What the Dr. is Saying

FDA Officials Criticized for Secrecy

No one’s perfect—but if these officials managed a Fortune 100 company, they probably would have been asked to retire right away. If they were "made men" in the Mafia, they probably would have been whacked. One major difference between CEOs, mobsters and FDA officials, however, is that the latter are responsible for a significantly greater number of American lives. Their responsibilities are awesome, and yet they are not held accountable by the consumer-legislature chain of command. Whether these FDA officials behaved in this manner due to oversight, carelessness or cover-up, there is little wonder that the annual number of deaths from food- and lifestyle- related diseases such as cardiovascular, cancers, and obesity is higher than the number of combat-related deaths during the Revolutionary War, War of 1812, Mexican War, Civil War (Union and Confederates combined), WW I, WW II, the Korean War, Vietnam War, and Gulf War, plus the civilian deaths in 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina combined. In addition, the number of children with obesity and type 2 diabetes is at an historic high.

The Convenience Food War rages on at a cost of over 800,000 American lives per year and several billion dollars. This is because consumers seem to prefer a point-your-finger-at-government instead of an interactive government, established for the people, by the people. But there is no excuse. Computers, BlackBerrys and cell phones in addition to old-reliable telephones and writing utensils make it easier than ever to contact your representatives and senators in order to start making a difference over in the FDA War Room. Start speaking out today, so that when our new president is sworn in, she or he will be better prepared to hit the ground running.

Poor Sense of Smell May be Alzheimer's

A poor sense of smell—or deterioration of any of the other senses for that matter—can be early signs of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or Alzheimer’s. In either case, certain foods have been identified that can help fight forgetfulness, MCI and Alzheimer’s; these are outlined on AlzheimersandNutrition.com. The reason why faulty senses can send up a red flag for Alzheimer’s is this: Just as your computer’s hard drive records the information you type on your keyboard, your brain absorbs data all the time. Our five senses constantly pass information along to our brains. Even when some don’t function—as was the case with the deaf and blind Helen Keller—information continues to be processed via the others (touch, taste and smell) and stored as memories.

Under normal circumstances, when you think of a word such as “diving,” your mind conducts a search and “sees,” “hears,” “smells,” “tastes” and “touches” the experience of diving, or “views” documentary clips of the experience. Divers who’ve seen a whale shark might remember that image and “re-feel” the powerful emotions that have been in storage for years. This makes it possible to express the recalled information and emotions through art, music, speech and writing. Scientists believe that recall from all five senses is diminished when one has Alzheimer's. But there are two main reasons why a person may not smell a particular scent, say apple. One reason is due to a dysfunction in the smell-memory portion of the brain. The second is a damaged olfactory or smell nerve in the presence of a normal smell-memory.

Olive Oil for Dry Skin

Dried-out skin and mucous membranes are a common sign of omega 9, 6 and 3 deficiencies. Women adhering to unhealthy low-fat diet regimes, unhealthy because low fat often includes low levels of vital omega fatty acids (good fats), may apply skin moisturizer frequently. Every cell wall that makes up the skin, internal organs, and mucous membrane cells requires all three omegas in the right ratio and antioxidants such as those found in first-press olive oil, which act like natural preservatives. Processed, unnatural omegas, such as those from other plant oils including canola, flax and fish oil supplements, are not the same as the ones found in minimally processed extra-virgin or first-press olive oil. This is the only essentially unprocessed plant oil on the market. If you ingest 1 to 2 tablespoons of first-press olive oil (Newman's Own Organic has a smooth taste), on 12-grain toast or elsewhere in your diet each day, it will act like skin moisturizer working from the inside out. Avoid heating filtered first-press olive oil above 400 degrees to keep it healthful. Forget about using regular olive oil because it's partially hydrogenated or halfway-trans-fat, just like canola, corn, cottonseed, peanut, safflower and the rest. The rest includes the new line of trans-fat-free cooking oils coming off of oil manufacture assembly lines. For more information visit SkinandNutrition.net.

One Egg a Day Will Do You No Harm

The whole egg serves as a prime example of how a stellar nutraceutical food was unnecessarily exiled from our diets for more than three decades. It brings up two important points to ponder. First, what other foods currently thought to be “unhealthy” because of marketing warfare or ignorant science, such as first-press olive oil, will be tomorrow’s high-test health foods? Secondly, what current “health” foods, such as processed soy products and cheese, need to be limited or exiled? Regardless, it is good to see the revival of this healthful food, the egg. Egg white is an excellent source of high-quality protein, and egg yolk contains vitamins A, D, and E; riboflavin, folic acid, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, choline, iron, calcium, phosphorous and potassium, including a powerful memory enhancer. Why take costly chemist-made supplements when you can get the real thing? As with most other foods and supplements, more is not better (especially supplements that have been linked to heart disease and cancers). Keep a dozen hardboiled eggs on hand in the refrigerator. Whether eaten as a snack or part of a meal, this non-dairy food makes for a great one-a-day all-natural supplement. For more information visit AlzheimersandNutrition.com.

Nutrition Education Ineffective

Schoolteachers may be missing the mark on teaching good nutrition to students. This is because they are like most other segments of the population who believe they understand—when in actuality they don’t— the components of the kind of lifestyle needed to reach and maintain an ideal weight, both in children and adults. Medical nutrition researchers, graduate-level nutrition professors, and others significantly more qualified to teach nutrition are grappling with the deadly dilemma brought about by what has become the standard in American eating: a predominance of calories from heavily processed convenience foods and beverages. These types of foods, snacks and beverages dominate because of trends at work in the academic and business worlds, and because of the erosion of free time available to American consumers, which results in eating “on the run.”

At Psyche Nutrition Sciences, we have developed nutraceutically-rich foods, snacks and beverages that are also convenient and can be eaten on the run. A buffet of possibilities can be found in BRIGHTFOODS, which is a reliable beacon in the fight against childhood obesity, behavioral problems, and learning disabilities. It is not a fad diet flavor of the month or wellness plan of the year, but rather a lifestyle that should endure through the test of time. BRIGHTFOODS is based on more than twenty years of nutritional neuropsychiatric research and experience, and 800 recent medical references. If your school is looking to get better grades in its Nutrition Education program, read BRIGHTFOODS. If you like what you read, have your principal take it to the Board of Education. If they like what they read, they can take it to your State Capitol. If they like it, we can work with them to bring your public school system the BRIGHTFOODS High-, Middle-, and Elementary School Editions. For more information contact Psyche Nutrition Sciences at PNSI-Inc.com.

