Vitamin D: A Must-Have Supplement in Your Dietary Arsenal

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Vitamin D: A Must-Have Supplement in Your Dietary Arsenal

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Recent health news boasts the merits of vitamin D well beyond its bone-boosting abilities. Current research links vitamin D to a host of other health benefits, such as warding off Parkinson’s disease, reducing rates of inflammatory conditions associated with heart disease and stroke, and even preventing cancer.

In fact, newer studies reveal that high levels of vitamin D can actually reduce the risk of breast cancer and inhibit the growth of existing tumors. These significant studies show strong evidence the so-called “sunshine vitamin” is a must-have supplement in your dietary arsenal. But before you pop those vitamin D pills or load up on fish, eggs, and fortified milk, be sure to know how much is enough, how much is too much, and the best way to get it into your bloodstream.

The primary physiological function of vitamin D is to maintain normal blood levels of calcium and phosphorus to help form and maintain strong bones. Vitamin D is also important for maintaining a healthy immune system. Research directly links vitamin D deficiency to a weakened immune system, which can decrease your body’s ability to fight off colds and flu, and worse, increase your risk of autoimmune diseases.

Several food sources including fish, eggs, fortified milk, and cod liver oil contain vitamin D, but diet accounts for very little of the nutrient that actually makes it into your bloodstream. Your skin also makes vitamin D from ultraviolet light, but too much sun causes skin damage and significantly increases the risk of skin cancers.

Supplementation offers the safest and most effective source of vitamin D, but not all supplements are alike. Vitamin D comes in two forms: D2 (ergocalciferol), which is synthesized by plants, and the more potent D3 (cholecalciferol), which is synthesized in the skin upon sunlight exposure. New research indicates D3 is the best form because it is three times as potent as D2 and more readily absorbed into the bloodstream. Most multi-vitamins contain too little D2 and include vitamin A, which can offset many of the benefits of vitamin D.

On the flip side, too much vitamin D can cause a dangerous buildup of calcium in the body. Although the FDA okays taking up to 2,000 international units per day, each person’s baseline level is different. Dr. Harper recommends testing vitamin D levels on an annual basis and adjusting dosage amounts as appropriate to achieve each individual’s optimum level.

Based on the mounting evidence that Vitamin D is a critical nutrient for health and fighting disease, we recommend you test your levels each year. Call our office today at 512.343.9355 to get more information about testing for this important nutrient.

Allergies, Cold or Flu?

Seasonal allergies make millions of Americans miserable each year, especially those of us who live in Texas. Allergic symptoms, caused by a rapid release of histamine from allergic cells in your body called mast cells, lead to nasal discharge, itchy and watery eyes, sore throat, cough, and headaches. Even though you may be prone to allergies, how do you know when your symptoms are caused by allergens rather than a cold or the flu? These three ailments share many of the same symptoms, so here’s a quick guide that may help you ferret out the nasty culprit.

Ailment

Typical Symptoms
Allergies—Triggered by exposure to an allergen such as pollen or pet dander; not contagious. Itchy, watery eyes; sneezing; runny, itchy, and/or stuffed up nose (clear mucus); headaches; cough; sore throat.
Cold—Easily spread from person to person by contact and commonly touched objects like door handles. Runny or stuffy nose (discharge becomes thicker and yellow or green as cold progresses); itchy or sore throat; cough; congestion; slight body aches; sneezing; watery eyes; low-grade fever; mild fatigue. Usually develops gradually.
Influenza—Easily spread from person to person by contact, commonly touched objects, and air via coughing, sneezing, or talking. Runny nose; sneezing; sore throat; chills and sweats; fever over 101F in adults and often higher in children; headache; dry cough; aches and pains, especially in back, arms, and legs; fatigue and weakness; nasal congestion; loss of appetite; diarrhea and vomiting in children. Usually develops suddenly.

