Natural Beauty: Healthy Legs

Don’t let varicose veins leave you feeling blue

Varicose veins are present visible evidence of the body’s difficulty in transporting blood from your legs back to your heart. These unsightly marks result from excess pressure on your hardworking blood vessels. But as we age, a few simple lifestyle modifications can reduce the undesirable problem of swollen veins

Varicose veins not only look bad, they can make your legs ache and feel tired, and can cause your ankles to swell. Furthermore, varicose veins can cause blood to pool in your legs (a situation sometimes called venous insufficiency), which, in extreme cases, can lead to skin ulcers and blood clots.

If you suffer serious circulatory problems, alert your health practitioner. But moderate, aerobic exercise and natural vein supporters can help moderate varicose veins.

Leaky Veins

Leg veins contain valves designed to keep blood moving back towards the heart and not backing up in the wrong direction. When these valves malfunction and leak, blood is allowed to go toward the foot and overfill veins near the skin, causing them to bulge. Consequently, varicose means swollen. This overflow can also apply pressure on tiny capillaries that normally empty in the larger veins, causing purple discoloration and spider veins.

Doctors differ on whether standing for long periods of time contributes to varicose veins. However, they agree that being overweight (or pregnant) can lead to varicosity because of pressure on leg circulation.

Reining in Problems

Horse chestnut (Aesculus Hippocastanum) is well known for strengthening vessels. “It is renowned for its value as a medicinal herb, especially by Europeans, who use it topically and internally to prevent and treat varicose veins and other peripheral vascular conditions,” says famed herbalist James Duke, PhD.


Varicose veins that have problems keeping blood flowing can make your legs throb with a dull, insistent ache. To relieve circulation – challenged limbs, massage them with pain relieving essential oils like geranium, ginger and peppermint.


Dr. Duke explains that horse chestnut contains aescin, which builds up vein wall, and rutin, which helps keep capillaries from leaking. “Aescin and rutin work synergistically with other active chemicals to reduce inflammation and pain, and improve circulation,” he says.

Another rutin-packed herb is Butcher’s Broom (Ruscus aculeatus). Butcher’s Broom also compounds called ruscogenins that reduce swelling.

On other fronts, ginkgo and bilberry boost circulation by relaxing vessel walls. Gotu, an ancient Ayurvedic remedy, quells inflammation and helps keep blood from clotting. And that old standby, witch hazel, helps tighten swollen veins.

Leg Support

Other circulation help resides in antioxidant like grapeseed extract and pycnogenol (a pine bark extract). Pycnogenol has reduced leg heaviness and swelling in people with venous insufficiency. In addition, the essential fatty acids found in fish and flaxseed oils assist blood vessels in staying flexible.

Compression stockings and exercises like bicycling or walking help keep blood moving toward your heart. Staying on the move is particularly important if you sit for long periods of time; get up every once in a while to give your circulation a boost. When you do take it easy, keep your legs elevated above your heart to ease distress.

Ratchet up your fiber intake. Constipation can exacerbate varicose problems: straining at passing stools increases the pressure put on vessels. In addition, subtraction of body fat can relieve pressure on veins.

Don’t let varicose veins leave you feeling blue. By putting some pep in your step and using leg supporting supplements, your gams just might look and feel better.

Supplement Review: Quercetin

This bioflavonoid may stop the itching, sneezing and sniffling of allergy sufferers

What is it?

Quercetin (pronounced ker-see-tin) is a bioflavonoid (plant pigment) with powerful antioxidant properties. It is found in many foods, including apples buckwheat, grapes, red onions, red wine and white grapefruit. It’s also sold in supplement form.

How it works?

People with allergies have immune systems that are over-active. When a benign substance like pollen enter their bodies, their immune system overreact with a massive release of histamine, which causes blood vessels to enlarge, fluids to leak into tissues, and muscles to go into spasm. Itching, sneezing, watery eyes or inflammation can result. Quercetin reduces the intensity of these allergic reactions by preventing the immune cells from releasing histamine, according to naturopathic doctor Bradley Bongiovanni, N. D., who practices in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Quercetin’s strong antioxidant properties also strengthen cell membranes, making them less reactive to allergens and other irritants.

Evidence

There have been no human studies of quercetin’s effectiveness as treatment for allergies. However, a few animal and laboratory studies have shown positive results. A Japanese study, published in the journal Clinical and Experimental Allergy, tested the effects of quercetin on cells from human mucous membranes. The researchers concluded that this bioflavonoid inhibited the release of histamine and might therefore prevent common allergic symptoms like runny nose.

A well publicized epidemiological study published in Thorax, examined the relationship between lung function, which can be limited in people with allergies, and the quercetin in apples. After evaluating the dietary habits of 2, 512 Welshmen ages 45- 49, researchers found that those ate five or more apples a week had significantly better lung function than men who did not.

Although scientific evidence supporting quercetin’s effectiveness is somewhat limited, many naturopathic physicians frequently treat their patients’ allergies with quercetin and report great success. Paul Saunders, N. D., Ph. D., chair of Materia Medica at the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine in Toronto, recommends a combination of quercetin and vitamin C to his patients before and during allergy season. While the quercetin prevents the release of histamine, the vitamin C prevents the production of histamine, he says. In the majority of his patients, the combination of the two supplements has eliminated or significantly reduced allergy symptoms.

How to Take It?

Quercetin is found in many foods but to fend off allergy symptoms, you’ll probably need more quercetin than you can get from diet alone. Take 500 to 1, 000 mg two times per day between meals. If you have seasonal allergies, start taking at least a month before your symptoms usually begin and continue until your allergy season ends. You can also take quercetin with 1, 000 mg of vitamin C two times a day (or swallow the pills with vitamin C – rich orange juice), which experts say enhances the effectiveness of the supplement. Some brand of quercetin is formulated with vitamin C.

