Archive for April, 2010

Snorers Beware!

Friday, April 23rd, 2010

Do you snore? How about feeling tired in the morning or drowsy during the day? If you do, you may have sleep apnea, and you’d better a handle on it because this very common condition can destroy your health.

Sleep apnea occurs when the fleshy tissues at the back of the throat relax and block the airway, causing you to stop breathing. The brain, sensing oxygen deprivation, sends signals that wake you up just enough to take a breath. This not only makes getting a good night’s sleep impossible, but also leads to a number of very serious problems. Sleep apnea causes significant drops in blood oxygen levels and wreaks havoc with normal metabolism. It triples risk of hypertension, more than doubles risk of stroke, and quadruples risk of arrhythmia. It is also closely linked with obesity and insulin resistance, and a five-fold increased risk of diabetes.

Fortunately, sleep apnea is easy to treat. I used to snore like a freight train until I discovered I had sleep apnea. Now, I use an automatic positive airway pressure (APAP) machine. This device gently blows a stream of air through a small mask worn over the nose that prevents the tissues in the throat from collapsing and ensures that oxygen levels remain in the optimal range throughout the night. It has changed my life. I sleep like a baby and wake up rested and invigorated. My wife loves it too—no more snoring or worrisome episodes when I would literally stop breathing.

At the clinic, we screen patients we suspect of having sleep apnea with an inexpensive overnight test that records pulse, blood oxygen levels, and oxygen flow. It doesn’t require a visit to a special sleep lab, where you’re hooked up to all manner of sensors and monitors and observed all night long. It can be done in your own bed or, for out-of-towners, in your hotel room. If a test is positive for sleep apnea, the patient is prescribed an APAP or CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) machine and instructed in its use by our sleep specialist.

Most insurance plans, including Medicare, reimburse for APAP/CPAP, as this therapy has been shown in numerous scientific studies to improve sleep, energy, memory, mood, and reduce risk of serious disease.

Posted in Alternative Medicine, Fatigue, Medical Conditions | No Comments »

Are Nutritional Supplements Safe?

Monday, April 12th, 2010

There’s been a lot of press lately regarding the safety of nutritional supplements. Let’s look at the facts—and the hype.

First, let’s compare the risks of supplements to the perils of everyday life.  Every year in this country, 9,000 people are injured by fireworks. Millions sustain burns, many of them in kitchen accidents, and 4,500 of them die. More than 500,000 people are seen in emergency rooms for injuries sustained while riding bicycles, resulting in an average of 700 fatalities per year. About 3,600 Americans die from choking on food and other objects. Even food itself is risky, causing 76 million illnesses, 325,000 hospitalizations, and 5,000 deaths a year!

Where do supplements fit in? According to the most recent annual report of the American Association of Poison Control Centers, not a single death was attributed to a nutritional supplement in 2008. You’re more likely to die from lightning strikes, bee stings, dog bites, or diesel exhaust than from nutritional supplements—and you’re far more likely to be harmed by eating food.

There is one class of consumer products, however, that kills more people than handguns, automobiles, street drugs, and every type of poison combined. Each and every year, at least 106,000 patients die in our hospitals from adverse reactions to prescription drugs while under medical supervision. (This doesn’t count the untold numbers who die of medication side effects outside of hospitals.) Going with the conservative in-hospital figure, that’s 290 deaths per day, day in and day out—close to the equivalent of a 747 going down every single day.

Damage is not limited to prescription drugs. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen and aspirin kill 16,500 Americans every year and send 103,000 to the hospital with gastrointestinal bleeding. Now, add to these figures the two million people (5,500 per day) who have adverse drug reactions that require hospitalization or cause permanent damage.

Where is the hue and cry over this?  If any other consumer product had this dismal a record of safety, it would be history. Yet we rarely see exposés on the dangers of pharmaceuticals—until one of them kills hundreds of people and is yanked off the market.

Remind me again why supplements are under such scrutiny

Posted in Alternative Medicine, Dangerous Drugs, Nutritional Supplements | No Comments »

Eating Healthy on a Budget

Monday, April 5th, 2010

In a recent survey, 70 percent of respondents reported that they were concerned about the affordability of healthy foods, 53 percent often opted for less healthy foods because of price, and 44 percent said their budgets prohibited them from eating better. Granted, times are tough and money is tight, but that doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice your health.

The most nutritious foods you can eat are whole foods such as fresh and frozen vegetables, chicken, and fish; dried and canned beans; canned light (not albacore) tuna; and modest amounts of dried whole grains, fresh fruits, eggs, and dairy products. You don’t even have to go to a health food store for these items. They are available in all grocery stores and are among the least expensive foods you can buy. Prepared and processed foods may be more convenient, but you pay for convenience—and it’ll really cost you if they’re made in restaurants. You may be tempted to switch to less expensive fast food joints, but eating at home is far more economical and better for your health.

What are Americans actually buying in grocery stores? According to Information Resources Inc., a market research company in Chicago, the best-selling items in 2009 were:

  1. Carbonated beverages ($12 billion in sales)
  2. Milk ($11.2 billion)
  3. Fresh bread & rolls ($9.57 billion)
  4. Beer/ale/hard cider ($8.17 billion)
  5. Salty snacks ($8.09 billion)
  6. Natural cheese ($7.64 billion)
  7. Frozen dinners/entrees ($6.13 billion)
  8. Cold cereal ($6.11 billion)
  9. Wine ($5.49 billion)
  10. Cigarettes ($4.63 billion)

Take a hard look at your grocery bills—it may be eye-opening. I know a woman who was hooked on sodas and drank several every day. It wasn’t until she realized that she was spending more than $1,000 a year that she was able to stop. As the Roman poet Virgil said in the first century BC, “The greatest wealth is health.” We’re all tightening our belts these days, but let’s not shortchange our health.

Posted in Diet, Foods That Heal, Wellness | No Comments »