The result of our processed and fast food society has created a nation of children brains’ which are starving. They are less able to think abstractly and complete sentences beyond a tweet. Furthermore, they are now dying from diseases that were typically only affected adults. According to a Report by the Worldwatch Institute:

And hunger destroys would be Einsteins and Gandhis in childhood, while productivity losses among those who reach adulthood are widespread. ..

…hungry women are less able to provide for their families and to properly nourish their own bodies during pregnancy, which often results in lifelong impairment for their children and a consequent loss of personal and community potential.

…So whether the problem stems from hunger or from overeating, whether it occurs in poor countries or rich ones, malnutrition is bound to skew and slow a country’s development.7 ….

Therefore, eating “cheap” isn’t saving us money in the long run.  Dr. Hyman discusses the costs beyond financial of “cheap” junk food on our future generation:

Never before in human history have we seen “adult onset” or type 2 diabetes in children.  There has been an over 1,000% increase in type 2 diabetes in children over the last two decades. Fifteen years ago 3% of new cases of diabetes in children were type 2 diabetes.  Now it is 50%.   Forty percent of children are now overweight and 2 million are morbidly obese, exceeding the 99th percentile for weight. Scientists say that we have only 3,600 cases of type 2 diabetes in children.  Nonsense.  Almost all of those 2 million morbidly obese kids have either pre-diabetes or diabetes or what we should call “diabesity”.  In adults 25% of diabetics and 90% of pre-diabetics are not diagnosed. In children most of the cases are missed.

A study published this week in the New England Journal of Medicine found that medications don’t work and general lifestyle instruction isn’t much help either to treat type 2 diabetes in children. And the disease is more rapidly progressive and aggressive in children. Kids who haven’t even learned to swallow a pill are now facing giving themselves daily insulin injections.  Poor and minority kids are more heavily afflicted.

Thankfully, modern medicine is beginning to see the light of changing our food quality and lifestyle choices. In other words, chasing genes as the cause of diseases and using powerful pills with dangerous side-effects is not the best first line of defense, economically or medicinally. Sure, our genes play a role in our risk factors for diseases, but not in their manifestation.  We need to shift to retraining our health experts on the real lifestyle factors that affect obesity rates. A recent article in Medscape explains:

April 3, 2012 (Chicago, Illinois) — When it comes to predicting the risk for common diseases, including cancer, genome sequencing is not a magic bullet. It might be a valuable tool for people with a strong family history of a disease, but not for the vast majority of people, researchers report.

Genomic sequencing will never be a crystal ball that can reliably predict future health issues, explained researcher Bert Vogelstein, MD, Clayton Professor of Oncology and Pathology at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center in Baltimore, Maryland. “It cannot substitute for conventional risk-management strategies, including routine check-ups and lifestyle optimization,” he said at a press briefing here at the American Association for Cancer Research 103rd Annual Meeting. Dr. Vogelstein was summarizing the results of a study presented at the meeting and simultaneously published online April 2 in Science Translational Medicine.

Don’t get me wrong, we need medication when the issue is keeping people alive, but not as the main treatment in health and quality of life care. Rather, prescriptions should be used appropriately for the right conditions, not in replacement of poor lifestyle choices. In other words, using a statin medication for a man to prevent a secondary heart attack, while addressing his lifestyle risk factors makes sense; however, it doesn’t make sense to give the same man a pill for diabetes and reflux as he continues to chow down on Twinkies, corn dogs, and soda-pop. We should build our foundation on a healthy diet and lifestyle modification.

Dr. Hyman continues:

Do we really think we can medicate our way out of a bad diet? Can we really overcome the 54 gallons of soda consumed every year by the average American, or the 34 teaspoons of sugar consumed DAILY by the average child in America with a medication, or some handouts on eating better?  One of the drugs used in the study, Avandia, has been responsible for over 200,000 deaths from heart attacks since it was introduced in 1999.  The Food and Drug Administration has restricted its use. Should we be using this in children?  This is pharmageddon.

One Answer:  Eating at Home (Dr. Hyman):

Research shows that children who have regular meals with their parents do better in every way, from better grades, to healthier relationships, to staying out of trouble. They are 42 percent less likely to drink, 50 percent less likely to smoke and 66 percent less like to smoke marijuana. Regular family dinners protect girls from bulimia, anorexia, and diet pills. Family dinners also reduce the incidence of childhood obesity. In a study on household routines and obesity in US pre-school aged children, it was shown that kids as young as four have a lower risk of obesity if they eat regular family dinners, have enough sleep, and don’t watch TV on weekdays.

We complain of not having enough time to cook, but Americans spend more time watching cooking on the Food Network, than actually preparing their own meals. In his series Food Revolution, Jamie Oliver showed us how we have raised a generation of Americans who can’t recognize a single vegetable or fruit, and don’t know how to cook.

A recent meta-analysis in Pediatrics confirmed these results and how taking time for our children, with food and love, saves their health:

CONCLUSIONS: Educational and public health initiatives aimed at promoting shared family mealtimes may improve nutritional health of children and adolescents. Clinicians may advise their patients about the benefits of sharing 3 or more family mealtimes per week; benefits include a reduction in the odds for overweight (12%), eating unhealthy foods (20%), and disordered eating (35%) and an increase in the odds for eating healthy foods (24%).

I love this article, because it discusses not highlighting the health benefits of food, but using it a means of bonding, community, and social support. Investing in healthy foods in the long run will cut our spending and increase our quality of life. We can take back our children!

PERSONALIZED & PREVENTATIVE MEDICINE: MY PASSION

• Want more health support than Dr. Google, WebMD, or any “DIAGNOSE-YOURSELF-THROUGH-GENERALIZED-CONDITIONS-BY-A-SURVEY” website?
• Are your own best efforts in health confusing the heck out of you?
• Are you willing to step out of the insurance-driven, one-size-fits-all-health model that is keeping us alive and miserable with a lower quality of life?
• Are you willing to prioritize and invest in your pocketbook for your health and vitality?

…..then, consider going beyond a “pop-a-pill mentality”!

Learn more about my practice and how personalized medicine, with the support of a licensed Naturopathic Doctor and Functional Medicine Certification Candidate, can help you achieve wellness! Learn more.

REMINDER CURRENT CLIENTS, PLEASE REVIEW THE ABOVE LINK FOR THE UPDATED FEE SCHEDULE AND ADDITIONAL SERVICES AS OF JUNE 1^st.

THIS MONTH’S MUST READ

Blood Sugar Solution By Mark Hyman is a good place to start with a step-by-step guide on how to balance your blood sugar and optimize ideal weight. It also contains a comprehensive cookbook! Don’t miss the latest from one of my mentors and an originator of functional medicine! Thanks to a few of my wonderful patients for bringing me this book and allowing me to tailor the suggestions just for you!

Sources:

Nanci Hellmich, Obesity could affect 42% of Americans by 2030. USA TODAY. May 7. 2011. http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/story/2012-05-07/obesity-projections-adults/54791430/1

Jane A. Peterson, Editor. Worldwatch Institute. Overfed and Underfed: The Global Epidemic of Malnutrition. March 2000. http://www.worldwatch.org/system/files/EWP150.pdf

Mark Hyman, MD. Sugar Babies: How to Stop the Genocide of Our Children. Drhyman.com. May 3rd, 2012. http://drhyman.com/blog/2012/05/03/sugar-babies-how-to-stop-the-genocide-of-our-children/?utm_source=WhatCounts+Publicaster+Edition&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=drhyman+newsletter+issue+%2372&utm_content=Get+the+story

Mark Hyman, MD. Can Social Networks Cure Disease? Part I. drhyman.com.  April 20th, 2012. http://drhyman.com/blog/2012/04/20/can-social-networks-cure-disease-part-i/?utm_source=WhatCounts+Publicaster+Edition&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=drhyman+newsletter+issue+%2370&utm_content=Get+the+story

Roxanne Nelson. Gene Sequencing Not a Crystal Ball, But Has Value for Some. Medscape Medical News from the:  American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) 103rd Annual Meeting. April 3, 2012. http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/761425?src=ptalk

Mark Hyman, MD. How Eating at Home Can Save Your Life. Drhyman.com. January 7th, 2011. http://drhyman.com/blog/2011/01/07/how-eating-at-home-can-save-your-life/?utm_source=WhatCounts+Publicaster+Edition&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=drhyman+newsletter+issue+%2370&utm_content=Read+more

Joseph Mercola, OD. Attacks Your Liver Like Alcohol – Is This What’s Making You Flabby and Sick? Mercola.com. May 7, 2012. http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/05/07/the-sweetener-that-is-more-dangerous-than-alcohol.aspx?e_cid=20120507_DNL_art_1

Hammons AJ & Fiese BH. Is Frequency of Shared Family Meals Related to the Nutritional Health of Children and Adolescents? Pediatrics 2011; 127(6): e1565-e1574

NEWS!

