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D For Vitamin D And Dark Skin, Do You Have Enough?

Melanin certainly has its benefits, but word from Harvard Medical School researchers indicate that it may inhibit vitamin D absorption.  We all know that vitamin supplements can help keep us healthy, but the one vitamin that researchers are now finding we don’t get enough of, especially African-Americans, is vitamin D. 

Studies link low blood levels of vitamin D to type I diabetes, multiple sclerosis, tuberculosis, colon cancer, even the flu.  Unlike most other vitamins, vitamin D is in only a few foods; dairy, some brands of orange juice and breakfast cereals.  As the result, most of the vitamin D our bodies get is from the sun through skin absorption, and skin pigmentation affects the way we process it.  Because African-Americans have melanin, it acts like a sunscreen.  Research reveals darker-skinned individuals require at least five times as much sun exposure to form a given amount of vitamin D, compared with a very light-skinned person.  All this suggests that the majority of African-Americans have low levels of vitamin D. Combine this notion with the fact that many of us are lactose intolerant, unable to digest dairy, makes the deficiency even more significant. 

Regardless of your age, size, the time of sun exposure, the season and geography, all affect how much vitamin D you produce.  So as we approach winter with less sun on our skin, and shorter days with longer nights, you may want to ask your doctor for more information on vitamin D and what it means for you. 

...AND NOW YOU KNOW.

 
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TOO CHICKEN TO EAT BUFFALO?

At one time on the verge of extinction, the magnificent buffalo is making a comeback – this time not only on the range, but on dinner tables across the country and perhaps coming to a restaurant near you.

Buffalo is finally coming of age as an alternative red meat.  It took many years for this red meat to catch on, but now it has achieved an enviable position, receiving simultaneous praise from chefs, nutritionists and environmentalists.  At last, a steak without high calories, cholesterol and fat that is also a significant source of iron.

           
The proof is in the tasting.  Not only is the meat delicious, as I’ve experienced firsthand, but it fits right in with the public wanting to know now more than ever where their food comes from, what the animal ate, and if they were raised humanely.

           
In general, people who raise buffalo love their animals unlike those who raise beef.  For the cattlemen, it’s all about the price, whereas for buffalo ranchers it’s all about restoring the prairie. According to the Agriculture Department, a lean raw 100-gram buffalo rib-eye steak has 116 calories, 2.4 grams of fat and 62 milligrams of cholesterol.  A similar beef rib-eye steak has 161 calories, 8.3 grams of fat and 59 milligrams of cholesterol.

The downside is, buffalo meat tends to cost more than beef, but sometimes you can’t put a price on your health. (Cuts of buffalo are also sometimes sold at Food Emporium, ShopRite, Kings, Balducci’s and Whole Food Stores.) 

 ...And Now You Know.

(source: NYT, 8/15/07)

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What Is Your Doctor Really Talking About?

How often have you left your doctor’s office wondering exactly what you were just told to alleviate your problem or prevent an illness?  In this fast- paced health care system of HMOs, when was the last time your doctor spent more than a few minutes with you after an examination discussing the problem thoroughly, answering all of your questions?  If any of this sounds familiar, it’s even more important to know what the doctor is talking about and how to ask the right questions.  Despite major reports on the need to improve health literacy issued in the last decade by organizations including the American Medical Association and the National Academy’s Institute of Medicine, little improvement has been noted in how much patients understand and remember encounters with health care practitioners.  A main obstacle has been the decreased time patients can spend with their doctors, dictated largely by managed care and other medical reimbursement plans.   Here are some strategies for improving communication with your doctor. 

• Make sure you ask your doctor to explain basic baseline information “Can you tell me what I need to know about the problem?”
• Ask your doctor to use plain language and not vague terms or medical jargon to communicate with you.  For example, they should say chest pain, instead of angina.
• Repeat things back to your doctor to make sure you understand and have clarity.
• Confirm your understanding by asking your doctor to demonstrate the use of a nebulizer or inhaler for asthma, and then you take time to demonstrate back to the doctor as well.
• Make sure your doctor provides you with written instructions in addition to educational materials or pamphlets so you and your family can review at home.
• Insist that conversations about serious medical matters take place when you are dressed and in the doctor’s office.
• Take notes or bring along an advocate who can take notes for you.  Another suggestion is to bring along a tape recorder to make sure you get the information right, but this only works if your doctor feels comfortable with the device.
• If you have received a diagnosis and would like to explore it further on the Internet, be sure to look up on reputable sites.  Two that can be relied on are www.nlm.nih.gov, produced by the National Library of Medicine, and www.healthfinder.gov, produced by the United States Department of Health and Human Services.  Many major medical centers also provide useful, accurate information online.
• Avoid information and advertisements by commercial organizations that overtly or covertly sell products.
• By using these strategies, you’ll have better control of your doctor’s visits and make the best use of your time, which could perhaps even result in shorter and less frequent trips to your physician’s office.

…And Now You Know.

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Get Smart With Vitamin C

We all know that vitamin C has been long recommended to ward off the common cold, but researchers now have evidence that folic acid dietary supplements may also significantly improve thinking skills that tend to decline with normal aging.  A Dutch Study assigned men and women to take a daily oral dose of 800 micrograms of folic acid or a placebo.  Test subjects were healthy, however had high levels of an amino acid, which in previous studies had been particularly associated with poor cognitive performance.  At the beginning of the study there were no significant difference in the scores between the groups.  But at the end, after controlling for cholesterol, blood pressure, body mass, smoking status and other variables, the folic acid group performed significantly better on three of the five mental tests, in addition their average for all tests was significantly higher than before.

Jane Durga was the lead author of the study published in the Lancet Journal of Medicine 1/20/07, and had this to say,” Based on this paper alone, I wouldn’t be waving it around” to urge people to supplement their diets.  While this is a high-quality study it needs to be repeated and tested in other populations and countries with lower or higher doses to determine lesser or greater effects.

By law, flour in the United States is fortified with folic acid to help prevent neural tube defects in newborns.

           
While it may be too early to rush out and buy more vitamin C, you may find some solace in knowing that the vitamin C you’re already taking may not only help prevent colds, but boost and improve your thinking skills as well.

…And Now You Know.