BASIL & SPICE--HEALING & WELLNESS

FirstLook: Stay Young & Sexy With Bio-Identical Hormone Replacement

2010-02-09T12:20:07Z

Have you lost any friends to breast cancer? Worried you might be next? Has your doctor offered to prescribe Premarin or Fosamax for the issues plaguing you before, during or after menopause … but you’re wondering about the risks? Want to look and feel your best as you age? Tired of traditional medicine and pharmaceuticals with their detrimental side effects and risks? BHRT to the rescue!

Women (and men) have been searching for the fountain of youth for eons and, except for the ancient Chinese, in all the wrong places. Have you ever heard that if you take in too many vitamins, you urinate them out? Well, as it turns out, the secret to youth is found in the urine of our young people. People urinate out lots of good stuff, including hormones, vitamins, minerals, and so on. Way back in the 11^th century, medieval Chinese scientists and chemists had no way of knowing any of the individual hormones, but guessed that all of the substances that “power” the human body are found in human urine.

Today’s scientists have found that human urine actually does contain every hormone known to be secreted by the human body, and a wide variety of minerals too. Many of you are probably disgusted right now, but remember … since the 60s, millions of women have been taking Premarin, pills containing hormones concentrated from pregnant mare’s urine. Which do you think would copy nature better … human urine or horse urine?

Dr. Wright suggests that in order for modern BHRT to catch up with “comprehensive medieval Chinese BHRT,” we process human urine. And if we do so, we could end the financial woes of many school districts and universities across the United States. A little bit of this “recycling” would not only help millions of middle-age adults, but also our troubled educational system.

So it wouldn’t be unreasonable to believe that in ten years (or even less) you may be touring a university or high school to view the separate (male and female) high-tech filtration and purification installations which will clean up and extract the myriad of hormones in ultra-pure concentrated form, which will then be divided by compounding pharmacists into individualized daily doses for older men and women. Sounds like something out of a science fiction movie, doesn’t it?

Until that happens, today’s BHRT is synthesized from starting material in the Mexican yam and/or soy plants. Although incomplete, it is much safer than medicines commonly prescribed as menopausal hormone replacement therapy. This book offers compelling evidence not to take traditional HRT “therapeutic” drugs, like Prempro and Premarin.

The Women’s Health Initiative found that after four years of treatment with Prempro, the women who took it had a 26% increase in invasive breast cancer. As a bonus, Prempro increased the risk of heart disease … a 29% increase overall and an 81% increase during the first year of use. Premarin was found to increase the risk of stroke, and Prempro doubled the risk for all types of dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease. I still remember the nurse practitioner who counseled me as I headed into menopause, recommending that I take HRT drugs, if not for the hot flashes, to keep my mind. Boy, am I glad I didn’t take her advice. My grandma kept her mind until her death at 99 ½, and never took Prempro or Premarin, and my 80-year-old mom’s mind is so sharp, a company just offered her a part-time job.

This book explains the real science behind BHRT so we and our medical practitioners can decide if it is best for us. The reasons for looking into it are many, including managing our hormones, extending our youthful years, cutting our risk of osteoporosis and heart disease and cancer, and even our risk of Alzheimer’s disease. When I first heard about it, I thought its purpose was just to get through menopause, but I was wrong.

Its benefits are much, much greater than that. This more than 400-page book is filled with compelling reasons not to take HRT medications. Whether you partake in BHRT should be decided by you and your health practitioner. Reading this book will rocket boost your understanding of the controversy, politics, and the benefits of BHRT. As it turns out, if BHRT can survive the attacks of the global pharmaceutical industry and its partner politicians, the fountain of youth in our future may very well be a fountain of urine.

Stay Young & Sexy With Bio-Identical Hormone Replacement: The Science Explained (Smart Publications/Dec 2009) By Jonathan V. Wright and Lane Lenard

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Michelle Duggar 2010: 19 Kids--3 Tips From An OBGYN

2010-02-08T11:25:28Z

Linda Burke-Galloway, M.D.--

The Universe is speaking to Michelle Duggar and hopefully she’ll take a moment to listen. Duggar is a 43 y.o. housewife whose life is chronicled on TLC’s TV reality series, The Duggars. While it’s admirable to watch Duggar and her husband, Bob, navigate life raising a plethora of children, pregnancy and giving birth is not an entirely benign act.

The February 8^th issue of People Magazine ("The Duggar Baby: Her Fight for Life") gave an exclusive account of Duggar’s most recent delivery that was complicated by both preterm birth at 25-weeks and pre-eclampsia. If the truth be told, both mom and baby are lucky to be alive. Duggar had delivered her 18^th child just six months prior to conceiving her 19^th. Her body did not have ample time to heal. Profound changes occur in the heart, lungs and kidneys of pregnant women. The body has more fluid circulating and the lungs have less air present at the end of each breath. The gallbladder also does not process fat properly and some pregnant women develop gallstones which is exactly what happen to Duggar. She had a gallstone attack and developed pre-eclampsia that warranted an emergency cesarean section. Her premature baby weighed 1lb 6oz.

