Medical Health

H1N1 Swine Flu News

If your local news stations announce that H1N1 vaccinations are available at special clinics in your area, make sure you double check the facts.

This last weekend in the Phoenix, Arizona, area one news station stated that H1N1 vaccinations were available for children and pregnant women at about 15 clinics. Another evening news program provided the same information and added that individuals with underlying health conditions were also eligible.

Long line-ups at the flu clinics ensued.

But if you were able to talk to the H1N1 clinics before you took half a day to stand in line, you discovered that only children and pregnant women were eligible to receive H1N1 vaccinations. The clinics were not dispensing vaccinations to individuals with underlying health conditions (unless, of course, they were children or pregnant women).

Double check the TV news. Phone the health clinics.

Spinach, Greens, and Eye Health

My optometrist always tells me to eat lots of spinach, that studies conducted in the American Southeast indicate that individuals who eat the most greens are less likely to suffer from macular degeneration later in life. Now The State newspaper has come out with an article called “For eye health, eat spinach like Popeye,” in which they say that a half cup of spinach or three quarters of a cup of collard or turnip greens provides the 10mg of lutein that experts recommend as the daily dose necessary for eye health.

I eat spinach every day. And I take a lutein supplement every day, usually 10mg, but often 20-40mg. (I have read that lutein might also protect the skin.)

Experts say that blueberries, bilberries, vitamin E, vitamin C, and zinc also protect eyesight, and I eat blueberries and take supplements containing bilberries and blueberries, and a calcium supplement containing zinc. But I remember one of the cancer organizations saying that vitamin E and vitamin C seem to protect cancers from being destroyed by our immune systems. I therefore take low doses of vitamin C (20 mg) and vitamin E (100 IU or less) and NOT every day. See the BCcancer web site, where they say, “Water soluble vitamins in megadoses may in some cases be tumor promoters.” And see the HealthDay article “Vitamin E Supplements May Raise Lung Cancer Risk.”

Macular Degeneration and Lasik Surgery

For up-to-date news about age-related blindness and macular degeneration, see the Macular Degeneration News page, and for links to web sites, clinics, and doctors specializing in macular degeneration, see the Macular Degeneration Links page.

You will also find daily health news on the new Macular Degeneration News Blog.

lasik.lastmed.com presents the latest news pertaining to Lasik surgery and vision correction. You will find links to Lasik Vision clinics and doctors on the Lasik Laser Surgery Links page.

Increased My Vitamin D to 2000 IU Per Day

I recently read a reputable article that said that we should be taking 1500 to 2300 IU of Vitamin D each day. I think I read the article on a life extension web site: http://www.lef.org/news/.

Mayo Clinic says that the upper limit for vitamin D is 2000 IU per day. See http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/vitamin-d/AN01864. In Canada, doctors often recommend 1000 IU per day as a potential cancer preventative.

Previously, I was taking 1000 to 1300 IU each day, every day, rain, snow, or shine, 365 days per year.

Cosmetics

Cosmetics is big business, as are cosmetic and plastic surgery procedures. And as the Baby Boomers retire (and that huge wave of retirement has begun) we will see a continued upswing in cosmetic, plastic surgery, and non-surgical procedures: for example, liposuction, breast surgery, facial surgery, tummy tucks, gel eye masks, and vein treatments. Why? Because the Baby Boomers are the generation that plans on staying active and young for as long as possible, and they are a generation that knows that the possibilities are mind boggling.

You are not alone. But remember, cosmetics help you look young, not stay young. Diet and exercise are more important.