Ways to Relieve Allergies

Medications including antihistamines, decongestants, and corticosteroids may relieve symptoms, but they also can cause significant side effects. Antihistamines block the effects of histamine from mast cells but can cause drowsiness, dry mouth, blurred vision, and constipation, and antihistamines have been associated with weight gain. Oral corticosteroids reduce inflammation, but if taken for more than three or four weeks they can cause unhealthy side effects including a weakened immune system. Fortunately, Nutritional Medicine Associates offers three safe and effective nutritional products for allergy relief: Quercetin (D-Hist), MSM, and Petadolex. These products have been clinically proven to provide allergy symptom relief without the annoying and often times unhealthy side effects.

Ways to Ward Off Colds & Flu

Most adults are likely to catch a common cold two to four times a year. The number is much greater for children, who are likely to catch a cold as many as six to 10 times annually. Anyone can get the flu, but young children, older adults, and those who have weakened immune systems are more vulnerable. As Benjamin Franklin so astutely advised, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Here are several practical steps to help you stay healthy and ward off colds and flu.

  • Wash your hands frequently with soap and water.
  • Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze.
  • Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth to reduce the spread of germs.
  • Eat a well-balanced diet.
  • Get seven to eight hours of sleep each night.
  • Exercise regularly.
  • Try to avoid close contact with sick people.
  • Use an immune boosting product like Epicor to keep your body strong and resistant to infection especially during months where colds and flu are common or when your immune system is over worked from things like stress or travel.

A Sweet by Any Other Name

The average American eats about 130 pounds of sugar each year, which adds up to 25% of total calories per day or 40 teaspoons. And the more sugar we eat, the more we want. It’s bad enough that excessive sugar causes us to pack on extra pounds, but now many researchers blame sugar as a causative factor in a wide range of degenerative diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. Because sugar comes in many different varieties, it’s important to learn to recognize some of its disguises by name.

  • Sucrose
  • Dextrose
  • Fructose
  • High fructose corn syrup (HFCS)
  • Maltose
  • Lactose
  • Honey
  • Maple syrup
  • Sucanat
  • Cane sugar
  • Barley malt
  • Concentrated fruit juice
  • Rice syrup
  • Molasses
  • Invert sugar
  • Tapioca
  • Corn sweeteners
  • Maltodextrin

Looking for a natural and safe sugar substitute? Dr. Harper recommends using the natural sweetener xylitol because it tastes about as sweet as sugar but doesn’t raise insulin or blood sugar levels. Xylitol is extracted from the fibers of fruits and vegetables and contains about half the calories of sugar. With no aftertaste, it’s a sweet alternative to higher calorie sugars and dangerous artificial sweeteners.

Did You Know?

Eating a mushroom a day may help keep the doctor away. Despite the funky appearance of these funny-looking fungi, mushrooms manage to provide a mighty impact on your health. They are packed with stress-fighting B vitamins, phytonutrients, potassium, and zinc, which help boost neurological function and maintain your body’s immune system.

Most varieties of these earthly angels contain high amounts of antioxidants such as selenium and lentinan, which provide antiviral and antimicrobial benefits and are considered effective cancer-fighting agents. Some mushroom types including the Asian food favorite—the shiitake—help lower cholesterol and blood pressure by removing lipids from blood and helping to block the secretion of LDL cholesterol.

Given the wonderful health benefits of these woody little wonders, why not serve them up regularly in a soup, salad, or sandwich? Having a fungus among us each day just might keep the doctor away![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_widget_sidebar show_bg=”false” sidebar_id=”sidebar_1″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=”2″ gap=”10″ margin_top=”50″ margin_bottom=”50″ padding_top=”25″ padding_bottom=”25″ css=”.vc_custom_1513015230624{margin-bottom: 50px !important;}”][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text]Ready to Book a Consultation?[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_column_text]

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Have a Healthy Holiday: Avoid these Health Hazards

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Have a Healthy Holiday: Avoid these Health Hazards

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]The cooking, the shopping, the decorating, the celebrating—as you hustle and bustle your way through this holiday season, be sure to steer clear of holiday health hazards like stress, sugar, and spirits (in literally every meaning of the word). Overindulging in spirits such as that calorie-laden eggnog can eat up your daily caloric intake in just two glasses. It’s also easy to fall prey to that classic spirit of alcohol, which tempts you with the high but can leave you and your health feeling low. Most of all this holiday season, remember to nourish your emotional spirits—stop and smell the rosemary! Let the lights remind you that your world is much brighter than most, let the children’s excitement tap into your heart, and see each gift as an opportunity to spread happiness and love, which is what the holiday season is all about.

