Participants: Don Mackintosh (Host), Dr. Neil Nedley
Series Code: HFAL
Program Code: HFAL00240A
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00:50 Hello, and welcome to Health for a Lifetime
00:52 I'm your host Don Mackintosh 00:53 We're glad you're with us today 00:55 and we're glad Dr. Neil Nedley is with us for today's program 00:58 Welcome Dr. Nedley! 00:59 Thank you! Good to be here 01:01 What kind of a physician are you... what do you do? 01:03 I'm an internal medicine physician 01:06 and that's a specialist of adult diseases of the internal organs. 01:10 And, currently, you're the president of Weimar as well. 01:14 Correct... And you're involved with the 01:15 health and wellness programs there, the New Start Program 01:18 all those different things. That's right 01:20 Well, we're glad you're with us today. 01:23 You always are up-to-date on research! 01:26 You have a website drnedley. com 01:29 People can go there and get some of the notes from today probably 01:32 You have it all archived... all the newest research, right? 01:35 Yes, the Nedley Health Report. 01:40 We're just going to look at some of these studies that are 01:42 exciting... they're interesting and I hope very useful. 01:45 The first one, "Healthy Eating May Extend 01:48 Someone's Life... a Woman's Life" 01:51 Yes, this was the Harvard Study 72,000 U.S. women, 01:56 actually over 72,000... To be exact 72,113 women 02:02 enrolled in the "Nurses Health Study" 02:04 They have been a study group since 1976 02:07 and more and more information starts coming out 02:10 about this group. Um hm 02:11 What they took a look at are the women who had 02:15 4 different foods that were eaten at higher amounts 02:20 So this isn't lowering food intake necessarily 02:24 But it's raising the intake of 4 different foods... 02:28 Fruits, vegetables, beans and whole grains. 02:32 Did that increase life? Let me guess... 02:35 It did... It increased life. 02:39 Even though they may have still been eating meat actually 02:42 Now what they found out is that statistical association... 02:46 People who eat more of those 4 food groups 02:49 have a tendency to eat LESS meat. Okay 02:52 So they noticed that tendency in these women as well. 02:54 What were the 4 again? 02:55 Fruits, vegetables, beans, and whole grains. 03:03 If you eat those, you're going to live longer... 03:05 You will live longer. 03:07 And it's true also, we believe in men, 03:10 but this is a women's health study. 03:12 It was just published in 2008 in June. 03:15 It was actually published by the 03:17 "Journal of the American Heart Association" 03:18 which is the journal's circulation 03:21 And "Dr. Christin Heidemann," who was at Harvard at the time; 03:25 now she's at the "German Institute of Human Nutrition" 03:28 in Germany, said that it was rather significant 03:32 ...the difference in longevity that took place 03:36 And those who ate more meat, had a 22% higher risk of death 03:41 Those who ate more of these foods 16% less likely to 03:46 die of cancer, and well over 20% less likely to die 03:50 of heart disease. 03:51 Now I should add my parenthetical 03:53 note to that statement... 03:54 It's not as GOOD as if you are a plant-based vegetarian. 03:58 In other words, if you go ALL the way... 04:01 you get much greater benefits. 04:03 But this kind of goes along with my "good, better, best approach" 04:07 The BEST approach would really be a healthy plant-based 04:10 vegetarian diet... 04:12 And the next best approach which would really be a 04:17 GOOD approach is increasing those 4 food groups 04:20 and then just decreasing the amount of red meat consumed 04:23 And you may want to start out that way 04:24 and you'll still get some benefit as this 04:27 study illustrates. 04:28 So FRUITS, VEGETABLES, GRAINS, AND... 04:33 what was the 4th one? Beans... BEANS! Yes. 04:37 And it's not just grains... WHOLE grains... whole grains! 04:39 This same study and a previous study done on the 72,000 nurses 04:43 showed those who eat WHITE grains... 04:45 In other words, refined grains Don't do so well 04:48 Yeah, right... they actually lived less... less years. 04:54 And so, it's not just grains. 04:56 It's the whole grains... that are important. 04:58 Well, let's move on to the next study... 05:00 Amphetamine use and risk of death. 05:03 YES, and this is highlighted... 05:06 The reason why I brought it forward is 05:08 I just had a patient in the last 2 weeks, who was a young person 05:12 ...28 years old coming in with a pretty significant heart attack. 