Nurse Mark Comment:Be sure to check out these suggestions if you are looking for a bargain – Our subscribers and Wellness Club Members gave us such great feedback on last year’s Gift Suggestions Article that Dr. Myatt has again this year negotiated special discounts for Wellness Club Members and HealthBeat News subscribers!And, don’t forget that you can give the gift of good health anytime – just call me at 1-800-Dr Myatt (1-800-376-9288) and tell me that you would like to give someone you care for a Wellness Club Gift Certificate. We’ll send it in the amount of your choice to the person of your choice with the message of your choice in a nice card.Christmas Gift Ideas and SuggestionsBy Dr. "Santa" MyattForget "Black Friday"! (That doesn’t even SOUND good, does it?).
Music Boxes and Musical Jewelry Boxes.
They have a "Listening Station" where you can hear the tunes played (very neat!), and a custom engraving service if you want to further personalize your gift. Prices range from under $20 to big bucks, but you can give a fabulous gift for $40-$100. An excellent and delightful gift for both men and women, and perfect for the person who already "has everything." (Bet they don’t have one of these)! Their shipping is lightening-fast. You’ll have your gift in a couple of days. Use the "sort by price" feature if you’re looking for a unique gift under $50. Order through this special Wellness Club member link and get an additional 10% off the already-affordable prices: Wellness Club members and HealthBeat subscribers save an additional 10% off at Music Box Attic on any purchase by using Coupon Code "percent10". Sink and/or Shower Water Purifier.
A very thoughtful and healthful gift. Head over there today if you want to grab a "special" they’re featuring: both sink and shower purifiers in a smokin’ deal combo package. They also feature an auto-ship filter replacement service, very nice since all water purifiers must have regular filter changes to function optimally (and many people forget this important step).
Organic Salmon and Seafood. We all know that salmon is healthy, but only if it is wild caught Pacific salmon. Vital choice has some of the finest salmon and seafood available anywhere, delightfully packaged for easy gifting. Recommended by Dr. Perricone, Dr. Christiane Northrup and of course by Dr. Myatt! Not cheap, but some of the highest quality seafood and other organic products money can buy.
Flowers, Live Plants, Gift Baskets and More. This is my favorite flower delivery company, but I hesitate to call them just "flower delivery" because they have so much more. Great gift baskets, including wine and cheese baskets, plus living plants that will be treasured long after the holidays are past. Best of all, you can shop from hundreds of arrangements from home and most can be delivered the very same day. (I wouldn’t recommend waiting until the day before Christmas to order, however). This is a great resource to keep on hand for other holidays, birthdays, sympathy, get well, anniversaries. They have been voted "Best Online Florist" a number of times. Shop for Flowers, live plants and gourmet gift baskets. Looking for Something Really Special? How about a luxury cruise vacation? Whether to local ports of call like Hawaii or Alaska, or someplace warm like the Caribbean or Bahamas, or a fabulous tour of Europe, cruising is the preferred way to vacation. Unpack only once and see many beautiful ports of call, enjoy world-class buffets and entertainment daily, and be pampered by the finest luxury spas by day. Search cruises by length, location, price (and these folks offer a "low price guarantee," meaning you won’t find a great cruise for less anywhere). Imagine how surprised your special someone would be to receive tickets for a cruise vacation! Nifty Gifts Under $20. Got a list of friends you’d like to gift, but can’t afford to spend a fortune on each one? Collections has a large selection of nifty gifts, nothing over $20. You’re sure to find something suitable for the "friends" list. Their gifts also make great stocking-stuffers. A note of caution: the gifts are good quality, as represented in the catalogue. But they come in funky, junky Chinese-made boxes and bags. Expect to re-box these items to show them in their best light. Other than that, this is a great place for inexpensive presents (including some fabulous, inexpensive gifts for kids). Order through this link and get an additional 15% off any total over $65 — but hurry! These special prices are only good until Nov. 30th, 2008. Remember Our US Troops for Christmas. Head on over to Healthy Troops and send a service man or woman a care package for the Holidays If you send a package now, they will still receive it in time for Christmas. You don’t have to personally know a troop; we’ve got lots of them signed up and requesting these packages. Or (I’m doing this), send a care package to a troop on behalf of someone else, a charitable donation in their name. We’ll include a certificate that shows what was sent on their behalf, and any thank-you note we receive will be forwarded to them as well.