Caveats

There are none, as quercetin has no known side effects. More research is needed to determine the effectiveness or quercetin for allergies. But in the meantime, it appears safe to try supplemental quercetin.

Health Line: Incredible but true

• Your heart grows in size long after you reach your full height.
• If your veins are laid end to end, they’ll span about 60, 000 miles
• More women die from heart disease than breast cancer each year.
• Baldness at the top of the head is associated with an increased risk of heart disease in men.

Supplements for the Heart

Vitamin C – Helpful in preventing arteriosclerosis. Recommended : 1, 000 mg daily.

Mixed Carotenoids – Excellent antioxidants shown to reduce the likelihood of arteriosclerosis. Recommended: 25, 000 IU daily.

Vitamin E – Extremely helpful for reducing the stickiness of platelets and improving blood flow. It also tends to slow the progression of arteriosclerosis and may have something to do with reversing it. Recommended: 400 – 800 IU daily.

EPA Fish Oil – A natural blood thinner. Recommended: two or three 1, 000 mg capsules twice daily.

L-carnitine – A natural agent for helping to promote energy production in the cardiac muscle cells. Recommended: one 500 to 1, 000 mg capsule twice daily.

Co-enzyme Q10 – Another catalyst for energy production in the cardiac muscles. Recommended: 100 – 400 mg daily.

Calcium – With magnesium, helps control blood pressure. Recommended: 400 mg daily.

Magnesium – Plays a role in preventing arterial spasm. Recommended 400 – 800 mg chelated form daily; Or magnesium citrate, 200 mg twice daily.

Vital Finds: Understanding Angina

Angina is not a death sentence; it is an alarm. While your doctor may prescribe drugs, you should not underestimate how much lifestyle changes can improve your cardiac health.

By Jon W. Wahrenberger, MD, FACC

Angina, also called pectoris, is a pain or a sense of discomfort in the chest arising from the heart. Most often caused by an inadequate supply of oxygen to the heart arteries, angina may also be because by heart valve disease, cardiac rhythm disturbances and diseases of the muscular portion of the heart.

Symptoms can vary dramatically from person to person. Typically, angina is described as a pressure of squeezing sensation in the center of the chest, sometimes accompanied by discomfort in the neck, jaw, shoulders and arms. Others say it feels like a vice is compressing their chest or that they feel an aching or burning sensation.

Still others complain of pain in areas outside of the chest. Often, there are other symptoms at the same time, such as shortness of breath, sweating, nausea and lightheadedness. Angina typically comes on with exercise or stress, and recedes with rest and relaxation. While angina itself does not lead to permanent damage of the heart muscle, it does suggest the presence of heart disease, which can lead to heart attack and death. Angina may occur in one of a number of patterns. Among them:

Chronic stable angina – is characterized by a long term pattern of exercise induced angina occurring very predictably over months and years.

Unstable angina – occurs at rest. The term may also refer to a sudden worsening of the symptoms in a person who had been experiencing stable angina. Unstable angina often is seen days, hours or weeks before a heart attack.

Variant angina - a unique form that results not from progressive narrowing of the heart arteries or other underlying heart disease, but from a transient and reversible spasm of the heart arteries. Variant angina tends to occur without any particular pattern and is not linked to exercise or exertion.

Microvascular angina – is a form of angina in which the patient has symptoms virtually identical to those of stable angina yet appears to have normal coronary arteries. The coronary arteries inability to dilate during exercise is thought to cause microvascular angina. There is much debate in the medical community about microvascular angina, which is dubbed Syndrome X. some doctors question whether the syndrome exist at all.

Causes of Angina

In the Unites States and Europe, the most common cause of angina is atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis is a process in which cholesterol, inflammatory cells and other substances are deposited in the arterial wall over a period of years or even decades. As a result, the arteries grow narrower, reducing their ability to carry blood. Moreover, atherosclerosis leads to a loss of arteries normal dilating capacity in response to exercise.

Difference Between Angina and a Heart Attack

Although the pain of a heart attack may be similar to the discomfort of angina, the two are different in many regards. Angina is a symptom resulting from a transient lack of oxygen to the heart. Once the demand for oxygen subsides, so do the symptoms of angina. No permanent damage is done to the heart.

During a heart attack or myocardial infarction, there is a loss of blood flow to one or more of the coronary arteries. If the blood is cut off for more than 30 minutes, it is increasingly likely that permanent damage will be done to the heart muscle. In some instances, significant portions of the heart muscle will actually turn to scar tissue. Many people who have had heart attacks say they had angina before the attack. Others say they never experienced any cardiac pain until they had a heart attack.

Lifestyle Changes with Angina

Angina is not a death sentence; it is an alarm. While your doctor may prescribe drugs, you should not underestimate how much lifestyle changes can improve your cardiac health.

Stay Active

Even people with coronary artery disease can benefit from starting an exercise program. Aim for at least 20 to 30 minutes of moderate activity daily, or at least several times a week. Rapid walking, bicycling or swimming are all beneficial.

Because exercise may induce angina, you may need to modify the type of activity you choose and the way you approach it. Talk with your doctor about an ideal exercise program and determine a target heart rate.

Some medications, particularly beta blockers, will prevent your heart rate from increasing in a normal fashion. If you are taking such medications, your doctor will usually recommend a lower target heart rate. A quick formula for determining your maximum heart rate is to subtract your age from 220. A 50-yeal old would have a predicted maximum heart rate of 170 beats per minute. Thus, the target heart rate during exercise should be between 85 and 144 beats per minute.

