Tag Archives: nutrition

Carvings July 1, 2025

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Eat more, weigh less? Are you kidding me??

            It appears that weight loss surgery is more effective over the long term than Ozempic, that new kid on the block, and similar prescription drugs. But no matter how effective these two elements may be in the short term, this is simply not the way to solve the multiple problems – now epidemics — of obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis. Those who promote these solutions are apparently oblivious to the fact that a century ago, those four chronic, non-infectious conditions were almost non-existent. They don’t have anything to do with aging, nor does osteoporosis, the fact of which I’ll cover in a future post. Ditto cancer, the second leading cause of death, 85 percent of which is due to lifestyle factors and has nothing to do with growing older, according to the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.

            So if these diseases, which together account for more than one million deaths per year in the United States, are almost entirely due to lifestyle factors, the solution appears to be astonishingly simple: change the lifestyle.

            Obesity is at the root of the other diseases, via multiple mechanisms. The rate of obesity in 1900 was five percent. It is now 42 percent. Although health experts advise us to drastically reduce our sugar intake, that’s only part of the picture. The real solution is to eat foods that fill you up, not fill you out. 

            Our great-grandparents were not obese mainly because their diet was largely based on plant foods and whole grains that had a lot of bulk, giving them full bellies but few calories. The Standard American Diet does the opposite: refined sugar, refined flour and only one or two servings of plant foods per day. (If you’re a teenager you typically eat less than one serving per day of fruits and vegetables.) We take in lots of calories before our appetite is satisfied, especially if those calories come in the form of soft drinks, so we eat more.

            Sugary desserts and soft drinks should be the first to go. Next, add a small salad to one meal a day, later two meals a day when you get used to it. Instead of having a starch (pasta, potatoes, rice) at dinner, substitute a cooked vegetable for more fiber and fewer calories. You’ll be eating more food – and will weigh less.

            Now – how hard was that?

Lifestyle

How dry I am!

            Now that summer heat is here in full force it’s time for a reminder that dehydration is a risk at all ages, but especially as we get older. One reason is that our thirst mechanism is unreliable; our body may require a greater fluid intake but it fails to let us know. Especially in areas of low humidity – e.g., the American Southwest – overt sweating is minimized and thus we are not aware of the fluid loss. When we’re engaged in some activity such as gardening or athletics, we just might not be paying attention to early signs of dehydration, such as fatigue.

            Statistics regarding deaths from dehydration are hard to ascertain since heat stroke is often part of the picture. During a severe heat wave dozens of deaths may be reported in the United States. Infants and the elderly comprise most of the victims. Contributing factors include the inability of the former to express their symptoms. The latter often live alone or are visited infrequently by caretakers. Persons over the age of 65 are especially at risk. Many are taking blood pressure medications that increase the loss of water as well as the loss of electrolytes (sodium and potassium).

            Monitoring a person’s state of hydration, whether an infant in diapers, a healthy adult or an elderly person who needs to be checked at least once daily, the indicators of dehydration are the same. If urine is cloudy, orange-brown and pungent, dehydration is already in progress. Urine should always be clear, slightly yellow and with only a mild odor.

 Repeated bouts of dehydration increase the risk of kidney stones, a malady whose intensity of pain is only matched by the pangs of childbirth – so I’m told!

            You can avoid dehydration even on the hottest, driest days by keeping a glass or bottle of water everywhere – family room, bedroom, car, office. Fruit juices are fine but they all have sugar, so diluting them by about a third will give you the fluid you need with fewer calories. Fruit is mostly water; three or four pieces a day are healthy as well. If you sweat a lot during a hard workout don’t forget to replenish sodium and potassium with an electrolyte drink. Avoid sugary carbonated drinks and alcohol.

Carvings June 1, 2025

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Kiddie canaries in the coal mine

            For those of you who have come to believe that vitamin D is my favorite vitamin, you are correct. Month after month, there is more data showing that this micronutrient has more functions within the body than had been thought only a few years ago. One reason for my constant referral to vitamin D in my blogs is that deficiency is a serious problem. This is highlighted by a study from the University of Florida.