Don’t Forget Fifi and Fido! Organic and healthy treats for your favorite four-legged friends. No kidding, they have a special "Christmas gift selection" for cats and dogs. Wellness Club Members and HealthBeat subscribers save an additional 5% through this link: Save 5% on your first order at Only Natural Pet Store! |
Category: Uncategorized
-
Dr. Myatt’s Christmas Gift Ideas and suggestions
-
Grape Seed – Protects from Cancer, Heart Disease, Diabetes, And More!
Grape Seed Extract and Pycnogenol®, the trademarked name for the Oligomeric proanthocyanidins found in Grape Seed has been important around here over the last couple of weeks – first because of Lavine’s question in this issue of HealthBeat News, and also because we received a letter from a high-priced New York law firm telling us that the once-generic term Pycnogenol is now a trademarked name that mustn’t be used without appropriate care and credit to the trademark holder Horphag Overseas Ltd., and referring specifically to their brand of maritime pine extract.
Well, those two events, and several other patients of Dr. Myatt’s with serious conditions have prompted some in-depth research into Pycnogenol® and the Oligomeric proanthocyanidins found in Grape Seed. The results of that research caused us to update our webpage on Grape Seed Extract where you may also find over 50 scientific references to the value of this substance – including the first reference which also explains how the generic term pycnogenol became the trademarked term Pycnogenol®.
Protect Yourself From Cancer, Heart Disease, and Diabetes with One of Nature’s Most Potent Antioxidants
Oligomeric proanthocyanidins (OPC’s), found in many plants but primarily in grape seed extract and pine bark, is a potent antioxidant with 50 times more antioxidant power than vitamin E and 20 times more than vitamin C. Grape Seed Extract has more of the active ingredient, proanthocyanidins, than Pycnogenol® extracted from pine bark.
Studies performed over the last 25 years have demonstrated that OPC’s exert the following effects.
Grape Seed Extract (OPC’s) may prevent heart disease through a variety of mechanisms including :
- potent antioxidant effects
- vaso-relaxant effects (relaxes blood vessels)
- decreasing platelet “stickiness”
- protects again myocardial reperfusion injury
- limits LDL oxidation
- improves microcirculation
- anti-inflammatory effects
- strengthens blood vessels (useful in chronic venous insufficiency)
Grape Seed Extract (OPC’s) may be useful in both cancer prevention and treatment because of its antioxidant effects
- help prevent cancerous cellular changes
- anti-carcinogenic and chemoprotective effects
- inducing apoptosis in cancer cells (cell death)
- decreasing toxicity of many cancer drugs
- potentiates (increases) the effect of some cancer drugs while decreasing toxicity
Because OPC’s help strengthen collagen which may increase elasticity of skin, muscles, tendons and ligaments many people take grape seed extract as part of their skin rejuvenation program.
Grape Seed Extract has anti-histamine properties (it stabilizes the release of histamine from mast cells). Grape seed extract can be used like an antihistamine but without any of the typical drug-antihistamine side effects such as drowsiness.
Because of its many actions, Grape seed extract (OPC’s) may also be useful for:
- arthritis (anti-inflammatory and collagen strengthening)
- respiratory allergies (antihistamine)
- food allergies (antihistamine)
- ADHD (many cases are allergy-related)
- longevity and rejuvenation programs (blood viscosity and collagen-strengthening effects)
Please be sure to see the fully referenced version of this article!
-
45 Lessons Of Life
Sent to me by one of our HealthBeat News readers, these are reminders we should look at every day.
This was written By Regina Brett of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, Ohio.
"To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most-requested column I’ve ever written. My odometer rolls over to 70 in August, so here goes:"
1. Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It’s more healing than crying alone.
