements of the week, month or year". I experienced pain in my elbows and knees and concluded that it was the Creatine. I stopped the Creatine and the pain went away. One of my close friends works out like a fiend and takes a lot of different supplements.....NOS, Amino Acids, all sorts of protein drinks and powders, herbal energy products, etc. We finally came to the point in our decades long experiment with our bodies, exercise and supplements that what a person really needs is an daily advanced dose of quality nutrients in order to give our bodies the nutrients it's needs for an functioning immune systems and restorative process.

Sure there are other products that can help as well,...we call them optimizers,...like the pharmaceutical grade Glucosamine which I attribute to my knee and back pain going away. I also take an alike quality Saw Palmetto product and I have seen by PSA level go from 3.9 to 0.8

Anyway, beware of the latest fad in supplements....and these are mostly targeted towards athletes, like body builders, who spend a great deal of time , effort and oney on building muscles. I just don't think they do a person much good unless that person gets the required daily nutrient's in their proper amounts to have a healthy functioning body.

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Eating Habits That Gain Fat and Hurt Joints

2011-08-27T12:59:00.000-07:00

From the Men's Health Article "20 Habits That Make You Fat" By David Zinczenko with Matt Goulding. I post this article because the majority of people that talk to me about the pain in their knees or other joints are overweight, with that excess weight bearing heavily on their knee pain; they have poor eating habits; and most certainly not getting the nutrients their body needs for immune and restorative functions. Maybe someone will read this article and see their own bad habits within and elect to change. Remember the definition of insanity is doing the same things over and over and expecting a different outcome.

Here are the 20 habits you can replace right now, compliments of the Eat This, Not That! No-Diet Diet.

FAT HABIT #1: Eating "low-fat"
It sounds crazy, but I want you to stop buying foods marketed as low-fat or fat-free. Typically, they save you only a few calories and, in doing so, they replace harmless fats with low-performing carbohydrates that digest quickly—causing a sugar rush and, immediately afterward, rebound
hunger. Researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham found that meals that limited carbohydrates to 43 percent were more filling and had a milder effect on blood sugar than meals with 55 percent carbohydrates. That means you’ll store less body fat and be less likely to eat more later.

FAT HABIT #2: Not seeking nutrition advice
Good news here: By reading this, you’re already forming habits that can help you shed pounds. When Canadian researchers sent diet and exercise advice to more than 1,000 people, they found that the recipients began eating smarter and working more physical activity into their daily routines. Not surprisingly, the habits of the non-recipients didn’t budge. Follow me on Twitter for the fat-melting weight loss tips I come across every day as the editor-in-chief of Men’s Health magazine—and lose your belly without ever dieting again.

FAT HABIT #3: Sleeping too little or too much
According to Wake Forest researchers, dieters who sleep five hours or less put on 2½ times more belly fat, while those who sleep more than eight hours pack on only slightly less than that. Shoot for an average of six to seven hours of sleep per night—the optimal amount for weight control.

FAT HABIT #4: Eating free restaurant foods
Breadsticks, biscuits, and chips and salsa may be complimentary at some restaurants, but that doesn’t mean you won’t pay for them. Every time you eat one of Olive Garden's free breadsticks or Red Lobster's Cheddar Bay Biscuits, you're adding an additional 150 calories to your meal. Eat three over the course of dinner and that's 450 calories. That's also roughly the number of calories you can expect for every basket of tortilla chips you get at your local Mexican restaurant. What's worse, none of these
calories comes paired with any redeeming nutritional value. Consider them junk food on steroids.

FAT HABIT #5: Drinking soda—even diet!
The average American guzzles nearly a full gallon of soda every week. Why is that so bad? Because a 2005 study found that drinking one to two sodas per day increases your chances of being overweight or obese by nearly 33 percent. And diet soda is no better. When researchers in San Antonio tracked a group of elderly subjects for nearly a decade, they found that compared to nondrinkers, those who drank two or more diet sodas a day watched their waistlines increase five times faster. The researchers theorize that the artificial sweeteners trigger appetite cues, causing you to unconsciously eat more at subsequent meals.

MyAchingKnees comment: How many times have you seen a really obsese person, eat a meal with a diet soda? Maybe it is true that artificial sweeteners trigger hunger cues, but more dangerous is the checmiasl and side effects from some sweeteners such as Aspartame. If you don't know about the dangers of Aspartame, then you should.

FAT HABIT #6: Skipping meals
In a 2011 national survey from the Calorie Control Council, 17 percent of Americans admitted to skipping meals to lose weight. The problem is, skipping meals actually increases your odds of obesity, especially when it comes to breakfast. A study from the American Journal of Epidemiology
found that people who cut out the morning meal were 4.5 times more likely to be obese. Why? Skipping meals slows your metabolism and boosts your hunger. That puts your body in prime fat-storage mode and increases your odds of overeating at the next meal.

FAT HABIT #7: Eating too quickly
If your body has one major flaw, this is it: It takes 20 minutes for your stomach to tell your brain that it’s had enough. A study in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association found that slow eaters took in 66 fewer calories per meal, but compared to their fast-eating peers, they felt like they had eaten more. What’s 66 calories, you ask? If you can do that at every meal, you’ll lose more than 20 pounds a year!

FAT HABIT #8: Watching too much TV
A University of Vermont study found that overweight participants who reduced their TV time by just 50 percent burned an additional 119 calories a day on average. That’s an automatic 12-pound annual loss! Maximize those results by multitasking while you watch—even light household tasks will
further bump up your caloric burn. Plus, if your hands are occupied with dishes or laundry, you’ll be less likely to mindlessly snack—the other main occupational hazard associated with tube time.

FAT HABIT #9: Ordering the combo meal
A study in the Journal of Public Policy & Marketing shows that compared to ordering a la carte, you pick up a hundred or more extra calories by opting for the “combo” or “value meal." Why? Because when you order items bundled together, you're likely to buy more food than you want. You're better off ordering your food piecemeal. That way you won't be influenced by pricing schemes designed to hustle a few more cents out of your pocket.

FAT HABIT #10: Facing the buffet
Cornell researchers found that when eating at a buffet-style restaurant, obese diners were 15 percent more likely to choose seats with a clear view of the food. Your move: Choose a seat that places your back toward the spread. It will help you avoid fixating on the food.

FAT HABIT #11: Eating off larger plates
One study found that when given an option, a whopping 98.6 percent of obese individuals opt for larger plates. Translation: More food, more calories, and more body fat. Keep your portions in check by choosing smaller serving dishes. If need be, you can always go back for seconds.

FAT HABIT #12: Putting serving dishes on the table
Resist setting out foods buffet- or family-style, and opt instead to serve them from the kitchen. A study in the journal Obesity found that when food is served from the dinner table, people consume 35 percent more over the course of the meal. When an additional helping requires leaving the table,
people hesitate to go back for more.

FAT HABIT #13: Choosing white bread
A study from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that when obese subjects incorporated whole grains into their diets, they lost more abdominal fat over the course of 12 weeks. There are likely multiple factors at play, but the most notable is this: Whole grain foods pack in more fiber and an overall stronger nutritional package than their refined-grain counterparts.

FAT HABIT #14: Taking big bites
The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that people who took large bites of food consumed 52 percent more calories in one sitting than those who took small bites and chewed longer. By cutting food into smaller pieces, you can increase satiety and enjoy your food more thoroughly. A good general rule? The smaller your bites, the thinner your waistline.

FAT HABIT #15: Not drinking enough water
Adequate water intake is essential for all your body’s functions, and the more you drink, the better your chances of staying thin. In one University of Utah study, dieting participants who were instructed to drink two cups of water before each meal lost 30 percent more weight than their thirsty
peers. And you can magnify the effect by adding ice. German researchers found that six cups of cold water a day could prompt a metabolic boost that incinerates 50 daily calories. That’s enough to shed five pounds a year!

FAT HABIT #16: Having overweight friends
Research from the New England Journal of Medicine indicates that when a friend becomes obese, it ups your chance of obesity by 57 percent. This probably has to do with the social norms that you’re exposed to. Rather than ditch a friend who starts to put on a few extra pounds though, suggest healthy activities that you can do together, and avoid letting him or her dictate the meal (“Let’s split the cheesecake!”)

FAT HABIT #17: Eating too late
Your body can burn flab while you sleep, but only if it isn't too busy processing a full stomach. A new study in the journal Obesity looked at the sleeping and eating habits of 52 people over seven days, and it found that those who ate after 8 p.m. took in the most daily calories and had the highest BMIs.

FAT HABIT #18: Not using a scale
Looking at your body weight reinforces weight-loss goals and makes it difficult to cheat your diet. When University of Minnesota researchers observed dieters who weighed themselves daily, they discovered that the routine of stepping on a scale helped those people lose twice as much weight as those who weighed themselves less frequently. Avoid being thrown of by natural fluctuations in body weight by stepping onto the scale at the same time every day.

FAT HABIT #19: Drinking fruity beverages
Most restaurants and bars have ditched their fresh-fruit recipes in favor of viscous syrups made mostly from high fructose corn syrup and thickening agents. As a general rule, the more garnishes a drink has hanging from its rim, the worse it is for your waistline.

FAT HABIT #20: Eating when emotional
A study from the University of Alabama found that emotional eaters—those who admitted eating in response to emotional stress—were 13 times more likely to be overweight or obese. If you feel the urge to eat in response to stress, try chewing a piece of gum, chugging a glass of water, or taking a walk around the block. Create an automatic response that doesn't involve food and you'll prevent yourself from overloading on calories.

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9 Scariest Food Facts

2011-08-23T07:00:00.000-07:00

Good article on Yahoo! and Men's Health by David Zinczenko with Matt published 27 July 2011. I imagine the vast majority of people do not know what is actually in the foods they consume. There's a scene in the 1973 movie Soylent Green where food shortages cause people to riot in the street, and the throng becomes so unruly that front-loading construction machines roll in and begin shoveling people up into big metal buckets. These people are hungry,....no, ravenous,.....for a food called soylent green. But here's the twist: They know that they love soylent green, but they have no clue what it's made from.

Sound familiar? It should. That's basically how we eat today. Pick up a random package in the supermarket and look at the ingredient list. Chances are you won't know half the ingredients. Take a look at the downright frightening facts Eat This, Not That! has uncovered. You may never look at food the same way.

1. Nutritious food costs 10 times more than junk food.
University of Washington researchers calculated the cost discrepancy between healthy food and junk foods and found that 2,000 calories of junk food rings up at a measly $3.52 a day. Yet for 2,000 calories of nutritious grub, the researchers plunked down $36. To add insult to fiscal injury, out of every dollar you spend on food, only 19 cents goes toward the stuff you eat. The other 81 cents goes toward
marketing, manufacturing, and packaging. Think about that the next time your grocery bill jumps into the triple digits.

2. Grocers don’t have to tell you where your produce comes from.
With meat, supermarkets must tell you the country of origin, but produce laws aren't as strict. Consider this: In a recent E. coli outbreak, German bean sprouts were implicated as the source of the bacteria, but that didn’t prevent thousands of people from being infected. Many of those people were Americans, and they were clueless as to where their sprouts came from.

3. Fruits and vegetables are losing their nutrients.
According to the USDA, the fruits and vegetables we eat today may contain significantly fewer nutrients than those our grandparents ate. Researchers looked at 43 produce items and discovered drops in protein (6 percent), calcium (16 percent), iron (15 percent), riboflavin (38 percent), and vitamin C (20 percent). The only way to counter this trend: Eat more of them.

4. Calorie counts on nutrition labels aren’t accurate.
Researchers at Tufts University recently analyzed 269 food items from 42 national sit-down and fast-food restaurant chains, and they found that nearly 20 percent of samples contained 100 or more calories than reported by the restaurants. Think about it like this: If every meal you eat has 100 more calories than you need, you’ll gain more than 30 pounds this year. Same thing on food grade labels,....there is no enforcement of what the manufacturer's report or advertise.

5. Chicken today contains 266 percent more fat than it did 40 years ago.
What’s more, today’s chicken also has 33 percent less protein, according to a study from the Institute of Brain Chemistry and Human Nutrition at London Metropolitan University. The problem is modern farming practices. Cramped environments and unnatural diets produce birds that have the same weight problems as the humans who eat them.

6. Milk contains hormones that may cause cancer.
In 1970, a typical dairy cow could produce about 10,000 pounds of milk per year. Today, that same cow produces roughly 20,000 pounds. So did cows change? Nope. It’s their feed that’s different. Today’s cows are routinely fed a hormone called recombinant bovine somatotropin, or rBST. Studies have linked rBST to a multitude of cancers, including those of the prostate, breast, and colon. Milk from rBST-treated cows is ubiquitous in America’s supermarkets, but fortunately some of the biggest players are getting wise. Stores like Whole Foods, Wal-Mart, and Kroger now carry only rBST-free dairy.

7. Conventional supermarket peaches can be coated with as many as nine different
pesticides.
Because peaches are prone to bruising, blemishing, and insect takeover, they’re routinely soaked in chemicals in the weeks before being shipped off to the supermarket. That’s why the Environmental Working Group rates peaches among the dirtiest conventional fruits in America. Also on that list: apples, celery, strawberries, and spinach. As a general rule, unless the produce has a thick,
impermeable skin, assume it’s soaked in pesticides. Now wash it with water and mild soap before you eat it.