          The crux of the article is that fractures in children who are deficient in vitamin D take much longer to heal. But there is another very serious implication that is not addressed by the authors of the article: those whose bone health is poor and who are significantly deficient in vitamin D as children face the strong likelihood that they will develop osteoporosis at a relatively young age.

          For several reasons, osteoporosis will be Third Epidemic of this century; obesity and type two diabetes are the first and second, respectively. Although figures vary depending on the demographic group and research population studied, approximately one-half of Americans are deficient in vitamin D. But there is more to bone health, including adequate amounts of omega-3 fats, vitamins A, C and K, and exercise. In regard to the last, physical activity continues to decline among youngsters, and the recent surge in electric bikes, scooters and skateboards can only make things worse.

          The Florida study attributes the slow healing of bone fractures in children to low levels of vitamin D. I believe that the problem is far more complex. A thorough analysis of these children’s lifestyle would probably uncover other nutritional deficiencies, and a lack of exercise as well.

Lifestyle

“I’m doing everything right! Why do I have osteoporosis?”

          I have heard this lament several times during my nearly twenty-years’ speaking on matters of health and fitness, mostly to senior organizations. The complaints have usually come from slender women who state that they exercise regularly, eat a healthy diet, take vitamins regularly and ensure an adequate calcium intake, often with the help of a supplement.

          My answer is not a comforting one for them. After assuring them that they are now following the proper course to maintain good bone health, I point out that building a strong skeleton depends on regular, moderately intense physical activity during the “bone-building window” from ages roughly 5 to 25, and that they were probably not aware of that during those years. A good diet, as noted above, also matters, but the prime determinant of bone health is moderately intense exercise throughout life, even past retirement age.

          Approximately 20 percent of women over the age of fifty have osteoporosis, compared to 4 percent of men. That figure for men is misleading and it is going to rise significantly in the coming decades. Generally speaking, boys are physically more active during the critical bone-building window, and a man’s occupation involves greater physical activity – until recently. Today a man’s thumb is more likely to be injured by repetitive stress from using a keyboard than from pounding a hammer; construction workers’ cordless power tools have replaced manual screwdrivers, handsaws and drills. Modern males make little use of their muscles and they will pay the price when they reach middle age.

          Although it’s possible to regain some bone mass at any age, it takes more effort than most persons are aware. Persons of every age (nonagenarians included) should engage in resistance exercise (barbells, dumbbells, machines, elastic bands) at least three times weekly. The Standard American Diet (S.A.D.) is poor in bone-building nutrients. Those are the hard facts.

         

Carvings May 1, 2025

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Your brain on eggs. What does it mean for Alzheimer’s Disease?

            Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) has become a severe burden in the U.S., both financially and emotionally. Six million Americans already suffer from the condition and it is projected to more than double by 2050. It is not only because our population is aging. In my opinion, our diet plays a major role in the development of this debilitating disease. 

            Caveat: this blog addresses only a single nutrient. Many other factors, nutritional, inflammatory, toxicological and social are part of the picture. However, the one discussed here is entirely under our control.

            According to the Framingham Study, a research program that was instituted more than 75 years ago by Harvard Medical School and that carries a stellar reputation in tracking the dietary and lifestyle habits of generations of participants, a low intake of dietary choline is associated with an increased risk of dementia, including Alzheimer’s Disease. It is one of many recent studies that have noted that inverse association. Further, it is becoming evident that the current DRI (Dietary Reference Intake) for choline “may not be optimal for proper brain health and cognition”. (Ref.: Velaquez R et al., Choline as a prevention for Alzheimer’s Disease, Aging 2020 Vol. 12, No 3, p. 2026-270).

            In July 2024 the Rush Memory and Aging Project, involving more than 1,000 subjects, reported that a modest intake of two eggs per week was associated with a decreased risk of Alzheimer’s Disease, and at autopsy, AD patients with a higher egg intake showed fewer changes in the brain than are typical of that disease.

