Each year this wonderful little holiday called Valentine's Day pops up. And each year, millions of men and more than a few women pop some pills marketed by Big Pharmacy for the treatment of erectile dysfunction.
They have names like Viagra, Cialis and Levitra. Now rarely have the pharmaceutical companies been more responsible in their marketing than with these drugs.
They market them for erectile dysfunction only and often point out things like high cholesterol, diabetes or the medications for those maladies (which are often made by the same pharmaceutical companies) may cause things to fizzle instead of pop when the moment is right.
But the truth is the recreational use of these drugs probably outstrips the legitimate prescription use! So before you go reaching for the little blue pill, I want to tell you a bit about the side effects and alternatives.
First, none of these drugs are approved for use in women and they do not work for women.
Next, they are anything but side effect-free, and can cause diverse and serious reactions. These include priapism, the term for a painful erections that won't go away!
Severe headaches, a deadly drop in blood pressure if combined with certain heart medications, back ache, sinus congestion, and stomach upset. But by far, the scariest and perhaps the most dangerous is blindness. In many cases this is permanent!
No wonder so many of us are seeking natural alternatives!
Here is a list we have found to be particularly helpful, and none of them have any of the side effects described above. The best news is they can also work in women to improve arousal and sexual response.
Macuna: This South American herb increases Dopamine levels, a very important sexual brain chemical.
Epimedium: Known as Horny Goat Weed, it was first discovered by noticing that goats that ate this plant had only one thing on their mind. It works for people too!
Cnidium: This hard to get Chinese herbal works to improve local blood flow to the genitals in men and women.
Arginine: This is an amino acid and when consumed in the right dose has a Viagra-like effect on erectile tissue.
Pregnenolone and DHEA: These are adrenal hormones that are available over the counter (as of this writing) and are critical in the generation of other sex hormones as well as brain chemistry.
So while love is blind, you don't have to be. You don't have to risk dangerous drug side effects including permanent loss of vision.
This Valentine's Day try some all natural alternatives and enjoy side effects free results!
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Blueberries – not the antioxidant you thought they were
Over the past five years tons of media attention has been paid to the blueberry because of its health giving properties. Personally, I love blueberries and I eat them fairly often. There is a better choice, though...at least for pure antioxidant value.
The new berries on the block are likely to be black or purple…not blue.
1. Unlike many of their fairer skinned counterparts, there is real science and real clinical usage (doctors treating diseases) for them.
2. When berries are taken into the lab and tested for their strength and ability to destroy bad chemicals in our body called "free radicals", the King of the free radical killers turns out to be the Chokeberry, with Black Currant and Elderberry right behind.
3. And, no matter how you slice them, or juice them, they beat blueberries, cherries, pomegranates, Noni, Mangosteena, and all the other fruits and berries hands down.
They are the premier antioxidants.
Why is this important?
A recent study done on aging at the University of Washington Medical School showed that if you could increase the level of antioxidants your body produces naturally, you could drastically slow the aging process.
There are a few problems that plague these berries, however, and these are the reasons you won't see them in the stores any time soon.
They have to be harvested quickly, only grow in certain places, don't stand up well to travel and in the case of chokeberries, they just don't taste very good!
Fortunately, supplement manufactures are beginning to recognize the value of these berries and integrate them into their formulations.
Ultimately this will make them available to many more people in a way that bypasses the difficulties with growing and distributing them.
In the meantime just remember blueberries may not be the ultimate healthy berry!
The new berries on the block are likely to be black or purple…not blue.
1. Unlike many of their fairer skinned counterparts, there is real science and real clinical usage (doctors treating diseases) for them.
2. When berries are taken into the lab and tested for their strength and ability to destroy bad chemicals in our body called "free radicals", the King of the free radical killers turns out to be the Chokeberry, with Black Currant and Elderberry right behind.
3. And, no matter how you slice them, or juice them, they beat blueberries, cherries, pomegranates, Noni, Mangosteena, and all the other fruits and berries hands down.
They are the premier antioxidants.
Why is this important?
A recent study done on aging at the University of Washington Medical School showed that if you could increase the level of antioxidants your body produces naturally, you could drastically slow the aging process.
