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Dr. Susan E. Brown

10 tips for an alkaline diet

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Eating an alkaline diet can produce tremendous results —and I would like to add that it’s not just the latest Hollywood fad like many ways of eating!

Eating alkaline as a long-term approach is simple and something everyone can do.  Here are 10 simple tips to get started:

10 simple tips for eating alkaline

1. Eat more veggies and fruits. Even if you don’t go any further down this list, taking this one step can instantly make a huge difference.

2. Reduce soda intake, or eliminate it altogether.

3. Replace refined carbs with roots and gourds.

4. Add fresh lemon and lime to your water. Though we typically think of citrus fruits as acidic, they’re highly alkalizing in the body (limes especially).

5. Consider cooking with sea vegetables. For some of you, I know this is “out of the question!” But if you’re willing to try new ingredients, why not experiment with packaged sea veggies available in the health-food or Asian section of your supermarket?

6. Drink 64 ounces of high-mineral spring water daily.

7. Limit animal protein. Try to limit your animal protein sources (beef, chicken, pork, eggs, and dairy products) to 1 serving or less per day and increase plant-based protein sources.

8. Add cinnamon, ginger, and other herbs and spices.

9. Monitor your urinary pH. Track your first morning urine pH (after at least 6 hours of sleep) to know how your nutritional changes are affecting your body. When this number is between 6.5 (slightly acidic) and 7.5 (slightly alkaline), it suggests that your overall cellular pH is where it should be — slightly alkaline.

10. Supplement your diet with a high-quality multivitamin–mineral complex. No matter how attentive we are to what we eat, where it’s from, and how we dish it up, we can’t always have a perfectly balanced diet. Gain peace of mind with a top-notch bone-healthy supplement.

Learn more about our Alkalizing products, including my food guide and pH paper.

Top 3 multivitamin myths debunked
Dr. Susan E. Brown

Top 3 multivitamin myths

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I get all my vitamins from food. All vitamins are the same. Are vitamins really safe?

I’m concerned that so many women aren’t getting the whole story about supplements. Almost daily, I hear a wide range of reasons why women aren’t taking a specialized nutrient supplement protocol as part of their bone-building program.

If this resonates with you, why not take a few minutes to reconsider what I call “the top vitamin myths” and perhaps reevaluate your position on the value of vitamin/mineral supplements for maximum bone health.

Myth #1: If you eat well, you don’t need vitamins

For most women (including myself!), it’s just not possible to get enough of all the bone-essential vitamins and minerals through diet alone. Here are some of the reasons why:

  • Your body needs a wide range of nutrients in adequate doses every day(at least 20 for optimal bone building). Most of us have days when our diet isn’t the best, and a multivitamin helps fill the gaps.
  • Key nutrients need the right amounts of other nutrients to be effective.For example, vitamin C appears to enhance both calcium absorption and vitamin D’s effect on bone metabolism and calcium and magnesium function together so that a deficiency of one markedly affects the metabolism of the other.
  • Your body absolutely needs trace minerals — like copper, zinc and manganese — which can be very hard to get in adequate amounts today with food alone.  For example, 75% of all diets fail to contain even the Recommended Daily Allowance of 900 mcg for copper.  Our zinc intake averages only 50% the RDA, and our manganese intake is generally inadequate.

Myth #2: Discount vitamins work as well as more expensive vitamins

I like a good bargain as much as anyone, but many inexpensive multivitamins are poor quality, low on active nutrients, and full of additives. To get the most benefit from your multivitamin, choose one that is pharmaceutical grade, contains the most bioavailable forms, and doesn’t contain preservatives, sugar, or artificial flavoring, filler, dyes or coloring. The cost may be higher, but the results are definitely worth it.

Myth #3: Vitamins aren’t regulated for safety

You may have heard scare stories in the news about vitamins, but vitamins ARE regulated.  You can be assured of a vitamin’s safety if it is sourced and manufactured  according to highest quality standards, which are externally validated to meet or exceed the FDA’s GMP’s (Good Manufacturing Practices) regulations.

