Vitamin D deficiency? You can take a blood test — article by Scott Keith

When you think about vitamin D, you might imagine gulping down a glass of cold milk after performing an afternoon of hard chores. You probably know vitamin D is good for the body. After all, it’s called the “Sunshine Vitamin.” What you may not know is that vitamin D helps your immune system and could help cut down your chance of getting the flu. But are we getting enough of this vitamin? Many people are vitamin D deficient, according to Dr. Steven Joyal, Vice President of Science and Medical Affairs for Life Extension, the largest non-profit organization dedicated to helping people live longer and healthier.

Vitamin D comes from many sources. Joyal, in an interview with Men and Health: It’s a Guy Thing, says it can be found in fatty fish (salmon), mushrooms, fortified dairy products and supplements. Natural sunlight helps the body manufacture this key vitamin. But remember, if you spend time in the sun, take the proper precautions because sun exposure can lead to skin cancer.

While the science is relatively young, Joyal says studies show the health benefits of higher levels of vitamin D. He says a study in the past year indicates that women with high levels of vitamin D, as defined by 25-hydroxy vitamin D status in their blood, had about a 50 percent lower risk of breast cancer. Vitamin D, according to Joyal, not only helps bone and calcium metabolism, but aids in healthy cell growth, division and maturation. “There’s very interesting data out there that really does support the idea that vitamin D not only has a pretty profound effect on our immune system, but also may help in combating the risk of influenza infection,” says Joyal.

How much of this vitamin should we take in a supplement? It depends. Joyal says, “I’m fair-skinned and have blue eyes, so for me, I go out in the sun for 30 minutes at mid-day and easily make 10 thousand international units of vitamin D in my skin.” He says an African-American or Asian person will likely make less in the same period of time. It’s also harder to produce vitamin D from sunlight as we age.

Supplements can help older men and women. Joyal says a study published about a year ago showed that elderly individuals (deficient in vitamin D) who received supplements noticed an improvement in muscle strength, particularly in the lower body. “We know, too, that there are studies showing that vitamin D supplementation seems to decrease the risk of hip fractures.”

When it comes to vitamin D supplements, while Joyal admits there is a difference of opinion, “we believe most people can benefit from at least 2,000 international units a day.” According to Joyal, the best way to discover your vitamin D status is to take the 25-hydroxy vitamin D blood test. “Current research suggests an optimal level of vitamin D is somewhat north of 50 nanograms per milliliter and somewhat south of 80 nanograms per milliliter.”

If you are concerned about the level of vitamin D in your system, Joyal says, “Learn as much as you can, read as much as you can, ask questions of your health care professionals. Doctors tend not to know a heck of a lot about nutrition, quite frankly.” Adds Joyal, you are your most important health advocate.

 Life Extension website: www.lef.org

Information on 25-hydroxy Vitamin D blood test: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003569.htm

Binge eating: Hooked on food?

The alcoholic can’t stop at one drink. The smoker needs to light up at a moment’s notice, hooked on nicotine. The binge eater keeps shoveling down food, well after his or her tummy is full. But is binge eating a form of addiction?

The jury seems to be out, according to an article by Melissa Healy of the Los Angeles Times. Healy shines the spotlight on Rina Silverman and Chavese Turner. These two women share their feelings about binge eating: 

http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-he-binge-addiction23-2009nov23,0,6081185.story

In my opinion, it would be hard to argue that binge eating is not a form of addiction. After all, you can be addicted to gambling, computer use, even exercise. Why not food? In Psychology Today, Stephen Benedict-Mason, a psychologist, writes,  “addiction depends, first and foremost, upon having an addictive personality. Such people, estimated at perhaps 10%-15% of the population, simply don’t know when to stop.”

As experts debate binge eating and addiction, it’s comforting to know there are several resources for people struggling with addiction, including several 12-step programs.

Mason’s article is at: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/look-it-way/200903/the-addictive-personality

Depression: Are men too “macho” to seek help? — article by Scott Keith

It’s hard enough to get a stubborn guy to recognize a physical symptom, set up a doctor appointment and show up at the clinic for a medical evaluation. It’s even tougher for men to determine whether a mood change is normal, or a possible sign of depression.

