by Wendy on August 29, 2010
Carole Baggerly is on a mission to spread the word about the importance of Vitamin D for optimal health. She’s neither a physician nor scientist. Rather, she’s a breast cancer survivor who, after undergoing treatments including breast removal, chemo and radiation, thought “there has to be a better way.” As if that wasn’t enough, Carole was then diagnosed with Osteoporosis, which her doctor thought could have been the result of her low vitamin D level. Around the same time, a physician-researcher at the University of California, San Diego had published authoritative data showing the risk for breast cancer could be reduced by 50% with adequate levels of Vitamin D! That was all she needed to hear. She left her career in the software industry and devoted the next chapter of her life to learning all she could about “the sunshine vitamin.” She visited vitamin D researchers from coast to coast and attended medical association conferences. What she learned spurred her to action: An estimated 40-75 percent of the world’s population is vitamin D deficient and little was being done to educate healthcare professionals and patients about the vital role that vitamin D plays in preventing many diseases including tuberculosis, multiple sclerosis, type-1 diabetes and as many as 20 types of cancers.
Her solution? She formed Grassroots Health, a non-profit corporation, to lead the movement to eradicate vitamin D deficiencies through advocacy and education. She criss-crosses the country using her formidable speaking skills and vast knowledge of the latest scientific research to present the case for routine testing of vitamin D serum levels. When she spoke last week at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco, I learned that recent studies indicate that daily vitamin D intake should be at least five times higher than the current recommended dose of 400 IU. Here are some other data points I learned:
- It is projected that the incidence of many diseases could be reduced by 50% or more, if the occurence of vitamin D deficiency was eradicated.
- Breast cancer incidence can be reduced by as much as 83% when the serum (blood) level is 50ng/ml (vs the baseline of 25 ng/ml)
- There’s evidence to suggest that adequate levels of vitamin D in the elderly can help increase muscle strength and reduce falls.
- The darker the skin the greater the probability of a vitamin D deficiency. Even in southern Arizona, 55% of African Americans and 22% of Caucasians are deficient.
- Blood-spot test kits, available to consumers via the internet, are just as reliable as the more expensive lab tests used by doctors and hospitals.
If you’re wondering how to get your 25-hydroxyvitamin D serum levels checked, or how much vitamin D is right for you, visit the Grassroots Health website, where many scientific papers and Carole’s presentations are posted. (Tell your physician about it too!) You’ll also find a link to the D-Action campaign, which was launched last year by Grassroots Health to promote education, testing and feedback about vitamin D. More than 8,000 individuals from all over the world have already signed up. Of those, fully 50% of them started with levels below 40ng/ml, which indicates a vitamin D deficiency. When you sign up to participate, you can purchase a blood-spot test kit for home use. More information about the vitamin D home test kit can be found in a previous blogpost I wrote last year when the campaign was first launched.
by Wendy on June 30, 2010
by Wendy on April 12, 2010
When you consider how many health and beauty products you use daily – from toothpaste to deodorant, it’s easy to understand the importance of reading labels and using only the highest quality, chemical free products. After all, whatever you put ON your body ends up IN your body, and according to the Environmental Working Group’s Shoppers Guide to Safe Cosmetics, cosmetic companies are not required to do any safety testing, so they can use almost any chemical they want. [click to continue...]
by Wendy on March 1, 2010
Recent research on aging suggests that by controlling certain factors in our lives, living to the ripe old age of 100 is not too far fetched. In fact, Danish experts predict that most babies born in rich countries this century will eventually be centenarians. This chart below suggests 11 factors that could influence your own longevity, including be outgoing, floss more, and my favorite, take more holidays. Of course, all this is debatable, but there is compelling research showing the impact that certain lifestyle and environmental changes can have on your health now and in the future.
To find out where you stand on the longevity scale, check out this life expectancy calculator, which was created by the director of the New England Centenarian Study, the largest study of centenarians and their families in the world. According to their website, the calculator “uses current and carefully researched medical and scientific data in order to estimate how old you will live to be.” There are 40 questions related to personal, lifestyle, nutrition and medical history and it should take about ten minutes to complete. Once you’ve received your “score,” you’ll be provided with advice on areas where you could improve and thus add months and perhaps years to your life. [click to continue...]
by Wendy on February 8, 2010
If you have 90 minutes that you can devote to yourself every Saturday for the next four weeks, tune in to Hay House Radio’s “I Can Do It!” conference series featuring some of the leading experts in personal development, mind-body medicine and spirituality including; Dr. Wayne Dyer, Dr. Christiane Northrup and Marianne Williamson.
