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Friday 28 August 2015

The Importance of Bone Health

The health of our bones is instrumental to our health and longevity in general. This understanding is especially important today, because there are so many toxins and contaminants in the environment and food chain. Keeping our bones and GI tract healthy is the first step to maintaining a healthy immune system, which is vital in protecting us from the epidemics and pandemics that seem to be lurking around every corner.

This post is on Healthwise


Life Extension Magazine December 2010

BOOK-EXCERPT
By Nicholas Perricone, MD
The Importance of Bone Health
The health of our bones is instrumental to our health and longevity in general. This understanding is especially important today, because there are so many toxins and contaminants in the environment and food chain. Keeping our bones and GI tract healthy is the first step to maintaining a healthy immune system, which is vital in protecting us from the epidemics and pandemics that seem to be lurking around every corner.
Red and white blood cell production alone makes maintaining optimal bone health an important requirement for optimal overall health, especially as we age. It is no coincidence that with aging, diminishing bone health is also accompanied by reduced energy, increased fatigue, an increase in digestive problems, and an increase in maladies associated with a weakening immune system. These maladies include such disorders as rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, irritable and inflammatory bowel disorders, and a host of other chronic inflammatory and degenerative problems—another excellent reason to make sure your diet is rich in high-quality probiotics and foods that are not pro-inflammatory, since pro-inflammatory foods will compound these problems.
Bone cells and immune stem cells have a common origin and a functional relationship, just like the skin-and-brain connection known as the osteoimmune relationship. That functional relationship is the basis for the growing field of osteoimmunology. Consider this alarming fact: it is now known that chronic immune system overexertion leads to bone loss and can also promote muscle wasting and increased fat storage.
This unfortunate triumvirate does not have to be inevitable. Muscle wasting/loss of muscle mass in older people is called sarcopenia. I had long suspected that there was a strong link between inflammation and sarcopenia and used it as a model to measure and compare the loss of muscle mass seen in those who diet. I was not surprised to discover that patients who suffered from sarcopenia had higher circulating levels of inflammatory markers than those who experienced less loss of muscle mass, while other parameters had insignificant differences. Those other parameters, including levels of growth hormones and sex hormones, were fairly close to the same level in both groups.
In simple terms, the subjects with the greatest loss of muscle mass were in an inflammatory state. Inflammatory markers, such as C-reactive protein and cytokines such as interleukin-6, are elevated in the people who suffer the most loss of muscle mass, or severe sarcopenia.
Vitamin K1 : Healthy Bones, Healthy Heart
This loss of both bone and muscle mass, in conjunction with increased fat storage, has very special disease implications that reach far beyond the obvious aesthetics. According to Navinchandra Dadhaniya, M.D., a specialist in geriatric medicine at Illini Hospital in Pittsfield, Illinois, a healthy young person’s body composition includes 30 percent muscle, 20 percent fat, and 10 percent bone. A person age 75 or over may have 15 percent muscle, 40 percent fat, and 8 percent bone. Reduced bone density, loss of bone health, osteopenia, and osteoporosis portend much greater risks to the body than the broken hip so common in the elderly. These conditions have a systemic impact, predisposing the body to other potentially very serious disorders as well.
Bone formation—the acquisition of bone mineral density (BMD)—peaks between the ages of 20 and 30.After the age of 35, both men and women begin to lose bone mass unless they take action to prevent it. By the time we begin to think about our bones, we may have already suffered serious damage.
It seems hard to believe that this can happen so early in our lives. You need to protect your bones from an early age. If you are in your twenties or thirties, you can take active steps to prevent future problems. If you are older, there are exciting new strategies that can make a significant difference now.
As you will discover, specially targeted nutrients can not only slow bone loss, they can actually encourage new bone growth. While there is an extensive and compelling body of research supporting the positive effects of calcium and vitamin D3 on bone health, a review of forty-eight studies on the effects of calcium on bone health concluded that other micronutrients are needed to optimize bone health, including vitamin K2, magnesium, and trace minerals.

Vitamin K1 : Healthy Bones, Healthy Heart

Many of us are familiar with vitamin K (phylloquinone, also known as phytonadione), commonly referred to as vitamin K1, which is a fat soluble vitamin found in foods such as cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, kale, turnip greens, and other dark leafy greens, cereals, and other vegetables. Vitamin K1 makes up about 90 percent of the vitamin K in a typical Western diet and plays an important role in blood clotting. Because this is a fat-soluble vitamin, it is important to eat these foods dressed with a little extra-virgin olive oil to ensure absorption of the nutrient. Some studies indicate that only 10 percent of the vitamin K1 in foods is absorbed by your body.
Today, emerging evidence in human intervention studies indicate that vitamin K1 at a much lower dose may also benefit bone health, in particular when coadministered with vitamin D. Several mechanisms are suggested by which vitamin K can modulate bone metabolism. There is increasing evidence that vitamin K positively affects calcium balance, a key mineral in bone metabolism. The Institute of Medicine has recently increased the dietary reference intakes of vitamin K to 90 micrograms per day for women and 120 micrograms per day for men, which is an increase of approximately 50 percent from previous recommendations.
Current recommendations are based on levels to ensure adequate blood coagulation, but failing to ensure long-term optimal levels of the vitamin may accelerate bone fragility, arterial and kidney calcification, cardiovascular disease, and possibly even cancer.
Vitamin K2: Don’t Leave Home Without It!

