Soaring blood sugar, diabetes and high cholesterol are all words most people don't want to hear, but what if you could manage them simply by eating a common spice?
Showing posts with label blood sugar. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blood sugar. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Monday, July 21, 2008
AyurGold - Maintain Optimal Blood Chemistry
AyurGold - Maintain Optimal Blood Chemistry: If you want to maximize your health or suffer from frequent urination, excessive thirst, unusual weight loss, increased fatigue, irritability, blurred vision, and extreme hunger which indicate you might be at risk for diabetes, there is proven help available. India's men and women have been reaping the powerful benefits of Ayurveda Medicine for the past 5,000 years! Read more about: AyurGold - Maintain Optimal Blood Chemistry
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Health Tip: What's an A1c Test?
(HealthDay News) - A hemoglobin A1c test is recommended for many diabetics several times per year. The test helps doctors see how well blood sugar has been controlled over the prior two or three months.
The University of Michigan Health System offers this additional information about the test:
The University of Michigan Health System offers this additional information about the test:
- The amount of hemoglobin A1c in your blood indicates how high your blood sugar has been over the past three months. This can help determine if medication, diet and other remedies prescribed by your doctor are working.
- The test should be done every three months, unless you have your sugar well- controlled. In that case, your doctor may suggest getting the test every six months.
- Test results can help predict the likelihood of diabetic complications, including heart disease, or damage to the eyes, kidneys or nervous system.
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Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Most Elderly Don't Get Good Medical Care: Study
(HealthDay News) -- The quality of care received by vulnerable elderly Medicare, Medicaid patients is barely acceptable, a team of U.S. researchers report.
Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, used quality of care measurements developed by the Assessing Care of Vulnerable Elders project to look at 43 specific types of care received by more than 100,000 community-dwelling people, average age 81, in 19 California counties between 1999 and 2000.
The study found that vulnerable elderly patients -- those at risk of death or functional decline -- received only 65 percent of tests and other diagnostic evaluations and treatments recommended for a number of illnesses and conditions, including diabetes and heart disease.
"Thirty-five percent of the medical care interventions they should have received were not provided, indicating significant room for improvement. We'd much rather have everything higher -- say, at least 90 percent," lead author Dr. David S. Zingmond, assistant professor of general internal medicine and health services research at UCLA's David Geffen School of Medicine, said in a prepared statement.
One specific example cited by Zingmond and his colleagues: Only 42 percent of patients with diabetes were tested to assess their blood sugar control or received an eye examination during the one-year period covered by the study.
The findings are published in the October issue of the journal Medical Care.
More information
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offers information about healthy aging for older adults.
Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, used quality of care measurements developed by the Assessing Care of Vulnerable Elders project to look at 43 specific types of care received by more than 100,000 community-dwelling people, average age 81, in 19 California counties between 1999 and 2000.
The study found that vulnerable elderly patients -- those at risk of death or functional decline -- received only 65 percent of tests and other diagnostic evaluations and treatments recommended for a number of illnesses and conditions, including diabetes and heart disease.
"Thirty-five percent of the medical care interventions they should have received were not provided, indicating significant room for improvement. We'd much rather have everything higher -- say, at least 90 percent," lead author Dr. David S. Zingmond, assistant professor of general internal medicine and health services research at UCLA's David Geffen School of Medicine, said in a prepared statement.
One specific example cited by Zingmond and his colleagues: Only 42 percent of patients with diabetes were tested to assess their blood sugar control or received an eye examination during the one-year period covered by the study.
The findings are published in the October issue of the journal Medical Care.
More information
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offers information about healthy aging for older adults.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Aerobic, Weight Training Combo Best Against Diabetes
(HealthDay News) -- Most people know that exercise can help beat type 2 diabetes, but one type of fitness regimen might work best, a new study shows.
Specifically, workouts that combine aerobic and resistance training exercises appear better at controlling blood sugar than either type of activity alone, researchers say.
The finding is new, because "most other studies have looked at just one kind of exercise, either aerobic or resistance," noted lead researcher Dr. Ronald J. Sigal, an associate professor of medicine and cardiac sciences at the University of Calgary, in Alberta, Canada.
The study is published in the Sept. 18 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.
As part of their research, Sigal's team evaluated 251 adults, ages 39 to 70, all with type 2 diabetes and not regular exercisers at the start of the study.
The participants were assigned to one of four groups: those who did 45 minutes of aerobic training three times a week, those who did 45 minutes of resistance (i.e., weight) training three times a week, those who did 45 minutes each of both forms of exercise three times a week, and those who did no exercise at all.
The aerobic group worked out on a treadmill or a bike at the gym; memberships were provided. The resistance group also worked out at the gym, with memberships provided, doing seven different exercises on weight machines.
Sigal's team evaluated changes in A1c values -- a measurement reflecting blood sugar concentrations -- over the previous two to three months. A1c is expressed as a percentage.
A decline of 1.0 percent in A1c value would be linked to a 15 percent to 20 percent decrease in risk of heart attack or stroke, the researchers explained, and a 25 percent to 40 percent decline in risk of complications linked to diabetes, such as eye disease or kidney disease.
As expected, blood sugar control improved in all the exercise groups. In those who did either aerobic or resistance, the A1c value declined by about 0.5 percent compared to the non-exercisers. Those who did both kinds of exercise had double that level of success, with their A1c value dropping by 0.97 percent compared to the non-exercising group. Non-exercisers experienced no change in their A1c values over the 26-week study.
The bottom line: "There is additional value to doing both resistance and aerobic exercise," according to Sigal.
He said the decrease of nearly one percent of A1c seen in the study "translates to a 15 to 20 percent reduction in risk of heart attack or stroke and a 25 to 40 percent reduced risk of other complications, such as retinopathy," an eye problem related to diabetes.
How does physical activity fight type 2 diabetes, the most common and obesity-linked form of the disease? According to Sigal, "exercise decreases insulin resistance. It makes the transport of glucose [blood sugar] more efficient."
Another expert said the study adds gives new information for people hoping to beat back diabetes.
"Basically, aerobic and resistance training both do very well, and the combination does even better," said Cathy Nonas, director of physical activity and nutrition for the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and a registered dietitian and certified diabetes educator.
But she said couch potatoes often need to ease into exercise to maintain a fitness regimen over time.
The study participants built up to their 45-minute fitness sessions, Nonas noted, and the combination group ended up doing about 4.5 hours of exercise a week -- an amount some might find daunting.
"I would never talk about 4.5 hours a week to someone who doesn't exercise at all," Nonas said. Rather, she encourages physical activity in any amount to start. "Anything you do is good," she said. Then, she encourages people to slowly build up their time.
"I think this is a very uplifting study," she added. "It says whatever you do will have an effect, and the more you do, the better the effect."
More information
To learn more about the benefits of exercise for diabetes, visit the American Diabetes Association.
Specifically, workouts that combine aerobic and resistance training exercises appear better at controlling blood sugar than either type of activity alone, researchers say.
The finding is new, because "most other studies have looked at just one kind of exercise, either aerobic or resistance," noted lead researcher Dr. Ronald J. Sigal, an associate professor of medicine and cardiac sciences at the University of Calgary, in Alberta, Canada.
The study is published in the Sept. 18 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.
As part of their research, Sigal's team evaluated 251 adults, ages 39 to 70, all with type 2 diabetes and not regular exercisers at the start of the study.
The participants were assigned to one of four groups: those who did 45 minutes of aerobic training three times a week, those who did 45 minutes of resistance (i.e., weight) training three times a week, those who did 45 minutes each of both forms of exercise three times a week, and those who did no exercise at all.
The aerobic group worked out on a treadmill or a bike at the gym; memberships were provided. The resistance group also worked out at the gym, with memberships provided, doing seven different exercises on weight machines.
Sigal's team evaluated changes in A1c values -- a measurement reflecting blood sugar concentrations -- over the previous two to three months. A1c is expressed as a percentage.
A decline of 1.0 percent in A1c value would be linked to a 15 percent to 20 percent decrease in risk of heart attack or stroke, the researchers explained, and a 25 percent to 40 percent decline in risk of complications linked to diabetes, such as eye disease or kidney disease.
As expected, blood sugar control improved in all the exercise groups. In those who did either aerobic or resistance, the A1c value declined by about 0.5 percent compared to the non-exercisers. Those who did both kinds of exercise had double that level of success, with their A1c value dropping by 0.97 percent compared to the non-exercising group. Non-exercisers experienced no change in their A1c values over the 26-week study.
The bottom line: "There is additional value to doing both resistance and aerobic exercise," according to Sigal.
He said the decrease of nearly one percent of A1c seen in the study "translates to a 15 to 20 percent reduction in risk of heart attack or stroke and a 25 to 40 percent reduced risk of other complications, such as retinopathy," an eye problem related to diabetes.
How does physical activity fight type 2 diabetes, the most common and obesity-linked form of the disease? According to Sigal, "exercise decreases insulin resistance. It makes the transport of glucose [blood sugar] more efficient."
Another expert said the study adds gives new information for people hoping to beat back diabetes.
"Basically, aerobic and resistance training both do very well, and the combination does even better," said Cathy Nonas, director of physical activity and nutrition for the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and a registered dietitian and certified diabetes educator.
But she said couch potatoes often need to ease into exercise to maintain a fitness regimen over time.
The study participants built up to their 45-minute fitness sessions, Nonas noted, and the combination group ended up doing about 4.5 hours of exercise a week -- an amount some might find daunting.
"I would never talk about 4.5 hours a week to someone who doesn't exercise at all," Nonas said. Rather, she encourages physical activity in any amount to start. "Anything you do is good," she said. Then, she encourages people to slowly build up their time.
"I think this is a very uplifting study," she added. "It says whatever you do will have an effect, and the more you do, the better the effect."
More information
To learn more about the benefits of exercise for diabetes, visit the American Diabetes Association.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Heart Disease a Risk Factor for Alzheimer's
(HealthDay News) -- There's more evidence that cardiovascular problems help drive Alzheimer's disease, scientists say, and that treating the heart might help protect the brain.
The findings "represent hope that interventions with well-known drugs can interfere with the disease's progression," said lead investigator Yan Deschaintre, a neurologist and research fellow at the University Regional Hospital Center in Lille, France.
In fact, cognitive impairment, as measured by a standard test, stayed in the low end of the mild range over 36 months for Alzheimer's patients who got treatments for both the neurological disease and their cardiovascular problems, the researchers reported.
In contrast, Alzheimer's patients with vascular trouble who did not receive these medications experienced declines in cognition that approached the severe level, Deschaintre's team found.
They were slated to present the findings Sunday at the Alzheimer Association's International Conference on Prevention of Dementia, in Washington, D.C.
According to the National Institute on Aging, about 4.5 million Americans have Alzheimer's disease. Rates rise steadily with age, and experts estimate that "nearly half of those 85 and older may have the disease." One recent study from the World Health Organization, released this week, warned that Alzheimer's -- which currently has no cure -- could affect 100 million people worldwide by 2050.
The new study was based on chart reviews of 891 French patients diagnosed with either Alzheimer's disease, cardiovascular disease plus Alzheimer's disease, or vascular dementia. The cognitive risk factors included in the study were high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, atherosclerotic disease and tobacco smoking.
Treatment was defined as receiving an antihypertensive drug, insulin or drugs to lower blood sugar, a cholesterol-lowering statin, or anti-clotting medications. The patients with Alzheimer's disease typically received medications aimed at temporarily curbing their symptomsthat included Aricept, Exelon or Reminyl.
