Hyvin
A Natural Health and Wellness Blog

I just love it when scientific research focuses on the health benefits of food! (well, actually the nutrients and compounds in food). Here is a summary I recently came across singing the praises of pomegranates:

Pomegranates can help reduce “bad” cholesterol and make blood less clot-prone (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, May 2000).

3 month daily serving of Pomegranate juice improved heart oxygen levels of those with coronary heart disease (American Journal of the College of Cardiology, Sept. 2005).

Long-term consumption of Pomegranate juice may help combat erectile dysfunction (Journal of Urology, July 2005).

Pomegranate compounds in mice slowed the growth of prostate cancer (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Sept. 26, 2005).

There are some indicators the pomegranates may help reduce arthritis symptoms (Journal of Nutrition, Sept. 2005).

I don’t eat a lot of pomegranates, but have enjoyed them as a salad garnish. It’s probably easiest to drink pomegranate tea (yum!). Who ever knew there was so much power in the pomegranate?!

To eat fish while pregnant or not to eat fish while pregnant? That is the question, it seems. Those who say “eat” say the beneficial effects of the nutrients in fish far outweigh any risk. On the other side of the question are the Environmental Protection Administration and the Food and Drug Administration, which issued an advisory in 2004 telling pregnant women to avoid eating more than 340 grams of fish — about 12 ounces a week — because of the danger of mercury poisoning.

A new study weighs in on the side of the beneficial effects. Research published in the Feb. 17 issue of the journal The Lancet found that children whose mothers ate at least three servings of fish a week during pregnancy had higher scores in tests of mental function in their early years. And the study found that maternal seafood intake during pregnancy of less than 340 grams a week was associated with increased risk of children being in the bottom 25 percent of verbal IQ at 8 years of age and with suboptimum performance on tests of social behavior, fine motor activity, communication and social development.

The HealthDay report of the research cited several experts on both sides of “the question”, given these new findings. Some say eat the fish. Some say don’t. I don’t get it. Why not just advise pregnant women to supplement with guaranteed ultra-pure omega-3 fatty acids, thought to be the component in fish providing the benefit???

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are gases emitted from certain solids and fluids such as paints, cleaning supplies, building materials, printers, glues and photographic solutions and can lead to headaches, nausea, fatigue, dizziness and irritation of the eyes, nose and throat or damage to the nervous system or organs.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has said that VOC levels are typically up to five times higher inside a house than outdoors, regardless of whether a home is in an urban or rural area. Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, Maryland and Ohio State University recently compared VOC levels in indoor air with VOC levels in human breast milk. VOCs from indoor air were 25-fold to 135-fold higher than from breast milk. Reuters Health quoted researcher Sungroul Kim as saying: “”We ought to focus our efforts on reducing indoor air sources of these compounds.”

One good way to reduce indoor air sources of VOCs is to use safe, non-toxic cleaning products. And, if some sources are unavoidable, there is a way to remove the VOCs from the air with state-of-the-art, but very economical air purification. These gases, of course, impact infants the most, but they are harmful to all of us. I am very committed to doing what I can to maintain a healthy home and am SO happy to have product options that support this priority.

Ever have that sensation of crawling skin? Well, maybe it really is!!

In research recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, study of the skin on the forearms of six healthy people revealed 182 species of bacteria! But don’t be alarmed. Researcher and microbiologist Dr. Martin Blaser of New York University School of Medicine says “”We think that many of the normal organisms are protecting the skin. So that’s why I don’t think it’s a great idea to keep washing all the time because we’re basically washing off one of our defense layers.”

Soap seems particularly hostile to the “good” bacteria that provide the first layer of protection on our skins…it is alkaline. Using a PH balanced skin wash does not strip the acid mantle on the skin, yet provides the “clean” we all want.

According to the Reuters Health report of this research, new technology has enabled researchers to identify more bacteria than previous study had revealed. May be one of those supports for the “ignorance is bliss” theory

The status of your health as an adult began in your mother’s womb. That seems remarkable, yet completely sensible. As our bodily systems develop from the very beginning, they grow and strengthen in progression from what came before. There is ongoing evidence that childhood health is more than just the number of missed school days — it is an indicator of adult health.

