A Kansas City, Kan.-based author has pledged his support to the National Fibromyalgia Association, a nonprofit group that provides programs and support services for those who suffer from fibromyalgia and chronic pain.

Jody Summers, who released his first novel in March, will donate to the association a portion of the earnings from sales of “Dark Canvas,” according to a news release. Each sale will provide funding for fibromyalgia research and outreach.

The novel follows the life of an artist who mixes the cremated remains of the dead with paint to create tribute paintings. Summers has a friend who is stricken with fibromyalgia, and her artwork provided inspiration for “Dark Canvas.”

Summers, who is now writing two other books, including a sequel to “Dark Canvas,” said in the release that he plans to contribute to a particular cause with every book he writes. His Web site is www.jodysummersbooks.com.

The 78 million baby boomers who are about to turn 65 might face a health care system that significantly limits access to quality care, according to a mid-April story from The Associated Press.

In fact, the AP says traditional medicine for the aging U.S. population faces many challenges:

· One geriatric specialist is available per 2,500 seniors
· Sufficient medical training does not exist
· Turnover of nurses aides is 71 percent per year
· Within their first two years on the job, about 90 percent of home health aides quit
· Some elderly patients need team care, which Medicare doesn’t provide

The story also says Medicare lacks coverage for preventive care, focusing on treating conditions rather than promoting long-term health.

Thankfully, U.S. seniors have chiropractors, naturopaths, acupuncturists and other alternative health practitioners on their side. Whether it’s nutrition or enzyme therapy, these practitioners provide baby boomers and the elderly with safe, effective and natural choices for sustaining long-term health.

On May 6, the American Chiropractic Association will play host to a teleseminar called “Geriatrics: Comprehensive Care for the Senior Population.” This educational seminar will provide information on holistic health care options for the aging population.

Now that probiotics are popping up in everything from cereal to chocolate to cheese, the mainstream press is pushing praises toward beneficial bacteria.

A mid-April story from the Washington Post asserts probiotics might help “thwart an array of conditions from allergies, asthma and eczema to gastrointestinal ailments.” The story goes on to say the friendly bacteria fit with a trend toward promoting overall health and using fewer prescription drugs.

The Washington Post says the following about probiotics:

- They might fight off food-borne infections and the gastrointestinal illness C. difficile
- Probiotics seem to thwart rotavirus in infants and children
- Friendly bacteria might keep people regular and could prevent antibiotic-induced diarrhea
- A German study found probiotics might decrease the duration of colds and dampen cold symptoms

In the WellZymes™ line of nutritional supplements is Colon Health, a probiotic that provides a blend of more than 3 billion friendly bacteria to restore the colon’s flora balance. Colon Health impedes the growth of harmful bacteria, viruses, fungi and yeast while it raises the colon’s pH to resist harmful tissue changes.

Some adults might be using stimulants – with potentially harmful side effects – simply to enhance concentration, according to an early April CNN story.

In an unscientific online survey, 20% of respondents told the journal Nature they had used drugs, in some cases without a prescription, to improve brain function. The most popular pharmaceutical was Ritalin, which is prescribed for attention-deficit disorder, CNN said.

The survey went out to people in 60 countries, and most said they worked in science, medicine or education, CNN reports. Headaches, anxiety and sleeping problems were among side effects of these drugs, according to respondents.

Instead of abusing prescription drugs, there are several natural ways people can enhance brain function. To keep the brain young, a posting at ouralzheimers.com recommends the following:

- Doing crossword puzzles
- Reading books
- Participating in card games, such as bridge
- Interacting with friends and family
- Eating a healthful diet
- Sticking to a good exercise routine

Also for brain support, WellZymes™ Mental Focus™ could enhance memory, concentration and energy. It could also protect the brain from oxidative damage.

Mental Focus™ contains ginkgo biloba leaf extract, along with several other herbs, and the enzyme blend pHysioProtease.™

“…Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jacks, I don’t care if I ever get fat …”

OK, maybe that’s not the tune most of us baseball fans will be singing at the ballpark this spring, but it’s certainly something to keep in mind before biting into another hot dog, cheese-laden nacho or chocolate malt.

This season, about half of major league baseball stadiums will offer all-you-can-eat seats, according to a late March story from The Associated Press. Tickets for these seats, often in little-used areas of the stands, can cost up to 50 percent more.

But how much more will fans eat? Will they drink 25 percent more soda? Will they double, or even quadruple, the number of hot dogs they send down the chute?

For some, the amount of food, and calories, might be hard to digest. According to the Associated Press story, a single hot dog and 20-ounce soda contain about 530 calories, in addition to loads of fat and sodium.

