Should You Use Tanning Beds?

Do you yearn for a golden suntan? Are you devoted to indoor tanning salons sand tanning beds? The American Suntanning Association that represents 14,000 tanning saloon owners has hired a public relations agency and a lobbying firm to lure you on to their tanning beds. Their mission is to expand the sales of the multi billion dollar tanning bed industry. They do it with false claims that the tanning beds are not only safe but also that they will boost your mood, relieve joint pain, reduce cellulite and even make your skin look younger.

The truth is tanning beds and sunlamps are dangerous. The International Agency for Research on Cancer listed UV-emitting tanning devices as "carcinogenic to humans" This is the highest cancer risk category on par with cigarettes and asbestos. In fact those who start using sunlamps and tanning bags before age 30 increase their risk for melanoma by 75%

We strongly urge you to avoid indoor tanning and to use a safe and effective sunless tanning product if you must have that "golden tan"

Get more information in our book Live Longer Live Healthier

or visit our website at trienergetics.net

There Are Good Fats And Bad Fats

It doesn't take a leap of imagination to assume that if you eat fat it will make you fat. After all fat has more than twice the number of calories per gram than carbohydrates or protein. As the old saying goes "you are what you eat." Furthermore it is an easy step to assume that the fats that float through your blood stream and clog your blood vessels come from the fats that you eat.

However when the numbers are crunched by statisticians it is not possible to verify a connection between eating saturated fat and cardiovascular disease. It is true that saturated fat raises the level of LDL cholesterol levels that are associated with higher rates of heart disease, but they also raise the level of HDL, the good cholesterol. HDL flows through your body and removes LDL from the walls of your blood vessels. Since saturated fat raises the levels of both LDL and HDL it's influence is probably a dietary wash.

In addition it seems as though there are two different LDL particles. Some are small and dense while others are larger and fluffy. The large ones are mostly harmless. Ingesting saturated fat raises the levels of these larger particles. What most people do not realize is that eating Carbs will raise the level of the small sticky particles that are linked to heart disease.

This new information does mean that you should go out and eat more double cheeseburgers or other foods high in saturated fat. It does mean that you should explore the options of eating foods that are high in other fats that are heart healthy. That topic is the subject of our next blog.

Get more information in our book Live Longer Live Healthier

or visit our website at trienergetics.net

The Fat Story Continued

The anti fat message not only went mainstream, but became so embedded in modern medicine and nutrition that it was almost impossible for scientists with contrary opinions to publish research. This began to change when Dr. Walter Willett published the results  of a very important study. His team followed the diets and heart health of more than 40,000 middle aged men. They found that if subjects replaced foods high in saturated fats with carbohydrates, there was no reduction in heart disease.

Partly because of this study a gradual change began in the way that people thought about fat. An awareness of the importance of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats in a healthy diet developed, and the Mediterranean diet became accepted even though it was high in total fat.

The story continues as we explore the truth about saturated fat in the next blog.

Get more information in our book Live Longer Live Healthier

or visit our website at trienergetics.net

Are All Dietary Fats Bad For You?

Don't eat fats!

in the 1950s this was the message that resounded in our homes and offices. Ancel Keys, a physiologist, informed the world that dietary fat was responsible for clogging arteries. His landmark study found that people who ate a diet low in saturated fat had a lower incidence of heart disease than those in western countries who ate a fat heavy diet.

Keyes stated that Americans must reduce the fat calories in their diets by a third if they wanted to avoid heart disease. Reducing fat calories also seemed to make sense for weight control since fat contains more calories per gram than protein or carbohydrates. It seemed to make sense that if you reduced the fat calories in yours diet you would not only lose weight but would also minimize the possibility of developing heart disease.

Even though his research and conclusions were flawed, his message went mainstream and became imbedded in modern medicine and nutrition. Almost all of us drank less whole milk. eat less beef. fewer eggs and replaced butter with margarine.

How has this changed?  That will be discussed in future blogs.

Get more information in our book Live Longer Live Healthier

or visit our website at trienergetics.net

Why Use Coconut Palm Sugar?

If you are a follower of Dr. Oz (our least favorite and often least reliable source of medical information) you may have raced to the nearest store to buy one of the most expensive sugars available.

