The Trumpet Medical Advisor

To contact me, please click on my email address in blue, at the right, for any health or health related problems or questions that you have. You will get a personal and confidential response from me.

PatPatricia Naeder, RN, BS.

pat@billbaur.com/public

    

August, 2010 Edition ew3


~~~~ TOP SUMMERTIME HEALTH TIPS! ~~~~

    

Take advantage of the bounty of summer to tune up your health! No matter what state your health is in, you can still be your personal best.

With plenty of fresh vegetables and fruits available, and good weather, it’s easier to nurture your body, sharpen memory, enhance your blood flow, and help your joints and organs to function at the best possible level!

Fruits and vegetables contain antioxidants that can do microbiological battle for you. They’re low fat and healthy.

Our bodies have Free Radical molecules circulating throughout. They are unstable because they are missing an electron. They are searching to steal electrons in order to become stable. They will steal from your body and the result is oxidative damage or stress at the cellular level. You can help to fix this.

What can you do? Provide your body with a reservoir of antioxidants in the form of fresh food and/or supplements as needed. This will prevent them from doing damage in their search for stability. This is individual, so consult your physician if you have diabetes or other conditions.

Some people describe oxidative stress as a kind of “rusting from the inside out.” Like a banana that is left out, that turns brown. That is oxidation.

So if you take in enough antioxidants, they will donate that missing electron to the free radicals, because antioxidants are stable whether or not they have that electron.

So, eating vegetables, fruit, fish, chicken and some beef, will keep a supply of antioxidants and nutrients available for you.

Vitamins A, C and E are antioxidants. Vitamin E is one of the best antioxidants. Remember it is a fat soluble vitamin, so it can accumulate if you take too much. However it is excellent for cardiac health because of its blood thinning properties. This helps in the fight against vessel plaque.

If you are on Plavix, or Coumadin or other blood thinning agents do not take Vitamin E  as a supplement due to the additive effect of blood thinning.

1)    Eat berries, especially blueberries, and anything with acai berry, and pomegranate in it. Acai berry is one of the highest antioxidant berries.

2)    Eat fish for the anti-inflammatory properties of Omega 3, the essential fatty acid. Eat the low mercury fish.

3)    Walk ½ hour a day, 4 to 5 days a week, with sunscreen, to build bone, and get some Vitamin D conversion on your skin from sunlight, without too much sun exposure.

4)    Check the ORAC scale of antioxidants: Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity. You can see which foods will work harder for you.

5)    Eat a small amount of nuts and seeds daily.

6)    Have a small amount of dark chocolate for the antioxidant value.

7)    Avacado is great once in a while for the good fat, and to alkalinize the body.

8)    Eat yogurt for the acidophilus and the bifidus regularis. They keep your stomach and intestinal flora in balance.

9)    Stay with a low calorie, low saturated fat, low carb, and low sugar diet, unless otherwise indicated for your particular health situation.

10) Drink green tea for the catechin antioxidants.

11) It is best to get your nutrition from natural foods, but ask your physician if you should take CoQ10 supplement, or any other vitamins or supplements. Sometimes one vitamin additive can make all the difference in your health.

12) Make time for relaxation to keep your adrenaline down, and your stress low.

13) Drink water instead of sugary or artificial sugar drinks.  Don’t overdo the water, or go to extremes. That can cause your natural electrolytes to go out of balance: potassium, sodium, and chloride.

14) Get your sleep, and naps if you need them. The body and mind, repairs and re-balances itself while you are resting. If you have insomnia, go natural: Ask your physician about the over the counter, natural 5Htp liquid supplements with natural melatonin.

 

Good Health to You!

 

Patricia Naeder, RN, BS

Medical Advisor

 

This column is for informational purposes only, and represents the opinion, and reporting of the author only. Any discussions with the Author should be presented to your own personal Physician for his/her Professional opinion. It is not meant to substitute for seeing one's own Medical Doctor, Psychiatrist, or Psychologist for Professional care.