Deschaintre's findings represent "pretty exciting work," because cardiovascular risk factors are "something we can do something about," said Dr. Sam Gandy, director of Emory University's Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases. Gandy also is chairman of the Alzheimer's Association's National Medical and Scientific Advisory Council.
The work done by Deschaintre's team is consistent "with what we've been hearing over the past three to five years" about vascular risk factors increasing the risk for Alzheimer's, Gandy said. The new study, "really nails that down by looking at the other side of the coin by establishing that treating vascular risk factors slows the progression of cognitive decline," he added.
He suggested that physicians begin to take vascular risk factors seriously as they treat patients with Alzheimer's. The vascular risk factors for early Alzheimer's patients "certainly should be treated" because it "seems to slow progression," Gandy said.
Another expert agreed.
The Lille results "reinforce the treatment guidelines for these vascular conditions, such as hypertension and diabetes, and emphasize that Alzheimer's and demented patients should be treated, too," said Hugh C. Hendrie, a professor of psychiatry at the Indiana University Medical School and a scientist at its Center for Aging Research.
However, Deschaintre and Hendrie both noted that physicians at times may not treat vascular risk factors in Alzheimer's patients, for a variety of reasons. For example, Alzheimer's disease often leaves patients apathetic, so they may neglect to tell their physicians about vascular symptoms, Hendrie said.
And Deschaintre noted that, in the clinic where the research was done, patients with Alzheimer's were less likely than other patients to be treated for vascular risk factors. The reverse was true, as well -- patients with vascular dementia were more likely to be treated for heart risk factors, but not for Alzheimer's.
But, "since the majority of patients have both Alzheimer's disease and cerebrovascular disease, and since patients with pure Alzheimer's do seem to benefit from treatment of vascular risk factors, the message is to treat both conditions rather than to focus only on one," he said.
Hendrie remained cautious about the scientific impact of Deschaintre's study, however. He said results from a clinical epidemiological study, such as the Lille research, aren't as conclusive or compelling as those from randomized, controlled clinical trials.
Two other studies scheduled for release at the Alzheimer's conference on Sunday also emphasized the role of the brain-body connection in cognitive impairment and dementia.
Weight loss may signal the onset of Alzheimer's, and the rate of weight loss could be early warning of dementia severity, according to a new review of data from what's known as the Nun's Study. That effort followed health outcomes for a group of 537 non-demented Catholic sisters, aged 75 to 102, for 10 years.
In the study, a team led by Dr. James Mortimer, a professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of South Florida, Tampa, found that unexplained weight loss late in life was often linked to Alzheimer's neuropathology in the brain and not to any change in eating habits linked to Alzheimer's.
Mortimer explained that, "early weight loss appears to result from the Alzheimer's disease process itself before that process leads to dementia. That's why it is a marker of impending dementia."
In a third study, a team from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., found an increased risk of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia among 70- to 89-year-olds who have had a carotid endarterectomy (surgical clearance of the carotid artery, which brings blood to the brain) or a stroke or "mini-stroke," also known as a transient ischemic attack (TIA).
In the study, the team compared the medical histories of 295 people with MCI and 590 age and sex-matched controls. "Elderly subjects who have had a carotid endarterectomy or stroke or TIA are about two times more likely to have MCI," lead researcher Dr. Rosebud O. Roberts, a Mayo epidemiologist, said in a prepared statement.
More information
For more on Alzheimer's disease, visit the Alzheimer's Association.
The findings "represent hope that interventions with well-known drugs can interfere with the disease's progression," said lead investigator Yan Deschaintre, a neurologist and research fellow at the University Regional Hospital Center in Lille, France.
In fact, cognitive impairment, as measured by a standard test, stayed in the low end of the mild range over 36 months for Alzheimer's patients who got treatments for both the neurological disease and their cardiovascular problems, the researchers reported.
In contrast, Alzheimer's patients with vascular trouble who did not receive these medications experienced declines in cognition that approached the severe level, Deschaintre's team found.
They were slated to present the findings Sunday at the Alzheimer Association's International Conference on Prevention of Dementia, in Washington, D.C.
According to the National Institute on Aging, about 4.5 million Americans have Alzheimer's disease. Rates rise steadily with age, and experts estimate that "nearly half of those 85 and older may have the disease." One recent study from the World Health Organization, released this week, warned that Alzheimer's -- which currently has no cure -- could affect 100 million people worldwide by 2050.
The new study was based on chart reviews of 891 French patients diagnosed with either Alzheimer's disease, cardiovascular disease plus Alzheimer's disease, or vascular dementia. The cognitive risk factors included in the study were high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, atherosclerotic disease and tobacco smoking.
Treatment was defined as receiving an antihypertensive drug, insulin or drugs to lower blood sugar, a cholesterol-lowering statin, or anti-clotting medications. The patients with Alzheimer's disease typically received medications aimed at temporarily curbing their symptomsthat included Aricept, Exelon or Reminyl.
Deschaintre's findings represent "pretty exciting work," because cardiovascular risk factors are "something we can do something about," said Dr. Sam Gandy, director of Emory University's Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases. Gandy also is chairman of the Alzheimer's Association's National Medical and Scientific Advisory Council.
The work done by Deschaintre's team is consistent "with what we've been hearing over the past three to five years" about vascular risk factors increasing the risk for Alzheimer's, Gandy said. The new study, "really nails that down by looking at the other side of the coin by establishing that treating vascular risk factors slows the progression of cognitive decline," he added.
He suggested that physicians begin to take vascular risk factors seriously as they treat patients with Alzheimer's. The vascular risk factors for early Alzheimer's patients "certainly should be treated" because it "seems to slow progression," Gandy said.
Another expert agreed.
The Lille results "reinforce the treatment guidelines for these vascular conditions, such as hypertension and diabetes, and emphasize that Alzheimer's and demented patients should be treated, too," said Hugh C. Hendrie, a professor of psychiatry at the Indiana University Medical School and a scientist at its Center for Aging Research.
However, Deschaintre and Hendrie both noted that physicians at times may not treat vascular risk factors in Alzheimer's patients, for a variety of reasons. For example, Alzheimer's disease often leaves patients apathetic, so they may neglect to tell their physicians about vascular symptoms, Hendrie said.
And Deschaintre noted that, in the clinic where the research was done, patients with Alzheimer's were less likely than other patients to be treated for vascular risk factors. The reverse was true, as well -- patients with vascular dementia were more likely to be treated for heart risk factors, but not for Alzheimer's.
But, "since the majority of patients have both Alzheimer's disease and cerebrovascular disease, and since patients with pure Alzheimer's do seem to benefit from treatment of vascular risk factors, the message is to treat both conditions rather than to focus only on one," he said.
Hendrie remained cautious about the scientific impact of Deschaintre's study, however. He said results from a clinical epidemiological study, such as the Lille research, aren't as conclusive or compelling as those from randomized, controlled clinical trials.
Two other studies scheduled for release at the Alzheimer's conference on Sunday also emphasized the role of the brain-body connection in cognitive impairment and dementia.
Weight loss may signal the onset of Alzheimer's, and the rate of weight loss could be early warning of dementia severity, according to a new review of data from what's known as the Nun's Study. That effort followed health outcomes for a group of 537 non-demented Catholic sisters, aged 75 to 102, for 10 years.
In the study, a team led by Dr. James Mortimer, a professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of South Florida, Tampa, found that unexplained weight loss late in life was often linked to Alzheimer's neuropathology in the brain and not to any change in eating habits linked to Alzheimer's.
Mortimer explained that, "early weight loss appears to result from the Alzheimer's disease process itself before that process leads to dementia. That's why it is a marker of impending dementia."
In a third study, a team from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., found an increased risk of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia among 70- to 89-year-olds who have had a carotid endarterectomy (surgical clearance of the carotid artery, which brings blood to the brain) or a stroke or "mini-stroke," also known as a transient ischemic attack (TIA).
In the study, the team compared the medical histories of 295 people with MCI and 590 age and sex-matched controls. "Elderly subjects who have had a carotid endarterectomy or stroke or TIA are about two times more likely to have MCI," lead researcher Dr. Rosebud O. Roberts, a Mayo epidemiologist, said in a prepared statement.
More information
For more on Alzheimer's disease, visit the Alzheimer's Association.
Monday, April 30, 2007
New Drug Counteracts Overeating
(HealthDay News) -- A pill might one day achieve the same calorie-burning effects of vigorous exercise.
It's possible, according to a scientist who's developed a potential weight-loss drug that revs up cellular metabolism, much like what happens during heavy physical activity.
In mice, the drug does "result in protection against weight gain on high-fat and high-caloric diets," said Ronald M. Evans, an investigator at The Salk Institute in San Diego. "We're very excited by the potential extension to people."
Of course, there's one big caveat: mice aren't people, and no one knows if the drug will allow ordinary folks to eat to their heart's content without gaining weight.
At stake is a medical solution for people who want to lose weight but either will not diet and exercise properly or can't lose enough weight that way. Diet pills have existed for decades, but they have significant side effects and aren't always effective.
One possible solution is to rev up the body's metabolism, the process whereby it turns food into energy. That's where Evans enters the picture.
He has developed a drug that uses chemicals to turn on a genetic switch in the body known as PPAR-d.
Evans is scheduled to talk about the drug Monday at Experimental Biology 2007, an annual scientific program of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, in Washington D.C.
When given the drug in the form of a liquid or powder, the bodies of mice appear to act as if they are exercising even when they aren't, causing their metabolism to speed up, Evans explained. "You then have lower fatty acid levels in your blood, lower triglyceride levels, and lower sugar levels," he said. "They all appear to be linked."
Mice who received the drug were also able to exercise twice as long, turning into what researchers calls "marathon mice."
But what about humans?
According to Evans, the drug could indeed become a "fat pill," although "anything like this will be more effective in the context of a healthy diet and exercise. If you want to get a maximum benefit, just doing it with the drugs alone will always be somewhat of a challenge."
Several companies are testing drugs that target the genetic switch in people, Evans said.
While an effective weight-loss pill is the "holy grail" of obesity research, there are plenty of reasons to be cautious about the new finding, said Leah Whigham, a research scientist who studies nutrition at the University of Wisconsin, in Madison.
"The most obvious caution is that this work is in mice, which are much different from humans and have different energy expenditure mechanisms. It remains to be seen if this research can translate into something useful for humans," she said.
Also, mice are much more similar to each other than humans. "Something that works in all mice of a given strain might not be as effective across a population of humans with differing genetic, ethnic, cultural environmental backgrounds," she explained.
Still, Whigham said, "that doesn't mean this research isn't very exciting. It is just very preliminary at this point."
More information
Learn more about obesity from the American Obesity Association.
It's possible, according to a scientist who's developed a potential weight-loss drug that revs up cellular metabolism, much like what happens during heavy physical activity.
In mice, the drug does "result in protection against weight gain on high-fat and high-caloric diets," said Ronald M. Evans, an investigator at The Salk Institute in San Diego. "We're very excited by the potential extension to people."
Of course, there's one big caveat: mice aren't people, and no one knows if the drug will allow ordinary folks to eat to their heart's content without gaining weight.
At stake is a medical solution for people who want to lose weight but either will not diet and exercise properly or can't lose enough weight that way. Diet pills have existed for decades, but they have significant side effects and aren't always effective.
