Metabolic syndrome
The cure is in the cause
It's no secret: There's a drug out there for just about every symptom that ails you, and there are doctors out there who will prescribe them without blinking an eye.
They'll give you one drug for your high blood pressure and another for sexual dysfunction and another for your chronic headaches, without ever thinking about whether all three are linked -- as many symptoms, including these three, often are.
I'm not that doctor. My philosophy is to treat the symptoms only until you unearth the root of the problem. Then, treat the problem.
Even worse, the drug industry today would have you believe that a lot of the natural remedies you hear about can't work, and that a prescription drug is the only safe way to get well. Meanwhile, each year 100,000 people in the U.S. alone die from the side effects of prescription drugs, while another 2.2 million suffer serious injuries from them.
We've been conditioned to believe that drugs are the only way to keep on living, and perhaps sometimes they are. But not always. And as a result, we've forgotten about -- or given up on -- many of the time-honored cures that really work.
For an insightful - and pretty funny - look at how big medicine has shaped our health and economy, check out this video from the folks at www.mercola.com, or go directly to the video by visiting here:
http://www.mercola.com/townofallopath/agora/launch.htm
And remember: I believe in finding the safest, most natural method to treat the cause instead of the symptom. I promise to keep telling you new ways to do that. So let's get started.
Magnesium helpful in preventing metabolic syndrome
Metabolic syndrome is an interesting -- and dangerous -- condition if ever there was one. You see, it's not just one illness. It's a whole cluster of illnesses that can include obesity, high blood sugar, high blood pressure, and high triglycerides. Any one of these conditions can lead to cardiovascular disease, so you can imagine how dangerous it is if you've got a few of them -- and a lot of people do.
While eating right and keeping active are always going to be your best defenses, there is one mineral in particular that might give you an added layer of protection.
In a recent large-scale study, researchers discovered that young adults with a higher magnesium intake have a decreased risk of developing metabolic syndrome later in life.
These researchers followed 4,637 people, ages 18 to 30, who didn't have metabolic syndrome when the study began. During 15 years of follow-up, 608 cases of metabolic syndrome were reported.
The researchers found that those people whose diets contained the most magnesium had the least risk of metabolic syndrome. For getting more magnesium at your dinner table, the best foods include leafy green vegetables, whole grains, nuts, beans, peas, and seafood. Other good sources are almonds and cashews, brewer's yeast, peanuts, brown rice, dried figs, and apricots.
If you want to take the supplement route, try magnesium citrate, magnesium glycinate, and magnesium orotate. All are easily absorbed in supplement form. I recommend the magnesium supplements from Solgar. And if you're not including any foods in your diet that are high in magnesium, I recommend taking an extra 400 to 800 mg a day. If you're at risk of metabolic syndrome or actually have it, you should probably supplement even if you do follow a high-magnesium good diet.
Zinc can help fight osteoporosis in men
Most of my patients think osteoporosis is mostly a woman's problem. While it's true that women face the biggest risk for this disease, more than 2 million American men also struggle with it. But it turns out that there's a simple solution both sexes can use.
Research has already shown that increasing zinc intake has a positive effect on women suffering from osteoporosis. But in a rare and recent study, researchers found that men with osteoporosis can benefit from higher levels of zinc too.
In this study, researchers monitored the zinc intake of 396 men, some with osteoporosis. Four years later, the men who had higher concentrations of zinc in their blood showed more improvement than the men with lower levels.
If you're looking to incorporate more zinc into your diet, try oysters. These critters contain more zinc than any other food out there. Lean-cut, grass-fed red meat and poultry can also be big zinc providers, as can beans, nuts, whole grains, healthy breakfast cereals, and dairy products
Most good multivitamins include 15 to 30 mg of zinc, which is plenty. When you're taking zinc, always make sure that you're also taking copper supplements, because the two nutrients compete with each other in your body. Don't worry -- most good multivitamins also include all the copper you need.