Over 30 Percent Report Alcohol Abuse

There is a fine line between alcohol abuse and dependence. Here is a fish tale to help you make the differential diagnosis. Two fishermen who live next to each other, but don’t talk to each other, have been going out on their boats every evening from 5 pm until 10 pm for two months. Each boat is usually stocked with tackle, bait, and a six-pack of cold ones. It takes them 40 minutes to get to the outer reef and the same to return. So far, we know that both fishermen abuse alcohol. One afternoon both Peter and Paul realized they forgot their beers after they had reached the outer reef; Paul began fishing while Peter started the engines and headed back to get the brews. The following day both Peter and Paul realized they forgot their tackle after they had reached the outer reef; Peter drank the beers and watched the sunset, while Paul started his engines and headed back to get the tackle and bait. Paul abuses alcohol. Peter is alcohol-dependent or alcoholic. If Paul keeps it up, there is a good chance he’ll be only drinking, and watchin’ the sunset along with Peter one of these evenings.

Alcohol becomes one of the deadliest drugs when frequent users quit “cold turkey.” For this reason, alcohol cessation should only be attempted under the supervision of a physician experienced in treating alcohol dependence. Otherwise, fatalities are much more likely to occur during the first three days of abstinence and most often on the third day of being “on the wagon”. This is due to marked increases in electro-chemical activity in the brain, commonly known as alcohol withdrawal seizures. Seizures occur because alcohol temporarily calms brain electro-chemical activity, which produces a serene feeling in most users (but not in others, such as many of Japanese heritage). This only lasts about an hour, however. After the chemo-serenity wears off, the brain starts rushing, much like an employed person who has slept an hour past the morning alarm. Milder increases in brain electro-chemical activity, or mild withdrawal, is why even social drinkers sometimes can’t fall asleep on nights after drinking wine or beer with dinner. The makers of novo-sleeping pills such as Ambien, Sonata, and Rozerem might be more instructive if they mentioned this and other common causes of insomnia in their package inserts. Natural sleep-inducing alternatives such as USA-made L-Tryptophan, 500 to 1000 mg, or GABA, 750 to 1500 mg, might be wiser choices provided your physician approves. Keep in mind that these new-generation novo-sleeping pills are controversial, and have been anecdotally linked to brain dysfunction. Moreover, they should be avoided because they do not address the underlying cause of insomnia. That cause is most likely to be an anxious or agitated depression (Cyclothymic Disorder), Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Insomnia is most often a symptom associated with anxious or agitated depression or Cyclothymic Disorder, OCD, or PTSD. Alcoholics often self-medicate in order to quiet a slew of uncomfortable emotional symptoms, insomnia included, associated with an agitated or anxious depression, OCD, or PTSD. This is why many successfully recovering alcoholics regularly attend Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and have been prescribed non-habit forming mood stabilizers such as Effexor XR and Neurontin.

Whether you are contemplating detoxification, undergoing detoxification, or are in recovery, you should know that certain foods stimulate uncomfortable moods and alcohol cravings, while other foods work like mood stabilizers to keep alcohol cravings at bay. These foods are found on AlcoholDetoxDiet.com (OpiateRecoveryDiet.com has a similar plan). If you want to understand why some foods can drive you to drink or drugs, while other foods are medicinal, read BRIGHTFOODS. Whether you’re detoxifying, in recovery, an AA or Narcotics Anonymous (NA) sponsor, a substance abuse counselor, psychologist, or psychiatrist, BRIGHTFOODS is bound to give you a necklace full of pearls of wisdom that you can wear for a lifetime.

Just One Bite of Dark Chocolate Can Lower Your Blood Pressure

Like other foods rich in antioxidants, dark chocolate helps fight heart disease, cancers, Alzheimer’s, mood disorders (including premenstrual and –menopausal), and other medical conditions when used in moderation. One to three 60-70%cacao squares each day is a healthful supplement and enjoyable snack as long it does not interfere with bowel function; more than that is not better. Strive to get your antioxidants from a variety of wholesome foods rather than from supplements. Ideally, each medicinal meal or snack with beverage should consist of about 70% antioxidant-containing carbohydrates. These include foods such as corn and tomatoes, dark chocolate and green tea; the rest should consist of minimally processed protein. Meals or snacks with beverages that are essentially devoid of antioxidants, such as macaroni and cheese, milk chocolate, and steak, are “addictive” and contribute to disease. Chocolate exemplifies how the antioxidant content of a meal, snack, or beverage helps determine whether it’s a medicinal or disease-causing addictive food.

Most of you probably won't find it hard to believe that milk chocolate is habit-forming and contributes to disease. This is because it is low in antioxidants and is thought to possess the largest number of addictive food properties. Chocolate contains three stimulants: caffeine; theobromine (Theo is the Greek word for "God"), which produces a "godly" feeling in humans, but can cause disease in dogs; and the amphetamine-like phenylethylamine, from the protein link phenylalanine. Chocolate has a calming and sedating opiate effect, because the opiate blocker naloxone cuts chocolate cravings. Finally, a fifth substance increases the amount of anandamide, a relative of the active ingredient in marijuana, found in the brain. The sixth addictive component, whole milk, is one reason milk chocolate is more addictive than dark chocolate, and that makes detoxification from milk chocolate a snap. A fling with milk chocolate that's high in rapidly-absorbed glucose feels like it can go on forever. But when we eat dark chocolate, we have what we want and then we're done—because it is healthier, and contains useful antioxidants. When used in therapeutic doses, dark chocolate is healthful for the body in general and can help improve brain functions such as learning, memory, mood, and performance. For more information about how antioxidants help fight disease and maintain health, and contribute to longevity, visit ProstateCancerPrevention.com or click on the BRIGHTFOODS icon.

The Research Is In: Women Don't Really Talk More

This is a wake-up call to anyone who takes “poll” results seriously; data can be manipulated in any direction. The results of this study are skewed because male university students, ages 18-29, tend to be at the top of their social game. After all, talking is their principle means of getting dates; you’ve all heard of “fast talkers” and “smooth operators.” Also, women in this age group tend to be more naive when it comes to interpreting male-manipu-blabber. The researchers should record conversations between older married men and women, groups of older women only, and groups of older men only. They should examine the amount of time spent on the phone with the same sex, who dominates the conversation during a female-male social and business conversation, and many other diverse measuring techniques; then they can compare them with these results.

