Hyvin
A Natural Health and Wellness Blog

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.”

Do you throw your kitchen sponge in the dishwasher to “clean” it? That’s what I’ve always done. I know sanitation is a good idea….the sponge never REALLY gets dry, and it’s gotta’ have all the germs that come into the house and land on the counters, in the sink, on hands, etc.

But I’ve never thought about whether I was really sterilizing thoroughly. Well, new research to the rescue. According to Reuters Health, the Journal of Environmental Health just published a study finding that two minutes on full power in the common household microwave is the way to eliminate 99 percent of the germy stuff on the ordinary kitchen sponge. That works for me!

Chlorine has long been accepted as a common, necessary addition to our drinking water in the U.S., as well as our other household-use water sources and our swimming pools. I don’t like the taste, I don’t like the smell, and my eyes and nose burn when I’m around most indoor swimming pools. Now I’ve got another reason to avoid chlorine.

Newly published research (in the Jan. 2007 edition of the American Journal of Epidemiology) suggests a link between drinking, bathing or swimming in chlorinated water, and the risk of bladder cancer. The Reuters Health report of the research relays the researchers’ observations that absorbing chlorine through the skin or lungs (by swimming or bathing) “may have a more powerful carcinogenic effect because it does not undergo detoxification via the liver.”

I am very glad to have the best selling NSF-certified reverse osmosis water purifier to remove chlorine from my drinking water.

The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention just issued a report cataloging the deaths and illnesses of children under the age of 2 from taking over-the-counter cough and cold medications. According to the HealthDay News report of the study, researchers made two main points: (1) These are drugs and have risks, including the possibility of death in infants under two years of age; and (2) there is NO evidence that these meds, especially ones containing pseudoephedrine [a nasal decongestant] have any positive benefits for children under two.

Two good reasons, it seems to me, NOT to use over-the-counter cough and cold meds in little ones. I resort to drug intervention only as a last resort, but I have to admit, these formulas are so commonly used by the public, and seem innocuous. This report is an eye-opener for me.

So, what to do with an infant who is stuffed up, coughing and miserable? Time (the great healer) and a humidifier by the crib will help. You may also want to try some pure alfalfa tablets dissolved in warm water. Try dispensing the solution with a dropper. Alfalfa is a natural decongestant with side benefits not side effects.

Add a B to the alphabet line-up of nutrients that can help prevent Alzheimer’s Disease. (see earlier post about C and E) Recently reported in the Archives of Neurology is a study identifying folate, one of the B nutrients, as being linked to a reduced risk of Alzheimer’s. Researchers looked at folate (also called folic acid) both eaten in food (whole grains, leafy green vegetables) and taken in supplement form.

There is something particular to note about folate (or folic acid). As one of the B nutrients, it occurs with the other B’s that make up the complex but is a hard one to absorb because it tends to get bound up with the others in the matrix. Look for a supplement with a guaranteed delivery system.

Well, the 12 days of Christmas are officially over (way over ). It’s time to return from break! There’s a lot of important health and wellness news to share with you in this new year.

First of all, let’s take a look at an interesting study telling us to beware of studies! Researchers have reported that if a study of a beverage is funded by the beverage industry, the results may be questionable. According to Reuters Health, “Studies funded entirely by industry were four times to eight times more likely to be favorable to the financial interests of the sponsors than those paid for by other groups, the researchers found.” These findings were consistent with past similar findings on drug studies funded by drug companies.

Why is this so? is the question that comes immediately to my mind. The lead researcher of this study was quick to defend the researchers, but suggested it may be because unfavorable studies are simply not published or because researchers are restricted by the sponsor in the ways studies can be formulated.

These findings are part of the body of research making up the scientific record, which is thereby distorted. And, of course, people can be misled by these published findings. So, if you read about a study saying milk can help people lose weight, tomato juice might prevent cancer or there are benefits to fizzy sodas, beware!