New Book by Dr Grossman and Ray Kurzweil Available for Preordering
by Terry Grossman, M.D.

TRANSCEND: Nine Steps to Living Well Forever is the new health book written by Ray Kurzweil and Terry Grossman M.D. TRANSCEND reflects new research and insights gained since their previous book together Fantastic Voyage was published in 2004. TRANSCEND presents a practical program for health and life-extension. Fantastic Voyage contained 2000 citations from the medical literature and was designed to make the case for the prospects of radical life extension, while TRANSCEND was written to provide practical advice and suggestions for how to do so. The book presents an easy-to-follow program, appropriately enough, known as the TRANSCEND program, which is an acronym for:

• T alk with your doctor

• A ssessment

• S upplementation

• E xercise

• D etoxification

The TRANSCEND program is designed to help you maintain the good health you enjoy today in order to experience the benefits of tomorrow's technologies to extend quality lifespan. The goal is helping you live well long enough so that you could you could live well … forever!

The official publication date is April 28, 2009 although we expect copies to start shipping in late March. The book is now available for preorders through Amazon for $18.45 (list price $27.95).

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Getting Back to Basics
by Lolita Hanks, FNP-C

Getting back to the basics of good nutrition is always good to review. It’s easy to get caught in an unhealthy loop, so below is a list of 10 Basics that will get you back on track:

1. Recognize foods that you crave. Sometimes those foods are the very foods that are causing fatigue, signaling that you are missing something (crave ice chips, maybe anemic) or causing your body harm. Remember we eat to live, not live to eat.

3. Stop using artificial sweeteners such as Nutrasweet®, aspartame, Sugar Twin®, saccharin, or Equal®. Stop refined sugars as well. They raise insulin levels, accelerate aging, suppress the immune system and make losing weight difficult. Sugar is a strong addiction that can be very hard to end.

5. Alternative sweeteners to try are: Stevia, Xylitol or Erythritol.

7. Increase your green vegetable intake. Use a food grade hydrogen peroxide 3% or distilled vinegar 4 oz in a sink full of water and soak any produce that is conventional (non-organic) for at least 30 minutes.

9. Health maintenance: know your weight, body fat, basal metabolic rate, the health of your cells, body mass index, cholesterol, fasting blood sugar, fasting insulin level and possibly your leptin levels. If you are having difficulty losing weight despite an appropriate (low carbohydrate) diet and a lot of exercise, keep in mind your body may be retaining fat to hold toxicity away from your body organs. Heavy metal testing may be beneficial for you in that case.

Produce and pesticide list: http://www.foodnews.org

Mediterranean Diet Reduces Risk of Heart Attack, Stroke
by Terry Grossman, M.D.

We have long been fans of the Mediterranean diet, a dietary program which emphasizes more plant-based foods, less red meat, more of one's daily protein from vegetarian sources such as beans, lentils and nuts and olive oil as a source of fat. A new study has analyzed data taken from the Nurses’ Health Study of almost 75,000 women between 1984 and 2002 and found that this diet significantly reduces risks of heart attacks and stroke. The lead researcher of the study was Dr. Teresa T. Fung from the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston and the results were published in the February 16, 2009 issue of Circulation.

During 20 years of follow-up there were 2391 cases of coronary heart disease, 1763 cases of stroke and 1077 deaths due to cardiovascular disease and stroke together. Women who were in the top 20th percentile were at 29% lower risk for heart disease and 13% less risk for stroke compared to women in the lowest 20th percentile.

Dr. Grossman has emphasized the benefits of the Mediterranean diet in all three of his books: The Baby Boomer's Guide to Living Forever, Fantastic Voyage, and TRANSCEND: Nine Steps to Living Well Forever and we often recommend this diet to our patients at the Grossman Wellness Center. It is helpful, easy to follow, well adapted to American tastes and lifestyles, and delicious.

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The Many Benefits of Acetyl-L-Carnitine
by Lolita Hanks, FNP-C

If you are taking an Acetyl-L-Carnitine (ALC) supplement, good for you! What you may not know is that ALC is one of the most extensively researched brain nutrients with a proven record of improving many health issues found in the general population.

