HealthBeat News

Author: Wellness Club

  • What Foods Are "Essential?"

    What Foods Are “Essential?” Do You Know?

     

    By Nurse Mark

     

    I was chatting with an old friend recently – he was asking me a few questions about diet. It quickly became clear to me that he wasn’t too certain about what nutrients (i.e.: “foods”) are essential and which are not.

    “What can you tell me about the essential foods?” I asked. “Which foods are essential foods?”

    Now, that really wasn’t a fair question I suppose, since my friend began to hum and haw and mumbled something about “well, you’ve got your vegetables, and you’ve got your rice and beans, and then there’s your breads and pastas…”

    I realized what a great job of misinformation our USDA has done with their politically-driven “Food Pyramid” (TM) that our conventional medical establishment and conventionally trained nutritionists promote so slavishly.

    Yes, people actually believe that fruits and vegetables and bread and potatoes are “Essential foods!”

    Let’s start out with some definitions and see if we can figure out what’s what:

    Essential in this case means “necessary for the maintenance of life.” We say a nutrient is essential because the human body must receive it from without, as food, for it cannot be synthesized by the body from other substances.

    Water is a good example of an essential nutrient. Surprise – you never thought of water as a nutrient, did you?

    Nutrients are substances which provide our bodies with the materials needed to function: they can provide energy or the structural materials from which our bodies are built and maintained. Some nutrients provide both.

    Nutrients can further be thought of as Macronutrients, needed in larger amounts and generally supplying energy or calories to our bodies, and Micronutrients, needed in smaller amounts and supplying important structural and functional materials such as vitamins and minerals.

    Macronutrients are generally considered to be Carbohydrates, Fatty Acids, and Amino Acids – all of which supply energy (measured as ‘calories’) to our bodies.

    Two of those macronutrients can be considered “essential” and one is not. Do you know which is which?

    “Essential Fatty Acids” are popular these days – with many products on the grocers shelf proclaiming to be “high in essential fatty acids”.

    Many of the fatty acids are non-essential, meaning the body can produce them as needed by building them out of other fatty acids. However, at least two fatty acids are essential and must be included in the diet. An appropriate balance of those essential fatty acids – omega-3 and omega-6 – is essential for continued health.

    The simpler name for Essential Fatty Acids is just plain ol’ fat. Fats are an essential component of our diet and without them we would sicken and die.

    “Essential Amino Acids” are likewise popular on food labels with everything from junk breakfast cereals to supposedly healthy-choice “energy bars” loudly proclaiming the inclusion of ‘essential amino acids’ in their recipes.

    Amino Acids are the foundation for body structures such as muscles, skin, and hair and they form enzymes that control chemical reactions throughout our body. The body requires amino acids to make new proteins and to repair or replace damaged proteins. Some amino acids are essential (meaning we cannot produce them internally) and some are non-essential (meaning that we can produce them internally from other compounds). There are twenty-one proteinogenic (used to create or build proteins) amino acids present in our bodies, ten of which are essential and must come from our diet. A diet that contains adequate amounts of amino acids is especially important during early development, growth and maturation, pregnancy, lactation, or injury.

    The more common dietary term for Essential Amino Acids is simply protein. Protein is so essential to life that if it is not adequate in the diet our bodies will “cannibalize” our own muscles and other tissues in an effort to maintain our most vital organs such as our heart.

    “Carbohydrates” are also much talked-about these days, with “good carbs” and “bad carbs” and “simple carbs” and “complex carbs” and high glycemic and low glycemic carbs, and on and on and on. There is so much talk about carbohydrates that they must be essential in our nutrition- right? Wrong!

    There is no such thing, in human nutrition, as an essential carbohydrate. That’s right, we don’t need carbohydrates!

    Now, before someone sits down to write me a scathing letter accusing me of being ignorant of the need for carbohydrates (glucose) in certain areas of cellular metabolism such as the brain, yes, I am aware of that need for very small amounts of carbohydrate (glucose) based energy.