It is not clear whether Duggar has received properly counseling from her ob healthcare practitioner, so let me jump in.

Ms. Duggar, you are 43 years old and have what’s known in obstetrics as Advanced Maternal Age. This condition predisposes you to several high-risk conditions including pre-eclampsia, preterm labor and a host of other issues.
You’ve carried 19 children in your uterus and its muscles are stretched to the max. Post-partum hemorrhage lies high on the list as a future complication.
You’ve also had a cesarean section and now have the potential to have a placental abruption (early placenta separation from the uterus) as well as a placenta accreta (the placenta sticks to the uterine incision and is extremely difficult to remove).

The Bible says to go forth and multiply and you’ve followed directions well. Now pat yourself on the back and give your body a well deserved rest. You escaped serious harm because of Divine Intervention and a skilled medical staff. Please, do not push the envelope.

Linda Burke-Galloway, MD, MS, FACOG is a board-certified ob-gyn physician who is a champion of patient safety and is on a mission to keep pregnant women from falling through the cracks of our imperfect healthcare system. For over twenty years she has provided clinical services to high-risk pregnant women in medically underserved communities. She served our country through the National Health Service Corp, is a medical malpractice consultant for the U.S. Human Health Services and the federal government has also sought her expertise in reducing obstetrical malpractice cases in high-risk communities. Dr. Burke-Galloway has worked for the State of Florida Department of Health for over thirteen years in direct patient care. She is the author of The Smart Mothers Guide to a Better Pregnancy and is the Pregnancy Expert for LifeScript.com. She is a graduate of City College of the City University of New York, Columbia University School of Social Work and Boston University School of Medicine. She lives with her husband in Central Florida and is the proud mother of two sons. Dr. Galloway is the author of The Smart Mother's Guide to a Better Pregnancy (Red Flags Pub/ 2008). You'll find Dr. Galloway online at www.smartmothersguide.com

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Health News 2010: Green Tea, Pistachios May Reduce Lung Cancer Risk

2010-02-06T12:50:42Z

Suzy Cohen R.Ph.--

Dear Pharmacist,

Could you give us quick tips that can help improve health? Don’t get me wrong, I love your informative columns, I just wish you could talk about more topics in each column so I could find myself in them more frequently. --T.D. Gainesville, Florida

Answer: Great idea, as a journalist, I get press releases about new studies every few minutes and there are always interesting topics. I’ll share some news that I’ve received in the last 3 weeks. Here goes:

--Fish oils aren’t just for your heart. They reduce symptoms of psychosis and may prevent the onset of full-blown schizophrenia or psychosis in people with emotional disturbances according to a study published in the Archives of General Psychiatry. Omega 3 fatty acids nourish the brain, they are inexpensive and well-tolerated.

--Curcumin can reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and cancer. It works even better when taken with vitamin D3. Speaking of curcumin, it is known to lower blood sugar and prevent kidney damage associated with diabetes!

--Pomegranates may prevent breast cancer, especially the type that is estrogen-driven. They contain a compound called “ellagitannin” which gets broken down in the body to “urolithin B” and it acts like our “aromatase blocking” drugs (think tamoxifen, raloxifene).

--You won’t remain healthy for very long if you don’t get up and jog, go to spin class, Pilates or Zumba! Two well-designed studies now prove that excessive body weight increases a person’s risk for stroke, and nearly double the risk of developing cancer.

--Drinking “white tea” helps encourage weight loss!

--Green tea may reduce risk of lung cancer. People who do not drink green tea appear to have a 5-fold increased risk of lung cancer! In a related new study, pistachios were found to increase gamma tocopherol (vitamin e) and slash the risk of lung cancer, without causing any weight gain.

--Apples, more specifically, “apple pectin” was shown to increase the number of friendly bacteria (probiotics) in the gut. So they improve digestion.

--If you are counting calories, you may be mislead. A new study found that nutrition labels on restaurant and packaged food labels may be grossly underestimated.

--The controversy persists about non-stick cooking pans which contain PFOA. For the first time a study found that people who have higher blood concentrations of PFOA have higher rates of thyroid disease. Newer brands of non-stick cookware are PFOA-free if you are concerned.