            Although choline is present in many common foods, especially poultry, fish, red meat, eggs, liver, cruciferous vegetables (such as broccoli, kale, Brussels sprouts, etc.), nuts and seeds, the Standard American Diet (S.A.D.) is lacking in almost all of these foods except for red meat. Taking a vitamin supplement won’t help; among several whose labels I examined, none lists choline in the list of ingredients. A solution appears to be the Mediterranean Diet, which includes the best sources of choline and many other nutrients.

            Eggs to the rescue! As noted in recent posts, eggs are among the healthiest foods and contain a generous amount of choline. Cholesterol is a non-issue. Eating two or three eggs every day will not raise your blood cholesterol by a single milligram, unless you eat them with “egg helpers” such as bacon, sausage, ham, hash browns, etc., all of which contain saturated fat, the real cholesterol-drivers. Eggs are excellent sources of protein and vitamins A, B complex, D and E, and several important but lesser-known nutrients.

            The recommendation of the month: Include a veggie omelet in your meal plan at least twice a week. Frozen mixed vegetables make it really easy. Be sure to add a tablespoon of olive oil to the mix. And leave those egg-helpers on the supermarket shelf!

Carvings April 17, 2025

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Synergistic supplements

            I have long argued that a high dose of a single supplement – vitamin, mineral or other – is not a solution to any health problem. Most if not all nutrients interact with each other like the instruments in a symphony orchestra and taking a large amount of any nutrient causes imbalance which can be harmful. On the other hand, we must ensure that our diet includes optimal amounts of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients.

            Omega-3 fatty acids are absolutely essential for virtually every cell in the body. They are vital for normal development and function of the heart, brain, eye and skeleton. Numerous studies link omega-3 deficiency with behavior disorders, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and attention deficit disorder, and other neuropsychiatric problems.

            Vitamin D also has numerous roles, especially in maintaining a vigorous immune system. The deficiency of this vitamin in childhood results in rickets, a softening of the bones, often accompanied by serious brain damage. It is one of the many nutrients that are essential in preventing osteoporosis in older persons.

            Both of these nutrients are lacking in most Americans. An astonishing 95 percent of children and more than 65 percent of adults have an inadequate dietary intake of omega-3s. More than half of adolescents and adults have inadequate levels of vitamin D, especially in the northern latitudes. These two nutrients together act in the synthesis of serotonin, a brain chemical that regulates executive function and social behavior.

            Psychiatric disorders in our young population have reached levels that threaten to overwhelm our healthcare system. Children’s hospitals throughout the country find themselves unable to cope with what is clearly an epidemic. Nutrition alone will not stem the tide but it clearly is one factor that is within our ability to improve. Perhaps we should start with some strategy to get our kids to bolster their diet with these synergistic supplements. 

Lifestyle

            We are about to see an assault on highly processed foods, which now account for 60 to 90 (!) percent of the Standard American Diet (SAD – a perfect acronym) There is more to this picture than the addition of dozens of chemicals that make non-nutritious foods so attractive and addictive. In the course of altering the basic ingredients, the manufacture of these products results in the loss of important vitamins, minerals and fiber. Sometimes these are added back in, of course. That may not be enough, as reported in data from the UK’s National Health Service, showing a surge in hospital admissions due to vitamin deficiencies.

            All three leading causes of death, heart disease, cancer and type 2 diabetes, are unequivocally associated with (a) a high intake of highly processed foods and (b) the lack of whole foods, such as whole grains, legumes, fruits and vegetables. Highly processed foods include our favorite processed meats: cold cuts, hot dogs, bacon and sausage. We might add a warning from a 2009 article in the British Journal of Psychiatry: Persons who ate whole foods had a 26% lower risk of depression; those who ate processed food had a 58% higher risk. (Akbaraly TN et al., Dietary pattern and depressive symptoms in middle age, Br J Psychiatry 2009 Nov;195(5):408-13)

Carvings April 1, 2025

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No April Fool: It’s time to put an end to nutritional pornography.