It has been stated by some that coconut palm sugar is the best new sugar. It is claimed that it is highly nutritious and better for you than white sugar because coconut sugar will help in weight loss and that it may protect against cancer, heart disease and obesity. These are empty claims and we have found no valid scientific evidence to support them.

 It is our opinion that sugar is not a health food. This is true regardless of the source. All sugars provide empty calories and should be consumed in limited amounts. Of course it is your choice if you want to try coconut sugar because you like the taste and don't mind paying the price.

Get more information in our book Live Longer Live Healthier

or visit our website at trienergetics.net

Does Smoking Make Back Pain Worse?

Do you smoke? Do you have acute or chronic back pain? Consider this. We are talking about a complication of smoking that you may heave never heard of. Smoking can cause back pain and it can aggravate chronic back pain.

A study in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery included over 5,000 people who were treated for spinal disorders. Smokers who stopped before or after the treatment period reported greater improvement than those who continued to smoke.  In fact those who continued to smoke had no significant reduction in pain while those who never smoked improved the most.

The reason for the quicker recovery and the reduction of pain in the non smokers is thought to be that smoking increases inflammation and decreases blood flow and nutrient distribution to the spinal discs.  Previous research has  linked smoking to chronic pain disorders and especially back pain.

Do you still smoke? Do you need another reason to stop smoking? Hopefully not but if you do think of your aching back.

Get more information in our book Live Longer Live Healthier

or visit our website at trienergetics.net

Grapefruit Can Be A Problem

Did you know that eating one whole grapefruit or drinking about 6 ounces of juice can alter the efficacy of many prescribed medications. This includes such favorites as cholesterol-lowering statins, anti-histamines,antidepressants, calcium channel blockers and some HIV drugs. This interaction was first reported 20 years ago and currently about 85 drugs are potentially affected.

The problem with grapefruit, as well as Seville oranges, pomelos and limes, is that some substances found in the juice inhibit an enzyme found in the intestines and liver that aids in metabolizing the drugs. The result of this inhibition is that you end up with a higher level of the active ingredient in your bloodstream. This can lead to adverse effects such as acute kidney failure, heart problems, kidney failure, trouble breathing and gastrointestinal bleeding.

This interaction occurs quickly and can last 24 hours or longer. The effects vary from person to person, but older people are at higher risk. The danger is also greater for drugs that have little forgiveness if the dose is off by even the slightest amount.

The bottom line if you take a prescription medication is to check with your health care professional. before consuming grapefruit or other juices mentioned above.  If there is an interaction and if you want to stay out of trouble stop drinking grapefruit juice.  Try orange or tangerine juice instead.

Get more information in our book Live Longer Live Healthier

or visit our website at trienergetics.net

Is Epilepsy An Indication For The Medical Use Of Pot?

An increasing number of epileptic patients are using marijuana to reduce their seizures. This group includes some children who have intractable epilepsy that does not respond to standard medications. These patients have been receiving medical marijuana because currently there is no pharmaceutical preparation of cannabis isolated as a drug. but this is changing because a chemical in marijuana that may be responsible for reducing seizures has been found.

This chemical is cannabidiol a derivative of marijuana that shows promise for the treatment o epilepsy in adults and in children. It may also be responsible for some of the other health benefits attributed to medical marijuana. Cannabidiol is manufactured by GW Pharmaceuticals under the name of Epidiolex. Interesting it is formulated without tetrahydrocannabinol, the compound in marijuana that gets people high.

So now we have the possibility of a derivative of marijuana that does not get the user high and still has the potential for treating medical problems. No one knows why or how this compound works but nevertheless it seems to work. A proper clinical test has been approved to determine whether it will diminish seizures in 150 children who have not been helped by standard seizure medication. If Epidiolex proves itself, a door will be opened to explore the potential of using marijuana derivatives for the treatment of other medical problems.

Get more information in our book Live Longer Live Healthier

or visit our website at trienergetics.net

Do You Want To Try Chinese Herbs?

Chinese Herbs At A Famous Hospital

Whatever your opinion about the use of Chinese herbs to treat medical problems, and we must admit that we have little experience with these substances, this story grabbed our attention. A Chinese herbal center opened recently at the Cleveland Clinic. The clinic, which is part of the hospital's Center of Integrative Medicine, has one herbalist who sees patients on Thursdays. Patients must be referred by a doctor who will monitor them to ensure that there are no complications.The clinic is intended to fill a void for patients who are struggling with chronic care problems.