--Men with the highest blood levels of the B vitamin folate are 50 percent less likely to experience depression compared to men with the lowest levels according to the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

--A drug company is making a prescription pill to help you live to 100, by targeting longevity genes. Natural supplements target the very same genes and I’ll tell you about those in my new book Diabetes Without Drugs due out in a few weeks.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Any products mentioned or information within this column is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

Suzy Cohen, R. Ph., is a licensed pharmacist with nearly 20 years of clinical experience. The author of The 24-Hour Pharmacist (HarperCollins, July '07) and Drug Muggers; she is "America's Most Trusted Pharmacist," and has helped millions of patients in various clinical settings, such as retail, hospital, nursing home pharmacies, and through her nationally syndicated column, "Dear Pharmacist." A former spokesperson for the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, Suzy Cohen is a member of the Institute of Functional Medicine, The Association of Natural Medicine Pharmacists and The American Pharmacists Association. You can subscribe to Suzy's free weekly newsletter or ask her a question at her DearPharmacist website.

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TX Pediatrician: Goodbye MMR Vaccine Study (2010)

2010-02-04T14:30:25Z

Ari Brown, M.D.--

Most of you reading this post have not been following this story for as long as I have. However, you may be familiar with the buzz it created.

To get you up to speed: A small report on 12 patients was published in the British medical journal, The Lancet, back in 1998 regarding a concern that the combination Measles-Mumps-Rubella vaccine (MMR) was associated with autism. While the results of the study were not conclusive or statistically significant, the media reports on that study WERE significant. Parental fear about the MMR vaccine led to vaccine refusal, dropping immunization rates, and an eventual resurgence of measles. In 2004, 10 of the 13 original researchers on that paper (comically, there were more researchers involved than patients), withdrew their claim that there was a possible connection between MMR vaccine and autism. They said in a statement, "In this paper, NO CAUSAL LINK was established between MMR vaccine and autism as the data were insufficient...now is the appropriate time that we should together formally retract the interpretation of the data suggesting a link." This was a partial retraction of the study, however, because 3 researchers continued to stand by their study.

In February 2009, this now famous MMR study received another critical blow. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued a report that examined this study in relationship to families suing for vaccine injury compensation. The special master, George Hastings, presiding over the case had this to say, "Unfortunately, the [family] have been misled by physicians who are guilty, in my view, of gross medical misjudgment."

Last week, after more than a year of investigation, Britain's General Medical Council found the lead researcher on the paper to be guilty of 30 charges of medical misconduct. And the other two steadfast researchers on that MMR paper were also found guilty of medical misconduct. So, when the editor of The Lancet medical journal yesterday said enough already and formally retracted the 1998 MMR vaccine study from the published record, my response was...finally, what took you so long!

I can't tell you how many hours I have spent explaining this ongoing saga to families who hear bits and pieces of this study and the aftermath of it. And, then more time having to encourage them to protect their kids from very real, very serious infectious diseases.

Time to close this ugly chapter of poor medical research that gets published and irresponsible journalists who bought into it. Goodbye MMR study.

Ari Brown, M.D., FAAP, is a pediatrician, book author, child health advocate, and a mom. Dr. Brown completed a bachelor’s degree in child development from the University of Texas at Austin. She completed her general pediatric residency at Harvard Medical School/Boston Children's Hospital. Dr. Brown is Board Certified and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics. She works full-time in private practice in Austin, Texas.

Dr. Brown’s passion to educate families about children’s health led her to co-author the books, Baby 411: Clear Answers and Smart Advice for Your Baby’s First Year and Toddler 411. She has appeared on NBC’s Today Show, CNN, Dr. Phil, Rachael Ray, and ABC News. She serves on the advisory board for Parents Magazine and hosts a message board at their website, Parents.com.

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Feb 2010: Women Still Account For 50% Of Heart Disease Deaths

2010-02-03T12:20:09Z

Dr. Desiree Jones--

February is American Heart Month, and a good time to be reminded that Heart Disease still remains the number one cause of death in the United States. Research indicates that about every 25 seconds, an American will have a coronary event, and about one every minute will die from one (1). Although heart disease is often thought of as a condition more prevalent in men, the reality is that it is the leading cause of death for both men and women in the U.S., and women account for nearly 50% of all heart disease related deaths.

The good news is that we now know a great deal about pro-active steps that can be taken both to prevent and control the risk factors that contribute to heart disease. Common conditions that put your heart at greater risk or increase the risk of death or disability generally include the following:

High blood pressure
High cholesterol
Diabetes
Obesity
Tobacco use
Secondhand smoke inhalation
Peripheral Artery Disease
Arrhythmia or irregular heart beat
Heart failure

NUTRITION AND LIFESTYLE CHOICES CAN INFLUENCE CARDIOVASCULAR RISK PROFOUNDLY

By now, we have a corroborative body of research that confirms that the risk of heart disease can be reduced in most cases by making food and lifestyle choices that greatly influence heart health. While many people believe that they “know” how to eat correctly, the reality remains that for most, it is hard to eat correctly, consistently. Here are just a few reminders of the guidelines to bear in mind at ALL times:

1. Whenever possible, choose foods that have a low glycemic index. While that concept may seem complex, it simply refers to minimizing the use of carbohydrates that get absorbed very quickly in the bloodstream (example: table sugar, white flour, high fructose corn syrup, white potatoes, etc.). Choose whole grains and whole foods, whenever possible.

