Modern Wellness

Bottom-line advice for navigating today’s health-challenged world.

BY ANTHONY HEAD

When it comes to staying well and feeling balanced, it can be difficult keeping up with the concerns of contemporary living, like how to eat well, how much the little ones should use their phones, and how to protect the heart. Our local health and wellness professionals are here with some straight advice for a healthy new year.

Are organic ingredients worth the price?

While organic products are regularly stocked in supermarkets, they’re still not the first choice for many consumers, perhaps because of higher costs. Gerri French, RDN, a nutritionist with Sansum Clinic (sansumclinic.org) in Santa Barbara, believes that paying a premium for organic food is worth it.

“The data is inconsistent with all the health aspects, including nutritional content of vitamins and minerals, but phytonutrients are higher in organics,” says French. “And those little phytonutrients are like culinary medicine, very beneficial for reducing the risk of disease.” Additionally, because of their anti-inflammatory properties, some phytonutrients help protect the body at the cellular level to provide what French calls “proven anti-aging effects.”

French advises clients to look for the USDA Organic seal, which ensures products are at least 95 percent organic. She also points out that food at farmers’ markets may be raised organically but not certified or advertised as organic for one reason or another. “They’re still being raised without synthetic fertilizers and chemicals that could harm the soil, the air, the farmworker, and our health. Ask around to find them,” she says.

The bottom line: Says French, “For the health of the body and the soil, choose organics whenever possible.”

Are there any health benefits to dry brushing skin?

To dry brush is to scrub the skin all over the body with a dry, stiff-bristled brush. Some believe it’s an effective way to exfoliate and reduce cellulite, but not everyone is sold.

“I don’t see any true medical benefits to dry-brushing skin,” says Talia Emery, M.D., founder and medical director of Remedy Skin + Body (remedyskinandbody.com) in Westlake Village. “As with any exfoliating

treatment, the skin will likely feel softer and smoother after dry brushing, but the process also creates a micro-inflammation that can actually be harmful to certain skin types. It’s better to use a gentle glycolic or enzymatic lotion to get the same smoothing results without the irritation.”

Emery says there are no long-term cellulite reduction benefits to dry brushing alone because cellulite goes deep within the skin; since dry brushing only reaches the upper layer of the skin surface, it won’t create any real change other than what she calls “the smoothing look that inflammation can cause.”

The bottom line: It’s fine to scrub away with a dry brush, but don’t expect medical miracles.

Is late-night snacking bad for your health?

If you’re the type of person who finds yourself standing in front of the refrigerator in the middle of the night, French believes there are things to think about before reaching for that slice of pie.

“When you get older the sphincter that regulates food coming back up gets weaker,” says French. “If you’re eating late at night and then going to bed, you’re increasing your risk for acid reflux. We need acid to absorb nutrition, but acid reflux is acid in the wrong place.”

Furthermore, French says our metabolisms are based on how much muscle we have, and as we age our body composition changes. “You start losing muscle at age 30. At night, you could store more fat because many times people are eating carbs—desserts, breads, chips. Carbohydrates store as fat, and the body needs insulin to get carbohydrates into the system. So if you’re eating a lot of carbs you need a lot of insulin, and when you’re not active, insulin still stores fat,” she says.

The bottom line: For late-night fridge raids, it’s better to rely on protein instead of carbohydrates. But it’s best to take the time to eat balanced meals throughout the day and avoid late-night hunger.

It may seem counterintuitive to wait for an ambulance, but its sirens, equipment, and crew get care started faster.

In the event of a suspected heart attack, is it better to go to the hospital or call for an ambulance?

“The patient should chew an aspirin and 911 should be called,” says Vishva Dev, M.D., medical director of cardiology at Los Robles Hospital & Medical Center (losrobleshospital. com) in Thousand Oaks. “In most hospitals, the heart-attack programs are driven by an EKG [electrocardiogram] machine’s interpretation of the data,” Dev explains. “If the EKG says that a heart attack is suspected, the emergency room is alerted and by the time the patient reaches the hospital, the cardiologist and the cath lab team have already been called.”

Dev admits that it may seem counterintuitive to someone who believes it’s faster to be driven to the hospital, rather than waiting for an ambulance. “You may be able to reach the hospital faster than an ambulance, but that doesn’t really start the care, especially if the waiting room is crowded with sick people,” he says. Paramedics not only get the EKG machine going as soon as they arrive, but they are also trained to deal with any consequences of a heart attack, like cardiac arrest.