            In a few months we will reach the end of the first quarter of the 21st century with no end in sight of the three epidemics that threaten to overwhelm our health system and our economy: obesity, type 2 diabetes and osteoporosis. The first two were almost non-existent at the beginning of the preceding century. The obesity rate in 1900 was approximately 5 percent; it is now 42 percent. Diabetes was almost entirely type 1, the juvenile form, a totally different disease from type 2 diabetes. The latter now affects 12.2 percent of the general population, more than one-third of people over the age of 65 and increasing numbers of children below the age of 18, some as young as six years! Type 2 diabetes was so uncommon in the pre-World War One era that it wasn’t clearly distinguished from type 1 diabetes until the 1950s.

Osteoporosis, the Third Epidemic, is going to crash down on us with a vengeance in about 30 years, as today’s young people fail to build a strong skeleton during the bone-building window between ages five and twenty-five. They transport themselves on electric bikes, scooters and skateboards, and replace childhood sports and games with screen-watching, eliminating the muscle stresses that nature intended to form a strong skeleton.  

            Someone recently sent me an insightful post: “Ninety percent of today’s supermarket food didn’t exist a hundred years ago. Neither did ninety percent of today’s diseases. Think about that.”

            Government edicts will determine what supermarkets will offer us in the coming decade. Trans fats have already been outlawed. Food coloring restrictions are imminent; the sugar content of processed foods is probably next; saturated fat and salt mandates will reach us in a few short years. SNAP (welfare) recipients are not allowed to use those funds to purchase alcohol or tobacco. It’s likely that they will see junk food added to that list during the current administration. Legislation is pending now in Tennessee to disallow the purchase of candy and soft drinks with SNAP funds. Other states will follow suit, and so will the federal government.

Carvings March 15, 2025

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What’s all this about vitamin A and measles?

            The measles outbreak that began a few weeks ago is one of the largest in recent years, and so far it has claimed the lives of two persons, one a child. Neither victim had received the measles vaccine. Media stories about vitamin A are confusing, if not misleading, so let’s clarify things.

            Vitamin A is essential to maintain the integrity of the skin, eyes and immune system. Many common foods contain vitamin A or its precursor, beta-carotene. The former can be toxic when taken chronically in high doses but the latter almost never is.

            Before we had a measles vaccine in the mid-1960s, few children escaped this illness. About one child in a thousand died from the disease and about one in five hundred suffered from devastating inflammation of the brain. Approximately half of the children who were apparently spared such serious complications were found to have a low-grade inflammation of the brain that impaired their school performance for months, perhaps longer. Many also suffered from weakening of their immune system that left them open to other common infections, such as pneumonia. Thus, it was not as benign as we thought.

            There is another frightening complication of measles that most people are unaware of: subacute sclerosing panencephalitis, known as SSPE. It is now almost non-existent in this country as a result of widespread vaccination. SSPE may occur several years after a bout of measles and the incidence ranges from about one in 600 to one in 5,000 victims. Expect to see this devastating, always fatal inflammation of the brain in years to come if parents’ current refusal to immunize children continues,

            While vitamin A deficiency is quite uncommon in the United States the opposite is true in the developing world, and it is severe in some countries. It is not only a major, if not the leading cause of blindness in children in Africa, but it plays a leading role in measles mortality. In some developing countries the seriousness of measles is magnified by orders of magnitude. Whereas during my early practice years we lost one child out of a thousand, among vitamin A-deficient children in some parts of Africa the mortality rate is as high as 400 out of a thousand – a staggering forty percent! That number falls dramatically when children receive adequate amounts of vitamin A in their diet over the long term, before they are exposed to the measles virus.

            N.B.: There is more to the story. Vitamin A-deficient children are also lacking in other vitamins and minerals, and they are almost always severely deficient in protein, which is supremely important in maintaining the immune system.

            VITAMIN A DOES NOT PREVENT OR CURE MEASLES. However, the standard of care, even in the United States, is to give a child hospitalized with measles, usually because of the common complication of pneumonia, two doses of 200,000 units of vitamin A. Although chronic overdosing with vitamin A can cause severe problems, there is no risk in administering that amount in a hospital setting. An important caveat: a child who has or has been recently exposed to measles should not be given extra doses of the vitamin. There is no evidence that this will mitigate the seriousness of the disease or lead to a shorter course of the illness.

