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Ginger superfood for bones
Dr. Susan E. Brown

Fall superfood for bones: Ginger

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I’m naming ginger one of my fall superfoods. While I highly recommend hot ginger tea as my choice for a cold weather drink, there are so many other ways ginger can be used to add zing to your recipes while enhancing your overall health – and bone health – on many fronts.

One of the main benefits of ginger is its exceptional antioxidant properties – surpassed only by pomegranate and some berries. Unmet antioxidant needs are a major cause of osteoporosis.

Increase ginger’s antioxidant power

As we move into the fall and winter months, you can significantly boost the antioxidant capacity of ginger by choosing certain warming and comforting cooking methods. Simmering, stewing and making soup all increase ginger’s antioxidant power, while grilling and stir frying decrease it.

Here’s one of my favorite seasonal recipes with a healthy amount of ginger. 

Gluten-free ginger snap cookies

Ingredients:

2½ cups blanched almond flour
½ cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
4 to 5 teaspoons fresh ground ginger
½ teaspoon each ground cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, cardamom (or to taste)
1 egg
6 Tablespoons butter, softened
2 Tablespoons honey

Directions:

  • Mix together all dry ingredients in a large bowl
  • Beat together honey and butter, add egg and mix until combined
  • Add wet ingredients to dry and mix until dough comes together (if the dough is not coming together add some cold water – a tablespoon at a time)
  • Refrigerate dough for at least an hour (at this point you can roll the dough into a log, about 1½ to 2 inches in diameter, then instead of rolling the chilled dough into balls in the next step you can simply slice off as many cookies as you need.
  • Roll dough into 1 to 2 tablespoon sized balls and bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes

5 extra reasons to add ginger root to your recipes

In addition to its antioxidant properties, extensive scientific research shows the bioactive components of ginger root, particularly gingerol and shogaols, have the following benefits:

  1. Highly anti-inflammatory and can reduce pain, swelling and tissue damage. Unwanted inflammatory cytokines weaken bone and contributes to arthritis.
  2. Enhances digestion, warms the body, “expels cold” and cures nausea. Strong digestion and assimilation is key to optimum bone health.
  3. Aids in detoxification. Toxic build-up of any amount interferes with the functioning of all our cells.  Ginger helps us detoxify through its alkalizing actions and by its contribution to the production of glutathione, our most important inner-cellular antioxidant.
  4. Enhance immunity. Our immune system is our “circulating intelligence” intimately linked to skeletal functioning. Boosting immunity serves bone.
  5. Cardio-protective. This is important news given the now established link between osteoporosis and heart disease.

It’s no wonder ginger has been used for over 5,000 years to improve health!  What’s your favorite way to use ginger?

 

References:

The Amazing And Mighty Ginger, Chapter 7, in Herbal Medicine: Biomolecular and Clinical Aspects. 2nd edition. Benzie IFF, Wachtel-Galor S, editors.Boca Raton (FL): CRC Press/Taylor & Francis; 2011.

Curcumin: Getting Back to the Roots Shishodia, Shishir et al., Annals of the NY Academy of Sciences Nov., 2005:206-217.

Chohan, M. et al., Plant Foods Hum Nutr (2008) 63: 47. doi:10.1007/s11130-007-0068-2

Large Study suggests that nuts reduce inflammation
Dr. Susan E. Brown

Go nuts to reduce inflammation

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Recently, I spotted a study that suggested nuts had anti-inflammatory action. Now, this isn’t the first time researchers have found nuts to be beneficial for health, but this particular study is exciting for 3 reasons:

  1. It looked at 5,000 people — a pretty large group
  2. It examined 3 different blood proteins well known as indicators of system-wide inflammation.
  3. It showed a significant decrease in two of those inflammation indicators — C-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin 6 (IL6) — in people who eat a lot of nuts, according to researchers.

3 servings of nuts for benefits

So, what’s a lot of nuts? People who had the lowest levels of CRP and IL6 ate 5 or more servings of nuts, or about 5 ounces, per day.

1 serving (1 oz.) equals:

  • 14 walnuts
  • 29 almonds
  • 16 cashews
  • 45 pistachios 8 Brazil nuts

If that seems like a lot of nuts, the good news is that the study also found that people who ate at least 3 servings of nuts to replace foods that tend to increase inflammation — red meat, processed meat, eggs, or refined grains (such as flour or cornmeal) — had similar improvements. And it’s likely this reduction in inflammation is one key reason that people who eat nuts regularly have a lower risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer.

So you don’t necessarily have to eat nuts by the handful to benefit — instead, make some substitutions in dishes you normally use meat or eggs in. For instance, in place of meat sauce on spaghetti, you could use basil pesto made with walnuts — with spaghetti squash as a less inflammatory pasta substitute!