There are a few problems that plague these berries, however, and these are the reasons you won't see them in the stores any time soon.
They have to be harvested quickly, only grow in certain places, don't stand up well to travel and in the case of chokeberries, they just don't taste very good!
Fortunately, supplement manufactures are beginning to recognize the value of these berries and integrate them into their formulations.
Ultimately this will make them available to many more people in a way that bypasses the difficulties with growing and distributing them.
In the meantime just remember blueberries may not be the ultimate healthy berry!
Bottled vs. Tap
When I was a kid my Grand-pop used to raise a glass of tap water in the sunlight and say, "It's the best drink that ever was and it's free!" In those days, the water service came out of municipal taxes and was not assessed separately like now.
Things have come a long way since then, and you can pay almost 5 bucks a bottle for "the best drink ever invented!" And you thought gas was expensive!
So is expensive bottled water really better than what comes out of your tap?
If you are objective and look at the testing that has been done, you will come to a few conclusions. These are:
1) Bottled water is of variable quality and the quality and the price are unrelated. However, the quality and the marketing campaign are.
2) 20% of bottled water tests are done in one state…California. In CA, bottled water failed the minimum state requirements for cleanliness, as measured by contaminants and bacteria counts.
In some cases, the contaminants and bacteria could have been hazardous to human health!
3) Tap water also failed, but in less than 12 % of the cases.
4) Tap water was more stringently tested and violations were more likely to be prosecuted.
So the bottom line is that bottled water is less likely to be tested, and more likely to contain impurities that are defined as hazardous to human health than tap water, at least in the current body of scientific studies.
You should not consume bottled water for purity unless the company is actually involved in an independent testing program. Few are.
The recent scandal over a major bottled water manufacturer simply filling up the bottles with tap water also points out that where money is involved, anything goes.
Bottled water is now a 4 billion dollar industry!
So what do I do and what do I recommend?
My tap water here in Southeastern PA is tested and apparently passes the government’s regulations. But it smells bad and tastes funny, often reeking of chlorine or stale fish.
I solve my dilemma by using a good quality commercial water filter that ionizes and alkalinizes the water as it purifies it.
What comes out looks clean, passes my own little home testing routine and tastes just fine.
In the end run the decision becomes one of personal choice. But one thing is clear…water isn’t free anymore.
Sorry, Grand-pop!
Things have come a long way since then, and you can pay almost 5 bucks a bottle for "the best drink ever invented!" And you thought gas was expensive!
So is expensive bottled water really better than what comes out of your tap?
If you are objective and look at the testing that has been done, you will come to a few conclusions. These are:
1) Bottled water is of variable quality and the quality and the price are unrelated. However, the quality and the marketing campaign are.
2) 20% of bottled water tests are done in one state…California. In CA, bottled water failed the minimum state requirements for cleanliness, as measured by contaminants and bacteria counts.
In some cases, the contaminants and bacteria could have been hazardous to human health!
3) Tap water also failed, but in less than 12 % of the cases.
4) Tap water was more stringently tested and violations were more likely to be prosecuted.
So the bottom line is that bottled water is less likely to be tested, and more likely to contain impurities that are defined as hazardous to human health than tap water, at least in the current body of scientific studies.
You should not consume bottled water for purity unless the company is actually involved in an independent testing program. Few are.
The recent scandal over a major bottled water manufacturer simply filling up the bottles with tap water also points out that where money is involved, anything goes.
Bottled water is now a 4 billion dollar industry!
So what do I do and what do I recommend?
My tap water here in Southeastern PA is tested and apparently passes the government’s regulations. But it smells bad and tastes funny, often reeking of chlorine or stale fish.
I solve my dilemma by using a good quality commercial water filter that ionizes and alkalinizes the water as it purifies it.
What comes out looks clean, passes my own little home testing routine and tastes just fine.
In the end run the decision becomes one of personal choice. But one thing is clear…water isn’t free anymore.
Sorry, Grand-pop!
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Is Food Enough?
I have watched with great interest over the past year an ongoing debate that pits food against vitamins.
