Fat Soluble Vitamins-Critical Nutrients for your Health

Vitamin D has made the headlines recently as we have become aware of the need to have adequate amounts of it along with calcium to prevent osteoporosis. Its effects reach much further than the bones as every cell in the body has receptors for vitamin D. In many ways it acts more like a hormone to help regulate growth, reproduction, immunity, cardiovascular function mood and the endocrine system. In its active form it regulates over 200 genes and many more are affected by Vitamin D indirectly. This ability to regulate genes may help explain why lower levels of serum vitamin D are associated with cancer of the colon, breast, skin and prostate.

Weight Training for Belly Fat

Weight loss is not the same as fat loss. You may be burning calories or losing weight, but there is no guaranteeing those calories and that weight loss has come from fat. Unless, of course, you are doing resistance training.  Unlike aerobic exercise, which burns both fat and muscle, resistance training pushes energy usage towards fat loss exclusively.  It is a little known fact among the exercising public, but weight training has several mechanisms that make it ideal for fat burning. One of which is the ability to target fat loss to specific areas, like the belly. As a matter of fact, weight training should be the chosen modality among exercisers attempting to lose belly fat.

Fall Recipes

Carrot and ginger soup
2 lbs carrots, washed & chopped
3/4 inch piece fresh ginger, chopped (more or less to your taste preference)
4 cups veggie stock or water
1 cup chopped white onion
2-3 cloves garlic, peeled & chopped
1/2 c almond meal, chopped almonds or cashews
1 tbsp olive oil

In a large soup pot, saute onion and garlic in olive oil for 2-3 minutes.  Add carrots, broth, ginger and bring mixture to a boil.  Let simmer 20 minutes and then allow to cool.  Puree carrot mixture in food processor or blender, gradually adding nuts until smooth.  Heat to serve.  Garnish with nutmeg or avocado slices.

Book Prescriptions

In line with the Docere (doctor as teacher) Principle of Naturopathic Medicine , I often prescribe books. Besides empowering patients to make their own informed healthcare decisions, many books are, in themselves, good medicine.  The Definitive Guide to Cancer: An Integrative Approach to Prevention, Treatment, and Healing, 3rd Edition by Lise Alschuler, ND and Karolyn Gazella is a prime example of such a book.

I have recommended this text to every patient with a cancer diagnosis. It is also indicated for those at increased risk for cancer, or with a loved one diagnosed with cancer. As with any therapy, when prescribing a book, I always give patients information on how to take the medicine. With Alschuler’s text that would include the following directives:

Inflammation and the Importance of Omega 3/Essential Fatty Acid Balance

Most people have heard about the benefits of Omega-3 fatty acids.  But there is a lot more to the story than simply having adequate levels of this Essential Fatty Acid (EFA).  As the name suggests, fatty acids are essential to our health, just like vitamins and minerals.  There are 2 EFAs: Omega-3 and Omega-6.  Omega-9 fats are not considered essential at this time, although olive oil is an excellent source of Omega-9 and very healthful.

Both Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids must be present in adequate quantities for health, but perhaps even more importantly, they must be in balance with each other.  Although deficiencies in either EFA are possible, it’s much more common for the average American to have deficient Omega-3 and normal or excessive Omega-6 levels.  When this is the case, the imbalance leads to an inflammatory situation in the body. 

Probiotics

In the past, methods of food preservation involved natural fermentation and drying of foods, thus our diet contained several thousand times more bacteria than it does today.  Over time we have adopted food storage and processing techniques which minimize the growth of bacteria in our food.  The benefits of refrigeration are obvious, but emerging positive research of beneficial bacteria makes one wonder if perhaps we would benefit from revitalizing some of those fermentation techniques of old.

At the turn of the century, Russian microbiologist Elie Metchnikoff recognized that Bulgarians, who were well known for their longevity, consumed large quantities of yogurt.  He theorized that the beneficial bacteria in the yogurt displaced the harmful bacteria in the digestive tract and was responsible for the longevity of these people. Currently more and more evidence suggests that beneficial bacteria referred to as “probiotics” are important in promoting good health.