8. You’re probably eating trans fat without knowing it.
Slack FDA regulations allow food processors to claim zero trans fats even if the food contains 0.49 grams. To be clear, that’s 0.49 grams per serving. That means by the time you finish, say, an entire bag of Cheetos, you might be ingesting nearly 5 grams of trans fat. Sure, the bag says “0 GRAMS TRANS FAT” right on the front, but if you look at the ingredient statement, you’ll see partially hydrogenated oil, the primary source of trans fat.

9. The number of daily calories available to each American has increased by 500 over the past 40 years. USDA data shows that the food industry supplies 2,700 calories to every man, woman, and child in America. In 1970, that number was 2,200. That increase translates into 52 extra pounds of fat per person, per year.

MyAchingKnees.com comment: Nine reasons while you should taking the highest quality nutritional supplement you can find. Nine reasons while you, the consumer, need to be responsible to educate yourself and take charge of your health.

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Vitamin D, all around nutrient.

2011-08-19T04:37:00.000-07:00

If you have filled out the form to the right to learn about products I take you will have already received an information paper on Vitamin D, which is not only a very remarkable nutrient, but one whose importance is often overlooked.

I found an article on Doctor Mercola's site, about the importance of Vitamin D and among the claims he makes is that Vitamin D can boost your all around health, as it is not just a vitamin, but rather the only known substrate for a potent, pleiotropic (meaning it produces multiple effects), repair and maintenance seco-steroid hormone that serves multiple gene-regulatory functions in your body. There are only 30,000 genes in your body and vitamin D has been shown to influence about 3,000 of them. Receptors that respond to the vitamin have been found in almost every type of human cell, from your brain to your bones. And researchers keep finding health benefits from vitamin D in virtually every area they look.

Can vitamin D fight colds and the flu? Yes! Help prevent obesity? It sure can. Tackle depression, asthma and rheumatoid arthritis? Yes, yes and yes! It is estimated that 25 to 50 percent of any health care budget could be saved with adequate vitamin D serum levels.

How Much Vitamin D Do You Need?

The best way to optimize your vitamin D is through safe sun exposure, or alternatively using a safe tanning bed. It is frequently possible to generate about 20,000 units of vitamin D by exposing your skin to the sun.

However, if you do not have access to regular sun exposure on a large portion of your bare skin, a vitamin D3 supplement may be necessary. Based on the most recent research, the current recommendation for dosage is 35 IU’s of vitamin D per pound of body weight. So for a child weighing 40 pounds, the recommended average dose would be 1,400 IU’s daily, and for a 170-pound adult, the dose would be nearly 6,000 IU’s.

MyAchingKnees.com comment: I am currently taking between 2,800 IU to 4,800 IU daily. And loving it. Pushing 53 years old,...working inside, outside, in all weaher conditions and around various animals, I have not ben sick in over 6 years. Some of that has to be due to the nutrients I ensure my body gets.

However, it’s important to realize that vitamin D requirements are highly individual, as your vitamin D status is dependent on numerous factors, such as the color of your skin, your location, and how much sunshine you’re exposed to on a regular basis. So, although these recommendations may put you closer to the ballpark of what most people likely need, it is simply impossible to make a blanket recommendation that will cover everyone’s needs.

The only way to determine the correct dose is to get your blood tested since there are so many variables that influence your vitamin D status. In fact, your vitamin D level should never be below 32 ng/ml, and any levels below 20 ng/ml are considered serious deficiency states, increasing your risk of as many as 16 different cancers and autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis, just to name a few.

Be sure to click on the Doctor Mercola link and read the entire article.

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James' Achy Feet

2011-08-15T04:52:00.000-07:00

Plantar Fascitis is what comes to mind as I received an e-mail from James: Every morning when I wake up and get out of bed my heels of my feet are very sore. My left heel more so than the right. As the day goes on the pain gets more manageable. The pain is worse the day after I run. Will nutritional supplements help me. James.

MyAchingKnees.com response: James, in short, nutritional supplements most likely won't help with the pain if you have plantar fascitis. A very good indicator of this are the symptoms you have described. It is possible that cartilage is involved and therefore can be helped by high quality nutritional supplements including Glucosamine, but more likely the pin point pain in your heel and pain from walking, especially in the early morning, are indicative of plantar fascitis.

I suggest seeing a Physician, maybe a Sports Podiatrist, who specializes in feet. Common treatments include rest, ice, stretching, orthotics (shoe inserts) and above all rest.

High quality (pharmaceutical grade) Nutritional Supplements and Optimizers (primarily Glucosamine and Omega 3 Fatty Acids) will ensure that your provide your body with required and essential nutrients for your general health and ability to combat degenerative disease such as joint pain, but, the plantar fasci covering your heel is not a joint. So I fear nutritional supplements will not take away your heel pain, but can certainly help you provide nutrients for optimal health.

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Cancer Treatments - New Discoveries Reported

2011-08-12T15:06:00.000-07:00

Nutritional treatments for cancer is interestingly to me as it deals with the benefits of using a nutritional approach to or with cancer treatments. While I don't believe all that I read, I do read claims and studies such as this to be informed and make up my own mind. I hope other people are open minded but at least a little skeptical when they read claims and studies. However there is no mistaking that a nutritional approach to diseases, and that includes cancer, can benefit many patients. I have read a report, which I'm trying to find now, that relates to how well certain types of cancer patients react to a high quality, high daily dose of grape seed extract. Do you own research; Take charge of your own health; and, Be an informed consumer.

This is of a particular interest to me as I have recently lost two close friends, both in their early 50's to cancer. Both their Cancer Doctor's told them NOT to take nutritional supplements as there is a possibility that these supplements would make the cancer cells harder to kill. There is no known research that even suggests this, but there is research that suggest high quality nutritional supplements will help protect normal cells during chemo but will not protect cancerous cells during the same treatment. Again, do your own research and make up your own mind.

I post this information, on the book and research describe below, not having an opinion of it's efficacy or validity, but do it none the less, in case readers are interested. The text below are not my words, but those of the report I was sent.

TPH BOOK: "Cancer: The Cure is in the Food"

Available by calling 1-877-817-9829 or order online at ThePowerMall.com

Francis Hart (Col.Joe) has written an amazing book based on thousands of hours of research, experiments, and applied practice using integrative medicine. Within this book you will be introduced to a dietary procedure for the treatment of disease and the freedom to choose.

Few people, including doctors, are aware of its critical medical importance. As a result of scientific testing, it has been reported that oxalic acid is a normal chemical in mammals, including humans. The author has discovered oxalic acid as a natural, God-given chemotherapy. This book details the necessity of OXALIC ACID in the body's blood stream. What enhances it - - - and what blocks it!

Chapters include:

The Hart Dietary Procedure Plan - Oxalic Acid Definitions and Purpose - Avoid the Blockers - Electric Magnetic Fields - Supplementation - Precautions - Applications - Cancer Diets for Adults, Adolescents, Children, Dogs and Cats - Other Specific Health Challenges - Recipes
......and much, much more!

Other book of interest: Oxalic Acids in Biology and Medicine by A. Hodgkinson

More information at Col Joe's website:

http://www.coljoe.com

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Tylenol Overdoses - Doses Cut to Prevent Overdoses

2011-08-10T05:00:00.000-07:00

Tylenol doses cut to prevent overdoses

This came out on a AP wire, but little good did it do me as I have stopped taking Tylenol almost 2 years ago. Also, will never touch Motrin again and thankful for it. Those of you who do however, take Tylenol, read this and see if you want to continue Russian Roulette.

Johnson & Johnson is cutting the max daily dose of Extra Strength Tylenol in order to lower the risk of accidental overdose from it's active ingredient acetaminophen, which is one of the top causes of liver failure. But not just Tylenol, other common pain meds people take for chronic joint and particularly knee pain are Percocet, Vicodin, and even some non pain meds like NyQuil and some Sudafed products.

The Associated Press article, says in part:

Starting sometime this fall, labels on Extra Strength Tylenol packages will now list the maximum daily dose as six pills, or a total of 3,000 milligrams, down from eight pills a day, or 4,000 milligrams.

Beginning next year, McNeil will also reduce the maximum daily dose for its Regular Strength Tylenol and other adult pain relievers containing acetaminophen, the most widely used pain killer in the country.

But people taking multiple medicines at once don't always realize how much acetaminophen they are ingesting, partly because prescription drug labels often list it under the abbreviation "APAP."

Two years ago, a panel of advisers to the Food and Drug Administration called for sweeping restrictions to prevent accidental fatal overdoses of acetaminophen.

Then in January, the FDA said it would cap the amount of acetaminophen in Vicodin, Percocet and other prescription pain killers at 325 milligrams per capsule — just under half the 700 milligram maximum of some products on the market then. The agency also said it was working with pharmacies and other medical groups to develop standard labeling for acetaminophen.

Excessive use of acetaminophen can cause liver damage. In the U.S., it's blamed for about 200 fatal overdoses and sends 56,000 people to the emergency room each year.

Extra Strength Tylenol is manufactured at a J&J factory in Las Piedras, Puerto Rico, where production has been decreased for months because the FDA, concerned about manufacturing and quality problems, is requiring additional reviews and approvals before medicines can be shipped. J&J said shipments of Extra Strength Tylenol should ramp up in the latter part of this year and throughout next year.

Las Piedras is one of three factories implicated in most of the 25 Johnson & Johnson recalls since September 2009, involving tens of millions of bottles of Tylenol and other nonprescription drugs made by McNeil. Several prescription drugs, hip implants and contact lenses made by other J&J subsidiaries also have been recalled.

The recalls, for quality problems ranging from metal shavings and improper levels of active ingredients in some medicines to packaging with a nauseating odor, resulted in a consent decree between McNeil and the FDA this spring.

As a result, Las Piedras and a second factory, in Lancaster, Pa., are under additional scrutiny. The third factory, in Fort Washington, Pa., made children's medicines such as liquid Tylenol. It has been closed since April 2010 and is being gutted and completely rebuilt.

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Addiction Claims Another Star

2011-08-06T05:28:00.000-07:00

Last week America learned of another, by drugs, of a music star. Amy Winehouse a very talented singer/songwriter joined Kurt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, and Janis Joplin as giving their lives to their addiction to narcotics.

I wonder just how many average Americans, some of whom cannot begin to carry a tune or write song, are suffering with addiction to prescription pain killers...none more so than people with chronic knee, back and other joint pain, sometimes so debilitating some people seemingly can't go on.

It's much, much easier to get a Physician to write a script and for that person to become reliant on pain killers than it is for a person to wean themselves off of these complicated drugs. This is the silent addiction. The 800 mg Motrins, the Tylenol - Codeine tabs, the Percocets, Oxycontin, and far harsher others.

I think that in this society we have woven, people just procrastinate and rationalize everything. And no more dangerous is this, is it for people on pain killers or addicted to illegal narcotics. Some rationalize "Okay, when it starts becoming a problem, I'll get off it." Take pain killers for that joint pain or that back ache every day and you little by little degrade your body.

Others may think they need that pill each day in order to get through the day keeping their pain away...."I need these pills so I can walk without pain",..... Maybe so. But also is it so, that there is much people can do to try and eliminate their dependency upon these daily pain killers. It starts with changing the culture and reducing the "quick cure" on pain killers. It starts exploring all manner of alternative therapies - some of which have been in effective use a lot longer than prescription pain killers,...and it with starts with living a healthy life style.

I write about this because I have lost a close family member to suicide which was directly influenced by 13 prescription medications that person was on. I know many others who take daily pain killers,...some for neck pain,...some from residual pain from broken bones. I don't have the answers. And maybe I'm just fortunate not to have pain anymore. Just be careful on what you take. I know many people who think nothing of popping a few Tylenol or Motrin,......common sense, case examples, and now Tylenol decreasing the daily maximum dose all should lead you to reconsider how you use these products.

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Fire Your Doctor

2011-08-04T04:29:00.000-07:00

No, I'm not suggesting you fire your Doctor,...just know when to. And before that, remember that you are in charge of your health, not your Doctor. This is a good article from Yahoo! Health, entitled "When to Fire Your Doctor"

9 Signs You Should Fire Your Doctor

Staying with a doctor you're not happy with is as harmful as staying in a relationship you know is bad because it's easier than making a change. But parting ways may be the healthiest move. Here are nine signs that it's time to fire your doctor. (For simplicity, the references below are to male doctors, but men don't have a monopoly on unacceptable behavior.)

1. You don't mesh. You and your doctor don't need to see eye to eye on everything, but it's helpful if you work well together. If you want a partnership, for example, a doctor who spouts commands is not the best fit. If you value warmth, you may not be able to build an effective relationship with a physician who seems formal or distant. "Some patients like doctors who are very direct and blunt," says Washington, D.C. based family physician Kenny Lin, who blogs for U.S. News. "And some patients can't stand that type of doctor because they think he or she isn't empathetic enough or doesn't provide enough options." When there's a mismatch, neither person is at fault—but it could be grounds for termination.

2. He doesn't respect your time. Do you routinely wait an hour to see your physician only to feel like he's speed-doctoring through the visit? You should never feel like you're being rushed. If your doctor doesn't take the time to answer your questions or address your concerns, there's a problem. The medical community is becoming increasingly sensitive to patients' precious time. When they're late for an appointment, some habitually tardy doctors have even begun compensating patients with money or gifts. If your doctor's chronic lateness makes you grind your teeth, why stay with him? Hint: If you're evaluating a prospective physician, investigate his timeliness beforehand.