Stress

Along with the fun and festivities that fill the holiday season, most all of us are sure to experience some level of stress this time of year. Whether you’re fighting traffic or finances, wrangling kids on winter break, entertaining everyone, or shopping ‘til you drop, you may find it difficult to manage stress with such a dizzying array of demands. One significant way to help minimize holiday stress is simply knowing that the holidays can trigger stress and take active steps toward prevention and relief.

Holiday stress manifests in different ways for different people and can show up as emotional stress, psychological stress, or actual physical stress. When stressed, your body releases adrenaline, cortisol, and other stress-related hormones. In addition, stress causes your body to burn through brain neurotransmitters at an accelerated rate, depleting you of the critical neurochemicals required to metabolize fat, modulate mood, manage stress, and generally feel well. Elevated cortisol levels, due to chronic stress or a single intensely stressful situation, can lead to a myriad of health problems including memory loss, depression and anxiety, chronic fatigue, insulin resistance, inflammation, hypertension, and metabolic syndrome.

While it’s difficult to avoid some level of stress during the holidays, you can follow a few practical tips for minimizing stress and having a holiday full of peace and joy:

  • Be flexible and realistic, and accept the fact that things don’t always happen as planned.
  • Don’t be afraid to say no, especially when saying yes will make you feel overwhelmed or over-stressed.
  • Do one…thing…at…a…time. Remember that multi-tasking is the number one cause of stress for women! Take your time and breathe.
  • Plan ahead and organize. Make a list of things you need to do and designate times to get it done. Keeping track will help you stay on task and keep stress at bay.
  • Keep up healthy habits. Eat a balanced diet and watch out for stressors like caffeine, alcohol, artificial sweeteners, and sugar.
  • Take care of yourself—get adequate rest and take time for yourself, even if only a few minutes each day, to relax.

The more stress management techniques you incorporate into your daily life, the easier you’ll recover from episodes of high stress. The key is balance: after periods of holiday stress—whether good or bad—take the time to replenish your body and your mind.

Sugar

From candied yams to candy canes, the holidays are stuffed with sweet and sugary temptations. While those cakes and cookies may likely show up around your waistline, it’s the effects on your lifeline that are more important to consider. Packing on a few extra pounds over the holidays isn’t just an undesirable outcome of over-indulging—it’s a potentially dangerous consequence that can increase the risk of metabolic syndrome.

With weight gain, there are two types of fat. Subcutaneous fat accumulates under the skin in the form of bumps and bulges and is relatively harmless to your health. Visceral fat—which is the fat most strongly linked with metabolic syndrome and increased cancer risk—lies deep in the abdomen and envelopes vital organs. Accumulation of visceral fat tissue is directly correlated with insulin resistance, glucose intolerance, diabetes, hypertension, and coronary artery disease.

Staving off those refined carbs and curbing excess calories during the holidays may do more than help you manage your midsection. Keeping off those extra holiday pounds could significantly cut your risk of diabetes and heart disease. To help you handle the holiday sugar hazard, keep these tips in mind:

  • Don’t go to a party hungry. Instead eat a healthy meal before you go so you’ll feel satisfied and full and be less tempted to snack on those sweet temptations.
  • When ordering out, start your meal with a salad to take the edge off your appetite and leave you less likely to overeat your main meal.
  • Be aware of what you’re eating. A good rule of thumb is that just one bite of a decadent holiday treat on average has about 100 calories.
  • Never eat while standing up! Keep a glass of sparkling water in one hand and a napkin in the other so you don’t snack haphazardly.

