Month: August 2006

BMI, or “Body Mass Index,” has long been the “gold standard” for determining if you are overweight, and what your risk is for heart issues as related to weight. Now, a review of 40 studies on BMI as it relates to being a predictor of heart disease shows that it (BMI) is a poor indicator for older patients. Researchers believe this is because the calculation does not take into account muscle as part of the body’s mass. People that have large muscle mass, and may be considered “overweight,” actually had less heart problems than similarly “overweight” people that had a higher fat than muscle level.

Does Body-Mass Index Really Predict Heart Risk?

Doctors have typically gauged a person’s weight-linked risk for heart trouble by using their BMI. However, a new analysis of 40 studies involving over 250,000 patients showed that those with a BMI under 20 were at higher risk of death from cardiovascular disease than those with ‘obese’ BMIs of 30 to 35. ‘An explanation for the lack of a positive association with BMI and mortality in older ages is that, in older persons, BMI is a poor measure of body fat,’ concluded a team of researchers from the Mayo Clinic, who published their findings in the Aug. 19 issue of The Lancet. ‘The measurement of weight does not differentiate between fat and fat-free mass, and fat-free mass (especially muscle) is progressively lost with increasing age.'”

The bottom line is that there is no “one weight fits all” level that we should be shooting for, but what is right, and healthy, for YOUR body!

A person is sick, their immune system is already weak… and where do they go? A hospital, of course! Well, a new study indicates that the hospital may be a bad place to be to avoid infection! This is not to say that one shouldn’t go to a hospital at all, of course, but rather that hospitals need to become more aware of issues involving bacterial infection and what causes bacteria to become resistant to antibiotics… one reason being over-prescribing them!

Drug-resistant bacteria increasingly common in US hospitals

“A new study appearing in today’s New England Journal of Medicine has found that drug-resistant bacteria are now the most common cause of skin and soft-tissue infections treated in a number of hospitals across America. A team of researchers from UCLA and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that at 11 hospitals across the United States, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) was the culprit in 59 percent of overall skin infections. At a hospital in Kansas City, Mo., MRSA accounted for 74 percent of skin infections, while at a New York hospital it accounted for 15 percent.”

The more we use antibotics for minor issues that do not require them, the stronger bacteria get, and the more resistant they are… we are heading for a time when bacteria may be stronger than the drugs we use to fight them! Colloidal silver and other natural alternatives could be used instead of antibiotics, if the medical establishment would use them!

A new study done by the University of Michigan indicates that many prostate cancer patients may be opting for over-aggressive surgery and radiation treatments when milder therapies may be more effective.

Common prostate cancer treatments no better than doing nothing, research reveals

“Experts believe many prostate cancer patients overreact to the word ‘cancer’ and subsequently over-treat their condition. ‘Prostate cancer is different in several ways,’ says Dr. Mark Scholz of Prostate Oncology Specialists. ‘It grows much more slowly, it doesn’t spread nearly as easily.’ Natural health proponents say alternative therapies can be highly effective at both preventing and reversing prostate cancer. For example, altering the diet to balance levels of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, and supplementing with pomegranate juice and capsaicin — the chemical that makes peppers hot — have been shown to be effective at slowing and even reversing prostate tumor growth. ‘Prostate cancer is easily prevented and even reversed without using any drugs, surgery or radiation,’ said Mike Adams, author of How to Prevent and Reverse Prostate Cancer. ‘Medicinal foods like pomegranates and tomatoes provide a powerful defense against prostate cancer and can even help reverse the condition,’ he added. ‘Most conventional medical treatments for prostate cancer are not only useless, they’re actually harmful.'”

Chemotherapy drugs kill cells in the body. That is what they are designed to do. The hope is that they will kill cancer cells… however, they kill other cells in the body as well. New research indicates that the risk of damage from chemotherapy may be higher than the medical community believed.

Breast cancer chemo side effects elevated

“Chemotherapy drugs may cause more serious side effects for breast cancer patients under age 64 than once thought, a U.S. study released on Tuesday said. Researchers mined insurance claims for 3,526 women who had intravenous chemotherapy for breast cancer and tallied problems serious enough to require emergency care or a hospital stay. Their review found more than 8 percent of women underwent treatment for a fever or infection compared with less than 2 percent reported in an earlier review of clinical trials. Other problems also occurred more frequently than previously estimated, said the study by researchers at Harvard Medical School and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. For example, 5.5 percent of women were reported to have low blood counts that could raise the risk of infection or bleeding, the new study showed. The rates were less than 1 percent or 2 percent in clinical trials. Overall, 16 percent of women in the new study had at least one of eight side effects that required emergency care or hospitalization. Side effects also included blood clots, dehydration, nausea and diarrhea. All of the women were 63 or younger.”

Again, I believe natural, non-destructive therapies are best… but these are decisions YOU must make with your healthcare provider. YOU are the person most responsible for YOUR personal health!

I had an instructor in my natural health classes while I was working on my doctorate that said, “Eat your colors for good health!” That advice sounded odd, but it stuck with me! Now, there’s a new study that demonstrates the truth or this advice!

