Category Archives: anti-aging

Its all about the money, honey

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Pharmaceutical companies receive funding to develop drugs to prevent Alzheimers, treatment of which costs America 2 billion dollars annually.

One of the most respected medical journals, the Lancet, reported that being careful with food and exercise can reduce the incidence of Alzheimers by 54%.

How does one monetize this message?

This happens across the board, with all health conditions.

The challenge we face is that once we pass out of medical college, all our knowledge of drugs comes from these companies, which are driven by their commercial interests. That these interests run into billions of dollars is just by the way. The interest of the patient is, for sure, not the driving force.

This means that doctors, by and large, follow what the companies dictate. Not necessarily with malafide intent, but often because there is no alternative.

How does this affect us? We must check out what we’re being told, even by our trusted doctors. Again, not necessarily because they’re intentionally misguiding us, but they’re just misinformed. If possible, seek out a doctor practising Integrative medicine and be guided by them. Because the advice we give is like the one above – make lifestyle choices which don’t just suppress your disease condition, but actually improve your health so you’re never unhealthy again. With no doctors, no medicines.

Common Food Myths, Busted!

We know we need to be healthy and avoid lifestyle complications, and we do sincerely try, too.
And yet we are getting more and more ill by the day. Every day we read reports of a 28-yr old undergoing 7 vessel bypass, or another 21-yr old collapsing in office. It is very common for a 35-yr old patient to say, in a very matter of fact manner, that they have been suffering from high blood pressure since 15 years!
So the sad fact is that while we’re trying to get healthier, the reverse is happening. Very often this is because we don’t quite know what to do. We hear so many claims and opinions out there, and we follow well meaning advice, only to make matters worse.
So here are a few myths regarding food.

 

FRUIT JUICE

I started to drink, and also to give my children, fruit juice out of a pack. Believing it to be better than soft drinks. But is it really?

Answer : NO! Packed fruit juices often contain up to 10 tsp of sugar, as much as or even more than a can of cola. Not to mention the added color, flavoring, preservatives, and whatnot. So don’t go near them. Not even if they claim to be natural, no sugar added or any other such.

But I only drink fresh fruit juice, you say? When bought at juice stalls, they often have sugar added. Lots of it. Because the fruit they use is not necessarily at peak ripeness, and could be less than ‘optimally fresh’  :) !

OK. But I only drink juice which I make at home, with no sugar added. And I feel quite virtuous doing so :). So is that OK?  Unfortunately, the answer is still no.

Because the fiber is removed, we don’t feel full and may consume maybe 5 oranges while we may have eaten just 1 or 2. So the calorie count has gone up drastically. And the sugar is absorbed quickly, giving a sugar high, raising insulin levels inordinately. One glass of juice can be the sugar equivalent of 3 bars of chocolate! Over a period of time, obviously this can lead to ill health.

That “healthy” berry blend at a smoothie shop can have a whopping 80 grams of sugar, 350 calories or more, little protein, and often no fresh fruit. Fruit “concentrates” are often used instead of fresh fruit. And sorbet, ice cream, and sweeteners can make these no better than a milkshake.

Food Fix: Get the “small” cup. Ask for fresh fruit, low-fat yogurt, milk, or protein powder to blend in protein and good nutrition.

So don’t drink your calories!

Make your own smoothie at home. Blend, don’t juice.

And add a tablespoon of coconut oil for extra creamy, flavorful, healthful result. 

What do you give your child for school lunch? Fruit, cut up. Not whole, it is likely to come back.

 

SALAD

What? What can be healthier than a salad?

Bear with me. :)

Salads can pack in calories when doused in mayo, in fat laden dressings, and when fried elements are added, such as fried chicken or fried fish. So it doesn’t matter if its advertised as ‘fresh garden salad’ or whatever. Look for the additions. Best, avoid store-bought, ready dressings. Make your own simple vinaigrette.

 

CHARGRILLED FOOD

Now isn’t that taking it too far? All diets advise eating grilled meats rather than fried. And that char grilled flavor, those grill marks – that’s man food!

Be aware that charring can create carcinogenic compounds. Meat that is cooked on an open flame or at very high temperatures creates chemicals known as heterocyclic amines (HCA) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) that have been connected to cancer. Other research suggests that the high fat in meat increases hormone production, which in turn can increase the risk of hormone-related cancers like breast or prostate.