A little background first. Our bodies naturally make acetyl-L-carnitine (ALC) by adding an acetyl group onto a carnitine molecule. ALC naturally occurs in our liver, kidneys and brain, but production declines with age. ALC is able to cross the blood brain barrier and is very protective of our nerves and brain.

Studies have been done demonstrating ALC’s ability to slow the progression of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s. ALC eases the pain associated with neuropathy (nerve pain) that many diabetics, people with HIV and/or with poor circulation suffer from. ALC can also be a great tool to slow age related brain/nervous system decline that occurs with natural aging.

ALC increases glutathione, our body’s natural detoxifier as well as COQ10. It will assist the body in moving fats into the mitochondria to be burned for fuel, so it helps with weight loss. ALC can also decrease triglycerides as well as increase HDL levels. ALC can also increase the sensitivity of insulin receptors. Restless leg sufferers have found using ALC in conjunction with horse chestnut is helpful in calming those nervous legs.

Other benefits from ALC: increasing energy by improving mitochondrial function; decreases inflammation especially when used in conjunction with omega-3 essential fatty acids (prevents the conversion of arachidonic acid into inflammation); and it has some antioxidant activity.

If you are not taking this supplement it’s likely to be a great addition to your supplement program. Talk with your integrative healthcare provider about adding ALC into your regimen.

1 http://search.lef.org/cgi-src-bin/MsmGo.exe?grab_id=0&page_id=4495&query=acetyl%20l%20carnitine&hiword=ACETYLL%20CARNITINA%20CARNITINEAN%20CARNITINES%20acetyl%20carnitine%20l%20

2 http://search.lef.org/cgi-src-bin/MsmGo.exe?grab_id=0&page_id=4495&query=acetyl%20l%20carnitine&hiword=ACETYLL%20CARNITINA%20CARNITINEAN%20CARNITINES%20acetyl%20carnitine%20l%20

Using Genomics to Determine Whether It's Safe for You to Drink Alcohol
by Terry Grossman, M.D.

Recent studies suggest there are some health benefits associated with moderate consumption of alcohol - defined as up to one alcoholic beverage daily for all women and men over 65 years of age and up to two alcoholic beverages for men younger than 65. All-cause mortality and death from cardiovascular disease appear lower with moderate alcohol consumption. However, several studies have shown an increased risk of several types of common cancers with any amount of alcohol consumption and alcohol is felt to be responsible for about 4% of cancer deaths worldwide. Consequently, alcohol seems to exist as a double edged sword: it decreases cardiovascular risk but increases cancer risk. Is it possible to determine whether or not you are more likely to be benefited or harmed by drinking alcohol?

Some new genomics tests suggest this may be the case. We know that alcohol is metabolized by the enzymes, alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH). Some people have mutations in the genes that code for these enzymes known as ADH1B and ALDH2. Having these mutations renders these enzymes less active. Studies have shown that drinkers who have one or both of these polymorphisms are at greater risk for head and neck, oropharyngeal and esophageal cancers.

We are soon approaching that point in time where the cost of genomic testing is falling low enough that widespread testing will be cost-effective. Performing tests such as these for mutations in the ADH1B and ALDH2 genes will help people make decisions as to whether or not they will be able to obtain the cardiovascular benefits from alcohol consumption's without increased risk of cancer.

For more information please see: Druesne-Pecollo N et al. Alcohol and genetic polymorphisms: Effect on risk of alcohol-related cancer. Lancet Oncol 2009 Feb; 10:173.

Food and Moods: Use Food to Improve your Mood and Health !
by Lolita Hanks, FNP-C

Many of us are accustomed to hearing the negatives about emotional eating and “bad” foods. We all know the woman who is poised to have her monthly cycle craving chocolate or French fries. We also know to stay out of her way! That is one form of emotional eating based on hormonal changes and sometimes a lack of certain vitamins, mainly the B vitamins. There are other examples of emotional eating: when we are bored we reach for food, when we are down, depressed or hurting emotionally, our life is not what we envisioned for ourselves, feeling tired, and/or feeling entitled especially when dieting.