The food you eat could be making you sick

Have you ever wondered whether the foods you are eating may be contributing to your health complaints and overall lack of well-being? Of course we know that lots of refined sugars, caffeine, alcohol and fried fatty foods are ‘bad’ for use and should be consumed in moderation. But what I’m referring to here are the ‘food allergies’ and more importantly ‘hidden food allergies’ that may be causing more harm to your body than you even realize. Let’s start with a few definitions. ‘Food allergy’ typically results in an immediate hypersensitivity reaction that can trigger acute asthma or anaphylaxis and in some cases can result in a life-or-death situation.  These are the allergies that require timely intervention of Epinephrine. ‘Hidden food allergies’ or ‘food sensitivities’ can either result in immediate but more subtle reactions, or can frequently be delayed by hours or up to several days.

Aerobic Exercise Fails at Fat Loss

Aerobic exercise is one of the worst ways to burn fat. Most people will find this statement shocking. After all, the fitness experts have been telling us for decades that aerobic exercise is the only way to reach optimal body composition. They are wrong. If you are serious about fat loss, you should seriously rethink your exercise program. Replacing an aerobic regime, with one focused on anaerobic cardiovascular exercise is the surest way to increase fat consumption during exercise and rest.

The fact that aerobic exercise is not optimal for fat loss has much evidence to support it. It can be confirmed through real world evidence, practical experience, and science. Science is often thought of as the only criteria necessary for proof, but it
frequently provides only mixed messages. Although it has taken time, science is now proving other forms of exercise superior to aerobics when it comes to fat loss.

You Need Fat in Your Diet to Reap Cancer-Prevention Benefits of Vegetables

The conventional wisdom of eating no-fat/low-fat diet may be lacking scientific support these days. Wendy White, an associate professor of food science and nutrition at Iowa State University, conducted a study that shows eating salad vegetables with fat promotes the absorption of lycopene, alpha and beta-carotenes. These nutrients are needed by your
body to prevent heart disease and cancer, so eating salad and vegetables devoid of fat deprives your body of these healthy substances.

In the 12-week study participants, between the ages of 19 and 28, ate salads of romaine lettuce, spinach, cherry tomatoes and carrots topped with an Italian dressing containing 0, 6, or 28 grams of canola oil. Hourly blood samples were collected for eleven hours after each meal and sent to Ohio State University to be independently tested.

Summer Salads

Lemon Quinoa Salad with Corn & Mint

Ingredients:
4 ears corn, shucked or 1.5 cups frozen corn, thawed
1 tablespoon finely grated fresh lemon zest
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
¼ cup olive or flaxseed oil
1 tablespoon mild honey
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
4 cups cooked quinoa
4 scallions, chopped
1/2 cup chopped fresh mint
Cook corn in large pot of boiling water for about 5 minutes, then transfer to cutting board & let cool. When cool enough to
handle, cut kernels off cobs. Alternately, thaw 1.5 cups frozen corn.
To make dressing, whisk together lemon zest and juice, oil, honey, salt, and pepper in a large bowl until combined.
Add quinoa to dressing and toss until dressing is absorbed, then stir in corn, scallions, mint, and salt and pepper to taste.

News Seen through a Naturopathic Doctor’s Eyes

A recent study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (Volume 102, Number 8 Pp. 529-537) has concluded that eating fruits and vegetables doesn’t seem to make much difference in preventing cancer in people. This study included over 400,000 men and women from 10 European countries aged 25-70 years.

The authors explain that they know of no other study that includes so many people and eventual cases of cancer. The implied message here is that this is the definitive study to date. When the major media reported this study they also tended to frame it as a definitive study.

Book Prescriptions

Docere, or doctor as teacher, is one of our six principles of Naturopathic Medicine. It refers to the doctor/patient relationship as seen by the naturopath, where the doctor and patient are in equal partnership. Guided by their Naturopath, patients learn to work with their own innate natural healing ability so they can take responsibility for their own health. In line with that principle, I often point my patients to reliable resources, my favorite of which is books. In some cases the book itself is the medicine. In this column I will review books written by Naturopathic Doctors and comment on how and for whom I might
prescribe them.

Vitamin D: The “Miracle” Vitamin

What’s the Big Deal about Vitamin D Anyway?

Vitamin D is involved in almost every process in the entire human body. In fact, some research indicates that it may in fact not even be a vitamin, but rather a hormone. Vitamin D deficiency can lead to conditions as varied as diabetes, fatigue (including chronic fatigue syndrome), extreme body aches & pains/fibromyalgia, osteoporosis, obesity, high blood pressure, heart disease, depression and other mood disorders, cancer, depressed immunity and inability to fight all kinds of infections, allergies, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, seasonal cold & flu epidemics, and many others.