Research at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York shows that frying or grilling certain foods at high temperatures produces compounds that can increase inflammation in the body, leading to diabetes, heart disease, Rheumatoid Arthritis and Osteoarthritis.

The compounds, called advanced glycation end products, appropriately called AGEs in short, are known to be scoundrels. They shorten life. Period. 

Prefer food steamed, stewed, poached or lightly pan fried in good quality oil.

Of course, the method of cooking does not take away from the fact that meats, especially red meats, contain saturated fats which contribute to heart disease. And the animals are fed food laced with growth and fat enhancing hormones, which we ingest when we eat the meat. This disrupts our own hormones, and thus, our health. So look for organic meats.

To clarify : almost every English word that connotes organic – natural, naturally raised, free range, hormone-free and additive-free – can be used to describe meat, but it is far from being “certified organic”.   Organic meat comes from an animal that has not been fed anything grown with toxic or synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, fungicides or fumigants; has not been given any kind of growth hormone, antibiotic or genetically engineered product; has been conceived by organically raised animals; and has been butchered and processed following organic regulations.

 

SUGAR SUBSTITUTES

Substitutes like honey, agave, jaggery, date sugar, maple syrup, molasses – may seem natural and healthy. The truth is, they are no different from sugar. They have the same calories and the same effect on our bodies and our health, as does sugar. Use with the same caution as you would sugar.

Artificial sweeteners – Acesulfame potassium (Sunett, Sweet One), Aspartame (Equal, NutraSweet), Saccharin (SugarTwin, Sweet’N Low), Sucralose (Splenda), may be derived from naturally occurring substances, including herbs or sugar itself, and so may sound attractive. However, they are chemicals, and the long-term effects on the body are known to be harmful or not yet clear. They should be avoided.

They leave a sweet after taste, creating further craving for sugary foods or drinks through the day. Stevia does not add calories but acts like artificial sweeteners in the sweet craving it can cause. Agave is very high in fructose.

Choose to eat fruit for your sugar fix. I have always had a sweet tooth, But now  that I know, I keep off sweets, and really, I have started to develop a slight dislike of most sweets. Some I still can’t resist! But I stick to fruit for the most part.

 

DIET DRINKS

Diet drinks are so called because the sugar content – massive! – is replaced with the artificial sweeteners above. They may not have the calories but they do have all the artificial flavorings, preservatives, all the chemicals as the original, and also the sweet craving effect stays.

Energy drinks also have caffeine with its side effects.

Avoid!

 

ORGANIC FOODS

Just because it’s organic, it’s not necessarily good for you.

Organic foods are obviously to be preferred over the hormone and pesticide-laden varieties. But use your judgment. If you use organic brown sugar, for example, be aware that is brown sugar and has the same metabolic consequences as sugar. So first see that is a food you want to add to your diet and only then choose the organic option.

 

LOW FAT FOODS

Check out very thoroughly. Low fat foods usually have sugar added to make them more palatable. and remember, sugar is poison!

Regular Granola VS Low-Fat Granola

The low-fat version of this crunchy cereal has only 10% fewer calories and is still full of sugar. Plus, the low-fat label can easily lead you to overeat. A study at Cornell University found that people ate 49% more granola when they thought it was low fat — easily blowing past the measly 10% calorie savings.

Low fat milk, Skim Milk is NOT the ideal choice. Enjoy full fat milk. Again, Sugar makes you fat. Fat makes you thin!

 

EGGS

This one has always been a bit confusing. Eggs are good for us. Eggs have cholesterol, avoid. No, eggs are safe. Eggs can harbor salmonella organisms, avoid.

Where is the truth?

Don’t be afraid of eggs. They are a super health food. The yolks in fact are actually a very healthy food, if consumed in moderation. They are a beneficial source of healthy fat. Many nutrients, such as vitamin A, are better absorbed with fat, making eggs a very good source of vitamin A. Research has documented that eggs do not appear to promote heart disease risk.

Current thinking is that one can eat three whole eggs every day to keep the doctor away. Whole. With yolks.

But every egg is not created equal. It’s best to buy any source of protein from an environment that is as natural as possible. For egg-producing chickens, this environment is often called “cage-free” or “free-range.”

Lightly cooked or raw eggs can carry salmonella bacteria, and should be used with caution or avoided, especially by pregnant women.