It’s these incomplete types of research design, data collection, and interpretation of results that have led to the current mayhem of nutrition beliefs among Americans. Those beliefs are based more in philosophy than science. For more information about how not to be fooled by polls, or how to interpret neuropsychiatric study results, visit Psyche Nutrition Sciences at PNSI-Inc.com.

Burger King to Use Cooking Oil without Trans Fats By End of 2008

A certain “king” is leading the blind fast-food industry into the valley of the shadow of death with fairy tale-like quotes such as: “It will use trans-fat-free cooking oil!” Trans-fat-free cooking oils are made of partially hydrogenated canola, sunflower, cottonseed, or soybean oils that are higher in omega 9 and lower in omega 3, and have never undergone long-term safety trials in animals or humans, according to the PubMed search of medical journals we just conducted. That makes trans-fat-free cooking oils a little different but not necessarily less dangerous. These new trans-fat-free oils will be halfway- or almost-trans-fat-oils at best. But let’s say new oil manufacturers—perhaps the same guys that first brought us the then-untested and now deadly transfats—were to develop trans-fat-free and halfway-trans-fat-free oils. Never mind that these already exist in the form of first-press or extra virgin olive (not partially hydrogenated). But fried potatoes, chicken pieces, or hash browns will still become coated with disease-causing substances due to the high temperatures generated by these so-called safer oils.

Consumers beware; we are on our own. Get the facts about fats and oils from BRIGHTFOODS. Legislators need to either outlaw frying completely or permit it using old trans-fat-oils or new almost-trans-fat oils. They should have fried foods follow the same excise tax hike route as cigarettes to help offset healthcare costs. Creating a whole new “a little less dangerous oil” industry and eventually having restaurants across the country retool is ludicrous and is not a good public health move.

Tobacco Taxes May Go to Child Health

The Democrats would start a much-needed and wise trend by having the nation's smokers help pay for the spending increases needed for children's health insurance. This action could also prompt new legislation that will tax other commodities that adversely affect pediatric health. Candy, cookies, cakes, breakfast cereals, and fried restaurant items should also be taxed since the American Cancer Society reported that certain foods, physical inactivity, and obesity caused more deaths from cancer than tobacco use. Junk food should follow the same excise tax hike route as cigarettes in an effort to help pay for children’s health insurance. Visit Rx4HealthcareReform.com or CTRTDiet.com for more information regarding healthcare reform and the food-cancer connection.

Glycemic Index Indicates How Food Elevates Blood Sugar

Despite several best-selling books that deal with the glycemic index and considerable press, the average Joe or Josephine does not understand what the GI, or glycemic index, means. This is probably because researchers often have a hard time keeping it simple. Think of the glycemic index number in this way: Each food is like a particular street with a corresponding speed limit. Table sugar has a glycemic index of 65, which for our purposes means it absorbs through the intestinal wall and turns into blood sugar as if it were traveling at a speed of 65 miles per hour. Old-fashioned oatmeal crosses at 51 miles per hour, meaning it is slowly absorbed; it is a medicinal carbohydrate, and therefore helps fight heart disease, cancer, obesity, and aging. Instant oatmeal, on the other hand, speeds into your blood stream at 65 miles per hour; that’s the same as table sugar.

In the BRIGHTFOODS’ GI perspective, carbohydrates traveling faster than 55 are speeding. They are considered hard to put down, habit-forming or addictive, and have been linked to heart disease, cancer, obesity, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, mood disorders, arthritic problems, and accelerated aging. You want to eat carbohydrates that stay below 55. A full comprehensive list of foods and their corresponding GIs is found in BRIGHTFOODS. However, let’s list a few foods so that you can get a better idea whether you are eating slowly absorbed medicinal or rapidly absorbed addictive carbohydrates:

Kidney Beans – 22	Whole Wheat Bread - 69
Cherries – 22	Watermelon - 72
Barley (not instant) – 25	Bagels - 72
Peach – 30	Bran Flakes - 74
Low-fat Chocolate Milk – 34	Cheerios - 74
Tomato juice – 38	French Fries - 75
Unsweetened Apple juice – 40	Total - 76
Pumpernickel – 41	Grape nuts flakes - 80
Banana bread – 47	Jelly Beans - 80
Peas – 48	Rice Cakes - 81
Carrots -49	Instant Rice - 87
Mango – 51	Fruit Roll-ups - 99
Stoneground whole wheat – 53	Dates - 103
Sourdough wheat – 54	Tofu Frozen Dessert – 115

For much more information about the glycemic index, and ideas about how, for example, to take a speeder like mashed potatoes and slow it down to 55, visit BrightFoodsBooks.com.

Snack food makers are probably going to have to do more than use so-called healthier fats and reduce sugars in the future. They are going to have to deal with Public Health Enemy #1: enriched white and whole wheat flours. This is because processing magically transforms wholesome wheat essentially into sugar. Our bodies perceive snacks, bread, bagels, breakfast cereals, English muffins, and pasta as if we were eating refined granular sugar. Sprinkle flour fairy dust over adults and children and "poof""-they become overweight and obese. Because cylinder- or hammer-milled flour is depleted of antioxidants and other nutrients, Psyche Nutrition Sciences has compiled original nutrient-rich recipes for snacks, breads, pastas, pizza crust, rolls, buns, cakes, cookies, and baked goods that uses flour containing 100 percent stone ground organic whole wheat plus two other antioxidant-containing ingredients.

These recipes will be welcome news for people who can't wait for manufacturers to wake up and smell the more healthful baked goods. For more information visit EmptyWavesofGrain.com.

The cardiac benefits mentioned here pertain only to certain younger women who start taking estrogen in their 50s. The risks of taking estrogen still may outweigh the benefits because it can increase the risk of endometrial cancer in postmenopausal women. Naturally occurring phytoestrogens from processed soy have not proven to be useful in combating cardiovascular disease. However, phytoestrogens (found in snacks, cereals, and bottled salad dressings, for example) have been found to affect puberty onset, premenstrual and menopausal neuropsychiatric symptoms, hormone-sensitive cancers such as breast and prostate and estrogen-driven obesity-a major reason why women have a harder time losing weight. For more information visit Psyche Nutrition Sciences at PNSI-Inc.com.

