ELDR blogs

Alternatives to Petroleum-Based Plastic

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 16:39:59 -0400

Q. What are the environmental pros and cons of corn-based plastic as an alternative to conventional petroleum-based plastic? — Laura McInnes, Glasgow, Scotland

A. Polylactic acid (PLA), a plastic substitute made from fermented plant starch (usually corn) is quickly becoming a popular alternative to traditional petroleum-based plastics. As more and more countries and states follow the lead of China, Ireland, South Africa, Uganda and San Francisco in banning plastic grocery bags responsible for so much so-called "white pollution" around the world, PLA is poised to play a big role as a viable, biodegradable replacement.

Proponents also tout the use of PLA—which is technically "carbon neutral" in that it comes from renewable, carbon-absorbing plants—as yet another way to reduce our emissions of greenhouse gases in a quickly warming world. PLA also will not emit toxic fumes when incinerated.

But critics say that PLA is far from a panacea for dealing with the world's plastic waste problem. For one, although it does biodegrade, it does so very slowly. According to Elizabeth Royte, writing in Smithsonian, PLA may well break down into its constituent parts (carbon dioxide and water) within three months in a "controlled composting environment," that is, an industrial composting facility heated to 140 degrees Fahrenheit and fed a steady diet of digestive microbes. But it will take far longer in a compost bin or in a landfill packed so tightly that no light and little oxygen are available to assist in the process. Indeed, analysts estimate that a PLA bottle could take anywhere from 100 to 1,000 years to decompose in a landfill.

Another issue with PLA is that, because it is of different origin than regular plastic, it must be kept separate when recycled, lest it contaminate the recycling stream. Being plant-based, PLA needs to head to a composing facility, not a recycling facility, per se, when it has out-served its usefulness. And that points to another problem: There are presently only 113 industrial-grade composting facilities across the U.S.

Another downside of PLA is that it is typically made from genetically modified corn, at least in the U.S. The largest producer of PLA in the world is NatureWorks, a subsidiary of Cargill, which is the world's largest provider of genetically modified corn seed. With increasing demand for corn to make ethanol fuel let alone PLA, it's no wonder that Cargill and others have been tampering with genes to produce higher yields. But the future costs to the environment and human health of genetic modification are still largely unknown and could be very high.

While PLA has promise as an alternative to conventional plastic once the means of disposal are worked out, grocery shoppers could do well to by simply switch to reusable containers, from cloth bags, baskets and backpacks for grocery shopping (most chains now sell canvas bags for less than a dollar apiece) to safe, reusable (non-plastic) bottles for beverages. As for other types of PLA items—such as those plastic "clamshells" that hold cut fruit (and there is a whole host of industrial and medical products now made from PLA)—there is no reason to pass them by. But until the kinks are worked out on the disposal and reprocessing end, PLA may not be much better than the plain old plastic it's designed to make obsolete.

– From the Editors of E/The Environmental Magazine. Learn more at emagazine.com. Got an environmental question? Submit it here or e-mail earthtalk [at] emagazine [dot] com.

Article Sources
Smithsonian's "Corn Plastic to the Rescue;" NatureWorks.

Using Hydrogen as Fuel on the Distant Horizon

Sun, 29 Jun 2008 16:48:11 -0400

Q. How is it that hydrogen can replace oil to run our cars? There seems to be a lot of controversy over whether hydrogen can really be generated and stored in such a way to be practical. – Stephane Kuziora, Thunder Bay, ON

A. The jury is still out on whether hydrogen will ultimately be our environmental savior, replacing the fossil fuels responsible for global warming and various nagging forms of pollution. Two main hurdles stand in the way of mass production and widespread consumer adoption of hydrogen "fuel cell" vehicles: the still-high cost of producing fuel cells and the lack of a hydrogen refueling network.

Reining in manufacturing costs of fuel cell vehicles is the first major issue the automakers are addressing. While several have fuel cell prototype vehicles on the road—Toyota and Honda are even leasing them to the public in Japan and California—they are spending upwards of $1 million to produce each one due to the advanced technology involved and low production runs. Toyota hopes to reduce its costs per fuel cell vehicle to around $50,000 by 2015, which would make such cars economically viable in the marketplace. On this side of the Pacific, General Motors plans to sell hydrogen-powered vehicles in the U.S. by 2010.

Another problem is the lack of hydrogen refueling stations. Major oil companies have been loathe to set up hydrogen tanks at existing gas stations for many reasons ranging from safety to cost to lack of demand. But obviously the oil companies are also trying to keep customers interested in their highly profitable bread-and-butter—gasoline. A more likely scenario is what is emerging in California, where some 38 independent hydrogen fuel stations are located around the state as part of a network created by the non-profit California Fuel Cell Partnership, a consortium of automakers, state and federal agencies and other parties interested in furthering hydrogen fuel cell technologies.

The benefits of ditching fossil fuels for hydrogen are many, or course. Burning fossil fuels like coal, natural gas and oil to heat and cool our buildings and run our vehicles takes a heavy toll on the environment, contributing significantly to both local problems like elevated particulate levels and global ones like a warming climate. The only by-product of running a hydrogen-powered fuel cell is oxygen and a trickle of water, neither of which will cause any harm to human health or the environment.

But right now 95 percent of the hydrogen available in the U.S. is either extracted from fossil fuels or made using electrolytic processes powered by fossil fuels, thus negating any real emissions savings or reduction in fossil fuel usage. Only if renewable energy sources—solar, wind and others—can be harnessed to provide the energy to process hydrogen fuel can the dream of a truly clean hydrogen fuel be realized.

Stanford University researchers in 2005 assessed the environmental effects of three different hydrogen sources: coal, natural gas, and water electrolysis powered by wind. They concluded that we'd lower greenhouse gas emissions more by driving gasoline/electric hybrid cars than by driving fuel cell cars run on hydrogen from coal. Hydrogen made using natural gas would fare a little bit better in terms of pollution output, while making it from wind power would a slam-dunk for the environment.

- From the Editors of E/The Environmental Magazine. Learn more at emagazine.com. Got an environmental question? Submit it here or e-mail earthtalk [at] emagazine [dot] com.

Article Source: California Fuel Cell Partnership

Relief for Bladder Control Problems

Sun, 29 Jun 2008 12:02:24 -0400

Q. This is embarrassing to discuss with anyone so I thought I'd write to you about it. I'm having bladder-control problems. What can I do?

A. About 10 percent of men and women over the age of 65 have trouble with bladder control, also know officially as urinary incontinence. Women suffer from this more than men.

During urination, muscles in the bladder contract, forcing urine into the urethra, a tube that carries urine out of the body. At the same time, muscles surrounding the urethra relax and let the urine pass. If the bladder muscles contract or the muscles surrounding the urethra relax without warning, the result is incontinence.

Short-term incontinence is caused by infections, constipation, and some medicines. If the problem persists, it might be caused by weak bladder muscles, overactive bladder muscles, blockage from an enlarged prostate, damage to nerves that control the bladder from diseases such as multiple sclerosis or Parkinson's.

In most cases urinary incontinence can be treated and controlled, if not cured. If you are having bladder control problems, go to your doctor. Doctors see this problem all the time, so there is no need to be embarrassed.

Your doctor may do a number of tests on your urine, blood and bladder. You may be asked to keep a daily chart about your urination.

There are several different types of urinary incontinence. If urine leaks when you sneeze, cough, laugh or put pressure on the bladder in other ways, you have "stress incontinence." When you can't hold urine, you have "urge incontinence." When small amounts of urine leak from a bladder that is always full, you have "overflow incontinence." Many older people who have normal bladder control but have difficulty getting to the bathroom in time, have "functional incontinence."

There are many ways to treat urinary incontinence. The method depends upon the type of problem.

You can train your bladder with exercises and biofeedback. You can also chart your urination and then empty your bladder before you might leak.

Your doctor has other tools he can use. There are urethral plugs and vaginal inserts for women with stress incontinence. There are medicines that relax muscles, helping the bladder to empty more fully during urination. Others tighten muscles in the bladder and urethra to cut down leakage.

Surgery can improve or cure incontinence if it is caused by a problem such as a change in the position of the bladder or blockage due to an enlarged prostate. Common surgery for stress incontinence involves pulling the bladder up and securing it. When stress incontinence is serious, the surgeon may use a wide sling. This holds up the bladder and narrows the urethra to prevent leakage.

Even if treatment is not fully successful, management of incontinence can help you feel more relaxed and comfortable about the problem.

About Fred Cicetti:

Healthcare writer Fred Cicetti has been a professional journalist for more than 40 years. Fred's sources are the National Institutes of Health, the academies for medical specialties and the leading medical institutions. His articles are not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice; please talk to your doctor about your specific health issues.

If you would like to ask a question, please write to fred [at] healthygeezer [dot] com. Learn more about Fred at healthygeezer.com.

Cancer Doctors Avoid the Big Talk

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 15:13:27 -0400

The American Society of Clinical Oncology met in Chicago recently to discuss new therapies and review scientific data. Two research papers grabbed our attention.

One debunks the theory that talking about end-of-life options depresses people and upsets them. Researchers followed advanced cancer patients, asking, among other things, if they'd talked with their doctor about the end of life. Only 31% had. How did they fare, compared with patients who never discussed the subject? (Read Abstract)

It turns out, talking about death won't kill you. The researchers learned "the big talk" doesn't harm people, doesn't make them nervous or worried. But it does change how they die.