 

FROZEN FOOD

Always eat fresh food, right? Avoid anything  packaged and stored.

Not necessarily. 

Fruits and vegetables – these two food groups are just as good purchased frozen as they are fresh. In some cases, they may actually be better, because if you keep vegetables and fruits in your fridge for a long time, they lose some of their nutritional value. Whereas, buying them frozen and then defrosting when you want the fruit/vegetable can actually retain more nutrients.

Plus, they do not need preservatives added. They are convenient to have on hand and to use. Probably something you have never associated with frozen food is that you can help the planet. Buying frozen food means you can take fewer trips to get groceries, thereby reducing your individual carbon footprint.

Freezing home cooked food for later use is a great option to save on time and effort.

 

But obviously, food which you would avoid fresh, is not healthy frozen!!

 

COCONUT

coconut bud

The coconut has long been reviled for its saturated fat content, as a contributor to heart disease. I have spent 30 years telling my patients to avoid eating coconut and using coconut oil.

But the truth is that it is a superfood.

Considered one of the most treasured foods of all time, coconut products — including coconut flesh, coconut water, coconut oil, and coconut cream — each deliver superb health benefits.

New data is showing that saturated fats are harmless. Many massive studies that include hundreds of thousands of people prove that the whole “artery-clogging” idea was a myth (2).

Additionally, coconut oil doesn’t contain your average run-of-the-mill saturated fats like you would find in cheese or steak.

No, they contain Medium Chain Triglycerides (MCTs) – which are fatty acids of a medium length which are metabolized differently. These can even increase 24 hour energy expenditure by as much as 5%, and reduce appetite, potentially leading to significant weight loss over the long term.

Studies show that coconut oil improves important risk factors like Total, LDL and HDL cholesterol, which can actually reduce risk of heart disease. A study in 40 women with abdominal obesity, showed that supplementing with 30 mL of coconut oil per day led to a significant reduction in both BMI and waist circumference in a period of 12 weeks!

And coconut oil is one of the safest oils to use in cooking, especially cooking at high temperatures such as frying, due to its high smoking point. Plus, this ultra-safe oil can give your body important antioxidants that can help build stronger cells and improve your overall health and well being.

Coconut water is completely pure and sterile, which is one reason why it can be used for blood transfusions. It has the highest  electrolyte concentration of anything found in nature.This makes it an excellent treatment for dehydration.

It improves immunity, hair, teeth, bones, lipid profile, etc, etc.

Coconut milk – fresh, not packaged, is a great alternative to dairy. Not to mention its creamy, luscious richness added to curries. Yum! So now I tell my patients to cook in coconut oil!!  :)

Scrumptious Thai Coconut Red Curry. Photo by Krista Roes

 

Eat Healthy, Stay Healthy!

Lifestyle Medicine and Bio-Identical Hormones

Mrs AA, 48 came to me for a gynec complaint. She also has knee joint pain due to osteoarthritits, and is diabetic, and has digestion problems, and has high blood pressure. She is seeing three different doctors, one for each of these complaints. Each doctor has prescribed some medication. Since these doctors work independently, there is no communication, so the drugs she is taking could interact positively or, more likely, have deleterious interactions. Plus, all these drugs would have their own set of side effects.

Lifestyle Medicine goes beyond – ‘upstream’ – and identifies the imbalances in the body at the cellular, hormonal, molecular and physiological level, leading to all the above ailments. By correcting these imbalances, we remove the artificial boundaries between organs, modulate inter-organ function and restore normal and even optimal function.
All this means, Mrs AA can hope to be free from her diabetes and her blood pressure and her knee joint pain, and live healthy without medication and without repeated physician visits.
My goal is that patients are able to take charge of their health and not have to visit doctors or take medications.

Let us take a simple example.
People suffering from hypothyroidism – low thyroid function – usually gain weight and find it very difficult to get the weight off, despite rigorous diet and exercise regimes.
In fact, gyms and slimming centers don’t like to make any assurances re weight loss.

Is that familiar? And frustrating?

So why does that happen? Well, metabolism is slowed down due to low thyroid and that makes weight loss difficult. But then these patients are being treated, they are receiving thyroid replacement, you say. So then why aren’t they losing weight?