Nuts are a key part of the Alkaline for Life diet plan we use to benefit the whole body. Chomping on nuts offers a lot of benefits besides the nutrients for people concerned about their bones — but nut butters and spreads work just as well.

Of course, I know some folks out there can’t have nuts due to an allergy — obviously, they should avoid nuts! But similar effects have been found in seeds (such as sesame seeds), which are also part of an alkaline diet. The heartening take-away from this is that you can have a significant impact on your health by increasing the amount of healthy, anti-inflammatory foods into your diet. Those who can’t have nuts because of allergy can have sunflower seeds, fresh vegetables, and other alkalizing foods to help quiet the inflammation that leads to health concerns.

 

References:

Alipoor B, Haghighian MK, Sadat BE, Asghari M. Effect of sesame seed on lipid profile and redox status in hyperlipidemic patients. Int J Food Sci Nutr. 2012 Sep;63(6):674-8. doi: 10.3109/09637486.2011.652077. Epub 2012 Jan 23.

Khadem Haghighian M, Alipoor B, Eftekhar Sadat B, Malek Mahdavi A, Moghaddam A, Vatankhah AM. Effects of sesame seed supplementation on lipid profile and oxidative stress biomarkers in patients with knee osteoarthritis. Health Promot Perspect. 2014 Jul 12;4(1):90-7. doi: 10.5681/hpp.2014.012. eCollection 2014.

Marta Guasch-Ferré, Mònica Bulló, Miguel Ángel Martínez-González, et al. Frequency of nut consumption and mortality risk in the PREDIMED nutrition intervention trial. BMC Medicine, 2013; 11: 164 DOI: 10.1186/1741-7015-11-164

Sabine Rohrmann, David Faeh. Should we go nuts about nuts? BMC Medicine, 2013; 11: 165 DOI: 10.1186/1741-7015-11-165

Z. Yu, V. S. Malik, N. Keum, et al. Associations between nut consumption and inflammatory biomarkers. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2016; DOI: 10.3945/ajcn.116.134205

Parsley reduces cancer risk
Dr. Susan E. Brown

Research suggests parsley is one of the cancer-fighting foods

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You’ve heard me say “better bones = better body” — but the reverse is also true! If you take care of your body, you’re by default improving your bone health and you can do this with cancer-fighting foods.

One fascinating example is parsley, which turns out to be a simple herb with not-so-simple effects. It’s among the cancer-fighting foods!

We hear a lot about “cancer-fighting foods” but parsley always seems to be overlooked. While most people use it as a garnish, several studies suggest it may have anti-cancer effects as well.

Here’s what the research says about parsley and cancer:

  • Parsley contains a flavone called apigenin, which recently was discovered to suppress an enzyme complex called IKKα. Without going into the complicated details, IKKα is used by cancerous cells to support their reproductive cycle, so in suppressing it, apigenin helps prevent cancer cells from reproducing themselves.
  • Many different vegetables and herbs contain apigenin, but it’s especially plentiful in parsely. A cup of chopped, raw parsley has about 180 mg of apigenin, which is 18 times the dose used in a German clinical trial that found that a mix of apigenin and EGCg (an ingredient in green tea) could help prevent recurrence of colon cancer.
  • Another study in prostate cancer cells found that apigenin shut down progression of cancer.

An important note: a third study found some drawbacks when used with chemotherapy drugs often used to treat leukemia — which means people who are actively getting treated for cancer probably shouldn’t add apigenin-containing foods to their diet.

For the rest of us, though, the lowly parsley plant represents an opportunity to give our body some support. It doesn’t take much — parsley has so much apigenin, a tablespoon or so a day is equivalent to the dose in the study. So just add a little tabbouleh to your sandwich to add to your cancer-fighting foods arsenal for some alkalizing, anti-cancer punch!

 

References:
Hoensch H, Groh B, Edler L, Kirch W. Prospective cohort comparison of flavonoid treatment in patients with resected colorectal cancer to prevent recurrence. World J Gastroenterol. 2008;14(14):2187-2193.

Ruela-de-Sousa RR, Fuhler GM, Blom N, Ferreira CV, Aoyama H, Peppelenbosch MP. Cytotoxicity of apigenin on leukemia cell lines: implications for prevention and therapy. Cell Death and Dis. 2010;1(1):e19. doi:10.1038/cddis.2009.18.

Shukla S, Kanwal R, Shankar E, et al. Apigenin blocks IKKα activation and suppresses prostate cancer progression. Oncotarget. September 2015. DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.5157

Dr. Susan E. Brown

Is Vitamin K2 your body’s best buddy?

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There’s been an explosion of research on Vitamin K2 showing how much it affects overall health. When you look at what it says, it makes a pretty good case for why we need more of it.

