Ouch My Back

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If you are overweight, you most likely have chronic back pain. With the obesity epidemic on the rise, it’s no wonder that chronic low back pain is the number one reason for physician visits. Usually my advices to my patients are weight loss and most importantly exercise and stay active. I have long known that the worse thing that you can do for low back pain is to stay sedentary. So I was completely surprised when a new study that came out of University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill that reported only 14.4 percent of the patients were prescribed physical exercise as a therapy.

It was interesting the timing of this article. Over the past weekend, NPR did a story on an ex-federal judge in Seattle who started competitive weight lifting to help with her back pain. As I was driving home and listening to the broadcast of her story, I was thinking to myself this is pretty cool. It’s so nice to hear success stories like that where she’s treating her disease the right way. Of course when I saw the study this morning I was completely stunned.

In this study, about 48% of the patients were prescribed exercise but only 1/7 patients were prescribed exercise by their physicians. In contrast, 63.8% of those who saw a physical therapist and 33.1% of those who saw a chiropractor were prescribed exercise. To me this is very disturbing data. It means that the physicians are not doing their jobs by providing a very simple intervention for a very common problem.

So, the next time that you have back pain and goes to your physician’s office, make sure that you discuss with them about exercise. Don’t leave the office with only a prescription for anti-inflammatory. Better yet, you should start exercising right now even if you don’t have a back problem to prevent possible future problems. Trust me, you’ll feel better.

Grumpy

Vinegars……. what’s your favorite?

Got an interesting question from a patient this week- one that I don’t get too frequently. “Doc, what do you think about vinegar? Is one better than another?” Thought I’d share these thoughts with everyone else as well.

I use vinegar a lot, particularly in my Asian and Mediteranean cooking. However, if you’ve ever been in a market, the types and sources of vinegar can be confusing. Vinegar can be made from a wide range of foodstuffs – from grains, fruits, wine, or even ethyl alcohol. Essentially, the process to turn any of these into vinegar is the same. Bacteria is added to an alcohol solution to convert the alcohol in acetic acid (I was a chem. major in college so I am loving this!). The liquid is then processed and pasteurized to kill any organism in it that might be harmful to you. It also may be distilled before it is bottled for your use.

Vinegar’s tart, acidic flavor makes it a versatile ingredient. It can be used to make vinaigrette dressing, mustards, or marinades, as a condiments for seafood, or to flavor dishes in which beans are the primary ingredient (my favorite). In addition, it can be used to pickle and preserve foods.

How vinegar is used depends on what type it is. First balsamic vinegar – long considered the finest of all vinegars. I use it to add to salads, pasta and cooked vegetables. It has a dark color and rich flavor with herbal and wine undertones. Balsamic vinegar is traditionally made in northern Italy and if you ever see the word “tradizionale” on the label, this indicates that the vinegar has been aged at least 12 years. With some dishes, I sometimes enhance the flavor of the vinegar by adding small amount of brown sugar or by boiling it to intensify its flavor.

Cider vinegar is derived from fruit juices – usually apple. It retains an apple flavor. I don’t use it much since it is primarily used for pickling. Malt vinegar is made from malted barley and is usually colorless. It has a strong sour flavor and I love it as a condiment for fish and chips. Rice vinegar, another of my favorite, is made from sake – a Japanese rice wine.

Rice vinegar is used in almost all sweet and sour recipes for Asian cuisine. Wine vinegar, conversely, is made from various red or white wines. It is thought to have the most bite of any vinegar. Because of its rich aroma, it is perfect for cooking, particularly in soups and stews.

If you walk into any gourmet shops, you may see flavored vinegars that can be pretty expensive. It is actually easy to make your own. Choose your herbs, preferably fresh ones, blanch them, and pat dry. Transfer the herbs to a food processor and then add half a cup of vinegar – your choice. Process until you have achieved the desired consistency. Transfer the mixture back to the bottle of vinegar. Let eh mixture sit overnight and then strain the vinegar before putting it back into the original container. Make sure to refrigerate the vinegar and make it in small amount, since using it within 1-2 weeks help to maintain its freshness. I think you will be pleasantly surprised how flavorful it can be!

