Natural Seasonal Allergy Relief

I am going to start becoming more regular with the blog, I promise.

I will write some new content, but also start linking some of my old stuff that currently lives at Discovery Health (the old PureHealthMD content). It's great stuff and I don't think it needs to be rewritten.

Here are some supplements to consider as allergy season will be quickly upon us.

Supplement Regimen for Allergies

Polypharmacy

Interesting case this afternoon. Lady was having major digestive spasms that prompted anxiety. Went to several different doctors and a workup at a major national medical center and told there was nothing wrong.
Meanwhile she as started on 2 blood pressure medications for a high heart rate (from the anxiety/irritability), 1 medication for anxiety, 1 antipsychotic (ouch, big side effects), 1 colon spasm medication, 1 seizure medication, 1 bladder medication (to treat the bladder retention caused by her other medications).
She stopped gluten on a recommendation from a Parkview dietician (genius!) and her digestive system completely resolved.
My job as her health partner: Get her off all the medications! Hey doctors, it's perfectly okay with patients to say, "I don't know" instead of trying to treat every visit with a new prescription.

Canola oil shows heart health benefits

Canola oil is one of those foods in nutrition that does not have full support from a health perspective. It is an omega-3 oil (plant-based ALA, like that in flaxseed) and has seemed to be a good cooking oil in replace of the more omega-6 oils soybean, corn, peanut and the like. The other advantage of canola is that is has a fairly high smokepoint, unlike olive oil. Because of this it can be a good sauteing oil. I always use organic canola because the rapeseed, where canola is derived, can hold pesticides.

This recent study showed that over the course of 6 weeks, replacing a percentage of fats in the diet with canola oil lowered fibrinogen levels. Fibrinogen is a cardiovascular risk marker and portends a greater risk of blood clotting and therefore artery blockage. While this was not a study that proved that canola oil lowers heart attacks or death, it did lower a risk marker and so I will continue to promote canola oil as a healthful oil to cook with.

The key when it comes to fats is to lower the omega-6 fats in the diet and increase the omega-3s. Canola oil is one way, but increasing the intake of wild caught sockeye salmon, tuna, halibut, trout, ground flaxseed and walnuts should also be a part of your day.

http://bit.ly/faVd0T

Starbucks = Our society's candy store

Interesting discussion at the coffee shop the other day. The barista was shocked I didn't put any sweetener in my latte. Said it's very rare for someone not to have sweetener.

Starbucks is our generations candy store. Sure the coffee is pretty good and the atmosphere and branding is cool, but if they banned refined sugar, they would likely not have one on every corner.

Got me thinking about this picture again comparing the sugar content of common beverages. The new flavored Via packets from Starbucks: First ingredient is sugar. Not even coffee is in the majority in those packets!







Once you start to eliminate all the sweetness in your diet, within a week or two, you no longer desire it. Over time, you get to the point where most everything outside of whole, unprocessed foods is too sweet. Make a holiday commitment to enjoy things without added sugars, your health and your waist will appreciate it.