8. It’s okay to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past, so it won’t screw up the present.
12. It’s okay to let your children see you cry.
13. Don’t compare your life to others’. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn’t be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don’t worry; God never blinks.
16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
17. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful, or joyful.
18. Whatever doesn’t kill you, really does make you stronger.
19. It’s never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and up to no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don’t take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don’t save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don’t wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: ‘In five years, will this matter?’
27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive everyone everything.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn’t do.
35. Don’t audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
36. Growing old beats the alternative — dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood. Make it memorable.
38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else’s, we’d grab ours back.
41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
42. The best is yet to come.
43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up, and show up.
44. Yield.
45. Life isn’t tied with a bow, but it’s still a gift -
A Special Look At Women’s Health
Although men and women are susceptible to many of the same diseases, the causes, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of women’s health concerns can vary greatly from those of men. Because these differences have finally been recognized by modern medicine, a special "Women’s Health Month" has been designated to help educate and inform physicians and the general public.
Women’s Health Concerns
Heart disease is the #1 killer of women, although for many years it was mistakenly thought that women were less susceptible to heart disease. Cancer is # 2, with lung cancer (not breast cancer), being predominant. Stroke, diabetes, and osteoporosis are also major women’s health concerns. Menopause and peri-menopause aren’t diseases, but female hormone changes can cause many uncomfortable side effects and may predispose to other illnesses (such as osteoporosis) and premature aging. SO, let’s explore some simple ways to prevent common women’s health problems. (Don’t worry, gentlemen—- I’ll have plenty to say about men’s health in upcoming newsletters!) …..
What Women Need: The Basics
1.) A High-Quality Daily Multiple Vitamin/Mineral Supplement
Optimal (not just minimal) doses of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants should be the foundation of every good health program. Such optimal doses of nutrients are virtually impossible to obtain from diet, even a "good diet," because modern food processing and agricultural practices have left our food supply depleted. In addition, we are exposed to many more pollutants, stresses, impure water and contaminants in our environment, increasing our need for these protective antioxidants.
Taking vitamins is a wise health and prevention measure. Deficiencies of vitamins and minerals cause many diseases. Adding vitamins and minerals in supplemental form is an inexpensive "insurance policy" against some of the worst diseases of modern times. Consider just a few reasons to take a good multiple vitamin/mineral formula:
A deficiency of antioxidant vitamins and minerals (especially beta carotene, vitamins C & E, and selenium) is associated with higher incidence of cancers of the colon, breast, prostate, mouth, lungs and skin. Some researchers believe that antioxidant vitamin and mineral deficiencies may be related to higher incidence of all cancers.
A mineral deficiency, especially magnesium and potassium but also calcium, is associated with high blood pressure and cardiac arrhythmia.
Deficiencies of vitamins E, C, B6, B12, folic acid (a B vitamin), and bioflavonoids are associated with cardiovascular disease. The connection between vitamin E and heart health is so well established that conventional medical cardiologists are instructed to recommend vitamin E to their patients.
Healthy bones, and the prevention of osteoporosis, depend on sufficient levels of minerals, including calcium, magnesium, boron, zinc, copper, B vitamins, and vitamin D.
Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) and diabetes (high blood sugar) occur more frequently in people who are chromium deficient. After diabetes is present, low levels of vitamins A, C, E, plus zinc, selenium, choline, bioflavonoids and B complex vitamins are associated with more complications from the disease.
This list could go on for pages, but you get the idea. Deficiencies of key vitamins and minerals are correlated with disease. The best health insurance may not be an expensive medical policy, but the addition of sufficient vitamins to fill in the gaps in our day-to-day nutritional status.
2.) Essential Fatty Acids
Essential Fatty Acids, especially Omega-3 Essential Fatty Acids, are an absolute requirement in the human diet, hence the term "essential." The American diet is grossly deficient in Omega-3 Essential Fatty Acids. Flax and fish oil are the primary sources of Omega-3 Essential Fatty Acids.
