Dip into this
Break out the guacamole. According to recent research, eating foods rich in vitamin E — such as avocados, olives, and nuts — can lower your risk of developing Parkinson’s disease.
This news comes from an analysis of past studies examining the role dietary antioxidants play in lowering Parkinson’s disease risk. Although the cause of Parkinson’s disease remains elusive, highly reactive free radicals appear to play an important part in the nerve damage that occurs in people with this disease. Antioxidants — like vitamin E — are nutrients that prevent free radicals from injuring cells.
Researchers at Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal reviewed studies published from 1966 to March of this year that focused on the possible link between Parkinson’s disease and the consumption of the antioxidants vitamin C, vitamin E, and beta-carotene. While they found no protective benefit from either vitamin C or beta-carotene, they did find evidence that eating a diet rich in vitamin E could lower one’s risk of developing Parkinson’s disease, by as much as 19 percent.
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Running on empty
Q: I’ve been feeling sluggish, and my doctor says I have a thyroid deficiency. I don’t really want to be dependent on a prescription, but I do want to feel like my old self again. How can I deal with this problem?
JVW: I don’t blame you for wanting to feel energetic again, and you will. As well as restoring your energy, you may also notice some other benefits from treating your thyroid deficiency. That’s because thyroid hormone helps regulate almost every cell in the body.
In addition to feeling sluggish, have you also noticed that you have gained weight, are a little constipated, have dry skin and brittle nails? Has your hair been thinning? Do you feel cold and have achy joints? These symptoms may seem unrelated but they all point to a thyroid deficiency too.
To restore proper thyroid function, the body needs to be supplied with a natural thyroid hormone. A natural preparation is taken from pigs and can be found in products like Armour Desiccated Thyroid Hormone, Nathroid, or Westhroid. These preparations most closely match our own human thyroid hormone and are far superior to the products produced in laboratories by patent medicine companies.
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What is…a thyroid?
The thyroid is a gland that has two lobes, which wrap around the windpipe just below the Adam’s apple. It produces thyroxine, known as T4, which the body converts to the major active thyroid hormone, triiodothyronine (T3).
Thyroid hormones regulate metabolism and growth and are a vital part of the body’s endocrine system. The production and secretion of hormones produced in the thyroid gland are controlled by the pituitary gland through the release of TSH, or thyroid-stimulating hormone. As the pituitary gland recognizes that more thyroid hormone is needed it releases TSH and the thyroid responds by stepping up its production and release of thyroxine directly into the bloodstream.
Yours in good health,
Amanda Ross
Editorial Director
Nutrition & Healing