            There is no cure for measles but the usual two doses of the vaccine have an effective rate of 97 percent. Serious side effects of the vaccine are almost non-existent; the occasional high fever or rash may in fact indicate a vulnerability to the virus that in its wild form could cause death or brain damage.

Carvings March 1, 2025

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Measles redux

            Almost exactly one year ago (March 15th) I wrote about a measles outbreak in Florida. More than 90 percent of the victims had never received the measles vaccine. In the past few weeks we have seen an even larger outbreak involving nearly 150 children and adults – that number may have increased by the time this article has been posted – and one child has died. Again, 90 percent of the victims had not been vaccinated against measles, many of them belonging to a religious sect that eschews vaccines. What a terrible price to pay! The measles vaccine, part of the Measles-Mumps-Rubella triad, is effective in preventing the disease in 95 percent of recipients. Except for fever and sometimes a mild rash, the vaccine is almost entirely free of side effects, though there have been a few cases of severe complications.

            I’d like to repeat a comment that I have made before regarding those children who do have the aforementioned side effects. If a child experiences an illness from a severely weakened vaccine virus, he or she might well have been one of those unusually vulnerable children who died or suffered severe brain damage from the wild virus in the pre-vaccine era.

            Although measles has for decades been referred to as one of the “usual childhood diseases” it has other untoward effects. Besides causing mild inflammation of the brain in about one half of those who experience measles, thus impairing their school performance for months, nearly all victims will be found to have weakening of the immune system that lasts for two or three years. That means that they are more than ordinarily susceptible to other infections such as pneumonia.

            Measles is rampant in the developing world, where it is a major cause of blindness and death. It’s no coincidence that almost every outbreak in the United States has originated with someone who came from or recently traveled in another country.

Lifestyle

            It’s becoming evident that the Standard American Diet (SAD) is causing more damage to the nation’s health than just obesity, cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. A few recent headlines make for interesting reading:

            Low vitamin D a contributor to mental disorders in children?

            Three vitamin deficiencies* linked to headaches.

            Vitamin B1 deficiency*: these are the symptoms.

            Dementia risk could increase with low levels of essential vitamin.

            Vitamin deficiencies* common among people with type 2 diabetes.

            16 signs you may have iron deficiency*

            This is only a small sample of the increasing number of reports in recent years that reveal the prevalence of vitamin “inadequacies” that lead to poor function without severe “deficiency” such as profound weakness and bleeding disorder of vitamin C deficiency (scurvy) or the debilitating (and permanent) brain and nerve damage of vitamin B12 deficiency known as pernicious anemia, or the tragic and irreversible mental deterioration that results from vitamin B1 deficiency. Pediatricians of a century ago dealt with rickets, the marked deficiency of vitamin D that produced not only weakened bones but brain damage and death. (* These are inadequacies, not deficiencies.)

            Nearly a quarter-century ago (!) the American Medical Association reversed its position and acknowledged that EVERYONE should take a multimineral/multivitamin every day. (Journal of the American Medical Association June 19, 2002, Vol. 287, No. 23, P. 3127) The national diet has only gotten worse since then.

            Eighty-two percent of Americans are obese or overweight; twelve percent have type 2 diabetes and twice that number have prediabetes; cancer and stroke are increasing dramatically in young adults.

            What will it take for all of us to take seriously Make America Healthy Again?

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The lesson: vitamin deficiencies are not common but vitamin inadequacies are. Even the American Medical Association, in a pair of landmark publications in 2002, (Journal of the American Medical Association June 19, 2002, Vol. 287, No. 23, P. 3127) urged that everyone should take a multivitamin/multimineral every day, a position completely opposite that of earlier recommendations and sadly still espoused by some physicians today.

Carvings  January 15, 2025

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Wine wars

            Recent headlines: Wine has health benefits. Red wine in moderation is good for the heart. Any amount of alcohol is unhealthy. Why I stopped drinking alcohol.