Vitamin K2: Don’t Leave Home Without It!

Though this is good news, the news about vitamin K2 is even better when it comes to both bone and arterial health. Vitamin K2, also known as menaquinones, stays in the body for a significantly longer time than K1. It makes up about 10 percent of a typical Western diet’s vitamin K and can be synthesized in the gut by microflora.
Menaquinones (MK-n) can also be found in the diet: MK-4 can be found in meat; MK-7, MK-8, and MK-9 are found in fermented food products like cheese, and an especially rich source of MK-7 is natto, a popular, centuries-old breakfast dish in Japan made from steamed fermented soybeans.

Chairman of the Board Certified

My friend and colleague Stephen Sinatra, M.D., F.A.C.N., C.N.S., is board certified in both internal medicine and cardiology. The buildup of arterial plaque is deadly to the healthy heart, and Dr. Sinatra continually searches for effective strategies to decrease this threat. A number of studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of vitamin K2 in reversing plaque in blood vessels. Vitamin K2 appears to assist in the decalcification of hard plaque formations.
Dr. Sinatra has seen outstanding progress in his patients taking the MK-7 (menaquinone-7) type of vitamin K2, which offers the following unique benefits:
  • Provides the most active and bioavailable form of vitamin K2, MK-7
  • Helps reduce the level of calcium in the bloodstream
  • Supports cardiovascular health
  • Helps strengthen bones
  • Aids in calcium absorption by bones
  • Helps increase bone density
Bone-Building Nutrition: Calcium Is Not a Solo Act
I recently met with Dr. Sinatra to learn even more about this remarkable nutrient. The remarkable discoveries about vitamin K2 demonstrate the holistic nature of the body and how all systems are intrinsically linked—in this instance, bone health and heart health. There is tremendous overlap among bone health, digestive health, the immune system, the cardiovascular system, and so forth.
Dr. Sinatra had impressive news from Dr. Cees Vermeer, a biochemist from Maastricht University in the Netherlands and one of the top vitamin K2 researchers in the world. Two new studies (published in Blood, the journal of the American Society of Hematology) by Dr. Vermeer’s team of researchers have reported the following:
The first study showed that vitamin K2 is more absorbable by the body than vitamin K1, so K2 is able to provide more support for the enzyme process that contributes to bone health—and more protection against osteoporosis. This absorbability puts vitamin K2 at greater risk of interfering with Coumadin, which is a vitamin K antagonist. Vitamin K promotes clotting, and Coumadin is prescribed to keep the blood thin by preventing clotting. According to Dr. Sinatra, new evidence from Europe suggests that Coumadin may also interfere with a vitamin K2 protein system that keeps calcium out of the arterial walls. It now appears that on one hand, Coumadin thins the blood, but on the other, it contributes to arterial calcification. Coumadin causes a deficiency of both vitamin K1 and vitamin K2. It should come as no surprise to learn that Coumadin takers suffer more osteoporosis in conjunction with more abnormal calcium deposits in other areas, such as the heart valves—in fact, twice as much as those not taking the drug. Dr. Sinatra has become extremely cautious about prescribing Coumadin because of these risks, reserving its use for only the highest-risk patients.
To better understand the role of calcium in the body, consider this:
  • Normal deposits of calcium occur only in bone and teeth.
  • Abnormal deposition of calcium in the body occurs in three places: the intima, the innermost layer or lining of the arteries that causes atherosclerotic plaque; the heart valves; and the medial calcification, which is the muscle layer of the arteries.
Studies also show that people with coronary disease, in conjunction with reduced blood levels of vitamin K2, show more advanced atherosclerotic plaque. It also appears that calcium is an active participant in the buildup of coronary plaque—and not the innocent bystander once supposed!
In a second study, Dr. Vermeer found that a diet high in both vitamins K1 and K2 could prevent and reverse Coumadin-induced arterial calcification in rats. The rat arteries that were studied resembled human arteries affected by common diabetic and age-related sclerosis (hardening of tissues).
Traditionally, calcification has been thought to be an irreversible end-stage process in arterial disease. There is a very real possibility that a vitamin supplement could roll back the sclerosis that destroys the arteries. Imagine what this could mean to individuals with diabetes and heart disease.
Could it be that many detrimental physical processes associated with age are not part of the so-called normal aging process? More and more, the answer is yes, and many of the pillars supporting the “carved in stone” scientific beliefs are toppling. As this information demonstrates, many of these processes can actually be reversed—and, equally important, prevented altogether.
The calcium link between arteries and bone is fascinating to me. One of the biggest tragedies of aging is osteoporosis, which predisposes us to weakness, frailty, and dangerous bone fractures, greatly limiting our mobility. Unfortunately, the calcium that belongs in our bones is transferred to arterial walls, predisposing us to cardiovascular disease and more. Adequate intake of vitamin K2 can stop this from occurring. We now have what appears to be a highly effective strategy to keep bones strong and arteries free of dangerous plaque. As you can see, strategies that can keep bones healthy have significant impact on our cardiovascular systems as well—absolutely critical information for women with each passing decade.
Although it is breast cancer that puts the fear of death into women, the fact is that women have a much greater chance of dying of heart disease.
Vitamin K2 can greatly reduce your odds of developing this disease.
Dr. Sinatra recommends 150 micrograms daily of the menaquinone-7 (MK-7) form of vitamin K2. This is the most absorbable and active form of vitamin K, and it seems to also play a key role in managing calcium. He has also consulted with Dr. Leon Schurgers, another Dutch researcher who has studied vitamin K2 for more than thirty years. On the basis of animal studies, Dr. Schurgers believes that a 150-microgram dose of MK-7 is the minimum amount needed to build bone and decalcify arteries.
The research clearly points to vitamin K2’s critical role in cardiovascular health and calcium usage in your body. There is no doubt that vitamin K2 is highly effective at directing calcium into your bones, where it is needed, and away from your arteries, where it does not belong.