    But our bodies are a truly wonderful machine – for even in the total absence of any carbohydrate intake (highly unlikely, but theoretically possible) our body is quite capable of furnishing whatever carbohydrates are required through a process called gluconeogenesis which is the creation of glucose. This process occurs mainly in the liver and as long as the body has adequate glucogenic amino acids and fatty acids to work with it is very efficient.

    Gluconeogenesis is how our distant hunter-gatherer ancestors managed to survive the lean times when game was scarce and there were no fruits or berries in season and roots and tubers were in short supply. Our livers evolved to be very, very good at turning any small scrap of protein or fat into energy.

    So, just what are the “essential nutrients” and what are not? Here’s the “Cliff-Notes” for those who just want the bottom line:

    • Water: Essential – we must have it or we dehydrate and die!
    • Vitamins: Some are essential (like vitamin c) and some (like vitamin d) can be made by our bodies as long as we are otherwise well-nourished.
    • Minerals: Essential – we must obtain minerals and trace minerals from diet. Potassium, sodium (salt), calcium are examples.
    • Fatty Acids: Essential.
    • Amino Acids: Essential
    • Carbohydrates: Absolutely not essential – our bodies can make these from other substances like amino acids and fatty acids very efficiently.

    But what about “The Essential Food Groups”? (I think that the USDA and conventional medicine and conventional dieticians have this term trademarked and patented)

    We are told to think of “The Essential Food Groups” as being groups based on the Food Guide Pyramid (TM) with “importance” as follows:

    1. Carbohydrate group
    2. Vegetable group
    3. Fruit group
    4. Fat Group
    5. Dairy group
    6. Protein group

    From our discussions above you can rate this for yourself – but here are my thoughts:

    • The carbohydrates are unnecessary, except that they may provide fiber which is an important part of diet, yet not actually considered to be a “nutrient” by conventional medicine. The consumption of carbohydrates, especially in the importance given to it by our USDA, results in a great number of health problems.
    • Vegetables provide vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients and in some cases amino acids and fatty acids. They may also provide fiber. Some vegetables can be considered “superfoods” because they contain such high levels of important and valuable nutrients – just don’t cook all those nutrients away! Many vegetables (such as carrots) are very high in carbohydrates (sugar) – so use them in moderation.
    • Some fruits provide sugars (carbohydrates), a few vitamins and often little else. They sure are tasty though. Still, many fruits, such as berries, can be considered “superfoods” because of their phytonutrients and antioxidants and other benefits. Be aware of the sugar content of some fruits compared to their other benefits.
    • Fats, as we have seen, are essential. Cholesterol is a fat that is so important to us that our liver can create it ‘de novo’ – just like it can create glucose ‘de novo.’ Eggs are our friend – enough said!
    • Dairy is a confusing one – there are amino acids, fatty acids, minerals, and vitamins present in raw, unpasteurized dairy products – but once cows milk has been pasteurized, homogenized, sterilized, irradiated, fortified, and otherwise denatured, all bets are off! Once it has been worked over like that it is mostly a high-sugar (lactose) white drink that causes all sorts of allergy and intolerance problems. Sorry, but that’s just how I see it. Try raw milk sometime – I guarantee you’ll never want to drink the other stuff ever again!
    • Proteins, considered by our mighty USDA to be the least important and least necessary of their food groups is, as we have seen, possibly the most important to life after water! The very word protein, derived from the Greek ‘protos’, means “first” – as in “first in importance.” Without protein in our diets we would quickly weaken and die. With apologies to the sensitivities of our vegetarian and vegan readers, animal protein is the most natural, complete and easily obtained source of essential amino acids for most people. Just try to be sure that your protein sources are free of antibiotics, hormones, and GMO’s (Genetically Modified Organisms). Look for “organic”. Remember that eggs are one of nature’s best deals as a protein source. Did I mention eggs? Eggs are a health food!