People who had "the big talk" were more likely to value comfort over life extension and to receive hospice care. They were one-third as likely to enter an intensive care unit and one-fourth as likely to be put on mechanical ventilation. Most people hope when death comes it will creep up peacefully while they're at home in their own bed. Now we know talking about it can help make that happen.

The other paper, appearing in the Journal of the American Medical Association, lists study after study showing that oncologists continue aggressive chemotherapy long after it does any good. Cancer doctors really, really dread candid conversations and avoid them if they can. (Read Abstract)

Patients said they learn more from other patients in the waiting room than from their doctors. Even when patients specifically ask about survival and prognosis, doctors admitted they usually (63 percent of the time) give false data, or none at all. Studies found doctors routinely exaggerate life expectancy estimates by 350 percent.

Is it kind to mislead patients—or cruel? My view is "it depends." Patients who don't want the truth don't ask for it. In that case no one should force it on them. But when they ask, it means they want and deserve accurate, complete information. And then, no one has the right to keep it from them.

This week a bill sponsored by Compassion & Choices, the "Right to Know End-of-Life Options Act," comes before the Health Committee of the California Senate. If it becomes law it will create the right for terminally ill patients, who ask about their options, to learn the whole truth.

Guess who is working hard to kill this bill—California oncologists! That's right, lobbyists for cancer doctors are fighting in the state Capitol to withhold truthful information from their patients. It's hard to believe they would do this, when their own evidence shows "the big talk" eases the transition from curative therapy to comfort care and helps patients plan for a peaceful death. But there you have it. The oncologists don't want this bill to pass and they've joined right to lifers in coaxing lawmakers to vote against it. Why?

Theories abound. Maybe oncologists don't want to admit the cancer is winning and will soon claim their patient. Maybe treating so many dying patients makes honest dialogue too emotionally draining. Last June the New York Times noted that oncologists pocketed billions of dollars on the chemotherapy they prescribed until Medicare was forced to crack down on the way it reimbursed for these drugs.

The writer asserted that "With the new limits on cancer drug profits, some cancer doctors are searching for new income—like performing chemotherapy more often or installing multimillion-dollar imaging machines where they profit when their patients receive diagnostic scans."

The Times quoted Dr. Robert Geller, a former oncologist now working at a biotechnology company: "It's clear that physicians stopped making decisions based on what made scientific or clinical sense in lieu of what made better business sense."

Barbara Roberts is a former Oregon governor, and much beloved throughout the state. She's written a book about grief and often talks about Oregon's enlightened attitude toward end-of-life choice. Barbara tells audiences, "I believe anything you can talk about, you can make better."

Of course this is true. But the converse is also true. Until we can talk about choices to be made, we have no chance to improve end-of-life care and spare cancer patients' needless pain, agony and invasive technologies. Fortunately, good research is coming out, and it's pointing the way toward wise end-of-life policies. The studies say we should trust and empower patients to chart their own end-of-life course. I agree.

Be careful out there, and love one another.

– Barbara Coombs Lee is President of Compassion & Choices, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving care and expanding choice at the end of life.

Omega-3: The Super Nutrient

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 14:49:47 -0400

I have a long history of stressing the importance of nutrients to good health, dating back 25 years—even in the days when I was active as a cardiovascular surgeon. Omega-3 is a nutrient I single out for its broad effectiveness, its benefits reported in virtually thousands of research articles.

The story of Omega-3 started 40 years ago when epidemiologic studies evaluated the health of Greenland Eskimos and found an interesting paradox. The Eskimos, who eat a diet high in fat—mainly consisting of whale blubber—had a remarkably low incidence of heart attacks. The paradox was solved when an analysis revealed that their diet was high in Omega-3 fatty acids. Since that time, there has been an avalanche of scientific studies establishing the myriad benefits of Omega-3.

Fish, the natural source of Omega-3, has always been considered a healthy food, and the American Heart Association recommends a diet that includes three to four servings of fish per week. But—and I am convinced of this by personal experience—the high mercury content found in many deep water fish, as well as the high PCB, count makes eating excessive amounts of fish risky. Therefore, I strongly recommend that Omega-3 fatty acids be taken in supplements.

AHA Recommends Supplements
Years ago when I was attending a conference of the American Heart Association, I was pleased to hear the speakers recommending Omega-3 for a healthy diet; and, surprisingly, they added that if Omega -3 were not sufficiently available in fish at meals, then there should be Omega-3 supplementation. This was the first time I had ever heard a medical society that is generally very conservative recommend supplementation. Times have changed, and today vitamin supplements, specifically vitamin B to lower homocysteine levels, are recommended by the AHA. Not only does the American Heart Association recommend Omega-3 supplements, but the American Diabetes Association has followed suit, advising supplementation intake of Omega-3.

Indicative of the interest in supplementation, the August 21, 2006 issue of the American journal Cardiology included a special 40-page supplement titled "Omega-3 Fatty Acids and Cardiovascular Disease Reduction." A recent article in the British journal Lancet reported a 20% cardiovascular risk reduction in individuals taking statin drugs who were getting Omega-3 in a high fish diet or in supplements. The four benefits these researchers found were reduction in triglycerides, reduction in thrombogenicity, reduced inflammation, and stabilization of cardiac rhythm.

In my practice, I have used Omega-3 supplementation together with Coenzyme Q10, magnesium, and carnitine for cardiac rhythm problems with great success. To that very point, the New England Journal of Medicine reported recently that high Omega-3 intake protects the heart's electrophysiologic system and prevents irregular heartbeat or arrhythmia. This beneficial effect of Omega-3 is most likely secondary to its anti-inflammatory effect and also to its cell membrane stabilization effect because the Omega-3 fatty acids incorporate themselves into cell membranes.

Benefits for the Heart
Additional studies have reported that Omega-3 fatty acids can reduce the incidence of sudden cardiac death. And their effect in reducing high triglycerides is one of the reasons why the American Diabetes Association recommends their supplementation. Diabetics and also persons with visceral adiposity (fat stomach) and/or metabolic syndrome are generally found to have hypertriglyceridemia, which is itself an independent risk factor for heart disease and sudden thrombosis. Omega-3 anti-inflammatory, cardiac regulatory, blood pressure regulatory, and blood vessel wall enhancement benefits are also of great importance for the management of diabetes.

Here is a summary list of the cardiovascular benefits of Omega-3 fatty acids:

1. Prevention of deadly heart arrhythmias and reduced incidence of sudden cardiac death.

2. Decreased cardiovascular disease-provoking inflammation.

3. Relief of endothelial dysfunction.

4. Improved blood vessel elasticity.

5. Reduced blood pressure.

6. Reduced triglycerides.

7. Reduced postprandial hyperlipidemia, which is a significant contributing cause of acute myocardial infarction (heart attack after dinner), and chronic increase in cardiovascular deterioration.

8. Stabilization of arteriosclerotic plaque.

9. Reduced thrombogenicity or blood clotting.

10. Improvement in HDL metabolism.

These multiple cardiac benefits are all documented by scientific studies and are the reasons I recommend Omega-3 fish oils to all of my patients for cardiovascular disease prevention and for other therapeutic considerations.

And More...
Besides cardiovascular, there are many other health benefits of Omega-3 supplementation. New research indicates that fish oils can reduce the progression of early Alzheimer's disease. Studies also show that Omega-3 enhances mood, behavior, cognition, and counters depression. Other beneficial effects include enhanced immunity and improvement in bone and joint problems, especially arthritis and other inflammatory joint conditions. I use Omega-3 fatty acid supplements as a principal therapy for patients with arthritis.

Skin problems, such as eczema and psoriasis respond to Omega-3 supplementation. Gastrointestinal function is markedly improved, especially problems such as ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease, and irritable bowel syndrome. Ocular benefits include a reduced progression of macular degeneration.

Of special importance for my practice is new research reported by the Endocrine Society that shows Omega-3 supplementation aids in weight management, not only through its anti-inflammatory effect but also by promoting fat oxidation. Other recent research reports improved wound healing and decreased prostate cancer progression with Omega-3 fish oil supplements. The list goes on. It is truly a super nutrient.

About Dr. Vagnini
Dr. Vagnini is ELDR's chief medical advisor. He is the coauthor, along with ELDR Editor-in-Chief Dave Bunnell, of the book, Count Down Your Age (McGraw-Hill). To learn more about Dr. Vagnini, visit his website »

Exercise: The Spark for Your Brain

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 14:28:10 -0400

Does exercise benefit your brain?

You bet it does, and if you want to know the many ways it does, get this book: Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain, by Dr. John J. Ratey with Eric Hagerman.

"We all know that exercise makes us feel better, but most of us have no idea why," Ratey writes. "We assume it's because we're burning off stress or reducing muscle tension or boosting endorphins, and we leave it at that. But the real reason we feel so good when we get our blood pumping is that it makes the brain function at its best, and in my view, this benefit of physical activity is far more important—and fascinating—than what it does for the body.

"Building muscles and conditioning the heart and lungs are essentially side effects. I often tell my patients that the point of exercise is to build and condition the brain."

Ratey is a clinical associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. He has put together a wonderfully fascinating account of what goes on inside your head when you exercise.

Ratey describes these almost unbelievable chemical and neurological processes in terms that a lay person can understand. And they make a convincing case that "...you have the power to change your brain. All you have to do is lace up your running shoes."

