Talk about health

So, what do I do? Go out in the sun or stay indoors? Put on sunscreen or keep my clothes on? Work on my tan or stay pale and interesting? More importantly, who is telling the truth? Conventional doctors or the alternative therapists? Is there an answer or do I simply ‘plump’ for what suits my circumstances?

I think I’ve tried all of the above at one time or another and I still wonder if there is a better way. As summer approaches (I hope) some more definitive answer seems to be a more positive route forward. As I see it the problem revolves around three main points – sun exposure time, sunscreens and vitamin D.

Lets start with vitamin D. There are lots of articles around now that explain how vitamin D or rather lack of vitamin D is a factor in many diseases of the 21st century. From all of these, both conventional and alternative views, the consensus seems to be that we all need more vitamin D to be healthy and most of us don’t have enough in our bodies. Whether this is because of our diets or where we live doesn’t seem to matter if we can increase our vitamin D somehow.

The most natural and efficient way of achieving this is to get some sunshine on our bodies every day. Easier said than done, especially in the part of the world where I live that seems to have more sunless days that sunny. When the sun shines we rush out and spend too long sunbathing so all we get is red and sore. Not ideal!

The sensible solution is to restrict our unprotected time in the sun to about twenty minutes or so then cover up or apply sunscreen. You don’t want to burn. That’s where the cancer can begin. And that brings me neatly to the problem with sunscreens. There isn’t such a majority view here. Many conventional doctors say sunscreens are absolutely essential to prevent some cancers, while others and alternative advocates tell us that sunscreens or their components cause cancer.

It isn’t always realistic to put clothes and a hat on when you’re in the sun, although this is the simplest answer to over-exposure. Search out a suitable product that is effective and apply it as directed by the manufacturer. Sunscreens of all types, even the swim-resistant type, wash off to reduce or negate any protection.

The first thing to look for in sunscreens is protection from UVA rays – these are the cancer-causing ones. The UVB rays need to be screened out too, but are less problematic. Then avoid the chemicals used as filtering agents that can be toxic and those that can penetrate your skin and get into the blood. One combination that is classed as a safe, natural sunscreen contains a mix of titanium dioxide and zinc.

The conclusion? Get into the sun for 15 to 20 minutes a day if possible. Then cover up or use a safe sunscreen. Maximise your vitamin D level this way and you will have the best chance of staying healthy and avoiding disease. If you can’t do this, try a vitamin D supplement.

Neighbourhood shops and businesses, which find themselves under extreme financial pressure following the latest onslaught from the supermarkets, tend to put up posters proclaiming, “Use it or lose it”. It an unfortunate truth in today’s economic climate that it only takes a relatively small number of people to take their custom away for a formerly thriving concern to fall into the red and be forced to close their doors forever. I’ve been very close to that situation myself, so I can attest to the personal devastation that follows.

I mention this not to start an argument on supermarket power, but to illustrate a parallel in health. It has become fashionable to point out the same principle of ‘use it or lose it’ when referring to your brain. Hand-held computers are sold to the older generation (me) with special programs that, when used properly, are claimed to keep your brain active and hence stave off approaching dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

They are by no means the only way to keep an active brain, but they certainly have something to offer. I choose to write articles on health instead, and I’ll let you know when bewilderment approaches.

The same is true with all of your body. Nourish it, exercise it, and use it as it was intended or has evolved to do, in short, look after it while you can.

I’ve come to this line of thought because I’ve just listened to a radio program that involved a lady who had lost an arm due to cancer. Now, that has nothing to do with the above since events were not under her control. But, it made me think of how we take it for granted that everything works, until something goes wrong. It’s only when there is a problem that we suddenly find it difficult or impossible to do the simplest things.

I only have to remind myself of some of the health problems I’ve experienced. For instance, a bad back. I’ve had a few of these over the years and, according to the statistics, I’m not alone. Apart from the pain, it’s the lack of mobility that struck me. Once, on my way to recovery, I thought I would cross a busy road and started off to find a car bearing down on me. Try as I might, I simply couldn’t make me legs work fast enough to avoid a confrontation. My back hurt and so did my ego as the driver slowed, tooted his horn and mouthed some expletives at me.

