Dear Health Conscious Reader,
A man walks into his kitchen in slow motion, yawning and rubbing his shoulder. His shirt’s unbuttoned and his tie’s undone. This guy just can’t get it together. He walks right past the fridge, and right past his wife and kids who he doesn’t even notice. He goes straight for the cabinet and grabs a box of “Bayer AM.”
All of a sudden, the sun comes up and he’s at full speed. His tie is done, he grabs his jacket and briefcase and he’s out the door with a smile.
I saw this commercial yesterday morning after I did my usual PACE routine and turned on the Today show. I shook my head in amazement.
You’d think the guy was sick and needed a pain reliever. But the ad says Bayer AM is “formulated for alertness and to fight fatigue.”
Really … it’s just aspirin with caffeine.
I thought to myself, the drug companies have finally done it. They’ve found a way to fill the whole day with pain relievers.
I don’t recommend drugs for pain relief in general. I prefer to use nutrients and herbs. But now these drugs are being advertised as little wonder pills to get you through every part of the day.
As I’m sure you’re aware, aspirin can cause you to bleed into your gut. That’s a bad place to bleed because you may not know it’s happening. And every year there are people who die this way.
You might think the pain reliever acetaminophen is a safer alternative, but it has its issues, too. Almost half of all drug-related liver failure in the U.S. is from acetaminophen overdose.1 What’s more, acetaminophen reduces one of your body’s most important free-radical fighters, glutathione.2
There are plenty of natural ways to get yourself going after you get up in the morning, stay alert through the day and get a good night’s sleep.
The most important thing you can do to energize yourself throughout the day is to spend a little time exercising in the morning. Stretching, calisthenics, playing tennis, or just 12 minutes of exertion like I show you in my PACE program is all you need for energy that will last all day.
If you think you need a morning boost, get it naturally by sipping some green tea. It’s full of healing nutrients, along with a mild dose of caffeine. It’ll keep you up, without the jitters of a typical cup of coffee.
Next, if you live in a dark area, slightly open your blinds or curtains before you go to bed at night. Most people shut their blinds and drapes tight to keep out all the light when they sleep. But you do want some sunshine to stream into your bedroom in the morning because sunlight stimulates the pineal gland in the brain and wakes you up naturally.
For some help falling asleep, drink a warm cup of milk a half hour or so before bed. It’s an old-fashioned remedy, but still works like a charm. That’s because milk contains tryptophan – a sleep-inducing amino acid. But if you don’t like milk or suffer lactose intolerance, you can try tryptophan supplements. Use a starting dose of 250 mg a half hour before bedtime. If that doesn’t produce good quality sleep, increase the dose to 500 mg.
To Your Good Health,
Al Sears, MD
- Sood, Gagan K., M.D., “Acute Liver Failure,” Medscape Clinical Reference June 25, 2009
- Moore, et al, “Modulation of acetaminophen-induced hepatotoxicity by the xenobiotic receptor CAR,” Science 2002; 298:422-424
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