3. He keeps you in the dark. A doctor should be open and thorough about why he recommends a certain treatment or orders a specific test, and he should share all results with you. "If a doctor doesn't explain himself, or at least not to your satisfaction, at that point a doctor is bad," Lin says. "I know doctors who have drawn blood or run a bunch of tests without telling patients why they're doing them
and what they mean." It's also important that a doctor uses terms you understand, rather than complicated medical jargon; otherwise, explanations are meaningless. Your health is too important to feel confused or uninformed.

4. He doesn't listen. Does your doctor hear you out without interrupting? "It all comes down to communication and whether you feel like you're asking questions and they're not being answered," says Carolyn Clancy, director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. She recalls visiting a doctor for a second opinion on whether she should go through with a procedure recommended by her dentist. "He made a big leap—that I didn't want to have it done because I was afraid of the pain and kept reassuring me that it was virtually pain-free. That's not what I was asking. After three rounds, I concluded that we weren't going to get to a productive place, and I didn't go back."

5. The office staff is unprofessional. The receptionists are the link between you and the doctor. If they blow you off—or neglect to give your message to the physician, say about side effects of a new medication—your health could be at risk. Even if you like your doctor, a bad office staff could signal it's time to look elsewhere.

6. You don't feel comfortable with him, or wonder about his competence. Doctors need to know intimate details you may not even share with friends or family members. If you're unable to disclose such facts, you and your doctor may not be the right match. A sense of unease about his decisions and recommendations, even if you can't say exactly why, is also a perfectly legitimate reason for cutting the cord, says Don Powell, president of the American Institute for Preventive Medicine, a nonprofit that promotes healthy behavior through wellness programs and publications. Beware of sloppy medical mistakes, too: If your doctor prescribes a medication to which you're allergic, and you know that information is in your history, a separation may be in order.

7. He doesn't coordinate with other doctors. Your primary care physician should be the quarterback of your healthcare team, managing each step of the medical process. That means keeping track of specialists' reports and instructions and talking with you about their recommendations. If he's slacking, an important piece of your care could slip through the cracks.

8. He's unreachable. A good doctor is available for follow-up questions and concerns. Patient advocate Trisha Torrey, author of You Bet Your Life! The 10 Mistakes Every Patient Makes, recalls the time her husband developed severe tooth pain on a weekend. His dentist's voicemail included a cell phone number and a promise of a quick response, but he never heard back. An emergency clinic visit and root canal later, he told his dentist she was fired. A growing number of doctors are making themselves available to patients via E-mail, text message, and Skype, and at the very least, you need to know that in an emergency, you won't be left hanging.

9. He's rude or condescending. Time to part ways. Same goes if he trivializes your concerns as though they're not valid. One of the clearest signs you should move on is if he walks out of the room while you're still talking, says Clancy. That's what happened when her sister met with a surgeon to determine if her daughter should go through with a procedure. "When my sister finished asking her question, the doctor was gone," Clancy recalls. "She called me afterward and I told her, 'You have to find someone else. You'll regret it if you don't.'"

MyAchingKnees comment,...and another thing, remember that most Doctors don't know a thing about the benefits of Nutrition and high quality Nutritional Supplements. A friend of mine's pregnant wife was told by her Doctor, when asked about supplements and pre-natal vitamins, just to go buy some Centrum at the Drug Store. Centrum, a well know name in daily supplements received a score of 5.2, no, not 52, but 5 point 2 out of 100 in the Comparative Guide to Nutritional Supplements. Yeah, I'm gonna but that!

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Don't Accept Your Pain!

2011-08-01T04:50:00.000-07:00

I recently read a short article in the USA today about joint pain and other pain from degenerative diseases. Imagine my shock when part of the article talked about Accepting Your Pain.

The article when on to say, words to the effect, that is doesn’t mean accepting the fact that you will live our the rest of your life in pain, but to just change the way you think about the pain. Don’t resist the pain,…learn to live with it and you’ll function much better as acceptance is about moving forward and focusing on the positives and you will be thankful for it.

Really?. I have a different viewpoint. Rather than accept your pain,...DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! Of course you need to be positive. You can’t walk around being Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh where life has dealt you a crap sandwich and you walk around with the “old poor you” perspective. Take responsibility for your health and the pain. Research treatments and effectiveness. Partner with your medical care providers. Ask questions. Do not discount anything other than conventional medical treatments. Do not rely solely on pain medications. In fact, be very, very careful on pain medications as they can mask the symptoms and have life changing side effects.

DO start to build your health.

· Eat better first of all by eliminating the bad foods;

· Start the highest quality nutritional supplements you can find since the simple fact is that you cannot get all the nutrients you need from foods alone – where do you think the “degenerative” process comes from?...maybe it comes from lack of nutrients for your body to effectively fight off degenerative disease;

· Do whatever physical exercise you can do, given your condition and pain;

· Reduce your exposure to toxins.

Don’t be Eeyore, anymore.

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Beware - Bad Food Additives

2011-07-30T05:54:00.000-07:00

Relief from Knee Pain and Joint issues are not as simple as treating the symptoms. Nor is it as simple as providing your body with nutrients that will make the joints healthy and reduce pain. This is a total body issue with degenerative disease, and the key link being nutrition and effect that a lack of nutrients has on degenerative disease, hence the need to live a more healthy lifestyle if you want to make a difference without sucking down bunch of prescription drugs which may treat the symptoms and provide some relief, but they will also have consequences or what we call side effects.

A good article on bad food additives compiled from the book "Eat This, Not That".

Top 10 Scariest Food Additives
By David Zinczenko with Matt Goulding
Jul 01, 2011

The problem with additives runs deep. The FDA currently maintains a list of ingredients called Everything Added to Food in the United States (EAFUS), which features more than 3,000 items and counting. Thankfully, most EAFUS ingredients are benign, but a few of them do have potentially harmful effects. Why they're legal is a mystery to us. Some of them might be backed by powerful lobby groups, while others probably survive simply because some guy at the FDA has too much paperwork on his desk and hasn't made time to adequately review the data.

Below are 10 of the most dubious ingredients hiding in your food, compliments of Eat This, Not That!

2011. Even if you're not convinced of their danger, you have to admit this: The more filler ingredients you cut from your diet, the more space you have for wholesome, nutritious foods.

Scary Ingredient #1: Olestra
A fat substitute synthesized by Procter & Gamble. Because human digestive enzymes can't break down the big molecules, Olestra contributes 0 calories to your diet.

Why it’s scary: In the late ’90s, Frito-Lay released Olestra-enhanced WOW chips and Procter & Gamble introduced Fat Free Pringles. Both products were required to carry warning labels to notify customers about the risk of "loose stools." Within 4 years, some 15,000 people had dialed in to a hotline set up specifically to handle adverse-reaction complaints. Apparently the complaints didn't move the FDA, because in 2003, the administration revoked the warning-label mandate. If you want to take your chances with diarrhea, go ahead, but first consider this: Olestra also appears to interfere with the body's ability to absorb some crucial nutrients like beta-carotene and lycopene. To counteract the effect, processers add some nutrients back, but it's unlikely that all the blocked nutrients are adequetly replaced.

Where you’ll find it: Lay’s Light chips, Pringles Light chips

Scary Ingredient #2: Caramel Coloring
An artificial pigment created by heating sugars. Frequently, this process includes ammonia.

Why it’s scary: Caramel coloring shows up in everything from soft drinks and sauces to breads and pastries. When made from straight sugar, it's relatively benign. But when produced with ammonia it puts off 2-methylimidazole and 4-methylimidazole, chemicals that have been linked to cancer in mice. The risk is strong enough that the California government, a bellwether for better food regulation, categorized 4-methylimidazole as “known to cause cancer” earlier this year. Unfortunately, companies aren't required to disclose whether their coloring is made with ammonia, so you'd be wise to avoid it as much as you can.

Where you'll find it: Colas and other soft drinks, La Choy soy sauce, Stove Top stuffing mix.

Sweet n LowScary Ingredient #3: Saccharin
An artificial sweetener discovered by accident in the 1870s.

Why it’s scary: Studies have linked saccharin to bladder tumors in rats, and in 1977, the FDA required warning labels on all saccharin-containing foods. In 2000, the agency changed its stance and allowed saccharin to be sold without warning labels. But that doesn't make it entirely safe. A 2008 Purdue study found that replacing sugar with saccharin in rats’ diets made them gain more weight, proving once again that you should be aware of these faux fat foes.

Where you'll find it: Sweet ‘N Low, TaB cola

Scary Ingredient #4: Potassium Bromate
A compound that conditions flour and helps bread puff up during baking.

Why it’s scary: Potassium bromate causes thyroid and kidney tumors in rats, and it's banned from food use in many countries. In California, products containing potassium bromate are required to carry a cancer warning. Fortunately, negative publicity has made the additive relatively rare, but until the FDA banishes it, you should remain on the lookout.

Where you'll find it: Johnny Rockets Hoagie Roll

OrbitScary Ingredient #5: Butylated Hydroxyanisole (BHA) and Butylated Hydroxytoluene (BHT)
Petroleum-derived antioxidants and preservatives.

Why they're scary: The Department of Health and Human Services says BHA is “reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen," yet the FDA allows it to be used anyway. BHT is considered less dangerous, but in animal research, it too has resulted in cancer. Oddly, the chemicals aren’t even always necessary; in most cases they can be replaced with vitamin E.

Where you'll find it: Goya lard, Golden Grahams, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Orbit gum

McDonald's McChickenScary Ingredient #6: Partially Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil
A semi-solid fat created when food processors force hydrogen into unsaturated fatty acids.

Why it's scary: Partially hydrogenated fats are the principle sources of trans fat in the American diet, and a Harvard study estimated that trans fat causes 70,000 heart attacks every year. The good news: Partially hydrogenated oils are beginning to slowly retreat from our food. Progressive jurisdictions like New York City are starting to restrict the allowable amounts in restaurants, and many chains are switching to healthier frying oil. Still, the battle isn’t over. At Long John Silver’s, for example, there are still 17 menu items with more than 2 grams of the stuff. According to the American Heart Association, that's about the maximum you should consume in a single day.

Where you'll find it: McDonald’s McChicken, Long John Silver’s Broccoli Cheese Soup

Fig NewtonScary Ingredient #7: Sulfites
Preservatives that maintain the color of food, and by releasing sulfur dioxide, prevent bacterial growth.

Why it's scary: Humans have used sulfites to keep food fresh for thousands of years, but some people—especially asthma sufferers—experience breathing difficulties when exposed. In the 1980s, unregulated use resulted in at least a dozen deaths, prompting the FDA to slap warning labels on wine bottles and develop new guidelines for proper use. Now restaurants can no longer soak fresh ingredients in sulfites. According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, there have been no known deaths since the new legislation took hold. The bottom line: If you're among the majority of people not sensitive to sulfites, consumption won’t hurt you. If you're not sure, ask your doctor for a test.

Where you'll find it: Wine, Sun-Maid Mixed Fruit, Jolly Ranchers, Fig Newtons

Dunkin Donuts BagelScary Ingredient #8: Azodicarbonamide
A synthetic yellow-orange dough conditioner.

Why it's scary: This chemical is used most frequently in the production of industrial foam plastic, and although the FDA has approved its use for food in the States, the United Kingdom has labeled it a potential cause of asthma. In a review of 47 studies on azodicarbonamide, the World Health Organization concluded that it probably does trigger asthmatic symptoms. The WHO concluded, “exposure levels should be reduced as much as possible.” I’ll put it more concisely: Avoid it.

Where you'll find it: Dunkin’ Donuts bagels, McDonald’s burger buns

CreamsicleScary Ingredient #9: Carrageenan
A thickener and emulsifier extracted from seaweed.

Why it's scary: Seaweed is actually good for you, but carrageenan is a mere seaweed byproduct. Through animal studies, it has been linked to cancer, colon trouble, and ulcers. It isn’t certain that carrageenan harms humans, but avoiding it is clearly the safer option. Most studies examined degraded forms of the additive, and research from the University of Iowa found that carrageenan could be degraded through the normal digestive process.

Where you'll find it: Weight Watchers Giant Chocolate Fudge Ice Cream Bars, Skinny Cow Ice Cream

Sandwiches, Creamsicles
Nature's Own Bread

Scary Ingredient #10: Ammonium Sulfate
An inorganic salt that occurs naturally near active volcanoes and is used commercially to nourish yeast and help bread rise.

Why it's scary: This nitrogen-rich compound is most often used as fertilizer, and also appears commonly in flame retardants. Thankfully, the ingredient only sounds scary—a 2006 Japanese rat study found the additive to be non-carcinogenic. Both the Center for Science in the Public Interest and the FDA deem it safe.

Where you'll find it: Nature’s Own bread, Subway rolls

Let the Consumer be Informed and the Buyer Beware!

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Weight Loss Tips,....Help Those Joints

2011-07-26T05:02:00.000-07:00

Ahh, weight loss,...not only good for our spirits and how we see ourselves, but reducing the amount of weight you are carrying will help the joints as well. Remember, those extra 20 pounds feel like an extra 40 pounds to aching knees!

