Published November 19, 2009

Why women should avoid antibiotics

The use of antibiotics in the United States was out of hand 20 years ago. These days it’s even worse. And the increased dosing is putting women at serious risk for a life-threatening disease.

The added exposure isn’t just coming from antibiotic prescriptions. It’s coming from innumerable other sources. These include antibiotic laden wipes, solutions, soaps, and mouthwashes. The media has instilled an unreasonable fear in Americans over bacteria and viruses. This has caused many people to dose themselves up every day with these products.

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Published November 18, 2009

Are alternative doctors wrong about soy?

For decades, Asian doctors have found that soy products greatly enhance the health of their patients. But in recent years, there have been reports from alternative doctors saying soy is detrimental to your health. So who is correct? I’ve tried to remain objective in this so you have the absolute best information available. And the most recent information suggests soy is an important food for the health of your heart.

In this new study, researchers followed 102 patients with already established heart disease. They divided the group and gave half of them a supplement of soy isoflavones (80 mg daily) for 12 weeks. Those receiving the soy had significantly improved brachial (upper arm artery) flow mediated dilation (FMD). That’s a good indicator of endothelial health. Endothelial cells are the all-important inner lining of your vessels.

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Published November 13, 2009

Why the RDA of vitamin B6 could destroy your health

If you’ve read my health alerts or my newsletter for very long, you probably know how I feel about most RDAs. RDA stands for recommended daily allowance. The Food and Nutrition Board of the National Research Council of the National Academy of Science sets the RDA for most nutrients. It is supposed to represent the average daily dietary intake level needed for 97-98% of healthy individuals. But it is usually much too low to maintain your health. Vitamin B6 is the perfect example.

Vitamin B6 is crucial for good health. It participates in critical metabolic reactions in your cells. And it protects against high homocysteine (which leads to heart disease), depression, immune dysfunction, carpal tunnel syndrome, and far more. You will not be at optimum health without sufficient vitamin B6. But most people are woefully deficient. In fact, a new study says that even if you get the RDA of critical vitamin B6 (under 2 mg), you still could be deficient.

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