We applaud the Cleveland Clinic for being one of the first important medical facilities to work with these herbs. The problem for many of us who might try herbs on selected patients is that there is little scientific research outside of Asia on the use of these substances in medicine. This lack of information poses a problem for many physicians who might otherwise be interested in prescribing herbs for certain conditions. In an attempt to fill this void the National Institute of Health is currently funding research looking at the fundamental biological mechanisms of some herbal products.

At the Cleveland Clinic's herbal center new patients are given a one hour consultation that includes a battery of questions, a physical examination of the tongue and a traditional Chinese method for pulse taking. They are also asked to sign a waiver acknowledging that "herbal supplements are not a substitute for a medical diagnosis."

On one day at the clinic patients were seen who had problems ranging from chronic pain to anxiety, digestive issues and multiple sclerosis. Infertility, menstrual disorders and PMS are commonly treated with herbs. The jury is still out on the value of the Chinese herbs, but at the Cleveland Clinic the results are being critically evaluated. We should see some significant conclusions within a year or two, and we will all benefit from this information.

Get more information in our book Live Longer Live Healthier

or visit our website at trienergetics.net

Chinese Herbs At A Famous Hospital

Whatever your opinion about the use of Chinese herbs to treat medical problems, and we must admit that we have little experience with these substances, this story grabbed our attention. A Chinese herbal center opened recently at the Cleveland Clinic. The clinic, which is part of the hospital's Center of Integrative Medicine, has one herbalist who sees patients on Thursdays. Patients must be referred by a doctor who will monitor them to ensure that there are no complications.The clinic is intended to fill a void for patients who are struggling with chronic care problems.

We applaud the Cleveland Clinic for being one of the first important medical facilities to work with these herbs. The problem for many of us who might try herbs on selected patients is that there is little scientific research outside of Asia on the use of these substances in medicine. This lack of information poses a problem for many physicians who might otherwise be interested in prescribing herbs for certain conditions. In an attempt to fill this void the National Institute of Health is currently funding research looking at the fundamental biological mechanisms of some herbal products.

At the Cleveland Clinic's herbal center new patients are given a one hour consultation that includes a battery of questions, a physical examination of the tongue and a traditional Chinese method for pulse taking. They are also asked to sign a waiver acknowledging that "herbal supplements are not a substitute for a medical diagnosis."

On one day at the clinic patients were seen who had problems ranging from chronic pain to anxiety, digestive issues and multiple sclerosis. Infertility, menstrual disorders and PMS are commonly treated with herbs. The jury is still out on the value of the Chinese herbs, but at the Cleveland Clinic the results are being critically evaluated. We should see some significant conclusions within a year or two, and we will all benefit from this information.

Get more information in our book Live Longer Live Healthier

or visit our website at trienergetics.net

Is Your Heart Rate Too Fast?

Do you ever wonder if your heart rate is normal?  This topic probably has been discussed with you by your physician, but if it has not here are a few tips. The normal resting heart rate should be in the range of 60 to 80 beats a minute. Some authorities extend this 50 to 100 beats per minute. This number varies from person to person and over the course of the day for the same person.

In general a slower heart rate is healthier than a faster heart rate. If your heart rate is faster than necessary for good health excessive stress is put on your entire circulatory system. In fact recent research has documented an increased risk of heart disease and premature death in people who have faster resting heart rates.

A Danish study published recently in the journal Heart reported that for every 10 beats per minute increase over 50 in resting heart rate  there was a 16% increase in death. The authors concluded that in healthy subjects an elevated resting heart rate is not merely a marker of poor general fitness but an independent risk factor. Other researchers have suggested that the resting heart rate may be a better predictor of premature death than cholesterol and blood pressure.

The take away message is that if your resting heart rate is at the high end of normal you should consult with your physician. If you are physically fit there may be nothing that you can do about it. If you are in poor physical condition a good exercise program may help slow your heart down. An excellent wellness program is found in our book TriEnergetics.