Calcium

Over the years, heavy emphasis has been placed on calcium and bone health, especially for women, even though men also experience bone loss, albeit at about half the rate of women.
Functional bone health encompasses much more than skeletal strength alone. A healthy skeleton does more than just lower our fracture risk. It is intimately involved with our health as an endocrine organ.
As such, it performs many important functions, including the production of red blood cells, immune cells (white blood cells), platelets, various growth factors, and cytokines, any of various protein molecules secreted by immune system cells that serve to regulate the immune system. Bone health also exerts an endocrine influence on the regulation of sugar homeostasis (the state of equilibrium or balance), fat storage, energy metabolism, and more.
If you really wish to be Forever Young, or at least as healthy and youthful as possible, we need to place agreat deal of emphasis on maintaining healthy bone mass during each decade of life.

Bone-Building Nutrition: Calcium Is Not a Solo Act

All of the research to date demonstrates that the best result achieved by any calcium supplement is to slow the rate of bone loss—not increase healthy bone density, as is the popular notion. This is a serious misconception that I am now going to remedy.
A review of the scientific literature reveals that a wide range of supplemental nutrients, in addition to calcium, can contribute to the maintenance or increasing of BMD. Nowhere is this clearer than in the recent research on the additional health benefits of calcium, vitamin D, and other bone-building nutrients. Although calcium accounts for only about 2 percent of body weight, it is essential to many life sustaining processes that go beyond the building and preservation of bone strength. It is intimately involved in the transmission of electrical impulses that control muscles and the regulation of heartbeats. Prior to the mid-thirties, the body extracts calcium from dietary sources and stores it in bones until it is released and absorbed through the gastrointestinal tract. As we age, this process appears to become less and less efficient. The body now needs more calcium than can be provided by the intake of commonly consumed foods and more than the bones can store. This results in a progressive decline in bone health with increased risk of fracture.

Magnesium

As the fourth most abundant mineral in the body, magnesium is essential to our good health. Approximately half of our total body magnesium is found in our bones, and the other half is distributed throughout the cells of our body tissues and organs. This essential mineral is needed for more than three hundred biochemical reactions in the body. It helps maintain normal muscle and nerve function, keeps the heart rhythm steady, supports a healthy immune system, and keeps the bones strong. Only 1 percent of magnesium is found in our blood, but the body works very hard to keep the blood levels of magnesium constant. Magnesium also helps regulate blood sugar levels, promotes normal blood pressure, and is known to be involved in energy metabolism and protein synthesis. Magnesium also plays a role in preventing and managing hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes.
THE ADVERSE EFFECTS OF DISEASE AND MEDICATIONS ON BONE HEALTH
A wide range of common diseases are known to decrease bone health, including insulin-dependent diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), celiac disease, anorexia nervosa/bulimia, COPD, endometriosis, hemophilia, hemochromatosis, stroke, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, spinal cord injuries, long-term immobilization, renal disease, endocrine disorders (including suppressive doses of thyroid hormones), Addison’s disease, Cushing’s syndrome, sarcoidosis, organ transplants, liver disease (including hepatitis and alcoholic cirrhosis), bariatric surgery, and more. A number of these disorders are either caused or contributed to by declining bone health. So it appears that there is a vicious circle working here, and one in need of a powerful cease-and-desist order.
It is very disturbing that a number of popular medications being used to treat many of these disorders also contribute to bone loss. A significant body of research has found that a wide variety of medications are associated with reduced bone health in people of all ages. The list includes glucocorticoids and related immunosuppressants, antidiabetic drugs, lithium, Depo-Provera and other contraceptives, cyclooxygenase inhibitors, proton pump inhibitors (pharmaceutical antacids), total parenteral nutrition (this means not administered via the alimentary canal), aromatase inhibitors (letrozole, exemestane, anastrozole), gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists (Lupron, Lupron Depot, LH‑RH agonists, leuprolide), immunosuppressants, anticonvulsants (phenobarbital, phenytoin), cytotoxic drugs, and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), which lead to the issue of stress and depression. The stress hormone cortisol inhibits the cells that form bone. Excess cortisol also causes many other negative effects, including the storage of abdominal fat.
While stress and excess stress-induced depression have been shown to cause loss of bone mass, antidepressant medications have been shown to cause even further significant bone loss. This is another issue of special importance to women going through menopause, who experience a greater rate of depression and its related disorders and who are prime candidates for such medications. This could be a situation where the “cure” is worse than the disease. Another recent study suggests that diabetics who are being treated with thiazolidinedione, an antidiabetic drug, provided “further evidence of a possible association between long-term use of thiazolidinediones and fractures, particularly of the hip and wrist, in patients with diabetes mellitus.”

