Why Meghan McCain Could Use A Little Fish Oil

Yesterday, a friend of mine sent me three video clips, and one involved Meghan McCain, appearing on “The View.” It took me a minute to piece together just exactly who Meghan McCain was, and then the lightbulb went off.

She’s the daughter of Senator John McCain, and as such, considers herself fairly important to the future of the Republican Party. Others disagree, and her appearance on “The View” was used to promote her political point of view, which is “moderate republicanism” (whatever THAT means).

McCain got into a scrum with Ann Coulter, basically telling her where she could put her message (where the moon don’t shine). Coulter parried back, and then Laura Ingraham, a talk radio host, joined in the battle, on the side of Coulter. Insults were hurled, and McCain said Ingraham called her “plus sized” (a euphimism, if ever I heard one).

Now I’ve listened to Ingraham before, and I think she was trying to score two points with one shot, with the insult of McCain. I think she meant McCain’s criticism of Coulter was off the mark, and she meant that McCain was a big fat a$$ (as in donkey.) But I could be wrong, and either way, after watching the video of “The View,” I’m more inclined to think that Ingraham and Coulter came off as brighter, wittier, and more fun.

McCain looked as though she fit right in with Joy Behar, Sherrie Whoever, and Whoopie (and that ain’t a good thing). Jay Leno had already called the sneering Behar “fat,” among other things, on his show a few weeks back. McCain, with her own sneer and sense of entitlement, told all who could hear that they could kiss her fat a$$ (just like Tyra Banks, who was starting to look like Oprah Jr.).

It’s funny, but I don’t seem to recall Meghan McCain during the fall campaign, and now she is fighting for the soul of the Republican Party. Oh, and she has a blog. And she seems to have Daddio’s temper, too.

Maybe she can run for his seat in Arizona soon. But she better invest in some fish oil, first.

The reason that I mention fish oil is that a number of behavioral studies have been done, in which fish oil seemed to have a very positive effect on the mind, and some studies have reported that fish oil reduces the incidence of anger and violent behavior.

I recall a couple of British studies that showed that “hooliganism” (a lovely British term) rates among young adults dropped considerably, when fish oil was added to their diet.

What I am suggesting is that maybe the young Miss McCain might not have been so quick to drop the hammer and insults, had she been taking my Dr. Bill’s Powerhouse Omega Formula. It’s just possible that the omega-3 fatty acids might have facilitated a better choice of response. Clearer, more precise thought processes…are just one of the many benefits enjoyed by those who take pharmaceutical grade fish oil, on a daily basis. That’s one reason why I do, myself.

One other thing…to be young, fat, and proud…is NOT a good thing, whether you’re Tyra Banks, or Meghan McCain. I’ll guarantee you one thing…within 24 hours of either of them telling a national audience they could kiss their fat a$$, they both went on some kind of diet, which is part of their problem to begin with.

If they just followed my advice: good food, moderate consistent exercise, proper rest, and a daily dose of my pharmaceutical grade fish oil…

…things might go a little better for them. And their behind wouldn’t be on the frontburner.

A Baker’s Dozen Of Gut Buster Foods

This morning, my wife and I went out to what I would call an inn to have some breakfast, a decision that was entirely hers. As it turns out…it was a pretty good decision. I had something I’ve never eaten before…pumpkin pancakes, and I must say I’d come back there and eat them again, should the queen be willing.

Back when I was a medical student, we didn’t pay much attention to food. Nobody thought nutrition was really important in those days, and as a consequence we didn’t study it much, or apply any good principles to our own diets.

In the last few years, I’ve learned more about diet and nutrition than I learned while I practised medicine on a daily basis. When I got home, I was reminded of a book I’d purchased and read a few years back, about “superfoods.”

Pumpkin is considered a superfood. No…it’s just not for carving at Halloween. And is it a vegetable, or a fruit? Most people think it’s a vegetable, but it’s actually a fruit, a member of the gourd family.