• On the left hand side of my website is a link to Dr. Oz’s Sharecare.  This little widget is a fun tool for information in an instant! Just types in your health-related question and viola, the answers appear. I am honored to be included amongst many of my mentors and other health experts.
• My next Holistic Health Forum will be in Rexford, NY on May 18^th
• More on Weight Release on my Saratoga.com blog
• Dr. Northrup’s weekly streamline show on Hayhouse radio is a not to miss in mind-body medicine. This week, she reviews the option of urinary issues for women and a holistic/surgical approach!
• The Book is coming, the Book is coming!!!….it has been accepted by Balboa Press and I’m in the process of sprucing up the manuscript and deciding on a cover!
• Watch also for my new and revised FACEBOOK page for announcements within the next few months.
  • I want to make my new Facebook page interactive with the whole international community… gather your friends and family and friend me and I’ll have some Facebook parties, answering your general wellness questions!

…I know, it’s hard to believe the end of another Spring month has occurred, especially for those in Upstate NY. Snow in April…REALLY??!!

Still, I hope you have fun with this post’s summaries, whether you are reading along with hot or cold tea!

In the Health Section, some highlights you may  want to explore  in their entirety are:

• Metametrix’s link to Dr. Lord’s video on Autism and Spectrum Disorders and Dr. Mercola’s article on some controversial contributors to these disorders

• Dr. Mercola’s highlight on the dangers of mercury

In the Nutrigenomic Portion, I provided some exciting Medscape summaries in the field of genomics.

• In the first abstract, the scientific wording is a little hard to interpret for the non-physician. The key point is that it displays how environmental factors such as lifestyle changes and dietary choices can affect DNA expression. Specifically, the Pan-oraic Study highlights how exercise and lifestyle can affect gene expression that can change over time!

• There are also other various abstracts that discuss the connection of how food constituents modulate diseases and biological processes in the brain.

• Scroll to the end, and fellow coffee lovers will find scientific evidence that will bring a smile to their Starbuck-guilty faces.

• You may also want to click the links to read the full articles from Dr. Hyman’s summary on the power of food and Dr. D’Adamo’s summary on Lectins

The Drug Update Section provides some thought provoking evidence on how various blood pressure medications can be helpful or harmful with certain predisposing conditions.

• There is also information on the latest on weight loss drugs (a re-patented formula formerly removed from the market due to adverse effects), and antibiotic resistance.

• A link for more information on antidepressant side effects from Dr. Mercola is provided.

++++BONUS READS:

Be sure to check out weekly Naturopathic Fun Facts at my saratoga.com blog!

What’s New and More:

• On the left hand side of my website  is a link to Dr. Oz’s Sharecare.  This little widget is a fun tool for information in an instant! Just type in your health-related question and viola, the answers appear. I am very honored to be included amongst many of my mentors and other health experts.

• Summer reading is around the corner. Click here for a suggested and an updated reading list

• My next Holistic Health Forum will be in Rexford, NY on May 18th

• Look for my future blog that highlights my latest interview with Tom Petrie and reviews his latest book, Anti-Vitamin Baloney. This book puts the myths that vitamins are bad medicine to rest!

  • I’ll also be providing a link on my homepage to the actual call!

HEALTH

A Naturopathic Approach to IBS (Dr. Rubman)

Be picky about what you eat and drink. Avoid sodas and other sugary treats, caffeine, alcohol and fried or processed foods, all of which impede digestion. Try to eat more whole foods, healthy fats (e.g., found in salmon, olive oil, avocado, nuts and seeds) and complex carbohydrates, such as whole grains and steamed veggies. What about yogurt that contains live cultures, which is often recommended to encourage bacterial balance in the intestines? According to Dr. Rubman it’s fine, but don’t expect a miracle cure. In his view, this promise is yet another marketing scam. A better alternative is the use of other probiotics.

Monitor food combinations, as these directly influence how quickly and efficiently food is digested, explains Dr. Rubman. For example, don’t combine “white” foods (such as white sugar, white flour, white bread, white potatoes, etc.) with saturated fats (for example, red meat or dairy products). Taken together, these can require as long as two to three hours to digest, during which time microorganisms in the food can colonize the stomach lining and cause digestive disturbances.

Keep fluids with meals to a minimum, and chew food thoroughly. The natural process by which saliva is added to food as it is chewed, to break it down thoroughly in the mouth, sets the rest of the digestive process in motion. So, our habit of washing down food with water or other beverages turns out to be counter-productive. Fluids may also dilute stomach acid, making digestion less efficient.

If you are 35 or older, consider taking supplemental digestive enzymes. Since aging tends to diminish our digestive enzymes, taking a them as a supplement helps the body break down foods into compounds that make nutrients easier to digest, and also work to decrease the number of colonized microorganisms in the stomach. Other digestive aids Dr. Rubman prescribes for his patients include hydrochloric acid supplements, which act as a tonic to the upper GI tract, soothing inflammation and allowing for restoration of normal function and cellular health. (Note: As always, it is important to consult a qualified expert to determine which supplements are appropriate for you, and to provide oversight for your health and safety.)

Abstract: We have previously reported that the nuclear receptor peroxisome proliferator activated receptor-? (PPAR?) regulates the transcription of ?-secretase (BACE1), a key enzyme involved in amyloid-? (A?) generation. Here, we aimed to investigate the role of PPAR? coactivator-1? (PGC-1?), which controls major metabolic functions through the co-activation of PPAR? and other transcription factors. Western blotting experiments with nuclear extracts from brain cortex of AD cases and controls showed a reduction in the levels of PGC-1? in AD patients. PGC-1? overexpression in N2a neuroblastoma cells induced a decrease in the levels of secreted A? and an increase in the levels of non-amyloidogenic soluble A?PP?. The decrease in A? after exogenous expression of PGC-1? was a consequence of reduced BACE1 expression and transcription, together with a decrease in BACE1 promoter activity. In addition, we detected a significant reduction in ?-secretase activity by measuring the levels of ?-carboxy terminus fragment (?-CTFs) and by using a commercial assay for ?-secretase. In contrast, down-regulation of PGC-1? levels by transfection with PGC-1? siRNA increased BACE1 expression. These effects appeared to be dependent on PPAR?, because PGC-1? did not affect A? and BACE1 levels in N2a cells transfected with PPAR? siRNA or in PPAR? knockout fibroblasts. In conclusion, since PGC-1? appears to decrease A? generation, therapeutic modulation of PGC-1? could have real potential as a treatment for AD. PMID:21358044

Watch this Video by Dr. Lord from Metametrix on Alternative Testing for Autism (Metametrix)

This 8 minute video explains the gut-brain connection and how inflammation in the brain can affect the features of autism.

Mercury Dangers (Mercola)

• Studies show that mercury is the MOST toxic heavy metal to your body; this excellent new documentary film, Mercury Undercover, exposes the dangers of mercury contamination to human health and to the environment
• The number one source of mercury pollution is coal-fired power plants. Second position is held by dental practices due to amalgam fillings, which are 50 percent mercury
• Dental amalgams, used for more than 150 years, continue to be used by half of the dentists in North America despite a mountain of evidence they slowly leak toxic mercury into your body, and are particularly dangerous for children and pregnant women
• Mercury becomes a “biochemical train wreck in your body,” causing your cell membranes to leak, and inhibit key enzymes your body needs for energy production and removal of toxins. Mercury toxicity can lead to major inflammation and chronic illnesses such as Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease
• The FDA, in partnership with the ADA, have been successful for many years in concealing the dangers of amalgam from the public, but organizations such as the Consumers for Dental Choice are making inroads toward getting mercury banned from dentistry worldwide—but they need your help

Chemicals and Cancer (Mercola)

Recent research has detected the presence of paraben esters in 99 percent of breast cancer tissues sampled. In 60 percent of cases, all five esters were detected. Parabens are chemicals that have been shown to have estrogen-like properties, and estrogen is one of the hormones involved in the development of breast cancer

Anything you ingest, inhale, or spread on your skin can be absorbed into your body and potentially cause damage over time. Parabens can be found in a wide variety of consumer products, such as deodorants, shampoos, lotions, cosmetics, drugs, and food additives

Recent research has confirmed the existence of a previously unknown class of cancer-causing materials that can be found in thousands of consumer products.  A broad range of metals have been shown to act as “metalloestrogens” with the potential to add to the estrogenic burden of the human breast

According to recent research, women with the highest intakes of cadmium were 21 percent more likely to develop breast cancer compared to those with the lowest dietary intake. Cadmium is a carcinogenic heavy metal identified as a metal that can bind to estrogen receptors, effectively mimicking the female hormone estrogen. Food crops such as potatoes and whole grains are primary sources cadmium, but it’s also an air pollutant

Exercise…no matter how little….for Health! (Dr. Mercola)

• Recent research shows that as little as three minutes of intense exertion per week can deliver many of the health- and fitness benefits you get from hours of conventional exercise, including improved insulin sensitivity by an average of 24 percent in four weeks
• How well high intensity training actually works may in large part depend on your genetic makeup. Researchers have developed a genetic test to predict who will quickly improve their aerobic fitness, and who will not
• Recent research also shows that when healthy but inactive people exercise intensely, even if the exercise is brief, it produces an immediate change in their DNA. It appears this contraction-induced gene activation promotes genetic reprogramming of muscles for strength and other structural and metabolic benefits associated with exercise
• Ideally, you’ll want to do high intensity exercises two or three times a week for a total of four minutes of intense exertion with recovery periods in between. For optimal health, you’d also be wise to incorporate aerobic, strength training, core exercises and stretching, for a well-rounded fitness program

Sleep-Weight Connection (Dr. Hyman)

Your body has a finely tuned appetite control system that is governed by certain hormones. These hormones are affected by sleep. One group of researchers has found that depriving healthy men of sleep leads to increases in grehlin, the hormone that makes you feel hungry, and decreases in leptin, the hormone that makes you feel full.