Then, there was the bad leg incident, when I could hardly crawl around the house. It made me realise how much we take simple things for granted. If I had been single, I would probably have starved to death. (Don’t tell my wife, will you?) I felt old.

It reminded me, also, of a patient of mine who had had a lung removed due to cancer. He staged a remarkable recovery and was soon back to his chirpy best. One winter’s day he hove into view for his prescription and a chat, as was his wont. He wasn’t the complaining type, but on this occasion he took issue with the keen and bitter wind. He said the wind felt as if it was blowing straight through his chest. The space left where his lung had been felt empty and cold despite the layers of clothing.

Getting back to the lady whose missing arm began this train of thought, she recounted an incident on a transatlantic flight where she was forced to ask a stewardess to cut up her in-flight meal. You don’t appreciate two arms until you’ve only got one and suddenly even feeding yourself becomes a problem.

My patient came to realise what his missing lung really did. I found how a simple back strain and painful leg had such a significant impact on normality.

Your body works well when everything is in place, fuelled and used properly. Clearly, it isn’t always possible to keep all the parts in pristine condition until you die at a very old age. However, with judicious consumption of nutrients, regular exercise, effective relaxation and sleep you can keep it functioning at its best.

Look after that body and mind of yours. It’s the only one you’ll get.

Contact James at http://www.healthexplored.co.uk , subscribe to the no-cost newsletter,OR read the blog and leave your comments and questions.

Wishing you the best of health.

Now that spring is well and truly here, it’s a time when advertisers try to cash in on the latest diet plan. Regular readers will know that I have a jaundiced view of fad diets mainly because they don’t work in the long run. Yes, you’ll lose some pounds. But when the initial enthusiasm wears thin long before your body does, the weight will come creeping back.

Losing weight only really becomes sustainable if you work on changing your lifestyle. More exercise, smaller portions, more fresh fruit and vegetables, less processed and fast food … it’s a bit like a broken record. You’ve heard it all before, but it’s true.

However, as some of us have found out, following this plan doesn’t always produce the weight loss you hoped for. You’ve followed the advice to the letter, and still your weight remains anchored well above your target level. What’s going on?

Before you give up in disgust and go back to your old ways, here’s one possibility as to why your excess pounds are reluctant to leave you. It’s your attitude and state of mind!

How you think and feel has a lot to do with how your food is digested. What you put in your mouth is only part of the problem. The next part is to do with the efficiency of your digestion.

Ideally, you’ll chew slowly to break up the mouthful and mix it with the first digestive enzyme in saliva. Then there will be enough acid in your stomach to carry on the process of digestion; correct amounts of bile and digestive enzymes throughout the small intestine and so on. The end result is all the nutrient content of the food being absorbed into your body to nourish you, repair and maintain all the organs and cells, keep you fit and healthy and at your ‘fighting weight’ without any excess fat.

What’s your mind got to do with that process? Well, research suggests that your digestion will improve if you have a positive attitude about what you are eating.

Today’s lifestyles tend to work around the 24/7 way of existing. You’re on the go all the time, rushing to cope with the pressures of work and family, living with the worries of finance and health, rushed snacks, and catching a meal without stopping to consider what you are eating.

Life is all pressures and stress, and that is a major factor in the efficiency of your digestion. Stress is all about the fight or flight response. The stress hormones change the emphasis of your bodily functions so you can fight or run away. Your heart, brain and muscles get more blood to make you ready for this and, at the same time, the blood supply to your stomach and intestine is reduced. So, digestion becomes less efficient.

Your body is not built to digest food and run away at the same time. It does one or the other, not both. This is where modern life doesn’t help. A great many people live with almost constant stress. At the last estimate it was well over half of the population.

Give two people the same diet, one is stressed and anxious, the other calm and relaxed and the impact on their health and weight is very different. Stressed means poorer health and more weight.