For me the most interesting chapter of all was the one on aging. Ratey lists nine ways that exercise keeps you going:

1. It strengthens the cardiovascular system.
2. It regulates fuel (glucose).
3. It reduces obesity.
4. It elevates your stress threshold.
5. It lifts your mood.
6. It boosts the immune system.
7. It fortifies your bones.
8. It boosts motivation.
9. It fosters neuroplasticity (keeps your brain growing).

Considering a list like that, why would anyone let laziness keep them from exercising?

Kiss Tomorrow Hello: Midlife Underground

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 13:42:23 -0400

I really enjoyed reading Kiss Tomorrow Hello: Notes from the Midlife Underground by 25 Women Over Forty. These essays reflect the thoughts, life events and relationships of 25 excellent women writers reflecting on age, health, love, sex, and change.

The writers range in age from 40 to much older, and I found their experiences and perspectives fascinating. For example, Joyce Maynard, at 51, discusses what she discovered from her foray into Internet dating ("maybe an amazing relationship is something you painstakingly build, not something that hits you like a lightning bolt... viewing the process as a search more like a road trip to parts unknown."). Karen Karbo discloses details about her relationship with a man 16 years younger ("OWs [Older Women] have learned that guys...like sex, and they like it when their women like it, and that's about it. [Younger women] worry far too much about cellulite. Basically if you're naked and smiling, men are pretty happy.")

The essay that gripped me the hardest was "Tearing Up the Sheets: A Meditation on Middle-Age Sex" by Ellen Sussman. As I read it, I kept running to my husband to read him parts. For example,

My husband and I prefer to make love in the afternoon. In the evening, we're, well, tired. And we like energetic, tear-up-the-sheets kind of sex. So we steal away from our work and spend some time imitating porn stars. Then we take a long middle-age nap.

Boys come quickly. Men do not. Hallelujah.

I fumble with my jeans, pushing them down and off. I scramble to pull his T-shirt over his head—wait, it's caught in his glasses—and the shirt and glasses fall to the floor... He grunts when he turns toward me—an old hip injury—and I cringe when I lean into the cushion—my damn back. And then we've got it right... When he enters me, he fills me. I pull him close, wanting all of him. I give him all of me.

If you're interested in this lively and provocative book, it's available from Amazon here.

– Joan Price is the author of Better Than I Ever Expected: Straight Talk about Sex after Sixty. Visit her website at joanprice.com and her sex and aging blog at betterthanieverexpected.blogspot.com.

Yes, We Can Change… But Will We?

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 13:33:45 -0400

Barack and Hillary have been telling us lately that "Yes we can." I agree. The question is, will we? I am not talking about political change. I am talking about the daily stuff of life such as finding a new purpose after retirement, losing weight and embracing new interests.

My work as a specialist in the management of change is to guide people and organizations to go from their current reality to their desired future state. After 30 years in the business, I can tell you with certainty that change is difficult for most people. I am sure that is not a surprise for you.

Even the good stuff—the birth of a grandchild, the relocation to your dream house, the finding of your perfect mate—produces ripples of energy that have us counting our blessings one moment and ready to run out the back door the next. Yet, most of us are seeking "More." It doesn't matter whether we want more money, more love, more power, more health or more self-mastery. Our desire for change seems to be in our DNA. So why do we fight the very thing that we say we want?

Some people would say that we need more motivation, will power, discipline or better time management. I am not convinced. Over thirty years of aikido, meditative practice, and energy awareness training has taught me that there are specific laws of nature that affect us all. Consider this change principle. Whenever there is a job or task to do, energy moves through your mind/body to help you do the job. For example, if you are healthy and the job is to stand up, you will not even notice the extra energy that moves through your system to help you rise. However, if you are infirmed, the amount of energy necessary to stand will be a great deal more. The bigger the job, which often depends on your perception and skill, the more energy is required. If you resist the increased energy, which I call pressure, you experience tiredness, discomfort, stress and/or disease. However, when you open to it, you feel energized, happy and confident.

Think about the speeches you have given, the times you asked your boss for a raise, the moments you stepped up to bat at a big game, and you will relate to what I am saying. I call the process of resisting energy the "180 degree turn." One moment you are moving in a certain direction only to find yourself spun around heading in the opposite direction. This happens to all of us, yet, if you want the "More" in life, you need to stop fighting the energy of change. How do you do that?

1. Don't believe everything you think. Your mind will con you. Do what you say you want to do, especially if you don't feel like it.

2. Reframe. Recognize that your resistance is just a sign that more aliveness is coming into your system to help you do the job. Say "YES!" to it.

3. Move. Take a walk, stretch, sing, or anything physical that helps you re-center and open your mind/body system.

4. Get as big as the job. Allow the pressure of change to move through you with ease. Energy outflow produces aliveness, joy and high performance. Imagine, like the sun, you radiate 360 degrees around you.

–Aimee Bernstein will be leading a women's retreat on Sanibel Island, Florida during the last weekend of October. To learn more, visit to her website: openmindadventures.com.

Trolling for Dates... for Dad

Sat, 14 Jun 2008 10:00:44 -0400

Father and son—they're an odd pair to be enmeshed together in the dating scene.

Bob is gay, 40, erudite, picky, fashion-snooty, and he recoils from dating anyone who resembles him. Joe is 81, a widower, sloppy, grudgingly willing to brush the accumulated trash off the passenger seat for a date (though not willing to turn off the baseball game), seeking a nice, Jewish woman who plays bridge and is willing to do more than hold hands.

Joe sends Bob into a squirming fit by telling him he wants Bob's help answering the personals ads.

Assisted Loving is a thoroughly delightful and funny memoir of Bob and Joe and their dating travails. More, it's a story of how Bob, so judgmental at first that you wonder if he even likes his father, comes to see Joe's deeper qualities—and his own. Highly recommended.

Of course I must chastise Bob for seeing his father's desire for sex as "unseemly" and embarrassing. Joe had an affectionate, dynamic relationship with Bob's mother, and of course he would want to share this kind of intimacy with someone else rather than stay lonely. (We understand this better than Bob did, I think.) Why should sex be "unseemly" just because Joe has wrinkles, a paunch and a hip replacement, and talks with his mouth full? More power to him if he feels sexual vigor and wants to express it—don't you agree?

If you're a dating, elder dad, this book would be a marvelous gift for your grown kids! Be sure to visit Bob Morris's website, too—it's very funny.

–Joan Price is the author of Better Than I Ever Expected: Straight Talk about Sex after Sixty. Visit her website at joanprice.com and her sex and aging blog at betterthanieverexpected.blogspot.com.

The Answer to High Blood Pressure

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 11:34:14 -0400

One quarter of the adult population of the United States has high blood pressure. In most of these people blood pressure is not under control despite medication. Most patients are taking 2, 3, or 4 blood pressure medications, and are subject to all the incident side effects: weakness, impotence or loss of libido, muscle cramps, rash, cough, high blood sugar, and others.

Most people with high blood pressure have what is called "essential hypertension," as if it were something they needed. It is intended to mean we do not know what causes it. We do know. Essential hypertension has two causes: salt and being overweight.

In areas of the world where salt intake is low—primitive areas—there is no such thing as essential hypertension, and there is no age-related hypertension. We only require about 2 grams of salt a day, and we eat at least five times that amount, often a lot more. Our food is loaded with salt, and it is added before we buy it. Only 5% of the salt in food is added during cooking.

With all the talk about reducing fat, eliminating trans fats, and reducing sugar, there has been no movement whatsoever to reduce our excessive salt habit.

I recommend you start to read food labels for their salt content. Salt will be listed as sodium. One mg of sodium represents 2.5 mg of salt. Thus your daily intake of sodium should be less than 1000 mg (one gram). If the label indicates that one serving of the product contains more than 100 mg of sodium, I suggest you do not buy it. You will be surprised, if not shocked, by what you see. Items such as sausage and other lunch meats, and cheese will be out of the question. Note that an 8 ounce serving of milk contains 150 mg of sodium. One slice of bread contains about 80 mg of sodium.

Restaurants, perhaps without exception, salt their foods heavily. This includes not only fast food restaurants, but also expensive ones. Soups especially are laden with salt. Chinese and Mexican restaurants offer perhaps the most heavily salted preparations.

There is no salt in fruits and vegetables provided they are fresh and not processed. Fruits and vegetables, in fact, are loaded with potassium, which has the effect of lowering blood pressure. Thus, the more fruits and vegetables you eat, the lower your blood pressure will go.

Add up the sodium in the foods you eat. Aim toward less than one gram of sodium per day. You will see your blood pressure go down, as well as your weight, because foods high in salt are often calorically dense. Make sure the nuts and popcorn you eat are also unsalted. You will get used to eating less salt, and eventually find heavily salted foods to be distasteful.

- Dr. Sosin is the Founder and Medical Director of the Institute for Progressive Medicine in Irvine, California. He has authored two books, Alpha Lipoic Acid: Nature's Ultimate Antioxidant, and The Doctor's Guide to Diabetes and Your Child.

^{The information contained on this blog is provided for educational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any illness or condition. The recommendations contained on this site have not been reviewed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). No content contained on this site is a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Never increase, reduce or discontinue any medication or treatment without first consulting your doctor.}

The Art of Living Well and Dying Well

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 18:14:17 -0400

As Epicurus noted centuries ago, the art of living well and dying well are one.

Last month, ELDR's poll showed people want choices in how they die. A whopping 81.5%, to be exact, believe it is up to an individual—not government, not church and not some 3^rd party—to decide about life's end.