Depression-related illnesses strike about six million men in the United States. Men are less likely to be diagnosed with depression than woman, yet men are four times more likely to kill themselves. Society teaches men to control their emotions and to be physically tough. It’s this “macho” attitude that causes many men to let depression go untreated. Professor of Psychology at Clark University, Dr. Michael Addis, is a national expert on the subject and will be setting up the first-ever center on men and depression at Clark.

In an interview with Men and Health: It’s a Guy Thing, Addis, an author of over 60 books, says, “We’re probably under- diagnosing depression in men because, as you probably suspect, it’s an illness that’s highly stigmatized in men, so men are taught from a very young age by parents, peers and society to keep emotional vulnerability to themselves.” Addis says men are less likely than women to answer “yes” when asked if they are feeling sad, down, or feeling critical of themselves.

Symptoms of depression can take on different forms in men. Although there is no definitive study, Addis says, “For some men, and probably specifically for those men who adhere to more traditional gender roles… men who are more invested in controlling their emotions and handling problems on their own… those men are more likely to express depression in terms of anger, physical complaints and sometimes social withdrawal.” In general, men are more likely than women to keep their distress hidden from others. According to Addis, stress factors, such as divorce, unemployment, and loss of a loved one, and the reluctance of men to share these issues with others, may contribute to the increased incidence of suicide in men.

Outside forces, such as the sluggish economy, can contribute to the onset of depression. Says Addis, “Despite the progress of the women’s movement, which has come a long way towards re-defining women’s roles, men’s roles still heavily emphasize the bread winner. When that’s taken away, it’s not only an economic stress, it’s a psychological stress, because it essentially says to men, you’re no longer doing what you should be doing, so you fail twice. You don’t have a job and you’re not being appropriately masculine by bringing home the bread.” One of Addis’s students at Clark studied 60 recently-unemployed men in central Massachusetts. Addis says the study found, “the more traditionally masculine men were more likely to develop symptoms of depression then the less traditionally masculine ones.”

Depression can also strike members of the military. Addis says, “The suicide rate among returning veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan is soaring. It’s higher than it’s ever been and the incidence of depression and other problems (such as post-traumatic stress disorder and substance abuse) is very high as well.” Addis says this also relates to the psychology of men and masculinity, noting that while the military has made progress in raising depression awareness, there is still a long way to go.

In many cases, the family doctor can start a depression patient on the road to recovery. Addis says, “It’s very important that people find a primary care physician who is knowledgeable about mental health and open to treating mental health in the context of primary care,” adding that it’s the responsibility of both the patient and the doctor.

The Clark University professor offers words of encouragement for men who think they may be suffering from depression.  Addis says you’re not alone and there is absolutely no shame in getting help. Depression is a treatable illness. According to Addis, 75 percent or more of people who receive counseling or medication for depression are able to overcome it. Finally, don’t think you’re weak because of your feelings. “This is not a character flaw..no one chooses to be depressed.”

Think you know all about dieting? Consider some diet myths

When I read about diet myths, I am both amused and concerned. Amused because I remember a time when I would diet six days of the week, then reward myself with a few extra (high calorie) goodies the seventh day.  How ridiculous! What I ended up doing was “pigging out” that seventh day, and, essentially, cancelling out the gains I made earlier in the week. 

Concern because, at times, I’m not paying enough attention to my body. I should eat when I’m hungry. Sounds like common sense, but I am guilty of eating when I’m bored, worried or stressed. Michelle May, MD, has a great article on diet myths that address these and other issues:

http://health.yahoo.com/featured/63/weight-management-myths-debunked/

Read these myths and weep, or learn from them. It’s very easy for me to have a diet relapse if I’m not tuned in to why I want to eat.

A web tool to help baby boomers burn calories — article by Scott Keith

These days, John Porten is content eating his Subway sandwiches and keeping off the pounds. Most of his adult life, though, the 47-year-old Indianapolis resident struggled with his weight; he would lose a number of pounds, then gain them right back.