The food we eat directly interacts with the neurotransmitters in our brains. Food is a precursor to many neurotransmitters and most foods contain more than one precursor. Below is information on different types of foods, and how they relate to your moods and general health.

NEUROTRANSMITTERS AND HOW FOOD RELATES TO THEIR FUNCTION

Tyrosine, an amino acid found in fish, eggs, meat, poultry and some carbohydrates such as cheese, tofu and beans. When these proteins are disassembled in the small intestines this amino acid will increase the production of the neurotransmitters, epinephrine, norepinephrine and dopamine. These transmitters help us with alertness, energy and feelings.

Most people have heard of serotonin with the rise in use of anti-depressants. This is the feel good neurotransmitter. The amino acid, tryptophan (think Turkey day) is converted by the brain into serotonin. We also know it as the sleepy amino acid since it is in turkey and causes some drowsiness when we consume it. Sometimes a very low or no carbohydrate diet will cause feelings of depression after being on the diet for awhile due to the lack of carbohydrates and reduction in insulin (a hormone that regulates blood sugar and also removes amino acids from the bloodstream except tryptophan ). This is attributed to lowering of serotonin levels from decreased carbohydrate intake.

Folic acid and vitamin B6, pyridoxine can be beneficial for those who have premenstrual syndrome or depression related to low serotonin. Spinach, leafy green vegetables, beans, nuts and lentils have a high amount of folic acid while B6 is also found in turnip greens, spinach, tuna and bell peppers.

Choline is found in high cholesterol foods like eggs. It is a precursor to acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter that helps with memory.

GOOD FATS

Good fats such as coconut oil (milk), olive oil and butter helps us in several ways. Fats provide fuel for our bodies to burn as energy, they are used by the body to make hormones while supporting our brain and nervous system and they help us feel full. This makes overeating less likely when we are trying to shed unwanted weight. Combining fats with carbohydrates will slow the absorption of sugar into the bloodstream. This avoids fast rises in blood sugar and pancreatic overreaction that can result in more insulin than needed being released.

Nuts and salmon (cold water fish) are a good source of fats especially walnuts as they contain omega-3 fatty acids that provide mood elevation and neurotransmitter support.

FIBER (and CHOCOLATE)

High fiber foods such as oatmeal and lentils can help keep blood sugar stable by avoiding low blood sugar later in the AM that can result in irritability and cravings. Lentils are a great source of protein and folate. B vitamins help with mood, brain and nervous system function.

Chocolate is mood food. Dark chocolate in very small quantities with low to no sugar content has antioxidants. Chocolate has some caffeine which can help with a depressed mood and it has theobromine that is a building block of a neurotransmitter that causes us to feel pleasure.

TIPS FOR AVOIDING UNHEALTHY FOOD CHOICES

Learn to recognize emotional eating. Ask yourself, “am I really hungry?” This will help you learn the reasons behind any overeating you are doing. Knowing these instigating factors helps you control them.

Ironically, foods that you find you ‘can’t live without’ tend to be foods that your body actually does not like and has difficulty processing. For example, a person addicted to dairy products feels good right after eating them only later to feel irritable and tired, thereby causing the craving again so they can feel ‘good’. This cycle is most often seen with sugar. The more sugar you eat, the more you crave. The more processed foods, the more you crave them. The neurotransmitter dopamine is thought to be responsible for this cycle as it will elevate when addictive substances are ingested or used (food and drugs cause a similar reaction).

Have a plan of action for when those emotional feelings come. Don’t reach for the chocolate bar, try warm tea instead. Or try a crunchy snack of almonds if you crave chips. Make sure you plan your meals and don’t skip any. This will prevent low blood sugar that makes the craving for sugar stronger. Lastly, don’t buy foods that you are addicted to or will be tempted by! If it is not in the house it becomes more of an effort to obtain it, usually the craving will be gone by then.

Food Guide Resource:

http://www.foodnews.org/ contains the 12 most contaminated fruits/vegetables