If you want to get rid of some pounds and feel better, it isn’t simply a matter of cutting the fats, sugars and carbohydrates and getting some exercise. You have got to address your stressors and worries too. Find a way to relax at meal times. Discover how to calm down and enjoy your food. Improve your attitude and state of mind. Then your chances of losing that weight will greatly improve.

Find out what stress does to your body and how alternative therapies can help control that stress by visiting http://www.healthexplored.com , sign up for the newsletter, get hold of my STRESS e-books and much more.

Wishing you the best of health.

I've been visiting my children and attending a wedding hence the reasons for my not adding an article last week. However, I've now sorted out my e-mails and am almost back to normal - whatever that is!

There's a particular TV program here in the UK with a regular health spot. I like watching this program - it's casual and friendly presenters make it a 30 minute easy view. Usually, the medical people who do the health spot appear open to viewing alternative therapies in a good light. They are not exactly 100% in the altenative camp, but having an open mind is a first step.

But, the other day the health spot took a turn for the worse. On a previous occasion they covered the benefits of vitamin D and sunlight. The point was gently made that we need some sunlight before slapping on the sunscreen to have the best chance of improving vitamin D levels. This time they spent a great deal of time in the old total-block groove so beloved of mainstream doctors.

The five minute slot could have been written a few years ago by the archetype blinkered GP. It pointed out the dangers of sunbeds (absolutely correct) but then told us to stay out of the sun or use high-factor sunscreens. If I'd had any hair, I would be pulling it out.

Having calmed down a little, I've come to the view that TV simply cannot bear to approach a complex problem in depth. I understand that people are busy and don't necesarily want to think too deeply about anything that can't be covered in a five-minute slot. But, is that a valid reason for over-simplifying health topics to a one line message presented by charming ladies?

If you really must simplify everything to a one-point message, stick to that and do it one step at a time. I don't think any health item is simple. Everything that goes on in your body and mind is a vastly complicated interaction of many things, most of which we don't really understand fully. The only way to rationalise it is to highlight current knowledge and point out that the story is not complete.

Take the vitamin-D and sunlight problem. So far as I can tell, the ideal situation to maximise vitamin D is to get some direct sunlight on your face and body every day for about 15 minutes or so, then shield your body thereafter using clothes, shade or sunscreens. Just to complicate matters, there is some concern that certain ingredients in sunscreens could be harmful. And some scientists say that regular sun is better protection from skin cancers that occasional exposure.

I say, 'break it down even further, then join it all up again at the end'. To me, it would be better to point out the dangers of sunbeds to fair skin and stop at that. Then to recommend ways of improving your vitamin D level giving the apparent benefits of this particular vitamin on health and stop there. And tell us the dangers of prolonged sun exposure giving us the results of trials, to complete that part of the picture.

In other words, have three relatively simple views of sunshine, vitamin D and health that form a more realsitic view rather than one very simple but flawed message that glosses over the whole truth by majoring on only one aspect.

The glossy magazine, simplistic presentaion may have a useful message to help others get a point but in the long run it must be better to tell the whole truth. It may take longer to get your point across but people won't be confused by different advice on the same subject.

There! I've got that off my chest for now. Let me know what you think about the way TV deals with health matters or your thoughts on vitamin D and sunshine.

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Wishing you the best of health.

You can't have failed to notice the press reports on how vitamins are the new killers. As usual, the journalists don't bother to check up on the truth behind a story and certainly don't let the facts get in the way of a blockbuster headline.

Since publication of the 'antioxidants may shorten your life' fiasco, many reasonable commentators in the health field have taken the time to point up the many shortcomings of the so-called science behind the original report.

Briefly, the 'scientists' carefully chose a small proportion of available research papers to 'prove' their point, thus confirming the lies,damned lies and statistics saying. By ignoring any vaguely positive findings they created figures that justify the headline.

I suppose they feel happy, but few can support them.

