Happy Healthy Long Life

Yes, You Can Prevent & Reverse Heart Disease - But Are You Up For The Challenge? Let Dr. Esselstyn Convince You - Part I

"I Don't Understand Why Asking People to Eat a Well-Balanced Vegetarian Diet is Considered Drastic, While It Is Medically Conservative To Cut People Open"     -Dr. Dean Ornish-

 

UPDATE to this post:

What I Learned From Dr. Caldwell and Ann Esselstyn's Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease "School"

Fifteen Months Into the Esselstyn-Style Plant-Based No-Oil Way of Eating - The Healthy Librarian Spills the Beans - And It's All Good! Can't Wait to Compare Notes with Bill Clinton on Saturday.

Additional HHLL posts about Dr. Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr.'s Heart Disease Prevention & Reversal Diet

I've known about Dr. Esselstyn's work for years.  And Nathan Pritikin's and Dr. Dean Ornish's.  But it never applied to me!  I don't have heart disease! Of course I'd follow their plans if I was sick, but I'm not.

Wrong!  Most of us have some stage of heart disease if we're eating the usual Western Diet, and that includes the so-called healthy Mediterranean Diet & the American Heart Association's Prudent Diet.

Autopsies performed on 20 year old American GIs  during the Korean & Vietnam wars; & on accident, homicide & suicide victims aged 18-35 have consistently shown over 80% already had atherosclerotic plaque in their coronary arteries.

And atherosclerosis doesn't limit itself to the coronary arteries.  If it's in your heart, it's in your brain.  And seeing both my parents "survive" strokes, I'll take a heart attack over a stroke any day!

I had the chance to hear Dr. Esselstyn on WCPN's Sound of Ideas last Wednesday and the light bulb finally came on for me.  Now I understand exactly why the Mediterranean Diet that I thought was so good, isn't.  Olive oil-- forget about it!

Now I finally understand how we can have a heart attack or a silent stroke even if we think we don't have heart disease or atherosclerosis.  Your coronary artery has to be 70% occluded to have symptoms, like angina. If your arteries are even 10-69% blocked, and you're inflaming them with what you eat, you're at risk.  It's all about inflammation - Calm down the inflammation & you'll keep those atherosclerotic plaques safely stuck to your artery walls.

Tim Russert never had chest pain (angina).  He was on all the right medicines. Statins & high blood pressure meds.  Even if he had had an angioplasty or bypass surgery that wouldn't have arrested his disease. That's just a patch job.  It doesn't do anything to stop heart disease.  You can't insert stents or bypasses in every blood vessel in your body.

 

Who is Dr. Esselstyn & Why Should I Listen to What He Says?

• Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn was a surgeon, clinician & researcher at the Cleveland Clinic. He's presently Emeritus staff and privately sees patients from all over the country who want to take an active role in reversing their heart disease.   He's a passionate out-spoken advocate for following the vegan diet to prevent, stop & reverse heart disease.  He and his wife started following this diet 25 years ago, when  he was 50 years old.  At age 75, he's a walking testament to the diet he advocates!
• Back in 1984-85 he started a group of 24 patients with severe  heart disease (5 of whom were told they had less than a year to live) on a strict vegan, no oil diet.  6 dropped out--2 of that group died--the other 4 all had bypass surgery.  Of the remaining group who continued on the diet, all have  stopped or reversed their heart disease for over 20 years now.  All have active full lives. Here' s an example of the kind of disease reversal Dr. Essestyn's patients achieved after 32 months on a vegan diet.

                             

Photo:  Coronary angiograms of the distal left anterior descending artery before (left bracket 11/27/96) and after (right bracket 7/22/99) 32 months of a plant-based diet without cholesterol-lowering medications, showing profound improvement.

How Do You Prevent, Stop & Reverse Heart Disease?

Here it is, straight & simple.  You won't like this.  You won't think it applies to you.  And you probably already know it anyway.  At least that's how I looked at that. 

Meat, cheese, milk, butter, ice cream, eggs, fried foods, oils and margarine are the lethal atherosclerotic lynchpins.

• No chicken, no fish, no meat, no eggs
• No oils of any kind - including olive oil
• No dairy products of any kind - even fat-free
• Generally no nuts or avocados (small amounts of walnuts are OK if you don't have diagnosed heart disease-but watch out-it's hard to control the amount)

What Can You Eat?

• Vegetables-lots of greeny leafy ones to restore & heal the endothelial lining of your blood vessels.  Kale, Swiss Chard, Cilantro, Collards, Bok Choy, Parsley, Spinach, Broccoli, Brussel Sprouts, Cauliflower
• Whole fruit
• Whole grains
• Beans/Legumes; "light" tofu--cautious use of low-fat soy meat substitutes. Many are highly processed, high-fat junk food.

How Long Will It Take to Make Myself Heart-Attack Proof?

