DECEMBER 21 - 22, 2019 AN APPLE A DAY

The old adage “ An apple a day keeps the doctor away.” may be truer than you think. There are research studies suggesting that apples may well be one of the most healthy foods for you to include in your daily diet. There are many types of apple today due to genetic modification. Some are sweeter than others. I recall a good place to start when reading about apples is in Michael Polllan’s book “ The Botany of Desire ‘ There is a chapter of apples.

Apples are popular the world over, making up 12.5% of all fruits consumed. I do recommend patients to consume an apple a day and mixed berries as both fruits are low glycemic A recent study at the University of Reading consumed two apples a day for 8 weeks. The end results was a 4 % reduction in LDL, the bad cholesterol over control.

This was a small study but worthy. Another study involving 9,208 men and women showed that those who ate the most apples over a 28-year period had the lowest risk for stroke. I always feel that more studies on fruits and vegetables need to done . There are many phytochemicals present in fruits and vegetables that can lower cholesterol as well as important cardiac risk factors.

Until tomorrow…

DECEMBER 20, 2019 LIVING WITH HIV

I have to believe that living with HIV today is better today than when the epidemic started There are more newer drugs available and programs are more numerous.

Sadly, life expectancy in the U.S. is in a decline. This is an amazing statistic given the advances in medicine we have achieved and the abundance of resources in this nation. However, driving the recent downward trend in this indicator of national well-being is not an infectious disease or cancer, but drug overdoses and suicide -- especially among white men and people in rural areas. For people living with HIV infection, the same seems to hold. Data from the large NA-ACCORD cohort show that from 2000 to 2015, rates of suicide were almost always much higher among white men living with HIV than white men in the general population. Not surprisingly, HIV-positive white men who inject drugs had the highest suicide rates. In contrast, HIV-positive black men take their own lives at a similar rate as black men in the general population. Women in the cohort who were living with HIV were found to commit suicide at rates below those in the general population.

The above data is REPRINTED from BodyPro : The AIDS?HIV task force

Until tomorrow

DECEMBER 19, 2019 VITAMIN C

Every one of my patients take Vitamin C separately or in their multi vitamin. Individuals who take vitamin C in supplement form are at greater risk of consuming too much of it and experiencing side effects, the most common of which are digestive symptoms. One of the bad side effects is loose stools if you take too much. Sometimes Vitamin C can be used to relieve constipation. Ingesting more than 2,000 mg of vitamin C per day may lead to gastrointestinal upset, including symptoms like diarrhea and nausea.

Fortunately, it’s easy to prevent these potential side effects — simply avoid vitamin C oral supplements. I rather give intravenous Vitamin C in higher doses for a variety of conditions. I use IV Vitamin C ( beet derived) in an antioxidant drip or a Myer’s cocktail. I make sure that every patient has a serum chemistry in their chart citing renal lab values as blood urea nitrogen and creatinine.

However, more serious consequences, such as iron overload and kidney stones, may also result from taking extreme amounts of vitamin C

There are a few studies where IV Vitamin C can be used as a cancer support to patient’s other treatments as chemotherapy and radiation.

Until tomorrow…

DECEMBER 18, 2019 LOVAGE

The botanical name for Lovage is Levisticum officinale. Lovage, is a tall perennial plant, the sole species in the genus Levisticum in the family Apiaceae.  Lovage was used in medieval medicinal and kitchen gardens, and is relatively forgotten today

King Charlemagne loved lovage so much that he had stands of this herb planted among his gardens.

I have heard this plant referred to as the Maggi plant because of its association with magic- both love magic and protective magic. I find this fascinating. It does have medicinal uses. The root and underground stem (rhizome) are used to make medicine. Lovage is used as “irrigation therapy” for pain and swelling (inflammation) of the lower urinary tract, for prevention of kidney stones, and to increase the flow of urine when urinary tract infections or fluid retention is present

The leaves and ( the roots) have been used to invoke good fortune. I think I will plant this in urn stands in my garden this coming spring.

Until tomorrow…

DECEMBER 17, 2019 WITCHES AND HERBS

The use of herbs in different areas of witchcraft have certainly been written about through the years. I feel we associate the witches cauldron with adding herbs to their potions.

It has been said you can tell if an individual practices witchcraft ( if you do believe) by how they plant their herbs in their garden. Typically a witch’s garden is planted in a circle representing the circle of Life. You will also make note that the outer border has 3 - 4 rows of red colored flowers. This serves as a protective barrier

I find all of this fascinating . The inside of the circle varies depending on the intention of the witch or specific to the nature of her work. I found it interesting that certain ornamental flowers and sacred trees have astrological zodiac associations. For example for my astrological sign of Gemini the association is with snapdragons, filbert, and elder whereas Aquarius is snowdrop and foxglove. This made me really ponder the associations of flowers on specific pottery as Roseville Pottery.

Until tomorrow

DECEMBER 16, 2019 TERPENES

There is much research now on the use on cannabinoids and THC for treating certain cancers. There are many terpenes with proposed anti cancer benefits in cannabinoids.

We do know it is great for anxiety, pain relief and changes in mood

Some of the terpenes include

1. Myrcene

2. Linalol

3. Limonene

4. Humulene

5. Terpinolene

6. Caryophyllene

7. Bisabolol

Humulene and Bisabolol inhibit tumor cell growth There are benefits to all terpenes being present when treating cancer. There are many good books on Cannabis:

Until tomorrow…

DECEMBER 14-15, 2019 YOU'RE ON THE AIR WITH DR FRATELLONE

It is hard to believe that I published “ You’re on the Air with Dr Fratellone” in 2005. It was dedicated to all radio listener after being on the air daily with the late Robert Atkins on WOR Radio. It was a different life at that time. Many things have changed as it should in life. It is Life on Life’s terms. By the way you can still obtain the book on line.

The book was written with nutritionist Barbara Mendez whom I still speak to today as we share patients.

The book is in a question and answer format from the many questions that were asked of me on the radio. It is still valuable and true to this day. I find although I have expanded my cardiology practice to include autoimmune disease, gastrointestinal diseases, cancer and Lyme—many of the questions are still valuable.

Heart Disease is still and remains the number one killer in the United States. There are many supplements, herbs and vitamins useful for the heart that were discussed in the book

Until tomorrow

DECEMBER 13, 2019 YERBA SANTA

This herb , Yerba santa is not a herb you hear about a lot. It is known at Bear Weed or Mountain Balm. I have not used it in my office practice. I do recall my mentor in Ithaca pointing it out on a herbal walk many years ago. It has been used in traditional Native American remedies

By some it is considered a Holy plant.

When I think of cold and flu I think of Elderberry, Elecampane, and Lungwort. I often add Horehound and use that.

It also bene used for pain relief. I will try to source this herb and start to use it more and more as I read a lot of about it from a variety of books

Until tomorrow….