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October 2002 Vol. 7 No. 10
“Man prefers to believe what he prefers to be true.”
Francis Bacon
“Do not desire to fit in. Desire to lead.”
Gwendolyn Brooks
Table of Contents:
Osteoporosis
Books worth taking a look at
Newer Ways to Use Natural Progesterone — Better Options Than Depo-Provera
What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Pre-menopause
Another Reason to Avoid Eating Pork Products
Plant Compounds Eradicate Disease
European Countries Banning the Use of Fluoride
Magnesium Can Reduce Hypertension
Exercise and Resting Tachycardia
Osteoporosis
“The myth that osteoporosis is caused by calcium deficiency was created to sell dairy products and calcium supplements. There’s no truth to it. American women are among the biggest consumers of calcium in the world, and they still have one of the highest levels of osteoporosis in the world. And eating even more dairy products and calcium supplements is not going to change that fact.–Dr. John McDougall The McDougall Program for Women (2000) http://www.notmilk.com/calbones.html
Information Impacting on Calcium and Bones http://www.notmilk.com/calcium/index.html
MILK from A to Z: http://www.notmilk.com/milkatoz.html
2O QUESTIONS: http://www.notmilk.com/notmilkfaq.html
Books worth taking a look at:
I read a remarkable book on Sunday’s flight from Grand Rapids to Philadelphia. “Killers Within” is the story of the deadly rise of drug-resistant bacteria. Written by Michael Schnayerson and Mark Plotkin (Little, Brown & Company, 2002), the book reads like a detective story. Each sip of cow’s milk contains estrogen, which has been identified as a key factor in promoting breast cancer cell growth. Milk also contains a powerful growth hormone called insulin-like growth factor (IGF-I).
There are hundreds of millions of different proteins in nature, and only one hormone that is identical between any two species. That powerful growth hormone is IGF-I, and it is an exact match in the cow’s body and the human body. Drink one glass of cow’s milk and a female doubles the amount of free circulating IGF-I in her body. Eat one portion of ice cream and one consumes 12 times the amount of this powerful cancer accelerator. IGF-I survives digestion and has been identified as the key factor in breast cancer’s growth.
If you believe that breast feeding “works” to protect lactoferrins and immunoglobulins from digestion (and benefit the nursing infant), you must also recognize that milk is a hormonal delivery system. By drinking cow’s milk or eating ice cream, one delivers IGF-I in a bioactive form to the body’s cells. When IGF-I from cow’s milk alights upon an existing cancer…
“Human Insulin-like growth factor (IGF-I) and bovine IGF-I are identical. Both contain 70 amino acids in the identical sequence.” Judith C. Juskevich and C. Greg Guyer. SCIENCE, vol. 249. August 24, 1990.
“IGF-I is critically involved in the aberrant growth of human breast cancer cells.” M. Lippman. J. Natl. Inst. Health Res., 1991, 3.
“Estrogen regulation of IGF-I in breast cancer cells would support the hypothesis that IGF-I has a regulatory function in breast cancer.” A.V. Lee, Mol-Cell- Endocrinol., March, 99(2).
“IGF-I is a potent growth factor for cellular proliferation in the human breast carcinoma cell line.” J.C. Chen, J-Cell-Physiol., January, 1994, 158(1)
“Insulin-like growth factors are key factors for breast cancer growth.” J.A. Figueroa, J-Cell-Physiol., Nov., 1993, 157(2)
“IGF-I produces a 10-fold increase in RNA levels of cancer cells. IGF-I appears to be a critical component in cellular proliferation.” X.S. Li, Exp-Cell-Res., March, 1994, 211(1)
“IGF-I plays a major role in human breast cancer cell growth.” E.A. Musgrove, Eur-J-Cancer, 29A (16), 1993
“IGF-I has been identified as a key factor in breast cancer.” Hankinson. The Lancet, vol. 351. May 9, 1998
“Serum IGF-I levels increased significantly in milk drinkers, an increase of about 10% above baseline but was unchanged in the control group.”
Robert P. Heaney, Journal of the American Dietetic Association, vol. 99, no.10. October 1999
“IGF-1 accelerates the growth of breast cancer cells.” M. Lippman Science, Vol. 259, January 29, 1993
Newer Ways to Use Natural Progesterone — Better Options Than Depo-ProveraIn the study, a major artery in the arm did not open as wide in women who had taken the contraceptive for longer than a year as it did in women who did not take the drug.
How does Depo-Provera work?
Depo-Provera, or depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA), is a synthetic variant of the body’s progesterone that is produced naturally. The drug interferes with hormonal signaling to keep eggs from being released from the ovaries. Use of the drug has been shown to lower levels of estradiol, a form of estrogen made by the ovaries. Since estrogen is thought to promote healthy arteries, this may be a clue to the outcome of this study.
How was the study conducted?
To determine the long-term effect of Depo-Provera, the team compared 13 women who had used the contraceptive for more than a year and a “control” group of 10 women who were not taking the contraceptive.
The researchers performed two tests:
Flow-mediated dilation: This measures how well the endothelium, the lining of the blood vessels, acts to keep blood moving by widening the vessel. Drug-induced dilation: Another test measured how much arteries widen in response to a drug that promotes dilation of blood vessels.
Arterial function was tested twice in each group of women. Both groups of women responded similarly to the artery-widening drug, but flow-mediated dilation — the kind of dilation that relies on the endothelium — was lower in long-term users of Depo-Provera.
What did the researchers conclude?
If you do have some risk factors such as smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol or a family history of heart disease, you may want to take the findings of this study into account as you evaluate your birth-control options.
Interestingly two of the researchers have received grants, fees and other funding from pharmaceutical companies, including several firms that make contraceptives. Pfizer, the New York-based drug company that is in the midst of acquiring Pharmacia, provided some of the study’s funding. Circulation 2002;10.1161/01.CIR.0000030940.73167.4E www.mercola.com
What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Pre-menopause
Balance Your Hormones and Your Life from Thirty to Fifty by John R. Lee, et al http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0446673803/optimalwellnessc/104-8539543-7660758
Are you a woman between 35 and 50 experiencing PMS, migraine headaches, sudden weight gain, fatigue, irritability, tender or lumpy breasts, memory loss, fibroids, or cold hands and feet? If so, you may be experiencing symptoms of pre-menopause. Even if you’re a decade or more away from menopause
Another Reason to Avoid Eating Pork Products
The study of pig farm workers and residents in Wisconsin found that 17 of 74 had antibodies to swine flu viruses in their blood, indicating they’d been infected. In contrast, only 1 of 114 blood samples taken from the general population harbored such antibodies.
What do these findings mean?
The species barrier between people and pigs may be easier for a virus to cross than previously thought. Also, a pig respiratory tract is receptive to both human and bird flu viruses, making the animal a potential breeding ground in which a mutant virus could evolve and possibly be transmitted to people. Emerging Infectious Diseases 2002;8:814-819
Plant Compounds Eradicate Disease
Free oxygen radicals appear to be involved in several pathologic conditions such as:
Development of hardening of the arteries
Different stages of cancer development
Autoimmune destruction of ß cells in the pancreas leading to diabetes
Mediators of inflammatory damage in asthma and in joints in rheumatoid arthritis.
Process leading to cataracts
Flavonoids are products of plant metabolism and have different phenolic (benzene-type ring) structures. They are effective antioxidants because of their free radical scavenging properties and because they are chelators of metal ions thus, they may protect tissues against free oxygen radicals and fat oxidation. Because of differences in their chemical structure, bio-availability, distribution, and metabolism, different flavonoid compounds may have different effects on human health.
A study of over 10,000 people found that those consuming fruits and vegetables rich in different flavonoids have a reduced risk of overall mortality and of several chronic diseases.
What do flavonoids do?
Flavonoids, which are found in a variety of fruits and vegetables as well as in tea and red wine, are thought to boost health in part by combating oxidation, a process in which cell-damaging substances called free radicals accumulate.
How was the study conducted?
Participants filled out a questionnaire and completed an interview to find out what they had eaten during the previous year. Based on average flavonoid contents of foods available in the study area, the researchers estimated each person’s flavonoid intake. The researchers tracked the development of disease in the participants for up to 28 years after the initial interview.
What did the study show?
The results of our study suggest the presence of a protective association between flavonoid intake and subsequent occurrence of heart disease, stroke, lung and prostate cancer, type 2 diabetes, and asthma.
What flavonoids were the most effective?
For instance, greater consumption of apples, a main source of quercetin in the study area, and onions, which contain a flavonoid called kaempferol, were both linked to a reduced risk of dying from heart disease. Myricetin, hesperitin, and naringenin were also found to be useful. A lifestyle associated with a high intake of foodstuffs rich in flavonoids appears to reduce the risk of chronic diseases. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition September 2002;76:560-568
European Countries Banning the Use of Fluoride
European countries are in the process of removing fluoride from all sorts of products. Find out why the U.S. should be following Europe’s example. http://www.mercola.com/2002/sep/18/europe_fluoride.htm
Magnesium Can Reduce Hypertension
In a study published in 1996 a group of 83 individuals where given 200 mgs of magnesium oxide [least expensive form of magnesium] for 12 weeks, after-which they had a significant drop in blood pressure. These findings, which have been replicated, have a double benefit for the individual with high blood pressure. One: it can enable the doctor to reduce or remove the hypertensive drugs. Two: Anti-hypertensive drugs typically lower magnesium levels in the body, leading to higher blood pressure, cardiac arrhythmia, and increase the risk of sudden heart attack. A simple trial can be to purchase a good quality blood pressure cuff and use the magnesium supplement 1-2 tabs a-day totally 200 mgs. and follow your blood pressure readings for a minimum of 4 weeks. Make sure you consult your physician if you currently have hypertension.
Borello, G. et al., “The Effects of Magnesium Oxide on Mild Essential Hypertension and Quality of Life.”, Curr Ther Res 57: 767-774, 1996
Exercise and Resting Tachycardia
A client recently came to the gym for personal training. During the initial visit and health screen I discovered her resting heart rate [after 15 minutes of sitting and conducting a general health questionnaire in a relaxed atmosphere was at 114 beats per minute.
Even after taking into consideration the fact that she had a cup of coffee 1.5 hours before, and she did not sleep well the night before, we did not proceed further with an exercise program that day.
I did ask her to come back again in two days and rechecked her blood pressure. Again it was between 110-114 bpm.
She should NOT begin an exercise program with a “resting heart rate” of 114 beats per minute. I immediately refer her to her physician to determine any underlying etiology of suspected disease.