It's always a revelation to see how the media  manipulate us!  I would be ashamed, for example, to use the kind of prose that seems to sell so many supplements.  I have more respect for my readers, and would rather let them decide for themselves based on the facts.

What has set me off this time?  A widely read woman's magazine has published a report guaranteed to cause everyone to assume that Kava Kava is toxic.

Here is the article in Good Housekeeping:
http://lifestyle.msn.com/MindBodyandSoul/PersonalGrowth/ArticleGH.aspx?cp-documentid=1203095

Pretty convincing, you will say.  I sent the piece off to Gaia Herbs for a comment, since their product featured prominently in the photo, and this is their reply:

"I have seen this article and am aware of the European reports about Kava Kava, however we do not have an official response at this time.  One of the reports about Kava toxicity addresses the issue of using the stem and leaves in products,  the stem and leaves are toxic and they may have (not proven) been used in the products in Europe and possibly in No Doz.  Substituting the leaves and stems, (which are cheaper) for the root, is called adulteration and is illegal. We only use the roots of the Kava plant and have never had an adverse event reported to us re: Kava.  No Doz apparently contains caffeine and is a product to keep you awake, so it makes me wonder why Kava is listed as an ingredient in the first place. I would say that a full analysis of the product is necessary. It may be easy to jump to conclusions from an article however, I would like a fuller history of OTC medications such as Tylenol which is a big cause for liver transplants in the US as well as alcohol intake (considering that the couple in the article are in the wine business). Alcohol and Tylenol are a toxic combination.

We do not recommend Kava for anyone under 18 years or for longer than 4 weeks of continuous use. "

Indeed, alcohol and Tylenol ARE a toxic combination!  I have posted about that in the past,  as you may see here:  This hang-over cure DE-livers.  However, Doctors are still in denial about this pretty much all over:  how much easier and more convenient to blame a herbal supplement.

What do we learn from this?  1) Be safe!   Don't buy the cheap stuff:  there are many ways to make things cheaper, and none of them have to do with making them better. 2) Before believing an attack on herbs and nutrients, get the whole story.

My article on Kava Kava is here

458 deaths annually from liver failure due to Tylenol

If there is one thing time has proven, it is that the more the State does for you, the less you feel like doing for yourself.  Personal responsibility has gone the way of the dinosaurs.

If someone feels bad about being fat - they don't have to:  it's not their fault.  Not poor dietary choices, not lack of exercise, not life style issues or laziness or ignorance - NO! 
A pesky bacterium  causes these overweight problems.  Please don't bother to make any healthy adjustments - take this pill. Or, if you live in Texas, let the tax payers pay for bariatric surgery - and then let them pay again for your failing health for the REST of your life.

As you can tell, I am in a bit of a ba!humbug! mood.  And I do know that some people do all they can, and still can''t lose weight.

The cynic in me peeps through and wonders whether the fast-food chains may be behind this research!! It would certainly get them off the hook if they could say our food?  make people fat?? Nonsense! It's the bacteria in their gut.

On the subject of personal responsibility and will, I highly recommend Mark Steyn's book  America Alone.  If we don't wake up to some of what he says soon, it may well be too late.

Vitamin D is definitely in the news at the moment, because deficiencies are turning out to be so common, and the link to various diseases is becoming undeniable.

This is yet another example of extremes causing problems!  The ongoing paranoia about sun exposure, which has led to everyone slathering themselves with sun-blocking lotions,  is leading to the reversal of an interesting observation made many years ago.

Previously it had been noted that the incidence of MS was much lower in the sunbelt states -  I made reference to this in my article on MS as long ago as 1998 - but this protective effect  seems to be evaporating.  The connection between MS and Vitamin D is inescapable.

While it is possible to get D from the diet and from supplementation, exposure to the sun is still the most efficient way to ensure higher levels.  Interestingly, sun exposure was part of the recommendations of Dr. Johanna Budwig for fighting cancer.  I have certainly added some D to my regimen. 

I find it fascinating, too, to remember that the only time I got spanked as a child was for finishing off a whole bottle of Cod Liver Oil.  My body, existing at that time in the Northern latitudes of Sweden, must have known something intuitively! 

I am copying these links from my previous post on Vitamin D

Krispin Sullivan CN - comprehensive article on Vitamin D - emphasizes the importance of TESTING your levels of D when supplementing or exposing yourself to the sun. Information on which test to request is also given. 

Carlson Labs Vitamin D

Natures Plus Vitamin D

A Dr. Cannell  triggered the investigation into this new role for Vitamin D, when he put a puzzlingly lower rate of flu in a group of men under his control, together with a report that Vitamin D upregulates white blood cells. "First, the ward below mine was quarantined, then the wards on my right, left, and across the hall," Cannell recalls. However, although the 32 men on his ward at Atascadero (Calif.) State Hospital had mingled with patients from infected wards before their quarantine, none developed the illness.

An enlightened pyschiatrist, he had been correcting a deficiency of that Vitamin in his group with supplementation.

Science News reports in an article headed "The Antibiiotic Vitamin": "On the basis of more than 100 articles that he collected, Cannell and seven other researchers now propose that vitamin D deficiency may underlie a vulnerability to infections by the microbes that cathelicidin targets. These include bacteria, viruses, and fungi, the group notes in a report available online for the December Epidemiology and Infection. "

Krispin Sullivan CN - comprehensive article on Vitamin D - emphasizes the importance of TESTING your levels of D when supplementing or exposing yourself to the sun. Information on which test to request is also given. 

