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June 2005 Vol. 10 No. 6

“Persistent People Begin Their Success Where Others End In Failure”
Edward Eggleston

 

 

Table of Contents:

Disaster By Design: Confusing new food pyramid misleads consumers about healthy eating
Nutritional Factors in Menstrual Pain and Premenstrual Syndrome
Massage Relieves Cancer Symptoms
Why Your Blood Pressure Should Drop at Night
New Effective, Non-Drug Treatments for ADHD
Depression Increases Risk of Osteoporosis
What do Prozac and NSAIDs Have in Common? You Don’t Want to Know
How Exercise Reduces Your Risk of Prostate Cancer
Preventing High Blood Pressure

Disaster By Design: Confusing new food pyramid misleads consumers about healthy eating
By Tim Radak, Dr PH, R.D. 

Excerpts: Designed for the USDA by Porter Novelli International, a PR firm that has also worked for McDonald’s and the Snack Food Association, the new pyramid sports the slogan: Steps to a healthier you.But the new design actually represents a giant step backward on several important nutrition issues.

First, it’s clearly intended to convince consumers that there are no bad foods. That message may please Porter Novelli’s food-industry clients, but it’s not consistent with the scientific evidence. All foods are not created equal when it comes to promoting health and preventing disease.
Full article at: http://www.pcrm.org/news/commentary0505.html

Nutritional Factors in Menstrual Pain and Premenstrual Syndrome
Neal D. Barnard, M.D. 

Excerpts: Disorders of menstrual function can be taxing and sometimes even disabling. Up to 10 percent of women in their teens and early twenties suffer from severe menstrual pain. In most cases, there is no identifiable cause. However, for some women, the pain is a symptom of endometriosis (a condition in which cells that normally line the uterus have ended up in the abdominal cavity), adenomyosis (the existence of islands of uterine lining cells deep within the uterine muscle), fibroids (the presence of overgrown muscle cells in the wall of the uterus), or other conditions.1 Nutritional factors appear to play an important role in managing menstrual pain.
Full article at: http://www.pcrm.org/health/clinres/menstrual.html

Massage Relieves Cancer Symptoms 

Massage can reduce pain, nausea, fatigue and depression as effectively as drug therapy buth without side effects. Insurance coverage varies.
http://www.haworthpress.com/web/JCPSP/

Why Your Blood Pressure Should Drop at Night 

 Blood Pressure

It has been previously discovered that people whose blood pressure doesn’t drop notably overnight tend to have more cardiovascular problems.

Why? According to a study, a person’s blood sugar (glucose) levels are most likely elevated. This elevation could present a greater risk for developing diabetes and other diseases, and thus increase cardiovascular risks.

Dippers vs. Non-dippers

Researchers monitored 51 patients with hypertension, ages 60-80, including 20 whose blood pressure didn’t dip by more than 10 percent at night. They found that both groups had nearly identical average blood pressure over the 24-hour period they were studied.  When it came to blood sugar levels, however, the differences between both sets of patients were evident:

The fasting glucose level for patients whose blood pressure dipped at night (dippers) was 95 mg/dl on average, compared to 102 for patients whose blood pressure didn’t dip at night (non-dippers).

The two-hour glucose tolerance level for dippers was 133 mg/dl, compared to 144 for non-dippers.  Glucose levels of 110-125 may indicate pre-diabetes, a condition where blood glucose levels are higher than normal but not yet at the level of diabetes. Therefore, to fend of full-fledged diabetes, researchers recommended exercise, weight loss and dietary changes for patients with pre-diabetes.

Moreover, doctors and health care providers may want to closely monitor glucose levels of patients whose blood pressure doesn’t dip at night.
Medical News Today May 14, 2005

New Effective, Non-Drug Treatments for ADHD 

Children who suffer from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have difficulty paying attention and controlling their behavior. Many also suffer from sensory processing disorder, a neurological underpinning that contributes to their ability to pay attention or focus.

Experts believe both genetic and biological components contribute to the cause of ADHD. And while treatment options typically include medication, behavior therapy or a combination of the two, researchers may have discovered an effective, non-drug option for the disorder: sensory intervention.

According to preliminary findings from a study of children with ADHD, sensory intervention significantly improved problem behaviors such as impulsivity, hyperactivity and restlessness.

ADHD Study

The study involved 88 children taking medication for ADHD. Of the 88 participants, 63 underwent 40 one-hour sensory intervention therapy sessions, while 25 did not. Therapy techniques appealed to the three basic sensory systems: Tactile (the sense of touch), vestibular (controlling sensations of gravity and movement) and proprioceptive (regulating the awareness of the body in space).

