Shingles
Hanging out a shingle
People tend to think that once they've had the chickenpox, it's over, and they never have to deal with it again. Unfortunately, that's just not the case. In fact, people who've had chickenpox are at risk for a much more troublesome illness: shingles, a painful skin rash caused by the same virus as chickenpox.
Shingles comes with some miserable side effects, starting with a burning pain, and sometimes numbness inside the skin, along with a fever, chills, headache, and nausea.
After a few days, those symptoms turn into a rash of patches of red skin covered with tiny, fluid-filled blisters that look kind of like chickenpox. The pain that comes along with the rash can be intense and often lasts for a long time.
I usually treat shingles with an anti-viral medication, which works best if taken within 48 hours after your symptoms kick in. Shingles in some locations, especially the face and head, can cause irreversible damage such as blindness and hearing loss if you don't get aggressive treatment from your doctor. I usually recommend 1,000 mg of valacyclovir (Valtrex) three times a day for seven days.
If you have a milder case on your chest, abdomen, and back, or if you can't or don't want to take an anti-viral drug, you might want to try a homeopathic remedy. (Keep in mind that you're likely to have a better outcome if you consult with a homeopath first, though. To find one near you, visit the National Center for Homeopathy's website at www.homeopathic.org.)
Homeopathy is based on the idea that "like cures like," so the most common remedy for shingles, called rhus toxicodendron, actually comes from poison ivy. Grab whatever potency you can find -- usually a 12C or 30C -- and take it up to six times a day until your symptoms start to improve. It won't happen overnight, but you should be feeling better in a week or so.
Nutritional therapy with vitamins and minerals may ease the damage caused by shingles by calming the inflammation around your nerve endings. Try taking 1,000 mg of vitamin C three times a day, and 1,000 mg of citrus bioflavonoids five times a day as soon as your symptoms show up.
Even though one study showed that just three days of nutritional therapy could help, I suggest you keep taking the higher doses of vitamins and nutrients until your blisters have healed completely. Also, it's a good idea to add 400 IU of vitamin E and 25 mg of zinc daily. Vitamin E promotes healing -- I prefer the natural form with mixed tocopherols. Zinc can help suppress the spread of viruses. These are widely available supplements, and are usually good no matter what brand you get.
Don't forget: Taking calcium and iron can diminish the effects of zinc, so hold off on these two until you finish up treatment. Zinc competes with copper for room in your body's cells and can interfere with normal organ function, especially in the heart.
Also, more than 50 mg of zinc might suppress your immune system by blocking the action of your immune cells. If you take supplemental zinc, make sure you get 2 mg of copper a day, the amount usually found in a multivitamin.
Vitamin D levels more important than calcium intake
Many of my patients are adamant about taking their calcium every day. But in truth, taking large amounts of calcium may be unnecessary if you already have enough vitamin D in your system.
According to a recent study, getting enough vitamin D improves your calcium absorption (you need between 1,000 and 1,300 mg of calcium daily), often making calcium supplements unnecessary.
But most people do need a supplement to get the right amount of vitamin D -- about 1,000 IUs daily.
Some other ways to increase your vitamin D intake include eating enough dairy foods, healthy poultry, and fish. Sardines especially have a lot of vitamin D. Also, since your skin absorbs vitamin D through sunlight, try spending at least 30 minutes per day in the sun, with at least your arms and face exposed (and don't put on any sunscreen until you've been outside for half an hour. Even a low SPF can block the majority of the sun's vitamin-D-producing rays).
Convenience is a killer
I've heard obesity linked to all sorts of factors: a poor metabolism, bad genes, energy imbalances, and even poverty. Well, don't forget the convenience factor. A recent study by the Pew Research Institute revealed that convenience is the No. 1 reason people give for their poor eating habits.
In the Pew survey of 2,250 Americans, 39 percent of the people surveyed said that they eat too much junk food and spend too many mealtimes out at fast food joints and other restaurants simply because it's easier and more convenient than preparing meals at home.
That same study revealed that people don't enjoy eating as much as they used to. I'm not surprised -- how can you enjoy a meal when you're rushing and feeling bad about what you're eating?
But what many people don't realize about the convenience of fast food restaurants is that it's only time temporarily gained. Don't forget: The time you're saving now at the drive-through window could be time you're losing later on in life.
If you usually eat out at lunch every day, try packing a lunch instead. It takes less time to throw together a few slices of turkey, lettuce, and tomato on some whole wheat bread, with an apple on the side than it takes to drive to the nearest fast food chain. And it costs less money too -- not to mention giving you the chance to eat healthier.
And if you don't want to bother with preparing a big, complicated dinner after a long day at work, try crock-pot cooking. Crock-pots give you the chance to make some good healthy meals with minimal effort, and without toiling away in a hot kitchen for hours.
