Dr.’s Blog
My comments on a recent paper on Calcium and Vitamin D:
Eating multiple small meals
I advocate eating a small meal or snack every 3 hours or so throughout the day. This allows blood sugar levels (and insulin levels) to stay more consistent through the day and reduces the carbohydrate cravings that result from big dips in blood glucose. This facilitates the process of achieving and maintaining optimal bodyfat levels. A recent study published in the February 2012 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Less frequent eating predicts greater BMI and waist circumference in female adolescents, backs this view that...
read moreThe Plastic Code
The Plastic Code Plastic bottles and containers are categorized based on what they are made of and how they can be recycled. This is given a number contained in a triangle on the bottom. This code allows us to know which ones are unsafe and to avoid. 1 (PET) Polyethylene terephthalate is used in many water and soft drink bottles and is considered safe for one time use and if not exposed to heat but will degrade over time and should not be reused. 2. (HDPE) High-density polyethylene is used for opaque or cloudy containers of personal...
read moreReduce Toxins in Your Home
We should reduce or eliminate toxic chemicals in our homes, since these chemicals may cause birth defects and increase our risk of chronic diseases such as autoimmune diseases, allergies, asthma, diabetes and cancer. In addition, many of these toxic chemicals are endocrine disruptors. Endocrine disruptors interfere with hormones and have many potentially negative effects. In fact, reducing our exposure to chemicals in our environment was one of the strongest recommendations to prevent cancer in the American Cancer Society’s report...
read morePrescription Drugs Kill
For the first time in history in the United States, drugs exceeded car accidents as a cause of death in 2009. ( see http://www.latimes.com/health/la-me-drugs-epidemic-20110918,0,3886090.story) This increase in drug deaths is fueled mainly by an increase in deaths cause by prescription narcotics. Some of the prescription drugs being abused the most are pain killers and drugs for anxiety. Some of the drugs involved in the most overdose deaths are Vicodin, Oxycontin, Xanax, Soma, and Fentanyl. According to this article in the September...
read morePortfolio Diet Reduces Cholesterol
A new paper in JAMA demonstrates that placing individuals who have high cholesterol on a diet that includes .94 grams of plant sterols/1000 calories, 22.5 grams of soy protein/1000 calories, 9.8 grams of viscous fibers/1000 calories from oats, barley, and psyllium, 22.5 grams/1000 calories of nuts and seeds per day. (http://jama.ama-assn.org/content/306/8/831.short) They were also encouraged to eat legumes (peas, beans, and lentils). Participants only lost about 2-3 lbs of bodyweight but saw significant reductions in LDL (the...
read moreFiber Reduces Breast Cancer
A new study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that eating more fiber reduced the risk of breast cancer. This is because women who eat more fiber have lower circulating levels of estrogen, which reduces the risk of breast cancer. This also adds to other research on the benefits of fiber, including reduced risk of obesity, lower cholesterol levels, and reduced risk of colon cancer.
read more10 Months of Chiropractic Better than One for Chronic Back pain
A new paper in the prestigous journal Spine found that patients with chronic low back pain (pain for six months or longer) experienced greater improvement after one month of chiropractic manipulation (3 times per week for 4 weeks) followed by treatment once every 2 weeks for 10 months (for a total of 30 treatments) than those that just came for one month of care (12 treatments). The group that was given 12 chiropractic treatments made progress, whereas a placebo group did not make progress. But after 10 months, this group that got one month...
read moreMultivitamins Reduce Heart Attack Risk
A recent paper in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (Multivitamin use and the risk of myocardial infarction: a population-based cohort of Swedish women) demonstrated that women who took a daily multivitamin/mineral had a 27% lower risk of a heart attack over a 5 year period. I think it is prudent for everyone to take a quality multivitamin/mineral and a quality fish oil to increase the likelihood of having optimal levels of important nutrients, including Vitamins A, C, D, folic acid, magnesium, potassium, and omega 3 fats.
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