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Michelle Obama hopes the new 1,100 square foot organic White House garden will inspire everyone to talk about nutrition, think about their health, and get excited about eating fresh food. From spinach and chard to onions and herbs, the 55 varieties of vegetables include something to tempt nearly every taste bud and to provide the [...]

In this video, Dr. Perricone discusses the value of Omega 3 and how to address the imbalance of fats we get versus the fats we need because of our modern diets. Omega 3 can help with brain function, is good for the heart, promotes general health and can help us achieve and maintain a healthy [...]

There is a little beauty secret that is worth its weight in gold. If women understood that eating a simple inexpensive small can of sardines or salmon (essential to the anti-inflammatory diet) would give them unrivaled radiant skin, with softness and suppleness like nothing else in this world, these foods would fly off the supermarket shelves. You would see a stampede toward the fish aisle. While the extraordinary multi-organ benefits of sardines and wild salmon almost sounds like a fantasy, it is very real. Try the canned salmon and sardines that also contain both skin and bones to experience just a few of the skin, brain, mood, and health and energy benefits of these amazing omega 3, protein, and calcium rich fish.

• Decreased inflammation in all organ systems including skin
• Decreased body fat
• provides ample quantities of high quality fat and protein
• beautifies skin
• elevated mood
• improved brain function
• increased energy
• improve athletic ability
• decrease puffiness
• decrease fine lines and wrinkles
• decrease sagging
• increased radiance and glow
• dramatically improve acne and decrease acne scarring
• improved attention span
• stabilized blood sugar levels
• lowered insulin levels
• healthy serotonin levels
• decreased appetite
• Increased radiance to skin
• healthier immune system
• Increased energy levels
• decreased symptoms and severity of rheumatoid arthritis
• reduced symptoms and severity of chronic skin conditions such as eczema
• decreased stroke and cardiovascular risk
• decreased pain and inflammation in joints

Nuts and seeds are the second best source of omega 3 essential fatty acids after cold water fish. Eat them regularly.

Take Heart
February is National Heart month, a time when our thoughts turn to protecting this all-important organ.

In my experience as a physician, I can categorically state that the majority of my women patients do not realistically assess the fact that they have a serious risk of cardiovascular disease. There is a very popular, (although completely erroneous) concept, that heart disease is more of a male disease.

In fact, the opposite is true. After menopause, the risk of heart disease in women becomes comparable to the incidence in men. When we consider that the majority of women will spend one-third to one-half of their lives in post menopause, we can see that heart disease is a very serious threat, to health, well-being, and even life itself.

Leading Cause of Death
Heart disease, in its many manifestations, is the # 1 cause of death for woman aged sixty-five and over.

Conversely, only about one-third of younger women with heart disease die before the age of sixty five.

However, it is not on most of our radar screens. Instead, there is a tremendous awareness among women, well-fostered by the media, of the threat of breast cancer. While this is a threat, it palls in comparison to the mortality rate of heart disease, which kills 10 times as many women as breast cancer.

Unfortunately, women are at a disadvantage (compared to men) when it comes to treating or even recognizing heart disease. CNN recently reported the findings of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which stated that women may not be diagnosed or treated as aggressively as men.

However with proper guidance, a few simple tests and lifestyle changes, we can significantly decrease this cardiovascular risk.

“C-ing” the Light
Scientists and physicians now recognize that heart disease is mediated by inflammatory chemicals. This should come as no surprise to Perricone readers, as I have long held inflammation to be at the base of most diseases.

So what to do? Follow an anti-inflamatory diet, get your antioxidants through diet and supplements, take supplements like Vitamin C ester, Omega-3, and pursue a healthy exercise regimen.

Q: I am a 47-year-old woman with cystic acne; I’ve also suffered from hidradenitis suppurativa since a very young age. I have tried everything to no avail. Will your program help me?

A: Hidradenitis suppurativa is a chronic condition characterized by swollen, painful, inflamed lesions. As we know, cystic acne is a systemic inflammatory disease. To treat these two conditions I recommend that you closely follow the anti-inflammatory diet and take a dietary supplement that contains high levels of anti-inflammatories. I also recommend taking high-quality Omega-3 essential oil capsules three times per day. I recommend three brands: Perricone MD Omega-3; Optimum Health International’s M.D. Designs™ Norwegian Fish Oil; and Dr. Barry Sears OmegaRx Pharmaceutical Grade Fish Oil. Do not bother with discount fish oils – buy only the very best if you are serious about your treatment – your health and your looks.

Key nutrients taken in the right combinations not only prevent bone loss, they can actually stimulate new bone growth. New bone growth brings significant anti-aging benefits.

Age-related loss of bone mass known as osteoporosis, a disorder characterized by porous, fragile bones, is a serious public health problem for more than 10 million Americans, 80 percent of whom are women. Another 34 million Americans have osteopenia, or low bone mass, which precedes osteoporosis. But while bone formation—the acquisition of bone mineral density (BMD)—peaks between the ages of 20 to 30, new research shows that cellular rejuvenation of bone tissue and muscle mass is now a very powerful new reality. Through a process known as “remodeling,” old bone is constantly replaced with new.