Manage Stress

You may be upset to learn you have angina and coronary artery disease and understandably so. But do not let that worsen the situation. There is no reason to feel helpless or to give up. Learn about your disease and put that knowledge to work for you.

Eat Well

Diet is an important component of health, especially cardiac health. Keep in mind that animal products are the biggest sources of saturated fat and cholesterol, as much as possible substitute fruits, vegetables and grains. Think about the importance of your health and joy you get from a fit, well turned body. There may be some truth to the old axiom “we are what we eat.”

Control your Blood Pressure

Blood pressure is often called the “silent killer” since it rarely announces itself with symptoms, but silently causes the damage to various organs throughout the body. It is a potent risk factor for heart disease and angina. If you are already treated for high blood pressure, take your medications and make sure your condition is well controlled.

Look 5 Years Younger Today

I'm not interested in hopping into a time machine (return to my teen years? No thanks!), but sometimes I do wish I could turn back the clock for the sake of my skin. I grew up a devoted sun worshipper and all the running, biking and fun activities I do outdoors these days doesn't help (though now I'm better about wearing sunscreen).

The freckles and little spots I have certainly make me look older than I'd like, which is typical, according to a recent study from the University of Gottingen in Germany. Testers estimated that people whose uneven pigmentation was digitally removed from photos were five years younger than their age. When wrinkles were also erased, they guessed a 15-year age drop! Luckily, the guys in white lab coats have been hard at work finding fast, easy ways to reverse the appearance of aging without resorting to a scalpel.

Want to look younger? Try a few of these skin-saving solutions:

-- Uncover glowing skin: After washing your face for a full 30 to 60 seconds -- the time it takes cleansing agents to loosen dirt, oil and makeup -- gently apply a microdermabrasion cream (Estee Lauder Idealist Micro-D is one I like). It works like a peel to slough off surface cells and reveal newer, younger-looking skin beneath. Or try this at-home tip: Soak a washcloth in whole milk and drape it over your face. The fat in the milk soothes skin while its lactic acid gently exfoliates.

-- Get even: Blotchy pigmentation can tack on up to 12 years to your perceived age, according to a study in Evolution and Human Behavior. Roll back the years with tinted moisturizer, which hides imperfections but still appears natural (so you look like you, not some fake Claymation version). Apply your regular moisturizer first so the tint won't seep into dry spots, resulting in splotches.

-- Cover spots: To hide imperfections, choose a thick stick concealer one shade lighter than your foundation. For a natural effect, dab it on with a makeup brush, then top it with a light dusting of translucent powder to keep it in place.

-- Freshen up your fragrance: Choosing the right scent could take years off your face, reports the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago. In a study, men guessed women's ages while smelling three scents and judged women to be nearly six years younger when wearing a perfume with notes of pink grapefruit.

Tart Cherries VS Other Leading Fruit

Consuming fruits and vegetables on a regular basis is linked with a reduced risk of developing chronic diseases. Although many fruits provide the essential nutrients required of a healthy, balanced diet; tart cherries go above and beyond the call of duty to deliver them. Therefore, tart cherries provide more health benefits than most other fruits do.

You can find a wide variety of bio-active compounds in tart cherries. Regular consumption of them reduces your risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer disease, cataracts, and functional deterioration (due to old age). One of these bio-active compounds is specifically notorious for their battle against chronic diseases. This refers to antioxidants.

Antioxidants are essential to balancing out the amount of oxidants in your body. Their primary perk is that they reduce your risk of oxidative stress. This in turn reduces your risk of developing cancer or cardiovascular disease. Therefore, antioxidants are one of the most well known health benefits contained in fruit.

Phenolic Acids are very powerful antioxidants. A fruit that contains a type of phenolic acids has an edge on other fruits because of the increased health benefit it provides. Therefore, fruits such as tart cherries, acai, blueberries, noni, and pomegranate all are at the top of the game when it comes to antioxidants. They beat out all of the other fruits and vegetables in this department. However, Tart cherries contain more varieties of phenolic acids than the Acai, blueberry, noni, and pomegranate do. That is why the tart cherry stands alone at the top for nutritional antioxidant content.

In addition to antioxidants, tart cherries contain anthocyanins, flavanols, flavonols, hormones, vitamins and minerals, and terpenes. They also have a greater variety of these bio-active compounds than the other four fruits (mentioned previously) have.

Generally speaking, tart cherries are not as popular as some other fruits. While a lot of nutritional information is known about most fruits and vegetables, there is still more information that can be uncovered. As the availability of more information increases, we find that the popularity of the tart cherry rises along with it. A greater amount of research is finding that the nutritional benefit of tart cherries surpasses that of most other fruits.

Despite all of the great nutritional value a tart cherry possesses, they still are not as popular as many other fruits. The name could have something to do with it as the sweet cherry usually gets the vote when consumers browse fruit. Secondly, tart cherries are usually not available fresh in stores. You have to find them at your local farmers market to get them fresh. Otherwise, they usually come canned or in a jam when simply shopping at your local grocery store. In regards to convenience, tart cherries are not easy to come by unless you are specifically looking for them to put in a salad or dessert. In that case, you are not benefitting from them the way you could be if you were eating them fresh and whole.

Look for the tart cherry the next time you shop. You’ll be surprised at all it has to offer in regards to your health. If your local grocery store does not have them fresh and you aren’t planning on cooking up a dessert just to try them, look for tart cherries in the form of a drink. Just make sure the tart cherry juice is not from concentrate and has no preservatives. Otherwise, you aren’t experiencing the real benefits of tart cherries. Instead you’ll just be getting a cherry juice that tastes good with little nutritional value.