It has long been known that the stomach is essentially impervious to alcohol-meaning that alcohol does not absorb through the stomach lining in order to alter the mind. Under normal conditions, therefore, alcohol is held in the stomach and slowly drips into the intestine, where it is slowly absorbed through the bloodstream and into the brain. A stomach containing alcohol becomes much like an alcohol time released capsule. However, gastric surgery changes all that. After gastric surgery, alcohol bypasses the stomach and goes right into the intestine, where it is rapidly absorbed into the brain and psyche.

Bypass surgery transforms the gastro-intestinal system from a time-released scenario into an almost immediate release of alcohol into the bloodstream. Thus people with gastric bypasses get buzzed sooner.

The story neglects another, more important point. Bypass surgery also changes the way we digest carbohydrates. Rapidly absorbed carbohydrates-the bad ones such as products made of flour-are essentially the same as sugar, and turn into fat faster without a stomach. People who have not had the bypass surgery will process bad carbohydrates differently; carbs will first wait in the stomach, where they are essentially not absorbed. Bad carbohydrates become less fattening while waiting in the stomach because they become time released, meaning small amounts of bad carbohydrates enter the intestine over time. Smaller amounts of bad carbohydrates entering the intestine mean more is burnt up as energy and less is deposited as fat. Therefore, one of the functions of the stomach is to make bad carbs less fattening.

On the other hand, bad carbs can be more fattening for people after bypass surgery. For more information visit Psyche Nutrition Sciences at PNSI-Inc.com.

Because it can become a repetitive self-defeating behavior, video addiction is real. In order for video- or computer-related activity to classify as an addiction, however, the behavior must be directly linked to a significant reduction in academic, social, or occupational functioning.

What makes the video addict keep coming back? It's an actual change in "feel-good" chemicals inside the brain's emotional center. Video addicts become reliant on bursts of dopamine, norepinephrine, adrenaline, and other stimulants that are found naturally in the brain and body. Perhaps the biggest danger is that people of any age can become addicted to video and computer entertainment because they become accustomed to relying on the environment in order to feel good-instead of working on feeling good from within. That can make video addiction a "gateway" to addictions related to foods, energy drinks, gambling, pornography, tobacco, alcohol, cannabis, drugs, and relationships. For more information visit Psyche Nutrition Sciences.

Americans eat more dairy products and take more calcium supplements than any other country in the world. We also have the highest incidence of osteoporosis. People relying on calcium from dairy can rely on other less processed sources such as acorn squash, almonds, low mercury fish, broccoli, dried figs, kale, legumes, okra, old-fashioned oatmeal, sesame seeds, turnip greens, walnuts, and watercress and decrease their animal protein intake to about 25 percent of their total calories, as percentages above 30 percent have been linked to osteoporosis. For more information visit Psyche Nutrition Sciences at PNSI-Inc.com.

Omega 6 and 3 fatty acids and protein can be obtained from first press olive oil, and poultry and beans. Millions of monks and Hindus have proven that fish consumption is not essential to life or high intelligence. However, if you like fish there is a safer way to eat.

Then there is the mercury issue. Low mercury fish such as talapia, flounder and shrimp are safe two to three times per week in adults, children, and pregnant and lactating mothers. Children, pregnant and lactating mothers would be wise to avoid midrange mercury fish such as tuna and adults should avoid high mercury fish such as sword and grouper. For more than 60 species of fish, how often and what age group should eat them, visit BrightFoodsBooks.com.

Also, be aware that the health benefits from fish that we see in the medical literature might be more a function of a diet low in red meat than one high in fish.

Hypertension is up due, in part, to obesity and the overabundance of processed, convenience and addictive foods in our diets. One of the most prevalent addictive additives is salt. Excess salt raises blood pressure, not only because of water retention, but also because it irritates the brain and increases anxiety. For more information about addictive foods and additives visit NutritionalNeuropsychiatry.com.

Medicine for breast cancer prevention seems as futile as diet pills for
obesity. Prevention is the best treatment for both diseases. Eating
mainly medicinal foods, participating in an active lifestyle and
maintaining your ideal weight is the best prevention for breast cancer.
For more information visit NutritionalNeuropsychiatry.com.

Genetic research is important, however, it is well known that breast
cancer is mainly a function of diet, physical activity and weight.
Genetics only play a small role and any hopes of bioengineering our way
out of breast cancer will only be neutralized by the same three: excess
addictive or processed foods, a sedentary lifestyle, and obesity. For
more information visit NutritionalNeuropsychiatry.com.

Aging is a term we use to describe the toll that excited oxygen molecules take on body cells. Where do these unwanted oxygen molecules come from? They're called free radicals, and they're mainly by-products of burning the thousands of food calories-human fuel-that we use each day to keep trucking along. Just like cars, we need fuel to function properly. The body never stops burning fuel, even while we're resting, meditating or sleeping. And just as it is when we drive, whenever we burn through our energy sources, we create a corresponding amount of emissions in the form of free radicals, causing body rust-or, as it's referred to in the scientific community, oxidative stress, or cell aging. For more information on how your lifestyle may be cutting your life span, visit Psyche Nutrition Sciences at PNSI-Inc.com.

Minimally processed foods high in antioxidants such as produce and omega 9, 6, and 3 in a therapeutic ratio such as first press olive oil, and poultry, beans and low mercury fish such as talapia and salmon, have been liked to improved learning, memory, mood and performance. For more information visit AddandNutrition.com.

Comprehensive treatment of high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes includes reaching ideal weight by reducing or eliminating dietary saturated, trans and half-trans fats such as canola oil, bad carbohydrates, salt, and processed protein such as delicatessen meats, bacon, soy and whey. Following these dietary practices also reduces the risk of developing forgetfulness, mild cognitive impairment or MCI, and Alzheimer's. For more dietary and lifestyle changes to save your memory, visit Alzheimersandnutrition.com.

This fad diet is living proof why low-fat diets make you fat; of course you will be less hungry if you eat more calories. However, I would discourage people from eating half-trans, partially hydrogenated plant oils such as canola, olive and light olive, and eat organic first press olive oil instead. It's safe even when heated by keeping the temperature under 400. For more information about the dangers of fad diets visit nutritionalneuropsychiatry.com.