How does that affect your body? You stay hungry and start craving high-calorie, high-carbohydrate foods. After many nights of sleep deprivation while working in the emergency room, I can tell you that this is true! We also need sleep to keep our levels of Cortisol — the stress hormone that makes us fat — low. (See Chapter 10 of Ultrametabolism for more.)

Not sleeping enough is a big problem in this country: Over the last 40 years Americans on average, sleep 2 hours less. But it’s not just about quantity. Our quality of sleep is also suffering.

ASD on the Rise (Mercola)

• According to the most recent statistics, an average of 1 in 88 children is now diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This number represents a 78 percent increase in autism over the past five years.
• ASDs are nearly five times more common among boys than girls
• Research is now clearly showing that environmental factors play a primary role in the epidemic of autism spectrum diseases. Toxic overload appears to be at the core of the problem
• Possible environmental factors for autism are incredibly diverse and include excessive exposure to electromagnetic radiation, mercury toxicity, vaccine damage, phthalates and other common household chemicals, vitamin D deficiency, and brain toxicity stemming from gut toxicity
• In children with Gut and Psychology Syndrome (GAPS), toxicity flowing from their gut throughout their bodies and into their brains literally clogs the brain with toxicity, preventing it from performing its normal function and processing sensory information. Inexpensive tests can identify GAPS within the first weeks of your baby’s life, which can help you make better-informed decisions about how to proceed to set your child on the path to a healthy life

Regulatory Capacity to Ensure That Imported Foods and Drugs Are Safe (National Academies)

WASHINGTON — Many low- and middle-income nations do not have technologically advanced regulatory systems, which limits their oversight of food and drug safety, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine.  The discovery of a counterfeit version of the cancer drug Avastin earlier this year underscores the challenges for U.S. regulators as imports increasingly dominate the American market.

The report recommends 13 steps that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and other organizations can take over the next three to five years to bolster the safety systems in developing nations.  Partners in this effort include other federal agencies, international organizations, the regulated industries, and regulators in developing countries.   Recommended steps include encouraging the development of low-cost technologies to prevent fraud and assessing whether the pilot Secure Supply Chain program can be expanded.  The report also urges the regulatory agencies in developed nations and industry associations to devise ways to share inspection results and emphasizes the importance of donor investment in developing countries’ regulatory systems.

More than 80 percent of active pharmaceutical ingredients and 40 percent of finished drugs come from abroad as does 85 percent of the seafood consumed in America, according to federal estimates.  Congress has charged FDA to inspect more foreign producers as the volume of imports grows, but given its modest budget, the agency cannot do its job well without substantial improvement in the capacity of its counterpart agencies in emerging economies, said the committee that wrote the report.

GMOs Labeling Backing in CT (Bloomerang)

Connecticut took the first step requiring producers to label genetically modified food Wednesday, as a legislative committee overwhelmingly backed a measure promoted as giving consumers more information while avoiding the debate over health concerns.

The legislature’s Environment Committee voted 23-6 to approve the measure, allowing supporters to prevail over opponents who said the measure would lead to higher packaging costs.

“It’s something that’s coming, and I think we can be in the forefront in helping shape how it’s done,” said Democratic Rep. Richard Roy, the committee’s House chairman. “Think of us as the mouse that roared.”

The federal government and states do not require labeling for all genetically modified foods. Connecticut is among nearly 20 states considering a requirement, with backers saying genetically engineered foods pose allergy and other health risks and that labels give consumers valuable information.

The state Department of Agriculture opposes the legislation, saying that the federal government is responsible for setting national standards and that Connecticut would be at a competitive disadvantage with other states if it alone sets standards.

Why Do Doctors Keep Doing Treatments that Don’t Work (Medscape)

Dr. Smith: If you go to your doctor at the moment with lower back pain, there is a pretty good likelihood that you will get some imaging for that, and there are pretty good data that say that no subsequent decisions hinge on the observations made in that imaging, or that those decisions will happen at some incredibly low likelihood. But it goes much deeper than the instances of known waste. We do a lot of things, as Eric [Topol] pointed out, that are population-based when we fully know that 30%-40% of the people to whom we provide such therapies derive no benefit but experience all the costs and all the adverse consequences. All it takes is understanding the genetic determinants, the historical determinants, or the epigenetic determinants that say, “In you, this therapy won’t work, so skip it.” The opportunity to take potentially life-saving therapies and give them only to the 30%-50% of a cohort that deserves them, by virtue of having some positive impact, saves half of the expense.

Estimates of known waste are $700-$800 billion a year. The things we don’t yet know are larger because we are doing things that are in the guidelines. But when you peel back a layer, those guidelines are derived largely from apocryphal suggestions in remote history, right? So, there is a tremendous opportunity, as we put pressure on the system, to justify why we do what we do.

Importantly, we have a system with a bandwidth limitation living at the doctor. We can’t keep up with the onslaught of information. We can’t keep up with the patients we have to see. We are not really good at even figuring out which of the patients we are responsible for need to be seen at a particular time. We realize that “maybe I shouldn’t be making those decisions because I can’t comprehend all the diseases that my patients have. They are presenting information I don’t yet know how to interpret.” Maybe we need to offload that to smart systems.

NUTRIGENOMICS

THE ENVIRONMENT_GENETIC LINK Enters Mainstream Research:

Panor-omic Study entails clues on genes-environment interactions (Medscape)

Basically, what this entailed was a serial examination of 20 different blood draws that Michael Snyder had over a 14-month period. During that time, virtually everything you could imagine was assessed. Not only was there DNA sequencing at very high, deep coverage, high accuracy and resolution, but also there was gene expression. There was RNA seq to detect any issues in RNA. There were protein and metabolite assays that were comprehensive, along with autoantibody, along with micro RNAs — all of this over a 14-month period.

As you would expect, the susceptibility to some diseases through, not just common variations, but rare variations were detected, including a key rare variant associated with diabetes mellitus and another rare variant with high penetrance for aplastic anemia.

But what was interesting during this study that spanned over 14 months was that Michael Snyder had two viral infections. Right around 300 days, he had a viral infection that led to a marked increase in genes that were associated with inflammation, interferon, and the conventional serum CRP that we measure. With that, his glucoses shot up, as well as his HbA1C, even up to about 6.7% from what had been normal, with fasting glucoses that were in the mid-100s. Then he went on to a lifestyle program to lose weight and exercise more, and was able to reverse the clinical manifestations of diabetes.

This is a remarkable paper. It is an N of 1 study with an exceptional amount of billions and billions of data points across all the different ‘omics, and even expanding into autoantibody formation. It also tells us about how gene pathways and gene expression change over time. It’s not just a measurement once, it’s dynamic — the variants in one’s genome, as they can be expressed differently in different tissues, they also can be expressed differently as a function of time. It’s highly instructive.

Genomics and Environment Signal Diabetic Risk (Medscape)

Dr. Patay: We know that about 50% of the genomic risk of type 1 diabetes involves the part of chromosome 6 where the HLA genes are, but half comes from other parts of the genome…. We have an environment that can potentially increase or decrease the prevalence of disease — type 2 diabetes is a classic example, and you could even argue type 1 is. Then we have this DNA or code or software that runs to tell the body how to operate. A certain combination of “software” might lead to type 1 diabetes in this environment.

For type 2 diabetes, maybe in starvation environments where there’s not a lot of food, that genome might potentially increase or benefit your health. What we’re learning is that the pathway to type 1 diabetes isn’t just one route; there are multiple pathways that can get you to type 1. If we can alter some of those pathways, we may be able to alleviate or prevent type 1 diabetes.

Diet Reduces Diabetes in One Week (Diabetologia)

Conclusions/interpretation Normalisation of both beta cell function and hepatic insulin sensitivity in type 2 diabetes was achieved by dietary energy restriction alone. This was associated with decreased pancreatic and liver triacylglycerol stores. The abnormalities underlying type 2 diabetes are reversible by reducing dietary energy intake.

Rosemary EO for mood (Therapeutic)

Here we show for the first time that performance on cognitive tasks is significantly related to concentration of absorbed 1,8-cineole following exposure to rosemary aroma, with improved performance at higher concentrations. Furthermore, these effects were found for speed and accuracy outcomes, indicating that the relationship is not describing a speed–accuracy trade off.  The relationships between 1,8-cineole levels and mood were less pronounced, but did reveal a significant negative correlation between change in contentment and plasma 1,8-cineole levels.

Conclusion: These findings suggest that compounds absorbed from rosemary aroma affect cognition and subjective state independently through different neurochemical pathways. (Moss, M. Plasma 1,8-cineole correlates with cognitive performance following exposure to rosemary essential oil aroma (abstract). Therapeutic Advances in Psychopharmacology. February 24, 2012. 2045125312436573.)

