June / July 2007
( to: Health Newsletter Archive )
Greetings once again and welcome to this edition of the Archangel Health News! We hope that you will find the information presented below informative and helpful towards your goal of optimum health. As always, please feel free to e-mail us at ahs-news@aomega.com if you require additional information, have a particular health question or concern, or would like to suggest a favorite health-related web site or health topic for inclusion in a future issue of our newsletter. We are always happy to correspond with our valued subscribers and customers!
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HEALTH BYTES
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LIFE-GIVING LIQUID -- While it may not be as snappy as cola or as colorful as iced tea, our lives depend on water. It is the main ingredient in all the fluids that make up our body systems. It transports nutrients and oxygen to our organs and cells, removes waste, cushions our joints and maintains our body temperature. Mid-Columbia Medical Center reports we lose approximately two and a half quarts of water daily through exhaled air, sweat and waste, and more through exercise or physical labor.
CARE FOR THE CAREGIVER -- Taking care of the needs of a parent who is too sick or frail to live alone takes a huge physical, financial and emotional toll on the caregiver as well as the parent. Seeking help with everyday needs can give some relief. In the United States, AARP (American Association of Retired Persons) suggests you do research to find out what community services are available where your parent lives and link up with them. You might be surprised at the help accessible to you, which can include financial help, chore aides, home repair, meal programs, companionship, skilled care, home health aides, hospice care, respite care (so you can get away from the house for a while) and/or caregiver support groups.
FIBER FAMILIARITY -- Eating lots of fruits and vegetables will give your body extra water and fiber, which will help keep your digestive tract clean and healthy. Beans, bran, whole-grain breads, brown rice and high-fiber cereals are also good sources of fiber.
GREEN LEAFY VEGETABLES PREVENT CATARACTS -- An Ohio State University study provides the first evidence that some antioxidants in dark leafy green vegetables can help prevent cataracts. Vitamin manufacturers often add the antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin to their products, but there has been no biochemical evidence to support the claim that these substances help protect the eyes, according to Joshua Bomser, study co-author. The study, published in the "Journal of Nutrition," finds lutein and zeaxanthin - antioxidants found in plants such as kale, spinach, and collard greens - helped to protect the cells from exposure to ultraviolet light, a leading cause of cataract formation.
LEAKY GUT SYNDROME -- The term "leaky gut" is commonly used to describe a condition that some people who suffer from food sensitivities develop, in which substances that are not fully digested are absorbed from the digestive tract (gut). These substances "leak" into the bloodstream, are circulated to the liver and throughout the body, and can cause various uncomfortable reactions, many of which are allergic in nature. When the gut is leaky, some chronic health problems may occur or be intensified, such as migraine, depression, asthma, sinusitis, irritable bowel syndrome and fibromyalgia.
FIBER & COLON HEALTH REVISITED -- Fiber binds and reduces absorption of dietary fat. By doing so, fiber helps with weight control and decreases absorption of fat-soluble toxins. In addition, fiber also provides natural bulk that helps stimulate movement of food through the digestive tract, while promoting natural cleansing as well. Always remember that drinking at least two quarts, and preferably three, of fresh, clean water every day is also very important. Water plays a big part in the cleansing process throughout your whole body and hydrates the fiber in your digestive tract, helping your digestive system do its job safely and effectively.
HARMFUL FREE RADICALS -- Free radicals attack cellular membranes and other structures in the body, such as the structural components in our blood vessels, skin, and other connective tissues that maintain our strength and flexibility. Free radicals stimulate the aging process and are known to be significant factors in many diseases. Antioxidants that our bodies make and those in our diets are our basic protection against free radical attack. By consuming a variety of fruits, vegetables, spices, and natural antioxidant dietary supplements, you can obtain a wide variety of different antioxidants for maximum protection. If you are exposed to a lot of free radicals from processed foods and the environment, your antioxidant reserves can be depleted to the point that you are inadequately protected from even normal oxidative stress in your physiology, resulting in accelerated aging and even degenerative disease.
EXCITOTOXINS -- Excitotoxins found in such flavor-enhancing compounds as monosodium glutamate (MSG) and other additives stimulate the nerves to fire uncontrollably and can over stimulate brain cells, thus exhausting their energy supply. Nutrients from the B vitamin family, magnesium, antioxidants, good nutritional oils such as the omega-3 oils, and other nutrients can help protect against excitotoxins and maintain brain cell health.