Which is better? Which do we need more of? What is the proof for either side?
The simple answer to the food versus vitamin debate is that you can benefit immensely from food and should always eat healthy, but you can also benefit immensely from proper supplementation.
Foodists argue that Mother Nature has placed everything we need right here for us and that eating healthy is all we should ever have to do.
Supplementers like me have a different opinion.
Everyone should make every attempt to eat healthy. I do, and so should you.
But I do not for one minute believe that most people do it all the time or even enough to really derive great health benefits from it.
I always tell my typical patient to take a multi vitamin and fish oil. It’s inexpensive insurance against serious gaps in the diet.
Now what about all the other great things you miss in food, like fiber and the rich interaction between antioxidants and vitamins?
No one can argue with that, but remember, lands and seas are polluted and nutrient deficient compared to 100 years ago, and a significant number of foods contain more water than vitamins these days.
Go to the store in the dead of winter and buy a tomato. Do you think that sorry excuse for a tomato has anywhere near the vitamin C or lycopene your local farmer gets from his crops at the end of the summer?
I sure don't.
Remember, we are talking now just about the very basics of nutrition; just enough to get by.
Now let's throw long hours, family, work demands, stress and exposure to sickness into the mix.
Kinda makes you want to pop an extra multi vitamin or some super berry concoction, doesn't it?
And for good reason!
Neither food nor drugs got rid of my high blood pressure. Supplements did.
Neither food nor drugs help me to sleep when I absolutely have to. I use a supplement when needed.
I don't rely on food or drugs to protect me from the flu, I use a supplement.
And when I work out too hard and start to ache, I reach for fish oil, not mercury laden fish, Motrin or Tylenol.
When I want and need big doses of nutrients and vitamins to help me live at my highest level, I use supplements.
I cannot even imagine a day without them.
I used to try to eat healthy enough that all my aches, pains and fatigues would go away.
It didn't work.
If you are like 99% of individuals out there, it won't work for you either.
Why fight it?
Do both: eat right and take your supplements. I promise you'll have the last laugh in more ways than one!
Which is better? Which do we need more of? What is the proof for either side?
The simple answer to the food versus vitamin debate is that you can benefit immensely from food and should always eat healthy, but you can also benefit immensely from proper supplementation.
Foodists argue that Mother Nature has placed everything we need right here for us and that eating healthy is all we should ever have to do.
Supplementers like me have a different opinion.
Everyone should make every attempt to eat healthy. I do, and so should you.
But I do not for one minute believe that most people do it all the time or even enough to really derive great health benefits from it.
I always tell my typical patient to take a multi vitamin and fish oil. It’s inexpensive insurance against serious gaps in the diet.
Now what about all the other great things you miss in food, like fiber and the rich interaction between antioxidants and vitamins?
No one can argue with that, but remember, lands and seas are polluted and nutrient deficient compared to 100 years ago, and a significant number of foods contain more water than vitamins these days.
Go to the store in the dead of winter and buy a tomato. Do you think that sorry excuse for a tomato has anywhere near the vitamin C or lycopene your local farmer gets from his crops at the end of the summer?
I sure don't.
Remember, we are talking now just about the very basics of nutrition; just enough to get by.
Now let's throw long hours, family, work demands, stress and exposure to sickness into the mix.
Kinda makes you want to pop an extra multi vitamin or some super berry concoction, doesn't it?
And for good reason!
Neither food nor drugs got rid of my high blood pressure. Supplements did.
Neither food nor drugs help me to sleep when I absolutely have to. I use a supplement when needed.
I don't rely on food or drugs to protect me from the flu, I use a supplement.
And when I work out too hard and start to ache, I reach for fish oil, not mercury laden fish, Motrin or Tylenol.
When I want and need big doses of nutrients and vitamins to help me live at my highest level, I use supplements.
I cannot even imagine a day without them.
I used to try to eat healthy enough that all my aches, pains and fatigues would go away.
It didn't work.
If you are like 99% of individuals out there, it won't work for you either.
Why fight it?
Do both: eat right and take your supplements. I promise you'll have the last laugh in more ways than one!
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