Here are just three reasons Vitamin K2 may be one of your body’s best friends:

1. Vitamin K2 protects your heart and arteries

There’s a bunch of studies showing Vitamin K2 has benefits for cardiovascular health. Two Dutch studies, one including over 16,000 women, showed that Vitamin K2 decreased risk of coronary heart disease substantially.

Another study showed that 180 micrograms of MK-7 also prevented — and even improved — age-related stiffening of arteries. A 2015 Polish study had similar findings. These studies found that Vitamin K2 is essential to a key protein that inhibits arterial calcification — so we can actively protect our arteries by making sure we get enough K2. This is great news for us all!

2. Vitamin K2 benefits joints

A 2013 study shows that patients with rheumatoid arthritis who took Vitamin K saw reductions in C-reactive protein, which is a marker of inflammation. And a 2015 study in osteoarthritis patients showed that those with better Vitamin K status had less arthritis damage to their joints.

3. So now you’re asking, “What about bones?”

Well, of course there’s plentiful information on Vitamin K2’s role in bone health already — but a couple of good new studies adds to the list. A 2015 Korean study of over 7,000 men and women showed a correlation between Vitamin K2 intake and higher bone density in the spine and femur — one that was especially strong in women. This supports the findings of two earlier studies, one in 2013 and another in 2014, showing that MK-7 supplements decreased bone loss in postmenopausal women’s spine and femur.

It all adds up to one thing: Vitamin K2 isn’t just good for bones. It’s good for bodies.

Looking to supplement? Find our recommended Vitamin K2 supplement in its preferred form (MK-7) here.

P.S. As always we remind you that any form of Vitamin K should not be used by those on the blood thinner known as Coumadin (Warfarin).

 

References:

Gast GC, de Roos NM, Sluijs I, et al. A high menaquinone intake reduces the incidence of coronary heart disease. Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2009 Sep;19(7):504-10.

Kim MS, Kim ES, Sohn CM. “Dietary intake of Vitamin K in relation to bone mineral density in Korea adults: The Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2010-2011).” J Clin Biochem Nutr. 2015 Nov;57(3):2237.

Knappen MH, et al. Three-year low-dose menaquinone-7 supplementation helps decrease bone loss in healthy postmenopausal women. Osteoporosis Int. 2013 Sep;24(9):2499-507

Kurnatowska I, Grzelak P, Masajtis Zagajewska A, Kaczmarska M, Stefańczyk L, Vermeer C, Maresz K, Nowicki M. Effect of Vitamin K2 on progression of atherosclerosis and vascular calcification in nondialyzed patients with chronic kidney disease stage 35. Pol Arch Med Wewn. 2015 Jul 15. pii: AOP_15_066. [Epub ahead of print]

Shea MK, Kritchevsky SB, Hsu FC, et al.; Health ABC Study. The association between Vitamin K status and knee osteoarthritis features in older adults: the Health, Aging and Body Composition Study.

Osteoarthritis Cartilage. 2015 Mar;23(3):370-8. doi: 10.1016/j.joca.2014.12.008. Epub 2014 Dec 17.
Yamaguchi M. Osteoporosis treatment with functional food factor: Vitamin K2. J Osteopor Phys Acta 2014;2:e108. doi: 10.4172/2329-9509.1000e108

Flu connecting to low vitamin D
Dr. Susan E. Brown

Low vitamin D means more flu

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Did you ever wonder why you end up suffering from the flu nearly every winter? You may not be getting enough vitamin D.

The darker winter months are when our sun-dependent vitamin D levels are at their lowest.

Among its many other actions, vitamin D stimulates and supports immune function. And in temperate latitudes, researchers find that pandemic influenzas generally show clear seasonality.

In other words: More cold dark days, more flu.

Growing research connects vitamin D and influenza

  • Women given 800 IU of vitamin D daily were 3 times less likely to report cold and flu symptoms than those not given vitamin D. This study was a randomized controlled trial looking at bone loss in postmenopausal African American women.
  • A study with intake of 2,000 IU of vitamin D daily for one year efficiently protected women against typical winter colds and influenza.
  • A trial comparing vitamin D supplements with placebos in schoolchildren found that only 1,200 IU per day of vitamin D during winter and early spring reduced the incidence of seasonal influenza by a factor of two.

Protect yourself from winter flu related to low vitamin D

  • Maintain a 50 to 60 ng/ml vitamin D level all year round to get the fullest possible benefits from vitamin D.
  • Get your vitamin D tested now to prepare for the winter. To get your level to the optimal 50 to 60 ng/ml some may require the intake of 4,000 to 5,000 IU daily of vitamin D or even more. For others lesser doses are sufficient. Some people absorb vitamin D better than others, some seem to have a higher need and others have higher reserves from the summer. Test Your Vitamin D at Home!
  • Determine how much extra D you need. As a rule of thumb, for every 1,000 IU increase in vitamin D your vitamin D blood level will increase by 10 ng/ml. So if you measure your level in December and it is 30 ng/ml, you would add 2,000 IU more vitamin D to your daily supplement program to get to a 50 ng/ml.