Health Science News: Vatican affirms 'dignity of human embryo'

VATICAN CITY (AFP) – The Vatican on Friday reopened ethical questions surrounding stem cell research and techniques such as cloning with a document affirming the "dignity of the human embryo."

"Dignitas Personae" (Dignity of the Person), the first "instruction" on reproductive technology in more than 20 years, comes as countries including the United States and France prepare to review policies in the controversial field.

The sweeping instruction lists biomedical techniques considered "illicit" by the Roman Catholic Church such as in vitro fertilisation, cloning, the therapeutic use of stem cells, producing vaccines from embryo cells and the use of the "morning-after" contraceptive pill.

Such practices go against the "fundamental principle" that the dignity of the person must be recognised from conception until natural death, it says.

Issued by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican's doctrinal watchdog, the 33-page instruction updates a 1987 document, "Donum Vitae" (The Gift of Life), which asserted the integrity of the human embryo.

The new instruction virtually enshrines the embryo not only as a human being but also as a whole "person" with all the philosophical and legal consequences that such recognition might entail, according to Bishop Rino Fisichella, secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

"The recognition is implicit, but we don't get involved in the philosophical debate," Fisichella said as he presented the document.

The document, approved by Pope Benedict XVI, also reprises the Church's condemnation of in vitro fertilisation, while decrying methods that prevent implantation of the embryo or cause its elimination as "falling within the sin of abortion".

"The blithe acceptance of the enormous number of abortions involved in the process of in vitro fertilisation vividly illustrates how the replacement of the conjugal act by a technical procedure ... leads to a weakening of the respect owed to every human being," the document says.

The text also warns against a "eugenic mentality" arising from advances in genetic engineering, saying: "In the attempt to create a new type of human being, one can recognise an ideological element in which man tries to take the place of his Creator."

Catholics are called to abide by such "instructions," which have had practical consequences across the centuries.

The 1987 instruction, focussing on in vitro fertilisation, was signed by the pope, then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, during his 24-year tenure at the head of the Vatican's highest rule-making authority.

It had important consequences for Catholic hospitals around the world as they scrapped programmes to help infertile couples, and it affected funding for certain medical research.

While the techniques condemned by the Church are legal in many countries and widely practised, the new document says Catholic researchers have the duty to distance themselves from a "gravely unjust legal situation and to affirm with clarity the value of human life".

US president-elect Barack Obama, who is to take office on January 20, is expected to act quickly to reverse an executive order by President George W. Bush banning embryonic stem cell research.

Also, French bioethics law is set for review next year.

The Holy See is aware that it is challenging cutting-edge technology, led notably by British embryo researchers, and expects "a variety of reactions," Fisichella said.

"Some will prefer to ignore (the instruction), others will take the easier route of deriding it, and still others will file these pages away as a manifestation of obscurantism blocking progress and free research, but many others will share our concern and our analysis," he said.

11 New Cholesterol Genes Identified

An international research team that screened the genes of more than 40,000 people has identified 11 more regions that govern levels of blood fats such as LDL cholesterol and triglycerides.

"These locations point us to previously unsuspected players in the metabolism of cholesterol in humans," said Dr. Sekar Kathiresan, director of preventive cardiology at Massachusetts General Hospital, and lead author of a report in the Dec. 7 online issue of Nature Genetics. "Now that we have these additional genes that play a role in humans, we have to figure out how they do it by doing additional studies."

The report brings the total number of genes associated with control of blood fat levels to 30. One of those 30 is a gene designated HMGCR, which is the target of the widely used statins.

"By further understanding how these new genes play their roles, some of the genes could become targets themselves and help reduce cholesterol levels and heart disease," Kathiresan said.

The researchers, based at 37 institutions in the United States and around the world, started with genetic information on participants in the Framingham Heart Study, which first established the role of LDL cholesterol in cardiovascular disease in 1961. They added genetic samples from another 20,600 participants in five different studies.

"Of the three billion letters in the human genome, 2.5 million spots differ between people," Kathiresan said. "We tried to correlate blood levels of LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol and triglycerides."

Some of the 11 newly identified genes are known to have rare mutations that cause serious cholesterol disorders or conditions such as type 2 diabetes. This study shows for the first time that common variations in the genes are associated with differing lipid levels in individuals.

Putting together the information from the different studies was a challenge, said Goncalo Abecasis, an associate professor of biostatistics at the University of Michigan, and a member of the research team. He and his colleagues at the university's Center for Statistical Genetics helped develop the computer software that made the analysis possible.

While all the studies looked at the same genes, they did not always look for the same variants of those genes, Abecasis said. "So, we had to ask, are they really telling us something consistent? The method we used was that, we can find different little stretches of DNA that are shared between people and find relationships between those stretches."

The information has several possible applications, Kathiresan said. "We might use this genetic information to identify people at an earlier age, in their 30s or 40s, who are destined to develop high cholesterol levels and eventually heart disease," he said.

New light will also be shed on the metabolism of blood fats such as LDL cholesterol, the "bad" kind that forms artery-blocking plaques, Kathiresan said. And aside from basic biological knowledge, the discovery could lead to new drug treatments to prevent artery blockage.

"Time will tell whether any of the 11 new locations will end up being as good a drug target as HMGCR," he said.

The 30 genes that have so far been identified are believed to account for about 20 percent of the variations in individual blood levels of cholesterol and other fats. Even larger studies of people in different ethnic groups are needed to find other genetic factors, and their overall contribution to cardiovascular risk.

"We are currently designing studies to test whether individuals inheriting several of these lipid risk genes really are at higher risk for heart attack and whether they are more likely to benefit from cholesterol-lowering treatments like statins," Kathiresan said.

- HealthDay News -

Kids Health: Type I Diabetes - Is your child at risk??

