CLINICALLY PROVEN!!!

Between Bill Gates' microchips in our vaccines and climate change being "just a theory", the credibility of science has taken a real hit over the last decade. And few  have contributed more to the public skepticism toward science than nutritional supplement producers. It seems as though the Marketing Department is slapping Clinically Proven claims on just about everything they sell. The problem? Most of the claims are, while carefully worded to be legal, scientific BS.

A clinical trial sets a high bar, one many of the clinical trials cited by supplement sellers fail to clear. They often involve too few study subjects to provide any significant results, lack a control group or are observational studies (not clinical trials at all). And if by some chance the results do not turn out they way the sponsor wants the data is manipulated until they do (or the whole thing is just buried).

This sort of scientific dishonesty is good for no one but the seller. For someone like me, who sells supplement products, this creates a pervasive atmosphere of distrust that negatively impacts the many companies that deal honestly with the public, makes my job harder and discourages people from using products that might actually do them some good.

Do yourself a favor and regard claims of scientific proof with a skeptical eyes, especially of you encounter them on social media. Here are 9 questions that you can ask to help separate the facts from the fiction.

 

More Bad News About Vaping

 

 

Vaping is often touted as a "safer" way to smoke and the available evidence certainly suggests that it is less bad than cigarettes. But less bad is a very far cry from good. 

According to Dr. Michael Blaha, MD, at Johns Hopkins University, vaping is damaging to your heart and lungs, is just as addictive as cigarettes, is more or less useless for "trying to quit" and is addicting a whole new generation of young people. Less bad indeed.

A recent study done at Tuft's University that followed 13,000 people turned up yet more bad news about vaping.

Vaping liquids are sticky and contain sugary sweeteners that, when inhaled as an aerosol, stick the to teeth and create a hospitable environment for oral bacteria. In other words, it increases the odds of developing dental cavities. It was also observed that vaping seems to encourage decay in areas where it usually doesn’t occur—such as the bottom edges of front teeth. 

So better, maybe. But not much.

Really, It's Okay to Eat Fruit

 

Sugar has gotten a bad name, and deservedly so. Among the many little gifts that a sugar heavy diet bestows are obesity, Type-2 diabetes, heart disease and cancer. As the following graphic shows, per capita sugar consumption in the USA rose by about 1,400% between 1822 and 2005.

 

For comparison, the next graphic overlays sugar consumption between 1960 and 2009 with rates of obesity, diabetes and heart disease. The correlation is obvious.

 

It seems pretty clear that Americans eat way too much sugar. But like most things nutritional, it's not quite that simple.

Sugar production has a dark past as well. The development of sugar plantations in the Caribbean had far more to do with the institutionalization of slavery than did cotton.

The dietary guidelines published by the USDA and Department of Health and Human Services recommends that Americans limit added sugars to less than 10% of total calories per day (or 50 grams based on a 2000-calorie diet), with the average adult actually consuming about 126 grams.

On the basis of all this, many popular diets recommend limiting the amount of fruits consumed, or even eliminating them altogether. (Some even refer to fruit as "toxic".) Berries, melons, stone fruit (like peaches), apples, cherries, pineapples, bananas and oranges all contain sugar, from about 5 to about 30 grams per serving. Here is a list of the sugar content of many common fruits.

So is avoiding fruits a good way to reduce your sugar consumption? Not really.

Notice that the guidelines referenced above refer to grams of added sugar, not sugar naturally occurring in foods. Added sugars include any sugars or caloric sweeteners that are added to foods or beverages during processing or preparation (such as putting sugar in your coffee or adding sugar to your cereal). Added sugars  can include natural sugars such as white sugar, brown sugar and honey, as well as other caloric sweeteners that are chemically manufactured (such as high fructose corn syrup). 

Fruits and dairy contain fructose and lactose, natural sugars that are digested slower than the sucrose of most added sugar. Sugars found naturally in food are more than enough to sustain your body. Natural sugars are processed more slowly, meaning your blood glucose level stays elevated for a longer period. (That is, rises and falls more slowly, avoiding the blood sugar "spikes" caused by added sugars.) In addition, the sugars in fruit are accompanied by fiber and other nutrients

Of course anything can be overdone. But adding the recommended 2 cups per day of (fresh, not processed or sweetened) fruit to you diet provides far more benefit that risk. Read more here.

Yes, You Can Eat Your Way to Better Heart Health

 

Worldwide, heart disease kills more people than any other cause of death. An estimated 17.9 million people died from cardio-vascular disease in 2019 alone, representing 1/3 of all global deaths. In the USA, 660,000 perished that year. Sadly, many of those deaths could have been prevented because many of the factors that contribute to heart disease are lifestyle and environmental factors that are under our control.

Among the most important controllable contributors to cardio-vascular health are not smoking, regular moderate exercise and a heart-healthy diet. Adopting a healthy diet can add as much as 13 years to your lifespan according to a study published in the journal PLOS Medicine.