Yellow veggies contain natural medicines that prevent blindness, eye degeneration

“New research appearing in the journal Archives of Ophthalmology reveals that women with diets high in yellow vegetables have a lower risk of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Pigments found in pumpkin, corn, egg yolks and some leafy green vegetables were found to reduce the risk of AMD for women under 75 years old. The pigments lutein and zeaxanthin in particular were found to reduce the risk possibly by absorbing blue light that can damage the back of the retina. Researchers at the University of Wisconsin examined the diets of 1,787 women 50 to 79 years old and took blood samples and color photos of their retinas. Women under 75 with diets high in yellow veggie pigments were found to have a lower risk of developing intermediate-stage AMD. However, the researchers could only prove a weak link between the pigments and advanced-stage AMD.”

Generally, a broad spectrum of vegetables is preferable in your food choices. (No pun intended!)

“‘These findings further demonstrate the healing potential of plant-based medicine provided by nature,’ explained Mike Adams, a holistic nutritionist and creator of the Honest Food Guide. ‘Each color found in fruits and vegetables is actually a different medicine. While yellows and oranges are wonderful for nervous system protection, blues and greens offer anti-cancer benefits and cardiovascular protection. To be healthy and avoid disease, eat natural foods containing all the colors of the rainbow.'”

A Traditional Chinese Medicine remedy, Berberine, has been found in studies to be very effective in lowering and controlling blood sugar… and, as an added benefit, it seems to help decrease weight as well!

Traditional Chinese Remedy Proves Effective in Lowering Blood Sugar

“Berberine, found in the roots and barks of some plants, has been documented in Chinese literature as being able to lower glucose levels in diabetics. Now scientists have found that studies on rodents support this claim. Writing in the journal Diabetes, they added that berberine reduced the animals’ body weight, suggesting it could also be used to treat obesity… The researchers found that a dose of the compound, given orally, caused blood sugar levels to go down, led to fewer fats circulating in the bloodstream, made insulin work better and lowered the animals’ body weights… The team believes the plant product is “turning on” an enzyme found in body tissue, which improves the body’s sensitivity to insulin, in turn lowering blood sugar levels and reducing the level of circulating fats. Professor James said: ‘This is a very nice example of how there is validity to some of these traditional medicines.'”

Again, encouraging news that Allopathic medicine is “wising up” to natural remedies!

People are becoming more sensitive to what they put into their body… as in what they eat and drink. That’s good! However, we also need to be aware that our body can be impacted by other means. A new study indicates that a baby’s brain development can be adversely affected by the use of ultrasound. They do say that it can still be a good tool if medically necessary… but it calls into question the use of ultrasound just to see the baby and to have pictures to pass around at work!

Ultrasound scans can affect brain development

“Exposure to ultrasound can affect fetal brain development, a new study suggests. But researchers say the findings, in mice, should not discourage pregnant women from having ultrasound scans for medical reasons. When pregnant mice were exposed to ultrasound, a small number of nerve cells in the developing brains of their fetuses failed to extend correctly in the cerebral cortex. ‘Our study in mice does not mean that use of ultrasound on human fetuses for appropriate diagnostic and medical purposes should be abandoned,’ said lead researcher Pasko Rakic, chairman of the neurobiology department at Yale University School of Medicine. However, he added in a telephone interview, women should avoid unnecessary ultrasound scans until more research has been done.”

It is common knowledge that smoking isn’t healthy… and now there is more research into what happens to the body when you are exposed to other’s “second-hand” smoke from cigarettes. Now, it appears a study has found a link between osteoporosis and “second-hand” smoke.

Passive smoke ‘bone risk boost’

“Second-hand smoke increases the risk of the bone disease osteoporosis, researchers have found. The US/Chinese study showed exposure to passive smoking boosted pre-menopausal women’s osteoporosis risk threefold. An International Osteoporosis Foundation meeting in Toronto, also heard men, as well as women, increase osteoporosis risk by smoking. Experts said the studies added to understanding of the link between smoking and the bone disease.”

From a Naturopathic point of view, we are very interested in the body’s energy fields and many Naturopaths study the flow of energy through the body. This has long been considered somewhat “voodoo,” or “new age,” and has not been taken very seriously by Allopathic practitioners. Now, medical science is beginning to research the areas in which the body’s flow of energy, and energy fields (such as electricity) effects on the body, and how they can be useful!

To heal a wound, turn up the voltage

“It may sound like something out of Frankenstein, but electric currents applied to the skin could potentially speed up wound healing. Ironically, though the phenomenon was reported 150 years ago by the German physiologist Emil Du Bois-Reymond, it has been ignored ever since.

Now Josef Penninger of the Austrian Institute of Molecular Biotechnology in Vienna and Min Zhao of the University of Aberdeen, UK, have demonstrated that natural electric fields and currents in tissue play a vital role in orchestrating the wound-healing process by attracting repair cells to damaged areas. The researchers have also identified the genes that control the process. ‘We were originally sceptical, but then we realised it was a real effect and looked for the genes responsible,’ Penninger says. ‘It’s not homeopathy, it’s biophysics.'”

He still sounds as though he believes homeopathy is in the realm of “voodoo,” though! I guess “baby steps” toward accepting natural remedies are better than none at all!