05:16 Lost quite a bit of muscle, severe chest pain, and 05:20 28 YEARS OLD? ... 28 years old 05:23 Wow, that's pretty young! 05:24 Yeah, it got my attention. 05:26 She was thin, young, beautiful, didn't look at all like a person 05:31 who should be having a heart attack. 05:32 And we checked her urine, and found out that she had 05:36 "speed" on board... what we call "amphetamines" 05:39 And then, on further questioning 05:41 she was using it recreationally 05:45 ...in other words, doing it in order to try and get high 05:48 and it was in the midst of that that she ended up having 05:52 that crushing chest pain 05:54 So amphetamines... what this study shows 05:58 ...It was actually a study published in June 2008 06:03 It was published actually, I'm sorry, July issue... 06:06 "The Drug and Alcohol Dependence Journal" 06:10 And actually showing very clearly 06:14 that 18- to 44-year-olds that were hospitalized, 06:19 3 million of them, were hospitalized 06:22 between 2000 and 2003... 06:25 For doing meth, methamphetamine amphetamines 06:28 And those who were abusing amphetamines 61% more likely 06:32 than nonusers to be treated for a heart attack 06:35 Wow, 61% And what this does is 06:38 it actually raises blood pressure, increases heart rate 06:41 You know, you get that adrenalin-type of effect, 06:44 but on top of that, it can cause spasm to the arteries... 06:47 And if you already have a plaque there... 06:49 due to cholesterol and calcium coming on board, 06:51 there's a much greater likelihood of that 06:53 plaque rupturing, and when it ruptures 06:55 the platelets come and close the vessel off. 06:58 And so, amphetamine is a significant risk 07:01 And it really is an additional reason not to be using them 07:06 Yeah, now what if someone is using them? 07:08 It's pretty hard to get off.. they may need to 07:10 go somewhere and get some help. 07:11 They may need to go somewhere and get some help 07:13 ...Go to a drug rehab 07:16 Amphetamines actually are easier to get off of than say... 07:20 narcotics... You know, the heroines and even Lortab, 07:26 and those types of things are actually tougher to get off of. 07:30 Amphetamines, it just a matter of making up your mind 07:33 that you are going to find other ways of finding 07:36 enjoyment in life... 07:37 And putting that aside, and then trying to get natural highs 07:42 ...that are much healthier and you don't have the 07:46 deprivation period afterwards. 07:48 So it's much more psychological health that's needed 07:51 than actually dangerous withdrawal. 07:55 You don't undergo dangerous withdrawal by stopping speed, 07:59 or even stopping cocaine for that matter. 08:01 So get help if you need it on that... 08:05 Don't keep down the path... 08:07 there is help and there is hope there. 08:10 We want to go on to stress as it relates to pregnancy! 08:15 Yes! And stress is not very good in pregnancy. 08:20 What happens is... it releases a number of hormones 08:24 And the end result, according to this study done 08:28 among 19,000 Danish women over a 10-year period 08:32 Big study! Big study... 08:34 Those who had high psychological stress... 80% more likely to 08:38 suffer stillbirth, than women with low stress levels 08:42 Wow, 80% more... 08:43 Yeah, and they think that's actually due to the circulation 08:46 going to the placenta, and the hormone's effect 08:49 And what they asked them about 08:51 was their stress in the past month 08:54 For instance, how often they felt unhappy, 08:56 how often they were worried, 08:57 how often they were unable to deal with their problems... 09:00 Of course, that tended to occur in more single women, 09:03 than married women. 09:05 And so, being single and having a child is a big red flag 09:09 because your stress levels tend to be higher 09:11 than if you're married, and undergoing this. 09:15 But they also factor that out and took a look at just 09:19 single women alone... the stillbirth rate was 09:21 a little higher in single women. 09:23 But the factor that seemed to be most related was 09:26 the stress level. 09:28 And this is a study, of course, over in Scandinavia, 09:30 which is known many times for a lot of seasonal affective 09:34 or in other words, season-related depression. 09:38 That's right... because they don't get a lot of 09:41 sun in the wintertime. Um hm 09:42 And so, in the winter, there is more depression. 09:45 But they didn't see the relationship to that at all 09:46 They didn't see the relationship there. Correct 09:49 Looking next now at low vitamin D 09:52 being tied to... what kind of risk? 09:55 Well actually death from a lot of different causes. 