2. Watch your portion sizes. Avoid second and third helpings.

3. Reduce or minimize the consumption of saturated fats and trans-fats. Choose quality mono-unsaturated fats such as extra-virgin olive oil or canola oil for cooking, dips and dressings. Choose lean, skinless meats whenever possible.

4. Minimize salt consumption. The recommended daily allowance for salt is less than 2, 300 mg per day, but in reality, most people do better with far less than that amount.

5. Drink alcohol only in moderation. This translates to no more than one drink a day for a woman, and no more than 2 per day for a man.

6. Under a physician’s care, plan a regular exercise regimen and plan physical activity in your routine daily.

7. Avoid smoking completely, and avoid secondhand smoke to the maximum extent possible. A recent report by The Institute of Medicine suggests that even brief exposure to secondhand smoke can trigger a heart attack (2).

The above guidelines, though valuable, are cursory in nature. Please refer to additional resources at the end of this post for more comprehensive guidelines.

BE PRO-ACTIVE, BE AWARE

One of the most insidious problems associated with underlying heart disease is that a heart attack can occur suddenly without significant warning. Be aware of signs and symptoms of an impending heart attack so that when necessary, help can be obtained promptly. The most common signs that accompany a heart attack are:

Uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, overt pain, or a sense of fullness in the chest – The discomfort may go away and come back.
Pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw or stomach.
Lightheadedness, a distinct sense of nausea or cold sweat
Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing with or without chest discomfort

DO NOT THINK IT CANNOT HAPPEN TO YOU

While I do not intend to make the above statement in order to sound an alarm, the fact remains that often I meet people who say that they never imagined a heart attack could have happened to them. The reality is that for most individuals, a high-stress, low-rest lifestyle accompanied with a poor diet is the norm, not the exception. Without a concerted effort to eat correctly and pay attention to regular physical activity and other prevention measures, it is quite easy to develop heart disease. If that seems hard to believe, consider these numbers: While heart disease is the leading cause of death among women aged 65 and older, it is also the second leading cause of death among women aged 45-64 years, and the third leading cause of death among women aged 25-44 years. Among men, nearly half of those who have a heart attack under age 65 die within 8 years.

Notwithstanding all our progress with sophisticated procedures and pharmaceuticals, these are still sobering numbers. While we must be grateful for what Medicine can do for us, let us not underestimate what we can first do for ourselves pro-actively to prevent serious and often debilitating heart disease from occurring in the first place to the maximum extent possible. To start toward that desirable end, re-read the guidelines presented here, look up key resources at the end of this post, throw out that soda and cigarette for good, and share this post with all who may benefit. You heart – and theirs – will thank you for it!

Notes & Resources

(1) Lloyd-Jones D, Adams R, Carnethon M, et al. Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics—2009 Update. A Report from the American Heart Association Statistics Committee and Stroke Statistics Subcommittee. Circulation. 2009;119:e21-e181.

(2) Institute of Medicine. Secondhand Smoke Exposure and Cardiovascular Effects: Making Sense of the Evidence. Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press;2009.

American Heart Association

American Stroke Association

Desiree Jones, PhD is a Doctor of Epidemiology, who speaks and writes on cutting-edge issues pertaining to chronic disease prevention in the Western, and the newly Westernizing nations. She has worked collaboratively with researchers at The University of Texas, Baylor College of Medicine, and Harvard University. Her first book is expected to arrive on the market by Spring 2010, and is entitled, HALTING THE DEATH MARCH– Why America and The Westernized World are Dying from Heart Disease, Cancer, Diabetes, and Other Chronic Diseases, And How to Stop It. Dr. Jones is the Founder of the blog site, The Prevention Revolution. This site brings medical/nutritional research and informed opinion on critical health-care issues to individuals and physicians, as well as to corporations facing high health-care costs. Dr. Jones focuses on translating evidence-based research into real-life choices pertaining to food and lifestyle that can help prevent deadly chronic diseases, and create lasting health.

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May 2010: New Vitamin D Recommendation Expected

2010-02-02T12:24:43Z

Davis Liu, M.D.--

Some patients love their vitamins, spending hundreds to thousands of dollars annually. At times, they will even forgo proven medical therapy. As more Americans go without health insurance coverage while others face higher office visits and copays, increasing numbers of patients are seeking alternative natural therapies instead of medical care. Are vitamins really the scientific breakthrough and secret that doctors refuse to recommend or are they simply marketing hype? As any medical school student will tell you, the correct answer to any question is: it depends.

For certain groups, pregnant women, patients with macular degeneration, and vegetarians, vitamins and minerals may be recommended as research finds them helpful. Prenatal vitamins have more folic acid which has been found to decrease the risk of neural tube defects in the fetus. Vegetarians may need to supplement their diet with vitamin B12, iron, and vitamin D, which are absent in their food choices.