Unlike Type II diabetes, type I tends to begin during childhood, most often between the ages 6 and 12 years, with a second peak age group being 17 to 20.

What Causes It?

Type I diabetes occurs when the immune system malfunctions and destroys the cells in the pancreas that produce insulin. Experts believe the root cause is genetic, but it maybe activated by an environmental factor, like a viral infection.

How Common Is It?

One in every 700 to 800 school age children develops type I diabetes, making it one of the top chronic childhood disease.

What Are The Symptoms?

Signs include excessive urination, constant thirst and weight loss. There may also be abdominal pain that’s mistaken for appendicitis. If it’s not diagnosed, the child may become seriously ill and fall into coma.

How Is It treated?

Children with type I diabetes produce little or no insulin, so they must get it from shots. A healthful diet is also key to successfully treating the disease, as are regular checkups to watch out for potential vision, nerve and cardiovascular problems.

Can Kids Get Type II Diabetes As Well?

A decade ago, experts would have answered no. But in recent years more and more children have been diagnosed with type II diabetes as a result of what doctors are calling “The McDonald’s Syndrome” – an abundance of fatty foods combined with too little activity. The good news: “If we can prevent childhood obesity,” says Holly Schachner, M.D., a pediatric endocrinologist at Naomie Berrie Diabetes Center in New York City, “we think we can prevent type II diabetes in kids.”

Foods That Fight Diabetes

Given the tremendous impact diet has on preventing and treating diabetes, it’s not surprising that specific nutrients and herbs can have a similar effect. Here’s what you should eat to fend off and beat the disease.

• Fiber. Often deficient in diabetic people. Sources: oat bran, nuts, seeds, peas, beans, apples and most vegetables.
• Vitamin C. Manufactures collagen, which is helpful for the bleeding gums and slow wound-healing that can occur with diabetes. Sources: citrus fruits, melons, tomatoes and dark green vegetables.
• Niacinamide (vitamin B3). Has been shown to prevent the development of diabetes in animals. Sources: dark green vegetables, eggs, whole-grain cereals and breads.
• Biotin. Enhances the body’s ability to use insulin. Sources: green beans and dark green vegetables.
• Vitamin B6. Aids in the absorption and metabolism of proteins. Sources: whole-grain bread, avocados, spinach and green beans.
• Vitamin B12. Deficiency can cause numbness of the feet, a problem to which diabetics are prone. Sources: eggs, milk and yeast.
• Onions and Garlic. Have been shown to lower blood sugar levels.
• Bilberry. Helps with diabetic retinopathy and other eye problems associated with the disease.
• Ginseng. Has shown some effect on lowering blood sugars.

Reference: Vegetarian Times, by Lana Dvorkin, Pharm. D.

Scientists back brain drugs for healthy people

NEW YORK – Healthy people should have the right to boost their brains with pills, like those prescribed for hyperactive kids or memory-impaired older folks, several scientists contend in a provocative commentary.

College students are already illegally taking prescription stimulants like Ritalin to help them study, and demand for such drugs is likely to grow elsewhere, they say.

"We should welcome new methods of improving our brain function," and doing it with pills is no more morally objectionable than eating right or getting a good night's sleep, these experts wrote in an opinion piece published online Sunday by the journal Nature.

The commentary calls for more research and a variety of steps for managing the risks.

As more effective brain-boosting pills are developed, demand for them is likely to grow among middle-aged people who want youthful memory powers and multitasking workers who need to keep track of multiple demands, said one commentary author, brain scientist Martha Farah of the University of Pennsylvania.

"Almost everybody is going to want to use it," Farah said.

"I would be the first in line if safe and effective drugs were developed that trumped caffeine," another author, Michael Gazzaniga of the University of California, Santa Barbara, declared in an e-mail.

The seven authors, from the United States and Britain, include ethics experts and the editor-in-chief of Nature as well as scientists. They developed their case at a seminar funded by Nature and Rockefeller University in New York. Two authors said they consult for pharmaceutical companies; Farah said she had no such financial ties.

Some health experts agreed that the issue deserves attention. But the commentary didn't impress Leigh Turner of the University of Minnesota Center for Bioethics.

"It's a nice puff piece for selling medications for people who don't have an illness of any kind," Turner said.

The commentary cites a 2001 survey of about 11,000 American college students that found 4 percent had used prescription stimulants illegally in the prior year. But at some colleges, the figure was as high as 25 percent.

"It's a felony, but it's being done," Farah said.

The stimulants Adderall and Ritalin are prescribed mainly for people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, but they can help other people focus their attention and handle information in their heads, the commentary says.

Another drug called Provigil is approved for sleep disorders but is also prescribed for healthy people who need to stay alert when sleep-deprived, the commentary says. Lab studies show it can also perk up the brains of well-rested people. And some drugs developed for Alzheimer's disease also provide a modest memory boost, it says.

Ritalin is made by Switzerland-based Novartis AG, but the drug is also available generically. Adderall is made by U.K.-based Shire PLC and Montvale, N.J.-based Barr Pharmaceuticals Inc., and some formulations are also available generically. Provigil is made by Cephalon Inc. of Frazer, Pa.

While supporting the concept that healthy adults should be able to use brain-boosting drugs, the authors called for:

• More research into the use, benefits and risks of such drugs. Much is unknown about the current medications, such as the risk of dependency when used for this purpose, the commentary said. Also, according to the Food and Drug Administration, Adderall, for example, is an amphetamine that carries warnings about possible sudden death, heart attack and stroke, especially for people with heart problems.

• Policies to guard against people being coerced into taking them.

• Steps to keep the benefits from making socio-economic inequalities worse.

• Action by doctors, educators and others to develop policies on the use of such drugs by healthy people.