            There is overwhelming evidence that wine – and I’m excluding for this discussion beer and liquor, for several reasons that will be part of a future blog – has properties, mainly in the form of phytochemicals, that benefit the heart. First, it has anti-inflammatory properties. Because inflammation is a driver of heart disease, stroke, cancer, and osteoporosis, the thousands (yes thousands) of plant-based phytonutrients in every glass of wine could be expected to have health benefits. One of these phytochemicals is resveratrol, a chemical formed in the skin of red/purple grapes that protects the fruit against fungal growth and lowers the harmful form (LDL) of cholesterol in humans. Ingredients in wine also inhibit the blood clotting system, providing another mechanism for protecting the heart and the brain. Some phytochemicals also protect DNA from damage, thus limiting the development of cancers.  

            Several studies in recent years have denied the benefit of these effects, pointing out that even small amounts of alcohol, less than a glass of wine per day, are associated with a shortened lifespan. A drawback of some studies is that they rely on self-reporting, that is, the research subjects gave a falsely low estimate of their wine intake. Because having on average more than two drinks a day is associated with health problems that include high blood pressure and cancer, it thus may appear that even moderate drinking is harmful. The hazards of such studies are well-known, revealing the tendency of people to understate their wine or food intake, often by margins of fifty to one hundred percent. At least one recent positive study relied instead on the measurement of a chemical in the subjects’ urine that accurately provided data on actual wine intake and showed that in a particular population, those who drank about one glass of wine per day had a fifty percent lower risk of heart disease.

            One study showed that exercising several days a week actually offset the harmful effects of alcohol. As a daily exerciser and daily wine drinker I’d love to see that study confirmed!

            But is it the wine that leads to less heart disease and other conditions? Maybe not. Only occasionally mentioned in these studies is the fact that wine drinkers simply have a healthier lifestyle than persons who don’t drink at all, or who drink beer or spirits. Wine drinkers tend to exercise more, eat a healthier diet, visit their doctor more often, maintain normal weight and avoid junk food.

            Now that’s a real recipe for a long, healthy life.

Carvings December 1, 2024

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In the news

            The outbreak of the week – what’s going on?

            Ground beef, onions, sprouts, carrots, cantaloupe, eggs – is anything safe? The short answer is “No.” Any food product can be contaminated with bacteria such as E. coli, Salmonella and Listeria – they are simply part of our environment. The good news is that we can avoid becoming ill from these organisms by taking a few simple steps.

            It’s a fact of life that most of the animals that we depend on for food are swarming with bacteria, most of which are harmless but some of which can be deadly, especially for the very young, the very old, and those with medical conditions that weaken their immune systems. Depending on the local circumstances, about 40 percent of chickens are contaminated with Salmonella bacteria; for beef it’s a similar percentage that is contaminated with E. coli. Listeria bacteria, which are especially dangerous for pregnant women and small infants, contaminate a wide variety of plant foods.

            Thorough cooking provides the best defense against contaminated chicken, beef or shellfish. As much as you might enjoy steak tartare or raw oysters, those foods carry some risk. So do bean sprouts, which are often served raw on salads or sandwiches. If you serve bean sprouts at home, make sure that they’re fresh, keep them refrigerated and cook them thoroughly.

            All fruits should be washed thoroughly as soon as you bring them home from the market or fruit stand. I always use soap and ignore the questionable advice of some nutritionists who warn us about the chemicals in soap. Bah! Just be sure that you rinse them thoroughly. Be particularly assiduous about cantaloupe – that rough skin makes it hard to remove bad bacteria. The knife with which you cut melons or other fruit can carry bacteria into it.

            Buying pre-cut fruit is not a great idea. Aside from the possibility that the preparers might not follow good hygiene practices, if it has been sitting in the cooler for several hours that allows bacteria to grow and gather in greater numbers. The “convenience” isn’t worth the risk.

            About 45 million Americans become ill from contaminated food each year. You can avoid being one of them.

Lifestyle

            What to do about leg cramps?

            Almost everyone gets leg cramps, usually in the calf. They have a myriad of causes and there is no simple way to prevent them or to provide immediate relief, but there are some things to consider.