Two 90-minute sessions are scheduled each Saturday on the Hay House Radio website; the first begins at 9 am (pacific time); the second at 11am. This Saturday’s program will begin with Wayne Dyer, Ph.D., on Changing Lifelong Thinking Habits; followed by Dr. Christiane Northrup, whose topic is Creating a Life of Unbridled Joy.
The cost to tune into all eight programs is only $20, a fraction of what you would have paid to attend the San Diego “I Can Do It” conference where these sessions were originally recorded. When you register for the first lesson, you are automatically enrolled in the rest of the series. So it pays to register early. To see the complete event descriptions, and log-on information, visit the Hay House Radio website.
by Wendy on January 29, 2010
Do you know that you don’t have to be overweight to have too much body fat? You can weigh in at what you think is your ideal range and normal body size, but still be considered obese and thus, at risk for future heart problems. This phenomenon of “normal weight obesity” is the focus of a report by the Mayo Clinic, whose authors estimate that as many as 30 million Americans fall into this category. An informative feature story about this appeared in the Wall Street Journal’s HeartBeat Column this week.
Apparently, what’s most critical in evaluating whether you’re really fit or just acceptable is not your BMI score, the traditional measure for obesity, but how much body fat you’re carrying around. [click to continue...]
by Wendy on December 29, 2009
There are two facts about cholesterol that mid-life women should be concerned about: the first is that too high a level of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) Cholesterol (the bad kind) in your blood stream increases your risk of heart disease; and second, a woman’s LDL cholesterol rises markedly – as much as 10 percent – during the year before and after menopause begins. In today’s “Heart Beat” column in the Wall Street Journal, reporter Ron Winslow writes about a “provocative” research study that’s exploring the connection between declining estrogen levels and rising LDL markers. The article underscores the importance of;
- Knowing your numbers when it comes to cholesterol (LDL under 100 is optimal)
- Getting enough aerobic exercise (it is a crucial weapon in responding to the impact of menopause on heart risk)
- Eating a low-saturated fat diet (high in fruits and vegetables) and,
- Monitoring your blood pressure(120/80 is ideal).
This is a good article to read and take to heart!
by Wendy on December 14, 2009
Fatigue, hair loss, depression and joint and muscle pain are just a few of the symptoms of a low thyroid (or hypothyroidism)- the gland that controls our metabolism. It’s not uncommon for women experiencing hormonal fluctuations – whether during pregnancy, perimenopause or menopause, to have a low-functioning thyroid. An explanation of why this happens can be found in an excellent series of articles on the Women To Women website.
by Wendy on December 7, 2009
Recently, while at a friend’s home, I helped myself to some delicious wrapped chocolate pieces. I had three of them before I asked her where she purchased them. I found out that they were calcium chewies and I had just ingested 1500mg of Calcium plus vitamin D. I purchased three bags the next day and I no longer forget to take my calcium twice a day!
Calcium chewies are the best known product in a growing category of “functional foods,” or nutraceuticals, which contain nutritional supplements and bioagents of foods such as anthocyanins (from berries) or beta-carotene that some research has shown to prevent or treat disease or illness. We’re all accustomed to taking daily supplements like fish oil or calcium. But there’s a growing industry of manufacturers that are wrapping these beneficial ingredients with delicious-tasting chocolate or concentrated fruit making them more appealing and convenient to consume. Some claim to prevent urinary tract infections, while others are supposed to help ward off respiratory tract infections. I don’t know if there’s any conclusive evidence to support all of the claims, but since they’re like small treats, I don’t think you’ll mind doing your own research to see if they work for you. Here are a few products that you might want to try: [click to continue...]
by Wendy on November 30, 2009
A urinary tract infection is one more thing that you can blame on menopause – or more accurately- the lack of estrogen in your body. The decrease in estrogen, explains New York City-based Dr. Elizabeth Kavaler, causes the bladder to become less elastic, triggering an inability to empty the bladder completely. “Ultimately, not being able to empty the bladder completely can create a breeding ground for bacteria to multiply, leaving menopausal women at risk for developing a UTI.” [click to continue...]
Jonny Bowden, a board-certified nutritionist and author of 