Magnesium Deficiency: We Are All at Risk

If your digestive system or kidney function is compromised, it can significantly influence magnesium status because magnesium is absorbed by the intestines and then transported through the blood to cells and tissues.
The bioavailability of magnesium is reasonable, with one-third to one-half of dietary magnesium being absorbed into your body. Gastrointestinal disorders that impair absorption, like Crohn’s disease, can limit the body’s ability to absorb magnesium.
It is interesting to note that healthy kidneys limit the urinary excretion of magnesium to compensate for low dietary intake.
However, some medications cause excessive loss of magnesium in urine as a side effect. Also, poorly controlled diabetes and alcohol abuse cause the body to lose excessive amounts of magnesium.

What Is the Best Way to Get Extra Magnesium?

You can do so by eating a variety of whole grains, legumes, and vegetables (especially dark green, leafy vegetables containing chlorophyll) to increase your dietary magnesium intake. Fish such as halibut is an excellent source, as are spinach, black beans, and pumpkin and squash seeds.
A more balanced approach is to take magnesium with your calcium supplement, as the two minerals work together in several ways to maintain balance. If you have low blood levels of magnesium, it is important that you have the cause, severity, and consequences evaluated by your doctor. If you have kidney disease, you may not be able to excrete excess magnesium and should not consume magnesium supplements unless they are prescribed by a physician.
Thanks to its calming effects on the nervous system, magnesium can help ease anxiety, relax muscles, promote stress relief, decrease levels of the stress hormone cortisol, and promote a good night’s sleep.

Vitamin D

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that functions as an important hormone. Vitamin D communicates to the intestines to increase the absorption of calcium by as much as 80 percent. Vitamin D is also well known for maintaining normal calcium levels. These are just a few of the extremely important functions of this essential nutrient.
In addition, other important minerals and nutrients that assist in building bone density are choline-stabilized orthosilicic acid, boron and the omega-3 essential fatty acids.
Studies show that choline-stabilized orthosilicic acid (ch-OSA™), improves the bone health benefits of both calcium and vitamin D. Ch-OSA helps build and maintain bone by regulating bone mineralization, helping to trigger the deposition of calcium and phosphate, reducing the number of osteoclasts (bone destroying cells) and increasing the number of osteoblasts (bone building cells).   
Scientific data on boron clearly shows its essential role in maintaining bones and joints in an optimal physiological state. The omega-3s offer many benefits including protection against bone loss.

Vitamin D Supplements

There are many health benefits of vitamin D, and a vitamin D supplement may be a strategy to ensure adequate levels. But what vitamin D supplement is best?
Since a large body of science shows that vitamin D works closely with calcium and magnesium, it is best to take vitamin D in combination with calcium and magnesium to maintain a proper balance. Recent literature shows that most calcium supplements have too little vitamin D to be effective. And some of them use synthetic vitamin D2. A much better form is natural vitamin D3, which stays in your system longer and with greater effect.
I want to drive home the message that you must do everything naturally possible to enhance bone health and make it your most important health priority, especially if you are nearing menopause. For all of you who have a decade or more to go before menopause, now is the time to ensure that your bones are receiving optimal nutrition to protect them now and in the future. If you are a mother with daughters, even better, as you can start them on the road to improved bone and immune health, which will provide them with a strong, healthy body.
Almost every system of the body benefits from improved bone health. In fact, improving bone health at any age seems to be an important factor in our ability to slow the clock of aging. It is not too far a stretch to say that healthy bones are the foundation of the fountain of youth—because you can’t have one without the other.
The cover price of Forever Young is $26. Member price $18.20. To order Forever Young (item # 33827) call 1-800-544-4440 or visit www.LifeExtension.com

http://www.lifeextension.com/Magazine/2010/12/The-Importance-of-Bone-Health/Page-01

Healthwise

Thursday 27 August 2015

Sleep Procrastination

—Don’t Lose Sleep Over This Bad Habit

I’m sure many of you are familiar with the challenges of getting a wound-up kid to go to bed—not simply to retreat to his or her bedroom, but to put down the toy, shut off the computer, stereo or TV, and “Go to sleep!” 

Healthwise


March 31, 2015

SleepProcrastination

But children don’t have a monopoly on the bad habit of putting off bedtime in favor of distractions. You might not think that sacrificing sleep for a few more hours of late-night TV or computer-game entertainment…or to catch up on work or a creative project…is that big a deal, but doing so can be a dangerous health hazard for you and the people who have to put up with your lack of sleep. It’s called sleep procrastination.

THE PRICE OF PROCRASTINATION

The consequences of not getting enough sleep at night can range from having migraines to lowered immunity against disease to weight gain to heart disease. And some of these problems are potentially deadly. Your mood, concentration and reaction time are also off. This means that you’re more prone to being argumentative, making poor judgments, injuring yourself and causing accidents.
There’s a myriad of reasons why people don’t get enough sleep. Going to bed at, say, 10:30 pm and not falling asleep until 1 am is, in fact, often traced to stress or a hormonal or neurologic sleep disorder. But intending to go to bed at 10:30 and not going to bed until 1:00—perhaps because you keep streaming “just one more” episode of Downton Abbey or reading “just one more” chapter of a thrilling novel or playing a computer game—or working—and doing that night after night is another matter entirely. It’s sleep procrastination.
The problem is epidemic, according to a team of researchers from Utrecht University in the Netherlands who have been studying sleep procrastination and character traits of procrastinators in general. In one study, they had 177 adults fill out questionnaires to determine their degree of bedtime procrastination, procrastination in general, sleep quality and self-regulation, which is the ability to change and adapt behavior to meet goals and responsibilities. Assessment of self-regulation was included in the analysis because mental health research has shown that people prone to procrastination lack this trait. Questions posed for self-regulation measured general self-control, conscientiousness, impulsivity and control of one’s actions.
The results: More than 40% of the study participants reported fatigue or not getting enough sleep three to four nights per week, a statistic reported by several other sleep research studies. On average, a moderate level of sleep procrastination was found in the group. And the researchers found that bedtime procrastination was negatively associated with self-regulation, similar to people who procrastinate in general.
Similar results were found in a larger study of 2,430 Danish adults performed by the same researchers.