No surprise to me. But it was gratifying, because since 1994 I've devoted my life to end-of-life choices. That's when I co-authored and campaigned for Oregon's trail-blazing Death with Dignity Act. Now I lead Compassion & Choices, a national organization aimed at improving care and expanding choices at the end of life.

It's a big job and we're the only ones doing it. We litigate under-treated pain cases as elder abuse. We fight to put teeth in advance health care directives. We campaign for laws that empower people with knowledge and opportunities to choose. And our End-of-Life Consultation program gives people information and confidence to make their way through some pretty tough decisions. We never charge a dime for the consultation and support we provide to our clients and their families all over the nation.

People want to decide for themselves when a long downhill course of terminal illness is no longer living—it's prolonged dying. They want a good quality life as long as humanly possible. They are willing to tolerate a lot of suffering if they can still do a few worthwhile things and express their love of family and life. But if life becomes just suffering, with no joy and poor bodily function, many would like the assurance of a peaceful, humane way out.

We didn't used to have this problem. Devastating, untreatable diseases took lives quickly. A cancer diagnosis rarely lasted more than a year. Heart and lung disease had few effective treatments. Pneumonia was called "the old man's friend" because without antibiotics, it often brought the final release to a frail, weakened body.

No more. With the latest chemotherapy, radiation and bio-engineered treatments, people can carry on a valiant fight against cancer for twenty years or more. Transplanted and artificial organs work almost as well as the originals.

Even with no reasonable expectation of improvement, terminal patients often find themselves in intensive care, hooked up to tubes and machines, enduring one invasive technology after another to forestall the inevitable. Most people say if they could choose where to die, it would be at home. Yet 80% die in acute care hospitals.

Something is seriously haywire. Probably the most haywire we saw things was a few years ago when a Florida family fought a fierce, vitriolic public battle about their wife and daughter, Terri Schiavo. Schiavo had been in a vegetative state over a decade, and her husband believed, if she could decide, she would not want to be kept alive artificially. In last month's survey, 93.6% answered that would be their decision as well.

Politicians disagreed. And we were treated to the spectacle of Florida officials, Congress, and even the president, pressing government into the private, personal, gut-wrenching deliberations of one family. Shock was the most common reaction, and horror that a personal tragedy could be so politicized. A wise and courageous judge finally over-ruled the politicians and Ms. Schiavo was allowed to die.

This was the turning point for a nation. People everywhere now realize how precious, and fragile, is the right to remain an individual, and die in accordance with the beliefs and values of a lifetime. They have seen their government over-reach terribly and know they must protect themselves and their families.

I plan to use this blog to help people do just that. I hope readers will get information, get angry, and get prepared. We'll not only cry together, but laugh together, as well. Because the most important things to pack for the end-of-life journey are knowledge, love and a gentle sense of humor.

Be careful out there, and love one another.

–Barbara Coombs Lee is President of Compassion & Choices, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving care and expanding choice at the end of life.

Flings, Frolics, and Faking

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 11:16:23 -0400

I've been reading Flings, Frolics, and Forever Afters: A Single Woman's Guide to Romance after Fifty by Katherine E. Chaddock & Emilie Chaddock Egan (Ten Speed Press, 2005). This self-help action plan for finding romance gives advice applicable to singles of any age who want to enter (or re-enter) the dating scene, with just a few tips specifically targeted to our age group, such as getting your adult children to accept that you're dating again.

Though the section on sex is only one chapter, it's a long chapter, and very specific, including the need for safer sex. Most of the advice is okay—though of course not as splendid as in Better Than I Ever Expected—but I really didn't like the command to "have an orgasm: real or fake" and the explanation that it's harmless and "it will make him feel great." I don't think so! What man would feel great knowing his partner just faked an orgasm? Oh, I forgot—the point is that he wouldn't know. That's so manipulative that I shudder. And how would it help your future sex life, if he thinks he's figured out how to set off your personal fireworks and will keep repeating a technique that actually didn't do it for you?

I also didn't like the suggestion to sneak off to the bathroom to apply a lubricant. "You want him to think you are juiced because of him, not because of a gel in a tube." Boo. There's nothing to be ashamed of if we no longer lubricate freely, if our hormonally deprived bodies don't match our emotional juiciness. Make applying a lubricant part of the love play and ask your partner to do it for you, and it can be very sexy. Each time one of you reaches for the bottle of Liquid Silk (my personal favorite), you both know what's about to happen. So much sexier than running into the bathroom and returning suddenly (and artificially) moist!

Here's the bottom line, as far as I'm concerned: If you can't communicate honestly with a partner what you need for comfortable, pleasurable sex and what you need to reach orgasm, what are you doing in bed with this person?

What do you think?

–Joan Price is the author of Better Than I Ever Expected: Straight Talk about Sex after Sixty. Visit her website at joanprice.com and her sex and aging blog at betterthanieverexpected.blogspot.com.

In Praise of a Good Man

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 14:02:23 -0400

I'm of an age that I can look back with some perspective on my father. At one time I saw him as someone who was never there for his son, an absent father. And that is what he was. He worked ten hours a day, six days a week in a disreputable tavern in the west end of Toronto. Of course, being that he was working from noon until midnight, I never got to see him, let alone get to know him.

There was a time I resented the fact that he wasn't there for me. And the few times that he was, he never hugged me or talked with me. He didn't know about such things. A poor excuse for a father, I told my therapist, and he agreed with me.

It never dawned on me until years later that we were poor and it was the only job he could get if he wanted to keep a roof over our heads, that he was too tired and preoccupied to be the good father I had demanded he be.

But now I am older and wiser, and realize what he did give me and what a good man he really was. I remember my older sisters saying how they wanted to marry a man like my father. I remember going over to the Rondun Hotel were my dad "slung beer," and one woman telling me what a wonderful man my father was. "He gives respect to every woman no matter what kind she is, and he never swears," she informed me.

I realize now how much of this he passed on to me, not in words, but simply in the fact of who he was. I have been in a wonderful marriage for years, happy and in love with my wife, just like my dad was with my mother. I can see now that this respect and love for women is the biggest and best gift my father gave me.

And I realize now that I might have been a bit of a disappointment as a son. My father, a baseball fan, gave up taking me to ball games when, after stuffing myself with hotdogs, I wanted to go home. "What a dumb game!" is what I remember saying to him. I guess now I can forgive him for not coming out to watch me play high school football.

In truth I was my mother's son, and my dad didn't quite know what to do with me, but to his credit, he did find a way. When I was in my late teens, getting ready to go to university, my dad took a week off. It was the summer I couldn't get a job and was desperate to find some way to earn my university tuition.

It was in late August, and my dad dragged me off to the race track. I couldn't imagine anything more boring, but he showed me how to read the Racing Form, what to look for in a winner, how to bet the daily double, how to bet for place and show. By end of the week I had won enough money for my tuition fee.

That summer, my father taught me how to gamble: knowing when to take a risk, when to cut one's losses, never to renege on a bet and never ever bet the milk money. A skill that has proved useful throughout my life in ways I'm sure he never imagined.

He was a man who kept his word and could be trusted. This I came to sense when I talked with some of the habitues whom I'd meet when I went over to see my dad at work. They use to tell me that he never spoke out against them, never fought with them, would even lend them a few bucks if they were really down on their luck. They respected his honesty and directness, and because of him I was given a certain position of respect. I was always introduced as Ernie's boy. That carried a certain weight. And I was proud to be his son.

Of course as I grew older I saw him as inept and old fashioned, taciturn, and clumsy. Yet now when I look in the mirror, or more often, when I hear myself laugh or greet a stranger on the street, I realize that I have become my dad. It is something I feel good about. In his way, he showed me how to be a good man. What more could a boy ask of his father?

-Austin Repath is a writer and philosopher. Visit austinrepath.com to read more of his work.

Chasing Returns is Destructive Behavior

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 20:44:48 -0400

The number one mistake investors make is the habit of chasing recent winners. People will inexorably move their money to an investment that has done well in the recent past. The grass always seems greener somewhere else, and we are constantly tempted to move across the street.

This phenomenon of chasing returns produces an apparent paradox. Investors do not earn, as a group, the same returns as are reported by the very mutual funds in which they invest and by the market indices. If a market index, such as the S&P 500, produces a given amount of return over some period of time, the entire collection of people that actually invest in the market never earn as high an amount, even after adjusting for fees. How can this be so? I can give you a simple example that explains the paradox.

Let's imagine there are only two stock funds, the Early Fund and the Late Fund. They start a given year with the same amount of investor money. For the first half of the year, the Early Fund earns 15%, and the Late Fund loses 5%. The investors all gather out in the cul de sac on July 1st and compare notes. The Early Fund investors are happy; the Late Fund investors are not so happy. All of the Early Fund investors stay in their fund and half of the Late Fund investors move to the Early Fund.

In the second half of the year, the Early Fund loses 5% and the Late Fund earns 15%. Let's stop here for a moment, because year-end is when fund companies report results and all the magazines rank mutual funds. How do Early Fund and Late Fund compare? Their reported results are identical. They each earned a compounded rate of return of 9.2%, and experienced the same degree of volatility, or risk. In our little universe of two funds, the entire market basket of available stock funds earned 9.2%.

But, hold on a moment. Isn't the point of investing to make money for investors? Let's see how our universe of investors did. By shifting money to the first half's winning fund, investors that started the year in the Late Fund missed a strong second half. So, while the Late Fund reported great results, the amount of money invested in the fund had shrunk by half. Where did that money go? Over to the Early Fund where it lost 5% in the second half.