It’s inexpensive, available year round, (canned), high in fiber, and low in calories. Pumpkin packs an abundance of disease fighting nutrients like potassium, pantothenic acid, magnesium, and vitamins C and E.

The key nutrient that boosts pumpkin to the top of the Supefoods list is a synergistic combination of carotenoids. I could write for a couple of days about carotenoids, but let me just say that they have a hand in a healthy heart.

Here are some other superfoods. A diet that includes these will sure help keep the Goodyear Blimp from landing south of your heart:

Beans
Blueberries
Broccoli
Oats
Oranges
Salmon
Spinach
Green (or Black) Tea
Tomatoes
Turkey
Walnuts
Yogurt

And then, there is my critically important ultra pure, pharmaceutical grade fish oil, Dr. Bill’s Powerhouse Omega Formula, which comes with it’s own superpowers. So there is yet another formula for you: 13 + 1 is 13 superfoods, PLUS the powerful omega-3 fatty acids, found in my pharmaceutical grade fish oil.

And if you add in a little cinnamon and garlic, you have even a couple more powerful fat fighters.

Weight loss is a result of synergy: the right food, the Powerhouse Omega Formula, the right exercise, and the right amount of rest, and you can make the old spare tire disappear.

Fish Oil Enriched Pigs

A good friend of mine is from Minnesota, a small town town up near the Canadian border where it’s beyond cold. He hightailed it out of there soon after graduating fom high school, and has lived in Florida for quite a while.

He does go back for a visit every now and then, usually in July or August, when it’s warm, at least for that part of the country. He called me today to razz me a bit, and referred me to a study undertaken at the University of Minnesota.

I thought perhaps it was a psychiatric study, an examination of why a state would elect a fool for United States Senator, (Al Franken), after the experience they had of electing a fool for governor, (Jesse Ventura).

Researchers at the U managed to isolate a a gene from a species of nematode worm that codes an enzyme involved in the conversion of omega 6 fats…found in many grains…into heart healthy omega 3s. The idea was not to produce omega 3 enriched pigs for consumption, although that may be a future possibility.

In case you didn’t know this, Brother Pig has a circulatory system very similar to humans, and scientists wanted to investigate the effects of internally produced omega 3 fats compared with omega 3 fats in the diet.

All this interest in omega 3s is being sparked by a number of completed studies that have shown omega 3 fatty acids, like the ones contained in my Dr. Bill’s Powerhouse Omega Formula, can reduce the risk of a heart attack and sudden death…probably by slowing the heart rate.

A landmark Italian study documented a significant reduction in the death rate by heart attack patients taking fish oil every day. The study lasted 3 1/2 years, and the death rate was cut in half.

Omega 3s also raise HDL or “good” cholesterol.

They lower triglycerides.

There is now accumulating evidence that Omega 3s may even reduce the incidence of macular degeneration, and other eye problems.

DHA, (docosahexaenoic acid), has been linked with protection from dementia.

EPA, (eicosapentaenoic acid), affects the suppleness of the arteries.

Dr. Bill’s Powerhouse Omega Formula contains 330 mg of DHA, and 450mg of EPA, which is the highest level on the market.

The Omega 3s come from small chain fish, anchovy, and sardines, not salmon. Salmon production was one of the reasons that the Minnesota researchers had for looking at the production of omega 3 pigs.

Will we ever produce Omega 3 pigs?

I don’t know, but it’s fun to think about getting your EPA/DHA from bacon, or baby back ribs. Meanwhile, take your soft gels.

How Women Can Lower Their Chance Of A Coronary Event

I’ve been locked up in my study doing a little reading the past few days. Some of it was work related, and some of it was just for fun. Two of my favorite authors had new books out, and I rambled through both of them this week.

I’m a fan of the mystery genre, and there are  a lot of really good mystery writers out there, at the moment. They’re certainly better than most of the people considered heroes of the literary societies, even though they could never even be considered for membership. I always think of that old Groucho Marx line,  “I wouldn’t want to join any club that would have me.”