More info here.

The Power of Food (Dr. Hyman)

Beyond simply being a mechanism for conveying calories, food is a source of special ingredients than can prevent and treat disease and transform your health. These are called phytonutrients – special plant chemicals that are not calories, protein, fat, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals, but special molecules that interact with your biology, special molecules that act like switches on your DNA to heal your body.

Food contributes to your experiences of taste, texture, delight, energy and nourishment. In China, food is all that, and a source of medicinal healing compounds known to support well-being and health.

Curcumin Affects DNA modification (at the Androgen Receptor (AR)) in Prostate Cancer (Cancer Research)

Together, our results demonstrate the combinatorial impact of targeting AR and histone modification in prostate cancer, setting the stage for further development of curcumin as a novel agent to target AR signaling.

For the Love of Coffee

Cuppa joe: friend or foe? Effects of chronic coffee consumption on cardiovascular and brain health.  [Link]
(Mo Med. 2011 Nov-Dec;108(6):431-8).

Caffeine is the most widely consumed psychoactive drug worldwide. Indeed the majority of adults consume caffeine on a daily basis, most commonly in the forms of coffee and tea. Coffee, in particular, is the favored caffeine source in the United States, where more than 150 million people drink coffee on a daily basis. Coffee, one of the richest sources of antioxidants in the average American’s diet, contains caffeine and other antioxidants that have the potential to confer both beneficial and adverse health effects. A growing body of research shows that coffee drinkers, compared to nondrinkers, may be less likely to develop type 2 diabetes, stroke, depression, death from any cause, and neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. Coffee appears to have a neutral effect on cardiovascular health. Although more research is clearly needed, coffee, when consumed without added cream or sugar, is a calorie-free beverage that may confer health benefits, especially when used in individuals who do not have adverse subjective effects due to its stimulating effects, and when coffee is substituted for less healthy, unnatural, and/or high-calorie beverages, such as colas and other sugary and artificially sweetened sodas and soft drinks.

Coffee and its consumption: benefits and risks.  [Link] (Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2011 Apr;51(4):363-73).

Coffee is the leading worldwide beverage after water and its trade exceeds US $10 billion worldwide. Controversies regarding its benefits and risks still exist as reliable evidence is becoming available supporting its health promoting potential; however, some researchers have argued about the association of coffee consumption with cardiovascular complications and cancer insurgence. The health-promoting properties of coffee are often attributed to its rich phytochemistry, including caffeine, chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, hydroxyhydroquinone (HHQ), etc. Many research investigations, epidemiological studies, and meta-analyses regarding coffee consumption revealed its inverse correlation with that of diabetes mellitus, various cancer lines, Parkinsonism, and Alzheimer’s disease. Moreover, it ameliorates oxidative stress because of its ability to induce mRNA and protein expression, and mediates Nrf2-ARE pathway stimulation. Furthermore, caffeine and its metabolites help in proper cognitive functionality. Coffee lipid fraction containing cafestol and kahweol act as a safeguard against some malignant cells by modulating the detoxifying enzymes. On the other hand, their higher levels raise serum cholesterol, posing a possible threat to coronary health, for example, myocardial and cerebral infarction, insomnia, and cardiovascular complications. Caffeine also affects adenosine receptors and its withdrawal is accompanied with muscle fatigue and allied problems in those addicted to coffee. An array of evidence showed that pregnant women or those with postmenopausal problems should avoid excessive consumption of coffee because of its interference with oral contraceptives or postmenopausal hormones. This review article is an attempt to disseminate general information, health claims, and obviously the risk factors associated with coffee consumption to scientists, allied stakeholders, and certainly readers.

Effects of dietary coconut oil on the biochemical and anthropometric profiles of women presenting abdominal obesity.  [Link]
(Lipids. 2009 Jul;44(7):593-601. Epub 2009 May 13. )

The effects of dietary supplementation with coconut oil on the biochemical and anthropometric profiles of women presenting waist circumferences (WC) >88 cm (abdominal obesity) were investigated. The randomised, double-blind, clinical trial involved 40 women aged 20-40 years. Groups received daily dietary supplements comprising 30 mL of either soy bean oil (group S; n = 20) or coconut oil (group C; n = 20) over a 12-week period, during which all subjects were instructed to follow a balanced hypocaloric diet and to walk for 50 min per day. Data were collected 1 week before (T1) and 1 week after (T2) dietary intervention. Energy intake and amount of carbohydrate ingested by both groups diminished over the trial, whereas the consumption of protein and fibre increased and lipid ingestion remained unchanged. At T1 there were no differences in biochemical or anthropometric characteristics between the groups, whereas at T2 group C presented a higher level of HDL (48.7 +/- 2.4 vs. 45.00 +/- 5.6; P = 0.01) and a lower LDL:HDL ratio (2.41 +/- 0.8 vs. 3.1 +/- 0.8; P = 0.04). Reductions in BMI were observed in both groups at T2 (P < 0.05), but only group C exhibited a reduction in WC (P = 0.005). Group S presented an increase (P < 0.05) in total cholesterol, LDL and LDL:HDL ratio, whilst HDL diminished (P = 0.03). Such alterations were not observed in group C. It appears that dietetic supplementation with coconut oil does not cause dyslipidemia and seems to promote a reduction in abdominal obesity.

Magnesium and Aging (Clin Interv in Aging)

The aging process is associated with progressive shortening of telomeres, repetitive DNA sequences, and proteins that cap and protect the ends of chromosomes. Telomerase can elongate pre-existing telomeres to maintain length and chromosome stability. Low telomerase triggers increased catecholamines while the sensitivity of telomere synthesis to Mg ions is primarily seen for the longer elongation products. Mg stabilizes DNA and promotes DNA replication and transcription, whereas low Mg might accelerate cellular senescence by reducing DNA stability, protein synthesis, and function of mitochondria. Telomerase, in binding to short DNAs, is Mg dependent.

Herbs & Alzheimer’s (Neurosignals. 2005;14(1-2):34-45. Search for natural products related to regeneration of the neuronal network).

Abstract :The reconstruction of neuronal networks in the damaged brain is necessary for the therapeutic treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. We have screened the neurite outgrowth activity of herbal drugs, and identified several active constituents. In each compound, neurite outgrowth activity was investigated under amyloid-beta-induced neuritic atrophy. Most of the compounds with neurite regenerative activity also demonstrated memory improvement activity in Alzheimer’s disease-model mice. Protopanaxadiol-type saponins in Ginseng drugs and their metabolite, M1 (20-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-(20S)-protopanaxadiol), showed potent regeneration activity for axons and synapses, and amelioration of memory impairment. Withanolide derivatives (withanolide A, withanoside IV, and withanoside VI) isolated from the Indian herbal drug Ashwagandha, also showed neurite extension in normal and damaged cortical neurons. Trigonelline, a constituent of coffee beans, demonstrated the regeneration of dendrites and axons, in addition to memory improvement.Tohda C, Kuboyama T, Komatsu K. PMID:15956813

Curcumin, Vitamin D and Alzheimer’s (1alpha,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 interacts with curcuminoids to stimulate amyloid-beta clearance by macrophages of Alzheimer’s disease patients.Masoumi A, et al.J Alzheimers Dis. 2009;17(3):703-17).

Abstract: Patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) suffer from brain amyloidosis related to defective clearance of amyloid-beta (Abeta) by the innate immune system. To improve the innate immune system of AD patients, we studied immune stimulation of macrophages by 1alpha,25(OH)2-vitamin D3(1,25D3) in combination with curcuminoids. AD patients’ macrophages segregate into Type I (positively stimulated by curcuminoids regarding MGAT-III transcription) and Type II (not stimulated). In both Type I and Type II macrophages, 1,25D3 strongly stimulated Abeta phagocytosis and clearance while protecting against apoptosis. Certain synthetic curcuminoids in combination with 1,25D3 had additive effects on phagocytosis in Type I but not Type II macrophages. In addition, we investigated the mechanisms of 1,25D3 and curcuminoids in macrophages. The 1,25D3 genomic antagonist analog MK inhibited 1,25D3 but not curcuminoid effects, suggesting that 1,25D3 acts through the genomic pathway. In silico, 1,25D3 showed preferential binding to the genomic pocket of the vitamin D receptor, whereas bisdemethoxycurcumin showed preference for the non-genomic pocket. 1,25D3 is a promising hormone for AD immunoprophylaxis because in Type I macrophages combined treatment with 1,25D3 and curcuminoids has additive effects, and in Type II macrophages 1,25D3 treatment is effective alone. Human macrophages are a new paradigm for testing immune therapies for AD. PMID:19433889

Green and Roobios Tea affect Blood Pressure (Holistic Primary Care)

A recent study from researchers at Linköping University in Sweden investigated the effects of green tea, black tea, and Rooibos tea on angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) and nitric oxide (NO).

Angiotensins are peptides that act as vasoconstrictors. ACE converts angiotensin to its activated form and enables it to function. The ACE gene polymorphic sites are an insertion/deletion consisting of 3 genotypes: II and DD homozygotes, and ID heterozygote.1 ACE levels are two- to three-folds higher in people with the DD genotype than in those with the II genotype; people with the ID genotype have an intermediate level of ACE.1,2
Green tea and black tea are derived from the leaves of Camellia sinensis. Caffeine-free Rooibos tea is derived from the leaves and stems of Aspalathus linearis. It does not contain catechins but does contain dihydrochalcones, flavones, and flavonols.