What is the bottom line for the collective group of investors? They earned only 4.5%, or less than half the market return. Again, it can seem puzzling that investors, in aggregate, can make less than the return reported by the entire market. Investors, as a whole, do not earn the market average return. And, if I may say so, it's their own darn fault.

From 1984 through 2002, the collective universe of stock mutual funds earned about 11.0% annualized. The universe of investors in those same mutual funds earned an annualized return of only 2.6%. In dollar terms, the average investor starting with $100,000 in 1984 gave up a whopping $500,000 in investment gains due to the destructive habit of chasing returns.

Remember, this shortfall is not due to "bad mutual fund managers." The mutual fund managers, as a group, did just fine. The source of the investors' disappointing results can be found in their own bathroom mirror.

–Rick Ashburn, CFA, is Chief Investment Officer of Creekside Partners Investment Counsel in Lafayette, California. He has managed investments for institutional and private clients for 23 years. Visit his website at creeksidepartners.com, or e-mail him at rick [at] creeksidepartners [dot] com.

Making New Friends

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 20:37:36 -0400

Starting a new life in a new town

Making friends at any age is one of life's challenges. Making them all over again when your life has changed in some way can really separate the women from the girls. But with a little effort, imagination, and some chutzpah, you can do it—and enjoy some of the best relationships ever.

And if you're hesitating, ask yourself how many of your old friends are people you would have picked? More likely they were parents of your children's friends, or the only acquaintances your husband liked, too. But now you can find people you like. When I moved 3,000 miles from most of my friends—from New York City to Sausalito, California, I wondered how I was ever going to make new friends.

First of all, I resolved to approach it with the same determination that I bring to my work. I decided I had to:

● Be bold and imaginative. I picked up the phone and called the publisher of my local newspaper, told him I had a publishing background myself, and asked if we could have coffee one morning, since who else could tell me more about my new hometown? Martin and his wife, Josie, have since become good friends, and they're always up on local activities that might interest me.

● Take advantage of chance. When I received a neighbor's mail by mistake and, worse, opened it, I delivered it personally with an apology. She invited me to brunch with another neighbor, and another friendship began.

● Tap a dream. Think of something you've always wanted to do—speak Italian, learn to sail—and take a course. You'll meet some soul mates for sure.

● Give. After you've done even some of the above, give a buffet party, invite everyone you've met so far, and ask them to bring a friend. Don't be embarrassed to admit that you want to meet people. Give some effort to the community. Act like you care—about people, about issues, about life. Be open and friendly every chance you get. Give time and attention to others. Live by the old saying, "To make a friend, ask a favor. To keep a friend, do a favor." It's still true.

- Leda has published a book of essays called, "Look for the Moon in the Morning." To learn more about Leda Sanford you can visit her website, l edasanford.com.

Vital Visionaries

Fri, 30 May 2008 13:01:08 -0400

Since we, as seniors, are a population that is swelling and will consequently impact the medical system, the National Institute on Aging (NIA) sponsored a pilot program called Vital Visionaries that was originally created by Johns Hopkins College of Medicine in conjunction with the American Visionaries Art Museum.

The goal was to enhance communication between young medical students and local seniors of 65 years of age or older and to promote positive attitudes toward the field of geriatrics and as well as in the treatment of the aging population in private practice. This initial 2004 pilot design was so successful that NIA partnered with the Society for the Arts in Health Care (SAH) in 2005-6 to replicate it nationally at 4 additional sites.

Center for the Arts in Health Care Research and Education (CAHRE) was selected as one of the sites and collaborated with The Harn Museum of Art, the University of Florida College of Medicine and the Sante Fe Community College Prime Time Institute. I encourage you to watch the video.

It is an incredibly creative initiative monitored by pre- and post- evaluations with measurable results. Consisting of a total of four carefully orchestrated sessions, the first session begins with pairing the medical student and the elder. They must find each other in a group by effectively communicating information about the matching art print that each received. What a great icebreaker concept for event planners!

Then the pair, as a team, visits the museum and works together to develop descriptive words and phrases that describe the art exhibit that they shared. The elements of this literary expression are then developed into poetry. Finally the poetry is translated to dance and, although the participants are encouraged, the dance is primarily performed by other people of different ages in response to their poetry reading. Music is provided to enhance the poetic interpretation and as a resource for movement.

Through these interactive art experiences, the young and old learn that art can bridge differences and promote similarities. It is an intergenerational communication that develops gently at first but moves with the stride of a partnership by the final session and demonstrates the ability to change and adapt to new and positive experiences.

Cathy De Witt, Music Coordinator/Musician in Residence at Shands Arts in Medicine, provided the original musical elements to integrate the poetry with dance. Regarding the bonding of the participants, she says "It's the kind of communication that used to take place with families; you don't have the extended families living with each other as much anymore so it is a rare opportunity to have this experience, or for some it may be an extension of a relationship with grandparents."

As a result of the success of Vital Visionaries, the University of Chicago School of Medicine, with their partnering art museum, is offering it as a course. This is the first academic seed that hopefully will be followed by many other institutions to teach and guide the lessons of Vital Visionaries.

-Judith Zausner is the Founder and President of Caring Crafts, Inc. which offers craft kits and supplies to adults with fine motor skill problems and/or attention difficulties. Awarded a grant from the Society for the Arts in Health Care, Judith is dedicated to empowering creativity to encourage independence and enhance wellbeing.

The Best Kind of "Family Values"

Tue, 27 May 2008 13:10:49 -0400

I'm proud of the California Supreme Court for overturning the ban on gay marriages on May 15, 2008. It's about time. When I see the images of committed couples—especially older couples—hugging and crying because they finally will have the rights the rest of us have had all along, I want to sing, cheer, yell, and dance my support.

Look, for example, at Del Martin, 83, and Phyllis Lyon, 79, who had been together for 51 years when they were married in San Francisco on Feb. 12, 2004, a marriage later declared invalid. Now they can remarry. So can Ellen Pontac and Shelly Bailes, who have been together for 34 years, and Mason Bowling, 61, and Patrick Fitzgerald, 58, together 30 years.

This is, finally, true separation of church and state. Religions are still free to take whatever stand they wish. According to the ruling, "no religion will be required to change its religious policies or practices with regard to same-sex couples, and no religious officiant will be required to solemnize a marriage in contravention of his or her religious beliefs." This is a civil matter. A matter of civil rights.

Two people fall in love, create a life together, stay in love, perhaps raise a family together, and get old still loving each other. This, to me, is "family values" at its best.

I would love to hear from gay and lesbian couples over 50 who would like to share their stories and their comments. Please either post comments here or joan [at] joanprice [dot] com if you prefer.

–Joan Price is the author of Better Than I Ever Expected: Straight Talk about Sex After Sixty. View video of Joan discussing Better Than I Ever Expected on You Tube. Read more about sex and aging at Joan's blog, betterthanieverexpected.blogspot.com.

Speaking of Brains, How Fit is Yours?

Thu, 22 May 2008 18:13:45 -0400

I've just come across a fascinating company and website: SharpBrains. They've got what looks like some really good news.

SharpBrains is a research & advisory firm devoted to helping individuals, companies, health providers, investors, and policy makers understand and participate in the emerging brain fitness field through a variety of market-intelligence products and services.

The company says that brain fitness may grow one day to become as widespread as physical fitness, and brain fitness centers or "brain gyms" may complement today's gyms.

SharpBrains has just released its inaugural report on the emerging brain fitness software market, the first to define the brain fitness software market and analyze the size and trends of its four customer segments.

Highlights from The State of the Brain Fitness Software Market 2008 report include:

• 2007 was a seminal year for the US brain fitness software market, which reached $225 million in revenues—up from an estimated $100 million in 2005.

• Over 20 companies are offering tools to assess and train cognitive skills to four customer segments: consumers; healthcare and insurance providers; K12 school systems; and Fortune 1000 companies, the military, and sports teams.

• More than five programs have shown results in randomized controlled trials. Cognitive functions that can be trained include: visual and auditory processing, working memory, attention, and decision-making.

So, while you're checking out the latest running shoes, heart monitors and iPod arm holsters, you may also find yourself looking at some nifty products to improve the condition of your brain.

Try to get your mind around that!

- Lee Callaway of Redwood City, CA, has reinvented himself several times, including a transition from corporate executive to consultant, two trips back to graduate school and, most recently, as the founder of RebootYou.com. His driving force is staying active, discovering and trying new things, and continually searching for new challenges.

Editor's Note: Read more about the co-founders of SharpBrains and try some brain fitness exercises in our feature, Work Out Your Brain!

Doing Good Work and Getting Paid to Do It

Thu, 22 May 2008 17:54:40 -0400

Between working at a for-profit business for a salary and working at a non-profit organization as a volunteer, there's another path for rebooters: Doing "good work" and getting paid for it.

That is, starting a new career by taking on a salaried position in an organization devoted to some higher social good, such as health care, education and social services.

Marc Freedman, co-founder of Civic Ventures, author and one of the nation's leading thinkers and writers on the opportunities presented by the aging of America, documents this growing trend in Encore: Finding Work that Matters in the Second Half of Life. He calls it one of the most significant developments of the new century, and the biggest change in the American workforce since the women's movement.

"Millions of boomers are headed, not for an endless vacation, but for a new stage of work, driven both by the desire to remain productive and the need to make ends meet over longer life spans," he says.

