Category Archives: Wellness & Disease Prevention

Could your Vitamin D level be causing obesity or Metabolic Syndrome?

Adequate Vitamin D can prevent cancer, heart disease and be a good treatment for type 2 diabetes.

Could it be increasing your risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes?  New research (Thomas, N et al.)has linked severe Vitamin D deficiency, to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease mortality. Dr Thomas and his team followed 1087 people for 7.7 years. They found that those people with adequate Vitamin D levels had a 66% reduction of their risk. Optimal vitamin D levels were also found to reduce the all-cause mortality rates by 75%.

People with Metabolic Syndrome have problems with blood sugar regulation. Interestingly Vitamin D is also known to affect blood sugar regulation and is involved in control of insulin resistance. A good treatment for type 2 diabetes could therefore involve replenishing Vitamin D deficiency. Furthermore Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to an event known as the winter response. A 2009 study (Foss, Y.J) proposed that a fall in circulating vitamin D results in an accumulation of fat mass (obesity) and the induction of the winter response (metabolic syndrome).

On top of that a lack of vitamin D has been linked to a number of other health problems including cancer which is linked to inflammation. Adequate Vitamin D is believed to reduce excess inflammation and the overactive immune response.

Vitamin D levels have become a hot topic when it comes to preventing disease. So how do you ensure you are getting adequate vitamin d? In years gone by it was believed that getting adequate sunshine was enough to give you good vitamin D levels. People living in cold regions are less likely to be exposed to regular sunshine and are therefore believed to be particularly at risk. So too were the elderly who did not go outside the home a great deal.

Even with ample exposure to the sun, recent studies have found that vitamin D levels can be deficient. So we can therefore presume that other factors come into play, when it comes to the body producing adequate levels of the hormone, vitamin D.

Who is most at risk of vitamin D deficiency?

• The elderly
• Dark skinned individuals
• Those covered extensively by clothing or veils
• Healthy people who spend most of their time inside
• People with gut absorption problems
• Those with chronic renal and liver disease
• People taking some medications
• People with increased body fat.

A healthy diet should therefore include foods that increase  Vitamin D. The best food sources of Vitamin D are fish especially salmon, tuna and mackerel and fish liver oils. Other good sources include beef liver, cheese, egg yolks and some mushrooms.

Before you start taking supplements of Vitamin D, you need to ensure that you are in fact deficient. Why – because excess vitamin D can itself be a health problem. So I recommend that you ask your health care practitioner to order blood tests for 25(OD)D3. A trained health care practitioner can also help you eradicate other problems that may be contributing to a low Vitamin D status, such as gut absorption problems.

To find out more about how you can enjoy health & wellness, a treatment for type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome, check out my book, How to Stop Metabolic Syndrome Naturally. Click here to find out more.

 How often have you heard someone say “my memory isn’t what it used to be?” As ageing progresses, many of us will be making the same complaint and this is particularly common in menopausal females. Being in that age bracket myself, I confess to having some issues with memory also. Interestingly studies have found that changes in brain function can begin in our 40’s.

So is there one single thing that you can do to improve memory, increase energy and control your weight? Well the answer to that is yes. In a recent study of older women with mild cognitive decline, it was found that twice weekly resistance training produced significant improvements in memory tasks. This was compared to 2 other groups of comparable women – one group doing aerobic training and the other doing balance and toning work. As well as showing improvements in the Stroop Test, the study also found functional changes in three parts of the cortical brain.

Whilst the aerobic group improved their balance and cardiovascular capacity no significant changes were found in memory.

So how does this help to increase energy and control weight? The most obvious outcome of resistance training is building muscle. In my clinic I routinely measure active tissue mass using a Bioimpedance Analysis and what I find is that most females are deficient in muscle mass.

It is not surprising that many of these people with low muscle mass also have issues with fatigue and excess weight and here’s why. Inside our body we each have energy powerhouses known as the mitochondria. These energy powerhouses are found in every cell of the body but interestingly muscle has up to 100 times more of these powerhouses. So to increase energy it is vital to build muscle.

Any exercise will help control weight if it is done regularly enough, but building muscle is a key to ongoing weight control. This is because muscle mass uses more energy or burns more calories than fat mass.