Spirits

Several recent studies link limited alcohol consumption with various health benefits such as reducing the risk of heart disease and some cancers, as well as slowing the progression of neurological degenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. But if you drink more than the recommended amount—no more than one drink per day for most women and no more than two drinks per day for most men—you lose all the health benefits and gain considerable health risks. With holiday parties a plenty this time of year, it’s easy to lose track in celebration and toss back one or more drinks too many.

Before grabbing another glass of your favorite seasonal spirit, consider the health consequences reported in a new study: drinking in excess of the daily dietary guidelines significantly increases the risk of metabolic syndrome. Published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, the study findings reveal that daily alcohol consumption that exceeds the recommended guidelines is associated with a 60% increase in the risk of metabolic syndrome, and binge drinking at least once a week was associated with a 51% increase in the risk of metabolic syndrome.

Not only does excessive alcohol consumption negatively affect your body on the inside, but it also affects how you look on the outside. Drinking alcohol dehydrates your body and robs your skin of vital oxygen and nutrients like vitamin A that boost collagen and promote new skin cell growth. Those who imbibe regularly or excessively are more prone to skin ailments often associated with aging, like wrinkles, uneven skin tone, discoloration, and broken capillaries.

The key to avoiding the alcohol hazard this festive season is smart moderation. Limit your amount to the daily recommendation (one drink per day for women, two drinks per day for men). Help curb temptation by eating a meal first and saving your cocktail for dessert. Often times the satiety of eating will help calm alcohol cravings. Or substitute the alcohol with a sparkling water and slice of lime—the effervescent bubbles can be just as fun and fulfilling!

Home for the Holidays: A Surefire Remedy

As if you didn’t have enough on your mind preparing for the holidays and trying to ward off the 5 to 7 pounds lurking in those holiday goodies, you might also be among the millions who share a slight case of holiday dread knowing that—despite your best-laid plans,–some of your kin folk can play havoc with your silent night, holy night. Rest assured that you are not the only one with an Uncle Harry who thinks Hanukah isn’t complete without a hangover, or an Aunt Gertrude who insists on dissing all the people skinnier than she is.

Or maybe your extended family isn’t a concern—it’s the ones under your roof who can get under your skin the most. How about a petulant teenager who loves to cast a black cloud over even the most lovingly planned festivity? Here’s a surefire remedy that works like a charm, because being forewarned is being forearmed. Here’s your armor: just remember HOME for the holidays.

  • Help. Not as in, “Help!” but help as in, “Here is your job.” Give the difficult people a task, like setting the table or peeling the apples—the more challenging the person the more challenging the job. “Uncle Harry, would you be a dear and put this piece of furniture together I just bought at IKEA.” Get help. Make up jobs if you need to.
  • Outside. Get outside and send them outside. Take a walk, throw a football, or check out the holiday lights. Moderate exercise raises serotonin and lifts your mood. Daylight exposure (send them out early!) does the same.
  • Manners. Mind yours and remind them of theirs. Lovingly place a copy of Emily Post on the coffee table and open it to, “Making your holiday memorable.” Model the most gracious behavior you can remember, and set the scene with your finest dishes, candles, and linens. Dress up (except for the shoes) and encourage others to do the same, they’ll act better. When others push your buttons get nicer and kinder. Don’t let someone else decide what kind of attitude you are going to have. You won’t regret doing the right thing.
  • Entertain. As much as people say they don’t like to play games and participate in entertainment, they really do! Get out the board games, Wii, karoke, cards—you name it. How about a fun game of family charades? Have everyone bring a “re-gift” (something you don’t have to buy but someone else might want) and have a fun gift exchange. Entertainment keeps folks focused on fun, not on fretting.

If you just remember this simple HOME remedy, you’re sure to have a great holiday—and so will everyone else.

How Healthy is Your Grocery Store?