One possible solution is to rev up the body's metabolism, the process whereby it turns food into energy. That's where Evans enters the picture.
He has developed a drug that uses chemicals to turn on a genetic switch in the body known as PPAR-d.
Evans is scheduled to talk about the drug Monday at Experimental Biology 2007, an annual scientific program of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, in Washington D.C.
When given the drug in the form of a liquid or powder, the bodies of mice appear to act as if they are exercising even when they aren't, causing their metabolism to speed up, Evans explained. "You then have lower fatty acid levels in your blood, lower triglyceride levels, and lower sugar levels," he said. "They all appear to be linked."
Mice who received the drug were also able to exercise twice as long, turning into what researchers calls "marathon mice."
But what about humans?
According to Evans, the drug could indeed become a "fat pill," although "anything like this will be more effective in the context of a healthy diet and exercise. If you want to get a maximum benefit, just doing it with the drugs alone will always be somewhat of a challenge."
Several companies are testing drugs that target the genetic switch in people, Evans said.
While an effective weight-loss pill is the "holy grail" of obesity research, there are plenty of reasons to be cautious about the new finding, said Leah Whigham, a research scientist who studies nutrition at the University of Wisconsin, in Madison.
"The most obvious caution is that this work is in mice, which are much different from humans and have different energy expenditure mechanisms. It remains to be seen if this research can translate into something useful for humans," she said.
Also, mice are much more similar to each other than humans. "Something that works in all mice of a given strain might not be as effective across a population of humans with differing genetic, ethnic, cultural environmental backgrounds," she explained.
Still, Whigham said, "that doesn't mean this research isn't very exciting. It is just very preliminary at this point."
More information
Learn more about obesity from the American Obesity Association.
Friday, December 15, 2006
What is the Cause of Cancer and Where Does it Begin?
During Week 2 of our Thursday night teleseminar we answered several questions. The following is an overview of those questons and answers.
1) What is the origin of cancer or where does cancer begin?
Cancerous tissue, above all other consequences of choice, has countless secondary causes.
But even for a cancerous condition there is only ONE PRIME ORIGIN and CAUSE.
I have simply summarized this origin and cause of cancerous tissue in a few words.
The prime origin and cause of cancerous tissue is the over-acidification of the blood then the tissues due to lifestyle and dietary choices.
A cancerous tissue begins with our choices of what we eat, what we drink, what we think and how we live. Cancer is a liquid and this liquid is a toxic waste product of metabolism or energy consumption.In 1966, Dr. Otto Warburg, who won the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1931 for his discovery of the cause of cancer delivered a lecture at an annual meeting of Nobelists at Lindau, Germany.
In his speech he described the primal cause of cancer as follows: "The prime cause of cancer is the replacement of the respiration of oxygen in normal body cells by a fermentation of sugar. All normal body cells meet their energy needs by respiration of oxygen, whereas cancer cells meet their energy needs in great part by fermentation.
All normal body cells are thus obligate aerobes, whereas all cancer cells are partial anaerobes. From the standpoint of the physics and chemistry of life this difference between nomal and cancer cells is so great that one can scarely picture a greater difference.
Oxygen gas, the donor of energy in plants and animals is dethroned in the cancer cells and replaced by an energy yielding reaction of the lowest living forms. namely, a fermentation of glucose."The following is a summary of understanding cancerous tissues:
Cancer is not a cell but a poisonous acidic liquid.A cancer cell, is a cell that has been spoiled or poisoned by metabolic or gastrointestinal acids.A tumor is the body's protective mechanism to encapsulate spoiled or poisoned cells from excess acid that has not been properly eliminated through urination, perspiration, defecation or respiration.
The tumor is the body's solution to protect healthy cells and tissues.
Cancer is a systemic acidic condition that settles at the weakest parts of the body -not a localized problem that metastases. Metastases is localized acids spoiling other cells much like a rotten apple spoiling a bushel of healthy apples.There is no such thing as a cancer cell.
A cancer cell was once a healthy cell that has been spoiled from acid.
The tumor is not the problem but the solution to protect healthy cells and tissues from being spoiled from other rotting cells and tissues.
The only solution to the acidic liquids that poison body cells causing the affect that medical savants call cancer is to alkalize and energize the body.
In conclusion, the human body is alkaline by design and acidic by function! If we desire a healthy body we must maintain that alkaline design.
2) Does diet and lifestyle have anything to do with cancer?
Absolutely!
Cancer is not something we get it is something we do as a consequence of daily choice of what we eat, what we drink, what we think and how we live.
We either have an alkaline lifestyle and diet and enjoy a fit and healthy body or we have an acidic lifestyle and diet and experience the aches, pains and suffering from metabolic acids.
The former US Surgeon General, C. Everett Koop, had this to say about diet:"YOUR CHOICE OF DIET CAN INFLUENCE YOUR LONG TERM HEALTH PROSPECTS MORE THAN ANY OTHER ACTION YOU MIGHT TAKE."
3) If cancer is preventable how do we prevent it?I have said many times that the cure for cancerous tissue will not be found in its treatment but in its prevention.
That prevention can only be obtained by making healthier lifestyle and dietary choices. A cancerous condition is the consequence of choice.
For example, if you want to reduce your risk for cancereous tissue of the lung by 100%, then stop smoking and stop associating or working around people that do smoke.
Secondary smoke is just as acidic and damaging to the lung tissue. If don't want a cancerous liver then stop drinking alcohol and carbonated drinks.
If you don't want a cancerous pancreas then stop eating the acid sugar. If you don't want a cancerous bowel then stop eating protein.
It is that simple. The following are a few research studies from around the world that substantiate my own findings:
Study: Human study at Harbin Medical College in China
Results: CABBAGE was the most important single food in reducing the risk of stomach cancer
Study: Italian study on SmokersResults: Smokers who consumed GREEN LEAFY and other VEGETABLES had a THREE FOLD REDUCTION in their risk of lung cancer with smokers who rarely ate vegetables.
Study: Hebel Cancer Institute in ChinaResults: GARLIC, ONION AND TOMATO had the ability to INHIBIT the CELL MUTATION caused by common chemotherapeutic drugs... this is based on conclusive evidence that chemotherapy drugs cause cell mutations and lead to other types of cancers later in life.
Study: Mayo Clinic
Results: Cancer patients receiving radiation therapy can benefit dramatically from optimal VEGETABLE based diets.Study: University of Athens School of Medicine in GreeceResults: Women who consumed the LOWEST level of vegetables had 10 TIMES the rate of BREAST CANCER compared to women consuming the HIGHEST level of vegetables.
Study: Human study in AustraliaResults: Consumption of CABBAGE, CARROTS AND GREEN LEAFY VEGETABLES substantial protection against COLON CANCER.Study: Aichi Cancer Institute of JapanResults: Eating VEGETABLES reduced the risk of CERVICAL and BREAST CANCER in women.Study: Cancer Control Agency of British ColumbiaResults: Eating VEGETABLES dramatically reduced incidence of BREAST CANCER.
4) If I have cancer, such as colon, lung, or prostate cancer can I reverse it naturally?The answer to this question is absolutely! Once you understand the cause of ALL cancerous tissues as latent tissue acidosis you can then begin the process of reversing, regenerating and preventing the consequences of acidic choices by making healthier alkaline choices.
The protocol for a healthier and energetic body, free from all sickness and dis-ease, is found in Chapter Eleven of our latest book, "The pH Miracle for Weight Loss."In closing, I would like to share with you my vision of medicine in the 21st century.
My vision of the relative purpose of medicine is to include prevention of illness and promotion of health and fitness rather than focusing all our attention on the diagnosis and treatment of disease. I believe the ultimate purpose of medicine is to help people discover something fundamental within themselves.
And that is the awareness that the true source of well-being, joy, and contentment that we all seek lies within one's mind and heart - the emotions and the spirit - not in the physical world. This is important, so we can all begin to be freed from the process of grasping for happiness in this physical world.
To support this approach, I believe we must begin to embrace a more spiritual vision of ourselves and of humanity as a whole. While providing great love, care and attention to the physical body, medicine can then and only then can we help people discover the nonphysical, spiritual dimensions of themselves.
When this happens, we can all live and work with less fear, stress, grasping to preserve the physical body at all costs - we can truly be free.
For more information on pH Miracle Living
1) What is the origin of cancer or where does cancer begin?
Cancerous tissue, above all other consequences of choice, has countless secondary causes.
But even for a cancerous condition there is only ONE PRIME ORIGIN and CAUSE.
I have simply summarized this origin and cause of cancerous tissue in a few words.
The prime origin and cause of cancerous tissue is the over-acidification of the blood then the tissues due to lifestyle and dietary choices.
A cancerous tissue begins with our choices of what we eat, what we drink, what we think and how we live. Cancer is a liquid and this liquid is a toxic waste product of metabolism or energy consumption.In 1966, Dr. Otto Warburg, who won the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1931 for his discovery of the cause of cancer delivered a lecture at an annual meeting of Nobelists at Lindau, Germany.
In his speech he described the primal cause of cancer as follows: "The prime cause of cancer is the replacement of the respiration of oxygen in normal body cells by a fermentation of sugar. All normal body cells meet their energy needs by respiration of oxygen, whereas cancer cells meet their energy needs in great part by fermentation.
All normal body cells are thus obligate aerobes, whereas all cancer cells are partial anaerobes. From the standpoint of the physics and chemistry of life this difference between nomal and cancer cells is so great that one can scarely picture a greater difference.
Oxygen gas, the donor of energy in plants and animals is dethroned in the cancer cells and replaced by an energy yielding reaction of the lowest living forms. namely, a fermentation of glucose."The following is a summary of understanding cancerous tissues:
Cancer is not a cell but a poisonous acidic liquid.A cancer cell, is a cell that has been spoiled or poisoned by metabolic or gastrointestinal acids.A tumor is the body's protective mechanism to encapsulate spoiled or poisoned cells from excess acid that has not been properly eliminated through urination, perspiration, defecation or respiration.
The tumor is the body's solution to protect healthy cells and tissues.
Cancer is a systemic acidic condition that settles at the weakest parts of the body -not a localized problem that metastases. Metastases is localized acids spoiling other cells much like a rotten apple spoiling a bushel of healthy apples.There is no such thing as a cancer cell.
A cancer cell was once a healthy cell that has been spoiled from acid.
The tumor is not the problem but the solution to protect healthy cells and tissues from being spoiled from other rotting cells and tissues.
The only solution to the acidic liquids that poison body cells causing the affect that medical savants call cancer is to alkalize and energize the body.
In conclusion, the human body is alkaline by design and acidic by function! If we desire a healthy body we must maintain that alkaline design.
2) Does diet and lifestyle have anything to do with cancer?
Absolutely!
Cancer is not something we get it is something we do as a consequence of daily choice of what we eat, what we drink, what we think and how we live.
We either have an alkaline lifestyle and diet and enjoy a fit and healthy body or we have an acidic lifestyle and diet and experience the aches, pains and suffering from metabolic acids.
The former US Surgeon General, C. Everett Koop, had this to say about diet:"YOUR CHOICE OF DIET CAN INFLUENCE YOUR LONG TERM HEALTH PROSPECTS MORE THAN ANY OTHER ACTION YOU MIGHT TAKE."
3) If cancer is preventable how do we prevent it?I have said many times that the cure for cancerous tissue will not be found in its treatment but in its prevention.