BREAK THE MOLD

We often don’t see problem behavior in ourselves. So how can you truly recognize whether the reason that you’re tired and irritable all the time is because you’re a sleep procrastinator? Sleep-behavior specialist Susan Gordon, PhD, associate professor of psychology at National University in San Diego and research director at Southbury Clinic for Traditional Medicines in Southbury, Connecticut, says that you should take an honest look at yourself and notice whether you extend your presleep routines for no important reason or overload yourself with late-night activities that keep you awake or you have traits common to sleep procrastinators, such as lack of drive or impulsivity and a general habit of procrastinating.
“A person who truly wants to get a handle on the psychological aspects of his or her behavior needs to consciously examine the underlying motivation for his behavior and see how it affects daily life,” said Dr. Gordon. She offered the following program to get out of the bad habit of sleep procrastination…
Know thyself. Keep a journal to record activities, sleep patterns, thoughts, feelings, symptoms, health status, daily food intake and drugs/medications that you use. This will help you be more conscious of your routines and motivations—or lack of them—and help you establish healthier routines.
Get to the bottom of the problem. Reflect on how and why you procrastinate about going to sleep. Is it because of work, distractions or just not wanting to quit whatever you happen to be doing to sleep? Also, ask yourself what you hope to gain from sleep procrastination.
Cultivate self-discipline. Create a time schedule for work and leisure activities (day/night), and try to stick to it. If you feel like you are leaving business unfinished, ask yourself whether it can wait until the morning and whether you want to be tired or refreshed when the new day and its tasks begin.
Put it all together. Purposefully avoid delaying sleep time for a least one week, and examine how you feel. Ideally, being well-rested and having a better sense of self and self-discipline will be incentives for you to break the sleep procrastination habit for good.
If you’ve followed these steps to the best of your ability but find that you still can’t stay disciplined about getting enough sleep, and if your lack of sleep is impacting your health, mind, and mood, then it’s time to seek professional help, said Dr. Gordon. She recommends that you get treatment from both a naturopathic physician and a psychologist who, together, can address the psychological causes of not getting enough sleep.
http://bottomlinehealth.com/sleep-procrastination-dont-lose-sleep-over-this-bad-habit

Healthwise

Wednesday 26 August 2015

Sugar - the Real Villain of High Blood Pressure

When it comes to high blood pressure, Public Enemy #1 has always been salt. For years, our doctors, governments, dietary guidelines, health institutes (such as the American Heart Association) and the media have bombarded us with warnings to reduce our sodium intake or face a higher risk of hypertension, cardiovascular disease and death.

Healthwise

April 6, 2015

Sugar

When it comes to high blood pressure, Public Enemy #1 has always been salt. For years, our doctors, governments, dietary guidelines, health institutes (such as the American Heart Association) and the media have bombarded us with warnings to reduce our sodium intake or face a higher risk of hypertension, cardiovascular disease and death. We listened…and most of us did what we thought was right and cut back on salt. But some researchers are suggesting that this has all been one more big, long-standing jag of health misinformation. They provide evidence that salt isn’t all that bad and has a minimal effect on blood pressure and that another ubiquitous food flavoring—sugar—is the real culprit behind the explosive rate of high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease in America. Could sugar be affecting your blood pressure?

THE “ADDED SUGAR” EFFECT

James DiNicolantonio, PharmD, a cardiovascular research scientist from Saint Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute in Kansas City, and Sean Lucan, MD, MPH, from Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, New York, believe sugar—mainly in the form of fructose added to processed foods—is the more aggressive villain behind the explosion of hypertension rates and cardiovascular disease.
In an article published in Open Heart, they pointed out that Americans consume an average of24 to 47 teaspoons of sugar a day in the form of processed foods loaded with fructose. Neither the American Heart Association nor the World Health Organization provides a recommendation about daily limits of fructose consumption, but animal and human studies have shown that a diet high in fructose affects blood pressure by increasing blood levels of insulin and sabotaging how the body metabolizes it. Insulin excess, in turn, overstimulates the sympathetic nervous system (the part responsible for the fight-or-flight response), which then can result in high blood pressure.
Dr. DiNicolantonio and Dr. Lucan cited numerous studies showing strong associations between insulin resistance and high blood pressure, including one showing that, whereas insulin resistance affects approximately 25% of the general population, it affects up to 80% of people with high blood pressure. Two other studies cited by them showed that although only 10% of people with normal blood pressure have abnormally high blood levels of insulin, 50% of people with high blood pressure do.
Meanwhile, people strictly following the American Heart Association’s guidelines on sodium intake (about half a teaspoon of salt per day) may be putting their health at risk by not getting the amount of sodium they need, according to the article authors. They cited a study of more than 100,000 people showing that consuming three to six grams of sodium a day was associated with a lower risk of death, heart attack and stroke compared with consuming any other amount. Three to six grams of sodium equals about one-and-a-half to three teaspoons of salt (salt itself is composed of 40% sodium and 60% chloride)—and this is about the average amount Americans ingest each day despite what the American Heart Association recommends.
The investigative duo also pointed out that, on average, sodium reduction has a minimal effect on reducing blood pressure, with studies showing blood pressure reductions of up to 4.8 mm Hg systolic and 2.5 mm Hg diastolic at best. Additionally, when salt intake is restricted, heart rate can increase (a harmful effect that is generally not mentioned by doctors and others who advocate salt restriction).