• Legislative action to allow drug companies to market the drugs to healthy people if they meet regulatory standards for safety and effectiveness.

Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, said she agreed with the commentary that the nonprescribed use of brain-boosting drugs must be studied.

But she said she was concerned that wider use of stimulants could lead more people to become addicted to them. That's what happened decades ago when they were widely prescribed for a variety of disorders, she said.

"Whether we like it or not, that property of stimulants is not going to go away," she said.

Erik Parens, a senior research scholar at the Hastings Center, a bioethics think tank in Garrison, N.Y., said the commentary makes a convincing case that "we ought to be opening this up for public scrutiny and public conversation."

One challenge will be finding ways to protect people against subtle coercion to use the drugs, the kind of thing parents feel when neighbor kids sign up for SAT prep courses, he said.

And if the nation moves to providing a basic package of health care to all its citizens, it's hard to see how it could afford to include brain-boosting drugs, he said. If they have to be bought separately, it raises the question about promoting societal inequalities, he said.

Working Out at Home

Working out at home is a good choice during winter since you don't need a lot of equipment and you can exercise any time you want without worrying about getting to the gym when it's cold out. If you like the idea of someone else directing your workout, you might consider a workout video. Some ideas:

• Pilates and Yoga Videos
• Cardio Videos and Guided Cardio Workouts
• Strength Training, Circuit and Specialty Video
  

The trick in working out during the winter is to try to keep it as interesting as possible. This is a great time to try a new activity, find a workout buddy or enlist your family members to help you stay motivated.

Fall for Fall Fruits

By Janis Jibrin, M.S., R.D.

When you think of fruit, fall probably isn't the first season that comes to mind, but you'd be surprised by how many flavorful choices you have: Apples, pears, citrus, and grapes are all at their peak right now. And there are so many great ways to use these fruits, like this delicious recipe from Best Life chef Sidra Forman.

Poached Fall Fruit: Grapes, Apples and Pears with Cinnamon, Cardamom and Anise
Makes 4 servings

Prep time: 5 minutes. Total time: 35 minutes

INGREDIENTS
2 star anise
1 cinnamon stick
6 cardamom pods, crushed with the back of a spoon
1 apple, quartered and cored
1 pear, quartered and cored
1 cup, seedless red grapes (can use 2 cups depending on your calories)
1/4 cup sugar

DIRECTIONS
1. Combine 3 cups water with spices in a medium pot over medium-high heat. (If star anise and cardamom are not available you can substitute 4 cloves or a large pinch of powdered nutmeg.)

2. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Add fruit and sugar, return mixture to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes (for firmer fruit, reduce to 5 minutes). The fruit should be just covered by the liquid; if necessary add an additional 1/2 cup water.

3. Serve hot, room temperature or cold with about a 1/4 cup of the poaching liquid poured over each serving.

Cold Weather Workouts

Weather can be the difference between doing your workout or piling up on the couch for your favorite TV show. If it's rainy, snowy or just plain cold outside, most of us avoid exercise like the plague. While it's normal for activity to slow down in the winter, cold weather isn't a license to give up exercise completely. Learn how you can keep up with exercise even when it's cold.

Option 1: Workout Outside

Obviously some people continue outdoor workouts no matter what the weather. If you're one of those people, more power to you. If you're not, getting out occasionally can lift your spirits, even if it's cold outside.

Plan to get outside at least once every couple of weeks or so and make it more comfortable by using these tips for staying warm and dry:

1. Dress in layers. Wearing layers allows you stay warm while giving you the option to remove layers as you get warm. For very cold weather, you might choose clothes with sweat-wicking qualities such as CoolMax.

2. Avoid the wind. Wendy Bumgardner, gives some great tips for cold weather survival in her article, Keep Walking in the Cold. Some tips are to "start your walk into the wind so you will finish with it at your back." Other things that will make your outside journey better are selecting routes that are "sheltered from the wind where possible" and "that are cleared of snow or ice or do not have standing puddles or mud slicks."

3. Warm up inside. Getting outside in the cold is much easier if you're already warm. Try throwing your clothes in the dryer, running your hands under warm water or even getting a good 10-minute warm up in before you head outside.

If outdoor exercise isn't your thing, try Option 2.

Option 2: Workout at the Gym

If the weather gets nasty, they gym is a great choice for more options and lots of great people-watching...not a bad way to while away your exercise time. Many people hate moving their training indoors when it gets to be too chilly for a morning run, but it doesn't have to be mind-numbing. Take the treadmill, for example. You could hop on the belt, set the speed at 4.0 mph and go for a 30-minute walk to nowhere. Or you can be creative and make your treadmill workout just a little more interesting. Try these cardio workouts for a little inspiration, or why not try a circuit training workout for something completely different? Pick a machine you've never dared to try (yes, that's a rowing machine) and get busy.

Another idea is to try group exercise classes like spinning, step aerobics or kickboxing. Not only will you burn some calories and manage your weight, you might end up having fun. Fitness classes are also a great place to meet other exercisers to help keep you motivated.

A bonus of working out in the gym is having everything at your disposal. Once you're done with your cardio, you can strength train, stretch and even hit the hot tub before you head home.

Dodging the Diabetes Bullet

By Janis Jibrin, M.S., R.D.

Seven percent of the population has diabetes--that's 21.6 million people! The number jumps to 9.6 percent for people age 20 years old and up, and it strikes a whopping 21 percent of Americans age 60 and above. As we get older, more of us will succumb to the disease. Fortunately, most cases of diabetes can be prevented by good diet and exercise habits. That means that right now is the perfect time to adopt the healthy habits, such as the ones below, that can reduce your diabetes risk.