Did you know that the Japanese have HALF the chance of dying of heart disease as Americans?

The Japanese eat 10 times as much fish as Americans.

So it begs the question; why aren’t the Japanese dying of mercury poisoning? Every day we see some story about the huge toxicity of ocean fish, all of which the Japanese consume.

Could this be another environmental hoax? Like global warming…er…climate change. There is much evidence around now to show a global cooling trend, but none of the greenies want to see or hear it, because it wrecks their theory.

Does anybody remember acid rain?

Billions of dollars were spent over a decade on acid rain. Then it was proved that there was no such thing. Is anybody hearing “here we go again?”

Back to science.

A study just completed has examined the relationship between long chain fatty acid concentrations and the occurrence of non fatal heart events, such as a heart attack. The study lasted six years and examined a large sample of American women.

Two groups were studied. Women who had had a heart attack, were overweight, and smoked were matched against women who had the same age, weight, and smoking status, but did not have an event.

The difference was the level of EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) in the blood plasma. The women with the higher level of omega 3 fatty acid had a 77% lower chance of having a heart attack. They also had higher HDL levels, (good cholesterol), and lower triglycerides, (blood levels of animal fats).

The encouraging thing about the study shows that Americans can improve their heart health from a preventative point of view.

Many Americans are not big fish eaters, including me. But it doesn’t mean that you can’t experience the benefits of the heart healthy Japanese. My deep water, small fish, pharmaceutical grade fish oil, is designed to get you those benefits without opening 50 tins of tuna a week.

All you have to do is pop a couple of the enteric coated soft gels a couple of times a day, and you’re good to go, getting all the omega 3 fatty acids that you need.

Not only that, you lower your risk of a coronary event by a huge factor.

The simple act of taking pharmaceutical grade fish oil can assist your heart, your brain, your joints, and even your skin, which I’ll write about next time.

How To Double Weight Loss Progress

Back what seems like half a century ago, I had a teacher that said that if you wanted to remember  something; write it down. He also said that if you really wanted to commit something to memory, you needed to write it down several times. I’m no longer sure what he meant exactly by the term several, but it had to be more than two  or three times.

In medical school, this journaling served me well, and even today I can recall small pieces  of information that I learned over 40 years ago. I used to take notes, and then rewrite my notes  several times. One thing I recall was that each time I rewrote my notes, I discovered something I had overlooked, or even completely missed.

Now comes a study that lends credence to my personal belief about journaling. A recent study by Kaiser Permanente Care Management Institute’s Weight Management Initiative, (whew!), done on  1500 fatties, (That would be the overweight and obese), has come up with some very surprising  results.

All of the folks studied lost weight on the program, which consisted of a low fat diet, and thirty minutes of moderate exercise per day. The diet included generous amounts of fruits and vegetables.

But here is the big news.

The people being studied were give the option of keeping a journal, or not.

Two thirds, or 990 of the folks being studied opted not to keep a journal. One third, or 510 people opted to keep a journal.

The results?

The 510 people who kept journal lost twice as much weight!

The study concluded that the journals prevented mindless eating and snacking, which can ruin any  weight loss plan. Those who journaled also were better at tracking portion sizes, and recognized their own bad habits.

There are really 4 Keys To A Successful Weight Loss Program.

1. My Dr. Bill’s Powerhouse Omega Formula

2. 30 minutes of moderate exercise per day

3. Eating high quality real food, in as close to it’s natural state as possible

4. Journaling, or writing it all down and keeping a record.

A deep water pharmaceutical grade fish oil, is the foundation of your program.

Moderate exercise can be as simple as walking, which is good exercise, and often completely  overlooked.

Eating real food means avoiding fast food, and all packaged foods.

And writing it all down shows your what happens when you follow the program, or fall off the train.

Keeping a journal pulls your whole program together. It’s like doubling down on a sure thing. You can  lose some weight, or you can lose a LOT of weight.

