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September 2003 Vol. 8 No. 9
Be Kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.
Plato
When you reach for the stars you may not quite get one, but you won’t
come up with a hand full of mud either.
Leo Burnett
Table of Contents:
The Juvenile Obesity Epidemic: Strike Back with Physical Activity
Flexibility and Lower Risk of Arthritis
Cancer and Obesity: The Direct Link
Trans Fatty Acids [TFA’s] Beware!!
Optimal Diets for Prevention of Coronary Heart Disease
Eating Fish Oil Can Lower Your Heart Rate
Overweight? Good Chance Your Blood Pressure Is Being Measured Incorrectly
Vitamin D for Prostate Cancer
Prostate Cancer: How do you diagnose and treat?
The Absurdities of Water Fluoridation
Blood Sugar Blues
Chromium Plays a Significant Role in Controlling Blood Sugar
The Juvenile Obesity Epidemic: Strike Back with Physical Activity
During the past 30 years there has been a dramatic surge in prevalence of children and adolescent obesity in the United States and Canada. The causes of this epidemic point to the reduction in time spent in physical activity and the increase in sedentary pursuits such as TV viewing and computer games as well as a terrible diet are the key contributing factors. Proper management of juvenile obesity should include nutritional changes, behavior modification and a physically active lifestyle. Full text article: http://www.gssiweb.com/reflib/refs/608/SSE_89_text.cfm?pid=96
Flexibility and Lower Risk of Arthritis
In a recent article in the Journal of Rheumatology improvements in overall flexibility can reduce the risk of arthritis in older women. An ongoing study of 716 women, aged 53 to 72 over the last 15 years -including regular x-rays, and bone mineral density measurements have demonstrated that those women who maintain good flexibility are less likely to suffer from arthritic knees. Dr. Tim Spector, professor of rheumatology at ST. Thomas’ Hospital in London reported “exercise and staying physically active seem to prevent arthritis”. The Journal of Rheumatology 2003; 30:799-803.
Cancer and Obesity: The Direct Link
Obesity has been found to have a direct link to cancer. In multiple studies in the New England Journal of Medicine that followed 900,000 men/women over a 16- year period the link between obesity and especially cancers of the reproductive system in both men and women, as well as stomach, liver, pancreas, and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma was statistically and significantly higher than in individuals who maintained a healthy weight. The magnitude and strength of the study and evidence is irrefutable, and not only is it convincing-but also frightening.
Calle EE et al New England Journal of Medicine 2003 vol. 348 pp 1625-1638
Adami HO et al New England Journal of Medicine 2003 vol. 348 pp 1623-1624
Cancer Prevention Diet
http://www.tagnet.org/botwood/health/lifestylecancer.html
http://www.tagnet.org/marystown/cancer.html
http://content.health.msn.com/content/article/61/67434
Trans Fatty Acids [TFA’s] Beware!!
The Food and Drug Administration has been battling with the food industry for years and continues to do so regarding labeling Trans Fatty Acids [TFA’s] in the ingredients of virtually all processed foods in the United States today. TFA’s have been linked to heart disease and diabetes, and are significantly worse for the human body than saturated fats. The FDA will require all TFA information listed on food labels by 2006, as the food industry continues to battle to keep this information off the labels. Till then continue to be diligent with your family by avoiding foods that contain the words: hydrogenated, partially hydrogenated, or vegetable shortening. TFA’s are found in all commercially fried foods, including chicken nuggets, Freedom Fries, and most baked goods. There are stores including Whole Foods Markets-that sell only TFA-free products. Dr. Walter Willet, MD, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston has been sounding the alarm regarding TFA’s for years, and has written many good articles on the subject.
http://www.drmirkin.com/nutrition/N198.html
http://www.wholehealthmd.com/hk/articles/view/1,1471,829,00.html
http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/conference/willett1.html
Optimal Diets for Prevention of Coronary Heart Disease
Frank B. Hu, MD, PhD; Walter C. Willett, MD, DrPH
Substantial evidence indicates that diets using non-hydrogenated unsaturated fats as the predominant form of dietary fat, whole grains as the main form of carbohydrates, an abundance of fruits and vegetables, and adequate omega-3 fatty acids can offer significant protection against CHD. Such diets, together with regular physical activity, avoidance of smoking, and maintenance of a healthy body weight, may prevent the majority of cardiovascular disease in Western populations. JAMA. 2002; 288:2569-2578
Eating Fish Oil Can Lower Your Heart Rate
Researchers found that fish consumption is associated with decreased heart rate in men, which may explain why eating fish decreases the risk of sudden death. Men who ate fish had a significantly lower heart rat than men who did not eat fish, according to the study. Higher heart rates are associated with an increased risk of sudden death, so therefore the men who ate fish likely had a lower risk of sudden death. Circulation August 11, 2003
Overweight? Good Chance Your Blood Pressure Is Being Measured Incorrectly
A new study showed that obese patients may be wrongly diagnosed as hypertensive because the arm cuffs used to measure their blood pressure are the wrong size. With two-thirds of the country overweight this is a very prevalent issue. It appears that up to 10% of overweight patients are incorrectly diagnosed. Take home message? If you are having your doctor measure your blood pressure make sure the cuff they are using is the correct size and your arm fits inside the markings indicated on the cuff.