Patients with history of gastric bypass should be on a multivitamin that contains iron and vitamin B12. The surgery, which is used to cause weight loss in morbidly obese patients, can bypass part of the digestive tract responsible for absorbing these nutrients.

Women of all ages should take calcium and vitamin D to improve bone density to decrease their future risk of osteoporosis. This means at least 1000 mg of Calcium daily and Vitamin D 800 to 1000 international units (IU) per day. Women over 50 should be taking 1500 mg of calcium day. A common misconception is that a multivitamin has enough calcium. It doesn't! A typical multivitamin has about 45mg of calcium (a glass of milk is about 300 mg).

Aside from these individuals, the result of us with a balanced diet should get the right amount of vitamins and minerals. You don't need the large mega-dose vitamin packs found at your local warehouse store or nutritional shop. Not only are they expensive but also unproven.

If you still feel like you can't get through life without taking vitamins, then at least be aware of the following:

Limit the amount of fat soluble vitamins that you ingest, specifically vitamins A, D, E, and K. Unlike water soluble vitamins which excess amounts are excreted by the kidneys, fat soluble vitamins can build up levels in the body.

Vitamin A - toxic levels begin at ingesting more than 50,000 IU daily. Upper limit of tolerable intake (what is considered the upper limit of normal but still safe) is 10,000 IU. Recommended daily allowance is 3,000 IU.

Vitamin D - upper limit is 2,000 IU. The current daily allowance is 600 IU. A new recommendation is expected in May 2010 by the Food and Nutrition Board. Vitamin D is obtained by the skin via sunlight exposure. With people indoors more often than generations ago and possibly the increased use of sunscreen, doctors are seeing more cases of vitamin D deficiency. Your doctor may prescribe a weekly dosage of 50,000 IU weekly for 3 months to replace. Low levels of vitamin D can cause muscle pains, so if a constant problem, ask your doctor to check your levels. (Cod liver oil, incidentally, is rich in vitamin D and is probably why growing up in Canada I had a lot of it during the winter.)

Vitamin E - recommended dosage is 22.4 IU with the upper limit of tolerable intake no more than 1500 IU. Some research suggested that there was increased mortality for those individuals taking more than 400 IU per day. Because of its antioxidant properties, researchers thought taking more was better. It wasn't.

Vitamin K - found in green leafy vegetables, it is the only fat soluble vitamin where there is no defined upper limit for toxicity. Overdose of vitamin K is rare.

Am I against vitamins? Of course not. For some patients in fact they are recommended. What I am against is, however, having individuals spend their hard earned money for therapies that aren't proven. Note that the FDA, under current legislation since 1994, has no oversight over nutritional supplements.

This is why all vitamin package inserts have the following statement:

* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Want to live well? A better insurance policy than vitamins is to not smoke, perform regular physical activity, take in five servings of fruits and vegetables, and possibly drinking alcohol in moderation (as a doctor I can't recommend that, but if you drink already, it might be ok). Researchers found individuals who did all four behaviors added 14 years to their lives. Why don't more of us these activities? They all take some effort. Swallowing vitamins are quicker and easier.

If I still haven't convinced you not to take unnecessary vitamins, then at least check with your doctor before stopping your medical therapies or adding supplements that can interfere with your treatment.

Finally, please avoid colon or total body cleanses. Sounds natural and healthy, but again aren't required. A product found at a large nutritional chain's special "anti-oxidant" formulation basically consists of fruits, vegetables, and fiber. You can do that yourself for a lot less and it probably tastes better too.

Davis Liu, MD, is a respected family physician, a healthcare educator and writer, and the author of Stay Healthy, Live Longer, Spend Wisely: Making Intelligent Choices in America's Healthcare System. He is a practicing board-certified family physician with the Permanente Medical Group in Northern California since 2000. Dr. Liu received his medical degree from the University of Connecticut School of Medicine, and graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. He completed his residency training at the Glendale Adventist Family Practice Residency Program.

Until healthcare reform improves the American healthcare system, he feels individuals today need to have the vital information necessary to ensure that they are doing the right things so that they and their families Stay Healthy, Live Longer, and Spend Wisely.

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Book Review: The Program: The Life-Changing 12-Week Method

2010-02-01T12:54:26Z

Reviewed by Dr. Joseph S. Maresca

This work is an excellent reference for life-long health planning and maintenance. Early in the book, the authors present a fairly comprehensive health risk assessment which covers the essentials of controlling vices, stress, lack of exercise, junk food etc.

Exercise is said to boost the metabolism by 20-30%. Core exercises are presented; such as, chest, abdomen, back, shoulders and thighs. Long term goals are formulated for fitness, stress reduction and nutrition.

