If you look and feel older than your years, it's possible your allergies are to blame. And reducing your allergies will not only help you feel better, but it can also help you roll back the clock.

Aging begins when your body starts to break down. This can happen at any age. If you've been a junk-food junkie, you may have a deteriorating digestive system in your 20s or 30s. You need a healthy diet, along with good digestion, to stay young and vital.

Every cell in your body depends on getting enough of certain nutrients. Your digestive system controls the health of your cells and how well your body functions. I've said it many times before: You are not what you eat. You are what you eat, digest, and absorb. You can't digest and absorb nutrients with poor digestion.

If you have digestive problems, you may be constipated or have irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Or you could have allergies. That's right. Allergies are often a sign of a compromised digestive system, which is why they often increase over time. But allergies don't just make you feel miserable. They can lead to headaches, chronic fatigue, depression, weight gain, and asthma ... to name just a few.

I've noticed a connection between food and airborne allergies. People with severe allergies to molds and pollens usually have food allergies as well — even when they're not aware of them. When their food-allergy symptoms improve, their reactions to airborne substances do, also. So don't dismiss your allergic reactions as being a minor discomfort.

Improve your digestion and make sure your allergies don't progress to unnecessary or premature illnesses. Spring is an ideal time to cleanse and repair your digestive tract. Take action now.

You may have taken one or all of the steps below in the past. But you'll have a difficult time reducing your allergic symptoms unless you do all of them at once. So, read on and slowly begin a comprehensive anti-allergy program. You'll feel better and slow down your aging process at the same time.

Two ways you damage your digestion

Eating a lot of sugar contributes to inflammation throughout your digestive tract. It also feeds bad bacteria, such as Candida albicans. The result is often a condition called intestinal permeability, or "leaky gut syndrome." During the holiday season, we tend to eat more sugar. Time to stop now.

Eating the same foods over and over can deplete your digestive enzymes. Then, the foods you eat don't get broken down into small enough particles to get into your cells. These particles can irritate and damage your intestines. It's easy to get into an eating rut, especially if you crave certain foods. Often, these are precisely the foods you need to avoid.

A food allergy triggers an immune response every time you eat a particular food. Most of us only have food sensitivities. After you repair your digestive tract, you may be able to eat foods that caused your sensitivity — just not in huge quantities. But first, let's repair your digestion and reduce your allergies.

Begin with the foods you eat

How many times have you heard someone say, "I used to be able to eat that, but now it just doesn't agree with me"? Chances are this is because your digestion isn't as good as it used to be. To reduce your allergic reactions, you first need to avoid eating irritating foods.

The most common food allergies are to wheat, cow's milk, sugar, corn, eggs, and peanuts. Of course, this includes all products made with these ingredients.

It's tricky. If you're sensitive to corn, you need to avoid all foods with cornstarch or high fructose corn syrup. Time to read labels carefully! Completely avoid the food or foods you think may be causing some of your symptoms for four weeks.

You may be sensitive to several foods. Begin by choosing just one or two that you eat frequently. It doesn't have to be one of the seven listed above. Citrus, NutraSweet, and nuts can also trigger allergic responses. I once saw a young boy who had a complete personality shift and became hyperactive whenever he ate bananas!

Need more help? The best book on the subject I've ever seen is Food Allergy Survival Guide (Melina, Stepaniak, and Aronson, Healthy Living Publications, 2004). It's packed with all the needed information to understand both food allergies and sensitivities, and recipes to help you avoid these foods. If you have food sensitivities or allergies, you need this book.

Give yourself a gentle spring cleansing

Next month, I'll talk about a deep detoxification program. For now, add a mild detoxification program to your elimination diet. Spring is an ideal time to move from the heavy foods of winter into more greens and other vegetables filled with repairing antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals. It's time to get your body ready for the warmer months ahead by eating lighter, alkalinizing foods such as fruits and vegetables.

