Each year, approximately 400,000 Americans are diagnosed with congestive heart failure (CHF). The heart loses its ability to adequately pump blood throughout the body, causing shortness of breath, fluid buildup in the lungs and extremities, and kidney problems. Not surprisingly, conventional medicine relies heavily on drugs to treat CHF. However, far safer options exist, and one is the herb hawthorn. A meta-analysis involving 2,681 patients with a low ejection fraction (a measure of the heart’s pumping ability) examined the effects of taking 900 mg of a hawthorn extract on cardiac output. Researchers discovered that, compared to a placebo, hawthorn significantly reduced cardiac mortality and sudden cardiac death in patients with a very low ejection fraction (less than 25 percent). The herb also decreased fatigue and breathing problems. If you have CHF, I recommend taking 900–1,800 mg of hawthorn per day. Look for a brand that uses the whole plant (leaves, berries, and flowers) and is standardized to 4 percent vitexin flavonoids. If you are taking digitalis, talk to you doctor before using this herb, as it can increase effects of the drug.
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Conventional medical researchers around the world are scratching their heads over new research published in the Archives of Internal Medicine that shows a strong correlation between depression and osteoporosis. Amazingly, none of them apparently have the presence of mind to consider the simple, common cause behind both conditions: Chronic vitamin D deficiency.
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As we have often mentioned Americans are woefully deficient in vitamin D, especially during the winter months. A research team from Philadelphia recently tested the vitamin D blood levels of 382 healthy children and adolescents who lived in the Northeast. They found that 68 percent of the kids had inadequate levels during the winter, as did an alarming 55 percent year-round. Levels are even lower in older people, who produce much less vitamin D with similar sun exposure. The bottom line is, whether you decide to have a flu shot or not, your best bet for making it through the flu season unscathed is to increase your intake of supplemental vitamin D.
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Supplementing with high levels of vitamin D can help halt the bone loss caused by the long-term use of antiseizure medicinal drugs, according to a study published in the journal Neurology. We know that the antiseizure medications used to control epilepsy speed up bone breakdown which often leads to bone loss and osteoporosis. It is also acknowledged that vitamin D increases the calcium available to the body for maintaining bone structure by increasing calcium absorption during digestion and reducing its excretion through urine. Recently researchers studied 72 adults and 78 children over the age of 10, all of whom were receiving antiseizure medications as a treatment for epilepsy. Some of the participants were given a daily vitamin D supplement of 400 IU, while the others were given a significantly higher measure (4,000 IU for adults and 2,000 IU for children). The current daily recommended vitamin D intake is 400 IU, but many recent studies have suggested that higher amounts are safe and also much more effective in providing numerous health benefits.
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Exciting new research conducted at the Creighton University School of Medicine in Nebraska has revealed that supplementing with vitamin D and calcium can reduce your risk of cancer by an astonishing 77 percent. This includes breast cancer, colon cancer, skin cancer and other forms of cancer. This research provides strong new evidence that vitamin D is the single most effective medicine against cancer, far outpacing the benefits of any cancer drug known to modern science.
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In a study published in the May 2007 Archives of Internal Medicine, Harvard Medical School researchers prospectively evaluated total calcium and vitamin D intake among over 10,000 pre-menopausal and almost 21,000 post-menopausal women 45 years and older who were free of any cardiovascular or breast problems. During a follow-up of ten years, 276 pre-menopausal and 743 post-menopausal women had a confirmed diagnosis of poor breast health. It was found that those with higher total intakes of calcium and vitamin D in their diets had a decreased risk of developing poor breast health in pre-menopausal women. Those with highest intake of calcium and vitamin D reduced risk of developing poor breast health by almost 40% which is a number that should grab every womans attention.
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There are some nutrients that just keep surfacing in the medical literature with more and more good news. Those two nutrients are fish oil and vitamin D. There were two studies recently published in the Archives of Ophthalmology regarding poor visual health that can lead to blindness in the elderly. In the first, researchers evaluated over 4,500 people between ages 60 and 80 who participated in a study by the National Institute of Health's National Eye Institute. Individuals completed a food questionnaire measuring various nutrients. One in particular was DHA, an omega-3 fatty acid, found in fatty fish such as salmon and tuna. It was found that those who ate more than two servings a week of fish were least likely to develop poor visual health that can lead to blindness. Authors felt that the fatty acids might help promote cell health and survival as well as improve blood vessel function.
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Vitamin D deficiencies are now thought to be the reason influenza epidemics are seasonal in this country, and the factor that makes both adults and children more susceptible to all kinds of respiratory infections during the wintertime. More on Lack Of D Leads To The Flu
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Yes, vitamin D as we have discussed before is vital to your health and most people don't get enough. There are two studies hot off the press that you need to know about. Both of them are deep analyses looking at data from several studies that compared blood levels of vitamin D with breast and colorectal cancer incidence. Across the board, these studies found that the lowest levels of vitamin D correlated with the highest risk of cancer, and as vitamin D levels rose, risk decreased. The correlations were so strong that the researchers concluded that increasing vitamin D levels may well prevent two-thirds of colorectal cancer cases and half of breast cancer cases in this country and that's a significant number of both by any measurment. The blood level deemed most protective (46 ng/mL) could be attained by taking 2,000 IU of supplemental vitamin D3 and spending 10–15 minutes outdoors in the sun each day. Be sure to beef up your vitamin D intake, get started now!
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Vitamin D prevents osteoporosis, depression, prostate cancer, breast cancer, and even effects diabetes and obesity. Vitamin D is perhaps the single most underrated nutrient in the world of nutrition. That’s probably because it’s free and your body makes it when sunlight touches your skin. Pharmaceutical companies can’t sell sunlight, so there’s no promotion of its health benefits. The real fact is, most people don’t know the real story on vitamin D and health.
More on Facts You Must Know About Vitamin D and Sunlight Exposure
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