From Healthy Living, July 11, 2011, The Weight Loss Tips You're Not Trying

In reality, hitting the gym five times a week and sweating out major calories a la Britney Spears is on my priority list … it's just waaay down at the bottom with cleaning out my closet and watching "The Green Lantern."

I do care about eating right and burning more calories, but I just wish it didn't always feel like rocket science. Seriously, do I really have to read a 300 pager on some fad diet plan or learn army-worthy workout sequences just to decrease my "pooch"? There have got to be easier, sneakier ways to lose those stubborn pounds, right?

Fitness and lifestyle consultant Ashley Borden says absolutely. And while all these little tweaks may seem minor, they add up over time. Awesome.

No. 1

Limit your liquids to herbal tea and water only. Drinking even light juices or diet coke will still pack on pounds over time, says Borden. If you need a sweet fix, eat your fruit, don't drink it. You'll get more fiber and less sugar that way.

MyAchingKnees.com Tip: Slice up a cucumbers place in a quart of water then into the fridge. You'll have a good tasting drink after a couple of hours.

No. 2

Eat with chopsticks. "People who use chopsticks tend to eat way less and get fuller quicker because it takes longer to eat -- [chopsticks] slow you down," says Borden. This is one of the biggest rules of thumb when it comes to eating right. If you eat too fast your body doesn't register that it's full, so you'll keep eating unnecessary calories.

MyAchingKnees.com Tip: Eat with your hands - an even better way to eat less or eat by yourself.

No. 3

Take your workout to work. No time to exercise before or after work? Burn a few calories during your lunch hour instead. Borden likes the virtual jump rope for this purpose (try Airope Original, 34.95). It's easy to tote, you won't whip any colleagues, and two simple minutes of jumping will get you off your bum and blasting cals. Bonus: It'll give your back a much-needed break from hunching (and hurting), she says.

MyAchingKnees.com Tip: Go for a fast walk; 4 mph minimum for 20 minutes. This would be 1 1/4 miles. Include some stairs and even better if you can find a place to walk backwards. After a couple weeks, I'll be you lose at least an inch off your butt.

No. 4

Avoid low fat diets. "Fat is your friend, it will help you get fewer calories cravings," says Borden. Find good-for-you fats in avocado, olive oil and fish.

MyAchingKnees.com Tip: Learn the good and bad fats. Read the labels. Become an informed consumer.

No. 5

Do an activity that jumpstarts your lymphatic system, says Borden, like running, jump rope, and rebounding (jumping on a mini trampoline). These activities boost your circulation to help release built-up toxins, which in turn speeds up your metabolism. And you know what that means: More calories burned without any extra effort.

MyAchingKnees.com Tip: Do some exercise after you eat your final meal of the day (night). Doesn't have to be much. A short 20-25 minute fast walk,...don't forget about walking backwards!

No. 6

Sprinkle on the cinnamon. Flavoring your oatmeal, cereal, coffee -- you name it -- with cinnamon may actually control the insulin spikes that often occur after you eat, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture finding. These spikes can make you feel hungry, which isn't exactly ideal if you're trying to cut calories.

MyAchingKnees.com Tip: Honey is another good sweetener. Doesn't go bad in your pantry either. If it crystalizes, just put the jar in a pan of hot water.

No. 7

Avoid creamy foods. Example: Dairy or creamy dressings like ranch have more unhealthy fats and are harder to digest than olive oil-based fats found in vinaigrette-like dressings.

MyAchingKnees.com Tip: For a quick meal, cook some whole wheat pasta, then top with sprinkled extra virgin olive oil. Great anti-oxidant; good source of essential fats. Taste good too. You can add un-cooked or steamed onions, mushrooms or squash if you want to give it some body.

No. 8

Add more weight to your weight-training workout. It's a myth that women "shouldn't lift more than three pounds," says Borden. "The more muscle you have, the higher your metabolism will be," she adds. So, don't be afraid to pile on the pounds (to your weight room routine, that is) and don't worry, contrary to popular belief, it's actually hard to add bulk. If you can do 15 reps of an exercise easily, add more weight until your last rep is an effort, she says.

MyAchingKnees.com Tip: 15 reps is a good figure, but a minimum number. Stack your exercises into a circuit with no rest in-between; add ab exercises between circuit runs. I'll bet you can get a good workout in less than 30 minutes. And remember that most diets fail because the person trying to lose weight does not give their body the nutrients it needs. Think high quality supplements.

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Top Killers of Men

2011-07-22T16:51:00.000-07:00

Excellent article on 'What Kills Men from Men's Health',........however, when it gets to the "what to do about it" the article misses out on one very important "how". Men, and women for that matter,....and children as well, simply are not getting the quantity of high quality nutrients necessary to keep oxidative stress and therefore inflammation at bay.

The Top 5 Killers of Men
By Bill Phillips and the Editors of Men's Health
Jun 16, 2011

It was a sunny September day in the Pacific Northwest, and Jeff Hale had just closed a $1.5 million deal. To celebrate, he was taking the afternoon off, relaxing on his patio lounge, and playing ball with his dog. That's when he began feeling compression high in his chest, some pain in his left shoulder, and an unsettling sense of dread. At 44, he was in relatively good shape, although 15 pounds overweight and under a lot of stress from work. At first, he thought it was an asthma attack and took a hit off his inhaler. But when that didn't help, he remembered an article he’d read in Men's Health.

"There were two things from that article I recalled," he recounted to our reporter a few years ago. "One was that every heart attack is unique. My symptoms will be different from your symptoms. The other was, if you suspect you're having a heart attack, take an aspirin." Hale took two and drove himself to the hospital. He almost didn't make it. Doctors found blockages in three arteries and performed a triple bypass the next day. "They told me I'd saved my life," says Hale. "The
aspirin thinned my blood, and the inhaler dilated my arteries."

Heart disease is the number one killer of men, claiming the lives of nearly 400,000 fathers, friends, brothers, and sons every year. Often, the difference between life and death is razor thin—remembering to pop an aspirin, not delaying your trip to the E.R.

This week is National Men's Health Week, which was created by Congress in 1994 to raise the awareness of the health threats uniquely facing men. To commemorate, we’ve put together a list of the most popular ways to die as a man in America. Collectively, these diseases kill nearly one million of us annually. And, chances are, your lifestyle or genetic profile puts you at risk for at least one of them.

But, as Jeff Hale learned, our fates are not sealed. If you understand your risks, and learn how to negate them, you can outrun the reaper. Here’s how:

STROKE
Why you’re at risk: Each year, nearly 50,000 American men die of a stroke, according to the American Heart Association. I know what you’re thinking: But those are really old men. But you’re wrong. In fact, 1 in 14 stroke victims is younger than 45. As a neurologist I interviewed a few years ago told me: “If you did MRI scans on a hundred 40-year-olds, you’d see that a large number have already had a silent stroke.” And that’s scary because small, silent strokes often precede large,
debilitating strokes.

What you can do about it: Keep your blood pressure at 120/80 or lower. Every 20-point increase in systolic BP (the top number) or every 10-point rise in diastolic BP doubles your risk of dying of a stroke, says Walter Kernan, M.D., an associate professor of medicine at Yale University. The good news: Simple lifestyle changes can dramatically reduce your risk. Assess your stroke risk right here, and learn how to turn the odds in your favor.

CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE
Why you’re at risk: Nearly 60,000 men died from COPD—which includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema—in 2006, according to the CDC. The chief cause: the Marlboro Man. In fact, smoking causes 80 percent of COPD deaths. Considering that tobacco use has also been directly linked to the other man killers on our Top 5 list—notably, heart disease (#1) and cancer (#2)—you have to ask:

Why are people still smoking?
What you can do about it: It’s pretty simple, really. You need to figure out how to kick butts for good. Improve your odds by joining a gym—smokers who are trying to quit often fall off the wagon during stressful moments. Regular exercise lowers levels of cortisol, the stress hormone, in the brain. Warning: Going cold turkey is one of the least successful ways of quitting. Find out how to tilt the odds of success in your favor by checking out Will You Be Able to Quit Smoking?

ACCIDENTS
Why you’re at risk: According to the CDC, 80,000 men die each year in unexpected tragedies, from sports injuries to fires to falls. But the most preventable accidental deaths are the 30,000 that occur on America’s roads every year.

What’s that? You’re a great driver? Not surprising that you think so. According to a study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, 72 percent of drivers regard themselves as more skilled than everyone else. Researchers trace the bias to a fundamental information imbalance, namely that the poorest performers are also the least able to recognize skill (or lack of skill) in themselves or others.

But fine, let’s say it’s true. Then consider the guys you’re sharing the road with: Surveys indicate there's a nearly 80 percent chance they speed regularly, and a 53 percent likelihood they talk on the phone while driving. There's a 4 percent chance they run red lights—on purpose—and a 2 percent chance they have driven after drinking too much. These guys make Evil Knievel look like a defensive driver.

What you can do about it: If you do one thing today, make it this: Stop texting while driving. You’ve probably heard that texting behind the wheel is just as dangerous as drinking and driving. Not true. Texting is way more dangerous. In fact, texting increases your risk of a crash by 23 times (versus 11 times for driving under the influence), according to a Virginia Tech study. Step into the
MH Driving Simulator and test how well you multitask behind the wheel.

CANCER
Why you’re at risk: The Big C killed nearly 300,000 men in 2010, according to the American Cancer Society. Lung cancer tops the list, accounting for 29 percent of all cancer deaths, followed by prostate cancer (11 percent) and colon/rectum cancer (9 percent). We all know that smoking causes lung cancer, but the risk factors for prostate cancer are less well known. Yet, it’s one of the most common—1 in 6 men will get prostate cancer in their lifetimes—and least understood killers of men.

What you can do about it: Take our quiz to determine your risk. If you’re at high risk, put certain staples of the Mediterranean diet on your plate. A study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute shows that men who eat more than 10 grams of garlic or scallions (about three cloves of garlic or 2 tablespoons of scallions) daily have a 50 percent lower risk of prostate cancer
than those who eat less than 2 grams. Sound like too much of a good thing? Other studies have linked the lycopene in cooked tomato products to lower prostate cancer risk; aim for at least two servings a week. And if you really like coffee . . . Harvard researchers found that drinking 6 cups a day reduces your risk of developing advanced prostate cancer by 59 percent.

HEART DISEASE
Why you’re at risk: This is the deadliest disease known to man. More than 1 in 3 adult men have some sort of heart disease and more than 390,000 men died of the killer in 2007, according to the American Heart Association.

But you’re a fit, healthy guy, right? Why would you die of heart disease? Believe it or not, not every victim of the disease is overweight or inactive. Men’s Health Editor Peter Moore discovered this eight years ago. He was doing everything right: He was thin, exercised regularly, and ate a healthy diet. But none of that prevented one of the arteries in his heart from becoming 99 percent blocked.

Still think you’re risk-free? You can find out your heart disease risk by clicking right here. What you can do about it: Small lifestyle changes can yield big results when it comes to improving heart health. Here are four simple changes you can make today:

• Exercise for 30 minutes. Middle-aged men who exercise vigorously for two hours a week (aim for 30 minutes, four times a week) have a 60 percent lower risk of a heart attack than inactive men.

• Lose the spare tire. If you’re overweight, dropping 10 to 20 pounds lowers your risk of dying from a heart attack. In fact, a 10-year study found that overweight people had heart attacks 8.2 years earlier than normal-weight victims.

• Drink five glasses of water a day. Men who drink that many 8-ounce glasses are 54 percent less likely to have a fatal heart attack than those who drink two glasses or fewer. Researchers say the water dilutes the blood, making it less likely to clot.

• Count to 10. Keeping your cool under stress may keep you alive. Men who respond with anger are three times more likely to have heart disease and five times more likely to have a heart attack before turning 55.

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14 Year Old Baseball Player with Bad Knees

2011-07-18T11:00:00.000-07:00

A Sports parent send me this question: ”Dear Myachingknees, my 14 year old son plays baseball and is very good, however the sport is taking a toll on his knees. He has to ice his knees after every game then he is stiff for 24-48 hours. Do you think the Glucosamine you recommend can help him? Dan, Phoenix , AZ. ”

At 14 years old I am not sure if all the bones, tendons and connective tissue is mature enough to handle the strain of sudden sprints, twisting turns, impact and other minor trauma on athletes. I would certainly consult with an orthopedic specialist on the pain or discomfort your son is experiencing. When I was 15 years old and playing summer ball (at 3B), I turned to my left suddenly to go after a ball and torn some cartilage in my knee – too me out for the summer. The spikes or cleats on the shoes can add to this problem.

I think the Glucosamine would help with cartilage health but would be maximized by ensuring your son received all the nutrients, in the proper amounts, for optimum cellular health. I see many people taking or wanting take just optimizers where the first priority in my opinion would be a complete nutritional formula, again in the right amounts (dosages) to provide what they body needs. So I would suggest trying a complete nutritional supplement and glucosamine optimizer for maybe three to six months,……maybe add in a Omega 3 Fatty Acid source as well,....really all you would have to lose is a small amount of money.

I would caution you on taking off the shelf supplements. Buy the best you can, pharmaceutical grade is best. I have no other reason, but pharmaceutical grade supplements, to attribute my greatly diminished knee and back pain and overall great health to.