It's hard to believe, but according to Dr. Esselstyn, if you change your diet, you will change your biochemistry & metabolism & make yourself heart-attack proof in 3-4 weeks.  Angina will stop in that short amount of time.  Of course, it will take much longer to reverse the plaque build-up, but within a short amount of time you can prevent plaque from rupturing and causing a heart attack.

How Can a Symptom-Free Person With Arterial Blockage of Only 10-30% Possibly Have a Heart Attack?

• Arterial plaque is like little bubbles of inflammation.  The Western diet of meat, dairy & fat keeps that inflammation going and the plaque growing.
• Even if the artery blockage is 30% or less, when the inflammation gets to the point that the protective cap covering the plaque starts to thin out, eventually the shear force of the blood running over the plaque can cause the plaque to tear away from the artery's lining. Think of plaque like a scab in the artery lining that comes loose.
• When the plaque ruptures, its contents ooze out, spilling into the blood.
• The ruptured plaque stimulates the formation of a clot which can now cause the artery's blockage to go from the previous safe 10-30% to 100%.
• Bingo!  A heart attack occurs in someone who never had a previous symptom, who never even knew he had heart disease, and certainly never had a reason to have an angiogram.
• Inflammation in the presence of plaque is bad news.

But, according to Dr. Esselstyn, if you change what you eat you will never rupture your plaque and never have a heart attack.  People have the capacity to make themselves heart attack proof--not the cardiologist--not the heart surgeon--they, themselves--providing they make these profound changes.

Check-out Dr. Esselstyn's website.

Listen to WCPN's broadcast.

 

The Happy (mostly) Healthy Family Vacation on Martha's Vineyard

“A vacation frequently means that the family goes away for a rest, accompanied by a mother who sees that the others get it."

 Marcelene Cox

Where have I been for 2 weeks?  On vacation! 

Eight days on Martha's Vineyard with 1 husband, 2 sons & 1 daughter-in-law in Bob & Carol's 3 bedroom, 2 bath cottage nestled in the woods of the charming village of Vineyard Haven.  5 bikes, 15 pairs of shoes lining the front entrance, 7 water bottles, 2 laptops, 1 Vita-Mix, 6 bottles of wine and a cooler filled with specialty beers.  Mostly sunny 73^o degree days with plenty of time to bike, explore, hike, shop, cook, read, eat, play games and hang out.  My idea of heaven. No, heaven would be staying on Martha's Vineyard for the entire summer. 

I'm so glad I packed that!

• Everything in my Don't Leave Home Without It!-The Must-Haves in My Travel Bag!  I used every last one of the items on my tried & true list. I listened to my IPOD Nano in the car & on morning walks; I shared my Dr. McDougall Breakfast Cups with my son & daughter-in-law when we ran out of milk; everyone used the flax seed--and it was great in Oldest Son's whole wheat banana pecan pancakes;  I noshed on Larabars during bike rides & for quick re-fueling; and my Polar F6 heart rate monitor made me so happy when I saw I had burned 1300 calories biking to Chappaquiddick.
• The Vita-Mix.  We've been juicing for 3 months now & what's another box to throw into the car?  It was a great way to pack in those fresh fruits & veggies in the form of "Green Smoothies" early in the day, before we started with the ice cream, guacamole & chips, and other assorted X-rated foods.  Oh--& it makes hands-down the best whole fruit frozen Margarita you've ever tasted.
• Board games.  You know how at the last minute you don't want to pack one more thing into the car? "Nah, we don't need that!", you say.  But the truth is, you've just had it with the packing.  Youngest Son insisted we pack some games & at the last minute he threw in Cranium: The Game For Your Whole Brain and Apples To Apples.  Perfect choices!  These are games for people who just want to laugh a lot and have fun--no one's going to feel stupid the way you can with Trivial Pursuit or Scrabble--or get mad or frustrated like you can with Monopoly.  Next time: I'm bringing more games.  Anyone have some good suggestions? 
  
• Food that I may not find on the island. I loaded up at Trader Joe's with bags of mixed dry-roasted nuts, Cranberry-Cashew Trail Mix, and healthy whole grain crackers.

Wished I hadn't eaten that!

• Big mistake--not packing lunch for the road trip. I always pack healthy delicious sandwiches for the road, but opted out this time.  I had to work the day before & just rationalized that we'd find something good on the road.  Yeah right?  On the New York Thruway?  What was I thinking?  By the time we couldn't wait another minute  to eat we had the misfortune of stopping at the only Thruway Rest Stop with a Burger  King.  Never again! My husband & I opted for the crispy chicken sandwich with fries.  We must have been delirious.  800 calories & 47 grams of fat!  I had them hold the mayo on mine.  And the worst part--or maybe this is the best part--it tasted awful. Believe me, I haven't eaten in a fast food joint in years.
• Ben & Bill's Ice Cream in Oak Bluffs.  Our friends told us this was the best--and it was.  But I sure wish we had ordered one medium cup & split it 5 ways.  We all ordered either the kiddie cup, which had 2 tremendous scoops of ice cream, or the small, which had 3 tremendous scoops of ice cream.  Too much of a good thing--and instead of wanting to come back, we stayed as far away from ice cream shops as we could after that.  2 days later I picked up a quart of Starbuck's Mocha Chip at the grocery store.  When I fall off the wagon I fall hard.
• Fish & chips at David Ryan's Restaurant in Edgartown, MVI.  No offense to David Ryan's, but I think I'm over fish & chips.  Won't try the fried stuff again.  What was I thinking?