Simple. The replacement they are receiving is the synthetic hormone, Thyronorm or similar, which contains the synthetic molecule thyroxine or T4. But the metabolically active hormone is Triiodothyronine or T3. That means the hormone responsible for weight loss is T3. And that is not being replaced. So no wonder weight loss remains elusive!

As Lifestyle Medicine practitioners, we use Bio-Identical hormones rather than synthetic hormones. This means the hormone molecule is identical to the one we have in our bodies. Therefore, we are simply replacing what the body lacks, and since it is bio-identical, it acts naturally and safely. And the natural thyroid hormone contains both, T3 and T4. So the patient finds herself losing weight easily, the energy returns, skin starts to glow again – she’s just a different person!

Being the agent of change – restoring not just their health, but also their vitality, energy and joy, preventing all the complications associated with debilitating lifestyle disorders – is it a wonder I am so excited to share my experiences?

I hope this inspires you to seek out an Anti-Aging medicine practitioner near you, and see how your health can be restored.

Link

 

Its New Years time!
And time to make new resolutions, a new start.
So let us see what we can plan to do in the new year to be healthy and to stay healthy.

 

1. Stay off the sugar.

And HFCS. And ALL other forms of sweeteners, including and especially artificial sweeteners. They are not healthy. Period.
So if you are going to pare it down to just one habit to adopt from now on, let it be this one. No more sodas, soft drinks, call them what you will. This includes sweetened fruit juices and ideally, all fruit juices as they are loaded with ( high glycemic index ) calories.
1 soda a day can increase your weight by 7 kg a year. It will raise your risk for diabetes, it will contribute to raised cholesterol and triglycerides, and will leach the calcium from your bones, leading to osteoporosis and dental problems. Also contributes towards kidney damage and, importantly, raises heart attack risk.
So fine, I’ll stick to diet soda, I’ll be smart!

Sorry, that is a fallacy. One diet soda daily leads to a 61 percent higher risk of suffering a stroke or heart attack, according to research by the American Stroke Association’s International Stroke Conference.
So, understand that every time you pick up a can of soda, you are literally choosing to poison yourselves. Please give up. Sugar is the most addictive substance on earth.

Eat fruit instead. Tasty and healthy, also provide the crunch factor as in apples, etc.

2. Exercise.

Just move it. This does not necessarily mean an expensive gym, fancy equipment and a large chunk of your time. Simply incorporate activity into your normal daily routine. Walk as far as you can before using transport options.
Walk up the stairs as many flights as possible before taking the elevator.
Even if you are a couch potato, you can move your arms, move your legs as you are watching your favorite program, Be creative. Let people snigger. When they see your results – a slimmer, more shapely you, they will join you!

3. Eat healthy.

9 – 13 servings of fruit and vegetables daily is the WHO recommendation. Not getting your daily fix of fruit and veg is the third most important cause of death, after heart attacks and cancer. But low intake of veg and fruit contributes to heart attacks and cancer, so really its the #1 cause of chronic illness.
Avoid processed food, choose healthy, home cooked food. Check out this compendium of food around the world from the book Hungry Planet by Peter Menzel. Its clear why some populations are generally healthy while others are not.

 

4. Reduce stress by meditation, yoga, whatever appeals to you. Stress is the biggest factor in practically every illness, including obesity.

 

5. Take good quality supplements to bridge the gap between your intake and your requirement. Make sure the source is trusted, and organic.

 

There are other steps to be taken for perfectly balanced health, but let us start with the above. Most important, stay off the sugar.

And let us make the next year a healthy turning point in our lives, irrespective of our current age. All the best!

Diabetes – Diagnosis and Management

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Let us look at diabetes. Because diabetes is now almost a pandemic. And it can lead to a host of serious complications.

‘I have been diagnosed with diabetes – help! I have been handed a life sentence!’ And the usual reaction is one of fear, hopelessness or even denial.

But it doesn’t have to be!

There’s a whole lot of stuff one can do, and actually get back to how things were before ‘that’ happened. If we can decide to take control, and not permit the diagnosis to overwhelm us.