Deficiencies of Omega-3 Essential Fatty Acids contribute to subtle body-wide inflammation which in turn is associated with over 60 known diseases including: overweight and obesity, heart disease, cancer, arthritis, stroke, allergies, asthma, autoimmune disease, neurological disease, psoriasis and eczema, high blood pressure.
The list above mentions only a few of the 60+ diseases associated with Essential Fatty Acid deficiency! Daily supplementation of Omega-3 Essential Fatty Acids is one of the healthiest choices one can make to prevent these many Essential Fatty Acid deficiency-associated diseases. The Essential Fatty Acids are SO important that the U.S. Government officially recommended in 2003 that Americans get more Omega-3 Essential Fatty Acids in their diet.
3.) Extra Bone Nutrients. (Calcium/magnesium/vitamin D and boron)
Vitamin D and magnesium are two extremely common American dietary deficiencies. In addition to their importance for heart-health, these nutrients, together with calcium, are also needed to keep bones strong and prevent or reverse osteoporosis. Women also have a higher requirement for calcium than men.
In elderly women, death from complications of hip fracture are nine times more common than death from breast cancer, yet few people realize the potential seriousness of this disease. Although osteoporosis is more common in post-menopausal women, it also occurs in men and in all age groups. White and Asian women are at greatest risk because their bones tend to be less dense to begin with. The current guidelines recommend 1,000mg per day of calcium (and corresponding amounts, about 1/2, of magnesium) for pre- and peri-menopausal women and 1,500mg per day for post-menopausal women.
Beyond the Basics: Female Hormone Balance
Those areas of women’s health that pertain to the sex hormones and female sex organs vary greatly from those of a man. Maintaining the correct balance of female sex hormones is one of the unique and most important aspect of a women’s health.
Normal weight is crucial to hormone balance. Fat cells manufacture estrogen. This can lead to an excess of estrogen in both men and women. Maintaining normal weight is important for balanced hormones. This is believed to be the reason that hormone-related cancers (breast, uterine, endometrial) are seen more frequently in overweight and obese women.
Although synthetic and horse-urine derived hormones have been the standard in conventional medicine for years, such forms of hormone replacement therapy are unsafe. Higher risk of heart disease and hormones-related cancers are the most worrisome side effects of conventional hormone replacement therapy (HRT). Most holistic physicians prefer to use natural HRT (nHRT), an alternative that actually reduces the risk of heart disease, hormone related cancers, osteoporosis and premature aging.
Those seeking self-help measures should try the following approach to hormone balance. If symptoms persist (hot flashes, depression, loss of libido, skin aging, bone loss, elevated cholesterol or heart disease), then consultation with an holistic physician and determination of a customized natural hormone Rx. should be considered.
Herbal Help for Hormone Balance
- Black cohosh (Cimicifuga racemosa) has long been used in traditional medicin
e for relief of menstrual cramps and hot flashes. Western medical studies have confirmed Black cohosh’s estrogenic effects. - Dong Quai (Angelica sinensis) has known estrogenic effects coupled with the ability to stabilize blood vessels. This "stabilization" is believed to be partly responsible for menopausal hot flash relief.
- Chasteberry (Vitex angus-castus) helps normalize sex hormone levels by acting on the pituitary gland and hypothalamus.
Natural Progesterone for Osteoporosis Prevention
Natural hormone precursors are being discovered to be safer and more effective than synthetic hormones. Many studies have shown that progesterone is more important than estrogen in preventing and reversing osteoporosis. Symptoms of progesterone deficiency include: fluid retention, bleeding between periods, polymenorrhea (abnormally frequent periods – every 2-3 weeks), hypermenorrhea (heavy periods), endometriosis, fibrocystic breasts, ovarian cysts. In a post-menopausal female, symptoms can include hot flashes and fluid retention.
Dr. Myatt’s "Healthy Woman" Protocol
DIET AND LIFESTYLE RECOMMENDATIONS
- Diet: eat a diet high in nutrient-rich foods.
- Achieve and maintain a normal weight.