Rebuilding bone
Lactoferrin: Lactoferrin found in foods such as yogurt and kefir will stimulate new bone growth while preventing further breakdown of existing bone tissue, lactoferrin enhances both the growth and the activity of osteoblasts (the cells that build bone), and reduces the rate of bone cell death by 50 to 70 percent and decreases the development of osteoclasts, the cells responsible for breaking down bone.
The New News about Vitamin D: When the body is exposed to the sun’s ultraviolet light, it produces its own vitamin D—and only 10 minute a day in the summer, and about fifteen in winter is adequate. Vitamin D may also improve muscle strength, thereby reducing fracture risk through falls and high blood levels of vitamin D prevent the loss of calcium from bones.
Vitamin K2 good for the bones and heart: Studies have shown that vitamin K2 may act directly act on bone metabolism. In bone tissue, K2 promotes calcium uptake in bone tissue. The exciting synergy of K2 is that K2 adds calcium to the bones, where it belongs, and removes it from the arteries, where is should not be. K2 stays in the blood for an extended period and when eating natto or taking K2 as a supplement, it continues to build up in the body, accruing superior, long-term protection from thinning bones, fractures and other bone-related problems.
Omega-3’s Build Better Bones: Most Westerner’s diets are high in omega-6s (found in most vegetable oils, grains and grain-fed beef) and low in omega-3s (found in salmon, sardines, nuts, omega-3 eggs, grass-fed beef and dairy products, etc.) However, new studies show that omega-3 fatty acids help promote bone formation and higher intakes of omega-6 fatty acids lead to an increased production of compounds associated with bone loss.
Magnesium: Increasing magnesium intake can inrease bone density in the elderly and reduce the risk of osteoporosis. Higher magnesium intake through diet and supplements was positively associated with total-body bone mineral density in older men and women.
Boron: Boron is now being recognized as an extremely important nutrient for supporting healthy bone mass and preventing osteoporosis.
Silicon: Bone Builder and Wrinkle Smoother: Silicon, in the form of choline-stabilized orthosilicic acid (ch-OSA™), improves the bone health benefits of both calcium and vitamin D, helps build and maintain bone by regulating bone mineralization, helping to trigger the deposition of calcium and phosphate, reduces the number of osteoclasts (bone destroying cells) and increasing the number of osteoblasts (bone building cells). Higher dietary silicon intake is associated with greater BMD in both men and pre-menopausal women.

Sources of calcium
Milk, cheese, yogurt, kefir, dark leafy greens, broccoli, canned sardines and salmon with bones, dried beans and peas, tofu and sea vegetables (seaweed). Vitamin D, Vitamin K2 Natto (Japanese fermented soy product) nattokinase supplement, Vitamin or K2 supplement, Silicon in the form of choline-stabilized orthosilicic acid, Omega 3 fish oil, Magnesium, Ch-OSA Silicon, Boron

Q: I’m 20-year-old student and for the past two years have suffered from acne as a result of using cortisone creams. My skin now breaks out regularly – especially on my forehead. I have been using Oxzit to kill bacteria, which helps a little, and I’ve also started taking erythromycin, but I am still breaking out. I have also been experiencing a lot of stress which seems to be contributing to flare-ups. To make matters worse, my skin has gotten dry and flaky (even though I continue to have breakouts), particularly in the cheek area. Help!

A: As always, your first line of defense is the three-tiered anti-inflammatory program. It sounds to me as if stress is a major factor in your current acne dilemma. Here are some special tips for minimizing stress in your life:

• Make sure that you get enough sleep.
• Don’t drink coffee.
• Set aside fifteen or twenty minutes a day for meditation or prayer. It is a well- established fact that people who do this have significantly lower cortisol (a major stress hormone) levels.
• Consider learning some simple yoga exercises. Yoga is an outstanding stress reducer.
• Take omega-3 and omega-6 essential fatty acids, which reduce levels of stress chemicals.
• Exercise in moderation.
• Take targeted nutritional supplements, including alpha lipoic acid, zinc, DMAE, and panothenic acid (see Chapter 5).
• Add essential fatty acid supplements to your supplement program, especially omega-6, which is rich in linoleic acid. Acne patients have a low concentration of linoleic acid in their sebum, and acne further decreases the essential levels.

For a list of recommended supplements, please see my Top 10 Supplements post.

Too much omega-6 is inflammatory and interferes with the body’s ability to use omega-3s. It is believed that humans evolved with a 1:1 ratio of omega 3 to omega 6. It is now believed that the Western diet is 15:1 or significantly greater with the omega 6 intake far surpassing the omega 3 intake. To prevent disease and to look and feel your best, drastically limit intake of omega 6, eliminate all refined vegetables oils other than extra virgin olive oil and increase your intake of the omega 3’s.

Omega-3 is not the only type of essential fatty acid necessary for good health. Also important are the omega-6 and omega-9. Because of the body can not produce these, we must obtain them through diet or supplements.