Hyvin
A Natural Health and Wellness Blog

Experts trying to prepare for the possibility of an influenza pandemic are looking at the best way to avoid airborne disease spread in hospitals. Seems like a good idea, right?

Think they’re calling for new forms of ventilation? Pumping out infected air? High-tech solutions? Nope…just open the windows.

That’s right! Retuers Health reports that researchers concluded: “Opening windows and doors maximizes natural ventilation so that the risk of airborne contagion is much lower than with costly, maintenance-requiring mechanical ventilation systems.”

Isn’t there some “old wives’ tale” about opening the windows and airing out the house? Seems like those old wives were right (again ).

My goal in maintaining this blog is to give you credible, helpful information in incorporating natural health and wellness approaches into your life. So, when a study comes along that is widely discredited, confusing and a piece of poor science, I’m reluctant to bring it to your attention.

I assume, though, that the recent Journal of the American Medical Association article concerning antioxidants and mortality rates will get a lot of attention from the popular media. Why? Because they love a good headline, whether or not it serves the public.

So – if you’ve seen press about the study and wondered about it, feel free to contact me for a thorough analysis of the study and its conclusions.

Research has demonstrated that zinc can play a life-saving role for children in the developing world. As reported in the March 17 issue of The Lancet, zinc supplementation reduced the rate of mortality and the cases of pneumonia, diarrhea and malaria. According to the HealthDay report of this research, zinc is believed to play an important role in healthy immune system function.

If zinc supplements can do that much for those with so many challenges to their immune function, I know I wouldn’t want to be without them for myself and my children!

From HealthDay News: “Even a short period of calcium and vitamin D supplementation can greatly reduce the risk of stress fractures (overuse injuries to the bone) in women, a U.S. study finds.” Conducted on female U.S. Navy recruits, the study found that 25 percent more of those getting placebos suffered stress fractures than the group taking the supplements and was reported in San Diego in February 2007 at the annual meeting of the Orthopedic Research Society.

Gonna’ join the armed forces, begin track and field workouts or otherwise increase bone usage in a big way? (spring is coming!) Take your calcium and Vitamin D supplements (the latter helps the body absorb the former, which is vital for bone formation and repair).

Over-the-counter pain meds are getting a lot of negative press lately. Here’s another reason to avoid the all-too-common drugs: a link to high blood pressure.

I have to admit, I was surprised to learn that this relationship had been studied in women first. New research in the Feb. 26, 2007 edition of the Archives of Internal Medicine concludes that men, like women, who frequently take over-the-counter pain relievers have higher blood pressure than those who don’t. According to the Reuters Health report of the study, researchers urge greater caution in using these drugs, much like we’ve heard before.

Are we listening?

Researchers have concluded we pop the pills without even knowing the potential dangers! I believe it…that’s the power of advertising, methinks.

A study that appeared in the January/February issue of the Journal of the American Pharmacists Association revealed that those taking the popular prescription and over-the-counter pain reliever acetaminophen were not well versed in safe dosages or dangers of over-dosages. “Users” weren’t even sure what drugs contained acetaminophen (Tylenol, many combination pain and cold medications, and a number of prescription drugs).

This is serious business. According to the HealthDay account of the research, ” Excessive use of acetaminophen, whether it be a large single dose or long-term overuse, can lead to severe liver damage that may require a liver transplant or cause death. In fact, acetaminophen overdose is now the most common cause of acute liver failure in the United States.” [emphasis mine]

We need to know this stuff! And we need to know there are natural pain relief alternatives.

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