Get more information in our book Live Longer Live Healthier

or visit our website at trienergetics.net

Why Grapefruit Can Kill You

Did you know that eating one whole grapefruit or drinking about 6 ounces of juice can alter the efficacy of many prescribed medications. This includes such favorites as cholesterol-lowering statins, anti-histamines,antidepressants, calcium channel blockers and some HIV drugs. This interaction was first reported 20 years ago and currently about 85 drugs are potentially affected.

The problem with grapefruit, as well as Seville oranges, pomelos and limes, is that some substances found in the juice inhibit an enzyme found in the intestines and liver that aids in metabolizing the drugs. The result of this inhibition is that you end up with a higher level of the active ingredient in your bloodstream. This can lead to adverse effects such as acute kidney failure, heart problems, kidney failure, trouble breathing and gastrointestinal bleeding.

This interaction occurs quickly and can last 24 hours or longer. The effects vary from person to person, but older people are at higher risk. The danger is also greater for drugs that have little forgiveness if the dose is off by even the slightest amount.

The bottom line, if you take a prescription medication, is to check with your health care professional. before consuming grapefruit or other juices mentioned above. If there is an interaction and if you want to stay out of trouble stop drinking grapefruit juice.  Try orange or tangerine juice instead.

Get more information in our book Live Longer Live Healthier

or visit our website at trienergetics.net

Statins The Good News And The Bad News

Do you take a stain drug to lower your cholesterol? If you do, the good news is that the incidence of deaths from coronary artery disease has decreased dramatically. Cholesterol-lowering statin drugs have played a major role. The bad news is that side effects from the statins are not uncommon and some of the side effects can be serious.

A recent study on statins from Harvard published in a major journal, The Annals of Internal Medicine, showed that nearly 20% of the 108,000 people studied reported adverse effects, most often muscle pain Less common complaints included fatigue and memory problems. During the eight year period of the study about 50% discontinued the drugs, at least temporarily. Often the reason for discontinuing was not known.

Our advice to you is that if you are taking a statin and have muscle weakness, pain or tenderness call your doctor and report this immediately. If the statin is the cause, the symptoms should go away within days or weeks. after the drug is stopped. If you continue with the statin in spite of the symptoms the damage could progress and lead to serious complications. There are other potential problems related to the use of statins. They will be discussed in the next blog.

Get more information in our book Live Longer Live Healthier

or visit our website at trienergetics.net

Can Generic Drugs Be Dangerous?

In the last blog we discussed the possible problems that could develop from taking a generic medication. How often do serious problems or side effects occur because of the use of a generic instead of the brand name? Not often but sometimes even once is once to often.

A case to point is the action that the FDA took when it withdrew its approval for a generic version made by Teva Pharmaceuticals of the popular antidepressant Wellbutrin. The reason for withdrawing the approval for this generic version was that as it turned out this version was not bioequivalent to the brand name.

The FDA was forced to do testing on this particular generic version after it received numerous complaints from patients that Teva's version had made them feel woozy, sick to their stomach or even suicidal. It turned out that the generic's active ingredient dissolved four times more quickly in the first two hours that of the brand name because of a different time-release mechanism. In addition on average Teva's product achieved a concentration in the blood ranging from 40% to 75% of the brand name Wellbutrin.

At a meeting of the FDA's advisory committee for clinical pharmacology in 2011 a prominent physician presented evidence of three different generic formulations of levothyroxine. All three were more potent from the branded version and varied from one another. One was 12.5% above, another 9% above and the third 3% above.

Another problem with generics is that an estimated 80% of active ingredients and 40% of finished medications come from overseas. In some cases they are manufactured in facilities that have not yet been inspected by the FDA. Quality can be compromised. For example recently the maker of a generic Lipitor, Ranbaxy Pharmaceuticals, recalled 480,000 bottles after tin shards of glass were found inside the pills.

In 2012 Congress  passed the Generic Drug User Fee Ammendments bill. In it the generic drug industry agreed to pay the FDA  $200 million dollars a year over five years to speed up the review and approval of generic drug applications and increase inspections of generic manufacturing plants abroad. This is certainly a step in the right direction.

Nevertheless almost all of us are or will be taking some generic medications. It is important to pay attention to how we respond to the medication and to be aware of any unusual physical symptoms that we may develop while on the medication. Our health may depend on it.