You can also review Dr. Paul Rosch’s recent review of blood pressure for further information. http://www.mercola.com/2003/jun/21/good_blood_pressure.htm
British Medical Journal August 30, 2003;327:468 Full Text Article
http://bmj.com/cgi/content/full/327/7413/468-a
Vitamin D for Prostate Cancer
Treating prostate cancer cells with a vitamin D-like compound appears to make them more susceptible to the destructive effects of radiation. Of course drug companies are making drug analogs to use rather than vitamin D as they can’t patent a natural vitamin and make a profit on it. However, it couldn’t be any clearer that vitamin D is essential for the prevention of not only prostate cancer but also breast cancer. That is why African Americans have higher incidences of both. Their dark skin limits UV-B from entering the skin and converting cholesterol to vitamin D. British Journal Cancer Aug 18, 2003; 89(4): 746-53
Prostate Cancer: How do you diagnose and treat?
The need for biopsy of the prostate glands for abnormal PSA tests just decreased as a simple set of calculations may help up to one-quarter of these men avoid an unnecessary biopsy of the prostate gland. Experts estimate that 750,000 of the 1 million biopsies performed each year are unnecessary. The investigators found that the most important predictors of cancer were:
- A digital rectal exam to feel for a hardened nodule that may be a tumor
- A trans-rectal ultrasound to look for a darkened area that may be cancerous
- A man’s age: 90 percent of prostate cancer cases are in men over 65
- PSA density, which is the ratio between PSA level and prostate size (A smaller gland with elevated PSA is more likely to be cancer than a larger gland with elevated PSA)
So if a prostate cancer is found, what can you do to treat it? Basically there are nearly identical natural treatment principles for prostate and breast cancers:
- Increase vegetable intake
- Vitamin E
- Vitamin D
- Exposure to adequate sunlight
- Freshly ground flax seeds
- Eliminate sugar
- Progesterone cream
- Selenium
- The most important nutrient—omega-3 oils
The Absurdities of Water Fluoridation
The National Research Council is currently reviewing the toxicity of fluoride on bones and organ systems. In his “Health Tips” Nick Regush reminds us that:
“About a decade ago, an NRC panel found considerable gaps in knowledge about the efficacy and safety of fluoride. Among the concerns cited by the panel at that time were the potential adverse effects of fluoride on the nervous system and bone.
So now, the NRC will probe the latest research (toxicological, epidemiological, clinical and exposure data). You can bet that the proponents of fluoride use will be seen in full force in trying to steer any review of fluoride.”
If you are not already familiar with the dangers of fluoride and why many European countries have stopped using it you can review the two articles from Dr. Paul Connett that extensively review the topic. http://www.redflagsweekly.com/connett/2002_july01.html
National Research Council August 12, 2003
Blood Sugar Blues
How can there not be a run-away epidemic of diabetes and obesity in America, followed close behind by Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom? Check out some of the sources of sugars that are ingested just in the US
Some facts:
- 27,397,260-this is the number of donuts Americans eat every day [source: Dunkin Donuts]
- 2,235,616 pounds of sugar consumed by Americans in their breakfast cereals each morning. [Cerealizing America, Scott Bruce and Bill Crawford [Faber & Faber]
- 15 teaspoons of sugar in the soft drinks the average teenage boy drinks and 10 teaspoon of sugar in soft drinks the average girl drinks each day from soft drinks. [Center for Science in the Public Interest].
Individuals with higher blood sugar levels from a high sugar diet had trouble with short term memory and memorization tasks. High sugar levels are associated with memory dysfunction and shrinkage of the hippocampus, according to Antonio Convit, MD, professor at NYU. These findings were also reported in the Proceeding National Academy Science online, 2/03.
Published online before print February 5, 2003, 10.1073/pnas.0336073100 PNAS | February 18, 2003 | vol. 100 | no. 4 | 2019-2022
Memory, Hippocampus, and Glucose: A Potential Triad Journal Watch Neurology, May 9, 2003; 2003(509): 4 - 4.
Memory, Hippocampus, and Glucose: A Potential Triad Journal Watch Psychiatry, April 9, 2003; 2003(409): 7 - 7.
Chromium Plays a Significant Role in Controlling Blood Sugar
The mineral chromium has been found to improve glucose tolerance in many diabetics and in individuals with impaired glucose tolerance. Chromium has not only improved glucose tolerance, but has also demonstrated the ability to decrease circulating insulin, glycated hemoglobin [red blood cells which have attached a glucose molecule] and also lower cholesterol levels [both total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol]. Journal of the American College of Nutrition 1998; 17: 548-55.