I could have done without this!

• TV.  I'm not a huge fan & when you have a small cottage with one main room, that darn TV just dominates the sound barrier.  Sure, we didn't have to turn it on--but you know how some people are!
• Wireless access.  It sounded like a plus--but in truth we would have been better off without it.  Laptops are addictive (yeah I plead guilty), and it's more fun to bike ride into town to get the newspaper, than it is to read it online.

The rewards of staying healthy & exercising

• Long bike hikes on the island.  Twice we went out for all day bike hikes of 30 miles.  I may have been in the rear of our family of five but I was moving along--and "in the game", no huffing & puffing or begging to stop.  I owe it all to regular indoor spinning classes 3 times a week.  No sore bottom or aching legs for me.
• Riding into town on my bike.  I felt like I had been transported back to 1960 when I was 10 years old & riding my bike to the bakery to pick up a rye bread for my mom--or exploring new streets with my sister & neighborhood friends. We went on "bike hikes" back then--and that's exactly how I felt  as I was tooling around the towns of Martha's Vineyard---Vineyard Haven, Oak Bluffs, Edgartown & Chappaquiddick.

The joys of vacationing with all-grown-up-kids

• Mom gets to rest & vacation as much as the kids, maybe more!  Everybody is all grown-up & takes care of themselves, thank you.  I don't have to be in charge of cooking, shopping or cleaning anymore.  Oldest son made us all a fabulous pancake breakfast, grilled us bluefish & tuna. Youngest son rolled sushi.  Daughter-in-law made the guacamole, salads & assisted in cooking preps.  Youngest son served as sous-chef to grilled halibut & frittata dinners.  Husband did not live up to his great promises of, "I plan to cook a lot on this vacation."  Oh well, his skills lie in expert packing, driving,  kitchen clean-up and assorted repairs.  We all pitched in with straightening up & cleaning & everyone did their own laundry.
• With everyone living out-of-town it's wonderful to just hang out together for an entire week.
• Boys will be boys. See the picture of the "Stone Statue"?  That's how the  3 "boys" amused themselves for hours.  Who needs to swim when you can pile up stone statues on the beach & spend hours taking turns at throwing stones to knock them down?  They called the game "The White Widow".  I never did have to spend much on toys for my kids.  I include my husband in this group.
• I'm so glad I have a daughter-in-law!  When the "boys" took their bikes off down a treacherous dirt road on Chappaquiddick I had my smart D-l-L to accompany me on the smooth, picturesque, safe road back to the ferry.  When the "boys" went into Oak Bluffs to down a few beers at the Off-Shore Ale Company, D-I-L & I headed out to see Sex & The City.  Finally, someone with whom I can explore out-of-the-way shops & who speaks "girl talk".  Thanks D-I-L!
• Lots of laughs.
• Lots of fun.
• Lots of interesting talk.

Glad I saw this

• Surfwise.  Got a chance to see this at the Vineyard Haven Film Fest.  Funky, wacky, interesting documentary about out-spoken Dr. Dorian Paskowitz, the rebel surfing doctor who lived in a 24 foot trailer with his 9 kids, and fed them on health food, discipline & surfing.  It's interesting, to say the least!

Cash or Credit Card? Does It Make a Difference? It Does To Your Brain & Your Future

Think what you do when you run in debt; you give to another power over your liberty.

~Benjamin Franklin~

 I'm no economist--in fact, I never took an economics course.  But I remember how it used to be, back before 15 year olds had credit cards & shady mortgage lenders were authorizing $400,000 mortgages to people who earned $25,000 a year.

Yesterday, David Brooks offered up some sobering facts about how far we have come from Benjamin Franklin's ethic of "hard work, temperance and frugality".  His  NYT Op-Ed piece stems from a recent report on the sorry state of our "financial decadence":  For a  New Thrift: Confronting the Debt Culture.  Brooks calls this one of the most important economic reports you'll read this year.

What does any of this have to do with health and happiness?  Plenty.  We're all in this mess together.  As Barbara Dafoe Whitehead, the author of an essay that summarizes the New Thrift says, "A society in which ever more of us are over our heads in debt--a society in which a place like Bedford Falls* seems no longer to exist, except in our fading collective memory--is unlikely to remain a thriving society for very long.  *(Remember Jimmy Stewart's It's a Wonderful Life?)

Anyone Remember the Seventies?