Get more information in our book Live Longer Live Healthier

or visit our website at trienergetics.net

Are Generic Drugs The Same As The Brand Name

With the movement to curtail soaring healthcare costs, generic drugs have become increasingly popular. Many times we have no choice because many insurance plans will only pay for the generic. Other times we choose the generic because the price to us is better. In fact more than 80% of the drugs that we we take in the US are now generic, and this has saved Americans $193 billion dollars this past year.
                                                               
But are generic drug the same as the original? The answer in many cases is no. For example the FDA requires that the generic have the same bioequivalence as the brand name. but the standard is very broad and the concentration of the active ingredient in the blood is allowed to fall as much as 20% below or 25% above that of the brand name. If you look at the math you will see that the biological activity of the generic is allowed to vary by 45% from the brand name. This is further complicated by the fact that pharmacies shop generics by price. The pills that you get one month may not have the same biological activity as the pills that you got another month.

This could possibly mean that if the pills you took one month only met the minimum requirement and the refill that you took another month met the maximum limit you would have increased the amount of medication that you get in our body by as much as 45%. Worse than that you would have no way of knowing from the labels that you were not getting the same amount of medication.

In many cases these differences are not important, but they are critical for medications used to treat conditions in which blood levels must be kept in a narrow range. These medications include, thyroid, anti-seizure,  blood thinners, antidepressants, antipsychotics, asthma and immunosuppressants.

There is another important difference between the generic and the brand name. Although the generic must contain the same active ingredient as the original, the additional ingredients, known as excipients, can be different. These ingredients can effect the amount of the drug that is absorbed into the blood stream and can also be responsible for systemic side effects that do not occur with the brand name.

Get more information in our book Live Longer Live Healthier

or visit our website at trienergetics.net

How To Become Healthier By Sitting Quietly And Doing Nothing

"The reason that worry kills more people than work is that more people worry than work."

          –Robert Frost

The cornerstone of the TriEnergetics stress management program is a very simple, easy practice that you have already heard of, meditation. Everyone has the need for a time of inner peace. Meditate daily and you will see amazing results. The beneficial effects of simply relaxing are so great that you will soon look forward to the next time when you can sit quietly and tap your inner serenity. There is nothing to learn, nothing for you to memorize. Just take a few minutes out of your busy schedule, sit quietly, concentrate on your breathing and listen.

Choose a quiet place where you will not be disturbed.  Sit comfortably, keep your back straight with your head set squarely on your shoulders and begin to take slow deep breaths. Breath in through your nose and allow your abdomen to bulge as you breath. Focus on the fresh air entering your body as warm vital energy. Direct it to all parts of your body. Allow it to fill you and to relax you.

Exhale through your nose and think of the air leaving your lungs as taking your tension with it. Think energy in, tension out. Notice how your body relaxes as you let go. As tension leaves your body see if you can relax even more. Every breath is an opportunity to let go.

Don't worry about thoughts when you meditate. Don't try to force them from your mind. Thoughts will come because your mind will not stop thinking for more than a few seconds at a time. It is the nature of the mind to think. What you need to do is learn to let your thoughts go. When a thought comes, just watch it. Observe the thought, but don't engage with it. Be aware that you are thinking but don't develop any opinion or judgement about the thought. Just let it float to the surface of your consciousness. Then observe the next thought as it floats into your awareness. Then the next and the next. Just let them go.

When you are meditating don't worry about how you are doing. Remember your mind will wander. This is not a problem. Just practice bringing your attention back to your breath. Try to set aside ten minutes a day for meditating. It would be better if you are able to extend this to a longer period of time, but if you spend ten minutes you will notice progress.

There is no goal that you need to set for yourself and there is no deadline to get there. Meditation is not a timed race to the finish line. It is a process of awareness, of being with yourself and of coping with the stress of living. Enjoy the process.

Get more information in our book Live Longer Live Healthier

or visit our website at trienergetics.net

Mindfulness What Is It?

We stress in our book that mind energy is one of the three key energies of our life. We are what we think. What we think is our reality. There is a discipline in medicine called psychoneuroimmunology. This is a long ungainly word, but the work done by researchers in this field is critical because they study the connections between the mind, central nervous system, immune responses and the body. They study the ways in which what we think and feel affects our health.