That prevention can only be obtained by making healthier lifestyle and dietary choices. A cancerous condition is the consequence of choice.
For example, if you want to reduce your risk for cancereous tissue of the lung by 100%, then stop smoking and stop associating or working around people that do smoke.
Secondary smoke is just as acidic and damaging to the lung tissue. If don't want a cancerous liver then stop drinking alcohol and carbonated drinks.
If you don't want a cancerous pancreas then stop eating the acid sugar. If you don't want a cancerous bowel then stop eating protein.
It is that simple. The following are a few research studies from around the world that substantiate my own findings:
Study: Human study at Harbin Medical College in China
Results: CABBAGE was the most important single food in reducing the risk of stomach cancer
Study: Italian study on SmokersResults: Smokers who consumed GREEN LEAFY and other VEGETABLES had a THREE FOLD REDUCTION in their risk of lung cancer with smokers who rarely ate vegetables.
Study: Hebel Cancer Institute in ChinaResults: GARLIC, ONION AND TOMATO had the ability to INHIBIT the CELL MUTATION caused by common chemotherapeutic drugs... this is based on conclusive evidence that chemotherapy drugs cause cell mutations and lead to other types of cancers later in life.
Study: Mayo Clinic
Results: Cancer patients receiving radiation therapy can benefit dramatically from optimal VEGETABLE based diets.Study: University of Athens School of Medicine in GreeceResults: Women who consumed the LOWEST level of vegetables had 10 TIMES the rate of BREAST CANCER compared to women consuming the HIGHEST level of vegetables.
Study: Human study in AustraliaResults: Consumption of CABBAGE, CARROTS AND GREEN LEAFY VEGETABLES substantial protection against COLON CANCER.Study: Aichi Cancer Institute of JapanResults: Eating VEGETABLES reduced the risk of CERVICAL and BREAST CANCER in women.Study: Cancer Control Agency of British ColumbiaResults: Eating VEGETABLES dramatically reduced incidence of BREAST CANCER.
4) If I have cancer, such as colon, lung, or prostate cancer can I reverse it naturally?The answer to this question is absolutely! Once you understand the cause of ALL cancerous tissues as latent tissue acidosis you can then begin the process of reversing, regenerating and preventing the consequences of acidic choices by making healthier alkaline choices.
The protocol for a healthier and energetic body, free from all sickness and dis-ease, is found in Chapter Eleven of our latest book, "The pH Miracle for Weight Loss."In closing, I would like to share with you my vision of medicine in the 21st century.
My vision of the relative purpose of medicine is to include prevention of illness and promotion of health and fitness rather than focusing all our attention on the diagnosis and treatment of disease. I believe the ultimate purpose of medicine is to help people discover something fundamental within themselves.
And that is the awareness that the true source of well-being, joy, and contentment that we all seek lies within one's mind and heart - the emotions and the spirit - not in the physical world. This is important, so we can all begin to be freed from the process of grasping for happiness in this physical world.
To support this approach, I believe we must begin to embrace a more spiritual vision of ourselves and of humanity as a whole. While providing great love, care and attention to the physical body, medicine can then and only then can we help people discover the nonphysical, spiritual dimensions of themselves.
When this happens, we can all live and work with less fear, stress, grasping to preserve the physical body at all costs - we can truly be free.
For more information on pH Miracle Living
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
How Does Obesity Cause Diabetes?
Although it has been discovered that obesity plays a role in the onset of type 2 diabetes, scientists aren't certain how the excess weight triggers the disease.
What scientists do know is that obesity causes stress in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), a system of cell membranes found inside cells. This stress results in the suppression of the signals of insulin receptors, leading to insulin resistance. Insulin is a hormone that converts blood sugar to energy.
The ER has been compared to a synthetic machine of a cell, responsible for processing proteins and fats. Scientists have also referred to the ER as a factory for producing protein, as well as the site where excess blood fats are processed.
When the body is bombarded with nutrients the following occurs:
What scientists do know is that obesity causes stress in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), a system of cell membranes found inside cells. This stress results in the suppression of the signals of insulin receptors, leading to insulin resistance. Insulin is a hormone that converts blood sugar to energy.
The ER has been compared to a synthetic machine of a cell, responsible for processing proteins and fats. Scientists have also referred to the ER as a factory for producing protein, as well as the site where excess blood fats are processed.
When the body is bombarded with nutrients the following occurs:
- Nutrients must be processed, stored and utilized
- The ER factory becomes overworked and starts sending SOS signals
- SOS signals tell the cells to dampen their insulin receptors
The ER restrains normal responses to insulin - Insulin can no longer clear sugar from the body
Another downfall of ER stress, besides obesity, is that it triggers inflammation in cells. This inflammation can be linked to heart disease.
Studies have revealed that if people can find a way to reduce ER stress, generate less ER stress or find a way for the body to handle stress more efficiently, type 2 diabetes might be easier to manage.
Science October 15, 2004;306(5695):425-6
Leptin: How Diabetes and Obesity Are Linked
Like two peas in a pod, the obesity and type 2 diabetes epidemics have joined forces in an attempt to ravage America's health ... and it's working, as hundreds of millions of people have been significantly affected by this deadly pair.
But how are these two epidemics intertwined?
Popular belief is that if one eats too much sugar, they'll get fat and develop diabetes; and, if they don't get diabetes it's merely because their body is producing enough insulin to keep up with the sugar. However, researchers have discovered evidence that there's more to the obesity-diabetes connection than this classic way of thinking: The missing link? Leptin.
Mice Studies Shed Light on the Subject
Research on mice has suggested that leptin is the key, as it regulates blood sugar through two different brain-body passageways:
But how are these two epidemics intertwined?
Popular belief is that if one eats too much sugar, they'll get fat and develop diabetes; and, if they don't get diabetes it's merely because their body is producing enough insulin to keep up with the sugar. However, researchers have discovered evidence that there's more to the obesity-diabetes connection than this classic way of thinking: The missing link? Leptin.
Mice Studies Shed Light on the Subject
Research on mice has suggested that leptin is the key, as it regulates blood sugar through two different brain-body passageways:
- One: Responsible for controlling appetite and fat storage
- Two: Responsible for telling the liver what to do with its stored glucose
While it was previously found that disrupting the appetite-controlling passageway leads to obesity (which significantly increases the risk of diabetes), results of the study indicated that it likely takes disruptions in both of leptin's passageways to trigger full-blown diabetes.
Mice used in the study were genetically modified to disable what is known as the leptin-STAT3 cell-signaling passageway that leads from the brain to the body.
This s/s strain of mice was still able to produce leptin and the receptor it attaches to when sending STAT3 signals in the body.
Further, after eating too much and becoming obese, s/s mice did not develop diabetes; however, other strains of mice that did not produce leptin or have receptors became obese, developed diabetes and died.
Therefore, even when disrupting the leptin-STAT3 signal, the s/s mice were still able to keep their glucose under control, suggesting the likelihood of a brain-liver signaling passageway responsible for regulating blood sugar.
Cell Metabolism March 2005; Vol 1, 169-178 (Free Full-Text Article)
Newswise Mar 16, 2005
Cholesterol is NOT the Cause of Heart Disease
By Ron Rosedale, MD
Cholesterol is not the major culprit in heart disease or any disease. If it becomes oxidized it can irritate/inflame tissues in which it is lodged in, such as the endothelium (lining of the arteries). This would be one of numerous causes of chronic inflammation that can injure the lining of arteries. However, many good fats are easily oxidized such as omega-3 fatty acids, but it does not mean that you should avoid it at all costs.
Common sense would indicate that we should avoid the oxidation (rancidity) of cholesterol and fatty acids and not get rid of important life-giving molecules. Using the same conventional medical thinking that is being used for cholesterol would lead one to believe that doctors should reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease by taking out everybody's brain.
In fact, cholesterol is being transported to tissues as part of an inflammatory response that is there to repair damage.
The fixation on cholesterol as a major cause of heart disease defies the last 15 years of science and deflects from real causes such as the damage (via glycation) that sugars such as glucose and fructose inflict on tissues, including the lining of arteries, causing chronic inflammation and resultant plaque.
Insulin & Leptin Resistance
Hundreds of excellent scientific articles have linked insulin resistance and more recently leptin resistance to cardiovascular disease much more strongly than cholesterol, and they are in fact at least partially responsible for cholesterol abnormalities. For instance, insulin and leptin resistance result in "small dense" LDL particles and a greater number of particles.
This is much more important than the total cholesterol number. Because of particle size shift to small and dense, the total LDL cholesterol could still be low even though the number of particles and the density of the particles is greater.
Small, dense LDL particles can squeeze between the cells lining the inside of the arteries, the "gap junction" of the endothelium, where they can get stuck and potentially oxidize, turn rancid, and cause inflammation of the lining of the arteries and plaque formation.
Importantly, many solid scientific studies have shown a mechanistic, causal effect of elevated insulin and leptin on heart and vascular disease, whereas almost all studies with cholesterol misleadingly only show an association. Association does not imply cause. For instance, something else may be causing lipid abnormalities such as elevated cholesterol and triglycerides, and also causing heart disease.
This "something else" is improper insulin and leptin signaling. Similarly, sugar does not cause diabetes; sugar is just listening to orders. Improper insulin and leptin signaling is the cause of diabetes. Likewise, cholesterol does not cause heart disease, but improper metabolic signals including improper signals to cholesterol (causing it to oxidize) and perhaps to the liver that manufactures the cholesterol, will cause heart and vascular disease and hypertension.
Removing cholesterol will do nothing to improve the underlying problems, the real roots of chronic disease, which will always have to do with improper communication, and the generals of metabolic communication are insulin and leptin.
They are really what must be treated to reverse heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, obesity, and to some extent aging itself.
Cholesterol; Wrongly Accused?
Before we can begin to talk about the real cause and effective treatment for heart and blood vessel disease, we must first look at what is known, or I should say what we think we know.
The first thing that comes to mind when one hears about heart disease is almost always cholesterol.
Cholesterol and heart disease has been almost synonymous for the last half-century.
Cholesterol has been portrayed as the Darth Vader to our arteries and our heart.
The latest recommendation given by a so-called panel of "experts" recommends that a person's cholesterol be as low as possible, in fact to a level so low they say it cannot be achieved by diet, exercise, or any known lifestyle modification.
Therefore, they say cholesterol-lowering drugs; particularly the so-called "statins" need to be given to anyone at high risk of heart disease.
Since heart disease is the number one killer in this country that would include most adults and even many children. The fact that this might add to the $26 billion in sales of statin drugs last year I'm sure played no role in their recommendations.
Or did it?
Expert Conflict of Interests
Major consumer groups think so. They found out that eight of the nine "experts" that made the recommendations were on the payroll of pharmaceutical companies that manufacture those drugs. Major scientific organizations have chastised medical journals for allowing the pharmaceutical industry to publish misleading results and half-truths.
There is a major push under way to force the pharmaceutical industry (and others) to publish results of all of their studies, and not just the ones that appear positive. The studies that showed negative results would be forced to be published also.
It could be that lowering cholesterol might not be as healthy as we are being told. More and more studies are coming out showing just how unhealthy lowering cholesterol might be, particularly by the use of statin drugs. In particular, statin drugs have been shown to be harmful to muscles causing considerable damage. A common symptom of this damage is muscular aches and pains that many patients experience on cholesterol-lowering drugs, however most do not realize that these drugs are to blame.
Hmm...isn't the heart a muscle?