Please Bail Me Out (An Open Letter to President Obama)

Dear Mr. Obama,

 

This is the time of the year to evaluate what happened this past year and what we can learn from it.  We’ve witness something special this year in that you became the first African American to be elected to the highest office of the land.  This year was also the year where we witnessed a major meltdown in the US economy that has impacts throughout the world.  You will have a lot on your plate when you take office.  I hope that you look at what happened this past year so that you can prevent the next major economic meltdown: the cost of health care bankrupting the whole country.

 

The economic meltdown started when people stopped being responsible.  When the interest rates were low, people began to buy houses that would usually be over their budget without thinking about if they will be able to afford them if something goes wrong.  The banks got greedy and thought that they can make a quick buck by buying up these high risk loans.  When the housing bubble broke, we saw the far reaching aftermath.

 

US car companies are knocking on Congress’ door asking for a handout.  Despite the fact that they know the US economy relies heavily on foreign oil, the big three car companies were slow to think ahead about developing alternative power sources to fuel our everyday locomotive.  Yes, it would be very costly initially, but if they had done a better job ten years ago, we could be looking at an alternative powered vehicle that is made in the USA and they would not be in the hole that they are in now.

 

What’s the lesson that we should learn from this?  We need to be responsible and plan ahead.  The problem is that our society has a tendency to wait until the problem gets out of control.  We refuse to talk about the elephant in the room despite the fact that we all see it.  Our health care is at a cross road that the car companies were at 10 years ago.  The number one killer in the United States is heart disease.  The fastest growing medical problem and the fastest drain on our health care cost is diabetes.  This epidemic is fueled by the increasing prevalence of obesity.  Every single health care expert is predicting that Medicare will go bankrupt soon if we don’t do something and they all agree that the cost is driven by the rate of obesity.

 

Despite these facts, we are still turning a blind eye to this giant elephant in the room.  The money spent on obesity research is minimal when we compare with other health problems.  The argument that I have heard over and over again when insurance companies and Medicare refuse to pay for weight management therapy is that it’s too expensive and we don’t have a good therapy.  Do we not realize that health care cost will be the next Wall Street?  Do we not realize that without addressing this issue now, despite the fact that it will be expensive, it will ultimately cost us more in the future?

 

President Obama, if you are to be the transformative president that we all hoped that you would be, please have the courage and the insight to tackle this elephant head on.

 

In closing, have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.  Get some rest before you take the presidency and I wish you all the best.

 

Sincerely yours,

 

 

 

Grumpy

HOLIDAY EATING – MYTH BUSTING

Many of my patients ask me about simple tips for food selection for the holidays. There aren’t any fancy secrets but by abiding to a few simple rules, it is really easy to keep away those extra holiday pounds.

Meat: Look at the label when buying meat. Cuts called Prime have the most fat, those that say Select have the least, and Choice meats are in between. Good beef choices are flank steak, sirloin, sirloin tip, tenderloin, round steak, and extra lean ground beef. The leanest cuts are sirloin chop, center roast, center slice and shank. Remember, you should limit your red meats to no more than 3 meals per week.

Poultry: White meats have less fat than dark, and turkey has less than chicken. Cornish hens are another good choice. Whatever kind of poultry you choose, it’s really important that you don’t eat the skin, where most of the fat and calories are.

Dairy: As you would guess, fat-free milk is the best kind to buy. If you have a holiday recipe that calls for light cream, simply substitute for fat-free evaporated milk. It is perfect in sauces. Both nonfat and light sour cream works well in hot and cold recipes. Among cheese, it is best to leave the worst fat offenders – brie, Camembert and spreads – in the dairy case, except occasionally. Cheese naturally low in fat are part-skim mozzarella, farmer, part-skim ricotta, and Parmesan. For other cheeses – including holiday favorites such as cheddar and Monterey Jack – look for fat-free and reduced fat versions. When shopping for cottage or cream cheese, look for the ones that are fat free or low fat. If you are watching your sodium intake, remember that nonfat cheeses are generally high in that department. Finally, if dessert is on your mind, delicious substitutes for ice cream are ice milk, nonfat or low fat frozen yogurt, sherbet and fruit ices.