In this high tech society that we live in life moves quickly. Most of us are more connected to our smart phones, to our ipads, to our computers, to our social media sites and to our automobiles than we are to ourselves. We are so busy doing and going that we lose touch with who we are. The quote "life is what happens to us when we are busy doing other things" has never been more true. Stress builds up as we ignore who we are while we run on a treadmill trying to keep up with other things. Stress leads to mental and physical illness.

Mindfulness is necessary to bring ourselves back to center. Mindfulness means being present. It means being aware and paying attention to ourselves and to our body. Mindfulness is the antidote to the frantic  high tech life that most of us live because it fosters serenity. Everyone has the need for a time of inner peace. In our program we recommend a simple practice of meditation. Meditation is a way to become healthier by sitting quietly and doing nothing.

In a future blog we will discuss a simple technique for meditation.

Get more information in our book Live Longer Live Healthier

or visit our website at trienergetics.net

More About Being A Couch Potato

We did not intend to write another blog about being a couch potato, but the popular media is jumping on this subject in a big way, and we could not resist jumping in. Our Sunday paper had an article on the subject that Americans engage in precious little exercise. There is a quote attributed to Edward Archer a nutrition and obesity researcher at the University of Alabama. It is noteworthy.

"How you spend your day determines whether you store your food as fat or store your food in your muscle, healthfully."

We love this quote. It is the triple distilled essence of the obesity epidemic. The other prongs of course are what and how much we eat and why we eat the way that we do.

The essence of this study published in The Mayo Clinic Proceedings was that obese women averaged about 11 seconds a day of vigorous exercise, while men and women of normal weight did better but still logged only about 2.5 to 4 hours of moderate exercise a week.

In summary the data sketch a nearly supine population with days marked by long hours of sedentary behavior, particularly for those who are overweight or obese. "We have engineered physical activity out of our daily lives and that's causing the health disparity that we have in this country"

Our experience in running wellness programs has been that participants take to meditation like a duck takes to water. In general they are good about changing their eating habits, but so often we hear excuses about why they have been too busy to exercise.

It is an uphill battle to get people to change their attitude about being a couch potato, but for the good of their health change it they must.

Get more information in our book Live Longer Live Healthier

or visit our website at trienergetics.net

Are You A Couch Potato?

This blog is based upon a very important study that was just reported by the press. We are excited about this information because it reinforces the principles that we teach in our wellness programs.

Most people assume that they can be as inactive as they want as long as they follow the recommendation of the government and do 150 minutes of moderate activity a week. This is not so.

Researchers have found that it is also important not to spend the rest of your time being a couch potato. The study included 2,286 people age 60 an over. The conclusion was that being sedentary will lead to problems "independent of time spent in moderate or vigorous activity." People who replace even half an hour of sedentary time with 30 minutes of light activity can improve their health.

The bottom line is that a moving body is less likely to get rusty that a sedentary body. Obviously everyone needs and is entitled to some down time. Just do not make it most of the time when you are not exercising.

Get more information in our book Live Longer Live Healthier

or visit our website at trienergetics.net

Dynamic Energy

In our last blog we introduced you to the concept of dynamic energy. Do you think that this is just a pipe dream? Well it is not. We believe that it is our biological heritage to have dynamic energy We were born with it. We are entitled to it. Dynamic energy is what results from a healthy, integrated lifestyle that balances the three key energies of the body, the mind and nourishment.
                                                                             

The problem is that the chaos of daily life takes its toll on all of us. Work gets in the way of exercising, family issues take over, stress builds to intolerable levels. we tend to move our bodies less and less while eating more. our bodies begin to feel ill. Our minds run around in circles. All of this results in the loss of our natural energy.

As our energy fades, our lifestyle takes us farther and farther from wellness. We lose the delicate balance of the three energies and fall farther and farther out os synchrony. Our emotions suffer, our psychological well being suffers and our health suffers. We lose our dynamic energy. This loss is reflected in all aspects of our life. No wonder we also lose our sexual energy. Is the answer to take a bunch of pills or is it to find a way to recapture our vitality.

What do you think?

Get more information in our book Live Longer Live Healthier

or visit our website at trienergetics.net

Vitamin D The Sunshine Vitamin

Recently our understanding of vitamin D has expanded greatly. Advocates of vitamin D are convinced that it is a miracle vitamin.