            If you get leg cramps frequently, several times a month, or if muscles in other parts of the body cramp up, that’s an indication for a thorough medical exam. If there is local swelling, or the pain is persistent, don’t delay. I have consistently recommended that everyone should have a thorough physical exam and basic blood tests every year, especially after the age of 40, because conditions such as high blood pressure, kidney disease and diabetes show no symptoms until significant damage has occurred.

Dehydration is a common but subtle condition, especially among seniors, and it may be the cause of leg cramps. Be sure to have at least one glass of water between dinner and bedtime. (Yes, I know – that probably means at least one visit to the bathroom at night but it’s a small price to pay.)

As soon as you feel a cramp starting, get up immediately, stretch the calf by leaning forward flat-footed or by pulling your toes toward you, or by massaging the calf. Sometimes chewing on one or two Tums tablets will relieve the cramp almost immediately, so have a bottle of Tums handy if that seems to have worked for you. Standing on a cold tile floor may also help; sometimes walking around provides relief.

A variety of vitamin and mineral inadequacies have been blamed for leg cramps but there is no nutrient that seems to work consistently. The Standard American Diet (SAD!) is so poor that even the American Medical Association advocates a multivitamin/multimineral supplement for everyone. Whole grains, fruits and vegetables, especially leafy greens, should be part of everyone’s daily diet.

If you have had good results with anything that I have not mentioned here, feel free to share your experience with me at drphilg@cox.net.

Carvings November 1, 2024

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In the news

The resurgence of tuberculosis. Should we worry?

            During the 19th century tuberculosis (TB) was the leading cause of death throughout the world. Three of my own grandparents died of the disease and the fourth undoubtedly had it, as did many, if not most of the population of that era. 

            Although the bacterium responsible for TB can invade any part of the body, it usually affects the lungs, producing a chronic cough that allows it to spread continually to others, especially in crowded conditions. In healthy persons who become infected, only 5-10% will develop actual disease. Most infected persons recover naturally but the organism commonly finds sanctuary in the lungs, staying viable, and breaking free when the host’s immune system falters because of age, poor nutrition, HIV infection, chemotherapy or a variety of other factors.

Tuberculosis is a disease of the poor, as evidenced by the huge number of cases in Africa and Asia. Fewer than 20,000 cases occur annually in the United States and the majority of these victims were born outside of this country. Now that the COVID pandemic has subsided TB has regained its place as the leading infectious cause of death worldwide.

Why are so many health authorities concerned? A major source of anxiety is the fact that in developing countries the uncontrolled use of anti-tuberculosis drugs has led to strains that are resistant to nearly all currently available antibiotics. Millions of persons cross our borders each year as visitors, students, documented workers and those who arrive without permission, most of whom come from countries where tuberculosis is present in at least a quarter of the population.

Persons born in this country are at low risk of infection and even lower risk of illness. The classic hallmarks of the disease are persistent cough, fever, nightsweats, weight loss and bloody sputum. Disease can occur with milder symptoms, and all persons who work in the healthcare field, or with children or the elderly, should receive a tuberculosis skin test every year. 

Lifestyle

Cold season is here. Do supplements help you to avoid them or shorten them?

            It’s likely that you will endure one or two colds this winter. For those of you who are old enough to be on Medicare it should be a little consolation that your decades of encounters with a variety of cold viruses have left you with some degree of immunity, and if we take steps to maintain our immune system and overall health, we are far less likely to experience as many colds as our grand- and great-grandchildren.

            There are many supplements that have been touted over the years as cold preventatives or modifiers, including vitamin C, elderberry, zinc, garlic, echinacea, etc. That there are so many should be a clue that there is no magic bullet among them. Many studies have been poorly done but their “results” have found enthusiastic audiences notwithstanding. On the other hand, some quality studies have found value from certain supplements but none has been very significant. Shortening cold symptoms for half a day may be statistically accurate but practically useless. On the other hand real benefit has been found when persons are deficient in the supplement in question, e.g. zinc, vitamin C, vitamin D.

            The best cold preventative is a healthy diet, rich in antioxidants, plenty of fruits and vegetables, whole grains and omega-3 fish oil.

            And a little red wine, of course.