Blog - Page 2 of 22 - Dan Hammer Health LTD

Posted by Dan Hammer //

07/08/2020

I’ve written a couple of articles on supplements for prostate health.

So why another one?

This one comes directly from the National Cancer Institute and provides a very objective and balanced approach to this issue about using supplements for prostate health.

Prostate cancer is the most common internal cancer affecting men. Here in the United States approximately 12% of men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during their lifetime.

An even greater number of men are affected by prostate concerns like an enlarged prostate.

In the introduction for this large PDF (86 pages), the National Cancer Institute notes that the use of vitamins and other supplements are widely used by men for both prevention and prostate health. Almost 60% of men that have a family history of prostate cancer use some form of supplementation to reduce their risk.

Here is a list of what they cover:

Calcium
Green Tea
Lycopene
Modified Citrus Pectin
Pomegranate
Selenium
Soy
Vitamin D
Vitamin E

In this article I’m going to give you the primary conclusion the National Cancer Institute has for each of these ingredients. Then I’ll provide some of my thoughts at the end. Read More →

Dangers of Soy – A Balanced View

Posted by Dan Hammer //

07/01/2020

Are there dangers of soy that can affect your health? Or is soy as beneficial to your health as the soy industry claims? I hope to provide a balanced view in this article.

However, I want to be upfront. I’m not a fan of soy or products that contain ingredients from soy.

I don’t like the taste of soy. And I try to steer away from processed foods that contain soy in their ingredient list. But my feelings about soy don’t justify whether there are dangers of soy.

Many vegans and vegetarians will use soy-based foods to get their protein needs. They will consume items like tofu, miso, tempeh, natto, and edamame. While many enjoy the taste of these foods, I do not.

And while I’m not a vegan or vegetarian, I get a lot of my daily protein intake from pea protein. I believe it’s a better source for protein. It is also hypoallergenic for most people and causes less stomach distress and bloating.

But I digress so let’s get back to the dangers of soy – a balanced view.

Older research in this area has produced some bad press for the soy bean industry. That soy affects your hormones, can cause trouble for your thyroid, and possibly be a contributing factor in certain forms of cancer.

So are these dangers of soy real? Read More →

Reduce Nighttime Urination

Posted by Dan Hammer //

06/22/2020

There is medical term called Nocturia. Sounds like it could be a villain from either the Marvel or DC Universe. Unfortunately, it’s a villain for many men who want to reduce nighttime urination.

Men who wake up 2 or more times during the night to go to the bathroom.

It’s one of the most common urinary problems in older men. And it seems to effect 50% of men over the age of 50. And 70% of men over the age of 80.

So what are the dangers of Nocturia?

Outside of being annoying, this increase in nighttime urination disturbs sleep patterns, which can contribute to poor health, lower energy, depression, and increased overall mortality. And for older adults it increases their risk for falls. And the potential injuries that could be the results of hitting the floor or other objects in the room.

But men, what if you could reduce nighttime urination by 64%?

And limited your trips to the bathroom at night to no more than one time? Would you be interested in learning how?

If yes, then let me tell you about a successful human trial that did just that.

This trial studied a group of men who ranged in age from 45 to 72 years old. Their urinary symptoms were assessed at the start of the study. During this assessment 87% of men reported some degree of Nocturia. Roughly 50% of the men got up one time at night. And 37% of men got up two to three time each night to urinate.

All subjects were given one capsule that contained the following:

180 mg of Beta-sitosterol
100 mg of Pygeum Bark Extract
15 mg of Lycopene
10 mg of Boron
2 mg of Melatonin

They took this capsule daily for 60 days. Researchers then evaluated the number of trips they had to the bathroom to go pee. The 87% who suffered from Nocturia at the start of the study declined to only 23%, which was a 64% reduction.

And for those in the study who got up 2 or more time to go to the bathroom, none suffered from this degree by the end of the study. In fact, many of these men were able to reduce nighttime urination to zero.

Now you might not be able to combine all 5 of these ingredients into your lifestyle. So let’s look at each one to see how they can benefit men and improve their urinary tract. Read More →

Combining Walnuts and Pecans for Heart Health

Posted by Dan Hammer //

06/15/2020

When it comes to heart health, combining walnuts and pecans can be a winning team. Most of the positive press associated with using nuts for heart health goes to walnuts. But pecans can also be a positive force for good cardiovascular health.

To start our discussion I’d like to do a nutritional comparison of these two nuts. And I’m going to use information from Dr. Edward Group of Global Healing.. Below is his table comparing one ounce of walnuts to one ounce of pecans:

https://globalhealing.com/natural-health/pecans-vs-walnuts/

Nutrient	Walnuts (14 halves)	Pecans (19 halves)
Water	1.15g	1g
Calories	185kcal	196kcal
Protein	4.32g	2.6g
Total Fat	18.49g	20.4g
Carbohydrates	3.89g	3.93g
Fiber	1.9g	2.7g
Sugars	0.74g	1.13g
Minerals
Calcium, Ca	28mg	20mg
Iron, Fe	0.82mg	0.72mg
Magnesium, Mg	45mg	34mg
Phosphorus, P	98mg	79mg
Potassium, K	125mg	116mg
Sodium, Na	1mg	0mg
Zinc, Zn	0.88mg	1.28mg
Vitamins
Vitamin C, total ascorbic acid	0.4mg	0.3mg
Thiamin	0.097mg	0.187mg
Riboflavin	0.043mg	0.037mg
Niacin	0.319mg	0.331mg
Vitamin B-6	0.152mg	0.06mg
Folate, DFE	28µg	6µg
Vitamin B12	0µg	0µg
Vitamin A, RAE	0µg	1µg
Vitamin A, IU	6IU	16IU
Vitamin E	0.2mg	0.4mg
Vitamin D (D2 + D3)	0µg	0µg
Vitamin D	0IU	0IU
Vitamin K	0.8µg	1µg
Lipids
Fatty acids, total saturated	1.737g	1.752g
Fatty acids, total monounsaturated	2.533g	11.567g
Fatty acids, total polyunsaturated	13.374g	6.128g
Cholesterol	0mg	0mg
Caffeine	0mg	0mg

Combining Walnuts and Pecans For a Healthy Snack

The key to helping people improve their health is to find healthy snacks that will fuel their body with good nutritional calories.

One ounce of either walnuts or pecans is under 200 calories. This is good.

What makes them a better choice than potato chips is that they will satisfy your hunger and hold your appetite for a longer period of time. And the reason why is their combination of protein and fiber with healthy fats. Read More →

Sage Extract For Improved Cognitive Function

Posted by Dan Hammer //

05/22/2020

It’s a long title but this article is going to discuss using sage extract for improved cognitive function. Especially for short-term memory.

As we age one of our concerns is cognitive function. Especially the ability to remember. Not just past events. But recent activities. What would be called “short-term memory.”

There are many factors that can contribute to this decline.

One is poor circulation, which robs the brain of the needed oxygen and blood glucose to operate at peak efficiency.

But another factor are chemical compounds called neurotransmitters. These compounds are used to help your brain cells communicate with each other.

Acetylcholine is a key neurotransmitter. It is critical for memory, attention, and reasoning.

As we age acetylcholine declines. This decline plays a major role in poor memory and your inability to pay attention to tasks.

The pharmaceutical industry has created a drug that boosts your level of acetylcholine by inhibiting an enzyme called acetylcholinesterase. This enzyme degrades your brains level of acetylcholine, which then effects your memory.

Sage extract can inhibit this same enzyme resulting in an increase in acetylcholine levels.

In a 2018 clinical study that used a standardized sage extract, the participants, when compared to the placebo group, had:

Nearly a 60% increase in memory performance.
An approximate 2.5 fold improvement in attention.

And the improvements were within hours of taking this sage extract.

This interest in a natural way to address cognitive function as spawned additional studies for both younger adults and those with Alzheimer’s disease.

For younger people, the sage extract showed the following improvements within hours: Read More →

Vitamin D and Heart Health

Posted by Dan Hammer //

05/15/2020

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about CoVid19 and Vitamin D Deficiency. Today I want to focus on vitamin D and heart health.

Additional studies are showing how optimizing your vitamin D intake can help to prevent both heart disease and stroke. And it seems to do this by:

Improving endothelial function
Reducing arterial stiffening

Vitamin D does this by increasing your endothelium’s ability to create nitric oxide. Nitric oxide dilates your blood vessels to improved blood flow.

Additionally, vitamin D helps to decrease the destructive chemical compound called peroxynitrite, which can cause inflammation that leads to arterial stiffness.

Researchers at the Nanomedical Research Laboratory at Ohio University conducted a study that examined this relationship between nitric oxide and peroxynitrite. For simplicity, please remember the following:

Nitric oxide is good
Peroxynitrite is bad

In their study, the researcher introduced a human hormone called angiotensin-II. This hormone causes endothelial dysfunction. The result was a decrease in nitric oxide and an increase in peroxynitrite.

When vitamin D3 was introduced, this was significantly reversed. There was a 10 fold increase in nitric oxide and a 10 fold decrease in peroxynitrite.

This study suggests that by maintaining normal levels of vitamin D in your blood stream, you can help to maintain normal endothelial function. This helps your body to properly produce nitric oxide for improved blood flow.

And, normal levels of vitamin D help to prevent the destructive peroxynitrite, which can cause vascular inflammation that leads to arterial stiffness.

So the question becomes:

How much vitamin D to you need to take to see a benefit? Read More →

CoVid19 and Vitamin D Deficiency

Posted by Dan Hammer //

05/08/2020

There is emerging research that is beginning to link CoVid19 and Vitamin D deficiency. The purpose of this article to to examine this emerging research. And to clarify the level of vitamin D in the blood stream that might present a risk, as well as a benefit.

First, some background on vitamin D.

In nature there are two forms of vitamin D. Vitamin D2 is found in plants and is called ergocalciferol. This form is hard for the human body to convert into an active compound. Because of this vitamin D3 is a better source.

Vitamin D3 is found in animals and is called cholecalciferol.

By themselves both forms are inactive. Our bodies have to convert them to an active compound. This is usually done by the liver and then the kidneys.