Obviously, I feel strongly about the importance of multivitamins! Over the many years of clinical practice I have found nutritional supplementation to be essential for overcoming the “repair deficit” associated with low bone density and bone weakness. The Better Bones approach is to build better bones and a better body, and in today’s world this requires high quality, targeted nutrient supplementation.

Finally, I’m at times asked why I developed my own line of bone-building supplements. The truth is, after extensive research for my book “Better Bones, Better Body,” I tried to find an existing supplement to recommend to my clients — and I couldn’t find one that included everything a woman needs for optimal bone health.  That’s why I developed the Better Bones supplements to be used along with the Better Bones diet and lifestyle advice I give my clients. It is my goal and mission to provide you with  all the support you need to develop life-long bone strength and body-wide vitality.

 

Dr. Susan E. Brown

Your food may have fewer nutrients than you think

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Even if you eat a healthy diet — including lots of fruits and vegetables — you may be surprised to learn that you’re not getting the amount of nutrients you think you are. That’s because research shows the vitamin and mineral content of many common fruits and vegetables has been declining in the last decades.

Declines of up to 75%

You would need to eat 2½ times as much broccoli today to get the same amount of calcium as you would have in 1950. And twice as many onions to get the same amount of iron. In fact, a study comparing the nutrient value for 43 garden vegetables from 1950 to 1999 shows an average decrease in nutrient content of 25-50%.

Research on popular fruits like apples and oranges shows the same significant losses of vitamin and mineral content. Eleven of 12 fruits showed reduced amounts of iron, 10 with loss in calcium and 9 with loss of vitamin A. The drop in iron in several fruits — including oranges, tangerines and strawberries — was quite extreme.  Tangerines dropped 65% for calcium content and 75% for iron (I’m not sure what caused the increase for vitamin A — perhaps it’s related to the fertilizers used).

What’s the nutrient loss for your favorite vegetable or fruit?

Here are more examples of nutrient loss in vegetables and fruit using the USDA’s standard nutrient data for 1950 and for 1999.

Nutrient chart

 

Here’s another intriguing example about nutrient decline. During the 1960s scientists found an Arctic campsite of explorers from 100 years earlier, which included a can of peaches frozen in heavy syrup. Somebody had the forethought to test the peaches. Even accounting for the food value lost from being frozen, the canned peaches from the 1860s were 50% higher in every measurable nutrient than modern canned peaches.

If you are concerned about getting enough nutrients to maintain good health and build bone, it’s still a good idea to increase your intake of vegetables and fruits. That said, I strongly suggest you consider supplementation to make sure you’re getting all the nutrients you need — no matter what you eat — especially if you are trying to build bone and overcome years of neglect.

 

References:

Davis, D. R., M. D. Epp, and H. D. Riordan. 2004. Changes in USDA food composition data for 43 garden crops, 1950 to 1999. Journal of the American College of Nutrition 23(6):669–682.

Jack, A. 1998. Nutrition under siege. One Peaceful World Journal, Spring:1, 7–8.

Jack, A. 2005.America’s vanishing nutrients- Decline in fruit and vegetable quality poses serious health and environmental risks. Amberwaves, Becket, MA.

Mayer, A. M. 1997. Historical changes in the mineral content of fruits and vegetables. British Food Journal 99(6):207–211.

 

Dr. Susan E. Brown

Zinc is good for fighting colds and building bone

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Do you hear more coughs and sneezing now than you did during the dead of winter? I’m not surprised, given that the change of season can up your chances of catching a cold.

When I feel the sniffles coming on, I load up on zinc. It’s been shown to help to shorten the length of a cold when taken at high doses within 24 hours of exposure to a cold.

This is yet another example of how everything you do for your bones is good for your body, as zinc is one of the key minerals for bone health.

The latest research about zinc

Researchers are constantly adding to the knowledge about the bone benefits of zinc. Most recently, a study in Iran (1) showed that postmenopausal women with osteopenia or osteoporosis had significantly lower than normal levels of dietary intake of zinc as well as calcium and magnesium. On the basis of their results and previously published studies, the researchers suggest “mineral supplementation especially with calcium, magnesium, zinc and perhaps copper may have beneficial effect on bone density in post-menopausal women with low bone density.”