Get moving. Exercise (both cardio and strength training) makes your muscles' cells more sensitive to insulin, the hormone that removes sugar from the blood. Plus, it helps you lose weight and maintain your weight loss. To lose weight, work up to 60 minutes of cardio six days a week. To reap the benefits from strength training, do at least 12 reps of at least six different exercises two or three times a week.

Switch to whole grains. Whole wheat, corn and wheat bran have been strongly linked to diabetes prevention. But oats and barley also appear to reduce diabetes risk. The less refined the grain, the better (think steel cut oats versus rolled oats) because it takes your body a lot longer to convert coarsely ground grain into blood sugar than it does for refined grains.

Reach/maintain a healthy body mass index. Body mass index, or BMI, is a measurement of height to weight. A BMI between 18.5 and 24.9 is considered healthy; 25 to 29.9 is considered overweight; and 30 and above is obese. To find out your BMI, use the National Heart, Blood and Lung Institute's BMI calculator.

Dry Skin? Don't Let Winter Win

Dry winter air can cause your skin to crack, chafe, itch and develop dry patches, but there are a number of things you can do to protect your skin, says Jeff Moore, an instructor of pharmaceutics at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia.

"During cold spells, your skin is constantly bombarded, dried out, and increasingly susceptible to infection," Moore said in a university news release. He offered a number of winter skin care tips:

* Drink six to eight glasses of water a day, because when we're properly hydrated, our skin lubricates itself from the inside.
* Don't take long, hot showers. Instead, take shorter, warm showers. The steam and heat associated with long, hot showers can draw out moisture on the skin and cause dryness.
* Use lotions and creams to create a barrier that protects your skin against dryness. For best results, apply a product with ingredients such as shea butter and petrolatum immediately after a shower or bath, when your skin is still moist.
* Exfoliate regularly. This not only removes rough dry patches, but it promotes new cell growth and enhances the absorption of skin care products. Apply a moisturizer after exfoliating so that moisture brought to the surface doesn't immediately evaporate.
* Don't use harsh soaps or cleansers, which contain preservatives, fragrances and lye that can irritate skin. Instead, use products that contain glycerin, which traps and maintains moisture.
* Use a humidifier to counter the dry air created by furnaces and other heating devices. A humidifier in the bedroom can help combat dry skin.

It's best to start taking care of your skin early in the winter, before dryness has a chance to set in, Moore said.

"While we often neglect our skin, or only treat it for cosmetic reasons, it's important to remember that our skin is an organ, part of the body just like anything else, and requires constant care," he said.

Natural Beauty: Lather Up with Natural Soap

In addition to the natural ingredients, the manufacturing method can also greatly affect the quality of soap

Lathering up in the shower is part of nearly everyone’s morning routine – is there a single home in the country without a bar of soap? And yet, pervasive as soap is, knowledgeable consumers are reconsidering then essential cleaning commodity. They want alternatives to the chemical-laden and often animal-fat based bar soaps available in the mass market. In response, natural products manufacturers are stirring up hand crafted natural soaps made with quality oil, fresh herbs, pure essential oils, even goats milk.

Soap is made through simple chemical process called saponification, which entails heating animal or vegetable fats with an alkali (in the case of hard soap, the alkali is treated salt water). During the heating process, this alkali attaches itself to the fatty acids of the fat ingredient, thereby creating soap. While this is the basis for all soap making, varying the manufacturing methods and ingredients can resulting soap with dramatically different moisturizing, scent and lasting properties.

When soap is made correctly, using the handmade process, the end product is 30 percent moisturizer. “When you make vegetable oil based soap, there are some oils that don’t get saponified, so those free oils, along with the glycerin and some free waxes, give you moisturizing properties in the soap.”

Because the FDA does not require manufacturers to list ingredients, many consumers have no clue what is in their soap. The typical mass market bar contains sodium tallowate (tallow derived from animal fat), synthetic glycerin, BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene), synthetic fragrances and colors, salt and other preservatives. On the contrary, most natural soaps contain simply one or more saponified oils. Soap can be made from virtually any kind of oil. The different oil used alters the properties of the soap.

The importance of using whole oils as opposed to fractioned vegetable oils can be related to using a whole egg where one part has the cholesterol and one part has the B vitamins. It’s a balance, and in nature there’s this amazing balance. When manufacturers buy fractioned oils they may have been extracted with a chemical solvent and there may be a residue present in them.

Many soap manufacturers take advantage of the wide variety of essential oils available to scent their products. “Handmade soaps are very good medium for aromatherapy.” The citrus blends are good for combination skin; lavender works well for drier skin because it tends to relax pores; tea tree oil is good for closing pores because it is astringent; and unscented is ideal for hypersensitive skin.

In addition to the ingredients, the soap manufacturing method can also greatly affect the quality of the soap. In the hand made soap making process, the warm soap is poured into wooden molds where it cures for about 30 days – as opposed to three days for the mass market variety. This extra curing time allows the soap to set up without added chemicals, most artisan soap makers also mill their soap at least once. Milling refers to processing the bars, which results in a low water content and helps to evenly distribute the oils in the bar. French milled soaps are milled five times.

Many makers of natural soap add additional ingredients to the vegetable oils to create soaps geared for specific needs. Goat milk has become a popular soap ingredient because of its moisturizing properties. Goat milk contains caprylic acid, which helps reduce the alkalinity of soap. “The milk has natural alpha hydroxy acids, which have rejuvenating effects as well.”

CDC Statement On World AIDS Day

As we pause to reflect on the toll of HIV during this 20th anniversary of World AIDS Day, we must not forget that our fight against this devastating disease is far from over. HIV remains a significant threat to the health and well-being of multiple communities in the United States. The most recent CDC data indicate that more than 1.1 million Americans live with HIV, and that an estimated 56,000 new infections occur in the United States every year.