• We had to have at least 20% down to buy a house--the monthly mortgage payment couldn't exceed 25% of our net income--the bank was local and there was a very strict qualifying process.  Most banks would consider only 1 person's income for qualification.  After all, what if you start a family? Our goal was to make extra payments whenever we could so we could pay off our house ASAP.
• I bought my groceries with cash & since this was before calculators, I used a red plastic counting gizmo to count everything up before I  got into the check-out line.  I would have been mortified if I didn't have enough money.
• It was extremely hard to qualify for a credit card, and even harder to get one if you never had one.
• If you really wanted to buy something & didn't have the cash, you would put it in "WILL CALL". You didn't get your merchandise until it was paid for. Or, you saved up until you had enough money to buy what you wanted.

Today

• Between 1989 and 2001 credit-card debt nearly tripled, from $238 billion to $692 billion.  By last year, it was up to $937 billion.
• You're either in the investor class with tax-deferred savings plans and financial advisors, or the "Lottery Class"--no 401 K's, just credit cards, payday lenders & lottery agents.
• 56% of students in their final year of college carry four or more credit cards.
• Households with incomes under $13,000 spend, on average, $645 a year on lottery tickets, 9% of their income.

Neuroeconomics-Credit Cards & the Brain

• Jonah Lehrer, a young savvy science writer who writes and blogs about neuroscience has some great insights into the perils of plastic.
• "When we buy something with cash, the purchase involves actual loss-our wallet is literally lighter. Credit cards, however, make the transactions abstract, so that we don't feel the downside."
• George Loewenstein, a neuroeconomist at Carnegie Mellon says, "The nature of credit cards ensure that your brain is anesthetized against the pain of payment."  He demonstrated this with brain imaging.
• An MIT study published in Marketing Letters, called "Alway Leave Home Without It: A Further Investigation of the Credit-Card Effect on Willingness to Pay", set up an interesting experiment.  The researchers organized a real life sealed-bid auction for tickets to a Boston Celtics game.  Half the participants were told they had to pay with cash; the other half were told they had to pay with a credit card. Guess what? The average credit card bid was twice as high as the average cash bid.  Using plastic promoted reckless spending, making it much easier to spend beyond one's means.

For anyone over 40 who remembers what it was like with local banks & bankers who cared about the community, manageable college tuition & student loans, family-owned businesses and no credit cards--it really is an out-of-control economic landscape.

My Weekend's Inspiration Came from J. K. Rowling, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel and the Kung Fu Panda

 

"Yesterday is history.  Tomorrow is a mystery.  Today is a gift.

That's why we call it the present."

-Master Oogway, the inventor of Kung Fu, speaking to Po in Kung Fu Panda, the movie-

I'm easy. I'll take my inspiration wherever I can, even from a Hallmark card commercial.  And this weekend was no exception.  Before I planted my geraniums and swept up the million maple seeds that had descended upon my yard, I synced my Ipod to this week's podcast of my all-time favorite source of inspiration: Krista Tippitt's radio show, Speaking of Faith.  That way I could garden & get inspired at the same time.

This week's discussion was about Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel.  If you want to get inspired and build brain cells at the same time, listen to Krista's show.  She interviews inspirational people from every walk of life; environmentalists, Evangelicals, Buddhists, humanists, Mormons, and Sufis.  Forget about catching a live broadcast. She's on at 7:00 am on Saturday & Sunday mornings.  Listen to her show on her website or download her weekly podcast. It's one more good reason to get yourself an Ipod.

When I took an afternoon water break, I checked up on NPR's most emailed stories & got a chance to read   J.K.Rowling's Harvard commencement speech.  Ignore the story of controversy surrounding her as the choice for Harvard's commencement speaker--the speech is "brilliant", as the Brits would say.  I passed it on to my 24 year old son, who wholeheartedly agreed.  He passed it on to his buddies, and recommended it to his brother.

And as for Kung Fu Panda--I learned all about the movie from Dawn, my Sunday morning yoga teacher.  She saw it on Saturday with her 6 year old daughter & shared the story of the magic of the Secret Dragon Scroll with the entire class.

The Spiritual Audacity of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel-Krista Tippitt

"Born into an esteemed Hasidic family in Poland in 1907, Heschel became a public intellectual and a provocative leader on race, war, and interreligious cooperation in 1960s America.  He marched alongside Martin Luther King Jr. and organized religious leadership against the war in Vietnam."  Krista Tippitt

• "The opposite of good is not evil.  It is indifference."  Rabbi Heschel
• "Some are guilty, but all are responsible."  Rabbi Heschel
• "I would say about individuals, an individual dies when he ceases to be surprised. I am surprised every morning that I see the sun shine again.  When I see an act of evil, I'm not accommodated.  I don't accommodate myself to the violence that goes on everywhere; I'm surprised.  That's why I'm against it, why I can hope against it.  We must learn how to be surprised.  Not to adjust ourselves.  I am the most maladjusted person in society."  Rabbi Heschel
• "When you're walking down the street and you see the suffering of a child and if you're a parent, you can't stand to see the suffering of that child any more than you could stand to see the suffering of your own children. And for Heschel, the God of the Bible is really the parent of humanity who can't stand to see the suffering of God's children. God needs God's other children to take care of the suffering."  Arnold Eisen speaking about Rabbi Heschel
• "The cure of the soul begins with a sense of embarrassment, embarrassment at our pettiness, prejudices, envy, and conceit; embarrassment at the profanation of life." Rabbi Heschel
• Heschel liked to say, "I pray with my feet," when doing the work of social justice. 