What is a Lectin (D’Adamo)

Typically, lectins can bind to many of the carbohydrate antigens found in the gut and immune system, causing a variety of health problems. These can include  intestinal dysbiosis, bowel hyperpermiability, immune dysfunction, food  sensitivities and systemic inflammation. This is usually accomplished by direct  agglutination of the target cells. Lectins can occur in very common foods in the diet, and the majority are specific for the carbohydrates of the ABO blood  typing system. In one study, the edible parts of 29 of 88 foods tested,  including common salad ingredients, fresh fruits, roasted nuts, and processed  cereals were found to possess significant lectin-like activity as assessed by  hemagglutination and bacterial agglutination assays.

Several common  lectins, in particular, wheat germ agglutinin, are known to bind to the insulin  receptor and mimic the hormonal effects of insulin on adipose tissue, an  under-appreciated action that can account for why individuals on high carbohydrate diets often have difficulty controlling their weight. Thus, lectin blocking is a safe and rational method for enhancing weight loss.

DRUGS

Antibiotic Overuse Contributing to C.Diff Infections in Hospitals (Medscape)

With the conviction that transmission of C difficile is avoidable but that no single action will be sufficient, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) outlined the 6 strategies that have the best chance of eradicating C difficile from healthcare. These strategies involve elements of antibiotic stewardship, testing for C difficile, isolation and infection control procedures, environmental cleaning, and communication^[2]:

1. Prescribe and use antibiotics carefully. About 50% of antibiotics that are given are not needed.
2. Test for C difficile when patients have diarrhea while taking antibiotics or within several months of taking them.
3. Isolate patients with C difficile immediately.
4. Wear gloves and gown when treating patients with C difficile, even during short visits. Hand sanitizer does not kill C difficile, and handwashing may not be sufficient.
5. Clean room surfaces with bleach or another Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-approved spore-killing disinfectant after a patient with C difficile has been treated there.
6. When a patient transfers to another facility, notify the new facility if the patient has CDI.

Part of this is education of prescribors. There are 3 key steps:

1. Always record the name; dose; intended duration of therapy; and, of importance, the reason for the antibiotic.
2. Order the appropriate cultures before treatment with antibiotics is started.
3. Take an antibiotic “time-out.” Reassess the patient after he or she has taken antibiotics for a day or 2 — does the patient still need it? Whenever possible, stop treatment with antibiotics that are no longer needed.

These things have to happen in hospitals, as well as in the community — doctor’s offices, nursing homes — across the entire healthcare spectrum.

Remember, Alcohol sanitizers don’t kill C.diff…wash your hands!

New Guidelines for Rhinosinusitis (Medscape)

Although rhinosinusitis is quite common — affecting nearly 1 in 7 adults each year — the prevalence of bacterial infection during acute rhinosinusitis is estimated to be only 2%-10% of all patients with symptoms of sinusitis.^[2,3] Antibiotics are significantly overprescribed for rhinosinusitis, which is the fifth leading indication for antimicrobial prescriptions by physicians in office practice.^[4] One national survey conducted during 1998-2003 revealed that 81% of adults presenting with symptoms of sinusitis in an outpatient setting received an antibiotic prescription.^[5] Overprescription of antibiotics is a serious concern because it is costly, exposes patients to unnecessary side effects, and fosters drug resistance.

Due to the lack of precision and practicality of current diagnostic methods, clinicians must rely on clinical presentations to distinguish bacterial from viral rhinosinusitis. The guidelines suggest that the infection is probably bacterial if any of the following are true:

• Onset with persistent symptoms or signs compatible with acute rhinosinusitis lasting for ? 10 days without any evidence of clinical improvement;
• Onset with severe symptoms or signs of high fever (? 39°C or 102°F) and purulent nasal discharge or facial pain lasting for at least 3-4 consecutive days at the beginning of an illness; or
• Onset with worsening symptoms or signs characterized by new onset of fever, headache, or increase in nasal discharge following a typical viral upper respiratory infection that lasted 5-6 days and initially improved (“double-sickening”).

Blood Pressure medications and Risks (Medscape)

Amlodipine has been the comparator drug in a large number of studies, including the Antihypertensive and Lipid-Lowering Treatment to Prevent Heart Attack Trial (ALLHAT) and the Anglo-Scandinavian Cardiac Outcomes Trial (ASCOT). Amlodipine does very well when it comes to preventing problems, but it seems to cause heart failure, reasonably commonly. If a patient has heart failure, clearly you are not going to be using amlodipine. In the ALLHAT study, when it came to any number of issues, especially for stroke prevention, amlodipine was almost as good as chlorthalidone was.

Beta-Blockers? (Medscape)

For a compelling indication like heart failure, angina, arrhythmias, or myocardial infarction, there is no question that beta-blockers should be part of the regimen. But beta-blockers are not indicated as initial therapy for hypertension, and that is an important distinction.Dr. Morrow: We are hearing a lot of talk about sympathetic nervous system activation and lability of blood pressure as a problem for stroke. I have seen a lot of back-and-forth about this, but it would seem more intuitive to use something that blocks sympathetic nerve activity directly in prevention of stroke.

Dr. Black: When you look at stroke as an outcome, beta-blockers are actually worse. In fact, that was the main finding of Lars Lindholm’s research.

Sales of Drugs (Medscape)

Humira Tops Sales as Lipitor, Plavix Era Ends

By Ben Hirschler

LONDON (Reuters) Apr 11 – Abbott Laboratories’ $9-billion arthritis drug Humira (adalimumab) is set to take the crown as the world’s top-selling medicine this year, highlighting the dominance of costly biotechnology products as revenues from old-style pills decline.

Neither of last year’s biggest sellers – Pfizer’s cholesterol fighter Lipitor (atorvastatin) or blood thinner Plavix (clopidogrel) from Sanofi and Bristol-Myers Squibb – will even make it into the top 10 in 2012, according to consensus forecasts compiled by Thomson Reuters Pharma.

The dramatic shift in the sales landscape, triggered by a record wave of patent expiries, will be centre-stage during the forthcoming quarterly results season as investors weigh up how leading pharmaceutical companies are adapting.

“They’ve all seen this coming but their ability to maneuver is limited,” said Simon Friend, global pharmaceutical leader at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

“It’s a tale of two worlds … there is certainly a rush to streamline costs and step up looking for new products.”

Roche, the first Big Pharma to report sales figures on April 12, is relatively well-placed in the new era, given its leading position in biotech and cancer drugs, which it hopes to consolidate by buying gene sequencing firm Illumina.

Roche has three anti-cancer drugs in the global top 10 with Rituxan (rituximab), Avastin (bevacizumab) and Herceptin(trastuzumab). Others are less fortunate. Pfizer is already feeling the loss of Lipitor, after the U.S. patent ran out in November, while for Sanofi and Bristol the first three months of 2012 were the last full quarter of U.S. Plavix sales before cheap generics hit.

Bottom of the pack is AstraZeneca, trading on just seven times this year’s expected earnings. It has already warned that earnings will fall by more than 10% in 2012 as its antipsychotic Seroquel (quetiapine) and other drugs face generic competition.

Weight Gain and Weight Loss Drugs (Medscape)

Dr. Black: Which are the medications that make you gain weight?

Dr. Aronne: There are dozens of medicines, primarily in the area of psychiatry and neurology, and also some of the cardiovascular drugs. Beta-blockers can make it difficult to lose weight; alpha-blockers can make it difficult. Sleep medicines, over-the-counter sleep medications, can make it difficult, as well as a variety of hormonal therapies. And in the diabetes drug areas, if you follow the standard weight-gaining algorithms, you go from metformin to either insulin or thiazolidinediones and sulfonylurea; that’s the most common scenario we see. It’s very difficult to get that patient to lose weight. If we switch them over to either a dipeptidyl peptidase 4 inhibitor or, even better, a glucagon-like peptide-1 agonist, we’ll often see weight loss right away, because you’re taking away a weight-gaining medicine and you’re starting a weight-losing medication.

Dr. Black: There was a recent study about the value of 2 different types of bariatric surgery compared with usual medical therapy, which showed after just a year that hemoglobin A1c went down and people lost as much as 25 or 30 kilos with the surgery.^[1] What was your opinion of that study?

Dr. Aronne: People have criticized the study as not being as good as it could have been, but it’s very, very tough to do these studies and to randomize people. I give credit to the authors of the studies^[1,2] that were done, both of the studies that were done. One of the authors, Francesco Rubino, is from our institution, I should mention. I want to point out that, given the difficulties of doing a good trial in that setting, where you’re trying to randomize someone to a surgical procedure or medical therapy, I believe the results — that people do better with surgery. That being said, is there more risk in surgery? Sure.