Around five years ago, Porten decided to take action by monitoring his food intake. He would use a spread sheet and a booklet to track his food and calories. Porten noticed that as long as he kept a written record, he would maintain or lose weight. After a bit of prodding from a neighbor on his cul-de-sac, Porten decided to develop a website for the frustrated dieter.

Porten hooked up with a developer in Indianapolis and put together a prototype application called iTrakOnline.com. “When we got the prototype app up and running, it was no time at all before we had 400 to 500 members…people who just found out about it through word of mouth,” says Porten. The feedback led Porten to create a more commercial version of the application, called Graphite, which was introduced to the public in November, 2009. Porten wanted to design the application with a color scheme and language that would appeal primarily to middle-aged guys. Porten says he learned through market research and talks with a lot of people that men were frustrated with forums and advertisements and wanted a simple tool.

According to the new web site, “Graphite is an easy-to-use web-based tool for tracking calorie intake (meals/food) and calorie expenditures (exercise and other activities). Based on the principle of energy balance, Graphite helps you manage the balance of calories you consume with the calories you burn, helping you to reach your weight management goals.”

When you visit www.mygraphite.com,  click the “Tour” tab at the top of the main page and discover several ways you can monitor your calories and exercise, and have fun at the same time. The “Track Food” page will help you stay at your calorie intake target, even if you wind up going to the family picnic and eating way too many hot dogs. On the “Create Custom Foods, Recipes, & Meals” page, keep track of your favorite meals. If a combination of swimming, weight training and walking keeps your weight down, make note of it on the “Track Exercise Calories Burned” page. This page also has a nifty motivational tool. At Graphite, you can set personal goals and track your progress.

This attractive and easy-to-navigate website features an impressive number of resources, including several articles on how to eat healthy. Visit “The Graphite Blog” and read about the “power”of tracking.

Porten is excited about getting the word out about Graphite. Says Porten, what it boils down to is “managing what you put in your mouth and managing how many calories you burn.”

Book review: “Eating Animals”

By Jonathan Safran Foer

Review by Scott Keith

When you think of primitive urges, you think food, sleep, sex and self preservation. The birth of his son inspired a Brooklyn, New York author to explore one of these life-long urges, the need to eat. Jonathan Safran Foer, in his newest book, “Eating Animals,” explores a dilemma a great many of us face. We love animals, yet we consume them for dinner.

In this electric book, Foer examines his life, from early childhood, and how he became a vegetarian. One of Foer’s earliest recollections is a visit from a babysitter when he was not quite ten years of age. The baby sitter declined to eat chicken with Jonathan and his older brother. When asked, the baby sitter replied, “I don’t want to hurt anything.” Foer writes, “What our babysitter said made sense to me, not only because it seemed true, but because it was the extension to food of everything my parents had taught me. We don’t hurt family members. We don’t hurt friends or strangers. We don’t even hurt upholstered furniture. My not having thought to include animals in that list didn’t make them the exceptions to it. It just made me a child, ignorant of the world’s workings.”

Foer introduces his family. His grandmother, who survived World War II Europe, was nicknamed “The greatest chef who ever lived,” despite her all-too-familiar recipe, chicken with carrots. His father, who “raised us on exotics,” was the primary cook in his home. Even George, a tiny black puppy that Foer and his wife adopted. Foer recalls, “And then one day I became a person who loved dogs. I became a dog person.”

The birth of his child was a turning point. Writes Foer, “Fatherhood was the immediate impetus for the journey that would become this book.” It’s a journey that took Foer throughout the United States, documenting how animals, birds and fish make it to our dinner tables. The journey is presented in graphic, often haunting detail.

Throughout this 341-page book, Foer is critical of factory farming, noting that “upwards of 99 percent”of all animals eaten in this country come from factory farms. About factory farming, Foer says, “In a narrow sense it is a system of industrialized and intensive agriculture in which animals – often housed by the tens or even hundreds of thousands – are genetically engineered, restricted in mobility, and fed unnatural diets (which almost always include various drugs, like antimicrobials).”  Foer adds, “More than any set of practices, factory farming is a mind-set: reduce production costs to the absolute minimum and systematically ignore or “externalize” such costs as environmental degradation, human disease, and animal suffering.”