The bottom line: Call 911 for an ambulance. It takes time to assemble the right people at a hospital to manage a heart attack patient. The quicker the EKG reading is taken, the quicker the care begins.

What dangers do helium balloons pose for kids?

In 36 years of practice, Kenneth Saul, M.D., a pediatrician with Rolling Oak Pediatrics (kennethlsaulmd.com) in Thousand Oaks, has never treated a patient for choking on a helium balloon. “In spite of the dangers that I tell people exist, I haven’t seen any helium balloon accidents,” he says. “Most of the accidents that we hear about and [that] the American Academy of Pediatrics talks about with accident prevention, is the danger of inhaling helium. It displaces oxygen, [so children] could pass out, and perhaps hit their head. Fainting is the main thing to be alert for.”

The bottom line: “Anything with balloons should be supervised well, especially with kids,” says Saul. “And leave the helium in the balloon.”

Are all sugars created equal?

Sugar comes in many forms, including sucrose from cane or beets; fructose, which occurs naturally in fruits and vegetables; and lactose, natural sugar in dairy products. While sugar has been demonized for its potential negative health effects, it is essential to life. It’s just a complicated relationship.

“Our bodies require sugar for daily energy and brain function. However, not all sugars are created equal and not all sugars are digested the same way,” says Tori Cohen, R.D., director of food and nutrition services at Los Robles Hospital & Medical Center. “Each sugar provides the same amount of energy per gram, but they are processed and used differently throughout the body.”

Commonly called “table sugar,” sucrose turns up most prevalently in processed foods. “[Sucrose] provides the body with necessary energy, however, high levels of consumption can create a concern for blood sugar levels and may result in sugar-related diseases such as diabetes,” says Cohen. Sugar from fruits, vegetables, and dairy products, she says, are more easily digested and are much healthier options for obtaining energy.

The bottom line: Limit sucrose consumption. Instead, get your energy boost from whole foods like fresh fruits, vegetables, and low-fat and nonfat dairy products.

Do infrared saunas benefit the heart?

Unlike traditional saunas that generate heat within a larger space, infrared saunas use infrared light to warm the body from the inside. Such heat can certainly be relaxing, but when it comes to having medical benefits, the data on the effect of infrared saunas on the heart is relatively sparse, according to Vishva Dev, M.D.

“Most of what is known about infrared saunas is based on the knowledge of how traditional saunas affect the heart,” says Dev. “When you increase the temperature of the skin, the blood flow to the whole system increases. This creates a mild degree of stress on the heart, like when you exercise. Increasing blood flow also helps remove toxins from the muscles.”

Infrared saunas aren’t for everyone, though. Like traditional saunas, they cause sweating, which can lead to dehydration. Dev says that healthy people can tolerate the added stress and loss of fluids without negative consequences, but people with established heart disease should avoid using saunas of all kinds, including infrared saunas.

The bottom line: Infrared saunas can provide some circulatory benefit to people without heart disease.

Is too much screen time harmful to adolescent brains?

Kids and their screens is a timely topic, but the research to discover if there is any downside to young brains engaging so much with electronic devices is still relatively new and there isn’t any consensus as to exactly what’s going on.

“As far as the research, we’re still in the infancy because smartphones have only been around for a few years,” says Barry Giesbrecht, Ph.D., professor of psychological and brain sciences at UC Santa Barbara (psych.ucsb. edu), “and it’s hard to study any systematic changes in behavior in such a short time, let alone the causes of the changes.” Even with ongoing, large-scale studies about screen time and brain structure, Giesbrecht says it’s still not clear that one thing causes another (i.e., too much screen time impairs cognitive function).

However, for Giesbrecht, what does seem clear is that not all screen time is created equal; there’s productive or educational time versus recreational time. He says, “It’s the recreational screen time that we have to think about if it’s subtracting time from other things adolescents need, especially physical activity and sleep.” Giesbrecht agrees with the “Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for Children and Youth,” which recommends no more than two hours of recreational screen time per day along with at least 60 minutes of physical activity and 9 to 11 hours of sleep for children ages 8 to 11.

The bottom line: Until more information is gleaned on the association between screen time and developing brains, children’s recreational screen time should be limited to one to two hours a day.