Seafood: Some of the leanest fish are cod, haddock, halibut, flounder, sole, red snapper, and orange roughy. Canned tuna is easy to use – just look for tuna packed in distilled or spring water. Fatty fish may be slight more caloric but their omega-3 fatty acids may reduce your risk of heart disease. Some fish high in omega-3 fatty acids are Atlantic salmon, albacore tuna, mackerel, and lake and brook trout. Most shellfish are very low in fat. Shrimp and crawfish are higher in cholesterol than most other seafood but are lower in fat than most meats and poultry.

Eggs: Eggs yolks are very high in cholesterol. Just one contains about 213 milligrams – 2/3 of your full daily allowance. You may want to pick up a carton of egg substitute or egg whites only.

Vegetables and Fruits: Most fruits and vegetables have little or no fat, and they are low in sodium and high in fiber, vitamins and healthy phytochemicals. The exceptions are coconuts, which are high in saturated fat, and avocados, which are high in monounsaturated fat – eat those in moderation. As far as packaged vegetables go, stir-fry mixes in the frozen food or the produce section are great for quick side dishes. Look carefully at the nutrient information for the packets of sauce tha sometimes come with the mixes. If the sauces is high in sodium, you may want to make your own instead. Presliced mushrooms and prewashed and bagged salad greens and coleslaw mixture will save you lots of prep time. Lettuces sold in bulk, however need to be thoroughly cleaned. As for fruits, when possible, eat fresh. However, frozen fruit is a wonderful alternative for smoothies and desserts. Avoid adding in sugar and select fruit canned in water rather than in syrup. Take a look at the incredible number of exotic fruits and vegetable that most of use hadn’t even heard of just a few years ago but are now widely available. When you don’t have to make a mad dash through the supermarket, take a look at what is new. You may be able to entice the kids to try something different.

Breads and Cereals: Some breads and cereals are good sources of fiber – important for heart health and prevention of colon cancer. Check the labels to help find bread products that don’t contain egg yolks. Try to choose whole grain breads, since they contain more nutrients and fiber. “Wheat” bread is not whole wheat bread. Look for labels that say “100% whole wheat” or that list whole wheat flour as one of the first few ingredients. Flashy cereal packaging can be tempting, but read the labels. Look for cereals that have 3 or few grams of fat per ounce and are a good source of fiber. Other good alternatives include naturally fast cooking pastas and grains, including couscous and bulgur. Bags of dried beans and lentils are good to have around to replace meat in stews and casseroles, or use no salt added canned beans to conserve time. When those are not available, rinse regular canner beans to get rid of extra sodium.

Reading Nutrition Labels: No matter how hurried your holiday shopping may be, always try to read the labels. All U.S. made packaged food have them, and they are jammed with useful information that can make regulating your fat, sugar, cholesterol, sodium, vitamin intake a breeze. The USDA monitors food labeling so serving sizes are uniform across all brands.

The first stop on your label should be the ingredients list. Contents are listed according to weight; the largest amount comes first and the smallest, last. Watch for fats, sodium, or sugars too high on the list. Fat sources to look out for include cocoa butter, coconuts, coconut oil, palm oil, and kernel oil. Some sources of “hidden salts” are soy sauce and baking soda. Others are substances with the word ”sodium” in their names. Two examples are monosodium glutamate or MSG, and sodium bicarbonate. Any word ending with “-ose” such as “lactose” or “sucrose,” indicates a sugar in guise. Here are the other important information you will find on the label:

• Serving size: Servings sizes across all similar foods are consistent. That let you comparison shop, looking for the most heart healthy choices. If you double a serving, remember to double everything else on the label too.
• Calories and calories from fat: This is a quick count of the calories in the serving as a whole and of those that come specifically from fat.
• Daily values for nutrients; the government uses a 2000 calorie diet to determine the limits on nutrients you should eat every day. Remember, if you are trying to lose weight, the 2000 calories planned are too high and you will need to adjust all macronutrients down accordingly (i.e 1500 or 1200 calories). The section of the label for percentages of daily values shows how well a product stacks up. It lists nutrients, followed by the daily percentages a serving of this food provides. Nutrient listed are total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, protein, sodium, total carbohydrate, dietary fiber, vitamins, as well as calcium and iron. Others, such as sugars and mono and polyunsaturated fats, are sometimes listed. Remember, depending on your existing medical condition, adjustments may be necessary as related to your daily needs. For example, if you have high blood pressure, your daily consumption of sodium should be limited to less than 1.5 grams per day.
• Other key factoids:
  • Fat free – Less than 0.5gm of fat PER SERVING
  • Low fat – 3 grams of fat or less per serving
  • Lean – Less than 10 grams of fat, 4.5 grams of saturated fat, and 95 milligrams of cholesterol per serving.
  • Light (Lite) – One third fewer carloeis or no more than half the fat of the higher calorie, higher fat version; no more than half the sodium of the higher sodium version
  • Cholesterol free – Less than 2 milligram of cholesterol and 2 grams of less of saturated fat per serving.

FROM: THE PROFESSOR

It’s the most, wonderful time of the aa aa aaachooo!

Yes, its getting to that time when holiday decorations start appearing, friends and family do the yearly gathering, and oh yes, when everyone seems to have sniffles, cough and sore throat. Its also that time when I get asked the most about nutrition and the common cold.

Doc, is there anything natural I can take to prevent getting sick this year?

Instead of pretty much going through the herbal and vitamin section entirely, lets focus on the 3 most common “home remedies” to ward off that nasty cold virus.

1) Echinacea

2) Vit C

3) Zinc

Echinacea: Where did we get this from? In fact, it was first used by the American Indians for this specific purpose of warding off cold symptoms such as sore throat, cough and tonsillitis.  Today, it is a $300 million dollar industry that will probably only increase with the seemingly growing mistrust of the pharmaceurcitical and medical industry (please believe us though!).  Now going back to the issue at hand… does it work?

A well done review in the Journal of Clinical Infectious Disease examined 9 studies that met their strict criteria for the study of echinacea.  The authors included studies that examined ONLY echinacea and not a mixture of herbs, compared echinacea to a placebo, and examined what effects echinacea had on decreasing the symptoms, severity, and duration of the common cold.  The authors then judged the accuracy of results of these 9 studies based on 11 criteria the authors devised.  Of the 9 studies, only 2 passed all 11 criteria.  The most common criteria these studies lacked was a blinding component.

Blinding a study essentially means that the subject does not know if they are consuming echinacea or a placebo.  Why is this important?   Studies have shown that the mind is a very very powerful medication to help you feel better.  This was demonstrated by a classic study in 1933 where a placebo pill was given to people to see if they would feel an improvement in their symptoms.  30% more of the test subjects given the placebo pill reported an improvement of symptoms despite only receiving a placebo pill.

The 2 studies that passed all criteria demonstrated no benefit of placebo in decreasing cold symptoms as opposed to those taking placebo.  On the other hand, the majority of the remaining 7 studies showed a benefit of echinacea on duration of cold symptoms as opposed to placebo.  So what to make of this.  From a truly scientific standpoint, I would not recommend echinacea as a first line agent in shortening the duration of cold like symtpoms… that being said, lets move on to Vitamin C.

Vitamin C

Remember when your friends and parents told you to drink lots of orange juice when you caught a cold.  They were all following in the footsteps of Nobel Prize winner Linus Pauling who firmly believed that high doses of Vitamin C could ward off colds after carrying out independent analysis of four studies performed using Vitamin C.