Are you getting enough zinc?

The average person in the U.S. takes in about 46–63% of the recommended daily allowance of zinc. That’s 8 mg a day  (which is the amount found in Better Bones Basics). The common therapeutic range for bone health for the same woman is 12-30 mg a day (with my Better Bones Builder containing 15 mg). And in case you’re wondering how much zinc you need to fight off a cold, zinc lozenges with a dose of 75 mg showed benefits! (2)

 

References:

  1. Mahdavi-Roshan, M. et al. 2015. Copper, magnesium, zinc and calcium status in osteopenic and osteoporotic post-menopausal women. Clinical Cases in Mineral and Bone Metabolism, 12(1):18–21.
  2. Hemilä, H. 2011. Zinc lozenges may shorten the duration of colds: A systematic review. The Open Respiratory Medicine Journal 5:51–58.

 

what is the most important thing for bone health
Dr. Susan E. Brown

1 minute with Dr. Brown: What is the most important thing for bone health?

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Got a minute? Every week I receive dozens of questions from women like you with concerns about their bone health. In my new series, “1 Minute with Dr. Brown,” I will try to answer your most pressing questions. If you have a question, send it in to us at center@betterbones.com
 

Question: What is the single most important thing I can do to take care of my bone health?

Myths about joint health
Dr. Susan E. Brown

5 myths about joint health

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When it comes to joint health, what you may be told as “fact” may actually be fiction – and can do way more harm than good. 

Over and over, I see some of the most popular myths about joint health be disproven with the work I do with my clients at the Center for Better Bones.  Here are the top 5 common myths about joint issues so that you can avoid making common mistakes:

Myth #1:  Joint pain naturally happens as we age
While it’s tempting to rationalize nagging joint pain as something that just happens to everyone as they get older, this isn’t true. Many healthy people around the world age well without experiencing degeneration of their joints.  Those with chronic inflammation, low anti-oxidant status, excess acidity and toxic overload are more prone to aging joint woes – but you can do something about these factors.

Myth #2: Foods we eat don’t affect joint pain
I commonly see women whose joint pain is caused by a reaction from eating wheat and other gluten products as well as from beef, dairy, soy or other foods. Even arthritis specialists recognize the existence of “reactive arthritis.”

Myth #3:  Excess weight is a major cause of joint pain
While it’s true that our joints bear the burden of our weight, our weight alone is rarely to blame for joint discomfort.  Our joints are designed to support body weight. It’s only when they become inflamed and unable to adequately repair themselves do we end up with joint pain.

Myth #4: Joints get damaged as we use them and exercise can aggravate this damage
What we commonly think of as joint “wear and tear” is really “cumulative repair deficit” —when we don’t support our body enough to repair the natural damage caused by using them.  We can benefit from exercise through increased circulation and delivery of nutrients to the joint tissues to promote tissue health and renewal. Gentle full range-of-motion exercises actually stimulate and help heal the joints, especially when used with nutritional joint support.

Myth #5: The drugs and medications used to ease joint pain are safe to use without side effects
It may be easy to pop an ibuprofen or a naproxen, but these anti-inflammatory painkillers aren’t without their side effects. High dose, long-term use of these medications can lead to damage to various organs including the heart, stomach and kidneys and also increase the risk of stroke.   The even stronger steroid medications, such as prednisone, have system-wide negative effects, not the least of which is osteoporosis.  An estimated 20 percent of all osteoporosis in this country is due to steroid use.

Now more than ever, we’re finding how nutritional, lifestyle, and environmental factors provide lifelong bone health. Remember, by taking heart and taking action, each of us can use this knowledge to stay strong and naturally create better joint health.

 

common symptoms to be treated with nutriton
Dr. Susan E. Brown

The nutrition detective: Part 2

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When I’m not tracking down the latest on bone research, I’m often focusing on my work as a certified nutritionist and the clues our body gives us to tell us something isn’t right.