The Fringe Benefits of Failure, and the Importance of Imagination-J.K. Rowling

• (Regarding your choice of major or career) There is an expiry date on blaming your parents for steering you in the wrong direction; the moment your are old enough to take the wheel, responsibility lies with you.
• What I feared most at your age was not poverty, but failure...Now, I am not going to stand here and tell you that failure is fun....So why do I talk about the benefits of failure?  Simply because failure meant a stripping away of the inessential.  I stopped pretending to myself that I was anything other than what I was, and began to direct all my energy into finishing the only work that mattered to me.  Had I really succeeded at anything else, I might never have found the determination to succeed in the one arena I believed I truly belonged.  I was set free, because my greatest fear had already been realized, and I was still alive...And so rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.
• It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all - in which case you fail by default!
• The knowledge that you have emerged wiser and stronger from setbacks means that you are, ever after, secure in your ability to survive...Such knowledge is a true gift.
• Imagination is not only the uniquely human capacity to envision that which is not, and therefore the fount of all invention and innovovation....it is the power that enables us to empathize with humans whose experiences we have never shared. The power of human empathy, leading to collective action, saves lives, and frees prisoners.
  
• If you retain the ability to imagine yourself into the lives of those who do not have your advantages, then it will not only be your proud families who celebrate your existence, but thousands and millions of people whose reality you have helped transform for the better.
• We do not need magic to change the world, we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already; we have the power to imagine better.
• READ THE ENTIRE SPEECH. IT'S WORTH IT, I PROMISE!

The Secret Scroll of the Dragon Warrior--Revealed to Po, the Kung Fu Panda

The bungling chubby slacker panda bear Po wants nothing more than to be a Kung Fu warrior, not to be stuck working in his father's noodle shop.  Miraculously, he gets chosen by Master Oogway to become the Dragon Warrior who will defeat evil warrior Tai Lung.  When he is finally given the Sacred Dragon Warrior Scroll, which will give him special powers, he realizes it's nothing--absolutely nothing--just an empty reflective surface*.

With a little coaching from his father,  Po learns the "real secret" of the Dragon Scroll's power:

The secret is to "believe in yourself"

The power promised in the Dragon Scroll is already within you.

 Hard work + belief in yourself gives you the power & makes you a true Kung Fu warrior.

*Yes, the "empty" Dragon Warrior Scroll was a mirror.

Yes, Dear. Just Do It! Tonight Again? Yes, 365 Nights!

                                                  

   

"Honey, you know, I've been thinking.  Why don't we do it for the next 365 days in a row?

Two different couples, the  "Bible-studying meat-eating Republican" Mullers in North Carolina, and the  "multi-grain backpacking" liberal Browns in Boulder, Colorado---both had the same idea in 2006. Why not make love every night for a year?  Read Ralph Gardner's whole story in the June 8^th issue of the New York Times.

Two different couples.  Two different reasons.  For the Mullers is was Charla's extra special 40th birthday gift to her husband Brad.  According to Charla,

"This is something no one else would give him.  It didn't cost a lot of money.  It was highly memorable.  It met all the criteria for a really great gift."

Brad, her husband, wasn't so enthusiastic.  He was used to his wife's "big ideas and poor follow-through".  And since Charla hadn't been so generous with "her gifts" since the arrival of their two kids, he wasn't expecting this gift to materialize either.

As for the Browns, wife Annie is the one who had the "big idea".  They didn't have that much going on after they moved to Boulder.

"I thought we don't have anything else going on.  It might kick-start our marriage."

She even made poor Doug have sex the night he had vertigo.

"I'm not a quitter.  The night he had vertigo, I said, "I'm sorry guy, you've got to keep going."

So, what happened with the sex-every-day experiment?  Some good things.  Some bad.  But mostly good. And since the Browns & the Mullers have done the "leg work" we can just learn from them.  As Doug says,

"I'm glad we did it.   But as far as a practical message, nobody needs to do it 100 days.  You don't have to climb Mount Everest to understand alpine sublime."

• By day 101 Doug said he felt "sort of like you had some long-forgotten appointment to hear some tax attorney talk about estate planning.
• Both couples say that the everyday "physical intimacy created more emotional intimacy."
• "It required a daily kindness and forgiveness, and not being cranky or snarky," said Charla.
• "It was just intense closeness.  We were so aware of wherever the other person was mentally and emotionally and physically, " said Annie.
• But Charla's gift became her "stupid idea" after 10 months.  And the Browns hit the wall after 100 days.
• They definitely don't recommend the "experiment to everyone", but both couples agree the results have had a positive impact on their marriages.

I can't help thinking how this is a little like being forced to eat chocolate everyday (lots of chocolate), or always being on vacation, or having every day be sunny and 73^o.