However, since then, controversy continues to surround this topic as results of studies investigating effects of Vitamin C on duration of cold symptoms have been mixed.  Several studies have demonstrated no significant beneift of Vitamin C at shortening duration of cold symptoms as compared to placebo whereas others have.  What is known is that it appears Vitamin C supplementation is dose dependant.  That is, the higher the dose of Vitamin C, the greater the benefit Vitmain C it was for the duration of cold symptoms.  Furthermore, Vitamin C appears to be more effective in reducing duration of cold symptoms in children than in adults.  Studies have found that for children, Vitamin C supplementation reduces duration of symptoms by 13% while in adults, it is reduced by 8%.   It is currently recommended that although evidence is not overwhelmingly positive for the use of Vitamin C in colds, there does seem to be a role for it particularly in children!

Zinc

We may have a winner here!  So how exactly does Zinc help in reducing duration of cold symptoms.  To understand this, we have to understand our enemy, that rhinovirus which causes the common cold.  Human rhinoviruses, by attaching to the nasal epithelium via and adhesion molecule receptor, causes most colds.  Ionic zinc, based on its electrical charge, also has an affinity for these same receptor sites and may exert an antiviral effect by attaching to these receptors.

Zinc, hmmm does it taste good?  Luckily for us, Zinc comes in nasal gels and studies have effectively demonstrated that when zinc gels are applied within 24 hours of the onset of symptoms, they significantly shortened the duration of the common cold.

So there you go, in order of effectiveness… drum roll…

1) Zinc

2) Vitamin C

3) Echinacea

Stay healthy my friends

Pre/Pro Biotics

Flipping through CNN health, I just saw an ad for Activia Danon Yogurt… mmm yogurt.  Well, other than starting to get a craving for yogurt, it had me thinking about the different types of probiotics on the market.  I mean you see them frozen, in yogurt, at room temperature… how do you really keep these suckers alive to do their job.

First off, let me explain the difference between a PRE-biotic and a PRO-biotic.

A) PRE-biotics are non-digestible foods that can stimulate the growth of bacteria in the colon that has a  beneficial effect on health.  To do this, 3 criteria must be met

1. resist host digestion, absorption, and adsorption processes
2. be fermented by the microflora colonizing the gastrointestinal
   system
3. selectively stimulate the growth and/or the activity of
   one or a limited number of bacteria within the gastrointestinal
   system.

In laymans, basically prebiotics are food for probiotics.

B) PRO-biotics is a term more commonly recognized and consists of “good bacteria” or micro-organisms that are purposefully ingested and are thought to have a beneficial effect on health.  The two most common probiotics belong to the genera Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium.

Although probiotics have been in use for the past 2000 years, it is only recently where science has caught on to the benefits these micro-organisms may convey.  However, one difficulty with studying probiotics in a scientific manner is to ensure that the bacteria is being used properly.  This means that the bacteria must be alive when consumed and excreted (you can only imagine how they measure this!), making sure that the bacteria consumed is given alone and not mixed with others, and the same amounts being given.  In one large study completed in 2006, Bifidobacterium infantis was found to have an improvement in symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome in over 360 women as compared to placebo.  Furthermore, although both Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium are believed to help symptoms of IBS, Bifidobacterium was the strain with the greatest efficacy.

In short, Probiotics certainly have scientific evidence behind it supporting its use in those with symptoms of IBS.  Furthermore, the most effective one seems to be Bifidobacterium.  One reputable line that carries this is Align from Proctor and Gamble.  So dont be afraid to eat those little buggers!

How much exercise is enough?

I was very happy to see the new guidelines from the Health and Human Services Department on physical activity. Over the past few years, this has been riddled with confusion. First it was 30 minutes three times per day, then it was 30 minutes five days per week, then we got 1 hour everyday. It got to a point even I got confused. The bottom line is that this is not an exact science. We do not know exactly how much exercise we need. We do know that teenagers and kids need more that adults. Of course physical fitness is also an important factor.

