Fighting the Flu

Every year, up to twenty percent of Americans will get the flu virus and 200,000 or more are hospitalized because of it. The flu vaccines are in short supply again this year so you should look at some additional ways to help protect yourself form the flu.

Protein is very important in the body’s immune system. The antibodies and other elements of the immune system are all composed of protein. Therefore, when your body lacks protein, you are more susceptible to getting sick. Most Americans receive enough protein in their diets but elderly and poor people may not be getting enough protein because of the cost of meat, chewing difficulties, or the hassle of preparing it. Fortunately, these people can get enough protein through alternative foods such as dried beans, tofu, nuts and eggs.

Folate, zinc, iron and vitamins C, E, B6 and B12 also work with protein to keep your immune system working well. It has been proven that an iron deficiency or excessive levels of iron will make your immune system less functional than that of someone who receives the recommended Dietary Reference Intake (DRI) levels.

Zinc has been receiving quite a bit of attention as a possible way to boost your immune systems functionality. The Institute of Medicine recommends that you receive 8 to 11 milligrams per day of zinc, and most U.S. adults meet this recommendation, however, there are many that are mildly deficient. Also, excessive levels of zinc can actually suppress the immune systems functionality as well. Research has found that up to 40 milligrams of zinc per day from foods and supplements is safe. You can find zinc in seafood, meats, dairy products, eggs, whole grains and multivitamins.

Diet and lifestyle seem to be the key factors of maintaining a healthy immune system. A diet that has a lot of fat in it will decrease your immune function, while a very low-fat diet will also lower a persons immune system functionality. Also, a lack of carbohydrates can disrupt your immune system. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, recommends that you regularly exercise to keep your immune system healthy. However, excessive amounts of exercise can actually increase your risk of infection. Drinking enough fluids and getting enough sleep will help your body fight off infections.

Many herbal products and remedies made from echinacea have been said to raise the effectiveness of your body’s immune system. However, studies have concluded that these products are effective as a short-term treatment but do not show any long-term benefit from regular use of the products. While echinacea herbal products may increase your immune systems activity for a time, it does not seem to prevent you from infection later on. People with autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis should avoid these products since they increase your immune systems activity.

Products containing live bacteria, known as probiotics, are being studied to see if they might help improve the immune systems function. Probiotics are foods like yogurt or cultured milk that have live bacteria in them. In most cases, immune function tends to decline as a person gets older, however, in one study, seniors age 60 to 83 saw greater levels of immunity after six weeks of daily probiotic intake.

The last bit of advice would be to maintain good hygiene as well. Washing your hands thoroughly and regularly will help keep you from infection. It is also recommended that you avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth even if you wash your hands regularly because bacteria can enter the body from any of these places. Exercising, getting enough sleep and maintaining a balanced diet will help keep you healthy during this flu season.

Inflammation Linked to Disease

A big topic in the medical world right now is how certain types of inflammation might affect your risk of stroke, diabetes, heart attack and cancer. In most cases, inflammation is a sign of your immune system working properly, but not every kind of inflammation is good and it’s the invisible kind that happens in our cells that is causing the problem.

There is an enzyme in our body called COX-2 that boosts the production of inflammatory substances. Most of the time, these proteins and other hormone-like substances are produced without a problem. However, in certain cases, they might help cancer cells multiply and spread throughout the body. This is why testing is underway for types of anti-inflammatory drugs, labeled COX-2 inhibitors, that may play a role in preventing or treating certain types of cancer, including: cancer of the colon, uterus, breast, prostate and other tissues.

Also, scientists are studying whether or not the way we eat could affect chronic inflammation that could cause cancer risk or other health problems. Researchers around the globe are examining different aspects of the issue to see if they can come up with an answer to the problem.

Some researchers are examining how two families of polyunsaturated fats may be able to work together to play a protective role. Omega-3 fats are found in fatty fish, flaxseeds or flaxseed oil, walnuts and canola oil. Omega-6 fats are found in vegetable oils. All of these are considered to be healthy for your heart because they do not raise your blood cholesterol. The problem right now is that when you have more omega-6 fats than omega-3 fats, your body increases your COX-2 levels and produces more of the hormones that cause inflammation. However, when omega-3 and omega-6 fats are more balanced in your diet, your body produces less of the hormones that promote inflammation.

It is because of this that scientists believe that boosting omega-3 fats with regular consumption of the foods containing omega-6 fats (such as fish or flax), an reduce our over consumption of vegetable oils, the COX-2 in our bodies will become less active and decrease the production of inflammatory hormones.

