The truth is, most Americans (and a lot of the rest of the world) will spend the next month and half eating the worst possible foods for their health of any time of the year – and I’m not even talking about fungi or mycotoxins here. Add to that, the “holidays” are a stressful time of year, and for those who are also trying to stay on a diet, the most tempting foods are laid out, not only on the tables of all your friends and family, but chances are you have them displayed in your own house as a “sign of the season.” Face it; the “holidays” (i.e., Turkey Day to New Years leftovers) are inextricably tied to food. And the bigger your family considers the holiday to be, the bigger the feast they will lay out. That equates to a recipe for overeating and a decrease in both your physical and psychological health. And, I’m sorry to say, extremely fattening.

Most traditional recipes predate our era of calorie, fat, and carbohydrate counting. These foods are usually rooted deep in our culture, made from the most special or delicious ingredients: heavy creams, butter, meat, nuts, sugars, candied fruits, preserves, oils (i.e., all the stuff that tastes good). And, at this time of year, like no other, we will buy as much of those kinds of things as our budgets allow. In ancient times, these practices originated from the approach of winter, when the extra fat from such a feast served to strengthen the body against future times of hunger. While that might have been the correct formula for hibernating bears, your culture, your regular paycheck, and your ability to go shopping at regular intervals, do not dictate such behavior. While you might enjoy having family or friends over for special foods (and the compliments are good for the cook’s ego), the end result of such feasts just means you can’t button your pants tomorrow.

Some of the special foods available this time of year that you seldom have access to the rest of the year (or at least are not tempted to over-indulge in) are things like eggnog, deviled eggs, loads of chips and dips, brownies, fudge, etc. While indulging in those foods in moderation is probably not overly harmful, we humans always (repeat: A L W A Y S) use the holidays as an excuse to pay no attention to what we are eating. Then it takes you the next six months to realize you need a larger swimsuit next summer.

According to Information Resources in Chicago, the U.S. retail bakery sales were at about $895 million in October 2004 and rose to more than $920 million by December 2004. These treats are packed with refined sugar and refined carbohydrates, which are unhealthy because both can result in unstable insulin levels and weight gain. That apple pie might taste great, but each slice contains over 500 calories; and a bowl of Christmas pudding will cost a person nearly 400 calories per slice – and that’s not even a la mode.

Here’s a list of stuff to avoid (from Forbes list of “The Most Fattening Holiday Foods”). Nutrition info is “per single serving,” which, sorry to say, is a lot smaller than what you just put on your plate (Sandy Clothes is watching you…).

Mom’s Apple Pie: A classic American treat for the holidays that’s packed with sugar. Calories: 552, Calories from fat: 230, Total fat: 25.6g, Total carbohydrate: 72.9g, Total protein: 2.4g

Almond Kulfi: Eaten during the widely celebrated Indian festival Diwali – the festival of lights. Though almonds can be healthy, this dessert is full of sugar. Calories: 363, Calories from fat: 189, Total fat: 21g, Total carbohydrate: 28.9g, Total protein: 16.6g

Christmas Cheese Ball: Popular at holiday parties as a snack with chips or crackers, but cream cheese is full of fat. Calories: 421, Calories from fat: 350, Total fat: 39g, Total carbohydrate: 6.7g, Total protein: 13.7g

Christmas Pudding: A classic British dessert filled with sugar. Calories: 344, Calories from fat: 165, Total fat: 18.4g, Total carbohydrate: 43.6g, Total protein: 3.9g

Churros con Chocolate: Eaten in Spain on New Year’s Eve after the countdown. Not only is the dipping chocolate fattening, but the churros are also deep fried in oil. Calories: 553, Calories from fat: 488, Total fat: 54.3g, Total carbohydrate: 14.8g, Total protein: 3.3g

Egg Nog (not the fake stuff from the dairy carton at the grocery store): A rum-filled drink sipped for the holidays, and it’s packed with fat and sugar. Calories: 335, Calories from fat: 187, Total fat: 20.9g, Total carbohydrate: 19.4g, Total protein: 7.3g