The basic food groups are set forth. These are grains, fruits, veggies, meat, fish, poultry, good fats and sweets. Personally, I find that cinnamon, stevia and sugar- free candies are good substitutes for white sugar. In addition, a high quality probiotic formula will help to maintain general gastrointestinal health along with high fiber. Milk thistle can be a good liver tonic.

The BMI (body mass index) is discussed with the norm ranging betwen 18.5 and 24.9. Caloric expenditure is set forth. For instance, walking burns 200 or more calories. Weight lifting can burn up to 300 calories and running expends 350 calories. These facts comport with my own personal experience.

The maxim "Change your thoughts and you change your mind," is quoted from Dr. Normon Vincent Peale. The author advises to do away with anxiety and be less concerned with matters not under our direct control.

Stress is discussed at length. Stress can lead to increases in the heart rate, blood pressure increases, blood flow migration from the gut to the skeleton and increases in blood sugar. Fatigue also begets chronic inflammation .

From personal experience, you should check the C-reactive protein, SED rate and other markers for potential inflammatory states. These tests would be done in the blood chemistry in rhematology, cardiology or a comprehensive physical check-up.

The allergen blood panel is another place to examine for inflammation from foods we consume regularly. i.e. egg white IgE, cow's milk IgE, codfish IgE, wheat IgE, corn IgE, pea IgE, peanut IgE, soybean IgE, shrimp IgE, tomato IgE. Your gastroenterologist can order an upper endoscopy and colonoscopy to get more precise visual information pertinent to existing inflammations in the gastrointestinal tract and colon. The Pillcam is another useful tool which produces visual images in a video format.

Exercise, eating regularly, 8-9 hours of quality sleep, slowing down and nurturing yourself will help to de-stress. The authors cite a 3-hour window to break-up clots amd restore blood flow from strokes. In addition, I would ask about a Doppler test of the head/neck area to gain some assurance about the likelihood of a blood clot breaking up randomly. In addition, stroke prevention strategies include good diabetes care, low cholesterol, blood pressure monitoring and no smoking.

Diabetes may be controlled by diet via high fiber foods, veggies, non-fat yogurt, whole grain breads, quinoa, brown rice, beans, peas and lentils. Exercise is another condition precedent for controlling diabetes along with reduction of binge eating and trigger foods.

Much is said about weight loss and control. The authors advise to maintain a log, spread calories throughout the day, eat fruits and veggies, eat complex carbs and protein and control alcohol intake ideally. Remember, alcoholic beverages may contain high levels of sugar.

Overall, the acquisition of this book would be a worthy addition to any personal library.

Kelly Traver, MD received her medical degree from Stanford where she also specialized in Internal Medicine. During an additional year as chief resident she won the Excellence in Teaching award and currently serves as an adjunct clinical assistant professor of medicine at Stanford. Dr. Traver has been practicing medicine for more than seventeen years, but her background also includes research in biochemistry, teaching in a Stanford neuroanatomy lab and a brief public health study in South Africa while in medical school. She recently served as medical director at Google and is currently on the board for the Institute for the Future. Dr. Traver is the founder of Healthiest You, a company that works with corporations, health care organizations, and the government to help individuals become more empowered and engaged in their health.

The Program: The Brain Smart Approach To The Healthiest You (Atria Books/2009) by Dr. Kelly Traver MD and Betty Kelly Sargent

Book Review: Living Well Emotionally by Montel Williams

Antidepressants May Not Work For Those Mildly Or Moderately Depressed

2010-02-01T12:38:16Z

Sally Kneidel Ph.D.--

According to the CDC, about one in five Americans are affected by depression and/or anxiety. That seems about right to me, or maybe even a low estimate. Perhaps women talk about it more, but it seems to me at least half my close friends struggle with anxiety or depression at some point. It could be because it's February right now. You know, seasonal affective disorder, or SAD. SAD is depression brought on by the diminished daylight hours of winter. Check out the symptoms and solutions for season affective disorder. It's more common than I used to think.

What caught my attention recently, is a recent report about antidepressants. This report was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The authors of the study concluded that antidepressants don't seem to work well for people with mild or moderate symptoms of depression.

A questionnaire to rate degree of depression:

To back up for a moment, it turns out that pharmaceutical companies test their new antidepressants only on subjects who are severely or very severely depressed, because the tests are then more likely to show that the medicines are effective. In order to qualify for a clinical trial of a new antidepressant, a subject must score over 19 on a standardized test (the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale) that rates the degree of depression. A score of 20 or more qualifies you as severely or very severely depressed. I Photo Credit: Sally Kneidel, Ph.D.understand the pharmaceutical companies' perspective - they want their drugs to be approved by the FDA, so they pick the subjects most likely to improve when given the med being tested.

But is it ethical, to then claim that the medicine is effective for people with any degree of depression?

Perhaps not. Says Gregory Simon, a mental health researcher in Seattle, "About half the people treated by doctors fall into the moderate or even mild range."