Another group of scientists are trying to determine whether or not inflammation is a main reason why obesity has been linked with a higher risk of cancer. Research has suggested tat fat cells produce cytokines, which promote low-grade inflammation, and that distribution of our body fat could play a role. A recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association has shown that inflammation increased by more than 50 percent in obese women who had fat stored mainly in their hips and thighs, and by over 400 percent in women with more waistline fat.

Studies have also shown that regular exercise may lower the levels of inflammatory proteins by strengthening the immune system. This could explain why regular exercise has been linked to lower cancer risk.

Other scientists are investigating how a plant-based diet may keep inflammation levels down. Antioxidants and phytochemicals found in fruits and vegetables can protect cell DNA from damage that can lead to cancer. Also, these antioxidants and phytochemicals may also lower the production of the inflammation causing hormones. Currently, a large variety of fruits and vegetables are being examined to see if they may be able to lower the effects of COX-2.

All of the evidence that is currently linking diet to inflammation and cancer risk is still very preliminary, and it would be a little early to adjust our diets accordingly, but this is not the only reason that making these adjustments would be beneficial. It has been proven that eating more fruits and vegetables along with regular exercise can lower your cancer risk by up to 40 percent. It is already proven that these methods work – this new information will just give us a batter understanding of how and why.

Healthy Eating May Save Your Eyes

Recent studies have suggested that healthy eating habits that are recommended to lower your risk of cancer may also lower your risk of irreversible blindness. Currently, age-related macular degeneration, or AMD, is not understood but experts are saying it may stem from oxidation reactions causing the damage. A study has shown that high doses of antioxidant supplements may slow the progression of AMD. However, this research does not suggest that high-dose supplements for AMD prevention are safe.

The study that tested the antioxidants and their ability to fight the progression of AMD was the Age-Related Eye Disease Study, or AREDS. Supplements of five to 13 times the recommended dosage of beta-carotene, vitamins C and E, and Zinc, were given to patients who had Early or Late-stage AMD.

Supplement usage was directly linked to a 25 percent decrease in the progression from early to late-stage AMD after five years or regular use. These studies do not show any benefit of early supplementation in preventing AMD, so researchers suggest lifestyle changes to lower your risk of developing AMD. A balanced diet containing a variety of vegetables, hats and UV protective sunglasses to reduce damage to the eyes from sunlight are some of the best ways to prevent AMD.

A new large study supports that a diet containing many foods with antioxidant nutrients used in AREDS can lower your risk of developing AMD. The study sampled men and women ages 55 and older who had no AMD at the beginning of the study. After eight years time, the people whose diets ranked in the top half for Vitamins C and E, zinc beta-carotene were 35 percent less likely to develop AMD. When people who used dietary supplements were eliminated from the study, the results were unchanged.

In recent studies, 400 IU (International Units) of vitamin E was associated with health risks, however, the levels of vitamin E linked to AMD protection was only at 20 to 30 IU. The research in this study also concluded that having a diet rich in several antioxidants is better at lowering your risk of AMD than having a high amount of one type of antioxidant.

To lower your risk of AMD by receiving the correct levels of vitamins C and E, beta-carotene and zinc, it is recommended that you eat these foods as part of a balanced diet: at least 6 servings of fruit and vegetables; at least 3 servings of whole grains; 4 to 6 ounces of poultry, seafood or meat (or an equivalent of beans); 5 to 7 teaspoons of olive, canola, or other similar oils; and an ounce of nuts.

Other large studies have suggested that eating fish two or more times a week may significantly lower your risk of AMD. However, polyunsaturated fat, which is found in fish, can increase your risk of AMD because of the fat’s chemical structure which is vulnerable to oxidation reactions.

In a recent study, women who chose to eat foods with a higher glycemic index had more than double the rate of early AMD. The diets these women chose tended to be higher in refined grains and sweets than in fruits, vegetables and whole grains.

According to these studies, there is a definite correlation between their diets and AMD, even though the researchers took into account the amount of fat and little amount of antioxidant nutrients in the diets. It is very possible that refined carbohydrates can actually cause inflammation and tissue damage leading to AMD. Also, the lack of nutrients and phytochemicals could explain the added AMD risk.

When you are sick with Diabetes

When you are sick, your blood glucose levels can become elevated without even knowing it. It is recommended that you do the following while you are sick:

• Consistently check your blood glucose level every 4 hours and keep track of your results.
  
• Maintain taking your insulin and diabetes pills regardless of whether or not you can keep food down. Consult your doctor to see if you should change your dosage.
  
• Drink at least 8 ounces of anything that is calorie and caffeine free every hour before sleeping, such as water.
  