Carlson Labs Vitamin D

Natures Plus Vitamin D

I was charmed by this little joke, and thought I would share it with you.  Enjoy a jolly Holiday chuckle!

Three men die on Christmas Eve, and present themselves at the pearly gates.  St. Peter meets them.

"In honor of this Holy Season", he says "no matter what sins you may have committed, if you can produce something symbolic of Christmas, you may pass."

The first man reaches into his pocket, produces a lighter and holds up the flame. "This symbolizes Christmas Candles", he explains. ""Pass, Friend" says St. Peter.

The second man thinks for a bit, then pulls out his car keys, and jingles them tunefully. "These are the Bells of Christmas", he claims.  St. Peter nods, and tells him "You may pass".

Meanwhile, the third man has been turning out all his pockets frantically.  Finally, he holds up the only item he can find - his girl-friend's underpants.

St. Peter lifts his eyebrows, and asks "and these symbolize Christmas exactly HOW?"

The man looks at him and says ....  "They're CAROL'S"

Only rarely does an entirely new food cross my path, and this one is fascinating.  Lupins are the prettiest of wild flowers as well as English Garden familiars; I have seen meadows of them in bloom and greeted them as friends all over the world.

The thought of them as a potential food crop can't help but bring a mental picture of the added benefit to agriculture of incredible beauty.

A recent study suggests that "increasing the protein and fiber content of meals through the use of lupin-kernel flour may increase satiety and reduce energy intake, thereby playing a potential role in helping to achieve weight loss." The authors conclude, "Thus, LKF is a novel food ingredient that could be incorporated into a range of products that might benefit appetite regulation.""  The substance seems to reduce ghrelin**  concentrations.

I can't wait to hand this bouquet to my local bakery!

Lupin-Enriched Bread Increases Satiety

**Ghrelin is a hormone produced by the stomach which seems to increase feelings of hunger.

This gave me a laugh, partly because of the mildly self-congratulatory tone of the headline:  Antidepressants Increase Suicide Risk but Decrease Death Risk

It turns out that while more people on anti-depressants TRY to commit suicide fewer actually succeed.

The authors conclude, "Among suicidal subjects who had ever used antidepressants, the current use of any antidepressant was associated with a markedly increased risk of attempted suicide, and, at the same time, with a markedly decreased risk of completed suicide and death."

So now they are not only depressed, but a failure, too?  This is good? Well, it is after all the classical cry for attention and help.

Read about natural ways to fight Depression.

A list of medications implicated in causing depression.

"Vitamin D Deficiency Is Associated With Low Mood and Worse Cognitive Performance in Older Adults,"
Wilkins CH, Sheline YI, et al, Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2006; 14(12): 1032-1040. (Address: Department of Medicine, Division of Geriatrics and Nutritional Science, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA)

Summary: In a cross-sectional study involving 40 older subjects with mild Alzheimer's disease and 40 nondemented older subjects, vitamin D deficiency was found to be associated with low mood and worse cognitive performance. 58% of the subjects had abnormally low vitamin D levels (less than 20 ng/mL). After adjusting for age, race, gender, and season, vitamin D deficiency was associated with the presence of active mood disorder. Additionally, vitamin D deficiency was associated with worse cognitive function (measured using the Short Blessed Test), and greater dementia severity (using the Clinical Dementia Rating). Thus, the authors of this study conclude, "In a cross-section of older adults, vitamin D deficiency was associated with low mood and with impairment on two of four measures of cognitive performance."

Lynn says:  Vitamin D is certainly in the news recently -cancer, bone loss, now Alzheimer's among other conditions it is related to.

I have written before about the reverence I have for the instinctive knowledge some women had about protecting their families' health before the dawning of the age of nutritional science, and the Grandmotherly spoonful of Cod Liver Oil ranks high on that list. 

Remember, though, all Vitamin D is not created equal!  Look for D from fish oil,  or for Vitamin D3 or cholecalciferol.

You can get the best Cod Liver Oil here

For the faint of heart - here are capsules of Cod Liver Oil

And here is Vitamin D3 in a 2000 i.u. formulation

Would you rather be a little unhappy while you are pregnant, or run the risk of worrying for a life-time about the health of your baby's heart?

Well, when you put it that way ...

Pregnancy means the body has a high requirement for the Omega 3 fatty acids, which help with the developing fetus's brain and vision.  Add to this that Omega 3s are also protective against mild depression, and that a recent survey by the Washington, DC-based Society for Women's Health Research (SWHR) reported that only 41 per cent of mothers and expectant mothers know they should be consuming omega-3 fatty acids during pregnancy - I would say it is a no-brainer   that the first avenue of approach for depression during pregnancy should be - OMEGA 3 FATTY ACIDS.

NOT - I repeat - NOT - pharmaceutical anti-depressants which have previously been linked to possible birth defects, but which are now positively linked to heart damage in  some babies.

Despite all this the report on heart damage in infants concludes:

However, reproductive-age women have the highest prevalence of major depressive disorders. The benefit to the mother of treatment with any of the drugs may outweigh the risk to the fetus.

Can they possibly be that short-sighted? Or do we hear the voice of the pharmaceutical industry super-imposed on common sense?

Paxil poses possible risk of birth defects, group of obstetricians says

The Vitamin Lady writes about natural help for Depression

A Prenatal with Omega 3: Pregnatal w. DHA

Source of Omega 3: Carlson Fish Oil Liquid   Carlson Fish Oil Capsules