Many sunscreens provide a false sense of security because skin damaging rays do pass through lotion. This is especially true with sun exposure greater than 30 minutes. If you are interested in additional information about healthier looking skin, visit SkinandNutrition.net.

This is a wise policy because people with mood disorders often not only have a higher aptitude for the arts, but also excel in engineering, inventing, medicine, law, physics, chemistry, biology, and other technical professions. Moodiness is often the sign of good brain balance, and potential over-achievers or movers and shakers. It has long been known that there is a very fine line between genius and madness.

Some of the most prominent people in society were harvested from that edge; many prominent people dwell there. If you are interested in secret ways to access the full potential of your mind, visit Psyche Nutrition Sciences at PNSI-Inc.com.

Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome, previously known as "Shell Shock", is best treated with frequent psychotherapy or counseling, antianxiety/antidepressant medication, and life style counseling. The latter focuses on anxiety reducing medicinal foods, daily aerobic exercise and stress management in the form of self-hypnosis, meditation, prayer, yoga, walking, fishing, reading, and others. For more information visit NutritionalNeuropsychiatry.com.

There is considerable neuropsychiatric evidence to suggest that medicinal foods and additives improve problematic psychiatric symptoms, while others amplify or create emotional discomfort. For more information visit NutritionalNeuropsychiatry.com.

There is strong neuropsychiatric evidence to suggest that Tai Chi, Yoga, Kung Fu, meditation, prayer and self-hypnosis increase activity in the left prefrontal cortex or serenity center. Worry, irritability, anxiety and depression stimulate the right prefrontal cortex. Stress management training minimizes activity in the stress center and increases activity in the serenity center. For more information visit NutritionalNeuropsychiatry.com.

Besides caffeine, there are natural stimulants in food and additives that can aggravate OCD. They include excess salt; MSG and glutamate hidden in ingredients such as hydrolyzed plant protein, high-fructose corn syrup, soy and whey drinks; and aspartame, NutraSweet and Sweet and Low. For more information on foods and additives that can aggravate OCD, visit NutritionalNeuropsychiatry.com.

As part of an effort to offset the 89 billion dollars incurred annually
for smoking-related healthcare costs, a panel recommended raising excise
taxes on cigarettes by as much as 2 dollars per pack. If legislators
considered more input from clinical experts, they would have learned a
long time ago that charging a much higher tax would not only help offset
the enormous strain on the healthcare system, but would also help the
nicotine addict to stop smoking. In addition, it is only a matter of
time before legislators wake up and see that nutraceutically weak or
absent foods such as most breakfast cereals, including those marked
"whole grain", salty snacks, candy, cookies, cakes, many delicatessen
meats and cheese, ice cream, pizza, bread, partially hydrogenated oils
such as canola, beef, sugar substitutes, and pastas, also contribute to
heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer's, obesity in children and numerous
other medical illnesses. Junk food should follow the same excise tax
hike route as cigarettes in an effort to help offset healthcare costs
and begin making headway in the obesity epidemic, according to the
research director at Psyche Nutrition Sciences.

The Coca Cola Bottling Company was probably the first manufacturer to
realize that drugs mixed in food makes for more return customers.
According to Psyche Nutrition Sciences (PNSI-Inc.com), there are
medicinal foods and additives and ones that are habit-forming or
addictive. Let's look at one, there are many more, addictive additive
that has helped make McDonald's famous. In some ways, salt behaves like
the addictive drug cocaine according to BRIGHTFOODS. Salt is one main
reason why once we get started with a salty snack or meal, we are often
amazed at how fast it, too, is consumed. Salt makes otherwise wholesome
food such as chicken, more habit forming and that means better sales and
more customers returning. Salted foods become more addictive because
America's favorite additive and preservative affects "feel good"
messengers, including dopamine, norepinephrine, GABA, acetylcholine, and
opiates inside the brain and mind. If you would like to learn more about
mind nutrition, visit nutritionalneuropsychiatry.com.

Mounting nutritional neuropsychiatric evidence strongly suggests that Alzheimer's and Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) are more the product of dietary and lifestyle than genetic factors, as is now known about cancer. For example, according to alzheimersandnutrition.com, a diet rich in beef, cheese, bad carbohydrates such as products made of whole wheat flour, partially hydrogenated plant oils such as canola and olive, certain cooking methods such as frying, and a sedentary lifestyle, increase forgetfulness and the gravity of MCI and Alzheimer's. A diet rich in minimally processed produce, "real" whole grains, poultry, low-mercury fish, and first press olive oil, has been shown to improve memory, focus and most other cognitive functions.

The sting of "obese" can be cushioned by explaining that these are scientific terms that are generated based on Body Mass Index (BMI) or newer more accurate calculations. A BMI of 26 to 29 = overweight, 30 to 39 = obese, and 40 to 50 = morbid obesity. It's nothing personal, just a calculation and a solid motive to gradually move kids towards ideal weight using the BRIGHTFOODS Lifestyle.

Today we know that a diet poor in antioxidants (that is, not containing good carbohydrates, first press olive oil), and minimally processed protein from whole grain, beans, poultry and low mercury fish, obesity and a sedentary lifestyle have more to do with the risk of getting most types of cancer than tobacco and genetic factors. The good news is that following a healthier path, such as the BRIGHTFOODS Lifestyle, helps prevent most cancers. The bad news is: How are we going to get a generation of junk-food-junkies and manufacturers to convert recipes for pizza, macaroni and cheese, cheeseburgers and other favorites into more wholesome versions?

There is considerable agreement among researchers that vitamin D, which is actually a hormone, decreases the risk of developing prostate cancer.

Women and men now can agree on one more way to live in healthful harmony. But do we need vitamin D from milk? No, because most of the vitamin D we need is made inside our bodies when sunlight is absorbed.

With as little as 15 minutes exposure to our arms and face a few times a week, the vitamin can be stored for months. Dairy should be avoided in adults because it can be a risk factor for both breast and prostate cancers, obesity, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and Alzheimer's. For more information on the latter visit Alzheimersandnutrition.com.