                                                                         

The Healthy Librarian's Brain Back-Up Blog: Red Wine, Exercise, Cell Phones, Sex, Strawberries and more

 

  

 "I think attitude is the thing that keeps you  young.    And energy and activity--- and just keep moving"

     -Marilyn Maye, 80 year old jazz singer-

So much to learn, so much to do, so much to read.  Here goes guys, my quicky digest of the interesting stuff I've learned this week.  

• Red wine.  Remember a few years back in 2003 when we learned about the "longevity power" of resveratrol, the ingredient found in red wine?  Only problem was to get the same benefits that enabled mice to stay young, you would have to drink the equivalent of 100 bottles of red wine a day.  Now, Dr. Richard Weindruch & Dr. Tomas A. Prolla have  discovered that "a mere 4, -5 ounce glasses of red wine a day" may just do the trick in humans.  Still too much alcohol to drink, but Longevinex makes a capsule containing red wine extract & a Chinese plant called giant knotweed, that may substitute for the wine drinking.  Supposedly, the red wine works in the same way that calorie-restriction does to slow down aging, only in a more pleasant way.  To read all about red wine & aging check out  Nicholas Wade's column in the NYT.  To read about Weindruch & Prolla's new red wine research check out their article published in the June 4, 2008 issue of PLoS.  According to the NYT, some scientists are already taking resveratrol capsules.

• Exercise.  

1.   On June 1^st the first ever World Science Fair held a sold-out session on "90 is the New 50.  The Science of Longevity".  There's a lot on the horizon, but the presenters concluded, that "Until there is a pill to bring back youth, Diet, Exercise, and Purpose are the three sure ways" to stay healthy.
   
2.  Want to maximize your workouts, replenish-repair your muscles & improve your exercise performance?  If you workout for an hour or more, have a carb & protein snack within 30-45 minutes after your workout when your muscles are primed to absorb fuel!  John Ivy, the chairman of the department of kinesiology and health education at the University of Texas in Austin has done the research.  Carbo loading before a workout is history.  His favorite muscle replenishment is low-fat chocolate milk, but any smoothie or drink that combines protein with carbs will do the job.  After a strenuous workout he advises exercisers to replenish with 1 gram of carbohydrate for every kilogram of body weight.  (for 130 lbs. that would be about 59 grams of carbs)  Follow it up with a meal within 2 hours. I learned this trick 2 years ago from sports nutritionist Dr. Susan Kleiner and it works.  My soccer playing  adult son agrees. To read more, click here.
3.  Co-enzyme Q10 relieved post-workout fatigue & improved physical performance in a small study appearing in the journal Nutrition.  Tiredness was relieved and performance improved in those subjects taking 300 mg of CoQ10.  No such results for the folks taking 100 mg or the placebo.  CoQ10 is produced naturally in the body but the levels start to drop after age 20.  The coenzyme is concentrated in the mitochondria - the 'power plants' of the cell and it plays a vital role in the production of the body's energy. Statins further decrease the level of CoQ10 in the body, which often results in muscle aches.

• Cell phones & cancer.  The debate about cell phones and cancer has returned. Last week three prominent neurosurgeons told Larry King they don't hold cell phones next to their ears.  They use an ear piece or speaker mode to keep the microwave antenna away from the brain. Dr. Eugene Flamm, head of neurosurgery at Montefiore Medical Center, felt the "theory that cell phones cause brain tumors  defies credulity". The FDA says 3 large studies have proved there is no harm from cell phones and the American Cancer Society agrees.  These studies, however,  only tracked 3 years of usage.  Last February an Israeli  study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology reported a 50% higher risk of parotid gland tumors among heavy cell phone users (22 hours a month).  Some feel this study is significant, sort of like the canary in the coal mine. Israel is one of the first countries to adopt extensive cell phone use,  and they have been using them far longer than the U.S has. At greatest risk are children--their brains are growing rapidly & their skulls are thinner.  You can read more in the NYT article. 

• Sex After 50.  Just listened to a very interesting podcast on Sex after 50 from Joe & Terry Graedon of The People's Pharmacy.  From Dr. Ruth I learned that all men of a "certain age" (& she won't get specific) stop having psychogenic erections--erections from just thinking about making love.  The cure is simple--physical stimulation.  All women after a "certain age" lose lubrication, if they aren't taking hormone replacement.  The cure is simple--over-the-counter lubricants like Astroglide or K-Y jelly, moisturizers like Replens, or my personal favorite, the Estring.  The Estring, which needs a prescription, is a small plastic ring that's inserted for 3 months.  You don't feel a thing, but it delivers a very low & local dose of estrogen, equivalent to 2 days of estrogen therapy over 90 days.  Even Dr. Susan Love, the breast cancer specialist has recommended it.  The podcast included great info from Dr. Irwin Goldstein, editor-in-chief of The Journal of Sexual Medicine, and his wife, Sue Goldstein, a sexual medicine educator, who co-authored the book When Sex Isn't Good: Stories and Solutions of Women with Sexual Dysfunction with Lillian Arleque, Ed.D.    Sue shares her own story about a good sex life gone to sleep at age 50.  She thought her husband had a problem & didn't know how she could tell her husband "the sex specialist" about it.  Surprise---after her husband brought home a questionnaire on "female sexual dysfunction",  she was prompted to take a blood test which showed her to be low in androgen. Problem solved.  She wrote the book because she figured if someone like her couldn't recognize her own problem, certainly other women might also need some help.

