Happy Valentines Day!

What better time to talk about how you can use food to help protect your heart and the hearts of the people you love? One of the great things about nutrition is the power of food to make a difference in your health and the health of your family. What we know today is that if heart disease runs in your family, it may also affect you. So…prevention is key…

We now know terrific foods to include in the diet to help prevent high cholesterol or heart disease from becoming a problem and to help in the treatment protocol if you’re dealing with it already. There are many healthy foods but today we’re focusing on five superfoods for the heart -- The more you include per day, the bigger the benefit.

Nuts: contain heart-healthy monounsaturated fat, fiber, and vitamin E. Try almonds, walnuts, and peanuts. Munch on these in place of chips or pretzels

Beans and lentils: try black beans (soup, quesadillas), red beans and rice, kidney beans in chili, white beans, and green lentils for split pea soup. All of these help to bring down LDL cholesterol.

Soy protein: try soy sausage with pancakes, soy milk or cheese; soy nuts, or tofu. There is some controversy now about soy protein’s ability to lower cholesterol but, typically, if you include soy in your diet, you tend to cut saturated fat.
Cherries and blueberries: fight inflammation in the body which may increase the risk of plague buildup and heart attack; use frozen, fresh or dried.

Oats (cereal and oatmeal): work like a sponge to help soak up cholesterol and remove from the body. I make oatmeal or eat oat squares and add almonds or pecans, dried cherries or fresh blueberries. I also like vanilla soy milk and will use it on cereal or in smoothies.

Remember that these heart protective superfoods, eaten regularly, can lower your cholesterol level and help keep your heart healthy. Incorporating Acupuncture and Chinese herbs into your life is yet another way to help prevent or treat any imbalance in the body.

Please call Aiyana Acupuncture and Chinese herbs at 212-894-0767 for your free 15 minute phone consultaion with a licensed Acupuncturist.

Posted by Sharon Wyse L.Ac.

FDA Found Rx Drugs in "Natural" Diet Pills

An extraordinary number of over-the-counter "natural" diet pills have been found to illegally contain 4 different kinds prescription weight loss drugs. None of the pill bottles were labeled as containing the drugs, because well, it is illegal for them to add the drug with out FDA approval. One of the brands websites even boasts that they guarantee that their product is natural, safe and doctor recommended.

The FDA website says, "Some of the identified products recommend taking more than 3 times the recommended daily dosage of sibutramine. Because of this, even consumers without a history of health problems that take these high doses of sibutramine may suffer serious adverse effects if they take these products, such as increased blood pressure, tachycardia, palpitations, and seizure".

The FDA has posted it's reported findings and a list of all the pill brands on it's website.

There is no magic pill for weight loss. But there are safe and effective methods to lose weight which include a balanced diet, exercise, getting enough sleep, stress reduction and acupuncture.

Check out the book Chinese Medicine & Healthy Management An Evidence-based Integrated Approach by Juliette Aiyana, L.Ac., published by Blue Poppy Press. This book is so popular that it has gone into a second printing by it's publisher.

Study shows Doula Care During Labor Reduces C-Section Rates

A Randomized Controlled Trial of Continuous Labor Support for Middle-Class Couples: Effect on Cesarean Delivery Rates

Authors: McGrath, Susan K.; Kennell, John H.1
Source: Birth, Volume 35, Number 2, June 2008 , pp. 92-97(6)
Publisher: Blackwell Publishing

Background: Previous randomized controlled studies in several different settings demonstrated the positive effects of continuous labor support by an experienced woman (doula) for low-income women laboring without the support of family members. The objective of this randomized controlled trial was to examine the perinatal effects of doula support for nulliparous middle-income women accompanied by a male partner during labor and delivery. Methods: Nulliparous (First time mothers) women in the third trimester of an uncomplicated pregnancy were enrolled at childbirth education classes in Cleveland, Ohio, from 1988 through 1992. Of the 686 prenatal women recruited, 420 met enrollment criteria and completed the intervention. For the 224 women randomly assigned to the experimental group, a doula arrived shortly after hospital admission and remained throughout labor and delivery. Doula support included close physical proximity, touch, and eye contact with the laboring woman, and teaching, reassurance, and encouragement of the woman and her male partner.

Results: The doula group had a significantly lower cesarean delivery rate than the control group (13.4% vs 25.0%, p = 0.002), and fewer women in the doula group received epidural analgesia (64.7% vs 76.0%, p = 0.008). Among women with induced labor, those supported by a doula had a lower rate of cesarean delivery than those in the control group (12.5% vs 58.8%, p = 0.007). On questionnaires the day after delivery, 100 percent of couples with doula support rated their experience with the doula positively.

Conclusions: For middle-class women laboring with the support of their male partner, the continuous presence of a doula during labor significantly decreased the likelihood of cesarean delivery and reduced the need for epidural analgesia. Women and their male partners were unequivocal in their positive opinions about laboring with the support of a doula. (BIRTH 35:2 June 2008)