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to your Address Book or Safe List. Learn how here. | August 25, 2011 | |  |  | Asian Vegetables With Exceptional Health Benefits | | | Marge Couldn’t Remember Her Phone Number... But Now Her Brain Is 20 Years Younger | | | Baggy, Saggy Skin on Your Cheekbones? Send It Packing | | | Drug-Free Treatment Reverses Even Bone-on-Bone Arthritis... | | | Fascinating Facts | | | |  |  | |  | |
 | | Asian Vegetables With Exceptional Health Benefits I stood in the supermarket produce aisle, admiring the lush array of fresh vegetables of all colors, shapes and sizes. But I noticed that most shoppers were picking up the same old stuff—carrots, celery, iceberg lettuce. There is nothing wrong with those, of course. But there’s a lot to be gained by adding variety to your veggie selection—because different vegetables provide different nutrients, each of which has its own beneficial effects on the body. For inspiration, I called Steven V. Joyal, MD, vice president of scientific and medical affairs for Life Extension Foundation, a Fort Lauderdale–based research organization. He told me that many Asian vegetables are loaded with healthful nutrients and unique flavors, yet they are not commonly seen on American tables. Want to expand your veggie repertoire? Dr. Joyal suggested checking Asian markets and health-food stores for the following... Seabeans. Despite the name, these aren’t really beans but rather seaweedlike green stalks that grow in marshlands and near coastlines. Also known as glasswort, seabeans have a spiny, spiky appearance (like skinny cactus arms). They are a good source of vitamin A, which is beneficial for the eyes... B vitamins, which promote the health of skin and hair... vitamin C, which supports the immune system... and iron, which red blood cells use to carry oxygen throughout the body. When shopping, choose seabeans in the darkest shade of green you can find. To prepare: Blanch whole seabean stalks in boiling water for 30 seconds (they’ll be very crisp), then drain and add to salad... or boil or steam uncut stalks to desired tenderness, drain, drizzle with sesame oil and rice wine vinegar and serve as a side dish. Some people strip the edible outer flesh from the stringy core before eating. Seabeans taste somewhat like asparagus, Dr. Joyal said, but they have a naturally salty flavor—so do not add salt. Gai lan (also known as kai lan). This is sometimes called "Chinese broccoli"—and with good reason. It is a cruciferous vegetable, as is broccoli, though it has slimmer stalks, smaller florets and a much leafier appearance (similar to broccoli rabe). In addition to vitamin A, vitamin C and iron, gai lan provides calcium (a bone builder) and potassium (which helps regulate muscle contractions, heartbeat and blood pressure). Add gai lan to a stir-fry, soup or salad... or steam or sauté it as you would broccoli. My coworker, a gai lan fan, described the taste as "pleasantly, mildly bitter." Kombu. A form of seaweed from the kelp family, kombu that has been pickled is a popular snack in Japan. Kombu also is sold shredded, to be boiled and mixed with beans, since it is thought to make beans easier to digest... or it can be purchased in sheets to be cut up and added to soups or stews. Kombu has a gray-green color, chewy texture and a taste sometimes likened to mushrooms. Along with protein, calcium, potassium, vitamin A and vitamin C, kombu provides iodine, which promotes thyroid health. Natto. This is made from soybeans fermented with beneficial bacteria called Bacillus natto. It looks like shiny brown orbs (similar to baked beans) covered with a sticky, stringy sauce. Some people are put off by its gooey texture or pungent earthy aroma (Dr. Joyal said that it is "definitely an acquired taste for most Western palates")—but many people love natto’s flavor, which is described as nutty, cheesy or beanlike. An exceptional source of protein, natto also is rich in vitamin K-2, which is critical for bone and vascular health. Try it in salads or served over cooked rice—you just might find it to be a delicacy. Source: Steven V. Joyal, MD, is vice president of scientific and medical affairs for Life Extension Foundation, a nonprofit organization based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, that supports research related to the prevention of degenerative diseases. www.lef.org
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 | | Marge Couldn’t Remember Her Phone Number... But Now Her Brain Is 20 Years Younger "I used to have a great memory," Marge told Dr. Ray Sahelian. "All my life I’ve worked with numbers," this former bookkeeper explained... "But now I can’t remember simple phone numbers... it’s so frustrating!" She’d lose things right after she put them down—it was demoralizing. She was only 71, but she felt like a useless antique. Other doctors might have shrugged and said, "Sorry Marge, you’re getting old..." But Dr. Ray Sahelian reversed her frightening decline with a handful of natural nutrients. Soon Marge’s memory picked up dramatically, and she was focused all day. Marge now says she hasn’t thought so clearly in 20 years... | |
Learn more...  | |  | | |