To help you choose a diet that will work for you, and cash in on those free 13 years, the American Heart Association ranked 10 popular diets based on their ability to meet the AHA’s evidence-based dietary guidance for hearth health, published in 2021. Here is what they found.

Remember, much like asking for the Covid vaccine when you show up at the hospital infected and unable to breathe, when you are in the back of the ambulance on the way to your local emergency room it is too late to change your diet. Do it now.

Why Grownups Eat Spinach

 

I don't know about anyone else but I hated spinach when I was a kid. I mean really HATED it. It may have had something to do with my mother (God bless her) believing that vegetables should be boiled in water until you could eat them with a straw but, whatever the reason, I would rather have just gone hungry than eat it. I'm not sure when that began to change. It may have been the spinach in the omelets that I used to have at IHOP. Or when I discovered (probably because I was served it at someone's home) that it was actually pretty tasty raw in a salad. Or floating around in an otherwise very appealing bowl of soup. Whenever it happened, it is rare that a week goes by any more that I do not polish off a bag of it.

It turns out that is a good thing. I don't believe in the word "superfood". But if I did, then spinach would be on the list. Spinach contains vitamins and antioxidants that protect from chronic diseases and promote brain, cardiovascular and eye health. And you can easily add spinach to your meals to maximize those benefits. 

Here are some of the benefits to revisiting your relationship with spinach.

- It's packed with a wide range of important nutrients.
- High in free-radical busting anti-oxidants.
- Supports brain health as we age.
- Helps to manage healthy blood pressure.
- Promotes eye health.

If you have not been a fan, how do you ease into eating more spinach? Happily it could not be easier because, basically, you can add spinach to nearly any dish. Incorporate a handful of spinach into your meals as a bed for whatever else you're eating to add a few spinach leaves with each bite. For a quick and easy side dish, toss spinach with a simple vinaigrette made by whisking together extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard, and dried Italian herb seasoning. Saute spinach in extra virgin olive oil with sweet red bell peppers and crushed red pepper, or steam and toss the greens with jarred olive tapenade. Add it to soups, stews and egg dishes.

Read more here.

One of the great things about getting older is you can stop hating the foods that you hated when you were 13!

When Reading Food Labels is NOT a Good Thing

 

As anyone who has been reading my posts for a while knows, I am a big fan of being able to decode the often confusing content of nutritional labels on foods and, obviously, of reading them. Even if the layout can sometimes be less than lucid the information about exactly what it is you are buying and (presumably) eating is worth knowing.

But is there ever a case when dissecting the nutrition labels can be less than a good idea? Or even a bad one?

Registered Dietician Isabel Vasquez says yes. Read her dissenting opinion here.

Why Walking Should Be in Your Daily Routine

 

We talk a lot here about foods and diet but regular exercise is also a leg of the healthy aging (and living) stool. If you’re dealing with obesity, depression, stress, heart problems, or joint pain, you should try walking more as it may be a big part of the solution to your health issues. Now I realize that some of us, for one reason or another, are unable to walk regularly. But for the rest of us, making a 30 minute walk a regular part of your day will pay big benefits.

Walking costs you nothing but time, requires nothing more than a decent pair of shoes, can be done alone or with friends, indoors or out in all sorts of weather and you can do (or start to do) it at any age. Most physicians favor walking for exercise over-running due to the fact that it is a low-impact exercise thus making it far less punishing on the joints and heart. Walking yields various health benefits regardless of how old or fit someone might be. It can also reduce the odds of developing various diseases and extend your lifespan.

If that is not enough to get you started (or motivate you to keep going), consider these specific health benefits of a regular walking habit.

Walking Improves Heart Health

A study that was published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society stated that both women and men that were aged 65 years or more would be at lower risk for cardiovascular disease if they walk for no less than four hours each week. If you want to ward off any heart diseases and even the possibility of a stroke, be sure to get four hours or more of walking time in any given week. 

Heart attacks are a top cause of death all around the world, so if you can add a decade or two to your life just by walking more, you’d have to be at least careless to not do it.

Walking Helps Keep Your Weight Down

Walking can help you lose weight by burning off calories and is overall a great exercise for your whole body. If you live in a place where it is practical it could be a good idea to give your car a rest and walk to any nearby destinations. Not only will you lose weight, but you’ll also save money on the gas that you would have otherwise consumed by driving to your destinations. The bottom line is that walking will lighten your results on the scale and keep your wallet heavier.

Walking Can Reduce Your Risk of Diabetes

In the US alone, 37.3 million people have diabetes (2022 data) - that’s 11.3% of the US population. And 8.5 million people who have diabetes have not been diagnosed and do not know they have it. Another 96 million US adults have prediabetes. Considering that diabetes raises your risk of heart disease, kidney disease, stroke, nerve damage and hypertension, it seems like a free method for reducing your risk would be of interest to a whole lot of people.

There are many other reasons why making a walking routine a part of your day will make you a healthier, happier person.

For a list of 11 big benefits of walking, check out this article. Then grab your sneakers, call the dog, and get walking.