Begin by chewing your food well. Chewing breaks food down into tiny pieces that are easier to digest. When food particles are large, your immune system attacks them as if they were deadly viruses, taxing your immune system. Save your immune system to fight bacteria and viruses.

Help flush out toxins by drinking pure, filtered water throughout the day. Exercise daily, even if only for 15 minutes. A brisk walk helps increase your circulation, which increases your excretion of toxins.

Give yourself a dry brush (or dry loofa sponge) massage before you shower. This also increases elimination and circulation. And it feels good.

Drink a liver/gallbladder flush. The formula I use tastes better than you'd think and is an excellent liver cleanser. Take an organic lemon. Chop it into pieces (rind, seeds, etc.) and blend it for one minute or more with one-and-a-half cups of water and one tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil. The drink will be frothy and not too acidic. You can drink this daily for up to two weeks.

Eat a detox diet. Avoid foods that add to your toxic load, such as deep fried foods, caffeine, alcohol, luncheon meats, and chemicals found in prepared foods. Whenever possible, eat organic foods. Limit your fats to a little olive oil and raw nuts. Eat the best quality foods you can find. For detailed information on a variety of detox diets, you'll want to read Dr. Elson Haas's new book, The New Detox Diet (Celestial Arts, 2004). It's packed with ideas for everyone from the novice to the more experienced and includes plenty of recipes as well.

Repair your intestines

Irritated intestines can lead to intestinal permeability (i.e., "leaky gut syndrome"), a condition where the openings in the intestinal lining get larger. This allows particles of food and bacteria to get into your body instead of being eliminated.

To stop this vicious cycle, you need to digest your foods better, add more friendly bacteria (probiotics), and soothe your intestinal linings.

There are three supplements vital in helping you repair your digestive tract: probiotics, enzymes, and glutamine.

Of all the probiotics on the market, my three favorites are explained in detail in the October 2004 issue, available free to all subscribers online (www.womenshealthletter.com). Your user name and password are on page 7. Be sure you get a strong probiotic that will survive stomach acids. Many don't. I like Dr. Ohhira's Probiotics 12 Plus, Natren's Healthy Trinity (both in health food stores), and Women's Preferred Advanced Probiotic Formula (800-728-2288).

Digestive enzymes are helpful if your body is no longer making enough of them. As we age, enzyme production is reduced. It's often helpful to take enzymes after meals for three or four months. Don't become dependent on them. But if you're not digesting your food well, they could help you over this bump in your road to revitalization.

Glutamine is an amino acid that helps repair your intestinal lining. Take 250-500 mg three times a day for three months. Or eat foods that are high in glutamine, such as green vegetables and legumes.

It's no coincidence that allergies increase as we get older. While there's no way of stopping the aging process, we can slow it down and be healthier longer. The idea is not to avoid wrinkles, but degenerative diseases with uncomfortable symptoms. You can do this by cleansing your body every spring.

Avoiding the Sun? Sunlight Actually Prevents Cancers

There's a nutrient your body can produce with a little outside help that can protect you from cancer, diabetes, depression, and osteoporosis. It's low in people with autoimmune diseases, such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and Crohn's disease.

Doctors of integrative medicine are prescribing it in large doses to their patients for all of these conditions and are finding it beneficial. What's more, it's readily available. You can walk into any health food store and get it in supplement form, or you can get it for absolutely nothing.

Unfortunately, your doctor may be scaring you away from taking advantage of this free solution to so many devastating diseases.

What is it? Vitamin D, the sunshine vitamin. If you spend enough time outdoors, the sunlight will help your body make vitamin D. This, in turn, can reduce your risk for a host of health problems.

But dermatologists and other doctors are saying that sunlight, the foundation for all life on this planet, is dangerous. They're telling you to slather your body with sunscreen before you leave the house to go shopping or spend a little time in the garden. They say that any exposure to the sun's ultraviolet (UV) rays promotes cancers. This is only half true. Unlike manmade radiation (which is unsafe at any level), UV rays are harmful only in excessive amounts. In small doses, researcher William Grant, PhD, found that UVB radiation actually protects against 16 forms of cancer.

Sunlight and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma

It's been said that UV exposure increases your risk for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), a group of cancers that begin in the lymph cells. But a 60-year-long study from Australia found the opposite was true. Exposure to the sun actually protected people from NHL. Those with the most exposure to sunlight had a 35 percent lower risk for getting these cancers than people with the least. What about those who only spent time outdoors on weekends and holidays? They had less than half the risk for NHL over people who remained indoors.

Sunlight and skin cancers

What about skin cancers? It's true that too much sunlight can be dangerous. It's not smart to spend hours every day in intense sun. It's not healthy to get sunburns. In fact, the more you burn — especially when you're young — the more likely you are to end up with skin cancers. But knowing this shouldn't prevent you from spending some time outdoors in the sun, getting your daily dose of vitamin D.

The most dangerous form of skin cancer is melanoma. Everyone I've met who has had a melanoma is afraid to get any sun on their skin. Yet, a 10-year study of sailors in the Navy found that sailors who worked indoors had more melanomas than those who worked both indoors and outdoors. What's even more surprising is that there were more melanomas on their midsections than on their exposed face or arms.

How much sunlight is enough and not too much?

It depends on whom you ask. Traditional doctors say that you can get around 400 IU of vitamin D a day by exposing your face and arms to 15 minutes of light a day. They say this is enough. I don't agree. It may be enough to prevent rickets and other vitamin D-deficiency diseases, but it won't give you the same protection as 15-30 minutes of exposure to very bright sunlight each day.

The time of day you're in the sun determines how much vitamin D your body can make. Dr. Grant points out that we can't convert vitamin D from UVB radiation unless the sun is high in the sky. So get outside for 15-30 minutes before or after lunch each day. If you go outdoors at other times, you'll need a longer exposure. During the winter, the sun isn't high enough or close enough for your body to make vitamin D from sunlight. That's when you need to rely on supplements.

Four hundred IU a day is the bare minimum. But you may need to begin with up to 10,000 IU for a short time to raise depleted levels. If you haven't been getting much sunlight, ask your doctor to test you for vitamin D deficiency with a test called 25-hydroxyvitamin D — or 25(OH)D. Then have him or her monitor your levels as you take large doses.

The problem with sunscreens

A lot of them are filled with junk – chemicals that promote the production of dangerous free radicals, and chemicals with estrogenic effects. In fact, most of these ingredients are banned in Europe. Only buy products with titanium dioxide or zinc oxide. They're safe and effective. You can find them in health food stores and some pharmacies.

Sunscreens won't work if they have less than SP-15 protection or if they're out of date. Check the expiration date on your sunscreen and replace it if it's old.

Your diet protects your skin

Antioxidants in your diet protect your skin from becoming damaged by UV radiation and from nonmelanoma skin cancers. These include carotenoids (vitamin A), tocopherols (vitamin E), ascorbate (vitamin C), flavonoids, and omega-3 fats (fish oil, flax oil). Include plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables into your diet.

In Norway, where there's little sunlight during the winter months, vitamin D deficiency is common. More than two dozen Norwegians were given a diet high in fatty fish and cod liver oil — all high in vitamin D. In fact, the participants were given more than 54 times the recommended daily requirements. All of the people who continued eating diets high in vitamin D were able to sustain sufficient vitamin D in their blood throughout the winter.

Sunlight is your ally, not your enemy. Be smart. Get outdoors and increase your vitamin D. For more information on sunlight, vitamin D, and cancers, read some of the articles by cancer researcher Ralph Moss, PhD, at www.cancerdecisions.com.

What Does Noni Do - And How Do You Know?

There are a lot of products out there vying for your dollars. They come with fantastic claims and testimonials and some are even endorsed by doctors. Their ads sound so convincing that you're tempted to order them immediately. But they may not have scientific studies to back up their claims. And that's not good enough for me — or you.

That's why I carefully scrutinize everything I write about. Before I suggest anything — a supplement, diagnostic tool, or dietary change, I have three questions that must be answered: What does it do? How does it work? And how do you know? Of course, it goes without saying that I want to know it's safe.

But how you know something works is extremely important. Many times I think I've found a product that sounds exceptional, but there are no studies to back it up. In all honesty, it may eventually be proven scientifically. But I can't recommend it until I've read good studies — preferably good human studies. Other people do, I know. But that's what makes my newsletter different from some of the others.

I was intrigued when a colleague whose opinions I value sent me a box of products made with Noni. Noni is the juice of the Morinda citrifolia fruit and has been used by the Polynesians for 2,000 years. Biochemist and researcher Ralph M. Heinicke, PhD, discovered a substance in this fruit while he was working in Hawaii that he claims is extremely beneficial to your health. Noni is said to help ADD, diabetes, arthritis, chronic fatigue, infection, polio, and digestive problems. Research hasn't corroborated this, however. Nor has it explained the difference between Polynesian and Hawaiian Noni.

Dr. Heinicke's original research was conducted in Hawaii and the fruit he used in his research grew there. But now the good doctor only endorses Tahitian Noni products, grown in French Polynesia. He claims that Hawaiian soil lacks the substance that has Noni's healthful properties, and that Tahitian soil is richest in it. If this is so, then is his original research valid?

Hawaiian companies don't seem to care. They jumped on the bandwagon and came out with Noni products. Now you can find Noni juice, pulp, lotions, and other products in health food stores and on the Internet.

Here's what I think: Noni is a fruit product. Fruits are high in antioxidants. Antioxidants have some anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory activity. So it stands to reason that Noni may have value. But without human studies, we don't know how it works on people.

FIRST! Show me the science!

I want to know the difference between Tahitian and Hawaiian Noni products. And how much of the active ingredients will have which effects on humans.

I've read the testimonials. I've seen the laboratory study that found Noni juice might prevent the beginning stage of carcinogenesis (cancer formation) in mice. I've read that Noni stops blood vessel growth (angiogenesis) in cell cultures.

But where are the human studies?

Show me some observational studies conducted by doctors or researchers. Show me something published anywhere! If it's too expensive to fund large human studies, show me some small ones. Noni is a billion dollar business. Surely, the companies that are making huge profits from selling it could fund a few good studies. Until they do, Noni sounds interesting, but I can't recommend that you take it internally yet. Testimonials are not enough for something that's ingested.

External use may be beneficial

I gave a jar of Noni pulp to a friend who has a winter skin problem. Every year, her hands get deep crevices that are very sore and difficult to heal. She applied the pulp to her hands and her condition improved quickly. Then she put some of it on her dog's stomach wounds. His sores were impressively better overnight.

Another friend found the pulp smelled so bad she wouldn't use it. But there are better-smelling products, like soaps and lotions containing Noni. If you have difficult-to-treat skin problems, you may want to try one of these. The Noni pulp I used was from Hawaiian Herbal Blessings (888-424-6664). If you decide to spend your money on Noni, you may want to try theirs. If you have experience with Noni, I'd love to hear about it.

Nutrition Detective

Wherever You Go ... There It Is

It's no fun looking for healthy food when you're traveling on the road. If only there were a way to locate health food stores and restaurants where you could find whole grain bread, organic soups and sandwiches, and healthy entrees. Well, there is!

Nikki and David Goldbeck have a mission to make it easy for anyone to find healthy foods in supermarkets and on the road. Their latest book, Healthy Highways (Ceres Press, 2004), contains nearly 2,000 places in every state in the U.S. where you can find healthy foods. Yes, this includes Hawaii.

What I particularly like about this book is that it's not just a list of healthy eateries. The Goldbeck's include simple directions so you can find these restaurants and health food stores along with their hours of operation. You don't want to travel out of your way and find a restaurant is closed! Keep this book in your glove compartment in case you decide to take a spur-of-the-moment road trip. Don't go away without it! You can order it at any major bookstore.

Lower Your Cholesterol by Adding One Simple Food to Your Diet

What if there was one food you could include in your daily diet that could help prevent heart disease and other degenerative conditions. Something that tastes good and is high in protein and healthy fats. Would you add it to your diet? Well, there is such a food. It's almonds.

Researchers took a group of healthy men and women between the ages of 25-70 and had them add about 42 almonds to their diet every day for a year. This was the only change in their diet. The researchers then analyzed the nutrients in the nuts. They were the same nutrients as those recommended to prevent chronic diseases. They include fiber, magnesium, and protein, to name just a few.

But that's not all. Almonds also lower cholesterol, especially the "lousy" LDL form. And when you examine LDL cholesterol, you find that some of it has small particles while some has large particles. If you have a lot of small dense LDL, you're at an increased risk for heart disease. Almonds lower all LDL, including small particles.

Raw almonds are high in essential fatty acids, so make sure the nuts you buy are raw. Store them in the freezer or refrigerator to keep their oils from getting rancid. They can spoil easily at room temperature. Either chew your almonds well, or grind them in a seed grinder and add them to your cereal, salad, or vegetables. And if you're not crazy about almonds, walnuts and soybeans (which also contain magnesium and protein) are also high in good fats and heart-protective nutrients.

Jaceldo-Siegl, K., et al. "Long-term almond supplementation without advice on food replacement induces favorable nutrient modifications to the habitual diets of free-living individuals," Br J Nutr, September 2004.

Lamarch, B., et al. "Combined effects of a dietary portfolio of plant sterols, vegetable protein, viscous fibre and almonds on LDL particle size," Br J Nutr, October 2004.

Ask Dr. Nan

Q: Last year, due to medical problems, I had many X-rays. I'm concerned about all the radiation I received. Are there any specific supplements I can take that would help get rid of excess radiation? — M.A.P., e-mail

A: First of all, let's define what excess radiation is: All radiation is harmful. So any radiation is too much. That's part of the problem. I'm glad you recognize the importance of doing whatever you can to get rid of the radiation to which you were exposed. I do have smart readers!

Many years ago, when the Japanese were exposed to radiation from the atomic bomb, they discovered that drinking miso soup prevented radiation sickness. Since then, I've recommended drinking a cup of miso every day when possible after exposure to X-rays.

But there's more you can do. Ask your health food store to order a bottle of homeopathic X-ray, and take it according to directions. This usually means taking four pellets once or twice a day away from food, coffee, and strong odors (like mint toothpaste). According to the acupuncturists and homeopaths I've contacted, this is a simple, inexpensive remedy that can help.

Q: I'm postmenopausal and exercise, lift weights, and take a total of 1,200 mg of calcium a day. Does my whole food diet of grains, nuts, flaxseed meal, etc. cause high phytic acid? And does it bind to the calcium? — R.R., e-mail

A: Phytic acid is a substance in cereals and beans that binds to minerals, proteins, and starch. For this reason, some people consider it the "bad guy" in a whole foods diet. But being a natural substance, phytic acid has its place. It stimulates bone growth and improves the nervous system. Phytic acid is even being used in supplements now as a general tonic. Studies found it protects against cancer and inhibits the HIV virus. It looks like the more we examine phytic acid, the more it goes from being the "bad guy" to the "good guy"!

Yes, it also binds to calcium. But in my opinion, you're taking too much calcium anyway. Look at my past articles listed on my website (www.womenshealthletter.com) for more specific information on why you may want to reduce your calcium and increase your magnesium.

Meanwhile, keep doing what you're doing. Your combination of whole foods and exercise are right on target. And don't worry about the mineral-binding effects of phytic acid. It's not causing as many problems as you'd have by limiting whole grains and beans in your diet.

"Phytic acid: a tonic and general stimulant natural product with present, past, and future," HealthEquinox, [email protected].