ULTRASOUND MAY HELP PREDICT RISK OF MISCARRIAGE -- Research shows Doppler ultrasound performed in early pregnancy can identify embryonic congestive heart failure and subsequent risk of miscarriage. The investigators told a meeting of the Radiological Society of North America the chances the pregnancy will continue are about 95 percent when Doppler ultrasound confirms normal embryonic heart function at six weeks. However, study author Dr. Jason Birnholz, president of Diagnostic Ultrasound Consultants in Oak Brook, Illinois, said more than 99 percent of pregnancies with an abnormal Doppler pattern end in a miscarriage. The test measures the speed of red blood cells moving through vessels to determine pressure dynamics within the embryo's heart, he explained. Miscarriage is the most common complication of human gestation, occurring in some 20 percent of pregnancies, the National Center for Health Statistics reports.
NUTTY NUTRITION -- Some diets tell us to avoid nuts or eat them sparingly. After all, they are high in fat, and that translates into lots of calories. But adding more nuts to your diet can keep you in better health - without packing on the pounds. In fact, nuts can help you stabilize your weight, since they are full of protein, which helps satisfy you and keep you full longer than a lot of high-carb, low-fat foods. Plus, the fat that nuts contain is the good kind - monounsaturated.
Nuts also have other great qualities to recommend them. Eating a handful four or five times a week can improve your heart health and provide a long list of essential nutrients to your diet. They offer healthy amounts of vitamins A and E, plus several B vitamins and lots of fiber. As for minerals, nuts provide calcium, magnesium, zinc, selenium, phosphorous, and copper - all essential for optimal health.
And just about any variety you choose is good for you. Almonds come with some bonus calcium, along with almost 20 percent of your daily RDA for riboflavin (one of the B vitamins) in just 1/4 cup. Brazil nuts rank first in supplying selenium and offer up lots of vitamin B1 (thiamin). If it is copper you are after, stock up on cashews - a mere 1/4 cup gives you 38 percent of your necessary daily dose, plus lots of magnesium and phosphorous. Sweet hazelnuts (which go great with chocolate) are one of the best suppliers of vitamin E, plus they contain a healthy helping of folate and plenty of potassium. And walnuts serve up 91 percent of your RDA for omega-3 fatty acids, and a whopping 43 percent of your manganese requirement.
In addition to their health benefits, nuts also make a convenient snack or addition to any meal. They keep for a long time (some up to 12 months in the freezer) and they come in lots of different forms - raw, blanched, or roasted; nut butters and flours; whole, sliced, diced, or slivered.
And here are some fun facts about nuts. Did you know that . . .
- All nuts are seeds, but not all seeds are nuts.
- Peanuts are not nuts at all, they are legumes.
- Chestnuts are the least fatty nuts of all, only 8 percent.
- You can refresh frozen nuts by lightly toasting them in your oven.
- All varieties have been shown to improve cholesterol levels.
FEATURED ARTICLE
by Dr. Dwight McKee
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Although dietary fat has been proven not to be the enemy, many people still eat too much of the wrong kinds of fats and not enough of the right ones. Particularly prevalent in most diets is oxidized fat. These fats result from high temperature frying with vegetable oils and from the oxidation of the oils in whole grain products after the grain is ground into flour. Other dangerous fats common in diets are trans fats, which are from partially-hydrogenated oils contained in most processed foods and from frying foods in polyunsaturated vegetable oils. Manufacturers prefer the fabricated trans fat acid because its solidity at room temperature contributes to its long, stable shelf life.
Dietary fats find their way into the cell membranes of every tissue and organ in the body, especially the brain and nerves, which are made up of large quantities of lipids (fat). The brain requires great amount of good quality essential fats, including cholesterol and omega-3 fats. Each fat has a specific function in maintaining the shape, fluidity, structure and function of the cell membranes.
Trans-fatty acids simply don’t fit properly into cell membranes because of their abnormal configuration. Trans-fatty acids pack too neatly, too tightly and make cell membranes too solid. When this happens, brain-signaling chemicals are less likely to transmit their messages normally, receptors may fail to function properly, and the insulating properties of the nerve sheaths (a fatty substance called myelin) may break down, causing the brain not to perform optimally.
It is well established that trans-fatty acids increase the risk of heart disease, but from a biological perspective, they are likely to interfere in subtle ways with the body systems, such as the endocrine and central nervous systems.
Trans-fatty acids exist in nature in small quantities in beef, pork, lamb, butter, and milk; however, they are present at much lower levels than the manufactured versions.
It was already known that trans fat blocks arteries, but it was just recently recognized as brain altering. At a conference of the Society for Neuroscience in San Diego, researchers presented several studies demonstrating the negative effects of trans fat on brain tissue, such as destroying memory and affecting the thought process.