     

    O.K. my old friend, there you have it – nutrition in a nutshell. Hope this helps you understand diet a little better.

  • Coming Soon To A Store Near You: Frankenfish!

    The GMO Animals Are Coming!

     

    By Nurse Mark

     

    GMO (Genetically Modified Organisms) are a fact of life – the genetic genie has been let out of the bottle and big business is loathe to see him put back – the profit potentials are just too huge for them.

    For every reason, Dr. Myatt and I urge everyone who can to consider either raising their own organic foods or to buy locally grown organic foods. Even city-dwellers can raise a small garden for fresh organic vegetables or can keep a few chickens in a backyard “chicken tractor” (no foolin’ – search that term in google!) to ensure a steady supply of wholesome, clean eggs. Your local farmer’s market can provide you with wholesome, pure foods if you will support it.

    This just in to us from The Alliance For Natural Health :

    Action Alert: Genetically Modified Frankenfish!

    Coming to you soon—and you probably won’t know that you’re eating it.

    Genetically modified salmon—the first GMO animal for human consumption—is reaching the final stages in its approval. Most terrifying: they might not have to tell us if our fish is GM or not!

    I urge you to visit the Alliance For Natural Health website where you can read this article in it’s entirety and there is a link there that will allow you to send an Action Alert Message to the FDA.

  • Antibiotics: Three Strikes, You’re Out

    Antibiotics: Three Strikes, You’re Out

     

    By Dr. Myatt

     

    Antibiotics are powerful medicines that fight bacterial infections. Used properly, antibiotics can save lives. They either kill bacteria outright or keep them from reproducing. Your body’s natural defenses can usually take it from there.

    Antibiotics do not fight infections caused by viruses, such as colds, flu, most coughs, bronchitis, most sinus infections and sore throats (unless caused by strep).

    If a virus is making you sick, taking antibiotics may do more harm than good. Each time you take antibiotics, you increase the chances that bacteria in your body will be able to resist them. Later, you could get or spread an infection that those antibiotics cannot cure.

    Antibiotic-fed hormone-raised meat is another source of antibiotic exposure.

    Meet Some of the “Super-Bugs”: Potentially Lethal Gang-Banger Bacteria So Bad They Defy Antibiotic Treatment

    “Super Bugs” — lethal bacteria that are antibiotic-resistant — are increasing at an alarming rate. Bacteria-halting antibiotics which used to be “wonder drugs” are all but powerless against these new Bad Boys.

    MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) is a bacteria that has gone from a “controllable nuisance” to a serious public health threat.

    One percent of all hospital stays, or 292,045 per year, are associated with MRSA. MRSA accounts for some 14,000 deaths per year.

    Symptoms of MRSA can include sepsis (blood poisoning), cellulitis, Infection of the heart valves (endocarditis),
    Pneumonia, Toxic shock syndrome, Organ failure and death.

    VRE (Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococci) caused about one of every three infections in hospital intensive-care units in 2004 according to the Centers for Disease Control.

    Infection with VRE can cause fever, urinary tract infections, sepsis (blood poisoning) and infection of surgical sites.

    C-Diff (clostridium difficile) occurs when competing good gut flora are wiped out by antibiotics. The current Hospital infection rate for this bug is 25% higher than for MRSA.

    C-diff include attacks the lining of the large intestine, damaging the colon and producing toxins. Symptoms of C-diff include watery diarrhea, fever, abdominal pain and cramping (often severe), nausea with or without vomiting, and weight loss. C-diff can also lead to pseudomembranous colitis (areas of infection and pus pockets in the bowel) and bowel perforation.

    C-diff is one of the most common hospital-acquired infections. It is resistant to most antibiotics.

    What’s My Point?

    Over-use and misuse of antibiotics has resulted in antibiotic-resistant “Super Bugs” that can cause serious infections and even death. Much of this resistance is avoidable.

    Here are some protective steps you can take.

    1.) Take antibiotics judiciously. Many doctors will prescribe antibiotics when they are not necessary because they believe the patient wants to take them.