Statin Drugs Actually Increase Heart Disease
Indeed, low cholesterol levels have been shown to worsen patients with congestive heart failure, a life-threatening condition where the heart becomes too weak to effectively pump blood. Statin drugs have been shown to also cause nerve damage and to greatly impair memory. One reason that statin drugs have these various serious side effects is that they work by inhibiting a vital enzyme that manufactures cholesterol in the liver.
However, the same enzyme is used to manufacture coenzyme Q10, which is a biochemical needed to transfer energy from food to our cells to be used for the work of staying alive and healthy.
Statin drugs are known to inhibit our very important production of coenzyme Q10.
Importantly, while many cardiologists insist that lowering cholesterol is correlated with a reduction in the risk of heart attacks; few can say that there is a reduction in the risk of mortality (death).
That has been much harder to show. In other words it has never been conclusively shown that lowering cholesterol saves lives. In fact, several large studies have shown that lowering cholesterol into the range currently recommended is correlated with an increased risk of dying, especially of cancer.
No Such Thing as Good and Bad Cholesterol
Because the correlation of total cholesterol with heart disease is so weak, many years ago a stronger correlation was sought. It was found that there is so-called "good cholesterol" called HDL, and that the so-called "bad cholesterol" was LDL. HDL stands for high-density lipoprotein, and LDL stands for low-density lipoprotein.
Notice please that LDL and HDL are lipoproteins -- fats combined with proteins. There is only one cholesterol. There is no such thing as a good or a bad cholesterol.
Cholesterol is just cholesterol. It combines with other fats and proteins to be carried through the bloodstream, since fat and our watery blood do not mix very well.
Fatty substances therefore must be shuttled to and from our tissues and cells using proteins. LDL and HDL are forms of proteins and are far from being just cholesterol. In fact we now know there are many types of these fat and protein particles.
LDL particles come in many sizes and large LDL particles are not a problem. Only the so-called small dense LDL particles can potentially be a problem, because they can squeeze through the lining of the arteries and if they oxidize, otherwise known as turning rancid, they can cause damage and inflammation.
Thus, you might say that there is "good LDL" and "bad LDL." Also, some HDL particles are better than others. Knowing just your total cholesterol tells you very little. Even knowing your LDL and HDL levels do not tell you very much.
A mistake that is rarely made in the hard-core sciences such as physics seems to be frequently made in medicine. This is confusing correlation with cause. There may be a weak correlation of elevated cholesterol with heart attacks, however this does not mean it is the cholesterol that caused the heart attack. Certainly gray hair is correlated with getting older;
however one could hardly say that the gray hair caused one to get old. Using hair dye to reduce the gray hair would not really make you any younger. Neither it appears would just lowering your cholesterol.
Perhaps something else is causing both the gray hair and aging. Even if elevated cholesterol were significant and heart disease (which I question) perhaps something else is causing the elevated cholesterol and also causing the heart disease.
Let's look little more at cholesterol or, as Paul Harvey was fond of saying, "the rest of the story." First and foremost, cholesterol is a vital component of every cell membrane on Earth. In other words, there is no life on Earth they can live without cholesterol. They will automatically tell you that, in of itself, it cannot be evil. In fact it is one of our best friends.
We would not be here without it. No wonder lowering cholesterol too much increases one's risk of dying. Cholesterol also is a precursor to all of the steroid hormones. You cannot make estrogen, testosterone, cortisone, and a host of other vital hormones without cholesterol.
Cholesterol Is The Hero, Not The Villain.
It was determined many years ago that the majority of cholesterol in your bloodstream comes from what your liver is manufacturing and distributing. The amount of cholesterol that one eats plays little role in determining your cholesterol levels.
It is also known that HDL shuttles cholesterol away from tissues, and away from your arteries, back to your liver. That is why HDL is called the "good cholesterol;" because it is supposedly taking cholesterol away from your arteries. But let's think about that.
Why does your liver make sure that you have plenty of cholesterol?
Why is HDL taking cholesterol back to your liver?
Why not take it right to your kidneys, or your intestines to get rid of it?
It is taking it back to your liver so that your liver can recycle it; put it back into other particles to be taken to tissues and cells that need it. Your body is trying to make and conserve the cholesterol for the precise reason that it is so important, indeed vital, for health.
One function of cholesterol is to keep your cell membranes from falling apart. As such, you might consider cholesterol your cells "superglue." It is a necessary ingredient in any sort of cellular repair. The coronary disease associated with heart attacks is now known to be caused from damage to the lining of those arteries. That damage causes inflammation. The coronary disease that causes heart attacks is now considered to be caused mostly from chronic inflammation.
What Is Inflammation?
Think of what happens if you were to cut your hand. Within a fraction of a second, chemicals are released by the damaged tissue to initiate the process known as inflammation. Inflammation will allow that little cut to heal, and indeed to keep you from dying.
The cut blood vessels constrict to keep you from bleeding too much. Blood becomes "thicker" so that it can clot. Cells and chemicals from the immune system are alerted to come to the area to keep intruders such as viruses and bacteria from invading the cut.
Other cells are told to multiply to repair the damage so that you can heal. When the repair is completed, you have lived to be careless another day, though you may have a small scar to show for your troubles.
We now know that similar events take place within the lining of our arteries. When damage occurs to the lining of our arteries (or even elsewhere) chemicals are released to initiate the process of inflammation. Arteries constrict, blood becomes more prone to clot, white blood cells are called to the area to gobble up damaged debris, and cells adjacent to those damaged are told to multiply. Ultimately, scars form, however inside our arteries we call it plaque. And the constriction of our arteries and the "thickening" of our blood further predisposes us to high blood pressure and heart attacks.
So Where Might Cholesterol Fit Into All Of This?
When damage is occurring and inflammation is being initiated, chemicals are being released so that that damage can be repaired. One could speculate that to replace damaged, old and worn-out cells the liver needs to be notified to either recycle or manufacture cholesterol since no cell, human or otherwise, can be made without it. In this case, cholesterol is being manufactured and distributed in your bloodstream to help you repair damaged tissue and in fact to keep you alive.
If excessive damage is occurring such that it is necessary to distribute extra cholesterol through the bloodstream, it would not seem very wise to merely lower the cholesterol and forget about why it is there in the first place. It would seem much smarter to reduce the extra need for the cholesterol -- the excessive damage that is occurring, the reason for the chronic inflammation.
So Why Take Cholesterol-Lowering Drugs?
The pharmaceutical companies thought that you might think that. They went back to the drawing board. They did more "research" and found (coincidentally) that statin drugs had anti-inflammatory effects. Therefore we're currently being told to stay on our cholesterol-lowering drugs because now they work by reducing inflammation and perhaps not even by reducing cholesterol, and in fact perhaps in spite of it. Aspirin reduces inflammation for a lot less money. So does vitamin E, and fish oil, and dietary changes without the dangers of drugs and having many other benefits instead.
What About Triglycerides?
Triglycerides are just medical terminology for fat. A person with high triglycerides has a lot of fat in the bloodstream. Triglycerides are generally measured when a person has fasted overnight. High fasting triglycerides are either from manufacturing too much, or using (burning) too little. In other words, what high triglycerides are telling you is that you are making too much fat and you are unable to burn it. This indeed is a major problem. The inability to burn fat underlies virtually all of the chronic diseases of aging, and in fact may contribute to the rate of aging itself.
As such, one might think that the control of fat burning and storage might be very important in heart disease, and the other diseases of aging such as diabetes, obesity, osteoporosis, and even cancer. Indeed, this appears to very much be the case. The two hormones that to a major extent control our ability to burn and store fat, insulin and leptin, appear to play a major role in all of the chronic diseases of aging. I would call them the most important hormones, indeed chemicals in the entire body. But that is a story for next time.
Cholesterol is not the major culprit in heart disease or any disease. If it becomes oxidized it can irritate/inflame tissues in which it is lodged in, such as the endothelium (lining of the arteries). This would be one of numerous causes of chronic inflammation that can injure the lining of arteries. However, many good fats are easily oxidized such as omega-3 fatty acids, but it does not mean that you should avoid it at all costs.
Common sense would indicate that we should avoid the oxidation (rancidity) of cholesterol and fatty acids and not get rid of important life-giving molecules. Using the same conventional medical thinking that is being used for cholesterol would lead one to believe that doctors should reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease by taking out everybody's brain.
In fact, cholesterol is being transported to tissues as part of an inflammatory response that is there to repair damage.
The fixation on cholesterol as a major cause of heart disease defies the last 15 years of science and deflects from real causes such as the damage (via glycation) that sugars such as glucose and fructose inflict on tissues, including the lining of arteries, causing chronic inflammation and resultant plaque.
Insulin & Leptin Resistance
Hundreds of excellent scientific articles have linked insulin resistance and more recently leptin resistance to cardiovascular disease much more strongly than cholesterol, and they are in fact at least partially responsible for cholesterol abnormalities. For instance, insulin and leptin resistance result in "small dense" LDL particles and a greater number of particles.
This is much more important than the total cholesterol number. Because of particle size shift to small and dense, the total LDL cholesterol could still be low even though the number of particles and the density of the particles is greater.
Small, dense LDL particles can squeeze between the cells lining the inside of the arteries, the "gap junction" of the endothelium, where they can get stuck and potentially oxidize, turn rancid, and cause inflammation of the lining of the arteries and plaque formation.
Importantly, many solid scientific studies have shown a mechanistic, causal effect of elevated insulin and leptin on heart and vascular disease, whereas almost all studies with cholesterol misleadingly only show an association. Association does not imply cause. For instance, something else may be causing lipid abnormalities such as elevated cholesterol and triglycerides, and also causing heart disease.
This "something else" is improper insulin and leptin signaling. Similarly, sugar does not cause diabetes; sugar is just listening to orders. Improper insulin and leptin signaling is the cause of diabetes. Likewise, cholesterol does not cause heart disease, but improper metabolic signals including improper signals to cholesterol (causing it to oxidize) and perhaps to the liver that manufactures the cholesterol, will cause heart and vascular disease and hypertension.
Removing cholesterol will do nothing to improve the underlying problems, the real roots of chronic disease, which will always have to do with improper communication, and the generals of metabolic communication are insulin and leptin.
They are really what must be treated to reverse heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, obesity, and to some extent aging itself.
Cholesterol; Wrongly Accused?
Before we can begin to talk about the real cause and effective treatment for heart and blood vessel disease, we must first look at what is known, or I should say what we think we know.
The first thing that comes to mind when one hears about heart disease is almost always cholesterol.
Cholesterol and heart disease has been almost synonymous for the last half-century.
Cholesterol has been portrayed as the Darth Vader to our arteries and our heart.
The latest recommendation given by a so-called panel of "experts" recommends that a person's cholesterol be as low as possible, in fact to a level so low they say it cannot be achieved by diet, exercise, or any known lifestyle modification.
Therefore, they say cholesterol-lowering drugs; particularly the so-called "statins" need to be given to anyone at high risk of heart disease.
Since heart disease is the number one killer in this country that would include most adults and even many children. The fact that this might add to the $26 billion in sales of statin drugs last year I'm sure played no role in their recommendations.
Or did it?
Expert Conflict of Interests
Major consumer groups think so. They found out that eight of the nine "experts" that made the recommendations were on the payroll of pharmaceutical companies that manufacture those drugs. Major scientific organizations have chastised medical journals for allowing the pharmaceutical industry to publish misleading results and half-truths.