However, my point is not simply to pour scorn on these researchers, but also to encourage you to continue to take your multivitamin supplements in the way they should. The bottom line is that our current lifestyle and diet means we are almost bound to be a little short in the basic vitamin and mineral levels. A multi-supplement should go some way in topping-up and moving towards the optimum for the very best of health.

As part of this system, you really must take these supplements daily, even before you feel ill or develop any condition. For this is something positive you can take from the published review that caused all the fuss.

Most of the reports reviewed showed that people only started taking their vitamins after they had been diagnosed with a disease. Frequently this was some form of cancer. Unfortunately, with the best will in the world, it may well be too late to start a supplement, especially a standard mix of vitamins and minerals.

Once an illness has developed to the point of giving you symptoms, a supplement such as this may help your health a little, but in that situation, very high doses may be necessary. And in this circumstance, very little research has been done, except for high dose vitamin-C injections as part of cancer treatment.

So, what can you take from this tirade? First of all, get yourself a reasonable supplement of vitamins and minerals - reputable manufacturer, optimum mix for your age and so on in a form that you can swallow. Then take it daily as part of your healthy diet and lifestyle. With any luck you should live as well as you can, for as long as you can. It's not a guaranteed system, but at least you will have done your very best.

Take the pluses from such negative reporting as the media choose to give. Be realistic and ask for clarity before changing your lifestyle and ignoring these essential substances. They're not called vitamins for nothing!

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I am returning to the cholesterol topic today. Not that I am obsessed you understand. It's just that I've come across two recent articles that more or less support my views that a lifetime of taking statin drugs is not necesarily the only or best way to proceed. Certainly, I agree that having high cholesterol is not a situation to be ignored, and as such, something has to be done.

The first problem is that there are no symptoms for cholsterol. This means that once you are diagnosed as having high cholesterol, usually following a routine check-up or heart-related incident, you are hooked. The mainstream medical opinion is to start you off on statins with the eventual aim to get your cholesterol down to some mythical low figure, as if that is the end of the matter. Low cholesterol could well be the end of you instead.

However, thousands of people who begin statin treatment stop taking their drugs over the first year of treatment. Sometimes it is just because they don't feel any different. But most of the time it is because of one or more of the damaging side effects of the stains. Commonly, these include muscle pain and weakness, but there are many more that affect patients and tempt them to look for some other ways to lower cholesterol that don't include a lifetime's medication.

From a purely dietary point of view, grapefruit has been found to lower cholesterol. All kinds of fresh grapefriut seem to lower cholesterol, but red grapefriut appears to have the most beneficial actions. 'Fresh red grapefruit contains higher quantities of bioacive compounds and has significantly higheer antioxidant potential than blond grapefruit,' the researchers concluded.

That seems to be a painless way of putting a lid on your cholesterol level, but the only fly in this particular ointment is that grapefruit may interfere with the way some medications work. So, if you already take drugs for other conditions, you must find out if you could be affected. It has to do with affecting your liver enzymes and how they break down drugs. Be warned!

If you are not taking other drugs, there should be little problem with adding red grapefruit to your diet.

The second article is more to do with adding two things to your life to counteract the worst side effects of statin therapy. I've mentioned muscle pain and weakness as a major drawback of statin therapy. This effect follows the way statins work - they have a toxic action of the mitochondria in cells. These powerhouses are responsible for your energy supply, and statins interfere with their normal working thus creating the nasty side effect.

If you assume that you want to continue taking your statin, you can apparently minimise the side effect by taking green tea. This contains a substance called 'deoxysappanone'. This seems to cut down the free radicals, has a beneficial effect on motochondria and helps boost energy production.

And, while you're at it, since statins cut the supply of co-enzyme Q10 - a necessary chemical for optimum heart and circulation - supplementing with this substance will also help reduce the effects of statin therapy. Co-enzyme Q10 occurs naturally in foods such as fish and meat. And you can get supplement versions at most health shops.

There you have it. Ditch the statins and get a range of alternative ways of controlling your cholesterol and bringing levels back to normal. Or stick with the statins and try to control the side effects by a few simple changes to your diet and supplementation routine.