To start with, let’s understand what’s happening. Diabetes – and we’re talking of Type II diabetes or ‘Adult Onset’ diabetes – occurs, to put it very simply, when our body cells don’t respond to insulin like they’re expected to, and as the condition progresses, the body is unable to produce insulin as required. Insulin is required to ‘escort’ sugar into the cells, where it is used for energy. When the circulating level of sugar is too high, the cells have enough sugar for their need, they stop responding to insulin – hey! Don’t get more sugar in, we don’t need any more. So sugar level in the blood rises, because the cells aren’t taking in any more. Now the body senses the high sugar level and produces more insulin, because that is the natural response for utilizing sugar. But the cells don’t respond. This is the stage known as Insulin Resistance, or Pre Diabetes.

At this stage, there are many interventions available to us. But if, as is common, Pre diabetes is not diagnosed ant treated, the condition escalates into full-blown diabetes. Several oral medications are available for the treatment of diabetes, acting at various stages, such as improving insulin secretion, improving sugar utilization,etc,. If the pancreas which produce insulin, get ‘tired’ due to chronically making high levels of insulin, they may ‘give up’. Treatment at this stage is, therefore, with the use of insulin to replace the body’s own production.
What can we do?

1. Establish a Diagnosis.

  Fasting Blood Sugar Postprandial Blood Sugar HbA1C Fasting Serum Insulin
Normal 70-92 Less than 120 4.5-5.4 2 to 5
Prediabetes 93-120 5.5-6.4
Diabetes 120 and higher  6.5 and higher

Now you may wonder : Why does the Lab report I got, give much higher “Normal” values?

This is because doctors rely on “diagnostic criteria” set by the American Diabetes Association (ADA) decades ago, to define what are normal and abnormal blood sugar levels. The science used to define these diagnostic levels is outdated and inaccurate. The ADA resists changing these diagnostic criteria for reasons that are almost entirely political.

2. The earlier you accept that the blood sugar level is NOT normal and begin taking steps, the better the chances of complete control and avoiding all complications.

3. Diet : Understand what is good and what is not.

Sugar and all its avatars, including honey, high-fructose corn syrup, apparently ‘natural’ products like honey and jaggery and molasses, and, very important – all sugar substitutes except stevia need to be avoided. Sugar is the most addictive substance on earth. Read labels to detect presence of hidden sugars. Best, avoid all processed foods. Stick to freshly home cooked meals. And this holds true not just for diabetics but  for all of us.

 

Positive side effect : Lose the pot belly you’ve been living with despite all your crunches!

Avoid bad fats in diet. But don’t give up fats. No fried foods. NO trans fats. This means no bakery goods, no biscuits unless specifically made without trans fats. Anything with an expiry date has trans fats added to prevent the fat in food turning rancid, and is out of bounds.

Sugar makes you fat. Fat makes you thin. WHEN correctly used.

Fiber is very important to keep you full and reduce calorie intake. Start a meal with a salad.

Q: Should you substitute foods with low-fat and sugar-substitute variants?
Surprising answer: No!!
Because low-fat foods often have sugar and other flavorings added to make them palatable. They are not good for you. Just limit your intake of the regular variety. Sugar substitutes, as we have already seen, can lead to many unpleasant side effects such as headache, depression, worsening of diabetes, even development of some cancers.

4. Exercise is a crucial part of management. Even in patients who don’t need to lose weight.

Whenever you actively use a muscle, you burn both fatty acids and glucose. During and after periods of activity, your falling sugar level is sensed by the pancreas, and they relax their output of insulin. Aim for 150 minutes a week of moderate activity such as fast walking. Include resistance training to build lean muscle and reduce body fat.

5. Weight loss, even 5% of body weight, will help normalize blood sugar levels. Aim for normal BMI, which can easily be calculated using online calculators. More important is waist measurement – upper limit of normal is 38’’ for women and 40’’ for men.

6. Drugs will be prescribed by your doctor. Especially Metformin, sometimes combined with other drugs. Injectable Insulin if control is not obtained with oral drugs. Do not be afraid of insulin use. The needles are really tiny and do not hurt. Honestly.

7. Supplements such as a good multivitamin, Coenzyme Q10, Garcinia, aid in the general health and also in recovery. Healthy vitamin D levels help people maintain normal blood glucose levels.

8. A Positive Mental Attitude, as in any situation, will help greatly in controlling the disease and avoiding all complications. There is no need to be afraid; there are so many things we can do. However, it is important to accept the diagnosis, and take steps to overcome it. Which we can.

Diabetes can be REVERSED. And we can Stay Healthy.