"Boomers can capitalize on longer working lives to go beyond their own narrow needs, get down to some of their most significant work and leave the world a better place than they found it."

Civic Ventures and its affiliate Encore.org are dedicated to helping people make such transitions to "encore careers," working both online and offline. On the Web, Encore.org members share their stories, their ideas and their challenges. On the ground, the Encore.org community includes nonprofits, companies, colleges and other organizations that help people explore, prepare and launch their encore careers.

While RebootYou.com has no official affiliation with Civic Ventures and Encore.org, we are proud to share objectives with them and help further this valuable, vital and much needed trend.

– Lee Callaway of Redwood City, CA, has reinvented himself several times, including a transition from corporate executive to consultant, two trips back to graduate school and, most recently, as the founder of RebootYou.com. His driving force is staying active, discovering and trying new things, and continually searching for new challenges.

Letter to a Young Woman

Mon, 19 May 2008 17:41:41 -0400

It's not often that a young woman decides to chat me up in a coffee shop. But that's what happened a few days ago—a twenties-something blonde conversing earnestly with a stranger three times her own age. It was obvious she wanted something from me, but felt too uncomfortable to ask, and for the life of me, I couldn't figure out what it was. I had the feeling, as we parted company, that in some way, I had let her down. Later, I figured it out. She'd been curious to know what I had learned about life—this old man, three score and ten. In an attempt to somehow make it up to her, I began writing a letter, hoping I could find some way to get it to her.

Dear Young Woman,

I realize now what you want from me. You want to know what life is about, and you sense that, from the far end of the road, I should be able to tell you something essential about the journey. I can, though I'm not sure you'll want to hear it.

I think of the Russian poet, Yevgeny Yevtushenko, and the first line of one of his poems: "Telling lies to the young is wrong." I don't want to give you conventional truths, polite lies, or what I think you want to hear: that life is good, follow your dreams, expect to be rewarded in the end. The platitudes you hear from parents, teachers and the like. I'm not a person who can do that.

In fact, I'm not sure I want to tell you the truth. It wouldn't prove useful to you. Yet I feel under some obligation to share what I have learned, with the caveat that it is my reality, not yours. You'll discover your own truth along the way.

To begin with, the essence of my journey has been finding the courage to move from illusion to reality. The wonderful dreams of my youth, of my adulthood, had to be tempered by what is possible in life—possible in my own life. It's been a hard learning process that has made me more human, more humble, more humane.

I thought I was capable of great things. I imagined I would create great beauty with my music, capture a special vision of life in my writing. I believed I would enter a world of truth and harmony when I joined a therapy commune. I expected that I would find unconditional love in my marriage.

And even before all that, I grew up within the sheltering arms of Christianity, believing there was a guardian angel who protected me, saints to whom I could pray for lost objects, special favours. I loved being one of the "chosen ones," with the promise of eternal happiness in heaven after I died.

These were some of the illusions that carried me forward on my path through life. And after they had done their work, drawing me along from stage to stage, each belief was shattered.

The same can be said of dreams. Dreams fulfilled, dreams destroyed—either way, it doesn't matter. They take you out into life, after which their purpose has been served. You're left with the challenge of dealing with who you really are.

The process for me was one of deflation—from a gifted, special being loved by the Divine, to a simple human, limited in capacity, aware of my mortality, kin to all creatures who walk and crawl on this Earth.

And here I am, nearing the end of my lifespan. I ask myself if I would have been better off remaining within the protective world of my illusions. Just as a child doesn't have a choice about remaining in the womb; however, I didn't have the option. Plus, some questing side of me hungered for the truth, even though it wasn't always what I wanted.

And yet this isn't the whole story. There is a boon given to those who are faithful to their path. With the collapse of every dream, the breaking of every illusion, I found myself becoming more vulnerable, more open. And out of this transformation came an awakening of what I believe is the most human of all virtues: compassion. Having suffered, been hurt, failed at so many attempts to gain "success", I find myself able to reach out to others in a way I never thought possible—with compassion.

How to describe compassion? For me it is an awareness that others, too, share the regret of mistakes made, failures endured, loves lost. That's what happens as we become human. Realizing that we all suffer helps us accept others we meet along the way. And perhaps that is why my life unfolded as it did.

But there is something more that makes age worth the struggle. Recently, not all the time, but not infrequently, I have found myself able to love. Not the romantic love of youth, but one that can embrace all who share this planet. It's a strange and wonderful phenomenon that seems to come unexpectedly to those of a certain age who have lived their lives honestly, doggedly. Some might call it cosmic love—others, Christ love.

Regardless, finding the truth about oneself, humankind, and one's place in the universe is an awesome discovery. And then to experience this ultimate gift of aging, this open heart, is a blessing of the highest order.

So here I am, at the pinnacle of my life, looking back across the distance I've traveled, conscious of all the twists and turns and detours. To be able to reach out in love and embrace this world as it is—that is where life has taken me, and what for me it's all about.

For this I sense it the ultimate challenge. My response to this truth will be what will make me worthy to have lived for a time within the staggering beauty of Existence. For all of this I give thanks.

Sincerely,

The Old Man You Chatted Up

-Austin Repath is a writer and philosopher. Visit austinrepath.com to read more of his work.

Tips for Safely Managing Your Medications

Thu, 15 May 2008 11:51:54 -0400

Q. My daughter heard that grapefruit juice can be toxic for some people. Is that true?

A. The juice, itself, is not toxic, but you should be careful taking medicine with any grapefruit.

Grapefruit juice can raise the level of some medications in the blood. The effect of grapefruit was discovered after using juice to mask the taste of a medicine. So, be sure to ask your doctor or pharmacist if it is safe to have grapefruit with your medications.

Taking medicine can be hazardous to your health. You have to know what you're doing.

For example, calcium-rich dairy products or certain antacids can prevent antibiotics from being properly absorbed into the bloodstream. Ginkgo biloba can reduce the effectiveness of blood-thinning medications and raise the risk for serious complications such as stroke.

You should educate yourself so you know what active ingredients are in the prescription and over-the-counter medicines you are taking.

Some people treat over-the-counter pain relievers as if they are harmless. They can hurt you if you take them improperly. They contain drugs such as acetaminophen, ibuprofen, naproxen sodium and aspirin. Acetaminophen is in Tylenol. Ibuprofen is in Advil. Naproxen sodium is in Aleve.

Many prescription or over-the-counter medicines that treat multiple symptoms, such as cold and flu medications, also include acetaminophen and the other pain-relieving ingredients. So you have to be careful not to take too much of any one ingredient by ingesting more than one medication that contains that ingredient.

Seniors take more medicines than any other age group because they have more health problems. Taking several drugs a day presents dangers. Here are some more tips to avoid these hazards:

Always inform your doctor or pharmacist about all medicines you are already taking, including herbal products and over-the-counter medications.

Tell your doctor, nurse, or pharmacist about past problems you have had with medicines, such as rashes, indigestion or dizziness.

Don't mix alcohol and medicine unless your doctor or pharmacist says it's okay. Some medicines may not work well or may make you sick if you take them with alcohol.

The best advice is this: Don't be afraid to throw a lot of questions about your medicines at your doctor, nurse or pharmacist. Here are some good ones:

When should I take it? As needed, or on a schedule? Before, with or between meals?
At bedtime?
How often should I take it?
How long will I have to take it?
How will I feel once I start taking this medicine?
How will I know if this medicine is working?
If I forget to take it, what should I do?
What side effects might I expect? Should I report them?
Can this medicine interact with other prescription and over-the-counter medicines—including herbal and dietary supplements—that I am taking now?

And, ask your pharmacist to put your medicine in large, easy-to open containers with large-print labels.

About Fred Cicetti:

If you would like to ask a question, please write to fred [at] healthygeezer [dot] com. Learn more about Fred at healthygeezer.com.

America Unzipped: Brian Alexander pulls off the covers

Thu, 08 May 2008 12:02:50 -0400

Brian Alexander's America Unzipped: In Search of Sex and Satisfaction (Harmony, 2008), is one of the most informative and entertaining books about sex that I've had the pleasure of reading. Alexander, MSNBC.com's "Sexploration" columnist, set out on a journey to explore the sexual mores and activities of middle America. Do "normal" Americans behave conservatively in the bedroom, or do they indulge in wild sexual expressions—even activities their neighbors and pastors might brand as "deviant" or "perverted"?

Alexander frequented sex parties, worked in a sex shop, explored kink, interviewed porn producers and actresses, attended rope bondage and fire play seminars, and thoroughly immersed himself in the world of non-vanilla sex (while still keeping his clothes on and his marriage vows intact). The result is a book filled with descriptions of the erotic lifestyles of people who might be your nurse, your librarian, a singer in your church choir, or your grandkid's teacher.

And yes, the people enjoying kinky sex aren't just the young ones. Alexander doesn't make a big deal of it when a person he interviews or observes is silver-haired, and that's one of the pleasures of this book—Boomers and elders who are enthusiastic about sex in any or all of its variations are mingled with all the other sex-positive folks. Kitty, age 50+, poses with her nightie on, then off, her behind to the camera, and posts her photos to a Web site. Don, 49, describes his "magnificent eruptions of bodily fluids" in chat rooms. Debra and Craig, 56, are unmarried swingers "reinventing ourselves" after their divorces. A man and woman, about 70, study elaborate rope-tying techniques at a seminar at the Hyatt. An elderly woman looks through her reading glasses as she uses a kitchen whisk to transmit electricity from a violet wand over the body of her husband. "Then she shocks the bald spot on the back of his head with the attentiveness of a grandmother knitting."