Individual therapy sessions were tailored to each child’s needs and involved techniques that included:

  • Moving on swings
  • Working with an exercise ball
  • Lightly or deeply brushing the skin

Positive Results

Researchers found the therapy sessions put children more at ease, which helped them to better focus their attention in a noisy classroom and more comfortably participate in family activities. Changes in behaviors were seen in just six months.
Medical News Today May 13, 2005

Please refer to our links section devoted to ADD/ADHD at: http://www.afpafitness.com/ADDLinks.htm

Depression Increases Risk of Osteoporosis 

Women who experienced their first episode of depression before memopause had lower bone-mineral density than women who never were depressed.  Reason: Stress increases levels of the hormone cortisol, which has been found to inhibit bone-building cells and triggers bone-destroying cells.

National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/council/cnclmins_5-03.pdf

What do Prozac and NSAIDs Have in Common? You Don’t Want to Know 

 The evidence has mounted yet again regarding the need for doctors to wise up about the side effects of drugs when prescribing medications to their patients.

Why? According to a study, taking selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRIs) like Prozac and Paxil can cause acute gastrointestinal bleeding similar to that prompted by aspirin and related painkillers.

The Study

Researchers reviewed the medical records of some 550 patients admitted to hospitals for acute gastrointestinal bleeding and found that continual use of the antidepressants in question were responsible for a risk of bleeding similar to that caused by ongoing use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as:

  • Aspirin
  • Ibuprofen
  • Naproxen

In defense, the company that makes Prozac, Eli Lilly, argued the possibility of bleeding was a potential side effect already listed and that patients were cautioned about it in information that accompanied the medication.  Yet despite the argument, the reality remains: Gastrointestinal bleeding from NSAIDS is responsible for an alarming 16,000 deaths in the United States each year. Will SSRIs boost that statistic?
MSNBC May 16, 2005

Raise Morale of Troops on the front lines. 

Send them packages through AnySoldier.com. This website started by Army Sgt. Brian Horn when he was stationed in Iraq in 2003, collects names of soldiers, sailors, airmen and of course Marines who will accept mailed packages and distribute the contents to their units. Troops post notices of what they would like, including coffee, chocolate, children’s toys to be give away and DVD’s.

http://www.anysoldier.com/index.cfm
http://www.treatanysoldier.com/index.htm

How Exercise Reduces Your Risk of Prostate Cancer  

 Exercise, Sports

Exercise is one of the most important foundational strategies to achieve good health. However, one of the stealth benefits of regular vigorous exercise is that it could actually slow the progression of prostate cancer in older men, aged 65 and older.

The 14-year study centered around data on some 48,000 men who were followed from 1986-2000. Participants were surveyed on various physical activities they pursued, including:

  • Hiking
  • Jogging
  • Swimming
  • Cycling
  • Racket sports

Throughout the course of the study, about 2,900 cases of prostate cancer were diagnosed; close to 17 percent of them were advanced cases. In addition, researchers found that older men who vigorously exercised on a regular basis were at a lower risk — almost 70 percent — of advanced and fatal cases of prostate cancer. (Unfortunately, the association was not found in younger men.)

One stipulation of the findings is that men need to work out vigorously at least three hours a week to take advantage of the protection exercise provides against prostate cancer.

A Slight Word of Caution

Experts agree that, given the well-documented benefits of a healthy lifestyle, at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise five times a week is a fair recommendation; however, older men should consult with their GP before starting any particularly vigorous exercise routine.  But one thing’s for sure: Regular exercise throughout life has benefits and this could be yet another example where steady and prolonged use is valuable later in life.
Archives of Internal Medicine May 9, 2005;165(9):1005-1010
BBC News May 9, 2005

Preventing High Blood Pressure 

Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston have found that Folic Acid [associated with preventing birth defects], also reduces hypertension. In a recent study of women ages 27 to 44 who received 1,000 mcgs a day of folate [in foods such as green leafy vegetables, legumes, asparagus, broccoli and avocados], or received 1,000 mcgs of Folic acid through a supplement had a 50 percent reduction of their hypertension risks.

SOURCES: John P. Forman, M.D., research and clinical fellow, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston; Alice Lichtenstein, M.D., Gershoff Professor of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University, Boston; Oct. 11, 2004, presentation, American Heart Association Annual High Blood Pressure Research Conference, Chicago

Selected segments are reproduced from Dr. Mercola’s excellent website:
http://www.mercola.com/index.htm 

Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
http://www.pcrm.org