Coping With Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Chronic fatigue syndrome is an equal opportunity condition. It can affect you no matter your gender, race, income level, or age. More than one million people in the U.S. live with CFS. For them, just getting out of bed in the morning can be a difficult task and an emotionally upsetting event can set off a chain reaction that leads to extreme exhaustion that lasts for days on end.

If you or someone close to you lives with CFS, you know how disruptive this condition is. It affects every facet of your life. It lowers your productivity at work, and it makes you feel less creative. It interferes with you exercise commitments, so you lose physical fitness. It disrupts your relationships, your sleep cycles, and your overall happiness.

While there isn't a cure for CFS—scientists aren't even sure what causes it—there are coping strategies that you can use prevent CFS from controlling your life.

First, keep track of the activities or events that trigger episodes of fatigue. Once you recognize the kinds of things that cause your CFS to worsen, you can take control, avoid those activities, and spend less time feeling exhausted.

Light exercise on your good days can help prevent episodes. It can also help you stay physically fit. Strenuous exercise, on the other hand, might make CFS worse. Talk with your doctor for help designing an exercise program that will give you the most benefit without exhausting you.

Sunlight can help stimulate your pineal gland. Getting some sun each day will help you feel better when you're awake and sleep better at night.

Finally, find ways to mentally relax. Whether you write in a journal, meditate, or practice yoga, finding a way to slow your mind down will help you relieve stress and that can prevent CFS episodes.

CFS doesn't have to control your life. Even though there's no cure, you can reduce the effect it has from day to day. That means more good days, and that's a very good thing.

Stay well,
Meghan Krohn

Soy and Your Sperm

A healthy sperm count is a sign of virility. And let's face it, most men don't brag about having a low sperm count. It's a sign that something's… not quite right.

Of course you can be perfectly healthy and have your sperm number in the lower ranges. There are many things that can happen to lower your sperm count. Temperature, clothing choices, stress—these can all have an effect.

But if a food you were eating caused your sperm count to drop, wouldn't you wonder what else it was doing to your body?

In a recent study, researchers found a possible link between soy intake and low sperm count. In 99 men visiting a fertility clinic those who at soy two or more time a week tended to have lower sperm counts than men who didn't regularly eat soy. The researchers noted that there was also an association between men being overweight and low sperm count.

Soy contains plant compounds that mimic estrogen, a hormone that is more prominent in women than men. High estrogen levels in men can cause a number of problems including hormone imbalances, weaker muscles, lower sex drive, and lower sperm count. Because of this, researchers believe that soy may be at least in part responsible for lower sperm counts in some me.

Generally speaking, I don't recommend soy as a dietary staple for men. It can create too many problems with your hormone balance. There are some exceptions. Products that use fermented soy are healthful and won't toy with your hormone levels. And yes, there are some good soy sauce options that use fermented soy—tamari is my favorite.

Stay well,
Danny Wallace

Emotional Wellness

How you feel matters. It matters to your physical health. It impacts your quality of life. It can make a big difference to how well you sleep, how healthy your digestion is, and how well you cope with stress.

Emotional health is important.

Too often it gets overlooked while we focus on other important things like heart disease and cancer. So today, take a little time to think about your emotional well-being.

Do you enjoy your work? Do you enjoy your relationships? Do you find that your life is generally fulfilling and happy? Are you able to overcome difficulties with optimism?

If you can't answer, "Yes," to questions like these, then it's time to give your emotional health a closer look.

It's tempting, when you're feeling low or anxious or stressed out, to keep your feelings to yourself. We all do this sometimes. Maybe you don't want to sound like you're complaining. Or perhaps you're worried about burdening someone else with your problems. The truth is you have friends and family who love you. There is someone in your life who would be happy to listen. So seek them out and talk things through. This simple act can be a big help when you're working through something difficult.

If there isn't anyone you feeling comfortable talking to, consider booking an appointment with a therapist instead.

When you're feeling negative, take a moment to recognize those feelings. Accept that they are there and that's it's okay to have them. Think about what's causing those feelings and what changes you can make to improve things for you emotionally. At the same time, also consider the things in your life that make you happy. Gratitude is an especially powerful positive emotion. Try coming up with a list of things you are grateful for. This can quickly change your mood from negative to positive.