• Try crackers, soup, or drinking juice if you are until to eat your regular foods.
  
• If you are unable to eat, drink clear liquids. Eat or drink something containing sugar if you are unable to keep other foods down.
  
• Perform a urine test for ketones if your blood glucose is over 240, or you can’t keep food or liquids down.
  
• Continue to take your insulin regardless if you’ve been throwing up.
  
• Consult your doctor about whether or not you should change your dosage based on your blood glucose test results.
  
• If you do not use insulin: Continue to take your diabetes pills regardless if you’ve been throwing up.
  
• Get in touch with your health care provider if any of the following apply to you:
  1) Your blood glucose is over 240 for longer than 24 hours.
  2) You have a high amount of ketones in your urine
  3) You are more tired than normal
  4) Trouble breathing
  5) Inability to think clearly
  6) Throwing up multiple times
  7) Diarrhea for more than 6 hours

Large Fast Food Portions May Have More Calories Than You Think.

Brian Wansink, professor of consumer behavior at Cornell University conducted a study on people who eat at fast food restaurants and determined that people eating at fast food restaurants underestimate the calories in their meals by 12 to 41 percent. According to him, large portions seem to be the problem.

According to one of his latest studies, the more you eat, the more likely you are to underestimate the calories. Overall, it was determined that people under-estimated the meals calories by 23 percent. People who ordered smaller meals, however, had a smaller margin of error. It seems that the bigger the meal, the more people misjudged the calorie content. For example, people who ordered meals containing 1,100 to 1,260 calories were under-estimating their meals calorie content by38 percent.

In a different study, 40 college students were asked to estimate the calories of 15 fast food meals that consisted of the same foods but different portions. The students could correctly guess the calories of the smaller meals, however, they underestimated the larger portioned meals by 22 percent.

Experts are suggesting that large portions are becoming more and more normal which is making it harder for us to recognize when we are eating too much. In a related study, people were misjudging their meal portions by up to 20 percent. When asked to bring in a "medium" bagel, muffin, fruit, cookie, etc, almost everyone brough in an item that exceeded the definition of a medium item based on nutritional recommendations.

Some people suggest that making nutritional value more obvious and available would help solve this problem but that doesn't seem to be the case, according to another study by Wansink. Researchers compared 250 Subway customers, who can find their nutritional information very easily on napkins and signs in the restaurant, and 250 McDonald's customers who do not have easy access to their foods nutritional information.

The McDonald's customers were eating higher calorie meals but they were only underestimating their meals calorie content by about 12 percent. However, the Subway customers were eating smaller calorie meals but were underestimating their meals calories by roughly 41 percent.

Wansink contributes the error to what he calls the "halo effect." What he means is that when people are told that their food is healthy, they assume that everything is low calorie and forget about added calories from things like drinks, chips, cheese, mayo, and other similar things. Wansink suggests that you try to estimate the calories of items individually and assume that a large meal probably has about twice the calories you think it does.

Pre-Diabetes.

Newswise, November 2006 – The University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine has reported that fifty-four million Americans, which is one out of six of us, have pre-diabetes and are unaware of it. What this means is that you may have elevated blood glucose levels and could one day have high enough blood glucose levels that you will be diagnosed with diabetes. The medical director of the Penn Rodebaugh Diabetes Center suggests that patients who may be at risk consult their doctor about getting a blood test to check for pre-diabetes,

According to Mike Schutta, MD, if you have pre-diabetes there is a 75% probability that diabetes will develop within 30 years. Schutta also says that if you are born in the U.S., your chances of developing diabetes is one out of three. The reason that so many people are developing diabetes, according to Schutta, is that diabetes has no symptoms in its early stages. “f you knew you had pre-diabetes, you could still prevent getting diabetes through changes in diet and exercise. There are many health benefits to knowing you have pre-diabetes and "heading it off." If you wait until you have diabetes, the vascular damage to your body may already be done.", he adds.

If any of these apply to you, a blood test for pre-diabetes is recommended:

• You have a known family history of diabetes.
• You are African American, Latino, Native American, Asian American or Pacific Islander.
• While pregnant, you developed gestational diabetes.
• You delivered a baby who weighed more than nine pounds.
• You have high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, are overweight.

There are two types of test you can request to test for pre-diabetes. One is a fasting plasma glucose test, which tests your blood glucose levels after a period of not eating. The other is called an oral glucose tolerance test. This test will put glucose into your system and test to see if you are producing insulin properly.

Of course, having pre-diabetes does not necessarily mean that you will develop diabetes. It can be prevented with exercise and the proper changes to your diet.