Your liver converts vitamin D3 to 25-hydroxycholecalcifoerol, which is then convert by your kidneys into 25-dihydroxycholecalciferol. This final conversion is what is measured in your blood serum. A simple blood test can determine is you fall into one of the following three categories for 25-dihydroxycholecalcifoerl:

Normal – would be 30 ng/ml or higher
Insufficient – would be 21 – 29 ng/ml
Deficiency – would be 20 ng/ml or less

A 2011 study of the US population found that 41.6% of adults are vitamin D deficient. But when viewed based on ethnicity the following was discovered:

69.2% of Hispanics were vitamin D deficient
82.1% of African-Americans were vitamin D deficient

This might be a significant factor in CoVid19 and vitamin D deficiency being a greater issue in the Black population groups. As well as Hispanics having a high risk when compared to the general population.

Now before we look at some of the emerging scientific articles, let’s briefly summarize why vitamin D might be so important in the CoVid19 health crisis. Read More →

Melatonin Benefits the Immune System

Posted by Dan Hammer //

05/01/2020

Long considered a “sleep hormone” new research is showing how melatonin benefits the immune system. In the current pandemic of CoVid19 one thing is clear. Those with a depressed immune system are more susceptible to this deadly virus.

And anything you can do to boost your immune system helps to protect your body.

As I’ve been searching for natural ways to boost the immune system, I came across information on how melatonin benefits the immune system.

Melatonin is a hormone. It is produced primarily in the pineal gland of the brain. But it’s also produced in cells of your immune system. And its main function seems to be in coordinating the communication within your immune system.

Scientists call this type of communication “cross talk.” tt’s designed to coordinate your body’s defense against a wide range of pathogens like viruses, harmful bacteria, and cancer cells.

This “cross talk” enables your body’s immune system to recognize harmful viruses and disease-causing bacteria and then work to eliminate them.

Unfortunately, with age and certain types of lifestyle choices, the immune system can become compromised or weakened. This is particularly evident with older people, who are at extreme risk to the CoVid19 virus.

Why is this important? Read More →

Blueberry Polyphenols Reduce Heart Disease

Posted by Dan Hammer //

04/22/2020

Several recent studies have shown how blueberry polyphenols reduce heart disease risk factors. Specifically these polyphenols inhibit the formation of foam cells that lead to atherosclerosis.

Atherosclerosis is the buildup of fatty deposits called plaque that narrows the arterial wall. The vast majority of heart disease is associated with this process. In fact, here is a simple overview of what happens:

The process starts when monocytes (a type of white blood cell) adheres to the endothelial cells that line your arterial walls.
These monocytes invade this one cell thick lining and develop into macrophages.
Macrophages are used by your body to engulf oxidized LDL cholesterol.
The accumulation of oxidized LDL particles in the macrophages form foam cells.
Foam cells then stimulate the body to produce smooth muscle cells and excess connective tissue, which leads to the narrowing of the inside of the artery or atherosclerosis.

If these foam cells are stable, then the risk for a stroke or heart attack is lower. But if these foam cells are inflamed, then the risk for a heart attack or stroke is significantly increased.

Given the above progression, there are two key points to stop the formation of plaque. One is to prevent the oxidation of LDL cholesterol. This is where a diet high in antioxidants can play a major role.

And blueberries are high in antioxidants.

The second area is were the polyphenols come in. Blueberries are rich in two types of polyphenols: Read More →

Bacteriophages Are Healthy Viruses

Posted by Dan Hammer //

04/15/2020

In the world of CoVid-19 we have learned that viruses can be dangerous and deadly. But are all viruses dangerous and deadly to human beings?

The answer is “NO!”

Bacteriophages are healthy viruses that can play an important role in protecting you from harmful bacteria. As well as boost your immune system. And provide protect from the viruses that can cause respiratory illnesses.

So what are bacteriophages?

Bacteriophages are tiny viruses that inflect harmful bacteria. They are so small that they are not even a single cell. Instead, they are just a piece of either DNA or RNA wrapped in a protein coat.

And they seek out and selectively eliminate ONLY harmful bacteria.

This method to destroy harmful bacteria through bacteriophages is not new. Science calls the study of this type of virus Phage Therapy. It’s history goes all the way back to before World War 1.

In the 1940s Eli Lilly and L-Oreal had developed bacteriophage “cocktails” that were used to effectively treat infections.

However, with the development of powerful antibiotics, Phage Therapy took a back seat. And for the most part forgotten.

This dependence on antibiotics has a downside.

They eliminate both the harmful and healthy bacteria. This leaves people vulnerable to other organisms especially when the antibiotic treatment is over.

Not the case with the use of bacteriophages as they only target and eliminate detrimental bacteria.

This means that the bad bacteria are destroyed, which allows the good bacteria to thrive.

Bacteriophages Are Healthy Viruses For Resetting Gut Health

This concept that bacteriophages are healthy viruses is reemerging as scientist learn how important your gut microbiome is to your overall immune system.

Currently, most scientists believe that 70 to 80% of your immune system is determined by your gut health. And the more your gut health is compromised the more your immune system is compromised.

Remember this statement: Read More →