Find of all about cholesterol and controlling it by visiting my site at http://www.healthexplored.co.uk and clicking onto the sales page to find the big green heart. order this tell-all book and find all the ways to lower cholesterol and why you shouldn't getcholesterol too low for comfort. You get access to the instant download digital version, or drop me aline at info@healthexplored.co.uk to order the print version.

Wishing you the very best of health.

It has become routine to suffer from one of the big four - high blood pressure, diabetes type-2, stomach acid, or cholesterol. People wear them like a badge of distinction, bragging at the dinner table of their diagnosis and showing their drug collection with pride. Only last week I was sharing a dinner party with four friends (and my wife) when the conversation took what has become an habitual road down health. As it turned out, each of the friends is on medication. My wife and I appear to be alone in taking only fish oil and multivitamins regularly.

Of the four drug takers, one has stomach acid problems, one has high cholesterol and two have blood pressure concerns. What they have in common is they now take drugs daily in an effort to control their symptoms. And presumeably they will continue taking them for the rest of their lives.

Knowing what I do, my friends ask my thoughts on their condition and treatment. And being an obliging chap I run through my thoughts on this kind of long-term medication - should be avoided if at all possible by changing lifestyle, diet and exercise regime, reviewing stress and sleep options.

At our age, over 50, thoughts turn to retirement and worries about pensions, and finance tends to overcome health concerns. But should they? What's the point of working endless hours under pressure trying to ensure financial comfort if you drop dead the week after your officially retire? It isn't always possible to do everything for yourself and family so far as finance is concerned. Children may have to look after themselves by working just as their parents did.

My point is that you shouldn't ignore your health in the quest for what you consider is sufficient cash to have regular costly holidays and new cars once you retire. When you've been diagnosed with one of the popular four conditions I mentioned at the start, it may seem a simple matter to begin taking your tablets as the doctor ordered. You'll feel you are doing something positive to address the problem, and in the case of acid-lowering drugs, you'll probably feel much better, too.

But, for bood pressure, diabetes and cholesterol, it's more likely you will feel little different. Your doctor will tell you how well your condition is responding to the medication.

Before you get that smug 'I told you so' look, just consider one thing - side effects! I read recently of a person given one of the statin drugs for cholesterol. It took only a few days before he felt as though he had the flu - weak legs, aching muscles, sore back and tending to want to sleep a lot.

Did he have the flu? Perhaps. However, the symptoms lasted for several weeks and didn't change. Probably not the flu then. What else could it be? Is it coincidence that the symptoms and his cholesterol medication were included in the same timeframe?

Returning to his doctor resulted in calming words from the medical profession about the safety of statin drugs and advice to keep taking the tablets.

The problem is that statin drugs are known to cause such symptoms, and worse. Some people don't develop side effects to them but a surprising number do. Symptoms range from the relatively minor ones such as the person above did - the flu-like symptoms, to potentially serious ones involving muscle breakdown, heart failure, nerve damage, and memory loss.

Did the statin cause the flu symptoms? Probably. The only way to prove it would be to stop the medication and follow the consequences. The symptoms would go away if it was the drug, and return if treatment started again.

The problem with continuing the medication as the doctor suggested is that the side effects are not always reversible if they have gone on too long. So this person is in a difficult position and he alone has to decide. Stop the drug or not? I know what I would do - stop the drug and see what happens. It's not easy when your health is at stake and your trusted doctor is at odds with what you want to do.

Why not try to discover the truth about cholesterol and controlling it. Does it really cause heart attacks or is there another explanation? Can you control cholesterol without resorting to a lifetime's medication? Maybe the alternative therapy scene can help, too?

It won't necessarily take major changes to your lifestyle to achieve much more than any drug. Find out in my publication "Cholesterol - Villain or Savoiur?". Find out more at http://www.healthexplored.co.uk , join the newsletter subscribers or buy the book (digital or hard copy).

Wishing you the very best of health.