- Exercise regularly. 30 minutes, 3 times per week minimum.
- Don’t smoke! The climacteric (menopause) occurs sooner in women who smoke. (Heart disease and cancer risk are also greatly elevated by smoking).
Primary Support
- Maxi Multi optimal dose multiple vitamins: 2 capsules, 3 times per day with meals OR Nutrizyme with iron: 1 tab, 3 times per day with meals (ONLY for women who have been told by their doctor to take iron for anemia).
- Max EPA (fish oil): 1-2 caps, 3 times per day with meals. (take the higher dose if you do not eat salmon, mackerel or herring at least twice per week). Flax oil is also beneficial but requires a biochemical conversion in the body, which is deficient in many people, so fish oil is more certain.
- Cal-Mag Amino: as needed to increase calcium intake to 1,500mg per day (post menopausal) or 1,000mg per day (pre and peri-menopausal). Maxi Multi contains 1000mg calcium & 500mg magnesium. Post menopausal females take 3 caps per day with meals in addition to Maxi Multi.
Additional Support for Hormone Balance
- Black Cohosh Plus+ : 1-2 capsules, 3 times per day as needed. When symptoms improve, decrease the dose to the smallest amount needed to maintain wellbeing.
- Natural Progesterone Cream one pencil-eraser sized dab of cream, rubbed into the wrist, inner thigh or abdomen, 1-2 times daily or as needed to control hot flashes. Decrease the dose when symptoms subside and maintain the lowest dose needed to maintain wellbeing.
In Summary
Given a little bit of proper care and attention, your body will serve you well for many years. I guarantee you’ll be delighted at the improved health, energy and vitality you will experience from making a few small changes in your diet, supplements and lifestyle.
- Black cohosh (Cimicifuga racemosa) has long been used in traditional medicin
-
A Small Collection Of Aphorisms
APHORISM: A SHORT, POINTED SENTENCE EXPRESSING A WISE, CLEVER OBSERVATION, A GENERAL TRUTH OR ADAGE …
1. The nicest thing about the future is that it always starts tomorrow.
2. Money will buy a fine dog but only kindness will make him wag his tail.
3. If you don’t have a sense of humor, you probably don’t have any sense at all.
4. Seat belts are not as confining as wheelchairs.
5. A good time to keep your mouth shut is when you’re in deep water.
6. How come it takes so little time for a child who is afraid of the dark to become a teenager who wants to stay out all night?
7. Business conventions are important because they demonstrate how many people a company can operate without.
8. Why is it that at class reunions you feel younger than everyone else looks?
9. Scratch a dog and you’ll find a permanent job.
10. No one has more driving ambition than the boy who wants to buy a car.
11. There are no new sins; the old ones just get more publicity.
12. There are worse things than getting a call for a wrong number at 4 AM. Like this: It could be a right number.
13. No one ever says ‘It’s only a game’ when their team is winning.
14. I’ve reached the age where the happy hour is a nap.
15. Be careful reading the fine print. There’s no way you’re going to like it.
16. The trouble with bucket seats is that not everybody has the same size bucket.
17. Do you realize that in about 40 years we’ll have millions of old ladies running around with tattoos? (And rap music will be the Golden Oldies!)
18. Money can’t buy happiness but somehow it’s more comfortable to cry in a Corvette than in a Yugo.
19. After 70, if you don’t wake up aching in every joint, you are probably dead.
If you hate crowded shopping malls as much as I do, or feel stumped about what to give for holiday gifts, here are my recommendations for unique gifts to consider and there’s still plenty of time to order for holiday gifting. Best of all, you can browse and order from the warmth and comfort of home — in your jammies if you want to! — instead of fighting the crowds. Here are my top picks for holiday gifting. 
Know someone who is still buying bottled water? (Or worse, drinking unknown tap water?) Or showering in chemical-filled municipal H2O? Aquasana makes a nifty sink water purifier with a sleek design and easy installation. Ditto for a shower-head water purifier. Best of all, these water filters and purifiers have received the highest ratings for quality. 