 | | Baggy, Saggy Skin on Your Cheekbones? Send It Packing The word festoons may make you think of festivals or balloons, but they’re hardly a reason for celebration. These puffy mounds of saggy, hammocklike skin beneath the lower eyelids can make you look far older or more tired than you might actually be. In some cases, festoons can even interfere with vision—for instance, when you look down to read and find your view blocked by these bags of flesh high on your cheekbones. Aging contributes to the likelihood of developing festoons… so can a light complexion or genetic predisposition. But the biggest risk factor is sun exposure because ultraviolet rays damage the collagen and elastin fibers that give skin its underlying structure. The many home remedies people try—ice packs, tea bags, chilled cucumber slices placed over the eyes—fail to fix the problem because they cannot repair the damaged fibers. The skin’s natural process of regeneration cannot get rid of festoons because normally only the top layer of skin regrows itself. Conventional cosmetic surgery, such as a face-lift or blepharoplasty (eyelid surgery), requires incisions, sometimes leaves scars and may even make festoons more noticeable. Breakthrough: A technique called ablative laser skin resurfacing gets rid of festoons by getting rid of the damaged skin and allowing healthy new skin to take its place. Adam J. Scheiner, MD, an oculoplastic surgeon (an ophthalmologist with special training in cosmetic surgery around the eyes) based in Tampa, treats festoons with this 30-minute in-office procedure using a dual-pulsed erbium laser. It’s the same type of laser typically used for treating sun damage, wrinkles and precancerous lesions on other areas of the face. The procedure: Dr. Scheiner explained that local anesthesia is injected to numb the under-eye area... the eyes are numbed with drops and covered with protective lenses. Then pulses of laser are applied to each festoon, removing the skin layer by layer until the deeper layer—where new elastin and collagen fibers grow from the bottom up—is reached. It is the deeper treatment of the laser that allows skin to grow back festoon-free, Dr. Scheiner said. Recovery: Because the laser seals off blood vessels and nerve endings, postoperative discomfort and bruising are minimal. Dr. Scheiner said that the treated skin initially looks sunburned... after a day or so, it looks like a red, healing blister. For the first day or two, you wear a bandage over the area. For two weeks, you refrain from wearing contact lenses and makeup... and several times a day, you apply a cloth soaked in a mild vinegar solution to prevent infection and follow this with a healing ointment (such as Aquaphor) to lubricate the area. After two weeks, the area looks slightly pinker than usual... pinkness disappears completely within four to five months. Results are permanent, Dr. Scheiner said, provided that you protect your skin against further damage by using sunscreen and sunglasses whenever you are outdoors during daylight. Festoon removal is considered a cosmetic procedure, so it is not covered by insurance. Fees range from $5,000 to $10,000, depending on the complexity of the case. People who have had radiation to the face or who have used the acne medication isotretinoin (Accutane) in the past six months should not have this procedure. Dr. Scheiner recommended that festoon removal be performed by an oculoplastic surgeon or a physician who has extensive experience with the eyes and ablative laser skin resurfacing. For a referral, visit the Web site of the American Academy of Ophthalmology at www.GetEyeSmart.org/eyesmart/find/index.cfm and in the "Subspeciality" box, click on "Plastics/Reconstructive." Source: Adam Scheiner, MD, is a board-certified oculoplastic and facial plastic surgeon in Tampa. He has published numerous scientific papers on eyelid surgery and is an instructor for the American Academy of Ophthalmology. Dr. Scheiner practices at the Tampa Eye Clinic and recently discussed festoon removal on The Dr. Oz Show. www.AdamScheinerMD.com
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| | | Fascinating Facts 19%... Young adults (ages 24 to 32) in the US who have high blood pressure. Many of those affected are unaware that they have this potentially life-threatening condition. Source: The journal Epidemiology 40%... Increased risk for heart disease among female workers who experienced "high job strain," as compared with female workers who reported low job strain. Source: Women’s Health Study 42%... Increased risk of death among Americans ages 25 to 74 who have high blood pressure, as compared with those who do not have high blood pressure. Source: Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association
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 | |  Tamara Eberlein, the editor of HealthyWoman from Bottom Line, has been a health journalist for nearly three decades. An award-winning author or coauthor of four books, she is committed to helping other women in midlife and beyond live healthy, fulfilling lives. Her latest book is the updated, third edition of When You’re Expecting Twins, Triplets, or Quads (HarperCollins). She is also the "chief health adviser" to her husband of 26 years and three college-age children. | |  | | Bottom Line Publications | 281 Tresser Boulevard, 8th Floor | Stamford, CT 06901
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