A friend of mine started journaling last October. Before that, he had reduced his waist size from 44  to 42. Since he started journaling, he has reduced his waist size from 42…to 34. That’s results you can brag about! (And he does, but who can blame him?)

It did cost him some dough, because he’s had to replace almost his entire wardrobe (which his wife  is thrilled about.)

We do like to hang onto things, even if it’s fat, or out of style, like clothing. Clothing won’t hurt you, but being overweight will. It can not only hurt you, it can kill you.

Fish Oil For Dogs

One of my partners called me this morning to relate a story that came from a woman who was part of the test group for my Dr. Bill’s Powerhouse Omega Formula. What this means is that she was a volunteer guinea pig, and got to take what would be the formula for a couple of months before we released it.

The woman in question is a nurse at a dialysis clinic, is around 50 years of age, widowed, and has two dogs, (real dogs…not those minature rats that are so popular today), and the dogs are somewhere between 9 and 10 years old.

She started to take my pharmaceutical grade fish oil because the stuff she was taking gave her “fish burps,” which she didn’t like, and she was attracted to the higher levels of EPA/DHA  in my formula, which she wasn’t getting in the stuff she picked up at the drugstore.

Her primary reason for using fish oil was to reduce arthritic discomfort. At fifty, and being a full time nurse, she is on her feet for many, many hours at a time, and its taken its toll on her.

After a month on my Powerhouse Omega Formula she reported substantial relief from her discomfort, saying it was almost like she had new legs.

Here’s where the story goes to the dogs.

Her hounds, Shea and Shaggy, were not as active as they used to be, and Shea had a little hitch in his giddyup. After a month of taking fish oil herself, she started giving a soft gel a day to the dogs along with their afternoon treat. In two weeks time, the dogs seemed to get their old mojo back, and Shea lost his hitch, and is walking normaly.

Now I know this is not scientific, and I’m certainly not a veterinarian. I really don’t know what to make of it other than its a good story. But if it works…I’m not going to stand in the way.

But back to the dogs’ owner. She isn’t the only one reporting that pharmaceutical grade fish oil is effective in the fight against common arthritic discomfort. Pharmaceutical grade fish oil is a potent weapon in the fight against many joint ailments of various stripes and colors.

Pharmaceutical grade fish oil can assist your heart, your joints, and your brain. A study I read today from Columbia University Medical Center in New York says that omega 3 fatty acids may help decrease the risk for Alzheimer’s by 19 to 24%.

Alzheimer’s is the #1 health fear of my generation, and the one that follows.

Enteric Coated Fish Oil and Exercise

This morning I ran out to the bookstore to get  Barry Eisler’s new book, “Fault Line.” If you haven’t read Barry Eisler before, he is the  author of the very successful “John Rain” series, which is about an ethical modern day assassin. That may sound very strange, like a contradiction in terms, but once you start  reading Eisler, you aren’t going to want to put the books down.

“Fault Line” is Eisler’s first departure from the John Rain series, and I’m writing this now, because if I pick up the book and start  reading I’m not stopping until I finish.

On the other side of the world, in what we  call “Down Under,” (Australia), researchers have found that they agree with me, and scores of other physicians in the United States and Europe, about the added benefits of pharmaceutical grade fish oil and regular exercise.

At the University of South Australia in Adelaide, (about 1000 miles SW of Sydney), a study group  found that overweight adults, (those with a body mass index over 25), with high blood  pressure, and abnormal triglycerides or cholesterol, who took pharmaceutical grade fish oil on a daily basis, and did moderate exercise, (walking briskly 3 days per week for 45 minutes), experienced the following results:

1. Lowered triglycerides

2. Increased HDL (good) cholesterol

3. Significantly improved arterial vasodilation

4. Significantly better heart function

5. Significantly reduced body fat

These results do not include any changes in diet, and I would consider the level of exercise as minimal.

Just think of the gains you could make if you combined enteric coated fish oil, with even moderate exercise, and some much needed changes in your diet. You have to start sometime, and the best time is NOW.