Here’s to a happy, healthy winter season!

 

Reference:

Cauley JA, Chlebowski RT, Wactawski-Wende J, et al. Calcium plus vitamin D supplementation and health outcomes 5 years after active intervention ended: the Women’s Health Initiative. J Women’s Health (Larchmt). 2013;22:915-929.

Dr. Susan Brown PhD
Dr. Susan E. Brown

Challenge 20: Sleep

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Every day is a new opportunity to grow and transform our body, mind and spirit.
When we slow down to listen to the wisdom within us — and in the world around us
— wonderful changes can occur.

To help you get started, I’ll share a weekly “Transformational Challenge” that can
bring both growth and joy into your life. I’ll also be focusing my attention on
the challenge right along with you, so I would love to hear about your experiences.

Yours in Health, Susan

Like Our Facebook Page for the Latest News!

Sleep is the number one healer and bone repairs itself while we sleep.

This simple challenge may be harder than you think. Try getting 8 hours of sleep in a dark room with no distractions, especially electronic ones.

sleep-2

Bonus: Share your best sleep tip with us. We will choose the one we like the best and send you a free Better Bones eye mask from our new sleep kit. The entire sleep kit can be purchased here.

Better Bones Blog
Dr. Susan E. Brown

Challenge 19: Humor Week

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Every day is a new opportunity to grow and transform our body, mind and spirit.
When we slow down to listen to the wisdom within us — and in the world around us
— wonderful changes can occur.

To help you get started, I’ll share a weekly “Transformational Challenge” that can
bring both growth and joy into your life. I’ll also be focusing my attention on
the challenge right along with you, so I would love to hear about your experiences.

Yours in Health, Susan

Like Our Facebook Page for the Latest News!

Laughter is the best medicine.

Research shows that laughter and humor are good for our minds and bodies. This week we want to share with you a video especially funny to those of us with children. Share it with a friend.

Bonus: Share a funny video with us so that we can all laugh.

Dr. Susan E. Brown

Best joint support: Antioxidants and specialized ingredients

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Have you ever had pain in your hip, knee, back or wrist and wondered where the problem was coming from?

When many of my clients come to see me about their bones, we often discover the issue is really with their joints. Unfortunately, both bone loss and joint pain are more common among women, especially as we age.

I’ve known for years that the processes for successfully repairing bone and joint tissue have a lot in common, especially when the cause of pain and discomfort is inflammation. Many conventional practitioners say there’s not much to be done for joint issues other to wait until you have to resort to drastic measures like joint replacement.

However, there are natural solutions that are highly effective for improving and supporting joint health in women. Just as it is with bone health, getting the right amount of key nutrients and specialized ingredients is critical to the health of your joints. Below are some of the most powerful:

Top-key-ingredients-for-joint-health2

 

References:

Adv Exp Med Biol. 2007;595:105-25. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17569207

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/arthritis/expert-answers/msm/faq-20058526

http://www.arthritisresearchuk.org/arthritis-information/complementary-and-alternative-medicines/cam-report/complementary-medicines-for-rheumatoid-arthritis/green-lipped-mussel.aspx

Cobb CS, Ernst E. Systematic review of a marine nutriceutical supplement in clinical trials for arthritis: the effectiveness of the New Zealand green-lipped mussel Perna canaliculus. Clinical Rheumatology 2006; 25(3):275–84.

Brien S, Prescott P, Coghlan B, Bashir N, Lewith G. Systematic review of the nutritional supplement Perna canaliculus (green-lipped mussel) in the treatment of osteoarthritis. QJM 2008; 101(3):167–79.

http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-961-ginger.aspx?activeingredientid=961&activeingredientname=ginger

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/895.html

http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/supplement/quercetin

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12622457

http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-and-supplements/lifestyle-guide-11/inflammation?page=2

take advantage of the sun
Dr. Susan E. Brown

Challenge 13: Summer Solstice

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susancircleEvery day is a new opportunity to grow and transform our body, mind and spirit.
When we slow down to listen to the wisdom within us — and in the world around us
— wonderful changes can occur.

To help you get started, I’ll share a weekly “Transformational Challenge” that can
bring both growth and joy into your life. I’ll also be focusing my attention on
the challenge right along with you, so I would love to hear about your experiences.

Yours in Health, Susan

Like Our Facebook Page for the Latest News!

June 21 is the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere.

Take advantage of the sun’s magnificence this week and try to get up early one morning and catch a sunrise. Use this quiet time to appreciate all the life that the sun brings to our planet.

sun