For example vitamin D helps prevent cancer development.  Researchers have found that vitamin D inhibits the growth of some types of cancer cells and also inhibits their spread to other parts of the body.  Taking this observation one step farther, careful population studies have looked at the incidence of various cancers in latitudes that have ample sunshine compared to northern latitudes with less sunshine. It was found that mortality rates for some cancers especially breast, colon, and prostate were lower in sunnier regions than in the northern regions with less sun.  More sun, more vitamin D less cancer.

Deficient vitamin D levels have been linked to an increased incidence of heart attacks.  A study performed at Harvard and published in the prestigious Archives of Internal Medicine showed that men with deficient vitamin D levels were at greater risk of heart attack than those whose blood levels were sufficient.  Diet and lifestyle factors were also ascertained. During 10 years of follow up it was found that men with low levels had almost a two and a half percent greater risk for having a heart attack.

Hold onto your hats for this one. Vitamin D may also slow aging. This remarkable observation was the result of recent genetic studies that demonstrated an inbuilt "clock" in every cell that counts down every time the cell reproduces itself.  This genetic marker is called leukocyte telomere length {LTL}. Shortening of this marker is a measure of cell aging and ultimately death.

Researchers at King's College London studied more than 2160 women aged between 18 and 79.  They took measurements of the levels of vitamin D in their bloodstream and compared this to the length of the telomeres in their white cells. They found that women with higher levels of vitamin D were more likely to have longer telomeres. Those who had lower levels were more likely to have shorter telomeres.   The professor who led the study said: "These results are exciting because they demonstrate for the first time that people who have higher levels of vitamin D amy age more slowly than people with lower level of vitamin D."

Other studies have demonstrated that vitamin D helps maintain muscle strength, promotes better hearing and may reduce the risk of everything from multiple sclerosis to diabetes and hypertension. Additional work on the health benefits of vitamin D are in progress and the results are forthcoming.

Get more information in our book Live Longer Live Healthier

or visit our website at trienergetics.net

Vitamin D The Sunshine Vitamin Part 2

We all need to maintain a healthy level of vitamin D. Agreement on this matter is not uniform among all scientists.  For example the conservative National Institutes of Health web site cautions that more research is needed to determine whether people with normal vitamin D levels can protect themselves by taking more, adding that "it is premature to advise anyone to take vitamin D supplements for cancer prevention."


In previous blogs we discussed the problem of getting consensus from health professionals about the scientific validity of taking more of any specific supplement. The influential Institute of Medicine sets the guidelines for the daily doses of nutrients. They have been reticent to increase their guidelines for vitamin D intake. This adds to the confusion for all of us.

But the scientists who actually study vitamin D aren't waiting for more results. Dr. Rheinhold Viet a vitamin D researcher from the University of Toronto says "I have been studying D for more than 30 years and the remarkable thing is that it is actually effective.  My jaw drops as to why everyone is not taking more D. It drives me nuts."

How much vitamin D should you take? For years the official upper limit for D has been 2,000 IU a day, but a recent review article for the Journal of Clinical Nutrition concluded that vitamin D is not toxic up to 10,000 IU a day.  This is a combined total from drinking milk, eating fatty fish and vitamin supplementation.

If you have any doubts about how much vitamin D to take have a simple blood test to determine your level of 25 hydroxy vitamin D. The normal levels are 16 to 74 ng/ml. Vitamin D supplementation may be one of the most important nutritional steps that you can take to improve your health and longevity.

Get more information in our book Live Longer Live Healthier

or visit our website at trienergetics.net

Can You Lie In The Sun And Get Healthier? The Vitamin D Story

Did you know that sunlight may prevent cancer and heart attacks. It may also make you stronger and increase your longevity. Picture yourself lying on a sandy beach in Hawaii soaking up the rays, humming a tune and thinking how you are improving your health.  Wow! You are getting stronger and living longer by lying in the sand doing nothing.

Hold on. There is a flaw in this picture. How can sunlight prevent cancer when as everyone knows sun exposure causes skin cancer. Some of these skin cancers such as melanoma are killers. So how can sunshine prevent cancer? Relax there is an explanation. It really isn't that sun that directly does all of these wonderful things. Sun exposure is necessary for the body to produce vitamin D. Vitamin D is the miracle vitamin that is necessary for good health and longevity.