09:59 It has increased the risk of death from cancer... 10:04 It increases the risk of death from diabetes... 10:07 increases the risk of death from high blood pressure... 10:11 increases the risk of death from heart disease... 10:15 And so death risk across the board is increased 10:18 if you have a low vitamin D level. 10:20 They said a 26% increase of ALL types of death... All types! 10:24 Just because of a low vitamin D. 10:26 ...Just because of low vitamin D 10:28 Now, can you tell whether or not your vitamin D is low 10:30 without a blood test? 10:31 You can't, unfortunately. 10:34 There's not really a clue... 10:36 Other than the fact if it's severely low, 10:39 you tend to have sleep problems. 10:40 You tend to have muscle aches. 10:42 You know, low vitamin D can result in fatigue 10:45 It can actually be one of the precipitators of depression 10:49 And so, we always measure, you know, yesteryear 10:54 In fact, even this year... 10:55 if you go to your doctor's office and get a physical 10:58 If he's going to do a complete physical on you, 11:00 he's going to measure your cholesterol 11:02 And EVERY American should know what their cholesterol is. 11:05 But there's something JUST as important as 11:07 knowing what your cholesterol is... 11:09 In fact, it may be even more important and that is 11:12 getting a vitamin D 25-hydroxy level 11:15 Don't leave your doctor's office without one. 11:18 If you've never had a 25-hydroxy vitamin D level, 11:21 I'm telling you... now is the time, 11:23 next doctor visit, ask for it 11:25 It is a rather expensive test... 11:27 and you may want to try to go to a laboratory where 11:30 you can find it less expensive, 11:32 but I can tell you, it's worth every penny... 11:34 even if you're paying a high price for it... 11:36 Because if you have a low vitamin D level, 11:38 it really is setting yourself up for a number of problems 11:41 and you can get that vitamin D level up right away 11:44 by taking supplements... 11:46 You can start altering your lifestyle 11:48 ...getting more direct sunlight during the 11:50 direct hours of, you know, 11 o'clock in the morning 11:53 to 2 or 3 in the afternoon... particularly in the summertime 11:57 and you can start storing up this vitamin, 11:59 and it WILL improve your health. 12:00 So, that was from the archives of "Internal Medicine?" 12:03 It was... a study done by 12:04 "Dr. Michos from Johns Hopkins University" 12:07 And it was published in the archives of "Internal Medicine" 12:10 in August of 2008. 12:14 And it was actually a study done by the 12:15 "Centers for Disease Control" 12:16 So this is getting a lot of attention... 12:19 Even Atlanta where the CDC is located, 12:22 they're starting to talk about the critical importance 12:25 of vitamin D. 12:26 So, let's say you're not near a doctor 12:29 and they can't draw a level where you are... 12:31 You should go out into the sun and get sun every day 12:34 That's right.. Avoid the sunburn No sunburn 12:37 But, apart from the sunburn, sun is healthy! 12:40 In fact, studies now show that the sun PREVENTS 12:43 more cancers than it causes. 12:45 Even if we take a look at the deadly cancers 12:47 like, you know, the melanoma-type cancers 12:50 You actually PREVENT more cancer deaths 12:53 than what is caused... even if you do have the sunburn there. 12:57 So, what I'm saying is... 12:59 Let's not be super, super afraid of sunburns; 13:02 we do need to avoid them. 13:03 But more important than that is getting enough sunlight. 13:09 Are there any plant sources for vitamin D you'd recommend? 13:12 Well there are plant sources... 13:14 there are mushrooms that have it... 13:15 That's where the chemical "ergocalciferol" comes from 13:18 It's a plant-based vitamin D. 13:20 "Cholecalciferol"... you would have to radiate the mushrooms 13:23 to get the vitamin D3, the cholecalciferol 13:27 and some supplements have the plant-based vitamin D3; 13:30 others are animal-based from sheep lanolin or sheepskin... 13:34 or maybe even animal liver is where they might get that from. 13:38 So we recommend the ergocalciferol. 13:40 Most studies show it to be just as healthy as the 13:43 cholecalciferol. 13:44 We're talking with Dr. Neil Nedley 13:47 We're talking about cutting edge research 13:49 that's very practical. 13:51 You've heard the doctor's order... 13:52 Find out what your vitamin D is 13:54 and make sure it's in the right range so that you 13:59 can avoid these different killers. 14:00 Join us when we come back. |
Revised 2014-12-17