The new guideline, in case you have not seen it is 2.5 hours per week. They can be spread out evenly throughout the week or you can save them all for the weekend. Of course the type of exercise matters. You will see the same amount of benefit from 10 minutes of vigorous running as compared with 30 minutes of light walking. But the bottom line is that we just need to get up and move.

“I don’t have the time” is the most common excuse that I heard from my patients. Well now, they can create time. Set an alarm clock at work so that it goes off every two hours. When the alarm clock goes off, stop everything and go for a 10 minute walk. Trust me, it will add up. There are of course other recommendations in the teenagers should also do resistance training activities and the elderly should concentrate on balance.

Regardless of the intensity or the type of physical activity, I think the message is loud and clear… JUST GET UP AND MOVE!!!

With the holiday season approaching, I will give out a small piece of advice that I gave my patients: go shopping. I hope that America can take this new recommendation to heart. It really is not about how much you can do and how often you do it, with the obesity epidemic, it just about getting out of that couch and doing it.

Grumpy

Let’s stop talking about fatty liver and let’s talk about the real issue!!!

I heard a very funny story from my wife two week.  After thinking about it more, the story actually became a social commentary on how out of touch we are.  News broke two weeks ago about the increase in prevalence of fatty liver disease in children.  Fatty liver disease is a spectrum of disease that could be as benign as a mild elevation of our liver function test or as severe as causing cirrhosis of the liver requiring transplantation.  The actual progression of this disease is still not clearly understood, however, it is thought to be related to insulin resistance and obesity.  The American Liver Foundation and other experts estimate 2 to 5 percent of American children over age 5, nearly all of them obese or overweight, have the condition, called nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

 

My wife works in the liver department at a local hospital.  She has been complaining to me about the fact that 80% of all of her new patients have fatty liver disease as a cause of their liver abnormalities.  The day that the news about fatty liver disease in children broke all over the news, my wife saw a morbidly obese women who was referred for abnormal liver function test.  When my wife informed that patient that she has fatty liver disease she was shocked and told my wife “I thought it only happens in children?”

 

It still boggles my mind that we can be so clueless as a society.  You cannot turn on the TV or open the newspaper these days without finding a story on obesity and its associated conditions.  How is it possible that a morbidly obese patient cannot connect the dots about her weight and the cause of her liver problem.  As a society we keep on talking about heart disease, diabetes, cholesterol, and now fatty liver disease.

When are we going to address the real issue of obesity?  It seems that we are looking at the problem from the outside in while we should be looking at the problem from the inside out.  When we hear stories about kids dying from heart attacks and now they are getting cirrhosis, it’s time for us to take some action, it’s time to wake up.

 

Grumpy

What’s real and what’s not…..

I really get annoyed when as a consumer, CNN and other news agency, puts out “exciting” headlines reporting some remarkable new discovery about potential health benefits from eating certain foods that contain “phytochemicals”. Next thing you know, food companies are jumping on top of this and releasing new claims about how their food is now healthier because it contains the newest “phytochemical” that is in the news. Obviously there are benefits of eating fruits and vegetables and they are the primary source of the phytochemical and phyto-nutrients. However, as with most reported health benefits, consumers would really benefit from information exact what studies have been done to support these findings, the population of the study subjects, and most importantly, whether there are any potential hazards of these substances in addition to the benefits.

First, some caution. Foods consist of thousands of different chemicals and each one has the potential of being beneficial, neutral or harmful to the body. Some may even be mixed: beneficial in some ways and harmful in others. To complicate matters further, some chemicals may exert different effects on different people or when taken in differing doses or at different life stages. All of these possibilities may not have yet to be clarified by science.

Since research on phytochemicals is in its infancy, and what is current today may be challenged a year from now by further studies, you should never commit to a certain chemical or vitamin because a single study reported its benefits. When considering concentrated supplements of phytochemicals, be aware that any normally beneficial substance, EVEN WATER, can be toxic when taken in too high a dose. Although most naturally occurring substances are assuredly safe for most healthy people when consumed in foods, virtually no safety studies exist to support the taking of any purified phytochemicals nor have safe dosages been established.