Folic acid and colon cancer is the latest example of why more is not better, and how a processed vitamin supplement can cause disease. Pertinent old news items include: taking more than 400 IU of vitamin E supplement each day can increase the risk of heart attack and high dose beta carotene from supplements has been linked to lung cancer and other diseases. According to Psyche Nutrition Sciences (PNSI-Inc), minimally processed nutrients from wholesome foods always deliver the goods our bodies need to help fight most cancers, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, Alzheimer's, ADD, and depression.

The FDA gave the go ahead for the first nonprescription diet pill. But this diet pill may cause disease in dieters especially when used in conjunction with a low fat diet. Once dissolved inside the intestine, this diet pill can cause a vital oil deficiency by reducing the absorption of essential omega 6 and 3 fatty acids. In 1927, scientists first noticed that a deficiency in fat affects both growth and reproduction. This observation began a hunt for what they called "Vitamin F." Researchers eventually found two: linoleic (omega 6) and linolenic (omega 3) acids. They referred to these as "essential fatty acids," since it was believed that the body needed to get them from foods in order to manufacture other key functional and energy-providing oils. For more information visit Psyche Nutrition Sciences at PNSI-Inc.

Special K, like most other breakfast cereals made essentially of hammer or cylinder milled wheat flour, does not have a low glycemic index; meaning it essentially turns to sugar once absorbed into the blood stream. That coupled with its essential absence of “whole grain” qualities and surplus of unwholesome manufactured vitamins, makes Special K a dressed-up junk food that is contributing to the malnutrition epidemic facing this country. According to Psyche Nutrition Sciences, manufacturers would be wiser to go with 100% stone ground whole wheat flour.

Tanning is habit forming, in part, because light increases the amounts of "feel good" messengers or neurotransmitters inside the brain and mind. That's why increased exposure to light is one of the treatments for Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). Light, chocolate, pizza, chips, and ice cream each temporarily stimulate the same or similar antidepressant chemicals inside the brain and mind. If you would like more information about mind nutrition, visit nutritionalneuropsychiatry.com.

In some ways, salt behaves like the addictive drug cocaine according to BRIGHTFOODS. Salt is one main reason why once we get started with a salty snack or meal, we are often amazed at how fast it, too, is consumed. Salt makes otherwise wholesome food such as chicken, more habit forming and that means better sales and more customers returning.

Salted foods become more addictive because America's favorite additive and preservative affects "feel good" messengers, including dopamine, norepinephrine, GABA, acetylcholine, and opiates inside the brain and mind. If you would like to learn more about mind nutrition visit nutritionalneuropsychiatry.com.

Vitamin D cuts cancer risk in older women

There is considerable agreement among researchers that vitamin D, which is actually a hormone, decreases the risk of developing prostate cancer.
Women and men now can agree on one more way to live in healthful harmony. But do we need vitamin D from milk? No, because most of the vitamin D we need is made inside our bodies when sunlight is absorbed.
With as little as 15 minutes exposure to our arms and face a few times a week, the vitamin can be stored for months. Dairy should be avoided in adults because it can be a risk factor for both breast and prostate cancers, obesity, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and Alzheimer's. For more information on the latter visit Alzheimersandnutrition.com.

Healthcare costs continue to reel out of control well after they were first showcased by the Clintons back in the 1990s. Measures taken back then to correct this problem only demonized medical personnel who serve the public and significantly shrunk the profit margins of healthcare insurance companies, hospitals, and physicians. We now have a glut of overworked and underpaid healthcare workers. Those of us in the field have a tough time encouraging young people to hop on board this sinking ship. Even after many parts of the healthcare system (pharmaceutical industry excluded) have tightened their belts, the revenue vice continues to cripple it. Medicare and Social Security are struggling to pay their bills and those receiving the best healthcare in the world continue to scream "no fair" each time they pay a ten dollar co-payment or a new fee is added.

Even non Freudian psychiatrists would agree with the father of psychoanalysis when he proposed that patients need to pay in order to get well. Although it has never been proven, a national study of medical specialties would find much better treatment outcome results in private practices that enjoy a majority of self-paying patients, than in practices relying almost exclusively on an insured population. The main flaw of such a study would be that people who can afford to pay out of pocket medical costs also are more likely to have healthier lifestyles and not tax the healthcare mill for every scrape and ache.

Many ideas were bandied about in the early 1990s in an effort to curb skyrocketing healthcare costs. One suggestion was to hold cigarette and cigar smokers more accountable for their personal choice to smoke. I recall this aspect of the controversy as the editor of the newly published medical textbook, The Clinical Management of Nicotine Dependence (Springer-Verlag). Almost everyone on the front lines trying to cut healthcare costs back then knew that cardiovascular disease and cancers were among the most costly. Only an almost inaudible minority knew that these two groups of diseases were actually caused by a phantom disease, nicotine dependence, lurking behind the cardiovascular/cancer façade.

I can still hear the tobacco lobby, the precursor of today's processed foods and sugar substitute lobbies, shouting "these are nothing but poorly designed studies leading to inconclusive links between cigarette smoking and disease." Politicians were afraid to speak up in a country that literally gained its independence on the back of the tobacco trade, a little business our ancestors learned from Native Americans, where gold tobacco leaves adorn the columns of Congress and tobacco stimulated not only their minds but also commerce and the economy. Nonsmokers cried, "No fair! Why should we pay for coronary bypasses, cancers, emphysema and other diseases because people chose to take up a disgusting habit?" Smokers yelled the loudest: "It's a free country. You can't tell us what to do," and "I am not paying more for insurance; that's discrimination." There was neither a peep nor a helping hand from the rich pharmaceutical industry that quietly walked away without a stain on its lab coat.

The side stage debates, however, may have been fruitful because today there is a two-tier system regarding price tags on private healthcare and life insurance; one price for smokers and a lower one for people who were treated, stopped or choose not to smoke in the first place. Much more could have been and can be done, however, to have smokers pay for their freedom to choose. For example, cigarette or cigar smokers, and tobacco chewers or dippers receiving Social Security, who are also on Medicare, should have their monthly check reduced by a certain percentage to give them an incentive to stop, while taxing the healthcare system less.