Although the story mentions that some stadiums have tried salad bars, fruit cups and garden burgers, it seems these options might not be economically feasible to catch on in other major league markets.

And economics, in fact, provide a good illustration of what’s, in part, helping to fuel obesity and other poor health conditions in “markets” across the U.S.

A variety of factors can contribute to obesity, including vitamin and mineral deficiency, poor sleep and individual choice, according to a mid-March Reuters story. But our environments, whether we’re in inner-city neighborhoods, public schools or ballparks, can also add weight to the issue.

There’s been a lot written about how poorer neighborhoods often lack grocery stores and in some cases carry higher-priced and less-nutritious options, including limited availabilities of fresh fruits and vegetables.

In particular, members of the New York City Council approved a bill in late February that will boost the number of produce carts in poor neighborhoods, according to the New York Times. These neighborhoods were cited as having “high rates of obesity, diabetes and other health problems.”

In Canada, a study from the University of Alberta found that compared with middle-class or high-income areas, less affluent Edmonton neighborhoods had 2.7 times more fast food restaurants, Reuters reports.

But, as Annie, Ray Kinsella’s wife says in the 1989 movie “Field of Dreams”:

“What’s it got to do with baseball?”

Maybe not a lot, as baseball and the sometimes calorie-dense decisions that come with watching it probably poorly represent society’s eating practices. Baseball, after all, offers an escape from some of the concerns of life, letting some of us take a holiday from healthful fare.

However, it could be argued that not everything that happens in the ballpark, stays in the ballpark. If we create an environment bent on binge eating and cheap calories, then it’s likely to reflect on other parts of our lives, especially in the lives of children.

For example, a study from Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia found rates of obesity among children were down by more than 50% in schools that had $100-per-student nutrition programs, according to Reuters. That was compared with schools that had no, or only basic, nutrition programs.

Education on proper diet and nutrition – now that’s something to send children home with.

(Editor’s note: This article first appeared as a column in the April 7 issue of The Packer newspaper.)

About 14,000 people will die this year from esophageal cancer, and nearly 16,500 Americans will be diagnosed with it, according to a late March story from MSNBC.com.

In fact, in the past 20 years, esophageal cancer has increased six-fold. Gastrointestinal reflux disease (GERD) and Barrett’s esophagus, which can trigger the development of cancerous cells, are partly to blame, reports MSNBC.

In GERD and Barrett’s, stomach acid creeps back into the esophagus, damaging stomach lining and in some cases spurring the development of cancer. The story says those with Barrett’s esophagus are 30 times more likely to get esophageal cancer.

For gastrointestinal disorders, including heartburn, many people use over-the-counter and prescription medications that suppress acid production.

However, drugs that inhibit natural acid production are associated with increased risk of hip fractures, intestinal infection and bacterial overgrowth in the stomach and small intestine. According to another MSNBC story, the overgrowth of bacteria in the stomach could lead to pneumonia, vitamin B12 deficiency and stomach cancer.

Digestive enzyme supplements, including broad-spectrum products in the WellZymes™ line, assist in the digestive process. They appear to decrease distension of the stomach, which might help relieve symptoms of GERD, according to MSNBC.

For those with ulcers or other damage to the lining of the gastrointestinal tract, WellZymes™ Gastric Ease™ is recommended in place of antacids.

A lot of buzz has emerged lately about the possible connection between allergies and the supposedly over-hygienic environments that many highly developed nations have created.

Dubbed the “hygiene hypothesis,” the theory is that our use of antibiotic drugs and antibacterial products has toned down our immune defenses. Because we’re no longer exposed to as many harmful germs, our bodies then overreact to normally benign substances such as milk, nuts or pollen, according to several recent reports.

New York University’s Scienceline and the Washington Post reveal the following statistics about food and environmental sensitivities:

· At least one allergy afflicts more than 50 percent of the U.S. population
· Twelve million people in the U.S. have an allergy to certain foods or drinks
· Peanut allergies doubled from 1997 to 2002, a year in which they showed up in one out of every 125 children
· In the past few decades, allergies and immune disorders, such as lupus and multiple sclerosis, have doubled, tripled or quadrupled.

The Post reports the “hygiene hypothesis” also takes into account changes in diet – including the consumption of more highly processed foods – air pollution and unhealthful lifestyles as reasons for the increase in allergies, asthma and autoimmune diseases.

Researchers claim that people in less developed countries, as well as children raised with pets or on farms, are not as likely to develop some modern immune and allergy problems, according to the Post. The theory is that people in these environments have less sensitive immune systems because they are exposed to more microbes.

As a potential therapy, some scientists are trying to train the immune systems of children by slowly introducing larger amounts of foods that trigger allergic reactions, the Post says. Others are addressing immune problems with harmless parasitic worms, which patients swallow.