Do antidepressants work better than placebos?

In the JAMA study referenced below, Fournier and DeRubeis and their colleagues compared depressed people taking an antidepressant with depressed people taking a placebo. They grouped their subjects according to their score on the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale. For subjects who scored less than 25 on the test, the antidepressants had no significant effect or only "a small effect" over the placebo. For subjects scoring higher than 25 on the test, the antidepressants did have "a clearly significant effect."

The authors of the JAMA article concluded that "the magnitude of benefit of antidepressant medication may be minimal or nonexistent, on average, in patients with mild or moderate symptoms."

So what does it mean? Should mildly or moderately depressed people be prescribed antidepressants? Is there any chance of their being significantly helped by the medications?

Dr. Philip Wang, deputy director of the National Institute of Mental Health, says that consumers with mild symptoms shouldn't necessarily be scared off drugs.

"They don't not work for everyone, and they don't work for everyone," Wang says. "I think buried within the group are people who do respond if they have mild or moderate depression." He recommends that doctors monitor patients who don't respond to meds, and offer then alternative treatments instead.

Wang sounds a bit evasive.

$9.5 billion in 2008 sales of antidepressants

One option for doubtful patients is to take the test, print this post, and show it to your doctor. Why take meds if they’re not helping? Most antidepressants have side effects that can be unpleasant….including sexual dysfunction, headaches, constipation, and stomach upset. Are we being bilked by the pharmaceutical companies? According to www.forbes.com, antidepressants were the third most popular type of drug dispensed in 2008, with $9.5 billion in sales! The strategies of the huge pharmaceutical companies are working, that much is clear. But then again…..when meds do help with depression, they can help a lot.

It’s hard to know for sure. I do know that we need more studies to tell us definitively if antidepressants can help mildly or moderately depressed people, who comprise a huge segment of our population.

Sources:

"Treatment works: get help for depression and anxiety". Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

www.cdc.gov

"What is seasonal affective disorder (SAD)?" www.WebMD.com

Jay C. Fournier, Robert J. DeRubeis et al. "Antidepressant drug effects and depression severity." Journal of the American Medical Association 303:47-53. January 6, 2010.

Alix Spiegel. "Meds may only help those with severe depression." All Things Considered, NPR. January 6, 2010.

Hamilton Depression Rating Scale

Rebecca Ruiz. "America's most medicated states." www.forbes.com 8/17/09

Sally Kneidel, PhD, is the author of eleven books on nature, conservation, and science topics. Two books from Fulcrum co-authored by Sally and Sadie Kneidel are Going Green: A Wise Consumer's Guide to a Shrinking Planet (May, 2008) and Veggie Revolution: Smart Choices for a Healthy Body and A Healthy Planet (Nov, 2005). Sally Kneidel can be found online at www.veggierevolution.blogspot.com and at SallyKneidel.com

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YinOva Cleanse 2010: Week 4

2010-01-28T14:22:59Z

Jill Blakeway, M.Sc, L.Ac.--

We’ve made it! Welcome to the fourth and final week of our YinOva Cleanse. I know from many of you that you are feeling much better. People tell me that they have more energy and that their friends and loved ones are commenting on how well they look. Almost all of us have noticed that our skin looks better. Those of us who needed to, have lost a few pounds. Like many of you I want to take the healthy eating habits we have developed and incorporate them into my daily life. So let’s commit to supporting each other as we make healthy nourishing food choices.

This cleanse started with a colon cleanse and moved on to a cleanse of our large digestive and filtering organs the liver and gall bladder. We then took herbs to help our bodies eliminate parasites and followed this with probiotics to repopulate our digestive flora. Last week we cleansed the kidneys and bladder and this week we culminate in a detox of our lymph and blood along with our skin.

The blood’s job is to nourish all the cells of the body. It delivers oxygen and other essential substances and picks up carbon dioxide and wastes and transports them to the elimination organs to be disposed of. As well as this role in transporting nutrition and waste the blood plays an important part in our body’s ability to defend itself. When we cut ourselves our blood forms a clot in order to prevent bleeding and when we are invaded by a pathogen the blood is our first line of defense. It is the liver’s job to make sure that the blood remains clean but if the liver is sluggish and not doing its job properly the blood attempts to rid itself of toxins through the skin. This can cause rashes and skin problems. That is why we cleanse our livers before we start this final stage and cleanse the blood.

Lymph is a watery fluid that moves throughout the body in lymphatic vessels. Lymph is important for fluid balance, it plays a role in removing waste and debris from the body and also attacks foreign invaders. Unlike blood which is pumped around the body, lymph’s progress through the vessels is slow as it relies on muscle contractions to move it through the body. As it slowly circulates lymph passes through nodes which act as filters, helping to destroy micro-organisms and debris.