Gebackener Karpfen (Fried Carp): Served in Austria during Christmas. The rough translation of “gebackener” in English is “bake,” but the recipe for this dish requires the carp to be fried. Mix that with flour and breadcrumbs and say “guten tag” to fat. Calories: 840, Calories from fat: 457, Total fat: 50.9g, Total carbohydrate: 24.7g, Total protein: 67.6g

Holiday Creamed Corn: A favorite side dish from the southern U.S. that is filled with fattening cream and butter. Calories: 330, Calories from fat: 247, Total fat: 27.5g, Total carbohydrate: 21.6g, Total protein: 3.9g (I am not even going to gripe about the mycotoxins here)

Julekake (Yule Cake): Norwegian Christmas Bread filled with butter and sugar. Calories: 519, Calories from fat: 158, Total fat: 17.6g, Total carbohydrate: 81.5g, Total protein: 9.3g

Latkes (Potato Cakes): Served during Hanukkah. A tasty food, but it’s basically starch deep fried in oil. Calories: 319, Calories from fat: 18, Total fat: 2g, Total carbohydrate: 67.3g, Total protein: 9.8g

Melkkos (Milk Food): A South African dish served mainly during winter because it is served hot. The ingredients scream fat and sugar – tasty, but not healthy. Calories: 682, Calories from fat: 266, Total fat: 29.6g, Total carbohydrate: 76.7g, Total protein: 27.4g

Roast Goose: Great for any holiday meal, but goose is high-fat poultry. Calories: 784, Calories from fat: 465, Total fat: 51.7g, Total carbohydrate: 16.2g, Total protein: 60.3g

Roast Pork with Pineapple: Pork is a high-fat meat and adding corn syrup makes it worse. Calories: 852, Calories from fat: 302, Total fat: 33.6g, Total carbohydrate: 74.6g, Total protein: 65g

Sweet Potatoes With Marshmallows: Served up in the U.S. along with turkey on Thanksgiving and sometimes at Christmas too. Sweet potatoes are healthy on their own, but add the butter and sugar (from the marshmallows too), and it’s a fat trap. Calories: 419, Calories from fat: 123, Total fat: 13.7g, Total carbohydrate: 59.6g, Total protein: 5.6g

OK, good place to stop. Some of you didn’t even read the amount of calories, fats, and bad carbs, but you’re sitting there licking your chops, wishing you had a plate full of this crap in front of you right this moment. The average plate for one meal at Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner, not including the grazing through the snack trays all day long, is about three to four times what is healthy for the entire day. It will go to waist (and that’s not a misspelling).

And, you’ll note, for a change I did not harp about fungi and mycotoxins. Those can ruin your health, but you’re in double jeopardy when you are fat (or get fat) on top of having fungi-induced health issues.

Keeping Your Memory Sharp

I have written a couple times about helping you help yourself in the areas of releasing emotional baggage by writing, but many of us old farts also have to deal with memory problems (some due to hectic lifestyle, the stress of finding out your favorite holiday foods are bad for you, J chronic diseases, various medications), and here’s some things that can help sharpen your mind and help preserve your memory (also not a mycotoxin subject, amazingly enough).

Regularly challenging your mind increases blood flow to the brain and keeps it in top shape. Good mental exercises include:

• Crossword puzzles (use a dictionary if you need it; you’ll learn more that way)
• Brainteasers
• Crafts (e.g., wood working, sewing, painting)
• Hobbies (e.g., gardening, building model airplanes)
• Socializing – visit old friends or join groups to meet new ones
• Reading – a newspaper, a novel, a magazine, anything
• Learning a new language
• Taking a class, whether it be art history or Tai chi
• Traveling – experience the food, history, and culture of your destination
• Learning to use a computer
• Going to museums, the theater, or thought-provoking movies
• Changing things in your daily life, such as reversing your pattern in the grocery store or brushing your teeth using your non-dominant hand

These memory aids can help:

• Calendars and day planners, with room to make notes, for your every day appointments
• Electronic organizers that store all sorts of helpful information, and can “beep” to remind you of important appointments
• A book of days to record birthdays, anniversaries, and other occasions that occur on the same date every year
• Detailed “to-do” lists and strategically placed sticky notes
• Quick “study” sessions – before a gathering, review who will be there, so their names will be fresh in your mind when you see them
• Establish routines, such as keeping your keys, wallet, and umbrella in the same place all the time or taking medication with your 8:00 AM glass of juice

Many actions that will keep your body strong will do the same for your mind. For example:

Eat a diet rich in antioxidants and B vitamins. In research studies, the antioxidant nutrients (vitamins C and E and beta carotene) have been associated with high marks on memory tests. And B vitamins, specifically vitamin B6 and folate, are believed to boost memory function as well. Good food sources include:

• Vitamin E: nuts, some oils, sunflower seeds
• Vitamin C and beta-carotene: orange, green, red, and other brightly-colored fruits and vegetables
• Vitamin B6: bananas, legumes, (grains removed to protect the guilty) J
• Folate: fruits, vegetables, legumes (ditto)

Choose food sources of antioxidants as opposed to supplements; the most promising studies so far have used foods, not pills.

Exercise regularly: Among the many benefits of regular exercise is increased blood flow to the brain and decreased risk of certain chronic diseases that can interfere with memory function. One study found that even moderate exercise has a beneficial effect. Examples of “moderate” exercise are:

• 18 holes of golf once a week, without a cart
• Tennis twice a week
• Walking one mile per day

Manage stress: It can be tough to remember what’s important when your mind is cluttered and harried. Make time for relaxation – meditate, do yoga, exercise, read a book, take a walk, listen to music, bake bread – whatever it is that calms you down, make it routine.

Manage chronic conditions: Side effects of high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease can interfere with mental function. Many of the lifestyle steps discussed here can help manage these conditions. Strive to eat a healthful diet, exercise regularly, get stress under control, and follow your doctor’s specific advice for your condition (except when he tells you to eat more foods high in fungi and mycotoxins J ).

Minimize medications: Review the medications you take with your doctor. Some that might have once been necessary might now be unnecessary. Also, healthful lifestyle habits can lower the need for certain drugs.

Ginkgo Biloba: Brain Power in a Bottle?

Is ginkgo biloba a mental health miracle or just another yet-to-be-proven-effective dietary supplement? The answer, as usual, is probably somewhere in between.

Chances are you’ve heard of ginkgo biloba, one of the dietary supplements with strange-sounding names, even if you don’t know exactly what it is or what it does. The advertisements call the herb “the thinking person’s supplement,” and claim that it improves memory and concentration and enhances mental focus.

An extract made from the leaves of the ginkgo biloba tree, ginkgo has been used medicinally by Chinese herbalists since as early as 3,000 BCE. The tree itself is so primitive that it doesn’t produce flowers, and it’s so hardy that one tree actually survived the atomic destruction at Hiroshima. The key to ginkgo’s efficacy seems to be a substance that scientists have dubbed EGb 761.

Ginkgo is the most popular botanical extract in Europe, and there are more than 400 scientific studies attesting to its ability to increase blood flow and protect the nervous system. In Germany the extract has been the subject of hundreds of scientific studies. These studies show that among other things, EGb 761 helps keep platelets in the blood from clumping together. That’s why ginkgo extract is prescribed in low doses (40 mg a day) in Europe for patients with circulatory problems. Much higher doses (240 mg a day) are used to treat cognitive deficits, such as memory loss.

Public interest in the medicinal powers of ginkgo was fueled in the United States in the fall of 1997 when a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) reported that ginkgo had a positive effect on the mental status of people with dementia, including those with Alzheimer’s disease.