Be that as it may, in today's political arena we have much bigger fish to fry. And although the pre-primary debates present a virtual buffet of very hot issues, healthcare seems to be over on yesterday's hors d'oeuvre table. Who knows, with healthcare costs continuing to tax the national deficit to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars, maybe soon it will become a special on the political debate menu. Regardless, it would be a good strategy for both Democratic and Republican candidates to keep voter attention away from this steaming topic and on the war, where at least each team is confident that it can win; time will tell. The problem with this strategy, however, is our nation has attention deficit disorder and is not likely to stay focused on the geographically distant issues from now until the very distant Election Day. The fact remains, that healthcare is likely to become an important issue just before we vote because last minute deciders, perhaps the majority of Americans, often vote on pocketbook and living room issues. Candidates will know when to broach the topic of healthcare when their strategists give the green light, which they will get from skewed polls. By skewed I mean biased and inaccurate because participants in a FOX TV (for example) poll may view issues more off to the right than perhaps participants in a New York Times poll. In any case, poll participants, as a group, are not necessarily reflective of national views as the majority of Americans are too busy to be bothered answering pollsters' questions. In any case, let's begin formulating our own perspectives and solutions to the healthcare crisis before we get bamboozled by agenda driven politico-babble.

Politics aside, I see deja vu all over again, because cardiovascular disease and cancers are still among the largest financial burdens imposed upon our government, economy, and people. Don't forget type two diabetes, stroke, Alzheimer's, and many other lifestyle-dependent medical disorders draining hundreds of billions of dollars from the increasingly inaccessible American dream pool. Once again the powers that govern purse strings are missing a primary cause for these diseases. What is the common denominator? It's malnutrition, even as it relates to Alzheimer's, in the form of being overweight and obese. As an expert in the treatment of addictions for over 25 years, I once again am trying to point out that people who are dependent on addictive, over processed foods and additives, the cause of the brain disease popularly known as obesity, need to be held accountable for their choice to over indulge; the best way to persuade them to reconsider their food and lifestyle choices is to charge an Abnormal BMI (Body Mass Index) Fare for those who exercise their right to bulge.

I can hear them now: objections from special interest groups and food and additive lobbyists confidently parroting an intimidating "These comments are from irresponsible scientist who base their comments on poorly designed studies and inconclusive findings" (never mind that there is a squadron of data to support the link between processed foods and additives, and obesity). Politicians skirt the issue until they know what their flock would graciously accept besides free healthcare and because food and beverage manufacturers stimulate the economy and create jobs; inactive overweight and obese people will be screaming bloody murder. The same ones that typically spout "We all have to die some day!" in response to recommendations made to change their self destructive behaviors, might shout "No Fair! Are you out of your mind? It's a free country. You can't tell me what to eat and what not to eat. I am not paying more for healthcare, that's discrimination." Then there is the eye rolling minority, less than forty percent of the population, who are within their ideal weight range (as determined by the BMI) and whose mantra could be "no good deed will go unpunished" might be heard complaining "Why should we have to help pick up the tab for treating obesity driven diseases in people who have unnecessarily inflicted harm upon themselves by choosing an unhealthy lifestyle?" The pharmaceutical industry might be too busy formulating the next diet pill (a futile effort given that food cravings are stifled only by wholesome nutraceuticals) to weigh in on this issue; where are the candidates that closed many quality hospitals in the 1990s after gripes of $1000 dollar a day hospital stays, to point out that it is not uncommon for prescription medicines to cost more than $30 per pill? Come on guys, can't we pull in that 42 inch belt a notch?

Peanut gallery aside, people who treat addictive food dependence, popularly known as obesity, know that optimal treatment results are achieved by having patients change their eating choices and behaviors and some of the best motivational fuel includes consequences in the form of continuing to pay a fare to stay obese and give financial rewards for those who reach and maintain an ideal weight. Applying this incentive-driven treatment model to the current healthcare system could conceivably cut costs and defeat the nation's biggest terrorist. Let's take a brief look at how a nutritional neuropsychiatrist might take the healthcare crisis and turn it into an opportunity to prevent and treat the most costly diseases facing our nation and simultaneously cut costs:

1. Private health and life insurance companies should be permitted to charge higher rates for the underweight, overweight, obese and morbidly obese accordingly; rates would be adjusted after the patient's insurance company receives, directly from a treating physician, documentation of a healthier weight sustained for at least six months.

2. The cost of employer-sponsored health or life insurance should be offset by having employees who are outside their ideal weight range have a percentage of their check go towards helping their employer/employer's carrier pay for their healthcare.

3. Elementary, middle and high schools should clean up their lunchrooms and vending machines; get graded lifestyle classes and workshops with homework.

4. Overweight people receiving social security benefits, Medicare, Medicaid and service connected veterans should have a percentage taken off their monthly checks and increased co-payments to offset their higher healthcare costs and more importantly motivate them to reach and maintain an ideal weight.

5. Overweight people receiving food stamps should receive itemized percentages of medicinal foods instead of the current food stamp system that allow overweight people to continue feeding their addictive foods habit with bagged, boxed, bottled, canned, jarred, frozen, and other heavily salted and over processed nutritionally depleted foods. For example, 50% of the stamps each beneficiary is awarded would be green and could only be used to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables, 20% would be white for old fashioned oats, uncooked wild rice, barley, legumes, a small bottle of first press olive oil, multigrain pasta and multigrain bread, and 30% would be colored yellow for minimally processed proteins including unprocessed chicken, flounder, talapia, turkey, Cornish hen, eggs, peas, beans, nuts and seeds.

This thumbnail sketch illustrates how an incentive-driven healthcare system can be both humane and cost-efficient. There are many additional ways to cut healthcare costs and limit self-destructive behavior.

People who treat addictive food dependence, popularly known as obesity, know that optimal treatment results are achieved by having patients change their eating choices and behaviors and some of the best motivational fuel includes consequences in the form of paying a fare to stay obese and give financial rewards for those who reach and maintain an ideal weight. Applying this incentive-driven treatment model to the current healthcare system could conceivably cut costs and defeat the nation's biggest terrorist. Let's take a brief look at how a nutritional neuropsychiatrist might take the healthcare crisis and turn it into an opportunity to prevent and treat the most costly diseases facing our nation and simultaneously cut costs:

Montgomery Bans Trans Fats in Restaurants, Markets

(Similar comment posted on washingtonpost.com)

Canola, olive, soy, corn, safflower, coconut, palm, peanut, and sunflower oils are all partially hydrogenated, or what BRIGHTFOODS author Dr. Cocores calls "half-trans" or "bad" fats. Processed oils contribute to obesity, cardiovascular disease, cancers, Alzheimer's, and other diseases because they are weak in nutraceuticals and generate disease and cancer causing substances on meat and produce when they are heated to high temperatures. The only oil that is not partially hydrogenated is first-press or extra virgin olive oil because it contains high amounts of several antioxidants, which serve as natural preservatives. Filtered first-press olive oil does not turn foods into disease and
cancer causing agents as long as browning is avoided and the temperature
is kept below 400 degrees.