    I’ve had conversations like this at medical conferences:
    They, “Do you prescribe antibiotics for colds?”
    Me, “no, do you?”
    They,”yes.”
    Me, “why?”
    They, “Because patients think they need them and if I don’t prescribe them, they will go to another doctor to get them.”

    In other words, docs hand these out to please you (placebo) even when they are unnecessary.

    So… stop playing doctor and demanding antibiotics for every sniffle, cough and even sinus infections. (most sinus infections are caused by fungi, not bacteria). Read Nurse Mark’s HealthBeat News article I Feel A cold Coming On – Better Get An Antibiotic! Ask your doctor, “Do I really need to take an antibiotic?” If you don’t sound like you are pressing for one, your doctor will probably level with you and say, “no, you don’t really need one for this condition. It is probably not a bacteria infection.”

    2.) Strengthen your immune system. I like formulas such as my Immune Support.

    A good multiple vitamin/mineral formula contains immune-enhancing nutrients including vit. C, beta carotene, zinc, and selenium.

    3.) Use natural antibiotics as a “first choice” for non-bacterial infections and mild bacterial problems. Save the “big guns” antibiotics for big problems and they are more likely to serve you well.

    For UTI’s (Urinary Tract Infections / bladder infections): D-mannose
    For MRSA and other antibiotic-resistant bacteria: Allimax, AlliUltra

    4.) Eat antibiotic-free and hormone-free meat. This costs a little more but the health (and taste!) benefits are worth the money. How can you put a price-tag on your good health?

    Finally, enjoy the HealthBeat News article we wrote about antibiotics and the rise of superbugs some time ago: Antibiotics For Everything! A pill For Every Ill!

     

     

    REFERENCES

    Thomas R. Frieden, M.D., M.P.H. Antibiotic Resistance and the Threat to Public Health. Committee on Energy and Commerce
    Subcommittee on Health United States House of Representatives,
    Wednesday, April 28, 2010. [overuse of human and animal antibiotics]
    http://www.hhs.gov/asl/testify/2010/04/t20100428b.html

    Hadley J. Sharp, BS; David Denman, MD; Susan Puumala, MS; Donald A. Leopold, MD. Treatment of Acute and Chronic Rhinosinusitis in the United States, 1999-2002. Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2007;133(3):260-265. [most sinus infections not bacterial]

    L. Clifford McDonald, Matthew J. Kuehnert, Fred C. Tenover, and William R. Jarvis. Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococci Outside the Health-Care Setting: Prevalence, Sources, and Public Health Implications.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia.Emerging Infectious Diseases, Vol. 3, Issue 3, July-Sept 1997.

    Janet M. Torpy; Cassio Lynm; Richard M. Glass. Clostridium difficile Colitis. JAMA. 2009;301(9):988 (doi:10.1001/jama.301.9.988).
    http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/301/9/988

  • The Subtle Formula for Health

    The Subtle Formula for Health (Why Small Choices Matter)

     

    By Dr. Dana Myatt

     

    Disease and poor health are rarely caused by a single, cataclysmic event.

     

    Most people do not lose their health overnight. Instead, disease and declining health result from an accumulation of poor judgement and unhealthy lifestyle choices.

    In other words, most disease is caused by a few small mistakes, repeated frequently.

    Why would anyone who knows they are making bad choices or “cheating” on their health be so foolish to keep repeating those bad choices day in and day out? Because the average person doesn’t realize how much those small choices matter.

    Individually, our little daily indiscretions don’t seem that important. A slight bit of overeating here, forgetting to take supplements a time or two there, skipping our daily exercise a couple of times a week doesn’t cause any instant or noticeable problem. Most of the time, we escape any immediate consequences of our “slips.”