So if you want to know how to increase energy, to improve memory and control your weight, the answer is to start doing some resistance training. This doesn’t mean that you have to be at the gym “pumping some iron” with the big boys, but getting some advice from a personal trainer about suitable resistance training and putting in some work, several days a week, is a must for each and every one of us.

Reference:Weight Training Aids Memory in Older WomenBy Michael Smith, North American Correspondent, MedPage Today.Published: April 23, 2012.Reviewed by Dori F. Zaleznik, MD; Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston and Dorothy Caputo, MA, BSN, RN, Nurse Planner

Cholesterol constantly gets a bad press, but the truth is cholesterol performs necessary functions in our body as well as creating some cardiovascular risks. A cholesterol level that is too low is a risk marker of cancer, intestinal problems, stroke and depression. So balance really is the key.

Toxins and cholesterol 

One of the little known facts about cholesterol is that it protects us from the effects of toxicity. As we know, our environment is far more toxic than it used to be, and as toxicity is passed on from mother to child via the placenta, we are starting life full of toxins. Each day we eat, breath and absorb more toxins. So the binding of cholesterol to toxins in order to protect the body, is vitally important to our health. So while diet can increase cholesterol levels, so to can a heavy load of toxins such as heavy metals (mercury, lead etc), petrochemicals, drugs or pesticides. In particular heavy metals such as mercury increase total cholesterol and LDL Solvents (such as alcohol) raise LDL and triglycerides.

Is high cholesterol unhealthy?

 Dyslipidaemia or abnormal blood lipids (fat), such as cholesterol or triglycerides increases your risk of atheroschlerosis, heart disease, stroke, hypertension and other cardiovascular disorders. A total cholesterol reading by itself is not particularly useful. There are 2 main types of cholesterol that you need to be aware of. HDL cholesterol refers to high density lipoprotein. This is the good cholesterol, so remember that we want HDL to be high. HDL carries cholesterol away from the heart and back to the liver where it is excreted as bile. It also helps remove excess cholesterol from inside the blood vessels.

 Low density lipoprotein or LDL is supposedly the bad stuff which we need to keep low.LDL transports cholesterol & triglycerides towards the cells and tissues which readily take them up.  LDL cholesterol can adhere to the walls of the blood vessels that feed the heart and brain. Increased LDL cholesterol supposedly therefore leads to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

 Why “bad” cholesterol is not really bad.

So why I am saying that LDL cholesterol is supposedly bad? New research tells us that it is only when LDL cholesterol becomes oxidized that it causes problems for the heart. A raised LDL cholesterol on its own has not been found to cause any problems (Dr Anthony Colpo). Oxidation is like a rusting effect. It occurs as a result of inadequate antioxidants such as Vitamin C, E and selenium. If you diet is high in nutrient poor foods such as breads, cakes, biscuits, pasta or processed foods, you are at increased risk of insufficient antioxidants and therefore heart disease.

 So before you go into a spin about the effects of cholesterol on heart disease, remember that inflammation and lack of antioxidants is likely to be a greater risk factor of cardiovascular disease than raised cholesterol. Cholesterol repairs membranes that are damaged by inflammation. By reducing inflammation you can therefore reduce the stimulus for the synthesis of cholesterol by the liver. Any treatment that is designed to protect you from heart disease must decrease inflammation. Fish oil can effectively reduce inflammation & triglycerides and slowly bring cholesterol to a satisfactory level.

Dietary advice for a healthy heart 

If you are still concerned about reducing cholesterol, a high fibre diet is essential as fibre prevents cholesterol absorption and promotes elimination. At least one serving of green leafy vegetables will assist with adequate fibre intake. Eat other foods that are rich in antioxidants such as berries to prevent oxidation of your LDL cholesterol. It is worth remembering that despite the hype around saturated fats, grains can contribute to dyslipidemia as they contain palmatic and stearic acid.

 The secret as with all good health is to ensure you have a balanced diet of 30% protein (eggs, milk, dairy, fish, and soy), and 40% carbohydrates and 30% good fats from foods such as avocado, nuts, sesame, coconut or olive oil. Keep processed foods to a minimum and enjoy lots of fresh, whole produce.