In one study, Lotta Granholm, Ph.D., director of the Center on Aging at the Medical University of South Carolina, studied rats for six weeks, giving them a diet mimicking that of a typical American, except one group’s meals featured vegetable oil, while the second group’s contained trans-fatty acids.
To test the rats’ brains, Dr. Granholm and her colleagues set up mazes that became progressively more difficult. Rats eating trans fats made many more errors than the group consuming vegetable oil. The more complex the challenge, the worse the trans fat eaters did. Also, unlike the vegetable oil group, those who ate trans fats didn’t appear to learn from previous trips through a maze. Dr. Granholm deduced the trans fats choked off a key neurological protein, possibly inflaming brain tissue.
"After I did this study, my husband and I went through our fridge and threw out most of the stuff with trans fats in it," Dr. Granholm said.
Behavioral Problems Attributed to Trans Fats
A growing number of researchers believe the explosion of learning disabilities and behavior problems in children may be due to poor diets. Hyperactivity, attention deficit disorder, depression, mood disorders, sleep disturbances and many diseases affecting the nervous system may have their roots in poor quality dietary fats. Diets with too much sugar and starch and an abundance of altered fats, such as oxidized cholesterol and trans-fatty acids, may also contribute to these disorders. Because the immune system also depends on cell-to-cell communication, which occurs via cell membrane receptors, it is quite possible trans fats may ultimately be shown to interfere with immune function.
The Role of Packaged & Fast Foods
Partially-hydrogenated vegetable oils were introduced after World War II, and because they dramatically increased the shelf life of fat-containing packaged foods, their consumption skyrocketed. Snack foods of all sorts have become a dietary staple of children, teenagers and adults throughout the developed world and may contain as much as 50 percent trans-fatty acids.
French fries and deep-fried foods such as fish, chicken, vegetables and doughnuts, often contain even more trans fat because high temperatures cause higher levels of trans-fatty acids to form, even in nonhydrogenated unsaturated oils, like olive oil. Many Americans, especially children, now subsist almost entirely on a diet of these types of foods.
Virtually all packaged, ready-to-eat foods contain high levels of these unnatural fatty acids, which had never been seen in these large quantities by human physiology until 50 years ago. We are now in the third generation of trans-fatty acid humans.
The consumption of trans fat even affects unborn children. Research has shown the trans-fatty acids easily cross the placenta from a mother to her unborn child, and they also appear in her breast milk. In late 2002, the United States Food and Drug Administration established a requirement for labeling the quantity of trans-fatty acids in foods. This resulted in some of the major snack food makers moving away from use of partially-hydrogenated oils in their products. Such labeling, however, will still not apply to foods in which trans fats form during the cooking process, such as deep-fat frying.
Hormone Blocks Fat Breakdown
In addition to behavioral issues, trans fats contribute to weight gain. Research shows obese people who accumulate fat in their abdomens have high levels of an enzyme in their abdominal fat cells that produces cortisol. Cortisol is an adrenal stress hormone that blocks fat breakdown and promotes more fat storage.
If you’ve reached the age of 40 without growing a "pot belly," and without any particular attention to your diet, odds are you’re not carbohydrate-sensitive. Not being carbohydrate- sensitive makes dietary planning easy, since you can eat a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fish, poultry, dairy products, eggs and lean meats; you may even tolerate some sugar. As long as you match how much you eat to how active you are, you’re not likely to develop a weight problem. If, on the other hand, all your fat is in your belly, you’ve failed at every calorie counting diet you’ve tried, and you have a "sweet tooth," carbohydrate restriction may be your salvation.
Healthy living is not an exercise in abstinence. It’s about finding out what makes us feel better and look better, which most likely will lead to living longer. It can be more pleasurable than rich desserts. Once you experience the rewards of a wholesome diet, health-endangering treats containing trans fats and/or refined sugars may lose some of their appeal. Finding out what mixture of foods fit your particular metabolism best, and what type of exercise you are most able to enjoy and sustain long term, are both areas of personal research that will pay dividends in health and well-being for a lifetime.
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Thank you for reading this edition of the Archangel Health News and may God bless you and your health!
Darrin and Sandi Quiles
Archangel Health and Nutrition Store
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Copyright © 2007 by Sandi and Darrin Quiles. All rights reserved.
Please note: the information contained herein has been compiled from various sources. The above statements have not been evaluated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. We make no claims, either expressed or implied, that any products mentioned in this newsletter will cure disease, replace prescription medication, or supersede sound medical advice.