If stress is a problem, try taking up an activity to counter it. Yoga, meditation, journal, or martial arts are all good activities that reduce stress.

Taking care of your emotional health is just as important as eating a healthy diet, exercising regularly, or getting a good night's sleep.

Stay well,
Heather Robwell

Take Control of Your Heart Health the Natural Way

If you've been diagnosed with heart disease—or even if you'vebee told you're at high risk—you know how scary it is. You're facing a major life change… and not for the better. In these moments of crisis, it's perfectly understandable if you begin considering prescription medications as a solution to your health problem.

When it comes to chronic diseases, it can feel like you don't have any good alternatives. You know that prescription drugs come with side effects, but you don't know what else to do.

Well, research now shows that an alternative approach to lowering heart disease risk can be more effective than prescription drugs. There are no side effects, unless you consider losing weight and having more energy a side effect.

In a study comparing statin drug treatment combined with traditional diet and exercise recommendations versus daily supplements of red yeast rice, fish oil, and weekly educational meetings with healthcare professionals, the alternative treatment outperformed the drugs.

Patients in the alternative group took a single daily dose of red yeast rice and 6 fish oil capsules daily. They also adapted a Mediterranean diet and had the opportunity to meet with a variety of alternative and traditional healthcare professionals during the study. On average, these patients lowered their LDL cholesterol by 42.4 percent. Those following conventional treatment saw similar results at 39.6 percent. (Study appears in the July 2008 issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings.)

Participants in the alternative group also lost weight and lowered their triglyceride levels—gains that the conventional group didn't make.

When it comes to heart disease and lowering your risks, you do have options. It's refreshing to see that your options can actually outperform traditional drug therapies without dangerous side effects.

Stay well,
Danny Wallace

Your Outlook Matters

Winston Churchill once said that attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference. When it comes to matters of the heart, it turns out he was right… or at least in matters of heart health.

Researchers performed a fifteen year heart disease study. One of the things they looked at was how attitude affected the development of heart disease. At the beginning of the study, they asked men how much risk they thought had for heart disease. They also did an objective measure of risk factors for each participant.

After fifteen years, the men who expressed the most optimism early on were 33% less likely to die of heart disease than those who had a dimmer view of their health… no matter what the original objective risk assessment was.

Researchers aren't sure how to explain these results. It would seem that people with the highest risk according to objective measurements would be at the highest risk for heart attack, but that wasn't the case. The men with a positive attitude just fared better.

Researcers don't want men to believe that all they have to do is think positive thoughts, but it's also clear that those patients who felt the most positive about the condition of their heart do better in the long run.

The take away lesson, I think, is that you should eat well and exercise and quit smoking… and that you should also try to be happy and grateful each day. Those powerful emotions not only increase your quality of life—they may also stop your from having a heart attack.

Stay well,
Heather Robwell

Avoid Heat Exposure for a Healthier Summer

During the summertime, heat exposure is an ongoing risk. Every year thousands of Americans end up in the hospital because of heat exposure. Close to 200 die people each summer because of the heat.

But don't let that scare you. If you take a few simple precautions, you can go out and enjoy the summer fun without severe side effects.

First you should know the early signs of heat exposure. If you begin to feel nauseated or weak, develop a headache, or become crampy your body is telling you its time to take a break and cool off. Ignoring these warning signs can lead to heat stroke—rapid pulse, difficulty breathing, disorientation, and seizures—a condition that requires medical attention.

Ideally, you want to prevent heat exposure altogether. You can do this in three simple steps.

Eat and Drink Appropriately. You body needs more of water when it's hot, so drink lots of cool fluids. Water's your best choice, but it's also a good idea to have a drink on hand that will help you replace sodium and other minerals. Eat lighter meals when you are outside in the heat.

Dress Appropriately: Loose, light clothing that provides some sun protection is your best bet. A hat and sunglasses are perfect accessories.

Use Your Common Sense: Take breaks to just relax and sit in the shade. If the day is a real scorcher, head inside for the hottest hours.

By being aware of the risks of heat exposure, you can take steps to protect yourself and your family members. Make sure your fun doesn't get interrupted by heat exposure this summer.