From excessive earwax to twitches of the eyelids, here are some common symptoms that can be resolved with the right nutrition:

Clue: Excessive earwax

A little earwax is normal, but a significant buildup likely means a lack of essential fatty acids, especially omega-3 fats in the forms of DHA and EPA.  In the Better Bones Program we recommend anywhere from 600 to 3000 mg of the omega-3 fats a day. Another sign of essential fatty acid deficiency is pimply skin on the back of your upper arms.

Clue: Bleeding gums when you floss

You should be able to floss and brush healthy gums without any bleeding.  When bleeding occurs, it’s a sign that the collagen needs more support and that you may need to be getting more vitamin C. This great antioxidant immune booster is essential for collagen production. (Since I also like history, you may be interested to know that scurvy, which killed so many sailors and pirates of the 1700s, is a serious collagen disorder caused by severe vitamin C deficiency.)  For a home test of your vitamin C level, see our VitaCheck-C test strips.

Clue: Twitches of the eyelids

If you have facial or eyelid twitches that just don’t go away, it’s likely your body is asking for more magnesium. Magnesium relaxes the muscles and when you’re low in this nutrient there can be all sorts of spasms and twitches. What’s more, back muscle spasms are often relieved with supplemental magnesium.

Clue: Muscle cramps in your toes legs even arches of feet

I find that these cramps respond to of a few hundred milligrams of calcium supplementation taken at bedtime.  If the calcium doesn’t do the trick, add a few hundred milligrams of magnesium and potassium citrate.

Clue: A stool that sinks in the toilet bowl

This might sound strange to you, but a sinking stool really indicates something very important — a lack of dietary fiber. The current recommendation for fiber is between 25 and 38 grams a day, but the average person consumes less than half that amount.

If you’re curious about more clues to your health, see my complete Nutrition Detective Questionnaire by visiting my Consultations page, go to Intake Forms in the left-hand navigation and click on the Nutrition Detective Questionnaire link. You may be surprised at the mysteries you solve!

insights from a nutrition detective
Dr. Susan E. Brown

Mysteries solved by the nutrition detective

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reviewing an apple with a magnifying glass

As a certified nutritionist, I piece together clues our body gives us to help my clients uncover nutrition deficiencies that lead to a wide range of health issues. Here’s the most common evidence I find in my work as a nutrition detective:

Clue: Dry skin and/or dry scalp

When we notice dry skin, most of us immediately think about hydration. But healthy skin also requires a considerable amount of essential high quality fats. Dry skin or a flaky scalp sound the alarm that you should eat more nuts, seeds, and high-quality olive, sesame or fish oils.  And while you’re at it, check if you have bumpy “chicken like” skin on the back of your upper arms. It’s another sign the body needs more essential fats, particularly omega-3 s.

Clue: Varicose veins

Strange as it may seem, a varicose vein is what you might consider to be a “constipated vein.” In other words, there’s blood stagnation in that vein.  While medical treatments can remove stagnation, increasing your fiber intake to 30 or more grams a day will help you avoid varicose veins.

Clue: Nocturnal leg cramps

Leg cramps that develop during the night or early morning  most often signal mineral inadequacy — and calcium is the mineral I think of first.  I always suggest that adults consume a total of 1,200 mg calcium from diet and supplements combined.  If your calcium intake is lower, try raising your intake to this level setting aside 200-300 mg of calcium supplements to be taken at bedtime.

If getting enough calcium doesn’t do the trick, try adding 200-300 mgs of additional magnesium.  If the problem still persists, consider taking 200-300 mgs supplemental potassium at bedtime. Once again hydration is important, but I’ve known many athletes who develop serious nocturnal leg cramping even when well hydrated.  They were able to resolve their tendency to cramp with calcium and/or magnesium supplementation.

Clue:  Black and blue easily

Vitamin C inadequacy can result in common symptoms such as bleeding gums when you brush or floss and the tendency to bruise easily (as when you a develop a black and blue spot and don’t recall hitting or injuring the  tissue.)

If you’re curious about my complete Nutrition Detective Questionnaire, visit my Consultations  page, go to Intake Forms and click on the Nutrition Detective Questionnaire link.  You may be surprised at the mysteries you solve!