In her book, “Live Free from Asthma and Allergies,” Dr. Ellen Cutler explains poor digestion is the second-most common cause of sensitivities, or allergies. Poor digestion can lead to leaky gut syndrome, a condition in which openings in the cells of intestinal walls allow toxic materials to pass into the bloodstream.

Cooked and processed foods in our modern diets also lack natural food enzymes, which aid in digestion. This lack of enzymes can decrease nutrient absorption and use up energy for immune function.

However, when proper digestion is supported with the use of nutritional enzyme supplements, the body is able to more easily break down and assimilate nutrients in food. In addition, digestive enzyme supplements displace the burden on digestive organs to produce all of the enzymes required for digestion. As a result, more energy is available to support immune function.

A 2006 study from the Medical University Vienna in Vienna, Austria, reported the allergenicity of foods was reduced up to 10,000 times when gastric digestion was supported.

There are several enzyme supplements in the WellZymes™ line that can provide support for proper digestion. Broad-spectrum enzyme supplements include WellZymes™ Digestive Health, Digestive Chewables and Gastric Ease.™

As has been mentioned in several articles throughout the Enzymes Work and Enzyme Experts Web sites, improper digestion can be the root cause of several disorders.

Some of the most common symptoms of digestive problems include indigestion, bloating, gas and acid reflux. Other, more serious ailments associated with digestive disease are fibromyalgia, allergies and immune disorders.

As mentioned in the Enzymes Work post “Support group Web sites great for health,” www.healthcentral.com makes online support groups available for those suffering from many conditions, including acid reflux, allergies, diabetes and osteoarthritis.

A March 17 article at MyIBDCentral.com, a Health Central Web site devoted to those struggling with inflammatory bowel disease, discusses in depth some symptoms of IBD that might develop outside of the gastrointestinal tract. These include arthritis, skin disorders, eye problems and liver disease.

Be sure to check out the article here.

Unlike antacids and acid blockers, which only mask the symptoms of improper digestion, digestive enzyme supplements attack the root cause. Enzyme supplements can help the body properly break down food and assimilate nutrients for increased immune function and better overall health.

Because our modern diets of cooked and processed food contain little, if any, natural enzymes, it’s increasingly important to support digestion with safe, natural enzyme supplements. Enzymes help the body break down proteins, which if not digested properly create a potentially cancerous environment in the colon. A study also reports that the tendency toward food allergies is reduced up to 10,000 times when proper digestion is supported.

Nutrition is a vital component of enzyme therapy. Combined with proper nutrition and a healthful lifestyle, enzyme supplements can promote natural healing, vitality and a strong immune system.

In your quest to eat well and live better, be sure to check out MSN’s health site, which offers just about everything under the sun when it comes to healthy living.

It seems we’re constantly bombarded by positive and negative health news in print, on television and on the Internet. MSN’s site provides articles, videos and interactive tools on everything health related in one location.

The health site features daily headlines, diet and fitness tips, a symptom checker and several online support groups. In addition, be sure to check out the Healthier Living tab, which has a variety of professionally produced videos.

If you’re taking the time to focus on a healthier lifestyle this month, remember to include digestive and systemic enzymes as part of your approach to whole-body wellness. Digestive enzymes help you get the most nutrition out of the foods you eat, while systemic enzymes can provide sources of nutrition and anti-inflammatory action to address a variety of conditions.

A story published Monday on the Enzyme Experts news site explained that a near doubling in projected government spending on health care was partly attributable to the increasing costs of new drugs.

And only one day later, that government forecast gained strength when a story from The Associated Press reported prices for brand-name drugs increased an average of 7.4 percent in 2007. Doctors prescribed these medications mostly to the elderly.

Medicare spending, according to Monday’s story, is expected to increase to $844 billion by 2017, an almost twofold increase from today’s numbers. That jump is being blamed on the high costs of new drugs and medical technology.

As the price of drugs continues to increase at more than double the rate of inflation, the government shields much of these costs from consumers who use Medicare drug benefits, according to The Associated Press. The story goes on to suggest that since government assistance has decreased consumer complaints about prescription costs, drug manufacturers encounter fewer roadblocks to price increases.

At the same time, drug ads are encouraging about a third of Americans to ask their doctors about prescriptions for advertised pharmaceuticals, according to a USA Today story in early March. In 44 percent of those cases, patients reported their doctors prescribed the drug about which they inquired.

For patients of all ages, safe and affordable enzyme-based nutritional supplements offer support for natural healing, health maintenance and preventive care. Enzyme supplements could also help offset skyrocketing health care expenses.