Weekly Bulletin

It’s simple – drinking green tea daily is one of the best health habits you can adopt. Studies have shown that regular consumption can improve the ratio between “good” and “bad” cholesterol, ease mild depression, help prevent diabetes and more. One of the most encouraging recent studies, published in the September 13, 2006 Journal of the American Medical Association, found that among 40,530 Japanese adults followed for 11 years, there was a 16 percent lower risk of death from all causes among those who drank more than 5 cups of green tea a day compared to those who drank less than one cup daily.

But how should you take your tea? Green-tea extracts and capsules are flooding the market, and they may have some value, but scientific studies support the greater benefit of simply drinking green tea. To learn more, see this interview with a personal friend of mine who happens to be one of the world’s leading authorities on tea.

Tea Time
Want to know more about the benefits of tea? Sign up for a free trial of Dr. Weil on Healthy Aging! Learn which tea offers the most health benefits, how tea affects the aging process, get recipes with tea ingredients, and more. Visit today!

HEALTH NEWS

Vitamin D and Multiple Sclerosis
Here’s more good news about vitamin D: researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health have found that the risk of MS is lowest among people whose vitamin D levels are high. While other research has suggested this link, the Harvard study is the first to indicate that increasing vitamin D levels could help prevent MS, a chronic degenerative neurological disease that affects some 350,000 people in the United States and two million worldwide. Working with researchers from the U.S. Army and Navy, the Harvard team analyzed stored serum samples from more than seven million individuals for levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D. They found that the risk of MS among whites whose vitamin D levels were highest was 62 percent lower than among those whose levels were lowest.  No significant associations were found among blacks and Hispanics, perhaps because there were fewer of their serum samples available or because these groups tend to have low vitamin D levels. More study is needed to establish whether increasing vitamin D levels with supplements will reduce the risk of MS. The study was published in the December 20, 2006 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Dieting Can Thin Your Bones…
Unless you’re also exercising. A new study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis shows that cutting calories can lead to bone loss. Researchers followed a group of 48 middle-aged men and women (average age 57) who either dieted, exercised or received healthy lifestyle tips as part of a control group. At the end of a year, the 19 dieters had lost an average of 18.1 pounds, and the 19 exercises had lost 14.8 pounds. The 10 participants in the control group stayed about the same weight.  Surprisingly, along with the pounds they dropped, the dieters also lost an average of 2.2 percent of bone density in the lower spine and hip. No bone loss occurred among those in either the exercise or control groups. You burn calories while losing weight through exercise, but the action of muscle pulling on bone when you’re active is believed to stimulate new bone mineralization.  The study was published in the December 11/25, 2006 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.  

“What relieves menstrual pain?” asks MTZsgirl.
(Does) anyone take any herbs or vitamins to ease pain during periods? Read More...

RECIPE

Barley and Vegetable Soup
Barley has been cultivated since the Stone Age and fermented to make beer soon after. Folk medicine has made use of barley water as a tonic during convalescence, made by soaking barley in water. "Pearl" barley is the name of the grain when it's been polished, after the husk and bran have been removed. It's the form most commonly used in soups. Enjoy this healthful, old-fashioned hearty soup! View Recipe...

Healthy Nutrition Tip
Courtesy of Dr. Weil on Healthy Aging
Do you drink black tea? The tea that the English, Irish, and most Americans drink is the hearty black tea. While it has lower levels of polyphenols than white or green tea, black tea has been linked to a lower risk of heart disease, colon cancer, and the bacteria associated with cavities and bad breath.

WHERE IS DR. WEIL?

A Healthy Spirit - Healing the Bodies and Minds of Men
PGA National Resort & Spa, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida
Dr. Weil’s Views on the Lives and Challenges Facing Men!
This is a national conference on men’s topics, featuring Dr. Weil as the keynote speaker on April 22-25, 2007. For registration information click here.

Nutrition and Cardiovascular Health ~ Online Education from the Program in Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona
Sign up now and save 20% (code # A4NCV6)! Learn the fundamentals of diet and nutrition for improving health and assisting in prevention and treatment of cardiovascular illness. Faculty includes Dr. Weil and other experts. For more information, click here.