Foer describes a scary middle-of-the-night visit to a factory farm, accompanied by an animal activist by the name “C.” Under the blackness of the sky, the duo encounter a series of seven sheds. Entering a shed after fighting barbed wire, they notice tens of thousands of turkey chicks on a sawdust floor. Says Foer, “There is a mathematical orchestration to the density. I pull my eyes from the birds for a moment and take in the building itself: lights, feeders, fans, and heat lamps evenly spaced in a perfectly calibrated artificial day.” Noticing a chick who is suffering, “C” takes a knife and puts the young turkey out of its misery.

This riveting book not only documents some atrocious treatment of animals at the slaughterhouse, but looks back at an earlier time in America, when farmers actually got to know their turkeys and pigs. Foer introduces Frank Reese, described as a “truly independent poultry farmer.” Reese appreciates the beauty of turkeys.  Says Reese, “I can sit in the house at night, and I can hear them, and I can tell if they’re in trouble or not. Having been around turkeys for almost sixty years, I know their vocabulary.” Reese continues, “All my animals get as much pasture as they want, and I never mutilate or drug them. I don’t manipulate lighting or starve them to cycle unnaturally. I don’t allow my turkeys to be moved if it’s too cold or too hot.”

As we sit down at the dinner table and prepare to pepper and slice our meat or fish, consider this food for thought: “The average shrimp-trawling operation throws 80 to 90 percent of the sea animals it captures overboard, dead or dying, as bycatch,”says Foer. Are pigs intelligent? According to Foer, “Dr. Stanley Curtis, an animal scientist friendly to the industry, empirically evaluated the cognitive abilities of pigs by training them to play a video game with a joystick modified for snouts. They not only learned the games, but did so as fast as champanzees, demonstrating a surprising capacity for abstract representation.”

Foer’s third book may or may not turn you into a vegetarian, but the journey animals take to the dinner table, brilliantly examined by the Brooklyn author, will open your eyes and make you ponder the primitive urge of eating.

(Little, Brown and Company, Hardcover, $25.99)

Available at Amazon.com and all major book stores

Track your family medical history

It’s fun to discover your family history. Online ancestry sites make it possible to learn about your great-grandfather or research a long-lost distant relative. There is another form of family tree that is of particular interest to your physician. 

According to MayoClinic.com, “You inherit half of your genetic profile from each parent.” That means you may have an increased risk of a serious disease, such as cancer, if  close family members also had the disease. MayoClinic has an article suggesting tips on how you can construct a family medical tree to present to your doctor:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/medical-history/HQ01707

If you’re a baby boomer guy who has finally scheduled a physical examination, congratulations! Just remember to provide your doctor with your family medical history. It’s a detail that is easily overlooked, but can result in earlier medical interventions, particularly cancer screenings. If you can catch that cancer early, there’s a much greater chance of cure or life-extending treatment.

Baby boomer workplace stress

Perhaps you find everything stressful at the office.  You wonder if your boss appreciates your work. You are given too many tasks to perform. You worry that your job may be eliminated because of the sluggish economy.

Research from England shows that the older you are, the less stress you may be experiencing. An article from HealthDay reveals interesting age-related statistics:

http://www.healthday.com/Article.asp?AID=632326

As a 55-year-old baby boomer, I’m feeling more relaxed at work. A mere decade ago, it wouldn’t take much to stress me out. I’m trying to figure it out. My thinking is I have more on my plate these days. I started this blog earlier this year.  One of the best decisions I ever made. I allot a period of time each day to research, write and edit my posts.  My blog helps me relax and balances out my full-time day job. I also take better care of my health. With prostate cancer, I want to make sure I am eating the right foods. I also need to watch my weight. Bottom line: I need to keep my priorities in proper order.

Whether or not you’re a baby boomer, I hope you can find the necessary balance in your life. It could help reduce your workplace stress.

.