Antipsychotics Off-label Use Soars, Not without Adverse Effects (Dr. Mercola)

In recent years, there has been a massive increase in off-label use of atypical antipsychotics. While most are only approved for the treatment of serious mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, this class of drugs is now increasingly prescribed for ailments such as anxiety, insomnia, and behavioral problems in children

Off-label prescriptions for antipsychotic drugs doubled between 1995 and 2008, from 4.4 million to 9 million prescriptions. In 2008, an estimated $6 billion was spent on off-label antipsychotics in the US, of which $5.4 billion was for uses based on uncertain evidence

In 2007 alone, half a million children and teenagers were given at least one prescription for an antipsychotic, including 20,500 under the age of 6. American children are the most medicated children in the world; getting three times more prescriptions for antidepressants and stimulants, and up to double the amount of antipsychotic drugs than kids from Germany and the Netherlands

Antidepressant Side Effects (Mercola)

• One in 10 American adults suffer from depression, and 11 percent of the US population over the age of 12 is taking at least one antidepressant medication
• Antidepressant use has been linked to thicker arteries, which could contribute to the risk of heart disease and stroke. In one study, the thickness of the main neck arteries in men taking antidepressants was about five percent thicker than that of those who were not using the drugs
• Last year, the FDA issued a safety alert on the antidepressant Celexa, warning it can cause abnormal changes in the electrical activity of your heart, which can lead to abnormal heart rhythm and fatal heart attacks
• In another large study, menopausal women taking tricyclic antidepressants and SSRIs were 45 percent more likely to suffer a fatal stroke than those not taking an antidepressant. Their overall mortality rate was also 32 percent higher
• Other serious side effects of antidepressants include: suicide, violence and homicidal tendencies, type 2 diabetes, brittle bones, stillbirths, immune problems, conversion from unipolar depression to the more severe diagnosis of bipolar illness, and cognitive decline with long-term use
• “Antidepressants’ effects on blood vessels may come from changes in serotonin, a chemical that helps some brain cells communicate but also functions outside the brain… Most of the serotonin in the body is found outside the brain, especially in the intestines… In addition, serotonin is stored by platelets, the cells that promote blood clotting, and is released when they bind to a clot. However, serotonin’s effects on blood vessels are complex and act in multiple ways. It can either constrict or relax blood vessels, depending on whether the vessels are damaged or not.”
• People with underlying heart conditions and low potassium and magnesium levels in their blood are particularly at risk for this, and the drug should no longer be used at doses greater than 40 mg per day, the FDA said. While the drug’s label indicates that “certain patients may require a dose of 60 mg per day,” studies have shown that there’s no benefit in the treatment of depression with doses higher than 40 mg, the FDA added.

++++BONUS READS:

Be sure to check out weekly Naturopathic Fun Facts at my saratoga.com blog!

What’s New and More:

• On the left hand side, is a link to Dr. Oz’s Sharecare…type in your question and view my answers as well as many other health experts concerning your topic!
• Summer reading is around the corner. Click here for a suggested and an updated reading list
• Look for my future blog that highlights my interview with Tom Petrie and reviews his latest book, Anti-Vitamin Baloney
  • -I’ll also be providing a link on my homepage to the actual call!

We are already almost through April? Can you believe it? Next week, I’ll be posting my Top Reads which will highlight this month’s most influential newsletters, blogs, and articles on health. Below, are some updates that I wanted to share separately, as I feel they deserve their own spotlight. Specifically, I wanted to provide you with two important updates in women’s cancer screening guidelines for breast and cervical cancer. (My main blog this week can be found at Saratoga.com/living-well where I discuss the link between stress and music, depression and baby blues, and the gut-brain. Read more here).

First, recent research shows that the addition of an ultrasound or MRI with mammography can provide some benefit for women most at risk for cancer, but can create higher false positives for those who aren’t at risk (see below). This research is following the controversial U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) updated recommendation on bi-annual vs. annual mammography screening for breast cancer. (Annals of Internal Medicine. November 17, 2009 vol. 151 no. 10 716-726).

Note: A hot topic in breast health screening is thermography. Some integrative practitioners recommend thermography as an annual screening and believe that is safer and may be more reliable than conventionally accepted methods. Read more about the controversy behind screening and the sensitivity of breast cancer detection here.

Now for the updates:

The Best Breast Screening? (Medscape)

April 3, 2012 — Annual screening mammography and breast ultrasound exams detect 34% more invasive breast cancers than mammography alone, according to a new multicenter study involving 2662 women with dense breasts and a moderately elevated risk for breast cancer.

Final results of the 3-year American College of Radiology Imaging Network (ACRIN) 6666 study showed that the benefits of screening ultrasound are tempered by more false-positives and negative breast biopsies.

The researchers also found that breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) after 3 years of screening mammography and ultrasound raises the diagnostic yield even higher (56% more invasive breast cancers detected), but at the cost of increased false-positives, higher financial expenses, and patient resistance to the procedure.

The study, which is published in the April 4 issue of JAMA, is the first major scientific inquiry to examine the specific, clinical relevance of breast cancers detected with screening ultrasound, principal investigator Wendie A. Berg, MD, PhD, from the Department of Radiology, University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, said to Medscape Medical News.

Source: Ultrasound Adds to Mammography’s Diagnostic Power for At-Risk Women. James Brice. Medscape. 4/3/12.

MRI and High Risk Breast Screening (Medscape)

March 23, 2012 — Screening with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can be beneficial in a subgroup of women with a family history of breast cancer. Even though it is very expensive, it could be cost effective for some women with a family history of the disease, even if they lack the BRCA1/2 gene mutation.

Source: MRI Screening for Breast Cancer Is Cost Effective for Some. Roxanne Nelson. Medscape. 3/23/12.

Testing for Cervical Cancer (Medscape)

The American Cancer Society (ACS), the American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology (ASCCP), and the American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP) have now published new, evidence-based guidelines that will change how we screen for cervical cancer.^[2] To summarize:

• Screening should begin at age 21 years. Cytology alone is recommended every 3 years for women 21-29 years of age.

• For women 30-65 years of age, cotesting every 5 years is recommended. If HPV testing is not available, cytology alone should be continued every 3 years.

• Cytologic findings of atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASCUS) accompanied by HPV-negative results should be managed the same as with a normal screening result.

Source: Updated Guidelines for Cervical Cancer Screening: Less Is More. Andrew Kaunitz, MD. Medscape. 4/5/12.

This Month’s Top Reads Highlights some very exciting topics on Nutrigenomics, Health, and Drug Updates.

Scroll down to learn about:

1. Important Brain Foods you can add to your diet

2. Links between nutrients and digestive health

3. Women’s Health:

• Another viewpoint on Mammograms
• Updated position paper on Hormone Replacement by NAMS

4. The link between Alzheimer’s and Cholesterol

5. The Dangers of Sleeping Pills

6. MMR Vaccines and why it’s not the cause of Autism but may be a contributor for Some

7….much more

FRIENDLY REMINDER:

I watched my mom dutifully get my monthly updates and to try click through and read every link. Poor mom!

She had a backlog of my Top Reads in order to support my writing.

That’s not what the Top Reads is for.

I’ve done the work for you, as your Doctor!

As many of you know, I’m a constant learner.

Top Reads is a result of my me compilation of TOP NEWS from the month on what I consider the most relevant health updates.

It’s summarized and highlighted in the paragraph. If you want more, by all means click, if not, you’ve got the main point …..
Dr. Sarah’s Health Cliff Notes….Updated!

Now…there’s more I could include…but I just give you a skimming.

NUTRIGENOMICS

Brain Foods: Slideshow of Healthy Foods (Medscape)

A deficiency in polyunsaturated fatty acids has been linked to attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder in children.^[9] Although data are conflicting, new research shows that the omega-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid are beneficial in depression and postpartum depression, respectively, and other research suggests that omega-3 deficiency may be a risk factor for suicide

.A study in rats from 2010 showed that a diet high in strawberry, blueberry, or blackberry extract leads to a “reversal of age-related deficits in nerve function and behavior involving learning and memory.”

A so-called “whole” diet high in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and high-quality meats and fish results in a 30% risk reduction for depression and anxiety disorders, compared with consumption of a “Western diet” high in processed foods and saturated fats, according to a 2010 study.^[20] Even unprocessed red meat seems to be protective against depressive and anxiety disorders,^[21] in contrast to many studies in which red meat often falls into the category of “unhealthy” food. In speaking with Medscape News, principal investigator Dr. Felice Jacka specifically addressed the importance of farming practices.

and…chocolate for mood, Mediterranean diet for heart, coffee for health…click to learn more..

Magnesium and Anxiety Link (Neuropharmocology)

Overall, the present findings demonstrate the robustness and validity of the Mg²⁺ deficiency model as a mouse model of enhanced anxiety, showing sensitivity to treatment with anxiolytics and antidepressants. It is further suggested that dysregulations in the HPA axis may contribute to the hyper-emotionality in response to dietary induced hypomagnesaemia.