There is a major push under way to force the pharmaceutical industry (and others) to publish results of all of their studies, and not just the ones that appear positive. The studies that showed negative results would be forced to be published also.
It could be that lowering cholesterol might not be as healthy as we are being told. More and more studies are coming out showing just how unhealthy lowering cholesterol might be, particularly by the use of statin drugs. In particular, statin drugs have been shown to be harmful to muscles causing considerable damage. A common symptom of this damage is muscular aches and pains that many patients experience on cholesterol-lowering drugs, however most do not realize that these drugs are to blame.
Hmm...isn't the heart a muscle?
Statin Drugs Actually Increase Heart Disease
Indeed, low cholesterol levels have been shown to worsen patients with congestive heart failure, a life-threatening condition where the heart becomes too weak to effectively pump blood. Statin drugs have been shown to also cause nerve damage and to greatly impair memory. One reason that statin drugs have these various serious side effects is that they work by inhibiting a vital enzyme that manufactures cholesterol in the liver.
However, the same enzyme is used to manufacture coenzyme Q10, which is a biochemical needed to transfer energy from food to our cells to be used for the work of staying alive and healthy.
Statin drugs are known to inhibit our very important production of coenzyme Q10.
Importantly, while many cardiologists insist that lowering cholesterol is correlated with a reduction in the risk of heart attacks; few can say that there is a reduction in the risk of mortality (death).
That has been much harder to show. In other words it has never been conclusively shown that lowering cholesterol saves lives. In fact, several large studies have shown that lowering cholesterol into the range currently recommended is correlated with an increased risk of dying, especially of cancer.
No Such Thing as Good and Bad Cholesterol
Because the correlation of total cholesterol with heart disease is so weak, many years ago a stronger correlation was sought. It was found that there is so-called "good cholesterol" called HDL, and that the so-called "bad cholesterol" was LDL. HDL stands for high-density lipoprotein, and LDL stands for low-density lipoprotein.
Notice please that LDL and HDL are lipoproteins -- fats combined with proteins. There is only one cholesterol. There is no such thing as a good or a bad cholesterol.
Cholesterol is just cholesterol. It combines with other fats and proteins to be carried through the bloodstream, since fat and our watery blood do not mix very well.
Fatty substances therefore must be shuttled to and from our tissues and cells using proteins. LDL and HDL are forms of proteins and are far from being just cholesterol. In fact we now know there are many types of these fat and protein particles.
LDL particles come in many sizes and large LDL particles are not a problem. Only the so-called small dense LDL particles can potentially be a problem, because they can squeeze through the lining of the arteries and if they oxidize, otherwise known as turning rancid, they can cause damage and inflammation.
Thus, you might say that there is "good LDL" and "bad LDL." Also, some HDL particles are better than others. Knowing just your total cholesterol tells you very little. Even knowing your LDL and HDL levels do not tell you very much.
A mistake that is rarely made in the hard-core sciences such as physics seems to be frequently made in medicine. This is confusing correlation with cause. There may be a weak correlation of elevated cholesterol with heart attacks, however this does not mean it is the cholesterol that caused the heart attack. Certainly gray hair is correlated with getting older;
however one could hardly say that the gray hair caused one to get old. Using hair dye to reduce the gray hair would not really make you any younger. Neither it appears would just lowering your cholesterol.
Perhaps something else is causing both the gray hair and aging. Even if elevated cholesterol were significant and heart disease (which I question) perhaps something else is causing the elevated cholesterol and also causing the heart disease.
Let's look little more at cholesterol or, as Paul Harvey was fond of saying, "the rest of the story." First and foremost, cholesterol is a vital component of every cell membrane on Earth. In other words, there is no life on Earth they can live without cholesterol. They will automatically tell you that, in of itself, it cannot be evil. In fact it is one of our best friends.
We would not be here without it. No wonder lowering cholesterol too much increases one's risk of dying. Cholesterol also is a precursor to all of the steroid hormones. You cannot make estrogen, testosterone, cortisone, and a host of other vital hormones without cholesterol.
Cholesterol Is The Hero, Not The Villain.
It was determined many years ago that the majority of cholesterol in your bloodstream comes from what your liver is manufacturing and distributing. The amount of cholesterol that one eats plays little role in determining your cholesterol levels.
It is also known that HDL shuttles cholesterol away from tissues, and away from your arteries, back to your liver. That is why HDL is called the "good cholesterol;" because it is supposedly taking cholesterol away from your arteries. But let's think about that.
Why does your liver make sure that you have plenty of cholesterol?
Why is HDL taking cholesterol back to your liver?
Why not take it right to your kidneys, or your intestines to get rid of it?
It is taking it back to your liver so that your liver can recycle it; put it back into other particles to be taken to tissues and cells that need it. Your body is trying to make and conserve the cholesterol for the precise reason that it is so important, indeed vital, for health.
One function of cholesterol is to keep your cell membranes from falling apart. As such, you might consider cholesterol your cells "superglue." It is a necessary ingredient in any sort of cellular repair. The coronary disease associated with heart attacks is now known to be caused from damage to the lining of those arteries. That damage causes inflammation. The coronary disease that causes heart attacks is now considered to be caused mostly from chronic inflammation.
What Is Inflammation?
Think of what happens if you were to cut your hand. Within a fraction of a second, chemicals are released by the damaged tissue to initiate the process known as inflammation. Inflammation will allow that little cut to heal, and indeed to keep you from dying.
The cut blood vessels constrict to keep you from bleeding too much. Blood becomes "thicker" so that it can clot. Cells and chemicals from the immune system are alerted to come to the area to keep intruders such as viruses and bacteria from invading the cut.
Other cells are told to multiply to repair the damage so that you can heal. When the repair is completed, you have lived to be careless another day, though you may have a small scar to show for your troubles.
We now know that similar events take place within the lining of our arteries. When damage occurs to the lining of our arteries (or even elsewhere) chemicals are released to initiate the process of inflammation. Arteries constrict, blood becomes more prone to clot, white blood cells are called to the area to gobble up damaged debris, and cells adjacent to those damaged are told to multiply. Ultimately, scars form, however inside our arteries we call it plaque. And the constriction of our arteries and the "thickening" of our blood further predisposes us to high blood pressure and heart attacks.
So Where Might Cholesterol Fit Into All Of This?
When damage is occurring and inflammation is being initiated, chemicals are being released so that that damage can be repaired. One could speculate that to replace damaged, old and worn-out cells the liver needs to be notified to either recycle or manufacture cholesterol since no cell, human or otherwise, can be made without it. In this case, cholesterol is being manufactured and distributed in your bloodstream to help you repair damaged tissue and in fact to keep you alive.
If excessive damage is occurring such that it is necessary to distribute extra cholesterol through the bloodstream, it would not seem very wise to merely lower the cholesterol and forget about why it is there in the first place. It would seem much smarter to reduce the extra need for the cholesterol -- the excessive damage that is occurring, the reason for the chronic inflammation.
So Why Take Cholesterol-Lowering Drugs?
The pharmaceutical companies thought that you might think that. They went back to the drawing board. They did more "research" and found (coincidentally) that statin drugs had anti-inflammatory effects. Therefore we're currently being told to stay on our cholesterol-lowering drugs because now they work by reducing inflammation and perhaps not even by reducing cholesterol, and in fact perhaps in spite of it. Aspirin reduces inflammation for a lot less money. So does vitamin E, and fish oil, and dietary changes without the dangers of drugs and having many other benefits instead.
What About Triglycerides?
Triglycerides are just medical terminology for fat. A person with high triglycerides has a lot of fat in the bloodstream. Triglycerides are generally measured when a person has fasted overnight. High fasting triglycerides are either from manufacturing too much, or using (burning) too little. In other words, what high triglycerides are telling you is that you are making too much fat and you are unable to burn it. This indeed is a major problem. The inability to burn fat underlies virtually all of the chronic diseases of aging, and in fact may contribute to the rate of aging itself.
As such, one might think that the control of fat burning and storage might be very important in heart disease, and the other diseases of aging such as diabetes, obesity, osteoporosis, and even cancer. Indeed, this appears to very much be the case. The two hormones that to a major extent control our ability to burn and store fat, insulin and leptin, appear to play a major role in all of the chronic diseases of aging. I would call them the most important hormones, indeed chemicals in the entire body. But that is a story for next time.
Sunday, May 21, 2006
To Succeed at Any Diet, You Must Know Your Metabolic Type
To Succeed at Any Diet, You Must Know Your Metabolic TypeBy William Wolcott, Founder, The Healthexcel System of Metabolic Typing
Author, The Metabolic Typing Diet (Doubleday)
Part 1 of this series on metabolic typing introduced the idea that whether a given food or a particular diet is good for you or bad for you is a matter of your genes -- not whim, appetite, preference, philosophy, belief or even "expert" opinion.
It is important to realize that the idea of metabolic typing is not new. The roots of the concept of metabolic individuality can be traced to antiquity. The 5,000 year old East Indian system of medicine known as Ayurveda was based on the interaction of the 5 elements and the 7 energy centers in the individual and primary treatment addressed one’s dosha (one's metabolic type) before it addressed the symptom or disease.
Similarly, the ancient system of Chinese medicine recognized 5 elemental, constitutional types. Diagnosis and treatment in ancient Egyptian medicine was based on the 7 organ systems in the body. Greek physicians were concerned, as Hippocrates stated, with the patient who has the disease instead of the disease that has the patient, and evaluated the 4 humors (liver-bile metabolic types). The ancient Roman philosopher Lucretius is attributed with the saying, "One man’s meat is another man’s poison."
The modern background of metabolic typing
In modern times, there have been some well-known and many not so well-known medical researchers who recognized the value of addressing biochemical individuality. In 1919, Frances Pottenger, M.D., published his Symptoms Of Visceral Disease, where he established the autonomic nervous system as the basis of metabolic individuality and correlated the influence of various nutrients on the autonomic nervous system.
Dr. W.H. Sheldon, in the '40's, published his famous Varieties Of Human Physique, providing photographic illustrations of his somatotypes (ectomorph, endomorph and mesomorph metabolic types). In the '50's, Dr. Melvin Page and Dr. Henry Bieler concurrently developed concepts of endocrine types and their relationship to various foods. Dr. George Watson, also in the '50's, in his astounding book, Nutrition And The Mind, published his research on the variable influences of oxidation (glycolysis, beta oxidation, citric acid cycle) in different individuals he classified as fast, mixed or slow oxidizers.
In 1956, the noted biochemist, Dr. Roger Williams, published his genetotrophic theory on biochemical individuality, based on his research which suggested that every human being has, because of his genetic makeup, distinctive nutritional needs that must be met in order to achieve optimum health and well-being. Dr. Royal Lee's extensive writings in the 50's and 60's correlated nutritional influences of the autonomic and endocrine systems.
Dr. Emanuel Revici, in the ‘60’s, recognized the critical necessity to address biochemical individuality and devoted his life's work to the development of an entirely new system of medicine based upon the variances between individuals in their catabolic and anabolic influences.
Dr. James D'Adamo, in the '70's, put forth a system of individual classification based upon ABO blood types. In the mid '70's, Dr. William D. Kelley met Dr. Roger William’s call for "metabolic profiling" by becoming the first to apply William's concept of nutritional individuality to computer science in identifying the autonomic types, sympathetic, balanced and parasympathetic.