The great thing about this study from “Down Under” is that it shows significant changes are possible,  with just a minimum of effort. None of these folks hit the gym, hired a trainer, or really went “whole hog.”

They just walked 3 days a week. Walking is vastly underrated as an exercise, and I believe exercise is something we all need to do daily. You don’t have to lift heavy weight, cycle till they have to mop the floor under you, or run until your bones get really aggravated with you.

Just do something that moves your body every day, as opposed to the Homer Simpson School of Exercise (eating donuts while wearing an “S” groove in your couch).

And here’s the thing about really getting into an exercise routine: Once you get rolling, your body won’t let you stop. You programmed yourself healthy, and your body will send you signals to stay that way.

You don’t want to get into an argument with your healthy body.

You’ll lose.

Is Your Nutritionist Too Fat To Fish?

I try not to read the email in the morning because sometimes, the stories are too good, and I lose track of time. This morning was a  perfect example, because I got a letter from someone I know who was recently diagnosed as a Type II diabetic.

John is in his mid fifties and I wouldn’t say he is fat, but I wouldn’t classify him as thin, either. He is what used to be called “husky,” a definition that isn’t heard much, these days. I would venture to say he is about 20-25 pounds over fighting weight. He loves food, and he  loves beer, and he is going to have to make some changes in his life, if he wants to keep it.

He sent me a note about being sent to a nutritionist by his family practioner, after she diagnosed him with diabetes. John is about 6’1″ and weighs about 225-230. I don’t think it would take but about 90 days to have him in really good shape.

He took the appointment with the nutritionist, and showed up for his appointment at the prescribed time. He checked in with the receptionist, who weighed in about 250, and couldn’t have been a hair over 5’5″. What we used to call “as wide as they were tall,” behind closed doors.

John thought it was a little odd that a nutrition clinic would have a lardass at the front door, but with all the crazy laws on hiring, he thought that maybe they didn’t have a choice.

He waited for about twenty minutes, before his name was called and he was ushered into a big office. Then the nutrionist arrived, and John was stunned. She was about 5’10″, but she weighed 300 pounds and not an ounce less, according to his story.

She started into her routine, and talked and talked, but John couldn’t hear anything. His mind kept asking him, “Why are the two people I have seen in this nutrition clinic so fat?”

The nutritionist was showing him plastic food, made to approximate just how much food he should be eating. Finally, when he couldn’t stand it anymore, he asked, “If you know all the rules about dieting, why are you so fat?”

There was absolute silence on the other side of the desk, and then she said, “What did you say?” like she hadn’t heard him correctly.

So he repeated what he said, “If you know all the rules about dieting, why are you so fat?”

At this point the nutritionist flew off the handle, and started screaming at him, telling him to get out of her office immediately. He obliged, but didn’t think his question was out of line. The receptionist asked him if there was a problem, on his way out, and he said that someone apparently couldn’t handle her  own advice.

He went back to his family practioner and told her the story. She kept a straight face on for a minute or two, and then couldn’t stop her own laughter.

Between the two of us, he got some rules to follow.

I recommended pharmaceutical grade fish oil, because Type II diabetes immediately moves you into a cardiac high risk category. John doesn’t have any heart problems now, but diabetes can accelerate many problems with your heart, and pharmaceutical grade fish oil can help in controlling lipid levels, which are often elevated in diabetes, especially triglycerides.

Not only that, but pharmaceutical grade fish oil has been linked to wide range of other health benefits, including reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and certain cancers, improved joint health, and improved behavior and mood.

This last benefit is particularly helpful to Type II diabetics, who often suffer from depression caused by the disease.

My friend John was right to question the nutritionist. It would be the same situation as getting advice from a pulmonologist who smoked.

Nutritionists need to walk the walk, not just talk the talk.

John told me she had two cases of Diet Coke on a shelf behind her too (more fat people drink Diet Coke, than any other beverage.)

Never be afraid to get another opinion, especially in a case like this.