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Menopause Weight Gain Hurting My Knees

2011-07-15T06:57:00.000-07:00

MyAchingKnees.com received this e-mail question: "I am 48 years old and fairly active, walking and biking but lately I have been tired and my knees have been hurting. I have been taking Tylenol some. Although I am going through menopause my weight gain has only been 7 or 8 lbs in the last 9 months or so but I do get somewhat bloated. Would the bloating associated with menopause also affect my knees?"

Any significant weight gain can add stress to your joints. What’s significant? Well considering 5 lbs of additional weight is multiplied when your momentum such as when walking fast or jogging is done. I don’t think the bloating which is retaining water affects your joint much, unless for some reason the fluid is pooling or accumulating in your joints, which may be possible if sedentary for long periods of time. I am more concerned about you taking Tylenol. I have been completely off any pain meds for a long time now, reflecting my beliefs that 1 – pain medications are not good for you as they can affect your digestive tract and liver and cause other side effects, and, 2 – I’d rather work to treat the root problems rather than the symptoms.

Things you may want to consider is taking a high quality nutritional supplement; consider taking a phyto-estrogen (plant based) supplement; and look at a high quality Glucosamine supplement. My wife actually takes a phyto-estrogen product and she only takes 1/3 of the daily dose and it has stabilized her moods and her cycles. She also takes a daily multi-antioxidant and chelated mineral supplement and Glucosamine for her hips and thumbs and has seen significant improvement.

Some people just do not believe in nutritional supplements and optimizers, probably since they have not had a positive experience with quality products,…but I tell them “I know how you feel,…I felt the same way,…until I found the difference between pharmaceutical grade supplements and off the shelf, food grade ones.

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Energy Drinks Plus Alcohol equals Bad News

2011-07-13T05:27:00.000-07:00

Mixing Energy Drinks with Alcohol,....from the "Pediatrics Report - Risks From Energy Drinks" a reader named ‘veins’ submitted the comment that “Today, a lot of humans tend to mix activity drinks with alcohol, which makes the furnishings (?) even worse. Drinking a lot of these types of drinks alloyed with alcohol can lead to many health risks.

While MyAchingKnees.com doesn’t understand what Veins meant by “furnishings”, he/she is correct that this can lead to many health issues. We submit to the notion that the commercial – conventional energy drinks, e.g..Red Bull, Monster, etc., are bad enough for anyone to consume,.....adding alcohol to them makes it worse, and dismayed to learn this is a trend with teenagers and young adults.

I can see the draw, seemingly consuming an alcoholic beverage with an additional energy kicker among friends at a party. But let’s look at this. Alcohol is a depressant, so while consuming a beverage that depresses your system and lifts constrains on your inhibitions you also want to spike your blood sugar and make your pancreas work very hard and take yourself closer to type II diabetes? Wow!! Sounds like a good idea to me....NOT!

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Government Ads - Graphic Images for Cigarette Packs

2011-07-10T05:51:00.000-07:00

Cigarette smoke is one of the most toxic substances a person could expose themselves to. Keeping in mind that one of the four legs of health is avoiding toxins, MyAchingKnees.com does not understand why anyone would smoke or expose themselves to second hand smoke. I guess the FDA doesn't either and has developed some very graphic ads warning against cigarettes.

From HealthDay News, June 21 -- In a dramatic bid to get more Americans to quit smoking, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday released nine graphic warning labels that will appear on all packs of cigarettes by no later than September 2012.

One image shows a man's face and a lighted cigarette in his hand, with smoke escaping from a hole in his neck -- the result of a tracheotomy. The caption reads "Cigarettes are addictive." Another image shows a mother holding a baby as smoke swirls about them, with the warning: "Tobacco smoke can harm your children."

A third image depicts a distraught woman with the caption: "Warning: Smoking causes fatal lung disease in nonsmokers."

A fourth picture shows a mouth with smoked-stained teeth and an open sore on the lower lip. "Cigarettes cause cancer," the caption reads.

In addition to the images, the label on packs of cigarettes will include a phone number -- 1-800-QUIT-NOW -- so smokers will know where to go for help quitting.

By law, the labels must appear on every pack of cigarettes sold in the United States and on all cartons and in all cigarette advertising. The campaign marks the first major change to cigarette packaging in the last 25 years, the FDA said.

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in a news release. "These labels will encourage smokers to quit, and prevent children from smoking. "

Matthew L. Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, called the new warnings the "most dramatic change in cigarette warnings in the history of the United States . For the first time the warnings are large enough to be seen and graphic enough to catch the attention of consumers."

The labels will fill the top half of all cigarette packs.

Myers said the images on the labels are exactly the kind of measure that has been shown to be effective in encouraging children not to smoke and getting adults to quit. But, to keep the message vibrant, the images need to be changed regularly because as people get used to them, the impact of the warning weakens, he added.

"For the first time we have labels that not only tell people that smoking is dangerous, but provide them the kind of information they need to now how dangerous it is," he said. "The warning labels have the potential to dramatically reduce the number of our kids who start, but they will be most effective if they are complemented by comprehensive tobacco-control programs in every state."

Many such programs have been curtailed in recent years as cash-strapped states have diverted funding from tobacco-control efforts to pay for constituent services or to hold down tax increases. In states that have maintained funding, the number of smokers continues to drop, Myers said.

The new labels are a part of the requirements of the new Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, signed into law in 2009 by President Barack Obama, who has struggled for many years to quit smoking. For the first time, the law gave the FDA significant control over tobacco products.

The FDA hopes these new warnings will have a "significant public health impact by decreasing the number of smokers, resulting in lives saved, increased life expectancy, and improved health status."

Some fear that the images may be too graphic.

"The 'fear factor' of the negative message can lose its potency -- we become immune to the negative warnings over time, and if too graphic, we often hide behind the denial wall stating, 'This just can't possibly happen to me.' The more graphic the image, the more likely the message will become marginalized and thrown out as too wild and extreme a possibility for the smoker," say Dr. Whiteson.

Smoking is the leading cause of early and preventable death in the United States , resulting in some 443,000 fatalities each year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and costs almost $200 billion every year in medical costs and lost productivity.

Over the last decade, countries as varied as Canada , Australia , Chile , Brazil , Iran and Singapore , among others, have adopted graphic warnings on tobacco products. Some are downright disturbing: in Brazil , cigarette packages come with pictures of dead babies and a gangrened foot with blackened toes.

Currently, the United States has some of the weakest requirements for cigarette package warnings in the world, David Hammond, an assistant professor in the department of health studies at the University of Waterloo in Ontario , Canada , told HealthDay. The text-only warnings on packages have changed little since 1984.

Elsewhere, graphic warnings seem to be helping to drive down smoking rates. In Canada , about 13 percent of the population smokes daily, a 5 percent drop since graphic warnings were adopted in 2000, according to Hammond .

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More Prescription Drug Side Effects

2011-07-06T09:30:00.000-07:00

Would You Take This?.....or anything that reports these side effects or warnings?

Heart-related problems:
* Sudden death in patients who have heart problems or heart defects
* Stroke and heart attack in adults
* Increased blood pressure and heart rate
* Chest pain
* Shortness of breath or fainting

Mental (Psychiatric) problems:
* New or worse behavior and thought problems
* New or worse bipolar illness
* New or worse aggressive behavior or hostility
* New psychotic symptoms (such as hearing voices, believing things that are not true, are suspicious) or new manic symptoms

No way I’m taking something like this. Bet you won’t either, but many are taking this despite the warning signs. Oh, by the way,.....this is for a medication called Vyvanse.

Vyvanse (Lisdexamfetamine) is used as part of a treatment program to control symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD; more difficulty focusing, controlling actions, and remaining still or quiet than other people who are the same age) in adults and children. Lisdexamfetamine is in a class of medications called central nervous system stimulants. It works by changing the amounts of certain natural substances in the brain.

What’s my point you’re thinking? Don’t all medications have some side effect? That’s my point! Be an informed consumer. Do your own research. Take charge of your medical treatment plan. Ask questions of your Medical Professionals.

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Quotes on Changing

2011-07-04T16:08:00.000-07:00

Great Quotes on Changing

"Life is about change, sometimes it's painful, sometimes it's beautiful, but most of the time it's both."
Unknown

"Only I can change my life. No one can do it for me."
Carol Burnett

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world."
Gandhi

"If warring is human, then why not declare a new kind of war: A War of education, love and friendship to win universal human well-being? I propose a brutal conflict against poverty, disease, ignorance, limitations. Imagine the troops, the regimens, the commanders, the soldiers, the discoveries, the heroes, the life!"
Vanna Bonta

"Change your thoughts and you change your world."
Norman Vincent Peale

"Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable."
John F. Kennedy

"A book is a loaded gun in the house next door...Who knows who might be the target of the well-read man (or woman)?"
Ray Bradbury

"If you don't like what you're doing, then don't do it."
Ray Bradbury

"The character of a strong person is one who never dwells on the past and stays in the present. The
past mindset imprisons you, the present mindset dis-imprisons."
Sheila St.Charles

"Change has a considerable psychological impact on the human mind. To the fearful it is threatening because it means that things may get worse. To the hopeful it is encouraging because things may get better. To the confident it is inspiring because the challenge exists to make things better."
King Whitney Jr

"The more emotional you are, the more emotionally manipulated you shall become."
Sheila St.Charles

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."
Margaret Mead

"You are a reflection of nature. You should always be upgrading, refining, and improving."
Steve Maraboli

"Human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives."
William James

"One man with courage is a majority."
Thomas Jefferson

"The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes of mind."
William James

"The farther behind I leave the past, the closer I am to forging my own character."
Isabelle Eberhardt

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."
Margaret Mead

"Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future."
John F. Kennedy

"Your perception determines your reality."
The Prophet of Life in Revelations of 2012

"Come to accept that if your methods don't change, neither will your results."
Unknown

Maybe some one will find something within these quotes that sparks them to change their health,...not to accept pain or sickness but fight it through all means: educating themselves on foods and eating low -glycemic meals; taking quality nutritional supplements; getting some physical exercises; avoiding toxins;...and above all, using the indomitable spirit that all Americans should have just like our founders who stood up 235 years and declared Independence from Tyranny.

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Nutrition is No Cure for Joint Pain

2011-07-02T06:44:00.000-07:00

Regarding one of my clients, Danny, who increased his overall health and decreased pain in his hip and knee by ensuring he provided his body with the nutrients it needed through watching what he ate and taking high quality nutritional supplements, Tim commented "If nutrition could cure or reduce the pain due to joint or hip problem, then it's freaking awesome. It's true that millions of people are suffering from pains and a simple walk or bent is already an ordeal. And since not everyone could afford to pay that much, I'm almost certain that many are still relying to drugs rather than having a permanent solution. And considering the Depuy ASR hip replacement recall news, I'm beginning to doubt this option as well."

MyAchingKnees.com wants to ensure that in no way are we implying that nutritional medicine is a cure for any type of joint pain. Even using the word "treat" like we do is a stretch. But what is not a stretch is that all sorts of degenerative disease are greatly influenced by the nutrients or lack of nutrients that we provide our bodies.

Without the proper nutrients in the proper amounts any person is not doing all they can to ensure protection from oxidative stress and the resultant free radicals which can cause these degenerative diseases to include joint problems.

And NOBODY can tell me that my knees and back are not better and the only change I made was taking pharmaceutical grade supplements including Glucosamine and Omega 3 fatty acids.

Tim is right, drugs (medications) are relied upon by many. I hope they go into using these drugs knowing about the potential side effects which can be as devastating as the pain or condition they are taking these medications for.

And right again on joint replacement re-calls...seems everything you turn on the television you are seeing a class action lawsuit against some manufacturer or another on these implants. Take responsibility for your health; do your own research and let the buyer beware.

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The 10 Dirtiest Foods You Are Eating

2011-06-29T05:04:00.000-07:00

Dirty Food = Getting Sick. Hard to have a well protected food supply without regulating it into the dirt (no pun intended). Aside from existing regulations and controls MyAchingKnees.com believes that the market will go along way in regulating itself, even in the supplement market. Government regulation, intending to regulate behavior to make the public safer, often degrades personal freedoms….plus drives costs up. Let the buyer beware to a certain extent. The consumer has to have some responsibility over what they buy and consume. One of the ways to become a better and safer consumer is to arm yourself with knowledge. We found this article on Dirty Foods from Men’s Health. However, you’ll have to click on the link at the bottom to get to the full story that outlines the specific problems with the ten dirtiest foods.

By Bill Phillips and the Editors of Men's Health, June 21, 2011

I got this email from a colleague the Tuesday after Memorial Day: “Can’t come in today. Stomach bug.”

I’m no detective but—with barbeque season officially starting the day before—a prime suspect immediately jumped to mind: the norovirus, the most common cause of food poisoning in the world.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 200,000 Americans contract food poisoning every day. But Philip Tierno, Ph.D., a microbiologist at New York University medical center and author of The Secret Life of Germs, believes the actual number is closer to 800,000.

And in 4 of 5 of food poisoning cases, the attack happens at home—right (on the plate) under your nose.

"Everyone in this country will have at least one incident of sickness this year attributable to a foodborne virus, bacteria, or toxin," Tierno told Men’s Health. Except that most of us won't know what hit us. Like my colleague, we'll chalk up the usually mild symptoms—nausea, diarrhea, cramping—to a stomach bug that's going around.

