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Glycemic index and inflammation

Posted on January 21, 2012 by Dr. Bob Avery

Blood glucose spike after two different foods

This article is very important. It is the reason behind much of the chronic diseases in this country. Glycemic index is a measure of how much a particular carbohydrate rasises your blood sugar. The higher the glycemic index the higher the glucose. Higher glucose leads to higher insulin levels. The insulin then drives the sugar into your cells to use as energy, or is more often the case, the insulin turns the sugar into fat for storage. When a carbohydrate is digested quickly, the sugar spikes higher in the blood. When the carbohydrate is absorbed more slowly, the sugar does not rise as fast or high, and the insulin level does not spike either. This study demonstrates that low glycemic foods are less inflammatory. The C-reactive protein level dropped 22% after a low glycemic index meal. The CRP is an important marker of inflammation that can be measured in the blood. It is the inflammation that causes damage to blood vessels, proteins, and cholesterol leading to heart disease and strokes. This is the basic mechanism behind these complications in diabetics. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120111154043.htm

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Posted in Health, Nutrition | Tagged c-reactive protein, CRP, glycemic index, inflammation | Leave a comment

Happiness in the sun

Posted on January 7, 2012 by Dr. Bob Avery

Sun exposure improves vitamin D levels

Low vitamin D levels have been found to be linked to depression. This study performed by UT Southwestern psychiatrists and published in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings revealed people with low vitamin D levels had an increased risk of depression. Conversely, people with normal vitamin D levels had a lower risk of depression. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/239992.php

Vitamin D is a secosteroid hormone. It is vital for bone health, along with vitamin K, but vitamin D has roles throughout the body. We know this because vitamin D receptors are present on multiple organs including the brain.

This research especially makes sense in light of syndromes like seasonal affective disorder. This is seasonal depression which occurs in the winter months. In the winter, there is very little sun, and vitamin D levels tend to drop. During the summer, there is more sun, and more vitamin D production.

If you can’t get in the sun, you can eat fatty fish like salmon, or cod. Sardines have vitamin D as does cod liver oil. Or you can buy vitamin D at the store. Many people require 4000 to 5000 units daily to get an adequate level of vitamin D. You may want your blood level checked to confirm you are getting enough.

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Posted in Health | Tagged depression, seasonal affective disorder, sun, vitamin D | 1 Comment

Alzheimer’s and diet

Posted on January 3, 2012 by Dr. Bob Avery

MRI scan showing brain shrinkage in Alzeimer's disease

This study again confirms the finding of other studies that a diet high in vegetables and omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin D will help prevent Alzheimer’s disease. This particular study looked at brain shrinkage, or atrophy, which is a key finding in dementia as we age. People that ate a diet high in omega-3 fatty acids (fish oil), vitamin D, and vitamins C, D, E, and B which are found in fruits and vegetables. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/239750.php

Similar findings were found years ago at Rush Presbyterian Hospital’s Alzheimer’s unit. There it was found that a diet high in vegetables actually slowed the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. So there is a natural way to protect your brain.

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Posted in Health, Nutrition | Tagged Alzheimer's disease, brain atrophy, brain shrinkage, fruits, omega-3 fatty acids, vegetables, vitamin B, vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin E | Leave a comment

Reduced calories, reduced weight and heart function in diabetes

Posted on December 6, 2011 by Dr. Bob Avery

Diabetes is becoming an epidemic disease. If is often preceded by metabolic syndrome. The metabolic syndrome is characterized by increased weight that is centrally located (apple shaped, not pear shaped), high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, and high blood sugar due to resistance to insulin. Now that 30% of Americans are obese, the metabolic syndrome is becoming very common and with it diabetes and heart disease. What is interesting is that simple weight loss will improve insulin resistance if patients who are diabetic. This study reveals that heart function is also improved when obese diabetics lose weight through calorie restriction. These benefits occurred after only 16 weeks. That is not long. You see, we can make big changes to our health with simple interventions. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/11/111128120136.htm

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Posted in Health, Nutrition | Tagged diabetes, heart disease, heart function, metabolic syndrome, obesity | Leave a comment

Heart disease and today’s teens

Posted on November 28, 2011 by Dr. Bob Avery

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/11/111116174746.htm

This study is a wake-up call to all of us. Today’s children are heavier than ever. They are developing metabolic syndrome at an early age. Metabolic syndrome consists of obesity, high blood pressure, high blood sugar and insulin resistance. It leads to diabetes and heart disease. If you remember, heart disease is the number one killer in the United States. More than 1/2 million people die each year of heart disease. This is very unfortunate since heart disease is largely preventable with good diet and exercise. This is what today’s teens are not getting. Their diet is calorie rich and nutrient deficient and they do not exercise. Even if they do exercise, the oxidation produced damages their bodies because they are not getting enough antioxidants. We all need to make an effort to eat better and exercise.

