Hypertension and WISE Therapy
Written by Elson M Haas, MD
Hypertension, or High Blood Pressure (HBP), is a
common disease in modern cultures, more common
in men than women, and in African Americans
over Caucasians. Hypertension means “too
much tension,” and of course, stress plays a role
in HBP which, when untreated, can cause many other problems
in the cardiovascular systems as well as in the kidneys
and brain. It is also called the “silent killer” because typically
people are not aware they have high blood pressure unless they
have it checked. So, check yours out at the local pharmacy, your
doctor’s office, or from a company nurse, or friend who has a
blood pressure cuff. Check it both when you are relaxed and
also when you are under stress, as in just out of heavy traffic or
right after work. The normal numbers should be below 130/80,
and ideally between 110/70 and 120/80. The old level for labeling
HBP was 140/90 as borderline, yet that is now considered
hypertension because even those numbers have been shown to
be problematic over the long-term.
Stevia, sold as a “dietary supplement,” is no stranger to the
health food world and under this heading one finds extracts
of quite varying composition and purity. More narrowly, stevia
also is used to indicate an extract consisting only of stevioside.
The leaves of stevia rebaudiana Bertoni are the primary source,
but related species are native from Mexico to throughout South
America and known by names such as sweetleaf, sweet leaf and
sugarleaf, as well as stevia. The leaves of the plant are 30–45
times as sweet as table sugar and stevioside is 200–300 times
as sweet as sucrose. In Paraguay the plant has been used for
centuries as a medicinal herb and as a sweetener for mate and
other beverages. Stevia extracts of varying composition have
been used widely as sweeteners in Japan since 1971 without
restriction or reported health hazards. Indeed, there are both
animal and human data that suggest that stevia extracts may
increase insulin sensitivity and improve blood glucose control
without side effects. Most health food shoppers no doubt
assume that stevia is officially accepted as a natural, calorie
free herbal extract that can be used as a sugar substitute or as
an alternative to artificial sweeteners. After all, stevia in all of
its forms can be purchased freely as a dietary supplement.
There is a vitamin revolution brewing, and it is important to the health of young and old alike as researchers respond to what has been called the “vitamin D deficiency epidemic.” More than a dozen scientists at leading universities both in the United States and abroad have minced no words about it: many of us need more vitamin D. (See “Cod liver oil, vitamin A toxicity, frequent respiratory infections, and the vitamin D deficiency epidemic.”)1 The issue of deficiency may be especially true of children, yet it is also applicable to adults. Quite surprisingly as far as vitamin D is concerned, the suggested intakes in recent decades have fallen rather wide of the mark. Not only are the recommendations of 400 IU/day as an adequate intake (100 percent of U.S. Daily Value) and 2,000 IU/day as an upper limit too low, but also recommendations may have been more realistic 70 years ago. As detailed below, in a tale of two vitamins, A and D, scientists initially bet on the wrong one.
Obesity has gone prime time. We Find evidence of
its presence where ever we look: in every neighborhood, every
mall, every school and every workplace. Hardly a day goes by
without the news reporting on some aspect of the looming obesity crisis. However, the epidemic is not confined to just the wealthy developed world. Even desperately poor countries
such as Nigeria and Uganda are wrestling with the dilemma of
obesity. China, which was once one of the world’s leanest countries,
is not immune. In fact, it has one of the fastest-growing
obesity rates in the world and one quarter of its urban youth is
presently overweight. It is projected that by 2015, 200 million
Chinese will be not just obese, but morbidly obese.
The looming obesity epidemic is sending chills through the
global community. Worldwide, more than 1.3 billion people are
overweight, whereas only 800 million are underweight—and
these statistics are diverging rapidly.
Life’s journey brings stress out of nowhere, and it is our ability to cope with it and determine our success of defeating depression and anxiety in order to bring joy. The stresses of life are normal: relationships, work, environmental factors, illness, and other factors all frequently affect our health; but the key for the healthy person is to become educated in the ways to manage it. Diet, exercise, a spiritual component, and learning about dietary supplements such as Suntheanine can help manage the stresses of life.
The History of Influenza
Written by Carolyn Dean, MD, ND
It is said that “the victor gets to write the history,” and because modern medicine holds such a stranglehold on our medical system, it is sometimes very hard to obtain balanced information about medical matters. Worse yet, public policy and many laws support only the views espoused by modern medicine. Consequently, those of us who know the power of natural healing are often left on our own to seek out information in order to fill in the gaps.
It is easy to say, "Stop eating sugar." It is another thing to enjoy life without it. Having "broken my sweet tooth" many years ago, I can honestly say that once you get past the withdrawal period, and bring the body into biochemical balance, you will not miss sugar. In fact, you will feel so "out of order" by eating sugar, your body balance becomes self-regulating. You do not indulge in sugary sweets simply because you feel better without them.
Focus on Health…
- Today’s clothing industry is a seven trillion dollar a year industry that uses an astounding 8,000 synthetic chemicals;
- Consumers have the mistaken illusion that synthetic fibers in clothing are safe;
- For over half a century people have been reacting negatively to chemicals interacting with their skin causing disorders like infertility, respiratory diseases, contact dermatitis and, yes, even cancer;
- The more synthetic clothing you wear, the greater your risk of absorbing toxic chemicals that can precipitate health conditions most often not attributed to synthetic fibers.
STAYING HEALTHY with NUTRITION
Written by Elson M Haas, MDWhen I first began looking at the relationship of Nutrition to Health, I was a new doctor way back in 1975. At that time I could find very few medical doctors who would agree with my ideas and interests. Now, 30 years later, you would have to be in blind denial not to know the importance of this basic relationship. Our body, and how we look and feel, is a result of our lives. And what we feed ourselves is the basic building block. Mind you, it may take 20 to 30 years to see the adverse effects of poor dietary choices.
Carbohydrates are the most abundant biomolecules on our planet and in our food supply. They exhibit some of the largest differences in their metabolism by different members of the animal kingdom. At one extreme, herbivores can almost completely break down dietary plant material with the help of beneficial bacteria that dwell within their gastrointestinal tract; at the other extreme, true carnivores can’t process most dietary carbohydrates. Humans fall somewhere in between; we derive a great deal of nutrition out of some dietary
carbohydrates, but are unable to process others.