For heart health, for example, begin good habits in infancy, according to this recent report by HealthDay News:

The value of adopting a heart-healthy diet early in life is being demonstrated in an ongoing study in Finland, where researchers in 1990 began following more than 1,000 infants who were 7 months old at the time.

Half of the children were allowed an unrestricted diet, while the parents of the other half were directed to feed their children a diet low in saturated fats — the unhealthy fats that are typically found in foods from animals. Those parents also received dietary and lifestyle counseling twice a year.

The benefits of the low-saturated fat diets and counseling were revealed in tests done when the children were 11. Ultrasound images of the boys’ arteries found that those on the low-saturated fat diets had blood vessels that were better able to widen, allowing blood to flow more freely.

No such difference was seen for the girls, a finding reported for females in some adult studies. “The reason for this is not known, but one explanation could be estrogen,” said study co-investigator Dr. Olli Raitakari, chief physician at the Turku University Central Hospital. Estrogen, the female sex hormone, influences the number of receptors for LDL cholesterol, the “bad” kind that clogs arteries, he said.

Still, the findings for the boys were very encouraging, Raitakari said, and the researchers believe the benefits for girls will eventually prove true. The study will continue until the children turn 20.

We all certainly want to give our children the gift of good health. We truly can start giving that gift right now!

Have you seen news headlines that new research shows the mineral selenium does NOT reduce prostate cancer risk as was previously believed? The press can be so unreliable. What the study in question found was that there was no statistically significant association between selenium levels alone and prostate cancer risk, BUT selenium levels DID correlate “with a lower likelihood of prostate cancer in men who reported a high vitamin E intake (more than the average of 28 IU per day) and those taking multivitamins.”!! (Reuters Health)

That isn’t surprising. Vitamin E and selenium work synergistically together to provide anti-oxidant protection. And the baseline of nutrients in a multivitamin provides additional immune support. Nutrients do not work in isolation, but work together for the overall health of the body.

So, this study, reported in the Jan. 2007 edition of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition bodes better news than you may have read elsewhere.

Have you read recently about metabolic syndrome, a relatively new medical term? According to Health Day, “Metabolic syndrome includes factors such as lower-abdomen obesity, high blood pressure, blood fat disorders such as high LDL (“bad”) cholesterol, and insulin resistance or elevated blood sugar levels. Generally, someone with three or more of these factors is said to have metabolic syndrome.”

According to Dr. Steve Chaney, professor of biochemistry and biophysics at Univ. of North Carolina medical school, individuals may have no actual symptoms of this syndrome, yet it can be deadly! In the Jan. 30 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, researchers reported on an exhaustive review of studies on this issue to conclude that metabolic syndrome is a strong indicator of increased risk of heart disease.

I actually just heard Dr. Chaney last weekend speak about diabetes prevention and metabolic syndrome. He stated that in addressing metabolic syndrome, drugs are not as effective as what he calls a design for healthy living, which includes weight control and exercise, a diet low in fat and high in fiber, and a supplement program. Feel free to contact me if you’d like more details about the supplements recommended for metabolic syndrome.

Women losing weight are encouraged to take calcium and Vitamin D supplements so that they will see the maximum reduction of bad cholesterol and maximum increase of good cholesterol associated with that weight loss, per research in the January 2007 edition of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Researchers noted that calcium intake is typically low among overweight women, there are a number of benefits to women losing weight from calcium intake, and women who are trying to lose weight should be sure to get adequate amounts of every other vitamin and mineral, as well as calcium and vitamin D, because of the various benefits of general supplementation on weight loss. (Reuters Health)

This is a nice acknowledgement of the critical role of nutrition and supplementation for good health.

OK, did you try the microwave sponge de-germing? I hope the sponge was wet!!! Apparently the researchers at the study site (Univ. of Florida) have received negative feedback from folks who have burned their sponges, smoked up their houses, and created, in short, a mess.

According to Reuters Health,

The university issued the following advisory: “To guard against the risk of fire, people who wish to sterilize their sponges at home must ensure the sponge is completely wet. Two minutes of microwaving is sufficient for most sterilization. Sponges should also have no metallic content. Last, people should be careful when removing the sponge from the microwave as it will be hot.”