READ LABELS AND EAT “CLEAN”

Sugars in their natural form found in fruits and other complex carbohydrates aren’t the ones you should be worried about, according to Dr. DiNicolantonio and Dr. Lucan. We all know that a diet rich in fruits, legumes and leafy vegetables is good for heart health. It’s the added sugar you want to avoid. Consider that those of us who consume 10% to 25% of our daily calories from added sugar have a 30% increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease compared with those who get less than 10% of their calories from added sugar. Beyond that 25% mark, the risk of death increases three-fold, the team said.
So if you’re not on board already, strongly consider avoiding foods with added sugar, whether that sugar is listed as simply “sugar” or one of sugar’s many other identities, including high-fructose corn syrup, fructose, corn sweetener, corn syrup, syrup, invert sugar, malt sugar, and even honey, molasses and fruit juice concentrate…and avoid the “ose” additives such as dextrose, glucose, lactose, maltose, and sucrose—those are sugars (although the sugars containing fructose seem to have greater metabolic harms versus other sugars, according to Dr. DiNicolantonio). Want some powerful help? Read our amazing Bottom Line article “I’m Kicking the Sugar Habit!” It will help you rid your body of nasty added sugars so you can be healthier, feel better and actually enjoy your food more. And read Dr. DiNicolantonio’s recentNew York Times article about sugar addiction, “Sugar Season. It’s Everywhere, and Addictive.”
http://bottomlinehealth.com/meet-the-real-villain-of-high-blood-pressure-sugar/

Healthwise

Tuesday 25 August 2015

Cancer immune therapy by Japan researchers

TOKYO -- Researchers at Japan's Keio and Osaka universities together with the National Cancer Center have had success with trials conducted on effective immune therapy for the treatment of certain types of cancer in conjunction with existing anti-cancer drugs.

September 25, 2014 1:00 pm JST

TOKYO -- Researchers at Japan's Keio and Osaka universities together with the National Cancer Center have had success with trials conducted on effective immune therapy for the treatment of certain types of cancer in conjunction with existing anti-cancer drugs.
     They will announce the findings at the 73rd Annual Meeting of the Japanese Cancer Association to be held in Yokohama from Sept. 25.
Enhancing inner strength
Immune therapy is a treatment that destroys cancer cells by taking advantage of immune system. It has fewer side effects than existing anti-cancer drugs. Currently the mainstream approach is to take Tcells, a type of immune system cell, from a patient and then return the cell to the same patient after enhancing its functions.
     Immune therapy started in the 1970s, but its effectiveness remained ambiguous for a long time. But lately, clinical trials are providing scientific evidence of treatment's effectiveness. Now immune therapy is emerging as the fourth cancer treatment following three established treatments -- surgery, irradiation and chemotherapy.
     The therapy has only been confirmed as effective for a limited numbers of cancers, such as melanoma and prostate cancer. Even so, due to its tendency to prevent against tolerance development and its long lasting effect, there are great hopes for it to become a major treatment.
     "(Immune therapy is) promising because it may support various cancer treatments in the future," said Hisafumi Okabe, vice president and general manager of the research division at Chugai Pharmaceutical.
     But the efficacy and side effects vary significantly depending on the individual because "Each patient has a different number and types of Tcells," said Keio University Professor Yutaka Kawakami.
     Also, Alsoimmune therapy becomes less effective due to the ability of cancer cells to suppress immunity. The new immune therapy focuses on preventing cancer cells from having this ability.
Combining regular medicines
A group led by Keio University's Kawakami discovered that combining two types of over-the-counter drugs will improve the workings of immune cells. The group administered the Nivolumab melanoma treatment drug developed by Ono Pharmaceutical together with anti-cholesterol drug statin to ovarian cancer cells and discovered the possibility of an increase in Tcells and of enhancing statin's offensive power.
     The melanoma treatment drug is an antibody that adheres to the protein on the surface of Tcells. The drug prevents cancer cells from avoiding attacks from immune cells.
     Kawakami says, "Using the two types of drugs may be effective to the patients for whom the Nivolumab didn't work well."
     Another group led by Osaka University Associate Professor Hiroyoshi Nishikawa has found a substance that destroys the "shield" of cancer cells used to defend against attacks from immune cells.
     The group used the Mogamulizumab lymphoma treatment drug developed by Kyowa Hakko Kirin. When the antibody attacks the shield, made up of regulatory Tcells, the number of Tcells roughly tripled and became more active. 
     The group confirmed the efficacy of this action on cancer cells taken from 30 melanoma patients. They will also study whether it works on stomach, bowel and lung cancers.
     The other group led by Dr. Shigehisa Kitano of the National Cancer Center Hospital used the Ipilimumab melanoma treatment drug developed by American company Bristol-Myers Squibb, for which is awaiting sales approval from the Japanese government.
     The drug also adheres to the protein on the surface of Tcells and was known to be capable of enhancing the offensive power of T-cells. But it was newly found that the drug was also assisting helper Tcells to attack cancer cells directly.
     The group confirmed the efficacy of the drug for melanoma patients for whom surgery cannot be performed. Also, using the Ipilimumab with other drugs that increase the number of Tcells is thought to boost effectiveness.
 (Nikkei)