• Strawberries.  From the June 2008 issue of Vegetarian Times I learned I had it all wrong when it comes to buying strawberries.  I thought the big ones were best. Wrong.  For best flavor, smaller & redder is better.  These are usually the homegrown ones. The jumbo ones taste bland because they have large air pockets.  Look for dry berries with leaves that aren't wilted, and without white or green tips.  Buy organic!  Strawberries are on the Environmental Working Group's "Dirty Dozen List".   Store them unwashed in a colander in the fridge.  You can freeze berries by placing them dry & hulled in a  single layer on a baking sheet & freezing until solid. Throw them in plastic freezer bags & store for the winter.

• Is Your Computer Keyboard Dangerous to Your Health? Last December the nasty norovirus that causes vomiting and diarrhea swept through the medical library where I work.  Could it have been passed through the keyboards our staff shares at the reference desk?  Can't be sure, but we wipe them down now with antibacterial wipes when we change desk shifts.  And there's an antibacterial hand foam to use as well.  In January 2008, the CDC reported that an outbreak of the norovirus in a Washington DC school was spread from contaminated keyboards and computer mice. But it gets even worse.  In May, the UK magazine, Which? Computing, commissioned microbiologist James Francis to check out the cleanliness of the computers in their office.  Francis swabbed 33 computer keyboards, as well as the door handles and toilet seats in the office bathroom  The results were not pretty. He found E coli, Staph Aureus, and coliform bacteria, as well as fecal matter on keyboards.  One keyboard had 150 times the acceptable level of bacteria, 5 times the amount found on a toilet seat.  The magazine also warned that headphones harbor bacteria and could transfer head lice.  Yikes, we lend headphones in the library!  To read the details of the report in the UK's Guardian you can click here.  The take home message:  If you have to share a keyboard, "decontaminate it" with an antibacterial wipe before you use it, and wash your hands before you eat anything.  It's just like a trip to the bathroom!

How Much Water Do I Need to Drink? What the Experts Say.

"Studies have produced varying recommendations over the years, but in truth, your water needs depend on many factors, including your health, how active you are and where you live."

  -Mayo Clinic Staff, April 19, 2008-



The whole controversy surrounding whether or not we really need to drink 8 X 8 ounce glasses of water a day started up all over again in April, when Drs. Negoianu and Goldfarb published their recent editorial, "Just Add Water" in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. They really hoped to debunk what they consider "the urban legend" of drinking 8 glasses of water a day.

 Back in 2002 Dr. Valtin of Dartmouth was the first one to try to figure out where this whole notion of drinking 8 glasses a day got started, and whether there was any truth to it. 

Now all of a sudden the press is saying "Forget about forcing down those 8 glasses of 8!"  I decided to read the studies myself and separate the truth from the fiction.  I also know how I feel when I drink my usual 64 ounces (8 glasses) of water (& other fluids) a day, and when I don't.  For me, it's all about "evidence-based living"!  Last weekend in Chicago, I didn't lug around my "stainless steel" water bottle, or down nearly enough liquid to fill my usual quota.  And yes, my body noticed it.  Won't do that again!  Needless to say, my trips to the bathroom were not what they should have been.  And as Dr. Goldfarb would say, "There was definitely less turgor in my skin."  (I looked wrinkled.)  As far as I'm concerned, water works!  I look better, my digestion is better, I feel better & even think better. You can decide for yourself, but here's what I learned about water.

What Drs. Goldfarb & Negoianu have to say:

• If you're healthy, live in a temperate climate and aren't exercising, just drink when you're thirsty.
• The notion of drinking extra water to remove toxins from your body is misguided.  In fact, if you drink too much water, you will decrease your kidney's filtration function.
• Increased water will improve the clearance of sodium, and since sodium-retention adversely affects blood pressure, this may be a benefit of drinking extra water.
• If water is supposed to improve the function of our body's organs, it must be retained in the body. Drs. G & N argue that water retention is just too variable, based on how quickly you are drinking.  A glass downed in 15 minutes will be excreted.  A glass downed over 2 1/2 hours will be retained. Women retain more water than men. Water mixed with easily-absorbed sugar is quickly excreted. My conclusion:  drink your water slowly and avoid sugary drinks!
• Drinking water before a meal will fill you up more than drinking after a meal. Eating foods containing water, e.g. soup, will fill you up & decrease your caloric intake more than just drinking a glass of water with a meal.  (see Barbarba Rolls, Volumetrics) And drinking water also increases the body's "calorie burn", aka "thermogenesis". 
• More research is needed to prove that drinking water will help us lose weight, and Drs. G & N think there's definite value in doing more research in this area.
• Decreased fluid intake has been associated with coronary disease, bladder cancer, urinary tract infections, colon cancer and kidney stones.  One trial even showed the possibility that increased water consumption might prevent migraine headaches. Drs. G & N recommend further study, but suggest that "Given that water cannot be patented, such trials seem unlikely."
• 2 cups of water increases the capillary blood flow to the skin, but  Drs. G & N aren't quite sure that this proves that water improves our skin tone.
• Drs. G & N's conclusion:  "Although we wish we could demolish all of the urban myths...regarding the benefits of supplemental water ingestion, we concede there is also no clear evidence of lack of benefit."  

