Coz Being Ageless Is Priceless

Posts tagged ‘vitamin d’

Who’s afraid of Zika (or any other virus, for that matter)?

My answers to that is, probably everybody. Most especially, the uninformed. You see, there’s not enough antiviral medications available in the market and those that are, are very specific for certain viruses. Those that are synthetic, come with a significant number of side ffects. Those are that natural, supposedly do not come with enough clinical studies (or we’re not looking at the right journals). So, what are we to do? We know that a healthy immune system is a very formidable defense against microbes and tumors. What you can do then is something really simple. First, make sure that you’re getting enough vitamin C, not plain ascorbic acid, but whole vitamin C, complete with bioflavonoids and all. Vitamin C’s RDA is a joke so definitely do not follow that. What you need to follow is a vitamin’s ODA or Optimal Daily Allowance. For vitamin C, that may vary from 3 to 6 grams per day, taken in divided doses. When someone encounters a viral infection, the timing and dosage of ingestion of vitamin C really matters. An often repeated advise would be to take a gram per hour until symptoms abate or until a person has loose stools. If someone has access to intravenous nutritional drips like the Myer’s cocktail (vitamin C and other nutrients), that would be great! Another vitamin that has antimicrobial properties is vitamin D. Notice why the flu is more prevalent during the winter (or rainy) months? Well, it’s because of the marginal exposure to sunlight, the best source of vitamin D. What about other natural ways to fight off viruses? There’s one modality that stands out and that is medical aromatherapy. It involves the use of clinical grade essential oils such as lemon, cinnamon, oregano, clove, thyme, etc. Numerous clinical studies done at major US hospitals have proven that these oils can be effective against a whole slew of infectious agents. The quality of the oils matter though. Make sure to choose one that’s really pure and are not synthetically-cut like possibly 98% of the oils out there. There are companies that self-regulate themselves in the absence of industry standards. Careful identification of plant sources, quality processing, and clinical validation matters. img_0871

Category:

Tips

Tagged with:

Telomeres: What Is It And Does It Influence Aging?

Static thumb frame of Animation of the structu...

Image via Wikipedia

Besides looking at the mirror, another objective way of telling how fast a person is aging is through telomere testing. Before anything else, what are telomeres? Telomeres are sections of DNA at the end of each chromosome that serves as a cap to your genetic material. Every time a cell replicates, its telomere will become shorter. Shorter telomeres imply a shorter life span for the cell.

What effect does telomere length have on my health and wellness? Age adjusted telomere length is the best method to date to assess biological age using structural analysis of chromosomal change in the telomere. Serial evaluation of telomere length is an indicator of how rapidly one ages relative to a normal population. Therapies directed at slowing the loss of telomere length may slow aging and age-related diseases.

Does diet have any effect on telomere length and repair? An inflammatory diet, or one that increases oxidative stress will shorten telomeres faster. This would include refined carbohydrates, fast foods, processed foods, sodas, artificial sweeteners, trans fats and saturated fats. A diet with large amount and variety of antioxidants that improve oxidative defense and reduces oxidative stress will slow telomere shortening. Consumption of 10 servings of fresh and relatively uncooked fruits and vegetables , mixed fiber, monounsaturated fats, omega-3 fatty acids, cold water fish and high quality vegetable proteins can prevent premature shortening. In addition, caloric restriction is advised combined with an exercise program. Fasting for 12 hours each night at least 4 days per week may also be protective.

What lifestyle modifications are likely to be helpful? One should achieve ideal body weight and body composition with low body fat (less than 22% for women and less than 16% for men). Decreasing visceral fat is very important. Regular aerobic and resistance exercise for at least one hour per day, sleeping for at least 8 hours per night, stress reduction, discontinuation of all tobacco products and bioidentical hormone therapy may decrease the rate of telomere loss.

How do you measure telomere length? The Patient Telomere Score is calculated based on white blood cells (T-lymphocytes). This is the average compared to telomere length on lymphocytes from a sample of the American population in the same age range. The higher the telomere score, the “younger” the cells. A Telomere Score that is above the average line is desirable.

What can I do to reduce my rate of telomere loss? Shorter telomeres have been associated with metabolic abnormalities, obesity, and several degenerative diseases including cancer, dementia, and cardiovascular disease. In vitro studies have shown that telomeres are highly susceptible to oxidative stress, which will shorten telomere length and enhance cellular aging. Minimizing associated risk factors that are linked to shortened telomere activity is recommended and include:

Reduce oxidative stress

Correct micronutrient deficiencies, especially vitamin D

Change sedentary lifestyle, increase physical activity

Avoid weight gain or obesity

Correct insulin resistance

Related Articles

Written

on November 29, 2010

Desperate Housecalls….