Adult immunizations: An online tool for the procrastinator — article by Scott Keith

It’s one of your first childhood memories. Going to the medical clinic, rolling up your sleeve and getting poked with a needle. Immunizations are not just “kid’s stuff.” According to studies released by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID), adults in America are not getting the immunizations they need. Perhaps more troubling, many are not aware of the risk of vaccine-preventable diseases.

Online help has arrived for the procrastinating grown-up. Mayo Clinic and Microsoft have launched the Mayo Clinic Health Manager, a high-tech, yet easy-to-understand tool that will not only keep you current with immunizations, but help protect and manage your family’s health. In an e-mail interview with Men and Health: It’s a Guy Thing, Gregory Poland, MD, Director of Vaccine Research at Mayo Clinic, says, “You can use it to organize health information for multiple family members in one place and receive real-time, individualized information, reminders and health guidance developed by experts at Mayo Clinic, based on the data you enter.”

Among the features of this free Internet tool is the “Family Dashboard” page. “When you log in to your family’s account, it displays a quick summary of each family member. Depending on the information you enter, these summaries can include a photo and brief information on each person, as well as a snapshot of the number of recommendations available in each person’s individual profile, says Dr.Poland. Mayo Clinic Health Manager can juggle several family needs. “A mom, for example, might receive information reminding her she’s due for a tetanus shot, and a recommendation to update her son’s asthma management plan, along with other useful information to keep her family’s information up-to-date and their health on track,”adds Dr. Poland.

Statistics from the CDC and NFID show that “each year, about 50,000 adults die from diseases that can be prevented by vaccines. Millions more get sick, leading to missed work, not being able to care for those who depend on them, and passing the illness on to others.” More troubling stats reveal “fifteen percent of those surveyed, ages 19-64, have received the Tdap vaccine, which protects against tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis.” Of concern to the older set, “about seven percent of senior citizens are vaccinated against shingles, an extremely painful disease caused by the chickenpox virus.”

The Mayo Clinic Health Manager can remind younger woman about a critical health concern. “Ten percent of women aged 19-26 have been vaccinated against the human papillomavirus, which can prevent 70 percent of all cervical cancers.”

Dr. Poland notes the Mayo Clinic Health Manager can help adult children manage an aging parent’s health. “Information can be shared among siblings or health care providers, making it easier for families to interact with an elderly parent’s caregivers or care facility.”

This user-friendly Internet service, which provides a foundation of privacy and security features with the help of Microsoft HealthVault, can even inspire stubborn baby boomer men. According to Dr. Poland, “When reminders from spouses and family members aren’t enough to get a guy to the doctor, Mayo Clinic Health Manager can help. It provides recommendations that remind him when it’s time for a check-up or a health screening, and keeps information easily accessible and manageable.”

Despite the assistance the Mayo Clinic Health Manager provides, you still have to go to the doctor, roll up your sleeve and take your medicine. https://healthmanager.mayoclinic.com/Default.aspx

Garlic: “Kick it up a notch”

Perhaps you enjoy watching celebrity TV chef Emeril Lagasse prepare tasty New Orleans-inspired meals. Many times, Emeril decides to “kick it up a notch” by using a special ingredient. When he adds chopped garlic to a recipe, the audience roars with approval.

Then again, you may connect garlic with the vampire. Garlic, according to legend, keeps the vampire from devouring his or her famous cocktail…human blood. When I think of garlic, I think of prime rib. Nothing is better than an extra-large chunk of garlic stuck in a slice of this expensive meat.

Whatever you think about garlic, it’s popular and, quite possibly, good for your health.  Anahad O’Connor has a story in the New York Times that suggests garlic may cut down your chance of catching a cold:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/20/health/20real.html?_r=1&ref=health

The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine has a splendid fact sheet on garlic. This website will answer many of your questions, including whether garlic can help lower blood pressure:

http://nccam.nih.gov/health/garlic/ataglance.htm

Just for fun, I’ve added a recipe for garlic ice cream:

http://americanfood.about.com/od/extremeamericancuisine/r/garlicic.htm

I don’t know if I’m brave enough to try garlic ice cream. It might be good. If you have any favorite garlic recipes, drop me a line at scottguythingblog@gmail.com or comment on this post. Happy eating…unless it’s your first date.