Personally, I have vanilla and monogamous taste in sex these days (I got what I needed from earlier experimentation), but I support everyone's right to do whatever they please with other consenting adults. And, I must admit, I find it fun to read about! I did feel a bit queasy at times: Goddess Heather (a bulked-up female bodybuilder dominatrix) "has a junkyard hanging from her cooter. Every one of her fifteen labia piercings holds a chain that reaches the floor, or an old, heavy lock." A woman (willingly) cowers in a cage at a fetish party. And all that violet wand shocking stuff was, well, shocking. But one of the wonderful things about books and imagination is that we can take magic trips into other people's experiences and emerge understanding more about the complexity of passion.

The Internet has done a lot to normalize sexual behavior previously thought of as weird or perverse, Alexander points out, whether it's watching or acting in porn online, hooking up with like-minded folks for fetish parties, discovering where you can buy rubberwear, or whatever you might be seeking.

That leads me to wonder, has the Internet freed you to explore some erotic attraction? What have you done, or considered doing, that wouldn't have been possible before we all had computers and online access? I invite your comments!

Read more about sex and aging at Joan's blog, betterthanieverexpected.blogspot.com.

A Program to Prevent and Manage Diabetes

Wed, 07 May 2008 11:35:04 -0400

Drugs and nutritional therapies that work in the prevention and treatment of diabetes.

In the clinical management of diabetes—and pre-diabetes, the prevention of diabetes—health education is critical, particularly with respect to drug therapy. Many of the patients I see with diabetes are misinformed and have doctors that are misinformed. Very frequently they have been prescribed old-fashioned types of drugs and are not taking advantage of more modern types of pharmacologic and neutriceutical agents.

Also complicating the drug therapy management of diabetic patients is the fact that we must deal not only with the glucose and insulin levels, but also the ancillary problems, such as hypertension, lipid abnormalities, hormone dysfunction—especially thyroid, adrenal, and sex hormones. Additional conditions, which complicate treatment and which must be addressed in the therapeutic modality, include visceral adiposity, homocysteine, uric acid elevation and progressive nerve and vascular problems, including retinal and renal disorders. These problems must come under an all-out attack that includes drug therapy and natural therapies, plus dedicated lifestyle changes.

The conditions secondary to diabetes and pre-diabetes are chiefly related to cardiovascular problems, because high glucose levels result in what I call the atherogenic and thrombogenic lipid profile. This profile consists in high triglycerides, low HDL, increased small particle size LDL, and changes in blood clotting characteristics. Associated problems that must be considered are postprandial hyperglycemia (elevated glucose after meals) and postprandial hyperlipidemia (elevated lipids after meals). These problems are called postprandial dysmetabolism.

Elevated glucose causes four specific problems that not only inflict damage on nerve tissue and blood vessels, but also dispose one to cardiovascular disease and accelerate the aging process:

Glycosylation. High glucose levels adhering to protein molecules causing protein and DNA damage as well as the production of AGEs: advanced glycation end products, detrimental to nerves and blood vessels.
Oxidative stress. The by-product damage done to cells in the process of burning nutrients to produce energy, countered by anti-oxidants.
Inflammation. The body's response to cell damage, a known risk factor in cardiovascular disease. It is marked by C-reactive protein (CRP) levels, cardio-CRP, fibrinogen, and white blood count.
Thrombosis. The formation of blood clots; coronary thrombosis is a cause of heart attacks.

The Drugs

In my practice, although I specialize in holistic cardio-endocrinology, I use a number of drugs that I find essential in diabetes management, especially since the newer drugs are extremely efficient. The classes of drugs are as follows:

Sulfonylurea types (Glucotrol, DiaBeta, Micronase, Amaryl).
Meglitinides (Prandin).
Biguanides (metformin/glucophage).
Alpha glucosidase inhibitors (Precose Glyset).
TZDs or thiazolidinediones, such as Actos. Note. Avandia, is still on the market although it has been pegged as a drug that can increase heart risk.
Incretins, which include the miracle drug Byetta, an injectable.
DPP-4 inhibitor Januvia.

What is significant about these modern drugs is that they are effective not only for glucose and insulin management, but many of them have collateral benefits in treating lipids and arteriosclerosis. For example, Actos will slow the progression of arteriosclerosis and possibly reverse arteriosclerosis; glucophage and byetta also reduce weight. But additional drug therapy will be necessary for obesity, hypertension, lipids, fatigue, dysbiosis and low hormone levels.

The Neutriceuticals

With regards to neutriceuticals, as with the drugs, we target those same problems—hypertension, elevated lipids, homocysteine, inflammation, oxidative stress, thrombosis, glycosylation—plus the attendant conditions: obesity, fatigue, and hormonal dysregulation. It is not possible here to discuss in detail each neutriceutical and its effects. Here is a list of those that I have used with success in preventing and treating diabetes: fiber, magnesium, chromium, vanadium, lipoic acid, XS maitake mushroom, Garcinia cambogia, Gymnema sylvestre, fenugreek, cinnamon, Pycnogenol, Asian pumpkin extract, phaseolamin, corosolic acid, biotin and ginseng. These are among the many, many natural substances that can be used therapeutically.

Lately attention has been drawn to hormonal factors in diabetes and obesity (what I call diabesity). Frequently, I see patients with clinical hypothyroidism—that is, early stage hypothyroidism (insufficient thyroid hormone). Recent publications have indicated that a higher range of TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone), even a level within normal range, can be associated with inability to lose weight. Along with hypothyroidism very frequently there occurs adrenal fatigue and adrenal hormone depression. For this condition, DHEA (the body's super hormone) replacement therapy can be very effective in increasing energy and reducing visceral adiposity.

Most diabetic and pre-diabetic men I see have a testosterone deficiency. Administration of the testosterone hormone not only helps the insulin resistance of the diabetes, but also improves their endurance and energy levels, and improves libido and ED. Other problems that are often addressed in the diabetic patient are brain fog and intestinal dysbiosis, by products of the diabetic's high glucose level. For this, I use certain diets that reduce allergens, such as wheat or gluten. These diets are quite effective in reducing weight as well. Also, Candida albicans, often found in diabetic patients, must be treated.

Diet and Exercise

Of priority in the prevention and management of diabetes are a strict disciplined diet and a structured exercise program. I cannot discuss any aspect of this subject without stressing these essential elements. The diet of choice at my centers in New York is a low glycemic, modified low-carbohydrate Mediterranean diet, which is low in grains, fruits, and starches and high in vegetables, salads, lean protein, with some olive oil and some red wine when indicated. The other essential is exercise. It is equally if not more important than all other therapies discussed here in the management and prevention of diabetes. I recommend "cross training"; that is, resistance training, weights and aerobics, and treadmill walking.

My program is obviously extensive and includes all of the above management therapies as well as the help and counsel of the certified medical nutritionists and diabetes educators Maria Santoro and Gia Mazzeo who are a part of my practice. I also perform at my centers a cardio-metabolic evaluation, which includes a complete cardiac evaluation and metabolic evaluation with the use of body composition studies, measurement of basal metabolic rate, measurement of a two-week daily energy expenditure, and most recently added, gastric analysis for hypochlorhydria or lack of stomach acids.

"When Walls Become Doorways"

Tue, 06 May 2008 16:11:56 -0400

Just when we're sailing along in our lives, up pops a roadblock. So we experience frustration, mount the hurdle and resume the normalcy of our life. Yet, many people face roadblocks that are so enormous and life-changing that it is only because of their compelling creative spirit that they go on.

My sister, Dr. Tobi Zausner, writes about creativity, artists, and inner strength in her book When Walls Become Doorways. Tobi says, "When we look at the influence of physical illness on creativity we often find that instead of stopping artists, physical difficulties transform them, enhancing both their life and their work." Her book is based on years of research and an experience with ovarian cancer in 1989. "I was not expected to last the year," Tobi says, "yet I survived and my life transformed for the better."

In looking at the lives of other artists in her book, Tobi shows a similar pattern of illness and personal growth across cultures and throughout the centuries. All of these artists used their creativity to combat the effects of physical difficulties and made the world a better place because of their work.

The Mexican artist Frida Kahlo became a painter after being severely injured in a traffic accident. A farm accident changed the life of the Native American Frank Day, who discovered his gift for painting while recovering in the hospital. It was dyslexia that influenced the Italian Leonardo da Vinci to be an artist, and he became one of the greatest of all time. The American artist Dorothea Lange had polio in childhood, yet she turned her suffering into compassion for others and shows that caring and compassion in her photographs. After severe hepatitis, the Japanese artist Itchiku Kubota found a new way of working and is now one of the leading kimono painters in the world.

Even physical conditions that would seem to impede a career can turn out to be enhancements. The Dutch artist Rembrandt was color blind but used his great ability to see light and shade to give enormous power to his work. The African-American artist Henry Ossawa Turner became a painter after an illness in childhood and the Chinese-American artist Raymond Hu, who has Down syndrome, does work that combines Eastern and Western techniques.

The French artist Henri Matisse was a young lawyer until the long convalescence from an appendectomy turned him to painting as a way to past the time. Later, at the age of 70, his doctors thought he would die after an operation for intestinal cancer went very badly. Yet Matisse lived another 13 years and did some of the best work of his life while sitting in a wheelchair. "Whether you can or not, you hold on" insists Matisse, and "when you're out of will power you call on stubbornness." He believes that what we think is our weakness can turn out to be our greatest strength.