We asked Men's Health contributor Jim Gorman to help us identify the 10 dirtiest foods we put on our plates. His report is shocking, in that it reads like the average American’s grocery list. Read on for the dirt about your favorite foods—and how to protect yourself at the supermarket and your dinner table.

Chicken, Ground Beef, Ground Turkey, Eggs, Oysters, Cantelope, Peaches, Lettuce, Cold Cuts, Scallions

http://health.yahoo.net/articles/menshealth/photos/10-dirtiest-foods-youre-eating#5

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No Excuse Not To Walk!

2011-06-27T04:51:00.000-07:00

Physical activity or exercise conjures up visions of having to drive to a gym and sweat among a lot of fit toned bodies and this is enough to intimidate most people. However, physical activity, a necessity for overall health along with eating good,taking high quality supplements and avoiding toxins, does not have to be gym work or even road work.

Walking is a good, safe, easy on the joints alternative. You can vary your speeds - fartlek walking - to vary the degree of difficulty. Real Age recently published an on-line article about walking and interestingly enough, made it easy to understand.

Real Age Article:

Can't squeeze in a daily walk? You may not have to. In their recently updated book, YOU: The Owner's Manual, RealAge experts Michael Roizen, MD, and Mehmet Oz, MD, say that a mere 20 minutes of moderately intense exercise 3 days a week may be all you need to help lower lousy (LDL) cholesterol, raise healthy (HDL) cholesterol, and knock blood pressure down a few points. Those 20-minute sessions will strengthen your heart muscle and help you lose weight, too.

Your inner voice may cheerlead you into thinking longer walks equal more pounds lost, but research shows it may not be so.

Long walks may be best for someone more fit, but shorter strolls -- about 30 minutes 5 days a week -- could be all you need in the first 3 months of a walking program to achieve the weight-loss benefit you seek. Once you're feeling stronger, and the walking is easier, add minutes and intensity to reach your next goal. That'll give your inner voice something to cheer about.

In a 12-week study of significantly overweight women, those who walked for 30 minutes 5 days per week lost weight at a rate similar to that of women who walked for 60 minutes 5 days per week. Researchers speculate that greater health benefits from longer walks probably start to kick in after 12 weeks. Your weight and fitness level will likely determine how your body responds to exercise programs of varying degrees of intensity and duration.

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Diet and Exercise Myths

2011-06-25T04:46:00.000-07:00

10 diet and exercise myths that pack on pounds, by The Editors of Prevention, on Jun 15, 2011 which I found to be a good article about common myths which are surprisingly still believed in by many people in this day and age of enlightenment.

Believing popular misconceptions can keep you from taking the right course of action to reach your goals, says Julia Valentour, MS, program coordinator and media spokesperson for the American Council on Exercise. Blaming a plateau (or a gain) on any of these half-truths will keep you stuck in your rut and derail your motivation. Here, 10 of the most pervasive diet-related rumors and the real scoop on how to hit your goal weight for good.

1. “Strength training will bulk me up.”
First, let’s tackle the myth that a pound of muscle weighs more than a pound of fat. A pound is a pound is a pound—whether it’s made up of muscle or fat. That said, muscle is denser than fat and takes up less room, so two women who weigh the same can look much different if one has a higher ratio of lean muscle mass to fat, says Valentour. “Muscle weight is a good weight because you look firmer, smaller, and more fit. It’s also more metabolically active, so just having more muscle will
boost metabolism throughout the day to help keep you leaner.”

It’s important to incorporate strength training into your routine so you burn calories at an optimal rate all day long—and using heavier weights could help maximize your efforts. Researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis found that working out with heavy weights even for as few as 3 to 6 repetitions increased exercisers’ sleeping metabolic rate—the number of calories burned overnight—by nearly 8%. That’s enough to lose about 5 pounds in a year, even if you did nothing else!

2. “I exercise every day, so I can eat whatever I want.”
The sad truth: Even if you work out religiously, going to yoga several times a week and sweating it out in Spinning, it’s not a license to eat as much as you want and still expect to lose weight. This may seem obvious, but the desire to reward a workout well done is natural; after all, you endured those endless vinyasas—you deserve an extra slice of pizza (or three), right? Not if you’re trying to lose weight.

“You can outeat your workout,” says Valentour. Even though you burn calories and fat when you exercise, it’s often not as much as you think—or what the readout on the treadmill tells you. Valentour recommends eating 250 fewer calories per day and aiming to burn an extra 250 calories a day; that creates enough of a calorie deficit to achieve an average weight loss of a pound a week.

3. “It’s harder for women to lose weight than for men.”
Okay, this one has some basis. Biologically, men are built with more lean muscle mass (the compact, tight muscles that keep metabolism humming) than women are — meaning his metabolism is working at a 5 to 10% higher rate (even if he’s the same height and weight as you) when you’re lying on the couch together. Annoying, isn’t it?

Another biological challenge women face is that we generally have more body fat than men do, and our bodies are more inclined to store it. On top of that, women lose about 1/2 pound of calorie-burning muscle mass a year during perimenopause and sometimes a pound a year during menopause. With the deck stacked against you, why bother trying to fit back in your skinny jeans?

You can do something about these problems, but it’s going to take some work—and sweat. Add strength training to your fitness routine at least twice a week to shed fat and build lean muscle mass that will fire up your resting metabolism.

4. “All calories are equal, so it doesn’t matter what I eat.”
Ever since you learned what a calorie is, you’ve been told that they’re all alike: Whether you eat 500 calories’ worth of celery stalks or crème brûlée, your body will burn or store them equally, right? Wrong! New science shows that when it comes to weight loss, calories are nowhere near alike.

Some foods take more work to eat—and therefore burn more calories while you’re digesting them. Just the act of chewing fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean cuts of meat can increase your calorie burn by up to 30%! And then your stomach and intestines do their jobs. In a Japanese study, researchers found that women who ate the foods that required the most work had significantly slimmer waistlines than those who ate the softest, easiest-to-eat foods. The fiber and protein in such foods take so much effort to digest that your body ’doesn’t absorb some of their calories.

5. “Eating fat will make me fat.”
Fat-free products are so-o-o over. There’s nothing special about fat that packs on pounds: Getting enough fat in your diet—the Institute of Medicine recommends that it make up 20 to 35% of calories—is essential for good health, but the type of fat matters.

Monounsaturated fats—MUFAs (pronounced MOO-fahs), for short—come from the healthy oils found in plant foods such as olives, nuts, and avocados. A report published in the British Journal of Nutrition found that a MUFA-rich diet helped people lose small amounts of weight and body fat without changing their calorie intakes. Another report found that a breakfast high in MUFAs could boost calorie burn for 5 hours after the meal, particularly in people with higher amounts of belly fat.

6. “Eating at night will make me gain weight.”
Cutting out nighttime snacking is a popular weight loss strategy because it feels logical—eat less when you’re less active. But this topic has been debated for years, and even recently, a study in the April 2011 journal Obesity suggested that eating after 8 pm may increase the risk of obesity, but there aren’t clear-cut reasons why. It’s mainly how much you eat—not when you eat—each day that affects weight gain. Many people eat at night out of boredom or other emotions instead of hunger, and they wind up consuming more calories than they need for the day — calories that are then stored as fat. Also, people who eat at night may wake up without an appetite and skip breakfast, the meal that helps control calorie intake throughout the day.

7. “Drinking a ton of water will help me drop pounds.”
Stop hogging the office watercooler (and running to the loo). It’s possible that drinking water can aid weight loss efforts, but it won’t automatically make you lose weight if you’re not changing any other habits. A University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill study found that people who regularly drink water eat nearly 200 fewer calories daily than those who consume only coffee, tea, or soda. And if you sip water instead of sugary drinks, the calories you’ve saved will help shed pounds.

Drinking ice-cold water can help you burn more calories too. German researchers found that drinking 6 cups of cold water a day raised resting metabolism by about 50 calories daily—possibly because of the work it takes to warm the fluid up to body temperature. It’s up to you to decide whether 50 calories is worth guzzling ice water—or whether it would be easier just to take the stairs.

8. “Becoming a vegetarian will help me drop a size.”
Eliminating meat from your diet can result in great health benefits, but if you don’t follow a vegetarian diet properly, you could accidentally pack on pounds.

Dawn Jackson Blatner, RD, author of The Flexitarian Diet, explains common vegetarian beginners’ mistakes that may cause weight gain. Vegetarian “types” to avoid becoming:

* Cheese-aholic vegetarians: They cut out meat from their diets and turn to cheese as a protein source. But cheese is a high-calorie, high-fat food and should be eaten in moderation.
* Faux-meat fixators: All they eat is boxes of frozen faux meats, such as soy chicken nuggets, vegetarian sausage links, and veggie bacon strips. These products are okay once in a while, but they are heavily processed and can have a lot of sodium, resulting in bloating and water retention.
* No-veggie vegetarians: A lot of vegetarians don’t eat enough fruits and vegetables. They eat only grains, beans and veggie burgers, all of which can be high in calories.
* Same-meal-minus-the-meat vegetarians: These people eat the same meals they did before, but without the meat. If they’re not replacing the protein, they’ll probably have a ferocious appetite and may be missing out on essential nutrients.
* “Vegetarian” food label fans: These people find any recipe or packaging that contains the word “vegetarian” or “meatless” and then overeat that food. They often wind up taking in too much junk food. Be aware that the word “vegetarian” is not synonymous with “healthy” or “low calorie.”

9. “Subbing diet soda and diet foods is a smart way to lose.”
Chugging cans of diet soda and eating prepackaged diet foods may seem like a no-brainer way to trick your body into pound-shedding mode because they have few or no calories—but it’s not going to give you lasting results.

Diet soda may increase your risk of metabolic syndrome, a group of symptoms that includes high levels of belly fat, blood sugar, and cholesterol. People who consumed just one diet soda daily had a 34% higher risk of the syndrome than those who abstained, according to a University of Minnesota study of nearly 10,000 adults ages 45 to 64.

10. “Weight gain and belly fat are unavoidable after 40.”
Let’s be honest here: You’re not going to wake up on your 40th birthday with a gut and 10 extra pounds on your frame. It does get harder to lose weight as we age, but you can put some healthy habits into practice now to maintain your weight—or even lose—as the years pass by.

The years leading up to menopause, known as perimenopause, are prime time for weight gain: On average, women put on a pound a year, mostly around the waist, according to the Mayo Clinic. Out-of-whack hormones and a slowing metabolism are a couple of the weight gain culprits. But reaching menopause doesn’t have to mean getting plumper. Studies show that the more you work out, the slimmer you’ll be, even during this transition time. Keep your diet in check and you’ll boost your results.

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Calcium Deficiencies linked to Joint Problems?

2011-06-23T05:11:00.000-07:00

On Calcium deficiency. Joint and Health discussions almost always seem to crop up,..at the office water cooler,....across your property fence with the neighbor,...can't seem to get away from it. But their are a lot of mis-perceptions about nutrients and in particular, nutrients for joint health. Calcium is seemingly one of the nutrients that people misjudge. “Do I need to take Calcium?" "Don't I get enough from the foods I eat?" "Is Calcium deficiency part of my joint pain problem?” The short answers are: "Yes,...No,...and, Maybe."

As far as I can tell, and even with a list of 385 published studies on Calcium supplementation, Calcium or lack of it does not necessarily cause or reduce specific joint but Calcium’s effects on bone strength is indisputable. And using effect reasoning one would think that strong bones, especially at or near the joints and where connective tissue are located, would be necessary for the joints to work and articulate properly.

I have really never though about it until now. I take pharmaceutical grade Calcium supplements. I have had my daughter on them since she was 11 years old when I found out then that girls can have a calcium deficiency that affects overall growth as young as 9 or 10 years old.

So Calcium deficiencies and their well defined link to osteoporosis and osteoarthritis are not just a supplement necessary for older people.

By the way, Calcium should be be taken with the correct amounts of other nutrients in order to effect synergism between all the nutrients. Daily, I take: 1,070 mg of Calcium; 2,200 mgs of Vitamin D3; 120 micrograms of Vitamin K; 700 mg of Magnesium; 4.32 micrograms of Boron and 4 mgs of Silicon.....just from my supplements.

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DMSO – Good for Inflammation or Sore Joints?

2011-06-20T10:53:00.000-07:00

Is DMSO good for sore joints? That was the question I received from William who wrote “My friend told me to rub DMSO on my knees and elbows to help with the soreness and pain after grappling sessions. What do you think? Another guy told me that he would never use it.”

DMSO, or dimethyl sulfoxide, is derived from wood pulp and is used as an industrial solvent. It has been used for medical purposes for almost half a century. I have used DMSO on my back and my elbows as well as DMSO is a topical analgesic. I also use it on horses when I combine the DMSO with other products as the DMSO acts as a delivery agent, penetrating the skin and taking the other substances with it. Hence if you do use it you should be sure the area is clean and free of residue like soap and stuff.

You found out that people either hate it or like it. I just think it has it’s uses, but you have to be careful. I would apply it wearing a good set of gloves. Once the DMSO is on the skin, you’ll receive a garlic like taste in your mouth within minutes. I have used DMSO in a paste/cream form as well as a roll on product.

The jury is still out on the long term effects of DMSO on humans, and while there is some studies on DMSO being used to cure some actual injuries or illnesses, probably due to it’s fantastic anti-oxidant properties, for joint pain and arthritic conditions it, at best, relieves symptoms. You still be faced with the causes of your joint pain, which can be greatly influenced by lack of nutrients as well as types of exercise or stress you place on them. Please also look into providing your body with the proper nutrients in order to provide protection against the effects of oxidative stress.

