Posts Tagged ‘United States’
Is Magnesium Deficiency Linked to Aging?
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Recent estimates of magnesium deficiency in the United States put the number of folks in that category to be about 50% of the total population. The reason for concern about this magnesium deficiency that is spread across half the folks in the United States follows from the links to a number of major age related diseases. Seniors especially need to be concerned, because the diseases that have been linked to magnesium deficiency include cardiovascular disease, diabetes, hypertension, osteoporosis and even some cancers.
In laboratory studies performed at the cellular level, cells that were cultured with normal levels of magnesium were compared with those that were not. The cells that were cultured without the normal level of magnesium manifested accelerated aging compared with the cells that were cultured normally. The researchers suspect that magnesium deficiency over the long term can damage the health of the cells and may very likely be promoting long term chronic disease. This is good news for seniors who are searching for information to help them take preemptive anti-aging steps to foster their senior health. Natural sources of magnesium include figs, lemons, grapefruit, yellow corn, almonds, dark green vegetables and apples.
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Diet and Supplements Reduce Prostate Cancer Risk
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Recent reports about the incidence and mortality of prostate cancer show that men in China and Japan have a lower rate of prostate cancer by a factor of ten compared with men in Europe and the United States. A major factor that is suspected to be behind this large difference in the rate of prostate cancer is the differences in the diet of the men from the United States and Europe compared with the men from Japan and China. In Asia the men consume more plant lignans that are known to have a protective effect.
It turns out that consuming more plant lignans from fruits, vegetables, and whole grains results in higher blood levels of dietary lignan metabolites. The higher blood levels of dietary lignan metabolites are associated with lower rates of prostate cancer in men. Other studies show that lignans reduce the volume of tumors and increase the death of prostate cancer cells. This is good news for senior men who are trying to protect themselves by taking preemptive aging steps against prostate cancer. They can increase their consumption of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains and take newly developed supplements with concentrated lignans from Norway spruce or flax.
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Can Heart Disease Be Reversed?
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As you probably already know, here in the USA, heart disease is the leading cause of death. More than 459,000 Americans die of cardiovascular disease every year. That is larger than the number of Americans who died in World War II over a period of three years and 10 months. The financial cost of the casualties from the ‘cardiovascular war’ have been estimated at over $450 billion counting health care services, medications and lost productivity. Among the leaders in costs are the invasive surgeries that include coronary artery bypass surgeries, angioplasties, and cardiac catheterizations. Without question these surgical procedures are modern medical miracles for the folks that really need them. The next question that needs to be asked is how can folks live so that they preempt the need to use these extreme means.
In reality, most folks can prevent the onset of cardiovascular disease by choosing a heart healthy lifestyle. For starters, what we eat has a major impact on the health of our hearts. If we limit our intake of refined carbohydrates, sugar, and saturated fats, but stock up on lean protein, fruits and vegetables with lots of fiber, and moderate amounts of healthy fats like olive oil, then we will be a third of the way toward a heart healthy lifestyle. The second part of the solution is exercise every day of the week if possible. For example 30 minutes of brisk walking can provide the exercise needed. Finally, supplementing daily with a full spectrum multivitamin and mineral product and complementing it with fish oil capsules and coenzyme Q10 will complete the steps to living a heart healthy lifestyle that will benefit cardiovascular health.
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Can Vitamin D Bind the H1N1 Flu?
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By all indications the H1N1 Flu is already beginning to pay a return visit to the Northern Hemisphere. In the USA the Government is promising that a vaccine will be ready in time to head off the H1N1 and protect us from the consequences of this disease this fall of 2009. Due to the short time required to prepare the new, H1N1 vaccine we do not know how well it will work in the general public. The second issue that has been raised concerns the availability of and accessibility to the vaccine by the general public. Putting all our hope on this new, H1N1 vaccine to provide protection from the H1N1 flu is like putting all our health protection in one basket. Common sense says that we should have a layered defense in place that will preempt the H1N1 flu. The key to such a layered defense will be to take steps that will strengthen a weakened immune system.
Taking the path to boost immune system has strong support from diverse groups that are concerned about preventing the spread of the H1N1 flu. An agency of the Canadian Government is studying the role of vitamin D in preventing the onset or mitigating the severity of the flu infection. Numerous studies have shown that a deficiency of vitamin D is linked to influenza infections. The Harvard Medical School, that normally recommends getting vitamins through food, makes an exception for supplementing with vitamin D. The good news is that the vitamin D supplements that duplicate the form D3 made by our bodies in sunlight are very inexpensive. The D3 form that is more readily absorbed by our bodies is preferred over the less potent form D2. Together with eating a healthy diet and getting enough sleep, supplementing with vitamin D3 will support a layered defense against infection by the H1N1 flu.
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