A few months ago, I told you about the surprising connection between glaucoma, Alzheimer’s disease, and diabetes. There are now researchers who consider both glaucoma and Alzheimer’s to be related to “diabetes of the brain,” and some even call Alzheimer’s “type-3 diabetes” or “glaucoma of the brain.” It’s clear that there is a connection, and you can read more about this connection and how to protect yourself in the August 2015 issue of Women’s Health Letter. Unfortunately, glaucoma isn’t the only vision issue that diabetics need to worry about. But the good news is that there are a number of steps you can take to avoid vision complications as you age.

As you may know, one of the most severe complications of diabetes is blindness. However, this blindness does not occur all at once. Rather, it’s the culmination of a long period of vision loss, often caused by glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration, or cataracts.

Because I discussed glaucoma at length previously, I’d like to focus on the other three issues. Diabetic retinopathy in particular is a significant problem, as it affects 40-45% of Americans diagnosed with diabetes. However, only about half of these people recognize that there’s a problem. That’s because the early stages of this disease are typically asymptomatic. The first sign of trouble is often “floaters,” spots that appear and disappear in your vision. These floaters are the result of bleeding from abnormal retinal blood vessels. While it’s common for the spots to go away on their own, you should still seek treatment right away if you notice them, as the bleeding can recur and cause permanent damage. While diabetic retinopathy can lead to irreversible blindness, you can reduce your risk of this outcome by about 95% by recognizing and treating the problem as early as possible. This can mean catching the problem before you even notice symptoms. If you have diabetes, you should get a comprehensive eye exam with your eyes dilated every year, even if you don’t think you have any vision problems. If your doctor does detect diabetic retinopathy, he or she will likely have you come in for exams more frequently. In fact, annual eye exams are important for everybody over the age of 50.

This eye exam is particularly important if you are diabetic before pregnancy or develop diabetes during pregnancy. Your risk of rapid-onset or progressing diabetic retinopathy is increased, so it’s essential that you see your eye doctor early in the pregnancy for an exam. He or she can advise you on how frequently your eyes need to be checked during your pregnancy.

One of the best ways to slow the onset and progression of diabetic retinopathy is something I hope you’re doing anyway: keeping your diabetes under control. The Diabetes Control and Complications Trial found that the more normal your blood glucose levels are, the less likely you are to develop diabetic retinopathy. As an added bonus, you’ll also reduce your risk of kidney and nerve diseases. Controlling your blood pressure and cholesterol also helps keep your risk of vision issues down.

Several medicinal herbs can help you control diabetic retinopathy. According to a study published last year, one of my favorite herbs for protecting vision, Andrograpis paniculata (Andro for short), may be one such option. Researchers studied mice with diabetic retinopathy and found that Andro could provide relief in the mice by reducing the breakdown in the blood-retinal barrier and reducing inflammation. Andrographis is a wonderful herb to know about for inflammation in general. There are 2,000-year-old andrographis formulas that we commonly use to prevent the onset of colds and flu.

Another option, according to a study published in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology, is He-Ying-Qing-Re Formula (HF), a derivative of Si-Miao-Yong-An Decoction, a formulation used in traditional Chinese medicine dating back to the Qing dynasty. HF is a combination of eight different herbs that has been used for decades to treat diabetic retinopathy. This study confirmed its efficacy in preventing diabetic retinopathy, attributing its potency in part to its ability to inhibit the formation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) and help improve endothelial dysfunction. The main components of HF include chlorogenic acid, which you can also find in green tea; ferulic acid (which is a strong antioxidant); and arctin. If you’re interested in an alternative way to fight AGEs, you need look

no further than polyphenols, which you’ll find in a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. To really ramp up your defenses, you can try Advanced Polyphenol Formula (800-791-3395). Wild blueberry, contained in a significant amount in this formula, has been shown to be retinoprotective and delay the onset of diabetic retinopathy.

The link between macular degeneration, cataracts, and diabetes isn’t quite as pronounced as that between diabetes and diabetic retinopathy. However, while diabetic retinopathy is fairly uncommon in non-diabetics, macular degeneration and cataracts are issues we should all be on our guard against as we age. The good news about age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is that it doesn’t usually lead to complete blindness. However, the disease can become severe enough that it interferes with your everyday activities.

You may first notice AMD as a blurred area near the center of your vision, blank spots in your central vision, a decrease in brightness, or an increase in the time it takes for you to adjust to darkness after being in a well-lit area. While the disease typically progresses slowly, you should certainly seek treatment if you notice any of these symptoms.

Cataracts occur as some of the proteins that form the lenses of our eyes begin to clump together. This clouds the lens, making it harder to see. Diabetes is one potential cause of cataract formation, as is smoking. However, the normal wear and tear our lenses experience over time also can lead to cataract formation. It’s possible to perform surgery on cataracts. In general, this surgery is thought to be safe and a great way to improve your vision. Unfortunately, research is beginning to indicate that having cataract surgery may be robbing Peter to pay Paul – in that it actually increases your risk of AMD.

Several studies have revealed this link, with one in particular investigating the 10-year incidence of AMD after cataract surgery. The researchers found that having cataracts increases the risk of early AMD. This isn’t surprising – after all, if you have one eye problem, chances are that the factors that might contribute to another are already in place. But the researchers also found that having the surgery itself also increases risk of late AMD after 10 years.

Some preliminary research is indicating that cataract surgery may speed up the progression of diabetic retinopathy as well. While we don’t know for sure that this is the case, this possible connection is certainly worth noting.

If you do have cataracts, surgery may be your only option. After all, you don’t want to live with horribly impaired vision simply because you’re afraid that you’ll eventually have horribly impaired vision. However, you should be aware of the
risks and begin taking some of the steps mentioned to avoid diabetic retinopathy
and AMD.

If you don’t yet have cataracts, it’s important that you take steps to prevent them. It seems that one of the best ways to do that is with vitamin C. One fascinating study reviewed the diets of over 1,000 pairs of 60-year-old British female twins. This is a great sample and makes it easier to draw credible conclusions when differences are observed. The researchers found that those who consumed the most vitamin C in their diets had a one-third lower risk of cataracts over the next 10 years.

It’s wise to consume a wide variety of vitamin C-rich foods in your diet. If you’re worried about cataracts and want to take more vitamin C, consider liposomal vitamin C, such as Lypo-Spheric™ Vitamin C, which you can find on Amazon. The liposomal form won’t cause gastrointestinal problems when you take higher doses. Or you can use a buffered vitamin C, commonly found in your health food store or on Amazon.

It’s great to try to eat foods high in vitamin C, but that isn’t the only dietary change you can make to protect your vision. Increasing your intake of astaxanthin and lycopene is a good eye-protection strategy. Astaxanthin is a carotenoid found in salmon, crab, lobster, and shrimp and several forms of algae such as chlorella. You may be more familiar with the carotenoid beta carotene, found in carrots. When your mother told you that carrots were good for your eyes, she was right. But she probably didn’t know that astaxanthin is even better. In fact, it’s known as the “king of the carotenoids.” If you don’t enjoy seafood or you just want to increase your astaxanthin dose, you can find this nutrient in supplement form – Advanced Vision Formula (800-791-3395). It contains 13 nutrients to support healthy vision, including astaxanthin. But it also includes the carotenoid lutein, bilberry, and an additional 125 mg of vitamin C to help ward off those cataracts.

Like astaxanthin, lycopene is another red carotenoid, but this phytochemical is found in fruits and vegetables, particularly tomatoes, red carrots, watermelons, pink grapefruits, and papayas. Lycopene is unique in that cooking lycopene-rich fruits and vegetables actually increases its concentration, so cooking up a homemade tomato sauce will actually benefit your eyes more than slicing that tomato for your sandwich.

In addition to dietary changes, there are a few additional Chinese herb formulas I like to help protect aging eyes. If you have a high normal or simply a high sugar issue, try the Plum Flower Four Marvel Formula. If you don’t have blood sugar issues, you’ll likely find Ming Mu Di Huang Wan to be effective. Keep in mind that because the eyes are slow to change, you’ll likely need to take these formulas for at least six months before you notice any type of improvement.

You can find both of these formulas at www.chineseherbsdirect.com.
Diabetes can certainly increase your risk of vision problems. But none of us
are immune from these issues altogether. My sight is invaluable to me, as I’m sure yours is to you. That’s why I take steps today to help ensure that my vision stays sharp as the years go by. Whether you have diabetes or not, I hope you’ll choose to do the same.

Why Postmenopausal Women May Want to Consider a Partial Paleo Diet

Some diet trends are short-lived fads, promising dramatic results if people can make equally dramatic (and unsustainable) changes to their lifestyles. Others, which tend to balance being effective with being doable, last much longer. One that falls into this camp seems to be the Paleolithic, or Paleo, diet that burst onto the scene a few years ago. Today, it’s still going strong, and I suspect that’s because it definitely has a few things going for it.

Some people call the Paleo diet the “caveman diet” because it focuses on the foods our ancestors would have eaten. These foods include meats, fruits and vegetables, and nuts and roots. Not included are dairy products, grains, sugar, legumes, processed oils, salt, alcohol, or coffee. This, of course, excludes processed foods, which cavemen certainly wouldn’t have had access to.

While I’m generally not an advocate of completely removing entire categories of food from the diet, I do think Paleo has some advantages. In particular, I like its emphasis on real foods. If you need the structure of a rigid diet to keep you on track, I’d much rather you give this a try than a program that has you constantly eating and drinking processed bars and shakes.

There’s also some compelling research supporting the Paleo diet, particularly in contrast to other frequently recommended diets. One study published last year in Nutrition Research compared a diet following traditional heart-healthy dietary guidelines with the Paleo diet. The conventional diet focuses on grains rather than saturated fat, but researchers now believe that the extra carbs may not be such a good idea. A team at Eastern Michigan University had 20 volunteers with high cholesterol try each diet for four months. They found that following the Paleo diet helped the participants significantly lower their total and LDL cholesterol and their triacylglycerols, while increasing their HDL cholesterol. These results were considerably better than what they obtained following the recommendations of the American Heart Association.

Another study, published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, divided participants with type-2 diabetes into two groups. One group consumed a Paleo diet, while the other followed the recommendations of the American Diabetes Association, which include moderate salt intake, low-fat dairy, whole grains, and legumes. The participants got to adjust to the diets for seven days before following them strictly for 14 days. While both groups did see improvements in metabolic measures, once again it was the Paleo group that fared the best. Their glucose control and lipid profiles improved more, as did insulin sensitivity in the most insulin-resistant participants.

Many people adopt a Paleo diet as part of a lifestyle that focuses more on building strength and endurance than on weight loss. But that doesn’t mean this diet can’t help you lose weight, especially if you’re postmenopausal – a period when many of us seem to find that losing weight feels harder than it used to. A study in the International Journal of Obesity compared a Paleo diet to Nordic nutrition recommendations in a group of 49 overweight or obese postmenopausal women. Both groups lost about the same amount of weight, indicating that Paleo can be just as effective as some other strategies. And an added benefit was that both diets caused positive gene expression changes that can improve metabolism.
While your goal with a weight-loss diet may be to lose overall body fat, a Paleo diet may help you lose some fat from places you don’t notice. But even though this fat loss may be invisible, it will greatly benefit your health. Another study published in the same journal followed 70 obese but otherwise healthy postmenopausal women. The researchers found that a Paleo diet significantly decreased liver fat compared to a conventional low-fat diet.

One final advantage of Paleo that I’d like to discuss is its effects on metabolic syndrome. A review study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition evaluated a number of studies that compared a Paleo diet to another dietary pattern in participants with one or more of the five elements of metabolic syndrome. The reviewers found that in general, the Paleo diet groups had better short-term results in the following categories: waist circumference, triglycerides, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, cholesterol, and fasting blood sugar. The researchers concluded that the health benefits of the Paleo diet warrant further investigation.

In general, I agree. And I think researchers will continue to find advantages to this diet. It’s full of plant-based foods that provide antioxidants and flavonoids that are known to provide benefits to our health. However, I don’t think everyone should throw out foods like whole grains and legumes entirely. This is especially true if you have type A blood. You’ll likely enjoy grains and legumes more than your type O friends. If this is the case for you, you may want to try a modified Paleo diet. Include small amounts of grains, such as quinoa and millet, as well as legumes and beans about two or three times a week. Just make sure you accompany these meals with plenty of vegetables.

I don’t think Paleo is a one-size-fits-all solution to the typical Western diet. But it definitely seems to have its advantages. In fact, it shares many of the same elements as the Mediterranean diet. It just doesn’t include any processed foods and less grain. If you’re interested, I think it’s fine to give it a try. Just make sure you focus your diet more on the plant-based foods than excessive meat so that you get plenty of fiber from veggies and those superstar antioxidants and flavonoids. Lowering your meat consumption is very important. Most women over 50 have some lipid metabolism issues. By eating less meat fat, their digestion improves.

A Surprising Cause of Rosacea and Acne on Your Cheeks

Do you struggle with rosacea on your cheeks? Does it seem impossible to get rid of acne in this same area? If you're plagued by either of these problems, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) might have a solution for you. TCM focuses on the interconnectivity of the body. An imbalance or issue in one part of the body often affects another seemingly unrelated part. TCM can help us become aware of connections we may have overlooked and guide us in changing the root conditions.

According to TCM, the lungs are related to the cheeks. For example, if you're a smoker or if you're regularly exposed to pollution, you may experience acne breakouts or rosacea on your cheeks. Rosacea is a chronic inflammatory skin condition characterized by redness and skin hypersensitivity. The oxidative stress your body experiences as you draw dirty air into the lungs can often show up on your face.

In order to change this, you will need to better oxygenate your skin. Both topical and oral antioxidants can help prevent breakouts and calm rosacea. Studies have found that antioxidants can help repair skin damage and can even help prevent wrinkles. In addition, oral antioxidants will help further protect your skin and prevent free radical damage from pollution and the sun.

CoQ10, bioflavonoids, vitamin C, green tea, turmeric, chamomile, calendula, medicinal mushrooms and chlorella are just a few antioxidants you can use internally. Chlorella is a micro-algae that's full of carotenoids, which are a category of antioxidant also found in many fruits and vegetables. Antioxidants can have remarkable effects on the intracellular signaling pathways involved in preventing skin damage. They also can be protective against photo-damage as well as the general prevention of wrinkles and inflammation.

Of course, you should also apply antioxidants from the outside too in order to minimize breakouts and improve the health of your skin. Start with a good cleanser to make sure you remove any pollution that's settled into the pores. Then use a product such as Système 41’s Restorative Night Treatment (800-791-3446); to rejuvenate and strengthen the skin. This will make it less vulnerable to future pollution exposure.

Source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18681154.

Nutrition Detective

You Probably Throw This Part of the Onion Away – But Here’s Why You Shouldn’t

Did you know that there are compounds in food that can affect our weight in a positive way? One of these compounds is quercetin. And to maximize quercetin’s weight-loss benefits, you’ll actually get to add something to your diet rather than the usual method of taking foods away.

Quercetin is a type of flavonoid, and it’s a powerful antioxidant. Not only can it mop up the free radicals that cause damage to our internal systems, it also can suppress the reactions that cause these free radicals to form in the first place. Researchers have shown that it reduces blood pressure and the risk of cardiovascular disease, improves nitric oxide status, and improves endothelial function. And if that weren’t enough to convince you to make sure you had plenty in your diet, it also has anti-obesity effects as well.

You’ll find quercetin in foods such as dark red and blue fruits, capers, and onions. Most of us eat a fair amount of onion, but that doesn’t mean we’re getting much quercetin. That’s because when it comes to onion, quercetin tends to be concentrated in the peel. That’s where the levels that are high enough to have anti-obesity effects come from.

But who wants to eat onion peel? I certainly don’t. And, it turns out, neither do lab animals. So researchers began conducting studies of quercetin with rats using onion peel extract instead. They found that it had an anti-obesity effect for the rats.

Since it worked so well for the rats, researchers in Korea conducted a 12-week, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial with overweight or obese humans. The subjects took either a placebo or onion peel extract capsules with 100 mg of quercetin. The researchers measured the participants’ body composition, resting energy expenditure, respiratory quotient, and fasting blood levels of glucose, insulin, lipids, and leptin.

Those who received the supplement showed significant decreases in their weight, percentage of body fat, and levels of blood glucose and leptin. Those are big changes for simply adding something to your diet!

Onion peel extract can be difficult to find. But the good news is I don’t think you need it. You can get similar benefits by adding a whole onion, peel and all, into your soup base. Just fish out the peel right before serving. And when you use onions for cooking, try to peel as few layer off as possible. The outer layers have the most quercetin.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27087901.

LETTERS

Q: I have had depression since I was a child. My psychiatrist told me he believed I was low in dopamine. He has offered me medication. Before I begin the medication is there anything I can try? – Agatha W., via email

Dear Agatha,

Yes, there are a few things you can try first. You can increase dopamine levels naturally and slowly with some nutrients. It’s prudent to use them one at a time and see what it does. Make notes. Then introduce another and see if the combination is more helpful. Don’t take more than three at a time. Give the nutrient at least two weeks to see if you notice something. A few nutrients you can experiment with include:

L-theanine – This is an amino acid that influences dopamine levels and improves mood. You can find it in green tea. But in order to significantly improve mood, you’ll have to take a supplement. The dose is 100-300 mg daily. I have colleagues who report good results with L-theanine. But I must say that I have never had a patient tell me that their mood improved significantly from L-theanine. I have had patients tell me they enjoyed drinking green tea and they notice a slight, very slight, mood enhancement. It won’t hurt to give the supplement and/or the tea a try.

L-tyrosine – This is also an amino acid and is actually a precursor in the production of dopamine. Tyrosine is naturally found in seafood, tofu, egg whites, yogurt, seaweed, and lean meats. Or you can take as a supplement (500 mg once or twice a day). Tyrosine is especially effective for women with a low normal thyroid function.

St. John’s wort – This is an herb that has long been used to help improve mood. One note: St. John’s wort increases the enzyme CYP3A4. So don’t use it with pharmaceuticals that are metabolized by this enzyme if you’re taking prescription drugs. I’ve used St. John’s wort for the past 20 years and have seen it be effective in mild depression.

You can find all of these supplements online and in most health food stores.

Q. I am writing to thank you! About three months ago my doctor gave me an ultimatum: “You have three months. If your cholesterol doesn’t come down 40 points, we’re putting you on a statin.” I must say I was motivated. So I began the Mediterranean Cholesterol Formula. Well, to my doctor’s and my surprise, three months later my cholesterol had gone from 265 to 220. – Gail R., Nashville, Tennessee

Dear Gail,

That's great news. The chief ingredient in our Mediterranean Cholesterol Formula (800-791-3395) is berberine. Berberine has several attributes. Besides aiding in lipid metabolism, berberine also improves glucose metabolism. Once the glucose is better managed, the fats are too. Obviously, this has worked for you.

If you want to bring it down a little more, try these ideas: Don’t overdo simple sugars and try not to eat excessive amounts of grain at any one time. It’s also important not to eat too late in the evening. Try to eat before 7 pm and don’t eat your breakfast until 7 am or later so that you have at least 12 hours for your body to have a rest. Science is now confirming that this ‘rest’ period from food makes for better glucose and lipid control.