Several U.S. populations bear the greatest burden of HIV. The impact is most severe for gay and bisexual men, who account for approximately half of new infections and of those living with HIV. Some minority communities are also disproportionately affected by the disease, with African-Americans becoming infected at seven times the rate of whites, and Hispanics at three times the rate of whites.

Despite these challenges, we have seen important signs of progress in fighting HIV with effective prevention measures. The number of annual new infections in the United States, while far too high, has remained roughly stable since the late 1990s. This is despite considerable increases in the number of people living with HIV due to advances in treatment. We have seen substantial declines in mother-to-child transmission and HIV infections among injection drug users and heterosexuals. All of these data suggest that people living with HIV and those who are at-risk are taking steps to protect themselves and their partners, and to help stop the spread of this disease.

But even with this evidence of prevention success, the fight against HIV in this country remains an uphill battle. Data suggest that since the mid-1990s HIV infections have been increasing among gay and bisexual men. While lifesaving advances in AIDS treatment will continue to increase the number of people living with HIV, this will also present more opportunities for transmission. Too many of those who are infected and too many who are at risk are not being reached by proven prevention efforts that can save lives. And too many Americans remain unaware they are infected.

As a global leader in the fight to end the HIV epidemic, CDC will continue to pursue a comprehensive prevention strategy. We know that prevention works, but we also know that prevention messages and programs have not reached all who need them. Our focus remains in four critical areas: increasing routine HIV testing for all Americans aged 13-64; ensuring that our prevention programs are effective, available and expertly delivered; further improving our ability to monitor HIV risk and the course of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and its impact; and developing new biomedical, behavioral, and structural approaches to HIV prevention.

On this World AIDS Day, we are all reminded that we must do more - as individuals, as communities and as a nation - to stop HIV/AIDS. We must relieve the burden of HIV in African-American and Hispanic communities by reaching them with effective prevention programs. We must confront the complex issues that keep gay and bisexual men at risk. We must arm our youth with the knowledge, skills and confidence to prevent HIV throughout their lives. Above all, we must not give up until this fight is won.

Media Statement by Dr. Kevin Fenton
Director, National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

What Are the AIDS Defining Illnesses?

AIDS is a classification assigned to someone who has been diagnosed with the most serious opportunistic infections and illnesses; those illnesses said to be AIDS defining. Below is a list of AIDS defining illnesses.

Important Fact #1: Keep in mind that these diseases can occur in people without HIV infection, however such a person would not be classified as having AIDS.

Important Fact #2: While they are often used interchangeably, HIV and AIDS are very different.

Answer: They include:

• Candidiasis
• Cervical cancer (invasive)
• Coccidioidomycosis, Cryptococcosis, Cryptosporidiosis
• Cytomegalovirus disease
• Encephalopathy (HIV-related)
• Herpes simplex (an infection lasting longer than 1 month or in an area other than the skin such as esophagus or lungs)
• Histoplasmosis
• Isosporiasis
• Kaposi's sarcoma (KS)
• Lymphoma characterized by swollen lymph nodes (lymphadenopathy)
• Mycobacterium avium complex
• Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP)
• Pneumonia (recurrent)
• Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML)
• Salmonella septicemia (recurrent)
• Toxoplasmosis of the brain
• Tuberculosis
• Wasting syndrome

_{Sources: Information provided in part by the Centers for Disease Control, 2004}

Basic HIV Information

Human Immunodeficiency Syndrome, more commonly know as HIV is a virus that, if left untreated, slowly damages the body's immune system. Without a strong, healthy immune system, the body is susceptible to many infections and illnesses. If a person living with HIV becomes sick with one of the more serious types of these opportunistic infections, they are said to have Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome or AIDS. While there is no cure for HIV or AIDS, people are living long productive lives, thanks to HIV medicines and aggressive treatment programs.

Contrary to public perception, you can't get HIV infected by drinking from a water fountain, sitting on a toilet seat, hugging or touching an HIV infected person, or by eating off plates and utensils. The following are ways HIV can be transmitted from one person to another:

• By way of bodily fluids (blood, semen, and vaginal secretions) during sexual contact. Saliva is not considered a transmission route for HIV.
• By sharing needles to inject drugs. Infected blood can be exchanged between the parties who are using the same needle and syringe.
• By accidental needle sticks in the health care industry(needles contaminated with HIV infected blood).

• Through the transfusion of infected blood or blood products (because of new and improved blood screening tools since 1992, this transmission route is no longer a concern).
• HIV infected woman can pass HIV to their babies during pregnancy, during delivery, or while breast feeding.
  

HIV Signs and Symptoms

Often people who are newly HIV infected have few or no symptoms. Other times, symptoms of HIV are confused with other illnesses such as the flu. If a person were to have symptoms they would include:

• Swollen lymph nodes in the neck, groin or under the arms
• Diarrhea
• Unexplained weight loss
• Fatigue
• Fever, chills or sweats (especially at night)
• Visual changes
• Frequent pneumonias or shortness of breath
• Rash
• Flu-like symptoms
  

How to Prevent HIV Infection

• Speak openly with partners about safer sex techniques and HIV status.
• If you don't know your status, get an HIV test to protect yourself and others.
• Get tested with your partner as a way of saying "you care and want both of you to stay healthy."
• Use a latex condom with each oral, anal or vaginal sexual encounter. Those with latex allergies should use latex-free condoms.
• Do not share needles or syringes if you inject drugs. If you do inject drugs, seek professional help to kick your habit.
• HIV infected pregnant women should get into regular prenatal care.
• HIV infected women should not breast feed.