Fish Oil and Heart Health

I went out for brunch Sunday, and was standing  in line for an omelette with about a dozen other men. The restaurant had three cooks making eggs of all kinds, so it wasn’t a long wait at all. While standing there, I noticed one thing about  all the men – that they all had a lot of weight  directly below the heart.

This what we have jokingly called the “beer belly” for decades. It should be renamed the “heart attack  belly,” or “the sudden death belly.” Of all the places to have too much fat, this is the worst.

90% of the men I observed undoubtably had elevated levels of tryglycerides in their blood, and 75%  of them probably had high blood pressure. They all filled their plate several times, and some of them  were also consuming alcohol.

None of them looked like they got much exercise either.

They are all at high risk for a heart attack, and in need of some program changes. Heart disease is a silent killer, and when these  symptoms advance too far, many do not survive.

Many men have been programmed to stay away from the doctor, and go on about doing the very same things that may have killed their father or grandfather. They even have a sense of black humor about it.

They don’t realize that small changes can pay big benefits.

Losing some weight is not the ordeal many make it out to be. Adding fish oil to your diet takes less than one minute a day. (And the fish oil will help you lose weight.)

Pharmaceurical grade fish oil will also help reduce imflammation by up to 20%. If you’re over 35, and you’re overweight, chances are that you have a number of imflammations.

The extra weight taxes your body’s system, just by carrying it around. It forces your system to work harder, just to do simple things. And the extra  fat starts going places it shouldn’t, and staying for a long visit. And the more fat, the more  visitors, and pretty soon it’s just like being in a traffic jam, only worse. Eventually traffic will start moving, but the blockages won’t.

Pharmaceutical grade fish oil helps prevent blockages, and it’s a good first step on the road to a healthy heart.

But remember it won’t do the trick all by itself. You still need to exercise, and eat real food.

Fish Oil Might Give Young Brains a Super Boost

I was pumped up by the weather report I saw this morning which predicted a couple of Florida-like  days could be coming later in the week. I’m going to go out and get some Coppertone and lay out on  the back porch. (Just kidding, like George Carlin once said, I only get in the sun to neutralize the  blue.)

That isn’t quite true either, I just prefer not  to have to put on a jacket, scarf, gloves, and boots just to walk to the mailbox. Or to have to use a snowblower to get there.

When you’re snowed in you get a chance to do a lot of reading, and I’m finding all sorts of interesting information regarding which fish oil, which I thought I had done a thorough study of, while getting my Powerhouse Omega Formula together. But it seems that every day I find more and more information to confirm that I moved in the right direction by putting this company together.

London’s Daily Mail published a small study by Professor Basant Puri, who believes that all of today’s school children need supplementation in order to have a healthy diet. In the study he is referring to British school children, who he believes have an unhealthy diet.

(Things are not so different here.)

Professor Puri believes that the diets of school children are deficient in omega-3 fatty acids, and that the only way to insure that they get them is through supplementaion.

He also believes the same thing is true of adults.

Puri is a professor of Psychiatry at Imperial College In London, and a consultant in neurological  disorders at Hammersmith Hospital.

Youngsters in the study were given pharmaceutical grade fish oil, and after 3 months remarkable gains were seen.

The average increase in the children’s reading age was a year and a quarter, while handwriting  became neater and more legible.

In concentration, three child scored perfect results even though they were not at the top of their class.

They also achieved dramatic results in short term memory.

The most striking finding emerged in brain scans, which all suggested they had denser nerve fibers.

According to Puri, “The results were astonishing. It was as if the brains of these children were three years older.”

I’ve known that pharmaceutical grade fish oil helps with brain function for years, and I’ve recommended it without reservation for adults.

And now it looks as though the benefits for children may be as high, or higher, than for fully grown adults. This is really tremendously good news. However, until such findings are confirmed by other studies, I can’t actually recommend this for kids.

I have a follow up study to read, also from England, that suggests that fish oil supplementation also curbs the violent behavior of many teenagers, and is currently being used in psychiatric therapy, with good results.