 

15. Desperate Housewives (PCD Fake) To ISAEL10...

Image by ฿lαcĸouт14* via Flickr

 

Saw Sunday night’s episode of Desperate Housewives. Interesting how one character has been experiencing anxiety and depression since his wife gave birth a few months earlier. He was diagnosed with post-partum depression and even got a brochure from his primary care physician about the condition. Anyway, he saw a doctor who prescribed him some type of medication for his condition. Upon his return home from the doctor’s office, he told his wife about the medication. His wife didn’t agree with this approach and she then advised him to see a holistic MD, especially after a friend of hers got great results for her back pain. So he did, and when he came back from this holistic MD, he was so delighted because he was prescribed some medical marijuana. Now, that’s stretching it a bit. Personally, I don’t think a holistic MD would prescribe marijuana as an initial treatment for depression. Although it’s one of the medical uses of marijuana, there are other nutrients that one should consider before resorting to this. Nutrients such as Magnesium, vitamin D, B complex, essential fatty acids, St. John’s wort, L-tryptophan, L-tyrosine, and 5-HTP could all help relieve a person’s symptoms of depression. Back to the story, the depressed guy’s wife wasn’t so happy with this recommendation from the doctor. So, she happily switched the medicine bottle with marijuana with oregano without her husband’s knowledge. Her husband however, got better and take note, he even experienced getting “high”. Think about the power of placebo effect. Long story short, he eventually found out about the switch. By that time, he was actually better. Lots of lessons to be learned from this episode but the main one that stuck is the role of the mind in the healing process. The mind is really powerful. So, be careful what you think.

Related Articles

Category:

Random Thoughts

Tagged with:

Flu Fighter

 

Fresh vegetables are important components of a...

Image via Wikipedia

 

There’s more to preventing the flu than just getting your annual vaccine (which actually doesn’t protect against the current strain of the flu). A healthy immune system is always our best defense against any type of bug, whether it be a virus, bacteria, fungus or parasite. To achieve and maintain a healthy immune system, a person has to take care of the basics. That includes having a healthy diet, adequate water intake, deep breathing, stress reduction, adequate rest and exercise, quality sleep, healthy relationships and last but not least, spirituality. Besides these general recommendations, there are specific nutrients that could help in the fight against the flu. These include certain vitamins, minerals, herbs and essential oils. Vitamin D (D3 in particular), the so-called “happiness” vitamin because of it’s role in preventing SAD or seasonal affective disorder, is more than a vitamin. It’s a pro-hormone and and an immune modulator as well. Doses from 1,000 to 10,000 IU daily may be given to achieve an optimal level of 60-80 ng/ml. Vitamin A can also be used for short periods to help increase secretory IgA and improve the immune system. Doses from 50,000-100,000 units have been used for short periods to help against viral infections. Make sure that a person has a healthy liver prior to initiating high doses of vitamins A and D. Vitamin C complex (with bioflavonoids) can also be given at 1,000-6,000 mg daily. Adequate water intake is suggested when taking higher doses of vitamin C. Minerals such as zinc and selenium, and herbs such as astragalus and garlic, do help as well. Finally, there’s essential oils such as clove, cinnamon, lemon, eucalyptus, rosemary and thyme. I specifically recommend a therapeutic-grade essential oil blend from YLEO called Thieves. It works!

Related Articles

Category:

Tips

Tagged with:

Vitamin D

Okay, vitamin D has been so much in the news lately. And for good reason! However, we’re not just seeing a deficiency in vitamin D but also deficiencies in B vitamins as well, minerals (like magnesium and potassium), essential fatty acids and antioxidants like glutathione. What could be the reason behind these deficiencies? Besides our depleted soils, the refining of our food causes these problems. And then, there’s a small but significant fraction of the population who have malabsorption issues. As far as vitamin D is concerned, it’s our lack of exposure to the sun’s rays that’s causing this deficiency. We normally don’t see it in people living in the tropics but as the use of sun block (that are petroleum-based) gets marketed heavily (and people there use skin whitening agents!), we will see more deficiency states in those areas. Vitamin D, besides being good for your teeth and bones is an immune modulator. Research shows that is can actually protect against certain forms of cancer! To see if you have optimal levels, have your levels checked (OH-vitamin D) pronto!

Category:

News

Tagged with: