As someone who’s interested in natural solutions to health and longevity, you’ve probably heard of the Blue Zones before. If not, here’s a quick recap: National Geographic explorer and author, Dan Buettner, began investigating areas around the globe that had higher-than-average populations of centenarians. He wanted to follow people who live to be 100 years old in order to discover some of the secrets to their good health.

Buettner identified five regions that posted this type of population: Ikaria, Greece; Okinawa, Japan; the Ogliastra Region, Sardinia; Loma Linda, California; and the Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rice. He ended up dubbing these the “Blue Zones” for a very simple reason. He used a blue pen to circle these areas on the map as he was planning his research and travels.

Buettner spent several years traveling to these areas, interviewing residents, and trying to determine the common threads linking these vastly different areas. He’s published his findings in two books, The Blue Zones and The Blue Zones Solution, in which he outlines his research process and provides detailed recommendations about how to adopt the strategies he identified.

The books are fascinating. They provide much more detail than I can provide here, including stories about individual centenarians and their lifestyles. But Buettner identified a number of overarching principles that are worth discussing.

I’m sure it won’t surprise you to learn that one of the main areas Buettner focused on was diet. Of course, with these Blue Zones spread out across the world, the actual foods the residents ate varied widely. Those in Greece ate what we think of as a Mediterranean diet. In Japan, they ate foods like seaweed, tofu, and brown rice. Sardinians enjoyed goat’s milk, fish, vegetables, cheese, and beans.

Despite these differences, the diets have some common features. First, they eat the food that’s readily accessible from the land or the sea. Residents eat what grows nearby or what they can make themselves. They also believe in moderation, with most communities enjoying a glass or two of wine a day and being sure not to overindulge in food or drink. In fact, the Okinawans follow a cultural guideline called hara hachi bu, which means they stop eating when they are 80% full.

The only community that didn’t indulge in regular alcohol consumption was in Loma Linda. The existence of this Blue Zone is thanks to the large population of Seventh Day Adventists. They follow a diet that they’ve based on the Bible, generally choosing only grains, fruits, nuts, vegetables, and small amounts of meat or fish. Some are
vegan, and most drink only water and strictly avoid sugar.

While strict vegans and vegetarians aren’t prominent in any of the other Blue Zones, the residents do eat meat quite sparingly, averaging three to four ounce portions just five times a month. Instead, they get their protein from plant-based sources, such as beans. Even dairy consumption is limited. They tend to eat their smallest meals in the late afternoons or evenings, and there’s no late-night snacking once that meal is over.

While many of these observations are just that – observations – there’s a good deal of research backing up Buettner’s findings. For example, a study on residents in Ikaria published in the journal Angiology looked at nearly 700 people who were 65 to 100 years old. The researchers found that drinking coffee and tea, eating fruit, and using olive oil exclusively lowered their risk of cardiovascular disease.

Another study, published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, focused on residents of Sardinia. The study noted that previous research supports the healthfulness of the traditional Sardinian diet. Interestingly, Sardinia has been able to resist some of the nutrition transition that’s happened in surrounding areas because its own economy, centered on rearing livestock, was so efficient.

However, the researchers do note that the nutrition transition did introduce some positive changes, such as increasing fruit and vegetable consumption and decreasing meat consumption. The researchers speculate that Sardinian seniors may have benefitted from both ways of life, with the traditional diet sustaining them effectively when they were younger and the introduction of more nutrient-rich food helping them extend their health into later decades.

This study is an important reminder that making positive changes to your diet can be beneficial no matter what stage of life you are in when you choose to make them.
Yet another study, published in the Indian Journal of Community Medicine, focused on the Okinawans. This study noted that seniors tend to eat large amounts of vegetables every day, and that the volcanic soil in which these vegetables grow increases their vitamin C, trace minerals, and polyphenol content. While some of the staples of the Okinawan diet, such as a gourd called goya, aren’t common here in the West, you can still imitate these centenarians by choosing plenty of green vegetables for their nutrient density, fiber, trace minerals, and polyphenol-rich foods.

The researchers note that Okinawan women also consume high amounts of natural estrogens, mostly in the form of soy products. But unlike in the Western world, their soy isn’t highly processed or genetically modified. They eat soy in whole forms, such as soybeans and tofu. They also get phytoestrogens from grains, such as flax. Consuming soy products and other plant-based estrogens can be beneficial, but you need to make sure you eat them in organic forms, like the Okinawans do.

The study found that compared to Westerners, the elderly Okinawans had clean, young-looking arteries, low inflammatory bio-markers, low cholesterol, low homocysteine levels, and low levels of free radicals in their blood. As you would expect, their risk of heart disease and stroke was very low.

Of course, hand-in-hand with diet is typically exercise. Residents of the Blue Zones don’t spend an hour in the gym and then spend the rest of the day in an office. Rather, they are consistently active throughout the day. Okinawans practice karate and tai chi; Sardinian shepherds climb mountains every day to follow their flocks.

Most of the Blue Zone seniors enjoy spending time gardening, and they often walk or ride bicycles rather than driving. They spend a good portion of the day physically active, and they keep spending their days that way even as they age – most see no reason to slow down simply because they’ve hit a certain age.

While diet and exercise are what we tend to focus on when we think of health and wellness, residents of the Blue Zones would likely point out that we’re missing an enormous piece of the puzzle: social and emotional health. These seniors have an incredibly strong sense of community, surrounding themselves with family, friends, and members of their religious groups on a daily basis. We all have that one friend who tries to convince us to order the French fries – not these centenarians. They support each other in their healthy lifestyles, choosing to continue in their traditional ways of life rather than adopting Westernized habits.

Most of the residents have a strong faith and attend religious services once a week, though the religions they followed varied from place to place. This contributes to their sense of community as well as to their sense of purpose, another key component of their longevity strategy.

This religious faith may also contribute to the low-stress lifestyles that the residents lead. I don’t need to tell you how damaging stress can be to your health, and these centenarians know that too. They take steps to combat it, from praying to napping to meditating to doing yoga. They work hard, but don’t make work the most important aspect of their lives, so they’re better able to leave it behind at the end of the day. Rather, they focus on their families.

In most of these societies, family comes first, which means that as seniors age, they continue to live with their children or grandchildren. They’re still seen as contributors to and important members of the family. They stay committed to partners, to children, to aging parents, and to friends.

As you can see, these residents have lifestyles that are healthy physically, emotionally, and spiritually. But they aren’t overthinking their strategies. They’re simply doing what has come naturally to their communities for centuries, eating the food the land produces, doing the work that needs to be done, and caring for and spending time with their families and neighbors when the work is done for the day. It’s easy for this to seem idyllic and unachievable in our fast-paced world. But you can adopt many of these strategies and apply them in your own life.

One of the foundational strategies is identifying a sense of purpose. If you want to live to be 100, identify why you have that goal. Do you want to live to see your great-grandchildren graduate high school? Do you want to reach a new milestone in a hobby you’ve been pursuing? Do you want to celebrate your 75th wedding anniversary? This purpose will help you stay motivated to pursue healthy habits while weeding out stressors – such as those 80-hour workweeks you might be putting in – that aren’t actually contributing to your goal.

It may not be realistic for you to eat locally sourced food all the time, but it’s good to do so when you can. Consider starting your own organic garden, where you can reap the double benefit of healthy fruits and vegetables and physical activity. Better yet, enlist a friend, neighbor, or family member to garden with you.

When you do have to stop by the grocery store, choose plant-based foods that are in season in your area, selecting organic products whenever possible. Limit your meat consumption to organic and grass fed and try to get additional proteins from plant sources. Each meal should ideally be predominantly vegetables.

At the end of the day, you can relax with a glass of wine, as long as you do so in moderation – one drink for women and two for men. But again, try to imbibe in the company of others. Sardinians have regular “happy hours,” where the focus is much less on the drinking than it is on the relationships. Just try to make sure that you’re surrounding yourself with loved ones who will support you in your healthy pursuits rather than pressuring you to get off track.

Above all, don’t stress about following an exact formula. Maintaining a peaceful life is actually one of the best things you can do for your health. None of these Blue Zones are identical; instead, they all tend to follow similar principles that manifest themselves differently in each region. So choose the strategies that make the most sense for you, and begin to integrate them into your life naturally wherever possible. Lead by example, and maybe your community will become a Blue Zone itself someday!

https://www.bluezones.com/speaking/dan-buettner/

http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/04/11/398325030/eating-to-break-100-longevity-diet-tips-from-the-blue-zones.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2012/11/03/longevity-health-fitness-happiness/1677425/.

http://www.theguardian.com/education/2001/jun/07/medicalscience.healthandwellbeing

One Way to Avoid the Ravages of Pollution

SWe all know that pollution is bad for us. But few of us realize just how damaging it actually is – or consider taking steps to reduce its effects on us. Unfortunately, our inaction can put us at risk of a number of dangerous illnesses.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution is responsible for 1.3 million deaths every year. That puts it ninth on the WHO’s list of major causes of death, following issues such as ischemic heart disease (7.25 million deaths), stroke (6.15 million), lower respiratory infections (3.46 million), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (3.28 million), and respiratory-tract cancers (1.39 million). However, if you consider the risk factors of and contributors to these particular diseases, it’s easy to see how air pollution can contribute to these issues in addition to being deadly on its own.

While you may think you’re most at risk of air pollution when you’re outside, indoor air can actually be worse. It contains not only pollutants from combustion, evaporation, industry, and agriculture that find their way in from outdoors, but other toxins from building materials, furnishings, cooking, cleaning products, and air fresheners as well. One study in the journal Circulation found that indoor air pollution can significantly increase your risk of heart attacks.

Less surprisingly, urban air tends to be more polluted than air in less-populated areas thanks to the energy and transportation needs of cities. The more vehicular exhaust you’re exposed to, the greater your risk of cardiovascular disease, respiratory illness, neurological problems, and endocrine disorders, such as obesity, diabetes, and infertility. In fact, studies of major urban areas have found that when levels of air pollution go up, the mortality rate increases within two days.

With all the advice you receive about preventing heart disease, one piece you’ve probably never heard is to spend less time commuting, unless it’s related to reducing stress. Yet a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found an association between traffic exposure and myocardial infarctions that occurred within an hour of the patients’ beginning their morning commutes. The study authors believe this association is due at least in part to the increase in exposure to pollution from vehicle exhaust. Given that heart disease is the number-one killer of Americans, you’d think this risk factor would be receiving much more attention.

Less surprising is the connection between air pollution and respiratory illnesses. Multiple studies have confirmed that the closer you live to a busy road, the greater your asthma risk is. The European Study of Cohorts for Air Pollution Effects project covered over 16,000 children in six countries and found a clear link between air pollution exposure and risk of pneumonia.

Further research is being done to see if there’s a connection between pollution and neurological and endocrine problems too, and the initial results do seem to be pointing this direction. In fact, one study of 249 children in New York City found that the children of mothers who had median or high levels of pollution exposure during their third trimesters were more likely to exhibit developmental delays and to have significantly lower full scale and verbal IQ scores compared to those of children whose mothers were less exposed to these toxins. In fact, the researchers continued to follow these children throughout their lives and estimated that if the mothers had lowered their exposure to pollution even slightly, the collective earning potential of the group would have increased by $215 million. Several other studies have linked pollution exposure to infertility, autism, obesity, type-1 diabetes, and insulin resistance, which can lead to type-2 diabetes.

Clearly, air pollution exposure is dangerous. But you don’t have to resort to moving off-grid or wearing a mask to protect yourself. There are a number of steps you can take to give your body the tools it needs to fight the effects of pollution.

The first step, of course, is to limit your exposure when possible. Obviously, don’t exercise alongside busy roads, for example. You can get an indoor air filter to help remove toxins from your home. However, despite your best efforts, you’re going to inhale some pollution. That’s where PectaSol Detox Formula (800-791-3395) comes in. It helps your body detoxify and excrete heavy metals and other toxins, rather than letting them stick around in your body and do damage. And for the brief time between when these toxins enter your body and when PectaSol gets them out, you can use Advanced Polyphenol Formula (800-791-3395) to bolster your body’s antioxidant reserves. These polyphenols will help your body mop up free radicals before they can do much damage.

Recently, I received a letter from a reader. About 18 months ago, she was diagnosed with mercury poisoning. Patty is 63 years old. She went for chelation and she grew very fatigued and emotionally depressed after only three treatments. The doctor told her she was not a candidate for chelation and had no other options for her. She wrote me and I recommended PectaSol (for 12 months) accompanied with the Advanced Polyphenol Formula (12 months) and activated charcoal (two months) to absorb some of the excessive stomach gas she was experiencing.

A few weeks ago, I received a note from Patty telling me that after about four months of the supplements she noticed she had more energy. She kept things going for 12 months and now she uses the supplements a few times a week. Her joint pain is improved “75%” and she has more energy. She visited with the doctor who rejected her from the chelation program and he retested her. Her mercury was now within normal range. He was very impressed.

Pollution is both unavoidable and hazardous. But you can take steps to minimize your exposure and the damage it can do – thereby protecting yourself from a host of scary ailments.

http://www.pageturnpro.com/CHAT-Inc/68008-Natural-Medicine-Journal-September-2015-Special-Environmental-Medicine/index.html#6.

Sumeet S. Mitter, Rajesh Vedanthan, Farhad Islami, Akram Pourshams, Hooman Khademi, Farin Kamangar, Christian C. Abnet, Sanford M. Dawsey, Paul D. Pharoah, Paul Brennan, Valentin Fuster, Paolo Boffetta, Reza Malekzadeh. Household Fuel Use and Cardiovascular Disease MortalityCLINICAL PERSPECTIVE. Circulation, 2016; 133 (24): 2360 DOI: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.115.020288

Nutrition Detective

DiKicking cancer to the curb

If you like foods with a little bit of kick, you may be in luck when it comes to kicking cancer to the curb.

According to research conducted at the University of Illinois College of Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences, horseradish may help you detoxify your body and blunt free radicals that encourage the growth of cancer cells.

The research team was led by crop scientist Mosbah Kushad, who had previously measured the cancer-fighting glucosinolates in horseradish. Believe it or not, horseradish actually has about 10 times as many glucosinolates as broccoli. That’s good news, since no one wants to eat an entire side dish of horseradish! Fortunately, you just need a teaspoon to get the benefits of this anti-cancer powerhouse.

However, you do need to make sure you’re buying the right kind. The USDA divides horseradish root into three different categories according to diameter and root length: U.S. Fancy, U.S. No. 1, and U.S. No. 2. Kushad and his team wanted to find out if there was a difference in the cancer-fighting properties of the different grades.

As you might expect from the name, U.S. Fancy fared the best, with quite a bit more glucosinolates than U.S. No. 1. The different varieties had different strains of glucosinolate hydrolysis products. And while U.S. No. 1 did have higher levels of certain strains than U.S. Fancy, they weren’t as powerful as the strains U.S. Fancy boasted in abundance.
With that said, all varieties will benefit you, particularly because the body absorbs horseradish well. So don’t worry too much if you can get your hands on the fancy type.

Horseradish is excellent blended with plain yogurt and fresh herbs as a dip for raw veggies. With the polyphenols and antioxidants from the vegetables and the glucosinolates from the horseradish, cancer doesn’t stand a chance!

Kang-Mo Ku, Elizabeth H. Jeffery, John A. Juvik, Mosbah M. Kushad. Correlation of Quinone Reductase Activity and Allyl Isothiocyanate Formation Among Different Genotypes and Grades of Horseradish Roots. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 2015; 63 (11): 2947 DOI: 10.1021/jf505591z.

LETTERS

Q: I think I have a yeast infection. Are there any simple ways to figure it out without going to the doctor? – Beth H., via email

Dear Beth,

Great question. Yes, there is. Go to the mirror and stick out your tongue.

Is your tongue thickly coated or have white patches? Brush your tongue with your toothbrush and see if it comes off. If not, you must consider a probiotic. If you currently use a probiotic, double the dose. You also should consider fermented foods, such as kimchi, or sauerkraut.

White tongue coat may be a candida infection. If your DIY program doesn’t change the appearance of your tongue, you’ll need to seek medical attention.

Q. I’ve been a subscriber for several years and also use a number of your products. I’m a retired nurse who has studied natural medicine since retiring. Recently, I had a test for toxins and my lead report was three times the upper expected limit per the referenced population. My urine level reflects recent or ongoing exposure. Two days after the report, your e-mail arrived talking about using PectaSol. I was advised to start Liquid EDTA. I have lost weight over the last two years due to a lot of stress and have been told this will cause weight loss. I want to take your product but my question is since the lead level is so high, will PectaSol be enough? And will it cause me to lose weight? – Carol O., Windermere, FL

Dear Carol,

Lead poisoning is something I know about first hand. I was diagnosed with lead poisoning in my early 20s. I used several different therapies and after six months, I was as good as new. None of these will cause you to lose weight.

(1) Please have your vitamin D level checked. If your level is below 20, consider a vitamin D supplement. Vitamin D levels less than 20 ug/DL appear to have a major impact on lead levels when other nutrients, notably calcium, are inadequate.

(2) Also, please wait to take liquid EDTA. It’s important to have your kidney function and liver enzymes checked before beginning the EDTA. Generally, people over 60 years old with any significant medical history are better served being under the care of a physician who can administer IV chelation.

(3) For a DIY treatment, you can start slowly with the PectaSol (3 daily) and after two weeks increase to 3 capsules two times daily.

(4) If you can tolerate vitamin C – buffered is preferred – you can include 1,000 mg twice daily. Many of my patients also include the nutrient NAC (N-acetyl cysteine) 1,200 mg daily. NAC helps to increase glutathione (one of the body’s very strongest antioxidants) and protect the production of free radicals and oxidation.

(5) With elevated lead levels, calcium metabolism is sometimes impaired. It’s important to check your blood levels of calcium, magnesium, and zinc. Also please ask your doctor to check your red blood cell mercury. This is a simple blood test which can give you insight into mercury poisoning. Sometimes lead poisoning is accompanied with mercury.