For years vitamin D has been a neglected nutrient.  It is unique because unlike other vitamins it is a hormone crucial for calcium absorption.  It enables the body to build and maintain strong bones and teeth. A deficiency of it produces weak bones, known as rickets in children and osteomalacia in adults. In the past the recommended daily intake of vitamin D was 200 IU for those under age 50, 400 IU for those age 50 to 70, and 600 IU for those aver age 70. These guidelines were intended to maintain calcium absorption and bone strength.

Recently our understanding of vitamin D has expanded greatly. Vitamin D has become a miracle vitamin. The evidence will be presented in future blogs. Get more information in our book 

Get more information in our book Live Longer Live Healthier

or visit our website at trienergetics.net

Acai The Gift Of The Jungle Part 2

Continuing the reasons that we recommend acai.  You may have heard of the French paradox. The paradox is that since the French diet is high in potentially heart toxic foods such as cheese, sugar and white flour, the French should have a high incidence of heart disease. Quite the contrary their incidence of heart disease is very low. The reason is believed to be wine. That's right, wine.  The French drink lots of red wine. This wine is thought to protect them in spite of their diet.

Why?

Red wine in particular is rich in antioxidants.  The most potent of them are anthocyanides. Well the acai acai berry has 30 times the anthocyanine as red wine. Acai also contains a good amount of healthy omega 3 and 9 fats and is high in protein containing 19 different amino acids. Acai also is a good source of fiber, vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, C and E. as we; as potassium, calcium, magnesium, copper and zinc. This is alot of powerful nutrition from a little berry.

How do we translate all of this information into your health needs. It is our opinion that some acai should be in everyone's diet. We have had numerous participants in our programs who have related improvement in their well being and energy levels are taking acai juice on a regular basis.  As we have said, we drink two to four ounces a day.

Do your homework before you buy. The acai market, like the market for all food supplements is not controlled by the FDA. All products containing acai are not equal. Do not buy acai products that contain the acai seed and do not buy acai products that are made by spray drying the fruit. Spray drying involves heating the acai to high temperatures and then spraying with maltodextrin. The high temperatures destroy many of the nutrients in the fruit and the spray remains on the fruit. It has no nutritional value.

Let us know if you notice positive changes in your feeling of well being and in your energy level after a few weeks taking acai.

Get more information in our book Live Longer Live Healthier

or visit our website at trienergetics.net

Acai The Gift Of The Jungle

Acai is another nutrient that we recommend. It is available as either a juice by itself or blended with other fruits such as blueberry, pomegranate, mangosteen and goji. Acai is one of our top choices for nutrient honors, yet it is a substance that many of you may never have heard of. In 2004 the New York Times stated "Rich in Antioxidants and amino acids acai is thought to be one of the most nutritional fruits of the Amazon Basin." In 2005 Oprah named acai the #1 super food.

What are the possible health benefits of acai? Advocates claim that acai:

• helps maintain the healthy function of the body's systems
• increases energy, libido and stamina supports the immune system
• is a powerful anti-inflammatory reduces pain and soreness

Are all of these claims valid? We honestly do not know, but we believe that there is credibility in the story line about acai. We have pointed out the difficulty of finding valid clinical data  not only on acai but on  almost all food supplements. We take acai ourselves. Read on to learn why.

The Acai is a palm tree native to tropical Central and South America.  Studies of the traditional Cabocio native populations of the Amazon revealed that acai is a major component of their diet.  Incidentally these native tribes are incredibly health.

How potent is the acai berry? It has 10 times the antioxidant power of red grapes and twice that of blueberries. Tests have been developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to measure the potency of an antioxidant to neutralize a free radical. The most reliable test is the ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorption Capacity} The higher the ORAC rating the more potent the antioxidant. The current recommendation of the USDA is that we consume 3,000 to 5,000 ORAC units daily. Unfortunately it has been determined that about 80% of the American population is consuming less than 1,000 ORAC units a day. These people will lose the battle against aging unless they change their eating habits.

Fruits and vegetables have the highest ORAC values. Per 100 grams apples score 218, bananas 221, blueberries 2,400. Fresh acai has an ORAC score of 5,500!

More about acai in our next post!

Get more information in our book Live Longer Live Healthier

or visit our website at trienergetics.net