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CAN'T STOMACH THE GLUTEN? YOU'RE FAR FROM BEING ALONE

 
Published May 19, 2012

Celiac is a politically unbiased autoimmune disease. Seems both Chelsea Clinton and Elisabeth Hasselbeck can't stomach the same things. (Who would have ever suspected!) Gluten-containing foods - wheat, rye, barley, some oats and many prepared foods - are off their menus.

They're not alone: Celiac is 40 times more common than docs used to think, possibly affecting as many as one in 133 in North America. And if your parents, sibs or kids have celiac, there's a one in 22 chance you do, too.

Celiac is woefully underdiagnosed. Millions are at risk for its complications, including GERD and osteoporosis (in adults), and anemia, abdominal pain and growth deficiencies (in children), not to mention epilepsy and irregular heartbeat (atrial fibrillation).

Celiac disease damages tiny villi lining the small intestines, which normally shuttle nutrients from food into the bloodstream. When they can't, you get nutritional deficiencies, diarrhea, cramping, vomiting, weight loss, even skin rashes.

If you suspect gluten is causing your digestive distress:

1. Talk to your doc about a blood test for gluten auto-antibodies (lgA and IgG, lgA EMA, and tTG IgA). Positive results? A biopsy will confirm the diagnosis.

2. If diagnosed, eliminate gluten from your diet (and avoid other gluten-hiding substances, even makeup).

3. Get folate levels tested: Supplements may be essential to healing.

4. Eat lots of whole grains (without gluten): amaranth, buckwheat, chia, corn, millet, quinoa, rice, sorghum and wild rice.

LIFT LESS FOR LONGER

Since Arnold Schwarzenegger flaunted his bulging biceps and quads in 1977's Pumping Iron, the rule of thigh (if not thumb) has been that to get strong, you need to lift weights that are uberheavy - or collapse trying.

Well, in 2012 we have a new mantra: Pump less and flex more. We've said it before: Start light. There's no shame in using weights that are 1, 2, 3 or 5 pounds. The point is to do what you can until the muscle you're using is fatigued.

Now proof positive has arrived that working out at 30 percent of your maximum strength until you are too fatigued to do one more rep is the smart, safe way to do strength training. (Best case: Fatigue happens within 2 minutes.) That means you'll be using weights that are just a third of the heaviest weight you can safely manage. For example, if you can do one preacher's curl with a 10-pound weight (you curl the weight up to your shoulder), 3 pounds would be the new, smart weight for reps until you can't do anymore.

That approach builds serious muscle strength and keeps the whole body humming at a higher burn rate for longer than if you pumped fewer but heavier reps.

What will this newer approach do for you? Plenty. It helps fight off extra pounds, keeps diabetes at bay and avoids injury to tendons and ligaments. So if you want to banish belly fat and chase away anxiety, take the light and long road to muscle tone and power.

GET TO POPPIN'

The Grinch Who Stole Popcorn could be the title of this iconic American snack's biography. The once-noble munchable's reputation has been badly damaged. First, we find out that a bag of popcorn and a soda at the movies delivers more than 1,600 calories and a nuclear bomb of saturated fat (60 grams!). Second, we discover that we've fallen for a chemical-laced toxic treat called microwave popcorn. (The packaging sheds perfluorooctanoic acid, a carcinogen that lingers in the body.)

Well, we're here to declare the return of popcorn, the 100 percent whole grain goodie that - when prepared correctly - delivers the highest dose of heart-protecting phytonutrients of any grain around. It's high-fiber, too, and that helps control your lousy cholesterol levels (LDL), soothes digestion and makes your heart younger. And 4 cups of fat-free popcorn has only 100 calories!

So if you're yearning for a tasty snack:

- Opt for organic popcorn, if you can find it. That may help you avoid genetically modified corn.

- Prepare the popcorn in an air popper, which uses heat, not oil (and we mean none! Nada! Nyet!), to fluff up the crunchy kernels.

- And finally, decorate your bountiful bowlful with healthful flavorings: garlic (helps reduce the risk of some cancers and control blood pressure), cinnamon (stabilizes blood sugar), hot paprika and red-pepper flakes (may ease joint pain), curry (blocks Alzheimer's and stomach problems) and fresh basil (it just tastes so good!). Your imagination is the only limit to the fat-fee, sugar-free, health-bestowing.

HOLD OFF ON THE ANTIBIOTICS

When your little one has an ear infection or a bad cold and is crying half the night, all you want is a magic pill to make it better, but sometimes no pill is the best choice.

We've been advising parents for a long time not to automatically give their kids antibiotics for ear infections, the flu and bronchitis (all of which are usually caused by viruses). Antibiotics are designed to knock out bacterial infections, not viruses. And yet more than 50 million unnecessary and ineffective prescriptions for antibiotics are written to "treat" common viral infections every year in North America. And misuse only worsens the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Don't get us wrong. These antibiotics are wonder drugs and millions of lives are saved every year, because they KO infections.

But be wise about using them: Giving kids common antibiotics - such as streptomycin and vancomycin - may eradicate good gut bacteria in their developing intestines; this, in turn, may damage their immune systems.

The result? Researchers think the ever-increasing use of antibiotics may be what's causing the number of cases of allergic asthma to skyrocket - there's been around a 50 percent increase in the past decade. Now it's estimated that 9 million kids in North America have this respiratory disease.

So when your child comes down with a cold, flu or other upper-respiratory illness, ask the doc if antibiotics are really the best solution. Sometimes less is more.

YOGURT IS VERY, VERY SEXY

A funny thing happened while MIT researchers were testing the effects of yogurt on obese mice - unexpected side effects sprouted up. First, yogurt-fed mice developed thick, shiny fur, with 10 times the hair-follicle density of their yogurt-deprived counterparts. And then researchers noticed that their fur wasn't all that seemed fuller. The yogurt-eating males held their whiskers high and proudly displayed their testes, which were about 15 percent heavier than males being fed low-nutrient (junk) food. The yogurt-eating males also inseminated their partners faster (and yogurt-eating females gave birth to larger and more successful litters).

What puts the "YO!" in "yogurt"? We've been touting the benefits of no-sugar-added, low-fat Greek yogurt for a long time. It contains beneficial bacteria (probiotics) that help keep your digestive and immune systems humming, your arteries flexible and your triglyceride levels and blood pressure low - essentials for healthy sexual functioning.

Can it pump up humans, too? Seems so. For quite a while, researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health have been looking at the association between yogurt intake and semen quality. Their findings are consistent with what the MIT group sees in the mice.

So, guys, if you're thinking of adding yogurt to your daily "good times" menu (tomatoes protect against prostate cancer, and fruits and veggies like blueberries and broccoli keep blood pumping where it should), here's our recommendation: at least a half a cup of low- or no-fat, no-sugar-added yogurt daily with fresh fruit and unsweetened whole-grain cereal.

Mehmet Oz, M.D., is host of "The Dr. Oz Show," and Mike Roizen, M.D., is chief medical officer at the Cleveland Clinic Wellness Institute. For more information, go to www.RealAge.com.