American Fitness Professionals & Associates

 Start by doing what’s necessary, then what’s possible, and suddenly you are doing what is impossible.  [St. Francis of Assisi 1181-1226]

There is no pillow so soft as a clear conscience.  -French Proverb

This month’s newsletter is again dedicated to the US Military that are serving abroad away from their families and loved ones.  
There is an excellent poem written of the US Flag located at www.thunderhawk.org.  This website is dedicated to Big Cat Rescue.

Table of Contents:

Three Keys to Preventing Cancer
Animal vs. Vegetable Protein and Bone Loss
Acupuncture Helps Fibromyalgia But What is Better?
Ritalin Changes the Brain Long-Term
Decaf Coffee Increases Rheumatoid Arthritis Risk
Prescribing Cipro is an ‘Uncontrolled Experiment’ with Many Side Effects

1. Reduce and Eliminate Toxins

a. Remove pesticides from the foods you eat.  Wash fruits and vegetables thoroughly in warm soapy water.  Buy fruits and vegetables that are organically grown.  For more information check with: The Natural Resources Defense Council [NRDC] http://www.nrdc.org  Silent Spring Institute in Massachusetts http://www.silentspring.org

b. Stop Smoking. It is only one of the most obvious ways to prevent a wide variety of cancers, heart disease, etc.  Let I see young people and adults alike smoking, combined with a poor diet, and lack of exercise.  Hello out there! for information on “How to Save Yourself from a Smoking Addiction-For Good” call 800-728-2288 Can you think of a better Christmas present for your loved one?

2. Improve Your Diet

In John Robbins, in his newest book, The Food Revolution [an outstanding book by the way with hundreds of references] cites a study from the American Institute for Cancer Research [http://www.aicr.org] and the World Cancer Research Fund that has reviewed over 4,500 studies on diet and cancer.  The reports all draw the conclusion that a cancer-prevention diet should be predominantly plant-based [vegetarian], low in refined carbohydrates.  

3. Boost Your Body’s Cancer-Fighting Ability- Exercise that produces a sweat-but does not cause overtraining [weakens the immune system].  Fresh air and fresh water [bottled or distilled], not tap water that contains Fluoride and chlorine.  Supplements-good anti-oxidants.  There are so many sound technical books and thousands of references on using vitamin C, E, Beta Carotene, and the minerals zinc and selenium.  Check our website for articles.  

In a recently published study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition [2001; 73:118-122] more than 9,700 women over the age of 65 were followed for over one year to see whether dietary protein affected bone loss.  Those women eating animal proteins [including dairy products daily] were more than 3 times more likely to experience bone loss as those women who used vegetable protein as their primary source.  This Study of Osteoporotic Fracture concluded that postmenopausal women should eat less animal protein and more soy and beans.

Acupuncture helped relieve symptoms such as pain and depression in women with the chronic pain disorder fibromyalgia.

Fibromyalgia is a disorder that causes muscle pain, stiffness and fatigue for unknown reasons. It affects about 2% of Americans, mainly women.

In the study, the researchers randomly assigned 60 women who suffered from fibromyalgia into three groups. All patients received amitriptyline, a standard pain modifier used for fibromyalgia, at bedtime for 16 weeks.

In addition, 20 of the women received a once-a-week, 30-minute acupuncture session while a second group of 20 underwent a once-a-week, 30-minute sham-acupuncture session where they were punctured in areas not believed to have any effect on pain.

Healthcare workers who were unaware which treatment they were receiving evaluated the patients every month for pain, depression and quality of life measures.

The researchers reported that patients who received the real acupuncture were the only ones who showed statistically significant improvement on measures of pain, depression and mental health after the first month.

The results lasted for up to 16 weeks, at which time the patients began regressing slightly and would need reinforcement acupuncture sessions, Feldman said. “It’s not a one-time treatment.
Annual Meeting of the American College of Rheumatology San Francisco November 12, 2001

The stimulant Ritalin, a drug used to help children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, may cause long-term changes in the brain. The changes look similar to those seen with other stimulants such as amphetamine and cocaine, at least in rats, the team at the University of Buffalo found.  Clinicians consider Ritalin to be short acting. When the active dose has worked its way through the system, they consider it all gone. The research with gene expression in an animal model suggests that it has the potential for causing long-lasting changes in brain cell structure and function.

Ritalin, known generically as methylphendiate, probably is not addictive in the way drugs of abuse are if it is used properly. High doses of amphetamine and cocaine have been found to switch on genes known as “immediate early genes” in brain cells. One of the genes, called c-fos, has been linked with addiction when it is activated in certain parts of the brain. The researchers gave rat pups sweetened milk containing methylphenidate in comparable doses to what a child would get and at similar times.  CFOs genes were activated in their brains in a pattern similar to that seen in cocaine and amphetamine use. These data do suggest that there are effects of Ritalin on cell function that outlast the short term.
Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in San Diego November 11, 2001

Clearly Ritalin is not the answer for ADD or ADHD. It is merely a band-aid at best, and as this new research highlights, a Band-Aid that appears to have some serious long-term effects.  You will shortly see major pushes from the drug companies to encourage the use of the longer acting Ritalin derivatives to treat ADHD. This is all a money game and is clearly not in the best long-term interest of the children who are receiving this drug.

Decaffeinated coffee consumption is an important yet modifiable risk factor in the development of rheumatoid arthritis. Given the global popularity of coffee, the findings have potential public health implications.  The researchers followed more than 31,000 women aged 55 to 69 included in the Iowa Women’s Health Study from 1986 through 1997. They tracked the 158 women who developed rheumatoid arthritis during that time period and compared them with women who did not develop the disease. In rheumatoid arthritis, the immune system attacks the lining of the joints, causing pain, stiffness and inflammation.

Women drinking four or more cups a day of decaffeinated coffee were at more than twice the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis.  However, women drinking regular coffee were not at increased risk, while those drinking more than three cups of tea had a 60% reduced risk of developing the disease.

They found no association with daily caffeine intake or caffeinated coffee use and the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis. The researchers took into account other possible contributing factors, such as age, smoking history, marital status and the use of hormone replacement therapy. The association persisted even after accounting for other factors that may be associated with rheumatoid arthritis.

In a similar study, researchers evaluated risk factors for developing rheumatoid arthritis among 64,000 black women followed since 1995 as part of the Black Women’s Health Study.

The researchers reported that drinking more than one cup a day of decaffeinated coffee seemed to quadruple the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis.

As far as the researchers knew, these were the first observations of decaffeinated coffee having an association with any metabolic disorder. They speculated that the use of industrial solvents in the decaffeination process may play a role. There is accumulating evidence that environmental factors play an important role in the development of rheumatoid arthritis.
American College of Rheumatology’s annual meeting San Francisco November 13, 2001

Related Articles:

20 Indian Companies Could Supply Inexpensive Cipro http://www.mercola.com/2001/oct/24/cipro.htm

Warning to Anyone Taking Cipro for Anthrax
http://www.mercola.com/2001/oct/27/cipro.htm

Will Irradiating Your Mail Work to Kill Anthrax? http://www.mercola.com/2001/oct/27/irradiating_mail.htm

Current Anthrax Situation Update
http://www.mercola.com/2001/oct/31/anthrax_update.htm