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Nutritional Supplement Comparisons

2011-06-16T04:52:00.000-07:00

MyAchingKnees.com received this question through the website: “I remember reading months ago that you were talking about a comparison guide for vitamins and supplements. Can you mention this source again? Lori M.”

You must be talking about the “Comparative Guide to Nutritional Supplements” by Lyle MacWilliam. There are two different editions in current use, 3rd edition and 4th edition (the picture above is the 4th edition). In 1998, author, educator and biochemist, Lyle MacWilliam, began a search for a vitamin and mineral supplement for his family. A year later, the first Comparative Guide to Nutritional Supplements was produced, and again this guide is only on multi-vitamin, multi-mineral products and not separate single products.

The basis for the comparison was a “blended standard” based on 18 criteria:

1. Completeness

2. Potency

3. Mineral Forms

4. Bioactivity of Vitamin E

5. Gamma Tocopherol

6. Antioxidant Support

7. Bone Health

8. Heart Health

9. Liver Health (detoxification)

10. Metabolic Health (glucose control)

11. Ocular Health

12. Methylation Support

13. Lipotropic Factors

14. Inflammation Control

15. Glycation Control

16. Bioflavonoid Profile

17. Phenolic Compounds Profile

18. Potential Toxicities

You can read in detail how the factors analyzed for each criteria at this page here:

From these 18 criteria, a Final Product Rating, based on a five-star scale, is determined. A five-star rating highlights those products whose characteristics for optimal nutrition are clearly superior to the majority of products on the market and that approach or meet the pooled recommendations of the Blended Standard. Conversely, a one-star rating or less represents products possessing few, if any, of the characteristics for optimal nutrition reflected in the Blended Standard. Lyle MacWilliam believes that this five-star scale, divisible in half-star increments, provides an intuitive means by which the consumer can compare products, based on product content.

In the 4th edition of the NutriSearch Comparative Guide to Nutritional Supplements, the rating schema in our comparison covers over 1600 nutritional products available in Canada and the United States. The guide is available through this web site, through the NutriSearch website, or through directly through Amazon.com

Note: The 3rd Edition, uses a numerical score from 0.0 to 100.0. The highest rated product received a score of 96.1 and you would be surprised at what and how many well known and commonly available products receive dismal scores, some under 15.0!

The concerned consumer would be well advised to procure a copy of this resource and see what the score the products they are using attained. Another source would be the Physicians Desk Reference. I would not take anything,....anything that is not manufactured under pharmaceutical grade standards. Let the buyer beware.

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What do You Say to a Supplement Heritic?

2011-06-13T05:38:00.000-07:00

More on Nurse Jill the Supplement Heritic. I received the following comment and question: "I just loved your article on the Nurse Jill who refused to believe that supplements can help her with her health. I have a whole city full of relatives who are sick all the time and just cannot connect the dots between their being sick and their lifestyle,...what they eat, lack of supplements, no physical exercise. I can understand the lack of time or inclination to work out or even walk in the evenings, but jeez they are dying at a much faster rate than me! What do you say to people who won't even consider taking vitamins. My Brother-in-Law won't even try to Glucosamine I bought for him and he had to give up golf because his knees hurt so much. Lisa."

Lisa, I think talking to relatives (and that would include best friends) is different than just talking to occasional friends as the former implies more freedom to say what you want. Second of all, I don't try to talk anyone into taking nutritional supplements or to change their lifestyles. I have learned that even small change is just too uncomfortable for some (maybe most?) people.

However, I do talk to people when they open the door. For instance, how many times have you talked to someone and they complain about their health or lack or energy or being sick all the time? Happens alot of me,...maybe because of my age group,...but anyway I'll say something like "I know how you feel,...I used to feel like that quite a bit, until I found the amazing health benefits of pharmaceutical grade nutritional supplements,...and combining that with other healthy choices,...well, it has changed my life."

You will be able to tell who is interested, or what I like to say is: those whose want for a better life is stronger than their dislike of change.

Occasionally, I be talking to someone about nutritional products and they will say, "Those are expensive", and I'll reply "Compared to what", and let them answer. If they don't answer then I'll say "Compared to a meal in a restaurant? If you eat out once a month less than you do now, then these are easily affordable." Sometimes I'll just say "Expensive compared to Doctor's bills? What do you think your health is worth anyway?" I take less than $100 of products a month. If I could only afford half that, then I would spending $50 a month on supplements.

Sometimes I tell people that I have not been sick in over six years. They say "You must be lucky",...I reply.."Lucky to have enough common sense to take the highst quality supplements available, eat as well as I can, and get some physical exercise.....yeah, I guess you can call me lucky."

And invariably, you will have people who just don't get it and I'll usually close the discussion with something like "Keep doing what your doing if it is working for you." And those people are the epitome of the saying "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.".....or you have a better chance of being eaten by Donkey's then getting healthier by doing nothing.

Good luck to you on your relatives. Even if you can get them to make minor changes in their unhealthy lives they will be better off for it.

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Does Coffee or High Amounts of Caffeine Affect Joint Pain?

2011-06-08T09:28:00.000-07:00

E-mail from Angela: "Hey like your site. I too believe that there is much we can do nutritionally to better our overall health and keep doctor visits to a minimum. I am addicted to Starbucks, but one of my friends told me that my existing knee pain would get worse the more caffeine I drink. Is this true?"

Angela, most believe that Caffeine in moderate amounts is not harmful and may even be beneficial to you. The Caffeine jolt you and I are so fond of of, kinda perks up the bodies nervous system and can provide temporary relief from general fatigue. Excessive caffeine, however, has been blamed for many health issues, including joint pain.

Too much caffeine can cause sleeplessness (insomnia), stomach distresses, and, rapid (and sometimes) irregular heartbeat. Some think that muscle tremors can be caused by excessive caffeine and supposedly muscle tremors can put stress on the joints and can cause pain.

Caffeine is also thought to possibly weaken bone massive and therefore cause joint pain.

Aside from not being able to sleep, some people report restless leg syndrome from drinking caffeine. And hold on to your hats,.... this is worse when you drink coffee or other caffeine products just a few hours before bed time. How Bat Guano, Batman,...do you think?

However, I am an avid coffee drinker. I'm sure that one of my cups is the equivalent to several of yours in caffeine content. A double red eye (coffee with two shots of expresso) from Starbucks is my normal drink when I am on the road and can't make my own. My knee pain from years of over use in the military and other endeavors is greatly diminished to the point where I only rarely even get a twinge. I believe this is from the pharmaceutical grade Glucosamine and nutritional supplements I take daily. Based on the amount of coffee-caffeine I consume, I would think that if caffeine is bad for joints then I would know about it.

However, everyone is different. There is a study from Science Daily, March 30, 2009 showing that caffeine may help one in exercise or other physical activities.

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Eating Right - 15 Biggest Food Myths

2011-06-06T05:03:00.000-07:00

We have been saying that the "Chair of Health" has four legs: Eating Good, low glycemic foods and avoiding bad foods; taking high quality pharmaceutical grade supplements; getting some moderate physical activity; and, avoiding toxins and toxic environments.

You are not going to get even close to the nutrients your body needs with today's foods. If you add in today's hectic lifestyle, it makes it even harder. Without the proper nutrients your body's immune system has no chance to fight off the ravages of oxidative stress. Oxidative stress causes inflammation which can result in many forms. For some, like me it was increased knee joint pain and back problems. Others could be heart disease, diabetes type II and a host of other degenerative diseases.

Anyway, back to eating right and avoiding bad foods,.....this article was recently published on Yahoo! and contains some decent information concerning food myths.

15 Biggest Nutrition Myths
By David Zinczenko with Matt Goulding
May 20, 2011

The supermarket is rife with less-than-accurate reporting, and not just in the checkout-lane newspaper racks. Walk the aisles scanning food labels and you'll see the fallout from millions of lobbying and advertising dollars spent to posit faulty claims about health and nutrition. You'll find row upon endless row of foods that promise—explicitly or not—to improve your life, flatten your belly, and make you a happier person. The fact is, many of these foods do just the opposite. Learn how to separate fact from fiction and you might finally shed the habits that are silently sabotaging your chances of losing weight. But I must warn you: The truth can hurt.

MYTH #1: High fructose corn syrup is worse than table sugar
Whether or not added sugar is bad for you has never been in dispute. The less sugar you eat, the better. But whether HFCS is worse than plain ol' table sugar has long been a contentious issue. Here’s what you need to know: Both HFCS and table sugar, or sucrose, are built with roughly a 50-50 blend of two sugars, fructose, and glucose. That means in all likelihood that your body can’t tell one from the other—they’re both just sugar. HFCS’s real sin is that it’s supercheap, and as a result, it’s added to everything from cereal to ketchup to salad dressing. Plus it may be affecting your health in ways not yet fully understood by the scientific community. Is it a good idea to minimize the HFCS in your diet? Absolutely. It’s best to cut out all unnecessary sugars. But HFCS’s role as nutritional enemy #1 has been exaggerated.

MYTH #2: Sea salt is a healthier version of regular salt
Everyday table salt comes from a mine and contains roughly 2,300 milligrams of sodium per teaspoon. Sea salt comes from evaporated seawater, and it also contains roughly 2,300 milligrams of sodium. That makes them, well, roughly identical. Advocates point to the fact that sea salt also contains other compounds like magnesium and iron, but in truth, these minerals exist in trace amounts. To obtain a meaningful dose, you’d have to take in extremely high and potentially dangerous levels of sodium. What’s more, traditional table salt is regularly fortified with iodine, which plays an important role in regulating the hormones in your body. Sea salt, on the other hand, gives you virtually zero iodine. The bottom line is this: If switching from table salt to sea salt causes you to consume even one extra granule, then you’ve just completely snuffed out whatever elusive health boon you hope to receive. Plus you’ve wasted a few bucks.

MYTH #3: Energy drinks are less harmful than soda
Energy drinks like Red Bull, Monster, and Full Throttle attempt to boost your energy with a cache of B vitamins, herbal extracts, and amino acids. But what your body’s going to remember most (especially around your waistline) is the sugar in these concoctions; a 16-ounce can delivers as much as 280 calories of pure sugar, which is about 80 calories more than you’d find in a 16-ounce cup of Pepsi. What’s more, a University of Maryland study found energy drinks to be 11 percent more corrosive to your teeth than regular soda. So here’s the secret that energy drink companies don’t want you to know: The only proven, significant energy boost comes from caffeine. If you want an energy boost, save yourself the sugar spike and drink a cup of coffee.

MYTH #4: Diet soda is harmless
The obesity-research community is becoming increasingly aware that the artificial sweeteners used in diet soda—aspartame and sucralose, for instance—lead to hard-to-control food urges later in the day. One Purdue study discovered that rats took in more calories if they'd been fed artificial sweeteners prior to mealtime, and a University of Texas study found that people who consume just three diet sodas per week were more than 40 percent more likely to be obese. Try weaning yourself off by switching to carbonated water and flavoring with lemon, cucumber, and fresh herbs.

MYTH #5: Low-fat foods are better for you
As it applies to food marketing, the term “low fat” is synonymous with “loaded with salt and cheap carbohydrates.” For instance, look at Smucker’s Reduced Fat Peanut Butter. To replace the fat it skimmed out, Smucker’s added a fast-digesting carbohydrate called maltodextrin. That’s not going to help you lose weight. A 2008 study in the New England Journal of Medicine found that over a 2-year span, people on low-carb diets lost 62 percent more body weight than those trying to cut fat. (Plus, the fat in peanut butter is heart-healthy monounsaturated fat—you’d be better off eating more of it, not less!)

MYTH #6: “Trans-fat free” foods are actually trans-fat free
The FDA’s guidelines allow companies to claim 0 grams of trans fat—even broadcast it on the front of their packages—as long as the food in question contains no more than 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving. But here’s the deal: Due to an inextricable link to heart disease, the World Health Organization advises people to keep trans fat intake as low as possible, maxing out at about 1 gram per 2,000 calories consumed. If your cupboard’s full of foods with almost half a gram per serving, you might be blowing past that number every single day. The American Journal of Health Promotion recently published an article urging the FDA to rethink its lax regulations, but until that happens, you should avoid all foods with “partially hydrogenated oil” (meaning, trans fats) on their ingredients statements.

MYTH #7: Foods labeled “natural” are healthier
The FDA makes no serious effort to control the use of the word "natural" on nutrition labels. Case in point: 7UP boasts that it’s made with “100% Natural Flavors” when, in fact, the soda is sweetened with a decidedly un-natural dose of high fructose corn syrup. “Corn” is natural, but “high fructose corn syrup” is produced using a centrifuge and a series of chemical reactions. Other "natural" abusers include Natural Cheetos, which are made with maltodextrin and disodium phosphate, and “natural advantage” Post Raisin Bran, which bathes its raisins in both sugar and corn syrup. The worst part is, you're likely paying a premium price for common junk food.

MYTH #8: Egg yolks raise your cholesterol
Egg yolks contain dietary cholesterol; this much is true. But research has proven that dietary cholesterol has almost nothing to do with serum cholesterol, the stuff in your blood. Wake Forest University researchers reviewed more than 30 egg studies and found no link between egg consumption and heart disease, and a study in Saint Louis found that eating eggs for breakfast could decrease your calorie intake for the remainder of the day.

