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Sally Ann Creed | August
2007 General Health Newsletter
Having just
returned from 3 glorious weeks in Australia, we have
had to hit the ground running - no rest for the
wicked as they say.... 2 Conferences and some rest
later, we feel revived, rejuvenated and really ready
to take on the world!
Don't forget to
have a peek at the
talks at Creeds
health store during August - see "What's On" at www.creeds.co.za.
The popular homemade pet food workshops will be run
again during August as well as a 2-part cholesterol
talk I'll be giving, in which I'll be going over
your individual readings. Booking is essential by
phoning (021) 794-3052 as we need to know how many
to cater for.
For queries and/or correspondence please
address emails to pa@sallyanncreed.co.za
and we'll attend to your requests and take good care
of you, both at my offices and at Creeds. Remember
too that many of your questions may be answered by
going to my website where there is well over 200
pages of free information there to help you - or pop
into Creeds at Steenberg Village where my helpful
ladies will assist you.
IN THE NEWS
'Bad' Cholesterol may protect
against cancer
People who try to reduce the risk of heart disease
by lowering their levels of the 'bad' LDL
(low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol too
much may develop cancer instead. Even 'bad'
cholesterol seems to have some useful purpose
it seems, and reducing it to too low a level
- usually by taking statin drugs - could make us
candidates for cancer. Researchers have found that
one extra patient out of every 1,000 who has very
low levels of LDL-cholesterol develops cancer
compared with patients with higher levels.
The research team, from Tufts University School of
Medicine, made the discovery when they were trying
to understand why statins cause damage to the liver
and muscle cells. There seems to be some protective
quality of LDL cholesterol that we don't understand,
they concluded. (Journal of the
American College
of Cardiology, 2007; 50: 409-18).
Lower disease markers in fish-eaters
Higher fish intake has been found to be associated
with lower systolic blood pressure
(the ‘top’ reading), fasting blood sugar
(glucose) level, cholesterol and
triglyceride levels according to a study
published recently in the journal Medical Science
Monitor where the relationship between
fish-eating and a variety of markers of health were
assessed in a group of individuals aged 65-100 years
in the Mediterranean region.
For every 100g decrease in weekly fish consumption,
there was found to be a 19% increased risk of having
an additional risk factor such as high blood
pressure, diabetes or obesity. The authors
of this study concluded that the results of their
study indicate that: “…long-term fish intake is
associated with reduced levels of the most common
cardiovascular disease risk markers in a cohort of
elderly people.” And the results of this study
suggest that even a little bit of fish goes a long
way to protecting against disease risk factors.
There now exists an enormous amount of data from
studies where individuals have actually been given
fish or omega-3 rich fish oil supplements
(not plant oils) to see what effect this
had on health outcomes. A review of 50-odd studies
concluded that omega-3 fats either from
oily fish or fish oil supplements, have the capacity
to reduce death rates due to heart disease, as well
as overall risk of death.
References: Panagiotakos DB, et al.
Long-term fish intake is associated with better
lipid profile, arterial blood pressure, and blood
glucose levels in elderly people from Mediterranean
islands (MEDIS epidemiological study Med Sci Monit,
2007;13(7): CR307-312.
Wang C, et al. n–3 Fatty acids from fish or fish-oil
supplements, but not linolenic acid, benefit
cardiovascular disease outcomes in primary- and
secondary-prevention studies: a systematic review.
Am J Clin Nutr 2006;84:5-17.
HEALTH
SNIPPETS
8 Steps to
Intestinal Health
Improving the bacterial flora of your GI tract will
turn out to be one of the best forms of health
prevention you can take. And, as a bonus, it's
simple and inexpensive. Here are some easy steps you
can take to correct and maintain the bacterial
balance in your intestines:
-
Minimize your use of antibiotics.
There are several natural products that have
antibiotic properties which
don't disrupt the friendly bacterial flora in the
body. Some of these items include vitamin C, zinc,
echinacea, honey, and aloe vera. Make it a point to
keep these on hand and use them at the first sign of
infection. The more time you give
the infection to take root, the harder it's
going to be to heal.
-
Read the other
7 Steps on my website under Health Articles
Q & A
Q: What
are trans fatty acids?
A: Trans
fatty acids (or ‘trans fats’) are found in foods such as
vegetable shortening, margarines, crackers, sweets,
baked goods, biscuits, snack foods, fried foods, salad
dressings, and almost all processed foods. They are
damaged fats which play havoc with your health, and are
a known cause of cancer, obesity, heart disease and
raised cholesterol.
Q:
Why is fructose and high fructose corn syrup so bad
for us?
A:
These don’t raise blood sugar levels very much
initially, but they raise total cholesterol levels and
cause very high, harmful levels of LDL cholesterol and
worse - triglyceride levels (a heart-disease marker)
which is a powerful fat-builder! It gets worse - they
contribute to a sluggish immune system. According to Dr
NK Fuchs, fructose may be the single substance
that’s causing an increase in diabetes. It’s
found in soft drinks and many fruit drinks. Fructose is
also an ingredient in many "health food" cookies,
biscuits, cakes and "healthy sweets" – don’t be
deceived, avoid this poison at all costs. (See my
website for a lot of free information on the dangers of
fructose - there are many).
For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he
who humbles himself will be exalted - Luke
18:14, Holy Bible
Recipe: Quick
Banana Nut
Balls
What
you need:
2 large ripe bananas
½ cup
ground
nuts and/or seeds
of your choice
1 Tbsp organic honey
2 Tbsp
shredded coconut
What you do with this:
-
Mash bananas with a fork.
-
Now mix in ground nuts, seeds, and honey.
-
Roll into small balls with your hands, and then
roll them in coconut.
-
Keep in
the fridge and serve cold. Delicious!.
Joy and happiness are
available to all of us at any time. All we have to do is
choose them!
Make it Yourself: Healing
Foods for the Body
Some foods are endowed with natural minerals,
astringents and natural softening agents that provide a
healthy alternative
to modern cosmetics and are really great to put on your
skin. Here are a few:
-
Pure almond oil
is an excellentsource of natural moisturizing
agents. In case, you suffer from dry and itchy skin,
massage your face and other exposed arms and legs
with pure almond oil. This oil nourishes your skin
and removes scars and blemishes and is an excellent
all year round skin tonic. Use it regularly for a
smooth blemish-free skin. It is also excellent for
the cold weather, preventing dryness by providing
moisture and essential nutrients.
-
For more
healthy alternatives, read the rest of this
article on my website under Health Articles -
ideas for itching and sunburn, polishing the skin,
pimples and blackhead treatment, poultices,
blemishes, wrinkles, boils, acne etc - all in this
article.
When pride comes, then comes disgrace,
but with humility
comes wisdom.
Proverbs
11.2, Holy Bible
Remember to head
over to
www.creeds.co.za to the 'What's On' button to
find out which talks are on at Creeds this month!
Till next month, God bless you all!
Sally-Ann Creed,
Clinical Nutritionist
(Dip Appl
Clin Nutr)
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