Most grocery store chains have jumped on the all-natural and organic band wagon, but which stores actually deliver the freshest and healthiest foods to you? Health Magazine recently polled health experts to determine the top 10 healthiest grocery stores in the US. How healthy is your grocery store? Browse the list to find out who ranked and why!

10. Super Target These super stores offer brands like Kashi, Quaker, Sahala Snacks, and Barbara’s, plus a limited amount of organic dairy items and produce.
9. Pathmark The largest retailer of locally grown produce in the Northeast, with the company’s Live Better! And Wellness Club discounts of up to 15 percent on fresh-cut fruits and veggies.
8. Publix Super Markets The store’s own brand, Green Wise, features fresh and packaged natural and organic foods. The chain scores high for its At Season’s Peak program, which points customers to the produce that’s most in season.
7. Food Lion This chain stocks organic fruits and vegetables and has its own natural foods brand, Nature’s Place. The store’s boutique offshoot, Bloom, is leading the way for the chain with kiosks that provide nutrition information and healthy recipes.
6. Albertsons Their organic house brand, Wild Harvest, typically costs 15 percent less than name-brand organic products and excludes artificial preservatives, colorings, sweeteners, flavorings, and hydrogenated oils.
5. Hannaford This small chain is the largest certified-organic supermarket in the Northeast region, and its Guiding Stars nutrition-label program makes it easy to find the healthiest foods.
4. Trader Joe’s You’ll find healthy foods from all around the world here at reasonable prices, but you won’t find bad-for-you mainstream brands.
3. Harris Teeter This store boasts healthy shopping tools and a highly successful Your Wellness For Life program. With over 600 varieties of fruits and veggies, shoppers are sure to find a great selection of organic and locally owned fare.
2. Safeway Safeway is a traditional grocer, but they’ve made huge transformations with their own organic brands and locally grown produce. O Organics for packaged goods is the largest organic brand in the country.
1. Whole Foods With the whole package, it’s no wonder Whole Foods tops the list. They have an extraordinary selection of fresh conventional and organic fruit and vegetables, delicious prepared foods with healthy ingredients and clear labeling. The desserts are even pretty good for you—free of artificial colors, flavors, sweeteners, preservatives, and trans fats.

Did You Know?

Adding a little zing to your cuisine with zesty spices may help ward off cellular damage associated with chronic diseases. Spices can do a lot more than just make food taste good. Research studies show that most chronic and life-threatening diseases, including those commonly associated with the aging process like cancer, Alzheimer’s, and heart disease, are linked to chronic inflammation. The antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of several sizzling spices may be one of the keys to a longer and healthier life.

All spices yield some health benefit, but several super spices stand out. Cinnamon contains insulin-like qualities that are important for insulin signaling, glucose transport, and inflammatory response. Just ¼ teaspoon of cinnamon a day can help modulate blood cholesterol, triglyceride, and glucose levels—all associated with metabolic syndrome. Chili pepper is another spicy sensation, containing the powerful capsaicin properties that help ease congestion, boost immunity, reduce blood cholesterol, and help prevent some cancers.

The bright yellow spice of Indian cuisine offers one of nature’s most powerful punches to protect against disease. The curcumin pigment found in curry contains potent anti-inflammatory agents that help protect vital cells and tissues in the body from being attacked by damaging, disease-causing free radicals while inhibiting the production of pro-inflammatory compounds called cytokines.

So be sure to spice up your palette and boost your health. Sprinkle some cinnamon on your apples and crank up your favorite cuisine with chili pepper or curry. Don’t be afraid to add lots of spice to your life because adding spice means adding health![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_widget_sidebar show_bg=”false” sidebar_id=”sidebar_1″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=”2″ gap=”10″ margin_top=”50″ margin_bottom=”50″ padding_top=”25″ padding_bottom=”25″ css=”.vc_custom_1513015230624{margin-bottom: 50px !important;}”][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text]Ready to Book a Consultation?[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_column_text]

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