Fermented Foods, Probiotics, and Intestinal Health (Dr. Mercola)

• The combination of avoiding or eliminating grains (and sugar), along with increased consumption of probiotic foods (or a high-quality supplement) is a powerful combination that may improve the health of people with celiac disease, gluten intolerance and a wide range of other related conditions
• Your gut microflora play a critical role in the onset of celiac disease; past research has shown probiotics may help heal intestinal barrier function in people with celiac disease, as well as alleviate the severity of the condition by reducing inflammation
• In a new animal study, researchers revealed that when mice were fed the probiotic strain Saccharomyces boulardii KK1, gluten-induced pathological intestinal changes commonly associated with celiac disease progression began to reverse

Choline Linked to Liver Help in Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (The Am Journal of Clinical Nutrition)

Conclusion: Decreased choline intake is significantly associated with increased fibrosis in postmenopausal women with NAFLD. The Pioglitazone vs Vitamin E vs Placebo for Treatment of Non-Diabetic Patients With Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT00063622, and the Treatment of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Children trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT00063635.

HEALTH

Sugar Addiction (Dr. Mercola)

• When you eat sugar it triggers the production of your brain’s natural opioids — a key factor in addiction. Your brain essentially becomes addicted to the sugar-induced opioid release, not unlike addictions to morphine or heroin
• Like many types of addictions, sugar addiction can be deadly. Evidence is mounting that sugar is a primary contributing factor not only in obesity and diabetes, but other chronic degenerative diseases such as cancer
• Sugar really is “the most unhappy of pleasures,” because although it gives you a moment’s pleasure, the more you eat, the more you crave, with the bitter and inevitable result that it damages your health

Diabesity/lipotoxicity hits the Heart in Conventional Medicine (Medscape)

Conventional Medicine is sounding like functional medicine…but not quite there!

One patient may have more of a contribution of their diabetes. One patient may have more of a contribution of high blood pressure, or some combination thereof. Of course, we’re not even at a point where we know how to treat diabetic heart failure yet. So many studies are ongoing, both in the laboratory as well as in humans, and are aimed at looking at whether the metabolic derangements that are driven by diabetes begin to lead to the failing heart, and in many cases, for vascular disease that leads to heart attacks.

Wouldn’t it be great, for instance, to do a biochemical test or an imaging test or a genetic test, and be able to determine in a patient in your office whether his early heart failure was largely due to the lipotoxicity of diabetes, to hypertension, or to both? We’ve made, as have others, significant progress in this area, at least in preclinical models. And there is hope now that with the combination of imaging lipid in the heart, metabolic imaging that looks at fuel utilization, and the broad area of what we call “metabolomics,” which means measuring, detecting, and quantifying metabolites in the bloodstream and in the tissues, we believe that there is hope in the long term for developing personalized biomarker panels that, for the given patient who has heart failure with multiple risk factors, to be able to identify the main, or several main, drivers and to treat them accordingly.

Steven R. Smith, MD; Daniel P. Kelly, MD. Understanding the Diabetic Heart. Developments to Watch. Medscape Today. 2/21/12

The Other White Meat? (Dr. Mercola)

• Pork consumption has a strong epidemiological association with cirrhosis of the liver — in fact, it may be more strongly associated with cirrhosis than alcohol
• Other studies also show an association between pork consumption and liver cancer as well as multiple sclerosis.
• Several factors may be behind these health risks, including pork raised on grains and seed oils, making it high in omega-6 fats, as well as the fact that most pork consumed in the United States is processed (processed meats are known to increase the risk of cancer)
• Being scavenger animals, pigs are also prime breeding grounds for potentially dangerous infections; even cooking pork for long periods is not enough to kill many of the retroviruses and other parasites that many of them harbor (this is true even of pasture-raised pork)

Blood Types and Stress (D’Adamo Personalized Nutrition Newsletter)

So as I just mentioned Type A does better with activities that clear cortisol from their systems, like yoga and Tai Chi. Type O does better with more vigorous exercise that clears a class of stress hormones called catecholamines from their bodies. Type B can also benefit from more calming exercises especially if they are prone to depression in the family. AB’s benefit from routine and anything that keeps their immune system functioning properly like eating and going to bed at the same time, routine cleansing, and avoiding extremes in terms of lifestyle.

New Position Paper on Hormone Replacement (NAMS)

The North American Menopause Society’s (NAMS) new Position Statement on Hormone
Therapy, published in 2012, provides the following information to help you understand the
most recent guidelines on HT use:

• HT remains the most effective treatment available for menopausal symptoms, including hot flashes and night sweats that can interrupt sleep and impair quality of life. Many women can take it safely.

• If you have had blood clots, heart disease, stroke, or breast cancer, it may not be in your best interest to take HT. Be sure to discuss your health conditions with your healthcare provider.

• How long you should take HT is different for EPT and ET. For EPT, the time is limited by the increased risk of breast cancer that is seen with more than 3 to 5 years of use. For ET, no sign of an increased risk of breast cancer was seen during an average of 7 years of treatment, a finding that allows more choice in how long you choose to use ET.

• Most healthy women below age 60 will have no increase in the risk of heart disease with HT. The risks of stroke and blood clots in the lungs are increased but, in these younger age groups, the risks are less than 1 in every 1000 women per year taking HT.
• ET delivered through the skin (by patch, cream, gel, or spray) and low?dose oral estrogen may have lower risks of blood clots and stroke than standard doses of oral estrogen, but all the evidence is not yet available. Research will continue to bring valuable information to help women with their decision about HT.

Another Viewpoint on Mammograms (Dr. Mercola)

In September 2010, the New England Journal of Medicine, one of the most prestigious medical journals, published the first study in years⁷ to examine the effectiveness of mammograms. Their findings are a far cry from what most public health officials would have you believe.The bottom line is that mammograms seem to have reduced cancer death rates by only 0.4 deaths per 1,000 women—an amount so small it might as well be zero. Put another way, 2,500 women would have to be screened over 10 years for a single breast cancer death to be avoided.

So, not only are mammograms unsafe, but they are NOT saving women’s lives, as was commonly thought. Past research has also shown that adding an annual mammogram to a careful physical examination of the breasts does not improve breast cancer survival rates over physical examination alone. If mammograms won’t save you, then what will?

The Anti-Stress Neurotransmitter GABA May Help Prevent Weight Gain in Diabetic (mice) (PLoS)

Collectively, our data indicated that activation of peripheral GABA receptors inhibited the HFD-induced glucose intolerance, insulin resistance, and obesity by inhibiting obesity-related inflammation and up-regulating Treg responses in vivo. Given that GABA is safe for human consumption, activators of GABA receptors may be valuable for the prevention of obesity and intervention of T2DM in the clinic.

Lose Weight By Sleeping (Dr. Hyman)

These treatments can save your life — and help you lose weight. It’s not uncommon for my patients to lose up to 50 pounds by just having their sleep apnea treated. They eat less, have more energy, and can exercise more — and it all happens effortlessly, by just having good quality sleep.
That’s the solution for people with sleep apnea.
But what if you just can’t get ENOUGH sleep?
Try these tips to get between 7 and 9 hours of sleep, which can have dramatic effects on your weight and health:
1.      Avoid substances that affect sleep, like caffeine, sugar, and alcohol.
2.      Avoid any stimulating activities for 2 hours before bed such as watching TV, using the Internet, and answering emails.
3.      Go to bed (preferably before 10 or 11 pm) and wake up at the same time every day.
4.      Exercise daily for 30 minutes (but not 3 hours before bed, which can affect sleep)
5.      Use your bed only for sleep and sex.
6.      Keep your bedroom very dark or use eyeshades.
7.      Read more by clicking above…….

Alzheimer’s and Cholesterol (Dr. Mercola)

” … depletion of sulfate supply to the brain is another important contributor to Alzheimer’s, and I further think that sulfate is supplied to the brain principally by sterol sulfates like cholesterol sulfate as well as their derivatives like vitamin D3 sulfate. Both cholesterol sulfate and vitamin D3 sulfate are synthesized in the skin upon exposure to sunlight, and it is theorized that the skin is the major supplier of these nutrients to the body. This is why I believe that excess sunscreen use and excess sun avoidance are another principal causative factor in Alzheimer’s disease.”

Sulfur also plays an important role in glucose metabolism. She hypothesizesⁱⁱⁱ that if a sufficient amount of sulfur is available, it will act as a decoy to glucose, effectively diverting it to reduce the sulfur rather than glycating and causing damage. This would have the beneficial effect of reducing inflammation, as sugar (glucose) is highly inflammatory and wreaks havoc in your body.

What does this have to do with your brain? The process applies not only to fat and muscle cells, but also to cells in your brain (and, in fact, to all cells in your body). Dr. Seneff explains:

“Essentially all cells in the body are surrounded by an exterior coat made up of complex molecules called “GAGs” — glycosaminoglycans. These contain sugars, proteins, and a large population of attached ions, particularly sulfate anions. These serve, I believe, an important role in helping to safely break down sugar. Simply stated, the sulfur atom deflects the reducing actions of sugars away from the vulnerable proteins. The sulfate anions also provide a negative field around the cell, which is very useful for keeping bacteria out, because bacteria are also negatively charged, and hence repelled by the cell’s negative electric field. So cells with lots of surrounding sulfate are afforded protection from invasive bacteria. If a bacterium does get in, the cell will have to release oxidizing agents to kill it, and the cell itself will suffer damage from exposure to its own defense system. The fats in the cell membrane are more vulnerable to oxidative damage when there is insufficient cholesterol to protect them.”