Monday 24 August 2015

The sun is the greatest cancer fighter

If you listen to many dermatologists, they’ll insist that you should minimize your sun exposure to cut your risk of cancer.
Maybe they should start talking to the researchers who have found that the sun helps prevent cancer.


Scientists at the University of California (UC) San Diego School of Medicine have found that the rate of pancreatic cancer peaks in parts of the world that get least and weakest amount of sunlight. In particular, there’s more pancreatic cancer in in countries where many days are cloudy and in areas that are up north.
People living in those sun-deprived locales don’t get enough ultraviolet light to allow their skin to manufacture vitamin D, a nutrient-hormone that enables the body to more readily fight off tumors.
In fact, vitamin D from sunlight fights more than a dozen different kinds of cancer. The European Journal of Cancer looked at cancer rates all over the world. Their study says plainly that vitamin D production from sunlight decreases the likelihood you’ll get kidney, bladder, colorectal, stomach, liver, breast, prostate, lung, gallbladder, or pancreatic cancer.
“If you’re living at a high latitude or in a place with a lot of heavy cloud cover, you can’t make vitamin D most of the year, which results in a higher-than-normal risk of getting pancreatic cancer,” says researcher Cedric F. Garland, who teaches at the UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center. “People who live in sunny countries near the equator have only one-sixth of the age-adjusted incidence rate of pancreatic cancer as those who live far from it. The importance of sunlight deficiency strongly suggests – but does not prove – that vitamin D deficiency may contribute to risk of pancreatic cancer.”
To get more ultraviolet B radiation, the spectrum of sunlight that stimulates vitamin D production, you should get out in the sun between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., when ultraviolet B is most abundant. But don’t let your skin get sunburned. Repeated overexposure in this way can increase your chances of skin cancer, the condition that dermatologists obsess over. And leave off the sunscreen, while you’re getting your ultraviolet B. Otherwise, the lotion will block the sun’s beneficial rays.
A few foods contain vitamin D naturally – fatty fish like sardines, salmons and mackerel. Beef liver, eggs and cheese contain a modicum of vitamin D, too. Vitamin D supplements (D3 is the bioactive form) are also good to take, especially in the winter when ultraviolet B gets filtered out of sunlight by the atmosphere in northern parts of the country.

The Canadian Cancer Society recommends everyone north of the border – where there’s not as much sunlight as farther south – take 1,000 IU of vitamin D per day because it can reduce the risk of a host of cancers by as much as 60 percent.
Healthwise


http://easyhealthoptions.com/sun-greatest-cancer-fighter/

Friday 21 August 2015

Ginseng - Sexual enhancement herb may be cancer-fighter, too

Imagine coming across an herb so powerful that its very existence is threatened by overuse, pushing it to the edge of extinction. It almost seems unbelievable, but that’s the case for ginseng, often called the “miracle plant.”

