Last weekend, while shopping at Costco, I purchased a 40-oz container of organic, cold-milled, quadruple-cleaned, ground, golden flax seed with 2700 mg of Omega 3 and 800 mg of Omega-6 per serving of two tablespoons. Was this typical of all flax seed brands? Or, had I stumbled upon a super, high-quality processor? I purchased it and called the manufacturer’s toll-free number to find out.
Vitamin D is one of 13 vitamins our bodies need to function properly, according to the American Dietetic Association. It’s a fat-soluble vitamin that promotes the absorption of calcium and phosphorus and helps deposit these minerals in bones and teeth to make them strong. It’s so important to our well-being that a group of prominent scientists have formed The Vitamin D Council, a non-profit organization with a mission to educate the public and professionals about Vitamin D deficiency and its numerous associated diseases (such as heart disease, stroke, osteoporosis, depression).
It’s known as the “sunshine” vitamin because our bodies can only produce it with enough sun exposure – a couple of hours a week is often sufficient. Foods such as cheese, eggs, fortified milk, breakfast cereals and some fish (such as salmon and sardines) are also good sources for this important nutrient. If you’re between 51 and 70, the FDA recommends 400 IU daily (and 600 IU thereafter). However, some physicians (including mine) don’t think that’s enough. As reported in the American Journal of Clinicial Nutrition, physicians at the Boston University School of Medicine recommend that in the absence of exposure to sunlight, a minimum of 1000 IU of Vitamin D is required to maintain healthy concentrations in the blood.
Vitamin D supplementation is beneficial throughout our lives, but it is particularly important for women in mid-life. Why? Because it…
There has been a lot of research and discussion about the benefits of Vitamin D (search Google for “vitamin D and menopause,” and you’ll see 423,000 articles on this topic), and I have been asked by more than one doctor if I’m taking enough of it. It does seem to be the new “it” vitamin: remember how we were inundated with data about Vitamins A (for skin), B (for energy), and C (for colds) – we’re clearly teed up for a barrage of information about the merits of D and we’ll be seeing more and more foods in the grocery store that are fortified with it.
P.S. For more information about the importance of Vitamin D in our diets, be sure to read Jane Brody’s “Personal Health” column of 2/19/08, “An Oldie Vies for Nutrient of the Decade.”
I mentioned several weeks ago that I had begun a daily regimen of Black Cohosh, Flax Seed and Fish Oil. I’m happy to report that the hot flashes that I had been experiencing for more than a year have completely stopped. Based on everything I’ve read, I attributed this to the Black Cohosh, while the Flax Seeds have undoubtedly benefited me in other ways. But a new study suggests that it could have been the flax seed after all.
In my interview with Shaila Schwartz, a Naturopathic Doctor in San Francisco, I asked her about botanical medicines that she has found to be most helpful with her patients. Her response follows: … [Read more]
Shaila Schwartz, a naturopathic doctor in San Francisco recommends ways you can minimize these common effects of menopause:
In previous posts, I’ve written about my decision to forego synthetic hormone replacement therapy and try instead, a natural approach. Both my general internist and gynecologist told me that for most women, natural, botanical products don’t alleviate menopausal symptoms, but I had heard enough anecdotal evidence from friends and friends of friends to want to try it. … [Read more]
Of all the symptoms of menopause that women complain about, hot flashes and sleep disturbances are among the most common and I seem to have licked both with a daily dose of Black Cohosh. Or is it the Gaba that’s doing the trick?
Between the two tablespoons of flax seed and the four tablets of strawberry-flavored fish oil I take daily, I ingest four grams of Omega 3 fatty acids every day not counting what’s in the fortified foods I eat throughout the day. But is this really doing anything for me?
For an explanation of Bio-Identical Hormone Replacement Therapy (BHRT) — a term that the FDA does not recognize — and the issues that led to the FDA’s action this week against certain compounding pharmacies, see the agency’s latest update, “Bio-Identicals: Sorting Myths from Facts.”
The FDA announced that it will be “cracking down” on pharmacies that sell customized hormone mixtures prescribed by physicians to alleviate menopause symptoms. This is the latest move in an ongoing debate over the growing use of “compounded” hormone products. … [Read more]
There's a great line-up of speakers including Dr. Wayne Dyer, Cheryl Richardson and Dr. Lissa Rankin ("Owning Pink") at the next "I Can Do It" Ignite conference in San Jose, CA, March 17-18. Click here for details: I Can Do It IGNITE!
Quinoa isn't the only whole grain out there. This WSJ article describes seven of them. http://on.wsj.com/w5f8D6
For some people, Yoga can do more harm than good. Read this excerpt from “The Science of Yoga: The Risks and Rewards,” by William J. Broad, http://nyti.ms/wm6AHB