The researchers studied men and women with mild-to-moderate dementia that resulted either from stroke or Alzheimer’s disease. The subjects were given either daily ginkgo supplements or a placebo. Results indicated that approximately 26% of the patients taking ginkgo showed an improvement in mental status (roughly equivalent to a delay of six months’ progression of the disease), compared with 15% taking placebo. And 37% of those taking ginkgo exhibited improved social functioning, compared with 23% in the placebo group. The effect was most pronounced in the subjects who were the least impaired, suggesting that if Alzheimer’s is treated early enough, dementia might be postponed.

This study, although seemingly favorable, should be considered with caution. When it was published, critics questioned the methods used to assess improvement, and even the researchers warned that ginkgo will not cure dementia or prevent Alzheimer’s disease. The unanimous consensus is that, although the results appear promising, it is premature to consider ginkgo a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease; and more research will be necessary to determine its effects.

Meanwhile, millions of generally healthy Americans are losing their car keys and forgetting phone numbers daily. Will ginkgo work for them, as the advertisements seem to imply? The answer is an unequivocal “maybe.”

“Ginkgo is not a smart pill,” according to Varro E. Tyler, Ph.D., dean emeritus of the Purdue University School of Pharmacy and a leading U.S. expert on herbal remedies. However, in Germany, where ginkgo is a top-selling herb, studies have shown it to be effective in some people for improving short-term memory loss and concentration.

Short-term memory loss and decreased concentration, which we’ve all experienced to some degree, can have several different causes. One factor is decreased blood flow to the brain. This is where ginkgo might help, because it acts as a blood thinner, thereby improving blood flow and oxygen transport to the brain.

But how do you know if blood flow is your problem? Unless you’ve received a diagnosis from a doctor, you don’t. But because studies on ginkgo show it to be safe, it might be worth giving it a try. The recommended dose is 40 mg three times a day, but if, after a month, you see no improvement in memory with this dosage, you likely won’t see any improvement at all.

In August, 2002, a study published in JAMA found that ginkgo did not improve memory or concentration in healthy older adults with no mental function decline. In this study, subjects took 40 mg of ginkgo (Ginkoba brand) or a matching placebo three times daily for six weeks. The results showed no difference in memory or concentration changes between the two groups. These findings suggest that people with normal mental function probably won’t benefit from taking ginkgo.

Be aware that not all ginkgo products are the same. Many do not contain all the active ingredients. Avoid bargain prices. If it’s the real thing, the label should read at least 24% “flavonoids” or “ginkgo flavone glycosides” and 6% “ginkgolides” or “terpene lactones.” There are no known side effects beyond stomach upset, but again, Dr. Tyler advises against the use of any herb by pregnant or nursing women. Those taking blood thinners (aspirin, garlic, vitamin E, ginger, or Coumadin, among others) should use ginkgo only under a doctor’s supervision.

Sources:

Le Bars PL, Katz MM, Berman N, et al. A placebo-controlled, double-blind, randomized trial of an extract of ginkgo biloba for dementia. JAMA 1997;278:1327-1332.

Morgan P, Tyler VE. “Best bets in the herb aisles.” Prevention, 1998;50(3).

Solomon PR, Adams F, Silver A, Zimmer J, DeVeaux R. Ginkgo for memory enhancement: A randomized controlled trial. JAMA. 2002;288:835-840.

FDA Accused of Suppressing Drug Safety Information

Here’s a report on the FDA that could only come from outside the United States. I’m reading to you from The Independent, a British newspaper, which says, “Vital data on prescription medications found in millions of British homes has been suppressed by the powerful U.S. drug regulators, even though the information could potentially save lives.” An investigation by The Independent states that, under pressure from the pharmaceutical industry, the American Food and Drug Administration routinely conceals information it considers commercially sensitive, leaving medical specialists unable to assess the true risks.

This no surprise to those who are regular readers of this site, but to a lot of consumers in the United States, it is a big surprise. They can’t believe that the Food and Drug Administration would censor and suppress drug safety information. They think the FDA is looking out to protect them. The heroic FDA, protecting American consumers from greedy drug companies selling dangerous drugs, putting public safety first and corporate profits last. Of course, that’s all a myth.

Full story at: http://www.newstarget.com/012467.html