So, how can we learn to create and embrace doorways when faced with what appears to be impenetrable walls in our lives? In researching biographies of artists for her book, Tobi found that they shared these qualities:

• Hardiness. The strength that helps us thrive despite obstacles.

• Resilience. The ability to bounce back after difficulties and adapt to new circumstances.

• Self-efficacy. Our belief that the things we do make a difference.

• Mastery. Success in performing tasks or in the outcome of a situation.

• Perseverance. The determination to keep going.

• The ability to handle stress. In a very long life, there can be a great deal of stress.

• A focus on work and the urge to create.

• Looking toward the future. No matter how old they are, these artists insist their best work is still to come.

As Tobi says, "Everyone has the capacity to grow and change. It comes from the great well of inner strength that we possess and can access in times of need. We are all not only stronger than we think we are but stronger than we can even imagine."

The Next Big Thing: Neuroplastics

Tue, 06 May 2008 15:48:23 -0400

You remember the line in The Graduate, when a friend of Dustin Hoffman's parents pulled him aside and revealed the next big thing: "Plastics."

Well, the next big thing today may be "Neuroplastics." This is the field of medicine that explores the ability of the brain to improve itself through activity or mental exercise.

"The idea that the brain can change its own structure and function through thought and activity is, I believe, the most important alteration in our view of the brain since we first sketched out its anatomy and the workings of its basic component, the neuron," writes Dr. Norman Doidge in his book, The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science.

"The neuroplastic revolution has implications for, among other things, our understanding of how love, sex, grief, relationships, learning, addictions, culture, technology and psychotherapies change our brains," Dr. Doidge writes.

Today's New York Times has a related story: "Exercise Your Brain or Else You'll ... Uh..." The lead actor in the story: ELDR editor-in-chief David Bunnell, who recounts his techniques for maintaining the acuity of his own brain.

"Mr. Bunnell now does regular brain calisthenics, largely avoiding expensive software in favor of simpler solutions," says the Times article. "He works at memorizing the numbers that swirl around his daily life—credit cards, PINs and phone numbers—and devises mnemonics for remembering people's names. ‘Smart people find new ways to exercise their brains that don't involve buying software or taking expensive workshops,' he said."

A growing industry is turning out brain health products—both dietary supplements and computer-based products such as math and memory exercises, cognitive assessment and training and other "neurosoftware" programs.

My favorite brain exercises are crossword puzzles and the "Scramble" word game. I've tackled sodoku but so far with little success. But I haven't given up yet.

Now where did I put this morning's puzzle page?

-Lee Callaway of Redwood City, CA, has reinvented himself several times, including a transition from corporate executive to consultant, two trips back to graduate school and, most recently, as the founder of RebootYou.com. His driving force is staying active, discovering and trying new things, and continually searching for new challenges.

Attracting a Quality Staff of All Ages

Fri, 02 May 2008 17:12:04 -0400

In my last entry, I delineated the differences between the four generations currently in the workforce. How do you attract and retain the best in each age group? Here are some suggestions.

Streamline recruiting processes
Generations X and Y expect the recruiting process and decision to occur rapidly and electronically. If you keep them waiting too long, they will accept other offers. Although older workers are used to waiting, those who are reentering the workforce may not have the financial resources to navigate long recruitment processes. If you want the best and brightest, move quickly. Furthermore, for older workers, give them the choice to be contacted by e-mail or by phone.

To attract Generation X and Generation Y, provide ways to reward them that do not involve promotion.
These younger workers are less interested in climbing the ladder than in building their skills. Offer tuition reimbursement, allow time off for training opportunities, provide webinars, and /or mentoring programs. Develop your organization as a learning community that enhances their value in the marketplace yet makes it difficult, because of the learning opportunities, for them to leave.

Provide opportunities for older workers to upgrade their technological skills.
As technology changes rapidly, older workers may feel embarrassed that they are not up-to-date. Many reentry workers may question their interest in learning or their ability to understand the newer technologies. Thus, by advertising that specific positions require knowledge of certain software programs, you may be excluding people who can make a substantial contribution to your organization. Better to include technological training as part of orientation. Don't just offer classes, as some people may not be willing to ask questions. Include a coaching session for every worker and make your determination whether the person needs further training in technology at that time. You may also want to create a buddy system between the younger and older workers. Generations X and Y can provide help in technology; older workers can provide skills, wisdom and political savvy.

Consider non-traditional approaches to work including flexible work schedules, job sharing, telecommuting, and part time employment.
Younger workers, who work to live, will value the freedom and work/life balance. Older workers will jump at the chance to use their expertise and still have time for themselves and their families.

Don't forget the basics

Catch people doing what is right. There is nothing like praise to motivate people, as long as it is authentic.
Create a shared vision rather than trying to sell people on management's vision.
Allow for dissent. Remember, as author and consultant Peter Block says, "If we can not say no, our yes means little." Teach people the difference between authentic dissent that stimulates breakthroughs and inauthentic dissent- denial, rebellion and resignation.

–Aimee Bernstein is the President of Open Mind Adventures^TM. Beyond her corporate practice in leadership and organizational development, she offers personal growth workshops and webinars.

In Retirement, Boomers Stay Active

Thu, 01 May 2008 16:02:19 -0400

Older Americans are generally happy and more socially active than the stereotype of the lonely senior. That's the key finding of a massive study done over 26 years by University of Chicago sociologist Yang Yang.

The study, based on periodic face-to-face interviews with 28,000 people from 1972 to 2004, found that older Americans have learned to be more content with what they have than younger adults, Yang said. His study was published in the April issue of American Sociological Review.

However, get ready for the next group of people about to become "older Americans:" the baby boomers. According to the study, baby boomers are the least happy.

Linda George, Duke University aging expert, said that while older people have learned to lower their expectations and accept their achievements, baby boomers aren't lowering their aspirations at the same rate earlier generations did.

"They still seem to believe that they should have it all," George said in a New York Times article about Yang's study. "They're still thinking about having a retirement that's going to let them do everything they haven't done yet."

My translation: the boomers are going to be rebooters!

–Lee Callaway of Redwood City, CA, has reinvented himself several times, including a transition from corporate executive to consultant, two trips back to graduate school and, most recently, as the founder of RebootYou.com. His driving force is staying active, discovering and trying new things, and continually searching for new challenges.

Lower Cholesterol Naturally

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 17:05:52 -0400

Cholesterol is a risk factor for heart disease and peripheral vascular disease, but not for stroke unless it is extremely high. Total cholesterol should be less than 200, with LDL or bad cholesterol less than 130. HDL, the protective or good cholesterol, which functions to carry cholesterol away from blood vessels, should be over 50. The most important number is the ratio of total cholesterol to good cholesterol (Chol/HDL), and this number should be less than 4.0.

Unfortunately, many physicians are prescribing statin drugs to patients with high cholesterol who have no history of heart disease. In women with no history of heart disease, cholesterol-lowering drugs provide no benefit in preventing heart attacks. In men with no history of heart disease, you have to treat 50 men to prevent one heart attack.

In men and women with a history of heart disease, LDL cholesterol should be brought into the range of 60-80.

Cholesterol reduction alone, however, does not always translate into clinical benefit. Ezetimibe is a newer cholesterol-lowering drug (also known as Zetia, and is a component of Vytorin) that enhances the cholesterol-lowering effect of statin drugs by reducing intestinal absorption of cholesterol. A recent study, however, reveals no improvement in carotid intima-medial thickness using Zetia. Thus, it offers no reduction in arterial blockage. Billions of dollars have been spent on a drug with no evidence of efficacy.

The statin drugs are not benign and frequently cause muscle pain and weakness that can be severe and debilitating. Symptoms may take weeks to resolve after the drug is stopped.

High cholesterol does not always mean heart disease is imminent. We have numerous patients in their 70's and 80's with high cholesterol and no disease. Some have cholesterol as high as 250-300, with LDL up to 200.

One useful test to assess risk is a coronary artery calcium score. Calcium is deposited within coronary arterial walls as part of the disease process. The higher the calcium score, measured by C-T scanning, the greater the risk of cardiac events. If the calcium score is zero, there is virtually no risk, no matter how high cholesterol is. Many patients with high cholesterol have calcium scores of zero. I tell them statin drugs will be of no benefit.

The best way to lower cholesterol is to change food choices. Eliminate dairy products, especially cheese and ice cream, keep milk to a minimum and use organic or raw milk. Some people believe raw milk is completely safe and will not elevate cholesterol levels. I have seen no studies on this. I recently lowered my cholesterol 40 points just by stopping dairy products.

Eat no more than 7 eggs a week. Reduce intake of meats, especially fatty meats like lunch meats and hot dogs. Eat as many fruits and vegetables as you can. They contain no cholesterol.

Supplements to lower cholesterol include niacin, fish oil, and plant sterols. We have a potent formulation called Lipichol, which contains all these supplements. The dose is two packets per day.

You can see changes in cholesterol levels within one month of making dietary and supplement changes. In many people, these nutritional changes and the addition of supplements are more effective in lowering cholesterol than statins, and they offer no risk. When the cholesterol falls low enough, we reduce or discontinue statin drugs.

- Dr. Sosin is the Founder and Medical Director of the Institute for Progressive Medicine in Irvine, California. He has authored two books, Alpha Lipoic Acid: Nature's Ultimate Antioxidant, and The Doctor's Guide to Diabetes and Your Child.