OXYCONTIN MAKERS ADMIT DECEPTION

(Comment posted on washingtonpost.com)

In a 2002 report, the Drug Enforcement Administration traced 142 deaths to OxyContin overdose and said the drug contributed to another 318 fatalities according to the Washington Post. The term "overdose" needs clarification, as the average reader is likely to link it to suicide instead of accidental death from this particular time-release narcotic.

As a psychiatrist specializing in the detoxification and rehabilitation of substance-dependent individuals, I know most deaths caused by OxyContin overdose to be accidental because of the hazardous way this heroin-like drug is prepared. OxyContin is time released, meaning a large dose is slowly absorbed into the central nervous system over many hours in a sustained way. When this time-release tablet is crushed by opiate addicts, who know it to be more efficacious after it has been crushed, it changes from the mg dose equivalent of one time-release tablet to the equivalent of a multiple mg dose of immediate-release oxycodone. This is what makes OxyContin so deadly.

Obesity on the rise in Europe

According to medical research worldwide, when Europeans adopt American-style eating habits, they increase their risk of developing many different forms of cancer, diseases like diabetes and Alzheimer’s, and of being overweight and obese.

During my 1971 trip to Greece, I ate a fresh-cut tomato and onion salad covered with extra virgin olive oil and a side of stone ground wheat bread (different from whole wheat bread), with friends and relatives almost every day. In 2004, however, meals in Greece regularly consisted of cheese and white bread. It is no wonder that the scales in Greece are tipping with increased weight.

As Research Director of Psyche Nutrition Sciences (PNSI-Inc.com), I can attest to the fact that even though America has great strengths, when it comes to inventing a healthier way of eating, we are definitely not the sharpest tool in the worldwide shed. The very convenience-oriented technologies and industries that have made us the envy of the world have also made us the most overweight and obese society in terms of the percentage of population affected. The myriad of emotional and medical diseases associated with obesity are not only choking us financially, but they will also eventually kill many of us. As citizens of other countries gradually adopt our harmful eating habits, immigrants to these shores are also beginning to show higher incidences of disease.

The Maltese, Greeks, and Americans would be wise to follow the trim Italians and French when it comes to using wholesome ingredients and employing better eating habits. Incidentally, the French smoke more than Americans and live longer. That is the power of minimally processed whole foods.

FDA wants pill labels to warn of `sleep-driving'
(A similar comment was posted on the south Florida sun-sentinel.com)

Insomnia is a symptom frequently associated with worry, anxiety, and depression. In addition to causing sleep-eating and hangover like side effects, the latest generation of sleeping aids does not treat the cause. Some of the most common causes of insomnia include sleep apnea, obesity, unsettled moods, and diet. Mild cases of insomnia have been treated by avoiding foods and supplements that can drive insomnia, such as wine and B vitamins. Eating more medicinal foods can help fight insomnia and other symptoms associated with anxiety and depression. Moderate and severe cases of insomnia associated with racing thoughts and obsessive worrying may best be treated with psychotherapy and medicine that can treat the cause of the problem. BrightFoods has more information on medicinal foods that can help insomnia, anxiety, and depression, as well as addictive foods that can make these conditions worse.

We're eating too few veggies
(A similar comment was posted on the south Florida sun-sentinel.com)

Eating a three-course meal can be a useful tactic, especially when trying to feed children. Keeping the main course in sight or within sniffing range, start with a serving of fresh cut fruit and follow it up with a serving of minimally processed vegetables. The main course becomes desert. BrightFoods contains many recipes that can make medicinal foods look and taste like junk.

Rethink that drink
(A similar comment was posted on the south Florida sun-sentinel.com)

Soft-drink consumption has exploded to 21 percent of the calories in the American diet. There are also other non-nutritive components to our diet. We also need to reconsider the enriched flour and the whole wheat flour found in breads, English muffins, breakfast cereals, muffins, pasta, cakes and cookies. These two highly processed flours can turn into glucose as fast as granular sugar. Healthier alternative flour is one-hundred percent stone ground whole wheat, which truly qualifies as a whole grain and converts into glucose much slower than common flours, providing time released energy and nutrients. BrightFoods contains recipes using nutritious stone ground whole wheat flour and details the differences among these flours.

Garlic no cure for cholesterol
(A similar comment was entered in the south Florida sun-sentinel.com)

It is a poor research practice to administer garlic or any other isolated food or nutrient (i.e. omega 6) to lab animals and draw conclusions. Cholesterol aside, when used in conjunction with five servings of produce every day and an active lifestyle, garlic can fight cancer and other diseases. This action is a function of body cleansing agents called antioxidants. Like tomato sauce, garlic is one of the few exceptions to the general rule that the more an antioxidant is processed or oxidized, the less of an antioxidant affect it possesses.

Obesity on the rise in Europe

FDA wants pill labels to warn of `sleep-driving' (A similar comment was posted on the south Florida sun-sentinel.com)

We're eating too few veggies (A similar comment was posted on the south Florida sun-sentinel.com)

Rethink that drink (A similar comment was posted on the south Florida sun-sentinel.com)

Garlic no cure for cholesterol (A similar comment was entered in the south Florida sun-sentinel.com)

For many employees, fitness has its prize (Based on a comment posted on the south Florida sun-sentinel.com)

FDA wants pill labels to warn of `sleep-driving'
(A similar comment was posted on the south Florida sun-sentinel.com)

We're eating too few veggies
(A similar comment was posted on the south Florida sun-sentinel.com)

Rethink that drink
(A similar comment was posted on the south Florida sun-sentinel.com)

Garlic no cure for cholesterol
(A similar comment was entered in the south Florida sun-sentinel.com)

For many employees, fitness has its prize
(Based on a comment posted on the south Florida sun-sentinel.com)