You are what you eat. Or as Hippocrates intoned thousands of years ago, “Let food be your medicine.” It was repeated again this week when my doctor warned me against eating junk food with fortified, enhanced iron. He particularly warned to avoid excessive iron since it is linked to heart problems.
Vitamins have only been discovered in the last few hundred years. It wasn’t until 1601 that limes were discovered to prevent scurvy. It wasn’t until 1901 that vitamin C was discovered to be the reason.
“Limeys” abounded on Florida Keys shores filled with lime-producing trees that provided the vitamin C. Limes have the advantage of keeping, without refrigeration, for long sea voyages. Those are obviously important nutrients, but a wide variety of foods can assist in helping good health. As a result, scientists are still experimenting with reactions to food.
My most recent discovery was because a neurologist recommended taking two prenatal vitamins each day (no iron). As a result, my thin, scaly fingernails became hard and in the last three months have grown so long that women stop me and ask if they are fake nails. Although women grow long nails because we think men think they are sexy, I have never received a question or a compliment from a guy about my fingernails.
A second discovery of plant-based supplements was a result of researching this column. I ran into a story about a sunblock developed by Harvard University called Heliocare (available at Walgreens). I found that its generic name was Kalawalla and it has been extensively researched in scientific studies, all available on the internet. It comes from the fern, polypodium leucotomos, which can be found throughout the Caribbean, mostly in Honduras. In Key West, it is growing out of the wooden fence at 1500 Atlantic Blvd.
It was originally used to eliminate bed sores found on patients bound to their beds. This was a much-needed skin repair aid. As it turned out, it also is effective against skin damage caused by the sun. It protects the skin against UVA and UVB rays. No only does it protect, it also heals. The bed sores of patients disappeared. In people without the severe bedsore problems, it heals in more subtle ways. All of the fine-line wrinkles I was developing around my 77-year-old eyes faded away. I have always been suspicious about the results of using sunblock lotions for 70 years. I have never found a scientific study asserting that it was safe. This fern supplement, frequently studied, was a suitable solution. Much to my delight, my wrinkles disappeared.
Because older people eat less they do not get as many nutrients through their consumption of vegetables. The variety of nutrients necessary is different for each person and far too complicated for this short column.
The sun is a two-edged sword. It stimulates the production of vitamin D. Just 15 minutes of sunshine a day is enough to produce vitamin D and it affects many different processes in the body. It has strained superstar status, but not without controversy. Doctors differ on the amount of vitamin D necessary by thousands, from 1,000 to 4,000. It affects cancer, hip fractures, MS, autoimmune diseases, sexual function in both men and women, and whether or not you are happy. If 15 minutes in the sun can keep a person happy and improve sex life, it should be a daily requirement of life.
Key West Master Gardener Robin Robinson was a columnist for the Chicago Daily News. Her books “Plants of Paradise” and award-winning “Roots Rocks and Rain: Native Trees of the Florida Keys” and the newest addition, “Sexy Shrubs in Sandy Soil,” can be found at the Garden Club. This column is part of a series developed by the Key West Garden Club. For information about plants, visit a compilation of previous columns at http://www.keywestgardenclub.com, Robin’s Columns.
You are what you eat | Columns | keysnews.com - KeysNews.com
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