The Al and Joe Medicine Show
“Come and get it. You want it. We’ve got it. Welcome to Al and Joe’s ‘Kitchen of Forbidden Delights,’ where the customer is always right, and where your pocketbook guarantees you limitless access. Come and choose from a vast array of vitamins, elixirs, and potions. Let your palate be the judge. If they taste bad, they certainly must be good for you. Imbibe the waters, go easy on the wine, and partake of our quintessential fountain of youth. What’s that you say? Charlatans? Quacks? Come on, Joe, it’s time to move on. Maybe the folks in Las Cruces will appreciate us.”
From north to south and east to west, in circus sideshows, medical literature, and the hallowed halls of prestigious research institutions, hawking medicinal wares has become a quotidian way of life. “Take this pill for gas, that one to make a baby, and a drop of Kaopectate to prevent those nasty squirts.” Damn the long clinical trials, turning back the hands of time has become big business. In an epoch where the good die young and the old die miserably, edges and hedged bets are desperately sought.
March 2004, as National Nutrition Month, beckons us all, as captains of our protoplasmic ships, to throw Al and Joe overboard and set a course that will take us the long way around. Living longer, more productive lives, with an emphasis on quality of life, and freeing children from the ethical and financial handcuffs of caring for aging, “baby-boomer” parents in frail health is our destination.
It has been shown on numerous occasions that the risks of type 2 diabetes mellitus and stroke can each be lowered by 30 percent with brisk walking two to three hours a week. High blood pressure can also be reduced or prevented with moderate exercise, and osteoporosis and bone fractures will occur less often. Furthermore, three hours of brisk walking a week will lower the risk of heart disease by 40 percent.
Those pesky little vitamins that we sometimes think are so good must be carefully scrutinized for benefits, side effects, and cause and effect. Very large amounts of vitamin A can harm bones, make hip fractures more likely, and cause brain damage, liver damage, and birth defects. Folic acid can increase the risk of neurological problems in people lacking adequate vitamin B12, and the anemia caused by high doses of vitamin C is no laughing matter. High doses of vitamin D can cause dangerously abnormal blood levels of several minerals. Finally, vitamin E can cause excessive bleeding in surgical patients or people taking anticoagulants such as warfarin.
French researchers have found that people who eat fish at least once a week are less likely to develop dementia. It has been suggested that fish oils (particularly omega-3 fatty acids) are at the heart of the matter, and help control inflammatory processes that are associated with Alzheimer’s disease. Don’t forget to take French wine “to heart” also.
The high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet, first introduced back in 1972, is based on the premise that heavy carbohydrate consumption causes the body to store more food as fat, and reducing the intake of carbohydrates subsequently forces fat reserves to be burned. Balanced nutrient diets (1984), which limit daily intake to 30% protein, 30% fat, and 40% carbohydrate, stimulate the body’s ideal production of the hormone insulin, which in turn encourages weight loss. Back-to-basics diets (1988), which cut out grains like white flour, promote consumption of fruits and vegetables, and substitute free-range animal meat for fatty, grain-fed beef, herald a return to the nutritional habits of our ancestors. Finally, the high-fiber diet (1990) favors consumption of vegetables, beans, whole grains, and fruit, as well as low-fat dairy products like skim milk, nonfat yogurt, and egg whites in moderation. Meats, oils, olives and sugar are avoided as much as possible.
“Sell it, Joe. Sell it all! Maybe we can earn enough Frequent Flyer miles to blow this place for good.”
From north to south and east to west, in circus sideshows, medical literature, and the hallowed halls of prestigious research institutions, hawking medicinal wares has become a quotidian way of life. “Take this pill for gas, that one to make a baby, and a drop of Kaopectate to prevent those nasty squirts.” Damn the long clinical trials, turning back the hands of time has become big business. In an epoch where the good die young and the old die miserably, edges and hedged bets are desperately sought.
March 2004, as National Nutrition Month, beckons us all, as captains of our protoplasmic ships, to throw Al and Joe overboard and set a course that will take us the long way around. Living longer, more productive lives, with an emphasis on quality of life, and freeing children from the ethical and financial handcuffs of caring for aging, “baby-boomer” parents in frail health is our destination.
It has been shown on numerous occasions that the risks of type 2 diabetes mellitus and stroke can each be lowered by 30 percent with brisk walking two to three hours a week. High blood pressure can also be reduced or prevented with moderate exercise, and osteoporosis and bone fractures will occur less often. Furthermore, three hours of brisk walking a week will lower the risk of heart disease by 40 percent.
Those pesky little vitamins that we sometimes think are so good must be carefully scrutinized for benefits, side effects, and cause and effect. Very large amounts of vitamin A can harm bones, make hip fractures more likely, and cause brain damage, liver damage, and birth defects. Folic acid can increase the risk of neurological problems in people lacking adequate vitamin B12, and the anemia caused by high doses of vitamin C is no laughing matter. High doses of vitamin D can cause dangerously abnormal blood levels of several minerals. Finally, vitamin E can cause excessive bleeding in surgical patients or people taking anticoagulants such as warfarin.
French researchers have found that people who eat fish at least once a week are less likely to develop dementia. It has been suggested that fish oils (particularly omega-3 fatty acids) are at the heart of the matter, and help control inflammatory processes that are associated with Alzheimer’s disease. Don’t forget to take French wine “to heart” also.
The high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet, first introduced back in 1972, is based on the premise that heavy carbohydrate consumption causes the body to store more food as fat, and reducing the intake of carbohydrates subsequently forces fat reserves to be burned. Balanced nutrient diets (1984), which limit daily intake to 30% protein, 30% fat, and 40% carbohydrate, stimulate the body’s ideal production of the hormone insulin, which in turn encourages weight loss. Back-to-basics diets (1988), which cut out grains like white flour, promote consumption of fruits and vegetables, and substitute free-range animal meat for fatty, grain-fed beef, herald a return to the nutritional habits of our ancestors. Finally, the high-fiber diet (1990) favors consumption of vegetables, beans, whole grains, and fruit, as well as low-fat dairy products like skim milk, nonfat yogurt, and egg whites in moderation. Meats, oils, olives and sugar are avoided as much as possible.
“Sell it, Joe. Sell it all! Maybe we can earn enough Frequent Flyer miles to blow this place for good.”
Copyright 2004, Albert M. Balesh, M.D. All rights reserved.
posted by Dr. Al at
7/13/2006 08:23:00 AM
2 Comments:
Hey what a great site keep up the work its excellent.
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