Stay well,
Meghan Krohn

Breaking a Sweat

Something as simple as really pushing yourself for a couple of minutes off and on during your next workout—I mean really breaking a sweat—could save your from devastating chronic diseases.

Sometimes health problems don't happen one at a time. Often they come in groups. Metabolic syndrome works like this. It's a group of health risk factors that includes high levels of abdominal fats, triglycerides, blood pressure, and blood glucose levels and low levels of HDL cholesterol.

If you have any three of these risk factors in combination, then you have metabolic syndrome.

And you're not alone. Nearly one in four adults has metabolic syndrome. It's a serious condition that puts you at high risk for diabetes and heart disease.

You can reverse metabolic syndrome if you take the right steps. One of the best things you can do is to change the way you work out. Interval training, where you really push yourself for a couple of minutes and then work at a moderate pace for a few minutes and then repeat the cycle, can help you get rid of metabolic syndrome and restore your health.

People who do interval training instead of endurance training lose weight, improve their blood sugar control and boost their HDL cholesterol levels by up to 25%.

So next time you work out, take a stopwatch. After you warm up, take two minutes and work hard. Then for four minutes, ease off a little, but don't stop. Repeat the two-minute/four-minute cycle three to five times. This kind of workout can provide a number of health benefits… and it's shorter than your usual workout. Enjoy!

Stay well,
Danny Wallace

Lowering Your Heart Disease Risk is Just a Cup of Tea Away

It's not often you find something that can immediately improve your health. Most health-enhancing lifestyle choices have a cumulative effect over time.

You exercise once and you don't notice much difference. Exercise three times a week for three months and you'll lose some weight and improve your heart health. Eat more fruits and vegetables for one day and you'll boost your vitamin and fiber intake for that single day. Do the same for months and you'll noticeably improve your health in many ways.

Most changes you make to benefit your health take months to deliver result. But drink a cup of green tea and your heart will experience an immediate benefit.

Your blood vessels are lined with a thin layer of cells that make your arteries flexible and supple. If the lining becomes damaged your arteries become hardened and stiff and you begin to develop heart disease.

Within 30 minutes of drinking a cup of green tea, your endothelial lining begins to function better. The tea contains powerful antioxidants called flavonoids that help protect against heart disease—that's been understood for quite some time. But now, scientists have found that the benefit delivered by flavonoids begins to take effect immediately.

Drinking green tea regularly will also provide long term benefits, reducing your risk of heart disease and improving your insulin sensitivity. But a little instant gratification for your health is nice, too.

Stay well,
Heather Robwell

HDL Cholesterol Levels Play a Role in Memory

You know the feeling. The word you are looking for is just on the tip of your tongue, but you can't quite place it. You set down your keys a moment ago, but now you can't remember where. You've driven somewhere once before and going there a second time you end up lost.

These types of occurrences are associated with short-term memory decline. Your short-term memory still works. It just doesn't work as well as it used to. But there are ways you can restore your short-term memory function and feel as sharp as you did when you were 30.

British researchers found that people in their fifties who had low levels of HDL cholesterol had 27% more short-term memory decline than those with the highest levels. By the time the subjects reached their sixties, the gap had stretched to 53%.

That's quite a difference. You can help protect your own short-term memory and even make it better by boosting your HDL cholesterol levels. How do you do that? Well, there are a lot of ways you can give your HDL levels a boost.

The foods you eat affect your HDL levels. There are several good foods that can give your HDL cholesterol a boost. Be sure you use monounsaturated fats like olive oil for things like salad dressings. Eat fish once or twice a week—the omega-3 oils will help. Also make sure you're getting enough fiber. Finally cut out trans fats. These unnatural fats used in processed foods actually depress your HDL cholesterol levels.

Other lifestyle choices you can make to bring up your HDL cholesterol levels include getting regular exercise and drinking alcohol in moderation. For the exercise, you don't have to overdue it. Getting your heart rate up for 20 or 30 minutes a day is all you need—a brisk walk will do the trick. One or two alcoholic beverages a day provide many health benefits including higher HDL cholesterol levels. But alcohol is not for everyone. Talk with your doctor before you begin drinking more than you do now.

When you boost your HDL cholesterol levels, you'll help your short-term memory stay sharp even as you age… and you'll protect your heart from disease, too. That's not such a bad bargain.

Stay well,
Meghan Robwell