Q. My husband and I weren’t visited by many greedy goblins this Halloween. Now there’s a huge stash of leftover candy tempting us. Most of it’s just sugar, so is it really that bad? We’re great brushers! — Anonymous, via email A. Nah, there’s nothing wrong with sugar, as long as you don’t mind your arteries clogging, your cancer risks rising and your skin aging faster than iPhones sell.
How come? We’ll keep this short, if not sweet: 1. When you eat more sugar than your body can burn, it messes up your proteins — for instance, it stops one from delivering oxygen to your tissues. Then your liver repackages excess sugar into fat and dumps it into your bloodstream, where it clogs up your arteries. 2. There’s growing evidence that frequent, large doses of sugar are toxic to certain cells, causing damage that leads to cancer. One example: People who eat a sugar-heavy diet are 70 percent more likely to develop deadly pancreatic cancer than those who shun the sweet stuff. 3. Too many sweets accelerate skin aging because sugar is attracted to collagen proteins. Normally, collagen keeps skin elastic, supple and well-supported. But when collagen hooks up with sugar, it can’t do its job properly. Your face ends up looking a bit like a pumpkin.
Q. I recently had a blood test. My estrogen level is 42, which my doctor says is high for my age (76). Is that a worry? My LDL cholesterol is 97, my HDL’s 54, and my triglycerides are 126. Are there any red flags there? I eat almost no salt, sugar or processed foods, do yoga and sleep seven or eight hours a night. — Mary Nell, via email
A. If you were our patient … well, we’d be thrilled. What a healthy lifestyle. Way to go! We’d also worry (a little) about your triglycerides, not your estrogen or, actually, your estradiol, the most important form of estrogen and what blood tests measure. Before menopause, estradiol normally swings widely, from 30 to 400 pg/ML. After menopause, 0 to 30 is normal, but 42 is no biggie. In fact, it may be a sign that your lifestyle is keeping you young.
While having your triglycerides under 150 counts as “normal,” we don’t think 150 is healthy enough. Triglycerides are like hurricanes: The fewer you have, the better. We’d like to see yours under 100. These bad fats go after your arteries, blood pressure and heart, just like lousy LDL cholesterol does, and aging makes you more vulnerable.
The fix? It’s so simple YOU may have guessed it: Walk 30 minutes every day and take 900 mg of DHA omega-3 supplements, ideally made from algae, not fish oil (algae’s where fish get their omega-3s). The combo will drop your triglycerides lower than a teenager’s jeans. And help your heart, brain, eyes and HDL, too.
Q. My wife always gets her flu shot around now, but she just started six days of oral steroids to ease a painful bout of sciatica. The package insert says “immunization procedures should not be undertaken in patients on corticosteroids.” Should she put off her flu shot? — David, via email
A. If only your wife could choose between a flu shot and a sciatica attack. We’re sure she’d take the needle jab. It’s a walk in the park by comparison.
Good on you for reading the package insert. You’ve asked exactly the right question. Our answer is yes: Delay the flu shot until three days after your wife finishes her Rx. The main reason: The steroids could weaken her response to the vaccine, making it less effective.
While this is a bit unlikely with a short regimen, why push it? Especially since just a few days are involved. Then make sure your wife gets her flu shot ASAP, as it takes about two weeks to kick in. Once it does, it’s about 70 percent to 80 percent effective in preventing flu hospitalizations and fatalities. Good stuff.
The YOU Docs, Mehmet Oz, host of “The Dr. Oz Show,” and Mike Roizen of Cleveland Clinic, are authors of “YOU: Losing Weight.” To submit questions, go to www.RealAge.com.