    People who eat too many unhealthy foods are contributing to future health problems, but the temporary pleasure of the moment overshadows the potential consequences of the future. If one is lucky, that over-the-top sugary desert causes a stomach ache and we are not eager to repeat the taste again. Usually, however, there is no apparent consequence for such a “small” bad choice. And so we come to believe that such a choice “doesn’t matter,” forgetting that such choices are cumulative. Because there are no apparent repercussions, it becomes increasingly easier to enjoy a sweet desert more often.

    The same holds true for smoking, drinking, skipping exercise, skimping on sleep. One may not feel immediate consequences, but don’t be fooled! The consequences have simply been delayed for a future date.  These choices accumulate until the “day of reckoning” arrives. Eventually the price must be paid for our “little” poor choices, choices that didn’t seem to matter at the time.

    Disease’s most dangerous trait is subtlety. Those little errors don’t seem to make any difference. We eat desert every night and nothing bad seems to happen. Our health does not seem to be failing. Because nothing terrible happens over these small choices and no immediate consequence captures our attention, we continue from day to day, repeating the errors, eating the wrong foods, skipping the exercise, forgetting our supplements and making poor choices. The sky did not fall on us yesterday when we skipped our supplements, so we think that probably didn’t have much effect and that skipping them doesn’t matter.  Since the choice seemed to have no negative consequence, it feels safe to repeat.

    Wake up and smell the green tea!

    If we ate a rich desert and woke up the next morning with fifty extra pounds of fat hanging off our middle, we’d notice – pronto!

    Such immediate feedback would undoubtedly merit an emergency visit to the doctor and a promise to ourselves not to repeat such an act. Like a child who sticks his finger in a flame despite warnings, the instantaneous feedback would have convinced us of the folly of our ways.

    Unfortunately, most poor choices don’t holler out warnings or give immediate feedback. This is why anyone aiming for good health, sustained into old age, must be wise enough to recognize the cumulative effects of small daily choices and develop a philosophy of consistently making better choices. With a clear personal health philosophy guiding our steps, we can more clearly see our errors in judgment and also see how those small daily choices really do matter.

    In reverse order, the results of consistent good choices are not always immediately apparent. As one patient recently remarked, “I took those supplements for a whole week and didn’t feel any different!” Positive changes resulting from small, positive choices take time to accumulate and manifest, just like poor choices take time to manifest.

    Fortunately, the formula for health is just as easy as the formula for disease. Good health is a matter of a few simple habits practiced every day.

    One way to make small daily habits a part of our routine is to make a decision to be healthy in the future. Only by caring about our state of health in the future will we be able and willing to make small, positive changes today.

    What do you want your future to look like? When you are old, do you want to be healthy and vigorous, still able to play a keen round of golf or throw a few hoops with the grand kids? If you can see yourself as vigorous and healthy tomorrow, you will have stoked the fires of enthusiasm today.

    How many good things could happen to your health if you took just a few minutes each day to think about your future? The consequences of your repeated actions would become clear to you, and the day-to-day choices would become easier.

    One of the exciting things about this “Health formula”  of just changing a few simple habits, practiced every day,  is that the results, though not immediate, can be seen quickly.  Fifteen minutes a day of exercise, replacing water for soda pop, taking nutritional supplements regularly instead of occasionally — these simple habits will improve our health noticeably in just a few weeks. That positive feedback, combined with our increased awareness and pro-activity toward our future, can make a significant difference in our health today and tomorrow.

    Little choices practiced consistently add up to big results, whether for good or ill. Remember, “The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.”  — Chinese proverb.

    Will you start today to make “deposits” toward a future of good health?

  • An Expert Comments On Our Microwave Article

    Feedback On Our Microwave Article From An Expert

     

    By Nurse Mark

     

    It’s always good to receive feedback on our articles, and we especially like to know that our writings can survive the scientific scrutiny of those who are expert in their field. Our article Microwave Oven Safety – A Special Investigative Report which exposed the myths and urban legends and just plain bad science that is bandied about by those who oppose microwave ovens (and often almost all other technology) was well-received by our readers and we’ve had plenty of positive feedback and as yet no negative feedback.