To speed up the process of cleansing via the lymph it helps to go on a brisk walk or have a massage.

Here are some more detox recipes from my kitchen that Noah, Emma and I have enjoyed.

Tofu Scramble

During our month long cleanse I have mostly chosen grains and fruit for breakfast. Today my husband wanted a change so I put together this tofu scramble for a hearty breakfast without eggs. It got a thumbs up from Noah and so I thought I’d share it with you.

4 green onions, chopped
3 medium sized mushrooms, diced
1 tbsp olive oil
1 block of firm tofu
1 tomato, diced
1 tsp dried marjoram
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tbsp miso paste
2 tsp Bragg’s Liquid Aminos
1/4 cup water
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Heat the oil in a frying pan and add the mushrooms and green onions
Saute over a medium heat for 5 minutes
Add the tofu along with the marjoram, oregano, cumin, turmeric and cayenne
Squish the tofu with a wooden spoon until it is broken down and looks like curds
Add the water, miso, Bragg’s, and tomato and simmer over a medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally and adding more water if it starts to stick.
Taste and add salt and pepper if necessary.
Take off the heat and add the chopped cilantro and serve.

Split Pea Soup

I love split pea soup and usually use a ham hock to give mine flavor. For this version I added umeboshi paste and a sprinkling of smoked paprika and was pleased with the smoky salty flavor this gave it. Not quite the same as ham stock but not far off.

1 large onion, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large carrot, diced
1 stick celery, diced
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp marjoram
2 cups split peas, washed and drained
5 cups water
1 tbsp Better than Bouillon Vegetable stock
1 tsp umeboshi paste

To serve: Olive oil and a pinch of smoked paprika

In a large soup pot fry the onion in the olive oil over a medium heat until translucent.
Add the carrots, celery, thyme and marjoram and put a lid on the pan
Allow the vegetables to sweat over a low heat for 5 minutes to release their juices
Add split peas and water and bring to a boil
Add the vegetable stock and umeboshi paste and boil gently for 30 minutes or until the peas are soft
Using an immersion blender, blend the mixture briefly so that some of the vegetables break down and thicken the soup. Make sure to leave most of the vegetables intact though.
To serve sprinkle with smoked paprika and a swirl of olive oil

Jill Blakeway is a Licensed Acupuncturist and Board Certified Herbalist. A former Professor of Traditional Asian Medicine she is the coauthor of Making Babies: A Proven Three Month Program for Maximum Fertility and The Fertility Plan. She is the Clinic Director at the YinOva Center in New York City, which is a complementary medical center for women and children. www.yinovacenter.com

2010 YinOva Cleanse: Incorporating Gwyneth Paltrow's Miso

The YinOva Cleanse 2010: Week Two

The YinOva Cleanse 2010: Week Three

H1N1 2010: MD Anderson Lifts Visitor Restrictions On Children

2010-01-26T19:05:33Z

M. D. Anderson Lifts Visitor Restrictions for Children Under 12 Years Old; Flu Cases Continue to be Monitored as a Precaution

With the steady decrease in the number of H1N1 and seasonal flu cases in recent weeks, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center has lifted its visitation restriction for children 12 years and under, while all patients and visitors will continue to be monitored for symptoms.

Effective immediately, children 12 years and under once again will be permitted on campus in areas designated by M. D. Anderson's visitation policy (http://www.mdanderson.org/patient-and-cancer-information/guide-to-md-anderson/patient-and-family-support/visitation-policy.html)

The lift on the H1N1 policy allows the younger siblings and other relatives of patients in treatment at M. D. Anderson Children's Cancer Hospital to visit once again most areas of the pediatric inpatient floor and clinic, and it re-opens the Child Visitation Rooms which provide supervised child care.

M. D. Anderson will continue to monitor cases of H1N1 and seasonal flu, and should there be an increase at M. D. Anderson, in the Houston area or the United States, it may be necessary to reinstate the visitation policy restricting children.

M. D. Anderson staff will continue to monitor visitors and patients at the front desks of all clinics and hospital units for symptoms of respiratory infection. Any visitors with flu-like illness will be asked to leave the clinic or floor immediately, while patients with symptoms will be taken to a private exam area.

M. D. Anderson's visitation policy took effect Oct. 19, 2009 to reduce the risk of exposure of H1N1 and seasonal flu to its patients, caregivers, visitors and health care teams. The only exceptions to the policy were children who were patients in active treatment or who had appointments at M. D. Anderson Children's Cancer Hospital.

About M. D. Anderson

The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston ranks as one of the world's most respected centers focused on cancer patient care, research, education and prevention. M. D. Anderson is one of only 40 comprehensive cancer centers designated by the National Cancer Institute. For six of the past eight years, including 2009, M. D. Anderson has ranked No. 1 in cancer care in "America's Best Hospitals," a survey published annually in U.S. News & World Report.

(c)2009 The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center