Having been in the field of nutrition for more than 10 years, it was that long ago that scientists believed that phytochemicals in foods played limited roles in humanb health. Phytochemicals functions were thought to include only their well known sensory properties such as taste, aroma, texture, and color. Thank phytochemicals for the burning sensation of hot peppers, the pungent flavors of onions an garlic and bitter tang of chocolate. Today, we recognize that some phytochemicals have profound effects on the body through such actiosn as acting as antioxidants, mimicking hormones, and altering blood constituents in ways that may protect against some disease. For example, cancer and heart disease are linked to processes involving oxygen (oxidation) in the body, and antioxidants are thought to oppose these actions in a good way.

The scientific path to discovery often begins when scientists notice that people with a diet rich in foods that contain a particular phytochemical rarely suffer from “disease X”. Researchers may then examine the diets of people with the condition to find out how much of the phytochemicals they consume. If the diet are low in the substance, the researchers perform laboratory experiments in which they expose animals or cell cultures to the phytochemicals and observe what happens to uncover plausible biological mechanisms for disease prevention. Ultimately, if the evidence warrants, scientists may perform clinical studies to evaluate effect of the substance on human beings.

So, let’s use an example that everyone is familiar with. Historically, diets containing whole grain, fruits, tea, and red wine have been reputed to possess health promoting qualities. Science has revealed that these foods and beverages all have something in common: phytochemicals of the glavonoid family. Population studies spanning many countries indicates that deaths from cancer, heart disease and heart attacks are less common where these foods are plentiful in the diet, where tea is a beverage, or where red wine is consumed in moderation. Many flavonoids act as antioxidants and may protect against cancers and heart disease by this mechanism. Nevertheless, a recent review of the literature concludes that more evidence is needed before any claims can be made for flavonoids themselves as the protective factor in foods, particularly when they are extracted from foods or herbs and sold as supplements.

Research suggests that one flavonoid of grapes and red wine in particular may have disease fighting qualities; however, the amount of this and other flavonoids in the wine may be too low to benefit human health. The same flavonoids has been credited with greatly extending life of YEAST cells, but no one know if such an effect is possible in HUMAN. Because flavonoids often impart a bitter taste to foods, food producers may refine away natural flavonoids to please consumers who generally prefer milder flavors. To produce white grape juice or white wine, makers remove the red flavonoid rich grape skins to lighten the flavor and the color of the product, while greatly reducing its flavonoid content.

Whether or not research fonrims the cancer fighting and heart defending nature of the flavonoids, you as the consumer should seek out a variety of whole fruits, gevetables and other plant derived foods with their flavonoids intact in place of their more refined counterparts. Beyond any doubt, such diets are consistently associated with low rates of diseases. Flavonoids supplements have not been proved effective or even safe. As for red wine, the jury is still out. The potential health benefits may not be worth alcohol’s immediate and substantial risks.

What Was Alabama Thinking???

 

I thought that I have seen everything when the news that Japanese companies are making their employees lose weight or their job is in danger a few months back.  I cannot believe that now the State of Alabama is doing something similar.  Alabama is proposing that state employees be charged a fine if they are overweight or obese.  Despite the fact that I understand the state government is trying to curb the obesity epidemic, but the way to implement change is absolutely wrong.

 

Implementing legislation like this is exactly why we have failed as a society to decrease obesity.  People need to realize that obesity is a DISEASE and not a choice.  Fining people for being overweight is just like fining people for being depressed.  Why is the state not fining major food companies, soda manufacturers, and fast food chains?  By blaming patient who has a legitimate medical problem is exactly the wrong policy.

 

It amazes me that the insurance companies would cover a medication for erectile dysfunction or impotence before it was “medicalized” before it would pay for treatment for obesity.  The government, insurance companies, health professionals, and even patients need to wake up to the reality that obesity is not a choice or a lack of will-power.  It is a disease that has concrete physiological basis that requires more research into its treatment.  If we continue to place blame on the patients we will ultimately fail in the battle of the bulge.

 

Grumpy