This post is on Healthwise


First Famous as a Potency Booster, Evidence Shows This Treats Cancer, Too


16 August 2015

Newsletter #526
Lee Euler, Editor


I first heard of ginseng many decades ago when most Americans were just beginning to discover herbal medicine. Ginseng was proclaimed to be a potency herb for men — which was enough to get a lot of attention.
Now it’s known that ginseng is far more than that. . .
This herb has been used in both Native American and Chinese remedies for thousands of years. And despite debate in the medical community over exactly what ginseng does for a person, it continues to be lauded as an herb of many wonders.
People take ginseng for stress, and to quell common colds and nasty flu viruses. It’s also used as a stimulant or energizer, an immune-system booster, a way to ward off infections like HIV/AIDS and dysentery, and a tool for lowering blood sugar. And lately, the plant’s cancer-prevention and related properties are getting noticed.
It’s no surprise that the name of the genus, Panax, means “all-heal” in Greek and is related to the word “panacea.”
Why ginseng is under threat of extinction
There are two main medicinal species of ginseng: American ginseng (P. quinquefolius) and Asian ginseng (P. ginseng). The latter is also sometimes called Chinese or Korean ginseng, so it’s best to buy a brand where the speciesP. ginseng is identified on the label.
Overall demand for the plants continues to increase across the world, which is why protective measures have been rolled out in an attempt to save these species.
Asian ginseng is found in China, Korea, and eastern Siberia. You’ll find American ginseng, a slow-growing plant with red, jewel-like berries, in deciduous forests of the United States from Maine down through the Midwest.
American ginseng is especially prevalent in the Appalachians and Ozarks. It holds the designation of being a CITES plant species, meaning it’s labeled by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and is therefore protected against unsustainable trade.
Currently, American ginseng can only be harvested in 19 states (here’s the list from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, in case you’re curious). When harvested, the plants must be at least five years old or older. Age is determined based on the number of leaves, or prongs, on the plant, and the number of stem scars on the root neck. Most of the American ginseng that’s harvested is sent to China.
Plenty of domestic cultivation of the plant takes place in the U.S., but some believe that wild ginseng is more effective as a healing remedy. That makes it worth more, which is what has led to extensive illegal harvesting of the plant. The business can be highly profitable. That’s the main reason the wild populations in both Asia and North America are under severe pressure. Logging and development also play a role.
Ginseng has its own class of healing chemicals: “Ginsenosides”
When it comes to cancer, American ginseng is the one to go with as a medicinal supplement. American ginseng is worth our attention here at Cancer Defeated because it shows significant promise as a cancer treatment.
Anti-cancer functions include the activity of “ginsenosides,” which is the name given to a slew of different chemicals found in ginseng. Ginsenosides and their related metabolites work together to curb inflammation and oxidative stress in the body. They play a role in undermining the angiogenesis and metastasis of cancer cells. Ginsenosides also appear to affect insulin levels and lower blood sugar.
On top of all that, ginsenosides affect some of the normal functions of the immune system, which has lately piqued the interest of researchers who think the herb could be used to help cancer patients deal with the exhausting side effects of standard treatment.
One study, for example, found that after eight weeks of using ginseng, cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy experienced a 20% improvement in fatigue. The mechanism for reducing cancer-treatment-related fatigue isn’t well understood, but many researchers believe it’s the product of ginseng’s ability to reduce inflammation and possibly lower stress-induced cortisol production.
A 20% improvement is eight weeks is underwhelming, but at least the herb helped and — very important — did no harm.
Other studies have reported that ginseng not only relieves fatigue associated with standard cancer treatment, but also improves appetite, sleep ability, and overall quality of life.
There’s not really a downside to ginseng, except that its exact mechanisms for healing aren’t understood. There’s a need for more human studies that home in on the various ailments ginseng is said to help with. Most of the studies we have are on animals or lab cultures. But I will say that every time ginseng is studied in earnest, the results are favorable.
This herb needs your support
Either American or Asian/Korean ginseng was used in the studies I’ve referenced, so again, those are the ones to use if you want to try to replicate the results. Several sources recommend taking 1,000 mg in the morning and then again in the afternoon, but I’d suggest you talk to your herb-smart doctor or pharmacist to get the dosage right.
As far as I can gather, ginseng has no side effects. The only slight disadvantage I’ve ever come across is that high doses of American ginseng may affect sleep. So if you have insomnia, take it with caution.
And, if you have any interest, feel free to look into and support the work of organizations like World Wildlife Fund and other environmental groups dedicated to increasing awareness of the rapid decline of wild ginseng. Those groups also do some commendable work conserving vital forests and habitats where ginseng thrives.

References:
“American Ginseng.” Medline Plus, retrieved 22 July 2015.http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/967.html
“American Ginseng.” U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service International Affairs. Retrived 22 July 2015.http://www.fws.gov/international/plants/american-ginseng.html
Anti-breast cancer activity of Fine Black ginseng (Panax ginseng Meyer) and ginsenoside Rg5.” By Shin-Jung Kim, et al. Journal of Ginseng Research, Volume 39, Issue 2, April 2015, Pages 125–134. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1226845314001055   
“Chemopreventive Effects of Korean Red Ginseng Extract on Rat Hepatocarcinogenesis.” By Hyemee Kim, et al. Journal of Cancer 2015, Vol. 6. http://www.jcancer.org/v06p0001.pdf
“Fermented red ginseng extract inhibits cancer cell proliferation and viability.” By Oh J, et al. J Med Food. 2015 Apr;18(4):421-8. doi: 10.1089/jmf.2014.3248.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25658580
“Ginseng (Asian.)” Memorial-Sloan Kettering. Retrieved 22 July 2015. https://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/integrative-medicine/herbs/ginseng-asian
“Ginseng Fights Cancer Treatment Fatigue.” By Brian D. Lawenda, M.D. for Integrative Oncology, 28 May 2015. http://www.integrativeoncology-essentials.com/2015/05/ginseng-fights-cancer-treatment-fatigue/
“High-Dose Asian Ginseng (Panax Ginseng) for Cancer-Related Fatigue: A Preliminary Report.” By S. Yennurajalingam, et al. Integr Cancer Ther. 2015 Apr 14. pii: 1534735415580676.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25873296
Increase in apoptotic effect of Panax ginseng by microwave processing in human prostate cancer cells: in vitro and in vivo studies.” By Jun Yeon Park, et al. Journal of Ginseng Research, Available online 12 May 2015. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1226845315000408
“Is Ginseng Effective for Cancer-Related Fatigue?” By Joanna M. Pangilinan for Medscape, 1 August 2014. http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/828937
“Medical officials approve ginseng as part of cancer treatment.” By Antonia, February 2015 for The Raw Food World. http://news.therawfoodworld.com/medical-officials-approve-ginseng-part-cancer-treatment/
“Recent advances in ginseng as cancer therapeutics: a functional and mechanistic overview.” By Alice S. T. Wong, et al. 4 June 2014. http://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2015/np/c4np00080c#!divAbstract
“Wisconsin Ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) to Improve Cancer-Related Fatigue: A Randomized, Double-Blind Trial, N07C2.” By Debra L. Barton, et al. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2013 Aug 21; 105(16): 1230–1238. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3888141/

This post is on Healthwise