What the Mayo Clinic and the Cleveland Clinic advise:

• According to Cleveland Clinic nutritionist Andrea Dunn, "Almost every cell in your body needs water to function properly.  Many of the patients I see don't drink enough water.  They aren't dehydrated, but they aren't drinking as much water as they should--especially considering how much your body needs."
• How much water do we "use up" every day?  Urine output=6 cups;  Sweat-bowel movements-breathing=almost 4 cups
• The body is between 55-75% water. More muscle=more water content.
• What if I don't drink enough water?  If you lose 10% of your weight in fluids you're dehydrated; but losing as little as 2% will cause tiredness, dull your critical thinking skills, and adversely affect your athletic performance.  
  
• What's the benefit of drinking adequate water?  Drinking enough water will lessen your chances of getting kidney stones, urinary tract infections, keep your joints lubricated, prevent or lessen the severity of colds & flu and prevent constipation.  For your body to be in tip top working order your must replenish the water you lose daily.

• How much do I need to drink a day?  

1. Andrea Dunn of the Cleveland Clinic advises her patients to drink 8-10 cups of water a day, and says, "Those who do report that they generally feel better."
2. According to the Mayo Clinic there are 3 ways you can approach this:  a.) Replacement approach: food accounts for 20% of your fluid intake, so add an additional 8 cups of water or other beverages to replenish what you've lost.  b.) Follow the 8 X 8 rule (not supported by scientific evidence, they add) & drink 64 ounces of fluids a day.  According to Dr. Valtin's article published in the American Journal of Physiology, you can count coffee, tea & soft drinks into the total as long as they're not a major portion of your fluid intake  c.)  The Institute of Medicine advises men to consume about 13 cups of total beverages a day and women to consume about 9 cups of total beverages a day.

• Under what conditions do I need to increase the recommended amounts of water?

1. Exercise:  If you sweat you need extra water to compensate for the fluid loss.  Short bouts of exercise require 1.5-2.5  extra cups.  More intense workouts, lasting more than an hour require more.  Drink sports drinks with sodium during long bouts of intense exercise.
2. Environment:  Hot or humid weather, heated indoor air, high altitudes, airplane flights all require more fluids.
3. Illnesses or health conditions: Fever, vomiting, diarrhea, (may require oral rehydration solutions), bladder infections or kidney stones.
4. Pregnancy & breast-feeding:  The Institute of Medicine recommends pregnant women to drink 10 cups of fluids daily, and breast-feeding moms to drink 13 cups.

• Tips to improve hydration

1. Drink tap water over bottled water.  The EPA regulates tap water & requires it to be analyzed for chemicals & bacteria. The FDA regulates bottled water & doesn't require analysis for these substances. 
2. Cleveland Clinic: The best way to stay hydrated is to sip 1/2 cup of water each hour you're awake, .  Remember Drs. G & N's finding that water is retained if it's drunk slowly?
3. Mayo Clinic: Drink a glass of water with each meal & between each meal.
4. Don't drink sugary water/soft drinks.  The sugar causes the water to be excreted.
5. Juicy fruits & veggies help to keep you hydrated.
6. Hydrate before, during & after exercise.
7. Don't use thirst alone as a guide for when to drink.  You may already be slightly dehydrated by the time you feel thirsty.
8. The older you are the less able your body is to sense dehydration, and for your brain to send the "drink now signal". 
9. Although it's very uncommon, & mostly seen in endurance athletes, too much water can cause hyponatremia. The kidneys are overloaded & can't excrete the excess water, which dilutes the mineral content of the blood, resulting in low sodium levels. Again, this is extremely rare.

• How can I tell if I'm drinking enough?   Use the color test.  If your urine is clear or pale yellow you're getting enough.  If it's intense yellow (excluding B vitamin coloring) or gold, you need more water.

As far as I'm concerned, Drs. Negoianu and Goldfarb didn't  convince me to stop drinking 8 X 8 glasses of water.  The evidence in the literature may not be there, but as they say, there's no patent on water, and no incentive to prove how beneficial it is.  Water makes me feel better, there are no adverse effects, so I'm following the advice of the Cleveland Clinic, the Mayo Clinic and my body.  How much do you drink a day & do you feel differently when you drink more?