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Posted in Health, Nutrition | Tagged antioxidants, diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, metabolic syndrome, teens | Leave a comment

Acupuncture prevents radiation induced dry mouth

Posted on November 15, 2011 by Dr. Bob Avery

This is an important study from MD Anderson Cancer Center and Fudan Cancer Center in Shanghai. There have been small studies suggesting a benefit of acupuncture for dry mouth. This was the first randomized controlled trial. The patients were being treated for nasopharyngeal cancer with radiation. Dry mouth is a common and debilitating side effect of radiation to the mouth or nose area. The patients filled out a questionnaire and had their saliva flow measured.

Benefits of acupuncture were seen as soon as three weeks into radiation therapy and the benefit increased by the end of radiation. A follow up 1 month after radiation therapy still showed benefit of . http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/237520.php

The mechanism is unclear and hopefully will be the subject of future studies. Studies like these are very important because they improve the quality of life of cancer patients. I look forward to more studies.

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Posted in Alternative Medicine, Cancer Therapy | Tagged acupuncture, dry mouth, quality of life, radiaion therapy, xerostomia | Leave a comment

Lack of Sun equals Low Vitamin D

Posted on November 10, 2011 by Dr. Bob Avery

This research goes into the “no duh” category. Vitamin D is produced from sun exposure, so lack of sun exposure is sure to lead to vitamin D deficiency unless you get it from other sources. Still, it is important to hit the point home since so many people are vitamin D deficient. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/237142.php

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Posted in Health | Tagged sun, sun exposure, vitamin D | Leave a comment

Prevention of diabetes in African American population with exercise and vegetarian diet

Posted on November 10, 2011 by Dr. Bob Avery

This article compares two groups of African Americans; Seventh Day Adventists, who encourage vegetarian diet and abstinence from alcohol, and a non-Adventist African American group. They found in their comparison, that the vegetarian group had a 70% less chance of developing diabetes if they were strict vegans and a 53% less chance if they ate dairy and eggs. Although this is not a therapeutic trial, it does argue that our lifestyle is creating the current epidemic of metabolic syndrome, diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease. These diseases cause a significant amount of disability in this population and puts a strain on our already stressed medical system. If only we could convince people how important it is to eat right and exercise. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/237160.php

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Posted in Exercise, Nutrition | Tagged diabetes, exercise, fruits, vegan, vegetables, vegetarian diet | Leave a comment

Low Vitamin D Common In Spine Surgery Patients

Posted on November 8, 2011 by Dr. Bob Avery

I’m not sure how many more articles like this we need. Vitamin D deficiency is widespread. I’m at the point that I don’t check the blood level all the time because most of the time it is low, especially in people with darker skin. Vitamin D is so important to general health not just bone health. Vitamin D receptors are present in the bones, gut, brain, blood vessels, kidneys, prostate, reproductive organs, as well as other places. Studies have suggested that low vitamin D increases your risk of cancer, heart disease, high blood pressure, autoimmune disease, and diabetes. Everyone should seriously consider including vitamin D in their diet from fatty fish or supplements especially if you are not in the sun.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/11/111103081429.htm

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Posted in Health, Nutrition | Tagged back surgery, bone healing, cancer, high blood pressure, vitamin D, vitamin D receptor | Leave a comment

Vitamin K prevents fractures and cancer

Posted on November 4, 2011 by Dr. Bob Avery

$hip fracture$ Don’t just read the headline when you read the news. This particular article should read “vitamin K prevents bone fractures and cancer”, instead is reads “Vitamin D does not stem bone mineral density decline in postmenopausal women with osteopenia, study shows” http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081013201301.htm

Now if you read further into the article you will see that the researchers did not see an increase in bone mineral density in these women, BUT they did see a decrease in bone fractures and cancers; bone fractures 9 vs. 20 (placebo) and cancers 3 vs. 12 (placeb0). Unfortunately, they are fixated on the bone mineral density study, not on fractures. Fractures are what we want to prevent! Vitamin k in this study decreased fractures by 55% and cancers by 75%. That is important data that needs to be studied. So never stop at the title, the authors may not be feeding you the most important findings from the study.

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Posted in Health | Tagged bone fractures, bone mineral density, cancer, vitamin K | Leave a comment

citrinesun.com Blog

Glycemic index and inflammation

Happiness in the sun

Alzheimer’s and diet

Reduced calories, reduced weight and heart function in diabetes

Heart disease and today’s teens

Acupuncture prevents radiation induced dry mouth

Lack of Sun equals Low Vitamin D

Prevention of diabetes in African American population with exercise and vegetarian diet

Low Vitamin D Common In Spine Surgery Patients

Vitamin K prevents fractures and cancer

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