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It was another great year for preventive wellness. No single issue was more important than the medical establishment acknowledging the vitamin D deficiency epidemic. How could they ignore it? We blogged over dozens of studies demonstrating vitamin D’s ever-widening reach. Experts agree that individualized supplementation is the only option to correct a deficiency.
Food allergies and intolerances continue to rise in adults and children (18% in children over the last decade). IgG food intolerance testing is now commonplace. That puts Nutritional Concepts in an ideal position to assist the public because we have over fifteen years of experience working with food intolerance.
Breast-feeding hit an all time high of 77%. Going forward, research in the field of Epigenetics, which explores how lifestyle choices affect the expression of our genes, suggests that a concerted public education campaign be directed at men and women in their childbearing years. Making ideal lifestyle choices during preparation for conception and during pregnancy will not just affect the generation being born, but up to two generations in the future. Research shows that ideal diet and nutrient intake, consistent exercise, reduced exposure to environmental toxins, balanced emotional health, low stress, and low medication intake during the height of fertility is vital.
The modified Mediterranean diet solidified its claim as the best long-term dietary lifestyle choice. Besides an ideal balance of protein, carb, and fat, it encourages the “never eat a carb alone” and “eat real food” mantras. Hmm…where have we heard that before?
We privately counseled over 400 new clients this year. We introduced several new Action Plans: Smart Cleanse, Sleep Well, Candida, and Recipes to Live By. All nineteen plans were updated to include 2007-2008 research. Our Rejuvenating Room has proven to be a valuable healing and stress-relieving modality. We published a record 600 blog entries, which helps keep our clients well informed. Our free eNewsletter currently reaches over 2600 subscribers. Nutritional Concepts was also nominated as a finalist for Best Family Business in Illinois.
On the downside, the government’s ineptitude to protect our health from harmful pharmaceuticals, food products, and cosmetics was astonishing. The current oversight policies in place are in disarray and we have yet to establish a policy for nanomaterials. We must continue to be our own advocates. For those who doubted the safety of dietary supplements, the first statistics from the government’s new Adverse Event Reporting System were made available. 600 total adverse events were linked to dietary supplements, most of them minor. By comparison, 482,154 adverse events were reported for prescription medication and deaths from pharmaceuticals hit an all-time high in 2008.
What's in Store for 2009?
Maintain consistent contact with your preventive health professionals. A study in Journal of American College of Nutrition showed that nutritional counseling results in significant decrease in body weight and health improvements, but in order to maintain them long-term, consistent interaction with your nutritional counselor is imperative.
Food prices should drop precipitously, relieving the inflationary pressure on the consumer. This will hopefully reverse the trend of Americans choosing cheaper, heavily processed food (evidenced by the soaring sales of Hormel Spam in 2008) and get us to make more healthful choices again.
Stress Management needs to be a top priority. Until the economy starts pointing upward, stress will exacerbate or contribute to sleep disturbances, weakened immune system, and increase in blood pressure, to name a few. Environment is undeniably playing a prominent role in adversely affecting our health. When President Obama takes office, it is believed that much of the data that the Environmental Protection Agency had been withholding to protect interest groups will be released. Then we can hopefully take the necessary measures to improve our environment.
Genetic Lifestyle Kits: current science vs. hype. According to most experts, the world is not yet ready. There are too many unknowns, the most important being how multiple genes interact to improve or worsen a genetic predisposition. Not to mention what does an individual do with the information provided and what is the psychological impact it would create if the results were proved valid. At this time, there are few ethical health professionals who would help translate this information into practical and useful terms. Many experts, including leading geneticist David Goldstein at Duke University, believes that the cracking of the human genome has revealed almost nothing yet. In short, “lifestyle genetic tests are being sold direct-to-the-public in advance of scientific support,” according to Journal Nutrigenomics and Nutrigenetics. In practical speak, this is a nice way of saying they are not ready for prime time.
Good Manufacturing Practices for Dietary Supplements (cGMP) goes into effect for large manufacturers. This directive will weed out some of the “bad apples” that adulterate or skimp on quality in their products. Support HR2719, the Dietary Supplement Tax Fairness Act. This bill aims to amend the Internal Revenue Code to provide that amounts paid for foods for special dietary use, dietary supplements, or medical foods shall be treated as medical expenses.
This summer, the World Health Organization is set to make a landmark ruling on the safety of cell phones. Research from the last few years have provided mixed messages regarding their safety. An unfavorable WHO ruling, which may hurt the cell phone industry short-term, may be beneficial for the long-term. Innovations to assure cell phone safety, which many believe needs to be accomplished, would increase consumer minutes used as well as number of units sold.
You may hear about new superfruits like Baobab, Yuza, Yumberry, Gac, and Amla. While nice to enjoy as a delicacy from a far off locale, they are no match in cost and nutrient content for stalwarts like pomegranate, apple, avocado, and blueberries.
What’s Hot:
- IgG Food Intolerance Testing.
- Diet/Exercise - priority for President Obama’s wellness initiative.
- Stevia - will dominate as natural, non-caloric sweetener of choice.
- Lean Protein Breakfast - promotes weight loss.
- 25(OH)D - detects vitamin D deficiency.
- Virtual Colonoscopy - as effective as conventional procedure.
- HgbA1C - the gold standard diagnostic screening for diabetes.
What’s Not:
- Omega-3 Functional Foods - dietary supplements are the most accurate way to gauge an ideal daily dose
- Side Effects of Pharmaceuticals - for children especially (antipsychotics; cold/cough/flu), osteoporosis drugs, and weight-loss drugs (sales of Alli woefully under performed; obesity drug Acomplia was not approved by the FDA and was pulled off the selves in Europe). Merck and Pfizer announced they are getting out of the “lifestyle” drug business. They realize that quick fixes are not the answer for long-term health.
- Bottled water - toxic plastic, pathogens found in the bottles, using filtered municipal water, and environmental impact of all that plastic will point this industry downward.
- Artificial Sweeteners - they do not reduce obesity or metabolic syndrome and may promote weight gain.
- Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) - found to be an unreliable marker for prostate cancer risk.
Get a head start in 2009 and schedule a wellness appointment.
As always, we truly appreciate serving your wellness needs.
Bonnie Minsky, Steve Minsky and the staff at Nutritional Concepts
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