Laptops Not for Laps! (Dr. Mercola)

Separate research has also shown that laptops may be harmful to sperm, with samples exposed to a wireless internet-connected laptop showing a significant decrease in sperm motility and an increase in sperm DNA fragmentation. Researchers concluded your lap is an “improper site” for use of a laptop computer, and suggested the devices be renamed so as not to “induce customers towards an improper use”

These properties contribute to greater reactivity of DNA to electromagnetic fields than other tissues, making the long-term consequences of repeated microwave exposures to our genetic material of great concern. Dr. Blank is adamant when he says that there IS evidence of harm, and that the harm can be significant. He also points out that the science showing harmful effects has been peer-reviewed, published, and that the results have been replicated, evaluated and “judged by scientists capable of judging it.”…. Your body contains electrons that keep an electrical current flowing, and inside every cell are mitochondria, the ‘power plants’ of the cell that respond to the body’s natural electromagnetic fields.

Omega 3s Help Fight Cancer Fatigue (Vital Choice)

The participants’ blood was analyzed for markers of chronic and acute inflammation … C-reactive protein (CRP) and serum amyloid A protein, respectively. (To learn about inflammation and tumor growth, see “Breast Cancer Linked to Inflammation”.) As the authors reported, their results indicated that the women with higher intake of omega-3s had lower inflammation (CRP) levels and less physical fatigue. After adjusting the results to account for other factors, breast cancer survivors with high CRP [inflammation ] levels were almost twice (1.8 times) as likely to experience fatigue. And the women with higher blood levels of omega-6 fatty acids relative to omega-3s had higher CRP levels and were more than twice (2.6 times) as likely to suffer from fatigue.

Low Fructose Helps Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) (Medscape)

Conclusion. Low-fructose diet in subjects with CKD can reduce inflammation with some potential benefits on BP. This pilot study needs to be confirmed by a larger clinical trial to determine the long-term benefit of a low-fructose diet compared to other diets in subjects with CKD.

DRUGS

Drugs and Devices: The Latest News For Primary Care (Medscape)

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a Drug Safety Communication regarding the potential risk for Clostridium difficile diarrhea in patients taking prescription or nonprescription proton pump inhibitors (PPIs). Patients should be instructed to take PPIs at the lowest effective dose and for the shortest duration appropriate for the medical condition. In addition, patients should be instructed to contact their healthcare professional immediately if they develop watery stool that does not improve, abdominal pain, and fever while taking PPIs. For more information, see Proton Pump Inhibitors Linked to C difficile Diarrhea.

The FDA approved lisdexamfetamine dimesylate (Vyvanse®, Shire US Inc., Wayne, Pennsylvania) for maintenance treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in adults. This central nervous system stimulant is a schedule II controlled substance and has previous approval for ADHD in children and adolescents. Patients taking Vyvanse should be counseled about the risk for serious cardiovascular events and sudden death with use. For more information, see FDA Approves Agent for Maintenance Therapy in Adult ADHD.

Notable Cases of Medical Fraud (Dr. Mercola)

• Scott S. Reuben, a prominent Massachusetts anesthesiologist, allegedly fabricated 21 medical studies published between 1996 and 2008 that claimed to show benefits from painkillers like Vioxx, Celebrex, Bextra and Lyrica. His work was considered important in encouraging doctors to combine the use of painkillers like Celebrex and Lyrica for patients undergoing common procedures such as knee and hip replacements
• Last year, autism researcher Poul Thorsen was charged with 13 counts of wire fraud and nine counts of money laundering. He also allegedly stole over $1 million from autism research funding between February 2004 and June 2008. He is said to have stolen the money while serving as the ‘principal investigator’ for a program that studied the relationship between autism and exposure to vaccines. He was involved in several key studies the CDC uses to support their claims that MMR and mercury-containing vaccines, among others, are safe. One of his papers on the subject, known as ‘The Danish Study’, is extensively quoted to refute the autism-vaccine connection
• In October, 2011, the Office of Research Integrity at the U.S. Department of Health discovered that a Boston University cancer scientist, Sheng Wang, had fabricated his research findings. His work was published in two journals in 2009, and he’s been ordered to retract them. But important studies by other scientists like those at the Mayo Clinic, who based their work on his findings, could now see 10 years of their studies going down the drain as worthless…
• Read more examples by clicking the link above…..

Sleeping Pills Linked to Increased Death Risk (Dr. Mercola)

• Research involving data from more than 10,500 people who received drugs for poor sleep (hypnotics) showed that “as predicted, patients prescribed any hypnotic had substantially elevated hazards of dying compared to those prescribed no hypnotics” and the association held true even when patients with poor health were taken into account — and even if the patients took fewer than 18 pills in a year.
• Sleeping pills generally only increase the amount of time you sleep by a matter of minutes, and far from waking up refreshed, they can impair your functioning the next day, making you even less alert and more disoriented
• Other strange side effects linked to sleeping pills include hallucinations, sleep walking, sleep driving, sleep eating, amnesia, and depression
• Sleeping pills do nothing to help the underlying reasons why you’re having trouble sleeping in the first place; improving your sleep hygiene habits and your bedroom environment can go a long way toward helping you get restful sleep naturally

Anti-Seizure Drug with Outlawed Drug From Past= New “Miracle Weight Loss Drug”(Dr. Hyman)

UGHH>>>>>>People will be taking a mix of anti-seizure medication and a dangerous drug. “Dying to be thin.”

This week, in an act of desperation to turn back the tide of the obesity epidemic that now affects almost seven out of every ten Americans and over 80% of some populations (African American women), the advisory committee to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) voted 20 to 2 to recommend approval of Qnexa, a “new” obesity drug that is simply the combination of two older medications, phentermine (the “phen” of phen-fen”) and topiramate (Topamax).It is a misguided effort at best, and a dangerous one at worst.  Mounting evidence proves that the solution to lifestyle and diet-driven obesity-related illnesses including heart disease, diabetes, dementia, and even cancer, won’t be found at the bottom of a prescription bottle.

By 2020, over 50% of the US adult population will have type 2 diabetes or prediabetes, with annual costs approaching $500 billion. By 2030, total annual economic costs of cardiovascular disease in the US are predicted to exceed $1 trillion. By 2030, globally we will spend $47 trillion; yes trillion, to address the effects of chronic lifestyle-driven disease.

FDA Considers Rx Drugs as OTC (Dr. Mercola)

Because the majority of Americans are already taking too many drugs, and easier access makes it likely that people will take even more — even though many chronic conditions, like elevated cholesterol, are best treated without drugs, and there are many serious health risks to self-medicating. As pointed out in Current Drug Safety:^iv

“Potential risks of self-medication practices include: incorrect self-diagnosis, delays in seeking medical advice when needed, infrequent but severe adverse reactions, dangerous drug interactions, incorrect manner of administration, incorrect dosage, incorrect choice of therapy, masking of a severe disease and risk of dependence and abuse … some of the most important dangers related to self-medication practices, particularly [include]: polypharmacy and drug interactions, medications abuse or dependence, misdiagnosis and incorrect choice of treatment.”

Anyone taking more than one drug increases their risk of experiencing harmful side effects. The word ‘polypharmacy’ simply means “many drugs,” but refers to instances where an individual is taking too many drugs — either because more drugs are prescribed (or taken over-the-counter) than clinically indicated, or when the sheer number of pills simply becomes a burden for the patient.

According to the CHPA survey, the majority of Americans (92%) believe that OTC medicines are safe and effective. But deaths due to unintentional drug overdoses have increased roughly five-fold since 1990^v– and the risk of all adverse reactions, including serious and even life-threatening complications, goes up dramatically the more drugs you take.

 

Vaccines, MMR, and Biochemical Individuality (Dr. Hyman)

In another study DNA analysis was performed on the measles strains found in autistic children and compared them to non-autistic children with inflamed bowels. The shocking finding was that the DNA of the measles virus in autistic children came from vaccine strains of measles (the ones made specially for vaccines), not wild types (the type of measles virus that comes from a community acquired infection).(iii)

This doesn’t mean that ALL children who get vaccinated have problems, but for some reason autistic children are unable to handle the live measles viruses used in immunizations, and it triggers an inflammatory response in the gut, and the brain. These children can’t handle the vaccine (maybe because mercury suppresses their immune system) and then the normally benign live measles virus in the vaccine takes root in the body and sends these kids into an even deeper spiral of brain dysfunction.

What is even more alarming is that vaccine strains of measles virus seem to migrate into the brains of children with autism. That means it may not be only gut related inflammation that is causing the problems, but the measles virus may take root in the brain itself. How this all happens is not clear, but the trail from vaccine to the gut to the brain is smoking hot. Vaccine measles strains have been isolated from the spinal fluid of autistic children.(iv)

Large-scale population studies show no connection between MMR or measles vaccine and autism.(v) That’s because in such large populations, the effect on children susceptible to MMR is “washed out”. If you study large groups of people, you won’t pick up small effects on genetically or biochemically unique individuals. Looking at the problem using this kind of statistical analysis is unhelpful for treating individual patients.

An Excuse to Drink Coffee? Healthy Meat? Read more on my Saratoga.com blog.