Further efforts to address metabolic individuality can be seen in current works of numerous other pioneers. Among the more recent who have joined the ranks are Dr. Elliot Abravanel, Dr. Paul Eck, Dr. David Watts, Dr. Rudolph Wiley, and the insightful founder of Nutri-Spec, Dr. Guy Schenker, to name a few.
What exactly is metabolic typing and why is it important?
Metabolic typing is a systematic, testable, repeatable, and verifiable methodology based on research and extensive clinical experience over the last 25 years that combines the wisdom of the ancient systems of medicine with our modern scientific understanding of physiology and biochemistry.
Metabolic typing analyzes, evaluates, and interprets objective physiological and biochemical indicators along with symptomatology in order to define one’s metabolic type -- the specific, individualized, genetically-based patterns of biochemical metabolic individuality that dictate one’s physiological and neurological "design limits" and requirements for nutritional substances.
The food that we eat is intended as the "fuel" for our body’s cells, our engines of metabolism. Our cells in turn convert the fuel to energy to be used in all the life-supporting processes of metabolism that keep us alive and healthy. But like any engine, our body needs a certain kind of fuel to function optimally. A gasoline engine requires gasoline for fuel. A diesel engine is designed to run on diesel for fuel. But try to run a gas engine on diesel or a diesel engine on gas and not only will the energy output be deficient, but using the wrong fuel for the engine will cause real problems for the engine itself.
Similarly, our bodies have genetically-based requirements for specific kinds of foods and balances of nutrients in order to produce optimal energy and function in a state of optimal health. If we meet these "design requirements," we can expect to be healthy, energetic, fit and trim.
Failure to obtain on a regular basis the kinds of foods our body’s are designed to utilize will initially produce sub-clinical health complaints such as fatigue, aches and pains, headaches, indigestion, weight gain, constipation, rashes, dry skin, low blood sugar, etc.
But long-term deficiency of the right foods for the metabolic type will lead to degenerative conditions like asthma, cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, arthritis, etc. In other words, it’s not just that the Eskimos can eat up to 10 pounds of meat and huge amounts of fat and almost no carbohydrate, they need to eat that way in order to be healthy because that’s what their metabolisms are genetically programmed to utilize as fuel. Similarly, each of us has very specific requirements for nutrients that must be met in order to obtain and maintain good health, energy and well-being for a lifetime.
Without metabolic typing, there is no way to discern one’s "medicine" from one’s "poison." Without metabolic typing, there is no way to know how nutrients behave in one person as opposed to another. In essence, without metabolic typing, no rational basis exists from which to select proper diet and nutritional supplementation because one’s metabolic type dictates individual responses to nutrients.
This gets to the heart of some core premises of metabolic typing that have not only great significance for each individual in identification of a proper diet, but also have profound implications for scientific research. Let’s look at two of these core premises of our system of metabolic typing. Here’s the first one:
ANY NUTRIENT AND ANY FOOD CAN HAVE VIRTUALLY OPPOSITE BIOCHEMICAL INFLUENCES IN DIFFERENT METABOLIC TYPES.
The metabolic type defines the way in which the body reacts to nutrients. Different metabolic types react differently to the same nutrient. For example, in one metabolic type 100 milligrams of potassium or eating, say, an orange (also high in potassium), will cause the body’s pH to shift alkaline and produce a sedating effect. But in a different metabolic type, the same amount of potassium or an orange will produce an acid shift and a stimulating response. This has been observed tens of thousands of times through both objective metabolic type testing as well as through changes in symptomatology.
Now the second core premise:
ANY ADVERSE SYMPTOM OR DEGENERATIVE CONDITION CAN ARISE DUE TO VIRTUALLY OPPOSITE BIOCHEMICAL IMBALANCES.
This same principle applies to any adverse health complaint, from simple to complex, from cramps to cardiovascular disease (CVD), from rashes to rheumatoid arthritis. For example, we have seen just as many cases of high cholesterol and CVD resolve through a high carbohydrate, low fat, low protein diet as we have seen resolve through the opposite low carb, high protein, high fat diet. Match the diet to the metabolic type and any degenerative condition has a chance to reverse. But eat the wrong foods for the metabolic type, even high quality, organic foods, and degenerative processes will only worsen.
The implications of these premises are staggering.
If they are true, then allopathic nutrition has no rational basis. Seeking a common therapy for all people for every condition is a wild goose chase and is doomed to failure. Any success with that approach has been and will continue to be by chance -- not systematic, reliable predictability.
If any nutrient or food can have totally opposite influences, biochemically speaking, in different people, how can there be a treatment, for any condition, that can work for all people?
The answer is that there can’t be only one treatment. This is precisely why what works for one person can worsen the same condition in another person. This is why what makes your friend thin can make you fat. This is why what improves energy and performance for one person can worsen it in another. As it turns out, metabolic typing explains why Lucretius’ adage, "One man’s food is another man’s poison," is literally true.
And, if it is true that two people with the same degenerative disease can have virtually opposite biochemical imbalances, and that when two opposite biochemical protocols are administered the problem resolves, then this clearly means that it’s not the diseases that should be treated but the underlying metabolic type imbalances that have caused the diseases that need be addressed.
From this viewpoint, the diseases are not the problems; they are the symptoms, the manifestations, the expressions of the underlying, foundational imbalances. The reality of metabolic individuality demands that the person who has the disease -- not the disease that has the person -- be treated!
These premises of metabolic typing also explain why scientific research on nutrition is usually so inconclusive and produces such inconsistent results. For example, researchers have been confounded why calcium can lower blood pressure in some but raise it in others. Similar findings occurred with the effect of potassium. Until research on the effect of a given nutrient on a given condition is performed on a like metabolic type subject population, you will always see variable results.
In summary:
Biochemical individuality is responsible for the fact that nutrients behave differently in different metabolic types
The variable influences of nutrients on different metabolisms along with the same condition arising from totally different biochemical imbalances make it impossible to treat conditions with a standardized treatment protocol
Successful, predictable, reliable therapy can only be chosen once you know the metabolic type because only then will you know how nutrients behave in that person’s metabolism.
Degenerative conditions account for well over 80% of all of the adverse conditions that afflict the peoples of our country. This means that only a little over 1 out of every 10 people that go to doctors has crises or infectious conditions that require and respond to allopathic treatments.
More and more people every year fall prey to degenerative conditions and, sadly, at younger and younger ages. Diseases once viewed as accompaniments to old age are now commonplace in our children. Yet, currently, there is no orthodox cure for nearly any degenerative disease.
So-called alternative practitioners, as a group, fare little better. Even those who meet with "success" often find that when the therapy is stopped, the condition returns and no real, lasting healing has taken place. Or they are baffled by the universal phenomena of failing to help the next patient with the same condition with the very same protocol that worked so well for the former patient.
We find ourselves, practitioners and lay people alike, trying futilely to absorb the avalanche of information and research in nutrition that has descended upon us and only promises to gain speed with ever-increasing volume. We’re bombarded with seemingly endless newspaper and magazine articles, health books, interviews on radio and television, internet sites, all touting opposing points of view. What are we to do with the blessing/curse of this information explosion?
The problem is that there hasn’t been a reference point or a framework in which to organize and understand the thousands upon thousands of research findings, many of which are outright contradictory in nature. It’s like an enormous jigsaw puzzle that arrives without the picture on the box. How do the pieces fit together? How can we possibly make sense and make use of this research? A PDR (Physician’s Desk Reference) of nutrition?
Even if it was possible to know the effects of every single vitamin, mineral, fatty acid, herb, etc., and then to organize them item by item, of what practical use would that be? How would we be any further along? We would still have 100’s or even 1000’s of choices to make for each nutrient. And every day more and more effects are being found for every nutrient known to us.
Even so, it is every practitioner’s experience that what works for one patient does not work for another with the same condition.
The total body of scientific research is one gigantic pool of randomized information that is only growing in complexity. And yet, this is precisely the path that researchers and practitioners are following. The wrong path was chosen and it is leading us deeper and deeper into the dark forest of confusion. The more that research uncovers, the less clear the picture becomes.
The wrong questions have been and are still being asked. Instead of seeking answers to the effects of biochemical substances on diseases, we need to turn our attention to understanding how nutrients effect individual metabolisms. Instead of thinking in terms of treating disease, we must learn to think in terms of building health and meeting and optimizing genetic functional capacity by addressing the needs of each individual’s metabolic type.
The adverse influences in the environment will continue to increase in the years ahead. In order to survive and live a full, productive life in the current millennium, especially if one wants to live a healthy life, it is becoming increasingly important that each individual take responsibility for his own health and address the inescapable requirements of his biochemical individuality, for it is only in so doing that the body will adapt and maintain its defenses against the adversities of the environment and that the joy and exuberance of true good health can be known.
Thursday, February 02, 2006
Turmeric - Go for Gold
By Dr.Krishna R.SAyurveda the ancient medical science is based on the principle of preventing diseases. It directs us to resist the diseases through our food habits and life styles. Same principle was stressed by Hippocrates also “Let your food be your medicine” was his advice to man kind.
Let’s know more about a very well known spice in Ayurveda yet not completely understood by common man. Over the last several years, there has been increasing interest in turmeric and its medicinal properties. But Ayurveda has immensely praised the medicinal qualities of turmeric which finds its place in almost all ayurvedic preparations related to liver and skin disorders.
This herb has occupied the shelves of every Indian kitchen since 6000 years and is considered as king of kitchen. It is used daily in cooking. Apart from cooking it is also used as beauty aid and as a dye.Turmeric (Curcuma Longa) belongs to Zingiberacae Family and is a perennial plant that grows 3 to 5 feet high in the tropical regions .
In India it is grown allover but specially in Bengal, Bombay and in Tamilnadu .
Ayurveda appreciates the medicinal qualities and color of turmeric. This is evident through the various names of turmeric specified in ancient texts of ayurveda.
Some of these are
• Haridra – enhancer of body complexion.
• Kanchani - looks like gold .
• Nisha - imparts beauty by enhancing complexion which is as beautiful as full moon night
• Gowri - yellow in color
• Krimighni - works as a Antibacterial and antihelmenthic.
• Yoshit priya - used in Gynecological disorders.
In Hindi turmeric is known as haldi .
The rhizomes or roots of this plant are used as medicine and for other purposes. The rhizomes are boiled, dried and then powdered. This powder is used for all purposes.
The active chemical component of turmeric is curcumin. Curcumin is a strong antioxidant and reduces inflammation by reducing histamine levels. Curcumin protects liver, reduces cholesterol, and prevents internal blood clotting thus preventing heart attacks and liver tissue damages.
Turmeric is very safe. But special precautions should be taken in persons who have gall stones, hyperacidity, stomach ulcers and obstructive jaundice.Ayurveda explains the qualities of turmeric as light and dry. It has pungent and bitter taste. It is widely used in skin, respiratory and liver disorders. It purifies blood and enhances complexion.
Medicinal properties of turmeric – Go for Gold!
Effects of Turmeric----On LiverAyurveda has recommended this golden herb to purify blood and prevent it from clotting. It is extensively used to protect liver from toxins and microbial. Turmeric increases the secretion of bile, promotes free flow of bile. This herb can be used to overcome toxic effects of alcohol on liver. This reduces cholesterol and protects heart.
Use of ½ tea spoon of turmeric with warm water rejuvenates the liver and expels toxins out of it.On respiratory systemTurmeric is very effective in bronchitis, productive cough and asthma. One spoon of turmeric boiled in milk should be consumed with a spoon of pure ghee in conditions like bronchitis, asthma and productive cough. This gives very good relief and expectorates excessively produced mucous in lungs.