    Still, we are always concerned that our research has been complete and our statements are accurate. It was gratifying to receive the following note from Andrew, whose return email address was at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, or IEEE. – leading me to believe that he may have some expertise in this subject – and indeed, he mentions that he is an electronics engineer.

    Andrew writes:

    Dr. Myatt,

    On the Microwave.htm page you state, “I don’t use an electric blanket and avoid having EFM’s [sic] within 8 feet of my sleeping space.”  The rest of the information about microwave ovens on that page is great, well-written and sensible, but the statement about electric blankets and EMF (electromagnetic fields) is pure superstition.  Just look at the diagram on your page, “Types of Radiation in the Electromagnetic Spectrum”.  You’ll see that power lines and all the wiring in houses connected to the grid, radiate at 60 Hz, at the far left of the chart.  The electromagnetic wavelength of 60 Hz is 5 million meters, or 3106 miles, about the width of the United States from the Atlantic to the Pacific Oceans.  As any electronics engineer (such as I) or amateur radio operator will tell you, antennas shorter than 1/4 wavelength are very inefficient in launching radiation into space.  Unless you live in a VERY BIG house, with rooms that are tens of miles in length and width, I candidly submit that the wiring in the walls, and certainly any electric blanket one might choose to use on a cold night, are all very INEFFICIENT radiators and LESS capable of inducing electromagnetic fields in your house or your body than that high-voltage transmission line located 20 miles from your house.  To avoid EMFs from power line sources, you’d have to completely give up AC-powered lights and appliances and sequester yourself in a Faraday Cage for the rest of your life, like Bubble Boy.  That’s silly.  Enjoy your microwave oven, electric blanket and AC-powered alarm clock and don’t worry.

    And here is my reply to Andrew:

    Hi Andrew,
    Thank you for your feedback and for pointing out my typo. I am pleased that found our article to be worthwhile – we often tread a very fine line when writing these articles as we must be accessible and understandable to our lay readers, while presenting information that will survive the critical scrutiny of scientifically trained people like yourself.

    As amateur radio operators Dr. Myatt and I are both familiar with just how poorly antennas of less than 1/4 wavelength perform – even the “rubber duck” types that are supposedly designed to perform as if they are much longer…

    We have however made informal readings with our little “Gauss Meter” and found that many of our a.c. – powered appliances and conveniences are emitting something, even if only at very low levels and very close ranges. So, until we are absolutely satisfied that there can be no risk from cumulative exposure to such minimal emissions, we’ll err on the side of caution.

    After all, there are those who would argue that the human organism was evolved in the complete absence of these sorts of emissions, and that by bathing ourselves in the various frequencies of man-made radiations that we do in our modern world we are engaging in a grand experiment with the long-term results unknown.

    We have 500KV transmission lines not 20 miles, but actually less than 1/4 mile from our home, so we are familiar with the drop-off of effect that can be seen on our little gauss meter, and also familiar with the fun of illuminating fluorescent tubes beneath the lines at night.

    Odd that you would mention living in a Faraday cage – our home is wrapped in wire mesh and finished in stucco – the mesh is grounded, and the roof is steel. Not a complete or true cage, but close for practical purposes…

    With regard to the a.c. alarm clocks, in addition to any concerns about EMFs there is research to indicate that the artificial illumination provided by many of these can be sufficient to interfere with normal melatonin production.

    Electric blankets, in addition to any concerns real or imagined about EMFs, have certainly been implicated in burns and fires resulting from their use over or under sleeping persons. We love our electric mattress cover (we sleep outdoors, under the stars much of the year) but we find that once our bed is pre-warmed, we can unplug – body heat is more than enough to keep us comfortable under our down cover.

    We’ll not be giving up any of our electrical conveniences – the boons of our technologic civilization – we’ll just enjoy then with due respect and caution so that we needn’t worry.

    Again, thanks for your feedback!

    Cheers,
    Nurse Mark
    KE7YSQ