MYTH #9: Eating junk food helps battle stress
You’ve been there: Stressed out and sprawled across your sofa with one arm elbow deep in a bag of cheese puffs. In the moment, it can be comforting, but a study published in the British Journal of Psychiatry found that people who consumed the most highly processed foods were 58 percent more likely to be depressed than those who ate the least. Your move: Find a healthy stress snack. Peanut butter and Triscuits do the trick, or check out the next myth …

MYTH #10: Chocolate is bad for you
Cocoa is a plant-based food replete with flavonoids that increase blood flow and release feel-good endorphins. Plus, it contains a healthy kind of saturated fat called stearic acid, which research has shown can increase your good HDL cholesterol. But here’s the rub: When most people think of chocolate, their minds jump immediately to milk chocolate, which contains far more sugar than actual cocoa. Instead, look for dark chocolate, specifically those versions that tell you exactly how much cocoa they contain. A bar with 60% cocoa is good, but the more cocoa it contains, the greater the health effects.

Myth #11: Granola is good for you
Oats are good for you, and the same goes for oatmeal. But granola takes those good-for-you hunks of flattened oat, blankets them in sugar, and bakes them in oil to give them crunch. The amount of fat and sugar added to each oat is at the discretion of food processors, but you can bet your last cup of milk it’s going to far sweeter and more fatty than a bowl of regular cereal. Take this example: A single cup of Quaker Natural Granola, Nuts & Raisins has 420 calories, 30 grams of sugar, and 10 grams of fat. Switch to a humble cup of Kix and you drop down about 90 calories, 2.5 grams of sugar, and 1 gram of fat. Or better yet, find your favorite healthy cereal here: The 24 Best and Worst Cereals in America.

MYTH #12: Bananas are the best source of potassium
Your body uses potassium to keep your nerves and muscles firing efficiently, and an adequate intake can blunt sodium’s effect on blood pressure. One 2009 study found that a 2:1 ratio of potassium to sodium could halve your risk of heart disease, and since the average American consumes about 3,400 milligrams of sodium each day, your goal should be 6,800 milligrams of daily potassium. You’re extremely unlikely to ever reach that mark—and never with bananas alone. One medium banana has 422 milligrams and 105 calories. Here are the sources that earn you roughly the same amount of potassium in fewer calories:

* Potato, half a medium spud, 80 calories
* Apricots, 5 whole fruit, 80 calories
* Cantaloupe, 1 cup cubes, 55 calories
* Broccoli, 1 full stalk, 50 calories
* Sun-dried tomatoes, a quarter cup, 35 calories

MYTH #13: Oranges are the best source of vitamin C
Far more than a simple immune booster, vitamin C is an antioxidant that plays a host of important roles in your body. It strengthens skin by helping to build collagen, improves mood by increasing the flow of norepinephrine, and bolsters metabolic efficiency by helping transport fat cells into the body’s energy-burning mitochondria. But since your body can neither store nor create the wonder vitamin, you need to provide a constant supply. An orange is the most famous vitamin-C food, and although it’s a good source, it’s by no means the best. For 70 calories, one orange gives you about 70 micrograms of vitamin C. Here are five sources with just as much vitamin C and even fewer calories:

* Papaya, ¾ cup, 50 calories
* Brussel’s sprouts, 1 cup, 40 calories
* Strawberries, 7 large fruit, 40 calories
* Broccoli, ½ stalk, 25 calories
* Red Bell Pepper, ½ medium pepper, 20 calories

MYTH #14: Organic is always better
Often, but not in every case. Organic produce is almost nutritionally identical to its conventional counterpart. The issue is pesticide exposure—pesticides have been linked to an increased risk of obesity in some studies. But many conventionally grown fruits and vegetables are very low in pesticides. Take, for example, the conventional onion: It’s got the lowest pesticide load of 45 fruits and vegetables tested by the Environmental Working Group. Also in the safe-to-eat-conventional group are avocados, sweet corn, and pineapple. In general, fruits and vegetables with impermeable skins are safe to buy conventional, while produce like celery, peaches, apples, and blueberries are better purchased organic.

MYTH #15: Meat is bad for you
Pork, beef, and lamb are among the world’s best sources of complete protein, and a Danish study found that dieting with 25 percent of calories from protein can help you lose twice as much weight as dieting with 12 percent protein. Then there’s vitamin B12, which is prevalent only in animal-based foods. B12 is essential to your body’s ability to decode DNA and build red blood cells, and British researchers found that adequate intakes protect against age-related brain shrinkage. Now, if you’re worried that meat will increase your risk for heart disease, don’t be. A Harvard review last year looked at 20 studies and found that meat’s link to heart disease exists only with processed meats like bacon, sausage, and deli cuts. Unprocessed meats, those that hadn’t been smoked, cured, or chemically preserved, presented absolutely zero risk.

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Nurse Jill - the Nutritional Supplement Heretic

2011-06-02T05:19:00.000-07:00

I have been talking to a Nurse, we’ll call her Jill, who is experiencing joint pain and Fibromyalgia type symptoms, overall poor health and just general fatigue. It seems to us like Fibromyalgia is a catch all diagnosis for symptoms otherwise unspecified to any other disease or condition. Some of the symptoms include tender points particularly in joints or connective tissue endings; deeper pain that can be radiating or manifest itself as a burning feeling; it could be just general body aches and stiffness usually more so in the mornings; and other common symptoms include greater pain in cold or damp climates.

Okay, back to the Nurse Jill,......one would expect medical professionals to be better equipped, or mentally prepared, to deal in alternate treatments. However when it comes to Nutritional Medicine or an understanding of how providing your body with the nutrients and optimizers it needs to have the best immune system possible,.....well, medical professionals are often the worst at accepting this.

Hence our inter-action with Jill the Nurse who cannot fathom the fact that what you eat and the nutrients gleaned from your diet can have a vital effect on degenerative disease and conditions like Fibromyalgia. Jill stated “Nutritional supplements, and you are just talking vitamins here, are really unnecessary and are just a waste of money.”

I try not to be in the business of telling people they are wrong,...I think the saying is "love them as they are", but I was leaning forward to respond with something like “…actually I meant Nutritional supplements as in nutrients that you should be getting from food, however it is almost impossible to eat well enough to provide your body with the all the nutrients in their required high doses to ward off oxidative stress and the effects on degenerating disease.”....but I didn’t respond,......some people you just have to respect in their own ignorance.

Someone once said: “Insanity is doing the same things over and over again and expecting a different result.” I would think that a reasonable approach would be to try something different,....something with a proven track record like the highest quality nutritional supplementation.

Anyway, we’ll now call people who don’t believe in Nutritional Supplementation, “Supplement Heretics”. Here’s what the dictionary say’s about Heretics:

her·e·tic

[n. her-i-tik; adj. her-i-tik, huh-ret-ik]

–noun

1. a professed believer who maintains religious opinions contrary to those accepted by his or her church or rejects doctrines prescribed by that church.

2. Roman Catholic Church . a baptized Roman Catholic who willfully and persistently rejects any article of faith.

3. anyone who does not conform to an established attitude, doctrine, or principle.

Hence a “Supplement Heretic” is someone who does not conform to massive amount of published accounts on how lack of nutrients increase the speed and severity of degenerative disease.

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Vitamin D Deficiency Increases Risks

2011-05-29T05:53:00.000-07:00

MyAchingKnees.com has written before about the necessity for Vitamin D at much higher levels than previously thought to support a healthy immune system. In fact, one of our auto responders when you sign up for more information from this site, is on the effects of Vitamin D to combat oxidative stress which often manifest itself in joint pain as well as many other symptoms of degenerative disease. I take 3,800 IU's of pharmaceutical grade Vitamin D daily.

Published study, although it gets a little technical, showed that adults with low vitamin D levels had more than double the risk of pre-hypertension and pre-diabetes than adults with higher vitamin D levels.

Pre-diabetes and pre-hypertension have been associated with low vitamin D levels. In a recent issue of the journal Diabetes Care, scientists report a correlation between reduced vitamin D levels and pre-diabetes and pre-hypertension in adults. Both pre-diabetes and pre-hypertension are estimated to exist in at least one-fourth of disease-free adults.

Researchers analyzed data from 898 men and 813 women who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), 2001-2006. Blood pressure measurements were obtained during examinations conducted upon enrollment, and blood samples were evaluated for glucose, serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D and other factors.

Pre-diabetes was defined as having a fasting serum glucose of between 100 and 125 milligrams per deciliter, and pre-hypertension was defined as systolic blood pressure of 120 to 139 mmHg and/or diastolic blood pressure between 80 and 89 mmHg. Pre-diabetes was 33 percent higher among those with vitamin D levels of 76.3 nmol/l (30.5 ng/ml) or less compared to those with higher levels. Pre-hypertension was evident in 61 percent of those with the lower vitamin D levels. Participants with undiagnosed diabetes and untreated hypertension had even lower vitamin D levels on average. Serum vitamin D levels tended to decline with increasing age and body mass.

When the risk of having both conditions was considered, those with low vitamin D levels had 2.4 times the risk of that experienced by subjects with higher vitamin D levels.

It is reasonable that among those with pre-diabetes or pre-hypertension, vitamin D supplementation resulting in increased serum vitamin D levels may help reverse subtle changes in fasting serum glucose and resting blood pressure that may lead to more advanced disease states.

Source: Pre-diabetes and Pre-hypertension in Healthy Adults Are Associated With Low Vitamin D Levels. Diabetes Care March 2011 vol. 34 no. 3 658-660, Alok K. Gupta, MD, Meghan M. Brashear, MPH and William D. Johnson, PHD.

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Questions on Hydrotherapy

2011-05-27T07:47:00.000-07:00

MyAchingKnees.com received a question from Angel: My friend has extreme knee pain and has had to give quit running and using the stair master. Another one of our friends is an advocate of doing exercise in a pool. Apparently there are a lot of older people with joint problems now using pools to run or exercise in. Do you think this is a good idea?

Yes, great idea, especially if you have joints or muscles to rehabilitate, but also very good for just plain aerobic exercise as well. Buoyancy of the human body, which can be enhanced with a life preserver or other flotation device, greatly reduces the gravity and weight on the body, muscles and joints. Try swimming or exercising in a pool for 45 minutes and see if you think it is a workout! You can even put a stationary bicycle in a pool and use it,…..as long as your head is above the water, ha ha.

However, this is only one aspect of a healthy life,…..remember the four legs to the Chair of Health? A person still needs to eat good foods and minimize bad foods; take high quality supplements because even the best foods won’t give you all your nutrients; and, protect themselves from a toxic environment.

In my experience, older people with degraded joints which comes from aging, can benefit very much from nutritional supplements and adding Glucosamine as a optimizer. I’m a walking, riding, stair climbing and running example of that. An Omega 3 Essential Fatty Acid supplement often also helps.

My suggestion that adding pool work would be a great idea. Try it for a few weeks and see what if does for you. Good luck.

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Thanks for the Glucosamine - But Love the Phyto-Estrogen

2011-05-23T05:04:00.000-07:00

MyAchingKnees.com received the following e-mail from a client: Just wanted to drop you’re a note and tell you how the products are helping my wife and I. If you don’t remember me, we connected on e-mail, then on a phone call. I’m the guy who said “I’m tired of feeling sick and tired.” And you replied “hey, I use that quote all the time as a question.” You also sent me a document with the supplement ranks. Whether you remember or not, I started the products. I’m taking the adult formulation and I was able to get my wife, who tends to be a non-believer in nutritional supplements, to take the daily supplement for teenagers. I actually forgot to order the Glucosamine, but included it on my second order. Now we have been taking the daily supplements for four months and my knee pain is gone. I walk stairs at work and going downstairs hurt worse, but now can do it without any pain. I have been meaning to write but felt obligated when I found out my wife also ordered the Phyto Estrogen product (she is 48 years old) and was experiencing hot flashes and mood swings. She tells me she started out taking one tablet a day and hasn’t felt the need to take the recommended dose of 3 pills day. Do you think there will be point when I can stop taking the Glucosamine, or should I just plan on taking it forever? Thanks, Jeff, South Carolina.

Jeff, thanks for writing. I don’t often hear from people. I still see their orders clear, so I am thinking they are doing well on the products, but I appreciate the direct feedback. My wife too, uses the Phyto Estrogen product and takes only one tablet. She had previously taken estrogen pills and creams to no effect. She says her mood swings are gone and still has the occasional hot flashes but won’t increase her dose. Women!,…if you figure them out, drop me a line,…..and some instructions.

I also experienced more pain going down stairs or down hill. I think the momentum of your body carrying forward as you plant your foot stresses the knee joint and especially so when it is un-healthy. My knee pain, when going uphill, is completely gone but occasionally I get a twinge stepping down stairs but nothing near like it was.

The Glucosamine is not intended to treat the symptoms of pain from the joints pain, but rather to provide nutrients to cartilage, so even length of time you stay on the Glucosamine will make provide the nutrients intended for joint cartilage. I like the results so I will most assuredly stay on the product as long as possible. And the Comparative Guide on Supplements was an eye opener, wasn't it.

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Thanks for the Glucosamine - But Love the Phyto-Estrogen