A recent review study looked at fish oil supplementation as a primary prevention method of age related macular degeneration. Age-related macular degeneration : An eye disease with its onset usually after age 60 that progressively destroys the macula , the central portion of the retina , impairing central vision . Read the rest of this entry

Omega 3 fatty acids have been in the news quite a bit over the past few years so I’m sure most people know that an adequate amount are necessary during pregnancy. However I’m always surprised when I suggest to women that are trying to get pregnant or are newly pregnant that they need to eat good sources of Omega-3 such as flax (best to use ground seeds rather than oil), walnuts, or brazil nuts. One of the best sources of Omega-3 are the fish oils which are very beneficial during pregnancy. Read the rest of this entry

A recently published study out of U of Minnesota have found further evidence to support the importance of encouraging teens to eat breakfast regularly. Researchers examined the association between breakfast frequency and five-year body weight change in over 2,000 teens, and the results indicate that daily breakfast eaters consumed a healthier diet and were more physically active than breakfast skippers during adolescence. This shouldn’t be a surprise as eating a healthy meal provides us with energy to be active both physically and mentally. Read the rest of this entry

There have been many studies showing that the phytochemicals lutein and zeaxanthin are beneficial for they eyes. There is little doubt that an adequate supply of these phytochemicals can reduce the risk of cataracts. So here is another study showing that these important phytochemicals prevent ocular diseases. Read the rest of this entry

Turns out that lab rats reaching for the can of Diet Coke may gain more weight than those reaching for the Coke Classic. In a study done at Purdue researchers compared glucose sweetened ‘foods’ to saccharin sweetened ‘foods’. They concluded that the artificial sweeteners make it more difficult to control intake and therefore more is consumed. The artificial sweetener doesn’t provide the satiety that glucose does and therefore there is no turning off the hunger switch. This goes in line with recent research showing that people drinking diet soda are at a greater risk for obesity and diabetes. It is amazing the power of advertising. I see so many people looking to lose weight that drink diet soft drinks and use artificial sweeteners in coffee and tea.
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It is scary what is happening to our food supply. First we are a giant experiment with Genetically Modified Foods. We are told they are safe, but now after having a decade or so of experience we find that they aren’t. Take a read of Jeffrey Smith’s great second book Genetic Roulette. Then the California Almond Board and USDA squeeze out small farmers and require all almonds to be pasteurized with no good reason. Read the rest of this entry

Here is yet another study looking at administering antioxidants and reducing the onset of AMD. This study was a randomized placebo controlled trial and gave synthetic forms of Vitamin A,C,E, as well as the minerals zinc and copper. The dosages were lower for the vitamins than what you would find in a pill, but the zinc and copper were in line with a standard multi. However one would never want to take these supplements long term for a couple of reasons. Read the rest of this entry

Happy Holidays!
A study of over 25,000 Dutch adolescents concluded that skipping breakfast is a significant risk factor for developing obesity. Also shown as risk factors were alcohol consumption and lack of exercise. Let’s just start with breakfast….in Chinese Medicine it is said that one should “eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper”. The idea being that we should have our largest meal early in the day and closer to bed should be our smallest meal. This makes sense from an energy standpoint as we need the calories to keep our energy up through the day. I often get the “…I don’t feel hungry in the morning…” argument from patients. Read the rest of this entry

Wow! Amazing. There was an article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) in 2005 that demonstrated how you can reduce your chance of death by 50%! Why haven’t the pharmaceutical companies caught wind of this major breakthrough yet??? Knowing how to cut your chance of death in half cannot be held as a secret for long, can it??

However it isn’t any pill. It isn’t any magic potion. It is simple smart nutrition and lifestyle. Imagine that – smart nutrition can cut your risk of death in half! This study looked at all inclusive mortality of a 10 year period of people aged 70-90 years old in several European countries. What it found was that those who didn’t smoke, moderately exercised and ate a Mediterranean diet had less than 50% chance of dying over the 10 year period of the study.

What is the Mediterranean diet? Many healthy vegetables – cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale), onions, garlic, lean meats, small amounts of cheese, whole grains, beans, and small amounts of alcohol. It doesn’t contain the copious amounts of fried fatty foods, baked sugary foods or refined carbohydrates in the American diet. It also doesn’t contain high amount of the unstable polyunsaturated oils. The Mediterranean Diet use mostly olive oil which is a monounsaturated fat and contains a tremendous amount of beneficial phytochemicals.

OK that was a European study you say….so what about the American melting pot? How would we fare with the Mediterranean fare? A study just released answered that question. Similarly it was a 10 year study with over 214,000 mean and 166,000 women looking at all cause mortality and the Mediterranean diet. A decrease of 20% all-cause mortality was observed when subject ate a diet of vegetables, legumes, nuts, whole grains, fish, meats, and moderate alcohol.
It seems to be a no brainer to eat this way unless you are not genetically programmed to eat this way. For example and an Inuit that that lives on whale blubber and meat would not be healthy on a Mediterranean diet. However for the majority of us of European decent and most likely Asian and African it would behoove us to eat a Mediterranean diet. Not only will we feel better on it, but there is at least a 20% chance of living longer. You can read the entire article here:All Cause Mortality in US Population on Mediterranean Diet

In Health,
George Mandler

Acupuncture, Nutrition & Herbal Medicine

I just had another patient this week telling me that they avoid eggs because their cholesterol is high. I hear it so often that I find myself explaining over and over that eggs are an incredibly nutritious food and that they have little effect on increasing small particle LDL. There are a plethora of research articles referenced below showing that eggs increase important antioxidants – lutein and zexanthine and do not cause an increase in small particle LDL. Why does it matter small or large particle LDL? Read the rest of this entry