On ageing---The antioxidant properties of turmeric give us young looks and make us to feel young. It reduces inflammation in joints, protects the heart, reduces cholesterol and keeps us very healthy.On DiabetesIt is widely used in ayurvedic preparations for diabetes. It lowers the blood sugar and increases glucose metabolism.
On Uterus
It initiates regular menstrual cycle and reduces menstrual cramps.
On skinBlood nourishes the skin and it is known fact that pure blood always keeps the skin glowing and radiant. Turmeric purifies blood, nourishes skin and gives it a healthy natural glow and radiance.
A traditional face pack of India consists of gram flour, pure turmeric powder, milk and honey. This reduces inflammation of skin, smoothens it and prevents many skin ailments.
On Stomach and IntestinesTurmeric enhances digestion, normalizes metabolism and expels intestinal parasites
On Wounds
Turmeric accelerates healing process and readily reduces pain and inflammation. Thick Paste of turmeric applied on wounds acts as an excellent antibiotic and anti inflammatory.
On Yogis
Turmeric purifies and cleans the body. It is a tailor made herb for yogis. It increases the flexibility of muscles, reduces inflammation in muscles and joints and helps to perform yoga with confidence and delight.
Is it not a wonderful treasure which nature has stored for us in this golden herb ? Now let us start a gold rush.
Biography of Dr.Krishna.R.S
Dr. Krishna.R.S has been an Ayurvedic Practitioner since 19 yrs , after getting a graduation degree in ayurveda (Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery) in 1986 from University of Mysore, India. He completed his post graduation diploma about allopathic medicine and surgery from University of Bangalore, Karnataka, India.His articles about ayurveda and life sciences have been published in many magzines.
Dr.Krishna. R.S is a star athlete and has represented state and universities when he was in high school, pre university and college.Dr.Krishna . R.S lives in Mysore , Karnataka, India. He gives consultations in Mysore and also in Bangalore the silicon valley of India.
Email : drkrishnars@ayurveda-increaselibido.com
http://www.ayurveda-increaselibido.com/
http://www.ayurhelp.com/
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dr.Krishna_R.S
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Ashwagandha- The Indian Ginseng
By Dr.Krishna R.S
Ashwagandha - also known as Indian Winter Cherry has the Botanical name Withania Somnifera -It is a shrub belonging to Solanace family. It is grown in the western India, Gujarat, MP, Punjab and in Himalayas.
Ashwagandha gets its name because its roots have the odor of horse. (Ashwa = horse , gandha = odor). It is called by another name Varaha karni because its leaves resemble pig’s ear.Ashwagandha has light (laghu) and sticky (snigdha) properties, bitter and sweet taste. On digestion the sweet taste dominates. The main part used is root of this herb.
Medicinal properties of Ashwagandha
The various medicinal properties of ashwagandha is attributed to compounds known as withanolides which are present in it.
Ashwagandha is used as an adaptogen (as it enhances endurance), rejuvenating tonic and sedative. Hence many herbalists refer this herb as Indian ginseng.Effects on mind: As it balances vata and kapha, it improves memory, counteracts the effects of stress and calms mind. It has an ability to relieve stress. It acts as sedative. Stressed patients with insomnia are benefited by this herb.
This herb can be used in Alzheimer’s disease, memory loss and insomnia.Effects on general health : It acts as balya and strengthens the body. Generally, ashwagandha stimulates the immune system and strengthens it. It increases body energy level.
Convalescent patients’ gain more energy and can spring back to normal routine quicker when this herb’s preparations are used after illness.
The immediate relapse of disease is prevented on use of Ashwagandha. This supports HIV patients by strengthening their immune system.
Anti-inflammatory properties: It has anti-inflammatory properties and has been successfully used in adjuvant therapy for arthritis. It reduces inflammation of joints and eases movements.Effects on digestive system: Ashwagandha increases appetite . It normalizes digestion and bowel movements.
Effects on reproductive system: This magic herb increases shukra dhatu, sperm count and sperm motility. It increases libido and known as best Vajikara dravya (aphrodisiac)
It is also used as uterine tonic and to enhance female libido.Ashwagandha retards ageing process when used as rasayana (rejuvenating preparation).
It reduces hypertension and also acts as diuretic.Effects on pregnant woman: Ashwagandha is very effective in conditions like habitual abortion, threatened abortion. It stabilizes pregnancy and balances harmones which stabilize pregnancy.
Usefull preparations of Ashwagandha:
1. A paste of ashwagandha leaves when applied on a local inflammation acts as anti inflammatory.
2. The herbal massage oil which includes this herb is useful in many conditions like paralysis, epilepsy, sleeplessness etc.
3. The preparation of Ashwagandha which is processed with ghee, sugar and honey is a very good aphrodisiac and increases semen quantity, sperm count and motility. It is effectively used in Erectile dysfunction, low libido and premature ejaculation.
4 Ashwagandha roots when used regularly helps to improve the conditions like emaciation of children, senile debility, rheumatism, in all cases of general debility, nervous exhaustion, brain-fag, low of memory, loss of muscular energy and spermatorrhoea. It increases body energy and vigor . It helps to rebuild the body system which is worn out due to chronic diseases like syphilis, rheumatism etc. It also replenishes the lowered energy of body due to over-work, mental exertion thus preventing early ageing.
5 Ashwagandha when used regularly , is very useful in emaciated children. It increases body weight and body energy.
6 Regular use of ashwagandha helps to reduce blood sugar and cholesterol levels.
7 Fine powder of ashwagandha well mixed with oil is very use full in many skin conditions.
8 Ashwagandha also acts as galactogogue and thickens the milk when given to nursing mothers.
This article is copy righted.
The author Dr.Krishna.R.S is an Ayurvedic Physician and web master of
http://www.ayurveda-increaselibido.com/
Biography of Dr.Krishna.R.SDr. Krishna.R.S has been an Ayurvedic Practitioner since 19 yrs , after getting a graduation degree in ayurveda (Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery) in 1986 from University of Mysore, India. He completed his post graduation diploma about allopathic medicine and surgery from University of Bangalore, Karnataka, India.His articles about ayurveda and life sciences have been published in many magzines.
Dr.Krishna. R.S is a star athlete and has represented state and universities when he was in high school, pre university and college.
Dr.Krishna . R.S lives in Mysore , Karnataka, India. He gives consultations in Mysore and also in Bangalore the silicon valley of India.Ph:91-0821-2451405Mob: 9448433911
Email : drkrishnars@ayurveda-increaselibido.com
http://www.ayurveda-increaselibido.com/http://www.ayurhelp.com/
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dr.Krishna_R.S
Related Sites:
Therapy offers · Single-Day Therapies · Single-Day Rates · Medical Consultation · Therapy "Packages" · our full ayurvedic pricelist
Ayurvedic Products · Kama Raja · Kama Rani · Yogic Slim · Rudraksha Healing · A2 Tier Affiliate program
more info at: http://www.dreddyclinic.com/
Ashwagandha - also known as Indian Winter Cherry has the Botanical name Withania Somnifera -It is a shrub belonging to Solanace family. It is grown in the western India, Gujarat, MP, Punjab and in Himalayas.
Ashwagandha gets its name because its roots have the odor of horse. (Ashwa = horse , gandha = odor). It is called by another name Varaha karni because its leaves resemble pig’s ear.Ashwagandha has light (laghu) and sticky (snigdha) properties, bitter and sweet taste. On digestion the sweet taste dominates. The main part used is root of this herb.
Medicinal properties of Ashwagandha
The various medicinal properties of ashwagandha is attributed to compounds known as withanolides which are present in it.
Ashwagandha is used as an adaptogen (as it enhances endurance), rejuvenating tonic and sedative. Hence many herbalists refer this herb as Indian ginseng.Effects on mind: As it balances vata and kapha, it improves memory, counteracts the effects of stress and calms mind. It has an ability to relieve stress. It acts as sedative. Stressed patients with insomnia are benefited by this herb.
This herb can be used in Alzheimer’s disease, memory loss and insomnia.Effects on general health : It acts as balya and strengthens the body. Generally, ashwagandha stimulates the immune system and strengthens it. It increases body energy level.
Convalescent patients’ gain more energy and can spring back to normal routine quicker when this herb’s preparations are used after illness.
The immediate relapse of disease is prevented on use of Ashwagandha. This supports HIV patients by strengthening their immune system.
Anti-inflammatory properties: It has anti-inflammatory properties and has been successfully used in adjuvant therapy for arthritis. It reduces inflammation of joints and eases movements.Effects on digestive system: Ashwagandha increases appetite . It normalizes digestion and bowel movements.
Effects on reproductive system: This magic herb increases shukra dhatu, sperm count and sperm motility. It increases libido and known as best Vajikara dravya (aphrodisiac)
It is also used as uterine tonic and to enhance female libido.Ashwagandha retards ageing process when used as rasayana (rejuvenating preparation).
It reduces hypertension and also acts as diuretic.Effects on pregnant woman: Ashwagandha is very effective in conditions like habitual abortion, threatened abortion. It stabilizes pregnancy and balances harmones which stabilize pregnancy.
Usefull preparations of Ashwagandha:
1. A paste of ashwagandha leaves when applied on a local inflammation acts as anti inflammatory.
2. The herbal massage oil which includes this herb is useful in many conditions like paralysis, epilepsy, sleeplessness etc.
3. The preparation of Ashwagandha which is processed with ghee, sugar and honey is a very good aphrodisiac and increases semen quantity, sperm count and motility. It is effectively used in Erectile dysfunction, low libido and premature ejaculation.
4 Ashwagandha roots when used regularly helps to improve the conditions like emaciation of children, senile debility, rheumatism, in all cases of general debility, nervous exhaustion, brain-fag, low of memory, loss of muscular energy and spermatorrhoea. It increases body energy and vigor . It helps to rebuild the body system which is worn out due to chronic diseases like syphilis, rheumatism etc. It also replenishes the lowered energy of body due to over-work, mental exertion thus preventing early ageing.
5 Ashwagandha when used regularly , is very useful in emaciated children. It increases body weight and body energy.
6 Regular use of ashwagandha helps to reduce blood sugar and cholesterol levels.
7 Fine powder of ashwagandha well mixed with oil is very use full in many skin conditions.
8 Ashwagandha also acts as galactogogue and thickens the milk when given to nursing mothers.
This article is copy righted.
The author Dr.Krishna.R.S is an Ayurvedic Physician and web master of
http://www.ayurveda-increaselibido.com/
Biography of Dr.Krishna.R.SDr. Krishna.R.S has been an Ayurvedic Practitioner since 19 yrs , after getting a graduation degree in ayurveda (Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery) in 1986 from University of Mysore, India. He completed his post graduation diploma about allopathic medicine and surgery from University of Bangalore, Karnataka, India.His articles about ayurveda and life sciences have been published in many magzines.
Dr.Krishna. R.S is a star athlete and has represented state and universities when he was in high school, pre university and college.
Dr.Krishna . R.S lives in Mysore , Karnataka, India. He gives consultations in Mysore and also in Bangalore the silicon valley of India.Ph:91-0821-2451405Mob: 9448433911
Email : drkrishnars@ayurveda-increaselibido.com
http://www.ayurveda-increaselibido.com/http://www.ayurhelp.com/
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